'In Bright Axiom' Is A Beautiful Concept With Little Context

Since the beginning of time, humans have been obsessed with secret societies, elusive clubs, and cults. Many of these organizations are steeped in privilege and exclusive access, while others have become strongholds for tyrannical leaders who brainwash their followers for their own personal purposes. People begin these sorts of organizations for all types of reasons. When Jeff Hull created Latitude Society in the early 2010s, he wanted to do something distinctive. In his documentary film, In Bright Axiom, filmmaker Spencer McCall unpacks the secret society which shuttered its doors in 2015. The film looks to explore the belief system behind Hull's idea, what exactly caused Latitude's downfall and why so many former members are still profoundly enamored with it. 

By the time the San Francisco/Oakland based society closed in 2015, it was a well-known secret. The members indulged in symbols and rituals that many of us only read about in books or see on film. Latitude members seemed to thrive off of creating these unique experiences for one another. Though Latitude has been closed for years, In Bright Axiom, make it clear how much reverence some of these former members still hold for the group in their minds and hearts. 

Beautifully shot, one of the best things about In Bright Axiom is that it does not immediately present as a documentary. The viewer might, at first, think they are watching a fictional piece or even a mockumentary. Yet, though they remain nameless, former members speak in awe about the society that allowed them to create magic for themselves in alluring rooms, libraries, and complex puzzles. However, since the film is a documentary, and should in theory provide straight-forward answers, its message becomes a bit muddled. 

Though the invitation into Latitude was alluring in all of its white-card and non-descript glory, none of the former members, nor even McCall seems to be able to articulate exactly what Latitude was, nor what purpose it served. Instead, In Bright Axiom presents the members as a group of people looking for ways to conjure up excitement and a bit of chaos in their lives. From the way the film depicts it, Latitude was an elite social media platform come to life. 

Since McCall is willing to provide very little information aside from members' initial indoctrination experiences, the documentary stumbles. It should also be noted that Hull is an executive producer of the film, which means that there are unquestionably some biases in how In Bright Axiom is presented. Because the film seems focused on maintaining some of Latitude's elusiveness, we never truly understand what this society is or is meant for. Instead, McCall depicts Hull as a Professor character (portrayed by Geordie Aitken) who seems to be on his own very personal journey, which is focused on convictions that neither the audience nor the former Latitude members can keep up with. 

In Bright Axiom certainly isn't a bad film, it simply feels like the director and subjects are in on a joke or an idea that the audience can't even begin to unpack. It might boil down to McCall being too close to the subject matter. In theory, Hull wanted to create a for-profit business with all of the dressings and allure of a living and breathing art installation, and he nearly succeeded. The trouble was, as is with this film, is Hull didn't quite know what his mission was. Instead, he chose to focus on how it looked. 

Former members have written long articles about their time in Latitude for outlets like Vice and Longreads. If you're looking for actually concrete answers about the society, then you'll find what you're seeking there. For its part, In Bright Axiom is simply a beautiful tapestry without much context. 

In Bright Axiom  will be released on July 14, 2020 on VOD platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Tubi, etc. in the US and Canada.

On Grief #BLACKLIVESMATTER

I am well acquainted with grief.
It’s a diagnosis too far gone, a wooden casket lowered into the hard cold earth on a February morning.
An adulthood snatched from a promising young man. An afternoon call; a patriarch has fallen.
I’ve sat across from grief.
It has taken up space in my bones for years. Sometimes it’s a companion— silent but present and other times like a gut punch to the stomach, vomiting, wheeping, screaming out into the night: bleeding into the day.
Grief feels like vivid dreams, scents, smells and warm wrapped hugs, only to be shaken awake alone—tears streaming down your face.
I know grief.
I know the shattering of lives, moments stolen, a ripping away away of a world you once knew.
I’m acquainted with grief, barely able to articulate itself.
Grief haunts me.
It sits in my spirit, asking me to stuff it down, hide it away, to numb myself to feel only positivity and joy until it bubbles up to the surface of my soul, bare and visible to all.

