The Film Miss Juneteenth - Packs Emotional Bite and Racial Insights

Channing Godfrey Peoples is an American filmmaker making an impressive debut with "Miss Juneteenth."  The film made in 2019; a dividing line from 2020, the corona virus & social unrest that is prescient & weighing in on all our lives.  This film's an intimate look into the lives of African Americans in a small TX town struggling to make ends meet while still aspiring for the "American Dream."  The film focuses on Turquoise (Nicole Beharie) a beautiful young mother and former "Miss Juneteenth."  Turquoise works two jobs; working as a waitress at a local bar & doing makeup at a funeral home.  Her beloved boss at the local joint has a photo of Turquoise as Miss Juneteenth.  He tells her "there is no American dream."  Nonetheless, Turquoise's dream is to have her daughter be crowned and receive a full scholarship to any black university.  Turquoise's aspirations were lost in transformation into early motherhood & a dysfunctional marriage with a handsome, undependable man.  A formulaic plot of unflappable mom who will stop at nothing to provide her daughter loving discipline and a promising future has its predictable scenarios.  Still, the love between Turquoise & Kei makes this a phenomenal film to watch.  Kei wanting to please her mom & still be her own person is matched against Turquoise's relentless efforts & hopes for daughter.  We see two remarkable women.  Turquoise has Kei recite the same Maya Angelou poem "Phenomenal Woman" she performed when she was crowned.  Kei's reluctance to enter the contest is overridden with the desire to show her mother her love for her.  In doing so, Kei finds her own inner fortitude.  Both mother & daughter are phenomenal women living life "not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, some style." (M Angelou).  The film with its stereotyped characterizations offers something special and unique worth grasping.