"In an Oscar season not wanting for controversy, Green Book made headlines as one of the most divisive Best Picture nominees. It’s a feel-good film about healing the wounds of racism that’s seen not one, but two racism controversies—first when star Viggo Mortensen dropped the n-bomb during a Q&A, and then when co-writer Nick Vallelonga’s Islamophoic tweet surfaced. These controversies are symptomatic of the film itself, a based-on-a-true-story white savior road trip movie that uses fried chicken as its leitmotif. While Mortensen and his co-star Mahershala Ali both turn in fantastic performances, casting is pretty much the only thing the film gets right. In its handling of everything from the biography of one of the men at the heart of the film to the very nature of American racism, Green Book stumbles. ... But the film’s first sin is right in its name. It takes its title from the Negro Travelers' Green Book, and yet gives this important piece of American history little screen time or analysis. The Green Book was an annual guide published by Victor Hugo Green and his family between 1936 and 1966, and listed hotels, gas stations, and restaurants around the nation that would be hospitable to black visitors. ..."
Esquire: The Problems With Green Book Start With Its Title, and Don't Stop Coming (Video)
Vanity Fair: The Truth About Green Book
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YouTube: Green Book - Official Trailer, Green Book: History vs. Hollywood
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NYPL: Green Book
YouTube: The real story of the Green Book
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