Release Date: 1/20/2012
Rate: R
Genres: Action/Drama
Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard
Director: Anthony Hemingway
Today, the door is cracked. Yesterday, it was slammed shut. It was a time defined by the limits of racial segregation. It was the era of Jim Crow. In 1940, too many influential white Americans chose to believe that Negroes lacked the character, brain-power and discipline needed to fly airplanes (among other things). Consequently, African Americans were denied access, leadership, skilled training and were barred from flying.
The Tuskegee Program was officially started in 1941, at Tuskegee Institute with the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The Army Air Corp was once all white, proving that nothing is impossible. If there is one truth that keeps raising its hard head it is this: What one man can do another man can do.
When I sat down to watch “Red Tails” I didn’t know what to expect. Initially I didn’t feel emotionally connected to the story being told. The tumultuous vulnerabilities of war, and the desperation and poverty in which it was staged were grossly understated. The film failed to show all the obstacles black pilots faced, and pointed to their experiences without the emotional or intellectual depth each deserved, as if to say: This is the hand you were dealt—deal with it. The movie made little to no attempt to flesh out the characters or explain the realities surrounding this remarkable story. In a nutshell it lacked the realism of racism and the terror in war. It did not show the support they received, which included the help of First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. It was her flight with civilian and chief instructor-pilot, Andrew Anderson, an African American, that was the game changer. Mr. Anderson killed two birds with one stone in demonstrating his remarkable flying acumen, and in so doing earned the First Lady’s respect. This went the distance with President Roosevelt.
The movie was pieced together by most viewers out of a sense of assumption, ignorance and hearsay. But the 1940-41 truth was that civil rights groups and the black press brought tremendous pressure on our government, which ultimately led to the formation of this elite group of African American flyers, most of whom were college graduates.
The true story of Red Tails is a much more dramatic slice of the world’s history carved out of the greatest conflict in recorded time. It was probably the most intense journey the Tuskegee Airman would experience in their lifetime. It is difficult to imagine highs and lows quite like those given the global context and the unforgiving twin powers of bigotry and war, juxtaposed with the remarkable accomplishments and heroism demonstrated by the Tuskegee Airmen. It is an absolutely fascinating story too-long hidden by yesterday’s racism, but revealed today with a sort of historical hypocrisy.
The way “Red Tails” was presented made be draw back a little. It was a soft soap, an over simplification of this bacteria called racism. It was so understated, so carefully crafted and orchestrated, so as to attract (I believe) a larger audience and ultimately achieve greater revenues. Is this not a primary mandate for movie making? The saving grace of the movie is the fact that it was made, and distributed nationally. Perhaps someday African Americans will have the fearless freedom and epic vision to tell their stories in their own way.
Would I recommend this motion picture? Yes…It is a teaching opportunity and it is entertaining without having to explain its relevance in today’s world. The necessity for role models was demonstrated expertly by Terence Howard, the handsome, self-assured, lead-by-example commanding officer, to the steady-as-she-goes, pipe-smoking, Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s executive officer’s role, right down to “Easy” the afflicted, Squad Leader, and of course Lightening, his Ramboesque, smiling, fearless, rebellious wingman.
To his credit, George Lucas, put some very capable black actors to work. And he didn’t cheat anyone with his blend of technology and cinematography. He brought into America’s collective consciousness this important story of how Black men and White forged a bond and supported each other in a war against a common enemy.
On the other hand, perhaps telling the story realistically is too easy. If you showed how it was—the affects may have the opposite effect—undermining the end goal, which is what America is still trying to achieve, i.e. with liberty and justice for all. After all racism as an institution is dead in America—isn’t it?
Ω
William E. Self 