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https://blacknerdproblems.com/authentic-black-power-supacell-review/
Intro
Supacell is putting Black superpower numbers on the board in a real way. The runaway Netflix hit from the mind of British rapper/filmmaker Rapman delivers a well-worn story with a fresh lens and heaps of authenticity. If there was ever a conversation around ‘superhero fatigue,’ Supacell puts that to rest easy, innit?
The Rundown
Supacell centers around a group of five Black Brits from South London. They come from all walks of life and have three things in common: they’re about to get superpowers, they all share a connection to a blood disease, and they’re all Black! Their lives weave in and out of proximity as they learn more about why their powers exist. All in all, it gives the feel of a well-thought-out, sci-fi version of Academy Award Winner, Crash. But better.
Black Heroes
From 1998’s Blade slicing its way onto the scene (while also laying the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe), through to CW’s Black Lightning, and Marvel’s Falcon/Captain America – mainstream audiences are no longer ‘strangers’ to marquee Black characters in the superhero/sci-fi/speculative fiction spaces. For Supacell to run it up and have a whole squad and, subsequently, a world full of only Black people with powers is not only impressive but overdue. Yes, one of them has lightning powers – but dammit, it’s a byproduct of him being a speedster and not a byproduct of lazy writing.
No token characters with trauma-laden backstories that simultaneously define and confine them to a predictable series of actions that ultimately lead to them overcoming their environmental conditions to finally be accepted by the dominant culture. Nah, everybody in Supacell is either right off the block or block adjacent, and it’s about damn time. Not only that, but none of their choices are off the bat predictable. Nothing happens just to move the story forward.
There can be no real shortage of projects like these. Pieces of media that focus on the ways Black folks could and should exist, especially within the fantastical, and particularly by a metric that isn’t rooted in whiteness.
The Cure for Hero Fatigue is a Good Ass Story
Out on the Interwebs, on the app formerly known as Twitter (well, that Black people still call Twitter (“Its mama named it Twitter…”) a conversation is rising out of the daily pop culture chatter. Seems like a wave of media consumers are touting that the era of the superhero is over. Attributing tepid audience response and low box office turnout to ‘superhero fatigue.’ In all honesty, once Paw Patrol jumped on the ‘we got powers now’ bandwagon, I was nearly convinced the fatigue was real.
Then a hero comes along, with the pen to carry on telling the kinds of superpowered stories Black people can get down with innately. Rapman, who is already a cultural staple in the hoods in the UK for his music and TV series, busts through the door waving a four-four and putting his people’s culture front and center. Turns out, what is missing from the superhero genre is authenticity. Real people, with real stories. Grounding gives the supernatural and fantastic elements a nuance that pushes the world-building beyond the powers themselves and into the context of the world in which these powers exist.
It’s not just that only Black people have powers, but how does a world that creates, exploits, and then feeds on Black trauma engage with this shift in power dynamic?
All Black Everything
Not since the graphic novel series Black and the aptly titled sequel White has this quandary even been explored. Furthermore, not since Australia’s Aboriginal mythology series Cleverman, have I seen this level of regional authenticity. Seeing it play out in live-action takes on a more visceral and dimensional feel, weighing on the body of Black and Brown viewers. Shit gets real on Supacell, and it’s better for it.
A Microcosm of Black Issues in the UK
What Supacell does very well is highlight the aspects of the Black experience in London. In the same way folks here tout (truthfully) that there are ‘two Americas’ to relay the huge gap in quality of life between the wealthy and the not-wealthy, Rapman brings viewers to the hoodest of hoods and allows Supacell to tell the entire story there. No super sharp juxtapositions with posh or deeply mixed spaces, save for folks at their jobs. Watching these characters deal with the everyday drama of getting money, making dinner, and getting married – all of that, alongside exploring their new abilities gives the series a grounded authenticity that can’t be faked.
Diversity gets tossed around a lot these days. Coded as both a closeted slur, regarding ‘unearned’ opportunity and access; and as the genuine human condition of living in an interdependent society. Diversity feels forced in a lot of shows, where non-white folks are kinda stuffed into places for the sake of representation but with no real thought-out intention. Supacell pushes against that ‘forced’ feeling in so many ways.
Many of the actors and, by extension, the characters are from the many points of the African diaspora. Hearing accents from the Caribbean and East Africa mixed right in with the different regional accents from across South London’s neighborhoods. Using Black British slang without the incessant need to translate told me everything I needed to know about the level of authenticity in front of and behind the camera.
Streets is Watching (and Being Watched)
There is a thread woven throughout the show: of rebellion and counterculture and chosen family. In the face of white supremacy and under hypervigilant government surveillance. The threat of being snatched up off the street after being caught on CCTV is not a new thing in British media. London, in particular, is one the most surveilled cities on Earth with more than nine hundred thousand cameras. So take note of the many ominous close-ups of cameras watching people throughout Supacell and know that Rapman is sending a message to viewers about how folks there feel about it.
