Five on the Black Hand Side

¶ … Black Side response

Five on the Black Side is a 1973 comedy by Oscar Williams that investigates the social and familial tensions found within the black community during the late 1960s and into the 1970s as individuals were attempting to establish their identities within society. In the film, Mr. Brooks is an example of the man every black man aspired to be; he was married, educated, disciplined, and owned his own business. However, Mr. Brooks's character and ambitions are met with resistance as his wife, Mrs. Brooks, and children, Shariff, also known as Booker T. Washington; Gail; and Gideon resist conforming to Mr. Brooks's expectations and attitude.

Throughout his life, Mr. Brooks has worked hard to become a successful and respected man in the community, however, in the process of attaining and working towards his success, he has alienated his family and turned his back on his heritage and culture. Mr. Brooks is stuck in his ways; he is domineering and expects everyone to conform to his beliefs. The film does a good job demonstrating how conflict manifests itself within the black community because this conflict does not focus on racial differences, but rather questions identity and the individual within the community.

The first example of tension occurs in the relationship Mr. Brooks has with Mrs. Brooks. The way the two are presented makes it difficult to initially determine that the two are married as Mr. Brooks's personality dominates Mrs. Brooks's personality. While Mr. Brooks is shown to be strong-willed, Mrs. Brooks is meek, almost as though she was a servant and not a wife. Ironically, through the married couple, Williams demonstrates that although blacks have broken away from subjugation by whites, the power dynamic within the community is still skewed. Furthermore, the film also demonstrates that in Mr. Brooks's attempt to become a successful man, he has inadvertently and subconsciously adopted behaviors and attitudes of his white counterparts and continues to propagate inequality within the community. In the film, Mrs. Bates struggles to secure equality within her relationship and recognizes that she, like so many others before her, is going to forcibly take what she not only wants, but also what she deserves.

Social tension within the film can also be seen among the Brooks children. Gideon refuses to live in the house, instead opting to sleep on the roof. In the film, Gideon is the most militant and proactive in voicing the need for action. Furthermore, he encourages and advocates the embrace of African culture, which Mr. Brooks appears to have turned his back on. On the other hand, Shariff -- aka Booker T. -- demonstrates that he shares similar attitudes as his father; he admits he prefers to date white women because he is intimidated by black women, thus insinuating that the wants to exercise control over women but because black women are independent and stand up for themselves.

The closing wedding sequence demonstrates that compromises can be made, and should be made, to maintain the integrity of the community and of family. Five on the Black Side successfully highlights the familial conflicts that arise when individuals within a community strive to break out of the parameters of what an individual is expected to do and set out to determine their identity. This is especially important in the film as Williams demonstrates that these issues are continuously changing with society; as a community becomes more accepted within society, so do their cultures and traditions.