He-man!!

 

                                                      ( www.scroll.in.com)


        He-man and The Masters of The Universe!!!  One of my favorite cartoons in the 80s, He-man stood the test of time, becoming a classic and even inspired new cartoons of He-man, even a movie and now we have a controversial show, Masters of The Universe: Revelation, which had a lot of fans triggered.  I have seen the new show on Netflix and I'm gonna give my review later in this point.  Warning, spoilers ahead.  But before we do that, let's go back in time as to why this show is so special.  

 

 

     He-man and The Masters of The Universe, is located on a planet of Eternia, where magic and technology coexist peacefully for the most part.  He-man and his friends,  Man-at-Arms (Duncan), Teela, Orko and the Sorceress among others, help defend Eternia from the villainous Skeletor and his allies, Beastman, Evil-lyn and Trapjaw from gaining control of the planet and learning the secrets of Castle Gray-skull.  Speaking of secrets, He-man's alter ego is Prince Adam who only shares his secret with Duncan, Orko and the Sorceress.  King Randor and Teela have no idea about Prince Adam's secret identity and they were both condescending and disappointed in Adam at times, especially King Randor, who wishes that his son Adam was more brave and courageous as He-man, not realizing that He-man and Adam is the same person.  However, Adam's mother Queen Marlena may know Adam's secret as it was hinted in an episode,  The Rainbow Warrior.

 

 

 

(www.highsnobiety.com)

 

        Ah the 80s, where consumerism was taking off.  And what I mean by that is the manufacturing, promoting and buying toys.  Fast fashion today had nothing on toy manufacturing,  Mother Earth be damned!  He-man like other cartoons, started out as toys, so why not make cartoons and promote the toys at the same time?  Marketing genius!  The He-man action figure was released by Mattel in 1982 and the creation of the cartoon series followed thanks to Filmation. He-man and The Masters of The Universe became syndicated in September 1983, making it the first syndicated cartoon show based on a toy line (Wikipedia).  The show has become so successful that it began to show worldwide, even in Trinidad and Tobago!!  Compared to the comics of the toys, the show was not allowed to promote violence, including sword fighting which was rather strange to me.  What's the sense of having a sword if you can't use it to fight and defend yourself?  He-man's spinoff series, She-ra: Princess of Power, (no, not that travesty) suffered the same fate as sword violence was not allowed as well. 

 

    Lack of violence aside, the series is pretty good and there were some standout episodes such as, Teela's Quest, House of Shokoti pt. 1 &2, The Origins of The Sorceress, The Problem with Power where someone died (supposedly) in the episode and the aforementioned The Rainbow Warrior.  Each episode also has morals at the end of an episode which actually makes sense in the real world.  The show was eventually cancelled and its sister show She-ra: Princess of Power to appeal to young girls.  Not to mention the pretty She-ra dolls for girls to play with.  Again, marketing for kids.  

 

  

 (www.knowyourmeme.com)

                                                                       (www.imdb.com)  

     

    He-man and even She-ra has been cemented in pop culture of the 80s and beyond so much so, there were many reboots of the cartoons.  Shows such as futuristic The New Adventures of He-man in the 90s, the 2000s He-man and even a movie and cult favorite Masters of The Universe was created.  She-ra on the other hand was rebooted only once and sadly it wasn't all that.  I highly recommend watching the Netflix documentary, Power of Grayskull for more history of the show.  Speaking of Netflix, it's time for my review of the new He-man series, Masters of The Universe: Revelation.  

 

                                                      (www.screenrant.com)

    After all that bacchanal with the all those fans who basically bombed the show (I bet some of them didn't bother to watch it to begin with), I've decided to watch all 5 episodes and honestly, it wasn't even that bad.  Unlike that mess called She-ra and The Princesses of Power, Masters of The Universe: Revelation by Kevin Smith, is a continuation of the original series, instead of completely changing the whole premise of a series, which is something that I can appreciate.  

