In the fourth and final episode of Exterminate All the Brutes, Raoul Peck declares in his commanding voiceover narration, “The very existence of this film is a miracle.” Those are mighty big words for a filmmaker to say about his own work—it’s hard to imagine even the always self-impressed Godard making such a statement—but by the end of Peck’s grand yet accessible essay film, the viewer can’t argue. Given the existing media power structure, given the odds against funding a three-years-in-the-making project about the history of white genocide against Indigenous and non-white populations across the world (and, even more fraught for fundraising challenges, with a particular critique of the US’ genocidal policies), and given the current political climate…well, yes, for Peck to be able to make this, and then have it broadcast by HBO and supported by a lavish marketing and publicity campaign, calling this “a miracle” might be a modest claim.
Peck has said that his previous nonfiction film, (2016), based on James Baldwin’s unparalleled work exploring the sources and consequences of racism in the US, was meant to be his definitive statement on this issue. He found, though, that the reaction to the film in Europe tended to view structural racism as an American problem, ignoring its legacy in European history. This demanded some kind of remedy. He also noted that Richard Plepler, that he offered him carte blanche on his next project.
