Elvis Mitchell is a man of many talents.
Before beginning such a powerful and noteworthy career, he was just a kid from Detroit.
His father was a hard worker, putting in hours and hours at two jobs.
By day, he was adairyplant employee who went on to work at an industriallaundryfacility at night.
His mother was a homemaker (perEncyclopedia.com).
He recalls a conversation he had with his father at that time where they compared days.
He looked at me and said, ‘What did you do?'"
“I had sat in a warm room where I’d eatensandwichesandwatched TV.
‘Um, nothing,’ I said, standing to leave.
‘Nothing at all.’
He also stood out as a unique voice as one of few Black film critics of the time.
Film fans were captivated by the parallels among different areas of pop culture that Mitchell seamlessly drew.
During his time there, he used the platform to also integrate some social commentary into his reviews.
The accommodating nature of Torontonians had gone a long way toward alleviating discomfort,” he wrotein the review.
“I just never thought I was a Times kind of writer.
Mitchell went on to guest lecture at Harvard (perThe Harvard Crimson).
There have since been another two volumes, in 2009 and 2010.
He pays attention to the ways the industry has changed.
“Film criticism is now everywhere.
So some of those walls, those barriers have been sundered, and that’s a good thing.”
Mitchell will be among interviewers at the93rd Oscarson April 25 (perPeople).
