Submitted by Sisiwakanamaru t3_126l4t1 in television
Comments
QuintoBlanco t1_jea2cyk wrote
>Glover is a free man in a socially free society. He can date whoever he wants to.
It's such a strange argument anyway. If Glover had dated 1,000 women, all of whom are not black, then it's reasonably to say that Glover isn't attracted to black women (which is still different from: Glover doesn't like black women.)
But if Glover has only dated a few women and has dated the same woman for the last 8 years, then his dating choices tell us nothing other than that he likes his current partner (and mother of his children).
DonQOnIce t1_je9s3ws wrote
It really does seem like social media has led us all to being too aware of the personal lives of creators and that seeps into the discourse of the creation. It is not great.
Anyway, I thought Swarm was fantastic and anyone who likes thrillers that are off-beat should check it out.
BlooregardQKazoo t1_jea4lx6 wrote
>she's clearly upset about Donald Glover's dating choices
I feel like you're interpreting a whole lot from one line here.
It seems relevant, in an article questioning his view of black women, to note that he doesn't date black women.
I also can't help but notice that rather than simply disagree with her on the relevance, you're accusing her of being overly emotional about it ("she's clearly upset"), which is a common way that women are silenced.
You are free to disagree with her, but you should not try to discredit her by attributing emotion to her and then attacking her on that ground. Your take largely boils down to a more polite way of saying "look at this women, she's acting hysterical!"
inksmudgedhands t1_jeaixqr wrote
After reading the article, I feel like the writer only understood half of the series. Yes, the show is a commentary on the dangers of fandom. But that's just one of the two commentaries this show tries to make. She completely misses the second part and that is SWARM is an anti-serial killer serial killer show. It is a commentary on Western media serial killer series in popculture, itself.
The series flips the the common trope of television serial killers, that is, white men who are smart, witty and more often than not charming who do these elaborate kills and crimes. Think Joe with his plastic cage or Hannibal with his dressed up murder scenes and fancy human meals or even Dexter getting his victims naked only to wrap them up in cling film in a done up setting. These are pop culture monsters who aren't treated as monsters by many of their fans. You have Penn Badgley who has to repeatedly tell so many of the show's fans that Joe isn't a good character. He isn't some poor little "meow meow." He is a serial killer.
Meanwhile, you have Dre on Swarm. She is not white. She is not a man. She is not charming. She is not talkative. You don't get this running narrative of what is going on in her mind. And most of all she doesn't do "beautiful" and "campy" murders. Her kills are played for real. She uses whatever her hands can grab. And there was even a time where she just used her own hands because that was what was available. There is no swelling of music or ironic match up of a pop song playing in the background for humor as she murders. It's just these stark, cold kills. Yes, this show is an entertainment series but the murders aren't being played for entertainment like every other serial killer show. Glover is trying to separate this serial killer show from all the others in this way.
Episode 6 was practically smacking you across the face with this commentary.
"Cases like that can make a career. And I get it...(laughs)...it seems like wishful thinking. A Black female detective stumbles onto a Black female serial killer. ...But the truth is, a killer like Carmen...just isn't on their radar. But I've seen this before."
"Seen what before?"
"Black women falling through the cracks."
How can you watch that and not get the joke? The satire of the whole series?
If you made Dre smart, witty, charming and doing all of these Rube Goldberg meets Renaissance style murders, she would be like all of the other serial killer shows out there. But she is not. Her murders are not meant to played for entertainment. They are meant to make you feel queasy and uneasy. She is suppose to unnerve you and disgust you. That's what makes her stand out from every other serial killer. Glover isn't playing murder for entertainment even though this is a series. He is saying that serial killer shows that do that are messed up. Here is what a serial killer would do in real life. It's not charming. It's not "beautiful." You would not want to be friends with Dre. You would be terrified of her.
The_Lone_Apple t1_je9jmma wrote
A creator creates and an audience likes the creation or not. I stop reading whenever anyone discusses who someone dates because, frankly, it's not their business in any way.
