Race & Ethnicity On TV

[Raja]

14 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Although J.Lo played white characters, she I cannot recall a situation where she was playing a woman of color who was supposed to be passing for white as a storyline (that is what I meant). Same as Vin Diesel or Jason Moama.

As far as Meghan Markle, Maya Rudolph and Rashida Jones* they have never been white passing to my eyes, nor can I recall roles where that was the crux purpose of their characters and the struggle of the characters, the way I can with a number of Jennifer Beals roles. 

*of course I know who Rashina Jones father is so that is a huge thing

There is also a misconception in tv/movies that if an actor's ethnicity isn't specified they are automatically "white" which isnt true to me as a viewer especially if I see a woman that looks like Meghan Markle in the role. 

To be fair- I am glad that actors can get work, and if their "looks" allow them to play all different ethnicities, more power to them, but I can see how if that is the ONLY thing you are cast for it can get annoying. Yes its a step up from the days POC were not allowed to even portray ourselves on screen and makeup was put on white actors, but I know there are talented people of every ethnicity, color and hue with valuable stories to be told. 

 

When I heard about that I was appalled. 

The thing is in American society it wasn't just "person of color" which was the big bugaboo but the known presence of African heritage. Thus for JLo's parentage a paper bag test would have been applied on whether they were Latino or "colored" from which the full force of Jim Crow would have applied to them and later to her.

That we are barely a generation into open and fully legal interracial coupling it takes a while for the big ship of culture to change course. That I can fully remember the first TV ad that feature a Black male White woman couple in it, something that was illegal within my memory says that things did change.

Today unless you are making a historical drama there is no need to present a passing for white story as only say a Northern California motorcycle gang with a bunch of elder members who are often fighting ethnic gangs, care.

[ouinason]

I find the idea of people hunting up a person's social media to figure out their ethnic identity really creepy.  I supremely, deeply, hate the fact that it mattered whether a contestant on the Bachelor was partly Asian, biologically. 

Also, biology is not the be all end all of ethnic identity.  People identify with the heritage that they identify with for many reasons.  I know someone who is second generation Mexican American on her father's side technically, but does not identify with that culture at all because she was raised in a white household her entire life.  She speaks no Spanish, has no ties to the community, and hasn't even told her children that much about it, because that's not her culture.  But you would not believe the way people will approach her at her job and expect her to translate for them, and then get offended that she can't.  

I really feel for people who are pushed into an identity, or are shamed for how they identify.  

 

Also, I have admitted this elsewhere.  I had no idea at all that Megan Markle  was biracial until it became a "thing" when she and Harry got together.  I did watch Suits, I just didn't notice.  I know it's a cliché stupid white people thing to just not "see" race, but in my case it's more about just not looking at the TV screen that much since I'm legally blind anyway and mostly listen.  Race really isn't that obvious to me most of the time.  

[Hiyo]

"Seeing race" isn't necessarily about seeing the color of someone's skin, it's about understanding and acknowledging all the stuff that person has had to deal with because of their race and/or ethnicity.

Quote

Today unless you are making a historical drama there is no need to present a passing for white story

As much as we have liked to think we have progressed, I wouldn't be surprised if there were people out there who would like to pass if they could. If nothing else, for work and economic reasons.

[possibilities]

How you identify doesn't control how other people identify you, and thus how you are treated and what your life experience is. Even your own examples illustrate this. Therefore it's relevant. There's no point pretending it isn't. We live in a world where it matters, so we all have to deal with that and not pretend it can or should just be ignored. Denial doesn't protect anyone.

But it's more than that. There are rewards to reap from connecting to ones heritage, even when it's a complex web of factors. Depriving people of context doesn't help them. People can choose to pursue various aspects of that to whatever degree they do or don't want to. But it's there, and since people are going to get the brunt of how other people identify them, I never understand why someone wouldn't also want to connect with the more nourishing elements available, and why it would be better to limit themselves to only experiencing the discrimination and stereotypes and assumptions and other bullshit others will lob in their direction.

To each their own, of course. But I don't get it. 

