Usually, when I pop back up on this blog it is because I have been inspired in some way. I have seen a play or read a book or watched a film that has knocked the air out of me and I want to spread the good word. Almost like a media missionary. I honestly think God would be okay with me saying that!!!
Today’s inspiration comes by way of a quote. A wise, ethereal, clear-skinned philosopher once said,
“be the gold you wanna hold, my g’s.”
The philosopher in question? Solange. The gold she’s referring to? Awards, accolades, and all of the other made-up honors Hollywood insists the rest of us should care about.
As often as I watch award shows, I know not to place a ton of value on their outcomes. Steve Carell does not have an Emmy for his work in “The Office.” J. Cole does not have a Grammy for any of his five studio albums. Beyoncé did not even get a NOMINATION for her stellar work in Austin Powers: Goldmember. These are not institutions I can, in good faith, respect.
Earlier this week, the nominations for the 76th annual Golden Globes, scheduled for January 2020, were announced. And people were not into it.
In my opinion, the majority of films that got nominated this year weren’t actually all that bad, just wayyyyyyyy too predictable.
-If you want to watch Marriage Story, a story about the degradation of a relationship that earned six Golden Globe nominations, watch the 2008 version of the same narrative called Revolutionary Road. That movie at least stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reprising their Titanic-chemistry. And guess what, SHE dies!
-Want to dig into 3+ hours of mob mayhem in Scorsese’s 5x-nominated film The Irishman? Just watch Goodfellas or The Godfather. It’s basically the same cast!
-Scrolling through Netflix in search of some seething drama about British royalty? Forget The Crown, Vanessa Hudgens plays a schoolteacher falling in love with a medieval prince in The Knight Before Christmas! Similar enough, right?!**
You get my point. It’s the same old stuff, recycled for a new generation. And tbh, most of us are over it. So, in an effort to usher in some of that sweet, sweet change the entertainment industry pretends it’s interested in, here is a list of performances I think deserve some praise.
Susan Kelechi Watson in “This Is Us”
Cause, duh.
Oh…you were expecting insightful commentary and/or analysis? Pshshsshshshshshhh. Here is my analysis, Beth is the best and that is a cross I am willing to die on. (Again, I think God would approve!!!)
Nicole Beharie in “Black Mirror”
Remember when that episode of “Black Mirror” with all the Black people came out earlier this year? And we were all in mutual agreement that it was weird? But we were all also in mutual agreement that Nicole Beharie is fine as hell and a phenomenal actress? Yeah! Let’s never forget that again! While many, including myself, were first introduced to Ms. Beharie in FOX’s questionable adaptation of “Sleepy Hollow,” my good sis actually has a ton of amazing work under her belt. I’d recommend hunting down a cinematic gem called The Last Fall in which she acts opposite Lance Gross. ALSO, I introduced myself to her at a Beyoncé concert once and she hugged me so I trust her taste in music and strangers.
The look I would also give my man if he was LITERALLY cheating on me with a video game.
Marsha Stephanie Blake in…everything
I have a hunch that Ms. Blake is the first human being to discover how to function with absolutely no sleep. In this year alone, she has had recurring roles on NBC’s “This Is Us” and ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder,” immortalized Linda McCray in Netflix’s “When They See Us,” had a featured role in Soderbergh’s The Laundromat, and I CAN GO ON!!! Just pay closer attention to literally anything you are watching on TV, and she is bound to show up eventually.
All the children on all the shows
I’m not sure what they are putting in them Capri Sun pouches nowadays, but it has these babies on acting steroids. There were so many phenomenal performances this year by humans born after 2000 D: Millie Bobby Brown from “Stranger Things” and Ja’Siah Young from “Raising Dion” gave us sci-fi realness. Ethan Hutchison from “Queen Sugar” and Faithe Herman from “This Is Us” gave us cute, baby-face realness. Asante Blackk from “When They See Us” gave us heart palpitation-realness. It was entirely too much.
Don’t be fooled by the smiles. These kids are ready to wreck your life.
Casey from “Temptation Island”
Okay, I usually try to focus all my energy on highlighting femme-identifying artists on this platform, but I got to give this white man his props. “Temptation Island” is the best reality show that not enough people know about. Heterosexual partners in (committed!!!) relationships go on the show, are separated by gender into gorgeous villas on opposite ends of a tropical island, and then tested to see whether or not they will cheat on their partners when surrounded by legions of bikini and speedo-clad singles. It’s…BRILLIANT!
Casey is 1/2 of one of these genius couples and switches his story up every other episode. In one scene, he is in a hot tub explaining how “he wouldn’t even care if his girlfriend of over a year cheated and broke up with him” because he’d happily go back to his single, bad boy lifestyle. In the next scene, he is this:
And this:
AND THIS!!
This good man has some serious range and deserves to be celebrated for it. Kudos Casey!
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**It’s safe to say I’ve never seen The Crown.
***It should be noted that “lawyer-turned-playwright” is truly my immigrant mother’s worst nightmare.
BRITTANI WITH AN I 