When Art Becomes The Teacher Of Our Lives--The Harder They Fall
Some of us are familiar with the term “Life imitates art”, I had to ask myself if art imitates life in the case of the film The Harder They Fall.
In the book Poetics, written by Aristotle, he argued that “it is a natural human impulse to make art that imitates the people, places, and events around them.”
This film is based on real characters of legendary figures that are not widely taught in public or private schools. The stories of Black cowboys, rangers, Buffalo Soldiers, business owners, and the notion of being Black, free, and having a family.
The feature film, now streaming on Netflix was created by Jeymes Samuel’s aka The Bullits, with an all-star cast; Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield is cinematically beautiful as well as a wonderfully written script which will keep you on your toes; but best of all makes you curious about the real lives of the characters portrayed on the screen.
While the storyline is fictional, the characters were real and entertaining.
For those of us who are lovers of Western films and grew up on Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, and Lawman as a child it was very noticeable to me that rarely were there any Black people as part of the cast or lead.
To see a whole cast filled with Black leads, and a director that is part of a major network, or studio??? Wow--well if we exclude the most recent box office hit Black Panther, and the countless films made by the late Melvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee founder of 40 Acers, and Tyler Perry Studios, the fact that I can name these few says a lot.
It made me wonder could I name the few icons that made me proud on-screen--Hattie McDaniel Ethel Watters, Paul Robeson, Sydney Portier, Harry Belafonte, Ertha Kitt, Dorothy Dandridge, Ossie Davis, Ruby Davis, and Sicily Tyson.
All iconic figures who made me see myself, made me dream, and gave me hope. They didn’t just entertain us as Black people or persons of all ethnicities, they gave life to stories that were told--made you think, and like this story it made me want to research the film I just watched.
The Harder They Fall didn’t just bring together our favorite talent, but it opened doors for us to bring forward real descendants of Rangers, business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, creators, and people of all races came by to participate and support the Pop of shop that was created for three days in the heart of Soho, NYC, The Harder They Fall Pop-up Experience.
They honored the late Chadwick Bosman by building a train cart that had beautiful artifacts of some of the characters. The effort put into this was magnificent, well thought out, and interactive beyond the film itself.
The question I asked myself at the onset of writing this article is something I keep in the forefront of running my businesses, and articles I write; what is my social responsibility to my community to tell our story, educate and inspire our readers, and viewers?
What sort of legacy do I want to leave behind when I am no longer here? This film was a reminder for me to think long and hard about my personal and professional legacy.
In essence, this film is worth seeing, and doing the research is even more interesting than I could have ever imagined.
As I continue to mind my business one thing is for certain--the legacy I build starts while I am still here in the flesh, what about you?