It's Giving Black Cinema (Featuring Tre'vell Anderson & Ray Love Jr.)

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the BFF Blackfeftfem Podcasts, an iHeart podcast network.
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the award winning
Blackfatfem podcast. Well, all the intersections of identity are celebrated.
I'm one of your hosts, John also known as Doctor
John Paul, and I would like to know if Peter

(00:21):
Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers, did he know
them niggas was gonna be eighteen dollars?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Because why is food so damn high?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Why are we filling up the chip bags if it's
six dollars for them? I need to know, why are
we paying three dollars for air? That's what I want
to know. And no, I don't want to buy four
bags to get a cheaper price. I want the six
dollar bag to be full of chips so I don't
have to eat three other bags. It's really getting it's

(00:50):
grinding my gears. Please make one bag of chips full
of Lays Lays Smart And you know why are we
here sponsor the show Lays send us one of those
by didn't they send a whole bunch of influences boxes full.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Of like those golden Laigs chips.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
If anybody knows where I could get me some because
I got a tune of sandwich that I can eat
those chips with because I just but anyway, I digress.
I'm just I'm a little annoyed because I went to
the grocery store. I bought four things and it was
sixty dollars and I'm just like, okay, okay, I knew
I was at Ibersons. It's my own fault for stopping

(01:27):
at Oursons.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
I knew better.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
But anyway, it's just the prices are pricing and it's
really starting to work my nerves.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
But anyway, how are you joho?

Speaker 3 (01:35):
I love that would beginning every show with like the
first segment, it's just our personal grievances.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
With the world, and then we go on just really
like really like deeply good content.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Then we'll go back to the world like we have
something to say about the world right now. Teoo, I
love it is. It's your girl, Jordan ak ja ho
your best seat. I'm here tell y'all. Uh if you
haven't yet, man put me to the doctor, make up
one for yourself, love yourself enough to go ahead and
make sure you're good girl.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
Key, one's almost done us have a little check up
on you.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
I did that yesterday. I did not like the results
of the checkup. But here but here we are and
now I'm getting better. I'm I'm may be joking on
the way there, I'm getting better. So this is a
reminder to make sure that you use the tools.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
You have at hand, just to make sure that you
are good with yourself and come in.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Amen. Amen, that is a word. Please go to the
doctor if you can.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
As someone who watches The Pit religiously every time something
happens on that show, i'd be like, oh God, I
gotta go to the doctor because I don't need this
happening to me.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I definitely feel you on that.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
But anyway, this week, we are finally doing the crossover
episode that many of us have been tapped to do.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Many of y'all have been waiting for it.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
I am joined by not one, but two incredible journalist
divas media folks. Just your name them. When you say
that name in the room, it supersedes them. Everybody knows
who they are and they love what they're doing. They
are doing an incredible job at carving out space and
entertainment for dolls living at the intersections of media. They

(03:11):
host Seated the podcasts, where an acclaimed movie critic and
cultural writer teams up with a self debscribed, movie obsessed
and on air personality whose infectious energies and deep love
for cinema drive every episode. I know that's right, y'all,
better drive. I have to question, know what kind of
car are you driving? Is it electric? Is it a hybrid?

Speaker 5 (03:36):
Is No, it's an old school car because we y'all
it's tre vel.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Get to that. The voice you hear, the voices you
are hearing.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
I feel like it's an old school car because you know,
we about like sending people to the movie theater, right
and coming together, so like a like one of them
old school cars that you used to see on pit
my ride that they would gut and put like, uh,
you know, a jacuzzi in the middle, Like one of
them big old vans that the people used to live in.

Speaker 6 (04:07):
Yeah, I think it's like one of those.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Like coming to America with the very much given Okay, Okay,
Like is it a limo?

Speaker 6 (04:15):
No, I think it's just like a It's like a vanion.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
It's a van a van Okay, I think Ray he disagrees. Okay,
I mean.

Speaker 7 (04:28):
Down.

Speaker 8 (04:28):
I would probably go more like the bus route because
I love field trips and I think about school bus.

Speaker 4 (04:35):
School.

Speaker 8 (04:36):
Remember there is a clip going around now of Raven
Simonier when she gets the double Dutch bus. I think
it's a double Dutch bus.

Speaker 6 (04:45):
Double Dutch Bus.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Remix The Black moviegor experience with short film reviews, spicy
Hollywood takes, and playful Black cinema games.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Honey, I love a good game.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Please welcome Trevall Anderson and Ray Love Junior to the show.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
How are y'all? I just I love that y'all are here,
Literally the highlight of Hello.

Speaker 5 (05:07):
I'm glad to be back and with my fabulous seated
co hosts.

Speaker 6 (05:12):
Thanks for having guys.

Speaker 8 (05:14):
I'm excited to be here. This is our first ever
appearance as host of the show, so I'm so glad
we can do this here with y'all.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah Cherry, Yeah, well, I don't love Cherry's like that,
but I definitely appreciate one in my Almaretto sour or
in uh In in one of my Shirley what is I.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Was about to say, but.

Speaker 6 (05:42):
That's right, that's why.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
The weakness, man, my god, could you imagine me being
that red lobster be like, can I get a Shirley Seeson?

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Please look at me, like, what are you talking about?

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Anyway, all that to be said, we are about to
jump into the first segment of the show, Still Here.
This is where we give the iconic Miss Tisha Campbell
her flowers. And so this week we want to kick
off the show by saying we're still here and asking
the question that might not get us canceled, but might have.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Us in a little bit of trouble.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
So I wanted to know, since we're gonna be talking
about all things movie and film and things today, I
want to know what is your problematic favorite black film
and what does it say about you?

Speaker 2 (06:26):
So I'm gonna go first.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
Then I'm gonna throw it to Trey Veil, and I'll
throw it to Ray and then we'll throw it to
my co host and Diva George and we just we
and we're just gonna get into this just a little bit.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
I want to know what is it that makes you tick?

Speaker 1 (06:41):
So for me, I know if we talked about this
on the show before, and I actually haven't had anyone
clock me for it yet, but I'm waiting for the
day for somebody to try to cancel me because of it.
I am gonna say here and let y'all judge me accordingly,
that Norbit is my favorite problematic black film.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
And the reason.

Speaker 6 (07:05):
Not on the black fat film.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Not on the.

Speaker 9 (07:10):
I mean it's so good, it's so bad that is
should not you should not.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Be black fat them She is like shee is, stop
adjusting my seat when she gonna do it?

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, yes, when she asking for a wine cooler, that.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Literally trans yes. I literally felt that in my soul.
And it's my favorite film. And I don't care who
knows it. I know it's discriminatory, I know it's fat phobic,
and dare I say it's trash, but it is funny.
And in the words of our dear friend Xavier Dulau,
who is a friend to the show, sometimes oppression can
be funny. If I ever got to sit down with

(07:52):
Eddie Murphy and again, I know Travia you could probably
make this happen, I would want to know where his
mind was in writing and making that movie specifically, And
I know we were in a different in the words
of Tyrobiks, we were in a different time. We were
just in a really different time. I would like to
know where did it come from? How did he even
get it sold? That would be the question that I

(08:13):
would have. It's like like I would I would have
loved to have been a fly in that pitch meeting,
like going to Uh, it wasn't one of brothers, who
was it? It was a universal right, I think universal
was behind that. I would love to go down to
the universal in the Dreamwork studio. I would love to
know who said yes, let's make this terrible film and

(08:34):
just a lot of logistical questions because it's so bad
but it's so good.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Uh, what are y'alls? I would love to know well that.

Speaker 5 (08:41):
I that that that Norbid as a selection.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Is a choice.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
And you know it okay, but I also I also
have a choice, right geez? So the movie that I'm
gonna say is the hell I knew it shut.

Speaker 7 (09:08):
Up right.

Speaker 5 (09:12):
Because and or I was gonna say also like Hidden Figures.
You know, I love the uh story with a black
woman of yesteryear overcoming? Okay, come on in and the
help when when that later?

