Steve McQueen's “Uprising” is Brilliant
Filmmakers have always used stories of the past to comment on the political realities of their present. Selma, BlacKKKlansman, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 are just a few recent films that have centered around historical protests and political tension, with their underlying message being “This is still happening today.” Just last year, 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen released Small Axe, an acclaimed anthology series of five films set in Britain’s West Indian community during the latter half of the 20th century. The films touch on issues of race, solidarity, and police corruption that naturally feel relevant now. Along with co-director James Rogan, McQueen has continued his exploration of this setting with Uprising, a three-part documentary series about the New Cross house fire of 1981 and its aftermath. The results are astounding.
The series’s central tragedy is a fire that broke out during a London house party that almost entirely consisted of young, Black Londoners. 13 youths were killed, all between the ages of 14 and 22. The exact cause of the fire remains a mystery, though a witness saw a white car driving away from the house when the fire began. This, coupled with a wave of racist violence and the high-visibility of fascist groups such as the National Front, led many to call the fire a racist attack. The police shied away from the firebombing theory, saying that the fire likely started because of an altercation within the house, though this theory was challenged by survivors of the fire. After the fire, the city’s Black community was further incensed by racist threats made to the families of survivors, the media’s relative disregard, and the racism of the police. This led to a massive march of outraged Black citizens through the streets of London, forever changing the political landscape of Britain.
Through interviews with survivors who are now middle-aged, the series offers a glimpse at life before the tragedy; we hear about young people who meet friends and fall in love, and discover new music. These anecdotes are among the most painful of the series. Interviewees smile and reflect on the good times, but their nostalgia is tainted by grief. Uprising’s three-hour-long episodes create a thorough portrait of the survivors and the loved ones they lost. Outside of one instance in the final episode, the filmmakers are never heard, meaning that the interviewees are shown telling their stories on their terms. In moments of silence, McQueen and Rogan often cut to tight close-ups of the faces of the survivors, offering an intimate glimpse at the sadness and longing in their eyes. This sensitive, patient approach is as arresting as it is emotionally devastating.
Unlike Spike Lee’s recent Epicenters documentary, which also examined tragedies of the past through a political lens, Uprising is free of explicit commentary. With laser-fine accuracy, McQueen and Rogan focus totally on the fire and the resulting unrest, never breaking the immersion. So while images of protestors clashing with riot police may feel too familiar in 2021, the series doesn’t stop to draw the connections between past and present, instead letting the audience organically realize the series’s relevancy. Uprising tells a very specific story, but it does so with such discipline and care that it ends up transcending its cultural context. Viewers who go in with no understanding of the New Cross fire or racial politics in Britain will walk away deeply invested in this narrative.
Sadly, despite glowing reviews and McQueen’s impeccable track record, Uprising will likely be underseen, at least in America. While it originally aired on the BBC, American audiences can find the series on Amazon Prime Video. In some ways, the decision to release Uprising and the five Small Axe films to Amazon has had its disadvantages. There has never been a quicker turnaround rate for entertainment, and even the biggest streaming releases feel like they’re consumed and forgotten within a week. Because they were released in relatively quick succession, the Small Axe films had the potential to feel daunting as installments in a series. The current streaming model rewards binge-consumption, and so none of the individual Small Axe films had the cultural impact of the more traditionally released 12 Years a Slave.
As a sobering documentary about heavy political issues, Uprising was never going to be the next watercooler series that dominates social media discourse. This doesn’t change the fact that it’s a significant, expertly crafted statement by supremely vital filmmakers. It’s difficult to assess the importance of a film or series during this supersaturated streaming age, but when the dust settles years down the line, Uprising will likely be seen as essential viewing.
