Say what you will about the 90s, but it was a period of peak Blackness on network television in America. I loved Living Single.
Will there ever be a scene on network television showing Black people in bed with proudly Black hairstyles under a blanket that looks like kente cloth? I very much doubt it. If you look carefully at the 1st gif, Kyle is even wearing a cowry ring. I notice the little things…lol
This type of representation coupled with this kind of imagery doesn’t really exist anymore on network television, even on the much touted Shondaland. Sexuality between Black people is virtually a no go area. It seems hard to imagine these days, but it wasn’t always like this, even in fairly recent times.
We saw depictions of healthy Black love and sexuality regularly. From the working class relationship of Roc and Eleanor to the upper crust Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv, there was a wide range of depictions. It wasn’t perfect (all were straight couples), but nuanced Blackness was visible and prominent. Things like this were par for the course. It was just regular television for us at the time. Who knew that in under 2 decades, we would be opining about how things were in the 90s with respect to the number of sitcoms built around Black actors and centered on the lives of Black people? But this is where we are now.
If I saw what is depicted on the Living Single gifset above on network television in 2015, I would assume that the writers were trying to be subversive. That’s how far we have tumbled when it comes to Black visages on network television. Seeing yourself and people who look like you seems triumphant, but it shouldn’t feel like a victory. It should be the norm. At least in an ideal world. Seeing Black people in bed is something you seldom see, even if they are hilariously mortified at the idea that they had sex with each other. We laughed along at them being mortified, but we deep down wanted them to be together. We wanted Kyle and Max to be together all along. Between laughing at the awkwardness of that scene in the gif, we wanted it to happen. We wanted them to be a thing.
Beyond the dearth of Black romance in network television, the same applies for the movies. Think about the top Hollywood Black male talent like Samuel Jackson, Denzel Washington, Will Smith etc. Think about their female romantic partners or leads in recent years. Now, how many of them have been dark skinned Black women? How many of them are depicted as living, laughing and loving? Nothing extravagant here, I mean just normal, healthy, happy relationships. Fully fleshed out humanity and healthy personal interaction is what I’m getting at. What about sexuality? How is that depicted?
Here’s the reality; there will be no post-coital scenes of Black people. There will be no warm embrace, breakfast in bed or a loving morning stare between Black partners. At least, not in a Hollywood production. Good ol’ liberal Hollywood, the bastion of progressiveness we are taught to believe. Ha!
The last movie I saw with love scenes of note depicting Black skin was with Danai Gurira and Isaach de Bankolé in Mother of George by Andrew Dosunmu. It was refreshing to see Blackness superbly shot and depicted as I know it. As we all know it. Living, laughing and loving, even if momentarily. You won’t see that in a Hollywood production in 2015.
Coming back full circle, it makes me appreciate 90s sitcoms like Living Single and Roc even more. Black people living, laughing and loving. Imagine that.
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