shadesofredhood

[shadesofredhood]

A psychoanalytical reading of Lost Days and Under the Hood, because I hate myself and hate Freud even more

*bracing myself to talk shit* Okay, let's do this. Last warning to back off if you like psychoanalysis or even have a nuanced take on this. This is the graveyard where nuance comes to die.

First thing first, this is not intended to be an attack on Judd Winick: I do not know if he has actually read anything on psychoanalysis, and though it would make so much sense if it were intentional, it could totally be that Winick had passing knowledge of psychoanalysis from a source similar to one my short-form tumblr shitposts and other general pop culture information, thought "huh, neat, I always thought manipulative hot MILF Talia was a cool concept" and ran with it. Or that any other thought process went into it. I am extremely critical of the decisions he has made in his portrayal of mental illness and Talia specifically, but I'm not gonna criticise him on the assumption that it was psychoanalytical. I say this because the rest of this post is gonna sound like I think it was on purpose: I think it could, but I don't think I have enough knowledge about Judd Winick and enough clarity in the text to be crystal clear that this is what directed his writing (unless I missed one Easter egg in the back of an image, that would be very fun.) I'm also not gonna make fun of Winick for writing psychoanalysis fiction if he did do it on purpose, because so did I when I was a misguided highschooler, and many therapists have not gotten past that phase despite dedicating their life to it so there's no judgement on that part. With that being said, I think it's a super valid reading, so let's talk about this. Also, I'll talk a lot about Freud because he's the founding father of this shit, but there are many other psychoanalysts who came after him, all putting their own brick in the wall; all of them are wrong, but many are more moderate and do not have the extraordinary audacity of the first culprit.

[shadesofredhood]

Personally I think it’s just bad characterization that spawned from a “what if we psychologically tortured Bruce in this arc?” thought by Morrison and then it was taken out of hand. Like srsly he was supposed to be killed by the end of UTRH and then when that didn’t happen he was supposed to be a straight up villain, both failed so ofc now he’s just free reign for white male writers.

[shadesofredhood]

Roy knows the correct way to a person's heart is definitely through weapons. It's a science. It works every time.

[shadesofredhood]

thinking abt the narrative of if bruce didn't take jason in and make him robin then jason would've become a criminal when in jason's origin comics he's literally doing the most to NOT become a criminal. he was actively trying to STOP a crime. he LEFT the fucking crime school because he DIDNT WANT to be like that, he wanted to HELP PEOPLE. jason todd wouldn't have become a criminal if he was never robin.

[shadesofredhood]

Love how a trans headcanon fits Jason in either direction you want, especially his name. I can see him leaving it behind as an adult, seeing himself in Medea far more than the argonaut, just as easily as I can see him choosing it as a kid, picking it up from a list of baby names and their meanings like a wish for his mother to get better.

[shadesofredhood]

I don't remember who the post was originally by, but it mentioned that what Jason is saying is probably less likely to be taken seriously because he is often very emotional (angry, raising his voice etc) while he is speaking, instead of being calm and logical.

And my angst brain really kicked into the high gear because Jason is canonically an emotional crier. Now him crying could be taken as a sign that he really means and feels deeply about the thing he is talking about, but because I want even more angst, instead people will be even more dismissive of him. We can talk about this when you have calmed down. I won't listen while you're being like this. Are you trying to get some kind of reaction out of me with that? It's not working.

[shadesofredhood]

the "came back wrong" trope except like... they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like "oh no... what have i done.... shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!" and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like "oh shes soooo weird" but shes just normal

[shadesofredhood]

I wish people who made posts like this:

("Why does Batman need to be a billionaire?"

"He has to fund the Justice League. They often have a space program."

"But couldn't he do more good if he just invested-"

"The Earth is routinely invaded by aliens, gods, and the forces of an extraterrestrial god of tyranny.")

Understood several factors of what people who complain about Batman being a billionaire are actually saying.

1: Not every Batman is dealing with fucking alien invasions and other hyper dimensional bullshit. A lot of them, especially the most marketable main brand movie one's are just fighting gangsters, criminals and terrorists.

2: The idea that a billionaire should be able to build his own space station with a lazer canon (Or have his own spy network letting him listen to every single phone conversation in the city) is terrible no matter the circumstances, You might as well just admitted you're in favor of an all power arbiter at this point.

