When does Tina Turner get to focus on the fruits of her survival? When will we as onlookers crave that story? By Sika Wheeler With the recent release of HBO MAX documentary TINA , many are either seeing Tina Turner in a shining new light or discovering her for the first time. Much of the...
Tag: documentary
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‘The Social Dilemma’ Fails To Address Racism In Tech And Surveillance Capitalism
The Social Dilemma does a deep disservice to the complexities of racism and technology by ignoring the depth of issues that arise when examining the role big tech plays in the marginalization of BIPOC. By Manaal Farooqi This year, Netflix released The Social Dilemma, a documentary exploring the numerous negative effects of social media and...
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We Haven’t Forgotten What David France Did to Reina Gossett
Reina Gossett is a visionary and her work deserves prestige and compensation. As a writer and an organizer, I get a warm flush a few times a month when I get a shout out on social media from my many peers and colleagues in queer feminist POC networks. The last one that gave me real...
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No Thank You, Apu — Don’t Come Again.
No matter how “beloved” Apu may be, it’s time for him to go. While I appreciate The Simpsons’ place as iconic in the canons of American pop culture, I have never been a fan. My long list of complaints about The Simpsons includes its sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, extreme violence, child abuse and more. But one...
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‘Check It’ is Tainted by the Neo-Colonial White Gaze
However much the directors of “Check It” claim to love the participants, a crime has still been committed in this trauma-porn production. In late Spring 2016, I posed for a photo shoot with my friend and activist Charlie Craggs. The publicity was for a self-defense class for trans women and our photographer was the incredibly...
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Sampson on Being a Black Queer Comedian and the Time he Let the KKK Into a Show
Sampson, the comedian, likes to go by one name “like Madonna!” He tells the story in the opening of A Tough Act To Follow, his documentary about what it’s like being a queer black male in stand-up comedy. Through point-of-view and talking-head interviews from several famous POC comedians, Sampson gives us a look at the struggles...
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Netflix Documentary ‘Audrie and Daisy’ Goes Deep on How Justice System Fails Rape Victims
Audrie & Daisy is a must-see documentary by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk about two recent sexual assault victims — Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman — and the profound injustices visited upon these two young women, as well as survivors everywhere. This film is one without a happy ending, as anyone who has followed the cases will...