Latest news with #Woke
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sasheer Zamata on her final moments in 'Agatha All Along' miniseries: "It was so beautiful"
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Actress Sasheer Zamata said goodbye to her popular ' Agatha All Along ' character, Jennifer Kale , by flying off into the sunset in the mini series. The actress recalled her last day of working in the series, reported variety. While talking about her final moments of the show, the actress said, "That was the last thing I shot for the show, and, I mean, just so many emotions, so many tears. It was so beautiful. The actual sky was beautiful, and being able to do a stunt like that was really cool. But it was also such a representation of the actual end of this journey. Like, there she goes," as quoted by Variety. The final moments in the series were quite emotional for the viewers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Over the course of the series, Jen evolves from a powerless witch hocking legally dubious candles, to a sorceress liberated from the binds that kept her grounded, as per the outlet. All because she reluctantly joins the conniving Agatha ( Kathryn Hahn ) for a stroll down the subterranean Witches' Road, a mystical endurance challenge that is said to reward those who make it to the end with their greatest desire. As per the outlet, the road is eventually exposed as a magical fiction spun by Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke), and Jen is its sole survivor who still gets what she wanted: the powers that were stolen from her a century ago, by Agatha no less, in the series. Her emotional journey isn't one without humor. In fact, the century of powerless isolation, cast out by her coven, left Jen with a sharp-tongued mistrust of others and a side-eye that could bring you to your knees. But ultimately, she emerges as a compassionate, driven leader of this chosen coven she comes to love, as shown in the "Agatha All Along" mini series, as reported by Variety. Zamata's career has largely been defined by comedic roles, first with stand-up, then a three-season stint on "Saturday Night Live," followed by key roles in "Home Economics" and "Woke." However, her breakthrough came with 'Agatha All Along', for the actress, who got to explore the intertwined threads of comedy and drama with forces of nature like Hahn, Patti LuPone and Aubrey Plaza.
Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
'It was so beautiful': Sasheer Zamata on her final moments in Agatha All Along miniseries
Washington DC [US], June 7 (ANI): Actress Sasheer Zamata said goodbye to her popular 'Agatha All Along' character, Jennifer Kale, by flying off into the sunset in the mini series. The actress recalled her last day of working in the series, reported variety. While talking about her final moments of the show, the actress said, "That was the last thing I shot for the show, and, I mean, just so many emotions, so many tears. It was so beautiful. The actual sky was beautiful, and being able to do a stunt like that was really cool. But it was also such a representation of the actual end of this journey. Like, there she goes," as quoted by Variety. The final moments in the series were quite emotional for the viewers. Over the course of the series, Jen evolves from a powerless witch hocking legally dubious candles, to a sorceress liberated from the binds that kept her grounded, as per the outlet. All because she reluctantly joins the conniving Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) for a stroll down the subterranean Witches' Road, a mystical endurance challenge that is said to reward those who make it to the end with their greatest desire. As per the outlet, the road is eventually exposed as a magical fiction spun by Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke), and Jen is its sole survivor who still gets what she wanted: the powers that were stolen from her a century ago, by Agatha no less, in the series. Her emotional journey isn't one without humor. In fact, the century of powerless isolation, cast out by her coven, left Jen with a sharp-tongued mistrust of others and a side-eye that could bring you to your knees. But ultimately, she emerges as a compassionate, driven leader of this chosen coven she comes to love, as shown in the "Agatha All Along" mini series, as reported by Variety. Zamata's career has largely been defined by comedic roles, first with stand-up, then a three-season stint on "Saturday Night Live," followed by key roles in "Home Economics" and "Woke." However, her breakthrough came with 'Agatha All Along', for the actress, who got to explore the intertwined threads of comedy and drama with forces of nature like Hahn, Patti LuPone and Aubrey Plaza. (ANI)
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Her Books and Movies Provoked France. Will Her Plays Do the Same?
