Elvis Mitchell - 12/13/23

What It Covers

Brian Koppelman interviews film critic Elvis Mitchell about his approach to cultural criticism, the making of his Netflix documentary "Is That Black Enough for You?", navigating invisibility as a Black critic in mainstream media, and his interview methodology that influenced Koppelman's own podcast style over the past decade.

Key Questions Answered

• •Preparation as Professional Respect: Mitchell conducts interviews without notes after extensive research, making direct eye contact to signal he has given serious thought to the subject's work. He wants guests to understand he takes them seriously enough to have done the work before entering the room, distinguishing professional inquiry from casual conversation or friendship-seeking behavior.
• •Cultural Theft Documentation: Mitchell's documentary reveals how Black cinema innovations from 1968-1978 were systematically absorbed by mainstream filmmakers without acknowledgment. He traces specific examples like Saturday Night Fever's direct structural borrowing from Shaft, and Isaac Hayes admitting he and David Porter watched Once Upon a Time in the West repeatedly before creating the Walk On By arrangement for Burt Bacharach.
• •Invisibility Through Visibility: Mitchell deliberately dresses in tailored suits at screenings, making himself impossible to miss as the only Black critic in formal attire. This strategy forces recognition in spaces where people of color face assumptions about competence and belonging. The choice stems from watching Brian Gumbel maintain commanding presence despite media derision compared to David Letterman's celebrated contempt.
• •Interview Technique from Playboy: Mitchell models his conversational approach on Larry Grobel's Marlon Brando Playboy interview, which balanced conversation, challenge, and visible presence of the interviewer. The goal is getting subjects to truly look at you while talking, treating the exchange as professional work rather than friendship-building, allowing prepared questions to guide without constraining where conversation naturally flows.
• •Institutional Racism at The New York Times: Assistant managing editor Daryl Boyd warned Mitchell upon hiring that he would be judged differently as a high-profile Black critic. Mitchell faced fabricated stories about not watching films he reviewed, with only one example critics could cite despite his career-long thoroughness. Toni Morrison told him the Jason Blair scandal made it easier to blame Black journalists.
• •Generosity Born from Marginalization: Mitchell's critical approach emphasizes understanding filmmaker intent before evaluation, stemming from experiencing misapprehension throughout his career. He communicates to artists that he sees them accurately, giving them the rare experience of being truly understood rather than judged through assumptions about race, appearance, or background—the gift he wished others had extended to him.