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https://nerdist.com/article/lovecraft-country-body-horror-ruby/
One of the most terrifying horror sub-genres is body horror. It plays on humans’ deepest fears of having our own bodies violated by some sinister entity. Gruesome experimentation, zombification, possession, and the ever-present idea of something creepy and crawly under our skin is enough to make almost anyone uncomfortable. In Lovecraft Country’s “Strange Case” episode, Leti’s sister Ruby Baptiste is unwillingly subjected to a potion that envelops her inside of a white woman’s body. It’s a gruesome body horror story, but it allows Ruby to gain agency and use her magic potion as liberation and vengeance tool.
Life Could Be a Dream
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
At first, Ruby is horrified by her transformation. She wakes up in William Braithwaite’s home to discover that she presents as a white woman. Ruby stumbles back into her own predominately Black neighborhood in search of help. However, she quickly discovers the social protections that Whiteness offers. The police arrive after a young Black boy tries to help her and she’s able to quickly deescalate the situation. The police believe her without further question as they guide her away from the situation.
Ruby is treated like a human deserves to be—with kindness, empathy, and respect—before being taken back to William’s house. It’s highly likely that this is the first time a white person, particularly a police officer, doesn’t see her as a threat. Ruby looks at her hands in awe before her body begins to contort. Her skin crawls and she panics about being taken back to William’s house after he lies about being her husband. William grotesquely cuts Ruby out of the body before putting her in bed.
Later, William compares Ruby’s experience to metamorphosis. He gives her a choice to leave and go about her normal life or to stay and take advantage of the potion. She chooses the latter and, at first, she feels a sense of freedom and joy. Ruby casually strolls through a predominately white area of Chicago, eating ice cream and reading the newspaper. Ruby gets to go through her day without the fear of harassment, violence, and racism.
She later admits to William that Whiteness is the only currency she needs throughout the day. So, Ruby fabricates the life of Ms. Hillary Davenport and quickly nabs a management job at a department store. This gives her an inside look into how white people interact within their own circles. Her transformations back and forth are gross and possibly painful, which indicates just how badly she wants access to this world. Ruby’s desire to get her dream job and to simply have peace and security in her daily life is so strong that she’s willing to go through this process.
Let the Liberation Begin
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
However, her initial joy quickly dissipates as her resentment over racial disparities grows. She notices how her co-workers make racist blanket statements about Black people’s intelligence and Chicago’s South Side. She also discovers their true thoughts about Tamara, the store’s sole Black employee. It’s disheartening to discover that they see Black people as sources of spectacle, ridicule, and entertainment.
These interactions quickly mitigate any fanciful dreams about being a white woman. But Ruby discovers another route to use this magical potion. It became deeper than wanting to be White for her own access and comfort. Ruby wants use this power to, as Christina says, “do whatever the f*ck she wants.” And, she knows exactly where she would start. Ruby stepped back into Hillary’s skin, quit her job, and seduced her ex-boss before brutally abusing him for attempting to sexually assault Tamara.
She lets the flesh fall freely before facing him and letting him know that a Black woman did this to him. He’s in shock, but she’s able to easily get way with it. Who would believe him if he told them this story? And, because Hillary doesn’t exist, there’s no one to trace it back to. Ruby gets to essentially be visible and invisible all at once. Everyone will see and respect her in Hillary’s skin. But it’s nothing more than a costume that she can remove when she’s done.
Ruby’s Bloody Next Steps
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
Ruby steps out of the room as Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” plays—a fitting song considering she’s literally wearing bloody shoes. It’s an indicator that while Tic and Leti want to decode magic for protection, Ruby is ready to be a force in the world. Christina’s words about freedom strike a chord but her attempts to connect with Ruby over their womanhood fall flat.
There’s a clear line between being a white woman and a Black woman and Ruby has been on both sides to confirm the differences. It turns out Christina is also using the same potion to be William. It’s her way to gain access to rooms and privileges that are denied to her as a woman. Christina’s life and experiences certainly cannot compare with Ruby’s but it speaks to their underlying desires to climb the privilege pyramid.
“…You can’t relate to who I am. And I’ve spent enough time on your side of the color line to know that the only thing that you White women are disillusioned with is yourselves…”
In a sense, Ruby has gone through a metamorphosis. Previously, Ruby was against Leti’s desire to “rock the boat” with white people via pioneering. She said that if Black people were willing to work harder then the “race would be further along.” Ruby even relays this sentiment to Tamara through Hillary, telling her to go above and beyond to make it in the world.
