White Man's Burden or Johnny T is way gangsta'!

One of America's biggest shames in history is our history of slavery, there have been many movies, books and television shows on this issue, but what if we took a new look at it? Take an America where the white man was the one with a history of being a slave. 200 years later it is the white man who is living in the ghettos and the black man has the power and holds power in the affluent classes. John Travolta plays Louis Pinnock who in one day is mistaken as a voyeur by powerful CEO Thaddeus Thomas. The same day sees Louis beaten by black cops and evicted from his home. In return he kidnaps Thaddeus, demanding payback and justice, and along the way the two begin to know each deeper than just the stereotypes of what the one thinks of the other.

This movie was released in 1995, this was a year that gave us the Million Man March, the death of Jerry Garcia, the beginning of O.J.'s trial, and the first cloned sheep "Megan" and "Morag". Written and directed by Desmond Nakano, also known for "American Me" and "The Last Exit to Brooklyn". This was the first time I have seen this since '95 when it came out., and I will have to say it actually holds up fairly well. Taking a type of story that we have seen over and over in movies and T.V., however it takes a slight step to the left and flips the roles on their ears. Travolta and Bellafonte give fairly decent performances, and the storyline is actually entertaining. This is one that I would suggest taking some time to sit down and watch, but honestly this is one that if you don't see it you won't miss a whole lot. This one just never got off the ground, and despite the big stars was flop in the box office.



White Man's Burden
Directed by: Desmond Nakano
Written by: Desmond Nakano
Starring: John Travolta, Harry Bellafonte, Kelly Lynch
Rating: R
Runtime :89 minutes