Still keeping it relatively light for our second installment of the Alternate Realities portion of BPEITF. Today we’ll be touching on HBO’s LOVECRAFT COUNTRY.
Off top, this show is well written, well acted, well designed and top tier. It’s giving black Civil Rights Era horror. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It has monsters, demons, witches, sorcerers, secret societies & shape shifters. My kinda show lol. LOVECRAFT painted its alternate reality by transcending the Civil Rights Era backdrop with magic & mysticism. It keeps the reality of blackness at the forefront while placing the characters in the world of the supernatural.
In episode 7 “I am.” one of my favourite characters, Hippolyta, a mother & wife played by Aunjanue Ellis goes on a journey to attempt to find answers about her missing husband. She ends up travelling through time, dimension and space discovering the fullness of her being on the way. The journey she went on gave Hippolyta the chance to transcend her circumstances and define her womanhood for herself. While watching the episode, I realized a audio clip from Space is The Place Sun Ra’s afrofuturist film was playing at the moment Hippolyta fully came into herself. It’s the alignment for me.
While floating in space Hippolyta asks,
“How can I fit everything I am now into that place?” A question for the ages.
If you don’t do anything else, watch episode 7 “I am.” of LOVECRAFT and see where it takes you.
- eleven