In this film, the masterful James Mason plays the plantation patriarch, a Big
Daddy you wouldn't want to be owned by. This is undoubtedly THE BEST Film made
about the era of slavery in the USA. It puts the sanitised, romantic "Gone With
the Wind" to shame. "Mandingo" will make you uncomfortable even in your most
comfortable seat. "Mandingo" is a mirror. See your reflection; it will scare the
living bejeezub out of you.

This is a film about power. Racism is about power. When some people have
absolute power over other people, they become sadistic and sometimes, the
objects of their sadism become masochistic. Absolute power is always justified
with ideological rationalisations become dogma, in this case the the dogma that
black skin makes a person less than human. Power corrupts the individual's sense
of morality. With power over others, one becomes more or less immoral, hardened
to a subordinate's suffering. Self-esteem is generated by putting down the one
perceived to be inferior and slaves were considered less than human, a notch or
two down on the food chain. Slaves were treated as objects of power, like the
organic results of animal husbandry, like the commodities you purchase and eat:
cattle, pigs or sheep. Thus, having sex with a slave for a 'white' male owner
was like breeding new animals for sale with a view to profit. 'White' females,
of course, were not allowed to engage in this sort of animal husbandry with
slaves. The patriarchal whisper one hears in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" becomes a
murderous roar in "Mandingo".

In "Mandingo" we see the realities of absolute power's effect on the social
psychology of a society. Even after more than a century of time, American
society, especially the South is still scarred by the psychological damage which
simmers under the surface of smiles, whiskey fueled tears and freshly mown
lawns.

"Mandingo" is a must see. It's better than "Glory", although "Glory" would be an
appropriate second on a double feature bill with "Mandingo". "Mandingo" is even
better than "Burn" and much better than "Roots". The acting is superb. The
screenplay is magnificent. The cinematography is choice. Yes, this movie is
violent; but slavery was a daily violence on the lives of those who suffered it.
Face it. Yes, there is sex in this movie: squirm in your seat as you feel a
touch of titillation. Yes, there is abuse on all levels from pedophilia to
outright murder. But the abusers aren't comic book level bad guys; they aren't
Jokers on the set of "Batman". They are the ruling class of the Old South.
Sometimes their humanity shows through. Sometimes bad guys are ever so well
ensconced in the the rituals of polite society that they come across as the
upholders of civilised behaviour. That they are also enmeshed in a daily life
organised around the exploitation of those who produce their wealth speaks
volumes about the quality of their humanity and our own social relations of
power today.

Get "Mandingo" however you can. Show it to your friends. Discuss it after you
see it. Get ready for the movie experience of a lifetime. Forget about
"Basterds"; forget the demented, ultra-violent comic fantasies of Quentin
Tarintino. Forget about the sanitized films of the Antebellum Age. See
"Mandingo". See the hard truth about chattel slavery and then do some reflection
about how power over others functions to generate a generalised state of
dominance and submission in the social relations of the here and now, wherever
you live on this planet.