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In 1936, Victor Hugo Green published The Green Book, which helped guide Black people who traveled through the Jim Crow South more than 80 years ago. It directed them to head in the right direction to destinations that were safe for them. Now, as an ode to that particular guide, by borrowing the theme, in Birmingham, Alabama, there is a nonprofit organization, The Modern Green Book, guiding Black businesses across the country.
According to WTVM13, The Modern Green Book is hosting a weeklong celebration to support Black businesses nationwide. The Modern Green Book Culture & Community Fest Week is hoping to raise money to help Black-owned businesses across the country by obtaining funds for grants.
“A lot of times we see Black-owned businesses open and close their doors like very, very quickly,” Modern Green Book Founder Theo Edwards Butler said. “Hopefully, these grants provide a sense of relief for them. They can help with rent; they can help with buying into a new product or thing that they need to help create the product or service.”
The organization aims to raise $25,000 by the end of the year.
“The Modern Green Book now has taken on the mantle of giving us like this Rolodex and this networking opportunity for Black businesses to be recognized,” Aja Penix, founder of the Birmingham Black Repertory Theater Collective, said.
There will be events throughout the weekend, and the proceeds will go toward grants for Black-owned businesses. A Black Business Networking Game Night is happening on Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. The venue is located in Woodlawn, at Polaris Co-Working & Event Space. There will be networking opportunities and giveaways for attendees. Admission is free, but an RSVP to the event is required to enter.
On Saturday, Aug. 26, The MGB Culture & Community Fest will occur between noon and 8 p.m. at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. This event will have a casual theme with a festival, live music, and vendors. There is also a Black-owned beer and wine garden. Students can get in for a $5 admission, and adults are $10. A $100 fee gets you VIP status.
RELATED CONTENT: Green Book Global Annouces Black Travel Review Month
In the first two episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka, we’re introduced to a new dark side Force user, a shrouded mercenary named Marrok. Given Marrok’s clothing and style of lightsaber, the suggestion from the show’s creators is that Marrok is a former Inquisitor. But it is our theory that this Marrok is also former Jedi Barriss Offee. The reasons for this are many. For starters, Barriss Offee has a long history with Ahsoka during the Clone Wars. But she also betrayed Ahsoka towards the end of that conflict, leading to a chain of events that caused Ahsoka to leave the Jedi Order for good. But first, a little explanation of just who Barriss Offee is, and her Star Wars history.
Who Is Star Wars’ Barriss Offee?
The character of Barris Offee was not created for animation, but actually debuted in live-action. Blink and you’ll miss her, but you can see Barriss (Nalini Krishan) in the battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, igniting her blue lightsaber. George Lucas and Dave Filoni later brought her back in season two of The Clone Wars, voiced by Meredith Salenger. Ahsoka and Barriss were Padawans at the same time, and survived a harrowing ordeal together on the planet Geonosis. These events, which occurred during The Clone Wars season two were a significant milestone in both of their young lives.
But in season five of The Clone Wars, Barriss betrayed Ahsoka, and framed her for a crime she did not commit. Barriss became disillusioned with the Jedi’s role in the ongoing wars. She believed leading an army into battle was a betrayal of their principles. The Jedi’s role was as keepers of the peace, not soldiers. She succumbed to the dark side, and organized a bombing at the Jedi temple. This attack killed civilians and Jedi both. She then murdered the woman who helped her execute it. Barriss framed Ahsoka for this act, which led her to go on the run when the Jedi Order didn’t believe her innocence.
Ahsoka’s master, Anakin Skywalker, ultimately discovered that Barriss was the true culprit behind the attack. So he confronted her in a fierce lightsaber duel. Barriss, by tapping into the dark side, held her own against the Chosen One, but he ultimately defeated her. Ahsoka eventually proved her innocence, but left the Jedi Order without completing her training, betrayed by their lack of trust in her. Barriss admitted her guilt in front of the Republic Senate, and they presumably sent her to prison. Meaning, they incarcerated her when Order 66 went down. But did she die? Or did the Empire find another use for her, as they did with other Jedi who had dark side inclinations?
Why Barriss Offee Makes Sense as Ahsoka’s Marrok
So what happened to Barriss Offee after the Clone Wars? As we learned in both Star Wars Rebels and in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Empire took certain Jedi younglings and other survivors, and tortured and brainwashed them into becoming Inquisitors. The role of the Inquisitors was to hunt down and kill any remaining Jedi who survived Order 66. Barriss, who already hated the Jedi for what she perceived was their betrayal of the Republic, would have been a perfect candidate. And since she actually held her own against Anakin Skywalker in battle, Darth Vader might have seen her as an ideal choice to be an Inquisitor. By the time of A New Hope, the Inquisitors seemed extinct. But there’s nothing stating for certain that none survived the Galactic Civil War.
Dave Filoni Said Barriss’ Story Is Not Over
There is another reason we believe this Marrok is likely Barriss. This was due to a comment that Dave Filoni made about her back in 2015 at Star Wars Celebration. The character was originally supposed to kill herself at the end of that arc, but Filoni changed his mind. He said “I had plans for Barriss, and still do… Do [Ahsoka and Barriss] ever meet again? That’s a great question. It would make a great story, but not a story we’ll tell today.” He never told that story in Rebels. Wouldn’t Ahsoka be the perfect place to finally show the Barriss and Ahsoka reunion/confrontation?
