Sunday's Grindhouse Podcast Airs: Dark Phoenix, Daredevil, CREED2 ; Haddish as Nubia?; More Kennedy? @6pm ET

Afronerd Radio airs 9.30.18 


As we prep for next week's New York Comic Con, let's sneak in one of our vaunted Grindhouse podcasts, shall we?  Listen to the latest installment of Afronerd Radio's Grindhouse shows airing every Sunday at 6pm ET.  The topics to be decode are:  we give our impressions of a few trailers (Dark Phoenix, Creed 2, Daredevil S3) that hit the nets earlier this week;  a few geek media websites are reporting that comedienne/actor, Tiffany Haddish has put out in the universe that she would like to portray Wonder Woman's sister (in pre-52 canon) Nubia (let us gag unison); fan unfavorite film producer, Kathleen Kennedy has extended her Lucasfilm contract for 3 more years; noted VG company, Rockstar, bears the first time distinction of including Black cowboys in their Old West themed game sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2; Dburt checks out the UK children's animation series, Hilda, courtesy of Netflix;  casting news for the WB/DC Birds of Prey film, purportedly with race bending Black Canary with actress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Underground, True Blood);  Another untitled Deadpool film (or is it a PG version of #2) is slated for a December 21st release; racial missteps are being levied against author, J.K. Rowling and the producers of The Crimes Of Grindelwald for the Nagini character;  is the music industry actually rethinking the term "urban" as a euphemism or "brand" for Black music? Lastly, our thoughts about what comes after the internet, technologically.  Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.


Two tidbits while you wait for the show, First, check out episode three of Black Panther's Quest:

And secondly, there's this short documentary on Black Cowboys (in lieu of the Red Dead Redemption video game sequel)

Bill Cosby's Sentencing; Jesse's Nike Misstep; WSJ, Elitist? (No! Lol)-MWIR 7pm

Afronerd Radio airs 9.26.18


Those vaunted time constraints!  Let's keep ity simple....it's the Mid Week in Review (MWIR) podcast airing every Wednesday at 7pm eastern.  Join your AFROnerdist hosts as they unpack the following hot topics for the (mid) week:  the fall of an icon, comedic legend, Bill Cosby, gets sentenced to 3-10 years for sexual assault and we have our thoughts; actor/activist, Jesse Williams gets heavily criticized on social media for aligning a Nike ad with Emmett Till and Colin Kaepernick (but why is every critique coupled with fair skinned humor?  Why did actress, Jennifer Lewis get a pass?); the Wall Street Journal gets accused of racism and elitism for its criticism of author, Ibi Zoboi's latest novel, Pride, a modern spin of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; Dburt laments the passing of The Village Voice but wonders, with more tech billionaires buying newspapers-why not the Voice?;  what is Culture Con?; more details on the color correction regarding Princess Tiana in upcoming Ralph Breaks the Internet sequel;  Led Zeppelin is working on their own streaming service; more on Prince's Piano & A Microphone release; And lastly, pulp news roundup (Joker, Black Widow , Dark Phoenix trailer cometh, etc).  Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.

Sunday's Grindhouse Airs at 6pm ET: Bitter Root's David Walker Stops By!; Apple Streaming TV; Timeless Movie; Prince Homage on Black-ish

Grindhouse Airs 9.23.18 


AFROnerdists! Check for our latest installment of the Grindhouse airing this Sunday at 6pm ET. Join the Afronerd Radio team, as they wax about the following topics: noted writer, graphic novelist (Shaft, Power Man and Iron Fist, Cyborg) and friend of the show, David Walker stops by to discuss his forthcoming Harlem Renaissance supernatural themed comic, Bitter Root (Image); Apple's billion dollar streaming service has purportedly been dubbed by staff as a bland and "Expensive NBC";  the fan favored but cancelled time traveling series, Timeless, gets its closure via a wrap up movie;  the Dark Knight goes in a X-rated direction in the comic series release, Batman: Damned #1; more definitive scene pics of Joaquin Phoenix' Joker hit the net; it appears Disney heard the internet and capitulated to charges of colorism with the Princess Tiana cameo in Wreck it Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet; another friend of the show, Professor John Jennings will be heading up a new graphic novel imprint entitled, Megascope geared toward diverse narratives of POC;  indie director, Chloe Zhao (Sings My Brothers Taught Me) has been tapped to direct Marvel's next franchise series, The Eternals;  Space Jam returns with Ryan Coogler, Lebron James and Terrence Nance.....interesting;  Netflix has just greenlighted a sci-fi project starring actors, Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt tentatively titled, Power; discussing Black Horror via Jordan Peele's Candyman reboot; And lastly, Dburt might check out a special November Black-ish purely for their Power tribute episode. Call LIVE at 646-915-9620. 


