If there’s something to be valued in a movie nowadays, it’s finding a story that hasn’t been told yet and telling it with the utmost grace, respect, and style. BlacKkKlansman does precisely that. The film presents viewers with a peek into the deep-rooted racism and discrimination that was experienced by African Americans during the 1970s in Colorado Springs. This biographical film follows the story of Ron Stallworth, who is hired by the Colorado Springs Police Department as their first black officer. Forced to endure racist remarks and belittlement by his coworkers, he begs to work out of the office and actually get some work done. What he doesn’t know is that he’ll be thrust right in between Colorado Springs’ black liberation movement and white supremacy group.
As a character, Ron is witty, disciplined, caring, and very focused on proving that he can be a decent cop and defeat the prejudice and stereotypes raised against him. Ron manages to trick a few white supremacists, help another member of the undercover team infiltrate their ranks and manages to expose their violent actions against PoC. He has to manage this while trying to maintain a friendship with Patrice, a militant college student involved in the black liberation movement who hates cops and believes they contribute to the criminalization of black people. Ron is torn between his job and his duty to his community. In the end, the result is a little jarring. It seems that the roots of racism run much deeper than what one single person could handle, and despite Ron being in a better place than where he began, the director warns the viewers to look beyond the movie and how individual the focus of the plot is. In other words, this is only a single narrative of the thousands of other stories that black people have had to face and still continue to face, as indicated by the final scenes of the movie.
Aesthetically, the movie sonically and visually transports the viewer into a blend of political organizations, disco heavens, police departments, and white supremacist hideouts. The amount of political propaganda and real-life footage sprinkled throughout the movie gives it an eerie sense of realism that carries through till the very end: where we are reminded of how deep racism and racial issues still affect us. Footage from the Charlottesville riots and a tribute to Heather Heyer closes the movie on a somber and disturbing note. It seems that Spike Lee wanted to remind the public that half a century ago isn’t really as far away as we may feel it is. It’s not easy to intertwine comedy and drama into a biographical film and still deliver a serious message to your audience. It’s rare to find a movie that can make you laugh and simultaneously horrify you, and I felt like this movie really broke the boundaries on what a biographical film could and should be. Overall, the message of this movie was very polarizing, especially with the group of people that the director sought to criticize, but it landed its mark and made a justified and straight critique. Not only did it manage that, but it did it while creating an immersive stage, a visually amazing experience, and a story that will not be forgotten for a long time even out of racial identity and political discussions.
BlacKkKlansman was nominated for 6 awards for the 2019 Academy Awards, and they are (cue the drumrolls, please):
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Best Picture for Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele, and Spike Lee
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Best Director for Spike Lee
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Best Supporting Actor for Adam Driver
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Best Adapted Screenplay for Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
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Best Original Score for Terence Blanchard
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Best Film Editing for Barry Alexander Brown
There’s a good chance that Adam Driver might win Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Flip and the movie should definitely win Best Film Editing for its integration of the past and the present into its narrative.
The 2019 Academy Awards will be held on February 24th! Let’s see if BlacKkKlansman gets its due!