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Documentary  •  2025  •  103 min

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (2025)

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions poster

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (2025)

Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive
Political: Strong Left
Diversity: High
Gender Swap: Yes
Family Values: Mixed
Viewer Rating
8.2

Overview

Experimental docu-fiction BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, directed by Kahlil Joseph, adapts his 2018 video installation into a 24-hour news cycle on a fictitious Black news network. Vignettes blend personal family anecdotes, historical reenactments, and Afrofuturist elements aboard transatlantic vessels inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois's Encyclopedia Africana. Starring Shaunette Renée Wilson as a journalist, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Bria Samoné Henderson.

Starring Cast

Penny Johnson Jerald  •   Shaunette Renée Wilson  •   Bria Samoné Henderson

Where to watch

Apple TV logoApple TV
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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

Political: Strong Left
Confidence: Medium

The film's core focus on reimagining Black history and futures through critiques of colonial oppression and media dehumanization drives its explicit promotion of progressive ideology. This ideological context, centered on systemic racial injustices and cultural reclamation, determines the left-leaning rating.

Diversity: High
Confidence: Medium

The film employs a predominantly Black and POC ensemble in lead roles portraying journalists and historical figures within a fictional Black news framework, demonstrating intentional diversity. Its experimental narrative critiques colonial legacies and mainstream media through decolonial explorations and Afrofuturist visions, emphasizing Black intellectual traditions and resilience.

Secondary

Gender Swap: Yes
Confidence: Low

W.E.B. Du Bois, a documented historical male figure, appears reimagined as a female researcher in fictional sequences, meeting the criteria for a gender swap.

Family Values: Mixed
Confidence: Medium

Kahlil Joseph's docu-fiction essay draws on his intimate access to a tumultuous family history, including losses and generational memories reflected through photo collages and personal anecdotes, to explore how familial lineage intersects with broader Black cultural and diasporic narratives. This portrayal frames family as a site of painful continuity and artistic legacy rather than structured norms or roles.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: Low

No LGBTQ+ characters or themes are present in the film. The narrative unfolds through experimental docu-fiction, emphasizing Black perspectives on history, culture, and liberation without addressing queer identities or experiences.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: Low

The film features no transgender characters or themes. Artistic elements include gender-switched portrayals of historical figures in fantasy sequences, but these do not constitute transsexual representation or narrative focus.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: Medium

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions presents original Afrofuturist docu-fiction with fictional characters and reimagined historical Black figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, all portrayed by Black actors, resulting in no race swaps.

Viewer Rating Breakdown

8.2

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
6.7
The Movie Database logo
7.0

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
10.0
Metacritic logo
9.2

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