"Black Gestapo" (1975) is an exploitation film that manages to both rise above its material and sink beneath it. The film features a group of black men who call themselves the People's Army, funded by the state of California, who engage in acts of community goodwill. Unfortunately the local white mafia corrupts the community with drugs, gambling, and prostitution. A faction of the People's Army, enraged by the rape of black women and the violence against black men, take matters into their own hands. As a viewer, I must admit that I found these scenes of vengeance quite satisfying--and therein lies part of the film's power. The film raises questions and provides some troubling answers. We want to side with the peaceful solutions of the helpful People's Army, but we also want bloodshed--racial bloodshed. We feel conflicted.
Sadly and predictably, the black avengers, after driving the white mafia from the area, become worse than the white mafia, running more drugs, more prostitution, more gambling. In a particularly painful scene, they beat a black storeowner because he doesn't make enough money to pay their protection prices. In the end, the peaceful general of the People's Army takes matters into his own hands and destroys the Black Gestapo.
As I mentioned, while the film raises important questions about white exploitation of black poverty--and how blacks should respond to that exploitation--the film also falters as the viewer is overwhelmed by tawdry scenes of violence against women (usually naked), and one wonders if the director is interested in making a point or just peddling trash to the dumbest drive-in voyeur.
Sadly and predictably, the black avengers, after driving the white mafia from the area, become worse than the white mafia, running more drugs, more prostitution, more gambling. In a particularly painful scene, they beat a black storeowner because he doesn't make enough money to pay their protection prices. In the end, the peaceful general of the People's Army takes matters into his own hands and destroys the Black Gestapo.
As I mentioned, while the film raises important questions about white exploitation of black poverty--and how blacks should respond to that exploitation--the film also falters as the viewer is overwhelmed by tawdry scenes of violence against women (usually naked), and one wonders if the director is interested in making a point or just peddling trash to the dumbest drive-in voyeur.