Horror is as What Society Does

In the spirit of Halloween, on Saturday I watched It: Chapter 2. I had been meaning to see it, since I saw It: Chapter 1. Plus, I read the book about 6-7 years ago and wanted to see how the adaptation went.

I like to dive into a horror film every once in a while, especially if it’s been well received. I think horror should be taken more seriously as a genre than it has been historically because horror, once you get past the jump scares, is most notably a commentary of what’s happening in our society. Probably more-so than dramas or historical films. (Here’s an interesting argument for The Purge franchise, one I haven’t seen but I’ve heard the plot.)

But because it’s such a specific genre, like fantasy and sci-fi, it doesn’t get much recognition by the Academy Awards.

If you haven’t read It, Stephen King goes back and forth between the main characters (their group is called the Losers) as kids, meeting and fighting It for the first time, and as adults, when It awakes again and they come together and kill it for good.

In the most recent adaptation, the book is split into two movies: Chapter 1 for when they’re kids, and Chapter 2 for when they’re adults.

Part of the mythology about It that you learn as you read/watch, is that It comes to life every 27 years. After it wreaks havoc in Derry, feeding on the children, it goes away to sleep. Remarkably, the town forgets the tragedies it went through and write them off as some other cause or find someone to blame.

In Chapter 2, we find that the Losers have moved away from Derry and they’re living their own lives. When they are brought back together, most of them can’t remember what happened the summer they were tormented by It.

Mike, the only one who didn’t leave Derry, is also the only one who remembers what they went through and has to remind them. By keeping tabs on what was happening in the town, he was the one who recognized that It was back 27 years later and rounded up the group again so they could fight and kill it, once and for all.

This phenomena of Derry residents forgetting the tragedies that happened in their town can be related to how we’ve been dealing with racism in America for the past 400 years and how we shift our focus towards and away from systemic racism every time an egregious killing happens.

The story of another Black person being killed by police comes and goes on our news feeds and our TVs. We are shocked again and again by how deeply rooted racism is in our country.

We’re realizing that our thoughts and prayers aren’t going to cut it if there’s going to be real change towards driving out systemic racism and white supremacy. It’s been great to see people educating themselves, protesting, donating to causes, and spreading the word.

But we can’t stop.

We cannot become complacent. Our attention has to be focused on ending white supremacy at all times.

We have to call racism out for what it is, just like the Losers called out It for what it is. That’s how they were able to defeat it. (Sorry, spoiler alert.)

What’s scary is it’s easy to forget that racism is happening if it’s not happening to you or people you know.

Is it a coincidence that the only person of the Losers Group who remembered everything that went down with It is also Black? And that the ones who forgot what happened, who were able to leave and move on with their lives, where white?

Hmm… I think only Stephen King can answer that one for us.

ALSO, TOMORROW IS ELECTION DAY. HOPEFULLY YOU’VE VOTED OR HAVE A PLAN TO VOTE TOMORROW.

DON’T MISS OUT ON HAVING YOUR VOICE HEARD AND DON’T FORGET TO VOTE DOWN THE BALLOT!

That’s So Raven’s Home

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the show That’s So Raven. I made sure to catch every new episode that came out on Fridays. Since Disney+ came out, I went back and rewatched the series to revel in my nostalgia for the show.

Not long after that, and after watching Christy Carlson Romano’s YouTube show where she had Anneliese Van Der Pol as a guest (highly recommend, it’s really funny), I decided to watch Raven’s Home, the spin off series to That’s So Raven.

In the series, Raven is all grown up, with twin children, and living with her best friend, Chelsea, and her son. The show mostly focuses on the kids, and how her son, Booker, deals with his own visions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show (even though it’s technically for kids) and have some strong opinions about it, naturally.

YA NASTY!! (What I didn’t like):

I’m going to start off with the negatives, just to get them out of the way.

My first disappointment in the show was to learn that Raven DID NOT end up as a famous fashion designer. The show starts her off as working for a mean boss making designer clothes for… dogs. She’s also driving for a Uber/Lyft type company to help make ends meet.

Now we’re supposed to assume (based off the title sequence song) that Raven ended up having kids really young and therefor it got her off track of her fashion design dream.

Part of me appreciated that although Raven had big dreams when she was young, as an adult and through the course of the three seasons I watched, she was trying to figure out how to reach those dreams and took action on those steps. It was part of her story I could relate to at the moment.

However, another part of me wished the show had already gotten to the point where she made it as a famous fashion designer while taking care of her kids. I just felt frustrated to see her struggling to take care of her family while doing something she clearly didn’t like to do.

And Chelsea’s story was also kind of disappointing. She ends up living with Raven because her husband is in prison after stealing her very lucrative idea and all the money she made off of it. Her role seemed to be just navigating house work.

I was hoping that Chelsea pursued a career in environmental activism, which is what her character was very into in That’s So Raven.

Her character is still very much ditsy, but I think she could still have that as her personality, while fighting for clean energy and turning Raven’s household into one that composts.

Raven’s daughter, Nia, turns out to be an inspiriting activist through the course of the show and that would be something she and Chelsea could bond over (which they did in one episode).

So overall, the career trajectories of Raven and Chelsea were not very satisfying in the beginning. But as the show goes on, they eventually get a handle on it and become business women. And while I get this show isn’t really for people my age, I’m still a fan of the That’s So Raven world and invested in their character growth.

OH SNAP! (What I liked):

The number one thing that got me excited about this show was to learn that Devon Carter was Nia and Booker’s dad!! I had a major crush on Devon… and still do, haha.

I don’t mind that he and Raven had gotten a divorce (prior to the show’s narrative) and the show didn’t try to get them back together. It was refreshing to see a healthy divorce relationship on TV and completely realistic, especially with the notion that they married right after high school. It’s natural for people who get married that young to find themselves growing apart and realize that they’re different people when they get older and have more life experience.

