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Raising Bertie

Name: Raising Bertie
Director: Margaret Byrne
Released: 2017
Duration: 102 min

Representation Score

9.1/10

Excellent

2017

Director

Margaret Byrne

Runtime

102 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Raising Bertie is a powerful longitudinal study that dismantles monolithic perceptions of rural Black life. By following three African American boys over six years, the film moves beyond simple clichés of victimhood to showcase resilience and ability to act. The documentary succeeds by intersecting race, class, and geography. It provides a sophisticated critique of how systemic structures like education and economic systems shape identity formation in underrepresented spaces. While the film is a significant contribution to socioeconomic storytelling, it lacks specific focus on LGBTQ+ or disability representation, leaving those areas neutral.

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Category Breakdown

Does Raising Bertie have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses primarily on racial and socioeconomic development. There is no explicit focus on LGBTQ+ identities within the provided context.

How does Raising Bertie portray gender?

Good

The film offers a focused study on Black masculinity in a rural setting. It documents the transition from childhood to adulthood to disrupt simplified depictions of male development.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Raising Bertie?

Excellent

The documentary excels by centering a rural African American community. It avoids urban stereotypes, providing high ability to act to subjects as they drive their own longitudinal story.

How does Raising Bertie represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film examines how educational and economic structures impact underrepresented communities. It highlights the complexities of generational poverty and systemic inequity.

Does Raising Bertie include disability representation?

Fair

There is no specific evidence regarding the portrayal of physical disabilities or neurodivergence. The representation remains neutral.

Present on Screen

Centering a rural African American community avoids common urban stereotypes.
The longitudinal approach provides deep, nuanced insights into identity formation.
Subjects have high ability to act, allowing the boys to drive their own narrative.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks explicit focus on LGBTQ+ identities.
There is no evidence regarding the representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Raising Bertie is a longitudinal documentary feature following three young African American boys over the course of six years as they grow into adulthood in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community in Eastern North Carolina. Through the intimate portrayal of these boys, this powerful vérité film offers a rare in-depth look at the issues facing America's rural youth and the complex relationships between generational poverty, educational equity, and race. The evocative result is an experience that encourages us to recognize the value and complexity in lives all too often ignored.

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