Charles Burnett, 1977.
Killer of Sheep was Burnett’s graduate thesis at UCLA, about an economically impoverished family living in the Watts district of Los Angeles during the seventies. The Father spends his days working long hours at some sort of meat packing/slaughter house, and his free time hanging out with a bunch of petty criminals. The wife stays at home grooming herself, as the youngest daughter lounges around the house, and the son and his crew throw rocks at each other on the streets. The film sheds light on the problems of class struggle and poverty in America. At the same time, it illustrates the timeless lesson that money and mindless consumption do not equal happiness. The simple virtues of hard work and family are what is most important in life, not ones annual salary. Killer of Sheep is an incredibly beautiful film that is as important to American Culture as any Kerouac book or Pollock painting. It is also interesting to note that Burnet made the film for less then ten thousand dollars, proving once more that you do not need a lot of money to make a remarkable film.
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