Uncategorized

https://blacknerdproblems.com/strange-in-the-best-way-possible-doctor-strange-in-the-multiverse-of-madness-review/

Remember when Marvel tried so hard to explain away magic by being ‘science we justified don’t understand?’ In a world with super advanced tin-man armor, Gods, and super soldier popsicle men, actual magic was just a step too far. Thankfully, Marvel began letting magic into their worlds. And now, we have Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and let me tell you, it’s out there. Like, WAY out there. We’ve come a long way since the very first Iron Man and Doctor Strange continues to keep things fresh and exciting keeping us looking forward to future films.

They Got the Magic in Them

One aspect of Multiverse of Madness (MoM) that really stood out to me was the acting. Benedict Cumberbatch still brings the smarmy charm to Strange to the multiple Stranges he gets to play. There’s a lot more introspective for the character this time around, and Cumberbatch does put his all into it. But the real standout is Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch. Wands has been broken since the end of Infinity War, and her journey was one I wasn’t quite expecting but was pleasantly surprised to see. To say anymore would spoil the movie, but her journey is really enjoyable to experience. It is important to watch her Disney+ show WandaVision to get the full experience.

Benedict Wong gets a little more to do this time as the Sorcerer Supreme, and Rachel McAdams is a bit underused as Christine but still brings it in every scene she’s in. I really want to spotlight Xochitl Gomez as newcomer America Chavez. Someone is after Chavez’s power, and she has been hopping universes trying to stay alive. It could have been real easy to have this character be the generic “spunky with attitude” trope but they wrote her well. Xochitl Gomez portrayal is full of heart, and I’m excited to see her not only in future Marvel flicks but grow as an actor and be more out there.

Scary Good

MoM has been pushed as Marvel’s “horror” movie and honestly, yes and no. This is by far the scariest Marvel movie out there, but no one is going to choose this movie for their scary movie night. You’re not going to be nervous in your seat or anything, but there is an overall dark and creepy vibe throughout the film that I think works for it. A lot of that has to do with the director Sam Raimi in the best way. It’s dripping in his signature style, and that adds on to the general vibe they wanted. I was surprised in how dark and violent it got at moments, but it’s never so bad that kids in the theater will be traumatized.

Sam Raimi really nails that Doctor Strange weirdness as well. The initial multiverse hop is trippy as you’d expect, but it is a little short lived. Don’t expect to visit a ton of different dimensions; however, this was a smart move. You get time to really take in the worlds we go to. Marvel packed a lot in each location, so you never feel like you’re missing out. In fact, there are some cameos that even with all the “leaks” and speculations still blew my mind. They get a lot of mileage out of time in each world, so you get a lot without feeling like it’s over stuffed. And there is a lot here.

Do Your Research

In fact, that might be an issue for some. With over 10 years of movies, fans know you gotta keep up, but it’s always been in the movies. Now, with the Disney+ shows, there’s so much more to keep up on. You NEED to watch WandaVision to get a full understanding of her choices in this movie. If you don’t, you simply won’t understand the choices she makes. And will that become a barrier for some? The Marvel movies are finally starting to feel like the comics where you have to read multiple titles to get the full story. At some point, that may end up collapsing in on itself when audiences don’t want to keep up with it all anymore. For now, it only adds to MoM.

The Magic Touch

Sam Raimi fully leaves his footprint in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Maybe the darkest and most violent Marvel film to date, it’s just a whole lot of fun. It gets you really excited for what next in the 616 universe, and I, for one, can’t wait.

Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!

The post Strange in the Best Way Possible: ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/parenthood-is-a-trip-and-so-is-the-baby/

“When your Most Feared Adventure Falls into your Hands” 

As someone who is afraid of the idea of having children, I get the emotional pressure from those around you; family insisting that upon marriage one must be prepared to give into “nature’s will.” The Baby covers the internal battles of being at odds with societal pressure to have kids and what that looks like metaphorically. The responsibility of parenting as a concept versus the cliché “it takes a village to raise a child” becomes burdensome to Natasha, and it’s personalized through her consistently trying to hand the baby off to other people. Problem is that the responsibility (no matter how brief) eventually leads to their demise. The ideology of not wanting to be a parent but having societal pressure and commentary boomerang back into your hands is personalized in each episode. What happens when you’re offered responsibility you never asked for, and how do you handle the grief that comes with it?

My idea of motherhood and what that would look like as it was explored through The Baby felt conflicting. Part of me noticed that Natasha’s character was put in an irresponsible or cold light because of their lack of enthusiasm for children and parenthood.

When responsibility literally fell into Natasha’s hands, the community’s lack of awareness became evident. From law enforcement to retail employees, it became clear that she was supposed to take the responsibility of this child, because people around her (not including family and close friends) were not “worthy” enough to take care of the baby.