Speaker 3 (09:39):
What have you lost your mind?

Speaker 5 (09:47):
I just it's you know, I don't I know that
it's a problematic film.

Speaker 6 (09:52):
I don't even know if we would count it as a.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
Black I was thinking that at the time. I know,
I know, we can dive into.

Speaker 5 (09:58):
That conversation later, but that genre of film is gonna
get me every single time.

Speaker 4 (10:05):
That's fair. I do love a period piece.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
I love uh a civil rights stop here piece does
give me your time to Yeah, it just.

Speaker 6 (10:14):
Gives me watch it. You don't remind you that, Oh y'all,
we could do this.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
When she walked down that street, what she did.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
I love Viola, so please don't take this as me
coming for her. But at the end, when she wobbled
down that street and she had that one tear rolling
down her eye, I said, yes, mother, wha you know?

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Walk away?

Speaker 7 (10:38):
All right?

Speaker 6 (10:39):
I know what you what yours is racist?

Speaker 5 (10:41):
You over there, you act like you know everything got you.

Speaker 8 (10:47):
I knew instantly that tray vaill is gonna be the
Help or some white savior film because that is there
anyways going to be a cultural favorite. I find to
be problematic at all times. And that is the entire
Tyler Perry madea franchise. Everything about those characters is problematic.

(11:08):
They are caricatures of black culture that, while we find
them funny because we identify with them, from the outside
looking in. If that was all that white people or
aliens had to say black people were, it.

Speaker 7 (11:20):
Would be.

Speaker 8 (11:24):
Imagine the capsule that goes up into space and this
being what they discover. It's Tyler Perry Media movies. And
they come down like, Okay, if we need to to
integrate into black cultures, this is how we're supposed to act.
And they show up looking like Media's or Joe, we
would look at them, are damn crazy.

Speaker 5 (11:41):
Okay, But what if they showed up like Corra got
a little.

Speaker 8 (11:48):
We're not discussing the exceptions to the rule right now,
We're just discussing the problems.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
You got to cook, clean, you can do everything. Yes, yes, yes,
I am aware. I am aware.

Speaker 7 (12:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (12:08):
Well so I'll just tell you all that that is it?

Speaker 3 (12:13):
Is it Darry Darry Black, like the Terry's wife who
like goes to ship right that little song.

Speaker 4 (12:19):
She sings at the end, I play it.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
I feel like once we that that little praise song
at least once a week, and I was like, yes, I.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
Love to play.

Speaker 5 (12:29):
I am yes, Perry plays, I didn't even you might
be on your own if we get the plays.

Speaker 8 (12:41):
The plays is a separate because the plays are not
forever immortalized on the film.

Speaker 7 (12:46):
You have to be there to experience.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yes, Okay, so I was I was going to say
White Shakes was gonna be my my favorite film.

Speaker 4 (13:04):
But but as I thought about all, I don't think.
I don't think it's problematic.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
I think it's a critique on rich on rich socialites
and m right like, and I'm like, I find no
issue with Q Batman in person, white women. I know
you with it so problem I think not. I think
it's actually ahead its time. So I will change it
to Scary Movie franchise, which is awesome by the same

(13:28):
person keeping Abrey Wayne Well.

Speaker 4 (13:29):
I will say, I realized I really love has worked
so much.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
Scary Movie I think to this day is one, one
and two, particularly one because you like, like you can
never like my girl. Virginia Hall is like just just
like the queen of comedy.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
To me, like, I feel like I feel like I
feel like we praise.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
Her, but not everyone praises her in the way she
should be praised. She to me is like, like, there
is no higher level of comedy. I think, you know,
I think Malon, Marlon as Well Mallin and Dave Wains
and and in.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
That franchise is also hilarious. I'm excited for the number.

Speaker 7 (14:05):
This is it.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
Six ones's coming out soon.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
If y'all watch the screen movie, the trailer of the
new Scare movie come out with them not I'm very excited.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
And like in this movie was traumatic.

Speaker 3 (14:13):
Like when they had I always think about this is
this is so bad, this is so bad. But when
they had the and you would not have known this
language at that point, right, But like the trans pe teacher,
who's uh, you know, you know what happens and it
falls out and stuff, and I'm like.

Speaker 4 (14:31):
What a wild film. Wait a while film, but I'll
try to see it. Have a little chuckle.

Speaker 6 (14:37):
I was like, this was a different time.

Speaker 7 (14:39):
That's a different.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
It was a different time.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
When that girl snaps her leg and half because she
get't changed by the man, great comedy, she says, it's
not half I live.

Speaker 4 (14:53):
I live.

Speaker 8 (14:55):
My favorite movie going scene it's from the Scare Movie franchise.
It's when Regina characters in the movie theater and she
is doing the whole my face, get out my face
you on camera?

Speaker 4 (15:08):
You want can camera?

Speaker 7 (15:09):
Now?

Speaker 4 (15:10):
That ship all the time of the movie was jupid ship.
You want kidding camera, now out my face, my fate.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
You are candy camera.

Speaker 4 (15:18):
Now you love that ship, love that ship.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
You have to be a person of a particular age
to understand the reference to candid camera too. So it's
really really and I will forever be like I don't
hear love with Shakespeare.

Speaker 4 (15:33):
I'm like Shakespeare.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes you have you want Shakespeare.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
I love love shake his spear, my guy, Wait anyway,
now that you have called the N double a.

Speaker 7 (15:45):
C P or the end.

Speaker 4 (15:49):
A CP.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Now now that you have called the.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
N a a c P, because you can't stay double
no more. And well, this episode has derailed very quickly.
We are going to take a quick break to pay
our tides and come back with more show.

Speaker 7 (16:13):
We'll be back in the same.

Speaker 2 (16:21):
All right, y'all, And we are back.

Speaker 1 (16:22):
And this week we wanted to bring our guests into
a conversation about something I think we all can relate
to the black movie going experience coming off of the
award season. And yes, we'll get into that mess a
little bit later. It feels like this is the perfect
time to come in. I know that were I know
we're late. I know everybody's gonna be like, oh, Okay,

(16:44):
we're black. Of course we're gonna be a little late.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
That's crazy.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
But but with that being said, the elephant is in
the room and we want to talk about it.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
Put it was Dumbo.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
Dumbo, Yeah, Dumbo was sitting over there in the corner,
and we definitely want to make sure that we talk
about it and react, and we talk about all of
the stuff that is currently happening in the movie going experience.
And so obviously you're show seated, you talk a lot
about movies, and you talk about films and you talk
about the importance of them.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
What I wanted to kind of focus on.

Speaker 1 (17:14):
Today is thinking about this idea of how a lot
of film studios are still saying that they love to
champion diverse storytelling, yet their marketing and their audience's frame,
specifically their framework, it still tends to center whiteness and heteronormativity. Obviously,
we see a lot of that with people still having
conversations and having a lot to say about sinners just

(17:36):
a thing we want to name, right, So today I
wanted to unpack how black and queer audiences connect with
cinema and acts a couple of questions, specifically starting with
who's gaze really shapes the way films are marketed, received
and experienced in theaters. So I wanted to start off
by asking, as you both began your podcast, how did

(17:58):
you define the black experience on screen? And what does
that even mean to maybe someone who maybe has never
thought about that.

Speaker 6 (18:06):
Yeah, that's a that's a good question.

Speaker 5 (18:08):
So I let Ray start because the idea for the
show is, you know, the show's Raised Baby. Okay, I
just come and run my mouth, but it really is
Raised Baby, and I think he has such a really
interesting approach to this concept and question.

