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chaos0pikachu · 2 years

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Kinn & Porsche Costume Meta - Chucks vs Loafers

Third in the series! Ok so I wanna talk specifically about Kinn and Porsche’s costuming and how they’re styling directly contrasts each other in order to visually represent the gap between them. Namely the class gap. This might get a bit long since I’m doing two characters at once so bare with me y’all I’ll put a cut but hope y’all stay till the end b/c I think I unlocked something.

So, Kinn’s got money. I talked a bit about this when I broke down Tankhun’s costuming. Kinn’s family is rich as fuck, flat. How do we know this? One obvious point is the luxe ass estate where a majority of the story so far has taken place, but even before we see that set piece we can tell Kinn is rich by the way he dresses.

Kinn wears something folks often call “statement suits” which is basically a suit that is meant to be eye-catching. If anyone’s every watched an American red carpet show they probably know the typical men’s wear is a black suit, white undershirt, maybe a vest (really shake these up a colored vest!), with a tie or bowtie. IE kinda fucking boring right? Not statement suits!

Unlike Tankhun though, who has a loud and colorful style, Kinn’s pieces are mostly darker colors, muted enough to be wearable, but vibrant enough to catch your attention. If Tankhun is channeling Billy Porter, and Elton John, than Kinn is channeling John Boyega, Jason Momoa, or Chris Evans (I’m not gonna add all their pictures but click the links if you wanna see their suits):

Kinn is more of a classics guy, he’s giving Tom Ford, and Burberry. Suits that cost up to $1000 a pop. Even his more casual wear is higher end. It’s a mix of business casual, and rich kid. Kinn leans towards long sleeved jumpers, button downs, and slacks. And, his precious expansive ass loafers.

This is all to visually tell the audience ‘hey this dude is RICH, he’s got MONEY’ but I find it also serves a couple other narrative purposes. I talked about this a bit on @luckydragon10‘s Lines of Power post, but Kinn is dressed closest to his father (so far that we’ve seen in show) compared to his brothers. Positioning him as closest to his fathers power as head of the family, and the chosen heir.

Kinn’s choice of color and statement suits as opposed to his fathers more traditional wear, also aids in Kinn not seeming removed from his brothers, and places him as a more “modern” figurehead compared to his father.

But what about Porsche? How does he play in all this?

It’s really simple, Porsche is poor. He doesn’t really have a “style” influence like Kinn and Tankhun because Porsche doesn’t have the time or resources to care about those things. He buys and wears what he can afford, what’s comfortable for his lifestyle, and what enhances his hoe energy. We love that for him.

When we first see Porsche, he’s wearing the bar uniform, these are not “his” clothes but metaphorically his armor. It’s a simple uniform, all black, decent enough fabric to fit in but nothing especially spectacular. It contrasts with Kinn’s clothes with it’s lack of color. It already puts them on the opposite spectrum.

Throughout the episode, Porsche wears this uniform in all his interactions with Kinn, until the end of the episode.

The other outfits we see from Porsche in episode 01 are his university uniform, and his underground fighting outfit which is just a pair of jeans. Porsche, interestingly enough, doesn’t wear “his” clothes until the very end of the episode when he decides to join the family and accept their offer.

When he does, we see him wearing a plain white t-shirt, plain jeans, a belt, and his ever reliable chucks. His chucks being the only other consistent piece of clothing he wears throughout the episode.

Porsche in ep02 is clearly a fish out of water in all ways (rip Elizabeth the second), but his clothing also sets him apart from the others. Literally everyone else is wearing “higher class” clothing than Porsche, even Ken who is wearing a functional, but expensive and trendy, track suit. He steps into this world even before training hits and he’s a fish out of water.

Porsche comes from a financially disadvantaged background, he’s poor. Therefore his choice of clothing is simple, and most importantly functional.

Porsche’s choice of clothing is mainly t-shirts, jeans and his chucks. Nothing especially flashy (except when he has his tatas out), something that you can buy on the cheap, pieces that are affordable enough that they’ll function in a fight and he can put food on the table for Chay.

I talked about Porsche’s bodyguard costuming in comparison to his colleagues as well, and how I think that specific styling reads into his character and the narrative.

Ok so where does this put Porsche and Kinn though?

What I found really interesting about their last scene in ep03 (other than the awesome pre-kiss convo and kiss lmao) was how their outfits said so much about each other, and how they contrasted but complimented each other.

The last time Kinn and Porsche contrasted, it was fraught with tension and aggression. Porsche’s all black outfit fighting against Kinn’s blood red suit. Both were wearing their metaphorical “armor” that was connected directly to their individual jobs. The opening scenes of ep01 parallel the two in such a way to suggest both are in their “element” they are displaying their soft power over people.

But in this scene, they’re both in “their” clothing, the things they choose to wear when they don’t need or have to exalt power over others as a means of survival.

Kinn is still dressed in high-end clothing, and Porsche in affordable brands, but they’re no longer fighting for a sense of dominance. Instead they’re kinda soft. Kinn is dressed in cooler tones - the blue-gray button up, slacks, and his loafers - while Porsche is in warmer tones - the deep red shirt, jeans, and his chucks.

They are two characters who visually say they shouldn’t work. Kinn is rich, Porsche is poor, Kinn is high fashion, Porsche is affordability, Kinn is about style, Porsche is about practicality.

Chucks vs Loafers.

But while they may contrast, they also compliment. I think that will be one of the core aspects of Kinn and Porsche’s relationship. Their push and pull, their contrast and complimentary. I mean hell, even their underwear act as a sort of yin/yang motif as seen in the trailer:

I’m not wildin out okay! Seems pretty fishy Kinn is wearing pure black and Porsche pure white. While they are positioned laying down, opposite, but still folding into each other. Just saying, y’all know what the yin/yang symbol looks like I’m not linking that lol

What I’m interesting in seeing is how their styles grow and develop. Will Kinn, as he grows softer towards Porsche take on a more practical style (will we see Kinn in chucks!?)? Will Porsche as he embraces the mafia lifestyle and his feelings towards Kinn take on some higher end pieces of clothing ( @iffervescent sugar daddy!Kinn au when?)? Will their colors begin to mold together more?

I think some of those answers may have already been answers in the trailer, we can see in the image below that Kinn is wearing what I think is a pair of chucks. He’s also wearing denim which we currently haven’t seen him wear yet in show. Porsche, meanwhile, is wearing dress shoes. He’s back in all black though, so I don’t know if that’s his bar uniform again. We’ll simply have to wait and see what context this scene falls in.

Interestingly enough, the scene in the trailer where they’ve been kidnapped (?) and are traveling together they are wearing complimentary colors, while also still wearing “their” style of clothing.

Kinn seems to be wearing a button down, and slacks, Porsche a t-shirt and I think also slacks but I can’t tell for sure. What’s notable though is Porsche’s pants match Kinn’s shirt - both grey - and Kinn’s pants match Porsche’s shirt - both a dark blue.

They’re retaining their individual identities whilst also complimenting each other and reflecting one another.

As always, I am no fashion expert, just a puta that loves costuming. Check out ModernGurlz or Mina Le on Youtube for legit expert opinions.

Also I haven’t read the novel, so like, this is 100% pure, raw speculation chepies. I could be wrong (I probably am!) but hey, this shit is fun isn’t it? Stay horny and unhinged KP fandom.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #kinn theerapanyakul #porsche kittisawasd #k_p costume meta #chaos elmo spoketh #omg this took so long to write and I know I forgot shit or missed something #imm mates I hope y'all enjoy #chaos pikachu metas

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dwellordream · 2 years

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“...The eighteenth century saw a transformation in mistress–servant relations as the older, paternalistic model declined and was gradually replaced by a more impersonal, contractual relationship – a change that inevitably increased the tensions already present in relations between employers and servants. Many women continued to maintain a vision of an ideal relationship based on benevolent but absolute authority in return for servant loyalty, but this model often failed to reflect reality.

Servants also frequently caused conflicts between husbands and wives. Interactions with servants provided women of quality with some of their greatest authority, as didactic authors promised, but these interactions were also often fraught with problems. Servants were essential status symbols in the aristocratic world of competitive display. When Lady Strafford wrote to her husband about hiring a new porter, she said that one candidate “was a sober honest man & cou’d write a good hand,” but he was so ugly that “you might as well have had a fatt monkey at your door.”

Fashionable households required fashionable-looking servants. Even her mother-in-law Lady Wentworth, with her relatively small income, was concerned about questions of image in keeping servants. Discussing one coachman, she approved of his good care of the coach, his “genteel” wife, and the fact that he was “very cleen himself [and] in my Levery very handsom.” The gentility and physical attractiveness of her servants reflected her own status, just as the French parentage of a maid for Lady Strafford’s daughters counted in the maid’s favor.

As Lady Strafford’s remarks about the porter incidentally reveal, women were frequently responsible for the hiring and firing of servants. These included not only domestic staff in the strict sense of the word, but also gardeners, builders, coachmen, and other workers who might appear to fall into a “masculine” realm. And in addition to hiring their own employees, women of quality played a central role in the networks of patronage and recommendation that maintained the circulation of servants in the fluid job market.

They often fulfilled these roles within their own family; hiring servants from relatives or friends carried with it the benefit of tested loyalty and hard work. Lady Strafford agreed to take on one of her grandmother’s old servants after her grandmother’s death, since she was “very honest” as well as “mighty Carfull in Looking after Bed’s & all furniture in A house.” Lady Elizabeth Ramsden apologized to Lady Betty Hastings on one occasion for being unable to be specific about one cook’s character, since she could only remember that the cook had left to marry a groom.

Still, she added brightly, “I fancy he will not give her much disturbance in service for I hear they are parted.” Looking for a tutor for her son in 1726, the Countess of Salisbury hoped to get information on a candidate’s “sobriety and deportment,” religious faith, “good temper,” and reliability. Mary Delany and her sister even plotted to hire and fire servants for their brother without his knowledge, confident that these were issues best left to women. Sometimes the networks of recommendation could be quite elaborate.