                                              (www.screenrant.com)

        It's start with usual, He-man and his friends battle to defend Eternia from Skeletor and his goons.  Teela gets promoted to Man-at Arms (or is it Woman-at-Arms) and Duncan is ready for retirement.  The Sorceress asks for help from the heroes and they show up to stop Skeletor from invading Castle Grayskull.   Well drama really started where He-man had to save Castle Grayskull from Skeletor and to do so, he had to split the sword in half, eliminating himself and Skeletor but not before turning back to Adam.  Teela was shocked and even pissed at her father Duncan and Cringer for keeping Adam's identity a secret.  Even King Randor was pissed and banish Duncan from kingdom and  threatens to execute him if he returns.  I wasn't expecting all of this bacchanal already and the show barely started.  Teela went into self-exile, shaves her hair and befriended Audra and they both went on many adventures and I'll stop there.  Please check out the show, it's really good.  I really appreciate classic characters such as Clamp Champ, Stinkor, Scareglow and Roboto were added to the show.  Also the animation is gorgeous and if you think that it looks familiar, it was done by Powerhouse Animation, who also created Castlevania and Blood of Zeus.   With that being said, here are my critiques.  

    Teela is mad annoying in the show.  I understand that she was upset that Duncan and Adam kept the secret from her but I really think she was being irrational.  So was King Randor.  After all, they were always disappointed in Adam so I'm not surprised that he would keep it a secret.  The transformation to He-man, reminds me too much of Sailor Moon.  Evil-lyn's voice was too soft for my liking.  I missed the harsh and powerful voice of Evil-lyn in the original, voiced by the late great Linda Gary.  I'm going to ruffle some feathers but I really don't think it's necessary to change King Graskulls' race even though he is fine as hell. I find that they should have kept King Grayskull as is and create a black warrior-king.  I mean they added the token black friend, Audra as Teela's best friend, so why not do the same with King Grayskull?  Also, Teela's voice actor, Sarah Michelle Gellar was a mismatch in my opinion.  Other than that, the show was pretty good.  I'm praying that Mr. Smith and crew will not make Teela a new He-man. Please don't!  She was supposed to be a new Sorceress as it was stated in the original episode, Teela's Quest.  I guess we'll have to wait and see in season 2. 
 

 

 

 

        I really think the reasons that the fans were upset were false advertising and a female lead.  I really understand the false advertising part.  In the preview, He-man was large and center, and with his friends, ready to defend Castle Grayskull!  The part that Adam died made fans, extremely upset! How dare they kill off Adam?  Maybe if they added that part to the preview, the fans wouldn't be as upset, at least be transparent about it.  Teela, being the lead character really triggered some fans, accusing Kevin Smith of creating a too woke show.  Mr. Smith naturally told them to grow the fudge up! Other than the advertising part, I really don't think that it's a big deal to be so triggered.  Don't  these so-call fans realize that female characters play a major role in the He-man franchise?  Well hopefully, season 2 will be better, once everyone calmed down.  

         He-man will always be a classic! No matter, how times it has been rebooted, He-man and The Masters of The Universe,  is one of the cartoons that stood the test of time and thank you Filmation for making such a gem.  Until next time, By the Power of Grayskull!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                

Has BET Gone Through?

     

                                             (www.nexttv.com)

 

    Hello my lovelies, it's been awhile.  I've moved to a new place recently, so it took me awhile to get adjusted, including all the packing and stuff.  I've also decided not to get cable because it's too expensive and frankly, it's overrated.  Especially when you got so much streaming services (now getting very crowded) to choose from.  Speaking of cable, there's one cable station which has major importance in the black community and that's BET.  However, over the years it has become less relevant to black viewers and I'm wondering if BET is losing its steam and concerns about its relevance in these times.  

     To understand why BET is the way it is now, we have to go back in time in its creation.  BET was created by Robert Johnson, who wanted to launch a cable network for black audiences.  He received a $15,000 loan and $500,000 investment from John Malone, an investor.  This new network, named Black Entertainment Television was launched on January 25th, 1980 and the famous logo was created by Cheryl D. Miller.  It didn't start as its own network per se, it was broadcasted for 2 hours a week on USA Network, which was called Madison Square Garden Sports Network back then.  BET's lineup at that time consisted of music videos and black sitcoms re-runs.  BET became so popular with its audiences that it became its own cable station in 1983 (Wikipedia).

 

     Trying to add variety in the network, BET added BET News starring Ed Gordon in 1988.  BET's talk show BET Tonight debuted in 1996 with Tavis Smiley as host and in 2001 Ed Gordon replaced him as host.  It also created other networks such as BET on Jazz (BET J) and BET Her.  I didn't even know that BET was in the New York Stock Exchange in 1991!  Sadly, in 2001, BET is no longer black owned and it was purchased by Viacom for $3 billion, which also has MTV, CBS and VH1 in its wings.  BET also had BET Gospel and even went international, in places such as Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Robert Johnson eventually retired from the network and Debra L. Lee became president of the network.  Sadly, things went downhill from there (Wikipedia).

