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JAY-Z's New Video “Family Feud” Envisions A Future That's Female AF
First, we can talk about the way Ava has engraved "2017" in Old English typography on the curve of her crown.
A mother of nine, Ms. DuVernay gave birth to spearheading narratives (Wrinkle in Time, 13TH, Queen Sugar, Selma, Venus Vs, Middle of Nowhere, I Will Follow, My Mic Sounds Nice, This is The Life) through the womb of her artistic vision.
And now, enter her latest project, Jay-Z's highly anticipated visual for "Family Feud."
Essentially, the Octavia Butler-inspired short film is a music video for the single from Jay-Z's 8-time Grammy-nominated album 4:44 that was released earlier this year. Composed by Flying Lotus, the video takes us through the motifs of power, politics, infidelity, womanism, and Black excellence. Also in the video, taking place across multiple centuries, are Michael B. Jordan, Thandie Newton, Rosario Dawson, Janet Mock, Jessica Chastain, Brie Larson, America Ferrara, Rashida Jones, Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, and finally, Blue Ivy Carter, seen with her father.
The video is nothing short of a masterpiece.
What stood out to me the most, however, is the boiling undercurrent of metaphors that taste like lessons to be devoured and digested. One of the main interpretations that I walked away with was the significance of community, tribe, and fellowship. I see in Ava's work a deliberate understanding of the importance of tribe - a devotion to it. From her, I take the lesson that building your excellence is not only contingent upon your ability to call out others' excellence but to use your God-given abilities to illuminate the magic in others.
Your excellence exists. But our role in the Black community is to push each other forward.
That is how we make progress.
Ava's greatness continues to excel because of her recognition of the excellence in other marginalized community members. Selflessly honoring others has become an act of revolution. She is building a world for us through her art. And I believe she is creating this world because of her ability to direct the greatness of others into the light, through a lens that is has become integral to a vision of the future. Starving our individual ego and feeding the collective spirit of the Black community is the only mechanism that will prevail to revolutionize our current standing in this world.
Ava teaches us in "Family Feud" that the only structure that can withstand the cold winds of the political climate is the foundation we build in the home. Invest in your community, your friends, your family, your comrades, your sisters. Push their truths forward. That is how you build a tribe.
And that is how you build excellence.
Ava's placement of multiple radical and pioneering women in the video as The Founding Mothers is a visual metaphor of "queens recognize queens."
Place your friends on the pedestal that needs their truth. Remind them of the throne that they fit in. Place the crown on their head.
Imagine looking at the representation that Ava continues to carry in her works - Queen Sugar, A Wrinkle In Time, I Will Follow, Middle of Nowhere - as a young child from a marginalized community. Looking through the same lens that Ava created a world for me to exist is the greatest sentiment of love that one could imagine.
It gives color to a black and white world of constructed gender roles, feminine and masculine ideals, and violent grays that exist as dust in the crevices of our history that go overlooked. Ava's astuteness is direct in her execution in this mosaic of metaphors.
With each placement of the strong woman figureheads in the video is a declaration: the future is female.
Utilizing the kindred women around her in each of their individualism is a concise correlation to the idea that sisterhood is a pertinent component to a successful empire. Understanding the power in each woman in your vicinity and respecting their space to exist as the majestic human being that they are is the greatest way to say, "I love you and I am here to build with you."
To affirm others in their own excellence is how you solidify your own.
Maintain a supportive tribe around you and burn all inclinations of ego-driven success. The sisters around you are the glue between the gold bricks in your empire. A single bracelet does not jingle. There is nothing more empowering than being able to mirror the excellence that is around you; sisterhood as a safe space will shelter the heart from the tribulations that this world promises.
From her visual masterpiece, I am solidified in my belief that building a community is one of the greatest key components to greatness. It is vital to remember to honor those around you and make a commitment to excellence through selflessly pushing your community forward.
Because nobody wins when the family feuds.
Watch the exclusive video on TIDAL for free while you can. There's a 12-day free trial just in time for the holidays.
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Olivia Jade is a writer and creative engineer, intersecting wellness, culture, womanism, and self-development. She waters the flowers in her mind so others can recognize their own internal garden. Link up: @akaoliviajade (Twitter and IG) oliviajade.co
This article is sponsored by Hulu.
UnPrisonedhas returned for its highly anticipated second season, delving deeper into the complex dynamics of the Alexander family.
The series premiere comes a year after its debut season garnered rave reviews from fans and critics and earned record-breaking ratings for Hulu's Onyx Collective brand. UnPrisoned's success can be attributed to its raw, relatable themes and comedic appeal.
Inspired by creator Tracy McMillan's life, the show follows Paige (Kerry Washington), a therapist and single mother whose life takes an unexpected turn when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo) --who was released from prison-- moves in with her and her teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).
Throughout UnPrisoned's first season, viewers witnessed how Edwin's incarceration deeply affected Paige's life and relationships. In the series, Paige unpacks her trauma through interactions with her inner child and her online followers. Meanwhile, Edwin is overcoming specific struggles with his own past that led to his life of crime, including a dysfunctional upbringing and his mother's arrest. As the Alexanders attempt to reconcile, new challenges arise.
This new season promises to further explore their unconventional family dynamic. Here are several compelling reasons why season two of UnPrisoned should be on everyone's watchlist.
The Alexander Family Life Is Still In Shambles
UnPrisoned's second season resumes where the series left off, with Paige grappling with the fallout from her troubled therapy practice and Edwin navigating life independently after moving out. Meanwhile, Finn faces his own challenges. The teenager is battling anxiety and seeking information about his father—a topic Paige avoids discussing.
