#Ali Roma's on the case

[rocketkid300]

i just finished “ali roma’s on the case” and i just want to say that it’s one of the best POV outsider fics i’ve read 😭 also i just wanna know if it’s really done since it’s 7/9 chapters on ao3 ? thank you !!!

Hiiiii sorry for the late response!

Ali Roma's on the case is NOT finished yet :) I have one more main story chapter to wraps things up and then a (potential) epilogue chapter from Kageyama's POV to round out the story. (Side tangent, but I'm considering changing the chapter count to be out of 8, that way the main story shows up as complete but I can go back and add the epilogue whenever I feel like) ANYWAYS.

Ik it's been a REALLY long time since I posted chapter 7 and I feel really bad about it hvkjhdkjhkj everyone has been so nice about my fic and I'm just making everyone wait BUT DON'T WORRY I am SO close to being done w the latest chapter it just needs a few rounds of edits and it'll up soon!

Also: The best outsider POV fic you've read?? jfhgkjdhgk omg thank you that's such high praise I feel honored! Please take this snippet from my drafts as a thank you for your patience:

[eternallyyours-z]

Haikyuu!! AO3 TBR (WIP)

Last updated: 11.21.24

[E] - Explicit, contains smut

The fics listed below are completed, (im pretty sure, like a good 97% sure)

SakuAtsu

Jumping Through Hoops (sakusa kiyoomi's dilf hunt diaries) [E]

Idiots in love 

ah, fuck it. [E]

chasing home [E]

People Will Say We're in Love

Miscommunicating

Tale as Old as Time

The MSBY Black Jackals Read Thirst Tweets

bet on it

conflict of interest

The SakuAtsu Documentary by the MSBY Black Jackals

in the stars, down to mars [E]

this time around [E]

my body tells me no (but i want more) [E]

Immortal Ties

you are the cause of my euphoria (series)

The Dos and Don’ts of Loving Sakusa Kiyoomi

to mend broken glass [E]

fucking hell (literally) [E]

dogshit (first comes the fall) [E]

Achilles, come down (series)

Smile For The Camera [E]

The Art of the Thirst Trap [E]

The Kingfisher's Refuge [E]

human and hooked (on your flesh) [E]

Four Years (series)

i look for you when i’m lost (so i don’t go insane) [E]

ATSU101: how to fall in love with your fake boyfriend

Snatching a Twin for Christmas

sketches of a firefly [E]

Heart Piercing Butterflies [E]

My Greatest Weakness [E]

BokuAka

in the stars, down to mars [E]

mine and only mine [E]

Bokuto's Accidental Thirst Traps: A Horny Misadventure in Seven Acts [E]

steam [E]

Rules [E]

It's my right to be hellish, I still get jealous

Knocked Up [E]

Sunshine Eyes

Get Up

third wheel

better than spy films

Upstairs [E]

Akaashi's Series of Unfortunate Events [E]

i could say that you're the best my eyes have ever seen

An Exercise in Losing Control

Kiss Me (Like You Wanna Be Loved) [E]

A social experiment [E]

Perhaps a great love is never returned

Come Downstairs

AtsuHina

'til the darkness softly clears

Jealousy: the fic

you can coax the cold right out of me

The past always comes back

38º C

A fox's banquet

we made a start, be it a false one i know

Under the spotlight

Fox in the Hole

OsaSunaKomo

KuroKen

OsaSuna

OmiHina

Suspended In These Moments

snowflakes and gold

good to you

feelings of love

don't go baking my heart.

What Kiyoomi Knows Firsthand

The Sound of Fear is the Sound of Love

vertically challenged

when you came in the air went out [E]

Sun-Kissed

The Sun That Never Sets

I'll head towards tomorrow (towards that place with only two of us)

i keep a close watch on this heart of mine

comfy.

you guys are the worst -sakusa

f in the chat.

venus

felt the warmth within your touch

A Dri-Fit named Desire

conscientious

KageHina

No Retakes!

On Great Rivalries and General Dumbassery

Famous V-League Players Make Fools of Themselves on Twitter dot com

conflict of interest

On Cold Nights

heart lines

'cause i'm getting pretty fucking tired

Ali Roma's on the Case (INCOMPLETE - 7/9 Chapters)

[cosmorom]

okay i haven't seen anyone talking about it so i'll just put it here, just in case.

apparently (JUST SAW THE PICTURE I'LL PUT UNDER THE CUT OKAY I DON'T KNOW), now tobio plays for Torino...? i mean- i don't think that's a whole thing with Ali Roma... idk... but if he now actually plays for Torino... i'll kms because i rembered that in the start of the manga some dudes confused the kanjis for karasuno (or just karasu, don't remember) with the ones that are used to write Torino. and i just. had a breakdown because if what i said it's right then furudate played with the kanjis and with my heart eventually...

he plays for Torino... that has the same/similar kanjis as karasuno... and... he's.... he's happy... his coconut ass face... has a genuine smile... i... need a tissue...

here. gonna kms bye

[tinygumdrops]

Hey I wanted to say how much i love your fics. Kagehina is my go to pairing and your fics have a quality maybe like what one anon said abt Ghibli. I keep longing to read something like tht, a setting that steals your heart like a book cover that intrigues you and you want to be sucked into the verse. There's the melancholy to it, then a feeling akin to reading haikyuu itself. As nostalgic, refreshing and that you achieved something in life. Your Brazil shoyo is something imprinted in my heart. It's a blessing u write for kagehina. Ik u don't ship them and some anon even implied abt how annoying kghn fans were lol still I'd love to say hah but she gets their dynamics so good or yayyy she writes for kagehina. Your recent nyc fic blew my mind away. I got chills reading the last part abt hinata like YOU GET HIM. How do you nail characters WITH setting so well?? The environment we grow up in is so important to shape our views Like nyc Brazil Japan literally you are amazing! Also do you have any hc for Kageyama in Italy👀

Also if you ever right og fiction, I'm ur number one fan. You will have so many fans with your content! Sorry for long ask sjshjjshhjjj

Take care.

Hello, anon!!! And *sobs* thank you!!!! My fics are just a drop in the incredibly immense ocean of works in the fandom, but I'm glad my stories found you and resonated with you so much. It's such a huge accomplishment ;-; ;-; ;-;

AHHHH you want me to share my headcanons of Kageyama in Italy? Well, DON'T MIND IF I DO :D

Kageyama lived with Ali Roma's assistant coach (I've always liked the name Gino, so let's go with that) for his first year in Serie A to help him integrate better. Gino's eldest son moved away to Antwerp for university so he had the spare room. A portion of Kageyama's starting salary was supposed to go to Coach Gino for his living expenses, but Gino insisted for Kageyama to use that money to buy stuff for himself instead since he brought so little when he came to Italy. In return, Kageyama helped with mowing the lawn and walking the dogs and washing the dishes. Gino had two other boys, Elio (7) and Dino (6), and they took turns harassing Kageyama into playing football with them in their backyard. Kageyama usually acquiesced if they played volleyball with him afterwards.

When he became more comfortable with the language and the people, Kageyama moved out of Gino's home during his second year, much to the family's dismay. Especially Elio and Dino---they were buzzing around Kageyama like wasps when he was straightening his luggage at the doorstep ("Are you leaving us because I kept stealing your team jackets?" Dino asked mournfully. "No," Kageyama said, totally bewildered at the children's tear-streaked faces). Little did they know that Kageyama rented an apartment so comically close to their home, just three blocks away from theirs.

One time during a match against Perugia, Kageyama had this disconcerting feeling that something was wrong with his vision. He consulted with the team's doctor, who referred him to an ophthalmologist. He found out he had a mild case of myopia (nearsightedness); it wasn't serious and he didn't need any corrective lenses, but Kageyama badgered the poor doctor with questions that the consult lasted for an hour and a half. The doctor gave him an extensive list on how to prevent it from getting worse: diet, exercise, less screentime, and loads and loads of sunshine. So now, Kageyama spent most of his free time outdoors: cycling, running, mountain climbing, reading sports monthly magazines at the park, playing pick-up games with his teammates, or walking Gino's dogs around the neighborhood. Whenever Kageyama's parents called to check on him, he was always out and about. It surprised them at first; they hadn't known their son to be the outdoor-sy type, but it did put their mind at ease. Kageyama had always been noticeably more cheerful when he's under the sun.

Beat reporters found Kageyama particularly frustrating to interview, though they weren't sure if it was a matter of his personality, his nationality, him being media-trained af by the team's comms department, or all three. Talented and an exciting player on the orange court, for sure, but outside of it he rarely had anything interesting to say. Always calm, always poised, always with the cliché responses. He was once ambushed in a family restaurant by a sports podcaster who asked for his opinion about the sudden spike in female Ali Roma fans, and Kageyama answered with a cool, "Volleyball is the greatest sport in the world. I'm glad more people are realizing that now and tuning in to our games. I'm grateful for any support the sport and our team gets, wherever it's coming from". ("Gah, he's so unaffected!" the podcaster grieved. "No girls, no scandalous rendezvous, no skeevy thoughts, no openings, nada. Zero. Zilch. Like what the hell? Is he a cyborg? It's always volleyball 100%.").

