An impassioned and thoughtful essay proposing a test to highlight the non-racial black period film and show further depth in the black humanistic experience.
(From left to right) “Eve’s Bayou”, “Fences”, Harlem Nights”, “Crooklyn”
(From left to right) “The Inkwell”, “The Color Purple”, “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings”, “A Rage in Harlem”
Spoiler Alert…
Dorothy, played by Diana Ross, rips the tattered blanket off a cheap bed frame to reveal the phony scheming “Wiz”, played by Richard Pryor. Dorothy thought her world was one way and quickly uncovered that her entire journey was a lie. Follow the yellow brick road, find The Wiz, kill Evillene, and go home. This was the mission, but she had been fooled. She was ignorant of the fact that the world might not quite work the way she saw it. She walked through Oz with a certain privilege. In this analogy, Dorothy is most of white America and The Wiz is systemic racism hidden from the privileged that has permeated American culture since its birth.
“The Wiz” is a great movie. Rent it. But that’s not the type of black story America is digesting at the moment.
Filmed and unwarranted police brutality has reintroduced America to its original sin. Racism. It’s a multilayered, emotionally taxing battle, but a battle necessary to reveal certain truths. Truths steeped in stereotypes, and implicit bias from content America creates and consumes.
Streaming services have curated a list of films on the many faces of racism. This is productive and needs to continue well beyond the current events of the day. An individual can’t begin to practice empathy without procuring information over time. However, these films appear to mainly be down-trodden, painful stories that elicit sorrow and sympathy from the other side. It gives the viewer only a small hint of what it means to be black. It’s our responsibility to click deeper down the rabbit hole to find three-dimensional characters with human experiences that happen to be black. It is our responsibility not to fall down the hole of conditioning.
CONDITIONING
Conditioning - the process of training or familiarizing a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances. : "social conditioning".
Raised in Philadelphia, I participated in a performing arts training program as a child called “Freedom Theatre”. I was essentially raised there from a pre-teen to high school. The sign-in was always the same: You’d walk in, sign your name on the timesheet, then you’d wait for the adult behind the desk to say:
Adult: WHAT’S THE PASSWORD?
You: I respect myself.
Now, if you uttered those words half-heartedly after a long, hard day at school you wouldn't get the response from the adult to head to class and start your day. You’d have to go through the process again and again until you believed in the words (or were a good enough liar.)
Adult: WHAT’S THE PASSWORD?
You: I RESPECT MYSELF!!
Adult: YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!
This is a positive form of conditioning. The beauty of it is after weeks of going through this process, you secretly began to respect yourself! This mantra, along with other positive images and phrases, attaches itself to your brain at a very young and affable age. Ask any former student of Freedom Theatre and they remember this mantra with fondness. They will talk about it with a sense of empowerment.
We have all been conditioned. If you take one look at the Oscars list for the last 40 years (1980-2020), conditioning is apparent. The Academy loves:
The wartime drama.
The Victorian romance.
The scrappy woman who tells it like it is and has the smarts to back it up.
The “every’ man who struggles with extraordinary complications.
The woman who needs a man to lead a full life.
The man who is given a second chance at life.
The enslaved.
Maids and servants.
Racial violence.
This goes for other underrepresented, and disenfranchised groups or cultures in movies and TV. People of Latino/Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian descent, and members of LGBTQAI+ :
The extravagant sex working, confused crossdresser.
The sassy and horny gay best friend.
The docile, and strict bookworm Asian.
The poor but hard-working Latino/Latinx immigrant.
The militant Indian managing a market with a thick accent.
The singular minded Muslim bent on mass destruction.
Like the daily mantra I learned as a child, these images seep into our subconscious and anchor themselves only to pop up later in your day to day without us being aware of it, without even trying.
PERIOD PIECES
Characters and stories with an all black cast can be hard to find, specifically in period pieces that are written as fiction or historical fiction. Before continuing, let’s define some things.