Speaker 8 (18:24):
Okay, yeah, so with your question, the ideas for suceed
it for me was trying to normalize black voices having
thoughts on what we see on screen, regardless of whether
or not we saw ourselves on the screen or in
the story, because I think a big part of the
problem when we think about the black movie going experience,

(18:46):
the black experience, the value of black voices in mainstream
spaces is that we're only subject batic experts on blackness,
whereas we are people are holding new visuals who have
experiences that, while yes, filtered through our blackness and our
blackness is a factor, it's not solely centered or dependent

(19:11):
on our blackness, Like I love because of connection, not
because of the color of skin. Like I can love
something or love someone because of how it made me
feel or how it expresses something that I have had
challenges finding a way to express myself, and so I
really wanted to create a space where black voices and

(19:33):
black people can be heard sharing how something lands on them,
whether or not it is a black movie. Like Trey
Bell and I are Last Hell five or six episodes,
I don't We kept saying, I ain't no Black people
in this movie, because these movies.

Speaker 7 (19:49):
They don't include us.

Speaker 8 (19:50):
But I'm still going to the movies, and I'm still
seeing this and witnessing this, and I'm still finding ways
to identify with the story is being told. And I
think that is a unifier in itself. It's understanding and respecting,
like our black voices still matter even when the story
may not sent her black nests, and also when there
are black stories on screen. Treva, I don't know if

(20:10):
you can remember what movie we were talking about, but
we both got into a discussion about how we love
seeing this character and the character was coming to this.

Speaker 5 (20:18):
Oh.

Speaker 8 (20:18):
I think it was last Holiday when we were doing
our Christmas episode, we talked about the Georgia character being
a character that existed in the black community, but it
wasn't a story about her blackness. It was just a
story about a woman who was experiencing the time of
life and wants to have adventure. And so that is
kind of where I see black movie goers still enjoying

(20:42):
and participating in cinema and movie going.

Speaker 5 (20:45):
So yeah, and I think I think what we're trying
to do with our podcast is because I think I
think it's important right to watch the white movies that
say that they are a comment on our world and
note that ain't no Black people in them.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yes, yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (21:01):
I think that is also part of of, to be
quite frank, the black experience more more broadly, right, it's
it's going into space as and being like y'all said,
this is inclusion and I'm the only one here supposed
to be Brooklyn and a black quar non trans person.

Speaker 6 (21:24):
Is in the space.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
These days.

Speaker 6 (21:27):
But well, but.

Speaker 5 (21:32):
Our communities are are still there, right, even in various
different ways, And so that's one of that's just what
we're trying to do with with Seated it's it's kind
of you know, creating a space where I guess I'm
supposed to be the acclaimed critic, Uh.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
You are, but are exactly who you think you are?

Speaker 7 (21:54):
Well?

Speaker 5 (21:54):
Yes, I am also to raise point to the to
the point of looking at and trying to have conversations
about like what is a black film versus what's not
not a black film? Right, diving into those many complexities.
And as a film critic, you know, I am someone

(22:18):
who has a host of expertise in a variety of areas.
And also we see the ways that many of us
get pigeonholed right to only talk about They only want
to call me for the Tyler Peri movie or the
real pack of production, right.

Speaker 6 (22:37):
They don't want to call me for Chloe Shao.

Speaker 1 (22:40):
Okay, uh, no one cares what you thought about Pogonia.

Speaker 5 (22:44):
Yeah, you know, right, we have an episode on Pogonia.

Speaker 6 (22:49):
Ck it out. But you know, so that's kind of
the idea behind Seed.

Speaker 5 (22:53):
It just kind of having really interesting, rich and fun conversations.

Speaker 6 (22:57):
About movies through a black lin.

Speaker 5 (23:00):
And more specifically black a black clear black trans lends
because you know, we're bringing our full selves into the work.

Speaker 8 (23:06):
I've worked on the other side of the rope. I
guess you can say, as a publicist and a marketing
person in the industry, and so where Trey Vale speaks
about them, feeling like they're only invited into speak about
Tyler Perry or Will Packer. On my side, like, I
was a part of a team that built up part
of an agency that was specifically tasked with finding and

(23:29):
targeting black African American audiences. At the time I entered
the industry, it was references urban but it feels like
such a data term urban, but it is. And yet yeah,
here we are, and sometimes we would I also worked
on mainstream titles, so when I first entered the industry,

(23:52):
I worked with the agency and my studio that I
was assigned was Lion Skate and the Weinstein Company, which
Lord my god, and I would often try to insert
and invite black media outlets or writers or journalists to
cover films, not because it was because these were not
black films, but I would oftentimes be tussling with the

(24:14):
studio representatives with saying, oh, well, we're not looking to
tap into that audience or we don't want that marketing
like this is something that has been recurring over my career,
and it's always been something I want to kind of
like find a way to contrast or to spell or
dispute because like black voices, our value been in all spaces,
not just spaces that you deem to be black. And

(24:34):
so yeah, Trade Vale is very apt in sharing their
experience as someone who's only felt like they can come
in and be tapped for black films, like no tap
us to everything, Like we have thoughts on everything. Our
voices are expansive, our experiences are expansive, and you need
to allow us the space and the access in order
to do that effectively. And you should be welcoming critique

(24:56):
from different perspectives because that is a thing that I
thin think makes art interesting.

Speaker 7 (25:02):
Art value.

Speaker 5 (25:03):
They don't, but that's because but that's because the the
the the the art, the skill and the purpose and
utility of criticism has been so diluted. Right, But they
don't actually want critique, They just want publicity.

Speaker 8 (25:20):
That's why. That's why it's so boring now. The rick
carpets are so boring. I was recently listening to Pena
Parker on I was say that how things have become
so sanitized because people just want to be praised and
glorified and not really dissected. And I think that's what
makes things so bland these days. Like if I to
do that, I can just watch uh whatever's Aaron on

(25:43):
E and it's like that's not my interest, Like I
I want a specific view on things that I can
relate to yourself.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yeah, So I was gonna say, I love that you
bring all of these thoughts up, and I was gonna say,
a child, we could get into a whole conversation about
having uh, these creatives on the especially as somebody like
I said, I don't proport myself to be a journalist,
but I did go to school for comms and for media.
I want to make that very clear. And that is
where my love of all things media comes from, is

(26:11):
understanding how it all works. And there's a whole conversation
about that, and I think you all bring a really
good take on it, right, especially you know again, and
I don't want to say this to negate your work rate,
but I think treveall, knowing that you have a degree
in journalism and focusing on how do we critique a film?
It is important and then also right for you to

(26:32):
be able to say I've worked in media, and I
know how these things are supposed to look and how
they're supposed to feel. That there's a lot there to
to unpack, So I definitely just want to say I
love the work that both of you are doing, and
I appreciate it.

Speaker 8 (26:47):
And I think it's worth sharing for context that I
am a comm professional. I have a PR degree, but
my training is out of a school of journalism. My
PR program was in the Florida a University School of
Journalism Communication, where we have the the foundation and the
training of a journalist, like we were required to participate

(27:07):
in student media student journalism. And I've done journalism work
throughout my career, like I've written for like black media outlets.
My grandfather has owned and started a local newspaper in.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
Law No, that's right, Okay, Yeah, a lot.

Speaker 8 (27:24):
Of works in my perspective on things, which is why
I respect the journalism community so much. Shots in ABJ
that was that has been like one of my cornerstones
in my career and one of the places where Trey
Bella and I were able to really uh mature and
grow our relationships. So I value journalism just as much
as the next person because of my training and foundations.

Speaker 5 (27:45):
So yeah, yeah, I also just want to say, you know,
because yes I do have you know, a degree or
to praise the Lord. But also but also they are
a host of really great journalists who don't, right, who
have still gotten a different kind of training, right through experience,

(28:07):
through community in newsrooms, through through the practice of of
of of telling a community story and being held accountable
by that community. And so you know, the the the
training is cute and and important. The formal training is
cute and important. But also folks can get that kind

(28:29):
of of of ethical uh uh guidance and and direction
elsewhere you know as as well. And those are often
the differences you find. It's not between who's got the
degree and who don't got the degree. It's it's through

(28:49):
who's done some kind of training, some kind and in
in some kind of relationship for example with an editor,
right with some with somebody who can give you a
little bit of rial.

Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yes, yes, yes, I know about Yes, I was gonna
say about this all day.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
You know, I was gonna say to you and this
is gonna go into the next question that I have.
But I will also say to you know, as someone
who didn't go to Jay School.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
I will say I have done a.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
Lot of journalistic programs, and so I'm very grateful like Pointer.
I've done two programs with Pointer that really helped figure
out what again in terms of critique, it really helped
me understand how to write and critique a film, a show,
anything in media, per se right, And so I agree
with you wholeheartedly and that that wasn't supposed to be
a I didn't intend that to be a slight for anybody.

(29:44):
But what I'm saying is is I think we need
to be to Nina's point, and we had Nina on
last week. To Nina's point, we have to be intentional
about the folks we're bringing into these spaces to talk
about these things, because we know that media is doing
everything that it can to take our voices away. So
just wanted to throw that out there. But I was
gonna say, I thinking about the black moviego or experience I.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
And I want to make it very clear that I,
you know, I want to be real clear when I
say this.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
You know, we don't want to give too much away
to make white folks feel like they should be comfort
comfy in our space.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
So I want to be careful about us given too
much away about the black moviegoer.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
Experience, but I do want to say from you know,
audience response and community energy to collective moments of joy, critique,
call and response, like what what about the black movie
go or experience is so important for us to like
have but also to hold in this moment.

Speaker 8 (30:48):
I think for me, I think when I am in
a space with other black people experience in this movie
or this, this, this work on screen, having blackness, the
sounds of blackness shout out to the group around you
as you're absorbing this thing only enhances that experience. I

(31:09):
had a viewing of G twenty where I was able
to attend a screening that was I guess a hybrid
of like a media and community partner influencer screening.

Speaker 7 (31:19):
It was for G twenty, which is a prime.

Speaker 8 (31:22):
Video movie that should have gone to theater, should have
had a theatrical run. But that experience was so much
better because I had the black aunties behind me reacting
and giving those audible responses when the black characters were
doing things that you know, it was just like, oh,
a sis, what are you doing here? And it's just

(31:43):
like it reinforces what you're thinking and what you're experiencing
in a way and also informs you to like what
is funny and what is something reactive to other people
who are like you, and it kind of like I think,
helps build that that muscle of culture to me. So
that's why I think being experiencing movies with other black

(32:05):
people is bar none when it comes to seeing films.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
Amen.

Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, yeah, I think there's you know, we we listen
disclaim a black people are not a monolift.

Speaker 6 (32:18):
And also we we can be a vocal people.

Speaker 5 (32:27):
Uh huh yeah here, okay, we we we can be
a very embodied people, right, and that obviously often adds
to an experience.

Speaker 6 (32:41):
I mean, I do want to note sometimes I don't want.

Speaker 5 (32:43):
That fair fair, you know, sometimes certain movies gotta.

Speaker 6 (32:49):
Cut that out, yeah, very fair.

Speaker 8 (32:52):
Like, I mean there are times where movies came out
where I was like, Okay, I want to be able
to absorb this and I'm just going to go to
the Metro Johnson.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
Theater because I know what I'm getting there.

Speaker 4 (33:02):
I forget out.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
Well, I mean it was fun, but I'm just saying
there were moments where I was like, y'all got to
calm down now because I can't hear you know, no shape.

Speaker 5 (33:10):
But that's also why I do believe in you know,
there are different kinds of theaters for different kinds of experiences. Here,
I'm gonna go down to the ball when he'lls Crenshaw
mal when I'm watching a kind of movie where I
want my people's you know, go and embodied responses. And

(33:33):
if I'm not interested in that, maybe I'm gonna go
down to the Alamo Draft House.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Okay, I pick or the eye, pick you a blanket,
lay down in a chin.

Speaker 5 (33:44):
You know, I might go to the Universal Studios, Universal.

Speaker 1 (33:50):
With the nice get with the heat, you know.

Speaker 2 (33:52):
You know, you know people have nice spaces too.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
No, yes, talking about the experience per se, I think
when you know, I want, I want to be where
the niggas are, Like there are mindleave where you know,
where you want to be with your people. And then
there are moments when you really want to take into
film like at you, I get.

Speaker 5 (34:14):
You and times right because like you know, I recently
had the over the winter break, had the chance to
see the Preacher's Wife in a theater, you know, the
original film production in a theater. It wasn't that many people,
but you know, it was a lot of black folks.
That was a beautiful, wonderful experience seeing Sinners at the

(34:35):
Hollywood Cemetery, you know a few months after it had
come out, right with folks dressed up and all of
that beautiful wonderful experience. But I would not have liked
that experience my first time viewing Sinners.

Speaker 6 (34:51):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (34:53):
And and so that is all to say that the
black movie going experience is a cust the experience. It
can be whatever you want your black movie going experience
to be.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
You gotta watch.

Speaker 6 (35:07):
You could also wait to just watch it at home,
which you us streaming. I love us streaming recommended Ray hates.
I shouldn't say, hey, but Ray ray prefers the movie.

Speaker 2 (35:17):
You feel, do you.

Speaker 8 (35:18):
Sound like my immerse yourself in it, like allow yourself
to be absorbed and consumed, swallowed if you.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Will swallow swallowed.

Speaker 1 (35:27):
Yes, I love a reference. Uh, y'all know, I speak
in memes, so it's very I love. I love to
see it. No, I agree, I I I'm very much
with you on the Centers. I've seen centers, so I
saw Centers in theaters two times, and then I obviously
I bought it and I watch it at home and
it's one of those films that I just like. I mean, actually,
the other night before the Oscars, I watched it again
because I just felt like I wanted to see it.

(35:49):
But I was gonna say the first time that I
saw Centers, it was a It was literally almost close
to getting ready to leave the theaters. And then I
saw it again in theaters when it came back for
the the seventy millimeters.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
I forget. I don't know where I was when I
saw it. I think I was up in San France
when I got.

Speaker 8 (36:06):
Set doctor John Paul just that minute that they were
not a part of opening weekend numbers, which is why
Variety or Hollywood Reporter was reporting those aheads you know,
get in there opening weekend times opening the box office.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
So honestly, I'm gonna be transparent about that. The reason
why I did not know what that film was. That
was why I was not a part of the first week.
It took people being like, have you seen this film
for me to go I've never got Because I'll be transparented,
I didn't. I knew absolutely nothing about that film going
into it. I only knew that other black people had

(36:41):
asked me, have you seen Sinners? And I was like,
I have no idea what that film is, and you
have to see yeah, right right, And mister Coogler has
got a lot of my money. Trust me, he's gotten
a lot of my going Black Panther I raised over
think it was sixteen hundred dollars to get people to
go see Black Panthers. So trust me when I say,

(37:03):
mister Google has gotten a lot of money out of me.
But I will say ultimately, I again, I didn't know
anything about it, but I'm glad I do, and it is.
It is on my docket of one of the best,
in my opinion, one of the best cinematic films that
has ever been created. And also I know that there's
a lot of critique because there are a lot of
queer people saying, well, you didn't think queer people existed

(37:24):
in the thirties. I hear it, I understand it. I
want to make sure that you know these conversations can
be nuanced, but all that to be said very much
at the time James Baldwin's altue truth can exist at
the same time. So before we get out of this category.
I wanted to ask you all kind of, you know,
to close, kind of put a cute bow on it.

(37:46):
One thing I keep thinking about, you know, especially knowing
that I listened to your podcast and I've heard you
all kind of mentioned this. I would love to know
what would it look like if we were allowed to
be the default, if there were films out there that
truly film studios, not even just films, but film studios

(38:07):
who said, let's center queer, trans disabled black perspectives in
TV and film and not just added us on as
truly part of a cannon.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
How do you think the movie industry would shift?

Speaker 8 (38:21):
Mm hm, that's a question because I think when I
think industry, what industry prioritizes it is capital, and I
think the idea of centering any one thing is the problem.

