deerstalker
https://blackgirlnerds.com/a-deeper-look-into-the-jackson-mississippi-water-crisis/
Across America, millions of citizens take for granted the ability to rely on and use clean water whenever they need it. Yet for 80 percent of the population in Jackson, Mississippi, the days are filled with worry and distress because all they have running out of their faucets is water that is murky and toxic.
Flint, Michigan, has had a significant unresolved water crises affecting Black Americans since 2014. Now the Jackson water crisis is affecting Black families and causing the most stress on single-parent homes, many run by Black women. The news of the Jackson water crisis has been circling news outlets for most of the month, but there is more to the crisis than the lime-infested pipes.
Causes of the Jackson water crisis
It’s almost tragically poetic that the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis started from too much water. According to CNN, the Pearl River was flooded after heavy rain, damaging pumps at the main water treatment facility that were previously in poor condition.
For a week after the flooding, the citizens of Jackson couldn’t use their toilets, use the water to cook food, or bathe or brush their teeth because there was no running water in the entire city. During this time people had to use bottled water as a temporary substitute.
After residents uprooted their lives to drive miles from home to purchase water and then came home to ration it to meet their basic needs, water has returned to flowing through the pipes. However, hope is quickly diminishing as the water often comes out brown and smelly. If the water does come out clear, residents are advised to boil it first and shower with their mouths closed because of the high levels of toxicity.
With access to clean water being a basic human right in this developed nation known as the land of the free, it makes one wonder why is this happening.
A water crisis rooted in racism
So why hasn’t the government come to the aid of its people? The simple answer is systematic racism.
According to Zakiya Summers, a Democrat who represents Jackson in the Mississippi state legislature, Republican leaders have only provided $3 million after blocking a $47 million this year designated for water and sewer repairs in Jackson. Summers was further quoted in the Washington Post saying, “We certainly have been a victim of systemic and structural racism in the city of Jackson. And I don’t think it’s unique to Jackson. I think it’s true of majority-minority cities across the South.”
According to Summers, the problem started after the schools were desegregated decades ago. When this happened, many white families left the city, taking away the government incentive to fund the county.
“Wealthier areas tend to get more resources, more state support,” stated Summers. “West Jackson, we haven’t seen that in a while. It’s areas where poor Black people are concentrated where help is slow-moving or it’s none at all.”
The Jackson water crisis and its effect on Black families
Most people work constantly to provide for their children. But what if supporting your children means cutting off your only source of income? What if you had to raise your children differently because you feared they would be poisoned by something in their own home?
This is the case for Brooke Floyd, who raised her kids to only use bottled water to brush their teeth and drink because she was warned by her physician to not use tap water, an advisory she’s followed since she was pregnant with her children.
When she told the Southern Poverty Law Center about her experience visiting relatives who lived two hours away, her children were shocked to see that other people used tap water for everyday things.
“They’ve never used water out of the faucet, period,” she said. “I felt terrible. They thought everyone in America lives like this.”
There have been many days in Floyd’s life in Jackson spent living on high alert, weary of water contamination alerts. And when this happens, she spends her day filling up buckets of water to use to flush the toilet for when water no longer comes out clear but yellow and smelling like bleach.
“I’m angry, I’m frustrated, and I’m mad,” Floyd said. “They’re choking us off. They’re cutting us off. We’re here. All of us are here and we deserve to live like everyone else in the United States. All of us deserve to thrive.”
Some families have it even harder. Charity Bass and her five children are also struggling to manage life with limited clean water while also supporting charities such as Poor People’s Campaign, which helps distribute water in her neighborhood.
“When you’re passing out the water and you see the looks on the people’s faces, the old people’s faces, they just look at you with tears in their eyes. It does something to you,” Bass said.
Bath time for her children isn’t filled with a tub full of bubbles and rubber ducks. Instead, her children line up to be lathered with soap and then rinsed off with bottles of water while they stand in the bathtub.
“One thing is, I’m a survivor. I have to do what I have to do,” Bass said. “But I got to ask, the water in Jackson, it’s been messed up for a while. I just feel like certain people, like the governor, they let us down.”
How to help the Jackson water crisis
Currently, the boil water notice has been lifted, but it doesn’t mean that all problems are solved. There are many people on the ground continuing to support Black communities.
