Has Halle Bailey made you cry?
Welcome to This Black-Ass Life! There are many new people here, so we want to formally welcome you to this intentional space for and by Black women. There’s tea, sparkling water, and a big, comfy couch waiting for you.
This week, we want to discuss the benefits and limitations of representation in media. AND we invite you to do one of our favorite activities with us: cry happy tears watching adorable Black babies.
I. The Facts
Representation is happening, and people are mad!
Whites online are melting down because half-fish singers, elves, and people who ride dragons deign be Black. The issue is we, including the racists whining about this, ALL know these are made-up characters that could be any color on the planet.
Amber Phillips raised the great point that the problem isn’t the representation, it’s the fact that in the eugenics-centered white supremacist imagination, there are no others, especially Black people.
Because if “staying true to the story” were a concern, we wouldn’t have countless examples of white actors playing actual people (not hobbits or fish) of color.
On the other side of the tantrums are precious babies. This baby’s joy made me (Mitu) SOB. Here is a supercut of babies reacting to a beautiful, Black mermaid with locs and the voice of an angel. And look at this baby asking the real questions about casting.
Why does it matter?
We acknowledge the value of witnessing yourself and people like you in media. For young people especially, this can help build self-esteem and community.
Representation isn’t enough, though. And it’s often used as a strategy to perpetuate surface-level identity politics without addressing harms and needed policy change. It is the literal addition of a Black person without further thought or change. These additions of Black or other marginalized people can also be very clumsy (see our newsletter: Re-Segregate The Housewives).
Particularly in entertainment, as exciting as it is to have a Black Cinderella and a Black Ariel, we need more Black-ass stories. Where is our film adaptation of Toni Morrison’s works? Where is our Jasmine Guillory cinematic universe? Where is our Sylvester biopic?
Representation, for representation’s sake, also just lacks imagination. It’s not that the boy next door needs a Black queer best friend. It’s that the “boy next door” can be anyone. Anyone can have a coming-of-age story. Let’s get creative, people! It’s time for better storytelling!
What can my Black ass do?
It’s complicated. On one hand, it makes sense for us to put our hard-earned Black dollars to support representation on screen. We shouldn’t let racist eugenicists erase us from worlds, real or imagined.
On the other hand, representation on screen has also become a marketing ploy. The outrage and the ensuing support with our Black dollars put more money in the pockets of the powers that be like major production houses without demanding structural change in how stories are chosen and made.
Do what feels right for you. Give yourself space to change your mind.
And in the spirit of Emmy winners Lizzo, Issa Rae, and Quinta Brunson, launch your own stories. Here are a few entertainment fellowships.
Unrelated bonus: Leaving this here!
II. Other Things
Black-ass happenings: Baby-content edition
This baby ended Usher’s career.
Usher’s career is pushed further out of the way by these two angels.
We look forward to better sandwiches for this baby.
It is 1,2,3,5 NOT 1,2,3,4,5. GOT IT?
A baby who has been here before.
A man who is taught by a baby to act like he’s been somewhere before.
Victoria Monét’s daughter is a STAR.
EGOT this baby for the acting alone.
Ms. Janine’s students are the sweetest supporters.
She had one second, one pose, and she knocked it out of the park.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
Dance to an icon’s music with the This Is Sylvester playlist.
Things we look forward to / don't look forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to tv! Grand Crew, Cherish the Day, and Abbott Elementary.
I (Mitu) look forward to watching this clip of Ayo Edebiri and Quinta Brunson on loop.
lll. Roast from a Black-Ass Uncle
These shoes and their wearer were fried right up.
Stay Black, have a snack, and take a nap today. We'll hit your inbox next on October 3.