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I decided to take this blog post to work out ideas for my final project and talk through the characters, themes, and works I’ve been inspired by. While every single work has been spectacular in its own way, the few that stood out to me were US, Candyman, Wet Pain, and Get Out. I decided to mainly hone in on themes including privilege, revenge, and magic– I’d like to add commentary on race, but I am still working through the details on how to do so respectfully and eloquently, as a white person who is deciding to speak on the topic.

My story takes place in a dystopian city named Governor’s Fall, locals refer to it as “The Falls” for short, after a series of natural disasters wiped out the majority of the population living on Earth (or so people think…). Here, buildings often fall into sinkholes (hence the nickname), swallowing the towering structures whole. On one certain occasion, one of the few cinderblock apartment buildings still housing tenants is eaten by a sinkhole, yet remains standing underneath. Trapped inside, the residents must make their way out of the building and back to the surface to retrieve resources for their families. As the journey to the top (especially from the bottom), each floor elects a representative to make the trip.

On the first floor (the floor trapped the furthest underground), Grayson Bloom (our protagonist, aged 22, non-binary, mixed race) is elected to make their way to the surface, retrieving goods not only for their floor but for their two adopted siblings, Mirabella and Arthur. As Grayson makes their way up the collapsing staircases, they meet Derek Price, a white, middle-aged man living on the 7th floor, who poses himself as a supportive figure. The pair continue their journey of trials and tribulations until reaching the 11th floor (the second highest), where the two are introduced to Fiona Greene, a young Black woman dedicated to retrieving both supplies for those stranded on the lower floors, as well as a system to reliably transport them to the highest and safest floors.

Grayson ultimately pays a price for trusting Derek and learns the scary truth of what is happening to their city and the world around them. In a tale of bravery, selflessness, dedication, resilience, and horror, Bloom defies the odds posed against them in the forms of racism, wealth inequality, and magic/demons.

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Blog Post #4: February 11, 2024

It was so hard to choose just one work to focus my blog post on this week, especially between Eve’s Bayou and Wet Pain. The work that stuck out to me the most, however, ended up being Terrence Taylor’s Wet Pain. As I mentioned in an early blog post, starting homework assignments have always been an uphill battle for me, especially reading assignments. However, I flew through Wet Pain faster than I’ve read anything else in years. From the emotional, journal-like writing of Greg to the chilling descriptions of real and historical horror.

One aspect of this story that stood out to me was its supernatural personification of racism, homophobia, and bigotry. Our main character talks of a ‘hungry ghost’ biting Dean on several occasions, offering the reader a force to ‘blame’ for the atrocities committed in the story. That being said, it is so difficult as a reader to ponder this possibility created by a drunk, sad, stoned Greg— it is too outrageous to believe, but we are stuck with the feeling that only a monster could be capable of something like that. This creates a narrative that is even more horrific than the latter, as we are stuck with the knowledge that another human being is the culprit.

Wet Pain could be interpreted as a ghost story, or a deeper glance could grant us a glimpse into Taylor’s mind as he wrote this short story. We could see the personification of racism, homophobia, and other instances of bigotry in the form of a hungry ghost from the past. I see this as an individual whose Pain surpasses rational thought, grasping for an explanation as to why a friend would commit such atrocities. The explanation that dries the wet, oozing pain of a friend’s ultimate betrayal into a dangerous, homicidal spiral. How could this possibly be explained? How could someone recover from this? We see this type of pain inflicted on our characters in the story and can only wish that the explanation was that Dean had been ‘bitten by a hungry ghost’.

This story was particularly hard to get through. The blatant bigotry and racism, violence against women and children, and substance abuse were a recipe for an uneasy read. I suppose that is part of the beauty of literature, however, for if we are forced to face the discomfort of others, we can understand the pain a little better.

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Blog Post #3: February 4, 2023

This week, we focused largely on the two renditions of Candyman (1992,2021). I always most enjoy watching material that I have never seen before, so this week was particularly enjoyable for me. As far as my opinions go, I have to say that I preferred the 2021 Candyman. I appreciated Nia DaCosta’s revisions and expansions of a previously criticized and problematic film, despite public love and appreciation for it.

As Professor Due discussed in lecture, she mentioned that the recent Candyman extended and elevated the previous one by retelling Black trauma through a Black lens and shifting the attention away from the previously white protagonist. The recent Candyman also refrains from depicting Black trauma, with more respect and care for its Black (and other marginalized) characters. In fact, not a single Black character is killed throughout the duration of the film. This is important, as creating a story intended for Black audiences and as a critique of a previous problematic film should not include graphic depictions of violence against the very people it is aimed towards entertaining.

