Movies
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The Green Book: Guide to Freedom Documentary Provides a Guide to the Truth We Deserve
When Green Book premiered in theaters, one of the biggest complaints of the film was a simple and egregious oversight: Despite the title of the film, not one black person is seen actually touching the book which inspired the film’s title. On Sunday night, February 24, Green Book took home three major Academy Awards: Best…
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2019 Oscars: Regina BEEN King
There may not have been any Kevin Hart yelling “nooooo, I wasn’t ready!” to any of the nominees, but the 91st Academy Awards brought the blackness. February 2019 has provided us a horrible Black History Month so far, but queens such as Regina King and blackety-black films such as Black Panther swooped in to save…
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The Black Cop Behind the White Hood: Ron Stallworth Talks BlacKkKlansman, Unequivocally Supports Black Lives Matter
When I first heard the synopsis for BlacKkKlansman—a black police officer infiltrates the Colorado chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of a white, Jewish surrogate—I thought to myself, “Wow, you can’t make this shit up.” Turns out, they didn’t. About five years ago, The Root interviewed the real-life Ron Stallworth for the…
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Oscar Nominee Hannah Beachler Talks Breaking Ceilings and What’s Next: ‘Black People Belong in Space’
It’s almost been a year to the day since Black Panther production designer Hannah Beachler walked The Root (and our readers!) through the enticing world of Wakanda—a world we’d come to uphold forever. Speaking to Beachler, her husky voice warms over you like the homegirl you always had—or wanted. Making history as the first African…
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Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield in Talks to Star in Fred Hampton Film Produced by Ryan Coogler
A film about Fred Hampton is coming from Warner Brothers, reportedly titled Jesus Was My Homeboy. Hampton was the founder and chairman of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party. On Dec. 4, 1969, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation ordered Chicago police to infiltrate the party’s headquarters.…
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Negro Noir: The Preacher’s Son Truly Pops Off During the Last 15 Minutes
Movies that are “so bad, they’re good” are one of life’s unsung treasures. And like anything, adding blackness to that principle is like adding proper seasoning. Thus, I introduce you to our new series reviewing/recapping bad black movies, Negro Noir. As our queen-in-chief Danielle Belton pointed out, it’s so black, the title of the series…
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Watch: Octavia Spencer in Ma Is What Happens When White People Don't Mind Their Business
Horror and thriller typically involve a bunch of eager white teens who can’t find it in their DNA to mind their business, always with the urge to explore some shit. What happens when that “shit” turns out to be a lonely black lady who just wants to have some fun? Well … too much fun,…
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Alfre Woodard Embodies the Escape a Tired Black Woman Needs and Deserves in Juanita
We’ve all heard the black woman motto around this clusterfuck of a world that needs fixing: “Fine, I’ll do it.” But what of the black woman who is tired of doing it? When does she get to rest? When does she get to escape? When does she get to just … be? Cue Netflix, with…
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3 Generations of Shaft Are Premiering at the American Black Film Festival. Will I Be There? You Damn Right
Remember that complicated man who was misunderstood by everyone but his woman? Well, now there are three of them. It’s been 19 years since the release of John Singleton’s Shaft, starring Samuel L. Jackson. Can you believe it?! And even longer since we first saw Richard Roundtree don the baddest jacket in the game: 48…