“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” — Even Documentaries About Racism In America Face Racism
Admittedly, this is not an actual article, but rather a notification by a fan (both of this film and of truth, historical and otherwise) urgently attempting to get the word out quickly on something of great value.
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America is a new Netflix release, and a remarkable one. Personally, I alternated between crying like a baby, and crying out in anger and frustration. Please, it needs to be seen by as many people as possible, and for all the right reasons.
However, it may not be.
The current IMDb (Internet Movie Database) rating is 5.8 (EDIT: 7/18–6.2. This will be my last edit, and hope that the future will prove that haters rarely commit.), which is below what would be expected for even a very average offering:
To put this in context, one of the worst films/series in modern times (writing, production…you name it, but that’s one opinion), Cobra Kai, has an series rating on IMDb of 8.6. Christopher Nolan’s extremely popular and well received film, Inception has a rating of 8.8 (And this writer feels that is a fair rating for an exceptional film.)
But this heartbreakingly honest and accurate documentary film about the historical realities of racism faced by four centuries (and counting) of Black Americans has a rating of only 5.8. Personally, I rarely watch films with ratings below about 6.5, so this is a film that seemingly is not intended to be viewed by those using IMDb as a screening tool.
For some degree of context, I’d like to share a very small sample of comments from reviews on this same IMDb page (all emphasis mine)…
“This film should be compulsory viewing for every school kid in the United States.”
“I saw this film on opening weekend and I am now busily trying to figure out how to get it watched by every one I know, every student in America, and around the world. This is an excellent and important film.”
“The low overall rating for this film just proves the whole premise of what Jeff is trying to say. Racism still lives in this country.”
“Look at all the silent people that gave this 1 star. It speaks to the whole premise of the documentary. People don’t want to hear the truth.”
“Those who haven’t (seen this film) are trying to tank the ratings because they want to uphold white supremacy in America.”
At a rating of 5.8, I could not possibly agree more. As of this moment almost 30% of all ratings are the absolute minimum: 1. (Please view the graph in the above IMDb link.) Imagine the result if this rating was instead the honest one that it deserves, unaffected by hate and racism. Working together we have the opportunity to give racist snowflakes the thing they love most, a reason to feel “victimized”, and to melt under the unrelenting moral heat of undeniable historical fact and overwhelming public sentiment.
Thank you, and please accept my apology for offering a (so far) incomplete article. (I wasn’t morally able to delay for even the few minutes necessary to provide a greater feeling of completion.) Also, please don’t let the temporary feeling of this small piece of writing effect your decision to view this critically important documentary film. It’s urgent to more honestly raise the rating both on Netflix, and on IMDb in order to be an indication of what real Americans feel.
Again, I thank you one and all.
