Lovecraft Country 1.1: Racist Police Get Horror Comeuppance

Finally had a chance to watch the debut of Lovecraft Country on HBO.   I was pulled away this past week by the Democratic National Convention, televised and virtual and truly inspiring.  And it was oddly appropriate that I did not look at Lovecraft Country until just a few nights before the upcoming Republican convention, which begins on Monday.  Creepily appropriate, because Lovecraft Country is a tableau of racism and horror, and that's pretty much what I expect to find in the Republican National Convention.  Would be nice if that meant I didn't need to watch any of those four blustering nights.

I know, it may not be good style to mix real politics and popular culture, but times have changed.  H. P. Lovecraft was a real author of horror, and a real racist.  Since I'm no fan of horror, I've never read much of Stephen King, whose progressivism is in an accord with mine.  So I certainly didn't bother with Lovecraft, and always found mentions of his Cthulhu at science fiction conventions mildly annoying.  

To make matters worse -- worse for my being anything like a knowledgeable reviewer of Lovecraft Country -- I haven't read Matt Ruff's 2016 novel by the same name, which explores the mix of horror and racism in a narrative whose hero Atticus Turner is an African-American devotee of pulp science fiction that flourished along with racism in the first half or so of the 20th century.  But I've always held that reviews of television and cinema by people who haven't read the novels are a necessary part of the critical process, because they can evaluate the movie or TV show on its own terms, rather than in comparison to the novel or short story.

So what did I think of the first episode of Lovecraft Country?  I liked it a lot.  It was fun seeing the racist murderous police get their comeuppance by another H. P. Lovecraft monster, the Shoggoth.   That was a fine metaphoric fulfillment of Atticus's appreciation of bug-eyed monster science fiction.   The genre is intrinsically a celebration of the unlikely hero, and it's a cool twist to make the genre itself a component of the heroism in this story.

I was asked a few weeks ago by Elizabeth Yuko, writing an article for Reader's Digest,  to offer an example of a science fiction novel that accurately predicted the future.  I offered Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy (to see why, here's the Reader's Digest article).  If Reader's Digest ever asks me to choose a horror novel that got the future right, I might well choose Ruff's Lovecraft Country, as a strong metaphoric example of racist police getting just what they deserve.

But I'll try to watch the rest of the HBO series first, which by the way has good acting by Jonathan Majors as Atticus, and Jurnee Smollett and Courtney B. Vance in other lead roles.

See also Lovecraft Country 1.2: Malleable Dreams

 

Written Report on Fourth Day of 2020 Democratic National Convention

And the 2020 Democratic National Convention concluded tonight, very likely the most important political convention in our American history, because it nominated candidates for President and Vice President for what in many ways is the most important election in our history, upcoming in November.  Why so important?  Because it's the last and only chance to vote out of office a President who is the biggest threat to our democracy in history, Donald Trump.

This convention, as you know, was conducted virtually.   The reason, as you also know, was safety, with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging across America.  This would have been a very necessary compromise.  But I thought it came off so well, the virtual convention was in many ways so much better than the in-person convention,  that it thus was not only no compromise, but something, or parts of which, that should be done again, and become part of the basic structure of how conventions to nominate Presidents of our country are conducted and presented to our nation.

The virtual convention was better, I thought, in at least two ways.  First, the sequences of people across America, in the nomination roll call, in the endorsements and nominations, in the people talking about their struggles with racism, the pandemic, and their businesses, were the best way I've seen of putting substance to the "We, the people," the first words of our Constitution that were  adopted as the motto of this 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Second, I think talking into a camera in a quiet hall or room made for better speeches by the major speakers.  Part of the reason why I thought everyone from Bernie  to Obama and Joe Biden gave the best speeches of their careers was the clarity and intensity that the camera rather than a huge crowd affords the speaker.  I'm not sure this kind of speech making will continue when COVID subsides.  I hope it does.

The Democrats, at least in my lifetime, have always been the Party of the future, so it's only fitting that they trail-blazed a new way of conducting conventions in this age of COVID-19.

Now as to the content of this final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, it had many splendid, memorable moments, many of them bringing tears to the eyes and hope to the soul.  I thought the rivals segment was especially effective.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus as host of the entire evening was not only emotionally satisfying but laugh-out-out funny.  And the teenage boy in New Hampshire who stutters, and who explained how Joe Biden, who also stutters but has largely gotten on top of it, gave him some helpful advice was ... well, courageous and inspiring only do it partial justice.

And Joe Biden ... well, yes, he too indeed delivered the speech of his life.  Summoning all of America to join him in the battle ahead to reclaim America, and then set it on a better path. The great speeches earlier in the convention were delivered by people like Barack Obama who had delivered many an inspirational and eloquent speech before.   But I've never heard Joe Biden deliver anything like what he said tonight, masterfully written and masterfully delivered, in equal measure.

I can barely imagine, and don't particularly want to imagine, what the Republicans will do next week at their convention.  I can imagine the America that Joe Biden so powerfully described, and I'll do all in my power in the months ahead to help make that happen.

