25 Years of Encouraging Dream Pursuits in ‘Whisper of the Heart’
Over the course of Studio Ghibli’s 35 years of movie-making, only seven of its theatrical releases have been directed by people other than the company’s co-founders, Hayao Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata. While the eighth film of its kind, Earwig and the Witch directed by Miyazaki’s son Gorō, will be released later this year, this summer holds significance in the fact that its been 25 years since the first time such a project was released from the studio. That film is Whisper of the Heart. Continue reading “25 Years of Encouraging Dream Pursuits in ‘Whisper of the Heart’”
Elaine Miles Reflects on Native Representation and ‘Northern Exposure’
On July 12, 1990, the Emmy Award-winning comedy-drama, Northern Exposure, began its run on CBS. Created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, a neurotic Jewish physician (Rob Morrow) from New York is forced to work as a general practitioner in the small, fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, in order to pay the state of Alaska for underwriting his medical school education. Over the course of the series’ six seasons, not only did audiences watch Morrow’s Dr. Joel Fleischman slowly adjust to his surroundings, but they also got to know the quirky residents of the small community and follow their day-to-day lives as well.
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FDI Cast 80: I Wanna Be on the Pod Where it Happens
Olympus comes back with beta software that lets you use their micro four thirds systems as a webcam… with a catch.
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The Middle Geeks Interview: Faly Rakotohavana of Disney’s ‘The Secret Society of Second Born Royals’
In the first of our interview series, we’re joined by Faly Rakotohavana of the upcoming Disney+ film The Secret Society of Second Born Royals! Faly tells us how he first got into acting on Raven’s Home on Disney Channel, Black Lives Matter, and his role as Matteo in The Secret Society of Second Born Royals, which is to debut on Disney+ this September 25, 2020. Enjoy!
Javicia Leslie is ‘Batwoman’
The wait is over. Javicia Leslie will officially replace Ruby Rose as Batwoman when the show returns for its second season in 2021.
Boo-Ya! An Interview with ‘Doom Patrol’ Star Joivan Wade
I’ve written at length about how wonderfully weird HBO Max’s Doom Patrol is. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind superhero show, slyly breathing fresh life into the superhero genre without folks ever noticing it. And while, for many, the characters Robotman, Elasti-Woman, Crazy Jane, or Negative Man may not necessarily be household names yet, the show successfully added a very popular hero to its lineup in its debut — Teen Titan and Justice League member Cyborg!
We’ve seen various iterations of the character before, but in my opinion, Joivan Wade represents the definitive live-action interpretation of the character. And now, recently, The Nerds of Color was very fortunate enough to sit down with Joivan to talk about the show, current events, and Cyborg’s impact as a Black mainstream superhero on fans of color today. Here’s what he had to say:
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Bonus Hard NOC Life: ‘Hamilton’ as Fan Fiction (from 2016)
Hard NOC Life will go on a brief hiatus as we prepare for our landmark 200th episode.
But since today is the premiere of Hamilton on Disney+, we’re re-sharing this panel from November 2016 as a bonus episode of the podcast. You can find the original post here.
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Hard NOC Life: Batman Pride Forever
‘Council’ of J: An Interview with J. August Richards
Council of Dads on NBC is one of the most special shows on the air right now. The show, which premiered on March 24 and is now on its 9th episode tonight, is a bold look at grief and its impact on families of all shapes and sizes, tackling subjects like transgender identity, adoption, and unconditional friendship. It also features one of the most diverse casts on television. Out of its ensemble, three of its leads are Black, one is Asian, and one is Trans. And to have a mainstream television show on the air right now with a cast that integrated and inclusive is not only rare, but also quite important. And this past week, The Nerds of Color was able to sit down with one of the show’s leads, J. August Richards.
If you grew up watching Angel or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D like I did, you’ll know the name J. August Richards is synonymous with “badass.” After all, playing badass vampire hunter, Charles Gunn, and cybernetically-enhanced superhero, Deathlok tends to give you one heck of a reputation. But what most folks don’t know, is the badass-ery extends well beyond what we’ve seen on the small screen. Richards is a true hero and badass in real life. And the Nerds of Color was able to speak with the Council of Dads star to discover that first hand.
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Batman May Return But Schumacher is ‘Forever’
When Dominic and I recorded the most recent episode of Hard NOC Life, I mentioned the 25th anniversary of Batman Forever (as well as the 15th and 31st anniversaries for Batman Begins and Batman ’89, respectively, but more on the latter in a second). June used to be a big month for Batman movies. I mention those anniversaries as a launching point for a broader conversation about being a different kind of fan and accepting different interpretations of our favorite characters. And for the last few weeks, I had started reconsidering how I felt about certain films, including the double feature of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, both directed by Joel Schumacher, who died of cancer on June 22.
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Hard NOC Life: Virtual Con Season
From Comic-Con at Home to DC FanDome, on Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith discuss the transition to a virtual con season this summer.
History Has its Eyes on the ‘Hamilton’ Trailer
Last night, the internet turned upside down when Lin-Manuel Miranda shared the official trailer for the filmed production of the revolutionary Broadway musical, Hamilton.
