I consume a media and tell you whether I liked it or I didn't like. If you want to know more, ask me to ramble. If you have an opinion, tell me and I may respond in turn...That's it.
Oh yeah, I saw The Accountant 2 (2025) and it was a good time. I would say it was a better constructed version of the first one, and I already loved the first one. Kinda wish Anna Kendrick's character came back, but the main lady got more fleshed out from the first one, and she was pretty fun.
Just saw Sinners (2025) and I gotta be real with you. It absolutely fucked. I am so hyped to have it on DVD. The world might suck right now, but the creative scene is popping off. I left that theater thinking I gotta see that again, and considering I just experienced Gagachella last night, it's kinda amazing I was able to feel even a bit of that again the next day. Go see this movie. And then write me some fanfic.
Follow up, just listened to the soundtrack, and it turns out it also fucks. And you know the scene, the song is called I Lied to You. Oooohh it hits. You can feel it.
Just saw Sinners (2025) and I gotta be real with you. It absolutely fucked. I am so hyped to have it on DVD. The world might suck right now, but the creative scene is popping off. I left that theater thinking I gotta see that again, and considering I just experienced Gagachella last night, it's kinda amazing I was able to feel even a bit of that again the next day. Go see this movie. And then write me some fanfic.
One thing I love about Black superheroes is that they all (in their own ways) celebrate different aspects of the Black experience.
T'challa, in the first Black Panther film represented Afro-futurism and Pan-Africanism.
Shuri, in Wakanda Forever, represented Black grief and the pain of loss.
Luke Cage represented African American pride and resilience
Tyrone from Cloak and Dagger represented the fear of living as a Black person in a white dominated space.
Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse, represented the creation of an individual identity (he even uses his graffiti skills to paint his own Spiderman suit). Each hero represented a specific aspect of the Black experience.
But Sam Wilson has always occupied a specific space that (until this moment) had yet to be filled. Sam Wilson, as an African American man, and as an African American Captain America, represents double consciousness.
(Potential Spoilers after the cut)
Double Consciousness, in this context, is a term that was coined by WEB Du Bois in his book The Souls of Black Folk in which he states that:
"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife – this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He wouldn't bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face"
In essence, to be a Black American is to be a creature of two warring worlds, and it also means that the Black American must be ever aware at the fact that every move we make is not only going to be used to judge our character, but also the character of every other Black American. And Sam Wilson is aware of that fact.
In both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam brings up the fact that he knows the world is watching him and hating him simply for being a Black man who represents the United States. When Sam is juxtaposed against Isaiah Bradley, another Black Captain America who the country abandoned, Sam is reminded of how this country has always treated Black men and women.
And, sadly enough, Sam could also be looking at his own future. During Brave New World, Sam is ever honorable, ever compassionate and ever empathetic to everyone around him (even when their actions do not warrant Sam's kindness). Because, once again, Sam is aware that his actions (whether negative or positive) will have a greater impact on more than just himself. And that kind of pressure can lead to bitterness. It can wear a body down.
Sam states:
"Because if I’m not on point, I feel like I’ve let down everyone who is fighting for a seat at that table.”
Isaiah Bradley has always had a rocky relationship with the US, just like all African Americans have, So it makes sense to me that Sam Wilson may also be thinking about Isaiah each time he picks up the shield. When African Americans create something (be it a movie, or a tv show, or a play) that centers on the Black experience, there is an added pressure to overperform to prove the validity of the project and the validity of Black narratives. When The Wiz, a film that was originally going to be seen as "The First Black Classic" bombed in 1978, many Hollywood producers and film historians credited that film's failure as the reason why Black-led franchises are/were seen as box office poison for so long. Even with the success of 2018's Black Panther film, there are still people who're gun shy about centering Black narratives in the mainstream. So, if Sam Wilson were to fail as being Captain America, or if Sam Wilson were to represent himself in a way that is less admirable, it would have an effect on Isaiah's legacy, it would have an effect on Joaquin, it would have an effect on (potentially) Isaiah's grandson.
And even still, during the prison scenes in BNW, when Isaiah is locked away and Sam comes to visit him, Isaiah states:
"The last thing I want is for any of this ugliness to touch you."
Within the MCU Isaiah and Sam's stories are linked. Not just through the fact that Sam brought Isaiah's story out into the light, but also because they are both Black men who have held the mantel of Captain America, and whether they like it or not, their destinies with that legacy are intertwined. One will affect the other. They are each other's keeper.
Sam Wilson, rather through happenstance or fate, is the embodiment of Double Consciousness. Luke Cage, in both his comic book series and his Netflix show, was free to exist as a person outside of the white gaze. He could be angry, sad, fearful, etc, and not have to worry about how his actions would affect the larger community outside of Harlem. Sam Wilson does not have the luxury. So, when Sam is faced with a microaggression (such as being called "Son" by Ross), he is forced to hold his tongue. Sam Wilson is expected to react with kindness and decorum in the midst danger or disrespect, not because he can't fight back, but because he knows how the weight of his actions will affect those who look like him.
