The film opening up with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr brings the viewer automatically into the pain that was felt during this time. The helplessness that was brought on by his assassination that lead to a much deeper need for black people to protect themselves from the white man and the policed who were out to get them. The pain that Tank health throughout the whole film was evident as he went through the stages of grief starting in the beginning when he was kicked out of the militia. The fact that Tank was so willing to not only turn in Johnny but also to place the blame on Clarence just shows how truly lost and broken he is. What is truly heartbreaking is the amount of people in the film who see the good in tank and cannot imagine being betrayed by him so much so that they would defend him to the point of lying for him to protect him from the the reality of what he had done. The stages of grief are felt throughout the film by many characters, they are all beyond what they can handle. Although Tank escapes death towards the of the film he is forced to live with his choices and his grief and his hatred for not only himself but what he did which may be an even greater punishment. One that he could not handle which is why he chose to end his life on his own terms, with the help of those who wanted him dead.
Review of Uptight
