#Iceberg slim pimp 2013 how to#

It is the smells, the sounds, the fears and the petty. What is less clear is why this man is looked up to as such a grandiose role model. Robert (Iceberg Slim) Becks first book is told without bitterness and with no pretense at moralizing. His importance and his contributions to American literature are clear.

Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp does paint a portrait, but one that only uses the brightest of colors to show a man that has chosen the most abhorrent of occupations. Is there something wrong with a society who idolizes a man who kept women in a 'stable,' manipulated them physically and emotionally and who operated outside of the law? Probably. Was Iceberg an interesting man? Absolutely. But to me, this only leads me to believe he was even more of a sociopath.a fact that the film doesn't ponder, because it is too busy practicing hero worship.

In the film, this is painted to show that Iceberg was a nice enough guy, a family man with the decency to lead a normal life, if only on the side. Some, for example, may find it nice to know that Iceberg had a wife and children, kept outside of his daily pimping lifestyle. What is lost in the documentary is exactly why his pimping is glorified. You'll also hear about how Iceberg made the transition from lucrative pimp to successful author. You'll also learn pimp terminology like a 'stable' (the word used to describe the women under a pimps command) and 'bottom bitch' (the woman closest to the pimp whom he reserves for himself).

#Iceberg slim pimp 2013 how to#

If you're not sure what a pimp does, how to get into the business, or why one aspires to be a pimp, this documentary is for you. Though it delves into his shady past, Iceberg comes out looking heroic, which to some, he is. But this film makes no arguments against his iconic status. Iceberg is exactly the kind of guy - who lead the appropriately exciting life-style - worthy of being a documentary centerpiece. 2013 Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp Directed by Jorge Hinojosa. We also hear from Iceberg himself, in a very candid interview that obviously must have taken place prior to his death in 1992 (complications from diabetes).Īs a biographical documentary, this film is captivating. Iceberg Slims first book, about his life as a pimp in the Chicago of the 50s and 60s. But it was his ability, post-prison reformation, to wring knife-edged, vernacular-rich poetry out of the hard truths of his old world that earned him cultural acclaim in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and later cache with emerging rap genres.In the documentary, we hear from those who were influenced by Iceberg, from Ice-T and Ice Cube (both who adopted the 'Ice' in their names in homage to him) as well as several of his family members and those who knew him best. One of black literature’s most venerated chroniclers of street life and crime, the author of seven popular autobiographical books (most famously “Pimp: The Story of My Life”), Slim comes in for a vivid, warts-and-all biography as told by fellow writers (Emory Holmes, Odie Hawkins), admiring entertainers (the doc’s executive producer Ice-T, Chris Rock), family members and college professors fascinated by hustlers.īorn in poorest early-20th century Chicago, Slim - born Robert Maupin, later Beck - was a product of home turmoil and sexual abuse that steered him toward criminality and especially the cruel psychology and controlling rush that marks pimping. According to the rich narrative laid out by the documentary “Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp,” it’s hard out there for a pimp, not to mention the life that leads to it, and after it.