This is as powerful and engrossing a film as I have seen in a long time. Its brutal, unvarnished truth is etched into my psyche. It articulates, more clearly than I ever have, nearly every belief I hold about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, its unyielding legacy, and its continuing negative effect on black society. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. I have only a couple of quibbles that prevent my ten-star rating.
First, I am offended by the inclusion of commentary from that hypocritical, self-hating windbag, Bill Cosby. Mr. Cosby continuously berates members of his own race for failing in ways that he has also failed, without attributing any blame to the curriculum of self-loathing in which black people have been indoctrinated for centuries.
Second, to routinely connect violence, drug addiction, and self-destructive behavior to the hip-hop community is just wrong-headed. Why are negative things in white culture (e.g., violence, drug use, severe tattooing and body piercing, obsession with goth and vampire cultures) overlooked—and often embraced—while hip-hop culture is held accountable for nearly all of the ills of black urban life?
This film mostly avoids the "victim" message, and reiterates the need for blacks to remember their history, good and bad. Jews perpetually educate their young about their history, and encourage them to never forget their own holocaust. Blacks also survived a holocaust, and we should never forget.
First, I am offended by the inclusion of commentary from that hypocritical, self-hating windbag, Bill Cosby. Mr. Cosby continuously berates members of his own race for failing in ways that he has also failed, without attributing any blame to the curriculum of self-loathing in which black people have been indoctrinated for centuries.
Second, to routinely connect violence, drug addiction, and self-destructive behavior to the hip-hop community is just wrong-headed. Why are negative things in white culture (e.g., violence, drug use, severe tattooing and body piercing, obsession with goth and vampire cultures) overlooked—and often embraced—while hip-hop culture is held accountable for nearly all of the ills of black urban life?
This film mostly avoids the "victim" message, and reiterates the need for blacks to remember their history, good and bad. Jews perpetually educate their young about their history, and encourage them to never forget their own holocaust. Blacks also survived a holocaust, and we should never forget.