Friday, March 29, 2024

Yvette Lee Bowser: ‘Dear White People’ is a ‘Love Letter to the Marginalized’ [EUR Exclusive]

netflix series
(photo source: Twitter)

*Despite the backlash from mainly white trolls, “Dear White People,” which is about race and race relations at a fictional Ivy League school, earned a coveted 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, as of Tuesday.

The Netflix original series, created and executive produced by Justin Simien, premiered on the streaming platform last week. The 10-episode series is based off of Simien’s 2014 debut film of the same name and subject matter.

When Netflix dropped the teaser trailer in February, a bunch of white critics got offended and decided the show was about white genocide. They even launched a failed #BoycottNetflix campaign. Simien told EUR/Electronic Urban Report that the backlash actually helped promote his show.

EUR caught up with series executive producer Yvette Lee Bowser to discuss the backlash and cultural significance of “Dear White People.” She noted that “those who choose to be confused” are going to do things like start a social media boycott, “and they’re gonna miss out,” she said.

“I think it’s very unfortunate that some people are quick to judge something about which they know very little. Fortunately for us, Netflix supports the show 100% and they’re very excited about it.”

OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Justin Simien: ‘Dear White People’ Creator Talks ‘Racist Trolls’ & ‘Magic’ Behind New Netflix Series [EUR Exclusive]

dear white people
Yvette Lee Bowser (source: Twitter)

Bowser, best known for writing and producing “Half & Half,” “Living Single,” and “A Different World,” describes “Dear White People” as a “love letter to the marginalized.”

With “Living Single,” Bowser became the first African-American woman to develop her own primetime series. As a fan of the film “Dear White People,” she didn’t hesitate to come on board as an EP after meeting with Simian. She described him as a “delightful” visionary.

“He was such a cool dude. I decided I wanted to help him. We had this instantaneous trust. I think because of my track record and also my approach to his project, which was to mentor him and to try to enhance his vision without impeding it. And that was the spirit with which I came to this project and I think that’s the spirit with which I ran the show. We both had a lot of love and respect for the material and what we were trying to do. We had a very good trusting partnership creatively.”

When EUR chatted with Simien about the project, he explained why he wanted to continue the conversation about race and identity through this series. Bowser co-signed with his idea to have “a larger, more ongoing canvas to tell stories through these characters who had, before now, not been seen really.”

“I think that’s really been kind of the formula for success for many many shows, which is kind of to fill a void — to find what stories aren’t being told and begin to tell them and hopefully pave the way for even more stories that are about people who are different and finding themselves.”

netflix series
source: Twitter

Bowser says “the emphasis for the series was the impetus of the film, which was to tell stories of those who were unseen and unheard. And dealing with the very specific situation of being a black face in a white space.”

“I went to a completely all white school, as did Justin, so the series has definitely been kind of an amalgam of our experiences in that situation,” she said.

“Justin was born weeks before I graduated from high school, so we’re definitely representing two different generations. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. There are several references on the show of my college experience, and that was 30 some-odd years ago. So there’s definitely things in there that are still very relevant in situations that we’re still dealing with. We’re hoping that the series will help people to continue to advance the conversation about identity and race and finding oneself during those formative years.”

“Dear White People is not a preachy film, as Bowser points out, “If you’re trying to have a conversation, preaching is the least effective way to do so. We want to advance the conversation.”

netflix series
source: Twitter

The series goes more in-depth with the main four characters from the film. And it was important to both Yvette and Justin to depict a “ride or die” friendship between black women, “because a lot of times we see ourselves just going at each other’s throats on these reality shows and other scripted programs,” she said.

“I’m that good girlfriend. I have really-really tight friendships, and so I love to depict that as well as the conflict that we have, as well as the struggles that we have supporting each other because of outside influences and stresses. It was really important to us to tell the story in a single protagonist perspective. Each episode allows us to really get inside each of these complicated, deeply flawed individuals, which I think makes it that much more engaging. The fact that we have a series makes it something that’s going to feel less cursory and more in-depth than a film can possibly be. Because we get a chance to live with these characters over, hopefully, years, and we get to see more of campus life.”

In the film, Simien takes the themes of race, relationships, sexuality and identity and uses them like ingredients in a gumbo, which he served to the masses, and they loved it. For the series, each theme is explored separately to help drive the narrative.

“I love that you used the term gumbo to describe the feel and the flavor of the show. And the beauty of the approach was Justin’s idea to take this multi-protagonist larger concept and then break it down to single protagonists,” Bowser explained.

The writing team assembled for the series were people selected “specifically because of their divergent points of view,” she revealed. “Because we feel that kind of rigorous, lively conversation is the best way to get quality episodes and to tell these particular stories.”

Continuing, “Each episode, it’s like we’re taking each ingredient and we’re defining why that ingredient is part of this gumbo. I love his approach to the show, and I think it is the thing that will further invest people in these characters. So once you’re invested in them, you’re not just watching the show, you’re experiencing the show and you’re relating to the characters and hoping that some people are gonna come to a different understanding about people who don’t necessarily look like them or live like them, and that’s what will advance the conversation.”

 

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