Fans of Interracial Romance discussion
Movies & TV
>
IR TV
kittykat (Jo Tortitude) wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "When I saw the casting pics, I wasn’t interested in watching either but I gave it a try. It’s not terrible, lol, just lacking in parts. Simon and Daphne’s drama went on for waaay to..."Yes, pics don’t do him justice, lol.
Honestly most of the latter half is just hazy to me as I didn’t rewatch, nor was I particularly gripped. It certainly had nice music and visuals and decent comedic timings on some of the lines but that’s sort of the only high points for me. Until they cast a bw in a principal role, that is. Hopefully hell doesn’t have to freeze over first.
What! So like 13 Reasons Why? (Still haven’t finished the last season; it’s just so dull.) well, they certainly started dialogue. So mission accomplished.
I have to wonder as well. Maybe (as per the Marina storyline) because she has a vision of a bw in one of the lead roles further down the line like she envisioned Rege-Jean Page as the duke? She has worked with talented young bw before and I would personally love it if Ebonee Noel joined the show, but if not her there’s quite a few dark/brown-skinned British actresses to choose from. I glimpsed a tweet from Shonda about the acquisition of Cinderella (ft Brandy) by Disney with a tag like #blackexcellence or something, and she said it’s about time the movie was re-streaming. I wish I had social media myself so I could tell her she has the power herself to create #blackexcellence and a Brandy’s Cinderella in her very own, very popular show (Sophie’s character) and will she do that because it’s past time for that too. Black girls shouldn’t have to look back decades in the past to be able to see themselves in such roles. Interesting vid I found about it, I haven’t watched all of it but what I saw resonates. I think if I had Twitter I’d just retweet this to Shonda, lol: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HzBVpoV...
Rebecca wrote: "What! So like 13 Reasons Why? (Still haven’t finished the last season; it’s just so dull.) well, they certainly started dialogue. So mission accomplished..."What's the deal with that? I've never watched it. Despite my love of some highly problematic teen shows like Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries, I've not watched many others since the Dawson's Creek days!
Rebecca wrote: "... I have to wonder as well. Maybe (as per the Marina storyline) because she has a vision of a bw in one of the lead roles further down the line like she envisioned Rege-Jean Page as the duke? ... I glimpsed a tweet from Shonda about the acquisition of Cinderella (ft Brandy) by Disney with a tag like #blackexcellence or something, and she said it’s about time the movie was re-streaming. I wish I had social media myself so I could tell her she has the power herself to create #blackexcellence and a Brandy’s Cinderella in her very own, very popular show (Sophie’s character) and will she do that because it’s past time for that too. Black girls shouldn’t have to look back decades in the past to be able to see themselves in such roles. Interesting vid I found about it, I haven’t watched all of it but what I saw resonates...."
You have no idea how tempted I was to post a link the spoon-licking gif here but I don't want to objectify the man! 🤣🤣🤣
Essay alert. Obviously, I have so much to say about the show so sorry to sling it all at you!
I have spent so much time watching the conversation from various internet spaces over this show (as I do with romance in general because of my geekynerdery lol), much more that I have actually watching it because the aftermath has been even more fascinating than the show itself I think. Because of this, I get the impression that Shonda wasn't hands-on at all, that she literally left it up to CVH after she handed him the book and said 'do it'. It seems to me that she just signed off everything, apart from inviting Rege to audition (or was he just given the role? smart decision either way) and perhaps choosing Nicola for Penelope which she may have had a more prominent say in.
I do think that performances aside, the optics of the casting of some of those black (and all bar two are biracial) actors, and not just the main characters were a mistake (whether deliberate or not). And based on the 'it's diverse' promise we were given, that only went as far as the visuals as far as I'm concerned. It frustrates me too, but I think that so many of the plots have been picked apart (incl Marina's - which I agree with as well as the actor being one of the least impressive in the show IMO - but it would have perpetuated the stereotype even more if she had been cast darker skinned and one less 'win' if she was white... perhaps she could have been Asian?) across the many online think pieces I've seen, that I think it would have been hard to satisfy many of us. Even if (for example) Alice, Will's wife, had been cast as a darker-skinned actor, some would say then that she embodied the stereotype of the overbearing black wife, which I think would have been a shame and a huge disservice to one of the most well rounded female characters on the show. And given Daphne's actions in ep 6, because it was premeditated, imagine if she had been a dark-skinned woman? Imagine the uproar then. Hence why I feel conflicted.
I also think that they missed a trick casting Simon's dad as a black man (and I don't want to get into that whole debacle), he should have been a white duke and that could have lead to some conversation (if it was necessary - was it, if done without any depth?)... TBH, the criticisms are never-ending in terms of some of the choices they made, perhaps without really thinking them through. I do think that they should have gone totally colourblind as per Cinderella and just erased all mentions of race period, but that is a bit different as Cinders is a fantasy world, where this is based on real history albeit a somewhat altered version of it. I've seen Lady Danbury's and the Queen's roles also picked apart because some consider them to be stereotypes too. It just all leads to more conflicted thoughts because I see a lot of those criticisms, but don't necessarily agree with them all.
I think it is a real shame in general, that a lot of what we have seen in this show has so many of us crying out (and rightfully so) about some of the stereotypes that we have seen played out for decades in both books and on-screen being perpetuated even now. But I also wonder when we will be at the point where we can just read/watch and not dwell on the subtext of those things and take the stories in the lighthearted manner in which (I think) they were meant? You would have thought that in 2020/2021 we would already be there.
Thanks for sharing that video link. It was already in my feed but I've now watched it and I totally agree with many of the points she made. And in terms of Bridgerton, I also would love to see one of the female leads be a darker-skinned black woman. In ways, I wish that the Featheringtons had been cast as a black family (so Pen would be first), but then going back to my last paragraph, that would have also raised another whole load of issues because of how the various minor stories surrounding the family played out. And I'm conflicted yet again.
I also want to see more POC actors, both male and female across the board with more prominent roles not just as wallpaper. The numbers of south and east Asian faces that were just in the background perhaps having a single line (or three) of dialogue, as well as other Black folks both men and women in the same boat was just shocking to me. And many of them were part of the 'society' side not just servants etc, but why were none given much to do other than stand around looking pretty? 😡
And none of this touches on the hypocrisy of the times aside, major plot holes regards sex education and the lack thereof for most of the young women and girls. Or any of the other nitpicky things that I found annoying but unimportant!
Also, my very first thought when I heard about the show being in production was, why can't Shonda do one of the Beverly Jenkins series? Or the Alyssa Cole one? Anything other than the highly problematic English aristocracy and high society of the regency era. But I also don't think that it is entirely fair of me to think that way just because she is a black woman. Plus, let's face it, she was looking for maximum impact, numbers, and therefore money. And it was made worse when I heard what JQ had to say on a panel about writing POC characters... Which leads to even more conflicted feelings.
Has anyone here read the books? I wasn't in the least bit interested (just like I wasn't interested in watching the show initially), but I'm thinking about it now.
Also, has anyone seen Harlots? I've heard that one is excellent although it's not a romance of course, but it is an English period piece about us commoners not primarily about the upper classes for a change. This is one reason that I, as a Brit, have never been particularly interested in period dramas, even the many iterations of all the classics; royalty, aristocracy, and high society hold little interest to me.
I have not watched Bridgerton. I have no interest to do so because it just doesn't interest me. The only period story I ever watched and enjoyed, was Belle with Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
I generally do not find period pieces of any interest.
kittykat (Jo Tortitude) wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "What! So like 13 Reasons Why? (Still haven’t finished the last season; it’s just so dull.) well, they certainly started dialogue. So mission accomplished..."What's the deal with t..."
It’s a show about a girl who becomes suicidal and she leaves these tapes for 13 of the people who are a ‘reason why’ she decided to commit suicide. It’s heavy stuff. I’d also read the book ages before the show but can’t remember too much of it. I don’t watch much teen shows either. Give me The Crown any day even with it’s lack of diversity, lol.
Lol, everyone else is objectifying him. Just check out the show’s Reddit forum.
Speaking of the Reddit forum, I don’t mind your essay cos I have a lot of thoughts on the show myself and have written them out on the Reddit forum. I came out of lurkdom cos I was so frustrated at the lack of conversation about the show’s colourism, or just plain defection. I’ll leave my handle here if you wanna have a peek and pm about what I wrote because we’re very much in agreement (I even made a post about what if Penelope had been black and thus a guaranteed dsbw lead with a hea; it went down like a lead balloon, lol. I fancast Susan Wokoma and everything, so also plus-size, on the short side, comedy background like Nicola.) https://www.reddit.com/user/TimeLady96/
Just a quick bit about Simon’s dad: I feel both he and his wife should have been the same complexion as Simon, so light-skinned/biracial black. Had it been that way I doubt half the people going on about the show’s colourism would have made a peep. It happens to women far more yet they had to rope men in saying the ds characters were either villains or insignificant. Will is neither; so in that way they already had more balanced rep than bw.
Now I’ve finished the show (and been spoiled for the book series) I see just how inconsequential the young black characters are. Simon is the only one who’ll be recurring, and even his role will be smaller than in the first season. I’ll be surprised if we see the others again. So ultimately going forward, their skin tones don’t matter so much if the casting director adds more ds, prominent characters, esp women in the following seasons.
I too really wish she’d adapted Beverly Jenkins (Forbidden is coming tho! Thanks to two white women, the owners of the Ripped Bodice Bookstore. Just goes to show skinfolk won’t always be kinfolk, eh) or Alyssa Cole or someone who’s books are already diverse so then there wouldn’t be Hunger Games-style threads where everybody is seeking rep in this or that uncast lead character. Plus had Shonda not chosen JQ, she wouldn’t have boosted her to renewed popularity and book sales, the women who couldn’t add diversity to her own books because she couldn’t conceive of any storylines for them but pain or suffering. Ugh.
