The United States Versus Billie Holliday

 The United States Versus Billie Holliday is a new entry for movies that chronicle historical injustices to African-Americans. What I notice immediately about this movie is the difference between an African-American directing the movie versus a caucasian director. The style and format for comprehending the African-American experience are different. It speaks to a different lens compared to past movies produced and influence by "white guilt." What I mean by that is most films like Freedom Writers weave a story around the White Hero, versus the emphasis being on the depth of the injustice itself. There are complexities to the time machine of injustice that rarely get captured. This movie goes deeper. It has more depth. 

A great example is this movie provides a fresh take on "Uncle Tom." There are nuances throughout the movie that African-Americans took advantage of Billie Holliday. One, in particular, is a government agent that shoots up with Billie and makes love to her as a way to befriend her for the benefit of the Federal Government. Think about the moral compass it takes to do this to a person or lack thereof should I say. There were complexities that existed during the segregated world of entertainment. This was a fresh and realistic take on history I have not seen in previous movies. 

The movie also tackles the issues of neglect, subjugation, physical and verbal abuse. Billie Holliday's pain from addiction comes from a very dark place and the ingredients were there since she was raped at age 10. Her mother was a prostitute. She could not love as she wanted to and provide for Billie the emotional support a child needs. Billie witnessed lynching as a child.  If you think addicts are evil or weak, try to understand the origins of addiction. Addicts self-medicate the wounds brought about by a life that is cursed by injustice.

The movie captures the roots of the Federal Government using the drug war to strategize how to keep African-Americans in suffrage. Harry Anslinger was the protagonist. He would use African-Americans to entrap Billie. Powerful scenes regarding how men conspire to punish and entrap Billie. She fights back because her fame allows her to fight back. One has to remember the victims that did not have the resources to fight back. A powerful testament to the power structures beginning to develop. The drug was a front for something greater than we realize. It's the new Jim Crow. It's important for people to understand as history repeats itself with the Crack epidemic in the '80s. 

The most haunting nuance is the government's rationale to go after Billie was due to her song, "Strange Fruit."Such a powerful song during a time when songs generally lacked depth. Music back then was meant to safely provide entertainment. Then this comes along:

Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees

The KKK after the Civil War raged war in the south against African-Americans by using lynching as a format for sending a message. Many political figures supported or looked the other way. Lynchings were public and oftentimes attended by adults and their children. Lynchings happened in the thousands at their prime. To this day, the United States has not introduced Federal Legislation outlawing lynching. Hopefully, this movie will provide the inspiration to end this dark chapter in American History.  

As an accompanying piece to this movie, watch the Oprah Winfrey special. Oprah provides insight into the actress that portrayed Billie Holliday. There are many aspects to her preparation for the movie that speaks to the American Experience today. Pay attention to Andra Day during the awards season this year. If she fails to win an Oscar for this performance, it would be another shining example of how Hollywood awards are an injustice the past 50 years regarding the lack of African-American representation. 

(Author's Note - This movie is timely. Please encourage friends and relatives that are deniers of history to watch this movie. The failure to understand history is the reason why people are so angry about the Black Lives Matter movement. When we learn about the history of intolerance, it allows for a conversation to happen that could not happen before.)