Where Are All the Black Teen Comedies?

[@Yharazayd]

big ups to @townoftawiah for helping me with this one, check out her channel immediately!! *warning: i don't talk about every single black teen comedy ever made here, saving it for the podcast **warning: that last part was a joke. there is no podcast.

[@Beelzebubbly]

Or was it a joke? 🤔🤔

[@trinaq]

Thank you so much for making this video. While there are many TV sitcoms, there should be more comedy films with core black protagonists.

[@Gxmwp]

Just started the video, but I just have to say omg both of your voices are gorgeous

[@danakruger]

Just saying I'd do a lot for a 5 hour podcast of you talking about every single black teen comedy ever made.

[@anishsawan6496]

They had us in the first half, ngl.

[@witchplease9695]

When there is a Black teen movie nowadays, especially one with a girl, she is typically mixed race or very light skinned. The message I got as a dark skinned girl was that only the Black girls that looked a certain way, closer to white and ambiguous could live a normal or happy lives with love interests and issues that had nothing to do with race. Everything with girls and women my complexion was traumatic or stereotypical. Growing up, True Jackson VP was the first teen sitcom I ever saw with a dark skinned female lead that was portrayed as sweet, pretty, smart, talented and from a normal family that got put in a unique situation that led her and her friends on fun and wacky adventures. Her story was unrelated to race and while I don’t think everything with Black leads needs to completely ignore race, it was refreshing for it to not be relevant or the focus at all. She was just a teen girl that got the chance of a lifetime as a fashion designer. That show was so important to me and I’ve pretty much loved Keke Palmer ever since.

[@Asummersdaydreamer14]

That is such a touching connection; glad you have that. :) Now I am reminded I need to rewatch clips of Keke’s run as Cinderella in the R&H Cinderella musical. The Brandy tv version and cast is top tier nostalgia, but I also just love the music so any revival productions are amazing 👌

[@user-wc1ue6qe9v]

A.N.T farm was a good one too!🥰👏

[@Toxic_Femininity]

Moesha…The Parker’s…Sister Act… girlfriends

[@ThatPrettyGirlYongz]

@@Toxic_Femininity I loved the hell out of those. I wish they would do shows like that nowadays as well. There was so much variety in black shows back then.

[@chrissy3875]

thissss

[@RedisNotaFlavor]

I remember Issa Rae saying somewhere she wanted to make a black teen series like Saved by the bell. I hope she does it. I would watch it.

[@monovatherealest]

that would be amazing

[@serenityq26]

dont let her gaslight you

[@RedisNotaFlavor]

@@serenityq26 "dont let her gaslight you." aww man, you think she was cappin when she said this? damn, lol

[@Thatcuntbih46]

Yeah isarae said she wanted to create something like a black la Hollywood teen movie show type.

[@berserk1437]

HBO canceled her last show, I doubt it

[@nasjiaglenn1869]

There is nothing more sobering than talking about someone who is black famous and having non-blackfamous knowing people going "who?"

[@Yharazayd]

i mentioned wood harris the other day and got a blank stare in response 😐

[@user-mb9nm7bq5e]

@@Yharazayd but THE WIRE!!!!

[@Animefreak242]

@@Yharazayd so insulting

[@devonmunn5728]

@@user-mb9nm7bq5e Thats where I know him from. He popped up in Oz too

[@livlmao508]

me when i bring up any actress that isnt zendaya, amandla, yara, or victoria davis…

[@Squishy876]

It's a shame because there's NO reason black people aren't in classic comedies. Like The Breakfast Club could have had an entirely different layer

[@BingBingTheClown]

Dave Chapell was in Robinhood men in tights , blazing Saddles had Cleavon Little, and Wayans Brothers had a ton of movies in that time period.

[@apinchofdisappointment]

Exactly

[@bamboleo6348]

@@BingBingTheClown a few examples out of a hundred comedies pushed out each year😭

[@BingBingTheClown]

@@bamboleo6348 dude there hasn’t even been a decent comedy in like 10 years. Sure a comedy will come out and everyone laughs for like a month but no classics like Super Bad have released in a while.

[@bamboleo6348]

@@BingBingTheClown that's really not the point though and classics by who's definition?

[@drsuchomimus]

Feels like “Get out” created an uptick in fantasy/horror trauma films in Hollywood like “Boys in the Hood” did.