Lea Campbell, organizer with the Mississippi Rising Coalition, wrote to BGN when asked for more insight into the situation: “The people of Jackson have sounded the alarm about the worsening state of Jackson’s water in recent years and have survived thus far thanks only to collective resilience and self-determination. Jackson residents have been boiling their water to cook and drink. Jackson-based NGOs have been providing bottled or filtered water for residents to the extent they can prior to this most recent crisis. In our assessment, the white power structure in Mississippi has created apartheid conditions in the City of Jackson, denying the basic human right of clean water access, and finally, the world is paying attention.”
Thanks to social media the Jackson water crisis hashtag has over a million views on Tik Tok and is helping to spread the word about this issue. In addition, there are many organizations on the ground that are helping and accepting donations to continue supporting the people.
Cooperation Jackson: An organization supporting economic democracy primarily amongst Black and Latina organizations hosts weekly water distribution.
Mississippi Rising Coalition is a multigenerational non-partisan group that seeks to empower its community members.
The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity of Mississippi empowers immigrant children and families through political education and community organizing.
Across America, millions of citizens take for granted the ability to rely on and use clean water whenever they need it. Yet for 80 percent of the population in Jackson, Mississippi, the days are filled with worry and distress because all they have running out of their faucets is water that is murky and toxic.
Flint, Michigan, has had a significant unresolved water crises affecting Black Americans since 2014. Now the Jackson water crisis is affecting Black families and causing the most stress on single-parent homes, many run by Black women. The news of the Jackson water crisis has been circling news outlets for most of the month, but there is more to the crisis than the lime-infested pipes.
Causes of the Jackson water crisis
It’s almost tragically poetic that the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis started from too much water. According to CNN, the Pearl River was flooded after heavy rain, damaging pumps at the main water treatment facility that were previously in poor condition.
For a week after the flooding, the citizens of Jackson couldn’t use their toilets, use the water to cook food, or bathe or brush their teeth because there was no running water in the entire city. During this time people had to use bottled water as a temporary substitute.
After residents uprooted their lives to drive miles from home to purchase water and then came home to ration it to meet their basic needs, water has returned to flowing through the pipes. However, hope is quickly diminishing as the water often comes out brown and smelly. If the water does come out clear, residents are advised to boil it first and shower with their mouths closed because of the high levels of toxicity.
With access to clean water being a basic human right in this developed nation known as the land of the free, it makes one wonder why is this happening.
A water crisis rooted in racism
So why hasn’t the government come to the aid of its people? The simple answer is systematic racism.
According to Zakiya Summers, a Democrat who represents Jackson in the Mississippi state legislature, Republican leaders have only provided $3 million after blocking a $47 million this year designated for water and sewer repairs in Jackson. Summers was further quoted in the Washington Post saying, “We certainly have been a victim of systemic and structural racism in the city of Jackson. And I don’t think it’s unique to Jackson. I think it’s true of majority-minority cities across the South.”
According to Summers, the problem started after the schools were desegregated decades ago. When this happened, many white families left the city, taking away the government incentive to fund the county.
“Wealthier areas tend to get more resources, more state support,” stated Summers. “West Jackson, we haven’t seen that in a while. It’s areas where poor Black people are concentrated where help is slow-moving or it’s none at all.”
The Jackson water crisis and its effect on Black families
Most people work constantly to provide for their children. But what if supporting your children means cutting off your only source of income? What if you had to raise your children differently because you feared they would be poisoned by something in their own home?
This is the case for Brooke Floyd, who raised her kids to only use bottled water to brush their teeth and drink because she was warned by her physician to not use tap water, an advisory she’s followed since she was pregnant with her children.
When she told the Southern Poverty Law Center about her experience visiting relatives who lived two hours away, her children were shocked to see that other people used tap water for everyday things.
“They’ve never used water out of the faucet, period,” she said. “I felt terrible. They thought everyone in America lives like this.”
There have been many days in Floyd’s life in Jackson spent living on high alert, weary of water contamination alerts. And when this happens, she spends her day filling up buckets of water to use to flush the toilet for when water no longer comes out clear but yellow and smelling like bleach.
“I’m angry, I’m frustrated, and I’m mad,” Floyd said. “They’re choking us off. They’re cutting us off. We’re here. All of us are here and we deserve to live like everyone else in the United States. All of us deserve to thrive.”
Some families have it even harder. Charity Bass and her five children are also struggling to manage life with limited clean water while also supporting charities such as Poor People’s Campaign, which helps distribute water in her neighborhood.
“When you’re passing out the water and you see the looks on the people’s faces, the old people’s faces, they just look at you with tears in their eyes. It does something to you,” Bass said.
