Blindspotting (2018): Identity Politics In A Gentrifying Oakland - A Video Essay

[@OliverObz]

I knew you'd be back!

[@LazyDogFilmBlog]

Thanks. It feels good to be back!

[@cgsoldier4196]

A fun little Easter egg at 11:55 , when Miles says “We have a Calvin and Hobbes thing going on”. It’s a reference to a short lived project Rafael amd Daveed had where they actually acted out Calvin and Hobbes comics with Rafael playing Calvin and Daveed (in an orange and black striped onesie) plays Hobbes.

[@someoneelse9680]

Extremely well put. One of the most overlooked films ever. It’s a big influence in my own work and you dissected it perfectly here

[@kidmack3556]

I found "Blindspotting" enlightening, because I have encountered people very similar to the character "Miles" and despised them for their propagation of what they think all Black people are supposed to be like... or so I believed. The film gave me a different perspective other than my own. Even though I still didn't care for "Miles" he schooled me.

[@LazyDogFilmBlog]

I don't know if the intent is that Miles is 'acting' like those around him or is simply just himself. I grew up knowing people like Miles and some are just vultures and others are genuine. It's really hard to tell what's in someone's heart.

[@kidmack3556]

@LazyDogFilmBlog I hear ya. But in many, many instances, it's not hard to tell at all. For example; I have watched Caucasian young people address Black people, in these particular instances, elder Black people, in "ghetto-ese" or "Cali-Bam" (or whatever it's being renamed this week) and when the person they're speaking to doesn't reply likewise they immediately switch to standard school book English, as though there was a nun with a thick wooden ruler standing there about to swat them for their poor grammar instead of a Black man or woman. That seems disingenuous to me, no matter what's in their heart. The interaction between "Miles" and the Black tech worker is an important part of American film, in my opinion, because it tells me a story that is probably not admitted to by many who communicate similarly, and don't realize that it can be just as offensive to some people as it is perceived as "normal" to others.

[@garretrimmer4492]

Great video! I love this film!

[@jessicahancock470]

What are some hidden things in this movie one might miss if only watching it once?

[@LazyDogFilmBlog]

•Jonathan Groff and Emmy Raver-Lampman make cameos as the biracial couple making out in the beginning of the film •Collin is referred to as Scorpion King by background characters at the start of the film • The original title of the film was Running Down, and the character shot by police was originally named Randall Down. Diggs and Casal couldn't clear the name Randall Down so the character's name and film's title was changed