It's Not So Good to Be the King

The Use of Images in Luke Cage S2

By Katherine Keller
August 6, 2018

One of most interesting things about Luke Cage S1 -- on top of the fantastic use of music, which I'm pleased to say continues in S2 -- was the use of the images in the office of Harlem's Paradise. My fellow tart Suzette Chan referenced that here in her thoughts about S1. In several key sequences, characters stood in front of these pictures in such a way that they "wore" the crowns in these images, or significantly, they didn't, but their rival now did, showing shifts in power and authority. Season one began with Barron Claiborne's "King of New York" picture of Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.) in the place of honor, when Cottonmouth reigned. However by the end of the season, when the power couple of Mariah and Shades took over, a Basquiat original, Red Kings, which featured two crowned heads, replaced it.

The shift in image from The Notorious B.I.G. to Basquiat is significant beyond who's standing beneath the crown(s) -- class. Biggie Smalls began as a street-level criminal (some might say "thug"), but discovered he had a talent for rapping. However rich he became, he never lost his street-ness, and the violence that claimed his life probably had ties to gang activity. That said, however rich a rapper may be, they are new money, and there is an element of "fronting" and veneer to the larger-than-life personae that many cultivate. The Biggie Smalls portrait was pure Cottonmouth, who, despite his wealth, never lost his street roots. Mariah, who is college educated, has aspirations to legitimacy, and desperately wants to ditch her family's legacy of gangsterism, replaces it with an original painting by Basquiat -- the kind of art (and artist) who is the darling of the old money elite who enjoy "discovering" and cultivating talent from the working class.

The use of Barron Claiborne's "King of New York" picture of Biggie Smalls continues, in S2, as does the use of Basquiat's Red Kings, but two new images have been added: pictures of Marcus Garvey and of Muhammed Ali.

Before continuing, a few details about each of these images.

Barron Claiborne's portrait of Biggie Smalls was shot shortly before his murder. It's predominately colored in reds, which, as a few key lines from S1 of Daredevil remind us, is the color of blood, rage, violence, passion, and life. In it, Smalls stares sleepily, almost sullenly, out at the viewer, and his expression suggests that, though you are seen, you do not rate.

In addition to all the emotions that the color red suggests, the two figures in Red Kings are misshapen, and monstrous. (One even has gold stars on his teeth, suggesting the kind of "grille" that some rappers and athletes like to wear.) Although Red Kings is the kind of artwork the very rich have, the nature of the subjects and their twisted appearance suggests the warping effects of power. They may be kings ... but they are terrible and terrifying, not noble and majestic.

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader who lived for several years in Harlem. Garvey promoted pan-Africanism, was a voice against colonialism and oppression, and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Before Garvey's fall, UNIA had considerable political influence in Black political life in the Western hemisphere. The black and white image of him used in the show features a heavy-set man in a carriage or convertible, wearing an elaborate military-style uniform replete with gold braid and topped with a multi-plumed bicorn hat.

Viewers previously saw the black and white picture of Muhammed Ali in Sugar's barber shop during S1 of Luke Cage. It shows Ali in his prime (possibly dating from when he went by the name of Cassius Clay) standing on a roof top, throwing a punch at the viewer. It's a striking image (pun intended). Like Garvey, Muhammed Ali is also associated with the politics of Black pride and Black power. (Unfortunately, efforts to find out who originally took this photo defeated my Google-fu.)

In episodes one through seven, the painting in the office of Harlem's Paradise is Red Kings. In episode one, we see Mariah in front of it, but not centered under the crowns; she's placed between them or floats back and forth between the two. She's pondering a life changing decision: selling her gun trade and using that money to do some insider trading to turn a bigger profit so she can use that money to fund a social services center in Harlem. (The irony of using crime to finance going legit is not lost on the viewer, but hey, it's Black Mariah: her ideas about how to achieve her goals in life are warped.) The motif of Mariah being in front of the painting but not centered under a crown repeats in episode five, after the life changing disaster that was the ribbing cutting ceremony at the center.

In all other uses of Red Kings, save one, we have a moment in which Shades is under the left crown and Mariah is under the right. At times this happens when Shades and Mariah are in accord, but frequently we see this volatile and passionate couple fighting. More than once Shades urges her to sell the painting and use that to finance her plans, but Mariah steadfastly refuses -- it's too much of a status symbol for her to let go of. The last time both Shades and Mariah stand beneath the crowns is during episode 11, when they are in the basement level safe room she had installed in Harlem's Paradise. They fight bitterly and she pulls a gun on him … which he later snatches up in the ensuing fracas and uses to betray her to the police. Their relationship, which began as a source of support and comfort is now as nasty and warped as the figures in the painting.

During the aforementioned fight in episode 11, both Bushmaster and Luke also square off beneath it, evoking the ways in which they are the other kings of the story.

In episode eight, Bushmaster begins a brief tenure as the boss of Harlem's Paradise. He removes the Basquiat and replaces it with the photo of Marcus Garvey. And while, on the one hand, the image of Garvey evokes pomp and circumstance, the fact that he is in a vehicle, and is passing through, is a nice foreshadowing of Bushmaster's very brief time at the helm of Harlem's Paradise.

The next time viewers see the office after Mariah has regained control of Harlem's Paradise, we see that Red Kings is gone, and the picture of Notorious B.I.G. has returned to pride of place. Not only does its use indicate that Mariah has given up all attempts at the veneer of legitimacy, and fully embraced her legacy of crime, but that her new source of income will be as gangster as it gets; she's going into the drug business. It also nicely foreshadows her impending betrayal of Shades in episode 11.

In episode 12, Luke Cage confronts Mariah, and the portrait of Biggie Smalls is prominent in the background between them. As the scene progresses, Luke leans in, eclipsing Biggie, foreshadowing Mariah's downfall and his own rise to power.

The penultimate time viewers see the image of Biggie Smalls is in episode 13, when Tilda visits her mother's seat of power and studies the portrait for several moments before sitting beneath it at the keyboard and playing a song that is as thematically subtle as a brick through a window.

The final time viewers see the crowned head of Biggie Smalls is when, in series of intercut scenes, we see Luke studying the portrait, and even standing "crowned" beneath it as Mariah explains why she has left him Harlem's Paradise -- she hopes it will corrupt him and be his downfall. I wonder if this is a setup to S3 co-opting the story from the Daredevil comics where Matt went off the rails and became the new kingpin of crime, and it took the rest of the Defenders to guide (and ass-kick) him back to the right path. Luke as a criminal kingpin would be a terrifying thing indeed.

The season ends with the removal of the image of Biggie Smalls, and with Luke replacing it with the photo of Muhammed Ali from Pop's Barber shop. On the surface it's an image of triumph and overcoming the odds to succeed ... but given Mariah's commentary, perhaps it should be evocative of the incredible hubris and pride that tripped Muhammed Ali and has led to his having a mixed legacy.

Luke Cage Season 2 — Tart Wolfen's thoughts about the season
Luke Cage Showrunner Explains Why Mariah Doesn't Flip the Basquiat — A deleted scene in Season 2 would have revealed a deep family history with Basquiat's