Review: Amanda Seales' HBO Special, "I Be Knowin"
From spittin’ “Hot Shit” on Def Poetry Jam to her HBO comedy special, “I Be Knowin” Amanda Seales continues to find the sweet spot between entertaining and educating. I loved the entire stream of consciousness that structured her hour special. I had the privilege of asking her, how does she continue to spit that ‘hot shit’? She responded, “it’s all in my jokes”!
Seales metaphors and analogies, in her comedy special, provided the imagery needed to peak into the lives of various black experiences. She begins her special informing the audience that the most confident person in the world is the gay black man. Simply due to the fact that he is consistently attacked from both angles…racist and homophobic. Therefore, when she’s stuck in front of her mirror trying to complete an outfit she taps into her inner gay man, LaTraveous. Also in her black beauty segment she did us the favor of breaking down the activism behind the ‘two-painted toes’. Women gracefully pull off this look when in a rush yet slightly entertaining the misogynistic beauty expectations of ‘presentable feet’.
I love thought-provoking comedians. Although I didn’t care for the Harriet Tubman part of the special, with a Master’s degree in African American Studies, Amanda Seales segue into the Negro National Anthem was necessarily brilliant! No, “Lift Every voice and Sing” (Negro National Anthem) is not a song from Hamilton the Musical. It’s a poem turned into a song by James Weldon Johnson (who’s from DUUUUUVAL….yes, Jacksonville, FL). Seales proposes a question….seeing as though most of the professional football players are black/brown why don’t they play the Negro National Anthem at the games? It seems more befitting, right?
As expected, she highlights her Instagram colloquialism that we all love to enjoy. For instance, she breaks down, what her fans already knows is the difference between Hannah and Becky. In other words, she breaks down the difference between white people (Becky) and people who happen to be white (Hannah). It’s a brilliant concept centered around Caucasians’ acknowledgment towards the realization of white privilege. If a white person understands where their privilege lies and uses it to uplift/support oppressed people then you’re a Hannah. Which then leads her into explaining the black experience in the work place. No one, except a black person, understands the duality needed in order to be professional in the work place and being black enough amongst our own. Amanda Seales uses the most powerful ‘white person’ word used today…comfortable. The duality in the way black people speak is solely dependent upon white people’s comfortability. We change the tone and texture of words just to make white people feel more comfortable. She ends the racial segment of her special with more examples of black experiences. In particular…the experience of being stopped mid-thought to gauge how black we need to be/act. In certain situations people test your patience and ability to stay calm and cool. However, at times we must remind people that we deserve respect at all times.
The ever so complicated subject of sex was explained towards the end of her special. My girlfriends and I constantly talk about how easy it is for a guy to get some. However, guys make the decision unnecessarily difficult. Most goal-oriented, responsible women have vagendas. Seales explains her “vagenda” as her list of who can hit it and who cannot. As she so eloquently puts its, “because fuckin with me is a privilege…dick should be analyzed like the side of a cereal box…what’s your nutritional value?!” A man having a job, house, and car may be a minimal requirement. Yet, saying something as silly as, “I want a house with no mirrors” will easily get you knocked off the list.
Overall the special was everything I thought it would be. A dope hour-filled reflection of the ‘Black Excellence’, IG story gem-giving, realness wrapped in passionate mahogany that we lovingly appreciate daily.