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https://www.essence.com/articles/jonathan-majors-is-set-to-take-on-lead-role-in-marvels-ant-man-3/
Jonathan Majors will be stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, landing a key role in the upcoming Ant Man 3, Deadline reports.
This news comes off the heels of a successful 2020 so far for Majors. Making well-deserved headway in film and TV, he starred in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, playing one of the sons of the Army unit that traveled back to Vietnam to seek out their gold and squad leader. He then made a splash on premium TV with Lovecraft Country—with the series breaking HBO digital records since its August premiere.
Reports say Majors will likely play super-villain Kang the Conqueror, starring opposite Paul Rudd, returning as Ant Man, and Evangeline Lily, returning as Wasp. Kang the Conqueror is known to traverse time and fight against other MCU notables, including Thor, Spider-Man and the Avengers. Director Peyton Reed is set to return for the film, with Jeff Loveness as the screenwriter. Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, is credited as the producer of this latest installment.
Deadline adds that Majors’ role is one of the many new characters to join the MCU. New approaches to his character are to be anticipated in the coming additions to the franchise, but for now, he’s likely to play one of the main villains in Ant Man 3. According to Variety, the Ant Man franchise is a box office smasher, earning over $500 million in 2015 and a whopping $622 million in 2018’s Ant Man and the Wasp.
What’s next for Majors shows he won’t be stopped. He’ll be starring in The Harder They Fall—currently in production and will premiere on Netflix in 2021. His character, Nat Love, is an outlaw who rounds up his gang in order to avenge his enemy, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), after discovering that he will be freed from prison.
The post Jonathan Majors Is Set To Take On Lead Role In Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man 3’ appeared first on Essence.
One of the most terrifying horror sub-genres is body horror. It plays on humans’ deepest fears of having our own bodies violated by some sinister entity. Gruesome experimentation, zombification, possession, and the ever-present idea of something creepy and crawly under our skin is enough to make almost anyone uncomfortable. In Lovecraft Country’s “Strange Case” episode, Leti’s sister Ruby Baptiste is unwillingly subjected to a potion that envelops her inside of a white woman’s body. It’s a gruesome body horror story, but it allows Ruby to gain agency and use her magic potion as liberation and vengeance tool.
Life Could Be a Dream
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
At first, Ruby is horrified by her transformation. She wakes up in William Braithwaite’s home to discover that she presents as a white woman. Ruby stumbles back into her own predominately Black neighborhood in search of help. However, she quickly discovers the social protections that Whiteness offers. The police arrive after a young Black boy tries to help her and she’s able to quickly deescalate the situation. The police believe her without further question as they guide her away from the situation.
Ruby is treated like a human deserves to be—with kindness, empathy, and respect—before being taken back to William’s house. It’s highly likely that this is the first time a white person, particularly a police officer, doesn’t see her as a threat. Ruby looks at her hands in awe before her body begins to contort. Her skin crawls and she panics about being taken back to William’s house after he lies about being her husband. William grotesquely cuts Ruby out of the body before putting her in bed.
Later, William compares Ruby’s experience to metamorphosis. He gives her a choice to leave and go about her normal life or to stay and take advantage of the potion. She chooses the latter and, at first, she feels a sense of freedom and joy. Ruby casually strolls through a predominately white area of Chicago, eating ice cream and reading the newspaper. Ruby gets to go through her day without the fear of harassment, violence, and racism.
She later admits to William that Whiteness is the only currency she needs throughout the day. So, Ruby fabricates the life of Ms. Hillary Davenport and quickly nabs a management job at a department store. This gives her an inside look into how white people interact within their own circles. Her transformations back and forth are gross and possibly painful, which indicates just how badly she wants access to this world. Ruby’s desire to get her dream job and to simply have peace and security in her daily life is so strong that she’s willing to go through this process.
Let the Liberation Begin
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
However, her initial joy quickly dissipates as her resentment over racial disparities grows. She notices how her co-workers make racist blanket statements about Black people’s intelligence and Chicago’s South Side. She also discovers their true thoughts about Tamara, the store’s sole Black employee. It’s disheartening to discover that they see Black people as sources of spectacle, ridicule, and entertainment.
These interactions quickly mitigate any fanciful dreams about being a white woman. But Ruby discovers another route to use this magical potion. It became deeper than wanting to be White for her own access and comfort. Ruby wants use this power to, as Christina says, “do whatever the f*ck she wants.” And, she knows exactly where she would start. Ruby stepped back into Hillary’s skin, quit her job, and seduced her ex-boss before brutally abusing him for attempting to sexually assault Tamara.
She lets the flesh fall freely before facing him and letting him know that a Black woman did this to him. He’s in shock, but she’s able to easily get way with it. Who would believe him if he told them this story? And, because Hillary doesn’t exist, there’s no one to trace it back to. Ruby gets to essentially be visible and invisible all at once. Everyone will see and respect her in Hillary’s skin. But it’s nothing more than a costume that she can remove when she’s done.
Ruby’s Bloody Next Steps
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
Ruby steps out of the room as Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” plays—a fitting song considering she’s literally wearing bloody shoes. It’s an indicator that while Tic and Leti want to decode magic for protection, Ruby is ready to be a force in the world. Christina’s words about freedom strike a chord but her attempts to connect with Ruby over their womanhood fall flat.
There’s a clear line between being a white woman and a Black woman and Ruby has been on both sides to confirm the differences. It turns out Christina is also using the same potion to be William. It’s her way to gain access to rooms and privileges that are denied to her as a woman. Christina’s life and experiences certainly cannot compare with Ruby’s but it speaks to their underlying desires to climb the privilege pyramid.
