ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Heather Johnson

Charli XCX: Uncharted Territory

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I’ll come clean from the start: I had no idea who Charli XCX was before viewing Charli XCX: Alone Together.

When she first started posting music on MySpace in 2008, I was married with my first child and had long abandoned that earlier social media platform with a full commitment to the “newer” one called “The Facebook.” So, it’s pretty safe to say I’ve never been the target market for her music. And in the spirit of transparency, the first time I screened this film, I was like “eh, this has nothing to do with me really.”

But something told me to watch it again. It was in the middle of that second viewing that it all clicked. This wasn’t a typical “rise to fame,” documentary, or even a “behind the scenes,” story, although both elements were present. No, this was a story of survival – both literally and figuratively.

It seems like both yesterday and forever ago when words like “lockdown,” and “pandemic,” and “masks,” first became part of our everyday vocabulary. What started as two weeks has stretched into 2022.

What started as foreign has morphed (unfortunately) into familiar.

It’s in those early weeks that Charli XCX: Alone Together that takes place. Isolating in that first LA lockdown with her boyfriend Huck Kwong, Charli begins to record her next album at home. The film follows the process from figuring out equipment to writing the songs to the late nights and early mornings laden with anxiety and stress (and in less than two months no less). Like many other artists and performers, the pandemic brought a reckoning that continues to test the limits of creativity. And the limits (or the breaking of them) of relationships as well.

There is so much I want to talk about. I want to talk about how social media has and continues to flip the music industry on its head. I want to talk about how important it is to be self-aware and open about your mental health. I want to talk about how we can discover just how creative and capable we are when faced with indescribable adversity. But as I’ve reflected on this, I have found what I think is the core of all of those things and more: relationship.

Charli XCX: Alone Together presents a gritty view into how important relationships are to our very survival. As we get to know more about Charli, we get to know more about her fans, affectionately known as The Angels. This online group was created as Charli’s renown grew within the LGBTQIA+ community, and quickly became a haven for many who found themselves isolated in environments where every day was a battle.

I knew isolation was going to be hard – I was laid off early-on, my husband had a small part time job, and we had four kids who longed for an understanding of what was happening that we couldn’t give. But we were pretty well-settled. And yeah, I knew not everyone would be as fortunate. But my privilege meant it had never occurred to me that there were those now removed from the only families and friends who truly embraced them. Multiple recordings of young LGBTQIA+ individuals shared how this online community was the only place they felt safe as they were forced to dwell in a shared space without support or understanding. They shared how listless and depressed they were growing. They shared how music – especially Charli’s music – kept them grounded while also helping them to escape into a place and community of acceptance. And to see how Charli herself cultivated this community by inviting them into her songwriting sessions, asking them to send artwork for her videos, and even logging into the Zoom club parties, it reminded me that survival looks different for everyone.

 For some it may have already been a daily effort, as “LGBTQ youth (are) four times more likely to seriously consider suicide, to make a plan for suicide, and to attempt suicide than their peers.” Accessible and welcoming communities – online or otherwise – are life lines for those who are so ostracized that the only way to be free from pain is to consider the unthinkable. So often we dismiss the “fakeness” of online relationships and platforms but ultimately they are very much legitimate in a lot of ways for a lot of people. Social media isn’t always about ego or appearances, or even about going viral. It’s a place for connection. It’s a threshold space – where people from all over the world can come together and form relationships built on shared experiences and interests. And for the past two years, it has kept people alive.

But people, we can’t leave it up to the internet. We have to create physical places of welcome. If we have learned anything from the past two years, I hope it is the importance of caring for one another. At times, I sincerely doubt we have learned anything other than how to justify selfishness, but it’s movies like this that give me hope. Charli invited her fans into her own space as she too navigated the fear and anxiety and loneliness of 2020. If she can do it then, I can do it now. We have all been forever-changed over the past two years…we know the terrain well enough to walk it together. All of us.

Charli XCX: Alone Together streams on Amazon Prime on Friday, February 25th, 2022.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes: What the Future Holds

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Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it inches by at a snail’s pace. Sometimes years seem to pass in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it feels like it has stopped and everything around you is moving in slow motion.

In the case of Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes from Director Junta Yamaguchi and writer Makoto Ueda, time is just as much of a character as anyone or anything else. Shot in one take, this comedy-meets-sci-fi-meets-time travel-meets-“where did the mafia come in” film goes beyond the limits of time as we know it and instead brings it to life as an active participant.

