Perfectly Imperfect: 6 Layered Black Women Moving TV Forward

Respectability has been a pillar of Black American culture since Emancipation. Since Black people arrived on the shores of America, we have been subjected to hardships and cruelties based solely on our skin color. For centuries we’ve combated horrible stereotypes in our everyday lives and American popular culture. For Black women, in particular, being anything other than docile and likable meant that you could be seen as masculine, mean, overly sexual, asexual, and conniving. These terms were weaponized against Black people by outsiders and insiders like W.E.B Dubois, who touted his talented tenth, the most educated of the race, as the epitome of “good” Blackness and the embattled Bill Cosby with his “perfect” portrayal of the Black family in “The Cosby Show.”

Though respectability has been lauded as a tool for full citizenship in the Black community, it’s a falsehood. More than that, the performance of likability is exhausting. It forces a constant state of people-pleasing, one that often requires self-betrayal. Respectability won’t cause those who cling to their hatred, anti-Blackness, and racism to throw away their long-seated feelings of anger and disgust. It certainly won’t alleviate misogynoir. 

Continue reading at Indiewire.

4 TV Shows That Are Love Letters To Black Sisterhood And Style

TV is like a portal to other places and times. It gives us a front-row seat into other people’s lives. When I turn on my TV these days, I can be quickly transported back in time to the 1950s, seeing Deborah Ayorinde as Livia ‘Lucky’ Emory in a bold lip and vibrant mod dress as she combats racism and horror in THEM. A quick channel flip brings me to present-day London, where Michaela Coel’s ‘Arabella’ stays wrapped in oversized cardigans while sporting a bright pink wig in I May Destroy You. A button push on my remote thrusts me back in time to the ballrooms of 1980s New York City in Pose, where Black transgender women like Blanca (Mj Rodriguez), Angel (Indya Moore), and Elektra (Dominique Jackson) turn acid wash jeans, tulle, and satin into breathtaking high-glam moments. With Starz’s recently premiered show Run The World, we’re introduced to four new characters with effortless style who represent the modern day Black woman’s desired to slay, get paid and party with her gals. Run The World is a fashion party every Sunday night at 8:30pm EST (or turn up after the after party on the Starz App where you can catch the replay).

Continue reading at Hello Beautiful.

Issa Rae Is Reflecting On 10 Years of 'Awkward Black Girl' And Envisioning What's Next

With a plethora of Black faces on TV and in films in everything from HBO's I May Destroy You to FX's Pose and OWN's Queen Sugar, it seems unimaginable that just a decade ago, there were almost no Black or brown faces on the big and small screens. Growing up watching a plethora of series like Living Single and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and seeing movies like Love & Basketball and Friday Issa Rae found herself baffled by the lack of representation in the 2010s, so she decided to do something about it. 

One year before Kerry Washington introduced us to Olivia Pope, Rae gave us a witty, refreshing, and unique depiction of Black women on-screen. The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl debuted on YouTube in 2011 and immediately swept across the internet like wildfire. The series garnered die-hard fans, critical acclaim, and a Shorty Award. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Situationships, Sex And Shenanigans: Our Predictions For Season 3 Of 'Insecure'

After an emotionally tumultuous and eye-opening season 2 of Insecure, the critically acclaimed series is set to drop its third season on August 12. This time it looks like Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) are entering their dirty thirties with the same ol’ shenanigans. Season 2 was the final nail in the coffin in Issa and Lawrence’s (Jay Ellis) relationship, and from what Ellis has told Angie Martinez, it doesn’t look like the former Best Buy employee will be penetrating Issa’s world anytime soon. In fact, after some much-needed closure, it looks like the man who forgot Issa's birthday is officially Black History. Even though we love Ellis as an actor, we aren’t mad that Lawrence and Issa are no longer circling one another. After all, we want to see Issa grow and prosper, and that’s just not going to be possible if she and her ex are still holding on to one another (symbolically or otherwise). But let's get back to the ladies on the show because that's what's so enchanting about the series. Rae and showrunner Prentice Penny are putting black women at the center and giving them the opportunity to tell their stories. Still, that’s not to say that even without the drama of Lawrence that Issa’s life is flawless.

The last time we saw the Stanford grad, she was moving out of the apartment she and Lawrence once shared and in with Daniel (Y'lan Noel), her college bae and the man with whom she cheated on Lawrence. Originally, Issa was supposed to move in with her brother, Ahmal (Jean Elie), but that quickly changed. Now, Issa is supposed to be sleeping on Daniel's s couch. But we’ve all seen Daniel, and we’ve indeed all witnessed the chemistry between the pair, so we'll give the new "roommates" until episode three before they fall back into bed together.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Regina Hall on the phenomenon that is 'Girls Trip,' 'Due North' and making Black women proud (EXCLUSIVE)

Regina Hall is just getting started. The veteran actress burst onto the scene nearly two decades ago in Malcolm D. Lee’ iconic film, The Best Man. Since then, she's been in everything from the Scary Movie franchise to Black-ish. However, the smash success of her the $100 million marvel Girls Trip – another Lee flick, has propelled the extremely busy actress back into the spotlight. “I've been really blessed, and I've always worked a lot,” Hall told me when I asked her if the success of Girls Trip has triggered new roles for her. “I'm not the most social media visible person, even though I do have a page. Maybe people don't know what I'm doing in between stuff. It was great and consistent before, and yeah, I think maybe my options continued to grow, but I think it's been good and it's staying good thanks to (Girls Trip)." The first time the Insecure actress had even heard of Girls Trip was two years ago. She and producer Will Packer were on an airplane headed to New York for another project. Packer asked her opinion about an idea he had for a film where four friends go to Essence Fest. “Honestly, I was like, ‘What?’," Hall told me reflecting back on that initial conversation. “I didn't know what that was going to be, but I thought about four women going to Essence Fest, and I knew it could be good.” It didn’t take long for Packer to set his plan in motion – bringing on Lee to direct and calling Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver to write the script. “I think a year later there was a script and then we were on set," Hall remembers. “So, it all was a culmination of a perfect storm.”

Now that the critically acclaimed R-rating comedy has grossed a massive $130 million plus at the box office, Hall is still reeling a bit from the insanity that was this past summer. It’s all been an incredible ride for the Naked actress – but it’s also been shocking in some ways. “You never know what a movie is going to be, how it's going to go from paper to an actual film," she said thoughtfully. “I knew that we had a lot of fun. I mean, we laughed a lot. I knew that me and the girls had really created a deep connection and bond, and I knew that part was real. Then the rest you hope for. I don't know if my expectation was where it ended up being, but it was an amazing and wonderful surprise. I think we were just really happy that women who watched it enjoyed it. I think that was what I thought about the most. Even though it was an African American led movie — I wanted all women to receive it and love it, and I wanted Black women to be proud."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.