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

Hi Christine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve always been a creative person. Back when I was a kid, I loved drawing, being in plays at church and in school. When it came to films and TV, scifi and epic fantasy stories always captured my imagination. I wanted to live in a different world like the ones I saw and read about. When I grew old enough to know to difference between actors and characters, I imagined myself bringing my favorite stories to life. It was all a far fetched dream, unattainable in the real world. Even so, I continued to act in church and school plays throughout high school. I even took acting as an elective. But it was just a fun hobby to me. My parents taught me the value of hard work and the importance of education. So I limited my self to having a “real job” for a career.

I got my first degree in business administration. Honestly I just fell into it. I’m good with numbers and I did well in the related Gen Ed. classes. I really enjoyed marketing because it allowed me to explore my creative side. Then, in my last year, I took Acting I & II with my best friend. It truly changed my perspective on my life and capabilities. The professor pushed me, encouraged me and saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself. I learned that I could break down walls and really become a character. This is where I saw the story teller within me blossom. The experience resonated deeply within me. It felt like learning how to breathe, seeing and accepting myself for who I was born to be. Realization hit. Fulfillment would never come by locking this back up inside the box of a mere hobby. I knew then that I wanted to pursue my creativity professionally. After I graduated, I transferred universities and became a theatre major, intent on following my dreams. My path has led me to telling my own stories my way. Having a background in business as well as theatre has helped me tremendously. I’ve seen many creatives struggle with the business side of being a creator. I’m so grateful that God has brought me down this path.

Christine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved the escapist qualities of film. There’s something magical about losing myself in a story, where the world outside fades away and the screen becomes reality. For a few fleeting hours, the trials and tribulations of everyday life melt away, replaced by the thrill of adventure, the depth of human connection, or the simplicity of joy. But for many Black viewers, the cinematic experience is inherently complicated, as the persistence of racist clichés and the exploitation of Black trauma on screen can shatter the illusion, leaving one feeling not truly seen and most certainly not valued. Every story about Black people doesn’t have to be about The Struggle. Black women are especially fed up and exhausted with these viewing experiences. We’re being portrayed in the media in limited and harmful roles that we’re told to be grateful for. We deserve the opportunity to portray the elven princess that saves the realm in an epic fantasy. And the space pirate that turns into a reluctant hero. We can be fairy queens, galactic empresses, interdimensional travelers, chess geniuses and more. The leaders. The heroes. Not just the strong sidekick, the wise oracle or the supportive and sassy best friend.

I grew up in the 90’s, when representation was scarce. I rarely saw characters and dolls that looked like me. Those early experiences shaped my perception of self and belonging. The scarcity of diverse characters made me feel invisible, unwanted, and unloved. I think it’s important for little girls of every skin tone to see themselves as smart, beautiful, powerful, funny and valued. And most of all, perfect just the way they are.

I established Cinelle Jay Studios to address this gap, creating a welcoming haven for women from diverse ethnicities. Using dolls, green screen and special effects, I create short films and tell stories that challenge the dominant norms. I have original stories on a wide range of topics and genres from an epic fantastical six part adventure series, to exploring and healing from anxiety and depression, colorism, bullying, learning self-love, breaking stereotypes, a family dramedy, and hilarious parodies with much more to come. My studio’s mission is to empower women from every background with a safe, inclusive space. It’s a platform for sharing our authentic stories, where our voices and experiences take center stage. A sanctuary to discuss our love of movies, shows and nerd culture. The misogynoir we face in this world is overwhelmingly brutal. We constantly receive so much vitriol and hatred from online communities, when all we want to is be a part of the discussion. We want to be able to share our views and fan theories just like everyone else. What I’ve found is that there are so many people of every age, gender and enthnicity who are looking for non toxic creators, that my audience and community is much more diverse than I envisioned. I absolutely love that!

I focus on highlighting the normalization of Black women in the prominent roles we rarely get to portray. The kind of movies and shows that I loved growing up. Except back then, I rarely saw girls who looked like me. It is changing a bit now, with prominent Black female characters in shows such as Star Trek Discovery, Foundation, The Rings of Power and Star Wars’ The Acolyte. It’s great to see the change beginning but devastating when they get canceled early like The Acolyte just was. I want to keep the momentum going. Telling our stories for all to see is extremely important to me.

I have a doll mini-me that I customized, called CJ. With CJ I share my analysis and reviews of TV and film. I cover mainly sci-fi and fantasy including Marvel, Star Trek, Star Wars, House of the Dragon, and The Rings of Power. I uplift and highlight good representation. The non toxic community I’ve found is really encouraging and supportive. This has also led to me being invited onto various podcasts to discuss the latest and greatest in fandom.

My faith is also a big part of my life. Christianity is the dominate religion in media, yet it’s frequently portrayed inaccurately, perpetuating misconceptions. It’s either all condemnation and none of the love and teachings of Jesus. Or it’s just good vibes but no relationship with God. I want people to know God the way I know Him. The God who loved me when I didn’t love myself. The God who is so faithful, merciful and gracious, even when I mess up. That this faith walk is a journey not a destination. We’re not asked to be perfect but keep getting better, keep getting closer to Him. From oversimplified portrayals to inaccurate doctrines, the misrepresentation of Christianity has real world consequences. So many people have been hurt and cannot see that God loves them. Authentic depictions of Christianity can foster greater understanding, empathy and closer relationships with God. In my desire to address these issues, I established another page called CJ Tells Bible Stories. Using my mini-me CJ, I share a Bible verse and a short prayer every morning. I am also working on a series that follows two modern sisters, Colette and Journie, as they use a time machine to travel through biblical times. They’ll have amazing adventures while learning about God.

