Amazon’s new series Them by producer Lena Waithe slammed as ‘twisted trauma porn’ over racist violence

AMAZON'S new series Them by producer Lena Waithe has been slammed as twisted "trauma porn" over its brutal depictions of racist violence.

The horror show has been accused of appealing to "hate crime fantasies", with some even saying they "though a white person wrote it".

Them tells the story of the Emory family, who move to an all-white neighborhood in Compton, Los Angeles, during the Great Migration of the 1950s to escape the Jim Crow South.

It was created by Lena Waithe along with screenwriter Little Marvin, and shows the family experiencing both supernatural horror and racism at the hands of their new neighbors.

However, its unflinching brutality – which even includes a scene where a baby is murdered as his mom is raped – has left some critics and fans questioning whether the show has gone too far.

Little Marvin has defended the depictions of violence, saying it shows "authenticity" about what black people experienced during in a segregated America.

Others also questioned whether the show may be taking too much inspiration from Jordan Peele's horror films Us and Get Out.

Both depict similar themes but portrayed in the modern day, and one even uses one of the same actors -Shahadi Wright Joseph.

Numerous critics have slated the show's use of violence, with an editorial in the LA Times noting: "[It] raises questions about whether the depiction of white supremacist savagery goes too far."

And a review by iNews has the writer saying she had to walk away from the television, saying the story is "trauma porn in a horror guise".

"The racial symbolism feels far too crude, and a smattering of N-words and blackface are used as cheap shock value rather than to make genuine social commentary," noted another editorial in The Independent.

However, other reviews have been positive – with a four star article in The Guardian hailing it as a show that "perfectly captures the menacing side of American suburbia".

Waithe has previously worked on projects such as Dear White People and The 40-year-old version, starred and wrote for Master of None, and acted in Westworld.

Others viewers argued those who criticized the violence were "missing the point" and said if its making white people "uncomfortable" that "you know its good".

However, one angry viewer wrote: "I've been a horror super fan for over 30 years. Lena Waithe's 'Them' is the cheapest kind of horror.

"It's propaganda for white terrorists and torture porn fetishists. There is a huge difference between fear and disgust. The show is disgusting."

Another added: "I think lena waithe should review 'them' and try to decipher who her target audience was.

"who exactly was she making this series for? honestly, when i saw the trailers for it and read about the series, i thought a white person wrote it. do NOT watch 'them'."

Others said "no way Lena presented this story to an actual living breathing black person and got the green light" and "too often people treat a piece of work as profound because black people are being victimized".

Little Marvin defended his work and said the aim was not to be "provocative or hot button".

He told LA Times: "Yes, there is a concern, but at the end of the day, I as an artist have to sit with myself and grapple with the authenticity of the show.

"If I can sleep at night knowing this entire enterprise has an authenticity and integrity to it, then I'm good."

He said he wanted to ask two questions, "what terrified us the most and what felt most true. Typically, those two things were the same".

And he says the violent show as a place in the "scary place" that is 2021.

He said: "We're incredibly fractured and split down the middle.

"There are people who want to take the country back to a time they consider great, and there are folks who are fighting for progress."

The US continues to face a reckoning over racism, laid bare with a string of protests and riots last summer over the killing of George Floyd and other black people by police officers.

White supremacy and far right extremism also is on the rise, with President Joe Biden calling for funding to probe the beliefs within government agencies.

Little Marvin said recent violence against black people inspired Them.

He said: "My inspiration was waking up every day and seeing cellphone videos of black people being terrorized in some ways, either by threats from police, surveillance or something else."

He added: "That history goes all the way back to the founding of our country. I was also thinking about the American Dream.

"There's nothing more emblematic of that than owning one's home. 

"There's great pride in that, particularly for black people. But as you know, it's been anything but a dream.

"It's been a nightmare for Black folks."

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