@@XQN-R I think she's saying we expect more from movies and fiction than we do actual laws and policies. Laws are to protect, art is to mostly entertain.
@@MelodyTriumph is it that....i think art allows people who benefit from capitalism to entertain I think of violence of Quentin Tarantino. Then I think of r&b, blues, jazz...and movies like precious. Yes we shouldn't look for black films to do more but we do bc as Kim said we don't get so many creative opportunity. There is a soul in art that has separate life from capitalist life. I don't think that we should always look in terms of martyr of characters. We can't choose what lena waithe journey. However it kills me that she making these characters into Jesus but. White Jesus dies but is resurrected and be revered. This story looks so much more like modern day black Orpheus tale. In that vein if slim had died and Queen lived .that would be more connected to the mothers of movement. It would have been iconic in different way.
Anyone notice Queen was the only one to receive the physical injuries throughout the movie until the end? Ie. shot in the leg , dislocated arm, & first kill shot to the heart? I wonder if there’s any significance in that.
Black women are constantly putting themselves at the front lines which results in more pain. Black women need to take a backseat like other races of women and be more feminine. Let black men be men and do the marching and fighting
perhaps it's an acknowledgment of Malcolm X's quote "the most disrespected woman in America is the Black woman" and Slim picking her up at the end is an acknowledgement of how black men need to protect black women...?
Mansa Musa I thought the same how do you not mention if he ask to look in the trunk then he needs to get a warrant. Overall this movie irritated me on a number of levels.
Same! I’m sooo glad that I’m not the only one. His wardrobe alone should get a lot more credit for the darling nostalgia and effortless swag. The cinematography paired with the soundtrack was utterly beautiful.
I personally liked the wardrobe choices for Queen & Slim when they are fleeing in NOLA, and I think it’s pretty consistent with the plot line too. Queen has to find pieces to wear from the wardrobe of the girls who live with her uncle, and it’s made very clear that they all have very eccentric style - they wouldn’t really have something that a “fugitive” would wear. Not to mention that both of them have literally a minute to get dressed as the police officer is knocking on the door. Also, I think the meaning behind their choice of clothing aligns well with the theme of the film which is “hiding in plain sight.” When they ask Uncle Ted if he has a car they can use, they end up getting this flashy vintage car that wouldn’t typically be ideal for a fugitive escape. I think a similar idea applies to their wardrobe. And lastly, I think it might have been intentional for them to be dressed to fit the new personas they had to take on at that point of the movie. Before, Queen was dressed in a very neutral, professional look and Slim was very low key and basic. With their new outfits, they transformed into who their characters would evolve into by the end of the movie. Just my thoughts.
Lara Abiona So if you were a police officer, ran into a wanted suspect that allegedly committed murder and several other felonies, but noticed they were of the same ethnicity as you, you’d actually let them go? The cop had no knowledge of the couple’s circumstances; for all he knew those two could be planning to kill more people. This isn’t about selling out your own people (whatever that even means), it’s about the black cop intentionally sabotaging his own duty to his occupation. The mob mentality is strong with the morons that liked this movie...
Seiko dude what? everyone knew what they did so you're strong and wrong. thats number one. number 2 selling out your own people is like what the dude at the end did. turned in his own people for money knowing good and damn well that killing was self defense. that black cop knew his field of work isnt meant for those who dont pass the paper bag test. "im not your boy" gave us inside to his thought process. your badge doesnt erase your color. he did his people a solid. fuck that badge
@______ When did Slim fail to protect Queen? They had only known each other for 6 days and even then, he was willing to put his life on the line for her.
I agree! . Hopelessness make people give up and live a depressing life. Honestly, how does this help black people. What is the agenda with all these movies/ shows on Netflix etc. look at the fruit of this .
Also, what about the casting call for Queen’s character? When they wanted a (and im paraphrasing), “rough black and woman who looked like she would be working in the slave fields”. That pissed alot of people off
Paris Collins mos def! It pissed me off as well . I was referencing how Kim pointed out that people weren’t even feeling the film without seeing it (im one of those people). I was just hoping she (Kim) would’ve talked about that; and call out Lena for that one since she like to talk about how involved she was with all aspects of the film
I think we would be surprised at what a lot of casting calls want. I remember when there was an uproar over a casting call for a music video. I think they specially wanted a light skin girl with other details that went viral. I sometimes think about casting calls for overweight characters like "This Is Us". Like what was the description? Morbidly obese white woman?
Yaya S the film you’re referring to is Straight Outta Compton I disagree with the point that this is commonplace. I’m certain it’s only this blithely offensive when casting black people. I’m certain they don’t say something like very skinny, emaciated middle aged white women. Should look like a survivor of (insert well-know tragedy here). It’s peculiar, offensive, and wholly unnecessary for descriptive purposes.
49jubilee Lol I know that. My point was It’s about two white women that intend to go on a road trip, one of them gets raped by a man in a parking lot and the other woman ends up shooting and killing him. Due to that they end up on the run from the police and learn things about each other during the journey, at the end let’s just say it ends similarly to Queen & Slim. But I meant the similarities are more because Thelma & Louise found themselves in the situation essentially because they were women while Queen & Slim found themselves in their situation because they were black. Bonnie & Clyde were criminals that imo liked doing bad things, while T&L and Q&S were put in a position they didn’t ask to be in which resulted in them having to run from the police. Daniel Kaluuya even said in an interview he prefers the T&L comparison over the Bonnie & Clyde one.
Up until the end of the film between the two of them Queen was physically hurt the most. I think that’s also symbolic of black women as saviors and protectors of black men.
If anyone deserved to be hurt it was her. Her decisions and behavior kept digging them deeper into their hole. I didn’t feel sorry for her because of that.
Now that I think about it,the story wasn't about Slim at all. Lol. He got some character development by loosening up a bit. But the story was about a young black female attorney who experiences police brutality and while enjoying the last few days of her free life, learns to break down her walls, experience joy and fall in love. 🤔 Slim's just an accessory to the story.
We got to see Slim’s backstory through his character development and hidden gems around the film ( ex. Trust God Plates, Cross, Gospel music after the crime and flee, him talking about working at a missionary, the love he had for his family (shown when talking to Dad on phone and Dad risking it all for him). We see that Slim is a GREAT GUY! Model citizen! You can tell he never gets in trouble from the pacing back and forth at the gas station. He never gets in trouble. I will say it was refreshing to see a blk, especially DARK SKIN MAN in that role especially because TYLER Perry types paint dark blk men as the villain. You almost look to see what crime he committed previously. Remember when they were at the Traffic stop and she asked him about “ Warrants, weapons, drugs” and said no! I bet you all, just like me was expecting him to have something. Even the cop didn’t believe him when he said, he didn’t drink. Hell I didn’t believe him. I’m like, you must have something. So honestly, in my opinion, we didn’t need any more for his back story! They were COMPLETE OPPOSITE, Queen and Slim! They had the Romeo and Juliet thing going. I think that’s what the writers wanted🙂
I feel like Queen & Slim did choose their death. That’s why she asked him can she be his legacy because they were gonna choose death. I just think that moment was interrupted by the early shot, but it would’ve ended the same way because they would not have gone peacefully
Rhonda C. Agreed! They choice their ending! I Also loved the early shot by the woman cop and the fact that she was white because it showed how they always ‘shoot to kill’ because they feel threatened even though nothing was threatening about the situation at the time. It showed how cops Shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to blk ppl. The ending was extremely realistic! I’m glad they weren’t Armed like the news was making them out to be. You also noticed how many shots Slim was given in the end vs Queen! Symbolic
Let's think this through! People are rooting for a couple who murdered a police officer and went on a multiple state chase to find refuge in Cuba, a state that US Americans are told to loathe and which will interrogate the perpetrators! It doesn't work like that! I worked in East Germany! American tourists without a rap sheet can barely walk around a communist country!
@@hodgemama 1) The air security of Cuba today is vastly different than it was over 40 years ago, 2) the political ties between Cuba and the US are also different as Fidal who is now dead granted political asylum and 3) people are not escaping to freedom, they are going to a communist state in which a person's every move is observed. There is no freedom of thought, travel, religion, political association, etc. Assasa escaped with her life and that's all! She can't travel as she is wanted by the FBI and most states in the free world would have to hand her over! If she wanted political asylum, why didn't she go to one of the many Caribbean islands or Central/South America. Now, I respect communism and socialist government because I have to work with them in my philanthropic work. However, the US hates these systems and views its members with disdain! How is this a win-win situation! Running off to any communist or socialist government isn't romantic nor should it be held up as an example for our young people to follow because of the long term social, psychological, and physical harm it does to the person who does it! You don't believe me, then read some of the many books by the survivors who did such things! Do you think that Assasa is living in the suburbs of Cuba? No, she's living in the poverty by a country who has been cut off by most of the world! There's nothing romantic about what she did! Why the movie decided to open up that can of worms is beyond me! It's up to the individual to think her a hero or criminal! However, by the comments on this page, most people haven't thought beyond the rudimentary nature of this case: Hurray, Assasa got away! Once again, I lived and worked under the yoke of the iron curtain: it's not romantic by any imagination!