My goal is to continue to grow enough so young creative girls and women will be able to share their stories too. Whether that’s on my channel or on their own. I just hosted my first Dolls Act Out! seminar. Dolls Act Out is a program where I teach everything I know about what I do creatively. I teach script writing, voice acting, filming, editing and some of the ins and outs of posting on YouTube. Originally the plan was to host the event annually. However, it was more successful than I anticipated. So I am looking forward to hosting events much more often.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started posting my original short films and stories on YouTube first. I decided early on that I would be aggressively genuine. As the saying goes, I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved who for I ain’t. I put everything bit of nerdy goofiness in me on display. All of the things about myself that society taught me to hide. When anything is performative, people can feel that.

I’ve always wanted my stories to touch people, encourage, uplift and empower them. So I take the time to engage with commenters when I can. I love hearing that my work has helped someone. I also learned to not bother engaging with the hatful comments. You can’t reason with someone who doesn’t want to understand. When they just want to shout their opinion disrespectfully at you, it’s best to just report, block, delete and protect your mental health. I have made it a point to focus on positivity.

When I first started, I was surprised by how big the doll community was. I was intentionally active and supportive of my fellow doll creatives. I made some good friends there and that continued when I started on doll and toy photography on Instagram. Doing photography allowed me to be post more often. The more often you’re seen, the more likely you’re followed. My videos are rarely more than ten minutes long. But the amount of editing that takes is a lot more than you’d think. I began with by posting stories biweekly. Then I added behind the scenes videos on the off weeks so I could post at least once a week. With the doll and toy photography I was able to post daily. My audience grew to include toy collectors and action figure stop motion artists. Again I found that engaging with other creators key.

When I started posting shorter review videos on TikTok, that is when I saw the most growth. I always give my honest opinion, and in-depth insights thanks to my theatre training. The videos were limited to 1 minute at the time, cutting down on my editing time drastically. I was able to post videos more frequently. And because I was talking about the newest trending Marvel show or film, my audience reach was much bigger. I kept the same strategy of aggressive genuineness while engaging with and supporting my fellow creators.

“If you build it, they will come.” No but seriously. It takes authenticity, consistency and patience to grow a community. Everyone starts at zero followers. You’ll gain followers as people get to know you. Address trending topics and how they relate to your niche.

I’ve gotten opportunities to be seen in wider audiences by testing social apps, being invited onto podcasts and even being offered this interview. A good amount of my presence comes from my good relationships with my fellow creators. Treating others with kindness goes a long way. Creators want to collaborate with creators whose company they enjoy.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Telling original stories fed my soul, it also laid the foundation for my brand and presence. However, the growth in the beginning was slower than a sloth moving through molasses. For every two weeks that I would spend all of my free time in my room editing, filming or taking photos, I’d only have a single video to post. That was after working at my full time job. Every YouTube creator whose content was geared towards helping new creators grow said that you must post weekly. I very much believed in the hustle or die culture and became very stressed about posting. I kept busy to my detriment, believing that sleep is for the weak. I had to learn the hard way that it is all about balance.

Thankfully, all of the feedback that I received was glowing. People really connected with my stories, were touched and entertained. Unfortunately I was really disheartened that my stories never seemed to get over a hundred views. For the amount of work that I put into each video, the numbers just weren’t there. I needed to feel like I was getting a good return on my investment. I watched countless videos on SEO, and posting schedules and thumbnails and secret algorithm tricks, (pssst! There are none!). Nothing I did gave me the numbers I wanted. The numbers that I felt made the long nights worth it. I slowed down after about two years and stopped posting all together. At this time, I had mostly been posting to YouTube and Instagram. I made doll and toy videos to trending sounds on TikTok every now and then as well. Those were fun, but I still struggled to stay motivated, since it didn’t quite feel like me.

Taking care of your mental health and having realistic expectations are vital in building a brand and social media presence from scratch. The crazy overnight success stories go viral, creating an unrealistic expectancy, while there are hundreds of thousands of us just chug chug chugging along. It reminds me of something one of my theatre professors told me. You’re not ready to go out and try to make it in LA, unless you’re ready to try for ten years and not get your big break until that 10th year. One of my favorite big creators and inspirations is KevOnStage. He often would talk about how it took him ten years before he got really popular. And in that time he built a community of very loyal and supportive followers.

With the advice from my professor and motivation from watching and listening to KevOnStage, I was ready to receive an excellent idea. I knew I couldn’t go back to the way things were before, or I would burn out again. Then one day, a friend of mine found out that I used to be a content creator. When he asked me why I didn’t create any more, I went down a dark rabbit hole of explaining how what I was doing was so hard but I didn’t get enough views. I said I would post different content but I have no idea what. He asked why I didn’t make videos about Marvel since that was all I ever talked about. And I… Well. I didn’t have a good answer. I finally settled on saying “But there are so many Marvel creators already!” He just said “So? You’re smart, I value your opinion and you always help me understand things that I didn’t before” WHOA… Ok, so that was a lot for me to receive, especially as someone who doesn’t take compliments well.

The sky didn’t open up with melodies from heaven raining down on me. But I thought about it. Within a month, I was posting about the first Marvel shows as they aired on Disney+. I’ve since expanded to cover all of my favorite shows in multiple fandoms and genres. I grew exponentially faster in that first year of talking about my favorite trending fandom, than I did focusing solely on original work. That interest and growth also brought my original works to a wider audience, the audience who valued my commentary on story telling and representation in media. It works well for me because I am talking about media that I love and want to immerse in. My audience feels my sincerity and authenticity. I never saw myself discussing mainstream media online. And yet I love it dearly.

“All things work together for the good.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/CinelleJay
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinellejay/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cinellejay