2013’s Sci-fi Social Satire from the co-writer of BlacKkKlansman
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
In only a relatively short film career, Kevin Willmott has proven to possess something that other writers and directors spend their entire careers struggling to develop: a specific voice and point of view. Ever since he arrived on the scene in 1999 with Ninth Street, an adaptation of his own play, Willmott has repeatedly demonstrated a perspective unlike anyone else in modern cinema. And, as a screenwriter, he has proven to be a key collaborator with Spike Lee, working with Spike on the screenplays for both the incendiary Chi-Raq (which we’ve covered) and this weekend’s acclaimed BlacKkKlansman.
Along with his work as a screenwriter, Willmott has also stepped behind the camera to bring his own words to life. He directed the searing mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (which we’ve covered) and this week’s pick: Destination: Planet Negro.
The movie begins in black and white, for it is the year 1939 and a coalition of African-American thinkers and shakers have had enough with the oppressive regime of Jim Crow and discriminatory practices across the globe. Renowned scientist Dr. Warrington Avery (Willmott) builds a rocket with the hope of colonizing Mars and establishing a new home for his oppressed people. For a crew, he takes along his daughter Beneatha (Danielle Cooper) and cocky young captain Race Johnson (Tosin Morohunfola).
But instead of jetting to the red planet, the crew find themselves in the full-color present day earth, where everything is different while still being shamefully the same. The set-up allows Willmott the freedom to mock and satirize a wide array of targets in modern society, using absurdism to highlight the all-to real horrors we pass everyday. — Brendan
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Next Week’s Pick:
In 2006, the Wachowskis-produced V For Vendatta, based on the graphic novel of the same name, arrived in theaters — a far-fetched warning about fascism and oppressive demagogues hiding behind the mask of faux-Christian propaganda and State-media misinformation, blaming Muslims and immigrants for society’s problems. Conspiracy theorists and anarchist computer hackers rallied behind the film’s symbolism and rhetoric, but in hindsight we can all thankfully breathe a sigh of relief that this is just paranoid apocalyptic fiction and sit back for a silly popcorn ride. Strength through Unity. Unity through Faith. V For Vendetta is available streaming on Amazon Prime. — Austin
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The Team
My only previous experience with Kevin Willmott was CSA: The Confederate States of America, which we covered on a previous edition of Two Cents. While the concept of that film was better than the film itself, it carried weight and importance; it left an impact on me. Thus, I went into this campy, on-the-nose spoof expecting similarly biting commentary and hoping for even better execution.
My expectations were met and exceeded with this satirical gem. With a reverence to campy old school sci-fi and a sharp wit, the film attacks both historical oppression and modern racism. It goes hard at people of all races, challenges mindsets of both the right and left, and forces the viewer to question where they fit into the mix. The film not only works to illuminate issues of race relations, but looks at the broader stratification of gender, race, and class in modern society. It even works in clever critique of sexual politics and LGBTQ issues.
This is a must-watch satire that I’m glad I finally caught up to. Willmott is a voice I haven’t spent a ton of time with, but have a growing appreciation for.
“Man, it is complicated being a negro in the digital age, son!” (@thepaintedman)
Like Justin, I felt like C.S.A. was a better concept than a movie, and like Justin I hoped that Destination: Planet Negro would prove to work better as an overall film. It kind of does? D:PN is better as a whole than C.S.A., if only because D:PN is full movie and not a mockumentary bouncing from idea to idea. But like that earlier film, D:PN is very hit or miss, with some punches landing with exactly the right laugh/shock/fury that you need, while others land with a thud. Willmott is a strong writer (and quite a funny actor, it turns out) but I remain unconvinced about him as a filmmaker. Part of that is down to just how ugly and cheap the film looks, and not in the intentionally-campy sense. Lots of movies over the years have cheekily adopted the look and tone of a dumb old sci-fi movie, but the cheap, Camcorder-quality visuals of D:PN’s opening stretch really did start to wear on me after a point. Individual sketches on Key & Peele and SNL have better production value.
Even with these reservations, I do endorse you checking out D:PN. It’s a goofy and winking good time, absolutely, but it’s powered by real fury and a keen eye for bad behavior both on the part of individuals and on the part of society as a whole. (@theTrueBrendanF)
It’s certainly fair to say I’m a fan of Kevin Willmott’s work. Part of that stems from being local — he’s one of the most interesting current filmmakers from the Kansas City area — but mostly because he has a specific voice. Whether in his own low-budget productions (typically made with the cooperation of KU’s Film & Media Dept, where he is a professor) or major motion picture collaborations with Spike Lee, you can bet that he will have some important social commentary.
After a fun and campy first act that spoofs classic science fiction, and the initial fish-out-of-water humor of our time-traveling protagonists being propelled to the present, the film bogs down a bit toward the middle as its gets to its most overtly preachy segment, a history lesson that contextualizes how America has progressed up to the age of Obama — and how we haven’t. I had the good fortune to catch Destination Planet Negro’s local premiere in 2013, and while I enjoyed the film I found this on-the-nose commentary overreaching. But just a few years later, overt racism is out of the closet again, and I realize I’m just the student catching up to what the knowing Professor was trying to teach me. (@VforVashaw)
Next week’s pick:
