{"id":15510,"date":"2017-03-06T14:50:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T19:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=15510"},"modified":"2017-03-06T15:01:19","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T20:01:19","slug":"the-forgotten-classic-gordon-parks-the-learning-tree-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=15510","title":{"rendered":"The Forgotten Classic: Gordon Parks’ The Learning Tree (1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gordon Parks adapted his 1964 novel for the big screen in 1969.<\/p><\/div>\n

Of the handful of key films cited by film historians as milestones in which Hollywood tackled racism towards African-Americans, The Learning Tree <\/strong><\/a>(1969), Gordon Parks\u2019 feature film debut, is often overlooked in favour of his better-known, commercial hit\u00a0Shaft<\/strong> (1971), perhaps because the latter was more contemporary, offered sex & violence, and an Oscar-winning score by Isaac Hayes that made a fortune for studio MGM and labels Stax and Enterprise.<\/p>\n

Another factor that\u2019s subjugated Tree<\/strong> to deep catalogue status lies in its story of a teen \u2013 Newt – who experiences racism and must carefully navigate through the system circa 1920s Kansas to find work, gain a solid education, and stay clear of the law, which is essentially one bigoted sheriff capable of shooting a man in the back with total impunity; contrast that with super-virile John Shaft who carries a big gun and takes little crap from anyone, and proves to be the only figure willing to take deadly risks to save a life, thereby humiliating the police\u00a0for sticking to rules and arcane behavioral codes scripted by white folks.<\/p>\n

Gordon Parks directing The Learning Tree.<\/p><\/div>\n

Both films were directed by the same skilled artist, former photographer and Life magazine photo-essayist Parks, but represent very different approaches in dramatizing racism.\u00a0As I tallied the end of the review of Tree<\/strong>, Parks\u2019 debut never managed to achieve its recognition as a classic and enjoy a Special Edition release \u2013 aspects that frustrate fans who feel the film\u2019s frequently been bumped back into deep catalogue status when other pivotal statements on racism \u2013 In the Heat of the Night<\/a><\/strong> (1967), Guess Who\u2019s Coming to Dinner<\/strong> (1967), Shaft<\/strong> (1971), Roots<\/strong> (1977) \u2013 remain in print on disc, and are reissued (Shaft<\/strong> excepted) in anniversary editions ever few years.<\/p>\n

Tree<\/strong> is available as a Warner Archives MOD disc, but just putting it out on DVD is still a step back from packing it with extras that help contextualize its importance in American film history. Parks\u2019 first film has its share of flaws, but its wide release and critical success proved an African-American filmmaker was bankable, and enabled Shaft<\/strong> to exist two years later.<\/p>\n

Shaft<\/strong> is also one of two Parks-directed films that remain in print, whereas his other work \u2013 short and long-form \u2013 are absent or much tougher to find. Warner\u2019s bare bones on-demand DVD may be the end point for Tree<\/strong>, so perhaps Parks’ work in film might get its due if and when\u00a0 his other major film, a bio-drama of blues guitarist Leadbelly<\/strong> (1976), makes its debut on disc (preferably on Blu).<\/p>\n

Coming shortly:<\/em> review of Joan Micklin Silver\u2019s cult film Chilly Scenes of Winter<\/strong> (1982), released on Blu by Twilight Time, a Nikkatsu naughty, and the cult Ozploitation thriller The Survivor <\/strong>(1981) from Severin.<\/p>\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mark R. Hasan<\/strong>, Editor
\nKQEK.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review of Gordon Parks’ semi-autobiographical feature debut The Learning Tree (1969), released as a Warner Archive MOD in 2011, but still a forgotten classic on racism, circa 1920s Kansas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[2562,2563,4971,4970],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/LearningTree_featured.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-42a","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15510"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15510"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15525,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15510\/revisions\/15525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}