It's becoming rare that a documentary actually presents an even handed account of its subject, and trying to do that with Rachel Dolezal is perhaps about as impossible as can be simply due to the number of levels her story touches on.
Most everyone, I assume, knows her as the woman who was born white, but called herself black and was the president of the Spokane NAACP. But why did she do that? If Rachel can be trusted, and really that is a big if, it's that her parents adopted some black children but she took it upon herself to teach them black culture. Along the way she found herself identifying more and more with what she saw as "black culture."
What I think this documentary does a particularly good job at is saying that there is no one thing that is set apart as "black culture", just as there really is no one thing that sets any other culture apart exclusively. What Rachel did was take elements of what she saw black culture as, maybe the ones that she liked the most, and claimed them as hers. For whatever reason though she didn't see that as being dishonest, even with the people she was trying so desperately to identify with telling her that it was.
One part of this documentary that really stuck out to me though was one of her critics saying that she is using her sons as her struggle. Rachel is a mother, and seemingly one who wants her children to do well, but she has come across as taking their difficulties on as her own. To me that reveals that ultimately she see it's really all about her. She either seems oblivious or indifferent to what her sons are going through because she refuses, or is incapable, of being honest with herself and with the world. She has made life more difficult for them and she doesn't really seem to care.
And yet, it's hard not to feel something for Rachel despite all that. Where I draw the line though is it doesn't justify anything she has done.
Most everyone, I assume, knows her as the woman who was born white, but called herself black and was the president of the Spokane NAACP. But why did she do that? If Rachel can be trusted, and really that is a big if, it's that her parents adopted some black children but she took it upon herself to teach them black culture. Along the way she found herself identifying more and more with what she saw as "black culture."
What I think this documentary does a particularly good job at is saying that there is no one thing that is set apart as "black culture", just as there really is no one thing that sets any other culture apart exclusively. What Rachel did was take elements of what she saw black culture as, maybe the ones that she liked the most, and claimed them as hers. For whatever reason though she didn't see that as being dishonest, even with the people she was trying so desperately to identify with telling her that it was.
One part of this documentary that really stuck out to me though was one of her critics saying that she is using her sons as her struggle. Rachel is a mother, and seemingly one who wants her children to do well, but she has come across as taking their difficulties on as her own. To me that reveals that ultimately she see it's really all about her. She either seems oblivious or indifferent to what her sons are going through because she refuses, or is incapable, of being honest with herself and with the world. She has made life more difficult for them and she doesn't really seem to care.
And yet, it's hard not to feel something for Rachel despite all that. Where I draw the line though is it doesn't justify anything she has done.