January 19, 2024
FILM: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT
DIRECTED BY: JOE BREWSTER, MICHELE STEPHENSON
STARRING: NIKKI GIOVANNI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Making the Oscar shortlist of 15 for this year’s Best Documentary Feature, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is an in-depth portrait of one of the most world re-known Black female poets in the world. It’s one of those films that will open viewers’ eyes up to someone who has clearly had a big impact on the culture even if they are not familiar with her work.
What is so enjoyable about this film is getting to spend time with her during various points in her life. Most of the film features recent interviews as well as many of the stage performances she has done where she lectures and reads her poetry. Black history fans will also be fascinated by the many television appearances she has had going back fifty plus years. One of the most interesting is a conversation she had with the famed writer James Baldwin as they each try to interpret each other’s various perspectives.
Giovanni admits at the beginning that she doesn’t remember everything about her life and what she doesn’t she makes up. That’s not to say that the film is filled with questionable facts for she is a thinker and a communicator of ideas rather than an historian, which might mean more than the ladder. The film is filled with plenty of historical footage though, from family photos and home movies to archival footage from the south and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Giovanni refers to herself as a “personal poet” trying to create a revolution for Black people. Judging by the many people that attend her stage readings and performances she has clearly made an impact. The “project” of the title is her attempt to create a connection between what she believes are our eventual trips to Mars and the experiences of Black women, whom she thinks should be the first to go since they’ve historically had enough experiences traveling to foreign lands. She says space travel is in their blood. It’s an interesting concept, perhaps slightly underdeveloped here, but intriguing nonetheless.
While watching the film I found myself quietly relaxed, if almost too relaxed, as Giovanni tells stories of her upbringing, her relationship with her family and church. There is something very calm and relatable about her that makes audiences want to be in her presence like a sweet and extremely intelligent and philosophical member of the family. I personally plan to read more of her work after watching this film and would love the opportunity to hear her live. I may not be her fully intended audience but her words and life are inspiring.
This is a valuable film that, as a supplement to her poetry, will allow Nikki Giovanni to live on well after she is gone.
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is currently streaming on HBO Max.
FILM: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT
DIRECTED BY: JOE BREWSTER, MICHELE STEPHENSON
STARRING: NIKKI GIOVANNI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Making the Oscar shortlist of 15 for this year’s Best Documentary Feature, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is an in-depth portrait of one of the most world re-known Black female poets in the world. It’s one of those films that will open viewers’ eyes up to someone who has clearly had a big impact on the culture even if they are not familiar with her work.
What is so enjoyable about this film is getting to spend time with her during various points in her life. Most of the film features recent interviews as well as many of the stage performances she has done where she lectures and reads her poetry. Black history fans will also be fascinated by the many television appearances she has had going back fifty plus years. One of the most interesting is a conversation she had with the famed writer James Baldwin as they each try to interpret each other’s various perspectives.
Giovanni admits at the beginning that she doesn’t remember everything about her life and what she doesn’t she makes up. That’s not to say that the film is filled with questionable facts for she is a thinker and a communicator of ideas rather than an historian, which might mean more than the ladder. The film is filled with plenty of historical footage though, from family photos and home movies to archival footage from the south and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Giovanni refers to herself as a “personal poet” trying to create a revolution for Black people. Judging by the many people that attend her stage readings and performances she has clearly made an impact. The “project” of the title is her attempt to create a connection between what she believes are our eventual trips to Mars and the experiences of Black women, whom she thinks should be the first to go since they’ve historically had enough experiences traveling to foreign lands. She says space travel is in their blood. It’s an interesting concept, perhaps slightly underdeveloped here, but intriguing nonetheless.
While watching the film I found myself quietly relaxed, if almost too relaxed, as Giovanni tells stories of her upbringing, her relationship with her family and church. There is something very calm and relatable about her that makes audiences want to be in her presence like a sweet and extremely intelligent and philosophical member of the family. I personally plan to read more of her work after watching this film and would love the opportunity to hear her live. I may not be her fully intended audience but her words and life are inspiring.
This is a valuable film that, as a supplement to her poetry, will allow Nikki Giovanni to live on well after she is gone.
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is currently streaming on HBO Max.