I have read those books by the way (2 and 3). They have problematic aspects like overbearing heroes who get far too aggressive and started acting irrational (mostly towards the heroine). I’m not a huge romance lover (unless it’s ir and/or the sub-genre/theme) so I’m not the target audience but I still wouldn’t recommend. Not even the one everyone on the Reddit forum loves, The Viscount Who Loved Me.
I’ve seen Harlots. It’s ok, I wish Harriet (one of the primary black characters) had been given more prominence but I haven’t seen the third season. I think it’s the last as it was cancelled. Not sure if it will be renewed. Haha, snap, I’m also a Brit, but I don’t mind stories about royalty; my fav genre is historical fiction tho much further back, like the Tudor era and previous primarily.
Have you heard about Jodie Turnee-Smith being cast as Anne Boleyn? The show is going to air on channel 5, I believe. I’m torn, because it’s Anne Boleyn and we all know what happened to her, but in the other hand am also so excited cos it’s a proper rendition of her life not some retelling in the modern age (I hate those) and it’s a show with a primary black lead (and a woman at that!) that’s nothing to do with crime, drugs or council estates—I can’t relate to those at all. Those aren’t anything close to my life. Jodie had also been cast in a Witcher’s prequel as a warrior with ‘the voice of a goddess’. I can’t wait. I never saw Queen and Slim as that isn’t my sort of movie but I’m following her career eagerly and she seems to be getting cast in more than a few roles, most likely because of that movie, so that’s a win. Here’s hoping the same happen to Simona Brown (her profile seems to fit with Bridgerton’s actors’ level of fame so she’d be a good fit for them, if they cared to act on it). There’s also an upcoming adaptation of Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors, so that’s very exciting.
Rebecca wrote: "... nothing to do with crime, drugs or council estates..."🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Even if you had not said, I would have guessed from this that you were one of mine! Others, Americans in particular, tend to say the hood, the ghetto, or the projects lol!
I'll return the favour and leave this video link here , someone who, like me, enjoyed the show, but also had plenty of criticisms of it. She is absolutely stunning BTW...
I'm going to hop on over to that thread... am a bit scared of the reactions that I'm sure are there! I'll come back and respond more later.
kittykat (Jo Tortitude) wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "... nothing to do with crime, drugs or council estates..."🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Even if you had not said, I would have guessed from this that you were one of mine! Others, Americans in particula..."
Lol!
Ive linked her! Her vid has made the round in the forum too. Just search the forum for 'colourism'. I havent seen all of it, nor do i agree with all her points but there's no one person i found as moderate as me in their colourism crit, hence why i had to write these long-arse essays in my responses, lol. Let's call it my thesis.
No rush. :)
I liked Bridgerton. It was a nice, light-hearted series to end a trash year. And honestly, it wasn't that deep to me. It was pretty people in pretty clothes and a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel. One of the very few actual romance novel adaptations that had a budget and seemed not to try to re-create Hallmark sappiness and wooden writing and acting. I have many a think piece about the inclusion of race in the show and frankly it being NOT lily white is why I watched it in the first place, otherwise I would have given it a pass. Kinda like how I peaced out of Virgin River -- ironically a modern day show set in California that only has one obligatory black guy.
Personally, I don't need Bridgerton to carry the water for the right shade of inclusive casting. It is what it is.
What I would rather see all that same energy thrown at thrown at projects that don't cast inclusively at all. I mean Star Wars has been around for darn near 40 years and you'd think not a single black woman made it to a galaxy far away.
Or it would be nice since Netflix has shown a willingness to do original YA rom-coms with white, East Asian, and Desi actresses (Never Have I Ever or To All The Boys I Loved Before or The Kissing Booth to actually do one that features a black girl as the heroine in a YA romance.
Tina wrote: "Personally, I don't need Bridgerton to carry the water for the right shade of inclusive casting. It is what it is."Would agree except for all the hype and race-baiting that went into marketing and defending it as some epic breakthrough for diversity in the romance genre. Where any kind of criticism was seen as some kind of anti-diversity attack against Shondaland by the evil white racists and divisive blacks when essentially it's basically just another all-white book that got adapted and included some tokens.
Shonda can adapt whatever she wants. I'm just annoyed by all the hype that went into it to sell it as something new when it's the same CW-level stereotypes we're all used to. That's my peeve with it. Why all the disingenuous marketing? Why sell Julia Quinn to romance readers when she's spoken out against inclusivity?
I would honestly prefer no representation to negative representation and being included as mutes, servants and cautionary tales of tragedy.
