Something the Lord Made is a fantastic flick about a white head of medical surgery and his black lab assistant who found the cure for "blue babies" among other things.Starring Alan Rickman, as Dr. Blalock, who we've loved since Sense and Sensibility 
(which is oft quoted 'round here) and Mos Def, who starred as Vivian Thomas, delivering an excellent performance as the brilliant right hand (literally) man to Blalock. The film is very well done and tackles prejudice in both the medical community (the heart is off limits) and in 
the wider cultural community (blacks are lesser citizens). The director captures the feel of being closed in by arbitrary ceilings depending on what color you are, the devastation of bank failure and watching someone else get kudos when you've done a huge chunk of the job. In other words, unfairness is a prevalent theme. The cool thing is that this story doesn't camp there. It's not about victimization, though it easily could have become so. It's about calling, pursuing your passion regardless of obstacles and being involved in something bigger than yourself. The super cool thing is that, in the end, justice is served up sweet, making this one of the best, true account stories I've seen.
This film would make an excellent addition to a study on race relations, the history of medicine and character.
(which is oft quoted 'round here) and Mos Def, who starred as Vivian Thomas, delivering an excellent performance as the brilliant right hand (literally) man to Blalock. The film is very well done and tackles prejudice in both the medical community (the heart is off limits) and in the wider cultural community (blacks are lesser citizens). The director captures the feel of being closed in by arbitrary ceilings depending on what color you are, the devastation of bank failure and watching someone else get kudos when you've done a huge chunk of the job. In other words, unfairness is a prevalent theme. The cool thing is that this story doesn't camp there. It's not about victimization, though it easily could have become so. It's about calling, pursuing your passion regardless of obstacles and being involved in something bigger than yourself. The super cool thing is that, in the end, justice is served up sweet, making this one of the best, true account stories I've seen. This film would make an excellent addition to a study on race relations, the history of medicine and character.
1 comment:
This sounds very interesting! Thanks so much for sharing a bit about it. I'm going to see if our library (or netflix) has it.
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