Period Piece - “A work (as of literature, art, furniture, cinema, or music) whose special value lies in its evocation of a historical period”
Examples of predominantly white period pieces:
“Gone with the Wind” (1939) Set in 1861
“Birth of a Nation” (1914) Set in 1865
“Yentl” (1983) Set in 1904
“Downton Abbey” (2019) Set in 1927
“Chinatown” (1974) Set in 1936
“Dick Tracy” (1990) Set in 1938
“Dunkirk” (2017) Set in 1940
“L.A. Confidential” (1997) Set in the 1950s
“Boogie Nights” (1997) Set in 1977-80
Fiction - something invented by the imagination or feigned – specifically: an invented story
Historical Fiction - the genre of literature, film, etc., comprising narratives that take place in the past and are characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages.
“Birth of a Nation” is a fictitious piece of work intertwined with non-fictitious historical events and characters, so, historical fiction. “Dunkirk” is labeled as historical non-fiction. “Dick Tracy”, “L.A. Confidential”, “Boogie Nights” and “Chinatown” are works of fiction.
Period piece films are important to audiences because they convey information about the history of a particular culture during a specific time. Besides text books and personal research, period films are where people consume most of their knowledge about the past. Movies are visually digestible, entertaining, and familiar. Even the best period films give limited amounts of historical insight, but this is where the landscape of our collective worldview tends to be shaped. The problem is these films can be laced with social prejudices and phobias. One of the most racist films in cinematic history, “Birth of a Nation” (1914) was shown in theaters for 20 years. Disney’s “Song of South” hopped in and out of movie theaters well into the mid-1980s. These period films have lasting impacts on an already painfully affected culture. It only stands to reason that it uplifted another.
Period films with a predominantly white cast of three-dimensional characters are ubiquitous throughout film culture. Period films with a predominantly black cast of three-dimensional characters are obtainable, but harder to find. Period films with a predominantly black cast of three-dimensional characters not dealing in racial injustice or inequality as the life force of the story or worse, taking care of a white family? Well, that's a horse of a different color.
“Not a lot of narratives are also invested in our humanity,” Davis said. “They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience. The white audience at the most can sit and get an academic lesson into how we are. Then they leave the movie theater and they talk about what it meant. They’re not moved by who we were.” - Actress Viola Davis
THE TEST
The Bechdel Test originated in a comic strip by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985 with the help of Liz Wallace and sets out to “evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters”.
The usual criteria of the Bechdel Test are:
1. At least two women are featured
2. These women talk to each other
3. They discuss something other than a man
A fourth rule is sometimes added and states that these women need to have names. Some criticize the test as being too “feminist driven”. Others believe the test isn’t authentic to “real life” and argue whether or not artists are responsible for social change outside of the physical piece of art itself. Regardless, The Bechdel Test opened blind eyes to the lack of depth in stories written for female characters. It also showed the lack of female writers telling their own stories.
Simply put, representation matters.
Other tests have appeared over time, challenging the status quo of American cinema. One is popularly known as “The DuVernay Test”, after well-known and award-winning film director Ava DuVernay. Two women filmmakers of color from Sudan, Nadia Latif and Leila Latif seem to be originally attributed for creating this test with an eponymous test posited by author Nikesh Shukla (two main characters who are people of colour who talk to each other without mentioning their race). It sets out to establish characters of color as fully realized individuals.
This test asks:
Are there two named characters of color?
Do they have dialogue?
Are they not romantically involved with one another?
Do they have any dialogue that isn’t comforting or supporting a white character?
Is one of them not magic?
My criterion for a Black Period Test are these:
A fictitious period piece with a predominantly all-black cast (at least 85-90%)
There cannot be constant or looming reminders of racial oppression that hangs over the characters head. Racial tension, seeking racial equality, and acts of violence at the hands of white people isn’t the main focal point of the story.
No teaching or caretaking of a white person, a white family, or their white feelings.
The story cannot be a biopic, remake, or retelling of previous work from an all-white cast.