And while you wait for tonight's show, here's a blast from the past-Blerds and Bleeks Speak-'16 at the Schomburg Black Comic Festival:

New Podcast Episode Alert! Capt. Marvel Trailer; Botham Jean; Air (NOT race) benders @Netflix! MWIR 7pm ET

Podcast Airs 9.19.18

Welcome to Afronerd Radio's Mid Week in Review (MWIR) podcast airing every Wednesday at 7pm eastern.  Join our regular cast of "AFROnerdists" as they unpack varied pop/pulp/political topics...i.e.: the highly anticipated Captain Marvel teaser trailer hit the internets this week; discussing the unsavory, if not inaccurate aspects of the recent Botham Jean police killing; Netflix announces a live action Avatar: The Last Airbender streaming series that promises to NOT be whitewashed; the Mary Poppins Returns trailer also hit the cyberwebs (with a spry nonagenarian Dick Van Dyke dancing!);  early pics of Joaquin Phoenix' alleged 70s era Joker film hit the nets; rumor has it that there might be a Blade Runner: 2049 TV series in the works; Netflix (again) premieres the anime to live action translation of Bleach on their streaming platform;  thoughts about the recent release of the "in-canon" The Predator film;  And Marvel cancels Chelsea Cain's The Vision series without explanation before its fourth quarter launch; should Nigerian actress, Cynthia Evo portray African-American abolitionist hero, Harriet Tubman in an upcoming biopic?; more Marvel streaming shows to come? And lastly, Pam Lifford has been named president of Warner Bros new Global Brands and Experiences Division (we will try to figure out what that means).  Call in LIVE at 646-915-9620.  

And here's some cutting room footage (SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL! YA DIG?) from Afronerd Radio's coverage of last month's '18 Afropunk Festival:

Michael B Jordan Might Make a Better Icon than a Kal-EL....The Need For a Black Superman (Not Clark Kent)

I remember at the time, actress, Michelle Rodriguez (above clip) exclaimed,"Stop stealing all the White peoples' superheroes!", I was relieved that someone gave an honest response regarding the flip side of the need for "minority representation in cinema" debate.  And then, of course, I knew the court of (disingenuous) public opinion would weigh in, forcing her to do the requisite mea culpa.  Without coming off as hypocritical, there is a place for an alternate interpretation or reimagining that could allow for race/gender/culture/sexuality "bending" a character.  Unfortunately, these changes oftentimes don't come about organically.  I've spoken about this trend in previous posts and now I'm being pulled back in the discussion due to the alleged departure of Henry Cavill from the Superman role and the DCEU proper.  To be accurate, as I am drafting this article, it still isn't wholly confirmed that Cavill has left the role, however, Killmonger himself, Michael B. Jordan has come up in the media as one of a number of actors that might be seen as a replacement.

