Problematic Fave

Before there were flames on the side of Madeline Kahn's face in Clue, Peter Sellers was doing full-on yellowface in the Robert Moore's whodunit? Murder By Death -- and we talked to singer, dancer, actor, and RuPaul's Drag Race icon Peppermint all about it! Set up as a send up of the "old dark house" genre, the film had an incredible cast including the aforementioned Sellers i...

If anything, the biggest takeaway from this episode of Problematic Fave with stand-up comedian and writer Dylan Adler ( The Late Late Show with James Corden ) it's that Tai Lung, the villain in Kung Fu Panda , is giving masc top energy and is a queer icon. In this week's episode, we talk about the the 2008 animated feature starring Jack Black and Angelina Jolie and as delightful as it is,...

Greta Gerwig's Barbie starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and a small town of pretty actors has been unleashed into the wild and there is a lot to be discussed -- and what better people to discuss this with than with Black Barbie: A Documentary director Lagueria Davis and producer Aaliyah Williams , a pair that has been living, breathing everything Barbie since this documentary about Black Ba...

Join us this week as journalist and We're... Just Like That podcast co-host Shar Jossell takes us on a journey through the Queen Latifah-Steve Martin feature comedy Bringing Down The House from 2003. We explore the profound problems, humor and surprisingly insightful examination of the influence of hip hop on the dominant culture that this movie serves. And yes, there are a lot of racist momen...

In this different, BONUS episode of Problematic Fave, we bring you into the world of press conferences! Dino-Ray Ramos moderated a press conference for the forthcoming comedy Joy Ride directed by Adele Lim and written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao . They were joined at the official press conference by the movie's stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu as we...

There are a lot of problematic films and TV series in Hollywood, but what about the industry itself? In this week's episode Dino-Ray Ramos chats Maureen Ryan, journalist, critic and author of the book "Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood" which unpacks the toxicity of Hollywood. If you thought there were problematic people and systems in place in the f...

Flower Drum Song was a benchmark in the the Golden Age of Hollywood grandeur and musical beauty -- and it was very racist by 2023 standards. We unpacked this Ro with stand-up comedian, actress, activist, and blazer of all trails Margaret Cho ( Fire Island, Good Trouble, Hacks, Flight Attendant ). Cho and Dino-Ray Ramos talk at length about the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie 1961 musical based on th...

It's Pride! And what better way to dive into it than revisiting culturally relevant, trailblazing -- and traumatic -- movies about the LGBTQ+ community. This week we welcome artist, urban planner, activist, and host of the Fruta Fresca podcast, Jose Richard Aviles to talk about the film Boys Don't Cry directed by Kimberly Peirce and starring Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar for her portrayal...

To kick off Pride Month we have a treat for you: a BONUS LIVE EPISODE of Problematic Fave ! In this special episode, we travel to SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado where Problematic Fave host Dino-Ray Ramos moderated a special RuPaul's Drag Race conversation with local Denver drag queens Geo Conjure, Sexy Sadie, and Electra Dupri as well as Keith Garcia , artistic director of the Sie FilmCenter a...

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! What better way to celebrate than with the spectacular ladies from the Add To Cart podcast, journalist and MTV News pioneer SuChin Pak and writer and actress Kulap Vilaysack who was but a young ingenue when she was featured in the "A Benihana Christmas" episode of The Office -- which we dive DEEP into for this ep of Problematic Fave . Vilaysac...

To many, Revenge of the Nerds is an innocent cult classic underdog story from 1984 -- but it is kind of trash. Actually it's a lot of trash and we unpacked a lot of that garbage with film critic and podcast co-host of Unspooled Amy Nicholson ! It's amazing how this movie contained sooooo many problematic moments including a specific moment that is wildly offensive and would totally not fly...

I said BRRRR! It's cold in here! There must be a Problematic Fave in the atmosphere! We kick off season 2 of Problematic Fave with a live episode that was recorded at SXSW in March. We were more than happy to welcome actor Jojo T. Gibbs who chose to talk about the iconic cheerleading cinematic and very problematic masterpiece known as Bring It On ! You may recognize her from the series Twentie...

Howdy folks! Dino-Ray Ramos is back for SEASON 2 of PROBLEMATIC FAVE ! This season we will continue to explore film and TV series that we absolutely loved but now, they are are a little bit -- or a lotta bit problematic. We have a great lineup of guests this season and we will also be looking to the listeners to share their problematic faves. We want to hear from you! Email us at thisisdiaspora@gm...