[@liberatedlife9676]

Ooh such a good point!

[@jessiepoo20]

Like honestly I started avoiding some black movies and shows because I swear it’s like “let’s watch this person die” “look these kids were wrongfully accused” “let’s watch this girl get assaulted” “oh look racist people hurting us again” I know that’s real life but like you said there’s so much more to life than trauma. I mean look around people are just miserable. The internet is full of hateful, argumentative people. I used to be bothered by the negativity, but now I just say that’s the internet where most people are just raging.

[@meikoblock]

Exactly! I tried to watch Queen Sugar and it just made me anxious trying to figure out when terrible stuff was going to happen to this family.

[@kas8ia]

Growing up with american movies abroad, my experiences are that if it's a comedy it *has* to have at least one goofy black guy character, or black MC. So my perception is completely different, black guy on a poster = comedy.

[@syreetadukes4428]

I know! It's so sad to me that I struggle with enjoying most media that involves black people. It's so numbing to watch movies/tv-shows containing things like black trauma entertainment. But I have made it my main goal to find black people being happy and just having a good time.

[@somedude172]

@@kas8ia the issue is, its always just that one character. and its really just the same charcter thats given a different name and backstory for each movie. its the same jokes, the same personality- The Token Black Comedic Relief (TM). theyre the butt of most of the jokes, and/or theyre insanely stereotypical, or just an outright racist caricature. im not black, but i imagine it would be super fkn nice for black people to have a movie where they dont have to worry about the only character that looks like them being a stereotype we really just need more majority black casted movies in the same genre as like... mean girls, highschool musical, that sort of deal. idk, just stuff that black kids can watch at sleepovers and argue all night about who would date which character lol. this video made me realize thats a privilege ive had as a white person that a lot of black kids may not have gotten and that just really fkn sucks

[@tamsinendley3130]

i think there's something similar in the disability community. as hard as being disabled is, it can also be really funny and really entertaining. movies about disabled people (particularly disabled teens) tend to fall into the patterns of a tragedy (they're also overwhelmingly white but that's a different issue). to a lot of non-marginalised communities, they only see black/trans/disabled/any minority identity through a tragic lens, so anything that paints their lives as joyful is considered not "realistic". i don't know just a thought. great video btws.

[@adamtherock2008]

I know it has its problems but I’ve always considered The Ringer to be a very underrated comedy and it portrays its disabled characters as normal people. And “when the fuck did we get ice cream?!” is such a great line.

[@NIRDIAN1]

This also tends to open the can for "Pretend Marginalisation"... Like The Danish Girl or even Forrest Gump, and more damningly Sia's "Music". Blackface luckily has been mostly (entirely?) banished from mainstream media, but non-marginalized people telling the (overwhelmingly excessively tragic) stories of marginalized folks tend to... almost never include actual marginalized people at any stage, be it writing, direction, or even acting... And that really twists the knife for me...

[@LaneMaxfield]

There's this weird "can we laugh at that?" reaction from non-marginalized people. Sure, there are jokes that are insensitive, but they generally come from people on the outside make dehumanizing jokes in order to increase the distance between themselves and the marginalized community. People on the inside of the marginalized community use humor as an equally powerful coping mechanism. It's an expression of that ability to find joy in any circumstances. If the joyful, empowering laughter was a louder cultural voice than the dehumanizing laughter, that would be a good thing, for any community. It would rob the bigoted jokes of their power. The problem is that non-marginalized "allies" feel like they get more clout from saying "we can't laugh at that, that's SERIOUS."

[@amiaswolfgang]

Oh yeah. There is also a huge problem with these movies being "inspiration porn" for ableds instead of being stories that center disabled people. We are props (often horrendously portrayed by both the abled writers and often abled actors) to a story that's supposed to make ableds feel good. If a character is disabled, they can never be just a disabled person. There has to be some arc of them "overcoming" something about their disability. Sometimes, its portrayed well (I personally like the character Daniel Souza from Agent Carter, I relate a lot to his issues surrounding my chronic pain. And there's Yang in RWBY who is a pretty good representation of PTSD, something I've lived with for years) but those portrayals aren't without their problems either (both characters mentioned were played by an abled actor, Souza's "arc" was about overcoming the internalized shame of his disability and was incredibly rushed (it seemed like it started and finished within one 5-minute conversation), Yang's PTSD went away after she murdered the guy who caused it and that's not how PTSD works (not to mention how horribly the fandom treats her when she does act authentically as someone who's struggling to cope with a trauma disorder)). We really have a long way to go, and the best way to get there is get more disabled people in writers' positions, as actors, and as sensitivity screeners. I hope we can trust abled people to make stories about us one day, but that can't happen until we all believe and act on the phrase "Nothing About Us Without Us." Sia's "Music" was one of the most horrendous things I've seen in a while, it literally condones unnecessary violence against autistics and sends the message that allistic family members know more about autism than the autistic person does. It feels like world took 20 million steps back. And I think we all know Hollywood is gonna blame the negative response of the movie on there being a disabled character in it in the first place instead of the fact that this was an ableist portrayal, so now they're going to be less likely to want to make movies and shows starring autistic people and other disabled people. We never get to win with all this shit.

[@chrissy3875]

YUP!!! also they usually just show people in wheelchairs / ppl with visible disabilities it'd be cool to have a character with an invisible disability

[@knowdaqueen177]

Not even just teen comedy’s we don’t get any fantasy, YA distopias, RomComs are few and far between. It’s like black people more specifically black children aren’t allowed to have range in media. I’m sick of every black teen movie being about drugs and/or violence. Black people can be happy and have fun and go on adventures that aren’t based around trauma I just want to see that. I can’t even tell if Jingle Jangle was a good movie or if I was severely starved of a black fantasy cyberpunk Christmas movie and if I realize it’s bad then there’s nothing to take it’s place. P.S. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is my favorite animated fantasy show with an all black main cast and everyone should watch it.

[@ornenow4703]

There was a period in the 90s and 2000s where we had so many Black RomComs and then they all disappeared...smh

[@knowdaqueen177]

@@ornenow4703 the 90s was a golden age for black sitcoms and movies it’s sad to see that regression.

[@Animefreak242]

I loved Kipo. It's so sweet

[@levonleban6252]

You might appreciate Raybearer for Black YA in a west African inspired fantasy setting.

[@teresa18870]

@@knowdaqueen177 that’s so strange to think tho because now that the world is more “woke” and everyone is trying to be more racially inclusive , you would think that there would be more black rom coms, YA dystopian etc. it’s weird /:

[@Mizuki101Ikuto]

i also notice a lot of family focused shows with black main characters (that i've seen) have parents with high achieving jobs like in Black Lightning (doctor and principal), Blackish (rich executive and doctor), or even KC undercover, it's like black people in media can't just be an average, everyday joe, like their white counterparts to be seen as a fun, family-friendly show

[@hope-cat4894]

It might be remnants of the Cosby era where the parents having high paying, respectable jobs was a big deal because it was a good role model for audiences. That middle ground of "middle class is ok too" still hasn't been found.

[@lennydotdotdot5580]

Maybe that's why Everybody Hates Chris stands out. (or at least one way it does.)

[@BingBingTheClown]

Carl Winslow was a cop lol

[@meikoblock]

That’s why I liked Smart Guy because the dad was a contractor, just a regular guy trying to raise his kids.

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

Classism and respectability politics it low key started with the Cosby show

[@ajmalaika1287]

LET IS SHINE WAS SUCH A BIG DEAL for me it came out during the DCOM golden era whenwe all loved HSM was big and then suddenly we had a black led movie where they could rap for fun. (granted it did push the stereotype of a heavily religiously bias household but still THE MUSIC SLAPPED) kinda sucks it didn't happen again after it and Jump in.

[@mewmew6158]

Jump In was everything to me!!! (I loved jump rope and dancing as a kid)

[@natsuki7325]

You mean let it shine?

[@musicalnerds101]

When did let it shine come out? I never saw it but I feel like it was partially due to me growing out of Disney at the time.

[@kaylaglazz]

unfortunately I was too old didn't care and never watched it. The ads for it was SOOOOO cringe

[@AA1891]

House Party (1990), Class Act (1992), The Inkwell (1994), Good Burger (1997), Trippin' (1999), The Wood (1999), Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003), Roll Bounce (2005), ATL (2006), Dope (2015) Never realized how few Black movies there are in the teen comdey genre.

[@februaryschild0216]

So many good memories, tho. Geeze.

