White With Fear (2024) Film Review
The statement accomplished by the documentary White With Fear, from award-winning director Andrew Goldberg is a bit complicated and almost uncomfortable regardless of which side of politics you’re currently in. Sometimes, the truth hurts, and this is one of those times. The landscape of American politics contemplates more division than ever, and the film says why.
Not that it’s a secret for anyone. Racial tension is alive today as it was decades ago, but have you ever given any thought about those who stand on the other side and are not the ones claiming to suffer from racism? White With Fear superbly explains the situation of a strong background. White victimization has been used for decades in order to instigate disbalance and political turmoil, and Goldberg’s film allows you to navigate through an issue that should be talked about because it amasses more power than we think.
Still, it sounds like a biased film, one that perpetuates the idea that Republicans are bad and Democrats are good. That may be the message you draw from it if you’re unable to recognize some of the gross and calculative directions one political party has taken in order to win elections. But those with the most power today (and the ones using social dynamics as warfare) may be using it for more, and that’s what’s scary about the situation.
White With Fear uses the testimonies of many involved with current politics in order to make the film more than just a fancy, well-edited collection of facts. Goldberg’s approach is nothing but admirable, and that’s what many must have seen in order to participate in his film. Some familiar players include Hillary Clinton, Steve Bannon, Stuart Stevens, Tim Miller, Jamie Raskin, Sally Bradshaw, and Rick Gates, among others.
While the film implies that Republicans, and most of all Donald Trump’s posse, hide their strategies, it has become more than obvious that Republicans are exploiting the crack between those who think differently. As someone says in the film, “fear is the best motivator,” and modern politicians use whoever doesn’t resemble their followers as adversaries with a violent and deadly agenda. They should think better, as violence isn’t just in the protest but in the capacity to look down on those who simply don’t look like you.
Racism is a huge deal because of the American past and because of the views of those who are fighting to bring back what constitutes a crime against basic human rights. Conservative media is not as loud as some far-right followers are, but the general message is embedded in their reports on the country’s sociopolitical reality. Again, not exactly a secret, but when films like Goldberg’s make you realize that it all may be part of something bigger, that’s when things get very scary. Especially now that the 2024 election is around the corner and the gap between the left and the right is bigger than ever.
