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Judas and the Black Messiah

Judas & the Black Messiah: “I Want to Live”

March 9, 2021 by Chris Utley Leave a Comment

The film has been on HBO Max for about a month now. I knew watching it was gonna require courage, as historical dramas about Black pain and suffering only serve to make me angry. So, I avoided it as long as I could until I finally sat down to watch on the first Saturday in March.

And, as I figured, I got angry. Very angry.

I wasn’t angry at the acting or the story or the filmmaking process. I was angry at the reality that has not gone away 50 years later.

The thing that leapt off the screen for me as I watched: The SYSTEMIC racism. Emphasis on the word SYSTEMIC. I’m talking specifically those scenes within the FBI and their chessboard maneuvering.

Black mobilization is a threat. Always has been. Always will be. It’s why slaves couldn’t learn to read. It’s why the flame of Reconstruction was doused by Jim Crow. It’s why King, X, Medgar Evers, Fred Hampton and countless other Brothers and Sisters had their lives taken.

It’s why they label BLM as “communist” and “Marxist.” It’s why over 40 states are currently in the process of remixing voting laws – even drafting bills to make it illegal to serve food and water while standing in line for hours waiting to vote. 1969. 2021. Mobilization Is still a threat. And their greatest fear.

An IRRATIONAL fear.

J. Edgar Hoover in the film hypothetically asks Mitchell, the FBI agent handling Bill (Judas) O’Neal, what he’d do if his baby daughter brought home a Negro whom she was in love with. His point: Survival. Protection of their way of life. Fear of being conquered. Hoover’s words echoed the now famous Charlottesville Tiki Torch sentiment. Those marchers targeted Jews. But they could have inserted anyone in their war cry.

(WHOMEVER) WILL NOT REPLACE US!

REPLACE YOU? 🤣🤣🤣

For the record, we are not trying to replace Whites. We don’t want your throne. We don’t want your seats of honor. We don’t want your status or your authority. “New World Order” is laughable to us. Marxist regimes are the furthest thing from our collective minds.

Fred Hampton, MLK, BLM are all fighting for the same sentiment – a sentiment best expressed by a Jay Z song title:

CAN I LIVE?

Can I work for a livable wage to raise my sons and daughters without restriction?

Can I go to my job wearing the hairstyle I want, speaking my normal dialect without having to codeswitch? Can I get the opportunities to advance in my field without those previously stated issues being an issue?

Can I go to church without having to assimilate into a White Evangelical approved form of Christianity that denies my true expression of who I am? Can I sing, shout, say AMEN, embrace my African heritage in my expression of faith without it being a threat?

Can I buy a house in the same neighborhood as you and you not feel so threatened that you engage in non-neighborly microaggressions insinuating that I am not welcome there? Can my house get the same appraised value attached to it even with my photos of my African American family of 5 framed on the walls?

Can I just get a ticket for speeding? Can I just walk home from a store? Can I just drive to my new job? Can I do ANYTHING that results in me just getting a write up instead of a toe tag at the morgue? And can my expression of righteous anger and frustration not require the use of deadly force because you see Black anger as a threat?

If I CHOOSE to love your daughter, Agent Mitchell, is that enough? Can I not be subjected to jests about how dark the baby’s skin color will be? If other family members express their racist thoughts about my presence in the family, will you defend me? Or will we be ostracized from your family – and our children lose their birthright – because we won’t “play the game?”

Replace you? No, White community. It’s never been about that. We just want to live. All we want is our modern day equivalent of that promised 40 acres and a mile and we’ll keep living. Some of us will live with you in our space. Some of us won’t. That’s our choice.

You have a choice too. Let Hoover’s fear consume you. Let the irrational horror of what we might do take over your hearts and minds. Continue to mangle Scripture for your own benefit.

Or…you can live. With us. Lose your fear. Lose your terror. Lose your life…and find it again like Jesus said. When you’re ready, our arms are wide open ready to live with you and love you.

Thank you Chairman Fred.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Reviews Tagged With: Fred Hampton, Judas and the Black Messiah, LaKeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen, Oscars, systemic racism

Films in Full Colour #6 – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

February 28, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

We, at ScreenFish, believe that we are all created in God’s image and want to show our support where we can to those in the Black Community who continue to battle against systemic racism. While our team strives for diversity, we can always do better ourselves in giving voice to those who need the chance to speak out and be heard. 

Set in the heat of the late 1960s, Judas and the Black Messiah follows Bill O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a young man pressured by the FBI to infiltrate the Black Panther party. As he grows closer to the Party’s charismatic Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), O’Neal becomes torn between the government who holds his future and the leader that he is drawn towards. This week, Jordan Thoms and I discuss the relationship between revolution and violence and  the meaning of the Black Messiah.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Soundcloud! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts or Google Play!

