Wednesday, January 02, 2019

Green Book Extra Credit

This movie, Green Book, portrays the lives of two very complex men, Dr. Don Shirley and Tony Lip (Vallelonga) and the friendship that they forged in the 1960s.  The movie takes place amidst the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and takes the main characters to places – it seems – untouched by any Civil Right agitation.  The men are a portrait of contrasts – Tony as a sloppy, uncouth Italian tough guy while Dr. Shirley is uptight, ultra-focused (on music), and very alone.  In many respects, this is somewhat of a formulaic movie that works like a buddy comedy or a road trip movie, but there’s much more to the film (and their relationship) than that.  Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in "Green Book."The actors, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali feel that the movie has an understated power that just lets its characters interact in interesting and human ways.

“One thing I felt was really valuable, in the script, was that it didn’t tell you what to think,” Mortensen said. “It didn’t tell you what to feel. Yes, there’s a history lesson. There’s a civics lesson there. You could even say that there’s a cautionary tale that can be applied to our time, or any time really, in terms of discrimination, racism, ignorance.”
“I will say if it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago it would be a movie for our time,” said Ali. “I think the difference is, a heightened awareness about the division in our country, in the last couple of years. I think there’s more eyes on the problems, and the things that need to be bridged between communities. And I do feel that this film fits perfectly in the culture right now, as far as something that can serve as an example of what is possible.”

Even in some of the darkest, most racist parts of the South, Dr. Shirley maintains his dignity even when asked to use segregated bathrooms or refused service in a white restaurant, even at the same place where he is playing later that night.  Yet he is tormented by his demons, he drinks to silence them, and his inability to not be his true self haunts him.  By just existing, by playing the piano in such an excellent manner, Dr. Shirley defies what white America at the time thought of Black Americans.  He wasn’t making speeches, he wasn’t marching with Dr. King, but Dr. Shirley was on the “front lines” of the Civil Rights Movement.

Pick 3 of the following questions to answer about the film: 
  1. How does Ali’s portrayal of Dr. Shirley show his complexity at being a closeted Black musician in Jim Crow America?  Give specifics.
  2. Explain how Dr. Shirley was “on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement” just by playing the piano in a tour of the Deep South in 1962.
  3. What historical elements in the film let you know that this movie takes place in 1962?  Explain with details.
  4. How do both Tony and Dr. Shirley move from barely tolerating one another to a place of real friendship by the end of the movie?  Explain with details.
  5. How does this movie about a friendship made over 50 years ago speak to today’s audiences and what does it say about our country today?
350 words minimum.  Due January 18 by class.