Advertise on podcast: Token: Blacks In Cinema

We're baaack! Been a hot minute (not too hot) but we're looking at the New Yorker-inspired, star-packed anthology that is The French Dispatch. When your film diet lately has been comprised of gorging on the "McDonalds" movies, you may forget what nutrient-rich films provide and blame yourself when the next meal don’t taste right. And then eating just feels like a chore.  At least we got a Baldwin inspired figure who waxes poetic on the loneliness of being an outsider. There is NUANCE even if it is full of ironies. When the diversity presented is also the most poignant and touching piece of the entire movie, it makes for that much more of a bitter meal. But yo, when is the Atlanta cast gunna be in a Wes Anderson film? Somebody better read the paper, boy.

There's Christian skater punks, AILFs (astronomer I'd like to...), and crazy-eyed phd candidates, and then there's...us. We got ol Rob Morgan here to give us Don Cheadle vibes.  And Cudi is here to represent for all the f*ckboi DJs. There a few black characters but they just don’t go into depth. They are here to pass the ball but not take any shots! Look, when there is an N.E.O. coming with a direct hit in 6 mos we just wanna be in the room with some agency. Don't nobody wanna die paying for break room snacks. At least Oglethorp is given permission to be the blackest scientist since Sam J in Jurassic Park. 

Trigger warning! Social outcasts be wary. There's only room for one of us in this movie. She may be a MA but she got auntie in vegas vibez. And you don’t piss off Auntie in vegas. You'll be lucky if you ONLY have your face painted white. What happens when the high school outcast gets a chance to be one of the cool kids, albeit 30 years later? She might be serving snacks but she also likes her men young. And she might kill yo kids. You better get on the first ship out of here, but you know us and ships! It's basically a PSA for therapy. Also, who brought Earth Wind & Fire into this?

A magical negro that’s more than just magic? Is that possible?  Lawrence Fishburne is a legend, and his role in the Matrix will forever be iconic. He has his own mission. Morpheus is the name given to the god of dreams, and in the Matrix and he is making sure everyone is woke so they can fight the power that is their ultimate system of oppression. He’s their world’s Deray Mckesson! He has a very active role throughout the entire film. He’s a badass that knows his destiny is to save the world by finding this ultimate weapon, and anyone getting in the way will have to face him down. An undeniable presence. But nobody can be told who Morpheus is, you have to see him for yourself.

Ice Cube is about that action boss! He’s got his boot knife; he has a game plan. He isn’t letting a damn snake take him out like that, and you love to see it. A fish out of water against a snake in the water. Anaconda is a classic amongst the modern B movie horror films. While other actors played very specific characters, this one was like they took Boyz in the Hood Cube and dropped him in the middle of the rainforest. You getting ALL the black. Cube has some great quotables in here, you just might have to listen a little closer. He sounds just like himself in every movie, and we’re here for it. It’s just Ice Cube energy all around. You may leave the film asking the same question as cube’s character “Its snakes dis big??

In terms of pure entertainment value, Ghostbusters is a 10/10. No question. However, in it's use of their token character? A 2/10. They had such a great character with Dr. Winston Zeddemore that was under utilized. Though he does have one of the best lines in the film "When someone asks if you're a god, you tell them YES!", Ernie Hudson's Winston is basically an exposition vehicle without a lot of contribution to the actual action or story. It's even more frustrating knowing that he had a much bigger role in the original script. And to add insult to injury, they denied him the role to voice Winston in the animated show! Sheesh. Who we gunna call to give Ernie his dues in the Ghostbusters universe? Rumor has it the new reboot will finally give Winston the respect he deserves. Fingers - err proton streams - crossed! Yooo also a special shout out to the other token cameo role by Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson)!

You're about to cram 20 minutes worth of pimpage into 1 day… Apatow's great because there's some "black vernacular" in here, but its not overused. He knows where the lines are. Sometimes it's like "ya'll really wrote these black characters hella black huh?". When you have a black character written by a white writer, giving the actor freedom to put their cultural spin on it can be crucial to making that character pop off the screen like an authentic person. As Jay, Romany exhibits his blackness fully and LOUDLY. None of his coworkers are street but he lets it all go anyway. Rumpshaker on the tv,  keeping his blaccent on the entire time, he's HERE. There's no justifying Jay or who he is, he's a f*****y and unashamed…until he has to pay for his actions. As Andre 3000 so poetically rapped, "Ain't a hood n**** but a n**** from the hood". He's not a stereotype, he's just a human being!      

A black character that has their own thoughts, agency, and opinions? Is it possible? And in a movie from the 90s no less? Here’s a teen comedy that broke the mold. What it looks like for a script to respect its tokens as three-dimensional human beings and not stereotypes? Even the tokens here have nuance, which we love to see. It’s easy to make a film with spoiled rich teens that are shallow but these kids have some depth. And Dionne is her own woman. She has fears, desires, and the intelligence to live her own life. There’s a whole other convo to be had on Stacey, but Dionne is no second fiddle. She’s THAT CHICK. 

The Tulsa Massacre occurred 100 years ago this month and despite the role it plays in black history, it is still startlingly unknown outside of the black community. We wanted to review what is arguably the most popular work of fictionalized television centered around the Tulsa Massacre and its repercussions for black people in Oklahoma today. Using the events of DC Comics The Watchmen graphic novel as its foundation, HBO's The Watchmen creates its own unique and thought provoking narrative interweaving police, racism, justice and generational trauma into an explosive show that keeps you guessing at every turn. We discuss episodes 1-7. 

You may need subtitles for this one! It’s great to see a black lead in a major blockbuster but tough when that character has a license to "act" black but said character isn't created black. Plotwise, if the concept is so difficult to explain you have to reiterate it in almost every scene, should you start that script back at square one? There are situations you read differently as a black person, and ultra-luxe high end spaces are some of them - even John David can't just put on a Brooks Brothers suit and walk in. Look, there isn't a lot of chocolate in Nolan's films but don’t forget Morgan!

Where are all the whimsical black folk? We love Wes & we love to watch the trials of high functioning dysfunctional people, but when all of the color is on the peripheral, they can start to look like set dressing. Henry Sherman dresses as crisp as the rest but is he deeper than just flesh? He’s the mirror to Royalx Everything you could want in a token character but doesn’t get a chance to call out the explicit racism he is faced with. We love Danny and this is  a film full of national treasures but this gem is underutilized. Black people can be quirky, and whimsical but deep too! Entertainment Value: A, Lazy Diversity Rating: A+ WATCH @blacksincinema & youtube

The internet has been BUZZING with talk of "Black Trauma" with respect to movies and TV. Specifically incited by the launch of Amazon's "THEM", but on a larger scale all of black cinema, and the apparent need to focus on black pain/trauma for entertainment purposes. We decided to take a break from the normal review format to review this larger discussion being had. It is clear that The current times are making us hyper aware of the brutality that has and continues to be afflicted upon black bodies, but is there a place in modern cinema for black pain anymore? Should we let go of the stories that center on black pain and focus on only creating black happiness?