It appears my cries against mediocre and coonish movies is finally being heard. This has been a good year for black cinema.
Now you still had your buffoon pieces such as Tyler Perry's run of biannual movies, the most recent being Madea's Family Christmas. Baggage Claim can also fit under this category. Tyler is still making fools out of his own people. However, not all directors and writers want their race portrayed this way.
The movie 42, based on Jackie Robinson's rookie season in Major League Baseball, was very heartwarming and inspiring. A few months later, Fruitvale Station and The Butler were released. The Butler without question is one of this year's best films. It has even been re-released in theaters for the holiday season.
Just in the past month, a bevy of movies with predominantly black cast have hit the big screen and all of them have been quality films. You have 12 Years A Slave, Best Man Holiday, Black Nativity, and Nelson Mandela's biography The Long Walk To Freedom, set to release Christmas Day. I was planning on seeing Long Walk even before Mandela passed. Idris Elba is a favorite actor of mine, plus I love Mandela's story.
It feels good to look back at a movie and see it just as a good movie and not a blatant racially themed flick that caters to the lowest common denominator. I remember in the mid to late 90s when black people were cranking out blockbusters left and right. It's nice to see this making a comeback despite bootleg movies, the expensive prices at the theaters, and directors tempted to follow Tyler Perry's formula since his movies are so popular.
I'm awaiting another good release from Spike Lee or another quality performance from Denzel Washington. Beyond all of this, I just feel proud as a person of color, and a film critic, to see good movies that everyone can speak positively about.
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