The last episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink! ended with me talking about what makes a thriller and the elements that are usually included in thrillers. This episode starts with a conversation about why "The Other Black Girl" is NOT a thriller and what it lacks.

We also highlight the lack of clear character motivations, the inconsistent use of time and place markers, and the unrealistic portrayal of black women greasing each other's scalps, or temples, like the series shows. We compare it to other successful thrillers like "The Blackening" and "Inside Out 2," noting the importance of suspense, a clock, and believable plot devices. The conversation also touches on the rushed production timeline and the need for better context and development of themes related to blackness/anti-blackness, respectability politics, and workplace culture.

We talk:

The brilliance of "Inside Out 2" - 4:36

Time/place markers in the book - 11:11

Series production time, or lack of it - 19:01

Social commentary of "the grease" - 27:26

Revising Diana's character - 34:37

In this episode, I learned that the production time for streamed series is very short. And the writers aren't usually a part of the filming process, so they don't get a chance to gel and really develop the show. These streaming companies prefer quantity over quality and it shows!

Episode References:

The Other Black Girl (TV Series 2023)

The Other Black Girl (Novel 2021)

Zakiya Dalila Harris

2023 Writers Guild of America Strike

Inside Out 2

The Blackening

Connect with Nicole on her website BlackWritersRead.com and IG @blackwritersread

*This episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink! was produced by Pink Lady Productions --> pinkladyprod.com

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a Black-owned, woman-owned podcast, and we support other Black, Indigenous, Women of Color-owned podcasts and businesses. We aim to educate and inspire. If that resonates with you, then become contributor now! Check us out for more info on how you can support. -> https://plus.acast.com/s/podcastingisthenewkink.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Other Black Girl's TV series ended with a bang! We loved the fact that there was potential to explore Nella's transformation into a more assertive character, especially contrasting with the book's less satisfying conclusion. And, we liked that they left lots of room for another season. But, we may never get that second season, because for now it's been cancelled. My cohost Nicole and I talk about this and more in this episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink!

We talk:

Racism in Boston and the lack of that context - 2:54

Shani and Kendra Rae's narrow introductions - 9:45

Jesse Watson's character in the book vs the series - 19:08

Political commentary in the series - 22:45

The endings - 30:06

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was about the confusion around Shani's character and the lack of context provided. In the book, she is used to introduce the resistance, and that storyline is pretty choppy and hard to follow. In the series there is no resistance, so we are left to wonder about Shani's actions and her relation to Kendra Rae.

The lack of context and character development is mentioned multiple times:

1. surrounding Shani, as mentioned above
2. when Nicole gives us background on Boston's racial dynamics and critiques its portrayal in the storyline
3. when we discuss the lack of depth in characters like Owen and Malaika

We also talk about the political commentary in Jesse Watson's role and the series' critique of the publishing industry.

Connect with Nicole on her website BlackWritersRead.com and IG @blackwritersread

Episode References:

The Other Black Girl (TV Series 2023)

The Other Black Girl (Novel 2021)

Zakiya Dalila Harris

Clayton Bigsby, the World’s Only Black White Supremacist - Chappelle’s Show

Inside Out 2

*This episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink! was produced by Pink Lady Productions --> pinkladyprod.com

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a Black-owned, woman-owned podcast, and we support other Black, Indigenous, Women of Color-owned podcasts and businesses. We aim to educate and inspire. If that resonates with you, then become contributor now! Check us out for more info on how you can support. -> https://plus.acast.com/s/podcastingisthenewkink.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A main character in "The Other Black Girl," was the grease, but we don't really know much about it. What the h*** was it's purpose? Who made it? What does it symbolize in the "real" world? How does it actually work? The book does a very shallow dive into these questions, and the series does even less. But, the grease isn't the only character missing a backstory. Almost all of them are! "Hazel" is the only one who gets actual character history and we are grateful to understand her motives so deeply, but she's the main antagonist! Why does she get a backstory before the protagonist? Make it make sense!

In this episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink!, Nicole and I discuss the lack of character development in "The Othe Black Girl." We start with a focus on Diana Gordon and Kendra Rae, noting the disconnect in their storylines and the lack of depth in their friendship. We also critique the portrayal of Owen and Malaika, as flat characters dropped into Nella's world, without their own storylines. And, we discuss the story's failure to provide good explanations for key plot points and character actions.

We talk:

Diana Gordon and Kendra Rae - 1:08

The "Grease" - 15:02

The differences in how we consume media - 25:41

Owen and Malaika - 32:28

In the episode Nicole makes a comment about how we all consume different types of media, specifically comparing TV series' and novels. In books, we use our imagination, we can literally read the subtext, and there is an expectation of the reader to use their imagination to fill in certain things. In a TV series, we need to be spoon-fed! The production should show the world that needs to be seen and give us all the tools for it to make sense. We shouldn't have to make huge inferences about what it going on. We shouldn't have to guess!

Unfortunately, I still have a bunch of questions, and I've already watched the series twice, so please hit me up if you know there is something I missed, or if you have the answers! :)

Connect with Nicole on her website BlackWritersRead.com and IG @blackwritersread

Episode References:

The Other Black Girl (TV Series 2023)

The Other Black Girl (Novel 2021)

Zakiya Dalila Harris

Get Out (2017)

The Blackening (2022)

Queenie (2024-)

Dangerous Minds (1995)

*This episode of Podcasting Is the New Kink! was produced by Pink Lady Productions --> pinkladyprod.com

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a Black-owned, woman-owned podcast, and we support other Black, Indigenous, Women of Color-owned podcasts and businesses. We aim to educate and inspire. If that resonates with you, then become contributor now! Check us out for more info on how you can support. -> https://plus.acast.com/s/podcastingisthenewkink.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I hope you are ready for the next season of Podcasting Is the New Kink!, because here it comes! And, this time, I've brought a guest!

Season 8 is all about The Other Black Girl, the super popular novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris AND the questionable series by The Onyx Collective aka Disney. And, I am joined by my new friend and sister in podcasting, the amazing Nicole M. Young-Martin. Nicole is a writer, educator, editor and performer, and she is the founder, producer, and host of the podcast, Black Writers Read, which launched on Juneteenth in 2020.

Connect with Nicole on her website blackwritersread.com and IG @blackwritersread

In this special season, we are going to talk about why you should spend some time reading the book and/or watching the series, and why the themes within are so important.

Stay tuned for new episodes released on Wednesdays! And, make sure that you are subscribed to Podcasting Is the New Kink!

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a Black-owned, woman-owned podcast, and we support other Black, Indigenous, Women of Color-owned podcasts and businesses. We aim to educate and inspire. If that resonates with you, then become contributor now! Check us out for more info on how you can support. -> https://plus.acast.com/s/podcastingisthenewkink.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.