Reading: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Bing Liu follows himself and two friends as they attempt to navigate the world as adulthood sets in. These friends battle mental health after unaddressed trauma from physical abuse in a crumbling small midwestern town.  Liu suffers from these same difficulties.  He goes about exploring his own past while documenting the progress and past of his friends.  

Ta-Nehisi Coates addresses life as a black person in the United States.  In the beginning of the book, he states, “In accepting both the chaos of history and the fact of my total end, I was freed to truly consider how I wished to live–specifically, how do I live free in this black body?”

Liu depicts all three of his friends wrestling with the idea of freedom.  Zach Mulligan, a sudo patriarch for this close knit band of outcasts, impregnates and begins raising a child with a girl named Nina.  Mulligan and Nina begin to feel trapped by the bounds of a committed romantic relationship and the burdens of parenthood.  Nina, 19 years old when their baby is born, insists on going out consistently and keeps up with her drinking.  Mulligan seeks for those same freedoms, but feels restricted by his parental and financial obligations to their family unit.  Eventually, Mulligan decides freedom resides outside the confines of these responsibilities.  Chasing that dream, he hides from his daughter's mother, moves cities, and continues drinking heavily.  Eventually, Mulligan finds freedom in responsibility.  He gets a difficult job as a roofer, moves back to the city his daughter is living in, and pays child support.  

One of those kids that looked up to Mulligan was Keire Johnson.  Johnson, entering early adulthood, begins seeking freedom through forgiveness.  His dad, who was physically abusive to both him, his brothers, and his mom, died shortly after they had a heated discussion which ended in Johnson moving out of the house.  Johnson decides to move in with his mother, find a (difficult) job to help his mother, and find opportunities for education.  He openly forgives his late father and begins finding a new group of friends that he thinks will help him focus on better goals. However, this more educated friend group doesn’t seem to understand his experiences as a black man. At first, he tries to explain his experiences, but his friends seem reluctant to listen, quick to make claims, and unwilling to learn. As opportunities seem slim and the racism of the town becomes more evident and weighter on his mind, Johnson makes the tough decision to find freedom in Denver. He chooses to leave on good terms with his home, his family, and his friends.  

Liu shows himself and his friends with shocking vulnerability and honesty.  His closeness and love with his subjects permits the film.  As Coates writes, “I did not want to raise you in fear or false memory.  I did not want you forced to mask your joys or bind your eyes.  What I wanted for you was to grow into consciousness.”  Throughout this film, the audience sees Liu, Mulligan, and Johnson “grow into consciousness” thanks to awe inspiring access to some of their most vulnerable moments.