Quote of the Day

"Well, anyone who wants to go to war can go to war. If you survive it and you come back home, you’re a veteran—that’s part of the script. Those guys should be honored. They’re real men, they’re real women, they’re real people. The part that is a bit more nuanced and a bit more novel is the fact that this war veteran, when you zoom in, is a follower of fiction, specifically pulp fiction and sci-fi. He loves those things and has made it his business. I mean, yeah, Atticus is built like a brick shithouse, sure. But the way he uses his brain, that’s the cool part. Everyone has one of those—not everyone has that height, genetics are genetics. It is what it is. You know what I mean? But, everyone has a brain, and when you watch Atticus use that brain, you go, “Wow, I could do that. I get that. I’m into that. 

That unites people more so than running fast and fighting things and throwing punches. That unites so many people. Nerds come together, please, unite. Let’s all unite, it’s on. For me, that was very important, that Atticus is, and it’s coming to me now, a “yes and” character. Yes, he is that and he is this, and that’s the beautiful part about it. Yes, he’s this war hero. Yes, he can shoot a gun and run fast and take punches, but he also is a nerd. Those things are held at the same level. This man, this Black man, holds multitudes, and uses all of those things as a weapon. He weaponizes his mind. That is a beautiful thing and that was very important for me to let breathe and let live in the series."

Although there's a deeply moving passage a little later on in The AV Club's new chat with actor and MNPP Icon Jonathan Majors, involving the lessons he's learned about the generational gift of heartbreak passed down from his mom -- it's honestly really beautiful and it made me cry a little, you guys -- I of course and obviously quoted the part where he describes his Lovecraft Country character, and thereby his own damn self, as being "built like a brick shithouse" because... yes, Jonathan. Thank you. I agree. I recommend y'all check out our Jonathan Majors Archives where I've documented his brick-shithouse-ness better than anywhere else on the web. I haven't missed a damn crumb. God I lovvvvvvve himmmmm...