.itsgabrielleu writes about wishing she had done better by her BringItOn character: “I wish I had just given you the space to be a Black girl who is exceptional without making any kind of compromise. Because that’s who I want to be now”
Photo: Ken Jacques/Universal/Beacon/Kobal/Shutterstock I should start where we met, Isis. We did the reading at a Hollywood theater, an assembly of actors where only a couple of people would end up landing the roles. I wanted this one. Setting aside my need to win everything, which I know we share, I needed the job. This is a big deal, I said to myself, holding the script just before the table read. But those words. Your lines were full of made-up slang that made me cringe.
You, however, needed to work twice as hard as Torrance to go from East Compton to land in the UC system. You needed to be beyond reproach. Not just as a cheerleader, but as a community leader and student. And you had to do all that without sacrificing your Blackness. How was I going to accomplish this for you?
They valued the experience, doing the papers just because they wanted to. But you and I had to, Isis. Our actions couldn’t be driven by interest, but by necessity. Our other classmates could let time slip by, because their lives would be waiting for them, handed to them at graduation. Not us. We had to prove we were worthy.
Photo: Ken Jacques/Universal We filmed it on a Friday night in a borrowed San Diego high school standing in for East Compton. It was an outdoor shoot, right at the threshold of the gym. This was the scene where I confront Torrance and Missy, played by Eliza Dushku, after they travel to East Compton to watch us cheer.
We ran through a bunch of takes, and I modulated your anger each time. And each time the director said “Cut,” I would go up to Dulé. “What do you think? What do you think?” And “Did I go too far? Is that too much?” Natina, for one, was not having it. She had her character Jenelope, her child, say, “What? Come on, Isis, let me do this.”“Wait a minute,” said Jenelope/Natina. “So that’s it? We’re just gonna let them go?”I thought surrender was “class.” I didn’t know that I could give you “class” and dignity while also being very clear about holding people accountable. Beating them up may have been beneath you, but I wish I had even allowed you to be angry.
Now? I would do that line so differently. There would be no surprised “hunh,” and certainly no question mark. It would be, “We were.” Period. I’d give you the moment to be happy that you were finally being acknowledged as a champion. “Captain to captain,” I want you to say to Torrance, “you finally had to do your own work and you came in second. I’m sorry you are faced with the fact that when things are equal, you are not good enough.
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