However, Ruby comes out of this episode as a completely different woman. She’s no longer hoping that her efforts will get her where she wants to go in the world. Ruby is here to live outside the margins and live life according to her own terms.
Featured Image: Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
The post LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Uses Body Horror to Liberate Ruby Baptiste appeared first on Nerdist.
One of the most terrifying horror sub-genres is body horror. It plays on humans’ deepest fears of having our own bodies violated by some sinister entity. Gruesome experimentation, zombification, possession, and the ever-present idea of something creepy and crawly under our skin is enough to make almost anyone uncomfortable. In Lovecraft Country’s “Strange Case” episode, Leti’s sister Ruby Baptiste is unwillingly subjected to a potion that envelops her inside of a white woman’s body. It’s a gruesome body horror story, but it allows Ruby to gain agency and use her magic potion as liberation and vengeance tool.
Life Could Be a Dream
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
At first, Ruby is horrified by her transformation. She wakes up in William Braithwaite’s home to discover that she presents as a white woman. Ruby stumbles back into her own predominately Black neighborhood in search of help. However, she quickly discovers the social protections that Whiteness offers. The police arrive after a young Black boy tries to help her and she’s able to quickly deescalate the situation. The police believe her without further question as they guide her away from the situation.
Ruby is treated like a human deserves to be—with kindness, empathy, and respect—before being taken back to William’s house. It’s highly likely that this is the first time a white person, particularly a police officer, doesn’t see her as a threat. Ruby looks at her hands in awe before her body begins to contort. Her skin crawls and she panics about being taken back to William’s house after he lies about being her husband. William grotesquely cuts Ruby out of the body before putting her in bed.
Later, William compares Ruby’s experience to metamorphosis. He gives her a choice to leave and go about her normal life or to stay and take advantage of the potion. She chooses the latter and, at first, she feels a sense of freedom and joy. Ruby casually strolls through a predominately white area of Chicago, eating ice cream and reading the newspaper. Ruby gets to go through her day without the fear of harassment, violence, and racism.
She later admits to William that Whiteness is the only currency she needs throughout the day. So, Ruby fabricates the life of Ms. Hillary Davenport and quickly nabs a management job at a department store. This gives her an inside look into how white people interact within their own circles. Her transformations back and forth are gross and possibly painful, which indicates just how badly she wants access to this world. Ruby’s desire to get her dream job and to simply have peace and security in her daily life is so strong that she’s willing to go through this process.
Let the Liberation Begin
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
However, her initial joy quickly dissipates as her resentment over racial disparities grows. She notices how her co-workers make racist blanket statements about Black people’s intelligence and Chicago’s South Side. She also discovers their true thoughts about Tamara, the store’s sole Black employee. It’s disheartening to discover that they see Black people as sources of spectacle, ridicule, and entertainment.
These interactions quickly mitigate any fanciful dreams about being a white woman. But Ruby discovers another route to use this magical potion. It became deeper than wanting to be White for her own access and comfort. Ruby wants use this power to, as Christina says, “do whatever the f*ck she wants.” And, she knows exactly where she would start. Ruby stepped back into Hillary’s skin, quit her job, and seduced her ex-boss before brutally abusing him for attempting to sexually assault Tamara.
She lets the flesh fall freely before facing him and letting him know that a Black woman did this to him. He’s in shock, but she’s able to easily get way with it. Who would believe him if he told them this story? And, because Hillary doesn’t exist, there’s no one to trace it back to. Ruby gets to essentially be visible and invisible all at once. Everyone will see and respect her in Hillary’s skin. But it’s nothing more than a costume that she can remove when she’s done.
Ruby’s Bloody Next Steps
Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
Ruby steps out of the room as Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” plays—a fitting song considering she’s literally wearing bloody shoes. It’s an indicator that while Tic and Leti want to decode magic for protection, Ruby is ready to be a force in the world. Christina’s words about freedom strike a chord but her attempts to connect with Ruby over their womanhood fall flat.
There’s a clear line between being a white woman and a Black woman and Ruby has been on both sides to confirm the differences. It turns out Christina is also using the same potion to be William. It’s her way to gain access to rooms and privileges that are denied to her as a woman. Christina’s life and experiences certainly cannot compare with Ruby’s but it speaks to their underlying desires to climb the privilege pyramid.
“…You can’t relate to who I am. And I’ve spent enough time on your side of the color line to know that the only thing that you White women are disillusioned with is yourselves…”
In a sense, Ruby has gone through a metamorphosis. Previously, Ruby was against Leti’s desire to “rock the boat” with white people via pioneering. She said that if Black people were willing to work harder then the “race would be further along.” Ruby even relays this sentiment to Tamara through Hillary, telling her to go above and beyond to make it in the world.
