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Richard Roundtree was simply put an icon who helped popularize the blaxploitation genre thanks to his role in the 1971 film Shaft. As an uncompromising private detective, he wouldn’t be denied. We know because the infamous theme song by Isaac Hayes told us so:
They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother
(Shut your mouth)
But I’m talkin’ ’bout Shaft
(Then we can dig it)
The theme song helped catapult the movie into the epitome of pop-culture status. Isaac Hayes said before he died in 2008 that the song was “like the shot heard round the world.” The single won an Academy Award for best song in 1971 and two Grammys the following year.
Roundtree embodied the role of John Shaft. As Roundtree professed in a 1972 article in The New York Times, he was portraying “a Black man who is for once a winner.”
Richard Ronald Roundtree was born in New Rochelle, New York to his mother Kathryn, a cook and housekeeper, and John, a refuse collector and later a church minister. He attended New Rochelle high school and earned a football scholarship to Southern Illinois University. He left school soon after arriving to pursue an acting and modeling career. After working at Barneys department store, he toured with the Ebony Fashion Fair. He then joined the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City and starred in its 1967 production of The Great White Hope.
It would be his role as detective John Shaft that changed the game. He was 28-years-old and this was his first feature film. The popularity of Shaft turned Roundtree into a superstar with two subsequent sequels: Shaft’s Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973). He appeared in numerous films throughout the 1970’s, including the ABC television miniseries Roots (1977).
In the 1970’s, blaxploitation referred to independently produced films that usually had extremely low budgets. They were predominantly made my Black crews for Black audiences – everything from action to horror, and even musicals. Crime, sex, drugs, and racial tensions were common subjects for these ‘Black’ and ‘exploitation’ type films.
Blaxploitation films actually had a moral purpose and a political mandate. Within this, audiences were able to talk back to the screen, yell if they wanted to, voice their true thoughts about what was happening in the world, all while enacting this sort of vengeance and speaking truth to power. These films were liberating and spot on with capturing the cultural awareness of the time within Black identity.
When Richard Roundtree came upon the screen in Shaft, with his perfectly groomed afro, mustache, and sideburns, the swagger in his walk let you know this was going to be something to remember. The turtleneck and brown leather trench coat sealed the deal. He was an instant superhero.
Roundtree introduced us to a new type of Black masculinity to mainstream film. Where previous Black actors such as Sidney Poitier had played civil, poised and asexual characters, Roundtree’s Shaft was heroic, sexual, wisecracking and unapologetically Black. Although he was a hard-nosed private detective, he didn’t emulate his white counterparts or look up to them. He said what he wanted to; he did whatever he wanted to. He didn’t take crap from anybody, and we loved it.
What I find interesting about Roundtree is that he could never shake being Shaft. Regardless of how many films and television shows he did, he was always recognized for being the iconic character.
We also loved him as Paul Patterson, Sr., Mary Jane’s father on the BET hit show Being Mary Jane. He actually loved that role as well. It was the response he received from people who connected with the relatable themes of the show, including the rising suicide rates among Black men. His character had heartfelt chats with his children which made him wish that he’d been equipped with things to say to his own children. “I wish I could be that forthright. I wish I could have been that forthright with them and it shows — the unnerving part is it shows my shortcomings with my own kids,” he said.
Roundtree’s work served as a turning point for Black leading men in film, and opened the door for actors like Fred Williamson, a blaxploitation legend, in Black Caesar (1973). Thalmus Rasulala made his mark in the blaxploitation genre by co-starring in films such as Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975), and alongside Pam Grier in Friday Foster (1975). We can’t forget about Ron O’Neal who became the most controversial blaxploitation star in Superfly (1972). We loved to hate this pimp who abused women and cocaine. His character Priest was like an urban James Bond-type who did not play with anyone.
Roundtree inspired an entire genre of film where Black leading men were taking up space on screen. He continued to inspire new audiences who were discovering new reasons to love his work. We will always dig that.
Richard Roundtree was simply put an icon who helped popularize the blaxploitation genre thanks to his role in the 1971 film Shaft. As an uncompromising private detective, he wouldn’t be denied. We know because the infamous theme song by Isaac Hayes told us so:
They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother
(Shut your mouth)
But I’m talkin’ ’bout Shaft
(Then we can dig it)
The theme song helped catapult the movie into the epitome of pop-culture status. Isaac Hayes said before he died in 2008 that the song was “like the shot heard round the world.” The single won an Academy Award for best song in 1971 and two Grammys the following year.
Roundtree embodied the role of John Shaft. As Roundtree professed in a 1972 article in The New York Times, he was portraying “a Black man who is for once a winner.”