If you haven’t seen Supacell already, stop what you’re doing and hit up Netflix right now, run up those numbers, and get your dose of peak Black superheroism (and villainy!).
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Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post Authentic, Black, Power: ‘Supacell’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Intro
Supacell is putting Black superpower numbers on the board in a real way. The runaway Netflix hit from the mind of British rapper/filmmaker Rapman delivers a well-worn story with a fresh lens and heaps of authenticity. If there was ever a conversation around ‘superhero fatigue,’ Supacell puts that to rest easy, innit?
The Rundown
Supacell centers around a group of five Black Brits from South London. They come from all walks of life and have three things in common: they’re about to get superpowers, they all share a connection to a blood disease, and they’re all Black! Their lives weave in and out of proximity as they learn more about why their powers exist. All in all, it gives the feel of a well-thought-out, sci-fi version of Academy Award Winner, Crash. But better.
Black Heroes
From 1998’s Blade slicing its way onto the scene (while also laying the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe), through to CW’s Black Lightning, and Marvel’s Falcon/Captain America – mainstream audiences are no longer ‘strangers’ to marquee Black characters in the superhero/sci-fi/speculative fiction spaces. For Supacell to run it up and have a whole squad and, subsequently, a world full of only Black people with powers is not only impressive but overdue. Yes, one of them has lightning powers – but dammit, it’s a byproduct of him being a speedster and not a byproduct of lazy writing.
No token characters with trauma-laden backstories that simultaneously define and confine them to a predictable series of actions that ultimately lead to them overcoming their environmental conditions to finally be accepted by the dominant culture. Nah, everybody in Supacell is either right off the block or block adjacent, and it’s about damn time. Not only that, but none of their choices are off the bat predictable. Nothing happens just to move the story forward.
There can be no real shortage of projects like these. Pieces of media that focus on the ways Black folks could and should exist, especially within the fantastical, and particularly by a metric that isn’t rooted in whiteness.
The Cure for Hero Fatigue is a Good Ass Story
Out on the Interwebs, on the app formerly known as Twitter (well, that Black people still call Twitter (“Its mama named it Twitter…”) a conversation is rising out of the daily pop culture chatter. Seems like a wave of media consumers are touting that the era of the superhero is over. Attributing tepid audience response and low box office turnout to ‘superhero fatigue.’ In all honesty, once Paw Patrol jumped on the ‘we got powers now’ bandwagon, I was nearly convinced the fatigue was real.
Then a hero comes along, with the pen to carry on telling the kinds of superpowered stories Black people can get down with innately. Rapman, who is already a cultural staple in the hoods in the UK for his music and TV series, busts through the door waving a four-four and putting his people’s culture front and center. Turns out, what is missing from the superhero genre is authenticity. Real people, with real stories. Grounding gives the supernatural and fantastic elements a nuance that pushes the world-building beyond the powers themselves and into the context of the world in which these powers exist.
It’s not just that only Black people have powers, but how does a world that creates, exploits, and then feeds on Black trauma engage with this shift in power dynamic?
All Black Everything
Not since the graphic novel series Black and the aptly titled sequel White has this quandary even been explored. Furthermore, not since Australia’s Aboriginal mythology series Cleverman, have I seen this level of regional authenticity. Seeing it play out in live-action takes on a more visceral and dimensional feel, weighing on the body of Black and Brown viewers. Shit gets real on Supacell, and it’s better for it.
A Microcosm of Black Issues in the UK
What Supacell does very well is highlight the aspects of the Black experience in London. In the same way folks here tout (truthfully) that there are ‘two Americas’ to relay the huge gap in quality of life between the wealthy and the not-wealthy, Rapman brings viewers to the hoodest of hoods and allows Supacell to tell the entire story there. No super sharp juxtapositions with posh or deeply mixed spaces, save for folks at their jobs. Watching these characters deal with the everyday drama of getting money, making dinner, and getting married – all of that, alongside exploring their new abilities gives the series a grounded authenticity that can’t be faked.
Diversity gets tossed around a lot these days. Coded as both a closeted slur, regarding ‘unearned’ opportunity and access; and as the genuine human condition of living in an interdependent society. Diversity feels forced in a lot of shows, where non-white folks are kinda stuffed into places for the sake of representation but with no real thought-out intention. Supacell pushes against that ‘forced’ feeling in so many ways.
Many of the actors and, by extension, the characters are from the many points of the African diaspora. Hearing accents from the Caribbean and East Africa mixed right in with the different regional accents from across South London’s neighborhoods. Using Black British slang without the incessant need to translate told me everything I needed to know about the level of authenticity in front of and behind the camera.
