Pop culture has traditionally not been kind to nerds in general – they're usually the butt of the joke, considered romantically undesirable and portrayed as social misfits. And black nerds – both onscreen and in real life – often contend with an additional misperception: the insinuation or accusation that, by dint of their interests, hobbies or academic achievements, they are "acting white" and not being true to their race (see: Fresh Prince's Carlton vs. Will, Andre's fears about his son Junior in Black-ish's premise). The Rebeccas explore the history of Hollywood's most famous blerds and then talk to The Good Place star William Jackson Harper about what it means to be authentically black, authentically nerdy – and also authentically a romantic lead – all at once.
Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun
Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham
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Logan Browning – “From School Daze to Dear White People: The Different World of Black College Narratives”
Justin Chon – “Documenting the Undocumented”
Asia Kate Dillon – “Beyond the Binary”
Simu Liu - "(Not) Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting"
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – “Horror Noire”
Marlee Matlin on ‘CODA’ and Authentic Deaf Portrayals
Stephanie Beatriz – "Nine-Nine Characters but a Latina (Usually) Ain't One"
John Boyega - "Episode VII: RAAACE IN SPAAAAACE"
Born This Way – "Defying Limitations in the Face of Cognitive Disability"
Marja-Lewis Ryan - “Generation Q: Talking TV Lesbian Evolution with the Showrunner of the New L Word”
Lorene Scafaria – "Exposing Hollywood's Stripper Tropes with the Director of Hustlers"
Sterling K. Brown – “From Huxtable to Pearson: Hollywood’s Best Black Fathers”
Henry Golding – “Long Duk Who? The Rise of the Asian Leading Man”
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