Amandla Stenberg Destroys Black Teen Stereotypes in Netflix Series, ‘The Eddy’

Typically when Paris is depicted on-screen, it is picturesque and flawless, centering the Eiffel Tower and all of the stereotypical themes that we’ve grown to associate with the City of Lights. Luckily, Amandla Stenberg has never had any interest in idealism and fluff. From the moment she stepped into our collective consciousness in 2012’s The Hunger Games, she caused ripples in Hollywood in both her personal and professional lives. From her 2015 school project on cultural appropriation, “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” to one of her more recent roles in the film The Hate U Give, the intersectional feminist has always been wholly unapologetic.

In Stenberg’s latest role in the Netflix Limited Series The Eddy, Stenberg stars as Julie, a troubled and grieving teenager who leaves her hometown of New York City, in search of a connection with her expat father Elliot (André Holland). Dealing with his own inner turmoil, his struggling jazz club, some violent gangsters, and a tumultuous relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Maja (Joanna Kulig), Elliot is ill-prepared to give Julie the relationship that she seeks from him.

The Damien Chazelle-helmed series recalls French Cinema of a past era and pays homage to jazz. More intriguing still, The Eddy centers a relationship between a Black father and Black daughter, a connection rarely seen on screen.

Last fall, ZORA sat with Stenberg in Paris on the set of The Eddy, learning more about the series and why she refused to allow Julie to become just another angst-filled teenager.

Continue reading at ZORA.

Netflix's 'Self Made' Director Kasi Lemmons On Resurrecting Madam C.J. Walker's Legacy

Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) is one of the most impactful figures of the 20th century. Still, as is the case with many Black historical figures, the general public knows very little about the first American woman and self-made millionaire. Born to recently freed slaves on a cotton plantation in Louisiana, Walker was a laundress before discovering her true passion, Black women's hair care. In addition to building her beauty empire, the entrepreneur and philanthropist worked diligently to enable other Black women to earn money outside of domestic labor.

At the turn of the 20th century, the world was incredibly dangerous and riddled with adversity for Black women. Walker encountered overwhelming racial and gender biases, along with personal betrayals and business rivalries. Yet, none of this deterred her from revolutionizing Black hair care and kicking open the door for the billion-dollar industry that it is today.

Now, 101 years after her death, Netflix is bringing Walker's magnificent life into the 21st century with a limited series helmed by prolific director Kasi Lemmons and director DeMane Davis (Queen Sugar, How To Get Away With Murder). Starring Academy-Award winning actress Octavia Spencer, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker follows the cultural icon's hard-earned journey, from the scalp disorder that caused her hair loss, to becoming the wealthiest woman in America. In addition to Spencer, the four-part series stars actors Blair Underwood as the entrepreneur's husband, C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish, as her daughter Lelia, and Carmen Ejogo as her business rival Addie Munroe. Garrett Morris, Kevin Carroll, and Bill Bellamy also star in the series, based on the biography On Her Own Ground by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

Continue reading at VIBE.

Image: Netflix.

Lauren “Lolo" Spencer On ‘Give Me Liberty' and Sparking Real Conversations About Disability Representation

After two years of talks with director Kirill Mikhanovsky and screenwriter Alice Austen, Lauren “Lolo" Spencer never thought Give Me Liberty would see the light of day.

The hilarious comedy follows Vic (Chris Galust), a 25-year-old wheelchair-accessible transport vehicle driver. Spencer stars as Tracy, a social worker who gets caught up in the chaos as Vic tears through the streets of Milwaukee determined to help his family while adhering to his route

For Spencer, a disability lifestyle influencer who has lived with ALS for the past 17-years, the role has been a dream come true, especially after getting nominated alongside Octavia Spencer and Jennifer Lopez for a Best Supporting Female Actress award at the 35th annual Spirit Awards. Shadow And Act spoke with her to learn more about her experience making the film and her plans for the future. 

“I learned about the film through my agent," Spencer remembered. “She came to me and told me, ‘Hey, these indie filmmakers are trying to make this film, they're specifically looking for a young Black woman who's a wheelchair user. Do you want to audition?' Prior to then, I had never acted. Thankfully, Kirill, who was our director, and Alice, who's our producer, really liked what I had done, and the rest is history. We kept in contact for two years via Skype before even going into production."

