User:Dmdixon/Mars Blackmon

Mars Blackmon is a New York Knicks loving, gold chain wearing, Jordan sneaker sporting b-boy from the Bronx created by Spike Lee in his 1986 motion picture Shes Gotta Have It. Mars was personally represented by Spike Lee himself in Mars' introduction in this African American independent film, and ultimately became one of Spike Lee's most successful caricatures. Looking at his name, Mars Blackmon, we see that his first "name implies that he's perhaps a little out there (spaced), and, of course, he's a "blackman (in Brooklyn you hear a lot of West Indians say "mon" as man)" Mars was so well-liked from the day of his silver screen inception that he soon found himself on the cover of Nike's Air Jordan campaigns and commercials endorsing the signature shoes of NBA superstar, Michael Jordan during the late 1980s, early 1990s, and again in 2006 (Nike gave Spike full control of production over the Jordan campaign as long as Mars was present at the forefront of said campaign during the 1980s and 1990s); and Mars even made a guest appearance on episode 215 of Saturday Night Live on October 18, 1986. Diving a little deeper into this character, Mars is a caricature of Spike Lee himself. From his sports enthusiast mindset (die-hard New York Yankees and New York Knicks fan), his dappered up b-boy appearance, his stylistic language that floats off his tongue like a hip-hop verse, and his love and acceptance of his African American culture and ancestry, to his controversial behavior, Mars represents a few of the many dimensions that are Spike. These dimensions are such that have allowed for Mars' social approval, but have also landed him with a bit of rejection.

Of the many character traits that personify Mars Blackmon (i.e. his Brooklyn swagger, suave persona, quick wit, etc), the ones that have stuck with him the most are his fashion sense and his stylistic language. His sense of style is translated as a typical late 1980s b-boy (i.e. hip-hop artist/enthusiast). He wore a gold chain around his neck, the trendiest of New York Knicks memorabilia, Nike Air Jordans on his feet, freshly faded hair cut, oversized prescription glasses, and his bicycle messenger hat that read "Brooklyn" on the bill. With his dress code in place, his diciton follows in suit. She's Gotta Have It shows how closely his language correlates with the social norms of the late 1980s African American hip-hop enthusiast through his street wit and clever diction. In this film, Mars includes the verses of rap/hip hop songs into daily conversation. The most notorious of which are "Please baby, please baby, please baby, baby, please" and "Fifty-dollar sneakers and I got no job, Tell me how to do it when times is hard." Along with using direct verses of songs, She's Gotta Have It and the Nike Air Jordan commercials show that he speaks in loops as if it were a chorus to a rap song. The most famous of which is his constant questioning of Michael Jordan when asking him if his success is due to an array of different things: "Is it the shoes? It's the shoes then right? What about the shoes?...Money, it's gotta be the shoes!" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhHONpmlxPc "Is it the shoes?" Nike Air Jordan Commercial] and "Do you know? Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?"Do you know?" Nike Air Jordan Commercial. However, while Mars' fashion and jargon were imperative in his social success, they represented more than just a visual stimulus. "Mars Blackmon, for example, with his street-corner wit, Air Jordan sneakers, and contempt for Larry Bird, is not a creation. He is a distillation of hundreds of Brooklyn b-boys" . Mars personified all that was Brooklyn; and through his role in She's Gotta Have It, he also became the universal face of blackness. He embodied the lingo, style, and personality of the young, hip African American from Brooklyn, and allowed society a glimpse of the "hood" that the would never step foot in. He knows where he stands and what he stands for; and no matter the movie, ad, commercial, or skit that he is seen in, he represents himself as being proud of his culture, proud of his life, and proud of where he grew up.

Appearance
Mars Blackmon's appearance is one that put the hip hop culture on the map by bringing out the Brooklyn stereotypes of young African Americans in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With the introduction of Mars, Lee showcased the cool, hip, and stellar blackness of the true Brooklyn to the rest of the naive world. The Brooklyn youth that Mars represents through his appearance were often categorized as hip-hop loving, constant sports playing, and trendy dressing - which is the essence of Mars Blackmon. They would be seen walking the streets in the items that were considered "acceptable" for this image, which ranged from big loose sneakers to chains with personalized medallions. To Mars, appearance was everything - a very common outlook of people in this society. He would rather starve than miss out on an opportunity to have the "dopest" outfit; as seen in the Thanksgiving scene of She's Gotta Have It when Nola's three lovers were talking about what they were thankful for, Mars makes it known that "(he's) been unemployed for two years" and then busts out in a rap saying, "Fifty-dollar sneakers and I got no job. Tell me how to do it when times is hard". Clothing is the first thing that individuals in society notice about others, and Mars has a very loud appearance that clearly wants to be defined as a proud member of this Brooklyn b-boy group. Throughout the movie She's Gotta Have It Mars is constantly seen wearing Jordan sneakers, long chains around his neck and belt buckles reading MARS, and Starter brand jackets advertising the Knicks. His attire makes it obvious that he is openly devoted to both his city of Brooklyn and their proffesional sports teams.

