aGLIFF Review: Check It

Racism. Homophobia. Rape culture. After watching the documentary Check It, it's hard to know where to start.

Filmed in Washington D.C. in 2013, the film focuses on Check It – the first (and only) QPOC gang known in America. As a group of queer, bullied ninth graders, Day Day, Tray, Skittles, Star, and several other brown queer kids decided to band together to fight their would-be attackers instead of run from them. “It’s like the family I always wanted,” Day Day tells the camera early on in the film.

But the backstory of Check It (the movie and the gang) stems from poverty, institutionalized racism, and homophobia. Told over the course of one summer, the film attempts to offer viewers a peek into the world of Check It, and potentially offer these kids a lifeline to something better. Community member and ex-con Mo helps Day Day, Tray, and Star access a fashion show camp and mentors Skittles from inside the walls of a professional boxing ring. "It's hard enough being black, but being black and gay – it's a whole different ballgame," explains Mo, midway through the movie. "They're in a world of their own."

Though Check It (directed by Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer) beautifully spotlights an under-represented subculture of the LGBTQ community, it’s not an easy film to watch. The story fixates on the downfalls and harsh reality of these teenagers' lives. Each kid tells a story of an incarcerated or drug addicted or M.I.A or transphobic parent(s), and most have turned to prostitution as their only form of income. Despite the fact that the film features an all-black cast, it feels molded for a white audience, and while these kids definitely deserve a voice – and real champions – it’s important to ask where the line between informative and eye-opening crosses over to trauma porn.

Mo’s dedication to Day Day, Tray, Skittles, and Star (and their dedication to one another) proves to be the most successful takeaway from Check It. If nothing else, this film proves that black queer magic is quite real and these kids have it in spades.