Some examples of films that pass the test:
"Daughters of the Dust” (1991) Set in 1902
“Dead presidents” (1995) Set in 1969/73
“Fences” (2016) Set in 1950’s
“The Five Heartbeats” (1991) Set in 1960’s
“Crooklyn” (1994) Set in 1973
“Eve’s Bayou” (1997) Set in 1960’s
“Rage in Harlem” (1991) Set in 1950’s
“Harlem Nights” (1989) Set in 1920’s
Some examples of films, while very good, do not pass this test:
“Hidden Figures” (2016) Set in 1961
“The Help” (2011) Set in 1963
“BlackkKlansman” (2018) Set in 1972
“Buck & Preacher” (1972) Set in the 1860s
“A Soldier's Story” (1984) Set in 1944
“12 Years a Slave” (2013) Set in the 1800s
“Detroit” (2017) Set in 1967
Here’s a small breakdown rule by rule of the test with “Fences” and “12 Years a Slave”
“12 Years a Slave”
“12 Years a Slave” would fail this guideline because the main/top billing cast make up is about a 50/50 split between black and white performers.
“12 Years a Slave” would fail this guidelinebecause racial torment and oppression is at the main focal point of the story. Solomon Northup and Patsey (Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o) and other enslaved people are constantly physically and mentally abused because of the color of their skin and their status up against Mary Epps, John Tibeats , Edwin Epps (Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender) and others.
“12 Years a Slave” would fail this guideline because the black people are “owned” by white slave masters and serve their needs daily.
“12 Years a Slave” would fail this guideline because the movie is a biopic based on true events documented in the book written by Solomon Northup.
“Fences”
“Fences” would pass this guideline because it is a fictitious period piece set in the 1950’s. It’s main/top billing cast is over 90% Black.
“Fences” would pass this guideline because it is a drama about a blue collar family in Pittsburg trying to make ends meet. Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) is coming to terms with his life not matching up to his expectations. Troy and Cory Maxson (Jovan Adepo) are father and son struggling to understand one another while Rose Maxson (Viola Davis) is trying to find her identity in a somewhat failed union with Troy. At no point is there racial oppression and violence at the hands of a white person.
“Fences” would pass this guideline because at no time are they serving or taking care of white people or making a white person feel better about their life.
“Fences” would pass this guideline because it is a film version of African-American playwright August Wilson’s “Fences”.
BIOPICS & REMAKES
“Why are biopics taken out of the list that can make the cut for your proposed test?”
Biopics illustrating a black person’s life seem to be more often than not, a journey to racial equality in white America. Some steer away from this like, “What’s Love Got to do with it?” with Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, about the life of Tina Turner. Don Cheadle’s “Miles Ahead”, a reimagining of a slice of Miles Davis’s life, and “Ray”, the Jamie Foxx portrayal of Ray Charles. Most African-Americans who rose to a certain status in period films got there by leaping over and pushing through sereve acts of racism. It would be unfair to show that racism didn’t play a role in their stories. As the idea of equality becomes the status quo over time, more biopics starring black figures may not focus on overcoming racial injustice. While a biopic can highlight massive amounts of creativity from the artists on board, it is still beholden to and should not diverge from the individual's real truth. A remake or retelling of a predominantly white movie with a present-day black cast can be a worthwhile effort. NBA Hall of Famer and activist, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a well-received Hollywood Reporter article in 2019 about remakes with black casts and why they are important. However, for this test, they will be excluded. Those films can be retold beautifully, with a black voice, but they were not made for black voices.
These Biopics, while well done and culturally significant, would not hold up to the test:
“Malcolm X”
“Race”
“42”
“Selma”
“The Butler”
“Cadillac Records”
“Hurricane”
“Just Mercy”
These remakes, while well done and culturally significant, would not hold up to the test:
“The Wiz”
“Carmen Jones”
“Steel Magnolias”
“Black Orpheus”
It’s justifiable if some black people, activists, or avid historians reading this feel a twinge of apprehension in fully embracing this test. While sharing these works of fiction ,which pass the test, will be worthwhile for all people, there will be a few who could take advantage. Twisting these works of fiction to prove some bastardized, one-track-minded, self-centered point of view is off putting and detrimental. This test wasn’t created for racists to “whitewash” and lament about the “good ol’ days” that “weren’t so bad for the blacks”. This test isn’t meant to hide from the past. This test is meant to fully embrace a culture of people with a kaleidoscope of experiences within a finite amount of time.
