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https://blackgirlnerds.com/how-spike-lees-girl-6-speaks-to-the-travails-of-an-only-fans-generation/
Who would’ve thought that nearly 25 years later, we could call Girl 6, an early Spike Lee movie, a film ahead of its time? It most certainly isn’t Lee’s biggest cinematic achievement. In fact, the director and everyone involved in the film, including the screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks, have apparently distanced themselves from the movie, disavowing their part in its creation. So, how come a film that’s not even mentioned by those who made it and is nearly impossible to find is now more relevant than ever?
Well, though Girl 6 was made in 1996, there are undeniable similarities between the life of its fictionalized protagonist, Judy, an aspiring young actress, and the pervasive nature of the online camming and Onlyfans that exists today. These platforms are viewed as a door of exploration and financial freedom by many of their content creators. Join us as we dive into how this film speaks to a generation of people that live in a time when cash is king and modesty remains optional.
As the movie opens, we see Judy (Theresa Randle), the future Girl 6, as a timid up-and-coming actress living in a big city. She attends an audition with Quentin Tarantino. Her audition was going quite well until she became apprehensive and defiant when asked to undress and reveal her breasts. She eventually complies and reluctantly undresses, only to become quickly overwhelmed with guilt before storming out.
Not only disrespected for her choice by her agent and her mentor but also unable to make ends meet, Judi decides to make some quick money working as a phone sex operator at an office where female empowerment is the prevailing sentiment. In fact, the company’s boss, Lil, runs a very corporate environment. But there is an emphasis on friendship and support, which develops between the work colleagues.
While alive but not well, phone sex was a major industry in 1996. The internet ran at 56kbps speeds, that would take forever to download a spicy image, let alone facilitate the growth of the adult industry the way it did approximately a decade later. Nowadays, as our world continues to evolve and press into a digital space, creating and supplying online content has become an entrepreneurial hub for many — which also includes sex work. And before we go any further into the discussion, sex work is work.
As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, many individuals have turned to OnlyFans — a platform that gives content creators space to upload their often-explicit content for their paying subscribers’ viewing pleasure. In fact, the platform flourished during the pandemic, when both demand and supply for adult content increased. The former happened because people had more time to consume it, and the latter because the other party in the transaction had to make ends meet.
In fact, why wouldn’t you be able to make some money by showing off your body? That’s what Girl 6’s Judy did with nothing else but her voice and acting skills. Well, at first, Judy was satisfied with her work, but things started to shift throughout the movie. Though she adopts a more sexually bolder attitude and personality, she is immediately objectified. Her performance — which she had given him a glimpse of — was mistaken for a renewed sexual interest by her former husband.
Unfortunately, many customers don’t realize that the emotional lives of people working in the sex industry take place when the phones are down and cameras are off. Through a series of events that plunge Judy into emotional turmoil, one caller becomes disrespectful and outright insulting, and verbally violent towards her. Girl 6 suffers a breakdown, after which she’s temporarily suspended by her boss. Judy, however, decides to get a private phone line and continue her phone sex career from home. That scene is particularly interesting and borderline prophetic, as it reflects the current state of OnlyFans culture but is set in the 90s.
Madonna, who also made a cameo appearance, is saying to Judy that office-bound girls are restricted by what they can say. But a fantasy girl that works from home — a home girl — doesn’t have such limitations. Thus, she can invite her callers to fully experience their deepest, darkest, strangest, wildest desires, with no restrictions and no inhibitions, just freedom, no taboos. Sounds familiar, right?
Well, fast-forward some 20-25 years, and amateur adult content creators are flocking to OnlyFans in droves, seeking financial freedom. The loudest voices in our society tell us that this new frontier is actually empowering women through the capitalization of their bodies. And not just women, but men as well. But is that really the case? Is the capitalization of one’s body and the digitization of sex actually empowering, or are they doing more harm than good?
In the movie, after Judy receives her private line so that she may work from home, the disrespectful caller calls her once more. The two engage in a very explicit and perverse S&M conversation — hey, it’s all about the customer’s desires, right? The scene is fantastic, as it features Spike Lee’s iconic gliding shot, which symbolically depicts Judy spiraling psychologically during the conversation, up until the point at which she finally capitulates. This is followed by another breakdown and fear for her safety as the caller reveals that he knows her address.
