We are nearing the end of Black History Month, and you have probably seen multiple lists of movies you should watch to mark the occasion. But since black history is also American history and history is made all year long, why not stretch your curious brain cells to see more films and fill your mind with more knowledge? For this week’s That’s A Wrap, I share new and underwatched titles you can add to your queue, as they are available for streaming.
Netflix
The title “Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story” may not spell out what the movie is about. However, it carries a term that many African Americans know as an insult, especially as it has been directed at the Obamas and Megan Markle in recent years. The documentary highlights the barriers crossed by Ribbs, the first black man to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. “Uppity” was one of many racist insults and incidents the California race car driver encountered and wore it as a badge of honor. Outlining his career from racing in Europe to joining teams sponsored by Paul Newman and Bill Cosby, “Uppity” shows the little-known path Ribbs had to take to make his dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver come true.
Director Julie Dash is one of many who rose from the L.A. Rebellion, a group of black filmmakers and actors who attended the University of California at Los Angeles’ film school. In 1991, Dash released “Daughters of the Dust,” a landmark movie in independent cinema, on the Gullah population on the Georgia coast. Its nonlinear style, costume design and unstructured narrative have been replicated in other films and media, including Beyonce’s visual album, “Lemonade.” “Daughters of the Dust” is also a part of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Hulu
What would make an interesting double billing are two films that are nearly 25 years apart but deal with issues that are still prevalent today. Twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes released the stunning debut film “Menace II Society.” Starring Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, Jada Pinkett Smith and Charles S. Dutton, the drama shows the limited options for the population in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood. Negative influences surround Kaydee “Caine” Lawson (Turner), as he stays close to his best friend and hot-headed thug O-Dog (Tate). Caine commits a string of crimes and makes bad decisions that place him closer to death. Those who love Caine try to convince him to leave Watts and start a new life elsewhere, but it’s up to Caine to change before it’s too late.
“Menace II Society” was one of the early entries of so-called hood dramas from the 1990s which included “Boyz in the Hood” (also on Hulu), “New Jack City” and “Juice.” They were also helmed by black directors outside the studio system, giving a more personal and believable feel to them and taking chances mainstream movies could not.
The death of Michael Brown by a white police officer ignited the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2017 documentary “Whose Streets?” profiles the activists who are calling for change. Directors Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis chronicle the young activists in Ferguson, Mo., as they protest against systemic racism while facing down ongoing media coverage and the National Guard.
Amazon Prime
If you watched Netflix’s “Dolemite is My Name” starring Eddie Murphy but you haven’t seen the source material, it’s time to watch the blaxploitation classic “Dolemite.” Actually, any time is the right time to see Rudy Ray Moore in the iconic role of Dolemite and where it all began. The fashions and all-woman kung fu army are just as important and historical. And while “Dolemite” is one of several great films in the genre, it’s a good start.
Amazon Prime is also streaming “Coffy” starring Pam Grier as a nurse who takes on drug dealers, pimps and crooked politicians in the 1973 classic. The genre goes sci-fi with 1975’s “Blackenstein” with a twist on the classic tale.
In 1997, director Cheryl Dunye released “The Watermelon Woman,” a groundbreaking film on race and sexuality. With the film set in Philadelphia, Dunye stars as a video store clerk who wants to make a documentary on fictional 1930s actress Fae Richards, a black actress who often was uncredited in her roles but was the lover of her white director Martha Page. The movie is also a landmark in LGBT filmmaking and is a part of the Museum of Modern Art’s film collection.
The Criterion Channel
The streaming service continuing some of the most celebrated film titles in cinematic history has the collection “Pioneers of African American Cinema” featuring “Within Our Gates” and “Body and Soul” by Oscar Micheaux and “Hell-Bound Train” by James and Eloyce Gist. There are features and shorts from the 1920s and 1930s that paved the way for today’s directors and actors, and the channel includes rarely seen interviews and analyses.
The work of documentarian and street photographer Khalik Allah is featured in a set of four films that are commentaries on contemporary urban life. Two shorts, “Urban Rashomon” and “Antonyms of Beauty,” follow the life of a homeless man in New York. Allah’s feature debut, “Field N——-,” is a portrait of East Harlem, N.Y., residents told in an unorthodox way, and the documentary “Black Mother” is described as a “spiritual journey” through Allah’s ancestoral homeland.