In 1718 Jael Boscawen wrote to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough to recommend a man as a servant; the man had been employed by a relative of Jael who had recently died, and Jael hoped to help him find a new place. Similarly, the Duchess herself wrote to her granddaughter, Lady Diana Russell, asking her to write a recommendation for a woman who was a relative of one of Sarah’s own servants. This network thus included Sarah, her granddaughter, Sarah’s servant, the servant’s relation, and the third party to whom Sarah hoped Lady Russell would write.

Soon after her son’s marriage in 1711, Lady Wentworth was looking for a cook to work in the couple’s new household. She was optimistic at the end of October that she had found the perfect candidate: She has been bred a coock of a childe takse great delight in it, her father & twoe brothers wear great Coocks, s[he] has Leved in good playsis one was with Lord Colrain 2 years & half, she givs a very good acount of her self. my Ladys Clark of the Kitchin shall see her & inquier after her. ...Mary that I helpt my Daughter to tels me of her. Lady Wentworth thus heard about the potential cook first through Mary, a servant of her daughter whom Lady Wentworth had helped to place.

She had also spoken to the cook herself, taken references, and was now sending Lady Strafford’s clerk of the kitchen to make inquiries. Lady Strafford’s reaction, however, demonstrates the complexities of hiring: “I had A letter to day from lady Wentworth she send’s me word she has got me an extrodinary good Cook I hope she may prove so but my Lady is all goodness her Self and you know Somtimes thinks better of peaple then they desarve.” The network was helpful, but it was not a perfect system. The use of such networks for hiring servants sheds light on both women’s expectations of their servants and their frequent disappointments.

Mistresses’ relationships with their employees varied widely, of course, but each woman held a vision of what that relationship ought to be, against which she measured both her own and her servants’ behavior. Frances Boscawen saw enough significance in a gift of pears from an elderly servant named Betty to repeat their exchange to her husband: “But why don’t you keep a few for yourself Betty? Don’t you love pears?” “Yes, my lady, I love pears, but I love you better.” This was truly the poor old creature’s answer. She often asks after our Brave Admiral, and when I told her yesterday you was well, would be home soon and stay here till Xmas, she gave a great jump for joy by the help of her broom.

Mrs. Boscawen was pleased to send the gift of pears along to her husband, since to her it represented both an emotional bond with Betty and her success in managing the estate in his absence. There is, of course, no way of knowing whether Betty would agree. Many women of quality expressed their belief in reciprocal obligations between mistress and servant, which in its simplest form could consist of a good reference in return for good service. In 1697 Lady Giffard wrote to her niece that she hoped to be able to find another place for one of the servants she was letting go: “I never saw a greater diligence . . . nor is it possible for any body to have a be[tter] Servant.”

The maid had “served me too Long & dus now too well to part with her till she is provided [with another job].” Lady Catherine Wheler worried that a wet nurse would be “very destitute” after the child she was nursing was weaned, so Lady Catherine proposed to hire the nurse herself to replace another servant who was about to leave. She thus combined practical and charitable interests. This sense of obligation also helps to explain the success, noted by Donna Andrew, of ex-servants and their families requesting charitable patronage from their former employers.

Ideally, employers bestowed such benevolent paternalism in return for the obedience and loyalty of their underlings. Mistresses were supposed to ensure their servants’ physical and spiritual well-being. Lady Betty Hastings emphasized the importance of the ideal, as well as its obstacles, in a letter to her half-sister: You know that having a Religious, Regular, well ordered family has been one of the things my heart has most desired, and the many disappointments I have met in this way, has not, and I think never will, prevent my endeavouring of it, as I really look upon it to be my duty[,] for the order of a family if I mistake not has an influence on the minds’ [sic] and consequently on the better part of the several members of it.

In 1752 the Duchess of Somerset expressed similar sentiments about her “family”: I have a regular and (I hope) a religious Family. My Woman thô she has not lived with me quite 5 Years had before lived three & twenty betwixt Lord Granthams & Lady Cowpers, My Housekeeper has been a Servant as long. The Person who takes in my Accounts, pays the Bills & overlooks the Men within Doors has been in the Family nineteen Years; & the other who has lived with us Ten, has the Care of my Stables & every thing without.

Her comments combined two of the major characteristics considered important in servants – their morality and their loyalty. A lengthy tenure in a single household or among her acquaintances implied that her servants were trustworthy, and given the responsibilities she lists, trust was an essential component in good servant–mistress relations. According to Catherine Talbot, at least, the Duchess was successful in maintaining this ideal relationship.

In a diary entry that characteristically compared the Duchess to Catherine’s favorite literary hero, Catherine wrote, “Her Servants attend on Her as Sir Charles Grandisons do on Him with looks of equal Respect & Delight.” In return for loyal service, mistresses provided a variety of rewards great and small in addition to salaries and references. When the Countess of Coningsby, traveling in Paris, heard that one of her servants was dying, she immediately sent word that she would pay for “poor Molly’s” medical care and funeral.

For the marriage of one of her servants in 1752, Mary Delany “gave all the maidens and men new white ribbon favours, and we all marched and made a gallant show through the garden”; then Patrick Delany performed the ceremony. Afterwards everyone returned home, where the servants feasted on a dinner provided by Mary, of “as much beef, mutton, and pudding as they could devour” in the housekeeper’s room.

Some women interceded on behalf of their servants in conflicts with male relations, sometimes implicitly aligning themselves with the servants in a position of subordination in order to appeal to the men’s sense of magnanimity. On one occasion Lady Wentworth wrote to her son, the Earl of Strafford, about a visit she had received from a former servant. The servant complained that “she did beleev she was the only body you had Left unpayd & that you was good to all the world but her.”

Lady Wentworth enclosed a list of the debts, concluding, “when you have consedered it you will need noe other parswations but your Just & good nature which will be abov all the argements that can be yoused.” Within the letter she thus repeated the strategy used by the servant in their conversation; she called on Lord Strafford’s sense of honor and implied that it would be morally impossible to refuse the request.

Such an alignment was possible because of the hierarchy of subordination present in conventional views not only of service but of gender. Yet women did not have to rely on this strategy. In 1753, for instance, Lady Harriot Limerick repeatedly criticized her brother for not paying the pension he had promised to an old servant, saying that she would not stop hounding him until he paid his debts of honor. While Lady Wentworth used the parallels between female subordination and social subordination, Lady Limerick simply appealed to ideas of honor that left the gender issues implicit.

The final way in which women could help their employees was in a will, and many of them left legacies to their faithful servants. Money (either in lump sums or in regular payments) and clothing or lace were among the most common legacies. In a codicil to her will, Lady Strafford bequeathed £10 a year “to William Wright my Butler for the great care and attention he had for me in my illness, (if living with me at the time of my death).” It is likely that the codicil was written at the time of that illness, and her condition that William be living with her at the time of her death – a frequent one in such wills – reflected the importance given to servants’ loyalty.

Facing her own mortality, Lady Betty Hastings’s thoughts turned to her devoted servant, Sarah Hole. She carefully set out legal arrangements for Sarah to receive the interest from a £2000 mortgage for life, as well as the right to bequeath £500 of it as she wished. Lady Elizabeth Spelman left one servant her “walnut tree cabinet together with the six leave screen,” along with money and clothing. Similarly, an early will of the Duchess of Kent specified not only legacies of money for servants but also “a silver milk pot” for one devoted woman.

Her mother, Lady Portland, also left money for some servants but singled out “Mr Lock’s [sic] Works in three Volumes in folio” for Abraham Trembley, her grandsons’ former tutor. Specific legacies like these enabled women to show their gratitude for jobs well done, while simultaneously providing an incentive for the servants named to continue in their service. The mercenary aspects should not be overemphasized; gifts such as the furniture, milk pot, and Locke’s works, which usually supplemented legacies of money, suggest a thoughtful consideration of the recipient’s desires, with sentimental value outweighing the monetary gains.

But the specificity of such gifts and their relative rarity suggest also that such close relationships were uncommon – maintaining power within the household also required maintaining social differences. Relations with servants were particularly fraught because of these conflicting goals: the desire to keep a distance from servants in order to preserve status, and the desire to foster human affection and mutual regard. Servants and mistresses could thus develop deep affection, but the boundaries of this relationship were navigated with difficulty.

Years after growing up, Lady Hertford still wrote to her old governess as “my dear mother,” and offered her clothing to sell if she could get any money by it. Confident of her social position, she could afford to treat her social inferior with the “condescension” so highly valued by didactic authors writing about both gentlemen and ladies.

As a newly-married woman, Lady Strafford was less secure: I can very Sinceirly tell you [she wrote to her husband] I spend no time so Agreeable as writing to you & hearing from you & looking after our Affairs of the house as farr as I am Capable. . . . there is som things I have order’d to be regulat’d against anothere week for I shall never agree to be impos’d on by my Servant’s to have the name of being good humour’d for as I’ll do what is fitting by them I’ll make them do so by me.

Her comments reveal both her insecurity in establishing her new household, and the fact that she already had a sense of the appropriate relationship with her servants; her statement that she would do “what is fitting by them” and expect the same in return could have come straight out of a conduct book. But her mother-in-law, Lady Wentworth, was apparently subject to much criticism for her favoritism in treating her servants. In particular she was devoted to her personal maid, Sue, even eating at the same table with her.

“Sue has been with me many years, soe this summer I have sett her at my Table when aloan, but if any body dyns, she never dus,” she wrote apologetically, “Susan is of a good famely . . . & I could not make her dyne hear with the plowmen, & I have noe mynd to part with her, for she is a very faithful sarvent.” Her defensive tone in this passage showed her sense of the impropriety involved, though it did not prevent her from continuing the practice.