Over the past three decades, Virginie Despentes has cemented her place as one of the most admired — and argued over — feminist authors in France. 'King Kong Theory,' her 2006 book about sex, gender and her own experience of rape, sparked conversations around sexual violence in the country; her award-winning 'Vernon Subutex' trilogy of novels, released between 2015 and 2017, drew international attention for its vivid depiction of misfits adrift in French society. (The first volume made the Booker International Prize shortlist in 2018.) Yet recently, Despentes, 55, has been quietly pivoting from books toward writing and directing for the stage. In 2024, she wrote the play 'Woke' with three other authors, Julien Delmaire, Anne Pauly and Paul B. Preciado; in it, they confronted France's reaction to progressive ideas on race and gender. Despentes directed the production at the Théâtre du Nord in Lille, in northern France, and now she's back with a follow-up: 'Romancero Queer,' which had its premiere last week at Théâtre National de la Colline in Paris and runs through June 29. In 'Romancero Queer,' she explores power imbalances in the making of a stage show: Behind the scenes of a new production of Federico García Lorca's 'The House of Bernarda Alba,' a fictional group of actors struggle with their older male director for greater creative control. While Despentes has directed several movies, including 'Baise-Moi' (2000) and a documentary about pro-sex feminists, 'Mutantes (Féminisme Porno Punk)' (2009), she said in an interview in Paris that theater has turned out to be a better fit. Shortly after 'Romancero Queer' had debuted, she spoke about the art forms that she has tried her hand at: literature, film and theater. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What prompted your pivot to theater? I attend a lot of plays, and I realized that theater audiences are very curious. They really show up, even for demanding or radical works, which made me want to try it. I feel good when I'm in a theater auditorium — and these non-virtual moments feel important nowadays. I'm not at all technophobic — I spend quite a bit of time online — but I enjoy this kind of counter-rhythm, away from social media. During performances of 'Romancero Queer,' I sit in the back, behind the audience, and I have yet to see anyone take out their phone. Was theater part of your life from a young age? I first went in middle school: we were taken to the local community center to see plays like Lorca's 'The House of Bernarda Alba,' the work the characters of 'Romancero Queer' are staging. As a young adult, I saw a lot of comedy and dance, and I was taken with the work of playwrights like Bernard-Marie Koltès and Jean-Luc Lagarce. From the current generation, I really admire what Rébecca Chaillon is doing, at the intersection of theater and performance art. You wrote your first play, 'Woke,' with three other writers. What was that process like? I wanted to spend time with other writers, to talk about our writing habits and what we have in common. On a human level, we had some really incredible moments. We would start the day with an idea, then share what we wrote in the evening. We were able to talk about what we're afraid of, what's blocking us, what we haven't yet dared to speak about. We rarely get to have these conversations. The hardest part was the editing. We had a massive amount of text and we had to make cuts to each other's work. It's not easy, because we all relate to writing differently. Do you also make adjustments to your own texts when you stage them? Yes. Once I'm working with actors, I often realize half of what I wrote isn't necessary. There's humility in giving the actor space to tell you that something isn't useful. I've had to say goodbye to some beautiful sentences. Maybe I should keep them in a special folder to recycle later. How does directing for theater compare to directing films? It's very different for me. I didn't enjoy working for the screen, even though I met wonderful people. I felt like I was constantly talking about money, from the moment I wrote the script. In French public theater, we barely talk about it. There's a budget and time constraints, sure, but you work within them. It's the first project I have worked on in which no one worries whether or not we're going to be profitable. It's such a luxury. Your essays and novels have often been staged by other theater directors. How do you feel about that? Much better than when they're adapted for the screen. One theater production doesn't stop others from being made, whereas there is a sense of exclusivity with film: once a book is adapted, it probably won't be again for at least a couple of decades. There is just one book that I won't go and see onstage anymore, 'King Kong Theory,' even though it's been performed in many languages. It's too troubling to hear an actor talking about my own rape. Was your venture into theater also a move away from publishing novels and essays? It was a good time for a break. It coincided with changes at my publishing house, Grasset, which was bought by Vincent Bolloré [the French billionaire owner of Vivendi, a conservative media conglomerate]. I have no desire to leave Grasset, because I've been there for 30 years and I love the whole team, from the press officers to the copywriters. I also don't want to leave my existing books behind if I go. But I don't feel like working for Bolloré right now. In 2022, the French magazine Livres-Hebdo reported that you were about to launch your own publishing house, La Légende Éditions, but no books have been released so far. What happened? We never actually made an announcement. We registered it, then a journalist saw the filing and made it public. And in the end, we didn't go through with it — it was too much work, and I didn't have the time. 