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palamedesthesixth · 3 years

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Finally binge watched Leverage redemption part 2 :

- Mr Blanche reading Bonanno’s book!!! - unrelated to leverage but can we agree that the actress playing the wellness guru looks so much like erin moriarty (in jessica jones and the boys) and rose mciver (iZombie)? Like they have the same face type - Historical episode with wlw (and db cooper song playing in the background in one pub scene!!!) and breanna and her engineer girlfriend, they really said be gay do crimes - Breanna my beloved - HURLEY - after having been burned too many times from too high expectations for marvel, when they introduced us to ethan bradford i was like, oh no, they will give us the “they’re not all bad, some of them try to do some good”, but boy i forgot that this is leverage we’re talking about (also it validated breanna’s reaction to not wanting to be involved when in another show it could have so easily been used to delegitimize breanna’s opinion as reflecting her youth and lack of maturity or something). They got us - A couple of gay farmers, they truly know their target audience - Parker my beloved - parker: do you think hardison would put me in a box?, eliot: I DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT!!! - Harry sneaking up behind the blow torch dude with his shovel while eliot is fighting in the foreground at the farm, and having too much adrenaline - Hardison’s arrival!!! I literally squealed, which is something i never do - parker’s “anything that you can put your hand into can be a puppet”, like was i the only one who went 👀? - Hardison my beloved - that whole “did you really think it was a good idea to give eliot spencer 60 seconds of darkness?”, cue eliot bursting through the door, throwing the guard over the table and making the most intense face at RIZ lady while sophie holds her glass completely unphased - Sophie my beloved - I love all the characters, but boy am in especially happy to watch breanna, parker, and sophie, three completely different and incredible women who are so well written, so rich and badass all in their own way. And seeing parker’s and sophie’s evolution since the original show is just so great. I’m a bit ambivalent regarding the decision to give sophie the role of leader of the team, but seeing her lead this whole season has been a joy, like the confidence, the charisma, the fucking power, mam this is too much for me to handle

#leverage #leverage redemption #leverage redemption spoilers #breanna casey #harry wilson #sophie devereaux #eliot spencer #alec hardison #parker #i am so going to change my url to something breanna related #i love them all but her especially

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whowouldhavethoughts · 6 years

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When Activism Meets Creativity: Master of None’s Lena Waithe Talks “Protest Art” at Teen Vogue Meetup

CHICAGO -- In October, I decided to spend a beautiful fall Friday evening among a group of Gen Zers.

Before heading to Teen Vogue’s meetup event in Chicago, I imbibed in a frothy egg-based cocktail and during the actual event switched out the alcohol for one of the grapefruit mocktails being served to the crowd. It was a stark reminder that I wasn’t exactly the target audience member for this event.

These tote bags were given to attendees at Teen Vogue’s Chicago meetup.

Not that this was a problem. In fact, Teen Vogue has seen a bump in its profile over the last year, thanks in part to its political coverage that went viral under the direction and influence of Editor-in-Chief Elaine Welteroth and her right hand guru/digital editorial director Phillip Picardi (who holds the same title with Allure and helped launch Conde Nast’s new LGBTQ vertical, them). Welteroth was a big reason why I decided to buy my ticket for the Teen Vogue event, and her celebrity status seemed confirmed at the conclusion of it. Fans (of all ages) waited around a half hour to grab a coveted selfie with Welteroth, and as people tried to push through to the front, one girl deadpanned, “Bitch, if I could grow wings, I’d be flying up there to meet her.”

Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Elaine Welteroth greets the crowd.

Outside of Vogue’s legendary leader, Anna Wintour, no other EIC has ridden more of a wave of accelerated star status than Welteroth has these past few years. The 30-year-old made history as Conde Nast’s youngest and second African-American Editor-in-Chief ever and has become a must-follow on social media – an avenue that has helped her capture the fascination and adoration of her nearly 190,000 combined followers on Twitter and Instagram.

In partnership with TOMS, Teen Vogue hosted an evening that felt like a mixer of sorts. Upon arrival, we attendees were encouraged to slap on a badge that featured our names and the causes that lit our activism fire. There were glass bowls filled with pins that had phrases like “Woke AF” or “I may take naps, but I’m still WOKE” at our disposal. Tables had recent issues of Teen Vogue on display artfully (those magazines now seem like collector’s items considering Conde Nast’s recent announcement that Teen Vogue will cease its print issues).

Teen Vogue issues on full display. Conde Nast recently announced the magazine will end its print run.