Mars is a city bicycle messenger and is always wearing a very unique messenger hat that has "BROOKLYN" printed across the bill in fairly large lettering. The bill of this distinguishable hat is flipped up so that "BROOKLYN" can clearly be read by anyone he passes. Beside him flipping up the bill to show his pride for Brooklyn, he does this to still maintain a sense of trendiness. Bike messengers were common in New York at the time She's Gotta Have It was introduced, and it was typically a job held by lower class. As a means of keeping his style up to par with his peers, Mars took to this job for the mere fashion aspect of it. This was the tpical bad boy job to have in an urban setting - with great risk and low pay - and the cutting edge fashions are at the forefront of the subgroup that are bike messengers. And this is what Mars fused with the Brooklyn hip hop culture.
 * "BROOKLYN" Bike Messenger Hat

Underneath his "BROOKLYN" messenger cap, Mars makes sure he has the freshest of hair cuts. In his opening cameo of She's Gotta Have It, we see his stylistic haircut with the every so popular Caesar. Adding his own flair to it, which was new to the fashion scene of the 1980s, he also had a design shaved into the back of his hair. This style was common in this subculture but went against the norms of society as a whole, where clean cut hair styles were more common. Hair goes along with one's overall appearance and it is important to Mars to make sure that his hair is kept up to date and looking "fly." Proving the importance of his hair style, in She's Gotta Have It Mars drops the conversation that he's having with his girlfriend, Nola Darling, and poses the idea that he needs to get his hair done by saying, "Nola, its been a while since you greased my scalp. Its dry".
 * Haircut

No matter the film, commercial, or ad, Mars is always seen in some sort of sports memorabilia. She's Gotta Have It shows Mars wearing New York Knicks Starter jackets, Georgetown Hoyas shirts, and always in a pair of Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes. His wardrobe being tailored to show his interest in sports was not only used as a means of representing the interests of his creator, Spike Lee, but to also convey how proud Brooklyn was of all their New York sports teams.
 * Sports Memorabilia

Another piece of attire that Mars wears are his gaudy necklace and belt that say "MARS" in 18-karat gold. Stemming all the way back to ancient Egyptian times when only the most prominent of characters were the ones who were able to possess gold, Mars' gold chain and belts were a symbol of status amongst his culture. And, it's also a way for him to prove his pride in who he is and where he has come from - as most of his wardrobe relays the same message. Apart from his gold chains and belt, Mars also wore oversized Cazal designer glasses. These glasses are also a status symbol because of their size (the bigger the better), and the youth in urban areas like Brooklyn and Manhattan were all sporting them.
 * Jewelry

Probably the most iconic article of clothing that Mars Blackmon is noted for are his Nike Air Jordans. No matter the occasion, Mars was always seen in his Jordans. He even took it as far as refusing to take them off during sex with his girlfriend, Nola Darling, in a scene in She's Gotta Have It. Because his shoes are so precious and such an integral part to him, the Nike Air Jordan campaign locked Spike and Mars into being the producer/actor in all their ads and commercials for Air Jordan basketball shoes in the late 1980s early 1990s; Mars was the spokesman for the Air Jordan 3, Air Jordan 4, Air Jordan 5, and Air Jordan 6 basketball shoes, and then came back for the Air Jordan 20 shoes. Due to the success of the character in the campaign, and his prominent love and support of the Air Jordan signature shoes, Nike Air Jordan commemorated Mars in October of 2006 by creating a Mars Blackmon edition shoe called the Air Jordan Spiz'ike.
 * Nike Air Jordan Sneakers

Mannerisms and Diction
Mars Blackmon talks in a very informal spoken language known as African American slang. This form of speech is spoken by many Brooklyn, New York locals due to the tough persona it gives off. This dialect has specific vocabulary, pronunciation, and gramatical structure that is very unique yet resembles some traditional African languages. Here's a link to view said words. In She's Gotta Have it, his stylistic language becomes very apparent. Examples of the most prominent slang he uses include, but are not limited to, the following:


 * "Def"
 * "All dat bonin' "
 * "Dope"
 * "Fresh to def"
 * "Freaky deaky"
 * "Oh sweat!"
 * "Das cold, man"
 * "My main man"
 * "Word"
 * "Squash it"
 * "Joe Neckbone"
 * "Celtic fan"
 * "Hyped"
 * "Yo Holmes"
 * "Stompin' sneakers"
 * "Capish?"

Along with the slang terms and hip lingo he uses, Mars' is even more closely related to the b-boy/hip hop culture that was so common in Brooklyn during the late 1980s and early 1990s due to his constant use of rhythmic dialect. In She's Gotta Have It, he uses the following lines which have direct correlation with the title of a Tina Turner song, the repetitive lyrics to a hip hop melody, and a rap that Mars himself creates at Thanksgiving dinner:


 * "What's love got ot do with it?"
 * "Please baby, please baby, please baby, baby, baby, please"
 * "Fifty dollar sneakers and I got no job. Tell me how to do it when times is hard."

