#Black Barbie Documentary Review

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Black Barbie Documentary Review - Doll's Eye View on Diversity

"Black Barbie" by Lagueria Davis dives into how dolls can affect a child's world view. Read our spoiler-free review of the Netflix documentary.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) There’s a framed picture in our family bookshelf of a three-year-old me holding a doll almost my size. We’re almost dressed the same way, in frilly dresses, but I am a brown Indian brunette, and the doll is blonde with sparkly blue eyes. I did own a Barbie doll or two as a child, all of them gifts from an aunt, and most definitely…

[s7evendaysageek]

Ep 3 Summer Series: Death By Treadmill to The Flash Across The Spider-Verse

Your favorite neighborhood Stream Team returns this week with so much to geek out about! But firstly Grant (A.K.A. The Kilted One) attempts to bring us the Good G'news with Gary G'new and we just aren't having it! 

Speaking of the News!

The Rock announces he's back baby! Back in the Fast and Furious Cinematic Universe! He's announced that he and Vin Deisel have buried the hatchet and he will be returning as Hobb's but it sounds like he will be Hobbless without his Shaw. 

Tom Cruise waves his HUGE Maverick-like clout at the people of IMAX and demands that Christopher Nolan moves his big 600 pound gorilla of a movie... and while he's at it, he can take Barbie's Pink flick with her as well. 

In Geeking Out:

Our Neighbor Cole doesn't wanna close his eyes cuz and he don't wanna miss a thing, when he returns to Micheal Bay's Armaggedon. For his own mental health, he refuses to hold back the floodgate of tears! 

House of Hammer wasn't watched by all so we decide to hold back for another week or so, so everyone can take in this depravity of a documentary that we question "How much of this is a hit piece?" Though we all agree that Armie Hammer is a real piece of Sh**! Not before Angry Ginger asks if anyone at the table would be willing to wear TEAM HAMMER t-shirts. 

Grant gives a fantastic spoiler free review for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse and begs us to go see it with him as soon as possible, before all the easter eggs and secrets get out on the internet. Do we agree to be seen in public with him? 

Not Producer Kyle has Crime docuseries brain with Bama Rush. Is it any good? Should we watch it? Did she reveal too much about her own collage years? Did Neighbor Cole have a sexual awakening during this? 

In Trailer Talk:

We geek out about Chris Hemsworth's flaming fistacuffs and the extreamly long takes of action we can't wait to witness once again with Extraction 2. Neighbor Cole calls his bluff on his choice of bullet proof protection, but he's still willing to put eyes on this flick when it hits Netflix. 

Shockingly, Neighbor Cole is blown away by The Flash trailer. He's not much of a superhero movie guy but he wants to see this one. Ginger and TK1 didn't need any convincing. They were sold on this film June 23rd, 1989 when Keaton's Batman first released. Not Producer Kyle is excited for some popcorn. 

Like always, this is just a touch of the things we touch apon. Speaking of touching, Al Pacino is having a kid at 83 and we have some thoughts on that as well. Justified is returning with a new limited series this month and Black Mirror is returning after a 4 year hiatus too! 

Reach us on Twitter:

Angry Ginger @S7evendaysageek

NeighborCole @NeighborCole

Grant @Insta_Grants2

Not Producer Kyle @KyleMarieWrites

Email The Show 3Geeks@7Daysageek.net

  Check out this BRAND NEW episode of 7 Days a Geek. Share it with your fellow tumblrs!

[jaynedolluk]

Last few weekends of the Times have included reviews of A Little Life (play starring James Norton based on book of same name) + Paris Hilton’s book as well as Reach for the Stars (about late 90s pop) + Cuddy (Benjamin Myers’ latest) + a review of Lana Del Rey’s latest album.

They also had reviews of George Michael: Outed, We Need To Talk About Cosby, Paula and a piece on the upcoming TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals. They had a little mention for an upcoming documentary called Black Barbie which I’ve read looks at the launch of the 1st Black Barbie and a review of the film, Rye Lane which looks great.

They had interviews with Patricia Field, a great piece on Betsey Johnson’s home and an article on model scouts and a great one on the continuing appeal of pirates. Plus Brian Cox and Nicholas Braun for the new series of Succession and Brooke Shields for her upcoming documentary, Pretty Baby. Also Floella Benjamin (who still looks amazing), Jenny Boyd, Jenna Ortega, John Boyega, and Gilbert & George. 

[siddysthings]

'Black Barbie' Review: The Problem With Corporate Representation | HuffPost Entertainment

It serves the corporation obviously

[biggoldbelt]

Black Barbie - Review | Beulah Mae Mitchell, Misty Copeland & Shonda Rhimes | Netflix (2024)

Black Barbie review by Big Gold Belt Media –Synopsis:Black Barbie celebrates the momentous impact three Black women at Mattel had on the evolution of the Barbie brand as we know it. Through these charismatic insiders’ stories, the documentary tells the story of how the first Black Barbie came to be in 1980, examining the importance of representation and how dolls can be crucial to the formation…

[film-book]

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Film Review: BLACK BARBIE: A DOCUMENTARY: A Terrifically Entertaining and Thought-Provoking Documentary [SXSW 2023] https://film-book.com/film-review-black-barbie-a-documentary-a-terrifically-entertaining-and-thought-provoking-documentary-sxsw-2023/?feed_id=138867&_unique_id=641635caa9c78

[popculturebuffet]

Pinky and the Brain: Brain’s Song Review or Why You Hatin on Bruce Willis? (Comissioned by BlahDiddy)

Hello, Hello, Hello you wonderful people! It’s back to the Animaniacs Cinematic Unvierse for some more pinky, pinky and the brain brain brain brain brain, as I still have those two christmas reviews left in the queue. And since I went over the ins and outs of the characters history last time, we can just get right to it. 

We open in Acme Labs, where Brain, tired of pinky’s antics is trying to a clockwork orange him into being emotionless by having him watch some emotional stuff. We also get some good gags but as usual for coveirng this show I can’t stop and cover every one, but this is a damn funny episode Point is Brain tries showing him things like evil kenivel and prscilla presley’s dear john letter to micheal jackson.. this episode has not aged well in places and we will get to that. Point is Pinky’s already tearing up when we get to a pastiche of the lion king but with tigers, which naturally opens the flood gates.. but in a nice twist it’s for BOTH of them. Brain despite himself can’t help sobbing and leaning into his buddy and the two hug. awwww.  Pinky tells him there’s no shame in it as “No one can resist emotionally manipulative story telling with a sad score.. except maybe g gordon liddy”.. I don’t get that last part, but the rest is really funny and naturally gives brain an idea: to make his OWN emotionally manipulative film. to make people so depressed they can’t do anything and wil lhand him the world. Making a supercut of bojack horseman’s gutpunching moments would be faster but neither supercuts nor that show exist yet so he’s left to instead write a pastiche of the movie Brian’s Song.  Brian’s Song is a tv movie about football players Brian Picollo and Gale Sayers, two star football players in college. According to tv tropes the two start out as rivals, become friends, Picollo helps Sayers recover from an injury.. then Sayers stays by Picolllo’s side as he slowly subcumbs to cancer. I only vaugely remembered it from I love the 80s and that it made people sad. Look i’ll go to the moon and back for comissions, even ones given out as a gift, but I draw the line at watching an entire 70′s tv movie, even with the unstoppably cool Billy Dee Williams starring in it as Sayers. I have limits.. and a best episodes of the year list to work on/watch the last few episodes for. I gotta draw a line somewhere.  That said.. this team knows how to do GOOD parody: i.e. you shoudln’t have to know the thing being parodied to get it, it just makes it even funnier. So while the Brian’s Song parody is lost on me, it still works as schmaltzy sports movies captalizing on real life events never died. SOMEHOW. Please stop hollywood, please, I know i’m not a sports guy but even that aside we don’t need any more. Or if your not going to at least give us a revivial of friday night lights. That’s how you make me care about sports. SO it still works well.  What dosen’t is most of the next bit, where our boys head off to hollywood. And look some bits are really funny: Brain having a rat tail and goatee

Don’t ask me why, pinky, who weirdly dosen’t have his own mechanical human suit, as his agent, it’s good. And what’s GREAT is the two pitching the film to tom hanks, the nicest guy in hollywood, only for him to throw a tantrum and demand they call him lord ruler. Given Hanks is STILL the nicest guy in hollywood to this day.. the joke is sitll hilarious, helped by the fact he’s one of my mom’s faviorite actors, so i’ve grown up with the guy my whole life. Love the guy genuinely great stuff, easily on par with that bit from the simpsons movie.  But the issue is.. that’s the ONLY funny gag for the next three minutes, as Brain pitches it to bruce wilis, who is on board till demi reminds him he has to watch the kids and stuff. GET IT BECAUSE HE’S A FAMILY MAN... LAUGH, LAUGH AT HIM BEING A RESPONSIBLE AND LOVING PARENT LAUGGGHGHHH. Seriously Bruce Williams is awesome what the hell man.  It gets no better as we get an unfunny montage of eveyrone turning down brain including Donny Most, as he just rose from the haze

