ABSTRACT
In Chapter 9, “Growing Painz: 2000s,”I talk about the struggle of Black representation to find its footing in horror against the chaotic backdrop of 9/11, war, and financial crisis. I also present an analysis of “Black horror” films that are inspired by hip-hop culture. This chapter details the (potentially) troublesome exaltation of Blaxploitation in films by Black filmmakers, such as Bones (2001), directed by Ernest Dickerson and starring rapper-turned-actor Snoop Dogg. These new millennium “Black horror” films continue to present a spatial allegiance to the ’hood as seen in the 1990s. However, in the 2000s, an explicit rationale for such a geographical focus is the historical and esthetic credibility that such places promise. Films targeting the hip-hop generation are churned out (e.g., Bloodz vs. Wolvez [2006]) and are often set, quite literally, to a hip-hop beat (e.g., Now Eat [2000]).
