The Unreality of Racial Justice Cinema

Uncle Tom's Cabin is not considered realistic today, but it helped end slavery. Maybe these films can change white perception of blacks in a way that will be helpful.

Excellent and thoughtful piece. But the questionable “happy ending” is how you reach a mass audience. Just as a hit sitcom can stealthily assist in ushering in social change (see: gay marriage), so can the myth-making popular cinema help alter the social awareness of the next generation. Isn’t the arc of the moral universe about the future?

Although the endings in "BlackKKKlansman" and "Get Out" are escapist and unreal, I think people with the nature of the evil doers in the movie actually exist; to that extent, they do inject some realism into one's perceptions of humanity. For too many years, the old Westerns, the war movies, and other genres have made villains out of Black people, Native Americans, Mexicans, Arabs, etc. Who knows how much they contributed to the perpetuation of racism - I am certainly no expert on this. But I do go out of my way to avoid movies where some group is demonized, especially if the group happens to any of the above mentioned categories, because I can't stand them any longer. Perhaps some of the new, escapist movies are necessary to achieve the balance that has been missing in Hollywood.

But filmmakers, all artists, get to decide how close to reality their depictions hew. Escapism, kitchen-sink realism, science fiction, fantasy...in the right hands, any of these genres can reflect something “real” about the world and the human heart. A film that addresses racism, for example, ought not be judged by the intensity of its archival footage or the accuracy of a violent re-enactment. One gets the feeling Mr. Ugwu has a litmus test for his notion of “reality.” But sometimes quiet expressions are the most powerful (Moonlight). Other times it a loud explicit one (the end of Blackklansman) that is most effective.

It's nice to see that a staffer in the NYT arts section is grappling with complex matters in thoughtful ways. I find that increasingly rare.

I understand the perspective in this article, and I get that feeling of necessity to stick to the truth and the philosophical problem with movies showing black wins. But. The original ending of "Get Out" didn't show a win. Rel didn't save Chris. It really was a cop. Chris ended up in jail. And it was depressing AF. People hated that ending because it's not what we go to the movies for. As horrifying and triggering as much of that movie was, ending it with a win felt necessary for audiences of 2016. If you're saying audiences in 2018 need to be shown the tragedy of the struggle, that's your opinion. But I have to disagree. I think movies should highlight and call out these issues, but if there is no escapist aspect to them, they will just become hopeless and remind us of the hopelessness of this era. Maybe documentaries can stick to that bleak outlook, because they're based in fact. But narrative films, I don't think we should be chastising filmmakers for creating ~some~ catharsis with the endings of their films. Because movies are entertainment.

continued from my previous comment... Whiteness in art allows you to have a totality of human emotions, even pessimism. Blackness will always have pressure to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if you can’t envision one.

About a year back when Get Out had been out for a while I had a convo with filmmaker I knew and she asked me what I thought about the film. I hedged to answer since I am typically on the minority side of opinion when it comes to popular films but answered her nevertheless with a “it wasn’t my thing, I had some issues overall”. She proceeded to tell me she loved it but was curious why I wasn’t a fan. I said to her “well, I think it’s a movie that doesn’t deal with the horror of whiteness and instead uses the anxiety of evil white people to rile up its audience and making Black anxiety into popcorn entertainment, plus I hated its escapist ending” she then replied “well I liked the ending most of all, I felt like it was important to show us win, even if it’s unrealistic”. My reply back was “yeah, I have a major philosophical issue with that”. This article explains that philosophical issue pretty well and why in my cinematic work I run from these escapist works and choose the oft reality of the tragic outcome. Black life in this country is reduced in so many ways, one of them is that we always have to be the most hopeful even though throughout America’s history we have been amongst the most held down. We state the bleakness of tragedy where there is no out for the oppressive body to redeem itself or the abilities of our “Black excellence” to maneuver our way past impossible odds we are seen as being a problem towards progress.

