Sunday Matinee: The Long Shadow [Film]

 

“Director Frances Causey and Producer Sally Holst, both privileged daughters of the South, were haunted by their families’ slave-owning pasts. They grew up in a time when white superiority was rarely questioned, and challenging this norm was often met with deadly consequences. Rejectingthe oft-told romanticized version of early U.S. history, they embarked on a journey of hidden truths and the untold stories of how America – driven by the South’s powerful political influence – steadily, deliberately and with great stealth,  established white privilege in our institutions, laws, culture and economy. From New Orleans to Virginia, Mississippi and Canada, they traveled the roads of oppression, suppression, and even hope to reveal the direct link from early slavery, Jim Crow and strong-arm Southern politics to the current racial strife and division we face today.” Big Time PR

 

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Hello Folks! I have a wonderful film to share with you all today, and it is one that I feel as though the world truly needs to see. Just this morning, I logged into the dumpster fire of a website that is Twitter.com, and learned that a hashtag that is trending today is #MyWhitePrivilege. And, as to be expected in the modern American climate, a whole lot of outrage has occurred. It was pure coincidence that I had this film scheduled to be showcased on this day almost a month ago, and then I woke up to see this thing trending.

The idea behind White Privilege is one that so many don’t seem to understand. But, with a simple viewing of a film like The Long Shadow, I feel as though it could be perfectly explained. Our nation was one founded on complete injustice because it was the easiest route to go. It wasn’t correct, it was disgusting, but it is the solid truth behind the matter. It’s just as the quote on the poster says: “When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. And while I am hesitant to provide any sort of accolade to director Frances Causey and producer Sally Holst for putting this amazing film together in fear of presenting another version of a “white savior” that is also a very problematic scenario that is often times presented in the world of cinema, I do have to say that I feel as though their project didn’t convey that fearful idealism of “but, we’re the good whites” that could have very easily been conveyed. Instead, they created an open and honest work of art that can create a real discussion about the terrors that occurred in an extremely close proximity to the world they live in. In fact, it was the world they lived in. In fact, we need more people like Causey and Holst. Those who recognize their privilege, and make it a way of life for themselves to acknowledge the complete and utter bullshit that has been brought upon an entire race of people who never chose to come to this country. We forced them here, and we have continued to shit on them ever since.

And while the film justifiably speaks mostly of the the sufferings that occurred in the southern region of the United States of America, I feel as though it is important to point out that the rest of the country is not also to blame. Even the far west states in which i was raised are not immune to the criticism of being blatantly racist and complacent in some really shitty behavior. It may be behavior that is showcased later in the film because of the timeline, but it is shitty behavior nonetheless. I grew up a shitty lumber town in the Pacific Northwest, just north of one of the most liberal cities in the country (Portlandia) and I still knew a sense of hatred that was undeniably ridiculous. I won’t spend too much time on this, but I just felt that this was a point that needed to be made. If you are watching this film from the Bay Area, don’t think you are exhumed from being a part of the problem.

Also, before anyone has anything to say about the fact that this film may closely resemble a certain documentary that is also very compelling and happens to be available on Netflix, please shut that shit down right now. I for one am very happy that this idea is being brought up on multiple occasions. This is a real life massacre of humanity that needs to be discussed as often as possible. When I was a kid, I spent my own money buying 6 different documentaries about Tupac Shakur that all pretty much said the same thing. And not to knock Tupac, but I honestly wish that there were as many documentaries about the fact that black oppression did not end when slavery did that can be readily named off in my white privileged head than there are Tupac docs. That being said, The Long Shadow is truly unique in the way that it presents itself, and is an all around well-produced and stylized documentary that every one should see. This is a film that needs to be shown in schools. Bee it Elementary, Middle School, College, and beyond, this is a brilliant demonstration of humanity at its finest that should be taught to the world.

 

 

The Long Shadow is available now on VOD.

 

 

 

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/285020724″>THE LONG SHADOW short trailer</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user5572442″>Jed Riffe</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>