#I have too many friends in the Frans community who are queer

[the-writing-mobster]

Hm. I don't think we should support this artist.

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[popculturebuffet]

Star Vs: Monster Bash Review or “Holy Shit Concentrated Into An Episode”

Hello everybody! I’m Jacob Mattingly and welcome back to my tom lucitor retrospective, where I go through every major apperance of everyone’s faviorite demon boy boy. In case you watch my schedule or reguarlly read this blog, and if so thank you.. especially you Kevin your a peach, you’ll know this one got pushed back two weeks because the day it was scheduled.. was the day AFTER the US Capitol Insurgency. So yeah an episode HEAVILY dealing with racisim, with a downer ending and a lot to dig into on the same day a bunch of racists stormed the captail to try and illegally keep another racist in office due to his bullshit claims the electoin was fraud, when it wasn’t he just can’t admit he lost, and their own idocy, violence and hatred was not something I could handle that day and I did some mickey mouse instead.  But while the effects of said riot are still being felt, and unlike many republicans are saying we shouldn’t just “move on” or “try to heal” because the wound needs to be properly examined so the people who carved our country open with a rusty knife can be prosecuted for it, enough time has passed that I can get back on the horse and eat that horse when it comes to this episode. Also expect new tomtrospective weekly with some exceptions till it’s done. So with the real world reasons for the delay out of the way, on with the show.  Previously on Star Vs: Star had a full subplot dealing with her super powered mewberity form, which was now golden and creating bunches of portals. While she wanted to just let it go loose on Eclipsa’s suggestoin, eventually it caused too much damage and Hekapoo was livid when Marco revealed he’d been covering for her and Star, realizing her friend was running himself ragged and ruined a friendship to help her, went to the source of all magic to fix things, metting the baby unicorns and with thier help gaining control over her form. While she does not use it given she JUST got it before this episode, it’s very relevant and makes her come off very stupid but we’ll get to that

In more directly relevant stuff, and our main event, we need to talk about Ms. Henious. Ms. Henious was introduced all the way back in Season 1 as head of St. Olga’s School for Wayward princsesses. She’s voiced by Jessica Walter, aka Malory Archer, Lucille Bluth and .. Fran Sinclair from dinosaurs?

I’ll process that later. Point is she’s a talented lady and voiced Henious perfectly. Henious ran the school as a nightmarish hellhole that stripped away princsesses indviduality when they became too much for their parents. Granted some did genuinely need to be reigned in, Pony went there and so did princess squishy a princess that tried to reinact the plot of face off despite her and star not even being the same species let alone looking remotely similar.. she also liked to say camera phone a lot despite all phones being camera phones for over a decade. 

But again like most reform schools it’s a hell hole dedicated more to beating and psyihholically tourturing the rebel or asshole out of you than actually helping so Star and Marco broke in to break out. It naturally was difficult and strenious but in the process our heroes freed the other girls and Marco became feminsest icon Princess Marco. And Marco’s possible gender fluidity, or being trans,  was well loved and while he was later said to hate the princess marco idntenity later.. I still dont’ quite buy it and feel Disney just wanted to nip any implications in the bud. Because their stupid and often non-inclusive to the queer community and have to be fought to get inclusivity in there half the time. Could’ve been clumsy writing and the writers not getting people really relating to marco possibly being gender fluid or trans, which given this season’s clumsy writing with marco in general I could buy, but i’m banking more on disney, where one executive can somehow stonewall gay representation because apparnetly one guy was the one who objected to enchanting grom fright.. and he can also go fuck himself with an old rhino’s horn. Which horn is up to you. Also we got two major hints at the future iwth her: a creepy mural star found of monsters and Henious being revealed to have cheek marks she supressed with her very own brainwashing machine. 

Our heroes revolution had uintetional side-effects as St.O’s became a party school, though it’s students actually still came back better for the moast part. Henious was thrown out, reduced to sleeping in her car with her manservant gemini and sending Rasticore, a septarian mercinary afer star.. and then carrying his arm around when he got reduced to that.. not because of star but because of a rogue gift card. We don’t have time to unpack that, so she later tried attacking one more time in season 2, in one of the single worst episodes of the series, as she attacked and Marco’s Parents, instead of being concerned about the strange woman and man and lizard man arm attacking thier children, were more concerned about.. tehir cool neighbors. which could’ve been funny but just got frustrating, especially because Marco defended himself well, pointing out while he trashed her school, and gets merchandising rights from princess marco merch, she you know, brainwashed innocent to semi innocent children and was in general horrible and his parents are only humoring her because they were both out of hte loop, which due to this being shortly before star and marco leaves amounts to nothing, and because of the stupid plot. 

So after that we got one more apperance in season 3 with her trying to expose marco as a boy to turn the princsses against him and get her school back.. but it was clearly a desperate and flimsy plan and they knew that already, and don’t care because their accepting. And again have done better without her so she gets thrown out and swore revenge on Marco, and here we are.  Finally, since returning Star’s been more active in monster rights, replacing their old batshit insane and patronizingly racist expert with Buff Frog and starting a position to get royal signatures. Obviously this dosen’t sound like the most effective way to do things but it’s both teenager accurate and not the worst plan i’ve heard from a teenager this week.. granted that’s also because I covered a teenager trying to win back her good for not a lot 23 year old boyfriend by stabbing his current girlfriend he left her for a bunch, so it’s not exactly a high bar to clear. So outside of the golden form thing, which i’ll get to in the review proper why I brought that up, that’s what’s all built up to this the mid season finale. While Stump Day DID come after this, I chose to cover it before it since it both takes place before that and feels out of place in the very story heavy episodes after it. So with that out of the way we’ll be taking a look at the full episode and Star’s horrible, no good, very bad night under the cut. 

We open at the Monster Temple, that place Ludo and Toffee were headquartered at for season 2 and the battle of mewni mini, where Star is holding a PARTY!

This.. this came up when I typed party. I don’t know why and I don’t WANT to know. I mean party is in the name.. is that a party line? Is this phone sex? No.. just no.. I don’t want dirty sweaty pigs in my phone sex.. I want Rocko like a gentlemen. 

Now THAT’S hot. And honestly with what i’ve admitted about myself at this point, can you genuinely tell if i’m joking or not?  Point is Marco and Rich Pidgeon are pitching in. Oh yeah those of you who didn’t get this far in the series, again hi kevin, might wonder wait whose that... well he’s a rich pidgeon, part of the pidgeon kingdom a kingdom of pidgeons that moved into another family’s castle, presumibly killed them, the book wasn’t specific on that and is now just a large bunch of pidgeons that don’t talk human except rich and get all creepy. They also have an excutioner which is as great a visual as you imagine. 

That and Marco tried faking singing rich singing it by shving a pien in his foot and making him sign it.. he didn’t know he was fully sapient but still. But it’s also season 3 marco. The fact he didn’t accidently burn the castle down trying to impress star and being mad when she wasn’t happy he comitted arson is an achievement. Rich apparently holds a grudge but says just kiddng.. maybe.. i’d be prepared for a pidgeon with a machete if I were Marco. Thankfully i’m not.. I mean I hate myself enough. 

Anyways the party is in full swing, as both monsters and mewmans are there. On the mewman sides are the royals we met at the Silver Bell Ball and on the monster side are a bunch of monster teens who look up to star we previously met during the Ludo arc in season 2. Pony arrives bringing a photo booth. And kelly! 

And also Johnny Blowhole...

That dolphin what showed up a few times, including in the comic and the show, like most of it’s supporting cast, just sorta forgot. Also was going to be my porn name, just in case till it ended up attached to a fictonal teenager. Did.. did not think naming a character “blowhole” through did they? 

Anyways the party is at “middle school dance” levels of awkward with the monsters and humans on other sides. Rock seems to be getting ready for a racist tyrade and singles out a yak like monster.. only to instead compliment the guy’s ripped jeans and the two compliment each other on horns... turns out the ones Rock always wear aren’t decorative but part of him due to a boating accident. Shame we never got more of this kid. that’s a good kid I tell you what.  But honestly and since the moment is right given their all in this episode.. we never get a lot of the other royals outside of tom and star PERIOD. While Penelope would show up one last time and Larry would make a cameo for the most part their just.. background filler. Even this pettitoin arc was two episodes long. Rich is BRAND new and he gets way more focus.. and even he only gets to show up again for the big “Gondor calls for aid moment” in season 4 where star summoned whoever she could get on short notice. And is the ONLY royal to besides Ponyhead. Larry has an intresting enough design but the underwater kingdom only got featured in the deep trouble tie in comic that got cut short, and he wasn’t created yet so he doesen’t even show up for it. Jagg’s is such a footnote to the creators she dosen’t ever show up after this, and finally Rock, despite being star’s COUSIN and despite his kingdom being specifically mentioned as the hardest to make sympathetic to eclipsa during her own entirely ignored arc trying to win over the other kingdoms, and despite it being where River comes from and thus possibly providing some more insight into that awesome, awesome man.. we get nothing. Hell the Cloud Kingdom of the Ponyeheads ONLY gets two visits despite being home of one of the main cast.. god I just realized Ponyhead was part of the main cast. 

So while I grapple with that, Star figures the punch is too warm and while Marco goes to get ice, she tries to remind him she can do magic and accidently puts it in your standard cartoon ice block.. and being star gets her tounge stuck. Thankfully her savior comes in the form of tom who being.. you know.. tom.. can simply melt it down and reminds her he’s been there the whole time. She’s just been a bit distracted with you know, trying to ease centuries of racial tension in a well meaning but ultimately pointless at best and risky at worst, partay. And dosen’t seem to get WHY she dosen’t want to dance.. even if they do have a REALY fucking cute moment where he leans in to kiss her, she catches him on it.. then blows a raspberry into his mouth when he does and smooches him on the cheek a bunch. 

But the whole thing leaves him as a grumpus venting to marco and boiling the punch.. though at least Marco gets to use that ice now so silver linings and all that. And when marco tries to explain he tells him he dosen’t “talk politics”

My baby boy.. i’m so disapointed in you. And Marco points out as he leaves “your a prince everything you do is political. “. Which is.. HALF true. I mean tom going to the bathroom or eating a taco or taking his grandpa fo ra walk on his leash so he dosen’t gouge anyones eyes out isn’t political.. but he’s also not wrong that being the half demon half mewman son of two royals, DOES mean tom can come off political and one previous episode which he made a cameo in even had Tom being profiled, with a shopkeep who shoed out another monster kid tried that on tom.. only to realize who he was dealing with and beg for mercy he probably only got because Tom’s trying to be a better person now. And I don’t think i’ts even malcious on tom’s part, tom isn’t the most empathetic guy. He’s nice, he’s sweet, and once he knows you he can be really thoughtful.. but as we’ve seen throughout this retrospective.. empathy is something he’s struggled with. He stalked star because he didn’t see HER side of him creeply and obessively persuing her until Marco got through to him. He missed the point of his therapy assignment, seeing it as a goal to get passed instead of hwat brian intended: for him to geninely make amends with someone he hurt. He didn’t get that while star didn’t, at the time, want to date him ignoring her would hurt her... though that on’es not on him. He’s not a bad guy at all but he’s not at all great at reading people or being selfless.