But couldn’t we say something similar about any effort that breaks away from the social and historical reality and opts for any form of redemption or optimism? Balancing the different elements that affect film-making—market considerations, the agency of characters, actors, directors and the many other players and factors—could be a struggle. In the end, it seems it’s hard to reject the option that tends to make the most money.

I saw all of these films and agree that the endings felt a bit hollow to me (except for “Black Panther- it’s a comic book movie after all)...too much coincidence to be realistic with “Blindspotting” and “BlacKKKlansman” especially. Though the last three minutes of the latter film sobered me right up and packed an emotional punch. I am drawn to films that have racial tension as a major theme and am glad there have been so many films this year that grapple with it. I wish the non-comic book films had had a wider audience...”Monsters and Men” and “Blindspotting” especially.

A movie can't "validate" anything. It's fiction and it can make whatever claims its maker likes. If he or she is both insightful and lucky, the movie may be validated by events.

As an educator in the art and craft of cinematic storytelling, the collage of black faces accompanying the article resonates more than the ensuing essay. In that image one can glimpse the emergence of a proud new chapter in the black cinema experience. From Fruitvale Station to Moonlight, from Blindspotting to Sorry to Bother You and from Get Out to Black Panther (not to mention Girls Trip, Creed, and many others), a bold new wave of films is attempting to capture a broader spectrum of the black experience, as art, as social commentary, and ultimately as entertainment. We must wise up to rise up, my brother. Wakanda Forever!

The recently released 2017 FBI Uniform Crime Report (Table 43: Arrest by Race and Ethnicity) shows that blacks made up 27.2 percent of those arrested. The Washington Post database of fatal police shooting shows that blacks made up 223 of the 905 people who were shot and killed by police in 2017 whose race could be determined. Blacks made up 27 percent of those arrested and 24.5 percent of those shot and killed by police. However, Table 43 also showed blacks made up 37.5 percent of those arrested for violent crimes, including 53.1 percent of those arrested for murder and 54.3 percent of those arrested for robbery—the the type of crimes most likely to result in police shootings. The data suggest that African Americans dod not make up a disproportionate percent of police shooting victims. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/topic-p... Interracial murders are relatively rare, however, the 2017 FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that blacks murdered 576 whites in 2017 while whites (including Hispanic) murdered 264 blacks. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/...

Black people missed out on the Hollywood era of mandatory happy endings, like Casablanca. All we got was the horrors of gone with the wind. Personally I endorse a happy endings era for black people-- on screen and off.

In a time of Trump, we need this more than ever

Excellent piece. Good job, sir.

Interesting perspective on all the films released this year. I'll admit that I haven't seen any of them--been too busy with changing jobs and living life--but I will rent them on RedBox or purchase some of the movies when they come out on Blu-ray later on this year or early next year.

Clearly, Mr. Ugwu didn't stay and watch the end of "BlacKkKlansman." The that scene meant to portray racial harmony in the 1970s is followed by footage from the 2017 Charlottesville riot. When I saw the film, about a third of the left the theater when those gut-wrenching images began peppering the audience. I just sat there with tears streaming down my face. Initially, I wept because of the sustained, frightful images with no news commentators' calming voices to temper them. I continued to weep because of the people who refused to face the volatile powder keg our country has become.

Emotional truth is dangerous when it contradicts empirical truth.

Some of the purposes of art are to remember, affirm hope in hopeless times, give dignity to sorrow and to help us understand ourselves and our world better. There is an immense amount of commentary on the validity of fairy tales, and major awards given to novelists for stories that teach about reality, good and bad, resilience and perseverance and about character. The metaphors and images of these films in this article embody these purposes and reset the overbalance of stories of degradation, show me possibilities, and help me to see a story more truthfully precisely because it is fiction. The imagination of these movies invites me to think more deeply about the reality of my own times as well as simply enjoying the exhilarating blend of solid writing, great acting and directing. I find this article dreary and silly by demanding that the purpose of the films be in a particular direction, and by denying the power of imagination and the purpose of art to black directors, actors and films, by saying that the way it has been done somehow hasn't been good enough or done the best way.

