''Brother Future'' is a historical period/ coming of age movie made in 1991. It starred

Phill Lewis Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, and director. He is best known for playing hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Life ...

Moses Gunn Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 – December 16, 1993) was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's ''The Blacks,'' and ...

Frank Converse Frank Converse (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor. Early life Converse was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in ...

Carl Lumbly Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for '' M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (1994–1997) and has also had television roles on '' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–1988) and '' Alias'' (2001–2006). He has also had roles in v ...

and

Vonetta McGee Vonetta Lawrence McGee (January 14, 1945 – July 9, 2010) was an American actress. She debuted in the Spaghetti Western ''The Great Silence'' and went on to appear in blaxploitation films such as Hammer (1972 film), ''Hammer'', Melinda (film), ' ...

. A street kid (Phill Lewis) from Detroit, Michigan, is hit by a car; when he awakes, he finds himself a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1822. The boy then has to help his fellow slaves so he can return to his own time.

Roy Campanella II Roy Campanella II (born June 20, 1948) is a television director and producer. Biography Born Roy Campanella II, he is the son of professional baseball great Roy Campanella. After directing some short films, the younger Campanella began directi ...

directed this

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

. Music by Stephen James Taylor.

Plot

The movie begins with TJ (

), a high school student from Detroit, selling stolen items to other members of his neighborhood. Upon returning to class, TJ finds he has to write a paper on a famous black person for his Black History class. TJ is later seen selling more stolen material while talking to his friend, but a police officer starts to chase him. While running, TJ gets hit by a car and is knocked unconscious. When TJ awakens, he finds himself in 1822 in South Carolina, right next to an exceptionally large tree. Thinking that he is a runaway slave, TJ is brought to a

slave auction A slave market is a place where slaves are bought and sold. These markets are a key phenomenon in the history of slavery. Asia Central Asia Since antiquity, cities along the Silk Road, Silk road of Central Asia, had been centers of slav ...

and is sold to a man named Mr. Cooper. TJ then has to work on Mr. Cooper's plantation, and gets himself into all sorts of mischief. While getting Zeke's (the black slave driver) food from Cooper's house, TJ runs into a house slave, Martilla, who also happens to be a palm reader. She tells TJ that to return to his own time, he must help another slave and then find the big tree which he was next to when he woke up after being hit by the car. After trying to help his fellow slaves with their chores, TJ becomes frustrated and attempts to run away. Unfortunately, he is stopped by Zeke, who then whips him. Back at the plantation, TJ helps one of his fellow slaves, Josiah, learn to read. He shows Josiah how to write his name, and they read out of a book that Josiah stole from Cooper. To try to get Zeke in trouble with Cooper, he places the book in Zeke's house. Cooper finds the book, but also finds a piece of paper in the book in which Josiah had practiced writing his name. Josiah is then whipped to such an extent that he cannot move. Due to Josiah's inability to move, he tells TJ to find

Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) (July 2, 1822) was a Free Negro, free Black man and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major Slave rebellion, slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged pl ...

and tell him about what happened. TJ does as he is told, and when he returns TJ tells Josiah what Vesey has told him. Josiah, TJ and Zeke have been asked to work at a party at Cooper's house serving food, but Josiah asks TJ to cover for him at seven o'clock as he is allied with Vesey and is part of Vesey's plan to rebel. Zeke overhears this and rushes to tell Cooper. At the party, Zeke tells Cooper about what he has heard. TJ hears this and reports it to Josiah. The two then decide to escape. They also bring along Josiah's girlfriend Caroline. Cooper and Zeke chase after the trio. TJ decides to stall them and, while Josiah and Caroline escape, Cooper shoots TJ. He falls from the shot, right under the big tree. When awakened, TJ finds himself back in his own time, where he decides to do better at school. He learns that to help yourself you sometimes have to help others. He also returns with a new pride in his heritage. TJ learns to become better and wants to get better grades to stay out of trouble.

Production

Ann E. Eskridge wrote the film's screenplay. Campanella said that is "was a huge battle" to complete the film, and that he began on the project when it arrived as a low quality

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

. The original screenplay had the main character be portrayed as a joke, and the director said that no one would care about the character even as he learned a lesson. Campanella worked on making the film into something that all youth would enjoy, with particularly black young people. He said that the process was a "satisfying experience".

Release

The film originally aired on PBS as part of its ''WonderWorks'' series. The original video release included a guide about Denmark Vesey's failed attempt at slave insurrection along with suggested books on related subjects. It was released on DVD in 2005 by Feature Films for Families.

Reception

Lynn Heffley of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said, "Trapped like an animal and auctioned to the highest bidder, T.J. learns just what slavery--and manhood--mean, in ''Brother Future'', a remarkable, funny and poignant ''Wonderworks'' family movie." Heffley also complimented the performance of Phill Lewis by saying, that he was "one of the best young actors around, makes true the transition from hot-shot kid to strong, compassionate man, without losing the essence of T.J.’s humor and drive." ''A Parent's Guide to the Best Children's Videos and Where to Find Them'' stated, "While ''Brother Future'' is not exactly history, it does accurately present information often admitted from books and lessons: the courage and rebellion of slaves." Scott Williams, of

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

wrote, "It's a treat to watch Lewis's flashy, impulsive T.J. evolve into a sympathetic character. In fact, it's a pleasure to watch all of the principals at work in this emotionally demanding movie." Lisa Woolfork wrote an analysis of the film in the book ''Embodying American Slavery in Contemporary Culture''. The book ''Transatlantic Memories of Slavery: Remembering the Past, Changing the Future'' said that ''Brother Future'' and similar films "were also efforts to preserve memory of the past while in generations increasingly willing to unburden themselves of their racial heritage."

Awards

''Brother Future'' was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Direction. The film won a

DGA Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Categ ...

for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows – Daytime" in 1992. It also won awards from CEBA and the National Black Programming Consortium.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0264441, title=Brother Future 1991 films American science fiction films 1990s films about time travel African-American films Films scored by Stephen James Taylor Films set in Detroit Films set in South Carolina Films set in the 1820s American television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1991 science fiction films English-language science fiction films