After all the hand-wringing and controversy, Hulu’s new documentary, “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” finally premiered on March 21. It examines the creation, popularity and eventual cancellation of Atlanta’s Black college spring break event.
When the project was announced, there were a lot of fears about attendees’ past bad behavior being revealed. Back then, there was no social media, so the kids weren’t worried about their business being put out there for everyone to judge. There were concerns that would change with the documentary’s premiere. However, there really wasn’t much to worry about.
Yes, the film covers the good, bad and reprehensible aspects of Freaknik, but it wasn’t nearly as controversial as some viewers were expecting, according to social media commentators.
There will definitely be a few moms, aunts, dads and uncles with explaining to do, but it’s not the exposé everyone thought it would be. Of course, that didn’t stop Black Twitter from having some very pointed reactions to the film.
Everything from the personalities discussing the event, to the ‘90s nostalgia, to the possibility of recognizing family members were fair game.
The biggest complaint was that the whole project felt pointless, as it didn’t really go beyond a surface level examination of the proceedings. A user who didn’t enjoy the film wrote on X, “The documentary was a complete waste of time. The one done in the 90s by MTV was better just because it was raw. This gave NOTHING. I’m really trying to figure out why it was greenlit in the first place. Feels like money grab. I’ll say it again, it gave NOTHING.”
Meanwhile, there were a lot of questions about who appeared in the doc to talk about the ‘90s phenomenon, with one person writing on X, “Why was 21 Savage on the Freaknik doc? He was born in 92.”
The choice of personalities was a popular topic of discussion, with another user posting, “Having commentary from an Englishman who wasn’t even BORN when Freaknik started, and wasn’t even here by the time it ended, devalued the doc for me. Also, there should be some kind of warning if I’m about to be forced to listen to Killer Mike and Marc Lamont Hill talk.”
There was a lot of talk about seeing family members in compromising situations. Though most seem to find the prospect funny, there were still some serious reactions to the possibility.
One viewer tried to avoid this awkward complication by checking beforehand, posting, “i asked my aunties and mama is it anything i need to know before i watch this freaknik doc….”
Another user’s worst nightmare came true, including a laughing emoji as they wrote on X, “Lawddddd I done saw my auntie in that Freaknik doc.”
Hulu’s documentary does feel like a watered down version of the real story, which is probably for the best. Let’s be honest: No one really wanted all that ‘90s nonsense out there under a 2024 microscope.
If you’re curious about the film, “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” is now available to stream on Hulu.