Is Modern Love only for white women?

Zora

"Not one woman of color was a love interest" on Season 1 of the Amazon anthology series, says Nylah Burton. "Instead, they fulfilled support roles for White women and men of color. If one were to take Modern Love’s word for it, women of color in New York City don’t experience romance or desire. They’re merely therapists, domestic workers, and ever-patient maternal friends. The exclusion of women of color in this series is so blatant that it can only be intentional. Even in the intro, old black-and-white pictures of happy lovers are contrasted with vibrant, colorful, modern-day snapshots of romance. Plenty of Black women, with their elegant midcentury hairdos and wide smiles, are featured in the old pictures. But in the present-day pictures, Black women are nowhere to be found. One can imagine them waiting patiently outside the frame, facilitating love for others but understanding that they themselves have no place in this brave new world."

ALSO:

• Anne Hathaway's Modern Love episode is the perfect example of the empathy machine: 'It’s one of several recent television shows that has the central character’s psychology as its lens," says Allison Shoemaker, "looking at the world, allowing their mental health, coping mechanisms, or emotional landscape in general to dictate the way the story is told."
• Ranking all eight Modern Love episodes from worst to best