With long summer days upon us and fewer television shows to choose from, now is the time to dive into the archives of Black cinema. From Oscar Micheaux's 20th-century silent work to Marlon Riggs' excellent documentary that cracked open the Black queer narrative in cinema to our more recent cherished films like Black Panther and Get Out, there is so much to explore in Black directed and Black cast films. At a time when various voices are contributing different narratives to Black film, it's important to see how complex Black stories have been throughout history. Micheaux's race films, for example, were in direct response to white propaganda that was validating the Ku Klux Klan. Riggs' Tongues Untied paved the way for Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, and Kathleen Collins opened the door for other Black female filmmakers like Julie Dash, Ava DuVernay, and Kasi Lemmons among others. Have you seen these movies?
Nothing But A Man
For its time, Nothing But A Man was revolutionary. Ivan Dixon starred as Duff Anderson a charismatic Pullman porter who sets his sights on Josie Dawson (Abbey Lincoln), a school teacher and preacher's daughter during one of his trips down South. Though her father doesn't approve, Josie and Duff fall in love and eventually marry. However, they must learn to weather the storms of their marriage and the deep racism of the Jim Crow South.
Nothing But A Man is a beautiful and nuanced work of art. The narrative also refuses to let Duff off the hook easily. Though racism and segregation contribute to his problems, his womanizing and anger also lead to issues of his own creation.
Juice
Set in Harlem in the '90s, Ernest Dickerson's iconic thriller Juice follows four young Black men, Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (Omar Epps), Steel (Jermaine Hopkins) and Raheem (Khalil Kain) whose lives change dramatically as a result of one tragic decision. With themes surrounding friendship, broken dreams, and the unpredictability of youth, the film is tragic and timeless.
Juice also proved to the world that the late Shakur was much more than just a West Coast rapper.
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I’ll deny it if you ever bring it up in conversation, but the truth is, I have a pretty large obsession with romance novels. My Kindle is nearly bursting with them. It’s something about those inevitable plot points full of grand gestures and just a bit of conflict that put a smile on my face, even when the world is literally crumbling around me. Marking his first venture into producing, Shemar Moore’s newest film “The Bounce Back” felt exactly like returning to a favorite romance book.
As a child, like most children I presume, I did not think of my parents as real people. They acted instead as my comforters and my providers, the people I stretched out my hands towards when I needed something. I was nearly out of the house before I considered what they might have given up; what dreams they may have sacrificed or brushed aside in the 60’s, the ’70s and ‘80s to provide my sister and myself with the best life that they could. For us, they moved through life often joyful but at times enraged; continually propping up a marriage that was long past its expiration date. Though I lived in their story with them, for the first part of my life, I observed as an outsider, labeling them as who they presented themselves to be instead of who they actually were. I, their eldest child, was guilty of not really seeing them in the full scope of their humanity.
After saying goodbye to “Criminal Minds” earlier this year, actor Shemar Moore is stepping into a new role, funding and producing his first feature film, “The Bounce Back.” Moore stars alongside Nadine Velazquez and Bill Bellamy in this warm, romantic comedy about love, intimacy, and second chances. Moore recently chatted with me about his new role as a producer, what inspired him to step behind the scene, the current state of independent filmmaking and what’s next for him.
Holiday season movies are a time-honored tradition, but African American holiday season films exist in a genre of their own. From Malcolm Lee’s “The Best Man Holiday” to Preston A. Whitmore II’s “This Christmas,” the nuances of black life at the proverbial “most wonderful time of the year” have enraptured audiences for years. David E. Talbert’s latest entry “
My father was not perfect. A Nigerian immigrant born in the late ‘40s, he had his work cut out for him raising two little girls on the South Side of Chicago during the ‘90s. Naturally we butted heads quite often. Some days our arguments stemmed from our cultural differences, other days it was simply normal tensions that brew between daughters and their fathers. Despite all this, there are memories that I have of him that will remain with me until the day I take my last breath. From school science projects and “Harry Potter”, to my love and obsession for films, my father was pivotal in molding me into the woman that I am now. When I laid him to rest on a bitterly cold day the year I turned twenty-three, I knew that despite everything, he’d done the best that he could. Unfortunately, there are millions of people, especially in the Black community that cannot say the same about their fathers.
There are some songs that when played, take us back to a specific time or place. Miki Howard’s “Come Share My Love” reminds me of my childhood; riding in the car with my mother while Miki’s stunning voice smoothly glided out of the radio. For years, I never knew much about the songstress herself. However, when TV One’s “Unsung“ episode surrounding Miki Howard aired in 2010, I along with the rest of the world, was enraptured not just by her stunning music and success, but also by her turbulent personal life.
In a project that is eight years in the making, Don Cheadle stars in his directorial debut as the legendary musician Miles Davis. “Miles Ahead” is a film that pays reverence not only to the musician, but also to Davis’ first wife, Frances Taylor Davis, the woman who inspired his critically acclaimed seventh album, “One Day My Prince Will Come.” The gracious and stunning Emayatzy Corinealdi stars as Ms. Taylor Davis in “Miles Ahead”. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with her about the role, working with Don Cheadle and connecting with the real Frances Taylor Davis.
Hollywood seems to pride itself on biopics of historical Black figures. Over the past several years, Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Bessie Smith’s stories have all gotten the film treatment. This year, it’s Olympic Gold medalist and track star Jesse Owens’ turn in the film “Race”.
I’ve personally never felt that characters of African decent should be inherently good, educated, or of a particular caliber in order to be presented in film and on television. In my opinion, that is an argument of past centuries, when the narrative of Black Americans on screen may have needed a particular sort of trajectory. I also feel that everyone has a right to tell their stories, but I don’t feel that these stories should be mediocre or inherently stereotypical, which is why I often find the work of Tyler Perry extremely problematic. Still, despite my criticisms and the criticisms of others, Perry has carved out a prolific path for himself in the entertainment industry. From his stage plays to his body of films, and now with four shows on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network, including, “Love Thy Neighbor” and “The Haves and the Have Nots”, which premièred last week to over 3 million viewers, it’s clear that his audience is always eager to tune in.
