Documentary Suggestion of The Week - The Black Power Mixtape

A new feature of the blog will be a weekly suggestion of cool documentaries that I feel you should check out. They will usually be easily accessible through Netflix or Youtube. To start this segment off right I am suggesting The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975. The documentary consists of footage shot by Swedish reporters from the year of 1967-1975. The film is broken down into nine chapters taking a look at the events of each year. What is interesting about the picture is that it done from the point of view of foreign journalist. Most of the literature or film about this time in our history was done by white or black Americans.

The film features figures such as Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver. The landmark events of the time such as the King assassination, the Attica uprising and Vietnam War are all looked at through the eyes of these journalist. There is commentary from people like Angela Davis and Harry Belafonte who were around and participating in the Black Power Movement. There is also some real good commentary from Talib Kweli, Questlove and Eryka Badu who represent the generation that followed the movement. With an incredible music playing in the backdrop this is a must watch.

Wheres my MLK Movie?

With Monday being the day that America observes the Martin Luther King holiday I have been seeing a lot of his quotes and speeches in various places. This made me question something about his legacy. Where is the definitive MLK movie? I know there have been small pictures depicting his life. There is even a movie titled ‘Memphis’ by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum). No offense to Paul but the title already tells me that this will not be the deep piece I was hoping for. According to an article in the Huffington Post the film is “to focus on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- specifically in the time leading up to his death.”

Say what you want about Martin Luther King but he is our most famed civil rights icon. In the days where Abraham Lincoln has a fictional and a fact based movie come out, I think it shows there is some box office in history. King would be good because he is a more relatable and recent figure. I need a filmmaker to step up the way Spike Lee did to make Malcolm X. Unlike Lee the filmmaker whom presents this project may actually get some funding from a major studio.

Don’t get me wrong I do understand that there will be some challenges to making a movie on this scale. It maybe that some in Hollywood are fearful of taking on such a huge task. The length of the film would be the first issue because it’s hard to tell a life story in two hours. Then there is the content and do we talk about some of the negative parts of King’s past. Would a depiction of anything bad despite how factual it could be hurt the image of a hero. All those things being said I would like somebody to get it done.