AMPLIFYING A DIALOGUE ON BLACK CINEMA
Len Webb and Vince Williams are on a mission — and they have Bow Wow to thank for it.
While these two Philadelphians don’t know the rapper-turnedactor personally, it was his 2010 movie “Lottery Ticket” that inspired one of them to start a podcast.
“The trailer for ‘Lottery Ticket’ gave everything away,” says Webb, 53. “So, I was like, you know what? I don’t need to see this movie. It didn’t look like it was a movie that was in my wheelhouse anyway.”
“But, then, I started thinking about it,” he continues. “Well, how often have I gone to films and, you know, enjoyed them despite the trailer? And, more often than that, I found that that’s how I was judging Black films. And (with) me being a Black man, I was like, that’s not fair. And (with) me being a Black artist, I knew that wasn’t fair as well, because I’m not giving them the opportunity to prove me wrong.”
And “The Micheaux Mission” was born. Named after Oscar Micheaux, the legendary African American filmmaker who helmed many “race movies” in the early 1920s and ’30s, this weekly podcast (which is broadcast online as well as on Philadelphia radio stations WKDU and WPPM) has
Webb devoting each and every episode to reviewing one Black film. Aiding him in his journey is his friend and fellow geek Williams, as they both take turns picking which movie they’ll be reviewing.
It turns out that, after four years of doing this show, Webb and Williams still debate what actually constitutes as “a Black film.” “We’ve talked for years about the work of someone like Denzel Washington or Will Smith, and where’s the line in their body of work,” says Williams, 49. “Just because Denzel Washington is the star, does that make it a Black film? And, if it does, how do you articulate that? And, I think for both of us, we’re less interested in sort of giving things the ‘Black film stamp’ than we are the conversation around it.”
So far, Webb and Williams have gone through decades of film, covering everything from race movies to Blaxploitation flicks to the contemporary classics African American audiences hold near and dear to their hearts. They’ve even broken down films that were not originally touted as Black films, but Black folks have accepted them anyway — like their recent, very spirited discussion on “A Goofy Movie.” “‘A Goofy Movie,’ on its surface, may not be a Black film,” says Webb. “But, because of the coded language and visuals that are used in that film and because of the time it came out, it certainly can be seen as a Black film — or, at least, as we like to say, be invited to the cookout.”
“Micheaux” isn’t the only podcast out there where you can find Black people chopping it up about Black films. (It’s not even the only podcast named after Oscar Micheaux — check out “The Micheaux Film Club.”) “Black on Black Cinema” and “Black Men Can’t Jump [in Hollywood]” are two Black-cinema podcasts that have been around even longer than “Micheaux.” And, earlier this year, two new shows joined the lot: “Adventures in Black Cinema,” hosted by actor, filmmaker and NewFest film programmer Desmond Thorne; and “That Black — Show,” where comedian and “The Daily Show” correspondent Dulce Sloan invites special guests to talk about Black movies and Black TV shows.
For Webb and Williams, these shows aren’t competition. In fact, since we’re living in a time when the racial unrest in this country has even prompted streaming platforms to spotlight Blackcinema selections, anybody and anything that encourages viewers to dip into these films are very much needed.
“One thing that we have been consistent about when people write in and — sometimes they disagree with us,” says Webb. “And then, sometimes, people will actually write in and say, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about starting a podcast and doing this.’ I think the more, the merrier. Like, I think if you want Black voices actually taking part in this process, you need Black voices.”
And these guys certainly want more Black voices to speak up and tell people what they’ve been missing. “We do hear from people — white people, Latin people, people from overseas — that have enjoyed the show, that have enjoyed being introduced to films that — to be fair, to be straight-up — they have honestly disregarded on their own, if for no other reason than they didn’t think it was for them,” he says. “And, for them to recognize now that, hey, this is a film I can enjoy because, even though the people in it don’t look like me, it can still be a very entertaining story I might be able to glean something from.”