THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE (B+) - Shere Hite was a powerful presence in the 1970s and '80s, a sex researcher with a commanding role in popular culture. This documentary holds her out as somewhat of a savant as well as a heretic for daring to unveil some of the secrets of sexuality, mainly the importance of the clitoris.
Nicole Newnham follows up "Crip Camp" with this deep dive into the psyche of the savvy best-selling author of "The Hite Report" and its followups. She delves into Hite's background as a nude model while struggling to make it as a graduate student. She has plenty of vintage clips from TV talk shows back in the day, in which Hite holds her own under a barrage of sexism and scientific arrogance. (One scene of her debating four macho actors is dripping with misogyny.) Hite is a captivating figure, noted for both her style and intellect. Newnham gives us plenty of clips to understand Hite as a fully evolved female in the 20th century. Hite's arguments are as relevant today as they were then. Her writings are narrated elegantly by actress Dakota Johnson.
The film can be a slog at times, though. It clocks in just under two hours, and it is not until the final 20 minutes that it really addresses the "disappearance." (Hite, tired of America, fled to Europe with her German husband in the 1990s.) We're also exposed to numerous shots of Hite's naked body, as captured by some fine-art photographers over the years. It's not clear why there are so many depictions of Hite without clothes. Is it a provocation? Is there a deeper point being made? The nudity tends to be a distraction, but there is no denying that Hite's story is compelling.
SOUTH TO BLACK POWER (B+) - What a positive, refreshing documentary about empowerment. New York Times columnist Charles Blow pushes his passion project: getting northerners to move (back) to the South in order to consolidate their political power.
This is bright and sharply rendered. Many interviews are often shot in well-lighted rooms or outdoors in natural light. It literally has a sunny disposition.
Blow's odyssey might turn out to be a pipe dream -- he admits he could be either an apostle or Don Quixote -- but the people he talks to are intelligent, creative and imaginative. They have a lot of energy. They make a difference -- especially in Georgia in 2020-21. At every stop across the South, Blow finds reverse migrants seeking to tip the scales in smaller states. This is based on Blow's book The Devil You know.
The talking heads are not famous. They tend to work in the trenches, slogging away at democracy. Blow is a genial host and an insightful interviewer. One highlight, around the halfway mark, involves a visit to an old college friend of his, and not only is she dynamic and funny, but the love exuded between them is a perfect rendering of the collegiality among true believers who are full of hope for the future. There is something to be said for an uplifting polemic, honestly rendered.
BONUS TRACKS
The trailers:
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