Black History Month – Films

Now that it is October it is importantly Black History Month. As a result I will be discussing aspects of black culture or society for the rest of the month. In this blog post I will be focusing on films that highlight different aspects of black life. Admittedly I have not watched every film ever about the black community and I am not as educated in them as much as I should be. I could most likely watch a broader range of films, there is always room to educate oneself. However, these are some films I have particularly enjoyed or found moving and I also think they have done a good job of handling the sensitive issues of black history and struggles.

Perhaps one of the first films that I watched that explored the struggle of black people was ‘Precious’ which is a very dark film directed by Lee Daniels, in the sense that it handles very serious topics. I watched the film when I was quite young but I am glad I did, it helped me to learn more about the kind of struggles that people living in poor black communities face. The film follows a young black girl [Precious] as she navigates her way through the world she lives in and attends a school in order to better herself. She struggles with money and has a fraught relationship with her mum. It is also revealed that she is pregnant by her own father which is of course a harrowing problem that she has to deal with. All of these aspects have clearly affected her and her life is made worse by the poverty she finds herself in. I found the film particularly moving because it covered aspects of everyday life. Sometimes films that discuss the struggles of the black community often focus on those more prominent figures throughout history such as Malcolm X or MLK. However, the fact that this film doesn’t focus on anything too large but on the smaller aspects of life in poverty as a black person is what makes it. It demonstrates the hardships that young black people face and it is definitely an important educational film. The acting by Gabourey Sidibe is also phenomenal, she is able to perfectly capture the emotions that this character faces and as a result is able to handle the traumatic storyline in a respectful manner. Something which becomes particularly impressive when you consider that this was the actors first role.

Another great film which I think handles the wider struggles of the black community well is ‘Moonlight’ directed by Barry Jenkins. Of course this film is probably best remembered by the Oscar scandal when La La Land was wrongly announced as the winner over it. I think it is a shame that this happened, although it is not particularly a big deal the publicity surrounding it is related to the Oscar mishap and not about the actual contents of the film. Admittedly when I first watched the film I wasn’t particularly impressed by it, however when I think back on it now and re-watch it I do think it is an amazing film which highlights the struggle of not only being poor and black but also being gay as well. Lots of LGBTQ+ black people struggle in both communities and there has recently been more of an acknowledgement of the fact that these struggles need to be recognised as separate [take for example the inclusion of the Black Lives Matter colour in the new pride flag]. Moonlight cleverly uses three different actors to play the role of Chiron as we track him from childhood when he befriends Juan [played by Mahershala Ali], to his teenage years when he discovers more of his sexuality and then to adulthood when we see him as the gangster that Juan once was but also his struggle and finally his path to acceptance towards his sexuality. It is another film which focuses on the everyday struggles of working-class black people but there is also the focus on the LGBTQ+ aspect which makes it more of a contemporary piece.

‘Detroit’ is a film which – as the title suggests – focuses on the riots that occurred in Detroit in 1967 and specifically on the Algiers Motel incident. It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film has a strong cast which is vital as they all do the film justice. The Algiers Motel incident is shown disturbingly on the screen, we see how the police used manipulation and torture in order to scare the black people in the hotel in a show of superiority. The scenes are awful to watch and as the film progresses the audience begins to feel as claustrophobic, sweaty and uncomfortable as the actors appear. The fact that the film is based on a true story is notably harrowing and really highlights the discrimination that black people faced during the 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement in America. We can clearly see the conflict that is going on within the black characters minds, particularly from that of John Boyega which is also important as we see how they struggled with the balance between needing to stand up for themselves but also the dangers that came with it and attempting to avoid them. It is a great film and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about black history as before I had watched it – highlighting my own ignorance here – I was not aware of this incident before.

The final film that I watched most recently is ‘One night in Miami’ which was directed by Regina King. The film focuses Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke. They all spend the night in a hotel and discuss their involvements in the civil rights movement. We see how Cassius Clay becomes more involved in Islam through his discussions with Malcolm X, we also see the resentment that the other characters have towards each other for the differing views on how to handle their involvement in the movement. It is particularly interesting to explore these characters inner thoughts as they were real figures that became extremely prominent in the movement and went on to become inspirational figures to the black [and white] youth after them. The notable discussion that is carried throughout the film is the fact that there lies a large amount of responsibility on these men to become these prominent figures because they are so successful and in the public eye so much. However all these men are shown to be having struggles with this at the start of the film; we see scenes of them being reminded of the fact that although they are famous they are still black and in some respects still considered second class citizens. We then see at the end of the film how these men overcame these struggles and still continued to be prominent figures in the black community in the face of adversity. Although the meeting is fictional it is an interesting look at the personal or internal thoughts of these black historical figures and the roles they were required to play.

I would highly recommend all of these films as I think they do a good job of appealing emotionally to their audiences and demonstrate both black history and the current continuing struggle of black communities, particularly in America.