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BGN interviews the cast and crew of the film Run Sweetheart Run. Featured in the interviews are: Shana Feste, Effie T. Brown, Ella Balinska, and Pilou Asbæk.
Initially apprehensive when her boss insists she meet with one of his most important clients, single mom Cherie (Ella Balinska) is relieved and excited when she meets charismatic Ethan (Pilou Asbæk). The influential businessman defies expectations and sweeps Cherie off her feet. But at the end of the night, when the two are alone together, he reveals his true, violent nature. Battered and terrified, she flees for her life, beginning a relentless game of cat-and-mouse with a blood-thirsty assailant hell-bent on her utter destruction. In this edge-of-your-seat dark thriller, Cherie finds herself in the crosshairs of a conspiracy stranger and more evil than she could have ever imagined.
Interviewer: Jamie Broadnax
Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax
Run Sweetheart Run launches globally on Prime Video October 28th.
In Captain America: Civil War, she strides across the screen in a perfectly tailored black dress with high heels to match clean shaven head with perfect makeup and lashes. She sizes up Black Widow and, without missing a beat, says, “Move. Or you will be moved.” Ayo is a member of the Dora Milaje, played by Ugandan-German actor Florence Kasumba is a force to be reckoned with.
When Black Panther premiered in 2018, seeing dark-skinned Black women warriors with a blend of feminine power and beauty broke a glass ceiling in the Black community. To portray dark-skinned bald Black women as beautiful, strong, and loved was a revelation.
For the Dora Milaje, being bald signifies honor, valor, and beauty. But unlike the Dahomey warriors featured in The Woman King, the Dora Milaje can choose their own husbands and have families. General Okoye (Danai Gurira) and W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) are husband and wife. Ten years ago, you’d only see women with super short or bald styles on TV or film if they were going through a dramatic illness or intense trauma. Black Panther changed the cultural conversation and normalized Black women whose beauty is accentuated with bald or close-cut hairstyles.
Black Panther normalized the combination of strength, beauty, and unapologetic boldness beyond the European standards of beauty that have been injected into Black culture for generations. When I saw that moment in Black Panther when Okoye whips off her wig, throws it into her advisories face, and proceeds to kick everyone’s butt in that red dress, my heart soared. Here is a woman who is bald by choice and loving it.
After Black Panther’s global success, more dark-skinned Black women who were bald or had super short haircuts were being cast in featured roles on TV and in film. In HBO’s I May Destroy You, hair is an accessory for Arabella (Michaela Coel) and her best friend Terry (Weruche Opia). Wigs are worn as wardrobe pieces, and it’s telling that when Aribella’s hair is super short, her mental state is healthiest.
She’s letting go, prepared to move forward. On STARZ’s 21st-century version of Living Single, Run the World, the most feminine and stylish of the Black women on the show is Ella (Andrea Bordeaux), and she lights up the screen. Both of these shows came on the air after Black Panther.
But the change in attitude towards Black women with bald and super short hair isn’t just on the big screen. All over the country, Black women are enjoying a kind of hair liberation we’ve never been able to experience before. Now more than ever, being bald and beautiful are not opposing thoughts.
Femininity is not restricted to standards of beauty based on a European model. There is so much more to a woman than what is growing out of her head. The beauty that radiates comes from confidence and being self-assured, and dare I say, loving ourselves beyond the standards created to keep Black women small.
A beautiful aspect of this 21st-century racial awakening is that Black women have shed the trauma placed upon our hair. Not every Black woman with a closely cut or bald style has this style because she has an illness or is going off to fight a war. Choosing to not spend hours sitting in a chair in a beauty shop or a hair braiding chair shelling out hundreds of dollars every few months is liberating. Being able to go swimming and not worry about how our hair will look when we come out of the water is emancipating.
Not all of us have sunny memories of a mother or auntie lovingly braiding our hair. My memories connected to getting my hair done are all connected to long hours of pain, suffering, being shamed by hairdressers, and getting spanked after sweating my hair out. As a dark-skinned girl, there was so much pressure to conform and be accepted by Black folks who judged women by the shade of their skin and the texture of their hair.
Even though my parents told me I was beautiful and smart at home and I believed them, being a dark-skinned, kinky-headed girl in the larger Black community was downright offensive to some. The expectation of some was that I would feel inferior. But I did not.
