If you had told me that a TV show about Massas still owning people that hasn't even been developed yet in 2017 would piss people off...
I wouldn't have believed you.
I sarcastically joke because when I heard that HBO will air a new series from David Benioff and DB Weiss, the guys behind Game of Thrones, taking place in an alternate version of history where the South won the Confederate War and slavery is still running across the US, I kinda rolled my eyes. But I wasn't furious enough to go on social media or YouTube to condemn the producers about this.
It reached a fever pitch when activist April Reign decided to tweet a new hashtag during an (new at the time) episode of their previous show to get people to show their disdain and frustration towards it--#NoConfederate. While it was successful (in getting people to tweet something semi-clever in the time it takes to make Melba toast), it probably also failed (in getting more awareness towards the show and getting more people to think about what it could be about). And again, it didn't faze me. I have no problem about this.
Honestly, seriously...I don't have much of a problem about this.
I mean, it's fictional. Meaning it never happened. And to specify, this series (well, creation; production hasn't started yet) features an alternative timeline and history (so you KNOW it's not real). Plus, I haven't even seen a single second of it yet (not even pictures). So can you blame me for my nonchalant response? But since that's all we hear from it, it's enough to criticize and destroy the producers for it.
To be fair (and to show I'm not ignorant), I do want and am grateful series/stories like Roots, Underground and -- to be/are told, because these are stories of the histories and struggles of our ancestors to show where we came from and where we had to go as a race, and are truly important to be told. And as brutal and heartbreaking as these stories were, I'm proud to see them as open and honest as possible to teach younger generations about the beginnings and how far our ancestors went their hell and high water to see us do anything we put our minds to. With that in mind, I have no problem with Confederate.
That doesn't mean I'm gonna be pissed because Massa's getting his own series. I'm not...because I don't really care. Not only because I don't subscribe to HBO (and thus don't care much for almost all of its original series [you couldn't pay me to watch Silicon Valley]), but also because most semi-autobiographical series really don't pull me in just from hearing about it. And no shade to other black people offended and pissed about this because y'all can go ahead and do so--it's honestly cool. I just have an observation: you would laugh or be angry (or just brush it off) if white people be irritated if a show about slaves and slavery would be announced and aired (although I've rarely heard about it from them), and--to a larger extent, won't say shit if a show about the pain and plight of other people of color (Asian, Indian, Islanders, etc.) came up? but you all would cry foul and throw temper tantrums if a show made by white men about Confederacy still being alive and working today would just be announced? That shit makes me go Hmmm.
Back to the show, I'm not pissed or angry about it. Only mildly annoyed and amused. And only a little more amused, when many black YouTubers made videos about the show's announcement. Almost all of them were expectedly negative.
The problem with this is this: They're mad because the focus on the slave masters (I assumed) and not on the slaves. While if the focus is on the slaves, it's must-watch TV because this is our story that needs to be told. Basically, if it's not about slaves, it's like covering your ears and eyes and saying "Laa-laa-laa, can't hear you!". Not that there's anything wrong with that though. Slavery was a horrible part of our nation's history, but ignoring all of it is like...really sad.
And so was the backlash, which was so swift that the producers and HBO programming president Casey Bloys responded in defense of the show, saying briefly.
There's another series today that follows the alternative history route based on another infamous era of American history.
This is The Man in the High Castle, a series that takes a look at the world had Nazi Germany won World War II and began conquering all of Earth, taking place in 1962 America. The series is critically acclaimed and is very popular. But no, no one's up in arms about that, and therefore not talking about that. We're discussing this White man show by two Neanderthug devils working in Hollyweird to destroy the legacy of Black people working and fighting hard to be equal in America -- despitebeingwrittenandproducedbytwoblackpeople. (Wait, WHUT?)
Yep, that's right. This new series has two black people working on production: Malcolm Spellman and Nichelle Tramble Spellman. Had this been a selling point, we wouldn't be here and would give the series a more open mind. Because they're a part of the show, I would assume that the black characters in the story would later rebel and fight their masters to gain their freedom. That would be a great twist to the story and give the series more interest and acclaim. Who knows? Maybe the people who gave an open mind about it.
In conclusion, I don't care about this, nor do I have a problem with it. I'm slightly annoyed with it, but a little more when a lot of Black people (and I'm black too BTW) criticized it before it was even began to be made. (I respect your opinions, but still.) If anything, the backlash made it more noticeable and got more people interested. (That is the definition of the Streisand Effect.) I think HBO did a bad thing by not having its black producers get equal spotlight with Benioff and Weiss; that would've added both understanding and confusion. And we wouldn't be here. But for now, we wait with more baited breath for how this will turn out. Cause then it would be more understandable to shit-talk it down.
I don't wish the producers and HBO the best of luck too much on this...because I DON'T want to be labelled a coon or sambo or tap-dancer or some other shit black people like to call other black people sometimes for no good reason when we don't share the same opinion (you know, because we stick together and move on). But a word of warning: don't tread lightly. Even one fraction of a mistake will set off a Black Twitter bomb like you've ever seen one. Good Lord, I'd hate to be in your position.
hahaha
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