Image credit HBO
Racial commentary meets vampires, witches and other supernatural beings in HBO’s rich new drama series, ‘Lovecraft Country’.
Image credit HBO
HBO’s Lovecraft country has been described as a “bold, wild ride that’s well worth taking”, while Vulture says it’s where “monsters past and present converge”.
“‘Lovecraft Country’ feels like it’s all over the place, but it’s definitely not boring. And the theme that runs throughout – that racism against Black Americans is every bit as monstrous as supernatural creatures bent on mayhem – comes through loud and clear”.
Oregon Live
I had the opportunity to take that ride ahead of the show’s release. Lovecraft Country is coming to 1Magic DStv channel 103 as a weekly release on Mondays at 21:30 from 17 August 2020.
In addition, Lovecraft Country will stream on Showmax as well: The first four episodes on 8 September, the next four episodes on 6 October, and the final two episodes on 20 October 2020.
The 10-episode series was produced by Jordan Peele (known for Get Out and the mind-bending Us) and J.J. Abrams; it’s an adaptation of Matt Ruff’s eponymous novel and is filled with symbolism and commentary.
Fans of horror and science fiction will understand the references to H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
William Hope Hodgson’s supernatural horror 1908 novel The House on the Borderland also gets a mention, along with John Carter of Mars (the protagonist of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom stories).
When Tic is asked why he’s reading a book that has a Confederate officer as a hero, he responds that “stories are like people, loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You just try to cherish them, overlook their flaws”. He adds:
“I love that the heroes get to go on adventures in other worlds, defy insurmountable odds, defeat monsters, save the day. Little [Black] boys from the South Side of Chicago don’t get to do that”.
Lovecraft Country is upfront and in-your-face about segregated buses, separate entrances and sundown towns; and also about how unattainable the American dream was for Black citizens.
Sundown Towns, Sunset Towns and Gray Towns are all-white areas, named after signposts reminding passersby that black Americans had to leave town by sunset. Discriminatory local laws and violence enforced segregation.
In Apartheid-era South Africa, this was largely enforced through curfews and dompas. Today, we have Orania, but I digress.
Moreover, Lovecraft Country will make you uncomfortable, and that’s a good thing. How else will we understand the historical complexities that the United States (and the rest of the world) is built upon?
Lovecraft Country is many things, but it definitely doesn’t lack excitement, and it doesn’t sugarcoat the racially segregated ‘Jim Crow’ America of the previous century with cutesy slogans and songs either.
And yet, it’s also so much more than that.
“Lovecraft Country may be a case of intellectual challenge and racial criticism with a generous serving of gothic and fantasy, but It’s also just a very entertaining drama. And it’s also entertaining without feeling like it’s trying to juggle too many pieces”.
Patricia Puentes
Lovecraft Country very accurately portrays what Black Americans had to endure because of the colour of their skin. But just when you think it is just another period piece, the show surprises you by taking a turn for the paranormal.
The show follows Atticus Freeman, or Tic for short. Tic is portrayed by Jonathan Majors (known for The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Da 5 Bloods). He is a Korean War veteran who loves science fiction novels.
He heads back home to Chicago after his father disappears. Tic ends up going on a road trip with his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and his childhood friend Leti (Jurnee Smollett) to find his father.
Their road trip takes them across the Midwest and into Massachusetts. It soon turns into a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.
“When this show is scary, it’s really scary, but there’s also a deeply rooted family drama here and moments of heart-pounding romance”.
Ellen E Jones
Genre: American drama horror television series
Based on: cult novel by Matt Ruff
Series creators
Executive producer: JJ Abrams, also known for Star Wars, Star Trek, Lost, Super 8, and Westworld
Premiere: On Showmax and 1Magic, Tuesdays at 22:30 from 8 September 2020.
The soundtrack is good. It reminded me of Fallout 4, but that’s a story for a different day. It includes popular songs from the sixties, but also modern tracks too, from the likes of Rihanna, Frank Ocean and Marilyn Manson.