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That new Castlevania trailer dropped, and it’s back with a vengeance! Did you see it though? Did you see the brilliance? Did you see the rare as hell Indigenous vampire? Did you see the Black vampire and Black vampire hunter? If you did see all of that and lost your mind, then maybe you saw the Castlevania: Nocturne trailer. Let’s get into it real quick.
First of all, the Belmonts is byke, and the hype is high! The teaser trailer comes off the heat of the announcement from a year ago where we just saw the back of a young man rocking the Belmont family crest. Of course, we assumed it was the fourth-season Castlevania protagonist and smooth criminal lean enthusiast Trevor Belmont. Only to see the iconic blue jacket, hear the name “Richter!” yelled, and see the young Belmont glance over his shoulder.
That was a whole year ago! Now…Netflix unveils this gem of an anime, and it takes place nine generations after Trevor in the time of the French Revolution! ‘Let them eat cake’ turns in to ‘let them drink blood’. It opens with a fight scene between an unknown vampire voiced by Lakota actor Zahn McClarnon and a badass woman rocking the ‘vampire killer’ whip and that blue jacket. She gets bodied in front of young Richtor, and the vampire hits him with the Kill Bill-type beat like, ‘Come see me later so I can kill you.’
Between scenes showing the decadence of the French Revolution, we get a preview of the cast of characters. A Marie Antoinette-looking vampire giving Carmilla vibes (big bad from season 4) catching bodies in the alleyways. Some Victorian-era parties with vamps drinking Moet. A prophecy said to bring the night forever.
AND THEN, a young brown-skinned person using magic along the river’s edge. Another magic user with pale skin and light hair. Then it goes all Drowning Pool on us as we see the bodies hit the floor! A Black vampire with the swag and hair texture that could only be from the Carribean throwing hands with the young Black hunter. For clarity, Thuso Mbedu from The Woman King plays Annette who is, “A young girl who used her power and wits to escape vampire-enforced enslavement in the Caribbean, and now wields magic to stop the impending apocalyptic threat.” We winning in these Castlevania streets!
More magic as the young pale girl summons a lion made out of light and dices a vampire. More death-dealing than the eye can catch only to close with the potential prophecy come true, an eclipse with the haunting “Lamento della Ninfa” playing behind it. This trailer is a movie unto itself, catch it, and enjoy the trailer here. Casual diversity, dope action sequences, and about forty years worth of lore make this a must-see. Hyped for this one.
Cover image via YouTube
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The post ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer Reveals Black Vampires and Dope Action appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
That new Castlevania trailer dropped, and it’s back with a vengeance! Did you see it though? Did you see the brilliance? Did you see the rare as hell Indigenous vampire? Did you see the Black vampire and Black vampire hunter? If you did see all of that and lost your mind, then maybe you saw the Castlevania: Nocturne trailer. Let’s get into it real quick.
First of all, the Belmonts is byke, and the hype is high! The teaser trailer comes off the heat of the announcement from a year ago where we just saw the back of a young man rocking the Belmont family crest. Of course, we assumed it was the fourth-season Castlevania protagonist and smooth criminal lean enthusiast Trevor Belmont. Only to see the iconic blue jacket, hear the name “Richter!” yelled, and see the young Belmont glance over his shoulder.
That was a whole year ago! Now…Netflix unveils this gem of an anime, and it takes place nine generations after Trevor in the time of the French Revolution! ‘Let them eat cake’ turns in to ‘let them drink blood’. It opens with a fight scene between an unknown vampire voiced by Lakota actor Zahn McClarnon and a badass woman rocking the ‘vampire killer’ whip and that blue jacket. She gets bodied in front of young Richtor, and the vampire hits him with the Kill Bill-type beat like, ‘Come see me later so I can kill you.’
Between scenes showing the decadence of the French Revolution, we get a preview of the cast of characters. A Marie Antoinette-looking vampire giving Carmilla vibes (big bad from season 4) catching bodies in the alleyways. Some Victorian-era parties with vamps drinking Moet. A prophecy said to bring the night forever.
AND THEN, a young brown-skinned person using magic along the river’s edge. Another magic user with pale skin and light hair. Then it goes all Drowning Pool on us as we see the bodies hit the floor! A Black vampire with the swag and hair texture that could only be from the Carribean throwing hands with the young Black hunter. For clarity, Thuso Mbedu from The Woman King plays Annette who is, “A young girl who used her power and wits to escape vampire-enforced enslavement in the Caribbean, and now wields magic to stop the impending apocalyptic threat.” We winning in these Castlevania streets!
More magic as the young pale girl summons a lion made out of light and dices a vampire. More death-dealing than the eye can catch only to close with the potential prophecy come true, an eclipse with the haunting “Lamento della Ninfa” playing behind it. This trailer is a movie unto itself, catch it, and enjoy the trailer here. Casual diversity, dope action sequences, and about forty years worth of lore make this a must-see. Hyped for this one.
