The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)

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The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution was released on October 23, 2015, in the UK. The American documentary film was produced by Firelight Films. The movie storyline was written and directed by Stanley Nelson. The movie was based on the true story of the Black Panther Party, one of the most contentious groups in the USA, how do they arise and fall in the 20th century[1].

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution poster[2]

Plot

Parade of the Panthers members[3]

It all starts in October 1996, when Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton founded the Black Panther Party as an armed self-defense organization to protect African American Oaklanders from police brutality. After that, the Panthers exhibited a demonstration at the California state capitol (Ronald Reagan was the governor at the time) in May 1967, call for and pass the gun control regulation. Later, the film shows how the FBI fragmented and disintegrated the Panthers Party in the 1970s through internal organization intervention and imprisonment of the leaders and members. The film then covers interviews with Panthers members including Erika Huggins (culture minister of the party), Emory Douglas (communications secretary), and Elaine Brown (former chairwoman of the party)ref>https://www.indiewire.com/2016/02/review-in-engrossing-essential-the-black-panthers-vanguard-of-the-revolution-past-is-prologue-174970/</ref>.

Black Empowerment

Despite the Panthers method are not considered the best method to fight black racism at the time, the Panthers are believed as the aggressive and cool way to fight racism with their Afros, leather jackets, black turtlenecks. Moreover, the film displays how the Panthers build a constructive building of African American communities such as providing free breakfast for impoverished children, establishing cheap and free medical clinics, rehab programs for everyone, educational research, and advocacy such as sickle-cell anemia and other applications. [4].

Woman members of the Panthers[5]

Controversy

It is shown in the film while Guns are allowed to be brought by people, however, when African Americans carry guns, they are called a social and political threat in the 1960s. The film also portrays how J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI Chief, believes that the Panthers are the greatest threat to the USA's security. It can be seen that he put informants within the Panthers and destroyed the whole organization. It is shown that the leaders of the Panthers are either dead or flee from the USA. For instance, Fred Hampton, who is considered as the "Black Messiah", shot in the head point-black in bed while he was unarmed. Other leaders, Huey Newton, was charged with manslaughter and imprisoned for three years. Bobby Sealer, the co-founder of the Panthers, also sent to prison despite the abuse sparked by his courtroom treatment (at times hobbled and restrained on judge’s orders) while trying to defend himself. While Eldridge Cleaver, the third most-prominent leader in the Panthers, fled to Algeria[6].

References