Black History & Horror in Lovecraft Country
Stephanie Crawford
It’s Spooky Season y’all! Although we all will probably not get to indulge in all the aspects of the season, we still have the quarantine-friendly opportunity to screen some of our favorite scary movies and TV shows. Personally, I started the season a bit earlier in August, with the premiere of one of my current favorite TV shows, Lovecraft Country. Now, I am NOT a horror fan; I like spooky movies and TV shows, something that’s a lil creepy. I do NOT enjoy petrifying, horrifying, frightening, can’t-sleep-or-turn-off-the-light-cause-somethin’-gon-get-me type of content. Once a TV show or movie starts messing with my peaceful, happy dreams and sleep schedule, I can’t take it, and I’ll be mad. Though the series is a smidge high on my scary-odometer, I can’t help but tune in each week... but only in broad daylight.
For those who don't know, Lovecraft Country is a new Black led, written, directed, and produced horror series set in the 1950s. One cannot truly explain or summarize the series’s plot since each episode is truly a trip. Still, in my best efforts, Lovecraft Country follows Atticus Freeman, a Korean-war veteran, as he seeks to uncover his mysterious and mystical ancestry. While Atticus’s journey sparks the action, the series also focuses on the lives of the other characters: Letitia 'Leti' Lewis, Ruby Baptiste, Montrose Freeman, Hippolyta Freeman, George Freeman, and Diana Freeman. While the show is technically a horror series, it doesn’t let genre conventions hinder its wild and expansive universe. It weaves action, mystery, adventure, war, and science fiction into the narrative, allowing us to see Black characters explore genres where they were previously side-lined or absent. However, the focus on horror in the series has led to some of the most poignant depictions of what’s genuinely terrifying for Black people. Being Black in America is a horror show in itself, and Lovecraft Country takes that concept to a whole new level.
The horror genre in itself is political, and it reveals the greatest anxieties of a culture. For the vast majority of horror history in the American context, Black people were the embodiment of white culture’s most profound cultural anxieties. Now, Black creators are using horror’s political nature to change the narrative and examine white supremacy’s terror. Tananarive Due says it best in the fantastic documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror: “Black history is black horror.” The show is set in the 1950s, and the setting of Jim Crow America in and of itself, sparks fear. We all know of the terror our great-grandparents, grandparents, or even parents endured, and the show takes this daily horror – sundown towns, police, burning crosses, racist mobs – and gives it a supernatural bend. Each episode of Lovecraft Country uses horror and other genres to delve into some of the most uncomfortable parts of our history and ourselves, and explore the depth and breadth of white supremacy. Whether it’s the chilling ancestral reveals in episodes 1 & 2 delving into the legacy of slavery, or how episode 3 highlights Black spirituality, medical experimentation on Black people, and the dangers of “pioneering” into white communities, and even the legacy of homophobia, transphobia, and colorism in Black communities, Lovecraft Country incorporates it all and some.
Though the show incorporates great commentary on poignant issues, this does not absolve it from criticism. Given the show's heavy social and political commentary, there are serious problems with handling particularly sensitive subject matter. In conversations I’ve had with others and commentary I’ve seen online, the issue of colorism, especially with the characterization and arcs of the darkest complected characters, caused alarm. How it depicts its queer characters, and violence against them was especially hard to stomach. For those who know, and also for those who plan to watch, the episodes “A History of Violence” and “A Strange Case” are particularly discomforting. But, there are times where the show is just genius and gives its Black audience a certain “je ne sais quoi” that makes you feel seen and heard. Whether it's seeing racists get that same ugly energy right back at them, or seeing Black characters wielding otherworldly power, or seeing a whole episode explore cosmic Afrofuturism, Lovecraft Country does give unforgettable moments.
As you're celebrating the spooky season, either get a subscription or ask a friend for their HBO Max password and check out Lovecraft Country. With incredible performances, episodes, and storylines that will have you stressed out, shocked, scared, bamboozled, angered, excited, and intrigued all the way, this show is an ambitious artistic project created, written, and directed by Misha Green that delves into Black history and horror. It knows white supremacy is our boogeyman, and there ain’t nothing scarier than that.
Stephanie Crawford
Co-Editor in Chief, The Blue Record Blog
