Drop Squad | |
---|---|
Directed by | David C. Johnson |
Screenplay by | David C. Johnson Butch Robinson |
Story by | David Taylor David C. Johnson Butch Robinson |
Produced by | Butch Robinson Shelby Stone |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Ken Kelsch |
Edited by | Kevin Lee |
Music by | Mike Bearden |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million |
Box office | $734,693 |
Drop Squad (sometimes spelled as DROP Squad or D.R.O.P. Squad) is a 1994 American drama film directed by David C. Johnson and executive produced by Spike Lee via his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. [1] The plot depicts a team of African Americans who kidnap fellow black people who they feel have betrayed their community and seek to "deprogram" them so that they will change their ways. [2] The acronym DROP stands for "Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride". [3] The film has been described as "[p]art thriller, part social satire". [4]
The film was based in part on The Session, a 45-minute film Johnson produced in 1988 on a $20,000 budget, [5] and ultimately derived from a short story by David C. Taylor titled "The Deprogrammer". [6] Johnson described the differences between the two films as follows: "The short film was basically satire, an absurdist piece .... D.R.O.P. Squad, on the other hand, is realism. The characters have more at stake." [5]
The film portrays an advertising executive, Bruford Jamison Jr. (Eriq La Salle) who is in charge of the "minority development division" for an advertising agency. [2] [6] Among the ad campaigns he is involved with is one for a malt liquor called "Mumblin' Jack", whose billboard depicts a woman in a skimpy bikini straddling a bottle, with the slogan "It Gits Ya Crazy!" [2] [6] Another ad campaign depicted in the film is a commercial filled with racial stereotypes (in which Spike Lee has a cameo) for a fried chicken restaurant's Gospel-Pak, which offers a Bible verse printed on every napkin. [1] [7] Bruford's sister Lenora (Nicole Powell) calls in the Drop Squad to deprogram him. [6] Bruford winds up being subjected to three weeks of psychological and physical brutality. [1] Among the other persons who are shown being subjected to the deprogramming are a corrupt politician and a drug dealer. [6]
The film also depicts a conflict among the members of the Drop Squad as to the tactics they should use. Rocky (Vondie Curtis-Hall), the squad's leader, believes in using only nonviolent tactics, [2] such as "subjecting them to a barrage of slides, posters, slogans and family photographs in hopes of restoring their sense of community", [7] while Garvey (Ving Rhames) believes that harsher methods have become necessary. [3]
The total North American box office gross for the film was $734,693. The movie was dropped from the theaters it played when the movie Drop Zone was released weeks later. [8]
Drop Squad has been suggested as a possible influence on Spike Lee's 2000 film Bamboozled . [9] [10]
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bamboozled drop squad.