The descent into deep, dark, unspoken sexual desires of her customers reflects the current supply and demand of the very same content that has become the bread and butter of many earning through OnlyFans. Just recently, a young content creator (we won’t list any names) shared her experience creating sexual content on the platform and commoditizing her body for $200,000 a month. As per her own account, the majority of her earnings comes from commission work — work that has been privately requested by the client.
Afterward, she admitted to having several throat infections in the past from ingesting her own fecal matter (as requested by the client). This makes us wonder whether this type of empowerment, whether done by a female or male, is psychologically healthy. Well, she was incentivized by money, so she created a revolting supply for existing and equally revolting demand. And nobody had forced her to do anything. OnlyFans, as a platform, is a mere facilitator, just as phones were during the 90s, and the internet was and still is.
In the end, Girl 6, a film shunned by nearly everyone due to its incoherent and loosely connected subplots, now speaks volumes to the OnlyFans generations, especially women. Sex sells for good money, but the price of commoditization of our bodies is paid by both the client and the content creator. One pays with money, but the other pay with something else. The need for money chews on the identity of a person and spews out a brand whose recognition and reputation match its marketing efforts. Welcome to OnlyFans — or any other adult content creation platform.
Anyone interested in watching Spike Lee’s Girl 6 can do so on Starz or Amazon Prime Video.
Who would’ve thought that nearly 25 years later, we could call Girl 6, an early Spike Lee movie, a film ahead of its time? It most certainly isn’t Lee’s biggest cinematic achievement. In fact, the director and everyone involved in the film, including the screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks, have apparently distanced themselves from the movie, disavowing their part in its creation. So, how come a film that’s not even mentioned by those who made it and is nearly impossible to find is now more relevant than ever?
Well, though Girl 6 was made in 1996, there are undeniable similarities between the life of its fictionalized protagonist, Judy, an aspiring young actress, and the pervasive nature of the online camming and Onlyfans that exists today. These platforms are viewed as a door of exploration and financial freedom by many of their content creators. Join us as we dive into how this film speaks to a generation of people that live in a time when cash is king and modesty remains optional.
As the movie opens, we see Judy (Theresa Randle), the future Girl 6, as a timid up-and-coming actress living in a big city. She attends an audition with Quentin Tarantino. Her audition was going quite well until she became apprehensive and defiant when asked to undress and reveal her breasts. She eventually complies and reluctantly undresses, only to become quickly overwhelmed with guilt before storming out.
Not only disrespected for her choice by her agent and her mentor but also unable to make ends meet, Judi decides to make some quick money working as a phone sex operator at an office where female empowerment is the prevailing sentiment. In fact, the company’s boss, Lil, runs a very corporate environment. But there is an emphasis on friendship and support, which develops between the work colleagues.
While alive but not well, phone sex was a major industry in 1996. The internet ran at 56kbps speeds, that would take forever to download a spicy image, let alone facilitate the growth of the adult industry the way it did approximately a decade later. Nowadays, as our world continues to evolve and press into a digital space, creating and supplying online content has become an entrepreneurial hub for many — which also includes sex work. And before we go any further into the discussion, sex work is work.
As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, many individuals have turned to OnlyFans — a platform that gives content creators space to upload their often-explicit content for their paying subscribers’ viewing pleasure. In fact, the platform flourished during the pandemic, when both demand and supply for adult content increased. The former happened because people had more time to consume it, and the latter because the other party in the transaction had to make ends meet.
In fact, why wouldn’t you be able to make some money by showing off your body? That’s what Girl 6’s Judy did with nothing else but her voice and acting skills. Well, at first, Judy was satisfied with her work, but things started to shift throughout the movie. Though she adopts a more sexually bolder attitude and personality, she is immediately objectified. Her performance — which she had given him a glimpse of — was mistaken for a renewed sexual interest by her former husband.
Unfortunately, many customers don’t realize that the emotional lives of people working in the sex industry take place when the phones are down and cameras are off. Through a series of events that plunge Judy into emotional turmoil, one caller becomes disrespectful and outright insulting, and verbally violent towards her. Girl 6 suffers a breakdown, after which she’s temporarily suspended by her boss. Judy, however, decides to get a private phone line and continue her phone sex career from home. That scene is particularly interesting and borderline prophetic, as it reflects the current state of OnlyFans culture but is set in the 90s.
Madonna, who also made a cameo appearance, is saying to Judy that office-bound girls are restricted by what they can say. But a fantasy girl that works from home — a home girl — doesn’t have such limitations. Thus, she can invite her callers to fully experience their deepest, darkest, strangest, wildest desires, with no restrictions and no inhibitions, just freedom, no taboos. Sounds familiar, right?
