deerstalker

https://blacknerdproblems.com/belle-is-an-exemplary-emotional-experience/

Almost twenty hours after leaving the theater, I cannot stop thinking about Belle. This film is my latest obsession. It has captivated my entire soul, and all I want to do is tell people how phenomenal this movie is. I know that it is an incredibly difficult ask for someone. I know that the prospect of going to a theater and being in proximity of people is not a trivial one, even with niche anime films that tend not to have full houses no matter what showing you go to. And yet, I find myself extolling the movie and experience. I found myself openly weeping in the theater and letting the ending credits wash over me like gentle waves even though I knew there probably wasn’t a post-credit easter egg (there wasn’t, but I still think you stay through the credits if only to let your fragile emotional state a chance to mend itself). I have told everyone who is willing to listen that Belle is magnificent that if I had the means, I would buy tickets, popcorn, and gas money for anyone who wanted to watch this film just so I could have more people to talk about it with. The soundtrack is the only thing I’m going to be listening to for the next month. I’m exercising a great deal of emotional and physical restraint writing this review instead of seeing the movie again, so I guess I should probably talk about the movie.

When GKIDS started to advertise the US release of Belle, the marketing made it sound like it was an anime interpretation of Beauty and the Beast. The beloved heroine protagonist becomes complicated in the life of a quote unquote beast, in this particular case, The Dragon, and a variety of things happen in the fallout. Even the direct translation of the title, The Dragon and the Freckled Princess, draws a parallel construction to its inspiration and source, Belle is so much more than that.

See, the director and writer Mamoru Hosoda has been creating fantastical interpretations of technology and the importance of personal connection since 1999 with the original Digimon: Our War Game! movie. It was one of the earliest films I ever saw in theaters and one of his first attempts to parse complicated relationships between humanity. He would later revisit the concept of how much the internet has become a part of his life with his 2009 film Summer Wars, and also the different, familiar, and romantic dynamics in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and The Boy and the Beast. All of this to say, Hosoda has been out here making emotionally resonate media for the better part of two decades, so it’s not actually that surprisingly that Belle manages to live up to its predecessor, but my god, how I am still in shambles.

Now, I could honestly just leave the opening three minute scene here and probably be very satisfied about it as my primary argument for you seeing this movie; However, just in case you’re saving yourself for the spectacle the premise is simple. In an alternate world very similar to our own, there is an app called U. A sprawling digital world, in U, you can start over with a biometrically customized avatar referred to as an AS (presumably “Alternate Self”, but I don’t believe that’s specified in a movie), and the first three minutes showcase the fantastical world of U with a concert by its latest pop star: Belle. Of course, after the concert ends, we discover that Belle is actually just a meek 17-year-old country girl by the name of Suzu. The first act of Belle takes its time explaining Suzu/Belle’s origin and every single scene is poignant and relatable, especially to the many of us who are also children of the Digital Age. Suzu is just a girl trying to process the circumstances of her own life and finds her voice in U as Belle and also several million followers thanks to the viral nature of social media.

This all comes to a head during the second act where the Dragon interrupts her latest concert and a series of events unfold in both U and the real world throughout the rest of the film that I dare not talk about in too much detail because I want you to experience this for yourself. However, while I won’t divulge any narrative points, I will exclaim at the wonderful construction of the story and how exceedingly satisfying every story beat is.

From both a visual and aural standpoint, this movie is nothing short of a marvel. Studio Chizu combined traditional 2D animation for the real world and 3D CGI animation for U to create a delightfully expressive world on both fronts. The character designs on both sides work beautifully, and the set pieces are everything you could ever ask for from a Beauty and the Beast inspired story set in a fictitious online world. And the music… the soundtrack… oh it had me in tears at several points. The opening theme had such flourish and such personality that I instantly fell in love. My first viewing was subtitled, so I was treated to the talents of Kaho Nakamura as Belle (all of the voice actors did an impeccable job), but you will likely be equally enthralled by Kylie McNeill’s rendition of the songs and character if the YouTube videos I currently have on repeat in the background are any indication.

Belle is a movie about so many things. It is a critique and celebration of social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok. It is a coming-of-age story about the masks we put up and what it means to reveal our true selves. It is about artistry, music, and learning how to create and express. It’s about standing up for what’s right and protecting the things we hold dear. And I hold this movie dear.

