1968“Jamie, the nonviolent program-“
”Is dead, killed by white violence, april 4th, 1968 in Memphis.”
”The man who died-“
”Was murdered, as were four little girls in a sunday school house, as was Medgar Evers, and after him 47 others. And how many of the killers went to jail? Nobody. That’s over! We gotta make them know that every time they even think about picking up a gun against a black man, there’s a black gun waiting for them.”
”Uptight” is rather unique in its depiction of the clash between nonviolent and militant voices inside of the black liberation/power movement. The clash between generations of black people fighting for their liberation in different ways.
In the middle of that is Tank, a guy who wants to transition, but is stuck inside of himself and struck with alcoholism as well as a deep sadness over the assassination of MLK.
I really liked this a whole lot. It’s got some amazing cinematography and the funhouse mirror scene is one of the most inventive scenes of the late 60s. The cast is great too and while the direction is somewhere theatrical at times, the way it deals with the characters struggles is pretty great.
This should be a more well-known film. It’s also something we need to bring back, militancy that is.