The moment Tracy appears on the screen when Vic enters her home to pick her up, viewers are thrust into her hectic and outspoken family. Understanding who Tracy was in all of her nuances and humanity was something Spencer was adamant about from the beginning. “I was really drawn to my character of Tracy because of the way she was written," the Sitting Pretty Productions founder explained. “She just so happened to have a disability. It wasn't some inspiration porn gaze. It was about her humanity, her personality and how she shows up in the world, first and foremost. It was literally about the realness of who she was, and the whole team was open to any notes for authenticity. Once I knew they were cool with those kinds of things, I was 100% on board." Spencer also discussed the similarities she has with the character and how she brought that to the role. “A good chunk of Tracy's personality is me--or was me. When I was younger, in my early and mid-twenties, I was way more rambunctious. I was able to tap into that part of Tracy because I was once that young woman, subconsciously proving to the world that I can hold my own regardless of how I get around."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Nineteen Summers' Echos The Black City Cinema Of The '90s

In the '90s, films that launched the hood homeboy genre in cinema reinvigorated Black film and put a spotlight on what was happening in inner-cities across America. John Singleton's stunning debut Boyz n the Hood pave the way for films like Juice, Menace II Society, Jason's Lyric, and New Jack City. These were explosive and truthful portrayals of what was occurring in impoverished Black communities suffering under police brutality, the crack cocaine epidemic, devastating poverty, and the erosion of housing projects. 

Now nearly 30 years later, Rod S. Scott is turning his lens on South Los Angeles today. Unfortunately, not much has changed. Nineteen Summers opens in the early 2000s, young single mom, Porsha (Iyana Halley), has high aspirations for her newborn son, DeAndre. Though she knows the odds are against her as a young Black woman with little to no support system, she is determined to carve out a life for herself and a future for the Black man she brought into the world. It's a dream that all loving Black mothers cling to.

Sliding forward into the present day, we meet a grown-up DeAndre (Emonjay Brown). At 19 — South L.A. has hardened him. He's often tense, wearing a massive "EBK" face tattoo on his skin like a coat of armor. Though he has tender moments with her mother (now portrayed by Elise Neil), his girlfriend Diamond (Terri Abney), and his baby daughter Jenny, DeAndre is mostly stoic and calculating. He spends his days on edge -- looking over his shoulder as he and his boys, Cartoon (Seth Wright) and Willie (Norman Johnson Jr.) sell drugs to make a living for themselves and their families.

Unfortunately, living a life in the streets puts a target on your back, and though he wants a better life for himself and his future, DeAndre can sense that he's trapped — even when he tries his best to see a new direction for his life. 

There is much of Nineteen Summers the works well. DeAndre is charismatic and extremely smart. Though he has a disdain for the "real job" Porsha and Diamond beg him to get, and he's quick to complain, he often tries to do the right thing. He's willing to make an effort for the women that depend on him —even getting a life insurance policy in his name and making sure Diamond is set with rent money, two years into the future. The chemistry between the pair and the affection that they share is one of the highlights of the film.

The characters surrounding DeAndre, everyone from Porsha who is still trying to make a way for herself, his neighbor Leon who becomes addicted to drugs, and the wino who offers him advice, are fully fleshed out characters with their own dreams, desires, and aspirations. Diamond is particularly impressive. Though weary in her role as a young mom, she's determined to push forward in nursing school while soothing DeAndre's frustrations and angry outbursts. 

Still, Nineteen Summers isn't without its issues. The pacing in the various acts of the film doesn't always align with the narrative, and the dialogue doesn't feel as authentically poetic as it has in other films of the same subject. Likewise, a few plotholes and random scenes are strewn about here and there, throwing off the tone of the film at times. A shaper edit could have tightened the film and the narrative quite well. 

Yet, Scott's message rings loud and clear. The inner city can be a death trap, something you can't outrun no matter what you do. DeAndre does heinous things to survive, but his humanity never leaves him. In one particularly stellar sequence, he runs from there cops, dodging through alleys as the wings of an LAPD helicopter whirl in the sky — "Run, "N****r, Run," a 19th Century African-American slave song plays as a haunting echo to the Black experience in America. 

