Love, Legacy & Hopelessness: Everything We Love & Hate About 'Queen & Slim'

Queen & Slim is an instant cult classic. Yeah, we said it.  Natasha and her good friend Amin give the breakdown of breakdowns about the most talked about film of the year.  Scene by scene.  Symbol by symbol.  Theme by theme.  There is MUCH to discuss.

Some folks are mad at screenwriter and director Lena Waithe & Melina Matsoukas for not giving a "fairytale ending" of black love.  The rest of us are happy somebody finally portrayed what black love (of self and others) in America feels like to us - hopeless.

Like most of y'all, we felt some kind of way after watching an advanced screening of Queen & Slim, and now that it's out for everyone, we can finally explore why.  Spoilers and all.

We get all semi-academic about induced transformation through trauma, fragility of black love and black bodies, freedom and toxic love.  And also keep it all the way real asking "Why can't black folks f'in LIVE IN LOVE and not just find it?! Why is it always a damn struggle?!"

We also explore whether all killers are “bad people”, yearning to just feel something in this traumatic society, the traumatic effect of the justice system on black minds even those who are a part of the justice system as lawyers, running from feelings vs. chasing feelings, the dynamics of black heterosexual relationships when a woman is in a more educated position, women empowerment leading people to believe women no longer need any help as human beings, why all skinfolks aint kinfolks, black boys craving legacy and fighting against the belief that their bodies aren’t valued, naiveté and vulnerability of black men, still having trust in a society that conditions you not to, why it deserves ALL the cinematography awards, and plenty more.

But it all boils down to those poetic a** words of Jay-Z, "Can I live?"

 

• SUBSCRIBE: Apple, Spotify, Google and anywhere you get your podcasts!

 

• VISIT: TheYBF.com for ALL the updates on the latest celebrity, pop culture & entertainment news.

 

Mayvenn Hair: Use code SALE for an additional 25% until 12/6!

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Werq" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)