@fredrika I appreciate you sharing the historical perspective. Thank you! However, the aim of my statement was not to glamorize Cuba. I am well aware of that there is not a country on this planet where black people are securely safe. I’ve experienced this firsthand myself in all my travels and lived in DR in a batey. My point is :I want a movie where black people are able to “win” and escape to new realities of their own. The country they escape to will never be perfect ( as we both already established) but why not have the option? Why is the black martyr narrative so prevalent? Art does not have to always be limited or confined to real life. Furthermore, Assata Shakur is still living Cuba even with all the shift and changes, and despite living under a communist regime, she is still able to LIVE.. She would have been killed and will be killed once she enters US soil. This film sadly does not challenge the fact that black revolutionaries ( via by choice or not) will be killed or destroyed. Or rather, why is freedom confined to Cuba? It could even with a simple shot of them on the plane smiling. A cliff hanger .Fiction can provide a medium for alternative realities and dreams. I’m ready to see some sci-fi Octavia Butler stuff ( which is rumored to be coming soon))
On our way home we (husband and I) got pulled over by the police for having a front headlight out. It was after midnight and I was driving and my nerves were so bad. I “behaved” and just got a warning. That experience after seeing that movie was so traumatic. Nothing about law enforcement is comforting to me. I’m not contributing to any more tragic movies with my money. I don’t need to pay to see that level of tragedy.
72Crabadams I’m so glad you and your husband are ok!! I know that had to be scary as hell , I always get shaky and nervous when I get pulled over even when I know I did nothing wrong...I’ve been arrested in the past so I definitely know I won’t be spending my money in the theater to be RE traumatized🤦🏽♀️ those officers treated me like dog shit and called me the N word and did some other inhumane things I won’t discuss (I live in a predominantly trump supporting area and I’m a black woman) anywho this movie makes me angry just like Tyler Perry’s movies do as well.
Exactly. Hell i don't even think about my race sometimes, i just legit feel as if some cops have nothing better to do then harrasse people to fill some sort of quota or somethings then will real problems arise they are never on time. It's annoying. All you can do is follow the rules to the best of our abilities so that they can't have anything against us.
Exactly, they won't let black people create a new image. We black people need to stop watching these type of movies. It's depressing, oppressing and makes us even traumatized even more. What are there black producers trying to do. When they see us was great. I loved every moment of it and I cried but it was different. I don't like films like this. This producer is who made this movie is used by the devel to put more PTSD in black soles
Ooh, the intelligence of this woman is so refreshing. I love seeing black people, especially black women, expressing their knowledge. I just subscribed and I look forward to more future videos.
Yeah her perspective is eye opening. She makes me look at things from angles that I didn't before. And most importantly, she helped me understand why I hated Acrimony. There were so many things I hated about that movie and I just couldn't put into words. For Harriet is the commentary that I never knew I needed 😊
On The Read podcast, she also said she wanted to toy with the idea "what if Tamir Rice had a gun". That is what further tarnished it for a lot of people. White people already view black boys as dangerous, the cop in real life assumed he was armed-- came off extremely disrespectful
The details of the Tamir Rice murder doesn't compare to a kid intentionally shooting a non-comfrontational Black cop. I'm starting to think that Lena is an agent.
@@BluDrop5 Yeah! I assumed after he saw that the cop was black and just wanted him to get out of the street he wouldn't shoot?! I think there was something else she could've done with that
This is why I won't see it either! Police and people of color getting shot all the time and this movie exploits it! No, no, no! It's really sickening and doesn't support our communities. Blackspoiltation comes to mind!
the protest scene intercut w/sex and the dual murder of the police officer and boy was too much. i wish they had left that out, it really messed me up.
I saw a lot of people on Twitter say, "This is a good movie." With a little bit of, "This is trauma porn" and people talking about the ones who didn't like it.
I'm in both camps. It's a good movie, definitely entertaining and even funny at certain points, but it still felt like trauma porn in the age of mass shootings and police violence on a daily basis.
Great review. I haven't watched this movie and don't plan on watching it. I've watched enough Black drama, trauma, blight, and plight in 2019 via film and tv. I'm good. Constantly inhaling that imagery and energy makes me mentally and emotionally unhappy. I'm good. And I'm Black yall! lol.
I *SO* agree with you. I am also so SICK of seeing the black struggle love narrative play out in TV and film. So for those reasons, I will not pay money to see more of it.
I agree with you. I actually had to see a therapist because about this very thing. She even mentioned that constantly intaking this imagery causes depression and anxiety and impacts ones quality of life. I can't do anymore of these movies. I'm sick of them.
@@marcusscottbalahari7198 See. It's like repeating imagery of trauma in HD. Enough! Although I do believe these narratives should continue to be told and show...I"m just not gonna watch them. Some of these folks NEED to see it. lol
Her explanation of why they were killed was kinda all over the place. And I agree , she talked herself into a lot of the disappointment. The way she described this movie on the Breakfast Club interview was something it was not.
I'm glad you mentioned the black military individuals. I've experienced and seen others neglected in the medical care system after completing enlistment. They don't believe our physical and mental disabilities as much as our white counterparts.
They were Wanted convicts! Plus it was the closest people they trusted who caused the feds to locate them. Admit it Queen and Slim were criminals trying to get out the hood. Slim should've went to jail at the beginning instead of resisting arrest to kill a cop. That's why they died in the end.
@@christianhenry4173 Slim was gonna get gunned down for no good reason until queen intervened. He can choose "jail" but it's every man's right as a human to choose freedom or slavery. Most people choose slavery for fear of the repercussions involving freedom a.k.a. not being a cops bitch
“People are expecting art to do stuff that public policy is supposed to do” I think it’s not as much an expectation as it is a desire. For me it’s like why can’t we want both? In the meantime while we’re advocating for these issues in the real world can art not reflect our desired outcome? Anyways I always enjoy your commentary & insight.
I think we should remember that the artist always leads they way for public policy. Not all artist have the same responsibility, but if we are to believe Paul Robeson "all black artist have a responsibility to their people"
Thank you for bringing up Queen’s outfit choice...when I first saw it I was like “uhhhh okay yeah you can definitely run and hide wearing heels and a dress right?”
Things I found annoying and unbelievable: her stopping to pet a horse, then him riding the horse, them jumping out of a two story window and surviving, not staying under the bed until the coast was clear when they were hiding, going to the club while on the run, stopping at the mechanic and paying him all there money to fix there car - pushing the car to the mechanic, choosing such a bright colored car, her choosing a dress that doesn’t cover up her wound, the sex scene with the protest spliced in, the little boy shooting the cop for no real reason, hitting the father with his car and them taking him to the hospital...and plenty of other unnecessary and unrealistic moments that made me dislike it.....I didn’t mind that they died, I think it made sense, it was all the other completely silly decisions that they made
I feel like the plot is too unbelievable for me to see it in theaters. I'll wait until it hits home viewing platforms. I hate when movies especially true to live ones don't comb through the details.
It's because they likely know they're going to die at some point so they choose to live in the present. They choose to be human beings. That in and of itself is a form of freedom- choosing to live in the face of death instead of live in fear. And they paid the mechanic bc theyre not suddenly evil people just because theyre on the run-- they still want to be good, especially to other Black folk. Just because you might be jaded in such a situation doesn't mean they have to be.
I've been watching everything you put out for about a year and never commented before. Just wanted to say this was particularly fascinating to listen to! I planned to see the film later after watching a few interviews as well, and the controversy surprised me based solely on what I expected from this movie; your video (as usual) really made me think about why I already have certain expectations for this film. Your analyses are always so well-researched and straightforward, which I appreciate since I cannot really bring life experience into the topics you discuss. Thank you for your awesome content! Have a lovely day~
Daniel has such a talent for acting with his body more that his words he’s so amazing. He started back on a sketch show in England playing a stereo type. And now I enjoy everything he’s in.
What’s the point of being immortal or a martyr, when the circumstances that took the person’s life still exist? I’m sure Trayvon’s mother would rather have her son with her, versus having millions of people wearing hoodies in protest, and yet we are still victims of police violence.
Even Queen and Slim told him so. That all that matters is that he lived with his family. That scene with the kid shooting the cop was so, so, wrong. I can understand that being young you look for a purpose, you make a grand story in your head about yourself and inevitably, bad decisions are made. I could see it in his eyes when he shot the cop, he didn't believe in what he had done, but it felt soooo off... The sex scene didn't help either...