[@rockymaffitt3345]

What about Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020) ?

[@caesthoffe]

House Party is still one of my all time favorite comedies, and it's crazy that it's almost never brought up in the "best comedy movies" discussion because it's so fucking good. it's so disheartening.

[@Aishyo]

The colourism part is real because a lot of the times the dark skinned girl is the hater friend of the love interest or dark skinned girls just don't exist (Dope) Trippin had Maia Campbell. Also the film execs thing so real, a director from the UK Destiny Ekaragha was asked why the main characters of her comedy movie weren't killing each other because young Black people in South London that's what they are supposed to do 🙄

[@Aishyo]

@Erwin Lii yeah I've watched it when it came out, I also lost my shit when I saw the trailer

[@pestyobsrvr4278]

Damn... There is really no dark skin women in Dope. 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@jnyerere]

Honestly the more time passes by the more I realize how much I took "Everybody Hates Chris" for granted. *Long Sigh*

[@nataliei.4114]

That show is a classic.

[@sassysimonetheprincess1996]

This is why most of my hypothetical teen magical girl movies are going to be lighthearted and fun, with casts of diverse people of color and even dark skinned black leads

[@tristiancirca89]

I’ve been saying this for so long! This is the main reason I write young adult stories starring POCs. Black and brown teens deserve to have those sappy coming of age stories just like everyone else.

[@reikun86]

Love and Basketball gets me every time. Monica and Q aren't perfect people, but they're perfect together.

[@meccob.5927]

Yes sir. I'm ready for this video. Most the black show I come across are dramas. Like Empire, black lightning, woke, etcetera. The closest thing I see to a modern black teen comedy is grownish, or dear white people.

[@evonne9938]

you should try "the get down"

[@BellesView]

@@evonne9938 OMFG yes! The Get Down was incredible.

[@hey4506]

Hi Yhara recently I did an article for my journalism class and for preparation I binged watched all your videos to kind of get an idea on how to structure my argument in an effective way and I got an A! I just wanted to thank you for your amazing videos and quality content every week! Hope you have a nice rest of your day :)

[@jeremyud]

I feel like there was more diversity back in the late 80's/early 90's because the home video boom meant that companies could recoup costs in the rental market. So people were more willing to take risks back then.

[@zitronentee]

I think nowadays streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ also help. I mean, look at the popularity of Squid Game. With streaming services, audiences are willing to try to see shows outside the usual.

[@clarapilier]

I think the last black teen comedy I watched was Dope.

[@bru1sed_v1oletSunny]

I feel like that’s the last one we ALL watched

[@TrueYellowDart]

I was looking through comments to see if Dope was already mentioned. While it’s got drugs and the threat of violence there as. I dunno, trauma-adjacent elements to it, it’s clearly a funny romp at its core.

[@larissat4978]

This made me want a Moonlight (beautifully made, black coming of age film) from the black girl perspective 😢

[@chrissy3875]

OMG YES

[@ForeignManinaForeignLand]

Wait - I wasn’t ready for a face reveal dread 😅 I was like hol up - its Yhara’s voice but there’s an actual person right there rather than some omnipotent repository of pop culture. Also; I admire how you brought on Tawiah. This is the Black Renaissance they said won’t be televised… but it is!

[@justindenney-hall5875]

Foreign Man in a Foreign Land This is not the first time she's shown her face in a video lol.

[@jaheimjohnson2267]

@@justindenney-hall5875 Yeah, she showed her face in the Reefer Madness video

[@justindenney-hall5875]

@@jaheimjohnson2267 And in her Q&A video.

[@RedisNotaFlavor]

"skip intro" sent me to the moon 😂

[@berserk1437]

I could say the same thing as a Native American, but erasure in popular media is something you have to get used to on a daily basis. We have like Pocahontas and Smoke Signals and nothing else!

[@reikun86]

Smoke Signals was a good movie, but it would've been cool to see more movies about modern day Native Americans. I liked Wind-Talkers, but that was set during World War II. Or Hollywood just likes to throw Adam Beach into movies because he's in a lot of stuff.

