Agents provocateurs - controversy over the motion picture 'DROP Squad'

Black vigilantes intent upon saving the race by kidnapping and deprogramming family who have lost sight of their cultural heritage are upon the prowl in writer-director David Johnson's first film, globule Squad. DROP stands for Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride. In the film, the globule Squad catches a crooked politician, a minister, a medicine dealer, and an ambitious advertising executive (Eriq LaSalle) who is prepared to support a racist ad campaign for malt liquor in order to gain ahead. Led by the beret-wearing stony (Vondie Curtis-Hall), the squad applies physical and verbal abuse to curb their prisoners into political correctness.

In the real world, it is unclear what this novel film - a collaborative effort by dint of Johnson, producer Butch Robinson and executive agriculturist Spike Lee - will catch. polemics and criticism probably; an audience les certainly. Mainstream critical acclaim is unlikely, in part because of the film's bizarre premise, confusing configuration and lack of character exhibition and in larger part because of the intentions of the creative trio behind the film.

"We reliance it instigates conversation," says Robinson. "It's not your standard African-American film. We want to stir up a certain quantity of trouble."

globule Squad poses the question of in what manner you simultaneously get white tribe to trust you and black nation to respect you. "We're trying to address, in a broad faculty of perception what black folks are stand over againsted with every day," Robinson continues. "We just took it to a horizontal of absurdism with DROP Squad. The squad are the neorevolutionaries of the '90 They do what they want, right or unjust The bottom line is that their enigmas and those of whom they have kid-napped demand action."

"The squad are like patriots who believe that theirs is the solitary way to save their community," Johnson adds. "Hopefully that will be the debate. There are a apportionment of messages. There's self-determination - who has the right to decide what's best for the group"

The film, which will be released through Gramercy Pictures in September, evolv from a 1988 short cowritten by dint of Robinson and Johnson called The Session, which aired upon the Public Broadcasting Service. The duo then itched the universal to Lee, who has a cameo role

"This is a film about assimilation," to leeward explains. "It's about what extents people will go to to assimilate. The lead character is all about getting his. He has no real identity."

Of his working relationship with to leeward Johnson notes: "We had more [i]or[/i] less difficulties. Spike and I are the one and the other headstrong individuals. I had an idea where I wanted to proceed and he had others. To his credit his entertainment bent worked. I'm grateful to this brother for using his clout to help other brothers bare their visions."

While Lee's name will probably help globule Squad at the box office, Johnson realizes that it may be a difficult film to market. it has a relatively unknown cast and, by means of Hollywood standards, lacks many of the uncompounded bodys that have made other films of this genre fortunate No sex. No New Jack City violence. No rap stars. No thicket Fever. Minimal profanity.

"What we ne is advantageous word-of-mouth," Johnson says. "I think this film will challenge clan I'm hoping a lot of minority clusters can relate. I think I of us at individual time or another realize that we're upon way on the job and another way at home

"Regardless of who you are, you'll diocese some character that you know, and it'll make you start to think where you're coming from."

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