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The 1960s was a wild time for Black folks in the US. While the needle was starting to bend toward justice and equality in courtrooms across the country, that progress was paid for with the lives of many. History always recalls Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated four years apart and in the wake of the passing of the Voting Rights Act. These United States were anything but, with racist segregationists beefing on all fronts to keep things separate. During this tumultuous cultural upheaval, a teacher living in suburban Los Angeles writes a letter to one Mr. Charles Schultz. She suggested Schultz add a Black character to his hit comic Peanuts to address the tension subtly. Comic strips were forever changed as Franklin Armstrong entered the funny pages on July 29th, 1968.
After many more ‘firsts’ but not much justice, Apple TV+ debuts a short film that provides the first-ever filling out of Franklin’s character. Ever. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin marks the only time we learn anything about this character in their sixty-year publication history. The short wastes no time putting viewers squarely into Franklin’s shoes (voiced by Caleb Bellavance) and looking at the world through his eyes.
Franklin has been Black in a white town for sixty years and has never uttered a Black word. Right out the gate, we learn that Franklin comes from a military family that moves so often he has grown accustomed to living out of a suitcase. So accustomed to living out of a suitcase that he rarely unpacks it. It’s here, early on in the story that we are shown the core of this story, the adaptive capability of Black resilience. The moment Franklin moves into this new town, he makes a mental note about the lack of diversity, and we are treated to a slew of childish microaggressions (entirely from Lucy). It was like experiencing a condensed microcosm of what Franklin’s life would have been had he existed as a real Black boy in the 60s.
Hijinks ensue as the kids ramp up to a soapbox derby, but the film’s most impactful moments are the simple, cultural expositions. Charlie Brown and Franklin pair up for the derby and are in the Armstrong garage where a conversation around music sparks up. Franklin shows Charlie some of his favorite vinyls. James Brown and John Coltrane (his fave!) have now entered the chat in the Peanuts universe. Just like that, Black history is intertwined with the mainstream 60s zeitgeist. Do you remember the amorphous ‘womp-womp-womp’ sound associated with adult speech in Peanuts? Well, Franklins’ folks have a slightly different, deeper horn to display their speech pattern. More jazzy. But it’s those little changes that bring the fact that Franklin is different from the rest of the cast but still just a kid making his way.
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin is a wholesome and well-designed short film that centers the celebration of our differences by focusing on the moments we all share. As we fall headfirst into an election year that looks to split the country into more and more pieces, I’m glad Charles Schultz left us with a piece of this allyship behind. Even a few of Schultz’s friends make up the writing and producing team. You can find Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin on Apple TV+.
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The post ‘Welcome Home, Franklin:’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The 1960s was a wild time for Black folks in the US. While the needle was starting to bend toward justice and equality in courtrooms across the country, that progress was paid for with the lives of many. History always recalls Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated four years apart and in the wake of the passing of the Voting Rights Act. These United States were anything but, with racist segregationists beefing on all fronts to keep things separate. During this tumultuous cultural upheaval, a teacher living in suburban Los Angeles writes a letter to one Mr. Charles Schultz. She suggested Schultz add a Black character to his hit comic Peanuts to address the tension subtly. Comic strips were forever changed as Franklin Armstrong entered the funny pages on July 29th, 1968.
After many more ‘firsts’ but not much justice, Apple TV+ debuts a short film that provides the first-ever filling out of Franklin’s character. Ever. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin marks the only time we learn anything about this character in their sixty-year publication history. The short wastes no time putting viewers squarely into Franklin’s shoes (voiced by Caleb Bellavance) and looking at the world through his eyes.
Franklin has been Black in a white town for sixty years and has never uttered a Black word. Right out the gate, we learn that Franklin comes from a military family that moves so often he has grown accustomed to living out of a suitcase. So accustomed to living out of a suitcase that he rarely unpacks it. It’s here, early on in the story that we are shown the core of this story, the adaptive capability of Black resilience. The moment Franklin moves into this new town, he makes a mental note about the lack of diversity, and we are treated to a slew of childish microaggressions (entirely from Lucy). It was like experiencing a condensed microcosm of what Franklin’s life would have been had he existed as a real Black boy in the 60s.
Hijinks ensue as the kids ramp up to a soapbox derby, but the film’s most impactful moments are the simple, cultural expositions. Charlie Brown and Franklin pair up for the derby and are in the Armstrong garage where a conversation around music sparks up. Franklin shows Charlie some of his favorite vinyls. James Brown and John Coltrane (his fave!) have now entered the chat in the Peanuts universe. Just like that, Black history is intertwined with the mainstream 60s zeitgeist. Do you remember the amorphous ‘womp-womp-womp’ sound associated with adult speech in Peanuts? Well, Franklins’ folks have a slightly different, deeper horn to display their speech pattern. More jazzy. But it’s those little changes that bring the fact that Franklin is different from the rest of the cast but still just a kid making his way.
