Intimacy isn’t a word that is often associated with platonic interactions between men. Add to that the various stereotypes of hardened masculinity assigned to black men and the concept of intimacy and its possible manifestation within that group is rendered further alien. That is why when mainstream depictions of black men rest so heavily on negative stereotypes, it is heartwarming to see displays of black male bonding on a level that most people outside of this group do not get to experience in most of the media we consume. Such was the case when I recently saw Innua Ellams’ Barber Shop Chronicles at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm Road […]