Times Like Deese

Times Like Deese is a finely tuned and penetrating tableau of the blues as the conscience of America's political history. Directors Maarten Schmidt and Thomas Doebele traveled up to Washington along the cotton fields of the Mississippi delta, breeding ground of the low blues. Old blues musicians and their modern-day heirs, rappers and hip-hop artists, give their views on politics past and present. They reminisce about the first black student at Mississippi University, but also about the Vietnam War, where many black soldiers felt more connected with their white brethren than they did when they returned to America. The archetypical image of the blues musician sitting on his porch with a guitar is present, of course, but these men don't sing about their misfortunes in love or life; their songs reveal them to be alert and witty history teachers. L.C. Ulmer, for instance, speaks and sings about Roosevelt and Martin Luther King. The new generation is represented by hip-hop artist Enoch 7th Prophet, who voices young African-American's dissatisfaction with Barack Obama: "My president is black, but the plan stays the same." (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)