• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Entertainment

In ‘Dirty Computer,’ Janelle Monae Makes It Clear That She Is Sexually Liberated

Janelle Monae Dirty Computer Film Review
Dirty Computer
By Cori Murray · Updated October 24, 2020
“My name is Jane57821. I’m a dirty a computer.” Those are the first words spoken in Janelle Monae’s emotion picture Dirty Computer. Jane’s a sexually liberated, carefree Black girl in the not too distant future, where cars hover and drones monitor citizens every move. Dirty Computer opens with Jane being prepped for deprogramming in a massive laboratory. She’s complying as an ominous computer tech begins removing her memories but then until she’s asked to repeat “I am ready to be cleaned.” Jane does not compute. Her mind’s still free. Monae’s opus reflects Jane living her best life: She meets and falls in love with Zen (played by real-life bestie Tessa Thompson) while happily tethered to Ché (played by Jayson Aaron). Her and Zen’s love endures even though their circle are monitored, harassed and arrested for simply living while Black. Dirty Computer is told through a series of carefully curated videos from Monae’s newly released album of the same title. From the previously released “PYNK” and “Make Me Feel” to the premiere of videos for “Crazy, Classic, Life” (directed by Alan Ferguson) and “Screwed” (directed by Emma Westenberg). Each video could easily live on its own but strung together as a 48-minute-film, Monae’s messaging is clear: To fully live one must have freedom of love, expression and self.
After Dirty Computer’s New York premiere at the Walter Reade Theater, Monae told audiences she and her longtime Wondaland partners Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder, along with Ferguson, collaborated in a hotel room for hours (only breaking their creative flow with runs to Target for large Post-Its). But for the celebrated artist and actress, the idea has always been with her. “With Dirty Computer, it was an album I knew I need to write before The ArchAndroid, but I needed to live. I needed to have conversations with myself,” Monae says. While Dirty Computer feels personal – Monae recently revealed to Rolling Stone she’s “a Black queer woman in America” and identifies with pansexuality – the film also reflects Monae’s frustrations with what’s happening politically.
“When the color of your skin can get you escorted out of a Starbucks for having a business meeting, or you can be in your own backyard and the police officer mistakes your phone for a gun and you’re murdered, [or you’re] Rykia Boyd… I can name so many people,” says Monae. “Strip away me being an artist, I’m still a young African America woman. It was difficult for me to channel all the emotions I’ve been feeling about how we’ve been treated.” Monae continues: “The most important thing for me was to articulate it in a way that people would understand my position. How do I articulate it in a way we feel celebrated, we feel bold and feel empowered. And that we don’t stay angry, [that we can] do something about it. I wanted to do something that’s rooted in love. I do believe for any revolution to start, love has to be at the center of it. If we’re listening just to respond, I don’t think we’ll get anywhere. If we’re listening to understand, through understanding there’s empathy. Through empathy, we can lead to love. That’s what I really wanted to do with this project.” However it’s received as far as streams and views, Dirty Computer arrives when Monae’s at her best. As she says on ESSENCE’s Yes, Girl podcast: “I’m just happy to be a Black woman creating art. And expressing myself as free as I want to. As freely as I want to. And not feeling the pressure to be anything other than where I am right now. I consider myself a free-ass motherf***er.” The short film Dirty Computer is available on YouTube; it was produced by Monae, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning with additional videos by Alan Ferguson, Emma Westenberg and Lacey Duke.
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now