*Nowadays keeping up with pop culture means you’ve got to be streaming. From Netflix to Amazon to Hulu, every online service has at least one show that’s considered a “must-watch” by the entertainment press, but in the shuffle of diverse offerings these channels offer a lot of niches get left out.
Sure Netflix is great for big budget prestige dramas, and Hulu has recently started churning out some more thought-provoking content like The Handmaiden’s Tail. But no company so far has really tried to reach out to black audiences starving for new voices and perspectives.
While it’s only just launched, maybe Brown Sugar can provide just that. The new streaming service launched by Bounce TV, a digital media provider focused on “targeting African Americans” has roped in stars like Pam Grier and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson as brand ambassadors. You might be able to tell they’re focusing hard on selling that era of 70’s Blaxploitation flicks which really brought these actors to mainstream attention.
Featuring such genre classics as, Shaft, Super Fly, Foxy Brown, Mandingo and Blacula sorted into categories including, “Foxy Mamas” and “War in Harlem” the streaming app is hoping to bring new focus to slew of films that really defined black entertainment for a whole generation. While most of these movies played on some pretty glaring stereotypes, this was the first time people of color were really being represented as anything side characters in Cinema.
Speaking at the launch announcement for the service Grier said,
““These movies are entertaining and fun, but they were also empowering to the black community as they depicted African Americans as strong leading characters and heroes for the first time.”
While these movies deserve their rightful place in history and we definitely agree that they’re due a comeback, we hope that over time service can expand their catalogue past just nostalgic classics. After all, streaming services only really catapulted into contention with cable and television once they started producing original content that was on par with the quality we were used to getting on TV. If Brown Sugar really is trying to “just like Netflix, only blacker”, then with time we’re going to need them to start giving a voice to more new black artists and filmmakers.
For now, the service offers an extensive catalogue of uncensored, advertising free movies available at $3.99 a month.
For MORE about Brown Sugar, go HERE.
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