#How to Make Gravy

[buckevantommy]

i'm aussie, so i'm watching How To Make Gravy which is a new angsty aussie christmas movie (and it's a lot of feels) and it's giving me bucktommy au inspo:

Buck is in prison. He's been there for a few months and is having a rough time - because of his looks, because of his size - and there's a particular group of guys who are giving him a hard time - leaving him with injuries, getting him thrown in solitary. Until one day, Bobby steps in before things get too out of hand.

Bobby is a fellow inmate but he runs the kitchen. He takes Buck there to patch him up - or maybe Chim is there and he does it. Bobby offers him a choice: get caught up in prison life shit, or take a job in the kitchen (and help them in the lead-up to Christmas) and work to keep out of trouble, keep on good behaviour, and look forward to getting out of there.

Buck doesn't accept at first, until another run-in (or promise of one) has him showing up at the kitchen where Bobby tells him he's welcome but also has to show up to a group meeting - usually held twice a week but in the lead-up to the holidays they're doing it every night. Buck is hesitant, doesn't want 'therapy', but ultimately agrees and is put to work after Bobby lays the ground rules and gives a brief intro where everyone meets their newest recruit.

NOTE: Bobby handpicked his kitchen crew, everyone there wants to stay out of trouble, is a diligent worker, works as a team, respects each other and the rules, and is working to be better for when they're released.

Also working in the kitchen is Tommy, who remarks to Bobby how he's 'letting trouble in' with Buck - to which Bobby says: "It takes a lot to ask for help, Tommy. You know that." And.. yeah, Tommy does know.

The meetings take place in the prison chapel with Father Brian - who is sort of a chaperone to the group, mostly just observing from the back and offering advice or input when need-be. Bobby leads the meetings, opening with what they have in common and how hard life on the inside is, but it's hard to fuckup in this room which is a safe place. He states his issues, a bit of personal history, open and honest. "That's how my story begins, but it doesn't have to define the person I am or will become." Then he poses questions, one by one asking who has experienced the same unfortunate circumstances - raised by absent or abusive parents, feeling unloved as a child, experienced homelessness, considered suicide - to step closer - they all do; proving they have more in common than they think, and that they're not alone.

The meeting continues while seated, Bobby talking and folks sharing. Tommy shares and then Bobby prompts Buck to share - Buck, who by the way goes by Evan in the kitchen and at the meetings. Buck is hesitant, unsure what to say. Chim suggests he talk about what makes him happy. Tommy tells him, patient and knowing, to just say whatever he feels.

Bobby asks about Buck's knack for cooking, and he admits that his brother taught him (when they were young), before he died. Bobby offers his condolences, and Buck, "It's not your fault.. It's my fault. He died from an illness I was made to cure but I wasn't enough (in the end). I failed my one job." NOTE: this happened years ago and wasn't what landed Buck in prison, it's just a pivotol moment from his youth. He might also mention the way his parents treated him after - like he didn't exist, like he wasn't enough. Buck tries to minimize his trauma but Bobby catches it, tells him he doesn't need to do that here, and notes how Buck deserved better.

Buck gets emotional - it's a lot to address, to dredge up, to talk about, to be vulnerable with strangers especially in prison - and then he gets angry. Bobby calms him, tells him he doesn't respect him any less for crying, and notes how difficult it is to share what he did, and how not many people are as brave especially at their first meeting. Bobby thanks Buck for sharing and they call it a night.

While packing away the chairs, Buck has a nice moment with Bobby, and then officially meets some of the guys: Tommy, Chim, Eli, Sal, Ravi, Eddie. He leaves the meeting feeling lighter than he has his entire stint thus far, a weight lifted in airing some of his trauma and not being rejected but instead seen, respected, welcomed, wanted, and know that he's not alone anymore.

[wild-fleurs]

It’s the 21st of December!

HAPPY GRAVY DAY EVERYONE!

[vaudeville-moggie]

It's gravy day.

Shoutout to this comment for speaking real Aussie facts

[scaryrabbit]

Happy Gravy Day!

How to Make Gravy (2013) | Paul Kelly

[coolasakuhncumber]

Today's the day!

[oceanusborealis]

How to Make Gravy Review: A Deep Dive into Generational Trauma

TL;DR – I was not sure what to expect with this film going, but a deep exploration of generational trauma was the surprise that the film needed, that and gravy. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this film.Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress. How to Make Gravy Review – One of the many…

[newsatsix1986]

On this Gravy Day, there is only one appropriate Newsreader character to post! We simply must put the spotlight on Noelene Kim, played so sweetly by Michelle Lim Davidson!

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How funny was it when poor Noelene was stressing about whether her Christmas lunch gravy had to be in a boat! Oh you dear angel human, Miss Noelene! Wasn't Jean just so lovely to her as she was helping answer Noelene's questions about making a Christmas lunch from scratch. I bet this advice helped Noelene tremendously. And looking at the second image (found on Michelle Lim Davidson's Instagram page), she certainly put together a great feast for her new extended family on Rob's side!

