Marvel’s Luke Cage dropped on Netflix Friday. The reviews are flying fast and furious for each episode. From a dissection of lighting and character development, to Netflix outages, the buzz is strong. We did our binge watch over the weekend and liked what we saw. It took the comic book genre in an unprecedented direction. With cultural cameos in the forms of landscape, people and references, to dialogue that simply and finally “gets it” Luke Cage delivers the goods. Yet, an unexpected and super pleasant surprise was the message it sends regarding manhood. Sometimes it is less than discreet, at other times nuanced, but it’s always effective. Without spoiling the show, here are a few lessons in manhood you can glean from Mr. Luke Cage.
1. Never Backwards, Always Forward
As we mentioned, sometimes the lessons are pretty straightforward, if not altogether in your face. “Never Backwards, Always forward” is an unapologetic mantra of the show. Spoken several times by the character of Pops, who serves as a mentor and father figure for the titular character of Luke Cage. The message is clear though. No matter what you face in life, you have a responsibility to keep moving forward and not look back. Forward means progress, which makes it better not just for you, but those coming behind you. No one ever wins by looking back or worse yet, quitting altogether. Lesson here, keep moving forward.