But one journalist sniffed around Kageyama's early career happenings and she managed to find something that'd generate a reaction. Compare Kageyama's stats to a certain undersized Japanese player in Brazil's Superlega, and you'd find unassailable proof that Kageyama Tobio is, indeed, human ("Yeah? And how many service aces and solo blocks does he have?" Kageyama scoffed when the reporter said his longtime rival held São Paolo's team lead in kills and total swings. "Not that many, I'm sure. Not that I watch his games anyway.").

[gabrieloamorim]

Assisti o Piloto de Still Star-Crossed

     Foi difícil conseguir encontrar, aliás. Já queria ver essa série desde que estreou mas por algum motivo ela foi esquecida por mim. Star-crossed é um termo shakesperiano para se referir aqueles que o destino (as estrelas) não favoreceu, fazendo com que houvesse um conflito um tanto trágico em seus caminhos. O rolé acontece em Verona, depois da morte de Romeu e Julieta deixando a Rosalina como protagonista. A série é americana mas eu jurava que era britânica por conta do sotaque e por ter encontrado o ator que fazia o Giles de Buffy, o ator se chama Anthony Stewart Head.      Não sei ainda como vai desenrolar o resto mas a trama é bem novela (ou minissérie), porém eu curti bastante e me arrependi de não ter começado antes, mais uma pro meu catálogo de aleatoriedades que eu me amarro.  Me chamou atenção a mesclagem étnica do elenco sem nenhuma preocupação com árvore genealógica dos personagens. Entretanto, não dá pra associar a cor com os perrengues que Livia e Rosalina passam, ambas mulheres negras e primas da Julieta. Parece que a série levou isso em consideração ao transformá-las em criadas Capuleto quando se tornaram órfãs. O primeiro episódio começa com o casamento de Romeu e Julieta, e as coisas se desenrolam a partir dali sem tanta fidelidade a obra original de Shakespeare. A série é baseada num livro de mesmo título, quem sabe um dia eu leio para reparar nessas diferenças também e ver melhor como está l��.      Também gostaria de ver referência a outras obras dele no desenrolar da série. É interessante e importante essa visitação ao plot do casal, durante o casamento, que havia pretensão de ser informado em algum momento em breve, Rosalina fica como testemunha junto com Benvólio. Outras diferenças do texto original é que após matar Teobaldo vingando a morte de Mercúcio (ele fala a frase "procure por mim amanhã..." como no original), Romeu foge ao invés de ser exilado. Porém há uma discussão política em cima da lei que pune com execução quem cometer assassinatos, o Príncipe Escala também ganha um destaque na série, que traz bastante política e também me faz na situação de Roma naquela época com as famílias fundando cidades e esses locais serem tão vulneráveis a ataques e invasões para serem conquistados que nem um morro tomado pelo poder do tráfico e facções.      Tudo acontece bem rápido e breve, o objetivo é dar uma resumida no que ocorreu com Romeu e Julieta para dar sentido ao que virá em seguida. Frei Lourenço só faz besteira, e por um momento eu achei que o pai de Romeu iria matá-lo. Culpado por casar os adolescentes proibidamente apaixonados e de dar a poção pra Julieta. Só observo o Padre envolvido com poção... Romeu também fala a frase "me despeço com um beijo" como no original, mas tem um duelo com Paris antes. E Julieta toma o veneno ao acordar e encontrar seu marido morto, que no original havia tomado o veneno todo. A questão deles serem casados ganha muita pauta ali.      Até o final do episódio algumas revelações são feitas, o Príncipe e Rosalina se amam, mas ordena que ela case com Benvólio para unir as casas a fim de fortalecer Verona contra ataques de fora. Então vemos um governante abrir mão do amor de sua vida em prol do povo e em prol de (na cabeça dele) dar uma vida mais segura a sua amada. Rosalina traz um desejo de liberdade, contra aquele sistema vigente. É sutil como uma série antiga de TV Aberta, mas o suficiente para me fazer curtir.

[tsukkiscookies]

phew okay so now that 402 is officially out, i have so many mixed feelings about it and so many things to say but more under the cut in case you haven’t read the chapter.

so, for one last time, manga spoilers under the cut. <#

when kita said “see, i told you my teammates are amazing” I SOBBED like i was seriously joking when i said i wanted kita to make an appearance in 402 but he actually appeared in one panel? 

the way the entire manga ends with the phrase “i win too, this time” just makes me want to cry all over again even though i low key saw this coming,, time to go update my analysis post on chapter 365 because now i’m really just sad n depressed after 402 

that one panel where ushiwaka and tendou declared that they were besties,, i genuinely felt so happy for tendou because it’s really likely that ushiwaka was the first real friend that tendou had, and to think that they kept contact all these years just makes it even more heartwarming ; u ;

the haiba siblings really said they would serve looks,, though if you go back and reread look at where lev is looking in the advertisement  👀 it serves as a continuation to that “your sister is hot” “i know right” scene because DAMN LEV SHE’S YOUR SISTER YOU DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR SIBLINGS LIKE THAT.

hinata: “give me a lot of tosses today,” and when kageyama said “you’d have to do good receives” it just feels like everything has come full circle <3 takes me back to the first few chapters when kageyama was so reluctant to toss to hinata because they were dead set on being rivals and defeating each other? seeing them work together here so well is just 🥺✨

remember kageyama’s flashback to his second match against seijoh when he said something along the lines of “now we’re even, we have one win each”? and when ushiwaka remembered that oikawa said “my volleyball career isn’t over yet, don’t forget this worthless pride of mine?” and when iwa remembered that he told ushijima “i’ll defeat you on the day we fight?” well, oikawa once said “one day, i am going to defeat you all” and it’s already hinting at that. at that time, japan already lost two games to argentina, which means that if argentina won that set, it’s all over. oikawa fufilled his promise.

i guess this was already made available some time ago once the posters were released but when hinata and kageyama went to foreign leagues, both their team names contain the word “wings” in it (asas sao paulo and ali roma) like damn furudate you smartt i love this so much 

and near the end where the panels showed all the flashbacks? from daichi pressing the club application forms to their heads to takeda-sensei looking at them with an encouraging smile, it just makes me feel as if i grew up with them. i love this manga so much 💔 it’s so much more than just volleyball or beating one another in game, it’s about development and growth and i am so here for it :’]

i can’t choose a sentimental ending quote, so this really just sums it all up:

“thank you for the past eight years.”

[libero-de-mente]

AGGIORNAMENTO CORONAVaIRUS del 19.10.2020 - n. 8 (a seguito della ripresa della seconda stagione de: THE GAME OF DECRETS)

Prefazione:

Autunno cadono le foglie, cadono i maroni e cadono Dpcm e Ordinanze come se non ci fosse un domani senza lockdown.

Forse questo anno ci risparmieremo gli “anche a te e famiglia” natalizi, visto che i congiunti saranno banditi dalle nostre case per un numero superiore a sei.

Domanda, ma nella conta dei presenti valgono anche cani e gatti? Oggi più che mai sono considerati congiunti anche loro.

Alla fine non ci siamo riusciti. La voglia di ammassarsi ci ha portato a un distanziamento sociale che va oltre quello orizzontale o verticale. Il miglior distanziamento sociale lo si otterrà chiedendo soldi in prestito, a quel punto i vostri conoscenti si volatilizzeranno.

Ep. 1: HO SCRITTO FUCK SULLA MASCHERINA:

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: SEGNALATORE DI FESTE PRIVATE”.

Mi sono seduto dalla parte del torto, eravamo meno di sei.

Una famiglia numerosa potrebbe essere considerata come un’associazione a delinquere.

Scaricate l’App. Infami per segnalare meglio i vicini che vi stanno sugli zebedei.

Aspetteranno che vi iscriviate in palestra, poi ve la chiuderanno.

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: CLASSIFICATORE DI TAMPONI A BASSA CARICA VIRALE”.

Per avere fiducia nell’umanità telefonate al numero del servizio clienti della Wind, e ascoltate per ore la musichetta di sotto fondo: “Credo negli esseri umani” di Marco Mengoni. Un toccasana.

I ristoratori dovranno far sedere i commensali in tavoli di sei con resto di due e/o sottomultipli di sei. I single si attaccano al tram, che sarà strapieno, mentre il tre non sarà più il numero perfetto.

Ultimatum alle palestre e centri sportivi: o la smettete di far dimagrire la gente o il Primo Ministro vi farà chiudere. Per i carri bestiame chiamati “mezzi di trasporto pubblici” la risposta è spallucce.

Tornano gli episodi della seconda stagione del “Conte Show”, speriamo tornino anche le repliche di Alberto Angela, visto che la sera ci terranno a casa.

