By Any Means is a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster with a huge advertising and PR machine behind it to drive up ticket sales. Additionally, the movie boasts a star-studded cast, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, and Mark Wahlberg.
By Any Means is described as a “civil rights era thriller” based on a true story. In 1960s Mississippi, a young Black FBI agent is forced to work alongside a notorious mafia hitman while investigating a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders.
More specifically, the agents in the movie are investigating the murder of Vernon Dahmer Sr., who died when the KKK firebombed his home for daring to encourage Black people to vote.
Actress, comic, writer, and media literacy expert Franchesca Ramsey gave her three reasons not to see By Any Means. The first being “white savior narratives are racist & tired.”
Tired white savior trope
And if you don’t know, here’s the official definition: “A white savior narrative is a cinematic and literary trope where a white character rescues people of color from oppression or hardship, thus centering the story on the white hero’s moral growth rather than the agency of the marginalized individuals.”
For example, the movie Cry Freedom, which starred Denzel “freaking” Washington as anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, focused almost exclusively on white journalist Donald Woods.
Other white savior movie examples include The Blind Side, The Help, Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, The Last Samurai, Amistad, Glory, Finding Forrester, and about 29.7 gazillion others.
Still, By Any Means takes the white savior trope to “a whole-notha-level.” It gets bonus “caucasity” points because the white “savior” is the lowest of the low. Usually, the white savior is a decent human being. But in By Any Means, this lowly, killer, racist is able to do what the most highly trained and intelligent Black man can’t. It’s like the cinematic version of MAGA’s most nonsensical belief—that the lowest white man is superior to the best Black person.
In the movie, Wahlberg’s character (Greg Scarpa) is supposed to be racist. But in real life, according to Scarpa’s family, he was a racist on racist steroids. In fact, when he was hospitalized and needed a blood transfusion, the real-life Scarpa reportedly told healthcare workers he’d rather die than have them put n-word blood in his body. So, Scarpa’s family exclusively donated blood. As the story goes, one of those family members had AIDS. And eventually, that’s how Scarpa died—from the white blood that he specifically requested. Do with that information what you will.
Adding insult to this, Ramsey says By Any Means’ Black FBI agent is 100% fictional. He’s a composite character—one character taking on the actions of multiple real-life people. That’s a common Hollywood screenwriter move. But Ramsey’s issue with Abdul-Mateen II’s character is that he only exists to “further this racist, white former mafioso’s narrative.” And in a cinematic “shout-out” to Driving Ms. Daisy (the movie that won Best Picture the year Do the Right Thing was far and away the best picture), Abdul-Mateen II’s character literally serves as the driver for Wahlberg’s character.
And in full transparency, I’m a big Yahya Abdul-Mateen II fan. He’s literally been the shining star in everything I’ve seen him in. From The Get Down to Watchmen to Candyman to Wonder Man (which deserved more than one season) to Man o Fire to his Black Mirror episode. He was even great in those horrible Aquaman movies. Wifey and I cheer hard for bruhman’s success. My wife cheers much, much harder, though.
My point: I always want Abdul-Mateen II to succeed. I want every project he touches to turn to gold. But not this one.
Dahmer reduced to a footnote – again
Though By Any Means centers on Dahmer’s murder investigation, the movie is all about Scarpa. Scarpa, by the way, according to records, killed so many people he stopped counting at 50. Yet, he was still hired by the FBI (and the U.S. Government by extension) with no problem.
Additionally, the movie’s driving narrative is for the white savior character to save the fake Black FBI agent’s career, life, and manhood by getting him to toughen up. Because, as history “proves,” Black men “need” racist white men to teach us how to toughen up, “man” up, grow up, “civilize” up, and “refine” up. Excuse me, I just “threw” up a little in my mouth.
As Ramsey says, there are hundreds of incredible stories about Blackfolk that deserve to be told, especially when the telling of our stories and histories has been criminalized by a whole-ass gangster racist regime in the White House, U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, and the majority of state legislatures and governors’ mansions.
Listen to Blackfolk
When I first saw the trailer, my Spidey Senses screamed “white savior BS.” Later, I got wind that Dahmer’s family asked moviegoers not to see the movie—Ramsey’s second reason for passing on By Any Means. And if we’ve learned anything from the Trump era, it’s to always “Listen to Blackfolk.”
Remember, every insane action taken by this current White House, every grift of billions, every theft of rights, every step deeper into authoritarianism, etc., Blackfolk called out on the front end. Before it happened.
Dahmer’s family is doing that now: Calling out a disrespectful movie that’s not worth your time or money.
Think about that. The family of a courageous Black man would rather you know nothing of this brother than for you to be introduced to him via this white nationalist fairy tale. Dahmer’s family has even taken to social media to implore people not to support By Any Means.
“There’s a movie coming out that the Dahmer family is in opposition to,” said his son, Dennis Dahmer. “Basically, what these movie people have done, they’ve taken one small, minor participant, and they’ve over-exaggerated his role, turned him into a hero. They created fictitious characters, like a Black FBI agent that didn’t exist.”
“Vernon Dahmer, my late husband, if he was alive today, he would not support this movie. He’s against everything it stands for,” said Dahmer’s widow, Ellie J. Dahmer. “Some of his last words were, ‘If you don’t vote, you don’t count.’”
Strike three
Rasmey’s third reason to skip this movie: Casting Mark Wahlberg as Scarpa. Apparently, Wahlberg has a number of racially-motivated hate crimes in his history, one of which resulted in an Asian man losing his eye.
Ramsey’s point: While Wahlberg had the privilege of getting these hate crimes expunged from his record, there are hundreds of thousands of Black and Brown teenagers who didn’t have that opportunity. And now those Black and Brown teens are old men, Uncs, and OGs behind bars, while Wahlberg gets to be an actor playing the racist that he “was” on the big screen, and earning millions.
Long story short, skip By Any Means by any means.
