Three Things to Stream: Celebrate Black History Every Day
By Angela Davis
CORRESPONDENT
February is officially coming to an end this weekend, along with Black History Month. However, this doesn’t mean that Black History can’t be celebrated all year round. There have been countless contributions to American culture by Black Americans over the decades, especially in the world of film. Here are three great films crafted by Black creators that you can stream this weekend.
American Fiction (Peacock) (Rated R)
Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in 2023 and winning the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Cord Jefferson’s brilliant satire is an incredible critique of the mainstream view of the “African American experience” in culture. The film follows Monk Ellison, an author who’s laid off from his job as a professor while struggling to write his latest novel. Seeing the popularity of trauma novels, he creates a stereotypical book about the Black community as a joke…only for it to be taken seriously as the next best American novel.
What works so well about American Fiction is how it challenges audiences to think about the majority of stories focused on Black perspectives. While they’re painted as diverse, many of them tend to tell the same kind of story. There are certainly exceptions (see Sinners and Black Panther), but there’s a clear pattern, as pointed out by this film. With a fantastic lead performance by Jeffrey Wright carrying this hilarious dramedy, this film deserves a watch.
Get Out (HBO Max) (Rated R)
Jordan Peele’s breakout film from 2017 absolutely astonished critics and audiences when it first released, and it still holds up remarkably well today. This horror thriller follows Chris, a man anxious about meeting his girlfriend’s family, the Armitages, especially since he and his girlfriend are a mixed race couple. Over the course of a weekend, he discovers that something even more horrifying is happening behind the scenes.
Nearly ten years later, Get Out is still as refreshing as it was back then. The exploration of racial tension between Chris and the uncanny Armitage family creates a sense of dread that’s maintained throughout. Plus, the decision to have the Armitages not be stereotypically racist but rather deceptively progressive enhances just how eerie the story can be. It all culminates to an incredible third act that ties the film’s themes together perfectly in a timely message that continues to stand tall today. While Jordan Peele has gone on to create two other great films, this first foray is one of the best debuts in cinematic history.
Selma (Tubi/Peacock/Paramount+) (Rated PG-13)
Crafting a biopic revolving around Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was always going to be a challenge, but Ava DuVernay perfectly nailed his influence and gravitas in this outstanding biopic. The film recounts the events of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches during the 1960s. Led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the film showcases the trials the men, women and children faced during the Segregation era to protest non-violently against the unfair treatment of Black Americans at the time.
Selma is undeniably one of the greatest biopics ever created. David Oyelowo shines as Martin Luther King Jr. His performance captures just how powerful he was as a leader during a tumultuous time for Black Americans. The film also doesn’t shy away from how difficult and brutal it was to carry out the marches starting in Selma, Alabama; as well as the hope that prevailed. There’s simply nothing quite like Selma and is something that everyone should see at least once in their lives.
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