"...you know, it's hard out here for a pimp..." - Shug in "Hustle & Flow"

I saw Hustle & Flow last nite. My review?:

• Pretty darn good
• 3.5 out of 5 stars
• thumbs up
• B+

I read a review that called it another blaxploitation film. A misogynistic movie that represents a "crisis of artistic consciousness" found in today's black filmmakers.

Okay, yeah it's about a pimp. Yeah, it's got some whores in it. But a lot of people today look at movies, art, and music with the wrong assumptions. They wanna act like the world ain't really that gritty. That art is supposed to always reflect light, as if there is no dark to be found.

When I watched the movie, I was like, "okay, what is this movie gonna try to say to me? What's the story?" The message was an interesting one - in a nutshell, it involved the yearnings of several people to make their lives more than what they had become.

Would it have been better if it were presented in some positive context? Like some middle-class black folks who go to church and pay their taxes? Maybe - if I planned on taking my 4-year old nephew to the movie with me. But as a grown-folk, I don't always need such Cosby-esque backdrops to be able to get the point.

I think Hustle & Flow could soon become a classic on the level of movies like Juice or Cooley High. For one, the photography used in the film already makes it feel like you're watching Shaft or something. But also, it really has a realistic feel. The interactions between the characters were consistent with my experiences with, and knowledge of people I've known with those same personalities and backgrounds.

Coincidently, that nite I had a dream with the Hustle & Flow movie as the context. It involved a high-speed car chase in a beat up caddy, in which I was driving faster than is physically possible, and with way more skill than I actually have. In the end, i was able to get away because essentially my car started levitating and flying at super speeds.... don't laugh.