Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 2020 film based on the 1982 play of the same name by August Wilson. The narrative involves a fictional 1927 recording session by the famed blues singer Ma Rainey, portrayed masterfully by Viola Davis. But the most memorable character may be Levee, played by Chadwick Boseman in his final movie before his untimely death at 43 of colon cancer. For his brilliant performance, Boseman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Levee is a troubled trumpet player for Ma Rainey's band. He is a complex individual, deeply affected by social injustice and struggling to reconcile his anger. The story culminates in Levee's violent reprisal, and the viewer is left to wonder whether his action is an inevitable consequence of blatant racism. Furthermore, the film opens a debate on how society views crimes committed by the oppressed.
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Aside from Ma Rainey, all other characters are fictional, as are the events depicted in the film. August Wilson created a story to examine racism in the 1920s. Specifically, he shows the uneasy relationship between white businessmen and the black entertainers they exploited. Because the musicians rely on the white men for income, the entertainers have limited power to address the unfair practices. Ma Rainey uses her celebrity to antagonize the businessmen. Meanwhile, Levee, who is yet famous, resorts to channeling his anger elsewhere.
Ma Rainey knows that her white manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and the record producer Mel Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) need her for their business. Thus, she feels some power over these men. However, the disgruntled singer realizes she will lose her advantage as soon as the recording session is over. Therefore, she actively frustrates the white men while she can. She shows up late, demands her stammering nephew introduce a song on a record, and refuses to change the song's arrangement. Ma Rainey is belligerent and uncooperative, perhaps equivalent to the modern "diva." But the narrative shows that she is much more than that. She is an unhappy soul who struggles through oppression and directs her anger towards those she feels are complicit.
Viola Davis in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Levee is no Ma Rainey. She is a star, and he is replaceable. Thus, he cannot afford to show animosity towards Sturdyvant. When his bandmates tease him for kissing up to the record producer, Levee explains what he plans to do when a white man does him wrong. He tells a story about his father.
When Levee was a boy living on his family's farm, he witnessed his mother being assaulted by a group of white men while his father was away. After returning, his father sold the farm to one of the assailants. Later, he killed four of the men but was caught and lynched. Levee says his father's actions taught him how to handle white men. But what did he learn?
If Levee follows his father's example and seeks revenge on the white man, he may end up dead, or at the very least never work for them again. Perhaps his childhood memory has taught him that the ultimate consequence of revenge is not desirable. Thus, when the time comes for Levee to lash out, he directs his anger away from the white man to an innocent black man.
Levee learns that the Sturdyvant plans to steal one of his compositions. But he does not confront the record producer. Instead, he assaults Toledo (Glynn Turman), an elderly African American bandmate. Levee is incensed after Toledo accidentally steps on his shoe, leading to an altercation, which ends with Levee killing Toledo. The film then concludes with a scene showing a white band recording Levee's song.
Why does Levee kill Toledo? Levee is a victim of inexcusable crimes committed by white men, not only against his family when he was a child but also by Sturdyvant. But why does he channel his anger towards Toledo? Perhaps he feels powerless to confront his oppressors, so he picks on someone more vulnerable. He chooses an innocent black man, maybe someone he feels does not share his anger.
Toledo's death brings to mind the controversial, if not racist, phrase advanced by right-wing pundits critical of George Floyd Protests: "black-on-black" crime. When activists brought police brutality against African Americans to national attention, critics argued that blacks should be more concerned with other blacks than the police. This narrative was not invented in 2020.
Since the Reconstruction, racist Americans have misrepresented black-on-black crime, as well as black-on-white crime. In 2015, Presidential candidate Donald Trump retweeted that 97% of black murders were committed by blacks, while 81% of white people who were murdered were by blacks. His claim was a lie. According to the FBI, in 2014, 90% of murdered blacks were by other blacks, and only 15% of murdered whites were by blacks.
False data retweeted by Donald Trump in November 2015
To imply that blacks commit crimes against other blacks due to whites' oppression may have validity but does not tell the entire story because people of all races commit more crimes against their own race. Although Ma Rainey's Black Bottom sheds light on past and continuing injustice against a racial minority, it may unintentionally foster the racist black-on-black crime narrative.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom portrays a music icon, but the movie is less about music and more about African Americans' socioeconomic condition in the 1920s. Although the exploitation of African American artists has diminished in the past 100 years, white appropriation of black music persists. Furthermore, systemic racism is alive and well, not just through police violence but in economic violence, limiting opportunities for minorities to advance in society. The brilliantly acted film asks the audience to confront our society's sins and examine how it shapes oppressed individuals.
Andrew’s Grade: B
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