If there’s one thing suggesting Marrok is not Barriss, it’s that the character is played by male performer Paul Darnell. But that could easily be a misdirect, so we don’t suspect that Merrok is a woman under that helmet. Remember when Black Widow had a man play Taskmaster for all the masked scenes, but in the reveal was actually a woman, played by Olga Kurylenko? We foresee something similar here. The confrontation between Barriss and Ahsoka is a long time coming, and we hope Star Wars: Ahsoka delivers on this plot twist.
The post Who Is AHSOKA’S Dark Side Warrior, Marrok? appeared first on Nerdist.
Blue Beetle came in at a record-low weekend box office opening for DC, despite wonderful critic and user reviews. And it just cemented something we’ve all known for a long time. As far as films are concerned, to the general audience, the DC cinematic brand is broken. Yes, Marvel can get comic C-list titles like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy and turn them into box office gold. But Warner Brothers has struggled for a decade to make anything click that’s not Batman, or Batman-related like Joker. Sure, Wonder Woman and Aquaman made a lot of money, but those are the exceptions and not the rule.
The DC Movie Stigma Is a Hard One to Overcome
We can get into the why of it all, but the “why” is a matter of opinion. Some folks believe the initial Synder tone of Man of Steel, BvS, and Justice League was too much of a turn-off to many in the general audience. Certainly, a vocal bunch of folks think turning away from Snyder was the problem. Whatever you think it is, the box office numbers don’t lie. The audience is just not here for the DCEU as we know it in large numbers. As for as this iteration of a cinematic DC universe goes, it was long past time to put a fork in it. DCEU, R.I.P., 2013-2023.
So what do DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran do? They’ve already laid out their initial slate of films and streaming series. They’ve titled DCU Chapter 1 as “Gods and Monsters.” Some say their announcement of the new DCU killed any enthusiasm for whatever DC films were left after the fact. While they might already have their approach in mind, at this critical moment, when the DC brand in movies has the stink of failed promise and struggles to lure in moviegoers, it’s time to look towards the past. Because DC has been in this exact place before. DC Comics, that is.
In the Early ’80s, DC Comics’ Biggest Challenge Was Marvel
From the ‘40s all the way through to the ‘60s, DC Comics was the brand to beat in terms of comic book sales. Nothing could touch them. Then, in the ‘60s, upstart publisher Marvel Comics changed the game, and by the end of that decade, DC seemed like your grandpa’s comics. Marvel continued to grow and grow in popularity. By the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Marvel left DC in the dust, sales-wise. By 1984, Marvel titles like Hercules and Dazzler and even ROM were easily outselling DC’s pop culture icons like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League. Only DC’s New Teen Titans, and to a lesser extent, Legion of Super-Heroes, sold in numbers comparable to Marvel. And in many ways, they were the most Marvel-esque books, focusing on the interpersonal melodrama of attractive young heroes.
DC Comics Rebooted Their Entire Universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths
So DC Comics did what they had to do, and took drastic measures. They blew it all up. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, they destroyed their previous multiverse, and five decades of continuity, and started fresh with their biggest icons in a newly rebooted world. In 1986, Superman got a massive reimagining, jettisoning years of clutter around the Superman mythos, under the guidance of former X-Men creator John Byrne. Wonder Woman received an even bigger transformation, under the guidance of writer/artist George Perez. The stalwart Justice League of America became the action-sitcom Justice League International. And Flash became the first true legacy hero series, about a young ex-sidekick taking on a huge heroic legacy.
And then, of course, there was Batman. Frank Miller reinvigorated the Dark Knight’s mythos and brought him back to his 1939 roots with Batman: Year One. From there, it was off to the races. The fog that surrounded Bruce Wayne’s reputation ever since the Batman ’66 series suddenly lifted, and he was a big player again. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention DC taking a gamble on old forgotten titles like Animal Man and Sandman, titles that changed how the mainstream perceived comics. All of these things happened within a span of just a couple of years. But DC’s gambit worked. Their newly rebooted universe didn’t dethrone Marvel, but gone were the days of DC doing time at the bottom of the top 100. DC was finally a contender again.
The Rebooted DC Universe Led to a Sales Renaissance
According to the comic book sales history website Comichron, the difference between where DC Comics were selling pre-Crisis and post-Crisis is significant. Superman, which in 1984 was in the #76 and #80 positions in the Top 100, was the #1 monthly comic from June-October of 1986, and sold well in the years after that. Justice League, which was in the bottom 50 in 1984, was a consistently top 10/top 20 series by 1987. Flash and Wonder Woman were also selling in numbers they hadn’t in decades. And Batman? Well, by early 1989, Batman was neck-and-neck with Marvel’s X-Men. All of these things would have been unheard of just a few years before.
