BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Directed by Spike Lee, Written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, Based on the book Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, Produced by Jason Blum, Spike Lee, Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele & Shaun Redick, Music by Terence Blanchard, Cinematography Chayse Irvin, Edited by Barry Alexander Brown, Starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier & Topher Grace.
(Run Time 135m)
Based on actual events BlacKkKlansman tells the story of Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who in the 1970s teamed up with his colleague Flip Zimmerman to successfully infiltrate the local branch of the violent extreamist hate group the Ku Klux Klan.
This film is wild! What's even wilder is it's based on actual events.
For context, The Ku Klux Klan is a far-right extremist hate group and Christian terrorist organisation that was founded in 1865 in Tennessee, U.S. in the wake of the defeat of the Confederate states in the American Civil War and slavery being abolished.
Their core belief structure is based on being pro-White supremacy & White nationalism and they follow the Protestant branch of the Christian faith and more specifically what is now known as the “Evangelical Church”.
They are Anti-Non White people, anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, Islamophobic, anti-atheism, anti-communist, and anti-trade union, They are against interracial relationships/marriages. They are a Neo-Fascist / Neo-Nazism organisation.
They are most famous for dressing in white robes and pointed hoods, abducting and publicly murdering Black people and burning large crucifixes.
The KKK had 6 million members in America in 1925 this was not an underground thing.
In many communities, in southern American states such as Georgia, it was the norm.
The pro-fascist Klan mindset was so prevalent in American culture that there was a prolonged delay in the U.S. getting involved in WW2 because a huge amount of America would be more interested in siding with the Third Reich.
A major hit to the Klan came in 1946 when the massively successful radio adventure drama series “The Adventures of Superman” had a story arc called “Clan of the Fiery Cross” where Superman battles against a terror group called The Clan of the Fiery Cross who refer to themselves as “True Americans” wear white robes and burn crosses.
So this radio show being beamed into every home in America planted the seed in the heads of millions of Americans that due to the fact Superman needs to fight an organisation incredibly similar to the KKK that would suggest the KKK may actually be villains!
Add to that the general sentiment that WW2 had been won by the allies that included the U.S. and in 1946 Nazis had started to be hanged after the Nuremberg trials.
Many Americans moved away from the whole white nationalist thing (in public anyway) and didn't want to be a paid-up card-carrying Klan members. Sadly we all know they didn't go away but they went more underground. They tried to re-brand themselves in the 1950’s leading more with Anti-Trade Union, Anti-Communism thing which was all the rage in 1950's America and swapped the open “Anti-Antisemitism” for terms like “Anti-Globalisation” and “Globalist” to spread lies and hate regarding people of the Jewish faith.
They continued to still being massively racist but leaned a lot more into Islamophobia but Neo-Fascism and Neo-Nazi rhetoric was still key to unite and excite their base.
In the mid-1970’s a racist and anti-Semite by the name of David Duke who had been a very active member of the “American Nazi Party” until 1974 then he came on board to re-brand the KKK calling it “The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan”
In an attempt to make it seem “kinder and more gentle” like a community group that does charitable things for “Americans” in a bid to make the hate group more palatable and try and gain political positions and have more influence.
David Duke was viewed by his followers as the essential “Strong Man Leader” they could get behind and his diluted rhetoric and his veiled language was actually getting air time in the media and he was being viewed as a viable public figure.
** Actor Topher Grace playing David Duke in the movie.
This is where the events of this film come in…
The film starts with 8mm film being projected on a screen showing a scene from “Gone With The Wind” (1939) lamenting fallen Confederate soldiers and showing the confederate flag flying… segwaying into a KKK recruitment style film being presented by the historically fictional white supremacist individual, Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard who is played by Alec Baldwin. Intercut with scenes from the D.W. Griffith silent film “The Birth of a Nation” (1915) that dramatises the formation and rise of the KKK. Dr Kennebrew Beauregard spews all the rhetoric of the post-1950s Klan ideology I have already covered earlier in this article.
Then we see the young Ron Stallworth played by John David Washington approaching the headquarters of the Colorado police department for a job interview and Spike Lee presents us with the caption,
DIS JOINT IS BASED UPON SOME FO’ REAL, FO’REAL SH*T
Ron is recruited and becomes Colorado’s first Black police officer and is put in the records room. He instantly feels bored and underappreciated and requests some undercover work. The local government and police are growing concerned about The Black Panther Party and civil rights activists operating within the local college and University population so Officer Stallworth attends an event undercover wearing a wire working with two officers from the plane clothes intelligence division. The exercise goes off without a hitch and it's established that other than some challenging language being used the event was quite innocuous however Officer Stallworth is moved into a role in the intelligence division.
One day he is reading the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper and sees a recruitment ad for The Klu Klux Klan, He calls the number and asks for more information/reading materials and leaves his phone number. In what seems like an impossibly short amount of time his phone rings and this is Walter who is now talking in a more coded style simply referring to the Klan as “The Organisation” and asking why Ron is contacting them. Officer Stallworth the young Black officer sitting in his open-plan office/typing pool launches into a speech about how he loathes Black people and uses a string of racial slurs that obviously excites Walter he asks if they can meet and Ron suggests Friday after he finishes work and he hangs up the phone.