[Raja]

8 hours ago, Hiyo said:

"Seeing race" isn't necessarily about seeing the color of someone's skin, it's about understanding and acknowledging all the stuff that person has had to deal with because of their race and/or ethnicity.

As much as we have liked to think we have progressed, I wouldn't be surprised if there were people out there who would like to pass if they could. If nothing else, for work and economic reasons.

I would say that today you are more likely to do a rip from the headlines story of a person "passing" for having a person of color in their background then for a person knowing their heritage  of having a person of color but trying to hide it to pass themselves off as purely white. America has changed that much.

I do remember a 1997 Law & Order episode (Blood) where "passing" was the issue and that actor was 60 something back then. But beyond the Sons of Anarchy character where his gang leaders were Vietnam Vet era guys near 70 beyond a spy infiltrating where is the story or drama?

Edited June 6, 2021 by Raja

[biakbiak]

23 hours ago, Raja said:

would say that today you are more likely to do a rip from the headlines story of a person "passing" for having a person of color in their background then for a person knowing their heritage  of having a person of color but trying to hide it to pass themselves off as purely white. America has changed that much.

The Vanishing Half which is about passing is being made into an HBO series. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

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The Vanishing Half which is about passing is being made into an HBO series. 

I think the main reason that's happening is because the book was critically acclaimed and rated highly by readers. It's historical fiction, which also seems to be popular right now, especially for African-American history.

There have been a number of novels about passing in recent years, such as Three-Fifths and New People. One wonders if HBO wanted to jump on the bandwagon and just picked a book to base a series on.

[praeceptrix]

As many of you have spoken highly of A Black Lady Sketch Show, you might be interested in a free zoom event at Brooklyn College with one of the producers, Deniese Davis. Ms. Davis, a Brooklyn College alumna, will be talking about trying to increase representation in the industry.

The event is on June 15th from 12:30 to 2. The link above has more details.

[xaxat]

It's only one episode, but I like Loki so far. Part of my enjoyment comes from the fact that the fate of Loki, who is literally a Norse god,

Spoiler

is in the hands of two Black women.

 

[ursula]

Talking about white passing, I remember how much hate Kristin Kreuk got for portraying Lana Lang on Smallville. The hate wasn't directed at the creative team who chose to cast her to play the part, and chose to cast her parents as white. But at her. Good times. 

 

On 5/18/2021 at 3:29 PM, akg said:

Does anyone here watch the CW's Nancy Drew? They've been doing a really good job including race issues in the scripts. One of Nancy's crew is Black and had a conversation last week with his Chinese-American girlfriend about why he was a different person around a Black guest star. They also covered why she hadn't been including him in her social media. The mystery 2 weeks ago was a cold case where a Black woman had gone missing around the same time as a young white girl so was mostly forgotten.

A lot of my shows have been adding plots to address everything that happened last summer and most have been really obvious and awkward. With Nancy Drew, everything fits and everyone is in character so I'd have no trouble believing these scripts were written without considering BLM (I hope that makes sense). 

(Nancy Drew is a surprisingly good show. I was not expecting to get hooked but I've started recommending it to friends)

That's all well and good, but they broke up Nancy and Ned 'Nick' (because for some reason "Ned" doesn't fit a Black boy), and now it looks like Nancy is going to find true love in the arms of the only White guy in the main cast. What a shocker. It's all very well to do a Very Special Episode about racism. But when the fundamental concept of your show is racist, it's just lip service as far as I'm concerned. 

[akg]

50 minutes ago, ursula said:

That's all well and good, but they broke up Nancy and Ned 'Nick' (because for some reason "Ned" doesn't fit a Black boy), and now it looks like Nancy is going to find true love in the arms of the only White guy in the main cast. What a shocker. It's all very well to do a Very Special Episode about racism. But when the fundamental concept of your show is racist, it's just lip service as far as I'm concerned.

