BlacKkKlansman

This morning I saw BlacKkKlansman, starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.

Ron Stallworth (Washington) is a rookie cop in Colorado Springs, bored with his responsibilities running the Records room. He approaches his superiors to be reassigned, and soon enough he gets his wish.

In the 1970s, detectives scoured the newspapers to find items of concern to respond to in the community. During one of these searches, Stallworth, who is black, noticed a recruitment ad for the Ku Klux Klan and responded to it via telephone. Accidentally giving his real name to the organizer, he realized he couldn't meet him in person and sent white colleague Flip Zimmerman (Driver) in his place. From there, the two carried out a successful investigation into one of the most controversial groups in history.

The story is told in good humor with excellent acting from all, as many of the scenarios actually played out, but all the while the ignorance of the hate group is present, rising to the surface in every ghastly word that comes out of their mouths.

Director Spike Lee does a phenomenal job of showing how rapidly things can escalate, and how those perceived to be less intelligent can organize to become frighteningly powerful.

The ending packs a punch I wasn't quite prepared for, with real footage from Charlottesville showing the monsters at their rally. I'm glad he put in there, though.

It only proves how far our country has yet to go in the fight against racism.

~~~