Latest news with #ThePayback
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Messy L.A. millennial plots deliverance from her student loan debt in ‘The Payback'
There are a frightening number of ways an American can become indebted today: there's medical debt (I won't be paying off my child's birth until he's nearly 5 years old, and I have insurance). Mortgages, of course (though as a millennial living in an expensive city, I wouldn't know what those look like). And then there's student loan debt carried by nearly 43 million Americans, and which disproportionately affects Black women. But hey, at least one good thing has come of that, as TV writer and novelist Kashana Cauley graciously acknowledges in her new book, 'The Payback': 'To the student loan industry,' reads her dedication, 'whose threatening phone calls made this book possible.' Narrated by Jada Williams, a wardrobe designer turned retail salesperson, 'The Payback' is full of such you-gotta-laugh-to-keep-from-crying humor. The book opens at Phoenix, the clothing store at the Glendale mall where Jada now works, and includes a hilarious yet mostly sincere appreciation for the beleaguered centers of suburban America: 'I loved mall smell,' Jada narrates, waxing poetic about the scents of the bins at the candy store and the ever-present pizza smell before admitting that she sometimes even leans down to smell the plastic kiddie ride horses. 'Sometimes, when there were no kids, I'd lean into the horse and sniff it to get a whiff of plastic, childhood dreams, and dried piss. Yes, I know, nobody's supposed to savor the aroma of pee, and I wouldn't rank it first among the smells of the world, but pee is life. It's humanity. It's the mall.' Jada loves the mall, and she even loves her job, which is not a given for anyone who's lost their dream career like she did. She's passionate about helping people find the clothes that look and make them feel good, even if she's doing that for 20% commission. She's definitely gotten over her sticky fingers habit, too, except that, well, on the day the book opens, someone leaves an expensive watch in the fitting room, and Jada can't help but pocket it. This eventually leads to her getting fired, but not before the boss she likes, Richard, dies on the store's floor and Jada and her co-workers get to witness the newly formed debt police in action chasing and beating up Richard's grieving widower during his wake. The debt police are exactly what they sound like: cops who come after people in debt. Cauley, a former writer for 'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah' who has contributed to the New Yorker, has fun with this concept: she dresses them up in turquoise and makes them all obnoxiously hot and as annoying as the worst Angeleno cliché you can think of (they're especially obsessed with overpriced new age treatments and diet culture). The cherry on top is their true apathetic evil. 'These Leo moon incidents are always the worst,' a debt policeman says, for example, while literally beating Jada up. Six months after she's fired, Jada is making money by 'eating food on camera in the hope that internet people, mostly guys, according to their screen names and Cash App handles, would pay [her] rent.' She eats shrimp for its pop and the way she can lick it; graham crackers for their whisper and crackle; almonds for their snap; celery sticks for their crunch. On the one hand, she's paying her rent; on the other hand, her relationship to food has become sonically focused and exhausting. The saving grace is that Jada manages to stay friends with her former Phoenix co-workers, Lanae (frontwoman of a punk band, the Donner Party) and Audrey (a runner and hacker in her spare time). Together, they come up with a plan to erase their own — and everyone else's — student loan debt. It's a heist, of sorts, except instead of getting rich, they'll stop being in the hole for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the real pleasure, just like it is in any good heist movie, is witnessing the three women spending time together and becoming closer over the course of the book. Jada is a deeply imperfect narrator. She's quick to judge others, slow to trust, and even steals a watch on page 12 (Gasp! She's a thief!) So, yes, she's a messy millennial who has some issues to work through, but neither she nor anyone deserves to spend the rest of their life indebted to a system that claimed a college education as the only way to break into the middle class, and which instead ends up keeping so many from it. The novel is a satire, of course, and the debt police are over the top because it's generically appropriate, but also because Cauley is using humor to approach the horrifying reality that people really do go to prison for having debt in this country. And even when they don't, student loan debt ends up increasing the racial wealth gap. According to the latest data from the Education Data Initiative, 'Black and African American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college graduates.' Flash-forward four years after graduation, and 'Black students owe an average of 188% more than white students.' Yet the job of a novelist isn't to hit you over the head with statistics but to entertain you — if you learn anything along the way or think more deeply about something you'd never considered, that's great, but it's not the main point. For all that it deals with systemic racism and economic precarity, 'The Payback' is a terrifically fun book that made me laugh out loud at least once every chapter. Masad, a books and culture critic, is the author of the novel 'All My Mother's Lovers' and the forthcoming novel 'Beings.'
