Fighting The Power: 10 Provoking Movies about Race that Get under Your Skin

The use of movies and television as a tool for social commentary has always been an incredibly effective way to spark conversation on the state of affairs and critique the ills that plague society. Over the years, Hollywood and the film industry has tried to address one of the biggest issues in today’s society, racism. From Driving Miss Daisy (1989) to If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Hollywood has used different genres to try to portray racism in the society to varying degrees of efficiency. Here, I’m going to look at 10 different movies with racism as their prevalent theme that would give you literal chills and if you’re black, probably piss you off. So without further ado, let’s get into it.

10. Get Out

The first movie on my list is a movie from one of my least favorite genres, horror. However, it is perfect for what this movie is trying to portray. Following the story of a young black man who goes to visit his white girlfriend’s family in the suburbs for the weekend when her parents start acting weird. At first he attributes their behavior as a reaction to his relationship with their daughter but soon finds out that there is a more sinister plot of unimaginable proportions. With a twist on the traditional plot of horror movies, director Jordan Peele tries to portray the horrors associated with being black in America. He tries to show what it’s like for your features; your strength, your talents and in this case, your eyes to be wanted but not actually be wanted as a person. It is a fantastic mix of horror and humor while also addressing important societal issues.

9. If Beale Street Could Talk

Based on the original 1974 novel written by James Baldwin, This Barry Jenkings masterpiece is one of my top picks . Set in 1970’s Harlem, this romantic drama takes us on a journey through the life of a young couple, Tish and Fonny (or Alonzo as he is sometimes referred to) whose relationship is rudely interrupted when Fonny played by Stephen James, is accused of rape by a white woman and although it is practically impossible for him to have been present , a police officer who as we find out previously had an altercation with Fonny, swears to have seen him fleeing the scene of the crime. From Tish and Fonny’s struggles in getting a loft to the extent in which Tish’s family and Fonny’s father have to go in order to keep up with the financial demands of trying to get Fonny out of jail, we are able to understand what it was like to be black and live in America during that time and at the end we can all feel the pain and anger that the characters feel as Tish is forced to live the reality of many black women today and raise her newborn son all by herself while Fonny spends time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. And we have no choice but to agree with Fonny when he says, “this country just don’t like n*****s.”

8. 13th

Speaking of the criminal justice system, my next pick is probably the most eye opening documentary you would ever watch. Directed by Ava DuVernay, this Netflix documentary would leave you disturbed. It explores the connection between race, slavery and the criminal justice system from a historical perspective. DuVernay exposes the reasons for the mass incarceration of black men and women throughout history in America. It is a brilliant expose that transports us into the world of unprecedented levels of corporate greed and political corruption that drives the American prison system. There isn’t really much to say about this brilliant documentary, you just have to watch it watch it.

7. Do The Right Thing

Released in 1989, this Spike Lee joint is by far the oldest movie on this list. The plot is centered around life on a street in Bed-Stuy, New York on an extremely hot summer’s day as racial tensions rise and the main character, Mookie played by Spike Lee is at the center of it all. This movie is not important for its plot or production but rather for its timely significance. Very controversial in its time, it went against the trend at the time and set a precedent for future movies on social issues such as discrimination, race and police brutality. This movie is one for the history books and at the very least more deserving of the 1990 Academy Award for Best Picture than the eventual winner, “Dances with the wolves”. Perhaps the real injustice is that it wasn’t even nominated for the category.

6. 42

Coming in at number 6, the only movie on this list that does not end up with someone dead or in jail. 42 follows the story of the life of the first black man to play major league baseball, Jackie Robinson from the moment the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers at the time, Branch Rickey decided to take the step towards racial inclusion in the sport. Like many others on this list, this is a story of struggle and strife and eventual triumph. Maybe it’s just the performance of Chadwick Boseman but we are taken on an emotional journey throughout this film. We feel the excitement when he is first called to join the Brooklyn Dodgers, The pain and anger when hate and bigotry threatens to derail his progress and joy when everything eventually works out. This is a real feel good story which makes us believe that anything is possible and really gives us hope for the future.

