SUTS Day 17: James Edwards

Today's featured star for SUTS is James Edwards. 

Movie lineup (all times in EST):
6:00 AM Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958)
7:45 AM The Caine Mutiny (1954)
10:00 AM The Phenix City Story (1955)
12:00 PM The Sandpiper (1965)
2:15 PM Seven Angry Men (1955)
4:15 PM Men in War (1957)
6:15 PM The Steel Helmet (1951)
*Daily Cinema: 8:00 PM Home of the Brave (1949)*
9:45 PM The Set-Up (1949)
11:15 PM Bright Victory (1951)
1:00 AM The Joe Louis Story (1953)
2:45 AM Pork Chop Hill (1959)
4:30 AM The Member of the Wedding (1952)

Daily Cinema: Home of the Brave (1949)

In this war film, James Edwards plays a Black soldier in World War II who has two battles to fight: the initial fight, him helping to defend the country, and a new fight--racist comrades who inflict their own form of abuse on him for sharing the field with them. Now I make a point not to speak often, if at all, about my personal views concerning a few subjects, race being one of them. The reasons behind that are also something I choose not to speak on, but I thought this film was very relevant for the times we're in and I chose it primarily for that reason. 

I guess a small summary of my opinion would be that it's a hard time to be Black in this country. It was hard to be Black back then, too. Maybe more so, because things were still segregated and there was no way for us to speak up for ourselves just yet. The narrative of this film hits close to home for me because of my own experiences with bigoted individuals who felt I wasn't worth accepting because I was Black, and that's another reason I wanted to feature this film. Movies based off of racism were being made over 70 years ago and it's sad to see that in some ways, we haven't really progressed beyond some of the plot points of this film. Unlike slavery-based films, racism is still very much a part of our present and going by recent events, will be part of our futures as well. Maybe one day things will change. Maybe. 

Here's one thing I will say: I love everyone and I think everyone should have equal rights, everyone should be protected by those we consider authority figures, and abuse of power for blatantly racial reasons should be exposed and handled, not 'justified' and ignored. While there have definitely been people who've misused Black Lives Matter and cast a negative light onto the movement, there is truth in there. And it's a scary truth for those who have to live it everyday. If you can't see that, then there's nothing else I can tell you. But I think that's enough real talk for now; I've rambled long enough. I hope you enjoy the film and I'll see you tomorrow!