Black Film is Not a Genre

Inspired by Spike Lee's 1989 hit Do the Right Thing, a new generation of black film-makers bursts onto the scene with an exciting new genre - the hood movie. Boyz in the Hood creates stars, yet this exciting moment turns into a passing fad, leading to an era when only white directors like Steven Spielberg are telling prominent black stories. This era sees the emergence of the bankable black Hollywood stars: Eddie Murphy, Will Smith and Denzel Washington.

This episode shows how black film-makers start to take back control of their own stories, culminating in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther.