BlacKkKlansman: Just as Relevant as Ever

 Cameron Carmichael

Professor Wisniewski

ENGL 280 01

November 20, 2020


BlacKkKlansman: Just as Relevant as Ever

    The film BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee, takes place in the 1970's following the story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first black man to be apart of the Colorado Springs Police Department, and his journey investigating the Ku Klux Klan in this town of Colorado Springs with the help of his White colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Ron starts this investigation after being promoted to detective and attending a civil rights rally and making a call in the paper for the Ku Klux Klan. Mistakenly, he uses his real name after pretending to be a white man so he asks for help from Flip, to pretend to be the white Ron Stallworth. Over the course of the film, tensions rise as there are constant uses of racial slurs towards Black, Mexican, and people of Jewish decent while also having threats of attacks towards Black and Jewish people, and the attempted bombing of Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), the President of the Black Student Union at Colorado College. Near the end of the film, Ron and his colleagues are being congratulated on the successful case but are then ordered to destroy any evidence of the investigation, with the chief claiming the public shouldn't find out. Ron goes home with Patrice and both are relaxing when there's a knock on the door. They look outside and see a group of KKK members surrounding a burning cross. The film ends, showing clips from a rally from 2017, conducted by Neo-Nazies, Klansmen, and many others with the goal of expressing White Supremacy over others. I believe that this film is especially relevant due to what has taken place this year, and what will continue to happen until there is change.

    This film perfectly executes and makes the racism feel believable with how the characters are depicted, whether its a member of the Ku Klux Klan or a fellow cop in Ron's precinct. It makes the viewer side heavily with Ron and Flip, being the characters who are on the opposing sides of the playing field. The film also does a great job of showing the fight that Black people have been fighting for equality in this country. All that I could think about while watching this film was the "Black Lives Matter" protests that took place earlier this year for the same reason. BlacKkKlansman is a film that really makes you think about what has happened and what is currently happening in the world because its so real, its honest and isn't afraid to be controversial to get the idea out there. All that you can do for a character like Ron Stallworth is cheer them on and only hope that they succeed in the mission that they have taken on. But not all stories end on a high note, there aren't always happy endings. I was so disappointed when I heard Ron's chief tell him to destroy all evidence on the investigation. I couldn't understand why in the moment but after thinking about it, I believe I know the reason why. Many White people during this time wouldn't know how to accept the fact that a Black detective took on and closed a case as big as that, especially considering it involved the KKK. This alludes to the fact that Black people in America will continue to be silenced but will remain strong and keep fighting for what's right. This thought relates to the BLM protests as well, due to how important of an event that they have been this year. Both express the same ideas, being that Black people are still being mistreated in this country and they will continue to fight for equality, with the goal of ending racism. 

    BlacKkKlansman is one of those films that I believe everyone should watch because of what it makes you think about and how it makes you feel afterwards. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it over the last few hours because of how prevalent the ideas exhibited are related to what is going on in the real world today. These protests for "Black Lives Matter" are still going on today and are still as strong as they were when they began, but no one is talking about them. No news station is reporting them, because they aren't seen as important compared to everything else in the world. People are dying every day, protesting for their rights, being attacked by police, and threatened by others who see them as different. Its ironic how after the bomb is placed under Patrice's car, and Ron chases down the woman who put it there, he's assaulted by the police after being claimed to be a rapist. You see this all the time where a misunderstanding or trigger-happy cop will assault a person of color just because of stereotype, believing them to be the real threat. The only reason Ron wasn't arrested was because Flip vouched for him when he showed up to the scene. I believe that this film will leave me thinking for a long time, and I can only hope for the change that is deserved.

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