Drop Squad

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]

Drop Squad
Directed byDavid C. Johnson
Screenplay byDavid C. Johnson
Butch Robinson
Story byDavid Taylor
David C. Johnson
Butch Robinson
Produced byButch Robinson
Shelby Stone
Starring
CinematographyKen Kelsch
Edited byKevin Lee
Music byMike Bearden
Production
company
Distributed byGramercy Pictures
Release date
  • October 28, 1994 (1994-10-28)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million
Box office$734,693

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]

Plot

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]

Cast

Response

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]

References
  1. Ebert, Roger (1994-10-28). "Drop Squad". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  2. Hinson, Hal (1994-10-28). "Drop Squad". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  3. Keith, Yvonne R. (Fall 1994). "Come Back Brother". Black Professional. p. 37. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  4. Klady, Leonard (1995-01-11). "Spike Lee's 'Drop Squad' Falls Short". The Rochester Sentinel. Rochester, Ind. Variety. p. 6, Compass section. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  5. Eugene Holley Jr. (November 1994). "Making Movies". Vibe. p. 111. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  6. Peters, Ida (1994-10-29). "What does Spike Lee's 'Drop Squad' mask?". The Baltimore Afro-American. p. B6. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  7. Maslin, Janet (1994-10-28). "Film Review; A Satirical Look at Black Yuppies". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  8. "Drop Squad". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  9. Bogle, Donald (2001). Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films (4th ed.). New York: Continuum. pp. 361–362. Retrieved 2011-01-09. bamboozled drop squad.
  10. Pratt, Douglas (2004). Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!. Vol. 1. New York: Harbor Electronic Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 1-932916-00-8. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
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