#Harge they are lesbians

[holyblanchett]

I am due for a rewatch after Agathario. Save me Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird.

[taweretsdagger]

I watched Carol over the weekend and I was watching the trailer for The Santa Clause 2 this morning to see if it would be worth renting on YT for the sake of making googly eyes at Elizabeth Mitchell, and to me personally it is NOT a coincidence that her character's name in that film is also Carol <3333

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those of you who don’t know, I decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus, which is comprised of 9 units. I have completed four of the units (here is my queer cinema syllabus round up post with all the films I’ve watched and written about so far). It is time for me to make my way through Unit 5- Lesbians, which includes the following films: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), Bound (1996), Water Lilies (2007)[finally got my hands on this one but I still need to watch it], Saving Face (2004), D.E.B.S. (2004), Set It Off (1996), The Handmaiden (2016), Carol (2015), Imagine Me and You (2005), Two of Us (2019), Rafiki (2018), and The Color Purple (1985). 

Today I will be watching

Carol (2015) dir. Todd Haynes

Summary: Aspiring photographer Therese spots the beautiful, elegant Carol perusing the doll displays in a 1950s Manhattan department store. The two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences.

Cast -Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird -Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet

__

Dear readers, 

I cannot for the life of me tell you what it was about this movie that made it so difficult for me to start it but alas I have finally gotten here, finally watched it, and finally typed up my thoughts. Hilariously, this viewing was perfectly timed for the holidays because it is mainly set at Christmas and even if it wasn’t the extremely strong red/green color scheme of Carol and between Carol and Therese would have gotten me there anyway. 

Sorry to those of you who may have absolutely loved this movie, but I found it…okay? I definitely didn’t hate it or anything but it’s definitely not going on my list of favorites. I did enjoy how much of the film relied on stolen glances between Carol and Therese to be like “lesbian?” “lesbian?!” because that kind of subtle quiet signalling in the shoulder touches and the intense eye contact is what you are often forced to do for the sake of safety.

The other thing I did find to be really interesting and important to the narrative is the way in which Carol’s soon-to-be ex-husband is holding Rindy over Carol’s head to try to get what he wants. I think Carol is in a really precarious situation here because while Therese is lower class, and lacks a general amount of power, Carol has a chance of losing any and all access to her daughter because she refuses to be controlled by Harge’s desires. 

And I appreciate the representation of the mental and physical toll that trying to go back in the closet and some version of conversion therapy takes on a person who is trying to pretend to be something they are not for the sake of maintaining a relationship with the people in their life that they care about. Generally speaking, I do not think it is unfair of Carol to leave Therese in order to maintain a relationship with Rindy. 

What is not fair, is leaving Therese in the middle of the night and having Abby take care of Therese after that. Especially after Therese has been illegally recorded having sex with Carol. Like I can see trying to put space between yourself and the person who you have indirectly harmed. But while I do believe that Carol has every right to break it off with Therese in an effort to maintain her parental custody of Rindy, and that Therese can be allowed to forgive Carol for that and re-establish a relationship with her later. I was honestly kind of mad at Therese for agreeing to try again with Carol after the way Carol left her. Because to me, that wasn’t fair to Therese for what she has lost pursuing her own feelings. Carol left her in the middle of the night, she went no contact, she maintained that boundary when Therese tried to check in on her, but the second that she has figured out a way out of her situation. When he’s allowed Harge to take custody of Rindy but with visitation rights, she thinks she can just go running back to the person she left hanging with the knowledge that she is a part of a fucking illegally recorded porn video that is just fucking floating around somewhere probably. 

I was really excited when at first Therese rebuked Carol’s proposal to start back over, and was disappointed when she walked that back soon after. Though, was I surprised? No. Getting back to what I mentioned earlier about the color-coding. Carol’s whole life was green. When Therese first goes to her home, Carol is wearing green, she has a “green present” for Rindy (the Christmas tree), the phone she uses is green, if I remember correctly, even her car is green. So when Therese returns home and paints her entire fucking apartment green what else was going to happen? Therese made her choice. And we reaffirm the ending when the other lesbian woman tries to approach her at the house party to no avail. 

Favorite Moment

Honestly, I think my favorite moment was Carol still affirming to Therese that she is interested in her and wants to be physically intimate, share a bed, etc even after the illegal porn recording. And I think I feel the same about Therese, still choosing to be intimate with Carol after the video. In some ways it feels like they are liberating themselves, and I like that they don’t run scared from intimacy or their lust/desire because someone is trying to hold it over their head.

Favorite Quote

“I love her”  “I can’t help you with that.” 

GET FUCKED HARGE. 

I do truly appreciate that Abby does not give a single fuck for Harge’s feelings. Because he is being kind of a massive dick. 