There would be no “12 Years a Slave” without the years before Solomon Northup’s capture as a free man. Where are those stories?
Period films on race, and inequality should continue to be produced, distributed, and afterward discussed in class settings, with family members, or in mature public settings and sooner rather than later. Race and racism are woven into the fabric of the American tapestry. Even a tattered blanket can't get rid of it. It is paramount for our younger generation to learn all aspects of American history, warts and all. Creating period films with all-black casts is not to suggest that racism should be exempt. “Chinatown” didn’t take out copious amounts of cigarette use or the disputes over water during the California Water Wars. This test doesn’t suggest erasing visually subtle or overt images and phrases of oppression like Colored & Whites' only signs, bathrooms or water fountains. It is not suggesting to exclude seminal moments of American history if it is crucial to the narrative. This test will not be possible for every period film made with an all-black cast and it has not been created to conquer the Black period genre. Like The Bechdel Test, it is meant to open eyes to the full scope of work written for black characters of the past and give voice to an underrepresented genre: the non-racial Black humanistic period film. Ultimately, it will also show the lack of black writers telling their own stories in a very Eurocentric driven industry.
Simply put, representation matters.
“ …That’s what the arts and humanities do. They lift up our identities and make us see ourselves in each other.” - President Barack Obama 2016 Arts and Humanities Medal Ceremony
THE BOARDROOM
“If you’re getting angry and throwing your shoe at your TV over an Award Show, you’re late. You missed the boat. The assault happened 3 years prior in the boardroom. When they was divvying up them budgets. When they was talking about which stories they wanted to greenlight. In this climate that we find ourselves in now, I’m very hopeful that it’s in those meeting rooms where the diversity needs to happen.” -Actor, Micheal K. Williams
America is a capitalist society, and why shouldn't it be? The numbers are always in a constant state of flux, but in 2019 The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the country was $21.43 trillion. According to the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2019, the U.S. and Canadian box office came in at $11.4 billion. Global box office revenue hit a record of $42.5 billion in 2019. The top 3 domestic juggernauts of 2019 were “Avengers: Endgame” ($858M), “The Lion King”($543M), and “Toy Story 4”($434M). All 3 are tent-pole or remade movies that have a loyal fan base that hits all four quadrants (moviegoing audiences: both male and female, and both over- and under-25). The budgets for those were as follows. Endgame ($356M), Lion King ($260M), Toy Story 4 ($200M). These movies' returns surpassed their budgets, doubling or nearly quadrupling their earrings. Based on previous domestic returns and fan anticipation, the board rooms at Walt Disney Studios made a cost-benefit analysis of how much money productions would have. The film's producers negotiated with the studio to get the best dollar amount for their productions so they could make the best film they’d be proud of. The result is the fans being satisfied by the movie and continuing to support it so the studio can recoup their money.
Decisions are made in the boardroom.
Period pieces are more expensive than a present-day film. If a period film is contained to only a few indoor locations there might be a chance at having a relatively modest budget. But once the film ventures outside with more characters and story arcs, it’s destined to accumulate a hefty bill. Period films are tedious productions. They demand accurate locations, music, costumes, cars, the slang of the time, props, and so on. These items cost money. One item out of place can crumble the world of storytelling. Or, more to the point - One dollar amount misplaced can crumble the world of storytelling. Period films are a gamble.
Movies with a narrative about enslaved black people have a popular history in American cinema. For the most part, they are critically acclaimed and well-received by audiences. They pull at the heartstrings of Americans of all backgrounds for different reasons. The studios have a blueprint set up for this type of film. So, why would financiers, executives, or production companies (with a finite amount of funds to be divided between films) take a chance on something different? The consumers have been conditioned to like one thing for so long when it comes to black period films, so why change horses in midstream? The powers that be have conditioned themselves to believe this is all the consumers want to see so why adapt to the current climate? The same reason why there are multiple superhero movies, remakes of an animated classic, and 4 Toy Stories. The bottom line. America is a capitalist society and decisions are made in the boardroom.
