The African-American Hollywood Revolution

Hollywood over the years has managed to make something entirely clear in over the 100 years or so that it has been in action: white males have been the way to success in film. For years, this went unnoticed because society agreed with the ways of what they were seeing on TV and theater screens. The problem though began to take notice around the turn of the century in that many of the most popular actors in the world at the time were all white men. This sense that African-Americans weren't going to make the same money as white men had plagued Hollywood for quite a long time. Finally though, with the release of Black Panther having come just within the last week, we are seeing a Hollywood that is willing to open its doors to African-American culture and a more inclusive overall atmosphere. Today, I want to talk about three different shows or films that have taken this stance and helped grow this movement in Hollywood today.

The first of these three ventures is something that has been on for 5 weeks now: Black Lightning! A part of the CW's superhero world, Black Lightning is the newest show on the network. Featuring an almost entirely African-American cast, even going so far as to cast albino African-Americans as well. What this show does best, in my opinion, is allow for the focus to be on the characters outside of racial barriers. Many times we were given series that focused more on the conflict between African-Americans and Caucasian people. For me, this felt a bit heavy-handed and didn't really need to occur. Being a superhero show, it also allows for a wider audience to enjoy the show as a whole. For me, Black Lightning is actually the best superhero show on TV right now and moving forward I can't see anything removing it from that throne outside of Legends of Tomorrow.

Next, I want to talk about something that helps this renaissance of African-American creation in Hollywood: Atlanta. Sure, this seems completely different, but Atlanta is an absolutely huge series focused on the rough times in Atlanta. Before Atlanta, we had shows focused on black Americans that often over-romanticized the lives of struggling people or were far too harsh. Donald Glover sought to get an entirely black writers room for this show so that they could create a true to life and powerful show based on being a struggling African-American in Atlanta. For me, Atlanta is one of the best shows on television and Donald Glover's work on the series behind and in front of the camera is some of the best currently done by him.

Finally, the one that inspired me to create this article is that of Black Panther! Being the first superhero film from Marvel or DC to have an African-American in the starring role, it helps to create a role model for young kids that up until this point didn't have a true hero to look to. Along with having an African-American lead, Black Panther also captures the culture of Africa in a way other films don't have the opportunity to do. Wakanda is a small country in the middle of Africa, but they are highly advanced thanks to their use of Vibranium. Turning the usual ideal of African countries being rather poor and sickly, Wakanda throws a curveball to audiences. For many of those old Americans, I can see Black Panther causing issues as they are unable to accept the new ways of Hollywood, but without question, this is a groundbreaking film in so many ways.

Now, I understand that I'm not exactly the best resource to discuss the African-American renaissance in Hollywood, but I really felt the need and want to bring more projects that are helping forward this movement. For those of us who are used to things just being focused on us, I'm sure there are many people who aren't truly understanding this huge movement for so many people. Children now have someone to look up to, and African-American culture is finally getting shown in the correct ways. For those of you out there reading this, I truly encourage you to check into each of the three projects I've talked about today! They're all excellent and I can only hope more projects like this come in the future! Thanks for reading!