84 - BlacKkKlansman

Eavesdropping at the Movies

We breathlessly debate BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee's comic drama based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. With limited time - Mike has to leave for work at some point and he'll only let himself be so late - we dig right in. Discussed is the film's point of view on culture and particularly cinema, arguing that a single film can wield the power to affect an entire nation; John David Washington's performance, the influences we can see in it, and whether a more charismatic star might have been beneficial; our attitudes to Lee's pamphleteering and the pros and cons of propagandistic cinema; the film's direct address of Trump's America and its tragic, somewhat surprising ending; and more. We question whether the film's comic treatment of David Duke, head of the KKK, carefully undercuts our delight in mocking him or dangerously indulges it. Duke is rendered a figure of fun in some notable and hilarious scenes, but the film ensures we recognise that he has never gone away. And Mike is particularly affected by Adam Driver's character, a Jew in name only who, through being threatened by the KKK and confronted by Ron, is forced to reckon with his identity and the fact that it's been easy for him to ignore it for most of his life. (The Howard Jacobson article he references is linked here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/07/howard-jacobson-jews-know-what-antisemitism-is-and-what-it-isnt-to-invent-it-would-be-a-sacrilege) As we acknowledge in the podcast, we unfortunately missed the first few minutes of the film, which is only one reason we want to see it again. Mike is bursting with thoughts and can't get them all out; Jose vacillates on the film's artistic value, though not its cultural value. There's much, much more to consider in BlacKkKlansman than we were able to in this podcast and we shall return to it. Recorded on 20th August 2018.