(38:41):
And I my perfect world is a world where everything
has equitable space and equitable access and equitable screen time
and equitable possibilities to exist across the board. So it's
less about centering blackness and being the default, and more

(39:04):
about sharing the space, Like when what is the what
is the campaign whiten the lens? Because I just don't think.
I think when we discuss the idea of making a
default that automatically excludes people. And I don't love the
idea of exclusion at all, which is like I wish

(39:25):
exclusion and inclusion didn't it didn't exist. That's a binary
that I'm just like, what is the point here? So
that's kind of my take on that.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
That's really.

Speaker 5 (39:35):
You know, I mean, I think, hmm, yeah, plus plus
plus to everything, right said?

Speaker 6 (39:43):
And also, you know.

Speaker 5 (39:47):
What, will considering the role that we know media to
play in everybody's lives, right, how it is both a
tool of education as well as entertained right for folks.
If if one of the major studios, for example, were

(40:09):
to say that you know, say seventy five percent of
their annual slate will be you know, diverse movies, right,
whether that's black lead, Latin led, you know, queer, whatever, diverse.

Speaker 6 (40:25):
Lad What that.

Speaker 5 (40:27):
Would do, both for the industry and for the audience
is it would require them to have the kind of
experience that we already have going to the movie theater
and moving through the world, right, which is having to
see a host of people who do not look like

(40:48):
you and still finding ways to glom on to those
aspects of representation right, and so we as black folks,
as queer people, trans folks, et cetera, we have an
immense skill set that we don't always think of a
skill set, but it's a skill set right to be

(41:10):
able to to project and forecast ourselves onto pieces of
culture that don't.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
Look like us.

Speaker 5 (41:21):
Many white people, many people from the dominant to culture right,
don't have that experience right right, which is why when
they look at a black movie, when a studio had
looks at a black movie, one of the recurring bits
of feedback historically that we know black filmmakers and creators

(41:43):
to have received is you need to put a white
character in that so that the white i eve dominant
audience has somebody for them, you know, has an access
point for them.

Speaker 6 (41:57):
To get through the story.

Speaker 5 (41:58):
If you've seen the film The Verb the forty year
old version by rodal Blank, yes, yeah, it explores this
concept beautifully.

Speaker 6 (42:08):
And so I know I'm rambling, but my point is.

Speaker 5 (42:10):
Not at all if if the industry were indeed to
treat us as a default, I hear your point Ray
about exclusion wati wa boo boo boo.

Speaker 6 (42:21):
Yeah, but if they were.

Speaker 5 (42:23):
Indeed to treat us to treat other to treat diversity, inclusion,
the fullness of identity as default. Right, I think it
would be an interesting exercise for the dominant culture. I
wonder how that might shift our individual relationships on a

(42:47):
community level. Right, if more and more folks you know,
just had to go through life for a year only
seeing folks of color, only seeing to say, people only
seeing you?

Speaker 6 (43:02):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 5 (43:04):
I think, at least as an intellectual exercise, I appreciate
the offering of the question because I think there is
immense possibility.

Speaker 6 (43:13):
In that kind of shift. But they're not gonna do it.

Speaker 1 (43:18):
No, No, I already know they're not. But I think
for us, just you know, living, And that's the one
thing about this show that I try to build, is
this idea of like, what does expansive look like? Beyond
us sitting here and saying the industry doesn't see it?
For us, yes, we all know that, but if we
were to dream it, go ahead?

Speaker 5 (43:37):
M hm. And also right, because I hear that critique
about the industry more broadly, And also I think it's
important to note the personal responsibility as consumers that we
also have right in this And so yeah, universal Studios
and Warner Brothers and whomever else may not have the

(44:00):
kind of things that you are looking for and desiring,
But I promise you there's an independent filmmaker on YouTube
who does Yes, there's an independent filmmaker on vimeo who does.

Speaker 6 (44:13):
How and on the tube on the tube.

Speaker 5 (44:16):
And so how can we, as the audience right assume
a posture of responsibility in this conversation to also find
and seek out right those creators in that work that
is there that is representative of the fullness of our
lived experiences, and not just complain about you.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
Know, the Yeah, I was gonna say to your point,
and again, I know again, we could talk about it
for days, but I was gonna say, y'all may cancel
me for saying this, but I don't care. Y'all keep
watching heated rivalry, and that's the reason why we're not
getting more queer content with black people, because y'all continue
to keep watching content that has the whites and it's

(45:02):
it's it's nothing wrong with the whites. But what I'm
saying is if you keep watching that content and you're
telling them that it's it's you know, am I am
I am?

Speaker 2 (45:11):
I am I wrong? Am I wrong.

Speaker 6 (45:15):
I'm just saying something.

Speaker 7 (45:17):
They'll know that.

Speaker 8 (45:18):
I just I just recommended Heated Rivalry for our audience.
In so I'm probably one of the reasons why.

Speaker 7 (45:25):
But he is.

Speaker 1 (45:26):
I'm saying, if we keep continuing to if we keep
not saying we shouldn't.

Speaker 6 (45:31):
But I'm just watch Heated Rivalry, but also go watch
Mister Love of.

Speaker 5 (45:35):
Man fabulous you know British series, right, watch Heated Rivalry,
but also watched.

Speaker 6 (45:45):
Oh yes, on the YouTube, there's a.

Speaker 5 (45:47):
There's a series called him h I m it is beautiful.
It is beautiful, wonderful queer, transgressive, progressive black work that
is out there that you know.

Speaker 6 (46:01):
I'm sure they would love your view.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:04):
So I'm just saying, if we only watch one without
the other, we're doing the true disservice to the wet
the point of yes, to.

Speaker 7 (46:12):
The point of the system.

Speaker 8 (46:13):
I think oftentimes what happens in our community is that
we wait for folks outside of our community to validate
a thing and make it legitimate to support it. And
that's something that really grinds my gears, because I'm like,
this thing has existed in front of you for so long. Yeah,
yet it wasn't until it made it to Hollywood or
made it to whoever's mainstream platform. Is for you to say, oh,

(46:38):
that's something that we need to praise and lift up
because the white people say it's worth it, then the
white people have invested in it, so it must be
something worth worth giving. The times when it's like while
these people are at their ground level building.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
This thing, that is when we should be supporting them.

Speaker 8 (46:50):
And I want more more of that because that is
what I think A part of the genesis of black
filmmaking was like it was from within and it was
a thing that we when we realized we were not
welcome in a space, we took the initiative and did
it ourselves and built within ourselves. Like we come from
the world of Madam C. J. Walkers, where it was

(47:12):
like we created our own ecosystem of business. And that's
kind of what I want to get back to. It's
like having our own things and not saying I have
to sell this thing to a network to be legitimate.

Speaker 2 (47:21):
That's man.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
Yeah, I could be here all day with y'all talking
about just this thing alone, but we are we are
at time. So with that being said, now that we
got y'all ready to fight the president of movie past.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
If you know, you know, we.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
Are going to take a quick break and come back
with more show.

Speaker 2 (47:38):
We'll be back into say all right, y'all, and we
are back. And while we are a.

Speaker 1 (47:48):
Week late and a dollar short, we are talking about
the Oscars this week, and I just wanted to ask
a quick question for our What's Popping segment for those
of you who don't know what What's popping is? This
where we talk about pop culture, all the things that
we love, all of the things that we're seeing, all
of the things that the social media is going off about.
And one of the things that I wanted to bring

(48:10):
up in this week's What's Popping is really thinking about
in your opinion, kind of staying with the whole television
film of it all. Thinking about it is just a
quick question, a quick blip for us to just really
think and tune about the Oscars reinforcing respectability politics within
black and queer creative communities. Additionally, I have seen and

(48:33):
heard so many notes that we need to create our
own and tre Vale. You kind of alluded to that
in the last segment, right, and same thing for you, Ray,
you were saying we really need to look at a
better system for ourselves to not wait for the people
at the top two validate us. But also we do
know that these people at the top and then these
systems have to validate us for us to make some money.

(48:55):
So I guess the question that I'm asking is how
do we do that with TV and film when we
barely want to give access to what's already created.

Speaker 2 (49:06):
So I would just love to know your take.

