So begrudgingly I watched it. I couldn't continue to make arguments in good faith without knowing the exact contents of the movie. A waste of money? Hardly. A waste of time? Absolutely. My problem with Green Book, unlike before, isn't that it depicts a white savior swooping into rescue a negro in need. The real issue here is how inept this movie is at achieving what I presume it set out to do. It's like a primer for school-aged children on the savagery of Jim Crow. Even then I'd say it's inadequate. 'Baby's first afternoon special on race'? I don't even know. It shamelessly sanitizes the awfulness that went on back then. Like, even for people who typically sop this shit up I'd imagine you'd leave feeling dissatisfied. To this day I'm still afraid of rolling through certain parts of this country. I know the Oscars aren't so much about cinematic achievement as they are movies ticking the right boxes (though it is cool when a film achieves both). But jeeesus this shit is an affront to even the most basic grasp of race. Its adulation forces me to question why Hollywood wants us to see and celebrate it. The only thing I can appreciate here is my introduction to Don Shirley. His story deserves to be told but not like this lol. Not like this. The black virtuoso who learned from his white chauffeur to never stray too far from his fried chicken roots?
