Black Movies and Television
 

So a friend of mine posted this on FB and it stumped nearly everyone (who read the rules correctly)... I thought it'd be fun to see what GCers could come up with!

2 part challenge for any and all takers. 1)Name a recent (we'll say since 1995) film that is considered a "Black" movie that is NOT a comedy. Answers cannot be dramedy/comedy-drama, set in the hood, or be a historical/period piece. 2) Name a "Black" television series, same restrictions as above, that lasted at... least 1 full season between 1928 (first tv broadcast) and the present. Good luck!

Define "Black" movie / TV series.

All or mostly Black cast members?

Directors?

Other minorities.

How 'fictional' should they be?

Right off the top 2 movies I can throw your way are

G and Waiting to Exhale

Good question, because I believe I read somewhere that if a movie or series is created by, directed by a black person, or the actors are primarily black then it's a black movie or tv series. But I'm sure most ppl might just define it by the percentage of actors who are black. I say use your best judgment, I just want to see what people can come up with :)

ETA: I would say completely fictional since the rules stated no historical pieces. IMO Black Directors do count...
Headed to imdb to look up 'G'

The Negotiator (directed by F. Gary Gray) and Grey's Anatomy (created by Shonda Rhimes)

These came to mind, but I had to double check to make sure that I was right.

Then Private Practice too, right? It was created by Shonda Rhimes as well, I think.

i know you said "since 1995" but would you could Diff'rent Strokes or The Jeffersons as black television?

I would also give "black movie/tv series" the criteria of likelihood that its viewership is predominately black. A series like The Wire, Soul Food or a sitcom like Martin or Everybody Hates Chris (i know, a random smattering of shows) IMO would be considered "black shows." I'm sure there are some white people (and red and blue and purple :) ) who do too, but the intent is toward a black audience.

Conversely there are a lot of "white" (a misnomer, id say, more like "mainstream") shows that appeal to a lot of black people. and then there are some shows that black people give the side-eye and keep flipping through the channels. I'm a huge Seinfeld fan - i only know one other black person who enjoys it (and she's my bff, so no surprises there).

I think you may be hard pressed to recall a recent show (as in the past 15 years) that fits this criteria is because there TV has gone the way of reality. And let's look at the offering of black reality shows:

College Hill
Harlem Heights
Flavor of Love/I Love NY
For the Love of Ray J

Ok, i'm reaching, and can't recall any others.

Um, I love Seinfeld.
Carry on :)

The Jeffersons and Different Strokes are both sitcoms.... And t.v was allowed to go back as far as the first television broadcast.... so it's wide open as far as time of creation goes.
It just seems that most of them are either pure comedy or dramedy and can't be counted based on these rules. Even the reality shows seem like they are created to be comedic in nature.

OK....


You have

Love Jones - Romantic Drama

Shaft - while it took place in an urban setting it was not 'hood related'

Princess and the Frog - which I believe is classified as a "children's" movie

30 years to Life - Romantic Drama


He Got Game

Devil in a Blue Dress

.....aaaaannnd I will pop Higher Learning in as a maybe.

Generations

You would have to count The Wire out because it was based strictly in tha' hood. The other 2 are comedies.


BTW does anyone remember if City of Angels made it a season or if the episodes shown constitute a season?

Day Break

^^^ The Taye Diggs show that came on last year ?

That had like what... 2 or 3 episodes and had so much potential.

I liked that more than I do FastForward

SEN are these series or movies? Just wondering and to lazy to research :)

ETA: I recall Daybreak... did that make it a whole season?

Generations was the soap opera with Kristoff St. John and them.

Day Break aired six episodes, but 13 were produced -- these days, 10-13 seems to be passing for a season.

#1 Ladies Detective Agency

Day Break....I think that came on after Lost and then they moved it before they cancelled it...or sumn...I don't remember.

The spouse says Trois. I think a friend of mine who is obsessed with B movies could names lots of Black movies that are of the low budget persuasion .. lol

But I do think 10-13 constitutes a full season these days!

Sen I thought Generations was a soap, I remember the name but nothing about who was in it or what is was about... Does it air on soapnet?

For movies: This Christmas and Something New?

^^^ I think those fall under comedy/drama

I think you might be mixed up with "The Women's Murder Club" which was based on a series of books. It starred Angie Harmon.

The #1 Ladies Detective Agency was the first of a series of books. It is currently being made into a film.

No...I know what I'm talking about. Believe me my s/o made a habit of watching it. It was on HBO last year starring Jill Scott.

^^^DS is right, #1 LDA is a TV series with Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose.


Soul Food - the movie

Soul Food - the series

They had their funny moments but definitely weren't comedies.

What about... The Family That Preys? I forgot about that.

that was the one movie I wanted to slap the living hell outta may gurl Sanaa

Slap her?! I wanted to choke her ass OUT! I was doing my best not to yell WTF are u doing dumbass?! Good movie... Gotta love Kathy Bates.

HAAAA!!!!

Dreamgirls?

Motives? (movie) It's a B movie, but I liked the 1st one. It wasn't a comdey/dramedy.

Does Crooklyn count?

I still don't know whether I liked The Family that Preys.

It annoyed me at points.

It's okay. Her husband took care of that for you. :cool:
Don't think so, it was set in the 'hood, wasn't it? Was Akeelah and the Bee?

The neighborhood in Crooklyn was like....lower middle class. The family owned that brownstone, I thought.

I almost think that Crooklyn counts as a period piece as well. If not then I want to count The Inkwell in there also...hehehe

I can't think of the name of the movie, but it has Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) and Ice Cube in it. It's where she plays a QB for her local pop warner team and they make it all the way to the national championship.

It's also based on a true story so idk if that counts as historical.


ETA: I'm not a Tyler Perry fan but I will add "Not Easily Broken" & "Why did I Get Married".

1. That was "The Longshots."

2. TP didn't do "Not Easily Broken." That was T.D. Jakes, but it counts. I was gonna say WDIGM? but I thought that was part comedy (or maybe I just laughed a lot when I wasn't supposed to). :o

Some of these may be borderline but I will throw them out there anyway.
Love Jones
Jason's Lyric (was this in the ghetto? can't remember)
The Preacher's Wife
Beloved
Love and Basketball
The Wood
The Pursuit of Happiness
Drumline

Crooklyn was definitely the hood-crackheads, po-po on the block, electricity getting turned off, stealing icees from the bodega, etc. One of my favorite movies-though set in the 70s, definitely felt a lot like my childhood.

Can we add Antwone Fisher to the list? And that train wreck This Christmas?

All of these. I don't know if "Set It Off" should be mentioned. I love that movie.

Set it off was in the hood, and a few of those mentioned above were Romantic Comedies and don't count.

so....we're being super strict with that rule then...no comedies, so nothing where the protaganist is still alive (or at least no where near as happy as he was) at the end, then?


And not set in "the hood"

Crooklyn, that would be it, wouldn't it?

as far as tv......the burning sands, if that counts.

I'm not trying to be super strict with some rules and not others. Really I was just interested to see what others thought, as people truly seemed to come up short on this topic once they truly followed all the rules. Some movies and series are definitely on the fence in my mind.... The protagonist doesn't have to be unhappy, just unfunny.. :p


ETA: what's the burning sands?