It becomes apparent it would not be viable for Black Ron Stallworth to attend a Klan Meeting so they hatch a plan for Ron to be Ron on the telephone but his college Flip Zimmerman played by Adam Driver will be Ron Stallworth in person, a slight hitch is Zimmerman has Jewish heritage but they don’t see that as a huge issue and carry on with their plan.
Flip is thrust into the seedy world of the KKK of the 1970's.
The group talk in this veiled language and doesn’t like saying Klan out loud but a drunk member seems to indicate that they are possibly planning some kind of attack. The police investigation into the local Klan is put in jeopardy due to David Duke’s media charm offensive changing the image of the Klan on the national stage putting doubt on the viability of an undercover investigation of the Klan due to them obviously now being “Inert”.
Ron & Flip aided by Officer Jimmy Creek (played by actor Michael Buscemi who is so obviously Steve Buscemi’s brother!)
Discover the KKK of the 1970's is far from harmless!
This film is brilliant. Spike Lee tells the story of Officer Stallworth infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan while contextualising America under Trump and the MAGA movement.
At times it is less than subtle but you can’t be too subtle with the message that fascism is insidious.
Having Alec Baldwin who was the face of lampooning Trump on SNL as the actor delivering the KKK rhetoric at the beginning of the film was an inspired choice, There is a scene when Stallworth has a conversation with a superior about how dangerous a man with a suit with a media platform echoing the talking points of the Klan could rise in government and could even become President one day! a sobering thought! but we now know it did come to pass. I also appreciate that the script highlights the origin of “America First” as a slogan that comes straight out of the KKK lexicon.
At the conclusion of the film Lee shows the Colorado Springs Klan members performing a cross burning in full regalia in the period of the film and then it cuts to footage from “The Unite the Right Rally” which was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville on August 11–12, 2017. Marchers included members of the Neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, Neo-fascists, white nationalists, Christian Nationalists, Klansmen and far-right militias. Groups chanted racist and antisemitic slogans and carried weapons they openly displayed Nazi and Neo-Nazi symbols the Valknut, Confederate battle flags, Deus vult crosses, flags, and other symbols of various past and present antisemitic and anti-Islamic groups. The organisers' stated goals that included the unification of the American white nationalist movement.
These people marched openly not hiding their identities in front of cameras and the media. He also shows the then President Trump NOT condemning the actions of these Far-right hate groups and we see the real David Duke speaking about how much Trump and himself are on the same page. Spike also shows the footage of a domestic far-right terrorist driving their vehicle into a group of counter-protesters and killing Heather Heyer then a tribute to her fills the screen with the caption “Rest in Power”
He then displays the American Flag inverted.
To display A flag upside down is a distress signal communicating a state of emergency. The inverted flag then turns black and white.
I'm not sure of the meaning of the flag turning black and white it can mean mourning.
It all serves as a chilling reminder that these ridiculous and dangerous beliefs and actions are not relegated to the past which is a risk when you make a period piece of this nature.
When I first saw this movie in the Cinema I did cry at the end… we were in 2018 in the age of information, amazing technology and landing remote control rovers on Mars we have unlocked the genome we know where humans came from and how evolution works but humans are still squabbling about skin colour and who’s religion is “Correct” it's so utterly tragic I watched the film again to write this and again I welled up seeing the Charlottesville footage again so deeply tragic that people conduct themselves in that way.
The film is wonderfully crafted clocking in at two hours and fifteen minutes the pace is brisk and cruises along.
There is some wonderful camera work. I love all the cop driving stuff all shot very in keeping with the period with a real 70’s movie vibe, There are shots with John David Washington where the film colour looks de-saturated and the score has this lamenting electric guitar line that seems to pay homage to 70’s Blaxploitation movies which aesthetically really works in this film.
There is a really cool shot used a couple of times where there is an establishing shot of the scene then there is a handheld shot at character head level that brings you into the scene.
As far as performances are concerned
John David Washington is great and is so charismatic. Adam Driver is amazing (I don’t know if you have noticed… but he is pretty amazing in everything)
A wonderful and truly unnerving performance is delivered by Ashlie Atkinson who plays Connie Kendrickson Felix’s wife she is this woman who has been totally conditioned to hate and comes off as this twisted cult member who has very much drank the Kool-Aid regarding white supremacy. There is a scene with Felix and Connie in bed having a cuddle and engaging in pillow talk that chilled me to the bone.
I suppose I should mention “historical accuracy” since this is very en vogue to harp on about historical accuracy in narrative feature films now.
The actual investigation took place in the late 70's but the film is set in the early 70’s
In the early 70s, David Duke was not the head of the KKK he appeared in 1974, In the early 70s he was still in the American Nazi Party.
Three officers conducted the undercover investigation, Ron Stallworth the second officer played by Adam Driver was not called Flip nor was he Jewish he is actually anonymous in the book and is referred to as “Chuck”
The third cop Jimmy played by Michael Buscemi also went undercover in the Klan.
The character Patrice who is Ron’s love interest that Laura Harrier plays is an invention for the film but apparently, Ron did meet and started dating someone during the investigation.
But I must say, if you are hung up on historical accuracy I would suggest watching films by Ken Burns rather than Spike Lee.
You can rent BlacKkKlansman on Amazon Prime or Apple TV for £3.49
As I said earlier when I first saw this film in the cinema I welled up, sadly the cinema I welled up in is currently closed and they are seeking help to re-open.
