TV Show Review: We Are Lady Parts

Happy Friday! 

How are we already in May? I've vowed to do as much writing as possible today, so hopefully by the time this goes live, I've started. (Spoiler alert: I was still writing THIS 20 minutes ago.)

This is a rare review, in that I don't think I've ever reviewed a TV show. It's also a full circle moment in a weird way. The other day I was trying to find a blog post that talked about a webcomic I'm reading because it's about to end, and I stumbled upon this old post about a self-hating POC against Ms. Marvel being Kamala Khan. Since that post, we've not only gotten a Disney Plus show about Kamala Khan but a movie! I loved both. Others not so much, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the lighter sequels in the MCU after being gutted by Chadwick Boseman's real death, forcing Black Panther's death, and Iron Man's death.

But I digress. Kamala Khan was not only relatable and loveable, but seeing how she navigated her Muslim identity as a superhero made it even more authentic. I hope Mr. Ampikaipakan has either seen the error of his ways or still loses sleep seeing the success of Ms. Marvel all these years later.

All of that said, I stumbled upon a great show yesterday on Peacock and proceeded to binge watch it (there are only six 24-minute episodes, so it was easy). We Are Lady Parts created by Nida Manzoor.                          

Geeky biochemical engineering Ph.D. student Amina Hussein becomes the unlikely lead guitarist of Lady Parts, an all-female Muslim punk band on a mission to get a proper gig. Saira, the band's fierce and enigmatic frontwoman, sees something in Amina the others can't. Saira leverages Amina's desperation to find a husband and offers to set her up with potential matches if she agrees to join. Torn between her straitlaced university friends and members of Lady Parts, Amina tries to find her voice.

The show opens up with an instant clash of Muslim cultures as Amina (center) sits with her parents to meet a potential husband with his parents. Her parents are progressive and for the most part loving and supportive, but in this instance, they're embarrassing. Not that the other family was worthy of Amina, but at one point, her parents mention that she teaches music to under-privileged kids, for instance, and that earned a frown and "music is haram" from the other family. Yikes.

Amina is desperate to find a husband because all of her friends are married or engaged, and she sees a beautiful Muslim man who hands her a flyer for a band looking for a guitarist. She doesn't even pay attention to the band part; she just goes looking for the man and finds herself meeting Lady Parts. Mayhem and music ensue. I don't have a voice right now (been sick for two weeks), but there was one part where I whisper-yelled, "Yes, guitar riff!" Amina can SHRED!

So, we meet the other four girls on the poster: left to right: Momtaz, Saira, Bisma, and Ayesha, and right-off the bat, we have four different Muslim experiences on screen just by looking at them. They each have their own challenges as Muslim women as well as women singing very white-centered punk music. On top of this, Amina is trying very hard to balance these two lives she's in, so we have these five women just trying to live and love the music they create all while living in Muslim skin.

This show is topical, funny, heart-warming, and even as a Black Christian woman, a story that resonated with me because they're women of color trying to be heard in a world that has already labeled them as unworthy. I love each of the five characters, and Amina's parents, ugh, I just love them so much. I'm probably going to watch it again, and I just saw that Season 2 comes out at the end of this month (the first season aired in 2021!), so I can't wait to watch the trailer and see what's next to come for the ladies and their parts! hehe

Catching Up: Monthly Review, Writing Update, & Quarterly Goals

 

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September is around the corner, and I have accomplished very little. I don't think I even read the entire month of August, except for web comics and a book for my Praise & Worship Team at church. This weekend, I did start writing again, so that is a positive. I'm working on a new beginning scene for my new adult fantasy. I also took a peek at the last scene I wrote for Fractured Princess's sequel, so I need to get back into that as well. I know where the story is going, but I need to know why. That's something I may need to flesh out.

I've gotten a lot of TV watching in for sure. I binge watched both seasons of The Umbrella Academy at  the beginning of the month. A great series, and I'm always jealous to see someone successfully execute the "mutant school" trope. That was what I first started writing when I was little. Maybe I'll be able to get it right, too, one day. I'm now on the last season of Avatar: Legend of Korra. I saw the first season and the first few episodes of the second when it first came out, but according to fans, Nickelodeon moved the show's time slot often, so no one could really watch it like they wanted; and so I've watched the rest of Season 2 and Seasons 3 and 4 for the very first time. It's amazing to see how the world has evolved, especially without Aang in it.

What I've done the most this month is play video games, mainly Apex Legends, but I'm also replaying the FFVII Remake, and I started a few new games: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Fall Guys. They've been pretty therapeutic when they're not stressing me out. I've been part of the Black Girl Gamers group for a couple of months now, and it's been nice having a safe space to just enjoy myself and talk with others like me. Some of us are even going through the same things, like recently losing a parent, and that's very comforting.

I just realized I missed my quarterly goals post for July, but that's okay. My goal this quarter is to get back in the swing of things. I'd also like to try to pursue a job I really want to do. Being home since March, you realize what you're looking forward to when the world opens back up, and being at a job that I'm doing just to have a job is not one of those things. I joined a startup production's Discord this week, and I don't know how far that will take me, but we will see. I've also been asked to be on a panel for the Asexuality Visibility & Education Network in September, so I'm very excited and nervous to discuss ace visibility in fiction. I need to go ahead and move some of the ace books I have on my To-Read list up to #1.

