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Drawing from present to past Egyptian mythology, Disney+’s newest Marvel show, Moon Knight, was led by director Mohamed Diab (Episodes 1, 3, 5, and 6) and Justin and Aaron Moorhead (directors of Episodes 2 and 4) along with executive producers Grant Curtis and Kevin Feige. The press conference on March 21, 2022, included Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, Mohamed Diab, Justine Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Grant Curtis, and Kevin Feige.
The series follows Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Moon Knight, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder, alongside Hawke (Arthur Harrow) and Calamawy (Layla Miller). The cast and creators were able to provide insight into what makes Moon Knight unlike any other Marvel project, including the moments that made this experience special.
Diab was very passionate about ensuring that his Egyptian identity was a key component of the show and that the authenticity of his culture was honored. He explained that, too often, Egyptian culture is “exoticized and dehumanized.” However, he saw Moon Knight as an opportunity to change the narrative. This MCU phase has been inspired through cultural lenses more than previous projects, and Diab seemed happy to have his culture represented in this series while also capturing the Marvel style of storytelling.
“Egyptians are funny in the most dire situations,” Diab explained. He wanted to make sure that his Egyptian humor carried over to wider audiences. Luckily, Issac was there to tell him the truth. When a joke landed, Diab was amused that he’d succeeded in being funny in two cultures at the same time. Along with the rest of the cast and creators, he balanced the blend of genres that run through this series, including humor and drama. Despite the show having a very serious tone, the creators made sure that there was room for some whimsy in the mix. With such a complex show to construct, it was a unique experience to craft the world of Moon Knight.
For Issac, it was also an interesting challenge to go between the different Moon Knight personalities. Fortunately, his cast members believe he knocked it out of the park, and he had an exceptional time pulling it off. In fact, it was actually Issac’s idea to give Steven an English accent. He explained, “I love English humor. I find it funny.” He saw an opportunity after asking himself, “What if we make him English?” Having a few inspirations, he sought to draw from Northeast London accents and accents from the Jewish communities in London, giving a nod to his character’s Jewish background.
Calamawy applauded Issac’s ability to bounce between Marc and Steven, noting that they felt like two different people. She felt Steven’s timidness and desire to connect, as she explained that he’s a character that needs “nurturing.” On the flip side, Marc is someone that Layla has her guard up around — except for at the dance-off. Issac poked fun at Calamawy dancing with other cast members, including him, while he was dressed in the Marc persona. It would seem that Marc isn’t quite as standoffish offscreen when Issac is showing his warmer side.
Speaking of warmer sides, Hawke certainly has a soft spot when it comes to fellow cast members and creators. He shared that he not only enjoyed using green screens and traveling to the desert for filming, but also loved the overall culture of the team. He explained that some larger budget projects add pressure that can make creators controlling, but not this one. There weren’t strict rules, but what he defined as a “playfulness” and “willingness to fail” made him feel like everything came together stronger. Everyone allowed themselves to make mistakes, to discuss different approaches, and to listen to one another. If an idea wasn’t written into the script originally or strategically planned, it was still encouraged to be explored.
He also appreciated Issac’s passion to contribute and mentioned he was happy to have “signed on [to the show] without reading the script” first. The cast members joked that not reading the script should be a requirement for every show if it means creating something as special as Moon Knight. It would be an understatement to say that this is a group of cast and creators adore one another. This is often a promising sign for how things will come together onscreen for the show.
The series will explore the complexity of the Moon Knight personas and navigate an intersection of themes. The mythical show combines themes of horror, humor, fantasy, mythology, drama, romance, and more. It will also set the MCU up to introduce Egyptian mythology to fans after its prior exploration of Norse mythology and other cultural stories. This will create some interesting occurrences in the next phase of films that may just change Marvel viewers forever.
The wait will be over on March 30, 2022, when Moon Knight premieres on Disney+.
