Black Boy's Don't Cry

It’s a common mantra and sad fact of life that boys don’t cry. It’s something deeply ingrained in society and the historic pressures of masculinity. To this day it is still shocking when you see a man cry either in real life or on screen, such is the extent to which cultural values have been so slow to change. This heightened masculinity is even more present traditionally in the black community, and ‘Black Boys Don’t Cry’, demonstrates the overwhelming pressures of that effectively and rather beautifully.

The film follows Evan (played by Madison Ledyard King), a young black college student for whom the pressures of life have suddenly built up. He struggles to concentrate on his studies, and is told that his grades are slipping. His parents message him and call to check in on him, but they encourage strength rather than vulnerability. Nothing seems to appeal to him, and it feels as though he is floundering, uncertain of his next steps for both his present and his future. He’s caught in the abyss and can’t seem to find a way out from it.

He is referred to counselling to try and resurrect his falling academical attainment. When he tries to protest and justify his rough patch he is bluntly told that everybody is going through things. It’s the sort of language used so frequently to avoid men truly opening up about their feelings. Evan can’t cry because that would be a sign of weakness. The only way is through, and the only way he can get through is by thinking that everyone else is struggling just the same. It’s a way of telling him to ‘man up’, a phrase that itself is deeply linked to the overbearing pressures of masculinity.

Madison Ledyard King’s film does this effectively throughout, giving a relatable and endearing portrait of a man’s life when it is riddled with doubt. As well as portraying the film’s lead character with a weariness that will be familiar to many, he imbues the film with a sense of claustrophobia with his directing, as it constantly feels as though the walls are closing in around him. The sound of the film too, is incredible, with a wonderful score and beautiful songs on the soundtrack, that perfectly epitomise the issue of a crisis of masculinity.

‘Black Boys Don’t Cry’ is a painfully beautiful film, tenderly portraying the overwhelming burden that traditional masculinity places on a man.