April 8, 2024 • 52 mins
In this conversation, B. Monét discusses her origin story, inspirations, and journey to becoming a filmmaker. She emphasizes the importance of black girl representation in media and the need for softness and care in storytelling.
She also discusses the challenges she faced at NYU and the power of film; as a medium for expressing emotions and showcasing the full humanity of black women.
Her new film, “Black Girls” is a love letter to emphasize the importance of Black girl joy and self-care, as well as the power of sisterhood among Black women. Highlighting the importance of connection and seeing each other. Monet understands the impact of centering Black women's experiences and is dedicated to making this a common thread within her work.
Connect: @CariChampion @DirectherBMonet
Watch the Trailer: BLACK GIRLS Trailer
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Learn More: B-Monet.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everyone sees us as like almost like this pretty cake,
but it's untouchable. You want it, but you can't have it.
It's like you're enticed and repulsed at the same manner.
You know, it's the Kylie General at all, right, where
you want all of that, but you don't really want
the true embodiment of what it means to be a
black woman. And so I want to show a black
(00:22):
women that I see you, I love you. This is
a love letter to all of these that was be Monette.
She is a thriving young writer director and she's doing
some great work. I hope you really pay attention to
this podcast. If you are a man and you're listening,
pay attention to it for your wife, your sister, your girlfriend, whomever,
(00:44):
and then share it because this lesson today is about
black girl joy and we all deserve it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Rat Is Suspors and then the Tamement King Naked Wind,
Chary Chapion, the car CHAPPI is going to be a
championa champion and carri Chapi and they champion the car
Chapion and carried Shep.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
And Entertainment Naked Ward.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Hey, everybody today on the pod, we have an award
winning writer, director, filmmaker b Monet. She has made quite
a name for herself in a space where there are
not that many Black women, so kudos to her. Her
latest film, Black Girls, is an exploration of intergenerational healing
that traces the spectrum of advocacy among Black women from
(01:34):
a variety of different angles. Excited for you to hear
and learn more about be Monette and why her story,
but more importantly why this film guys, this film Black Girls,
we should watch it. It is necessary watching because it
is an educational film that we all need help us
understand who we all are and what we can be.
(01:57):
I hope you enjoyed b Monet.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
On Naked Champion and Cared she Be and and care
che Be.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Where I usually like to start is this beautiful origin story.
And so when I read your story, a lot of
your inspirations were my inspirations as well. So this is
a beautiful thing. Growing up in Maryland, you had all
of these visions and they were beautiful of what you
wanted to do. How did you ultimately learn that you
would be a storyteller?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So I grew up watching like Brandy and loved Molesha
and loved the fact, I feel like maybe Mara did
this in a lot of ways. But I feel like
a lot of black women who watched Molsha wanted to
be writers, and so seeing Brandy, seeing folks like Oprah,
I think in tandem, maybe did something to me. I
think media is such a powerful medium, and so I
(02:44):
think from there I was just like, ooh, this writing thing.
How can I, you know, get into writing more? And
so it was really beautiful that my dad believed in me,
and he's still like my biggest cheerleader. He was like,
why don't you also think about photography? So he bought
me a little film camera that I still have today,
and you know, it was in the black and white
(03:06):
what is it the dark room? You know, exposing photos.
So I think seeing those folks taking photography classes, taking
also documentary and journalism classes in high school was very
instrumental in me wanting to become a filmmaker. And I
had the beautiful experience of studying abroad, which I don't
(03:26):
think always black students can do, and was on scholarship
and that was able to happen. And I think when
I went to Italy and got exposed to Italian cinema,
that just like blew my mind all the way up
and I was just like, Wow, I could do this
film thing. Maybe not journalism, but I think film opens
(03:46):
me up a little bit. So my parents loved that
I was crazy. You know I can say that now
because you know, they were definitely not supportive at first.
They're like, you want to be a starving artist. You
literally lid to one of the best schools just to
be a starving artist. How does this make sense? But
it all breaks out, I think right. And so got
(04:09):
into NYU. That was a challenging experience. I was one
of the only black American students and then woman at that.
But I think starting my experience there creating the first
film about Sarah Bartman Hot and Top Venus, who was
paraded around Europe. That was my first film that I
(04:31):
did there, I think I was making a statement that
I do want to make stories about black women and
our stories and just showing our full humanity in our
interior world. So you know what's interesting what you said
about mar is really interesting. I've been a fan of Mara.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I just recently had the opportunity to meet her, probably
a month ago. But you know, soccer on ig she's
friends with friends of mine.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
And.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
The way in which she's able to reach so many
people at so many different stages of their lives. It's
really to me very it is a gift from God.
It's very appropriate that you think about her. And one
lady said to her. We were having at dinner, and
the lady said, I'm glad that I know. I don't
know a world where there is no Mara. Everything that
(05:18):
you've touched has really changed me as a black woman
and my experience as a black woman. And I don't
necessarily know if I ever looked at it that way
until that moment, which is why I was so interested
in talking to you, because she is a part of your.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
DNA in terms of how you create. When you think
of people who.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Inspired you, who are they who really truly like their
work really touches you and it inspires you to keep creating.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Well, mar is definitely one. I think there is no
girlfriends right, there is no what is it living singling?
I know she didn't do live in single Just like
thinking of the different show especially from the nineties, that
were so instrumental. I feel like in black women, black
people seeing ourselves, you know, sisters sister, you name it.
(06:11):
All the movies that they, you know, love. I feel
like I love Twins because twins were such a thing
like growing up from like Mary Kate, Nashley Olsen to
you know, Tia and Tamara. Loved all of that. But
I think also in terms of filmmakers, I have to
also give it up for Spike Lee just the things
(06:32):
that he's done, right, Like I love Four Little Girls.
I love his documentary work. Also, you know, a lot
of people always talk about, you know, his narrative work,
but I think there's something very special about Four Little
Girls or When the Levees Break that I think was
very instrumental in me, almost like fusing documentary and narrative
(06:53):
into my work. I lovede Rees. She's another black woman filmmaker.
She did. Yeah, you have to watch your film please, Okay,
I will, Okay, Okay, I'm so blond? Okay, good? Okay,
how did I not? Okay? Good? Go on, John Well.
(07:17):
I mean a lot of black folks have inspired me, right,
Like I love Boys in the Hood. I love what
the messaging of that film. You know, Yes, there are
things that happen that are sad and that are tragic,
but there's also that community aspect that I think is
really instrumental, and uh, just that I worry and I'm
(07:40):
just like worry about that.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Okay, we'll pick up here, go back and tell me
the last part of you, the the one particular I said,
tell me about the different people who have influenced your
work and what you like. And you've named a list,
and you talked about the last thing you said, I
think when the notification came in was the Boys in
the Hood, and tell me about John Singleton and Boys
in the Hood.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Come on active listening. She said. Okay, maybe scene were
leaving all of this end, but yes, I love John
(08:27):
Singleton's work, right. I loved what he was doing with
Poison the Hood, had the messaging that he had in
his film or in his films. I love also Higher Learning,
one of my favorite films. I think there are a
lot of filmmakers who just only did like one film
in the nineties, and that's really troubling to me because
(08:48):
I think helean up at a time where it wasn't
a lot of pioneers. So I love also Julie dash
who did Daughters of the Dust. Also Chryl Denier who
did a great film called Watermelon Woman, Melon Woman.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
To mean, listen, you have a do you need to create,
which you may have already done, a list of films
that you that are that are necessary for us as
black girls to watch, because I think that the reason
why this is so important. And even watching the opening
of your film Black Girls, it was so it felt
very intimate. But for the first time in a long
(09:27):
time there was my senses were moving, meaning ey sight, sound, smell.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I want to.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Feel every bit of this experience of this black girl.
And then cut to my blue Alison Felix, and I'm
all like, wait, there's so much there's so much depth
and character here and you're so and I mean, I
don't want to just say this in a way that's dismissive,
but you're at such a young age, you have such
a grasp on what you see it to be and
(09:59):
as a black girl, I want you to tell me
about this film and why you had to make it
one of your latest projects, because before you've had you
have a history. Like I said, we've we've seen you
do so much, so much work you work with Toronto,
who I love, You've done some other I mean, everybody
that I love has uh you have touched them in
some form or fashion. In terms of the black women
(10:21):
that I look up to, the black women who were pioneering,
but you as a trailblazer pioneering, and I think it's
important for us to understand when you put this film together,
what were you trying to give us as a gift
As a black girl.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I've never had someone articulate all that to me in
that way. So try not to get emotional. Please get emotional,
because this is where you need to, we need to
and that's what you were able to give us the
emotion that sometimes we don't want to show or share.
It's yin and yang right for me, you know, I
(10:58):
ad the opportunity to go to an HBCU. I went
to Spelman, and from going there, I think it really
was almost like this aha moment. If there's so much
diversity within our community. We're not monolithic. We all come
in different shape sizes, experiences, stories, and I think I
(11:19):
always kind of use it as a blueprint to say,
how can I empathetically show the dope women that I
know we all go through different things, but I think
that sometimes there as similarities of like, oh, I didn't.
I'm not going through that right now, but that meant
maybe the next chapter of my journey, and oh, this
woman is like showing a whole representation of what it
(11:41):
means to go through healing, you know. I think I
was on my healing journey going through Black girls shedding
all the dead weight, right, like not people pleasing doing
shadow work. I know that people don't always like that
word if you're a Christian, right, But it's just meaning
going to the ends of yourself and trying to find
(12:03):
the rainbow again. And I think I wanted to show
black women that there is a rainbow even though you
may go through a lot of stuff. And I don't
know if I can curse, Yeah, you can't. You can
sit right, that's a lot of shit, a lot of shit.
