If Beale Street Could Talk
Film Discussion

Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, with a generous grant from the
Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and sponsorship of
Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, presents a Zoom discussion of the
film If Beale Street Could Talk, the 2017 academy award winner
directed by Barry Jenkins and based on James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of
the same name on February 23 at 7 PM.

Jenkins brought a longstanding dream of his to life, to adapt Baldwin’s
emotionally potent story to the big screen. The story of a young black
couple’s (Tish and Fonny) romantic dreams come crashing down
against the powerful reality of white society. As Baldwin does, Jenkins
reveals the harsh social truths. The theme of racial bias is as relevant
now as it was in 1974. However, Jenkins did not create a message film,
but one about love and family that also conveys a message.

Tish and Fonny have been friends their whole lives. They become
romantically involved when they get older. It’s the 1970s and they struggle to find an apartment, as most New
York landlords would not rent to black people. Eventually, they find a place in a warehouse being converted to
loft apartments. Levy, the Jewish landlord, rents it to them at a good rate because he enjoys seeing couples who
are in love, regardless of race. That night, Tish is harassed by a man while in a mostly white grocery store. He
begins to assault her, so Fonny physically throws him out of the store. A white policeman nearby, Officer Bell,
attempts to arrest Fonny for it, but reluctantly lets him go when the Jewish woman who runs the grocery store
vouches for him and chastises Bell for his racism.

Fonny, who had been threatened by the white policeman, is subsequently arrested for raping a white woman
although he was nowhere near the attack. Historically, the accusations resonate with more than a century of
such wrongful charges against black men. With Fonny taken to jail, Tish confides that she is pregnant, the last
thing any of them needs under the circumstances. Tish’s mother, father, and older sister are steadfast in their
support. Her mother gathers the family for a toast. While not denying the difficulties her daughter will face, she
exhibits quiet strength and compassion, embracing the new life to come.

“If Beale Street Could Talk is a tough but tender saga,” says Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of Saratoga Jewish
Community Arts, “brawny as it is sensuous, interweaving stark social‐realist themes of prejudice and oppression
with the aura of love and loss.” The Zoom discussion will be on February 23 at 7 PM. Registration is required at
sjca.sjcf@gmail.com