Score 

8/10

There was a lot a liked about this film. It had a strong visual message and knew what it was trying to say. I liked that the lesbians were still pretty unapologetic and that it did feel real, and I like that Therese didn’t run from her feelings for Carol and that Carol stood up for herself and her sexuality in the hearing. I do not want people to think that I am docking the film for simply struggling to hit play. There is a lot to like about this film. Also, Cate Blanchett being a lesbian is always a plus.

[nickylyx]

Carol: so what is the price of salt?

Some claim it’s the custody of Rindy Carol lost; some argue it’s the kind of lavish life Carol would probably forgo after divorce; some may even say that the price is the condemn such lesbian love would face in 1950s.

But that doesn’t matter. 

My angel. Flung out of space.

The love, the chemistry, the vow is enough.

Carol and Therese both got something more precious. Therese experienced “falling in love” for the first time in her life. Furthermore, she’s so fortunate to have the chance to confirm her feeling for another woman is actually love, romantic-wise, particularly in that era. As for Carol, seemingly she’s stunningly self-possessed, elegant. But she’s still mortal, and she has her own problem-her nominal marriage with Harge and struggle of getting custody of her own daughter. She breaks apart and Therese comes into her life in the nick of time. Carol is able and willing to unveil the most meek aspect of her personality to Therese, in a way she never does to others. Therese is unique to Carol in this way.

Carol and Therese have each other. They have love, priceless, timeless. So why does the price of salt even matter?

🧡🤍🩷

Carol: 所以盐的代价到底是什么？

有人说是Carol失去了对Rindy的监护权；有人说是Carol纸醉金迷的生活不再；有人说是在1950年代Therese和Carol的关系可能会给她们带来的种种麻烦。

但那又如何？

我的天使，从天���降。

爱，默契，海誓山盟便足矣。

Carol和Therese得到了更宝贵的东西。Therese第一次真正体会坠入爱河，而更难能可贵的是，在那个年代，她得以验证她对Carol的感觉是爱情。而Carol呢，表面上她强势，冷艳，但她也是凡人啊，她在和Harge名存实亡的婚姻里痛苦着，挣扎着想争夺女儿的抚养权。当她几近崩溃，Therese走进了她的生活。Carol毫无保留地将自己的弱点和盘托出，这是她从未对他人展示过的面孔，因此，之于Carol，Therese也无可替代。

Carol和Therese有彼此。有无价的爱。那又怎能是盐的代价能比得上的？ This is supposed to be a movie review, but anyway... I probably screwed it up. Sorry, as a non-native speaker of English who studies in the US, I unfortunately became "byelingual". So both of my English and Chinese version may not be eloquent or simply accurate. I put Chinese version in case someone can read it as a complement to the English version.Apologize in advance for any mistakes.

[sarahlancashire]

this might sound silly but i love collecting scenes where straight husbands confront their lesbian wives and the wives absolutely destroy them, like:

HARGE: i put nothing past women like you, carol. CAROL: you married a woman like me! - carol (2015)

RICHARD: you disgust me. CHASE: oh, how nice. - losing chase (1996)

basically all of caroline and john's interactions in last tango in halifax

etc. etc.

[sharry-arry-odd]

Was life, were human relations like this always, Therese wondered. Never solid ground underfoot. Always like gravel, a little yielding, noisy so the whole world could hear, so one always listened, too, for the loud, harsh step of the intruder's foot.

The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith

[blackacre13]

Hiii this is not an ask but I was just wondering am I the only one who thinks Carol and Abby had more chemistry and unlike others want to see a Carol prequel or are there others who think this way too?😑 Also I love your little fics they are such a delight 😍

I’m so glad you’re enjoying reading!

So personally, when it comes to Carol/Abby, I think it’s very reminiscent of that conversation about your first love. I’ve heard this talked about in a lot of literature, podcasts, etc. where there’s a canon lesbian/WLW couple or even in real life that regardless of whether it’s your first and only or simply your first relationship with another woman, it’s so much more than just oh hey I dated a woman for the first time. It’s probably linked to admitting to yourself and others that you’re gay, realizing what it’s like to be attracted to a specific someone now in reality and not just in your mind, deciding whether you’re sharing yourself and that person with the world, maybe having sex for the first time, noticing differences in smaller things like kisses, and conversation, and communication etc. it comes with this extra depth and bond if that makes sense.

So I think with Carol x Abby (credit where credit is due to Patty Highsmith for the ultimate oh no there’s only one bed fic) their relationship represents that first wlw. I think even in The Price of Salt or it’s the original Carol script there’s a line about Carol saying at one point she would’ve left and gone away with Abby even if it meant leaving Rindy and I think that’s a great example of: wow, back when I was in love with this woman I would have gone so far as X but now that I love this other person, I can have Y without making that sacrifice.

