Callin' Out Names | Review - BlacKkKlansman

The greatest trick the Devil ever played was convincing America that all the country’s problems have been caused by one very awful man. If you are wondering, yes: I am saying what it sounds like I’m saying. Neoliberalism is the Devil.

BlacKkKlansman is at the cinema. The latest Spike Lee Joint based on the fo’ real fo’ real story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first Black officer to integrate the Colorado Springs Police Department. As a rookie, he toils for a time fetching records for his colleagues before taking initiative and requesting a transfer to plainclothes detective work. He gets his wish and is even given his own investigation to lead. The investigation? Infiltrate the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and determine their true motives. LOL

Helping him as the white face in front of the H-white voice is veteran detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) who tries to get himself initiated in the local chapter. Adjacent to that, Ron is given an assignment from the chief of his precinct to perform his own infiltration. The Black Student Union of Colorado College has been getting cozy with various Black liberation groups and Ron is tasked with getting to the bottom of it while pursuing a relationship with the union’s president, a student named Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier).

If Sorry to Bother You was a genre film disguised in social commentary, BlacKkKlansman is social commentary disguised in Blaxploitation. Not an outrageous thought. It is a Spike Lee Joint, after all. He’s right at home with the atmosphere and imagery of the 70’s and the vernacular therein. That vernacular becomes as important as the people who use it. Ron in particular goes back and forth – internally and externally – on his use of “proper speak” while in the job and what that means for his identity as both an African-American and Black Cop.

Flip, the dramatized version of him anyway, is Jewish-American as a way for Spike Lee to add “skin in the game” as the OG Stallworth would say. A big reason the Klan - oh! Sorry, the Organization. The reason they’ve lasted this long is because good-meaning people like Flip choose to ignore blatant bigotry, usually because they believe they won’t be affected. (i.e.: The Klan hates Jews, sure, but I’m not a Jew really. And even if I was, they’ll almost certainly go after you Spooks, first.)

On top of that, is the always messy, never easy, discourse of a Black American’s role in society and their duty to their people or if there should be such a thing. Patrice, a Black Liberationist, is dating Ron, and undercover cop. Not only is he an undercover cop, he was working undercover the night they met, sent by his boss to spy on her and their guest speaker. Immediately after the rally, Patrice is sexually assaulted by Officer Landers (Frederick Weller), a colleague of Ron’s, who has pulled them over for no reason - how familiar. One can understand why Ron is hesitant to disclose his J-O-B to his new girlfriend that only refers to policemen – yes, even Black policemen – as Pigs. “But wait!” you exclaim. “Detective Stallworth is the hero of this story. Surely Patrice realizes this and comes around to his side in the end!”

Well...sorta

Here we get to have our discussion about generalizations. How they shape our surroundings. How they influence our daily lives. My writing mate Lunchbox – a brilliant lad and my best friend – asked the most important question we should ask about movies like this. Can we accept criticism of our society (or ourselves) if it isn’t inherently funny? Django Unchained says no.  Both Blade Runner flicks say yes. Sorry to Bother You says maybe. Here now, BlacKkKlansman says yes again.

There are funny moments in this movie. There are entertaining scenes throughout, but this is not that kind of movie. As the man says, “Ain’t a damn thing funny!” It’s no secret how the KKK is portrayed in media at-large: bumbling, idiotic, mealy-mouthed fools. How easy it is to forget they are indeed classified as a gang and, by some agencies, a terrorist organization. Spike Lee and producer Jordan Peele won’t let you forget this for the whole movie. The Klansmen are sinister at best, diabolical at worst, unpleasant always.

Flip at one point dismisses their Anti-Semitic rhetoric claiming that the investigation isn’t personal for him. Ron himself scoffs at the idea that someone as vile as Grand Wizard David Duke (Topher Grace) would ever be elected to public office in the United States. (He was, yo!)

Look.

A major theme of this movie is complicity and how it is NO BUENO. You don’t have to be racist to be complicit. You just have to be ignorant. Not dumb, oh no. Ignorant, as in, unaware and without context. Full disclosure: I am Black, and my friend is white. When I make statements like the ones at the beginning of this review, I don’t have to explain myself because of course not every Caucasian person is a racist pile. Just like not every Black person wants to kill Whitey.

There are cops that are good. There are cops that are bad. What matters is that there are good cops unwilling to do anything about the bad cops they see every day. It’s a Brotherhood, an Organization – a Klan if you will. If you are offended by that characterization…GOOD. It should offend you, that the current system is so hopelessly broken. Even if there were only one ‘Bad Apple’ at each precinct, it won’t make a difference if a) No one is willing to course correct and b) the culture these officers train in keeps producing so-called ‘Bad Apples.’

Is Patrice in the right, then, for blowing off Ron once she [SPOILERS] (inevitably) discovers his true profession? She’s certainly right to be upset about the lying. That’s never cool, and it was very unprofessional to engage in a romantic relationship with a mark. There is something to be said, though, about his proclamation that there’s more than one way to fight for your people.

Now comes the portion of every KD review where I let the Nerd Flag fly. Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Dick Grayson (Nightwing) are two vigilante heroes with very different methods. In Gotham, Batman has bypassed the Justice System entirely, eliminating crime literally with his bare hands. In Bludhaven, Nightwing also fights crime in a mask, but also with a badge. He gets a day job as a beat cop to try and change the culture from the inside.

Back in Colorado Springs, Patrice says politics and the Liberation are a lifetime gig. Ron disagrees. Who is right and wrong depends mostly on your point of view. Grayson, unlike his mentor, would like to enjoy all his ligaments in his old age. Ron Stallworth wants to fight the good fight, but he doesn’t want to fight forever. At the least, he hopes he doesn’t have to fight forever. Whether or not that’s possible is a question for another day, I think.

The proper question for today is what makes a “good soldier” and who gets to decide. As I’ve aged, I’ve noticed the same thing Brother Malcolm did in his travels: that civil disobedience has largely become performative. On top of that, I came to my own conclusion. Increasingly, this fight has become a place of privilege. It’s much easier for a college student or a wealthy, famous person to ‘Occupy’ or ‘Resist’ for example. People like my mother who are raising two teenagers and working full time can only vote when the polls open. These people won’t go viral for that, of course, nor do they want to. They are no less informed. They only wish to lead happy lives.

The bulk of the criticism I’ve seen regarding BlacKkKlansman references the film’s heavy-handedness, doing so as a mark down. Personally, I also like my films to be subversive. BUT! In this case, when the idea is to show you people exactly why White Nationalists are an issue TODAY, I’m honestly not sure what else can be done besides throw it in your face. Let me tell you folk a story.

AS. I. WAS. DRIVING. HOME. FROM. THIS. MOVIE.

I saw a pickup truck go by. An old F-150. See them everywhere, right? Well. This F-150 had a frosted decal covering its entire rear window. You’d better believe the Ol’ Rebel Flag was displayed for the whole world to see. And the vanity plates? A ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ themed background. A war cry used during our nation’s fight for independence, appropriated by a sham organization to callback to a war in which their ancestors were LOSERS.

I don’t know the person driving this truck. I don’t want to. It’s possible they truly believe they aren’t racist. Maybe they see themselves as honoring a culture and heritage that doesn’t exist from a period of history that never happened. That’s cool and I couldn’t care less. I will explain why ONE LAST TIME before I get back to critiquing this movie.

I know it’s not fair and I know it sucks and you folks might not be racist, but you must face facts! Your history (such as it were), your imagery, your kinship was co-opted by a terrorist organization that is indeed racist! Don’t fly the flag, don’t buy the plates, get a new haircut. Do what you gotta do, but you can’t be that anymore! The President is little more than the most famous symptom of a disease that has only now been diagnosed. This is all we’ve been saying for [checks notes] four hundred years (Kanye, how ya doin’?) and now finally our Caucasian friends have stopped being uncomfortable and offended long enough to listen.

(Johnny Manziel has returned to football before Colin Kaepernick, by the way. What a shock!)

John David Washington has a breakout performance as the man behind the best-seller. Laura Harrier is good as his foil on the opposite side of the tape. Adam Driver turns in yet another excellent performance in a young career full of them. Now everyone who didn’t see Star Wars knows that he’s the best guy working today.

BlacKkKlansman is ten minutes too long, including one scene that would have been better served as a stinger or deleted. The subplots are resolved well enough for what they are and the characters are developed as well as you could in a movie where history is the star of the show. This is both a timely movie and a timeless one, on par but not better than the seminal classic Do the Right Thing.

4.5 Stars out of 5

If rendering the footage of ‘Unite the Right’ from Charlottesville, Summer 2017 into the Final Act is exploitative then that’s too bad. We’ve tried for years being clever about this. If your feelings are hurt or your artistic disposition is compromised, oh well! It wasn’t a revolutionary creative decision by any means, but it worked. Message received: this Shit is Real, and it is Right Now.

I knew in 2016 it was possible for someone like the “National Director” to be elected, because everyone on that ballot was prejudiced. I’m sorry. Not subtle enough? Let’s try this. You don’t use the term “super predators” and then change your mind.

Ooh! How about this?

Barack is not coming back. Bernie will never run again. Hillary does not want to be your friend.

