What Whitney's Watching

   Last Friday I sat down to watch the long awaited sixth season of the critically acclaimed show, Black Mirror. A show, in which the hubris, callousness, and stupidity of the modern day is tangled up with technological innovation and social media, often to harrowing effect for the characters in each episode. The show's five episodes this season offered a fresh take on the themes previously outlined as well as introduced the supernatural into a world that felt lively but spiritually sterile. My roommates and I screamed at the twist ending at the end of 'Loch Ness', danced at a particularly clever needle drop during 'Mazey day', and discussed the wider universe shift of the show after the end of 'Demon 79'. At the same time, unbeknownst to us and the rest of the world however, five men were about to set out into the depths of the ocean and the following tragedy and media circus would result in a saga fit for 'Black Mirror'. After a brief delay, Oceang...

 I have no way of verifying this but I hope that dusting off this blog will feel like walking into the 10 year high school reunion of the class one year ahead of yours. You absolutely don't belong there but you aren't a total stranger either. You know everyone but you were barely friends and that was exacerbated by the fact that they forgot all about you when they crossed that stage. Looking through old, unfinished drafts feels like sitting down at a table with older members of your track team and trying to reminisce about the good old days then remembering that your best and clearest memories of the sport happened months after they graduated. This is when the awkward laughter starts and you pull out your phone because suddenly twitter is interesting again. Maybe you get up and grab a cheese plate, who knows. Then someone you had college algebra with walks up to you and you guys chat for a little bit. They ask if you test-taking skills have improved and you rib back about their...

So It's finally happened. The Oscars has finally acknowledged the brilliance of foreign film and more specifically, the cinematic triumph that is Bong Joon-ho's, "Parasite". By awarding "Parasite" four Oscar awards including best director and best picture, the Oscars has begun to turn a page on the continuous snubs and prejudices it's famous for, or at least give off the appearance that the academy has learned it's lesson. However, while it's easy to get excited at the prospect of an academy that recognizes how film has changed and values its new players, it's hard to ignore the academy's history of cheap placation and how this ultimately distracts from the concepts being explored by these new, acknowledged artists of color. "Parasite" has been described as a "pitch black modern fairy-tale" (Rotten Tomatoes) and some variation of a romp or a thriller by various critics which is basically an accurate desc...

*sighs* How are we doing guys?... Look, I know what the answer is but I'm just being nice by asking. This winter sucks. It sucks and it's bad and if you're like me, you're holding yourself together by a thread. This Winter so far has been brutal and harsh, filled with controversy, tragedy, and honestly very little to celebrate. I'm so miserable, I haven't even thought of any puns for this opening! However, despite how genuinely lame it's been lately, we need to persist and move forward and the best way to do that, is to look forward to the zaddies we can expect to see during the remainder of the season. So grab some hot cocoa and turn the heat up, it's time to talk zaddies: Kai Chisaki (Overhaul) Kai Chisaki (better known as overhaul) is the menacingly sexy main villain of season 4 of the mega-hit anime Boku no Hero Academia. Featuring the sexy voice, unwavering determination, and provocative face mask that you would expect from ...

Before I begin, I want to preface by saying, I desperately wanted to like this movie. In fact, I was absolutely pressed to like this movie. After a long and disappointing year of terrible remakes, big-budget flop adaptations, and the complete destruction of what was once the greatest show on TV, I really realllyy needed this and ultimately... ya girl was not only let down but I left the theater feeling disrespected. What was advertised to me as the conclusion of a somewhat rocky but decent enough trilogy, was instead a 12-year-old boy's star wars fanfic with all of the plot-holes, universe inconsistencies, and poor decisions that you would expect from someone who has not yet entered high school. To put it bluntly, the Rise of Skywalker was an immature, unfinished mess and we have no one to thank but JJ Abrams. There is so much wrong with the Rise of Skywalker that I don't even know where to begin. As soon as I got out of the movie I called one of my best friends...

The best content is the kind of content that not only makes us think about the world around us but content that actively questions our societal foundations and makes us remark upon that questioning. It's not enough to point out the issues (police brutality, capitalism, the automation of everything, etc.) because anyone can say "Thing bad" but it takes real skill and dedication to commentary to force people to engage in commentary about your commentary itself yet, Psycho-Pass does this perfectly. The first season of Psycho-Pass is hands down some of the best action-thriller suspense content I've ever seen across any medium or genre. Every episode builds suspense in an increasingly intense way until the final episode of season 1 gives you the perfect catharsis needed after all of the buildup. However, as with all really good anime, the exploration of it's specific themes are what truly shines in this anime. Without spoiling it, Psycho-pass is mostly an explorat...

Popular Black Cinema is now black trauma porn cosplaying as post-BLM, well-meaning white liberal fan-fiction and I hate it. I just hate it. There's no way around it, no nice and fluffy way of saying it but I hate it and to be honest, I saw this coming but wow am I still disappointed that we actually got here. To be fair, A lot popular black cinema, or at least movies that actually allowed black people to speak, from my own childhood were no better. The 2000's were full of feel-good, white savior movies in which the entire goal was to portray racism as a series of misunderstandings between good white people, their docile and noticeably silent black friends, and completely monstrous, mustache-twirlingly evil white people. These movies that *oh yeah* almost never take place in the present day because real racism ended in 1982 with the release of the smash hit "Ebony and Ivory", typically follow the same formula. A good white person (preferably in the 50's or 60...