Nineteen Summer isn't perfect, but the intent behind the film and Emonjay Brown's outstanding breakout performance easily carries this examination of South Los Angeles in the 21st century as it comes to its rage-filled conclusion echoing a generation of films the came before it. 

Nineteen Summers is out now on Digital, and Blu-Ray

How OWN's 'Cherish The Day' Allows For Black Male Emotional Growth Without Harming Its Black Women

In a 1984 conversation between James Baldwin and Audre Lorde about the power dynamics between Black men and Black women, Lorde pushed Baldwin to examine the inherent privilege of being a man in a patriarchal society that privileges men over women, intersecting with white supremacy, which harms all Black people. Lorde said in part, “I do not blame Black men for what they are. I'm asking them to move beyond…we have to take a new look at…[how]…we fight our joint oppression…We have to begin to redefine the terms of what woman is, what man is, how we relate to each other."

Now, nearly 40 years later, the patriarchy still reigns, and sexism and misogynoir are as rampant as ever. However, in cinema and television, with more Black women at the helm of Black love stories, we are beginning to see a new soft Black intimacy take center stage and stories that do what Lorde has demanded: redefining gender roles and relationships within the Black community. These stories do not put Black women in a position to struggle or fight for a man's attention or place Black women in the line of fire on the road to Black men's emotional growth and maturity. Instead, they look at Black people in all of their complexity and splendor while requiring self-awareness and accountability, especially for Black men.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

The Queer Love Story In 'UNION' Gets Lost In Space & Time

A sweeping film that transports its viewers back in time over 150 years, UNION is set during the Civil War era. Yet, the movie's central focus is not the war. As Whitney Hamilton's film opens, we learn that at least 400 women fought as men during the Civil War, in both the Union and Confederate armies. UNION is the true story of just one of those women. 

Amid the absolute horror and chaos of the war that divided our country, Grace (Hamilton) takes on her dead brother Henry's identity — fighting in the Confederate Army undercover to preserve her life. However, Henry is haunted by the memories of a mysterious woman and her son. Desperate to keep his identity a secret under the watchful eye of his comrades, when Henry is wounded, Virginia (Virginia Newcomb), a grieving widow, helps to nurse him back to health. 

To repay Virginia's kindness, and because women had little to no recourse in the era, Henry agrees to marry Virginia so that she can avoid a disturbing arranged marriage and save her farm. However, what transpires next — an epic love story — is something neither Henry or Virginia ever expected. UNION seeks to elevate the LGBTQ+ community of a past era. Though they are often hidden in the fabric of our history, the antebellum and Civil War periods had many gender non-conforming people who engaged in same-sex love affairs. This was during a time when the world was even more hostile towards women and feminine-leaning people then it's now. It was lovely to see Virginia and Henry's love story unfold, and the chemistry between Hamilton and Newcomb carried a great deal of weight in the film. Unfortunately, despite these themes, the real heart of this story gets muddled underneath the many and various moving parts of UNION. 

The film opens sometime in the early 20th century with an older Indigenous man telling a young boy Henry's story. Our only indication of the time period is an old fashion automobile that is seen in the frame. As the man unpacks the story, we are swept back in time during Henry's participation in the Confederate Army and during his time with Virginia. However, the lack of title cards giving any indication of time and location leaves viewers disoriented and puzzled.

Additionally, while UNION was committed to showcasing the war itself, the lack of Black cast, as soldiers, enslaved people, or otherwise, was rather baffling considering the context of the Civil War and the sheer numbers of Black Americans who lived in the South during the period. Much of UNION was born out of Hamilton's short film, My Brother's War. However, since the film plays out as a second act to that story instead of an expansion, those who haven’t seen the first film will quickly get lost.

Still, Hamilton's commitment to showcasing the period correctly was aspirational. There is a vast battle sequence near the beginning of the film that really draws you in. However, with so many different characters and various locations, as well as the immense historical context of the film, it was often difficult to connect back with Henry and Virginia's story though it's supposed to stand at the core of the movie. 

