Mixed Reviews with Allison & Aubrey

Welcome to the Season 2 Finale. We wrap up this season with the ending of our 3-part series on, Roots (1977). The final two episodes shows viewers the complexities that came with emancipation after the Civil War and the dangers of white rage. How will the descendents of Kunta Kinte fair with the dangers of freedom? We find out together in this final episode. 

This week, before our season finale, we are dipping into the archives one last time this season. In this episode we examined the confusing politics and mixedness of everyone's favorite half-giant, Rubeus Hagrid. This episode is from a series in which we examined "mixed" characters and tropes in media. Enjoy this rewind and a little break from our Roots review. 

In Part Two of our 3-part, Season 2 Finale, we continue to tackle the 1977 mini-series, "Roots". In episode 3 and 4 we meet our hero, Kunta Kinte, as an older man as he navigates building relationships and having a family within the power structures of slavery. Join us as we draw connections between slave catchers and modern policing, family separation during slavery and today, and the importance of knowing your past so as to be able to dream about a more expansive future.

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Welcome to Part 1 of our 3-part season finale! In this special we will be covering the 1977 mini-series "Roots". This show was a cultural moment nearly 50 years ago. Based off the book written by Alex Haley (The Autobiography of Malcolm X) this show traced his own roots and follows the story of the young West African man, Kunta Kinte who was stolen and sold into the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In Part 1, we cover the first two episodes where we meet Kunta Kinte in his home land and follow his journey on a slave ship to a Virginian plantation. Join us as we break down this famed series.

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For our eleventh episode of the season, we watched  Kasi Lemmons' 1997 independent film, "Eve's Bayou".  This film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollet, Lynn Whitfield, and Diahann Carroll is a complex narrative about that examines difficult topics such as memory, complicated family dynamics, and Black spirituality. Written and directed by Lemmons, the story is set in the romantic and mysterious bayous of Louisiana during the mid-20th century. Join us as we review this week's film. 

In this special throwback episode we are going back in the archive and recovering an episode from our first podcast, Gray Spaces. In this episode we were experimenting with a different series where we examined how "mixed" people were discussed in film. We look at Killmonger as mixed by being half Wakandan and half American. Did he fulfill any mixed tropes? Was Killmonger right? We tackle all of that in this throwback episode.

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In the ninth episode of our second season we watch F. Gary Gray's 1996 bank robbing, action film, "Set It Off". This film has an all-star cast with Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, and Blair Underwood. This film focuses on four best friends who have all been hurt by the system and decide to rob a bank to change their situations. This film tackles issues of race, capitalism, gender, and relationships. Join us as we review this genre-bending film.

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In our 8th episode this season, we watch Steven Spielberg's interpretation of Alice Walker's novel, "The Color Purple" (1985). In this episode we discuss violence against Black women, the historical context around this film and the time period in which it takes place, and the lens of white directors in Black cinema. Join us as we ask the question, "Can white directors make Black movies?"

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Welcome to our First Annual Mixed Reviews Oscars Bonanza...or something. In our seventh episode of our second season, we review all of the Black films nominated for the 93rd Annual Academy Awards Ceremony. We discuss "Judas and the Black Messiah", "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", "Da 5 Bloods", "Soul", "The United States vs Billie Holiday", and "One Night in Miami..." Join us as we review and give our predictions for what will happen on April 25th. Whether we loved the film or not, we still rooting for #everyoneblack

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In our sixth episode of the second season we finally take on the producer giant, Tyler Perry in his film, "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007). This film focuses on single dad attempting to regain custody of his children. Join us as we disentangle the tropes and ideologies buried within this script.

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