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doomonfilm · 4 years ago

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Thoughts : WandaVision [Disney+, Episodes 1-3] (2021)

2020 may have delayed the MCU’s rollover into Phase 4 with COVID-19 and theater closings putting a huge stumbling block in front of the perpetually delayed Black Widow film, but with box office not a factor in regards to WandaVision, the powers that be have moved forward with premiering the series on the Disney+ streaming service. With talk of the film being a setup for the incoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (not to mention an alternate take on the infamous House of M comic story), the levels of intrigue were definitely high, and with the 3 of the scheduled 9 episodes currently streaming, there may be more questions than answers in the minds of viewers.

THE STORY THUS FAR

Episode 01 : Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) settle into the town of Westview to begin the next chapter of their once troubled life. One morning, Vision notices a heart placed on the calendar for that day, but Wanda and Vision are unsure of what the heart represents. After Vision leaves for work, Wanda’s neighbor Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) introduces herself, and immediately interjects herself into Wanda’s plans for the “special night”. Vision, however, is reminded by his boss Mr. Hart (Fred Melamed) that he and his wife (Debra Jo Rupp) will be coming to Vision’s house for dinner, setting up two sets of alternate plans for a collision course to wackiness.

Episode 02 : Don’t Touch That Dial Wanda and Vision take part in the Westview talent show (”for the children”) as Glamour and Illusion for a magic act. Agnes introduces Wanda to Dottie (Emma Caulfield Ford), the head lady of Westview, whose firm leadership style causes tension in the run-up to the event. Vision attempts to integrate himself with the Neighborhood Watch, but a chewing gum-based mishap throws him for a major loop that puts both the magic act and the identities of Wanda and Vision at risk.

Episode 03 : Now in Color A surprise pregnancy forces Wanda and Vision to plan for welcoming a child into their home, but strange events begin to occur surrounding the pregnancy. Rather than the standard 9 month period, Wanda’s pregnancy accelerates at an exponentially rapid rate that not only causes Vision stress, but impacts Wanda’s ability to control her magic. When the pregnancy abruptly begins, Vision runs to fetch Dr. Nielsen (Randy Oglesby), but before they can return, Wanda’s neighbor and new friend Geraldine (Teyonah Parris) lends a hand. In the aftermath, however, Geraldine shows her hand, causing even more confusion in Wanda’s world.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Emergency Awesome YouTube Channel

New Rockstars YouTube Channel

ScreenCrush YouTube Channel

These three YouTube channels are known for their timely and in-depth analysis of many properties, and they have continued this tradition by uploading episode recaps and element breakdowns for WandaVision.

THOUGHTS ON THE SHOW Stylistically, WandaVision is a bold choice for the MCU, opting to re-skin our main characters in different versions of nostalgic television eras and shows rather than building a unique look or leaning on established locations within the previously established MCU world. As a former Nick at Nite junkie, as well as a product of the 1980s, I was very familiar with the numerous shows explicitly referenced, and the use of practical effects and single camera setup was emulated perfectly. The adjustment of watching two of the MCU’s most powerful characters attempt to minimalize themselves within the formulaic framework of sitcom television from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s is a bit of a rough one at first, as the story seemingly is traveling in the reverse direction of our expectations, but not so far beneath the primary layer shown, there seems to be a world of intrigue bubbling in the anticipation of being discovered.

Currently, there are tons of elements that seem like Easter Eggs, but I am almost certain that they will factor in as key parts of the story in due time. The primary bit of visual stimulus that has most people buzzing is the S.W.O.R.D. imagery, an organization similar to S.H.I.E.L.D., but with a focus on intergalactic and mystic threats rather than superheroes and governmental communication. Much of the jewelry and flare worn by the women of the show seem to contain relevant symbolism of some sort : Agnes wears a pin that seems to have 3 characters on it (perhaps a reference to Mephisto, Wiccan and Speed?), Geraldine (aka Monica Rambeau) is introduced with a pin that looks A LOT like the dimensional gateways created by Doctor Strange’s sling ring, and Geraldine later wears a necklace with the aforementioned S.W.O.R.D. symbol (which is also seen on the toy helicopter and the uniform of the mysterious beekeeper).

It is also currently unclear who the antagonist (or possible multiple antagonists) of the story are... Agnes and Dottie have both been pegged as early candidates, with tons of speculation swirling around the possibility of Agnes being Agatha Harkness and perhaps working in league with Mephisto, Grim Reaper or Nightmare. There is also a groundswell of viewers who wonder if Wanda is the villain of the story, which leans into the House of M theory in the sense that it has not been established if Wanda is currently cognizant of her reality or not. This theory is also fueled by the strange behavior(s) of those who inhabit Westview : most everyone falls into a sitcom trope performance when around Wanda, but at times, people seemed to get locked into weird, uncanny valley level “glitches”, or are outright accusatory of Wanda and Vision’s intentions.

The characters (and acting) in the show is solid so far, despite the lack of context or clarity in regards to the bigger picture.

Wanda is playing an Americanized, sitcom-esque version of herself. She still seemingly has some version of her powers, as she can manipulate objects with her mind and control time. It is unclear how much she is in control of what we’re seeing, versus someone else being in control or there being a complete lack of control.

Vision’s tragic sacrifice, rebirth and immediate death is well documented from the events of Avengers : Infinity War, and yet, he seems to be alive, devoted to Wanda, and completely unaware of his tragic deaths. Up to this point, he feels like a bit of a pawn in a bigger game, rather than the all-powerful and all-knowing sentient synthetic weapon that he is.

Agnes is by far the biggest mystery of the show up to this point. The lion’s share of character theories revolve around her, her references to the Devil, darkness and her absentee husband Ralph. She is the most present character outside of Wanda and Vision, she seems to be “in on the joke”, and her demeanor is a bit more forward than the rest of Westview’s inhabitants. Up until episode 03, Agnes felt like she may even be in control, but the fear she shows in episode 03 only serves to blur the lines further.

If Agnes seems to be the most aware of her surroundings, then Geraldine stands in stark (no pun intended) contrast, as she more often than not expresses confusion in regards to her presence in Westview. She has adorned the symbolism of S.W.O.R.D. on her outfit, and at one point, she has a pin that resembles a dimensional gateway (as mentioned previously). She has also made the most jarring statement of the series so far, seemingly snapping out of the “spell” everyone seems to be under and reminding Wanda directly about the tragic loss she suffered at the hands of Ultron.

With six episodes left to go, and a seemingly direct march through the relevant eras of television before we get to the root of the matter, it is highly likely that episodes four, five and six will feature further sitcom stylings of the 1980s and 1990s, and possibly even the 2000s, before switching into a standard MCU-style narrative. Regardless, I am now hooked, and will plan to provide a blog after the release of episodes six and nine, focusing on three episodes at a time.

THE QUESTIONS As per usual with shows of this nature, there are a ton of things going on that raise a multitude of questions...

- What’s with all of the hexagon imagery? Are we in some sort of hive, or is the town of Westview trapped in hive-mind situation?

- Who specifically is controlling Wanda’s reality? It seems that Wanda can control the flow of time to an extent, but it has been established numerous times she is being watched from the “outside”... is it possible she is also being watched from within the world of Westview that Wanda inhabits? Maybe by the mailman, or by Agnes?

- How “real” is the Vision that we are seeing? Is he some sort of recreated Vision made from whatever was salvageable after his encounter with Thanos? Is he a manifestation of Wanda in some way, shape or form? Is Wanda connected to a computer, and is Vision just a computer program at this point, like JARVIS?

- Who is the beekeeper from the second episode?

- What’s the story with the commercials, and how do they fit into what has been presented to us? Stark Industries, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and HYDRA have all been referenced in the commercials directly, and all deal with elements of time and escape. Also, who are the two people that star in the commercial? It’s been the same two, and the woman has appeared in all three commercials?

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gastrobrack · 4 years ago

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Brave New World 2020 review from probably the biggest fan of the book you’ll meet in your life

(Mostly Spoiler Free) Okay so. I’ve been waiting for this show for a really long time because I absolutely love the book and it means a lot to me. My standards were admittedly pretty low because it can’t get worse than the 1998 movie, so I didn’t really mind when I saw the trailers and stuff where other people were complaining.

TL;DR I thought the show was actually pretty enjoyable, but you have to read the book first in my opinion, or else it seems like it would be hard to follow at times. Where the show really screwed up royally was Mond’s storyline, which felt completely out of place and confusing, and when it ended up dominating the end of the final episode it just kinda ruined the story for me. The show is definitely more focused on the setting and characters than the societal predictions and themes of the novel, and for me that’s okay because we have the book to tell it better anyways. I’d say watch it if you liked the book or are curious about it, but I don’t think it would really be enjoyable for the average viewer.

Side note: I watched this in the wee hours of the morning and some of the praise might just be the special interest talking, I’m just happy to be here and get more content

That being said, I think this show is like the Riverdale of Brave New World. However, in its defense it’s at least got the energy of the parts of Riverdale like the “epic highs and lows of high school football” and the “serial killer gene”, so it’s at least pretty funny. Personally, I knew that they would have to change a lot both to adjust for the longer runtime (around 9 hours) and to make the book enjoyable to a TV audience, because of course in the book you can have 2 chapters of exposition at the beginning and that’s not as enjoyable for a TV experience. So, let’s get into the pros and cons of the show!

PROS

-I really liked Bernard! In the book he means a lot to me personally (hell, I’m writing this while listening to my Bernard playlist) so I was of course kinda worried they might screw him up again like they did in the ‘98 movie, but I was pleasantly surprised! They did change him and divide his original personality between John and Lenina, but somehow they managed to create a new Bernard that both kept me on my toes and at the same time felt authentic and likeable!

-Honestly, almost all the characters were done very well. They were all expanded upon in an interesting way while also staying generally pretty accurate to their book counterparts. I generally felt the same about them as I did with the novel, so I think that means they did a job well done. I think that John and Lenina were very different, but they still ultimately had the same general motivations. A lot of the cast’s interactions felt very natural, and I liked that they expanded upon Lenina and Fanny’s (or Frannie as she’s called here) friendship.

-The show looked great, I know a lot of people really didn’t like the look of it because it wasn’t what they thought it would be when they read it, but for me that’s basically exactly what I imagined it would be. The costume designer clearly had fun making a bunch of outlandish outfits for everyone to wear and it’s all very pleasant to look at.

-I think they did a good job fixing some of the problematic elements of the book without actually damaging the integrity of the things they were changing. For example, in the book, the savage reservation is quite literally just a native reservation, written in a way that clearly suggests Huxley didn’t really put a lot of thought into his depiction of real people. In the show, it’s a theme park where British people get to immerse themselves in the cultures of the old world, with the savages themselves being poor theme park workers reenacting events to shock and mystify the Brits. Now, admittedly, I think this makes a lot more sense as it ties into the consumerism that runs deep within their society. I know some people are mad about this because they think it’s cancel culture or something but honestly it’s not a big deal to me.

-This one might not be as important to some people, but I liked that the cast was pretty diverse, and the fact that John is the only straight one honestly made sense to me considering it would be in the World State’s best interest to encourage bisexuality amongst its citizens. Some of the characters (Helmholtz and Mond) are being played by women, and some people are kinda upset about that but I don’t really think it changed too much, although to me it is funny to think the showrunner thought he was doing something by “casting women of color to play white male characters” considering everyone I know who read the book didn’t picture either of them as white.

-Honestly, I think the show did humor very well. It was very funny in a sort of dry way, and never felt forced or out of place. It all seemed like it naturally stemmed from the characters’ awkwardness and culture shock (on both sides) and it made me really happy as someone who loves all these characters to see them make me laugh.

CONS

-Now, I’m not usually one to complain about this too much, seeing as I love the book in a non thematic and academic context, but the message kinda got lost in all of it. I think the issues they brought up certainly were there, and could lend themselves very well to being good. The writers just focused on the entirely wrong things in the last episode, and that misguided focus completely changes the lens in which the rest of the show is retroactively viewed for me.

-Mustapha Mond was just, where do I even begin. In the book, Mond doesn’t show up much except to provide exposition, and his position as an authoritative figure ultimately moves the plot towards the end of the novel. In the show, Mond gets this weird AI plotline that makes no sense, as in this version they have a sort of internet contact lens type system that allows them to connect to everyone else, and it is powered by said AI. The system itself doesn’t bother me as much as how poorly handled this plotline was. Not only was it completely random and was the only plotline in the show not to have some sort of roots in the events of the book, but it was extremely confusing to me. This leads into my next point, which is:

-The ending. Oh my God the ending. Now, look. I’m not gonna say much because I want this to be as spoiler free as possible, but the ending just honestly was a dumpster fire. The writers chose to focus the whole ending on the aforementioned AI plotline, despite the book providing a much more solid framework for an ending that they already seemed to be setting up. This shift in focus comes very late into the final episode, and it honestly doesn’t make any sense why the writers would really want to go this route. It feels like they were just adding things that didn’t fit into the story, and I can’t really discern why except for the possibility of setting up an unnecessary second season. I love the book, it’s my special interest, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we do not need a second season especially if its gonna be full of plotlines that make no sense and serve no purpose. This heavily changed ending not only undermines the whole thematic purpose of the novel but honestly kind of goes actively against everything the book was trying to say in the first place.

-They really don’t set up any of the world building, and although I caught on very quickly due to my familiarity with the book, it seems like it might get confusing for unfamiliar watchers. In the book, they explain their process for birthing and then conditioning children into their social body very in depth before they get into the actual plot and characters, and I think this show could have used some of that. Here, they talk a lot about conditioning but don’t actually explain what the conditioning is or why they have the caste system in the first place.

-This is a minor disappointment more than anything and I didn’t actually notice till about the second episode, but there’s no more Ford talk, which is kinda disappointing cause it was pretty fun in the book.

-Obviously it goes without saying that there’s sex in this, I mean it IS Brave New World. However, in this one, it just feels excessive and kinda just like it’s there for shock value more than anything.

-This isn’t really a con so much as it is just a disclaimer, I know a lot of people are excited for Demi Moore as Linda and Joseph Morgan as the new character CJack60, but don’t get your hopes up too much, they don’t get to do much. If you read the book, you’d know that about Linda but I’ve seen reviewers get upset that she wasn’t in it more when she was one of the big names attached to the project. (FWIW she did a great job and I loved Linda in this whereas I didn’t in the book) As for CJack, he spends a lot of time just standing there and looking at things and doesn’t get to do much until the last 2 episodes or so.

CONCLUSION

As someone who really loves the book’s setting and characters sometimes even more than the actual messages and predictions, I’ve always wanted an adaptation that focuses more on those elements, especially since that would make for an easier transition to the screen. Seeing this was a very nice breath of fresh air, because it embraces the inherently satirical and dare I say funny aspect of the story, as well as the characters’ individual quirks and distinct personalities. Obviously it’s not as hard hitting and important as the book, but I think those messages were better left in book form anyway. For someone like me, who loves the book with all my heart, this show honestly gave me most everything I wanted and it felt the most true to the spirit of the book’s world and characters out of any of the adaptations. I would say check out the show if you’re interested in it or enjoyed the book, but you should definitely be familiar with the book before you watch this.

#brave new world #sorry this is so long #i pulled an all nighter to watch the show as soon as possible and im running on 2hrs of sleep #anyway stan bernard!