Running at 135 minutes, and at an often slow pace, the queer love story that centers UNION often falls by the wayside. When it was remembered, it seems puzzling that so many people were causally OK with a same-sex relationship in the 19th century.  

It's evident that Hamilton took a great deal of time and care to bring this piece to life. Still, though UNION has some profound themes and excellent historical context, it lacks a much-needed sharpness that could truly center this remarkable LGBTQ story in space and time. 

UNION is now available on HBO PPV, Itunes, VUDU, Fandango, Flixfling, Frontier, Redbox, Direct TV, Youtube, Optimum, Google Play, Microsoft, Verizon, BRCT, and Amazon.

Images: Indican Pictures

'We Are The Dream' Reminds Us That Kids Have A Voice Too

Each year in Oakland, California, children from over 120 schools, ages ranging from preschool level through 12th grade are given the opportunity to compete in the Martin Luther King Oratorical Festival. More than a competition, the MLK Oratorical Festival becomes a learning moment for the youth and an opportunity for them to speak confidently in front of large crowds, sharing both the words of Dr. King and their own original content, while also mastering their posture and cadence in a way that may have never been available to them before.

Now, the history behind the competition, the organizers and the children who participate are being highlighted in the new HBO documentary We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest. Directed and produced by Amy Schatz and executive produced by Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali and Amatus Karim-Ali, the documentary is a warm reminder that if we continue to pour into our children, not all hope is lost. 

A moving, feel-good documentary, We Are The Dream chronicles the 2019 competition, which also aligns with the 40th anniversary of the MLK Fest. While presenting the Oakland community as a backdrop, Schatz makes it clear that the MLK Oratorical Fest is a tradition that is deeply embedded into the hearts of the city's long-term residents. Still, what stands out in the doc are the educators who have remained committed to the children, despite dwindling resources and an increasingly fast-paced digital world. These teachers and mentors take the time to foster relationships with young people so they can feel encouraged and supported, allowing the audience to learn from these fresh and unjaded minds

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'The Photograph' Is The Soft Romance Film That Black People Deserve

There has been such a void in Black Romance dramas that we didn't realize how much we were craving one until The Photograph hit us in the face.

Though we still cling to our favorites, such as 1997's Love Jones and 2000's Love & Basketball, Black romance on screen is nearly as old as cinema itself. The earliest surviving movie depicting Black intimacy is 1898's Something Good — Negro Kiss, a 29-second silent film. Since then, the romance drama category has taken off in Hollywood with timeless films like Casablanca and Titanic. Still, seeing Black people in these kinds of narratives is a rarity. 

In 1964, Nothing But a Man, though not widely seen, made a powerful impact on cinema. Set in Birmingham, Alabama, it follows the romance of a railroad worker and a preacher’s daughter, played by Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln. The film showcases a Black romantic drama in a way that isn’t packaged for the white masses, as has been implied of 1943's Stormy Weather or 1954's Carmen Jones. Following Nothing But a Man, films like Mahogany came to be in the 1970's. However, it wasn’t until the 1990's that a slew of romantic dramas, including The Best Man and Waiting to Exhale, or romantic comedy Boomerang began to take center stage. Yet, in the past 20 years, there have been only sprinklings of Black intimacy, sex and relationships on screen, heteronormative or otherwise, especially in mainstream cinema. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Cicada Song' Is An Engrossing Assessment Of Greed, Homophobia & Racism in Middle America [Review]

Before the 2016 election, middle America wasn't spoken about much — and perhaps that is part of the problem. An entire population of people felt overlooked and neglected, which only furthered feelings of isolation and resentment. This left little room for a real reckoning about what is truly happening in these communities as a whole. It also further erased the marginalized people that live in these predominantly white spaces. 

In Cicada Song, writer/director Michael Starr dives into the core of the issue. Set in the picturesque rolling hills of Missouri — Starr centers two women and a community that has turned on itself. Karen (Lyndsey Lantz) is a non-nonsense farm manager, who has little patience for the people who once embraced her during her childhood, but turned their backs on her once she came out. However, she does have allies in her bosses — Judith (Kim Reed) and Kurt (Joseph Bottoms).

