12 Essential Movies from the Renaissance of Black 2010s Cinema
Today, I’m musing on Black 2010s cinema. One of my favorite icebreakers I’ve ever heard was: if you were a teacher and could teach a course about anything, what would it be? My answer was Black 2010s cinema. Between 2013 and 2019, there was a little renaissance that I’ll argue began with 12 Years A Slave and ended with Queen & Slim (and something very magical and particular must have happened in 2018, you’ll see what I mean in a second).
Black American filmmakers brought so many new things to the screen in this era, each riffing off each other’s themes and ideas. As I draft my mock-syllabus, I realize how many firsts took place during this period. First smash hit Black horror. First mainstream Black superhero. This list takes us all across America — from the slave south to hauntingly isolated homesteads in the Northeast, exploring dynamics on college campuses and searching for identity in high school. These Black stories find their home in New York, Florida, the Bay Area, Colorado, Los Angeles, and (of course) Wakanda.
Thinking about the groundwork laid in this time period, it’s exciting to think about what these projects may inspire in the future. I look forward to seeing how new Black filmmakers build from this little renaissance.
If this was a twelve week course and we dedicated one movie to each week, my syllabus would look like this:
12 Years A Slave (2013)
This fictional syllabus kicks off at the beginning of Black American history with a heart wrenching and emotional tale of slavery. When a well-to-do Black man in New York in the 1800s is kidnapped and sold into slavery, the film recounts those twelve years in which he was enslaved.
Dear White People (2014)
Although I’ve never seen the show (which I’m told is wonderful), Dear White People holds a special place in my heart. When I first saw it at the now-defunct LA Film Festival a decade ago, I remember laughing so hard. I don’t think I could articulate it then, but I think this was the first time I had even seen stories about Black people within predominantly white institutions and the challenges of navigating those spaces.
Dope (2015)
It’d wouldn’t be a list of Carrington’s must-sees without a young adult entry. I love teenage coming-of-age stories that take place over a series of parties or a wild night. Booksmart and Superbad both fit that bill, as does Dope. Incredibly fun and funny, Dope feels like an ode to Black LA teenagers and ventures to give us a coming-of-age teen comedy for the awkward Black kids (which I don’t think I’d seen before or since).
Moonlight (2016)
From childhood to adolescence to adulthood, Best-Picture-winning Moonlight shows the life of Chiron as he navigates his life in growing up in the slums as a closeted gay man. The film itself explores a multitude of themes, from queerness and masculinity to poverty and family. Not to mention it’s visually breathtaking.
13th (2016)
This list wouldn’t be complete without Ava Duvernay, nor would it be complete without a documentary. This exploration of the 13th Amendment is essential viewing for all Americans, in my opinion. The film digs deep into how slavery’s legacy continues today and how mass incarceration affects our society.
Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele ushered in a new wave of horror with this instant classic. Unlike anything we’d seen before, Peele creates a world where Black bodies are again commodified, from a science-fiction angle. Get Out portrays what could perhaps be described as a Black person’s worst fear when existing within white spaces.
Blindspotting (2018)
The film follows two best friends (one white and one Black) in Oakland as they respond to a police shooting they witnessed. The film takes place over the span of the main character’s last three days of parole and illuminates the boxes society places people in. With a fun amount of rap, Blindspotting delivers on both hilarious moments and stomach-churning scenes.
Sorry To Bother You (2018)
Boots Riley’s film follows a Black telemarketer as he discovers his “white voice” and it elevates him to the level of “power caller,” which breaks him out of his broke existence and thrusts him into the world of capitalism. Boots Riley’s fantasy-like version of the Bay Area is perfectly constructed to hold a mirror up to our own society. Every detail has whimsy and depth.
Black Panther (2018)
A film that needs no introduction. Two hours and fifteen minutes of pure action-adventure fun. Set in the country of Wakanda (a fictional place that has now become a household name), T’Challa tries to fill his fathers shoes by becoming the Black Panther while a long-lost cousin challenges him for the throne. With compelling characters all around, even the villain and his philosophy are enticing, especially as it pertains to identity within the greater Black diaspora.
Blackkklansman (2018)
Spike Lee’s film follows a Black police officer’s journey into uncovering the Ku Klux Klan in his town. Although set in the 1970s, Lee makes sure to remind us that the fight is not over by inserting real footage from the Charlottesville white supremacist rally in 2017.
* This is the part where I point out that 4/12 movies on this list came out in 2018 alone (and there are two more 2018 flicks on the extra credit list!). Something was in the water.
Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
A tale of gentrification and self-mythologizing. As gentrification pushes more and more Black people out of San Francisco, our characters begin to feel like they’re (as the title suggests) the last Black people there. They aspire to what they once had, which in this case is a nice house the main character’s grandfather once owned. The film weaves themes of family and identity through this story that is grounded in a beautiful sense of place.
Queen & Slim (2019)
A beautiful and haunting feature about two Black people whose lives are changed forever when one of them commits a crime on their first date. Sent on the run like Bonnie and Clyde, their time together morphs into something insane when they realize they are all each other has.
The Extra-Credit Movies
These are the movies that didn’t make the cut for the mock-syllabus of my fictional course, but are good movies nonetheless.
Selma (2014)
Chi-Raq (2015)
The Hate U Give (2018)
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Us (2019)
Just Mercy (2019)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
What’s your favorite movie of this list? Are there any that I missed? Let me know! Alternatively, what’s your answer to the icebreaker: if you had to teach a course on anything, what would it be?
Until next time,
Carrington