You Think You Know What Hate Is? Bless Your Heart

Actresses

I don’t know how many of you watch Person of Interest, a show I have ranted about before. If you have, you may have seen a little known actress by the name of Wrenn Schmidt on few episodes. She played the therapist Iris, who ignored ethics and common sense to become the love interest of the main character John Reese. Unfortunately for Wrenn, the couple had all the chemistry and sizzle of bleached flour mixed with tap water. On Tuesday’s episode they broke up. Both of them looked relieved, but neither was as relieved as the fandom was.

That should have been the last word. PoI is cancelled and CBS is burning off the last season so fast that if you blink you’ll miss it. Fans of the iReese or Riris ship numbered in the single digits, so one cared. Iris kissed John good bye and walked off with much more dignity than she deserved considering she ignored all known standards and ethics for therapists so she could get laid. Fans were just happy to see her go, but Wrenn had one last bit of drama for POI fans, and it’s a story that I think is a terrific example of White Privilege in fandoms.

As you may recall, the fabulous Taraji P Henson once graced the cast of POI, playing one of the best WOC characters on the small screen in the fierce Detective Joss Carter. In a decision that will probably go down in TV history as one of the dumbest casting decisions ever, she was fired in favor of lesser actresses. Fans of Taraji and the Careese (Carter/Reese) ship were furious and stopped watching in droves. Other members of the fandom were angry with the Careesers (a large percentage of whom are black) for not supporting a show that erased a black woman character. They coined the term “Bitter Careesers” to explain away any and all dissent in the fandom, because it was all our fault that the show went to hell you see. The (white) producers and the (white) writers had NOTHING to do with it. POI fandom remains bitterly divided today. Continue reading You Think You Know What Hate Is? Bless Your Heart →

‘The Flash’ finally gave us the Iris West we deserve

TV, ,

Iris was so good in last night’s episode of The Flash that I’m still on a high.                                   Candice Patton absolutely killed it.  Iris had agency, she was funny, she was instrumental in not only helping to catch this week’s evil metahuman, Zombie Girder, but in getting Barry back from the Speed Force as well.  She was also front and center as the female lead, and actively helping Team Flash in S.T.A.R. Labs.

This is what I’ve been wanting for her for an entire season and a half, and they finally gave it to us.  I can only hope they keep it up, because now that I’ve gotten it, I don’t want to go back.

I wish I could find scenes of Iris and Cisco because they were absolute gold last night (more Irisco please), but there is lots of Westallen so I offer these up as a lovely substitute instead.  Enjoy!

Goodbye and Good Riddance to “Person of Interest”

TV, ,

CBS finally did it; they finally put Person of Interest out of our misery. Season 5 for this formerly great show will limp onto the schedule May 3rd at 10pm, retaking it’s time slot from Limitless. They will then show 2 episodes a week on Monday at 10 and again on Tuesday at 10. Only 13 episodes were ordered for the final season of this clunker.

I should be sad about this since I was so into this fandom in seasons 1-3, but I’m not.  In a perverse kind of way, POI deserves some credit for this site. fangirlu was so pissed off by the racism experienced by POC fans in this fandom she decided to create this safe space for fans of WOC.

Continue reading Goodbye and Good Riddance to “Person of Interest” →

Gear up the Defense Squad, Dr Who’s new companion is a WOC

Actresses, TV, ,

A new companion will be joining Dr Who on his adventures next year, and she’s a WOC. Pearl Mackie has been named as “Bill”, the latest in a long line of traveling companions for the titular Dr Who. She was introduced in this trailer, which aired during a major soccer match:

Bill is not the first WOC companion for the good Dr.,  Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, traveled with him during the 2007 season and made a few appearances after she quit the time travel game. Unfortunately Freeman faced the usual racist crap during her time on one of the oldest and best loved SciFi franchises from so-called fans. We expect Pearl to face the same issues.

But for now I’ll just rejoice that we have another WOC lead in the SciFi genre. One with natural hair, who looks to be sharp and funny. As Pearl herself described her character, “cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable with a bit of geekiness thrown in.” I’m there for it.

“The Ballerina’s Little Black Book”

Books

Brown Girls Do Ballet is an organization dedicated to encouraging the next Misty Copeland by bringing more diversity to the area of classical ballet. They mentor, assist and encourage young girls of color who express an interest in the art form.

BGDB has an Instagram account you can follow to keep up with the organization’s good works that has some frickin amazing photographs.