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aphroditefumes · 4 years ago

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Michelangelo- Chapter I: The Wizard of Oz

A/N: Thank you guys soooo much for the positive feedback. I really appreciate all you guys!! And I apologize for such the long wait. Please forgive me! Enjoy!!!

“Todo, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” -Dorothy Gale, Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz

Location: Boys and Girls Club of Harlem, New York, NY Date: Saturday, February 23, 2020 Time: 2:13pm

Young men of deep sepia and enriched coffee-colored hues glistened with sweat gliding down the wide expense of their backs and chests.The swell of their calves along the longevity of their legs defined as they paced to and fro on the glossed court of the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. Their pecs jumped with every move, their sneakers scuffed as they quickly blocked passes from the opposite team, lips occasionally embedded between their teeth as they remained focused, only to release to spew curses to the dumb decision of their fellow player.

“D, pass the fuckin’ ball!”

The tallest of the bunch, Brooklyn Wright, brows furrowed, his hands wide open in exaggeration to a distracted Deandre “D” Wilkerson, who’s main focus was on the swell and switch of Ansiedad Rojas hips as she entered the gym. His view extended down tightness of her denim clad legs until she found a seat next to her girls on the bleachers, as he was now able to see her light toffee face as she turned and sat down. Her finger twisted in her hair, dimples only faintly making an appearance.

She knew D was checking for her. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend or ‘playa on the team’ as she referred to him around the presence of her friends, amused her with his sudden interest in her after ignoring her calls and texts consecutively since their last interaction last week.

“Yo, D, leave that girl alone, man,” Alijah Ford leaned against his arms resting on his knees, watching as his friend’s face contorted. He knew how D’s temper could be and knew that D was a man about action and saved talking until afterward, leaving all rationality behind.

“Fuck allat’.” D dismissed him darkly, his hand veins appearing as he squeezed the ball tighter in his grip. “Can’t answer her fuckin phone but can walk around with her ass all out? Nah, she got me all the way fucked up.”

Deandre found a wave of impulse wash over him from the top of his head into the clutches of his fingertips. The veins in his forehead and neck appeared blatantly against his sweaty dark skin, his jaw ticking from the constant clenching and unclenching.

The smirk on Ansiedad’s face never faltered as she always found her sex heating at the mere thought of Deandre getting angry. Whether through the actions of someone else or the actions of herself, mostly done through herself, Ansiedad’s fetish always ended with Deandre in some kind of trouble and herself laid an undone mess within his childhood bedroom. And with her high now heaving, eyes hard, trained on her and only her, she found it was the perfect time to intensify.

She waved seductively before laughing with her friends, biting her lips after their outburst of laughter. She blew a kiss from her glossy lips, somehow tearing her eyes away from D’s brooding figure and into the eyes of Kameron, who along with the other boys had taken attention to the scene in front of them.

Brooklyn furrowed his brows once again, “Fuck she lookin’ at me for?”

“Yeah, nigga,” D’s head snapped towards the boy he had known the longest, “Fuck she lookin’ at you fo’?” Deandre channeled his anger into a source as he walked slowly toward Brooklyn.

“Nigga that’s yo’ girl, ask her yourself!” Brooklyn exclaimed as he watched D move closer. The other boys started moving in as well, preparing to step in between if need be.

“Nah, nigga, I’m asking you.” D’s voice was as deadly as his grip was on the basketball he still possessed. Alijah stepped in front of his body before he could take another step and began to apply pressure to Deandre’s chest, who never faltered his sight on Brooklyn but began pushing Alijah back.“Fuck off me, AJ!”

“Fuck outta hea’, Nigga.” Brooklyn waved him off, not taking Deandre seriously, being used to the unorthodox anger and irrational behavior. Looking at the boys, you would’ve never guessed the two had known one another since the second grade. “I ain’t worried bout’ that girl and from where I’m standing, you don’t need to be either.”

Ansiedad sat with both of her forearms against the bleachers, her ample breast presented to a student that was familiar with in their senior class, Quentin Ward. Her Air Force 1’s rubbed against the smooth skin of his exposed leg in his basketball shorts as she seemingly purred at whatever the boy was spitting.

Suddenly, a flash of orange was sent through the air and toward the bleachers.

Deandre had unknowingly thrown the ball, it was as if his mind was not registering with his actions, the state of his head not safety executed into circumstances.

The ball flew through the air, causing the gathering of Quentin, Ansiedad, and her flock of ladies into a scattering frenzy. The open space then caused the ball to ricochet and bounce onto the unsuspecting nose of Tamara Montgomery. Her nose erupted with blood and her mouth let out a cry.

“Oh, shit.”

“Fuck is wrong witchu’, nigga?” Brooklyn exclaimed. He pushed into Deandre’s heaving chest before hastily jogging over to the crunched body of Tamara. Her book was held up to her face as she tried to hide from the embarrassment she felt at the moment.

“Ay, you aight?”

“I-I’m fine!” sputtered through the blood was the squeak-like reassurance of an flustered Tamara. It was going to take her forever to remove the blood from her fuzzy white sweater and even longer to remove this memory from her brain.

Brooklyn looked over his shoulder at the suspect at large who was currently in a heated argument with Quentin. Alijah once again stood in the middle of the two with now the addition of an instigating Ansiedad. Brooklyn shook his head, hands slightly gripping Tamara textbook, pulling down against her resisting hands to get a look at her nose. “Just let me see, mama.”

Not only was her crush in all his sweaty glory standing over her, his divine voice was calling her ‘mama’, the single most sexiest thing a man could call any woman in which he was dealing with. She definitely wasn’t removing the book now. The book wasn’t the only thing she was clutching for dear life, her thighs and her invisible pearls competed for the number one spot.

“Foreal, I’m good-

Tamara was cut of by the banging of the door from the conjoining training gym against the cemented walls. The loud noise echoed from the gymnasium, causing all noise to cease and all attention to turn towards the source.

He stepped in; Massive stature with sweat rippling down his glorious deep cedar skin, curly tendrils of chest hair glistening with seeming shiny over-glaze, shoulders pulled back and focused eyes like a black panther stalking down it’s prey. His towering height steadying his incredible 235 lbs of of mass and muscle, nostrils flared and thick lips producing breath stabling huffs from moments off the treadmill. Said nostrils exhaled smoke, his body not only oozing marijuana but radioactive Big Dick Energy. He lowered his eyes, zoning in on only one target. He face read that he was not to be fucked with. He was a man. And a mad one at that.

With his blunt rested between his thick digits and legs slowly moving ahead of him, the busying conversation resumed, now with his name on thier lips.

“Yo, Adonis coming!”

“What the fuck Donny want, man?”

“D done fucked up now.”

“D, I think the Don coming for you.”

Deandre, one of the only people who had not turned, too busy arguing with Quentin, felt his body go cold as he now felt the heat of huffs on the side his face.

“Getcho’ ass out this nigga face and walk, witcho’ dumb ass.” Adonis spoke eerily calm, inhaling another puff of the exotic kush, Harlem accent deeper with the assistance of smoke.

“Shit.” Deandre cursed as he looked off to the side before he solemnly began walking into the direction of which most of the boys were huddled, looking at the interaction. D couldn’t even fully acknowledge his care nor concern of what he caused to Tamara because he was so upset. He always found himself not having control of his actions when it came to Ansiedad. “I ain’t even mean to hit her, Don-”

“I ain’t ask you to talk, nigga, I asked you to walk.” Adonis cut of D’s would be explanation, looking forward as they neared and now stood outside of huddle. “Get from round’ her, all you niggas.” His word was final as they all moved except Brooklyn who was still trying to get Tamara to remove the book. “You too, Brook.”

“Aight.” Brooklyn huffed as he moved and stood behind Adonis.

“Nigga, say what the fuck you gotta’ say.” The man brought the blunt back to his thick lips, inhaling deeply and exhaling in the opposite direction of the young girl.

Deandre scratched the back of his neck, “Look, I ain’t mean to hit you, I-

“But you did, nigga.” Adonis gained more anger and irritation by the second. “D, forreal, stop playing with me.” The man laughed humorously while he shook his head. “Say what the fuck you gotta say ‘fore I really whoop your ass.”

“T-that’s okay.” She pushes up her glasses. “He doesn’t need to apologize.” Her muffled voice sounded through the jacket she had now pressed against her nose.

“Coo’. Let’s play.”

The man calmly handed his blunt to Brooklyn, uttering only a ‘you bet’ not smoke my shit either’ before he unexpectedly snatched the boy who he looked at as his little brother up by his jersey. Tamara was startled as she let out a little gasp, once again clutching her invisible damn pearls.

“I’ll Air yo shit out, boy. Keep playin’ wit me.” He gritted through his teeth. Tamara noticed how his dark skin dimensioned from the veins appearing through it. She bit her lip peeking through her glasses, feeling a heat rising between her thrifted jeans. “Say it fore’ I whoop yo ass, lil boy.”

“Aight.” D huffed, slightly embarrassed. He pulled away forcefully from Adonis’ grip. “I said: aight!”

“Watch yo’ muthafuckin’ tone.” Adonis spoke deeply. “And hurry the fuck up before I get mad.” He snatched back his blunt and leaned back on the heels of his Nike trainers, waiting for an unspoken apology.

“My fault for hitting you, I ain’t mean to do that shit.” Deandre spoke, somewhat sincerely. “But I did and I’m sorry, foreal.”

“D!” Ansiedad called from her spot in the middle of the gym, angry that Deandre was apologizing to some girl like a bitch, in her opinion. Plus, he had calmed down.“Let’s go!”

“Thank you, and it's okay.” Tamara accepted his apology, keeping her focus on the bleachers.

Deandre stared at Tamara’s face for a few seconds longer before he turned and faced Adonis, waiting for approval almost, who straight-faced him and dismissed him with a single look in the opposite direction. “Imma’ catch up with you niggas later.” He turned towards a waiting Ansiedad.

“Dumbass, nigga.” Brooklyn muttered, taking the words right out of Adonis’ mouth. He made a reminder to specifically talk to D soon.

“Don’t een’ worry bout’ him. Worry bout’ takin’ babygirl go see Shay.” Adonis referred to the club’s residential nurse. “And make sure Shay give her a new pair of clothes, some without all this blood shit on it.”

“Bet.” Brooklyn slowly guided her up while Alijah grabbed her stuff, making sure to grab and conceal the detailed drawing of Brooklyn in Tamara’s notebook.

Adonis shook his head watching the young kids walk away before pulling another hit of his blunt, disregarding the no smoking sign littered all throughout the building as usual. As he blew out the smoke, his breath was literally taken away as she entered the building.

Adonis’ deep eyes watched as her collard dress shirt rose even higher with the sexy switch of her wide hips as she walked timidly in her mid-calf boots. Her toned legs and thick thighs glistened with the glitter BonBon perfume she spritzed on herself this morning, awakening the senses of the young men who were watching her every move without shame. The woman pressed her Fentybomb glossed lips together, giving the boys a closed lipped smile before she began looking into the gym absentmindedly.

Adonis watched as her hands cramped behind her back as her curls tossed over her shoulders while she looked around the wide gym curiously, her heeled foot scratching the leather material of the other.

“Can I help you?” The woman was brought out of her wonder-stricken trance by the deep baritone that belonged to Adonis. She felt her breath leave her body as she assessed this gorgeous man in front of her very eyes. His black eyes pulled her in like an abyss that made her less embarrassed that she finally learned to swim at the age 19. And his beard- that Beard- it was combed and edged to perfection, simultaneously just begging to raked through with her acrylics. She felt her eyes disband, trying, but ultimately failing, not to immediately wander down the massiveness of his glistening eight pack that led to his gray sweats that exposed his deep V and happy trail. It was like his body and his face were both competing for her attention and right now, his beautiful face was losing.

She was knocked out of her trance quite literally when a ball hit the back of her Dior sweater causing her to stumble into Adonis, who quickly wrapped his arms around her waist.

“My fault!” A boy no older than twelve yelled from across the gym.

Adonis hiked up a brow, his eyes filled with amusement but face remaining static. “You aight,?” He asked, his accent as thick as his hands that slightly grazed her hips.

The woman quickly stabled herself back on her heels, gripping his massive biceps and giving a nervous smile. “Sorry. My mom swears I’m fall prone, or something.” She giggled. “I’m always falling all over the place.” She finally gained her stability and removed her hands completely from his warmed skin, taking a step back.

Adonis noticed her accent, heavily induced of a Beverly Hills Valley girl accented with slight high pitched slurs in her words. Her mannerisms reminded him of Cher from Clueless, his little sisters favorite movie.

“I was actually looking for the Chief Executive director. David, I think?” She looked up at nothing in particular. “I spoke with him on the phone earlier this week and he told me to go through the gym to get his office. I’m Sabella, by the way.”

“Nah, he left around 11 this mornin’.” Adonis stepped back and placed his hands in his basketball shorts pockets, getting a personal look at Sabella’s pretty face. “Somethin’ bout’ his wife.”

“Oh.” She let out softly, pouting as she toyed with her dangling Tiffany bracelet. Sabella went back to the conversation they had on the phone and his considerable amount of flirting he did.

“So do you think he’ll be here tomorrow?” She questioned adorably, shooting her head up. Adonis smiled within his hard demeanor at how adorable Sabella could be all the while being hands down one of the sexiest women he’d ever seen.

“Hmm?” She reiterated softy.

“He don’t work on Sundays.” He shook his head. “I ain’t gon’ front with you Miss, the nigga barely here. And when he is here, his ass just be sleep in his office.”

Sabella pouted once again. She had planned this meeting and finally felt she was getting somewhere within her new position at work, starting as junior editor at Mel Magazine Inc., the largest Black owned and black ran magazine corporation in the world. Her boss Melanie Howard, founder, CEO, and HBIC of the magazine gave the wide-eyed intern a job and a deadline to create an entry for the latest ‘Black and Bound’ segment, a segment about young black athletes living within compromising environments who were bound to go pro.

“Well, thank you anyways.” Sabella gave a soft smile, fixed her purse strap, and began walking away. Before she turned she could see from her peripheral vision of Adonis giving a curt nod before turning to walk away himself. Sabella decided, she was going to sulk tonight with a glass of chilled margarita mix and a binge session of POSE.

“Aye, Don!” Brooklyn announced as he jogged back into the gym. “Sammy gettin’ shorty right. Said it was just a nose bleed and that she’ll be aight.”

“Ion’ know, that girl looked about 5’6 to me.” Alijah added randomly as he soon joined the two.

Brooklyn raised his eyebrows as if waiting for Alijah to continue his statement. He dropped them when he realized that Alijah, of course, was finished. “And, nigga, the fuck?”

“You called her ‘shorty’ and she’s like the average height for a female her age.” Alijah shrugged as he pulled out his glasses from his pockets and placed them on his face.

Adonis and Brooklyn stared blankly within Alijah’s face, snickering before waving off AJ. “You one weird ass nigga.”

“And just who the fuck do you think you are?” Alijah asked as he picked up a rolling basketball, about to throw it back to the tweens across the gym.

Brooklyn snatched the ball from him, dribbling between his legs, crossing AJ and shooting the ball in the basket.“I’m Brooklyn Wright, nigga. Fuck you mean?” He smiled cockily as he threw the ball back to kids who stood in amazement.

“I got to get away from you little niggas.” Adonis stated bluntly.

Sabella stopped in her tracks, literally, smiling happily as she turned and basically ran to where the boys were standing. “You’re Brooklyn Wright?!” She smiled excitedly, clapping her hands. “Oh my god, you’re Brooklyn Wright!”

