Lena Waithe Research Paper

Julie Taymor, a director and playwright, was the first women to a Tony Award. Her works in opera, theater, and film has gotten her many awards, including Academy awards, an Oliver award, and much more.

The “Thanksgiving” episode in Master of None was critically acclaimed upon its release and understandably earned the show an Emmy for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series”. It is important to note that the actress who plays Denise in this episode, Lena Waithe, wrote the episode herself. The inclusion of a black lesbian women in the creative space and writing on her own experience and storyline makes the show a breakout text. When women are able to produce their own unique experiences in media, it allows for a comprehensive look into the lives of real people. If the writer for an episode like this was white, straight and/or male, it may have resulted in a reliance on stereotypes. However, we are fed quite the opposite with the characters in this episode.

To name a few of the women writers are: Jessie Fauset, Nella Larsen, and Zora Neale Hurston. Houston was seen as one of the most significant unread authors in America. Her work did end up reaching hundreds of thousands of readers, and it provided a new generation of writing. Toni Morrison’s powerful writings explored family violence, sexual oppression, abuse, and the corrosive effects of racism and poverty. Many of these writers shared the idea of righteous anger and triumphant struggles. No one was more powerless or more vulnerable than a poor black girl. These women who brought the controversial stories to the surface faced new challenges. These writers were accused of bashing black men, and being disloyal to their own race. Walker believed that there were generations of black women artists who released their creativity in song and crafts of quilt making, baking, and gardening. Alice Walker has been considered controversial, but one of the most important African American writers of her generation. She wrote, “The Color Purple”, which won a Pulitzer Award and was the first novel that was written by an African American woman. Walker seen herself as an African American writer committed to exploring the lives of black women. Walker published many of her works in the 1970’s and they had a decisive effect in the literary world. Her focus on African American

Being a strong believer in equal rights she demanded a contract. Right then Lena earned her place in African American history as “the first African-American actress in history to sign a long-term contract with a major film studio.” (AMC)

The series follows the lives of the Foster family, consisting of an interracial lesbian couple raising a blended family of biological, adopted opposite sex latino twins and two foster siblings who had been thrown around from foster homes to foster homes.

I found t to be so interesting. I am a huge Tyler Perry fan. But after hearing the study of how he also always portrays black women in a negative way I was amused. Mellissa Harris Perry and Courtney Young, gave a very outstanding explanation on why she does not approve of Tyler Perry work. As discussed in class, Tyler Perry has the stereotypical comments about black women in almost all of his movies. For example, Madea is considered as the “Mammy”. Can I just add that one of his movies is called “The Diary of a Mad Black Women.” When you think about it, Tyler Perry never give any black women in his movie a break. I have never seen any black men in his movies that has any stereotypical issue, it’s always the women. “Black women blanketed by negative stereo types searching for a way up and out of their dismast circumstances.” As the years went on you can see his scripts were becoming the same when it comes to black women. These characters were always “whinny” irresponsible black women who only solved there problem with two things. God and a man. For example, in “Why Did I Get Married” Patricia is a highly educated writer. But of course Tyler Perry finds some way to make her life fall down dramatically. She is having some issues with her marriage especially since her husband blames her for the death of their son. Patricia accidently did not buckle her baby car seat. Also in the second movie, Patricia

An event on Thursday at the Dallas Mexican Consulate where Neave was scheduled to speak about her work for immigrants has been canceled. Carol Donovan who is Chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party put out a statement.

Mollie Goodnight did all that she could throughout her whole life from taking care of her siblings right after both of her parents’ deaths, to just teaching some of her husband's farm hands how to read. Mollie tried to do her best even in the darkest of times, which is one of the reasons that she is one of the best women Texas has ever had.

Neale Hurston knew how to make an entrance. On May 1, 1925, at a literary awards dinner sponsored by Opportunity magazine, the earthy Harlem newcomer turned heads and raised eyebrows as she claimed four awards: a second-place fiction prize for her short story "Spunk," a second-place award in drama for her play Color Struck, and two honorable mentions.

Ai, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Kwame Dawes are all contemporary African American poets. Their works often focused on different aspects of the post civil rights movement in the African American community. Ai was known for writing poetry on hard subjects. She was laso known for writing poems that were graphic. Being multiracial, ( 1/2 Japanese, 1/8 Choctaw, 1/4 Black, and 1/16 Irish), many of her poems were based on the complexity of idenity. On the other hand, Kwame Dawes is a Nigerian born man of Jamaican descent. Gwendolyn Brooks was an African American women whose adult years were spent during the civil rights movement.

Feminism and race/sexuallity play an immense in shaping the story structure for. Feminism is a major part of Kimmy’s discovery of the “new world”, and Tina Fey makes sure she uncovers this in a very monotoned sense. At one point in the show, a random New yorker guy hits on Kimmy by

Gwendolyn Brooks is the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize. She has also received a lot of awards and fellowships throughout her life. Born in 1917, she started her writing career in poetry at an early age, publishing her first poem in 1930. 1967 was a turning point in her career as it was in this year that she attended the Fisk University Second Black Writers' Conference. In this conference, she has decided to involve herself in the Black Arts Movement. While awareness of social issues and elements of protest is found generally in all her works, some of her critics found in her work an angrier tone after joining the movement.

Alice Walker is a world renowned novelist, poet, short story author and political activist, with works including The Temples of my Familiar and In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. Yet Ms. Walker’s most critically acclaimed novel remains The Color Purple. The Color Purple tells the complex tale African American women, their brutal living conditions, everyday abuse, and their instinct to survive. The Color Purple was an immediate success due to its simple writing style, the intricate storyline, and compelling characters. In 1983 The Color Purple was recognized for these very reasons and graciously awarded The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction. Every year several Pulitzer Awards are handed out to distinguished

To illustrate, shows like Black-ish and Empire, with their predominantly African-American casts, would not be able to tell the unique stories being told with a cast of all Caucasian actors. Another excellent show that uses diversity correctly is Master of None, a Netflix original series. Master of None is a relationship comedy that takes place in New York City; Aziz Ansari, an Indian-American comedian, plays the lead, Dev. What makes this show noteworthy, however, is the fact that unlike most television series, Dev is not an exaggerated stereotype. Lavanya Ramanathan, a reporter for the Washington Post, said it best when she stated, “What’s extraordinary about Master of None is that its protagonist is a person of color who’s simply, normal” (Ramanathan). He is able to provide a new perspective, but at the same time he does not make himself seem unrelatable; furthermore, the show addresses this topic by reminding the audience that viewers are able to relate to anthropomorphic animals; thus, the audience surely can relate to people of

Alice Walker in an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet known for her famous novel The Color Purple. She has won both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. Her writings focus on multi-generational periods and inter-connecting black women in the North and the South. Although she is widely known for his novels, her short stories are equally spectacular. Walker is known for incorporating symbolism, imagery, and tone in her writing.