Natasha was forced into motherhood for somebody’s white child. Hilariously haunted by the one thing she did not want, this, in turn, made me reflect on white children and the BIPOC nannies. The Baby reflects on the lack of support for Black folks having kids, and Black queer folks looking to adopt. The Baby’s comedy derives from pushing the boundaries of absurdity in parenthood. It takes the fears of common innocent occurrences and gives it a homicidal spin. 

The Baby’s Comical Screams 

Though The Baby explored the comedic horrific of parenthood by haunted offspring, I often struggled with trying to figure out what the show was aiming to do. The Baby is a comedic thriller where an infant is the horrifying subject that causes demise, but it was difficult to follow the plot because it seems like it was too caught up in the demise the child was causing. When we finally got to Natasha, and we’re settled in with her as a character, the viewpoint is shifted to the baby’s origin story.

The series does a great job with metaphorical commentary but has trouble luring in the audience beyond its comedic gags. The bits are repeated and doesn’t do much to push forward the story line. I would’ve appreciated more extensive comedic gags on how parenting can feel debilitating. There were instances where jokes could have been heightened, but it refocused on the child creating turmoil wherever it goes. It was hard staying invested in characters because it took too long to show me who “Natasha” was beyond not wanting this haunted white baby.

The Baby’s best work is its commentary on the tribulations surrounding parenthood. When it makes fun of day care culture and responsibility? Pristine. When the characters face everyday issues, and it just breaks them apart? Same. The scream to the ceiling, the “why me?” The Baby poises itself as a comedic thriller, but its scariest moments are the ones that hit close to home.

I’m grateful for The Baby’s discussion on not wanting children and a society who shames women for not wanting to be parents. What I hope shows like The Baby continue to do is showcase “fear” of the required. But it felt longer than it needed to be. The show stretches across many episodes, when its strength lies in its brevity. It would’ve made its content more concentrated and easier to follow. Through its comedic approach, I hope that it brings relief to those that also do not want kids. I hope they find discomfort in feeling responsible for another being. Hope that they find that this show, its screams and mild gore, cathartic. The Baby is streaming on Sundays through HBO Max.

Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!

The post Parenthood is a Trip and so is ‘The Baby’ appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/why-we-need-to-care-about-critical-race-theory/

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct and that racism is not the product of individual bias or prejudice but something embedded in legal systems and policies. The basic concept of CRT emerged out of a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s created by legal scholars Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others.

This academic understanding of CRT differs from representation in recent books and, especially, from its description by critics — usually conservative Republicans. They claim that CRT leads to negative dynamics, such as: a focus on group identity over universal divides people into oppressed and oppressor groups and urges intolerance.

Events over the last decade have increased the public’s awareness about topics like housing segregation, the impacts of criminal justice policy, and the legacy of enslavement on Black people. But there is much less agreement on what the government’s role should be in righting these past wrongs.

Needless to say, there is a great deal of confusion about what CRT means and its relationship to anti-racism and social justice.

To understand why CRT has become such a major topic in our culture, it is important to understand what it is and what it’s not. U.C.L.A. School of Law and Columbia Law School Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw said in an interview with the New York Times, “It is a way of seeing, attending to, accounting for, tracing and analyzing the ways that race is produced, the ways that racial inequality is facilitated, and the ways that our history has created these inequalities that now can be almost effortlessly reproduced unless we attend to the existence of these inequalities.”

Crenshaw also points out that the law can often be interpreted in a way that benefits the ruling class, regardless of what the law actually says. We’ve seen this concept play out throughout the years.

Critical Race Theory acknowledges deep-rooted racism in our society by placing topics such as slavery and colonization into the school curriculum. This is common in colleges across the United States but not as much in grade school and high school classrooms.

Let’s be clear. Many Americans are not able to separate their individual identity as an American from the social institutions that govern us because they perceive themselves as the actual system. They interpret calling social institutions racist as calling them racist personally. This really speaks to how normative racial ideology is to American identity, and that some people just cannot separate the two. Some people may recognize America’s awful racist past but have bought into the false narrative that the United States is now an equitable democracy. America is still not great for everyone.

Truth is, CRT is not saying that white people now are to blame for what white people did in the past. What it does say is that white people living now have a moral responsibility to do something about how racism still impacts all of our lives today. It’s the same thing as a white person saying, “I’m not to blame for slavery — I didn’t own slaves.” Okay, true. However, that white person is benefiting now from their ancestors that did. That fact causes them to be viewed, accepted and established in this country differently than Black people. White people have can change this if they can only separate themselves from the story.

As a college professor, I don’t have the opportunity to discuss race, as I teach accounting and business. However, I do find ways to incorporate the framework of injustice and inequality, as well as how it affects certain groups of people when I’m teaching business concepts within marketing and entrepreneurship. Students are surprised by how little they have learned about inequality. Some students don’t give much thought to it, depending on their generation. The reality is that schools, at every level, are not teaching CRT. But teachers are trying to respond to students by asking them why people are protesting and why Black people are more likely to be killed by the police.

Most professors of colorwork at majority-white schools which are better resourced than Black colleges and universities. We find ourselves doing “diversity” work that is not part of our job description. This is frustrating and draining, solidifying the wisdom of Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and creator of The 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones, “For too long, powerful people have expected the people they have mistreated and marginalized to sacrifice themselves to make things whole.”

The 1619 Project puts the history and effects of enslavement – as well as Black Americans’ contributions to democratic reforms – at the center of American history. It has also fueled an incredible amount of criticism, simply because it reveals truths that some people just don’t want to believe or accept.

Critical Race Theory has been positioned as a political strategy and not an educational one. It’s definitely working. Since 2021, at least 36 states have adopted or introduced laws or policies that restrict teaching about race or racism. In most cases the language is vague, targeting anything believed to be “inherently divisive.” Quality education on race is not a problem, nor is it indoctrination. To not teach about our history with race and the implication today is to fail to teach the complete history of our nation. Purposely leaving the “bad parts” out, or trying to sugar coat atrocities is doing everyone a disservice.

We shouldn’t give so much weight to critical race theory itself, or the moral panic politicians have created from it. We should care more about appropriately educating the next generation on our history — all of it — which includes our history with race. Our current discourse is all the evidence we need to support doing better by our children.

Related Links:

7 Places in the U.S. to Learn More About Black History

Review: Steve McQueen Chronicles Britain’s Violent History of Racism in ‘Uprising’

https://blacknerdproblems.com/young-souls-rage-beneath-the-streets/

Brawl Season

As fans who grew up on button-mashing action become game developers, beat’em-ups are having a moment right now. This genre is fueled by nostalgia, but it’s driven forward with each new release willing to change up the classic formula. One of the best recent examples is Young Souls, a 2D brawler / RPG hybrid that merges modern day gaming with its retro roots.

Developed by 1P2P and published by The Arcade Crew, it’s obvious from Young Souls’ pedigree that it knows the 2D streets (of rage) it came from. The game goes deeper than that – literally – when twin orphans, Tristan and Jenn, discover their adopted father has been kidnapped. Mounting a rescue requires the twins to descend into a subterranean society.

Jenn & Tristan will equip weapons, armor, and more in search of their legal guardian. As they descend into combat the underground hordes, combinations of movement with attack and jump buttons can be expected. Young Souls’ RPG influence adds parrying / blocking, secondary weapons, and mana-based attacks.

Up Where They Walk

The challenge here is a mechanic tied to Young Souls’ characters themselves. Jenn and Tristan are a matched set: either via two player co-op or a single player alternating between twins. Downed players can be resuscitated once apiece, but losing all health on both twins results in an express trip back to the entrance. 

Thankfully, the eventual return trip allows you to keep whatever experience and items you found on your last delve for leveling up your character. This can only be done outside of the underground, which encourages players to get to know the less-violent locals and upgrade their characters.

All the while, Young Souls distinguishes itself with eye-catching art direction. Its pastel palette of digital paper dolls is immediately engaging. Practically every piece of clothing and equipment can be visibly altered on Tristan & Jenn. The result balances between YA animated series like Disney’s Gravity Falls and Netflix’s Trollhunter.

Double Dragon’s Lair

Young Souls expresses this balance both narratively and mechanically, as the hybrid mechanics attempt to reconcile its two genre influences. Take the ‘Happy Fit Gym’ minigame. Every two experience levels, the characters gain access to the gym’s stat-boosting minigame. Maximum gains require carefully tapping a button to keep within a constantly moving target.

Staying within this ‘sweet spot’ earns a rating of up to five stars, but it’s tricky to manage.  It’s a tension felt throughout the game, especially on the Switch. Loading times can be rough, with hectic fights resulting in screen tearing, slowdown, and crashes. In 2-player mode, it’s even possible to lose one of the characters offscreen if the twins fight too far apart.

In the end, these critiques should be weighed against the ways in which Young Souls is trying to push the boundaries of the genres it’s straddling. An RPG beat’em-up with tag-teaming combo capabilities is a rare beast. Young Souls’ 2D planes reveal surprising depth. Here’s hoping this new potential hybrid genre is given room enough to grow.

SCORE: 8.0 out of 10 Mana Potions

Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!

The post ‘Young Souls’ Rage Beneath the Streets appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.