Good intentions could not guarantee a smooth relationship between mistress and servant. Even at the best of times, most women of quality apparently believed that servants required constant policing to counter what the elite saw as the innate tendencies of their social inferiors toward immoral and even criminal behavior. This sense of moral distrust often undermined the mutually beneficial relationship seen by many aristocratic women as ideal.

Moreover, there is evidence that the servants themselves often rejected this model of benevolent paternalism, taking advantage of the opportunities they had to resist their mistresses’ authority. Part of the reason why women relied so extensively on networks of information for hiring was that there was an enormous turnover in employment; servants gave notice, got fired, or simply ran away. Loyalty was rewarded in women’s wills because it was unusual.

What appeared to them as idleness and immorality, however, can perhaps be interpreted as servants’ attempts to protect their own interests in a social structure that insisted on their constant subordination. Maintaining their authority was a problem for many mistresses, and the balance between discipline and warmth was always precarious. In 1737 the Countess of Coningsby arranged for one of her servants to work as a journeywoman rather than go to London as the young woman wished.

“She is so pert, (and as I have been told, proud,) that she may be ruined if she goes to London,” commented Lady Coningsby brusquely, in terms that associated insolence with sinfulness. When Lady Hertford’s coachman, William, was involved in a fight with another servant in 1723, she persuaded her husband (with great difficulty) to let him off with a beating rather than firing him. But William refused to beg pardon and then gave notice, shocking Lady Hertford with his “very ungrateful proceeding after the indulgence he has met with.”

Complaints about servants’ drunkenness also formed a common theme in the correspondence of aristocratic women. Looking out the window at an aged gardener who had been working at night in the rain, Lady Sarah Cowper mused, It melted me to see my fellow Creature put to take such pains while I stood Idle and at Ease. But then agen when I think how this very man if he gett 5 shill: aforehand will work no more till he has drunk up that, without regard to his future wants, I grow hard and unaffected with his Condition.

Her momentary empathy was dispelled by her assumptions about his habits of idleness and drunkenness. In 1716 her daughter-in-law, Countess Cowper, complained that her two manservants at Hampton Court, where she was in waiting, were almost constantly drunk. In desperation she sent one of them back to Hertfordshire in hopes to improve the other’s disposition. Theft was another problem. Lady Strafford caught her clerk of the kitchen cheating her by not paying the kitchen bills with the money allotted him for that purpose.

In contrast, Lady Wentworth chose to trust her servants despite evidence that they were stealing from her. Most of these women seem, like Mary Delany, to have viewed problems with their servants as routine matters that “all housekeepers are sometimes troubled with.” Many women of quality also fought an uphill battle to police their servants’ sexual lives, including not only cases of adultery or promiscuity but even monogamous relationships. Abigail Harley was shocked in 1695 to find that two of her servants had secretly married, even though she had known that they were engaged.

Following her father’s orders, she initially discharged them, but when they proved themselves “very sensible of their fall in doing it” they were forgiven and allowed to stay on. Even marriage was not acceptable without permission. It was not that the Harleys preferred their employees to remain single – though many employers did – but it was the fact that the wedding was performed in secret that caused the offense.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu reported a similar “foolish accident” in her “Family” while she was traveling in Italy: Mrs. Mary is down lying of a big belly which she has conceal’d till now. William and she say they were marry’d before they left London. I know no remedy but Patience, thô you must be sensible both of the Inconvenience and Expence of it. There is no dependance on a Fool, which is her case. She allways lay in my Room on the road, and eat with me even here, till I saw her Eyes so fix’d upon him all the time he waited I thought it to no purpose to keep them asunder, and it seems they were wedded before they begun the Journey.

Lady Mary let them off with a warning never to allow such an “accident” to happen again, but a few years later both left her service after Mary again became pregnant. Interestingly, her letter, with its half-hearted attempt at justification, implies that she had allowed them to sleep together. When women were confronted with more straightforward forms of illicit sexuality, their responses revealed even more clearly their assumptions about both class and gender.

In 1700, Lady Sarah Cowper became certain that one of her servants had not only gotten pregnant but had attempted an abortion. She was horrified to find that her husband had given the servant full wages as well as permission to take her time in leaving. Convinced that the servant’s low birth and promiscuity meant that she would stop at nothing, Lady Sarah lay awake in fear that the maid would rob and set fire to the house, or attempt to poison her with the failed abortifacient.

But she also confided in her diary her fear that the maid would have her baby in the house, “which wou’d be very inconvenient for divers Reasons.” Lady Wentworth, similarly, reacted to her son’s report of a maid’s miscarriage with a mixture of pious horror and pragmatism: I should have Lyked your made Better if she had not miscarryed, for I fear she has been soe weked to take sumthing to make her miscarry, God forgiv her if she has, & me if I Judg wrong of her but such things has been don by such cattle. Indeed I thinck you had much better keep them you have then have the trouble of new ons & a thousand pound to a peny but they may prove as bad.

She condemned the maid for her illicit behavior, both in conceiving the child and in the supposed abortion – a condemnation clearly based on moral grounds. However, she saw this behavior as typical of “such cattle,” and ultimately concluded that it would be easier to keep such servants since there were few other options. Even the famously pious Countess of Hertford mixed moral considerations with a desire to minimize her own inconvenience: Betty Melles begins to be of a shape which will not suffer her to continue long in my service, but I have not yet taken any notice of it to her, being willing to keep the peace as long as I am able; though once the bustle of that discovery is over I flatter myself I shall not be less at ease for the alterations which may attend it.

The fact that none of these women expressed surprise at their servants’ sexual behavior reflected their own assumptions about the mores of those beneath them. Although friendships could develop between mistresses and some of their inferiors, the fundamental inequality of their positions was not questioned. The presence of servants in the household also created a focal point for conflicts of authority between husbands and wives. In these situations, the gender-based submission of women to men and the class- and gender-based dominance of women in the household came into direct conflict, so it is perhaps unsurprising that these issues could create anger and anxiety.

Women of quality frequently felt that their husbands were undermining their authority, often by supporting servants against them. The idea that women should reign supreme in the domestic realm lay behind Mary Delany’s comment to her sister that their brother’s household would never be properly managed until he married: “I wish you had the reforming of the present family you are in, but tis only a wife can do those things.” In Mrs. Delany’s view, no housekeeper, or even sister, could take the place of a wife, whose natural role was to ensure the smooth running of the household.

Yet it was men who were supposed to hold the final authority in the family, over servants as well as blood relations. Given such assumptions, it is easy to understand how tensions could develop between spouses over the management of servants. When husbands and wives were in direct conflict, the potential for problems over servants became even greater. Anne Dormer complained in the late 1680s about her husband’s abuse in refusing to let her command their servants, something she clearly understood to be a violation of her right as mistress of the household.

She was especially galled to find that Mr. Dormer had given another woman, with whom he had fallen in love, permission to give orders to the servants as if they were her own. This action presented tangible evidence of his determination to strip Anne of the status she was entitled to as his wife and mistress of the household. Sir William and Lady Sarah Cowper’s ongoing battles also frequently centered on disputes about their staff. In her diary, Lady Sarah repeatedly complained that her husband deliberately demeaned her in front of the servants in order to reduce her power over them.

When Lady Sarah attempted to lead them toward more religious ways by reminding them of their sinfulness, Sir William rebuked her before them, encouraging them in impudence and “prodigious boldness.” Pondering the characteristics of an ideal husband, Lady Sarah insisted that it was his responsibility to uphold her authority: “A good Hus: maintains the propriety of his wife in Feminine afairs. In Such Causes he suffers her finally to decide, not so much as permitting an Appeal unto himself that their jurisdictions may not interfere. He will not Countenance an impudent servant against her.”

Disciplining servants was for Lady Sarah an inherent aspect of “Feminine afairs” with which her husband had no right, though he had the power, to interfere. Yet even in generally successful marriages, conflicts between different types of household authority could simmer just below the surface. In 1720, Earl Cowper (Lady Sarah’s son) felt compelled to give his wife advice about their servants. He recommended against what he saw as her too-frequent chiding of them in small matters, since he believed that this only made them more willing to disobey her in larger issues.

But he added that this was only advice, assuring her that “I submitt ’em wholy to your conduct, act as absolutely, as I can enable You to do, turn ’em away & take ’em at your pleasure, & when you have ’em use ’em as you think fit.” He emphasized her total authority, but the fact that he both gave advice and granted this power demonstrated his sense of his own place as ultimate head of the household. When Elizabeth Montagu faced a rebellious servant soon after her marriage, she needed her husband’s authority to support her own.

Thanks to his backing, the servant “seems desirous to oblige now he finds the other way does not succeed,” she finally reported to her husband; “he design’d the strongest Will should rule, & mine being back’d with the mighty circumstance of power came off Conqueror, & I believe may govern for the future without mutiny or Rebellion.” Her “power” came not only from her status as mistress but also from her husband’s status as head of the household. For many women of quality, the management of servants presented both opportunity and frustration.

When servants conformed to their mistresses’ vision of the proper relationship of obedience and affection, women could pride themselves on their care and benevolence. When problems developed, however, many women revealed their fundamental distrust of the morals and abilities of their employees. These problems were only compounded by the interaction of such class assumptions with issues of gender. Class dominance provided a means for women to surmount the disabilities of gender, but this authority was constantly threatened, and often undermined, by the competing dominance of men over women.”

