The hardships faced by the African-American community is one of the most well documented around the world. Theirs is a storied history as old as American itself. It is a story of triumph. It is a story of defeat. It is a story of peaceful protest. It is a story of bloodshed. It is a story of great men, of heroes who have given their all to the bitter end, and bitter did their lives end. Above all, it is a continuing story. Their story of Black Men and Women waking up in a country that does not value them still continues and it will continue for a very long time.
Art is an expression of the human condition. Art can be expressed with different mediums. Written words, melodies sung, or pictures both still and moving, no matter the form, art has one general purpose and it is to amplify the message that creator intends to deliver. Unsurprisingly, with such a storied history, the African-American community has its fair share of arts and artists. There are no stopping Black American authors in telling their stories. Novels like American’t by King Bell, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston are just a few of the more contemporary work which tells the story of the African-American Experience. One notable work among others is that of James Baldwin entitled If Beale Street Talk. This work is so significant and so timeless that it has been adapted as an Academy Award nominated film of the same name directed by Barry Jenkins.
If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1974 novel written by acclaimed American author James Baldwin. It tells of the story between 19-year-old Clementine “Tish” Rivers, who serves as the narrator of the story, and her lover, 22-year-old Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt, who is a sculptor. Their love story started since childhood and soon become engaged. They consummate their love and Tish becomes pregnant with a baby. Tragedy strikes when Fonny is falsely accused of raping a woman. He is arrested and jailed before the trial. The story then focuses on the hardship of that Tish has to deal with as they cope with a criminal justice system that fails to deal with Fonny’s wrongful accusations.
Baldwin’s story deals with the themes of the bigotry of religion and some of its believers, the love and acceptance found in the family and the inequalities of the criminal justice system.
In 2018, almost forty-five years after it was first published, It was adapted into a film by Academy Award winning director Barry Jenkins. The film stars Kiki Layne as Tish Rivers, and Stephan James as Fonny Hunt. Supporting cast includes Regina King as Sharon Rivers, Tish’s mother, Teyonah Parris as Tish’s sister Ernestine Rivers, Brian Tyree Henry as Daniel Carty, Fonny’s recently released friend, and Ed Skrein as Officer Bell, a police officer who harasses and testifies against Fonny among others. Regina King was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for which she handily won.
The film garnered positive reception praising the afformentioned King’s performance. Critics praised it a as a beautifully filmed adaption. Director Barry Jenkins was praised for further strengthening his visual and narrative craft.
Aside from winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, the film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. In the Box Office, it grossed over 14.9 million dollars In the United States and Canada with a worldwide total of 20.6 million dollars.
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an acclaimed African American author. Born on August 2, 1924, he garnered a lot of general acclaim. He is one of the most famous Black American authors. Some of his other works include Go Tell It on the Mountain, his first novel, an essay collection called Notes of a Native Son among others. Even after death, he remains famous with his books and essays still being widely circulated. An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded and adapted into a documentary called I Am Not Your Negro back in 2016. He died on December 1, 1987 in Saint-Paul-de-Venice, France. He was 83.
Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins is an Oscar Winning African American director. He was born on November 19, 1979 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami Florida. He is the youngest of four siblings whom he does not share a father. He was raised in Liberty City, a neighborhood in Miami by an another older woman. Jenkins studied film Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. He won his first Oscars for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Moonlight, an adaptation of In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, a play by co-screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney. On adapting If Beale Street Could Talk, he worked closely with Baldwin’s estate and was given handwritten notes on how to approach the film version.
Alex Writes 