Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.
The Fury: I am Not Your Negro
How eerie that the firey words of gay, African-American writer James Baldwin still ring true today. Baldwin became one of the most important American writers and activists courtesy of his charged essays, novels and talk show appearances. Throughout his life, Baldwin examined themes of gender, sexuality, race and social class in his work, calling out hypocrisies for stymying American progress. For Baldwin, that meant calling out homophobia and racism anywhere and everywhere. Good for him.
I Am Not Your Negro, the seminal, Oscar-nominated documentary from director Raoul Peck, recounts Baldwin’s life and work, using a collection of archive interviews and Baldwin’s extensive bibliography, brought to life through narration by Samuel L. Jackson. The film examines the fire that distinguished Baldwin’s work and spirit, as well as the tender, sensitive man behind the public persona. The film also traces Baldwin’s considerable influence throughout the literary world–both Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou cite him as a primary influence–and outlines how Baldwin laid the foundation for what would become the Black Lives Movement.
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have,” so Baldwin once said. If, in the post-truth, post-Trump era, those words do not resonate with you, please check your pulse; you might be dead. Ferocious, thoughtful and challenging, I Am Not Your Negro does more than preserve the flame within James Baldwin’s soul: it aims to pass that torch on to a new generation.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Streams on Netflix, Tubi, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and VUDU.
This article includes links that may result in a small affiliate share for purchased products, which helps support independent LGBTQ+ media.
Openminded
My favorite Baldwin quote is “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
For those who have never heard of him, he was born in 1924 and died in 1987. I was quite young when he was “in the news” and then he moved somewhere in Europe before he died there.
JPB
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” On hearing that – why does the macabre image of trump spring to mind?
arnieca
and the equally or more macabre images of Jan. 6.
Kangol2
James Baldwin: a sage for his own time and ours.
LumpyPillows
You want a gay black hero? Here is one.