[Marxism] 'Talk to Me' shows the power of words

[Walter Lippmann]

The movie is principally about two Black men at a certain
moment in time, in the Black struggle in the United States.
David Corn completely misses the point of the movie, which
seems to have eluded his Democratic Party-shilling self
completely. Corn is more of a movie whiner, which is like
a wine-snob, or other kinds of perfectionists for whom no
experience of real life if good enough. This is a movie 
which reflects the rising of an oppressed people at a 
certain historical conjuncture. It's not perfect, but it
can help the attentive viewer to learn something vital.

If you took Cornball's review for good coin, you would
get the impression that the Vietnam war wasn't mentioned.
Yet it plays a vital framing role and is clearly shown.

The movie effectively and eloquently recreates much of the
MOOD, the FEELING of that period. It's not a story ABOUT
the period, but of the lives of individuals living IN the
period. To criticize a movie for the political statements
it fails to make is unfair to the artists and runs counter
to purpose of artistic criticism. The events of the period,
above all LBJ his relentless pursuit of the Vietnam war is
a perfect analogy for Bush's pursuit of the war in Iraq in
the present. That's a pretty obvious political statement 
which the viewer would have to be blind to not see in it.

The power of Black nationalist sentiment as an expression
of the struggle at that time is beautifully expressed via
the voice of James Brown performing perhaps his best-known
song: SAY IT LOUD, I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD, followed by
the voice of Sam Cooke singing A CHANGE IS GONNA COME
it rose then, expressed through the voice of James Brown,
and the music of Sam Cooke singing A CHANGE GONNA COME:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4kMnMM2Fmk 

(You have to take the time to see and hear it all the way 
as the images change and evolve, showing a broad elements 
of the unfolding struggle, moderate to revolutionary.)

The movie also dramatizes compellingly how Petey Greene,
not himself a political activist, was both a product of
and a participant in the struggles of his time, as he is
shown organizing a protest demonstration outside of the
white-owned R&B station where he eventually wins the job
which catapulted him to prominence. For a moment there,
rapping to his picketing supporters, he looks a bit like
Bobby Seale. Greene isn't a stick figure, as he has his
demons to confront. It's a complex and nuanced portrayal
which will reward those who actually view this picture.

Petey Greene became a figure at that moment in time due
to his being able to articulate, and speak to, the mass
sentiments in predominantly-Black Washington, DC, which
didn't have a voice like his until he literally pressed
his way into the scene. That power, and the expanded
audience share it generated, was what gave Petey Greene
the significance we can see on the screen.

(Some of the characters are pretty one-dimensional, but
not the two principals, whose characters slowly deepen.)


Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California

p.s., for those who can't remember, or never new, about the
power of nationalism, especially BLACK nationalism during
those days, 3 minutes of Malcolm X provides a good reminder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO6Co8v2XjY

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MORE ABOUT DAVID CORN IN THIS SELF-PORTRAIT OF DAVID CORN
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=179244
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latimes.com 	
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-talk13jul13,1,5450134.story