The great thing about #BlackJoy is that it can be expressed in a wide variety of ways!! Depending on who you are, what you do, and how you feel, Black Joy has a way of changing the game!
This is particularly the case when it comes to movies. With the new releases of Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid and the animated Blockbuster Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse starring Miles Morales, it’s a great time to be Black in the Movies!!
Today’s Black Joy Moment is a snapshot compilation of movies that over time have embodied Black joy!!
New Month and a New Set of Hot Topics!! Check them out below :
Living History…Medal of Honor awarded to one of the first Black U.S. Special Forces officers…Nearly 60 years overdue, on March 3rd President Biden awarded retired Army Colonel Paris Davis the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s most prestigious decoration, for Davis’ acts of valor as a commander during the Vietnam War. Now 83 years old, retired Army Colonel Davis was one of the first Black officers to lead a U.S. Special Forces team in combat.
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Course correcting the history of gynecology…In partnership with the “Under-Told Stories” project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, Alabama artist Michelle Browder is looking to change the historical narrative around the history of gynecology.
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For all my Skateboarders!!… This month the U.S. Postal Service is set to launch its latest collection of artistic stamps celebrating the “Art of the Skateboard.” The image below features the work of four skaters-turned-artists on photographs of skateboards, curated by art director Antonio Alcalá. Crystal Worl (Alaska)-Tlingit/Athabascan heritage with a blue-indigo salmon graphic; William James Taylor Junior (Virginia) concocted a red-and-orange abstract design; Di’Orr Greenwood (Arizona) celebrated her Navajo roots with a bright palette depicting eagle feathers, as well as the sun’s rising and setting tones; and lastly, Federico “MasPaz” Frum (Columbia-born/Washington, D.C.) created a stylistic jaguar. The collection will be available for purchase beginning March 24, 2023.
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Keeping with the theme of Women’s History Month, Marvel just dropped a surprise new TV series on Disney+ MPower about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s roster of female heroes. The four-part docuseries is now streaming in its entirety on the service. Executive produced by Zoë Saldaña, “the show blends footage from MCU movies and shows with new animation and interviews with Marvel stars to explore some of the franchise’s top stars and their long and complex history.”
The four episodes of MPower are “The Women of Black Panther” (which focuses on Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, Florence Kasumba’s Ayo, and Letitia Wright’s Shuri), “Captain Marvel” (which also features Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau from the upcoming The Marvels movie), “Scarlet Witch” (which also includes Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness and even Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis) and “Gamora” of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise (whose story also obviously dovetails with her sister, Nebula, played by Karen Gillan). See the trailer below:
All four episodes of MPower are streaming now on Disney+.
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Painter Spotlight!! Providing a voice for Black maternal mortality and morbidity through art…Chicago-based artist/painter Ashley January shows her vision and past experiences of the above in her solo exhibit, “Human I Mother I Black”! See some of her work below:
(Photo credit Ashley January, left-COVID Shelter in Place With Baby, 2020; top right-Quinn and Ashley Study #2, 2020; top bottom-Crystal and Dylan Study, 2020)
Just like that I got another list of literary goodies waiting for you to add to you bookshelves. As always I have a nice mix for you, everything ranging from fantasy fiction to LGBTQ stories to illustrated history, and much more! And as you peruse the list make sure you also support your local bookstores!
Check out February’s List below:
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People ~Kekla Magoon
Stone and Steel ~Eboni Dunbar
Rootless ~Krystle Zara Appiah
The Trayvon Generation ~Elizabeth Alexander
Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and Unseen ~George McCalman
Decent People ~De’Shawn Charles Winslow
A Ruin of Shadows ~L.D. Lewis
Trouble the Saints ~Alaya Dawn Johnson
And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~Harriet Tubman
Can we just say Marvel is not playing any games!! Wasting no time pulling the fans into theaters and updating their streaming services!! This week’s trailer alerts are dedicated to all the upcoming Marvel television series and films!! Check them out below:
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Streaming on the Disney Channel February 10th) [Now I’m super siked about this one!!]