- Ingrid H. Tague, “Household Management.” in Women of Quality: Accepting and Contesting Ideals of Femininity in England, 1690-1760

#georgian #history #gender #class #english #women of quality #servants

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drdixon · 2 years

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an all women multi - muse blog directed by delilah ( she / her, 21+, lesbian )

guidelines. standard roleplay etiquette applies, don’t be weird - we’re all too old for that. please do not interact with me if you’re under the age of eighteen. mature content will be featured, but always tagged. my activity is slow and sporadic, plotted interactions are groovy. original characters are sexy and if you disagree this is not the blog for you 💋

alexandra udinov as seen in nikita. canon compliant. starring : lydnsy fonseca. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: division agent.

bedelia du maurier as seen in hannibal. canon compliant. starring : gillian anderson. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: psychiatrist.

brenda leigh johnson as seen the closer. canon divergent. starring : kyra sedgwick. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: deputy chief of the lapd.

cat grant as seen in supergirl. canon compliant. starring : pending. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: publicist.

celeste wright as seen in big little lies. canon divergent. starring : nicole kidman. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: lawyer.

chris holloway an original fandomless character. starring : elizabeth mitchell. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: detective.

cruella de vil as seen in 101 dalmatians. canon divergent. starring : sharon stone. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: fashion designer.

dana scully as seen in the x-files. canon divergent. starring : gillian anderson. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: fbi agent.

emma swan as seen in once upon a time. canon divergent. starring : stephanie march. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: sheriff.

jane porter as seen in once upon a time. canon divergent. starring : angelina jolie. trans woman, she/her. human. pansexual. main verse occupation: principal.

jean rubenstone frost as seen in all rise. canon divergent. starring : brenda strong. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: lawyer.

laura roslin as seen in battlestar galactica. canon divergent. starring : mary mcdonnell. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: president of the colonies.

lisa tepes as seen in castlevania. canon divergent. starring : julie benz. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: apothecary.

marisa coulter as seen in his dark materials. canon divergent. starring : ruth wilson. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: head of the general oblation board and agent to the magisterium.

miss scarlett as seen in clue. canon divergent. starring : jessica chastain. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: escort.

olivia benson as seen in law and order: svu. canon divergent. starring : mariska hargitay. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: detective. (this will change as the mun catches up with series)

pamela swynford as seen in true blood. canon divergent. starring : kristin bauer. cis woman, she/her. vampire. lesbian. main verse occupation: fangtasia nightclub owner.

patrica campbell as seen in the southern book club’s guide to slaying vampires. canon compliant. starring : mary mcdonnell. cis woman, she/her. human. bisexual. main verse occupation: housewife.

pippa pentangle as seen in the worst witch. canon divergent. starring : amanda holden. cis woman, she/her. witch. lesbian. main verse occupation: headmistress.

sarah harding as seen in jurassic park. canon divergent. starring : julianne moore. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: archeologist.

stella rockwell an original fandomless character. starring : brenda strong. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: studio executive.

winter blackwood an original fandomless character. starring : gillian anderson. cis woman, she/her. human. lesbian. main verse occupation: model.

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something-in-the-seas · 4 years

Note

I am HERE for your in depth character analysis on the bioshock protagonists. All the way. I dont know if you already have- but have you answered any asks about your thoughts on Elizabeth as a character?

When I think about Elizabeth, I get overwhelmingly disappointed. Her character is hyped up but after the entire game of being built up to be an all powerful goddess by the end of Infinite, Burial at Sea happens... and yeah. Any semblance of power she had, any likeability she had, any chances of her even coming back are just smashed to smithereens. Ken Levine ruined her so no one could use her, though, I’m sure 2K will find a way to revive her for 4. Maybe they can finally utilize her as a character because she legit has some cool moments by the end of the game that go literally nowhere.

The problem with Elizabeth is that by Burial at Sea there’s a case of telling, not showing. The game and characters constantly have to tell you how powerful she is, how cool she is, but Elizabeth rarely demonstrates any of this. For example, Daisy goes from being bloodthirsty but at least having agency, to the Luteces forcing her to hold a child hostage so she can die to make “Elizabeth a woman.” Ryan, Fontaine, and Suchong are dumbed down and extremely OOC (in the case of Suchong he’s a racist stereotype) to have Elizabeth outsmart them.

Ryan does not negotiate with those who work with Atlas, he has a very binary view when it comes to Atlas, he even tells Diane this. There are only heroes and villains in his eyes, and if you’re working with Atlas you are a villain.

“Fontaine forgot the WYK code” has become a meme at this point, it’s a miracle how this man was able to almost beat Ryan because he’s dumb as rocks.

Suchong speaks and writes in broken english, only refers to himself in the 3rd person (even in writing), and is too dumb to figure out the Big Daddy bonding so the significance of his death coming his own hubris becomes another “Elizabeth did this.” Also, she calls him a racial slur.

And, ultimately, that’s really my problem with Elizabeth. It was fine in Columbia (besides Daisy) because that’s her game, but what made Rapture feel real, what made Rapture’s characters feel real is stripped away to hype up Elizabeth. What made The Rapture Civil War the culmination of the horrible actions and the accomplishments of Rapture’s elite becomes “well, actually Elizabeth did this.” It’s with this that her character takes a nose dive and fans of the OG games get pretty salty. Ken Levine makes her a giant deus ex machine when she shouldn’t be.

It takes away most of the character’s agencies, including Jack’s, with the one choice he actually had (saving or harvesting the sisters) being because of Elizabeth. It’s really a disservice for everybody because these characters deserve to stand out on their own, she deserves to be written properly and show off how powerful she is (she’s heavily based off of Scarlet Witch who is so powerful she erased Mutants off the planet with just a sentence).

The multiverse is underutilized, we deserve a Wandavision or House of M moment showing off how powerful Elizabeth is, and her interactions with Rapture’s cast should actually have them both on equal footing. Hopefully, if she does appear in 4 with Tenenbaum, Porter, and Eleanor rumored to also show up, everyone stays in character.

#bioshock #burial at sea critical #the way Suchong and Daisy are treated is bad straight up... especially suchong #really hate how they turned Suchong from a genius who dies from his hubris into a racist stereotype for Elizabeth’s development #and the way he’s treated by other characters including the protagonist is disgusting too #what Elizabeth needs is good writers not ken levine

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kimsgoeun · 3 years

Text

muses and fcs i wanna use. lmk if you’re interested!

fcs i wanna use

adeline rudolph

aisha dee

aldis hodge

amanda seyfried

anna diop

antonia thomas

ashley madekwe

brenda song

choi sooyoung

hwang in-yeop

jamie chung

jessica henwick

ji chang wook

john kim

jurnee smollett

kang han na

kang tae oh

kim do yeon

kim tae ri

krysten ritter

lana condor

lee da hee

lee do-hyun

lee pace

lee sun bin

lupita nyong’o

melissa o’neil

mena massoud

michael trevino

ni ni

okamoto tao

park bo young

park so dam

park yoo na

quintessa swindell

rachel hilson

rahul kohli

raymond ablack

rebecca ferguson

samara weaving

song kang

tahirah sharif

timothy olyphant

van veronica ngo

yoo in na

yoon so hee

muses i wanna use (some are more written out than others due to newness lol - down for other plots not listed)

-alisha murphy; 38; fc: billie piper

general practitioner at a small town practice; sweet; married to her job and will drop everything to help someone; surrounds her office/home with different plants; doesn’t really have time for romance but loves love; gives all the advice and never takes her own

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-charlotte kwan; 30; fc: jung eun-chae

medical resident; sarcastic/dry humor; straightforward; will stand up for herself and others; slightly competitive; has a good work-life balance

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-chester “chess” mao; 52; fc: lucy liu

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (shapeshifter and/or immortal being)

oddball; works random jobs to have some cash but otherwise lives comfortably (by her standards); likes to help strangers and people in a bind; observant; likes to travel to random/obscure places; isn’t very serious; can sometimes talk in circles rather than getting to the point; loves cats; can be petty when provoked

inspo: phoebe buffay (friends), nick miller (new girl)

plot idea: 1, 2, 3, 4

-cordelia lee; 38; fc: song ji hyo* (alt. park bo young)

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (vampire or magical abilities)

astronomer; lived against her family’s expectations; fell in love at a young age but lost them to unfortunate circumstances; mostly a “spinster” due to it; finds comfort in the nighttime; goes camping; soft

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-evelyn wan; 31; fc: go bo-gyeol

interior designer; usually on the quieter side unless she’s talking about her work; type of person to be in love with their best friend and never say anything; homebody; also doesn’t sleep because she overworks herself

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-harmony rosales; 26; fc: cierra ramirez

got married too young and is now going through a horrible divorce; ex is an asshole; loves loves, so super sad about her marriage failing; also a marriage counselor; cares about everyone and everything; comes off sophisticated, but is a mess; likes to surround herself with pretty things

plot ideas: 1, 2

-isabelle wollf; 51; fc: rachel weisz

professor of biology and drama; lives in santa cruz; science nerd; goes to play, concerts, and art galleries; comes from money but doesn’t seem like it; disorganized teacher; tends to go on tangents when lecturing/speaking; was in one serious relationship set up by their families

plot ideas: 1, 2

-katharine goodwin; 42; fc: rosamund pike

money launderer; conwoman; pretend heiress essentially; likes to live lavishly; manipulative; will be cold/curt if she doesn’t know them/doesn’t like them; fiercely loyal to people she cares about; willing to get her hands dirty, but prefers not to; doesn’t have family ties

inspo: rio (good girls), mazikeen (lucifer), emily thorne (revenge)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-kayla driscoll; 41; fc: rose byrne

art curator; moved away from her family in australia for her job; paints in her free time; middle child of two sisters; makes bad choices when she’s interested in someone; ignores red flags all the time; always gives people the benefit of the doubt; constantly gives people a second chance

plot ideas: 1, 2

-kim joo won; 31; fc: choi sooyoung

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (fallen angel or immortal being)

enjoys antagonizing people; flirty; doesn’t think about boundaries most of the time; likes having stupid fun; has a difficult time opening up emotionally to others; collects art, clothes, and jewelry; made her money through investments and owning property

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-lucinda “lucy” dyer; 46; fc: amy adams

bad at communication; uses physical intimacy as a distraction; black sheep/ostracized from her family; works at a book store; passed law school/exam but decided against her career; smokes and drinks a little too much; witty; comes off standoffish; pretends to not care; lonely; doesn’t know how to ask for help

inspo: fiona gallagher (shamless), camille preaker (sharp objects), jessica jones (jessica jones)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-marlow mao; 40; fc: elodie yung

family made their wealth through shady means; sold out her father’s criminal activity and had to “runaway” essentially; artist; sells her work under a pseudonym; lives in one of those rich, beach towns; personable but private; doesn’t let people know about her past; worried/concerned about her family/her father’s connection’s finding her

