By Craig Hubert, BLOUIN ARTINFO
Some documentaries simply report history. Others try to rewrite it. “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” belongs to the latter group and is better for it. Making its New York premiere on February 13 as the opening film of the Museum of Modern Art’s annual Documentary Fortnight festival, “Vanguard” sets out to move against the dominant narrative of the activist group as outrageous provocateurs, presenting to the audience, through vigorous archival research and extensive interviews with members and commentators, a different and more considerate way of thinking about the legacy of the Black Panthers and how it has affected the contemporary political landscape.
Even at roughly two hours, there is no way a theatrically released film would be able to fit, in any meaningful way, the entire history of a group like the Black Panthers. There are many histories here, many stories to be told, and the group, especially due to its scattered emergence — although its base was undoubtedly the Bay Area — could easily serve as the subject of a fascinating episodic documentary. But “Vanguard,” through the lens of director Stanley Nelson, has on its mind something simpler and more effective: a process of demystification. For the Black Panthers, that means displaying the allure the group held through its style and swagger and projected violence, but also though the experiences of those involved, documenting the undocumented — the community organizing and social programs, including massively successful food drives and neighborhood support centers that offered health services and catered to other needs.
This is not what we’re commonly told about the Black Panthers. We know about the guns, and the cops, and too many deaths. We know the slogans — “Free Huey” — and the rhetoric. But that’s only what was deemed newsworthy, and if the Black Panthers were truly successful at anything, it was in steering their public image in a million directions. Since there was no one image of the Black Panthers, the one that remains is the one that grabs the most attention.
Go here for more.
About Post Author
