The tricky part with a docuseries like \u201cHollywood Black,\u201d particularly if you have a deep reservoir of knowledge about its chosen subject, is realizing that it\u2019ll probably never be as comprehensive as you\u2019d like. After all, the four-part series directed by Justin Simien (\u201cDear White People\u201d), adapted from the same-titled book by film historian Donald Bogle, is slated to premiere on MGM+\u2014which isn\u2019t really a historically minded network or streamer like TCM or Criterion Channel. Recalibrating one\u2019s expectation, in that regard, is crucial.<\/p>\n
And yet, a documentary series can\u2019t be judged on intention alone. Simien assembles an impressive roster of talking heads (academics, stars, directors, and producers) to talk about the history of Hollywood from a Black perspective. His thesis is sound\u2014Black people are imperative to Hollywood\u2019s existence\u2014and the joy he injects into the subject is pure. But it never feels like there\u2019s quite enough substance to match his enthusiasm.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The abbreviated length of \u201cHollywood Black\u201d often betrays its noble desires. Take, for instance,\u00a0the first hour, which attempts to cram over sixty years of Black cinematic history into less than an hour. As such, the chronology of early Black filmmaking is simplified into a neater timeline. A pioneer like Nina Mae McKinney isn\u2019t mentioned, while Josephine Baker only receives a passing nod (the docuseries instead turns its focus to Fredi Washington, an equally imperative figure). At one point, Issa Rae claims that no other Black director was producing and directing films except Oscar Micheaux. The broad statement ignores creators like Richard D. Maurice and brothers Noble and George Johnson.<\/p>\n
There is an early tension to the first episode. While scholars like Racquel Gates and Jacqueline Stewart are providing in-depth context, the celebrity talking heads, who, armed with some basic historical grounding, reduce the past to broad, generic observations That tension is emblematic of Simien trying to balance the research component of the docuseries and the approachability, with the latter party decided by spotlighting the celebrity participants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the docuseries includes plenty of Black women directors as talking heads: Ava DuVernay, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Cheryl Dunye, Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe, and more\u2014the actual screen time directed at films by Black women is hardly sufficient. How does one make a documentary about Black filmmakers and not include Kathleen Collins? Outside of \u201cThe Watermelon Woman\u201d and \u201cDaughters of the Dust,\u201d when the series talks about Black women directors, it\u2019s those who mostly operate in Hollywood. While that decision is understandable, to a point, after all, the series is called \u201cHollywood Black,\u201d it does erase core pieces of Black cinematic history. Barely any contemporary Black women directors are included\u2014the same with creatives like Ayoka Chenzira, Cauleen Smith, Zeinabu irene Davis, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once again, Simien only had so much time, and aiming for comprehensiveness is almost a fool\u2019s errand. And yet, what is cut to conserve time is nevertheless telling. Ultimately, \u201cHollywood Black\u201d is a history lesson told from a male perspective with only a few diversions to Black women\u2019s contributions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is enough missing from \u201cHollywood Black\u201d that it very nearly blinds one to the wealth of history that is present. Very few mainstream documentaries, for instance,\u00a0have tried to provide context to Blackface and the practice of minstrelsy. The genius of Bert Williams is noticed. The little-known, unreleased silent feature \u201cLime Kiln Field Day\u201d (1913), starring Williams, is placed in its proper context as the oldest surviving Black-cast feature (it\u2019s presently streaming on Criterion Channel). Charles Lane, the director of \u201cSidewalk Stories,\u201d is also spotlighted. And while it\u2019s heartening to see Bill Greaves\u2019 boundary-pushing mockumentary \u201cSymbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One\u201d talked about, the conversation between Simien and DuVernay, where the former gives their own odd interpretation of Greaves\u2019 film can be painful to watch, if only because the critique provided doesn\u2019t appear well-considered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The tricky part with a docuseries like \u201cHollywood Black,\u201d particularly if you have a deep reservoir of knowledge about its chosen subject, is realizing that it\u2019ll probably never be as comprehensive as you\u2019d like. After all, the four-part series directed by Justin Simien (\u201cDear White People\u201d), adapted from the same-titled book by film historian Donald …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-1487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-documentary-movies","tag-documentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}