Originally, I wrote this for Vibe.com but the piece fell through the cracks of the regime change. I’ve written about Barry’s film before. This was just posted to The Huffington Post and timed to the yesterday’s DVD release of the film. Here’s an excerpt:
In his assured feature debut Medicine for Melancholy,
which was released on DVD today, director Barry Jenkins captures some
of the potential challenges of being black and indie in the 21st century. In
doing so, he has created a refreshing meditation on race, class and
gentrification.If you missed Medicine For Melancholy
during its theatrical run, the film is about two African American
twentysomethings — Micah
(Wyatt Cenac) and Jo’ (Tracey Heggins) — who get to know each other
after a one-night stand in San Francisco, a city with the smallest
proportional black population of any major American city. “I love this
city. It’s absolutely beautiful and it inspires creativity,” says
Jenkins, who was able to move there thanks only to the generosity of
his best friend’s parents, with whom he’s been living while he writes
and makes films. “But you can go for hours without seeing another Black
person.”
Read and comment on the full article on the Huffington Post here.