The media loves to promote Black women’s trauma and frankly I’m tired of seeing documentaries about Black women and the negative aspects of the relationship that some of us have with our hair due to white dominance and oppression. When I see the Dora Milaje in their gorgeous glory standing proudly, they bring me joy. I’m over the moon elated that in the 21st century dark-skinned and bald-headed women and girls are now associated with femininity, beauty, and grace.
I spent the Indigenous Peoples holiday weekend in New York City. The weather was just about as close to perfect as you can get. From Harlem to Brooklyn, I was among stylish Black women of all ages who were rocking bald heads and super short hairstyles. It’s not just the Dora Milaje changing culture. Black female actors are unapologetically paving the way for Bald to be considered beautiful and, dare I say, normal.
From Cynthia Erivo to Jodie Turner-Smith, it’s heartwarming to see culture expanding. Day by day, the way we choose to style our hair is becoming an expression of our creativity and not a character flaw to be chemically processed, covered up, or extended. I love that the first time we see a Dora Milaje in the Marvel Universe, she’s wearing a black designer dress and heels, the epitome of femininity.
Speaking from my own personal experience, witnessing Okoye in her red dress doing backflips and spins in Black Panther made an indelible positive imprint on my psyche. Black Panther blazed a trail that I am sure will continue with Wakanda Forever — inspiring little dark-skinned Black girls to own their beauty unapologetically. I love that we live in a time where having dark skin and short hair is becoming just another example of beauty. Thank you, Dora Milaje, for playing a vital part in reframing Black beauty for us all.
It’s almost Halloween! In the spirit of the spooky season Guillermo del Toro has blessed us with eight terrifying new horror stories under the banner of his new series Cabinet of Curiosities. From gothic family drama to gruesome body horror, there’s something for every horror fan. With tales from the makers of movies like The Babadook, Twilight, and Mandy, this is a real who’s who of genre creators. Some of the stories are even based on tales by del Toro! So once you’ve watched every one of the delightfully dark entries into the awesome Netflix anthology then join as we breakdown the most terrifying moment from each episode!
“Lot 36” – The Dottie Monster
The opening episode of Cabinet of Curiosities introduces viewers to a desperate man, Nick, and his terrible debts. His quest to pay them off leads him down a dark path. It all begins when he purchases a storage unit filled with strange occult objects. Rather than fearing them, he covets their worth. It’s this choice and his own racist mean streak that ultimately lead him to a fate worse than death. The most shocking moment of the episode comes when Nick disrupts a spell that keeps a demon, Dottie, trapped inside the storage unit. Suddenly, a nightmare of tentacles awakens. The first monster of the season is also one of its most impressive. Slimy, prehensile, and straight out of Hell, this is a truly shocking and unforgettable creature brought to life brilliantly.
“Graveyard Rats” – A Fate Worse Than Death
Though there is another unbelievable monster in the second entry of Cabinet of Curiosities, the most horrifying moment comes after its appearance. David Hewlett stars as graverobber Masson in this claustrophobic tale of another debt-ridden man. Hearing a rumor of a wild treasure to steal out of the depths of the graveyard, Masson begins his final scrabbling descent. But after he has faced down a giant rat and found spoils beyond his wildest dream, he must face his—and many others’—worst fear. Rather than escaping the graveyard, he ends up trapped in a coffin, buried alive with no way out. The worst is yet to come, as rats swarm him. We end the episode with Masson dead and a rodent emerging out of his mouth.
“The Autopsy” – The Autopsy
It’s probably no surprise that an episode called “The Autopsy” excels in the horror of the titular procedure. But David Prior’s tale still manages to surprise as F. Murray Abraham leads a story about a pathologist exploring a terrible disaster. As he begins his autopsy, he learns something awful. It wasn’t an accident and the body he’s operating on isn’t dead. In fact, it’s host to an alien parasite. In one of the most brilliant practical sequences of the series, the alien puppeteers its own body to do an autopsy on itself. It’s a wonderfully grotesque moment that perfectly matches the noir storytelling that has led us to it. And F. Murray Abraham gets a brutal hero moment as he cuts out his own eyes to beat the alien. See, if it cannot see, it cannot survive.
