By Kharisma McIlwaine
The “blue code of silence” is a term used to describe the unity and familial bond of brother and sisterhood amongst police officers. When the code of ethics and the oath to protect and serve that police are sworn to uphold are overshadowed by a commitment to the aforementioned pact, the Blue Wall of Silence grows taller. Cover ups, paired with police officers not being held accountable for murdering Black bodies in spite of the evidence has created a culture of mistrust for the police in communities of color. Who can civilians trust when those who vow to protect them, can kill them without consequences? Officers brave enough to take a stand are often vilified and ostracized. Black officers carry an additional burden.
In a Harvard Law Review piece entitled “The Black Police: Policing Our Own” by Devon W. Carbado and L. Song Richardson, the authors offer the following perspective:
“Fundamental to our approach is a Du Boisian conceptualization of race and professional identity — namely, African American police officers have to negotiate and reconcile two historically distinct strivings — the strivings to be “blue” and the strivings to be “black” — in one “dark body.” That identity struggle, paired with cultural distrust of law enforcement can lead black police officers to remain on the outside of both black and blue communities.”
The film “Black and Blue” explores some of these dynamics. In “Black and Blue”, rookie police officer Alicia West (Naomie Harris) accidentally captures the murder of a young Black drug dealer at the hands of her fellow police officers on her body cam. While running for her life, she realizes she is an outsider everywhere. West finds some level of solace with the help of an old, yet reluctant friend Mouse (Tyrese Gibson) as she embarks on a quest to reveal the truth. Director Deon Taylor spoke to the SUN about the importance of combining truth and art.
As founder of Hidden Empire Film Group, Taylor has successfully directed films like “Traffik” and “The Intruder.” Not one to shy away from telling stories rooted in truth, he spoke about creating art that has a message in the face of opposition.
“Sometimes elements can come together to make something really cool for us… for the culture,” Taylor said. “They handed me this screenplay and we were not fearful to put in the elements that we know affect our culture. I was happy to be the person behind the camera that can pick it up and cut it the right way to really touch people.”
“It’s interesting because I caught a lot of flak early on with “Traffik” because it was one of the first movies that took a very real topic and dropped it into a thriller,” he recalled. “Critics told me, ‘you can’t do that.’ What’s crazy is that audiences ate that film up. Then I made “The Intruder,” then “Black and Blue.” This was the perfect film to be able to really say something but allow the audience to have a good time. No one, especially the youth wants to be preached to anymore.”
“Black and Blue” is successful in that regard. This film does a brilliant job at giving the audience all perspectives of the story, without telling them how to feel. Taylor also addresses the detachment many display when witnessing crimes.
“We have these phones and people are numb,” he said. “People are getting shot and people are taping, versus putting the phone down and helping. With everything going on right now, I wanted to do something really commercial, fun and out of the box to make people run, jump and scream. At the end of the day, we wanted to say, be human, have integrity and remember what it is to care about somebody else.”
Integrity should not only be reserved for witnesses. The “us” versus “them” concept backed by the ‘blue code of silence’’ reinforces the idea that loyalty should outweigh integrity… it shouldn’t.
“All this blue side vs. black side is ridiculous,” Taylor said. “If somebody on the blue side kills someone and you know, it was murder that you just witnessed, it’s your job first and foremost to be a human being and have integrity… above any code! That’s what this movie is about; there should not be a black and blue side.”
The casting in this film, particularly with Naomie Harris and Tyrese amplifies the critical nature of the content the film boldly explores.
“Naomie Harris’ character is phenomenal,” Taylor said. “She embodied every moment. You believe every word she says. She doesn’t have to say a word and you understand. Then you have to take into consideration where she’s from (London). She had to study the entire culture for two or three months. Watching what she did in this film was incredible.”
“I had to fight for Tyrese in this film there was so much stuff going on around him at the time we were casting,” he continued. “A lot of people forget that John Singleton discovered Tyrese. When somebody is down, normally what happens in this business is people continually push them down so that they can’t get back up. Because I’m an independent filmmaker, and I come from a place where I’ve been down and needed help, it’s a different world for me. At the end of the day, I reached my hand right down and said get in this movie, and he’s phenomenal in this film”.
There are moments in this film when the tension felt in the theater can be cut with a knife. In one particular scene, the reality of a Black man calling the police for help and the possibility of him ending up dead as a result is placed front and center.
“I wanted to put a spotlight on that moment… it’s shocking to see in the theater but it’s real,” Taylor said.
Filmed in New Orleans, the aesthetics of “Black and Blue” act as an additional character in the film.
“What I’m most proud of in this movie in addition to the story is the cinematography,” Taylor explained. “All of the art that’s in the movie is from an artist in New Orleans named Brandan “B-Mike” Odums. So that was really special to me. We have the perfect combination of cinematography and art. Everything from the imagery in the buildings, to the crosses they use to put on the doors for the people that died in Katrina… there were a lot of visuals that were beyond beautiful and paired perfectly with the movie.”
“Black and Blue” does not tip-toe around the issues Black people know exist in our community with law enforcement. It is an unflinching look at what is means to be Black in America… no matter what side of the law you fall on. Be sure to follow Deon Taylor on Instagram at @deontaylor.
“Black and Blue” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, October 25. This film is a must see!
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