![]() But while “BlackKklansman” countered this reaction with a reality check about the Klan’s resilience, “The Best of Enemies” falls short of conveying just how much the group was once a genuine source of dread for African Americans - a terrorist organization that wielded real power and influence during the Jim Crow era. The movie gives audiences permission to laugh at them, deservedly so. Borrowing a page from “BlacKkKlansman,” the Ku Klux Klan at the center of “The Best of Enemies” is portrayed in comical terms. A similar rationale could be applied to Civil Rights era films like “Green Book” and “The Best of Enemies,” which come at a time when American moviegoers in general are likely more amenable to racially harmonious narratives, to escape the ugly resurgence of bigotry in response to (and within) the current administration.īut Hollywood’s response is uninspired, to say the least - it preserves an ahistorical perspective of the way white supremacy has casually co-existed in modern-day democracy.Īudiences are routinely fed a saccharine treatment of racial conflict in movies that center the transformations of white protagonists (whether real or concocted), in what ultimately becomes a sort of interracial buddy-comedy-drama, as is the case with films like “The Best of Enemies” and “Green Book.” These movies shield white audiences from the true horrors of the period, particularly the physical and psychological toll on many black people faced with intimidation and violence, by relegating them to supporting roles in their own fight for freedom and recognition.Īnd they often rely on blunt caricatures. That worked well for American audiences in 1939, who were reeling from the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. A positive reading of “Gone with the Wind” is that its appeal lay in the resilient spirit of Scarlett O’Hara, who survived the ravages of the Great Depression and was optimistic about the future. This approach often reflects a storyteller’s good intentions, as well as the tunnel vision of a particular cultural moment. Griffith asserted that he was simply depicting the historical truth, a similar defense mounted by filmmakers like “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly - a claim that may be apropos when the phrase “alternative facts” actually carries weight. ![]() Prior to WWII, seminal films like “The Birth of a Nation” (1915) and “Gone with the Wind” (1939) helped formulate popular misconceptions of the Reconstruction with ahistorical portrayals of the antebellum South. ![]() This problem has some precedents in Hollywood. And “ The Best of Enemies” is the latest proof that Hollywood needs to find new ways to tell these stories. There are exceptions, but in the crudest cases, the black person in question is usually just a narrative device for an emotional arc built around the white character’s transformation. The formula is often the same: Stories are set in the Civil Rights era - from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s - and center on black-white relationships, with a white protagonist who is transformed by a relationship with a black person. For better or worse, race-reconciliation movies are a longstanding Hollywood tradition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |