“4 Little Girls” is a 1997 Spike Lee documentary about the 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama’s 16th Street Baptist Church which resulted in the deaths of four little girls. The device had been planted by four men who were members of a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. But while this particular event was unfortunate, the documentary shows that it was one in a series of domestic terrorist attacks aimed at intimidating Birmingham’s Black community into remaining second-class citizens.
Category: <span>Movie Reviews</span>
A review of “Boyz n the Hood”, John Singleton’s 1991 film debut about a boy who goes to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles. The story follows Tre and his friends as they grow up in a rough inner-city neighborhood that is plagued by violence. With the guidance and discipline instilled by his no-nonsense dad, Tre avoids many of the pitfalls that seem destined to trap his friends. The film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director Academy Awards launching Singleton’s career by making him the youngest person ever and the first Black person to be nominated for Best Director.
“Tina” is a 2021 HBO documentary about the life and career of Anna Mae Bullock better known as Tina Turner. The film covers her tumultuous marriage and professional relationship with Ike Turner that was plagued by domestic violence and other various forms of abuse. It also touched on how her childhood abandonment by her parents filled her with feelings of being unwanted and unloved. It’s a terrible story. And I hate to sound cliché but it’s also incredibly inspiring due to her desire to overcome those obstacles and seeing her achieve her dreams of creating a better life for herself.
“Standing in the Shadows of Motown” is a 2002 documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of talented musicians who backed Motown’s singers on tour but most importantly studio sessions. As individuals as well as a group, the Funk Brothers were relatively unknown to the mainstream public despite performing on Motown’s biggest hits.
“The Tuskegee Airmen” is a 1995 made for TV semi-fictional drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first all-Black Air Force squadron. Formed in Tuskegee, Alabama, the group was initially an experiment to gauge the suitability of Black men to serve as fighter and bomber pilots. Laurence Fishburne is joined by several other popular Black male actors of the time in a portrayal of the young pilots who competed for the opportunity to train and fight in World War II. The men brave the dangers of flight school while also contending with prejudice to become one of the most well-respected air combat squadrons.