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A Young Viola Davis Thought Experiment (An "Open Letter..." Rebuttal)

It’s been fascinating to read all the dissection of THE HELP and Viola Davis’s statements and career; a dissection that’s been filtered through mostly a 2011/2012 lens.

It's A Difficult Time To Be A Black Filmmaker With An imagination (Or... An Open Letter to Viola Davis)

I was so excited to see the Viola Davis spread in the LA times. I thought, my goodness, when is the last time I saw a Black 'star' take off the wig and go au natural. Loved it! I'm thinking, yes, we are becoming courageous enough to be who we are, not who others want us to be.

Post-Blackness: Every Movement Needs a Manifesto

"Dreams Of A Life" Director Carol Morley In Her own Words On The Challenges She Faced In Financing The Film

By now, I'm sure you're probably all intimately familiar with Carol Morley's Dreams Of A Life, which stars Zawe Ashton, who Emmanuel recently interviewed (read that post HERE, if you haven't; you really should).

Thandie Newton's Recent Rants-- Is She Right, Or Does She Need A Reality Check?

In the past month, several news outlets have reported on recent comments allegedly made by actress Thandie Newton regarding race and the entertainment industry.

Is Interracial Coupling On TV Meant To Soften The Blow Of Casting Black Leads?

I recently got my hands on a DVD copy of the BBC's acclaimed 2010 legal drama, Accused. The six-part series features the stories of six separate characters who have, through various circumstances, found themselves entangled in the criminal justice system, sitting in a courtroom, awaiting their indi...

L.A. Rebellion 2011 Retrospective Review - Jamaa Fanaka's "Penitentiary"

In two weekends time, the L.A. Rebellion retrospective at the at the Hammer Museum, hosted by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, is shaping up to be the year’s most important series. Sadly, the competition is weak these days (what with the New Beverly devoted to grindhouse spanophilia, American Cin...

Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust" 20 Years Later (L.A. Rebellion Retrospective)

Here's the next installment in our ongoing coverage of L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema, the current retrospective of black filmmakers being showcased at UCLA.

On Film Criticism And Moving The Conversation Beyond Words (A History Lesson)

From time to time, I like to dig into the S&A archives and dig up old items (usually op-eds/editorials/interviews) to repost, often because the content of those entries still apply, are still relevant, or call for a reposting due to a recent conversation, debate, or other related recently-posted ite...