It's the 21st of December, which is known by some in Australia as Gravy Day. It's not necessarily a holiday as such, but rather a cultural phenomenon. In 1996, Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly released a melancholic Christmas song called 'How To Make Gravy'. Its lyrics include an actual recipe for making gravy, and is written from the perspective of a man behind bars as he's writing a Christmas letter to his family. The second line of the song is "It's the 21st of December, and now they're ringing the last bells," hence the reason why today is unofficially considered to be Gravy Day! The song is that much of a cultural phenomenon that a movie based on the song was released this month, which I'm planning on watching tonight!

The cookbook Noelene consults for her Christmas lunch is a part of the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook publication series written by Ellen Sinclair. As discovered from a tweet from episode writer Niki Aken's Twitter, the cookbook in question is The Australian Women's Weekly New Cookbook, which was first published in 1977 (Goodreads). The red cover edition Noelene has appears to be one of the later 1980s editions! I always thought that Noelene would have been an avid Women's Weekly reader so this is wonderful proof of this niggling fan theory! Gotta love The Australian Women's Weekly!

(Picture from an Amazon listing)

It's so cool to me that The Newsreader utilities old publications to add to the authenticity of the programme. They've done so much hard work to bring this era of Australian history to life. ❤️

(Picture from Michelle Lim Davidson's Instagram)

[trammellesstangent]

Happy gravy day!

[strid3rofthen0rth]

Replace about a quarter of the butter with the oil and fond from frying your chicken fried steak when building the roux for your white country gravy. Crank the pepper mill up to the big chonkies setting, and dont stop cranking for a while.

Get the whisk out. Crack a beer. Let 'er rip, tater chip.

[crumb]

New Damon Herriman film is slated for 2024!

[figsandfandoms]

happy gravy day to all who celebrate

[honeybeeshepherd]

Happy How To Make Gravy Day to all who celebrate!

[anti-gruvia-blog]

Oh man, imagine if Gray ended up with anyone other than Juvia.

The fandom would go absolutely insane.

The Juvia stans would riot, and there would be so much backlash and backlash.

But honestly, it would be totally worth it to see the look on Juvia’s face if she found out that Gray was with someone else.

It would be hilarious.

If Gray ended up with another woman, the Juvia stans and the Gruvia shippers would go completely ballistic.

They would flood Twitter and other social media with angry rants, claiming that the series has ruined their precious ship.

They would accuse the writers of being biased and unfair, and they would demand that the show be changed to fit their desires.

[coolasakuhncumber]

Watching Paul Kelly do silent night with a German verse, then How to Make Gravy and Marcia Hines and choir do acapella AmaIng Grace were the highlights of Carols in the Domain for me.

[anartificialsatellite]

I've been thinking about it because I've seen some insightful posts cross my dash recently on related subjects, and I think one of the big sources of bad blood in this fandom stems from an inability to really agree on the fact that we are in the Hetalia fandom and not the Actual Literal Real Life Political Entities Called States/Countries fandom, no matter how much those characters may have their characterization and backstory inspired by aspects of the history and culture of Actual Literal Countries.

What I mean by this is that the expectations people have of how they and others should conceive of, react to, interact with, etc. Hetalia countries are all over the place because some people approach them as if they are characters inspired in some way by aforementioned political concepts and some people approach them as the actual country -- And to complicate this I think most people differ on who, when, where, and to what degree they do this and perhaps more importantly, the degree to which they think other people are or should be doing this.

In essence I think at least this specific issue comes down to an ability to see one's own favorite or least favorite characters or even OCs and know that, you know, this is my country-themed Boy that I am playing with and obviously I know they're not the same thing, yet struggling with the uncertainty of whether other people know that they aren't the same, and rather than saying "Well maybe they're just like me and their opinion and understanding of the Country is more nuanced and complex than their opinion of the Boy," sometimes/often then defaulting to the assumption that they don't have that separation.

And when we assume they don't have that separation, then it follows that there is a direct correlation between how they treat the Boy and how they feel about Actual Country, whether it is in the "i'll excuse the Bad Government and Bad History because I love the Boy" direction or the "I love the Boy because I excuse the Bad Government and Bad History" direction. It means that a difference in interpretation or minor historical inaccuracy suddenly becomes A Big Old Deal because instead of being wrong about a Fake Thing, they are now assumed to also be wrong about a Real Thing (and so probably lots of other real things too) and that is way more important.

And, alright, look, I won't even say that nobody is like that, because I know for a fact there are people with genuine bad opinions about characters who also have those genuine bad opinions about real countries and people from those countries, though I would argue that typically they're in the category of already having had bad opinions before Hetalia. (Those people also tend to be obvious in other ways.) And there are also definitely people who are wrong about history in minor ways who also happen to be wrong about history in big and important ways.

But people come to a fandom for different reasons, and they get different things out of their fandom experiences, and the assumption that we can tell how they feel or how much they know or care about a thing by simply looking at how they play with the characters and concluding there is a 1-to-1 correlation there is not, uh... It's definitely not nice, for one, but it's also not conducive to a welcoming or enjoyable community, and I'll go ahead and say that it's pretty arrogant, too, whether one means to be or not.

Giving people the benefit of the doubt, adjusting our expectations and assumptions, approaching other fans as people who have the same capability we have to differentiate between a Hetalia country character and an Actual Country, and above all presuming good faith unless/until given a reason to think otherwise, would go a long way towards making the fandom experience better, broadly and individually.