“Continuate a lavarvi le mani” come atto d’igiene e non per fregarvene come avete fatto fino a ora.

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: ESPERTO DI DPCM”.

C’è chi sperava nella chiusura delle palestre, invece no. Per usare come scusa la loro chiusura, per non andarci dovrete ancora aspettare.

Il distanziamento sociale verrà sostituito dall’odio sociale.

Le fiabe ai bambini consentite saranno: - Biancaneve e i cinque nani - Gli stivali delle sei leghe. - Ali Babà e i quattro ladroni. - La carica dei quattro più uno.

Se prima eravamo in sette a ballare l’Alligàlli ora per il Dcpm siamo in sei a ballare l’Alligàlli.

Nei cinema potranno solo essere proiettati solo i seguenti film: - Indovina chi non viene a cena - Sei piccoli indiani - Vieni avanti decretino - Sei spose per sei fratelli - Sei sfumature di grigio

Se andiamo avanti così a Capodanno prepareremo tampone e lenticchie.

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: ESPERTO IN ASSEMBRAMENTI”.

Sapete se riattiveranno l’accesso gratis a PornHub? Chiedo per un mio amico, sia chiaro…

Evoluzione negli hashtag: - Andrà tutto bene. - Andava tutto bene. - Credevo andasse bene. - Andrà come andrà. - Andate a cagare!

Si consiglia di restare a casa la sera e di guardare serie televisive che siano un esempio: - Friends (senza guest star) - Happy Days senza Ralph Malph (le sue battute non facevano ridere) - A-Team

Vietate le serie televisive come: - La famiglia Bradford - Saranno Famosi - Genitori in blue jeans

L’acronimo di DPCM è: Dovete Portare (sta) Cazzo (de) Mascherina.

A fine di tutta questa storia uscirà la raccolta definitiva dei decreti di Conte, in cofanetto personalizzato e numerato in serie limitata.

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: GESTIONE POSTI IN TERAPIA INTENSIVA”.

Assembramenti, non più di sei, distanziamento sociale, niente baci in pubblico, niente happy hours, uso della mascherina a casa, segnalatori ovunque… non vi sembra una rivincita con gli interessi dei single?

Le conferenze di Conte mai puntuali, queste sono le brutte intenzioni, la maleducazione, il tuo brutto decreto di questa sera. La tua ingratitudine e la tua arroganza mentre ti aspettiamo. Fai ciò che vuoi mettendoci i divieti in testa. Ringrazia il cielo se sei su quello scranno, rispetta chi ti ci ha portato soprAH NO!

Ceni in anticipo per essere pronto sul divano all’ora della conferenza stampa di Conte, rinvia… rinvia… rinvia e quando inizia ti sei abbioccato. Rabbia.

Chiudono le palestre? Chissenefrega.Chiudono le pizzerie d’asporto? Rivoluzione!

Dovevamo far vincere il primo Grande Fratello a Rocco Casalino, oggi farebbe altro e non sarebbe lo stratega di Conte.

Finita la conferenza stampa di Conte non cambia nulla, dovrò prendere le solite gocce serali per vincere l’ansia. Speravo in meglio.

Un cartello a una manifestazione di negazionisti riportava: “Basta Scenza”. Ho finito vostro onore.

Angela di “non ce n’è coviddi” è ufficialmente una influencer. Ho perso fiducia nell’umanità.

La tanto attesa ”Bodenza di fuogo” non è arrivata, per lo meno quella che è arrivata era una mitragliata con qualche bomba a mano qua e là, ma in questi giorni hanno deliberato ancora altri millemila miliardi, Che non ci sono. Cialtroni.

Quando si investe uno col monopattino, quanti punti in più sulla patente ti danno?

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: NON CREDENTE PRATICANTE”.

Ricapitolando esistono: - I no tax - I no vax. - I no tav. - I no mask. - I no sex. - I no trans. - I flat heart. - I no euro. Mi chiedo se ci siano anche i “e stocaz?”. A questi potrei aderire.

L’opposizione si oppone opponendosi alla vera opposizione, facendo il contrario di quello che dovrebbe fare ma per questo incolpa la maggioranza.

La maggioranza governa con un governo governato da chi non governa, facendo meno di quello che promettono ma per questo incolpa l’opposizione.

Gli italiani… gli italiani, in maggior parte non hanno capito una fava. Credo. In realtà non c’ho capito nulla neanche io.

Vedo gente acquistare alcolici alle 8:30 del mattino, perché quando escono dal lavoro non possono più farlo.

(\_/) ( •_•) / > I-LOVE-DPCM

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: ESPERTO DI FESTE IN PERIODO DI LOCKDOWN”.

A Capodanno 2021 brinderemo stappando Amuchina.

Oh mi raccomando, non fate come Capodanno 2020, quest'anno le mutande rosse indossatele tutti. Che se prendo chi non le ha indossate l'anno scorso gli tiro le orecchie.

Le feste di Capodanno si svolgeranno sui treni e sugli autobus dove gli assembramenti sono autorizzati, se ci si organizza si può tentare di fare il trenino sul treno. V’immaginate “Stazione di Roma Termini *pe pe pepepè, pe pe pepepè* ripeto stazione di Roma Termini *a e i o u epselon* Buon anno a tutti”.

Cose certe che arrivano di notte: - Babbo Natale - La Befana - Le ordinanze o i DPCM Ho più fiducia nei primi due.

Il Papa dice che dobbiamo pagare le tasse, lo dice lui. Il Papa.Quindi se non le paghi oltre ad arrivare Equitalia vai all’inferno? E qual è il peggiore tra i due? Chiedo per un amico evasore…

“Inizio di un nuovo lavoro: CANDIDATO A SINDACO DI ROMA”.

Una delle competenze richieste ai futuri candidati è quella di avere dei nickname con bandierine, o stelline, o pesciolini sui social.

- “Sei bella da togliermi il fiato” - “È la mascherina” - “Ah”

(to be continued…)

[zamancollective]

Multiplicity in Political Identity: Thoughts on Being Jewish and Albanian

By Mirushe Zylali

Illustration by Gabie Yacobi

“Are you Jewish or Albanian?”

My family has asked me this question for as long as I can remember. The conflation of my ethnicity with my nationality with my religion created an uneasy environment for me growing up. Culture clashes between my liberal Jewish-American mother and my Sunni Muslim, immigrant father colored my perception of myself, and of where I belonged. Though from the far South and heavily Islamized, my father’s family based their conceptualized sense of belonging on tribal affiliation - a common tendency that hailed from the times of Albanian feudalism.

Albanians have always toed the line of whiteness. Conquered by and heavily integrated into Turkish society, Muslim Albanians share more in common, culturally, with their conquerors than with ‘European’ culture. Those who intermarried with other ethnoreligious groups (like my paternal grandfather’s family, who are Albanized Turks) or live outside of mainland Albania (i.e. former Yugoslavia or Turkey) have even more complicated racial backgrounds and affiliations. The myth of our family as “pure-blooded” Albanians is a recent and incorrect one. A few towns over from my house, my third cousin speaks fluent Turkish and attends events at the Turkish cultural center with his children. 

I understand why it was a necessity to ignore things like that. Living in former Yugoslavia, my father would have become a multidimensional target as both an Albanian civilian and a non-white one. Assimilation was survival. Babies from communities of ethnic minorities such as Turks, Albanians, and Roma were often given vaccines laced with poison. The (rightful) southeastern European view of Turks as conquerors and colonizers is now at odds with the racialization of Balkan Turks- increasingly branded as brown “others” who threaten the purity of the Slavic state, which relied on Slavic ethnosupremacy to survive.

My family was not exempt from the post-9/11 racialized landscape, especially as people with Ali as a part of our surname. My father shaved his beard, and my mother told me I wasn’t Muslim. My father’s family said I couldn’t be Albanian and Jewish. My kindergarten teacher was happy to tell me that Albania was in the Middle East and that Albanians didn’t celebrate Christmas (I went to an Episcopal school as a kindergartener and, no, you don’t need a teaching certification to teach at a private school). My mother had my eyebrows waxed (they are now permanently uneven) starting from when I was eleven and was surprised when I began developing body hair at a much younger age than she had. At times, people expressed surprise upon learning we are related.

My Muslim culture was deemed too barbaric to be worth investigating or practicing by my mother, and my Jewishness was considered either inauthentic or dirty by both my mother and father’s family. Though my Andalusian Jewish ancestry comes from my mother’s side, she alternates between interest in and distancing herself from that culture. Wearing hoop earrings, eyeliner, and a body-hugging dress, I have been referred to as a frecha at intercultural Jewish events at which Israelis were present.