[@Goawaysierra]

Thank you for this video! It just reminded me of Marsai Martin saying she will never produce tragic black stories (and that she’s making a black girl rollerskating sitcom for Disney!!!). She will get that unfriendly black hottie movie greenlit

[@toastdude1587]

This is why I want to write a black teen comedy sitcom. I'm currently a teen who wants to pursue screenwriting. My show will be about two twins, one boy and girl. I dont want to get too much in detail just to keep my idea safe. But as a black teen I hate the absence of black teen shows overall. I always have to go to most older teen shows, which I dont mind but I want to see a modern black teen boy that has his own show in the 2020s and one about a black teen girl. We need more executives and higher-ups who will let these movies and shows be made and have the consumers watch it, to bring back a resurgance.

[@kaylaglazz]

I miss growing up there were black shows everywhere and none of them involved Tyler Perry for a LONG time....good ol days

[@anony1596]

Say it!! 📢

[@CheckItOutHOODREVIEWS]

The end of our lives is more important than the content of them, the tears of our lives is more valuable than the laughter. That's like a Jadakiss bar!! Left me with the ugly face.

[@paulettejordan8505]

I ask myself this question all of the time. There needs to be more films about black teens just having fun and being teenagers.

[@TownofTawiah]

Glad to be featured in such a great video!! 'preciate you!! 😌🤍

[@kilimanjaro5537]

Hollywood really has something against brown and dark skin black teen girls…

[@iceetas]

when i saw jump in and let it shine on disney channel i was so in awe as a kid. i've had an idea for a black teen comedy/ romcom in my head for years and i hope one day i can make it :')

[@trinaq]

I really applaud you for making this video! I'd really love to see some more comedy movies starring black protagonists. Most movies with black leads tend to be serious dramas, or have them get killed off, and if they are in major roles, they're usually the second banana to the white protagonist

[@ohbooyourselves]

I paused to read everything on the "files" 😂

[@ArdinPatterson]

Omg! I was looking for this comment! So glad it wasn't just me xD

[@markndlovu4124]

Im a 22 year old black writer/director and have a few black comedies under my sleeves inspired by the fact that I grew up being the only black person at my primary and secondary school (UK). For example a funny childhood situation where everyone was playing kiss chase including me, until i noticed that, when i stopped running, no girls were chasing me as if i wasn't playing. Sad but funny to me haha cause even the kid in the wheelchair was being chased So these perspectives may not be abundant now but i believe they will be. I'll make sure of it

[@a_real_one2000]

As much as I love Cooley high cuz it shows bunch of Black teens having fun, living life gettin into young nonsense. I always have to prepare myself for that ending. I could argue “The Wood” is a Black Teen comedy movie cuz most of the movie are the younger versions get more screen time

[@bru1sed_v1oletSunny]

funny enough, The Wood and Dope are connected

[@ornenow4703]

When they play Its So Hard to Say Goodbye at the end of Cooley High, I lose it every time😢

[@a_real_one2000]

@@bru1sed_v1oletSunny I noticed that too when I saw Dope. It was good to see Stacey doing good for himself lol.

[@Xoxomaramber]

Another brilliant video. Kinda just now realizing how original of a concept House Party is, especially for it’s time. Which is interesting bc I watch it often and is one of my favorites. Side note: the “skip intro” took me out

[@MojoSojoJojo]

I love that more and more we're getting promises of no more Black trauma stories. it's gotten to the point that when I see new movies/shows that are Black focused I have this overwhelming feeling of dread and unease the whole time, just waiting for the trauma!🤦🏿‍♀️ I'm very ready to walk into a story and not have that feeling👏🏿

[@-Desire]

Movies like Let it shine were some of the first movies I saw that didn't make me think that black people were suffering in America, I legit thought that these trauma movies were all true and that people abroad couldn't catch a collective break (which isn't far from the truth but you get the point)

[@brittaunfiltered4878]

Omg, thank you for reminding me of Cousin Skeeter! I can't really remember the plot other than Skeeter coming from out of town to live with main character's family and hijinks ensue - such a blast from the past! Man there were so many Black Teen comedies and sitcoms and the cultural zeitgeist seems like it has turned so against the idea that one of the most famous Black sitcoms (The Fresh Prince of Belair) is getting a gritty re-boot.

[@DriftPiss9000]

I think this is a reason why "New Kid" is a great graphic novel. It discusses pretty heavy topics like racism, but told through the lens of a relatable average preteen akin to Big Nate or Middle school: The worst years of my life.