James Gunn needs to look at this era, especially for inspiration. Although DC rebooted its universe, giving tweaked updates to the hero’s origins, it was a universe with some history behind it. And a history that was more or less familiar. Superman, Batman and the Justice League had been around, we just learned that their histories became altered. Only Wonder Woman was presented as a fresh new heroine on the scene. A version of the DC history as we’d known it played out. However, DC writers were allowed to pick and choose what aspects to use. Sometimes this created big continuity messes. But mostly, it worked and truly gave these long-running characters a new lease on life.
It seems that already Gunn might be taking this approach. He’s said that his Superman: Legacy won’t be an origin story. And clearly, with the addition of many well-known DC heroes to that film, this will be a universe with history behind it. An older Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold suggests the same thing. But while retaining a sense of history is important, much like DC Comics did, Gunn and Safran can’t be afraid to go nuts. Post-Crisis Superman changed many aspects of Kal-El’s lore for a new generation. Things like how Krypton was presented, and Lex Luthor’s role in his life. DC wasn’t afraid to jettison key parts of Wonder Woman’s mythos, either. Gone were things like her secret identity or her invisible plane, in order to update the concept. DC Comics was not afraid to take big swings. And DC Studios shouldn’t either.
Always Look to the Comics
We should note, that while DC Comics really re-jiggered their biggest icons, the successful series that pre-dated the reboot did continue intact. So, a big seller like New Teen Titans could go on as is, and it mostly worked. Gunn also seems to use this approach with Peacemaker, which existed, albeit tangentially at best, in the old DCEU. With something as successful, and as off to the side from DC’s “Big Guns” as Peacemaker and Blue Beetle, there’s no reason not to include them. The signal to the general audience that this will be a “new universe” will be in recasting their biggest most iconic characters. Not removing ones like Peacemaker or Blue Beetle.
Without a doubt, Gunn and Safran have their work cut out for them. The DC brand on film lies shattered on the movie theater floor. And they’re going to have to do a lot of work behind the scenes in front of the public to convince people that this new DCU is something different. But as history proves, DC Comics did it all before. DC Comics turned it all around, so here’s hoping DC Studios pulls the same trick. Really, in the end, the comics should be the source of inspiration for every live-action superhero movie property. No matter which studio it’s coming from.
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Yet another fan-favorite video game series is making the transition to television. Fallout is heading to Prime video with Westworld‘s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy helming the show. Their pitch for the Fallout TV series based on the successful post-apocalyptic franchise received a straight-to-series order from the streaming service. And now its cast is coming together. Ella Purnell, who recently starred in Yellowjackets, will lead the series, alongside Walton Goggins and Kyle MacLachlan. Most recently, Prime Video released a first look at the Fallout series, as well as a release window for when we can expect the show to air.
Fallout TV Series Release Date Window
While we still don’t have a specific release date for the Fallout series or even a specific month, we finally know more about when we can expect the show. The official social media accounts for Prime Video shared, “Fallout, an original series, coming to Prime Video in 2024.”
— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) August 23, 2023
Vault 33
Location: Los Angeles
Fallout, an original series, coming to Prime Video in 2024 pic.twitter.com/tlHh2WutF4
We’re glad to hear it. Somehow 2024 isn’t far off. We’ll have to stay tuned for more information on the exact release date of the Fallout series.
Prime Video’s Fallout Series Will Take Place in LA
The release date window announcement also signals the Fallout show will take place in Los Angeles, a location the series has never before gone in the games. We’ll be curious to see how this version of the apocalypse takes shape in the city of dreams/angels.
Our First Look at the Fallout Series
Some time ago, Prime Video shared a first-look tease for the Fallout series. The first look doesn’t reveal too much, just a glimpse at Fallout‘s Vault 33. But we’re excited to know the show is coming along. In the Fallout, ghouls “are mutated humans or animals affected by the phenomenon of ghoulification… Despite their zombie-like appearance, the flesh of ghouls is not actually rotten… They have greatly extended overall lifespans and are immune to (and sometimes even healed by) background radiation and/or nuclear fallout.” So we expect to see a lot of that in the show. We wonder how ghouls will stack up against The Last of Us‘ clickers and bloaters when they arrive. We suspect they will all give us nightmares.
More About the Fallout Series
Nolan and Joy’s Kilter Films is producing the Fallout series together with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. In a statement, Joy and Nolan said, “Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time. Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends. So we’re incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios.”
When the initial announcement dropped in mid-2020, Amazon released a short teaser video, which you can watch below:
In addition to Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, and Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Aaron Moten also joined the cast of the Fallout series. Their roles are currently under wraps.
The post-nuclear apocalypse games have been best-sellers since their debut in 1997. The Fallout franchise has expanded to include 10 games since then. The game’s world is based on a harsh future. Post World War II, Americans hoped for a future rooted in nuclear energy. They had a utopian vision of a better world. However, that results in a full on nuclear war in 2077. The Great War that wrecks the United States provides the setting for Fallout world. Players travel through a total wasteland. Although the games are mostly serious in tone, they also have their share of ironic humor.
Rumors of a Fallout television adaptation have circulated for a long time, so we’re glad to finally see it in action. There have been many video game series adaptations released recently, and we can’t wait to see how this one turns out.
Originally published on July 2, 2020.
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