There is no ‘indigenous’ Albanian community in the same way that there exists a Jewish community in other predominantly Islamic countries. While the community is old, it is now dispersed. Only a single family of Jews live in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Others fled to Israel and have integrated into Portuguese and Spanish communities, being descended from Spanish Jews. The ban on religion imposed by Enver Hoxha in 1967 even blunted the cultural legacy of Albanian Muslims and Christians, who saw their mosques and churches turned into museums and community centers. The only synagogue left in Albania is comprised of the ruins of one built in 700 CE, which was eventually taken over and turned into a church. Most Albanian Jews would not identify themselves as Mizrahi.

Albanian Jewry would not accept me as one of them, and Ashkenazi Jewry does not accept the perceived ‘Islamic’ ‘foreign�� side of my practice (be that henna, the food I like to cook, or Albanian language integration with Turkish and Farsi, which borrow from Arabic/Islamic terminology from one another by virtue of migration or conquest). Albanian Muslims, and often Muslims at large, skirt around me uncomfortably as a way of placing me somewhere.

The arbitrary line drawn to separate ‘Europe’ from ‘Asia Minor’ effectively co-opted Albania and greater Albania. This is why it is easy to find dozens of articles about the ‘liberal’ Muslims of Albania who celebrate Bajram/Eid with alcohol, or the ‘civilized’ Muslims of Albania who cared for Jews. The myth of Albanian gentiles being ‘European’ or ‘civilized’ is just that - a myth. The anti-semitism within and outside of the borders of the Albanian state is proof of this, as is the mass exodus of Albanian Jews, specifically, after the 1991 fall of the Hoxha regime.

Those whose experiences most closely mirror my own are Mizrahi Jews from post-Soviet states, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan. A shared history of Turkish colonialism and integration complicate our racial positionality inside and outside of the United States, as well as (in the case of some Soviet Jews) isolation from or disconnect from Judaism due to religious suppression. The nationalist myth of a society tolerant of Jews falls apart upon examining the demographics of each state.

As I reconnect with the heritages denied from me by personal and state pressure, I sometimes step into new and uncomfortable situations but often meet people who welcome me with open arms. A Moroccan Jew I met through the Jewish Student Union was happy to cook with me and let me draw henna on her, considering me a Mizrahi Jew. A Mountain Jew encourages me to discuss my relationship with race, and feel no shame in having a complicated background. My friend who is a Kabyle Jew shares an experience of confused, racialized Islamophobic bullying, and also considers me Mizrahi. My best friend, a Kurdish Jew, embarks with me on a long journey of reconciliation and revitalization.

What does my Jewishness look like? It looks like syncretism - some things are Albanian Sunni Islam, others are Bektashi Sufism, and some are Andalusian, Turkish, and Persian. It looks like caring for Jews who share experiences of colonialism that has left them with a complicated question of where the line between the culture of a conqueror and the culture of the conquered is. It looks like caring about Jews whose cultures have been corroded by this colonialism, be it at the hands of Turks, French, Iraqis, or Russians. Crossed lines abound. But I don’t have to toe any of them. I can simply dissolve into a community which sees me for me.

[everymovie2020]

Oscars Predictions 2019

Suffice to say I'm not thrilled about the Oscars this year, and have only seen like three of the Best Picture nominees – I am meaning to watch Vice, I just haven't gotten around to it yet due to an unforeseen natural disaster circumstances impeding my ability to watch movies – but here we go, with some predictions about what will most likely be the most boring outcome in Oscars history ever.

Best Picture

Black Panther

Blackkklansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star is Born

Vice

 What I want to win: A Star is Born, but I will take The Favourite

What I think will win:  Look, I honestly don't know.  Maybe Roma?  But I still feel like it's wide open.

What I don't want to win:  Fucking Bohemian Rhapsody or Green Book due to the problematic issues, or if I'm honest, basically anything but ASIB or The Favourite

I think the problem is that in terms of movies that are nominated here, I'm extremely biased towards A Star is Born, and I am preparing myself for the disappointment that comes with it not winning.  It's like last year with Call Me by Your Name – yeah, sure, The Shape of Water is a worthy winner, but it still hurts when the movie you love the most doesn't win.

And the other thing about this year's nominees is that I just find them so underwhelming, like… there's nothing on this list that particularly stands out to me other than ASIB or The Favourite.  YMMV, obviously, but I'm like… is this a particularly ordinary year for movies or do I just have shit taste?

Last year I was excited to watch most of the movies nominated, it felt like a really good field, there were a lot of ways it could've gone and a lot of things could've won, and I would've been happy with it, but this year it's pretty much the complete opposite.

Best Actor

Christian Bale

Bradley Cooper

Willem Dafoe

Rami Malek

Viggo Mortensen

 Who I want to win:  B-Coops

Who I think will actually win:  Probably Rami Malek

Who I definitely don't want to win:  Christian Bale just because meh. Maybe I'll watch Vice and feel differently, who knows?

 At this stage I know it's unlikely that B-Coops is going to win but I thought he was damn good in ASIB, remembering of course my heavy bias.  And it's not that I don't like Rami Malek (I haven't watched Bohemian Rhapsody yet due to the problematic issues of it not being factually correct, and also due to the fact that the director is a well known piece of shit), and from everything I've heard he did a great job as Freddie Mercury… but I don't know, I just like B-Coops and I want him to win. Besides that, I feel like I was a B-Coops fan long before anyone else, so like… that means something?  I mean, he was that hot guy in a lot of movies for me before I knew his name so we have history, yo.

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio

Glenn Close

Olivia Colman

Lady Gaga

Melissa McCarthy

 Who I want to win:  Lady Gaga or Olivia Colman

Who I think will win:  Probably Glenn Close

Who I don't want to win:  Meh, honestly, there's no one in this category that I'd be super upset if they won over someone else

This is the issue I have with the Oscars right here, though – fair enough Glenn Close is meant to be amazing in The Wife (I'm not going to watch it to verify because look honestly I just downloaded a movie from 1989 called Twister and that's higher on my list of priorities than a movie starring Glenn Close called The Wife, like, I need to see what this movie is all about, there's a tornado on the poster but it looks like a family comedy?!)… okay I went off on a tangent there but my point is that I have an issue with awards/nominations being given to people just because they're "owed it".

Case in point – Gary Oldman last year, like… I'm sorry.  I’m not a TimotheeChalamet superfan but I very much feel that he was robbed so they could give Gary Oldman his honorary Oscar, and part of me feels that way about Glenn Close this year.  Awards should be given to the people who actually deserve them, not to someone because they've been in the industry for 40 years and haven't won one. That's crap.

Like what, TimotheeChalamet is too young to win one even though his performance was the best (in my opinion) from last year?  That's fucking crap.  Give the people who rightfully deserve the award the fucking award.

And in saying that, if the award this year was to go the rightful person, it would be Olivia Colman, in my opinion.

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali

Adam Driver

Sam Elliott

Richard E. Grant

Sam Rockwell

Who I want to win:  Honestly, I have no real preference in this category, so I'm going to say Richard E. Grant simply because I've always liked him

Who I think will win: Mahershala Ali

Who I don't want to win:  Adam Driver because I have this irrational hatred of Adam Driver that is all-consuming

 It's not like Adam Driver is a bad dude or I think he's a shit actor, it's just that I just hate him so much, and I blame Girls for that.  Solely. I think I hated his character so much in that show that it's hard for me to separate that from IRL Adam Driver, and thus the hate carries over, and he makes my skin crawl.

So maybe, in a weird way, this is all Lena Dunham's fault?

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams

Marina De Tavira

Regina King

Emma Stone

Rachel Weisz

Who I want to win:  Rachel Weisz

Who I think will actually win:  Probably Regina King, and I'm cool with that

Wouldn't-it-be-great-if:  It was Amy Adams?!

 Best Animated Feature Film

The Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man into the Spiderverse

Who I want to win: Meh.  I want Moana to win retroactively from two years ago.

Who I think will actually win:  Hopefully Spider-Man but probably something else, let's face it

And if Shallow doesn't win best song, I'm going to lose my mind.  Oh my god, like seriously, I can face ASIB losing all the major awards BUT NOT THAT ONE GOD DAMN IT

It's very rare that I care this much about a movie doing well but I just feel very strongly about ASIB and I want it to win.

[rocketkid300]

love your work! are you gonna update the ali roma fic? or is it abandoned?

Hi! Thanks for keeping up w/ the Ali Roma fic so far, it means a lot. Don't worry, it is NOT abandoned!!

I've just been REALLY busy recently with college applications/sports/school/work/etc... I've only had the time and/or motivation to work on smaller projects but dw I've been working through the newest chapter slowly but surely! It's a chapter I know a lot of people are excited for, so I really want to do it justice!

Hopefully if everything goes well (and Mattia stops fighting me and does what he's told) I'll have the next chapter out before the New Year! Until then, here's a little snippet from the next chapter to thank you for your patience:

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Barcelona miracle will stay with me forever… but so will the anger and emptiness of watching Madrid lift the trophy’: Jordan Henderson on how Liverpool have bounced back from last year's Champions League misery via /r/LiverpoolFC

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Barcelona miracle will stay with me forever… but so will the anger and emptiness of watching Madrid lift the trophy’: Jordan Henderson on how Liverpool have bounced back from last year's Champions League misery

The road to a major final rarely runs smoothly and Jordan Henderson knows that better than most.