Brooklyn, confused but living for it all, flashed her a smile, stepping back to rub his hands along his jaw. “Yeah, I am that young nigga.”

“Hi, I’m Sabella Monroe-Ramirez with Mel Magazine.” She held out her hand. “Would you mind me asking you a few questions?”

Brooklyn let his eyes rake down her full figure as he savvily grabbed her hand. “Hell nah I don’t mind.” As she reached for her notebook, he got a peak at the wagon she was dragging. “Ask all the fuckin’ questions yo’ fine ass want.” He mumbled with his lip between his teeth.

Sabella giggled, the feeling of success taking over he ability to hear. She opened her mouth. “So how old were you when-”

“Nah, we not doing this shit.” Adonis spoke up, towering over both of them. He wasn’t with none of the exploitation of young boys and girls, especially young black boys and girls. “I know you know he only 17-

“Almost eighteen by the way.” Brooklyn interrupted as he smiled at Sabella before turning to the irritated face of Adonis. His smile dropped as he decided he didn't want none of the leftover smoke he had from Deandre. “Imma go over here.”

“Yes, but he's old enough to consent to questions.” Sabella answered where Adonis had left off. She was not about to let this opportunity go. “And as long as I’m not asking anything sexual or incriminating it’s fine-”

“Nah, it ain’t.” Adonis cut her off. “You makin’ a profit off his questions and he not, so no, it ain't fine.”

“I-I’m not making a direct profit-”

Adonis cut off the stuttering, once again not letting Sabella finish. “But it’s in your paycheck, right?” He shook his head knowingly at Sabella’s shocked face. Exactly. “Ion know where from but where you at is the hood. Don’t come around here with that shit.” He waved her off, pulling from the diminishing blunt.

“You know for someone who looks like they don't like being cut off, you sure love doing it to me.” Sabella regained some dignity, remembering the pep talk she gave herself before she walked in the building.

Adonis couldn't help but laugh, choking on smoke slightly before standing up straight. Who’d she think she was fooling with her act?

“Look, you came here for David. The nigga ain't here so have a nice day before you not have a nice day.” Adonis really didn't want to be disrespectful to her pretty ass so he left before he had a chance.

He turned, allowing Sabella to see the defining muscles of his back as he retreated back into the gym.

_________________

“So that is how I turned in small business into a billion dollar corporation.” Julius Howard felt the weight lift from his shoulders after getting through with the story of how Mel Magazine came to be to a group of interns. He must’ve at least told the story a million times within the last two months due to how frequently his wife hired and fired the mostly new college graduates.

The largest conference room on the 10th floor within the skyscraper located in the heart of Manhattan held the welcoming seminar, hosted, as always, by Julius Howard himself. He’d sit at the head of the large conference table and explained the in’s and out’s of the job. He felt the job was not fitting of someone of his position; Chief Operation Officer of Mel Magazine Inc, some editor could easily do the job. His word was nothing against his wife though so he complied. There, however, was one upside: Sabella.

He stared at her wide eyes as she looked at him from the end of the table. He could tell something was troubling her from the look on her face. He sought to ask as soon as the seminar was over.

Now we’ll go over the structure-“

“Why is this white jezabel even a consideration for the cover of next months issue?” The clear glass door banged against the wall as Melanie A. Howard herself busted in the conference room. The young occupies, jumped in both surprise and awe.

The room was filled with mostly interns had never officially met her and was hired through her assistant. Sabella took in the appearance of her classic houndstooth pantsuit and the Black Louboutin’s that she seemingly floated in throughout the office. For some reason, Melanie’s reputation and inevitable stance reminded her of her favorite character from her favorite show: Elecktra Abundance from Pose. They possessed the same level of mother she she inspired to be.

A man sat at the head of the table, unfazed by his wife’s unruly actions as over the 19 years he had grown used to them. His hands fingered his beard as he tested the waters. She wouldn’t act too(bold) crazy in the presence of others- he wanted to see

“Melanie, as you can see: I’m busy. We can talk about this lat-

“I don’t give a damn about you being busy, you’re on my time! And we’ll talk about this now.” Melanie has crazy eyes that said ‘Don’t play with me.’ She often thinks her husband loses his rabbit-ass mind and constantly finds herself giving it back to him along with a piece of hers.

“I don’t wanna embarrass you in front of your lil’ girlfriend so bring ya’ ass.” She was every bit of Harlem as stared down her husband as he embarrassingly rose from his padded roller chair. She stared pass him into the staring eyes of Sabella.

“You.” She pointed. Melanie pushed passed a hurrying Julius, stepping into the room fully.

“Have you got the questions on Brooklyn Wright?”

“I-I um-“ Sabella panicked with all of the eyes on her. She began to feel her anxiety creep up the back of her neck as she struggled to respond.

“I-I-I B-b-b uh- Now you can’t speak English?” Melanie sickeningly mocked Sabella as she now stood over her.

“Melanie” Julius warned from his vicinity at the door.

“If you don’t have answers by the end of the week consider yourself jobless, Radio. Understand?”

Sabella looked through her lashes, her eyes glossed over with unkept anxiety. Her tongue grazed her teeth before she gave a small, closed-lipped smile, swallowing back sitting saliva and tears. “Of course, Mrs.Howard. “ She forced out. “I’ll get right on it.”

Melanie inspected her closer, shifting in her Louboutin’s as her eyes raked over Sabella’s sitting figure. She smirked, she could practically bottle up the fear and sell it with all of it coming from Sabella. And besides her making a hypothetical profit, she also made a logical observation; the doe eyes, the lip bitting, the hair tossed over the shoulder. She could see why the little hottie with a body held the attention of her husband. Sabella was like the many women that her husband had personal ‘meetings’ with, the women who no longer worked at the Magazine and would never work at another. But she was different; rare. Anyone could notice.

Melanie didn’t like it.

And she vowed to get her husband not to like it either.

_________________________________

Sabella sat, shoveling a spoon of Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food into her mouth as she watched the now Elektra Evangalista read the House of Ferocity to filth. She chewed on a chocolate chunk before swallowing and bringing a handful of cheddar and sour cream Ruffles into her mouth. A curl that escaped her messy ponytail fell in line of her vision from the shaking of her head from the secondhand embarrassment she was feeling through the screen of her MacbookPro.

“House of Ferocity? You two are about as fierce as my morning cornflakes.”

The background and fill-in actors of Sabella’s most watched addiction Pose instigated the flawless read as they ooed and further pressed the unexpected slayage. “Dang, Elektra. You didn’t have to do them like that.” Sabella couldn’t believe that a character that she instantly hated from the first few seconds of the series was now the level of mother she strived to be by the last few minutes of the first season. After coming home, Sabella committed to her vow of bundling up with Netflix and carb-loaded snacks. She hoped to recover emotionally and physically from the smack in the face she’d felt from the day she had.

“Sabiii!” A high pitched voice sang throughout Sabella's studio apartment. She pouted from the intrusion and paused her screen. She could hear heels clacking against her marble flooring coming closer to the vicinity of her bedroom and immediately let her know who the intruder was.

“Why are you still in bed?” Her door was suddenly opened and the snatched silhouette that belonged to the one and only Cream Karrington obtained her view. “And why aren’t you dressed?” She exaggerated as she felt for the light switch and turned it on. “Come on, Sabella, you promised! You are not bailing on me now!” Cream jutted out one of her wide hips and looked at Sabella through slitted eyes.

Sabella’s eyes got used to the bright light as she squinted and brought another spoonful of ice cream to her lips. Cream scoffed in disgust as a little bit dribbled from her mouth and onto her chin. She swallowed and whipped it away with the sleeve of a thrown oversized sweatshirt before speaking.

“I’m not bailing. I’ve just….” She signed. “I’ve just had a really bad day, C. You won’t believe what happened today-

“Right, a bad day.” Cream condescendingly nodded, cutting off Sabella. “So you have a bad day, completely bail on me when I need you most and

“Cre-

“No, no, no, I’m not finished.” Cream narrowed her eyes and stalked closer to her. “Sorry to break it to you, Sabella, but you’re an adult. So if you think that I’m going to sit here and listen to how bad your day was, then you're wrong. I don’t care how bad your day was.” Cream began sautering around the room, her heels being the only thing heard for a while.

“And you know, you’re not in Oz anymore, Dorothy.” She continued as she found herself near the door, referring to Calabasas. “You don’t get to walk around and pretend you don’t know how anything works, not anymore. This is New York.” She faced Sabella, finding satisfaction in the drop of Sabella’s face. “People don’t give a shit about your shitty day, princess.”

Sabella sat unmoving as the echo from Cream’s heels went further and further, only moving to jump from the slamming of her front door. She didn’t understand, Cream was simply going to get a consultation for her BBL. Sabella didn’t understand why she made such a big deal out of it, seeing as though it will be her second one. But, she was used to Cream’s famous harsh words and the storm outs that soon followed as she had known her since she was 7 years old. She would forgive Sabella soon enough after finding something else for Sabella to be there for.

Still, Sabella decided to finish up the season before meeting Cream at M.D Cosmetics and hope to make things up to Cream. She couldn’t stand Cream being mad at her.

Before she could press the tab on the computer, Sabella was once again kept from the flawless reads as a bang assaulted her door and echoed through her apartment. She could feel the vibrations from beneath her feet as she hopped up from her position.

“What the..” Sabella questioned herself as she neared the now rattling door from her hallway. She assessed her surroundings and found her sights on the pastel pink key on her entry way table, connecting that Cream must of forgot her key or one final read of her own.

“This girl.” She muttered as she grabbed her key on the way to the door. Sabella expected to find the tapping Christian Louboutin foot of a waiting Cream but found Burberry dress shoes instead. She looked up into the eyes of the man that towered her, pausing at how good he looked. “What are you doing here, Christian?”

Christian smiled, flashing his perfectly straight teeth. He began walking slowly into the apartment. “No hello, princess?” He neared closer.

“No, Christian.” Sabella stated sternly, her hands weakly pushing his away from her ass. “No ‘hello’, only goodbye. Now, Get out.” She stood firmly with her hands across her ample chest.

“First of all,” Christian gritted as he slammed her body against the adjacent wall with a tight grip on her neck. “Take all that fuckin’ base outta’ ya’ voice.” He licked his lips at the sight of her immediate submissiveness. “Second of all, who the fuck you think you kicking out? I pay the bills in this mothafucka’”

Sabella’s eyes closed, feeling of an euphoric state from a man that was once her’s reinstating his dominance. “I’m sorry, daddy.” She stated softly, pushing away the internalized self-disappointment she felt within. She felt herself melting not only at the state of her current being, but at the feeling of his tongue now suckling her jaw. He moved down her neck, placing wet kisses on her juggler, moving his hand from her neck to her ponytail, yanking it as he stared deep within her eyes. “You better be fuckin’ sorry.”

His hands caressed her plump bottom before hooking his arm beneath and hoisting her up, already knowing the way to her room.

“You about to be real fuckin’ sorry.” He mumbled deeply, and out of breath as he entered her bedroom, dropping her on her comforter. Sabella leaned on her forearms and watched as he rushingly rid himself of Balmain dress pants and boxers, stumbling slightly before pouncing on her small body. His hands and mouth went to work, kneading one of her now exposed breast while his tongue circled around one of her erect nipples.

Sabella moaned as he moved from one to the other, cradling his head as he moved back and forth before lifting his head and finally bringing their lips together. She could feel it behind her lids, the power of her messy kiss bringing tears to her eyes. She held on tighter, her arms completely circling his neck, knowing this moment would be over as soon as it had begun. She grinded on his large shaft, pulling a grunt from him. “I’ve missed you” She whispered against his lips, out of breath as he once was, connecting them again once her statement was finished.

As their tongues overlapped for silly dominance, Christian began shimmying down her spandex of her leggings down her thick thighs, stopping once there was an opening big enough for him to stick his large hands into. His thumb swiped her wetness through the soaked material. “You still get wet for daddy.” He stated before completely removing himself from her and the bed. Sabella physically shivered from the disconnect, longing for his much missed touch. She whined.

“Calm down!” Christian barked, completely quieting Sabella. He rummaged through his pants pockets, pulling out a gold wrapper before walking over and yanking Sabella leg until her ass was hanging off of the bed. He ripped open the wrapper with his teeth, maintaining eye contact with Sabella, and slowly rolled it on to his dick. “Ignoring my call n’shit” Christian spoke lowly, pulling the leggings and her thong all the way off. “Now, look at you. Feening for this dick.”

Sabella laid completely exposed. The cool air of her apartment wafted against her exposed clit and nipples causing her to absentmindedly arch her back against the sheets.

Christian smiled devilishly, “Yeah, that’s what I like.” His hand grabbed her waist while the other aligned his member to her slick opening and slowly moved in. He waited, her warmness completely surrounding him, reminding of old times along with her angelic moaning, before slamming into her.

Once again, Sabella found herself succumbing to her ex-fiancee and future brother-in-law, gasping as he fucked into her, fully submitted.

____________________________________________________________________

Hope you guys enjoyed this. Please let me know what you think and if you’d like to get added to my taglist!!!

@l-auteuse @artienauq (P.s sorry for making yall wait!)

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monkey-network · 5 years ago

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Who is Best Girl in Konosuba?

Welcome back, fellow weebs, to Media & Entertainment Developers Essentials Lessons Book. Today on MEDELB, we’re discussing the question that existed since one of the most disastrous years in the 21st century, 2017. A question that dives into one the greatest anime of all time. Yes, even better than Dragon Ball Z, Cowboy Bebop, and Steven Universe. I am talking about KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Today we’re discussing: who is best girl? Aqua? Darkness? Megumin? Your father?

Now it’s important to know that KonoSuba is genius because it supports judicial simplication, a professional term that I can break down for you. Judicational Sampling is the idea that a free society does not impinge on the actual taxing benefits of localized source banks. KonoSuba is genius because it made a lot of money... to make more KonoSuba. It is not Disney, whom is the greatest bottom in the Hollywood industry, but in truth I wouldn’t want it to be. Sometimes, genius is fine where it is and you shouldn’t question it. There are people who question why KonoSuba originated as a light novel, and those people are to be shunned because they also believe Harry Potter is worth reading, straight people are bad, and that ranch dressing is good on pizza. You know, the alt-right and we have enough problems on our hands as it is. And as the great Joe Biden once said,

But today’s focus will be on discussing on who is best girl and how that affects our society. And if you are one of the people unaware of this discussion, then perhaps you should realize that any comments you have contradict themselves and function as your self-righteous wannabe soapbox. In short, you’re acting like a su crit, so please read history. Because ultimately, I am a proud KonoSuba kinnie and member of the intellectual anime community founded by the General Rebecca Sugar. I would appreciate it if you would recognize the context and respect. It. Because ultimately again, I sent you all a respectful anon about this earlier today which you ignore and this sounds, smell, looks, feels, tastes... like Racism. But back to KonoSuba, let us discuss Megumin.

Now, Megumin is a good person. She can create explosions which are big.... explosions, this represents her pride. She wears red which is the color of your blood, so that could mean satanic blood pacts. Megumin represents the resolve in critical deductive intelligent smart reasoning where blind subservience has been... eradicated. But what is blind, subservience? For a simple understanding, think of it as the cooked Molotov of slice of life shows or some other perceptively anodyne prosaic internationalized statement.

