Prentice Penny Instagram – You’ve probably heard or read these phrases somewhere: “Oscars So White,” “Me Too,” “Say Her Name,” “Black Girl Magic,” “Black Lives Matter.” They’ve all become part of the national lexicon. What you may not know, or have forgotten, is that they originated on an area of social media that included smart, informed reactions from Black celebrities, authors, journalists and just about anyone with a voice. It was called Black Twitter.
Now that Twitter is called X and has lost its luster (plus many of its users), former “Insecure” showrunner Prentice Penny and Wired writer Jason Parham have teamed up as executive producers to document those times in Hulu’s three-part docuseries “Black Twitter: A People’s History.” Like a time capsule of sorts, the series looks back at what it meant to those coining phrases and having discussions in 140 characters or less. For Penny, it’s the first project in a deal with Hulu’s Onyx Collective brand, and a whole new direction for him.
“It was really wanting something, a few things,” Penny says: “One, it was me wanting whatever I did next not to be compared to ‘Insecure.’ I felt I had just done something really special and kind of hit a peak of a mountain, and I didn’t want whatever I did next to actually be like, ‘Oh, well, that’s not “Insecure.”’ And I also wanted to break creatively. I’ve been doing scripted television, specifically in the half-hour space, since [2004]. So I’d been doing it at that point for 17 years. And I want to be scared again. And that’s how ‘Insecure’ made me feel. It made me feel creatively inspired again. And I wanted whatever I did next to come from that place.”
@the_a_prentice sat down with #TheEnvelope. Read the full interview at latimes.com/awards
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#BlackTwitter #Television #Docs #oscarssowhite #metoo #sayhername #blackgirlmagic | Posted on 16/Jul/2024 03:08:57