[@tristiancirca89]

That and its sequel are on my TBR pile.

[@chrissy3875]

the lack of representation is not just annoying but it's harmful (not just in the comedy genre) like where are all the black queer characters? black disabled characters black girls in horror movies anyways this was another amazing video from u

[@kilimanjaro5537]

“The end of our lives is more important than the content of our lives.” Whew sis, speak 🗣👏🏾

[@SoulSugarJoint]

I learned so much from this video. My taste for movies is almost exclusively Black teen/children comedy (Daddy Day Care, Like Mike, Fat Albert, Roll Bounce, Imagine That, the Wood, Johnson Family Reunion). I literally don’t watch and avoid Black trauma films like the plague. This video essay gave me so much joy because I’m so happy there’s a desire for these films again. Black teen comedy is my genre of choice and I’m learning how to write them. Thank you for this video!

[@mayarae6272]

ok ok, i'll rewatch 'that's so raven' and 'poetic justice' again

[@Jesibelle8]

We don’t need a REMAKE FOR HOUSE PARTY

[@amazingbecka1]

Kinda sad that “Two Can Play That Game” didn’t get a shout out in this, flawless black ensemble comedy IMO!

[@FDSignifire]

Why my dumb ass tried to click skip intro...

[@shaniceb.5129]

I wish there were more Black sitcoms on tv. I miss Sister Sister, That’s so Raven, Prince of Belair, Everybody hates Chris, etc. The only show I’ve seen now is Black-ish.

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

The "skip intro" you added to your introduction genuinely made me laugh

[@1lilykee]

Oh my god thank you i thought I was the only one who was tired of seeing nothing but black trauma all over tv

[@daniellelively4058]

Unfortunately, it seems like when White people see black movies, there has to be a reason (historical, timely, or super indie). Somewhere along the line, White people were taught that regular ass black movies were only for black people. It doesn't help that regular ass black movies aren't marketed to "mainstream" audiences. I can remember going to the movies monthly before covid and seeing the same 10 trailers. Then, when I saw a black movie, I was shown trailers I hadn't seen all summer. They literally only showed black movies to what they imagined were black audiences. Smh

[@The_Real_Black_Jesus]

"No, my sarcasm isn't very good, but I'm taking classes though." Ironically the best sarcastic comment ever made. 🤣

[@Pinkladyisv]

Thank you! I’ve been thinking this for a while. There isn’t a lot of entertainment or media made for teenagers that focus on black characters. As a little girl I adored Moesha, Sister, Sister and One on One. It was fun to see she and her friends navigate typical teenage storylines.

[@HyphenatedHistoryUK]

I’m haven’t finished watching but I just had to come in and laugh at “Black for a reason” because it’s such a perfect way of expressing it 😂

[@missbellaiza]

This is incredibly informative and I agree too. With pain comes joy, and everybody deserves to have joy in their life.

[@ajmalaika1287]

LOL the skip intro fake out...Why...you made me think youtube had an extend video/video essay feature

[@thejahni]

Yo, shout out to you for including The Famous Jett Jackson! I love you for that, that was my show!

[@JordanSullivanadventures]

I loved Jump In as a kid, had a huge crush on Corbin Bleu. I think part of that was watching his character overcome ideas about masculinity and just enjoy being friends with girls and doing things considered girly -- and be okay with that.

[@chibiktsn3]

Love this video and thought your true crime doc opening was an inspired choice. I've never heard of TalcumX (OMG, that name is perfect), but the idea of sending people graphic photos and videos of Black people being brutalized and framing it as spreading awareness instantly sickened me. I remember being a kid on the internet and being warned that some people posted pictures and clips of violence in innocuous places in order to shock people and traumatize kids, so the very idea that someone is doing something similar and is being praised baffles me.

[@tbone6704]

I'm a hillbilly from the mountains in Tennessee. I grew up watching House Party, Friday, and Half Baked(not related, but still) almost exclusively. The sad fact is that unless it's a superhero movie, we aren't likely to see any comedies, much less black ones.

[@matxalenc8410]

Yes, I'm pretty aware. Make movies for us! Not "to start a conversation" (or whatever bs the movie people like to say).

