Meet Chris Moore

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Moore. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chris, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

This is one I’ve been both lucky and unlucky enough to experience growing up. I lived in Wisconsin for a while as a kid, and even though it was more diverse than you’d think, there were a lot of times I was the only minority around. The block we lived on was super tight knit where everybody knew each other, block parties, open doors on every porch, etc. I was the only Black kid around, but was never treated any different. I never even thought about it until I lived in places like Baltimore and D.C., where the minority presence was a lot stronger. But growing up in that kind of environment as a kid who didn’t know any better, it normalized being “the only one who looks like me.” I’ve been in writer’s rooms where I was the only minority, and I noticed it, sure. But because of how I spent all that time as a kid, it was never out of my comfort zone.

I also spent part of my youth in Accra, Ghana, where I went to a school that was a mix of kids from different African nations. The similarity to Wisconsin was that I was the only American, and definitely the only Black American. That sounds like a better situation, but there’s a tricky relationship between Africans and Black Americans that ironically stems from the idea of racial purity, which we think of as an American thing here. In the States, you might be too black. In Africa, I wasn’t black enough! I got in more fights and arguments over how I looked in Ghana than I ever did in the U.S. But in time, even the kids I’d been fighting I became friends with. Just a reminder that superficial differences are just that, and can be overcome given time and reason.

But again, having that experience to draw on, being the only one who looked like me even in a country where everyone else was technically Black, developed that same callus that started growing in the States.

There’s a better chance that, in a room where I’m the only one who looks like me, it’ll be others who are uncomfortable. One of the worst things you can have in a writer’s room is people being uncomfortable. It stops them from being the version of themself that got hired. It stifles creativity. It makes them less sharp, less willing to engage. If you are the only one who looks like you, for the sake of whatever product you’re creating, it can help to make clear that you aren’t uncomfortable, so everyone can just get to work making the best product while being the best version of themselves.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Creating TV is special because it lets us do professionally what people have loved to do for free for thousands of years. Storytelling is one of the foundational pillars of who we are. You go to a party, somebody’s gripping the room with a funny story. You go to bed, you turn on the kindle wanting to read a few pages before snoozing off, and next thing you know it’s an hour before your alarm goes off. You meet someone who’s traveled, you want to hear the stories they picked up along the way.

In the TV industry, we get to create worlds and invent characters. We get to leave our house or office every day and go wherever we want. We get to exercise our ego and vanities through the mouths of people who don’t exist, and say things we wouldn’t have the courage or context to say in real life. And not only do we get paid for it, we get the validation of an audience watching and (sometimes) enjoying or even being moved by it. And through them, these stories and characters that originated in our heads get to live on forever. It’s easy to start really feeling yourself if you aren’t careful. Then again, nothing’s more humbling than strikes every 2 weeks and work stoppages. But if the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, we’d be drinking Sprite.

There are much more important jobs in the world. We shouldn’t forget what we do is more of a luxury. But the list of how many other jobs are more fulfilling would be a lot shorter.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Self-belief and perseverance are the traits you have to have in any pursuit, but especially in an industry that can be as volatile as Entertainment. The great thing about the creative industry is that no matter how long you’ve been at it or how many setbacks you had, you’re always one day and one decision away from the dream that led you there.

Also, as important as it is to be aggressive and persistent with those who can help you, there’s tact in knowing when not to push too hard either. No one wants to be thought of as a mealticket, and if you’re too one-track in how you communicate, it can get counter-productive real quick. Instead of always talking business, try to be well-rounded and interesting. Funny and thoughtful. Be someone who isn’t just pushing for a job, but who they’d see value in being around and having around. Both value to their work, and to the culture of the space they live in.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Calvin and Hobbes lived rent-free in my house when I was a kid, and those books had as many nuggets as any grown up one. One I always remember was “We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take the time to enjoy where we are.”

In entertainment, you always have to be thinking about what’s next. Often you’re working on the next thing while you’re still in the thing you’re currently in. It takes up headspace and a lot of your attention goes into planning the future. I try to live by Calvin’s chaotic wisdom and drink in the dope moments of the present like a Capri-Sun on a hot day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etherealdr3am/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5728969