I wouldn’t say they have more chemistry, but it’s definitely deeper. And I think you’d be right to say there’s things and levels Abby understands where Therese might not connect with Carol and Carol would still go to Abby about. But yes, I am pro a prequel of course. Their dynamic really intrigues me and I love a good backstory but I think in a nutshell: we’re supposed to get this picture of wow, I learned who I was with my best friend who I trust more than anything but she wasn’t meant to be my forever partner/wife/etc. and I think Carol and Abby are both grateful to be each other’s first loves and obviously still care about each other and will defend/protect/rescue them but there’s mutual respect that they were something once and it was everything then and built a good foundation but it wasn’t meant to be long term.

Without more word vomit, I think you may see Therese x Carol as less “chemistry” because were seeing that first love/exploration only on Therese’s side because Carol had already established that and is seeking other things from her relationships but I think Carol has learned from Abby that her first relationship with her taught her a lot and beyond the complex situation with Harge, Rindy etc. that’s part of the reason she has it in her mind to let Therese go because she’s sure she can’t be the end all be all for Therese and may just have been the right relationship/first love at the right time...

[365days365movies]

February 16, 2021: Carol (2015) (Part 1)

...Harold...

Yeah, I had to do this one. Partially because I knew about this film previously, as it was kind of a smash hit when it came out in theaters. It was about as big of a deal as Blue is the Warmest Color, which...we might get there. But, yeah, Carol was already on my radar when I decided to dip into LGBT cinema.

But also...you can thank my girlfriend again. There she is (as she’s choosing to represent herself through GIF form) below.

We love The Owl House. Anyway, I wasn’t aware of the meme until we were watching a movie, and she just screamed “HAROLD THEY’RE LESBIANS!” And after doing some research on that statement...that’s goddamn hilarious. And it all started with Carol, so the writing’s basically on the wall there.

Here’s what I know. This movie stars Cate Blanchett...OK, that’s it! Shall we find out more firsthand? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

In New York City, a man enters a bar and restaurant, where he sees an old acquaintance, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who is having dinner with another woman, Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett). And, uh, lemme just say, we’re jumping off RIGHT away, and my girlfriend immediately starts screaming “HAROLD” at the screen.

Anyway, Jake invites her to a party with mutual friends, and Carol and Therese end their dinner date early. As Therese looks out of the window of a car on the way to the party, she thinks backwards through time, and takes us with her. FLASHBACK

Therese wakes up one morning around Christmastime, only to see her boyfriend, Richard Semco (Jake Lacy), ready to take her to work on a bicycle though Central Park. They talk about going to Paris on vacation, an idea about which Therese seems nonchalant. Therese works at Frankenberg’s, a department store that doesn’t exist. As is typical of the season in NYC, shoppers and their children flood the place. We went there on Christmas of 2019, and I grew up in the area. Trust me when I say Christmas in NYC is FUCKIN’ NUTS.

Therese works at the toy counter, and that’s when Carol arrives to get a doll for her daughter. Unfortunately, they’re out of the doll she’s looking for, so Therese offers a model train set to her instead, and the two hit it off basically immediately. And when I say hit it off, they HIT IT OFF. Like...the chemistry is IMMEDIATE. Maybe that’s Cate Blanchett’s pure charisma, but I’m just saying...they have the fastest chemistry establishment that I’ve seen yet.

But oh no! Carol’s forgotten her gloves! However, it doesn’t seem like much results from that, as the work day is soon over, and Therese and Richard go to a movie and a beer with friends Phil (Nik Pajic) and Danny McElroy (John Magaro). That night, having returned home, Therese looks at Carol’s gloves. Using information obtained during the department store visit, she mails the gloves to Carol, at her gorgeous mansion.

Carol is combing her daughter’s hair, as her husband Harge Aird (Kyle Chandler) arrives home with the mail. Things seem somewhat amiss, as Carol seems extremely unhappy. She later calls her at the department store to thank her for the gloves, and offers to buy her lunch that afternoon. She agrees, and the two head to a nice restaurant.

Over the course of the meal, it’s revealed that Carol and Harge are going through a divorce (yeah, that tracks), and Therese’s conflicted on how she feels about her relationship with Richard. Carol invites her to come over at some point, and she agrees.

Later on, while in traffic in the car of a friend, Abby Gerhard (Sarah Paulson), she seems to acknowledge potential attraction between her and Therese, although it’s not exactly set in stone. She heads to a party that evening. Meanwhile, she visits her friend Danny, an aspiring writer, who inquires about her hobby of photography, and then...kisses her...even though she’s dating a friend. Fuckin’ OH BOY, DANNY.