[@josiefischer9359]

Ugh I'm so glad you did a video about this. HTis has always beeen something that has gotten on my nerves as a black girl. I also hate the fact that movies like house party or class act even have to be labelled as black teen movies and not just teen films, but sadly it makes sense, since theres so little. I'm really glad you touched on the fact that theres movies about black women and young black girls, but not many on black teenage girls, that's something that has always bothered me, especially sinc etheres so many on white teenage girls/young adults. Thank you so much for making this video, it feels great to be seen.

[@seatheparade]

This was so well made form everything you said to that intro especially! The only black teen comedies I watched as a kid was Jump in and maybe Cheetah girls if you count that ahaha. So far it seems like it's only animation that's starting to get commercial success by telling light hearted coming of age stories featuring black protagonists, I hope it translates to live action as well as soon

[@swish3432]

I watched house party this morning! One of the vhs cases I stared at longingly in the rental store as a child

[@nathanjasper512]

I saw a black teen comedy once. In the woods, it jumped out from behind a tree. I turned to look but it was gone.

[@JaiProdz]

Your videos make me wanna cry. They are so real and raw. You don't implement pretentiousness.

[@MrTedkesner]

Omgoodness. I was literally just having this conversation with myBbf.

[@MrTedkesner]

Btw Trippin is my favorite movie

[@nkozi]

The number of times i've had people essentially ask me "why are you Black" lmao

[@ycartyahoo]

Your voice is so calming....videos are good too!!!

[@snakesonthismondaytofriday1750]

Wish I had something like "Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse" growing up. "Boyz n the Hood" was the first black teen movie I ever saw. Found a random unmarked VHS from a bin and watched it while still in elementary school. Needless to say it terrified me at the time.

[@alexandercrowley9761]

It's very interesting for me because as being 50% Porto Rican 50% Irish openly gay raised by my mother who's a dark-skinned Puerto Rican always gravitated towards lake people of color story of sound like strong women of color and obviously that comes with a lot of like the trauma move user shows and it's always made me so uncomfortable watching like all the low points are like the abuse segments and it's always just kind of sucked that like to have a quote-unquote good person of color expecially female of color they always have to have like some terrible he doesn't love me or like I was abused or I don't have parents are just something terribly terribly sad they can't just be quirky or a badass or whatever they may be like the way it has to be this depressing heavy note in their story

[@manuboy214]

Great video. I'm also happy you showed Fat Albert in the end because I was thinking about it during the entire video.

[@idkbcnelson]

i’ve made it my mission as a writer to fill this space. perfect timing!

[@nico1016]

Watching this now and that Talcum X quip aged like fine wine 😂

[@mattred7710]

The audience is mostly white and black suffering is the most appealing subject in that regard. The good thing about the internet is that the medium allows free and good content to stand out, which is why black comedy (and lots of zoomer black comedy) stands out as the best one. Black comedy is arguably the most influential on the internet today (especially the lingo)

[@laurennesmith3465]

Your points perfectly sum up my issue with HBO’s adaptation of Lovecraft Country. The book was written by a white man, but he didn’t exploit real life events to be “relevant”. There was a lot more joy in the book. The characters still had to deal with the realities of being black in that time period, but the focus was more on their adventures, and it was just so much more.. fun? The ending had me CACKLING. Then I watched the adaptation, and absolutely fell in love with the depiction of Uncle George and Hippolyta’s affection for each other in the first episode and then (SPOILER) George dies for absolutely NO reason other than to pile on even more trauma. I wish I’d stopped watching then, but… oh well.

[@lincolnward85]

This review highlights why I loved insecure so much. It simply highlighted black life and black love without all of the stereotypes. It was genuinely funny when called for awkward at turns and emotional at others, without ever being or feeling contrived. Likewise even though I watched Them, I would never watch it again now would I recommend it to anyone, ever. There was just pain for the sake of pain without the balance you mentioned regarding the joys and moments of humor we either find out create for ourselves along the way. I can deal with trauma to an extent(fruitvale) when I contextualizes the person and doesn't linger on or reduce them to just that moment. Our lives are much greater than the pain the world sees and we need to highlight that again in media.

[@JC-yy8iv]

Eeyyyy thanks for the content! Also, girl I think we all know a thing or two about “in a months time” suddenly being 3 months 💀

[@JC-yy8iv]

Omg this INTRO 🤩 The production value! Werk!

