“Kaepernick and America”: Film Review | Tribute 2022

Every few years, a certain part of America remembers racism. The news takes them away from fabricated post-racial nonsense and inspires a whole range of emotions: feelings of guilt, anxiety, anger. What they do with those feelings often becomes the subject of more headlines and analysis than the triggering event.

This is a curious cycle that Tommy Walker (Tony Morrison: The Pieces That I Am, God Has Tired Of Us) and Ross Hokrow try to make sense of an elementary documentary capernicus and america. Their diligent efforts may turn off viewers who are already aligned with cycles of American racial amnesia, but the Doctor functions as a playbook for the uninitiated.

By now, most people are familiar with the vague contours of the Colin Copernicus story, but when an NFL supporter launched a protest against police brutality in the summer of 2016, few if any noticed. It wasn’t until the fall of that year, when he was joined by then-teammate Eric Reid, that the country turned its head. Capernicus’ argument was unequivocal: he refused to support a nation that committed atrocities and persecuted blacks. Some media outlets, NFL fans and elected officials resented Capernicus’ actions. They called his activities “un-American” – a serious insult to his innocence in the country – and attacked him aggressively.

An angry reaction to Capernicus fascinates Walker and Hocker; His documentary is an investigation into the conditions that led to such a response (although it’s easy to guess what it was). They begin to study Capernicus, the personality. The documentary is a bit tiring going through the formation of an athlete and his rise in and out of the NFL. The details presented look good for fans, casual viewers, or anyone who has watched Netflix. Colin black and white: Kaepernick is descended from a bisexual white (semi-black, semi-white) family. He grew up in a California suburb and played baseball, football and basketball, excelling in all three sports. His relationship with Rasa developed slowly, a process that self-proclaimed transgender adoptee and consultant April Dinwood is contextualizing for viewers. Copernicus himself does not appear in the document.

capernicus and america Human hagiography, whose name and likeness have become symbolic in protest against violence against black people, is often felt, a film Americans use to quell their racial anxiety. Walker and Hockcrow use a lot to explain Capernicus’ career to an unknown onlooker to determine how popular he was before the protest. The document takes on a more interesting situation when the directors also discuss the role of quarterbacks in the NFL: what constitutes players in this historic position in the league and, consequently, in American fantasy. By the time Capernicus took to his knees, he was already undergoing extensive testing as a promising black quarterback. The cryptic language of the deleted news clips indicates a general skepticism about his presence and abilities.

With the help of several commentators, Walker and Hokrow move from biography to analysis with relative ease. CNN anchor Don Lemon (one of the document’s producers), coach Hugh Jackson, Deray McKesson and journalists Steve Weich and Pam Oliver offer their insights into Capernicus, his actions and his legacy. Waich’s testimony is particularly helpful: he was one of the first reporters on the Capernicus protest and helped put the defenders’ actions in the history of the athletes’ demonstrations.

Where the documentary falls apart is the free use of footage of recent police killings. The sounds of bullets fired from gun barrels and the screams of black victims create a deafening, disturbing, and ultimately humiliating soundtrack upon which the film sometimes makes its basic analysis.

to the best, capernicus and america It asserts the illogicality of white supremacy and testifies to the power of political education. News clips from the years leading up to the protest show of Capernicus (usually white) NFL fans excitedly waving a guard shirt and singing their praises. They appreciate her self-confidence and even celebrate the move when she kisses their biceps after touching it. They call him Capernicus. There are several opponents, commentators who struggled, in his words, to take Capernicus seriously, but the general support and confidence in him is high. When he starts grabbing his knee, they twist it. Having dinner in his hometown of Turlock, California, he decides on a special sandwich named after him; Former fans are making videos of him hitting dolls like him.

Change is swift and punitive, but Copernicus is unstoppable. In the context of his protest, his meaning, his speech of alleged disrespect, Capernicus is receiving a political education. A quarterback refuses to ignore American insults to black people. In early press interviews, he said clearly and succinctly: Cops take paid leave to kill people. This is not right. He reiterates that he doesn’t care about approval and understands the consequences of his actions. If we take a step back, we will see other weaker and more current threads of the narrative thread. capernicus and america – One that promotes a very rare kind of integrity and devotion to creating a more just world.