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (In theaters February 17th)
Season 2-What If…? (Streaming on Disney+ Early 2023)
Secret Invasion (Streaming Spring 2023 on Disney+)
Guardians of the Galaxy-Vol. 3 (In theaters May 5th)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (In theaters June 2nd)
The Marvels (In theaters July 28th)
Season 2-Loki (Streaming on Disney+ Summer 2023)
Kraven the Hunter (In theaters October 6th)
X-Men ’97 (Streaming on Disney + Fall 2023)
While there are no trailers just yet for these next few we do have a time period for when to be on the lookout!!
We are back for the new year!! And you know the recommendations don’t stop!! Got a fresh new slate of literary goodies to fill your book shelves!! I’m bringing you all the heat with this list!! Feel free to share with your friends!!
Check out January’s list below:
Boys Come First ~Aaron Foley
Land of Love and Drowning ~Tiphanie Yanique
On the Roof Top ~Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
American Spy ~Lauren Wilkinson
Grace ~Natashia Deón
The Keeper ~Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes
The Stars Beneath Our Feet ~David Barclay Moore
Beasts of Prey ~Ayana Gray
And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations…If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out…You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” —Mae Jemison
With all the conversations and reactions surrounding the teaser trailer of the upcoming spring film “The Little Mermaid” myself and another colleague of mine Bethan Jones decided to put digital pen to paper and share some of our thoughts. The piece is titled, “Part of Your World”: Fairy Tales, Race, #BlackGirlMagic, and The Little Mermaid.”
Here are a few excerpts…
In 2016 Disney announced a live-action adaptation of its 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale, the animation earned critical acclaim, took $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release, and won two Academy Awards (for Best Original Score and Best Original Song). Given Disney’s recent foray into creating live-action adaptations of some of its most successful animated films, it’s no surprise that The Little Mermaid was added to the list. Yet controversy rose when Black actress Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel in July 2019. Among the critiques was the argument that the adaptation should be as close to the original as possible, and the original featured a white mermaid; that if a Black character was re-cast as white in a remake there would be uproar; and while representation in all forms is important it shouldn’t override the history of the characters…
We even provided some history and background into the significance and importance of Black mermaids.
While the original fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen does describe Ariel’s character as “her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea” this does not mean that there were no mermaids who were of color. In fact, water spirits and Black mermaids existed even before Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale. It is important to note the global history of mermaids and water spirits due to the fact that the existence of Black characters in fantasy, magical realism, and science-fiction is often non-existent. If we think about this from an Afrofuturistic lens, these early Western tales did not see Black characters as even being a part of these narratives. The waters have always been seen as a sacred space literally and figuratively within African folklore. Housed within many African traditions, the water serves as a bridge between otherworlds, life and the afterlife. And the sea deity Mami Wata or La Sirene (which translates as Mother Water or Mother of Water) serves as the beginnings of many African mythical tales.
Last day of the month and I’m bringing you a few goodies!! Getting you ready for your Holiday binging sessions and a few new year treats!! Check them out below:
Riches (Streaming December 2 on Prime Video)
Kindred (Streaming December 13 on FX/Hulu)
1923 (Streaming December 18 on Paramount +)
Babylon (In theaters December 23rd)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Streaming on Netflix December 23rd)
Magic Mike’s Last Dance (In theaters February 10, 2023)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (In theaters March 23rd, 2023)
With one holiday down and two more on the way, film and television is prepping us for what we will be soaking up next! This week I have a few trailers for you to put on the calendar to prep you for your Thanksgiving and Christmas viewing pleasures! Check them out below:
The Santa Clauses (Streaming on Disney + November 16)
Disenchanted (Streaming on Disney+ November 18th)
Fantasy Football (Streaming on Paramount+ November 25)
Season 3-Blood & Water (Streaming on Netflix November 25)
Three Pines (Streaming on Prime Video December 2)
Season 3-His Dark Materials (Streaming on HBO Max December 5)
Black Future Feminist 