LOOP OF DOOM
‘Obituary’ grim lesson in threats vs. Blacks
A new time-loop movie aims to dramatize how systemic racism relentlessly repeats itself.
“The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” centers on a Black teen who continues to relive the day he’s killed by police — one that ends exactly the same way no matter how it plays out.
“The nature of police violence against Black bodies is that it does not matter what choices you make,” scriptwriter Stanley Kalu told the Daily News.
“You can avoid being pulled over and be at the beach and still have it happen,” Kalu continued. “You can go to the gas station and not drive and be with a white person and it can still happen. It’s really the inherent futility when it comes down to what is occurring because the issue is the color of your skin. It is the fact that you are Black that makes you a target.”
Nigeria-born Kalu says he experienced systemic racism for the first time after he moved from Africa to the U.S. more than five years ago. He envisioned “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” as he witnessed the U.S. news cycle and saw “people that look like me die every day.”
Out Friday in theaters and in video on demand, the film stars Steven Silver as Tunde, a personable high school student who is driving to his boyfriend’s birthday party the first time he gets stopped by police.
“I haven’t seen a lot of movies that deal with racism present a clear demonstration of how the structure works, and not just racism but all types of oppression, including homophobia,” Silver told The News.
“I felt like this movie really showed how those structures worked and gave us a visual tool. ... I felt like that would be helpful to put into the world so that people can have it to reference if they’re trying to feel heard or trying to show someone what they go through or what they mean by structural oppression.”
Silver, who plays Marcus Cole on “13 Reasons Why,” was drawn to “Obituary” because the movie “speaks to the times that we’re living in.” But he also feels the film’s messages are timeless.
“It seems like each generation is caught in a loop,” said Silver, 32. “During these past 10 years, where there’s been a lot of violence and a lot of Black deaths, I would see videos on social media and on YouTube of civil rights leaders speaking in the ’50s and ’60s, and some of the things they were saying were identical to what’s being said today. It seems like as a species, we’re trapped in this cycle of this happening over and over again. I think that’s the power of the time loop, that it’s a direct representation.”
Kalu was a student at the University of Southern California when his script for the movie won “THE LAUNCH: Million Dollar Screenplay Competition” in 2018.
With the release of “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” now on the horizon, Kalu hopes the film helps viewers acknowledge their own biases and understand the challenges faced by the Black community.
“It allows the audience into an experience of a human being,” Kalu said. “Oftentimes when we see the news cycle and witness the cyclical nature of police brutality we often don’t get a chance to view a life and understand when one of these people are slain that it’s not just a loss of a single person, but it’s cutting off generations. It’s leaving gaps within families. It’s leaving gaps within friendships.”