Filming the Revolution — Five Films by Black Artists I’m Thinking About
The Revolution Could be filmed? Five films I’m thinking about
I am back this week with another meditation on art that inspires action and reflection. This week I’m thinking about films. Does anyone else miss actually sitting in a movie theater? Watching a movie from home is cozy, but I miss the drama of the large screen. But I digress…these are some films I’ve been coming back to in my thoughts. This one was admittedly harder to put together than the others, which is why it took an extra few weeks to compile. Quite honestly, I could have imagined this list in a million different configurations. But I think this list captures some of the ways I use art to make sense of the world. At the very least, this list will provide you with recommendations for some great weekend watches.
- Do the Right Thing — written and directed by Spike Lee (1989)
Summers remind me of Spike Lee’s Film Do the Right Thing. This summer especially, the movie has been on my mind. Every day since May has felt explosive, because of the continued killings of Black people by law enforcement. In Spike Lee’s film, so much happens in just one day, all culminating in an explosive standoff between Sal the owner of the pizza shop and the residents of Bed-Stuy. A pop-up dive-in theater screened Do the Right Thing earlier this month. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch it. Still, I’ve been thinking about how this intimate day-in-the-life would play out in my community. Do the businesses in our neighborhoods actually reflect and support the communities that they profit from? Or are they more like leeches?
2. The Pieces I Am — directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (2018)
In memorial of Toni Morrison’s death, I watched The Pieces I Am. Like many Black women, I saw myself represented in literature when I read The Bluest Eye. Ever since I have been in love with Toni Morrison’s work. I didn’t understand, until watching this documentary, just how much Toni Morrison changed the publishing industry for Black women, not just for authors but for industry professionals as well. Some highlights from the list of people edited by Mother Morrison, Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Lucille Clifton, Gayl Jones, Huey P. Newton. What this documentary does so well is encapsulate just what it means to be a Black single mother working to provide for your family all while being a creative. She had so much energy and drive up until she was physically too ill to write.
3. Shaft — directed by Gordon Parks (1971)
This choice may raise some eyebrows, but at this point we should all be used to my mind being unorthodox at times. The only successful family movie night that I planned this summer featured this movie; and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Shaft is a detective fighting against the mob, black nationals, and at times the police to help retrieve Bumpy’s daughter. The Blaxploitation genre probably deserves more respect than we often give. As many White people fled cities in the late 60s early 70s, the divestment of resources meant a rise in drugs and crime rose. This coincided with a national economic recession. These films helped Black people see themselves as the masters of their own destinies. My mom recently reminded me that if New York City survived the era depicted in Shaft then we’ll survive this pandemic. Sounds bleak, but maybe a hopeful kind of bleak?
4. How to Survive a Plague directed by David France (2012)
I have reserved at least one spot in each post to look at HIV/AIDS related art. COVID-19 is nothing like HIV/AIDS. However, I have learned a lot about public health and government responses to health crises by going back to this epidemic. This documentary follows the activism of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) from the early 80s into the early 2000s through a mixture of archival footage, interviews, and statistics. I watched the documentary with my mom when New York City still was a hotspot. We’ve been referencing this movie in conversations ever since. Because AIDS is more of a manageable chronic condition now than a life sentence, it’s easy to forget how scary an AIDS diagnosis. Even with the strides made in AIDS research and treatment, Black and Latinx young adults still die disproportionally from AIDS related complications due to the lack of access to quality health care for many low-income communities of color.
5. Blindspotting Co-Written by Daveed Diggs (2018)
A TA of mine in undergrad had a theory. In a given film season, there will be one movie written or directed by a Black person that doesn’t get the attention it deserves, in favor of more palatable films. So, the year The Butler won best picture, Fruitvale Station flew almost under the radar. In 2018, Green Book won The Academy Award for Best Picture. The same year Black Panther and BlacKKKlansmen made box office and Academy Award waves. Meanwhile, not enough people talked about Blindspotting. The buddy comedy and social commentary was among a slew of independent films made that talked about race. While many of the films from this wave are notable, Daveed Diggs’ (Hamilton) and Rafael Casal’s (Bad Education) passion project has remained in my mind. The film both disarms viewers and forces them to confront their unconscious biases. For a relatively short film, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting to see if Collin can successfully make it through his last days of probation.
