BROODING BOYZ

Hi all, Steph here. So a while ago I promised (debatable) y'all a review of one of my fav films Moonlight (dir. by Barry Jenkins) buttttttt, uni has got your girl down so I don't have time to do a detailed and proper review. If you didn't know already, a lot of the themes present in Moonlight revolve around black male intimacy, masculinity and sexuality. So while you wait I'd like to share a couple other artists in the mix that recapture the image of black men in contrast to the stereotypical representation we usually get.



1) IGGYLDN "BLACK BOYS DONT CRY":
IGGYLDN is a spoken word artist who came together with a creative collective to create visuals to his piece titled, "Black Boys Don't Cry", which as you can imagine from the title addresses the masculinity ideals attached to being a black man. watch below.

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2) SEYE ISIKALU "MONOCHROME":
Seye Isikalu is a British-Nigerian filmmaker and photographer. His short film "Monochrome" released in February portrays interactions between black men that are usually not perceived as intimate but working with dialogue, voice overs and stunning visuals he sheds a new light on what black male intimacy is. I have to address the pose at the end of the video. It was inspired by photographers, Inez and Vinoodh image of actor Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler for Vanity fair in the same embrace and this allegedly upset a few people on the internet and Isikalu used that as a trigger for the film. The image is present within the film itself. It also very satisfyingly (I must say) similar to the pose in the last shot of Moonlight. Watch below


monochrome. from SeyeIsikalu on Vimeo.

Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler photographed by Inez and Vinoodh for Vanity Fair. 

Moonlight (2016) Barry Jenkin

3) CALEB FEMI "SOFTER IMAGES OF BLACK MEN" & "HEARTBREAK AND GRIME":
Caleb Femi is another British-Nigerian filmmaker, photographer and poet. His work "softer images of black men" is a photographic series that captures black men in simple settings and he challenges the viewers to find the softness in the images. A bold statement that forces the viewer to confront the ideologies they associate with black men. His short documentary "Heartbreak & Grime" goes in search of a layer of love and vulnerability in the supposedly "aggressive" genre of grime music. Watch below.


Heartbreak & Grime from Caleb Femi on Vimeo.

4) KEHINDE WILEY "BLACK LIGHT":
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait artist famous for representing his black male subjects as colonial lords using renaissance styles of painting juxtaposed with bold floral patterns. His work really speaks for itself and seamlessly portrays a vibrant image of black masculinity. Black light is a set of photographs that is "an intimate study of embattled psychologies whose adherents are at once flawed and majestic, canonised and misunderstood. " (via kehindewiley.com)

That's all, for now, Dazed actually did an amazing feature on this featuring two of the works I've mentioned. You can check it out here. And I won't leave you empty-handed, to make up for my inadequacy, here's a playlist on the theme. (heads up there's a lot of Frank Ocean). Thank you for reading a be back next week.
Blue Boys: Playlist