the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 17, 2025
Film: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, director Johan Grimonprez, 2024. Free on Kanopy, available for $4.99 on Amazon and Apple+
Belgian film-maker Johan Grimonprez’s Oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat weaves together American jazz and the geopolitical machinations of the CIA and the military in the 1950s and 60s. Dozens of African nations threw off the yoke of colonial rule in this time period. The film reflects these events while focusing on the fight for national independence of the Congo, represented by Patrice Lumumba, and his subsequent assassination in 1961.
The film shows the excitement and hope in Africa, reflected in the Black and Asian population around the world. There are numerous film clips of Malcolm X and others, and footage of civil rights fights in the U.S. overlaid with the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, and others.