Regarding the film, If Beale Street Could Talk which was based on James Baldwin’s novel, Answer the following questions.
1. Baldwin wrote this story about a period in the 1970’s, have things changed 46 years later? What things have changed? What things have stayed the same?
2. Do you think Baldwin understates the struggles of his characters? Does he use this technique of underplaying the situation to humanize them? How sensitive is he to the female victims/characters?
3. Would you feel powerless if you were in the same situation? How likely are those events and occurrences depicted in the book likely to happen today?
4. What are your thoughts about Daniel’s story/interaction with the legal/justice system? He pleads guilty to a crime he did not commit because he is scared and coerced by the police and the court appointed lawyer. We hear stories like this all the time, what can we do to change this sort of systemic problem? Would things have been different for Daniel had he had family and friends to rely on during his crisis?