I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is: it's Filipino American History Month! The bad news is: It's the end of the first season of Problematic Fave -- but don't fret! We have a wonderful guest to help wrap the first season: Loki, Easter Sunday, and Star Trek: Lower Decks actor and Filipino American ambassador of swag Eugene Cordero ( @eugcordero )!  To end our inaugural season...

In this week's episode, we really lean into the "problematic" of it all. I mean, we are leaning on it so much we are about to topple over. That said, we welcome screenwriter/producer Ken Cheng ( Easter Sunday, Wilfred) and Yo, is this Racist? podcast co-host and writer Andrew Ti ( mixed-ish , the upcoming That '90s Show ) as we have a spirited discussion about Manhattan . Yes, that Manhattan direc...

From Bros to My Policeman to The Inspection, Dino-Ray Ramos has watched a lot of films that include LGBTQ stories, characters, and narratives at its center. Some of them were good, some of them were bad, and more them were worse -- but many of the movies had some sort of queer trauma that was just so exhausting. Will we ever get to a point where a queer movie doesn't have to include a queer person...

The Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 8 to 18 and... our guest Valerie Complex ( Instagram , Twitter )  has thoughts. This week Dino-Ray Ramos and the Deadline journalist have a conversation about this year's TIFF and the ups and downs about that film festival life. From TIFF to Sundance to Venice to Telluride to Cannes to SXSW, they have been to many festivals and...

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the 74th Prime Time Emmy Awards! This year there was a lot of good (Sheryl Lee Ralph! Squid Game ! Zendaya! Jerrod Carmichael! Quinta Brunson! Lizzo!) and there was a lot of meh (everything else) so it makes it the perfect topic for Dino to rant about for 15 minutes. 

The 1991 ensemble comedy Soapdish is a masterpiece. In fact, it is one of comedian and actress Cristela Alonzo 's ( Twitter , Instagram ) favorite movie. I mean, it has an ALL STAR CAST that includes Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey, Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Carrie Fisher, Teri Hatcher, Cathy Moriarty, Garry Marshall, Kathy Najimy -- this cast was STACKED. The movie is very hyp...

There are two shows that aren't getting enough attention are two very dope-ass shows Mo on Netflix and This Fool on Hulu. Dino-Ray spends this minisode scolding everyone who have yet to watch both.

Stupid is as a stupid does indeed. This week we welcome journalist Kristen Lopez (Instagram: @kristenlopez88 ; Twitter: @Journeys_Film ) to the pod and we talk about the Oscar-winning 1994 Robert Zemeckis Forrest Gump starring Hollywood Bosom Buddies icon Tom Hanks and in case you haven't watched it lately, it has some problems. From the portrayal of people with disabilities to whether or not Forr...

Remakes, reboots, revivals and reimagining of films and TV series are great -- but a new "reimagining" of The Wizard of Oz ? It feels a little... much. Whether you want it or not, black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Warner Bros. are creating a newly framed story of Dorothy and her little dog, too. What are your thoughts? Let us know via Twitter or Instagram . You can also email us at thisisdiaspora...

I don't remember Falling Down being this racist. Rutherford Falls co-creator Sierra Teller Ornelas ( Twitter and Instagram ) and Dino-Ray talked about the Joel Schumacher drama starring Michael Douglas and we went on one helluva journey unpacking this film about a white man who has a bad day in L.A. We talk about Ornelas's love for Robert Duvall, the great POC character actors in this film and we...

In this first "Problematic Fave" minisode, I ask the question: Is Franck Eggelhoffer (played by the iconic Martin Short) from The Father of the Bride racist? Or maybe even a bad stereotype? Listen to the short episode and tell us your opinion via Twitter ( @realdiaspora ) or email us at thisisdiaspora@gmail.com.

Claudia Forestieri (Twitter: @PlanetClaudia ; Instagram: @claudiforest ) and Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz (@brigliebs on Twitter and Instagram ) of the HBO Max series Gordita Chronicles which is cut from the same cloth as this week's film: Sixteen Candles ! Well, it's similar because it's a coming-of-age comedy but it definitely isn't as problematic. As much as the world celebrates John Hughes's direc...