I feel like something changed behind the scenes between seasons 1 and 2 of Nancy. There were several race related issues in that first year (Nancy and Nick breaking up, the only other Black character was poorly written, a bad cop, and a bad murderer (she and her partner killed the wrong person), the Native American police chief was written off the show (I saw the Nick/Ned thing as being more about Ned being not being a name that fits 2020 but it could go on my list)). I came close to dropping the show but there wasn't much else on and I think things improved. I do love Nick and George together but only really saw that possibility until after Nick broke up with Nancy. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Just started "Why Women Kill" Season 2 and I appreciate the efforts continued on from the first season of making the cast multiracial.  It takes place in the 40s and I just know that other white creators would whine, "The characters ALL HAVE to be white, it's a period piece!" or whatever.  

The first season had Lucy Liu and Kirby Howell Baptiste as 2 out of 3 of the main stars and I really appreciated that.  I am very nervous with a new cast but I'll reserve judgement for now.

Edited June 18, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[DearEvette]

I think  Season 2 of Why Women Kill has only one storyline all set in the 40s.  There are no other timelines so the diversity of Season 1 won't be there (from what I can see of the casting).

[Lugal]

On 6/12/2021 at 9:27 PM, ursula said:

Talking about white passing, I remember how much hate Kristin Kreuk got for portraying Lana Lang on Smallville. The hate wasn't directed at the creative team who chose to cast her to play the part, and chose to cast her parents as white. But at her. Good times.

It's funny because I saw something back then that talked about changes from previous Superboy iterations referring to "the black Pete Ross and Native American Lana Lang."  While mixed race Asians have passed for Native (see Kelsey Asbille Chow), Kristin Kreuk never did.

I also remember Smallville discussions, a fair amount of people did blame the creative team because the writing did not serve her, but unfortunately Kristin was the public face and took the brunt of it.  Personally, I'm not sure it's as much about race than because she got in the way of the Clark/Lex fans, but that's a different discussion.

[PepSinger]

5 hours ago, Lugal said:

On 6/13/2021 at 12:27 AM, ursula said:

Talking about white passing, I remember how much hate Kristin Kreuk got for portraying Lana Lang on Smallville. The hate wasn't directed at the creative team who chose to cast her to play the part, and chose to cast her parents as white. But at her. Good times.

It's funny because I saw something back then that talked about changes from previous Superboy iterations referring to "the black Pete Ross and Native American Lana Lang."  While mixed race Asians have passed for Native (see Kelsey Asbille Chow), Kristin Kreuk never did.

I also remember Smallville discussions, a fair amount of people did blame the creative team because the writing did not serve her, but unfortunately Kristin was the public face and took the brunt of it.  Personally, I'm not sure it's as much about race than because she got in the way of the Clark/Lex fans, but that's a different discussion.

What made this extra crazy was that there was a storyline in Season 4 where Lana is possessed by a witch...in China.

Edited June 15, 2021 by PepSinger

[GHScorpiosRule]

7 hours ago, PepSinger said:

What made this extra crazy was that there was a storyline in Season 4 where Lana is possessed by a witch...in China.

No. She was possessed by her ancestor (who was a witch) in Paris. The search for part of the whatever took them all to China.

Kristin was just so, so, so, BAD during this storyline. I've loathed her Lana Lang not because of the actress, but because the character was a self-centered, narcissistic, judgy, hypocritical asshole.

[Raja]

On the Smallville/Kristen Kruek issue there is the cultural point being touched upon on the gender thread on teen sex.  At the beginning they were children, even if she owned her own coffee shop 🤦‍♂️ and everyone knows the endgame is Lois Lane

[PepSinger]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

No. She was possessed by her ancestor (who was a witch) in Paris. The search for part of the whatever took them all to China.

Kristin was just so, so, so, BAD during this storyline. I've loathed her Lana Lang not because of the actress, but because the character was a self-centered, narcissistic, judgy, hypocritical asshole.

Heh. It's been a minute since I've watched s4, and I have no inclination to watch again. Thanks for clarifying.

[Hiyo]

I thought season 4 was pretty good overall. Great season finale cliffhanger too.

[aradia22]

Quote

Would Troian Pratt-Bellisario and Maya Rudolf count?