I mean, I get it. After Still Star Crossed got canceled, I fully understand if the lesson Shonda got from that was "But Not Too Black next time." It's her career and money. She doesn't have to "fix the historical romance subgenre" if she doesn't want to. Positive rep doesn't have to be the hill she or any black creator dies on. "You do you," is my motto with everything. But don't dress it up as if you're fighting the fight and doing something revolutionary when you're really just pulling a Julie Plec.
Justine wrote: "Deviki wrote: "Bwwm movie:Red Dot (2021) - IMDb - Swedish / Thriller
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020) - Teen Romance/Drama
Bwwm TV
Behind Her Eyes - British / Thriller
Utopia (USA) - Sci-Fi (UK is ..."
I know right I watched that episode too !!! So cool :P
I haven't watch Bridgerton nor have I read the book (is there a book?). I don't mind watching this show but from all your comments so far ....it seem like the show isn't all that great. Since I haven't watched the show yet.....I can't quite give my comments yet :PI truly don't know how I feel about colorism casting for period dramas movies and TV shows. At one point it's kind of refreshing to watch POC play drama roles which is usually set for whites only. But at the same time it also kind feel forced because you're doing it for the sake of diversity quota and etc.
I don't really mind fantasy/made up period drama with POC. For example:-
After Still Star-Crossed, Shondaland series got cancelled I was quite annoyed because it was based on Romeo and Juliet story but it was still a made up story not based on real life story. Not something real from our history, I mean, So What !! If POC play that role....I thought it was cool to watch diverse race playing drama roles. It was fun and I thought the costume designs were epic !! Also the darn show ended in a cliffhanger.
Anyone watched "Miracle Workers" TV series? This one is based on a book and a complete fantasy world especially in season two where the same diverse cast from season 1 plays in season 2 which takes place during the "Dark Ages". I really enjoyed the show and I liked watching diverse cast. It's fun !!
How about this one ? Titans - TV show? This one had so many blacklash because they cast a black lady, Anna Diop to play "Starfire". Now this is also a fantasy superhero show. And Starfire is an Alien from another planet. Although in comics and cartoon she closely resemble a white person....erkkk white person with orange skin and neon green eyes. So technically her character can be played by any race because she is an alien. Even then people still hated on Anna. I really liked her acting and I think she played an awesome kick arse alien chick. I don't mind the diversity in this series either....if anything it felt natural.
How about this one ? Ordeal by Innocence this one is also another fantasy/made up story based on Agatha Christie's book. One of the adopted kid Tina Argyll is played by black lady Crystal Clarke. People made noise about that too. I don't see anything wrong with this casting because she was adopted! I don't know how many white rich families adopted black children back during that period, but it doesn't matter to me because it feel normal to me. I don't mind that casting choice at all.
But how do you feel about the new (I think it's new) Anne Boleyn TV drama show? Anne Boleyn is cast by Jodie turner-smith. I really don't know how I feel about this one. I don't know if this had been finalized casting or what but I was quite taken aback because this is based off real life event so to have a black lady play a real life white Tudor queen was weird for me. This one definitely felt forced and for the sake of some kind of diversity quota or something.
But how do you feel if black women play Tudor/Victorian queen from a fantasy/fiction story? I believe Sophie Okonedo played Queen Margaret in the TV series "The Hollow Crown" but it's based on adaptation of the Shakespearean play. Not really real right ?
I don't mind at all if there is casting of POC in period drama for fantasy/made up stories. But I do feel a bit weird out if its based on real people.
Anyone excited about watching Shadow and Bone? Alina is now cast by Asian decent actress rather than a white Russian girl like in the book (I haven't read the book so no spoilers !!!). How do you feel about that ?
Mod
Yes, there is a book. I do not watch the show.
Deviki wrote: "I haven't watch Bridgerton nor have I read the book (is there a book?). I don't mind watching this show but from all your comments so far ....it seem like the show isn't all that great. Since I hav..."I've watched almost all of these except Miracle Workers, lol. I wish Anna Diop got more screentime and I liked Ordeal. It was nice to see a black girl in that and not have some kind of backstory of tragedy and horror, or having her be a servant or something. That's all I really wanted from Bridgerton tbh.
I can't recommend Bridgerton really. It's like Gossip Girl meets Pride and Prejudice and it wasn't as good for diversity as they hyped it up to be, but it's still watchable if you like Pride and Prejudice type stories and Gossip Girl, I guess. They're adding an Indian actress, Simone Ashley, to be the female lead in Season 2 so at least it seems like they've heard some of the criticism but at this point I really don't trust the crew behind it.
With Jodie Turner playing Anne-Boleyn... I've watched so many versions of Anne Boleyn and seen so many white-washed versions of European stories, that I really don't feel any kind of way anymore about black people co-opting these stories that are basically fictional at this point. When you go around doing centuries of colonizing and forcing your culture onto other people, I feel like you don't have a right to then complain about people "appropriating" your history.