This b-boy persona and hip hop stereotype that Mars represents due to his rhythmic speech can also be seen in his Nike Air Jordan IV commercial. The editing of the commercial allows the audience to experience certain parts of the commercial in a more hip hop/musical setting.


 * "From homeboys to bomeboy.s"
 * Am I making myself clear? New Air Jordans from Nike are here."

"By the late 60s Brooklyn's image had completely changed. It was now defined by welfare mothers, daily news mug shots of black thieves, and point-crazy basketball players...it was mostly stereotypes and despair, drugs, and destruction", says Nelson George. Nelson George then continues saying these things may be true but many leave out that Brooklyn still is full of a lot of emotion, strength, and triumph. Nelson, who also grew up in Brooklyn, states that Spike Lee's film She's Gotta Have It gave the perfect vision of " black Brooklyn as sweet and salty" and that the character Mars Blackmon "[is] a real black m[a]n." . Herein lies the beauty and complextion of such an extravagant character. While his fashion, swagger, and vulgar language boast of his Brooklyn upbringing, there is a sweet and childish side of Mars that allows his viewers to fall in love with him and Brooklyn. Since most people hardly heard anything positive that came from Brooklyn, Mars functioned as an indicator that not everything is rough and tough in Brooklyn. This perception is seen through key instances in She's Gotta Have It where Mars asks Nola Darling if he's told her a number of vivacious stories (quotes shown below), and his childlike mentality is reinforced in his last scene of the movie when Nola Darling tells him to grow up, and he replies with, "Grow up?...Bye".

Mars to Nola Darling:
 * "Did I ever tell you about the time I used to be a super hero?"
 * "Did I ever tell you about the time I useta dance for Ailey?"
 * "Did I ever tell you about the time I met Jesse Jackson?"

Film/TV Involvement

 * 1) She's Gotta Have It

The oddly yet trendy, vulgar yet childish, loving yet hating Mars Blackmon was forged in this film that was written, produced, directed, edited and acted by Spike Lee. In this film, Mars was one of three boyfriends to the very sensual and sexual Nola Darling. Of the three boyfriends, none were alike in any way other than the opportunity they presented for Nola's physical pleasure. Mars represented the typical young Brooklyn African American who cared moreso about the physical aspects of life, laughing, and having fun rather than the emotional contexts and necessities to sustain everyday life (i.e. job, savings, etc). However, while he did pose as a common Brooklyn b-boy, he has a side to him that kept Nola intrigued and even has her say in the film, "(Nola) There's something about you. (Mars) Good or bad? (Nola) I haven't figured it out yet". He tells her that he loves her, he graces her with his colorful stories, makes her laugh whenever he's with her, and is on call to sexually please her at the drop of a hat. And while he offers all that the stereotypical young Brooklyn African American can offer, this proves to be not enough, and, in the end, he loses Nola Darling to one of the other men - Jamie Overstreet.


 * 1) Saturday Night Live: Season 12 - Episode 215

Only months after his debut in the independent film She's Gotta Have It, Mars Blackmon got his chance to make his network debut on one of the most critically acclaimed shows in television - Saturday Night Live. In this episode, Mars was a special guest and had a short scene that proved to be typical of his character in his most recent movie.


 * 1) Nike Air Jordan Commercials (miscellaneous)

As important as his introductory film was for establishing his character, it wasn't until Spike started acting in the Nike Air Jordan commercials that his character became a national sports icon - but an icon, nonetheless. "Garnering the attention of a Nike creative director, a deal was made for Lee to direct a series of commercials starring Mars and Michael Jordan which would go on to become 'the template for marketing cool'"  Starting in 1989 with the release of Michael Jordan's signature shoe, Air Jordan III, Mars began to receive more and more support/love for his character with every appearance in Nike's ads. In the commercials, he calls Michael Jordan, "Money," and acts as his "main man" while always questioning different conclusions as to how Jordan can be such a good basketball player, jump so high, and be so unstoppable. And with every commercial posing different scenarios, Mars always reverts to it having something to do with his Nike Air Jordan shoes. Each commercial had the Mars Blackmon humor packed with his witicisms and repetitive diction, and gave a comedic contrast of a small, weak socialite in the midst of a tall, strong top athlete. Due to the role he played in marketing for Michael Jordan's coveted Air Jordan III, IV, V, and VI shoes, Nike brought him back in 2006 to commemorate his representation by giving him his own shoe that was fused with a little bit of each Air Jordan shoe that he helped advertise. These special edition Nike Air Jordans were called the "Spiz'ikes" and Nike even gave all the proceeds to Morehouse College, where Spike Lee graduated.