Lamplight Drivel

Was there a serious intention behind the odd mishmash that is 1974's SPACE IS THE PLACE? When you listen to Sun Ra lay down his otherworldly rap, often filled with pointed social commentary, you would suspect.  The avant garde musician, known for highly experimental music performed by he and his "Arkestra", co-wrote this curiosity, and seemed more interested in creating a filmic tract for his cosmic viewpoints, tinged with racial commentary than another '70s vanity project, of which there were several centered around musicians.  But SPACE IS THE PLACE spends a great deal of time playing like some dime a dozen blaxploitation flick. I get it.  Director John Coney and co-writer Joshua Smith use the exploitation elements to display the brokenness of mankind, specially the plight of the African-American in the ghetto.   The film's plot involves a celestial card game between Sun Ra (playing himself but also some kind of god) and The Overseer (Ray Johnson), decked out ...