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fi_nikki
Reviews
Black Twitter: A People's History (2024)
Actual Factual
Loved this summary of the way accountability online (and the global ripples of movements in the hashtag era) are honed in the last decade or so. Black Twitter, Instagram lives, and Tiktok have changed so much so fast, I think it benefits us to take a moment and focus on the forest AND the trees.
As a mayo-sapian I have been on the outskirts of this whole phenomenon but learning every day how to show up as someone who wants to keep moving forward, and feel like the alchemy of processing grief and humor and feeling connected have been such a significant part of history and culture in my lifetime. Also no surprise that twitter and tiktok are being systemically squashed because of how important these community-building tools have become! Yet the end was hopeful and reassuring! The guests/interviews were top notch. I'm excited to do more digging after watching it.
Resident Alien: Girls' Night (2022)
Season 2 is the missing piece; keep doing this
Syfy has burned me so many times my expectations for Resident Alien were low. The first season was okay, but the second season is truly what I've been waiting for. We need to include current and important issues in media so we have a way to process them. We need sisterhood, friendship, and non-romantic connections championed. We need native voices and values centered on large platforms. This show, this season, especially the episodes getting the most hate in reviews, show what every network should be paying attention to and learning from when it comes to how to create something NEW and BETTER than what we've all seen before, over and over. Include more content like this! Even if it doesn't appeal to the majority, your new fans will be forever appreciative and loyal for the effort!
Bliss (2021)
Potential down the toilet
Watch a guy subtly blame every woman in his life for his addiction and recovery. I thought I knew where this was going. Humanizing homeless people (which are predominantly women of color) and people with addictions as ~just people~ wouldve been noble; showing the scariness of aging wouldve been great too, but this? this is just gross. "Braids not brains" and all the weirdly race-related anecdotes around his kids weren't lost on me either. So the people of color surrounding this man (specifically the women since his son isn't even given that much significance) are basically shallow husks of a real person meant only to make him more interesting and torment him or enrich his life, even to the point that the basis of his delusions is "IS THIS LADY REAL?" Yes honey, and she isnt to blame for the choices you make or unmake. What a disappointing mess.