Candyman

In the film, Candyman, directed by Bernard Rose, there are many connections that can be made between the film and Robin R. Means Coleman’s article, “Studying Blacks and Horror Films”. Throughout the film, horror is depicted through the stereotyping of African Americans. Coleman says, “Blacks have a rather unique relationship with American film’s presentation of Blacks”. American films often casting “blacks as horrific figures”.

The film, Candyman, focuses on Helen, a graduate student from the University of Illinois. Helen and her best friend, Bernadette, are researching urban legends. This research of urban legends leads to Helen learning about a local urban legend named Candyman. Helen becomes fascinated with the urban legend Candyman and seeks out to uncover the full story. Her pursuit to uncover the full story takes her to the notorious Cabrini-Green housing project. While investigating the Cabrini-Green housing project she uncovers how residents actually live in fear of the Candyman. Soon she would fear him and eventually become part of the urban legend herself.

Throughout the film, the audience witnesses both stereotyping and black social issues. “To illustrate, in dubbing certain films “Blaxploitation,” this moniker is as much about exposing a category of film imbued with stereotypes of race relations, gender roles, sex and violence as it is a critique of those who created the stereotypes”. A perfect example of stereotyping in the film is when Helen visits the Cabrini-Green housing project. When she arrives she is assumed to be a cop because she is a nicely dressed white woman. This causes residents of the Cabrini-Green housing project to be hostile towards her. This hostility turns to violence when she investigates a bathroom. While investigating the site of a castration, she is assaulted by a gang leader called “Candyman”. She survives with just a black eye and reports the assault to the police. She identifies her attacker and he’s arrested. Despite being related to two other crimes the police only became interested when the crime involved a white woman. This is the perfect example of social injustice between blacks and whites. Which causes a sense of horror for the audience members.

Article Summary:

In the article, “Studying Blacks and Horror Films”, by Robin R. Means Coleman, she talks about the African American presence in American films. She says how “Blacks have a rather unique relationship with American film’s presentation of Blacks”. Coleman mentions how over time Blacks became their own film genre. “There are so many films featuring Blackness, with so many shared conventions, that Black film has become a genre in itself”. She then explains how “naming a thing is inherently dangerous in that it may further subordinate that thing”.  This is exactly what happened, and it gave rise to the term “Blaxploitation”. These Black films were often “imbued with stereotypes of race relations, gender roles, sex, and violence”. Casting “blacks as horrific figures”. Coleman mentions how there’s a difference between “Blacks in Horror Films” and “Black Horror Films”. “Blacks in Horror Films” led to stereotypical views, while “Black Horror Films” are “about Black experiences and Black cultural traditions”.