The Spook Who Sat By The Door (film) - Historical Context

Historical Context

The political atmosphere in the United States during the time of the book's publication was particularly contentious as civil rights, women’s rights, and gay rights movements became visible in the public sphere. It is not surprising that the filmmakers felt compelled to make a movie that addressed the presence of blacks in politics as well as portraying black unity and strength. Martin Luther King had been assassinated, as were other significant civil rights figures in the sixties. Tim Reid, whose company helped to release Spook on DVD, said to the Los Angeles Times in 2004: "When you look back at the times...Martin Luther King was assassinated, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy. Black people were really angry and frustrated; we were tired of seeing our leaders killed. What do we do? Do we have a revolution? There is nothing that comes close to this movie in terms of black radicalism." (Beale, 2004) Reid notes how Spook served as a reactionary piece in the way that it addressed the feelings of black people during the late sixties and early seventies. Soon after its release, with the facilitation of F.B.I. suppression, The Spook Who Sat By the Door was removed from theaters as a result of its politically controversial message. Prior to its release on DVD in 2004, it was a relatively difficult film to get. In a feature for NPR, Karen Bates reported that the director of the film, Ivan Dixon, admitted that United Artists would not show the film in a way that would allow its political message to come through when clips were viewed prior to the film’s public release. “Dixon says when United Artists screened the finished product and saw a Panavision version of political Armageddon, they were stunned” (NPR article, 2004). Perhaps it is a testament to the powerful message of the film that it was deemed potentially too influential, as if the film would encourage black people to militantly rebel against the white power structure.