I appreciate Kim's content and opinions. But it's always so clear to me how Kim really is from a different class. She's so extremely intellectual in her break down of issues or movies and it's so thoughtful which I want to say can never be a bad thing but there's something to be said for the gut feeling you get when you watch yet another movie that portrays our image as needing to bring our standards down when in reality we need to do the opposite, our image as being stuck up, high strung, over powering, sloppy and loud, more masculine than the man, desperate, and the path to a low quality of life on the run as a fugitive. It glorifies the old troupe of ride or die. And they died. An educated woman with a bright future, struggling and dying. That's so stressful and sad and imprisoning for the black woman's image and mind. Black men are 10 times more likely to date outside of their race than black women. And black men will say it's because they feel that doing so will give them a better quality of life. Better credit, better home, a healthier relationship with a more docile woman. And it's imagery like Queen and Slim, that promotes the idea that black love is gonna be hard and tragic. And it's imagery like Queen and Slim that makes black women feel they are responsible for the upkeep of black love, and that we need to date down, and endanger ourselves for the sake of black love. I don't need an educational critic of cinematography to know that this kind of movie is toxic when we already have an oversaturation of this kind of representation and while we're already trying to overcome the damage that has already been done, this kind of movie doesn't help us
Nothing about this film made me feel responsible for the upkeep of black love or that I need to date down. If anything it was a cautionary tale against both.
@@SDot2385 I agree. It's a cautionary tale against black love and that's just as bad. We shouldn't be afraid to love eachother. And you can't tell me that this doesn't put out a message of a black women taking ownership of this kind of love and protecting it like it's our job. Glorifying her being a ride or die. They're held up as black symbols of hope and she's leading the cause. She's his legacy. Black is not a monolith but we have so much of this type of representation that they're full blown stereotypes of us
I honestly didn’t really like this movie , the concept was interesting but I didn’t like how it played through. especially the sex scene being shown at the same time as the protest i just felt like it made no sense
Considering the movie's general theme is about black joy and black death having a history of going hand-in-hand, I imagine the purpose was to illustrate that with a sex scene intercut with a violent protest. You see that over and over throughout the film, where the characters try to some fleeting enjoyment only to have to cut it short because the specter of death is always hounding them.
I read a book called The Man Not about the historical abuse about the Black man and in 1 chapter they talked about a story about how yt people would get sexually aroused by the abuse of blacks. Since I find a lot of these current Black films are for the yt gaze, I wonder if it has something to do with that?
Except for in this movie, they were actually surrendering. In Set It Off they weren't. If Queen & Slim were shot while trying to make a run for the airplane à la Vivica A Foxx's character in Set It Off, it would have been more understandable for me.
I find that She tends to skip or not get l the conceptual pieces in the movies she reviews. To me the protest scene wasn’t about the boy. It’s was about the cop. The black cop. He took off his helmet to show his face and skin to the boy to say look I’m with you “Go home” but the boy couldn’t relate and understand where he was coming from. All he could see was that he was on the opposing side. Which draws in to question black people working for systems that come against their people..you may be a good person but you work for a system that hates you. Like is it worth it. The other cop that let them Queen and slim go from the garage he was a cop but his white counterpart was snarky and talked down to him. Even in a job the he seeks prestige his blackness makes the white cop thinks he’s smarter (superior) than him. Is it worth it. Just an interesting thought I think.
I feel that you are forgetting historically, the second police department in the country was formed in Tallahassee Florida. And that department was made around 1826 to catch slaves (night watch). There is an inherent correlation.
Lena: This story mirrors Homer's Odyssey Also Lena: *THERE IS NO EUROPEAN INFLUENCE ON THIS MOVIE* Like did you forget that the Odyssey is a Greek Epic and that Greece is European???
but wait did you realize that the guy with the grill was the one who ratted them out to the police right , cause at the end scene he was counting the money which was the bounty reward that the wife that helped hide them explain when she said it could help pay the mortgage. so to me, them walking to the plane and getting caught was also symbolic of how many times we as black people came close to escaping from slave plantations throughout history but fellow black folks ratted on the revolutionist instead of helping their own kind to freedom just so they could get a lift in status and rank or get a reward. i may be wrong iono
I think there is a connection between the white wife and them getting caught when asked by the police officer mam you seem smarter than your husband do you know where they are the wife made a signal with her toes
Lena is so self important...ugh. This was a beautiful review Kim. Thank you. I currently choose to abstain from traumatic black movies. It just reignites too much unresolved trauma for me from my real life black experience... I go out of my way to seek more cinematic balance in black film because I need that peace..
Ultimately, as we were exiting the theater I asked my friends this; in one sentence, what was the message of this movie? No one had a good answer because there was TOO MUCH going on. It was a hat on a hat. You put on one hat, looks great, put on another hat on top of that, you look silly. This movie was about 10 hats stacked on top of Daniel Kaluuya’s freshly shaven head.
whew, girl! ALOT. i saw this movie twice. me n my homegirl sat in the parking lot of the movies for 15min in complete silence before saying ... "it was a beautiful movie" & then having some conflicts w alot of the content. my energy was completely off watching this movie TWICE bc the 2nd time i saw it....people in the theatre were crying and having visibly viseral reactions to what they were seeing and walking away angry. & i was SAD to know that ... this movie made it difficult to bring them closure on the trauma they were experiencing. sigh. ne way ... it was truly a beautiful film. UNCLE EARL was the STAR and it was so nice to see Bokem again. i still highly recommend the film to others ...
Great commentary enjoyed your perspective but I won’t be seeing it. My spirit cannot continue to digest black lives being snuffed out behind some bullshyt and be comforted because they are leaving behind a legacy or kicking off a movement or being “immortal” I want to see them live. It’s too much and to me it is trauma porn and extremely depressing and triggering.
Fam, killing them off *IS* playing it safe 😐. Acting like black people ever get anything *but* a 'safe' ending is sooooo disingenuous. I don't have a problem with the film because I haven't seen it but I don't plan to cuz I'm tired of that ending. I don't have a problem with artists portraying the times or whatever else, that's their business and their right. I cannot engage with that crap anymore. If I wanted to see that, I would just open Twitter. I'm good on that.
Agreed. If I wanted to see that, I’d turn on CNN. Lmao it would be okay if it was one movie, but now it’s like every movie with black leads I walk out exhausted. We need better. Plus, can we talk about the casting call for Queen and Slim? Asking for a woman who looks like a field slave to play Queen smh.
Yeah torture porn. I am convinced blk ppl r addicted to pain and sorrow. Most movies like this with white boys they get away with murder. The images you give your attention to do have an impact on reality. Im done supporting these painful black narratives. Its going to keep us right where we r or set us back further
I was looking for you to speak on the decision to put the Queen & Slim sex scene in the car, side by side, integrated between the little boy shooting the black cop scene. This is why I will stand by my idea that this film is Black Trauma porn because it is literally that. The sec scene was VERY long and very exposed, they hid nothing. And as you’re watching this supposed to be beautiful moment of black love, images of anger, violence, gore, and death are cut side by side. Why feed those images together? What was the person of giving the audience one spoonful of love, then a spoon of anger, then one of ecstasy and the next stupidity, death, confusion? As if the black community doesn’t already have enough generational issues pertaining to black partnerships, black love, black family.... the artist chose this as their message? I do not see the purpose. I’m surprised you didn’t speak on it. For that, this is Black Trauma Porn - in my opinion.
Nikkhalia M. I think you have misplaced anger and you’re placing the responsibility of showcasing black love on an artist (the movie writer). Maybe you should take up this fight with the black people in your family or the black around you that showcase dysfunctional black relationships. They need to make better decisions to break the generational curses that you speak of. The artist chose this to convey death and confusion in the midst of the sex scene because its realistic for some black people as you have already stated. Its merely art imitating life.
Black liberation 3.0 is in its infancy. Pro black everything should be the wave that all of our people WANT to jump on. We deserve to win in real life and on the big screen. Trauma is the black experience and trama porn has been our people's storyline for over 400 years. WE TIED! It's time for a new black experience and a new black storyline. Queen & Slim ain't it. Still love your content sis, loved the review, just a difference in opinion🤷🏾♀️
I one hundred percent agree with u. We need to create our own image. Let's stop filling out souls and minds with this garbage. Black people can be very ignorant. My people parish because of lack of knowledge. We black people keeps desensitizing ourselves with movies like this. We don't realize that it's tanting our souls. I love Tyler Perry by the way. I love his movies
Struggle love to the MAX... great cinematography , but the story was STRUGGLE LOVE 100%. If your home girl told you her tinder date shot a cop in her defense because her educated butt wanted to step out the car knowing that she doesn't have any power in that situation and shes now on the run with him. You'd be like what the entire hell are you on. This was the absolute struggle.
He shot the cop in both their defense. Slim very likely would've been shot by the cop, even if Queen stayed in the car and said nothing (which is why it's pointless to talk about what one should or shouldn't do in that situation). They were 2 people brought together by a terrible and impossible situation that neither of them asked for. I agree with Kim that that's not struggle love.
@@natepolitics1490 yh but anytime there's a role for a women to be dolled up ,upgraded ,and taken care off ,its every woman but a. Black woman ,if this movie was bout a woman who was about beauty and a man loving her to the fullest it would never be a black woman so miss with ur bullshit
I don't think the circumstances that put them on the run is anything like Bonnie and Clyde, but the way they become celebrities, the way the community stands behind them, the way they are "hiding" in plain site and literally kicking it while being pursued feels Bonnie and Clyde.
