REVIEW: AMERICAN SKIN
Black Trauma is often centered on much of the entertainment and realities that we face everyday. ‘American Skin’ eloquently tackles some of the darkest details of America; from the unjust killings of African-Americans at the hands of police officers to the very fibers of our justice system.
Lincoln Jefferson, played by Nate Parker, finds himself in the real life nightmare of police brutality with his 14 year old son, Kijani. On a night like any other, Linc (as he’s called by family) picks his son up from a friend’s home in a prestigious white neighborhood and of course the pair are shortly pulled over for allegedly speeding. Things quickly spiral when Kijani pulls out his phone to record the officers and shot and killed by the white officer.
Part of the movie is recorded documentary-style by a small group of college students that want to cover what happens with Lincoln leading up to the verdict of his son’s murder.
In the first 40 minutes of the film we learn more about Lincoln and his son. The father works as a janitor at a private school and admits he took the job to give his son a better education in a better community. We learn that KJ (as Kijani is called by family) was very intelligent but had to learn that by law he had the right to defend himself against the police. Linc, like so many Black parents, reminded his son that the laws of this land do not apply to Black people as many of us have seen on full display — the justice system was never created to protect us.
In America, the dichotomy between Black and white people is a constant and stark reminder that this country was built on our backs but not for our benefit. On January 6th, a group of white nationalists — some call them Donald Trump supporters, stormed the United States Capitol in a violent riot in protest of Joe Biden becoming President of the United States of America. None of the individuals that invaded the government building were arrested that day. It took many of us back to the peaceful protests from last summer in response to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Many of those protestors were arrested as well as met with violent force from police and the National Guard, who were missing during the riot on the Capitol.
‘American Skin’ reminds us of these differences when the verdict is read in the murder of Kijani, NOT GUILTY. Often we are shown Black families pleading for peace after an unjustified loss of Black life but in ‘American Skin’ the protagonist decides that this time would be different.
The police precinct is conquered by Linc and his brother Omar, played by Omari Hardwick, and we witness a new trial for the officer that killed Kijani. During the trial, officers reveal more of what we already knew in terms of how they view Black people. As much as I appreciated the revelations of truth, the result of the truth were not met with the consequences I wanted.
We are currently in this bubble of “showing grace,” which stems from the biblical definitions of forgiveness and my people are a very God-fearing group. However the film harshly reminded us that the extension of grace will not stop Black death.
Our power to forgive will never trump the collective fear and disdain many white Americans have for Black people and thus end how many act on these thoughts. Once again we witness the Black family receive the short end of the stick and that is likely my least favorite aspect of ‘American Skin.’
My personal exhaustion with our real life trauma allowed me to want pain inflicted on those who wish to harm me. No doubt this film is worth the watch simply because it will stir up so many feelings for viewers, especially Black viewers.
Nate Parker has had a time in the industry due to the resurfacing of his 1999 rape allegations from his time at Penn State where he subsequently was acquitted. At the cusp of the release of his film ‘Birth of a Nation,’ the court records resurfaced due to the depiction of a brutal rape scene in the film.
Parker has also found himself in hot water over homophobic comments stating that he would never play a gay character due to Hollywood’s attempt in the feminization of African-American men. At this moment, ‘American Skin’ has very low scores on Rotten Tomatoes amongst other film review platforms and because of the subject matter in the film, I am not surprised.
‘American Skin’ is available on Amazon Prime for either rental or to buy. The film is executive produced by Spike Lee and was written and directed by Nate Parker.