Well, I learned something new today. tbf, I wouldn't want Troian taking a biracial role away from another actress given how Hollywood likes to cast their non-white actresses as light and white passing as possible. 

Quote

She is also Italian in "The Wedding Planner".

lol, y'all remember the Italian guy trying to marry her in that movie? Wild.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 6/14/2021 at 12:11 AM, DearEvette said:

I think  Season 2 of Why Women Kill has only one storyline all set in the 40s.  There are no other timelines so the diversity of Season 1 won't be there (from what I can see of the casting).

Yes, it's all in the 40s.  Lana Parrilla is half Puerto Rican.  The detective following everyone around is Black, he is played by Jordane Christie.  That might be all of the diversity really this season.

I really appreciated that the cast was diverse in the first season and it's a shame that this one is all in one time period as opposed to the first season which set in 3 different ones.  At least they didn't have an all white cast, I guess, I don't know what else to say!

Lana's high society group seems to be pretty diverse, but they are not exactly speaking roles.

12 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Well, I learned something new today. tbf, I wouldn't want Troian taking a biracial role away from another actress given how Hollywood likes to cast their non-white actresses as light and white passing as possible. 

What?  Troian is biracial, why wouldn't she play biracial roles?  Who are multiracial actors supposed to play if not multiracial characters?

Edited June 18, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[aradia22]

Quote

Talking about white passing, I remember how much hate Kristin Kreuk got for portraying Lana Lang on Smallville. 

More people need to talk about Kristin Kreuk. I mean, they actually let her play Snow White. If that's not white passing...

Quote

Personally, I'm not sure it's as much about race than because she got in the way of the Clark/Lex fans, but that's a different discussion.

Me (obviously before NXIVM) quietly sitting at the table with the Chlark (Chloe+Clark) fans.

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What?  Troian is biracial, why wouldn't she play biracial roles?  Who are multiracial actors supposed to play if not multiracial characters?

That reminds me of how Keanu Reeves was accused on white washing when he played a character closer to his actual ethnicity than his normal roles because he didn’t look Asian enough. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 minutes ago, Dani said:

That reminds me of how Keanu Reeves was accused on white washing when he played a character closer to his actual ethnicity than his normal roles because he didn’t look Asian enough. 

Multiracial actors are in a very odd situation.  In an ideal world casting people would not be racist and continue to whitewash roles or treat any non-white ethnicity as interchangeable.  That would be great if it happened one day.

But to tell multiracial actors that they should not play multiracial is extremely weird in my opinion!  If I was an actor I'd be pretty annoyed to be told that I have to play passing roles according to what some racist casting director thinks what race I most favour.  A reading of Troian's race by looking at her is subjective.  She shouldn't have to play passing roles to make people feel more comfortable.  

I always bring this example up, but Henry Golding and Sonoya Mizuno received heat for being in "Crazy Rich Asians" because they're mixed.  Yet, when there was finally a movie starring a biracial character (which so rarely happens) "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" , Lana Condor was cast even though she is not biracial!  So if Henry and Sonoya and other multiracial actors cannot even get the multiracial roles, then what roles are they supposed to take?!

In an ideal world, there would be multiracial characters that these actors could play.  Right now, there are not!  But if there are, then certainly someone like Troian should play them!  Not, you know, freaking EMMA STONE like she did in that Cameron Crowe movie!

Edited June 19, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[aradia22]

Quote

A reading of Troian's race by looking at her is subjective.  She shouldn't have to play passing roles to make people feel more comfortable.  

Even if the people are audience members who feel like they're being erased and that the casting is upholding white/Eurocentric beauty standards? Ruth Negga is a better choice for Passing. Zendaya is a better choice for MJ. Talented actors getting job opportunities is important but cultural context and doing the most good for the most people is more significant than an individual actor's career advancement. 

Quote

Not, you know, freaking EMMA STONE like she did in that Cameron Crowe movie!

I mean, whitewashing is an extreme. There is a spectrum from Alexa Chung to Kristin Kreuk to Chloe Bennet to Olivia Munn to Maggie Q to Kimiko Glenn, etc. (Not necessarily in that order.)

