The Green Book Movie Analysis
The Green Book is a film released in 2018, and which is based on a true story of the late musician Donald Shirley and his bouncer, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga. The movie tells the story of the two real friends as they encountered immense racism in the 1960s. Notably, the film is particularly inspired by a tour taken by Don and Tony, as Don travelled the southern states of America playing his music. Even though the driver, Tony, was a white Italian American, the two faced massive challenges in the concert tour. They had to regularly experience racial discrimination, which was characterized by incarceration by the police, physical assault by people, and restrictions to some places. ‘Green Book’ is an inspiring film that portrays how racism divided people, and how African American people struggled to do well in the society filled with white supremacy.
In the 1960s, racism was arguably at its peak in the United States, and black people were often in the receiving end. This is portrayed in Shirley’s life, who despite being a well-recognized musician in the nation had to encounter enormous racism when not performing. For instance, while in a tour to perform in a sundown town, he could see disclaimers in banners warning him not to let the sun go down while he was still in their town. These towns were specifically reserved for whites only, and they could not tolerate a black man staying the night. Due to this extreme racial discrimination, Don’s driver had to find certain hotels where they could stay peacefully. Ironically, the audience, which mostly comprised of white people, loved the jazz and classical songs performed by Shirley with his piano.
‘Green Book’ serves to remind people of the dark history of racism and how it influenced African American people. As well, the film depicts how music brought people together despite the racial differences. By hiring a white man to be his driver and bouncer, Shirley showed that people could set aside their racial differences and embrace one another in society. The case of Shirley and Tony is an exceptional one in this movie as it displays two friends, black and white men, who remained friends even after their time together touring. A theme of segregation is also evident in the film. Notably, African American people were not allowed to stay in some areas during this period. For instance, Shirley’s tour shows that in some towns, they were only allowed to perform during the day and leave before dusk.
During their tour around the country, Don and Tony encountered a number of struggles. Given that Shirley Donald was a black American, the primary challenge they faced was racial discrimination. The racism was manifested in numerous ways including restriction to certain areas that were specifically reserved for whites. In addition, Don was once beaten by white men while off-stage and Tony had to intervene to save him. The two also encountered the challenge of incarceration by police before the attorney general came to their rescue. When Don Shirley was involved in a gay encounter with a white man, Tony had to bribe the police to release the musician.
In conclusion, Green Book movie tells the struggles of black people in 1960s through the lives of Donald Shirley and his driver Tony “Lip” Vallelonga. Racism is the outstanding theme of the film as African American people were denied most of the privileges enjoyed by white people. Although his tour was faced by severe challenges, Shirley used his talent in playing the piano to perform classical and jazz music, bringing people together in the process.