Welcome, welcome, welcome back to another weekly Movie and TV review. If you’re returning- cheers and good to have you, but if this is your first time don’t hesitate to drop a hello if you like our conversation. Pleasantries aside, this week’s film under scrutiny is no other than Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. Wow, wow, wow. This one is truly controversial, so let me preface this now by saying once again the films were selected at random and I don’t like going into politics, as it’s so divisive. I wants no smoke. I am a citizen of the US and like my privileges; however, as an African it’s hard to remain impartial. To truly do justice to this film I must exercise my right to freedom of speech- another reason why I enjoy living in America. Lol.

The film first introduces Patrice Lumumba, the first Premier of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then backtracks to contextualize his political assassination. The movie references important dates and events, implicates key historical players to the backdrop of prominent black puppets -sorry, I meant prominent BLACK jazz musicians. Great artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong, and many more. But the thing was they didn’t know they were being used.

Shamefully, I had no idea who Premier Patrice Lumumba was before this film, but is that really a shocker? Maybe it was my lack of attention during high school History class, but I had no inkling of who this human being was. I pulled a White man or a Christopher Columbus as singer and activist, Miriam Makeba coined it. She made a statement that tickled me, ‘ You don’t know anything about anyplace until the white man gets there. It’s only when he comes and says, -Boof. I’ve discovered you. Now you exist.’ But all jokes aside it made me wonder where Africa would be today if she wasn’t. So I asked a friend and they said probably in a worse place. The problem is greed. Even now Africa is suffering, despite the fact that those in elected offices are Africans. Greedy Africans who would rather take a paycheck than fix the problem. It’s those same greedy rats like President Moïse Tshombe, who stood by as Lumumba was murdered. At this point who can we blame but ourselves?

Sidenote: before anyone calls me a racist, in a world full of Karens and Keisha – yes, the Black Karens, and even Kevins. I appreciate all my brothers and sisters. Black, White, and in between. (The whole purpose of this blog is to explore other cultures through film) I just take issue with those of us who seem to be confused about our importance; that think because their color is different they’re somehow better- and I’m not just talking whites. Not that I’ve encountered many, but I’ve had enough exchanges to be sick of the bullshit. Also, it takes one to know one. Lol.

I used to ask myself why Blacks and Africans were so disliked. What did we do wrong, after this film, I have a theory. To keep what you’ve stolen, you have to bind a strong man to keep his goods. You lie to them, tell them they are no good, incapable of great things by destroying their self-image. When one of them realizes they’ve been bamboozled, you kill them lest they empower the others. That’s always been the case across the board. Malcolm, Martin Jr., and especially Premier Lumumba. Like the aforementioned, Premier Lumumba’s legacy is still felt today. Africa is only free in name, but hopefully, that will change. Soon.

Anypoops, I give Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat a fresh rose out of Quing Mirai’s private garden. Tell me what you think. Drop a like or comment.