Past Film/Video | Classics

Car Wash

(Michael Schultz, 1976)

Introduced by Hanif Abdurraqib

A group of nine people standing in front of a car. Eight of the people wear orange worksuits, while the two people in the center wear shiny white suits
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Oct 15, 2021 7:00 PM
Film/Video Theater

ADMISSION
$9 general public
$7 members
$5 students

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 safety protocols.

FREE GALLERY ADMISSION
Don’t forget: gallery admission is free with a ticket to any same-day Wexner Center event. Simply show your ticket at our Patron Services Desk.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688–3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

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Columbus-based author and new MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib introduces Michael Schultz’s socially conscious 1976 hit comedy Car Wash.

Unfolding over the course of one day, Car Wash follows the intersecting lives of the multiracial workers at a Los Angeles car wash as they service the mostly white patrons who pass through. The film features a stellar cast including Ivan Dixon, Bill Duke, Franklyn Ajaye, Melanie Mayron, and Antonio Vargas as well as memorable cameos by Richard Pryor, the Pointer Sisters, and George Carlin.

The Grammy-winning soundtrack produced by Motown legend Norman Whitfield includes the Whitfield-penned “You Gotta Believe,” performed by the Pointer Sisters, and the hit title track, performed by LA-based soul band Rose Royce. Despite a mixed critical reception in the US, international critics recognized the film’s pointed commentary, and it also received the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. (97 mins., 2K DCP)

This evening’s screening is introduced by Columbus author, poet, and music critic Hanif Abdurraqib, who'll speak about the cultural impact of the film’s soundtrack. Abdurraqib recently joined us for virtual discussion of his book A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (2021).

See the complete Retrospective: Michael Schultz lineup.

A group of nine people standing in front of a car. Eight of the people wear orange worksuits, while the two people in the center wear shiny white suits

Car Wash, image courtesy of Universal Pictures

A man in an orange worksuit and a hat vacuums out the driver's seat of a car

Car Wash, image courtesy of Universal Pictures

A man with a mustache and white bowtie and white suit stands in front of a man in a black suit and black hat.

Car Wash, image courtesy of Universal Pictures

A view from inside of a car in car wash looking at four people in worksuits standing in front of the car's windshield

Car Wash, image courtesy of Universal Pictures

Tag(s)

Thank you to Larry and Donna James for their generous support of this event.

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Cardinal Health
Kaufman Development

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
The Wexner Family
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Ohio Arts Council
American Electric Power Foundation
Adam Flatto
Mary and C. Robert Kidder
Bill and Sheila Lambert
L Brands Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease
Arlene and Michael Weiss

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Carol and David Aronowitz
Michael and Paige Crane
Pete Scantland
Axium Packaging
Bocchi Laboratories
Fenwick & West LLP
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
President Kristina M. Johnson and Mrs. Veronica Meinhard
KDC/ONE
Nancy Kramer
M/I Homes
Voyant Beauty
Huntington
Lisa Barton
Regina Miracle International Ltd.
Washington Prime Group
Alene Candles
Fuel Transport
Russell and Joyce Gertmenian
Liza Kessler and Greg Henchel
Matrix Psychological Services
Paramount Group, Inc.
Ron and Ann Pizzuti
Joyce and Chuck Shenk
Bruce and Joy Soll
Clark and Sandra Swanson
Business Furniture Installations
CASTO
E.C. Provini Co, Inc.
Garlock Printing & Converting
Jones Day
M-Engineering
New England Development
Our Country Home
Performance Team
Premier Candle Corporation
ProAmpac
Steiner + Associates
Textile Printing
Andrew and Amanda Wise

Discover More

Michael Schultz's Cooley High
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Prefiguring the Black director boom in the work of Michael Schultz

Thu, Sep 30, 2021
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Past Film/Video

Car Wash

Oct 15, 2021 7:00 PM EST
Film/Video Theater

ADMISSION
$9 general public
$7 members
$5 students

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 safety protocols.

FREE GALLERY ADMISSION
Don’t forget: gallery admission is free with a ticket to any same-day Wexner Center event. Simply show your ticket at our Patron Services Desk.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688–3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

Become a Member