Evolution Of A Man

when you look at television today, it’s packed with stereotypes. that’s a given. it’s understood, perpetuated, and to some extent, accepted. done. a prime example of this is the upn network. if you’ve watched anything on this channel, you know what i’m talking about; and if you haven’t- consider yourself lucky.

every so often, a new series arises that prides itself on it’s “out of the box” thinking and it’s providing a voice for an unheard community of people. such is the case with the highly anticipated and long overdue “noah’s arc”- the story of 4 black gay friends living in contemporary west hollywood. unfortunately, from what i have seen, i feel like the only out of the box thinking lies within the fact that the main characters are black and gay. other than that, it sticks to the same formula that every other african american sitcom plugs in week after week, and therefore should do quite well amongst the well-established buffoonery that is upn syndicated television.

friday night, i excitedly left my apartment for a screening of a new soon-to-be released on dvd sitcom that’s been called a fusion between “queer as folk,” “sex and the city,” and “soul food.” i got to the theater and felt somewhat proud to see so many black gay men in one place in celebration of something that is in fact pretty tremendous given what’s currently in the media. this show has the chance to not only put out an accurate representation of black gay men and our culture, but also has the chance to be the caveat for change in regards to formulating a new and more positive opinion within the black community as a whole as it relates to it’s gay contingent. and for that reason, with a smile on my face, i was on the edge of my seat awaiting “noah’s arc.”

aside from the constant yelling at the screen, the ooh-ing and the ahh-ing, the “damn, i gotta get me some of that”- ing, and other forms of loud and obnoxious “2-snaps” commentary from the folk who thought they were at home sitting all around me, the screening and the show itself had it’s definite ups and downs. in my opinion, on the positive side, i must admit that it was pretty damn nice to see two black men having sex on screen. and the sex was nice (kudos noah and wade!), in addition, i did find myself laughing- once hysterically- and as laughter is very important to me, i found some of the banter quite refreshing. on the other hand, for me, the show lacked depth, substance and diversity as it pertained to a representation of black gay men as a community.

now i understand the idea that one should not put all their eggs into one basket- in this case, introduce all their characters in the first episode; but there is something to be said for providing a diverse group of people as your core title cast (the 4 best friends) so as to avoid having all of your characters look and seem the same. i would especially expect this from such a “groundbreaking” show as “noah’s arc.” break the rules and abandon the formula. unfortunately, this didn’t happen. yes, each of the 4 guys were their own persons, and yes, each of them had their own set of issues and problems to deal with; but at the same time, they all thought the same way about everything, no one seemed to challenge anything. what i really liked about “sex and the city” was that even though the topic of sex and their sexuality is what often brought the 4 girls together, it was not all that brought them together. and you knew how different they were from the very beginning. with “noah’s arc,” it just seemed like these were 4 gay guys who had nothing else to do but be gay in la. and that disturbed me.

second, i couldn’t’ relate to it- and even further, i know no one who could. throughout the screening i kept thinking, “i don’t know anyone like that” and “i don’t aspire to be like any of these people.” as an intellectual black gay man, i was looking for a conversation outside of sex that had meaning and depth. i have a very diverse group of friends and even though we are all gay, that’s not all we are. when i talk with my friends, we’re usually conversing or debating about a book, or an issue in one of our lives, politics, etc. all these guys had to talk about was sex. to me, there was just a significant level of sophistication missing from the show’s premise and characters.

after the viewing, i felt lost in that everyone around me during the question and answer period with the cast was in awe and complete adoration of “noah’s arc” and i was sitting there very cross-eyed and upset. i thought, “am i the only one who thought that this was bullshit?” thankfully, i wasn’t. i had a 2-hour conversation outside the building with people who felt the same way . i ran into david and his friend after the viewing, and discussed how disappointed we were in the lack of substance. the main characters, having a mutual hobby of screenwriting by which they met, never actually discussed what they did for a living, or what brought them together. there was nothing throughout the episode that related them together other than sex. and to me, that is the show’s downfall.

i still support “noah’s arc.” after all, i did only see 2 episodes. and although through his answers patrick ian polk (the creator) wasn’t going to stray away from the formula he built, who knows what will happen in the future. i still think this show has great potential if it just extends itself beyond the gay stereotype. i just feel like i’ve waited a long time, just like everyone else, to see this come to pass. we don’t wanna mess it up. i don’t want to see it wasted. i want to see characters based on intellect and not the superficial.

we’ll see. i’m done for now.