 He’s getting there, stump day showed him put stars needs before Marco’s and not out of any selfish dick measuring contest but because he knew what she wanted and what made her happy, but it’s hard to have empathy for a problem you don’t get how bad it is. To tom it’s just getting stopped once in a while and then having to glower or literally roast someone. To these monsters... it’s a life of being denied a decent standard of living, housing and being treated as a crminal and a beast just for existing. Tom has a fancy castle, loyal subjects, tons of money.. his privlage has insulated him from the real dangers of being the minority he is, of getting beaten up by the cops or arrested just for being a monster. And yes i’m using real world paralells.. but so does the end of this episode so shhh. It’s also a moral that hits home since as a white person, the last year has hit me HARD with just how much I didn’t know about the racial situation in america and how complacient i’d become. I wasn’t actively racist.. but like many americans I had the bad tendency to forget the horrible things that happpend on a daily basis to people of color in this country when it got out of the news. Privlage can blind you, and I cannot speak for if it does so for any real life minorties as i’m not touching a subject i’m not qulaified to talk on due to being super white with a ten foot pole, but I can speak for me that sometimes you just.. dont’ notice a problem unless i’ts happening to you. And while it has happened to tom it’s such a minor inconvience he probably just forgets about it and moves on. And these next two episodes with him, though we have some plot stuff to get too before we get back to Tom in feburary, are him getting his bubble popped and realizing just WHAT Star has been fighting against. And Star’s own privlage will be an issue later.. but we’llg et to that in it’s own time.  So while Tom skulks off Rich startles Marco to get him to do his kung fun hand pose “the sword hand dance” and everyone uses it to dance which Marco understandably objects to until kelly asks him to dance. Cue adorable ship tease.. again this is why i’m thrownig in the kelco episode in the next batch: because the trajectory of this relationship eeerily lines up with tom episodes. No sense avoiding the ONE other episode about the ship , especially if i’m going out of my way to cover the Meteora arc on top of it and my other 80 projects. And regular coverage. And comissions. And you get the idea it’s a lot but i’m happy to do it. 

Meanwhile we meet Slime, a friendly slime monster who introduces himself to penelope and her massive spider bite... and then drips a bit giving her the wrong impression. Thankfully.. this does not turn into the PG-Rated versoin of BLue from the heathers musical. 

No he just was offering to aloe up her spiderbite, and she’s all too happy to accept since her family never thought about it.. though as we see next season their not against it suprisingly. They are still dicks though. But not racist, though that’s a very low bar to clear and only gives them credit because mewni as a whole is pretty racist when it comes to Monsters. Point is I hate their parents but love these ship as the two share some ship tease and go downstairs.. only to get attacked.  Meanwhile, Marco’s getting a goblin dog while being watched by Henious.. who despite Gemini’s objections.. no longer cares about her cheeks as she grins sinesterly and has him play her music, some heavy metal. FORESHADOWING!

Back at the party, Star adreses her public and is all proud and blushy.. till Penelope stumbles in, covered in scars, telling the crowd something took Slime.. and both sides start blaming one another, especially since it turns out a LOT of the monsters have gone missing. So with everything she worked towards and had achieved crumbling, Star calms the crowd and says she’ll investigate. Outside Marco is getting a goblin dog with roy, and wondering why he has strawberry, who orders a strawberry.. who wants that? And then decides to get one out of curiosity which I would but i’m also fat and love strawberries so i’m not a beacon of good decisionmaking. 

So Star grabs him before he can roll that metaphorical dice and passes tom who tries to downplay her concerns and get her to go make out, thinking that’s what’s going on despite that.. making no sense, as a ton of them are missing and 6 is a bit much for polyamory.. I mean it works for some people 

But not everyone can be a majestic space grandma whose also a caterpillar. And their too young to orgy so that’s out too. Point is Tom is an idiot this time and Star RIGHTFULLY calls him out for belitting her cause, not really caring about it, or the other teens who are in danger right now from god knows what and tells him to either help or get out of the way. 

So while Tom licks his well earned wounds, Star and Marco journey into the depths and find a campsite with fresh dog eared pages indicating whoevers behind the abudictions is not only sapient, but still here... oh and it somehow gets worse as they find out WHOSE behind it. 

And a second question you might be having: Who dis. Well this is Mina Loveberry, solarian warrior, whose a legend in Mewni and was one of star’s childhood heroes who she found wondering around homeless and clearly not mentally well in the park on earth.. and then tried to conquer it, but the electoral process stopped her... I don’t know why but a half crazed maniac being defeated by due electoral process makes me feel all warm and fuzzy right now, on this specific day this is coming out late on. Hmmmm.. INTERESTING aint it? 

Point is Mina is a super powerful, super not in her right mind super warrior, who is naturlaly the kidnapper, as this episode also reveals she’s violently racist and assuemed something was up and whiel Star, who despite said cou still loves and respects her and gets she’s not well, tries to talk her down it increasingly becomes clear there’s no reasoning with her. And really with most racists.. there isn’t. Racisim isn’t something that’s rational and while some people are just indocrinated at a young age and CAN be turned around on it.. some are just so deeply up their own ass with hatred you can’t reason with them or save them. You just have to stop them. Via impeaching them, making sure they get called out and taken out of office.. or in this case using rainbows on them.  But we’ll have to wait a second as a bunch of debris falls on mina taking her out!

.. Only to reveal Henious and while Marco’s willing to fight her and her posse, Raasticore grabs star and henious hooks him up to the brainwash machine, probably planning to kill him with it while playing the music

But before she can kill or do worse to one of our heroes.. the door behind them opens up.. and reveals a child’s play room. 

And Henious.. gives up on the attack and enters, disturbing Gemini as she looks around in what’s easily one of the best scene sin the entire series: her slow walk, the way the animation follows her as it sinks in just what Metora might be.. and her picking up two dolls, the ones seen above.. her dolls to Gemini’s increasing discomfort. And while the animation is stellar and utterly moving as we slowly put the pieces together... it’s Walter’s delivery that REALLY STUNS.Gone is the harsh, unforgiving nightmarish woman we’ve known.. and instead is someone whose confused.. and remembering. Remembering WHY she has those cheek marks, remembering this was her room, her home.. and those were her parents. She remembers now.. and Mina rises to say of course she did “I knew you’d be back here one day meteora!” And as Gemini tries to refute this.. Meteora agrees with MIna, no longer henious at last freed form her deep and abusive brainwashing we’ll cover soon enough. And deeply confused. And as everyone else is deeply confused... Mina, not realizing this whole thing was covered up, again we’ll get to that soon too, spells it out for them and the audience in case you missed it. When Star asks how Eclipsa plays into any of this? “Don’t you ding dongs know anything? She’s her mamma!”  (Marco and Star stare in shock as it sinks in) Marco: “Wait HENIOUS is a princess?!”  Star: ��she’s a butterfly”

Yeah quite obviously this is one of the biggest wham episodes in the entire series. In one moment we not only find out Henious is indeed a butterflfy as fans thought.. but Eclipsa’s daughter, half monster, and her entire existance raises questions of how much her family hid and if not WHO DID. I mean some of you alreayd know the answer but the rest of you can wait a week.. or a few mintues it’s hinted at soon enough. Point is Star has questions.. questions the violent racist whose pretty messed up in the head for a variety of the reasons and spent decades hunting her.. is not willing to hear out and instead prepares to smite her. While Star tries DESPERATLEY to talk her friend out of this it’s very clear Mina’s not going to listen... so Star rainbow fists her.. and prepares to face her former friend and inspiration for Meteora’s saftey and the answers she BADLY needs right now. Oh and just in case you thought “oh well the magical girl who sounds like amy sedaris can’t be that big a threat”... Yeah I didn’t mention broly for nothing. 

Mina bulked up. Meet Solarian Mina. And like the Legendary Super Sayian form from Dragon Ball.. i’ts a beserker of a form that turns the already obessive and insane Mina.. into an unstoppable rage fuled killing machine with horrifying levels of power who can beat down anyone nearbye. And unlike Broly, where he was just a one in a million fluke in both versions... Mina was PLANNED to be this. The solarian program was something Eclipsa’s mom came up with, a series of spells that slowly turn the target into a rampaging super soldier. It’s like if Nuke from marvel comics, a vietnam era version of captain america who dind’t turn out so good, was INTETIONAL; 

As you can see it removes fear.. but also the targets concisce, so Mina is incapable of empathy or being cure dof her racisim. Solaria turned her from a humble volunteer just hoping ot help and improve her station into the crazed monster star now faces.  And as the Broly comparision should make clear... yeah Star dosen’t do so good and neither does Marco. She shrugs off Star’s hits and while botht he kids and meteora escape, both just piss Mina off MORE, and put star in more danger as she’s thrown around like a ragdoll.  She then runs into tom who shows off his growht: While he was a dick up there.. unlike before where he assumed he was always the wronged party.. he realized he crossed a line and while he dosen’t know WHY he did, is still willing to apologize and presumibly talk about it. A bit clueless yes but it’s effort and his tone is sincre so it’s less “I’m apologizing for whatever I guess” bullshit and more “I genuinely don’t know wha ti did wrong please tell me so I can say sorry”.. which given how awkard tom is with people and how I pointed out his trouble relating to them over htis retrospective, is the more beliviable one.  Naturally while Star does appricate it she’s kinda busy.. and when Tom see’s what’s going on he leaps in with NO hesitation. And given how close the luictors once were and are again with the butterflies it’s doubtful he hadn’t heard of mina so he likely KNOWS what he’s going up against..a nd dosen’t care. His girlfriend needs his help and this person’s trying to hurt her. That’s all he needs to kick her ass. Or try.. unlike with the z warriors.. our heroes don’t win this one. Tom tries a really cool move i’m dubbing the onyx coffin, a black coffin with runes and chains.. that does nothing to her. She breaks out and our heroes flee and Mina causes a massive ruckuss above, and the only reasons our heros don’t die.. is that the knights and Rhombulus of the high comission arrive.  And since the high comission are going to be vastly important a refresher: The high comission were created by glossaryck, the little man who lives in stars book who used to be voiced by an asshole and next season is voiced by keith motherfucking david, to police the multiverse and it’s various issues. The four we know are Lekmet: a goat man who died last season and controlled entropy and could heal at the cost of his own life hence the death, Hekapoo, a close assiocate of marcos who controls the scissors beings use to cross dimensions and can do so herslef effortlessly, Omnitraxus Prime, a powerful and giant antler skulled being who watches space time and timelines and is voiced by Karl Weathers so...

