Tag: film

Posted in Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, On the Desk..., On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

So much goodness, I had to share! Check out this weeks “HOT Topics”!!

On this coming Super Bowl Sunday history will be made through Autumn Lockwood!! Feb. 12 Philadelphia Eagles assistant performance coach Autumn Lockwood will stand on the sidelines as the first Black woman to coach in the event’s history.

For all my gamers, check out this Humble Gaming Bundle! Humble has created a bundle of games by Black creators as well games featuring Black lead characters. By purchasing this bundle you are helping to support a new generation of game developers and tech talent.

The gaming bundle includes Mafia III and Shadow Man, along with the work of Black developers like Interabang Entertainment’s Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, Strange Scaffold’s An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs, and much more. Making a purchase will also help support Gameheads, an organization that “envisions a world where low income youth and youth of color are equipped to thrive and succeed in any field they choose, including the tech and video game industries.” To make a purchase see here!

If you want to know more about how Humble is celebrating Black History Month, check them out on their blog.

Also, in honor of Black History Month-AMC Theaters is doing a $5 Movie Ticket special for select films and participating theaters. Some of the films include:

  • Till (February 3-9)
  • The Woman King (February 17-23)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (February 24-March 2)

As noted by AMC Theaters, “AMC Theaters is giving moviegoers the opportunity to revisit some of the most recent biographical dramas, military epics, and dramatic action movies created by or starring outstanding Black filmmakers and actors.”The offer begins on Feb. 3 and ends on March 2, with each film being shown in theaters for $5 for one week only.

Need to up your wine game, check out this list of Black-owned Wine Brands that you can purchase online:

  • McBride Sisters Collection: “Break the rules. Drink the wine.”
  • Theopolis Vineyards: “Theopolis Vineyards is a small lot vineyard and hand-crafted winery located in California’s prestigious Yorkville Highlands of the Anderson Valley.”
  • Kai-Simone: “Bringing elegance and sophistication to the rustic Texas Hill Country, Kai-Simone promises a wonderful experience for everyone who visits.”
  • Edelheiss : “By the cultivation of traditional, precious materials, the team at Edelheiss works closely and cooperatively with well respected local winegrowers and suppliers to ensure that it makes the most of its long-term relationships.”
  • Shoe Crazy Wine: “Wines for Your Me Time”
  • Flo: “FLO represents the journey through which we discover those things in life that fulfill us and make each experience a little better; for the love of life, self, happiness, passion, joy…love itself.”
  • P Harrell Wines
  • Brown Estate
  • Ole Orleans Wine: “Ole’ Orleans is a collection of well-balanced wines with a luxurious, delicate, and lingering finish.”
  • Maison Noir Wines
  • Wade Cellars

Publishing Company to offer free Black History e-books!! Haymarket Books will offer 40% off of books centered around the Black Liberation struggle and the following e-books for free to download: “From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation” by Keeanga Yamahtta, which explores why the Black Lives Matter movement is necessary; “Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice,” edited by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, which details how the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged institutional racism; and “1919” by Eve L. Ewing, a collection of poems depicting the Chicago race riots of 1919.

Image Credit: Haymarket Books

Viola Davis is now a part of the EGOT club!! At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Davis would secure her status with a Grammy Award for the audiobook recording of her memoir, Finding Me. The exclusive [E]mmy-[G]rammy-[O]scar-[T]ony winner list only has 18 names on it. Viola is the fourth Black artist to accomplish the feat, following in the footsteps of Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson. Davis’ previous awards are Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2017 for Fences, an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015 for How to Get Away With Murder and two Tonys, one for Featured Actress in a Play in 2001 for King Hedley II and for Lead Actress in a Play in 2010 for Fences.

Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

We are back at it again! A new set of trailers for your viewing pleasure! Check them out below:

Season 3-Star Trek: Picard (Streaming on Paramount + February 16th)

88 (In theaters February 17th)

The Company You Keep (Streaming on ABC February 19th)

https://youtu.be/_OTrIwmdhCE

The Strays (Streaming on Netflix February 22nd)

Season 3-Party Down (Streaming on STARZ February 24th)

https://youtu.be/Ad3ELGjAG7c

Moving On (In theaters March 17th)

Season 4-Succession (Streaming on HBO Max March 26th)

Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!-Marvel Edition

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

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!!

  • Ironheart (Streaming on Disney+ Summer 2023)
  • Echo (Streaming on Disney+ Summer 2023)
  • Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Late 2023)
Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Feature Spotlight, On the Desk...

Dr. G Featured in “Pop Junctions” website!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

Got some exciting news!! I have recently taken on a role as a regular contributor and editor with the academic website, Pop Junctions:Reflections on Entertainment, Pop Culture, Activism, Media Literacy, Fandom and More. On this site you can find a plethora of articles/posts discussing media & technology, to comic books, to social media, to gaming, to fandom and much more.

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…

Jones, “Part of Your World”: Fairy Tales, Race, #BlackGirlMagic, and The Little Mermaid

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.

Gipson, “Part of Your World”: Fairy Tales, Race, #BlackGirlMagic, and The Little Mermaid

It was a lot of fun co-writing this piece and contributing to the conversation!!

To check out the full post/article see here!!

Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

Time is truly flying by! I feel like we just started the month of January, and here we are half way through the month! But with each day and week that passes more trailers are being released! Check out some new ones below:

Season 2-Harlem (Streaming February 3 on Amazon Prime Video)

Not Dead Yet (Streaming February 8 on ABC)

https://youtu.be/8qqSdyg57sk

Somebody I Used To Know (Streaming February 10 on Amazon Prime Video)

Your Place Or Mine (Streaming February 10 on Netflix)

Sharper (Streaming February 17 on Apple TV+)

Chevalier (In theaters April 7)

Posted in Celebration, Feature Spotlight, On the Desk...

“A Day On, Not a Day Off!”- Celebrating the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

In celebration of Dr. King’s Birthday I wanted to share some of my favorite speeches from him as well as a few films, documentaries, and television series that feature his life and legacy. I wanted to make sure I shared some hidden gems, along with a few speeches and films that I have learned about through my time as a student and now professor. Check them out below:

Dr. G’s Fave Speeches from Dr. King:

Photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels.com

Films, Documentaries, and Television Series [*Premium Subscription]

  • King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis (1970) [Can be found on Apple TV and Amazon Prime*]
  • Eyes on the Prize series (1993) [Can be found on HBO Max and Amazon Prime*]
  • Boycott (2001) [Can be found here and on HBO]
  • Selma (2014) [Can be found on Showtime, Amazon Prime*, and Hulu*]
  • King in the Wilderness (2018) [Can be watched here and on HBO]
  • I Am MLK Jr. (2018) [Can be found on Paramount Network]
  • MLK/FBI (2020) [Can be found on Hulu and Apple TV+]

As an extra bonus you can also check out this 360 Look at the National Civil Rights Museum which features Dr. King’s legacy.

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted in Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, On the Desk..., On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

Another week, another set of HOT TOPICS!! Let’s see what I got for you this week. Check it out below:

Fresh off of a huge night, Abbott Elementary fans can breathe a sigh of relief know that there WILL be a Season 3!! This news comes after the show and several actors winning big, Tyler James Williams (Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy), Quinta Brunson (Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy), and the show winning Best Television Series-Musical or Comedy.

Looking to change up your meal plan or simply add a little flavor and spice you are in luck! Tabitha Brown has a new limited-edition collection that just launched at Target on January 8th. This is her third collection which includes cookware and vegan/plant-based food options. Brown’s food items feature vegan cream cheese spreads, pastas and plant-based patties and the cookware includes cast iron skillets, utensils and towels.

#BlackWomenMakingMoves … Angela Bassett made history at this year’s Golden Globes!! Bassett won “Best Supporting Actress-Motion Picture” for her as ‘Queen Ramonda’ in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever making her the first to win a Golden Globe for a Marvel movie. If this is in preparation for Bassett winning a long-overdue Oscar, I’m all in!! See her acceptance speech below:

There’s a new “American Girl”-2023 Girl of the Year doll in town and her name is Kavika “Kavi” Sharma. The first South Asian American Girl Doll. As noted by the AG company, “Kavi joins the company’s long line of contemporary characters, introduced more than 20 years ago, that represent a wide range of backgrounds to reflect what it means to be an American girl today.” Here is a tangible product that represents progression and hope!! In addition to the doll to purchasing the doll, various accessories can be purchased alongside the doll: the “Song & Dance Bundle,” that includes a red, blue, and gold lehenga (a traditional form of South Asian clothing), matching South Asian jewelry including a tikka (head piece), necklace, and a pair of bangles. Other accessories also include backstage wardrobe essentials and various sparkly outfits. The doll is available for purchase now!