    

    Now don't get me wrong, BET does have some gems, especially in the 90s.  Growing up, I would watch some music videos from R&B and Hip-Hop stars in the day.  I also looked forward to the show, Video Soul, hosted by the foine Donny Simpson.  Teen Summit, Caribbean Rhythms, Rap City and 106 and Park, and the hilarious Cita's World and Comic View were my go to shows.  Despite the success of these shows, BET was beginning to lose its luster, especially since Viacom took over the network.   

 

 

                                                               (www.bet.com)

 

                                                              (www.wikipedia.com)

        Naturally, there were many critics of BET.  Many has accused BET of promoting negative stereotypes of black people.  Critics such as rapper Chuck D and filmmaker Spike Lee accused the network of upholding negative stereotypes in its programming.  Aaron McGruder of the famous The Boondocks, also protested the network by cleverly creating two episodes, "The Hunger Strike," casting Debra Lee as the villain and "The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show" where the main character, Uncle Ruckus criticizes the network and its portrayal of black people.   Many viewers were also outraged when BET didn't show Coretta Scott King's funeral in 2006.  Instead, it played music videos.  Now, that was a disrespectful thing to do in her honor.  The same woman who supported her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King jr. in his fight for equality and this is the thanks she got.  Malcolm X really said the most disrespected woman is a black woman and sadly Mrs. King was no exception especially by a network which was supposed to show positive aspects of African-Americans.

        Even Sheila Johnson, who was the co-founder, was "ashamed" of the network and she and her kids don't watch it.  Can't really blame her when the network has become a joke sadly.  There are shows such as Being Mary Jane, starring Gabriel Union which was a hit but quite frankly, it was not enough to save the network.   BET got into the streaming game by creating BET+ in collaboration with Tyler Perry Studios and BET: ViacomCBS.  Might as well call it Tyler Perry+.  At this point, BET is a shell of its owner self and it's in danger of becoming irrelevant.  The same can be said for MTV.  With the younger generation turning to social media, especially TikTok, BET has been struggling to attract younger viewers.  Then again cable itself is losing its grasp in viewership, not only is it expensive, it has to compete with a lot of streaming services which portrayed exciting shows which are definitely talked about in the media.  Game of Thrones anyone?  When was the last time anyone has so much excitement about a show on a cable network?

 

 

 

        It might be too late for BET but it can still play an important role in black society but it still has to adapt to attract all viewers in today's times.  Can y'all bring back Teen Summit in this day and age?  A wide variety of topics can be discussed on the show such as racism, sexuality, police brutality etc. Bring back Comic View please...never mind, cancel culture will not have it, so comedians have to be careful with what they say.  Lastly, create a show to expose viewers to the African diaspora and its culture with Afrobeat and Kwaito as examples.  Viewers should also be exposed to other Caribbean music such as Soca, Calypso, Kompas, Zouk, Bouyon etc.  Caribbean Rhythms was a good start but it mostly promoted Reggae and dance-hall music.  Maybe create a travel show to show places and culture around the world, including the diaspora.   Has BET gone through?  Not necessarily.  It is not as relevant today as it was in the past but it still plays an important role in the entertainment industry.  Hopefully, this time BET will do the right thing and stop putting black people in a negative night, after all, it was black people who made BET the way it was before it was sold to Viacom.  Hopefully it can adapt before it's too late!!

 

Can we please stop sanitizing Dr. King?

 

 

(Taken in 2015)

 

Hi everyone!  Happy Martin Luther King Day!!  I hope that you're having a productive day, considering Mr. C is still wrecking havoc worldwide.  While we were celebrating Dr. King's achievements and the continued quest for equality; I've noticed something from some people, mainly yt people in respect to Dr. King.  They always love to quote his phrase, "don't judge me for the color of my skin,"  when called out for their racist behavior or trying to turn Dr. King into some sanitized hero to fit their agenda.  For example, as I have experienced on social media, this 6F dude claimed that Dr. King would not like Black Lives Matter because it's Marxist.  It really irritates me when these people will speak for Dr. King as if he has raised from the dead and spoke to them about his "dislike" for BLM and other organizations of that nature.  These people, being willfully obtuse would complain about BLM, The Black Panther Party and their favorite phrase "black on black crime," where violence in concerned but they will willfully turn a blind eye to systemic and organized violence perpetrated by 6F people against black people and POC.  A perfect example of this is the attack on the Capitol on Wednesday the 6th of January where some claimed that it was the Antifa crew that stormed the Capitol, not Trumpanzees.  However, evidence has shown otherwise but they'll deny it till the day they die.  

