![]() ![]() There is a moment in the film when Sherman’s (Michael Hargrove) story is being retold through the shadow puppets and the voiceover of William Burke (Coleman Domingo), then Sherman’s story is repeated in the shadow puppet sequence in the credits but it is slightly altered this time by an unknown hand. Typically, hands and unwanted shadows would be edited out of this post, but DaCosta saw the importance of the creation and physical control of the narrative being told through the puppets. The conscious choice to keep the silhouette of the hand controlling the shadow puppets was to show the audience that the person telling the story is just as important as the story being told. Reiniger believed animation such as the use of silhouettes was the greatest visual medium to work with since the puppets existed on a separate plane of existence that did not follow the rules of our world. The puppetry adds a layer of disconnect to separate the audience and storyteller from the real terrors that Black men and children experience.ĭaCosta stated that she was influenced to use shadow puppetry to tell the stories of the Black men and children who became a version of the Candyman after discovering and researching Kara Walker, an artist recognized for her use of cut-paper silhouettes depicting historical narratives haunted by sexuality, violence, and subjugation, and Lotte Reiniger, a German film director and pioneer of the silhouette. The shadow puppet sequences are used periodically throughout the film and in the credits, telling stories about inherited hatred and violence. There is an eeriness to these silhouette figures with their exaggerated limbs and stiff movements that visually represents the horrors of the tales being told. These puppets are practical cut-outs that are performed on an overhead projector. 'Candyman' Credit: Universal Pictures The use of shadow puppetryįrom the moment the project was greenlit, DaCosta knew she wanted to tell the story of Candyman through shadow puppets. The legend of Candyman is formed, forgotten, and reformed over and over again as Black men and children are murdered, which turns the Candyman into an avenger of intergenerational trauma. ![]() The first death was of the Black painter, Daniel Robitaille (Tony Todd), who was brutally murdered in the 1800s after the discovery of his relationship with Caroline Sullivan, the daughter of a white landowner. Candyman ’s legend is brought out of the deaths of Black men. While Rose's Candyman is a bona fide horror classic, its story heavily focuses on the anxieties of a white character that feels "foreign." The story does not attempt to understand the "why" behind the Candyman legend or how the community was influenced by the legend.ĭaCosta’s Candyman makes the belief and obsession with the legend the central focus of the story. Heavily inspired by Barker's story, Bernard Rose relocated the story to Chicago's Cabrini Green housing project and retold the story of a bougie outsider fascinated with an urban legend in a Black community. As she photographs the area’s graffiti and deterioration, she discovers a secret kept by the community: an urban legend that would eventually be her demise. The legend originated from the perfectly twisted mind of Clive Barker and his short story, " The Forbidden." In "The Forbidden," an academic named Helen becomes obsessed with the abandoned flats of Spector Steet Estates, a housing development that has fallen into disrepair. If you’re not familiar with Candyman or the urban legend that surrounds him, then let me break it down for you. She collaborated with Manual Cinema, a Chicago-based design company focused on integrating practical theater elements onto the silver screen, to create the shadow puppetry to pass the lore Candyman down to the audience.įandango All Access sat down with DaCosta to break down how the shadow puppet sequences affect the retelling of urban legend in a way the original Candyman failed to do so. In Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name, the legend of Candyman is told in many different mediums like spoken words, paintings, and shadow puppetry, an art form not commonly used in modern-day cinema.ĭaCosta’s integration of shadow puppetry lends itself to tell the stories of the violence and dispossession that created Candyman in the first place. Visual storytelling is one of the most effective ways to tell a story that gets a response from the audience, and that couldn't be more true when it comes to urban legends. Legends linger in the back of our minds when we are alone due to the effective storytelling by the one who tells us the story. ![]() Urban legends have a funny way of integrating themselves into our everyday consciousness. DaCosta celebrates Candyman and all of its glory and lore through a visual medium we don't often see in cinema. ![]()
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