They made Anne Boleyn this commonplace historical figure around the world. I'm black and from the Caribbean and I've seen at least five different adaptations of her story because it's just that mainstream. As a black woman, I'd appreciate a black version. It doesn't hurt any of the other portrayals to have one black Boleyn girl. There's still Natalie Portman's version right there for the people who want it white. Natalie Portman is American, but I don't recall anyone making a fuss about that aspect of the portrayal and its authenticity. Jodie is british, who's to say that nationality shouldn't trump race if we're talking about historical fiction.
The people who have deep feelings about these things tend to be the same people who argue about the authenticity of Danish mermaid casting, so I've stopped caring.
I am definitely not a fan of Bridgerton.
Das Boot season 2 and Grace (starring John Simm) both have bwwm relationships.
Deviki wrote: "I haven't watch Bridgerton nor have I read the book (is there a book?). I don't mind watching this show but from all your comments so far ....it seem like the show isn't all that great. Since I hav..."Shadow and Bone's main female character is supposed to be biracial, as in half Chinese half White anyway. The actress is biracial (half Chinese half White), so it actually fits to the book's intention.
Tina wrote: "I liked Bridgerton. It was a nice, light-hearted series to end a trash year. And honestly, it wasn't that deep to me. It was pretty people in pretty clothes and a fairly faithful adaptation of the ..."Netflix should've done TV shows on Alyssa Cole's books. It would've been great. Or Jasmine Guillory's books. I mean, even Mindy Kaling did audio recording for Alyssa Cole's book, so it's not hard for producers to adapt her books.
TBH, I haven't found a good YA romance books that feature black heroine. Most of the YA romance books are terrible and childish. Maybe someone can recommend me a good YA romance featuring black heroine, because I've read terrible YA romance from Jamila Jasper. My god, she is just absolutely disaster in writing.
There's New Amsterdam with two IR ships... One couple is F/F and one of the characters is from Pakistan. The other couple involves Freema Agyeman. Both are actual ships as of the end of S3.
It's a medical procedural tho...
Zenny wrote: "There's New Amsterdam with two IR ships... One couple is F/F and one of the characters is from Pakistan. The other couple involves Freema Agyeman. Both are actual ships as of the end of S3.
It's..."
New Amsterdam is one of my favorites. I have been watching the Doctor Sharpe/Max development closely from the very first episode. We'll see what happens as they dance around each other.
Justine wrote: New Amsterdam is one of my favorites. I have been watching the Doctor Sharpe/Max development closely from the very first episode. We'll see what happens as they dance around each other..."I binged it on Netflix so it was fun. But that last season! The will-they-won't-they dance had me so frustrated. I can't imagine the frustration of going through that for three seasons watching each episode week by week.
Zenny wrote: "Justine wrote: New Amsterdam is one of my favorites. I have been watching the Doctor Sharpe/Max development closely from the very first episode. We'll see what happens as they dance around each oth..."For one or two seasons, Max' wife was alive so you can't count those. Building of anticipation is fine with me as long as they don't do one of those crap Scandal on again off again nonsense. I won't stick around for that.
Justine wrote: "For one or two seasons, Max' wife was alive so you can't count those..."I was all aboard from the pilot episode 😣😅
BRIDGERTONI’m a fan of period dramas and I enjoyed Bridgerton and found the cast quite diverse as key roles were played by people of color. You typically won’t find a person of color in a period drama on PBS, so I was open to checking Bridgerton out for myself.
When I watch shows I’m not just looking at the main characters, I also notice the background players. I loved watching the dance scenes as there were many, many different ethnicities represented.
Overall, I found most of the storylines intriguing and some of scenes a little risqué (not offensively so) for the time period.
Opinions vary, so I say, if you have the time and interest, check it out for yourself.
NEW AMSTERDAMYouTube brought Max and Helen (suggested video) to my attention and I remember Max from The Blacklist. Late last year, I finally broke down and binged watched Seasons 1 & 2 and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Ryan and Freema definitely have chemistry on and off the screen.
Check out the video where Ryan, Freema and Janet (she’s British!) are giving an interview; towards the end, Ryan puts his hand on Freema’s thigh and the look on Janet’s face is priceless. Lots of videos of them together to check out.
Then Covid struck and changed the direction of the show, but now, if the rumors are true (I prefer to binge again) then it’s finally happening. I confess, I’ve checked out a recent YouTube video and I’ve read an article from one of the producers where he promises viewers won’t be disappointed when the show returns.
Best of all, the show has been renewed until at least Season 5. I hope it has the staying power of Grey’s Anatomy, which I stopped watching long ago.
If you like hospital dramas with heart, you’ll like or love New Amsterdam!
Mosaic wrote: "Tina wrote: "I liked Bridgerton. It was a nice, light-hearted series to end a trash year. And honestly, it wasn't that deep to me. It was pretty people in pretty clothes and a fairly faithful adapt..."One of Alyssa’s books, When No One Was Watching, is being looked at for adaptation but for a film and that particular book is the only one of her’s that’s not a romance (though there is a romantic subplot of sorts).
