BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Spike Lee Takes on the Interracial Buddy Film with Charles I. Nero, Bates College
Wednesday, February 3 at 7:30pm EST

Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

After watching the film (on your own time, in your preferred way), filmmakers, film experts, policymakers, and journalists from around the country and the world will join us on Zoom for live discussions.

1. Register for the Zoom webinar (free!)

2. Watch the film anytime, available to rent/buy from Google, Amazon, Apple, YouTube, etc.

3. Tune in to the Zoom webinar (a unique link will be emailed to you) and bring your questions. You can also send questions for Prof. Nero ahead of time to [email protected].

Charles I. Nero, the Benjamin E. Mays ’20 Distinguished Prof of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies at Bates College, will lead a discussion examining Spike Lee’s film BlacKkKlansman in relationship to that Hollywood staple, the Interracial Buddy Film. These films began in earnest during the Cold War with Hollywood using interracial male friendship to combat Communist appeals to people of color in the US and continue to the present day as one of Hollywood’s most profitable film formulas. Spike Lee subverts the interracial buddy formula and creates civic consciousness-raising about the persistent presence of white supremacy in America today.

Rated R. 128 mins.