And Sam Wilson, a Black man without the soldier serum, is still expected to do everything that Steve Rogers (and to a lesser extent John Walker) do. Sam Wilson must do twice as much work with half as many resources. And if that's not the embodiment of the African American experience, I'm not sure what is. Many African American genres of music were created out of necessity and transferring what knowledge we could salvage onto new instruments. In short, African Americans had to improvise with the tools they were already given and create something new. Jazz and Blues was created because Black slaves were not allowed to use drums, so those rhythmic patterns were transposed onto guitars and horns.
Sam is expected to carry a large amount of physical labor (simply fighting as a human being without the serum clearly takes a toll). But he's also expected to do a lot of emotional labor as well. Through BNW Sam acts more as an ambassador for the US than a soldier. It is canon that in the MCU Sam speaks English, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese and he uses those skills to extend diplomacy to other nations and other people. In BNW, it was Sam who was responsible for deescalating international tensions with Japan, and it was Sam who managed to avoid a war through peaceful negotiation rather than war mongering (as Ross wanted to do). Even during the fight with Red Hulk, Sam had to resort to other means to achieve results (something that Steve or John Walker would've just brute forced their way through). Even while Sam was being shot at in the air, he never lost his cool because (like many African Americans) he is not afforded that privilege. John Walker, in TFATWS is allowed to murder and stain the shield with blood, but no one would ever say that white men like Walker are the problem with America. Yet Sam (and Isaiah) are far too familiar with the fact that a Black man screwing up will result in the judgement of everything that is associated with Blackness and Black people. So, they must find solutions without the use of violence. Sam must be diplomatic when the easier solution would be violence. Sam must be able to communicate with others on their own turf or in their own language during tense situations (like when he spoke Japanese to the fighter pilots).
Sam Wilson does not have the serum, but he does have wings. So, he adapted. Sam Wilson does not have the super strength needed to work the shield the same way Steve does, so Sam adapted and improvised. Just like Jazz music, Sam Wilson turned a perceived fault into a creative strength. He had to use his linguistic skills, his counseling skills, his flight capabilities, psychology and his boundless optimism to do the impossible.
A very hurting thing for Black Americans - to feel that we can't love our enemies. People forget what a great tradition we have as African-Americans in the practice of forgiveness and compassion. And if we neglect that tradition, we suffer.
-Bell Hooks
The fact of the matter remains, Sam Wilson embodies so many aspects of the African American experience, even when he doesn't mean to. Compassion. Improvisation. And the constant idea that this country can choose its better angels. In a way, Sam Wilson occupies a space that Luke Cage, T'challa, Shuri, and even Erik Killmonger cannot. It is a piece of the African American experience that takes a slug in the face and still gets right back up. The Black American tradition of making the impossible a reality through nothing but sheer force of will. Steve Rogers might have been the one to say the words "I can do this all day," but Sam Wilson lives them.
And he comes from a centuries old tradition of people who have been living them.
Just saw The Woman in the Yard. Great movie, the cinematography and editing especially. 😲✨ And the shadow effects!!!
It was a bummer, though 😞. Definitely a horror tragedy.
Would only recommend if you are good with handling suicidal ideation and the like. Hope it pops off though. Nice to see Hollywood is not wholly incompetent, I, a marvel shill, say.
It was an interesting movie. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but in a different way than I might have expected. The story was interesting and made me excited to maybe get back into the marvel movies.
The propaganda was all over the place though, in a way that reminds me of Oppenheimer. Like, someone had something radical to say, but they had to be so subtle, it was sending mixed messages.
I want to watch it again, which is in itself a crazy thing to think about a marvel movie. They even made Ross an interesting character.
Cause say what you will about status quo in the MCU, Disney marvel did say, if the president commits a crime he should go straight to jail, and as an estranged parent, it is up to you to better yourself and hope your child forgives you.
It was an interesting movie. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but in a different way than I might have expected. The story was interesting and made me excited to maybe get back into the marvel movies.
The propaganda was all over the place though, in a way that reminds me of Oppenheimer. Like, someone had something radical to say, but they had to be so subtle, it was sending mixed messages.
I want to watch it again, which is in itself a crazy thing to think about a marvel movie. They even made Ross an interesting character.
Saw The Monkey last night. Dumb movie, has a lot of fun. More of a gory comedy than a horror comedy. Would recommend, but also had my eyes closed for a lot of the deaths.
So anyway, it's Friday, November 22, 2024, and Kendrick Lamar has dropped GNX. Just want that shit marked down in history, cause he might have just changed the world in his own way. It's so fucking good and I just watched Wicked (2024) yesterday.
JUST SAW WICKED. The musical was musical-ing. The actors were Acting. The Cinematography, the Choreography, the Design, it was all popping. The lesbians were sadly pinning. 10 out of 10. What movies could be.
Just saw The Crow remake. Or 2 thirds of it before I couldn't continue. I can't blame the actors. They took a fun goth story and made a melodramatic emo slog. There is a good movie shape somewhere in there, but it was just Morbius if not a single actor was willing to ham it up. There was no joy.
It is so good, you feel bad for other movies in retrospect.
It is so good, it you realize you can't even anticipate other movies, because you are to busy anticipating part two.
This is the kinda sequel that the matrix: reloaded wishes it was.
I am a firm believer that you can like movies on different levels an scale, and some people speak to strongly about thing on the internet. but that said. You need to see this movie.
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