Film and Media Studies guest lecturer discusses the impact of ‘The Wiz’ on Black cinema – studlife.com

Martin discusses the cultural significance of ‘The Wiz’ musical. (Jonah Glass | Contributing Photographer)
WashU’s Program in Film and Media Studies (FMS) kicked off its Colloquium Lecture Series with a lecture from visiting professor Alfred Martin, who presented “Ease on Down the Road?: Engaging the Serious Study of ‘The Wiz’ as a Scholar and a Fan.” The Colloquium series focuses on how past representation in film, particularly of minority groups, can teach us about our world.
Martin is an associate professor of Media Studies and the Chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts at the University of Miami. He is focused on the intersection of race and media and what we can learn about consumer behavior and capitalist institutions by studying audiences. He is a co-editor of the nonfiction work “The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai,” which was released Sept. 9, and he is currently working on a book titled “Ease on Down the Road?: A Cultural History of The Wiz.”
“The Wiz,” directed by Sidney Lumet, is a 1978 film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. The movie is a retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” with an all-Black cast.
Martin first spoke about “The Wiz” being a breakout text, or a work that brings aspects of media into the mainstream. He explained the prominence of blaxploitation films in the 1970s and how “The Wiz” was key in fighting stereotypes of Black Americans.
The blaxploitation films of the ‘70s, such as “Shaft” and “Super Fly,” often portrayed Black Americans as lower-class urban dwellers with less-than-legitimate careers, perpetuating racial stereotypes. Pimps and pushers were keystones of the genre, and the plot usually revolved around the protagonist overcoming some symbol of oppression.
In contrast to the other films about Black Americans made at the time, “The Wiz” features a middle-class, educated main character who works as a schoolteacher, which was glass-ceiling-shattering in ’78.
Martin went on to describe “The Wiz” as arguably the first Black-cast blockbuster, which he attributed to the film’s star power. Though the film’s production far exceeded its box-office earnings, it featured Diana Ross, lead singer of The Supremes and the “Queen of Motown Records,” and other stars such as Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor.
Martin explained that “The Wiz: was cast “with capitalism in mind.” Stars were chosen for their roles because of their crossover appeal, or their ability to appeal to both white and Black audiences to prevent audiences from considering it a “Black film.”
The bulk of the marketing for “The Wiz” went toward suburban areas, where there were high white populations, because Universal Studios had invested in new, state-of-the-art theaters. While the movie performed exceptionally well in areas with high Black populations, the movie underperformed in the suburbs. This led reporters to write that the movie opened to “small audiences,” even though theaters in the city were selling out.
With all the bad press from skewed perspectives, “The Wiz” only grossed around $14 million in its first release, $10 million short of its budget, and, as Martin explained, $32 million short of its break-even point when marketing and distribution costs were considered.
He then explained that “Black Panther” (2018) was the first Black-led blockbuster since 1978 because after “The Wiz,” Hollywood marked Black cinema as unprofitable, which led to a lack of representation for the years to come. Martin posited that Hollywood isn’t interested in entertaining or representing cultures well, “it is interested in extracting your money.”
The general public’s consideration of “The Wiz” as a failure has not stopped African Americans from loving the film.
“Black folks don’t care or realize that ‘The Wiz’ is a [commercial] failure because it was a good film,” Martin said.
Martin explained the idea of Black taste as something that causes certain media to be taken up and protected as Black canon, no matter what others consider its cultural value to be. White audiences see “The Wiz” as a “cult classic” film, says Martin, while “for Black folks, it’s just seen as good,” with no “reading against the grain” or level of campiness needed.
Martin also defended “The Wiz” as a film with cultural value because it continues to be reused. There have been a multitude of references to it in popular culture, from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to Beyonce’s sampling of the Emerald City sequence in her headlining performance at Coachella in 2018.
The FMS Colloquium Lecture series will continue Oct. 16 with a lecture titled “‘Art Thou a Witch or a Woman?’: Gender, Queerness, Sound, and Music in Witch Films” presented by Lisa Mumme, a WashU Music Ph.D. candidate. The event is open to all WashU students and faculty.
Tags: film, Film and Media Studies, guest lecture, media
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