Cover image via YouTube
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The post ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer Reveals Black Vampires and Dope Action appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The first time I heard Rachel Eliza Griffiths recite poetry, it gave me a sense of home. It was 2015, and I had just moved to Houston, Texas. I knew a few people, but I was lonely and feeling a bit lost. I attended a poetry reading by Griffiths at a local bookstore. As a poet myself, I connected with her beautiful words and how they created these amazing visuals. It reminded me that the move I had made was good and that I would be okay.
Griffiths’ talent as a poet/lyricist is evident in her debut novel Promise, as it has noteworthy phrases, descriptions of scenery, and the expression of characters’ innermost thoughts and feelings. She blends elements of music, the forces of nature, symbolism, and colors to build suspense and foreshadow upcoming events. She blends African and African American myth, folklore, superstition, and wisdom into the story seamlessly. It is also reminiscent of “the talk” that Black parents must have with their children, as a means of survival in the face of systemic racism and discrimination.
Promise is a coming-of-age story about womanhood and femininity. It’s also about the devastation that racism leaves and the way it destroys everything and everyone; it’s about home and family and the way these places — physical or emotional — are tied to the world and to life; it’s about growing into a world that is dead set on hating you. Promise dives right into the complexities of relationships and family secrets. It’s a story that paints pictures of generational trauma and the profound impact it can have on our lives.
Ezra and Hyacinth (Cinthy) Kindred are sisters on the verge of womanhood who live in an isolated rural coastal town in Maine with their one-armed father, a teacher at the local school, and their homemaker mother. Their parents are guarded about their origins and upbringing. As children, the girls stay in their places and ask no questions, even though the truth surrounding their lineage is eventually revealed. The girls are sweet and wholesome — raised to be respectful, studious, observant, and of course focused on going to college. In other words, these are the things they have been taught as the keys to success.
As Ezra and Cinthy grow into womanhood, they attract attention through no fault of their own. Their bodies are maturing and catch the eyes of white men who have preconceived stereotypical notions about Black women’s bodies and sexuality. Their outstanding performance at school earns top marks and placement at the head of the (overwhelmingly white) class — exclusive places that 1957 social politics don’t allow Black girls. It doesn’t take long for the prominent people in the town and law enforcement to step in to ensure the Kindreds stay “in their place.”
What ensues is a series of events with tragic outcomes that many Black families today can relate to — wrongful incarceration, police harassment/violence, unfair banking practices, limited employment/low wages, discrimination in education, theft, ruination of property, and children harassed by teachers and peers. Even a childhood friendship the sisters have with a white neighbor, Ruby, changes as she comes to realize the leverage her white skin has.
I was amazed that Griffiths prepared Ezra and Cinthy for what could come of their friendship with Ruby and dismissed her declaration of sisterhood to them. All too often in stories this reality comes as a surprise, and it always bothers me because we already know how things go regarding these situations. “’We’re not going to grow old together. We can’t. I know you want to make yourself believe that we’re chasing the same freedom, the same life. But we’re not,’ said Ezra carefully. ‘We’re not sisters. I have a sister.’” It was this sad reality of a conversation between the girls that made the moment feel authentic.
Many scenes in the novel, in my opinion, reminded me of classic poems by Langston Hughes (“Mother to Son”) and Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs (“What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?”) in which mothers/parents wrestle with preparing their children for a lifetime of inequality, mistreatment, frustrations, and setbacks. In Promise, the girls are sustained by their village — adults who love and support them. It is in the music, food, faith, and ancestors that will sustain them through troubled times. It’s sad that they are taught from birth how to survive in a world that only sees their skin tone and determines their place in society based on that. Even though those poems by Hughes and Burroughs are decades old, they are still very much relevant today.
The story is beautiful yet heartbreaking. It doesn’t pull any punches, and Griffiths cuts through all the Northeastern niceties to reveal that the heart of white supremacy is the same whether it is a small town in Maine or Mississippi. There is no allowance made for Black families in majority white communities. There is inherent racism that lies in the power structures that built this country in stolen land. While other stories such as Get Out and Lovecraft Country have spoken to this issue, Promise takes things a few steps further, making it difficult to get through. I had to take a few breaks while reading because of the horrific racism that takes place. I was still emotionally exhausted after finishing this book.
The racial climate being as it was in the late 1950s, there is a lot of violence, racism, and death in the story. But on the flip side there is faith, courage, wisdom, love, and strength. I don’t think any of us enjoy reading about racial suffering, but it is a truth we cannot escape from.
Overall, I give Promise 5/5 stars. I’d recommend this to those who appreciates historical fiction and can face the reality of what has truly happened in this country.
Promise is available on Bookshop.org where every purchase supports independent bookstores.