“Judas and the Black Messiah” tells the story of the Illinois Black Panther Party and its devoted leader Fred Hampton and FBI informant William O’Neal. The film is directed by Shaka King and oozes Black radicalism. The movie aims to inform the public of the true mission of the Black Panthers, something that’s been misunderstood and misconstrued to the public for decades. “Judas and the Black Messiah” is a new and important American biographical drama film. The film was released just in time for black history month.
Both Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as William O’Neal provide stellar performances. The film opens with O’Neal attempting to steal a car by impersonating an FBI agent. After he’s caught, O’Neal is approached by FBI agent Roy Mitchell and forced to infiltrate the Panther’s organization as an informant to avoid jail time.
”’Judas and the Black Messiah’ is one of the most important films of the year,” John Doyle, assistant professor of communication, said. “The scene with the Young Lords and the Confederate Flag Is the most relevant and important message for us at this moment in our history. Hampton’s story and more importantly his message of economic justice and collaborations between racial groups is critical in our divided world. The movie wanted me to feel for him more than I can, because of the staggering loss that Hampton’s death is for our world today. I was bothered by the lack of clear focus on Hampton’s economic message.”
“Every aspect of this film is a sight to behold,” Charlie New, freshman graphic design major, said. “Not only is the story extremely topical in regards to ongoing issues in American society, and coincidentally very relevant to the debate that just took place at the Capitol concerning the role words and leadership play in the incitement of violence, but the film is also an impressively astute work of cinematic art.”
“So I don’t really agree this was an interesting portrayal with good acting,” Yamir Benson, junior international business major, said. “They did a terrible job at making you hate the police. Police brutality has been the main reason why people are scared and afraid of them. They were sort of just there, and they were supposed to be bad, but the film did very little to actually show why. At least for the first half of the film anyway.”
Throughout the rest of the film, we follow Hampton and the Panthers as they construct their Rainbow Coalition comprised of multiple races as a means to combat racial discrimination, advocate for better living conditions in their communities, and end police brutality.
We also follow the FBI as they continuously look for ways to thwart the panther’s plans. This is most apparent in former FBI director J Edgar Hoover’s comments where he says, “The Black Panthers are the single greatest threat to our national security. More than the Chinese. Even more than the Russians. Our counter-intelligence program must prevent the rise of a Black Messiah from among their midst.”
While the film is very political, we’re also made privy to Hampton’s relationship with Deborah Johnson. This area of the film exposes the viewers to Hampton’s emotional side, offering an alternate portrait to the one painted historically. Overall, this film is triggering and deserves the attention and acclaim it’s received from critics and audiences across the country.