Harge takes Carol home, and he’s 100% still in love with her, and she’s just not feeling it. This may be related to the fact that she and Abby were also once a couple. Yeah. Harge is aware of this, and they were DEFINITELY a romantic couple in the past, which means...yeah, Carol’s a straight-up lesbian, it would seem. Harge says it “shouldn’t be like this,” and it’s not clear whether that refers to Carol’s attraction to women, or the divorce in general. It is the 1950′s, after all.

OH WAIT. Forgot to mention that, didn’t I? This film takes place in the 1950s, I think? Hasn’t been made super clear as of yet, but the aesthetic is certainly the 1950s, without much doubt. The next day, Carol goes to pick Therese up, and meets Richard. Richard tells Therese he loves her as they depart. Therese doesn’t return the sentiment. FUCKIN’ OOF.

As the two drive through Lincoln Tunnel together, their dialogue is quieted, and we get some interesting close-up shots of their eyes, lips, faces. And it’s definitely meant to suggest something more physical, something without words. In other words...Harold’s wife is starting to get the idea. Harold’s not quite there yet, though.

Carol and Therese go to Carol’s home in New Jersey, where she meets her and 4-year old Harge’s daughter, Rindy, who Carol obviously loves VERY much. That night, Therese plays the piano, and also shares her passion for photography with Carol. Carol shows interest in her hobby, when Harge suddenly shows up to take Lindy unexpectedly for Christmas with his family, away from her.

The argument that this results in quickly envelops Therese, as Harge confronts Carol about her presence there. The ending result, though, is that Carol is forced to let Rindy leave early with Harge. And yeah, it’s sad for her. Harge, on the other hand, is being an absolute dick. The two have a verbal and PHYSICAL argument outside, which Therese partially overhears.

As an apology for bringing Therese into this marital struggle, Carol gives her a ride to the train station, so she can make her way home that night. On the train, Therese cries. Is this because of Harge, because of Carol, because of a struggle with her own feelings? I’m honestly not sure. And it’s a good question.

Carol seems to believe that it’s because of her, though, as she turned her away somewhat abruptly. However, she quickly tries to make up for it by calling and apologizing. Therese says that she has questions for her, and Carol is more than willing to answer them. The next day, Carol goes down to her divorce attorney’s office, only to discover that Harge is trying to take away ALL of Carol’s custody.

And the reason for it? You guessed it! Carol’s a lesbian! Sooooooo, FUCK HARGE!!! With this otion, Carol won’t be able to see Rindy for several months, which hurts her greatly. Again, fuck Harge, he’s a dick who’s taking away Carol’s joy and time with her daughter solely because Carol isn’t attracted to him. GODDAMN, that absolutely sucks.

Meanwhile, Therese’s struggling with her own feelings, some of which may be for Carol, and actually STRIGHT-UP asks Richard his opinions on the origins of homosexuality. He believes that it can’t just happen like heterosexual love, which...I mean, 1950s, what can I tell ya, it wasn’t great. He point-blank asks her if she’s in love with a girl, and she says no, and leaves him in the street in a huff. And real talk, I feel bad...for Richard. Therese, too, but dude is genuinely in head-over-heels with Therese, and is just NOT getting the hint.

Carol and Abby go to have lunch, where Carol breaks the news. They share tenderness, as they have in the past, and Abby’s pretty clearly out of the closet, as much as one can be in the 1950s. Also, quick aside to note that Sarah Paulson rules...and moving on.

Carol then visits Therese, and gives her new camera equipment as a kind gesture. Carol shares with her the news of the struggle with her husband, and says that she’s going on a trip, to get away for a while. She invites Therese to come with her, quite spontaneously, and Therese equally spontaneously says yes! Fuckin OOOOOOOF to Richard, goddamn.

Also, exactly the halfway point! See you in Part 2!

[cblgblog]

Chapters: 4/8 Fandom: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith, Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Carol Aird/Therese Belivet, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Abby Gerhard/Rose Roberts, Harge Aird/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Carol Aird, Therese Belivet, Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Angie Martinelli, Abby Gerhard, Rindy Aird, Rose Roberts, Harge Aird Additional Tags: Crossover, Polyamory, Lesbian Sex, Heterosexual Sex, But not involving the lesbians, Everyone's in swimwear, Stegginelli, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Steve and Therese in the dead dad's club, Peggy doesn't mention a lot of things, OT3, Soft Carol, Carol just wants Therese to be okay, Light Dom/sub, Threesome - F/F/M, Referenced acts of PTSD related violence, Rough Sex, Period-Typical Racism, Recreational Drug Use Series: Part 13 of More than One Kind of Soulmate Summary:

Follows Carol and Therese and Peggy, Steve and Angie from May through December of 1956. Each chapter covers a month in their lives.

August

Therese has a new job opportunity, Rindy has a birthday party. Angie wreaks havoc on both, and Carol has words with Harge's new wife.