This movie was in no shape bad but it was not the cultural classic lena thought it was gonna be side note people walked out my theater after they were murdered I've never experienced that before
what killed me was why didn't they do the obvious? they NEVER tried to plead their case! I would've hid out somewhere and been calling Channel 7 like a mf lol..like, "hey, we didn't mean to shoot anyone! that officer was acting crazy!" like how do you just decide to go to Cuba? smh lol
All we gonna say to the judge is your honor we didn't kill nobody that was Spanky s Booze what's the worst gonna happen to us ? LIFE !!!! What u mean life
I enjoyed your review, very well researched. Like others, I have mixed feelings about the film. Great cinematography, amazing acting, and some very interesting story plots. I think I’m growing tired of black tragedy in film, even if it is reality. Why can’t we have cheesy rom-coms, or adventure stories where our heroes win? All of our movies have to be “real” and “powerful” and make some sort of statement. I go to the movies to ESCAPE this reality. I haven’t watched many movies (12 years a slave, fruitvale station, and countless others) for this reason. I wish our cinema was allowed to be more fantastical and exciting.
Isn't border security more strict now than it used to be? I'm imagining border patrol would have known to keep an eye out for two fugitives subject to a nationwide manhunt.
@@WildWestSamurai border control is strict for ppl trying to come in. Ppl escape to Mexico all the time bc the border is so vast. Better than trying to hop on a plane, drawing attention to ur self.
I always appreciate your insight. The research and nuance you provide in your content is always welcomed. Thanks for the hard work and thanks for sharing.
i’m choosing not to see this movie because it would be triggering to me personally but i really appreciated this review. kim always got something intelligent and insightful to say, i have to stan
I questioned that myself. How did The Shepard’s nosey neighbor know they were the fugitives & they claim that the Florida man wasn’t the original guy they were supposed to meet up with for the plane so how did he know how to find them or if it was actually them 🤔
I also would've enjoyed them making it to Cuba and incorporating some of the Hispanic racism towards African Americans as well (which many people do not believe exist). Possibly one of the cubans selling them out to the police instead of another American black man.
Also, I thought this movie's co-producer was white due to the European aspects that were added in, especially the showing of the young black boy shooting a kind black cop in the head.
I already knew how the movie was gonna end before walking in due to the context of film. However, I really let myself follow the movie (with my heart in my stomach the whole time) and I was so hopeful. I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time and the one time I took a breath my worst fears took place. It was good movie but I think I am kinda tired of seeing Black trauma like this. I get the filmmakers can make their own decisions but sometimes we need a fairytale rather than a tragedy. Or maybe just have them arrested and not die???? It was just too painful to see the obvious again.
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I’m depressed after watching this.
Link to your grant please??
For Harriet what’s up mami
I like how you describe film. I get the vibe that you got a degree in film ?
Oh and I see the plaque in the back. A calm flex.
NEEKRVCH haha a smooth lil flex
A low key I’m just sayin....love
Kim was low-key wit it. And I am here for it. Congrats boo.
well-deserved
NEEKRVCH I literally thought the same thing. I was thing about the red bottoms she used to keep over there too
“PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR ART TO DO STUFF THAT PUBLIC POLICY IS SUPPOSE TO DO”
KIIIIIMMMMMMM 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
she said something with that!!!!!
It lowkey needs to be a tee shirt
This is why I love Kim. Such a smart and insightful woman 🧡
@@XQN-R I think she's saying we expect more from movies and fiction than we do actual laws and policies. Laws are to protect, art is to mostly entertain.
@@MelodyTriumph is it that....i think art allows people who benefit from capitalism to entertain I think of violence of Quentin Tarantino.
Then I think of r&b, blues, jazz...and movies like precious. Yes we shouldn't look for black films to do more but we do bc as Kim said we don't get so many creative opportunity. There is a soul in art that has separate life from capitalist life. I don't think that we should always look in terms of martyr of characters. We can't choose what lena waithe journey. However it kills me that she making these characters into Jesus but. White Jesus dies but is resurrected and be revered. This story looks so much more like modern day black Orpheus tale. In that vein if slim had died and Queen lived .that would be more connected to the mothers of movement. It would have been iconic in different way.
Anyone notice Queen was the only one to receive the physical injuries throughout the movie until the end? Ie. shot in the leg , dislocated arm, & first kill shot to the heart? I wonder if there’s any significance in that.
Thank you! 👏🏽 i knew from the trailer this wasn’t good for my soul as a black woman
Black women are constantly putting themselves at the front lines which results in more pain. Black women need to take a backseat like other races of women and be more feminine. Let black men be men and do the marching and fighting
perhaps it's an acknowledgment of Malcolm X's quote "the most disrespected woman in America is the Black woman" and Slim picking her up at the end is an acknowledgement of how black men need to protect black women...?
Mansa Musa I thought the same how do you not mention if he ask to look in the trunk then he needs to get a warrant. Overall this movie irritated me on a number of levels.
allsoladarity 🤣 damn
"Hyperbole is the default tone of social media" - extremely apt observation
Hey girl! We need more Black women as cultural critics! Kudos from a fellow Art History/Humanities major😍
do you know of black femininity tv. I dont know if she could be considered a black cultural critic but she is cool.
As Told By Kenya's take on this movie is great as well.
I am one! Just don’t have a lot of followers ! But I do agree!
Earl in that black FUR??? That was literally my favorite visual shot in the movie. The cinematography of the whole film was gorgeous.
dora L with the Sean John tracksuit
The movie itself was just beautiful to watch
Same! I’m sooo glad that I’m not the only one. His wardrobe alone should get a lot more credit for the darling nostalgia and effortless swag. The cinematography paired with the soundtrack was utterly beautiful.
I loved that shot too!
Yo! Seriously!
I personally liked the wardrobe choices for Queen & Slim when they are fleeing in NOLA, and I think it’s pretty consistent with the plot line too. Queen has to find pieces to wear from the wardrobe of the girls who live with her uncle, and it’s made very clear that they all have very eccentric style - they wouldn’t really have something that a “fugitive” would wear. Not to mention that both of them have literally a minute to get dressed as the police officer is knocking on the door. Also, I think the meaning behind their choice of clothing aligns well with the theme of the film which is “hiding in plain sight.” When they ask Uncle Ted if he has a car they can use, they end up getting this flashy vintage car that wouldn’t typically be ideal for a fugitive escape. I think a similar idea applies to their wardrobe. And lastly, I think it might have been intentional for them to be dressed to fit the new personas they had to take on at that point of the movie. Before, Queen was dressed in a very neutral, professional look and Slim was very low key and basic. With their new outfits, they transformed into who their characters would evolve into by the end of the movie. Just my thoughts.
Bokeem Woodbine is EVERYTHING! He’s so underrated as an actor. He puts 1000% into every role no matter how big or small.
Crown Jewel yes!!! He’s a gem 💎
Say that again!
Crown Jewel Facts no Printer
He is an amazing actor
So true! I’ve always loved him as a performer
The Black cop helped them after he kept having to tell his white co-worker not to keep referring to him as “boy”.
Yup. It was him realizing that the badge didn't save him, and that he has nothing to gain from selling out his own people.
Lara Abiona So if you were a police officer, ran into a wanted suspect that allegedly committed murder and several other felonies, but noticed they were of the same ethnicity as you, you’d actually let them go? The cop had no knowledge of the couple’s circumstances; for all he knew those two could be planning to kill more people. This isn’t about selling out your own people (whatever that even means), it’s about the black cop intentionally sabotaging his own duty to his occupation. The mob mentality is strong with the morons that liked this movie...
Seiko dude what? everyone knew what they did so you're strong and wrong. thats number one. number 2 selling out your own people is like what the dude at the end did. turned in his own people for money knowing good and damn well that killing was self defense. that black cop knew his field of work isnt meant for those who dont pass the paper bag test. "im not your boy" gave us inside to his thought process. your badge doesnt erase your color. he did his people a solid. fuck that badge
It was a good movie, but as a black man in America this movie was depressing and hopeless. 😔
______ not at all
I am tired of these stupid movies that depress black people. This is no when they see us
I actually liked it, it remind me of Thelma and Louis.
@______ When did Slim fail to protect Queen? They had only known each other for 6 days and even then, he was willing to put his life on the line for her.
I agree! . Hopelessness make people give up and live a depressing life. Honestly, how does this help black people. What is the agenda with all these movies/ shows on Netflix etc. look at the fruit of this .
Also, what about the casting call for Queen’s character? When they wanted a (and im paraphrasing), “rough black and woman who looked like she would be working in the slave fields”. That pissed alot of people off
As it should!! That shit was out of pocket. Could have said Dark Skin Woman Only and boom done and dusted.
