Communites of African Descent: April 2008 Archives
Queer Film Review recently spoke with Nekisa Cooper, producer of the film Pariah. The short -- which is being turned into a feature length film -- screened at Sundance, and tells the coming-of-age story of an African American lesbian teenager (photo at right).In the interview, Nekisa speaks of how she personally relates to the film:
In “Pariah,” the character I identify with the most is the lead character Alike. I, like her, have felt like a chameleon that never quite fit in anywhere, especially right after I discovered I liked women. Once I accepted myself, which took me over 6 years, I felt compelled to figure out how to express myself and had some really funny and sad times coming to a space where I felt OK in my own skin.
Nekisa also comments on her motivation to produce inclusive media:
Our mission as a production company is to use the pop culture medium of film to serve the marginalized and misrepresented because we believe it has the power to make people aware and perhaps even change hearts and minds—even if it is just one heart and one mind—it’s absolutely worth it.
To read the full Q & A, click here.
NOTE: Pariah is available for download on iTunes for only $1.99!
OUT.com features an interview (by our good friend Shana Krochmal) with Paul James, the actor who plays gay college student Calvin on GRΣΣK, a nominee for Outstanding Drama Series at the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Paul explains how a show with such inclusive representation ended up on ABC Family, a network with conservative broadcasting roots:"ABC Family is really trying to rebrand itself, trying to fill the niche that the CW has left. There is a lot more programming coming on in the next year, trying to get an older demographic. At the same time they're trying to keep the family aspect, which I think is really alive on our show -- the brotherhood and the sisterhood and the support you get from fraternities or sororities. And the creator of the show [Patrick Sean Smith] is gay, and I think he wanted to put something on that responds to who he was as a kid. There weren't very many positive portrayals on TV when he was growing up. And if one out of every 10 people are homosexual, then you've got to think that there are a lot of people in fraternities or sororities that are closeted."
For more of the Q&A, check out the transcript here.
Network Responsibility Index
GLAAD Entertainment
Our Mission
