Antebellum (2020)
Controversy
I Am Tired of Films Like Antebellum
I'm tired. I'm tired of pop-cultural objects that make black people just black bodies that aggressively chart the sins of this ragged world. I'm tired of being the main prism by which we perceive Black culture through suffering. I am tired of being so hungry that scraps feel like a meal for Black joy and Black representation. I am tired of slavery films that fail to understand Black women's inner lives, even as their animals become instruments for filmmakers to investigate the horrors of the slaves. I am tired of thin characterization and the kind of exposure Black folks get from milquetoast social messaging.[1]
Antebellum isnt just bad - its vile to make a point about the evils of white supremacy, the film subjects its Black characters to unceasing brutality.
The first 40 are a ceaseless flood of violence and abuse in the movie: one woman is killed for attempting to run away; Eden is forcefully branded by her captors; and a Confederate soldier sexually assaults an enslaved woman in a particularly distressing sequence. The horrible realities of slavery are reduced to horror-movie stereotypes.[2]