[Ms Blue Jay]

Anyone's reading of what race these women favour is subjective.  And these opinions are also influenced by Hollywood who has skewed everyone's perception of what different races "look like" for decades. It's not objective fact that Troian doesn't "look Black".  She is half Black, that's a fact.  To say she shouldn't play that is weird.

There is a whole world of people out there who are half Black and half white and they will all look different.  There is nuance there.  Any actor who fits that description should be allowed to play that part.

I'm still not understanding the solution of what parts Troian is supposed to play if you take away those multiracial roles from her.  Multiracial actors cannot play multiracial if they don't look "Black" enough?

Edited June 19, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[DearEvette]

Tv and movie casting and suits can be remarkably unsophisticated about some things.  They assume their audience will only accept things in a certain way. When in fact their audience is much more savvy about life than they give them credit for,.  After all, real people have family make-up and dynamics that can be incredibly complicated that they've lived with and navigated their entire lives.

So it is sometimes a nice surprise to see when they acknowledge the racial make up of a biracial person.  I remember just recently on Macguver, Tristan Mays (who is biracial) and plays Riley -- she and Macgyver were having a conversation about him going to BLM protests because she and (another black character Bozer) are important to him. She was a visibly surprised and she says something like "I didn't think you saw that side of me." and he says "Of course I do.  I see you."  It was nice.

And i loved the way Spiderman;Homecoming used it as a plot point with Laura  Harrier's character where her being biracial was critical to the plot and the movie depended on people not  thinking about her that way until the surprise reveal to the audience and to Peter Parker.

Edited June 19, 2021 by DearEvette

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

And i loved the way Spiderman;Homecoming used it as a plot point with Laura  Harrier's character where her being biracial was critical to the plot and the movie depended on people not  thinking about her that way until the surprise reveal to the audience and to Peter Parker.

I haven't seen that movie but it reminds me of another movie "Senseless" from 1998.

Spoiler

Marlon Wayans' Black love interest is revealed to be the daughter of his white Boss.

I feel like this has happened in a few other movies too.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Even if the people are audience members who feel like they're being erased and that the casting is upholding white/Eurocentric beauty standards? Ruth Negga is a better choice for Passing. Zendaya is a better choice for MJ. Talented actors getting job opportunities is important but cultural context and doing the most good for the most people is more significant than an individual actor's career advancement. 

I think the difficulty with this is it causes people to have zero perspective on what race actually looks like. We get more caught up in what race someone looks like rather than what race they actually are. I would disagree with Troian being cast as a biracial character just because of beauty standards and it’s also wrong for her to passed up for biracial characters because she doesn’t look “black” enough. Both things are happening and both are a problem. 

The ideal, in my mind, is that the actor’s ethnicity would be taking into account when developing characters whenever possible. Like what was done with Chloe Bennet on Agents of Shield or Meghan Markle on Suits. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by Guest

[Ms Blue Jay]

21 minutes ago, Dani said:

I would disagree with Trojan being cast as a biracial character just because she’s light skinned 

Has this ever happened?  Has Troian ever had the chance to play biracial?  I wonder what this fear or concern is based on and if it's even happened yet.  I looked up the people who played her parents on PLL and they seem to be white actors.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[aradia22]

We were also talking about Jennifer Beals, Keanu Reeves, Rashida Jones, Meghan Markle, Henry Golding, etc.

As @Dani points out, I do generally feel differently if a character is developed from the ground up and especially if space is being made in a narrative where whiteness is default vs. a book adaptation where a physical description is specified or the story of a real person who did look a certain way.

[Ms Blue Jay]

If an actor waits for a role that specifically describes their face, they will never work.  White actors never have to wait for those carefully cultivated opportunities.  They will take any part whether it's appropriate or not.  That's not right, but I think it's weird to hold multiracial actors to some special standard of waiting for the magical day when a writer has imagined a face that looks just like theirs.  White actors are not held to this standard.  If the 1 in a millionth role finally describes a half white half Black woman around Troian's age, then that's enough and in my opinion she is fine to audition.  