“…You can’t relate to who I am. And I’ve spent enough time on your side of the color line to know that the only thing that you White women are disillusioned with is yourselves…”
In a sense, Ruby has gone through a metamorphosis. Previously, Ruby was against Leti’s desire to “rock the boat” with white people via pioneering. She said that if Black people were willing to work harder then the “race would be further along.” Ruby even relays this sentiment to Tamara through Hillary, telling her to go above and beyond to make it in the world.
However, Ruby comes out of this episode as a completely different woman. She’s no longer hoping that her efforts will get her where she wants to go in the world. Ruby is here to live outside the margins and live life according to her own terms.
Featured Image: Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
The post LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Uses Body Horror to Liberate Ruby Baptiste appeared first on Nerdist.
The 2020 Toronto Film Festival showcased RKLSS, the raw and intense animated horror-fantasy film written, directed, and animated by Tank Standing Buffalo, a self-taught animator.
As a young man, Buffalo broke the law and was placed behind bars. This animated movie delves into how his imprisonment never stopped his aspirations from extending far beyond his limitations. Buffalo invites audiences into a world of crime and redemption, galactic sci-fi action, and finally, art as a means of healing.
RKLSS redefines redemption in many inspiring ways, as it reminds viewers that no matter the faults of the past, nature and humanity will always be interconnected. Drawing from his Indigenous roots, Buffalo echoes themes of interconnectedness as a reminder that we aren’t tethered to our physical locations and that our dreams can resonate with all of the life on this Earth, and beyond.
RKLSS captures the complexities that exist within the human condition as well, as most people are seldom only good or bad, but rather, intersections of many dynamic emotions and actions.
The film’s inspiring message is only a piece of the bigger story that Buffalo tells. The ending credits of the film share that it was funded by the Canada Learning Bond Program. This program is designed to provide financial support for those with low income to receive an education after high school at a variety of trade schools, colleges, universities, and more.
The credits go on to share that there’s free money for post-secondary education for those living in Canada at CANADA.CA.
This is Buffalo’s way of sharing not only his art, through film, but also pathways for others that aspire to pursue a variety of passions and interests without worrying about funds.
Although the film doesn’t explicitly express this, it seems very clear that the main animated character, made to reflect Buffalo’s experiences, loved to draw far more than he had interest in breaking the law. However, for low-income people of color, there are often limited pathways to accessible education and resources, as well as emotional struggles with multigenerational trauma. Violence and crime can sometimes feel like the only way to have agency in a world that has divided so many people by haves and have=nots.
Buffalo does an amazing job expressing the pain and fear that come from feeling both emotionally and physically isolated. Already othered by society as a criminal in the film, Buffalo faces isolation and loneliness.
The drawing and animation scenes with monsters are probably what makes this film stand out the most. Buffalo’s use of monstrosity as it relates to humanity is very powerful. It reflects the way that society deems as monsters lawbreakers and those with certain backgrounds. It also reflects the internal conflicts within us as epic sci-fi monster battles where they’re in space throwing planets at each other.
There was something very anime-like about it, almost like Dragon Ball Z. It truly highlighted how people struggle with their own inner demons and are often at war with themselves.
While not everyone can say that their internal conflicts go down as such epic melees, one thing is for sure, Buffalo knows how to portray emotional cognitive dissonance within his work. He also reflects how for most people, and many cultures, being able to connect with nature is extremely important.
The symbolism of a tree was truly centering and grounding for viewers, as it placed many people outside of themselves. Buffalo extended the notion that a jail cell can only be a prison if someone lets it be. His reflection of expansive consciousness to achieve peace and healing is beautiful.
There is a stigma that often ascribes punishment to imprisonment. However, Buffalo brings his character’s experience into the light of redemption. In Buffalo’s world, the mind is endless, the possibilities are unlimited, and the visceral pain is temporary. The film doesn’t seem to be asking people to discount their pain, but rather, to accept it in order to move past it.
The tree is what can be found in the wood and Earth that built the prison. It connects to the roots and reminds the main character that he is never without meaning or connection. The ecological connection is balanced with the film’s sci-fi elements very nicely, as there are so many examples of the options for living, life being infinite.
This film truly comes when people need it, as prison populations continue to be discarded and forgotten. People forget that there are people who did what they did in order to survive and that those people are not homogenously evil.
Everyone living behind bars has a story that doesn’t just read “thug.” Like Buffalo, some are artists, dreamers, and those that dream of changing the narratives of their stories.
When it comes to prison sentences and jail times, many people of color are treated even more severely than their white counterparts, and Buffalo successful portrays that reality.
Buffalo himself recounted that time in his life in a press release from the production company. “At the time, I didn’t realize I was being tortured. I thought that this was the way it was supposed to be; routine beatings by guards, fear tactics, and isolation were all part of being in segregation. Years later, upon reading about the long-term effects of prolonged segregation, which include depression and suicidal thoughts, I felt it was time to go back and figure out what happened to me. How have I survived when so many people I know have not? Friends depicted in the film died in solitary. Many of my past experiences make sense to me now that I understand what I was subjected to was not normal. I want to shine a light on my experience and, through my artistic expression, find some healing in what was a horrible time in my life.”
While it’s impossible to jump back into the past and rewrite the script, Buffalo provides a new script and an encouraging film that reminds watchers that it’s never too late to animate a new and brighter future.