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!”
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?
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