PCP Vol. 2, No. 2: Black Panther, Mr. Pickles & Olivia Pope
Hello all,
I know Black History Month has been over a few days now, but I'm always a little behind on these things. Therefore, much of this week's pop culture I've consumed has been about race. From the fun, complex colonial legacies of Black Panther to the hilarious 2 Dope Queens and the much-anticipated Scandal/How To Get Away With Murder crossover, it's clear that conversations about race are dominating pop culture. Maybe it's the noxious impact of 45 that has opened up a new avenue and willingness to engage in many different kinds of stories. Whatever the reason, it's made for some excellent, thought-provoking and entertaining pop culture. It's a golden age and I'm so happy to be alive to see it.
Films
The most radically progressive movie Marvel, or much of mainstream American cinema for that matter, has ever produced. Only Get Out was more damning in it's evisceration of white society, and this is infinitely more fun. For all it's richness and and willingness to engage with difficult, contentious conversations about race and colonial legacies, Black Panther is also Marvel at its most entertaining, with not a single moment of unimportant or boring storytelling. Even the fight scenes are more kinetic than usual. Letitia Wright's Shuri gets many of the film's funniest lines, but this is a casting director's dream. Along with Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead's Michonne) and Michael B. Jordan (Creed), the film also features Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Forest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown (American Crime Story, This Is Us) and Danny Sapani (Penny Dreadful). That's an awe-inspiring cast and each brings to life a wonderfully detailed character.
This is such a strange film. It's a gay horror film (an admittedly small subgenre that I nevertheless have been vocal about my distaste for in the past) and the trailer and cast (Jeffrey Self from Search Party, Edi Paterson from Vice Principals) seem to suggest a comedy. But it's not, at least not in the laugh out-loud sense. Joe has odd, murderous tendencies and is extremely literal. When he tells his new boyfriend (Self) that he's a murderer, he thinks it's all a big joke. That's an odd premise, but it's the tone that sticks with you. One moment you'll be hoping for these crazy kids to make it work, the next you're reminded that Joe has brutally murdered more than 7 people (complete with happy music and lens flare).
Indiewire puts forth the argument that You're Killing Me is an evisceration of a certain modern gay man's shallowness but, if so, then Search Party went even further (and more effective) in it's satire of a similar theme. It's an odd film for sure (compounded by a little disturbing, strangely sweet final scene), but it's more than just another run-of-the-mill gay romance, preferring to be something much darker and ultimately more memorable. Film Rating: B
Short Thoughts
The Groove Tube (1974): This 70s sketch comedy is a precursor to Kentucky Fried Movie and Saturday Night Live but fails as a comedy because it's just not funny. And I'm not talking about there's the occasional laugh. No, this is a complete dearth of humour. I didn't laugh once. Steer clear. Film Rating: D-
TV Series (New)
Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams' popular podcast of the same name comes to HBO with four hour-long comedy specials. They are charming and hilarious, riffing on everything from the Sims to the difficulties of black hair and flirting with Jon Hamm. They twerk with Titus Burgess and play fuck, marry kill with Uzo Aduba, and it's just so much fun, with a truly infectious energy. Phoebe and Jessica are ably supported by sets from well-known stand-up comics, some I knew like Baron Vaughn (Grace And Frankie), Rhea Butcher (Take My Wife, Adam Ruins Everything), John Early (Search Party) and also some great new discoveries like Jackie Kashian and Michelle Buteau. Despite the show's length, I never once found myself bored as every episode just flew by and I was always left wanting more. Released at the end of the week, this became something I really looked forward to and loved because it brought so much joy. Series Rating: A-
Week-By-Week
It's the much anticipated Scandal crossover! To be honest, I gave up on Scandal after 2 seasons (Olivia and Fitz's constant will-they/won't they toxic relationship wore me down), but it was still great to see Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope giving Annalise a pep-talk and injecting some life into what has been a fairly unexciting season. The episode's best scenes are those that engage directly with the topic of race, which is one of HTGAWM's strengths at the best of times. This is demonstrated by Annalise's powerful speech to the Supreme Court, a culmination of the series, arguing that racism is built directly into the DNA of America (I include this link because it contains a video of the speech, not because it's a right rebuttal of it). That's a complex topic and a difficult one to address, and Viola Davis gives a stunning performance, culminating in a scene that delivers on the promise of this series. It's this, not the overly complicated twisty goodness, that keeps me returning to How To Get Away With Murder. Also notable; the scene in Scandal where Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating reading one another is an absolute must-see for the way it challenges notions of blackness, examining the same kinds of issues as Black Panther.
