I SEE U is a unique, award-winning program that gives voice to those who have often been unheard, and exploring cultural identity through the stories of people and places that have been transformed by the effects of long-standing biases. We guide fascinating conversations with newsmakers who share their personal histories, their struggles and their triumphs. In listening, we learn to empathize and hopefully experience a few ‘a-ha’ moments for ourselves.
I SEE U is a unique, award-winning program that gives voice to those who have often been unheard, and exploring cultural identity through the stories of people and places that have been transformed by the effects of long-standing biases. We guide fascinating conversations with newsmakers who share their personal histories, their struggles and their triumphs. In listening, we learn to empathize and hopefully experience a few ‘a-ha’ moments for ourselves.
But there were many, including actors on these shows, who believed that producers equated the black experience with poverty and that too often writers pushed negative stereotypes and tropes, especially after the progress in civil rights of the previous decade. Times also weren’t all that good for the Black creators of Good Times, Eric Monte and Mike Evans – both men struggled with Lear to receive recognition for their work.
In the last 50 years, we’ve seen a (mostly) upward trajectory of positive Black representation in film and television – from the likes of The Cosby Show to Abbott Elementary or HBO’s Insecure. Despite this advancement, negative stereotypes persist – and a new animated reboot of Good Times on Netflix is igniting fresh criticism, with many viewers saying the show promotes an image of Blacks as criminal, prone to violence, uneducated and hypersexualized. Would a reboot of a classic sitcom with an all-white cast like The Brady Bunch or Leave It to Beaver receive the same kind of treatment today?Join us as I SEE U host Eddie Robinson chats with the actor who portrayed the first Black teen on network television – Bern Nadette Stanis, who starred as Thelma, the daughter of the Evans family in Good Times. Stanis shares her thoughts on the adult reboot and how she felt misled after portraying one of the characters in the modern series. Plus, Variety TV critic, Aramide Tinubu, provides her perspective on why Hollywood still refuses to let go of outdated and harmful depictions of American Black life.