[@februaryschild0216]

Don't forget The Wood, Soul Food and The Inkwell. If you haven't seen them, they're great. Thanks for making this. While my kids were growing up, I got them CDs of the movies you mentioned and the others. My younger daughter even had a "pajama jammy jam" for her 16th birthday. They're Gen Z/Millenial aged now. But, the lesson here is we gotta feed our kids the images/lessons we want them to see. Teens having fun & laughing? Yes ma'am! Thanks again!

[@nylabarrier8542]

Thank you for making this video ! As a black woman, I would love to see more tv shows where we just simply exist no struggle survival bs.

[@imaniforrest-white9054]

Not me getting scalped by the skip into then also the mention of a podcast in the pinned comment

[@reikun86]

Aww. Seeing that clip of My Brother & Me made me happy and sad. I loved that show.

[@dayko1329]

I'm so in love with this channel. 😍 Thank you Yhara!

[@selwatchesyt]

Love this content. I’ve been screaming about this for a decade. I do wish you mentioned Sela and the Spades but I know a lot of people didn’t like it and it’s more of a drama.

[@brontestjohn1798]

are we done yet and the sequal were such good black comedy movies

[@indecentxcomposer]

i remembered this intro from the patreon and it still caught me off guard this time lol. u rock

[@MsDisneylandlover]

Yes respect to thomas lee i loved jet jackson too he was very handsome. So sorry he allowed the darkness to get to him. Smh. Rip i hope he is with the lord.

[@jnyerere]

That opening montage reminded me of the HBO docuseries about the Atlanta Child Murders. It was both brilliant and sad.

[@aspen1713]

thanks for such an eye-opening video! I relate a lot growing up as a queer girl where every lesbian storyline had some kind of trauma thrown in to it. In every movie I could get my hands on, it seemed like the queer girl either gets r*p*d, assaulted, or killed (or someone she loves is killed) and I remember how troubling they were to watch. I hope more diverse stories are amplified and brought to the big screen in the future - not just in terms of diverse cast, but also diverse stories that don't treat every BIPOC or LGBTQ+ person/story as a monolith.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

I don't want to take away from anything she said in the video but she has just the most beautiful voice. It is literally so beautiful, so soothing, it sounds almost musical when she talks. I could literally listen to her talk for hours.

[@reikun86]

If Yhara ever decides to record an audio book, I'm buying it.

[@ornenow4703]

What a great video! I never even thought of this and I hope we see more Black teen comedies in the future and more coming-of-age stories too that are just ordinary Black teens having ordinary experiences. Side Note: I wonder if Inkwell (1994) could be considered a Black teen comedy? Its a 90s movie but takes place in the 70s. Larenz Tate stars in it as a really socially awkward teen who has a crush on Jada Pinkett Smith's character. The movie takes place in Martha's Vineyard. The details are fuzzy now, its been years since I've seen it but its definitely a movie that went under the radar.

[@martinaarmani]

Thank you for talking about this

[@sarahr2925]

This was really well articulated. I also loooove your editing skills. That opening was amazing. And the skip intro button? Genius! 😂

[@julphines]

Shootout to the Original Seventeen Again, one of my favorite movies as a teen ❤

[@steinful]

lumberjack yhara? this is what i needed today

[@myaah9065]

personally i'm not black, i'm south asian but i could never relate to mostly white tv shows and coming of age films, since there was little to none sa rep, and when there was, it was usually overdone accents, stereotypes and most of the characters were like the personification of orientalism. i loved watching black shows or sitcoms as a kid because they were more relatable, still didn't have south asian representation but tbh it was the best we could get.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

17:31 never. Maybe a Disney Channel Original Movie, but I’m not sure. 20:16 I remember this one!

[@TruceLucid]

Thank you for another excellent video ! As a spectator, I´m more into light-hearted flicks, and I remember talking about it with a friend, in the case of "12 years a slave". No matter how good it´s supposed to be I wouldn´t watch it because I was done seeing black people limited to slavery, brutality ( in some cases close to torture porn) and racism. Yes it exists, yes we need to acknowledge this, but it´s not all there is. You put your finger exactly on that. Now I realize I just wanted to see black characters as the hero of very ordinary and "superficial" stories. Is that too much to ask ? 😅

[@marlowebarrington7488]

this is why i loved the get down :( i wish that another director could have picked it up when it got dropped