Ya know what I don’t like about the chatter about “nepo babies” in Hollywood?
The fact that everyone doesn’t already assume that most famous people are them.
Because y’all. We should be assuming it’s the default in Hollywood. Because it is.
After 20 years in the extremely indie micro budget filmmaking community in both Indiana and Texas, I can tell ya, all over the country there are extremely talented folks creating, writing, acting, etc. who should be recognized but they’re not. Whose work should get more eyes but it doesn’t. And it’s pretty much exclusively because they don’t know the right people to open the right doors and they don’t have the ability (for a variety of very different reasons) to leave their entire lives and communities behind to move to LA and spending years taking abuse at low wage PA gigs, working 3-4 jobs to make rent, pounding the pavement with endless auditions, withstanding constant rejection, etc. waiting to see if they “make it big.”
Power perpetuates power. Hollywood insiders will always give advantages to their kids in ways big and small. Even if someone’s famous parents don’t ask for favors or overtly hire them, those kids’ social lives and networks are linked with the right people to open the right doors. Plus getting the education a mega celebrity can afford for their kids? The private lessons? The exposure to the industry from day one? Knowing the right way to socially comport yourself in Hollywood spaces from day one?
Advantage on advantage on advantage.
I’m not saying that there aren’t very massively talented nepo babies in their own right. But I am saying that for a nepo baby we can never REALLY know if they would have made it on their own. We simply can’t know if they grew up in a trailer park in Kansas if we’d ever know their names.
I think we should talk about that all the time and never stop letting them know we’re aware of it honestly 😂 I think that given all the advantages and given how gatekept Hollywood is, the literal least nepo babies can do is just own the truth that we can never ever ever know if without daddy they would have ever broken out.
Weird how transphobia and racism keep showing up at the same parties together.
After reducing the entire movie down to (Amandla’s) “excessive cleavage,” Lena somehow manages to unironically recommend that everyone go see Jennifer’s Body, a movie best known for it’s lack of cleavage. Like, at this point just say you hate Black people and gtfo.
Other relevant tweets that hit the nail on the head:
Finally, someone brave enough to come for truly the most powerful and over represented group - queer, Black women.
"I don't want anything more to come out of this... But now I will post this video which will 100% guarantee that more will come out of this, rather than, say, reply privately”
“I don’t want this person who has more social power than me to think that it’s fucking okay to do something like this.” <<image of Elizabeth Eckford being harassed by white women>>
Social power didn’t have a thing to do with this. It was a DM not a public exchange. This film critic brought “social power” into this by making it public over social media. Just a typical Karen/white tears situation.
It was a direct message? How is she display her “social power” if she came to you directly and privately? YOU made it public. 🤡
Here are more shots of what the characters wear throughout the film. (Also cannot stress enough that there’s not even any nudity in this movie, let alone a sex scene or anything resembling an ad for cleavage.)
Lord, if you're hearing this, I'm down for the worst day of my life being someone sending me a soft jab in a DM.
Let’s put the context behind the response. (video)
It needs to be noted that Lena Wilson apparently has some history of shitting on films with Black leads or mostly Black casts. This is a good example of white feminism™ that body shames, objectifies, sexualizes & polices Black people’s bodies; and seeks to replace privileged straight white male gatekeepers with privileged cis gay white gatekeepers. And when called out on her racialized misogyny, Lena retreats back to the familiar position of “powerless” white woman who was “attacked” and “victimized” for no reason. (Hint: this is a good example of weaponizing white femininity against BIPoC).
As much as Wilson likes to tell everyone she attained her “success” by hard work and pulling herself up by her own bootstraps, please remember that her mommy and daddy are prominent industry insiders. So her life hack, her secret sauce is just more of the same old “nepotism & being born into a privileged wealthy white family” that keeps journalism and Hollywood so disproportionately white.
I am LOVING this story. Someone wanted to end 2022 with a bang and by golly they have done it. You know these people hate it when you point out the possibility of their success being linked to or birthed from them having connections vs them having actual talent? In their defense a lot of them are incredibly talented, HOWEVER we know there are plenty of talented people who may never get the opportunity because those positions have been filled by those who benefit from nepotism. GREAT call out. - dana_labloom