Cameron Adams Editor-in-Chief

Fast forward hundreds of years later and black men and women continue to be held down by inaccurate depictions of their characters and culture.

On April 3, 2023, Jackson State University’s theatre organization, known as M.A.D.D.R.A.M.A, presented an exclusive performance which embraced and dispelled the inaccurate narratives placed on African-Americans.

The show began with eight Jackson State students displaying the colorful personalities of their characters. Each character represented a different stereotype of black men.

The stereotypes included, “The Dumb Athlete”, “Bubba Baxter: Prisoner #2023”, “Ice Man”, “Junebug Johnson: The Ladies Man”, “D-E-L-IC-I-O-U-S: The Pimp”, “Killa Black: The Gangsta”, and “Alfalisha”.

“The Dumb Athlete” was played by JaShaun Wilkerson, a senior journalism and media studies major from Tunica, Miss. This stereotype displayed society’s description of a “typical” black athlete; A tall, athletic, black male, who succeeds on the court but struggles in the classroom.

Lil Charles, the name of

Photo by Cameron Adams

Wilkerson’s character, was a college basketball player who appeared to have a third-grade level of comprehension.

The character had the crowd hysterical as he continued to express his frustration while reading the wellknown kid’s tale, “Jack and Jill”.

Wilkerson claimed to enjoy playing this character since he was able to incorporate basketball into his performance. “My experience with the character Lil Charles was fun and I had a chance to mix my favorite sport with acting,” stated Wilkerson.

Another crowd favorite was “D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S: The Pimp”, played by Ethan Goode, a senior journalism and media studies major from Memphis, Tenn. Delicious was a representation of the average pimp: an expressive and flashy black man who verbally and physically abuses several women

who adhere to his every request.

The character made several “pimp-like” jokes and comments degrading women and openly discussed his abusive habits.

Goode claimed that his performance as Delicious gave him an opportunity to step out of his comfort zone.

“I have never played a pimp in a production nor have I ever had to perform on stage by myself for that long,” stated Goode. “It was a great experience and this definitely expanded my acting experience.”

Although Goode did not have much experience in being a pimp, he did have a history of being placed in a stereotype.

“I have been caught in the stereotype of being an only child. People think since I am an only child that I am spoiled,” claimed Goode.

While some people are comfortable with being categorized, Goode chose to overcome his stereotype. He stated that despite being an only child, he has never been given anything without working for it.

“Once you meet my parents, they will tell you I’ve always had to work for everything,” claimed Goode. Goode also displayed his ability to overcome stereotypes in the play.

After each character expressed their personality, the narrators of the play reintroduced the eight stereotypes in a new light.

The once humorous performance turned into an empowering segment, as the eight characters approached the stage in all-black suits. Each cast member held a distinct souvenir from their character and placed it in the trash, saying goodbye to their stereotypes.

Chair of the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre and producer of the play, Mark G. Henderson, claimed that the message of the performance closely relates to society’s depiction of AfricanAmerican culture.

“The message of the play is that we, as black people, both male and female, need to listen less to how society labels us and more to how we label ourselves,” stated Henderson. Although the play was based on today’s society, Henderson said he wrote the play over 20 years ago.

“I actually wrote it 1998 and have been presenting new and improved versions of it since then,” said Henderson.

As “New Beginnings” continues to inform the African-American community about the importance of rewriting the narrative, Henderson hopes that his role as a theatre practitioner will also encourage change.

“All of us play a part in changing the narrative. As a theatre practitioner, this play represents my little contribution to help uplift and positively promote the AfricanAmerican culture, specifically the Black male,” Henderson said.

Dominique Fishback and great supporting cast elevate Swarm series

Aaliyah Jones Staff Writer

Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, has stepped back into his realm of creativity with his new Amazon Prime series “Swarm”.

“Swarm”, which some sources call a psychological thriller and others a comedy horror, made its debut on the Amazon streaming service on March 17.

The show has taken the masses by storm with the drastically new online series which has changed how people view the ordinary horror thriller.

According to IMDb, the series was written and created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover. Producers include Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Adamma Ebo, and Ibra Ake.

The storyline is centered around Andrea or Dre (Dominique Fishback), a socially awkward girl from Houston, Texas.

Dre has a troubled past and a love for only two things— her best friend, her sister, and an R&B singer many believe to be a version of Beyoncé.

When her best friend committed suicide after having a major argument with her boyfriend, something within Dre snaps and sends her on a murderous rampage with one thing on her mind— taking out anyone against her favorite singer.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the show is currently sitting at 85 percent on the Tomatometer and an average audience score of 72 percent ,“Swarm” has made a very good impression on its viewers despite some oddities that might have caused some to avoid viewing or finishing the first season in its entirety.

Some scenes include full-frontal nudity, graphic death scenes including blood, substance abuse, and other sexual content. I don’t think anyone would be prepared to watch what was creatively conjured in all seven episodes in one sitting.

There are so many things shown in just the first three episodes that would cause the average person to completely rethink what is normal in a young person’s life, the oddities are also what makes this show so unique. It’s following the guidelines that nothing is normal and therefore there is no limit.

