Powerful, moving look at strong Black Women artists

Pam Grier, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, and Nina Simone in American Masters (1985)

Halle Berry

Gail Lumet Buckley

Diahann Carroll

Explore the lives and trailblazing careers of six iconic African-American entertainers; Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier; who changed American culture through their films, fashion...

Yoruba Richen

How It Feels to Be Free

One hesitates to call a work a &quot;must-see&quot;, such a cliche in dealing with tv or film that usually refers to something that will delight the fans. But this is a documentary, presented on PBS, that is eye-opening, giving a concise yet comprehensive look at an overlooked subject.

I had literally seen all the movies, tv and great perfoming singers covered here, but never put together to make the key points about such a wealth of talent that was suppressed by racism (and sexism) but managed to entertain and give inspiration for many decades. Ranging from Lena Horne through to Nina Simone, Cicely Tyson and then of course Pam Grier, the documentary projects a deeply bittersweet quality: powerful performances but a gnawing sense of what might have been had these greats been permitted, nay nutured to fulfill all their artistic dreams. Diversity making some striedes in recent years holds promise for the next generations, hopefully.

Personally, I was especially impressed by the movie&apos;s 1970s section, paying side-by-side tribute to the Blaxploitation hits of Pam Grier, whilst Cicely Tyson (and Abbey Lincoln and Diahann Carroll) worked so hard to project a positive image of Black women on screen beyond the stereotypes. That was a decade in which I attended almost every new movie release of all types (especially the foreign films from Italy (especially Wertmuller), France, Sweden and West Germany (Fassbinder and Margarethe Von Trotta), but those Pam Grier films at local drive-ins and action movie houses were amazing in their own provocative way.

All told, right through a rousing finale inevitably powered by Nina Simone, this is a must-see.

One hesitates to call a work a "must-see", such a cliche in dealing with tv or film that usually refers to something that will delight the fans. But this is a documentary, presented on PBS, that is eye-opening, giving a concise yet comprehensive look at an overlooked subject.

I had literally seen all the movies, tv and great perfoming singers covered here, but never put together to make the key points about such a wealth of talent that was suppressed by racism (and sexism) but managed to entertain and give inspiration for many decades. Ranging from Lena Horne through to Nina Simone, Cicely Tyson and then of course Pam Grier, the documentary projects a deeply bittersweet quality: powerful performances but a gnawing sense of what might have been had these greats been permitted, nay nutured to fulfill all their artistic dreams. Diversity making some striedes in recent years holds promise for the next generations, hopefully.

Personally, I was especially impressed by the movie's 1970s section, paying side-by-side tribute to the Blaxploitation hits of Pam Grier, whilst Cicely Tyson (and Abbey Lincoln and Diahann Carroll) worked so hard to project a positive image of Black women on screen beyond the stereotypes. That was a decade in which I attended almost every new movie release of all types (especially the foreign films from Italy (especially Wertmuller), France, Sweden and West Germany (Fassbinder and Margarethe Von Trotta), but those Pam Grier films at local drive-ins and action movie houses were amazing in their own provocative way.

All told, right through a rousing finale inevitably powered by Nina Simone, this is a must-see.

Explore the lives and trailblazing careers of six iconic African-American entertainers; Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier; who changed American culture through their films, fashion, music and politics.

bappamtv

How It Feels to Be Free

🎭 Top Cast

🎬 Technical Specs

🎯 Categories

⭐ Featured Review

📖 Synopsis