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There are sporting legends, and then there is Serena Williams. The tennis genius pioneered a whole generation of women of color to defy stereotypes and create history in the sport along with her sister Venus Williams. The winner of a staggering 23 Grand Slams, the athlete’s life is an inspiring movie script in itself.
While Williams’ journey has been touched upon in films likeKing Richard, she is now front and center in her own inspiring story which is being told through a documentary series titledIn The Arena: Serena Williams. The show’s cinematographer Ayana Baraka, who was responsible for visualizing the tennis player in her natural space, elaborated on a disturbing visual aspect that puts Black women at a disadvantage.
The Serena Williams Documentary Brought An Uncomfortable Reality To The Fore
Every sporting fan around the world would want to know the secret sauce behind the meteoric rise and success of one of the greatest tennis players in the world,Serena Williams. Having to combat many obstacles along with being a woman of color, the GOAT ensured that she brushed aside every challenge to conquer the sport.
Expectedly, her life story, which is a standing example of grit and determination, deserves to be told. This is exactly what the documentary series titledIn the Arena: Serena Williamsaims to do. The show which premiered on ESPN on the 16th of July, has currently completed its 3rd episode.
The series focuses on Williams’ journey to the top through the eyes of her family, friends, and tennis opponents who have witnessed her amazing growth as a sportsperson. Cinematographer Ayana Baraka was entrusted with the responsibility of visualizing this narrative for the series.
Baraka, who is one of only six Black female Directors of Photography in the IATSE Local 600, is also a pioneer of sorts, and was believed to be the perfect candidate to envision Williams’ life story. The technician though, was well aware of the problematic areas that affected women of color in her field of expertise.
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In an interview withIndie Wire,Baraka pointed out the difficulties of creating artificial lighting for darker skin tones as opposed to fairer palettes. She elaborated on the harsh truth about how even so-called advanced technology still heavily favored white skin to the extent that it applied these markers to Black people. This galvanized her to ensure that her protagonist’s cultural identity cannot be compromised in any way.
There’s a tendency to over-light [people of color]. Serena has those pinkish undertones we definitely needed to bring out. Lighting and cameras aren’t made for people of color. They were created for other folks and that’s fine, but we need to do more work to make sure that the image that we’re creating is a true, authentic, beautiful image.
Through extensive research, many trials using various lighting props, and a lot of test runs, Baraka was able to achieve her goal. But the fact remains that there is still a long way to go before even technology strips itself of bias.
Fake Tennis Balls Didn’t Stop Serena Williams From Praising Zendaya’s Performance inChallengers
Fans of Serena Williams will know that the tennis genius has many other interests apart from the sport. Along with a keen interest in fashion, the athlete is also known to be a film buff, and has even tried her hand in acting through various cameo appearances in films and series. Audiences enjoyed watching her play herself in 2022’sGlass Onion: A. Knives Out Mystery.
Naturally, a film about tennis would be right up the celebrity’s alley. Williams, along with her sister Venus watched Zendaya’sChallengers, a narrative that follows a former tennis great who tries to make her mediocre husband into a champion.
In an interview withET,theDuneactor revealed the response she got from Williams about her role in the film. As expected, the tennis player immediately caught on to the fact that she did not hit an actual tennis ball in the whole film, whichZendayaadmitted, would have been a no-brainer for her.
But this did not stop the GOAT from loving the actor’s performance, especially considering that she had never taken up the sport in any form prior to the film.The Greatest Showmanstar was grateful for the praise and stated,
She was like, ‘I know there definitely weren’t real [tennis] balls.’ She knows. She’s the best of the best. She did say that it was great considering that I had never, never touched a tennis ball before.
While Zendaya has received positive reports from one sister, she needed more validation. TheSpider-Man: No Way Homestar confessed that she was keen to hear Venus Williams’ opinions about her as well.
So I’m very nervous ’cause I know Serena has seen the movie but I’m very nervous about [Venus] seeing my tennis.
In a wonderful tribute, the talented star honored both champion siblings through a photoshoot withVogue Magazine. TheMalcolm & Marieactress incorporated the distinct Williams hairstyle with white beads which they wore during their first shoot forVogue.
In The Arena: Serena Williamsis available to watch on ESPN.
Sharanya Sankar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :1230
Sharanya Sankar, Writer for FandomwireHaving completed her Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Sharanya has a solid foundation in writing which is also one of her passions. She has worked previously with Book My show for a couple of years where she gained experience reviewing films and writing feature articles. Sharanya’s articles on film and pop culture have also been published on Film Companion, a popular film-based website. Apart from movies and pop culture, her interests include music and sports. She has contributed over 650 articles to Fandomwire so far.