Sunday Monday, happy days. Point is that one bit was funnier than the handful of minutes of my life i’m not getting back. Seriously a fourth of the episode is wasted on thiis and the bruce willis bit combined. Why. The ONLY funny part is the ending where they get rejected by vanilla ice.. which is only funny now because he’s since made a small career in film showing up in Adam Sandler films, so his threshold for being in shit films is low. Then again his musical talent took a steep decline.. yes it somehow got worse. 

Just in case you think I was bullshitting you. Point is no one will star in Brain’s film or help fund it so he decides to go full wiseau and make it himself.  So our heroes head home and we get some great bits in how they put it together. Brain INTENDS for Meadowlark Lemon, who I somehow knew was a Harlem Globetrotter, and who Brain taught to play his sidekick.. but he backs out so PInky gets the part afterall. Why? I don’t know.. seriously the joke dosen’t even remotely synch up. The only things he and bill dee share are being black and if that’s the reason they wanted to shove a globetrotter in this...

Yeah. Thankfully we’re past the poorly aged bits of this as the rest of the episode .. is just nonstop hilarity. There’s just too many jokes to go over, but some of hte best include: Brain’s hairpiece, mimicing Jame’s Caan, which is made of lint, Pinky having to wear stilts for one scene, using a treadmill to mimic walking, pinky finding great sets by raiding the garage finding a barbie playset for the hospital room and a game of electric football for the field. Huh I think ken burns made a documentary on that once. 

That’s also the only reason I know what Electric Football is.. also how did pinky carry all of that. Questions for later. Point is it’s just one clever gag after the next and you really DON’T need to know Brian’s Song to find this uproriously hilarious. Our heroes also flim it live, hyjacking the airwaves not to offer wishes but to air the film. Again the film is just one long string of great gags, no question so I’m not recapping it. But it works and the world leaders are too bummed out to do anything. Insert your own 2020 joke here.  But in a nice chekovs callback Brain sustained injuries being on the electric football set, so he vibrates at inportune times, thus causing everyone to laugh, foiling his plan> It’s a great payoff and I do like how, as I mentioned in my last pinky and the brain review, it’s often Brain’s own fault and not ALWAYS just “pinky screws up” like I remembered. Here his insitance on doing the scene again and again depsite the risk and not acknowlding his pain screws him over. 

Final Thoughts; This is a pretty good episode. Despite the down spot the last half of it is just so damn funny, again I coudln’t properly recap it because it was just one long string of great jokes and set pieces, and trasncends the film i’ts parodying. Worth a watch if you have hulu just fast forward a bit after the tom hanks bit. Also that was Dave Colier, aka terrible replacment venkman aka uncle joey aka that guy who somehow had sex with alanis morsette but is probably not the one that song is about. It was about Alf, wake up people. And for now I bid you all goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. 

[emmastudies]

Hey! Im looking for a good tv show to watch any ideas?

Oh boy, here I go! I’ll split it up into ones that I really enjoy and the ones that I’ve watched but maybe aren’t my favourites!

Shows I love:

Game of Thrones - I think if you aren’t watching this already, it is the best time to start!!

The Office (US)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The Good Place

Parks and Recreation

The Haunting of Hill House - fking phenomenal! If you don’t mind a bit of horror/jump scares, this is honestly a masterpiece.

Most Popular Girls in School - a stop-motion YouTube series about Barbies. Don’t get me wrong it sounds weird but it is hilarious. 

Terrace House - most are on Netflix now but it is such a cute show!? It is basically just following the lives of 6 Japanese (mainly) twenty-somethings. It is subtitled but I really enjoy that!

Desperate Housewives - I remember sneaking downstairs as a child to watch this through our glass doors! Once I was old enough to watch it, it was so much more intense to the snippets I’d seen. Totally recommend it.

