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Rating:  -
The early-1970s was a tumultuous time in American politics and the world landscape. Sun Ra weaves the political controversies with sci-fi and mythology for this 82 minute film that had a very limited run when initially released in 1974. There is a universal message in Sun Ra's production, with the music - released in a soundtrack - making for an outstanding package.
Though available in often shoddy bootlegs, this DVD is a fitting tribute to the cinematic vision of an artistic genius.
Rating:  -
The film is mysterious and colorful and I think thats its biggest strength. But you don't get a good handle on Sun Ra's own space philosophy other than "black people must free themselves". Overlong with good performances, but not enough musical performances. It finishes with the classic 70s ambiguous ending. In truth, not a very good music film or blaxploitation film or weirdo-art film. It has genius moments you would find in all three, but only remains infamous due to it being a weird mix of the great ingrediants.
Rating: -
Appropriately named a blaxploitation film, Space is the Place does more harm than good in promoting "blackness", in spite of its attempts to weave in sophisticated technological and mythic themes. It is an arduous task finding positive representations and ideas amidst the white noise of drugs, bitches, pimps, and, well, noise. Ironically, part of the process is not understanding, as finally clarified in Sun Ra's concert approaching the end of the film.
The good versus evil, religious, and Egyptian themes are relatively transparent, and the exclusive application to blacks (though strangely only to American blacks), is a reaction to the same monopolization on the part of whites. There is a mythical garden, an Eden-like place, an ark in the form of a space ship, and immortality in space/heaven, all reserved for blacks. Rather than promoting equality and peaceful coexistence, the message is one of segregation and near mutual annihilation. This could be because the divide between blacks and whites seems wide and hopelessly irreparable, or because blacks themselves are unable to rise up out of their oppressed state without outside or divine assistance. In all these cases thus far, the militant pro-black attitude actually agrees a great deal with white racism, promoting segregation and stating that blacks bear a great responsibility for their own plight, and cannot get their acts together.
This negative presentation of disenfranchised groups continues in the hyper-sexualization of black women (and white women), seen in the whores, stories of abused women, told by their men and pimps, nurses, and numerous silent women riding in cars. Another notable phenomenon is the use of exploiting women to elevate one's status, especially if the woman is white. This implies not only that the assignment of female is even more subjugating than blackness, and that white women are a greater prize than black ones: the overseer's choice woman is white, and he first shows sexual interest in the white nurse, who happens to bring her black friend. Lines like "...do what your daddy says, and everything will be fine--it's better than shooting up on the stoop, isn't it?" both deprive women of the ability to make choices, and imply their predisposition to drugs and catering to their carnal instincts; this resembles the antiquated, racist, white perceptions of blacks, this time transferred to women. The line spoken by the pimp, who defends the fact that he beat his woman to the point of hospitalization, says "bitches need it". Somehow this man receives salvation in the end, but why, we never know.
The alternating predatory or impotent black male persists throughout Space is the Place. The best example of this is in the devil-like Overseer, and his pathetic (half-white?) assistant. It could be, however, that the impotent part of him comes from that inner whiteness in his personality, since the two NASA men are unable to perform in the same brothel on the same day.
The concert is the moment where Sun Ra explains his philosophy. Throughout the film, he establishes music as a balancing, mathematical, sophisticated force that can power anything from spaceships to an entire race. It can cause chaos, revolution, and salvation, so the fact that Sun Ra uses his unusual form of jazz to spread his message is expected. He asks, at the end of the film, for blind trust, for understanding that blacks are "the pattern and spirit of man", he asks them to not be afraid and to embrace their ignorance as their salvation. It is an ambiguous ending resulting in the salvation of whores, teenage hoodlums who save Sun Ra from the NASA men, a pimp who abuses women, and the black half of Jimmy Fey, helper of the Overseer.
If nothing else, this film may be good for a laugh as some charmingly dated things can be, but whether in its own context of the time or now, it is offensive to the mind and ear. Best seen with a group of drunk friends, I would imagine.
Rating: -
this film is pretty nice but not nearly as great as the documentary A Joyful Noise. I highly recommend purchasing A Joyful Noise first because it provides a deeper look into Sun Ra.
Rating: -
I picked up this curious period piece of psychedelic, indie-fueled moviemaking some time ago. Sorry now I waited so long to view it. It's a delightful combination of '70's pop culture, science fiction fantasy, Sun Ra musical storytelling through his Inter-Galactical Outer Space Archestra, and black pride allegory that manages to be quite on point.
Initially, I was too fascinated by the imagery and music to think much about any message. In retrospect, Sun Ra is a spiritual being from a space colony playing chess with an earthly demonic pimpmaster for big stakes: the souls of exploited people, black (mostly) and white. The pimpmaster also plays the system, selling his black brothers and sisters to addiction and prostitution for his own pleasure, trapping them in an oppressive, seemingly inescapable existence. A third main character is the media commentator--Jimmy Fay--who seems to be a shill for the pimpmaster and his worldly culture but eventually comes around (perhaps more John the Baptist than Jesus Christ) to sharing the enlightened message of Sun Ra, joining those who are delivered from bondage. All ends happily in a Sun Ra space colony of resurrected, reborn black/white humanity.
Even if you don't buy the Biblical allegory, it's still a cool trip, with a bit of harmless nudity and violence for good measure (just like Cecil De Mille).
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