Have You Watched Yet? Lena Waithe Wants You To Give 'Them' A Chance
Ah, the narrative of Black trauma. It's inevitable. Mostly because that's what our history stands on. We all know how far we've come, we all know how the story begins. But we also know we are more than this, and are kinda sick of hearing about it. The pressure has been put on the execs of Hollywood, like, sis, we don't want it anymore. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt with Africa on it and whatnot.
And the 'we're over it' noise has gotten so loud that directors, writers, and all those in between can't help but to hear it.
So much so, that mega-creators, like Lena Waithe, are acknowledging this work with a simple, 'give it a chance.'
In fact, she told POPSUGAR how her recent series that she executive produces, Them--which is about a number of difficult topics in the black community, including racism, death, mental illness, and murder (AKA Black trauma)--even came about.
"It's just so funny because Jordan Peele opened up a huge door, obviously, but that doesn't mean that if you're a Black person, you can't tell stories about horror through the Black lens anymore just because he did it first. But I went to a screening of Get Out and we were all blown away obviously by the movie. And then afterward, Jordan told us, 'You know what's interesting? I wrote this movie before Obama even got in office.' So, when a thing comes out, often it can be years after it started. It was just the right timing."
She continued:
"If the work stands the test of time and there's something that's saying something about our society that hasn't really been said in that way before, I think it's valid and I think it's important. I just don't believe in stifling artists. We can never win when we do that. When we started telling artists what they can and can't do, we're doing ourselves a disservice. Because the truth is, white male artists get chances all the time. Nobody's telling a white dude, 'Hey, don't do that,' or maybe we are, but the truth is, Black artists deserve to be free to tell whatever story they want to tell. We at least deserve that."
When the trailer was initially released, the comparisons were obvious, which Waithe heard on Twitter loud and clear, but she stood firm on bringing the vision forward.
"I can't even explain to people what they're going to see. Can you? It's like Little Marvin's brain is unlike anyone's I've ever experienced. And I'm also walking him through it. I've been there and I'm trying to hold his hand and say, 'Hey, how you doing? Brace yourself. Gird your loins.' And he's just like, 'Look, I'm a half Indian, half Black, gay man. I've been thrown every name and hate that you can imagine,' by people that don't look like him and by people that do."
Despite the backlash, as for now, she just wants viewers to get out of it what they put in, which is all she can ask for.
"People ask, 'What did you want people to take away from the work?' and I always say, 'Whatever they bring to it. Because if people want to come to it and say, 'I want to be angry about this,' they will. If people want to come to and say, 'I want to have an open mind and just take this as a beautiful piece of art,' it will be that too. It just depends."
Watch the trailer below:
Them premiered on April 9 on Amazon Prime Video. The reviews are rolling in as we speak, from backlash to praise. Have you watched yet?
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Featured image by DFree / Shutterstock.com
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
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Blac Chyna Says Her Cosmetic Surgeries Didn't Represent Who She Was 'Internally'
Blac Chyna is back with a new update on her cosmetic transformation, except now her current focus is to have her inner beauty match her outward glow.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, the model and mother, whose real name is Angela White, shed light on her decision to reverse her past cosmetic surgeries, sharing how those procedures no longer align with her true self “internally.”
"You have to think about it like this... I could look at you and make any assumption right until you start speaking to me. So my thing is before you even start talking to me or give me a chance, I want you to see, 'Okay, this is a well-rounded woman,'" she told ET. "Not with these types of boobs and a big butt and the big lips. It put me in this category when that's really not who I am internally."
Since early March, the former reality TV star had undergone a number of procedures to dissolve her lip and facial fillers, have a butt reduction, and remove her breast implants. Her controversial tattoos and trendy facial piercings were also among the cosmetic enhancements to be reserved in the process, which she acknowledges “was always something to set a trend."
“Even from my cheek piercings that I had, all the girls went and got that. I used to have the super low bangs, all the girls loved that," she said. "The tattoos and this and that, and it's like one of those things to where it's like, 'Hey, look at me. Once you get to that 'Hey look at me' point, it's like, 'What then?'"
While she shares that there is “no way possible” for her to have all of her body art reversed, undergoing laser tattoo removal has been a painful yet satisfying process to align her with the right energy. “It's just one specific tattoo that I wanted to remove. I'm getting it removed, and I will tell you this, it stings very, very, very bad, but it's fast. It was definitely something personal," she says. "I felt as though it was attracting the wrong energy on me."
As a trend-setting and pioneering influencer of the early 2010s until now, White emphasizes the importance of being perceived as a well-rounded person beyond just physical attributes and notes that her physical transformation sparked spiritual and emotional growth in her life.“My house is clean, and you know what I mean by clean, it’s not like a lot of different people around. I’m more calm, I’m way more calm,” she says. “I feel like my spirit is way more sensitive. I find myself way more emotional than normal, and if I see something I kind of really look at it from another view.”
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