Then nobody knows about trendsetters. Oh we get. I feel
(12:28):
like it's the thing of everyone sees us as like
almost like this pretty cake, right, but it's untouchable. You
want it, but you can't have it. It's like you're
enticed and repulse at the same manner. You know, it's
the Kylie general at all, right, where you want to live,
want to ask, you want all of that, but you
(12:49):
don't really want it the true embodiment of what it
means to be a black woman. And so I want
to show black women that I see you, I love you.
This is a love letter to all of us. There
are a lot of stories that we couldn't necessarily put
in because you know, films are finite and you can
only tell them within a limited time and scope. But
(13:13):
I hope that people get a little bit of the
gloriness that I see of what it is to be
a black woman or a black girl who's just trying
to figure out some stuff, you know, Like we're dropping
in the middle of some of these women's journey and
they show us what it is to navigate. And I
think that that's important because my work has always centered us,
(13:36):
and I'm just so tired of showing or seeing trauma.
I didn't want to show baby Mama trauma. I want
to show how do you fight through? How are you?
I don't want to show victims. I want to show victors.
And so I think that's always been in the fabric
of my work and it will continue to be. So.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, the vision of watching girlfriends and seeing yourself and
Moesha and Oprah and seeing ourselves. Uh, and then the
not the two point zero but the latest iteration. And
I was having this conversation with so many of my
peers and my colleagues. What I admire is your ability
(14:22):
to take our narrative and make it our narrative and
share it sends the trauma, right because we all know
we have it. But when you think of black girl joy,
what does that look like to you?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh? I love this? Yes, the best question. It's like
you've been doing this or something. I've been once or twice.
I did it. I did it last week and then
today and then work it. I can sell like whatever
you want to keep doing it. I want to keep
doing it. Oh, Rare, Like I said, you're so great,
(15:03):
Thank you. But I think it's so it's so layered, right,
it's self acceptance. I think this world is telling us
so many times that you can't show up in your
full humanity as you are, as you present, whether you
wear extensions, you wear braids, you wear weights, you wear
(15:23):
you know, eyelash extensions, you wear whatever, you know what
I mean. I just want black women to show up
as who you want to be and do that to
the nth degree. Don't let anyone stop you. Don't let
anyone tell you who you can't be. I think this
world wants us to hate ourselves, and I'm saying, do
(15:47):
not do that. Do not succumb to that reality. There's
so many things in this world through media, like your
popular page could really literally be telling you that you
are wrong. You are wrong, and I'm saying no, be
the quirky, funny, big hearted person that you are. However
(16:11):
you show up, do that and if there are people
who don't like it, respectfully, disrespectfully. If y'all like, whether
you want you want to in or you want out.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, but it's hard to arrive there because to your point,
society will say to you, Carrie, your heels are too
high for work and your skirts, your skirts are too short.
But I'm comfortable. I'm You're that's on you. If you're distracted,
I feel comfortable. But it takes a while to arrive
at that point. And you have been able. Even talking
(16:46):
about your experience at NYU, I.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Was tough for you? And was it tough because you
felt like you couldn't bring your full self? Was it
tough because everything that you believed that was right was
considered wrong. I mean, I think it was just because
I was also at the time one of the youngest
people in my class. I also am very black in
(17:11):
my identity in terms of like I went literally to
an HBCU where we are indoctrinated to love ourselves. So
being at a place, you know what I mean, that
is saying you are the best of the best, and
then literally to be met with why are you telling
a story about this woman? You're a racist? Like, like
(17:31):
one of my classmates thought that I was racist because
I literally wanted to tell a story about what happened
to a black woman. Unfortunately, in history, they literally took
this woman from South Africa and paraded her around, treated
her horribly, didn't pay her, you know, examine her body
because they thought she was a freak show. So I'm
(17:53):
just showing what happened in reality and what I wanted
to do, which I don't know if I accomplished in
the film. But again that's why you're supposed to try
it out in art school. Is that do we know
if she escapes or does she not escape, and does
another black woman see her and sees what's going on
(18:14):
and says I got to come to the aid of
my sister. And so that's what I was trying to express.
It's hard to do that with no dialogue, right, but
it taught me the exercise of at least trying out things.
And I think black women should be able to try,
you know, we should be able to fail at things
and not be punished. A lot of people shouldn't still
(18:36):
be in jail for we right, Like, yeah, they me
have Yeah, the.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Boys on the block, you know, they let them free,
free them, Yes, yes, I gotta be calling you guys.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Tell me.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I'm like, if I could start it all, they would
be free, freed the men for doing the work God's work.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Work.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Hey, everybody, I appreciate you for being patient, but we
have to quick break fast forward through the commercials if
you'd like, but we'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Thank you for listening to Naked.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Every Champion and Carry Champion is to be a champion,
a champion and Carry Chappion and Carrie chat be out
a champion and Carrie Chappion and Carrie.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Chappy Entertainment and Naked Weird.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Harry Champion and Carrie Chappion is to be a champion
of Champion and Carrie Chappi and Nigger Playta Champion and
Carrie Chappion and Carrie Chappy.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Naked Ward.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Naked. Today's guest is b
Monet and she's given us some jewelry jims as the
kids call it. Hope you enjoy. I love what you
just said. Black women should be allowed to fail and
try things and not be punished for that. That little
(19:52):
society we'll try to tell us we should be punished
for that. And your feeling, your your your your film
is healing. I also want to go a little further
with that idea. When you picture subject matters for the film,
what was the common denominator between all of the women
you highlight in Black Girls?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, I would love to say that I'm a genius,
but I'm not. You know, I have a lot of help,
I know amazing producers. Okay, okay, share share the wealth.
I can't say that it was all me. I would
say it's you. You're so smart, Thanks for picking all
(20:34):
the girls. Okay, okay, yeah, I like everything was up here,
but also no shade. But a part of my process
is having pre interviews and so review people kind of
before the process just to see are we gonna gel together?
Do you make sense for this story? Maybe you don't.
(20:56):
Maybe we need to do like one of the women
that we ended up dying documenting. She didn't ultimately end
up in the film, but I think a documentary on
her alone should happen. Okay, So you know, you never know.
I think you kind of have to be okay with
this kind of tetris situation where it's like you're trying
to figure out puzzle piece together who would be right?
(21:21):
And also what I was looking for to your point
around like intentionality is who could like emote on camera?
Who doesn't have a rob with like expressing themselves because
nobody's trying to see nobody lifeless on camera? Yeah? Yeah,
you know they can't have problems being transparent around the
(21:45):
stuff they've gone through. Or you know, how much are
they going to allow us into their house? So and
house meaning not just like their physical house, but like
who they are? How much are they going to show?
And so I'm always here is with like documentary film,
how much are they actually gonna show us? Because if
they're not gonna if they're gonna be guarded, it's not
(22:07):
gonna work in documentary, it'll show and then you'll feel it,
you'll hear it, and we can't do that, so can
you Jo?
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Sorry, Yes, it's interesting that you say that. And I
think of Alison as quiet. Allison Felix wanted the first
one to be featured in Black Girls. I think of
her as quiet. I think of her as a silent warrior.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
And I've had the opportunity to interview or I know
her for a very long time. So for me, if
I was doing this, I would have upon initial thought,
I would have been like, can she tell the story?
But she tells it so perfectly because she draws you
in and she makes you want to listen, because she
does speak like this, because she does have this tone.
(22:53):
So if you are going to pay attention to what
I'm saying, then you have to pay attention to what.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I'm saying, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
But I'm like, this is genius. It was it was genius.
Whoever whoever, it's genius. Everyone takes credit. It's genius. And
I and I and I ask you this, when you
think about all the films that you've done, in the
projects that you've worked on, is there one that you
love more? You love them all? Or is there a
you know what I mean, because I have so many
(23:23):
reason I'm like, love murdered that that was amazing, or
I'm like, oh that's I could do better next time.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
I could be more prepared.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
But the end goal is I did feel a connection
when I am talking, and that's what I hope to
do with all of your films. Is there one that
you love the most or love the least? And you
can be honest because when you started out, I'm sure
you weren't doing exactly what you envisioned.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Right, And sometimes you still sometimes are like, am I
getting closer to the thing? You know? It's like, oh no,
do you feel like that? Like one be not there yet?
I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. I'm not
there yet.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
But what you gave me was liberation, and you said
that I have I have the ability to fail and
try again and not be judged. And for whatever reason
we feel like we should be judged. Are we accept
this judgment?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Well, there's a lot of Like, as much as I
love being black, right, there's also a lot of Sometimes
we can treat each other very hard, like we're very
harsh towards each other there's a mishandling sometimes and there's
a roughness, and I think I'm very interested in softness.
I'm very interested in care and tenderness, and not not
(24:43):
just because I'm a woman, but I do think that
there we do need tenderness, whether you're show up as male, female,
non binary, I do think that we need that. So
I think, even going back to your question around like favoritism,
it's hard to say because there is right a favorite project,
(25:04):
but it doesn't mean that I still don't give my
all to every project that I sure you know, have.
I think, for me Queen, my short film that I
hope to make as a feature film one day, it's
still like my little engine that could you know. Before
my grandmother passed, you know, she gave me a couple
thousand dollars to like make this film. I had to
(25:27):
go on Indie Go Go and really hustle for that money.
