"Strange Fruit"
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees"
These poignant words were written in the late 30's by liberal, Jewish, New York educator Abel Meeropol (under the name of Lewis Allan) as a song to protest one of the worst examples of human behavior - the lynch mob. In 1939, singer Billy Holiday recorded these words in what would become her signature piece until the end of her all-too-brief life.
Documentary filmmaker Joe Katz takes this one song and tells the stories of Meeropol's fascinating and little known life, the rise and fall of the Lady, Billy Holiday, and the protest movement that was created by the words to Meeropol's haunting song, Strange Fruit.
Using the recollections and reminiscences of first-hand participants in the anti-lynching movement from both the white liberal and black society of the 30's and beyond, Katz effectively fills this less than an hour long documentary with a wealth of information about a little-known, but powerful, song and the movement it spawned. The song was first performed by Meeropol's wife at a school function and came to the attention of black musicians, especially Billy Holiday, who brought it to national attention. Since then, the song has been performed many times and caused the lives of those involved to change, sometimes drastically, as in the case of folksinger Josh White, whose career was destroyed by the McCarthyism of the day for his performance of the protest song.
Talking heads interviews by protest folksinger Pete Seeger, Amina Baraka, Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson and Meeropol's sons, Michael and Robby, are effectively used to convey the meaning of the songwriter's words and the impact they had upon both white liberal and black society in America during those turbulent racial times. Katz also injects the political mood of the time with the Red Scare that whipped the country into a frenzy to find Commies everywhere. The accusatory tone and vivid, poetic words of black suffering that Strange Fruit evokes gives credence to the statement by Seeger - "There are no great movements that do not have great music" at their core.
"Strange Fruit," at about 57 minutes long, will fit an effective niche in the PBS world and should be mandatory viewing by all students old enough to understand the meaning and importance of the haunting song. I give it a B.
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Robin@reelingreviews.com Robin@reelingreviews.com
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