Watching

We headed to the movies this weekend and saw the latest Spike Lee film, BlacKkKlansman.

It’s the story of the first black cop in the Colorado Springs police force, Ron Stallworth, who in the late 70’s managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

It’s  loosely based on Ron’s book Black Klansman. 

In the film Ron makes contact with the KKK on the phone, responding to an advertisement in the local paper. He builds up a strong relationship in his conversations with the local leader but things get a bit tricky when they invite him to meet up. That’s where his white colleague, Flip Zimmerman is drafted in to pose as Ron Stallworth to get membership to the local Klan chapter.  When the membership is taking a bit to long to process, Ron calls up head office, and begins a series of  chats with the Grand Wizard himself, David Duke.

It’s a powerful film.

It switches easily between humour, romance, fear and horror. John David Washington (son of Denzel) gives a great performance as Ron, restrained but strong and Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman does tough mixed with vulnerable, as his character’s experiences embedded in the Klan make him question his lack of commitment to his own religion.

The film juxtaposes very effectively between the two movements, the white supremacists and black power. Harry Belafonte delivering a stunning monologue on a violent killing while the KKK members cheer a screening of The Birth of the Nation.

The knowledge the central event  in the film took place in real life as short a time ago as 1979 is disturbing, but the ending of the film, news footage from Charlottesville in 2017 is just plain horrifying.  The audience sat in silence as the credits began to roll, the past didn’t seem so far away anymore.

Reading

Virginia Trioli’s speech this week, a particularly personal take on life as a woman in the media.

Listening

If you feel like things have been a bit tough lately this tune from country singer, Drew McAlister, might give a bit of hope that it can all get better.