The Rachel Divide (2018)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It was interesting to see the back story of someone who would go this far to disassociate themselves from reality. But in a way you can see that she's not fallen as far from the tree as she imagines, the white savior like her parents, adopting black children, just in a different way, fueled by religious fervor of a moral crusade. Her artistic skill is surprisingly good, its a shame she wasted it to become part of the diversity and grievance industry. But that's the thing this film reveals, she can barely fix her own life let alone anyone elses, a single mother, divorced, saddled with many children, while divorced has another child against the fathers wishes while she has no job. Is she trying to live an ugly stereotype and bring it to life? The doc does fail to really delve deeper into what she got herself into, the vast infrastructure of the diversity industry. How this nobody became a NAACP branch president, where did they get their money, how was she teaching courses in colleges? The vast flows of money to create these human networks of diversity propagandists is something a netflix doc is never going to deal with, and that's too bad, because it destroys lives, not just Rachels, but those it indoctrinates with the poison of a history and identity of grievance. She might have been a decent artist, maybe even a history teacher, if she had not tried to be what she was not and had spent her time on herself rather than trying to be the white savior. When she joined the game of identity politics she learned the lesson that the content of her character meant nothing. That is the lesson of her life, and this film.

The concept interested me because I had heard much indirect explanation of this woman's claims of blackness but had never spent any time researching the real story. This documentary tells the real story, which I had heard in its entirety through all the second-hand reports: a white woman spent a large portion of her life pretending to be black, to the point of convincing herself that a choice to be so would make her actually so, and through her pretense actually rose to a position of social importance among civil rights groups. She does much complaining on camera about how much of a joke everyone treats her as, but even those who love her (friends and family) repeatedly iterate in veiled terms that it's all just an awkward ruse no one is benefiting from. I was especially interested in the story because of a (former) friend of mine from college who had pulled the same stunt, dressing like, acting like, and even going so far as claiming black heritage. The documentary showed me the same socially confused and insecure fraud as I had already seen in my one time friend. I can accept embracing a culture that isn't your own because its lifestyle and symbology appeal to your needs and tastes, and I personally find the entire concept of "cultural appropriation" to be an absurd hoax grounded in a fundamental misunderstanding of how culture works, but the idea of "bi-riacial" identity not only works as a laughably poor excuse for this woman's obvious black-faced life, but it belies the reality of why racism is scientifically, and more importantly morally, false.

I had very mixed views about this documentary. Although I enjoyed it I don't know if I can have an opinion on Rachel's story. There's no denying she's had a tough childhood along with her life so far and she clearly struggles with her identity. I understand how it can be such a raw subject for people but I don't agree that this is the epitome of white privalage. We live in a much more fluid society nowadays where gender and sexuality are interchangeable. If Rachel believed she identifies more with a different race then I don't see what harm that does to another? What I do see a problem with is trying to identify with struggles of the black community without experiencing them firsthand. In the documentary a girl challenges Rachel and says she doesn't deserve to call herself a black woman because she hasn't faced the struggles a black woman has faced growing up in our society. From the documentary Rachel appears to be cast out by more than one community, job, institution and is constantly explaining her self to multiple outlets, cultures etc. for her ethnicity. But then again this is through her own actions...?I understand why it's stuck a nerve and upset so many people. Admittedly, I didn't know an awful lot about this only bits and bobs from the news. I did feel for Rachel, I really did. That was until she changed her name...

Good documentary. If the subject matter is of interest, you wont be disappointed. But I don't get all the criticism. The biggest hypocrites seem to be the outraged liberals. who chant transsexual good...transracial bad.