"Hollywood Black," directed by Justin Simien, presents a glimpse into the rich retrospect of black cinema and its profound contribution to Hollywood. The docuseries, debuting on MGM+, involves an extensive array of personnel, including scholars, film stars, directors, and producers, to delve into Hollywood's past from a black perspective.
However, the series occasionally skimps on depth despite its noble intentions. “Hollywood Black” often tries to encapsulate decades of black cinematic history into mere flying glimpses rather than thorough examinations. An evident imbalance surfaces between the scholarly insights and generic observations from celebrities. Regular omissions of instrumental black women filmmakers and an inclination towards a male perspective are further drawbacks of this series.
Nevertheless, “Hollywood Black” does successfully unravel certain disregarded threads of black cinematic history. The docuseries puts unexplored topics, like the historical context of Blackface and minstrelsy, in the spotlight. Cases such as the silent feature “Lime Kiln Field Day” (1913), the oldest surviving Black-cast feature, receive due recognition. The series tends to lean towards celebration, shown through its preference to stress the importance of figures like Richard Pryor while curtailing mentions of controversial figures like Bill Cosby.
Despite reinforcing the noticeable lack of depth, the series serves as a laudable introduction to black cinema. It succeeds in piquing viewer curiosity, leaving them eager for more comprehensive chronicles of black filmmaking history.
