I'm Not Drinking the Kool-Aid

Things I think are overrated.  In no particular order:

Chicken: I'm just over it. It doesn't excite me regardless of how it's prepared.  Give me a piece of fish or a short rib any day. 

 Carrie Mae Weems Black Woman With Chicken 1987

MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick: I wore the same brownish burgundy lipstick, MAC X-S, for 15 years.  My friend Charli encouraged me to be more adventurous and I'm currently wearing a variety of red, pink, and purple shades.  I was introduced to Ruby Woo by a former co-worker of mine who is a beacon of fabulosity. I really wanted to love it; Tracee Ellis Ross raves about it. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I love a matte red lip, but this formula was just too drying and the color was too blue-based and bright. 

Scandal: I recently learned that my father has never missed an episode of this show. If the updates on Facebook and Instagram were not enough to convince me to give the show a chance, the fact that Dr. John Cardwell is a fan convinced me to give it a try.  Unfortunately, I can't stand it! Are we as black women so desperate to see ourselves on television that we ignore the fact that Olivia Pope is having an affair with a married man?? A man who in her words "cheated on [his] mistress with his girlfriend." Regardless of her beauty, intelligence, and political influence, she is, as my students say, a "side chick."  On top of that, she runs around cleaning up after The President's messes. She yells, bugs her eyes, and over emotes like a jezebel/mammy hybrid. Plus, I would take Remy Danton over Harrison Wright any day!

Cupcakes from Crumbs and Magnolia Bakery: These cupcakes aren't worth the calories. The icing is too sweet and the cake isn't moist enough. You should not have to throw away the top half of a cupcake in order to enjoy it. Too much sugar; too little butter. Better treats can be found at Make My Cake or Tonnie's Minis. Hopefully Tonnie's Harlem location will reopen soon. 

http://www.makemycake.com

Twelve Years a Slave: I didn't get a chance to see this in the theaters; I can count the number of adult movies I've seen since I had Chloe on one hand (and by "adult movies" I don't mean porn). Anyway, based on the reviews and awards show press I was expecting to be blown away. Don't get me wrong, it was a "good" movie. It held my attention and it could be an excellent teaching tool (I disagree that it is too violent. Slavery was too violent-not the film).   The cinematography and score were excellent. However, I wasn't moved on an emotional level, and I'm still trying to figure out why. It bothered me that Solomon was willing to fight a white man when his ego was bruised, but participated in Patsy's beating and didn't seem to have a hard time leaving her behind.  What I do know is that halfway through the movie I was waiting for Brad Pitt to show up and save the day. Sometimes, we just want to be the hero in our own stories.

(What on earth would we do without Brad Pitt?)

If you want to be moved by a movie about slavery watch Haile Gerima's 1993 film Sankofa. 

Scandalicious

I have to admit that when I first wrote the piece about Scandal I had only watched half of the first season. The episodes irritated me but I was even more bothered that I was unable to figure out the appeal of the show. What inspired women, especially black women, to look forward to the show so intensely? Reading the Facebook posts and Instagram memes felt like listening to people speak in a language I didn't understand. So, since I was on Spring Break and going through House of Cards withdrawl, I continued watching . . .and watching. 

As I looked at each episode I kept telling myself not to take it so seriously. Afterall, watching Scandal is like watching a soap opera (hence Fitz's miraculous recovery from being shot in the head)  However, the use of clichés such as the neurotic Jew (Rosen) and the evil Southerner (Doyle) were hard to ignore and I continued to be confounded and disturbed by Olivia and Fitz's relationship. Questions I had:

-Did Fitz really force himself on Olivia in an elevator during the campaign? Isn't that attempted sexual assault? And instead of calling the police or disappearing from his life, her response was to break the law and sacrifice her morals in order to get him elected President?

-Did Fitz really throw Olivia into a closet, have sex with her and then tell her that he couldn't control his erections and that their relationship was over?

-Was I watching Olivia Pope or Brumhilda in Django Unchained?

It also bothered me that in a show that takes place in DC and has a black female protagonist there is no explicit conversation about race. Sure there was Olivia's (accurate) reference to Sally Hemmings. Oh, and that instance when one of Olivia's clients mistakes Abby for the boss. However, neither of these issues is ever unpacked. Without any direct references to race Scandal felt like post- racialism with a black power soundtrack (what's with all of the Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan?). I just didn't get it. 

But then I saw this. And I got it. 

Much of what makes Scandal popular revolves around the politics of desire. In contemporary popular culture, white women are frequently the objects of desire, regardless of their character or personal accomplishments.  As black women, many of us have had the experience of being invisible to white men, and pushed aside by black men in favor of white women.

Scandal allows black women to live in a world in which the primary object of desire is a black woman, being desired by a (very) good looking white man. Olivia may be mistreated but she is wanted. And by The President of the United States, no less.  

Unfortunately being desired is not the same as being chosen. Or being the one to do the choosing. I was intrigued and excited by a show with a black female lead. I was ready to swoon over her fashion and root for her success.  Unfortunately, for all of Olivia Pope's intelligence-she's stupid. And she's willing to be stupid in front of an audience of her employees and peers (someone get this woman some girlfriends to snap her out of this foolishness). 

I do not expect characters to be flawless; that would be boring. However, repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting a different result is not aspirational or inspiring- it's the most tedious form of insanity.  Furthermore, a black woman who is used for sex and then expected to be a "fixer" is nothing new. It's actually very old.  I keep watching in hopes of uncovering a deeper more progressive subtext, but I don't think there is one.