Yes I agree that scripted was terrible
Paris Collins mos def! It pissed me off as well . I was referencing how Kim pointed out that people weren’t even feeling the film without seeing it (im one of those people). I was just hoping she (Kim) would’ve talked about that; and call out Lena for that one since she like to talk about how involved she was with all aspects of the film
I think we would be surprised at what a lot of casting calls want. I remember when there was an uproar over a casting call for a music video. I think they specially wanted a light skin girl with other details that went viral. I sometimes think about casting calls for overweight characters like "This Is Us". Like what was the description? Morbidly obese white woman?
Yaya S the film you’re referring to is Straight Outta Compton I disagree with the point that this is commonplace. I’m certain it’s only this blithely offensive when casting black people. I’m certain they don’t say something like very skinny, emaciated middle aged white women. Should look like a survivor of (insert well-know tragedy here). It’s peculiar, offensive, and wholly unnecessary for descriptive purposes.
This movie isn't a "Bonnie and Clyde"; it's more like "Thelma and Louise". I see a lot of similarities to that film.
I completely agree, it has much more in common with Thelma and Louise in my opinion than Bonnie and Clyde.
Not Thelma and Louise either. It stands on its own as an original work.
49jubilee Lol I know that. My point was It’s about two white women that intend to go on a road trip, one of them gets raped by a man in a parking lot and the other woman ends up shooting and killing him. Due to that they end up on the run from the police and learn things about each other during the journey, at the end let’s just say it ends similarly to Queen & Slim. But I meant the similarities are more because Thelma & Louise found themselves in the situation essentially because they were women while Queen & Slim found themselves in their situation because they were black. Bonnie & Clyde were criminals that imo liked doing bad things, while T&L and Q&S were put in a position they didn’t ask to be in which resulted in them having to run from the police. Daniel Kaluuya even said in an interview he prefers the T&L comparison over the Bonnie & Clyde one.
@@UrbanDecayLova247 why
Tanya B 👏🏾👏🏾 Perfectly explained 👏🏾👏🏾
Up until the end of the film between the two of them Queen was physically hurt the most. I think that’s also symbolic of black women as saviors and protectors of black men.
If anyone deserved to be hurt it was her. Her decisions and behavior kept digging them deeper into their hole. I didn’t feel sorry for her because of that.
@@inspectorgadget1368 Deserved to be hurt? A black woman...really, sir!
I just felt like Slim got 2% backstory and then Queen's backstory was overhyped. It could have been a better backstory
96jrg yea i felt like the story was more about queen than slim.
True he’s backstory was more shown through his faith like the trust god car plate and cross. She just had a more dramatic backstory
Now that I think about it,the story wasn't about Slim at all. Lol. He got some character development by loosening up a bit. But the story was about a young black female attorney who experiences police brutality and while enjoying the last few days of her free life, learns to break down her walls, experience joy and fall in love. 🤔 Slim's just an accessory to the story.
We got to see Slim’s backstory through his character development and hidden gems around the film ( ex. Trust God Plates, Cross, Gospel music after the crime and flee, him talking about working at a missionary, the love he had for his family (shown when talking to Dad on phone and Dad risking it all for him). We see that Slim is a GREAT GUY! Model citizen! You can tell he never gets in trouble from the pacing back and forth at the gas station. He never gets in trouble. I will say it was refreshing to see a blk, especially DARK SKIN MAN in that role especially because TYLER Perry types paint dark blk men as the villain. You almost look to see what crime he committed previously. Remember when they were at the Traffic stop and she asked him about “ Warrants, weapons, drugs” and said no! I bet you all, just like me was expecting him to have something. Even the cop didn’t believe him when he said, he didn’t drink. Hell I didn’t believe him. I’m like, you must have something. So honestly, in my opinion, we didn’t need any more for his back story! They were COMPLETE OPPOSITE, Queen and Slim! They had the Romeo and Juliet thing going. I think that’s what the writers wanted🙂
I feel like Queen & Slim did choose their death. That’s why she asked him can she be his legacy because they were gonna choose death. I just think that moment was interrupted by the early shot, but it would’ve ended the same way because they would not have gone peacefully
Rhonda C. Agreed! They choice their ending! I Also loved the early shot by the woman cop and the fact that she was white because it showed how they always ‘shoot to kill’ because they feel threatened even though nothing was threatening about the situation at the time. It showed how cops Shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to blk ppl. The ending was extremely realistic! I’m glad they weren’t Armed like the news was making them out to be. You also noticed how many shots Slim was given in the end vs Queen! Symbolic
Did you look up what the word legacy means? Before you just assume you know it, look it up and realize what that scene really was.
Honestly if they made it to Cuba and lived happily ever after people would still be pissed because of an unrealistic ending
Let's think this through! People are rooting for a couple who murdered a police officer and went on a multiple state chase to find refuge in Cuba, a state that US Americans are told to loathe and which will interrogate the perpetrators! It doesn't work like that! I worked in East Germany! American tourists without a rap sheet can barely walk around a communist country!
How is it unrealistic! assata and her team did it!
@@hodgemama 1) The air security of Cuba today is vastly different than it was over 40 years ago, 2) the political ties between Cuba and the US are also different as Fidal who is now dead granted political asylum and 3) people are not escaping to freedom, they are going to a communist state in which a person's every move is observed. There is no freedom of thought, travel, religion, political association, etc. Assasa escaped with her life and that's all! She can't travel as she is wanted by the FBI and most states in the free world would have to hand her over! If she wanted political asylum, why didn't she go to one of the many Caribbean islands or Central/South America. Now, I respect communism and socialist government because I have to work with them in my philanthropic work. However, the US hates these systems and views its members with disdain! How is this a win-win situation! Running off to any communist or socialist government isn't romantic nor should it be held up as an example for our young people to follow because of the long term social, psychological, and physical harm it does to the person who does it! You don't believe me, then read some of the many books by the survivors who did such things! Do you think that Assasa is living in the suburbs of Cuba? No, she's living in the poverty by a country who has been cut off by most of the world! There's nothing romantic about what she did! Why the movie decided to open up that can of worms is beyond me! It's up to the individual to think her a hero or criminal! However, by the comments on this page, most people haven't thought beyond the rudimentary nature of this case: Hurray, Assasa got away! Once again, I lived and worked under the yoke of the iron curtain: it's not romantic by any imagination!
@fredrika I appreciate you sharing the historical perspective. Thank you! However, the aim of my statement was not to glamorize Cuba. I am well aware of that there is not a country on this planet where black people are securely safe. I’ve experienced this firsthand myself in all my travels and lived in DR in a batey. My point is :I want a movie where black people are able to “win” and escape to new realities of their own. The country they escape to will never be perfect ( as we both already established) but why not have the option? Why is the black martyr narrative so prevalent? Art does not have to always be limited or confined to real life. Furthermore, Assata Shakur is still living Cuba even with all the shift and changes, and despite living under a communist regime, she is still able to LIVE.. She would have been killed and will be killed once she enters US soil. This film sadly does not challenge the fact that black revolutionaries ( via by choice or not) will be killed or destroyed. Or rather, why is freedom confined to Cuba? It could even with a simple shot of them on the plane smiling. A cliff hanger .Fiction can provide a medium for alternative realities and dreams. I’m ready to see some sci-fi Octavia Butler stuff ( which is rumored to be coming soon))
I get your point but it's not unrealistic its been done many times before.
Anyone peep that youtube silver button!?! And skillshare sponsoreship??....YESSSSS
Where is the silver button and what does it mean?
@@vrobinson747 100,000 UA-cam subscribers
Uncle Earl needs his own Movie.
He saved, the movie, truthfully😏
lashaunx1000 I agree. I have renewed respect for Bokeem Woodbine’s acting skills. 💪🏽
Prequel, forreal...
lashaunx1000 fucked me up!! Never had the breathe took outta me like that watching a movie 😭
Facts! He’s a great actor and how he did the nola accent
💯
On our way home we (husband and I) got pulled over by the police for having a front headlight out. It was after midnight and I was driving and my nerves were so bad. I “behaved” and just got a warning. That experience after seeing that movie was so traumatic. Nothing about law enforcement is comforting to me. I’m not contributing to any more tragic movies with my money. I don’t need to pay to see that level of tragedy.
72Crabadams I’m so glad you and your husband are ok!! I know that had to be scary as hell , I always get shaky and nervous when I get pulled over even when I know I did nothing wrong...I’ve been arrested in the past so I definitely know I won’t be spending my money in the theater to be RE traumatized🤦🏽♀️ those officers treated me like dog shit and called me the N word and did some other inhumane things I won’t discuss (I live in a predominantly trump supporting area and I’m a black woman) anywho this movie makes me angry just like Tyler Perry’s movies do as well.
Exactly. Hell i don't even think about my race sometimes, i just legit feel as if some cops have nothing better to do then harrasse people to fill some sort of quota or somethings then will real problems arise they are never on time. It's annoying. All you can do is follow the rules to the best of our abilities so that they can't have anything against us.