The boardrooms of American film studios, productions, and distribution companies have been held mainly by white men. So it makes sense that a majority of the films made since the beginning of cinema star white performances. Those people in the boardroom desire the same thing we all do. To see themselves represented. The only difference is, because of the way America was built (racism, segregation, oppressive laws, etc.), these men had a head start. Things have been changing over the years with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios, CodeBlack Films, Kevin Hart’s Hart Beat Nation, Jordan Peele’s MonkeyPaw, Tyler Perry Studios, Ava Duvernay’s Array Now, and LeBron James’s SpringHill Entertainment to name a few. We can not forget about these organization's predecessors, who paved the way for them. In the early 1910’s to 1950’s African-American independent filmmakers made films that have been destroyed or lost to time called “race films”. Films that were for the black race and made by the black race. They set out to show black life in all its rich and aspirational complexity in a racist and segregated America. Lincoln Motion Picture Company founded by actor Noble Johnson in 1916. Director Oscar Micheaux who directed forty-two films. Producer Willam Foster’s Foster Photoplay Company helped develop 1915’s “Birth of a Race”. A movie that set out to counter the racist stereotypes shown in “Birth of a Nation”, and Peter P. Jones’s Photoplay Company. These black filmmakers were outliers in their day and we should not forget them or sweep them under the rug. Continued diversity in the boardrooms where budgets and movies are divvied up and greenlit is key if American cinema truly wishes to represent the true fabric of the country.
For further information on today’s gains and losses on diversity in the film industry, The UCLA College of Social Science put out a detailed paper called “Hollywood Diversity Report” for 2019. It is eye-opening, inspiring, and worthwhile data to read. The measure for equality is in constant flux but should continue to be fought with collective strategies, determination, and purpose.
THE ACADEMY
The Academy Awards isn’t the end all be all for most audiences when it comes to American cinema. The most admired cinematic works were never Oscar-nominated nor did they break even. However, the Academy is a good barometer of what the cultural climate is and will be in cinema. From 1980-2020, all period films nominated for Best Picture, Actress, Actor, and Supporting Actress and Actor totals 272 films. From 1980-2020 the period works with a predominantly black cast nominated in those categories were 17. Six of those films were fiction.
How many pass the test I’m proposing? Let me post my test again. No need to scroll:
A fictitious period piece with a predominantly all-black cast (at least 85-90%)
There cannot be constant or looming reminders of racial oppression that hangs over the characters head. Racial tension, seeking racial equality, and acts of violence at the hands of white people isn’t the main focal point of the story.
No teaching or caretaking of a white person, a white family, or their white feelings.
The story cannot be a biopic, remake, or retelling of previous work from an all-white cast.
Now, how many past the test I’m proposing? Four. “The Color Purple” directed by Steven Spielberg, August Wilson’s “Fences” directed by Denzel Washington, “Precious” directed by Lee Daniels and “Dreamgirls” directed by Bill Condon.
Now to calculate the Oscar-nominated period pieces with a predominantly all-white cast. There were no criteria the films had to adhere to other than being period films that weren’t biopics or true stories. Generally speaking, white film culture doesn’t have to be placed in a box because their culture is the box creators. If you’ve created the boxes, you can create whatever shape you’d like. 116 fictional period films were totaled between 1980-2020. 51 additional years of Oscar history were not tallied, starting in 1929.
In the late 1940s through the 1960s, it was rare for a black person to be seen on television. Black families would bee-line home to see Sammy Davis Jr, Harry Belafonte, or Diahann Carroll from the comfort of their couch. People were genuinely happy to see someone that looked like them on their TV. In time, there was a shift to stories with a narrative focused on enslavement such as, “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1971), “Roots” (1974). While these stories depicted horrific events in history, they connected Black America to their ancestors in a way that honored them for their strength, moral aptitude, and faith.