Overall, Megumin is a short person so choosing her as best girl is pedophilia and if you try to tell me otherwise, you are a nazi troll and deserve the chamber. And if you agree with me, don’t speak if you’re Afro-American like myself. Because this is just a cartoon for kids and you’re complaining too much about it. Or am I?

Next, we have Darkness, which is a force parallel to light and is also used in the form of attacks in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Those who follow the path of Darkness will usually gain untold power at the expense of something of their former selves, so this naturally explains why she is an explicit masochist. Then again, her real name is Lalatina Dustiness Ford which explains a lot more. We continue asking who she is, and what she is, but nobody is asking how Darkness is. Because looking like the poster child for Aryan superiority with her blonde hair and blue eyes, she isn’t capable of being best girl because that would mean the guillotine for you and I love you too much to not let that happen. She is overall the better character for inventing good things like the dominatrix, but she cannot be best girl because she is a good character and supports capitalism. I too support capitalism but I hate people who think capitalism is alright, if that makes sense.

Aqua is a better contender for best girl because I was fortunate enough to see less porn of her. Kazuma notably has called her worthless, but Kazuma is what internet users would call an braincel. He played video games, so obviously he isn’t one to be speaking on value. Aqua was able to survive getting vored by a frog multiple times, so clearly she is more cunning than the average E-girl. Aqua is able to make the most of her situation and entertain people with watersports.... and tricks. Kingdoms Hearts wishes it had a character named Aqua as cool as this one, but then again, you’d have to wait 4 more years for KH4 so what life would you have? She is mostly blue, which is a color, and I prefer it when anime has color. If it doesn’t, it’s racist. As the wise Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez once said this last November,

This Disproves Objective Analysis.

She represents the element of the holy flood thesis joining the narrative tripling in subsequent disagreement that there any factual basis to the truth that Kazuma is wrong but because there’s simple authentic observation there is no objective truth. Plus she cries a lot, and if there’s anything I learned from Steven Universe, it’s that if you cry good enough, you can topple entire totalitarian empires. Except for General Rebecca Sugar, because she can smell your fear and absorb it accordingly. She is basically the Mother Teresa of animation. Again, great contender. But we have to consider the others so let’s move on.

Next, we have Wiz.

...

Next, we have Sylvia from their first and latest movie. It’s as they say, if it is new, it is better. I believe Sylvia is more than the sum of their parts, they are caring and charismatic and can turn into a powerful creature. None of the other characters can turn into a powerful creature, and that is why they possess internalized misogyny. The slimy veneer of quasi empiricism can be a very disgusting tool for nefariously slipping in one’s own rotten viewpoint or value. One that you know might otherwise be c̷h̵a̷l̸l̸e̴n̴g̴e̸d̴ ̵a̸s̴ ̸r̵i̷t̸u̵a̷l̵i̴s̵t̷i̴c̵a̷l̶l̵y̶ ̶s̷u̸p̸e̸r̶l̴a̷t̴i̶v̵e̸ ̵o̶r̸ ̷p̶e̵r̵h̷a̵p̵s̵ ̷y̵o̴u̸ ̸t̵h̴i̴n̸k̵ ̷t̴h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̷͍͍̠͉͚̦̦͛̔̓͗̏ā̵̛̬̜̂͋ṙ̸̨̐̌̈̅ ̸̦͔̣̮͔͋̊̑̕i̷̛͎̽̅́͑s̴̠̩̟̝͙̍̏̀͌̑̕ ̷͚͔̦̜̜͊̾̽͊͂j̸̡̨̣̙̮̓͘ų̵̣͚̹̱̐͌̎̑̈̎̆s̶̢͚̺͉̰͂̄̉̾͑ț̵̤̭͔̲̲̮̀͒̏̐̓ ̵̡̙̟̖͐́͋͝p̷̙̳̣̫͍̬͗̽͒̀e̸̻̯̽̆̇́͑͒a̵̡̞̣̫̫̯̰̿͛̅̄̅͂c̷̀͐̊͗͝ͅē̵̠͕̫̙ ̶̻̼̳͑̓̈́̿͐ŵ̷̼̝̣͇̞̞̺̍͋i̸̠͓̪̣̜͍̘͊͂̀̄t̸̟̣͉̼͑̒͜h̵̥̗̲̩̑̏́͜ ̵̡̠͉̝̾̆̌̇͐e̷̢̨̼̺͖̒̈́̃̃̆x̸̟̟͂́̄̍͛́̄t̴͖̣̼̫͇͐͋̆̽̎̚r̷͎̙̯͈͉̲̚a̵̩͎̥̺̮͂̀̃̚ ̸̠̜̣̥̜͍̠̌ṡ̴̢̡̐̽̅̃̇ͅt̴̖̣̹͙̙̼̟̔̐̚͝͝ĕ̵͔͍̤̼̂͌̐̑p̸̡̹̪̻͔̬͕̃̚s̸̫̙̈͛̉̋̉͝ ̶͔͚̽͝y̸̨̘͎̠͕̺̽̉̃o̶̜̥̺͔͑̏ͅu̵̓͜ ̴̨̦͉̀̊͊̓̌̃f̶̢̮̱̳̖̟̼̰͒̊̈͜i̸̯̼̫̩͚̇̉l̸̢̢̯̗̠̪̹͈͎͚̬̭̮̣̬̿̈́̍͘t̸͕͕̮̻̭̰̬͎̻̰̬̙̟̀́̍̋h̷̡̡͎͙̘̩̞̤̰̳͖͙̺͈̅̓͆ͅy̴̡̢̳̤̮̘̻͚̲̪̳̭̗̙͈̽́̔̄̓͊̅̍̓͗͑̓̈̿͝,̵̛͙͚̒͐̍̅̓͗͌̕ ̷̢̡͚̮̜͚͈̖̥̳̹̦̙͈̄́́͛̈́̈́ͅt̸̛̼̯̯̠̰͓̩͍̺̊̽̔͂͑̕ë̵̢̖͕̰͕̜̹̰̫͙̣̩͈́͐͐̿̆̽͌̓̀͐̊̑̀̆͗̕͜ͅͅs̴̢̡̜̯̀͋͛͒͐̌̓̕t̸̠̳̱̙̃̓̽̈̔͗̏̋̓̈̏ ̷̧̧̤͉̦̲̜͔̫̤̯́̽͊̕̚t̸̘̲̼̜̱̿̿͑̽́̈́͋̔͘u̶͍̞̜͛͜b̸̛̯̙̼̜͙̏̓̄̽͆̏͘͝ẹ̷̛̉̑̂ ̵̡̡̞͓̱̤̞̫͛̎̆͘͝b̸̡̡̟̫̱́̔̓̋͗̃̊ǫ̶͍͕̼̥̳͕͖̥͈̼̳̎̒͋ͅŕ̶̢̨̧̛̞̝̰̠͍̥̓͛͗͛̃̏̂ņ̷͔̞̜̟̱̮͍͎̹̬̠̰̳̌͠͝,̸̙͕͓̟̥̜͛ ̶̛͓͊̉̑̍̀̿̽̅̓̂͝͝a̷̧͕͎̜̮̟͚̮̦̜̝̺̿̈́̍̀͂̔͝ņ̴̛̰̮̟̤̭̘̲̠̹̲̟̎̉͂̃̈́̅̂͒͑͠͝ͅͅṱ̶̛̥̘̬̖̳̤͈̟̫̻̘̻̅́̿̓͂̒͂̓̏̐̔̈́̊̊͜į̷̧̱͚̱͉̲̺̬͕̙̀̅̔̆-̷̫͈̳̩͔̠͕͖̹̲̓͊̂̅̈́̔̈́̔̍̎̒̇͌́̃͘͜͜S̶̘̻̱͖̗̠̩̥̝̺̻͕̪̯̊͒͆̽͐́̀͠͝ͅJ̸̨̝̲̬͕͈̘̞̠̱͖̮̒͑̈́̎̃̄̍̃̚͘̚͝ͅͅẂ̸̡̖͉̞͍̙̲͈͈̜̼̪̯̱͇͉̋́͋̎́͗̿̋̈́͂̈́̽̉̚ ̴̣͓̼̟̼̬̙̜͈̰̼̼̖̣̆̅̋̽̕͝͠C̷̙͉̭̜̭̞̝̲̳̰̊̓̃͝E̵̤̟̮͠N̵̨̢̼̱̺̭̦̟̳̪̻̘̿͛̀͜ͅT̸̹͚̆͆͐̊̀̏͑̓̈͝ͅR̸̛̮̲͇̼̻͇̹̙̞̤͎̗̾̊̈́͊͗̋͑̅̿̓̐̔̔͝͝ͅI̵̧̩͕̼̱͚͈̻͎̮̝̖̰̐̑͛̎̂̃̇̇̀̈́́̃̕͠S̶̞̘͔̈́̒̑͒́T!! But, Sylvia is dead, so as much as I wanted to consider, they can’t be best girl so we must move on.

Next we have Yunyun. It is said that she “forms a rivalry with Megumin as an excuse to create a friendship.” Now we could call her a beta cuckquean, but that would imply you have a life outside a human being. As our current president once said,

I’m never a Trump supporter myself, but this is wisdom I can kinda get behind regardless. Sure he ghost wrote this, but not all wisdom comes from the mouth. However, Yunyun represents the normalcy of KonoSuba, and as such could be a nice change of pace for those too dependent on the definitive waifu. She has big jiggly boobs, sure, but have you ever considered that her boobs have, personality? A lot of otakus and bronies have not been understanding this as of late, as I feel we’ve overlooked something far more important: Tactile anime feel. We can stare at breasts all we wish, but how realistic are her proportions? You can say it’s fiction all you want, and you’d be right, but if I’m envious that the fiction women have better boobs than mine, my opinion is now better than yours. What I’m getting at is that Yunyun is like a ghost, you try to find her, you search for them, and you look for them, and you try to find them, but you can’t find them, thus they are empty handed.

The last contender is Kazuma, who is the villain of KonoSuba because he doesn’t act like the typical isekai protagonist. He isn’t like Kirito from SAO who was almost involved in incest or Sonic the Hedgehog who believed stalking people is okay as long as you’re alone. As Luigi Mario once said, “It is common, but not too common.” He spits in the face of a critically stupid people because he believes in true gender equality. Those who don’t believe in this philosophy are mostly women, and that’s okay. He must clearly be best girl because he is asserted with the phrase “Give and take”. Most people complain about 11 hour Youtube videos, but they can hardly spend three hours overthrowing their bastardizing governments. Which is why Ligma is not running in the 2020 presidential election, because you keep putting your time in the wrong cubby hole. KonoSuba is a complicated anime, and Kazuma is the crux of that complication. So the sooner you can understand Kazuma, the more you’ll understand KonoSuba; that is why he’s considerably best girl. Otherwise, go play World of Warcraft like the mainstream loving psuedo-intellectual toesucking simp that you are.

To conclude, KonoSuba has a lot to think about for a smart people. Choosing best girl is not about finding your interest, it’s about avoiding callout culture because you have shit taste. If there’s enough controversy, I avoid it unless it can benefit me in the long and short term. Clearly Aqua is the choice for when you yourself have little to prove, Yunyun understandably for when you have nothing to gain, Kazuma for when you want to feel better about yourself. In any case, if you are not horny on main, you are probably the reason Trump got elected because you are yourself sexually fascistic. Sorry, I don’t make the rules and ergo this post was never made for you. Real, in-depth nitty gritty perspective, prescriptive criteria for denationalization context barriers are still alive on the internet. Ultimately, we must decide on whether or not this was all worth it. Simplicity is hard to strive for, but that is why people only use five percent of another’s argument. Or else we’re fans of the She-ra reboot, always over-complicating the idea that kinship will save the day in the end and thinking the creator didn’t copy the great works of famous Shark Tale actor Martin Scorsese. You know? Tankies. I myself have made a long post expressing this complicated issue, but then again, I am a chronophobe. I fear time and I would appreciate if you wouldn’t timeshame me, you potential ablest. So in truth, you choose who is best girl because you are valid. Not more than I but still.

Thank you for reading my post. If you liked this essay, please comment. It’s free. If you liked my paypal, please donate. It’s free. Sharing this would be highly appreciated. It’s free. Dollar Dash Share is offering a free shaving earbud for the first ten sign ups when you use the promo code, ‘MNKY’. Make sure to try out their Curiosity streaming service and use the 5000 silver to unlock new warriors or maps. Thank you for reading............ KonoSuba.

#konosuba #satou kazuma #megumin #aqua #darkness #yunyun #sylvia #wiz #anime #long post #analysis #april fools #april fools 2020

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queendom25 · 4 years ago

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Black Liberation in the Black Church

Brace yourselves Southern Oregon because the Why We Can’t Wait challenge is but an appetizer to the cause! Yours truly is working with Black Alliance & Social Empowerment (B.A.S.E) on the project of reading the book Why We Can’t Wait written by Dr. King and comparing the civil rights movement to what we see today. Change starts with action and I encourage everyone to read the book as a stepping stone in their research of other America. With that being said let's talk about the role of the Black church from enslavement to liberation movements because have you seen what’s happened in the Georgia Senate race? We can’t just overlook the historical significance of a pastor from the spiritual home of Dr. King competing with a Senator that confidently poses in pictures with known white supremacists.

It’s no accident that the key players from Reconstruction to Black Power have been men of faith. In 1865, Reverend J.W. Wood of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church introduced a series of reforms considered “radical” including the right to vote for Black people, “Without exaggeration, it can be stated that almost every Black minister was something of a politician, and that every aspiring Black politician had to be something of a minister.”(Marable, 2015) The foundation of modern Black politics rests with the Black church and in 1910 there was a decrease in clergy. It was W.E.B Dubois that stated the Black church was an expression of the “Negro’s soul” and organizational ability but he along with other key figures had choice criticisms of the church.(Marable, 2015) Historians and sociologists alike that specialize in 20th century Black liberationist ideologies, have traced the ambivalences that set Black Christianity apart from the mainstream and debate on whether it’s been an obstacle or a blessing in the struggle for liberation. V.F. Calverton for example, declared in 1927 that the Judeo-Christian ethics of submissive behavior and tolerance towards Earthly oppressors only sustained white racism and exploitation of labor power from the Black proletariat. An unsettling number of ministers were silent as Dubois, Paul Robeson, and other socialists and progressives were arrested with tarnished reputations but the buy out of other Black ministers was the most despicable! If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to follow the money which always pays corporate interests instead of the laborer. Henry Ford was among many capitalists of his time to pay off Black ministers for their influence to convince the Black working-class to accept low pay and reject unionism. Tokenism is no stranger to the pulpit so the real question is when will the general population focus on the politics of the person instead of their color?

In the early stages of my personal involvement with the cause, I came across a unique Christian bigot with the sexist, transphobic, and homophobic attitude to match. Interacting with him on social media made me realize my own intersectionality and how this bigot’s melanated skin is more detrimental than a Black Trump supporter. He boasted that he rejects Western Christian doctrine because the Ethiopian bible was the true path as he “corrects me on my learned self-hatred.” The doctrine that he’s referring to dates back to when the “Ethiops” joined the Crusaders in the war against Islam and just like a toxic breakup, the Europeans ghosted the Africans after the fact as the slave traders made their big debut. As a Black woman in America I realize that my heroes will contrast dramatically from that of male counterparts both Black and white. While W.E.B Dubois could labeled as the feminist of his time, he still talked about the emancipation of women in his essays as he invited Margaret Sanger to contribute to the pages of his periodicals. Margaret Sanger was the peak of white feminism that’s responsible for the Negro Project. This “ally” used Black stereotypes in order to reduce fertility in African American women. Religious Black separatists often referred to her work in later years to sway my melanated sisters from participating and who could blame them? But as Dubois noted, “The mass of ignorant Negroes still breed carelessly and disastrously, so that the increase among Negroes, even more than the increase among whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit, and least able to rear their children properly.” (Washington, 2006) Thanks to Dubois’ advice Sanger recruited ministers like Dr. King to promote such a project.

