Why I Can Celebrate (and Dress Up For) Black Panther & The Birth of a Nation

Today I came across a Facebook post that seemed to suggest we should be more supportive of The Birth of a Nation and similar films than Black Panther. I've also come across posts that are not such big fans of people dressing up for Black Panther. In fact, I've seen quite a few posts from other Black people trying to tell those of us who are more excited than most how we are or are not allowed to be excited (Why do you have to dress up? Have you been to a country in Africa? Do you know if that's authentic attire you're wearing?...and so on...). My question for those trying to tell me and others how to celebrate a film we are excited about is, why do you think you can tell me how to celebrate Black Panther and will you be posing these questions when Han Solo: A Star Wars Story comes out (Why are you dressed like Han Solo? Have you been to outer space? Do you know if astronauts really wear that material?)?  

I didn't want to post that on Facebook, because what bothers me the most about it is Black Panther just came out. Can you give us time to celebrate and have fun before you come rain on our parade? So I didn't want to put any additional negativity out there. However, my comment on the aforementioned sharing of the post suggesting Black people are too excited for Black Panther and weren't excited enough about The Birth of a Nation got rather long, and I recalled it was the very reason I created this platform. So without further ado (with the addition of photos):

 I was excited for both films well before they came out, and loved both! And yes, I dressed up for Black Panther, like so many do for their favorite superhero films. Why can't we? Why can't we dress up? Why can't we get excited and celebrate a fun experience without people trying to dictate how we do so? But further, what that list is lacking, is recognition that this film is full of powerful portrayals of Black people (especially Black women, especially Black women with more melanin than usually accepted in Hollywood), is full of amazing Black actors, is written and directed by an amazing Black man, and most importantly, is speaking to topics and conversations that are very accurate and relevant for Black people. 

Accurate?? The film incorporates an actual African language, specifically ixiXhosa, a language spoken by 8 million South Africans (and spoken by Nelson Mandela). The cultures of various tribes in Africa were incorporated in the film. The message about what Black people have been facing in America, is real (in fact part of the reason I'm lightweight Team Killmonger). 

Seeing a Black woman over all of the technology that makes Wakanda the most technological country in the world, seems about right to me given Black women in America are the most educated group in the country (also see the amazing women from Hidden Figures). Seems like an accurate portrayal of what we can do. Also seems like an accurate portrayal of what a country in Africa that was never colonialized could look like. 

I appreciate films like The Birth of a Nation, because I love our history (I majored in it in college). And it is something to see portrayals of Black people that actually existed, and how they fought back and/or overcame even tougher conditions than we face. However, don't be fooled. Even those films change the stories (the scene where Kevin Costner knocks down the White Only bathroom sign in Hidden Figures...that NEVER happened). But that doesn't mean that there is nothing for us to gain from both types of films, those sharing the stories about our heroes (whether they were real or made up), as long as they uplift, empower, and educate. Speaking of education, I love it when we have a mainstream film like Black Panther, because honestly it's not just about us seeing the reflection of ourselves. It's about others seeing positive and amazing reflections of us, to counter all the other negative portrayals they put out about us. And frankly, why shouldn't we love being able to see our amazingness on the big screen without us being a slave or in segregation.

 I loved seeing us being our normal amazing selves in a film where we had a country where that was just to be expected! I want to see more of both films, and the only way to keep getting more with great quality and stories is to show up in the box office. So I bought my tickets to The Birth of a Nation, Selma, Hidden Figures AND Fences, Get Out, and Black Panther! And let us not forget films like Best Man Holiday and Girls Trip! Let's support them all (and be as extra as we want, the cinema is supposed to be fun)!!

Black Panther Review

Reviews of The Birth of a Nation

BMRC Review

Just My Opinion Review

8 Arms & Counting Review

The Birth of a Nation Review [Alandrus David - 8 Arms & Counting]

Literally just walking out of the movie theater and I feel so much. Every emotion you can think of combined into one is what I feel. 

