Films About Black Lives by Black Filmmakers
Stop watching The Help, you guys. It’s just so very Not The Point.
White stories are virtually all we know. It’s easy to take for granted that most people in most films and most series look like me, look like my family. With the occasional Black or Latinx person added for “flavor.” Tokens. Stereotypes. Place holders to show color, but without their own stories. This is how viewing entertainment can be if you watch what you’re given and don’t make the effort to expand your horizons.
Adding to the heap of resources and listicles going viral on social media right now, here is a compilation of watchable content to get you up to speed (ok, just barely scratching the surface) of the Black American experience. I’ve gathered a non-exhaustive list to help you. You can stop asking your Black friends to recommend stuff. Where to view is also included.
I feel like this needs to be said: the majority of these films are largely about how astronomically oppressed and enslaved the Black community is. You will watch atrocity after atrocity. You will feel frustrated, outraged, horrified. So my first word of advice is: pace yourself. My second word of advice: feel. Feel it all.
Next, I have tried to showcase some films or shows that just feature Black people as part of regular stories. I have heard time and again from Black and POC pals of mine that they wish they could see themselves reflected in stories where they just get to be the romantic lead instead of being portrayed as criminals or victims. These stories are definitely harder to find. I hope that representation can continue to make leaps in Hollywood (that is a WHOLE other article). So please, watch Girls Trip to get a dose of some Black Joy.
In the interest of educating our white asses about the Black experience, let’s dive in and not look away.
13th
A documentary by filmmaker Ava DuVernay about mass incarceration in America. Think of this as the history lesson your public school education conveniently left out. Remember when you were told the Civil War ended and the Blacks got their freedom and then everything was honky dory? That’s cute. Then the Civil Rights Movement ended segregation and POOF! No more racism. Our education system has failed us, indoctrinating us into the Land of White Supremacy. This doc is required viewing in the attempt to re-educate ourselves. You can draw a straight line from slavery to Jim Crow to Emmit Till to today’s police brutality. I am so grateful to DuVernay for the labor of love required in the making of this film. We are indebted. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Netflix.
Moonlight
The best word to describe this film is stunning. From director Barry Jenkins, we get the coming of age story of Chiron, a young Black man growing up in Florida. Three distinct actors portray three distinct chapters in this young man’s life: Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes to reflect the different ages. This film is gorgeous in its character study, its emotional and striking cinematography, its tidy script. And remember, this film won The Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017 in the famous La La Land / Moonlight mix up. You know when the cinematography makes you feel things? Yeah, that. Netflix.
Lemonade, the Visual Album
In this staggering extended music video, we get Black women at the center. It’s beautiful and raw and filled with generational pain and generational strength and beauty and a constant need for growth. It is enough to make Alice Walker proud. A visual embodiment of Womanist prose. A celebration of Black women, the keepers of the earth. Be mindful, our world will come back to them in time. It’s visceral and meditative and I think I cried through the whole thing. This is where breaking all cinematic rules makes it everything it is: glorious. Tidal.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Director Behn Zeitlin isn’t Black, but our writer is. This was one of those “I wish I wrote that” kinda moments upon the credits rolling. Originally a stage play and then adapted for the screen, this film is so original, so breathtaking and so creative that it will leave you captivated. It’s a father/daughter story about Wink (Dwight Henry) and Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), who live in the “bathtub,” a bayou in south Louisiana. Damn, I wish I wrote this. It’s heart-wrenching and gorgeous. Watch it. Amazon Prime.
Mudbound
From Dee Rees, a Black woman director and screenwriter, we have a story where we see two soldiers returning home from war and the very different countries they face based on the color of their skin. The making of this particular film is remarkable because we have a crew largely made up of women or women of color. The film’s cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, was also nominated for an Academy Award, the first woman to ever garner a nom in that category. This brutal piece gets especially difficult to swallow at the culmination of the film, but the point is not to look away. Something we could all learn to do a little more of. Netflix.
Get Out
Jordan Peele’s brilliant mind is on display in this work of genius. A perfect blend of genres and racial tensions. If you haven’t seen this yet, you are out of the loop. Highlights include Bradley Whitford as your white “liberal” dad. It starts off cringey and then gets a whole lot worse. I don’t do scary movies and it’s one of the only “horror” films I’ve made an exception for. Watch this immediately, it’s so good. Amazon Prime.
Selma
The famous march on Selma led by Dr. King (David Oyelowo) that culminated in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Brought to us again by Ava Duvernay and featuring the likes of none other than Oprah Winfrey herself. In segregated, mid-1960s America, activists stay vigilant until policymakers enact change. Peaceful protests butting up against violent police is something that is still on our televisions (Instagram) today. I distinctly remember putting down my popcorn roughly 5 minutes into it. It is not that kind of movie. Amazon Prime.
Sorry to Bother You
Get ready for an absolute rollercoaster. Nothing you could possibly expect will happen in the duration of this movie. From the mind of Boots Riley, who wrote and directed the film, we have Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a telemarketer who’s found the secret to his success: code-switching, or his “white voice,” the act of a Black person changing their voice in the overwhelming presence of white people. (Assimilation is safety). Armie Hammer plays a Jeff Bezos-like character as CEO of the corporation that owns his telemarketing firm. I just don’t know how to prepare you for the third act of this film. Surprises await. Hulu.
Black Panther
Well damn if this isn’t just an enjoyable comic book film. And why haven’t we gotten one sooner? I am admittedly not a big superhero summer blockbuster type of person (with the exception of Wonder Woman and the Incredibles, if that even counts), but I was itching to see this for weeks before it came out. I’ll also take this moment to veer into some feminist film theory for a second. One of my big qualms about the film industry and women is not just that we don’t have enough “strong female leads” but that we also do not nearly have enough male characters that are actually GOOD men. As in, he’s just a damn good person. Men idolize the likes of James Bond and other misogynistic “heroes” and it’s toxic and perpetuates rape culture (again- another article). So-called “good guys” are often painted as feminized, weak, uncool, etc. Here we have T’Challa, a strong leader with a moral compass, doing good in his community and looking really cool while doing it. I’m on board for this. Wakanda Forever. Disney+
Fences
A screen adaptation of the stage play by August Wilson starring Viola Davis and Denzel Washington, who also directed the feature. Wilson’s words come alive on screen as two heavyweight actors take on these massive roles. A father who dominates everyone in his family through sheer force must reckon with the damage he’s done. Davis’ monologue alone is worth the watch. That’s kind of her thing. Especially if you like snot bubbles. The more snot bubbles, the better the acting. That’s the rule. Netflix.
Blackkklansmen
A Spike Lee black comedy based on the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first Black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department who successfully infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in 1978 along with fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). A funny, eye-opening, and satisfying watch. John David Washington crushes. Hulu.
More to watch:
Fruitvale Station Netflix
16 Shots Amazon Prime
Crime + Punishment Amazon Prime
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Netflix
Let The Fire Burn Amazon Prime
Queen & Slim Amazon Prime
Paris is Burning Amazon Prime
Bamboozled borrow the dvd from your film hoarder friend
The Last Black Man in San Francisco Amazon Prime
Middle of Nowhere Amazon Prime
I Am Not Your Negro Amazon Prime
Creed Amazon Prime
Good Hair Amazon Prime
If Beale Street Could Talk Hulu
The Color Purple Amazon Prime
Insecure HBO
Queen Sugar Hulu
Atlanta Hulu
Dear White People Netflix
The Hate U Give Amazon Prime
Watchmen HBO