During the US Democratic National Convention (DNC) last month in Chicago, Catholic author and podcaster Matt Walsh was caught on numerous live streams walking through the crowds in a “Kamala Harris for President” cap and t-shirt.
The conservative commentator was eventually removed from the convention by security, but not before he and his team could hand out hundreds of cards to passersby who took Walsh for a fellow Democrat.
These cards warned people about the dangers of Project 2025, a controversial project of the conservative Heritage Foundation tenuously connected to former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, and included a link to more information.
Those who followed the link were taken to a 90’s html website with nothing more than a trailer for Walsh’s new documentary “Am I Racist?” which will be released in US theatres on 13 September.
Walsh’s everyman style and uncanny ability to keep a straight face makes him a natural at leading his interviewees to reveal their true motives, as they tie themselves in knots.
But he also shows the extent to which progressives are willing to be taken for a ride by anyone unscrupulous enough to play on their emotions and fears—as his DNC stunt showed.
Walsh’s unique conservative spin on the “mockumentary” genre has been a huge success with his 2022 breakout hit, “What is a Woman?”
His methods will make his follow-up an entertaining experience for audiences and undoubtedly a shocking success for producers The Daily Wire.
“Am I Racist?” follows Walsh as he puts himself into the shoes of a progressive male on a journey to find out what makes him racist and how, if at all possible, he can shed his white privilege to “balance out systemic inequity.”
Starting with “anti-racist scholar-practitioner” Dr Kate Slater, Walsh’s interview reveals why the anti-racist scholar believes America is “racist to its bones” and that white Americans will always have bias and racial prejudice.
Their exchange includes many humorous moments, both intended and unintended, but ultimately the discussion leads him to her “Anti-Racist Roadmap” and a list of authors to get him progressing along his “woke” way.
These authors include Regina Jackson and Saira Rao, authors of White Women: Everything you already know about your own racism and how to do better, and Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism.
Walsh then puts these authors in the crosshairs; he infiltrates Jackson and Rao’s pricey Race2Dinner, an event where white women pay to be educated about their “white supremacy,” exposes the lengths Americans will go to in order to alleviate their white guilt—and the fee their re-educators are capable of squeezing out of them.
This startling truth is consistently backed up as Walsh keeps tabs on the real cost to some of these “anti-racism” programs.
But the best moment of the documentary’s 100 minute runtime is Walsh’s interview with DiAngelo, one of the key American “intellectuals” on the topic of racism.
Dressed in a fake man bun and grey jacket, Walsh unpacks DiAngelo’s idea that even a smile can evoke a form of racism, and somehow convinces the New York Times bestselling author to pay reparations to his producer Ben, along with an apology for the systems that keep him down.
“Am I Racist?” is an eye-opening documentary that deconstructs the anti-racism movement as “What Is a Woman?” did with gender ideology. It’s well-produced, tightly-edited, has a clear narrative and is supported by forward-thinking interviews. And it’s funny.
Walsh effortlessly deconstructs DiAngelo and other prominent figures in the anti-racist movement, and contrasts these against grounded interviews with everyday Americans.
Throw in some of the dry wit the host is now known for, and a few comedy bits involving DEI certification, and you end up with a convincing production that will direct the audience towards common-sense and ultimately the truth.
“Am I Racist?” is in theatres now in the United States.