Chicago Tribune
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Where are the shows about regular people fighting back?
In the sardonic heist novel 'The Payback,' out this month, three millennial retail workers — including a former computer hacker — are in dire straits thanks to their enormous student loans and a newly established law enforcement agency called the Debt Police, who operate like loan shark henchmen. Which is why 'thousands of us limping to our cars and throwing up blood, all because we'd forgotten to be born rich,' is how one of them sums up their predicament. Her debt, she says, follows her around 'like a stalker in the night.' So the three hatch a plan to take down their student loan company and wipe out their remaining balances — and those of everyone else while they're at it. 'The Payback' is funny, knowing and a shot of hope-filled adrenaline that comes at a moment when the the cultural temperature is especially on edge and shaped by feelings of powerlessness over larger forces. Author Kashana Cauley began her career as an attorney before shifting to writing for TV (including the animated Fox series 'The Great North' and 'The Daily Show with Trevor Noah') and as a novelist. We talked about the origins of 'The Payback' and the conspicuous absence of stories like these — of regular people banding together against the odds — in present-day TV and film. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Q: What were the seeds that led you to conceive this story? A: I paid off six figures of student loan debt myself, and I paid it off thanks to TV work. But I don't think you should have to hit the lottery like I did in order to want to better yourself as a member of the working or middle classes. I'm a first-generation college student, so nobody in my family really knew what college was for, how to get there or what it is you might do with such a degree. I don't think that's uncommon among Black American families; only two or three generations of us have been going to college. So I did my undergrad in economics and political science at the University of Wisconsin, but I had no idea how you got a job because I didn't know you were supposed to get jobs through your friends' parents; my parents sent me to college so I didn't have to work on the assembly line at General Motors like my dad, so I was completely confused. I went to law school at Columbia University, which is something you can do without connections. And law school is expensive and I got stuck with a quarter million in student debt. We were told this is an investment in yourself and your future. I thought I was doing the things that I was supposed to do to construct a feasible American life. It's the same for the girls in 'The Payback' — they're doing the things American society tells them are the ways to better themselves. Are they rewarded for that? No, they're not. They're stalked and harassed by the Debt Police. So in the wake of being abandoned (by systems we're told to buy into), what can people do to change their circumstances? Throughout American history— the civil rights movement, farm workers who organized, other civil rights movements — it's mostly everyday people going, 'I don't want to live this life. What can I do about it? Well, I can talk to my friends and maybe we can come up with a plan together where we don't have to be as under the thumb as we are and devoid of rights. Maybe we can fight for what the American promise is supposed to be.' And that's where 'The Payback' came from. It's three girls who work at the mall who go: We're kind of all we have. Q: Stories about regular people coming together to problem-solve, to work through conflict, to figure something out, these used to exist in various forms throughout Hollywood history. You're a TV writer yourself, so I'm curious if you've pitched storylines similar to what we're describing — and if so, what was the response? A: My last book, 'The Survivalists,' is about survivalism but also how people come together to form a community in incredibly unlikely circumstances, which I feel like is related to what you're talking about. The book had a lot of Hollywood interest that kind of fizzled. This is a weird time in Hollywood right now, where they're just not buying anything. Everybody I know who is pitching shows right now is suffering. So there was a lot of interest, but I don't know if it would have gotten to the finish line. I had another show I pitched called 'Black Republicans,' about a Black person who's like: I've been fired from my job, I'm at my wit's end, my only plan to make money is to become a Republican for the cash. And what happened was, a lot of people we talked to tried to fit that one into what they called 'middle of the country narratives.' I'm going to note that I'm from Madison, Wisconsin, originally and the concept of 'middle of the country narratives' is pretty wild. Basically, they want whiter, more conservative ideas. But this is completely unfair considering the history, because many white folks from the 'middle of the country' have gotten together in groups to campaign for better lives for themselves, including