And Rhombulus, a diamond headed he-man reject with snakes for hands becaue his dad is a well documented dickhead.. no really that’s the entire explination i the book of spells: Glossaryck turned his hands to snake to teach him the lesson i’ts hard to get through life with snake hands. He’s a gung ho guy who imprisons the wrost of the worst criminals thus his presence here as Mina clearly had a falling out with the comission and thus flees.  So while Star and Tom are given blankets afterwords and some cocoa, Tom comforts her and admits if nothing else.. he gets it now, having been finally faced with the type of horrible shit monsters have had to deal with in the past and sees why his girlfriend tried hard to help it. But Star.. realizes she can’t fix this that easy. That she dosen’t know enough and clearly ther’es even more than she ever could’ve thought possible she has ot know if she’s going to fix this.. and that it’s not an EASY problem to fix. You really CAN’T fix racisim you can just make society better, but you’ll never be rid of people like Mina. Though this arc will.. yeah in one of the more baffling decisions Mina is given this huge reindrocution, with Amy Sedaris showing that while a very funny lady and a very talented actress as bojack had previously shown off for both.. she can be FUCKING TERRIFYING. But nope, she’s just..g one outside of a cameo, gets beatne off screen and dosen’t become big bad for a season. And I get it, the metora arc needed room.. but you had a WHOLE EXTRA EPISODE to have her defeat mina. Inastead you used it for Marco Jr which amounted to almost nothing and could’ve been saved for season 4 wher eit probably woudln’t of been terrible. I”ll get to that one some day. Point is it’s bad storytelling. 

So yeah Star’s feeling lost, her family history is in flux, she got beaten badly, not horribly injrued but still lost handily, her party ruined and  she was hit with the realization her plans were overly idealistic. Well meaning sure but a party was never going to cure this. Oh and Rhombluus naturally isn’t coming clean about why the temple is off limits or what’s going on here so that dosen’t help.  And somehow.. IT STILL GETS WORSE. The Wizard Cops try to take the monsters in , profling them and not having done so and star thankfully talks them out of it but the monster kids turn down any afterparty or anything. They get she means well tbut hte moment’s over. And their not even excesivley sad.. their just.. used to the police treating them like this. Like less than human, like automatic suspects when THEY were the victims. IT’s nothing new... and god does this feel relevant as hell.

And this i where I meant Star’s privlage bites her: While not as bad as tom, it took some very harsh reality for her to see that solving racisim.. is not only nigh imposisble but not that easy. To her it was easy as a party and friendship and what’s worked before in her fairly shelted world. Advetnures or not she’s still a princess whose never experinced prejudice. In both worlds she’s in the majority. It’s probably why Marco conttoned on to monster racism in seconds during “Menipendence Day’ when Star hadn’t her whole life: to Marco, whose latix and thus dealing with all kinds of racist shit his whole life, it was easier to pick it up. He’s firmly part of his culture.. and thus probably firmly aware of the racism he faces. Star is so insulated she just dosen’t get it till it nearly beat her to death. So yeah Star’s at her lowest point, having failed to make things better, the answer to her questions being lost and not sure what’s real. Metora on the other hand as they dodge the cops.. has ascended. As Gemini calls her henious once last time.. she says that’s not her name. 

“My name is meteora”

SHe’s been dreaming the wrong dream.. and it’s long past time she woke up. 

Final Thoughts;  Monster Bash.. is one of the best episodes in the series. Unlike a lot of Seasons 3 and 4 it dosen’t suffer from lack of proper payoff, as the next few episodes deal with how the fuck any of this is happening and why the fuck any of it happened. Mina’s absence nonwithstanding.. this is one of the series best and most gripping arcs. And the swerve is great: you think i’ts Henious doing the kindappings, only for her not to be the threat again just yet. And for her to be something far more. It’s just masterful, starting iwth fun hyjinks and ending in one of the best nad most nightmarish fights in the series if not the best, watching as our heroes slowly but surely LOOSE.. and THEN it gets worse. Out and out a must watch for the series and a sad sign of what it COULD’VE been had it moved past it’s worst insitncts next season and become what i should’ve been.  Next week: We take a tom break as Eclipsa nad Mon investigate all of this and we get the SECOND biggest wham episode in the series. 

Until the next rainbow, be excellent to each other.

[papermoth-bird-blog]

San Francisco: The setting sun.

Early morning in San Francisco, might be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. Especially in the quite of the Sunset district, which is the more “boring” part of town in which a lot of immigrant families have settled. The houses, though more simple in decoration than the Haight-Ashbury district, are still painted in all sorts of beautiful colours- many of them pastel tones; pinks, baby blues, pale greens & yellows. Walking in the empty streets of the region alone in the warm reflection of the houses has to be a version of heaven. At the very least, it would be an excellent location for a Sophia Coppola film- or girl gaze photo shoot (looking at you Ali).

My friend Asa’s friend Carolina lives in the sunshine district & that’s where I ended up staying on my second night in San Fran. The area has plenty of Chinese restaurants- that I wish I could say I went to, but alas, I didn’t. Apparently it’s some of the best Chinese food outside of China. I’ll have to make a point of going next time I’m in San Fran.

When I awoke at the hostel, I moved pretty quickly- packing everything away & hurrying down to get breakfast. Honestly, I loved the hostel & would be totally keen to stay there again. It’s the right amount of people, so you can be as social or as lonesome that you’d like without it being weird. It also just generally has good vibes. Plus the breakfast was included- so you know I tried to eat a days worth of food all in the morning to save monies. Although it is in the Tenderloin- which is where all the homeless people got pushed into when aggressive gentrification came and swept the city. After breakfast, I decided to check my bags there & pick them up later since I was already downtown. I left the building without even glancing at a map- happy to exploring in the way of getting terribly & wonderfully lost. Over the course of this trip I’ve become so comfortable & confident in doing so. I think part of my previous distress with the city is being inherently nervous there- so many people, so much to pay attention to in order to navigate it properly/safely. In working through my personal anxiety, I’ve also been able to inadvertently mend my relationship with cities themselves. That being said- I think I still have a country heart & will always crave place that don’t require shoes. Spending time in cities has been really good for me in a way I didn’t expect. I am happy for it.

I wandered through much of the city- first starting off conservatively in the flatter neighbourhoods; the mission, the Castro. Kluane said one of the things I must do is visit the Tartarine Bakery- one of her favourites in the entire world. By happy coincidence I stumbled upon it during my wandering. The line up was around the block- so you know it had to be good. Like everything in Sa Fran, it was a little expensive- but I got some small little bits in a box & took it with me to eat in a near by park. My favourite little bit was the raspberry meringue with cacao nibs. SOOO good. Not too sweet, wild texture. In the line, I heard some pretty funny conversations that showed the heart of San Francisco. The lady in front of me spoke loudly about the tenants of Eastern European Clowning. Others spoke about the odd theatre projects they hoped to get off the ground somehow. There was died hair & texture & wild patterns in the get-ups. I was starting to feel really good about it all.

After I finished eating (& drinking my Komboucha—which I promptly sent a review of to Ryan) I wandered over to Ashbury Heights.  Hands down this is the most famous part of San Francisco. Complete with colourful “painted lady” Victorians, winding hills & people wearing outfits straight out of the late 60s. Haight street is the main hub of the area. I have to say, Haight probably has some of the best vintage stores I’ve ever been to. I’m not gonna lie.. In one store (that was gathered like a library of vintage, sorted by year) I had tears gathering in my eyes. The clothing there were each individual works of art. I spent a good chunk of time studying the hats stacked high to the ceiling, and then the beaded gowns from the 20’s. Again, all these things inspiring so many ideas for future themed parties & White Rabbit. I don’t have much room in my pack (or money for that matter), but I couldn’t leave without buying some beautiful silk scarves- so I could play the part of 50s femme fatale. I also found some really beautiful old postcards from San Fran, which I added to my collection.

The area is also home to some really fun cafes & great record shops. I partially wished I could have spent more time there, but I was craving the park. I wandered over to Golden Gate park which was near by. As I basked in the sun, looking at the fresh tree blossoms, I heard bongo drums carrying over the wind. In those moments, I felt the echoe of the 60s in such a real way. I picked some pear blossoms & stuck them in my hair, nestled under by new blue silk scarf & found a low twisted tree to settle into. I sat in the tree for what felt like forever, looking out over the hills towards the Spanish church steeples & the Golden Gate bridge peeking out over the city haze. I breathed deeply, basking in my peaceful lonesome thoughts. It felt so good to be my myself again. I thought of friends & home, and what it would take to make me feel more grounded there going forward. I feel so much more prepared to be steadfast in what I wanted in my life, the things I would no longer tolerate because they would not allow me to live in the peace I crave. I learned a lot about that through my inner turmoil in the Gopala situation. I talked to my friend Stephanie (who had just been in San Fran a few months back). We talked about the beautiful Botanical gardens in the park, but also exchanged some brief life updates.

Not long after that, as I wove on down the path from the hilltop of Beuno Vista park, the sole of my shoe (on my favourite fringe-toes boots) fell off. So I hobbled along with my sole flopping around like cartoon character. Despite my slight distress over the situation, I still had some stuff I wanted to do, so I continued wandering- albeit at a more manageable pace for my failing footwear.

I got myself back over to the mission area in search of a burrito. For some reason, there seemed to be a lot of pumpkins about- sat out on front porches of the colourful houses. Don’t know entirely what that was about- maybe its pumpkin season insanely early in Cali (doesn’t entirely seem sensicle to me), maybe they thrive in the zeitgeist of Halloween?? Anyways, I found the section that is the capital of burritoville. I chose taqueria Cancun- both because it’s supposed to be one of the best & I am heading to Cancun too.. so might as well get prepped. Despite it being massive, I ate the burrito in about two minutes. I have to say- it has got to be one of the best burritos I’ve ever had & I mean that. Pure & simple & perfect little baby sized wrap. After I polished off that baby off, I stumbled over to get my pack from the hostel.

