My sister, Dr. Tara Betts, dropped the Luke Cage syllabus over at Black Nerd Problems. It is a must read. I wanted to add to this wealth of knowledge by offering my own “special features” companion piece to Cage. I will present the following without description as I do not want to taint anyone’s experience. This is only a small amount if what is actually out there. I mentioned other books in my reflections on the series. You can read it here.
Film:
- Across 110th Street (1972)
- A Great Day In Harlem (1994)
- Small Wonders (1995)
- Hell Up in Harlem (1973)
- The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940)
- Homegoings (2013)
Books:
- The Sanctified Church by Zora Neale Hurston
- Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America by Jonathan Gill
- The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art by Frances Gateward and John Jennings
- Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity by Monica Miller
- The “Kenyatta” Series by Donald Goines: Crime Partners, Death List, Kenyatta’s Escape, Kenyatta’s Last Hit
- There Goes the ‘Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up by Lance Freeman
Music:
- Gang Starr (For those of you who don’t know, every episode of Luke Cage is titled after a Gang Starr song.) “Moment of Truth,” “Code of the Streets,” “Who’s Gonna take the Weight,” “Step in the Arena,” “Just to Get a Rep,” “Suckas Need Bodyguards,” “Manifest,” “Blowin’ Up the Spot,” “DWYCK,” “Take it Personal,” “Now You’re Mine,” “Soliloquy of Chaos,” and “You Know my Steez” is one hell of a Gang Star mixtape.
- Big L Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous (1995)
- The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)
- Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
- The Delfonics La-La Means I love You: The Definitive Collection (1997)
- The Cadillacs “Gloria” single (1954)
- Mary Lou Williams The First Lady of Piano (1953)
Misc:
Get to learnin’.
Reblogged this on Geeking Out about It.
Thanks! Will check it out….This syllabus runs parallel to all the literary references in Luke Cage. Cool.I hope it inspires people to read, analyze, consider, discuss.