HBO Responds To Backlash From Upcoming Show “Confederate”
I don’t understand some people. For example D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, the showrunners for HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones. It’s no secret that their show, which I absolutely love, takes place in a world with magic, brutality and a hierarchy of white people plotting against each other for the Iron Throne. But riddle me this; why are all the people of color either slaves, whores or dickless warriors all aiding the white folks with their fight? And with GoT’s imminent conclusion on the horizon, David and D.B. are trading in their pretend dragons for Grand Dragons of the KKK with their new show Confederate, a re-imagined tale of what life would be like if slavery (yes, that slavery) still existed in modern times. The public has been all kinds of “Aw Hell Nah!” about this mess for quite a while, and last night HBO finally responded after a new hashtag on Twitter blew up their world like Loras and Margaery Tyrell.
According to the Hollywood Reporter the hashtag #NoConfederate began trending on Twitter during Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones, and by the end of the episode it had become the #1 trending topic. However, that should come as no surprise when you take into consideration the creator of that hashtag is April Reign, the same sistah who dragged Hollywood for being whiter than an Aspen ski weekend with her iconic #OscarsSoWhite hashtag last year. The outcry prompted HBO to release the following:
“We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around Confederate. We have faith that [writers] Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”
Many people are already pulling out their pocket knives and brass knuckles in preparation to beat the idea of Confederate into a bloody pulp, because who in the fuck wants to even think about a world where slavery still exists? (Other than that wig wearing White House monkey named Trump of course). But one of David and D.B.’s well-played tricks for this mess is that their co-writers, married couple Malcolm and Nichelle Spellman, are black. And Nichelle had this to say to Vulture:
I do understand their concern. I wish their concern had been reserved to the night of the premiere, on HBO, on a Sunday night, when they watched and then they made a decision after they watched an hour of television as to whether or not we succeeded in what we set out to do. The concern is real. But I think that the four of us are very thoughtful, very serious, and not flip about what we are getting into in any way. What I’ve done in the past, what Malcolm has done in the past, what the D.B.’s have done in the past, proves that. So, I would have loved an opportunity for the conversation to start once the show was on the air.
Both Nichelle and Malcolm are no strangers to the television world as they have writing credits for The Good Wife and Empire respectively, so there’s a chance that they may be able to get it right. However, why would you even want to touch a topic like slavery anyway? We’re living in a powder keg of racial division right now and the last thing we need is a show that gives racists of this country an opportunity to gather ‘round the piano every Sunday night at 9 singing Those Were The Days like Archie and Edith Bunker. As a matter of fact, I hope this show never sees the light of day, just for that reason alone.
Pic: Wenn