Transcribe your podcast
[00:00:00]

The reason why this is if there's a little edge in my voice about this, it's not that it's perfectly fine for them to be certain movies that certain groups tend to prioritize or privilege or whatever, like that's fine, like whatever. People have different cultural milieus.

[00:00:13]

But when you are part of the dominant culture, there's a presumption that everyone knows all of your cultural touchstones, whereas there are people who are extremely famous to black people, extremely famous and white people have never heard of them.

[00:00:30]

OK, I'll give you the reverse saying, OK, Virgil, what I'm going to do is basically just run through the cast list of the classic nineteen ninety nine film, The Best Man. So first and foremost, have you heard of the Best Man on Earth?

[00:00:44]

This film Best in Show. No, that is a white movie stuff. That is a very white film. Yes. All right. So, Virgil, Texas, do you know who Taye Diggs is? That that should be a relatively easy one. Holy crap. Seriously, though, is a name I've heard. He does nothing but white stuff and you still don't know who he is.

[00:01:09]

Well, I don't watch a lot of movies in popular film. I don't watch a lot. I like I like the Marvel movie. I don't watch the damn Marvel.

[00:01:15]

No, he's not in the Marvel movies. Taye Diggs, he was in the spin off of Grey's Anatomy called Private Practice. He was in the cast of Rent. He's married. He was married to Idina Menzel Madina. I'm going to do the John Travolta and get her name wrong.

[00:01:29]

Adele. Does he know he was married to this woman?

[00:01:33]

I did it in rent, so that's OK. He is a singer or can't the straight character and I've never seen one.

[00:01:41]

OK, Taye Diggs, he's like an actual he's probably the most famous person.

[00:01:47]

OK, feeling this. All right. We'll go on to the next one.

[00:01:50]

I thought I was going to be the easy one for you. Yeah. All right. OK, here we go. Here's another here's another big star.

[00:01:56]

OK, OK. Nia Long. Nia Long, Neil Long was in Boy, and that's not the same person as.

[00:02:13]

What's her name, LionGold. Oh, my. That's a different person, Lupita Nyong'o. That's a different breed. Oh, my God.

[00:02:20]

OK, Neil Young girls like our age, we along with you. Tell me how old these people are, these old old people. This movie came out in 1999. Nia Long is one of them. She is like she's like the Jennifer Aniston of Black Stars, except like more beautiful. She's like the Halle Berry, but like just Halle Berry with Halle Berry for everyone. I frankly think she's more beautiful than Halle Berry. Like she is iconic. The name's familiar, like, but I cannot place a face, OK?

[00:02:49]

She's also been in a number of white let's call the mainstream films white films. She played opposite in Alfie the new Alfie with Oh the Alfie Regrows God.

[00:02:59]

What is his name? He's British.

[00:03:01]

I think he's kind of cute. It's not Alfie Allen.

[00:03:04]

Jude Law. She starred as Julia's love interest in Alfie, which is not what you should know her from, but Boyz in the Hood Friday. Love, Joan. Soul Food, the best man.

[00:03:15]

I've not seen any of those movies. I don't. I don't even. I can't even I know you see Boyz in the Hood, but I just know I just never have because it's kind of a bummer.

[00:03:24]

Right.

[00:03:25]

You played one of Will Smith's girlfriends on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Just has been all these TV shows, too.

[00:03:31]

I'm scrolling through. Oh, thank God. I've got an encyclopedic knowledge of every fresh prince of Bel Air guest star.

[00:03:38]

Can you name one other girlfriend, famous person who played the girlfriend of Will Smith on the Fresh Prince of Hookups count? Sure.

[00:03:46]

If it was this like celebrity guest role where they came on and played his girlfriend for a second. It's been a while, man.

[00:03:51]

It's been a long time since I've seen that show.

[00:03:54]

And I'm not the kind of person who watches, like, you know, who's like, oh, this is epic. They're bringing back Saved by the bell and they're old.

[00:04:01]

So, like, I don't know. I don't want I don't care. I don't I don't need to watch that.

[00:04:04]

I seem to recall like Tyra I think Tyra Banks came on. I think that's right.

[00:04:09]

I think Jada Pinkett was on I remember there was a big thing in the later seasons that, you know, we was still like family friendly TV. So it was implied that they would not engage in, like sexual acts.

[00:04:22]

And that would be like some of the plot lines is like, you know, Carlton gets late and would be like there's a leader sees me along with his main.

[00:04:31]

I don't know if there was an occasion that they got engaged or whatever at some point, but he was like she was a serious girlfriend for him on the show.

[00:04:38]

Here's why this is important to me. I'm wondering if it unsettles you at all that there is a world that exists within your own country and very close to you. I mean, your co-host exists in a world and has a completely different kind of like metric cultural Rosetta Stone than you do, because I'm aware of it.

[00:05:01]

And I just I'm used to there being two Americas, multiple Americas, some of which I'm not privy to.

[00:05:06]

You know, when I when I dated a, you know, Chinese American man and I was walking through parts in New York, I didn't used to walk through and like buildings that were just buildings in Chinatown to me were like, oh, that's like the state housing where my uncle looked like it was different, you know, and it is eye opening. And it's always a little unsettling to realize that you've been operating on presumptions that aren't really grounded in anything.

[00:05:29]

It's one thing to know what you're ignorant of. It's another thing to kind of find yourself surprised by it.

[00:05:34]

No. What do you mean? I'm not surprised by it? Well, I won't say you necessarily, but my the reaction that I get offered in the course of these kinds of conversations, the how you know, why haven't you seen this? It's a kind of jolt that comes from people's expectations of what we all think is popular culture, what we all think is good, being unsettled by someone from a different cultural context.

[00:05:55]

I think it's funny. I think it's always like a little amusing that there are people who are still operating with that little bit of shock.

[00:06:03]

If you'd like to hear more, remember, you can subscribe at Patrón dot com slash Bad Faith podcast for five dollars a month to get our full back catalog of episodes with some sweet, sweet stuff, including this one including including including and especially this one. If you liked it, if you didn't like this. Well there's better to keep the faith. Keep the faith.