I really enjoyed Nia DeCosta’s visuals, the striking creativity made for captivating scenes and attention demanding screens. I’m also a huge fan of using humor in horror, similarly to Jordan Peele’s character, Gabe, from Us. The film also had a lot of great commentary on other issues, including toxic relationships. I really enjoyed being able to pick out the differences between each rendition of the film and discover how Hollywood and times in general have changed. When I was reading some other opinion pieces about each Candyman film online to help me get some inspiration for this blog post, I found a very thought provoking phrase (original author’s account was deleted, but here is a hyperlink to the blogpost). In it, he notes that the provacative elements present in the original are not “come to terms with” or accepted, but rather builds upon and expands them through a different lense than the original. Overall, I think the most recent Candyman had a profound commentary on its older brother. With striking visuals, a fantastic cast, and an excellent plot, the film sucks its audience in for a wild ride from start to finish, building upon a legendary film to retell a story the way it needed to be told. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the material we have examined in the quarter thus far and I’m looking forward to many many more. My favorite part so far is being able to take all of the films and messaging I learn and deliver it to those around me, spreading Black voices and media for others to enjoy.

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Blog Post #2 January 28 2023

This past week was such an interesting and enjoyable experience, especially notable to me were our discussions of Us. This movie totally captivated me and will probably be something I talk about for a very long time. And for that, this week's blog post will center mainly on all the ins and outs of Us that I enjoyed the most.

My roommates and I (one of whom is taking this class with me) cooked a huge dinner together last weekend, sat down together, and watched Jordan Peele’s Us. Right off the bat, one aspect of this film that I appreciated was its ability to be scary without disgusting. I won’t spend too much time on this, but recent horror movies I’ve seen, including A24’s Talk to Me, have felt like they have relied too much on being disgusting and horrific. Compare this to Us– which used thematic and emotional elements to create suspense and doom upon the environment of the characters that seems to seep through the television and into our living rooms. This is exactly how my roommates and I felt during the opening sequence of Us, as we watched young Addy wander her way down the Santa Cruz beach, about to change her life forever.

As far as Peele’s messaging goes, it was unclear to me until I attended lecture. The most interesting point brought up was that of the wealth issue. Professor Due mentioned that Peele is significantly above the average Black man’s socioeconomic status and pointed out how this may have been portrayed in his film. I could see how depicting the tethered as the individuals like us that had to do with out, yet made up of the same flesh and deserving of the same privileges, resembled the people around us that are struggling to get out of the same social statuses that others have either been born out of or have already transcended. As someone who severely struggles financially, I can see myself in both positions. I recognize the privileges I’ve been given at birth, but it is very difficult to see people who may not work as hard as me or struggle as much as I have be able to live life seemingly without consequence.

Overall, I found this week to be the most exciting and thought provoking material yet. I really liked how many minute, discrete undertones there were in the movie and I really enjoyed parsing them all out with theories and thoughts during the lecture. Additionally, I have a lot to thank this class for, as it’s also brought my roommates and I together over some fun food and film.

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Blog Post #1: January 22, 2023

I’ve never once been good at finishing an assigned movie or reading. Even after starting school at UCLA, I’ve gotten worse at even starting them. With this in mind, taking this class was a huge gamble on myself and my ability to remain disciplined and focused. However, after watching “Wake” and reading “The Comet”, I have absolutely no doubt in my ability to keep up.

The short film, “Wake”, directed by Bree Newsome, instantly sucked me in and refused to let me come back up for air. I loved the camera work, lighting, and creative genius that this film brings to the table. Especially considering its low, short-film budget, Newsome does an excellent job of delivering a chill to her audience by utilizing creative practical effects and combining elements of societal pressure from the church women forcing our protagonist to keep up her calm front amid the chaos that is unfolding as a result of the conjuring. As her life unravels, Newsome uses fewer words to describe how Charmaine is feeling– this is because her face and actions tell us all that we need to know. I’m really excited to see where this class goes, as I’m already enjoying the film aspects of it. I’m looking forward to situating each story in its historical context as we learn more about each of the time periods and break down each piece of media together. W.E.B. DuBois’s “The Comet” impacted me similarly, as I saw its impact so many years later on the film industry and the Black Horror genre as a whole was striking. I also appreciated how DuBois pointed out that race was entirely socially constructed, as the white woman in the story believes herself to be alone when she accepts her company. However, the group of white people at the end of the piece demonstrates that race constructs thrive in society and cannot exist alone– which is a horrific concept in itself.

I was not expecting this class to be as movie-heavy as it is. It is so exciting to see a class formatted like this, as it not only gives us a different flavor of academia but sharing so many movies and written works by Black authors and filmmakers proliferates the audience that the media reaches, sharing stories of individuals that otherwise would not have been shared. I love that we will be able to watch so many incredible movies and understand the roots of such an important genre and how historically impactful Black Horror is.