Cool Theory Podcast

  The 2010s gave us Shondaland, Insecure , Moonlight , Black Panther , and a whole new era of Black storytelling on screen. But what actually changed for Black Hollywood during the decade? In Episode 7, we're getting into the filmmakers, showrunners, films, and television series that defined the 2010s—from Ava DuVernay's Selma , 13th , and When They See Us to Barry Jenkins' Moonligh...

There was a time when Black television felt like a neighborhood. Everybody knew where to meet. From That's So Raven and The Proud Family to Girlfriends , The Parkers , One on One , Half & Half , The Bernie Mac Show , and Everybody Hates Chris , Black television was part of the culture we shared. In Episode 6, we're revisiting the shows, characters, and networks that shaped an era of...

The 2000s were a wild decade for Black movies. Hip-hop became inseparable from cinema, rappers became movie stars, dance movies took over, Black family comedies became reliable box-office business, Tyler Perry built an empire, and Denzel Washington proved there was basically no genre he couldn't carry.  In Part 2 of our 2000s conversation, we get into Paid in Full, Belly, Hustle & Flow, G...

The 2000s changed the landscape of Black cinema. This was the era of DVD collections, BET countdowns, 106 & Park, mall movie theaters and blockbuster soundtracks. Black films reached audiences on a massive scale, spanning teen comedies, sports dramas, romances, hood classics, biopics, family films and studio comedies. In Part One of Episode 5, we explore how the 2000s became one of the most co...

Before streaming fragmented audiences and algorithms dictated what we watched, Black television helped shape culture in real time. This week on Cool Theory, we're discussing the creators, networks and shows that defined an era. From Martin, Living Single and A Different World to Moesha, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In Living Color.  We talk about how Black audiences helped build networks l...

Episode 3: The Black Auteur Era. In this episode, we get into the era where Black filmmakers began shifting the image from representation to authorship. From Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Reginald Hudlin to the creative partnership between Robert Townsend and Keenan Ivory Wayans, we explore the rise of directors and storytellers who brought new perspectives, styles, and realities to the screen. W...

Episode 2: The 1980s. In this episode, we look at how Black culture moved to the center of consumerism, capitalism, and global visibility. From the crossover success of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to Eddie Murphy’s rise as a box office force, the 80s reshaped what Black success looked like and who it was for. We get into how that shift shows up across film and television, from The Cosby Sh...

Episode 1: Blaxploitation. We’re starting in the 1970s, looking at the rise of Black cinema through films like Shaft , Super Fly , Foxy Brown , and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song . This episode explores the tension between visibility and exploitation, the role of music in shaping the era, and how these films reflected and influenced Black culture. Who controlled the image, who profited from it,...