In this documentary, Marlon Riggs - Emmy winning producer of ETHNIC NOTIONS - carries his landmark studies of prejudice into the Television Age. COLOR ADJUSTMENT traces 40 years of race relations through the lens of prime time entertainment, scrutinizing television's racial myths and stereotypes.
Narrated by Ruby Dee, COLOR ADJUSTMENT allows viewers to revisit some of television's most popular stars and shows, among them Amos and Andy, The Nat King Cole Show, I Spy, Julia, Good Times, Roots, Frank's Place and The Cosby Show. But this time around, Riggs asks us to look at these familiar favorites in a new way. The result is a stunning examination of the interplay between America's racial consciousness and network primetime programming.
Outstanding Achievement Award, International Documentary Association.
"A cogent and thoughtful survey of Black America as represented by American television, from the demeaning stereotypes of 'Amos 'n Andy' to the subtler, more insidious ones of 'The Cosby Show'" - Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Surveys the strange history of TV's various racial fantasies, taking us from the early days of Amos 'n' Andy to the advertising idyll of The Cosby Show. With its witty visuals and enlightening interviews, Color Adjustment tells us just the story we most need to hear, raises precisely the questions that must be raised, now that the media spectacle shines triumphant all around us." - Mark Crispin Miller, New York University
1991 81 mins.