So I get this email from the Grand Poobah of American Vulture that says, “Think Summer!” Think summer? What the hell does that mean? I keep reading the email to find out that Poobah wants summer-themed articles for the site. Shit. I hate summer.

I used to love summer, back when I was a kid. Playing football in the street in North Miami, going to movies all the time, not going to school. Then I graduated from high school and summers just didn’t seem the same. The movies got worse as well. Now summer to me is just…hot and full of shitty films.

It took awhile for me to warm up to this summer request. I started a piece on my favorite summer ever, the one in 1987, but it was pretty goddamned lame. I sat around a few more days, teaching my dog to swim, watching the neighbors shoot off fireworks and the garbage not get picked up when all of a sudden, it hit me.

Nothing says summer like Jamaa Fanaka. Why Jamaa Fanaka popped into my head when thinking about summer is beyond me. But, shit, you know, I could write about something generically summery or extol the virtues of Jamaa Fanaka. I’ve done a little research on the man previously, but I figured I needed to know more about him. Maybe there was some supernatural reason he popped into my head that somehow explains why, from now on, I will associate him and his films with the summer season.

God bless the Internet. I’ll hit up Wikipedia. This is all that Fanaka rates at Wikipedia:

Jamaa FanakaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, searchJamaa Fanaka (b. September 6, 1942, Jackson, Mississippi) is a writer, producer and director best known for the 1979 film, Penitentiary. Jesus Christ, everybody knows that. It’s common knowledge.

Nothing about WELCOME HOME BROTHER CHARLES. Nothing about STREET WARS. Nothing about the greatest prison film ever, PENITENTIARY III. Everyone I’ve ever shown PENITENTIARY III to becomes a Fanaka fan. You can help but become one.

Fanaka’s films are so brilliant in their absurdity and desire to entertain, it’s scary. He’s one of the few directors in the world where even though you feel you know the trappings of the genre he’s working in so much that you’ll know his next move, he completely blindsides you with an unexpected twist that’ll have you wearing out your rewind button.

The only one I’ve ever found lacking was EMMA MAE, but I’ve been wanting to watch it again. Hell, now that I proclaim it Jamaa Fanaka Summer, it means I need to dig out all my VHS dubs of Fanaka goodness (I really need to upgrade to DVD).

So from here on out, let everybody know. It’s Jamaa Fanaka Summer. And to kick it off right, here’s a link to a excellent recent interview with the man by Suzanne Donahue at Associated Content. She covers all the basics and Fanaka proves as entertaining and earnest as his movies.

Jamaa Fanaka interview at Associated Content

Get to know the man. Then get to know the movies. It’s now my job to reacquaint myself with his work and review them.

This is going to be a great summer.

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