However, Ruby comes out of this episode as a completely different woman. She’s no longer hoping that her efforts will get her where she wants to go in the world. Ruby is here to live outside the margins and live life according to her own terms.
Featured Image: Eli Joshua Ade/HBO
The post LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Uses Body Horror to Liberate Ruby Baptiste appeared first on Nerdist.
The 2020 Toronto Film Festival showcased RKLSS, the raw and intense animated horror-fantasy film written, directed, and animated by Tank Standing Buffalo, a self-taught animator.
As a young man, Buffalo broke the law and was placed behind bars. This animated movie delves into how his imprisonment never stopped his aspirations from extending far beyond his limitations. Buffalo invites audiences into a world of crime and redemption, galactic sci-fi action, and finally, art as a means of healing.
RKLSS redefines redemption in many inspiring ways, as it reminds viewers that no matter the faults of the past, nature and humanity will always be interconnected. Drawing from his Indigenous roots, Buffalo echoes themes of interconnectedness as a reminder that we aren’t tethered to our physical locations and that our dreams can resonate with all of the life on this Earth, and beyond.
RKLSS captures the complexities that exist within the human condition as well, as most people are seldom only good or bad, but rather, intersections of many dynamic emotions and actions.
The film’s inspiring message is only a piece of the bigger story that Buffalo tells. The ending credits of the film share that it was funded by the Canada Learning Bond Program. This program is designed to provide financial support for those with low income to receive an education after high school at a variety of trade schools, colleges, universities, and more.
The credits go on to share that there’s free money for post-secondary education for those living in Canada at CANADA.CA.
This is Buffalo’s way of sharing not only his art, through film, but also pathways for others that aspire to pursue a variety of passions and interests without worrying about funds.
Although the film doesn’t explicitly express this, it seems very clear that the main animated character, made to reflect Buffalo’s experiences, loved to draw far more than he had interest in breaking the law. However, for low-income people of color, there are often limited pathways to accessible education and resources, as well as emotional struggles with multigenerational trauma. Violence and crime can sometimes feel like the only way to have agency in a world that has divided so many people by haves and have=nots.
Buffalo does an amazing job expressing the pain and fear that come from feeling both emotionally and physically isolated. Already othered by society as a criminal in the film, Buffalo faces isolation and loneliness.
The drawing and animation scenes with monsters are probably what makes this film stand out the most. Buffalo’s use of monstrosity as it relates to humanity is very powerful. It reflects the way that society deems as monsters lawbreakers and those with certain backgrounds. It also reflects the internal conflicts within us as epic sci-fi monster battles where they’re in space throwing planets at each other.
There was something very anime-like about it, almost like Dragon Ball Z. It truly highlighted how people struggle with their own inner demons and are often at war with themselves.
While not everyone can say that their internal conflicts go down as such epic melees, one thing is for sure, Buffalo knows how to portray emotional cognitive dissonance within his work. He also reflects how for most people, and many cultures, being able to connect with nature is extremely important.
The symbolism of a tree was truly centering and grounding for viewers, as it placed many people outside of themselves. Buffalo extended the notion that a jail cell can only be a prison if someone lets it be. His reflection of expansive consciousness to achieve peace and healing is beautiful.
There is a stigma that often ascribes punishment to imprisonment. However, Buffalo brings his character’s experience into the light of redemption. In Buffalo’s world, the mind is endless, the possibilities are unlimited, and the visceral pain is temporary. The film doesn’t seem to be asking people to discount their pain, but rather, to accept it in order to move past it.
The tree is what can be found in the wood and Earth that built the prison. It connects to the roots and reminds the main character that he is never without meaning or connection. The ecological connection is balanced with the film’s sci-fi elements very nicely, as there are so many examples of the options for living, life being infinite.
This film truly comes when people need it, as prison populations continue to be discarded and forgotten. People forget that there are people who did what they did in order to survive and that those people are not homogenously evil.
Everyone living behind bars has a story that doesn’t just read “thug.” Like Buffalo, some are artists, dreamers, and those that dream of changing the narratives of their stories.
When it comes to prison sentences and jail times, many people of color are treated even more severely than their white counterparts, and Buffalo successful portrays that reality.