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-natasha chung; 29; fc: shin se-kyung

event planner for upscale events; temperamental; difficult in relationships (trust issues, jealously, not emotionally available enough, indecisive); doesn’t necessarily trust people in general because her social status/family wealth; can be a tad immature at times personally; badass at work; high-end taste

plot ideas: 1, 2

-quentin dae; 25; fc: nam joo hyuk* (alt. lee young hwa, lee do-hyun)

actual nice guy; carpentry and repairs are his thing; very much a quiet nerd growing up; looks like he has it together, but does not; will highkey freak out and worry during inconveniences; rarely crushes on people and tends to like the same person for long periods of times; is very bad at flirting

plot ideas: 1, 2

-rosaline perkins; 29; fc: elizabeth lail

architect at a big international firm; moved to paris for a job; found out she was pregnant after a one night stand; didn’t bother finding the bio dad before the move; decided with family support to keep her baby; can either be working in paris or has moved back to wherever else

plot ideas: 1, 2

-sun hee “sunny” park; 29; fc: lee sung-kyung

script supervisor; had a childhood best friend (and crush) that moved away without warning; feels like she’s surrounded by idiots a majority of the time; loves her job but hates it for dealing with people; has worked in the industry for nearly 10 years; super organized; slight control freak; social interactions exhaust her

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

-tara hwan; 49; fc: sandra oh

baker; owns a bakery shop in the city; very confident in herself and her abilities; comes across scary but is surprisingly sweet; likes to end her day with a glass of wine and trash tv; constantly thinking of new baking ideas/designs; doesn’t put up with rudeness or entitled people

plot ideas: 1, 2

-tinsley porters; 28; fc: jodie comer* (alt. adelaide kane, chloe bridges)

doesn’t stick to a job more than a year; like adventure/traveling; gets restless easily; immature at times; child at heart; can be reckless; believes in soulmates; follows treat others the way they’re treating you; avoids problems and serious situations/conversations; orphaned at 3 years old; believer in found families

inspo: peter pan (peter pan)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-winona renwick; 30; fc: poppy drayton* (alt. jenna coleman, amber stevens)

aspiring chef; spent a majority of her time taking care of her father (widowed and an alcoholic) when her mom passed away; lost her mom in her early teenage years; decided to move away for college to live her own life; worked 3 jobs until she found a steady income after graduating; doesn’t know how to do healthy relationships due to her dad; doesn’t want to have to rely on anyone for help or be a burden; passionate when it comes to cooking

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

#plot bunny #wanted fc #also just reference for myself #probably going to try and make chara bio thingies again #maybe lol

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askouacrp · 4 years

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CURSED PERSONAS FOR CORA’S CURSE AU WEEK

Adelaide Nott Hood - Outlaw Princess with the Merry Men - daughter of Regina Mills - father is unknown to her (King Leopold or Robin Hood) - has magic

Belle French Rosalind LaFrancoise - wanting to join the ranks of a pirate crew or set off on a big adventure - is very much attracted to the darkness

Booker Kensley - part of the Merry Men - in a relationship with Ruby Lucas

Captain Killian Jones Hook - Captain of the Jolly Roger - father of Henry Jones - in a relationship with Emma Swan

David Nolan - First Mate of the Jolly Roger - in a relationship with Mary Margaret

Elizabeth Porter Webster - weaver/merchant - lives with/helps care for surrogate sister Wendy Darling

Emma Swan - Pirate aboard the Jolly Roger - mother to Henry Jones - in a relationship with Captain Jones - has magic

Evangeline Faye Kennedy Bowyer - bow maker/merchant

Felix - unwavering devotion to Pan transfers to Cora - becomes a loyal minion of sorts/does her bidding and believes with all of his heart that she’s the one that saved him from his hell. whatever the relationship or growth that had transpired between Felix and Peter is now on Cora; she is the one he loves most

Henry Mills Jones - son of Captain Jones and Emma Swan

Mary Margaret Snow White - pirate aboard the Jolly Roger - in a relationship with David Nolan

Regina Mills - former Queen (considered missing) hiding with the Merry Men - in a relationship with Robin Hood; mother to Adelaide and Roland Hood - has magic

Robin Locke Hood - leader of the Merry Men - in a relationship with Regina Mills; father to Adelaide and Roland Hood

Ruby Lucas - part of the Merry Men - shifter - in a relationship with Booker Kensley

Rumplestiltskin - Prince of Longbourne - has magic

Wendy Darling - lives with her caretaker/surrogate big sister Elizabeth Webster after being taken in after her parents died - helps with the weaving business

William Capult - helping Cora look for Regina

More information about the curse can be found in the linked source at the bottom of this post. Please remember to make a generalized post with your characters in depth information tonight and tag it appropriately! These are just brief descriptions, but the more detail you want to add, the better!

And again, tags should be used for all AU things. An example being, au: coras curse or au cora curse. These posts will help people know what kind of questions to send your character, as well as help form plots for character interactions and paras. Reach out, get crazy, have fun!

#askouacnotice

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fordlibrarymuseum · 5 years

Text

We’re following #ArchivesLadiesWhoLead for this month’s Archives Hashtag Party. Here is a selection of women who used their voices and actions to make an impact during the 1970s and beyond.

President Gerald R. Ford Signing the Proclamation on Women's Equality Day 1974 in the Cabinet Room, 8/22/1974 (National Archives Identifier 12082600)

During the 93rd Congress (1973–1975), 16 women served in the House of Representatives. All but three of them attended the signing ceremony for the Presidential proclamation on Women's Equality Day on August 22, 1974: Representatives Yvonne Brathwait Burke (D-CA), Barbara Jordan (D-TX), Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY), Marjorie S. Holt (R-MD), Leonor K. Sullivan (D-MO), Cardiss Collins (D -IL), Corinne C. Boggs (D-LA), Margaret M. Heckler (R-MA), Bella S. Abzug (D-NY), Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), Ella T. Grasso (D-CT), Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), and Patsy T. Mink (D-HI). Those not present were Edith Green (D-OR), Martha Griffiths (D-MI), and Julia Hansen (D-OR).

Anne Armstrong Being Sworn In as Ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland by Justice Lewis Powell with Her Husband Tobin Armstrong Holding the Bible in the Cabinet Room, 2/19/1976 (White House photograph A8411-21A, cropped)

Anne Armstrong quickly rose to in prominence in the Republican Party, becoming the first woman to make a keynote address at a major political convention at the Republican National Convention in 1972 in Miami Beach. The following year she was the first woman to be named Counselor to the President. Armstrong achieved another first in 1976 when she became Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As Ambassador, she helped oversee U.S.-U.K. relations during the Bicentennial year and dealt with other issues such as energy. She was also the first U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James to visit Northern Ireland.

President Gerald Ford Meeting with Major General Jeanne Holm, Special Assistant for Women's Affairs, in the Oval Office, 3/8/1976 (National Archives Identifier 7336751)

On March 8, 1976, President Ford appointed Jeanne Holm, Major General USAF (Retired), as Special Assistant to the President for Women. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Holm enlisted in the armed services during World War II and later became the first woman to attend the Air Command and Staff College. She went on attain the rank of Major General in the Air Force, becoming the highest ranking woman in the Air Force and the first woman in any branch of the military to be named a two-star general. As Special Assistant, Holm served as a liaison with women’s organizations and provided the President and White House staff members with advice on legislation, regulations, and executive orders.

Madama Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India meeting with First Lady Betty Ford in Cleveland, Ohio, 10/25/1975 (White House Photograph A7014-18)

Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit came from a prominent political family in India. She became the first woman to hold a cabinet post before the country gained independence, and after 1947 held a series of diplomatic posts as ambassador to the Soviet Union, United States, and Spain among others. During her time heading India's delegation to the United Nations (1946-1968) she also became the first female President of the UN General Assembly. Madame Pandit had lunch with Mrs. Ford before they both addressed the Greater Cleveland International Women's Year Congress on October 25, 1975.

First Lady Betty Ford greeting ballet dancer Sandra Fortune-Green and Sylvester Campbell at the White House, 6/29/1976 (White House Photograph B0404-03A)

Sandra Fortune-Green began taking ballet lessons at age 10 at the Jones-Haywood School of Dance in Washington, DC. She continued pursuing dance, studying at the School of American Ballet in New York City and becoming a principal dancer for the Capitol Ballet Company. During the 1970s Fortune-Green was considered to be the world's top black classical ballet dancer. Mrs. Ford met with her at the White House on June 29, 1976, to give her best wishes before Fortune-Green represented the U.S. at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria, where she would earn an honorable mention.

Louise Nevelson and Betty Ford standing in front of Nevelson’s sculpture “Bicentennial Dawn” at the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1/13/1976 (White House photograph A7894-27)

Born in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine), Louise Nevelson and her family came to the United States in the early 1900s. She began studying art full time in the 1920s. After traveling and continuing her studies in Europe she returned to the U.S., briefly working as an assistant to Diego Rivera and later taught art under the Works Project Administration (WPA). Nevelson had her first solo exhibition in 1941. She developed a signature style of large scale, monochromatic wooden sculpture that made her one of the country’s foremost 20th century sculptors. Betty Ford joined Nevelson for the unveiling of her work “Bicentennial Dawn” at the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse on January 13, 1976.

