Review of POLITICAL - The Series - a film by Larry ”Syid” Wright and Cedrick Livingston

Hello Faithful Reader, I hope this month’s edition of The Black Birds Eye View finds you well and in good spirit. I am well. This month I am sharing my review of POLITICAL The Series - a film by Larry ”Syid” Wright and Cedrick Livingston that deals with power, politics, and loyalty. For the purpose of clarity, I am breaking the film down into scenes. After each scene, I offer my opinion and at the close of this edition I will rate this film overall. Starring: Jeffrey L. Wall, Tiffany Walker McKiver, Gerald Carter, Chauncey Miller, Johnny McNeil, Camilla Carter Bass, Shane Grissom, Patrick Ferrara, Bruce Larond’e, and Maurice Booth • Filmed by Larry” Syid” Wright and Cedrick Livingston • Directed BY Larry “Syid” Wright- • Music by LiveWire– Brandon Campbell and Terrance Walker • Produced by Larry “Syid” Wright and Tiffany Walker. • McKiver Executive Produced By Pitchvine Entertainment,llc & Get The Black Mind Right THE MAIN CHARACTER, PHILLIP MUHAMMAD, IS A BLACK MAN RUNNING FOR MAYOR. The film begins with a speech inspired by Malcolm X: “We must know how politics control our lives. Unless we become politically mature, we will keep being misled and fooled by tricky politicians who will deceive and maneuver us into supporting someone politically, whether male or female, who doesn’t have the good of the community in mind or at heart. My political philosophy only means that we must bring in new blood… a new political strategy to reeducate our people to become politically conscious and politically mature, so that we can go into the voting booth to cast our ballot for the right person….man or woman. Scene 1 breakdown (Phil and Charles Smith are talking): Charles tells Phil that drugs are killing us (Black People) and that drugs are a modern-day genocide and asks will there ever be peace in this world… because he thinks that it seems like everybody hates everybody. He goes on to say that Blacks hate Blacks and whites hate white. Phil responds by saying, “Drugs kill all people” and then goes on to say, “Peace comes from within…. there is no peace without love…one cannot be separated from the other…neither can be obtained until the people become mentally free.” BBEV Opinion: • It is interesting that the film starts with this issue when there are more primal issues to be concerned about where black people are concerned. (Miseducation, Mental Programming) Plus the fact that drugs were introduced to kill us….so, in essence, the provider of drugs is killing us. • It is interesting that Phil made sure to say that drugs were killing “all” people…. almost minimizing the fact that the young brother speaking referenced black people because he is concerned about his own people first. • It was interesting that Charles said that everybody hates everybody…that Blacks hate Blacks and whites hate whites…. when the reality is, it could have been phrased more accurately. The racial tension in America stems from a deep seeded fear of the black man by the white man that is presented as hate. The white man has no reason to hate the black man…but if there is any validity to karma, has every reason to fear him. • Phil’s response to Charles was interesting. He said that there was no peace without love. I say that there is no peace because of hate and that it is impossible to fight hate with love….no matter how poetic it sounds. • Phil said that peace cannot be separated from love. I say that in pursuit of peace, as it relates to an oppressor, love should not be employed…war should be. War is not synonymous to peace but could bring peace if people were not so afraid of all that comes with war. • For black people to become mentally free it is necessary that deprogramming be implemented. A person fighting to hold on to old standards and myths will fight tooth and nail to not see things any way other than the way they were brought up to see….for many it is easier to leave things the way they are because looking at it from a different perspective could potentially require that the individual let go of most, if not all, of what they believe to be true. Scene 2 breakdown (Jean and Betty): This scene has Betty, Phil’s wife, and Jean, Phil’s best friend’s wife sitting, talking and drinking coffee. Jean basically tells Betty to be prepared because being a politician’s wife was hard. She told her to be careful because friends can become enemies. Betty tells Jean that as Phil’s wife, she is going to support everything he does…like it or not. BBEV Opinion • As a woman, I’d take issue with another woman taking it upon herself to give unsolicited advice about my marriage. • My nature would make me wonder why she was saying what she was saying. • Betty once again came across a little clueless. The statement she made about “like it or not” went over my head…. because if I don’t like something he is doing, it doesn’t matter if he does. Scene 3 breakdown (Phil and interviewer): This scene finds Phil being interviewed by a white/male reporter. The reporter tells Phil that he is going