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by Jamal Igle (Warning: This essay is filled with spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) Four years ago after viewing the first new Star Wars movie in a decade, the J.J. Abrams directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I wrote a piece that discussed the journey of John Boyega’s character “Finn” in that […]
This year 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg became the youngest Person of the Year in TIME Magazine’s history, a testament to her unflinching work trying to get grown-ups to repair the damage they’ve caused and preserve a healthy Earth for future generations.
Mari Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint, has not stopped highlighting the water crisis in her city that persists even though it would only cost $55 million to fix it. (For comparison, Avengers Endgame cost $356 million to make and nobody’s lives were actually at stake there in spite of how real the characters’ fates felt.) The Parkland survivors continue their advocacy for better gun control protections especially as school shootings remain the norm in the wake of the one that tragically took 17 of their classmates and 2 more by suicide in the aftermath. Malala Yousafzai was the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting global literacy for girls.
It’s a rare moment in history where so many youngsters, some of them still children themselves like Little Miss Flint, are taking the lead in solving a variety of social justice issues, and they are taken (mostly) seriously by adults who share their values and goals.
But 21 years ago when The Sixth Sense first hit cinemas, we didn’t have such a plethora of young people making news for their forward-thinking and their abilities to envision a humane and just world that some adults have long given up on. In M. Night Shyamalan’s stunning directorial debut in 1999, we meet Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a 10- or 11-year-old boy with an amazing and horrifying gift: He sees dead people.
Not only is this talent terrifying on profound levels, and extra much when handed to such a small child, it also isolates Cole from his struggling single mother Lynn (Toni Collette) who just wants a normal life. This conflict forces Cole to make some tough decisions that even a grown-up would struggle with as he navigates around all the ghosts trapped in psychic limbo who need his help. One day, Cole meets Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), a child psychiatrist who is still grappling with the breakdown and suicide of one of his patients Vincent Grey, played by an unrecognizable Donnie Wahlberg in the performance of his acting career. Malcolm takes pity on the troubled Cole and decides to humor what Malcolm is sure are delusions, a personality disorder, or worse: paranoid schizophrenia. But in the twist that shocked audiences and has become a pop-culture moment all of its own, it turns out Vincent had turned his gun on Malcolm before killing himself. Malcolm was a ghost the whole time and hadn’t accepted his death yet. It was actually Cole who was humoring Malcolm until he was ready to face his violent end. Sweet boy.
But Malcolm isn’t the only person Cole actively helps even though the burdens of what Cole sees on a daily basis are too much for anyone to bear, let alone such a small boy. Cole listens to the ghost of a young dead girl Kyra Collins (Mischa Barton) who had been slowly poisoned by her own stepmother and helps her stop the same from happening to her younger sister. He also helps his own mother process her unresolved grief surrounding her own emotionally unavailable mother that allows Lynn to finally have a small moment of intergenerational peace. It also gives Lynn proof that her son is truly extraordinary and better equips her to guide him through what will be a tricky future.
Once Cole embraces his power instead of being afraid of it or hiding from it, aspects of his personal world begin to shift, like no longer getting bullied at school and his coming out of his shell to make friends who aren’t in the spirit realm. This by itself is a message that makes The Sixth Sense timeless: we can’t be healthy or happy until we accept who we are, even if our gifts make other people uncomfortable or scared.
Children are remarkable creatures, and their competence cannot be overstated. It remains for adults to decide to actually listen to them and see value in what their perspective can bring not just to their families, but to the world at large, both seen and unseen. Greta Thunberg’s career as environmental activists began with one small protest where she was the only student in her school who walked out to send a vital message about climate change and everyone’s future, not just hers. Today, climate change protests that invoke her name number millions of attendees from all around the world, not just her native Sweden.
For over 20 years The Sixth Sense hasn’t only been scaring us while making us wonder what might be around us that we can’t see. The film hasn’t only just attempted to explain what could happen to a person’s spirit or soul after meeting a violent end as well as the long-term repercussions of trauma. The Sixth Sense has most importantly been reminding us of how powerful children can be as forces of knowledge, awareness, and healing, if only adults would actually listen to them.
