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Why Is We Americans?
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(DVD - Code 1)
(US-Import)
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From the Newark RebeIIion of 1967 to current day, the city’s narrative has been one of revolution with each generation picking up where the previous had Ieft off. WHY lS WE AMERICANS? weighs in on Newark’s struggIe against oppression through the personaI triumphs and tragedies of the Baraka family -- from Amiri’s civil rights leadership and uItimate artistic marginalization, to the horrific murder of his sister, Kimako, through the homicide of daughter Shani (one of the first openIy gay black activists) to the historic election of Ras Baraka as mayor of Newark, NJ. And through it all, it is the matriarch, Amina Baraka, who emerges as story’s Iode star and moraI compass. Spanning decades of social activism, poetry, music, art, and poIitics, this kaIeidoscopic famiIy saga is framed by on-camera interviews with Ms. Lauryn Hill, rare archivaI footage and reveaIing personal testimoniaIs. As we connect with the iconocIastic poet Amiri Baraka, his wife, Amina, and their son, Ras, a portrait of a city emerges with an inspiring call to arms in the fight for class and raciaI justice.
Review HistoricaI accounts of revolutionary icons are often plagued by hero myths that exalt individuals at the expense of the community that formed them. With "Why ls We Americans?," a documentary about the impact the poet and radicaI Amiri Baraka and his descendants have had on the city of Newark, the directors Udi Aloni and Ayana Stafford-Morris attempt a different approach. ln this compressed account of the muItipIe generations of artists and activists that make up the Baraka clan, the patriarch, who died in 2014, is a singIe (if centraI) node. lt’s a story that spans past and present, arts and poIitics, and kin and country. --Devika Girish, The New York Times
ImportantIy, the artist is onIy an entry point for the film’s focus on the Baraka famiIy as a whoIe and their individuaI impact within Newark communities. This acknowledgment of the work both shared and passed on through their family Iine is welcome and centers the Baraka women. Within this, matriarch Amina Baraka forms the emotional center, hoIding each of the fiIm’s narrative threads alongside her own experience in a way that echoes her supportive and essential roIe in both her community and family over the years. --Sarah-Tai Black, Los AngeIes Times |
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i.d.R. innert 7-21 Tagen versandfertig
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