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NOC Review: ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 2 – Eclectic Boogaloo
The Doom Patrol is back! Now I think we can all agree, the first season was a hell of a trip. Mr. Nobody breaking the fourth wall every episode, the excessive F-bombs, dimensions coming out of donkey butts, giant eyes in the sky, sentient streets, and beard-eating metahumans — all a weird, insane delight to see. For my money, no show in the history of superhero shows has ever gotten away with the go-for-broke, bizarre, random delights Doom Patrol Season One has brought us, whilst still staying as close to the mind-expanding ideas of Grant Morrison and his run on the book. So upon the premiere of its second season, fans are eagerly wondering whether or not the group of insane writers will continue the train of volatile craziness introduced in Season One. To ease the minds of those sitting on pins and needles to find out, the answer is a resounding yes!
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The Middle Geeks Episode 14: Addressing Anti-Black Racism in MENA Communities
In this episode, we discuss systemic Anti-Black racism, how it crops up in MENA communities, and how we should address it. We discuss how we can start important and difficult conversations with friends and family, and how we should show solidarity with the Black community in the fight for racial justice.
We’re joined by Nawal Rajeh, a community organizer and activist who co-founded and runs the non-profit By Peaceful Means, which works with youth in East Baltimore, MD around issues of peace and justice.
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They Are Still Killing Radio Raheem
In just over a month, Spike Lee’s masterful Do the Right Thing will be 31 years old. Me and a group of friends skipped out of our summer work program to see the film. We were budding Black and Brown cineastes who marveled at Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It and begged our caretakers and school counselors to help us apply to HBCUs after viewing School Daze (and A Different World) — well, those of us who could activate our dream machinery enough to believe we could escape the projects and could make it in university. It was the summer before our senior year and we all knew that in a year’s time, things would be different. Some of us would be off to the military. Some of us would go to either a four-year college or a junior college. Some of us would go directly into the workforce. And there was me. I had no idea what was waiting for me after high school. All I knew was that as soon as I graduated (if I graduated) I was running as far away and as fast as I could from my abusive mother. I didn’t care where. I just needed to get the hell out of that house. All this was bouncing around in my head as the lights dimmed. Continue reading “They Are Still Killing Radio Raheem”
SYFY Wire’s ‘The Great Debate’ Debuts Tonight
Tune in tonight at 11pm ET on SYFY as The Great Debate makes the transition from Comic-Con staple to full-fledged television show! Hosted by actor/comedian Baron Vaughn, The Great Debate invites a roundtable of celebrity guests to face off over some of the nerdiest topics imaginable.
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Get Ready for the DC FanDome!
It’s been a long, long quarantine folks. Let’s be honest, under normal circumstances, we’d all be waist deep in Con season — the most wonderful time of the year; starting with Wondercon, then Paleyfest, E3, Anime Expo, and glorious, glorious SDCC. But alas, 2020 has been something of a cruel master. And while truthfully these are a.) first-world problems, and b.) necessary sacrifices to maintain health and safety, yours truly still longs for the ability to take solace and comfort in the simple joys of abandoning life’s problems, and uniting as one ginormous tribe of nerds, hugging and crying over the excitement generated from the world debut of the most anticipated trailers of the year in Hall H. I miss those days, and if you’re anything like me, I’m sure you all do too.
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Hard NOC Life: Lynn Chen ‘Will Make You Mine’
This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith are joined by the writer, director, producer, and star of I Will Make You Mine, Lynn Chen!
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Witnessing a Revolution Unfold (And How I Hope it Continues)
Originally posted at Just Add Color | Featured photo by munshots on Unsplash
The past few days have been a whirlwind, to say the least.
As we have all seen or heard at this point in time, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police when former officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin has since been arrested — initially on the charge of third-three murder, but the charge has since been raised to second-degree murder. The other three former officers, Thomas Kiernan Lane, Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, have also been arrested on aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder.
The escalation of charges, however, didn’t come without a fight. For an entire week, people marched in Minneapolis, around the country, and around the world, for Floyd’s killer and accomplices to be brought to justice. Part of those protests included a riot that ended with Minneapolis’ third precinct police station being burned down.
Throughout the riots, protests, and general unrest, I went through a myriad of emotions, to the point where I felt unable to write for this site. I still haven’t watched the video of Floyd’s death because for me, reading about the details, including Floyd calling for his deceased mother, was enough. If I watched the video, I knew I would be haunted by it for the rest of my life. I am already haunted by the lives of so many Black people who have been needlessly killed, and their stories were already compelling me without having to see them get killed on camera. I didn’t want to see the video that would only add insult to injury — the insult being that no one would care.
Or so I thought.
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‘I Will Make You Mine’ Completes the ‘Surrogate Valentine’ Trilogy
After COVID-19 forced the cancellation of SXSW, several movies set to debut at the annual Texas festival had to shift their premieres. Friend of the NOC Lynn Chen’s directorial debut, I Will Make You Mine, was one of those movies. Fortunately, the movie has finally been released on blu-ray/DVD and is available to stream on nearly every digital platform!
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We The Fans: How Our Powers Can Change The World
As some of you know, I spent some time with the Pop Culture Collaborative as their Senior Fellow on Fandoms and how Fandom power can be used to add to the social good. What follows is a distillation of my research and findings. There are hundreds of pages that I’ll do something with at a later date. Also, for those who want it, there will be an audio version coming soon. Here’s the intro:
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Southern Fried Asian: ‘Far East Deep South’
On June 5, the Oxford Film Festival will host the virtual world premiere of the documentary feature, Far East Deep South, a film about a Chinese American family discovering its unexpected history in Mississippi. Before its premiere, the filmmakers, Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu, sit down for this month’s episode of Southern Fried Asian.
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