Identity: Strong Black Lead

For me identity is something I struggle with and I'm in a constant battle with myself to define as that strong sense of belonging to one set tribe has never been there for me. But that is something I accepted long ago, I stand out from the crowd even when I try to blend in. Forging my own path while taking guidance from those around me and especially those bigger and bolder than me...role models. That's what the actors, directors, and creators in this ad movement by Netflix are. Role Models. "We stand up on any stage and every screen," he continued. "A day when black women are boldly the lead character, whether inmates or scholars. We’re not a genre, because there’s no one way to be black. We’re writing while black — nuanced ...

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The Punisher: Men Need to Talk

So the fact that The Punisher lands on Netflix the same weekend as Justice League being released at the cinema is no coincidence, but neither is it being the same weekend as International Men's day, where men are being encouraged to talk about what's troubling them. Or at least that's what I'd like to think regardless of whether or not Netflix has overtly used in their campaigns for the Punisher, men needing to talk is a clear message throughout the show that really only features half a dozen females with major speaking parts (which is me being generous). This is not to say that the female voice isn't heard as the females featured are strong characters vital to the narrative and are very empowered women, but the message about men talking is one that is really pushed. In the context ...

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The Big Sick - It's sick

The Big Sick is one of those rare films that lives up to its tagline “an awkward true story” to great effect and delivers so much more. One of Sundance Film Festivals stand out hits and directed by Michael Showalter, it stars comedian/actor Kumail Nanjiani as himself and was written together with his wife Emily Gordon played by Zoe Kazan in the film. The Big Sick follows Kumail as a Pakistani born comedian who has a one night stand with one of his audience after one of his shows, which slowly develops into something more. What’s brilliant about the development is that a lot of it happens without Emily actually being part of it verbally (pretty cushy acting gig if you ask me). But no seriously she’s great in her role and I’d be lying if ...

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Catchphrase merchandise

Merchandise centred around the catchphrase of popular characters is nothing new and has been something that has existed for decades popularised by quotable movie and television shows so much so that entire shows are sometimes created around the idea of popularising a certain character and their catchphrase purely to cash in on it from the masses willingness to buy into it. That being said most shows are usually covert enough not to have the merchandise make its way onto the show, but Suits took product placement to a new level in one of it's most recent episodes featuring Louis Litt. For those of you who don't watch Suits, Louis is the misunderstood ball of anger who means well and is almost always the one to stumble into doing something the wrong way in anger. However when he does something right ...

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#FirstTimeISawMe and why representation matters

The glorious people at Netflix (I believe only in the US at the moment) have launched a campaign this week with the help of influencers and celebrities under the hashtag "firsttimeIsawme". I was lucky enough to grow up (until I was 12) in Barbados which had it's upsides and downsides with exposure to black culture. For one it was all around me as I grew up, and for a short period I'm pretty sure I thought there were only 2 races (kid logic) because there really weren't a lot of other races around me other than black/white. Of course this was completely wrong as I'm mixed race and my mums Indo-Trinidadian (look it up) but I didn't realise until I met her side of the family as she's lighter. The reason I mention this is that while ...

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