Upon returning to his room above his café, Kato (Kazunari Tosa), hears a familiar voice calling for his attention. He turns to his computer monitor to see himself – the self from two minutes in the future. Alarmed and intrigued, Kato runs downstairs back into the café to see the view from the TV monitor, and sees his past self doing the very thing he was doing two minutes earlier. He repeats the same words and gets the same responses, each version of Kato mimicking the previous one as if in a loop. But it’s a loop that gets larger and wider as his friends push the limits of looking into the future and even manipulating it in a way that can only lead to one thing: trouble.

While time travel movies aren’t typically my go-to genre, I have to admit I’ve never seen a film like this. For one, time isn’t just something passing in the background. Like I mentioned previously, it feels like an actual character that is impacted by the decisions of Kato and his friends, but it’s also the one prompting those decisions. After seeing and hearing what their future selves say, the group makes sure they say the same things when it’s their “turn” to be in the future.

There is also a goofiness to it that keeps it from being too serious. The plot of the “Droste TV,” has the science and intelligence needed for it to theoretically make sense (as much as time travel can make sense), but it doesn’t slack on the fun. I mean let’s be real, who wouldn’t want to know how to find a little extra cash if they could? And if it led to local mafia bosses taking your neighbor hostage so you go rescue them, I mean that’s just a risk we may have to take.

Which actually leads me to a more serious reflection. IF we could know, SHOULD we ask? Kato is often the one prompting his friends to leave the monitors and stop digging further into the future, warning them that it isn’t a great idea. And is he right? Sure we all like to joke about how great it would be to know the future lottery numbers or the next Super Bowl champions, but to Kato’s point, how far down the rabbit hole do we go? So often I wish I could see into the future so that I could know if I was doing the right thing in the present – thinking that if I knew the outcome, THEN I could make the decision or choice. Or, as Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes asks, could I instead change the outcome so that I could spend more time in the present?

Even if we saw our future literally in front of us on a TV screen, we aren’t bound to it. There is always an opportunity to shift directions toward something else. But what will stick with me from this film is that it isn’t really about the future at all. It’s about the present. And, if I look at time as a partner as opposed to a construct or crystal ball, maybe I don’t have to worry so much about what lies ahead. Instead time and I can take it moment by moment, doing the best we can for now, and let tomorrow take care of itself.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is now playing in select theatres.

My Little Pony The Next Generation: Truth, Magic, and Hope

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I’m a child of the 80’s. I grew up with Rainbow Brite and She-Ra and, of course, My Little Pony. I also really enjoy kids’ movies in general, so I consider myself a pretty solid authority on the subject.

So, when I say My Little Pony: The Next Generation (now available on Netflix) is top-notch, I think you should believe me. Although you are totally entitled to your own opinions on the matter – I just so happen to think mine is the correct one, ha!

Our ponies have always been magical, with their most powerful magic being the gift of friendship and teamwork. A world without magic ponies is unimaginable. But it has happened! Not only have the ponies lost their magic, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies live isolated from and in fear of each other. Gone are the days of the Friendship is Magic crew of Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. But Earth pony Sunny (voiced by Vanessa Hudgens) refuses to buy into the stereotypes and clings to the stories from her father that there was a time when all of the ponies lived in magical harmony, surrounded by friendship.

So, when an unexpected Unicorn visitor, Izzy (voiced by Kimiko Glenn), cheerfully prances into Sunny’s life, they set off to uncover the truth and restore magic to all of the ponies.

This movie is absolutely delightful. The animation is engaging and with a voice cast includes the talents of James Marsden, Sofia Carson, Jane Krakoswki, Ken Jeong, and as previously mentioned Vanessa Hudgens and Kimiko Glenn, the “acting” is on-point.

But it’s the story that is the heart and soul of this movie. Granted themes like stereotypes and fear and living divided aren’t anything new, but I always appreciate when films geared toward children really make universal struggles accessible. And this film delivers on that and then some. Sunny is often ridiculed and ostracized for her conviction that Unicorns and Pegasi aren’t evil, but she doesn’t budge on her hope for reconciliation. And what begins as two new friends on the same mission becomes a movement that will impact everyone.

I am often discouraged these days that there is nothing I can do to impart change. I am one person. Most of the time it’s overwhelming to even try because disappointment looms. But I recently had a conversation with a friend that reminded me that we can take one step to impact the person next to us. We may set out to change the world and everyone’s minds, but it only takes connecting to one other person before a third, and then a fourth, and then a fifth hop on board. And before we know it, change is blooming. Relationships are formed on acceptance and understanding. Lives are changed and communities are built.

Reconciliation is hard work. For Sunny and her new friends, they have to challenge generations of fear and prejudice while facing on of their own who rises into power by latching onto fear and weaponizing it. Again, it’s not a new story and probably more timely than ever.