5. Fruitvale Station

Directed by Ryan Coogler, this true life story is a real tearjerker. Based on the final day in the life of Oscar Grant before he is tragically shot and killed by police in a train station, this movie portrays Oscar Grant in a different light. After his death, the mainstream media Portrayed Oscar Grant to be an ex-con, a drug dealer and someone who got what was coming to him. This movie shows another side of Oscar Grant. Here he is shown as a loving father, a supportive partner, a caring son and all in all a decent human being. With excellent performances from the likes of Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, this movie inspires a myriad of emotions leaving you feeling angry, upset and sad at the end of it all. What is even more impressive about this film is that the budget for it was just $900,000 which is relatively small for a movie of such quality.

4. Marshall

At number four is another movie starring the late great Chadwick Boseman. Marshall is a biopic based on the life of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American supreme court justice of the united states. It focuses on one of his earlier cases, State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell where a black man, joseph spell is accused of rape by his boss’ wife, a white woman who he also happens to be having an affair with. This movie takes us through the case as Marshall and his colleague, Sam Friedman are beaten, bruised but not broken trying to prove Joseph Spell’s innocence. Just like the next movie on this list, it is a story about injustice, bigotry and corruption in the justice system that ends in eventual triumph. If i’m being honest this movie probably shouldn’t be this high on the list but seeing as it was released in 2017, after Chadwick Boseman had been diagnosed with cancer his performance in this movie was even more awe inspiring and earned it a top 5 spot on this list.

3. Just Mercy

If you’ve already seen this film I know what you’re thinking, another courtroom drama? What can I say? I guess I’m biased. Almost identical to the plot of “Marshall” this true life story follows the life of Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate played by Michael B. Jordan who turns down lucrative job offers to represent death row inmates in Alabama and Jamie Foxx as “Johnny D” Mcmillian who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of an eighteen year old white woman. Through sheer force of will and determination Stevenson gets the conviction overturned and reunites Mcmillian with his family. This movie is an excellent tale of injustice and a corrupt justice system that would rather put an innocent man in jail and literally let someone get away with murder just because of hate and bigotry towards black people. It is a tale of injustice, corruption, prejudice and eventual triumph made even more gripping by the fact that it is a true story.

2. Selma

At number 2 is one of the greatest biopics ever made in my opinion. Selma is a story about the African American civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama and Dr. Martin Luther King’s righteous campaign for voting rights for African Americans. Directed by Ava DuVernay, this movie could easily have taken the number one spot on this list. It follows the iconic march from Selma to Montgomery and the struggles and obstacles Dr. King and his associates encounter on their way. As one of the greatest leaders to ever grace the face of the earth, there could be no better movie and no better actor than David Oyelowo to capture the essence of a truly magnificent man. Through this gripping move, we are taking back to a time of unrivaled hatred and loathe for African Americans as we see the saddening images of police brutality and bigotry which brings us to the depressing realization that what we see on the screen isn’t much different from what we see in the world today.

1. The Hate U Give

When I first decided to write this article, I knew that this movie had to be on this list and as I did my research and watched many movies it became apparent that the only place for this film was at the top. Based on the best selling novel of the same name by Angie Thomas, this coming of age movie follows the life of a young black girl, Starr who has her life turned upside down when she witnesses her friend get murdered in the street by police. She is forced to try to balance her life in an underprivileged black neighborhood with high crime and gang activity and her life in a predominantly white prep school. This movie just has everything, its emotionally compelling, socially conscious and extremely entertaining. It portrays all the demons that haunt black people; poverty, racism, gang violence, police brutality and the crooked criminal justice system. It has a little bit of every other movie on this list, it’s the full package! As the movie progresses we can feel Starr evolve and mature and in a very strange way, we feel ourselves evolve with her and when the movie reaches it’s crescendo we feel a myriad of emotions simultaneously not knowing whether to be sad, angry or both. The only thing we know for certain is that what we are seeing just ain’t right Which is why this is my top pick for this list.

So that concludes my list, other honorable mentions and movies that I watched before writing this article include;

• Loving
• 12 Years a Slave
• Hidden Figures
• I am not Your Negro
• Blackkklansman
• Ghost of Mississippi and
• When They See Us (not a movie but it deserves a spot)

If you feel like i left out any movie that deserves to be on this list or a movie shouldn’t be here feel free to let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading :)

Originally published at https://www.noahopawale.com on October 2, 2020.