Let me be perfectly clear, it might be time to explore the idea of a Black Superman.....just not Clark Kent.  This need to literally take the place of a historically White character as opposed to exploring a project that gives the minority audience "autonomy" befuddles me.  During our last podcast, we delved into the mythology of Milestone Media's Superman analogue, Icon. The feedback from that episode affirmed that there are enough existing characters of color (and others ready to be made) that are worthy of print exploration and cinematic depiction.  Icon, like Superman, is an alien who adopts Earth as his planet, however he differs from the Man of Steel not only by phenotype but also with a backstory that starts from the antebellum South to the present.  And then, let's be mindful that there are "Black" Kryptonians.  DC Comics, to my knowledge, has not explored what that really means.  To be more specific, the Val Zod character exists as a Black Superman but we have yet to see him operate as an "alien" navigating Earthen notions of a pigmentocracy.  Check out artist, BossLogic's almost immediate rendition of Jordan as Val Zod (and not Kal-El):

Admittedly, the picture is bad ass.....but what does it mean if there's no story or investment from the audience for this character?  And again, this is under the assumption that he's not just a visual stand in for canonically White looking Kal-El.  We should be well beyond the "fish out of water" oddity trope when it comes to exploiting audiences' prurient interests.  Even the J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter character, who also possesses an Africoid visage as a fictional extraterrestrial acknowledges his Blackness:

I have said on numerous occasions on Afronerd Radio, I want real and fictional Black Ubermenschen in the public sphere......just on our own terms.  By the way, I'm not keen on Jordan as Icon but I yearn for the discourse....to be continued.

New Grindhouse Podcast Airing This Sunday! DC Probs & Supergirl Focus; Viola's Regret; Botham is Assassinated 2X-Grind 6pm

Podcast Airs 9.16.18

We're going straight to the bullet points! #KILLSHOT (lol,,,maybe not).  First, the podcast:  The Grindhouse airs every Sunday at 6pm eastern as powered by Afronerd Radio's Machine Works!  Secondly, simply listen to the Afronerd podcast crew muse about the third entry....the issues.  Topics to be discussed:  The public still isn't really sure about Henry Cavill's (or Ben Affleck's, for that matter) exit from the DC Universe (Worlds of DC);  more discussions about DC's inability to craft a franchise, the Michael B Jordan "black" baiting story and a 70s period Supergirl film;  Oscar winning actor, Viola Davis, in a recent NYT's piece laments about her highly lauded '11 film, The Help; more divergent details are coming out about the Texas Botham Jean tragedy including the discovery of marijuana in his residence-many are asking how is that relevant and is it tantamount to character assassination?;  the Predator reboot seems to be off to a rocky start; Jeffrey Wright's Hold the Dark debuts on Netflix; the DC Universe streaming service also went live this weekend as well; the upcoming Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors series had trailer released on the cyberwebs; impressions of Eminem's #KILLSHOT response to hip hop rival/upstart Machine Gun Kelly.  And lastly, what about that "White Privilege" exchange on Daily Blast Live?  Call LIVE at 646-915-9620. 


And while you wait for our highly anticipated broadcast, check out a recent Youtube video analysis of CBS' TV show, Elementary (S6) by Afronerd Radio's Capt. Kirk:

   

New Mid Week Podcast! Topic Clean-Ups; Serena Cartoon; More Iron Fist; Candyman 2.0-MWIR 7pm ET

Podcast airs on 9.12.18

It's straight information and topics with "no chaser."  Check out a new Mid Week in Review (MWIR) podcast airing every Wednesday at 7pm eastern.  Join the "not ready for primetime" Afronerd crew as they discuss the following phenomena:  we finally address the topics we missed because of issue overload;  thoughts about an unarmed young Black professional who is killed in his own apartment by a Texas cop who mistook the victim's home for her own (really?); delving more into the claims of sexism (including an offensive Australian cartoon) levied by tennis superstar Serena Williams after her US Open loss; more Iron Fist S2 details and S3 expectations/easter eggs; noted director, Jordan Peele has been tapped to possibly produce/direct a Candyman reboot; a case of art imitating STEM-it appears that the popular UK clay animation cartoon-Wallace and Gromit may have inspired "robotic pants" for the elderly and infirm;  more on the Les Moonves CBS exit and who is willing to place bets that a woman will be his replacement (no shade....just positing); more Afropunk fallout, crisis management and their competitor, Punk Black speaks; And lastly, more fallout over the Nike deal with Colin Kaepernick when Kenner, LA mayor, Ben Zahn imposed a city wide ban on Nike products.  Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.   

