Lena Waithe’s debut raises questions over the work of black artists and the role of critics of color
A hyper-stylized film about a black couple killing a white cop during a tense traffic stop and then embarking on a gorgeously shot escape across America was always destined to garner controversy.
Yet the debate sparked by reviewers and filmgoers about the actor and writer Lena Waithe’s debut film,
Queen & Slim, is raising a series of questions about work created by black artists and the role of critics of color. Can black artists grow and become better if we don’t honestly critique them? How will more daring, inventive black films ever get funded if we tear them apart?