Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 3 Issue 1

Thomas said that the movie is her favorite because of the
dynamic between the two lead characters, Monica Wright
and Quincy McCall.
“How they come together in the end is what I enjoy,”
Thomas Said. “Because mostly what I’ve seen with Black
love and with other movies, there’s always some type of
struggle or there’s always some type of issue.”
Critic, Ann Hornaday praised the movie for how it handled
Black culture and how the characters were portrayed.
“Gina Prince-Bythewood has taken the conventional
coming-of-age romance genre and invigorated it with
such vivid characters and such alertness to the culture
she's representing, that she makes what might have been
derivative into something brand new,” said Hornaday.
Barry Jenkins,’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” is another film
where Black love is portrayed positively, despite the bad
things happening to the main characters.
The movie is based on the book, “If Beale Street Could
Talk” by James Baldwin and follows Tish and Alonzo as
they try to prove Alonzo’s innocence and navigate their
relationship since Alonzo has been arrested, all while
Tish is pregnant. Unlike “The Princess and the Frog,” this
movie showcases the more tragic side of romance. It does
not end with everything ultimately being resolved. Tish
and Alonzo still have to battle with Alonzo’s sentence,
and Tish is a single mother since Alonzo is in jail.
“If Beale Street Could Talk” boasts a much higher critic
rating at 91%. However, the audience score is only at a
71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Hanna Giorgis, a writer
for The Atlantic, applauded the film for the depth that it
portrayed.
“Jenkins's If Beale Street Could Talk is a gorgeous,
enveloping film -- and one of its most poignant triumphs
is how vividly it captures the depth and complication of
intimacy among its black characters,” Giorgis said.
However, just because these films have glowing reviews
does not mean that Black romance is portrayed fairly in
the media.
Kenneth Kelly, a student at The University of Alabama,
along with Gilliam and Thomas said that Black romance
is portrayed unfairly in the media because it focuses too
much on negative aspects such as Black women being in
abusive relationships.
“[Black romance] is always depicting a struggle, there’s
always something, whether it’s abuse, fat shaming, it’s
always showing the stereotypes of Black relationships and
Black family dynamics which isn’t true for the majority,”
Gilliam said.
According to Gilliam, these movies are also showing
younger generations that it is okay to be put in bad
romantic relationships because in these movies, no matter
what type of abuse is going on, the Black woman defends
herself and finds love in the end which is unhealthy to
show.
All three students agreed that in order to help the
portrayal of Black romance in the media become more
positive, there needs to be a shift from focusing on the
negative aspects of Black love.
“I think maybe it shows more of a side of relationships
and couples getting through a time together rather than
them being in conflict with each other the whole time,”
Kelly said.
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