Here's why you should plan to watch GODFATHER OF HARLEM (Review)

Godfather of Harlem is based on the true life story of Black American gangsta, Bumpy Johnson. The series follows his life as he managed his family affairs and his activities in the underground of American society after he served time for an unspecified time and came back to continue running his empire in Harlem. The series also highlighted his affiliation with Malcolm-X and his role in empowering black members of the society.

He was portrayed by Forrest Whitaker and was shown to be an emotional individual, shrewd businessman and a person with a great love for the ailing black community suffering from substance abuse(irony), and poverty, but most importantly, his family. He was a renowned drug dealer, racketeer and bet fixer but at the same time, he provided security for members of the society against the police, often gave out grants and helped in community projects.

The main antagonist and constant thorn in Bumpy's side was Vincento Gigante, played by Vincent D'Onofrio. In the series, he had the backing of the Italian mob hierarchy, despite his numerous misdemeanors against their rules and the series also showed that racism was also being practiced in the underground, as the Italian mafia united against Bumpy, despite how he protected them and served a considerable amount of time in jail because of them.

Another prominent character in the movie was congressman and pastor, Adam Clayton Powell Jr, portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito. He was constantly in pursuit of Bumpy because he didn't accept his criminal activities and saw them as the problem of the black community, but on numerous occasions, showed he had a soft spot like when he offered him the opportunity to rat out some other Italian mob members and get protection because he also believes that Bumpy wants to help the society, as he recalls.

The series showed the ugliness behind the beauty and glitz of the mob/gangsta lifestyle. To some, Bumpy was just another gangsta that rose to prominence through selling drugs and other vices, while to others, he was seen as a shrewd businessman that made some good decisions that facilitated his rise to prominence. To those that loved Bumpy, he was a beacon of hope in the impoverished black community, a philanthropist and the go-to guy whenever you had a problem, even getting into a serious dispute with the Italian mob because of a black kid that was shot.

He fought for the interest of black people and stood against oppression and abuse, and this is what aligned him to the goals of Malcolm-X. Malcolm was played by Nigel Thatch and at the time, he was strongly aligned to the Muslim society in Harlem and always preached the path of peace, despite having an army of soldiers that wore funny bow ties like the black version of a yakuza.

Malcolm privately criticised Bumpy due to his criminal activities but often supported him whenever it had to do with something positive to the black community. On numerous occasions, Malcolm made assertions that he thinks Bumpy is fundamentally a good person and that his indulgence in criminal activities was due to circumstance.

The series, in general, has proven to be a success, as it got a 95% approval rating by the review aggregator and undoubtedly has numerous fans looking forward to the second season. Despite being based on a true-life events, aspects of the show were fictionalised for dramatic purposes. That notwithstanding, it is an absolutely outstanding Tv Series that I encourage you to watch, preferably without the kids due to the strong language, sex scenes, violence, and gory images.

RATING- AAA
MOVIEDB LINK- https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/79086-godfather-of-harlem?language=en-US
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