User reviews

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.

This background music in the 1900's ??? Baffled!!.

Why this kind of music? It ruined it a bit... I found it inspiring though.

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.

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.

The acting, costumes and settings in this are impressive. However, the hip hop music detracts from the overall movie. Just so inappropriate in this setting. It's for this reason I gave it a 7.

Despite the obvious political agenda, this was a well made, inspiring show. Octavia Spenser is an incredible actor. She made this show shine like no one else could. If you can get past the liberal agenda, and just focus on the amazing storyline, you'll truly enjoy Self Made.

Rarely do I say this about a series, but it moved too darn fast! The story went by at breakneck speed as they tried to jam this woman's legacy into four episodes. The acting was good, the characters had depth, and the cinematography unusual. Overall a fairly successful docu-drama.

This drama is based on the life of Sarah Breedlove Walker (Octavia Spencer) who is reported as the first female self-made millionaire in America by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Orphaned at the age of 7 with only 3 months education, Sarah worked as a laundrywoman so she could provide her daughter with her first husband, Lelia (Tiffany Haddish), with college education. Sarah suffered from hair loss and was healed by hair product entrepreneur Andie Munroe (Carmen Ejogo). When Sarah offered to sell Andie's product, the latter refused due to her less than appealing looks.

Sarah developed her own hair product that became successful and spawned other products like cosmetics. She married Charles James Walker (Blair Underwood), an ad salesman who became her business partner, and gave herself and her products the name Madame C. J. Walker. With her business success, she became a prominent African-American figure until her death.

As with a lot of biographical dramas, there are inaccuracies such as naming her business rival Addie Munroe instead of Annie Malone. The real reason for their rift is also not clear since in real life, Sarah did become an agent for Annie Malone. Another thing, I wonder why the producers of this show decided to make Lelia gay when her biography does not include this information. It just proves how unreliable biographical dramas are, which is why I don't rely on them for absolute information and just consider them as starting points for deeper research.

But the gist of Madam C. J. Walker's life remains. Her humble beginnings, determination to make her daughter educated and grit to be a successful businesswoman remain to astound and inspire.

My Review - Self Made : Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker My Rating 7/10 A thoroughly enjoyable series well produced with an inspiring performance from Octavia Spencer this 4 episode Netflix series introduces a fascinating character in African American history a self made woman at a time in America where that description would be so rare because self made men domineered history in White and Afro American Society. Netflix describes the story as the inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker who built a haircare empire that made her America's first female self-made millionaire. The only one small criticism or disappointment I had is that the series exists primarily in an Afro American world I could barely find a Caucasian actor in the cast apart from Frank Moore in one episode briefly appearing as JD Rockefeller. In my view this must have been intentional but I thought it gave a sort of reverse apartheid and implied an artificiality unreal backdrop to the story . Surely there must have been interactions with white people are even scarce on the streets of New York ? A few extras wouldn't have gone astray just to give balance to the story and times. Perhaps I'm reading too much into the story but I'm sure Madam C. J. Walker came in contact with people other than her own race. Octavia Spencer stars as Madam C.J Walker in the series in an interview: she said " I was raised with Madam C.J as a standard bearer in my home" Adding, "My Mum used her as an example to demonstrate to my siblings and I, because we were born of humble beginnings as well, what we could dream of ourselves...I thought it was time for her story to be told. So other young people could aspire to greatness" . The series is set In 1910, and based on the life of the determined entrepreneur Madam CJ Walker who set up her own Manufacturing Company alongside her own salon, beauty school and lab. She started her meteoric rise to fame after a scalp ailment made her source a remedy from another black female entrepreneur- Annie Malone. After marrying her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, she took on his name to become Madam CJ Walker. It gave her the idea to develop a range of products herself including Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower. Over the following years she worked and travelled tirelessly to build her business empire opening her first black beauty parlour in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her daughter in 1908. She used her growing fortune to fund scholarships for women at The Tuskagee Institute, building a YMCA and donating hefty contributions to the NAACP. To keep her empire growing, she travelled extensively through Central America and the Caribbean becoming the first black woman to become a self-made millionaire. Madam CJ Walker sadly died of kidney failure in 1919. Her daughter then took over until her death in 1945 where it was subsequently passed down the generations and her products are still stocked today. There's plenty of interesting supporting characters and plot lines in the series all well cast especially Tiffany Haddish as C.J.'S problematic "possibly "lesbian daughter Leila . Leïla 'S story is one of the most interesting parts touched on only briefly but not pursued as it's her mothers storyline here but after reading more of Leila's colourful "Gatsbyesq "Party lifestyle perhaps a follow on series please ? Other good performances from Blair Underwood as C.J. Walker Madam C.J.'S husband who's trying to find a role in C.J's empire but always is kept in her shadow. Carmen Ejego is impressive as C.J's rival and constant threat Addie as is Kevin Carroll cast as C.J's cousin just another problematic male and thorn in her side. It's a fascinating story and I agree with Octavia Spencer it's a story that must be told as I doubt many people including myself have been aware of Madam C.J.Walker and her wonderful story up until this very entertaining and enjoying series. Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 - May 25, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Well scripted, well written story of the black history in the early 20th century. Costumes were excellent. Olivia Spencer does a great job!

There are many reviews here at the time of writing this over 70...

They are all quite accurate in their praise or in their critique. This series is horse for causes. If you understand American drama tends to squeeze the juice from every little thing and it hardly ever stays strictly within the confines of accuracy you'll be fine. If you want a true historical account of the time you won't find it here; the reviews focusing on that element are absolutely true.

If you like period correct music or modern music that could sit within that vibe in your scores, I also understand that you might be upset with that element here. Those reviews are also hard to argue against.

The fleshing out of characters was up and down, it didn't delve far enough into people being of or beyond their time etc...

Still, I found the overall presentation to be very engaging, the editing was near enough invisible (which is good) and the acting was serviceable/entertaining. This isn't a perfect period piece nor is it the worst to ever be made.

So sure maybe the history isn't accurate, the music not period correct and so on and so forth but it was interesting to see a black based concept that showed the community as dealing with it's own problems and psychology vs the usual background of 'the man'. It's worth watching with a huge helping of patience and empathy.

Octavia Spencer, LeBron James, Maverick Carter as Executive Producers has a nice ring to it. Well done!