8bitbasil

All I care about is getting rid of the cancer my father is suffering from and the constant pain. Please help me buy his medication so his body can recover and he can resume his life, and to save me, my entire family, and my young niece who is suffering from malnutrition and anemia.

in iwtv s1-s2, when louis was the unambiguous lead and title character, the marketing sold the show almost like it had an ensemble cast- while louis was foregrounded ofc, lestat, claudia and armand (as of s2) also appeared in key art, posters and other visuals. despite having a limited role in s2, lestat still featured significantly in s2's promo campaign and his lasting impact on all the other characters' narratives was apparent from every trailer and preview. every visual (with the exception of a few character posters) for s1-s2 featured lestat in some way, and even the "murder mansion" 1st look at s2 showing an early flirtation between louis and armand ended on a tease of lestat's name.

the elephant in the room with the official tvl/s3 trailer is the way it obscures both the show's black leads and the fundamental queerness of its characters and premise. if you were watching this trailer as a casual fan of the first 2 seasons, you'd prob assume it was a lestat spinoff instead of a direct sequel and that louis was only making a few cameos to pass the lead baton- if you were watching this trailer as a potential viewer who didn't know anything about the first 2 seasons or the source material, you'd have no idea that the show's main narrative centers on a gay, interracial gothic romance. and this doesn't change my hopes and expectations for s3 itself- writers don't cut trailers and they don't dictate promo campaigns- but i think it's telling wrt amc's priorities as a corporation, the "new" audience it's pursuing for s3 and the reactionary political/media climate we're in in the states rn that a lot of people could watch this trailer and decide to tune into s3 completely oblivious to lestat's bisexuality and the fact that the monstrosity he's talking about- the actions he's in deep denial about and is probably gonna face the worst reckoning for- is the way he treated his black husband and daughter. the "well louis' plot and claudia's presence are big spoilers, so they had to hide them" explanation only goes so far, bc while it does make sense to avoid spoiling the audience, adding a few more split-second frames of louis and claudia's faces wasn't exactly gonna give away the game when they've already released delainey in ghostly makeup, louis covered in blood going after bruce etc. if anything hinting at louis and claudia having some rich story coming up would help retain the audience iwtv already has, including the large number of black viewers who got invested in this show thru louis and claudia's story in s1-s2.

i feel like the difference in reception to one battle after another from black v nonblack viewers has been fascinating- most black folks i know, esp black leftists, didn't vibe with obaa and found it kinda shallow and fetishistic (esp wrt the way it focuses more on white men's feelings about/reactions to the black women in their lives over the actual black women- teyana and chase gave great performances but they were underserved by the script). but there's been a lot more enthusiasm for that movie from nonblack folks i know, and almost all folks i've seen praising it for capturing the political zeitgeist or saying something profound abt white supremacy and antiblackness have been nonblack. and esp wrt the "sinners isn't oscar-worthy, it's just an mcu-fied blockbuster, it doesn't deserve to win anything" discourse that popped up in moviegoing circles after sinners' record-breaking number of oscar nominations, it's also hard not to notice how much enthusiasm for sinners has come from black viewers and it's a movie that features a lot of black talent behind the camera and in front of it- black director and screenwriter, black cinematographer, mostly-black cast. i know some folks who love both movies and that's fine too ofc, but it's a stark reminder that a lot of nonblack folks will always see white people telling stories about black people, speaking about and for black people, as more prestigious, serious and worthy of accolades than black people telling stories that largely resonate and find their home with other black people. and i'm not saying sinners got zero recognition, 16 nominations and 4 oscars is amazing- autumn durald winning cinematography and ryan coogler winning original screenwriting were the highlights of the night imo- considering the uphill battle it was fighting, but if the academy actually evaluated and voted based on merit in all categories it would've gotten way more.

small correction to this post- sean penn had 2 oscars before winning last night for obaa, which brings his total awards up to 3. he was nominated 6 times and won 3- and all of his wins were after the domestic abuse allegations were known to the public. the broader point of this post 100% stands tho

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