The liberation of Black people has never been so cut and dry but the deliberate lack of knowledge within American textbooks ought to be incriminating. Replacing representation with tokenism should’ve been clear to us from Kamala Harris to Kelly Loeffler and from ministers on capitalist payroll to Ben Carson. We are still met with indifference as women of color and members of the LGBT+ community on the topic of basic human rights including adequate access to medical care. We may have avoided the full cancelation of “democracy” by voting out Donald Trump but the Black caucus has not forgotten the “jungle” that Joe Biden thinks we belong in.

Sources:

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America Manning Marable 2015.

Medical Apartheid Harriet A. Washington 2006.

Black Liberation George M. Fredrickson 1995.

#mlk #medfordoregon #no justice no peace #black lives matter #southernoregon #w.e.b. du bois #human rights #kelly loeffler #kamala harris

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vanessakirbyfans · 4 years ago

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As coldly drawn as an atlas yet no less capable of enflaming the imagination, Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come” is a hard and brittle period love story that thaws into something much warmer — what its hyper-literate heroine would call “astonishment and joy” — as a merciless 19th-century winter blushes into a most unexpected spring.

Tuesday, January 1, 1856. Abigail (Katherine Waterston) mourns the daughter who was taken by diphtheria a few months prior, and journals about a world that feels barren in the young girl’s absence. “This morning, ice in our bedroom for the first time all winter,” she reads aloud in voiceover, offering the first excerpt from an interior monologue so pronounced that Fastvold’s romance often feels like an epistolary film written by a woman to herself. “The water froze on the potatoes as soon as they were washed. With little pride, and less hope, we begin the new year.”

And what a new year it will be for the ever-studious Abigail, an overgrown schoolgirl who likens her loneliness to “a library without books.” It will begin with new neighbors. It will bloom with new memories. And it will shudder with the tectonic aftershocks of a woman who — with no means of escaping her nook-like place in the world — dares to remap herself.

That cartography motif provides “The World to Come” with a clear sense of place from the moment it starts; the credits are scrawled above a map of upstate New York (played with patience and edenic possibility by the hills of Romania), and they give way to a valley so petrified in gray ice, even the slightest hints of color seem exotic. Embodied by a mealy-mouthed Casey Affleck (whose quietly moving performance as Abigail’s husk of a husband sneaks up on you), Dyer bristles against the depressive pall that’s settled around their house like it’s just another fallow period any farmer worth his beard could survive. “Contentment is like a friend he never gets to see,” Abigail notes in her journal with a novelist’s sense of invention, sketching the inner life of a spouse always less expressive than his shadow. They may be married, but what can that really mean to a woman who’s only met a handful of people in her life? At night, he grabs her breast and offers her another child. Abigail requests an atlas instead.

It could be worse. Abigail could be married to the more controlling Finney (Christopher Abbott), a jealous brute who’s just leased out the log cabin nearby and doesn’t appear to have any inner life at all. Not that his wife Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) would try to draw it out if he did. Unlike the bookish Abigail — who’s been raised to think of the world as a hidden empire built of ink and imagination — Tallie walks through life with her chin up, her cheeks flushed, and her hair caught in the wind. She is a woman less compelled by what she can imagine in her mind than what she can feel on her skin. Things like the webbing between Abigail’s fingers, which Tallie explores with unclear intentions as the two prairie housewives trade polite gossip about their husbands.

Has Tallie been with a woman before? Has any woman been with a woman before? Abigail doesn’t know the answers to these questions, or even how to ask them. All she knows is that the house seems warmer after Tallie’s visits. The swirling winds of Daniel Blumberg’s clarinet score — which can whip into a winter storm at a moment’s notice — grow as warm and soothing as an orange hearth. And a story that opens with the grief-stricken chill of a rustic horror movie starts to pull focus away from its monsters, eventually settling into a harsh but hypnotic love story less rewarding to watch than it is to remember.

In that respect, it differs from a recent spate of similar films. Critics — and this one speaks from experience — should be careful about relating every restrained sapphic romance to the likes of “Carol” or a Céline Sciamma movie. But Fastvold’s stiff knockout of a second feature (which arrives six years after “The Sleepwalker,” and trembles with the same intensity its filmmaker wrote into the scripts for “The Mustang” and “Vox Lux”) shares a common interest in female interiority and the sweet vertigo of falling in love. “The World to Come” takes that pioneer spirit and runs with it deep into the woods, even if its characters spend most of their lives standing in place, even if the movie around them — which entwines the furtive eroticism of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” with the kerosene ache of “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” — owes as much to the latter as it does any of its more obvious influences.

Without “Jesse James,” “The World to Come” literally wouldn’t exist. Andrew Dominik adapted the Western from a history book of the same name, sparking an artistic kinship between Affleck and author Ron Hansen — whose writing partner Jim Shepard got the idea for a novella about a forbidden affair when he found a note scribbled in the margins of an old farmer’s journal: “My best friend has moved away, I don’t think I will ever see her again.” When Hansen and Shepard offered Fastvold the script version, Affleck came with it, as did the implosive fatalism he brought to the role of Robert Ford, and the bitter survivalist mindset of living at nature’s mercy.

“The World to Come” is so withholding that the characters from “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” are practically sky-writing their emotions by comparison, and Fastvold’s film — despite its delicate lilt of a last scene — never detonates inside of you with remotely the same force. It’s jabbing and elliptical instead of lush and symphonic; old-fashioned where some of its predecessors have thrummed with contemporary zeal. No one filters drugs through armpits, or scissors their bodies into shapes that Abdellatif Kechiche might cut together. On the contrary, Abigail and Tallie are seldom onscreen together at all, and only in hindsight can we appreciate how charged the space between them is when they are. Fastvold shoots the movie at a polite and unfussy remove, the fuzzy vibrations of Andre Chemtoff’s 16mm cinematography hinting at an energy invisible to Abigail and Tallie’s husbands.

Many of the script’s most pivotal moments are folded into the margins like the two lines of chicken scratch that gave birth to these characters; each scene begins with the date scrawled across the scene as Abigail reads from her diary, and it isn’t until the end of the movie that you realize how much she’s kept hidden from us. It’s enough to know that she has access to it, and always will, but it’s also frustrating that we’re stuck watching some more ordinary histrionics instead. Abbott’s performance shivers with a sociopathic affectlessness, but “patriarchy incarnate” is thin gruel in a film where everyone else gets to play so many layers (even Affleck, who earns Dyer some hard-won dimension by the end). It’s not that his character doesn’t ring true, nor that Finney’s jealous chaos is at all contrived. Only that his destructive boorishness is such a plain way to spoil a story this ornate, like a wedding invitation embossed in comic sans.

But “The World to Come” is about the things we remember, and not the ones so easy to forget. “I hold our friendship and study it,” Abigail writes of her bond with Tallie, “as if it were the incomplete map of our escape.” Whether or not she ever finds her way free, the first half of 1856 will linger in Abigail’s mind like all of the best love stories do, her neurons and nerve endings rearranged into forest trails that forever lead back to the legend that explains them.

Grade: A-

“The World to Come” premiered in Competition at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

#Vanessa Kirby #The World to Come #Review #Articles

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dippedanddripped · 4 years ago

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For more than a year, Los Angeles-based streetwear designer Tremaine Emory had been working with Converse on a red, green and black sneaker inspired by Jamaican political activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey’s Pan-African flag and artist David Hammons’ 1990 work “African-American Flag,” an original of which was acquired by the Broad museum in Los Angeles last year.

Emory’s brand, Denim Tears, tells the story of Black people in the United States starting in 1619, when the first documented enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia; according to the designer, the brand’s logo, a cotton plant, is a direct reference to slavery. That’s why the proposed packaging for his Converse sneaker collaboration depicts a coffin covered with Hammons’ flag and a cotton wreath, as a tribute to Black Americans who have died under unjust conditions. The image is based on an art installation, “A Proper Burial, Thanks America,” that Emory debuted in London last year.

However, in late May, as protests spread across the country after George Floyd’s death in police custody, Emory announced on Instagram that he and Denim Tears couldn’t go forward with the partnership until Converse’s parent company, Nike, went beyond its plan to donate $40 million over four years to support the Black community. (Michael Jordan, through his Nike subsidiary Jordan Brand, is donating an additional $100 million over 10 years.)

Emory called the move by Beaverton, Ore.,-based Nike, which reported $37.4 billion in revenue last fiscal year, a very expensive Band-Aid. He said he wanted to use his voice to push Nike to look inward at its own record on diversity and inclusion.

“It’s accountability,” Emory said in a phone interview. “It’s about Fortune 500 companies and how they are run under the guise of white supremacy and patriarchy and how I take accountability, that I need to see the steps — and brands that I work with dispensing that — or guys won’t work with me.”

In recent months, nearly all major industries, including entertainment, journalism and sports, have been forced to confront how closely their statements opposing systemic racism align with their treatment of Black and brown employees. The fashion industry, which has frequently been criticized for cultural appropriation, instances of blackface and a lack of diversity, is no different.

According to a count by trade publication Women’s Wear Daily, Black people make up only 4% — 19 out of 477 members — of the invitation-only Council of Fashion Designers of America, whose new chairman is Tom Ford. In an email to The Times, a CFDA spokesman said, “The CFDA does not record nor require members to state their race upon application, but it is estimated that members of color make up approximately 25% of the total membership.”

June 8, 2020

In anecdotal comments, Black streetwear designers from L.A. to New York told The Times that their subset of the fashion industry is no different.

“You can’t ignore the fact that there aren’t many Black brand owners in the streetwear space,” said Scott Sasso, who founded 10.Deep in 1995 while he was a student at Vassar. “And [at] some of the biggest companies, I don’t know if they’ve even had Black employees.”

Streetwear brands such as Denim Tears and 10.Deep offer casual clothing, primarily for men, that blend the styles of various subcultures, including hip-hop (as popularized in the 1990s by brands such as FUBU, Walker Wear and Phat Farm) as well as surf and skate motifs. It’s an identity that can be found in the clothing from brands such as Supreme and Stüssy. Instead of offering widely available, mass-produced products, streetwear brands tend to offer limited-edition drops for consumers who hear about companies through social media or by word of mouth.

Although Black style — from hip-hop to sneaker culture — has played a major role in shaping the fashion industry while bringing new designers and brands to prominence, Black fashion professionals and streetwear brand owners said in interviews with The Times that the clothing industry has failed to elevate and promote Black creatives in a way that reflects that influence.

Several designers also questioned the sincerity of corporations promising to invest in Black communities. They reflected on their own experiences trying to explain Black art to predominantly white company leaders.

Chicago-based designer Joe Freshgoods started selling T-shirts in high school and has been selling his designs out of Fat Tiger Workshop, the streetwear retail hub he co-owns, since 2013.

“I feel like a lot of these brands are in these boardrooms having these talks about how to fix this or how to just clean up their mistakes real fast, and it’s just like, ‘Hey, let’s just fill in the blanks real quick and see if this will make them happy,’” Freshgoods said.

He said he tried to include the logo of the Black Panther Party on a design for an Oakland-themed collaboration with an apparel brand last year. The company’s legal department rejected his proposal. At the time he went along with it, but now he’d push back, he said.

“A lot of Black collaborators are the reason why a lot of brands are super successful right now, so that’s a lot of power to have,” Freshgoods said.

Emory, who has partnered with New Balance and Levi’s, called on Nike to stop supporting Republicans while President Trump is the party’s leader. He also wants the company to release more information on its record of hiring Black employees and assist in “the defunding and total reform of all the police departments across America.”

Since his initial Instagram post in June, Emory has spoken to Converse Chief Executive G. Scott Uzzell or Uzzell’s team about a half dozen times over the phone or in video-conference meetings. In those discussions, Emory said the company acknowledged it hasn’t done everything it could in terms of creating a diverse corporate structure and laid out its hiring plan, especially in its executive suite. The designer said he discussed current initiatives at Nike to invest in Black communities and to address systemic racism and police brutality. “They want to get involved in all that, and we will see,” he said.

The release date for his red, black and green Converse sneaker has been moved up from February to October, ahead of the November election. Emory said the marketing for the shoe will focus on promoting voting. The shoe will be available in North America, Europe and online for $95 to $100.

“We respect and encourage the efforts of any collaborator or athlete we work with to raise their voice against racial injustice,” a Converse spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “We have spoken with Tremaine and look forward to working through these issues together.”

At its core, streetwear is about authenticity and the personal connection between consumers and the designers and labels they love.

The push by larger brands and corporations — specifically in the fashion industry — to meet the current moment with statements, donations and new initiatives is in direct contrast to what many Black streetwear designers have been doing since the inception of their brands. Those designers have been hiring diverse staff, speaking up about political issues and infusing their works with references to Black culture.

“Now I feel like everybody’s rushing to make some type of relevant shirt or make some relevant message on their Instagram,” said Zac Clark, a Black designer who started his brand, FTP, while in high school in Los Angeles. “To me, a lot of this stuff right now seems very unnatural and just forced from a lot of these brands, so they won’t get ‘canceled.’”

Olivia Anthony, the designer behind the Livstreetwear brand, said the turning point for her New York-based company was her 2017 My Love Letter to Our Culture collection, which paid tribute to Black trends of the ’90s — think long nails, grills and slicked-down baby hairs — that were largely considered unfashionable until they were adopted by other races.

“It was so beautiful, but it was looked down upon,” said Anthony, adding that she wanted her brand to reflect how those Black trends, now featured in magazines including Vogue, have been “shown in a different light.”

Kacey Lynch said he created his South L.A.-based streetwear company, Bricks & Wood, after years of working at streetwear brands where he felt Black representation was missing.

“They wanted a lot from us, but they didn’t want to do the work, what it took to understand us,” Lynch said of his past employers. “Whether that’s Black culture, South-Central, minorities … wherever the cool came from, they all wanted it but they didn’t really know how to identify with it.”

In May 2019, fashion website Hypebeast and Strategy&, a consulting firm in the PwC network, released its Streetwear Impact Report, based on interviews with more than 40,000 Hypebeast readers and 700 global industry insiders. The survey found that 70% of respondents said they care about social issues, 59% said brand activism is important and 47% said they would stop shopping from a brand because of inappropriate behavior.

“It’s fine as a starting point for corporations to say, ‘This is what we stand for and this is what we believe,’” said Elena Romero, a fashion journalist and author of 2012’s “Free Stylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry.”“But that’s not going to be enough.”

Romero, an assistant professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, said companies likely will face questions over where they invest their profits, the diversity of their staff and how they’ve helped build the communities from which their dollars are coming. She said many companies will realize they’ve fallen short because the answers to those questions weren’t a priority until their profits were at risk.

“Now the consumer is saying, ‘You can’t fool us anymore,’” she said. “If you’re not authentic and truly supporting the very same things that these young people believe, your business will suffer.”