Liverpool’s journey to the Wanda Metropolitano has been full of highs and lows and Henderson, the club captain, has lived them all.

Ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Tottenham, Henderson - who will become only the fifth English footballer to skipper a team at consecutive European Cup finals - gave Sportsmail a unique take on the past 12 months and explained why Liverpool are ready to go one step better.

DEVASTATION

Saturday, May 26th 2018; Olympic Stadium, Kiev. Liverpool 1 Real Madrid 3

How does it feel to lose a Champions League final?

'God (puffs out his cheeks)… good question. I remember the final whistle and dropping to the floor. The immediate emotion is disappointment but quickly it becomes frustration, anger, emptiness.

We were in the game then it was gone. Nobody can help you, nobody can say anything to make it better.

We put so much into getting there and then the night boils down to standing in a group, watching Real Madrid lift the trophy.

That was hard. So, so hard. Part of you wants to run to the dressing room but you have to pay your respects to the winners no matter how much it hurts.'

NEW BEGINNINGS

Tuesday, September 18th; Anfield. Liverpool 3 Paris St Germain 2

'So much had happened since we had played Madrid, not least the World Cup.

I was asked before we played PSG, our opening group game, whether it felt like we had unfinished business in Europe but you don’t think like that, certainly not in the first group game. All we wanted to do that night was make a statement.

Looking back on it, we played brilliantly. The tone was set early on when Milly (James Milner) flew into Neymar and flattened him with a tackle and we went from there.

It didn’t feel like a group game; the atmosphere was amazing and the way we won it was even better.

Bobby (Roberto Firmino) came off the bench to score in injury time and it was the perfect start.

Everyone had PSG down as favourites for the tournament but we came up with a performance that showed reaching Kiev was no fluke.'

TROUBLES

Wednesday, October 3rd; Naples. Napoli 1 Liverpool 0; Tuesday, November 6th; Belgrade. Red Star 2 Liverpool 0

'Our two worst performances of the season. There was no intensity, no rhythm. It wasn’t good at all. When people ask me what Jurgen Klopp is like in such circumstances, I think they expect me to say that he screams and shouts and he goes mad but that just isn’t the case.

He’d rather wait a day or two, watch the match again on video, then get his point across without too much emotion.

To be fair, we knew ourselves that neither of those games were good enough and we had fallen way short of our standards. Belgrade was a kick up the arse.

I couldn’t go to Belgrade because I’d injured my hamstring. There is no worse feeling than watching the lads on television. It’s worse than being at the stadium. Either I have my hands over my eyes when they attack or I’m shouting when we get a chance.

In the past, I’d let defeats eat away at me but I’ve got two little girls, Elexa and Alba, who quickly get me back on track. I can’t sit there sulking at breakfast when they are asking me to play with them, can I?'

RESCUE ACT

Tuesday, December 11th; Anfield. Liverpool 1 Napoli 0

'Everything was on the line after we had lost 2-1 to PSG in Paris but big players step up on these nights.

Mo (Salah) scored a brilliant goal but the thing I remember most was the save from Ali (Alisson Becker) in injury time (from Arkadiusz Milik). I still don’t know how he made it.

That moment shows why the manager wanted to sign him. Honestly, I can’t speak highly enough of him.

He is an unbelievable ‘keeper, he’s won the Golden Gloves but he’s an even better lad. Without that save, we are in the Europa League after Christmas. You can’t stress the importance.'

STATEMENT

Wednesday, March 13th 2019; Allianz Arena. Bayern Munich 1 Liverpool 3 (aggregate 1-3)

'A brilliant performance, one that I think made everyone look at us as contenders again.

Everyone felt Bayern were in control after they drew 0-0 at Anfield but we blew them away and Sadio (Mane) was unplayable. He certainly made the experience of watching the game much more comfortable.

I damaged my ankle ligaments early on. The last thing you want is to come off early in such a game and I knew the bench were looking over at me to try to get my attention.

I literally could not put the brakes on when I was running, so I had no choice. Thankfully it wasn’t serious.'

PROGRESS

Wednesday, April 17th; Estadio do Dragao. Porto 1 Liverpool 4 (aggregate 1-6)

'This wasn’t straightforward. We won the first leg 2-0 but in the first 45 minutes over there, you could really feel the pressure in the stadium.

We were under pressure and it would have been an interesting night had they scored the first goal.

In the end, it was comfortable but there were no great celebrations in the dressing room afterwards.

I know it’s a big thing to reach another semi-final but, as we were trying to win the Premier League, the first thing you would hear said was: "On to the next one". You don’t sit back and admire things when you are here.'

DESPAIR

Wednesday, May 1st; Nou Camp. Barcelona 3 Liverpool 0

'I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt before this match. I felt sick not to be named in the starting line-up but, as hard as it is, you cannot put yourself first.

When you are the captain of Liverpool in a European semi-final, the team is the priority and always will be.

As it turned out, I came on quite early as Naby Keita got injured. It was the first time I had been on a pitch with Lionel Messi.

You don’t think to yourself "Oh my God - that’s him" but there’s no question he plays the game differently to when you see him on TV. He’s so fast.

Thinking about his free-kick now, I still can’t believe he scored it. I actually thought he was going to take it short.

I’ve told you how good I think Ali is but Messi put that shot in the one area Ali couldn’t protect. The whip, the pace, the precision - it was absolutely perfect. Did I think about asking for his shirt? No. I’ve never done it.

Roy Keane told me when I was at Sunderland that if you ask for someone’s shirt, it looks like you are in awe of them.

As it turned out, I came home with Luis Suarez’s shirt. Luis is a good lad and he gave me it as a gesture as we had played together for Liverpool. I don’t know what he’s done with mine!'

MIRACLE

Tuesday, May 7th; Anfield. Liverpool 4 Barcelona 0 (aggregate 4-3)

'The manager’s speech on the morning changed everything. We had a meeting at Hope Street Hotel, the base we use before every home game, and he said to us: "What we need to do tonight I would say is impossible but, because it is you, there is a chance."

He had us straightaway. All through the day I was thinking to myself: Anfield… the crowd… an early goal: maybe?

As it turned out, it worked to perfection. I should have scored our first goal but, thankfully, Divock (Origi) was on hand to put in the rebound. I’ve never heard anything like it.

There was no way I was going to come off that night. I hurt a tendon in my knee in a tackle but I knew if I could manage the pain and reach half-time, I’d be OK.

I had injections and painkillers and jumped on the spinning bike for 10 minutes to stop my knee seizing up.

What happened afterwards will stay with me forever. It completely different experience to Roma the previous year, where we got to the final by hanging on.

I had a bottle of Fanta when we got to the final 12 months ago, this time it was water! I tried to sleep when I got home but it was impossible.'

OPPORTUNITY

Saturday, June 1st; Wanda Metropolitano. Tottenham v Liverpool

'I know the lads at Tottenham from being with them at England. I know how good they are. But this is a new chapter for us.

We are a better side than the one that played Real Madrid in Kiev and there is no need to use that experience as motivation.

We want to show everyone how far we have come. We want to grasp this opportunity.'

(Dominic King)

Submitted May 28, 2019 at 10:15PM by x77aca77x via reddit http://bit.ly/2YVSs43

[letterboxd]

Most Picture.

There are many ways to predict how the Oscars will go. How much money is the studio spending on the campaign? How highly rated are the nominated films? How much work have nominees put in during the awards season? Is it simply their time?

For this 2019 horse race, we thought it would be fun to go for a different metric. A fool-proof statistical analysis to find not what is the Best Picture, but what is the Most. And with that, we set about investigating the stats on rewatches of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

It turns out that plenty in the Letterboxd community have logged the Best Picture nominees more than once, and in some obsessive cases, well into double figures. We had a feeling, based on anecdotal mood and general noise, that A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody would be right up there in the stanning stakes. And they are (read on for our Q&A with Letterboxd’s most obsessive A Star Is Born fan). But also: The Favourite made the top three, and the film you have rewatched the most left the other seven in the dust.

Without further ado, Letterboxd presents the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards, ranked by the number of members who’ve watched the 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominees two or more times (total in brackets, as of today).

Each film features a review from its greatest fan, i.e. the Letterboxd member who has logged the film more than any other (at the time of writing).

And the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards go to…

1. Black Panther (13,268)

“Would I see this movie a personal record high of seven times in theaters? For Wakanda? Without question.” —Krys (12 watches, seven in cinemas)

2. A Star Is Born (5,943)

“TIRED: discourse about whether or not the film hates pop music, all think pieces about whether the film thinks Ally is a sell out and what that means for feminism, discourse on whether Why Did You Do That? is a bop or not.

