"insecure" S2

HBO

The good folks over at Mic, or whoever's left of them anyway, recently released a video concerning one of the most overlooked topics in Hollywood: how to properly light actors and actresses of color. Pointing to Issa Rae's HBO hit, "Insecure," which is now in it's second season (and picked up for a third), the network's latest feminist vacuum remains precarious — with landmark favorites "Girls" and "Sex & The City" now out of the picture, there really isn't anything on the cable channel that caters to women, especially to women of color. "Game of Thrones," which has a steady torrent of loyal female fans, is often cruel in its depictions of the opposite sex — employing familiar tropes of rape and incest as models for outdated, male dominion. Ironically enough, "Insecure" is also the current lead-in for another problematic HBO series, "Ballers," a likable enough recreation of "Entourage" that in all fairness, has grown over the past three seasons, yet remains flirtatious with casual misogyny and sexism, chalked up to the old "boys will be boys" adage (the show's opening theme song contains lyrics like "Don't like my women single, I like my chicks in twos"). HBO staples like "GOT" and "Ballers" also have massive budgets at their back, thanks in part to veteran power players — which is what earns Rae's brainchild all the more adulation and praise; given she literally started from the bottom (on YouTube of course) with web series "Awkward Black Girl," the artistry behind her work is a testament to the deep-seated racial politics imbued in its forward-thinking use of cinematography — employing glimmering reflections, hyper specified color schemes, and a female DP who is well aware of her industry's inherent biases — culminating in a narrative where we as an audience are able to witness "Insecure's" characters for what they truly are... Beautifully layered and complex, competing in a diverse urban cityscape which demands their full attention as well as our own. 

The Mic video, which has since gone viral, posits that back when America was "great," color film was tested with a baseline standard for illuminating skin for white faces only. Meaning black, brown, yellow, and red skinned minorities were never adequately photographed, at least not to the extent they should've been. It wasn't until several wood manufacturing companies started complaining to Kodak about their shades of brown that the company finally reversed course. It forces me think back to Spike Lee's 1989 classic, "Do The Right Thing," which beyond its directorial, written and political merits, achieved remarkable strides for its radical depiction of color (pun intended). The chromaticity jumps off the screen in a way that rivals most modern paintings, akin to watching an acrylic watercolor breathing life into itself — infused with rich camera angles, superb close-ups, and ravishing tracking shots married to equally expert dialogue. Cinematography wizard Ernest Dickerson, who had worked closely with Spike up until the early '90s, spoke to The Guardian on the film's 25th anniversary, revealing the techniques he and Lee sought to portray heat visually, utilizing color schemes that were restricted to reds, yellows, ambers and occasional earth tones. The duo also tried to steer clear of blues and greens to maximize the feeling of being trapped, creating a confrontational and claustrophobic atmosphere which rendered the emotional cornerstone of Lee's best work to date. At the other end of the chromatic spectrum, "Insecure" emphasizes its alluring blues, purples, greens, pinks and cascading shadows. Season 2 cinematographer Ava Berkofsky frames everything with the same artistic precision as Dickerson, rendering her subjects as if they were immaculate oil paintings (as all DP's should and usually do), but with the advent of digital photography, it now seems waiting for film stocks to catch up to black stories, black characters, and black filmmaking writ large has thankfully been rendered obsolete. 

Beyond its artistic virtues (the season finale featured a "Run Lola Run"-esque retelling of its character arcs in a cogent 30-day triptych montage), "Insecure" is as good a show as any, which is why it is also doubly disheartening to see it get snubbed at this year's Emmy Awards. In all fairness, the show hadn't blossomed until its second season (just like other likeminded comedy greats "Seinfeld" or "The Simpsons"), and Molly and Lawrence's journeys were not only rife with personal and professional distresses, but grounded in a fashion which allowed the show to confront some painful truths; i.e., the difficulties of working in an all Caucasian office environment, or failing to find love by traditional means, no matter how taboo an "open relationship" may appear to others. Season 2 also reminded me of Chris Rock's '09 stand-up routine about living next door to a dentist, in one of the wealthiest suburbs in New Jersey. He argues that people of color can't just be great in order to succeed, they have to fly. Too true. Whether it's seeing Issa walking down the streets of her old hood (only to be told it's now referred to as "I'wood" by a boho gentrifier), or watching an African American principal denying his Latino students access to proper after-school education, "Insecure" remains a consequential fixture thriving in a hella marginalized landscape for actors, directors, writers and producers of color. Issa Rae's long, improbable slog from "Awkward Black Girl" also proves that anyone who's truly dedicated to their craft, and is willing to develop their own unique voice and perspective, has just as much of a chance as any white dentist living next to Rock. It seems that we could all use more shows that resemble "Insecure," and a whole lot less that look like "Divorce."