RaMell Ross’s Nickel Boys (2024) is based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about two African-American boys sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. Shot entirely from first-person perspective, the film explores institutional trauma, systemic racism, friendship, resilience, and the long-term psychological effects of childhood abuse. The story is inspired by the real Dozier School for Boys, where extensive abuse occurred for over a century.
The film vividly portrays the brutality and dehumanization experienced by Black boys at Nickel Academy, a fictional institution inspired by real-life abuses in reform schools in the Jim Crow South. This experience reflects a pervasive and ongoing racial trauma that continues to impact individuals and communities. Examining the psychological toll on the main characters can help in understanding how systemic racism inflicts lasting wounds on the psyche, impacting development, interpersonal relationships, and a sense of self and belonging.
The narrative also highlights contrasting approaches to surviving and resisting oppression. Analyzing their individual and combined journeys helps recognize the diverse ways individuals navigate trauma and maintain self-worth amidst systemic injustice.
Finally, the Nickel Academy operates as a microcosm of larger societal structures, revealing how power can be wielded to perpetuate racial hierarchies and maintain secrecy around abuse. Examining these power dynamics sheds light on the interplay between individual experiences and the broader societal forces that shape them.
Discussants:
Debra J. Myers, MD is a graduate of Harvard Medical School. She has a private practice in psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in West Los Angeles, serving adults and adolescents. She was a biology major at Stanford University and did a residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford Medical Center. Her training in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine was at UCSF. While on the faculty at Wayne State University School of Medicine, she earned an MS in Biostatistics and Clinical Research Design at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She trained in Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. There she combined medical training with her humanistic interests and lifelong interest in the human mind. During her psychoanalytic training, she spent five years as a volunteer telephone counselor at the Didi Hirsch Suicide Crisis Line. She spent two years as an intern therapist at the Valley Community Clinic, a facility serving the underserved.
Chauncey K. Robinson is an award-winning journalist and film critic. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, she has a strong love for storytelling and history. She believes narrative greatly influences the way we see the world, which is why she’s all about dissecting and analyzing stories and culture to help inform and empower the people.
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