Well, fast-forward some 20-25 years, and amateur adult content creators are flocking to OnlyFans in droves, seeking financial freedom. The loudest voices in our society tell us that this new frontier is actually empowering women through the capitalization of their bodies. And not just women, but men as well. But is that really the case? Is the capitalization of one’s body and the digitization of sex actually empowering, or are they doing more harm than good?
In the movie, after Judy receives her private line so that she may work from home, the disrespectful caller calls her once more. The two engage in a very explicit and perverse S&M conversation — hey, it’s all about the customer’s desires, right? The scene is fantastic, as it features Spike Lee’s iconic gliding shot, which symbolically depicts Judy spiraling psychologically during the conversation, up until the point at which she finally capitulates. This is followed by another breakdown and fear for her safety as the caller reveals that he knows her address.
The descent into deep, dark, unspoken sexual desires of her customers reflects the current supply and demand of the very same content that has become the bread and butter of many earning through OnlyFans. Just recently, a young content creator (we won’t list any names) shared her experience creating sexual content on the platform and commoditizing her body for $200,000 a month. As per her own account, the majority of her earnings comes from commission work — work that has been privately requested by the client.
Afterward, she admitted to having several throat infections in the past from ingesting her own fecal matter (as requested by the client). This makes us wonder whether this type of empowerment, whether done by a female or male, is psychologically healthy. Well, she was incentivized by money, so she created a revolting supply for existing and equally revolting demand. And nobody had forced her to do anything. OnlyFans, as a platform, is a mere facilitator, just as phones were during the 90s, and the internet was and still is.
In the end, Girl 6, a film shunned by nearly everyone due to its incoherent and loosely connected subplots, now speaks volumes to the OnlyFans generations, especially women. Sex sells for good money, but the price of commoditization of our bodies is paid by both the client and the content creator. One pays with money, but the other pay with something else. The need for money chews on the identity of a person and spews out a brand whose recognition and reputation match its marketing efforts. Welcome to OnlyFans — or any other adult content creation platform.
Anyone interested in watching Spike Lee’s Girl 6 can do so on Starz or Amazon Prime Video.
Hellraiser is one of horror’s most long-lasting and impactful franchises. It began with Clive Barker’s brilliant story The Hell Priest (nee The Hellbound Heart). Barker then adapted that into the stunning 1987 horror classic Hellraiser. Tony Randel made a sequel back-to-back with a story by Barker. Those films sparked a series of movies that expanded the lore of Hellraiser, and gave us nine direct sequels to the original. Over the years there have been many rumors and rumblings of a Hellraiser remake or reboot. But it was The Night House’s David Bruckner who transformed rumors into reality with Hulu’s Hellraiser. Though this reviewer long feared their favorite franchise getting the reboot treatment; Bruckner has gifted us with a darkly delightful horror steeped in Barker’s sensibilities. The biggest disappointment is that this Hellraiser won’t be getting a wide release in theaters.
Bruckner’s vision introduces us to debauched billionaire Roland Voight (Goran Visnjic) who holds a lavish party in his Berkshire Estates. In the dimly lit halls, a young man named Joey (Kit Clarke) is drawn into the bowels of the mansion. It’s here that those familiar with the world of Hellraiser will get excited. We learn that Voight’s home is built to replicate the puzzle box at the heart of the franchise, the Lament Configuration. Occult architecture has long been a part of the Hellraiser sequels, most famously in Hellraiser: Bloodline, which seems to have been a large influence on the film. It’s a nice nod which also introduces new viewers into the intricate visual world of Barker’s lore. Joey quickly falls victim to the puzzle box. And we learn Voight is a man who’ll do anything to connect with the creatures unleashed by LeMarchand’s infamous Box.
Enter struggling addict Riley (Odessa A’zion) and her shady enabler boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey). Currently crashing with Matt (Brandon Flynn), his empathetic boyfriend Colin (Adam Faison), and their roommate Nora (Aoife Hinds); Riley is hardly the perfect house guest, and it’s her relationship with Trevor that throws Riley into the world of the Cenobites. Speaking of the most iconic part of Barker’s stories, Bruckner brings them to life in spectacular fashion. Led by a haunting performance by Jamie Clayton as The Priest; (a version of Pinhead), the Cenobites instill the kind of nightmarish anxiety that they should. The Priest is joined by the Chatterer (Jason Liles), the Weeper (Yinka Olorunnife), the Gasp (Selina Lo), and the Asphyx (Zachary Hing); all of whom bring a specific type of terror to the screen.
