The following review
was written by Briana Williams, a Chicago high school student, as part of
Columbia College Chicago’s Columbia Links journalism program for high school
students. RogerEbert.com has partnered with the Chicago Urban League and
Columbia Links to mentor these students and to give them a platform for their
writing. Read more about the program here.
“The N Word”
Directed by Todd Williams
4 stars
No matter how many times it’s heard
or in what context, the N-word makes people uncomfortable. Many have pondered
its meaning. Where did it originate? How was turned into a derogatory term?
What movement made the word “cool”? But most importantly, who is allowed to use
it?
Filmmaker Todd Williams’ cutting-edge documentary
“The N Word” explores the evolution and controversy surrounding the acceptance
of the word in the African-American community. The use of the N-word affects everyone
differently. This documentary not only dives into the etymology of the word and
how those interpretations shape its acceptance, but it also explores the
generational differences in how the word is understood. An integration of
interviews from a broad range of ages, careers and social status permits the
viewer to have a rounded view of how people feel about it. Chris Rock, Nia
Long, Samuel Jackson, Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy and director Brett
Ratner are examples of the different points-of-view that come
together to create this brilliant mash-up of ideas about society and the shifts
in culture around one word.
Ostentatious language is used in its
best form throughout the film. Instead of sugarcoating what seems to be a topic
most people wouldn’t have the nerve to speak freely about, the interviewees
spoke truthfully and with no restrictions. To truly engage the viewer, Williams
did an amazing job of incorporating clips from films and even full prose and
poetry pieces in-between segments of the documentary to evoke a more emotional
and insightful view on the struggles black people have overcome. These pieces
really put into perspective the way this word has stuck with the culture past
everything else and made a statement.
The documentary begins with people
recalling the first time they had ever been called the N-word. Some feel it was
used venomously, while others had first heard it from another black person,
which desensitized them to the derogatory nature of the word. A montage of the N-word
is whispered in the background several times during the film which gives the
viewer a sense of comfort with the word. Black people have begun to own the
word and take away its negative connotation by giving it a new image and
definition.
But, before giving it a new definition,
they had to figure out the origins of the word. The shattering truth is that no
one really knows. Linguists traced the word back to the 17th Century
and believe it is derived from the Latin word for black which is “niger.” Each
definition is broken down and explained. The first contemporary definition of
the word is a term used by non-blacks to indicate that a black person is of
inferior caste. The second definition is a word used as an affectionate
leveler, which can be seen as true because of the revamp of the word. The third
definition raises the issue of teens who are not black using the word to be
“cool.”
Hip-hop made the word mainstream and
it gained acceptance. As the word integrated into rap music, it also migrated
to other cultures and in a way gave them permission to use the word as long as
it was not in a derogatory form. Williams interviews people on the streets and
ask their opinion of the public’s use of the word. The response was mixed. Some
people thought it was okay to use the word and others felt it was still
insulting to the African-American community.
The overall consensus of “The N
Word” documentary is that the word is here to stay. There is no way it will go
away. Removing the N-Word is like erasing a part of history. It isn’t the word
that is bad; it’s the connotation and the meaning people associate with the
word.