Bath time for her children isn’t filled with a tub full of bubbles and rubber ducks. Instead, her children line up to be lathered with soap and then rinsed off with bottles of water while they stand in the bathtub.
“One thing is, I’m a survivor. I have to do what I have to do,” Bass said. “But I got to ask, the water in Jackson, it’s been messed up for a while. I just feel like certain people, like the governor, they let us down.”
How to help the Jackson water crisis
Currently, the boil water notice has been lifted, but it doesn’t mean that all problems are solved. There are many people on the ground continuing to support Black communities.
Lea Campbell, organizer with the Mississippi Rising Coalition, wrote to BGN when asked for more insight into the situation: “The people of Jackson have sounded the alarm about the worsening state of Jackson’s water in recent years and have survived thus far thanks only to collective resilience and self-determination. Jackson residents have been boiling their water to cook and drink. Jackson-based NGOs have been providing bottled or filtered water for residents to the extent they can prior to this most recent crisis. In our assessment, the white power structure in Mississippi has created apartheid conditions in the City of Jackson, denying the basic human right of clean water access, and finally, the world is paying attention.”
Thanks to social media the Jackson water crisis hashtag has over a million views on Tik Tok and is helping to spread the word about this issue. In addition, there are many organizations on the ground that are helping and accepting donations to continue supporting the people.
Cooperation Jackson: An organization supporting economic democracy primarily amongst Black and Latina organizations hosts weekly water distribution.
Mississippi Rising Coalition is a multigenerational non-partisan group that seeks to empower its community members.
The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity of Mississippi empowers immigrant children and families through political education and community organizing.
New Special, GHOST ADVENTURES: DEVIL’S DEN, Investigates Evil Inside a California Detention Center; ‘Shock Doc’ THE CURSE OF ROBERT THE DOLL Presents the Frightening Story of the World’s Most Haunted Doll
New Series, ELI ROTH PRESENTS: MY POSSESSED PET, Explores Terrifying Tales of Pets Grasped by Supernatural Forces, and GHOST HUNTERS Returns With Special Guests Including Olympic Ice Skater Johnny Weir
Plus, GHOST BROTHERS: LIGHTS OUT Is Back With a Brand-New Season, and Jack Osbourne Revisits U.K. Haunts From His Childhood in JACK OSBOURNE’S HAUNTED HOMECOMING
CONCURRENT PREMIERES: Travel Channel and discovery+
GHOST ADVENTURES: DEVIL’S DEN
NEW SPECIAL – Premieres Thursday, September 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley are in Downey, California, to investigate the shuttered Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center, given the ominous designation of the “Devil’s Den” by both guards and inmates. In the terrifying, two-hour special, GHOST ADVENTURES: DEVIL’S DEN, the crew go behind the barbed wire to find out if the evil inside is not the real-life horrors of detention, but the devil itself. [Two-hour special]
SHOCK DOCS – THE CURSE OF ROBERT THE DOLL
NEW SPECIAL – Premieres Friday, September 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Considered the world’s most haunted doll, Robert the Doll draws thousands of visitors to a museum in Key West, Florida, every year, and those who fail to follow his rules find themselves cursed. Victims have experienced illness, injury, accidents and even death. But what makes Robert curse his victims? What evil entity lives inside this doll? This latest Shock Docs installment explores the true origin of Robert the Doll, uncovers the mystery of Robert’s first owners in 1905, and seeks to find out why this doll is so nefarious. [Two-hour special]
ELI ROTH PRESENTS: MY POSSESSED PET
NEW SERIES – Premieres Friday, September 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Few things are more profound than the quiet bond between a person and their pet. But what if an evil presence takes hold of the animal and uses the trusted companion to get to us? ELI ROTH PRESENTS: MY POSSESSED PET explores the true, terrifying tales of what happens when evil spirits, curses and demons take over family pets. Each episode will follow the chilling and deeply personal story of someone who has had their profound and loving relationship ripped apart by supernatural forces beyond their control. [Hour-long episodes]
SERIES PREMIERE: “The Night Mare” – Premieres Friday, September 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
A teenage girl’s black stallion, Cash, is like a noble beast out of a fairy tale. But when she accidentally awakens an ancient evil, her dream horse turns into a nightmare.
“Master of the House” – Premieres Friday, October 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
A bachelor adopts a dog, Sam, to keep him company in his new home. But when an evil spirit takes hold of his beloved pet, the roles are reversed, and Sam eventually becomes the master of the house – and of him.