Richard Ronald Roundtree was born in New Rochelle, New York to his mother Kathryn, a cook and housekeeper, and John, a refuse collector and later a church minister. He attended New Rochelle high school and earned a football scholarship to Southern Illinois University. He left school soon after arriving to pursue an acting and modeling career. After working at Barneys department store, he toured with the Ebony Fashion Fair. He then joined the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City and starred in its 1967 production of The Great White Hope.
It would be his role as detective John Shaft that changed the game. He was 28-years-old and this was his first feature film. The popularity of Shaft turned Roundtree into a superstar with two subsequent sequels: Shaft’s Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973). He appeared in numerous films throughout the 1970’s, including the ABC television miniseries Roots (1977).
In the 1970’s, blaxploitation referred to independently produced films that usually had extremely low budgets. They were predominantly made my Black crews for Black audiences – everything from action to horror, and even musicals. Crime, sex, drugs, and racial tensions were common subjects for these ‘Black’ and ‘exploitation’ type films.
Blaxploitation films actually had a moral purpose and a political mandate. Within this, audiences were able to talk back to the screen, yell if they wanted to, voice their true thoughts about what was happening in the world, all while enacting this sort of vengeance and speaking truth to power. These films were liberating and spot on with capturing the cultural awareness of the time within Black identity.
When Richard Roundtree came upon the screen in Shaft, with his perfectly groomed afro, mustache, and sideburns, the swagger in his walk let you know this was going to be something to remember. The turtleneck and brown leather trench coat sealed the deal. He was an instant superhero.
Roundtree introduced us to a new type of Black masculinity to mainstream film. Where previous Black actors such as Sidney Poitier had played civil, poised and asexual characters, Roundtree’s Shaft was heroic, sexual, wisecracking and unapologetically Black. Although he was a hard-nosed private detective, he didn’t emulate his white counterparts or look up to them. He said what he wanted to; he did whatever he wanted to. He didn’t take crap from anybody, and we loved it.
What I find interesting about Roundtree is that he could never shake being Shaft. Regardless of how many films and television shows he did, he was always recognized for being the iconic character.
We also loved him as Paul Patterson, Sr., Mary Jane’s father on the BET hit show Being Mary Jane. He actually loved that role as well. It was the response he received from people who connected with the relatable themes of the show, including the rising suicide rates among Black men. His character had heartfelt chats with his children which made him wish that he’d been equipped with things to say to his own children. “I wish I could be that forthright. I wish I could have been that forthright with them and it shows — the unnerving part is it shows my shortcomings with my own kids,” he said.
Roundtree’s work served as a turning point for Black leading men in film, and opened the door for actors like Fred Williamson, a blaxploitation legend, in Black Caesar (1973). Thalmus Rasulala made his mark in the blaxploitation genre by co-starring in films such as Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975), and alongside Pam Grier in Friday Foster (1975). We can’t forget about Ron O’Neal who became the most controversial blaxploitation star in Superfly (1972). We loved to hate this pimp who abused women and cocaine. His character Priest was like an urban James Bond-type who did not play with anyone.
Roundtree inspired an entire genre of film where Black leading men were taking up space on screen. He continued to inspire new audiences who were discovering new reasons to love his work. We will always dig that.
Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan appears in a major role in season two of Loki. The Everything Everywhere All At Once and Indiana Jones actor just can’t get enough of stories about the multiverse, it seems. His name is Ouroboros, or O.B. for short. But how does Ke Huy Quan’s Loki character tie into the existing Marvel Comics lore? And how does Ouroboros relate to existing mythological roots in our own world? Here’s what we know so far about Ke Huy Quan’s Ouroboros and his role in Marvel’s Loki season two.
The Ouroboros in Folklore and Norse Mythology’s Jörmungandr
You’ve no doubt heard the turn of phrase “the snake eating its own tail.” Well, that particular iconography comes straight from ancient mythology. That snake consuming its own tail is actually called the Ouroboros, and is found in the mythologies of ancient Egypt and Greece. According to Britannica, “[The Ouroboros] represents a being that is continually devouring itself, and thus reborn from itself. A gnostic and alchemical symbol, Ouroboros expresses the unity of all things, material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form in an eternal cycle of destruction and re-creation.” The Ouroboros is a fitting mythological reference to invoke in the MCU’s Loki which is all about questions of the destruction, creation, and flow of timelines.
Although the character Ke Huy Quan plays on Loki season two has the name Ouroboros, he might also have ties to a more specific character from mythology, one that even more directly related to our titular God of Mischief. In Norse mythology, the snake that consumes its own tail, a.k.a an Ouroboros, goes by the name Jörmungandr. This Ouroboros is also known as the Midgard Serpent or the World Serpent. In the old Norse myths, Jörmungandr encircles the realm of Midgard, which is another name for Earth. He is the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. He’s also the brother of the great wolf Fenrir and Hel. During Ragnarök, a.k.a, the Twilight of the Gods, Thor kills him.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, the Midgard Serpent has played a big role in several Thor comics. He first appeared back in 1966 and reappeared again and again over the years to fight the God of Thunder. Although the Odinson slays the gigantic beast, Marvel resurrects him more than a few times, and the two battle all over again.