Lastly, I started a new Instagram for my writing, gaming, and tv habits, so if you would like to follow me, please do! My handle is DebReneeByrd.

I hope everyone else has had a good August. I will see you next week for the monthly IWSG Post!

Monthly Review

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What a difference a month makes.

A month ago, I started Door Dashing to make some extra money. 2 weeks later, the corona virus hit my state, and yesterday, I heard there was a case in one of the local school districts, so with my compromised immune system, I am officially home for 5 of 7 days. I still have to come into the office 2 days because of my timekeeping duties, but when I receive a laptop with remote access, I will be home each day. Last week, just being home 4 days drove me a little crazy. I just have to find things to do, and I'm not without things to do!

Here is a list I posted to my personal Facebook:

Read more than 5 page at a time.

Finally get some artwork started.

Catch up on anime I never finished.

Watch more Chinese dramas and dònghuà (Chinese version of anime).

Get back on Duolingo.

See if I can still tell the BTS members apart.

Clean.

What are you doing while you're being safe and staying home as much as possible?

Monthly Review: June 2019

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Another month almost gone!

Since last WEEK, I have: 1) stopped reading the first book on my list of Summer goals. My doubts were justified, and I could not finish a fantasy with poorly represented people of color, and also just bad writing. The book was published around the time We Need Diverse Books made its first waves, and I know a lot of well-meaning non-POC authors took up the mantle instead of making space for POC authors to make the diverse stories (and publishers let them), so that's clearly where this stemmed from. I want to say the times have changed, but not by much according to the recent results from children's books. But I digress;

2) started reading a book NOT on my list of Summer goals, because why follow my own rules? Pfft. I started reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and oh my God, is it good. I'm already finished Book One. I can't wait to see what happens next. I will be reading while manning the front desk at work;

3) gotten a good report from a biopsy I had done. The lymph nodes in my neck are reacting to something, so I guess I need to head back to my primary doctor. The ENT said it's a bad allergy season, and I HAVE been struggling, even on my allergy meds, so I wouldn't be surprised;

4) received the schedule for the Ace/Aro Conference in New York I'm attending this Saturday! I'm excited. This is my first event I'm attending as a semi-out demisexual, and I can't wait to connect and meet others. They're holding two writing lectures, too, so I want to try to get to both;

5) won two Apex Legends matches! This one isn't that important, but I'm a video game nerd, and I haven't even won a squad or solo match in Fortnite yet, so I thought I'd share;

and last but not least: 6) seen the almost done cover of Fractured Princess. I'm so excited. This has been a long journey for me, and I know I needed the time because the story wasn't perfect in 2010 when I finally wrote The End on it. I don't plan to stop working on subsequent books like I did this one, but I think now I have enough experience to know what to and what not to do, so the process won't be a full decade. Here's hoping.

I hope your June has treated you well. Please let me know in the comments!

Wednesday Words: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Wish my sister and I the best of luck and fun as we're off in a couple more hours to audition for Wheel of Fortune in NYC!

It is the second Wednesday of the month, which means time for me to share with you all what I am reading this fortnight (is it always a fortnight, no matter the time of day?). So, sometime in the next couple of hours while on a train, I plan to crack open Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

I'd heard of this book most of my college years, and I've heard a lot more of it since Trump was elected. When I saw it was becoming a TV show, I was intrigued. My sister has read the book and watched the episodes currently aired on Hulu. When my cousin, who almost never watches anything, started watching it and commenting her shock, I knew I had to start watching, too. So, after episode 3, I said, "Screw my To-Read list, this is the next book I read!"

So it shall be. And now, I'll share a few lines from a random page. There are 311 pages in this novel, and Random, fortunately, chose page 49. I don't want to be caught off guard but also don't want too big of a spoiler. Hopefully, this page is near one of these 3 episodes. lol

*flips to 49* Ah, it's the end of a chapter.

The hall is dusky, this is a man, his back to me; he's looking into the room, dark against its light. I can see now, it's the Commander, he isn't supposed to be here.

Ah, yes. Just enough to intrigue and not spoil. I wonder how far into the narrative this is. I can't wait to find out!

What are you reading this week?

Fast Five Friday x2

Happy Friday!

I haven't done a Fast Five in a while, and I realized I missed one last week! These are brought to us by Dani and Jackie, the Cover Girls! They ask us a question in 5-form, and we get to answer them in list-form. :) Here we go.

July 1 – 5 favorite things you like to wear

1. screen tees

2. pajamas

3. ballet flats

4. my sister's knit caps

5. Target clothes

July 8 - 5 TV characters (past/present) you'd love to spend the day with

1. Ross from Friends

2. Sinclair from Living Single

3. Garnet from Steven Universe

4. the Gilmore Girls

5. the cast of Firefly

Give these a whack for yourself! I'd love to see what you come up with.