But if we don’t keep seeking out ways to tell this story, we’ll find ourselves in the same place we’ve been in for generations – stuck in fear of the other, compelled only by self preservation, and completely lost to the beauty that is accepting someone for who they actually are instead of who we fear them to be.

My Little Pony has always stood for friendship. This movie stays true to that while also speaking into the moment we are living in now. Will we choose to stay stuck? Or will we take a lesson from our pony friends and step into a bright new future built on the magic of hope? For me, My Little Pony: The Next Generation compels me to dwell in the truth that even the smallest act of hope can change the world, one friend at a time.

My Little Pony: The Next Generation is now available on Netflix.

Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)

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I grew up right outside Richmond, Virginia. Yes, the former capital of the Confederacy. A place with a deeply-rooted history and heritage of the Civil War. Where the Confederate flag is just as recognizable and prevalent as the American one. Where our public schools carry the names of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. National battlefields pepper the central region, and not even 5 miles from my childhood house sits the Cold Harbor Battlefield and cemetery with some of the most well-preserved earthworks from the war. I grew up in the heart of the deadliest war this country has ever fought. 

And I didn’t have a clue that it was still wreaking havoc across this country. Sure by the time I hit my early thirties I didn’t romanticize it like I had as a child, but it never really occurred to me that the statues or the Confederate flag actually hurt people – until I realized the privilege I live with. So when I had the chance to review Rachel Boynton’s documentary Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are), I went into it thinking I had done some significant deconstructing already. But if there is one thing I can count on, it’s learning that my work of unlearning is never done.

I could say it’s no secret that racial tension continues to be at peak levels, but there are still many Americans who aim to sweep it out of sight and out of mind. People say “I never owned slaves, it’s not my fault.” And yet, often those individuals are the same ones proudly displaying a Confederate flag, crying out “heritage not hate.” But if slavery was far enough in the past that we don’t need to talk about it anymore, why do we fight to preserve a flag and statues that are literal symbols of the blood shed over owning other human beings?

Boynton addresses this in a way when interviewing a couple of gentlemen in Tennessee, who ardently deny slavery as the reason their ancestors fought against the Union army. So if we aren’t in agreement over the fundamental cause of a war that we are still very much fighting, then we aren’t going to get very far. Things like flags and monuments aren’t going to seem all the bad to people who believe they stand for something different.

Now I’m not going to totally dismiss the other factors that lead up to the Civil War. Those Tennessee gentlemen had a point when sharing how their ancestors (who didn’t own slaves), found themselves fighting a war that arrived on their doorstep, defending their homes and families. That part of the story has a place in this narrative as well.

Just as the overlooked racism of the North has a place.

There is so much to unpack from Boynton’s film, and much insight to be gleaned from guests such as David Blight (author of the 2001 work Race and Reunion: The Civil War in AmericanMemory); professors Greg Carr (Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University) and Melissa Janczewski Jones (historian of the 1875 Clinton Massacre; visiting professor at Mississippi College). The time spent in both Mississippi and Boston classrooms is also illuminating on how this war continues to shape the identities of the next generation. But the main part of it that hit me was what I just typed above: the overlooked racism of the North.

The history books tend to paint the Northern army as saviors and true Americans. They dismantled a violent industry and left behind a wave of freedom as they returned to the North.

But if that was accurate, how are we still here?

“Slavery doesn’t survive. But white supremacy does.” Even with the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments passing during the time of Reconstruction, recently freed Black men and women were still at the mercy of the white majority. In the South it was overt with segregation and Jim Crow laws (which is when many of the Confederate statues were built). In the North it was subtle, but still in power and obvious when you looked at the make-up of neighborhoods and schools and educational opportunities.

I had never thought about this like, ever, until this film pointed it out. North and South reunite and rewrite the story together, but there is no racial justice. And it’s obvious from both the Mississippi representative who “doesn’t see the pain in the symbol” of the Confederate flag and the young man in the Boston classroom who still doesn’t think racism is as bad as people say it is. White supremacy and racism isn’t limited to the South – it’s a national problem.

It’s hard to find a stopping point when writing on something as complex and crucial as racism, and there will always be those who want to continue to dismiss the Civil War in today’s conversation, so I will end with this: we all play a role. Who we are has been shaped by who came before us. No, we weren’t here 150 years ago but we were 100 years ago..60 years ago…30 years ago…we are here today. And if we aren’t willing to own up to past mistakes, we won’t be able to create a future that finally sees progress. Instead we will keep fighting an old war, destined to make the same mistakes.