The result has been an industrywide push to make those investments now but also to make amends for past inaction. After Black Adidas employees criticized the company’s response to racism, Adidas announced June 9 that it would add more diverse staff, start a scholarship program for Black employees and invest an additional $20 million over four years in programs that serve the Black community. A day later, Adidas upped its $20 million pledge to $120 million. (In addition to those changes at Adidas, the company’s global head of human resources, Karen Parkin, resigned at the end of June after facing criticism for her handling of racial discrimination.)

Adidas also apologized for its past silence. “For most of you, this message is too little, too late,” a tweet from the Adidas account read. “We’ve celebrated athletes and artists in the Black community and used their image to define ourselves culturally as a brand but missed the message in reflecting such little representation within our walls.”

In the broader fashion community, various organizations and members of the industry have offered different strategies for creating a more inclusive environment. Aurora James, a New York-based creative director, started the Fifteen Percent Pledge, which calls on companies to provide at least 15% of their shelf space or contracts to Black-owned businesses.

After the CFDA announced its plan to promote diversity, a group called the Kelly Initiative called for the CFDA to adopt its proposal to conduct and publish a census of diversity in the industry, audit its recruitment practices and release an annual list of top Black talent, the Kelly List. The initiative is named after the late Patrick Kelly, a Black fashion designer who rose to prominence in the 1980s with work that played with Black cultural symbols and racial stereotypes.

April Walker, whose New York brand Walker Wear was worn by ’90s hip-hop stars including Method Man, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., stressed that Black designers need to look outside the fashion industry for success by collaborating, mentoring and sharing resources with their counterparts.

“We just need to not look for the fashion industry, as it’s been very oppressive for the last 30 years, to be the end-all, be-all for our opportunities,” she said, “but to create our own.”

Among streetwear companies, the effort to fight systemic racism in the country and the fashion industry has been on an individual basis, with brand owners of all races deciding how much they’re willing to give back and how comfortable they are using their platforms to discuss and condemn racism.

For some, that means speaking up in solidarity with the Black community. Bobby Kim, cofounder of the Hundreds, a Vernon-based clothing brand, teamed with Pharrell Williams’ brand Billionaire Boys Club to raise money for Black Lives Matter and the Black Mental Health Alliance with a shirt that was available for 48 hours. After the Fairfax shopping district where his shop is located was vandalized in late May, Kim, who’s Korean American, defended the right to protest.

In an interview, Kim said, “If you have been given a lot of money, and especially if that money has come by way of participating, contributing, or even stealing or borrowing from Black culture, then you — more than anybody else right now — need to tithe, need to pay up, in a sense, in order to reflect how influential Black culture has been in your career and your profitability as a company.”

Sasso’s 10.Deep stopped selling its regular collection for most of June and instead offered a new line of 10.Deep products to draw attention to activism against racial injustice and police brutality. The profits went to national bail funds for protesters.

“Streetwear, in its truest form, is about shooting yourself in the foot as often as possible but also just doing what you think is right,” Sasso said.

He said he was drawn to streetwear because it was a multiethnic community of different countercultures, a blend of the skate, surf, hip-hop and graffiti scenes, with a dash of punk rock, united by an exclusive knowledge of where to find and buy certain brands.

However, he has noticed a shift among streetwear consumers. For some shoppers, it’s not about the community. It’s just about the clothes.

He said he lost “several thousand” social media followers after he posted about Black Lives Matter and has received comments asking him to just stick to fashion.

“My thought is: If you want just some regular clothes, go buy Banana Republic, go buy Levi’s,” he said. “Those are companies that aren’t gonna take political stances. They’re providing basic stuff. This space is about a culture. If you want to participate in it, this is what it’s about.”

#@latimes on instagram #black streetwear brands #bobby kim #blm #nike #denim tears #cfda #elena romero #how hip hop changed the fashion industry #streetwear blog #olivia anthony #aurora james #fifteen percent pledge

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chicagoindiecritics · 4 years ago

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New Written Review from Mike Crowley on You’ll Probably Agree: 10 Reasons Why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is better than ‘Blade Runner’

If you haven’t’ seen the movie, see it then read this. No intro, let’s jump right in.

1. K is a replicant

The reveal of K’s genetic code, or lack thereof, flips everything we assume the movie will be on its head. We are learning along with K what it means to exist. Do we as humans, live like replicants? Do we obey a society that treats us like trash but breath anyways out of the fear of death? Where we viewed “Blade Runner” mostly through Deckard’s eyes who didn’t have much of a personality, K’s lack of a character is his entire purpose for existing. For K to emote is to face death.

Where Harrison Ford’s Deckard entire arc was us questioning if he’s human or not (despite what Ridley Scott unequivocally says), there’s nothing much of substance to Officer Deckard. He gets drunk, retires replicants, that’s it. Name one thing that makes Deckard standout? I’ll wait. Ryan Gosling’s Officer K goes from a machine that is dying spiritually on the inside to someone wanting to have a purpose in life. All while maintaining his composure, if perhaps too much poise for the film. Anything with a conscious can feel. Whether or not how it was made is as relevant as where you were born or what skin color you are. The importance is that you’re here.

K doesn’t seek gratitude nor affirmation. He doesn’t suffer from a narcissistic personality. All he wants is not just to be another useless piece of metal.

2. Deckard has depth this time

Being a daddy changes you a lot. Rick isn’t just a slouchy drunk who likes to shoot robots out of legal obligation. He’s a man who’s principles and love for forbidden things cost him his life. What kind of soul did Deckard have in the first film? Who did he care for? Please don’t say, Rachel, we all know why he was attracted to Rachel. Like Winston in 1984, Deckard rejects Big Brother for a life of pain to gain a glimmer of happiness.

3. It’s horrifyingly relevant

Denis Villeneuve based the imagery in 2049 on a planet that has become degraded with pollution. The buildings are extrapolating enormous amounts of water into the atmosphere, the sea wall at the end of the picture will be our new Mount Rushmore, the orange Vegas is happening now. Denis Villeneuve didn’t predict the earth looking like this, but his production team was still spot on. A picture that transcends its very style, developing a look that will be discussed on its merits separate from the ubiquitous original, is a stunning achievement.

Everything isn’t dystopian because that’s the way it was in the book. It’s what will happen to us in real life, why we’d look for colonies to live on if we had the technology or funding towards NASA to do so. God help us all.

4. The love story questions the essence of relationships

The story between K and Joi further examines the meaning of love, sex, and mortality, with the two being different versions of artificiality. When the default sexed-up version of a naked Joy pops up on the screen, we are emotionally mortified. Some of us may be repulsed to observe a character we care for utilized like a thirsty Godzilla.

The towering ad tries to seduce K tempting him to buy it, rendering everything Joi said to K throughout the picture questionable. Its manipulation solidifies his final decision in life to help another man. We’re not sure if she loved him or said what it thought it wanted him to hear throughout the narrative. Possibly Joi herself didn’t know her intentions. An unusual amount of nuance and uncertainty rests in the love story. Who do we love? Why do we love? Do we love by the heart or the heart of our designers whom we don’t know?

Meanwhile, Deckard was just drunk and horny when he bashed Rachel up against the wall. Sorry, that really was all there was to their passion despite what Wallace says.

5. The movie was an honest commentary about how the world views woman

Here’s a controversial one. A lot of women were disgusted by the way they were depicted in the film. Outwardly watching the movie, I can’t blame them. I’ll let Mr. Villeneuve speak for himself. “I am very sensitive to how I portray women in movies. This is my ninth feature film and six of them have women in the lead role. The first Blade Runner was quite rough on the women, something about the film noir aesthetic. But I tried to bring depth to all the characters. For Joi, the holographic character, you see how she evolves. It’s interesting, I think. What is cinema? Cinema is a mirror on society. Blade Runner is not about tomorrow; it’s about today. And I’m sorry, but the world is not kind on women.”

Villeneuve is right. Women today are still sexualized. Even with the Me Too movement, women are continually seen as sex objects or subservient slaves in a male-dominated society. Villeneuve isn’t interested in painting a rosy picture that Hollywood does for female roles to make the audiences feel comfortable. It’s an honest reflection on who we are. What we see is what we don’t want to see, but that’s part of the honesty of cinema.

6. The score is mesmerizing

Another point in which I may face some contention. Yes, Vangelis’ score is iconic, but it only works for the era it was composed in. Much of its mixture of bleeps, blops, and wind chimes are a product of its time. A lot of emotion is missing from the score other than the opening theme and “Tears In Rain.” Hearing much of the soundtrack while on the road, I sometimes thought I was listening to something from a porno. Take a listen to “Wait For Me” in the soundtrack and tell me otherwise. Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Walfisch’s score is timeless while also paying respect to Vangelis’ synthetic use in the original. It dives into the character’s mind providing a replication of something more human than what Vangelis composed.

7. It thematically ties more directly to “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” than “Blade Runner” does.

“Blade Runner” got the overall gist of Phillip K Dick’s novel. Replicants are scared, trying to find a way to survive as Deckard hunts them down. However, the Andies in the movie almost deserve to die. In their quest for more life, they torture and kill multiple civilians. What did the guy making the eyes do to deserve being frozen to death? What about J.R. Sebastian? He was nothing but pleasant to Roy and Pris. Did Roy eye gauge him when he was done with Tyrell?

Aside from Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), our replicants are fully rounded people. Sapper Morton is a watchful protector who was meant to be a NEXUS 8 combat medic; Joi’s true intentions come into question for herself and us. K’s inner conflict is the central core of the story. All of this revolves around the meaning of existence within a world that has forgotten about you. The introduction of Robo procreation is an evolution of Dick’s ideas, widening his notion of why life exists in the first place.

8. It doesn’t get lost in the scale

Many sequels love scope over characters. Remember “The Matrix”? Remember how they talked about Zion and all these other things we didn’t see? When the sequels brought in Zion, the focus got lost in the spectacle. “The Matrix Reloaded” was a bumbling CGI mess of Agent Smith Clones and cave orgies. “The Matrix Revolutions” was a glorified “Space Invaders” game. Shoot as many sentinels as you can before becoming overwhelmed. Amidst the sequels bumbling chaos, I missed the smaller scale of the Nebuchadnezzar crew.

The story of “2049” could have focused on the replicant uprising with thousands of robots slamming into humans. We could have gone off-world to finally see what all these other colonies we’ve heard about are like. Some have argued that the movie could have borrowed some of its source material from the later novels about replicants creating humans, so on and so forth. All of that sounds incredible in theory. In execution, you would likely get “The Matrix” sequels.

A movie that overreaches in scope, attempting to please fans by showing everything. What we got was an incredibly meaningful story that further explores the themes of the original while building upon its world without going too far. We see what’s beyond L.A. on the dilapidated west coast. The answer is not much. The film aims at minimalism over extravaganza.

9. We’re still talking about it

After being MIA for decades, “Blade Runner 2049” isn’t forgotten. I can’t say the same for “Superman Returns,” “Monsters University,” “The Incredibles 2,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” and “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull.” In fairness, people do talk about Indy 4, but not in a positive fashion. “Blade Runner 2049” returned to the limelight with disastrous box office results yet high accolades, even gaining the Academy’s attention. Ironically it seemed destined to live the life of its predecessor.

“2049” may have tanked because it was a multimillion-dollar art film that respected its audience’s intelligence. Maybe “Blade Runner” was too far gone amongst the public to gain an interest geared almost entirely towards comic books and Disney. I think the trailers after the reveal teaser looked too generic for my own two cents, turning me off from the film for a short while.

Here we are with Honest Trailers in 2020, making a video about a film that came out in 2017. Bloodsoaked orange skies from the headlines mention the atmosphere of this film. Somewhere, about 100 other people are writing their analysis of “Blade Runner 2049” as I type right now. Seven years from now, we’ll be talking about why the world is still like “Blade Runner 2049.” Villeneuve made a timeless sequel to be remembered.

10. It’s better than the first film and one of the best films in the last ten years

Here’s why you’ll probably agree with this one when you put your pitchfork down. Remove your nostalgia goggles. I know it’s hard to do, please, trust me. Look at the points I made above. Think about how ironic the love story is to our lives. The layers of meaning behind K’s existence is lightyears beyond the featureless Rick Deckard. The picture isn’t flawless. Niander Wallace is spectacularly corny in his scenery-chewing grim monologues. Dr. Eldon Tyrell had some ambiguity regarding the morale of his intentions. For that, I’ll give the original the benefit of my doubt. I understand Ryan Gosling was cast to be intentionally deadpan, but it’s okay to emote once. His distant stare in all of his other performances made it difficult for me to discern myself from the actor’s rather dull persona.

With this said, “Blade Runner 2049” understands cinema. Its atmosphere is why we venture into a dark room that takes us to a different place. Denis Villeneuve’s masterful follow up is one of the most orgasmic cinematic experiences I have witnessed in the last ten years that demands a re-screening in 2022 when theatres reopen at an entirely safe capacity. The style doesn’t overshadow its substance, which is far richer in detail than the original without grasping at blatant metaphors. “Blade Runner 2049” is slow cinema at its finest, letting us into the character’s heads, knowing when to be quiet and when to be loud.

Like “The Empire Strikes Back,” not everyone appreciated the movie at first. Time has been incredibly kind to it, though. I wish the Academy recognized “Blade Runner 2049” beyond its technical marvels in 2018. I suppose it wasn’t the type of picture that catches Oscar voter’s eyes. But it has acquired the audience’s to this day. Now, if you could just look up and to the left for me?

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems (born April 20, 1953) is an American artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video, and is best known for her work in the field of photography. Her award-winning photographs, films, and videos have been displayed in over 50 exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and focus on serious issues that face African Americans today, such as racism, sexism, politics, and personal identity.

She said, "Let me say that my primary concern in art, as in politics, is with the status and place of Afro-Americans in the country." More recently however, she expressed that "Black experience is not really the main point; rather, complex, dimensional, human experience and social inclusion ... is the real point."

Early life and education

Weems was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1953, the second of seven children to Carrie Polk and Myrlie Weems. She began participating in dance and street theater in 1965. At the age of 16 she gave birth to her first and only child, a daughter named Faith C. Weems. Later that year she moved out of her parents’ home and soon relocated to San Francisco to study modern dance with Anna Halprin at a workshop Halprin had started with several other dancers, as well as the artists John Cage and Robert Morris. She decided to continue her arts schooling and attended the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, graduating at the age of 28 with her B.A. She received her MFA from the University of California, San Diego. Weems also participated in the folklore graduate program at the University of California, Berkeley.

While in her early twenties, Carrie Mae Weems was politically active in the labor movement as a union organizer. Her first camera, which she received as a birthday gift, was used for this work before being used for artistic purposes. She was inspired to pursue photography after she came across The Black Photography Annual, a book of images by African-American photographers including Shawn Walker, Beuford Smith, Anthony Barboza, Ming Smith, Adger Cowans, and Roy DeCarava, who Weems found inspiring. This led her to New York City, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, where she began to meet other artists and photographers such as Coreen Simpson and Frank Stewart, and they began to form a community. In 1976 Weems took a photography class at the Museum taught by Dawoud Bey. She returned to San Francisco, but lived bi-coastally and was invited by Janet Henry to teach at the Studio Museum and a community of photographers in New York.