Want to continue the conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

Films in Full Colour 6 – Judas and the Black MessisahDownload

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Podcast Tagged With: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah, LaKeith Stanfield, Shaka King

Judas and the Black Messiah: The Struggle is Real

February 12, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

“You can murder a freedom fighter but you can’t murder freedom.” – Fred Hammond (Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah)

Set in the midst of the civil rights movement of the late 1960s, Judas and the Black Messiah tells the true story of William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a young thief arrested for stealing a car. Facing serious prison time, O’Neal is offered a plea deal by the FBI on the condition that he would be willing to operate as an informant in the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther party. Reluctantly accepting the role, O’Neal enlists with the Panthers where he meets their magnetic Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). As he moves higher up in the party’s ranks, O’Neal becomes increasingly torn between supporting a leader for whom he has gained respect and the FBI who continues to press him for information so they can bring Hampton down.

Though over fifty years ago, it goes without saying that the film has never felt more current. Coming at a time where police brutality and racial injustice are daily topics of conversation, the story of Fred Hampton resonates loudly within our current cultural climate. As the first major film from director Shaka King, Black Messiah tells the story of Hampton and O’Neal with focus and heat. Compelling from start to finish, King weaves a story that manages to portray the urgency of an era without being afraid to draw comparisons to today’s struggles for equality as well.

Featuring incredible performances from its entire cast, the film is anchored by its two primary stars. As the nervous outsider O’Neal, Stanfield brings the character to life as a man conflicted by his decisions. Though O’Neal’s actions are questionable at best, Stanfield shows grace to in his performance by portraying him as a man crushed under the weight of his own burdens. However, while Stanfield’s work is particularly solid, the film is stolen by Kaluuya who continues to display his talent and maturity as an actor. As the charismatic Hampton, Kaluuya fully invests his energy and charm into every scene. Whether he’s motivating the crowds or speaking softly to his loved ones, Kaluuya brings an intensity and fire to the role that is positively mesmerizing to watch onscreen and should be recognized as Oscar season draws nearer.

In many ways, it is appropriate that the film uses the title Judas and the Black Messiah. While the film never uses these nicknames throughout the film, Black Messiah absolutely takes on the structure of the Biblical narrative of Jesus and his betrayal at the hands of one of his disciples. Though history has often emphasized the violence of the era, this film portrays Hampton as a loving revolutionary who fights for the rights of all of the oppressed. Though absolutely prepared to engage in the fight where necessary, Black Messiah makes sure to point out that Hampton’s battle against the powers that be stems from a place of love. To him, the struggle for freedom is far larger than himself and he is willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary, even if he must put himself harm’s way in the process. (For example, when his followers attempt to hide him from danger, Hampton defiantly asks “Is the party about me or is it about the people?”)

However, rather than merely deify Hampton and his work, this is a narrative that wants the audience to feel the weight of the story from the perspective of its ‘Judas’, William O’Neal. Caught between the FBI and the Panthers, O’Neal is a man torn between his own well-being and the good of the many. In this way, Black Messiah recognizes the importance of Hampton’s message yet also remains sympathetic to O’Neal’s struggle along the way. Whereas following Hampton may have made the story about one man’s struggle, Black Messiah’s focus on O’Neal’s journey allows for the story to emphasize the struggle itself. In other words, the shift in perspective allows the film to become less about the life of a single person and more about deciding who you will follow in the midst of an ongoing war for justice. 

In light of this, it’s interesting to note that the film ends with footage of the real-life O’Neal who states that he ‘chose a side’. Though clearly worn down by the weight of his decisions, his self-justification instead focuses on the fact that he took a position in the fight rather than simply sitting on the sidelines. In this way, O’Neal’s choice mirrors the message of Black Messiah by calling viewers to understand that they must still make decisions today about where they stand on issues of racial injustice. (After all, a person who chooses to stand with no particular ‘side’ is still making a choice.) While it may be sympathetic towards O’Neal, King’s script contains an urgency that reminds the viewer of the importance of choosing justice in the face of a culture that fights to hold on to the status quo.

With its eyes firmly focused on freedom for all, Judas and the Black Messiah is a film that stays with you long after the credits roll. Featuring stellar work from its cast, the true power of Black Messiah though lies not the story of one man’s sacrifices for the sake of others but by the reality that the same fight still rages on to this day.

Judas and the Black Messiah is available in theaters, on PVOD and on HBOMax on Friday, February 12th, 2021

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Premieres, Reviews Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, Black Panthers, Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah, LaKeith Stanfield

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