And I think that there's something about I guess me
being in this industry where I hope that it gets easier,
but I think because of how I present, it's still
people are still I think surprised at like a black
woman leading and being the captain of the ship so
(25:50):
I still kind of like revisit, like you're still a hustler,
You're still you know, a rapper with the camera, and
you gotta still kind of like push your mixtape, which
is my films out here. So I think Queen just
always like reminds me to like, wow, I really had
the audacity to have all these extras and like direct
(26:10):
this and like have almost like the behind the scenes
of it was crazy. El Varner was in it, and
she like literally was in my film and I literally
just hit her up on Twitter or x now and.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It's forever Twitter, but go ahead. I was like, who
was calling this at? But I hear you go ahead.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I know, Okay, it's Twitter. Yeah, I'm like, bro like
fuoling with that man. It is Twitter. Okay, what kind
of exactly exactly? But no, I just that is a
part of just a project that's really near and dear
to my heart. And I think it was really like
the first time where I also felt creatively safe to
(26:55):
make something, and I think sometimes I'm still in search
of that. I think it's been hard in recent years
to like find collaborators who don't come from a space
of ego or insecurity, and so I think I'm still
wanting sometimes to go back to Queen days where it
felt like everybody was just down clause. And so I
(27:16):
think that project for me is still like just very special.
I love that. I love Queen. You guys, go check
it out. Where can people see Queen? You know, where
can they see it? You have a website? No with
(27:37):
with your projects up there? Now, I need to do better. Okay,
So it was a little engine that could. It was
like on Aspire TV for a long time. Okay, I
have to double check to see if it's still on Amazon,
but it's just been out there for a while. I'm
also wondering if I should just release it on my website.
So it's there, But because it's like a proof of concept,
(28:00):
I'm like trying to navigate if I should just put
it out there because you know, people can sometimes take things. Yeah,
I guess exactly. I get it.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
You want to your IP to be protected. Okay, well listen,
I ask that because I'm going to ask you a
series of black girl questions because I think you're you
are healing us one project at a time, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You are healing us one project at a time. But
you know.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
When you say we mishandle one another, what does what
does soft look and feel like? For a black girl?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
It looks like this right, You're seeing me, me, seeing
you us not interrupting each other, like letting someone finish
their thought and like really he like really like letting
their words penetrate. So it's not you're missing it. You know.
(29:02):
It looks like maybe just sit this one out and
just like let the person just get all the tears out,
all the everything out, and just maybe just hold their hand,
like just being there, you know, being a soft place
to land, being a comforting place to land, maybe planning
(29:23):
things for your friends where you see, Okay, she's a
single mom. She hasn't had maybe a day to herself
and being like, you know what, she doesn't have a
man right now. But I'm going to be her surrogate
man in this moment, and I'm gonna book her a
spa day. I'm going to let her feel like the
queen that she is. And I just wish that people
(29:44):
would be a little bit more service space service oriented
in the way that we treat ourselves. You know, I
think a lot of people, especially in the dating space,
want so badly to have a partner, but yet it's
like we still wouldn't really know what to do with
that partner because we haven't healed. So I think, like,
(30:05):
and look, I say that with someone with a boyfriend,
but you know, I've learned a lot being with him
of like, oh wow, we shouldn't have said that. That
was really nasty, Like that was not fine. So having
the mirror, like being okay with being a mirror to
someone and like and maybe you're wrong, like saying I
(30:27):
sup the way that I said that or the way
that I approached that that wasn't cool, And I hope
that you'll give me an opportunity show up differently. I
think these are all ways that we can just be
a little kinder to each other. I think, you know,
I get so tired of seeing I think we all
get tired of seeing the killings, the shootings, all of
(30:49):
the negativity. But I think I want us to like
almost make positivity like a thing that goes viral, like
even how you collaborate with your collaborators, right, like showing
what does radical leadership look like? You know, what does
paying people well look like? What does check ins look like?
(31:10):
You know, I think it's just all these things.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
That yeah, like the girl the paper got me, I'm
all a with Hello, Yeah, what does what does black
girl Joey look like for you?
Speaker 1 (31:26):
For you? Oh wow? I love traveling. I selfishly like
one of one of me all the black people around
the world, honestly and make stories and like have the
most beautiful experiences with humans, because you know, like my
parents struggled, but they were able to help me out
(31:48):
and let me go to Italy, right because as much
as it was helped from my school, was also then
putting sacrificing all that, and so some of their sacrifice
I literally felt. I feel like I've become more like
a global citizen and I've been able to see cultures
that I probably would have never experienced if I didn't
have that experience of going abroad. So that's definitely one.
(32:13):
I think it feels like this therapy, like beautiful conversations
with another black women or a good good friend, I
don't know, eating something good, like really good my ass off,
like looking good, like dressing up. I love to dress up,
(32:33):
being in the ocean and letting it kind of like
wash over me and kind of having this baptism experience
where I just feel like washed over by the water
and kind of like even baths make me feel like
that too, where I'm just like I'm just washing off,
letting it it go, and like candles level good candle
(32:54):
and perfume. Amen.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Every champion and every champion is the be a champion,
a champion and carried Chapion and Carrie Chatty a champion
and carried Chapion and Carrie.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Chby entertainment getting naked word.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Harry Champion and Carrie Chappy is to be a champion,
a champion and Carrie Chpy and the girl a Champion
and carry Chapion and Carrie Sheby entertainment getting.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Naked work really really quickly.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
The other black girl experience that I want you to
talk to me about what does black girls in sisterhood
look like? And what I mean by that is that
oftentimes we feel like there can only be one and
there's a competition, And I want you to talk to
me about what black girls in sisterhood in partnership and connection,
(33:49):
what does that look like?
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Well, this one might be a deep cut because as
much as I've gone to a historically black college, all women,
all female rights elmen l day and also have kept
I mean, I'm very communal, right, I'm very tribal in
(34:12):
my thinking, and I really want to see us be
the best that we can be. But some black women
have really scarred me and black guarred me in ways
that I think I'm still trying to process and heal from.
So I think black sisterhood or black woman's sisterhood and
(34:40):
leadership and coming together. You know, it looks like acknowledging
the ways in which we've we've hurt each other and
if it makes sense to reconcile with that person, you know,
I'll spury it in details. But there have been projects
where I've h black women in leadership positions and they definitely,
(35:06):
unfortunately haven't always shown up as their best. And I
take accountability too, But it's made me be like, as
much as I want to work with my people, and
that is I'm you know, black all day, I'm still
trying to figure out, can we not have a crabs
(35:27):
in a barrel situation?
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Go on?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Where I get in this? In this project, I may
be the director, but that doesn't mean that I still
wouldn't do what you're doing, or even lower than that right.
So I don't know how to answer this one because
it's it's just tricky because I keep on feeling like
every time I'm hiring or wanting to give someone a shot,
(35:55):
it blows up in my face. So I don't know. Yeah,
I mean, I can tell you what I'd like for
it to look like. I'd like for it to look
like truth and honesty and transparency and real love, like
a goape love where it's like I really am with you,
not just in the good times, but the bad times,
(36:17):
the ugly times, the times when you want to off yourself,
the times when you're like why am I here? All that?
Seeing me through and seeing us through that. That's where
I'm like, where are those women at where are those relationships?
Because I feel like these days people don't have the
capacity for realness. They just want low maintenance friends. And
(36:39):
I'm not a low maintenance person. I'm a deep person
and I'm looking to go to the end of the
earth for people. But I just don't find that. Sometimes
black women or some that I have met want to
do that too, So I don't know, that's real. No,
(37:01):
that's real. You said so many real things, and.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I concur I've had black women that I love and
look up to that I've been dying to meet or
wanted to work with, And when I finally had the opportunity,
I'm like, WHOA, this is so disappointing.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
And do you think that it? How did we get here?
Speaker 3 (37:25):
Like, how, in your opinion, do we get to the
point where we just don't want to embrace each other?
Why we really want there to be just one? Why
do we adhere to the white man's philosophy of Okay,
that's my pet today, because they rotate their pets out,
they like who they like, and yet we feel like
we have to fight to get one position. And if
(37:46):
we work together, we could be so powerful. I'm saying
that to myself as well, because I may have offended
and treated people unfairly, unknowingly or knowingly. But when you
are awrive and you're aware and you're like, oh, we're
all in this together, and it looks more beautiful that way.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
No, but at least you can acknowledge that, Right, I'm
not always perfect, because I'm not, you know, I'm there
are times when I can be short, right, there are
plenty of things I can still work on. But I
also I know that there are a lot of good
things too, and trying to be a person who comes
(38:25):
from abundance and not scarcity.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
And ways say that again, this is important, guys, excuse
me everyone, It's important that you say that you got
to be politically correct these days.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
You have to.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
I wasn't trying not to be, but I will tell
you the reality is is that if we operate from
abundance and there is more, we won't feel like we
are holding on to the last bit of crumbs. We
just won't feel as if that we can't share this
gift because there's more to come.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
How do you.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
How do you see black women? Give me an example
of black women working from abundance, black class working from abundance.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I mean something that I do, and I guess I've
been secretly wanting this from other people is and I'm
trying to work on that. Right is I'll just send fellowships,
grants opportunities to people just because because I'm just like
you are so dope and incredible and people need to
(39:26):
know about you. And I know that because of classes
of racism, all the isms, you may not be getting
your shot. So I'm just going to send you this
thing and hopefully somebody will see your greatness like I do.