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin is a wholesome and well-designed short film that centers the celebration of our differences by focusing on the moments we all share. As we fall headfirst into an election year that looks to split the country into more and more pieces, I’m glad Charles Schultz left us with a piece of this allyship behind. Even a few of Schultz’s friends make up the writing and producing team. You can find Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin on Apple TV+.
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The post ‘Welcome Home, Franklin:’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
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The post Close To 50 Percent Of U.S. Moms Say Their Birth Experience Was Traumatic. birthFUND Is Here To Change That. appeared first on Essence.
COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: <> on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken) By Rivea Ruff ·Updated April 21, 2024
Victoria Monét is having her moment.
Hot on the heels of picking up multiple Grammys, the songstress hit yet another solo career milestone by shutting down the Coachella stage. Her Weekend 1 performance delighted her hardcore fans and won the hearts of many more in the crowd and across the livestream as she performed her hits.
ESSENCE caught up with Monét as she prepared to hit the iconic Heineken House and take the Mojave stage by storm once again for the festival’s second weekend to chat through jitters, tweaks, and remaining present in this magical moment.
Congratulations on your first Coachella performance, first and foremost! What was it like for you to hit the Coachella stage for the first time last weekend? You’re a veteran performer, of course, but were there any jitters hitting a stage of this size?
I was definitely pretty nervous. I know how big Coachella is, and you actually find out about being a part of the lineup during the summer, so I’ve been anticipating the performance for quite some time.
So there’s a lot of emotional buildup and it was very exciting to do, even just knowing who’s done it before. Being in the audience from previous Coachellas and how I felt watching other people, I just wanted to make sure that I delivered that same feeling. So overall the feelings were excited and nervous, but it was really fun.
It’s like the festival of all festivals. So it was definitely a dream come true.
COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken) Now, are you a “Coachella mom?” We’ve seen over the years it’s become more standard for people to bring their small kids along. Did you bring Baby Hazel along so she could see the performance, or did she stay home for this one?
She was in a lot of the rehearsals, but for this Coachella weekend, I just thought it would be better for her to stay home because it was like a three-hour drive, and then I wouldn’t bring her to the festival so she would basically go to Palm Springs to be in the house. My mom came down to watch her, so she had some grandma time, but she did watch the show, apparently, and was locked in all for 45 minutes of my set on the live stream. So she was still a part of it. She was also in the show because we used her vocals as a countdown, and then there’s a visualizer of her on the screen too. So it was like she was there.
Which was too cute, by the way! What song were you most excited to perform last weekend and what did you get the best crowd reaction from? What was the most fun and what are you looking forward to performing this weekend?
I think the dance breaks are always really fun because I bring in other people’s music and just kind of vibe with the crowd and have fun and dance really quick. But I definitely enjoy performing “On My Mama,” just because I think it’s the song that people are most familiar with and I can see their faces light up. They’re doing the choreography in the crowd and it’s just a good time. And I’m really excited to do the show all over again. The 45 minutes kind of flies by, so I’m going to try to remain present within this set as well.
COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken) So going into your second weekend, do you feel like some of the pressure’s off, or do you think it’s going to be a different feeling hitting the stage this time doing it again? What’s the feeling of gearing up to retread the steps of this performance?
The feeling really is…I have notes. I have things I want to fix. There were a lot of little things, and I think it’s normal for a festival performance just because it’s not your environment and there are lots of changeovers and performers in one space. So I have some things that I want to fix, and then I have more rehearsals just to fine-tune certain things and troubleshoot things from set design mishaps and wardrobe things that we can tweak. Just fine-tuning the set, so I’m hoping that this weekend is even better than last. The pressure is really just to come back and do better than the first weekend.
Now, you’ll be stopping by the iconic Heineken House on the festival grounds this year. Who are you looking forward to seeing perform?
I really wish I was seeing BIA! I love BIA. I love Channel Trés, and I love Lupe [Fiasco] also, but during Lupe’s performance, I’ll be on the Mojave stage. So I’m excited for Friday to be introduced to performers that I haven’t seen yet, so it’s going to be a treat. I get to just observe and be a part of the exciting environment and see other performers do their thing, which sounds really, really fun.
COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken) Coachella is following a long line of successes for you in just the first quarter of the year. You’ve been working hard toward solo superstardom for years, and it all seems to be finally happening, and in quick succession. What does it feel like to have so much coming to fruition at once, and what do you have coming next?
It definitely feels like a big whirlwind of great things happening. And so my main focus is really just to try and stay present. Because there’s so many things to celebrate, but also so many things to do and work on. So it’s kind of this balance of realizing that I’ve gotten to where I want to be, but also knowing that there’s more that I want to do and just kind of having that duality and making sure that I’m grateful always, but also hungry still, and working towards more things.
TOPICS: Coachella victoria monétThe post 10 Minutes With Victoria Monet As She Preps For Coachella Weekend Two appeared first on Essence.