Film directors in this day and age are put under much scrutiny, as they need to meticulously craft more complex and interesting ideas, and still create relatable topics throughout their movies.
While a majority of popular filmmakers are white, black film directors have begun to gain more recognition for their work. With Black History Month beginning, now is the perfect time to shift focus on black film directors.
One of, if not the most prominent figure of black film directors is none other than Spike Lee. ‘Do The Right Thing’ does an incredible job with its anti-racist message, and makes the viewer think of the consequences, questioning their morals. MovieWeb.com said, “They have exposed newer generations to the film and its anti-racist themes and, thus, will hopefully contribute to our society doing better.”
Lee’s charming humor and thirst for blood-pumping, and unnerving imagery such as ‘Da 5 Bloods’. This movie includes a group of veterans finding themselves back in the battlegrounds in search of their friend’s body with riches turning out to be the worst mistake of their lives.
Not to mention, Lee’s incredible choice of acting in ‘BlacKkKlansman’ transcends the movie’s plot,driving home an effective unique storyline, and showing the true horrors of the Ku Klux Klan. The movie is backed up with its Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
True to his ideas, Spike Lee’s efficient storywriting, and ability to create complex works of film while still slamming it out of the park with great writing, acting, and themes in an attempt to wake the mind up creates entertaining movies that will be rewatched multiple times, rightfully so.
It’s hard for lots of directors to work with multiple genres sometimes, causing lots of inconsistencies in the writing along with poor film structure. But Jordan Peele does a great job with his comedy mixing into a genre which is unsettling but surprisingly good.
While Peele plays the role of Mr. Funnyman well in ‘Key and Peele’, his goals for directing brings out the best in his ideas, as ‘Us’ and ‘Nope’ are almost like psychedelic trips into the reality of possibility. Peele still delivers impressive story writing, as Alton high student Alana Stewart said, “I think they [Peele and Lee] raised the expectations for horror movies that are more than just scary and contributed more to creations that are recognized as works by people of color”.
Continuing with this, Peele’s most notable film which coincidentally is his directing debut of ‘Get Out’ brings in an interracial couple with nervous parents shows a more relatable side of the film, while still ripping the socks off viewers with disturbing events.
In a nutshell, Spike Lee and Jordan Peele are only an introduction to the world of black film directors, as countless other works of popular film such as ‘Friday’ produced F. Gary Gray and ‘Moonlight’ produced by Barry Jenkins hold podium spots for their creativity. These trailblazers pave the way for the future of Black directors and their films.