to throw a few topics out and asked that Phil speak on each. Urban Renewal – Phil told the reporter that, “Our politics and our community are controlled by people… no matter the color who say they are about urban renewal…but all the work being done in urban America is done by the non-blacks who don’t even live in urban America The workforce in urban Black America should be more than 50 percent and not less than the 5 percent that we see. We should have apprentice programs so that young black men and women can become tradesman and make a living at the same time. The system does not work for the millions of black women and men who feel that they have no worth. America’s infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. Black America needs to be rebuilt and we have the manpower to do it Broken- When you give the people the opportunity to build and cultivate and take care of their own, the community will start to become a community again and the people will take pride in how they rebuilt their own community….it’s called positive attitude and the appreciation for the community they grew up in. No, we are not broken. We are too strong for that. What are your thoughts on your President? Phil’s response was, “That’s what he is…a thought?” BBEV Opinion: • I agreed with everything that Phil said. • I thought the answer to the question about the President lacked heart. Scene 4 breakdown (Phil and Johnny are having a discussion) This scene finds Phil and his best friend Johnny sitting down shooting the breeze. Phil marvels over the position he is in. He was like, “Can you believe that we were dope dealers and gang bangers and always in and out of trouble ….and look at me now….one step away from being Mayor.” Johnny tells Phil to be careful who he associates himself with. He tells Phil that this is not his usual bunch of people and to trust no one. He tells Phil that as soon as “they” get a sense that he thinks he is bigger than them, they will do whatever it takes to bring him down. Phil told Johnny that he was worrying unnecessarily …and that he was worried about things that were outside of their control. He assured Johnny that when it gets to the point where he was not comfortable with the situation that he is in, he will walk away. It was clear that Johnny thought that Phil was naive in thinking that he could just walk away. He told Phil that, those old heads who backed his campaign would not make it easy for him to simply walk away.” Then Phil told Johnny that he worried too much. BBEV Opinion • It is stereotypical that black men in films are often depicted as an ex-thug, gang banger, or some low life criminal. • I hope the series shows the back story to explain how Phil ended up on the opposite end of the spectrum, as it relates to his chosen career. • Isn’t it odd that Johnny, Jean's husband gave Phil, the same advice his wife gave Betty? • Early on I wondered exactly who Johnny was referring to when he said “they” would bring him down. • I did not understand how Phil could have gotten so far in the game and not know who was doing business with. Scene 5 breakdown (Phil is in his office when Mr. Wright enters) Mr. Wright represents the people who backed Phil’s campaign. He is an older Black man. Apparently, Mr. Wright sent Phil an email asking him to “go before the people and lie” Phil told Mr. Wright that it was something he could not do. Mr. Wright let Phil know that he is not asking him…. And that he is telling him to do it. He told Phil that he associated himself with very powerful people….and they demand that he lies to the people. He promised Phil that he would get jobs and training for the Brothers and Sisters if he lied for them. He told Phil that everyone would get something out of it. Phil told Mr. Wright that he was no different from the white man…Mr. Wright agreed with him and told him that as a business they owned him BBEV Opinion • It was interesting that Mr. Wright reminded me of a black redneck • At this point, I was interested in knowing what the lie they wanted him to tell was. • It was at this point that Phil should have realized that he should have listened to Johnny. Scene 6 breakdown (Betty and Phil are at home talking) Phil tells Betty that Mr. Wright gave him a list of people to put into key positions, people who were not on the same page as him. He told her that there was no way he could do it. He said that the “pimps and geezers” backing him were just trying to rob black people blind. Betty asked Phil what he was going to do. She offered no viewpoint. She sits and listens BBEV Opinion • Maybe the “lie” was this "putting people in key positions" thing. • It’s interesting that he now refers to his backers as pimps and geezers • Betty was absolutely no help. Scene 7 breakdown (Betty and Phil are at a press conference) At a press conference, Phil announces that due to situations out of his control he has decided to leave the race and run as an independent write-in because he refuses to compromise his views, standards, and values when it comes to the poor people of the community and city. BBEV Opinion • Anticipation builds Scene 8 breakdown (Mr. White - A white man) is on the telephone talking to Mr. Wright (a black man) Mr. White is clearly Mr. Wrights Boss. He told Mr. Wright that they have sunk a lot of money into Phil’s campaign and that he needs to take care of the situation and get Phil back on board. Mr. White is speaking into the camera when he says, “As long as it took to get these people to trust me, I will be damn if I am going to have some slick talking negro destroy what took me years to build. Suddenly, they think they have someone who is going to give these uneducated negroes hope. (He chuckles) BBEV Opinion • In this scene you come to find out that Mr. Wright, who has been running around threatening people, works for a white man…. That he is afraid of. Scene 9 breakdown (Mr. Wright is sitting outside about to make a call) In this scene, Mr. Wright is visibly irritated when he says, “This dumb nigga” as he dials a number. He calls Johnny (Phil’s best friend), who appears to be working for him and accuses him of knowing that Phil was not on board with lying to the people and of keeping it from him intentionally. Johnny assured Mr. Wright that he had no idea about any of it. Mr. Wright told Johnny to fix it and Jonny (seems nervous and afraid) agrees to fix it. Johnny then hangs up and angrily dial Phil’s number and demanded to know what Phil thought he was doing. He tells Phil that he is supposed to be his best friend and asks Phil if he has any idea of the situation, he has put him in. Phil explains that he could not lie to the people and that he just was not built to be able to do what they were asking him to do. Johnny calls Phil “Mr. Self-Righteous and reminds Phil that there was a time he did not mind taking people drugs and money. Phil reminds Johnny that he is not that type of guy anymore. Phil tells Johnny that he was wrong about him. Johnny yells that he has a family to take care of. Phil asked Johnny if screwing people over was the way he took care of his family. Johnny reminds Phil that a lot of money was invested in his campaign and warned him to be careful BBEV Opinion • Turns out that Johnny was talking about himself when he told Phil to watch his back. • I would have thought that Phil would have been more upset at his friend’s betrayal. • I thought it was unrealistic that Johnny had the nerve to say that Phil put “him” in a bad situation Scene 10 breakdown (Mr. Wright is in his car calling Johnny) Johnny tells Mr. Wright that Phil is not on board with telling the lie. Mr. Wright tells Jonny that he has a problem. Johnny says, “Forget you!” to Mr. Wright angrily and hangs up. Mr. Wight, visibly irritated, makes a call and tells someone on the other end that he has a job for them. BBEV Opinion • I thought it was interesting that Johnny all of a sudden had heart and forgot he was dealing with dangerous people. Scene 11 breakdown (Jean and Betty have met at a restaurant) Jean asks, “How are things”. Betty explains that she is well, and that Phil is on the road all the time. Jean reminds Betty that she told her that it was hard to be the wife of a politician. Bettys tells Jean that it seems like Phil is more devoted to politics than his wife. Betty asks Jean if she is aware that Johnny had trashed Phil’s name. Jean said she knew and told Betty that Phil’s decision to run independently had a lot of people worried and told her to tell Phil to be careful. BBEV Opinion • Betty talks way too much to be saying so little in this instance. Scene 12 (Phil and Betty are at home) Phil tells Betty that she does not seem happy. She does not deny it and tells him that she has been hearing things. He tells her that there was only one more week of the campaign left and assures her that she has nothing to worry about. Betty speaks into the camera, “Is it that my husband is too blind to see the things that lay ahead of us? Things have been brought to my attention…things that scare me…Do I tell him, or do I just shrug it off? It seems he is more focused on being Mayor than his family.” BBEV Opinion • Betty ain't got a drop of good sense. When she told her husband that she had been hearing things she should not have rested until he asked her what she heard. There should never have been any reason to have to question if she should tell her husband what she knew or not…. especially if there is a threat involved. • What in the world is wrong with Phil? Why would he NOT ask her what she had heard? Scene 13 breakdown (Johnny is in his yard when a Black man that Mr. Wright hired dives up) Johnny does not know who he is. The man tells Johnny that Mr. Wright sent him. He hands Johnny his phone and tells him to look at the photos. They are pictures of Johnny’s wife and children. The hired man basically tells Johnny that if he does not help get Phil on board with the lies something was going to happen to his wife and kids. He tells Johnny that in a week or so Phil would be delivering a speech …He gave Johnny the job of making sure that they would be in place to be able to kill Phil…. or he was going to have some very lonely days and nights. BBEV Opinion • First off, he is bold to be coming to that man’s house to threaten his family • The plot thickens. Now Johnny must kill or help kill his so-called best friend that he sold out. Scene 14 breakdown (Jean and Johnny are home talking) Johnny tells Jean that they have a problem. He tells Jean that he has to kill Phil. Jean is shocked. Johnny tells Jean that Phil got involved with some bad people for his election and backed out at the last minute and now those people were holding him responsible for Phil’s debt. Jean is floored. She cannot believe what she is hearing. She tells Johnny to call the police. Johnny tells her he can’t call the police because they were in on it. Jean suggests that they pack up the kids and leave. Johnny tells Jean that there is nowhere that they could go where they would not be found. Jean tells Johnny that she does not want any part of it. He begins to apologize and tell her that he never meant to get her involved…. she walks away from him and leaves the room. Johnny speaks into the camera, “My family means everything to me and if that means I have to take out my best friend to keep them safe…oh well. BBEV Opinion • In whose world has that happened…. “Honey I gotta kill my friend.” • Jean took it better than I would have. Scene 15 breakdown (Johnny goes to an office where the man Mr. Wright hired and a man with a shotgun are seated) The man Mr. Wright hired told Johnny that he needs to be more careful because one shot to the head and he’ll be dead. The Gunman tells Johnny that things are not sitting well with Mr. Wright and they were going to hold him responsible. The hired man tells Johnny that things are starting to get ugly and that he would hate to see innocent people like wives and kids get hurt in a war of words. Johnny gives the hired man an envelope and tells him that everything he wants is inside the envelope and leaves. BBEV Opinion • Anticipation builds Scene 16 breakdown (Jean is in the kitchen texting someone when Johnny walks in) The text reads, “For you to reach out to me you must really need my help.” Johnny asks Jean where the kids are, Jean tells him that they were with her mother. Johnny looks around and automatically asks Jean if she did something. She tells him that she did. A text came in on Jean phone that reads, “Taken care of.” Jean walks out of the room and leaves Johnny by himself. BBEV Opinion • Anticipation builds Scene 17 breakdown (Phil is standing outside a building before his press conference begins when his bodyguard walks up.) Phil asks the bodyguard why he is there. His bodyguard told him he knew why he was there. Phil tells the bodyguard that he is good…. the bodyguard tells him he isn’t. Phil goes back into the building. The bodyguard looks up and notices someone on the roof. Phil gives this speech: “They say my dialog is hate teaching. This isn’t hate teaching this is love teaching and I love you, They say that my dialog is about separatism but I am running for mayor of a city that is 85 percent minority 75 percent black, 10 percent Spanish, and 15 percent white. Our city council is 90 percent white…and the few minorities that are on it rarely show up because they don’t think their vote counts or measures up. How can you belong to a city or town or community where you have been brainwashed into thinking that your vote don’t count? Your vote don’t count because you gave up the only system that works…the poor the underappreciated…getting out there to vote…voting for change…voting to get these white racist people and these minority cowards out of office. Starting today I don’t want to hear anyone say that they don’t count. We all count for something. That’s why God put you here…so stand up and be accountable because if you don’t vote you have no reason to complain. I love you, I support you. Good night.” Phil then walks off stage BBEV Opinion • It seems to me like Phil should have known what the bodyguard was for. Scene 18 breakdown (There is a gunman on the roof) Phil exits the building as the gunman fixes him as a target. By now the bodyguard has made his way to the rooftop. He quietly walks up behind the gunman and aims his gun at him and tells the gunman, “don’t even think about it.” The gunman realizes that he has been caught and lowers his weapon. Phil stands outside on the sidewalk clueless as to the fact that he was almost assonated. THE END BBEV Overall thoughts on this review: • Outside of Phil and Jonathon, it is unclear what the characters names are. • Considering the fact that Phil was running for Mayor, I would have polished his English better in writing this (work on tenses)…..”Don’t” was used when “doesn’t” was what was needed. • It is this writer’s opinion that this series could be used to promote consciousness to things that we all need to be aware of if the writer is fearless and willing to scratch past the surface. Subscribe to Political the Series on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2r3R4sgpic9afhZKahlOdQ This concludes my review of Political – The Series….Until next time. Always, Robin