Issa Rae says she doesn’t feels successful right now. Did the industry switch up on black content?

[RhodyRum]

Ok, then you’re out of touch. She’s one of the biggest names for younger black creators and as far as being “niche”, she has roles in Spider-Man and Barbie…that’s crossover


Anyway, minorities were eating well from like 2015-2022 when all these streaming services were popping up and throwing money at everything to build their content libraries. Now that so many have consolidated and need to turn a profit, there’s not the same appetite for greenlighting any and everything, that hits especially hard for those telling “minority” focused stories

Her name wasn't used to sell either movie, and frankly speaking, her name can't sell any movie she'd be in. I'll wait for you to provide a piece of media that uses Issa Rae as a prime selling point, not including her HBO show. I know of other young people in Hollywood, and even with a show that ran for several seasons on HBO, she's not someone who's name you'll ever here by simply flipping on the TV on a mainstream channel.

Zendaya? Yes
Ryan Coogler? Yes
Anthony Mackie? Yes
Kiki Palmer? Yes
Quinta Brunson? Yes
Jordan Peele? Yes

Issa Rae? No

If you follow her, cool. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or their fandom. And I'll admit to not being as plugged in to celebrities as much as I used to being a guy who's over 40 and who'd rather go fishing in a rainstorm than watching anything on the idiot box. However, that is not the reason I hardly hear about Issa Rae. I hardly hear about her because she's simply not that big of a deal to the mainstream, whether you're chronically online or not, no matter what her fans may proclaim.

Sorry but the truth is the truth.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Her name wasn't used to sell either movie, and frankly speaking, her name can't sell any movie she'd be in. I'll wait for you to provide a piece of media that uses Issa Rae as a prime selling point, not including her HBO show. I know of other young people in Hollywood, and even with a show that ran for several seasons on HBO, she's not someone who's name you'll ever here by simply flipping on the TV on a mainstream channel.

Zendaya? Yes
Ryan Coogler? Yes
Anthony Mackie? Yes
Kiki Palmer? Yes
Quinta Brunson? Yes
Jordan Peele? Yes

Issa Rae? No

If you follow her, cool. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or their fandom. And I'll admit to not being as plugged in to celebrities as much as I used to being a guy who's over 40 and who'd rather go fishing in a rainstorm than watching anything on the idiot box. However, that is not the reason I hardly hear about Issa Rae. I hardly hear about her because she's simply not that big of a deal to the mainstream, whether you're chronically online or not, no matter what her fans may proclaim.

Sorry but the truth is the truth.

Yep. She didn’t really make “universal” content. TO her detriment in an industry and society that is burned out on “black targeted” media in the mainstream at the moment. This stuff comes in waves.

People thought that moment in the late Obama-early trump years would last forever. It’s gonna be a while before that returns. Especially as things move offline.

Theres no reason she’s not making YouTube content. She came up on that. She had one HBO hit show and thought that would turn her into…what?

 

[KillerPups]

uses the n word to much. my fam ain't checking for that

 

[RhodyRum]

Yep. She didn’t really make “universal” content. TO her detriment in an industry and society that is burned out on “black targeted” media in the mainstream at the moment. This stuff comes in waves.

People thought that moment in the late Obama-early trump years would last forever. It’s gonna be a while before that returns. Especially as things move offline.

Theres no reason she’s not making YouTube content. She came up on that. She had one HBO hit show and thought that would turn her into…what?

The bolded sounds like she's the Black equivalent of Lena Dunham. Only difference is Dunham managed to undeservedly become a household name, but thankfully her star has lost A LOT of luster the more she was forced into the American conscious due to her being repugnant both physically and mentally.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Her name wasn't used to sell either movie, and frankly speaking, her name can't sell any movie she'd be in. I'll wait for you to provide a piece of media that uses Issa Rae as a prime selling point, not including her HBO show. I know of other young people in Hollywood, and even with a show that ran for several seasons on HBO, she's not someone who's name you'll ever here by simply flipping on the TV on a mainstream channel.

Zendaya? Yes
Ryan Coogler? Yes
Anthony Mackie? Yes
Kiki Palmer? Yes
Quinta Brunson? Yes
Jordan Peele? Yes

Issa Rae? No

If you follow her, cool. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or their fandom. And I'll admit to not being as plugged in to celebrities as much as I used to being a guy who's over 40 and who'd rather go fishing in a rainstorm than watching anything on the idiot box. However, that is not the reason I hardly hear about Issa Rae. I hardly hear about her because she's simply not that big of a deal to the mainstream, whether you're chronically online or not, no matter what her fans may proclaim.