Buffalo himself recounted that time in his life in a press release from the production company. “At the time, I didn’t realize I was being tortured. I thought that this was the way it was supposed to be; routine beatings by guards, fear tactics, and isolation were all part of being in segregation. Years later, upon reading about the long-term effects of prolonged segregation, which include depression and suicidal thoughts, I felt it was time to go back and figure out what happened to me. How have I survived when so many people I know have not? Friends depicted in the film died in solitary. Many of my past experiences make sense to me now that I understand what I was subjected to was not normal. I want to shine a light on my experience and, through my artistic expression, find some healing in what was a horrible time in my life.”
While it’s impossible to jump back into the past and rewrite the script, Buffalo provides a new script and an encouraging film that reminds watchers that it’s never too late to animate a new and brighter future.
Check out the latest installment of Afronerd Radio's Mid Week in Review (MWIR) broadcast this Wednesday at 8pm and airing thanks to the good folks at BTalk 100. The topics to be placed under our microscope this (mid) week are: longtime Hot 97 NY radio staffer, Paddy Duke was fired after the station discovered that he was one of a mob of eight men charged in the infamous 1989 racial killing of Yusef Hawkins; tying up some loose ends from our last Grindhouse discussion (i.e. attempts at racist/sexist story lines on the set of CBS' All Rise TV show; acting legend, Nichelle Nichols latest struggles) including last weekend's DC Fandome pop culture event;
Ok....where are we now, since we've seen episode 2 of HBO's supernatural TV series, Lovecraft Country?; British soul artist, Van Morrison appears NOT to care about covid-19 and science but he does care about filling concert seats (sigh); another Peacock streaming show, Noughts + Crosses may be of interest, expanding on the theme of role reversal between races and cultures (what if Africa colonized Europe?)
Thoughts about Netflix' apology for inappropriate artwork for the French youth dramatic film, Cuties (titled Mignonnes in France); thoughts about several Polygon.com pieces-the upcoming Three Jokers comic and what it could mean to expanding the mythology of Batman's most notable nemesis and how does the Yakuza video franchise address toxic masculinity). And lastly, hat tip to stalwart listener, John Hutton for tweeting this harrowing tale of loss of generational wealth and the devaluation of blackness as exhibited in a Florida real estate appraisal (further explored in a recent NY Times piece):
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By Désirée I. Guzzetta
Giancarlo Esposito is having a moment in 2020, a very good one. Not only is he a key part of three very popular shows at one time, but he’s been nominated for two of them for this year’s Emmys, one for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Drama Series for his role as Moff Gideon on “The Mandalorian,” and one for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for his role as Gus Fring on “Better Call Saul.” He’s also been nominated twice before for playing Gus Fring on both “Better Call Saul” and its predecessor, “Breaking Bad.”
On top of that, he’s emerged as a main character on Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys.” Introduced late in the first season as Stan Edgar, the mostly unseen, even more powerful boss behind the powerhouse that was Madelyn Stillwell (Elizabeth Shue), Esposito is poised to take Stan from the man behind the curtain to the man openly in charge of The Seven, the show’s group of superheroes against which The Boys of the title fight.
Maybe.
Speaking from his home with reporters via Zoom, Esposito was careful not to pull too much of the curtain back, preferring to leave some mystery to Stan and his motivations going into the new season, though he did indulge in a little fun speculation. He was also friendly, chatting with reporters prior to the official start of the roundtable, asking about people’s Zoom backgrounds and what they’ve been doing during the pandemic. His charming, relaxed demeanor is about as far from the tightly controlled, possibly villainous Stan Edgar the audience has seen so far as one could get.
In fact, the first question he was asked had to do with his roles as villains—in addition to playing Moff Gideon and Gus Fring (the jury is still out on Stan’s true character), Esposito also voices Lex Luthor on the current “Harley Quinn” animated TV series, and played bad guy Tom Neville on one of “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke’s past series, “Revolution” (2012-14).
Esposito said that what drew him to Stan “was that he was completely flat-lined about business. He was a company man who could be polite, and he’s running a very big organization.”
“What I love is that he’s the puppeteer behind the puppet,” Esposito said of the first season reveal that Stan was Madelyn’s boss. “He’s the guy behind the curtain,” he said, but at the same time, Stan is the “face of Vought.” Esposito loves that he will be visible as Vought’s leader, but that also audiences might expect more to come from him.
In terms of inspiration for playing villains, Esposito mentioned the famous “Top of the world!” scene in White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney, and how “that visceral excitement of triggering his tommy gun was the glory that he needed to end and get out of this life to the next.”
“I think people like characters who have villainy because they have power,” Esposito said philosophically. “They relate to the fact that there’s this power that they feel that we don’t have. So is that power courage? Is it? Is it a decision that that’s who I am? Whatever that is, that moment I saw Jimmy Cagney, he was fearless.”
