Hollywood Black, discusses the essence of Black cinema, shining light on the development and the struggles that Black creatives endured, and how the entertainment industry today has been forever impacted despite the widespread discrimination that Black creatives have faced.
When discussing the new MGM+ four-part docuseries, director, Justin Simien mentioned that unearthing this history became apart of his well-being while also becoming apart of his practice as a Black artist, “…to fortify and navigate a bewildering industry was something that I was trying to do for myself anyways.” As Simien was trying to uncover the history of Black cinema on his own time, the journey of finding answers fueled him to create this docuseries. What started out as a self-journey project, turned into himself adapting Donald Bogle’s novel, “Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers,” which examined the history and impact of Black actors, filmmakers, and their roles in Hollywood.
While each episode dives into the topic of race and the entertainment business, Hollywood Black states that it does not know every single answer.. However, the docuseries asks that viewers allow themselves to shift their own perspectives on the industry that they thought they knew.
Simien explained that the docuseries helped open up an area of discussion that he still believes needs a lot more conversations, “I can humbly say that this is just the beginning of any kind of conversation about this. I would love for others to understand and grapple with cinema in the same way that we are able to understand that popular music like rock, jazz, and all of these different aspects of music have have black origins.” Simien explains, “we are still at the tip of the iceberg when having that same discussion about the movies and the cinema, so hopefully this is the first step.”
Hollywood Black explores the ways in which Black artists have shaped and been shaped by the film industry, delving into both their achievements and the significant racial challenges they faced.
Hollywood Black will be streaming weekly on Sundays on MGM+ starting Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. PST.
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