Official Judas And The Black Messiah Thread

[Rollie Forbes]

Here's a good interview with Lakeith Stanfield & Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr.

 

[Mission249]

A reason for the seemingly mixed reaction is that for a lot of people they had little to no knowledge of the story. From what I'm seeing, most of the people that rated the movie lower already know the story going in. I had little knowledge of the real story, its one of those things I heard in passing but never really looked into. One thing about a movie like this is at least more people will know/research about what happened. Similar to the people who learned of the Tulsa massacre through Watchmen.

Strong point. I watched the film with some people who don't know the story and they were literally looking at me like this the whole time:
In retrospect, I think I got even more hyped based on their energy. I wonder how people would've felt seeing this in a packed movie theatre. One packed with black people? One packed with white people?

For those people who are saying it didn't make them mad enough or sad enough. How much is enough? And why did you come into the movie with a pre-decided level of how mad or sad you should be by the end? I mean, I get it. Everyone's allowed to interpret the movie how they want to. I just think the interpretations are interesting cause it reminds me that I need to check myself when watching movies based on Black history.

 

[Trav]

I liked it. I knew going in that this wouldn't be a isolated perspective from Chariton Fred's POV. I think Daniel K did enough with what he was given to qualify as a solid performance.

There were some iconic shots too. Everytime the Panthers were rolling up somewhere had my hyped lol. That meeting with the Crowns had me thinking about the possibilities of a movie/series about all those old Chicago gangs/organizations on the low.

 

[Ribbs]

A reason for the seemingly mixed reaction is that for a lot of people they had little to no knowledge of the story. From what I'm seeing, most of the people that rated the movie lower already know the story going in. I had little knowledge of the real story, its one of those things I heard in passing but never really looked into. One thing about a movie like this is at least more people will know/research about what happened. Similar to the people who learned of the Tulsa massacre through Watchmen.

That's what I always wondered when people go to watch biopics: are they already informed of the story going in or do they want to learn more of the story. I hope it's the latter because I've seen far too often where people know the story and get mad when things get left out of a Hollywood movie. Please don't take a Hollywood movie as the 100% truth of a story because that never happens.

 

[Marco Zen]

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Black folks holding Black films to the same standard they hold white films. I personally thought the Photograph was boring af and Issa and Lakeith had no chemistry

Having said that I think a lot of Black folks have a tendency to judge a Black film based on how well they think the movie represents Black people or Black history rather than the actual filmmaking quality. And that’s where I get frustrated at times. I get that Black artists shoulder a certain responsibility when they’re telling Black stories but I think first and foremost any artist should be judged by their art. It would be like an Italian person calling Goodfellas, The Godfather and the Sopranos trash films because they exhibited negative stereotypes about Italians

I can admit I went into it judging it from a "black movie" standpoint. Holding it to a certain standard I guess. I don't think anything is wrong with that. I'm black... And I understood what it was and the point of the movie, had no problem with that. For me I guess I was just waiting for "dope moments" in the movie and they just never happened. Whether it was to be entertained, or moved, or hyped, emotionally pushed or challenged or anything. None of that happened. No dope moments outside of what i akready saw in the trailer.. It was just educational sorta. So I judged it just like I would any other movie where all the "dope moments" were already scene in the trailer.... Good but not great

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

A reason for the seemingly mixed reaction is that for a lot of people they had little to no knowledge of the story. From what I'm seeing, most of the people that rated the movie lower already know the story going in. I had little knowledge of the real story, its one of those things I heard in passing but never really looked into. One thing about a movie like this is at least more people will know/research about what happened. Similar to the people who learned of the Tulsa massacre through Watchmen.

That's what I always wondered when people go to watch biopics: are they already informed of the story going in or do they want to learn more of the story. I hope it's the latter because I've seen far too often where people know the story and get mad when things get left out of a Hollywood movie. Please don't take a Hollywood movie as the 100% truth of a story because that never happens.

This is fair. But here's the problem.

Its how commercialized this became that has me looking sideways.

Because the soundtrack kinda makes this feel triumphant. Its not. Its almost a warning message NOT to get out of line mixed in with some pro-black messaging that doesn't really direct you anywhere to action. Its ALMOST there without getting there. Thats what's so annoying.

See, when Black Panther came out, we got it. It was supposed to be a moment. What is this supposed to be?

This is why they either should have had a documentary or if they're going to do a movie, calm down on farming of it as some cultural moment.

Its a fukked up movie about a fukked up story and no one wins.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Yall know they BANNED The Spook Who Sat By The Door, right?

They suppressed that movie until very recently.

So when stuff like this comes out, you always have to peep the intentions.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Not true at all. Don't put things that I did not say or that you assume. To me, the most so-called MILITANT black person be the same ones hating on a MOVIE just because who's cast in it. Since the movie was first announced, you had black people on cancel mode because Daniel Kaluuya was cast as Fred Hampton. It's things of that nature that is annoying and has nothing to do with whether a movie is good or not. Complaining about things that got little to nothing to do with the movie itself is hating.

If you dislike any movie because of it's quality, it's performances, pacing or editing, even how poorly it was written and the screenplay... that's fine. But there's a trend with black people bashing black films mostly due to everything that's irrelevant to the film itself. Or piggybacking on any biased review and call it trash without seeing it for themselves and make an independent judgment without any pre-expectations. So, being disappointed that the movie is about an informant infiltrating the Panthers and setting up the assassination of Fred Hampton despite that was the movie was about based on the trailer and the title itself and the premise....saying things like I wish they did a better job "humanizing" Fred Hampton isn't a good critique when he's supposed to be portrayed as a "black messiah"?

