*NETFLIX PICK REVIEW* The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Kennedy's Rating (out of 5 stars): 5

I'm finally done with my final projects and assignments, so I decided to take a self care day and just stay in the house all day! Scrolling through my Netflix account I came across the documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution in the trending now menu. I vaguely remember hearing something about this doc in 2015 but I never watched it. Since I felt like I didn't know as much about the Black Panther Party as I could, I decided to watch it. I was in for a treat.

What sets the mood of this doc is the music and media from the late 1960's. It begins with images from Soul Train, black urban cities, and the Chi-Lites. It picks you up and drops you in the era of Black Power. The tone of the rest of the doc is set with mostly funk and some rock music here and there.

The documentary went past the vague summary of the Black Panther Party you may receive in a history course. It brings up events and issues within the party that are not often discussed and overlooked. One of these issues was sexism within the party. Vanguard of the Revolution briefly addresses gender and sexism within the party and how women who were the backbone of the party but were still treated like sexual objects by their male peers. I enjoyed that there were interviews from some of the lesser known Panther members, it gave perspectives that most viewers have never received about the Black Panther Party.

The entire doc was emotionally provoking. The scenes about Fred Hampton will make you grit your teeth in anger about how the FBI and Chicago Police Department together plotted and carried out his murder. It excellently documents the FBI infiltration, the party's split, and demise. I wish this doc would have briefly discussed other US cities that had Black Panther headquarters besides Oakland, Chicago, and New York and focused more on the members lives after the party. It would have been great to get their opinions about the New Black Panther Party. Overall the documentary was very informative and kept my attention. I learned so many new things about the formation and destruction of this organization which helped me better understand why the US government found this organization as a threat. I will watch this over again because I know I missed a few things, This is a film I highly recommend to anyone interested in the Black Power movement or black liberation in general. The next time I watch it, it'll be with friends or family to hear THEIR thoughts on The Black Panthers, also known as the Vanguard of the Revolution.