Nella is the smart and ambitious 26-year-old protagonist of The Other Black Girl. He is fed up with being the only black employee at the fictional publishing company Wagner Books. So when another black woman comes along; next to Nella is excited in her private room, but she begins to experience a series of creepy and disturbing events, including being followed by a stranger and receiving anonymous notes that seem like threats (or warnings).
Now, Redout and her longtime writing partner Gus Hickey have adapted the story into a 10-episode series, which premiered on Hulu last week. Starring Sinclair Daniel and Ashley Murray, the drama is a sequel to director Jordan Peele’s acclaimed film Get Out, which many critics and viewers called a new era of horror films rooted in Black trauma. It’s a chilling drama that compares to.
“The Other Black Girl” shows viewers how Nella is exposed to both supernatural forces and the challenges that Black employees have long overcome in predominantly white spaces: social exclusion, unconscious bias, and microaggressions. Viewers will continue to explore as they watch.
“When I read about Nella’s journey, it really resonated with me because what she went through included a lot of my own experiences,” Redout said. “Until that moment [in the story] There, she speaks up about things she feels uncomfortable about and is then publicly criticized and humiliated. ”
Redout believes the show is “the first of its kind” to bring black workplace issues to television, but it’s long overdue. Given what many see as a setback from the racial injustices of 2020 that sparked corporate pledges toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the United States, Black creators and viewers argue that we need more stories that explore challenges in the modern workforce. In recent years, the problem has become even more complex.
According to some data, Pew Research Center survey Black workers are the most likely to say they have experienced discrimination or unfair treatment by an employer because of their race, according to a study released in February. About half of black respondents say they feel their race has hindered their career advancement. Additionally, while a majority of Black workers support her DEI initiatives, the survey found that a significant share of Black workers don’t think their employers are prioritizing these initiatives enough. found.
Shows like “Abbott Elementary,” “Atlanta” and “Harlem” have delved into the nuances of being Black in the workplace. Most notably, Issa Rae’s Insecure sees her protagonist struggle with her gossipy colleagues who doubt her abilities. Her best friend Molly navigates challenges such as pay disparity at a predominantly white law firm. advised a black intern to adjust her behavior, hinting that she could be perceived as the typical sassy black girl and clash with the workplace culture.
Molly’s suggestion to “switch it up a bit” refers to something many Black professionals employ in the workplace: code-switching. This is a strategy that involves switching to a set of language and behaviors that white counterparts find agreeable and non-threatening.
Stephanie Trautman Robbins, a Black feminist scholar and chair of the University of Arizona’s School of Gender and Women’s Studies, applauds recent advances in bringing issues facing Black employees to television, but she believes that the workplace stories of Black employees are He says he is ready to take center stage. Mostly white movies and shows.
The CBS sitcom “Murphy Brown” focuses on Murphy’s career in the newsroom, and “everything else happened in that context,” Robbins said, adding that such He added that the pivotal show paved the way for other works such as “Ally McBeal” to adapt them. theme.
However, “I can’t think of a show where the main thing for a Black woman is her career and how she navigates that workspace on a regular basis, or the focus of the show,” the co-editor said. Robbins said.Race and ethnicity on American television: The voices and visions that shaped the nation.” is a two-volume encyclopedia examining 50 years of racial representation in the media, published in 2021.
Mercedes Jimenez is a digital content creator who analyzes corporate workplace issues. tick tocksaid her account was born out of her own adversity at work, describing a hostile environment where she felt isolated and devalued.
“I was involved in an important project, but I was excluded from emails that required me to make decisions about the project, and sometimes they were sent intentionally.” said Jimenez, who has worked there for more than 20 years. He has been working as an educational technology and distance education specialist for 21 years.
One of the shows Jimenez said she would like to watch is a reality show set in a corporate workplace. “Because there are people who don’t believe something like this can happen,” she said. “They believe, ‘You’re just too sensitive, stop doing it.'”
Over the past few years, we’ve seen significant changes in the composition of writers’ rooms.
“I’ll never forget going to the opening night of ‘Grown-ish,'” said Redout, who co-produced the Freeform show. “Because I’ve never seen so many black people in the room at a comedy show. I was used to being alone so many times.”
She’s especially proud that “The Other Black Girl’s” writers’ room, which is comprised primarily of Black women, has upheld the same values.
“It was really inspiring… It was really inspiring to see the women talk to each other about their experiences, what they resonated with in the story, who they identified with, and how they would answer the questions that Nella faces. ” she said. “It was very cathartic. Honestly, it felt like therapy for days.”
Speculation about Nella’s new colleague Hazel (Murray) is dominating conversations on social media, with users wondering about Nella’s hidden agenda.
But the series also spurs deeper questions, including one posed to Nella (Sinclair) midway through the series. “How long are you willing to sacrifice yourself for a paycheck?”
For Redout, the essence of the show is to provide a space for this kind of self-reflection. “To provide a space for all people, not just women, especially black women, to begin to consider what they are willing to sacrifice to get ahead in life.” A life that was not created for them. and how they relate to other Black women within the system and in these spaces. ”
Overall, Redout said he is pleased that the show is resonating with a wide audience.
“We were just making a show for ourselves and now, thankfully, it’s a show for a lot of people as well, so we’re really excited about it.”