Exactly, they won't let black people create a new image. We black people need to stop watching these type of movies. It's depressing, oppressing and makes us even traumatized even more. What are there black producers trying to do. When they see us was great. I loved every moment of it and I cried but it was different. I don't like films like this. This producer is who made this movie is used by the devel to put more PTSD in black soles
@49jubilee when they see us is great. U should see it. U will like it I promise u
Dysfunctional Alien where do u live?
Ooh, the intelligence of this woman is so refreshing. I love seeing black people, especially black women, expressing their knowledge. I just subscribed and I look forward to more future videos.
Yeah her perspective is eye opening. She makes me look at things from angles that I didn't before. And most importantly, she helped me understand why I hated Acrimony. There were so many things I hated about that movie and I just couldn't put into words.
For Harriet is the commentary that I never knew I needed 😊
Millar Antics thank you for the clarification 😂
On The Read podcast, she also said she wanted to toy with the idea "what if Tamir Rice had a gun". That is what further tarnished it for a lot of people. White people already view black boys as dangerous, the cop in real life assumed he was armed-- came off extremely disrespectful
Waithe is so cringey. She tries entirely too hard to be deep.
The details of the Tamir Rice murder doesn't compare to a kid intentionally shooting a non-comfrontational Black cop.
I'm starting to think that Lena is an agent.
Joy Ekwueme something is totally off by her! I am so disappointed with her
She's saying it as if Tamir Rice was a hardened criminal who was ready to kill any cop he saw coming his way.
@@BluDrop5 Yeah! I assumed after he saw that the cop was black and just wanted him to get out of the street he wouldn't shoot?! I think there was something else she could've done with that
The boy shot the police because he was fascinated that Queen and slim were “famous” for their situation. He wanted to be remembered too.
Black folks can experience black tragedy by simply logging onto social media.....why buy a movie ticket to see it?
This is why I have no desire to see this movie. **sigh** Not saying no one else shouldn't go see it.
The Chocolate Delegate this is why it's a no for me
This is why I won't see it either! Police and people of color getting shot all the time and this movie exploits it! No, no, no! It's really sickening and doesn't
support our communities. Blackspoiltation comes to mind!
@@fredrika27 *Black people*
Not people of color. Don't all lives matter our pain.
The Chocolate Delegate . Wow you said so much with that comment. I agree with you.
the protest scene intercut w/sex and the dual murder of the police officer and boy was too much. i wish they had left that out, it really messed me up.
Ola Ronke I thought those scenes were so cringeworthy and disturbing.
@@Girlintheewild Me too😕
Ola Ronke Yes!!!
You literally could have cut out that scene and it would not have changed a thing
And none of the interviewers ask about this when interviewing the director and writer
Finally got to watch Queen & Slim and couldn’t wait to came back here to hear your thoughts!
I saw a lot of people on Twitter say, "This is a good movie." With a little bit of, "This is trauma porn" and people talking about the ones who didn't like it.
I'm in both camps. It's a good movie, definitely entertaining and even funny at certain points, but it still felt like trauma porn in the age of mass shootings and police violence on a daily basis.
The movie is cinematically beautiful but it definitely has its problems lol
I'm from the UK so I won't be able to see it until next month, but from what I've read and heard, for now I'm in the middle ground.
I loved it but it was traumatic.
Great review. I haven't watched this movie and don't plan on watching it. I've watched enough Black drama, trauma, blight, and plight in 2019 via film and tv. I'm good. Constantly inhaling that imagery and energy makes me mentally and emotionally unhappy. I'm good. And I'm Black yall! lol.
Dee Rich right there with you
I *SO* agree with you. I am also so SICK of seeing the black struggle love narrative play out in TV and film. So for those reasons, I will not pay money to see more of it.
I agree with you. I actually had to see a therapist because about this very thing. She even mentioned that constantly intaking this imagery causes depression and anxiety and impacts ones quality of life. I can't do anymore of these movies. I'm sick of them.
@@marcusscottbalahari7198 See. It's like repeating imagery of trauma in HD. Enough! Although I do believe these narratives should continue to be told and show...I"m just not gonna watch them. Some of these folks NEED to see it. lol
Her explanation of why they were killed was kinda all over the place. And I agree , she talked herself into a lot of the disappointment. The way she described this movie on the Breakfast Club interview was something it was not.
I don't think having the "fantasy" ending of living necessarily compromises the truth a story is trying to tell. Look at Get Out.
kim: I didn't like black panther
me: *TRIGGERED*
I will be honest though this movie had me fucked up for the past three days
Wow that's why I won't be watching....
@katrina- me too. Especially 21:14
@@caramelspeaks3034 you should. You'll definitely leave the movies in your feelings
Me too.... I still feel some kind of way but I would see it again.
Yes! Uncle Earl in the black coat was the highlight for me
“ All art is propaganda” Criteria of Negro Art -W.e.b DuBois. That is the standard
Straight facts
I'm glad you mentioned the black military individuals. I've experienced and seen others neglected in the medical care system after completing enlistment. They don't believe our physical and mental disabilities as much as our white counterparts.
OMG!! This is is so true.
I'm about to cry just thinking about it
Can't even go to the VA without someone looking at me like I stole something
@@SylentONE even when discussing my experiences in therapy, the disbelief they have annoys me.
Retro-DADE lol but not to brag I’m at 90% and l legit look like I’m ok. But I’m not.
@@RosteeveBellier I hope you reach 100%. Although I feel it has narrowed my job prospects
When you pointed out the imagery of slim carrying queen like its their wedding, I broke down. That hurt
I didn’t like the ending, It pissed me off and I’m over it. The black guy turning them in, then he’s smoking weed and counting the money. Smh
Right! Like you really turned in your own people for some money????
They were Wanted convicts! Plus it was the closest people they trusted who caused the feds to locate them. Admit it Queen and Slim were criminals trying to get out the hood. Slim should've went to jail at the beginning instead of resisting arrest to kill a cop. That's why they died in the end.
@@christianhenry4173 Slim was gonna get gunned down for no good reason until queen intervened. He can choose "jail" but it's every man's right as a human to choose freedom or slavery. Most people choose slavery for fear of the repercussions involving freedom a.k.a. not being a cops bitch
@@jamesmorell1758 no slim could've went to jail instead of resisting arrest. The problem was that he and Queen talked at the wrong time.
Oh wow I didn't catch that. I can't believe he turned them in smh
“People are expecting art to do stuff that public policy is supposed to do” I think it’s not as much an expectation as it is a desire. For me it’s like why can’t we want both? In the meantime while we’re advocating for these issues in the real world can art not reflect our desired outcome? Anyways I always enjoy your commentary & insight.
White people have thousands of movies of desired outcomes even if they don't reflect their reality. We don't deserve aspirational art?
The Chocolate Delegate Exactly, I almost commented this as well!
We should want both, but it seems like when we don’t get the happily ever after, folks are outraged.
If the movie reflected the desired outcome, folks would’ve said the movie painted an unrealistic picture and let’s white people off the hook
I think we should remember that the artist always leads they way for public policy. Not all artist have the same responsibility, but if we are to believe Paul Robeson "all black artist have a responsibility to their people"
Thank you for bringing up Queen’s outfit choice...when I first saw it I was like “uhhhh okay yeah you can definitely run and hide wearing heels and a dress right?”
Things I found annoying and unbelievable: her stopping to pet a horse, then him riding the horse, them jumping out of a two story window and surviving, not staying under the bed until the coast was clear when they were hiding, going to the club while on the run, stopping at the mechanic and paying him all there money to fix there car - pushing the car to the mechanic, choosing such a bright colored car, her choosing a dress that doesn’t cover up her wound, the sex scene with the protest spliced in, the little boy shooting the cop for no real reason, hitting the father with his car and them taking him to the hospital...and plenty of other unnecessary and unrealistic moments that made me dislike it.....I didn’t mind that they died, I think it made sense, it was all the other completely silly decisions that they made
Justin Mack I wanted to smack him when he gave the cashier the gun!
The movie was so disjointed.
I feel like the plot is too unbelievable for me to see it in theaters. I'll wait until it hits home viewing platforms. I hate when movies especially true to live ones don't comb through the details.
Exactly
It's because they likely know they're going to die at some point so they choose to live in the present. They choose to be human beings. That in and of itself is a form of freedom- choosing to live in the face of death instead of live in fear. And they paid the mechanic bc theyre not suddenly evil people just because theyre on the run-- they still want to be good, especially to other Black folk. Just because you might be jaded in such a situation doesn't mean they have to be.
I've been watching everything you put out for about a year and never commented before. Just wanted to say this was particularly fascinating to listen to! I planned to see the film later after watching a few interviews as well, and the controversy surprised me based solely on what I expected from this movie; your video (as usual) really made me think about why I already have certain expectations for this film. Your analyses are always so well-researched and straightforward, which I appreciate since I cannot really bring life experience into the topics you discuss.
Thank you for your awesome content! Have a lovely day~
Why black people always feel the need to be excellent. Why cant we just be ourselves.
