Guardian - 19 January 2018, 18:57 (+ 2298 days 6 hours and 51 minutes) Movies & TV
A feel-good narrative sits somewhat awkwardly alongside a topical yet disappointingly tepid story of race on campus Before it was even released, there was swift pushback to the Netflix acquisition Step Sisters. Despite a formidable production team behind it that includes Dear White People writer Chuck Hayward and Master of None’s Lena Waithe, the premise struck the Twitter commentariat as trite and conservative: Jamilah, a college senior hoping to gain admission to Harvard Law School, is asked by a professor to rehabilitate a group of disgraced white sorority sisters by teaching them how to step, a style of percussive dance that has its roots in African foot dancing and black sorority life. If she can pull it off, and impart upon them lessons of unity and sisterhood, the sorority will be readmitted to campus (they were punished because a sister was caught having sex on school grounds) and Jamilah will get a coveted recommendation letter to Harvard. Related: Master of None's Lena Waithe: 'If you come from a poor background, TV becomes what you dream about' Continue reading...