Stranger Things

RuPaul’s Drag Race (+ All Stars & Untucked)

Awkward 

Black Mirror

Shows I’ve enjoyed:

Supernatural - started this a while ago! I got up to season 5 then changed laptops so didn’t have a disc drive and slowly stopped after that. I really enjoyed it whilst I watched it but a lot of people said it dipped after s5 or 6? :(

Pretty Little Liars - a good mystery series but does drag on slightly! That being said, they all have such nice hair which makes me sad :’-)

Riverdale - The first season is pretty solid, it then gets kind of insane. I love it for Madelaine Petsch but part of me constantly feels second-hand embarrassment for some of the scenes :’-) I’ve kind of stopped watching this last season but might try to catch up again!

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The OA - a very weird but compelling show. I couldn’t stop watching.

American Horror Story - an untraditional show but good nonetheless! I loved Roanoke and Hotel!

Orange is the New Black

How To Get Away With Murder - I watched up to season two and did really like it but got confused so I stopped? :’-) I loved all the Celine bags in it though!

Catfish: The TV Show - I usually watch this with my dad, he finds it hilarious! One of my favourites for casual watching.

Gossip Girl - honestly since a gem of a show! Plus Nate Archibald is such a cutie!!!

Ghost Adventures - I love paranormal shows and these guys are so funny! Probably not legit but hey ho

Bad Education

Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt

Insatiable - there was a lot of mixed reviews on this but I did enjoy it, Brick Armstrong is so cute and looks like an older version of the kid I had a crush on it year 7 lmao :’-)

Dynasty

Skins

UnReal

Now Apocalypse - totally insane, very heavy sex scenes and stuff but the whole cast is hot hahah 

Arrested Development

The Inbetweeners

Superstore - I started watching it a while ago just on the telly but never got round to finishing it! I’m very tempted to watch it again.

Sharp Objects

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Dark Tourist - a new Netflix show that I really enjoyed :P

Nailed It

Great British Bake Off

Gordon Ramseys …. (basically all his shows) - all these food shows! I love him in kitchen nightmares, hotel hell, etc! It is half disgusting but amazing!

Anything David Attenborough - Our Planet, Plant Earth, etc

A few documentaries I like:

Tickled - I watched this documentary the other day and haven’t stopped thinking about it. The craziest plot twist holy crapalony!

Dead Mommy Dearest (The Act on Hulu is now based on this)

Beware the Slenderman

Making a Murderer

Twinsters - I loved this documentary! It was so heartwarming.

Wild Wild Country

The Keepers

Betting on Zero

The Bleeding Edge

Audrey & Daisy - a serious documentary and so moving. I will put a trigger warning with this recommendation though.

The Hunting Ground - again, a sensitive topic but powerful.

The Imposter

r/documentaries - is fantastic for finding new ones!! Anything by Louis Theroux is usually fab btw :P

I hope that gives you just a few things to watch haha! xx

[swipestream]

The Toys That Made Us: You Can’t GET Soap Operas This Good!

A few weeks ago, after my G.I. Joe review, someone clued me in on The Toys That Made Us, a Netflix documentary series about the hottest toys of the last century, including (of course) Kenner’s Star Wars line, Barbie, He-Man, and G.I. Joe. (The series claims it’s 8 episodes long, but only 4 are online. I assume the other 4 are in-progress, and I further assume one covers the Transformers, which should be a hoot.)

The episodes are good, well made and interesting, if unaccountably tilted to the Left. They get in several digs at Reagan and patriotism, He-Man and harmful masculinity, and the Barbie episode features a bitter feminist who sneers at Barbie and her effect on society.

That said, the show is solid and informative. They went to the trouble of interviewing the actual people who made the toys or designed the characters (when possible). This was a must, as most of them are getting on up on there in years. In fact, one of the subjects—Stan Weston, the man who sparked the revitalized G.I. Joe line—died just weeks after doing a telephone interview for the series. I’m glad this series was made now, so we could get all of the creators on camera discussing the behind-the-scenes on these landmark toys.

What strikes you, when watching, is how much like a soap opera it all is: Every major toy company, including Hasbro, passed on Star Wars because they didn’t think it could sell toys. Kenner, a tiny company, took a big risk and rushed the Star Wars toys into production (cutting the normal lead time for a toy line from 2 years to less than a year) but didn’t even get the action figures into stores for Christmas. Instead they sold an empty box, with a promissory note for the dolls, which people would get when they shipped in a few months. The CEO (a former employee of Mattel) bet the company on the maneuver and at the time, they didn’t even have an actual signed contract. (More on the contract later.)

