Issue: Takes on Lovecraft Country
Preface – Exploring Lovecraft Country
Dawn Keetley Season one of HBO’s Lovecraft Country (there are rumors of a possible season two) ran from August through October 2020. Created by Misha Green, the series featured a panoply of talented writers and directors, including Green herself, Cheryl Dunye, Shannon Houston, Sonya Winton-Odamtten, and Ihuoma Ofordire. The series is based on Matt Ruff’s […]
Traveling While Black: Revising Urbanoia in Lovecraft Country
Christy Tidwell Misha Green, the creator of HBO’s Lovecraft Country, says the show is “reclaiming genre space for people of color” (O’Connell). From its opening scenes, the show establishes itself as both science fiction (alien spaceships appearing over a Korean War battlefield) and horror (a tentacled Lovecraftian monster, fought off by Jackie Robinson). Throughout its […]
Creating New Images: Black Feminist Thought and Lovecraft Country
Ayanna Woods Lovecraft Country has received praise and criticism, garnering a large audience throughout its first season. Though it is successful and certainly one of the most interesting debuts in recent memory, the series is decidedly imperfect. Indeed, many critics hold that the series mishandles issues like colorism and queerness by allowing darkskin characters Ruby […]
Cool Pose and Black Geeks
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. HBO’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel Lovecraft Country opens with black and white footage of trench warfare. Series protagonist Atticus ‘Tic’ Freeman (Jonathan Majors) leads the assault through the enemy. He bayonets enemy soldiers, strikes them with his rifle’s stock, and charges through the trench, displaying himself as a formidable […]