The release of Unsafe‘s of the fourth season of the wine, while simultaneously isolating because of that the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and fighting in a modern civil rights movement. I put off watching the final as long as I could, because it is one of my favorite programs and a bright spot for me lately. The important debate on mental health and the very dramatic, unexpected ending, inadvertently got me thinking about other reasons why I was going to miss the show so much, and what made me a fan in the first place: the staff and a positive image of Inglewood and South Los Angeles.
Not only do I feel represented and understood as a young Black woman, but where was it, was, finally, shows in a beautiful way.
Before the show premiered in the year 2016, the area is usually portrayed in film and TELEVISION as a violent ‘hood. At that time, it had been a long time since anything mainstream is made in Inglewood, and Issa Rae in the showcasing of my home town, it was a breath of fresh air that the city needed. Of course, Inglewood would always have movies like Boyz N the Hood, Menace II Societyand Baby Child — forever classics to our community, but this time was different. Not only do I feel represented and understood as a young Black woman, but where was it, was, finally, shows in a beautiful way. THE be offered without b-roll of the Hollywood sign at any place to view it was and is refreshing, especially as a native.
With the show of the progression (and of the renewal for another season!) Rae the character of Issa Dee is still the awkward Black girl Inglewood, CA (same), but she evolves from struggling to figure out what she wants to do moves that will get her closer to her goals (the same). Although I moved to San Francisco to do this, Rae, showing a young woman who is going through this normal stage of life, while those who reside in the South of THE is very important; I had not seen that on screen before. Not only can I see the places that I had passed and that every day growing up on tv, but I see that the city represented in the way that I had always seen myself.
In Unsafe, South Los Angeles is a place where you can do things, have fun with your friends, and be with your family — it is normal! It is not only a criminal gang of neighborhood, as it so often is shown in TELEVISION and in general, the only time it is mentioned outside of the local news. Each time a new season of which is released only reminds me of my home, actively changing and growing, along with the largest area over the years. Flashing through Slauson Ave and watching the characters walk down Market Street it was a pleasure that I had never expected to see on HBO or in any place in the TELEVISION aside from documentaries on the riots and the artists of the music.
“I wanted to show the neighborhood in which I grew up,” Issa Rae told POPSUGAR again in 2016. “I just wanted to show my neighborhood, and my part of it is as sexy as Beverly Hills or Hollywood.”
The success has brought a focus of light for others to see the city’s greatness as well. Unsafe has brought more customers to local businessesshowcased many local artists, and even I see the tourist buses driving around from time to time. Mentions of Things That I Can Eat, Hill Coffee and Kitchenand The Savoy disco (and do not shy away from the gentrification that is slowly progressing) that the show true and clear that a Inglewood native of the creation of the show, which means a large number of Inglewood spectators.
Rae created a show that is about Black love, the Black of the friendship, and the Black mental health in a very real way. It has been done before? I guess to an extent. But it has never been done in my own city and not with a main character that I could relate directly to it. To shed light on real-life problems and showing that the important discussions occur not only in the The sex and The City or Friends it is important for the Black community, and has allowed to show that often called this generation’s Friends.
Positive images of Black people are essential, especially now, and Unsafe it is a show that fits the bill— but that means a little more when you’re a Black kid from Inglewood.