Sorry but the truth is the truth.

This is 100% a reply of you actively avoiding her vs reality. “I hardly hear about”…is a nice subjective argument given we live in bubbles or algorithms that allow us to avoid what we don’t consume. I don’t hear about Sydney Sweeney outside of lust threads on this board, and yet I can know she’s big for younger consumers…me “not hearing her” doesn’t negate that

And I’m certainly not about to spend time linking a bunch of shyt to argue about Issa, but you’re simply not in touch with how big of a following she has and how much her name crosses over


Lastly, she’s so niche and inconsequential that her character in Barbie has its own Barbie

Barbie The Movie President Collectible Doll, Issa Rae As President Barbie Wearing Shimmery White Blouse & Short Set

Take home a part of Barbie The Movie with a radiant President Barbie collector doll in her fun, dance party outfit!

shop.mattel.com

 

[Tasha And]

I'll wait for you to provide a piece of media that uses Issa Rae as a prime selling point, not including her HBO show.

They used her name to sell One of Them Days, and she didn't write or direct it. But she's third billed on the poster which is usually only reserved for name producers that might put some butts in the seat.

 

[Gloxina]

At this moment, I’m more impressed by KevOnStage

Great to see him interviewing her

 

[King_Kamala61]

Aye all these Black actors, writers, producers, camera folk and all that, and ain't nobody hittin' up OWN, Aspire, Bounce, TVOne with original content? I mean, y'all so guapped up and got all these connects and ain't puttin' no new blunts in rotation?

That's black outlets...don't nobody wanna sell art in black galleries, they want them white blue chip galleries. White money is bigger and heavier.

 

[Michael's Black Son]

Issa slap in her face 'cause she started on the indie grind.
It gotta be that at a point going indie and building your buzz between projects gotta mean something.
Gotta stop waitin' for them people to validate 'cause she already proved she got good ideas.
If she don't know how to tap into her market demo and produce a product then she always gone be wack.
It's 2025, we gotta stop acting like we can't shake and move and put something in the air.

She could’ve been on her grind and just be a writer and get away with it but she’s eh at best asan actress and I’m not even hating.

The HBO machine will make you consider a show just because someone had to do something right to make it there. But there’s no guarantees after that.

The whole crew from Entourage didn’t blow up like crazy after that show and it was 50x bigger/better than Insecure. Jeremy Piven already had a name before it and was the strongest actor in the show.

Issa is goofy and pivoted the wrong way and then 4 seconds later Spike Lee came out with the She’s Gotta Have It remake aka Insecure NYC an you realize the formula Issa had in her show wasn’t all that amazing.

For black writers/showrunners, decide if you want to do Insecure/Girlfriends type shows or put out something with range that will pull in top actors and writers. But the concepts have to be there. I’d watch Better Call Saul reruns all day over Insecure because the concepts, character development, minor details and longevity are all there in these kinds of shows.

 

[NZA]

ive never seen anything she has ever done but i know she would dramatically improve the quality of tyler perry works if she would collaborate with him.

 

[Premeditated]

she needs to worry about making babies

been married for 3-4+ years now

 

[Michael's Black Son]

Ok so I’m not the only one

Got tired of the sex scenes and her walking around in her panties

I’m not gonna co-sign a show because everyone is on the same wave. Insecure was just okay and I liked the music in the show and it was good to see an LA based show that wasn’t about rich people or crack.

But the acting was mediocre at best and the show dragged. A better show would’ve been about her boyfriend who was trying to build his app and was kinda dusty in the beginning and then leveled up.

They could’ve spun that into life about a breh in Silicon Valley surviving while feeling isolate and trying to get a start up going and trying to avoid being a c00n. No one sees shīt like that in real life or as a show.

 

[Bigblackted4]

I met a guy at Piedmont Park at some event and he was telling me he was pivoting away from it as well. Said it’s just not the same money in it as it used to be.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

The bolded sounds like she's the Black equivalent of Lena Dunham. Only difference is Dunham managed to undeservedly become a household name, but thankfully her star has lost A LOT of luster the more she was forced into the American conscious due to her being repugnant both physically and mentally.

Lena Dunham is a trust fund art kid.

Issa Rae thought she’d never have to “work” again

No amount of red carpets and podcasts with Michelle Obama will change the reality of being black in Hollywood

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

she needs to worry about making babies

been married for 3-4+ years now

The fact you don’t feel no type of weird being a whole ass stranger worried about someone you don’t know having babies…