And so I just wish that we were coming from
that space with everything, whether it's sending someone up on
(39:47):
a date, fixing the little flyaway hair and your friend's hair,
and you're like, let me just help you in this moment, right,
I mean, it's so many things of like if I
really want this person to show up as them but
the two point zero version of themselves, I'm going to
make sure that they're amazing mind, body, soul. So I'm
(40:10):
going to check in also to be like, how are
you really you know? And no, I may not have
the hour, but I'm gonna give it to you because
I sense that you need that hour and I know
that you would do hopefully that for me in return,
and if you don't, I'll find it some other way.
So I think it's like we really have to stop
this diceiness of like I have no friends he or
(40:33):
you know, I have my friends. I don't need new friends.
I'm good, you know, or you know I have my
little job. I'm not going to help this assistant who
literally is asking me questions because maybe they want to
be in the position that I want it or that
I'm in right now. So I think it's like we
have to find the inconvenience. I think we're so convenience
(40:53):
or yeah, convenience to everything. You know. We can go
on our phones and get food, we can go unhinge
or whatever. We can do anything we want, right But
I still think we're lacking that intentionality. And so I think, Wow,
if we had more intentionality and we're okay with being inconvenience, man,
(41:16):
it's okay to be inconvenienced, just a little bit. Let's
just take a little bit of that. Yeah, I mean
real quick, Like last night, I was out. My friends
are on the show Martha's Vineyard on Bravo. They had
an after party. I'm going. My friend drives me around
(41:37):
to the train station. This homeless man is asking me, Am,
I coming downstairs. I'm coming downstairs. But a lot of
people may see the homeless person and may say, I'm
not going to speak to you just because you blackleg
I am, I'm not going to speak to you. I
try to come from a non judgmental space, and I
(41:58):
listened to this man, and that's what I'm talking about
of Like I could have just brushed him off. I
could have been dismissive, and I get it. Safety is
a thing, but I guess because I'm also like a
person of faith, I also realized that God covers me
and that extends to everyone who wants to, you know,
(42:20):
be in his will right, and that I'm okay, you know,
And what is it for me to just have a
conversation where I learned that he's been you know, to
rikers six times. Please don't make like no more. Let
it stop at six. And I don't know. In this moment,
I saw another human and I just if we just
(42:42):
saw each other a little bit more, took our headphones off,
look people in the eye show, you know, like just
regular stuff. I just who knows where we could be
because I just feel like COVID has really messed us up,
you know, and we just we're not the same. New
York is not the same. Nowhere is the same. But
(43:04):
I think we all deep down one connection so bad.
But that's all we want, that's all we Yeah, yeah,
that's all we want, but we won't do it. We
won't do the things get there because we're like, we
want to be inconvenient to have that connection. Yeah, that's
in our bubble and our little bubble, our little you know.
(43:25):
You said a lot of you said a lot of
things that are true, and some things very convicting of me.
You're like, I got time like you with the the
guy I would have and I don't want to. I
got my friends. You thank you because that was just
convicting of me when I and I'm like, these are
the things that we need to be reminded of in
our everyday hustle as we try to go and if
(43:46):
we and we often say black girl, magic, black girl, joy,
black experienced sisterhood, we all are we. What I do
believe we do as black women, what you have done
as a black woman with your work, is that we
do center ourselves and our experience. We very rarely, at
least I don't I attract likeness.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I try to find people who center black women because
we aren't. And people roll their eyes and they don't
want to hear about it, and they don't want to
hear about this and that. But I am wholly dedicated
to centering black women in everything that I do. I
will always talk from a black woman's experience because my
(44:26):
experience is not yours. But I want to bring you
into my world because my world matters and I love
Tony Morrison. When when the when the journalist said to her,
remember you know the famous clip, well will you ever
consider focusing on the mainstream? And she said, that is
so incredibly centered of you. This is my mainstream. And
I'm like, tell them, Tony, because we matter and you
(44:49):
have been able to do that, and I'm more than
honored that you have the time to talk to me
today on the podcast. And when I tell you, I
don't know if you feel it, because we do live
in a world of I haven't done it yet, but
you are doing it currently, and I hope you enjoyed
the journey of centering us and telling our stories from
a soft and healing place so that the greater good
(45:10):
can be done for all of us. And there's just
so much more for you. I am just so excited.
If I was an actress, I'd be like, put me
in your films, girl, I don't believe in those.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
Girl, I can't.
Speaker 3 (45:23):
You would get me on set and be like this
the black girl I said, I don't like, because she'd
be in there like do what I know the lines?
Speaker 1 (45:29):
I miss them? Give them to me again in a
graceful way. I say, we're gonna get you together.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
We gotta get you all together. I want to document
the process. I want to follow your steps. You are
truly black girl joy for me. You really are for
me right now in this moment. I don't believe that
any of my interviews are by accident, and I needed
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
So thank you. No, look, this is one of my
favorite interviews. And I'm serious when I say thank you
for a loud me to show up as me, you know,
and like being your hosts. I mean, I mean your
interviewee is the opportunity to just like clean in. I mean,
you have such a way with words and just your research.
(46:15):
It says here, but you know, sometimes it can be wrong.
I know you get to the need of bath like
it makes the person want to emote, want to like
really share more. Not the like that, what is it?
The the coded curated perspective Like you make me want
(46:36):
to like share my story And I don't always feel
like that with interviews, and I don't feel like I can.
So I just appreciate you creating that space, carving out
that universe for us to be seen, so over us
to be seen and to be heard. Thank you for
doing the same.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
We're doing the work. We're doing the work. I'm going
to try to maybe talk to a homeless man in
the subway. I'm not ready for that, just shaid, I
just moved here. I just moved here five months ago.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
Be so I can't. I can't say that I had
that vision for me yet. Exactly. Everyone tells me they
get smacked by homeless people. Everyone's like, I got smacked.
The girl comes to my house the other day, She's like, girl,
this homeless man pushed me down. I'm like, dang, if
I hear one wordy story. Look, you're you know. You
(47:25):
made me a little feel you made me feel a
little more safe. You talked. You guys are friends. You guys.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
You saw a human Okay, I don't know you the
first of its kind since I've lived here. The other
stories are people getting slapped and pushed, and I'm like, okay, okay,
I just keep an in a row with you.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Be I don't, I know, I don't. Look. I don't
want you to get slacked. No, I don't want you
because then you're gonna be like I'm gonna have to elbow.
I was just like she told me to come out
here and say hi, and I did, and look what happened.
This is beasball she did this, this is bemonnaise. Oh right,
(48:03):
told me to come.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
And say hi, to know, and then we said I know.
And by the way, all jokes aside, I felt like
that was honestly a beautiful, beautiful extension of your of
your generosity of spirit, and so I think that if
it feels right, you should do that. I absolutely I
thought it was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
And I should say that, And I'm glad that you
said that too, because I'm not. I don't want anyone
to feel unsafe, you know. It was also really disparaging
to me that a black woman told me that she
feels like she always has to look amazing because in
the event that something happens to her, she still wants
(48:42):
someone to have enough empathy or compassion to like save her.
And so when I've heard things like it's just like,
I don't want black women to put ourselves in even
more danger, right, because you know, that's a lot being
in these cities, and how you present people may really
(49:03):
you know, be on you, and so generosity but carefulness,
like I'm doing a discernment, Yeah, discernment, yeah, flash. I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (49:18):
I don't and neither do I, you know, because I
kind of like the city, and neither do I. I
want to just you know, I have a few plans,
you know, and I just I just when I say
that in my joking way. My realtor said, I was,
I said to on my sage. He said, when I
first moved here, I said, should I start taking the train?
He was like, well, I only got slapped once, and
(49:39):
I've been living here fifty years. And I was like,
just once, just once.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
Now, you said to a girl who's from California. You're
in your own car the whole time, and you're safe
and you're on your own And he's like, just once.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
He was like, but you need it, and true enough,
not you need to lab but I need the grit
of the city. California can be so stale and sterile,
right like it can be very Hollywood, very Hollywood, as
you know. I think everyone who's born and raised in
la is in Hollywood, though, But that's my thing. But
this city, the beauty of this city, it's character really
(50:13):
is necessary to add texture to your life.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
So what you did was beautiful and as we joke,
because you know, I'm a joke about this forever. I'm like,
Bee is up here talking be Monday, talking to homeless
people associo. Okay, why do you think she's so.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
Good at what she does. She's taken in the city
literally at three am. She's you know, she's using those
documentary skills. She's yes, yes, look look special. Yes it
was a big chance.
Speaker 3 (50:46):
Yes, yes, b Bonet un naked, completely naked, and also
honoring us, just with so much knowledge.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Thank you for being here, Thank you, and look all
the best to you.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
All jokes aside. Seriously, when I moved here, I was
told not to be on the subway at a certain time.
I think, and I think what we were laughing at
and having fun with was the idea that you, listen,
go to use the subway with some discernment. It could
be dangerous. I'm not going to say that it's not
not dangerous. But she had a beautiful experience. I'm just
(51:23):
not ready to start talking to homeless people on the train.
I don't have that yet. I'm new here. Give me
a year under my belt. All right, back to the film.
If you want to watch the film. There are several
ways to do it if you have comcasts. Comcast Black
Experience on the Exfinity channel definitely has Black Girls and
a whole host of other black films. They are driving
(51:44):
creators and people who are seeking new content to that
actual channel. I think it's a beautiful space for black
people to live and thrive and see that see themselves
in various ways. So that's where you can catch Black Girls.
But if you don't have commit which is very feasible,
download zoom ou xumo and on zoom ou it's free.
(52:07):
But to me it is actually priceless because you're learning
so much, so much, so much, so much. She'll do
that zoomu x one, and there are a couple of
other places. Let me just make sure I have the
other places where you can catch the film, so you
guys won't say that I didn't give you the heads up. Okay,
here they are Comcast Black Experience on Xfinity channel or
(52:29):
X one or zoom ou and flex. Look at all
these places where you guys can create. I don't want
to hear y'all can't find no content. I want to
hear no more about two b or y'all only want
to watch two B films. Watch something that's gonna uplift y'all. Okay,
we'll be back next week.
Everyone sees us as like almost like this pretty cake,
but it's untouchable. You want it, but you can't have it.
It's like you're enticed and repulsed at the same manner.
You know, it's the Kylie General at all, right, where
you want all of that, but you don't really want
the true embodiment of what it means to be a
black woman. And so I want to show a black
(00:22):
women that I see you, I love you. This is
a love letter to all of these that was be Monette.
She is a thriving young writer director and she's doing
some great work. I hope you really pay attention to
this podcast. If you are a man and you're listening,
pay attention to it for your wife, your sister, your girlfriend, whomever,
(00:44):
and then share it because this lesson today is about
black girl joy and we all deserve it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Rat Is Suspors and then the Tamement King Naked Wind,
Chary Chapion, the car CHAPPI is going to be a
championa champion and carri Chapi and they champion the car
Chapion and carried Shep.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
And Entertainment Naked Ward.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Hey, everybody today on the pod, we have an award
winning writer, director, filmmaker b Monet. She has made quite
a name for herself in a space where there are
not that many Black women, so kudos to her. Her
latest film, Black Girls, is an exploration of intergenerational healing
that traces the spectrum of advocacy among Black women from
(01:34):
a variety of different angles. Excited for you to hear
and learn more about be Monette and why her story,
but more importantly why this film guys, this film Black Girls,
we should watch it. It is necessary watching because it
is an educational film that we all need help us
understand who we all are and what we can be.
(01:57):
I hope you enjoyed b Monet.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
On Naked Champion and Cared she Be and and care
che Be.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Where I usually like to start is this beautiful origin story.
And so when I read your story, a lot of
your inspirations were my inspirations as well. So this is
a beautiful thing. Growing up in Maryland, you had all
of these visions and they were beautiful of what you
wanted to do. How did you ultimately learn that you
would be a storyteller?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So I grew up watching like Brandy and loved Molesha
and loved the fact, I feel like maybe Mara did
this in a lot of ways. But I feel like
a lot of black women who watched Molsha wanted to
be writers, and so seeing Brandy, seeing folks like Oprah,
I think in tandem, maybe did something to me. I
think media is such a powerful medium, and so I
(02:44):
think from there I was just like, ooh, this writing thing.
How can I, you know, get into writing more? And
so it was really beautiful that my dad believed in me,
and he's still like my biggest cheerleader. He was like,
why don't you also think about photography? So he bought
me a little film camera that I still have today,
and you know, it was in the black and white
(03:06):
what is it the dark room? You know, exposing photos.
So I think seeing those folks taking photography classes, taking
also documentary and journalism classes in high school was very
instrumental in me wanting to become a filmmaker. And I
had the beautiful experience of studying abroad, which I don't
(03:26):
think always black students can do, and was on scholarship
and that was able to happen. And I think when
I went to Italy and got exposed to Italian cinema,
that just like blew my mind all the way up
and I was just like, Wow, I could do this
film thing. Maybe not journalism, but I think film opens
(03:46):
me up a little bit. So my parents loved that
I was crazy. You know I can say that now
because you know, they were definitely not supportive at first.
They're like, you want to be a starving artist. You
literally lid to one of the best schools just to
be a starving artist. How does this make sense? But
it all breaks out, I think right. And so got
(04:09):
into NYU. That was a challenging experience. I was one
of the only black American students and then woman at that.
But I think starting my experience there creating the first
film about Sarah Bartman Hot and Top Venus, who was
paraded around Europe. That was my first film that I
(04:31):
did there, I think I was making a statement that
I do want to make stories about black women and
our stories and just showing our full humanity in our
interior world. So you know what's interesting what you said
about mar is really interesting. I've been a fan of Mara.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I just recently had the opportunity to meet her, probably
a month ago. But you know, soccer on ig she's
friends with friends of mine.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
And.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
The way in which she's able to reach so many
people at so many different stages of their lives. It's
really to me very it is a gift from God.
It's very appropriate that you think about her. And one
lady said to her. We were having at dinner, and
the lady said, I'm glad that I know. I don't
know a world where there is no Mara. Everything that
(05:18):
you've touched has really changed me as a black woman
and my experience as a black woman. And I don't
necessarily know if I ever looked at it that way
until that moment, which is why I was so interested
in talking to you, because she is a part of your.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
DNA in terms of how you create. When you think
of people who.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Inspired you, who are they who really truly like their
work really touches you and it inspires you to keep creating.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Well, mar is definitely one. I think there is no
girlfriends right, there is no what is it living singling?
I know she didn't do live in single Just like
thinking of the different show especially from the nineties, that
were so instrumental. I feel like in black women, black
people seeing ourselves, you know, sisters sister, you name it.
(06:11):
All the movies that they, you know, love. I feel
like I love Twins because twins were such a thing
like growing up from like Mary Kate, Nashley Olsen to
you know, Tia and Tamara. Loved all of that. But
I think also in terms of filmmakers, I have to
also give it up for Spike Lee just the things
(06:32):
that he's done, right, Like I love Four Little Girls.
I love his documentary work. Also, you know, a lot
of people always talk about, you know, his narrative work,
but I think there's something very special about Four Little
Girls or When the Levees Break that I think was
very instrumental in me, almost like fusing documentary and narrative
(06:53):
into my work. I lovede Rees. She's another black woman filmmaker.
She did. Yeah, you have to watch your film please, Okay,
I will, Okay, Okay, I'm so blond? Okay, good? Okay,
how did I not? Okay? Good? Go on, John Well.
(07:17):
I mean a lot of black folks have inspired me, right,
Like I love Boys in the Hood. I love what
the messaging of that film. You know, Yes, there are
things that happen that are sad and that are tragic,
but there's also that community aspect that I think is
really instrumental, and uh, just that I worry and I'm
(07:40):
just like worry about that.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Okay, we'll pick up here, go back and tell me
the last part of you, the the one particular I said,
tell me about the different people who have influenced your
work and what you like. And you've named a list,
and you talked about the last thing you said, I
think when the notification came in was the Boys in
the Hood, and tell me about John Singleton and Boys
in the Hood.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Come on active listening. She said. Okay, maybe scene were
leaving all of this end, but yes, I love John
(08:27):
Singleton's work, right. I loved what he was doing with
Poison the Hood, had the messaging that he had in
his film or in his films. I love also Higher Learning,
one of my favorite films. I think there are a
lot of filmmakers who just only did like one film
in the nineties, and that's really troubling to me because
(08:48):
I think helean up at a time where it wasn't
a lot of pioneers. So I love also Julie dash
who did Daughters of the Dust. Also Chryl Denier who
did a great film called Watermelon Woman, Melon Woman.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
To mean, listen, you have a do you need to create,
which you may have already done, a list of films
that you that are that are necessary for us as
black girls to watch, because I think that the reason
why this is so important. And even watching the opening
of your film Black Girls, it was so it felt
very intimate. But for the first time in a long
(09:27):
time there was my senses were moving, meaning ey sight, sound, smell.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I want to.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Feel every bit of this experience of this black girl.
And then cut to my blue Alison Felix, and I'm
all like, wait, there's so much there's so much depth
and character here and you're so and I mean, I
don't want to just say this in a way that's dismissive,
but you're at such a young age, you have such
a grasp on what you see it to be and
(09:59):
as a black girl, I want you to tell me
about this film and why you had to make it
one of your latest projects, because before you've had you
have a history. Like I said, we've we've seen you
do so much, so much work you work with Toronto,
who I love, You've done some other I mean, everybody
that I love has uh you have touched them in
some form or fashion. In terms of the black women
(10:21):
that I look up to, the black women who were pioneering,
but you as a trailblazer pioneering, and I think it's
important for us to understand when you put this film together,
what were you trying to give us as a gift
As a black girl.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I've never had someone articulate all that to me in
that way. So try not to get emotional. Please get emotional,
because this is where you need to, we need to
and that's what you were able to give us the
emotion that sometimes we don't want to show or share.
It's yin and yang right for me, you know, I
(10:58):
ad the opportunity to go to an HBCU. I went
to Spelman, and from going there, I think it really
was almost like this aha moment. If there's so much
diversity within our community. We're not monolithic. We all come
in different shape sizes, experiences, stories, and I think I
(11:19):
always kind of use it as a blueprint to say,
how can I empathetically show the dope women that I
know we all go through different things, but I think
that sometimes there as similarities of like, oh, I didn't.
I'm not going through that right now, but that meant
maybe the next chapter of my journey, and oh, this
woman is like showing a whole representation of what it
(11:41):
means to go through healing, you know. I think I
was on my healing journey going through Black girls shedding
all the dead weight, right, like not people pleasing doing
shadow work. I know that people don't always like that
word if you're a Christian, right, But it's just meaning
going to the ends of yourself and trying to find
(12:03):
the rainbow again. And I think I wanted to show
black women that there is a rainbow even though you
may go through a lot of stuff. And I don't
know if I can curse, Yeah, you can't. You can
sit right, that's a lot of shit, a lot of shit.