'Woke,' your first play, attracted a lot of public attention, but it didn't tour much in France. (It will be revived at the Théâtre Public de Montreuil in September.) Why do you think that is? I'm still new to theater, and perhaps we made some mistakes. It was bad timing to have 12 people onstage — it's expensive, and playhouses are facing budget cuts everywhere. I think the title also scared people. They thought: 'We'll have to put 'woke' in our program, it's going to cause trouble, and we don't want trouble.' If we'd called it 'Grenadine,' we might have toured more. So did you approach making 'Romancero Queer' differently? Not really. There are still eight people onstage, and it has 'queer' in the title. I tend to write about whatever interests me at a given moment, and when I was writing 'Romancero Queer,' I thought a lot about power dynamics in theater, and what it means to direct. What it is like to exert power in that sense, to tell actors to speak faster, or differently? How much collective power is there to resist? Since 'Woke,' I've had conversations with a lot of people in theater, and it's a question that comes up again and again, in relation also to France's #MeTooThéâtre movement. 'Romancero Queer' is really about actors, and what their position is in the creative process. Many L.G.B.T.Q. people, particularly in the U.S., are worried that their rights are being eroded, and you're working with performers with backgrounds in queer cabaret and drag. What does it mean to put on a show like this now? As queer people, we seldom see ourselves represented onstage. For lesbians especially, it's rare to find a play that simply celebrates the joy of being a gay woman. It feels like Pride every night, and this year especially, given the context, I think we need a bonus Pride.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A pardon for Chauvin would be a miscarriage of justice and invite chaos
A picture of George Floyd sits in front of the Hennepin Courthouse on March 8 in downtown Minneapolis where former police officer Derek Chauvin is standing trial. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. It was just a matter of time before the prospect of President Donald Trump pardoning Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin for violating George Floyd's civil rights became a reality. When White House reporters asked him in March about pardoning Chauvin, President Trump replied, 'No, I have not heard about that.' That's hard to believe, since right around that time Ben Shapiro led a conservative chorus of commentators and politicians raising a hue and cry on that very thing, egged on by Trump henchman Elon Musk. As investigative reporter Radley Balko pointed out for MSNBC, Shapiro once said Chauvin should be prosecuted 'to the fullest extent of the law' and should 'go to jail' and that 'everyone should be on the same side of this.' But that was then. Despite a trial in which nearly all the defense's theories were heard and rejected by a jury of Chauvin's peers, and despite Chauvin pleading guilty to his federal crimes, Shapiro and his ilk have changed their tune. Chauvin's conviction, Shapiro writes, 'represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics. The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive and racist era without righting this terrible wrong.' Terrible wrong? We all saw Chauvin impassively kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd pleaded, 'I can't breathe.' Now we can be sure Trump has heard about it, and we're all waiting, bracing for some middle-of-the-night bathroom tweet. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now in on it: 'I strongly support Derek Chauvin being pardoned and released from prison, George Floyd died of a drug overdose.' Yes, Floyd was on drugs. But let's recall the words of Dr. Martin Tobin at trial. He is one of the world's foremost pulmonologists, the man who literally wrote the book on the subject and testified in a criminal trial for the first time, refusing his usual expert witness fee. Then-Reformer reporter Deena covered his testimony: 'Basically on the left side of his lung, it was… almost to the effect as if a surgeon had gone in and removed the lung — not quite, but along those lines — so there was virtually very little opportunity for him to be able to get any air to move into the left side of his chest,' Tobin said. 'So he was going to be totally dependent on what he'd be able to do with the right side.' But Floyd's ability to expand his chest was also impaired on the right side, Tobin said. Floyd's respiration rate had been 22 breaths per minute, a normal rate, which Tobin said was 'extremely significant' because if fentanyl caused his respiration to go down, you'd expect it to drop to about 10. Tobin said he could mark the moment the life went out of Floyd: 8:25:16 p.m. The officers continued to hold him down on the street for another three minutes. In short, what killed Floyd was Chauvin's disregard for human life. Chauvin's lawyers argued their client was denied a fair trial in 2021 due to pretrial publicity and concerns about violence in the event of an acquittal. True, there was plenty publicity. And there were quite reasonable concerns about violence ensuing if Chauvin walked. None of that altered the medical examiner's findings. He testified during the trial that his cause of death finding hadn't changed since he filled out Floyd's death certificate in June 2020: He blamed 'cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression.' 