Johnnie Jae, Author at Red Pop! News

Review: Lilo & Stitch is Still Cute, Fluffy, and Still A Little Off Target

When Disney released the original Lilo & Stitch in 2002, it was one of the few mainstream animated films set in a non-white, non-mainland context, and it captured hearts with its quirky humor and tear-jerking portrayal of sisterhood and found family. Set

May 24, 2025

4 mins read

Predator: Killers of Killers Carries the Torch Lit by Prey

When Prey premiered in 2022, it didn’t just revitalize the Predator franchise; it redefined it. Centering on Naru, a young Comanche woman, the film celebrated Indigenous resilience and ingenuity, proving that stories grounded in authentic cultural experiences could redefine genre narratives AND

May 23, 2025

1 min read

Blessings From The Underground: An Interview with BAZILLE

In the heart of the musical underground, where memory meets movement and sound becomes ceremony, there's an artist whose work pulses with the beat of ancestral love and unshakable truth, whose story runs deep.

May 22, 2025

8 mins read

Sinners Gives Us Vampires, Music, and a Moment of Indigenous Power We Can’t Ignore

Set in 1932 Mississippi, Sinners is a haunting, atmospheric tale rooted in the music, spirituality, kinship, and resilience of Black Southern communities. But Coogler threads a deeper, more violent current through the narrative that recognizes the interwoven legacies and scars of the

May 21, 2025

2 mins read

Sunset Exhibitions at The Broad Celebrate Native Performance. But Where Is the Tongva Presence?

There’s a bold power in Indigenous artists taking up space in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, especially when that space has historically excluded us. The Broad’s new Sunset Exhibitions series is a beautiful and long-overdue gesture toward celebrating Indigenous cultures through

May 16, 2025

2 mins read

Reclaiming the Stars Through Comanche Futurism: An Interview with Weyodi OldBear

Weyodi OldBear’s novel As Many Ships As Stars is a sweeping work of Indigenous science fiction, reimagining the Quahadi band’s first encounter with horses, not on the Southern Plains, but across the cosmos. Rather than simply placing Indigenous people in futuristic settings,

May 13, 2025

7 mins read

It’s Official! We’re Going Back to Ice Cove: Netflix Renews “North of North” for Season 2

North of North is coming back, and not just because it’s good TV, but because it’s real. Netflix has officially renewed the groundbreaking Inuit-led series for a second season, and this is more than a win for representation. It’s a win for

April 30, 2025

1 min read

Rooted in Story, Rising in Vision: Celebrating 10 years of 4th World Media Lab

This year marks an incredible milestone in the movement for media justice and narrative sovereignty, the 10th anniversary of the 4th World Media Lab, an Indigenous-led, matriarch-rooted fellowship that continues to shape the future of filmmaking through mentorship, community, and cultural care. This

April 19, 2025

2 mins read

Beneath the Silence: Oro Jaska Confronts Trauma, Identity, and Injustice in Sámi Communities

Powerful, timely, and unflinchingly honest, the critically acclaimed Sámi/Norwegian youth series Shut Up (Oro Jaska) is breaking new ground in Indigenous storytelling. Addressing complex issues such as sexual assault, queer identity, and the silence that often surrounds such topics in Indigenous communities, the series

March 31, 2025

1 min read

NATIVERSE: EP4 THE STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES EPISODE

Join as we talk with acclaimed writer Stephen Graham Jones on his new novel THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER. we discuss everything from potential film adaptions to how he got into horror down to the ways we hide in our nerddom in either

March 18, 2025

1 min read