Drawing from present to past Egyptian mythology, Disney+’s newest Marvel show, Moon Knight, was led by director Mohamed Diab (Episodes 1, 3, 5, and 6) and Justin and Aaron Moorhead (directors of Episodes 2 and 4) along with executive producers Grant Curtis and Kevin Feige. The press conference on March 21, 2022, included Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, Mohamed Diab, Justine Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Grant Curtis, and Kevin Feige.
The series follows Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Moon Knight, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder, alongside Hawke (Arthur Harrow) and Calamawy (Layla Miller). The cast and creators were able to provide insight into what makes Moon Knight unlike any other Marvel project, including the moments that made this experience special.
Diab was very passionate about ensuring that his Egyptian identity was a key component of the show and that the authenticity of his culture was honored. He explained that, too often, Egyptian culture is “exoticized and dehumanized.” However, he saw Moon Knight as an opportunity to change the narrative. This MCU phase has been inspired through cultural lenses more than previous projects, and Diab seemed happy to have his culture represented in this series while also capturing the Marvel style of storytelling.
“Egyptians are funny in the most dire situations,” Diab explained. He wanted to make sure that his Egyptian humor carried over to wider audiences. Luckily, Issac was there to tell him the truth. When a joke landed, Diab was amused that he’d succeeded in being funny in two cultures at the same time. Along with the rest of the cast and creators, he balanced the blend of genres that run through this series, including humor and drama. Despite the show having a very serious tone, the creators made sure that there was room for some whimsy in the mix. With such a complex show to construct, it was a unique experience to craft the world of Moon Knight.
For Issac, it was also an interesting challenge to go between the different Moon Knight personalities. Fortunately, his cast members believe he knocked it out of the park, and he had an exceptional time pulling it off. In fact, it was actually Issac’s idea to give Steven an English accent. He explained, “I love English humor. I find it funny.” He saw an opportunity after asking himself, “What if we make him English?” Having a few inspirations, he sought to draw from Northeast London accents and accents from the Jewish communities in London, giving a nod to his character’s Jewish background.
Calamawy applauded Issac’s ability to bounce between Marc and Steven, noting that they felt like two different people. She felt Steven’s timidness and desire to connect, as she explained that he’s a character that needs “nurturing.” On the flip side, Marc is someone that Layla has her guard up around — except for at the dance-off. Issac poked fun at Calamawy dancing with other cast members, including him, while he was dressed in the Marc persona. It would seem that Marc isn’t quite as standoffish offscreen when Issac is showing his warmer side.
Speaking of warmer sides, Hawke certainly has a soft spot when it comes to fellow cast members and creators. He shared that he not only enjoyed using green screens and traveling to the desert for filming, but also loved the overall culture of the team. He explained that some larger budget projects add pressure that can make creators controlling, but not this one. There weren’t strict rules, but what he defined as a “playfulness” and “willingness to fail” made him feel like everything came together stronger. Everyone allowed themselves to make mistakes, to discuss different approaches, and to listen to one another. If an idea wasn’t written into the script originally or strategically planned, it was still encouraged to be explored.
He also appreciated Issac’s passion to contribute and mentioned he was happy to have “signed on [to the show] without reading the script” first. The cast members joked that not reading the script should be a requirement for every show if it means creating something as special as Moon Knight. It would be an understatement to say that this is a group of cast and creators adore one another. This is often a promising sign for how things will come together onscreen for the show.
The series will explore the complexity of the Moon Knight personas and navigate an intersection of themes. The mythical show combines themes of horror, humor, fantasy, mythology, drama, romance, and more. It will also set the MCU up to introduce Egyptian mythology to fans after its prior exploration of Norse mythology and other cultural stories. This will create some interesting occurrences in the next phase of films that may just change Marvel viewers forever.
The wait will be over on March 30, 2022, when Moon Knight premieres on Disney+.
Painful predictability, secret horse rides, scandal and gossip—welcome, dearest readers, to Season 2 of Bridgerton. Once again, it’s a chance for the Regency-era English society to discover that love, indeed, does conquer all in the popular Shondaland Netflix series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes.