When it comes to a connection with Loki, the god of mischief does ride the Midgard Serpent at one point. But there is never any real indication that Marvel Comics’ version of this Ouroboros is in any way the literal child of Loki. Marvel writers often play fast and loose with Norse myths, changing many things outright. This is another example of that. It will be interesting to see, however, what Loki season two does with the mythological origins of Ouroboros as the show continues to remix and reference mythology.
Ke Huy Quan’s Loki Character O.B./Ouroboros and His Marvel Comics Connections
Ke Huy Quan’s Ouroboros might be an original creation for the MCU series, not based on a preexisting Marvel Comics character. However, his name does pop up in several comics from the past. And in different forms.
The only Marvel Ouroboros with ties to the TVA is a certain Mr. Orobourous, who made one appearance in a She-Hulk comic in 2005. Created by Dan Slott, Orobourous was a judge for the Time Variance Authority. In Marvel’s She-Hulk comic, Orobourous is spelled a bit differently than the traditional Ouroboros of mythology, but the reference seems to be the same. This character was also a clone of Mr. Paradox, who himself was a clone of several TVA bureaucrats. We already know the O.B. is not a judge in Loki, but it seems the creators took a shine to the name at least.
But She-Hulk‘s judge is not the only Ouroboros in Marvel lore. First, there was the Oculus Ouroboros, which was not a person in Marvel Comics, per se, but a conduit of elemental magic, that depicts a variation on the classic Ouroboros shape of a snake eating its tail by featuring a second snake. It first appears in Doctor Strange #92, back in 1993. The Sorcerer Supreme stops an attempt by Doctor Doom to gain access to its power.
An actual character using the name is Admiral Ouroboros. He made his first Marvel Comics appearance relatively recently in 2015’s Silver Surfer #11. He battled the former Herald of Galactus during an adventure where the Surfer became stuck in a time loop.
The most recent Marvel usage of the name Ouroboros appeared in 2022, in Marvel’s Contest of Champions. In this instance, Ouroboros is an organization in universe 517. This organization came together to oppose the rule of the Elders of the Universe across the reality called Battlerealm.
However, despite all these possible references, we think it’s unlikely that Loki’s O.B. is directly related to the previous Marvel concepts of Ouroboros. It’s far more likely the MCU’s Ouroboros is riffing on one or more of the mythological histories of the creature.
Ke Huy Quan’s O.B./Ouroboros in the MCU and Loki Season Two
The version of Ouroboros played by Ke Huy Quan in Loki is an integral part of the TVA. He’s just someone who rarely gets a visit from other TVA employees. He’s been toiling away, quite literally without sleeping, in the Repairs and Advancement department. O.B.’s office is stuffed in the TVA’s basement. It’s a sprawling mishmash of all kinds of mechanical parts and different inventions. Mobius takes Loki to help with his time-slipping problem. O.B., a nickname for Ouroboros we learn Loki gave to him when he time-slipped into the past, becomes invaluable in helping them. In episode two of Loki, O.B. gives Mobius and Loki the TVA Guidebook to help them.
Here’s How O.B. Connects to Victor Timely and Kang on Loki
In the fourth episode of Loki’s second season, “Heart of the TVA,” O.B. and Victor Timely meet at last. In fact, their meeting reveals an actual ouroboros of sorts for the pair. Timely was taken aback at meeting the man who wrote the TVA Handbook, the book that he received as a child, which inspired all his inventions and career. O.B., meanwhile, was having his own fanboy moment meeting Victor Timely. The man who inspired him to write the Handbook in the first place. As O.B. said, their meeting was “the snake eating its tail.”
Loki’s co-executive producer Kevin Wright said that O.B. is integral to the functioning of the Time Variance Authority. Even if we never saw or heard of Ouroboros in season one of the MCU show. Wright said, “His job is basically every piece of tech, every computer, everything that is running at the TVA… He either designed it, or he fixes it and keeps it running.” None of that sounds remotely like the Marvel Comics versions of Ouroboros. So far, it seems as if the MCU’s O.B. is tied far more to the mythological concept of the character than anything in the comics.
Hopefully, we’ll soon learn more secrets about Ke Huy Quan as O.B. when Loki season two continues on Disney+.
Originally published on October 2, 2023.
The post Who Is LOKI’s Ouroboros? Ke Huy Quan’s Character O.B. Ties Into Mythology and Marvel Comics appeared first on Nerdist.
