Queen & Slim, 2019
a thought-provoking realistic fiction film directed by Melina Matsoukas, blew my mind in ways I never experienced. Melina brings life to the #blacklivesmatter movement and completely changes the narrative. When a prejudice, violent White cop stops a Black American male and his girl and unjustly accuses, harasses and shoots them - the accused fight back and shoot the cop in self-defense then flee. They flee, not because they’re guilty - but because of the reality of the history Black Americans experienced from defending themselves against racist, aggressive White male cops - in a White male dominant society we still currently live in. How many times do we hear Black Americans earning the justice they deserve from acts of self-defense from white police? Michael Brown, 2014 and Trayvon Martin, 2012 are examples of young Black American males who defended themselves against the violent discrimination they experienced by white cops and who were shortly murdered thereafter.
Melina gives us a narrative that imagines life after unjust violent attacks for Black Americans. The hopeful journey to freedom by the pursuit of fleeing the country is not ideal, but it’s certainly better than being murdered at the blink of an eye-as Trayvon and Michael Brown experienced. The film ends tragically as the young Black couples’ lives end by the police, but their travel to freedom includes a life truly lived. On their journey, Matsoukas portrays the characters making self-realizations, falling in love, living fearlessly and trusting in strangers with their lives. They gained a new hope in humanity - before they breathed their last breath. Melina also shows us the legendary movement the fleeing Black couple created, building a new hope for Black America.
The perspective female directors give is visionary. It takes the heart (empathy) of a female to make decisions that imagine a better world we all want to live in. Living in the moment is a past-time. The narrative won’t change unless you make the decision to live a present that moves towards a better, transformed future.