I Am Not Your Negro

Streaming: Netflix (With Subscription)

Warnings:
Extreme Violence
Racism
Sexual Abuse
Graphic Imagery
Explicit Language
Rating: PG-13

            I Am Not Your Negro is a 2016 documentary film directed by Raoul Peck, written by James Baldwin and Raoul Peck and edited by Alexandra Strauss. I Am Not Your Negro is a powerful criticism of America’s failure to rectify its shameful past of racial inequality. The film is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and its inspired by James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, Remember This House which is a collection of notes from the mid-1970s written by Baldwin. The unfinished memoir recounts the lives of Baldwin’s close friends and civil rights leaders: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers. The film was very successful, it was nominated for numerous awards nationally and internationally and won over a dozen awards. This includes Best Documentary (numerous festivals), the Audience Choice Award for the Best Documentary Feature from the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, and the People’s Choice Award for the 41st Toronto International Film Festival. I Am Not Your Negro is one of the most heart-breaking documentary films created, it examines all areas of where America has continued to fail to repair the damage from racial inequality that this country was built on. The film follows James Baldwin’s writings like he is recounting the events himself. It is a remarkable nod to his powerful words that perfectly analyzes America in the way it should be evaluated. This film breaks down the facade that white America has portrayed for decades. The archival footage and the editing of this film pay homage to Baldwin’s words and honor what he as an author wanted to convey. This film is not easy to watch by any means, but it is important to see for the educational aspect for specifically non-Black individuals, as well as the historical aspect which explores different comparisons that haven’t been examined in the past.

            Samuel L. Jackson does a superb job narrating this film and making it feel as if we are hearing Baldwin’s words from himself. Even though the film is a documentary, the storyline is carried like a novel, it feels as if the audience is being told a story. The appalling content in this film breaks down America’s shame in such a way that hasn’t been seen before. It creates a narrative that exposes how misrepresentation in media has added to racial inequality. For example, the film discusses how white America is portrayed in the media and how Black Americans have been portrayed. This might be the only exposure to Black Americans that white Americans see which then causes a collective misrepresentation that continues to harm the Black community. Along with deliberate action to continue racial inequality upheld by the government, extreme violence from police towards Black Americans and continued misrepresentation of Black Americans in the media, collectively this only upholds America’s shame and allows it to continue for decades. The film does a wonderful job explaining these topics in such a way that makes the audience reconsider the media they have consumed as well as their own past experiences. The introspective aspect of this film comes from James Baldwin’s own words, throughout the film he is contemplative, analytical and incredibly poignant.

            The archival footage added to the narrative approach of this documentary. The content of the archival footage is not only shocking but also painful to watch. At one point in the film editor Alexandra Strauss juxtaposes politicians apologizing over archival footage which furthered the disappointing reality that the government hasn’t done enough to rectify racial inequality in the United States, nor does it care to. Another interesting part of the film highlights reality TV and game shows, the film is commenting on how this is what America wants the world to see when they think about America, but in reality, this image disregards an important part of how America was built and how many lives generationally have been affected by slavery and racial inequality. This misrepresentation furthers the notion that even today some white Americans believe to be true, specifically that there is no racial inequality or such things as white privilege. This lack of understanding further divides America and the film approaches this issue in a thought-provoking way.
            The editing in this film allowed the archival footage to speak volumes, American media today is so saturated with violence that at this point people expect it. In result of social media and instant news notifications, certain non-Black people have begun to turn a blind eye to violence that has been happening for decades. The editing for this documentary approached portraying violence in a different way, it wasn’t for shock value by any means, it validates the words of James Baldwin by exposing the truth behind America’s shameful facade. Throughout the film, Strauss would show white media which portrayed over joyous white people without a care in the world, then she would show images of police brutality and things depicting racial inequality. This comparison added to James Baldwin’s analysis of America and forces the audience to see the discrepancies in media representation and actual people. Along with the horrifying archival footage and informative comparisons, the editing of this film follows the impact that Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers had on the United States as well as their friendships with Baldwin. This is an interesting part of history that hasn’t really been followed in this manner before and it is a driving narrative within the documentary. Baldwin discusses the impact of their friendships as well as their deaths and how much trauma the Black community endured when losing these three iconic figures of the civil rights movement. History like this is important to understand, especially for non-Black people because the media and Hollywood for so long has misrepresented the Black community only furthering their pain and trauma. This documentary is imperative to watch when understanding the history of the United States and the history of the civil rights movement.

I Am Not Your Negro is a one-of-a-kind documentary that shows history for what it is without embellishment or distortion. This film is a painful part of the tragic and shameful history of the United States that examines what it’s like to be Black in America. However not only does it show what Black Americans have to deal with on a daily basis, it also shows how misguided white Americans have been by their own piers for so long. This lack of understanding and lack of civil rights education is what is continuing racial inequality in the United States along with a government that is enabling it. People often say, racism is taught and that is certainly true, but it is also enabled and that is something that needs to change.

“People cling to their hates so stubbornly because they sense once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” – James Baldwin