Difference between revisions of "Step Sisters (2018)"
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+ | [[File:Step Sisters (film).png|alt=Step Sisters (film)|thumb|Step Sisters (film)]] | ||
+ | Step Sisters is a 2018 dance comedy film directed by Charles Stone III. It stars Megalyn Echikunwoke as a black sorority girl who agrees to teach the art of Greek stepping to a house of party-obsessed white sorority sisters.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_Sisters</ref> | ||
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==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
− | <br /> | + | Jamilah has her whole life figured out. She's the president of her sorority, captain of their champion step dance crew, is student liaison to the college dean, and her next move is on to Harvard Law School. She's got it all, right? But when the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue. Her mission is to not only teach the rhythmically-challenged girls how to step dance, but to win the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions. With the SBBs reputations and charter on the line, and Jamilah's dream of attending Harvard in jeopardy, these outcast screw-ups and their unlikely teacher stumble through one hilarious misstep after another. Cultures clash, romance blossoms, and sisterhood prevails as everyone steps out of their comfort zones.<ref name=":0">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5267472/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5267472]</ref><br /> |
==Controversy== | ==Controversy== | ||
− | <br /> | + | The film tells the story of a black girl teaching a white sorority how to dance like black girls. It manages to mash together every bad trope from the 'Dance competition' movies from the early 2000's(think Bring It On) with cringingly terrible acting, a ridiculous plot, excellent dancing, and unintentionally hilarious quotability("YOU NEED TO MAKE THEIR ASS HAIR STAND UP!!!"). |
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+ | This is all served alongside a large helping of performative 'wokeness', uncomfortable, non-funny racial humor and unfocused social justice 'lessons'. ( For instance, a large part of the plot is about the impact of cultural appropriation of black traditions by white people, but then also features a dance number with a bunch of black women dressed as generic Asian women in silk robes and fans without blinking an eye.)<ref name=":0" /> | ||
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+ | <br />The movie was accused of being regressive, in that it made its black protagonist “the help” and supposedly encouraging cultural appropriation. One Twitter user, Nia Malika, to Netflix: “We can’t have anything at all. None of us black sororities and fraternities are going to watch this foolishness. It’s African … Can we just have it please?”<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/19/step-sisters-review-hits-and-misses-in-netflixs-cultural-appropriation-comedy#:~:text=The%20movie%20was%20accused%20of,going%20to%20watch%20this%20foolishness</ref> | ||
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+ | '''tep Sisters''' does not fall short of its racial tropes and the one gay character in the film uses his sexual escapades with his partner as a comedic device—not a stereotype at all. I also cringed a bit when Jamilah found a joke towards white people to be “racist” and her white boyfriend had to educate her on what racism actually is. I’m pretty certain the moment was supposed to be a punchline, but it just missed the mark and didn’t deliver. This happens often throughout the movie.<ref>https://blackgirlnerds.com/bgn-review-step-sisters-pending-title/</ref> | ||
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==Reference== | ==Reference== |
Revision as of 23:14, 26 December 2020
Step Sisters is a 2018 dance comedy film directed by Charles Stone III. It stars Megalyn Echikunwoke as a black sorority girl who agrees to teach the art of Greek stepping to a house of party-obsessed white sorority sisters.[1]
Plot
Jamilah has her whole life figured out. She's the president of her sorority, captain of their champion step dance crew, is student liaison to the college dean, and her next move is on to Harvard Law School. She's got it all, right? But when the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue. Her mission is to not only teach the rhythmically-challenged girls how to step dance, but to win the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions. With the SBBs reputations and charter on the line, and Jamilah's dream of attending Harvard in jeopardy, these outcast screw-ups and their unlikely teacher stumble through one hilarious misstep after another. Cultures clash, romance blossoms, and sisterhood prevails as everyone steps out of their comfort zones.[2]
Controversy
The film tells the story of a black girl teaching a white sorority how to dance like black girls. It manages to mash together every bad trope from the 'Dance competition' movies from the early 2000's(think Bring It On) with cringingly terrible acting, a ridiculous plot, excellent dancing, and unintentionally hilarious quotability("YOU NEED TO MAKE THEIR ASS HAIR STAND UP!!!").
This is all served alongside a large helping of performative 'wokeness', uncomfortable, non-funny racial humor and unfocused social justice 'lessons'. ( For instance, a large part of the plot is about the impact of cultural appropriation of black traditions by white people, but then also features a dance number with a bunch of black women dressed as generic Asian women in silk robes and fans without blinking an eye.)[2]
The movie was accused of being regressive, in that it made its black protagonist “the help” and supposedly encouraging cultural appropriation. One Twitter user, Nia Malika, to Netflix: “We can’t have anything at all. None of us black sororities and fraternities are going to watch this foolishness. It’s African … Can we just have it please?”[3]
tep Sisters does not fall short of its racial tropes and the one gay character in the film uses his sexual escapades with his partner as a comedic device—not a stereotype at all. I also cringed a bit when Jamilah found a joke towards white people to be “racist” and her white boyfriend had to educate her on what racism actually is. I’m pretty certain the moment was supposed to be a punchline, but it just missed the mark and didn’t deliver. This happens often throughout the movie.[4]
Reference
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_Sisters
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5267472
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/19/step-sisters-review-hits-and-misses-in-netflixs-cultural-appropriation-comedy#:~:text=The%20movie%20was%20accused%20of,going%20to%20watch%20this%20foolishness
- ↑ https://blackgirlnerds.com/bgn-review-step-sisters-pending-title/