Hulu Gets “Woke”

Woke is based on the life of artist Keith Knight played by Lamorne Morris of New Girl who was among the panelists in a spirited session for the show during Huluamp8217s segment of the 2020 CTAM virtual press tour presented for members of the Television Critics Associationamp160amp160Knight like Keef has grappled with the idea that the work of Black artists is supposed to be unwaveringly relevant timely and issuedrivenamp160 amp8220There are artists that feel burdened by itamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s like amp8216I have to say something with my workamp8217 amp160Now in this moment I think itamp8217s super important to say something with the work but I can see both sides of itamp8221amp8220I would say the balance of being a Black artist and an artist that happens to be Black is always the greater fightamp8221 added executive producer and director Maurice amp8220Moamp8221 MarableIn keeping with that idea Knight said the series will indeed address some of his own disturbing experiencesamp160 amp8220I had an incident with the police that sort of sent me on a bit of a journeyamp8221 he explainedamp160 amp8220I had been doing comics about police brutality and stuff but I think once it happens to you itamp8217s a whole different thingamp160 Itamp8217s very intense amp160It made me double and tripledown on the work that I was doingamp8220There39s a lot of stuff that fans of my work will recognize throughout the showamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220I use humor to address a lot of serious issuesamp160 amp8220The cartoons and the comedy brings people inamp160 We make you laugh and then when you39re not looking we punch you in the face with something hardcoreamp8221 he added with a laughamp8220There39s going to be a lot of punching in the face because even though the show is a comedy what happens to Keith is very serious and we are going to directly address the trauma as the series progressesamp8221 showrunner and executive producer Jay Dyer warnedamp160 amp8220There will be some very intense dramatic moments because thatamp8217s lifeamp160 Keith goes on this amazing journey where he sees himself as this certain type of artist this certain type of human being and then when this traumatic event happens to him he starts to look at the world in a different completely new wayamp8221Wokeamp160is liveaction laced with some animation as inanimate objects come to life in the show just as they do in Knightamp8217s comicsamp160 amp8220The animations are Keef39s sort of inner self communicating with himamp8221 cocreator and executive producer Marshall Todd explainedamp160 amp8220It39s his manifestation of PTSDamp8221The panel was asked if incorporating commentary about racism via talking inanimate objects somehow made it easier to get difficult messages acrossamp8220Yes it helps deliver the message in a different wayamp8221 Marable repliedamp160 amp8220Nobody likes to be preached to nobody likes to be talked to nobody likes to be told what the problem is amp160I think we all see that right nowquotamp160amp160It was important he said to come up with a way for the show to figure out amp8220how to be smart about it and how to get our message across and how not to put people offamp160 The one thing that these absurd characters can do is take on the voice of something the voice of a serious topic amp160They can say something that is just crazy but honest and gets the point across because you don39t feel threatened by these objectsamp8221amp8220It39s almost like being a modernday court jesteramp8221 Knight suggested amp160amp8220They39re able to speak truth to power in a way that people can39t amp160With drawn stuff you can just I mean you look at what The Simpsons does you know amp160There is no live action thing that does what The Simpsons does They can rip anything and it39s just like amp8216Oh it39s The Simpsons so it39s okayamp8217amp8221It39s not much of a stretch to say that Wokeamp160is prophetic given that all eight episodes of its first season were completed before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement that followedamp8220We thank God every day that we could get it in the can when we couldamp8221 Marable saidamp160 amp8220Watching the world change after we got it in the can was really sort of surreal because with each passing event we became more and more relevantamp8220At the end of the day the story is evergreen rightamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220What39s going on in society what happened to George Floyd rightamp160 Ahmaud Arbery Breonna Taylor amp8230 those atrocities have been going on longer than I39ve been alive longer than my parents have been alive and so this story when you look at it on the surface is like this groundbreaking story to a degree but it39s not you know amp160This story39s been told over and over and over amp160Hopefully we39ll put a modern spin on it that people will like and hopefully learn something from but this has been an ongoing discussion and an ongoing conversationamp8221amp8220The thing that I think is great about the timing of our show is that we tell this very specific story of this one man Keef Knight and there are headlines and it39s an issue and people can sort of see it39s a heavy topicamp8221 Dyer addedamp160 amp8220But at the same time we tell a story of this one man39s journey through this trauma and how it feels for the individual amp160Hopefully it illuminates another aspect of this very very important conversationamp8221amp8220Our show isn39t out to the change the worldamp8221 Knight concluded amp160amp8220I just wanna see myself represented in the media amp160Which to this day I haven39t really seen amp160I just hope that people respond to it the way we think they39re gonna respond to itamp160 We wanna make you laugh we wanna make you think and we wanna make you do something and speak up amp160So cheersamp8221Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Hulu Gets “Woke”

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Hulu Gets “Woke”

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