It's weird because I see black gay characters on television all the time, but do I relate to them? Not always, because they're set pieces.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the lack of authentic representation of black gay characters in media.
Lena Waithe expresses a feeling of disconnection with black gay characters portrayed on television, suggesting that while they may be visible, they are often not relatable or fully developed, instead serving merely as set pieces rather than complex individuals with genuine stories. This highlights the broader issue of representation in media, where diversity may be present, but true representation and depth can often be lacking.
In practice
During a panel discussion on diversity in media.
As a black woman in the industry, you really do have to hold your head higher, stick your chest out, be kind and polite and generous even when you don't want to be sometimes. I learned that and, also, just to never take no for an answer.
Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'
The cool thing about dope black style becoming in style is that the industry has no choice but to try and reduplicate that.
For me, it's about making art that's not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn't want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn't think, 'I wonder what the industry is gonna think about 'Purple Rain.'' It's just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.
Being born gay, black, and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay black female is.
I don't want to be white. I don't want to be straight. I don't want to blend in.
Writing nonfiction is more like sculpture, a matter of shaping the research into the finished thing. Novels are like paintings, specifically watercolors. Every stroke you put down you have to go with. Of course you can rewrite, but the original strokes are still there in the texture of the thing.
Lots of people have criticized my movies, but nobody has ever identified the real problem: I'm a sloppy filmmaker.
Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be jazz.
In whatever one does there must be a relationship between the eye and the heart.
A big part of making music is the discovery aspect, is the surprise aspect. That's why I think I'll always love sampling. Because it involves combining the music fandom: collecting, searching, discovering music history, and artifacts of recording that you may not have known existed and you just kind of unlock parts of your brain, you know?
Poems infatuated with their own smarts and detached from any emotional grounding can leave the reader feeling lonely, empty and ashamed for having expected more. Like icy adolescents, such poetry is more interested in commiserating than acknowledging that feelings β the sentiments that make us susceptible to sentimentality β actually exist.
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