Although the Tylenol PM kicked in before I had a chance to finish watching it, I thought the special was head and shoulders above the other VH1 'nostalgia' series (which...I must confess...I enjoy). This was quite a smart, thoughtful exploration of a time period in which the dynamic was beginning to turn for black performers, writers and directors. And the 'talking heads' they had were fascinating (including Broadway's own Tonya Pinkins and Valerie Pettiford). As a white youngster in the 80's, I took for granted the many and varied images of white youth in the movies, but never realized how sadly underrepresented black youth were. It's interesting to hear how films like Breaking (which, admittedly, I always found silly) meant a lot to aspiring black performers. And then, of course, there was talk of the paper bag test and how, throughout film history, black women were considered beautiful the whiter they looked. All of this I knew, but to see it condensed and set against the backdrop of the coke-induced, white Wall Street 80's was fascinating.
I urge everyone to watch this highly informative and fabulously entertaining special.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."