Green Pastures (1936)



I first saw this movie on PBS about 20 years ago when I was newly married in graduate school. This is one of the early all-black cast productions from Hollywood.

I have always enjoyed different ways of telling Bible stories (see also Godspell and Cotton Patch Gospel), and that's the initial appeal this film has for me, so I rented it from NetFlix this week. Yes, the theology is a bit different (God, played by Rex Ingram, is constantly surprised by how badly his "experiment" with humankind turned out), but I see the story as one told by an adult to children, trying to involve their imagination.

And engage my imagination it did and does. Little children in a sunday school class ask penetrating questions of their teacher, who (as I often try to do) tells the Bible stories in a way that the kids will connect to them. Heaven is presented as a fish fry; men of God are all dressed as preachers; Adam, made in God's image, is played by the same actor as God (Rex Ingram). Sinful people are presented as gun-toting gangsters. The clothes, the sets, and the dialogue are unpretentious -- simple would be a good word. The story is the essence of this picture, and the actors are the essence of telling the story.

Like Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Importance of Being Earnest, Godspell, and Oscar, this film was originally a stage play that did very well nationwide. It translated very well to film.

I have different impressions as I watch it again now, 20 years after my first viewing. I enjoyed it as much as the first time. Then I listened to the commentary audio track by three black men: LeVar Burton, a black historian, and one other speaker whose background I don't recall just now. The fact that this was an all black cast directed by an all (or mostly) white crew was something I hadn't really thought of before. The fact that the black culture was presented as simple (uneducated, ignorant) was not lost on them. In fact, Burton said he couldn't stand to watch the film while growing up. He saw it as a continuing stereotype of what white authority wanted people to believe about the black culture. "It is the story of black America, told by whites." I am reminded of Anne in Jane Austen's Persuasion, who points out that while the great literature portrays women as fickle and unreliable in love, "all of those books were written by men."

As I said, I enjoyed the film because I enjoy different ways of presenting the Bible. Until this viewing, I was blissfully unaware of the politics and perceptions of the film from withinAfrican American culture. Through the commentary, I see this film from a couple of points of view now, and I understand in part their dismay.

However, the three of speakers said they also very much enjoyed the picture: while the characterizations are stereotypical, the acting is compelling and wonderful, as are the (1936!) special effects, done so simply that you don't even notice that they're there.

One of commentary speakers said that at the end of the film, everyone in the theater would cheer, but for completely different reasons. The film is worth cheering at.

Enjoy the movie.

IMDB review here.

Posted: Sat - December 30, 2006 at 10:24 AM           | |

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