Reimagining Black Liberation: My Brother’s Wedding and the Critique of Individualism and Capitalism

The critiques of Black excellence, individualism and capitalism in My Brothers’s Wedding are related to Black political ideologies in the sense that they both held a rebellious stance. In the film Pierce really wasn’t impressed or satisfied with the idea of black excellence. He really wanted to chart his own path because as a heavy machine operator he felt like his life was devalued when he learned that he was hauling explosives and other dangerous materials. I liked that he refused to walk to line and I saw a lot of myself in him. Black anarchism and Black radicalism are both rooted in the displeasure of the socio-economic conditions and violence against Black people. As I was watching this film I started to be reminded that in this world you’re either going to be a sheep or a wolf. If his friend Soldier’s energy could’ve been redirected towards our actual enemies instead of his own community then he would’ve been really effective in regard to making real change.  Pierce having to choose between his friends funeral and being his brothers best man was a really tough position to be put in and this movie was a great depiction of a lot of the different type of struggles that black people face in their communities. Black excellence came at the cost of losing your soul in this film and Pierce did a good job of making that known at the dinner table when both families met. Black excellence can also be viewed as an escape mechanism because as black folks we want to live in a world where everything is ok when the reality is that it’s really not.