The entertainment value of this series was really good. It kept my attention, and I thought it did a decent job not overly painting Madame CJ Walker as a flawless she-roe. However, it really does a disservice to the historical truth about her story. I gave it a 7 for its entertainment value, but I'm begging you, if you REALLY want to know the truth about Madame CJ Walker, who WASN'T the first female self-made millionaire (Annie Malone was - Walker's boss), please READ and not stop at watching this made-for-Netflix series. Revising history for entertainment isn't fair to the descendants of these great people. And I'm sure our heroes themselves wouldn't appreciate it either.
116 Reviews
Great idea, execution could've been better
annemariepaarden30 March 2020
This show had great entertainment quality and the actors did a good job. I was very stoked to hear about this series and to see Octivia Spencer and Tiffany Haddish being part of the cast. The actors did a fantastic job. I loved the sets and clothes as well. I love myself some documentairy mixed with drama based on true historic events, but unfortunately, after seeing this series and reading about the inspiration for this miniseries, I was very dissapointed in the way the writers represented Madame C.J. Walker, Addie Monroe (who's character is based on Annie Malone) and other characters. It's not necessarily a bad thing when you add something of your own into a series that's based on real events, but it is when you put in too many inaccuracies or big ones. In this case, we were given a mixture of both. Too bad, since they had one hell of a cast.
Great Series - But...
Thenewt4520 March 2020
Rule#1: Never rely on films & TV to learn history - that's what in-depth reading & research is for.
I would hope viewers would watch this and then get inspired to delve deeper & research the real life of Madame C.J. Walker. As an entertainment piece & catalyst to inspire further learning I give it 8 stars.
I do have a particular dislike of hearing modern contemporary music in period pieces. I like to feel transported to the time & imagine the America my grandparents & great-grandparents experienced. When the rap lyrics start - it kills the mood of the period - Like Christopher Reeve thrust back to the present after seeing a 1979 penny in "Somewhere in Time"!
I know some productions like to do this (Example - WGN's "Underground" series). I can only imagine this is designed to attract younger audiences who may not find historical films as appealing - but I find it very annoying. Can't imagine "Downton Abbey" with a Beyoncé or Taylor Swift soundtrack!
I would hope viewers would watch this and then get inspired to delve deeper & research the real life of Madame C.J. Walker. As an entertainment piece & catalyst to inspire further learning I give it 8 stars.
I do have a particular dislike of hearing modern contemporary music in period pieces. I like to feel transported to the time & imagine the America my grandparents & great-grandparents experienced. When the rap lyrics start - it kills the mood of the period - Like Christopher Reeve thrust back to the present after seeing a 1979 penny in "Somewhere in Time"!
I know some productions like to do this (Example - WGN's "Underground" series). I can only imagine this is designed to attract younger audiences who may not find historical films as appealing - but I find it very annoying. Can't imagine "Downton Abbey" with a Beyoncé or Taylor Swift soundtrack!
Bad production
gomeshoeppner20 March 2020
Overall Well Made
debpyburn21 March 2020
I appreciate the retelling of her story while also taking some creative liberties (it is the 21st century and Netflix).
There was one goof obvious to Spelman alumnae. They mention "Spelman College" and at the time this film was set it, the school has not made it's name change yet. I believe they should have just said "Spelman" or "Spelman Baptist Seminary" as it would not become Spelman College until 1924.
There was one goof obvious to Spelman alumnae. They mention "Spelman College" and at the time this film was set it, the school has not made it's name change yet. I believe they should have just said "Spelman" or "Spelman Baptist Seminary" as it would not become Spelman College until 1924.
Could be better!
jaywes-5108621 March 2020
Great movie
romeovision200220 March 2020
I read reviews about this being too glossy and not realistic but I say stop nitpicking them series! All I need is good acting and a story that tell of the history of a black woman who became the first black female millionaire. I enjoyed everything I saw!
This inspiring woman deserved better
fkeal-209593 April 2020
Was very happy to see that a miniseries about Madame CJ Walker was in the works. Unfortunately this series did not live up to expectations. The writers focused on the more soap opera aspects of her life and completely shorted her on all of her accomplishments. I know that no biography is going to stick 100% to the facts but this one took a great many liberties, all to the detriment of its subject. Madame CJ was a big success long before this series portrays that. Was expecting a much better treatment of this icon.
Couldn't Stop Watching
aquarius_bus22 March 2020
Historical data aside, I loved the story, the script, the production, the fight scenes and the music. I was in Madam Walkers court from the get-go. Regardless of her 'real biography', this woman overcame daggers in her back on a daily basis and THAT is what her story is about.