Paw Patrol-The Movie: A New Adventure with Old Friends

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Adventure into a far off place. A familiar foe who now has access to unlimited power. Emotional journeys into past trauma. Undying loyalty between a team who always is ready to help – both those in trouble, and each other.

No, it’s not Marvel’s newest movie or the latest action series from Netflix. It’s Paw Patrol: The Movie – the beloved children’s show that for 8 years has captivated an audience that ranges from toddlers to celebrities and even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself. It’s fan base is so committed to Ryder and his team of Pups that the voice talent features Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) as Chase, Tyler Perry as truck driver Gus, Kim Kardashian-West as high-society city poodle, Delores, Jimmy Kimmel as Adventure City’s newscaster on-the-scene Marty Muckracker, and Yara Shahidi and Marsai Martin (both of Black-ish) as scientist Kendra and the Paw Patrol’s biggest fan Liberty (respectively). Plus Dax Shepherd rounds up the celebrity voice guests as one of Mayor Humdinger’s henchmen Ruben, and Will Brisbin is welcomed into the Paw Patrol cast as Ryder.

L-R: Rubble (voiced by Keegan Hedley), Skye (voiced by Lilly Bartlam), Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin), and Chase (voiced by Iain Armitage) in PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE from Paramount Pictures. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Spin Master.

It’s no surprise that Paw Patrol is such an inviting and engaging movie. Canadian-based Spin Master Entertainment was committed to maintaining the familiar and exciting tone of the hit show so that audiences would feel at home as they re-entered movie theaters and gathered together at home. Producer and now President of Spin Master Entertainment, Jennifer Dodge, has been with Paw Patrol since the beginning.

“Something we stuck to the whole time was being true to the show. To the property that we know our fans and their families love. We didn’t want to deviate from that, we didn’t want to make a movie for a different audience. We wanted to make it for this audience,” Dodge shares.

And they did. Even with a new voice cast, I knew these characters. Marshall was the some goofy and clumsy Marshall we all love to laugh with. Skye “took to the skies,” Rubble crushed and cleaned, Rocky made sure things could be reused, and Zuma had his water rescue. And then Chase…well this time, we saw a very different side of Chase.

We all know Chase as the police pup and de-facto leader of the team of Skye, Rocky, Rubble, Marshall, and Zuma. He is the first to follow Ryder’s call for help, always “ready for action, Ryder sir.” He’s the epitome of brave and caring, striving to keep everyone safe. But when they return to his past in Adventure City in order to thwart Mayor Humdinger’s and his team of cats’ plot to take over the big city after stealing Kendra’s “cloud catcher,” Chase can’t separate who he was there, and who he is now.

Honestly, I watched it without my kids (which was hilarious), and I was totally engrossed. So much so, that as Chase and Ryder revisited the trauma of Chase’s puppy past, I was practically in tears.

Foreground: Chase (voiced by Iain Armitage) and Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin). Background L-R: Skye (voiced by Lilly Bartlam), Rocky (voiced by Callum Shoniker), Rubble (voiced by Keegan Hedley), Zuma (voiced by Shayle Simons), and Marshall (voiced by Kingsley Marshall) in PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE from Paramount Pictures. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Spin Master.

Relatable, isn’t it? I think it’s safe to save that all of us have had seasons in our lives that take us back to past experiences that we’d rather keep buried and forgotten. Even for those of us who put on the bravest of faces, there is often something broken that lingers beneath. So when Chase starts to freeze in the face of action and questions everything he knows to be true about himself, anyone in this audience can understand it in such a way that relates to them. And while it was poignant, it wasn’t too heavy for that younger audience.

“I know, it does pull, and I will say when I finally got to screen it…there were some tears shed, even though I’ve seen it so many times,” Dodge affirmed.

To bring such a movie to the screen in a way that provides comfort and enjoyment to children, especially during a time of isolation and confusion, is a testament to the relationship between Spin Master, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures. Together these writers, producers, directors, animators, and cast members created something that remained true to the original material while opening up a new world for the Paw Patrol characters and their fans of all ages.

Check out the full interview with Producer and President of Spin Master Entertainment Jennifer Dodge here.

Homeroom: Look Who’s Talking

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There are more voices than I can count these days. And honestly, I’m sitting here thinking through this piece but heavily distracted by those voices. On the day I sent my son to his first day of kindergarten, parents concerned about mask requirements protested at the school board building – that is next to the county-wide preschool and kindergarten. Now, I don’t have a problem really with protesting, but I do when it’s on school property and it disrupts an environment meant to feel safe and welcoming, especially for young children going to school for the first time. And I do when someone says their intent is to be a voice for children, but they are simultaneously speaking over those children. 

