Candy Prep

 Okay, everyone, I switched my movie to the 2021 version of Candyman, so that I could explore more of the themes of race in horror films. For preparation, I'm going to watch Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, a documentary based on a book by the same name.  I think that will provide a good context in addition to the readings we're doing and some other outside sources. Another good piece I found to read is from The New York Times, "How Black Horror Became America's Most Powerful Cinematic Genre," by Gabrielle Bellot. This article should be useful because it discuss Candyman, as well as some other films we've viewed so far in this class. I will go back to the podcast list I posted as well to see if any of them review Candyman. 

I'm particularly drawn to this movie because it's set in the Cabrini-Green housing projects on the southside of Chicago. I lived in Chicago for five years in my early twenties. My section of town was on the Northside near Lake Michigan. For three years, I had a one bedroom apartment that cost something like $450 off a small street called Hazel. Chicago at that time (and still?) was a highly segregated city.  I never went near Cabrini-Green, though I thought the city was fairly diverse. I worked with Black people, I took classes at DePaul with Black people, but I had no close friends who were not white. I'm not sure if this is relevenat at all, but it's why I'm interested in seeing this film. 

Here's the trailer for Candyman.