President Gerald R. Ford, Sylvia Porter, Ralph Nader, and Others at a Meeting of the Citizens Action Committee to End Inflation, 10/12/1974 (National Archives Identifier 12082668)

Sylvia Porter saw how the world had been deeply affected by the Stock Market Crash and decided to study economics and finance. In 1934 she began writing a column for The American Banker and New York Post as well as other magazines explaining finances and economic matters in plain language to her readers. Readers did not discover that “S.F. Porter” was a woman until 1942, and she is considered the first woman to hold such a position. Throughout her life, Porter continued writing and also hosted a radio show. In 1974, when President Ford was dealing with an inflation crisis, Porter chaired and helped organize the Citizens Action Committee to Fight Inflation (CAC). This voluntary citizens program would provide the American people with an opportunity to get actively involved in the fight against inflation.

ABC Correspondent Barbara Walters Interviewing President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford in the White House Residence, 12/4/1976 (National Archives Identifier 12007074)

Beginning her career in 1962 as a segment producer for Today, Barbara Walters eventually became the co-host of the popular morning show and the first woman to hold that title on a nationally televised news program. She went on to become the co-anchor of the ABC Nightly News opposite Harry Reasoner and the co-anchor of the long running news program 20/20. During the 1976 presidential election, Walters moderated the third and final debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. On December 4, 1976, she sat down with President and Mrs. Ford for a retrospective interview. The program also included Mrs. Ford giving Walters a tour of the White House residence that provided a look into some of the rooms on the third floor for the first time on television.

President Ford presenting the National Medal of Science to Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu in the East Room at the White House, 10/18/1976 (White House Photograph B1907-35)

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, sometimes known as the "First Lady of Physics," was born in China and came to the United States to pursue a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. She began studying beta decay, a topic that she would continue to research later in her career. Dr. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. In 1956 she designed an experiment and headed the team that discovered parity was not conserved in weak interactions. Although two of her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics as a result, her contribution was not formally until she received the first Wolf Prize in 1978. Dr. Wu received the National Medal of Science from President Ford on October 18, 1976, "for her ingenious experiments that led to new and surprising understanding of the decay of the radioactive nucleus."

First Lady Betty Ford Talks with Reporters Outside the Guttman Institute for Early Detection of Breast Cancer in New York City, 11/7/1975 (National Archives Identifier 12082709)

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 1974, Betty Ford broke with social conventions by openly discussing her diagnosis and treatment. She inspired many women to get screenings and helped reassure those also dealing with breast cancer. Mrs. Ford used her position as First Lady to champion causes that were important to her. As outspoken advocate of women’s rights she supported the observance of International Women’s Year in 1975, urged the appointment of women to senior government positions, and pushed for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

#women's history month #women's history #women in congress #ArchivesLadiesWhoLead #Archives Ladies Who Lead #ArchivesHashtagParty

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myrcella · 4 years

Note

*pope bangs his scepter* bioshock and fallout

fallout was answered, thank you!! ✍🏻

bioshock 🌃

Favorite character: indisputably, obviously, sofia lamb. she’s my favourite antagonist of all time. she’s a saviour in her own mind, a woman scorned by society, and a mother battling against the natural love for her child. i find her absolutely fascinating and complex. i could write you essays! i will try to keep it succinct, but... i just think she’s a master class in character writing and it saddens me that forums back in the day reduced her simply to a “feminazi” or “commie”. oh, doctor, you try so hard for perfection, you try to eliminate the humanity of failure—but you are a human yourself. poor creature; you love eleanor so much you wish you could rip it out of your very genes—and (headcanon time) subject delta is a part of you too...

Second favorite character: toss up between brigid tenenbaum, subject delta, and rosalind lutece. tenenbaum is incredible autistic and female representation—a fucking jewish survivor of war crimes who pursued her interest rigidly. subject delta is another blank slate character i really love, because, like fo3, the narrative clearly leads you a little in his character and you can piece together a personality for him; a tortured father kept apart from who he perceived as his child, and if you’re me, eleanor is his child. delta post-bs2 would be utterly riddled with identity issues and it makes my heart ache. a kind and passionate beast. and rosalind lutece is just bloody impressive for all she accomplished in her era, stalwart and rigid too, unknowing why she can’t reach the same heights her male counterpart did when they are the same!

Least favorite character: naturally as a sofia stan, andrew ryan. but i can’t deny his role in the series: rapture is his child and playground after all. his speech in bs1, you know the one... to me he’s much more antagonistic than sofia as a cold heart individualist, though both are as hypocritical as each other. also frank fontaine for obvious reasons i should hope; nothing to like about him, just a scummy conman bloke lol

The character I’m most like: i really don’t know. every bioshock character has a streak of ill will or trauma in them and i’m not that mental.

Favorite pairing: 10 years on, and sofia lamb & subject delta remain the sinew of my heart. i spent countless days in hot summers of my childhood (remember i was 12 when i played bioshock 2!) obsessing over these two, waxing about every detail of their interactions. i was mesmerised by their cat and mouse chase in the game. i was wraught thinking about their potential as a romantic couple after the game—if tenenbaum can restore subject sigma to charles milton porter, she can do the same for delta back to whom we only know as johnny topside. (my interpretations from this point on): johnny topside, the only man worthy of sofia’s time back before rapture fell, because he wasn’t cruel and he cared little for his celebrity status. he was instantly taken by the older woman who was the only person noticing the poor of the city. the two would go on to marry, he’d take her name, he simply wanted her, there was no sense of obligation to his masculinity. they’d have eleanor, their bright little girl; ryan would imprison him as the worst slight against his political rival; sofia would see him turned into that beast delta and mark that man as lost. then a decade later delta wakes and when her world is crumbling apart, he and eleanor are so damn forgiving she can’t process it. delta is always there, at her back. for all she’s done to him. for all he’s done to her. how can she still love a hunkering creature? she hates him. but he helps her through her catatonic depression... and... she loves him.

Least favorite pairing: i’m not longer a fan of the luteces as a romantic pair but it’s more neutral than anything. back on livejournal ryan x lamb was semi popular and it made me want to rip my hair out. for hopefully very obvious reasons: booker x elizabeth which prevailed even long after infinite’s ending...

Favorite moment: seeing rapture for the first time. the swell and crescendo of the score as you gaze upon ryan’s ‘utopia’. all good things of this earth flow into the city... then you’re abandoned in a broken nightmare instead where deformed souls with hooks for hands are crawling on the walls and leaks are caving you in. also, bioshock 2’s intro is wonderfully cinematic and heartbreaking even if you’re playing for the first time and don’t know the characters yet; it sets things really well.

Rating out of 10: infinity. heavily formative series. wish i could put into words how i feel but it’ll never be enough. i’ve been into bioshock since the first game when i couldn’t even understand it because i was so little and just shooting things but each replay sew it more into my soul. the series taught me so much about morality, choice, philosophy, humanity. i’m ever grateful for it and everything the fandom taught me, too. 🥺

#roberthouses #abm #biotalk #v long answer

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askisabella · 4 years

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Not even cats or dogs?

You really don’t stop, do you?

#* iinteractions ;#* interactions; s1 .#* interactions: elizabeth porter .#askelizabeth

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popolitiko · 5 years

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Beyond the N.R.A.: Maria Butina’s Peculiar Bid for Russian Influence

By Matthew Rosenberg, Mike McIntire, Michael LaForgia, Andrew E. Kramer and Elizabeth Dias Aug. 4, 2018

Maria Butina, who was charged last month with being a covert Russian agent, passionately promoted gun rights and better relations with Russia, charming a string of older men along the way. Clockwise from top right: Ms. Butina in 2014 with James W. Porter II, then president of the N.R.A.; Wayne LaPierre, the group’s executive vice president; and Rick Santorum, the former senator.

WASHINGTON — Twelve days after a young Russian gun-rights activist gained access to some of America’s most prominent conservatives, at an elegant dinner near the Capitol, a Republican operative was eager to keep the momentum going.

In a February 2017 email, the operative, Paul Erickson, proposed another “U.S./Russia friendship” dinner. He noted that the activist, Maria Butina, who now is accused of being a covert Russian agent, was making an “ever-expanding circle of influential friends.”

Ms. Butina, he wrote in the email, had just met Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, during a visit to Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. The Russian woman had also gotten to know the ex-wife of a supermarket heir, who had endowed an institute dedicated to furthering American-Russian relations, and the “silky smooth” former Russian diplomat who ran it.

Then there was the recipient of the email, George O’Neill Jr., a Rockefeller relative and conservative writer. He was helping pay Ms. Butina’s bills, said a person familiar with their relationship, and hoped to make her the centerpiece of his own project to improve America’s ties to Russia.

In bringing charges against Ms. Butina, 29, last month, federal prosecutors described her activities as part of a campaign, supported by Russian intelligence, to use gun rights as a Trojan horse to make her way into conservative groups and advance Moscow’s interests in the United States.

While the charging documents focus on her alleged efforts to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, interviews with more than two dozen people in Russia and the United States show that her attempts at connecting with prominent American conservatives extended beyond making inroads with the gun-rights group. The interviews, along with previously unreported emails obtained by The New York Times, also reveal new details about her ties to the two older American men she relied on to make her way in the United States: Mr. Erickson, with whom she struck up a romance, and Mr. O’Neill.

Prosecutors allege that the relationships were nothing more than vehicles for her work on behalf of Russia, citing messages in which she told a Russian official all her activities would be “only incognito! Right now everything has to be quiet and careful.”

Yet for an alleged Russian agent funded by an oligarch, Ms. Butina hardly lived a life of fake identities, secret communications and hidden allegiances.

The N.R.A.’s Pete Brownell, left, with Ms. Butina and Donald Trump Jr. at a 2016 dinner hosted by the gun-rights group.

The flame-haired graduate student at American University in Washington openly advocated in speeches for Russia-friendly policies and closer ties between her homeland and the United States. She posted photos on Instagram of herself toting guns and checked in on Facebook from locations like Russia House, a caviar-slinging lounge in Washington. She consulted with the Outdoor Channel television network for a show about hunting in Russia. Her cellphone case was adorned with a picture of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, riding a horse shirtless.