We could be adults and just say the movie wasn't all it was cracked up to be though. Just a thought

Its a well done movie about a sensitive subject, but man... I just needed more.

Its not the movie itself that bothers me.

Its the context of everything. The marketing, the soundtrack, the narrative.

If you want to know what happened, fine. Thats what happened.

If you want to make this to be a celebratory moment, then I have to step back and peep what's going on.

 

[gluvnast]

Honestly lakeith played that turncoat very well, dude was a piece of shyt nobody doing petty crime to get by. Felt no emotion when MLK and Malcolm died because he was all for self, he was the perfect informant and watching the real William o neal fidget and look shiesty in the pbs special made me appreciate lakeith’s performance

That was my ONLY concern which was had they made Bill a sympathetic character. I was HAPPY Shaka King made sure was a piece of shyt through and through.

 

[gluvnast]

My only issue is they made the rat have a sympathetic story line. It made him seem like he was against all the shyt he was doing . He wasn’t even facing a long sentence. We all know that wasn’t true. His documentary clip he doesn’t even sound the slightest bit apologetic,

`
I didn't take that at all. I dunno how you did. I saw Bill CONFLICTED for what he did because he was afraid of getting exposed. But never because he was sympathetic for the cause or have any type of loyalty for Hampton himself. It maybe disgusted at the man even more when they played the documentary clip as if he was trying to justify himself for what he did. If anything I was triggered. Especially the scene where he got the police to fire at the Panthers when he snuck to the roof and then dipped leaving those Panthers trapped. I dunno HOW you viewed that dude as sympathetic. He was only thinking about himself and his only conflictions he had was getting exposed. And it was for the fact he wasn't going to get a long sentence, he ended up being a CAREER informant destroying black coalitions. There's NOTHING redeeming about this dude. And I never heard of Bill until watching this film, so this is definitely straight from what I've watched.

 

[ECA]

Riz Ahmed and Daniel Kaluuya the best leading men of their gen

 

[gluvnast]

Its a well done movie about a sensitive subject, but man... I just needed more.

Its not the movie itself that bothers me.

Its the context of everything. The marketing, the soundtrack, the narrative.

If you want to know what happened, fine. Thats what happened.

If you want to make this to be a celebratory moment, then I have to step back and peep what's going on.

I can respect it, but I dunno what more you wanted. This was someone who was 21 years old which is largely known for the assassination. And the movie is about how things led up to his assassination. It did showed him starting the free lunch program, the Rainbow Coalition by getting rival gangs, other races and the lower-class together, and they did show Hampton as someone who's always focused on the cause and a loving husband. But it's mostly is about a in-depth look at COINTELPRO and how it was so effective in hurting the Panther movement.

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

Black people rarely like anything that ain't gangsta or funny..

This Mexican stays posting negative shyt about Black people while pretending to be Black


Neg Paco

Let me put this Mexican on ignore

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I can respect it, but I dunno what more you wanted. This was someone who was 21 years old which is largely known for the assassination. And the movie is about how things led up to his assassination. It did showed him starting the free lunch program, the Rainbow Coalition by getting rival gangs, other races and the lower-class together, and they did show Hampton as someone who's always focused on the cause and a loving husband. But it's mostly is about a in-depth look at COINTELPRO and how it was so effective in hurting the Panther movement.

more Fred focus and more Fred biography. Its tough. I know. but it needed more.

They set up the murder well. Almost too well. But some scenes lasted too long and they could have shot more scenes to flesh it out.

Plus, its the NON-movie shyt thats bothering me.

Remember, they BANNED many black movies from that era. So now we're in an age where Hollywood is promoting this stuff? Why? Cause he's dead? And the soundtrack?

Its just weird man. I can't shake the context of how the movie is being presented.

 

[gluvnast]

more Fred focus and more Fred biography. Its tough. I know. but it needed more.

They set up the murder well. Almost too well. But some scenes lasted too long and they could have shot more scenes to flesh it out.

Plus, its the NON-movie shyt thats bothering me.

Remember, they BANNED many black movies from that era. So now we're in an age where Hollywood is promoting this stuff? Why? Cause he's dead? And the soundtrack?

Its just weird man. I can't shake the context of how the movie is being presented.

And that's the thing that I was talking about earlier. You came in there with assumption that this is the biography of Fred Hampton. Like you going to see his childhood, growing up in his teen years and how he became a black leader and Chicago chairman of the Black Panthers. And already decided not to appreciate the movie for what it is because it was not what you wanted it to be. The movie in the trailers and in the title itself is about the informant (Judas) did in the contribution of the assassination of Fred Hampton (the black messiah).

And also, why are you taking issue over things that got nothing to do with the film? Talking about how they banned black films in the 1960's got nothing to do with making a film of our black heros. That's like saying Spike Lee never should of down a movie about Malcolm X who was killed in the 1960's because they couldn't do a movie about him during that time period. Complaining why Hollywood (even though this was from an independent film company) want to make films about our black historical figures shouldn't be something to complain about. In my opinion there should be MORE representation of our heroes shown in Hollywood, because there was a time where they refused to. So, to complain about black representation onto film is an odd thing to complain about.