Career and work

In 1983, Carrie Mae Weems completed her first collection of photographs, text, and spoken word, called Family Pictures and Stories. The images told the story of her family, and she has said that in this project she was trying to explore the movement of black families out of the South and into the North, using her family as a model for the larger theme. Her next series, called Ain't Jokin', was completed in 1988. It focused on racial jokes and internalized racism. Another series called American Icons, completed in 1989, also focused on racism. Weems has said that throughout the 1980s she was turning away from the documentary photography genre, instead "creating representations that appeared to be documents but were in fact staged" and also "incorporating text, using multiples images, diptychs and triptychs, and constructing narratives." Sexism was the next focal point for her. It was the topic of one of her most well known collections called The Kitchen Table series which was completed in over a two year period, 1989 to 1990 and has Weems cast as the central character in the photographs. About Kitchen Table and Family Pictures and Stories, Weems has said: "I use my own constructed image as a vehicle for questioning ideas about the role of tradition, the nature of family, monogamy, polygamy, relationships between men and women, between women and their children, and between women and other women—underscoring the critical problems and the possible resolves." She has expressed disbelief and concern about the exclusion of images of the black community, particularly black women, from the popular media, and she aims to represent these excluded subjects and speak to their experience through her work. These photographs created space for other black female artists to further create art. Weems has also reflected on the themes and inspirations of her work as a whole, saying,

... from the very beginning, I've been interested in the idea of power and the consequences of power; relationships are made and articulated through power. Another thing that's interesting about the early work is that even though I've been engaged in the idea of autobiography, other ideas have been more important: the role of narrative, the social levels of humor, the deconstruction of documentary, the construction of history, the use of text, storytelling, performance, and the role of memory have all been more central to my thinking than autobiography.

Other series created by Weems include: the Sea Island Series (1991–92), the Africa Series (1993), From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995–96), Who What When Where (1998), Ritual & Revolution (1998), the Louisiana Project (2003), Roaming (2006), and the Museum Series, which she began in 2007. Her most recent project, Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, is a multimedia performance that explores "the role of grace in the pursuit of democracy."

In her almost 30-year career, Carrie Mae Weems has won numerous awards. She was named Photographer of the Year by the Friends of Photography. In 2005, she was awarded the Distinguished Photographer's Award in recognition of her significant contributions to the world of photography. Her talents have also been recognized by numerous colleges, including Harvard University and Wellesley College, with fellowships, artist-in-residence and visiting professor positions. She taught photography at Hampshire College in the late 1980s. She was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2013. In 2015 Weems was named a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow. In September 2015, the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research presented her with the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal.

The first comprehensive retrospective of her work opened in September 2012 at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee, as a part of the center's exhibition Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video. Curated by Katie Delmez, the exhibition ran until January 13, 2013, and later traveled to Portland Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The 30-year retrospective exhibition opened in January 2014 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. This was the first time an "African-American woman [was] ever given a solo exhibition" at the Guggenheim. Weems' work returned to the Frist in October 2013 as a part of the center's 30 Americans gallery, alongside black artists ranging from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Kehinde Wiley.

Weems' work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Tate Museum in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Weems has been represented by Jack Shainman Gallery since 2008.

A full-color, visual book, titled Carrie Mae Weems, was published by Yale University Press in October 2012. The book offers the first major survey of Weems' career and includes a collection of essays from leading and emerging scholars in addition to over 200 of Weems' most important works.

Weems lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Syracuse, New York, with her husband Jeffrey Hoone. She continues to produce art that provides social commentary on the experiences of people of color, especially black women, in America.

Weems is one of six artist-curators who made selections for Artistic License: Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from May 24, 2019, through January 12, 2020.

Select exhibitions

Presentations of her work have included exhibitions at:

Women in Photography, Cityscape Photo Gallery, Pasadena, CA, 1981

Multi-Cultural Focus, Barnsdall Art gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1981

Family Pictures and Stories, Multi-Cultural Gallery, San Diego, CA, 1984

People Close Up, Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 1986

Social Concerns, Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1986

Past, Present, Future, The New Museum, New York, NY, 1986

Visible Differences, Centro Cultural de la Raza, San Diego, CA, 1987

The Other, The Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX, 1988

A Century of Protest, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 1989

Black Women Photographers, Ten.8, London, England, 1990

Who Counts?, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1990

Biological Factors, Nexus Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1990

Trouble in Paradise, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Boston, MA, 1990

Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, 1991

Of Light and Language, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA, 1991

Pleasures and terrors of Domestic Comfort, MOMA, New York, NY, 1991

Calling Out My Name, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY (traveled to PPOW gallery, New York, NY), 1991

Disclosing the Myth of Family, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1992

Schwarze Kunst: Konzepte zur Politik und Identitat, Neue Gesellschaft fur dingende Kunst, Berlin, Germany, 1992

Dirt and Domesticity: Constructions of the Feminine, Whitney Museum of American Art, at Equitable Center, New York, NY, 1992

Art, Politics, and Community, William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT (traveled to Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA), 1992

Mis/Taken identities, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (traveled to Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany; Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria; Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen im Forum Langenstraße, Germany; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Western Gallery, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA), 1992–1994

Photography: Expanding the Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, 1992–1994

Sea Island, The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA, 1993

Carrie Mae Weems (traveling exhibition), The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, 1993

And 22 Million Very Tired and very Angry People, Walter/McBean gallery, San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco, CA, 1993

Enlightenment, Revolution, A Gallery Project, Ferndale, MI, 1993

Fictions of the Self: The Portrait in Contemporary Photography, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC; Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 1993–1994

The Theatre of Refusal: Black Art and the Mainstream Criticism, Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine, CA (traveled to University of California, Davis, CA; and University of California, Riverside, CA), 1993–1994

Women's Representation of Women, Sapporo American Center Gallery, Sapporo, Japan (traveled to Aka Renga Cultural Center, Fukuoka City, Japan; Kyoto International Community House, Kyoto, Japan; Aichi Prefectural Arts Center, Nagoya, Japan; Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Arts Center, Japan; Spiral Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan), 1994

Imagining Families: Images and Voices, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1994–1995

Black Male, Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, and The Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA, 1994–1995

Carrie Mae Weems Reacts to Hidden Witness, J. Paul Getty Museum of Art, Malibu, CA, 1995

Projects 52, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1995

StoryLand: Narrative Vision and Social Space, Walter Phillips gallery, The Banff Center for the Arts, Banff, Canada, 1995

Embedded Metaphor, Traveling exhibit, curated by Nina Felshin, 1996

Inside the Visible, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., international traveling exhibition, 1996

Gender - Beyond Memory, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan, 1996

2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Africus Institute for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1997

Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African-American Artists, traveling exhibition, 1998

Taboo: Repression and Revolt in Modern Art, Gallery St. Etienne, New York, NY, 1998

Tell me a Story: Narration in Contemporary Painting and Photography, Center National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, France, 1998

Recent Work: Carrie Mae Weems 1992–98, Everson Art Museum, Syracuse, NY, 1998–1999

Who, What, When, and Where, Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris, New York, NY, 1998–1999

Ritual & Revolution, DAK'ART 98: Biennale of Contemporary Art, Galerie National d'Art, Dakar, Senegal, 1998–1999

It's Only Rock and Roll, traveling exhibition, 1999

Claustrophobia: Disturbing the Domestic in Contemporary Art, traveling exhibition, 1999

Histories (Re)membered, The Bronx Museum of Art, New York, NY, 1999

Carrie Mae Weems: The Hampton Project, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, 2000–2003

Looking Forward, Looking Back, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 2000

Material and Matter: Loans to and Selections from the Studio Museum Collection, The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY, 2000

The View From Here: Issues of Cultural Identity and Perspective in Contemporary Russian and American Art, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia, 2000

Strength and Diversity: A Celebration of African-American Artists, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2000

Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and culture, Washington, DC, 2000

History Now, touring exhibition beginning at the Liljevalchs Konsthall and Riksutstallningar, Stockholm, Sweden, 2002

Pictures, Patents, Monkeys, and More... On Collecting, traveling exhibition curated by Independent curators International, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2002

The Louisiana Project, Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 2003

Cuba on the Verge, International Center of Photography, New York, NY, 2003

Crimes and Misdemeanors: Politics in U.S. Art of the 1980s, Lois & Richard Rosenthal center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, OH, 2003

Double Consciousness: Black Conceptual Art Since 1970, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX, 2004

Beyond Compare: Women Photographers on Beauty, BCE, Toronto (traveling exhibit), 2004

African American Art - Photographs from the Collection, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO, 2005

Figuratively Speaking, Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL, 2005

The Whole World is Rotten, Jack Shainman gallery, New York, NY, 2005

Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2005

Out of Time: A Contemporary View, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2006

Black Alphabet: Contexts of Contemporary African-American Art, Zacheta national gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland, 2006

Hidden in Plain Sight, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2007

Embracing Eatonville, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007

The 21st century, The Feminine Century, and the century of Diversity and Hope, 2009 International Incheon Women Artists' Biennial, Incheon, South Korea, 2009–2010

Colour Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, Tate Liverpool, UK, 2009–2010

Afro Modern: Journeys through the Black Atlantic, Tate Liverpool, UK, 2009–2010

From Then to Now: Masterworks of Contemporary African American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, 2009–2010

Carrie Mae Weems: Estudios Sociales, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain, 2010

Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2010

Slow Fade to Black, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY, 2010

The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, Nasher Museum, Durham, NC, 2010

Myth, Manners and Memory: Photographers of the American South, De La Warr Pavilion, East Sussex, UK, 2010

Off the Wall: Part 1 – Thirty Performative Actions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010

The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power, 1973–1991, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, Purchase, New York, NY, 2010

Posing Beauty: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, 2010

Stargazers: Elizabeth Catlett in Conversation with 21 Contemporary Artists, Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY, 2010

Unsettled: Photography and Politics in Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2010

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, 2012

This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2012

La Triennale: Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2012

Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba, 2012

The Maddening Crowd (video installation), McNay Art Museum, Sa Antonio, TX, 2012

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford, CA, 2013

Feminist And..., The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA, 2013

Seven Sisters, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2013

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. New York, NY, 2014

P.3 Prospect New Orleans, The McKenna Museum, New Orleans, LA, 2014

Color: Real and Imagined, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, England, 2014

Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, 2014

Wide Angle: American Photographs, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2014

The Memory of Time, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2015

Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2015

Winter in America, The School (Jack Shainman Gallery), 2015

An Exhibition of African American Photographers from the Daguerreian to the Digital Eras, Marshall Fine Arts Center at Haveford College, Haveford, PA, 2015

Represent: 200 years of African American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2015

Under Color of Law, The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art and Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA, 2015

30 Americans, Detroit Institute of Arts, 2015

Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, Spoleto Festival, Spoleto, Italy, 2016

The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art. Cambridge, MA, 2016

Viewpoints, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (February 18–June 18, 2017)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (April 21–September 17, 2017)

Blue Black, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO (June 9–October 7, 2017)

Matera Imagined: Photography and a Southern Italian Town, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy (2017)

...And the People, Maruani Mercer, Knokke, Belgium (August 5–September 4, 2017)

Medium, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA (August 29–December 3, 2017)

Carrie Mae Weems: Ritual and Revolution, Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (September 12–December 10, 2017)

Dimensions of Black, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA (September 17–December 28, 2017)

Posing Beauty in African American Culture, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL (October 6, 2016 – January 21, 2018)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 13, 2017 – January 14, 2018)

Edward Hopper Citation of Merit in the Visual Arts Recipient Exhibition, Carrie Mae Weems: Beacon, Nyack, NY (November 10, 2017 – February 25, 2018)

Making Home: Contemporary Works From the DIA, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (December 1, 2017 – June 6, 2018)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (June 27–September 30, 2018)

Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul: Selections from the Light Work Collection, Light Work, Syracuse, NY (August 27–October 18, 2018)

Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, MA (September 10–December 13, 2018)

Family Pictures, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI (September 14, 2018 – January 20, 2019)

Heave, 2018 Cornell University Biennial, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (September 20, 2018–November 5, 2018)

Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA (January 13, 2019–May 5, 2019)

Carrie Mae Weems II Over Time, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (September 7, 2019–October 5, 2019)

Awards

2005: Distinguished Photographers Award

2007: Anonymous Was A Woman Award

2013: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award

2013: MacArthur Fellow, "Genius" Award

2014: BET Visual Arts Award

2014: Lucie Award

2015: ICP Spotlights Award from the International Center of Photography.

2015: Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow

2015: W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University

2015: Honorary Doctorate from the School of Visual Arts

2016: National Artist Award, Anderson Ranch Arts Center

2016: Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theatre

2016: College Arts Association

2016: DeFINE ART

2016: Art of Change Fellow, Ford Foundation

2017: Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University

2017: Inga Maren Otto Fellowship, The Watermill Center

2019: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society, Bristol.

Publications

Carrie Mae Weems : The Museum of Modern Art (N.Y.), 1995.

Carrie Mae Weems : Image Maker, 1995.

Carrie Mae Weems : Recent Work, 1992––1998, 1998.

Carrie Mae Weems: In Louisiana Project, 2004.

Carrie Mae Weems: Constructing History, 2008.

Carrie Mae Weems : Social Studies, 2010.

Carrie Mae Weems : Three Decades of Photography and Video, 2012.

Carrie Mae Weems: Kitchen Table Series, 2016.

#04/20

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briansastro10 · 4 years ago

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BNHA X Cars

KaminariSo, this is basically BNHA Street racer AU. But to be more precise I’m picking the cars for the characters from BNHA. Because cars have characteristic, it has personality and it describes you as a person. Not just based from the body but the engines and the car as whole. So, this is my pick of cars for the character of BNHA

Part 1 For the boys

I’m going to divide it into 2 cars. One is for daily drive/Sports car and the other is The Supercar. The Sports car will describe them as characters individuals. While the Supercar will describe their full potentials.

Midoriya Izuku

Midoriya Izuku, The protagonist of the Anime. He is too good of a boy to mess around street Racing. The Color for his car is obviously Green, in that case I Recommend Him.

Sport car/ Daily Drive:

The Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.

To be more specific. It is Brian’s First car In the Fast and the furious franchise (R.I.P Paul Walker). This car is one of the Tuners favorite car to modify. It is run by 4G63 Engine, it is the same Engine that run an EVO F*CKING LANCER which is one of the finest cars that has been made on earth (Minus the Turbo). So it plays well with the whole inheritance thing with All Might.

Supercar:

For the supercar, I would Recommend McLaren 675LT

This car Look Great In green. The whole characteristic of this car reminds me of Midoriya. This car shown how it can blend to the society, how it was able to move fast and aggressively while at the same time maintaining Elegance. This car looked slim, but its performance is something else 3.8 L V8 Twin Turbo Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) Gives the ability for the driver to drive like a maniac. The car produces more or less 675 Horsepower (Just like its name) and can go to 0-100 Km in 2.9 Seconds and a top speed with 330 Km/h (205 Mph).

Bakugo Katsuki

For Bakugo, His car has to be loud and Fast! He needs a car that’s intimidating. For the color I’m Thinking Red, Yellow or Black. But since the car need to look Antagonizing, I’m going with black. So, the car that I propose.

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Dodge Charger SRT Hell Cat 2015

This car is a 6.2L Hemi V8 Supercharged. The roars in this car is nothing short. This car is for sure is Intimidating. The roar of the engine is equivalent to Bakugo’s Roar of explosive anger. I was considering the newer one like the SRT Redeye Hellcat or even The Demon. But the demons is more of the inner demon screaming trying to get out. It needed a Rumbling sound of the V8, The insane roar that is deafening.

