[Everyone and their brother feels free to come at Black women with
all guns blazing, spewing venom on social media as much as possible,
and we are supposed just to sit and “swing low sweet chariot, we
shall overcome, praise Black Jesus, take the high road,” in
response. Rarely do we get to see Black women articulate rage.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

TV REVIEW: PRIME VIDEO’S ‘SWARM’ BLACK FEMALE RAGE AS CATHARSIS
 
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Jeanine T. Abraham
March 15, 2023
Medium
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_ Everyone and their brother feels free to come at Black women with
all guns blazing, spewing venom on social media as much as possible,
and we are supposed just to sit and “swing low sweet chariot, we
shall overcome, praise Black Jesus, take the high road,” in
response. Rarely do we get to see Black women articulate rage. _

,

 

_Swarm_ is like nothing I’ve seen on TV in all the best ways.
Co-Creators and executive producers Janine Nabers (_Watchmen_) and
Donald Glover (_Atlanta_) have crafted a jaw-dropping series that
centers Dre (Dominique Fishback, _Judas, and the Black Messiah_), a
zealot of “Ni’Jah, the world’s biggest pop star” who
inadvertently ends up on a cross country road trip. I’ve seen all
seven episodes, and I gotta tell you, this series is stellar. Y’all
have got to sit down with your full attention and experience the
satirical genius that is _Swarm_.

I love that we are returning to an era in TV where the road trip genre
is back. I’ve enjoyed season one of Rian
Johnson’s _Pokerface_ on Peacock with its hint at a female version
of _Columbo_ vibe as the main character Charlie (Natasha
Lyonne, _Orange is the New Black_) travels around the country
inadvertently solving crimes with a revolving guest starring cast. As
a road trip TV series, _Swarm _is giving a unique look at diverse
communities in America through the lens of Dre, a nerdy Black girl who
doesn’t quite fit in. Nabers and Glover’s storytelling style is
the kind that rocks my world. If you loved the last two seasons
of _Atlanta_, you will go nuts over Swarm. The writing team takes
satire to a new level of brilliance.

Number one Fan

As Dre, Dominique Fishback is a force of nature. The beauty of every
role she embodies is her groundedness in truth. Fishback’s breakout
role in a TV series was playing Donna, a sex worker in HBO’s _The
Deuce_. She stood out in that role because of the authenticity she
brought to that role. Dominique Fishback isn’t afraid to hold back.
Then she turned around, played Black Panther Deborah Johnson
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and the Black Messiah_, and was nominated for a BAFTA award. In
whatever role she takes, she invests 100 percent. Before taking TV and
Film by storm Fishback wrote, produced and played over 20 characters
in her solo show _Subverted: A One Woman Show._

I love complex characters, and Dre is VERY complex. Dre is a super
fan, a young Black woman, a best friend, a roommate trying to make
rent, a retail worker, and she is a woman people take for granted and
think they can manipulate. All kinds of people can relate to what Dre
goes through, and many of us have wanted to take the actions Dre
inadvertently takes but would never dare to. It’s always fun to
watch characters who just go there. The special spice of Dre is that
she is invisible until someone wants something from her, or until they
cross Ni’Jah [[link removed]].

The music is excellent; costumes, editing, and sound were perfectly
utilized to build suspense, I never knew what would happen next, and
it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

In the virtual world, Black women are enormous targets for criticism
at every level, and online trolls never have a problem trying to
demean, belittle, and criticize Black women.

Everyone and their brother feels free to come at Black women with all
guns blazing, spewing venom on social media as much as possible, and
we are supposed just to sit and “swing low sweet chariot, we shall
overcome, praise Black Jesus, take the high road,” in response.
Rarely do we get to see Black women articulate rage. The last time I
got to experience this kind of freedom and catharsis on screen was
when I saw _God’s Country_
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year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Western culture is much more comfortable with Black women as trauma
porn, snot crying our way through family members getting shot by the
police, or being the best friend or romantic partner to some non-Black
character who dies in the beginning of the film and is the catalyst
for the non-Black character’s redemption.

_Swarm_ is the kind of show that will compel you to watch several
times to see did she just do that? _Swarm_ gives us a nuanced look
at super fandom and so much more.

5 out of 5 stars.

Stay Safe.

J9

Thanks for reading. I am an Entertainment Journalist, Film & TV
Critic, VisAbleBlackwoman Podcast host, Contributor Black Girl Nerds.

CLICK HERE  [[link removed]]to read my
articles and interviews with actors, and industry folk on Black Girl
Nerds.

CLICK HERE 
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listen to VisAbleBlackwoman the Podcast.

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