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A friend and I had recently finished watching this season of the crown and because we are not series watchers and most of our time is spent doing other things its quite rare that we indulge in watching television series. Yet as school is currently in session it freed up a few hours to indulge in a little Netflix or Hulu action . Well we both are black women and wanted to watch a show that depicted strong black educated women . We both are college graduates, both mothers, both wives, both sisters, daughters, shouldn’t it be easy to find a show that is for and about us ?
Well we all agreed that both blackish and Marlon captured our attention . I even gave the Carmichael Show some credit although she hated it , yet we wanted more , less comedy more seriousness , strong story lines , something that reminded us of our life. And then I stumbled into Being Mary Jane. I binged watched the first season , I frequently watched episodes over and over again because I felt like I was missing something . I asked my husband to watch with me and he started using the word , whore and slut when describing Mary Jane and honestly it was exactly the words that I was thinking but just wasn’t ready to commit to such terminology when considering the one show on television that I could possibly relate to. Then I started being embarrassed that I watched it , started questioning my decision to watch it, kinda like eating a whole box of donuts and then your stomach started getting tiny bubbles. It was that feeling . And then I started wondering did other people lead lives like this and never told anyone . Like that one friend I had in college that always dressed sexy and went out but never had kids. Or the one friend who had already been married multiple times , is this real life and I’m just not a part of it?
I went over all the other shows on television who had a strong black lead, typical sex non-influential mad witch w a B . What is wrong with this picture . Why are we always depicted as mad and sexy ? I’m not always mad and sexy , I have my hair tied up in a scarf as we speak and I’m watching Finding Dory. Does that sound sexy or mean ? Still I do not understand why I’m always shown in a negative light. Well not me per se but black women as a whole. From reality television to sitcoms there is little to no variation in the role of a black woman.
Remember when our roles were that of maids and mammy’s . Is this the new maid and mammy?
Can I only be noticed for my sexuality ? And what does these plot lines have to do with the job role they have ? Why show her as a journalist when the only real thing they are focusing on is who and when she has time to have endless none romances with a lot of different men . Would I want my daughters watching this and thinking that this may possibly be their life in a few years.
And then there is Scandal …I have never watched Scandal but I did read about it . A show that is partially based off former President Bush’s press aide, Judy Smith , who happens to an executive producer of this show. Now Kerry Washington’s role of Olivia Pope has an adulterous affair with the President . Remind you of anything ?
Sally Hemmings 
Haven’t we evolved as a people that we should demand better roles ? Has the money superseded our ability to fight for better roles. Are we as equal as our counterparts? Think about the show the Good Wife. Why is it called the Good wife ? Well because she stayed with her cheating husband and emerged from being a stay at home Mom to go back to work and did she succeed? Yes !
I am wondering as a whole how do black women really feel about their roles as a whole are they comfortable , should we be comfortable?
Basically Confused
Tesha
Besides Cosby Show, Different World and a few other shows. You Rarely see educated women of color. It’s sad unless we step up and be examples. What do our young women look to. We already have to fight if we are not light skinned, long hair, and skinny. They need to see that they are queens. Not maids or whores. Love this Tesha!!
Thanks Love! You’re so right we are prejudice in our own race and then on top of that we settle for a lot of things just to make it. Then they tried to tear down Bill’s character after he had given us such hope with those two shows. I still love them
I haven’t owned a television in more than a decade, don’t stay current when it comes to pop culture. I find most things published severely lacking, wit regard to mental stimuli. This leaves me with not knowing some of the shows you’ve listed.
Months ago, I did binge watch the first seasons of Scandal. And while Olivia appeared to be well-put-together, I was severely annoyed at the seemingly lack of control she had when it came to the dizzying effect the presidential character had over her. It was nauseating afterwards. I thought that binging may have been the reason I felt this way. However, after reading a bit of Rhimes’ book, it was more about her style of writing and potrayal that irks. As a result of not being able to stomach the reading, I put it down.
All that said, garbage sells because people don’t have to think. This leaves a complete void generally, and the roles black women depict are just a microcosm of the greater void.
I find looking at indie and foreign published works more interesting.
wow I have never ventured to read her books the shows are more than enough for me . I will check out the indi and foreign things soon .