‘Stop! That! Train!’ and Hollywood’s Desperate Need for Stupid Fun Cinema
The first footage of Stop! That! Train! that I saw was a visual gag where train stewardess DeeDee (Jujubee, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2, All Stars season 1 and 5, UK vs the World series 1) directs a passenger to their seat, saying, “You’re sitting next to the...
‘Disclosure Day’: Because The World Could Use A Bit of Empathetic Spielbergian Cinema
SPOILER ALERT: This article includes details about Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day. There’s a scene in the final moments of Disclosure Day when Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) sits behind a news desk, confident and ready to interrupt your regularly scheduled...
The Return of ‘Scary Movie’ and the Death of Monoculture
It’s been 13 years since the last Scary Movie and 26 years since the Wayans Brothers released their satirical, unapologetic parody on the horror genre. It’s a joy to see the gang back together in this family affair, with a script by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen...
‘The Simp’: A Delightful and Painfully Accurate Depiction of Identity Politics, Absurdity, and Caucasity in Hollywood
There was a cathartic validation while reading Roshan Sethi’s debut novel, The Simp, a searingly realistic tale about the absurdity of Hollywood in all its white splendor. The Simp follows...
The Spectacular and Sensitive Silliness of ‘Maddie’s Secret’
In 1986, a movie titled Kate’s Secret was released on NBC. It was an era t ripe with primetime lineups that included movie-of-the-week programming and specific networks promoting a “very...
EVENTS
DIASPORA Calendar: June 29 – July 5, 2026
FILM Cats + Vidiots’ Jellicle Ball 7:30 PM, July 1: Meow! You are cordially invited to the feline ball to end it all when Vidiots goes full Jellicle with a special screening of the all-star furry film meowiscal bonanza Cats! No one thought this Andrew Lloyd Webber...
DIASPORA Calendar: June 22 – June 28, 2026
FILM The Goonies in 4K – 11 AM, June 27: On the last Saturday of every month, the museum's Family Matinee is an accommodative screening where we offer open captioning, keep the theater dimly lit, and maintain a lower volume specifically for neurodivergent viewers....
DIASPORA Calendar: June 15 – June 21, 2026
FILM Car Wash 50th Anniversary Screening in 4K with director Michael Schultz; actors Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas, Melanie Mayron, Garrett Morris, Pepe Serna – 7:30 PM, June 20: The employees of Dee-Luxe Car Wash in Los Angeles are just trying to get through another...
DIASPORA Calendar: June 8 – June 14, 2026
FILM Pink Flamingos – 9:45 PM, June 13: Join Vidiots as we head out to the trailer park for one of the trashiest films ever made and the quintessential cult classic that changed cinema forever. Sleaze-bag criminal Divine is dubbed by the tabloids “The Filthiest Person...
COMMENTARY
‘The Simp’: A Delightful and Painfully Accurate Depiction of Identity Politics, Absurdity, and Caucasity in Hollywood
There was a cathartic validation while reading Roshan Sethi’s debut novel, The Simp, a searingly realistic tale about the absurdity of Hollywood in all its white splendor. The Simp follows the...
The Spectacular and Sensitive Silliness of ‘Maddie’s Secret’
In 1986, a movie titled Kate’s Secret was released on NBC. It was an era t ripe with primetime lineups that included movie-of-the-week programming and specific networks promoting a “very special...
DOSSIER
MUSIC: Toshi
During the late '90s and early '00s, I was very much into the neo-soul scene. I was obsessed with artists featured on Okayplayer and beyond. I loved vibing to music from D'Angelo, Floetry, Les...
LEGEND: Jackie Ormes
The character of Black Panther was a watershed moment in comics, but there were many comic books for and by Black artists and cartoonists. One of them was Jackie Ormes. Born in 1911, she worked as...
THE DIASPORA LIBRARY
‘In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror’ by Anthony D. Romero and Dina Temple-Raston
Since the world is less-than-desirable when it comes to civil rights as of late, I recommend the book In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror by ACLU Executive...
‘Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines’ by Joy Buolamwini
AI is all that anyone can talk about, but no one is really saying anything. Enter Joy Buolamwini, author of Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines. As a graduate...