Da 5 Bloods and the Radicalizing Power of Spike Lee

Man…I mean…wow! He’s still got it!

As I’ve mentioned before in my review of Just Mercy, I am very particular when it comes to films about race, mostly due to the nature of Hollywood films oversimplifying complex subject matters in general, but especially racism. However, Spike Lee is one of the few directors who always delivers hard-hitting, truthful films about racism, frontloaded with symbolism and pathos. And as the years have gone by, he has not missed a single beat on that front as he’s a man who definitely keeps up to date on current events; as a matter of fact, he reminds me of my own father, Dr. Keith L. Anderson, PhD, if he were a filmmaker.

Lee’s newest film, Da 5 Bloods, shows how layered and multifaceted Lee’s films still are; the film demonstrates his ability to juggle multiple tones, such as comedy, drama, and sometimes even outright horror. Seriously, there were moments in this film when I had my hands over my ears…and I watched it at home with no surround sound! Combine that with another great score by Lee standby Terence Blanchard, cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel that juggles multiple aspect rations and filming styles, strong performances by Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis, Clarke Peters, and Jonathan Majors, and Chadwick Boseman, and you’ve got yourself another great Spike Lee film that’s definitely gonna get some attention when awards season comes around.

But I thought I would take the time to explain the radicalizing power of Spike Lee’s films and why I find it so cathartic, especially now. Ever since the whole George Floyd incident, I’ve seen a lot of debate over social media about the BLM movement and the prevalence of systemic racism. And even though I fall on the side of BLM movement, I have been emotionally put off by detractors of the movement and depressed by how the other side of the argument doesn't seem to want to listen to what we have to say. As a matter of fact, I am a person who experiences emotions on an extremely different level than my neurotypical peers (for any new readers out there, I have Asperger’s). And one of the ways I cope with these emotions when they get too negative is by watching a film.

And Spike Lee’s films, coupled with my father’s teachings, help give me comfort during these times, especially his last two films Black Klansman and Da 5 Bloods. See, while Lee is able to deliver narratively solid films, he doesn’t just stop there; he always manages to slip in tidbits of real-life events, whether they be tidbits of info about black soldiers who died in the Vietnam War like in Bloods, or the ending to Klansman, which results in his movies doubling as documentaries about the world in its current state, and I love filmmakers who are able to do that. As a matter of fact, I’d be shocked if Adam McKay didn’t take a lot of inspiration from Spike Lee for his films The Big Short and Vice.

However, the most impressive aspect of all of Lee’s films is how he’s able to pull off being direct and blunt without coming across as pretentious, and that’s not an easy task to accomplish. But it’s all about the TV Tropes adage “Some Anvils Just Need to Be Dropped” (a TV Trope term; basically means some subjects have to be dealt with directly), and with the topics that Lee approaches in his films, you can’t help but be direct and upfront about it. And after the endings of Bloods and Klansman, I found myself inspired and somewhat radicalized by it all.

This man is the kind of filmmaker we have always needed; somebody who’s not gonna pull any punches or flatter the audience’s sensibilities. Someone who is gonna metaphorically reach through the screen, grab you by the collar, and throw you outside of your comfort zone because you need it. Someone who talks about race and systemic prejudice in the layered, multifaceted way it deserves to be talked about, not dumb it down and leave you with a warm feeling afterwards, like any good expert on the matter would. And Spike Lee has been filling that void ever since he and Laurence Fishburne asked us to wake up at the end of School Daze.

So, here’s to you, Spike Lee! I can’t wait to see what you do next!