Friday, September 16, 2016

Ride On (Get On The Bus, 1996)

So I’m taking this class called “Wake Up!: The Films of Spike Lee.” Both African-American Studies and film theory? Sounds lit, right? Wrong. It is thoroughly lit. On the first day I had one of those moments where you sit back and think, “Yeah…this is what I wanna do.” Say what you will, but I am perfectly fine basking in my corny glory. So far, we’ve watched She’s Gotta Have It, Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barber Shop, Do The Right Thing and, if you haven’t already figured it out from the title, Get On The Bus.

(Courtesy of imdb.com)


I definitely went into this film with a high intellectual expectation, partly because I’m trying to stay woke (both literally and figuratively—this was another 8am dining hall experience), partly because I have a certain expectation from Lee’s films, and partly because I feel like the subject of the Million Man March shouldn’t be approached lightly. This film was made soon after the event took place, so the idea of criticism must have been very real. This was a direct response to a political moment—Lee and Bythewood must have been trying to say something! So what were they saying?

Well, before I get to class, I’ll throw some of my own thoughts out there:

This film was beautiful; it was complex; it was funny. It was a classic road-film that pulled at heartstrings, but at the same time required me to remain alert and be intellectually engaged. Get on the Bus is collage of Black men with diverse histories, outlooks, and personalities, all going towards (arguably) the same goal—they were traveling to the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, DC from Los Angeles…on a bus—the themes of continuity, moving forward, and togetherness are screaming at you. The tradition of African-American migration narratives is loudly whispering. 

What surprised me about this film was its strong focus on Christianity, especially by the end of it. With such a diverse (or seemingly diverse by some perspectives) group of characters, I didn’t expect for there to be a strong moral or religious leaning in one particular direction, especially not Christianity, considering the Million Man March was a Nation of Islam initiative. As just a film viewer (scholar? can I call myself that?) the choice seemed a bit odd in conjunction with the “everyone’s voice is important except Black Republican car dealers” leanings of the film. But as a Black Christian film viewer, I found it to be a really nice interpretation of God as a solution to the problem. Let’s be honest, Christian films tend to just not be that great. You were thinking it; I said it. You’re welcome. So I loved seeing a Christian worldview smoothly integrated into the plot, especially through character development. It wasn’t corny or condemning—it was rich and subtle at the same time. However, that subtlety came to a halt when I heard Kirk Franklin’s “My Life is in Your Hands” over the credits. Nostalgia.

 I also don’t think that it tried too hard to discuss this Christian perspective. It presented God as a solution to the many problems presented over the course of the film. To be fair, Ossie Davis’ voice can make anything sound like it’s the right answer. Well played, Spike. Well played. With that said, the Christian undertones didn’t seem to be dismissive. A lot of perspectives were presented and validated over the 3,000-mile road trip. I think that the prayer at the end was meant to unify the brothers both in form and in the context of the story itself. But in order for that to be an effective story device, the characters and all of their beliefs, quirks, and mistakes have to be presented as things that are worth unifying. Even Robert Guevere Smith’s character, who I’m till salty about. So it seems to me that the intention behind the use of Christianity might have pointed more towards the idea of the Black Church being a longstanding pillar in the African-American community through slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and beyond, than towards it being the “right answer.” But I can dig both potential intentions, so I’ll just end this paragraph with an amen.

(Courtesy of movieforums.com)

I wasn’t really bothered by the absence of Black women in this film until Black women appeared on the screen. Kudos to the filmmakers for addressing questions about women’s roles in the Movement. But dang, did you really have to reduce our views and contributions to a rest stop. Really? It’s not like we haven’t been holding down the fort for oh, I don’t know, the last century. This film would have benefited from just being what it was—an exploration of the Black man and his role in our community and struggle for freedom. It tried to be a coverall and failed. Honestly, I wouldn’t have even been mad if we never saw a woman in the entire film. I’m a big believer in letting a story be what it is. When you write a thesis (y’all can get a head start on praying for my fourth year), you pick a very specific subject and explore that subject in depth with strict focus. The same idea applies here. This is like inserting Bugs Bunny into an episode of the Proud Family. I do also think that these and other flaws allow us to retrospectively examine the mindset of thinkers during this moment. Although annoying, maybe this is a learning opportunity. 

Visually, Get on the Bus was beautiful and very telling. The film made use of different mediums, creating a collage that was distinctly Lee and pushed viewers to consider what we are viewing beyond the scope of the story itself. For example, there were moments that pointed to cinéma vérité, when Xavier was recording footage for his documentary. I think that emphasized the reality and recentness of the Million Man March and allowed us to consider the character’s statements in a more academic way, shedding light on ideas that they expressed later in the film. We also saw a visual deviation from expected color balances during a few times that the men were not on the bus—this scenes were shot lake a western. This emphasized the idea of “man vs. environment.” Even though most, if not all of these men didn’t grow up in the Wild West (insert Kansas joke here), we find that many of them are products of their environments. I think that my favorite aspect of this film was the piecing together of different color pallets and camera perspectives. We moved from being a part of the story to being observers of the story constantly. That kept me on my toes and directed me towards themes that I might otherwise have missed. Also, I honestly just feel cooler when I watch films that look experimental. 

(Courtesy of moviepins.com)


The writing is really rich. The bickering and back and forth between the passengers is witty and playful and realistic. At the same time, Reggie Rock Bythewood was spitting bars every 2.4 seconds. He succeeded both in form as a screenwriter and in thought as a Black intellectual. He was getting his Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois on at the same time (check out DuBois’ “Critera of Negro Art” and Hughes’ “The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain,” if you’re not sure what I’m talking about). Byethewood achieved what I hope to achieve as an artist. 

This star-studded cast was enough to keep me interested. Roger Guenever Smith, Bernie Mac, Hill Harper, Ossie Davis, and Stacy from The Wood…whose real name is De’Aundre Bonds. You learn something new everyday. With these and so many other great names and faces, the acting was able to support the story. It was—what do the young people say?—on fleek. Can we please get a Black male ensemble of this caliber sometime during this decade? Does Redtails count?

(Courtesy of peachhut.be)


Like I mentioned before, I think that the fact that this film was released exactly a year after the Million Man March is significant. Its existence in a contemporary moment probably had an effect on the way that people viewed and thought about the film. So I keep asking myself, what would a film like that look like today? Where would we be heading, the 20th anniversary of the March, a Black Lives Matter Rally, nowhere at all? Would the characters be similar or completely different? I don’t know, but I think that, flaws and all, every generation needs a film like this. When is ours going to come? Who knows, maybe I’ll be the one to write it...


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