poor white people from Appalachia. I think there's this idea that a 'middle of the country' narrative is white people farming in Iowa. I was always afraid any adaptation of 'The Survivalists' would suffer from that, too. But I think it's a shame that we don't have more of these stories on TV because we love underdogs. Q: A lot of shows function as a digital narcotic as opposed to something that galvanizes audiences to help envision what's possible, even if you aren't in a position of power. A: One exception is 'Andor,' which is a great show about everyday people joining together against something much bigger than themselves — the Empire — and going: So there are little things you can do to throw a wrench into their operations. It's not like the big plot that they carry off in 'Rogue One,' where they steal plans for the Death Star, but they do the little things in 'Andor.' The show was really well-received and I think it's because regular people were inserted into the narrative. Over the almost 50 years of the franchise, the people in those movies and TV series have become larger than life. But at the end of the day, I feel like they were always meant to be that 'regular people' concept. Q: Media executives are captains of industry themselves and therefore a segment of society who would be criticized in a lot of these kinds of stories. And it seems like there's this energy that's basically: Let's not give audiences any big ideas about pushing back. But studio bosses have always been captains of industry, so it feels worthwhile to try to understand what's informing this trend right now. A: Back in the day, everything wasn't a big-budget Marvel movie that costs 'X' so we have to make that back, so we're not taking any chances. Without that spirit of experimentation, there's less opportunity for stories like that to emerge in lower budget projects. We're also just generally not living in a great time for workers' rights. When I see AI coming and hear people say maybe we can replace everyone from film editors to screenwriters, I don't see an industry that is understanding about things like workers rights. So perhaps they wouldn't be as friendly to those stories. Especially if they're not making many lower budget movies. Q: One of your characters is a computer hacker, and I think the common perception is that hackers have antiauthoritarian personalities. So it's interesting that we haven't seen an entire generation of people who became hackers for good. Is that perception accurate to you? A: Yes, and in the book she's very antiauthoritarian. I call them ethical hackers — folks who are hacking for good — I'm amazed that type of character has not been represented so much either. We live in a digital world and while there are plenty of folks doing stuff offline and analog, a lot of life exists on the internet. And if you're looking at the problem of student loans, like they are in the book, it's impossible to not think that it has an online component. Q: Do you want to see 'The Payback' optioned for TV or film? A: You bet! I have a gung-ho TV and film agent and we are in the middle of that process, so I should probably not provide specifics .
Fox Sports
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Super Bowl rematch, tush-push tussle among top 10 revenge games for 2025
Half a century ago, James Brown had a hit with "The Payback" in which he sang, "I need some get-back." Well, in the 2025 season, several NFL teams will be looking for their own "get-back." While those teams have all summer to stew about it, let's take a look at the top 10 revenge games for the upcoming season. Because, as the Godfather of Soul sang, "Payback is a thing you gotta see." 10. Week 2: Seahawks at Steelers Seattle has moved on from one of the most dynamic pass-catchers in team history, trading DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. A second-round selection in the 2019 draft, Metcalf finished his tenure in Seattle ranked No. 6 in franchise history in receiving yards (6,324) and fifth in touchdowns (48). Metcalf was replaced in Seattle by Cooper Kupp, who has his own beef to settle when the Seahawks face the Rams in Week 11 and Week 16. Los Angeles unceremoniously released the former Super Bowl MVP and signed Davante Adams. For the Steelers, Metcalf replaces mercurial deep threat George Pickens, who was shipped to the Dallas Cowboys. 9. Week 12: Eagles at Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9 last year and did not get an opportunity to play the Eagles. The Cowboys lost their two games against the eventual Super Bowl champions by a combined score of 75-13. Now healthy, Prescott intends to keep Philadelphia from becoming the first team to repeat as NFC East champs since the Eagles won the division in four consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2004. Prescott can lean on the fact that he's 9-4 against Philadelphia during his time in Dallas. As the QB said after seeing the Eagles win the Super Bowl in February: "It's our turn, and it's on us." 8. Week 5: 49ers at Rams Last season, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers were swept by Sean McVay's Rams for the first time since 2018. And while Shanahan still leads the all-time series against his close friend and former coaching colleague (10-7 including postseason), it's fair to say that if the 49ers want to get back to the Super Bowl, that path leads through the reigning NFC West division champs in Los Angeles. 