The movie entered with so much.I don't want to give away too much, but I want to explain why so much effort has gone into not wanting this film to be seen and why we must see it.He was exposed to his African ancestry before a Bible even touched his hands. So many of us never knew of such a connection. It was so important to remember that those deeply connected to their heritage fought so hard not to assimilate.We then see Nat Turner was a white child's playmate. The very same playmate who would one day own him. Later we see Nat being stripped away from his mother to learn to read by Missus. She "lovingly" told him books, other than the bible, were too complicated for "his kind" to understand. This reminded me of the time Justice Scalia said black people weren't smart enough for more challenging (white) schools. Those roots run deep.Little Nat was seen visiting the church with Missus until Master died. She then said it was the Master's will that Nat returned to the fields. My interpretation of this was Nat was being used until he was no longer useful, like black culture. Our culture is loved, but we are not. So our bodies become disposable. Nat then begins going into town with Master Sam, who used to be his playmate. Nat sees a slave auction block and a slave girl named Cherry who had been beaten, more than likely raped as well. He convinces Sam to buy her. She is apparently suffering from Present Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Nat's mother and nana clean her up and present her to Sam's daughter as a "gift". You know, being a slave, and not a human,makes you eligible to be a gift. Nat and Cherry's joy and love that they have with each other begins to blossom. It reminds me how often we experience so much trauma in this country, but still manage to find a piece of joy.Later, Sam is presented with the proposition of earning more money and getting slaves in line by having Nat preach the gospel of submission into them. We see how slave owners took the Gospel and made it into something so vile as to justify the torture, rape, and enslavement of  human beings.As it goes, Nat being a slave had no choice. Nat began to preach only the parts of slaves submitting to their masters to the slaves, but you knew his heart broke as he began to preach about a God of love as man twisted that love for their own sadistic purposes. As Nat began to visit these plantations, the conditions for slaves began to worsen and the money kept increasing. I didn't think it would be shown, but Nate Parker did not sugar coat anything. He showed slaves protesting in shackles over their wrists and their mouths gagged with metal pieces. One slave refused to eat and so the slave owner took a hammer and chisel to knock out each tooth one by one in order to funnel food down his throat. It even made Sam uncomfortable, but not enough to leave without taking the money. A reminder of how white silence is violent.We begin to see Nat's heart turning, but what brings his resistance to a head is the way women, Black women, are being mistreated.  Cherry is gang raped, and Ester was requested, and approved by Sam, to be raped by one of his guests. These events show that even a black man's wife wasn't off limits. He had to stand and wait for a white man to do whatever he wanted to his wife and do absolutely nothing to stop it. At this point, I'm angry and crying. I know what it's like to watch your friends get slammed against the hood of a car by police and all you can do is stand on the side and watch. Then you have to accept them back broken physically and emotionally and go on with life as if it never happened.Ester's husband asked Nat "Where is your God now?" In the past 2 years I have been guilty of asking God this question. Where was he when Daniel Holtzclaw raped over 13 women? Where was he when Dylann Roof shot up a church? Where has God been with these constant murders of black people on camera? Nat reminded us that God was always there. The scripture that revealed God's wrath upon the oppressors came on the screen and became all too real. You should be glad back people seek equality and not revenge.The same Bible that slave owners used to oppress us would be the same to free us. The same can be said about evangelicals today only condemning racism as a sin issue and claiming to just leave it in God's hand to justify ignoring our struggle in this nation. We see how Nat waited on God to make his move, almost in a sense of how Moses waited until God said it was time for the Israelites to be freed from bondage. Nat gathers other slaves, who were sick and tired of waiting for their freedom. They were prepared to take their freedom. Neither death nor imprisonment would keep them from it. They had faith that God called them to spark the match that would lead to the liberation of black people. History, that none of American schools have taught us, says Nat was hung, and to make an example of him, they skinned him and used his flesh to make lamps and furniture (the sadistic slavery America wants you to forget). Many other slaves and free blacks were hung because of white fear. The same white fear that can claim "he looks like a bad guy" so you shoot him and claim to temporarily go deaf can be related to this.After watching this movie, I can see why so much effort has gone into not wanting it to be seen. If you do not feel the revolution brewing, you must not know your history. Our people have constantly fought back, despite the efforts of trying to erase our past. We are not meant to endure the numerous videos of police shooting unarmed black people. We are not meant to endure our moments of joy constantly being stripped from us. We are not meant be hunted like animals, have our rights taken away from us,watch our babies bleed in the streets, our husbands murdered next to broken down cars, our mothers die protecting us. Now, we are peaceful. We endure. We march on, but it makes me wonder, how long will we be expected to continue going on like this?

Check out Alandrus David's Blog 8 Arms & Counting. 

The Birth of a Nation Review [Brandon Keith Avery - JustMyOpinion.net]

Within history there’s so much to tell and pass on to future generations. Some figures are plastered on the covers of history books with their statues erect for the world to see, while others are forgotten or swept under the rug. If only all historical figures had a chance to tell their side of the story who knows what world we’d live in today. One of those stories that most have never heard of is that of Nat Turner (Nate Parker). He was an African-American who led a rebellion of slaves and free Blacks in Southampton Virginia in 1931 that led to the death of their masters. This is Nate Parker’s directorial debut, and it’s a near masterpiece. Parker was not only able to address a different context of slavery, but was also able to shine light on how much history repeats itself. It’s an uncomfortable film to watch, but a form of art everyone should see.

