We are being conditioned to think of things in black and white terms, says Dear White People creator Justin Simien
'Dear White People' is one of the best shows on Netflix at the moment if you're interested in politically charged but not at all preachy shows. The show follows the campus life of a fictional Ivy league university called Winchester and how racism is rampant even in a place that is filled with educated people. The creator and writer of the series Justin Simien, recently in the Comedy Showrunners roundtable shed light on what it is like to make a colored show, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
"The thing about doing a 'black show' is that, within my own community, there's all this representation stuff. You cannot cast a black show, let me tell you, without thinking of all of these things — like, that your skin tones are evenly matched and what are you saying about light-skinned people. And on one side of it, I feel like black people and women, for instance," he said.
"All of us have the right to feel a lot of outrage, but then there is an addiction to it that, at a certain point, is no longer productive. So, my thing is if you tell the truth it might have a moment where people are up in [arms] and there might be some 'hullabaloo-ing,' but it stands the test of time."
He also added that we must rise above the concept of clear boundaries. Comparing culture to a clock, he said, "Culture is a pendulum. It swings too far in every direction. In this particular instance, it's so tricky because, with Twitter and social media, it's like we're being conditioned to think of things in very black-and-white terms. And we're human beings, we're capable of seeing the gray areas.
"Women have been going through some bullshit for a long time, so I'm OK with the overcorrection. I think there is a line, and there is a danger, but I'm also happy that, as an artist, I can talk about that in my work because there's nuance to it," he said.
Writers, comedians, and showrunners were a part of this dialogue. Alec Berg from 'Barry' and 'Silicon Valley', Pamela Adlon from 'Better Things', Whitney Cummings from 'Roseanne', Michael Schur 'The Good Place' and Amy Sherman-Palladino from 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' also spoke at the event along with Justin Simien.
'Dear White People' is for everyone who cares about what is going on around you — it's for the woke. Witty as hell, wildly entertaining, this television series is all about a rebel with a cause stuck in a generation that's desperately trying to fit in. Starring Logan Browning, Brandon P Bell, DeRon Horton, Antoinette Robertson, John Patrick Amedori, Marque Richardson and Ashley Blaine Featherson.