Monday 31 October 2016

Luke Cage

I'm normally not a big fan of superhero movies and television series, simply because I don't think such over powered characters could exist in modern society without changing it into something significantly different. But I have been watching Luke Cage on Netflix, in part due to the heavy-ish chess content.
Essentially Luke Cage is indestructible and super strong, but otherwise operates as a normal person. He goes around fighting evil and writing wrongs, with the assistance of people he knows and works with.
One of the side characters in the show is Bobby Fish, clearly named after Robert James Fischer (I assume the name in the show is his nickname), who plays chess in the barber shop where some of the action takes place. What is good about both the character, and his chess scenes, is that the producers resisted the temptation to just make stuff up. The games look real enough (eg Sicilian Dragons etc) and any show that name checks the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit goes well up in my estimation. While in part the whole 'chess as a metaphor' happens, it is more the use of chess in the background (prison, street, shop) that impresses me.
Currently around half way through, and I hope to see the rest in the next few weeks, if I manage to find the time.

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