Episodes 7, 8 and 9 of The Get Down focus largely on Zeke and Mylene following their dreams. Mylene’s worth is tied to her sexuality, her father sees her as worthless whenever she expresses any. Women expressing or repressing their sexuality has been an issue since the beginning of hip hop. Although sexism did not start in hip hop, it does profit from it and that is what the record company wants from Mylene. Just like Tease in “The Normative Boundaries of Filipinoness”, Mylene wants to be seen as more than just her body. You can see the policing of Mylene’s body when she fights with Shaolin who says she is not sexy enough to make it.
While Mylene is hiding her relationship with Zeke for the sake of selling more records, Dizzy is hiding his relationship with Thor. Before taking this class I had never considered how queer people have been a part of hip hop from the begining, even though it is now so obvious to me because queer history has been erased from most things. Although it hurts my heart to see it, I understand why Dizzy does not want to show his emotions for Thor to anyone, they would likely view him in a different way, they might even erase him from the legacy he is building.
Zeke is forced to feel as though the future of the Bronx is on his shoulders. He is forced to decide between protecting his friend or saving a guaranteed future (which he is reminded multiple times that his future is only a result of affirmative action). Just as Mylene must prove she is more than her body, Zeke must show that he is more than just a black man. They are both talented and smart and should not be reduced to their appearance.