In a series of unfortunate mis-understandings, I accidentally took an uber over to perhaps the sketchiest parts of the whole Bay area. Two hours later though, I found myself at Carolina’s in the quiet of the Sunset district- ready to crash on that basment couch. I had some quick conversations with the roommates- queer artist types- and then went to bed.

I woke in the early morning, before anyone else in the house. I went to the downtown area to a place called Mel’s diner to meet an old friend I knew in High School. My partial motivation for this, was to get more content for my friend’s diner instagram account. Seeing Monica was so nice. We were not particularly close in high school, but took all four years of visual arts together. She’s been living in California on and off for the last 5 years or so. Originally she was living in the mountains of Santa Cruz & found a really lovely community out there. Eventually, San Francisco lured her in. She told me of the awesome non-profit she first worked for, but eventually the astounding living costs forced her into the tech sector. She enjoys her job at a video game company, but after studying art history & global development, I think her heart still craves work in that area. We talked about how San Francisco’s tech boom is making it impossible for artists to stay here, creating work. Most of them have been pushed out to Oakland, but even Oakland is seeing such rapid gentrification, it is making it quite difficult for artists to stay- let alone continue to show their work. The same is happening in many other west coast art hubs like Portland & Seattle. Of course, once the artists leave, San Francisco will die in the ways it was. Which is terribly sad- confirming it is no longer the city of love it once was in decades past. For the moment, there are still glimpses of it though, and I hope to be back while it still exists in this manner.  It was nice seeing Monica & see her doing so well now, even though she will likely soon have to leave San Francisco too. She definitely inspired me to go back to Santa Cruz for longer next time- there are some cool land projects & anarchist communities out there she thought I’d really jive with. She also told me about some cool farms in Big Sur. I can’t wait to get back there with my sisters. Monica was bullied in High school and it makes me so happy & relieved knowing that she found peace and acceptance away from Toronto. Giving me added hope for love & harmony around the world.

I walked Monica to work (she often has to work 7 days a week to make enough hours to get by- which is insane to her too). After that, I wandered by myself again- as it is my very favourite activity. I walked along the piers- that is to say for a few hours. I slowly made my way towards the golden gate bridge. I eventually got to the park just past the maritime museum in the fisherman’s warf. It was there that I got a message from my best friend Kluane. “Is it okay if I call you” she said. Of course, we often try and chat on the phone, but I had a feeling in that moment it was something important. I crossed my arms & called her in Winnipeg. She picked up right away & hurried into it. It echoed a call I had with my father last fall. She asked me if it was a good time to hear some difficult news. I mean I was in public, but once hearing that sentence it’s hard to delay hearing it anyways. Plus, I heard in her tone she needed to talk about something really important too.

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Danielle Moore.

As I looked out over the Golden Gate Bridge, Klu gently let me know that our friend Danielle Moore was on a flight heading to Kenya for a UN conference. She continued that the plane had gone down & there had been no survivors. I could hear the shock in her voice still. I didn’t even really notice that I had started crying. After a relatively short chat, we hung up the phone & agreed to talk soon. I spent the next half hour crying in that park alone- trying my best not to full out sob loudly- I don’t know how effective I was in that effort.

I met Danielle in university. In second year we had been nextdoor neighbours- living in twin houses Victorian houses. Due to the fact that they looked exactly the same, we our separate friend group inadvertently often waltzed right into the other’s apartments. Once, Danielle’s partner so far as walked into my roommate’s room, only then realizing he was in the wrong place. During warmer months, both of our house hold would spend days drawing in chalk on the sidewalks outside & strumming ukelele’s & doing crafts. We went to eachother’s house parties. A year or so later, we found our paths crossing even more often, trading often on BUNZ & finding ourselves at a lot of the same events. Danielle had some of the most brilliant optimism & energy I’d ever witnessed. She tirelessly worked towards making the world a better place- widely diversifying her causes. She was honestly so inspiring & hands down one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. I know a lot of people say that about people that have passed away. I can’t emphasize how true it was; Is. If Danielle was still here, the same things would still be said. I am in a state of absolute shock. I know the wider community is too.

As Klu said, it just seems so wholly unfair, that something so horrible would happen like that- especially to Danielle. There is no making sense of it. Kluane & Danielle had become really close over the last year- as they had both been living in Winnipeg. When Leon, Klu’s brother was to visit after Klu returned to Winnipeg (after meeting us in Mexico), they had made plans to go skating all together. My heartbreaks for her in such a really way too. She’s been doing her very best to honour Danielle in anyway she can & has been spearheading a ritual for all of Danielle’s loved ones across the world. I am doing my best to support that goal, despite my physical distance.

After my good public sob-fest, I called my sister on the phone to tell her. I decided to by my ticket back to LA there & then. I wanted to be around someone I knew, even just to be there quietly next to them. Having family near-ish felt like a good option for me. I soon texted Mia that I would be coming back earlier than expected.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I still owed Gopala money from our roadtrip up the coast. I met up with him & tried my best to be brief. He told me he had been worried about me. I told him I was sorry, but that I had really needed to be alone for the past day & had purposely not been looking at my phone. I also briefly mentioned the news I had just learned about Danielle. He said some swift thing like “Well remember what Krishna told Arjuna, when Arjuna expressed his fear of his friends dying”. The thing is I knew. I still know. I haven’t lost that picture. I have better tools now, and do not feel the urge to fall apart like I did when my cousin died (although even then I managed not to). Ellie’s death was perhaps the most difficult thing I’ve ever been through in my entire life. And I am surviving that. It has prepared me for so much, including Danielle’s horrible death. I kinda wanted to smack him… just a little. Okay, maybe just pinch him a little. I just feel huge resentments towards people who speak to me like I am being some overdramatic-woman-type creature. As if being upset at my friend’s death was an overreaction of some sort (I had resolved my composure at this point).  As if I was some person that needed to be lulled back into a rational state of mind. In fact, I think I am quite good at that- the key being that I allow myself to fully feel my feelings through a purge of emotion. I guess it’s not my buisness what other people’s opinions of me are. Their opinions are only a reflection of their own inner psyche. So, I learned in that moment not to give single shit about what he thought & do whatever I needed to do to feel okay.

Danielle wasn’t in my everyday anymore, though, I suppose she had been for a few years. I cannot imagine the heart pain of the people that were so deeply intertwined with hers. For Kluane who did have her in her everyday. For her partner Colby, who had had her in his everyday for so so so many years at this point. I have such fond memories of Colby & Danielle doing goofy sung duets- Colby occasionally pulling out his Kermit the frog puppet. They had hosted countless potlucks gathering the community throughout university & beyond. My heartaches for her family. How absolutely horrible & out of the blue. She had flown so many times- travelling all around the country with her job. There is just no making sense of it, even though I am still trying for some reason.

I got myself to the bus stop & climbed onto the bus feeling partially numb. I did a pretty good job of not crying- though I still welled up with tears on a semi-regular basis, trying not to freak out the girl that was sitting next to me. I checked in on Klu, who went ahead with performing in her Hip-Hop dance recital- which I am so unbelievably proud of her for. Katie told me that yesterday, a letter arrived for Klu from Danielle. From what I know, the letter contained fairly ordinary, but non-the-less lovely thoughts & dreams. I can’t imagine what getting a letter like that would be like. I do remember how scared I was went they first found Katie’s tumour though. How precious it was to have time to process all of it. With Danielle’s passing, there was non of it.

I got into LA & after a rather fumbly uber ride, I found myself on the couch of my uncles house yet again. In the morning, Tom woke me up & asked if I wanted to do yoga on the  beach with Mia & him. Of course I said yes. I feel more grounded now that I have the tools do deal with all these emotional difficulties. But I can’t help have my mind wander over to thoughts of Danielle quite often.

So too, were my thoughts wandering over to the imminent flight I too was supposed to be boarding in order to travel to Mexico. Mia & Tom were both flying out the following day too- and we tried to keep our fear to the minimal, by not talking about it too much.

We were gentle with out last day in LA. We rode those uber scooter’s back and forth between Venice Beach and Santa Monica. I’m glad I finally got to find them- they are so fun. More importantly that gave me that same wholly free feeling I had in riding that rusty old bike around New Orleans. I had a rush of realization with how much I loved LA. Venice Beach in particular. I have such gratitude for the laid back warmth this area provides. It was like a really soft cushion to fall onto after a challenging week.

We ate at swinger’s diner & talked about family dynamics, Danielle & Ellie & about what we would all do in Toronto when we got there. Of course, my thoughts flickered to the fact that that meant more plane rides. I had only extremely recently become completely comfortable with planes after all this time. My flights are already booked though, and I am determined not to have fear steal my wanderlust. Anyways, I miss my sisters. And seeing them means going to Europe.

I caught up with some friends while I walked around Venice beach by myself later that day. Stopping to look at the deep fried oreos that were calling out my name, until I decided to ignore them. I hung out with Tom & Caroline in the apartment for the rest of that evening, as Eric & Mia went out for dinner just the two of them. I passed out on the couch a little cookie drunk. We had been watching Christopher Robin (after it became very clear that Blood Diamond was WAY too violent for me these days). Of course normally I would have been sure to pack my bag meticulously the night before, but in my altered state I chose to fall asleep instead. I resolved to wake early & do it then, meaning I knida rushed it, packing in the dim morning light of Mia’s still darkended bedroom. Tom Left early, then it was me, then Mia left an hour later- all at differet terminals, so I guess it didn’t really matter we weren’t able to hang at the airport together.

In my haste, I forgot to take my grohman pocket knife out of my purse…which I only realized as they searched my bag. The lady at TSA looked at me like I had done it on purpose & was an absolute criminal. She noted it down on my record. I cried. Honestly because that knife meant to much to me & was one of my prized pocessions. I reminded myself there was more important things in the world & that I could always eventually get a new one. But I continued crying a bit anyways- my thoughts drifting along other paths. Danielle. The coming plane ride. My knife. My frustration with myself. But mostly it became about the plane.

After that incident, I pretty well ran through the airport to make the flight, so there wasn’t that much to think afterall. When I got onto the aircraft I forbaid myself from thinking any bad thoughts. “not in here” I repeated internally. I closed my eyes once I was settles & chooed the thoughts out of my brain. Repeating my mantra over and over and over. Somewhere in there I came back into awareness enough to fill out my immigration form.

