The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. This past Thursday, Hulu released the highly anticipated documentary, Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told. The documentary tells the story of the well-known HBCU spring break party that rose to popularity during the 80s and 90s. This project comes from executive producers Jermaine Dupri, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, and rapper 21 Savage.
Since its release the documentary has received mixed reviews from critics, Freaknik attendees, as well as current HBCU students and alumni. As someone who has attended two HBCUs and is very familiar with the story of Freaknik, I was excited to learn more about the legendary party that I grew up hearing about. In this review, I’m going to share my thoughts and critiques, and how I believe this documentary falls short of what could have been a great depiction of the true story of Freaknik.
Overview
The documentary takes us through a timeline of Freaknik. It begins with Freaknik’s origin story, as it was started by the DC Metro Club of the AUC. After we learn how and why Freaknik was started viewers are shown what led to the rise and fall of the biggest party to take over the city of Atlanta. The documentary touches on multiple aspects of Freaknik including the fashion, the music, and its overall influence on Black culture.
As much as the documentary shows us the fun Freaknik once was it also showcases the dark side that led to its demise. As the years progressed and Freaknik continued to grow, the party once known for being a place for young Black college students to come together and have fun became a breeding ground for sexual violence against Black women. In addition to the rise of sexual violence, the documentary also shows the negative effects Freaknik had on the city of Atlanta. Due to Freaknik’s high attendance rate, the party caused many issues for local businesses and residents.
Throughout the documentary, we see appearances from the original DC Metro Club, past AUC students, and celebrities who share their experiences with Freaknik. So, if Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told covers all of these things why does the documentary seem so lackluster?
Why ‘Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told' Missed The Mark
Before I discuss how I believe this documentary missed the mark, I want to touch on the things I believe the documentary did well. From a visual standpoint, the documentary was nicely done. There was a good balance between the interviews and the original footage which made the documentary interesting to watch. The best part of the documentary was seeing the original members of the DC Metro Club. We often know them as a collective, so it was nice to finally know the names and faces behind Freaknik. Other than that, I believe that this documentary completely missed what a good Freaknik documentary could have been. Let me explain.
First, this documentary was very surface-level. Everything that was mentioned in the documentary can be easily found on Google or any other search engine. When I watch documentaries, I expect a deep dive into the subject matter, and I expect to come out with more knowledge than I came with. Everything mentioned in the documentary, I already knew due to my own research. I was expecting some lesser-known facts about Freaknik or facts and events that only the founders or attendees would know. Therefore, the fact that I didn’t learn anything new was very disappointing.
Secondly, I believe there were individuals involved in the documentary who were not qualified to speak on the subject. One of my biggest questions was why a rapper who is not originally from Atlanta and was not old enough to attend Freaknik the executive producer of the documentary? Nothing is connecting 21 Savage to Freaknik other than the party he threw back in 2022. He is originally from London, England, and, by the time he moved to Atlanta, Freaknik was a thing of the past.
While on the topic of executive producers and celebrities involved in the documentary, I believe that Jermaine Dupri and Uncle Luke were the wrong people to spearhead the project. Freaknik was a party for HBCU students by HBCU students. Celebrities and music artists got involved once it grew into the cultural event it became. Neither one of these men attended an HBCU. Although they eventually got involved with Freaknik I feel that someone from an HBCU preferably the members of the DC Metro Club should have been the executive producers on this project.
There were so many connections between Freaknik and HBCUs that could have been told that weren’t. A featured map in the documentary even left off numerous HBCUs which led to some backlash on social media. I feel that this documentary shared too much of the celebrities’ experiences and views on Freaknik versus the students for whom the event was made.
The DC Metro Club should have had much more screen time to fully tell their stories. As an HBCU alumni, there are so many more questions I have surrounding Freaknik and HBCU life in Atlanta during the 80s and 90s. Like how did the members of the DC Metro Club meet? What were their favorite memories of Freaknik? Did they attend another Freaknik once they graduated? These are some of the things I would have liked to have learned but instead, I know that Uncle Luke put the freak in Freaknik (which many people say contributed to Freaknik‘s demise).
Lastly, I feel that the discussion of the sexual violence Black women experienced at Freaknik was rushed and not touched on enough in the documentary. I believe that sexual violence against Black women was the biggest factor in the decline of Freaknik. This was something made for HBCU college students, it no longer became fun when older men who were not in college began to attend and harass and assault young Black women.
As much as we would like to focus on the good of Freaknik, we also have to focus on the bad because unfortunately, this has become a huge part of its legacy. The documentary spent more time on the traffic issues Freaknik caused in Atlanta versus properly addressing the sexual misconduct that took place. One of the founders of Freaknik said she no longer wanted to associate with it after she saw how Black women were being treated at these events.
From the sexual violence against Black women to the overall disturbance to the city of Atlanta, Freaknik would have eventually ended at some point. Once Atlanta tried to enforce certain boundaries the students became uninterested.
Conclusion
After watching Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told I feel that this would have been a much better documentary about the city of Atlanta versus Freaknik. Much of the documentary was spent discussing the city of Atlanta and its influence. From the music to the fashion, Atlanta culture in a nutshell. During an interview with Tamron Hall, Jermaine Dupri said his vision for the documentary was a story of the South and Atlanta. If that was his intention, I feel that he executed it properly. If another documentary about Freaknik were to be made in the future, HBCU alumni such as the DC Metro Club should take the reins.
Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told is available now on Hulu.
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