| White Lies, Black Sheep |
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James Spooner’s White Lies, Black Sheep (shown at BAM during the Afro-punk festival) tells the story of a black party promoter who has found his niche in the white indie rock scene. Effortlessly cool, AJ hops from club to club in his tight hipster jeans, handing out fliers and flirting with girls. His race is a virtual non-issue with his friends, something that AJ all-too readily embraces. However, as the movie progresses, The scene in which AJ sits outside a rock club reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a tellingly subtle one. After abruptly deciding to leave the club, AJ instead decides to wander the dark city streets reading his father’s suggested literary material. He finally wanders into a black hip-hop club where he all but becomes another person. He pulls his cap down over his perm, flashes the most genuine smile we’ve seen yet, and gets lost in the pulsating hip-hop beats.He is visibly set free. And although his friends have referred to him as “an amazing dancer,” this is the first instance that the audience actually sees AJ cut some real rug. Spooner harnesses the energy of this scene and shows the audience a new side of AJ, adding meat to his story. It is no coincidence that AJ is free to shirk his air of rock and roll cool while in the presence of black peers. However, that which fuels this turning point is not adequately conveyed, as it seems AJ’s moment of self-discovery is brought upon by the rejection he faces from a white girlfriend, but one cannot be sure. The supporting characters add much to the movie, particularly AJ’s best friend Josh, whose refreshingly candid opinions about race are some of the bravest elements in the movie. When Josh, AJ, and Josh’s black girlfriend Pinky are at a hip-hop club, Josh remarks that,“These people wouldn’t like our scene.” Josh’s job in this scene is to reveal what happens when the black and white music cultures clash, and Spooner’s script accomplishes this perfectly. Josh is also one of AJ’s only friends to actually address AJ’s race, playfully telling him to grow an afro, a suggestion he repeatedly refuses. In fact, AJ’s permanently straightened hair, and the painstaking efforts he takes to maintain it, becomes a symbol for how he attempts to hide from his race. Spooner capitalizes on this symbol in many fascinating ways throughout the film. Josh’s awareness of his friend’s race only goes so far, and as AJ continues to confront his feelings about his race, Spooner shows the tension that comes between the two friends. There are certain things Josh simply cannot understand. However, the audience will have hope for the continuation of their friendship. Spooner’s grasp on human relationships is gripping, and for everything that his sometimes stripped down script lacks, his insight into his characters makes up for it tenfold. The film has the feel of a documentary, as it is all filmed using Spooner’s digital Panasonic camera, but the dialogue is mainly scripted, a combination which results in a fictional but very real-seeming portrayal of one man’s life. Filmed in New York City during the summer of 2005 in just 28 days, the film includes the city of New York as a main character, with Spooner filming in different clubs, metros, and neighborhoods all over the city. Throughout the movie, New York City seems to be a reflection of AJ at any given moment, particularly when a song called “New York is a Grave yard” is played in the background while AJ loses his composure in a fit of loneliness on a deserted New York street. Moreover, the extras, many of whom were pulled off the New York streets, provide interesting texture and racial tension to the film. One of AJ’s friends remarks of a black girl’s extensions that, “She looks like a drag queen- why doesn’t she just wear an afro?” It is this sort of language that reflects Spooner’s fearlessness as a filmmaker. The climax of the film occurs at the end, and although the ending will not be revealed here, it is safe to say that it results in AJ’s self-realization. Spooner courageously refrains from tying up the loose ends that invariably result, and instead leaves AJ free to continue his journey beyond the movie. Running through the movie is fearlessness and courage of a particular kind, one which shirks the temptation to put race or people into a box, and instead lets one individual, in this case AJ, decide to embrace his own truths. Spooner beautifully articulates AJ’s realization that his own race must mean something to him, even if it registers little with those around him.
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it becomes clear that AJ, along with his friends, has willfully pushed aside his “blackness” for the sake of comfort and convenience. Through a series of interviews and candid shots, Spooner invites the audience along AJ’s journey of self-realization, and in doing so effectively engenders us to AJ. Spooner’s filmmaking shines in its subtlety, and in the gentle attention he pays to detail and to his characters. One such character is AJ’s father, a tough English African who affectionately forces The Autobiography of Malcolm X on AJ, in order to better connect him with his roots. Their scene together is touching, particularly when Spooner is invited from behind his camera to join them in prayer.
