I was asked to review Amazon’s new terror anthology series, “Them”. The film is from breakout creator Little Marvin and executive producer Lena Waithe. At first glance, there is a lot of similarity to Jordan Peele’s “Us” but more so “Get Out”. What I quickly realized was that Amazon’s THEM is trauma entertainment.
Them is a limited anthology series that explores terror in America. The 1950s set first season centers on a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood during the period known as The Great Migration. The family’s idyllic home becomes ground zero where malevolent forces, next-door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.
Trauma Entertainment
Black Americans have endured some of the most heinous acts of terror in this country. The most terrorizing thing, is that the acts are still going on in 2021; be it by the police (Duante Wright), murder cover-ups in schools (Kendrick Johnson), or even in the healthcare industry (Dr. Susan Moore). Black people live in a perpetual state of domestic terrorism and it seems that no one is coming to our aid. The awareness of the behavior is apparent, but what good is awareness if no one is doing anything about it.
After the 3rd episode, I started to wonder who the target demo for this series is. It definitely wasn’t me because why would you choose to take a black person through that type of trauma? Real or fiction, it is still based upon actual levels of torture that my ancestors lived with.
I think I might be good on #THEM after episode 5. Way too much trauma in a 30 min period layered atop of the previous episodes for me. And there’s no relief, like no Black joy moments, no comedic relief… Just manifestations of White supremacy & Black trauma packaged as horror.
— Janae E. Bonsu (@janaebonsu) April 10, 2021
The entire series I was reminded of what we have gone through, been brutalized for, and continue to, etc. for no resolution or redemption. Just for the sake of reliving that awful terrorizing pain. Why though? Plain and simple, THEM is trauma entertainment. Imagine a writer, producer, or director using a communities pain all for shock value.
Disclaimer
There were so many “viewer caution” disclaimers in the series that one has to question if the episode is “too much’? If you find yourself using a disclaimer more often than not… I digress. Yes, THEM is a terror anthology. While I understand terror, there is a difference between plain ol’ terror and trauma masked as terror. The exploitation of Black American trauma is what I noticed most in this series.
….. just a note, L*na Wa*the is the Executive Producer of #Them , not the creator or writer. This series has a TON of White people behind it, and they push the Black face to sell to us.
— Latasha’s ABUNDANCE ✨✨ (@JustLatasha404) April 11, 2021
This was also my critique of Concrete Cowboy, Empire, etc…
Hold *them* accountable. pic.twitter.com/lSiPXxeRKc
I’m trying to watch #them on Amazon Prime but I’m too exhausted, exhausted from black trauma being fetishized and normalized then thrown into our faces as entertainment. I’m going to bed, I’m sick of this foolishness pic.twitter.com/YexIX1yg3y
— Violet Elizabeth (@violet_wangu) April 11, 2021
There is a way to tell our painful stories without causing the victims of that pain to relive it for naught. In an interview with writer, producer, Ericka Nicole Malone; she stated her insistence that we can tell the human story when it concerns Black narratives.
After Queen & Slim and now #Them it is clear to me that Lena Waithe…. pic.twitter.com/B9OldYTigB
— Kynady (@kayv_will) April 10, 2021
Love Craft Country was able to do this, so was Get Out. As for Us… I’m still trying to figure that one out. We really need for writers and producers to consider the effect of the “art” they are creating on the viewer.
Have you watched Amazon’s THEM? If so, share your thoughts below. If you haven’t watched it, will you?