See also Written Report on 1st Night the 2020 Democratic National Convention ... Written Report on 2nd Night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention ... Written Report on 3rd Night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Written Report on 3rd Day of 2020 Democratic National Convention

What a speech by Barack Obama on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the first virtual National Democratic or Republican Convention in history.  I thought the speech was so pertinent and powerful it was even better than his speeches as President, and in his campaigns for that office.  Unafraid to call out the monster, the would-be destroyer of our democracy, now in the White House.  Sobering, inspiring, chilling, and so very necessary.

Kamala Harris gave an outstanding speech, too, accepting her nomination as Vice President on the Democratic ticket.  Her empathy for the victims of racism and COVID, combined with her astute attack on Trump, and her winning charm, show what a wise choice Joe Biden made in selecting her as his running mate.  And wasn't it excellent to see him come out on stage and join her after her speech, especially impressive in this age of COVID.

Elizabeth Warren's speech was powerful, as well, preceded by real people across the country whose businesses have been jeopardized to the edge of extinction by the COVID pandemic and the poor leadership -- non-leadership -- of Donald Trump.   I hope she gets a prominent position in Biden's cabinet.

And the segment on victims of gun violence, followed by Gabby Giffords, was also ever timely and necessary.  Good for the Democratic National Committee for not letting this life-and-death issue get lost in the toxic sea of COVID and racism and attempts to suppress the vote that beset all Americans. 

So this third night was a real joy and inspiration.  Biggest surprise for me: Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order SVU endorsing Biden for President!  You just can't beat a Benson endorsement!

I'll see you back here tomorrow after the fourth and final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

See also Written Report on 1st Night the 2020 Democratic National Convention ... Written Report on 2nd Night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Written Report on 2nd Day of 2020 Democratic National Convention

I thought the second day of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, totally virtual, and just concluded on television, hit an emotional tone which was at once as deep as it gets, and hopeful.  The casting of the nominating ballots, state by state, in alphabetical order, was especially moving and satisfying, a much better multi-faceted picture of America than could ever be offered in an in-person physical convention, because we actually got to see the states and cities across this country from which the delegates, multicultural, colorfully dressed and spoken, were casting their votes.

It was also good to see Joe Biden himself at critical moments in the convention, as we did last night.  Tonight he accepted the nomination, spoke with people who survived because of the Affordable Health Care Act, which he helped bring over the finish line with Obama, and came out to hug his wife Jill after her speech.  This was something you also didn't see, or didn't see much of, in the traditional old-fashioned in-person conventions.  (Right, I'm increasingly thinking of those in-person conventions as old-fashioned.)

I also thought the segment of Biden working with John McCain and other Republicans was very effective.  Whatever McCain did that was right or wrong in the Senate, his saving of the Affordable Care Act from the Trumpian onslaught will be remembered for a long time in history.

And Jill Biden's talk, and its analogy of making a family whole (what she did when she married Joe Biden) and making a nation whole (what Joe and she will do once they're in the White House), was just the tonic we needed.

As a parting note, it was great to see Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg, looking a lot like his uncle John Kennedy, Jr. and he has the same bearing as his grandfather JFK.  There's no going back to Camelot, but Jack may well play a role in building the new and better America in the decades ahead.

See also Report on the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 1 ... Report on the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 3

Written Report on 1st Day of 2020 Democratic National Convention

I thought the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the first virtual convention ever held, was truly effective.   Not only because of what the well-known speakers said, which was passionate and true and highly effective, but also because of several speakers I don't recall seeing before at any national political convention.

Probably the best of these not-yet-famous people, certainly what moved me the most, was what Kristin Urquiza said.  Her father, a Trump supporter, died of COVID.  His only pre-condition, Ms. Urquiza said, "was that he trusted Donald Trump".  That statement not only rings true to the soul, but shows that Ms. Urquiza has a future in the political world, if she wants it.

Now to some of the people we already knew.  I thought Bernie Sanders gave the best speech of his life tonight.  He spoke plain truth to his millions of supporters, which didn't include me.  But every word he said made eminent sense.  His confessions of a progressive -- his confessions about why he was supporting Joe Biden for President -- should be a handbook for every rational person.  In a phrase, they explained the dangers of Trump (which we already know), but also how Biden's positions take important steps towards what Sanders wants, most importantly universal health care.  I hope those points become known and are believed by every progressive.

I thought the Republicans supporting Trump were convincing, and, for some reason, even more so Biden's rivals in the Democratic Primary, like Bernie.  In addition, the more moderate Amy Klobuchar continues to impress as one of the most sensible thinkers and speakers in America.   Andrew Cuomo didn't run for President this year.  But his dealing with the COVID pandemic in New York -- we now have just a one-percent infection rate in this state, after starting out as the most infected state in country -- was masterful, including his daily briefings (which I said at the time were akin to FDR's fireside chats during the Great Depression).  His speech tonight followed in that tradition.

And then there's Michelle Obama.  She already ascended to being far more than a former First Lady.  But tonight she hit new heights, of passion, compassion, and just clear common sense.  Her speech was a pleasure and an inspiration to hear, and I hope that it gets everyone who voted for Barack to vote for Biden this time around.   Her plea that we should vote as if our lives depended on it was never more true.

And I'll be back here tomorrow with thoughts on what tomorrow's segment of the 2020 Democratic National Convention brings.

See also Report on the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 2 ... Report on the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 3