Green Book Movie

What Green Book Taught Me About Friendship and Racism

I just watched Green Book, and honestly, it hit me way harder than I expected. I'm not usually one for feel-good movies about race relations, but this one actually made me think about stuff I hadn't considered before.

The Odd Chemistry That Actually Worked

What I loved most was watching Tony and Dr. Shirley figure each other out. These two guys couldn't be more different - Tony's this rough-around-the-edges driver from the Bronx, and Dr. Shirley is this super sophisticated classical pianist. But somehow they work.

The scenes where Dr. Shirley tries to teach Tony how to eat properly had me cracking up. Here's this worldly musician trying to civilize this guy who probably thinks fancy dining means using a napkin. But then Tony teaches Dr. Shirley about real life, too - like how to write a decent love letter to his wife.

It made me realize how much we can learn from people who are nothing like us. These guys started off barely tolerating each other, but by the end, they're actually friends. Real friends.

The Stuff That Made Me Uncomfortable

But the movie didn't let me just laugh and feel good. There were scenes that really messed with me.

The worst one was when Dr. Shirley finishes performing for this fancy dinner party, and they won't let him eat in the same dining room or even use their bathroom. Think about that - he's good enough to entertain them, but not good enough to be treated like a human being.

Then there's the scene where they get arrested just for being together after dark. Like, literally just sitting in a car talking. That's all they were doing, and suddenly they're criminals.

The bar scene where Dr. Shirley gets attacked really got to me too. Here's this incredibly talented, famous guy, and none of that matters because of his skin color. He's still in danger just for existing in the wrong place.

What This Means to Me

Look, I know some people said this movie was too simple about racism, and maybe they're right. Real life is messier than a feel-good road trip movie. But here's what I took from it:

Sometimes change happens in small ways. Tony wasn't going to become a civil rights activist or anything, but he learned to see Dr. Shirley as a person instead of just a Black guy. And Dr. Shirley learned that not all white people are the same either.

That doesn't fix everything, obviously. But it's something.

Why I'm Glad I Watched It 

The movie reminded me that friendship can happen in the weirdest places. These two guys had every reason to hate each other - different backgrounds, different values, different everything. But they chose to actually listen to each other instead.

I'm not saying watching a movie about the 1960s solves racism or anything like that. But it did make me think about how I treat people who are different from me. Do I actually try to understand them, or do I just write them off?

Green Book isn't perfect, and it definitely doesn't tell the whole story about race in America. But it tells one story pretty well - about how two people can surprise each other if they actually give it a shot.

And honestly, we could probably use more of that these days.

Disclaimer: Claude AI was used to format & put together notes from the movie Green Book.