Program Notes

Program note for Pinewood Dialogue with Charles Burnett and screening of Killer of Sheep
January 7, 1995
Series: Inner-City Blues: The Films of Charles Burnett

KILLER OF SHEEP
1977, 83 minutes. 16mm print courtesy of Charles Burnett
Produced, directed, written, edited, and photographed by Charles Burnett. Sound by Charles Bracy.
With Henry Sanders (Stan), Kaycee Moore (his wife), Charles Bracy (friend), and Angela Burnett (Stan's Daughter).

From Trudy Goodwin Barnes, "Charles Burnett: Unmasking Black American," Visions, Summer 1991:

"Committed to social change, Burnett sees his role as a filmmaker who shows the world of black American differently or more accurately-as it is… Charles Burnett has been categorized as the "quiet revolutionary." Though vocal about society's inconsistencies, Burnett's films tackle today's issues sensibly and quietly, pushing us to see the variable, and universal similarities. Rather than pointing an accusatory finger, he patiently shows us what we secretly know: We are all complex but share a sameness."

By Erika Muhammad, Film & Video Department Intern:

In black culture, the blues often denotes a downhearted state of mind. However, the blues are not solely sad or painful, for irony and wry humor can be found among the music's many moods. Charles Burnett's movies articulate the many moods of black reality. They express survival instead of despair, and within his cinematic analysis of the black urban experience there resonates a resiliency in which Burnett's message can be found. In times where the mass media continues to promulgate the subordinate position of African-Americans through racist caricatures, Burnett's work avoids the narrowcasting of black characterizations and experiences. Rather than exploiting mass media images of black misery, Burnett offers narratives that lend themselves to the changing and diverse concepts of African-American identity.

With Killer of Sheep (1997), Burnett presents a realistic account of the inevitable consequences facing a working class black man in South Central Los Angeles. Although it was inaccurately labeled as pessimistic by some writers, one could challenge that Killer of Sheep's sociopsychic study of its protagonist, Stan, offers a richly textured portray of urban black life. Stan is not living in poverty, but is living day-to-day, trying to makes ends meet for his family.

Despite his efforts to remain honest by working instead of hustling the streets,

Stan resents his continued second-class status in American society. He attempts to play by its social rules, yet he never reaps its rewards. Stan's purchase of a car motor articulates his desire to enjoy the common comforts of American consumer culture. Painfully aware of the disparity between democratic ideals and the realities of black economic and social alienation, Stan grows despondent; he is unable to sleep at night and express tenderness towards his family. Burnett's depiction of Stan's frustration does not perpetuate the distress of black people; instead it challenges popular media images that code black males as lazy and indifferent to social elevation.

Burnett further examines the black pursuit of the American Dream in My Brother's Wedding (1983) as he explores class relations within the African-American community. The protagonist, Pierce, is hostile towards his brother's marriage to a middle-class black woman. Having received limited payoff from working for social achievement, Pierce underestimates his academic skills and abilities and becomes disdainful towards black middle-class lifestyles. Through Pierce's subordination and ultimate exclusion from the workplace, the spectator witnesses the despondency of a black man who, as Stan in Killer of Sheep, has grown skeptical regarding black opportunity within American society.

Pierce's point of view has been built from his experiences and his own limited opportunities. Consequently, his loyalty transferred from his family to his renegade best friend. Burnett skillfully negotiates the divergent experiences of two brothers; one who has joined upwardly mobile African-Americans as a lawyer, and another who remains outside the economic mainstream.

Burnett's cinematic blues articulate narratives that deal with diverse emotions and experiences. His studies offer no societal resolution, rather scenarios of individuals attempting to exist, endure, and be recognized within society.

From Clyde Taylor, "The L.A. Rebellion: A Turning Point in Black Cinema," Whitney Museum of American Art, 1986:
"…Killer of Sheep inaugurated another direction in black cinema, the search for a more sensitive, patient realism. The quest of Burnett's protagonist, a worker in a slaughterhouse, is for peace amidst the malaise, incoherence, and futility of his South Central L. A. neighborhood; peace from the fearful dreams he has of his children's lives. Obviously influenced by Italian neorealism, Burnett's narrative is striking for its perceptions of the unpretty, tragicomic poetry of everyday life among the oppressed."

From interview with Robert McGarvey, L.A. Style, January, 1989:
"When I shot Killer of Sheep, I wanted to help viewers understand the exploitation of blacks. But I also wanted to show black life without imposing my values. I wanted to show the atmosphere these people live in and to convey that they continue to struggle, that they're human beings with dignity."

The Pinewood Dialogues, an ongoing series of screenings and discussions with significant creative figures in film, television, and digital media, as supported with a generous grant from The Pinewood Foundation.

American Museum of the Moving Image occupies a building owned by the City of New York. With the assistance of the Queens Borough President and the Queens delegation of the New York City Council, the Museum receives support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Vital support is also provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation), the National Science Foundation, corporations, foundations, and individuals.