As far as the reviews concerning the slant towards light-skinned women...he'll, it's true! Light-skinned women were treated differently! Let's don't try to paint that as being fictitious.
Great mini series. Loved it and love Octavia.
As far as the reviews concerning the slant towards light-skinned women...he'll, it's true! Light-skinned women were treated differently! Let's don't try to paint that as being fictitious.
Great mini series. Loved it and love Octavia.
enjoyed the series, but did not know the real story
Charlotte_Fontaine31 March 2020
In Europe the story of Madam C.J. Walker is not really known (or at least I never heard of her before watching the trailer for this new series).
So I looked at it as a person not familiar with real story of the life of Madam C.J. Walker.
Enjoyed the acting, enjoyed the story. I would probably have added one more episode for closure.
After watching I started reading up on the real life of Madam CJ Walker and found that there were some discrepancies and exaggerations in the story.
Ok title says 'inspired by' so they can be a bit 'creative', but that's a pity when it's more a biographical story.
Enjoyed the acting, enjoyed the story. I would probably have added one more episode for closure.
After watching I started reading up on the real life of Madam CJ Walker and found that there were some discrepancies and exaggerations in the story.
Ok title says 'inspired by' so they can be a bit 'creative', but that's a pity when it's more a biographical story.
Music was totally out of place
irekatcups16 April 2020
Why the dramatisation
daniela-rausch22 March 2020
It is clear in the movie that Addie Munroe is a portrait of the real life figure of Annie Malone, Madam CJ Walker's mentor. Why is she portrayed so negatively? In real life she was a successful business woman alongside CJ Walker, philanthropist and equal rights advocate. Is there really no space for 2 successful business women alongside each other? It is a pity that something marketed as a biography has such a major misrepresentation. Otherwise it was a good movie. Interesting contrasts between the old time setting and modern music and scenes.
How old is the daughter supposed to be? 30?
srouten24 March 2020
Im confused. How old is this daughter? The daughter looks older than the mum in some scenes.
Or at least the same age.
Yet mother is supposed to look old and tired.
It takes you out of the story a bit. I love the story and the scenes.
Great Movie With Watered Down Racism
zac-6827420 March 2020
Great story to reveal the first American female millionaire. Madam CJ endured blatant racism and misogyny while building a multi-million dollar institution which the screenwriters felt should only be addressed once. Octavia Spencer has a natural talent morphing into characters. Would've enjoyed more memories of her opulent lifestyle having the net worth of 10 million dollars. (Adjusted for inflation, $10,000,000.00 in 1919 is equal to $155,741,818.18 in 2020)
Loved the movie but disapointed about the inaccuracy
graham-harvey4 December 2020
Really great story based on truth but to learn that another woman who was successful & not a villain has been changed into that for story in unfortunate. However the depiction of pushing for success in an era of challenge & limitation for African American women is a good story to be told.
Octavia Spenser is brilliant
s-andra-195727 March 2020
Really enjoy movies Octavia Spenser does she's a really fantastic actress! Guinness Book of world records records Madam C J Walker as the first woman self made millionaire and this movie is about how she did it. I was very interested by all the characters and dynamics and really enjoyed this mini series through all the ups and downs and do recommend it!
How to get away with stealing a formula
mathildaelhashem21 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Great story, fast paced, good actors. during the 4 episodes you have nothing but respect and admiration for Madam Walker, dislike Addie for being too jealous and competitive and then.... Madam Walker ends up confessing that she stole Addie's basic formula...made it better and got away with that by becoming the wealthiest self-made woman in the US? like what... being wealthy erases your crimes. I am not sure if this depiction of madam C.J. Walker is fair.
More episodes
gabriella-7123121 March 2020
Great series, terrible music
juliendussault23 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This series was short, but well written and greatly acted by the steller cast and extremely interesting, the only real jab I could give was the terrible music choice and the dumb Wallace girl scenes. Other than that great series that I highly reccomend.
Awesome
faxman-7641221 March 2020
Self Made: The Real Housewives of Hair
Stream2BigScreen_Movie_Reviews29 March 2020
Luckily, the options are plentiful for streaming content. There are many providers, which I will not list; and a myriad of genres, you get the gist. Scroll and search. We give you our thoughts on some of that content which we've come across.
