"You've only made real progress when you get to [just] being a person" explains Richard Parsons, the highly successful Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Inc.
The Black List is a powerful documentary which features twenty well-known black figures in American society ranging from legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar, comedian Chris Rock, former secretary of state Colin Powell, and Nobel prize winning writer Toni Morrison.
Elvis Mitchell, who wrote The Black List conducts a series of genuinely candid interviews about being black in America-the good and the bad. Along with brilliant, and simplistic imagery (thanks to director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders), Mitchell manages to capture genuine sentiments not often heard—no small feat from some of these high profile celebrities. This documentary successfully carries the message that black people need to be looked at as individuals and not as individual black people.
Playwright, Suzan Lori Parks said that many people think that she just wakes up and says "oh I'm a black woman, how do I fit into the white world?" The message was clear, and sometimes very funny. The interviews gave off an air of genuine honesty and humanness. They were extremely candid, and the clean-cut, yet professional montage made it a pleasure to watch. The Black List will definitely provide you with an eye-opening experience, yet also a highly entertaining message, which will have you saying "yes! That's so true!" All the interviews, alongside with the images were clear and crisp and had a stream of originally composed music by Neil Evans in the background, which added to the crisp tone of the documentary.
I highly recommend this documentary to anyone of any ethnicity. It is an eye-opener with a mellow, comedic tone, which is sure to impress.
The Black List had its international premiere at the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto and it will be aired on HBO in August.
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