Behind the Scenes
Here, I'm giving context to the large cast of extras assembled for the party scene
I speak with DP Sarah Steffens on the logistics of nights shoot
The DPs GLAM shot
Me extremely excited
I work with talent on their business for the party sequence
I demonstrate the action of placing a gold chain around the lead
Behind the Story
I see A Lyrical on Amerikkkan Blackness as the archetypical narrative of the "Black Celebrity": Black identities throughout American history forced or otherwise encouraged to exploit and distort their blackness for the entertainment of white audiences. The story was thematically influenced by dinner conversations had amongst black elders in my family. Hearing how different generations interpreted and consumed black artists' body of work from Sammy Davis Jr. to Tyler Perry is fascinating. What would stand out to me most were criticisms like "Why does Chris Rock have to be so loud?" This criticism, and others like it, were symptomatic of a disdain for black celebrities portrayal of the black identity. This same criticism can be extended to Samuel L. Jackson, Tiffany Haddish, and even the comedy within Spike Lee's movies. While I find more nuance in all of these cases, I understand how these celebrity personas can work to perpetuate negative stereotypes about black personas to anyone unable to differentiate fact from fiction - stereotype from reality. With this short, I wanted to explore the difficulty of achieving the American dream as a black body and the tension that arises when black bodies are forced to negotiate who they are in pursuit of that dream.
Behind the Edit
The edit for this was as straightforward as straightforward can be. The story for this was very thematically led which made it very easy for me to assemble a cohesive narrative. I was most excited about realizing the sequence to interject photos with live footage. It came together to be more impactful than I could have imagined and is a scene that I continue to take great pride in.