WIRED: discourse about whether or not Jackson Maine even had an ass good enough to inspire such pop perfection.” —Juliette (16 watches)

3. The Favourite (5,378)

“I miss this so much I dreamt it. Instead of riding, Sarah was doing cartwheels.” —CBotty (15 watches)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (4,928)

“The critics can go fuck themselves. THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN! (for the fifth time).” —Iain (16 watches)

5. Roma (4,270)

“Yes I’ve seen this twice today, yes i cried like a bitch both times, yes this is the only movie.” —Eve (7 watches)

“My feelings regarding Roma are complicated to say the least. It’s like dating the girl of your dreams, only to realize that you are completely incompatible, which ends in desperate clinginess for an ideal that was never true to begin with. It’s been a strange journey of love, disappointment, and eventual acceptance, where I’ve come to terms with my feelings. I still admire the hell out of it, and I hope it wins all the awards in the world.” —Orrin (7 watches, admittedly more times than they have actually seen it)

6. BlacKkKlansman (3,669)

“This movie is so fucking powerful, and I loved every second of it.” —Kota (6 watches)

7. Green Book (1,370)

“OK what a way to start the new year. I love this movie so much. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are for sure going to get nominated (and it’s well deserved).” —Anthony (5 watches)

8. Vice (1,164)

“8.4/10” —Harrison (4 watches)

Unpacking the re-watchability of A Star Is Born.

“I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.”

Of the eight Best Picture finalists, Black Panther has been out the longest, had the largest budget, and has done the rounds of the streaming services. It was always gonna take the top spot in a rewatch match. But to figure out the rewatchability of second-place-getter A Star Is Born, we went to the film’s hardest stanner, Juliette, to help us understand why fans keep coming back even though it’s a complicated watch.

While Juliette’s multiple reviews are meme-tastic, quippy, punctuation-free gems of observation, when we asked her to explain herself, she went remarkably deep. Her replies may just make you want to take another look at Ally and Jack. [Note: this interview contains spoilers for the film’s plot.]

How many times do you think you have seen A Star Is Born? Juliette: I think I have seen the film sixteen times? I know for certain I have seen it fourteen times in theaters, but I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched it in the comfort of my own home since it’s been released on digital. There’s just something about the energy in a theater while this film is being screened. It gives me chills just thinking about it!

What keeps you coming back to it? It's so hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that draws me back to this film time and time again. I love a good love story when properly executed! I’m kind of obsessed with celebrity culture! I love a great musical! And like many people, the subjects of this film: alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, self-doubt, the cultivation of the self, love, mentorship, and reconciliation of one’s experiences with a flawed parental figure are all things that have permeated my life. Some of these things, I understand and have a firm grasp on, they feel definitive and their impacts are a tangible output. Some of these things, I still grapple with daily. There is little definition, largely just confusion and sporadic outbursts of pain.

When I return to this film, which I often do, the thing I don’t expect it to give me is answers. I don’t expect the film to be able to define for me what I must come to define for myself. I don’t expect it to clarify my confusion. I don’t expect it to eradicate the pain. I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.

There’s a scene towards the end of this film where, while mourning the loss of his brother, Bobby explains how he heard one of Jackson’s songs performed at a bar. At first, it angers him. He feels like no one really knew Jackson. But then, something shifts and just hearing the song begins to soothe him. It reminds him that, in spite of their trauma and their turmoil, it isn’t all for nothing.

That’s what this film is for me. It soothes me. It reminds me that the facilitation of our healing can come through art. It reminds me that for people, who once felt broken and irreparable, it is possible to find love and happiness not just with another person, but within one’s self. It reminds me that our pain and our devastation can be met in equal measure with (and even maybe be overcome by) our brilliance, our triumph, and our devotion to one another.

What have you noticed with each rewatch? What I notice most with each subsequent rewatch of the film is what a massive undertaking the sound editing and mixing for this film must have been. I have such deep and profound respect and admiration for all the work that went into crafting the audio for this film! The film is such a visceral experience, one that truly engages all of the senses. I remember physically recoiling in the theater the first time I heard the sound of Jackson’s tinnitus. I remember feeling my entire seat shake in time with the music during the concert sequences.

I also have a sincere recommendation! Once you watch the film a few times, I really encourage you to watch the film just through the lens of watching Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in the background of the pivotal scenes. It adds so much dimension to scenes you thought you already knew!

What is the single greatest scene in this version of A Star Is Born? As clichéd or “basic” as it may seem to say, there is no denying that the greatest scene in this film is when Ally joins Jackson on stage and the two perform Shallow together. It’s a cataclysmic and mesmerizing moment.

It’s the way Jackson physically steps back and acquiesces his spotlight to new talent. It’s the combination of awe and support in Jackson’s eyes as he watches Ally assume center-stage. It’s the way Ally assumes her place at the mic for the first time. It’s how Ally—all at once terrified, shocked, overwhelmed, empowered, and free—finds a version of herself she had long thought impossible to access under the stage lights. The arc of which is punctuated by Gaga’s impeccable performance in this scene, most noticeably by the shift in her physicality, from her hands covering her eyes, unable to make eye contact, to grabbing the mic and belting her now patented cathartic wail.

It’s the way, two artists—no, two people—are separated physically on the stage singing into their individual microphones, but slowly find their way to meet in the middle and sing as one. In itself, this scene is the film in miniature. If this scene hadn’t worked, it’s very unlikely the rest of the film would have worked.

Not to mention, the scene is just absolutely stunning. Of course, the music is heavenly, that’s a given. In terms of the composition, I love how the camera moves around and captures each protagonist in different ways. And the color palette is gorgeous. The way that blue and red light dance around our protagonists throughout the sequence is just jaw-dropping. It’s the kind of high an artist, and in a turn a viewer, could spend their whole life chasing.

What do you wish haters understood about the film’s greatness? My first priority would be to tell the haters that Lady Gaga is not playing herself in A Star Is Born! Just because Gaga is a singer playing a singer, doesn’t mean she isn’t acting!

Furthermore, to me, it feels unfair that the power of her performance is sometimes diminished just because she sings in the film. Anyone can sing in a way that is technically proficient with enough training, but to tell a story through song? To act a song? To perform with every iota of your being musically? That’s a whole other skill and it is just as worthy of recognition and respect as any other leading performance this year.

Secondly, I would like to convey that just because something is a remake doesn’t mean that it lacks value or that it lacks something to say. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about this story that seems to capture the collective imagination every few decades, but I think it has something to do with how it presents ascension at the expense of descent, art as both artifice and freedom of authentic expression, and love in spite of sacrifice and self-destruction. There’s something about that cocktail that becomes the perfect receptacle for the expression and examination of our cultural anxieties.

Its malleable formula allows for questions to be asked about how we think about celebrity and fame, the self-identification process, and the value of art. In that sense, a remake of A Star Is Born is vital and refreshing, and certainly not tired and uninspired, and most importantly, it doesn’t lack something to say. It’s inherently reflective of the culture it was created in by its very nature. It allows us to ponder not just how Hollywood tells stories about itself, but also how we tell stories about ourselves. And if you ask me, there’s so much value in that.

What do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? Well, I’m clearly biased towards A Star Is Born, but I would not be mad to see Roma or The Favourite walk off with the evening’s top prize!

What do you think will win Best Picture? My heart says Roma, my head says Green Book.

[randomrichards]

OSCAR 2019 PREDICTIONS: BEST FEATURE FILMS

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

·         FREE SOLO

·         HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING

·         MINDING THE GAP

·         OF FATHERS AND SONS

·         RBG

Who Will Win?

This will be a battle between Free Solo and RBG.  With Free Solo, you have a fascinating look at Alex Honnald, a thrill seeker who achieved fame climbing mountains without any rope or safety gear. You have so many beautiful visuals of mountains and an insightful journey into what makes people like Alex take such huge risks. Plus, the climax of him climbing the 3,000 foot El Capitan wall in Yosemite is one of the most suspenseful moments of last year.

Then you have RBG, a look at Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who at age 84 became an unlikely superstar on the internet. With the film structured around Ginsberg’s Supreme Court testimony, We look at the many sides to her. We see the Judge whose up till 5 am reading briefings. We see the shy Harvard Student. We see the lawyer who fought to overturn gender discriminatory laws. She brought many versions of herself and Morty Ginsberg was always there next to her with a supportive smile and a snarky comment. These two are the definition of a supportive marriage.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

·         INCREDIBLES 2

·         ISLE OF DOGS

·         MIRAI

·         RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

·         SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Who Will Win?

