Buckle in for a wild ride as Craig and James venture into the dark heart of HBO's Lovecraft Country - a ten-part serial based on Matt Ruff's novel of the same name - and attempt to glean the forbidden cosmic knowledge lurking behind its peculiar architecture. In this first part of a lengthy discussion, the show's first three episodes are analysed and dissected with the ghoulish clinical precision of Hiram Epstein (who definitely did not kill himself) to identify and explore the historical and cultural references stitched throughout.

Highs and lows ensue, embracing a range of topics from the horrific realities of white supremacy in the 1950s through to today; the lingering, shameful legacies of colonialism; the richness of Black culture and creative expression as acts of resistance; critiques of contemporary horror storytelling; the common defences of HP Lovecraft's problematic legacy and why it's important to challenge them; the reasons why characterisation is often far more vital than plot; and the pros and cons of the "pseudo-anthology" narrative format.

Among the eldritch chants in praise of remote star-spawn, praises are also sung for the show's impeccable cast, production design and ambitious scope. Pack your skis, though, pilgrims - there's a steep slope ahead! Have showrunner Misha Green and her writing staff overloaded their sacrificial altar with too many ideas? Can astute references to African-American art and real-life victims of the most heinous acts of white supremacy sit comfortably alongside AHS-style schlock and evocations of amateur spooks from the annals of UK kids' TV? Or will Lovecraft Country's creators lose their way in the non-Euclidian geometry of their own aspiration? These are complex questions that only a semi-inebriated meander riddled with references to Twin Peaks and RnB music can begin to answer.


Featured on fSobRnB:

• Anderson.Paak - 6 Summers
  https://youtu.be/8sOIKlR52qQ
• H.E.R. - NPR Tiny Desk Concert
  https://youtu.be/hxxcEzM8r-4
  
  

The Negro Motorist Green Book
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book

James Baldwin debates William F. Buckley (1965)
https://youtu.be/oFeoS41xe7w

Bideford Witch Trial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bideford_witch_trial

Emmett "Bobo" Till:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

Anarcha Westcott (subject of J. Marion Sims' gynaecologial experiments):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcha_Westcott

Wind of Change podcast on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3vikAuFxKVNe2GBZC61IYD?si=KKF3a84LS-2VZFHzkkEivQ

Follow the fSobriety Jukebox playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1jAIayDqTBbdWEl339DEST?si=2TfQrUaERYGXQIQbfWg59Q