3: The idea that its 'necessary' is dumb because Wonder WOman comes from a technologically and magically advance civilization. Superman has a sci-fi Fortress of Solitude and so on. There is nothing stopping 'them' from building a space station that's more advanced than anything Batman could fund is. Or hell, maybe just have them take over a space station used by a villain?

4: And this is the most important one. Batman is not real. When we talk about Batman being rich being a problem, its a discussion of how so much culture is built around the worship of the wealthy. Its similar to how people will discuss why its problematic Batman caves people's heads into walls and hospitalizes people for minor offences. What does this say about us, that this is the hero?

So no, nobody missed the point, nobody forgot the aliens, no one fails to acknowledge the fact he has charities (That accomplish nothing because in comics nothing can change) We're talking about the writing decisions of real people and fans alike.

[shadesofredhood]

The most unrealistic thing in the DC universe is that no civilian has killed the Joker yet. He's not a meta and he's not a practically skilled fighter. Sometimes he doesn't even have a gang or is carrying a gun. He's literally just a guy. Hit him with your car.

[shadesofredhood]

i bring a sort of 'bruce wayne is actually an abusive father in canon' vibe to the bat tumblr that batfamily fans don't really like

[shadesofredhood]

Bruce's tendency to break people down so they're obedient to him then cast them out as soon as they oppose him leaves them very vulnerable to other influences

[shadesofredhood]

THE CHILDREN THEY YEARN FOR GUNS

(arsenal 1998, #1)

[shadesofredhood]

Saw someone say the red bat on Jason's chest looked like a brand and I can't stop thinking about that, I think it should actually be. That thing's got metal, right? Heat it or burn it or something and make it a bat-shaped brand into his chest. I think it would be fun. It's the unfairness of it all. Your father can disown you but you cannot disown him. You put the branding iron on yourself. There's no escaping being your father's son.

[shadesofredhood]

Listen I am one to ignore like 90% of rhato but it kinda boggles my mind that there are like 1,000 different hurt/comfort whump fix it fics about rhato #25 yet hardly anyone ever comments on the fact that Jason got brutalized by his adoptive father over something he did partially out of vengeance for his bio father?

Like not only did he care he cared so much he shot Penguin in the face over Willis’s “death”. Jason Todd #1 loser of the idgaf war

[shadesofredhood]

I am at the very least interested, and whilst it wasn't my degree focus do also have a background to base discussion around

I'm wondering whether I should do a short post about psychoanalysis in Red Hood: Lost Days but also the way I was taught psychoanalysis was "look. You hate this and don't believe any of this is real and feel like it does actual harm to patients. We also hate this and don't believe it's real and feel like it does actual harm to patients. However, a therapeutic team that can't understand eachother and communicate is much more harmful to the patients, so let's get through this together so you have a basic understanding of what your psychoanalytical coworkers will be talking about."

So if I talk about it it's gonna be disrespectful it's gonna be messy and it's gonna be filled with thinly veiled shade thrown at my least favourite psychoanalyst (no, it's not even Freud if you'll believe it). And it's not because I hate people, it's because I am frankly incapable of not throwing shade when it comes to the themes we're talking about in Lost Days.

As a frame of reference, the neuropsychology VS psychoanalysis dispute here has led, in some of the places I've interned at, to feuds so intense people have screamed in the staffroom, stormed off in the middle of meetings, and even in some cases, mass quitting because people couldn't stand to work in the same space, not to mention the criminal incidents. Me throwing shade under a pseudonym on the internet is the nice alternative.

So I guess the question is : are you guys interested in an intensely bitchy and relatively short (because I have better stuff, like actual science, to talk about) analysis of Red Hood: Lost Days that will give you an explanation as to why they had Talia and Jason sleep together at the end and simultaneously make you wish you hadn't?

[shadesofredhood]

well...

from Catwoman #84 (2000)

[shadesofredhood]

like i'm sorry but we as a fandom have to stay firm on our anti-AI values. we cannot suddenly start giving AI a pass when it's something we "want to see" like destiel kisses. it's not suddenly fine. we're not going to start using AI to make fanfic scenes come to life or audio AI to make characters "say" stuff we want to hear. you have GOT to be firm on your anti-AI stance. if you start making exceptions then suddenly anything will fly. fandom is for real art and creations made by real people. no AI fanfics. no AI art. no AI rendered "bonus" scenes. no AI audio. none of it has a place here.