When I landed in Cancun I was exhausted & downed a whole bag on banana chips out of frustration. I took the bus into Playa del Carmen where Katie was waiting for me. The humidity here struck me immediately. Especially seeing as I had a huge pack & was still wearing my jeans- which seemed wholly reasonable in California, but ridiculous here. Seeing Katie felt unreal. When I saw her face, it was like I came into realization that I was really there- that I had survived my flight & I could enjoy the next couple weeks with my friends.

Katie had offered to stay on the phone with my as I boarded. I was relieved I didn’t need that, although I was grateful for the offer. The past few days we have been scheming ways of supporting Klu on her journey here. Not only is she sure to be exhausted, I understand the fear she is experiencing in getting on the plane. Anything we can do to help her, Katie & I are determined to carry out.

For right now, for me, that looks like doing some of the footwork of contacting some of the organizations Danielle was a part of to inform them of the ritual. And also check on Klu and do my best to support her in these moments- though I know she’s thrown herself fully into planning (which she thrives in anyways). I don’t know what support will look like here in Mexico, but we will have to play it by ear. We will only be able to tell when it happens. All I know is that during a time like this, it’ll be so nice to have some of my best friends all together again.

[writemarcus]

By Marcus Scott 

By the standards of previous generations, millennials are often dubbed as entitled, lethargic, apathetic, unimaginative and uncultured with an appetite for politically correctness. The same could not be said with the four young men behind the politically incorrect queer podcast Food 4 Thot, a roundtable of wits that doesn’t shy away from topics like religion, unrestrained group sex, civil resistance in the age of Trump, safe spaces in the time of trigger warnings and identity politics.

But this group seems more or less equipped to discuss these topics: Composed of Dennis Norris II (an ex-figure skater turned fiction writer and MacDowell fellow), Tommy “Teebs” Pico (a highly-profiled author, poet and Lambda Literary fellow from the Viejas Indian reservation of the Kumeyaay nation), Fran Tirado (Associate Editor at Hello Mr. and an AFAR ambassador homodocumentarian) and Joseph Osmundson (associate editor of The Feminist Wire and postdoctoral associate scientist at NYU), Food 4 Thot is like a poppers-induced wonderland created equally for the NPR-tweaked social justice warrior and the diva-obsessed rosé-swilling gay alike.

Speaking with this multiethnic, multiracial Molotov cocktail of queer writers, playwright and critic Marcus Scott conversed with the coterie of Thots about dating apps and contemporary relationships, racial discrimination in and out of the gay community, the present and future of the gay community and equal representation in LGBT culture.

Marcus Scott: What is so astonishing about the lineup of creatives that hosts the Food4Thot podcast is that the group is intentionally diverse, multicultural and multiethnic. Has there ever been an awkward moment where some perspectives have collided with others off-air?

Food4Thot: Oh, we collide plenty on-air too. Just ask Joe and Dennis about Beyoncé’s relationship to capitalism and within five minutes the table will be turned over and Rosé splashed on Joe’s face. In general though, we love and learn from one another. We had an early taping (that won’t be released) where Tommy, as an indigenous person, talked about how he hates the word “tribe” as in “she found her tribe.” And yet, we’ve still said that on- and off-air. When it happens, we realize, oh… OMG, I AM SO SORRY! That’s what being in a relationship is.

MS: In March 2017, Vice published an article that declared that, “LGBTQ Media Is Less White Than Ever, but It’s Still Not Enough.” In the article, the writer noted the cognitive dissonance of homonormative attitudes and how white muscular men are exalted in the press and in society. Do you feel there is a system of advantages and privileges that are gifted to gay white men that people of color aren’t?

Food4Thot: Hahahaha. Also, water is wet. It’s no surprise that mainstream gay “culture” colludes with white supremacy via body politics, so we’re here to take it down, take no prisoners, and take a selfie all the same.

MS: Do you feel gay white men have garnered a monopolization on certain issues or topics that is relevant to all LGBT people? If so, why is whiteness still being praised in gay culture, which has been celebrated as being inclusive?

Food4Thot: Well, gay marriage being the defacto issue of gayness/gay “culture”/gay “media,” and not the murder of trans women of color is evidence that white gay maleness monopolizes the issues of the gay “movement”—a movement, it should be noted, that would not exist without the time, effort, and sacrifices of trans women of color. Gay “culture” is just another site of gentrification in late stage capitalism, and as long as it remains monolithic it will continue to prioritize its most saleable facets, despite claims of inclusivity. So what you do is break up the monolith and expose what’s going on inside.

MS: In the aforementioned article, it also noted that “young, politically engaged [French] people demand LGBTQ media that showcases diversity and social justice more than their older peers do.” What do you think separates gay millennials from previous generations?

Food4Thot: Maybe part of it is that because the stigma around being LGBTQ has lessened somewhat, more people are embracing themselves and because the ranks have swelled so has the desire for a proliferate representation of queerness? Maybe it’s gladiator sandals? Maybe it’s Maybelline?

Dennis: It’s definitely Maybelline.

MS: Has Grindr, Scruff, Hornet, Adam4Adam, Tinder and other apps changed the way we view diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity hook-ups?

Tommy: Maybe? I think a potentially more interesting conversation is how convenience culture in dating makes people so entitled to every particularity of their desires.

Dennis: I think the convenience culture that Tommy refers to here is a big part of the answer to your question, Marcus. Being a gay man of color, I never really understood the extent to which I might be undesirable, or on the other hand, fetishized, until I got my first smartphone in 2012 and joined Grindr. I’m not sure if these apps have really changed the way we think about equal-opportunity hook-ups, but I dothink we’re simultaneously both more cognizant of it, when we want to be, and less cognizant, when it suits our needs desires.

Fran: And on top of all this, it is so limiting to try and define an entire population—how we experience relationships, how we include or disclude—with an app. It’s just not what the conversation is actually about, and these recurring conversations about Grindr and Tinder exclude the majority of queer people. Queer people who use apps are only a fraction of us. Can we move on from it already?

MS: I was talking with a friend who felt alienated from the LGBT community, particularly other gay men, because he felt they valued vanity and fabulation over more political and intellectual concerns. He is not alone in this belief. As you know, gay men in particular have a history of valuing wit and advocacy. To some, it feels like we have moved have moved away from that. Do you feel there is some truth to that?

Food4Thot: Our philosophy is, “Get you a show/man that can do both.” It’s also reductive and dehumanizing to argue that you can’t like Beyoncé because then you become a gay cliché. None of us are theater queens, but like who cares if you are? We all love limp wrists and millennial pink, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t political (we’re political AF) and aren’t smart, engaged, concerned. Both the stereotype andthe rejection of the stereotype are limiting, and we try to break those things wide open on the show.

MS: What can we do as a community to change the optics of gay culture?

Food4Thot: Listen To Food 4 Thot — it’s our mission, it’s our brand, it’s our currency.

Dennis: Call me crazy but I think the best way to change the optics of gay culture is to be less concerned with the optics of gay culture. Over-awareness of the optics means to some extent, catering to an exterior gaze, and like, who has time for that? Can I just live?

Fran: Amen to Dennis. The only thing that’s wrong with the gay community is people who talk about what’s wrong with the gay community.

MS: What do you feel is the biggest representation issue facing the LGBT community today, especially in terms of the media?

Food4Thot: That we don’t have our own brand of Rosé.

MS: With the amount of ears tuned into your broadcast series, do you feel there is a responsibility that LGBT media experts have to present both positive and negative representations of LGBT culture?

Food4Thot: Positive and negative representations still feel reductive. We just are. And we’re doing it publicly. We’re humans, we fuck, we can be slutty, we can be sweet, we read books, we read each other. These are things that straight people do too, without having to represent their sexuality.

MS: For the most part, you are all social media savvy millenials. What do you feel is the greatest hurdle gay millennials are best tasked with?

Food4Thot: Except Dennis.

Joe: I don’t think gay millennials are tasked with hurdles that other folks aren’t. We have collective trauma, perhaps, in the way that queer people always have. I don’t think Grindr makes it harder to find or keep a man; in fact many relationships start on Grindr. There has always been temptation outside of a relationship. There’s nothing new under the sun; what’s happening now just feels new because it’s happening to us.

MS: Any thoughts on how we can better diversify narratives in LGBT media and arts?

Food4Thot: Listen to Food 4 Thot, also other queer, brown things! Give them money!

MS: For readers who may not have tuned into your podcast, #Food4Thot is very brazen with the sexuality and sensuality presented so candidly. It’s so fresh and innovative. But certain groups of people demonize sexuality. How do you think we can express sexuality to be presented even more as natural, healthy and liberating in pop culture?

Tommy: Ask less what people think and ask more what do you really want?

Dennis: I think we can do that by simply being honest and putting it out there. Forcing people to see you, to hear you, to recognize your existence and humanity.

MS: Any sex-related horror stories you care to share?

Food4Thot: Listen to the podcast, and you’ll find plenty there.

MS: Finally, just for kicks: Favorite pop icon/diva?

Tommy: Sara Lee, Lil Debbie, and Debbie Downer.

Dennis: Michelle Kwan. One day she WILL have that gold medal.

Fran: Michelle Branch.

[bellabooks]

