I Am Not Your Negro

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source: I Am Not Your Negro

This is a pastiche film that blends archival footage and photographs with old Hollywood movie clips and a running dialogue of Baldwin's words from the few seeds of a book idea he only started. It never seamlessly all fits together in a satisfying manner, but most of what Baldwin spoke of all those years ago, unfortunately, still rings true today. An important film to be sure, but it didn't really tell me almost anything I didn't already know, although I would guess I am in the minority here. As the great Frederick Douglass stated long ago, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will." That is true whether one is on the 'wrong' side of the color line, the socioeconomic line, the political line or the gender line. Considering the limited source material and what the director was trying to (ostensibly) achieve, it was well put-together technically, but even at 1:35 it felt a little long. Still, Baldwin's words remain powerful, and seeing him and hearing them all these years later reminds us of the old saw, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."

I do not live in the US but I am fascinated by it. I live in the Netherlands where a dutch musician recommended it through social media. Reading James Baldwin's books was already on my to do list and this movie has enticed me even more to dive further in the head of this mastermind. His analysis of the American life is layered and complex but ultimatly comes down to one thing: Are you willing to look at who you really are and are you willing to change to make your society a better place. This movie embodies a universal timeless truth through the mind and creativity of a skillfull genius. A gift to anyone who is open to learn.

First of, you have to hand it to Samuel Jackson. He could make my tax statement sound captivating. Next, director Raoul Peck manages to back him up with a stunning visual collage of archive footage. So "I Am Not Your Negro" is a surprisingly easy watch, despite the fact that it is based on an unfinished script by James Baldwin So why is this movie called "I Am Not Your Negro"? I don't know. And in any case, I don't want "you" to be my negro. Baldwin's text is called, equally obliquely, but less catchily, "Remember This House". What I got from this movie was that James Baldwin was a trained preacher, who tried to be an acolyte to far more charismatic civil rights activists (in the case case of Malcolm X, black racist) Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., who were murdered before they were 40 years old (and in Malcolm's case, by black henchmen of his own cult). The film has to pussyfoot around the fact that two other protagonists of the era, the Kennedy brothers, were also murdered, despite the fact that they were not downtrodden and as white as the cliffs of Dover. Baldwin is seen trying to convince liberal white Americans, who were all for civil rights in the first place, that fighting racism was somehow not an act of altruism but somehow would contribute to their own betterment. And also that the white sheriff in "In The Heat Of The Night" and "Mr. Tibbs" have an erotic tension going on between them.

This film is a brilliant, no-holds-barred depiction of the TRUTH as it happened and was experienced by one of the most brilliant talents the world has ever known. There is good reason that it has been nominated for an Academy Award. Do expect to be disturbed because racism, sexism, and the effects of an evil regime are always disturbing -- such as current events continue to horrify "human beings" on a regular basis. However, for the person with evolved, emotional intelligence, being disturbed sparks powerful thoughts and action with higher consciousness. It is to be expected that those who are comfortable avoiding racial and racist truths will be upset by this poignant documentary. They will do everything from claiming that this is hate-mongering to insisting that the film-making itself is substandard. It is true that the racist will always attempt to claim righteousness and "caring" by casting aspersions on the works of others to avoid facing his/her own truth. As Octavia Spencer's character said to Kirsten Dunst's in HIDDEN FIGURES: "I'm sure you believe that." How you respond to this film is an opportunity to evolve what you don't know and what you already (believe you) do know. The choice is always yours to think, to grow, to communicate, to evolve -- or not. This documentary is a wonderful opportunity to not only see the world and life through the eyes of a genius, but to see your views of your life and world right now.

This film should be required for every American. It is one of the most important films of our time. It is lyrical, profound, historic and of this moment. And, at the same time it is profoundly intimate. James Baldwin is right here with us, front and center, looking right at us, talking with us, imploring us to consider the urgent questions he raised 50 years ago that are as urgent today. Thank you Raoul Peck. This is a masterpiece. It is as poetic as it is a demand for white people to come to terms with how they have constructed blackness and what, indeed, this means about whiteness. Peck includes one of Baldwin's most famous statements on this in the film: "What white people have to do, is try and find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a n*#!er in the first place. Because I'm not a n*#!er. I'm a man, but if you think I'm a n*#!er, it means you need it. . . . If I'm not a n*#!er here and you invented him — you, the white people, invented him — then you've got to find out why. And the future of the country depends on that. Whether or not it's able to ask that question." This is it. Our future depends on it. Baldwin cannot say it more clearly.

I've been on a roll lately with my movie choices. I've seen one delight after another and I get to add this movie to the list. I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary based upon the writings of James Baldwin in which the essence is Black-White race relations in the U.S. James was an eloquent writer and speaker so I may be doing him a disservice by summarizing the documentary as such. He'd probably say it was a lot more than that--and it was. In it we got an ode to Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. These three iconic figures of the Civil Rights era were all killed within five years of each other and none lived to the age of 40. There was a lot of riveting and provocative imagery in this documentary and it certainly will not appeal to a lot of people. There are some ugly truths about the American past that we all want to move on from but we'd do well not to forget. I loved the film. If for no other reason than being treated to seeing and hearing James Baldwin speak. He was a brilliant and eloquent speaker and I had no clue. One thing mentioned was how Malcolm X, MLK and James Baldwin all had different view points and different approaches to the problems of Black people in America. They all spoke a truth as they had different backgrounds and different outlooks. But what is undeniable is that they all had the uplifting of their people in mind and all three personalities were invaluable to the African American cause. This is a documentary that is going to disturb you and wake you up out of your reverie. The film is replete with historical footage and photos as well as recent footage--there are clips as recent as present day Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump--so you can't just relegate the picture to "old news" or "stuff from the past". It is relevant and as James Baldwin alluded to: it is a problem that has to be fixed because the survival of the country depends upon it.

Note that the reason this is 5/10 stars right now is that there is a large bloc of people who have given it 1 star (presumably the white supremacist crowd). There is no way that anyone who believes in the need to tell black history would give this anything less than an 8/10. This cinematography was absolutely incredible, the use of historical footage to stitch together a narrative of the Civil Rights movement combined with recent footage makes this movie incredibly timely. James Baldwin proves a brilliant orator, and the story takes you through both his life and his relationships with Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. This movie tells more black history than I learned in my entire public school education, and should be seen by everyone.