Deconstructing Coonskin

by Latoya Peterson

Coonskin is a 1975 film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi, about an African American rabbit, fox, and bear who rise to the top of the organized crime racket in Harlem, encountering corrupt law enforcement, con artists and the Mafia. The film, which combines live-action with animation, stars Philip Michael Thomas, Charles Gordone, Barry White and Scatman Crothers, all of whom appear in both live-action and animated sequences. Coonskin utilizes a number of references to various elements from African American culture, ranging from African folk tales to the work of cartoonist George Herriman,[2][3] and satirizes racist and other stereotypes,[3] as well as the blaxploitation genre,[3] Song of the South,[1] and The Godfather.[2]

Originally produced under the titles Harlem Nights[1][4] and Coonskin No More…,[5] Coonskin encountered extreme controversy before its original theatrical release when the Congress of Racial Equality strongly criticized the content as being racist, although none of the group’s members had seen the film.[1][2] When the film was finally released, Bryanston gave it limited distribution and initially received negative reviews. Later re-released under the titles Bustin’ Out[1] and Street Fight,[1][3] Coonskin has since been reappraised, with many considering it to be one of Bakshi’s finest works.[1][3]

—From the Coonskin Wikipedia entry

I rewatched Coonskin over the weekend, and like I said in the original post, I still don’t know how to feel. I think Winn has the best summary of Coonskin:

I too am a fan of Bakshi’s overall body of work, but he is really clueless when it comes to Coonskin, and it’s pretty much indefensible, despite the participation of Barry White, Philip Michael Thomas, and the original Magical Negro himself, Scatman Crothers. Bakshi is intending to satirize not only racism, but also homophobia, the Mafia, and antiSemitism, and uses African folklore and darky iconography transposed to an urban setting to do so. However, he falls prey to the mistakes many with good intentions make when they attempt to tell stories that are not their own. Bakshi ends up reinforcing many of the stereotypes he sought to dismantle, and there are many more layers to the imagery and tropes he presents than even he realizes. Interestingly, Bakshi once described Coonskin as “about blacks and for whites”, and unfortunately, I think that sums it up in ways Bakshi never intended.

Over the past few weeks I have read a lot of the interviews that feature Bakshi, trying to understand his mindset in creating the film. While I encourage everyone to watch the film, I have done a short analysis of some of key components of the film below.

Black Cultural References

Archy and Mehitabel

Bakshi explains a lot of the reference points for the film by drawing from his own experience and some what forgotten cultural cannons. In part 3 of 10, there is a monologue by a black woman describing the demise of her relationship with a cockroach. This is the only time in the film a black female character speaks for herself, not specifically in response to a male character. The words coming from Mehitabel are tinged with loneliness and regret, describing the pain of abandonment that black women experienced in that era.

In an interview with Metroactive Movies, Bakshi puts the reference into context:

Metro: Another sequence that I wondered about was the pastiche of George Herriman and Don Marquis’s “Archy and Mehitabel,” in a monologue about a cockroach that leaves the woman who loves him.

[NOTE: Marquis (1878-1937), a columnist for the New York Sun, was one of the few who managed to produce poetry on a deadline. His most famous character was a poetry-writing reincarnated cockroach named Archy, and his best pal, the alley cat Mehitabel. It sounds cute, though it isn't; often Marquis rivaled e.e. cummings. Marquis' illustrator was George Herriman, creator of the noblest comic strip of them all, Krazy Kat.]

Bakshi: Herriman is my favorite cartoonist. He was mulatto.

Metro: That’s right, he kept it a secret, though. So that’s why he’s referred to in the film.

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