“When We Rise” premieres and introduces us to its major players

The much anticipated LGBTQ rights miniseries, When We Rise, premiered last night on ABC. The two hour opener starts in an unlikely place. 1972. The Stonewall riots have come and gone, but for the three leading characters, its impact, while not direct, still resonates. So does the 1972 Time Magazine issue, the Year in Pictures. Get used to seeing it, because it’s everywhere. Our main characters are three young people, on the verge of self discovery. They are also based on real LGBTQ activists. Cleve Jones, a young man who is part of the peace movement, and son of a man who believes that homosexuality can be cured with electroshock. After Cleve comes out to his father on his 18th birthday, Cleve flees his home state of Arizona for the utopia of San Francisco. Except, when he arrives, the Summer of Love is long gone. When we first meet Roma Guy (played by Fun Home‘s Emily Skeggs), she’s volunteering with the Peace Corp in Togo, West Africa, and is about to walk away from a romance with fellow volunteer Diane. We’ll get to their story in a bit. Finally, there’s Ken Jones (played by newcomer Jonathan Majors) whose story is the most compelling of the three. Ken is in the Navy during the Vietnam war, and loses his boyfriend in an accident on the ship. Heartbroken and alone, Ken pushes through but is offered a respite by his commanding officers. He’s sent to San Fransisco to run a program that deals with race relations within the Navy. While in San Francisco, Ken sees what the queer community is dealing with first hand, and that racism is very much present even in the places he hoped would be safe spaces, like gay bars. After fleeing a raid at the Black Cat Cafe, Ken makes a decision not to back down again, and makes a few allies, including Cleve and Roma. So on to Roma! In Togo, Roma and Diane have it pretty good. Affection between women is totally normal, so they can hold hands and cuddle without anyone thinking twice. Roma is heading back home to work with NOW (National Organization of Women) and while Diane wants to continue their romance, Roma doesn’t think she can handle a long distance relationship, especially a lesbian one, and topple the patriarchy. They kiss goodbye, and Roma heads off to Boston. When she arrives, she realizes that NOW and the Women’s Movement, have pushed lesbians out of the organization, not wanting to have their gay liberation issues distract from women’s rights. Roma decides to make a leap and join up with NOWs San Francisco branch to see if she can make more of a difference there. Also, let’s be honest, she read the Time Magazine too. She knows the queer ladies are in SF. Once there, Roma gets involved with one of the city’s Women Centers, which is chock full of queer women who think NOW is just a bunch of exclusionary bureaucrats. This is when the series pulls out its A game for actors, with small roles for Rosie O’Donnell (who plays Phyllis Lyon), Whoopi Goldberg (Pat Norman) and Carrie Preston (Sally Gearhart). These women are about as open to Roma’s suggestions as NOW would be, but she pushes and catches the eye of another young activist, Jean. Roma and Jean head to the police department to attempt to get a permit for a rally, and are not surprisingly denied by a sexist, homophobic cop. The experience however, get the blood flowing, and Roma and Jean fall quickly in to bed together. When We Rise doesn’t sanitize queer love scenes, like we often see on TV, and this one is pretty scorching. Roma feels some serious guilt afterwards, both because of the whole lesbian thing, and also her heart still belongs to Diane. Jean is actually pretty cool about it, and tries to encourage Roma to accept herself. Just like with NOW, Roma finds opposition at the Women’s Center. Many are very unwilling to partner up with the gay and trans communities, while Roma knows that they would be a stronger force together. Soon, Roma is invited to tea with Sally and Jean, who are a polyamorous couple, which is a surprise to Roma. Sally invites Roma to join their lovefest, but Roma isn’t having any of it. She storms out. Sally, after hearing about how often Jean and Roma have done the deed, gets a little jealous, and Jean runs after Roma. The two women start planning a rally together, permits be damned, and that’s when Roma meets Cleve. Cleve, who considers himself a feminist too, wants to be a part of Roma’s rally. He even agrees to bring some of his gay male friends, and asks Roma not to count out all men. When the rally comes, Cleve does show up with some of his friends, as do about a hundred women. The cops, who have been chomping at the bit since the rally began, decide to descend upon them with violence and teargas. Cleve and Roma get separated, and Roma runs home, feeling defeated. Jean tells her it’s time to get her courage up, and Roma decides to do just that. She shows up at the National Women’s Caucus and joins the Lavender Menace demonstration that shook up the meeting. Back in San Fran, Roma and Jean head to the Black Cat Cafe, where they ask the proprietor Mama Jose where they get the permits to run their establishment. Mama Jose, who is also based on a real person and the first openly gay person to run for office, tells Roma that there may just be someone on the inside at the permit office. Heartened with this news, Jean and Roma head back home, but everything is about to change when Roma finds Diane waiting on her doorstep. Here’s the thing with When We Rise. It’s an important story to tell, and it will expose many people to an important part of LGBTQ history. It does have its issues. The characters often speak in cliches and platitudes, and it strips away some of the impact that they could have. While Ken Jones is one of the leads, the rest of the cast is lacking in the diverse community that was so integral in the movement. That may change as the series progresses and I hope that it does. We’ll be recapping the series, and joined by recappers Lara Hayes and Alex Scoville for the next two episodes. When We Rise resumes Wednesday evening on ABC.     http://dlvr.it/NVhkrC

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At-home dance parties are helping people shake off the self-isolation jitters

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At-home dance parties are helping people shake off the self-isolation jitters

TORONTO — As bars and nightclubs around the world are forced to shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, the hottest new club appears to be the internet.

Club Quarantine is a nightly dance party geared towards the queer community that takes place on Zoom, a video conferencing platform originally designed for workplaces and schools. Every night at 9 p.m. EDT, users log in using a special passcode from Club Quarantine’s Instagram account to join the party.

Nightly DJs spin music for the crowd, and participants can request songs using Zoom’s chat service. A video grid shows who else is at Club Quarantine, and users can strike up a conversation, bust a move or simply sip their drink in the corner.

“Queer people are extremely resilient. This is another example of that,” explained Brad Allen, one of Club Quarantine’s four founders.

Club Quarantine was started by four Toronto-based artists — Mingus New, Casey MQ, Andre Sierra and Brad Allen— who were looking for a way to connect with others during self-isolation. They started the event on Instagram, but when the group became too large, they switched over to Zoom.

What began as a way for a few friends to connect online has exploded into a nightly party with more than 150 attendees. Club Quarantine’s organizers recently paid to upgrade their Zoom account to allow up to 500 participants.

“It happened very organically,” said Allen, a comedian, who said he’s surprised how busy he is these days helping organize the digital nightclub. “I thought I was going to be in bed eating Cheetos and staring at the sunlight though the window, but that’s not the case.”

As the monotony of self-isolation sinks in, many people — especially young people — are turning to services like Zoom to throw virtual parties packed full of friends and strangers.

One of the easiest ways to find a Zoom party is through the Facebook group Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens. Mehul Agarwal, a computer science student from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, started the Facebook group with a couple friends as a way to share funny memes during the pandemic.

But, over the past week, the group has exploded to more than 250,000 members, most of them university students from the U.S. and Canada.

“People realized that in this time of social distancing, we needed to turn to social networks to bridge that gap in community,” Agarwal told CTVNews.ca from his home in New Delhi, where he returned after the coronavirus arrived in the U.S.

Agarwal recently attended a Zoom party with 90 other people, where some attendees were playing drinking games while others were just hanging out. He’s also seen participants organize Netflix-viewing parties using a extension on Chrome that allows them to watch the same show simultaneously.

The reason Zoom became young people’s platform of choice during the pandemic, Agarwal suspects, is because many students had already used the tool for online university courses. Zoom also allows a host plenty of controls over an event, including the ability to mute certain users or play music.

“Even if it’s something fun, it’s very well controlled,” he said.

While many companies have been hit hard by the plunging stock market and fears of a recession, Zoom is one of a select few businesses that has seen its stocks performing exceptionally well in recent weeks.

But technology isn’t completely necessary to throwing an at-home dance party.

Fran Auty is part of a line-dancing group in Toronto that was no longer able to meet after the city shut down its community centres. The decision to cancel their meet-ups was a prudent one, Auty said, because some participants are well into their 80s and are therefore more susceptible to the coronavirus.

But after a few days of social distancing, Auty said she missed the connection of dancing with her friends. So she reached out to her line-dancing dance group via email and suggested that they coordinate a time to dance from home.

“We’ll each dance a specific dance at a specific time,” Auty explained.

And so, on Tuesday, Auty and about 10 other women cleared space in their homes and cued up the song ‘Baby (I Love You),’ on their computers. Without Zoom or Skype or any other video streaming service, they danced.

“It felt strange. It felt silly. But it also felt like a way of keeping in touch with people who I’m fond of,” Auty said.

When asked if her group might benefit from a video-streaming service, Auty dismissed the idea, saying that no one in her group would know where to start. But they also don’t need the technology, she said.

“We know that the other folks are there, even if we can’t see them.”

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The 25 Best Netflix Original Series

The fact that we can even make a list of the best Netflix original series is kind of amazing. Less than five years ago, the now dominant streaming platform was best known as the company that put Blockbuster out of business. House of Cards not only changed all that—it also changed the way TV is consumed, introducing the now ever-popular binge model. History is made by forward-thinking companies and Netflix, let’s be honest, is making history.

The streaming platform is rich with content and, so far, has had only a few true misses (talking to you, Iron Fist). To come up with the list of Netflix best original series, we left out shows that originated on another network, including those that received a second life on Netflix (sorry Arrested Development, though it’s probably for the best, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life). You can find those titles, and many more, on our list of the 75 Best TV Shows on Netflix.

Here are the 25 best Netflix original series:

25. 13 Reasons Why

Creators: Steve Golin, Tom McCarthy and Selena Gomez Stars: Dylan Minnette, Katherine Langford, Christian Navarro, Miles Heizer, Derek Luke, Kate Walsh Premiered: 2017

Here’s something ironic: One of the shows that could be the easiest to take for granted this season could very well be the one about a teenage girl who kills herself because she was taken for granted. Based on author Jay Asher’s young adult bestseller, 13 Reasons Why is about what happens when the bullying, sexting, betrayed friendships, doublespeak conversations, and sheer loneliness of high-school hell get too much for teenager Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). But Hannah doesn’t go down without naming some names and her suicide note comes in the form of audio recording, in which she recounts exactly what (and who) led her to fall into this pit of hopelessness. The message is that everyone had a chance to save Hannah from herself, even the adults. 13 Reasons Why is one of the most important TV shows of the season. Whitney Friedlander

24. Grace and Frankie

Creators: Marta Kauffman, Howard J. Morris Stars: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen, Brooklyn Decker Premiered: 2015

Sometimes the only thing worse than a flat-out bad show is a woefully mediocre one that thoroughly squanders its vast potential. Indeed, despite its luminous cast, respected creative team (Marta J. Kaufman co-created Friends) and timely subject matter, Grace and Frankie never quite shakes the impression that it’s a broadcast comedy masquerading under a thick layer of “prestige half-hour” make-up. The story centers on the titular characters (Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, respectively) who end up becoming roommates/reluctant friends after their husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) announce they’ve been engaging in a long-term affair with one another and wish to dissolve their marriages to be together. Feeling tossed out to sea in the twilight of their lives, the two women attempt to rediscover life as newly single gals. Cue gags fueled by elder dating, elder sex and the ever-reliable, “elders try to use technology.” It’s essentially How Stella Got Her Groove Back for the septuagenarian sect. These creative shortcomings are all the more disappointing given the unmistakable chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin, not to mention that, as actresses of a certain age, Hollywood is not exactly bowling them over with the roles they deserve. Grace and Frankie is far from a bad show, but it has enough going for it that one wishes it was so much better. Mark Rozeman

23. The OA

Creators:   Brit Marling  and Zal Batmanglij Stars: Brit Marling, Emory Cohen, Scott Wilson, Phyllis Smith, Alice Krige, Jason Isaacs Premiered: 2016