Being ourselves does make us excellent.
marginalised people have to work 10x as hard to receive 10x less recognition
“Fall in love” is soooo loose 🤦🏽♀️ “fall in trauma” is more like it.
Exceptional commentary! You always say “thank you for watching”, well Thank you for uploading :)
Daniel has such a talent for acting with his body more that his words he’s so amazing. He started back on a sketch show in England playing a stereo type. And now I enjoy everything he’s in.
What’s the point of being immortal or a martyr, when the circumstances that took the person’s life still exist? I’m sure Trayvon’s mother would rather have her son with her, versus having millions of people wearing hoodies in protest, and yet we are still victims of police violence.
Even Queen and Slim told him so. That all that matters is that he lived with his family. That scene with the kid shooting the cop was so, so, wrong. I can understand that being young you look for a purpose, you make a grand story in your head about yourself and inevitably, bad decisions are made. I could see it in his eyes when he shot the cop, he didn't believe in what he had done, but it felt soooo off... The sex scene didn't help either...
Girl the way you are reading Lena is GOLD! Best commentary ever
Why don't we see Bokeem Woodbine in more things??? He's so good!!
Bookeems characters goes to jail or just got out of jail in every movie he's in! Lol
As a child he was the actor I loved to hate because he is so good but he played some bad guys
Am I the only person who thinks he could be Dave Chapelle’s twin??? 😂
I appreciate Kim's content and opinions. But it's always so clear to me how Kim really is from a different class. She's so extremely intellectual in her break down of issues or movies and it's so thoughtful which I want to say can never be a bad thing but there's something to be said for the gut feeling you get when you watch yet another movie that portrays our image as needing to bring our standards down when in reality we need to do the opposite, our image as being stuck up, high strung, over powering, sloppy and loud, more masculine than the man, desperate, and the path to a low quality of life on the run as a fugitive. It glorifies the old troupe of ride or die. And they died. An educated woman with a bright future, struggling and dying. That's so stressful and sad and imprisoning for the black woman's image and mind. Black men are 10 times more likely to date outside of their race than black women. And black men will say it's because they feel that doing so will give them a better quality of life. Better credit, better home, a healthier relationship with a more docile woman. And it's imagery like Queen and Slim, that promotes the idea that black love is gonna be hard and tragic. And it's imagery like Queen and Slim that makes black women feel they are responsible for the upkeep of black love, and that we need to date down, and endanger ourselves for the sake of black love. I don't need an educational critic of cinematography to know that this kind of movie is toxic when we already have an oversaturation of this kind of representation and while we're already trying to overcome the damage that has already been done, this kind of movie doesn't help us
Absolutely love this comment! Very insightful.
Nothing about this film made me feel responsible for the upkeep of black love or that I need to date down. If anything it was a cautionary tale against both.
Woooo, girl!!!! The brilliance in this comment. 💯
Did you see the movie? It doesn't sound like it
@@SDot2385 I agree. It's a cautionary tale against black love and that's just as bad. We shouldn't be afraid to love eachother. And you can't tell me that this doesn't put out a message of a black women taking ownership of this kind of love and protecting it like it's our job. Glorifying her being a ride or die. They're held up as black symbols of hope and she's leading the cause. She's his legacy. Black is not a monolith but we have so much of this type of representation that they're full blown stereotypes of us
I honestly didn’t really like this movie , the concept was interesting but I didn’t like how it played through. especially the sex scene being shown at the same time as the protest i just felt like it made no sense
Considering the movie's general theme is about black joy and black death having a history of going hand-in-hand, I imagine the purpose was to illustrate that with a sex scene intercut with a violent protest. You see that over and over throughout the film, where the characters try to some fleeting enjoyment only to have to cut it short because the specter of death is always hounding them.
@@WildWestSamurai FACTS
I read a book called The Man Not about the historical abuse about the Black man and in 1 chapter they talked about a story about how yt people would get sexually aroused by the abuse of blacks. Since I find a lot of these current Black films are for the yt gaze, I wonder if it has something to do with that?
Blythe Dhia that’s an interesting point, and a great connection!
@@circe52 what is b"yt"?
I haven't watched the film, but how the ending was described reminds me of the end of the film "set it off" when the women were shot by the police.
Except for in this movie, they were actually surrendering. In Set It Off they weren't. If Queen & Slim were shot while trying to make a run for the airplane à la Vivica A Foxx's character in Set It Off, it would have been more understandable for me.
I find that She tends to skip or not get l the conceptual pieces in the movies she reviews. To me the protest scene wasn’t about the boy. It’s was about the cop. The black cop. He took off his helmet to show his face and skin to the boy to say look I’m with you “Go home” but the boy couldn’t relate and understand where he was coming from. All he could see was that he was on the opposing side. Which draws in to question black people working for systems that come against their people..you may be a good person but you work for a system that hates you. Like is it worth it. The other cop that let them Queen and slim go from the garage he was a cop but his white counterpart was snarky and talked down to him. Even in a job the he seeks prestige his blackness makes the white cop thinks he’s smarter (superior) than him. Is it worth it. Just an interesting thought I think.
This film is the epitome of ”it be your own people”
"The art ain't always going to be polite." Kanye West
Harriet: I know what I'm about to say is controver-
Me, in my head: Sis, everything you say is controversial. 😂😂😂
Kimberly
@@frenchellew2857 Say her name!😋
Nicolas Oke that’s not her name lol
@@francescadowns4551 It's the name of the channel.
Nicolas Oke yeah duh. but her name is kim, she says it at the beginning of every video
I feel that you are forgetting historically, the second police department in the country was formed in Tallahassee Florida. And that department was made around 1826 to catch slaves (night watch). There is an inherent correlation.
Lena: This story mirrors Homer's Odyssey
Also Lena: *THERE IS NO EUROPEAN INFLUENCE ON THIS MOVIE*
Like did you forget that the Odyssey is a Greek Epic and that Greece is European???
🤣😭the movie is muddy, because her vision is always muddy.
Bokeem was great in Fargo. He is a good actor.
Loved him in Fargo!!
but wait did you realize that the guy with the grill was the one who ratted them out to the police right , cause at the end scene he was counting the money which was the bounty reward that the wife that helped hide them explain when she said it could help pay the mortgage. so to me, them walking to the plane and getting caught was also symbolic of how many times we as black people came close to escaping from slave plantations throughout history but fellow black folks ratted on the revolutionist instead of helping their own kind to freedom just so they could get a lift in status and rank or get a reward. i may be wrong iono
I think there is a connection between the white wife and them getting caught when asked by the police officer mam you seem smarter than your husband do you know where they are the wife made a signal with her toes
“A ridiculous patriarchal meltdown” lol...yes, I’m familiar with that show.
Yes!
Lena is so self important...ugh. This was a beautiful review Kim. Thank you. I currently choose to abstain from traumatic black movies. It just reignites too much unresolved trauma for me from my real life black experience... I go out of my way to seek more cinematic balance in black film because I need that peace..
Crown Jewel all of this sis
Crown Jewel - well stated!
YES, self-important and way over hyped
“Didn’t really like Black Panther..didn’t like Get Out. Didn’t see widows”
Oh.....aw damn
Ultimately, as we were exiting the theater I asked my friends this; in one sentence, what was the message of this movie? No one had a good answer because there was TOO MUCH going on.
It was a hat on a hat. You put on one hat, looks great, put on another hat on top of that, you look silly. This movie was about 10 hats stacked on top of Daniel Kaluuya’s freshly shaven head.
whew, girl! ALOT. i saw this movie twice. me n my homegirl sat in the parking lot of the movies for 15min in complete silence before saying ... "it was a beautiful movie" & then having some conflicts w alot of the content. my energy was completely off watching this movie TWICE bc the 2nd time i saw it....people in the theatre were crying and having visibly viseral reactions to what they were seeing and walking away angry. & i was SAD to know that ... this movie made it difficult to bring them closure on the trauma they were experiencing. sigh. ne way ... it was truly a beautiful film. UNCLE EARL was the STAR and it was so nice to see Bokem again. i still highly recommend the film to others ...
_BKay I needed some anxiety medicine after watching it.
Great commentary enjoyed your perspective but I won’t be seeing it. My spirit cannot continue to digest black lives being snuffed out behind some bullshyt and be comforted because they are leaving behind a legacy or kicking off a movement or being “immortal” I want to see them live. It’s too much and to me it is trauma porn and extremely depressing and triggering.
Chelle G. All of this
I didn’t dislike it until I started actually thinking about it
Julia Roberts same
Fam, killing them off *IS* playing it safe 😐. Acting like black people ever get anything *but* a 'safe' ending is sooooo disingenuous.
I don't have a problem with the film because I haven't seen it but I don't plan to cuz I'm tired of that ending. I don't have a problem with artists portraying the times or whatever else, that's their business and their right. I cannot engage with that crap anymore. If I wanted to see that, I would just open Twitter. I'm good on that.
