Jasmine White is often told that she has what some people call a “resting b*tch face.”

The senior television, radio and film major said that no matter what, people often say she looks angry. And although “resting b*tch face” is a widespread phenomenon that knows no racial boundaries, White said, the color of her skin makes the comments even more frustrating, given the history surrounding the “angry black woman.”

“(I’m) used to people thinking (I’m) angry all the time and have this resting b*tch face, but actually I’m very happy today,” White said. “It’s just my face.”

White plans to call attention to and poke fun at such stereotypes by producing a new YouTube comedy channel called #BlackPeopleProblems. She is working alongside Ibet Inyang, a creator, writer and actor of the show. Inyang, a senior magazine journalism major, wrote the first six episodes of the sitcom over the summer and plans to start filming this week.

As of now, the duo plans to film the six episodes, upload them to the channel in December and then release future videos bi-weekly.

Set in the fictional Hollaway University, #BlackPeopleProblems will showcase three African American students navigating life on a predominantly white college campus. The sitcom will revolve around a student journalist named Nya, played by Inyang. Her best friend Whitney will be played by Taylor Hicks, a sophomore industrial design major, and the role of her younger cousin Michael went to Moctar Tourè, a freshman information management and technology major.

Inyang said she harnessed a major part of her inspiration for the show from the hit television show Seinfeld. #BlackPeopleProblems will be set up in a similar fashion, opening with the character Nya performing a monologue that will foreshadow the plotline to come in the episode. Inyang said that, like Seinfeld, the humor will be very “situational” and focus on everyday events.

“Thinking of concepts of shows, I thought ‘Well, with black people you can’t talk about nothing because so much happens to us,’” Inyang said. “So I took that approach when creating the content, so I could make it funnier than just simply talking about racial profiling.”

Hicks saw a flyer on campus and knew she had to get involved. She said Inyang’s sitcom came at the right time for her — not only so that she could live out her dream of acting, but also so that she could help play a role in addressing concerns in her everyday life.

“I think a lot of people are just unaware, especially in a predominantly white school,” Hicks said. “When you’re around so many people that aren’t like you, they just don’t know when to stop making jokes. This will be really helpful, not just for black people, but for other races to understand where we’re coming from when we find something offensive.”

Both Inyang and White said a lot of the content focuses on racism they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Offhanded comments such as “You’re cute for a black girl,” and “You’re so articulate for a black girl,” will be emphasized in the show, Inyang said.

Each character will also break ingrained stereotypes that black people sometimes face. Inyang said that Michael will be portrayed as a tall, black male who is more interested in technology and creating apps than he is in playing sports. Nya will be a radio show host and journalist who is shy but loves to interview people. The show will strive to represent young African American students in more ways than one.

At the end of the day, White and Inyang hope everyone takes an interest in the show no matter what the color of their skin may be. White said that she hopes the show will start a dialogue on race and bring more consciousness to the black community.

Inyang also said she sees too little representation of different black characters in the mainstream media. As the show progresses, she said she plans to see the plot transcend past “generic” black people problems to instead focus on the specific problems that the diverse characters face.

“You never see any young black people our age (on TV) without it being really serious about the civil rights movement or something,” Inyang said. “I want to fill that void.”

Published on September 24, 2014 at 12:01 am