I just can't agree with the idea that certain actors cannot be appropriate representatives of their own races.  It feels like invalidating certain people and their real life experiences.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Has this ever happened?  Has Troian ever had the chance to play biracial?  I wonder what this fear is based on and if it's even happened yet.  I looked up the people who played her parents on PLL and they seem to be white actors.

I have no clue. Whether it has happened with her really isn’t my point though. Taking one part of sentence from my post alters the entire point I was making. 

29 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

We were also talking about Jennifer Beals, Keanu Reeves, Rashida Jones, Meghan Markle, Henry Golding, etc.

As @Dani points out, I do generally feel differently if a character is developed from the ground up and especially if space is being made in a narrative where whiteness is default vs. a book adaptation where a physical description is specified or the story of a real person who did look a certain way.

I agree. Agents of Shield is a good example for me. They took Chloe Bennet’s character and made her biracial to match Chloe’s own ethnicity and still had Ming-Na Wen on the show. Sadly, most shows would have let one of those women check the “Asian” box rather than showing two examples of what Asian woman look like. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by Guest

[Hiyo]

“Zendaya is a better choice for MJ.”

In terms of what? I mean, given the direction they were going for the new Spiderman movies, any biracial actress could have cast in that role. Just keep her a redhead, dammit! Lol

[Guest]

On 6/18/2021 at 6:22 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

If an actor waits for a role that specifically describes their face, they will never work.  White actors never have to wait for those carefully cultivated opportunities.  They will take any part whether it's appropriate or not.  That's not right, but I think it's weird to hold multiracial actors to some special standard of waiting for the magical day when a writer has imagined a face that looks just like theirs.  White actors are not held to this standard.  If the 1 in a millionth role finally describes a half white half Black woman around Troian's age, then that's enough and in my opinion she is fine to audition.  

 

But isn’t that special standard of waiting for the magical day when a writer has imagined a face that looks just like theirs is exactly what most actors who can’t pass for white face every single day. And you’re right that most of them never work. At the end of the day the problem is that Hollywood is racist and casting someone lighter skinned in a role often does mean taking a role away from someone else based on beauty standards. 

I don’t think that blanket statements can be made because there are shows and projects that are diverse enough that it wouldn’t be an issue and there are others where I would see it as colorism. Although none of that is the actors fault and I try to not blame them for doing what is necessary to work in a racist industry. 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Guest

[aradia22]

Has anyone watched Losing Isaiah? I stumbled on the movie on Amazon Prime when I was checking out everything expiring this month. The trailer made me feel crazy.

https://consequence.net/2015/03/losing-isaiah-the-white-savior-trope-20-years-later/

[supposebly]

An interesting article by Fuad Ahmed, formerly known as Gabe Grey about taking his Arabic name back. Possibly known from Tiny Pretty Things (Netflix), The Hardy Boys (Hulu).

https://www.cbc.ca/arts/i-had-to-change-my-arabic-name-to-make-it-as-an-actor-now-i-m-reclaiming-it-1.6074250

Edited June 24, 2021 by supposebly

[DearEvette]

Take My Money, please!

 

[angora]

Hoo boy, I think I have a crush on a movie. That looks so good!!

[xaxat]

10 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Take My Money, please!

 

**Please let this be as good as the trailer. Please let this be as good as the trailer. . . **

[Joimiaroxeu]

On 6/24/2021 at 7:50 AM, DearEvette said:

Take My Money, please!

 

I need this, I want this, inject it directly into my veins please. It looks amazing.

[DearEvette]

 Anyone with Hulu, I totally recommend Summer of Soul a documentary of a little known summer music fest in 1969 in Harlem that basically featured anyone who was anyone in R&B and gospel music in the  60's
 

Quote

 

Crafted from footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival – an event so filled with stars from soul, R&B, blues and jazz they called it the Black Woodstock – Summer of Soul is a breathtaking chronicle of Black culture in a pivotal moment.

A wide constellation of stars turned up for the festival, which drew more than 300,000 people over six free concerts held in the space now known as Marcus Garvey Park. The roster of performers included Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, The Staples Singers, B.B. King, Ray Barretto, The Temptations' former frontman David Ruffin, The 5th Dimension, and more.