None of that would be possible without the unreal work of the special effects department. Supervised by Dragan Radic, the crew has crafted visions of hell that feel like they’ve directly walked out of Barker’s stories. It’s a feat that many later Hellraiser movies have struggled with, and allows this version to sit happily alongside the original two films in tone and visuals. Ben Lovett’s echoing score plays a key part in building that atmosphere. Pulsing, haunting, and at times beautiful, I would’ve loved to hear it complimenting the film through the sound system of an immense cinema screen.
While the Cenobites and their horrors are appealing, Odessa A’zion leads a talented cast that you want to root for as they face down a nightmare come to life. Writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski’s script crafts a group of characters that you care about. And ultimately gives the story an almost entirely satisfying ending. But what could’ve been a brilliantly powerful final act gets slightly dampened by a strange very ’00s feeling stinger that sits more inline with the direct to video Hellraiser movies of the past than the powerful emotional choice that finishes the movie proper. Even with that, though, this is still a really great addition to the Hellraiser series that sits comfortably as just another chapter in the sprawling legend of the Lament Configuration rather than diminishing what came before.
The post David Bruckner’s HELLRAISER Is a Demented Delight appeared first on Nerdist.
The Atlas moth has a wingspan of almost 10 inches and the tips of those wings look like the face of a cobra. This helps them scare off predators in their native environment in India, the Philippines, and other tropical parts of Asia. But it definitely makes them stand out in the Pacific Northwest, where one was recently spotted. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has asked the public to be on the lookout for the moth after one was spotted in Bellevue, a suburb just east of Seattle. They’re not dangerous and only live a few weeks as adults. But as caterpillars they are very hungry and could make quick work of apple and cherry trees in the area.
Scientists don’t think the Atlas moth got to the United States on its own. It’s illegal to own them but officials think the one found in Washington likely escaped from a breeder, someone raising them to sell as pets. Because apparently there’s such a thing as a black market for moths. In fact, according to the Seattle Times, a local seller on eBay was offering Atlas moths as recently as this summer. We saw the news on Smithsonian Magazine.
Atlas moths are one of the largest species of moths. There are at least 160,000 types of moth on Earth, with new ones discovered often. Insects have all kinds of adaptations in order to survive and caterpillars come in all shapes and sizes. There is the hairy monkey slug moth that looks like a tarantula. Looking like a snake is not unique to the Atlas moth. The hawk moth’s caterpillar also mimics a snake to scare off predators.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
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For over five decades, LGBTQ fans have speculated that Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo franchise was gay. Obviously, during the 1970s and ’80s, there was no way Hanna-Barbera was outing one of their main characters on a Saturday morning cartoon. But entering the modern era, many Scooby-Doo creators tried to bring Velma out of the closet, only to find themselves blocked in doing so.
Well, according to a report from Variety, Velma is finally officially coming out as a lesbian. This happens in the new animated movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! We can all say a collective happy “Jinkies!” now. You can watch the clip in question right here:
The clip above has gone viral, confirming at last what everyone knew since 1969. In the clip, Velma gets love-struck upon seeing female costume designer Coco Diablo. (Which, we must say, is a fabulous name for a character). This is not the first time creators have tried to officially say Velma is a lesbian. James Gunn, who wrote the original Scooby-Doo live-action movies in the early 2000s, has publicly stated he wanted to make Velma a queer character. But the studio thwarted all attempts. Gunn said she was openly gay in his first script. Then, they toned it down to “ambiguously gay.” Finally, all references to her sexuality were dropped.
Similarly, Tony Cervone, who was a supervising producer on the Mystery Incorporated series, has confirmed that Velma was gay in a post on social media. But like with Gunn, all actual declarations of said queer status had to be offscreen. Finally, it seems someone realized it was 2022, and characters we all know to be queer can finally say it out loud. The usual people who are going to be mad about it will scream and yell, and move on to another outrage. In the meantime, the rest of us can celebrate our new (ok, maybe not so new) queer icon.
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! is available now to rent or purchase on digital and DVD.
The post SCOOBY-DOO Icon Velma Dinkley Canonically Confirmed Queer appeared first on Nerdist.