Friday, January 20, 2012

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Review: This film is a compilation of archival footage shot by Swedish television journalists who came to the United States in the ‘60s and ‘70s to chronicle the state of race relations, radical politics and social change.  The tapes of those reports were recently uncovered and edited into a full-length film by director Göran Olsson. As you might understand from the title, what you get is more snapshots of history than the telling of the whole story. Here we get to see interesting interviews and behind-the-scenes shots of people such as Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton and Louis Farrakan, mixed with commentary from temporary personalities like Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu and Harry Belafonte. This documentary is a very nice addition to the history of these years, but at the same time it's light-weighted. It demands that the viewer knows much more of the history already before seeing it. The highlights of the documentary is meeting Angela Davies in prison and the interview with Stokely Carmichael's mother. Including people like Erykah Badu and Questlove on the other hand feels uncalled for, but I guess they help attract young people to watch it. All in all I think it's a commendable piece of work, even with all it's flaws.

Rating: 6/10

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