I’m not sharing that to start a conversation about a topic like masks or protesting, but I’m sharing it because later that day, I watched Hulu’s documentary Homeroom, a film that delved behind the scenes of graduating seniors in the Oakland Unified School District. How do these connect, you may ask? Because one aspect of this film was about voice, and the problems that arise when adults ignore the words of their youth. 

Denilson Garibo and Mica Smith-Dahl are the spokespeople for the 36,000 students across the Oakland Unified School District. They are passionate, informed, and weary of the uphill battle. And rightfully so. Amidst budget cuts, the tragic murders specifically of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and an incoming pandemic, Garibo and Smith-Dahl work tirelessly to present a unified voice to the ones in power. 

The largest initiative on their plate? Getting approval to dissolve the police presence at OUSD. Oakland is the only school system with its own police force, with a budget of over $2 million dollars. So while board members are looking for ways to cut funding, the students ask for one thing – give us our freedom, and cut the budget that goes to school district’s police force. 

The poise that these two individuals maintained throughout a tumultuous year continues to astonish me. They knew their battles. They knew when to speak up and when to sit back, aware that their every word and move was under the microscope of the “leaders” who would either back them or reject them. They wore the burden of representation while worrying about SAT and ACT scores, filming TikTok videos, watching the news, and everything else that senior year entails – but with the added weight of protests, hope for reform, and a deadly virus upending all of our lives. Teenagers. Seventeen and eighteen years old. And they didn’t back down until they won.

A still from Homeroom by Peter Nicks, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Sean Havey. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

From beginning to end, Garibo and Smith-Dahl had to fight to be heard. They sat and waited while adults screamed over each other, drowning out the voices of the youth whose future was the very question of the conversation. They grieved as leaders who had committed to work with them seemed to falter and back down at crucial times. They trudged through racism and disrespect. But they never lost sight of their purpose, and found ways to come together as a class to move the needle into a direction of hope.

I don’t think we give the younger generation enough credit. Our children have a voice that we need to hear. Too often adults claim to speak on behalf of younger people when in reality we’re mainly speaking over them. Or we use their “needs” to push our own agendas. We say “we hear you, but…” and with one word, dismiss their pleas. These younger generations will not be silenced. And they shouldn’t be. It’s up to us to amplify those voices and give them the platform to tell us what they need. We place so much expectation on our children. Homeroom shows us just how heavy those expectations are, and yet we don’t want to yield the microphone to the ones who are directly impacted by racism, who have a vision for their future, who don’t want to give up, who are supporting their families, who are sifting through endless information, who worry about a pandemic, and who are just trying to graduate. And then we want to tell them to be quiet when they speak up and out? I’m not tracking with that.

And so my question to anyone reading this is: are we really speaking for our children, or are we speaking over them? Because if I take away one thing from this film, it’s that there are times when I need to sit down, shut up, and let this generation take the stage. 

Homeroom is available for streaming on August 11th, 2021.

What If…?: Hitting the Reset Button

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I try to stay away from spoilers, but just in case, SPOILERS ARE POSSIBLE for the first three episodes.

I have to admit it, but sometimes the MCU exhausts me. Now don’t get me wrong. I love it, especially over the past few years as I’ve gotten more involved in the screening and reviewing and podcasting side of things. 

But the analysis? As the young kids say, “sheeeeeesh.” Trying to keep up with all the hidden meanings, easter eggs, comic references, and above all, trying to predict everything that is and was and ever will happen is absolutely a full time job. And sometimes, I really just want to watch something new that I don’t have to try and analyze.

Enter What If…?, the newest Marvel series airing on Disney+. I went into the first three episodes feeling absolutely free because I figured “hey, who knows where this will go.” And personally, I was totally right. It did everything I hoped it would. It connected me with the characters I loved, it stayed true to the heart of the storylines while simultaneously flipping the script on old expectations. The animation kept it youthful and energetic and before I knew it, and it’s absolutely a great tie in to all the impact that Loki has made on all the timelines everywhere in the multiverse.

Episode one takes us back to the original Avenger – Captain America – and marks the moment of Peggy Carter’s (Hayley Atwell) choice to stay in the room. From there, the entire trajectory of both her and Steve Rogers’s stories changes. Forced to make a split-second decision to save the Super Soldier mission, Carter takes Steve’s place and receives the serum. Fighting the same battle but with a new role, Agent Carter faces an even greater uphill battle as she rebrands herself “Captain Carter.” Not only facing the typical gender stereotype of being a woman in a ‘man’s role’, she also finds herself facing a monster we have yet to truly see – and the result will reverberate across other timelines.

