Review of Pride (2007) by Thebrownhornet J — 03 Sep 2007

This movie was in and out of the theaters in a flash. I remember seeing a trailer on TV once and saw that it was about black people swimming. I thought, "Hmmm, that's interesting." It's strange to imagine us on a swim team, but when I think about it, I don't know why. After all, we sure can run like the dickens, which I feel is a direct result of escaping during slavery. We had to swim across rivers to get away as well, so swimming should come naturally. I say this without the least bit of sarcasm. Just as running is in our blood, swimming is as well.

Anyway, this movie is about a black man who gets a job at a local rec center in the ghetto back in the 70s, and proceeds to form a swim team using the local kids, even though the rec center is supposed to be torn down in a few months. Bernie Mac is in this film, and he is funny as hell, as usual. This is a true story of how this 'unlikely' group is able to become national champions. It is a triumphant victory, but I don't think I'll be watching it again. The pain of the racism they encountered hurt too much. One thing about being black is that racism, no matter how long you deal with it, is still painful. You bury this pain deep inside and do what you have to do, however you never forget the sting. And the world never allows you to.