Chicago2021
General Manager
I’m surprised by this and kinda don’t get it—is it that Lauren feels offended Issa doesn’t think she’s a good enough actress to play awkward?
From Vanity Fair’s cover story on Issa:
“In 2011, Rae made her web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, and carved a lane for herself, as well as for other Black girls who were gawky and antisocial, in the key of Tina Fey in 30 Rock, or Larry David in everything. (Both are frequent touch points for Rae.) The archetype existed before she gave face to it, not that the industry’s largely white bosses recognized it. Both in interviews and in her memoir, Rae has told the story of a TV executive who suggested that Lauren London, an actor who got her start playing the love interest in a spate of music videos and in films like the drama ATL, would be a great fit for a cable version of Awkward Black Girl.The moral of the story was not only that executives were out of touch with Black women, swapping one for another even when they were nothing alike, but also that dark-skinned Black women could be edited out of their own narratives. In a twist that Rae didn’t anticipate, the anecdote hurt London’s feelings. “One of my biggest regrets, naming her,” she says. “She took offense to that.””
EDIT!!:
Whoops y'all I never finished the article lol.
Here's the very next paragraph lol:
"The duo made peace at Diddy’s birthday party two years ago, Rae says, spurred by London’s partner, the late Nipsey Hussle. The rapper approached Rae at the party and encouraged her to make things right. “He was like, ‘You should just talk to her. Let me set it up,’ ” she says. “It actually sparked an amazing two-hour conversation. We had so much in common. She was like, ‘People don’t understand, I’m an awkward Black girl.’ In the same way that I was upset about the limited portrayal of Black women, she was like, ‘People do the same thing to me.’ I completely get that.” The conversation burrowed itself in Rae’s brain. With Insecure, she has actively expanded the scope of characters that Black women can relate to—and that mission will continue to guide her."
Edited to add:
Not sure the newly discovered lol second paragraph is helping me understand Lauren more.
What does you personally being an awkward Black girl have to do with you taking on this as role?
I think if her acting chops were better no one would have an issue with her playing against type but no one would ever think she could pull off awkward black girl, partly because her acting skills don't show that range and also partly because she's always played the pretty desired girl in the few acting jobs she's had so I understand Issa feeling like this isn't something she could tackle and I understand why since her public image is one where she is always highly desired why Issa would be annoyed a studio exec would think she would work for it when there are no indications that she could.
From Vanity Fair’s cover story on Issa:
“In 2011, Rae made her web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, and carved a lane for herself, as well as for other Black girls who were gawky and antisocial, in the key of Tina Fey in 30 Rock, or Larry David in everything. (Both are frequent touch points for Rae.) The archetype existed before she gave face to it, not that the industry’s largely white bosses recognized it. Both in interviews and in her memoir, Rae has told the story of a TV executive who suggested that Lauren London, an actor who got her start playing the love interest in a spate of music videos and in films like the drama ATL, would be a great fit for a cable version of Awkward Black Girl.The moral of the story was not only that executives were out of touch with Black women, swapping one for another even when they were nothing alike, but also that dark-skinned Black women could be edited out of their own narratives. In a twist that Rae didn’t anticipate, the anecdote hurt London’s feelings. “One of my biggest regrets, naming her,” she says. “She took offense to that.””
EDIT!!:
Whoops y'all I never finished the article lol.
Here's the very next paragraph lol:
"The duo made peace at Diddy’s birthday party two years ago, Rae says, spurred by London’s partner, the late Nipsey Hussle. The rapper approached Rae at the party and encouraged her to make things right. “He was like, ‘You should just talk to her. Let me set it up,’ ” she says. “It actually sparked an amazing two-hour conversation. We had so much in common. She was like, ‘People don’t understand, I’m an awkward Black girl.’ In the same way that I was upset about the limited portrayal of Black women, she was like, ‘People do the same thing to me.’ I completely get that.” The conversation burrowed itself in Rae’s brain. With Insecure, she has actively expanded the scope of characters that Black women can relate to—and that mission will continue to guide her."
Edited to add:
Not sure the newly discovered lol second paragraph is helping me understand Lauren more.
What does you personally being an awkward Black girl have to do with you taking on this as role?
I think if her acting chops were better no one would have an issue with her playing against type but no one would ever think she could pull off awkward black girl, partly because her acting skills don't show that range and also partly because she's always played the pretty desired girl in the few acting jobs she's had so I understand Issa feeling like this isn't something she could tackle and I understand why since her public image is one where she is always highly desired why Issa would be annoyed a studio exec would think she would work for it when there are no indications that she could.
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