BlacKkKlansman: The Deep Thread of Social Commentary

 It’s impossible to talk about BlacKkKlansman without talking about its social commentary. Asking BlacKkKlansman certain questions shows how deep Spike Lee threads his social commentary into the movie.

Where did it come from? 

BlacKkKlansman is a film directed by Spike Lee. It draws its inspiration from a real-life story of Ron Stallworth as he infiltrated the KKK in the early 1970s. I use the term inspiration when it is an understatement. Many of the things seen in the movie actually happen in the real-life investigation. Ron Stallworth did have phone calls and take a picture with David Duke, he did use his real name to infiltrate the KKK, and he really did start the investigation from a Klan ad in the paper. While there might not have been a bombing and a student union love interest, most of the events in the story are very true to life. The movie comes from a place of reality and struggle. BlacKkKlansman not only comes from a place of past reality and struggle but also a place of modern reality and struggle. Which brings us to our second question:

What is it made up of?

I don’t necessarily mean this in the most general sense in that ‘It is a movie so it's made up of a series of shots edited together’, but more specifically to BlacKkKlansman. The movie is made up of a lot of things, but there are a few standouts. One, the movie is made up of hate. It is one of the foundations of the movie and there is a lot of hate speech and hate crimes throughout the film. This hate is sewn together with the second main component, references to the present day. The movie constantly provides hints and nods towards what is happening in our current political climate, from little things like David Duke saying he wants America to “achieve its greatness again”, the many talks about police brutality and abuse of power, and a conversation about how America would never elect someone like David Duke (oh, the irony). The movie even decides that references aren't enough at the end, and shows real-life footage of modern protests and hate-crimes while the president calls white-supremacists “fine people”. These 2 main components combine to make the social commentary seen in the movie. With this being said, we come to our final questions:

What is it trying to do? and What does it want you to ask?

BlacKkKlansman, much like most commentaries, aims to create change. Its goal is to make you stand up and join protests and to do your own research about the issues it presents. It wants you to ask how similar the present day is to the early 1970s and whether we have made progress on these issues. It assures you that the fight for equality is far from over and that these issues are still present. 

BlacKkKlansman aims to recruit its audience through its sharp social commentary.


Also, check out this cool article that I used to help write this: (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/08/blackkklansman-ron-stallworth-true-story-spike-lee-kkk)


Comments

  1. Kaitlyn WoodardNovember 22, 2020 at 7:20 PM

    I agree with a lot you had to say. Especially the overall goal of persuading the audience to do something and/or become more aware of the situation at hand. Especially how the present emulates the harmful actions of the past and that we can not just continue to ignore this.

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