For Colored Girls who wished their black heroes, too, could have a Hallmark ending
Thoughts & Reflections on Queen And Slim
If you’re anything like me you’re probably still emotional about Queen and Slim and you might’ve just shed a few tears about it earlier today, shoot, maybe right before clicking this article.WHERE. DO. I BEGIN.I saw this film the day after Thanksgiving and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I went to the club that night and between every other song I stood still in the middle of the dance floor, my mind stuck on what I just witnessed on screen. The faces of Queen and Slim were engraved in my mind. Their dark brown skin, now painted with the red of their own blood. Those images. Stuck in my head.
"I felt like I knew them and I miss them and all they could’ve been if they weren’t stopped by that officer."
I’m an emotional person. I feel things very deeply and when I watch a film I WATCH that film. With something as good as Queen and Slim I connect to it like it’s real. I see those characters like they are me and my loved ones. I hate and love that I do this but I truly can’t help it--because most of the time it hurts. This is especially true with a story like Queen and Slim because I saw them so vividly. I felt like I knew them and I miss them and all they could’ve been if they weren’t stopped by that officer.My boyfriend tries to help me feel better by telling me they’re not real. He holds me tight and lets me know that the ACTOR who played Slim is probably somewhere preparing for the next role. The ACTOR who played Queen is probably getting ready to shoot a beautiful Vogue cover--I know this.
But, world, hear me out, they are real. They are the people out there facing the brutalities of those who are supposed to “Serve and protect us”. They are the hashtags posted in protest by young people who are sick and tired of the injustices faced by black bodies everyday. They are the babies being lost by families who are forced to put broken pieces back together. You ever tried putting a broken plate together? The cracks remain, they are visible and a constant reminder of what happened and what will never be again.
"Our grandchildren will be watching this years from now, I’m sure, with the same feelings we have."
And though Queen And Slims legacy lived on, I can’t stop thinking about what happened to—now, #AngelaJohnson and #ErnstHinds. The lies the media and American history will tell about them even though there was proof that they were not the aggravators.The untold story of the awkward first Tinder date. The ins and outs of their week together across the country. The way time stood still as they locked eyes while falling in love in a small dimly lit club, slow dancing to blues. Being comforted by the beautiful black bodies who surrounded them-- assuring them of their safety in this underground haven.I enjoyed Queen and Slim and I believe it’s going to be a classic. It made me feel more in those two hours than I have felt watching any film in the last few years. I was distraught, in love and hurt all at the same time. Why couldn’t they have lived Lena? Dang! Their poetic ending felt like all my hopes and dreams being poured in to a cracked jar and leaking out the bottom.
Our grandchildren will be watching this years from now, I’m sure, with the same feelings we have.So thank you Lena Waithe for being so rebellious with the pen. Thank you Melina Matsoukas for directing this piece like no one else could. You took your time with each frame and it was evident in the final result. Thank you Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith for your HONEST performances. Thank you for telling this story with your heart and giving these characters life that surpassed the screens they inhabited. To the entire team: cinematographer, costume designer and anyone who helped bring this to life. Thank you. You gave the world something we will never forget all while keeping it unapologetically blickity black black BLACK! And for that, especially, thank you.Written by Amanda Morris.
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