"I've been here before, over and over again, and each time the same question: will this be it? Will this time be the one? And each time the same answer. I'm just so tired of it."
This is the first piece of dialogue offered from Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron), also known as Andy; and with this piece of dialogue, we are pushed in the world of Netflix's latest original, The Old Guard. Nevertheless, ten minutes into the film, I find that I cannot stop repeating those lines, word for word, in my head:
I've been here before, over and over again.
Over the past 20 years, the film industry has been saturated with movies of outsiders turned heroes, mutants turned heroes, villain turned heroes, and people with supernatural abilities—you guessed it, turned into heroes. So, when I watched the trailer for The Old Guard, I found myself intrigued, but disappointed in the possibility of this being yet another hero's journey poorly handled.
The Old Guard | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com
I asked myself: will this be it? Will this be the movie that finally understands that Black characters are more than sidekicks (excluding Black Panther, that was the exception, not the rule)? Will this movie finally offer characters that produce more than one line of dialogue, despite their comic book characters being vital to the story at hand (looking at you, Ororo "Storm" Munroe)? Will this be the movie where the black woman is more than her race and her ability? Will this time be the one?
I know that if not, I couldn't bare to discover the same answer, because like the film's protagonist Andy, I'm just so tired of it.
Yet, when the two-hour-and-five-minute movie relinquished its final second, played out by Ellie King's Baby Outlaw, I found a new answer to the question posed over and over again. This film might not be the definitive "it" we're looking for, but it is a damn good start.
In 2017, renowned comic book creators Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández debuted The Old Guard, a comic book series about immortal soldiers who have been fighting for centuries. Within months of its debut, Skydance Media picked up the rights to the comic. By Summer 2018, the film gained momentum with its landing of the acclaimed director of Love & Basketballand The Secret Life of Bees, Gina Prince-Bythewood. A year later, the film would cast an all-star cast after teaming up with Netflix.
The story of The Old Guard follows a ban of mercenaries led by Andy, a woman who has been alive since ancient Greece. The mercenaries have lived through many wars. Two of its members fought as enemies in the Crusade and another fought during the War of 1812, but now they have encountered a real threat to their survival: a businessman with a God complex. Which cues in two of our most important Black characters: James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne).
Meet James Copley
Played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Copley requests the reactivation of the group of mercenaries after the kidnapping of girls in Sudan. It is through his request that the movie unravels, and it's through his actions that the characters are inadvertently placed within harm's way. Throughout most of the movie, James Copley regresses and progresses as a character should. His biggest issues lie within himself and his misguided good intentions, which we all know paves the road to hell. The best part of Ejiofor's character lies within what he is not. In the last twenty years, characters similar to Copley have not been lacking in media.
Hollywood loves having a black leader, only for them to become speed bumps in the hero's journey or the overall story's plot line.
This was seen with both versions of Amanda Waller (Arrow and Suicide Squad) where despite her importance in the creation of the Suicide Squad and Argus, she became a means to an end for the hero, without much substance other than the fact that she was meant to be the villain. The same can be said for Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, who hasn't been developed much within the Marvel cinema world. With the arrival of Ejiofor's James Copley, there is a chance for him tor remain an essential character throughout the series.
A chance for him to be important beyond the world of the heroes, as well as a chance for him to actively be one himself.
Meet Nile Freeman
Nevertheless, despite Copley's character growth throughout the film, he is not the hero we're looking for. Instead, our hero can be found in Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne). It is through Nile that we are introduced into the world of the immortal mercenaries, and it is through Nile that we choose whether to stay. Written as a strong, hero's journey, Nile finds herself becoming the newest member of the Guard. Unlike most superheroes, she was one before she gained abilities. And unlike most superheroes, Nile wanted nothing more than to return to her normal life.
It is interesting seeing a character come into herself and it is even more interesting to see the limitless possibilities they have with this character introduction.
A lot of Nile's journey is handled with care. What can be the most bothersome thing about movies with heroes is how quick they are to give up the life that made them, for a life of uncertainty and gore. Yet, Nile doesn't agree to the life so quickly. Instead, she approaches it cautiously, even rejecting it outright when it doesn't correlate with the beliefs that made her who she is. It is refreshing to watch KiKi Layne as Nile Freeman. She does well with balancing between a fierce immortal soldier and someone worried about the erasure of their old life. Throughout the film, she is easy to root for, but this is due largely to Layne. Nile's character's inability to just go along with the mercenaries could be frustrating.
Yet, Layne shows a balance between what Nile is willing to give and what she isn't. This is best shown within her scenes with Theron and Ejiofor, where she has to decide to be the hero she was meant to be or return to the life she has always known.
Another enjoyable thing about Nile's character is the room for growth. Throughout the film, Nile's character experiences exceptional character growth. Still, the audience can see that she isn't fully developed and has a way to go. Which is fine because her development within this film is enough for now. Nevertheless, it will be exciting to see what Nile can become in the future, should Netflix and SkyMedia choose to make a sequel.
Overall, The Old Guard tells the ending of a hero's journey while birthing another. It has strong female characters, strong characters of color, positive representation for all communities, and provides a hero worth believing in. This movie understands that Black characters are more than sidekicks, because without Ejiofor and Layne's characters, this particular story wouldn't exist. This movie offered characters that are essential in the comics and kept them essential to the film—they even elevated Nile from the comic book for the movie.
This movie is one where the black woman is more than her race and her ability, because it cemented itself in who she is and what she believes in.
This movie, like the comic, is step in a new different direction I, for one, am excited to see.
And who could get tired of that?
Notice Me Noticing:
- Similar to Luke Cage, there is a beauty in seeing Black characters rise after being shot. Same for gay characters.
- Dudley from Harry Potter grew up to remain an ass.
