Like Django Unchained before it, The Birth of a Nation was not meant to be the sorely needed indictment of the pervasive liberal disregard for the morality of Black retaliatory violence. My first inclination was to call this unapologetic embrace of Black retaliation “powerful,” but it only took until the end of the film for me to understand this “power” was not in the service of my freedom. Despite my personal disdain for Parker and the film’s blatant misrepresentation of women and history itself, something in me swelled as I watched, perhaps for the first time, a seemingly unfiltered recreation of slaves rising up against their tormentors, sparing not even the women and children who enslaved them. The last one I saw was 2016’s Nat Turner “biopic,” The Birth of a Nation, directed by accused sexual abuser Nate Parker. My response is especially untrustworthy when it comes to slave narratives, and so I have taken efforts to avoid them. Perhaps I have read too much of Frank Wilderson’s Afro-pessimist film critique Red, White and Black, but I am never quite sure whether I am reacting to years of being conditioned to relish Black suffering, or to an actual feeling of empowerment that comes with witnessing these Black characters claim triumphs-or at least witnessing them persevere-through it all. I do not trust myself when I enjoy a tale of Black people experiencing unbearably violent situations on screen. Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers of Black Mirror S4, E6, “Black Museum”
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