Speaker 1 (49:08):
I have a lot of thoughts specifically thinking about the oscars,
and I've even said this within a lot of just
being a quote unquote creative, it takes a bigger name
to vet you before you can quote unquote start making
a lot of money per se.

Speaker 2 (49:24):
And it's hard.

Speaker 1 (49:24):
It's hard because it's a system of oppression, and we
know how systems of oppression work, and so all of
that to be said, I think it's a very nuanced,
but I would love to get y'all's take on it
before we jump into, uh, the last segment of the show.

Speaker 7 (49:39):
You know.

Speaker 6 (49:41):
So here's the thing.

Speaker 5 (49:42):
People always be like, you know, we gotta build our
own or we gotta you know which which sure I'm not.
I'm not rejecting that. But the reality is also that
we do have our own and y'all don't watch it.

Speaker 6 (49:57):
Speaking under end it see.

Speaker 5 (50:01):
You know, speaking of you know, even black women in Hollywood,
you know, which is now streaming.

Speaker 6 (50:13):
You know, there's a host of you know.

Speaker 5 (50:15):
More community oriented opportunities, right that that that uplift people,
uh as as well. I think I think one of
the things that I would offer is something that one
of my favorite critics, Brooke Obie, constantly pushes out, which

(50:37):
is less about.

Speaker 6 (50:38):
Creating a new system.

Speaker 5 (50:41):
By which we we are are cherry picking who gets
to be regarded and and.

Speaker 6 (50:48):
Who doesn't instead of doing that.

Speaker 5 (50:53):
Just like showing up right for our phones, you know,
and how kind of demonstrating our love. I think about
how Brooke with her platform Black Girl watching, she hosted
a number of juke joint sessions to discuss the movie

(51:15):
with folks who wanted to discuss the movie. Yeah, right, Like,
I think that if Ryan Coogler heard that, he inspired
this black woman critic to create any of that phase
right where they did dived where we I attended one

(51:36):
of them, where we dived into you know, this movie
and all of its many aspects, right I think he
would be like, dang success.

Speaker 4 (51:46):
Yeah you know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (51:47):
I think I don't.

Speaker 5 (51:48):
Know, And so how can we create more environments like
that where we the people, right.

Speaker 6 (51:54):
Can really be the barometers of of.

Speaker 5 (51:58):
What success looks like, both from a kind of of
honorific standpoint as well as a financial standpoint, right, because
people do need to be paid, you know, they do
need to pay their bills, and I want them to
be paid just like their counterparts are getting paid.

Speaker 4 (52:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (52:17):
Yeah, I double tap everything that Trey Bell said. I
was coming in with the same kind of reaction. I
definitely think that when it comes to the be it
build your owner, create your own idea, it negates or
kind of like disregards all the things that have been
like the NAACP.

Speaker 7 (52:38):
Awards, like the Trumpet Awards.

Speaker 8 (52:40):
Once upon time was the Essence Awards that predated the
Black Women in Hollywood Awards. But these things cease to
exist because they lose funding or you know, they're seeking
a certain type of mainstream success or or or or
targeting expansion or growth in the way that seems to
be the antithesis of just existing for the community. And

(53:04):
I think it's important just to understand that when these
things exist, you need to show up for them. As
someone who has been a community organizer for so many
years now, I've led an organization. I'm specifically Film Good.
I'm here at Walkwood right now, where I have been
building and creating a space for black independent filmmakers, specifically
to show their work and be in community with their work.

(53:26):
And the biggest challenge is getting people to show up.
Space is for a year and despite outreach, despite trying
to create the space, the challenge is getting people to
simply show up. It's like, we're here, but if you're
not showing up in support and the thing, the thing
won't exist because on Star I feel like there's not
a need for and it's like very mansa meeting a

(53:47):
demand type of situation.

Speaker 7 (53:49):
So just show up.

Speaker 6 (53:50):
Yeah, Can I say one last quick thing just.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
Right?

Speaker 5 (53:55):
I was just reminded that, you know, back in what
year is this twenty sixteen, working at the La Times,
I did a story.

Speaker 6 (54:02):
You can look it up.

Speaker 5 (54:02):
The headline is there's talk about bringing back the Black Oscars.
The Black Oscars, more formally known as the Tree of
Life Awards, was an event held the night before the Oscars.
It was created so that the black folks right could
come together before the Academy Awards presentation and honor their folks.

(54:26):
It was created by a lawyer based in Washington, DC.
His name is Albert Nellum, and it was a group
called the Friends of the Black Oscar Nominee and all
of it was about honoring the Black Oscar nominees. They
stopped doing the event because I believe it was the

(54:50):
year two thousand and two there was a historic number
of black folks nominated and to this group and collective,
this is a group and a collec that involved the
likes of Cicily Tyson, Maya Angelou, Sidney Poitier, Ruben Cannon,
who was a noted casting agent back in the day.

Speaker 6 (55:12):
So these are legitimate people. But they stopped doing it.

Speaker 5 (55:15):
Because I believe it was two thousand and two that
year there was like a historic number of black folks nominated,
and those folks are like, oh my god, we've done it.

Speaker 2 (55:23):
We did it.

Speaker 5 (55:25):
To say, so often the spaces that we create are
in response to the exclusion of the white spaces, so
that when that white space does have its moment of reckoning.

Speaker 6 (55:39):
In the summer of twenty twenty right, and.

Speaker 5 (55:43):
Oscar so white happens, and and those kinds of demonstrations
of surface level inclusion because our spaces are often created
in response to that exclusion. When we start to feel included,
we be like, oh, we no longer need our space,

(56:04):
and so what would it look like in creating our
spaces to create them agnostic of the mainstream, right, irregardless
okay of what the mainstream is doing, what would it
look like to have our spaces?

Speaker 2 (56:21):
You know?

Speaker 5 (56:21):
And we do have some of them, I want to reiterate,
but I just wanted to share a little bit of
that history because it is a recurring conversation, right that
that we have, particularly in this concept.

Speaker 6 (56:32):
So thanks for offering us.

Speaker 8 (56:34):
And honestly, that idea is why CEDA came to mind.
Like I was someone who was in the movie theaters
three four times a week, and I am a podcast
I guess nerd, and I was finding that there were
no black podcasts that specifically h spoke routinely about first
one films if they were not black films, And I
was just like, I just want a space to be

(56:55):
heard into, like hear opinions from people that think and
live like me. And and it wasn't because someone did
something over here or because the space space did not
include us on their show. It was like, no, I
just want to hear us, right, So yeah, to that
point is right on the nose with that.

Speaker 2 (57:14):
I know that's right.

Speaker 1 (57:15):
Yeah, and I and again I appreciate you bringing to
the forefront that there needs to be something for us
but foo boo by if you want to, if you
want to go there, but the importance of it needing
to be for us, by us, and it not being
like you said, in response to something else, it needs
to be for us and holding space for that. So

(57:38):
I just I really appreciate you all bringing that uh
concept to mind because I think as we're sitting and
as we're watching again, I know we were moving out
of Oscar season, and you know, we're getting ready to
go into the summer and movies are coming out and
all of that, I would really love for us to
start thinking about what does it truly look like for
us to not necessarily be vying for inclusion from an
from an org or from people who don't really want

(57:59):
to see it for us, and really thinking about what
does it mean to be seen because we want to
be seen in the way we want to be seen.
So but that being said, now that we have given
you one more reason to watch Sinners one more time,
but also get the tickets ready for Michael and Is
god Is, because I know both them films about to
be good. We're going to take one more break and

(58:21):
come back with our yes Pam and I know Man Pam.
All right, y'all, and we are back with your favorite segment,
the yes ma'am or the no Manpam. This is the
segment where we give people their flowers or we hit

(58:41):
them with them. And this week, I'm gonna go ahead
and start. I'm gonna throw it over to our guest
Travail and Ray and then we're just gonna go ahead
and jump in with Jojo and we're gonna close out
the show just to just you know we.

Speaker 2 (58:54):
I feel like this week we're.

