Being a creative is hard enough when you’re trying to do your art and live day to day but being a Black creative is another level of difficulty.
Dreaming Whilst B\@*k is a British dramedy that tells the story of Kwabena(Adjani Salmon), an aspiring, Jamaican writer/director working an office job to sustain himself whilst chasing his dream of producing a film that honors his heritage. Juggling his work schedule with interviews for directing opportunities becomes problematic as he finds himself having to choose between a steady paycheck and the mere potential for directing gigs.
The title is a variant of the phrase, “driving while Black” or “walking while Black”, etc., describing the harassment Black folks endure when trying to engage in everyday activities. The “dreaming” portion is quite literal. He often channels Walter Mitty by imagining himself saying things he wishes he could say. At first it feels real but while we are cheering him on, without warning, we are abruptly snapped back into reality and he just does what is expected.
Very clever. Sad but clever.
As the series follows Kwabena pursuing his dream of writing and directing his own film, we are introduced to an array of supporting characters such as family members who want him to just have a steady job. His mom(Jo Martin) seems to be supportive of him along with his friend Amy(Dani Moseley) who also encourages him to never give up.
As a subplot(but just as significant), Amy is also dealing with her own Black creative struggle. She has a job in a production company with predominantly White coworkers. While her manager, Howard(Peter Serafinowicz), verbally appreciates her “diversity of experience” he also has her fetching him coffee.
At one point, she is passed over for a producer opportunity as Suzy(Lydia Rose Bewley), a White woman, is awarded the position. Amy initially accepts the disappointment until Suzy begins to ask her advice on how to do her new job. Suzy is clearly not as talented as Amy which is infuriating to her and probably the audience since this is all too familiar.
Later, the company produces a racially insensitive ad, so Howard brings in someone to talk about diversity and inclusion. When the facilitator asks for someone to talk about any “exclusionary behaviors” they’ve experienced, Howard calls on Amy. When she begins to talk about her frustrations with her coworkers’ microaggressions and asking for her advice (without mentioning any names) Suzy begins to sob(“White Women’ s Tears”) and the entire office consoles her. Again, a scenario that many of the Melanated have endured.
Even when an artist gets the opportunity to finally do their art, the problems persist. Soon there is a push and pull between doing what will be commercially successful (which usually translates into “what White folks will like”) or doing something the artist is passionate about. Often, doing something commercially successful turns out to be exploitative. This is what ‘Kwabs’ learns the hard way.
Being part of a filmmaking “scheme”, Kwabs gets to pitch and produce his own project. He wrestles with the idea of doing a passion project based on the Windrush migration or doing a project that exploits his rapper-cousin’s incarceration. The leader of his filmmaking “scheme”, Helen(Isy Suttie) encourages him to do the latter which he finally settles on and gets an earful from his uncle(Roger Griffiths).
This is just the first season.
In season two, Kwabs gets a job directing on a tv series. While trying to meet the expectations of the producers, he begins to have the same experiences he faced in the filmmaking “scheme”. This time he has to contend with racist themes in the script as well as the perceptions of Black and White characters interacting on screen. He is eventually sacked and begins to reflect on his journey. On the bright side, his newfound courage leads him to follow through with a romantic relationship carried over from season one.
If you’re a Black artist, regardless of your medium, this series will definitely resonate. Even if you’re just a wonderfully, melanated human, Dreaming Whilst B\@*k is relevant to your experience no matter what continent you’re on.
