black creators
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'Thanks Black One': This TikTok Video Perfectly Encapsulates Being the Black Sidekick in a Movie
Remember how it was such a big deal when Neo (Keanu Reeves) finally realized he was “The One” in The Matrix? Take all of the power and acclaim from that feeling, replace it with patronizing stereotypes, add a dash of microaggression and you have, “The Black One,” also known as the Token Black Friend. TV…
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Keep Austin Weird, Keep Artists Paid: How the Cancellation of SXSW Affects Black Creators
I’ve been to SXSW as a patron. I’ve been to SXSW as a member of the press. I’ve always dreamed of going to SXSW with a project. In 2019, I personally witnessed the significance of this (and every) festival’s potential impact on a black creator when I reviewed Numa Perrier’s Jezebel, which has since been…
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A Boomerang of Black Erasure: Welp, Eddie Murphy’s 1988 Oscars Presentation Is Still Relevant in 2020
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Shortly after the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced, writer Todd Spence shared an eerily relevant clip of Eddie Murphy presenting the Best Picture award at the 60th Academy Awards in 1988. As Murphy stood on the stage, he recalled what led him…
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ABFF Honors 2020: Louis Gossett Jr. and Lena Waithe to Receive Special Hollywood Trailblazer Honors
Just about every award ceremony hands out awards, then also hands out extra special awards that stand out from the routine awards. For example, the Golden Globes have their Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Grammys have their Lifetime Achievement Award. The blackest film festival to ever do it, the American Black Film Festival (ABFF)…
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‘I Have No Writers Room…I Write It All’: Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Gatekeeper
While Madea may be laid to rest, Tyler Perry isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. To kick off the first official business day of the new year, the 50-year-old writer, producer, actor, and director decided to use his Twitter account to boast about his unmatched work ethic. “So, I don’t know if you know…
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If You Want to Protect Black Art, Protect Black Critique
I will never forget the day my skin thickened. I was a baby-faced undergrad student sitting in a circle of my literary peers, awaiting my academic doom, also known as the “writing workshop.” My heart raced with an urgent fury and my stomach twisted into a knot only an Eagle Scout could untie. There I…
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Regina King Lands First-Look Deal at Netflix, Proceeds to Sit on the Industry's Iron Throne
Regina (The) King has some prosperous news. Per an official press release from Netflix: Netflix has entered into a multi-year first look deal with director, producer, and award winning actress, Regina King. King’s production company Royal Ties is entering into the first-look deal to produce films and series for Netflix. Her sister, Reina King, will…
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'The Word Is Ours': Today's Television Is Brought to You by the N-Word, Thanks to Unapologetic Black Creators
It’s a word loaded with pain, injustice, exuberance, exclamation and beyond, all at once. It’s a noun with such stunning versatility, it can be attributed to a person, place, and thing. It’s the impetus of the most intriguing story you’ll hear that day. It’s a verbiage of community and friendship. What’s the word? Nigga. Our…