To Live & Die in Amerikkka
Shocking Documentary Bemoans Skyrocketing Homicide Rate in Baton Rouge
To
Live & Die in Amerikkka
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Unrated
Running time: 56 minutes
Studio: We Shoot First
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Excellent (4 stars)
Looks like Baton Rouge has really been living up to its name lately, which
is French for "bloody stick," although "bloody bullets" might be more
apropos nowadays. For the Louisiana capital city’s homicide rate has
skyrocketed in recent times, leading a local official to explain that the
coroner had to hire a couple of new examiners in order to "get the bodies
off the street faster."
Not surprisingly, most of the victims as well as the perpetrators of this
senseless violence have been young black males, a fact which inspired gang
member-turned-filmmaker Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed to make a movie about the
tragic situation in his hometown. The upshot of that effort is To Live & Die
in Amerikkka , one of the most shocking, graphic, and heartbreaking, in your
face documentaries you could ever hope to see.
The "KKK" in the Amerikkka in the title refers not to the Ku Klux Klan but
to the phenomenon of what Reed calls "Kids Killing Kids," and for the past
couple years, the intrepid director has been taking his camera to fresh
crime scenes and also to funerals to capture the physical and emotional
consequences of the escalation of gang warfare.
Thus, the viewer is treated to the sight of everything ranging from blinded,
paralyzed and traumatized gunshot victims, to corpses in coffins or simply
lying in pools of blood on the pavement. Then, there are also the funerals
filled with friends and relatives wracked with grief, guilt or both.
"What we’re witnessing is the total decimation of the black family," Reed
opines, and it’s hard to argue with him based on what’s simultaneously being
displayed onscreen. And he’s smart enough to observe that this unfortunate
state of affairs is not limited to Baton Rouge, which is reflected in his
comment that, "Unconscious hate for one another is vividly evident in black
communities all across America."
Reed is not the only person weighing-in, here, for he interviewed a number
of celebs on the subject, including Tavis Smiley, Jesse Jackson, Dick
Gregory, and Dr. Rani Whitfield, MD, aka Tha Hip-Hop Doc. Tavis points out
how the link of poverty and crime is rarely discussed in polite society,
while Dick Gregory offers that anger makes one violent.
Nonetheless, the most telling insights seemed to be made repeatedly by Reed
who indicts rap videos for inspiring children to become gangsters by
glorifying violence and misogyny. He’s willing to ask the tough questions,
too, such as, "Does gangsta rap music inspire one to kill?" and "Why are our
children out of their minds?"
A sobering reminder of the urgent African-American agenda coming courtesy of
a reformed thug who has rededicated his life to a most righteous path.