A Thousand Mama’s: What Hollywood has to say about single black motherhood?

In 2023, two independent movies were released. On March 31, 2023, A Thousand and One was distributed by Focus Features. And A24, one of the hottest and most cinematically significant production companies in the industry today, dropped Earth Mama on July 7, 2023.

The former - an offering more near and dear to my heart - is the distressing story of a young mother and her son fighting through life with little to no means in a New York City landscape amidst a culture war that's rapidly evolving.

The latter is about a pregnant single mother, with two children in foster care, who embraces her Bay Area community as she fights to reclaim her family.

Make no mistake, neither of these viewings will allow you to walk away cheerful and uplifted. These are not those kinds of tales. For some audiences it’ll be a reflection of an environment or, perhaps more so, a somewhat lived (maybe even fully lived) experience of which the circumstances are all too familiar. For others, while you may not recognize the livelihoods of these two young ladies, specifically, you’ll at the very least appreciate the state of affairs.

A Thousand and One

Synopsis: Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so they can build their life together. As the years go by, their family grows and Terry becomes a smart yet quiet teenager, but the secret that has defined their lives threatens to destroy the home they have so improbably built.

My Review: A 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. An 85% audience score. Most remarkably of all the winner of Sundance Film Festival’s 2023 Grand Jury Prize. A Thousand and One must be a damn good film. Except it’s not. At least not to me.

Nostalgia carried me through the first 20 minutes. As a native New Yorker, I enjoyed traveling back to 1994 when Hot 97 was the station of choice, Wu-Tang Clan was putting out bangers (including their famous St. Ide’s radio commercial, prominently featured in the film), young ladies wore bamboo earrings, and the Twin Towers still stood.

But after the first 20 minutes, nostalgia was no longer effective. Just the story remained. And I wasn’t captivated any more. In fact, I was bored. Overall, the movie felt wildly incomplete; both within the story and, especially, at the end. It’s an odd feeling to simultaneously want something to be over and to long for more. That dual sentimentality is not the hallmark of a good film. Perhaps it means the creators didn’t execute their story properly. Really, what I think, it’s that writer/director A.V. Rockwell had too much going on and couldn’t bring all these deep ideas together fully.

I read a review that mentions how this movie doesn’t get going until Lucky arrives. That’s true. It does improve once his character is on screen. But not enough to save the film overall. Mostly because the third act isn’t strong either. That’s greatly due to a less-than stellar performance from the young actor playing teenage Terry. He needs more seasoning, which will come in time. But for now, he’s very much a weak link.

High praise, however, for Teyana Taylor. She’s great. She carries the movie wholly on her back. She almost single-handedly made this a fine movie. I’d hate to see what this film resembles if not for her presence. I look forward to seeing more of her in the years to come.

In conclusion, I’m happy to watch a black urban film that is about family and fight. Not about drugs and killing. Unfortunately, for me, it does not live up to the lofty ratings and accolades. But I wish the best to all involved with this project in their future endeavors. We need more films like this to enter into the discussion, that’s for sure.

Earth Mama

Synopsis: With two children in foster care, Gia, a pregnant single mother pitted against the system, fights to reclaim her family. In her close-knit Bay Area community, she works to make a life for herself and her kids.

My Review: If you’re looking for an interesting double-feature, try a back-to-back watch of Earth Mama and  A Thousand and One. Clearly, the thematics are similar: young, urban black woman with little means and the tremendous weight of parenting almost, if not entirely, on her own. As mentioned, neither is an easy watch. Each film in its own way takes a microscope to the socio-economic climate for poor African-American mothers. Or, as we have often said in the hood, “the struggle”.

However, whereas I wasn’t really the biggest fan of A Thousand and One, I did find Earth Mama to be a bit more successful in what it’s attempting to tell. Outside of the fact the former’s lead actress (Teyana Taylor) is stronger than the latter’s starring role (Tia Nomore) — don’t get me wrong, Nomore has a solid performance herself — and that A Thousand and One hit a lot of nostalgia notes for me personally, with the NYC backdrop and 90s hip-hop soundtrack, Earth Mama just checks more ‘good’ boxes than A Thousand and One.

But enough of the comparisons between the two. One of the things black folks are prone to do is tear down other black people or things [which, admittedly, I’ve now done myself]. So, I’ll end the competition here.

On its own Earth Mama isn’t a very layered movie. In fact, it’s a bit two-note (to write that it’s one-note would be unfair and misleading). While I wish they would’ve explored some deeper tones, what did end up on screen was pretty good. Nomore’s character, Gia, shows us that a person in these types of situations can be both culprit and victim. In some ways that feels sadder/worse than if she were only a sufferer. Because the full tragedy is her environment … a jail that individuals from our community can’t often escape. Where do you go? To whom do you turn? How can it be helped? Earth Mama shows you glimpses of the answers. But more than anything, it forces you to ponder those questions. And that’s at the heart of the narrative.

Again, it’s not an inspirational movie. There’s no feel-good story here. Still, at its core, Earth Mama is a rich and thought-provoking watch. If you can stand to see the reflection of an American class system that isn’t always enthusiastic, then Earth Mama is a fine film for you.

Message in the Movies

For A Thousand and One, there’s a term you may have heard. It’s called “found family”. Unlike the traditional boy meets girl, they fall in love, have children, raise children, so on and so forth, a found family had no intention of being a family at all. It’s completely circumstantial. One decision (or indecision) led to the next.

That would best describe what’s going on in A Thousand and One. Nevertheless their bond is still as strong as if they were family by blood. Ultimately, that’s the message in this narrative. Family is the one you create, however you create it. While there’s a principled line Inez crosses that I can’t massage into acceptance, I understand why she did what she did. Family will often do anything they deem righteous for those they love, whether or not we agree with them.

As for Earth Mama, I’m not positive the message connects as much or as well onscreen as it does offscreen. For the viewer, it’s simple: make better decisions in life. Gia gets it wrong at every turn, sadly. And only when her back is to the wall with no escape route of her own choosing does she finally come to a sound judgement.

In my opinion that’s not learning, that’s limiting. As in you have limited (or in her case zero) options. The film ends before we can truly get a sense of how these new life lessons will help Gia graduate as a person and as a mother. It sounds like an emotional journey, except that it isn't. She’s definitely in the throes. But since it’s hard to feel overly moved by someone in a prison of their own making, we can only be sympathetic to a point. Therefore, some of the message in this account is regrettably lost.

Final Thoughts

I’m the son of a single mom. My dad wasn't in the photo when I was born. My worldview has always been through the eyes of a single black mother. While I never wanted for anything like characters in these stories - my grandparents were in the mix to ensure I grew up as normal as any child - I do still understand the pressures of raising a child with one hand tied behind your back … especially now, in contrast, as my wife and I raise our own children.

That’s why I want to see more narratives like these on screen. But with two caveats: first, in some instances can they have a more positive outcome. You know, to reflect the many other perspectives from these same or similar areas that instead found hope and success. And second, in other instances, let it be the exact circumstances these movies are depicting, but told more brilliantly by brilliant people. Because, independently, neither film is an exceptional work of art — least of all A Thousand and One.