GHOST HUNTERS
NEW SEASON – Premieres Saturday, October 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
The renowned TAPS team are back with a new season of the paranormal show that started it all. Original GHOST HUNTERS members Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, along with Shari DeBenedetti, revisit their most chilling cases and investigate disturbing new hauntings inside mansions, businesses, historic sites and more. Armed with state-of-the-art technology, their proven methodology and a few special guest investigators, TAPS tackle disturbing paranormal activity head-on, leaving no stone unturned to reach the dead among the living. [Hour-long episodes]
SEASON PREMIERE: “Keeper of the Light” – Premieres Saturday, October 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
TAPS reunite with Amy Bruni, Adam Berry and Kris Williams in the Florida panhandle, where a new exhibition is stirring up paranormal activity at the Pensacola Lighthouse. The worried staff want to make sure that visitors won’t be harmed by the unsettled spirits.
“Bound by Blood” – Premieres Saturday, October 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
TAPS check out the frightening paranormal events inundating Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. With the help of former Olympic ice skater Johnny Weir, the team dives deep into the space of this former church that stands on land bloodied by Revolutionary War violence.
GHOST ADVENTURES
New Season, Now Airing on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Paranormal investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasleycontinue their terrifying travels to haunted destinations in a brand-new season of GHOST ADVENTURES, where they meet with locals, eyewitnesses and experts in an attempt to piece together the haunted history of each site. They then begin their “lockdown” investigation, using the latest scientific gadgets and technology in an effort to obtain physical evidence of the paranormal and uncover the truth behind each haunted mystery. [Hour-long episodes]
“Acadia Ranch Sanitorium” – Premieres Thursday, October 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Zak Bagans and the crew go far off the beaten path in Arizona to investigate an abandoned sanatorium. Dozens of deaths, including the murder of a child, have left a heavy residue of pain and suffering on the building making it a hotbed for aggressive poltergeist activity.
GHOSTS OF DEVIL’S PERCH
New Series, Now Airing on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
A mystery is buried beneath the streets of Butte, Montana, also known as “The Devil’s Perch,” and the spirits tethered to the historic mining town’s seedy past are rising to the surface. With the town intent on rebuilding its image, it seems every renovation project is digging up a paranormal nightmare with residents and businesses reporting terrifying ghostly encounters. To help restore order, the mayor and sheriff enlist the help of paranormal investigator Dave Schrader, psychic medium Cindy Kaza and tech expert K.D. Stafford to stop the wave of unnatural occurrences plaguing the town. The team unearth disturbances ranging from feuds between rival mine owners and lovers resorting to violence to vice-fueled horrors. But when they discover an army of trapped spirits crying for help, their investigation takes a whole new turn. [Hour-long episodes]
“Unfinished Business” – Premieres Sunday, October 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Dave Schrader, Cindy Kaza and K.D. Stafford are called to Butte’s historic courthouse after a woman has a strange encounter with an apparition. When they uncover a history of brutal public executions, the team fear one of the spirits roaming the halls is out for blood.
SEASON FINALE: “End Lines” – Premieres Sunday, October 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Dave Schrader, Cindy Kaza and K.D. Stafford have identified the dark entity behind the trouble in Butte. Now they must confront this “monster” hundreds of feet below the ground in what could prove to be the most harrowing paranormal battle of their lives.
PARANORMAL CAUGHT ON CAMERA
New Season, Now Airing on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Some of the most amazing, eye-opening and downright scary paranormal videos from around the world are featured as a panel of experts break down the footage and analyze what exactly the eyewitnesses captured. Insights from some of the most knowledgeable specialists in the field and firsthand accounts from the people lucky enough – or perhaps unlucky enough – to witness the strange phenomena themselves just might make a believer out of even the biggest skeptics out there. [Hour-long episodes]
“Utah Sasquatch and More” – Premieres Sunday, October 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
Spirits take their seats in a haunted auditorium in Pakistan. A father and son on a hunting trip catch sight of a Sasquatch. A ghostly figure mysteriously fades away as it walks toward a morgue in Peru.
“Santa Fe UFO and More” – Premieres Sunday, October 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel and Streaming on discovery+
A man leaving work is startled by a gigantic UFO. A convenience store in Malaysia is visited by the dangerous and voluptuous Hantu Tetek. An abandoned temple in Ohio is haunted by a horde of shadow people.
discovery+ PREMIERES
HAUNTED SCOTLAND (U.S. Premiere)
New Series, Now Streaming on discovery+
In HAUNTED SCOTLAND, renowned American medium Chris Fleming and Scotland’s Gail Porter lead an expert paranormal team to investigate the chilling crimes, supernatural sightings and terrifying stories across one of the most haunted countries on earth: Scotland. With exclusive access to places where a film crew has never been allowed before, they will try to make contact with the spirits to explain the paranormal mysteries that have haunted Scotland’s most iconic landmarks for centuries. [Hour-long episodes]
“Tron Theater” – Begins Streaming Friday, September 30 on discovery+
The Tron Theatre sits on the shell of a church that burned to the ground during an ancient ritual performed by the Hellfire Club. The team needs their wits and rosary beads to battle the dark entities unleashed by the infamous secret society.
“Culross Palace and Town” – Begins Streaming Friday, October 7 on discovery+
The village of Culross was the epicenter for one of the worst witch hunts in European history. The team attempts to make contact with the tortured souls of the wrongfully accused to bring them peace and hold those responsible for such unspeakable cruelty to account.
JACK OSBOURNE’S HAUNTED HOMECOMING (U.S. Premiere)
NEW SERIES – Begins Streaming Sunday, October 2 on discovery+
Jack Osbourne returns to the United Kingdom to revisit his childhood home and past haunts in the county of Buckinghamshire – a notorious paranormal hotspot – seeking the dark truth behind terrifying, unexplained mysteries and experiences he had there as a young boy. On his journey, Osbourne makes stops at the family home where he spent his formative years, a local theater and ancient pub, and Missenden Abbey, a notoriously haunted locale that was the scene of regular childhood school trips. [Hour-long episodes]
SERIES PREMIERE: “Welders House” – Begins Streaming Sunday, October 2 on discovery+
Ghost hunter Jack Osbourne returns from Los Angeles to Welders House, the family home, in paranormal hot spot Buckinghamshire, where he spent his formative years. Will he unlock the secrets of the terrifying, unexplained experiences he had there as a young boy?
“The Swan and Royal Standard” – Begins Streaming Sunday, October 9 on discovery+
Expat ghost hunter Jack Osbourne revisits haunted U.K. hot spots from his past – the theatre where Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne took the family to see pantos as kids and the ancient local pub down the road –both rife with ghost sightings and unexplained supernatural activity.
GHOST BROTHERS: LIGHTS OUT
NEW SEASON – Begins Streaming Friday, October 7 on discovery+ with Three-Episode Binge Drop
The Ghost Brothers – Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey – flip the switch on paranormal lore by shining a light on its darkest secrets. In the second season of GHOST BROTHERS: LIGHTS OUT, the hype men of the haunted investigate iconic paranormal hot spots to find out if the legends are really true and if these places are still plagued by the horror of the events that occurred there. Using unconventional experiments, they are ready to expose the haunted holdouts hanging around these locations. [Hour-long episodes]
SEASON PREMIERE: “The Shank” – Begins Streaming Friday, October 7 on discovery+
Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey investigate a century-old haunting at the notorious Ohio State Reformatory. But as they confront the entities still lingering in the massive, abandoned facility, they become targets of terrifying paranormal activity of more recent origins.
“Roadhouse Reckoning” – Begins Streaming Friday, October 7 on discovery+
Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey investigate shocking reports of ghostly goings-on at the legendary Bobby Mackey’s Music World. What starts out as a friendly mission at the haunted honky-tonk quickly escalates into a dangerous situation when the spirits set their sights on Harvey.
“The Perron Family Nightmare” – Begins Streaming Friday, October 7 on discovery+
Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey investigate the infamous farmhouse that inspired the horror blockbuster, “The Conjuring.” The guys will stop at nothing to get answers about this legendary haunting, including sacrificing one of their own to a powerful succubus.
TRAVEL CHANNEL PREMIERES
CONJURING KESHA (Season 1)
Premieres Saturday, October 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel
Global pop superstar Kesha has a deep passion for all things supernatural and has spent most of her life searching for answers to the world’s biggest mysteries. Now she is expanding on her fascination with the unknown in a cinematic, hands-on paranormal series chock full of mysterious adventures. Follow Kesha and some of her celebrity friends on a cosmic exploration of the afterlife, as they travel to mind-blowing haunted locations and search for all things unexplainable. [Hour-long episodes]
“Not Today, Satan” – Premieres Saturday, October 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel
Kesha and comedian Whitney Cummings dive into the darkness of Tennessee’s haunted “Bloody Brushy,” a closed penitentiary that encaged the worst of the worst. Kesha is pushed to her limit when she makes contact with a demonic force.
“Songs for the Dead” – Premieres Saturday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel
Kesha and pop star Betty Who unravel the mysteries of Antoinette Hall, one of America’s oldest and most haunted opera houses. The deeper they delve into the dark secrets beneath the old stage, the more aggressive the spirits become with Kesha and her crew.
The post IT’S THAT TIME OF FEAR AGAIN! ‘GHOSTOBER’ BRINGS FRIGHTS EVERY NIGHT appeared first on The Nerd Element.
Netflix’s latest action-thriller isn’t just another revenge film. Cinematographer and director Anna Foerster (Westworld) makes her directorial debut with Lou — a female-driven film that packs a serious punch.
Written by Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) and Jack Stanley, Lou follows the titular landlord (Allison Janney) as she somewhat enjoys her solitary existence on an island in the Pacific Northwest with her dog Jax. The first few minutes establish that, although she’s reasonably well-liked in town, she’s feared to some degree. Not because she puts off dangerous vibes, but more like, “Here comes that old grump.” Basically, Lou’s inability to be personable makes people uneasy, so they keep their distance.
The enigmatic Lou rents a trailer to Hannah (Jurnee Smollett) and her daughter Vee (Ridley Asha Bateman). We’re introduced to the young single mom while she’s simultaneously doing laundry and playing with her daughter. Unlike her stoic landlord, she has a warmth to her. There’s some tension when the two women interact, mostly because Lou, like every cinematic landlord, is hounding Hannah for rent.
During a gnarly rainstorm, Vee is taken by Hannah’s violent ex, played by the talented and underrated actor Logan Marshall-Green. She runs to Lou’s place to use the phone. Naturally, it’s out. Lou takes the lead, and they set out to find her daughter. I’ve read a few descriptions of the film that say Hannah “begs” Lou for help. But it’s more like she shows up to use a phone that doesn’t work, quickly rambles off what’s going down, and Lou decides this is her problem now, too.
Even though she’s known for her comedic roles, Janney really knows how to play a woman hardened by her past. The character of Lou isn’t quite LaVona Golden (from I, Tonya) level, though. Janney told Entertainment Weekly that Lou is “a woman of few words,” who is “kind of a scary figure in town.” She’s definitely intimidating but has a sense of humor and is still likable.
As seen in the trailer, Lou ominously burns redacted documents and old photos in her fireplace. We don’t find out what her deal is until later. It makes a little more sense once we see she’s an unexpected badass with mysterious expertise the killing. She also knows how to live off the land. Right away, she’s shown hunting and skinning animals, so if that grosses you out, I wouldn’t eat while watching the first four minutes at least.
Lou and Hannah aren’t a likely pair. Along the way, they discover they have more in common than they thought. Lou loads up on weapons and whips out all this knowledge on tracking people on the run. As a single mother and survivor of an abusive husband, Hannah’s picked up her fair share of survival tactics too. She’s a mama bear going primal, not a damsel in distress.
Once the storm is in full swing, the characters spend most of the film utterly rain-soaked. Their trek through the wilderness of the San Juan Islands is a rough one. Lou was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Despite the raging storm and terrifying circumstances, the island’s scenery is stunning. Having ugly things happening in a beautiful place reminds me of the picturesque fishing town in Midnight Mass.
I don’t see it as a revenge thriller in the traditional sense. It’s more of a “rescuing a kidnapped child” thriller. In an interview with Screen Rant, Smollett said, “That was a very interesting dialogue to have about women and womanhood, and then to put that in the action genre space was just so thrilling and exciting.” She continued, “Because it’s not a message; we’re kind of forced to work together and make our way.” I also think it’s a combination of the writing and chemistry between Smollett and Janney that makes the emotional moments feel more authentic and not like action-thriller tropes.
When it was announced back in 2018 by The Hollywood Reporter, it was described as “being a tonal mix of Thelma and Louis and Taken.” It’s a description that’s sure to get people to watch. But calling Lou a female Bryan Mills or John Wick is reductive. Thankfully, Lou doesn’t have a moment where she explicitly tells someone she has a “very particular set of skills.”
It may not be totally action-packed but the fight scenes are exciting and very well done; particularly an epic one towards the end that I won’t spoil. Janney said that she trained with stunt choreographer and actor Daniel Bernhardt, (who you might not know by name but will recognize from films like Logan, Atomic Blonde, and as the guy who gets his legs broken by Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey).
Anna Foerster’s Lou is a compelling thriller starring two of the most talented actresses working today who deliver the complex emotions and physicality that make their characters people we want to root for.
Lou debuts on September 23, 2022, on Netflix.