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In 1923, early feminists and suffragists proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would end legal distinctions between men and women in all matters. The majority of these legal distinctions were distinctions in and about the workplace. It also included legal distinctions with regard to marital issues. Nothing came of it prior to World War II. However, the Women's Liberation movement in the 1960's, which is sometimes referred to as second-wave feminism renewed interest in the ERA, causing it to be introduced again in 1971 and approved by the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in March 1972. Once an amendment is approved by Congress, two-thirds of the U.S. states have to ratify it, meaning 38 states had to ratify. The Congress gave the states a deadline of March 1979 or else the amendment would die. The second-wave feminists came incredibly close to meeting the deadline, but their efforts were thwarted when a politically Cons

Greg Daniels is the Emmy-winning writer who has worked on comedies, such as Parks and Recreation , The Office ,  King of the Hill  and Saturday Night Live . All of those shows are really good to great in their own right. However, those shows have never really been his own in terms of original ideas or really original ideas. This is the first series where he's the sole creator and even it feels derivative, and as if he's still in the shadow of other better show creators. The series is about a guy who becomes mortally wounded and chooses to have his consciousness transferred into a computer simulation where he can live indefinitely without a physical body. It feels like a rip-off from the episode of Black Mirror  entitled "San Junipero" (2016) and the commentary on consumerism in the digital era is very much akin to Ralph Breaks the Internet  (2018). However, another way to look at it is that the series is a depiction of the after-life. In that, Daniels is basically cri

If you liked Oscar-winning films like Marie Antoinette  (2006) or The Favourite  (2018), then you'll probably like this series from Tony McNamara who specifically wrote that 2018 black comedy and period piece. This series is also very much a black comedy where jokes are made about hangings and decapitations. That's only after jokes and humor are mined from the extreme sexism and misogyny put on display here. If one is triggered by domestic abuse, specifically against women, be forewarned. Women are treated horribly here. It would be one thing if all this misogyny was just table setting for things to turn quickly, but the oppressive sexism and misogyny continue for the entire series. Certain men aren't treated any better either, but it's a woman who is the center here. It is supposedly an interesting exploration in the vein of House of Cards  (2013) of how a woman in that severe oppression might try to rise up and overthrow it. Unfortunately, Frank Underwood has more suc

I only watched the first episode of this TV series, but I used to be a huge fan of the franchise. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) was in fact my favorite. It introduced the titular character here. The Next Generation is what made now Sir Patrick Stewart a star, well known to American audiences. The character and show in general were in stark contrast to the protagonist in the original Star Trek (1966). That series was about a military-style spaceship that is exploring the galaxy, which had a leader in Captain James T. Kirk, a veritable space cowboy, although not really. The protagonist in the 1987 series wasn't a cowboy or any kind of action figure. He was a captain that never flexed his muscle but instead led with morals and using fancy words to resolve issues. The 1987 series as a result was more intellectual and quiet, even in its conflicts. However, since the 1987 series ended, there have been a number of films, following the titular character here. Those films have be

The nominations for the 47th Daytime Emmys were announced on May 21. CBS is the front-runner with 57 nods. In terms of other traditional television networks, NBC has 43. ABC has 38 and PBS has 28. Syndicated programs account for 52 of the nominations. Digital streaming platforms are seeing significant numbers too. Amazon Prime has 55 nods and Netflix has 40. YouTube earned 17 nominations. A good chunk of that recognition was the result of this series, written and directed by Dui Jarrod who created BET's Brooklyn. Blue. Sky. and presented by Issa Rae of HBO's Insecure . The series is up for Outstanding Writing Team, Outstanding Directing Team, Outstanding Performance By a Supporting Actress in a Digital Drama for Janet Hubert ( General Hospital and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ) and Outstanding Performance By a Lead Actress in a Digital Drama for Rowin Amone, a black transgendered person making her series debut. Rowin Amone stars as the titular character. She follows Laverne C

Philippe Lesage is a Canadian filmmaker who has named this film after the first book in the Bible. Given that his film is about a bunch of teenagers falling in love and trying to date people, it's a pretty ballsy title. Unless it's ironic, I don't get why because the relationships depicted here aren't as Biblical. Perhaps the idea is that to teenagers these relationships are Biblical, meaning they're life and death, creation and destruction. That perspective doesn't appear to be the ultimate takeaway here. The point seems to be that we're supposed to be swept up in the romance of it and then collapse at the heartbreak of it. Unfortunately, this film doesn't sell us too much on the relationships. These relationships aren't developed. Basically, a young person looks at another young person and that's all love is in this film. There seems to be not much more than physical attraction. Lesage's film juggles the romantic entanglements of three teen

In October 2017, news broke about Harvey Weinstein, a powerful and influential movie producer who was accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and even rape. More than 80 women accused Weinstein of such abuses. In February 2020, he was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison. However, the 2017 headlines led to more men being accused and the revelation of a systemic culture that allowed for sexual harassment, assault and even rape. Activists wanting to shed light on that culture in hopes of stopping it called themselves the Me Too movement. The movement in conjunction with other feminist movements pushed to expose how mainly women have suffered in various industries that have allowed such abusive men to get away with their crimes. Within the past year now, we've seen several projects in television and film start to address this issue. Of course, there have been countless TV shows and films that have addressed women who have been victims of sexual assault or even