Hasbro, which passed on Star Wars, found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. Stan pitched the idea for G.I. Joe (just like the Star Wars figures, but articulated), and the CEO said no, and left for two weeks. During this time, they worked like mad to kit-bash the figures and plan the line (even composing the jingle), to sell the toys to the CEO. He greenlit the line, so they called Marvel to make a comic, who ended up suggesting and then designing Cobra, as well as a lot of the other Joes. (In fact, Larry Hama was the reason the Drednoks became obnoxious bikers and not talking bears. True story, though it’s not in the G.I. Joe episode.) G.I. Joe sold like mad.

Ages ago, Mattel had launched the Barbie line. The man who engineered them—and continued adding new features and refining the figures for decades—became a drugged out sex addict living in a literal castle in Southern California. Promised 1% of the gross, he eventually broke ties with the company over non-payment of royalties. The court case dragged on for years, and he nearly went bankrupt during it, being forced to sell the castle and nearly everything else. He eventually won.

One of the co-founders of Mattel, Ruth Handler, was inspired by—or outright copied—a German doll (based on a prostitute in a comic strip) to create Barbie, but was turned down several times by the company she herself founded. She eventually found a market researcher to sell her idea to her own company, and the doll sold like mad. Until it didn’t, and she cooked the books to hide the company’s losses. She was charged with fraud, and ejected from her company.

Mattel, going broke, took a flyer on several toy lines based on movies, all aimed at the boy’s market (hoping to catch the next Star Wars), including Clash of the Titans, Flash Gordon, and Battlestar Galactica. All failed. He-Man, designed as a bigger, more muscular, and more expressive alternative to the competition, became a hit, primarily because of a TV series the creator came up with off the top of his head in a meeting aimed at getting Toys “R” Us on board. The He-Man series was a big hit (for good reason, I explain why here), and the He-Man toys were a big hit, until She-Ra (his sister) came along and Barbie-ized the concept and the line collapsed. One year, $400 million, the next $7 million.

Kenner experienced its own collapse, after the excitement over Return of the Jedi faded, and the company was snapped up by Hasbro. Which is where the Star Wars contract I mentioned earlier came in. Under the terms, Kenner kept 95% of the profit from the line, with Lucas and Fox splitting the rest. This was—literally—an exclusive license good anywhere in the galaxy (again, I have to emphasize that the clause making it intergalactic was actually in the contract) in perpetuity, so long as Lucas was paid $10,000 every single year. Hasbro didn’t make the payment, the contract evaporated, and they had to give Lucas an arm and a leg, as well as a kidney, a lung, and several vertebrae, to get it back, just so they could license the next hot Star Wars property: The Phantom Menace.

Wah-wah!

Last is this: the above doesn’t fully cover all the insanity of the toy industry soap opera. Frank Frazetta’s role in inspiring He-Man, Snake Eyes accidentally becoming a hit (him being dressed all in black was a cost-cutting measure), and Skeletor’s origin as an actual corpse in an amusement park house of horror: all that and more are in the series.

The Toys That Made Us is a great 4 hours (despite the occasional political interjection), and it’s a unique look at what goes into making a toy line and a toy company. Highly recommended.

Jasyn Jones, better known as Daddy Warpig, is a host on the Geek Gab podcast, a regular on the Superversive SF livestreams, and blogs at Daddy Warpig’s House of Geekery. Check him out on Twitter.

The Toys That Made Us: You Can’t GET Soap Operas This Good! published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[beatmagazine]

Elf Lyons - Typically Different

With her new show Pelican out on the road to brighten up the otherwise gloomy months of January, February and March, and a new-new show kicking off straight after that, Elf Lyons isn’t one for hanging ‘round.

After high-tailing it from Bristol Uni to London in 2012, Elf has spent the past four years building a reputation for her fresh, playful, brilliantly scripted and often plain weird live shows. She’s picked up a string of 5 star reviews and a growing crowd of fans along the way.

Elf took a late night quiet moment to talk to us about Pelican, writing and why eating sausages in the morning is weird.

photo by Andy Hollingworth

Hi, Elf. How are you?

Great. At the time of writing this it is 1am, I’ve just eaten a bar of Green & Blacks Mint chocolate in the bath, and I’ve got a new lava lamp.

Describe a typical day in the Life of Elf.