'I would still classify it as a homicide today,' he testified. Not that the facts faze Greene or the rest of the MAGA mob presently riding to Chauvin's rescue in the media. You can bet they have Trump's ear. But think of the irony: Just about the first thing he did after taking his hand off the Bible on Inauguration Day was grant clemency to rioters for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, handing a literal get-out-jail-free card to upwards of 1,500 charged, including 15 ring leaders and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. This despite that roughly 140 police officers were injured during the attack, more than a dozen hospitalized. Trump held forth: 'This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.' Falling from the south end of a northbound bull, what the proclamation did was sign off on wanton, wholesale criminal activity. You want to know from injustice perpetrated? Ask the families, relatives and friends of those cops who were cut down doing their duty to uphold the law. For that matter, ask the injured cops about all those law breakers being let off the hook. And in Trump's make-believe world, the fact that Chauvin pled guilty in the federal case won't matter. A reminder: By pleading guilty, Chauvin agreed in open court that he 'willfully depriv(ed) Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in Mr. Floyd's bodily injury and death … and acted willfully and in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd's life,' as the Department of Justice press release said at the time. And, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to 'willfully depriving a then-14-year-old child of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in the child's bodily injury' related to a separate 2017 incident. Federal conviction overturned, Chauvin would thankfully still be incarcerated, transferred to the Minnesota Department of Corrections to serve out the remainder of his sentence on state charges. But let's not forget the Minnesota Board of Pardons, which no longer requires a unanimous vote among the three members: the governor, attorney general and chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. If Republicans get their act together, they could conceivably win the governor and attorney general races. And then they would face intense pressure to commute Chauvin's sentence. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette and other political and law enforcement figures are said to be bracing for the Trump pardon. This is, to say the least, prudent. In response to Floyd's murder, May 2020 saw days of protest — but also hell-raising — that damaged more than 1,300 buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in property destruction. Plus, payouts to victims of police brutality. And a pile of police disability claims. A pardon would mean all the bracing in the world won't keep all hell from breaking loose all over again.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
White Woman Goes Viral Complaining About Having 'Fatigue' For Black Folks, Messes Around and Finds Out
If someone asked you to define the term 'Black fatigue,' you might call it a general weariness Black people feel while living in a world where systemic racism impacts their access to everything from quality healthcare to education. But some on social media are turning the term on its head after a white woman used it to describe her weariness with all things she calls 'ghetto.' 'Black fatigue is real. I think society as a whole is there. We are just so unbelievably fed up with the ghetto ratchet behavior,' the woman says. 'The entitlement, the victimhood.' tiktok-7503726220991941919 The woman's now-deleted TikTok clip has started a viral debate with folks weighing in on whether they think she's making a valid argument, including TikTok user Marisa Z, who says a white woman talking about entitlement should look in the mirror before she starts complaining. 'You talk about entitlement, but ya'll out here upset, downright upset, making laws to prevent people that are not your color from doing anything – from achieving things, from voting. That absolutely sounds like entitlement to me,' she said. 'Ya'll believe that ya'll deserve everything, just because you are unmelanated.' tiktok-7503697260547476767 Others in her comments agreed and are annoyed that white people have chosen another term to latch on to and make it mean something that suits them. 'Don't let them change 'black fatigue' the same way they changed DEI and Woke. She misused tf out that,' wrote someone in the comments. But one commenter believes that as this clip makes its way across the internet, the woman is about to regret her ridiculous rant. 'It's accountability fatigue and she's about to have it big time given that people are calling her out,' they wrote. This white woman may have started the conversation, but she isn't the only one who says they're dealing with Black fatigue. A quick search of the term will reveal Black people on social media who have come out in defense of her definition while adding their two cents to her argument. TikToker King Millennial Entertainment says he's tired of what he calls 'highly emotional, high sensitive' Black folks who are 'never satisfied' and 'always claim to be the victim,' which is why he chose to relocate his family to the suburbs. 'News flash, white people don't want to live around ratchet Black people, and Black people don't want to live around ratchet Black people,' he said. 'I mean, it's nothing like going to a Walmart on a Sunday morning and then you see the bonnet crew walk in. Loud, obnoxious, the kids are everywhere in every aisle unattended.' tiktok-7503001859024522526 But one commenter says the behavior he's describing can be found in any community. 'It's black people, white people, hispanic people. it's not just a race thing, it's a socioeconomic/low class thing. And yes, we are so freakin tired of these ratchet, entitled, obnoxious people,' wrote someone. For TikToker Chantee Creates, the only thing that annoys her more than white folks talking about their version of Black fatigue is Black folks trying to make it make sense, especially since real tried and true racists aren't rocking with them (see our story on Black MAGA faithful who Trump left in the dust after his election). 'The Black people getting on and co-signing the Black fatigue to make white people feel better, could not be me,' she said. 'Imagine, agreeing with white people when they aren't even picking you. Super weird.' tiktok-7503562742536817966 For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
