Hey Yall,First and foremost, thank you for all of the work you put into these podcasts! I have thoroughly enjoyed your work on Game of Thrones, Westworld, Watchmen, and now Lovecraft Country. As an educator, I always love to hear Ashleys take on things. She has given me so many Wow! I never thought of it that way moments. Ashley had one small comment, though, in the Episode 6 Review that I didnt agree with. When she mentioned that she was surprised that Atticus was a virgin, I remember feeling exactly the opposite. Even in his first sex scene with Leti I remember thinking, This is really awkward.’ He was really rough, and things happened fast. It felt like someone who was perhaps inexperienced and trying extra hard to Be A Man to impress Leti. Atticus is a young man who uses literature to escape the hard realities of life. Like many of us, hes a nerd. To be honest, I had a lot of nerd friends, and most of us werent sexually active at that age. Im not shaming anyone for being sexually active early in their life, but I know many men who in their early 20s didnt want to deal with the complications that sex can bring to relationships. We all have been talking about the ways this show is brings light to what it means to be black, or what it means to be female, or what it means to be gay, or even the intersection of those things. I think this show is also intentionally trying to bring light on what it means to be a man. In my life, the men I take the time to get to know are not at all like the stereotypical men in television. Most men are genuinely caring and loving people with real fears and feelings of inadequacy. Television always portrays us with power (sometimes money, sometimes physically). Even Atticus, a very real character who is refreshingly portrayed with flaws, has the worlds best abs and is constantly shown with beautiful women. A problem that most men have in this world (even the most woke of them) is there are times that we cave into the societal pressure to be a man. When someone who feels powerless is pressured to be a man, theyll often leverage what little power they have in cruel ways. I think this is the root of many issues in our world
domestic abuse, inequality in the workplace, racism, school shootings, and much more. The main male characters of Lovecraft are all (in complicated ways) trying to be a man. George is the most grounded, and hes a nerd! Montrose struggles with what his sexuality means to his manliness. With Atticus, perhaps enlisting in the war (he wasnt drafted) was a way of trying to show the world that he can get out of the books and become a man. Finally, I think a character like William/Christina is especially telling us how complicated it is to be a man. Anyway, I love the show. Thank you for all that you do, and I look forward to hearing your analysis of the rest of the season. Sincerely,Matt from Indiana
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