Typically, each day is typically very different to the one before - but usually each one is very sexy, full of fun, including ten parts coffee, one ‘Oh Fuck Moment’, at least five costume changes, twenty cuddles and human interactions, Magic FM on full and one moment of wobbly cellulite nudity. Either accidental or on purpose.

This last week alone I did a new magic comedy striptease in French, a tax return, my drag night The Matron Presents, some awful gym activities involving squats - causing me to walk like Clint Eastwood with an erection, attended a ball for the Inspired4Life charity, taught a comedy workshop for teenagers, re-edited Pelican, rewrote a short script and came fourth in a film pub quiz. So overall, busy.

You've done a load of shows at The Etcetera Theatre, regularly compère at Camden Comedy Club and host an LGBT comedy night at Her Upstairs; you're a bit of a Camden legend. Which has been your favourite role so far and why?

I couldn’t pick a favourite role - they all congeal together to make this huge big bulbous colourful globule of memories which encapsulates my whole weird experience of Camden.

There is a growing idea that Camden is past it, that it's relevancy and culture died with indie and Amy Winehouse. Do you think that's fair? Does Camden have more to offer than tat for tourists and unaffordable rent, particularly for young people?

Camden is about the alternative, trying new things out and taking a risk. Sure it is a tourist attraction, and there are many other developing areas of London with their own cool creative hubs which are blossoming - Peckham, Brixton, Shoreditch to name a few. But like so many other bits of London, you just need to look past the high street and you’ll see that there is a thriving creative community that isn’t difficult to get involved in. There are music gigs, poetry gigs, queer gigs, political stand up gigs, lots of new theatre and community projects going on.

To make one person, like Amy Winehouse, the emblem of the culture of a town undercuts the other creative aspects of the area. Comedy in particular has always been vibrant - since I first started doing comedy and still now. Yes - Camden is so much more expensive, but still hosts some of the only affordable central performance spaces for artists to showcase their work. If it wasn’t for festivals like the Camden Fringe it would be far harder for artists to get their work seen.

It may not be perfect but is it part of the patchwork quilt of London’s creative scene.

Now that you're back home, what was the highlight of your time at L'Ecole Philipe Gaulier?

Gaulier was all my favourite coming of age films in one. Like Dirty Dancing except based in a tiny little cramped run down part of Paris, with only one bar and 50 of the weirdest people you’ve ever met. And Patrick Swayze was replaced by a love-hate frenchman who resembled a bowling ball. Rumplestiltskin - if he had discovered crocs, fine millinery and whisky. It was fantastic!

One highlight was meeting my comedy soul mate Ryan Lane.

Ryan and I learnt the Parent Trap handshake on our first week together of Le Jeu and that birthed a relationship akin to step-siblings. We write well together and since our success in creating characters we have teamed up and are developing our play Hilda & The Spectrum - which we are previewing around the UK from March and then the Edinburgh Festival.

The great thing about Gaulier was that it helped birth so many surreal and stupid ideas that I would have felt too ridiculous to consider developing back in London. It taught me to be free and to feel less reserved about looking an idiot. You learn that as long as you are performing with complete joy - nothing matters but that moment - no matter how stupid it is.  

London or Paris?

Tough. London has the dress sense and the quirks, the better coffee (I will fight any french barista on this point) and unlike Paris we are allowed to sit on the grass in our parks. But, Paris has the attitude and there is nothing more beautiful than Bautes Chaumont. Their queer scene is great and there’s something just fantastic about the way Parisians host things. There is a real artistry to it.

Also - the bread... my god... the bread.

Croissant and coffee or full English?

Croissant and coffee. Always. I think eating sausages in the morning is really weird.

Being Barberella photo by Will Hazell

What does your writing process involve and where do you look for inspiration?

I pick a subject, anything: from the underground / politics / porn legislation / Barbie etc - research it, play with it, learn about it, then meet someone and talk to them about it, get drunk, argue about it, then after I’ve ruminated on it enough I’ll then improvise around it on stage and see what comes.

I like to give myself challenges - for example: the new show is a one woman production of Swan Lake. I don’t know ballet - so I am going to have to learn. Challenge No 1. Challenge No 2? I want to do the whole thing in french. Because, why not? Problem is I can’t speak french. So I am learning french.

Crucially I read tons (every day in the morning) and that really helps - with language, words, ideas and reference. I recommend reading as much as you can. Everything and anything.