Speaker 1 (58:55):
Gonna have a lot to say and a lot of
it is gonna tie into the theme of what we've
been talking about way, So I'm gonna start here. I'm
just gonna say my yes ma'am. This week, Michael B.
Jordan's run. I definitely love this for them. I feel
like he has been working very hard to get his flowers,
and I'm so happy to see him getting them. I
saw that clip again of him shading that girl who

(59:18):
called him corny, uh, and I said, I hope to
be in that position one day. I hope to be
able to just look at somebody and be like, remember
when you said this thing about me.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
It's so good to see it.

Speaker 1 (59:29):
Though it's, hey, you hating outside the club when you
can't get in. My God, it's it's got to be
a vibe. I also wanted to shout out that Teriyaki
Chowmain didn't win anything.

Speaker 2 (59:42):
That also is that it makes me, it feels me
with so much.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Joy that Toyota Corolla didn't get nothing.

Speaker 8 (59:58):
How many variations of this name can we find?

Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
A Coda? You didn't get nothing? So nice? Wow, a
beautiful thing. It is a beautiful thing to see. Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
So in terms of my no man Pam this week,
mine is a little petty. It's really stupid, but it
is one of those things. So I drive an SUV,
and if you drive an SUV, you understand that, Uh,
the compact spacings are not compact.

Speaker 2 (01:00:31):
I get that.

Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
However, there are people who continue to drive big ass
cars and they park and they always are over the line.
And so I'm in the mind of like, if you
know your car is too big to park in the
regular compact space, why not find another open space so
that way other people can park next to you. So, my,

(01:00:54):
that's just my my pet peeve this week. My my no,
ma'am is just people who drive big ass cars and
just they park over the line. That is just a
peeve of mine. Especially cyber trucks is very much a thing.
I call them big ass trash cans. When I see
a trash can in a compact spot, it really it
literally appeeeds me. It peeds me. I know it's petty,

(01:01:16):
but at the same time, I just really felt the
need to say that anyway, we're gonna throw it over
to travel and ray, what are your yes, ma'am?

Speaker 2 (01:01:21):
Say your no MAM's this week.

Speaker 7 (01:01:23):
Honestly, I'm with you.

Speaker 8 (01:01:24):
As a big body human myself, I actually appreciate spatial
awareness and have spacial awareness.

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
So yes, you know, decider.

Speaker 5 (01:01:34):
Truck people needed to know to notice, they need to know,
and we see you encroaching over, you know, calm it down,
just goes park in the corner, Okay, well that's face
over there anyway. Okay, So my yes ma'am Pam and
no ma'am Pam. I'm gonna start with my nomam pam
hopping off of our awards seasoned conversation. My no man,

(01:01:55):
Pam is people not using their platforms to talk about
the politics at the center of their projects.

Speaker 6 (01:02:04):
Y'all know what I'm talking about. That's weird behavior to me.

Speaker 5 (01:02:07):
Why are we making a body about it if you're
not gonna talk about it for real, for real, for real.
That's my no ma'am Pam because it just really grinds
my gears because what are we doing here?

Speaker 6 (01:02:19):
You know what I mean? What are we doing here?

Speaker 5 (01:02:21):
And so y'all know who to send that particular clip to.
But my yes ma'am Pam. Where I want to focus
all of my energy for y'all today. French fries. Home man,
home made French fries.

Speaker 6 (01:02:37):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (01:02:38):
Get you a little potato, okay, peel it and chop
it up, Toss it in some Tony's okay, and sprinkle
it with some some some flour and some corn starched
little bacon soda as well.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
Pop it.

Speaker 10 (01:02:53):
Oh so tasty that it was violent.

Speaker 7 (01:03:05):
I do.

Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
It's good. I had me.

Speaker 5 (01:03:13):
I made me some French fries yesterday. That just really
set my spirit right. And I want to offer that
to you all as well. Make yourself some French fries
with or without the Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:03:29):
Today, my god, today you're murdering a girl. This is
the one day in my life where I cannot lie
or I will cough and up a long.

Speaker 4 (01:03:42):
I have like the four lungs now. Jesus, that's your friend.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Don't don't make.

Speaker 4 (01:03:51):
Me live right, don't be lived, because I'm gonna die.

Speaker 7 (01:03:56):
Be really quick. Yes.

Speaker 8 (01:03:57):
The last time I said yes, ma'am was actually seeing
Sundeia on that Oscar stage and that brown I think
it was like silk.

Speaker 7 (01:04:05):
She looked so good. It was so simple, but it
was so good to me.

Speaker 8 (01:04:08):
And she is my continuous yes ma'am Pam because she's
about to have a hell of a run this year.
She has the drama coming out April third, which will
be our return for our season of Seated, and that's
hitting theaters, and then following up with that is April twelfth,
is I believe the premiere for the upcoming season of Before,
if I'm not mistaken, And then she's routing out the

(01:04:29):
year with doone three in December. So it's just like
she's about to have a hell of a run, and
she's like contrasting, I think, and half the waysier that
she's about to have. So we're about to have a
little bit of fun with one of our black leading
ladies over in Hollywood. So that's my yes, ma'm pam,
my nomam, pam is going to people who get up

(01:04:50):
the moment of flight lands. The seat belt sign has
not been turned off, the flight attendants have told to
continue staying in your seats, but you're so pressed to
get your bag out of the overhead cabin or overhead
stories that you jump up the minute the plane lands.
This happened to me recently on a flight. I was
sitting next to a woman. She was in the middle seat,
and she kept trying to get me and the lady

(01:05:13):
who was sitting in the eye to be her co conspirators.
And I was like, ma'am, I'm not with you one
that you're on your own. I'm not about to sit
here to allyship and this is not how allyship works.

Speaker 7 (01:05:24):
Like she was a white woman, of course, I.

Speaker 8 (01:05:26):
Was like me coming in and putting myself at a
risk white list because we huh.

Speaker 2 (01:05:33):
Was she crying? Did she cry?

Speaker 1 (01:05:35):
Oh?

Speaker 8 (01:05:36):
She She got recommended by the flight attendant who hollered
and yelled at her. Right, I know, ma'am, sit down.

Speaker 1 (01:05:41):
I was like, yes, yes, yes, sit your white ass down.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Yes, I love to see it. I love to see it.

Speaker 4 (01:05:54):
My god, who Ray? Why are you? Why are you
so funny?

Speaker 7 (01:05:58):
Like?

Speaker 4 (01:05:58):
Why like you knowles, you not be funny?

Speaker 7 (01:06:01):
Oh my god, I'm being honest.

Speaker 4 (01:06:03):
Okay, so you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:04):
Said you said, Hathaway, and it took me out because
we are like I. I'm afraid to bring it up
because I don't want to bring attention to it.

Speaker 4 (01:06:13):
But I know, oh yeah, video circulating.

Speaker 2 (01:06:17):
Of my and.

Speaker 4 (01:06:23):
Hath the way. Yeah, I want to a moment to
defend my girl.

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
It was a I It was never her. You don't
see her say it, you don't. You don't see her
say it, You just hear her in the background. I
think it was someone toy with the voice box. It
could not have been her because now because now and
see what, you'll never prove it. Okay and Hathaway, get the.

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
Show and come on down to the show and explain yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:06:51):
People are culating this this clip for this movie that
she that will not name, that she has spent no
time in the world ever trying to bring back up
into lexicon of the world.

Speaker 4 (01:07:00):
I am enraged because I'm like, we have to stop.

Speaker 3 (01:07:02):
But also Love Black Threads is like, no, she you
have the wrong person. That's not that's not our girl,
and you will not ruin them for me. Okay, down
with that. Well, True was really famous.

Speaker 1 (01:07:14):
You could sit down with her travails, reach out to
her people, investigation.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
Trans t g A, investigations.

Speaker 1 (01:07:26):
I need you to sit down and have to wait
and have her explain herself.

Speaker 6 (01:07:32):
Okay, sure, sure, stay.

Speaker 4 (01:07:35):
In Like why that work come up in the movie?

Speaker 3 (01:07:39):
I know so I was in five, But you could
have just said like like like just tell us it
was a I girl.