Episode two takes two of my favorite stories: Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther and gives us a galaxy in which the enigmatic T’Challa is able to persuade even the most deadly of villains (ahem, Thanos) to work towards a more peaceful universe. Oh how wonderful it was to see Chadwick Boseman’s iconic work as Black Panther on screen once more. He 100% embodies T’Challa, and there will never be another one like him. That compelling portrayal gives life throughout this episode as T’Challa wrestles with what it means to serve both his people and the universe. 

Episode three really pulls no punches when showing us what could happen if the Avengers were never the Avengers. Instead of joining together, they are targeted one by one, and Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is left facing a vengeful Loki (Tom Hiddleston really is in his element these days) threatening to destroy the world. But he’s not out for domination… at least, not initially. Instead, they must work together to catch a far more elusive foe, but as we all know about Loki, he’s always got something up his sleeve. 

See? No analysis. No guessing games. No frantic fan theories. At least not from me. What If…? is the kind of series that is free to reset expectations and do something out of the box. In a word, it’s fun. Pure, good, fun. And I’m here for it. 

Catch it now on Disney+, and enjoy! We can all analyze later 🙂

Black Widow: Good Hair is a Game Changer

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Do I even have to put a SPOILER WARNING here? Because we will be talking about Black Widow, so…yeah…potential spoilers.

I have short hair. Most days I can leave it down and it doesn’t cause any distractions or issues with my day-to-day activities. But, if I’m going to be doing things like cleaning or travelling, I’m going to somehow put it back out of my face and out of the way. The last thing I want to worry about when I’m active is my hair.

Can you imagine fighting to take down the universe’s most terrifying and powerful villains with your hair in your face? Because pretty much until Endgame and this movie, our mightiest female heroes have worn their hair down. And if you’re wondering why I care about this so much, let me explain. But first, a brief summary of where we are now that Black Widow has released.

Eleven years after her first appearance in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is finally getting her story. Set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow shines the light on the shadows that have been Natasha’s elusive past. We’ve gotten some brief glimpses into her Russian training and connections and we’ve seen hints to the emotional burdens she wears. Since we can’t go back to the very beginning of her story, I wasn’t sure how we were going to see the path between who Natasha was, and who Natasha now is to us.

As she begins her time on the run after breaking the Sokovian Accords, Natasha is pulled back into a mission she long-believed was handled. She describes Budapest (an event she and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) recall during the first Avengers), as the final step to her defection to S.H.I.E.L.D., effectively finalizing the cleansing of the “red in her ledger.” But she was wrong. A mysterious package arrives at her safe house with a clue about who needs her and she has to seek out the very people she once felt betrayed by.

In the later movies, Natasha thinks of the Avengers as her only family. But we quickly learn here that she once had a sister, a mother, and a father. Even though it was artificially made as a cover for a covert Russian operation, there were a few years where Natasha had a normal life. But it was not to last.

Her “father” was actually Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) aka Red Guardian aka Russian Captain America. He and brilliant scientist and fellow Widow (and “Mom”)  Melina (Rachel Weisz) had Natasha and “sister” Yelena (Florence Pugh) under their wing until the time came for the girls to begin their training at the Red Room. Together they must work to finish the mission Natasha started all those years ago.

The target? One of the creepiest villains I’ve seen in the MCU yet, Dreykov (Ray Winstone makes him almost TOO real). Mastermind behind the Red Room – an elite training facility that transforms orphan girls into world-wide assassins that work to keep Dreykov in power over the world’s most influential leaders – Dreykov has perfected a mind-control serum with Melina’s genius that ensures his Widows will deliver on his every command. He exploits both their vulnerability and sexuality and rewrites their reality – until Yelena defects and Natasha jumps in to free the Widows from Dreykov and destroy the Red Room for good.

How does any of this lead into a conversation about hair. Well, let’s think about it. For one, Black Widow’s hair has been a topic of conversation since Johansson brought her to life on the big screen. People complained it was too short, it was too long, it was too curly, it was too straight, it went blonde, etc. Here we have someone who regularly takes out pretty scary and powerful enemies, and we are talking about if her hair is right to the character. Dude – I just always wanted to know why it was down? In Endgame, we finally see her hair up for most of the movie, maybe because in space it’s more acceptable? Or because the scene had been set for years’ worth of searching for ways to undo all that Thanos had destroyed, and suddenly it didn’t matter? For whatever reason, I was thrilled to see exceptionally powerful women go into full battle mode with their hair up in Black Widow.

