In Netflix's 'Fatherhood,' Kevin Hart gives a white dad's memoir new layers of meaning

Netflix's new dramatic comedy "Fatherhood," based on Matt Logelin's memoir, follows Matt, played by comedian Kevin Hart, a soon-to-be father who isn't quite taking the impending birth of his daughter seriously enough.

Though an emergency C-section upends his plans for a night out with the guys, both Matt and his wife, Liz (Deborah Ayorinde, of "Them"), who had health concerns during the pregnancy, are delighted with their newborn baby, Maddy.

However, shortly after giving birth, Liz dies suddenly of a pulmonary embolism, leaving a reeling Matt to try and deal with his grief and a brand-new baby on his own.

Continue reading at NBC Think.

'The Photograph' Is The Soft Romance Film That Black People Deserve

There has been such a void in Black Romance dramas that we didn't realize how much we were craving one until The Photograph hit us in the face.

Though we still cling to our favorites, such as 1997's Love Jones and 2000's Love & Basketball, Black romance on screen is nearly as old as cinema itself. The earliest surviving movie depicting Black intimacy is 1898's Something Good — Negro Kiss, a 29-second silent film. Since then, the romance drama category has taken off in Hollywood with timeless films like Casablanca and Titanic. Still, seeing Black people in these kinds of narratives is a rarity. 

In 1964, Nothing But a Man, though not widely seen, made a powerful impact on cinema. Set in Birmingham, Alabama, it follows the romance of a railroad worker and a preacher’s daughter, played by Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln. The film showcases a Black romantic drama in a way that isn’t packaged for the white masses, as has been implied of 1943's Stormy Weather or 1954's Carmen Jones. Following Nothing But a Man, films like Mahogany came to be in the 1970's. However, it wasn’t until the 1990's that a slew of romantic dramas, including The Best Man and Waiting to Exhale, or romantic comedy Boomerang began to take center stage. Yet, in the past 20 years, there have been only sprinklings of Black intimacy, sex and relationships on screen, heteronormative or otherwise, especially in mainstream cinema. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.