DEC 15 2023
HBO's exclusive series Lovecraft Country perfectly aligns themes of racism, bigotry, and minstrel culture and uses it to amplify the more fantastical elements within the show. The show's first episode, titled "Sundown", (a theme that will tie in to the episode later) begins with the main character (Atticus) coming back to visit family in his old town in Chicago after fighting in the Korean War, a direct call to how minorities were mostly drafted over White Americans. Chicago is perceived as lower class, segregated, and close-knit. However, despite the city's unfortune, Atticus' neighborhood contains bright colors, sunny skies, and beautiful scenery. This choice was made to represent the optimistic mindset African-Americans had despite all the odds going against them.
As the story continues in episode one, Atticus and his family venture off into "Ardham" Massachusetts to find his father who mysteriously disappeared one night. In the series, Ardham is said to be a "Sundown town", or a city that lynches any Black person found within the area at sundown. Ardham is portrayed as clean, overly bright, and rather unsettling. The citizens wear bright clothing and are primarily blonde with blue eyes. Ardham is portrayed this way to show that Ardham is better and more refined than Atticus' neighborhood in Chicago, while also providing uncomfortable undertones by showing how superficially perfect Ardham is. While it has inhabitants and nicer buildings, there's no soul or heart found within the city.
Throughout their trip, the characters run in to many racist encounters, such as being forced to run from a white-only restaurant by a mob, and getting stopped by a cop for "trespassing" a forest. Narratively, Lovecraft Country forces the audience to bare witness to the unfair treatment the protagonists receive, and expose the violence and discrimination Black people in Jim Crow America had to face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahe-xCMqFS8
In later episodes, a girl gets possessed by two demons that terrorize her for numerous episodes. The girls have knotted hair, red lips, and tattered clothing. The characters dance exaggeratedly and unnaturally, similar to how blackface performers did during the Jim Crow Era. The girls represent shame and the general perception of Black people during the 50s (violent, goofy, poor, and ugly.) The demons chase the girl constantly, and the girl is never able to escape them no matter where she goes. This choice was made to not only amplify the horror aspect of the show, but also to symbolize what Black Americans go through everyday: Live in fear and always be reminded of what society thinks of them. (It should also be noted that the minstrel character was the girl's greatest fear prior to getting possessed.)
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