Two unconventional families form an unbreakable bond. Tracing a friendship and a family through the years.

I updated, and the chapter’s longer than most of my fics. Go read it, if you want.

[cynicalrainbows]

Twist: Harge insisted on custody of Rindy not so much because of the lesbian thing but in order to save her from a bleak childhood of receiving the favoured childhood toys of her mother’s newest fling for Christmas rather than whatever it was she had actually asked for.

“What they do in their own time is there business but they have no right to push it onto kids too!”

“What, lesbianism?”

“No, train sets.”

[queermediastudies]

Carol, Romance and Lack of Inclusion

A US trailer for the film.

Carol, a film based on the book The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett, came out in 2015 and attained great critical success. Nominated for 6 Oscars, 5 golden Globes, and 9 BAFTA film awards. It also won two awards in the Cannes film festival, best actress (Rooney Mara), and the Queer Palm award, due to its being “The first time a love story between two women was treated with the respect and significance of any other mainstream cinematic romance.” (IMDB). It is, refreshingly, explicitly queer, avoiding much of the LGBTQ+ audience’s need to undertake a “queer reading” (Doty, 1993) of yet another heterosexual film. The storyline, acting and production of this film are all extremely well done; however, it has several problematic factors such as its lack of LGBTQ+ cast members in its lead roles, lack of racially diverse casting, and marketing that hid the film’s queer storyline.

The movie tells the love story of two women living in the 1950s. Therese, played by Rooney Mara, is a department store clerk in New York City. While at work, she runs into a customer, Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, with whom she has an unexpected connection. The two women gradually begin a romantic relationship. Carol’s soon to be ex-husband, Harge (played by Kyle Chandler), complicates things by attempting to stop her contact with their daughter due to the “immorality” of her relationship with Therese. Unable to see her daughter, Carol takes Therese on a road trip, where they fall deeper in love. On their road trip, they discover that Harge has hired someone to follow them and collect evidence of Carol’s “immoral behavior.” After Harge’s discovery, Carol leaves Therese a letter with her best friend Abby (Played by Sarah Paulson) in which she ends their relationship. Heartbroken, Therese returns to New York  and begins a new chapter of her life in which she embraces her lesbianism. After deciding that living a life free from Harge’s shaming of her sexuality is more important to her than having full custody of her daughter, Carol leaves him for good and calls Therese. The movie ends with their long, lingering eye contact across a restaurant, implying that they end up together.

A silly (but informative) video that summarizes and comments on the movie.

This movie tells a beautiful, if complicated, love story between two women set in the 1950s. It does not fall for many of the storyline pitfalls that many other lesbian films do, such as an unhappy ending due to homophobia, or sex or love scenes directed for the male gaze. In fact, the film was intentionally directed as if seen through the eyes of 1950s underground female photographers.

A Vanity Fair interview with Cate Blanchett in which she discusses the film’s directing style.

It is “unabashedly romantic” (Blanchett, 2016) and urges the audience to fall in love with Carol along with Therese. It also does not follow a rule of “gay and lesbian representation: no sexual interaction.” (Dow, 2001), but includes it in such a way that it contributes to the story without adding gratuity or oversexualization of either character. There is a great deal complexity to the two characters, and their love story is not the only thing happening in the film, which feels refreshing because “mainstream Hollywood films that deal with actual gay and lesbian lives and issues are extremely rare.” (Bernshoff and Griffin, 2004). They are not one-dimensional characters, they face outside pressures, such as Therese learning what she wants, not only in a partner, but in her professional life as she works to become a professional photographer. Carol’s struggle to separate from her husband is one of her character’s key driving factors, and it is complicated greatly by her social standing.

Therese’s character is relatively lower class, she works in a department store and her apartment is small and dingy. Carol on the other hand is an older, unhappily married woman whose family (or at least her husband’s family) is extremely well off. The social structures we see surrounding the two women are very different, and we see how they affect the two women in different ways. Although she works hard to make it in the world, Therese’s social circles are much more accepting of her queer identity, and it is almost as if there is nothing to lose for her. However, for Carol there is everything to lose. Her daughter, Rindy, is the light of her life, but when she leaves Harge for a woman, he punishes her by forcing her to keep away from their daughter. Throughout the movie we see Harge’s vicious and determined homophobia and its direct negative effects on Carol, but unlike in other films, it does not destroy her will to love who she wants.

