Ok so yes i also wish the Tuskegee Airmen got more play in Master's of the Air. Honestly, Master's of the Air Series 2: Tuskegee Airmen. Let's go to Italy Tom & Steven!
HOWEVER! I have not seen anyone around here mention that there are two very excellent films about them you can go watch! RIGHT NOW!
Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
It has a STACKED cast: Lawrence Fishbourne, Courtney B. Vance, Andre Braugher, Mekhi Phiffer, Malcolm Jamal Warner and Cuba Gooding Jr. etc...
It's got a little bit of the '1990s Costume Drama' slowness & feel-goodness to it but it doesn't pull that many punches and spends most of the time with them in training. It doesn't blush looking at how HORRIFICALLY RACIST the conditions were during their training in Alabama and the congressional hearings about whether to even send these men into combat. It spends a little bit of time with them on combat missions in Italy. It gets an a-grade in history even though most of the characters are mash-ups of the real life airmen with the exception of Andre Braugher's character, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
It's a good movie. It won The Peabody and like 6 Emmys (It was an HBO tv movie before it was released to theatres according to IMDb) I've seen it a few times--and yes one of them was in my HS history class study day.
(in the USA available on Max and Sling streaming and for rent from other places)
Red Tails (2012)
I linked to Roger Ebert's review above. Basically, this is an ACTION MOVIE. George Lucas financed it through Lucasfilms because he loves old war movies (they inspired most of star wars) and he wanted to make a cool fighter pilot movie like Wings, or Dawn Patrol, or Air Force. EVERYTHING LOOKS AMAZING. It's very exciting. Like most George Lucas films--it's light on character exploration--but it really drives home the idea that these guys were GREAT PILOTS and that the Italy campaign in particular they really distinguished themselves in what was otherwise kind of a morass. It doesn't overly concern itself with historical accuracy but then again--it's not INACCURATE exactly-- it's just mostly a really cool fighter pilot movie about a unique and extraordinary historic fighter pilot unit. It has a solid cast (Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrance Howard, David Oyelowo, Andre Royo, Nate Parker, and Ne-Yo!)
Because it's Lucasfilm--it's available on Disney+ streaming
I'm not saying i wouldn't love MORE movies about Tuskegee Airmen. They certainly aren't played out. Just that, if you're into it and want to see more about them on a screen, there are some solid options with good acting and solid production values. I could do a whole separate post about good documentaries.
I personally want a movie/show about THE REDBALL EXPRESS. Those drivers were also mostly black. The shit they accomplished was INCREDIBLE. Plus, any excuse to make logistical realities dramatic AF.
Also, i'd like a movie/show about these 'Red Cross Club Mobile' ladies who were literally driving coffee & donuts out to the front lines. There was a contributor/opinion piece from a woman who's mother was one of these club mobile 'girls' and it's just gut wrenching. That would make a FANTASTIC FUCKING B-Plot in a show called 'REDBALL EXPRESS' about the people who never get talked about when we sing about victories.