Every family has a history and this family is no different. Based on the New York Times bestselling novel, Black Cake tells the story of a Caribbean girl’s search for empathy and peace as she travels through the years, and to multiple places in the world while fleeing her complicated past on the island she grew up on.
Black Cake is told in a two-timeline narrative that covers Covey’s life in the 1960s and Byron and Benny’s experience of listening to their mother Eleanor recount her life to them in the present day. We also get to see Byron and Benny’s current struggles of love and career which show that the two are grappling with their own complicated lives in the wake of their mother’s passing.
The show stars Mia Issac as our main character, Covey, a young lady from Jamaica whose dreams are firmly planted in the water and whose life is about to get very complicated as she is forced to flee her home after her husband is murdered on their wedding day. Covey’s search for stability and a place to belong is both harrowing and inspiring. It’s also important to note that this is taking place in the 1960s when things were already dangerous and precarious for black women.
In the present day, two siblings are listening to a recording of their mother Eleanor recounting her life to them after she passed away from cancer. It’s within these recordings that Byron (played by Ashley Thomas) and Benny (played by Adrienne Warren) learn that everything they thought they knew about their mother’s past is not as simple as it once seemed. But Byron and Benny have their own tangled webs that they must untangle.
Black Cake is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson and like most adaptions, the show has the Herculean task of translating a story told through text to a story that’s now being told in a visual medium. So, does it do a good job of telling the story? The answer is a resounding yes. Speaking of the cinematography alone, the show is shot beautifully. The settings are showcased with unique visual motifs so that as soon as a scene starts, you can tell exactly where and when it’s taking place within the story, from Jamaica’s bright and sunny colors to the muted and overcast tones of England. Each scene is done so well that at times it feels like we are intruding on a moment we weren’t meant to see.
Let’s also talk about the amazing casting. There are some familiar faces, such as Glynn Turman, Eleanor’s attorney, and Mia Issac who takes on the main role of Covey. Issac previously starred in the MAX original movie, Gray Matter. Mia does an amazing job of portraying all of the ups and downs that Covey experiences as she tries her best to escape her past and make a life for herself. Let’s also give both Adrienne Warren and Ashley Thomas their flowers for their portrayals of Benny and Byron.
Contrary to what some might think it’s not easy to portray believable siblings and these two nail it. This translates the most when the two are bouncing off of one another in a way where they are going at it in an argument, but we still believe that there’s love there. Glynn Turman, as always, is a breath of fresh air. He is able to bring a calmness to the scenes he is in that is needed. Though Eleanor mostly appears in flashbacks and on the recording, Chipo Chung brings such a palpable motherly warmth and presence that comes through each recollection. It’s easy to tell that although things at times were complicated, she loved her children deeply and wanted the best for them.
Before watching, it’s important to note that this series does tackle triggering topics such as abuse, assault, violence, racism, and things pertaining to parentage. Black Cake doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of humanity and the dangers that are lurking around every corner. This is something to appreciate, but it could also be harmful to those who are sensitive to certain subjects and events that take place in the story. There’s no fear of spoilers in this article but it is imperative that anyone planning on diving into Black Cake knows about these things.
Like the titular dessert, Black Cake is about the things we pass down to our children and the dichotomy of inheritance. Some things are worth keeping and others are better left in the past where they can no longer do damage. Truthfulness is the only way to break generational curses and to heal from the wounds left behind. You can watch Black Cake on Hulu beginning on November 1st with the first three episodes.
Once upon a time, Snow White was Disney’s first full Disney princess movie. Incredibly, the animated Snow White first released in 1937. And now Snow White will re-release in 2025 as a live-action movie starring Rachel Zegler. Per Deadline, Disney recently moved the release date for the live-action princess movie from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025. That’s a year’s delay, but to tide us over, the studio also released our first look at Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the live-action Snow White movie. She’s accompanied by dwarves Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy.
Disney live-action adaptations of animated movies have been kind of hit or miss. And so far, we’re not positive this one’s a hit. But we suppose we will wait and see a little bit more.
Joining Zegler in Disney’s live-action Snow White is Gal Gadot, who will play the Evil Queen. Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap will play a new male lead character. We guess just being a generic prince doesn’t cut it anymore. Behind the scenes is director Marc Webb who will oversee the script penned by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. The live-action Snow White movie will include original songs.
I’ll be honest, of all Disney movies, Snow White is the one I remember the least. It’ll be interesting to see if the live-action adaptation of this classic will take the story in new directions. At the very least, the singing will likely be very good. We’re crossing our fingers for an excellent costume department as well.
As mentioned above, Snow White will now be released on March 21, 2025. Just don’t take any apples from strangers between now and then. No matter how nice they might seem.
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