“The Outside” – RIP Martin Starr
Ana Lily Amirpour leans into the awkward in this cringe-inducing horror about the pressure to be perceived as beautiful. Kate Micucci leads as Stacey. She wants nothing more than to be a part of the popular clique at her bank job. Her husband, played by Martin Starr, loves her as she is but that’s not enough for Stacey. When she makes a strange connection with a late night infomercial, she becomes obsessed with a lotion called Alo Glo. Though the cream makes her break out in a horrible rash, she believes it will transform her, and she’s not wrong. Sadly for her husband, he can’t see the possibilities, so she kills him and turns his body into a taxidermized version of himself. It’s the most gruesome moment, made worse by how heartbroken he clearly is at what his wife is doing and her absolute lack of remorse.
“Pickman’s Model” – The Feast
Arguably the most affecting episode this season is this haunting H.P. Lovecraft adaptation. Starring Ben Barnes as an artist named Thurber who discovers a dark and demonic truth in the art of the titular Pickman, the story is a gothic slow burn that never lets up. But its scariest sequence is actually spread throughout the episode as Thurber sees the feast for the demon. We first experience it in the bowels of his home, where we see human remains and rotting food laid out. The table is a nightmarish spread, and its attendants are the figures from Pickman’s paintings. But it’s only after Thurber kills Pickman and learns that his monstrous creations are based on reality that the most shocking moment occurs. As his now cursed wife prepares dinner, he realizes she’s preparing their own child as the main course. Horrific stuff.
“Dreams in the Witch House” – The Witch’s Kiss
Cabinet of Curiosities boasts stunning creature work and haunting storytelling. In Catherine Hardwick’s H.P. Lovecraft-inspired entry we get a dark fairytale about Walter, a man whose all-consuming desire is to bring his dead sister back to life. After being kicked out of the Spiritualist Society, he discovers an odd unheard of potion that allows him to visit the Realm of the Dead. That just so happens to be where his sister’s spirit is kept by a witch called Keziah Mason. She’s a feat of impressive SFX, and in one of the most spooky scenes, Keziah grasps Rupert Grint’s Walter in a powerful embrace. Kissing him and sucking his soul, she claims that he is hers, something that we will later find out is true in the most awful sense.
“The Viewing” – Perceiving the Obelisk
Panos Cosmatos brings his unique sensibilities to this delightfully trippy segment that follows a group of strangers brought together by an invitation. As the night goes on, their host (Peter Weller) entices them with substances, promises, and really great music. Eventually, though, they’re taken to see a magnificent and strange obelisk. It’s here that things get really strange. The Giger-esque rock is hiding something dark inside it. An otherworldly demonic presence emerges and begins to emit a powerful energy. It’s this that leads us to two wonderfully shocking moments. The first happens as one of the guests’ face melts Raiders of the Lost Ark style. Next we get a brilliant Scanners inspired head explosion. How much you enjoy this entry will likely depend on your taste for surreal slow burn. But you can’t deny those awesome explosive deaths.
“The Murmuring” – The Haunting
A tragic domestic chamber drama, “The Murmuring” feels more like a play than a Netflix series. Jennifer Kent brings her emotionally driven gothic storytelling that made The Babadook such a success to this tale of grieving couple Nancy and Edgar. Their loss drives them further into their work studying birds. Moving to a rural isolated old house to get closer to the creatures they’re focusing on begins to take its toll on Nancy. Although this doesn’t have the kind of gross out moments some of the others boast, it still has some heart-stopping shocks. All of them come from the haunting that Nancy begins to experience. One of the most instantly breath-taking moments is the first time that she comes across the ghost of a young drowned boy. It’s the kind of jump scare that could cheapen the story, but instead it just adds to the tension and fear.
Featured Image: Netflix
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We’re mere weeks away from the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was officially designated as the end of MCU’s Phase 4. Phase 5 will begin in February next year with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and include two more releases, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels, in 2023. The phase will continue in 2024, with the release of Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts, only to conclude with the reboot of Blade.
While all of these are equally important for the overarching narrative of the Multiverse Saga that leads to Kang being the next Big Bad, the 2024 releases are really making an impact by teaming up all the previously known characters, including the members of the Thunderbolts and Isaiah Bradley — a long-lost and rediscovered Black Captain America. But where is the connection between the two, and how does Thunderbolts set the perfect stage for the return of Isaiah Bradley?