Hey and while you wait...let's take a look at the aforementioned Punk Black:

New Grindhouse Show! Burt Reynolds; Iron Fist S2; Personal Space/#Me2; Serena Loss-The Grind 6pm ET

Podcast Airs 9.9.18


Well, the temperature has dropped with the quickness in NYC and that's our cue to adjust to the seasonal change.  In the interim, listen to the latest episode of Afronerd Radio's Grindhouse airing this Sunday at 6pm eastern.  The topics to be analyzed are:  legendary comedic action star, Burt Reynolds passes at 82; and on the other side of the age spectrum rapper/musician, Mac Miller dies from a drug overdose at 26; our early impressions of Netflix' Iron Fist S2; Dburt waxes about the notions of personal space, hair touching, culture and #metoo after a video showing a White woman touching a Black woman's hair goes viral; tennis great, Serena Williams loses the US Open but not without controversy; more pictures are released from Marvel's forthcoming Captain Marvel film;  director, Steve McQueen returns to form (12 Years a Slave was 5 years ago) with his new heist film, Widows starring Viola Davis, Liam Neeson and Daniel Kaluuya; what about that NY Times "anonymous" article that outs President Trump as incompetent (who knew? ha) and former President Obama's response; NYPD and IBM have collaborated on skin tone and ethnicity recognition software for CCTV surveillance-Civil Rights advocates call foul; And lastly, per usual, the crew will attempt to pick up on stories we failed to address on last podcast.  Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.  


And while you wait for the upcoming show, check out our latest video on MCU Blade reboot theories (major motion picture or Netflix treatment?)

Afropunk '18 Analysis (Planet Brooklyn Ed) by the "Uncanny" Daryll B!

I hate to begin with this before I get into a personal day of fun and craziness at AfroPunk Sunday but (and I am really getting tired of saying) my thoughts, prayers and condolences to the shooting victims at the Madden Tournament in Jacksonville on Sunday. Look, there are so many ways to analyze this: the ever growing toxic nature of gaming in some quarters; the lack of civility today; gun control; security; In the end, we can break this down in any and all of those corners. The fact remains, 3 people are dead. 11 more are injured and, since this was live-streamed, many many more are left scarred. The only reason to have a real gun at a video game tournament is to use it. Point Blank. Dude had bad intentions and has harmed the perceptions of gaming for years to come....

​

No easy transition from that to this but my battered and bruised body managed to get to Commodore Barry Park for 10:30am. Wasn't going to repeat the 2 hour line crawl from last year. Had a delightful convo with these sisters that came to Brooklyn from Newcastle, England to support some of their favorite international acts. Gates opened at 12:10pm and again, no real problems. After taking a couple of minutes to get pics of the layout and some of the vendor booths, met up with DBurt to do business.​

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First up was the Rap meets Rock stylings of Duckwrth on the Red Stage. A near perfect kickoff to AfroPunk as he truly displayed the wild past and potential future of the event. As he played, the crowd grew from 100 to nearly 4 times that as literally his sound roped everyone in. After his set, I bounced inbetween DJs Gabsoul & BlkkMorris. GabSoul had a great mix of yesterday soul with more recent hits. BlkkMorris definitely has roots in the House/Trip-Hop movement.​

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Got a chance to hit the HayMarket Books tent and picked up Eve Ewing's book of poetry and social commentary, Electric Arches. Congrats Ma'am on getting the Ironheart gig at Marvel BTW. There was a problem or two at the Gold Stage with the set-up for Jamilia Woods which gave DBurt and I an opportunity to check out the Fusion stylings of Harville on the Green Stage. First time I heard them and definitely won't be the last. Leaving there, I got roped in by the punk rock stylings on the Red Stage of The Nova Twins. Mind blown. Even got a mosh pit going that started spreading out...​

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For the rest of my time at AfroPunk, I was by the Green Stage beginning with Fantastic Negrito just rocking out faces and eardrums. Then, I had the pleasure of seeing  Jacob Banks live for the first time after only hearing him for years and no disappointments. He rocked it. Inbetween this rock marathon, I experienced the avant garde South African act of Okzharp & Manthe Ribane on the mini Black Stage that was located in front of the Green. Lots of new age fashion costumes. Very much for folks that love Grace Jones and acts that are cutting edge hip.​

