Enough Slavery Movies!
By Loni Matthew
In today’s climate, movie directors need to read the room.
After spending some time playing Black Blasphemy on a family Zoom call, I got to thinking. In a game of “outrageous” opinions on Black culture, one of my cousin’s statements was “I would rather watch Django than Roots.” In the midst of the debate that followed, a really good point was made. Do we really need to endure another slavery movie?
It’s not to say that we need less historical depictions of African-American history on film. In fact, I argue that we need more of them. However, we’ve become so used to them strictly being slave tales of misery. For those who are not exposed to the true complexity of our history, it’s easy to believe that this is all we are: A by-product of misery. It’s an inaccurate view that erases the many positive events and outlets that have emerged or previously existed, despite generational traumas. We deserve a narrative that is painted with brilliance and joy, instead of it being one that is smeared with pain and suffering.
But there are times where we may choose to watch them. At the end of these types of movies, we are granted some relief of knowing it’s over. After 2 hours and some change, most of the storyline ceases to exist. In movies like Django, we are even left with a small sense of “victory.” Some heavy emotions may stick with us, but they begin to wear off after some time. When we switch our gaze from the TV to our phones, what changes? We are still shown graphic videos of Black people getting brutalized and killed, without resolve. To make matters worse, they reappear dozens of times on our timelines. With one source, we can either turn it off or change our selection. The other lingers.
Where does the line between informative and burdensome begin to blur?
Films serve a purpose and leave impressions on our minds at a subconscious level. Whether they lead us to make assumptions, draw conclusions, or change the lenses on our perspective, is all relative. Being exposed to slavery movies and trending videos of Black death compels us to absorb all of the imagery of doom and gloom. While movie selections are able to be controlled, we still carry subconscious sentiments that ripple into our everyday lives. Being faced with social media highlights of injustices and more, seem to double-down on any psychological weight we bear from such imagery. Each negative news break seems to both pile heavy onto our collective psyche, and also serve as confirmation for our outlook.
It’s safe to say we need a lighthearted outlet. There are endless layers for movie directors to peel through for positive representation. We need more goofy, corny, and joyous contemporary Black movies. It’s tiring to see ourselves in pain on-screen AND in real life. We need movies that allow Black characters to be themselves, instead of being the comedic relief, gag character, prop, or sidekick. We need a good laugh and not one at our own expense.