Last Friday, streaming behemoth, Netflix, premiered a miniseries about the American cosmetics and hair care mogul known as Madam C.J. Walker, called Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. The miniseries stars and was produced by Academy Award winner, Octavia Spencer, with an assist for Lebron James; and the first two episodes were directed by Kasi Lemmons, who recently directed Harriet. It's probably no coincidence that Self Made was dropped in the midst of Women's History Month. Madam C.J. Walker's claim to fame is that she is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America not to mention that she is African American and made products that catered to the aesthetic needs of black women. Self Made attempts to depict the struggle and tenacity of Sarah Breedlove, who becomes Madam C.J. Walker, as she develops her business out of her own necessity and strives for greater and greater heights.
Self Made is easily digestible streaming content. It is a miniseries in the best sense. It's a generally contained and focused story. It is 4 episodes that do not try to cram the cradle-to-grave story of Madam C.J. Walker into hour long bits. The basic plotline it presents is not overly complicated. The viewer wants to see how this American success story came to be. For the most part, Self Made is successful.
On the other hand, please pay attention to the words after the colon in the title: "Inspired by." Please do not let your children use this miniseries as a basis for their history report about Madam C.J. Walker. The miniseries distills the essence of the woman, but it seems to use its dramatic license quite liberally. There are also some directorial flourishes, particularly in the first 2 episodes, that do not fit neatly in your run-of-the-mill television biopic. A storyline or two also feels too contemporary to be grounded in any fact, and therefore, those parts feel forced in for a modern audience. While they add color to the overall series, those parts devalue the remarkable nature of this African American female entrepreneur's feat as she amassed her fortune and grew her empire in the 1910's.
Besides getting some sense of the history here, watching Self Made will make you appreciate the national treasure that is Octavia Spencer. The role of Sarah Breedlove/Madam C.J. Walker is a great one, filled with pain and self-doubt that morphs into graceful diligence and steely determination. Octavia Spencer portrays the character with the intelligence that a woman like Walker would have in spades. You'll also get to say, "You go girl!", as she continues to push for more success. This is one of Spencer's best roles to date.
Spencer has two strong foils in Carmen Ejogo, who plays Madam Walker's nemesis and chief competitor in business; and, there is the namesake husband played by Blair Underwood. Both Ejogo and Underwood complement Spencer's portrayal well. Although some situations that their characters get into feel a bit contrived and can border on caricatures, each actor manages to sidestep most clichés. You might even be able to feel Ejogo reaching up to twist her villainess's proverbial moustache every now and then - her raised eyebrows show just enough of the deviousness behind her beautiful face.
The less said about Tiffany Haddish in this miniseries the better.
Ultimately, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker is a worthwhile viewing experience. For a historical piece, it is a breezy effort. Since it is only 4 episodes with each less than an hour runtime, you could binge this in less time than an Avengers movie. And, Madam C.J. Walker is like an Avenger herself, taking on the unenviable task of creating a hair care empire. Although the history within the series is questionable, it is not boring and Octavia Spencer, Carmen Ejogo and Blair Underwood bring their bests to the screen. Let Self Made pique your interest about Madam C.J. Walker and then do some actual research on your own.
Last Friday, streaming behemoth, Netflix, premiered a miniseries about the American cosmetics and hair care mogul known as Madam C.J. Walker, called Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. The miniseries stars and was produced by Academy Award winner, Octavia Spencer, with an assist for Lebron James; and the first two episodes were directed by Kasi Lemmons, who recently directed Harriet. It's probably no coincidence that Self Made was dropped in the midst of Women's History Month. Madam C.J. Walker's claim to fame is that she is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America not to mention that she is African American and made products that catered to the aesthetic needs of black women. Self Made attempts to depict the struggle and tenacity of Sarah Breedlove, who becomes Madam C.J. Walker, as she develops her business out of her own necessity and strives for greater and greater heights.
Self Made is easily digestible streaming content. It is a miniseries in the best sense. It's a generally contained and focused story. It is 4 episodes that do not try to cram the cradle-to-grave story of Madam C.J. Walker into hour long bits. The basic plotline it presents is not overly complicated. The viewer wants to see how this American success story came to be. For the most part, Self Made is successful.
On the other hand, please pay attention to the words after the colon in the title: "Inspired by." Please do not let your children use this miniseries as a basis for their history report about Madam C.J. Walker. The miniseries distills the essence of the woman, but it seems to use its dramatic license quite liberally. There are also some directorial flourishes, particularly in the first 2 episodes, that do not fit neatly in your run-of-the-mill television biopic. A storyline or two also feels too contemporary to be grounded in any fact, and therefore, those parts feel forced in for a modern audience. While they add color to the overall series, those parts devalue the remarkable nature of this African American female entrepreneur's feat as she amassed her fortune and grew her empire in the 1910's.
