All posts related to the 25 Most Important…
Going back to my hometown and seeing old friends, I naturally took my fair share of jokes for being ‘Hollywood’ from my Circle. I was already outside the norm as a Midwestern kid to begin with, my adopted hometown has really brought out the best in me in terms of inspiring me creatively, giving my […]
5. Changing Gears While I certainly doubt I’ve hung up my director’s hat forever, my time as an ‘indie film director’ has come to an end (on a high note at that – #7). My feel for the craft is on point, but now that putting money away for my future is my number […]
First, the TV list… Roots The Cosby Show Chappelle’s Show In Living Color Boondocks Oprah Eyes on the Prize Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Def Comedy Jam A Different World Saturday Night Live Soul Train Arsenio Hall Show Living Single The Wire Good Times The Jeffersons Martin Different Strokes Video Soul Roc The News Flip […]
Roots is based on the popular epic novel by Alex Haley. Based on Haley’s real life search for his African ancestors, Roots begins with the story of a Mandinka warrior, Kunta Kinte, and traces his family history through the Middle Passage, the Civil War, and into modern day America. Very few works of art can […]
While we all have different ‘favorite’ films in black cinema, it is my argument, using the criteria I’ve established (relevance to black culture, the legacy or shelf life of the project after the initial release, the actual craftmanship of the filmmaking, the degree to which the film was noticed/recognized by the mainstream, and the Apollo […]
The Cosby Show, by almost any measure, was the definitive 80s sitcom. Based on the real life and stand up routine of Bill Cosby, the show revolved around the Huxtable family. Patriarch Dr. Cliff Huxtable, his lawyer wife Clair, and their five kids. A show that really doesn’t need much of an introduction, on to […]
Spike Lee’s third film takes place on the hottest day of the summer in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York. I heard Spike say in an interview this week that while he didn’t know what he was doing on his first film, She’s Gotta Have It, and was finding his way with School Daze, with this […]
Already one of the most popular stand up comedians working, Dave Chappelle would bring his mix of supreme silliness and racial comedy to cable television with Chappelle’s Show. There are those who would argue that the short life span of the show has raised its status to a level it didn’t deserve. And they may […]
There is a little argument over the facts that surround The Birth of a Nation. It was the first ‘blockbuster’ of American cinema; the techniques introduced in this film by D.W. Griffith revolutionized the art of filmmaking. Some of the investors in this picture were Hollywood’s earliest moguls; the profits they earned back from this […]
Boyz N The Hood was the debut film by writer/director John Singleton. The semi-autobiographical tale revolves around three young black men, Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy, and their daily lives growing up in South Central Los Angeles. On to the tale of the tape… Relevance: While the phrase ‘black film’ can take on many different meanings […]
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