Though she's faced her share of adversity as a lesbian, Karen refuses to cower for anyone, especially after finding happiness with her live-in girlfriend, Annabelle (Jenny Mesa) -- a Cuban-born woman who works at the town's deli/gas station, Cowboys. Both women remain unyielding when they are bullied and harassed by a town resident who can't hide his disdain for them, and Richard (Rob Tepper), Annabelle's ex-boyfriend who continues to antagonize them. 

Though Karen and Annabelle deal with microaggressions daily, Cicada Song is about much more than that. When the migrant farmworkers on Karen's farm inform her that a child has gone missing, the life that she shares with Annabelle quickly unravels, revealing something more sinister than she ever could have imagined. 

Cicada's Song is striking because it intersects several things. Though the Midwest is often seen as an idyllic place, Starr uses the stunning backdrop to reveal some of the very serious issues that have long plagued the region. The farming crisis, along with xenophobia, racism, homophobia, and intolerance are all topics in this film. No matter how alarming or uncomfortable they are to watch, Starr refuses to shy away from these issues — forcing many Americans to see themselves in all of their nationalistic hatred. In addition to addressing these problems, Starr also puts a spotlight on immigrant communities who break their backs daily for our agricultural system with the fear of being discovered, deported or separated looming over them like a dark cloud. 

Though this is Karen and Annabelle's story, Starr doesn't shove the migrant workers in the background. Their stories and experiences are also focal points here. Though many Americans value the labor of immigrants over their humanity, those who have come to this country have still carved out close-knit communities, raised children, and pressed forward with their dreams. 

Cicada Song is much more than a commentary on things that need to be changed and adjusted — Starr also weaves in a mystery and a haunting thriller. As Karen digs, trying to retrace the steps of the missing child, she begins a race against time for her once calm and simple life. 

Though the film's ending is a tad too tidy for it to be a real gut-punch for the audience — Cicada Song is well-paced and wonderfully acted. Lantz is stirring to watch as she begins to piece this massive puzzle together. The interaction Karen has with her estranged father was beyond heartbreaking. Likewise, Mesa's quippy clapbacks and vibrancy also keep the audience rooting for her, especially as she combats rude people and her predatory ex. 

A film that centers the human cost of bigotry, greed, and racism, Cicada Song refuses to let rural America off the hook for its part in the issues ravaging our country. Instead, Starr asks his audience as a whole to look at ourselves and our own beliefs to consider just how far we're willing to go for our personal interest while stepping on the necks of others.  

Cicada Song is now available on Apple TV and Amazon.

'The Last Shift' Never Gets To The Root Of The Issue

The 2016 Presidential election revealed just how divided America can be. Many people across the country seemingly voted against their best interests for a presidential nominee whose policies would do more harm than good for the average working-class American. The election showcased, yet again, how many people will cling on to hatred, bigotry and racism because the privileges of whiteness are the only things they have of value. 

In The Last Shift, filmmaker Andrew Cohn offers a birds-eye view of working-class, small-town America. The narrative showcases two lives that intersect, bringing about frustrating results.

Albion, Michigan is a town that the rest of America has forgotten. Stanley (Richard Jenkins) has lived there his entire life. He's worked the graveyard shift at Oscar's Chicken and Fish for the past 38-years, where he makes less than fifteen dollars an hour.

Stanley is exceptionally prideful about his life's choices. He's content in the grind of his daily work, his rented room in a flophouse and the evenings he spends playing darts and drinking Mountain Dew with his buddy Dale (Ed O'Neill). However, Stanley is ready for the next chapter of life. He's decided to retire from Oscar's, earn his driver's license and drive down to Sarasota, Florida to get his ailing mother out of her hellish nursing home. 

Before his final shift, Stanley's boss, Shazz (Dolemite Is My Name's Da'Vine Joy Randolph), has tasked him with training his replacement. Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie) is a young Black father who has recently been released from prison after defacing a public monument. He's full of lofty ideas about the world and has a passion for writing. However, his angst, aimlessness and the suffocating confines of Albion have left him feeling stuck with only the air mattress in his mom's house as a life raft.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.