Despite the movie’s overall beautiful representation of a romantic relationship, there are several issues with the film. The book it is based off of was written by a Queer woman and the storyline of the film is blatantly queer, however neither of the starring Actresses in the movie are queer. This is a missed opportunity in terms of the film’s casting, particularly for the film’s queer audience and for the queer actresses who likely auditioned and were denied one of their few opportunities to play a queer character in a mainstream movie. Both Blanchett and Mara are fantastic actresses, however, this does not take away the fact that queer women could have been cast into the film’s starring roles. There were queer actresses in the film, namely Sarah Paulson, playing Carol’s friend Abby, and Carrie Brownstein, who played a woman Therese flirts with at a party, but their roles were relatively minor. Based on this, it can easily be said that the movie’s production is “merely satisfying demands for inclusion without actually challenging the larger structural and systemic labor issues.” (Martin, 2018).

One of the film’s US promotional posters.

In addition to its lack of inclusion of queer cast members, this movie is overwhelmingly white. Very, very few people of color were cast in this film, and the only characters who were played by people of color were playing the roles of domestic staff. This film could easily have provided more opportunities for actors of color, but it chose not to. For a movie whose storyline and direction are so openly inclusive and somewhat groundbreaking, this lack of diversity in casting is disappointing. Both Carol and Therese were complex characters, but as with many other movies and tv shows about queer people they do not represent much intersectionality. They are both white, cisgender, able-bodied lesbian women, and the only aspect of identity that the film deals with is sexuality. Carol also avoids many of the issues of gender discrimination that were present in the 1950s that could easily have made its’ storyline and character development more nuanced. It can be seen as almost the opposite of the Oscar winning film Moonlight (2016), which is entirely made up of complex, intersectional characters. Despite its inclusivity to sexuality, it turns a blind eye to aspects of identity such as race and disability that likely play an important role in the lives of many of its viewers. As well as this, despite its’ openly queer trailer, the posters for the film deliberately displayed the two main characters as facing different directions and looking away from each other. This could have been an intentional choice to convince less accepting heterosexual moviegoers to watch the film, and it also implies that the film’s homosexual content should be hidden.

The first time I saw this film, I was 16, and just beginning to think about my sexuality as something other than straight. I voraciously consumed tv and movies about Lesbian and Bisexual women, hoping to find something I related to and felt included in. Carol, and its rich and beautifully stylized cinematography, was one of the few movies that made me feel heard and understood and felt like home to me. 

A scene where we see how Therese views Carol.

Unlike other movies I had seen, such as Blue is the Warmest Color, this movie made me feel like it was made for me. I was able to relate to the romance and feel like I wasn’t alone in feeling the way I did about, likely because I am able to relate to the two characters in the film, particularly Therese. Like most other movies about queer women, this movie is directed at young, white, able-bodied, cisgender, middle-class queer women, of which I am one. It did not challenge my identity or the way I saw the world. Despite its many obvious flaws, to me the most important aspect of this movie was how it displayed the growing relationship between Therese and Carol in a way that felt relatable and evoked deep feelings that made me relive the intense and beautiful experiences of first love. 

References

Bernshoff, Harry and Griffin, Sean (2004). “Introduction,” in Queer Cinema: The Film Reader, 1-15.

Carol. (2020). Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402927/awards?ref_=tt_awd

Doty, Alexander. (1993) “There’s Something Queer Here” in Making Things Perfectly Queer, 1-16.

Dow, Bonnie (2001). “Ellen, Television, and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Visibility.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 18(2), 123-140.

Martin, Alfred L. Jr (2018). “Pose(r): Ryan Murphy, Trans and Queer of Color Labor, and the Politics of Representation.” LA Review of Books.

[ao3feed-cartinelli]

May, December, and Some Romance

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2tlGarz

by Comicbooklovergreen

Follows Carol and Therese and Peggy, Steve and Angie from May through December of 1956. Each chapter covers a month in their lives.

“You have a pool?”

“Sure.”

“Since when?”

“It’s a recent development. What? Steve got absurd amounts of backpay from being stuck underwater. We might as well get a pool out of it.”

“Are you serious?”

“There’s a diving board.”

“We’ll be there in an hour.”

It's May, it's hot, Therese hasn't been to very many pool parties, but this is definitely the gayest one she's ever attended.

Words: 11421, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 13 of More than One Kind of Soulmate

Fandoms: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith, Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Multi

Characters: Carol Aird, Therese Belivet, Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Angie Martinelli, Abby Gerhard, Rindy Aird, Rose Roberts, Harge Aird

Relationships: Carol Aird/Therese Belivet, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Abby Gerhard/Rose Roberts

Additional Tags: Crossover, Polyamory, Lesbian Sex, Heterosexual Sex, But not involving the lesbians, Everyone's in swimwear

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2tlGarz

[chaoticlesbiab]

The Price of Salt / Carol (2015) Alternate Ending:

Carol held back the tears that welled up in her eyes. Sitting there across from her husband, well ex-husband, she could see the desperation and disgust in his eyes. It made her sick to her stomach that he was trying to take her little girl away from her just because of the love she shared with a woman.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to scream as loud as she could and tell him that there was nothing wrong with her. That she simply couldn’t live this way anymore. She already knew what would come from this, and she barely held on to the tiny thread of hope she had that she could have her child back. Though, she just wanted to be with Therese. Therese… the name sounded perfect in her mind. Just thinking of her almost affected Carol the way she imagined a drug would. It broke Carol’s heart the way things turned out. The sheer thought made the tears almost burst from her eyes, but she was a composed woman and she wouldn’t let them fall.