Brit Marling  and Zal Batmanglij’s flawed, transfixing science (or is it spiritual?) fiction asks its audience, as the title character (Marling) does hers, for trust—to the point that the suspension of disbelief emerges as the subject of The OA, and not merely its mechanism. As the OA, or Original Angel, also known as Prairie Johnson, unfurls a tale of unimaginable trauma for four high school students and their math teacher (the surprising Phyllis Smith), the decision to focus on images of their rapt faces might appear premature, given the first season’s meandering course. And yet, mirroring the OA’s inscrutable message, Marling and Batmanglij’s snarled stories ultimately straighten, as if diagramming an indecipherable sentence or lining a complex hymn: When its nesting narratives come taut, when its forked paths converge, The OA rewards the faith it requires, coming to a climax of such sublime conviction it continues to reduce me to sobs even now, after countless viewings. Matt Brennan

22. Bloodline

Creators: Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman Stars: Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, Sam Shepard, Sissy Spacek, Norbert Leo Butz, Jacinda Barrett, Enrique Murciano Premiered: 2015

The first season of Bloodline, I found myself asking “Is this good? Do I like this?” after every episode. “Better watch the next one to figure out how I feel about it.” Before long, I was fully invested in the show’s mystery and had made it through all 13 episodes, but I still find myself wondering why I’m not totally blown away by it. It’s got a stellar cast—Sissy Spacek, Linda Cardellini, Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn (the latter two of whom were nominated for Emmys for their work on the show). It’s got a compelling plot (the family’s black sheep returns home and threatens to reveal a bunch of secrets that could tear everything apart, with flashbacks to a decades-old tragedy mixed in for good measure). It’s beautifully shot, so much so that the Florida Keys are almost another character on the show. And yet there’s something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on, something that hasn’t quite taken the show to where it should be on paper. That said, I’ll probably blow through Season Three in a weekend this May to see if they’ve found it. Bonnie Stiernberg

21. Chef’s Table

Creators: David Gelb, Andrew Fried and Brain McGinn Premiered: 2015

This docuseries might really change the way you look at what you eat and why. Each episode is a standalone documentary that highlights the personal journey of a different chef. The ultimate focus is on the chef—not the food, not the restaurant—and the show is freaking beautiful. Each episode is gorgeously filmed and an extremely thoughtful look at one chef and his/her career journey. What’s brought into sharp focus is a sense that each of these people, surrounded by families and communities and friends and patrons, is someone with a fundamental sense of being alone. We have a number of programs about food and it’s easy to believe that no one could possibly have anything new to… um bring to the table. But all of the episodes leave me wanting more. Amy Glynn

20. Sense8

Creators: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski Stars: Tuppence Middleton, Brian J. Smith, Doona Bae, Aml Ameen, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, Tina Desai, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Jamie Clayton, Freema Agyeman, Terrence Mann, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, Daryl Hannah Premiered: 2015

There is no bigger WTF TV show in the world right now than Sense8. This globe-trotting and glitzy sci-fi series, created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski (co-directors of The Matrix trilogy) and former Babylon 5 showrunner J. Michael Straczynski, drops us into a world where eight strangers in different parts of the planet are somehow psychically and emotionally linked. The first season’s 12 episodes and the Christmas special follow this assortment of confused and beautiful people as they try to understand this connection, use their newfound abilities to help one another, and engage in not one but two blissfully queer orgies. As wacky and over-the-top as Sense8 can often get, the series remains important as it deals with issues of sexuality and gender identity through the work of trans actress Jamie Clayton and performers Miguel Silvestre and Alfonso Herrera’s portrayal of a gay couple in Mexico City. Robert Ham

19. A Series of Unfortunate Events Creators: Mark Hudis, Barry Sonnenfeld Stars: Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Warburton, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, K. Todd Freeman, Presley Smith Premiered: 2017

When Netflix announced its adaptation of Daniel Handler’s beloved, quirky books, my main question was this: Is A Series of Unfortunate Events adaptable to the screen without losing the idiosyncrasies that make it so charming? Fortunately, director Barry Sonnenfeld, Neil Patrick Harris as the evil Count Olaf, and Handler himself (as screenwriter) rose to the challenge magnificently. The series, whose first season contains eight out of a planned 26 episodes, doesn’t consistently hit the emotional heights of Netflix’s best fare, but it more than makes up for this paucity with solid acting, abundant wit and a visual aesthetic that is wholly unique in television—a hybrid of Tim Burton’s gothic glee and Wes Anderson’s diorama cinema. Book-readers will delight at the faithfulness of the adaptation, and while first-timers may take a tad longer to get their feet wet, the colorful menagerie of characters and the dogged perseverance of the Baudelaire orphans should win them over. Zach Blumenfeld

18. Marvel’s Luke Cage Creator: Cheo Hodari Coker Stars: Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, Erik LaRay Harvey, Rosario Dawson, Theo Rossi Premiered: 2016

Marvel’s third Netflix venture isn’t perfect—the structure of its villain hierarchy needed some serious recalibration—but it is good, very good in fact, and most of all it’s ballsy. Who writes a superhero show around a naked discussion of what it means to a black American in 2016? Luke Cage is obviously a Marvel product, but it’s also the product of its creator, Cheo Hodari Coker, and its cast, including Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, and Erik LaRay Harvey (plus appearances by Frankie Faison, Ron Cephas Jones and, of course, Method Man): The series has more flexibility in addressing its subject matter thanks to its platform, but it’s hard to imagine that it’d speak as loudly or as boldly even on Netflix without Coker driving the narrative forward. Even though he stumbles during the show’s midsection, his errors don’t add up to more than an inconvenience. Luke Cage blends its source material with a wide range of influences, from jazz to rap to horrors ripped straight from the headlines, and churns out a yarn that’s as powerful as it is irresistibly poppy. Andy Crump

17. One Day at a Time

Creators: Gloria Calderon Kellett, Mike Royce, Norman Lear Stars: Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Stephen Tobolowsky, Todd Grinnell, Isabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz Premiered: 2017

I can’t remember a time I loved something the way I love the new One Day at a Time. Part of my affection stems from the fact that the show was such a discovery. It arrived January 6 of this year with almost no hype. I write about TV for a living and I barely knew it was premiering. Almost immediately I dismissed the show as yet another ill-advised remake. How wrong I was. The comedy is a pure delight. A throwback to the defining comedies of the 1970s with a modern twist, the show deftly tackles some hot-button issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, wage inequality and teenage sexuality amid real conversations about generational differences and Cuban heritage and traditions. Justina Machado (Six Feet Under) is fantastic as the recently separated veteran raising her two adolescent children with the help of her mother Lydia (living legend Rita Moreno) and her landlord Schneider (Todd Grinnell). Moreno gives an amazing speech in the series 12th episode that should easily nab her an Emmy nomination this year. But above all the show is funny and grounded. Once you start watching, you won’t be able to watch this gem one day at a time. Amy Amatangelo

16. Love

Creators:   Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, Paul Rust Stars: Gillian Jacobs, Paul Rust, Claudia O’Doherty Premiered: 2016

If you’re a fan of Undeclared or Freaks and Geeks, you should make it your business to give Judd Apatow’s latest series, Love, a try. In a lot of ways, it feels like what would happen if Sam Weir and Kim Kelly wound up dating in their 30s—we meet Gus (Paul Rust), a dorky on-set tutor for the child star of a witch-themed teen drama, and Mickey (Gillian Jacobs), a radio producer struggling with her sobriety, as they’re both reeling from tough breakups and watch as they fall for each other. Like anything Apatow’s got his name on, there’s an underlying sweetness here and an incredibly strong cast (Claudia O’Doherty steals pretty much every scene she’s in as Mickey’s roommate, Bertie), and the addiction plot lends some dramatic muscle. The characters are complicated (and not always likable), but hey, so is love. Bonnie Stiernberg

15. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

Creators: Michael Showalter, David Wain Stars: Elizabeth Banks, Lake Bell, H. Jon Benjamin, Michael Ian Black, Michael Cera, Josh Charles, Bradley Cooper, Judah Friedlander, Janeane Garofalo, Jon Hamm, Nina Hellman Premiered: 2015

When a follow-up comes along for any project with a huge cult audience, it seems doomed to disappoint. Arrested Development’s fourth season’s breaking apart of the cast was bound to frustrate, and Anchorman 2 could never reach the surprising joy of the original. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp obviously came with a certain amount of trepidation. But instead of trying to recreate the glory of the last day of camp, as seen in the 2001 film, First Day of Camp added a considerable amount of depth to the original film and explained aspects of Camp Firewood that never needed to be understood, but make the entire history of these characters feel more whole. The Netflix series managed to redefine these characters that we fell in love with over a decade ago, all while giving us laughs and immense heart as well. Ross Bonaime

14. The Crown

Creator: Peter Morgan Stars: Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Vanessa Kirby, John Lithgow, Jeremy Northam, Victoria Hamilton, Eileen Atkins Premiered: 2016

The Royal family were allegedly concerned when creator Peter Morgan refused all offers of assistance in bringing The Crown to life. The fact that Netflix’s first costume drama manages to make someone as famously insensitive as Prince Philip appear deeply sympathetic proves the Palace needn’t have worried. That’s not to say that this fascinating portrait of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign is a piece of sycophantic fluff—it doesn’t exactly shy away from the conflicts that plagued her early years. But the first season, which centers on events from 1947 to 1955, does humanize the monarchy in a way that very few royal dramas have done before. Indeed, the reported $100 million budget has understandably garnered the most headlines, but as sumptuous as The Crown’s sets are, it’s Morgan’s meticulously researched screenplay that impresses the most. Exquisite performances from Claire Foy as the young woman thrust onto the throne in her twenties and a never-better John Lithgow as the formidable Winston Churchill also ensure that Netflix’s ambitious royal gamble well and truly pays off. Jon O’Brien

13. Making a Murderer

Creators: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos Premiered: 2015

After the Serial podcast captured the zeitgeist, Netflix brought viewers the true story of Steven Avery, a man wrongly convicted of a brutal assault. He sued law enforcement, and while in the middle of that suit, he became a suspect of a brand new crime. The 10-part docu-series covers 30 years in Avery’s life, and like Serial, became a phenomenon that had us all playing armchair judge and jury. Amy Amatangelo

12. Lady Dynamite

Creators: Pam Brady, Mitch Hurwitz Stars: Maria Bamford, Fred Melamed, Mary Kay Place Premiered: 2016