It will be Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In a pop-culture environment oversaturated with Superheroes, this film feels like a breath of fresh air. Nearly every element of this film works perfectly. The neon-coloured animation captures the feel of a comic book, even placing word bubbles to indicate thoughts. The action scenes are fast paced and creative. The film has many entertaining characters including the relatable teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), his supportive but criminal uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) and the most awesome version of Aunt May (Lily Tomlin) ever put on screen. You also get many versions of Spider-Man, including a surly Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Overdramatic Noir Spider-Man (Nicholas Cage) and anime tech genius Penny Parker (Kimiko Glenn). Plus, it’s downright hilarious, with one side splitting joke after another.

But more importantly, it is a love letter to Spider-Man and what he represents for so many people.

I also want to talk about the film’s theme of expectations. As a teen with high intelligence, Miles feels pressured by his parents to succeed at an advanced school. But he feels his roots in Brooklyn are strong and he tries to fail his classes to go back. When he develops Spider-Man’s powers, he now has to deal with the expectations of alternate Spider-men (or in a couple cases, Spider-Women). Peter B. Parker himself finds himself stuck in a rut, unable to move onto the next phase of his life when he hesitates to have kids with Mary Jane (Zoe Kravitz). There’s also a theme of loss, with every Spider-Man having lost someone in their lives. That theme also comes up with the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) threatening to destroy dimensions to avoid accepting loss.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

·         CAPERNAUM

·         COLD WAR

·         NEVER LOOK AWAY

·         ROMA

·         SHOPLIFTERS

Who Will Win?

It’s Roma. If it’s also nominated for Best Picture. It will sure as hell win this award.

[paoloxl]

L'ossessione per "i comunisti", le pistole facili e le manette. Tre simboli per una classe politica che si aggrappa ad un arresto per nascondere le sue debolezze

Chissà se Dino Risi avrebbe trovato un  modo analogo per rappresentare i nuovi potenti, il loro essere spietati e deboli allo stesso tempo, ridicoli e disperanti in eguale misura. La scena si svolge su di una pista di atterraggio. Il Mostro torna in Patria tra ali di telecamere, ministri con facce contrite a godersi lo spettacolo, spettatori con la bava alla bocca. Così si conclude la storia della caccia all’uomo durata quarant’anni. Così è sbarcato sul suolo italico lo spettro che da anni incombe sulle cronache, il volto che rappresenta il rimosso e il perturbante degli anni Settanta e della loro rappresentazione caricaturale.

La politica, praticamente tutta, ha scelto di gettarsi su questa figura minore dei cosiddetti anni di piombo, uno di quelli che si è mosso tra le pieghe dei fatti di cronaca al crepuscolo di quel periodo storico. I governanti sgomitano per un posto in prima fila, davanti alle telecamere. Il ministro con le mostrine della polizia si è piazzato ai margini della pista d’atterraggio e ha atteso che il Criminale scendesse dalla scaletta dell’aereo. «È un assassino comunista», aveva detto poche ore dopo la notizia della cattura, poggiando l’accento sulla seconda parola. Poi aveva precisato: «Dovrà marcire in galera». Il goffo presenzialismo dell’altro ministro, quello alla giustizia, è emblematico. Lui, esponente della formazione politica che sul giustizialismo e sul populismo penale ha fatto la sua fortuna, si trova a inseguire quell’altro, quello che adesso promette il pugno di ferro e saluta i nuovi rapporti internazionali, che hanno consentito di tornare a casa col bottino. Tutto intorno titoli di giornale, fiumi di immagini e prese di posizione rafforzano la rappresentazione dominante, col consueto, disarmante, mix di servilismo sciocco e pigrizia mentale. Qualcuno non si fa sfuggire il ghigno di sfida del catturato. Altri evidenziano l’insolenza della primula rossa vezzeggiata dagli intellettuali. Il Tg1 dell’ora di pranzo si lascia andare ad un avvertimento tragicomico: «è ancora pericoloso», dice con tono grave il cronista mentre il Terrorista attempato e stanco trascina i piedi sull’asfalto che lo conduce alle camionette.

Che paese è quello in cui praticamente l’intera classe politica e la stragrande maggioranza del mondo dell’informazione e della cultura si aggrappa a crimini commessi da un singolo individuo ormai quarant’anni fa per legittimarsi di fronte all’elettorato? Questa è la domanda che scaturisce di fronte al grand guignol scatenato dall’alba di domenica 13 gennaio, quando le agenzie hanno battuto la notizia della cattura di Cesare Battisti. È un paese che per l’ennesima volta si affida al paradigma vittimario descritto dal punto di vista storico da Giovanni De Luna e da quello filosofico da Daniele Giglioli. Si prendono le vittime di un fatto tragico, se ne assolutizza la voce fino a manipolarla, fino a farne un feticcio che non si può mettere in discussione e che al tempo stesso conferisce un potere assoluto a chi di quella ricostruzione si fa portavoce e ambasciatore. Le vittime, il loro dolore e la loro incapacità di sottrarsi al tritacarne dei giochi spettacolari, sono vittime per due volte. Il passato non diventerà mai storia, non riusciremo a ricostruire e contestualizzare quello che è successo perché serve che le cerimonie prendano il posto delle analisi, che la fabbricazione seriale di simboli ad alto tasso emotivo occupi lo spazio della produzione di senso.

E allora proviamo ad elencarli e decodificarli, i simboli che i nuovi potenti evocano e manipolano. Per primi, inaspettati e quasi dimenticati, ci sono i comunisti. Sono “comunisti” (ça va sans dire: li dipingono stravaccati in qualche salotto chic in cerca di eccitazioni radical) quelli che in questi anni hanno difeso l’Animale. È “comunista” quest’ultimo, accusato di avere portato alle estreme conseguenze l’odio di classe colpendo ignari cittadini. Avviene in un paese che ha appena capitolato di fronte alle richieste dell’Europa dopo mesi di propaganda sovranista e che può soltanto rifugiarsi nel consenso facile della gogna. Succede in un paese che in questi ultimi anni ha visto un’escalation di aggressioni fasciste e razziste. La violenza politica proviene da tutt’altra parte. Se c’è un pistolero dei nostri tempi, uno che una mattina è uscito di casa e ha giocato al tiro a segno con tutti i negri che gli capitavano a tiro, questo ha poco a che spartire con la foto segnaletica sbiadita dell’uomo che da ieri, a quasi settant’anni, si trova all’isolamento in un carcere di massima sicurezza. Quell’uomo armato si chiamava Luca Traini e proveniva dal milieu del partito del ministro con le mostrine della polizia.

Il secondo simbolo è la pistola. In  tempi non sospetti, Wu Ming 1 faceva notare come gran parte della grancassa mediatica italiana dimenticasse di ricordare che Alberto Torregiani, l’uomo in sedia a rotelle che spesso vediamo parlare davanti alle telecamere, non fu colpito dalle pallottole dei Proletari armati per il comunismo. Venne ferito da suo padre Pierluigi, a sua volta ucciso dai Pac il 16 febbraio di quarant’anni fa. Nell’allucinazione armata della vendetta sommaria, l’organizzazione di cui Battisti era militante voleva vendicare il fatto che il gioielliere Torregiani avesse ucciso un rapinatori. Pierluigi sparò e ferì per sbaglio anche l’allora tredicenne figlio Alberto. Se questo aspetto venisse menzionato non toglierebbe drammaticità alla narrazione. Tutt’altro: semmai consentirebbe di illuminare il fuoco incrociato della giustizia fai-da-te. Ma il feticcio vittimario che è stato cucito addosso a Torregiani prevede che questi venga descritto  come «’eroe borghese’, un santo difensore della proprietà, un cavaliere immacolato». Questa storia fa breccia nel paese in cui si invoca il diritto di sparare a chi invade le proprie case, nell’Italia in cui un normale accertamento giudiziario volto almeno ad accertare gli estremi per la legittima difesa diventi insopportabile intrusione nel sacro diritto della proprietà privata.

Ecco la terza carta estratta dal mazzo dei tarocchi forcaioli: le manette. In molti si son stupiti, quasi sono rimasti delusi, nel notare che il Bandito che scendeva dall’aereo non portava i ferri ai polsi. Le manette non c’erano, però risuonavano. Aleggiano da tempo assieme ad altri simboli. Le catene da trascinare si accompagnano ai pigiami a strisce e al clangore metallico della palla al piede, nei discorsi non mancano le chiavi delle celle da buttare, le parole emanano la puzza del malcapitato che deve marcire in galera. Il codice penale che dovrebbe indicare sobriamente fattispecie di reato viene indirizzato contro figure specifiche per eccitare le folle: pensate alla legge sulla prescrizione ribattezzata come spazzacorrotti. Sono solo alcune delle figure retoriche che paiono uscite da un b-movie e che imperversano da quando l’impotenza della politica ha lasciato il posto all’invadenza del codice penale. Nel paese che perde ogni senso della misura parlando dell’arresto di Battisti i giudizi storici sono spesso affidati alle corti d’assise e le ricostruzioni del passato sono diventate oggetto di requisitoria. Il paese che non trova anomalo lo spettacolo che i potenti costruiscono attorno alla cattura di un singolo individuo. Un paese che non si allarma di fronte alla gogna sul piccolo pezzo di una storia più grande conclusasi da anni con vincitori e vinti. Un paese che ha deciso di rifugiarsi nei metodi spicci delle pubbliche accuse. E nei sistemi risolutori di piccoli, ridicoli, uomini in divisa.