Edit: Kennedy Ryan is having two of her series adapted for tv, not with Netflix though, I think.
I was a fan of Max and Helen on New Amsterdam from the moment they met. The chemistry was real. I read an interview with the producers who said they had no intention of writing Max and Helen as a couple. They simply wrote them as co-workers and friends and had no intention of killing off the wife.
But Freema and Ryan would shade their dialogue in such a way and look at each other in such a way... that even the writers/producers could not ignore the chemistry.
There is a new interview with the EPs where they promise that we'll get to see what took place behind that closed door in the finale and that "Fans will get everything you want from Max and Sharpe, and a whole lot more. It is on. And there is no turning back.”
Tina wrote: "I liked Bridgerton. It was a nice, light-hearted series to end a trash year. And honestly, it wasn't that deep to me. It was pretty people in pretty clothes and a fairly faithful adaptation of the ..."I just wanted to reply to the last point of yours because it got me thinking. Thinking that that would never happen mostly but it turns out something is happening. This: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/...
So it won’t just be one black heroine, but six? I think, I haven’t read the book. Still can’t believe it’s actually happening but then it’s the Obamas behind it, so that’s a lot less surprising. Don’t know if it would have happened without them seeing as, as you say, Netflix hadn’t yet done a YA romance with a black girl as a lead. They barely have shows with black girls/women as the lead so hopefully this marks the start of meaningful change and actual inclusion, not just tokenism and archetypes.
Amazon Prime's Modern Love series is set to air their season 2 starting August 13. It is an anthology series that follows different couples.Season one was criticized for not really focusing on any women of color or LGBTQ relationships. Season two looks a lot better. Judging from the trailer my count it looks like it features three IR Het romances -- two BWWM and one BMWM -- and two LGBTQ romances, one of which is IR as well.
Here's the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3gC...
Thanks for the update, TinaIt's called Modern love and yet people had to criticize to get an IR or LGBTQ story.
Sometimes I just have to shake my head; more so given that Amazon is a global company. I swear that I simply do not understand sometimes.
Neither adaptation is strictly IR but both would include elements I suppose (of the two I’ve only read Kindred):https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/k...
https://deadline.com/2021/07/bridgert...
A new show popped up on my feed on Hulu called The Right One. I only watched the trailer but it looks like an IR Rom-Com.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqgPZ...
Tina wrote: "A new show popped up on my feed on Hulu called The Right One. I only watched the trailer but it looks like an IR Rom-Com.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqgPZ..."
Thank you. That looks hilarious.
Anyone watched "See you yesterday" ? I just finished watching it yesterday. It's not really an IR but I think the puerto rican guy likes the main protagonist. But that is not the main story though, I enjoyed it ....it's not bad.
Deviki wrote: "Anyone watched "See you yesterday" ? I just finished watching it yesterday. It's not really an IR but I think the puerto rican guy likes the main protagonist. But that is not the main story though,..."I haven’t seen it. The trailer looks great and I like the concept but I’m not in the headspace for black trauma atm (honesty, I rarely am).
A film I saw recently called Open, it’s on Prime, bwwm: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kJsqLoa...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZIb...
The above channel has quite a few other ir vids with black women, some more background than Open though where both characters are the main characters.
Edited the links for clarity
OPEN is amazing!! Saw it a couple days ago and it was so sweet and refreshing... definitely recommend
Elegy wrote: "OPEN is amazing!! Saw it a couple days ago and it was so sweet and refreshing... definitely recommend"Definitely! Jack Eve and Pippa Bennett-Warner were both involved behind the scenes as well as being in front of the camera and I fell like the script reflected that. It’d be nice if they worked together again, maybe in a romcom. They have amazing chemistry and Pippa is great at comedy.
I would love to see them in a rom-com too! I loved Pippa's character's personality. They both feed really well off one another
Elegy wrote: "I would love to see them in a rom-com too! I loved Pippa's character's personality. They both feed really well off one another"Ikr! Be sure to rate and review Open on IMDb/Prime, that should get it noticed more and let everyone involved know that we like their work. I kinda wish I’d put in my own review that they should star in a rom-com next, haha.
Edit: I’d also really like Issac Powell and Dominique Fishback from Modern Love s2 ep4 in a rom-com; their chemistry was intense.
I've left reviews on almost every page I can review it on lol. I'll definitely check out modern love too!
Elegy wrote: "I've left reviews on almost every page I can review it on lol. I'll definitely check out modern love too!"Lol, that’s awesome.
Bridgerton just releases a teaser for season 2 starring with WOC (British Indian) actress. Now I hope that season 3 will star with black British actress too. Zack Snyder's production - Army of Thieves star black British actress (Nathalie Emmanuel) as main protagonist and also have interracial relationship with the other white protagonist.
I wish media will hire more dark-skinned black actress, but that's another conversation of colorism.
