Directed by the legendary Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman was a 2018 film based on the memoir written by Ron Stallworth. Spike Lee fills this film with his usual Lee-isms— the size of the frame changes, there are multiple cuts of the same shots, there are images thrown on the screen, and there is a mix of wild optimism and shocking reality. BlacKkKlansman is one of those films that uses history in a way that is so relevant to the present.
John David Washington, Adam Driver, and Laura Harrier play some of the main characters in the film. BlacKkKlansman won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and it shows some of the most interesting and difficult events from a not so distant past.
"Do We Always Have To Talk Politics?" "What's More Important?"
Patrice Dumas is the head of the Black Student Union at Colorado College. She is a person who is deeply invested in the cause, and hence very involved with politics. On a date with Ron, he asks her if they have to always talk about politics. She asks him what else is more important than politics. For someone as deeply involved with the movement as she was, politics isn't just a distant world, a dinner table conversation for some days. It was a part of her everyday life.
"I Always Thought It Would Be Like A Dream."
This quote is from a larger conversation between Felix and Connie. The dialogue itself, and the way it is said, makes it seem as though it is just a cute domestic conversation. But the sinister nature of this "dream" and the casually joyful nature in which they talk about it is used by the filmmakers to exaggerate their point.
It is a very clever way of showing these characters. By not having them merely monologue in explicitly evil ways— which they still do, of course— but also in these subtle ways, shows how entrenched the racist beliefs and sentiments are.
"It's A Lifetime Job."
When Ron asks Patrice if she ever takes time off of her politics and a break from being the head of the Black Student Union, Patrice very smartly says that she doesn't. It is a lifetime job for her. It's not merely a hobby, something that she can put away at her convenience.
Through Patrice and her other college friends, the film shows how the active enthusiasm of students and their unrelenting endeavors form the backbone of such movements.
"Politics? It's Another Way To Sell Hate."
Ron is astonished and unable to believe that the Klan was trying to make itself seem more respectable so as to enter the political arena. Sergeant Trapp points out that politics is just another way to sell hate. He makes some clever remarks about how no one wants to look like a bigot anymore, how being a bigot is "not cool." And the Klan and David Duke shaking up their public image was meant to do exactly that.
"I Never Thought Much About It. Now I'm Thinking About It All The Time."
A very significant side plot in the movie is with respect to Adam Driver's role as the undercover detective Flip. He was born Jewish though he didn't grown up practicing his beliefs. But it was in the basement of Felix's house, when he was asked to vow to not being Jewish, that he finally started thinking about what it meant to believe and practice his heritage. Flip points out how he is now forced to confront something that he had never before considered as an important thing about himself.
"With The Right White Man, We Can Do Anything."
One of those funny lines that will make viewers smirk, Ron Stallworth casually makes fun of the fact that he needs the help of a white man now. After having made contact with the Klan, Ron realizes that he needs someone white to actually go to the physical meetings in his place.
When he presents his case to the Sergeant and Chief, he says that he needs a white officer to play Ron Stallworth and adds the above quote as well making evident to the viewers how ridiculous the whole thing is.
"For You, It's A Crusade. For Me, It's A Job."
There is a disagreement amongst Ron and Flip about the job after Felix points a gun at Flip. Ron wants to continue to pursue the Klan and keep the investigation going. Flip feels like it's a dangerous mission that will not accomplish much because he doesn't think that they capable of doing much actual harm. When Ron and Flip disagree on this, Flip points out that it is just a job for him, but Ron is doing this as a crusade.
"If Not Now, When? If Not You, Who?"
When Kwame Ture speaks at the Black Students Union event, he is able to bring the audience together. He has the entire room cling on his every word. He talks about black beauty and black power and the need to unite to continue the fight. He ends his speech quite eloquently with these lines that are incredibly powerful, in hopes to get people to rise up to the occasion.
"If I'd Have Known This Was A Klan Meeting, I Wouldn't Have Taken This Motherf***ing gig."
The way in which Spike Lee infuses comedy into this extremely terrifying and scary movie is through jarring and ridiculous situations. He is able to make fun of extremely vile situations by putting them into a perspective that shows you the absurdity of it. During the Klan meeting, the camera pans across the waiters who are standing at the back of the room.
After a few smiling faces of white women, the next in line are some black men who look extremely disgusted. The last man pointedly says the quote given above in a manner that elicits a cathartic laugh from viewers.
"Why You Acting Like You Ain't Got Skin In The Game, Brother?"
Ron Stallworth asks Flip why he is pretending as though this isn't personally affecting him as well. Flip had called out Ron saying that it was a crusade for him, and here Ron asks him why it isn't so for Flip as well. Flip had been "passing" as white for most of his life and hadn't been reminded so shockingly of his own Jewish heritage until he had to participate in Klan meetings as part of his undercover mission.
The hate that was propagated in various ways, was aimed at him too. And so in a way, it shouldn't be a crusade just for Ron but for him as well.