There are plot points that are rushed past and over, some odd jokes that don’t quite land, but the experience as a whole was one of the most emotionally moving pieces of media I have experienced in recent times so I am more than willing to overlook the small things. Please see this movie, if not now, the moment it becomes available on streaming services so you can understand why I have fallen for the Dragon and the Freckled Princess. Every movie in 2022 is going to be judged against how Belle made me feel as far as I’m concerned, and I’ll be waiting for more people to watch eagerly.

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The post ‘Belle’ is An Exemplary Emotional Experience appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/inscryption-is-a-d-d-duel-to-the-death/

In the Cards

Looking from a video game developer’s perspective, one can see the appeal of cards. Taking a game concept from prototype to finished product is easier when working with something familiar. It’s why, even outside of the crowded digital deck-building market, most titles feel like they’re referencing each other. 

So it’s completely understandable that, on its face, Daniel Mullins Games’ Inscryption is yet another ‘deck-builder with roguelike elements.’ What isn’t as understandable, however, is everything that happens after the player continues the game.

At the beginning of Inscryption, your controls are limited as you take in your surroundings. The first-person POV reveals a darkened cabin with your most immediate concern staring out of the darkness, opposite your seat at a wooden table marked with a grid. Your shadowy opponent begins to explain the deck of cards you have at hand.

Welcome to Die

All of the cards are themed after various real or imaginary beasts. Playing these cards on the table’s grid deal damage to the mysterious cabin dweller. To put most cards into play, however, will require blood. Inscryption’s ‘blood’ is one of its types of currency, only obtainable by ‘sacrificing’ cards that are in play.

Winning the match via your blood-summoned cards reveals that the eyes in the shadows are not only your opponent, but the game master running this bizarre tabletop session. A map is unfurled, and you are given a player piece to move across a makeshift board game. Players will perish early and often at the gnarled hands of this cabin-bound gamemaster.

Dead Man’s Hand

As you do, however, more options open up – both at the table and beyond. It’s easy to dismiss as some bizarre take on Yu-Gi-Oh! by way of the Saw movies, but the antique graphical style and basic structure hide astonishing surprises. Most impressive is that each new narrative twist is merged with new ways to play the game. 

That’s because at its strange, twisted heart, Inscryption is a treatise on games and the people who make as well as play them. As torn as this reviewer is between wanting to shake the hands of these developers or punch them in their mouths, Daniel Mullins Games should be proud of the digital chain letter they’ve created.

9.0 out of 10 Cursed Objects

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The post ‘Inscryption’ is a D-D-Duel to the Death appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/a-conversation-with-candice-marie-benbow-about-her-new-book-red-lip-theology/

Candice Marie Benbow situates her work at the intersections of beauty, faith, feminism, and culture, giving voice to Black women’s shared experiences of healing and journeying toward wholeness. A theologian and educator, she never minces words. This is why we love her.

In her first book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough, Benbow is funny and deeply personal. She’s so real that as I read, I felt exposed. The essays speak to loss, forgiveness, heartache, and sexuality. It’s a love letter to Black women that I could not put down.

BGN had the pleasure of speaking with Benbow via telephone to discuss the importance of her book, feminism as it relates to Black women, and what it means to be fully loved by God.

First, congratulations on Red Lip Theology. Recently, you posted on Instagram that you prayed Black women would “really get” this book, and that you wrote it for us. Why was this book so important for you to put out in the world?

One of the things I was always frustrated about was that there were a lot of faith conversations taking place, but Black women were not at the forefront of those conversations. Then, there are some conversations that Black women are at the forefront of, but it’s a specific kind of Black woman. She may be much more conservative and traditional in her theology. There are sisters who love God, who are deeply faithful but have a different articulation of faith. We deserve equal opportunity to have conversations that are grounded holistically. I wanted to be a part of that movement. I wanted to be a part of what it means for Black women to think differently about faith. I wanted to be a part of what it looks like for us to be talking.

My prayer was that Black women would get it because I wrote it with the abiding love that I have for sisters to be at the center of their own faith conversations — to be hallowed in that and honor what it means to trust the voice of yourself, when you’re making faith decisions and don’t always have to lean on and hear from men. You can trust the knowing you have within yourself to question things, to honor things, to walk away from things, and you don’t need men to tell you how to move in that regard.

In the introduction of the book, you say, “No matter what condition I find myself in at any given moment, I know I am fully loved by God.” Why do Black women often feel when they have “messed up” or get off track that God will not love them anymore?

There’s so much shame that takes place when we make mistakes. There’s this idea that “I should know better.” The truth is we all make mistakes. There were times that I made a decision that I thought was best at the time. Then were times when I knew I was being a mess. I knew I was being trifling, and I did it anyway. Too often we let the shame move us into some really morbid and morose thoughts about ourselves. That shame and guilt paralyzes us momentarily, and we’re not able to see the beauty of being able to make a different decision or the beauty of what it might mean to regroup.

Too often we borrow from society the expectation that we’re supposed to be perfect and that we’re supposed to do no wrong. When we don’t live up to that in our minds, we can be really brutal on ourselves. It’s just not loving, and it doesn’t give us the space to grow in care.

When we talk about feminism, many Black women avoid the conversation and hesitate calling themselves a feminist because they believe it’s only for white women. What are your thoughts about this?

When it comes to Black Christian women who are cisgender/heterosexual, we’re trying to denounce feminism because we think that’s going to push us a little bit closer in the line of getting a husband. We think it somehow suggests we are worthy of the things we want — a husband, a family. I believe we were created with intention; if God created me to be a woman and I am living out this life, then why would I be okay with things that oppress me? That is fundamentally antithetical to the life God wants for me, the same way that men, especially Christian men, should not want to live in a world where power is hoarded by them.

I had a random conversation with someone that said that the first wave of feminism is the only important one. How? Because it’s the only one that allowed us to get bank accounts, homes, and jobs, and that was enough. Other waves destroyed Black womanhood. But there are women in 2022 having to fight because their employers are finding creative ways to fire them after they had a child. But you’re telling me the best thing that’s happened to us is that we can go to the bank and open a checking account?

It becomes clear that part of their resistance to feminism is so that they can appeal to men. I desire family, marriage, and partnership just like everybody else. But not at the expense of my own personhood. Not at the expense of who I am as a woman. There are little girls in my family, there are little girls that will come behind me, and maybe I will have my own one day. I want them to know that nothing is impossible for them simply because they were born a female. It has to be that real and that understood.

As a Black woman writer, do you sometimes struggle with knowing your true work? How do you home in on what that is?

Absolutely. As far as figuring out what grounds my work and my writing, I will say that for the last seven to eight years, it’s been very clear to me that my work is rooted in the flourishing of Black people, Black women specifically. What I write always comes from that place. What helps us thrive and flourish? What’s in the way of us thriving and flourishing? Those are always my big questions, and that’s where my work is rooted. Ultimately, I’ve gotten very comfortable with my voice and understanding that is the work that I’m called to.

What I learned very quickly was to find an angle so that in every story I could bring those intentions to it. Once I took the time to get settled into the fact that I am writer, I didn’t shy away from that. I was able to move even more quickly into what that looks like for me to honor and live into the call and the work.

Red Lip Theology is available January 18, 2022.

http://www.afronerd.com/2022/01/octavia-butlers-kindred-netflix-anime.html

Afronerd Radio can now be heard LIVE courtesy of Apple Music/Itunes

Howdy, folks!  Please accept our apologies for the preemption of last week's Mid Week in Review program.  Welcome to another fascinating Afronerd Radio experience via Sunday's Grindhouse broadcast airing tonight at 6 p.m. eastern on the BTalk 100 platform.  Join your "Uru-powered" AFROnerdist hosts, as they wax about the following topics:  First, since we missed last week's show, THIS program will contain a cavalcade of up-to-the-minute information: our thoughts about the upcoming Moon Knight Disney+ teaser that was recently released

     

The CW's Batwoman purportedly has DC's first Black Joker villain, and, of course, we have our thoughts. 

Our thoughts about noted DC scribe, Geoff Johns, penning a sequel to Flashpoint entitled, Flashpoint Beyond;  the legendary sci-fi author, the late Octavia Butler is finally getting her "closeup" courtesy of an FX series for highly-lauded Kindred novel; a new project centered around slave ancestry, intercultural marriage and a Kendrick Lamar soundtrack raises concerns (for Dburt); how authentic is Black pop culture if the (Black) creatives are not from the poorer urban environments envisioned in these IPs?; Dburt has some observations about Anime and how Blackness as a concept in pop culture should adapt certain mantras endemic to Japanese animation and comicdom; the US adaptation of the Indonesian cult classic, The Raid is ramping up;  And if time permits, the team will touch on Marvel's proposed Halloween special (Disney+), Bob Fett, Naomi, and Superman & Lois at the CW; Batman Beyond and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reboot discussions.

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF