For decades, Blackshaw’s blueprints have hit similar notes with stable middle-class families based in New York or Los Angeles.
Of course, sometimes a family consisted of a group of friends, as seen in “Girlfriends”. The city was also sometimes in the Midwest, as seen in “Family Matters” (Chicago) and “Martin” (Detroit).
However, mainstream shows featuring black people rarely took place in the South. And rarely did it portray struggles outside of middle-class existence.
However, if you take a look at recent TV shows, you’ll see something new. Starz’s ‘P-Valley’, HBO Max’s ‘Rap Sh!t’, FX’s ‘Atlanta’ and OWN’s ‘Queen Sugar’ all begin their final seasons this month and are among the hottest shows on TV. is. .
Their characters aren’t doctors or lawyers, they’re strippers, rappers, farmers, or simply hustlers. And the shows all take place in the South.
The story of the South is nothing new
But telling Southern stories is nothing new. In some ways, television is simply following the lead of other areas of culture, said Aisha Durham, a communications professor who studies black popular culture at the University of South Florida.
In music and film, the South has been portrayed with nuance and intent for decades, with Durham referring to films like “Eve’s Bayou” and more recently, “Moonlight,” to describe Southern Louisiana and Miami, respectively, are films with important roles.
At the same time, she explained, new sounds and musical genres emerged from the South, like trap. Also, artists such as Beyoncé and Megan Thee Her Stallion incorporate the Southern Black aesthetic into her fashion and music videos.
“There’s a new body, a new person, a new experience, and I think it invites us to look at the South differently,” said Durham. “I would say that television is mostly lagging behind, especially when it comes to dramatic series.”
The South also comes to mind in other areas of our culture, often garnering national attention. This will be seen in the run-off ballot in Georgia this year.
For a long time, many people thought of the Southern narrative only in the context of the civil rights movement and segregation, Durham said. And now many look back on the region and think of other stories that are still being told.
“We’re seeing some of the vibrancy and vibrancy that’s always been a part of the South now,” Durham said. we know.”
Current changes reflect the changing entertainment industry
If there has been a change, it has been a business change, argued Tracy Salisbury, professor of ethnology at California State University, Bakersfield.
Salisbury says it’s not that perceptions of the South are changing or changing, but that the industry is shifting locations, making Atlanta a major hub for entertainment, not just New York or Los Angeles.
Tyler Perry, whose work is polarizing, has a production studio in Atlanta and has long set his movies and shows in the South. He’s also partnered with his Oprah Winfrey Network to produce ‘Queen Sugar’.
According to Salisbury, there are simply more black creatives having a say in television, so they can tell new and interesting stories.
“These stories exist, and these stories have been pitched before. Now I think we have a fair amount of talent and an audience to drive Hollywood to support these stories.” ‘ she said.
Still, Salisbury hesitates to call the rise a trend. She cited her Quinta Brunson, creator of her ABC hit show “Abbott Elementary” about elementary schools in Philadelphia, as an example. Before “Abbott Elementary,” Brunson made comedy sketches of her on her Instagram and then moved on to BuzzFeed and her YouTube until finally taking a shot at the network’s show. Then she knocked it out of the park and won an Emmy earlier this week.
“I think that’s still something black creators have to do,” said Salisbury. “If you don’t knock it out of the park, you’ll have to start over.”
In the past, black shows such as “The Cosby Show” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” were produced for mainstream audiences, Salisbury said. Bill Cosby was considered an “American father” at the time, not a black American father. .
The difference with these new shows is in their intent. They are made by black people for black people. Strip in “P Her Valley” Non-binary at her club Her owner, Uncle Clifford, said she was no American Uncle, but his grandmother reminded her of himself. Let
These series finally show the richness of the South
If most Black shows of the past took place outside of the South, these new shows are sort of homegoing.
In other shows, these Southern characters may have been used as jokes. Considered almost primitive compared to life. But in these shows, the South and its characters reject bumpy stereotypes and embrace all aspects of the South.
Salisbury cited “P-Valley,” which is set in the fictional town of Chucarissa, Mississippi. From the show’s fashion aesthetic and its marijuana-infused wings to its very specific Memphis Shippi accent, the show is deeply rooted in the South and even takes a toll on the religious traditions of the Black South, Salisbury says. Told.
But it’s done with respect, she noted.
“We’re not laughing at these people, we’re laughing with them,” she said.
New York City and Los Angeles are often presented as cosmopolitan and diverse spaces on television. But the South is often stuck in the past, says Durham, a space already known that lacks the diversity of other regions.
These shows reject those notions.
Durham used “Rap Sh!t” as an example., Caribbean and Haitian cultures, and African Americans as an ethnicity can be discussed with blacks of other ethnicities in the South.
“There are so many ways we have to rethink Southern blackness,” said Durham.
Then there is the issue of class. In the early days of television, the supposed class was always middling. According to Durham, the new show shows something different, focusing on economically vulnerable people simply trying to succeed in the world.
These characters are portrayed with depth and sincerity. For example, the “P-Valley” stripper is more than just an aesthetic body in a trap music video. Paper Boi in “Atlanta” and Shawna in “Rap Sh!t” aren’t just background rappers on his soundtrack. The audience is invited inside instead.
“We are actually invited to see what the experiences of the people who create culture are like,” Durham said. Do you know what? These shows give you a way to see it.”
Durham said these shows challenge existing perceptions of the South and allow the region’s hierarchical and complex narratives to take shape.
As these shows point out: The South has a queer community. I have sex work. There is class struggle. There is diversity. There is joy. There are people just trying to survive, not simple caricatures.
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