Previously I had seen Baadasss Cinema and so random untitled blaxploitation documentary on YouTube. I adore these films that are discussed but those documentaries really felt like a narrow scoped focus of this era of Black film. Is That Black Enough For You?, a new documentary on Netflix, is exactly the documentary it needs to be. It’s thesis is on the Blaxploitation years, 1968-1978, but the film itself is about Black film in general and it’s all the better for it. 

About forty minutes pass before we even get to Cotton Comes to Harlem and Sweet Sweetback. There’s such a rich history of independent film that is so unknown that it needs to be addressed directly I’ve only seen a couple of these early films and this has me craving for more. 

I mean, what documentary worth it’s salt covers the peak of Black cinema and doesn’t discuss Cooley High?!? This documentary does so that goes a long way. This really does dive into Black film as a whole and it’s absolutely fantastic. There’s a lot of blaxploitation films that aren’t covered that I would have loved to see get some highlight but there’s at least a random clip from Dolemite, that will have viewers curious, and a poster shot of The Black Gestapo that I hope gets viewers hungry to do their own deeper dives. This film focuses a lot on the hallmark films of the era but because it focus on Black film as a whole and not just the gritty, cheap exploitation films this isn’t a highlight reel of things most people already know about. 

While I haven’t seen it yet (one of the few in this director’s filmography I still need to, I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see a segment devoted to Killer of Sheep. Since I hadn’t seen it yet I was shocked to see how influential it was despite being a much lesser know. Film to most audiences. 

This is a terrific documentary. I can’t think of a way it could have been better. It covers so much important ground and everything it discusses is given the weight and importance necessary. The fact that this film was written, directed, and narrated by a Black man gives it an invaluable perspective that is missing from other docs that tackle this era of film. It’s a perfect film documentary and essential for anyone who has never given Black film, especially of the 1970s, it’s fair shake or has yet to travel down that road in their film education.