What advice do you have for young, female writers who struggle with confidence and believing in their creative output?

Once you have decided to book yourself a gig / open spot / venue / whatever it is, you need to actually get your act together and showcase to people what is going on in that wonderful head of yours. Accept that you are going to be crap for a while and at random points doing what you want to do. You’ll be great one day, on top of the world, and the next day you will be awful. THAT IS NORMAL. Embrace it and laugh it off.

There is nothing more dignified than trying an idea, it not working and you going “Okay. That sucked. What’s next?”. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You need to be rubbish in order to be good - so lose any pride you have about being bad, lose your ego, get on stage and get ghastly. AND DROP THOSE FRIENDS WHO MAKE YOU FEEL BAD FOR TRYING IDEAS AND TAKING RISKS. If your friends make you feel ashamed, don’t invite them to your gig.

Going on stage and trying out an idea is the equivalent of showing your working out for a difficult equation on a maths paper - people appreciate seeing your process, not just your end result. SO TAKE RISKS AND PLAY WITH DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THINGS.

Remember - each time you do whatever it is you want to do, in front of a crowd - it will get easier. You’ll become familiar with how your body reacts to nerves and to audiences and you’ll be able to plan your gigs accordingly - based on how you know you work in order to get ‘in the zone’.

And read lots. Read and read and read.  And watch as much live work as you can.

Your blog post on polyamory genuinely made us laugh out loud. Firstly: art gallery or Nando's?

Art Gallery. Always.

Secondly: have you ever actually had sex in Nando's?

No comment.

You're a queer woman in a very male-heavy field. Have you experienced any difficulties because of it?

I am lucky that I gig with wonderful people on a lovely circuit and have been blessed with not facing any horridness. I know many other people who haven’t been as lucky.

When you aren't blogging naked or writing hit comedy shows, what are you watching on Netflix?

Recently watched the DIVINE documentary which was fantastic and any film with Diane Keaton in it, as she is a goddess.  And Drag Race.

And how excited are you for Stranger Things season 2 on a scale of 1-11, or are you more of an OA girl?

I’ve never seen OA and I’m excited about ST on about a level 5. Give me Daredevil and Jessica Jones any day.

How do you prepare for your live shows?

Rene Bazinet taught us some Feldenkrais techniques at Gaulier and since then I’ve become obsessed. It makes my body feel like a calm loose piece of cotton.

You wear some interesting things on stage. What's been your favourite outfit so far?

Hayley Cherkas has designed my last two costumes for Pelican and Being Barbarella and I love them both so much. She’s a fantastic young designer. She sees exactly what I see in my head and translates it to paper and to fabric, in such a beautiful way. Her technique and designs are masterful. She has a great eye. Through her choice of materials, silhouette and cut she balances the surreal with the elegant in a way that makes me feel glamorous whilst still capable to move and play the fool on stage. I like that bizarre balance. She makes me feel like a High Fashion Malvolio.

Writing or performing?

Can’t choose. It’s like picking a puppy over a kitten.

After the Pelican mini-tour, what have you got on for 2017?

Hilda & The Spectrum with Ryan Lane at The Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham in March, alongside previews of my new show (like at The Old Joint Stock Birmingham amongst others) from March. Perhaps back to Gaulier. The Matron Presents is back on the penultimate Wednesday every month at Her Upstairs from March, and finally I also have some writing and filming projects under way...

Favourite Simone de Beauvoir quote?

“The body is not a thing, it is a situation: it is our grasp on the world and our sketch of our project”

= I remind myself of this when I start hating on my curves and my bits.

“To be oneself, simply oneself, is so amazing and utterly unique an experience that it’s hard to convince oneself so singular a thing happens to everybody”

= I think about this when people watching on the underground.

And finally, do you really want to kill your mother?

What do you take me for?

Elf Lyon’s Pelican is on tour around the UK throughout February and into March 2017. Firestation tickets are here, or full details on Elf’s website.

Interview by Louisa Austin

[emmastudies]

hi ! i would love for you to recommend me some tv shows! i dont mind the genres too as im really running out of shows to watch T^T

;-) Have I got you covered! Here are some of my favourite shows, ones I’ve enjoyed and documentaries!

Game of Thrones - if you aren’t watching this already, you have too! I am way too excited for season 8!

The Office (US) - absolutely hilarious! I love this kind of humour, definitely another favourite.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - another hilarious show! Pls watch it!! :D

The Good Place - another NBC show but its great!

The Haunting of Hill House - fking phenomenal! If you don’t mind a bit of horror/jump scares, this is honestly a masterpiece.

Supernatural - started this a while ago! I got up to season 5 then changed laptops so didn’t have a disc drive and slowly stopped after that. I really enjoyed it whilst I watched it but a lot of people said it dipped after s5 or 6? :(

Most Popular Girls in School - a stop-motion YouTube series about Barbies. Don’t get me wrong it sounds weird but it is hilarious. If you don’t mind a lot of swearing, it is fantastic. I look forward to every Tuesday when the next episodes go up!

Terrace House - most are on Netflix now but it is such a cute show!? It is basically just following the lives of 6 Japanese (mainly) twenty-somethings. It is subtitled but I really enjoy that!

Parks and Recreation - similar set up to the Office but just as good! Amazing actors, great plot and just a lovely series!

Pretty Little Liars - a good mystery series but does drag on slightly! That being said, they all have such nice hair which makes me sad :’-)

Riverdale - The first season is pretty solid, it then gets kind of insane. I love it for Madelaine Petsch but part of me constantly feels second-hand embarrassment for some of the scenes :’-)

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - I did enjoy this! It’s a little spooky but not scary!

Desperate Housewives - I remember sneaking downstairs as a child to watch this through our glass doors! Once I was old enough to watch it, it was so much more intense to the snippets I’d seen. Totally recommend it.

Stranger Things - Netflix really amazed with this one. I love it so much. Such an interesting plot, a great cast, and Steve Harrington is a baaabe!

The OA - a very weird but compelling show. I couldn’t stop watching.

American Horror Story - an untraditional show but good nonetheless! I loved Roanoke and Hotel!

Orange is the New Black - amazing Netflix show. One of their best in my opinion. The actresses are fantastic. Incredible story and really thought- provoking whilst full of humour. I need to watch season 6!

How To Get Away With Murder - I watched up to season two and did really like it but got confused so I stopped? :’-) I loved all the Celine bags in it though!

Ru Pauls Drag Race - oh man, I got into this so fast! Me and my sister binged watched like 5 seasons in a couple of weeks!

Catfish: The TV Show - I usually watch this with my dad, he finds it hilarious! One of my favourites for casual watching.

Gossip Girl - honestly since a gem of a show! Plus Nate Archibald is such a cutie!!!

Ghost Adventures - I love paranormal shows and these guys are so funny! Probably not legit but hey ho

Bad Education - such a class show! I love the humour - I’ve watched it three times now.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt - a really silly but fun show!

Insatiable - there was a lot of mixed reviews on this but I did enjoy it, Brick Armstrong is so cute and looks like an older version of the kid I had a crush on it year 7 lmao :’-)

Dynasty - me and my mum watch this together! It really is trying to be a bit Gossip Girly but its pretty good.

Skins - I used to think this was big brother for teens but I was very wrong hah! Similar to AHS in set up but one of those classic shows!

Arrested Development - took me a while to get into this but I’ve rewatched it a few times now!

Teen Wolf - I have mixed feelings on this, I enjoyed it but it seemed very obviously “here is another bigger, move evil villain to fight next season”.

Superstore - I started watching it a while ago just on the telly but never got round to finishing it! I’m very tempted to watch it again.

Dark Tourist - a new Netflix show that I really enjoyed :P

Nailed It - another Netflix show that is hilarious, all you could want in a cooking show!

Great British Bake Off - a more previously version of the above, I find it really relaxing though and I just love deserts!

Gordon Ramseys …. (basically all his shows) - all these food shows! I love him in kitchen nightmares, hotel hell, etc! It is half disgusting but amazing!

Tickled - I watched this documentary the other day and haven’t stopped thinking about it. The craziest plot twist holy crapalony!

Dead Mommy Dearest - such an interesting case!

Beware the Slenderman - if you’re into the freaky/paranormally mixed with crime, this is one for you!

Making a Murderer - gotta watch this! The 2nd season is great.

Twinsters - I loved this documentary! It was so heartwarming.

Wild Wild Country - I binged this so much too!

Audrey & Daisy - a serious documentary and so moving. I will put a trigger warning with this recommendation though so be careful.

r/documentaries - is fantastic for finding new ones!! Anything by Louis Theroux is usually fab btw :P

Maybe I’ll stop now because that is a lot :’-) xx