DROP Squad

Screening of Director’s Cut with David C. Johnson in person

Part of Changing the Picture, sponsored by Time Warner Inc.

Dir. David C. Johnson. 1994, 114 mins. Digital projection. With Eriq LaSalle, Vondie Curtis Hall, Ving Rhames. DROP Squad began its life as a short film, The Session, based on a story by David Taylor about a group of black militants who kidnap black people deemed to be detrimental to the community. A throwback to the militancy represented by films such as Foxy Brown, The Session’s satirical approach to the question of self-identity won the Newark Black Film Festival and, through support from organizations such as The Black Filmmaker Foundation and The Negro Ensemble Company, caught the eye of Spike Lee who agreed to produce DROP Squad as the first of a five picture deal with Gramercy Pictures/Universal. The film, as timely as it was when it was released nearly 25 years ago, is a satirical look at what it means to be black and who gets to create that definition. It is an extreme take on political correctness which still echoes today. “Whose truth do you believe?” It was released in a trimmed-down 86-minute version; this will be a rare screening of the 114-minute director’s cut.

Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

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