Call me a sucker, cheesy, cornball, whatever, but lately I’ve just been really obsessed with the whole aura of this thing called black love.
I know it’s portrayed as being in pretty rare form today, overshadowed by whatever goes down in the DMs, trust issues, and f*ck-boy repellent, but you’ve got to admit it: When you see a black couple who is utterly in love, doesn’t it just turn all of the sad caterpillars in your stomach to butterflies?
Anywho, I decided to follow up on my crazy love obsession by indulging in some classic black romance films. And instantly, I found myself going into this whole “they don’t make ‘em like this no more” defense mode. By this, I was referring to those black movies that make you feel really good and hopeful after you’re done watching. You know the ones — Love Jones, The Best Man, Love & Basketball, The Wood, Jason’s Lyric, Brown Sugar, Poetic Justice, even Save the Last Dance ,and Stomp the Yard.
This made me go even more in-depth, attempting to recall the most recently made black film I’d seen that just blew me away, making me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Eventually, I came up with Beyond the Lights, which was literally the only modern-day flick that’s sent some chills down my spine.
Considering the fact that the lovey-dovey genre has not typically been my first choice for a Friday-night film for a while now, I was shocked at how sad I became after my onDemand, Netflix, and DVD collection had come to an end. (Yes, I binged.) I discovered that I’d actually been missing tearing up, looking at eye candy and getting this part of my life.
Running out of black romance films to watch so quickly was all it took to make me realize, WE NEED MORE BLACK ROMANCE FILMS. We need more black feel good movies and television shows, because those types of films and shows are so universal to our culture, no matter how hard or anti-feelings our generation tries to be.
Everyone gravitates to love because, secretly, love is what we all want and need.
Plus, going to the movies gives you that little teenage, innocent-but-grown-up feeling all over again. It gives you the time to rekindle a night of fun with the girls or share $5 candy with that cute guy you like. *wink, wink*
Collectively, black people are experiencing a lot. We’re going through this transition phase of trying to find our worth in a melting pot stirred by people who assume we’re worthless. We’re becoming more aware and trying to stop the next president from completely mutilating our culture, as we’ve been doing for years. However, in the past, if there was anything that was always there for us to help cope with those daily struggles, it was our own music, art, literature and films.
A big chunk of our culture used to involve simple things such as watching Living Single and music videos on BET, reading those Tears of a Tiger books and going to the movies to see films that made us feel good about ourselves. We never needed acceptance from others to create those things. We just did.
To make this super long story short, I just think we all need to see more relatable content. We don’t need to wait for others to create those opportunities for us. (Hence the #OscarsSoWhite movement) Plus, if you look at the numbers in films such as Straight Outta Compton, the trophy is just that…a trophy. The real value in films is serving the real audience, the people who pay $8.50 at the box office. People like you and me.
On the bright side, I’m looking forward to seeing Barbershop: The Next Cut, but it makes me sad that I’ll probably have to wait another two or three years before another black “feel-good” movie comes out.
Call me a sucker, cheesy, cornball, whatever, but lately I’ve just been really obsessed with the whole aura of this thing called black love. And I want it back.
Writing for the love of culture, all things true, and whatever her soul clings to. Day is a young, black Mississippian trying to connect us all through the creativity of storytelling. Follow her on Instagram @sayheyday to receive updates on her upcoming website.
