"Between me and the world" turns Ta Nehisi Coates ' book into a powerful special book
Haunting and poetic, "between the world and me" translates Ta Nehisi Coates ' book and subsequent stage show into an HBO special that loses none of its power, an achievement made even more impressive by its production amid the Coronavirus outbreak. Spun into news footage with stars reading Coates ' lyrics, this version of the writer's meditations for his 15-year-old son is likely to be played and re-played for years to come.
Directed by Kamil Forbes - who brought Coates's book to the Apollo Theater-the special includes old and new news footage, from Muhammad Ali talking to dash cam video of police abusing African-American drivers. While Coates ' book is the definitive audio, exceptions are notable, including Chadwick Boseman's commencement speech at Howard University, Bruna Taylor's mother, in an audio clip, discusses how she learned of her daughter's death.
"I'm telling you this in your fifteenth year," begins the narrative, delivered by a who's who of black celebrities, including Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Joe Morton, Wendell Pierce, Yara Shahidi and Courtney B. Vance, Susan Kelechi Watson (also one of the producers) and Oprah Winfrey.
Coates talks about the" cosmic injustice" of the black experience, and tells his child, "you do not have the privilege of living in ignorance" - a warning that has additional influence with opera that he presents.
Linking the past to the present, Coates talks about a student Howard knew who was killed by police drawing a line through the long and painful history built for the Black Lives Matter movement.
"The system makes your body breakable," Coates writes to his son, adding: "This is your country ... You must find a way to work within it all."
Despite the limitations of filming under Covid conditions, Forbes has deployed the talent brilliantly, sometimes simply showing off her melancholy expressions while playing the voices of others. Set to a degree affecting Jason Moran, the production approaches a theatrical experience, bringing the dialogue to life in a very intimate way.
"Between the world and me" was published in 2015, and a lot has happened since then. Book Review in the New York Times, wrote Michelle Alexander, " whether you agree or disagree, and challenge one of the great joys of reading Ta-Nehisi Coates in ways you didn't expect or imagine."
Only the last five years have made Coates ' arguments more relevant, and this special time provocative-issuing a call saying that anyone who amuses the desire to progress no longer has the privilege of living in ignorance.
"Between the world and Me" premieres Nov. 21 at 8 pm ET on HBO, which, like CNN, is a unit of WarnerMedia.
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