The title comes from the name of one of the most famous African-American folk legends. Numerous published works like plays, books and novels have been made, but not many live-action films or TV shows. The legend is about a black man from West Virginia in the late 19th century. Director and co-writer Will Forbes in his feature debut took the elements of that folk legend and infused it into a modern-day tale of inner city life, specifically in South Central Los Angeles. Forbes' film is essentially a parable against gun violence and gang activity. Unfortunately, the film can't do that without resorting to violent acts of its own. It looks down on gun violence and gang violence, as it should, but other forms of violence, particularly with the titular character's iconic hammer, are encouraged. Forbes seemingly wants to have his cake and eat it too by having his protagonist be opposed to killing in certain circumstances or merciful here-and-there but not consistently. Terry Crews

If you haven't watched this series, then you missed one of the most, twisty, exciting and well-acted, murder mysteries ever created for television. For the latter part of the 2010's, this series was one of the anchors of what was known on ABC as TGIT, or "Thank God It's Thursday." At its height, it was averaging 11 million viewers and it filled an entire Thursday night lineup that was totally shows produced by Shonda Rhimes or Shondaland. It followed Scandal (2012) as one of the only broadcast network shows with a black woman as the lead, that black woman being Kerry Washington. Washington was nominated at the Primetime Emmys for that role, something that hadn't happened for a black woman in nearly 20 years. When the star of this show, Viola Davis, started here, Davis became the first black woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama, which occurred at the 67th Primetime Emmys in 2015. For that, this series will always be in

The comedy series, created in 2015 by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, came to an end in 2019. It represented a kind of ridiculous and absurdist humor that isn't in abundance. Fey and Carlock's style is light and airy, as well as wacky, sometimes nonsensical and meta. Their protagonist was also so upbeat and bubbly that it stood in great contrast to the dark, dreary and cynical comedies that are in over-abundance on the current television landscape. What was also great is that Fey and Carlock had a joke ratio that was very high. Almost every line of dialogue was some kind of joke and those jokes came in rapid succession. The pace of the comedy never let up. Fey and Carlock did not like to waste a single second without having some kind of punchline, insult, wisecrack, quip, pun, witticism or gag. It's very fast-paced and energetic in that way. Fey and Carlock have decided to bring back that fast-paced and energetic comedy for one last adventure. Instead of a half-hour episode, t

Director Michael M. Scott has an extensive filmography. He has over 50 credits, going back to the 90's. He's churned out two to three movies a year for over 30 years. Most of those movies have been either on Lifetime or the Hallmark channel on cable television. If you've seen any film, produced by Lifetime or Hallmark, then this film will feel very much in that vein and aesthetic. Lifetime and Hallmark are mostly geared toward women and often have women in the lead roles. Often, their films are low budget and quickly made, almost as if off a manufacturing line, nothing too edgy or anything really controversial. They're more family-friendly and wholesome. There have been films like Mother, May I Sleep with Danger (1996), which became a scary cult classic in the stalker genre. Yet, this film, which involves a murder, never feels all that dangerous or deadly. It's perhaps mildly creepy in some moments, but I never really felt the titular feeling, even as the untruths

Joe Robert Cole is a 40-year-old, Hollywood writer who got his start back in 2006. He doesn't have a lot of credits to his name, but he's an Emmy nominee for his work on The People v. O.J. Simpson (2016). However, most people will know him as being the co-writer on Black Panther (2018), one of the highest-grossing movies domestically of all-time. He is a director too and this is his second feature. His debut was a very different film than this one. It was a suspense film, a psychological thriller of sorts. This film, however, felt more like a throwback to 90's black cinema. Back in the 90's, Hollywood studios were distributing various films about African-Americans living in the inner city and dealing with crime. That era of films were in ways an extension of the blaxploitation time period of the 1970's, but filmmakers like John Singleton made it a bit more serious with films like Boyz n the Hood (1991). There were films like Juice (1992), Menace II Society (199

Could be described as a lesbian version of Cyrano de Bergerac, which is a sweet thing for lesbians, particularly teenage lesbians, wanting something in the form of representation. It's a romantic comedy and a coming-of-age story for young girls, regardless of their sexual orientation. Considering the outlet, the tone and the scale, this film is in league with a rash of teen romantic comedies released recently. Given the story, this film is akin to Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018) . Yet, I don't think this film is as good as that 2018 rom-com. I think the romance here is relatively fine, but the comedy isn't all that great. Unfortunately, I don't think the lead characters are as engaging. I get the personalities here, particularly of the two main girls, are meant to be not as engaging. They're meant to be more awkward or shy or reserved, which is fine, but the plot is a bit lame, so that doesn't help. There have been plenty of queer films, which begin with a pot