The Alexander Family Are Attending Therapy To Resolve Their Underlying Issues
Amid the chaos in their lives, the Alexander family decides to mend their bond by confronting their past traumas. They seek professional help and attend therapy sessions with a “family radical healing coach,” played by John Stamos, a new cast member. This collective effort aims to unravel the complexities of their shared history and strengthen their relationships.
The process of unraveling each character's internal conflicts and their potential impact on future relationships may clash with Paige's textbook therapy approach. While Paige is used to being in the therapist's seat in both career and family, this forces her into the unfamiliar role of a patient during therapy sessions. This shift would compel her to look in the mirror and try a radically different approach.
The Alexander Family Learned A Big Lesson During A Therapy Session
In therapy, the Alexanders are tasked with addressing their individual traumas to salvage their remaining relationships. One of the family therapist’s eccentric suggestions was an exercise involving a family wrestling match. During this session, Paige faces tough questions about her refusal to share information about Finn's father.
While it's unclear whether this scene is reality or fantasy, the image of the family duking it out in the ring certainly makes for hilarious yet compelling television.
Paige Tries Dating Again Following Failed Relationships
Amid her life's chaos, Paige decides to step back into the dating field. However, her many attempts have left her with mixed results. The dating apps have turned out to be a fail, and an outing with her ex Mal (Marque Richardson), who is also her father's parole officer, doesn’t go quite as expected after he brings an unexpected guest – his new girlfriend.
The situation takes an awkward turn when Mal's new partner learns why the former couple split, partly due to Paige's self-sabotage.
UnPrisoned Is A Perfect Balance Of Comedy And Drama
As a dramedy, UnPrisoned takes a comedic approach to its heavy subjects. The show takes us on a ride with Paige's dating misadventures and navigating a friendship with her ex.
Other lighthearted moments include Edwin's attempts at CPR based on online videos and, of course, the antics of the Alexander family's unconventional new healing coach.
The second season of UnPrisoned is now available on Hulu.
UnPrisoned | Season 2 Trailer | Hulu
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Mariee Revere On Her History-Making Million-Dollar Sales And The Future Of MoonXCosmetics
If the name Mariee Revere sounds familiar, it's probably because you heard of her beauty and skincare brand, MoonXCosmetics, or you may have heard about her history-making achievement of making $1.8 million in less than eight minutes. But before starting her million-dollar brand, Mariee was just a teenager trying to cure her acne.
While she grew up in the skincare capital of the world, South Korea, Mariee didn't really experience breakouts until her senior year of high school. Like many people who get their first breakout, she didn't know what to do, and there weren't many products out there at that time. So she decided to experiment. What she didn't know was that what she came up with would ultimately be her ticket to success.
"When I graduated high school, I moved back to America, Georgia, and I ended up making, like, the oil, the Rose Galore oil, which is like the staple product of my brand. I don't know what made me make it, but I did, and it literally cleared my face up," she tells xoNecole in an exclusive interview.
"I end up selling it as a body oil first because, obviously, I'm 17, [and] don't have any background as an esthetician or anything like that. I just made a product that worked for me, but people bought it and was using it, and I reformulated it, and then it just stuck like with me."
While MoonXCosmetics is known for its facial products, it wants to expand to body care and home. It just released its new product, Moon-Gel body wash, and it's only up from there. As Mariee continues to grow the brand, it's more than likely that she will see more history-making moments. And so far she has.
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When asked if she feels pressure to obtain more of those milestones, she says yes and no. "I did $1.8 [million] again, and then I did $2 million but I feel like now, currently, I don't look at that as one of my goals anymore because [of] the headache and just everything that came with it, but I was thankful and blessed to have that milestone, but now I'm looking for more," she says.
"I want to say more reach than more like fast-paced sales. I do want that. Obviously, every girl wants that, but I do want to have a better overall reach for my brand because I did take two years off so I was able to learn, [and] study a lot of different things. See how things have changed from 2020 to now."
"I did $1.8 [million] again, and then I did $2 million but I feel like now, currently, I don't look at that as one of my goals anymore because [of] the headache and just everything that came with it, but I was thankful and blessed to have that milestone, but now I'm looking for more."
Another part of expanding for any company is hiring people. Finding the right person to help you can be a hassle, especially for business owners who are used to doing all the work themselves. Mariee can relate to this, and she touched on this topic in her documentaryThe Million Dollar Story. She recommends having someone be your "right-hand man" who you trust to handle the ins and outs of the company.
"I could say, definitely get, like a right-hand man to help you within the process because that really was what helped me. I never had a job. I literally was 18 now, being like, you know, the boss of over 30+ employees at one point in time, and I didn't know anything. I didn't know anything about no W-2s, no taxes, no clock in, clock out because all I [have] ever known was my brand," she explains.
"So I definitely partner with people who are very skewed and versed in those areas, and they helped me get through it. Even to this day, I still have my same person helping me with hiring, firing, [and] doing everything that I can right now because I'm still learning. But obviously people get jobs young, so they have way more experience than me, but still learning."
And though she is still learning, one thing she makes sure to stay on top of is being consistent. Consistency is what trips many people up when it comes to achieving goals, but Mariee says it's all about scheduling. Whether it's when to post on social media or email marketing, scheduling it out can make a world of difference. That same practice also works when planning out her future goals for the company.
"Right now, future goals would be to drop at least five more products before the end of the year. We always do outreach, where we do drives and all that, but definitely do way more this year, she says. "Then really dive into body [care], and then hopefully open up MoonXBody underneath MoonXCosmetics to let that branch out and be open and definitely get back consistent."
For more information, visit moonxco.com.
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