Tag: Netflix

[Stitch Elsewhere] Luke Cage review @ Strange Horizons

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luke-cage-netflix-poster
Marvel’s Luke Cage looks at trauma from an intersectional point of view—one which doesn’t center whiteness or stereotypes of Black masculinity.

After eight years, fourteen feature-length films, and four separate television series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally managed to place a Black man front and center in his own narrative. Luke Cage, a character previously seen as a supporting character in the first season of the Netflix-exclusive series Marvel’s Jessica Jones, is the first Black character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to star in their own series rather than remain a poorly-fleshed out sidekick to a white character.

Marvel’s Luke Cage is one of the only series out on television today that provides a close and realistic look at what it means to be a Black person in a world of superheroes. The series’ significant focus on agency, trauma, power, and personhood as they relate to Black bodies—as well as its portrayal of powerful, multi-faceted Black women like Mariah Stokes, Misty Knight, and Claire Temple—puts it above and beyond the very white superhero television and film franchises that dominate the media.

I wrote this piece on Marvel’s Luke Cage series for Strange Horizons and I’m really proud of it!

I got to talk a lot about the role power and agency play in the series, how Jessica Jones really had issues with antiblackness, and how Luke Cage matters as significant representation both to us in the real world and within the MCU.

I’m really grateful that Strange Horizons gave me the chance to write this piece and I think that if you read nothing else from me, that you should read this because a lot of work went into it and I feel that it comprehensively covers the things that Luke Cage did right and how important the show is.

Read the post here on the Strange Horizons website!

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[Review] Degrassi: Next Class

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Warning for: spoilers for the series, brief discussions of biphobia, consent, and date rape.

 

Degrassi

I am officially old.

Why?

Because I watched Degrassi: Next Class on Netflix and spent more time worrying about those teenagers than anything else. Maybe it’s because I worked in high schools for like a year and a half. Maybe it’s because some of my nieces and nephews are the same age as the characters onscreen. I’m not sure. Either way, it was a little hilarious to realize that I was finally and officially, no longer part of the core demographic for Degrassi.

However, I watched all ten episodes anyway, because I feel strongly about shows like Degrassi and Skins that look at serious issues that affect teenagers these days. Mind you, I completely think that Degrassi: Next Class did a much better job of tackling relatable issues than Skins did in much of its run and was infinitely more diverse with regard to race and sexuality.

Mostly because it’s true.
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[TV Show] Daredevil

Stitch

AKA: How I spent an entire weekend in front of Netflix.

Daredevil PosterIn the interest of full-disclosure, I have a confession to make: I don’t know that much about Daredevil.

I saw the Ben Affleck films and I’ve seen him in Spider-Man comics and event tie-ins, but I know the bare bones about the character.

I know that he’s blind and that he’s a lawyer. Oh and that he’s Catholic. That’s about it.

That’s actually a good thing.

I didn’t come to Netflix’s Daredevil with any preconceptions of how the characters should be or how they should look. I wasn’t attached to him the way I was with Captain America so there’s no chance of me getting super pissed about characterization the way I was with the Avengers.

I’ve been watching Daredevil all weekend and I don’t regret a minute of it.

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