*Giuliano Santoro, giornalista, scrive di politica e cultura su il Manifesto. È autore, tra le altre cose, di Un Grillo qualunque e Cervelli Sconnessi (entrambi editi da Castelvecchi), Guida alla Roma ribelle (Voland), Al palo della morte (Alegre Quinto Tipo).

[newstechreviews]

Netflix has earned a reputation for a couple of things: first, releasing a seemingly endless scroll of series and movies, and second, rarely sharing how many people watch said entertainment.

Over the last few years, Netflix has selectively shared some viewership details, offering limited peeks into the way its internal system works. These revelations, sometimes offered via social media and sometimes in the company’s quarterly earnings reports, have prompted some criticism. For one thing, Netflix does not employ an outside agency to track its viewership. For another, the numbers are often provided in what feels like a vacuum, lacking the context necessary to judge whether the streaming service’s programs are successful.

While television networks offer their own analyses of viewership, they also rely on independent firms like Nielsen, which provide viewership data across multiple channels. While Nielsen has also tracked Netflix data since 2017, and has backed up some of Netflix’s own claims about its viewership, the streaming service has dismissed the company’s findings.

Without independent analysis or additional context, questions have arisen over the accuracy of Netflix’s claims and the way the platform counts its viewers. Among the limited number of times the company has shared viewership information, it’s noted that it counts “views” as one member account watching at least 70% of a movie or series episode. Its numbers also account for total views worldwide, rather than views per country.

Timing also varies in measuring how many people watch something on Netflix—numbers could reveal the total viewers after one week or one month. Alternatively, some data shared by Netflix comprise projections of what a project is expected to garner in views.

Netflix’s spate of original movies also complicates the numbers story the company is telling. Upcoming films from Netflix, like The Irishman, Marriage Story and The King, will be released in theaters before they become available on streaming, and it’s unclear whether information on box office performance will be released. There is no publicly available box office data for the platform’s multiple-Oscar-winning Roma, which saw a brief run in theaters before arriving on the platform last year.

Still, the numbers that trickle out of Netflix do provide some insight into what the company is willing to make public and what it considers its flagship shows and movies. Namely, Netflix appears to share results when certain projects do particularly well or set new viewership records. And the latest round of numbers, which arrived on Oct. 16 with the company’s Q3 earnings report, are the last to be shared before two new competitors, Apple+ and Disney+, wade into the streaming wars in November. Here are the most popular Netflix series and movies, according to Netflix—bearing in mind that many of the numbers below were measured over unequal periods of time.

Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019): 105 million views

JoJo Whilden/NetflixDanielle Brooks, left, and Dascha Polanco in ‘Orange Is the New Black’

With the release of its seventh and last season in July 2019, Netflix said 105 million households watched at least one episode of the show over the course of its run, making the series its most-watched original ever. The show’s popularity was echoed in an independent poll commissioned by MoffettNathanson earlier in 2019, in which users named Orange their favorite Netflix show, followed by Stranger Things.

105m households have watched at least one episode of @OITNB. It's our most-watched original ever. As it returns for its seventh and final season, this is the show's legacy, through the eyes of the fans. pic.twitter.com/ykNXNQsxFC

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 26, 2019

Murder Mystery (2019): 73 million views

Also in July, Netflix said its Adam Sander-Jennifer Aniston vehicle amassed 73 million views worldwide in four weeks. The company said the movie was the most successful film from its partnership with Sandler. The actor and comedian signed a four-film deal with Netflix in 2017, adding onto a four-movie deal made between the company and his Happy Madison Productions in 2014. In 2016, Netflix said The Ridiculous Six, one of the films from the Happy Madison Productions deal, was one of the most-watched original films to debut on the platform.

Stranger Things: Season 3 (2016-): 64 million views

Netflix said in October that 64 million member households watched the third season of its hit series Stranger Things in the season’s first four weeks on the platform. According to Netflix, it’s the most-watched season to date.

Triple Frontier (2019): 63 million views

IndieWire reports the high-budget film, which counts stars like Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac among its cast and cost $115 million to make, earned 63 million views, according to a statement from Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

The Perfect Date (2019): 48 million views

The Noah Centineo rom-com (which followed his breakout 2018 role in Netflix’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before) was watched by 48 million accounts in four weeks, Netflix said in July.

Bird Box (2018): 45 million views

The Sandra Bullock-led thriller was watched by more than 45 million accounts in its first week on the platform, Netflix said in December 2018.

Took off my blindfold this morning to discover that 45,037,125 Netflix accounts have already watched Bird Box — best first 7 days ever for a Netflix film! pic.twitter.com/uorU3cSzHR

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) December 28, 2018

The Umbrella Academy (2019-): 45 million views

Christos Kalohoridis—NetflixThe Umbrella Academy

Netflix said in April that its series The Umbrella Academy earned 45 million views in its first four weeks.

Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) (2017-): 44 million views

Netflix said in its third-quarter earnings report for 2019 that the third season of the Spanish crime show Money Heist became the most-watched series in its non-English language regions, with 44 million accounts watching.

Tall Girl (2019): 41 million views

A film about a particularly tall high school girl navigating her insecurities, Tall Girl was watched by 41 million households in its first 28 days on Netflix, the company said in October.

The Highwaymen (2019): 40 million views

Hilary B Gayle/SMPSPWoody Harrelson, left and Kevin Costner in “The Highwaymen” on Netflix.

The Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson-led drama, about the Texas Rangers tasked with tracking down Bonnie & Clyde, was projected in April to earn 40 million views in its first month.

You (2018-): 40 million views

The Lifetime original series starring Penn Badgley as a stalker swelled in viewership when it was picked up by Netflix in December last year, with more than 40 million members watching the show in its first four weeks, Netflix said in January.

Sex Education (2019-): 40 million views

Sam Taylor—NetflixOtis (Butterfield) humors his embarrassing mother (Anderson)

The charming British series in which teens and adults alike navigate the awkwardness of sex was watched by 40 million accounts in its first month, Netflix said in January.

#SexEducation has come out with a bang — the smart and emotional series is on pace to be watched by over 40 million accounts over its first month pic.twitter.com/TAsklhTSQH

— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) January 17, 2019

Secret Obsession (2019): 40 million views

Also in October 2019, Netflix said 40 million households tuned into its Brenda Song-starring thriller Secret Obsession in its first four weeks on the platform.

Our Planet (2019): 33 million views

In its second-quarter earnings report revealed in July, Netflix said 33 million households tuned in to the nature documentary, surpassing the 25 million views the company had projected. According to Netflix, Our Planet is now the service’s most-watched original documentary series.

Always Be My Maybe (2019): 32 million

The rom-com starring Ali Wong and Randall Park found 32 million views in its first four weeks, according to Netflix’s July report.

Unbelievable (2019): 32 million views

Based on a 2015 article from ProPublica and The Marshall Project about a real-life serial rapist, the series Unbelievable starring Toni Collette, Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever was watched by 32 million member households in its first 28 days on Netflix, the company said in its third-quarter report released in October.

Dead to Me (2019-): 30 million views

The twisty series starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini as two women who meet in a bereavement group garnered 30 million views in its first month, Netflix said in July.

Otherhood (2019): 29 million views

NetflixAnglea Bassett, Felicity Huffman and 
Patricia Arquette try to find themselves anew in ‘Otherhood,’ the next beat in the 50-plus women genre.

The movie about a trio of mothers (Patricia Arquette, Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman) who feel forgotten by their children found an audience of 29 million households in its first four weeks streaming, Netflix said in October.

When They See Us (2019): 25 million views

Directed by Ava DuVernay, the series about the Central Park Five case drew 25 million views in its first four weeks, Netflix said in its earnings report in July. DuVernay said in June 2019 that more than 23 million people had watched the series.

Imagine believing the world doesn’t care about real stories of black people. It always made me sad. So when Netflix just shared with me that 23M+ accounts worldwide have watched #WhenTheySeeUs, I cried. Our stories matter and can move across the globe. A new truth for a new day. pic.twitter.com/4vgCo0aKR9

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 25, 2019

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019): 20 million views

One of two competing documentaries about the disastrous Fyre Festival (the other one came out on Hulu), Netflix’s take on the music festival that wasn’t found 20 million views in its first month, the company said in April.

Elite (2018-): 20 million views

In January, Netflix said the Spanish-language series about working-class students who attend a private school got more than 20 million views in its first four weeks.

#Elite is a true global phenomenon. The Spanish language original attracted more than 20 million households during its first four weeks on service! pic.twitter.com/FwrRT6gqyh

— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) January 17, 2019