Well Netflix...Let's Talk Tropes

Here is the sentence to tell anyone who hasn't seen the limited series, "Self Made" and doesn't want to see Spoilers to Leave And Come Back Later.

Trope: a common or overused theme or device: Cliché (Thank You Merriam-Webster)

I am quite aware that I am a plus size black woman of lighter complexion side that has earned two college degrees in Food & Nutrition and Health Care Science. And I see the world as such, even in what it calls entertainment. Sometimes the world's entertainment relies too hard on tropes. I think it is Very Lazy and think we the viewers & listeners are too dumb to understand complex topics without them.

I enjoyed the limited series, "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker". It was based on the A'Lelia Bundles', the great-great-granddaughter of Madame CJ Walker, book, "On Her Own Ground". I thought it was cool. There many times my heart swelled. I spoke of them on Facebook & Twitter. But it made a few apathetic errors in the script that I couldn't unsee.

A Struggling Biracial Woman is Very Upset With Her Darker Skinned Rival, Who Eats a Lot of Pork Because She Stole From Her.

I am not the only person who saw the colorism theme. It may as well had been a character. Several times Madame CJ Walker or Sarah was haunted by images & words from lighter-skinned women. The character Addie Monroe says some very disparaging things about darker-hued women. Sarah & Addie's own mother had to also remind the viewers that the slave masters were forcing themselves on their female slaves & that's why some have the fairer skin tone.

And it didn't bother me because my skin is on the side of the skin tone spectrum. I am used to entertainment and it's light vs dark problematic conversation. I was bothered because Addie Monroe was based on a lady that was not biracial at all. Annie Malone was similar in color as Sarah.

And also a Chemist (Last I checked those professionals are Educated) with a successful hair care business if her own. Sarah was once a saleswoman of Annie's products. Annie taught her before the rivalry and possible accusations of recipe theft. Annie, unlike Addie, was not struggling financially. Don't believe me, do the research and there will be studied think pieces with Ms. Malone's history in them.

But those the piece missed talking about Addie & Sarah's son-in-law, John gossiping about Sarah's diet being pork-filled. Most people probably saw that as just two butt-hurt & lonely people upset. But I also saw it as a setup for later scenes about her becoming ill and later dying of kidney disease & hypertension in 1919 at age 51. But tell me, before the latter decades of the 20th-century, how many people had very healthy diets? Comfort food (which includes many pork dishes) is based on the diet of the American past. And that past included the time when Sarah, Addie, & John lived. But I know that doesn't matter. Yes, we see Sarah become very successful. And it didn't matter how many times Mr. CJ Walker genuinely "loves up on" Madame CJ Walker. Sarah Breedlove was Fat. And what matters is that the writers slipped that jab in there.

Yeah in 2020, "Self Made" decided to still lean into the usual entertainment sloppiness. I guess while "educating" the audience on this great in American history, they still need to learn one thing. Be Creative, Not Shiftless! Viewers Are Not Slow!!!

Oh, and I will be reading the book!

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!