This time around, the story focuses on the eldest sibling, the stubborn Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). The viscount is looking for the perfect match to marry. However, to little surprise to anyone, things don’t go as smoothly as he hopes. This season escorts the Sharma family in with newcomers Kate (Simone Ashley), Edwina ( Charithra Chandran), and their mother Mary (Shelley Conn).
The show continues its great track record for including diverse characters in a period-era show by featuring Indian women as the season’s leads and romantic interests. While all of the pieces are in place for a simply delicious second installment, something falls slightly short. With that said, it’s an engaging watch for anyone who enjoys a diverse period-era romantic comedy with a lot of scandals.
The Good
Bridgerton Season 2 weaves in the historical backdrop of England’s colonization of India between 1811 and 1820, thus creating a complex and painful relationship between the true cultures. After being brought up in India, the Sharma sisters aren’t accustomed to traditional English society. In fact, in many ways, there’s shame connected to their foreignness. Luckily, that doesn’t slow them down. This season scores major points for presenting women of color that are beautiful, smart, talented, and bold.
In fact, there’s a certain tenacity present in each character this season, as many social rules are passionately broken. The show does a satisfactory job when it comes to moving supporting character arcs forward. The younger Bridgertons and fan favorites, like Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), Featheringtons, and, of course, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) embark on their own schemes and missions. If the main storyline bores someone, there’ll likely be another character plot that resonates more. There’s a variety of personalities to choose from.
More answers are provided for many burning questions lingering from the first season. The societal fabric comes unwound, as choices are made that can’t be unmade. There’s some suspense, humor and, of course, raunchiness to look forward to as well.
Hearing the orchestra play pop music covers once more is also a welcome return. The unique style of the show isn’t lost, as outfits and gossip remain the center-pieces for every occasion.
Finally, the overall themes of this season address grief, forgiveness, trauma, and deception. For anyone who loves another, there is a price to pay. It reminds each character that love can’t exist without emotional pain but, argues that a love match is ultimately a stronger force than duty and expectation.
Even the most stubborn people can eventually admit they’re wrong, especially when it means finding the happiness they’ve always longed for. These messages are important and connect well with Anthony Bridgerton’s initial approach to love and relationships.
The Bad
Season 2 is exhaustingly repetitive without actually making much progress in the main story arc. There’s so much promise. Beyond the first episode though, things become very predictable and somewhat irritating.
With Daphne Bridgerton (Pheobe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings, Simon Bassett (Regé-Jean Page), things were just sexy and mysterious. There was no telling what would come of their relationship, as they went from strangers to crushes to it’s complicated, almost getting separated—then together again. There was the build-up, natural progression, and obstacles that they handled in messy and realistic ways.
However, Season 2’s romantic progression seems stunted as small pieces try to form a big picture that never quite comes together. It feels fast and forced, which ultimately takes away from the moments that are meant to be special.
While the first season was playfully unrealistic at times, this second installment goes above and beyond with scenes that are difficult to believe. There are actions, motives, and decisions that don’t make sense but drive the story forward in awkward ways. Relationships are tarnished when the conflict could have easily been avoided. Even the scandals are oddly placed. They operate under the assumption that virtually no one in a crowded building is paying attention to anything around them, even if it’s right in front of them.
Certain moments meant to be serious, feel as if they could give more. There are strides to create more multidimensional characters, but they don’t form enough intimacy, empathy, and connection.
There were a lot of characters to juggle this season while also following the Bridgerton book series. It’s tricky to cover everything in detail with such limited time and episodes, perhaps with more time to unpack things, Season 2 could have been a diamond. It’s got some shine but could have sparkled.
Final Verdict
Bridgerton Season 2 isn’t terrible, but it isn’t wonderful. There are some engaging moments, themes, and scenes. However, there are annoying and repetitive components that can take someone completely out of it. It’s worth a watch but shouldn’t be on the top of the watch list. It’s easily bingeable, will hold attention, and may even open up some lively debates.
