Elvis Mitchell’s “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” discusses the origins of Black cinema and the impact of Black films in the 1970s. The film is both a documentary and personal essay with film clips and commentary looking at the Blaxploitation era and its influence on the U.S. film industry, especially Black film.
Mitchell’s dissection explores the period when Black actors were wrongly portrayed through blackface or not portrayed at all to the increase of Black representation on screen. He uses the documentary to look at what was not there and how Black films during the era brought what was missing.
The documentary calls on the voices of well-known actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya to provide perspective on the era. They offer comments on their personal experiences and inspiration from these films.
When watching, you must keep up. Mitchell discusses sub-topics like monsters and glamorization, Black actors understanding and embracing the pictorial beauty of heroism, and movie scores. These topics offer a deeper understanding of Blaxploitation.
Mobilization and movements are displayed in Black art, and the documentary’s narration responds to how this era of movies influenced well. You can sense Mitchell’s genuine appreciation of this era.
It’s interesting to learn what came with the exposure. American films that followed imitated the Black movies of this time. This documentary offers a deep dive into the complexity of the phenomena and provides knowledge of the influence of Black cinema.