For all my MCU fans, Phase 5 is going to be a pretty exciting time!! I know I am looking forward to the upcoming line-up!! And just in case you have not seen the latest news, check out what is coming in 2023:

  • February 17th: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
  • May 5th: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
  • July 28th: The Marvels
  • TBD: Season 2-What If…?
  • TBD: Secret Invasion
  • TBD: Season 2-Loki
  • TBD: Ironheart
  • TBD: Echo
  • TBD: Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

It’s the first of the month and the first of the new year!! Great thing about film and television is that it never ends! So let’s not waste anytime and get right to these trailers, check them out below ⬇️:

Will Trent (Streaming on ABC January 3rd)

https://youtu.be/9VSSwTZqnmI

Season 2-Ginny & Georgia (Streaming on Netflix January 5th)

Season 2-BMF (Streaming on STARZ January 6th)

Final Season-Hunters (Streaming on Prime Video January 13th)

The Last of Us (Streaming on HBO Max January 15th)

When You Finish Saving the World (In theaters January 20th)

Extraordinary (Streaming on Hulu January 25th)

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., On the Desk...

Reflecting on 2022…Lessons Learned…You Ready for 2023?!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

It’s the last day of 2022, we are almost there folks!! So the pandemic is still real, but somehow we are managing it. Let’s just say this was another unforgettable year!!

Definitely had some moments that shook the nation with such things as abortion no longer being a constitutional right, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the tragedy in Uvalde (TX), banned books, the retirement of a tennis legend Serena Williams, we got the slap of the century when Will Smith cold clocked slapped Chris Rock, and jaw-dropping seasons of Euphoria and Bridgerton.

In sports news, Argentina wins the World Cup, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl (along with an AMAZING halftime show-Hip Hop and R&B reigning supreme), the Houston Astros win their second World Series title…then you got the suspension of Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka (and his split from Nia Long), Tom Brady retired…back in the game and then divorced, Brittney Griner is released from a Russia prison and returns home to the U.S….and one of my fave moments the Golden State Warriors reclaimed the NBA Title throne!!

Lena Horne became the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her…Two Literary Pioneers were honored with USPS stamps, Toni Morrison and Ernest J. Gaines!

In politics, for the first time in history the four largest U.S. cities New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston will all have Black mayors after this year’s midterm elections…Karen Bass sealed the deal with her historic win! And THANK GOD Georgia did not elect Herschel Walker into the U.S. Senate, we can all breathe a sigh of relief!

The elements are still having their way whether its the frigid winter storm in Buffalo, Hurricane Ian and Fiona, and heat waves coming in July, August and October!!

The Little Mermaid teaser trailer…Just wow!! I’m so ready!!…Also, definitely gotta shout out some good friends for putting me on to Billions and Yellowstone, talk about some good tv!!

Speaking of good tv let me just drop a few more nuggets:

  • Riches (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Reasonable Doubt (Hulu)
  • Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Blood & Water (Netflix)
  • Dahmer: Monster-The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
  • Wednesday (Netflix)
  • P-Valley (STARZ)
  • Raising Kanan: Power Book III (STARZ)
  • Final season of OWN Network Queen Sugar and FX Atlanta
  • Cherish the Day (OWN)
  • The Bear (Hulu)

Let’s Go To The Movies… I was so glad that the theaters have opened back up again, feels good to sit back and relax at my local AMC!!

  • The Woman King: Finally these stories are being told!!
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once: Brilliant movie that definitely did not get the pub it should have…such a good movie!!
  • Top Gun: Maverick: Now that was a fun ride!!
  • Descendant (Netflix): Gotta love history, especially when they speak the truth!
  • Confess, Fletch: Pure laughs!!
  • Bullet Train: Who knew you could enjoy a movie that is set on a bullet train…
  • Nope: Layered and complex!!
  • Prey (Hulu definitely knows how to drop those gems!!)
  • Devotion: A piece of history that I didn’t know about but glad I do now!
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Not a dry eye!! Ryan Coogler & Ruth E. Carter you did it again!! Angela Bassett proved once again why she is that one!!

Remembering those we lost in 2022…Folks that definitely made some sort of impact on my 41 years of life!!