Before we continue, we’d like to point out that Isaiah Bradley’s slated appearance in the upcoming Captain America: New World Order has been confirmed by the powers at Marvel and Disney. So, everything said here should be treated as speculation and contingent upon Isaiah Bradley’s part in the upcoming Captain America film, which will also feature Sam Wilson’s version of the character for the first time on the silver screen — so far, he was only shown on streaming television medium.
The story of Isaiah Bradley, the second and unknown Captain America, is as much a cautionary tale as a real-world comparison to so many hidden figures that helped shape history. Following Steve Rodgers’ apparent death during WWII, the US Army tried recreating the Super Soldier Serum in order to create more super soldiers. One would argue that they succeeded, at least partially, because the US Armed Forces had produced several different versions of the serum during the Cold War.
The serum was tested on African American soldiers under the pretext of tetanus shorts. Unfortunately, these versions of the serum were imperfect, and soldier Isaiah Bradley was the only one to receive a stable enough variant of the serum. Needless to say, all versions of the serum produced super soldiers, which the US sent on nigh-impossible combat missions, including those performed during the Korean War.
In 1951 the military learned of an enemy soldier that managed to kill anyone sent after him, so they deployed Bradley, their super soldier, to eliminate the threat. As we later found out in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where we first meet Isaiah, this enemy soldier was none other than the Winter Soldier. Back then, Isaiah wasn’t able to kill the Winter Soldier, but he tore his arm off before the Winter Soldier escaped, earning Bradly a reputation as one of HYDRA’s most feared enemies.
Soon after, the recipients of imperfect Super Soldier Serum variants started becoming unstable and dying. They were quickly captured by the enemy and placed in POW camps, which the US Armed Forces wanted to destroy with an air strike and thus swat two flies with one stone: kill the enemy and cover up unethical experiments on African American men. Bradley learned of this and single-handedly infiltrated and liberated the camp, including his fellow super soldiers.
Unfortunately, all the super soldiers he saved later succumb to the side effects of the imperfect Super Soldier Serum administered to them. Bradly was punished for his actions and imprisoned despite his service to the United States in the Korean War. He spent 30 years in prison, during which time he was experimented on by the CIA and HYDRA, both of which were trying to replicate the Super Soldier Serum. Eventually, one of the nurses at the facility helped him fake his death and escape.
He relocated to Baltimore, where he lived with his grandson Eli. His residence was discovered by reformed Bucky Barnes, who decided to keep his existence a secret until 2024 when he and Sam Wilson decided to pay a visit. Needless to say, a couple of episodes later, Isaiah Bradley didn’t get any recompense for the injustice done to him, but the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum updated the Captain America exhibit with a statue and plaque dedicated to Bradley.
It’s important to note that the origin story of the MCU’s incarnation of Isaiah Bradley differs from the one told in comics. The story elements are basically the same, but there are subtle differences. With that said, Isaiah Bradly is considered to be the Black Captain America and is depicted as an underground legend among the African American community within the MCU. He even attended Storm and T’Challa’s wedding, where Luke Cage described him as “the first me.”
While the appearance of Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley is announced in the upcoming Captain America: New World Order, the appearance of Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier wasn’t confirmed. However, he is set to appear in the upcoming Thunderbolts — pretty much the MCU’s version of the Suicide Squad — which features numerous anti-heroes from the previous phases as wannabe good guys/gals. And while Isaiah Bradley’s appearance wasn’t confirmed for the film, he could still play an important role.
If he were to appear in the upcoming Thunderbolts, Isaiah’s role would be short — having a hero with too much screen time in an anti-hero film makes no sense — but still important. Anti-hero narratives are filled with redemptive story elements, which usually take the form of a pivotal moment in which an anti-hero decides to forgo personal interests and make sacrifices for the greater good.
No one knows with absolute certainty the narrative elements of the upcoming Thunderbolts, but the filmmakers can use Bradley, especially considering his connection to the Winter Soldier, to push the team of anti-heroes through their pivotal personal moments. While this won’t make him a premier team member, nor should it, it would set the future stage for his appearances in the MCU, regardless of how major or minute those might be.
It would be fun to see him face-to-face with Rodgers, on a mission, perhaps. Unfortunately, Rodgers went back through time at the end of Endgame, so they’re both retirees in the current MCU continuum — one faked his own death, and the other retired and left the shield in the capable hands of Sam Wilson, a hero that made sure that the memory and legacy of the second Captain America didn’t fall into oblivion.