Streets is Watching (and Being Watched)
There is a thread woven throughout the show: of rebellion and counterculture and chosen family. In the face of white supremacy and under hypervigilant government surveillance. The threat of being snatched up off the street after being caught on CCTV is not a new thing in British media. London, in particular, is one the most surveilled cities on Earth with more than nine hundred thousand cameras. So take note of the many ominous close-ups of cameras watching people throughout Supacell and know that Rapman is sending a message to viewers about how folks there feel about it.
If you haven’t seen Supacell already, stop what you’re doing and hit up Netflix right now, run up those numbers, and get your dose of peak Black superheroism (and villainy!).
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you?
Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post Authentic, Black, Power: ‘Supacell’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
One Music Fest is celebrating its 15th year of bringing urban culture and joy to Atlanta. The festival takes place on Saturday, Oct. 26–27.
The festival has evolved from its meager beginnings in King’s Plow parking lot, now hosting 100,000 plus attendees at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with One Music Fest Founder J. Carter to discuss 15 years of Black cultural excellence.
Carter’s passion for One Music Fest is palpable. His vision led him to financial loss for many years, yet he was undeterred. The visionary founder credits his wife with encouraging him to take the glass half-full approach and see the venture as a long-term investment.
He recalls, “It was my wife who said, ‘You can look at it as one of two ways: losing money or investing money.”
This advice and his belief in the marketability of Black culture paid off—the Harlem native invested in his dream, Atlanta, and hip-hop culture. Peep what Carter had to say about his 15-year journey and 2024 OMF.
***
Congratulations on reaching the 15-year mark with One Music Fest. How are you feeling about it?
Excited. It doesn’t feel like 15 years. I’m super, super excited to release the lineup. One Music Fest hit a record 100,000-plus attendees at Piedmont Park last year.
Do you think you’ve reached a plateau, or do you think there’s more to climb as far as numbers are concerned?
I definitely think there are higher numbers, too, to achieve. But, we don’t solely base achievement on attendance. From day one, it’s been about how do we impact culture. How do we present Black culture in a different light to build a safe playground for us to celebrate each other, celebrate our music, celebrate our food, and celebrate our differences? Our motto and battle cry was and still is unity through music.
Are you concerned that more attendees will compromise the authenticity of the space? Or will more attendees aid in OMF’s evolution?
So, we can never be stagnant. I do believe we always need to evolve. A key thing we do is try to keep young energy around us. We like to incorporate how Gen Z or Gen Alpha moves into our growth and evolution. We want to thrive, right? Everybody deserves joy, right? So, what does your joy look like? I think we do a very good job of reaching back.
There’s a younger generation that’s progressive enough and gets it. My job is to be able to tap into and reach them. Ten years ago, we celebrated Nas’s 20th anniversary of Illmatic. Kendrick Lamar was a little bigger at that time, and yet he said Nas should headline. So, I do believe that there’s the younger generation that has a level of respect and understanding, and nostalgic stuff is cool to them. Young cats are buying vinyl now.
You’ve said that your first five years were unsuccessful. How did you get sponsors and investors to hop on board for a” failing venture?”
On the outside looking in, we weren’t failing. We were growing financially on the books. We were experiencing 80% to 100% growth. Attendance and sponsors were increasing as well.
The budgets we were given, however . . . there comes a point where you have to stop and say, you know what, I know my value. We stopped undercutting ourselves and said, ‘Nah, brands, this is how y’all gotta show up if you want to talk to the culture.’
What can we look forward to for OMF’s 15th year?
Women are just carrying the torch in politics, at the Olympics, especially Black women, when you look at what’s charting, women, even in hardcore hip-hop. So, as we were booking, there are a lot of incredible women on this lineup.
The 15th year is almost an ode to incredible women doing incredible work and music over the years. It’s a range of talent if you can even imagine, from a Cardi B to a Jill Scott, Glorilla to a Fantasia.
The city of Atlanta gets fed from this event. If you had to ballpark the amount of money they get from your event through tourism and commerce, what number would you imagine?
It could be around the $50 million mark. We bring in 5,000 people to work the event. When you think about vendors, food vendors, and tourism, 50% of our audience is not from the greater Atlanta area.
You’ve said OMF will never leave Atlanta. Are you standing on business about that statement?
1000%.
I don’t think One Music Fest could have happened in any other city. This is Atlanta. We’re standing on the shoulders of giants, bridge builders, and bricklayers who have done the work. I don’t know many places like Atlanta that give you the opportunity to be, to exist, to thrive. Where you can dream and go for that dream safely. Everything you need is about 2-3 calls away in Atlanta.
***
One Music Fest’s tickets are in high demand. According to Carter, VIP sells out within the first two weeks of the event. So, if you are that person who likes plush seating and “white glove” treatment, grab those tickets ASAP.
Tickets are on sale at the official website.
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