The Museum of Pop Culture’s mission is to make creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities.
It's Coming From Inside the House! Watch 'Candyman' (1992) With MoPOP + Special Guest Isis Asare of Sistah SciFi!
The Museum of Pop Culture's monthly horror watchalong film series is back in June and we’re partnering with Queer Afrofuturism Mini Book Festival, a futuristic queerness mini book festival discussing books featuring queer people of color protagonists to celebrate Pride & Juneteenth. We’ve invited Isis Asare, host of the festival and owner of Sistah SciFi, to choose a film she feels deserves a place on our list of 100+ Horror Films to See Before You Die. Isis chose Candyman (1992), Bernard Rose’s adaptation of a Clive Barker short story that stands as a classic of contemporary horror cinema that explores race, class, and trauma strengthened by Tony Todd’s iconic portrayal of the titular character.
- Register Now: Candyman Watchalong | Friday, June 18 | 7 p.m. PT
A quick synopsis of Candyman (1992): The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Here’s a handful of program elements you can expect to see this Friday, June 18:
- Pre-film introduction with MoPOP’s Robert Rutherford and Kwapi Vengesayi, as well as Sistah SciFi’s Isis Asare
- Cheap-as-heck cosplay
- Chat with Robert, Kwapi, Isis, and other fans during the film
- Post-film discussion and Q&A with Robert, Kwapi, and Isis — be a part of the conversation!
As with all of our virtual events, you'll need to register in advance to attend. This program uses a pay-what-you-can ticket model — every little bit helps! All proceeds contribute to MoPOP programming, along with the preservation of our collection and our educational initiatives, all of which support our mission of making creative expression a life-changing force.
After registration, instructions on how to join the program will be e-mailed to you. If you happen to own a copy of the film, make sure to get it queued up at 7 p.m. PT on Friday, June 18. Otherwise, here's where you can find Candyman (1992) online:
More About Our Special Guest, Isis Asare of Sistah SciFi!
Isis Asare is a serial cultural entrepreneur with over a decade of finance and business development experience at Fortune 500 companies such as T-Mobile, Microsoft, Shutterfly, and Amazon. One of her earliest ventures was Sistah Sinema.
Asare officially launched Sistah SciFi February 2, 2019 with a celebration of Jewelle Gomez's 25th Anniversary edition of The Gilda Stories. Between 2019 and 2020, Sistah SciFi sales increased tenfold through expanding physical book selection, launching private label shirts, sweatshirts, and bags, and offering audiobooks and ebooks. Sistah SciFi is on-track to see 10x sales growth again in 2021.
Isis Asare earned her BA in Psychology and African American Studies from Stanford University, Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University, and MBA, International Finance from Columbia Business School.
More About Queer Afrofuturism Mini Book Festival!
Queer Afrofuturism Mini Book Festival, taking place virtually on Saturday, June 19 from 4 - 7 p.m. PT, is a futuristic queerness mini book festival discussing books featuring queer people of color protagonists to celebrate Pride & Juneteenth.
This year's festival will have breakout rooms discussing each of the following books:
- Dread Nation/Deathless Divide
- An Unkindness of Ghosts
- How Long Til Black Future Month (The Effluent Engine)
- Black Sun
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If you like what you see, support our work by making a donation or planning a visit to MoPOP today!