Besides getting some sense of the history here, watching Self Made will make you appreciate the national treasure that is Octavia Spencer. The role of Sarah Breedlove/Madam C.J. Walker is a great one, filled with pain and self-doubt that morphs into graceful diligence and steely determination. Octavia Spencer portrays the character with the intelligence that a woman like Walker would have in spades. You'll also get to say, "You go girl!", as she continues to push for more success. This is one of Spencer's best roles to date.
Spencer has two strong foils in Carmen Ejogo, who plays Madam Walker's nemesis and chief competitor in business; and, there is the namesake husband played by Blair Underwood. Both Ejogo and Underwood complement Spencer's portrayal well. Although some situations that their characters get into feel a bit contrived and can border on caricatures, each actor manages to sidestep most clichés. You might even be able to feel Ejogo reaching up to twist her villainess's proverbial moustache every now and then - her raised eyebrows show just enough of the deviousness behind her beautiful face.
The less said about Tiffany Haddish in this miniseries the better.
Ultimately, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker is a worthwhile viewing experience. For a historical piece, it is a breezy effort. Since it is only 4 episodes with each less than an hour runtime, you could binge this in less time than an Avengers movie. And, Madam C.J. Walker is like an Avenger herself, taking on the unenviable task of creating a hair care empire. Although the history within the series is questionable, it is not boring and Octavia Spencer, Carmen Ejogo and Blair Underwood bring their bests to the screen. Let Self Made pique your interest about Madam C.J. Walker and then do some actual research on your own.
Full of Historical Inaccuracies & Riddled With Ridiculous Stereotypes
syd990720 March 2020
I'm a history buff and when I heard that Netflix and Octavia Spenser were working on a story about Madam C.J. Walker I was excited. Then the more I read about the limited series, the more I knew I would be disappointed and I was. Madam C.J. Walker was not the first millionaire, that was Annie Malone, who Walker worked for. Malone was worth about 14 million at the turn of the century and in today's money. that would be roughly over 400 million. Malone was the first to invent hair-care products, the first to invent the straightening comb, and the first to have distribution of her hair-care products. And Walker actually tried to steal her formulas and ideas. Here, Malone's name has been changed to Addie Munroe, played by Carmen Ejogo, and she is a very unsympathetic character, who is biracial, and a hardcore colorist with "good hair". Which by all historical indications, Annie Malone was none of that. This portrayal simply perpetuates the battle within the Black community of having a light complexion means you're better, and being darker, means you're considered less attractive and undesirable. And quite frankly, it's a notion that should be put to rest for good.
Spencer portrays Walker as a wildly insecure woman because of her looks, who is driven to prove to the world and her rival "Addie", that her color is not a deterrent to success, nor is her gender. She emasculates her 2nd husband, and in this series, he's a little more than a bit player in Walker's life, and the series continues in this cringe-worthy direction and doesn't give the audience any real insight into Walker's business acumen, but throws her insecurities in our faces like a hail-storm and it does Walker's legacy no justice whatsoever.
This limited series was a missed opportunity to really delve into Walker's life, and celebrate what a Black woman managed to accomplish during a time when Black people, especially Black women, were invisible and considered second class citizens. This series was basically a rivalry between two women, one light, one dark, and from there it went completely off the rails and down the cliff and burst into flames. And the puzzling part is that it glossed over the rabid racism of the era and tried to make the audience think that it didn't exist. We're talking about the turn of the century. Let that sink in. Finally, why was Tiffany Haddish even in this? She played Walker's daughter, and her character was so grossly underdeveloped that you actually felt sorry for Haddish. And let's not get into the low production value...no words.
Spencer portrays Walker as a wildly insecure woman because of her looks, who is driven to prove to the world and her rival "Addie", that her color is not a deterrent to success, nor is her gender. She emasculates her 2nd husband, and in this series, he's a little more than a bit player in Walker's life, and the series continues in this cringe-worthy direction and doesn't give the audience any real insight into Walker's business acumen, but throws her insecurities in our faces like a hail-storm and it does Walker's legacy no justice whatsoever.
This limited series was a missed opportunity to really delve into Walker's life, and celebrate what a Black woman managed to accomplish during a time when Black people, especially Black women, were invisible and considered second class citizens. This series was basically a rivalry between two women, one light, one dark, and from there it went completely off the rails and down the cliff and burst into flames. And the puzzling part is that it glossed over the rabid racism of the era and tried to make the audience think that it didn't exist. We're talking about the turn of the century. Let that sink in. Finally, why was Tiffany Haddish even in this? She played Walker's daughter, and her character was so grossly underdeveloped that you actually felt sorry for Haddish. And let's not get into the low production value...no words.
Good and Bad
pattana2175 May 2020
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
