Film

Stamped from the Beginning

Name: Stamped from the Beginning
Genre: Documentary, Animation
Released: 2023
Cast: Angela Davis, Alexa Rachelle Jennings, Rafa Marinho, Ibram X. Kendi, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

An animated documentary that traces how racist ideas became woven into American culture from colonization onward. Based on Ibram X. Kendi's landmark book, it pairs historical scholarship with vivid animation to make intellectual history visceral and urgent. Essential viewing for anyone wanting to understand how we got here.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a clear-eyed argument about how racist ideas were built and kept alive, carried by sharp animation and thinkers like Angela Davis speaking on screen.

Skip it if you are hoping for a gentle, lighter animated film; the subject is heavy and the lecture style means long stretches of argument rather than story.

What it asks of you: Ninety-two minutes of dense, steady argument, where the animation keeps the eye busy while the ideas ask you to keep pace and sit with uncomfortable history.

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