Powerful film

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2007)

This is a very effective movie, which for me is gauged by how many times my stomach turned during this film. Edward Norton gives the performance of a lifetime, and was deservedly nominated for an Oscar.
The topic of race relations in America is a touchy subject, and this film thankfully didn't portray one side--i.e. the whites--as being the problem. There are many black "leaders" who fallaciously allege that blacks cannot be racist because they haven't any power. This allegation is ridiculous: the fact that Tawana Brawley was never prosecuted for her fiasco is an excellent example of which side has the power. The worst thing that you can be labeled these days? A Communist--no. A Fascist--no. The worst thing you can be labeled these days is a "racist." That's why many whites are reluctant to speak on race relations, it's the 3rd rail of politics.
No one probably wants to admit it, but Norton's character makes a lot of sense when discussing the illegal immigration problem and the Rodney King debacle. I had heard a stat from the FBI not too long ago that was eye-opening: that black men, who are 6% of the American population, commit 45% of the violent crimes in this country--that's unbelievable!! Further, you have people that practically swim to this country from Asia, learn the language, and still outperform blacks in school, and yet all we hear are excuses from the black "leaders." The vision of a Southern governor of the 50's standing outside a school to prevent black children from entering is a distant memory. Now you have schools practically begging black students to apply to college, despite their poor qualifications, in order to promote "diversity" while Asian kids, for example, work their butts off and get cheated as colleges admit the less qualified applicants. So much for fairness and the American dream. And yet, these policies by liberal do-gooders promote more friction among ethnic groups. Unfortunately, however, a white man like myself is not supposed to brooch these issues--for only someone like Bill Cosby can, and he has, to his credit.
Despite my rants above, I don't believe in the radicalism of these white supremacist groups. This nation would undoubtedly be more harmonious if there were no more "protected minorities" and that all quota systems would cease. People should advance based on merit, not by skin color. After all, isn't that what Martin Luther King Jr said?