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I have a confession Mesdames. One of my favorite movies is Menace II Society. Before you begin to judge me for my hostile taste, let me explain why. First I should begin saying that I don’t condone the actions of Caine nor O-Dog (if you haven’t seen the movie, these are the two young and reckless main characters). But what this movie, among the others that came out during this time symbolized, was ‘our’ presence in film and media, a presence that unfortunately reflected a lot of the negative that was plaguing our communities, but also highlighted the positive and relevant. Yet and still, it was entertaining, and for some, a glimpse into another world that they didn’t even know existed.

Fast forward to today.  We’re lucky if we even get to see one movie produced by someone other than ‘Mr.Media’, Tyler Perry.

When did black films become so scarce?

In the ’70s, there was the blaxploitation era with movies like Shaft, Foxy Brown, and Dolemite. And while these were pioneering films in black media, we saw a shift in variety in the ’80s.

Historically, black cinema has been inextricably linked to social issues in our community. That’s what made them so relevant to us. The 80’s produced numerous literary, award-winning movies, such as  The Color Purple and The Women of Brewster Place.

But in addition to dramatic films, our funny bones were satisfied with movies like the classic ‘black comedy’ Coming to America. The ’80s also proved to be Spike Lee’s time to shine with films like, Do The Right Thing and School Daze.

Then came the ’90s. We partied with Kid n’ Play in all of the House Parties, fell in love with Halle Berry in Strictly Business and Boomerang, and wondered ‘is it really that bad?’ as we watched movies like Juice, Boyz in the Hood, and of course Menace II Society.

The movies began to flow. From productions by The Hughes Brothers to John Singleton, we saw an era where black films were prevalent. While our hardships were featured in movies like Higher Learning, our love stories were told in Love Jones.

The list goes on and on with the plethora of movies produced in the ’90s: Jason’s Lyric, School Daze, Poetic Justice, Crooklyn, The Wood, A Low Down Dirty Shame…..

But slowly we’ve seen black films become limited to local DVDs and Tyler Perry’s attempt to make us laugh, cry, think, and praise God, all in one movie.  And while I’m sure Mr. Perry’s pockets are complaining about his lack of competition in black media, it’s unfair to him and us that he has to solely hold us down in this area.

We’re itching to see more films for us, by us. But in the meantime, all we have are DVDs of the ones we enjoyed in the past. Dear, bright, budding film-maker, Can you please step up? Black media needs you.

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