But I will.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The Chris Farley Show: Fred Rogers | Review: Won't You Be My Neighbor

I never watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a child but I had a great phone conversation last week with a friend who enjoys watching it now while high as an adult. I’ll paraphrase a lot here, but “it’s just so reaffirming,” he said. “Like he would basically do this ‘How It’s Made’ segment every once in a while and you would watch Mister Rogers narrate how a factory makes, like, crayons or something. And the entire time he isn’t trying to explain how the crayons are made or to be smarter than you. He’s just going ‘my, my, my, look at all those crayons. Think about all the drawings that will be made with those crayons! What would you draw?’ and you’re just thinking ‘oh my god you’re so right! Those are a lot of crayons!’”

I can’t help but feel that listening to recounted episodes of stoned Mister Rogers viewing imparted the spirit of the late Rogers’ work on me more than Won’t You Be My Neighbor. It’s a perfectly fine film but I left the theater thinking I’d just paid twelve dollars to watch a documentary that should’ve been on Netflix. While Won’t You Be My Neighbor generally outlines the life of Fred Rogers and the evolution of his children’s show, it’s not a biographical documentary more so than a series of interviews narrating a somewhat disorganized quilt of hand-picked vignettes of the show’s more impactful episodes and periods in Rogers’ life.

Because it’s not truly biographical, Won’t You Be My Neighbor meanders wistfully from topic to topic. That meandering nature can be a bit disorienting for someone wondering where the film is going and it's largely responsible for the fact that the film doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s like a much more chill version of Chris Farley’s interview skits on Saturday Night Live, as if to say “Hey guys, remember when Mister Rogers did that segment about assassination after Bobby was shot? Yeah… wasn’t that revolutionary? …Hey and also what about that time Eddie Murphy did the Mister Robinson skit… wasn’t that mean? Yeah….” Won’t You Be My Neighbor is mostly a Greatest Hits compilation of some of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood more famous moments without really exploring how they were so impactful outside of juxtaposing them with the appropriate historical context and, more importantly, why they’re still relevant today.

Like some of the interviewees featured in the film, my showing was full of people who grew up with Mister Rogers and who sniffled and sobbed during some of the more emotional scenes. Won’t You Be My Neighbor, to its credit, spends a great deal of screen time focusing on Rogers’ fixation with ensuring his messages were designed and presented in creative ways that would connect with audiences of all ages on deeply personal levels. While the point of Won’t You Be My Neighbor isn’t to beat Rogers himself at his own game, I didn't get that sort of personal connection with the film and it left me with only a marginally better sense of what made Rogers the man that he was.

Considering director Morgan Neville’s past work and his unique knack for delving into the personalities and the interpersonal dynamics of his real-life subjects (20 Feet From Stardom and Best of Enemies are notable examples) it’s strange that this film puts forward relatively little effort to make Rogers relatable. Won’t You Be My Neighbor makes half-hearted suggestions about Rogers’ own motivations in life rather than asking how Rogers’ own life experiences shaped the man America watched on TV and how that affected the lives of so many children who watched his shows. Why did he go out of his way to include people of all races, abilities, etc. on television? “I dunno, maybe because he was bullied for his weight when he was young?” Why did he tell a gay cast member he had to hide his identity in public? “Maybe because homosexuality wasn’t widely accepted, right?” What does all this mean for us today, what with the obvious parallels between what’s happening now and what was happening in Rogers’ time? “No answer.”

That Won't You Be My Neighbor specifically doesn't attempt to explain everything about its subject might be refreshing in the documentary field. Explainumentaries are a tired trope in documentary film in much the same way origin stories are for the superhero genre. I won't give Won't You Be My Neighbor credit for this, though, because it simply replaces explanation with nostalgia. It's an odd storytelling choice that leaves a lot on the table. Neville was probably right to leave the explanations up to viewers, but Fred Rogers' immense contributions to American culture in general and the effects he had on so many now-grown children individually shouldn't be left out, either (and they probably would've made a better movie). All stories, even biographies, need key points, conclusions, or morals that readers and viewers can take away. Won't You Be My Neighbor provides few of them.

Make no mistake that Won’t You Be My Neighbor is the highest-grossing biographical documentary in history likely because of the time in which it’s premiering. Nostalgia alone can’t explain the mass appeal of this film; people want a feel-good reminder of what it was like to have a wholesome, fatherly voice of moral reason present to assuage your most instinctive worries and fears with a soothing voice wrapped in a tasteful sweater. If that’s what you’re going to the theater for (and let’s be honest, we should all need that right now), Won’t You Be My Neighbor more than delivers.

I write this fully realizing, as I said at the beginning, that I didn’t grow up with Mister Rogers. I’d probably feel differently if I had. In the sniffles in the theater and in the voice of my friend on the phone I heard that same feeling that I get when I think about my Mister Rogers, Bill Watterson. Won’t You Be My Neighbor is a reassuring portrait of a great man, but its presentation resembles a summary of a painting in a textbook that you can buy in a gift shop of a museum just around the corner from where the painting itself hangs.