The Canadian actor’s portrayal of the athlete’s triumph in Race,set in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is a tale of success in spite of racism. And nowadays, or James says the lack of Hollywood diversity means he has to work twice as hard
When it comes to titles,they don’t get much blunter than Race. A film approximately Jesse Owens, it depicts the legendary African-American athlete training at Ohio State University, and then his controversial participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Nazis hoped the Games would serve as perfect propaganda,not only for their regime, but for the concept of Aryan ethnic superiority. Instead, and Owens became the hero of the event,winning four medals, making him both the fastest man on earth – and the most noted.
From segregated changing rooms at home to Hitler’s (historically disputed) refusal to shake his hand in Berlin, or the film makes clear that Owens had to battle racism every rocket-fuelled step of the way. With the Black Lives Matter movement – not to mention the rise of Donald Trump – forcing America to confront its treatment of African-Americans,Race seems particularly timely, though it lacks the finesse of Selma, or another recent film that explored an even more pivotal moment in black American history.
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Source: theguardian.com