Mosaic wrote: "Bridgerton just releases a teaser for season 2 starring with WOC (British Indian) actress. Now I hope that season 3 will star with black British actress too. Zack Snyder's production - Army of Th..."
The trailer looks good. Apparently the two had such strong chemistry in their tests, they almost hired Simone on the spot. I’m definitely watching this season, as for the next, it would depend. I too hope they cast a black actress as a romantic lead but I’m not going to hold my breath. I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst (no bw lead until the last season if they’re doing one season = one book as the last book is the only one left where they could cast a bw as a lead, or else no bw lead at all).
I wish conversations of colourism were as heeded as ones about racism; the latter is quite widely discussed and given gravitas but the former when it’s bought up is often dismissed as complaining or divisive or creating a new way to be oppressed yet the two are linked—colourism being a cousin (or daughter) of racism. Especially since the lightskinned actresses media prefers to cast are quite often biracial (usually half-white) or they have a mixed background (which is the case with Nathalie as both her parents are half-white and half-black caribbean).
Rebecca wrote: "I wish conversations of colourism were as heeded as ones about racism; the latter is quite widely discussed and given gravitas but the former when it’s bought up is often dismissed as complaining or divisive or creating a new way to be oppressed yet the two are linked—colourism being a cousin (or daughter) of racism."Yep, the audience (me included) often see dark skinned black actress (sometimes, actors too) as extra aka minor background roles or, in certain cases, villains. To me, that's part of racism and racial negative stereotype. It should be included in the conversation when people are talking about representation. I think it's a major problem when media thinks hiring light skinned black actress as protagonist = well done representation.
I don't get it, nor will I ever understand it.
Mosaic wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "I wish conversations of colourism were as heeded as ones about racism; the latter is quite widely discussed and given gravitas but the former when it’s bought up is often dismissed ..."I think colourism affects men and women differently. It affects lightskinned (ambiguous) actors in a different way to actors like Will Smith and Idris Elba. The founder of this site http://thebritishblacklist.co.uk/cate... which tracks black British actors and actresses has an interview with a lightskinned, biracial man who says he was never seen as black enough for casting directors (and in two of the tv roles I’ve seen him in he’s played Middle Eastern/North African characters). Yet if we flip the gender, biracial women are the face of black women in media. Even Zendaya said so, that’s she’s Hollywood’s acceptable version of a black girl. And she’s half-white. How is that not racism? Especially since texturism and featurism play a heavy part too. They aren’t casting lightskinned actresses like Jane Chirwa for instance, who has a wide nose, full lips and type 4 natural hair. They prefer the actresses to adhere to European standards of beauty, to be closer to white.
The site I linked above shows that plainly. Scrolling back awhile is required but it’s easy to see who is getting cast more frequently and, when you click for a description, what roles they’re getting. As it stands lightskinned actresses are more likely to be love interests (or have one), get lead roles and play multifaceted characters.
More actresses than Zendaya have spoken about their industry experiences; I have read interviews with Weruche Opia, Naomi Ackie, Michaela Coel and Viola Davis where they speak about this, or similar things like typecasting. Lupita as well; she had an illuminating interview with Oprah about colourism in Hollywood. So it’s not just darkskinned actresses but brownskinned as well sometimes; even Danny Boyle, a long time ago, said of Naomie Harris that she’d be the next Kate Winslet if not for her race and she’s brownskinned. Naomie also said one she’d never take on a role that showed black women badly and I feel that can be seen in her body of work; I feel like she hasn’t gotten as much work as Will Smith or Idris Elba, she hasn’t been booked and busy in the same way as them. To say nothing of her female (and biracial) counterparts like Tessa Thompson, Zoe Saldana and Thandie Newton.
On the ir tv front: season 2 of Blood and Water has a bwwm couple coming together. If it’s renewed for a third season, I hope we see more of them. They have wonderful chemistry.
Rebecca wrote: "More actresses than Zendaya have spoken about their industry experiences; I have read interviews with Weruche Opia, Naomi Ackie, Michaela Coel and Viola Davis where they speak about this, or similar things like typecasting. Lupita as well; she had an illuminating interview with Oprah about colourism in Hollywood. So it’s not just darkskinned actresses but brownskinned as well sometimes; even Danny Boyle, a long time ago, said of Naomie Harris that she’d be the next Kate Winslet if not for her race and she’s brownskinned."That is true.
I think it's conversation that need to be had in every country. Even Brazil, the country where interracial relationships are common (between black and or Indigenous woman and white man), still have racism and colorism occurring frequently.
The thing about interracial relationships is that just b/c interracial relationships are common, it doesn't mean racism is eradicated. Sometimes, racism is more pronounced.
Rebecca wrote: "The founder of this site http://thebritishblacklist.co.uk/cate... which tracks black British actors and actresses has an interview with a lightskinned, biracial man who says he was never seen as black enough for casting directors (and in two of the tv roles I’ve seen him in he’s played Middle Eastern/North African characters). "Also, the reason why I mention some of the dark skinned black actors in negative racial stereotype is because I am seeing more tv shows casting dark skinned MOC actors in villain role. However, you see that light skinned MOC actors tend to be protagonist or heroic roles. Not to say that there weren't any tv shows casting negative stereotype in the past, it feels more pronounced nowadays.