I love to write. While I'm clearly not trained or a professional (I've had mad typos and my blog is on blogspot sis), it has been a passion of mine for a very long time. When I was a kid, I used to write these dusty ass short plays about ballerina's escaping their home town, or little black girls becoming billionaires like "Artemis Fowl" and even though most of them we're unfinished and like...bad, just the joy of creating characters and imagining a world that those characters exist was enough to get me through my late adolescence in the barren wasteland that is Hagerstown, Maryland. However, I have always had the same problems with my writing. They plagued me then and they haunt my blog now. I frequently have writer's block and there are several factors that contribute to it. The most notable of these is that I spiral off-topic easily and when I finally realize what has happened, I'm so disappointed and disgusted with myself that I abandon the piec...

Alright y'all, we're finally having this conversation. Truthfully, I've been avoiding talking about this for quite some time and even as I'm writing this I'd still rather crab walk to work then talk about it. For one, I have an irrational fear of being doxxed by irate, 14-year-old Knets and losing my job, so that has kept me pretty far from any Kpop related topics. Second, I have always hated all of the fake, worship-y dialogue surrounding idols, their companies, and their fandoms and I find these discussions impossible to have without feeling like I'm slowly losing my mind. I'm also still reconciling my enjoyment of Kpop with the never-ending cultural appropriation but that's neither here nor there. With all of these in mind, it would be super easy for me to completely disengage and never weigh in on anything but, as you all know, that isn't me. I will never be that girl that just passively consumes content and as long as I'm putting my own p...

So, let's say you have a friend. Let's say this friend is close to you or at least close enough to you that if they recommended something to you, you'd check it out and vice versa. One day, your friend finally works up the courage to bring up that "anime stuff you're always watching" and you explain to them that anime is the most advanced medium of story-telling and that they are missing out on some of the best content ever written. They seem intrigued and they ask you that one question that EVERYONE who watches anime has been asked: "If I wanted to get into anime but like, I've never seen anime and I don't want to watch anything weird, what would you recommend?" What do you say? Well many people suggest the popular basics like Naruto or Dragon Ball Z or anything that has been on Toonami in the last 5 years which is fair and fine, but not necessarily the right answer. In fact (and yeah this is unpopular to say but if you had sense yo...

Whew... guys... the [redacted for my personal safety] are at it again and the buffoonery has reached an all time high. Needless to say, as a black girl, there is a certain level of baseline nonsense that you grow to expect. You expect that if you get on a dating app, at least once, someone is going to tell you that they're "eager to try chocolate" and you'll be forced to swiftly block them and re-valuate your entire life. You expect that one day someone will reach up and yank on your box braids while proclaiming that they just "totally love your dreads like omg you have no ideaaa" and you'll have to decide what is more important: your pride or your freedom. You expect a multitude of things to happen to you and whether they are slight annoyances or actual tragedies, they aren't outside the realm of anything you or your friends have come to expect. HOWEVER (and yes this is a big however), the modern day impersonation and minstrelsy that has bloomed an...

*sniffs deeply* Do you smell that? *sniffs again* Ah yes, it's the smell of a crisp, fall breeze flowing in over the horizon. The equinox has passed and it's finally Autumn, meaning that Winter is not so far behind. And what better way to keep you warm and satisfied during these chilly nights then to hurry home after work or school, tune out the rest of the world, and wrap yourself tightly in the arms of your favorite anime zaddy. Engross yourself the big, animated biceps and perfectly styled spiky hair. Lose yourself in the smoldering looks and become entranced with the soothing voices. Truly nothing is better than a fine anime zaddy and to help you get started on finding your perfect anime zaddy to keep you occupied during the holidays, I have compiled a brief starter list of zaddies to watch for this upcoming fall. While you may not see your fav here, these three are guaranteed to heat you up, as the temperature goes down: Senku Ishigami Senku Ishigami is...

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a masterclass in emotional and impactful story-telling that isn't afraid to hurt it's audience. This anime not only subverts your expectations but completely crushes them all while guaranteeing that the audience experiences excitement, suspense, and some pretty decent anime zaddies. Gurren Lagann is one of the few successful anime to not have an originating manga and even though that meant that the creators had no structured story to work from, the anime is beautiful and rich because of how unencumbered it is. You can tell in the way it's written that the writers were excited to be able to work in this medium with free reign, free of any backlash of manga purists or even slight comparisons to a manga. This enthusiasm and excitement comes out mostly in the dialogue between characters, which feels very fresh and real. For example, there's a big romantic scene about a third of the way through the anime that feels less like a typical shonen ...