Speaker 4 (01:07:43):
We can move we can move forward with it. Okay.

Speaker 3 (01:07:45):
So my true my real mamam against maampam is it's
dual purpose. It's a yes ma'am pam, which I said, no, ma'am,
it was yeah, So yes ma'am pam to not not
to the content itself, but to the work it took
to brit To to to break out, to break the
investigation of such such Javes and all that has happened
and transpared when he was alive, and how I impacted

(01:08:08):
folks in the harmworkers movement and the woman the woman
that that that suffered from that suffered from sexual soul
from him. That took years of work to do. And
I think at a time where people are constantly just
trustful media, especially legacy media, it demonstrates why why legacy
media is so important in some ways and like and
it was interesting because I like all the folks who

(01:08:29):
were like fuck new York Times, the first people to
post the post of the story from New York Times,
I'm like, do you not understand how? Like how like yes,
media sometimes is not great, but when it's good.

Speaker 4 (01:08:39):
It's fucking good.

Speaker 3 (01:08:40):
Like this was like like it was really like like
I imagine hard reporting, but like fantastic reporting and really
like good storytelling.

Speaker 4 (01:08:48):
Like I had chills really reading it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:50):
It was and like you know, you know that they
spent they spent years making sure those stories were corroborated,
that went they went through thousands of documents and recordings,
right like they know, they got to prove what happened.
And I think that's really it shows when journalism is good.
How powerful it can be them is my heart hurts
the news and hurts the people that that how people

(01:09:13):
may may, how people probably likely feel about it, the
folks who are impacted, folks who are impacted by it.

Speaker 4 (01:09:18):
I'm sad that the people.

Speaker 3 (01:09:20):
Who are like like why these women take so long
to say something, or like people coming for Doloris whare
done asking like why why she waits so long and
not understanding like I, I can never understand that the
choice that they had to make up. Do I share
my opinion or do I say nothing? So the movement
can and the work can go forward and people won't
tear it down right because people are already attraying and

(01:09:42):
tearing it down, and so like I hope people who
listen to this can understand that one like one like,
it's not it's not our place in any way to
ask those questions, like.

Speaker 4 (01:09:54):
The question really the question really is like how could
what what?

Speaker 3 (01:09:58):
What could what could have been done make a space
a safe space, a space safe enough for folks have
come forward earlier without the fear of the movement of
the work not happening. What how can we have how
can we train men who lead these movement works to
not like, to not be predatory, and to not and
to not attack and to not attack and harm folks

(01:10:18):
like there are other more questions, questions that we could
be should be asking, But really my heart goes out
to anybody who is impacted by this other they're really
impacted or impacted by the news of it and how
it is showing up for them and their lives, or
if they have felt pride in the work. I know
here in San Diego there is literally like like like
one of one of the biggest streets that run through

(01:10:39):
that Lats neighborhood is such a Vice Parkway and now
and now that's already a move to get.

Speaker 4 (01:10:45):
That renamed, which I hope I hopefully do. There's so
many mirrors javes there.

Speaker 3 (01:10:50):
I like, like like the Modlet school I went to
growing up with called Middle School, and there's a big
mural of him mirror School. So I'm so curious of
how that will shift, but I hope, I I hope
that they will. I hope that cities and you know,
local local governments will do things that help one of
the folks who also made like who also made made
the work happened because it wasn't just one person in
the first place.

Speaker 4 (01:11:10):
I would love to see you delas problem everyone.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
Yeah, yeah, like you know, like I see like I
see like a Larry Ito who was a Filipino farm worker,
Like I want to see like work about him.

Speaker 4 (01:11:23):
So there's so much more that can be done.

Speaker 3 (01:11:25):
But I also will say it's it's interesting how in
one day people have moved so much to take to
take your ship down, but we haven't done.

Speaker 4 (01:11:33):
That for many people and for many other white people that.

Speaker 3 (01:11:35):
Have been doing some while that ship too now less.
I'm also like, can we like wake that up as
well too?

Speaker 4 (01:11:41):
Like hm hmm, okay, people.

Speaker 3 (01:11:45):
Like listen, like people in the FCEE files still get
to go out on the day, kiss some babies, assaulting
women and pay.

Speaker 7 (01:11:53):
For while ship.

Speaker 3 (01:11:56):
Yeah yeah, we all hear statues and and and street
names already within twenty four hours.

Speaker 2 (01:12:03):
Amen. Amen.

Speaker 1 (01:12:05):
Yeah, I'm with you when you're right. I'm with you
when you're right. And we know why. We we definitely
know why there and we can we could literally do
a whole presentation, we could do a whole episode about that.
But all that to be said, thank you everybody for
sharing your things. And and you know, please send us
your your feedback and email to Blackfatfempott at gmail dot com.

(01:12:27):
We love to hear from you, We love to read them.
You can also send us your thoughts via social media
by interacting with our posts on Instagram and via threads.
Because you know, we are nowhere near of that x location. Uh,
there's no there's no reason to be over there, so
if you're looking for us over there, you won't find us.
With that being said, travel and Ray, where can the
dolls find you?

Speaker 5 (01:12:49):
You can find me on Instagram at raison or at
slajeon or at black Movie Posters because we just be
doing a lot over there, and you can find the
show seated at seated Show everywhere except Twitter, I think
is a good way to describe it, and particularly on

(01:13:12):
the youtubes.

Speaker 7 (01:13:13):
Okay, okay, go ahead, right, yes, I'm plussing up. Follow
us at seated Show.

Speaker 8 (01:13:19):
We also have a movie club so you can join
us over at cetshow dot com slash join and also
my personal social it's just my name, Ray Love Jr.
Very uncreative, just me and like my faith Willam and
Wim says, follow me online but not in real life
and we hope you tap into ours that we're trying
to have.

Speaker 1 (01:13:39):
Yes, you're trying to have no ts Madison situations happening
over there. Yes, that is an absolute no man, Pam.
So please, if if you want to catch me out
in the streets, please no, I can't protect myself, all right,
a queen johome, where can it outside?

Speaker 4 (01:13:58):
You invite me? Y'all can find me. But gasping for breath,
girl life bitch already.

Speaker 3 (01:14:10):
Of course you gotta find mess all socials, I wanna
say joins dot com.

Speaker 4 (01:14:14):
If not there, you will find me. And I'm breathing
to apparently, because god, damn, I bitch cannot go one
minute without coffee.

Speaker 9 (01:14:24):
Yes, why God, walk home. I ain't no gonna time
of that. Damn my god, Oh my god.

Speaker 1 (01:14:36):
This is the foolishness and the clownery that's for me
and for mine. You can find me online at ww
dot dottor John Paul dot com, where you can learn
more about my consulting, my books, catch it, and where
I will be in the coming weeks. If you want
to watch more or learn more about the show and
how it was made, you can head down to the

(01:14:56):
Hulu and watch who I Am meant to be, where
I talk about the magic of this show and the
importance of black queer media such as our show and
shows like Seated.

Speaker 2 (01:15:07):
So ultimately, please go watch that. This has been another show.

Speaker 1 (01:15:11):
Stay Black Fat femine fabulous and remember what Jojo.

Speaker 3 (01:15:14):
We may not be a couple of tea girl, but
drink some watercas AMPM got the two for the dollar
specials right now and the reason why you should be
thirsty or ashy the street te tee yes, and.

Speaker 1 (01:15:24):
Just because it might be cool where you are, you
still need the odorant. But that's another conversation for another day.
We'll see you next week.

Speaker 4 (01:15:32):
Bye.

Speaker 3 (01:15:39):
The Black Fatfem podcast is executive produced by Joey Patt
and Doctor John Paul.

Speaker 1 (01:15:44):
All content related to the show is edited by Chris Rogers.

Speaker 3 (01:15:47):
This has been a podcast by iHeartMedia and Doctor John Paul, LLC,
The Black Fatfem Podcasts where all the intersections of a
nanny are celebrated.

Speaker 4 (01:15:55):
Honey, I know that's right.

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