The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 marked a moment of unprecedented material destruction and cultural rupture in modern Japan. The disaster soon became subject to human interpretation and political manipulation as the earth tremors and subsequent fire produced not only physical chaos but also the rumors and violence against Koreans revealing what was fearful and why. After a century, this documentary reconstructs the course of this mayhem against the colonized, and traces the ways in which the story of this genocidal violence has long been covered up, haunting those whose lives were never the same after encountering the forbidden truth.
From its visually stunning opening credits, which show women dancing through a forest to musical rhythms that sound almost primal, to its quiet, heartbreaking final frame, Mona Fastvold’s historical rendering of the Shaker religious movement is an experience that will stay with me for a long time.
By undermining the appeal and credibility of black characters, the show compromises the very idea of diversity and representation it sets to promote.
I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.
This horror movie combines elements of horror and babysitting with Black representation.
Not every silence is empty. Some are filled with things too heavy for words.