Then nobody knows about trendsetters. Oh we get. I feel
(12:28):
like it's the thing of everyone sees us as like
almost like this pretty cake, right, but it's untouchable. You
want it, but you can't have it. It's like you're
enticed and repulse at the same manner. You know, it's
the Kylie general at all, right, where you want to live,
want to ask, you want all of that, but you
(12:49):
don't really want it the true embodiment of what it
means to be a black woman. And so I want
to show black women that I see you, I love you.
This is a love letter to all of us. There
are a lot of stories that we couldn't necessarily put
in because you know, films are finite and you can
only tell them within a limited time and scope. But
(13:13):
I hope that people get a little bit of the
gloriness that I see of what it is to be
a black woman or a black girl who's just trying
to figure out some stuff, you know, Like we're dropping
in the middle of some of these women's journey and
they show us what it is to navigate. And I
think that that's important because my work has always centered us,
(13:36):
and I'm just so tired of showing or seeing trauma.
I didn't want to show baby Mama trauma. I want
to show how do you fight through? How are you?
I don't want to show victims. I want to show victors.
And so I think that's always been in the fabric
of my work and it will continue to be. So.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, the vision of watching girlfriends and seeing yourself and
Moesha and Oprah and seeing ourselves. Uh, and then the
not the two point zero but the latest iteration. And
I was having this conversation with so many of my
peers and my colleagues. What I admire is your ability
(14:22):
to take our narrative and make it our narrative and
share it sends the trauma, right because we all know
we have it. But when you think of black girl joy,
what does that look like to you?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh? I love this? Yes, the best question. It's like
you've been doing this or something. I've been once or twice.
I did it. I did it last week and then
today and then work it. I can sell like whatever
you want to keep doing it. I want to keep
doing it. Oh, Rare, Like I said, you're so great,
(15:03):
Thank you. But I think it's so it's so layered, right,
it's self acceptance. I think this world is telling us
so many times that you can't show up in your
full humanity as you are, as you present, whether you
wear extensions, you wear braids, you wear weights, you wear
(15:23):
you know, eyelash extensions, you wear whatever, you know what
I mean. I just want black women to show up
as who you want to be and do that to
the nth degree. Don't let anyone stop you. Don't let
anyone tell you who you can't be. I think this
world wants us to hate ourselves, and I'm saying, do
(15:47):
not do that. Do not succumb to that reality. There's
so many things in this world through media, like your
popular page could really literally be telling you that you
are wrong. You are wrong, and I'm saying no, be
the quirky, funny, big hearted person that you are. However
(16:11):
you show up, do that and if there are people
who don't like it, respectfully, disrespectfully. If y'all like, whether
you want you want to in or you want out.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, but it's hard to arrive there because to your point,
society will say to you, Carrie, your heels are too
high for work and your skirts, your skirts are too short.
But I'm comfortable. I'm You're that's on you. If you're distracted,
I feel comfortable. But it takes a while to arrive
at that point. And you have been able. Even talking
(16:46):
about your experience at NYU, I.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Was tough for you? And was it tough because you
felt like you couldn't bring your full self? Was it
tough because everything that you believed that was right was
considered wrong. I mean, I think it was just because
I was also at the time one of the youngest
people in my class. I also am very black in
(17:11):
my identity in terms of like I went literally to
an HBCU where we are indoctrinated to love ourselves. So
being at a place, you know what I mean, that
is saying you are the best of the best, and
then literally to be met with why are you telling
a story about this woman? You're a racist? Like, like
(17:31):
one of my classmates thought that I was racist because
I literally wanted to tell a story about what happened
to a black woman. Unfortunately, in history, they literally took
this woman from South Africa and paraded her around, treated
her horribly, didn't pay her, you know, examine her body
because they thought she was a freak show. So I'm
(17:53):
just showing what happened in reality and what I wanted
to do, which I don't know if I accomplished in
the film. But again that's why you're supposed to try
it out in art school. Is that do we know
if she escapes or does she not escape, and does
another black woman see her and sees what's going on
(18:14):
and says I got to come to the aid of
my sister. And so that's what I was trying to express.
It's hard to do that with no dialogue, right, but
it taught me the exercise of at least trying out things.
And I think black women should be able to try,
you know, we should be able to fail at things
and not be punished. A lot of people shouldn't still
(18:36):
be in jail for we right, Like, yeah, they me
have Yeah, the.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Boys on the block, you know, they let them free,
free them, Yes, yes, I gotta be calling you guys.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Tell me.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I'm like, if I could start it all, they would
be free, freed the men for doing the work God's work.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Work.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Hey, everybody, I appreciate you for being patient, but we
have to quick break fast forward through the commercials if
you'd like, but we'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Thank you for listening to Naked.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Every Champion and Carry Champion is to be a champion,
a champion and Carry Chappion and Carrie chat be out
a champion and Carrie Chappion and Carrie.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Chappy Entertainment and Naked Weird.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Harry Champion and Carrie Chappion is to be a champion
of Champion and Carrie Chappi and Nigger Playta Champion and
Carrie Chappion and Carrie Chappy.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Naked Ward.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Naked. Today's guest is b
Monet and she's given us some jewelry jims as the
kids call it. Hope you enjoy. I love what you
just said. Black women should be allowed to fail and
try things and not be punished for that. That little
(19:52):
society we'll try to tell us we should be punished
for that. And your feeling, your your your your film
is healing. I also want to go a little further
with that idea. When you picture subject matters for the film,
what was the common denominator between all of the women
you highlight in Black Girls?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, I would love to say that I'm a genius,
but I'm not. You know, I have a lot of help,
I know amazing producers. Okay, okay, share share the wealth.
I can't say that it was all me. I would
say it's you. You're so smart, Thanks for picking all
(20:34):
the girls. Okay, okay, yeah, I like everything was up here,
but also no shade. But a part of my process
is having pre interviews and so review people kind of
before the process just to see are we gonna gel together?
Do you make sense for this story? Maybe you don't.
(20:56):
Maybe we need to do like one of the women
that we ended up dying documenting. She didn't ultimately end
up in the film, but I think a documentary on
her alone should happen. Okay, So you know, you never know.
I think you kind of have to be okay with
this kind of tetris situation where it's like you're trying
to figure out puzzle piece together who would be right?
(21:21):
And also what I was looking for to your point
around like intentionality is who could like emote on camera?
Who doesn't have a rob with like expressing themselves because
nobody's trying to see nobody lifeless on camera? Yeah? Yeah,
you know they can't have problems being transparent around the
(21:45):
stuff they've gone through. Or you know, how much are
they going to allow us into their house? So and
house meaning not just like their physical house, but like
who they are? How much are they going to show?
And so I'm always here is with like documentary film,
how much are they actually gonna show us? Because if
they're not gonna if they're gonna be guarded, it's not
(22:07):
gonna work in documentary, it'll show and then you'll feel it,
you'll hear it, and we can't do that, so can
you Jo?
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Sorry, Yes, it's interesting that you say that. And I
think of Alison as quiet. Allison Felix wanted the first
one to be featured in Black Girls. I think of
her as quiet. I think of her as a silent warrior.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
And I've had the opportunity to interview or I know
her for a very long time. So for me, if
I was doing this, I would have upon initial thought,
I would have been like, can she tell the story?
But she tells it so perfectly because she draws you
in and she makes you want to listen, because she
does speak like this, because she does have this tone.
(22:53):
So if you are going to pay attention to what
I'm saying, then you have to pay attention to what.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I'm saying, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
But I'm like, this is genius. It was it was genius.
Whoever whoever, it's genius. Everyone takes credit. It's genius. And
I and I and I ask you this, when you
think about all the films that you've done, in the
projects that you've worked on, is there one that you
love more? You love them all? Or is there a
you know what I mean, because I have so many
(23:23):
reason I'm like, love murdered that that was amazing, or
I'm like, oh that's I could do better next time.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
I could be more prepared.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
But the end goal is I did feel a connection
when I am talking, and that's what I hope to
do with all of your films. Is there one that
you love the most or love the least? And you
can be honest because when you started out, I'm sure
you weren't doing exactly what you envisioned.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Right, And sometimes you still sometimes are like, am I
getting closer to the thing? You know? It's like, oh no,
do you feel like that? Like one be not there yet?
I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. I'm not
there yet.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
But what you gave me was liberation, and you said
that I have I have the ability to fail and
try again and not be judged. And for whatever reason
we feel like we should be judged. Are we accept
this judgment?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Well, there's a lot of Like, as much as I
love being black, right, there's also a lot of Sometimes
we can treat each other very hard, like we're very
harsh towards each other there's a mishandling sometimes and there's
a roughness, and I think I'm very interested in softness.
I'm very interested in care and tenderness, and not not
(24:43):
just because I'm a woman, but I do think that
there we do need tenderness, whether you're show up as male, female,
non binary, I do think that we need that. So
I think, even going back to your question around like favoritism,
it's hard to say because there is right a favorite project,
(25:04):
but it doesn't mean that I still don't give my
all to every project that I sure you know, have.
I think, for me Queen, my short film that I
hope to make as a feature film one day, it's
still like my little engine that could you know. Before
my grandmother passed, you know, she gave me a couple
thousand dollars to like make this film. I had to
(25:27):
go on Indie Go Go and really hustle for that money.
