By Jena Lynde-Smith
Ian Keteku, a graduate of Carleton’s Master of Journalism program, directed two episodes of the new CBC Gem series, Revenge of the Black Best Friend.
The six-part series follows a self-help guru whose singular mission is to cancel the entertainment industry’s reliance on token Black characters. The show was created by CBC’s Amanda Parris and released on Mar. 31. Keteku said he was honored to be a part of the project.
“Amanda is a trailblazer in the fields of art and film in Canada and the opportunity to work alongside her and other industry luminaries was an honour I couldn’t pass on. It was great to work with a crew and cast of primarily Black and people and colour,” he said.
Keteku is an internationally acclaimed writer, multimedia artist and the 2010 World Poetry Slam champion. He’s created works for TVO, HBO, CBC and Sesame Street. His debut book of poetry Black Abacus was published in 2019. Keteku graduated from Carleton’s Master of Journalism program in 2021.
“I feel there’s a great deal in common between directing and journalism. The skills I learnt at Carleton about engagement and storytelling have supported me in all my artistic endeavours,” Keteku said.
Keteku said that the issues addressed in Revenge of the Black Best Friend are difficulties he’s run into himself.
“Blackness in the entertainment industry and tokenization are themes that Black artists and creators like myself struggle with constantly,” Keteku said. “To be able to work on a show that addresses these issues in a comedic way was both insightful and therapeutic for me.”
Carleton’s Carty Chair in Journalism, Diversity and Inclusion Studies, journalism professor Nana aba Duncan, moderated the show’s premiere on Mar. 28 at Toronto’s Paradise Theatre. Duncan was a colleague of Parris when she worked at the CBC. Duncan said she thought the series was funny and that it hit on many stereotypes.
“It’s basically a revenge fantasy about the stereotypes Black actors end up playing,” Duncan said. “Like, being a sassy Black friend, and how the Black person in a horror film usually is the first to die. Something that I don’t know personally but I have heard about is Black actors finding their parts getting shorter and shorter. You do all this work and then suddenly your part is cut out or your lines get less and less.”
“I thought it was a really smart way to talk about a very serious issue in the media industry.”
Nana aba Duncan and Amanda Parris
Both Duncan and Keteku are linked to Toronto’s film industry, but their worlds had actually collided before. In August of last year, Duncan was part of the board that reviewed Keteku’s master’s research project.
“When we were telling him that he got his degree, I was able to tell him that he did well in our shared language. So, I told him congratulations in Twi, that was beautiful for me,” she said.
Twi is one of the official languages in Ghana.
Duncan expressed her excitement when she saw Keteku on the list of directors.
“In school, I just thought he was a talent. I thought he was good, I really did. And then when Amanda sent the listing of the different directors… I was just so pleased to see what else he was doing. I think it’s very obvious that he’s very creative and very skilled. I am really happy for him,” Duncan said.
Revenge of the Black Best Friend is now available to stream on CBC Gem. It is also in the running for the CANNESERIES Short Form Competition.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 in General, Journalism News
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