BTG: July 2025 Discussion Thread

[ranger1rg]

I agree with this. Kat is a well-written character and Colby Muhammad does a great job with the role. She gets less attention than Ambyr Michelle as Eva and is often ignored as someone doing a really good job.

[Broderick]

I've got no problem with how June is presented.  

Most of us who are online have probably run across that (exploitive) Soft White Underbelly, where Mark Laita interviews various individuals he's met in homeless encampments in LA's Skid Row.  

Probably the most "famous" of his subjects is that boy Ismail Seoudi who calls himself "Rebecca".  It's a case of gender confusion meets body dysmorphia meets drug addiction meets mental illness meets homelessness.  How long has that "saga" been going on?  Two or three years?  "Rebecca" pops in, makes perfect sense, carries on thoughtful, intelligent conversations, Mark buys him a phone to stay in touch, provides him a motel room, arranges an appointment with a therapist, and sets up a meeting with an immigration attorney to make sure "Rebecca" isn't detained by ICE.  "Rebecca" sells the telephone, abandons the motel room, skips the appointments with the therapist, skips the appointment with the immigration worker, and vanishes into thin air.  A month later, he reappears, stoned out of his mind, claims he went to a party in West Hollywood, was sexually assaulted, then was hospitalized for a drug overdose. But he wants to change, so Mark buys him a phone to stay in touch, puts him in a motel room, and the whole bizarre disappearing act starts again.  

Obviously there all kinds of homeless people in the world.  Some are nice folks who lost their house, some are mentally ill, some are drug addicts.  Some are a combination of all the above, plus more.

To me the "stereotype" is what we usually see on TV -- the person voluntarily meets with a therapist a few times & gets "cured" in an hour.  Or kicks drug addiction during a commercial break. 

June seems to be an amalgamation of SEVERAL of the interesting & unusual personalities we've seen on Soft White Underbelly.  I just hope the show doesn't go the tired, trite route of having a "savior" pop in and "cure" her of whatever is wrong with her in a few episodes.  I'd rather see a more "real-life" step forward/step backward trajectory for her.   

[Tisy-Lish]

Broderick, your comments are insightful and enlightening.  Thank you for posting.  I know nothing of Soft White Underbelly.  It is a podcast? A cable show?  

Maybe the problem is not an issue with the writing for June, but a problem with the people that surround June.  Specifically Naomi and Jacob.  Whenever either is in a scene with June, they seem so naive and stupefied -- frankly they are no smarter than me and the rest of the  audience.  If both characters were a bit more expert in working with homeless individuals (which would not be unrealistic, considering their professions), their dialogue could provide some exposition that could educate the viewers.

I agree with you -- we don't need a savior to come in and cure June. I'd love to see a realistic homeless person portrayed on daytime.  But I do believe the writers need to decide what June's issues are, and then demonstrate them on-screen.  I guess I'm suggesting the writing for a character like June, and the characters that surround her, needs to be deliberate.  Otherwise "average" viewers like me, will just assume she's a stereotype.  But you have helped me to recognize that perhaps she is not.  So thank you again.  

 

Edited July 26 by Tisy-Lish

[All My Shadows]

Super unpopular opinion, but I’ve never gotten the hype around Ambyr Michelle. Eva comes across very flat.

[Contessa Donatella]

I join you in this Minority Rapport. 

[alwaysAMC]

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 I almost always agree with everything you say (you're a smart guy btw!), but not one this one haha  Did you see the fallout of the 'Ted is the father' story? She was so good and showed quite a bit of range as she went through her emotions. She's definitely the best younger actor on the show, IMO.

[alwaysAMC]

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[Contessa Donatella]

OH NO. I did not mean to dismay you so. It's not that I don't find her adequate, I do. But no more than that. 

[Broderick]

It's a popular (and controversial) You Tube channel, and I don't wanna "plug" it here in this thread, because I find it exploitive as hell.  Harsher critics refer to it as "poverty pornography", because all of the subjects interviewed are marginalized members of society (like June). 

Mark Laita isn't a social worker or a therapist.  He's a photographer.  About 20 years ago, he photographed many individuals who were homeless in Chicago.  He interviewed each of them to discover their "voice" --- who their families were, how long they'd lived on the street, what their aspirations & goals were.  The result was a coffee table book called Created Equal.  

Years later, he moved to Los Angeles and established a studio on Skid Row.  He pays some amount of money ($100, I think) to anyone who'd like to be interviewed.  His channel effectively becomes "continuing drama", because many of the subjects return for additional interviews, offering the viewer deeper insights into their unique situation.  During the interviews, Mark comes across as naive & stupid as Naomi & Jacob, because he's a photographer, with no professional training in dealing with their often harrowing situations.

I couldn't believe when June appeared on BTG, because she's so similar to many of the individuals he's interviewed on SWU.  June is quirky as hell, as are most of his subjects. (Some of them even bring him "gifts", like June's toy money.) 

If the writers on BTG have created a genuine character profile for June, it'll likely be the first time a daytime soap has been brave enough to dive into something that potentially complex and off-beat.  (If it's handled with a quick therapy session, it'll be horrible, because that ain't the way it works with the real-life individuals who've offered their stories on SWU.)

[alwaysAMC]

Hahaha all good - just surprised   

[ranger1rg]

I think she's excellent in the role, but I think Colby Muhammad is just as good playing Kat. I don't see this huge gap in talent between them that others see.

It's not that CM is criticized, but that she's almost ignored because AM is mentioned so often.

[Soaplovers]

Naomi and Jacob have savior complexes... which is what I think you're seeing when you see them interact with June.  

Nicole in her solo interaction with June seemed better able to read June and I wish that we could see June utilize Nicole's services.

[Tisy-Lish]

Well they both certainly behave like "deer in the headlights", which it not helpful to June or to  the viewers.   

[melanatedbtgfan]

I know soap operas are over the top but this toned down version of the scene was so great.

[Antoyne]

Finally watching yesterday’s episode. F.UUUUUUCK TOMAS. He’s a gaslighting ass.hole and doesn’t deserve either woman. I wish he were played by a stronger actor

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