I got a friend who’s MAGA and I’ve been talking to her about her politics for a bit and she’s willing to hear me out on my concerns. It’s also black history month, and she knows nothing about black history.
I wanna watch a movie with her or a documentary that dives into modern-day racism without explicitly putting down MAGA/conservatives. My goal is not to insult her or make her feel bad, it’s to educate her, hence why I’m asking.
(Please let me know if something I’ve said is problematic or offensive in some kinda way? Sometimes I word things badly or I will ask things that arent okay and I dont realize it until I hit post, lemme know so I can correct myself for the future thankyuuuu ;w;)
If Beale Street Could Talk
I would highly recommend Blue Bayou, it’s about a Korean-American man in Louisiana raised by adoptive parents, but never got the proper paperwork to be considered a citizen. Amazing film, had me tearing up.
unlikely if you cant target the root of the problems, they would just call things woke. your basically saying changing thier mind without offending them, they are easily offended.
if shes willing to look at MLK, m. and the civil rights movement.
Nahh she isnt the type to yell “WOKE” at stuff. Thank god. She’s just SEVERELY in the dark about removed.
She knows nothing about black history month, celebrities like Beyonce, Dolly Parton or Kanye; I thought she was fucking with me when she said “Isnt West a direction?” when I mentioned his name.
The only things she knows about are Politics and Roleplay (We roleplay gay removed on discord and that’s how we met lmfao)
So “woke stuff” doesnt phase her cus we roleplay “woke” stuff all the time with Monster boys on discord 🤣🤣 Her family is also aware and is super chill about it.
Make sure she is actually interested in watching or learning more. It can come off as very preachy and grandiose what you’re doing.
Like those MAGA priests? /s
Mmmm true… How do I not sound preachy?
Honestly? I would back out of this entirely and just enjoy the friendship. Personally, I would feel manipulated regardless, I dont like the idea of friends with an agenda for me. What I believe is my business.
If she starts it? Sure, that’s a different matter. That’s how you avoid sounding preachy. By not preaching.
I mean… I just worry for her dude… Her dad already gog laid off just 2 nights after they were talking to me about how “Trump was gonna make more jobs n fix all the layoffs” or whatever tf. and the company her dad works for LOBBIED WITH TRUMP to get him elected.
Shes super sheltered and just knows absolutely nothing about black history which I feel is a problem. At the very least I just her educated about black issues n removed cus her and her mom mentioned some removed about being “Colorblind” and just- as a darkie myself im just not about that 😭
“Jesus Camp” is just a dive into evangelical child indoctrination camps, in the George W Bush era. One scene has this prayer circle of children praying to a cardboard cutout of W.
It’s arguably not constructive, but I’d say it’s more a mirror to reflect towards a MAGA viewer “Look - this is you now.”
The preacher in that doc, screaming about the gays? Got caught smoking meth in a cheap motel room with a couple of gay prostitutes.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
I wouldn’t condone meth use or hypocrisy. But the rest is fine.
That looks like a good one too
Related: Marjoe, is a 1970s Oscar winner for best documentary about a child preacher, Baptist preaching, the money involved in the preaching/god industry, and to a degree clearly exposed the raw core of manipulation inherent. It’s a documentary so doesn’t come straight out and say it, so it could be interpreted differently perhaps by a strong religious conservative. It’s a fantastic exposé.
Honestly some of the Michael moore movies; Roger and me might hit different for some of those folks now that they’re suffering the continued effects of wealth concentration that is so flagrantly and unashamedly happening. Sicko will probaby hit many folks across the aisle as the issue is universal. Bowling for Columbine might be interesting depending on if they are a gun nut.
The atomic cafe is in my top 5 movies of any genre. It’s not just about arms proliferation, it pulls together a ton of cultural pieces and shows how naive, propagandized, and horrible a nascent fascist nation began post WWII.
Before you try to educate someone else, I suggest you educate yourself first (because this is a really hairy terrain to navigate).
https://youarenotsosmart.com/2022/06/27/yanss-236-how-minds-change/
Oooo yummy links
The Perfect Neighbor on Netflix had me in tears. About a black mother who was killed in Florida by someone trying to claim Stand Your Ground laws
I cannot imagine having a maga friend at this point. I could not look at them without thinking how insane they are.
American History X might be a good movie.
Not a movie but a youtube playlist: The Alt-Right Playbook
The War Game, Punishment Park, (the longuets) La commune (Paris, 1871)
They are each a documentary with a but.
The War Game talk about atomic bomb and use real citations but nothing in the movie is real. Punishment Parc take a hypothetical
facistsituation where the US government build a open prison into the Mojave desert and let loose convict in a kind of capture the flag run against police trainees, the fun part is that he take left leaning actor to play right wing voice and vice versa. In La Commune he take a theatre troupe and made them play the event of the Commune de Paris but there’s a « TV Crew » that are citing journal headline of the time.Honestly, I don’t have such a movie to suggest, I don’t think such a movie can exist, due to the Backfire Effect. Changing people’s minds takes time, and the impetus to change has to come from within. The handful of times that I’ve managed to do it involved sharing an idea or observation that doesn’t immediately trigger their defenses, but metaphorically is like dropping a grain of sand in the gears of their mind, and then letting it do the work of grinding away at the teeth, until one day their old thought process breaks down. It can take months.
I feel like this is the perfect video for this as the guy himself used to be alt right : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygHnodf0XM&t=1
I’ll ask my wife, because she’s been consuming a lot of racism lately. (Lots of civil war era books, with a strong focus on the injustices against black people.)
Off the top of my head there’s of course, Roots.
We also watched the Free State of Jones. It’s based on a true story that puts you in the shoes of a Rebel soldier who goes AWOL, and befriends a group of runaway slaves.
Since you know your friend better than any of us, you might want to watch any suggestions alone, and possibly even search online for an in depth analysis of it before presenting it to your friend. That way you can be prepared to intelligently discuss any topics that might come up.
EDIT: My wife reminded me of American History X, which is more anti KKK than pro-black, but it’s also much more modern and VERY graphic.
Good luck!
If you’re going there, then 12 Years A Slave is the best take on pre-Civil War slavery. It’s a true story, and the book is great, too.
This is not the answer you’re looking for, but I remember watching Green Mile as a child and that movie struck with me for life, and likely attributed early on to me being one of the few non-racist folks around here somewhere in East Europe
