I\u2019m trying something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In preparation for this post, and future posts as well, for that matter, I\u2019m seeing a pattern developing here, and so I thought I\u2019ll just go with it. So from now on, (or at least until I see how it goes), I\u2019m going to create a theme for each month that my posts will be centered around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This month\u2019s theme is human interest stories. That\u2019s a little broad, I know. I kinda think that everything thing I write is a human-interest story, has some element of human interest to it. But I really want to focus on the human condition this month, especially sense I think I\u2019ve kinda already been doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next month, the month of December, the theme will be beauty, so I\u2019m excited about that. And don\u2019t worry, if you\u2019re a guy (or someone who doesn\u2019t wear a lot of makeup, like me), it\u2019s not going to be a month of skincare finds and makeup tutorials \u2013 though I\u2019m not opposed to that \u2013 now I feel like I\u2019m being too diplomatic. Anyway, just be sure to come back in December and you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now for today\u2019s post. You know I\u2019m a writer, and I love movies (I want to make movies), but even more than movies, I watch a lot of TV. There was a time in my life, like in my teens during summer break, where I would watch 18 hours of TV a day. Looking back now, I think, How did I do that?<\/em> But I have to admit, I\u2019m still a pretty big TV fan to this day. I watch about six hours of TV a day as opposed to 18. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the shows I\u2019ve been watching in the past four years is \u201cInsecure\u201d created by Issa Rae. I say four years, because I didn\u2019t have HBO the first year it came out, didn\u2019t see season 1 until the DVD was released and I brought it? Oh no \u2013 checked it out at the library. And I must say, I\u2019m not a fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s funny because I have seen every episode of this series. The first two seasons I checked out from the library. Season 3, I think I binged on-demand during an HBO free trial. Season 4 I also saw partially during a free trial of HBO and ended up subscribing to HBO just to see the rest of the season. I\u2019ve had HBO ever since then. Now, I\u2019m faithfully in front of the TV every Sunday night at 7pm when it airs. And, if I can\u2019t be, I DVR it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, and still, I\u2019m not really a fan of the show. I do it for the culture. I do it to support black culture in Hollywood, but also to take in black culture as member of the television viewing audience who\u2019s inundated with non-black culture on my television screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not like I think the show is so terrible \u2013 I mean granted, I don\u2019t really like the writing, and I don\u2019t like their excessive use of amber lighting \u2013 but I wouldn\u2019t watch it if there were other options. But the fact of the matter is there are no other options of black shows like \u201cInsecure.\u201d At least not that I know of. I actually like the Wine Downs that they do after the show, better than the show itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last Sunday\u2019s show, however was an exception. That show was so fucking well done I was in awe. The writing was superb. The acting was superb, especially compared to the first two episodes of the season which had me thinkin\u2019 is it over yet<\/em>. This episode drew me in and I didn\u2019t want it to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dialogue is one of the hardest things to get right in a TV show or a movie. And this writer, Jason Lew, I think his name was, was just so fucking spot on. I mean, that argument between Lawrence and Condola (I refuse to give her a mock-name like Canola or Coconut Oil, like I\u2019ve noticed most people on the interwebs have done when referencing her) was so good. Like every response seemed so real, like the argument wasn\u2019t even scripted. That is the level of writing I want to rise to, creating dialogue that seems real and not scripted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the theme of this episode, at least as far as I could see, was having a baby with a man who\u2019s not in love with you and doesn\u2019t want to be with you. That\u2019s deep and that\u2019s complex, and this episode it an awesome job highlighting the complexities of that situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I\u2019m all for equal pay for equal work, but I don\u2019t believe that women and men, are the same, we are different. Yes a woman can be a president, or a scientist, or a CEO, but if I\u2019m stuck in a burning building, please send a big, burly man to save me. And if I need to leave work early because I have terrible menstrual cramps, please let my boss be a woman who\u2019ll understand me (that wasn\u2019t the best example, but hey). I mean just like a wrench is different from a hammer even though the are both tools, men and women are different, and I think it\u2019s irresponsible to try and equate the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That difference, is on full display in this episode. Here we see the man, Lawrence, despite having a baby on the way with another woman, is still trying to reignite sparks with his old flame, Issa. And when that doesn\u2019t work out, he\u2019s already on to the next, dating and sleeping with a new woman. Meanwhile, Condola is back home, stewing over the fact that she\u2019s having a baby by a man who doesn\u2019t want her. So mad, in fact, is she that she\u2019s doing underhanded things like not telling him she\u2019s in labor, and informing him of the baby\u2019s arrival via text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps she mistook his eagerness to be a part of the baby\u2019s life, despite her antics, including full on naming the baby without his input, as a sign that maybe he wanted to try to work things out with her for the baby\u2019s sake. Otherwise I didn\u2019t understand why she wanted to go to Simone\u2019s one-year birthday party with him as if they were a couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s clear to me, that there is a part of Condola that wants to have a family with Lawrence, yet she only has a baby with him. And, I think the realization of that in those lonely week days when she\u2019s taking care of the baby on her own, while he\u2019s back in San Francisco livin\u2019 it up in his career and his social life, weighed heavy on her and caused her to act out the way she did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a classic female response. I\u2019m sure it must be hard to carry a man\u2019s child, someone you were or still are really into, possibly even loved, all the while knowing you\u2019re an afterthought to him, not because he\u2019s a bad person, but just because he\u2019s not into you like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only raising a child, but also pregnancy, I don\u2019t think was meant for one to go it alone. Obviously only one person can carry the baby and that\u2019s the woman, but that doesn\u2019t mean that the man isn\u2019t still an important part of that process, for nurturing and mental and emotional support, preparation and the like. And I just think this episode was a beautiful display of what happens when a woman doesn\u2019t get that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I thought the episode leaned more towards siding with the woman, in the fact that it shows how things can be more difficult for a woman who\u2019s raising a baby by herself, or mostly by herself, I liked the fact that it showed that it wasn\u2019t easy on the guy either. And in this case we\u2019re talking about a good man, not a dead beat dad, but a man who\u2019s willing to take responsibility for the child he helped create. He pays by losing the woman he\u2019s actually in love with. I love how when they were arguing he told her she blew up his life. Like, that\u2019s harsh as fuck, but I love how they put that in there. Because even though his man may love and is willing to support his child, it\u2019s clear that having a baby with a woman you\u2019re not in love with and don\u2019t want to be with, has it\u2019s adverse effects on a man as well, even if it\u2019s not the same way as a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where they both dropped the ball is not being properly prepared. I mean, the each had at least six months in advance that they knew this child was coming. Even though they weren\u2019t going to be together, they could have worked out the whole visiting situation, his job situation. I mean, he could have started looking for similar jobs in L.A., she could have better prepared herself for what it was going to be like to be parenting alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But ultimately, I think this episode is a cautionary tale for both men and women (but especially women) about what can happen when you have casual sex with someone who likes you, maybe even treats you well, but is not committed to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m trying something new. In preparation for this post, and future posts as well, for that matter, I\u2019m seeing a pattern developing here, and so I thought I\u2019ll just go with it. So from now on, (or at least until…<\/p>\n