Welcome to Film Takeaways, a corner of BlackForLIFE.me where Dan Perkins, a cultural historian and social commentator, discusses films that resonated with him and films that did not.
Last Updated on Sunday, November 17, 2024
In this edition
November 2024
BLITZ
I love knowing BLITZ, an Apple original film written and directed by Steve McQueen, exists and begins streaming on November 22, 2024.
BLITZ is a manifestation of Black Excellence on several levels. It is moving and cinematically beautiful and inspired by a snapshot taken during WW2 of a handsome bi-racial boy walking alone through a train station on his way to safety in the British countryside.
BLITZ is a film created by a man who clearly loves Black people – not every Black director does, in my opinion. The film depicts Black people of every imaginable shade and class in London, suffering the consequences of Hitler’s nightly air raids alongside their non-Black countrymen. In the midst of all the horror and destruction, McQueen showcases the vibrancy and diversity of Black culture expressed in two distinct locations: a neighborhood dance hall and an elegant supper club.
The protagonist of the film is a little boy named George (Elliott Heffernan) whose White mother, Rita, (Saorisa Ronan) believes the best thing she can do for her bi-racial son is to send him north to the countryside under a government program that relocated more than a million children during the war, out of urban centers to rural camps for increased protection. Despite his mother’s best intentions, George will have none of it, and he makes a decision that puts him on an immense journey that quickly strips him of his childhood innocence.
What I appreciate most about this film is that it is richly Black on so many levels, ideologically as well as culturally. Along his journey, George is taken in by a Black watchman of Nigerian descent named Ife (meaning love in the Yoruba language), portrayed marvelously by Benjamin Clementine. Ife shows George kindness, dignity, and strength, which, in turn, helps George to see himself as Black and, more importantly, Black as something noble and good. The interaction between the two characters is moving and, I believe, essential at this moment in time when Nazi sympathizers are preparing to take over the American government with the aim of silencing Black history, Black intellectual thought, and Black voices.
America may soon experience a darkness that harkens back to the worst periods of Jim Crow, some say slavery. As we enjoy a few weeks of relative quiet on the political front, it is vitally important for people to recognize that the outcome of the election on November 5, 2024, fundamentally transformed our nation. For the first time in over 200 years, America will have a convicted felon as its president. The timing of the release of BLITZ is in Divine order as far as I am concerned because it reminds everyone who cares to see with open eyes that, in the end, no good comes from fascism.
Is BLITZ a perfect film? No, but I won’t allow my vacillating concepts of perfection to take away what I find good and great about this film. Below is a list of my ten takeaways that make BLITZ an entertaining MUST-SEE for the family on Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy the film and love your loved ones while you can.
I close with special thanks to the following: Apple Films for greenlighting this important and groundbreaking film, Steve McQueen for loving his people enough to write and direct this magnificent work, and the entire cast for a superb job portraying complex and entertaining characters. I truly loved experiencing BLITZ!
By the way, November 22, 2024, marks the 61st anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Being a cultural historian who lived through that tragic event, I could not mention the date without noting its historical significance.
The opinions expressed below belong exclusively to Dan Perkins. All of the images shown below are snapshots from the film’s official trailer.
1
The nightly bombings of British cities during WW2 were a signature of Hitler’s war of aggression. BLITZ reminds us that this is how fascist leaders too often respond when people refuse to obey their dictates.
2
The people we love and the material things we cherish can be lost in a moment. BLITZ reminds us not to take the good we have right now for granted and to appreciate the courage and commitment of first responders.
3
There are times when we think we know best for ourselves and others, but in reality, what we think is good for someone else might be the worst thing for everyone involved, as we see in BLITZ.
4
BLITZ gives us a glimpse into how challenging life can be when you are on your own in the midst of a crisis. It is especially tough when you are a child, and even more so when you are a young Black boy in a hostile White world that is at war.
5
BLITZ underscores the fact that no one can guide a young Black boy through the murkiness of living Black in a White world as well as a strong, kind, wise, nurturing, God-centered Black man.
6
One of the highlights of BLITZ was seeing a good, strong Black man on the big screen caring for a young Black boy in distress. I only wish the director, Steve McQueen, had allowed the Ife character more screen time.
7
BLITZ shows us that Black folk are simply beautiful when we are free to express our creativity in fun, clean, wholesome ways. Since colonial times, Black people have been making people the world over stand up and dance.
8
Not everyone who is Black is good or kind towards other Black people. BLITZ shows us that even the most attractive people can be enslaved to darkness. As you journey through life, pray for discernment.
9
It helps to have someone “Special” looking out for you. In BLITZ, George’s mom gives her son a necklace with a medallion of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of children and journeyers. It’s good to establish a Divine connection early in life and to hang on to that connection no matter what might come.
10
BLITZ reminds us that LOVE is colorblind.