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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2017)
MOVIES BY MEERAH POWELL NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit offers a historical critique of modern-day police brutality here is a tendency in Hollywood to profit from Black suffering — think 12 Years a Slave, The Help, Django Unchained. These films are preva- lent, but not inherently bad. Through these types of films, Black directors, producers and even actors can redirect personal, internal frustrations and struggles into art. Thematic Black suffering doesn’t always have to take the form of traditional slave movies either — see, for example, the complex modern-day symbolism of gaslighting and harmful neo-liberalism that director Jordan Peele portrays in his 2017 psychological horror flick Get Out. The nature of these films revolving around Black suffering — around the centuries of systematic racism and oppression — is so personal and specific to the Black experience that, when done well, it can be cathartic for those who make such films as well as those who watch them. But the extremely personal aspect of this type of storytelling also brings up an interesting point: What does it mean for white filmmakers to attempt to tell these stories, and thus profit off of them? This was something, as a Black person, I could not help but hold in the back of my mind while viewing Detroit, a film set in Civil Rights-era 1967, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, a white woman. In an interview with Reuters, Bigelow herself acknowledged the weariness some people, including me, might have towards her directing this film. “Am I the right person to tell the story? Absolutely not. Am I the perfect person to tell this story? Absolutely not. But it’s a really important story that needs to be told, and that was my overriding motivator,” she tells the publication. Detroit is a dramatization of events taking place during Detroit’s multi-day 12th Street Riot. It centers on an incident of psychological and physical police brutality at the Algiers Motel, about a mile from the riot’s epicenter. A multitude of characters get caught up in the main plot at the Algiers: a tentative but essentially just security T guard, played by John Boyega; a group of morally bankrupt Detroit police officers, including Will Poulter; members of a singing group; and two white women staying at the motel, including Hannah Murray of Game of Thrones. For me, there’s something about films centered on Black suffering directed by white people that automatically separates them out as either being worth viewing or a waste of two hours — mainly, are the Black characters written as autonomous, free-willed, multi-faceted individuals, or are they portrayed as flat, weak and in need of a white savior of some sort? Luckily, the characters in Detroit fit into the former category. And it was clear when viewing Detroit that Bigelow and company were conscious of this. Bigelow’s direction provides excellent pacing; at times she slows down the action to give needed space for excellent character development, making sure the audience truly knows the characters before the heated midpoints of the plot kick in. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, who also worked with Bigelow on The Hurt Locker, adds to the personal storytelling Detroit uses, employing frequent extreme close-ups and in- motion shots, rarely on a tripod, as a way to transport the viewer into the scene, as well as adding a brilliant twinge of anxiety. As far as good filmmaking goes, I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with a white person making a “Black” film, but in some instances, it can be an inescapable distraction. Take Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, for example. I grew up loving Tarantino, but when I saw Django in theaters, the whole time I couldn’t stop thinking: “Wow, I wonder how many times Tarantino typed the word ‘nigger’ when writing this script?” (Spoiler alert: more than 100) and, “I wonder how many times Tarantino actually said the word himself when directing his actors in the movie?” (Who knows.) It’s a decent argument to assert that movies like Django Unchained are historically accurate to some degree, but that doesn’t make the vision of present-day white actors beating, berating and humiliating present-day Black actors any less hard to watch. No modern critique is added by simply saying, “Sure, these acts are horrible, but it was just the time.” Detroit’s 1967 setting was also just the time, but it acts as an antithesis to movies like Django; in its horrific acts towards its Black characters, the film conjures a critique on present-day police violence, civil rights and justice. It says, “Sure, this was just the time, but it was wrong and there are events occurring like this right now that are still wrong.” Realistically, Detroit would have looked different and been received differently had it been directed by Spike Lee or Steve McQueen, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a brilliant period piece that shows us how far we’ve come and how much farther we need to go. (Bijou Art Cinemas, Cinemark 17, Regal Valley River) 8/11-8/17 492 E. 13th Ave 541-357-0375 MOVIES THAT bijou-cinemas.com MATTER Serving the Eugene Community for Over 35 Years! LANDLINE MAUDIE (PG-13) An arthritic Nova Scotia woman works as a housekeeper while she hones her skills as an artist and eventually becomes a beloved fi gure in the community. Starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke. NOW PLAYING AUGUST 11-17 1:00, 5:45 THE BEGUILED (R) The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls’ school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal in an atmospheric thriller from acclaimed writer/director Sofi a Coppola, 3:30, 8:15 DETROIT (R) From the Academy Award winning director of THE HURT LOCKER and ZERO DARK THIRTY, DETROIT tells the gripping story of one of the most terrifying moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of ‘67. 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 Local beer, wine and cider... & now kombucha on tap! TICKET PRICES: MATINEE before 5pm $6 ADULT $8 | STUDENT $7 | SENIOR 62+ $6 CHILD age 12 & under $6 43 W. BROADWAY (541) 686-2458 REGULAR ADMISSION $9 ADULTS $8 STUDENTS $6 SENIORS $6 BEFORE 5 PM OPEN EVERY DAY LANDLINE DAILY 12:30 2:45 5:00 7:15 9:20 13 MINUTES (ELSER) FRI 12:30 5:15 SAT 5:15 SUN-THU 12:30 5:15 AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER DAILY 12:10 2:35 5:00 7:25 9:30 THE LITTLE HOURS FRI 3:05 7:45 9:40 SAT 7:45 9:40 SUN-THU 3:05 7:45 9:40 THE HERO DAILY 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:00 9:05 ANNABELLE: CREATION (DIG) (R) 10:50, 1:45, 4:40, 7:45, 10:30 ATOMIC BLONDE (DIG) (R) 10:35, 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:25 BABY DRIVER (DIG) (R) 7:00, 9:55 CARS 3 (DIG) (G) 10:30, 1:25, 4:10 THE DARK TOWER (DIG) (PG-13) 10:15, 11:35, 12:50, 2:15, 3:35, 4:55, 6:15, 7:35, 9:00, 10:15 DESPICABLE ME 3 (DIG) (PG) 9:30, 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:50 DETROIT (DIG) (R) 11:30, 3:05, 6:40, 10:00 DUNKIRK (DIG) (PG-13) 10:40, 1:35, 4:25, 7:20, 10:10 THE EMOJI MOVIE (3D) (PG) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 10:45 THE EMOJI MOVIE (DIG) (PG) 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50 GIRLS TRIP (DIG) (R) 9:40, 12:40, 3:45, 7:25, 10:35 THE GLASS CASTLE (DIG) (PG-13) 9:50, 12:55, 4:05, 7:15, 10:25 KIDNAP (DIG) (R) 9:35, 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:55, 10:30 NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE (3D) (PG) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 12:10, 7:40 NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE (DIG) (PG) 9:45, 2:40, 5:10, 10:10 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (DIG) (PG-13) 10:20 SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (DIG) (PG-13) 9:25, 12:30, 3:40, 6:55, 10:15 VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLAN (3D) (PG-13) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 12:35, 7:05 VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLAN (DIG) (PG-13) 9:20, 3:50, 10:20 WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (DIG) (PG-13) 11:45, 3:10, 6:50, 10:05 WONDER WOMAN (DIG) (PG-13) 11:40, 3:15, 6:45, 10:05 BUY TICKETS ONLINE AT BROADWAYMETRO.COM eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 10, 2017 25