Whether or not every incident within The Birth of a Nation is true or false, it’s clear Parker is making a few political statements. At the time of this release, in Fall of 2016, it echoes the same sentiments that are heard in the middle of presidential rallies today. The film screams to the roof tops on many levels on how nothing has changed as far as people’s prejudices against those who don’t look the same as they do. It’s also a prime example of how those who don’t know the future are doomed to repeat it, and is a wakeup call to stop the atrocities that are still going on. This will definitely upset the guilty, and it’s apparent to me this was intentional.

Before its release, you were probably under the impression that the protagonist is one to praise due to this being a true story. You wouldn’t be wrong for making that assumption, but what the film does so well is give you a reason why with Nat Turner’s youth. He was told he was special and would do great things, and that was the spark that sent him on his way. There was a purity and innocence towards the introduction that pulled on your heart strings for you to care. You felt nothing but sympathy for Nat as he was born into the world just like his childhood friend Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), only to have Turner turn on him years later and to be looked down upon. It’s frightening to imagine generations of people had to cope with this, and Parker illustrated the damaging psychology through his great direction and phenomenal acting abilities in front of and behind the camera.

As mentioned earlier, the film at times is uncomfortable to watch as men and women are treated worse than anything imaginable. This isn’t just another movie about being beaten with whips, but being degraded to a level I didn’t think was possible. Even within all the brutality, Parker was able to show the power of love. That love that’s shared between a man and woman destined to be together. That love for justice and never giving up. You see, Nat Turner was so powerful with his presence it’s shocking he never lost his faith. No matter what cards he was dealt he knew he was alive to do something meaningful. That’s what’s so honorable about his character. He had no reason to believe he would ever endure a good day, yet he kept fighting on. It wouldn’t have mattered though if the performance didn’t cater to the man, and with Nate Parker it did. With it being nearly the end of the year he needs to be in the conversation for best male leading role. There was so much pain behind his eyes as he cried on screen. He trembled and shook so fiercely back and forth as he was boiled up with frustration and anger from the unrighteousness done to him and his people. On top of that, he still kept his head high. And with the acting I don’t know what was more painful; looking at him and his fellow slaves withstand a beating, or the fact that with everything taken away from him he stayed strong. When he cried the audience cried, because it’s all so hard to stomach. He was a smart man and tried to use his talents wisely. Not for those that surrounded him, but for all that are oppressed and would be oppressed in the future. Even when the White man tried to justify their evil using the word of God, he wasn’t having it. And I couldn’t imagine any other actor telling it the way he did.

There are so many wonderful achievements that were reached in the making of this film. A man’s debut behind the camera was knocked out of the park for many reasons. It was for finding balance between the light and the dark. At times while someone was degraded, another character was shown love. While another was put to shame, another was encouraged for their beauty. While some were beat down, others were built back up. Not only is this film a great history lesson, it contains a powerful message that’s uplifting, motivating, inspiring, and will get a conversation started. The acting was superb across the board from every mannerism, gesture, and emotion; and If you don’t turn in your seat a few times there’s a chance you don’t have a pulse.

9/10

Release Date: October 7, 2016

Director: Nate Parker

Writer: Nate Parker, Jean McGianni Celestin

Cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Junior, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Tony Espinosa, Jayson Warner Smith, Jason Stuart, Chike Okonkwo, Katie Garfield, Kai Norris, Chris Greene, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Steve Coulter, Jeryl Prescott, Justin Randell Brooke, Dominic Bogart, Justin M Smith, Allen Phoenix, Aiden Flowers

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 120 minutes

Production Company: Argent Pictures, Bron Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, Follow Through Productions, Hit 55 Ventures, Infinity United Entertainment, Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Novofam Productions, Oster Meida, Phantom Four, Point Made Films, Tiny Giant Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Genre: Biography, Drama

Language: English

Country: USA

Budget: $10,000,000 (estimated)

Read more reviews by Brandon Keith Avery at Just My Opinion.net. 

The Birth of a Nation Featurette - Women of Rebellion

The Birth of a Nation Review

I had been waiting with great anticipation for this film, but it was not what I expected! And it was with good reason it was not what I expected, because The Birth of a Nation gives a slave narrative not seen before in Hollywood. So it had to take a different approach to telling this story, an approach I simply wasn't used to. 

