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The other day I watched a movie
called ‘Green Book’. I previously had no idea what this movie was about or what
to expect from it. Being brought up in London in the 40s and onwards I was ignorant
about racial prejudice and its effect on people. I should rephrase that. I knew
about religious prejudice of course, as my mother had strong opinions about
certain religions and I could never really understand this, and still do not. I
had no idea how her opinions were formed or why. It was just something I never
questioned. Ideally, we all want to live in a world where all races and colours
get on with each other and find a way to live peaceably together, but it seems
inevitable that this wish may never come to pass.
The movie is set in the 60s and concentrates
on a journey taken by Don Shirley, a musical genius I have to admit I had never
heard about. An extremely talented Jamaican-American, he was set on touring the
Deep South in the pre-Civil Rights era. The Green Book in the title of the movie
contained information on the places a black traveller could safely stay or dine
while touring that part of the country. Thank goodness, times have changed. The
sound track contains many tunes that were popular in that era, and added a
great atmospheric background to the film. Details on the soundtrack can be
found here:
The driver/protector he hired was a
nightclub bouncer called by all Tony Lip, and the differences between the two
men is stark. They became unlikely friends by the end of the movie. Tony’s
wife, Delores, was a delightful woman who loved her man despite his brash and
often crude manner. For me one of the standout parts of the movie were the love
letters Tony sent back to Delores, which Don coached him on how to write.
The main reason this story
resonated with me is that in my latest release, Challenging Mountains, I dwell
briefly on the struggle our Indigenous Australian people suffered in the early
days when settlers took over the land they had nurtured and called their own
for centuries. When Tim sets out to travel across the land from Sydney to the
new settlement down south that would become Melbourne, Jo, a headstrong young
woman intent on finding adventure, joins him. She brings along a companion who
was taken from his family as a child and sees this journey as a chance to catch
up with members of his lost tribe. But after years of living amongst white
folk, he finds he has lost his true identity and belongs totally with neither
the black or the white.
A short clip from the book:
The native lad sat alone, his back
against a solid eucalyptus, so Tim went to his side. Along the way, the boy had
barely spoken more than a few words. What words he did utter could not be
criticised, for he sounded as if he too had shared in Jo’s lessons and was as
well-spoken as some men Tim knew who had attended King’s School alongside him.
“Tell me, Billy…” Tim said as he sat beside him. “Do you have a notion of where
you might find members of your lost kinsfolk?”
Billy shook his dark head. His hair
was as black as the night sky and as curly as a sheep fleece. “No sir, I was
told my people came from down south.” He rubbed his chin as he shrugged. “A lot
of my kind have been killed, so perhaps I may never find my close kin.”
“That’s sad.” Tim meant that sincerely.
He could not comprehend a life without knowing his family, or where he came
from.
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