The post On its 21st Birthday, ‘The Sixth Sense’ Reminds Us of the Competence of Children appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
The potential of World War III has been in the air since the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander who was killed in a United States air raid in Baghdad this week.
And social media—especially in the form of memes—has been one way that Black Twitter has been using humor to make sense of the fact that Iran’s expected response to the assassination could lead to war.
The memes have been hilarious to many, but no so much for one U.S. army soldier who shared his thoughts in a now viral video asking people to consider those who are and would be going to the frontlines if a war was declared.
“You gotta understand man… for somebody like me who has been here since November, in the middle of this sh****…” Instagram user Kiing_Johnson said in the now viral video. “Y’all could post a good lil meme about being positive for us or praying for us …”
“We are really going through this sh***and a lot of us might not be coming back. So a prayer or a good luck could help.”
View this post on Instagram A man this shit ain’t no game . A lot of us might not be coming back and I been here since November.. so y’all tighten up and post sum positive or sum good lucky wishes or prayers.. everything y’all post don’tgot to be funny.. 
ik y’all clout chasing but damn show love too
To all the soldiers that coming over here to join us .. keep y’all head up … if you going thru sum I’m here to listen and Ima have a ear open for you … it’s all love for my brothers and sister this way we gone make it back home safe 
A post shared by grindhard..shinehard simple… (@kiing_johnson) on Jan 4, 2020 at 12:37pm PST
Although it is not clear where he was filming the video, the clip implied that he might be in the Middle East or in some form of a war zone. He can be seen wearing his army uniform as he shares the message.
“My generation better tighten up sometimes,” he continued.
He also sent a message to his other military brothers and sisters who would be joining him one day.
“I salute y’all man…I’m going to be for y’all. I’ll be here with y’all.”
We salute you brother.
The post This U.S. Soldier Is Calling Out People Laughing At The WWIII Memes: ‘A Lot Of Us Might Not Be Coming Back’ appeared first on Essence.
In news that is no surprise (but very welcome nonetheless), BBC America has decided to renew their smash hit series Killing Eve for a fourth season. The thrilling series follows the cat and mouse game between assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh) the special agent who can’t help but be drawn to her.
Sarah Barnett, president, AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios, released an effusive statement about the show, saying, “How could we not have massive confidence in Killing Eve? It has won big in every major award show and is the highest growing show on U.S. television for six years.” Barnett also lauded the women in front of and behind the camera adding, “The reason for this series’ emphatic embrace is the brilliant women who breathed it into being: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emerald Fennell, Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw and its fairy godmother, executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle.”
Season three of the series airs this spring, featuring new head writer Suzanne Heathcoate (See, The Walking Dead). Each season has featured a different female showrunner, but no one has been announced yet for season 4. Sandra Oh has won a Golden Globe for her performance, and Jodie Comer won an Emmy last year for hers. Both Comer and the show are nominated for Golden Globes this year.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: BBC America)
- Netflix announces their original movies for 2020 and there are SO MANY of them. (via AVClub)
- Here’s a look at the most influential women in genre in the 2010s. (via Syfy Wire)
- Happy New Year to Leap and Leap only:
- Maddy Myers on what it’s like to be a female journalist who covers video games. (via Kotaku)
- On saying goodbye to queer power couple Nico and Karolina in Runaways. (via Autostraddle)
- Jane Eyre as seen through Redditships:
Y’all know Leap. pic.twitter.com/aiiSSBQA24
— Blair Braverman (@BlairBraverman) January 1, 2020
I [35M] married a woman [32F] from a slave-owning family for money. She had mental illness and cheated on me, so I removed her from home and loved ones and chained her in an attic. Now I want to marry an employee [18F] without telling her I’m married because she’ll say no. AITA?
— Elizabeth Picciuto ❄️🌱🌞🍂 (@epicciuto) January 3, 2020
What are you up to this weekend, Mary Suevians?
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