Stamped from the Beginning: Racism is Alive and Well in the United States – VARA Guide

Director Roger Ross Williams and author Ibram X. Kendi join forces to produce a documentary that shows with surgical precision the persistence of racist ideas in the United States.

They had a backbone from the beginning, that's how you could call the title. Sealed from the beginning It can be explained. And by “they” the author Ibrahim documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (Apollo2019) turned Kennedy's book into a film. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in AmericaKennedy speaks several times in the film. Perhaps the crux of his argument is that racism is still rampant, despite what white people in particular say.

In his book, he talks about creating a “post-racial” society. A society where race no longer matters. But Kendi (pictured below) shows in Williams’ film that race is a construct, and Williams then surgically demonstrates how old racist ideas (black people were demons, etc.) persist in the present. For example, the use of innovative montages with images from social media. Images in which white people show their superiority and question the existence of their black fellow citizens. But Williams also chooses nuances. For scenes in which he shows “more innocent” and perhaps more dangerous racism, “casual.”

Sometimes black Americans participate in this without even realizing it. The cool thing about it is Sealed from the beginning As a viewer, you may know what racism entails. However, the tandem of Kehinde Williams adds a whole range of aspects to this. For this reason, the film feels like a surprising film. Racism has been and will continue to be accepted in many circles. But this process of awareness offers hope, as Williams hints in his committed documentary.

Sealed from the Beginning, starting Monday, November 20, 2023 on Netflix