We Need to Talk About Cosby (2022)

Director W. Kamau Bell delves through Bill Cosby’s entire career to try to come to terms with contrasts between Cosby’s positive public persona and the horrors he committed behind closed doors. While not experiencing quite the same gut punch that Bell might have felt as a Black man, I have also struggled with the details of Cosby’s case. I grew up on the lessons taught during Fat Albert and the uplifting portrayal of an upper class inner-city Black family on The Cosby Show; they both mark positive experiences in the entertainment consumption of my childhood. Giving many of Cosby’s victims a chance to speak, but also some of his, albeit not strong, supporters to provide their insights, Kamau offers an unexpectedly balanced view into Cosby’s career though if anyone wanted to look closely, it seems the signs were always there and it is obvious Cosby used the public’s perception to further his predatory behaviors. In the end, there are no answers on how to rectify feelings for someone who did some really great things in life but is also undeniably a monster despite me hoping somehow this miniseries could have provided some.