David Benioff (left) and D.B. Weiss are in the early stages of creating ‘Confederate,’ which April Reign is speaking out against. (Chris Pizzello /Invision/AP, File/@ReignOfApirl/Twitter)
Despite a No. 1-trending conversation about the problems with HBO’s series about slavery in modern-day America, executives are still pushing ahead with the show.
“We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around ‘Confederate,'” the premium cable network said in a statement to various entertainment industry outlets Sunday, July 30. “We have faith that [writers] Nichelle [Tramble Spellman], Dan [Weiss], David [Benioff] and Malcolm [Spellman] will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”
April Reign, who also launched #OscarsSoWhite, urged Twitter users on Friday to express their displeasure about “Confederate,” during Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thrones,” which is co-created by Weiss and Benioff. Their new show centers on a modern-day America where slavery is still legal because a third Civil War resulted in the South seceding from the Union.
“Our goal is to have the show ‘Confederate’ not see the light of day,” Reign told CBS This Morning Monday. “That’s the bottom line.”
This Sunday at 9pm ET, during @GameOfThrones, we ask you to stand with us. We want to send a message to @hbo using hashtag #NoConfederate.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
We know we have the power to make change. Let's show @hbo how many people are against #Confederate. Please join us Sunday w/ #NoConfederate.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
“The commodification of Black pain for the enjoyment of others must stop,” Reign told CBC News, Saturday, July 29. “The prison industrial complex is bursting with Black and brown people, disproportionate to the crimes committed. So, for some, Confederate is not alternate history, but a painful and recent reminder of how much further we still need to go toward equality.”
Twitter users readily answered Reign’s call by pondering an America where Black oppression never existed.
B/c #NoConfederate is not simply issue of history, it's also issue of the fantasy genre being largely limited to the fantasies of white men
— COLONIALISM IS FALLING, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE (@BreeNewsome) July 31, 2017
Alternatives to #Confederate include: Alternate history where European Colonialism failed and Cultures of Color thrived. #NoConfederate
— Mars (Like the planet, yeah) (@MarsinCharge) July 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/saharloo/status/891718276807630848
Others slammed the fact that such a plot is even being entertained.
https://twitter.com/localblactivist/status/891837780870955008
Even as a science fiction writer, I can see no good in promoting this series, right now, with racial tensions as they are. #noconfederate
— Thaddeus Howze is ‘The Answer-Man’ (@ebonstorm) July 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/Kittya_Cullen/status/891799578789523456
Many spoke about the pain Black Americans have endured in the centuries since slavery was abolished.
The pain of my ancestors shouldnt exist as entertainment for the white gaze. #NoConfederate
— 🍉 Black 🇭🇹 Aziz 🇳🇬 aNANsi 🍉 (@Freeyourmindkid) July 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/YoldineMeris/status/891827008535134208
https://twitter.com/StoryofEverest/status/891827888336637952
