Last night I watched Space Jam for the first time in over a decade, and the magic was still there.
I had an entirely different post about my dream Avengers lined up (which I will share eventually) and ready to go. This is Captain America: Civil War week.
How could I not drop some fire content that’s MCU related?
And then it happened. There were talks about it before, and rumors were quashed almost immediately after. But at 10:39 AM on May 2nd, 2016 the exclusive news broke that Space Jam 2 starring NBA living legend Lebron James is, in fact, real. The script is being written by Justin Lin, the brain behind many Fast & Furious installments, along with Andrew Dodge and Alfredo Botello.
This news transported me back to 1997 in my parents’ basement, watching the original – sometimes twice in one sitting. I missed Space Jam in theaters the year prior, where the film made over $230 million at the box office, but I made up for lost time when Warner Bros. released it on VHS. I watched that movie so much that the first tape I owned stopped working a year later and my mother had to buy it for me again. All of those memories came flooding back to me through the announcement of this sequel. So, in order to even fully process what a Space Jam 2 could or might be, I knew that I had to go back to the source, and I did.
Space Jam is really a movie about the celebration of little black boys who dare to dream.
One of the most succinct moments that cements the theme of this movie, for me, is the opening scene.
A young Michael Jordan in Wilmington, North Carolina, is practicing in the driveway with a single light on above the hoop. His father comes out to bring him in for bed, but Michael says, “Just one more shot?”. Not to mention that this shootaround is soundtracked by “I Believe I Can Fly”, which is 100% R. Kelly’s most moving work to date (even though it would later be defaced by its maker’s doing). The moment is beautiful.
Michael’s dad is impressed with how good he’s getting – with the focus that his son is putting into something he loves. And the young Jordan, a black boy looking for his father’s approval, asks “Do you think if I get good enough, I can go to college?”. To which he replies, “Hey, if you get good enough, you can do anything, Michael.” Encouragement. Affirmation. Positive reinforcement. The narrative that so many young black people are missing arrived in the very first two minutes of an animated, live action sports comedy film.
With this power his father has just given him, Michael speaks his dream into reality. “I want to play for North Carolina.” Swish. “I want to play on a championship team.” Swish. “Then I want to play in the NBA.” Swish. The final exchange that comes in retrospect is perhaps the most powerful dialogue that is spoken in the entirety of Space Jam (and possibly any basketball movie that exists, ever).
“And once I’ve done all that, I wanna play baseball just liked you, dad.”
“Baseball, now that’s a sport. And when you finish with that, I suppose you’re gonna fly, huh?”
And Michael looks back at the hoop, as we watch his prophecy fulfill itself, all the way to his first retirement from professional basketball. Because in 1996, where just the year before 36 black churches burned by the hands of those who consider us less than, black boys could fly. Whether I knew it consciously or not, I realized Michael Jordan in Space Jam was my first black superhero.
It may not be as deep as all that, but Monday night while I watched Space Jam as a 25-year-old man, it still resonated with me. And beyond the bad acting, what some people believe to be a questionable soundtrack, and the campiness of a Looney Tunes versus cartoon aliens basketball movie, I am proud of the 6-year-old me’s taste in cinema.
So what should we expect from a Lebron James centered “Space Jam 2”?
To be completely honest, I’m not sure. Lebron made his acting debut in the Amy Schumer romantic comedy Trainwreck and I enjoyed his schtick well enough. He’s a funny guy that seems like he takes direction well enough for any athlete making a foray into Hollywood. But I know what I want. I want a Space Jam original opening scene moment for every black child that will be introduced to the franchise for the very first time just like I was. It doesn’t have to be the same exact moment. There doesn’t have to be a forced sense of emphasis on the moment, but for me to get the SJ2 that I want, it has to be there. Somewhere hidden in the corny comedy and most likely questionable Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott filled, highly debated soundtrack, there has to be a nod of encouragement, affirmation, and positive reinforcement desperately needed by the young black world.
Space Jam was a cornerstone of my childhood, and I hope that any sequel would do the justice of being a cornerstone for the youth to whom it’s marketed.
Thanks for reading Strictly 4 My Blerds.
This May 26-29, I’ll be at MomoCon holding it down in my Tune Squad jersey. I’d like to meet/hang with as many of you as I possibly can. Let me know if you’re going to MomoCon this year, and what events and special guests you’re looking forward to the most.
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