Colin in Black and White

 

by Pa Rock

Film Fan

There are not enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe just how good the new Netflix limited series, Colin in Black and White, actually is.    Ever since the six-part series premiered on October 29th, it has ranked in the Netflix daily top ten list of most watched shows - and it is likely to stay near the top of the heap for the foreseeable future.

The drama series, which was created by professional football player Colin Kaepernick and professional filmmaker Ava DuVernay, tells the story of Kaepernick's time in high school and some of the challenges that he endured during those years.  It stars an amazing young actor named Jaden Michael who portrays the high school Kaepernick.    Jaden Michael, who was only seventeen at the time the series was being filmed, absorbed the essence of his character and comes across on film as an extremely believable version of Colin as a teen scholar and athlete.

The series is narrated by Colin Kaepernick, and he often saunters through scenes as they are being filmed, highlighting what is being said or done at the time and explaining why that is relevant to the story or to the point being highlighted by the filmmakers.

The primary focus of Colin in Black and White is race, and the way that race and racial attitudes impact not only the life of the high school athlete, Colin Kaepernick, but also the lives of those around him.  There is a stunning scene in the first episode which compares the way football players are evaluated at NFL tryouts with the way slaves were weighed and measured at slave auctions.  Race is also brought to the forefront in segments about his struggles to be accepted as a quarterback and with reactions from his friends and family toward his first serious girlfriend.

While a certain portion of the American population is in a frenzy over whether the history of mechanics of racism should be taught in schools, Colin in Black and White, deftly sidesteps that forum and presents a master class on Racism in America through the medium of television, and the series is provided in such an original and authentic way that it will have a strong and lasting impact on all who have the good fortune to view it.

The message of Colin in Black and White is everything that many feared it would be - and it is even better than many hoped it would be.  Racism is more than just wrong, it is evil, and that knowledge is slowly but surely working its way into the minds of the public.    American school boards may be hesitant to help make young people aware of the ravages of racism, but Colin Kaepernick, Ava DuVernay, and Netflix definitely are not - and their message is being heard.

This limited series is a winner!