Agreed. If I wanted to see that, I’d turn on CNN. Lmao it would be okay if it was one movie, but now it’s like every movie with black leads I walk out exhausted. We need better. Plus, can we talk about the casting call for Queen and Slim? Asking for a woman who looks like a field slave to play Queen smh.
nearandfar wait what? The casting call?!
I wholeheartedly agree! Just saw it on the news today with the UPS truck shooting in FL. Saw the movie. Same ending. So tired of it!
Yeah torture porn. I am convinced blk ppl r addicted to pain and sorrow. Most movies like this with white boys they get away with murder. The images you give your attention to do have an impact on reality. Im done supporting these painful black narratives. Its going to keep us right where we r or set us back further
@@Hotgirlbff yeah why couldnt they get a feminine woman to play queen.
I just wanted some more wins for Queen and Slim in the film.
I was looking for you to speak on the decision to put the Queen & Slim sex scene in the car, side by side, integrated between the little boy shooting the black cop scene. This is why I will stand by my idea that this film is Black Trauma porn because it is literally that. The sec scene was VERY long and very exposed, they hid nothing. And as you’re watching this supposed to be beautiful moment of black love, images of anger, violence, gore, and death are cut side by side. Why feed those images together? What was the person of giving the audience one spoonful of love, then a spoon of anger, then one of ecstasy and the next stupidity, death, confusion? As if the black community doesn’t already have enough generational issues pertaining to black partnerships, black love, black family.... the artist chose this as their message? I do not see the purpose. I’m surprised you didn’t speak on it. For that, this is Black Trauma Porn - in my opinion.
Nikkhalia M. I think you have misplaced anger and you’re placing the responsibility of showcasing black love on an artist (the movie writer).
Maybe you should take up this fight with the black people in your family or the black around you that showcase dysfunctional black relationships. They need to make better decisions to break the generational curses that you speak of.
The artist chose this to convey death and confusion in the midst of the sex scene because its realistic for some black people as you have already stated. Its merely art imitating life.
Guilda Boots wrong and wrong. But thank you for projecting your issues publicly online. Seems you got it all figured out
@@omgitsdm So, black people experience death during sex or reflect upon it?
Probably the most balanced review of the movie I’ve seen so far
Black liberation 3.0 is in its infancy. Pro black everything should be the wave that all of our people WANT to jump on. We deserve to win in real life and on the big screen. Trauma is the black experience and trama porn has been our people's storyline for over 400 years.
WE TIED!
It's time for a new black experience and a new black storyline. Queen & Slim ain't it.
Still love your content sis, loved the review, just a difference in opinion🤷🏾♀️
KandyG TV I agree! That’s why I have yet to see the film! I am tired of crying and being reminded of the inevitable..
Period
I one hundred percent agree with u. We need to create our own image. Let's stop filling out souls and minds with this garbage. Black people can be very ignorant. My people parish because of lack of knowledge. We black people keeps desensitizing ourselves with movies like this. We don't realize that it's tanting our souls. I love Tyler Perry by the way. I love his movies
trauma porn FACTS
400 years baby.
We been TIRED
14 minutes in and I’m loving the breakdown. I can tell it took you some time to do this.
Struggle love to the MAX... great cinematography , but the story was STRUGGLE LOVE 100%. If your home girl told you her tinder date shot a cop in her defense because her educated butt wanted to step out the car knowing that she doesn't have any power in that situation and shes now on the run with him. You'd be like what the entire hell are you on. This was the absolute struggle.
Thank u
Life is a struggle where have you been?
He shot the cop in both their defense. Slim very likely would've been shot by the cop, even if Queen stayed in the car and said nothing (which is why it's pointless to talk about what one should or shouldn't do in that situation). They were 2 people brought together by a terrible and impossible situation that neither of them asked for. I agree with Kim that that's not struggle love.
i knew from the trailer alone this movie wasn't for me. and learning that she was an attorney and acted like this just doesn't seem realistic?
@@natepolitics1490 yh but anytime there's a role for a women to be dolled up ,upgraded ,and taken care off ,its every woman but a. Black woman ,if this movie was bout a woman who was about beauty and a man loving her to the fullest it would never be a black woman so miss with ur bullshit
We don't need tragic movies. We have tragic lives.
I don't think the circumstances that put them on the run is anything like Bonnie and Clyde, but the way they become celebrities, the way the community stands behind them, the way they are "hiding" in plain site and literally kicking it while being pursued feels Bonnie and Clyde.
This movie was in no shape bad but it was not the cultural classic lena thought it was gonna be side note people walked out my theater after they were murdered I've never experienced that before
Damn. They were murdered???
Girl I walked out of Bruno.. that movie by Sasha Baren Cohen. 1st and only time getting a refund
Once slim got shot I got up before he fell to the ground.
what killed me was why didn't they do the obvious? they NEVER tried to plead their case!
I would've hid out somewhere and been calling Channel 7 like a mf lol..like, "hey, we didn't mean to shoot anyone! that officer was acting crazy!" like how do you just decide to go to Cuba? smh lol
All we gonna say to the judge is your honor we didn't kill nobody that was Spanky s Booze what's the worst gonna happen to us ? LIFE !!!! What u mean life
Idk why did they had to have a sex scene during a protest and shooting. That was terrible.
IT WAS SO FUCKING UNCALLED FOR
Bruh Uncle Earl’s fur coat moment was EVERYTHING!!!!
You are amazing. You captured this truthfully and from a place of understanding.
I enjoyed your review, very well researched. Like others, I have mixed feelings about the film. Great cinematography, amazing acting, and some very interesting story plots. I think I’m growing tired of black tragedy in film, even if it is reality. Why can’t we have cheesy rom-coms, or adventure stories where our heroes win? All of our movies have to be “real” and “powerful” and make some sort of statement. I go to the movies to ESCAPE this reality. I haven’t watched many movies (12 years a slave, fruitvale station, and countless others) for this reason. I wish our cinema was allowed to be more fantastical and exciting.
ThatDoll25 exactly!!!!! You hit the nail on the head. Couldn’t have said it better myself
I totally understand where you’re coming from.
KIM girl you are GLOOOOWING! ok lemme watch
for sure the best video i've seen about this film. very detailed and well rounded. props!!!
Mic drop. This was PERFECT, Kim. Multilayered analysis. Thank you.
Why didn't they got to Mexico instead. Like once you get past the border you can really just disappear.
I know right
I thought that as well
Isn't border security more strict now than it used to be? I'm imagining border patrol would have known to keep an eye out for two fugitives subject to a nationwide manhunt.
@@WildWestSamurai border control is strict for ppl trying to come in. Ppl escape to Mexico all the time bc the border is so vast. Better than trying to hop on a plane, drawing attention to ur self.
WildWestSamurai and yet people still get in... there’s ways trust me I live by the border
I always appreciate your insight. The research and nuance you provide in your content is always welcomed. Thanks for the hard work and thanks for sharing.
You are so articulate and insightful! Great analysis.
i’m choosing not to see this movie because it would be triggering to me personally but i really appreciated this review. kim always got something intelligent and insightful to say, i have to stan
24:45 but they WEREN'T unrecognizable. Literally EVERYONE they interacted with after the haircuts knew who they were.
I questioned that myself. How did The Shepard’s nosey neighbor know they were the fugitives & they claim that the Florida man wasn’t the original guy they were supposed to meet up with for the plane so how did he know how to find them or if it was actually them 🤔
Your point about black discomfort is a good nuanced point
How amazing would it have been if they had escaped to Cuba tho... I haven’t seen the movie yet may check it this weekend...
That's why I liked Superfly bcuz although it's unrealistic,it was still nice to see black pple "escape the system."
melanated misfit right like we know in reality it’s what it is but that would have been awesome to see them escape like Assata Shakur did...
I also would've enjoyed them making it to Cuba and incorporating some of the Hispanic racism towards African Americans as well (which many people do not believe exist). Possibly one of the cubans selling them out to the police instead of another American black man.
Also, I thought this movie's co-producer was white due to the European aspects that were added in, especially the showing of the young black boy shooting a kind black cop in the head.
Wow, I have a great Uncle Earl that lives in New Orleans... talk about art imitating life.
I already knew how the movie was gonna end before walking in due to the context of film. However, I really let myself follow the movie (with my heart in my stomach the whole time) and I was so hopeful. I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time and the one time I took a breath my worst fears took place. It was good movie but I think I am kinda tired of seeing Black trauma like this. I get the filmmakers can make their own decisions but sometimes we need a fairytale rather than a tragedy. Or maybe just have them arrested and not die???? It was just too painful to see the obvious again.
Thank you for all the work you put into this. It shows
Thanks, Sis for this channel! I appreciate your honesty and thoughtful insight!
The review I’ve been waiting on.
Right?!? Kim and Jouelzy are the only UA-camrs whose opinions I look to on controversial topics/issues.
I love the hair Kim!
You are amazing and so brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing your thinking and process. So inspiring. Gushing.
You are so well spoken! I love watching your videos!