Red Tails (2012)

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Red Tails Movie Poster

Red Tails is an American Action-Drama movie who released on January 20, 2012 (United States) and directed by Anthony Hemingway.

Based on true story of Tuskegee Airmen this movie tells about a crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J.[1] Bullard. It starring

Plot

1944. World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program are courageously waging two wars at once – one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home. Racial prejudices have long held ace airman Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base – leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills – while their white counterparts are shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training. Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee have mastered the skies with ease but have not been granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings.

Until now.

As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above. Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight – a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses – Easy’s pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in a heroic endeavor to combat the enemy – and the discrimination that has kept them down for so long.[2]

Black Racism

Tuskegee Airmen

This movie depicts the story of African-American pilots who face the racism in the military. Because neither of which is ready to accept blacks on an equal footing with whites.The military, as with so much else, is strictly segregated, and a line or two of dialog points out that the common assumption is that blacks are simply not up to the demanding task of combatting aviation.[3] "They weren't given very good assignments, they weren't given very good material, they weren't expected to do anything at all," Ridley explains. "And of course, their history proved that they exceeded all expectations."[4]

Black Empowerment

There is a scene when the Red Tails finally saw active combat, Ridley says, their white superiors were astounded by the levels of skill and discipline the Airmen displayed, especially when compared with pilots in all-white units. In this movie The Tuskegee Airmen proof them wrong (the white army and trainer who doubt them) even though they get racist treatment in the army. Having proved themselves, the Airmen were soon upgraded from their junkers to the state-of-the-art P-51 Mustang fighters and assigned to more demanding missions, including escorting heavy B-17 bomber aircraft to their targets.[5]

"They battle the institutionalized racism in the army and swiftly debunk decades of bigotry masquerading as science. The Airmen massacre the living snot out of scores of mean-spirited, smug Nazis. They triumph over their own fears and personal flaws, and even win the hearts and minds of some white dudes along the way. And in the end, racism loses, the fascists get owned, and the Tuskegee Airmen (or “Red Tails”) end up as decorated heroes."[6]

Reference

  1. Red Tails.Imdb. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  2. Guest Writer. Synopsis. July 29, 2011. Blackfilm. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  3. Todd McCarthy. Red Tails: Film Review. January 18, 2012. Hollywoodreporter. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  4. 'Red Tails' Fought Racism — And World War II Foes. January 20, 2012. Npr.org. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  5. 'Red Tails' Fought Racism — And World War II Foes. January 20, 2012. Npr.org. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  6. ASAWIN SUEBSAENG. “Red Tails”: The Tuskegee Airmen Deserved a Movie That’s Not Completely Unwatchable. JANUARY 21, 2012. Motherjones. Retrieved January 22, 2021