The co-founders, Brittani Marie and TaKiyah Wallace, have also compiled a book, available for pre-sale now. The book consists of stories by Misty Copeland and other WOC involved in classical ballet. From the website:

With over 90,000 fans, countless ballerina interviews and more, Brown Girls Do Ballet® has identified the missing strand to diversifying this classical performing art: a resource that speaks to their identity. The Ballerina’s Little Black Book compiles a wealth of stories, advice and training information directly from the women who are breaking down barriers. Aspiring ballerinas can read messages from famed dancers like Aesha Ash, Alicia Graf Mack and even a personal message from none other than Misty Copeland.

Filled with wisdom, solutions, and powerful visuals, The Ballerina’s Little Black Book is the ultimate handbook for ballerinas of color.

Continue reading “The Ballerina’s Little Black Book” →

FOX Searchlight has released the trailer for “Birth of a Nation”

Movies

Fox Searchlight, as you will recall, paid a record $17.5 million for Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation at Sundance, and now we are getting our first glimpse of the film. I should warn you that this trailer has some disturbing images of implied violence and a little white girl leading a little black girl around on a leash. However, you can easily see why this film won the Grand Jury prize. And yes, that is Nina Simone’s Strange Fruit you hear.

Birth of a Nation will be out October 7th, but it’s already being dangled as Oscar bait. Maybe this year we can forget the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag.

Brace yourselves, Thor gets a new love interest and she’s a WOC

Actresses, Movies,

Applications are now being taken for the Tessa Thompson Defense Squad and she’s going to need all the support she can get.  According to Deadline.com, she been cast as Thor’s new love interest in the 3rd Thor film. Details are still sketchy, but reportedly she will be “some sort of superhero” and will appear in other Marvel Universe films as well.

Can you hear the howls of outrage yet? If the reports of her being Thor’s new love are true she will be replacing Natalie Portman, who played Jane, the canon love interest from the comics. You just know how much the fans love it when they mess with canon, especially when they swap out the white woman for a WOC. Remember when The Flash announced that Candice Patton was playing Iris West? Candice is still taking shit for being black two years later. Hope Tessa has some thick skin.

Thor: Ragnarok will begin production at the end of July and is slated for a November 2017 release.

Another WOC is leaving a genre show

Actresses, TV,

Hot on the heels of one of the few leading WOC on TV getting unceremoniously snuffed on her own show comes more bad news, another WOC is out on her genre show. Arden Cho is no longer a member of the cast of Teen Wolf and no one seems to know why.

Arden released this video on YouTube announcing her departure. It doesn’t sound like she made the choice to leave, just saying…

“But unfortunately, it looks like we’re wrapped up with Kira’s story line and she won’t be coming back for Season 6.”

Ever notice the WOC’s storyline always seem to wrap up before any other characters? Are you sick of this shit too?

I admit I do not watch the show, but from what I have read, her story line was not really “wrapped up.” Show creator Jeff Davis had said specifically that the writers were planning on returning a plot line with Cho’s character trapped in a WWII interment camp. Guess they changed their minds.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains that genre TV remains a mostly hostile environment for POC. Given the changing demographic of the population, if producers want new viewers, they are going to have check their privilege and change their ways.

#AbbieMillsDeservedBetter #CancelSleepyHollow

Actresses, TV, , ,

They fucking killed Abbie Mills on Sleepy Hollow’s season finale.
It’s taken me a couple of days to calm down enough to write this. I asked fangirlu if she wanted to be the one to write this, but she’s too emotionally drained to do it.

Another black woman on a genre show has died to service the white male lead’s story line.

Sleepy Hollow was supposed to be different. It premiered with a diverse cast and Nicole Beharie was clearly the lead or at the very least the co-lead. Finally, we thought, a genre show where the black woman would get her due. And she did for the first season. Abbie Mills introduced Tim Mison’s Ichabod Crane to this century with humor and enough chemistry to torch a city block. The bad guy, the Headless Horseman, was off the charts badass. Who didn’t love a headless demon wielding an automatic weapon? The show was batshit crazy. Critics and fans alike were delighted. Continue reading #AbbieMillsDeservedBetter #CancelSleepyHollow →

R.I.P. Daisy Lewellyn

TV,

Daisy Lewellyn, star of Bravo’s Blood, Sweat and Heels has died of cancer. Se was only 36. She had been diagnosed with stage 3 bile duct cancer a couple of years ago, but seemed to be “happy and healthy” according to cast mate Arzo Anwar.

In a interview with Madame Noir last year she said, “I’m not afraid to go to heaven, but I would like to stay on earth if I can. If it’s my time to go, then I can say that I had a great life.”

Our deepest condolences to her family and friends. Her time on Earth was far too short.