And I think that there's something about I guess me
being in this industry where I hope that it gets easier,
but I think because of how I present, it's still
people are still I think surprised at like a black
woman leading and being the captain of the ship so
(25:50):
I still kind of like revisit, like you're still a hustler,
You're still you know, a rapper with the camera, and
you gotta still kind of like push your mixtape, which
is my films out here. So I think Queen just
always like reminds me to like, wow, I really had
the audacity to have all these extras and like direct
(26:10):
this and like have almost like the behind the scenes
of it was crazy. El Varner was in it, and
she like literally was in my film and I literally
just hit her up on Twitter or x now and.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It's forever Twitter, but go ahead. I was like, who
was calling this at? But I hear you go ahead.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I know, Okay, it's Twitter. Yeah, I'm like, bro like
fuoling with that man. It is Twitter. Okay, what kind
of exactly exactly? But no, I just that is a
part of just a project that's really near and dear
to my heart. And I think it was really like
the first time where I also felt creatively safe to
(26:55):
make something, and I think sometimes I'm still in search
of that. I think it's been hard in recent years
to like find collaborators who don't come from a space
of ego or insecurity, and so I think I'm still
wanting sometimes to go back to Queen days where it
felt like everybody was just down clause. And so I
(27:16):
think that project for me is still like just very special.
I love that. I love Queen. You guys, go check
it out. Where can people see Queen? You know, where
can they see it? You have a website? No with
(27:37):
with your projects up there? Now, I need to do better. Okay,
So it was a little engine that could. It was
like on Aspire TV for a long time. Okay, I
have to double check to see if it's still on Amazon,
but it's just been out there for a while. I'm
also wondering if I should just release it on my website.
So it's there, But because it's like a proof of concept,
(28:00):
I'm like trying to navigate if I should just put
it out there because you know, people can sometimes take things. Yeah,
I guess exactly. I get it.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
You want to your IP to be protected. Okay, well listen,
I ask that because I'm going to ask you a
series of black girl questions because I think you're you
are healing us one project at a time, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You are healing us one project at a time. But
you know.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
When you say we mishandle one another, what does what
does soft look and feel like? For a black girl?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
It looks like this right, You're seeing me, me, seeing
you us not interrupting each other, like letting someone finish
their thought and like really he like really like letting
their words penetrate. So it's not you're missing it. You know.
(29:02):
It looks like maybe just sit this one out and
just like let the person just get all the tears out,
all the everything out, and just maybe just hold their hand,
like just being there, you know, being a soft place
to land, being a comforting place to land, maybe planning
(29:23):
things for your friends where you see, Okay, she's a
single mom. She hasn't had maybe a day to herself
and being like, you know what, she doesn't have a
man right now. But I'm going to be her surrogate
man in this moment, and I'm gonna book her a
spa day. I'm going to let her feel like the
queen that she is. And I just wish that people
(29:44):
would be a little bit more service space service oriented
in the way that we treat ourselves. You know, I
think a lot of people, especially in the dating space,
want so badly to have a partner, but yet it's
like we still wouldn't really know what to do with
that partner because we haven't healed. So I think, like,
(30:05):
and look, I say that with someone with a boyfriend,
but you know, I've learned a lot being with him
of like, oh wow, we shouldn't have said that. That
was really nasty, Like that was not fine. So having
the mirror, like being okay with being a mirror to
someone and like and maybe you're wrong, like saying I
(30:27):
sup the way that I said that or the way
that I approached that that wasn't cool, And I hope
that you'll give me an opportunity show up differently. I
think these are all ways that we can just be
a little kinder to each other. I think, you know,
I get so tired of seeing I think we all
get tired of seeing the killings, the shootings, all of
(30:49):
the negativity. But I think I want us to like
almost make positivity like a thing that goes viral, like
even how you collaborate with your collaborators, right, like showing
what does radical leadership look like? You know, what does
paying people well look like? What does check ins look like?
(31:10):
You know, I think it's just all these things.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
That yeah, like the girl the paper got me, I'm
all a with Hello, Yeah, what does what does black
girl Joey look like for you?
Speaker 1 (31:26):
For you? Oh wow? I love traveling. I selfishly like
one of one of me all the black people around
the world, honestly and make stories and like have the
most beautiful experiences with humans, because you know, like my
parents struggled, but they were able to help me out
(31:48):
and let me go to Italy, right because as much
as it was helped from my school, was also then
putting sacrificing all that, and so some of their sacrifice
I literally felt. I feel like I've become more like
a global citizen and I've been able to see cultures
that I probably would have never experienced if I didn't
have that experience of going abroad. So that's definitely one.
(32:13):
I think it feels like this therapy, like beautiful conversations
with another black women or a good good friend, I
don't know, eating something good, like really good my ass off,
like looking good, like dressing up. I love to dress up,
(32:33):
being in the ocean and letting it kind of like
wash over me and kind of having this baptism experience
where I just feel like washed over by the water
and kind of like even baths make me feel like
that too, where I'm just like I'm just washing off,
letting it it go, and like candles level good candle
(32:54):
and perfume. Amen.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Every champion and every champion is the be a champion,
a champion and carried Chapion and Carrie Chatty a champion
and carried Chapion and Carrie.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Chby entertainment getting naked word.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Harry Champion and Carrie Chappy is to be a champion,
a champion and Carrie Chpy and the girl a Champion
and carry Chapion and Carrie Sheby entertainment getting.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Naked work really really quickly.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
The other black girl experience that I want you to
talk to me about what does black girls in sisterhood
look like? And what I mean by that is that
oftentimes we feel like there can only be one and
there's a competition, And I want you to talk to
me about what black girls in sisterhood in partnership and connection,
(33:49):
what does that look like?
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Well, this one might be a deep cut because as
much as I've gone to a historically black college, all women,
all female rights elmen l day and also have kept
I mean, I'm very communal, right, I'm very tribal in
(34:12):
my thinking, and I really want to see us be
the best that we can be. But some black women
have really scarred me and black guarred me in ways
that I think I'm still trying to process and heal from.
So I think black sisterhood or black woman's sisterhood and
(34:40):
leadership and coming together. You know, it looks like acknowledging
the ways in which we've we've hurt each other and
if it makes sense to reconcile with that person, you know,
I'll spury it in details. But there have been projects
where I've h black women in leadership positions and they definitely,
(35:06):
unfortunately haven't always shown up as their best. And I
take accountability too, But it's made me be like, as
much as I want to work with my people, and
that is I'm you know, black all day, I'm still
trying to figure out, can we not have a crabs
(35:27):
in a barrel situation?
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Go on?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Where I get in this? In this project, I may
be the director, but that doesn't mean that I still
wouldn't do what you're doing, or even lower than that right.
So I don't know how to answer this one because
it's it's just tricky because I keep on feeling like
every time I'm hiring or wanting to give someone a shot,
(35:55):
it blows up in my face. So I don't know. Yeah,
I mean, I can tell you what I'd like for
it to look like. I'd like for it to look
like truth and honesty and transparency and real love, like
a goape love where it's like I really am with you,
not just in the good times, but the bad times,
(36:17):
the ugly times, the times when you want to off yourself,
the times when you're like why am I here? All that?
Seeing me through and seeing us through that. That's where
I'm like, where are those women at where are those relationships?
Because I feel like these days people don't have the
capacity for realness. They just want low maintenance friends. And
(36:39):
I'm not a low maintenance person. I'm a deep person
and I'm looking to go to the end of the
earth for people. But I just don't find that. Sometimes
black women or some that I have met want to
do that too, So I don't know, that's real. No,
(37:01):
that's real. You said so many real things, and.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I concur I've had black women that I love and
look up to that I've been dying to meet or
wanted to work with, And when I finally had the opportunity,
I'm like, WHOA, this is so disappointing.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
And do you think that it? How did we get here?
Speaker 3 (37:25):
Like, how, in your opinion, do we get to the
point where we just don't want to embrace each other?
Why we really want there to be just one? Why
do we adhere to the white man's philosophy of Okay,
that's my pet today, because they rotate their pets out,
they like who they like, and yet we feel like
we have to fight to get one position. And if
(37:46):
we work together, we could be so powerful. I'm saying
that to myself as well, because I may have offended
and treated people unfairly, unknowingly or knowingly. But when you
are awrive and you're aware and you're like, oh, we're
all in this together, and it looks more beautiful that way.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
No, but at least you can acknowledge that, Right, I'm
not always perfect, because I'm not, you know, I'm there
are times when I can be short, right, there are
plenty of things I can still work on. But I
also I know that there are a lot of good
things too, and trying to be a person who comes
(38:25):
from abundance and not scarcity.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
And ways say that again, this is important, guys, excuse
me everyone, It's important that you say that you got
to be politically correct these days.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
You have to.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
I wasn't trying not to be, but I will tell
you the reality is is that if we operate from
abundance and there is more, we won't feel like we
are holding on to the last bit of crumbs. We
just won't feel as if that we can't share this
gift because there's more to come.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
How do you.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
How do you see black women? Give me an example
of black women working from abundance, black class working from abundance.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I mean something that I do, and I guess I've
been secretly wanting this from other people is and I'm
trying to work on that. Right is I'll just send fellowships,
grants opportunities to people just because because I'm just like
you are so dope and incredible and people need to
(39:26):
know about you. And I know that because of classes
of racism, all the isms, you may not be getting
your shot. So I'm just going to send you this
thing and hopefully somebody will see your greatness like I do.
And so I just wish that we were coming from
that space with everything, whether it's sending someone up on
(39:47):
a date, fixing the little flyaway hair and your friend's hair,
and you're like, let me just help you in this moment, right,
I mean, it's so many things of like if I
really want this person to show up as them but
the two point zero version of themselves, I'm going to
make sure that they're amazing mind, body, soul. So I'm
(40:10):
going to check in also to be like, how are
you really you know? And no, I may not have
the hour, but I'm gonna give it to you because
I sense that you need that hour and I know
that you would do hopefully that for me in return,
and if you don't, I'll find it some other way.