 

Apparently, they filmed this and it sat in a vault unseen until now.  Questlove was tapped to put it together.  It is fantastic, imo.

Here's a trailer:

 

[xaxat]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Questlove was tapped to put it together.  It is fantastic, imo.

I heard that Questlove was trying to restore Soul Train episodes as well. I hope he succeeds. Apparently there are major intellectual property rights issues.

Questlove was one of the bright spots of the pandemic. He would stream live DJ sessions on Twitch and Youtube with a running commentary of 60's to 80's R&B, rap, soul (and The Carpenters). Who was sleeping with who, who stole beats from who etc. I'll never forget watching him spin disks while providing updates to the Georgia Senatorial runoff.

(Not Georgia, I can't find that stream.)

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by xaxat

[Scarlett45]

On 7/2/2021 at 8:11 PM, DearEvette said:

 Anyone with Hulu, I totally recommend Summer of Soul a documentary of a little known summer music fest in 1969 in Harlem that basically featured anyone who was anyone in R&B and gospel music in the  60's
 

Apparently, they filmed this and it sat in a vault unseen until now.  Questlove was tapped to put it together.  It is fantastic, imo.

Here's a trailer:

 

My mom’s friend was THERE when it was happening! He loved it. Took him back to his youth. 

[biakbiak]

Article about Laci Mosley getting tons of hate for being cast in ICarly, her response, and the larger issues.

[Scarlett45]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Article about Laci Mosley getting tons of hate for being cast in ICarly, her response, and the larger issues.

At least Laci is an adult and better equipped to handle things like this. I am not surprised though.

[biakbiak]

21 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

At least Laci is an adult and better equipped to handle things like this. I am not surprised though.

I get your sentiment but no  one is equipped to handle that level of hatred no matter the age.  She is a writer, podcast host (Scam Goddess is frequently delightful) and performer and it nearly broke her. Luckily she had the support of her show runner, a  black woman; the star and cast, and TPTB but as mentioned in the piece she is still getting vile shit sent to her and  no longer feels safe living her day to day life without precautions.  

Edited July 9, 2021 by biakbiak

[Scarlett45]

7 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I get your sentiment but no  one is equipped to handle that level of hatred no matter the age.  She is a writer, podcast host (Scam Goddess is frequently delightful) and performer and it nearly broke her. Luckily she had the support of her show runner, a  black woman; the star and cast, and TPTB but as mentioned in the piece she is still getting vile shit sent to her and  no longer feels safe living her day to day life without precautions.  

You are absolutely right. Laci is a solider and a woman of great perseverance - I was NOT making light of the hatred and abuse being thrown her way. I am so sorry if it came off that way. 

Where I was going with my post was in reference to iCarly being a kid/teen show, and I was thinking of how a similarly situated actress would feel if they were a preteen and I would want their parents to protect them the best that they could from the violent attacks and the social media. 

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Scarlett45 said:

Where I was going with my post was in reference to iCarly being a kid/teen show, and I was thinking of how a similarly situated actress would feel if they were a preteen and I would want their parents to protect them the best that they could from the violent attacks and the social media

Oh I didn’t think you were! I literally can’t  pick Miranda Cosgrove (?) out of a line up so I was coming to the reboot as an adult show and as a member of The Congregation (her podcast fans)  I am hyper protective of Laci! 

[Trini]

Cross posting since it involves TV and movie actors:

Asian actors 'reflect on Hollywood's portrayal of Asian men, and what needs to change', at EW.

Quote

In EW's August issue, cover star Simu Liu made it a point to say that he wants to "shatter barriers and expectations of what Asian men are." EW spoke with more Asian actors whose careers have been testaments to tearing down Hollywood's walls and hurdling its limitations. Below, Nico Hiraga (Moxie), Riverdale's Charles Melton, Mythic Quest's Danny Pudi, Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Star Trek's George Takei open up about persevering in an industry that has long relegated API men to nerdy sidekicks and board breakers.