Discussing the power dynamic in “The Boys,” Esposito said that they “have very super, super characters who have really heightened physical and mental qualities because they’re superheroes. Why don’t we feel like we’re superheroes in our lives? That’s all you’re feeling when you’re looking at a villain—like Homelander [Antony Starr] says, they can do whatever the fuck they want.”
Esposito believes people find that power dynamic interesting and relatable, though Stan is still an unknown quantity in “The Boys” because he’s been talked about more than seen so far.
“Maybe what he’s doing is to try to help and save everyone on the planet. Maybe he’s got to wrangle this group of super heroes and bring them to a place where they understand part of their humanity and part of the science which, we’re coming to find out, may be guiding their physical prowess,” he theorized.
“So how do we feel that way without being villainous or nefarious?” Esposito asked. “What’s the way to feel that way? I think many of us have missed that. That way is to be ultimately calm, and relaxed and chill, and to be in a more meditative yogic state.”
Esposito said that as an actor, his life is about accessing his emotions. When a corporation controls everything the way Vought does in “The Boys,” accessing one’s humanity becomes more difficult. He noted that so many of the characters in the show don’t just wear costumes on the outside, but mask their own humanity inside, too.
The Nerd Element then asked Esposito about his acting process and how he brings Stan to life in light of the very controlled characters he’s played more recently. For example, Stan appears to have that calm, chill demeanor he spoke of earlier, as well as no issue standing up to the very dangerous Homelander, whom the audience has already seen murder several people without hesitation.
“For Stan,” he began, “I felt an affinity to wanting to represent the corporate brain. And I hadn’t had an opportunity to do that before playing a character, whether you judge him to be nefarious or a company man.”
“I always want there to be a secret behind what I’m doing,” Esposito continued, saying that he wanted to make Stan relatable the way the rest of the show is relatable to the real world.
In Esposito’s mind, Stan cares about people, “but he doesn’t suffer fools and has no time for babies, which was a real guiding tool for me in the scene with Homelander—understanding and realizing he’s a man-child, which would immediately give me pause and a little compassion.”
He notes that the scene with Homelander where he questions Homelander’s knowledge of Vought was similar to what he asked his own children about supporting BLM (Black Lives Matter), including what they knew about the organization and if they knew who Edmund Pettus was, before they went out and marched in solidarity.
“Stan is the same way with Homelander,” he said, adding that none of us yet knows what Vought is doing or up to in the world of the series—the answers to which he finds “exciting” for the audience to discover.
Esposito also loves Stan’s directness: “He’s direct, he’s efficient with his words, and he’s a very good reader of people.” He said that Stan “understands when Homelander’s feelings are hurt, and he probably meant to hurt them in the moment he does when he dismisses Homelander from his office. He understands people’s emotional place about their struggle with who they really are.”
Stan “has no fear and so you wonder about that, don’t you? You wonder why he’s not looking at Homelander and shaking in his boots,” he said, adding that Stan is “so very confident that you want to know what else is going on. [But] he’s also about the face of things, the way things look. And so I’m very excited to explore more.”
Esposito was then asked if Stan is really that self-assured, or if he’s possibly bluffing in front of Homelander (presumably to keep himself from being immolated as Madelyn was).
“No, it’s not a bluff,” he said. “He’s completely self-assured, and he’s not bluffing at all.”
“One of the things I think about,” Esposito continued, “is that he’s full of Compound V. And he’s invincible. Because he’s so very clear, and so not afraid, and the company’s already built.”
Esposito said that’s “what makes his attitude so different than any other character I’ve played.” The fact that Stan is not afraid to lose Vought might mean something big is possibly in store for the character.
“What is that complete, self-assured intention? That’s a man who knows what he wants,” he said.
Esposito also knows what he wants, though he is a much kinder person than what we know of Stan Edgar. For example, during the course of the interview, when The Nerd Element congratulated him on his third Emmy nomination, he not only graciously corrected the error, but he sincerely thanked us. While he is grateful for the honors, he said, he was quick to praise everyone he works with. He was even happy to be talking to everyone on Zoom because he enjoys talking “about the work and its intricacies.”
“I love what I do,” he said, smiling.
Amazon Prime Video’s hit series, “The Boys,” returns September 4, 2020, for a second season of mayhem, fun, and corporate shenanigans, with three episodes being available at once, followed by one-per-week for the rest of the season
Quotes lightly edited for flow and clarity
The post Giancarlo Esposito Sheds Some Light On The Mysterious Stan Edgar of “The Boys” appeared first on The Nerd Element.