But I’m just glad they included him in the story as a present father in his children’s lives.

And yeah, eye candy.

My favorite episode with Devon was the father daughter dance one. It was a call to the prom episode on That’s So Raven. So cute!

That leads me to another thing I liked about Raven’s Home. There were a few episodes that did call backs to That’s So Raven. It was perfect for nostalgia and wasn’t over done.

The BEST one was season one’s finale episode where Liz Anya comes back and raves over a design Raven made. It made me LAUGH OUT LOUD.

Oh yeah, the kids were entertaining. The best one is Chelsea’s son, Grayson. He made me laugh the most. He’s a super smart, nerdy and self aware kid.

I also enjoyed Raven’s relationship with her kids and how much of a bond they had.

HOME SKILLET BISCUIT! (What I wish they included):

EDDIE!!

I was missing Eddie so much in Raven’s Home. It’s a little weird to have Raven and Chelsea and no Eddie. He didn’t even have to be part of the main cast, a guest star would have been just fine, like Devon.

I did a little reading as to why that might be and sadly, it doesn’t seem like Orlando Brown and Raven Symone have the greatest relationship following the end of That’s So Raven. Not only that, but Brown has domestic violence allegations against him and overall, doesn’t seem to be in the best place in his life right now. I’m putting aside any hopes that he might appear on the show, but I hope he finds help.

It would also be cool to see what Raven’s brother Cory was up to. Would they go back to him having a crush on Chelsea? Who knows.

GOTTA GO! (In conclusion):

It’s exciting to see reboots of shows that I grew up with, even if they are meant for a kid audience.

Even if you don’t have kids, like me, I recommend the watch. Especially if you grew up watching That’s So Raven. Just, have it be one of those shows you put on in the background while cleaning up your place or working out, whatever.

I just saw that they’re putting out season four episodes of the show, but I think I’ll wait for all of it to be out before catching up.

The next one I’m looking forward to is the Lizzie McGuire spin off!!

It’s Been a Minute…

I have to say, this is the longest I’ve gone without writing a single post to this blog since I’ve started.

I’m honestly a little disappointed that my year anniversary of creating this blog came and went and I didn’t do anything to “celebrate” it.

I started this blog mostly for me, not expecting much from it. Just an outlet for me to practice my writing and document what’s on my mind at the moment.

In the time that I have not been writing for this blog, I have been thinking of posts to write, just never sat down to write them out.

I don’t know why, other than feeling inadequate and that what I have to say doesn’t really matter. Or that an idea I have for a post is kinda dumb or I don’t have enough to say about it yet.

But also laziness. Laziness plays a big factor in it too.

Writing is work and sometimes I just don’t want to do it.

What can I say? It’s just the writing way sometimes.

But a few nights ago, I read a note I made on my phone last year and it brought me back to why I started this blog in the first place.

DON’T HAVE THESE THOUGHTS!

You won’t finish. You won’t be consistent. You’ll get lazy about it and stop eventually. You’ll run out of ideas. It’ll take too much time to do. You won’t find time to do it. No one will read it. It won’t make any impact on the internet.

HAVE THESE THOUGHTS!

It would be so cool to have your own blog. Do it for you, not to get readers. Take it day by day. It you want it, you’ll make time for it. It doesn’t all have to be good right away. The point is to learn from mistakes. It’ll be something to call your own. You’ll be putting your content out there. Do it for the little girl inside you that would think this is cool.

Needless to say, this was the perfect reminder I needed to get back on Digital Dream Catcher.

At first, it made me feel bad that the thoughts I told myself not to have, I was having.

But at the same time, I’m glad that I know myself well enough to help me get out of those negative thoughts and back into why I did this in the first place.

I also can’t be too hard on myself for dropping off on this little hobby. Quarantine and racial issues and personal stuff has taken a toll on my mental health a bit and I was working hard to repair the cracks as they showed up.

But maybe I need to let them be for a bit instead of pretending like they never happened.

Anyway, to my future self, I hope you think of this post again if you do come across a period of time where you find yourself deciding against writing about an idea you have for this blog.

Just do it because it’s fun.

Wakanda Forever and a Hope for Embracing Culture

With the passing of Chadwick Boseman on Friday, I was thinking about how much I loved the Black Panther movie and I wanted to share some thoughts.

Black Panther is my absolute favorite, and in my opinion, the best, Marvel movie that has come out thus far.

There are so many reasons why it’s such a great film and deserved the recognition it received.

The majority black cast. How the story connected to the anti-black problems in the world. It’s depiction of smart and strong black women. Plus, to my writing pleasure, the crafting of the story itself.

But one of my most favorite things is the incorporation of African culture in the film.

It’s an amazing depiction of how rich, detailed and colorful African culture is that brings an added element to the film and Black Panther’s character that’s not shown in other Marvel movies.

I love how even though Wakanda is a technologically advanced city, it still has ties to the African culture through it’s traditions, dress and language.

It makes me wish that the United States honored all the cultures that we have a little more and that we don’t have to wait for the capitalist/consumerism culture we live in to tell us when certain ethnic styles are “in”.

Like, when will it not be jarring for people of color to embrace their cultural traditions in the way they dress, no matter what position they hold in their career?

Because let’s face it, we are not all there yet. Black, Latin, Asian, etc. cultures still get scrutinized in mainstream media. Why can it just be normal and not a statement?

Anyway, I just loved how Black Panther embraced it all and didn’t water down the culture aspect to appease white viewers . (We all know that’s the demographic that gets considered and is worried about the most when a film or show gets created that doesn’t feature a white person as a main character.)

What did you like about Black Panther? Are you still excited to see Black Panther 2?

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