From Fela! to Fences, several productions featuring black performers are nominated for a record number of Tony Awards. But notwithstanding the power of Denzel, most Broadway audiences are overwhelmingly white.

There's a reason why there's never been an adaptation of an August Wilson play at the multiplex. When it comes to the lives of black folks, Hollywood--and the movie-going audience--doesn't do complicated, nuanced or subtle.

But what do these new race-related productions mean for Stepin Fetchit, skin color and the N-word?

Spike Lee's film rendering of the Broadway play Passing Strange declares that there is a grand assortment of experiences for black folks—both inside and outside of America.