- The soundtrack was impressive. Highlights: Frank Ocean - "Godspeed", Marshmello ft. Khalid - "Silence", Active Child - "Cruel Word", and Ruelle - "The World We Made"
- There are four main characters of color: Nile Freeman, James Copley, Joe, and Quynh.
The Old Guard is now streaming.
Featured image by NETFLIX
- 'The Old Guard' Review: Teaming Up Down the Centuries - WSJ ›
- The Old Guard trailer: Charlize Theron leads action-packed comic ... ›
- The Old Guard Review: An Immortal Bore – /Film ›
- First Look at Charlize Theron's Immortal Warrior in The Old Guard ... ›
- 'The Old Guard' Review: Gina Prince-Bythewood Crafts New Netflix Hit ›
- Charlize Theron in 'The Old Guard' on Netflix: Film Review ›
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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And although everything from age and hormonal imbalances to stress/anxiety and even low self-esteem can play a role in why climaxing can be difficult, after touring with an organization that dealt with porn and sex addiction for almost 10 years, having countless sessions with married women and also researching and writing on sex for over two decades at this point, what I realize hasn’t been discussed enough is that a lot of women can have orgasms — just not vaginal ones via intercourse (check out “Ladies, Please Stop Pressuring Yourself Over Vaginal Orgasms”).
The next thing that should be brought up more in the discourse is the fact that many women have orgasms — they’re just not always earth-shattering ones (like the ones that you feel when you have, say, a blended orgasm).
Today, we’re going to hone in on the latter point. If you know (that you know that you know) that you have orgasms yet the more intense ones don’t happen nearly as often as you would like, there is something that you can do that has been proven to help you out — and the title of this piece is a huge hint as far as what that is. #wink
How Does Weed Help to Create More and Better Orgasms?
GiphyWeed and sex being a cool combination is not something that I haven’t addressed before. A few years back, I penned a piece for the site entitled, “7 Proven Ways Weed Makes Sex So Much Better.” So, why did I feel the need to write this one too? Because I think all of us (who’ve had sex before) can vouch for the fact that you can have a wonderful sexual experience and still not have an orgasm or the kind of orgasm that you’d prefer to have. And when that is indeed the case, well, something that can help you out is yep, marijuana.
For starters, did you know that there are literal studies to support that weed can help women to have more frequent orgasms? Yep. One article that I read stated that out of almost 400 people surveyed, 52 percent said that they had trouble climaxing; however, after a bit of weed use, orgasm frequency increased by almost 73 percent, orgasm satisfaction by 67 percent, and the ability to have orgasms more easily increased by 71 percent.
And since some of these individuals deal with something known as female orgasmic disorder (FOD), because the findings are so significant, there are some states that are actually pushing for FOD to qualify for medical marijuana treatment. Yep, that’s how effective weed use is proving itself to be in this realm.
So, just what is it about weed that makes climaxing a more probable experience for so many of us? For one thing, weed is seen as an aphrodisiac by many individuals. One reason is that it contains properties that help to relax your system as well as intensify the sexual experiences that you have by literally helping to make them feel more pleasurable.
Some studies also reveal that weed use can lower your inhibitions and increase the amount of time you spend engaging in foreplay too. If you add to that the fact that weed also amplifies the sense of touch — well, I’m sure that you get how all of this combined can help you to have not just more but better quality orgasms, for sure.
How to Effectively Bring Weed into Your Sexual Experiences
GiphySo, now that you know all of this, I’m sure some of you are wondering how to bring marijuana into your boudoir in a responsibly effective kind of way. Good question. For one thing, it’s definitely best to start off in small amounts (if you’ve never experienced weed before); you can probably do this best with edibles because many of them are sold in pre-dosed amounts. In fact, although you might think that, when it comes to weed consumption, “the more the merrier,” the reality is actually that overdoing it could decrease your libido instead of elevate it.
Also, it’s a good idea to remember that while CBD is good for ointments and creams that can help to reduce anxiety before sex or enhance afterplay (check out “Sure, Your Foreplay Game Is On Point. Now What About The ‘Afterplay’?”), THC — the active ingredient that is responsible for getting you “high” — is what has a stronger reputation for making sex itself a more pleasurable experience; especially as far as women go. So, what you might want to do is start out with something like a chocolate edible (since it also is an aphrodisiac) with a low amount of THC in it along with a CBD-based lubricant.
Just make sure to keep in mind that edibles can bea bit unpredictable (as far as how high you will get and how soon along with how you will feel once you come down from the high experience), plus, their effects tend to last longer than smoking (edible highs can sometimes last six or more hours while smoking ones are around four or more) — so, if it’s your first time trying all of this out, a night before going to work isn’t a good idea; wait until the weekend instead.
On the other hand, if you’d consider yourself to be a bit of a “weed pro” at this point, you might want to experiment with some different strains of weed. Ones that are somewhat popular in the sexual stimuli department contain what is called limonene. It is actually a chemical that isfound in citrus fruit; however, when it’s combined with weed, not only can it help the weed to taste better, but it canelevate your mood, reduce your stress, andgive your libido and energy levels a bit of a boost as well.
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Listen, if there’s one thing that I’m gonna do, it’s provide a hack to make sex better for you — and there is just too much data out in these streets to not shout out weed as far as achieving quality orgasms go.
That said, if weed ain’t your thing, don’t force it to be just because you read this. There are other ways to have amazing orgasms (check out “15 Women Share Their Personal Hacks For Better Orgasms (And Sex Overall)”). Oh, but if it is (or if you’ve always been curious about it), why not approach cannabis from a strictly sexual angle? At the very least, you’ll get a bit of a euphoric feel. At the most, you’ll have an avenue to experience more of the orgasms that you crave.
Hell, sounds like a win/win to me, sis.
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