I'm not black, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut. "Black Panther" is the only one of these movies I've seen, and I loved it, especially at the end when I felt complete ambivalence that women played warriors and T'Challa prevailed. It was an ending especially timely in this era of insular U.S. nationalism. Anyhow, what your reviews made me think about was the Oscar Wilde quote, "life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Whereas I agree that these films as you describe them reflect an unreality today, can't we hope that they reflect reality in the future? Thanks for the article. I've added all the movies to my list.

A confused and aimless op-ed piece..movies started out as escapism. We have ever more direct forms of raw surveillance to show us the reality as-is. There are also plenty of documentaries and such that do not deal in anything but historical analysis of incontrovertible facts. So why wring ones hands over some auteurs who take liberties? Especially when discussing movies with a clear departures from reality (super-powers, fantastical elements). There's an unpleasant element of condescension Ugwu laces his premise with, which is: audiences should remain hyper-aware that these films do not reflect the reality that I am here to remind them of?

If you want to see a more realistic ending, buy a ticket for the play "American Son," about an interracial couple who go to the police when their son is missing. As they learn what happened to him, the play has an ending that is shocking but not surprising.

Being drenched in the reality of our times is draining. The last thing I want to do when I go to the cinema these days is see more of it. Movies like Black Panther allow me to see the possibility that things may change. That brief respite in a darkened cinema hall, away from cold reality, can be an absolute good. At its very best, such movies with an optimistic ending can inspire a new generation to make that change real. At the very least, it could be exactly what a tired participant in the race of life needs, to replenish the spirit and live another day.

It's true that the brief victory over the racist cop in Blackkklansman feels too easy. However, the Charlotte footage at the end is not the only way Lee undermines this idea of an easy win. During one of the most celebratory moments for the black officer, Ron Stallworth, Lee chooses as musical background Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Lucky Man." We don't hear all the lyrics, but this director cares about music and that song is about a gloriously successful man who dies on the battlefield. What looks like good fortune can't last, because this violence will keep devouring lives. And the end of the narrative of Ron and Patrice has both of them in a hallway, looking out the window into the night, where another cross is burning in the distance. Whatever victory there was over the Klan, it was only temporary. The footage from Charlotte is the logical coda. I think Spike Lee's moments of narrative escapism are in part an homage to films like Gordon Parks' "Shaft", where black actors finally got to be action heroes. But that doesn't change Lee's underlying view, which is not rosy at all.

The scene from Black KkKlansman that you mention in the 2nd paragraph was harldy a "toast to justice well served", especially when you take into account the the ending of the movie.

It is hard work finding grievances everywhere. Full time job. Long hours. Could be using that same energy to treat the suffering. But where is the fun in that? Grievances but without grieving forever!

I had a similar problem with these films, the lack of realism in the some of the resolutions. Though that was from the vantage point of a white person knowing what white people need to see to understand the perspective of black people: they need to be throughly jarred. But it's equally if not more valid a point that media involving the plight of people of color rarely have happy endings, and POC deserve to see those happy endings just as much as white people need to be jarred by the tragic ones. It's a delicate balance, and it begs the question: who is this movie for, really? Sure, movies are meant to be consumed by all, but where is the target audience and what are we trying to make them feel? I think it's a step forward that there are films embraced by the mainstream media by and for black people, not simply about or adjacent to them. They don't exist solely to inform the ignorant, but to comfort the oppressed, to speak to their grievances and illustrate what is and what could be. It's been a long time coming, and there will be more where these came from.

What is this need for movies to moralize? When I watch a movie I’m interested in the characters, story, and overall tone. A filmmaker’s job is to tell a compelling story visually, not to put an op-ed on the screen. If the author wants to see a movie that reflects his own views, he should write it and shoot it. People are making feature-length films with their iphones these days – there’s nothing stopping him!