?Oh goody! ?Here?s comes that Black racist troublemaker Spike Lee with yet another movie about how White people are EVIL, Black people are victims and all that jazz. ?We, as Americans, are so sick and tired of Black folks constantly tossing these issues in our faces and rubbing our noses in the dung of a long buried and shameful past. ?YES, there are some racist White people! ?YES, their actions are deplorable! ?But, YES, Black people are guilty of the same thing! ?The constant bitching and moaning is annoying! ?They?re not the only race to have been oppressed! ?There are others who have risen past their abuse to become good upstanding members of society! ?I don?t believe the rhetoric! ?We proved through the election of Barack Obama that we are indeed a post-racial society united and joined together as one. ?Black folks just continue to fan these flames and make it hard for our country to evolve past this narrative. ?Why, oh why, won?t this issue JUST! GO! AWAY?!?!?
Here?s why:
?There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.? (??Proverbs? ?30:12? ?NKJV??)
?There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.? (Proverbs? ?30:14? ?NKJV??)
??The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. ??
??(Numbers? ?14:18? ?NKJV??)
ScreenFish is a Christian based film/entertainment analysis website. ?We view pop culture through the lens of Christ. ?We endeavor to see how He sees, to analyze a film how He would analyze it. ?Having seen and analyzed Spike Lee?s ?BlacKkKlansman? for myself, here is my Christ influenced opinion on the matter:
Racism is America?s Original Sin.
The issue has not gone away because America has neither repented nor turned away from it. ?There is STILL a generation in America who deem themselves to be pure in their own eyes. There is STILL a generation who is bitterly against the notion of judging men and women by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. ?There is STILL a generation who, although they accept the fact that other races shop in their neighborhood stores, go to school with their children, and work in the same offices as they do, when they get behind closed doors they harbor a mindset about non-Whites that is straight outta the Jim Crow/Confederate/Old South playbook.
And you can?t be mad at Spike Lee…or the guy or girl who filmed BBQ Becky, Poolside Patty, or anyone else who captured footage of Black folks committing heinous crimes like swimming in swimming pools or BBQ?ing in the park or selling water on the street to raise money for a school trip. ?All they did is turn the camera on and expose the sin buried deep in the hearts of (some) White people for ?generations.
That’s all Ron Stallworth and the members of the Colorado Springs Police Department did: Expose the ?organization.? ?Mr. Stallworth and team shined a light on the darkness. ?SPOILER: They ultimately exposed a plot to kill a Black Student Union group. ?Upon the thwarting of this plot, KKK Grand Wizard-turned-early 90?s Republican candidate for Governor of Louisiana David Duke (I was a student at Grambling State University when he ran) discovered that the Colorado man he befriended and wanted to MENTOR due to his similar views of White Supremacy was actual a Black undercover cop. ?Light shined. ?But did the darkness hide? ?Nope.
The final scenes of the film show that darkness vibrant, alive and in full force – making a generational leap from 1970?s Colorado to 2017 Charlottesville, VA. ? No turning. ?No repentance. ?Ultimately leading to death…just like it did in 18th/19th/20th century America.
So, yeah, until there is true repentance and a collective turning away of a four-hundred-year belief that one group is superior over another, this issue ain?t going away. ?Their mindset has put them at war against God Himself. ?The iniquity of the Confederacy has been revisited upon their children all across this nation to the 3rd and 4th generation and beyond.
But I see hope. ?I see the chains falling. ?I see hints of the curse about to break. For while I was traversing through the North Dallas, TX mall where I saw BlacKkKlansman, I saw an ocean of Black and White couples – from teenagers to fully grown adults – arm in arm, holding hands, boldly and unashamedly displaying their love for one another. I smiled. ?Because that?s the future. ?THIS generation may be the one to break the curse once and for all.
One can only hope…and pray.
“The issue has not gone away because America has neither repented nor turned away from it. There is STILL a generation in America who deem themselves to be pure in their own eyes. There is STILL a generation who is bitterly against the notion of judging men and women by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. There is STILL a generation who, although they accept the fact that other races shop in their neighborhood stores, go to school with their children, and work in the same offices as they do, when they get behind closed doors they harbor a mindset about non-Whites that is straight outta the Jim Crow/Confederate/Old South playbook.
And you can?t be mad at Spike Lee?or the guy or girl who filmed BBQ Becky, Poolside Patty, or anyone else who captured footage of Black folks committing heinous crimes like swimming in swimming pools or BBQing in the park or selling water on the street to raise money for a school trip. All they did is turn the camera on and expose the sin buried deep in the hearts of (some) White people for generations.”
Good stuff.
All the arguments made in the article are exactly the reasons I will never watch this tripe. It IS further dividing people and I won’t entertain it. America doesn’t have to apologize for anything and Christians have always strived to fight against racism. Let’s also claim Trump is a racist and your “same old same old” argument will be complete.
?Christians have always strived to fight against racism.?? Really Jody? So, who defines ?Christian? because certainly you know the KKK makes claims to Christianity. And you do realize Christianity was the claim of many who lynched over 4000 blacks in the south. And where are these white Christians who are standing up for their fellow brothers and sisters of color who are being wrongfully accused and imprisoned or killed by overzealous bad policemen?
Hmm…so what?s the real reason you aren?t interested in seeing this film? Could it be because it?s a truthful remind of how many hide behind the word Christianity without any intentions of being Christ-like?
Calvin Hicks Same old rhetoric. Thanks for that. Not surprised though. Get a new discussion. Out.
I?d also add the part where slaveowners often utilized Scripture to justify the strange fruit of Calvin and I?s ancestors hung on trees.
What I appreciated is that is was not the same old rhetoric. Chris managed to write a very hopeful article while being realistic about what is still out there. I applaud your work, Chris.
Welp…the LOL emoji reaction to my last statement says it all…
As a student of history, I?m intrigued by a film that with drama and humor approaches such an explosive situation like this. Historically, this isn?t the past ? it?s still happening so it?s not like Lee drags millennial year old history out and we?re like ?man, why?d you bring that up?? I think our empathy allows us to see that this is a current life experience for multiple groups of minorities in our country. The church is still crawling in bed with all types of folks whose propaganda doesn?t match up with any serious reading of the Gospel of Jesus.
Chris Utley you know who else used scripture to justify mass oppression? Almost every tyrannical dictator. Hitler hated Christianity but he learned from good old democrat Jackson how to spin his hate and use it to violently gain power. He also hated communist socialism but he used the tenets of socialism to deceive people into supporting him. He also learned from Margaret Sanger and other eugenicists how to make the perfect society. In the end and what?s not heavily exposed is that Hitler killed many Christians, whites, elderly, ill, disabled, anyone who didn?t fit into his idea of a perfect race, along with millions of Jews. However, if Hitler shared his whole plan of world domination do you think he would have succeeded? Socialism always leads to tyranny, (it might take a couple decades but it will happen) and while our government, both dems and pubs keep us fighting and focused on race and identity politics, they?re leading us to the cliff. There is nothing wrong with Spike Lee reminding us of the past, after all, if we forget the past we?re doomed to repeat it, right? It should help society build stronger bonds, and stick together, to make sure it doesn?t continue happening. We do have a common enemy, and there is a bigger picture.
Vicki: Have you seen the movie?
Chris Utley no, but I would like to.
Chris Utley i went to see Death of a Nation last week, and while I didn?t necessarily agree with everything I did find some of it enlightening. What d?nesh does well is draws similarities from history to now, around the world, not just in America.
Didn?t see any of the D?Souza films
Ya’ll seen Blindspotting?