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As this was going on, the guys on the Green Stage were setting up something special, a Toshi Reagan led Powerjam that included rock acts like SATE & the Nova Twins alongside spoken word activists like Angela Davis. The problem here was, (and I call it the AfroPunk Sunday Jinx) that the speakers/mics on the left side of the stage short out intermittingly. As a result, parts of the performances got obscured by the rather loud and boisterous Red Stage acts including Pusha T & Tyler The Creator. However, for as much of the "softer" parts got covered up, having SATE and The Nova Twins on just about outblasted the Red Stage. Then there was tribute to Aretha.....WOOOO!​

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What more can I say about Janelle Monae that hasn't been said already? Prior to her performance, I was relating to concertgoers around me that I have seen her at AfroPunk twice before and that each time she grew by leaps and bounds. Well this time, HOLY CWAP, she gave a total production from her old school Wonder Woman latex long boots to a point where she invited about 8 of the more colorful fans up to an improv Soul Train/Catwalk dance off on stage. Man. I feel honored to have witnessed her evolution continue. She even ended the show bringing up this point herself.​

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Bigtime props to DJ Lindsey for keeping the crowd bopping as the crew valiantly tried to get everything right for Erykah Badu's finale. It was literally a 700 person sing-a-long/dance-a-long as the good times rolled. One thing about the AfroPunk crowd, we were going to have a good time no matter what. Even as they brought up Terence Nance from Random Acts of Flyness to buy time, we all were still joking and vibing. Then when "Bad Auntie" Badu took the mic, well it would have taken an act of Trump to disappoint us. Fun was being had, song sung, and oh the dancing....​

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Another year of Afropunk in the books. Another year of craziness. Another year of beauty. and I'm oh so glad to have once again witnessed this live. Thanks to all the performers and the fun new friends made. Thx for reading all! This is Daryll B. Back in the Saddle again! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!

New Podcast Blast! Afronerdradio.com-Kaepernick & Nike; Terrence Nance's Nu Site; POCs 4 White Nationalists?-MWIR 7pm

New Podcast dated 9.5.2018

School is literally in session!  Check out the latest installment of the Afronerd Radio saga-better known as The Mid Week in Review, airing every Wednesday at 7pm eastern.  Listen to your ever prescient Afronerd podcasting team as they "chop it up" over these impending issues:  our thoughts about the out of nowhere sponsorship deal between Nike and controversial activist/athlete, Colin Kaepernick; filmmaker, Terrence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) has a new website entitled, WhitePeopleWontSaveYou.org; A new The Daily Beast article entitled, "Why Young Men of Color are Joining White Supremacist Groups", exposes the growing trend of multicultural hate groups (Clayton Bigsby?); and what can only be described as kismet, a new trailer hit the cyberverse, Where Hands Touch starring afrocentric actress, Amandla Sternberg detailing the real life WWII era love story of an Afro-German teen falling in love with a member of Hitler Youth (whoa!); we revisit some of the topics left on the floor from the last podcast; the greenlighting by Netflix of the raunchy and underwhelming Paradise PD serves as a reminder that the recent Black cinema renaissance doesn't seem to include animation;  and speaking of Netflix and chill-The Black Panther premieres on the streaming service this month;  our expectations for upcoming TV shows (new and returning)  premiering this fall;  is sports commentator, Jason Whitlock correct in his critique of Lebron James' The Shop TV show?; Is a Black Supes going to make an appearance on the CW along with Batwoman, Clark and Lois? Call in LIVE at 646-915-9620.