Ms. Butina’s defenders say she was an idealistic, if naïve, activist, and contend that Russians’ interactions with the N.R.A. were attempts at rapprochement that only appear sinister when viewed through an outdated Cold War lens.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/us/politics/maria-butina-nra-russia-influence.html

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gritsandbrits · 5 years

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Transformers Animated OC: Malina Lovelace

Name: Malina Thalia Rosario Lovelace

Age: 19 (s1), 20 (s2 and 3)

Species: Human

Alignment: Good

Physical Appearance

- Black wavy-curly hair down to her shoulders

- Olive skin tone

- Dark brown eyes (stylized as black)

- Glasses

- White lab coat

- Blue jeans

- Pink sneakers

- Hot pink shirt

Casual

- Purple tank top

- Black shorts

- Black ankle boots

- She wears other outfits such as a vampiric princess dress for Halloween, elf clothes for Christmas, and a black dress for forma functions

Costume

- Purple, black and white suit

- Light purple motorcycle helmet with visor

- Armored boots and arm guards

- Padded guards on shoulders, knees, and elbows

- Gets the Autobot symbol added to her in s2 (on her helmet)

- Leather holster belt and sash

Family

- Jorge (father)

- Elizabeth (mother)

- Veronica (older sister)

Friends

- Nicole Fanzone (roommate)

- The Autobots

- Cliffjumper

- Jazz

- Blurr

- The Sumdacs

- Robin Banes

- Team Athenia (post S3)

Enemies

- Slo-Mo

- Angry Archer

- Nanosec

- Professor Princess

- Meltdown

- The Decepticons

- Headmaster

- Porter C. Powell

- Smaller criminals such as robbers

Personality

- Coquettish

- Protective

- Gentle yet stern

- Tends to second guess herself

- Prone to nervousness

- Empathetic to people

- Suffered from jealousy during the first season but grows out if it

- Also nervous at the prospect of getting married and having children

- Resourceful

Likes, Hobbies and Interests

- Robotics and design

- Gymnastics

- The colors purple, blue, and black because to her they're relaxing

- Trying out new recipes

- Showing the Autobots earth culture

- Learning about Cybertron

- Easter because it gives her an excuse to eat candy

Dislikes

- Being treated as a doormat

- Losing her respect as a superhero

- Spiders

- Her favorite brand of candy out of stock

- Public restrooms

- Sentinel's racism

- Hypocrites

- Feeling worthless

Powers and Abilities

- Powered Armor

- Equipment such as a grappling hook, built in stun gun, and medical aid

- Two main weapons: a whip and throwing darts

- The suit enhances physical capabilities such as endurance and agility

- The suit is not as strong as the Autobots' armor (obviously), making her the weakest when it comes to fighting Decepticons. Also, she is not particularly fast nor strong, and her suit needs two full days to charge up and can run into problems.

Backstory: The second child of Jorge and Elizabeth Lovelace, Malina developed a love for science and engineering after a school field trip to Sumdac Industries. Set in her career path she worked really hard in school, often going to the junkyard to use abandoned parts to craft her own inventions. In college she landed an internship working at Sumdac, but what she had thought was a dream come true slowly crashed around her when she ended up having to work for Powell instead.

During all this Detroit was hit by a sudden crime wave when criminals seemingly out of comic books started a reign of terror. Seeing the city's desperate call for a hero, Malina decided to step up to the plate, creating a design for powered armor she repurposed from old robot parts and other materials. Her two friends, detective Nicole Fanzone and mechanic Robin Banes joined her and together the three started their own little initiative to stop the new bad guys.

Misc

- Malina's surname is based off of mathematician Ada Lovelace

- Malina wears her glasses at all times. She has worn contacts but glasses fit her better

- I created Malina because I felt like TFA needed another human ally, specifically one who could fight the human villains as a superhero

- Malina has a heavy Metal Heroes aesthetic, namely inspired by Diana Lady from Jikuu Senshi Spielban and SolJeanne from Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain

- I noticed how the five main Autobots plus Sari fit the colors of the rainbow, so Malina is squeezed in as "violet."

- Aside from robotics, Malina also took Gymnastics from the time she was six up until eighteen when she retired to focus on her work. She does still practice every now and then to memorize her skills to use when fighting bad guys. On the weekends she takes boxing lessons with Nicole.

- Malina is NOT a love interest for the main Autobots. However I do plan on giving her one because having a love interest does not diminish a female character (if the idea was executed well that is). There's a lot of Transformers characters that barely get shipping fics, and there's a stigma against human/TF pairings, yet people ship humans with Connor from Detroit Become Human, literal monsters, and even fricking school shooters. Like seriously I have seen ship fics with Dylan and Eric on this site. I hope people won't get too bothered about me shipping Malina with a minor character. Hint: it's not Cliffjumper, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, and definitely not a Decepticon.

- Malina's original name was Mariposa but that sounded a bit weird so I changed it to something more simple

- My choice voice actor for her would be Kimberly Brooks

- I drew a colored sketch of Malina's armor as pink but then I changed when I realized how many girl characters were already pink (not to mention it just would have been a rehash of Arcee)

- When they first meet the Autobots mistook her as a Decepticon due to the dark colors of her armor

- Malina haven't thought up a hero name, it just appeared on a popular website that happened to spread the name and she just accepted the name just like that

- She often shows up in costume in poor neighborhoods to interact with people

- During the holidays Malina (out of costume) would go to the homeless shelter to help serve food and warm clothes and blankets

- After the Autobots take over, Malina focuses more on her job, becoming more outspoken at work

- After Powell kicked Sari out of her house, she quit on the spot and allowed Sari to stay with her and Nicole. She temporarily worked busing tables but was able to get her old job back after Powell got fired

- After S3 Malina decided to go to Cybertron with Bulkhead and Sari because she realized there was a whole new universe out there. It is also where she would meet her future love interest

- Malina never gets any Cybertronian powers. She does get enhancements but as far as having superpowers go, no. And she doesn't become some immortal goddess either.

- Malina usually rides in Bulkhead, so it shocks people when they see a tiny woman getting out of a freaking military vehicle or whatever Bulkhead was supposed to be

- Since TFA and Ben 10: Omniverse were made by the same people, I might have Malina live in the future of my fanmade Ben 10 universe. It depends on how I could make it work.

- To explain Sari's lack of screentime in S3, I'm having a storyline where she learns how to be a proper superhero as Malina's apprentice. Both heroines, as well as Nicole are going to another city to stop a crime boss who has mysterious connections to Nicole's long lost mother. So basically they have their own arc away from the main season's plot to give the human characters more development. Also the human villains at that point have all been put in super special jail so that's the end of them!

- When Malina grows older she actually becomes allies with the Plumbers (I officially decided to have this set in the same universe as my Omniverse AU). So there'll be mention on my Ben 10 OCs!

Update: Removed a lot of tags to add some new ones as shortening so it wouldn't be too long. Also new info

#transformers animated #transformers oc #tfa oc #poc heroine #transformers humans #transformers human oc #latina superhero #fancharacters #cartoon network oc #g&b oc #character concept #fan character

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acourtcfmuses · 2 years

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❔ <3

send ❔ and i’ll list a couple muses that i’d like to throw at yours!

I had to cut myself off. So not everyone was done and not all of my muses who would interact are listed. I've spent a good amount of time on this though ahaha - it's under the read more!

Tea’s Muse / Alana's Muse

Bubbles / Pietro Maximoff (MCU) Bubbles / Druig (MCU) Chrissy Cunningham / Robin Buckley Chrissy Cunningham / Steve Harrington Chrissy Cunningham / Lizzie Henderson (oc) Chrissy Cunningham / Rick Lipton Hermione Granger / Charlie Weasley Hermione Granger / Blaise Zabini Hermione Granger / Nick Scratch (CAOS) Jane Porter / Cassian (ACOTAR - why shouldn’t Jane meet a handsome fae with bat wings?) Jane Porter / Jacob Black (Twilight) Jane Porter / Anthony Bridgerton (Bridgerton) Katherine Pierce / Elijah Mikaelson Katherine Pierce / Klaus Mikaelson Katherine Pierce / Rebekah Mikaelson Katherine Pierce / Caroline Forbes Katherine Pierce / Caliban (CAOS)

Katrina Crane / Eamon Berrigan (Headless horseman) Katrina Crane / Caliban (CAOS) Katrina Crane / Simon Basset (Bridgerton) Luna Lovegood / Charlie Weasley Luna Lovegood / Hermione Granger Luna Lovegood / Blaise Zabini Luna Lovegood / Owen Grady (Jurassic World - I think she’s love dinosaurs)

Lydia Martin / Scott McCall Lydia Martin / Jordan Parrish Lydia Martin / Malia Tate Lydia Martin / Charlie Lahey (oc) Lydia Martin / Nate Dunbar (oc) Lydia Martin / Chris Argent Lydia Martin / Greyson Martin (oc cousin) Lydia Martin / Melissa McCall Lydia Martin / Lycus Lycan (oc) Lydia Martin / Luke Patterson (JatP) Lydia Martin / Klaus Mikaelson (TO/TVD) Lydia Martin / Nick Scratch (CAOS) Lydia Martin / Caliban (CAOS) Sally Finkelstein / Jack Skellington (i’d find a younger fc for him!) Sally Finkelstein / Shock Snow White / Simon Basset (Bridgerton) Snow White / Anthony Bridgerton (Bridgerton) Tatum Riley / Nick Goode (Fear Street 1978) Tatum Riley / Cindy Berman (Fear Street 1978)

Wendy Darling / Pan Wendy Darling / Ash Redfern (Night World) Wendy Darling / Anthony Bridgerton (Bridgerton)

