The Problem With 'Them'

photo courtesy of @themonprime Instagram

If you’ve been keeping up with recent streaming show discourse on Twitter, it’s possible you may have found users debating Them, a new horror anthology series from Amazon Prime. 

For those who are unaware of the show and the controversy it’s generated, the show takes place in 1953, and follows the Emory family - Henry, Lucky, and their daughters Ruby and Gracie -  on their move west, from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Quickly, the family finds themselves subjected to two different horrors: racist harassment at the hands of their white neighbors, and a more supernatural, mysterious force terrorizing them within their own home. 

While the show itself has received mixed reviews, the graphic depictions of the racial violence that the family and other Black characters face have garnered controversy. From hurls of racial slurs thrown at the family to a particularly disturbing flashback scene in the fifth episode, the controversy certainly isn’t unfounded, and some have labeled the series as “Black trauma porn”. 

Them also isn’t unique in the backlash it faces. Most recently, the Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Strangers, which depicts a Black man stuck in a time loop where he keeps getting killed by a white police officer, has faced similar criticism.

Whether or not you’ve watched or plan to watch these shows and movies, the critiques are valid. Shows like Them feel overly fixated on making their Black characters suffer, with moments of joy coming few and far between.

Telling stories about the Black experience in America often isn’t pretty, but despite its difficulty to watch, it can be important to learn about Black history for those who don’t know much. However, Black stories are so much more multilayered than just tales of trauma, and to limit them is a disservice to the richness of what could be. 

In a time where police brutality and the torment of Black bodies are consistently present on our screens, it would be nice to simply turn on a TV show and just watch Black people be Black and happy. Black viewers deserve to see themselves on television in roles that are fun and creative, and whose stories and identities aren’t centered in pain or tragedy.