My mom loves Will Smith and will watch any movie that he is in. I am a sports atheist with zero interest in football, which is why I wanted to see Concussion. Ever since watching Friday Night Lights, the movie and the tv series, I pinpointed why I have a visceral revulsion of sports. Football in particular has created a syncretistic form of Christianity that still adheres to human, blood and bone,sacrifice. After I read the New Yorker review of Concussion, which basically is aligned with my theory, I knew that I would love Concussion.
Concussion is about Dr. Omalu, a devout Christian Nigerian immigrant pathologist who is randomly assigned the autopsy of a famous football player. The pathologist’s faith influences the way that he works. He has an innate respect for each person who lies on his examination table and treats that person as more than just another dead body, but an untold story that must not be silenced or covered up. His approach leads to his discovery-that the NFL covered up the connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can lead to mental disabilities and death. The doctor is persecuted and not rewarded for his discovery, but he refuses to back down until the truth can no longer be suppressed.
Concussion is part of a proud Hollywood genre-the biographical whistleblower or outsider who uncovers corruption that harmed human lives: Erin Brockovich, The Insider, etc. Concussion’s twist is that it feels like a Christian film production with its faith-infused themes of proclaiming the truth in the face of persecution. Concussion depicts Dr. Omalu as a doctor with a special mission from God. He has a particular talent of discernment. “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me (God) from the ground!”-Genesis 4:10 Dr. Omalu is empowered to tell the truth because he understands that the human body “is fearfully and wonderfully made” to do some things, but not others. Even if his proclamation of the gospel through nature, i.e. biology, leads to persecution, to deny that truth is to deny players’ dignity and further victimize them. “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you,” John 15:20. Dr. Omalu is like Esther. His work assignment is not random, but God explicitly chose Dr. Omalu to speak up for those forgotten and killed. “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”-Esther 4:14. I was surprisingly moved by this aspect of the story even though I knew about this approach before watching the film.
In addition, Concussion compares and contrasts the reality versus the illusion of the American dream as seen by immigrants. I’m not a fan of America’s latest trope: the American black person as the only one who explicitly voices his or her prejudice to the main character whereas the rest of Americans are implicitly prejudiced or later exonerated from seeming prejudiced. In Hello, My Name is Doris, the black female runner derides the older women walking on the track. In Fresh Off the Boat, the black kid is the one who uses an ethnic slur. In Concussion, Dr. Omalu faces disapproval, but the source of this disapproval is unclear: his eccentric work style, his insubordination, his indictment of a beloved game, etc. Dave Duerson, a black football player, tells Dr. Omalu to go back to Africa.
In films that implicitly deal with a main character’s navigation of society’s suspected prejudice, the American black character, not the American white character, is usually given the explicit verbalization of whatever implicit prejudice exists in the story. Unless it is a period historical piece, the American white character will not be explicitly prejudiced, only implicitly, but usually there is no problem at all-everyone is superficially friendly and jocular.
Entertainment exonerates the majority, frees itself from any personal responsibility and guilt and claims that it does not have a problem with immigrants, older people, etc. Entertainment gives that burden and negative attribute to the other, which is just another form of prejudice placed on black people. Obviously American black people can be prejudiced and that should be depicted when it happens, but even if it does happen, it does not erase the fact that negative societal factors cannot exist if only a minor portion of the population holds those views.
If Bernie does not win, black people (in the interest of full disclosure, I voted for Bernie, but these memes are popular online). If marriage equality laws get challenged, specifically in California, black people. Forget that black people are a minority. While every vote matters, their vote alone does not determine the fate of broader progressive policies. Liberal media uses black people as the scapegoat for broader feelings across all demographics in society, including their own, thus escaping any need for self-reflection, repentance and change. Liberal media can pat itself on the back for not being like those ignorant others and pretend like they are not just as prejudiced as the scapegoat.
Concussion is a solid movie that adheres to the Hollywood whistleblower genre and the Christian film theme of perseverance in the face of persecution. My mom suggests that the reason that Concussion did not get more Oscar noms is because it indicts football, not race. I’m inclined to agree. Even Jesus can’t trump football in the US. (That accent though.)