Paper Example on The Black Power Mixtape: A Movement's Journey 1967-1975

The film "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975" is a combination of different footage taken from the basement of Swedish TV station covering the transition of the Black Power Movement in America, which involved the African-American community. Goran Olsson, the director, and editor of the film presents an anthropological view of the film by incorporating various interviews from some of the most popular African-American activists, artists, scholars, and musicians. The film is about the civil rights of black Americans and their violent tactics to fight for their social, economic, and political rights in the country. This paper, therefore, reviews the film "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975" by Goran Olsson.

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The film is one of the most popular documentaries presenting the evolution of African-American community in the USA. in the contemporary society; the film can teach us about the history of black Americans, the importance of activists in our society, how the system of discrimination are interconnected and the importance of fighting for our rights. The African-American community in the film are presented as the minority and the most inferior group in the society; they face a lot of challenges; as a result, they formed movements to engage in fighting for their rights. The film allows us to remain engaged in contemporary society.

The portrayal of the Black Power Movement by the filmmakers is more objective and less accurate, as seen from the film. Their perspectives are more inclined to the idea that African-Americans have evolved from being activists to present-day artists and musicians. For instance, the filmmakers call it mixtape and not a remix while they insert the voice cover of the contemporary artists. It signifies how the African-American community has shifted from violent protests and political activists to contemporary artists.

The film features various social institutions that influence the lives of African-Americans. These institutions include the Swedish TV station, street families, prisons, and schools. These institutions are used to identify some of the discriminatory practices aimed at the African-American community. In schools and prisons, the level of racial oppression and discrimination is evident, black-Americans are denied their civil rights in society. The government and the whites present negative attitudes towards this community because of their status in society. Some of the leaders of the movements are imprisoned, and this signifies the use of prison to control the Black Power Movement by the government and political leaders.

The film also features different social groups involved in the fight for civil rights; these include the African-American community, journalists, Activists such as Angela Davis, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale, the artists. The black-Americans are the victims of social injustices and inequality featured in the film. They face a lot of challenges that motivate them to join movements to address their grievances. These groups act as the channel to addressing their issues; they mobilize the black-Americans and encourage them to fight for their rights. Stokely Carmichael, a member of the activist group, is in the forefront fighting for African-American rights despite being imprisoned and highly oppressed.

Conclusion

The key motivators for the events in the film are social problems such as unemployment, racism, discrimination, poverty, police brutality, and inferior education. Balck-Americans faces these challenges as a result of their social and economic class in the society. Racial and economic discrimination has led to poverty and the inferiority of black-Americans as presented in the film leading to the formation of fo different movements and groups to address.