The contrast between Yelena wearing her hair up from the beginning but Natasha evidently having had to take a journey for it to be acceptable to wear her hair up is hopefully a glimpse into the future treatment of female super heroes in the MCU. Yelena has the same sarcastic wit of Captain Marvel, the same desire for what was fake to be real as Wanda, and the same moral compass of Gamora’s change of heart. She is set up to take on the mantle of Natasha and she’s not here to play games. And as silly as it’s going to seem to people, seeing her with her hair up throughout the film gives me confidence that female superheroes are being equipped to fight the same battles as their male counterparts. In continuation of illustrating this point, I give you the original Avengers:

  1. Captain America. Helmet. I don’t know how effective it is but it’s there. And he’s enhanced.
  2. Iron Man. Obviously. And he’s enhanced.
  3. Thor. Yes his hair is down but he can also fly and call lightning to his very hands. And he is a god.
  4. Bruce Banner. One word: Hulk. And he’s enhanced.
  5. Hawkeye. No head covering, but he mostly fights from a distance…because you know, #bowandarrows.

Captain Marvel had a helmet and a much more protective suit but, to this day, people condemn her character – even though she has been the closest one to receiving equal treatment. And she’s enhanced. Natasha fights on the ground, hand-to-hand, and her hair is curled and flowing the whole time. Now I don’t know much about the comics, but, as an average movie-watcher, it’s always bothered me. So forgive me if such a trivial detail has had such an impact on me. Because it demonstrates strength. And it’s just one piece of how Black Widow successfully created a storyline laced with vulnerability in such a way that made the women stronger as opposed to needy. Hair down to hair up is a key element of this transformation.

For years, Dreykov (Ray Winstone and one of the creepiest villains-to-date) exploited the emotional vulnerability and the sexuality of orphaned and discarded girls and controlled them in order to maintain his power over the world’s most influential leaders. We know this because we have seen Natasha use it in previous films, whether she is using staged modelling photos to distract Tony from her identity or secretly interrogating Loki by using her past as a tool to get what she wants out of him. She was trained to do that, and so were the hundreds of Widows trained after her. The ponytail, the braids, even the earrings…all of them work together as a visual representation of the strength of these women to do what needs to be done. In Black Widow, they are being freed from the constraints of how they have been viewed and used by those around them.

And for me at least, it’s about dang time. If I’m not going to clean with my hair in my face, I sure as heck ain’t saving the world with it in my face. And now my heroes don’t have to either.

Black Widow is now available in theatres and on Disney+.

The Accidental President: The Elephant in the Room Since 2016

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These days it seems that just about every conversation will work its way around to politics. Whether you’re talking to a beloved family member, long-term friend or Internet stranger, our current political climate has so permeated our day-to-day that most of us don’t even realize what we’re talking about until we abruptly come to the end, unable to contain or respond to the emotions rising to the surface. As an American, I’ve learned to brace myself for it, as I quickly learned during the 2016 election that a sleeping giant of discord was disturbed from its apathy. And we will never be the same. 

How? Why? What? Even now the world continues to ask what exactly went down during the 2016 election. How did one of the most well-known politicians in D.C. lose the Presidential election to one of the most well-known celebrities with no political experience? Why did American media and political experts get it so wrong? What impact remains to be seen as a result of one of the most puzzling elections to-date? 

In his documentary The Accidental President, Director James Fletcher seeks to answer these exact questions. By inviting those closest to both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to share first-hand experiences of the events leading up to and directly following the election, Fletcher offers as close to a neutral and balanced view as one would hope into the unpredictable journey that was the 2016 Presidential election.

I had the privilege of speaking with Fletcher as we dove into the divided conversation that is the election and legacy of President Trump, but before you listen to the full interview, I’d like to offer a word of invitation.

No matter what you fall on the political spectrum, I implore you to please watch The Accidental President. The amount of insight and balance that is woven throughout the film is unlike anything else I have watched or read. As someone who works to remain diligent in challenging my own “why” that informs my beliefs, this film provided a safe space for both validation and challenge. Fletcher himself says it best: “Across the board….people feel very strongly about Trump one way or the other – whether you love him or hate him, there is something in this film for you.” And in a time when emotions are often leading our opinions and conversations, I cannot stress the importance of critical and open thinking enough. Confirmation bias doesn’t just exist in our media – it’s everywhere and impacts everyone, even if we don’t realize it.

Through this film, viewers are given an inside look into the experiences of those on the front lines. Kellyanne Conway, Piers Morgan, Jerry Springer, Frank Luntz, Aaron Sorkin, Molly Ball, Steve Schmidt, and Michael D’Antonio are just a few of the witnesses including in this film. And his approach to engaging with each one of them was the same: Fletcher was sure to invite his interviewees to share from their own perspectives.

