Black in Period Films

I gave the limited series two scores. One for history lovers and one for more casual period film fans. I participated in the watch party that was going on. Viewers watched and tweeted using the hashtag #selfmadenetflix. It was an interesting experience and I really enjoyed watching along with people. It reminded me of how it was during the Roots 2016 premier. Tons of people watching the same thing and having a great time watching period films which is something I love. I had to talk about the series, because I felt a lot of things while watching it and I’ll start with the good. The Good A major part of the period film experience is the costumes and set decorations. These are absolutely amazing. It isn’t very often that we get to see black characters in Edwardian era clothing. The series started in St. Louis in 1908 and ended around 1918. So that is 10 years that are represented in costume. We can see the change in characters through their change in clothing. This is especially i...

Based on true events,  Radium Girls  follows teen sisters, Bessie and Jo Cavallo, who dream of Hollywood and Egyptian pyramids as they paint luminous watch dials at the American Radium factory in New Jersey. When Jo loses a tooth, Bessie’s world is turned upside down as a mystery slowly unravels.  She discovers a corporate cover-up and, in a radical coming of age story, Bessie and the Radium Girls decide to take on American Radium. Based on historical events, the national sensation following the notorious case of the Radium Girls in 1928 ultimately led to significant and lasting impact in the area of workplace health and safety and the study of radioactivity.   Susan Heyward plays a photographer named Etta. 

The trailer is finally here for the Madame C.J. Walker biopic, 'Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker'. The production has an amazing cast staring  Octavia Spencer as the trailblazing businesswoman. The production looks absolutely amazing. I am LOVING the costumes and set dressings. Everyone looks lovely. The limited series is based on the biography On Her Own Ground by  by Walker's great-great-grandaughter,  A'Lelia Bundles . Cast Octavia Spencer as Sarah Breedlove/Madame  C. J. Walker Blair Underwood as husband C.J. Walker Tiffany Haddish as daughter Lelia Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law Carmen Ejogo as business rival Addie Munroe Kevin Carroll as her lawyer Freeman Ransom Bill Bellamy as Freeman Ransom’s cousin Sweetness Netflix will release the four part series of “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” on March 20. What do you think of the trailer and will you be watching? ...

Emperor is inspired by the legend of Shields “Emperor” Green, a descendant of African kings turned outlaw slave in the pre-Civil War South. Seeking freedom for his family, Emperor fights his way north, joining the daring raid on Harper’s Ferry and helping alter the course of American history. Cast: Dayo Okeniyi ... Shields “Emperor” Green Naturi Naughton ... Sarah Green  Kat Graham ... Delores  Mykelti Williamson ... Truesdale Harry Lennix ... Frederick Douglass The cast includes Oscar nominee James Cromwell and Oscar nominee Bruce Dern. Emperor is directed by Mark Amin from a script written by Amin and Pat Charles.   Produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Reginald Hudlin. Briarcliff Entertainment will release Emperor in theatres in the US on March 27, 2020. What do you think of the trailer? Are you looking forward to watching Shield Green's story? 

I had known about the project for some time. I was already excited and the sneak peek pushed me over the edge. I made a video of me blabbering about the action packed sneak peek.  Some awesome pictures from the musical. I am drooling! Solea Pfeiffer (Mary Clarke) and  Emmy Raver-Lampman (Martha Clarke). Credit: Cameron Whitman Emmy Raver-Lampman (Martha Clarke) and Solea Pfeiffer (Mary Clarke). Credit: Cameron Whitman Dan Tracy (Jesse) and Solea Pfeiffer (Mary Clarke). Credit: Cameron Whitman Emmy Raver-Lampman (Martha Clarke) and Donald Webber Jr. (Elijah).  Credit: Cameron Whitman Awa Sal Secka (Flo) and Yvette Monique Clark (Sissy). Credit: Cameron Whitman Emmy Raver-Lampman (Martha Clarke), Marva Hicks (Tallulah) and Solea Pfeiffer (Mary Clarke). Credit: Cameron Whitman References Washington Post Article - https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/people-said-her-great-great-aunts-posed-as-white-and-...

As a Hamilton fan I am excited to announce that Hamilton will be in North American theaters on Oct. 15, 2021! The film will not be an adaption of the musical, rather a live capture of it. Miranda has often talked about the inaccessibility of theater. The Hamilton Musical Lottery was one way to combat this. Knowing the average fan would not get a chance to watch the original Broadway cast of the hit musical, Miranda had it filmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in Manhattan before the original cast members began to leave the production. Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about finding the right time to release the #Hamilton movie: “You all have that friend who brags, 'I saw that with the original cast.' We’re stealing that brag from everyone. You’re all gonna see it with the original cast" | Studio presented by @ItsOnATT pic.twitter.com/zum7otFexr — Variety (@Variety) January 29, 2020 Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger stated : “Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgett...

The upcoming Netflix series titled, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker   is based on the book, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles.  On Her Own Ground is the first full-scale, definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker—the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist—by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles. The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then—with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women—everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed ...