5 Reasons Why the “Blackkklansman” is the Movie of the Year
On August 10, of this year, the movie “Blackkklansman” came out. Launching this movie into theatres was like adding gasoline to an already lit fire. This movie is based in the 70s during the Civil Rights Movement, about Ron Stallworth, the first black cop for the Colorado Springs Police Department. He quickly became an undercover cop starting an investigation in the KKK where he, Ron Stallworth, an African American man, would be speaking over the phone directly to David Duke, KKK leader. The rest of the movie is him and his team of investigators trying to find justice and end discrimination within the country and within law enforcement. This movie is going to change the way movies are being made. Blackkklansman is bringing things to the theatre that aren’t being done. Opening peoples eyes, making people see the bigger picture, and overall, making a bigger impact on audiences is what this movie and movies alike do for viewers. Here are five reasons why a movie like this has this kind of power.
It’s based on a true story:
This insane, underrated story actually happened. Before this movie not many people knew about Ron Stallworth and his story. Since this story actually happened,it gives what they are trying to convey and their overall meaning even more of an impact. Although, some parts were stretched like his romantic interest, and how Flip, Stallworth’s partner, was Jewish, this was just to add to the storyline. Just about everything else is true. The main, and most important part of the plot, the investigation itself is true.
The story was shared beautifully and “is a very powerful movie” said Ron Stallworth himself in an interview with DeNeen L. Brown. Talking about today’s racism and discrimination he also stated, “People need to realize this is a threat to the very fabric of American society.” and this is the best way to do it. They’re showing everyone how Black people lived then and how it has still crept into todays society although many people may not see it. The best thing we can do to help it is by not let anything slide and we can only do this by staying educated and aware of what is going on. Making an issue like this into a movie allows the audience to open their eyes and really see what is going on.
The Cinematography was an Artistic Masterpiece:
Since it is based in the 70’s, it already has an attraction. The way they played it off made it feel like you were there with the clothes, music, hair, and most of all the civil rights movement. Taking on a decade film, a lot of the times it might seem too overboard or fake, which, the cinematographer, Chayse Irvin, knew. He didn’t want to shoot in a 70’s film camera because “You don’t necessarily want [the audience] to instantly associate an image with something because then that’s giving the spectator an answer,” said Irvin in an interview with IndieWire. Instead, he used vintage camera lenses, but also modern film stocks and scanners to make more clean looking shots. He embraced the 70’s film making idea of embracing the imperfections, and looking natural by never adding filters, or altering colors.
This connecting of the old and new film paralleled with the idea of comparing old and new America, something the director, Spike Lee stressed throughout the movie. Instead of just showing how it was in the 70’s like many films, comparing it to today made it go the extra mile. If it didn’t do that, then people wouldn’t take anything from the movie other than how times are better now. Including the comparison with today allows people to see our society’s faults and how we can fix it. This added with the wonderful cinematography and production design makes for an entertaining but yet educational film.
Not like many other movies, it’s political.
We’re not talking just a few jokes or hints here and there, it states it’s views with no shame throughout the whole movie with an even bigger bam at the end. Other than racism in general, they mainly covered their views on police brutality, and Donald Trump which they compared to David Duke. Just as the movie is coming to an end and you’re already thinking to yourself how courageously political it was, it ends with something even greater. It includes news clips of things that happened recently with the date on the bottom. At first you would think that these were recorded for the movie based in the the 70’s but it was all recent. It included neo-nazi marches, police brutality, and violence throughout America all over race. This was a reality check that yes things have changed, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
This is refreshing. Not many movies do this, especially not ones that play in the theatre nationwide. Most, are too worried about the clapback from the audience from sharing that, or the lack of attendance, but they had a more important idea in mind, change. They care more about our country and the people in it rather than the money they will gain from it. If more people had this idea in mind our world would be changing more rapidly.
It’s Funny:
Just because they didn’t care if people agreed with the movie going into it, doesn’t mean they didn’t want people to see it, because they did. They wanted as many people as possible to hear this message, and people did. They got people to come see it with humor. Comedy attracts people, that is why there was such an emphasis of comedy in the trailer. It showed that this movie wasn’t all serious. The mix of educational history and comedy draws in all types of people. They create humor out of the fact that a black man goes undercover in the KKK, because, let’s be honest that is funny.
It was the perfect balance between the two and it left you wanting more movies like this. Although a large part of the movie was humorous, they stress that it was a problem that no one was doing anything about it, just like today, how little is being done about modern-day racism, such as neo nazis. Humor makes the movie less intense and more enjoyable but still getting people informed that racism still exists today and needs to be changed.
Shows Both Sides:
Although the movie clearly shares liberal, and anti-trump ideals, it does defend an opposing opinion. With police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement, this movie is very relevant even when it’s based in the 70’s. It shows several examples of police brutality. Even though it was so long ago, you still see those situations happening today in the news with victims like, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many more. With all that is occurring with police brutality and the media sharing it, it is easy to blame all cops and say they are all bad. To say that would be a fallacy. Yes, there are bad cops, but there are also good ones and this movie expresses that. Stallworth expresses to Patrice Dunnam, a member of the Black Student Union, and his romantic interest, that cops aren’t all bad to which she disagrees without even hearing him out.
It’s showing both sides of the matter, but also showing us the reasoning behind both with the purpose to have each side understand each other. This is powerful because it shows where we can meet in the middle of two extremes, something that our country needs greatly today. Recently, politics have become even more divided, now we often can’t have an actual conversation about politics without people arguing. Both parties are at fault with this. Both parties need to swallow their pride, stop arguing, and listen. Maybe then, we will find more peace.
Movies are manipulation, they can get you to feel sympathy for individuals, and groups of people. Which is why a movie is the one of the best ways to educate people. A movie like this gets people to understand just the slightest bit of what black people in America are going through. We should be making more movies like this, where education and change trump’s audience pleasing, and money making.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/movies/blackkklansman-what-to-read.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/movies/blackkklansman-review-spike-lee.html
https://screenrant.com/blackkklansman-movie-true-story-differences/
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/10/637390669/blackkklansman-sounds-like-its-made-up-but-its-a-true-story