So I think it's like we really have to stop
this diceiness of like I have no friends he or
(40:33):
you know, I have my friends. I don't need new friends.
I'm good, you know, or you know I have my
little job. I'm not going to help this assistant who
literally is asking me questions because maybe they want to
be in the position that I want it or that
I'm in right now. So I think it's like we
have to find the inconvenience. I think we're so convenience
(40:53):
or yeah, convenience to everything. You know. We can go
on our phones and get food, we can go unhinge
or whatever. We can do anything we want, right But
I still think we're lacking that intentionality. And so I think, Wow,
if we had more intentionality and we're okay with being inconvenience, man,
(41:16):
it's okay to be inconvenienced, just a little bit. Let's
just take a little bit of that. Yeah, I mean
real quick, Like last night, I was out. My friends
are on the show Martha's Vineyard on Bravo. They had
an after party. I'm going. My friend drives me around
(41:37):
to the train station. This homeless man is asking me, Am,
I coming downstairs. I'm coming downstairs. But a lot of
people may see the homeless person and may say, I'm
not going to speak to you just because you blackleg
I am, I'm not going to speak to you. I
try to come from a non judgmental space, and I
(41:58):
listened to this man, and that's what I'm talking about
of Like I could have just brushed him off. I
could have been dismissive, and I get it. Safety is
a thing, but I guess because I'm also like a
person of faith, I also realized that God covers me
and that extends to everyone who wants to, you know,
(42:20):
be in his will right, and that I'm okay, you know,
And what is it for me to just have a
conversation where I learned that he's been you know, to
rikers six times. Please don't make like no more. Let
it stop at six. And I don't know. In this moment,
I saw another human and I just if we just
(42:42):
saw each other a little bit more, took our headphones off,
look people in the eye show, you know, like just
regular stuff. I just who knows where we could be
because I just feel like COVID has really messed us up,
you know, and we just we're not the same. New
York is not the same. Nowhere is the same. But
(43:04):
I think we all deep down one connection so bad.
But that's all we want, that's all we Yeah, yeah,
that's all we want, but we won't do it. We
won't do the things get there because we're like, we
want to be inconvenient to have that connection. Yeah, that's
in our bubble and our little bubble, our little you know.
(43:25):
You said a lot of you said a lot of
things that are true, and some things very convicting of me.
You're like, I got time like you with the the
guy I would have and I don't want to. I
got my friends. You thank you because that was just
convicting of me when I and I'm like, these are
the things that we need to be reminded of in
our everyday hustle as we try to go and if
(43:46):
we and we often say black girl, magic, black girl, joy,
black experienced sisterhood, we all are we. What I do
believe we do as black women, what you have done
as a black woman with your work, is that we
do center ourselves and our experience. We very rarely, at
least I don't I attract likeness.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I try to find people who center black women because
we aren't. And people roll their eyes and they don't
want to hear about it, and they don't want to
hear about this and that. But I am wholly dedicated
to centering black women in everything that I do. I
will always talk from a black woman's experience because my
(44:26):
experience is not yours. But I want to bring you
into my world because my world matters and I love
Tony Morrison. When when the when the journalist said to her,
remember you know the famous clip, well will you ever
consider focusing on the mainstream? And she said, that is
so incredibly centered of you. This is my mainstream. And
I'm like, tell them, Tony, because we matter and you
(44:49):
have been able to do that, and I'm more than
honored that you have the time to talk to me
today on the podcast. And when I tell you, I
don't know if you feel it, because we do live
in a world of I haven't done it yet, but
you are doing it currently, and I hope you enjoyed
the journey of centering us and telling our stories from
a soft and healing place so that the greater good
(45:10):
can be done for all of us. And there's just
so much more for you. I am just so excited.
If I was an actress, I'd be like, put me
in your films, girl, I don't believe in those.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
Girl, I can't.
Speaker 3 (45:23):
You would get me on set and be like this
the black girl I said, I don't like, because she'd
be in there like do what I know the lines?
Speaker 1 (45:29):
I miss them? Give them to me again in a
graceful way. I say, we're gonna get you together.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
We gotta get you all together. I want to document
the process. I want to follow your steps. You are
truly black girl joy for me. You really are for
me right now in this moment. I don't believe that
any of my interviews are by accident, and I needed
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
So thank you. No, look, this is one of my
favorite interviews. And I'm serious when I say thank you
for a loud me to show up as me, you know,
and like being your hosts. I mean, I mean your
interviewee is the opportunity to just like clean in. I mean,
you have such a way with words and just your research.
(46:15):
It says here, but you know, sometimes it can be wrong.
I know you get to the need of bath like
it makes the person want to emote, want to like
really share more. Not the like that, what is it?
The the coded curated perspective Like you make me want
(46:36):
to like share my story And I don't always feel
like that with interviews, and I don't feel like I can.
So I just appreciate you creating that space, carving out
that universe for us to be seen, so over us
to be seen and to be heard. Thank you for
doing the same.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
We're doing the work. We're doing the work. I'm going
to try to maybe talk to a homeless man in
the subway. I'm not ready for that, just shaid, I
just moved here. I just moved here five months ago.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
Be so I can't. I can't say that I had
that vision for me yet. Exactly. Everyone tells me they
get smacked by homeless people. Everyone's like, I got smacked.
The girl comes to my house the other day, She's like, girl,
this homeless man pushed me down. I'm like, dang, if
I hear one wordy story. Look, you're you know. You
(47:25):
made me a little feel you made me feel a
little more safe. You talked. You guys are friends. You guys.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
You saw a human Okay, I don't know you the
first of its kind since I've lived here. The other
stories are people getting slapped and pushed, and I'm like, okay, okay,
I just keep an in a row with you.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Be I don't, I know, I don't. Look. I don't
want you to get slacked. No, I don't want you
because then you're gonna be like I'm gonna have to elbow.
I was just like she told me to come out
here and say hi, and I did, and look what happened.
This is beasball she did this, this is bemonnaise. Oh right,
(48:03):
told me to come.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
And say hi, to know, and then we said I know.
And by the way, all jokes aside, I felt like
that was honestly a beautiful, beautiful extension of your of
your generosity of spirit, and so I think that if
it feels right, you should do that. I absolutely I
thought it was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
And I should say that, And I'm glad that you
said that too, because I'm not. I don't want anyone
to feel unsafe, you know. It was also really disparaging
to me that a black woman told me that she
feels like she always has to look amazing because in
the event that something happens to her, she still wants
(48:42):
someone to have enough empathy or compassion to like save her.
And so when I've heard things like it's just like,
I don't want black women to put ourselves in even
more danger, right, because you know, that's a lot being
in these cities, and how you present people may really
(49:03):
you know, be on you, and so generosity but carefulness,
like I'm doing a discernment, Yeah, discernment, yeah, flash. I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (49:18):
I don't and neither do I, you know, because I
kind of like the city, and neither do I. I
want to just you know, I have a few plans,
you know, and I just I just when I say
that in my joking way. My realtor said, I was,
I said to on my sage. He said, when I
first moved here, I said, should I start taking the train?
He was like, well, I only got slapped once, and
(49:39):
I've been living here fifty years. And I was like,
just once, just once.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
Now, you said to a girl who's from California. You're
in your own car the whole time, and you're safe
and you're on your own And he's like, just once.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
He was like, but you need it, and true enough,
not you need to lab but I need the grit
of the city. California can be so stale and sterile,
right like it can be very Hollywood, very Hollywood, as
you know. I think everyone who's born and raised in
la is in Hollywood, though, But that's my thing. But
this city, the beauty of this city, it's character really
(50:13):
is necessary to add texture to your life.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
So what you did was beautiful and as we joke,
because you know, I'm a joke about this forever. I'm like,
Bee is up here talking be Monday, talking to homeless
people associo. Okay, why do you think she's so.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
Good at what she does. She's taken in the city
literally at three am. She's you know, she's using those
documentary skills. She's yes, yes, look look special. Yes it
was a big chance.
Speaker 3 (50:46):
Yes, yes, b Bonet un naked, completely naked, and also
honoring us, just with so much knowledge.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Thank you for being here, Thank you, and look all
the best to you.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
All jokes aside. Seriously, when I moved here, I was
told not to be on the subway at a certain time.
I think, and I think what we were laughing at
and having fun with was the idea that you, listen,
go to use the subway with some discernment. It could
be dangerous. I'm not going to say that it's not
not dangerous. But she had a beautiful experience. I'm just
(51:23):
not ready to start talking to homeless people on the train.
I don't have that yet. I'm new here. Give me
a year under my belt. All right, back to the film.
If you want to watch the film. There are several
ways to do it if you have comcasts. Comcast Black
Experience on the Exfinity channel definitely has Black Girls and
a whole host of other black films. They are driving
(51:44):
creators and people who are seeking new content to that
actual channel. I think it's a beautiful space for black
people to live and thrive and see that see themselves
in various ways. So that's where you can catch Black Girls.
But if you don't have commit which is very feasible,
download zoom ou xumo and on zoom ou it's free.
(52:07):
But to me it is actually priceless because you're learning
so much, so much, so much, so much. She'll do
that zoomu x one, and there are a couple of
other places. Let me just make sure I have the
other places where you can catch the film, so you
guys won't say that I didn't give you the heads up. Okay,
here they are Comcast Black Experience on Xfinity channel or
(52:29):
X one or zoom ou and flex. Look at all
these places where you guys can create. I don't want
to hear y'all can't find no content. I want to
hear no more about two b or y'all only want
to watch two B films. Watch something that's gonna uplift y'all. Okay,
we'll be back next week.
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