Small Axe and the big tree of 2020
Soundings - ISSN 1362-6620
Volume 2021 Number 77
Small Axe and the big tree of 2020
Roshi Naidoo pages 9-22
DOI: 10.3898/SOUN.77.01.2021
Abstract
This article reflects on Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, exploring its importance in placing black narratives at the centre of history and on prime time television. It locates it within the context of a longer history of struggles over black representation and misrepresentation in mainstream British media. Naidoo draws on her own experiences to discuss the very slow progress towards diversity in the cultural life of Britain. She pays tribute to pioneers who campaigned for a more representative media in Britain. What made these films especially important was the space given to pleasure, presence and collective joy.
To cite this article
Roshi Naidoo (2021) Small Axe and the big tree of 2020, Soundings, 2021(77), 9-22. https://doi.org/10.3898/SOUN.77.01.2021