Remember the Trayvon Martin case?
Akin to many (African) Americans, I, too, was appalled by the verdict of the Trayvon Martin Case. As an African-American man and father, I found it difficult accepting the words “Not Guilty.” They haunted me similar to Candyman.
I recently watched the movie Candyman while reading an older issue of The Chicago Defender with Trayvon Martin’s picture on the cover. This was an issue from a while back, but I was prompted to go back and peruse some of the older papers in search of an article from a previous edition. Additionally, the lack of substance in current movies and television has guided me to search for deeper meanings within the plot, theme, and characters whenever I spend time watching television.
This was not my first time seeing the Candyman; however, it was my first time paying attention to the themes undergirding the storyline. Before the movie was over, I had an epiphany: this movie was not about a scary killer Black man with a hook as a hand. Instead, this movie was about the personification of violence and injustice continuously plaguing African-American communities. It begs the question: How does society continuously deny access to individuals based on race, class, and gender?
What does this have to do with the Trayvon Martin case? Everything.
An early poster of Trayvon Martin that sought to inform people about the issue and request that they become part of the movement. (photo credit: www.change.org)
During a scene towards the beginning of Candyman, before Helen, who was the main character, believes the legend of Candyman, revealed to a friend in conversation that mirrors were the only separation between apartments in her building. As a researcher, Helen also discovered that her building was originally planned to be a housing project, but was changed when the city of Chicago realized that there was limited separation between her building – located in Lincoln Village – and Chicago’s Gold Coast. As a result, plans changed, and her building became condominiums. The ultimate goal was to separate the “ghetto” from the affluent Chicago Gold Coast. Helen’s discovery was more than a simple scene in the movie. Instead, it was the framework for understanding how the monster known as Candyman plagued and paralyzed the people of Cabrini Green through violence, lack of opportunities, and continuous cycles of hopelessness.
The mirrors associated with calling Candyman are symbolic of coming face-to-face with the monster(s) related to race, class, and gender. However, there is no need to summons Candyman, for he survives through injustice and violence throughout our communities. Racial undertones throughout the movie are expressed primarily through Helen, as she wrestled with understanding violence and fear in Cabrini Green, which was one of the most dangerous housing projects in Chicago. At one point she says, “Two Blacks get murdered, and the cops do nothing. A white lady gets assaulted and they put the place on lockdown.”
Am I the only one seeing similarities here?
The struggle to end injustice continues. It is time for a new miracle – and it starts with us. Progress through protests only thrust forward with consistency. Fighting to eliminate injustices similar to Trayvon Martin, Alfred Wright, and others must not end when it is no longer a trending topic or the media fails to report updates. At the conclusion of Candyman, the community unites to eliminate what was perceived to be Candyman. A fire raged on as the leader of the charge was a little Black boy; Helen was able to save a Black infant child as a sign of both hope and preservation of life. Despite the verdict of the trial, Trayvon is that little Black boy uniting us, starting a fire to end the recreation of Candyman, by exterminating violence and injustice throughout African-American communities across the country.
W.E.B stated in The Souls of Black Folk: “To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.” Until WE look in the mirror and deconstruct the realities of injustice, violence, and hopelessness, Candyman will persist.
“Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman…”
When we look onto the mirror we see the distorted view of reality that has been conditioned for us to see. Will we get tired of beong the problem? I think there are those who are more comfortable playing the victim.