Breaking through the Rings of (White) Power

Even Elon Musk weighed in:

I swear, I’m lucky I don’t have more headaches with all the eye-rolling and side-eyeing I’ve been doing lately. The manufactured panic of mostly White men about characters of color and “wokeness” in today’s public discourse is just so tiring.

How many times have Black people had to endure having their music and creativity repackaged for White audiences? A few of the endless examples: The show “Friends,” with its all-White cast, was essentially a remake of “Living Single,” the ’90s sitcom with an all-Black cast. The sound of legendary singing groups like “Boyz II Men” was basically copied by all White boy bands such as ’NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees — all of whom became icons. (This is captured well in the Netflix documentary “This Is Pop.”) And for that matter, haven’t we all been subjected to White Cleopatra, White Jesus and Elvis Presley?

I, too, do not care for diversity-washing in sectors that are still dominated by White men. And I do understand why big risk-averse, profit-hungry studios repackage familiar stories and old movies instead of taking risks on new ideas and stories. Still, I would rather Hollywood greenlight more original films made by and for non-White people that don’t center the White male gaze.

Non-White actors in fantasy roles seem to trigger the Hollywood equivalent of “white replacement theory.” As much as we eye-roll over the panic and backlash, I worry. As I write from Texas, a state that is moving to purge books from school districts that attempt to be more progressive on race and sexuality, what is to stop officials from going a step further — and banning movies they think are Trojan horses for “wokeness” and critical race theory, too?

Would these actions surprise anyone at this point? This is the tragedy of living in a world where whiteness and maleness gets centered at all times.

In such a world, elves can’t be dark-skinned. In such a world, action heroes can’t be dark-skinned Black women (more on that below). And have no doubt that this cramped vision translates to real life, too, in that it makes it harder for many people to imagine women and people of color in leadership positions, putting even more obstacles in their path (more on that below, as well).

Fantasy, science fiction and the creative retelling of history can expand our imagination about alternate worlds, scenarios, relationships. White supremacy in our storytelling deforms our collective imagination and impairs our ability to understand the past, to make change in the present and to dream of new worlds to build for the future.

Home Front: The limits to AOC’s power

This week at GQ, my former Washington Post colleague Wesley Lowery dropped a wide-ranging profile of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The political star talked about everything from what men can do to support women in a post-Roe era, to her dog Deco, to the difficulties of being a young, progressive Latina in a largely unwelcoming Democratic Party.

“My everyday lived experience here is as a person who is despised,” Ocasio-Cortez tells Lowery. “Imagine working a job and your bosses don’t like you — and the competing company is trying to kill you.” The competing company, of course, is the GOP, whose relentless attacks on her have been fueled by racism and sexism.

AOC is torn between idealism and reality. She admits that sometimes she believes the United States will never let someone like her be president. “One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible,” she said. “But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color.”

I share her sentiments and, sadly, some of her experiences with hate and abuse just for speaking up as a Black woman in America. Today, with new restrictions being placed on women’s bodies, and conservative social movements against diversity and inclusion gathering force, America appears to be moving backward.

Still, something AOC notes about world-building gives me hope: We aren’t starting from zero. “The world that we’re fighting for is already here. It may not be all here, it may not be the majority of what’s here, but it is undeniably here.”

Global Radar: A queen departs

Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, died at the age of 96.

As the hagiographic tributes are rolling in from around the world, this is also a moment to reflect about Britain’s role in the world over the past century. And the reality is, there are many, many people from Africa, Asia, India, the Caribbean and Ireland who are today reminded of the suffering and economic deprivation caused by Britain, as well as the active demands for apologies and reparations for the U.K.’s colonial crimes.

For the Culture: ‘The Woman King’ is arriving

As a daughter of West African immigrants and a martial artist, I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to see the Dahomey Amazons get the Hollywood treatment.

Rebecca Keegan of the Hollywood Reporter sat down recently with actress Viola Davis and director Gina Prince-Bythewood to discuss their film “The Woman King,” which tells the story of the all-female warriors of the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1700s. Davis stars as Nanisca, the general leading the army.

There is so much in this article. Of course, in White male-dominated Hollywood, getting a movie about a dark-skinned army of women greenlit was going to be an uphill battle. Davis and Prince-Bythewood had to fight the belief that an all-Black cast for an action film wouldn’t attract audiences. (“Black Panther” should have shattered that myth.) And colorism came into play, too: They revealed that studio execs wanted them to cast light-skinned actresses for lead roles.

Growing up, I never saw myself or my African heritage represented in an action film, so seeing this movie will be meaningful for me. Still, I can’t help but feel “The Woman King” hasn’t gotten the promotion and marketing that it deserves. (Compare the film’s arrival with the hype around the “Black Panther” sequel.) Also, I am still waiting to hear whether the film will be released in Africa. I’d like to know what people in present-day Benin think about it.

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, here you go! I will see “The Woman King” by next week and circle back with my thoughts on it.

Fun Zone: Coleslaw controversy

Anyone who has followed me for a while on Twitter knows I have a tendency to get myself involved in massive food conflicts. I am a longtime soldier in the Jollof Rice Wars (Ghanaian jollof is superior to Nigerian, full stop). I thought I would have to go into hiding after sending the tweets that launched the Great Gumbo skirmish of 2021. To me, gumbo is not gumbo without okra. I have some thoughts about roux, but I value my life, so I’ll save that for another time.

Coleslaw, on the other hand, I have never liked. It reminds me of the dry cabbage with mayo I used to get for school lunches in Texas. So on Wednesday I tweeted (very innocently, I thought, by my standards) this:

And I got absolutely schooled in hundreds of responses. I really didn’t know so many people had so much love for cabbage and assorted vegetables in mayonnaise (or vinegar).

A very small but very vocal minority joined me in opposition:

And then there were those that added much-needed nuance to the debate. There seem to be a million and one ways to define good coleslaw.

I’m open to having my mind changed. If I can learn to accept Brussels sprouts, after a lifelong hatred of them, then perhaps I can do the same for ’slaw.

Cat’s Corner: Just hanging out

Artemis will be at the cat-sitter’s this weekend while I attend a conference in Austin.

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