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She's Gotta Have It Tackles Catcalling with Interactive Art Project and Video

She's Gotta Have It Tackles Catcalling with Interactive Art Project and Video

DeWanda Wise

Netflix's reboot of Spike Lee's debut features a poly pansexual woman of color whose art calls out sexual harassers.

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It's been 31 years since Spike Lee's feature film She's Gotta Have It heralded the arrival of a new auteur. Now the writer-director is back with a 10-episode Netflix reboot of his debut film about Nola Darling, a polyamorous Brooklyn artist who manages the three men in her life while remaining true to herself.

Much has changed in the culture since 1986 and this Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise), who describes herself as a sex-positive polyamorous pansexual, is very much reflective of the moment. Beyond Nola's many intersections as a black queer woman, the series is also deeply feminist.

In addition to the show's sex-positivity and Nola's sexual agency, the pilot tackles sexual harassment in the form of a montage of the men and a few women who've catcalled the lead character and the garbage they've spewed at her. Later in the pilot, she wrests herself from a man who becomes physical when she ignores his catcalls. Finally, she creates an art project of posters based on the names she's been called while merely attempting to go about her life.

Now Netflix has released a featurette titled "My Name Isn't" that riffs off of Nola's art project. The video features Wise, some of the show's creative team, and several New York University students sharing their stories of being catcalled. The project is so fully realized that Netflix has even put together a site where anyone can upload a photo to create their own "My Name Isn't..." poster.

Watch the video below and add your name to the "My Name Isn't" project here.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.