At the 91st Academy Awards, there were two films up for Best Picture that dealt with the subject of race: "Green Book" and "BlacKkKlansman.”
“Green Book,” set in the early 1960s and based on a true story, focuses on an African American world-class pianist, Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), who hires an Italian-American bouncer, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), to be his driver and form of protection. Throughout the film, the two develop an unlikely friendship while facing racial attitudes and segregation in the Deep South.
“BlacKkKlansman,” also based on a true story, revolves around Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department and infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. Because he is black, he can only pose as a white supremicist over the phone, so Stallworth entreats his white colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to physically act as him throughout the investigation.
In a close run, “Green Book” took the prize for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. However, in this humble reporter’s opinion, “Green Book,” although compelling and charming, did not portray racial attitudes in America as accurately as did the film “BlacKkKlansman.”
Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” attempts to expose the ignorance of the Deep South during the 1960s, yet only examines a small part of what African Americans endured. The trials related to one affluent pianist’s tour of the South cannot represent the struggles faced by so many who lived in that environment.
In addition to the incomplete portrayal of the Deep South, "Green Book" also suggests that racial attitudes can be easily changed by a road trip and a friendship between a black and white man.
In the beginning of the film, Lip’s character is seen throwing away drinking glasses that black handymen had drunk from in his house. By the end of the film, Lip’s character invites Shirley to his for dinner. While attempting to show Lip’s character development, “Green Book” only exhibits what Lip now thinks of his counterpart Shirley, not other black people like the handymen featured in the beginning of the film.
The film sugar coats racism with scenes like Shirley wanting to buy a suit, but being politely turned down by a tailor. The instances of racism portrayed in “Green Book” were mild to the actual prejudice African Americans had to endure in the 1960’s, especially in the Deep South.
Spike Lee’s "BlacKkKlansman," on the other hand, does a great job exhibiting harsch racial attitudes in the early 1970s and holds all the attributes worthy of Best Picture.
Lee doesn’t hold back in “BlacKkKlansman,” with the KKK’s non-stop horrible slurs and violence aimed at African Americans.
The film not only exposes the extreme prejudice on part of the KKK, but also the prejudice Stallworth experiences from his own colleagues in the police force, who are seen calling him demeaning names throughout the film. Lee shows that even during the 1970s when racial attitudes were gradually improving, people other than extremist groups like the KKK were outwardly racist towards African-Americans.
Finally, Lee was able to tie the movie’s subject matter back to modern day America. At the end of the film, Lee incorporates disturbing clips of white supremacists at the “Unite the Right Rally” in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Some clips feature neo-Natzis spewing phrases such as “Jews will not replace us” and “White lives matter.” The ending also includes President Donald Trump’s response to the Charlottesville protest: “You had a group on one side that was bad [neo-Natzis], and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent [counter-protesters].”
The movie ends with a tribute to a peaceful counter-protester, Heather Heyer, who was killed in a car attack by a neo-Natzi during the protests.
Lee managed to keep his audience riveted throughout the film, while also leaving his audience with serious points to ponder.
When tackling an issue as complex as racism and segregation, one cannot take a lighthearted approach to the screen. Unfortunately, "Green Book" took this easy-going approach and missed the balance between humor and solemnity. The movie sugar-coated race issues within America and left many audiences believing that racism could be solved by a road trip.
“BlacKkKlansman,” however, did an excellent job exhibiting the true hate and prejudice bottled up in many white Americans during the early 1970’s. Even though the movie included heavy subject matter, Lee was still able to incorporate the perfect balance of humor throughout the film. Additionally, by tying back the movie to modern day America, Lee exhibited that racism is still alive and remains an issue within the United States.
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