Even with the brand’s now complete shift to digital, launching a conference-type event has been the bubbling brainchild of Welteroth’s for the past five years. In an interview with WWD in September, she explained what went into the decision to finally launch Teen Vogue’s first-ever Summit (taking place in December in Los Angeles with major star power like director Ava DuVernay) and a series of meetups in five select cities.

“It’s the right moment for this. We have this incredible, civic-minded, motivated community,” she told WWD.

“They are hungry to connect with the brand.”

That message, paired with Welteroth’s charisma, were the main reasons why everyone’s phones became locked in position once she entered the room at the Chicago event. We were all ready to snap, click and capture a piece of physical evidence to help induce FOMO among our social circles. Clad in a sporty black and white Opening Ceremony minidress, her beloved Laurence Dacade white boots (she raves about them frequently on Instagram) and gold-framed aviator glasses, Welteroth’s look was, of course, sealed by her signature honey-colored afro. As she stared out into the crowd, Welteroth seemed in awe that her vision was finally a reality, and she opened the event by exclaiming excitedly, “This is happening!”

The theme of the night was activism through creativity, and with Welteroth serving as the host, she told attendees that she hoped the night would serve as a “cross-generational” conversation. The speakers on the roster certainly exemplified that; Welteroth handpicked New York Times bestselling author and hilarious internet wordsmith Luvvie Ajayi of Awesomely Luvvie fame, Chicago activist Eva Lewis and Emmy-Award winning producer and Master of None actress Lena Waithe.

Luvvie casually dropped in the fact that she had brunch with Oprah. NBD.

While Luvvie set the tone early after sharing nuggets of wisdom (and revealing that it took her nearly a decade to finally call herself a writer), WITNESS’ program coordinator Pali Makam taught attendees how to safely and properly document protests. Waithe and Lewis then rounded out the evening with an intimate discussion about their art and its intersection with politics and activism.

Lena Waithe (left) and Eva Lewis discuss activism through art.

“I think however anyone chooses to be an activist is valid,” Waithe said. “In terms of artistically, I’m not afraid to write about my experiences. I like to make protest art. I want to write about black love stories – that’s revolutionary. I want to write about same-sex black love stories – that’s even more so [revolutionary] because you don’t see it,” she said.

“I like to make protest art. I want to write about black love stories – that’s revolutionary.” - Lena Waithe

Waithe says she also uses her writing as a way to connect audiences that, on paper, may never seem similar. “[My] ‘Thanksgiving’ [Master of None episode] is a form of activism because a white straight person in Tappahannock, [Virginia] will watch and see themselves in me and go, ‘Oh, we’re more alike than we are different.’”

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Marginalized groups in Hollywood still face a variety of struggles, especially when it comes to controlling their art and their message. Waithe says the first change must come from the top.

“I’m happy to have a show that’s about to be on Showtime, and I’m happy Issa [Rae]’s got Insecure on HBO and Justin [Simien] is on Netflix, but it’s like, who owns the networks? I don’t know a black person who owns a network,” she said.

“I’m not going to stop making art, but I’m also not going to be naïve to who benefits financially off of that art. I benefit a little bit, but there are people above me that benefit more. And I can’t change that tomorrow, but I’m in the process of just working really freaking hard so that I’m eventually in a position to galvanize people from the industry that look like me, that are like-minded, so we can go, ‘When are we going to unite and come together and put a fund together?’”

Waithe says that while those conversations happen all the time, black unity in black Hollywood is hard. “There’s no reason why Insecure, Blackish, Dear White People, Atlanta, the Chi shouldn’t all be on BET,” she said.

“We’re working, but we got a lot of work to do.”

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This year’s Emmy Awards was a major step forward in that fight. Waithe became the first black woman to win an Emmy for Comedy Writing, and at the end of the night took a photo with Atlanta’s Donald Glover (the first black person to win the comedy-directing award) and The Night Of actor Riz Ahmed (the first Muslim and South-Asian actor to win an Emmy). The photo became instantly iconic, and Waithe explained the meaning behind the now-famous picture.

Photo Courtesy: Riz Ahmed (Instagram)

“Riz was like, ‘We need to document this moment,’ because he was like, ‘This is the kind of thing that represents the future,’ but the great thing about that moment was we are all woke,” Waithe said. “We’re not just doing this to make money. We are about the community. I’m of the community, and I want to still be a part of it.”

This idea of fighting for your community – whether it be through peaceful protests, creative methods or conversations – sits at the root of the discussions Welteroth hopes Teen Vogue can continue to facilitate and help its audience engage in. For the young people at these events, their future is still moldable, and the way they see the world may change, but the main takeaway Welteroth wants them to have?

It’s yours for the taking.

Also, taking some selfies and Boomerangs along the way doesn’t hurt either.

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