Truthfully, I'm not a social media/celebrity antics blogger or at least I don't want to be. I don't think it's worth my time and to be quite honest, I would suck at it and y'all know that. The idea that I would research people who have no business being famous in the first place, sit my ass down, and put my time and effort (because this DOES take effort) into writing about "whose baby mom's is smashing who" or "which influential politician was exposed for doing blackface today" makes me SICK. It makes me physically *blerrrrgggggghhh* and as long as there is anime and teen murder mystery romance dramas left in the world to watch, I will always have more important things to write about. HOWEVER, I am a human woman in 2019 with a twitter, which means from time to time, I'm gonna see some shit that not only earns my attention and disgust but fills me with so much annoyance and cringe that I have no option but to write out my feelings to get s...

Saiki Kusuo is the strongest anime protagonist of all time, with an ever-growing list of greek god like abilities that in comparison, makes the abilities of other popular protagonists look like neat party tricks. You know that tired ass "Who would win in a fight, Goku or Superman?" argument that all the dusties in 2012 would always debate on twitter? Well, the answer is Saiki and it isn't even close. The entire fabric of the universe in which Saiki exists is being bolstered and supported by his abilities and if nothing else, you need to watch this anime just to get an understanding of what he can do. From casual time travel to all and any form of telekinesis you can imagine, it is so much fun to watch someone so OP do virtually nothing but navigate high school with his power. Truly a ROMP, if I do say so myself. Also, for my fellow shonen heads let's not act dumb. Watching strong ass characters become OP over time is half the reason we love these shows and since ...

Some of y'all are going to be mad at me, but it must be said: Elite is the best teen drama to come out in the last 5 years and none of the other girlies even come close. Literally no one is touching Elite not sleepy Riverdale, not "this doesn't need to exist" Degrassi Next Class, NOT DUSTY 13 REASONS WHY, and on the lowest of keys, not even Euphoria. It's just that good. Now, a lot of y'all who are reading this are probably asking yourselves: "Damn, why is she gassing this random ass show? Isn't it not even in English? She has to read subtitles on a show that isn't an anime and she's STILL gassing it? Yiketh." And to that I say: "Stop hating and just watch the show. CLEARLY there is a reason I'm going so hard for it!" The reason being that Elite is the only teen show in recent years that understands fully what it is. It's isn't trying to start any conversations acting like a school assembly and it isn'...

I like trash. Specifically, I like to hate watch a lot of trash shows and then fire off shady tweets about the piss poor writing as I go. For as long as I can remember, trash ass TV with shite writing was one of the things that kept me going. From Power Rangers and that series' lack of any real character development to completely nonsensical Riverdale, I am a trash stan but no trash show quite compares to the hot steaming pile of filth that is 13 Reasons Why. 13 Reasons why with the release of season 3, has proved once and for all why they should be crowned the most bullshit show on TV. In season 3 especially the character dialogue is confusing, the plot meanders needlessly, and SEVERAL actors are completely phoning it in. This alone would be excusable because, as I've previously mentioned, I love garbage but 13 reasons why veered hard left into the unacceptable lane and even I wasn't able to stomach what I was watching. Had this show focused on being a poorly written, over...

I am an over-critical fan. I tend to nitpick and deeply critique the shows and movies I love instead of just sitting and enjoying them for what they are. No, I'm not out here doxxing people who disagree with me on some dusty fan twitter but I will still go in about my shows. And it's that passion for a show or artist or fine ass anime boi that makes content worth taking in. Getting involved and attached to your favorite media enhances the experience. The more you care about it, the more immersed you are in the world. You're more likely to support other projects the creators and actors undertake and that's nice, we like that. You're more likely to read fan theories and lore and hey, that's a good use of time. That fills the void, yes?? For a long time, it seemed to me that unless you were trolling the shows and it's fans or engaging in targeted harassment of female participants in your lame ass fanboy boys club, that there was no true downside to stanning ...

One Piece is one of the greatest anime of all time and I will never let anyone convince me otherwise because they would be wrong and I don't listen to wrong people. It is a MASTERPIECE. An exercise in impressive and engaging storytelling. You know what's crazy? The One Piece Anime is 20 years old and still manages to keep an audience engaged and build suspense. 20 YEARS of the same handful of pirates and we STILL CARE ABOUT THEM!? Your favorite show can't keep a character interesting for 2 seasons and One Piece has kept Luffy fresh and dynamic for almost my entire life. That alone is so much of a feat that I don't even know why you would need convincing after that. Honestly, anime aside One Piece might be one of the greatest shows period across all mediums and it's not hard to see why. One Piece is about a boy, Monkey D. Luffy, whose life goal is to become king of the pirates. We watch him compile his crew, grow and train, and travel the seas as pirates do....

The Promised Neverland manga is some of the most compelling new manga to come out within the last few years and anyone who still insists on sleeping on it is severely missing out, a flop, and hates good things. Seriously, it's really good and is just the sort of biting social critique through an unconventional lens that seems to be gaining in popularity, especially in the United States. The best content to come out of this year in fact, acknowledges how dark our world is and then guides the audience through digesting that darkness through it's style and structure. A perfect example of this is HBO's "Euphoria", a show that finally captures how toxic, dangerous, and confusing the American high school is, while also accurately framing this chaos as commonplace and ordinary, almost banal. The sort of normalcy which, if you've been in any high school in the last 5 years, you know is the standard.  This also makes for powerful storytelling as up until now, it see...