With 2012 on the horizon, I thought this would be a good time discuss some of the favorite media (books, movies, plays, tv shows, comics, games, etc.) that we saw in 2011.
What media did you enjoy this year? What recommendations would you make to others.
Shall we discuss?
Ars Marginal 
Oh good lord, this year was an eye opener for me, because of the people here who suggested such great stuff to me.
For books, I’d have to say Hollowstone, and not just because Neo-Prodigy wrote it, but because it was such a great story, as well as Birth of a Nation, by Reginald Hudlin, which was a recommendation from Neo. It’s definitely one of mine, even though it came out in 2004.
For games, I’d have to say that Batman: Arkham City has been my Number 1 for 2011, because of how good it is. It’s so great to have an entire city to run around in. However, it suffers from some stupid bits of sexism in the design of Catwoman. She sounds great, and her acrobatic attacks is in line for her character, but she wears high heels, and her suit makes a creaking sound when she moves, which means that it has to be more than skin tight, which is stupid for someone who is very active.
Also, the unzipped front. STUPID! It’s winter time in Arkham City when the game takes place, and another hint later says that her suit is made of lycra, which offers no protection against the cold. At least you can choose a different outfit for her after you complete the game.
For movies, Black Panther by Reginal Hudlin. Fantastic frigging stuff, and it’s a damned shame the series never got more money than it did and such a limited release. Hell, I wouldn’t have heard of it if not for, once more, neo-prodigy.
Also, how can we forget Thor? It may not have had a lot of superhero stuff, but it was still damned fun, and Edris Elba was kept on as Hemdal and even got front billing on the DVD cover. Lets hope that in Thor 2, he’s not diminished by the director of Dark Fantasy Rape: The series (a.k.a. Game of Thrones).
If you have any particularly good noms for Black Women & Asian Men, share them on the Blasian Narrative.
The Blasian Narrative can be found here:
http://blasiannarrative.blogspot.com/
Attack the Block is a super obvious one.
The BBC crime series Luther was pretty good, though I haven’t seen much press about it. Did it not make it over the pond? Basically it ruined all men for me that aren’t Idris Elba in a long black coat.
Merlin is my baby, and I will always love it no matter how long and drawn-out the series.
And, erm, I really enjoyed Bridesmaids. Despite the scatological stuff and being pretty much constant #whitegirlproblems, it was great to see some women being legitimately funny and carrying a movie, and I hope that its success will make the biz remember about their female audience.
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As for next year, I’m looking forward to Brave, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Prometheus. *waves pom-poms coyly at Idris Elba*
The LXD
THIS!!!!!
That one issue of Batman Inc. where Cassandra Cain reappeared. Yes my standards are horrible I am aware. They weren’t released in 2011 but I have recently discovered the glory that is Nalo Hopkinson, so Midnight Robber and Skin Folk are on the list as well. As for actual 2011 based stuff, I’ll go with the LXD and Deathless.
“That one issue of Batman Inc. where Cassandra Cain reappeared. Yes my standards are horrible I am aware”
That’s okay.
Gates of Gotham was the highlight of any Batman title for me.
“The Interrupters”
(From the website)
The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities. During that period, the city was besieged by high-profile incidents, most notably the brutal beating of Derrion Albert, a Chicago High School student, whose death was caught on videotape.
The film’s main subjects work for an innovative organization, CeaseFire. It was founded by an epidemiologist, Gary Slutkin, who believes that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source. One of the cornerstones of the organization is the “Violence Interrupters” program, created by Tio Hardiman, who heads the program. The Interrupters — who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories — intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.
In The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews, whose father is Jeff Fort, one of the city’s most notorious gang leaders, was herself a drug ring enforcer. But having children and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets and grounded her. In the wake of Derrion Albert’s death, Ameena becomes a close confidante to his mother, and helps her through her grieving. Ameena, who is known among her colleagues for her fearlessness, befriends a feisty teenaged girl who reminds her of herself at that age. The film follows that friendship over the course of many months, as Ameena tries to nudge the troubled girl in the right direction.
Cobe Williams, scarred by his father’s murder, was in and out of prison, until he had had enough. His family – particularly a young son – helped him find his footing. Cobe disarms others with his humor and his general good nature. His most challenging moment comes when he has to confront a man so bent on revenge that Cobe has to pat him down to make sure he’s put away his gun. Like Ameena, he gets deeply involved in the lives of those he encounters, including a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man from his old neighborhood who’s squatting in a foreclosed home.
Eddie Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was seventeen. His CeaseFire work is a part of his repentance for what he did. Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it – including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. Soulful and empathic, Eddie, who learned to paint in prison, teaches art to children, trying to warn them of the debilitating trauma experienced by those touched by the violence.
The Interrupters follows Ameena, Cobe and Eddie as they go about their work, and while doing so reveals their own inspired journeys of hope and redemption. The film attempts to make sense of what CeaseFire’s Tio Hardiman calls, simply, “the madness”.
http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/
Awesome. Thank you.