POLITICS

Black Hollywood: A Long Journey for Truth
Written by Jalen Lovemore

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The year is 2018, and black entertainment have marginalized into a social climate for creative artists of color. In the field of music and fiction; the major opulence in television, such as Black-ish, Black Lightenng, Bet’s The Quad, and the Insecure. With the ongoing success of the box office blockbuster, Black Panther; African American entertainment have finally transitioned into a impactful work of art.
Black Cinema and Television has finally found their artistic strength in a time where success within the black community was inferior. Black creators have finally found their voice – A sound that reflects the reincarnation of African American truth.
During the early 70’s, African Americans have finally found their way to create stories about life in the ghetto; after finally escaping the psychological bondage of Jim Crow during the Civil Rights Movement. Even though they have successfully won the fight against the racial segregation in the South, the murders of notable leaders including Medgar Edvers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. we once again lost the most important guides into social salvation. With our leaders have fallen, the emergence of the Black Power Movement has became to fully transition.

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Within the achievements of the revolutionary faction in the Black communities rose to prominence, African Americans have found a way to create stories about the ongoing struggles in urban environments. By also crafting street smart antiheroes in numerous films. This type of genre was proudly known as blaxploitation.

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This form of cinema became a source for freedom and resistance in predominately black neighborhoods. With the use of powerful imagery of black life, the war between Afro Americans and the government, and the message to not allow America to isolate people of color; blaxploitation pictures have exhibited superior influences towards black audiences.

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Although numerous blaxploitation films, such as Shaft, The Mack and Superfly launched a plethora of recognition, including allowing such flicks to become great pieces in cultural; it still failed to eliminate the barriers of the false categorization of the black community. Black films in the 70’s have promoted the negativity in the black community which centered on prostitution, black on black violence, and illegal substance abuse.
Years have passed, the era of blaxplotation have began to languish during the new era. Although some shows that mirrored African American excellence, such as The Cosby Show and A Different World; both created by William H Cosby. Even though it gave the world an understanding on how success is the key to life, it still wasn’t enough to convince African Americans as a whole to wake up.

In the 90’s, black entertainment have entertained audiences of color with tragic tales in the inner city communities. Numerous movies that detailed the recurring issues of racial division, gang violence and police brutality has titled this cinematic element of black pictures as “hood films”.
This genre of movies have drawn influences in current issues that were plaguing the black community at that particular time. Most commonly, the Rodney King verdict which caused the inner city of Los Angeles, California to riot day after day. The habitual content of ghetto life was a trend during the 90’s – a time where gangsta rap music was considered misogynistic and barbaric.

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During the conclusion of the 90’s, black entertainment have improved with films that centered on African Americans achieving success. With hit films that are considered classics, such as Love Jones and The Best Man; it was a guarantee that it would be a time where African Americans would shift from content that they were trying to avoid – better yet the stereotypes that were trying to bring blacks down at the beginning.

Now fast forwarding to the present, the African American community have gone through fire that would not cease to stop. The recent killings of our brothers and sisters is still transpiring, mass incarceration among black people and other minority races continues to skyrocket in a alarming rate, and the trivia that the unemployment rate decreased is unequivocally biased. With countless tribulations that plagues our people; there is always moments where we can bring the best out of fiction.

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In the past five years, black entertainment have brought storytelling to a whole another level. With such great tales about Afro American excellence has attracted a large amount of viewers, of all races. Entertainment has provided us with artistic knowledge on the world we live in.

Stars of color are emerging in the scene. The most recent success in African American media is the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster, Black Panther. A motion picture that serves as both a inside look of African royalty, and also about the mistakes that black people as a whole need to assimilate.

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Black creators are on the high rise. With the issues that we are facing, with people have to struggle with making America great again, and even having to sadly come to grasp that the Oscars were at a point so white – except only acknowledging great work of black creators in roles that disclose on urban life and demasculinity of black males. However we now know that we have the power to demonstrate the prowess that we have.

Blacks in media have raised the bar. We went through the storm, and now we have made our rainbow, expressing our true colors. The belief that Black Hollywood would get better is a good chance. We have now have the ingredient that we need. The main question is what will black entertainment be cooking up in the following years.