FFR 136: Lovecraft Country

On this week’s FFR we discuss the first two episodes of HBO's Lovecraft Country, a show that blends horror elements into a tale about racism in 1950s America, but first we talk about how the horrors of anti-Black racism remain so inescapable in America today, where police have once again exacted brutal violence on a Black man. Our discussion of the show touches on the ways in which it draws from pulp fiction and acknowledges the complexity of our relationship to tales that we love even if they don’t love us back, its subversion of classic Americana and fascinating use of audio, and the experience of watching this show right now, while living in a world in which some of us are exhausted from the experience of constantly being dehumanized and endangered.

Time Stamps:

• 1:45 - The shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin
• 8:20 Lovecraft Country
• 43:15 - What’s Your FREQ-Out: Carolyn on the Criterion Channel and three films by Mia Hansen-Løve, Ebony on Rust by Christopher Ruz, Anita on Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Links Mentioned:

• Ebony’s Twitter thread on running while Black
• The New York Times: Why Are There So Few Black Directors in the Criterion Collection?

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