What to Watch in Honor of Black History Month — and All Year Round
Time to watch and learn. In honor of Black History Month, Us Weekly shares our recommendations for what shows and films to watch this February — and all year round.
Director and writer Ava DuVernay is behind not one, but two projects listed below, as a powerful Black storyteller whose films demand attention. In 2016, she debuted 13th, which opened with a statement: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”
The documentary takes a closer look at the racial inequality in the United States, specifically zeroing in on the prisons.
“Who is the criminal? Why do we think that? Do you understand the architecture around an idea that you hold in your head? The design of it, the very construction of it is most likely not truly yours, but something that was given to you,” the Oscar nominee told The Atlantic in 2016 explaining the questions asked in the film. “The idea you have in your head was not built by you per se, but built by preconceived notions that were passed down generation after generation. The very ideas that we hold in our head are for someone’s profit and political gain. That stuff really trips me out. It makes me want to really interrogate what I think, read more deeply, understand more deeply. Rethink everything that I think, challenge myself. Do I think that? Or do I think what someone wants me to think of that? That’s what we try to excavate in the doc.”
13th is just one of many films and shows that focus in on Black issues, available to stream on platforms. The Black community is celebrated in dozens of projects, sometimes through comedy.
Season 2 of Tiffany Haddish‘s standup special, They Ready, zones in on multiple Black comedians, as the Like a Boss star shines a spotlight on some comics that otherwise would not have the opportunity.
Ginny & Georgia
In Netflix’s new series, Antonia Gentry plays Ginny, a half-Black teenage girl being raised by her white mother (Brianne Howey) in a predominantly white Massachusetts town. She struggles to find where she really belongs and who to trust. (Wednesday, February 24)
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’ 2016 film is a critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama. Star Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar, while Joi McMillon became the first Black woman to earn an editing nomination. (Streaming on Netflix)
13th
Ava DuVernay’s 2016 documentary is a must-watch, as activists, scholars and politicians take a closer look at the criminalization of the Black community in the United States. (Streaming on Netflix)
When They See Us
This 2019 miniseries chronicles the harrowing journey endured by the Central Park Five — a group of Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of assault in 1989. The four-part special, streaming on Netflix, received 11 Emmy nominations.
Becoming
In the 2020 documentary, available on Netflix, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares an intimate look at her life, including the many connections she made with others while promoting her book of the same name.
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