“Does every story need to be told?”
While listening to the latest episode of The Friend Zone podcast, one of the hosts posed this question in reference to OWN’s latest television show Love Is__. While thinking of this particular series, my immediate answer was no. The series tells the story of real-life couple Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, and how they found love in Hollywood in the 90s. I instantly rejected the thought of hearing about their love story after the first episode. Mara (played by Nuri) is a writer for the fictional television show Marvin. Salim (played by Yasir) is a struggling writer trying to make it in Los Angeles. The characters are complete opposites, passionately clashing in every way possible. A few days after meeting, the pair is already claiming to be in love, and they are living together after what seems like a couple of months. I’ve already provided enough spoilers, but by the last episode, there are at least two marriage proposals.
I am an advocate for Black writers, so I was promptly intrigued to learn more about the Akils and their love story. I am also a sucker for love, and the ways in which people meet, so that was an additional draw. But after the first two episodes, I was hesitant to finish the rest of the season. Seeing Yasir’s character walk down the street in his underwear, and cleanse himself with bottled water because he was so poor was hard to watch. Mara and Salim are individuals that I admire professionally, and seeing the curtain pulled back was a little disheartening. Yes, the rawness of the story made them more human, but I think my initial repulsion to the series had to do with my image of them being a successful power couple and the writing duo being tarnished.
A few weeks ago, I participated in a focus group about the upcoming BET mini-series American Soul – which focuses on the life of Don Cornelius, and the birth of Soul Train. The facilitators of the focus group described the first episode, and it revealed some things about Cornelius that I wish I had never known. Apparently, his cause of death has been public knowledge, but for some reason, I was unaware that he took his own life. The focus group started out with us recalling our memories of Soul Train, and how it made us feel.
Everyone’s responses were positive – but there was a definite shift in the room once the facilitator dug a little deeper into his life, and his day-to-day struggles. It was almost as if everyone just found out that no one really climbs down your chimney every year to deliver your Christmas presents. The question is still valid here – does this story need to be told? I still feel inclined to watch, to see how everything plays out but a part of me still wants to be that little kid leaving cookies out for Santa.
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