She would never do anything to hurt her only child. Rindy was her whole world. A girl of only seven years old needed her mother. Although, when Carol thought of it she realized that she needed Rindy moreso than Rindy needed her. She would eventually be able to cope with only weekend visitation with her mother, as children adapt quickly, but Carol wouldn’t be able to bare it. The thought of not seeing her at all, not getting the chance to watch her grow, absolutely broke Carol. It hurt her even more so than it hurt her when she had to leave Therese in the west. That’s what made her realize what she had to do. She refused to be an outsider to her own child’s life. She wouldn’t allow it. In that moment she felt as if she was going to vomit.

“Carol, are you listening?” She heard the voice of her lawyer, Fred, and felt him gently nudge her arm.

She was snapped back to reality, and drew in a shaky breath, “No. No I was not listening, but it doesn’t matter.” She turned to look Harge in the eye, “Harge, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t continue to live like this. I can’t go through anymore therapy, and I can’t go through a custody battle.” Carol sounded the most vulnerable she ever had, “You win. I won’t fight you on custody, but I need to see her. You know I do, and I know that you’re not that cruel that you would keep her from me even in my surrender.”

Harge looked at her with a hint of something she couldn’t quite place in his eyes. After moments of silence he spoke, “I can’t let you see her if you’re going to continue what you’re doing.”

It was almost as if he was scared to say it. Scared to utter the words that bluntly expressed what he was talking about. It was almost as if he was scared to say that she was having an affair with a woman, out of fear that in that moment it would become too real. That he had married a lesbian. That if it was allowed, his daughter could grow up with two motherly figures. Carol bit the inside of her cheek, “I’ll cut all ties with her.” It was too painful for her to utter Therese’s name. She feared that if she did she would contradict everything she had just said and go on a wild goose chase for the girl out of pure impulse. Just because her name held that much weight to Carol. “I don’t expect you to give me much, or even take my word for what I’m saying, but perhaps you’ll consider weekends? You just need to trust me.” She took a cigarette out from her purse and lit it, thinking perhaps it would calm her nerves. “I won’t see her anymore, if it means I’ll get a relationship with Rindy.”

Harge looked to his lawyer, and then back to Carol, seemingly unsure of what he should say. Carol decided that the anticipation was too much, “We’ve never been nasty people, Harge. Don’t start now.”

He sighed and placed his hand on his forehead, “Okay. I don’t want to fight you, Carol. I never did, but I can’t have Rindy be around that. She’s my daughter, too. I only want what’s best for her.”

The statement alone made Carol’s blood boil, but she decided to choose her battles. “Will I be getting her on weekends, then?” She asked through slightly gritted teeth. Harge simply nodded his head. “Very well. Fred, you wouldn’t mind taking care of the paperwork by yourself, would you? I must be going.”

With that she put out the cigarette and stood. She held back any emotion at all until she got into a taxi, and after she had taken off she let it all out. Every tear, every pathetic whimper. She sat in the back of the taxi and wept her entire heart out. She wept out of joy that she managed to obtain some sort of visitation with her daughter. She also wept out of heartbreak, because she had just sealed her fate with Therese. She would never be able to see her. Ever. She had promised it in front of a lawyer. Carol covered her face with her hands. She felt as if she had no heart inside of her chest at all, even though she thought it was going to beat out of her chest. She felt empty.

A month later she saw her. Driving one day, coincidentally on her way to go get Rindy. She saw Therese and nearly crashed the car. She saw Therese walking on the sidewalk, only for a moment. She looked better than Carol had suspected she would. Grown up even. It made Carol’s heart ache, but it also gave her a sense of relief. Therese was resilient. Carol’s only regret was that she hadn’t said goodbye.

The day after that she wrote a letter to Therese. She hadn’t slept at all the previous night, and all she could think about was the fact that she hadn’t even said goodbye. She had to say goodbye.

Dearest,

Forgive me. I haven’t even said goodbye. I’m sorry for the abrupt ending of our trip, but you must understand that I had to leave. I had to come back to New York, not for myself, but for Rindy. Harge was going to take her away from me forever. I couldn’t bare it.. That does sound quite selfish doesn’t it? I always said during our time together that you had more growing up to do, but perhaps I had too. Another selfish thing, I’m only writing you this, because I can’t afford any more sleepless nights thinking of you. I’d like to give the both of us closure. I saw you walking down the street the other day. You look good, my darling. Grown up. Perhaps that’s what happens to people when they finally get away from me. Perhaps I’m the rain before the rainbow. I wish you well, Therese.

