Anti-woke “Am I Racist?” is a mini-blockbuster in the documentary category, but is mostly ignored by professional film reviewers apparently rubbed the wrong way by its message.
“For whatever reason, there are films that we in the entertainment media fail to notice,” writes Joel Stein in the Hollywood Reporter. “In the case of the documentary ‘Am I Racist?,’ that ‘whatever reason’ is that we’re liberals.” Stein covers the group-think, film-critic boycott with satire and gives the movie a lukewarm review.
“Am I Racist?” has grossed $9 million domestically in 10 days for Texas-based SDG Releasing, making it an “artbuster” — which is a relative blockbuster in the arty category of documentaries. It’s the top grossing docu this year and one of the 40 top grossing of all time. Most documentaries don’t even generate $3 million in domestic boxoffice.
In the PG-13 rated docu, Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh assumes the identity of a wokester to expose hypocrisy in the ecosystem of DEI — the diversity, equity and inclusion movement. “Am I Racist?” is in the style of mockumentary “Borat,” in which an English comedian teases modern society pretending to be a waif from a backwater country.
Says the Hollywood Reporter article of “Am I Racist?,” Walsh “gets Robin D’Angelo, author of ‘White Fragility,’ to give his Black cohort $30 out of her wallet as reparations. He is a waiter at a Race2Dinner event, hosted by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao, where white women pay to be yelled at — and definitely get their money worth.”
Film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes finds lofty 98% of reviews by regular moviegoers (so-called popcornmeter) were positive, which is extremely high; above 90% is excellent and 60% is considered good.
Rotten Tomatoes says there are “No Top Critics reviews for ‘Am I Racist?’” There are 11 reviews from other influencer-caliber critics, and most are dismissive. For comparison, mainstream major-studio hit “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has dozens of Top Critics write-ups and 330 All Critics reviews. And “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” got a smaller 80% on the popcornmeter.
“It is odd that the people who cover Hollywood and Hollywood itself seem to think it can survive on fear and blacklists forever,” Sasha Stone wrote on AwardsDaily.com. “Bro, no, ain’t gonna.”
Mass media giving the silent treatment to impactful content espousing conservative thought is not unusual. For example, the New York Times newspaper will dutifully log blockbuster books by conservative pundits on its influential Best Sellers list. But routinely, the newspaper does not review those books, despite their societal impact.
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So very typical of today’s media. The days of objectivity and fairness are long gone. This pathetic silence from corporate media explains why Bill O’Reilly, for example, has had numerous best-sellers, yet they are never reviewed by The NY Times. (Mr O’’Reilly and other conservatives are laughing all the way to the bank).