With Drawn Arms

Visual artist Glenn Kaino has always admired the image of 200m champ Tommie Smith's raised gloved fist during the 1968 Olympics medal presentation. A friend connects him to Tommie and they go on a journey to connect the past with the present-day atmosphere.

I don't really care about Kaino's art. I appreciate the accolades and the connection to present-day protest. The film leans heavily on Colin Kaepernick and the other protests of today. It can be repetitive and I wouldn't mind having less of it especially towards the end. What I really like is the blow-by-blow account of the actual event. I did not know that they were wearing socks without shoes. I didn't know about the booing, or Brent Musburger. I wasn't alive then. I certainly expected some blow back from the political class and maybe a vocal minority. This makes it sound like a tidal wave and I did not expect that.

I wasn't expecting anything about Peter Norman, but I was hoping more about John Carlos. I need to know how they planned the protest. Was there anything planned before the race? What happened with the three winners after the race? As the three men waited for the presentation, I want to know what they talked about. This is missing all that. It's missing Carlos. It's a documentary with some limitations and a need for an artsy bent.