The Most Important Ingredient for a Good Sex Scene
As you may know, I spent much of this week at AWP’s 2013 conference in Boston. On the last day, I attended a panel on how to write a good sex scene. The panelists read from their own works and from those of other writers who they think have written sexual intercourse well. Some of [...]
Rules for Colorblind Casting
I swear, the things I find in weekend reading. I saw a headline in my daily e-blast from The Root about a high school doing a stage production of “The Wiz” with no African Americans in the cast. (Maybe some members of the cast are another “other?” School officials claim here that there’s diversity in [...]
And It’s Still Not Funny
I wish the Academy Awards had segregated seating. They already sort of do; actors, producers and directors sit in the front, grouped by their film and/or how powerful they are in Hollywood, while screenwriters and tech designers sit in the back and get less time for their acceptance speeches. But I wish seating were segregated [...]
Even When It’s Not on ‘The List’
I think Olivia Pope was wrong about herself on last night’s “Scandal.” I don’t think she wants painful love (which would also be oxymoronic love.) I think she just wants what she wants, even when it’s not on The List. You know, The List of All the Things That Indicate A Black Woman’s Life is [...]
Sexy, Feminine, Sensual, Tough: Beyonce’s Perfect Blend
When I saw the tweets below last night from Dr. Kaila Story, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville and the Audre Lorde Chair in Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality Studies there, I had to agree. And then I had to figure out why. The sensual, sexy feminine part was obvious: It’s in [...]
An Open Letter to Shonda Rhimes: Bring April’s Sexy Back
Dear Ms. Rhimes: Most of the time, I love you and you make me regret not sticking it out in L.A. a little longer to become a screen- and television writer. But I need you to do something different with April Kepner. I met Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy for the first [...]
9 of the Most Memorable Moments for Black Women in 2012
On this last day of 2012, I’m sharing the moments from throughout the year that are most memorable to me when I think about black women in arts and entertainment, sports, politics, and life. Why aren’t there 10? Just because. In no particular order, here we go: 1. Whitney Houston Died I learned about [...]
Handling Shade with Subtext: a lesson in writing and interracial dating
As a writer, I love subtext, and Shonda Rhimes does it brilliantly. The genius behind “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” took it to a new level last night when character Olivia Pope, who is black, said this in reference to her affair with the president, who is white: “I’m feeling a little ‘Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemmings’ about this.” [...]
The Storyteller Makes the Difference
I haven’t seen the new film, “Lincoln,” yet (and with what may be a pinched nerve making it hard to sit for long periods of time, who knows when I will). Though I know the performances are stellar and writer Tony Kushner’s fame is arguably deserved, this review by Kate Masur in the New York Times [...]
Called to Love in Election 2012
“to be ‘feminist’ in any authentic sense of the term is to want for all people, female and male, liberation from sexist role patterns, domination, and oppression.” –bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman For this last Faith and Feminism Friday post before the 2012 election, I want to point you to a conversation with bell [...]
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