Subsequently, “slave exploitation” movies such as “Goodbye Uncle Tom” (1971), “Mandingo” (1975), “Drum” (1976), and many others were released through the late ’60s and end of the ’70s. These movies fetishized black bodies in bondage for cinematic revenue. The honoring and fetishization of black enslavement (with monetary gain) have become so incestuous that it has given birth to many films we (myself included) applaud today. Conditioning. We end up neglecting other potential period stories which would instead celebrate Black America as Americans first and also happen to be black. Well-funded and strategically marketed period pieces which continually inform us of black suffering at the hands of white superiority can come across as reductive if you have been digesting them for years.
There is a wealth of emotions and stories to be told from the Black American perspective. These films, without proper balance from others, can subconsciously tell cauasians that “White is right” and that they were and are still in charge. They can also suffer from “white guilt” and in turn, search for misguided absolution, which at best annoys black people. These attempts at absolution can come in the form of apologizing on behalf of the entire white race, ally-signaling, and Venmo payments. On the other hand, black people watch period piece films focused on racism and can feel a sense of pride, or better yet, resilience. At the same time, African-Americans can suffer from watching black trauma depicted on screen in graphic detail year after year with no other period stories in between to share. It's a subtle reminder year after year that we don’t belong here and distorted blame can be placed on white people that can wind up being self-destructive. However, we will still go and see them because they are culturally significant, and if we want more Black stories we have to put our money where our mouths are. Right? But at what cost? The fetishization of black suffering at the hands of white supremacy is a genre unto itself and a form of social and public masochism. I find it difficult to acknowledge it as anything else until more black period stories are introduced and lauded in the same fashion.
Lastly, take any photo of a black person from the past. Pick a decade, any year. Those people had lives outside of white superiority, but were those lives sometimes dictated by a white power structure? Of course, but their burdens and restrictions were not the total sums of them. Are you still looking at that photo? Where are they going? Where have they been? What was their job? Is that a smirk creeping from their mouth? Did something funny happen just before this photo? Or perhaps, dramatic? Who are they in love with? What did they do for their last birthday? Do they secretly want to be a private detective? Do they daydream of traveling to other countries? Where have they traveled in the world? Who are they outside of white superiority? For these and many other questions, we owe it to them for their stories to be told. Black people have love, jokes, pain and regrets, sorrow, sex, fears, conflict, admiration, embarrassment, jealousy, wonderment, pride, and everything else you can possibly imagine. These are questions that the film industry has asked when telling white stories. The test is demanding the film, TV and theatre industry to ask these questions when telling black stories.
Tests evolve, always adding, taking away, and adapting for a new generation. Tests aren’t always meant to benefit the present generation, but more likely, the one after. So what real purpose does a test serve? The end goal is to be more open-minded to ideas outside of your worldview.
We can begin to do this by challenging ourselves to create and watch period works of fiction for Black Americans as fully realized functioning people in society with hopes and dreams outside of the gaze of white superiority. Not every person going into the film industry has their eyes set on being in the boardroom. All of us have our own unique block to put on the pyramid of success. However, I challenge people or color to seek jobs within the boardrooms and other places high on the totem pole. The change can start with being an active participant in your culture’s visible representation. Apply to diversity programs and grants, watch movies you disagree and agree with to formulate your own opinions. Apply for that Production Assistant position you may not want just to move up the ladder by showing your own worth. Not only to others but to yourself. Then you can create your own room where decisions are made. Set a clean track for yourself and fight to keep your eyes on the prize. Demand streaming services and production companies, and theatre companies to seek and develop Black period fiction where the characters are predominantly Black Americans as fully realized functioning people in society with hopes and dreams outside of the gaze of white superiority. Each one, teach one.
Word Nick.
(From left to right) “Precious”, “The Get Down”, “Devil in a Blue Dress”, The Five Heartbeats”
(From left to right) “Dreamgirls", “Paid In Full”, “Cooley High”, “Daughters of the Dust”