Photo by Aidan Nguyen on Pexels.com
  • Sidney Poitier (January 6th): The epitome of elegance and stage presence!
  • Lani Guinier (January 7th)
  • Bob Saget (January 9th)
  • André Leon Talley (January 18th)
  • Charles McGee (January 23rd): One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen!
  • Cheslie Kyrst (January 30th): Mental Health is real!!
  • Ivan Reitman (February 13th): Ghostbusters!!
  • Johnny Brown (March 2nd): Ohhhhh “Good Times”
  • Traci Braxton (March 12th)
  • William Hurt (March 13th)
  • Madeleine Albright (March 23rd)
  • Gilbert Gottfried (April 12th)
  • DJ Kay Slay (April 18th): Ahhhh takes me back to my undergrad days
  • Naomi Judd (April 30th)
  • Bob Lanier (May 10th)
  • Ray Liotta (May 26th)
  • Sam Gilliam (June 25th)
  • Paul Sorvino (July 25th)
  • Nichelle Nichols (July 30th): SO Grateful and Thankful for the barriers she broke and the history made!
  • Bill Russell (July 31st): A legend in every sense of the word!!
  • Roger E. Mosely (August 7th): I will always remember those days of watching Magnum, P.I. (the original)
  • Olivia Newton-John (August 8th): Such a sweet soul taken from this earth!
  • Hanae Mori (August 11th): Haute Couture at its finest!!
  • Denise Dowse (August 13th)
  • Mikhail Gorbachev (August 30th)
  • Queen Elizabeth II (September 8th)
  • Ramsey Lewis (September 12th)
  • Pharoah Sanders (September 24th)
  • Coolio (September 28th): One more “Fantastic Voyage”
  • Charles Fuller (October 3rd)
  • Loretta Lynn (October 4th)
  • Angela Lansbury (October 11th): Murder Mysteries will never be the same!!
  • Leslie Jordan (October 24th)
  • Rev. Calvin O. Butts III (October 28th)
  • Takeoff (November 1st)
  • John Aniston (November 14th): Soap opera’s will never be the same!
  • Irene Cara (November 26th): I just wanna dance forever!!
  • Dorothy Pitman Hughes (December 1st): Co-founder of the prominent feminist publication Ms. Magazine
  • Kirstie Alley (December 5th)
  • Paul Silas (December 11th)
  • Stephen “tWitch” Boss (December 14th)
  • Franco Harris (December 21st): There will never be another “Immaculate Reception” … One for the books!!
  • Pelé and Vivienne Westwood (December 29th)
  • Barbara Walters (December 30th)
  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (December 31st): The longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020, known as “God’s Rottweiler”.

Beyoncé gave us her 7th studio album, Renaissance...Afrobeats continues to rise and I’m here for all of it! Usher’s Las Vegas show makes huge waves…Ari Lennox brought us Age/Sex/Location…And another bomb soundtrack from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever!!

The housing market was a win for sellers, but it looks like that is taking turn back for buyers (I hope so, cause your girls will definitely be looking in 2023). Twitter was bought by Elon Musk…We witnessed our first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (RBG is definitely smiling)…and soooooo much more!!

For me 2022, was all about roller coaster rides of life. I had many valley lows and just as many high moments. Sold my house in ATL (the end of an era)…I dealt with with anxiety, some depression, some trauma, and deep loss. Losing my Uncle Oscar hit me deep in my core! And if I am being honest, I am still grieving and probably will for some time. He meant so much to me, he will never be forgotten. There is not a day that doesn’t go by where I just want to shoot him a ring and ask for him to pray with and for me. But when it is all said and done I know he is watching over me, smiling, and having a good laugh with my Grandma!! I definitely got a chance to travel and collect some more passport stamps. I went to New Mexico for the first time, tried real Belgium waffles IN Belgium (Twice)!! Presented at Wonder-Con (Anaheim, CA), gave a keynote lecture at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium). Got to celebrate Black History Month twice once in the US and in London!! Went to the Roots Picnic in Philly…Celebrated many of my friends 40th Birthday’s….that was fun!

Even got me a new ride…a Christmas gift to myself!!

This year I got to spend a lot of time on several beaches and oh was that therapeutic (Thank you Turks and Caicos and Playa del Carmen)…Lord knows I love the water!!

…It was good to be back in the classroom for another semester with some AMAZING students!! I am truly grateful to have this job/career. I look forward to completing 2023 as I will (I’m claiming) get through my Third-Year Review and become another step closer towards Tenure!! Oh and I got boosted again! I launched a new project, Black Girl Magic in Media (BGMM) and let me tell you I am very excited about what is in store! Be on the lookout for what is in store!

I continue to learn more about myself…grow…find balance…navigate all the moving parts of my life…and taking one day at a time!

Let me just say I am also very thankful for my BFF family and friends!! I look forward to bringing you more good news and culture in 2023!!

~Dr. G

Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

It’s the last set of trailers for 2022!! So let’s go out with a bang!! Check them out below:

Kaleidoscope (Streaming on Netflix January 1, 2023)

Season 3-Godfather of Harlem (Streaming on EPIX January 15, 2023)

Season 2-Mayor of Kingstown (Streaming on Paramount+ January 15, 2023)

Magic Mike’s Last Dance (In theaters February 10, 2023)

Book Club: The Next Chapter (In theaters May 14, 2023)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (In theaters June 2023)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (In theaters June 30th, 2023)

Oppenheimer (In theaters July 21st, 2023)