 

(Taken in the Summer, 2020) 

It's also ironic that these people chose to celebrate Dr. King, when in the past he was ostracized and even accused of being a communist by the FBI under Edgar Hoover, the very same FBI who celebrated Dr. King's achievements.  Gotta love the irony here, they throw you under the bus, and when you're dead and gone, that's when they want to celebrate you.  But sadly, history is repeating itself because these 6F people are doing the exact same thing to BLM calling the group, Marxist or communist in order to not to remind themselves of the evils they have done in this country.  However, no amount of gaslighting can prevent the real terror in this country and that is white supremacy.  We have seen it happen in the Trump presidency and the crazy events at the Capitol.  Democracy be damned, they want to keep white supremacy at all costs, at the expense of black people, POC, women (well, women of color, because lets face it, some white women participate and uphold white supremacy), LGBTQ+ and progressives who want to see this country prosper and celebrate all people.  If Dr. King was alive, he would still join the fight for equality and continue to call out leadership for their transgressions.  That's the Martin Luther King we need, not the watered down, sanitized version.  So for the next year please celebrate all of Dr. Kings, all the complexities, the doubts, the vulnerability and resolve, not to fit your agenda.  Thank you Dr. King for your fight for equality and justice. We still have a long way to go but I'm hopeful that we'll get there.  

Iwer George!! Ayyyy!!!!

 

(Pinterest.com)

Hello my lovelies!!! Happy New Year.  2020 is finally over and Trump is on his way out!! Praise the Lord!!! It's been awhile but you know, life happens.  Work nonstop and then trying to evade the 19 at the same time!!  I'm back but honestly, it'll be sporadic but I'll try to post more articles in the coming days.  The year barely started and bacchanal started.  An attempted coup that almost happened in D.C and Orange Marmalade still complaining about the elections fraud.  But trying not to stress myself over the news, I decided to listen to some soca music. Soca is so infectious and uplifting and always put me in a happy mood. And since Carnival is cancelled this year because of the Big C, I am having Carnival tabanca (meaning, I miss Carnival).   Speaking of Soca, I want to talk about one of the Soca artistes who has longevity in the business and that is Iwer George.  Iwer George is one of these artistes who is still relevant since the 80s and can hold his own amongst his younger peers.  

Neil Iwer George was born in 1964 in Point Fortin, south Trinidad and began his soca career at the age of 21.  In 1987,  he made a huge hit with a single, "Boom Boom Time," which came in second in the Road March competition at the time.  Since the success of his first single and his LP Keep the Boom Boom Rolling in 1988, Iwer continued to create more hits especially in the 90s where he really took off (Paul Simpson-Tidal).   In the 90s, Iwer was creating hit after hit, including my favorites, "Yes Iwer" and "Ah Wine is ah Wine."  I remembered jamming to his during high school especially during Carnival.  

Iwer was also successful in various competitions in Trinidad and Tobago.  Iwer won two International Soca Monarch titles in 2003, 2007 and 2020 respectively.  He also won Road March titles in 2000 and 2020.  He had a minor beef with Machel Montano in 2018 concerning Road March, in which was rather controversial.  I was sure that Iwer's "Savannah" was going to win Road March.  However, Machel's "Soca Kingdom," which came out of nowhere, won the title.    Finally, they made up and even made the song "Conch Shell," together for 2020 Carnival (pre-Covid).  Iwer got his revenge though when he collaborated with his fellow artiste Kes to win last year's Road March title with the song, "Stage gone Bad."  

Some people may complain that Iwer only singing crap but nonetheless, he makes infectious tunes for his audience and I'm sure they enjoyed it, even the complainers.  But Iwer has a serious side as well when it comes to music.  He sings about pressing issues such as race and economic hardships plaguing the country.  He also had an entrepreneurial spirit by creating  his own radio station, The Street 91.9 fm and even promote soca artistes and calypsonians on his life stream on Facebook last year.  Iwer is a hard working man in the soca business and he shows no sign of slowing down.  I'm looking forward to new music from in 2021 and beyond.