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Super Fly

Name: Super Fly
Director: Gordon Parks Jr.
Released: 1972
Duration: 91 min

Representation Score

3.3/10

Limited

1972

Director

Gordon Parks Jr.

Runtime

91 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Super Fly stands out by placing a Black protagonist at the center of a high-stakes crime narrative. It examines the intersection of race and capitalism, using the protagonist's quest for wealth to critique systemic economic exclusion. While the film highlights the ability to act of Black characters and critiques institutional authority, it maintains traditional gender and social norms. The focus on masculine survival and wealth acquisition leaves limited space for diverse gender or sexual identities. Overall, the film's strength lies in its critique of institutional structures. It redefines the criminal underworld as a response to systemic barriers, offering a nuanced view of the American Dream through the lens of underrepresented communities.

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Category Breakdown

Does Super Fly have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film adheres to traditional assumptions about straight relationships and gender. It does not include non-straight or non-binary identities, nor does it challenge these norms.

How does Super Fly portray gender?

Limited

Women in the film mainly appear as romantic interests or part of the criminal world. They rarely have the opportunity to drive the main storyline, which reinforces traditional gender roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Super Fly?

Excellent

The film features a predominantly Black cast and focuses on the Black experience in Harlem. It explores the protagonist's journey through systemic barriers and socioeconomic challenges.

How does Super Fly represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative offers a critical view of Western institutions and capitalist systems. It portrays the pursuit of wealth through illegal means as a survival tactic against an oppressive capitalist structure.

Does Super Fly include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not prominently depict characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities. These conditions do not play a central role in the plot.

Present on Screen

Features a predominantly Black cast and centers the Black experience in Harlem.
Provides a sophisticated critique of Western institutional structures and capitalist frameworks.
Highlights characters of color as the primary drivers of the narrative and socioeconomic mobility.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or narratives that challenge traditional gender and sexual norms.
Women in the film mainly serve as romantic interests or part of the criminal underworld, lacking significant narrative ability to act.
Does not prominently feature characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Priest, a New York City drug kingpin, devises a scheme to get out of the business and retire with a big payday, but his plans are complicated when a street dealer rats him out to the police.

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