I Am a Man: Black Masculinity in America

The Black Audio Film Collective’s seventh film envisioned the death and life of the African American revolutionary as a seven part study in iconography as narrated by novelist Toni Cade Bambara and actor Giancarlo Espesito. The stylized tableaux vivants that memorialise Malcolm’s life referenced the early 20th century funeral photography of James Van der Zee’s The Harlem Book of the Dead and the elemental static cinematography of Sergei Paradjanov’s The Colour of Pomegranates.

Honouring Juneteenth and Black Music Month, this primetime special will detail the history of hip-hop, providing insight into its origins, growth and evolution over the last 50 years and where things stand today.

Filmed at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honors inductees: Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go's, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, and Todd Rundgren; along with Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and Gil Scott-Heron; LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads; Clarence Avant for the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The special music event also features a host of all-star presenters, performers, and special guests, including Angela Bassett, Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R., Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Drew Barrymore, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, and many others.

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.

The late Len Bias still leaves more questions than answers. When Bias dropped dead two days after the 1986 NBA Draft, he forever altered our perception of casual drug use and became the tipping point of America's drug crisis in the mid-80's. Future generations continue to face the harsh punishment of drug policies that were influenced by the public outcry after his heartbreaking death. Instead of becoming an NBA star, he became a one-man deterrent, the athlete who reminded everyone just how dangerous drug use can be. Amazingly, questions still linger about his death nearly a quarter-century later. How good could he have been in the pro ranks? Has he become underrated or overrated as the years pass? How could a University of Maryland superstar and Boston Celtics lottery pick be derailed by a cocaine binge? Was Bias a one-time user as we were led to believe, or was there a pattern of recreational use that led to his fatal last night? Did he fall in with the wrong crowd.

Explores a variety of underground hazing rituals that are abusive and sometimes deadly. The journey to understand hazing culture reveals a world of toxic masculinity, violence, humiliation, binge drinking, denial, and institutional coverups.

"Boo-Yah" traces Stuart's journey from local television in North Carolina to becoming one of ESPN's most influential voices. At a time when hip-hop and popular culture were often marginalized in mainstream media and few Black anchors held national prominence, Stuart brought both unapologetically to "SportsCenter," blending sharp analysis, pop culture and swagger in a way that spoke to a new generation of fans.

Directors Robert Townsend and Quincy Newell offer this comprehensive and hilarious examination of the history, evolution and cultural significance of African American comedy in America, from the earliest minstrel shows to the latest HBO special. Featuring interviews with cultural critics and loads of comedic clips, this program features appearances by a who's-who of black comedians including Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg and many more.

The Disappearance of Miss Scott chronicles Hazel Scott’s meteoric rise as a jazz talent and major Hollywood star before being blacklisted during the Red Scare.

Today there are more reasons than ever for families to explore and celebrate diversity. Our ever-expanding world is full of differences in abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, family structures, religious faiths, interests and cultures. This documentary introduces your family to children who are not only celebrating how they are unique, but who are also learning from and appreciating the differences in others.

Compared to girls, research shows that boys in the United States are more likely to be diagnosed with a behaviour disorder, prescribed stimulant medications, fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives. The Mask You Live In asks: as a society, how are we failing our boys?

On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop. Sitting ringside was controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur and Tyson were friends, a feeling of kinship linked them as each rose to stardom from poverty only to be thrown in prison. Following Tyson’s victory, Shakur and “Iron Mike” were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived. Shakur was brutally gunned down later that night, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill fated and inopportune tragedy.

A documentary that examines the cultural stereotype of the people of Appalachia and how that has affected America's relationship with its rural communities.

A vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, who has become a symbol of freedom and power for all African American women.

Explore the life and legacy of Kentucky-born author bell hooks, who wrote nearly 40 books and whose work at the intersection of race, class and gender serves as a lasting contribution to the feminist movement. Learn how bell’s childhood in Hopkinsville and her connection to Kentucky’s “hillbilly culture” informed her views and her belief that feminism is for everybody. Becoming bell hooks, a one-hour documentary, features selections read by Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and interviews with feminist activist Gloria Steinem, Kentucky writers Crystal Wilkinson and Silas House, bell’s younger sister Gwenda Motley and many others.

The casts of the first four "Real World" seasons reunite to relive old times, settle feuds, and answer questions from a studio audience.

Narrated by actress Alfre Woodard, this trenchant, eye-opening doc traces the radical civil rights leader’s life from his tumultuous childhood, through his rise in the ranks of the Nation of Islam, to his 1965 assassination.

A detailed biography of famed singer, actor, athlete and activist Paul Robeson. Complete with several interviews and footage of concerts and film clips.

A four-part documentary series entitled "The Architects." The story is told chronologically and right from the mouths of the greats. Learn how these young gifted pioneers constructed an industry that so many people enjoy now. Featuring Full-Length Videos from: Run DMC, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Special Ed, Dana Dane, and Crash Crew.

bell hooks is one of America's most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism.

John Henrik Clarke talks about Black history.

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes provides a riveting examination of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture.

An open dialogue at The New School (Eugene Lang College) moderated by renowned feminist author bell hooks in conversation with Samuel “Chip” Delany (acclaimed Sci-Fi author of: Nova; Dhalgren; Times Square Red, Times Square Blue), M. Lamar (composer, video artist, and sculptor), and Marci Blackman (award-winning author of Po Man's Child: A Novel and Tradition). The discussion examines how engaging in transgressive sexual practices can provide a space in which one may work through the traumas inflicted by the oppressive forces that constitute, as hooks terms it, the system of "imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy."

In an era of antifeminist backlash, this articulate documentary by the makers of Thank God I’m a Lesbian forcefully reminds us that the revolution continues. Powerful interviews with feminist leaders including bell hooks, Gloria Steinem, and Urvsahi Vaid are intercut with documentary sequences to engagingly explore the past and present status of the women’s movement. Discussing the unique contributions of second wave feminism, they explore their racial, economic and ideological differences and shared vision of achieving equality for women. Anessential component of women’s studies curricula, My Feminism introduces feminism’s key themeswhile exposing the cultural fears underlying lesbian baiting, backlash, and political extremism.

Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director.