Is That Black Enough for You?!? Is a Netflix Documentary centered on Black film and Black people in film from roughly the 1940’s to about the 70’s. It is written and directed by film critic Elvis Mitchell who tells a story of the Black films that shaped him as a young man.
Mitchell was born in the late 50s and, as a boy, was shaped by Black films of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. He graduated from Wayne State University in Michigan and now continues to lecture on films at Harvard and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has spent most of his professional career as a film critic and TV/Podcast Host. Considering the fact that Mitchell grew up in the 60s - an extremely crucial time in Black history - and his love for film, I can appreciate the documentary being told from his own personal perspective.
Is That Black Enough for You?!? Was an overall beautiful depiction of Black culture and history throughout film. What I appreciated most was the film didn’t just focus on the negatives of slavery and discrimination. Instead, we see how Black culture has always directly influenced the mainstream culture - even through film. It also shed a light on the older independent films that featured Black and white actors without any mention of race. The documentary touched briefly on the history of the incorporation of Black music within Black and mainstream films which has evolved to give us successful Black scores we see today like the Lion King and the Black Panther movies. The documentary loosely followed a chronological timeline beginning with Blackface films, touching on the first predominately Black films, and finishing with some classic films that we know and love today like Shaft.
Although I am not necessarily a film enthusiast, this documentary was extremely inspirational as a young Black creator, as it shows a side of Black history that isn’t highlighted everyday. We rarely see how Black film has evolved because it isn’t quite mainstream, but, for this reason, that makes this documentary so much more meaningful.
Comments