BlacKkKlansman: Essentially Spike Lee Vs. Racism (Be Reel Blog)

BlacKkKlansman is a raunchy, action comedy that try's to mimic the aesthetic of old 70's action movies while surprisingly being based on a true story. The plot focuses on Ron Stallworth, the first African-American detective in his town, trying to prove his worth by infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan, and exposing them. The director, Spike Lee made this films plot, and characters to be as overtly racist, and biased as possible, to portray true racism. Spike Lee uses this in his film to warn his audience of the violence that comes with racism, and the fact that racism is still around and still prevalent today. When watching the movie you may not see a obvious message, everything up until the climax is just a undercover cop story but with the N word thrown around every five seconds. The message is made clear in the final act of film when some members of the KKK attempt an assassination on a female African- American advocate for the Black Panther Party. Spike Lee even comes in at the final moments of film, to be direct with the audience and show events that have transpired in recent history that supports his claim, like the alt right movement in Charlottesville, and some excerpts from the current president of the United States. Spike Lee essentially made this film to serve as a premonition of what could befall the United States if racism continues to rise.

Other than the fact that this movie is a presentiment for the near future, the film is actually lighthearted in most instances. After Ron's rocky start as the new black cop in town, he essentially becomes best buds with two other cops named Flip, and Jimmy, all three of them serve as the comic relief for the entire film. By adding all of this comic relief Spike Lee has found a way to make even the Ku Klux Klan seem tolerable in some instances. When ever there's a scene with the Klan, Flip, the undercover cop infiltrating the KKK, often cracks a joke to alleviate any tension and suspicion, And whenever Ron is on the phone with David Duke, his charisma makes the scene easier to endure. This film is a little bit part comedy, so scenes tend not be serious because of the surplus of comic relief. In summary, BlacKkKlansman is a typical Spike Lee film with the positive message that are usually in his films. All together with it's raunchy action, cheesy 70's aesthetic, and dark sense of humor this Spike Lee film adds up to get a Good Good rating. For those of you interested in watching this movie, be advised that this film is chock full of dark humor mixed and racial slurs and may not be everyone's cup of tea, so if you are prone to be easily triggered, be advised.