History unhinged

from The Brainerd Dispatch TV Week October 4th 2020

by Brainerd Dispatch and Echo Journal

Ethan Hawke stars as John Brown in ‘The Good Lord Bird’

By Kyla Brewer TV Media

As protests and demonstrations across the U.S. and the world shine a light on systemic racism, a new miniseries brings TV viewers back in time to the era of slavery in the weeks before the eruption of the Civil War. Given its context and the content, the production is poised to spark further conversation on the state of race relations today.

Ethan Hawke (“Dead Poets Society,” 1989) stars as famous abolitionist John Brown in “The Good Lord Bird,” premiering Sunday, Oct. 4, on Showtime. The seven-part series is based on the novel of the same name by James McBride and, although inspired by actual events, features fictional characters as it explores Brown’s story. Joshua Ca leb Johnson (“Black-ish”) stars alongside Hawke as fictional young slave Henry Shackleford, whom Brown “frees” and nicknames “Onion” after mistaking him for a girl and giving him a dress to wear. He soon joins the ranks of Brown’s rag-tag army, and the story unfolds through his eyes.

McBride’s novel was released in 2013 and quickly drew compari sons to Mark Twain’s classic “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” It was touted for its “wonderfully bi zarre images” by Héctor Tobar in the Los Angeles Times and went on to win the National Book Award for

Fiction. Hawke not only stars in the television adaptation of the book but also adapted the story for the small screen alongside fellow executive producer Jason Blum (“Sharp Objects”).

“The genius of the novel, for me, is how it deals with gender and race, and how we deal with the blind spots that we see,” Hawke said at the winter Television Critics Association media tour.

Much like the book, the miniseries explores racial, religious and gender roles in America and, according to an official Showtime release, “weaves a humorous, dramatic and historical tapestry of Antebellum America.” Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird” opens in Kansas in 1856, during a time known as “Bleeding Kansas,” when anti-slavery groups clashed with pro-slavery groups. Even ers time to carefully consider the content and design an appropriate PR campaign.

Even with the delay, there’s plenty of buzz about the series, thanks in part to Hawke’s involvement. The program marks the Academy Award nominee’s first major TV gig in nearly a decade. It’s clear from the trailer for the new series that Hawke’s Brown is sufficiently unhinged. The real-life Brown was on a mission to abolish slavery at just about any cost, allegedly convinced that he was doing God’s work and that violence was necessary to end the practice of slavery. Bringing such a character to life would be a challenge for any actor, but Hawke’s part in the miniseries is just one in a long list of challenging roles the actor has tackled throughout his career. He first came to the attention of audiences as Todd An- klater’s “Before” trilogy and “Training Day” (2001) — the latter of which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also earned a nod in the same category for “Boyhood” (2014). The actor is no stranger to adapting stories for the screen, having earned two Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Before Sunset” (2004) and “Before Midnight” (2013).

Hawke’s co-star Johnson is one of the entertainment industry’s upand-comers. The teenager has landed roles in FX’s “Snowfall,” TNT’s “Animal Kingdom” and ABC’s “Black-ish.” On the big screen, he starred in the indie movie “It’s Just a Gun” (2017) and the feature “Ray Meets Helen” (2017).

In contrast to Johnson’s portrayal of a fictional character, Broadway star Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,”

From the list, find each word and circle its letters in the puzzle to reveal a message relating to this week's theme

Houseplants!

from start to finish would highly recommend to anyone.

A/Shannon Auto Body

B/Americna Family

2 x 4

A/Shannon Auto Body

B/Americna Family 2 x 4

Unclaimed Freight 2 x 2

Julie Gowen

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Phone:

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A/JAG Interiors 2 x 3.5

Sudoku

A/Home Instead

2 x 2.5

Videoreleases

The Secret Garden

A/Home Instead

2 x 2.5

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Solution below

FRIDAY’S SOLUTION

A/YMCA

B/Chem Dry of the Lakes 2 x 2.5

Videoreleases

The Secret Garden

After the tragic death of her parents, Mary Lennox (Egerickx) is sent to live at her uncle Archibald Craven’s (Firth) manor. Archibald’s sullenness due to the recent loss of his wife and the condition of his bedridden child, Colin (Hayhurst), combined with the housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock’s (Walters), strict ways and the property’s overall cold demeanor, lead the orphaned girl to spend her days away from the manor, exploring the neighboring forest. During one of these expeditions, Mary discovers a fantastical, hidden garden. The garden is vibrant with nature and secrets that might just be the healing event that she, her uncle and her cousin so desperately need.