The second season of Bridgerton will drop on March 25th.
Written By: Wayne Broadway
As surely as there are fish in the sea, there was bound to be anti-Blackness in responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is, unfortunately, a fact of life in a post-colonial world.
As condemnation has rightly spread worldwide from most nations save a few, there has been much focus on the conflict’s human cost. Men — and transwomen and nonbinary citizens — of fighting age, 18-60, have been banned from leaving the nation. The few who make it to the border are sometimes turned back and told instead to report to a recruitment station.
Elsewhere, ciswomen and children make up many of the nation’s nearly 3 million refugees who have fled the warzone into other parts of Europe and abroad.
Under all this chaos, however, lies an additional layer of strife.
While Ukrainian citizens have seemingly been welcomed with open arms, non-white refugees are living a different reality.
These people, often students, face discrimination at border crossings often by border officials themselves. At these crossings, Ukrainian citizens, predominantly white, are given priority. First- and second-hand accounts have cropped up over Twitter and Instagram under the hashtag “africansinukraine.” Because white supremacy has time for everyone, this discrimination has extended to Middle Eastern and South Asian refugees.
In an article for NBC News, one such refugee presented her story. “There was a gap in the access Black and brown people were getting. There was no one offering their homes to Black people, no one offering to pick up the Black individuals,” said Patricia Daley. She is one of three co-founders of Black Women for Black Lives, an organization that helps Black refugees flee the conflict. “There was a tremendous amount of people offering help and support, but I feel like it was limited to Ukrainian nationals alone. And we know what that means. It’s excluding a group of people. There was a need to support Black people because they weren’t getting the support or access. There was a gap, and we bridged it.”
It goes without saying that the Russian aggression against Ukraine is a war crime in and of itself.
Vladimir Putin and his generals have instigated a “special military operation” against a sovereign nation that has done nothing wrong other than exercise its free will in flirting with the prospect of joining the NATO military alliance or the European Union. That Putin is the worst kind of autocrat and a bad actor on the world stage is similarly clear. Despite his nuclear posturing, nations must continue to retaliate against his regime via sanctions and verbal condemnation to show that this 20th century-style incursion has no place in 2022.
That said, this does not mean that we sweep other things under the rug.
People are being discriminated against both while fleeing from and arriving into nations. This is also a crime.
No, it is not a crime of Putin’s international magnitude, but the scale does not matter when one is discussing human rights. In that case, one violation is far too many.
There have, of course, been troll accounts made on the notorious imageboard website 4chan. These have been made to maliciously parody the Black Lives Matter movement and discredit legitimate calls for racial justice. Still, these poor attempts at subversion and division should not deter us from speaking out against the real acts of discrimination occurring at the Ukrainian border.
Immigrants, whether they are students, doctors, or people simply surviving after escaping their home country’s conflicts, deserve the rights of any “real” Ukrainian.
They should be let on trains with “real” Ukrainians. They should be allowed to stand near the bonfires of “real” Ukrainians. They should be allowed safe passage through the refugee routes of “real Ukrainians” without having to devise a shared document discussing which border crossings are safe and which are hostile to people of color.
It is important to remember the fight against Putin is based on the ideals of national sovereignty and basic human rights. These rights do not end where a dictator’s will begins. They are, in short, of tantamount importance.
Important, too, however, are the rights of people of color to exist freely without skin tone or national heritage affecting their ability to live through an already excruciating conflict.
At this time, when the world is largely banning together to condemn one act, it is right that we condemn another. While these stories do not justify Putin’s claim that he is “denazifying” Ukraine — he, like any demagogue, is simply using any phrase that will aid in vilifying his enemy — they should serve as a reminder that the battle against white supremacy is worldwide and seemingly never-ending.
We should look to these stories, both of the invasion itself and the human cost amplified by various intersections of identity, as a stark lesson.
If skin-based discrimination can happen during a national crisis there, there is no reason it wouldn’t happen here.