Supercar:

For the Supercar, it is very difficult. I can choose Hyper cars but they just felt a bit too well mannered compared to Bakugo. But I’ve given a lot of thought and the only car that fits is This

Pagani Zonda R

This car is basically an f1 with a two-seater and a roof. This bad boy is a track only car. So, it is “Street Illegal!!” But that won’t stop Bakugo for using this beauty. This car on high rev speaks will be all the explanation needed on the reason why I chose this car. A car with 700 BHP and only weight 1,070 Kg (In comparison Ford focus weight 1,471 Kg) Which is like a feather.

Todoroki Shoto

For Todoroki His car has to be cool, matured and Luxurious but also High performance. I’m a bit mixed up with the colors Whether I should make it blue or white or red. But since I cant decide I leave it in the ‘Grey’ area. Get it? Ill just get on with it.

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Aston Martin DB11

Aston Martin is well known on it’s Luxury and History. Which fits Todoroki’s Prince aura/Characteristics. The performance is also nothing short, Aston Martin is also well known to make a brilliant Engine for racing. A twin turbocharged V12 Produce 600 BHP with a top speed 201Km/h (125Mph).

Supercar

For the Super car, I think Lamborghini Huracan Performante.

It is a naturally aspirated 5.2L V10 Engine AWD. This car has a fierce fiery engine on its car but still has that cool matured Body. And the ALA (Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva) Is brilliant. It is an active Aerodynamic system that allows the car to go faster.

Tenya Iida:

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Is the Brabus 800 GT 63s

This car is perfect fot Iida, It has a look in which my friend quote “Sophisticated Look”. And Mind you this car is probably The Fastest Car! For the sport/daily drive Car compare than anyone else in the list. This car packs a crazy 800 BHP and that’s says it all

Supercar:

The fastest Car In the world! In 2010. The specific look that I would like to go is Drift From Transformer: Age Of Extinction. That Blue Lining is perfect for Iida. For some people engines might be boring, But this car have the power of 1200 Horses in it

Kirishima Eijiro

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

The car that this Manly man need to go with is the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500.

The Engine has a named called the “Predator” V8 Engine. 750 BHP is nothing short and the roar from within is on par with Bakugo’s SRT Hellcat.

Supercar:

I was having second thought of choosing this car. But whenever I think of Kirishima in a car, This car always pops into my head

Lamborghini Adventador SV. This car Looked manly and menacing. Why I thought about this car, is that it associated it self with a bull in which Kirishima and this car can relate to. A loud V12 Engine roars loud and deep in a intimidating voice and its perfect.

Sero Hanta

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

For Sero the car has to be traditional but still a good car nonetheless. So I pick A classic Porsche 911 turbo 1982.

It is a classic sports car, It is tunable which make the car run fast.

Supercar:

Ferrari 458 Italia

This car is a normal Aspirated V8 with a high rev engine. It creates something Revolutionary From something traditional.

Kaminari Denki

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

It has to be the SUPRA!!!!!!

This car is definitely a meme, it fits with Kaminari Personality. Seeing them is like “WTH ARE YOU DOING?!” Because both Kaminari and the car would do something ridiculously stupid.

Supercar:

For the Supercar I Would say The Lexus LFA

Lexus is one of the Artistic Legacy of the JDM Cars. It is one of the legendary Supercar that ever existed. The Normal aspirated V10 Sounded like Pure Thunder striking down on the earth. Sound menacing and amazing. It fits for Kaminari Racing Persona (Or even his villain Persona).

Mashirao Ojiro

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Ojiro is a traditional Japanese person, So his car has to be totally Japanese. My pick have to be The S30 Fairlady Z.

To be exact the RB26 Swapped Fairlady Z from Sung Kang (Han’s Actor car from “Fast and Furious”) And that’s all I need to say about this car.

Supercar:

For the Supercar It has to be the last piece of The JDM Legend. It is The GTR R35 NISMO.

This car is perfect for Ojiro, They both are the Representative Character of Japan.

Tokoyami Fumikage

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Blackbird 370 z

For me it’s a no Brainer. This car was featured as the Replacement of Blackbird in wangan Midnight When they aren’t allowed to use the Porsche. The slick Headlight and the whole body look is the description of Tokoyami Dark Shadow

Supercar:

Mclaren MP4-12C

That Describes Tokoyami as a whole. One of the best car that ever created in history that changes the whole world. With the black fierce look, This car looks like a shark that flies on land.

Sato Rikido

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

Sato is a muscular guy. So His sports car is definitely a Muscle Car. But It seems I have a trouble in finding it, It has to be a classic but not too old. In that reason I recommend Saleen s281 2000

It has that sporty look but still have the Muscle car Essence and history

Supercar:

For the Supercar It has to be The Corvette C8.R

This car is a new take to American cars. It is a Incredible move from the American automotive Industries.

Koda Koji

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

For Koda He is definetly a good Boy so hew probably uses a 4-door car. For instance The Subaru WRX STI 2016.

It doesn't seems Menacing but it still can move around well and when it drives, it definetly drives well.

Supercar:

For the Supercar it is definetly a NSX-R 1992 Tuned with a Rocket Bunny Body Kit.

Koda is definitely a Honda city boi. From the name itself, I am 100% it fits with Koda. Back in the day if you want a Ferrari but you can’t afford one. You’ll buy an NSX.

Shoji Mezo

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

For Shoji I think Ford’s Trophy truck.

A friend of mine said that Shoji, is the kind of guy who would drive a van for daily basis (So I guessed it has to be an American Car). But to me, Shoji is the Kind of guy that likes to get Dirt under his wheels. And I'm pretty sure Shoji is the kind of kid that doesn’t Mind flying in the car on daily basis.

Supercar:

For the Supercar I propose, Ford Gt.

It is well planted and the car is very wide. Fitting to describes Shoji’s ‘Arms’. Although it might not have similarities with his daily car, But this car is all I could think of.

Aoyama Yuga

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

For the Daily Drive, it is obviously something Luxurious, Something High class Like Bentley GT 2019. The V8 Version.

It is a confiscated yet sporty look in a car, It looked like as if he stands out compares to the other Luxury Cars

Supercar:

For the Supercar, It has to be describe as “Noblesse oblige” And the Car that fits the most is Noble M600.

It is a Supercar with all the classic features. It is a RWD Manual Transmission Car, a twin turbocharged 4L V8. Packs 640 BHP 0-60 in 3.1 Second.

Mineta Minoru

Sport Car/ Daily Drive:

It’s the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS

Basically, this car is the Japanese Equivalent To pimp rides. Even though This car is featured in The Fast and The Furious, It is just a now show car. Compared the old one, This version is a slower and much more difficult to Modify. But it is still a nice car and fun to drive with, and it is a popular car in the car culture.

Supercar:

For Mineta The Supercar might be really difficult. So in the end I just came up with the Villain version. (Inspired by ‘Nadaboodraws’ Villain Mineta on Instagram) I came up with this

It is the Audi R8, It is one of the best Affordable Supercar you can get in the world. It is 4wd But it is still an aggressive car with a mean Look.

Okay that’s all I can give for this part. For the next one will be the girls of class 1-A. If you have different opinion let me know, I would love to hear all of your thoughts and if you use my list you can go ahead and use it (But please do tell me, because hearing it will be my vindication and that would make me really happy). Anyway, thank you for reading until this far.

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torturedwarrior · 5 years ago

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How to help someone with OCD:

What is OCD (Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder)? Can people with OCD also have panic attacks? Are people with OCD who have unwanted thoughts about hurting someone at risk of acting on their fears? Is compulsive self-damaging behavior a form of OCD? OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a common mental wellbeing disorder capable of influencing people’s thoughts perceptions and behaviors. Not only does the condition impact the person dealing with the disorder. This may also influence his or her friends, family, one’s co-workers, and classmates.

Panic attacks may be found in OCD, but an underlying diagnosis of panic disorder should not be recognized unless the attacks occur out of nowhere. Many OCD patients report the experience of panic attacks after reaction to terrifying stimuli, such as a blood sign of someone with an AIDS addiction. In comparison to the panic disorder, the person in this case is not fearful of the panic attack; he or she is afraid of the consequences of the infection. There appears to be a discussion on the connection between "compulsive" self-damaging habits and OCD compulsions. As present, self-mutilation habits (e.g. extreme nail biting) should not be called compulsions until the diagnosis of OCD is made. Similarly, actions that actually cause physical harm to others are outside the boundaries of OCD.

If they really have OCD, the conclusion is no. Patients with OCD may have unreasonable concerns of acting on aggressive and inappropriate impulses, but they may not act on them. This act of violence is the most abhorrent thing they might picture. When treating an individual with aggressive or terrible feelings, the clinician will determine, based on clinical experience and medical background, whether these experiences are obsessions or part of the fantasy life of a potentially violent person. If this is the above, the patient needs support to regain self-control, not reassurance.

If dealing with any mental health conditions, reading about the disorder is the best place to start. Just because you’ve seen OCD depicted in shows or movies, it doesn’t imply you completely grasp the condition or effect that OCD has on the person with it. “People who live with OCD drag a metal sea anchor around, obsession is a break, a source of drug, not a badge of creativity, a mark of genius or an inconvenient side effect of some greater function.” -David Adam. “It’s like you have two brains- a rational brain and an irrational brain. And they’re constantly fighting.” -Emilie Ford. Like certain conditions, OCD can appear somewhat different from person to person, and keeping the mind open may help to improve the understanding of the disorder. For more knowledge, spend a lot of time listening to your loved one. Try to understand what they might be going through and how OCD makes them feel and act. Obsessions are persistent and uncontrollable feelings or perceptions that give rise to some degree of stress and anxiety, because the feelings are so unpleasant, the person is trying to stop or overcome them with thought or action. At this level, do not try to change their actions or question their way of thinking. Give affection, attention, and compassion to hear about their unique experience and to increasing whatever deception they use to cover up their symptoms.

Compulsions are act’s that people feel compelled to do to regulate obsessions or to avoid obsessions from becoming a reality. The connection between addiction and urge makes sense to the adult, but it may appear unconnected or irrational to an outside. “It’s like listening to a CD with an invisible scratch.” -Penny Hare. It’s not your job to treat your loved one, you just need to focus on being caring, loving support that they can use in their treatment and recovery. If you try to do too much your loved one could push back. One example is; A person could have obsessions about a loved one getting cancer, so they will create the compulsion of turning on and off a light switch three times to manage the fear. To your loved one, the association is real, but you realize there is no way a light switch could prevent cancer.

Compulsions involve a wide range of repetitive behaviors or mental act like, Checking and double checking, tapping and touching, washing, counting and/or repeating words or phrases to self. Most individuals may have minor obsessions or compulsions, but they can work all day. A major indication of diagnosable OCD is the tendency of an individual to spend large amounts of time on a person’s day. Because of the time needed to complete compulsions, the person may; Fail to complete tasks at home, school, or work, be late to appointments frequently, avoid scheduling events or committing to plans, seem distracted and stressed, and never leave their room or home.

No matter how the OCD of an individual shows, we should always treat them with respect and kindness because we will never know what it is like to deal with this mental illness. This means that we need to be mindful of the terms we use for individuals who have OCD. What we’re doing can either be very hurtful to them. Or it can life them up and encourage them to stay on the road to recovery. Here are eight saying we should not ever say to someone with OCD; One, “I’m so OCD”. Two, “You should just relax”, Three, “But you’re so messy”, Four, “That doesn’t make sense”, Five, “It’s all in your head”, Six, “You don’t look like you have OCD”, Seven, “Can’t you just stop”, and lastly eight, “I do that too, and I don’t have OCD. “It can look like still waters on the outside while a hurricane is swirling in your mind.” -Marcie Barber Phares. “It’s like a broken machine. Thoughts go in your head, get stuck and keeps going around and around.” -Megan Flynn. Most people with OCD fall into one of the following categories: Washers: are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions, Checkers: repeatedly check things (oven turned off, door locked, etc.) that they associate with harm or danger, Doubters and sinners: are afraid that if everything isn’t perfect or done just right something terrible will happen, or they will be punished, Counters and arrangers: are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements, Hoarders: fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away. They compulsively hoard things that they don’t need or use. They may also suffer from other disorders, such as depression, PTSD, compulsive buying, kleptomania, ADHD, skin picking, or tic disorders.

Some thoughts and behaviors people think or do who have OCD. Common obsessive thoughts in OCD include: Fear of being contaminated by germs or dirt or contaminating others, Fear of losing control and harming yourself or others, Intrusive sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images, Excessive focus on religious or moral ideas, Fear of losing or not having things you might need, Order and symmetry: the idea that everything must line up “just right”, Superstitions; excessive attention to something considered lucky or unlucky. Common compulsive behaviors in OCD include: Excessive double-checking of things, such as locks, appliances, and switches, Repeatedly checking in on loved ones to make sure they’re safe, Counting, tapping, repeating certain words, or doing other senseless things to reduce anxiety, Spending a lot of time washing or cleaning, Ordering or arranging things “just so”, Praying excessively or engaging in rituals triggered by religious fear, Accumulating “junk” such as old newspapers or empty food containers. The way you react to your loved one's symptoms of OCD can have a major impact on their outlook and recovery. Negative comments or criticism can make OCD worse, while a calm, supportive environment can help to improve treatment results.

Avoid making personal criticisms. Remember, your loved one’s OCD behaviors are symptoms, not character flaws, don’t scold someone with OCD or tell them to stop performing rituals. They can’t comply, and the pressure to stop will only make the behaviors worse, Be as kind and patient as possible. Each sufferer needs to overcome problems at their own pace. Praise any successful attempt to resist OCD, and focus attention on positive elements in the person’s life, Do not play along with your loved one’s rituals. Going along with your loved one’s OCD “rules,” or helping with their compulsions or rituals will only reinforce the behavior. Support the person, not their compulsions, Keep communication positive and clear. Communication is important so you can find a balance between supporting your loved one and standing up to the OCD symptoms and not further distressing your loved one, Find the humor. Laughing together over the funny side and absurdity of some OCD symptoms can help your loved one become more detached from the disorder. Just make sure your loved one feels respected and in on the joke, don’t let OCD take over family life. Sit down as a family and decide how you will work together to tackle your loved one’s symptoms. Try to keep family life as normal as possible and the home a low-stress environment.

Work Cited:

Christiansen, Thomas. "How to Help Someone with OCD | The Recovery Village." Alcohol & Drug Rehab Programs & Facilities - The Recovery Village | The Recovery Village. The Recovery Village, 21 Sep 2019. Web. 7 Mar 2020. <http://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/ocd/related/how-to-help-someone-with-ocd/#gref>.

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - HelpGuide.org." HelpGuide.org. Web. 7 Mar 2020. <http://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/obssessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.htm>.

"OCD Quotes, Sayings about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (30+ quotes) - CoolNSmart." Sayings and Quotes - CoolNSmart. Web. 7 Mar 2020. <http://www.coolnsmart.com/ocd_quotes/>.

Saccone, Lauren. "Never say these things to someone who has OCD | HelloGiggles." HelloGiggles: a Positive Community for Women. 27 Mar 2017. Web. 7 Mar 2020. <http://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/health-fitness/things-never-say-ocd/>.

#writingblogs #writing #mental health #ocd #helpful #how to help

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