An elimination more shocking than Valentina's forces us to consider questions about RuPaul's Drag Race's essential nature. Is this a show concerned with showcasing drag and queerness to a wider audience or is it a cutthroat reality series where the biggest personalities win? It's a question that has no easy answer, but the queens who do the best (and the show is at it's most entertaining) when it's a combination of the two. This elimination is so jaw-dropping because it creates a major split in the show, showcasing it's dualism and forcing us to wonder where we stand. Drag Race will never be the same again. Also, Aja was robbed.
This TBS comedy has come under some criticism, but Finn and I found it extremely enjoyable. The pilot episode reminded me of The Last Man On Earth but in space, but even more entertaining. Look, the storyline is a little cliche, but the characters are so winning and the jokes are so funny that it doesn't really bother me. Also, the little green Mooncake's way of speaking ("chookadee") is unbearably adorable and catchy as hell. Yes, Finn and I have spent far too long saying chookadee to one another. Overall, a fun, very entertaining sci-fi comedy which I'm very much intrigued by.
The new Bravest Warriors is a strange thing. The original series was very funny filled with great, likable characters and a hint that there was more beneath the surface, in terms of both story depth and thematic complexity. The new season (currently only available on VRV and technically legally over here) is significantly longer, but there has been a noticeable downgrade in the animation quality. Also, the story's seem rushed, something that was particularly evident in this week's episode which saw a character spend most of the episode saying goodbye to their beloved, only for them to move on extremely quickly. It was a careless end to what had been a strong arc. Nevertheless, Bravest Warriors is still able to pull out the occasional great episode (the one where Danny's in prison comes to mind), but nowadays that ratio seems to be more than a little skewed.
TV Series (Classic)
Syfy (The Magicians) continues to kick goals with this chilling adaptation of a popular creepypasta internet story. In 1988, a group of children are murdered. Years later, some adults are haunted by their memories of the killings and a subtly creepy children's show called Candle Cove. Notably different from other TV series (namely American Horror Story),Channel Zero largely foregoes extreme sex and violence, instead creating an atmosphere of palpable dread, making this one of the most unsettling things I've seen in a while. It's helped immensely by a stellar cast including Paul Schneider (Brandonoquitz in Parks and Recreation, but we won't hold that against him) and a shattered, powerful Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter's Mrs. Dursley), bright cinematography (as opposed to The Magicians literal darkness) and incredible production design. The monsters' appearances are sporadic, but they're all pretty great, from the creepy puppets of Candle Cove to the season's most iconic image: the boy covered in teeth. While the series does lose a little steam as it goes along and is frustratingly vague, Channel Zero is an enjoyable slice of horror TV that proves the point that you don't need extreme violence to really get under the skin. Season rating: B+
Watching Mr. Pickles is the closest I've come to descending into madness. Truly the most outlandish thing Adult Swim has aired, it's like if Lassie was a satanic (possibly Satan himself), murderous dog that nevertheless loved and protected his master. Combining the operatically horrific ultraviolence of Superjail! with the long-form, emotionally brutal storytelling of Moral Orel, Mr. Pickles is frequently hard to watch but also strangely addictive. The best episodes are typically those where Mr. Pickles comes across as a kind of anti-hero, viciously murdering folks to help Billy or his family, an angle the second season leaned more into. This was seen especially in an episode about a vicious vegan cult (which included many hilarious mispronunciations) and an even more demented take on superheroes that also felt like a parody of Spongebob's Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Season two also leaned more heavily into serialised storytelling, culminating in a dark, surprisingly emotional finale that ended on a massive cliffhanger that changed everything we thought we knew. Look, this is not a perfect show, and occasionally it pushes the boundaries of taste too far (one episode features a woman with a face on her ass who gets a chainsaw to the mouth), but Mr. Pickles holds a strange spell, one that ensures I will be returning to it. Season Rating: B
Anime
Its premise undoubtedly turns people off (high-school age girl, Akira, falls in love with her manager, Kondo, in his 40s), but After The Rain remains a beautiful series about connection between two lost souls. It tows a fine line admirably well, managing to avoid pitfalls by allowing us to see this as something far from predatory. Episode 7 saw Akira and Kondo reach their closest level of intimacy yet, but it was more heartwarming than creepy, reminding me of all the wounded feelings I had as a highschooler and bringing me to tears. As the series enters its second half, the question remains: can After The Rain keep being a beautifully, emotionally empathetic story or will it all fall in a sleazy heap? I honesltly have no idea, but no matter what happens we'll always have the wrenching heartache of the ending theme.
What have you been watching? What did you think of Black Panther? Let me know in the comments!
David Gumball-Watson
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