When does the eye of the documentarian obscure the sight?
The Peacock film “Black Boys” examines the beauty of Black boys but suffers from a failure to police its own gaze.
Split into four sections — Body, Mind, Voice and Heart — the documentary addresses the dehumanization of Black boys by attempting the reverse: reconstructing them from these parts to show they are worth the care and respect they’re systematically denied in America.
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Lowman, who is white, is aware of her gaze. She appears on-screen as a Black boy tells her about the racist reactions of white women who see him.
And yet Lowman overcorrects. She indulges in metaphors (a boy compares himself to an eagle and we see one soar through the sky) and lingers on the faces of unnamed boys as though they’re objects to stare at, as though one long glance will illustrate a humanity that its audience is blind to. Despite trying so hard to prove the worth of Black boys, the film makes anonymous examples of them. (There are triggering images, too — police brutality, lynchings — used without enough context to make them warranted.)
“Black Boys” does have moments of joy, like when three friends take playful shots at each other during their interview, but these moments work when the film’s gaze is subdued, when it just lets Black boys be boys.
‘Black Boys’ Review: Young Lives in the Balance