“I basically say ‘tell us what happened…’ I want to hear from them. I want to hear how they see it – and they can’t be wrong in that. So the viewer could decide if they disagree with any of the interviewees. I’m not telling anyone what to think.”

And with a background in television and then later as a campaign producer in the UK, Fletcher’s experience and familiarity with the political landscape makes him a qualified guide through the disruption that was this election.

I think I can safely say we all were shocked. Long-term politicians, pollsters, journalists, Republicans, Democrats, celebrities, and voters all watched with mouths agape as the events unfolded. The Trump campaign was able to tap into the feeling of invisibility that many voters had lived with. The Clinton campaign went into it overly-confident and failed to make that same emotional connection. With every controversial action or statement from Trump, Republican leaders and political experts repeated “he’s done.” And yet his popularity grew as Clinton’s plummeted.

Being able to go behind the scenes of how this happened has helped reshape my own views regarding the roles we all have to play in politics. To Fletcher’s point, “If a game show host becoming the most powerful person on the planet isn’t worthy of a conversation I’m not sure frankly what is…This is essentially a historical document about the 2016 election, and I think there are lots of lessons to learn for both sides of the aisle.” And no matter my politics, I completely agree. We all have to be able to take a step back and watch something like this. Why? Because our political landscape has irrevocably changed. If we are to navigate it, we have to be willing to listen to the voices that don’t sound like our own. No one – not the media, not our elected officials, not our voters – should be living in an echo chamber. And this documentary is a great place to start.

There is so much more to glean from The Accidental President and my interview with James Fletcher (full audio below). I encourage you to check out the film, which is currently available for purchase on VOD and will be available on Starz later this year.

In the Heights: A Portrait of Dreams, Community, and Identity

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This movie wasn’t for me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I didn’t love every single moment of it, because I did. I was entranced by the story of this tight-knit Latino community as they navigate their way through life, their struggles, their dreams, and even the brutal New York summer heat. 

I’m not saying that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrics and music weren’t mesmerizing, because they were. After one viewing I was already humming “Piragua” without realizing it and, even though I was watching on my laptop, I still felt as if I was watching it on Broadway (where it originated in 2008). 

I’m not saying that the ensemble cast of Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, and Lin-Manuel Miranda wasn’t an effortless performance that transported me into these lives and stories, because it was.

Basically yes, everything about In the Heights was stunning, but it wasn’t made for me. 

The best way I can describe it is if a family member handed me an old love letter from years ago. Intimate and personal but voluntarily shared with me, the offer of this letter would be as if to say “hey, I’m inviting you into this part of my story so that you can witness and understand things that aren’t part of your daily life.” And so I read the letter – not from a position of voyeurism or entitlement – but from a place of respect for the person who placed it in my hand. And when I finish the letter, I look up into the shining eyes of the one who owns it, they smile gently and nod and, for that moment, I am transported into a story that lives and breathes as it is passed down from generation to generation.

It isn’t my story. But oh, how I long to help steward it. 

Most viewers are going to be able to connect with the central theme of fulfilling dreams and destinies. Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) runs a corner bodega, a small convenience store that connects the community of Washington Heights with good coffee and charisma. Longing for the return to his roots in the Dominican Republic, everything Usnavi does is to support that dream – from supporting his young cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) to caring for the neighborhood grandmother Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz) – every day moving closer to that realization. But in the midst of pursuing his “El Sueñito” (Little Dream), those closest to him are navigating their own life changes and dreams. Nina (Leslie Grace), the pride of her family, friends, and entire community, has returned from her first year in college lost and homesick. Leaning into her old flame Benny (Corey Hawkins) while arguing with her father Kevin (Jimmy Smits), Nina has to decide where her future lies and what she will do with it. But while she is yearning to stay, aspiring fashion designer (and Usnavi’s crush) Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) is doing everything in her power to move out of town and into high society. Together they all have to work through uncovering not only who they are, but what they are meant to do. 

It is through the cultural strength of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s composition that this story is told, and it is here where I am back to reading that love letter. I can’t fully grasp the pain of being treated as less-than, or the fear that undermines the hope for their future. I don’t understand the language (literally), and I don’t know if my definition of community will ever be as robust as what I witnessed during this film. But I saw it. I heard it. I felt it. And this is where I hand that love letter back, forever changed by its contents and with a small piece of it engraved upon my heart and in my mind. Never to forget the beauty of a story that pulled back the veil just enough for me to see beyond my own view, while still preserving the intimacy between the author and the recipient. And I am grateful.

In the Heights is now streaming on HBO Max and in theaters.