Real Talk: Blackish Pilot

I'm going to start off by saying that I'm ok with being the bad guy (or in this case "bad girl"). It doesn't bother me. I'm pretty sure that it comes with the territory of being a critic. So, with that being sad, I am not in love with Blackish as yet. Here's why:

The first half of the show was spent trying entirely too hard to address "being Black" or "blackness" or whatever you may choose to call it. I wasn't with it though I understood why it was happening (the title of the show says it all). And, I understand that this was a pilot is at the end of the day. It's just a start.

The second half of the show had a much better flow and better discussion between characters. Andre (Anthony Anderson) coming to the realization that he dosen't have to "black it up" as Sasheer Zamata once put it in one of her stand-up routines was a great way to bring the episode to a close.

I think that this show has potential. I just refuse to jump on the bandwagon as yet. I wasn't doubled over in laughter, though Lawrence Fishburne's character was a source of a few chuckles, like some of the Twitter and Instagram universes. Let's see where this goes and be happy to have Tracee Ellis Ross back on TV for now.

Being Mary Jane Season 1 Premiere

BET's Being Mary Jane had its season premiere last night at 10pm EST. The brainchild of Mara Brock Akil and directed by her husband Salim Akil, the show has been highly anticipated since its made-for-TV movie came out last summer and introduced audiences to Miss Mary Jane Paul (Gabrielle Union).

I was more than ready to watch this premiere despite some warning signals that went off in my head due to the movie. I want more black women on screen. The caveat is that I want them in roles that don't fall into the same recycled stereotypes that leave audiences, both black and white, with generalizations about an entire group of people. "Poor successful black women who can't find a man and will never have a family," is not exactly what I deem helpful. Is this a legitimate worry for some black women? Of course. Do I think that these portrayals sometimes exacerbate the worry. Yes, I very much do. But, I guess in the show's defense they did tell us that they weren't attempting to generalize (see the first minute of the movie).

I was entertained by what I saw. I am not denying that. However, I felt that I was watching some kind of mutant version of what I am calling the "Olivia Pope Complex." Mary Jane, like Olivia Pope, is very successful and on top of her game. If there's a scandal call Olivia, if there's a hurricane call Mary Jane. Both women have morals. Olivia has to make things right and Mary Jane voices her opinion without fear when she feels that something is wrong. They both even have Cryuses in their lives. Olivia's is actually named Cyrus. Mary Jane calls her's "Kara" aka her producer who might have just had the SNC audience watch the demise of an elderly couple in hopes of an Emmy nomination. Finally, both women are both sleeping with married men. Sure Olivia aimed all the way high and decided to sleep with the President of the United States, but Mary Jane didn't make too shabby a choice either. Affair anyone?

Some viewers probably feel that Mary Jane's life situations are more realistic than Olivia's and maybe this makes her an easier character with which to connect. But honestly, how many women in the audience are driving Porsches, living on small compounds and anchoring a news show? I guess we could ask Tamron Hall if she feels like the portrayal is accurate... I like seeing powerful black female characters. I'm just not sure if their given weakness in this instance bothers me on principle or because it feeds and further fuels a fear that is not the monster that it has been made out to be. I'm leaning towards the latter.

On a different note, I do appreciate the beautifully filmed sex scenes in the show. Too often sex scenes with black women are reminiscent of scenes from Baby Boy and only aid in further their gross hypersexualization. One would think black women incapable of "making love" from most portrayals. Gorgeous lighting and highlighting the beauty of the black female body is something that needs to be done more often.

My feelings toward the show at the moment can be verbalized as "ehhhhhh IIIIII mmmmm," which is about a step or two before a "no." I'm going to continue watching. I want to see where Mara Brock Akil is going with this character. I'm about 80% sure that it won't make me happy, but there's still a 20% that I could be wrong. I'll just have to watch and see.

Check out the season premiere if you haven't seen it and make sure to tune in to the next episode so you can form a more rounded opinion for yourself.

HBO's 'Girls' is Getting a Black Girl

After some pretty consistent criticism for lacking diversity and a very short-lived attempt to bring some in (thank you Donald Glover), Girls is getting a black girl. Actress Danielle Brooks, known for her role on Orange is the New Black, will be the first black female character on the show. The 23 year-old, who is fresh out of Juilliard, said that she was excited to the show's first black female character in addition to returning to Orange is the New Black. Maybe this is the answer that so many critics of the show's racial make up have been looking for. I, for one, am curious, but skeptical.

In an NPR interview earlier this year, Dunham clarified her reasons for the show's lack of diversity. She said,

"This show isn’t supposed to feel exclusionary. It’s supposed to feel honest, and it’s supposed to feel true to many aspects of my experience. But for me to ignore that criticism and not to take it in would really go against my beliefs and my education in so many things.

Something I wanted to avoid was tokenism in casting. If I had one of the four girls, if, for example, she was African-American, I feel like — not that the experience of an African-American girl and a white girl are drastically different, but there has to be specificity to that experience [that] I wasn’t able to speak to. I really wrote the show from a gut-level place, and each character was a piece of me or based on someone close to me. And only later did I realize that it was four white girls."

If those were her reasons for not writing in black characters, then what is so different now? If a lack of experience as an African-American woman was the reason for not writing one into the show, I can't imagine that over the past couple of months Dunham managed to pack in 25 years worth of it.

Maybe there are some new writers and directors of color in the mix, which would be great news. However, please note that I'm not implying that people cannot create characters or write for ones that are not the same race, gender or class as them in any way shape or form. I think that it is very possible and can be (and has been) done quite well. I'm just highlighting the reasons that Dunham herself presented.

I am happy to hear about Brooks' role. I'm just skeptical and apprehensive about what it's going to look like. Heck, I'm wondering what Hannah is going to look like at this point. We will have to wait until next year to see, but for now let's hope for the best.