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With Drawn Arms

Name: With Drawn Arms
Director: Glenn Kaino, Afshin Shahidi
Released: 2020
Duration: 83 min

Representation Score

6.5/10

Good

2020

Director

Glenn Kaino, Afshin Shahidi

Runtime

83 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

With Drawn Arms is a specialized documentary that successfully disrupts traditional historical narratives. By centering the 1968 Olympic protest, it shifts the focus from sporting spectacle to the profound socio-political implications of Black resistance. The film excels in its examination of racial identity and the deconstruction of institutional power. It transforms a moment of systemic victimhood into a powerful study of political empowerment and ability to act. However, the narrative remains narrow in its scope. The focus on masculine-coded athletic spaces and the lack of visible LGBTQ+ or female-driven narratives limit its broader representation of social identity.

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Category Breakdown

Does With Drawn Arms have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film centers on the historical intersection of racial struggle and athletic protest. There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ+ identities or queer-coded narratives.

How does With Drawn Arms portray gender?

Fair

The narrative focuses on the masculine-coded space of professional athletics and political protest. While it challenges power hierarchies, there is no specific evidence of women's ability to drive the story or subverted gender roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is With Drawn Arms?

Excellent

The film centers on Black athletes challenging dominant white institutional structures. It prioritizes the sociopolitical struggle and solidarity of people of color within a historically exclusionary Western institution.

How does With Drawn Arms represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The documentary critiques Western institutions like the Olympic Games as sites of systemic oppression. It frames historical protest as a necessary response to state-sanctioned inequality and identity-based power dynamics.

Does With Drawn Arms include disability representation?

Minimal

The film provides no information regarding the depiction of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

Centers the ability to act of Black athletes against dominant white institutional structures.
Critiques Western institutions and the perceived neutrality of patriotism.
Prioritizes sociopolitical struggle over mere sporting excellence.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation regarding LGBTQ+ identities or queer-coded narratives.
Limited evidence of women's ability to drive the story or the subversion of gender roles.
Absence of information regarding disability representation.

Official Synopsis

The story behind a critical moment in American history, spawning one of most iconic images of protest from the past century. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the world watched as two American runners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, took the stage as the U.S. national anthem played, raising their fists in a symbol of black struggle and solidarity.

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