I am used to films about slavery doing enough character development of a handful of slaves to bring me to tears when they are mistreated, terrorized, beaten, whipped, raped, separated, murdered, and tortured. There was no such character development here. However, it was fitting with the narrative. This is not a story about a slave who is focused on the freedom of his own family, rather Nat Turner (Nate Parker, Red Tails) is a slave who starts an uprising on behalf of not only his family but all slaves. He wasn't looking for ways to escape to freedom, he was igniting a flame to end slavery and get freedom for all slaves! This means he was also doing this for slaves he had only seen once, as well as slaves he had never met. Why? Because slavery is wrong! So we as the audience also need not have an emotional connection to each slave we see being mistreated. And not having that character development in place as a tool to create such a connection, I think brings the audience closer to Turner. 

On the one hand we see slaves we only see on the screen once being tortured as Turner is taken to plantations owned by soulless slaveowners who are looking for a Black preacher to preach their slaves into further submission, and on the other hand we do not see any of the actual rape take place in the two main rape scenes. Interestingly enough, it was the scenes immediately following both rapes, when Turner is by Cherry's  (Aja Naomi King, How to Get Away with Murder) side and when Hark (Colman Domingo, Selma) is consoling Esther (Gabrielle Union, Being Mary Jane), that brought me to tears 2 of the 3 times I cried during the film. Though there was not much character development for Cherry, though there is some, and Esther, and none of the rapes took place on screen, I empathized with both couples as they cried together. I had an emotional connection with their emotions, as opposed to their characters. It is certainly an interesting choice for a film that shows a head that has been blown off and teeth being knocked out of the mouth of a slave we only see once, to choose to not show the rape scene with two characters who at least have names and more than one scene. Heck one of them is the wife of the main character! Why is that? I believe the film purposefully chose not to emotionally tie us down to the experience of the slaves closest to Turner, in order to give us the full experience of an uprising that was much bigger than just Turner's family and friends!

Then there's the spirituality in the film. While there are certainly elements of spirituality that traces back to Africa throughout scenes in the film, Christianity obviously has a large presence. When the wife of his original slaveowner, Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller, The Artist) discovers young Nat Turner (Tony Espinosa, Uncle Buck) can read she moves him into the house to teach him. When she sees Turner reaching for a book on the shelf, she stops him and tells him those books are only  for White people. She then gives him the one book she says Black people can understand, the Bible. So Turner learns to read and study the Bible. So despite being taken to various plantations to preach on submission, Turner had full exposure to what the entire Bible says. He even points this out in one scene, noting he knows more than just the few pages slaveowners want their slaves to hear and know. And this goes back to the fact that he was not taught to read the Bible to make him a preacher, but rather the Bible was used as a tool to further his ability to read. So he was not spoon-fed particular scriptures, rather he was given full access to the entire Bible. 

As the film progressed, and Turner himself was being used as part of the mechanism to use Christianity to make slaves more submissive, I found myself wondering if he would completely turn his back on Christianity. And when he found himself somewhat on the other end of this when he asked his wife who were the men who raped her and she quoted back to him scripture  he taught her about vengeance belonging to God, I just knew that was it for him and Christianity. But recall he was aware of the entire Bible, not just the parts used by slaveowners. When Isaiah (Roger Guenveur Smith, Dope) warned him that God is a God of love, Turner replied by saying he is also the God of wrath. In another scene Turner speaks on the scriptures that condemn the way they are treated as slaves. He even references scripture during the uprising, noting people of the Bible like Joshua and David. Such affirmation of Christianity and its nuances is not to be expected in Hollywood. It is not an either/or, as some would like to frame Christianity due to the misuse of it in the enslavement of Black people.  Rather, the film shows how Christianity was manipulated and compressed into a small portion of the Bible to condone slavery. 

Then there's the symbolism. Cherry's face after being raped made me think of Emmett Till. In a later scene, when she tells Turner they are killing Black people just for being Black, I thought about #BlackLivesMatter. I cried for the third time when I heard Nina Simone singing Strange Fruit as the film showed Black bodies hung from trees. And most striking for the film, Nat Turner's final scenes were clearly symbolic of the crucifixion of Christ. This was not striking  merely because of the similarities to the crucifixion of Christ, but more so for what it was saying about the film. In this film depicting a slave narrative, there is no White savior like many other slave films in Hollywood. The savior in The Birth of a Nation is Black!! But if you want to get deep with it, it could also symbolize that the uprising did not die with Nat Turner. His death is only the beginning, we have a choice to live free and continually seek our right to live free or to stay enslaved. 

In my opinion, The Birth of a Nation lived up to its initial hype! The acting was great. The cinematography and choices in shots seemed to be well thought out and effective. And though less time was spent on the actual uprising than I expected, the film kept a pretty good pace. Overall, it was a  great film, and certainly not just another slave film!

10/10

The Birth of a Nation Official HD Trailer

The Birth of a Nation Trailer