African American literature, film adaptations, and Barry Jenkins -- ep. by Nicole Dixon

A short take on African American novels adapted to film by Barry Jenkins.

Written by Nicole Dixon

Read by Kassandra Timm

Transcript

What do James Baldwin and Colson Whitehead have in common? They are both celebrated African American novelists whose stories have inspired screen adaptions. Another commonality? Barry Jenkins produced and directed adaptations of their novels. 

You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions – a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels.

Barry Jenkins is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. He gained worldwide notice in 2017, when his film Moonlight earned an Oscar for best picture. 

A year later the film, If Beale Street Could Talk, based on Baldwin's 1974 novel, was released in theatres. Much like the novel, the movie follows a non-linear structure that captures the love story between a black man and woman. The New York Timesraved about Jenkins's ability to invite audiences to look deeply at the characters in a cinematic style where the visuals speak volumes without words. 

The Times also noted that there were moments when Jenkins remained too faithful to the text. For his next adaptation, Jenkins took noticeable creative liberties. 

Based on Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel The Underground Railroad, Jenkins produced and directed the limited series of the book’s adaptation for Amazon Prime. The series was released in May 2021. 

Jenkins kept true to the novel’s imaginative literalization of the underground railroad as an actual train system beneath our feet. However, he detailed small moments in the lives of the main characters in ways that were unexplored in the novel, and added to the layered use of anachronisms established by Whitehead. 

The series garnered critical acclaim, winning a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. The Washington Post praised Jenkins for vividly and visually bringing the novel to life. 

Who else will accompany the list with James Baldwin and Colson Whitehead in having their remarkable novels adapted into remarkable visual productions by Barry Jenkins? 

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This episode was written by Nicole Dixon. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali and Howard Rambsy II.

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This podcast, Remarkable Receptions, is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.  For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.