The Need to Expand the Black Cinema Renaissance to Animation

I think it's fairly evident, especially to avid moviegoers and stringent cineastes alike, that we appear to be in the midst of a Black television and film belle epoque.  Perhaps it was due to the clarion call that came from the #OscarSoWhite controversy demanding that changes be made in the casting of underrepresented minorities within the white and male dominated Hollywood film industry.  And we can even argue further, as to pinpointing when this new renaissance began.  Was it filmmaker/actor, Jordan Peele's unique take on the horror genre with his highly acclaimed and financially successful, Get Out film?  Or can we move the starting point post the release of Marvel's afrofuturistic superhero film, Black Panther?  One could even make a postulation that TV's Shonda Rhimes and her vaunted Shondaverse (recently extending to a multi-year Netflix streaming imprint) might have planted a seed with this current spate of viable Black culture content on celluloid. There have been a number of high concept and/or popular periods in American cinema when Black culture made the transition from subcultural anonymity to mainstream consciousness.  Whether it was Oscar Micheaux' race films made for primarily Black audiences at the dawn of the Harlem Renaissance or the beloved albeit artistically complicated 70s Blaxploitation period, the dynamism of the Black experience on screen has always garnered a great deal of interest.....for a finite moment in time.


It's unfortunate what's happening cinematically doesn't seem to be commensurate with diversity and experimentation in the popular Black music scene....of course, there's Afropunk (and the Black Rock Coalition):

 

But I digress.   How long these current succession of Black multi-layered TV, streaming shows and films are going to last is anyone's guess but the endgame is to establish something that is just foundational...normal.....something that is expected.  Something that just is.  And one thing I have noticed that is missing from the aforementioned Black motion picture recrudescence are animated films.  Ironically, it might lay at the feet of Marvel (Sony!)-again-through the superhero genre-again, to explore Black/Brown imagery:

 

Just as the comic book medium is not solely relegated to costume vigilantism, smart and inventive animated depictions of people of color should be explored but with the verve and normalcy we see with white caricatures.  Peruse through Netflix' animation selection and there's an obvious void with cartoons having varied cultural themes.  Where's the Fat Albert, The Proud Family and Boondocks for this generation?  Shows such Disenchantment, Paradise PD, The Hollow, F is for Family, etc are greenlighted quite frequently, however the POC characters only possess ancillary roles that are essentially used to bolster the white protagonist's journey.

Anyone can take a cursory look at the independent projects coming out of Kickstarter and it boggles the mind how these creators can't seem to garner deals with Adult Swim, Amazon, Netflix or the countless mediums now currently available. Interestingly enough, rap performer Tyler the Creator made an appearance at last week's Afropunk festival and although I'm not a fan of his music or deportment-he was correct on the dearth of Black cartoons (below):

Check out this piece from Urban Intellectuals regarding the difficulty with a pitching a Black themed anime project, Black Sands to Netflix:

https://urbanintellectuals.com/2017/03/24/creator-first-pro-black-egyptian-cartoon-gives-us-scoop-successful-launch/

And then there's Greg Burnham's Tuskegee Heirs graphic novel to cartoon imprint Netflix pitch. This should be a no brainer:

I sense a part 2 to this diatribe is forthcoming.....

Aretha's Funeral; Cosby Actor's 2nd Gig; Black Animation & More-The Grind 6pm ET

New Podcast for 9.2.18

In between the cookouts and students lamenting their inevitable return to school, there's always our special Labor Day podcast to lend an assist with that void.  Check out our latest Grindhouse episode, as powered by the Afronerd Radio machine airing this Sunday at 6pm eastern.  The topics du jour are:  as the nation mourns the passing of two icons, our team asks why so much fuss over the hardline speech given by Rev. Jasper Williams at Aretha Franklin's funeral?; our thoughts about new show expectations (TV, streaming, movies etc) former Cosby actor, Geoffrey Owens gets "shamed" in social media for having a regular job; Dburt muses about the latest Black cinema renaissance needing to expand into animation; acting legend, Wesley Snipes teases the cyberweb with the revelation that he has been talking to Marvel about two ideas for potentially reviving the Blade franchise; we finally get to talk about the recent criticism that Disney has received regarding alleged colorism concerns with the princess Tiana character; what about that animated Avengers 4 fan film trailer? (wishful thinking or real storyline possibility?); And lastly, large size model, Tess Holiday causes a bit of a stir for being on the cover of the latest UK Cosmopolitan magazine.  Call in LIVE at 646-915-9620.