Winnie Darling / Pan Winnie Darling / Harriet Winnie Darling / Sammy

Borra / Mal Fae Borra / Elizabeth Swann (PotC) Borra / Jack Skellington (NBC) Felix / Hook Felix / Pan Felix / Harriet Felix / Bloom (Winx) Felix / Baelfire/Neal (OUAT) Fred Weasley / Hermione Granger Fred Weasley / Blaise Zabini Fred Weasley / Caliban (CAOS) Draco Malfoy / Hermione Granger Draco Malfoy / Blaise Zabini Draco Malfoy / Agatha Night (CAOS) Jacob Salvadore / Elijah Mikaelson Jacob Salvadore / Klaus Mikaelson Jacob Salvadore / Rebekah Mikaelson Jacob Salvadore / Caroline Forbes Jacob Salvadore / Emmett Cullen (Twilight) Jacob Salvadore / Carlisle Cullen (Twilight) Jacob Salvadore / Ash Redfern (Night World) Kas / Harriet Kas / Pan Kas / Tilly Kas / Hook Kas / Steve Harrington (ST) Kas / Robin Buckley (ST) Kas / Jonathan Byers (ST) Kas / Jim Hopper (ST) Matt Donovan / Elijah Mikaelson Matt Donovan / Klaus Mikaelson Matt Donovan / Rebekah Mikaelson Matt Donovan / Caroline Forbes

Phillip Delacour / Bloom (Winx)

Shaggy Rogers / Jake Peralta (B99) Shaggy Rogers / Rick Lipton (ST)

#isdeathlystill #☀️ meme [ specify muse ]#this got out of hand but i love tea so yeah

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amostexcellentblog · 6 years

Text

Classic Movies for Beginners: Case File #3: The MGM Musicals

The world is a stage, The stage is a world of entertainment!

Director(s): Vincente Minnelli; Stanley Donen; Charles Walters; and Others

Starring: (Deep Breath) Judy Garland; Fred Astaire; Gene Kelly; Cyd Charisse; Debbie Reynolds; Donald O’Connor; Frank Sinatra; Jane Powell; many more.

Watch if You Like: Musicals. Seriously, the MGM musicals still define the genre in the popular imagination. So even if you’ve never seen one (and you have seen one, The Wizard of Oz) you’re probably familiar with the style. Almost every recent hit movie musical--La La Land, Hairspray, The Greatest Showman, High School Musical--was shaped in some way by the bright technicolor sweetness of these movies. So if you’re a fan of any of those films, a theater geek, or just curious about what the movie musical was like at its peak, enjoy.

Since I could talk for days about these movies, I’ve decided to just do a quick list of the 10 most essential titles There are, of course, many other musicals from the studio that are worth a watch, but I’m trying to control myself.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952): Everyone’s favorite musical! In case you’ve been living under a rock: Don Lockwood (Kelly) is a silent movie star famous for his films with shrill-voiced Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Talkies seem poised to ruin them until his pal Cosmo (O’Connor) gives him the idea to do a musical with his girlfriend (Reynolds) dubbing Lina’s voice. No summary can ever capture what makes this movie such a complete joy to watch. Every song, every dance, every performance is just flawlessly executed to put a great big smile on your face. It’s one of the few movies that deserves to be called perfect.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944): A year in the life of the Smith family in 1903 St. Louis, the year the world’s fair came to town. There are four daughters, second-eldest Esther (Garland) is on the cusp of adulthood, starry-eyed, and filled with young love for the boy next door (Tom Drake). Youngest is Tootie (Margaret O’Brien), mischievous and morbidly fascinated by death in a way only an innocent child can be. Father (Leon Ames) gets a job in New York, a move that threatens the family’s fragile innocence. Will they go?

Minimalist plot doesn’t sound like much, but it’s actually a great coming-of-age movie. Beneath its nostalgic sheen there are some darker moments that deal frankly with the loss of innocence that comes with growing up. Garland debuts “The Trolley Song” and the holiday standard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which she sings with a more heartbreaking style than you’re likely to hear now. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, now...” she sings, as if you might never have another chance to. Appreciate innocence while you have it, the movie says, it can be taken away so easily.

The Band Wagon (1953): Washed up movie star Tony Hunter, (Astaire) heads to Broadway to star in a musical comedy written by his friends (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray), but they make the mistake of hiring a snooty director of dramas who promptly turns it into a heavy handed Faust adaptation. Tony is unsure of this, as well as the much younger ballerina (Cyd Charisse) hired to be his leading lady. The official favorite musical of people who think it’s too mainstream to pick Singin’ in the Rain. The satire of high art and low art can get heavy handed, and the movie’s ultimate assertion that Broadway musicals are meant to be light comedy is hopelessly dated in the era of Next to Normal and Spring Awakening. It’s real charms lie in the dances, from the joyful hoofing of "Shine on Your Shoes" to the simple romance of "Dancing in the Dark."

On the Town (1949): Three sailors (Kelly, Sinatra, Jules Munshin) on 24 hour leave in New York, New York (I hear it’s a wonderful town) find love and hijinks as they pursue a beauty contest winner (Vera-Ellen) across the city after one of them falls in love at first sight. Along for the ride are Betty Garret as their cab driver, and Ann Miller as a boy crazy anthropologist. Adapted from a Broadway hit, much of Leonard Bernstein’s score was replaced with original music for some reason (censors also required the lyric “New York, New York it’s a helluva town” be changed to “it’s a wonderful town.”) Fortunately, that doesn’t make it any less of a delight, with a perfect cast and great choreography celebrating the limitless possibilities of the city.

Easter Parade (1948): When his dance partner (Ann Miller) leaves him, Don Hewes (Astaire) plucks a girl out of the chorus (Garland) and sets out to make her a star. Shades of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (nobody tell Lerner and Loewe), with Peter Lawford in the Freddy role and a slew of Irving Berlin tunes along for the ride. The only movie Astaire and Garland made together, and it’s a fascinating pairing of the most carefree (onscreen anyway) musical star and the least. Astaire was rarely paired with singing stars (as opposed to dancers), and Garland was a bigger star than he was when this movie shot. As a result her character gets more solo numbers and feels more independent of Astaire’s than usual. On the flip side, Astaire does a better job at holding his own opposite Garland than most of her leading men. It’s a shame they never made another movie together as their chemistry makes the film.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954): Mountain man Howard Keel ventures into an old west town one day looking for a wife to play housekeeper. He finds one (Powell), who falls in love at first sight and marries him dreaming of a romantic life in the wilderness. He didn’t mention they’d be living with his unruly brothers. Fortunately she manages to tame them enough to go to town for a barn raising. That’s when the trouble starts, each brother meets and falls for a girl from town. After an iconic dance-off with their fiances, the brothers end up kidnapping the women for the winter, which does not go over well.

Look, this is not as sexist as its sounds. This is not a Stockholm Syndrome thing, the narrative does not condone the kidnapping, the men are banished to the barn by Powell so nobody’s pressured to do anything, and if you look at the end of the barn raising dance you see that the women do initially to choose the brothers on their own free will, before their parents intervene. The movie ultimately comes down on the side of equal power dynamics in relationships. Anyway, the dancing in this movie is incredible. Watch it for that if nothing else.

The Harvey Girls (1946): Desperate to get out of her small town, Susan Bradley (Garland) moves west to marry her lonely-hearts pen pal. That falls through, so she gets a job as a waitress at the Harvey House, a (real) restaurant chain catering to train passengers. A lot of the town’s men don’t want the ladies there, because the chain’s strict moral standards has a reputation for civilizing wild west towns. Nevertheless, they persisted. The town is cleaned up, and the waitresses find true love. Great showcase for Garland’s comedic and dramatic skills. The movie’s slyly feminist defense of a woman’s right to see the world beyond her back yard and the boy next door, as well as its emphasis on female friendships, make up for a bland male lead and awkward third act. (A proper big final number was shot, but deleted for time so the whole thing kinda peters out.)

Lili (1953): Barely a musical, but it has one song and two dance sequences that are key to developing the characters and plot, so it counts. Recently orphaned Lili (Leslie Caron) is all alone and naïve about the ways of the world. She is charmed by a womanizing magician in a traveling carnival. After he rebuffs her affections she attempts suicide, but is stopped at the last minute by the carnival’s puppeteer, Paul (Mel Ferrer), who strikes up a conversation through his puppets. Lili’s natural interaction with the puppets attracts a crowd and she is made part of the act. Paul was once a great dancer whose career was ended by a war injury, lonely and embittered he is drawn to Lili’s soft heart but is unable to express his affection for her without his puppets. Touching story about the walls we build to protect ourselves from hurt, and the necessity of letting them down. Caron’s performance is incredible, it’s like she walked out of a fairy tale.

The Pirate (1948): Manuela (Garland) lives in a small Caribbean village and spends her days fantasizing of adventure and romance with the legendary pirate Macoco, so she’s heartbroken to learn she’s to marry the town’s boring mayor, Don Pedro. On a trip to the port to pick up her wedding dress she is spotted by traveling actor Serafin (Kelly), who falls instantly in love. She is unimpressed with his charms so he pretends to be Macoco in disguise to win her over. Mistaken identity hijinks ensue when he shows up in her hometown and realizes her boring fiance is actually the retired Macoco. This never takes off the way it should. Between the stars, the director (Minnelli), and original Cole Porter songs this should be a home run. Frustratingly, the story never comes together as well as it should, Manuela starts to feel like a supporting player in the second half which throws the whole movie off balance. Still, there are some great songs and dances, and the movie does manage to say a few interesting things about who we are versus who we pretend to be in life.

Royal Wedding (1951): Sibling song-and-dance team (Astaire and Powell) heads to England to perform in a new show against the backdrop of the upcoming wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh (what ever happened to those two?) While there both of them find themselves falling in love. Her with a penniless Lord (Peter Lawford), him with a newly engaged dancer (Sarah Churchill, daughter of Winston). This is primarily for Astaire fans who get to see two of his most famous dances. One with a hat rack, proving he could dance with anything, the other where he dances on the wall and ceiling of his room thanks to some clever practical effects.

#oh look I managed to get this one up in a timely manner #classic movies for beginners

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