Anthony also – for some unknown reason – refers to a glam African American school mum friend of Charlotte’s as “Black Charlotte”, it just reinforced to me – why does this powerful woman have to be defined through a white lens, a reflective echo of Charlotte, why can’t she just be fabulous in her own right?
In 2021 this just isn’t good enough. If I’m going to try and give them the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they are going for a story arc of confused Karens/ white Saviours and see how they develop throughout the series? However, I think they were trying to tick boxes to prove how far they had come from the 90s but it just felt the same way when someone tells you their best friend is Black, they’ve read an extensive reading list on how to be an ally and that they also fancy Denzel Washington to prove they aren’t racist.
Several times my husband covered his head with a blanket and whispered, “why, why would they mess with their legacy, it’s like someone embarrassed by themselves instead of owning their sh*t”.
I totally agree with him. Sex in the City wasn’t diverse in its outlook just like the movie ‘Notting Hill’ – from the same era – had no Black people in it even though that area of London has been a traditionally Afro – Caribbean area and especially around the time of filming in the 90s, when the bankers hadn’t quite moved in just yet.
And Just Like That should be a case study for why you need diverse writers, producers and voices at an executive level in the room. The credits of the show read as a one man band with Michael Patrick King as credited as writer, producer and director and this shows. The tone was completely off it was shocking at parts to watch. Yes it was nice to see old friends back together, but honestly they needed someone to tell them “no don’t do it”. I’m shocked and also not shocked at the African American actresses in the show who should have pulled Michael Patrick King aside and had a word but like so many Black people in the creative industries, who have spent decades being ignored, overlooked and blocked from opportunities perhaps in my opinion they just grabbed the role of a lifetime and just went with it, even though they should have known better? The show also made me think of Adele’s Bantu Knots and Carnival outfit, she didn’t mean any harm but someone should have said “read the room babe”, not now perhaps next year. Someone should have said something and a more diverse team with people willing to speak up should have done something.