Evening, Meteor readers,

This weekend is a busy one: we’ve got the Oscars, Daylight Savings, and the start of Ramadan. So remember to set your DVRs, turn your clocks, and buy your dates (the fruit, that is).

In today’s newsletter, we’re excited to share that our recent show In Love and Struggle Vol. III is now available for your listening pleasure on Audible. Below, Rebecca Carroll explains the genesis of the groundbreaking series and talks to some of this year’s cast. Plus a look at how far we haven’t come when it comes to on-screen representation.

Loving and struggling,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

The white carpet: As Hollywood gears up to pat itself on the back for another successful year of movie-making, the perennial question comes to mind: #Oscarssowhite or nah? Well, according to a study from USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative, the answer—not just about the Oscars but about filmmaking in the last few years—is still a resounding yah.

The study is far-reaching, looking at 1700 of the top-grossing films between 2007-2023. But the findings for 2023 are of particular concern, because they show that despite all the promises studios have been doling out about diverse storytelling, the trends prove otherwise. Of the 100 top-grossing films last year, only 37 featured a lead or co-lead of color with only 14 of them being women of color. (Those films, in case you want to watch them, are: The Little Mermaid, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Elemental, Scream VI ¹, Wish, The Color Purple, Talk to Me, Missing, Magic Mike’s Last Dance ², Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken, Joy Ride, Bottoms, Suzume, and Past Lives.)

The study also found a direct correlation between the race and gender of a film lead to that of the film’s director. Of the 37 films that featured a lead or co-lead of color, 19 of them were directed by a person of color. Meanwhile, for the remaining 63 top-grossing films of 2023 that featured white leads, 57 of them were helmed by white directors. “Undoubtedly, when the

number of top films starring girls and women drops, so too do opportunities for women directors…As with gender, the [racial] identity of the lead is connected to the identity of the director.” Yikes.

While on-screen representation may feel like a trivial issue, the stories we watch help shape what we believe is possible for ourselves and our communities. If the stories we see onscreen continue to center white narratives and Euro-centric storytelling, it only reinforces that our stories aren’t important. Moreover, if the success of projects like Black Panther, Moonlight, Roma, and Encanto are any indication, this continued lack of representation isn’t just harmful to the broader culture—it’s also just bad business.

And the study’s authors make a final point about what this low representation says about Hollywood: “The numbers this year will likely be particularly shocking to those who anticipated a banner year for women, given the success of Barbie,” they write. What a well-worded reminder that one pink tide will not lift all boats.

1. The Latina lead of this film, Melissa Barrera, was fired from appearing in any future films in the franchise due to her support for Palestine. Just something to know.
2. If like me, you were confused to see this movie on the list, it’s because Salma Hayek is billed as a lead rather than the usual army of magical Mikes.

AND:

• In response to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that labeled embryos created during the IVF process as “extrauterine children” with the same rights as actual children, a new law has gone into effect in Alabama. The legislation will protect IVF patients and healthcare providers from being criminally prosecuted for disposing of lab-generated embryos. This will allow IVF procedures to resume in the state—but, as advocates pointed out, it does not address the other far-reaching implications of the Supreme Court’s fetal personhood ruling.

• Midwives are suing the state of Hawaii after the passage of the Midwifery Restriction Law, which they say has effectively criminalized the work of “Native birthwork practitioners”—midwives who study and practice centuries-long indigenous traditions of birthing.

• Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. So, what’s going on with women internationally? At present, women and girls are facing extreme violence in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Afghanistan, South Africa, and much of Latin America. Globally, we are nowhere near closing the gender gap in the workplace. So happy International Women’s Day to the activists, advocates, and legislators working tirelessly to change our current reality. You are so needed.

ON STAGE WITH THE METEOR

“A Perfect Example of Active Sistering”

The voices behind this year’s In Love and Struggle are ready to be heard.

BY REBECCA CARROLL

OUR BRILLIANT CAST (PHOTO BY JP YIM VIA GETTY IMAGES

Nearly 25 years ago, I met Alice Walker at a bookstore in San Francisco. She inscribed her book to me, “For Rebecca, In love and struggle, Alice Walker.” The phrase, which I later discovered had its roots in the work of Chinese American activist Grace Lee Boggs, struck a particular chord in me.

Many years after, and with Walker’s blessing—a live event and audio series were born. The In Love and Struggle series celebrates and amplifies the experiences of Black women and nonbinary folks through a mosaic of monologues, music, and comedy. The Meteor launched the first iteration of the series in 2020 at the Minetta Lane Theater in Manhattan, just days before the pandemic hit, featuring performances by Anita Hill, Sasheer Zamata, and Brittany Packnett Cunningham. It was a bright and beautiful blessing to carry with us into such an uncertain time.

We’ve been producing In Love and Struggle ever since, and last December, In Love and Struggle V3: The Future is Around Us was presented live again at the Minetta Lane Theatre. As the subtitle hints, it’s a powerful tribute to the ways in which Black women actively imagine the worlds we want. Inspired by the work of Octavia Butler and other Afrofuturists, the performers were asked to create their own original short piece about a futurist or alternate world of their own making.

With In Love and Struggle V3 out today on Audible, I asked the performers to reflect on their experience participating in the show.

In this installment, the performers include: Cree Summer, Zainab Johnson,  adrienne maree brown, Maria Bauman, Amanda Seales, Nona Hendryx, Sami Schalk, Sol, and Mahogany L. Browne.

MADAME PRESIDENT ZAINAB JOHNSON, MASHALLAH. (PHOTO BY JP YIM VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Comedian Zainab Johnson, whose “Black Muslim woman president” had the crowd gagging, said, “It is a gift to be able to be a part of something with an essence that both surprises you and captivates you.”

Writer and activist adrienne maree brown, who sang a beautiful meditation on the symbolism of walls in Octavia Butler’s work, shared that “the prompt allowed me to tune in to what Octavia was offering now, and how I could let that flow through me.”

Mahogany L. Browne performed a poem called The Future of We and said of performing it alongside the other creators, “In Love and Struggle is a perfect example of active sistering. The women who create cause ripples that course-correct our internal compass—the monologues, dance, vibrations, psalms, and sound always lead us safely home.”

MAHOGANY L. BROWNE PERFORMING THE FUTURE OF WE. (PHOTO BY JP YIM VIA GETTY IMAGES)

And Dr. Sami Schalk, fresh off twerking onstage with Janelle Monáe, told the story of her experience swimming in the Luminous Lagoon in Jamaica. On telling it to an audience, she said,  “Despite my nerves, the experience was transformative, a true manifestation of the imaginary world we collectively created with our writing.”

You can listen to the show in its entirety, here.

WEEKEND READS 📚

On THAT conversation: Only read this if you’ve seen the wedding episode of Love Is Blind and need some perspective on the thing that happened with you know who and his you know whats. (Andscape)

On your TBR list: You can never have too many books and these titles penned by women athletes turned authors will keep you glued to your reading corner. (Togethxr)

On deepfakes: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on a mission to end deepfake porn. (Rolling Stone)

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