At first glance, it looks like a show about a girl who is secretly and romantically in love with her best friend and depends on her for survival.

It later transforms into a story detailing the mental deterioration and reformation of a crazed fan into a completely self-sufficient murderer with a noticeable ability to adapt and reconfigure who she is to meet her goal by any means necessary.

The show is also only as strong as the actors who are cast in these roles.

Fishback did an excellent job

Google Image

in displaying the mental breaks, yet extreme intelligence of Dre throughout the series. She was able to shift between identities while keeping the original character’s cues consistent.

Even in the seventh and final episode, though Fishback originally played Dre as an overtly feminine woman who even plays into men’s desires at many points of the series, she transitioned into a very masculine lesbian version of her character to get close to her final victim of the season, Rashida.

The transformation of her character even broke the previous rules set for the identities that Dre would take on to ensure that she would actually be able to get close to Rashida.

The real Dre does not smoke or drink, but does Carmen?

Going back to the opening scene starring Chloe Bailey, who plays Marissa Jackson, Dre’s best friend, and Damson Idris who plays Khalid, Marissa’s boyfriend, where the pairing was engaging in intimacy with each other and Dre watched in the hall before walking away.

You can see where the slightly obsessive traits in Dre start to surface but get pushed down.

I think Bailey’s performance of the character was phenomenal and noteworthy.

The only drawback that I can truly note is the absence of transitional stories between the new identities and places Dre tends to end up in.

Otherwise, I think the writers did a great job of showing how trauma manifests itself in different ways in different people based on what their triggers are.

It was also a very great move on the behalf of the casting team to choose Billie Eilish to play Eva, a life coach/ cult leader, and Rickey Thompson as Kenny, a sales associate in a cellphone store. The characters’ personalities fit both their natural auras and perceived personalities which only enriched their performances.

Truly, the supporting characters throughout the series carried it that small way to the finish line of excellence that the main characters couldn’t reach on their own.

Xscape, SWV, DDG, Halle Bailey and Blac Chyna top trending topics

Amaya Baker Staff Writer

Xscape vs SWV Drama

A lot of controversy has been going on with the two 90s R&B groups Xscape and SWV. They are currently airing their reality show on Bravo called “The Queens of R&B: SWV and Xscape”.

The issue that has been a main point of argument with the two groups is who should headline a show they want to do together.

SWV feels they should co-headline while Xscape feels they should headline. Xscape’s Kandi Burris argued that with Tiny and her being famous for reality TV, they should headline because they will sell more tickets than SWV. SWV felt slighted by that.

On social media the groups have been going tit-for-tat showing receipts on why the other is wrong. Ultimately, they did end up deciding to co-headline, but it seems the groups will never work together in this way again.

Latocha Scott vs Tamika Scott/Xscape

The drama continues within the group as documented in “The Queens of R&B: SWV and Xscape”. Another point of contention between the Scott sisters is $30,000 in royalty money that Tamika alleges was stolen by Latocha and her husband Rocky. After being called a liar for weeks, Tamika decided to drop the receipts on her YouTube channel, The Real Tamika Scott and y’all, the receipts don’t lie.

Latocha then followed with an Instagram live video still proclaiming her innocence but now she wants to reconcile with Tamika.

It is noteworthy to understand that she didn’t seem to want this before the receipts were dropped. The live included lots of tears, runny noses and tissue.

Tamika also accuses Latocha and Rocky of extorting her over a sex tape made in the 90s that was left for safekeeping in Latocha’s safe. The tape mysteriously came up missing and was followed with a threatening text to stop accusing Latocha and her husband or the tape would be released.

To add salt to the wound, the Kandi, Tiny and Tamika also accuse Rocky of taking kickbacks off of their shows from a promoter and had receipts to back it up. Both Latocha and her husband denied the allegations but then said it was payment for booking the shows.

It seems like the group is done with Latocha. They have been performing as a threesome lately.

DDG and Halle Bailey

A lot of drama has been surrounding this young couple. Halle is an actress and singer set to make her blockbuster premiere in a live action remake of “The Little Mermaid”. DDG is her boyfriend and a media personality/ rapper. Recently the couple has made headlines because DDG’s ex-girlfriend, Rubi Rose, has been making waves in the relationship.

Rose leaked DMs earlier this year that seemingly showed DDG trying to get back with her. Rose also has made mean comments toward Bailey.

Bailey seemingly does not respond in any way to the receipts but appears to be doubling down on standing by her man. Fans have been really all over the place with them mainly because of the comments from DDG’s comments on social media. The couple is still together. But fans hope the little mermaid realizes quickly that there are more fish in the sea.

Blac Chyna’s transformation

Blac Chyna has recently made headlines for getting her fillers removed. She is known for being a social media influencer and reality TV personality as well as for her extensive plastic surgery. People have made comments before about how much she has had done to herself. Recently though she has shut everyone down. On her transformation journey, she has also quit “Only Fans”. a Doctorate of Liberal Arts from Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College. Time will tell if this transformation will bode well for the celebrity. views

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