Love Always,

Carol.

Carol never heard back from Therese. Weeks went by and she never wrote back. Carol thought it was for the better, but she never moved on. Her heart always ached for Therese, and although she wrote to her in hopes that she could finally stop thinking of her and get some rest, she still had sleepless nights. In some sort of way, she thought it was a poetic justice. Yes, that sounded about right. Poetic justice.

[creamedspinachoverpoachedeggs]

Which fictional character would you say that you are most like and why?

I would say I am most like Carol Aird. We have so many of the same traits, as well as life experiences.

We both had to deal with being lesbians in less-than-accepting environments; Carol being a woman in the 1950s, being expected to perform her traditional duties as a wife and mother, all the while dealing with a controlling, sexist husband. I grew up in a conservative Christian environment, where the gays were not only not accepted, but condemned to hell. I was expected to get married out of college to a man, have children, and be a housewife. Being gay is the total opposite of everything I was “supposed” to do.

Another thing I think is similar, is both of us having to risk losing the people we love by coming out. Carol stood up to Harge and the lawyers, and risked losing her daughter; while I risked being not accepted (or worse) by my family when I came out (luckily my family has left the church completely, and they are nothing but supportive, accepting, and loving.)

Carol and I also have some of the same traits, such as being a bad-ass with a hard exterior, but having a soft spot for our girlfriends. There’s so many other things, but I’ve already rambled on enough. Thanks for the ask!

Oh…and we’re both tops. 😉

[orinthered]

carol

favorite female character:therese, i love her so much and admittedly more than carol but like. LOVE that dramatic little lesbian

favorite male character:this is going to immediately sound horrible but its tommy, not because i personally like him but because his character is interesting. “its nothing personal” YES it is??? yes it is what are you talking about you rat faced motherfucker. then again you don’t get much options in the way of male characters (thank you miss highsmith)

worst female character:i thought over this for a while but honestly there isnt any female character that i hate or plays a big enough role in the movie for me to say i hate. i can copout and say rindy but she’s not exactly a character in the movie so much as a plot device

worst male character:haha lol where do i start except its harge. don’t need to elaborate you just know why

otp:belivaird this isnt even a questionbrotp:therese and abby but thats only because abby absolutely 100% provides therese with all of the dirt on carol. “she’s very ticklish especially on her neck. use this information wisely hon”

notp:there isnt any real pairings in carol that aren’t meant to be inherently disliked (with the exception of the lead ships) but out of all of them i think that therese/danny is the worst…. like dont get me wrong richard is just a smarmy a bastard but the scene where danny goes in to kiss therese without like. any warning super skeeved me in the movie which i guess is supposed to reflect off of their dynamic in the books but like hhhdUUUDE SHE GAY STOP IT LOL

[cblgblog]

Chapters: 3/8 Fandom: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith, Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Carol Aird/Therese Belivet, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Angie Martinelli/Steve Rogers, Abby Gerhard/Rose Roberts Characters: Carol Aird, Therese Belivet, Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Angie Martinelli, Abby Gerhard, Rindy Aird, Rose Roberts, Harge Aird Additional Tags: Crossover, Polyamory, Lesbian Sex, Heterosexual Sex, But not involving the lesbians, Everyone's in swimwear, Stegginelli, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Steve and Therese in the dead dad's club, Peggy doesn't mention a lot of things, OT3, Soft Carol, Carol just wants Therese to be okay, Light Dom/sub, Threesome - F/F/M, Referenced acts of PTSD related violence, Rough Sex Series: Part 13 of More than One Kind of Soulmate Summary:

Follows Carol and Therese and Peggy, Steve and Angie from May through December of 1956. Each chapter covers a month in their lives.

July

“Carol…you were holding me back like you thought it’d be dangerous if you didn’t. Like you thought Steve was dangerous.”

“He’s Steve,” Carol said, dismissive.

“And?”

“And, if I thought he was dangerous to you, if I thought anyone was dangerous to you, they wouldn’t be near you.”

She’d been alone with Steve countless times, sat in his garage while they worked quietly on their own creative pursuits. They’d shared his old, worn sofa, sometimes pressed close together while Steve showed her his sketches. She’d fallen asleep against his shoulder once or twice after too long a night and too many beers, woken up to a gentle shake of her arm and that crooked, closed-mouth smile of his. She’d never once worried, never heard a word from Carol about it.

“And, you held me back,” Therese said slowly. “You kept me from getting near him.”

  Two unconventional families form an unbreakable bond. Tracing a friendship and a family through the years.

It’s been 84 years, but chapter 3 is now up.