Rufus2fist t1_je9mxrf wrote
Read the article, and while I agree Atlantas female characters were very under developed. DGs comments on thinking a dangerous killer should be portrayed as a dog, should not matter if character is female, black, or have a fucking lisp. It is about the characters presence not the thing brought up, nice try though.
SuspendedInKarmaMama t1_je9noz8 wrote
If someone uses words like 'misogynoir' then you can just write off whatever they're saying. Spend some time away from Twitter.
DonQOnIce t1_je9rust wrote
This article kind of sucks but so does this comment. There is nothing wrong with creating a term that easily communicates that you’re referring to misogyny against black women that is uniquely tied to their race. Words are created and evolve all the time. It’s a perfectly fine word.
VitaLonga t1_je9xwsi wrote
Doesn’t make OP’s comment any less true.
DonQOnIce t1_je9zdqr wrote
I mean, technically you can write people off for any reason you choose. That’s your right. But writing people off for use of a single word is stupid and that opinion is my right.
inksmudgedhands t1_jea6e9e wrote
Are you telling me that you wouldn't roll your eyes and write someone off because they complain that a show was bad because it was too "woke?"
Because if you are, you are stronger than me. As soon as someone goes, "Yeah, this series is too 'woke'," my brain picks up its bag, puts on its hat and goes out the door.
DonQOnIce t1_jea7cpt wrote
I would roll my eyes at that complaint within that context. I don’t necessarily roll my eyes at the use of the word “woke” alone.
It’s similar to how I roll my eyes at the article posted because I think it massively misses the mark. But that isn’t because they used the word “misogynoir” itself.
visionaryredditor t1_je9yu2h wrote
Yes, it makes.
BlooregardQKazoo t1_jea5dwg wrote
I agree that the comment you replied to sucks, but I just want to chime in that the term most definitely does not easily communicate that. I had no clue why the author was choosing to misspell misogyny. Of course I was also able to read the article just fine without understanding why they were using that spelling/word.
inksmudgedhands t1_jea7an9 wrote
The word "misogynoir" is mash up of "misogyny" + "noir." With "noir" being the French word for "black." So, "misogynoir" is the hatred of specifically black women.
edit: Why the downvote? That's exactly what it means. If you don't like it, don't get mad at me. I didn't make up the word.
BlooregardQKazoo t1_jeakii3 wrote
Yes, thank you. Once I was told what it meant I was able to reverse engineer it. But without the meaning given to me, I wouldn't have gotten there myself. The only thing I really associate noir with is film noir.
DonQOnIce t1_jea7hh4 wrote
That’s fair. Nothing wrong with not knowing, it’s a very new term. In that case, the response should be “oh let me see what that means” and go forward from there.
Mainlandempire t1_jeanc8g wrote
You write things off because of words you don't like
And you're an adult or something?
HardlineMike t1_jebn2t2 wrote
Well I can't speak for them, but for me, my eyes glaze over whenever I read someone bitching that something is too "woke" or uses any number of keywords that reveal to me more about them than they probably intended to. Is it perfect? No. But otherwise you're going to spend your days filling your brain with trash from disingenuous people who want to bait you into giving their shit more attention than it deserves just so you can say you gave it a fair shake.
CRoseCrizzle t1_je9ng1o wrote
In the beginning of the article, the author reveals her bias and a really unfair one at that. For some bizarre and likely hypocritical racist reason, she's clearly upset about Donald Glover's dating choices. From there, she writes what feels like a very unfairly biased rant against the work that doesn't adequately address the quality or content show and focuses way too much on Glover. Glover is a free man in a socially free society. He can date whoever he wants to.
Swarm isn't my type of show, and I'm not going to watch it, so maybe the show isn't good. But I'm not really a fan about how she goes about it, and I don't see any evidence of Glover hating women or Black women at all.