7. Week 10: Lions at Commanders Detroit finished with the best record in the NFC last season and was one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl. Then the Lions got embarrassed at home by Washington in the divisional round. They get a chance to exact some revenge on the road this season. But with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn both leaving for head coaching jobs, Dan Campbell will have his hands full replicating his team's 2024 success, let alone slowing down dynamic Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. 6. Week 1: Ravens at Bills A two-point conversion could have sent last year's AFC divisional-round matchup into overtime, but Ravens tight end Mark Andrews dropped the pass. As a result, two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens once again fell short of fulfilling Super Bowl expectations. To add insult to injury, even though Jackson had better overall numbers last season, it was Bills QB Josh Allen who won the league MVP award. And while Jackson owns a 3-1 record over Allen during the regular season, the Buffalo star has won when the games matter most, with a 2-0 edge in the playoffs. This year's game provides another opportunity for two of the best quarterbacks in the game to battle for AFC supremacy. 5. Week 6: Bears at Commanders Chicago's 2024 season took a disastrous turn in Week 8 when Washington executed a successful Hail Mary that led to an improbable 18-15 win for the Commanders. It was the beginning of a 10-game losing streak for the Bears, during which the team fired head coach Matt Eberflus. In that Hail Mary game, Daniels outplayed No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams down the stretch. Now, Williams gets his chance to show his progress under new head coach Ben Johnson, one of the league's best offensive minds. On the other sideline will be Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who reportedly interviewed for Chicago's top job and who coached Williams in college at USC. RELATED: Anatomy of a Hail Mary: How Jayden Daniels and the Commanders beat the buzzer 4. Week 2: Eagles at Chiefs Patrick Mahomes gets an opportunity to redeem himself after one of the worst performances of his career in Kansas City's embarrassing Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. In the 40-22 defeat, the two-time NFL MVP and his teammates fell woefully short of their three-peat goal. The humbling loss led to wholesale changes to an offensive line that allowed Mahomes to be sacked six times in the Super Bowl. This early-season barometer against Philadelphia will provide an indication if free-agent left tackle Jaylon Moore can hold up as Mahomes' blindside protector. 3. Week 7: Giants at Broncos Due to an injured calf, Russell Wilson didn't get an opportunity to play the Broncos in Denver last season. But the author of "Broncos Country, Let's Ride" should get a chance to face his former team this season — if he hasn't been replaced by rookie QB Jaxson Dart by this point of the season. Wilson's two years in Denver fell well short of the immense expectations placed on him after the team engineered a blockbuster trade for his services. In his second season, Wilson was benched by Sean Payton and later released, with the Broncos paying "Mr. Unlimited" $39 million to play for Pittsburgh. In Week 7 at Denver, the 36-year-old QB could get his opportunity to show he can still make some Russell Wilson magic happen. 2. Week 1: Steelers at Jets Another quarterback trying to defeat Father Time is Aaron Rogers, who turns 42 in December. If Rogers indeed signs with the Steelers as expected, he'll face the team that unceremoniously released him this offseason. The Jets flew Rodgers across the country for a dismissal meeting that reportedly lasted all of 20 minutes. New York then signed QB Justin Fields, who gets to face the team that replaced him with Wilson last season after six games. The athletic Fields has potential, but he must prove he can be accurate enough from the pocket to lead the Jets back to the postseason. In Week 8, the Steelers host the Packers, which could give Rodgers his first shot at the team with which he spent his first 18 NFL seasons. If for no other reason than the potential of two of the best revenge games of 2025, Rodgers needs to sign with Pittsburgh. 1. Week 10: Eagles at Packers Green Bay hosts Philadelphia in a matchup of two 2024 playoff teams. But it's much more than that: The Packers are the team that proposed the ban on the tush push, a proposal that was narrowly defeated in an NFL owners' vote in May. In this grudge match, head coach Nick Sirianni and the Eagles will surely use the nearly unstoppable short yardage play led by quarterback Jalen Hurts as often as possible. Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
