The ‘typical’, often seen queer characters in television in media are white. Propped up by Eurocentric (read: ‘white is right’) ideals, most shows are quick to acknowledge queer identities as diversity, whilst failing to recognise both black and queer identities in the same vein. And it is a problem because without representation people are neither understanding or empathetic of the lives of queer people of colour, especially those who live outside of rich suburbs, living in more typically urban areas instead. But they do exist and there are stories to be told. Grand, emotional, gritty and real stories that would pull at our heartstrings and captivate us in ways that the many instances of middle class white women in high flying jobs never could, because despite not being a very good representation of white queer ladies anyway, there’s an entire subset of queer people of colour being left out of the equation.
This is what Say My Name was created to fix. Based around the 2006 contemporary play of the same name, Say My Name was a “contemporary British gay love story set against a gritty grimy backdrop of ‘street’ reality” that has now been expanded into a full series. Say My Name (the short) originally rose to fame as it won the “Angry Now” competition at the Royal Court Theatre in London, leading many to take interest in the sort of story that frankly, had never been depicted in a good light (or at all) previously. From a play it evolved into a short film and was aired at plenty of film festivals worth their salt (including Outfest in Los Angeles) around the globe.
There are several episodes of Say My Name in the pipeline as the series follows characters Chris and Ricky through the “changing tides of this emotional rollercoaster”. Don’t expect it to be all post-Big Dipper types downs though, as promised scenes include meeting ex-girlfriends, parents and coming out, all of which are likely to create hilarity, elation and a few tears too once the series airs, so watch a preview below to find out more.
ViaSay My Name.
