Lady Flava News Review

*Green Book*

Green Book is* is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama directed by Peter Farrelly. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

While scrolling through my television, I happened upon Green Book. The subject immediately caught my attention: music and race.

Because racial issues still exist today, this subject is personal to me. I am Eurasian, my children are mixed with Black, and I worked with Black artists and entertainers for almost 20 years. I wanted to see where this story would take me—and whether it would truly draw me in.

And that it did.

Set in the 1960s, the movie follows Dr. Don Shirley, a highly educated and polished Black concert pianist, and Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, an Italian American from the Bronx who becomes his driver and protector during a concert tour through the segregated South.

These were two men from completely different races, cultures, lifestyles, mindsets and life experiences. Yet through time, persistence, discomfort and growing trust, they built a powerful bond.

A classically trained musician and a street-smart Bronx hustler came together and formed what would become an unbreakable friendship. Walls slowly came down as they allowed themselves to experience each other’s worlds. They challenged one another, protected one another and ultimately grew because of one another.

This story goes far beyond a musician and his driver.

They experienced racism, discrimination and segregation. They learned about acceptance, respect, loyalty, brotherhood, breaking barriers and having each other’s backs.

I cannot sing the praises of this movie enough. It was beautifully written and presented as one of the most meaningful human stories I have experienced in a long time.

When people allow themselves to let go of what they were raised to believe, move beyond their closed-minded understanding and genuinely get to know one another, they may discover that they actually like each other.

Imagine that.

Sometimes change begins when two people are placed in an uncomfortable situation and, in a sense, forced to sit in it together. They cannot escape their differences, so they must confront them. When they finally become open, fully present and willing to listen, minds can change—and lives can change too.

I thoroughly enjoyed Green Book for its story and for the meaning I took away from it on a deeply personal level. But when I learned afterward that it was based on a true story, my appreciation grew even more.

This was a powerful story for the time in which it took place, and it remains a meaningful lesson for the world we live in today.

Positive change can begin between two people from two different worlds who are willing to sit down, remain present and truly get to know one another.

I highly recommend meeting Dr. Don Shirley and Tony Lip through the captivating story of Green Book.

Lady Flava News Rating:

10 Flava Snaps!
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