By Chanel Davis
A few weeks ago was the season finale of the much talked about dark science fiction, fantasy series, and Lovecraft Country. Based on a titled novel by Matt Ruff, the series takes place in the middle of the Jim Crow era in the 1950s and filled with depictions of some of the most historical racial moments to date. This attention grasping series was suspenseful and very educational in tying telling pieces of spoken art by blacks who centered on moments in history that affected our culture and bloodlines. Specifically, the tragic and national mourning of the funeral of Emmett Till, rewind to the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, and the reminder of the saying most of us haven’t heard about “Sundown Towns.”
Filled with many terrific monologues and speeches from novel activists, musicians and actors helped bring context while highlighting racism in the United States. Many may have overlooked and missed the inclusion of monologues being playing in the background of several intense scenes. James Baldwin’s winning debate rebuttal later turned speech titled, “American Dream and American Negro” from a debate between Baldwin and William F. Buckley on the racial divide in 1965.
A few other excerpts included Sonia Sanchez’s “Catch the Fire” poem from episode nine about the Tulsa Massacre that expresses strong and bold feelings of anger and rage of demanding recognition of being black and reminders of being no different than those who oppose them. Another is my absolute favorite from episode 8, the speech by 11-year-old activist Naomi Wadler titled “March of Our Lives,” which she spoke at a 2018 D.C. rally that touched on why black women are disproportionately misrepresented among gun violence. To give the audience even more of a treat is the overtly talented cast of actors and actresses. Starring actress Journee Smollett and introducing new on the scene actor and eye candy Jonathan Major, whose characters both have an exciting journey of sharing common interests with a love story, kept us hooked!
Majors plays the main character Atticus Turner, a former Korean War soldier who returns to Chicago upon the news that his father is missing. The first occurrence of events began a spiral of unfolding a family of deep secrets with a lot centered around Magic. Yes, I said it, Magic.
Our leading lady Letitia Dandridge, played by Smollett, a childhood friend of Atticus, coincidently returns home at the same time and magnetically drawn into the chaos of family, love and secrets.
Now this series is one that could take time for some to like. I have heard several viewers express their confusion after the first episode. The series opens with a very undomesticated introduction of a war between aliens, soldiers, and famous baseball player Jackie Robinson, left a lot of room for thought and speculation. I have even seen a few jokes and parodies on social media of people trying their best to explain what the series Lovecraft Country is about to friends in hopes of encouraging more to tune it.( I would say it a hell of a series many cannot put into words the series description while still being addicted to watching!)
If you are into the sci-fi genre, I highly recommend giving this series a chance. There are many episodes I had to replay, and others left me in tears from the powerful messages that exemplified the struggles of blacks in America and posing reminders that who we are is deep-rooted in the family. As Black people, we have always had Magic stored deep inside, and our white counterparts should not us. We possess originality despite the fact t our counterparts desired to control who we are. Our family is always our foundation, and our ancestors are still, forever with us each day.
I again highly recommend and encourage you to bring a friend alongside to watch this brilliant book-based series continuation filled with thick plots of secrets, horror, empowerment, and just plain good ole” television. I am just eager to know if season two is in the works of being informed!
Chanel Davis is a Contributing Writer for the Pedestal Project, LLC. Chanel is the creator and operator of the Diary Of A Chocolate Girl podcast aiming to connect with chocolate girls all over through personal experiences and opinions with mild humor and a spiritual flare. Be sure to connect on IG and Facebook @diaryofachocolategirl.
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