Black Klansman, again but different

May 15, 2018 1:01 PM

BlacKkKlansman (trailer; Wikipedia): A Spike Lee joint. From producer Jordan Peele. Based on some fo’ real, fo’ real sh*t. (2014 Vice interview with Ron Stallworth, the first black cop in Colorado Springs, who infiltrated the local Klan organization)

The film debuted at Cannes, where it received a 6 minute standing ovation, and Spike Lee delivered a blistering attack against Donald Trump, refusing to mention the president by name while saying he’d shirked his moral duty to speak out in the aftermath of last year’s deadly riots in Charlottesville.

This film is not to be confused with another movie, from 1966, with the same title (IMDb), which was shot in the Bakersfield area during the 1965 Watts riots and directed by Ted V. Mikels; an earnest, serious treatment of what was clearly exploitation subject matter, but which never elicits any unintended humor.

posted by filthy light thief (19 comments total)

‘That Motherf*cker’: Read Spike Lee’s Passionate Anti-Trump Monologue From Cannes (Vulture, via kirkaracha in the most recent politics thread)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:05 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

OK I have been wondering for 25 years, what is a "joint"? Is that just what Spike Lee calls movies?
posted by thelonius at 1:33 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

I mean, if I meet Spike Lee, am I supposed to say "I loved your new joint"? Would he get mad if I called it a 'movie' or a 'film'?
posted by thelonius at 1:34 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yes, it's a special possessory credit or "vanity" credit. I recall reading that Spike Lee was inspired to use "Joint" because Martin Scorsese used the non-standard "A Martin Scorsese Picture" instead of the DGA approved "A Film By".
posted by cazoo at 1:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]

what is a "joint"?

Just replace joint with jawn and there you go.
posted by pullayup at 2:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]

Adam Driver, once again cosplaying as my boyfriend
posted by pxe2000 at 3:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]

Here's a video of the speech.
posted by carter at 3:35 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

I always thought calling it a joint was making it less of a movie and more of an experience. Like a place you could go, albeit, in your head.
posted by greermahoney at 3:36 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

I honestly thought it was a cool way to acknowledge the collaborative aspect of film, as in "Spike Lee directed this movie, but it's the product of a joint effort from a lot of talented people."
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:05 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yeah, a "joint" is just a thing, exactly like "a jawn". It would be sort of like saying "some Spike Lee stuff" or "some kinda Spike Lee thing". (We said "janx" growing up in my area, which is suburban DC! I would love to discuss this on a different thread but it is off topic here!) I cannot wait to see this.
posted by capricorn at 4:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]

OK I have been wondering for 25 years, what is a "joint"? Is that just what Spike Lee calls movies?

Yep. Just like he always has a dolly shot, he always calls his films "Joint"s.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:03 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

Good speech, looks like a good movie, go Spike.

Between this and Sorry to Bother You it looks like a good summer for some racially-aware comedy.
posted by fungible at 6:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]

I always thought joint was used in the sense of restaurant hangout, like "Let's try the new pizza joint." A place where you can settle in and stay a while with your friends. It sounds welcoming.

I think Spike Lee has some misogyny problems. That said I loved the speech, especially the cursing.
posted by medusa at 9:46 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Can we talk about the part where Stallworth tricks David Duke into a picture with his arm around Duke's shoulder, then dares him to try and take the camera from his hand? Because that was awesome!
posted by dellsolace at 10:07 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]

Exactly! This is one of those true-life stories that I want to read before watching as a movie, because some of it could be hard to believe as a real story if you're seeing it in a movie first. (Also, to see where the story is truncated for the screen-time.)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:04 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

There has been quite a lot of publicity about this movie in Finland. One of the klansmen is played by a Finnish actor, Jasper Pääkkönen. It will be interesting to see how well his accent will hold up.

Anyway... Suomi mainittu! Torilla tavatataan!!!
posted by severiina at 12:33 PM on May 16, 2018

This looks really good.
posted by zardoz at 11:59 PM on May 16, 2018

Holy shit Spike was furious with that speech.
posted by zardoz at 12:02 AM on May 17, 2018

I have a friend who did set decorating for a couple of Spike Lee joints in the early/mid '80s. He used to do a book for each movie with a cast and crew photo in the back. (My friend's white so she was pretty easy to find.)
posted by kirkaracha at 9:42 AM on May 18, 2018