Spike Lee has delivered a one-man-show spoken word documentary on Rodney King to Netflix.
Rodney King features actor and long-time Lee collaborator Roger Guenveur-Smith giving an intense spoken word performance on the events leading up to the LAPD’s vicious attack on King as well as it’s aftermath. To put it context, 25 years ago King preceded Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in being unarmed and attacked by police, on video. The only difference is that he actually lived to talk about it.
Guenveur-Smith sums it up by declaring King as “America’s first reality TV star.”
This isn’t the first time the duo has produced work like this. Back in 1996 Guenveur-Smith produced and starred in a one-man theater performance about the life of Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton. Lee would later film and release the performance in 2001.
Check out the trailer for Rodney King below.
