History Film / WatermelonMan

* AngryBlackMan: Gerber has become this at the end of his film, disaffected with the system and training to defend himself by force.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watermelon_man_1970.jpg]]

''Watermelon Man'' is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Creator/MelvinVanPeebles. Written by Creator/HermanRaucher, it stars Creator/GodfreyCambridge (a pioneering black standup comic) as Jeff Gerber, an obnoxious and bigoted white insurance salesman who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Creator/FranzKafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and Creator/JohnHowardGriffin's autobiographical ''BlackLikeMe''.

* AHouseDivided: Althea and the kids move away from Jeff because he's black now.

''Watermelon Man'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Creator/MelvinVanPeebles. Written by Creator/HermanRaucher, it stars Creator/GodfreyCambridge (a pioneering black standup comic) as Jeff Gerber, an obnoxious and bigoted white insurance salesman who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Creator/FranzKafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and Creator/JohnHowardGriffin's autobiographical ''BlackLikeMe''.

''Watermelon Man'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Written by Herman Raucher, it stars Godfrey Cambridge (a pioneering black standup comic) as Jeff Gerber, an obnoxious and bigoted white insurance salesman who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and John Howard Griffin's autobiographical ''BlackLikeMe''.

* AesopAmnesia: Gerber after turning into the race he hates doesn't learn a lesson about racism, he just forces the town's representatives (who don't want a black man around) to hand over $100,000 for him to move out. He even makes some racist comments about Asian people as well after he turns black.

* BringingRunningShoesToACarChase: Jeff's morning workout is running along with a bus on the way to work (instead of just taking the bus). After he turns black he gets stopped by the cops for Running While Black. They assume he stole something - why else would he be running?

** Althea has one too. At the start of the movie she supported black civil rights and scorns the PoliceBrutality being done towards blacks. After Jeff's transformation, Althea snaps and complains she has the right to refuse a black husband and after she leaves him, it is implied Althea is now searching for a white man.

** Subverted with Gerber's wife Althea, who at the start of the movie supported black civil rights. After Jeff's transformation, Althea snaps and complains she has the right to refuse a black husband and after she leaves him, it is implied Althea is now searching for a white man.

** Subverted with Gerber's wife Althea, who at the start of the movie supported black civil rights. After Jeff's transformation, Althea snaps and calls on her right to refuse a black husband and after she leaves him, it is implied Althea is now searching for a white man.

* {{Hypocrite]]: Gerber's acquaintances are shown to bemoan his exaggerated racism, yet they are horrified at the thought of interacting with a black man.

* EthnicMenialLabor: When asked what he's paid for doing the menial work, Gerber makes the quip [[http://www.snopes.com/racial/mistaken/gardener.asp often attributed to Bill Cosby, et al]] that "The lady of the house lets me sleep with her". He also namechecks Chinese launderers when accusing his wife of having Chinese heritage.