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With This Ring

Name: With This Ring
Director: Nzingha Stewart
Released: 2015
Duration: 105 min

2015

TV-PG

Director

Nzingha Stewart

Runtime

105 minutes

Average Rating

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Synopsis

After attending their friend Elise's wedding to Nate on New Year's Eve, Trista, a career-driven talent agent, Viviane, a successful gossip columnist, and Amaya, a struggling actress, make a pact to get married within the year to either a new love or a man waiting in the wings. But the close friends face their own set of challenges - Trista has not gotten over her commitment-phobic ex-boyfriend Damon, Viviane is secretly in love with Sean, the father of her son, and Amaya is desperate to break up her boyfriend Keith's unhappy marriage so they can live happily ever after. Each woman starts the year with high hopes and dreams of what will happen over the next 12 months... but will they all make it to the altar?

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

5.6/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The story focuses on heteronormative romantic pursuits and traditional marriage. There is no explicit evidence of non-cisnormative identities or critiques of heteronormativity within the narrative.

Gender Representation

Good

The film centers on female agency and professional success. The protagonists are depicted as career-driven and intellectually autonomous, driving the plot through their own decisions and pacts.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Excellent

The film features a predominantly Black cast in a contemporary urban setting. By centering Black women's lives, it challenges the tendency to treat white experiences as the genre default.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

The narrative adheres to traditional Western social structures and the institution of marriage. It explores modern relationship complexities without actively critiquing established social or capitalist frameworks.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There is no visible or documented representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the character descriptions or plot.

Strengths

Strong centering of Black female agency and professional success.
Subverts the historical Hollywood tendency to treat white experiences as the default.
Portrays women as intellectually autonomous and career-driven protagonists.

Areas for Improvement

Lack of representation for LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisnormative perspectives.
Heavy reliance on heteronormative romantic tropes and traditional marriage milestones.
Absence of characters representing physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

AI Analysis

With This Ring succeeds in subverting the 'white-default' often found in romantic comedies by centering the professional and romantic lives of Black women. The film provides significant agency to its female leads, portraying them as successful, career-oriented individuals rather than passive characters. However, the film remains tethered to conventional romantic tropes and heteronormative structures. The plot is heavily driven by the pursuit of traditional marriage and domestic stability, which limits its exploration of diverse relationship models. Ultimately, while the film excels in racial representation and female empowerment, its adherence to traditional social milestones prevents a higher overall diversity score.

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