Or maybe, I'm just more aware about the negative stereotype about colorism in media nowadays.
If anyone wants to watch interesting and developed interracial relationship starring with dark skinned black woman, you should also watch Das Boot season 2 on Starz or Hulu. It features a Harlem singer with ex-Nazi captain. I mean, it's very sensitive angle to have for interracial relationship, but Cassandra is such a remarkable female character, and her character is well-written along with the interracial relationship.To be fair, when Cassandra falls in love with the protagonist, she isn't aware that the person she loves is ex-Nazi captain. I don't know if that makes anyone feel better about the relationship. Either way, the relationship isn't to sympathize, or whitewash, with ex-Nazi protagonist. It's meant to show certain cases in our history, b/c there are historical evidences that indicate interracial relationship happening with ex-Nazi POWs.
Mosaic wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "The founder of this site http://thebritishblacklist.co.uk/cate... which tracks black British actors and actresses has an interview with a lightskinned, biracial man who says he was ..."Thats interesting because I've not seen that. What I see is that darkskinned (and brown to an extent) black actors are the go-to when it comes to diversity. They're cast in things much more than black actresses and more than lightskinned black or biracial actors. It's only recently that I've seen lightskinned men get more prominence, not really heroic roles as such but just more visibility in general.
I think where we live and what shows we watch would play a part in our respective perspectives.
I'm also a lot more aware of colourism than I was growing up, then I barely saw black actresses on tv, only biracial ones sometimes. Black actors were more common and they would always be darkskinned, never light.
I have seen Das Boot and wouldn't say Klaus was a nazi as such but he was definitely fighting for Germany during the war. There's one real life story like his and Cassandra's that was featured here where a German POW and a black nurse fell in love when he was imprisoned in America. The couple were the subject of a book called Enemies in Love. Klaus and Cassandra remind me of them a little.
Rebecca wrote: "I have seen Das Boot and wouldn't say Klaus was a nazi as such"LOL, no, Klaus was definitely a Nazi soldier, but ex-Nazi. He was fighting for Nazi cause, and that made him a Nazi. However, he quit being a Nazi. I know the line is blurry, but if you are fighting on the side of Nazi - Aryan supremacy in a war, it makes you a part of Nazihood, whether you like it or not.
Either way, I do not tolerate nor sympathize with Klaus's past crime, but I see the development and growth of his character. So there it is.
For me, I see the character as it is. Just because you are in interracial relationship, it does not absolve of your past crime.
Fans of Interracial Romance
Books mentioned in this topic
The Flatshare (other topics)The Flatshare (other topics)
The Flatshare (other topics)
Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table (other topics)
I'm the opposite because it was seeing the cast and the background players in those stills when the teasers first made their rounds (I'd not seen casting pics before that as I wasn't interested) that did it for me. But then that ultimately let me down because what I was promised was not delivered. As for The Duke, from the stills I thought he was beautiful but it wasn't until I saw him actually do his thing on screen that I was totally sold.
I'm also the opposite in terms of the drama between D&S. I thought that after Daphne raped him it went totally left of centre and that was also unforgivable to me. Daphne was made to be a villain but with no consequences and actually blamed her actions on Simon. It was a let down because I thought it ruined the relationship that had been growing between them before they were even aware of it. Yet, it all came together as if by magic during that final ball scene in the last episode when they could have spent more time properly handling what happened between them. The problems between them boiled down to communication, and they could have shown them learning to overcome that rather than a simple wham bam, locking eyes in the rain moment.
But, saying all that and other issues I had (incl. major queerbaiting with Benedict), I have watched it more than once because I did still really enjoy it.
Rebecca wrote: "... Lol, true. I think they have a black writer on team. Fingers crossed they get more and/or give her more prominence. Not sure how much power Shonda herself has, to let that through, let alone the colourism. But with Kate’s casting it looks like they’re killing two birds with one stone re: the colourism and lack of Asians in the foreground. Will Shonda do the same for black women? I don’t know...
That writer is one of the seniors in charge! Either they chose to be obtuse with the handling of race or they went ahead with controversial decisions knowing it would create all sorts of dialogue from those both liking and hating that decision, once it was aired. I'm not sure which I think is worse, but I don't think they were unaware of what the outcome would be.
I agree that it is great to see a darker skinned Asian actor cast as Kate, but she is apparently newly arrived. So I wonder where from, and are they going to recognise the colonisation of India (which will force them to recognise slavery) and comment on it or just deal with it almost as flippantly as they did this time around? And Shonda is the producer, it was her idea to adapt this series, so she would have signed everything off... and I have to wonder why she didn't see the cracks?