Generally speaking, we like our comedies and our comedians to be funny. Maria Bamford—actress, voice actress, stand-up—is funny in the strictest sense possible, but her Netflix series, Lady Dynamite, blends her humor with melancholy and hurt. Don’t worry: You’ll laugh. You will laugh! Lady Dynamite is hysterical, and it’s hysterical on a wide array of axes, incorporating everything from slapstick, to absurdism, to cringe humor into one hyperactive rush of comic goodness. But it’s also deeply human and deeply sad, the kind of comedy series where the laughs tend to catch in one’s gullet, or squeeze through gritted teeth. Sometimes you laugh so as not to wince, or just to keep yourself from shedding tears in front of your friends (or in front of your own damn self). Sad comedies are a dime a dozen in 2016, especially for Netflix junkies, but the manic qualities of Lady Dynamite’s humor, its frank approach to its themes of mental illness, and its cavalcade of comedian guest stars—whether they’re mainstream comedians, alt comedians, or mainstream-alt comedians—give the show a brio and soul all its own. Andy Crump

11. Marvel’s Daredevil

Creator: Drew Goddard Stars: Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D’Onofrio Premiered: 2015

Marvel and DC have both tried to leverage their movie dominance onto the small screen many times over, but so far, the only beloved TV show based on a comic book has come from indie publisher Image with The Walking Dead. That changed with Netflix’ new offering Daredevil. The Hell’s Kitchen of Matt Murdoch’s world is much grittier than that of his Marvel cohorts on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—no surprise since the show was created by Drew Goddard, director of Cabin in the Woods. Goddard, who’s written episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias and Lost is also no stranger to the comics world, having written a few issues of the Buffy comics. The fight scenes are riveting (and often bloody), and the hero and his companions are well-developed, but it’s Vincent D’Onofrio complicated turn as the crime boss Wilson Fisk that elevates the show into something special. Both Fisk and Murdoch want to clean up the city, and will go to great lengths to do it. The difference between hero and villain is just a matter of ends-justify-the-means degrees. Not since Rick Grimes tangled with the Governor or Walter White went up against Gus Fring has there been a protracted battle this gripping on television. Your move, DC. Josh Jackson

10. Narcos

Creators: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro Stars: Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Pedro Pascal, Joanna Christie, Maurice Compte, Stephanie Sigman, Manolo Cardona, André Mattos, Roberto Urbina, Diego Cataõ Premiered: 2015

One popular line of criticism has it that Narcos romanticizes the violence and degradation associated with the Colombian drug wars—and drug culture in general—and I would agree that the excellent Wagner Moura plays kingpin Pablo Escobar so engagingly that he becomes a sort of Walt White-esque antihero. And the rhythms of the documentary-style narration are fast-paced in a way that’s reminiscent of Guy Ritchie, whipping us along at an almost breakneck speed. Nevertheless, this valid criticism misses the important point that we are watching a work of fiction based on historical figures—not a real documentary. And when viewed that way, Narcos was one of the most successful new shows on TV, in how it managed to flesh out some very dark characters and tell a complicated story with such urgency and clarity. This is not the hyper-realist drug fiction of Traffic or 2015’s wonderful Sicario, but as conflict entertainment goes, it succeeds wonderfully. Shane Ryan

9. The Get Down

Creators:   Baz Luhrmann, Stephen Adly Guirgis Stars: Justice Smith, Herizen F. Guardiola, Shameik Moore, Jaden Smith, Skylan Brooks, Tremaine Brown Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jimmy Smits Premiered: 2016

The Get Down, from Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis, bears the imprint of its creators’ extensive experience on the stage, mustering more musical zeal than the many other contemporary rock ‘n’ roll series. The story of aspiring MC Ezekiel Figuero (Justice Smith) and his love interest, disco singer Mylene (Herizen F. Guardiola), The Get Down edges closer in affect to Singin’ in the Rain or West Side Story than to its brethren on TV. Whether a function of its interest in the origins of hip-hop or the spirited optimism of its protagonists, determined to escape, or transform, the South Bronx, The Get Down is buoyed by its kinetic energies, even as it strains to bring its sprawling cast and sociopolitical interests into sharper relief. Each episode is a kaleidoscope of musical influences, from disco to ’90s rap. Throughout the first few episodes, the camera combats the intermittent sluggishness of the writing, zooming, swooping, circling and retreating before cycling back to the beginning, painted all the while in bright swatches of color. The Get Down recalls the aforementioned classics not because it’s made with similar aplomb, then, but because the series’ chaotic construction nonetheless reflects the musical’s central premise: The music isn’t the setting for the story. The music is the story. Matt Brennan

8. House of Cards

Creator: Beau Willimon Stars: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly Premiered: 2013

It’s been called a gamble. It’s been called a revolutionary step in television. However you look at it, House of Cards, Netflix’s first original series, is certainly something you need to witness. Whether you watch all the episodes in one sitting or spaced out over a few weeks, the show has an undeniable draw that will suck you in. The political thriller, starring the incomparable Kevin Spacey, is an adaptation of BBC’s show of the same name (also worth checking out on Netflix). It sets out to take on drama juggernauts from HBO, Showtime and AMC; succeeding in part. The most compelling aspect of the show is Spacey’s take on Frank Underwood. He’s able to carry scenes and sometimes entire episodes. The series focuses on Underwood’s ruthless rise to power alongside—and, at times, in opposition to—his icy, ambitious wife, Claire (Robin Wright). The show lies somewhere between the exceptionally boundary-pushing first season of Homeland and the intelligence of the early The West Wing episodes. Adam Vitcavage

7. Dear White People

Creator: Justin Simien Stars:: Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, DeRon Horton, Antoinette Robertson, John Patrick Amedori, Ashley Blaine Featherson, Giancarlo Esposito Network: Netflix

Based on creator Justin Simien’s 2014 indie, Netflix’s original series—narrated by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s Giancarlo Esposito—replicates the pungent humor of the film without ever seeming stale, or static: Its knives are sharp, and they’re pointed in every direction. Though its primary target is white privilege, in forms both egregious (blackface parties) and mundane (calls to end “divisive” politics), Dear White People, set on the campus of a fictional Ivy League university, is even funnier when it turns to the details of the black students’ personal and ideological choices, transforming the notion of the “problematic fave,” from the McRib to The Cosby Show into the engine of its entertaining, incisive comedy. Matt Brennan

6. Jessica Jones

Creator: Melissa Rosenberg Stars: Krysten Ritter, David Tennant, Rachael Taylor, Mike Colter, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, Wil Traval, Susie Abromeit Premiered: 2015

Marvel’s first team-up with Netflix, 2015’s excellent Daredevil, took the shiny Marvel Cinematic Universe and rubbed much needed dirt on it. Jessica Jones furthers the trend with a psychological thriller that is, somehow, more brutal and dark than its Hell’s Kitchen contemporary. Unlike Daredevil, Jones not only redrew the lines for a Marvel production, but redefined what a comic book show could be. The emphasis is not on the physical, but instead the mental destruction caused by Kilgrave (the phenomenal David Tennant), a sociopath with mind-control powers. Netflix’s binge model is used to its full-effect, each episode’s conclusion begging the viewer to let the train roll on. And, like a victim of Kilgrave, it’s impossible not to abide. Jessica Jones keeps the viewer guessing, leaving them suspended in a state of fear and anxiety for 13 perilous, wonderful hours. Eric Walters

5. Stranger Things

Creators: The Duffer Brothers Stars: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine Premiered: 2016

The only question viewers tend to ask about the quality of Netflix’s Stranger Things isn’t “Is this a fantastically entertaining show?” but “Does it matter that the show is so homage-heavy?” Our take: No. Since springing into the cultural consciousness immediately with its release, Stranger Things has been hailed as a revival of old-school sci-fi, horror and ‘80s nostalgia that is far more effective and immediately gripping than most other examples of its ilk. The influences are far too deeply ingrained to individually list, although imagery evoking Amblin-era Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper films drips from nearly every frame. With a stellar cast of child actors and several different characters whose hidden secrets we desperately want to see explored, Stranger Things hits every note necessary to motivate a weekend-long Netflix binge. As questions now swirl about the direction of Season Two, following the first season’s explosive conclusion, we’re all hoping that the same group of characters will be able to re-conjure the chilling, heart-pumping magic of a perfectly constructed eight-episode series. Please, TV gods: Don’t let Stranger Things go all True Detective on us. Jim Vorel

4. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Creators:   Tina Fey, Robert Carlock Stars: Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Karkowski, Carol Kane, Lauren Adams, Sara Chase Premiered: 2015

NBC has made any number of mistakes over the years, but few bigger than shelving Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s 30 Rock follow-up, before punting it over to Netflix. The fast-paced and flip sitcom features breakout performances by Office vet Ellie Kemper as the titular former “mole woman” trying to make it on her own in New York, and Tituss Burgess as her flamboyant and put-upon roommate, Titus Andromedon. Throughout the first season’s run, some writers and critics seemed dead set on finding some kind of flaw to pounce on with the show, zeroing in on how the minority characters are represented. This may be a wild generalization, but I think this was a natural reaction to one of the most overtly feminist sitcoms ever produced. Kimmy Schmidt is most certainly upsetting the natural order of your typical network sitcom. The show’s titular character is defining her life on her own terms and by her own standards. For some reason that still freaks some people out so they dismiss it or find some way to poke holes in the vehicle for that idea. That is what makes the show so exciting. Just as the show can go in a myriad of different directions, so too can Kimmy Schmidt. Now that she has put the awful time in the bunker to bed, she can face a new day with that infectious smile, bubbly attitude, and enthusiastic embrace of life experience. Sorry nitpickers and network executives; Kimmy Schmidt is going to make it after all. Robert Ham

3. Orange is the New Black

Creator: Jenji Kohan Stars: Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Michael J. Harney, Michelle Hurst, Kate Mulgrew, Jason Biggs Premiered: 2013

 Orange is the New Black is perfectly suited for the Netflix delivery system, if only because it would have been agonizing to wait a week for a new episode. But there’s more; the construct felt cinematic and compared to your average show, and I couldn’t help but feel that the all-at-once release plane freed the creators to make something less episodic and more free-flowing. Taylor Schilling stars as Piper Chapman, a woman living a content modern life when her past rears up suddenly to tackle her from behind; a decade earlier, she was briefly a drug mule for her lover Alex Vause (the excellent Laura Prepon), and when Vause needed to plea her sentence down, she gave up Piper. The story is based on the real-life events of Piper Kerman, whose book of the same title was the inspiration, but the truth is that the screen version is miles better. Schilling is the engine that drives the plot, and her odd combination of natural serenity mixed with the increasing anger and desperation at the late turn her life has taken strikes the perfect tone for life inside the women’s prison. Over the first few episodes, prison is treated like an almost-quirky novelty she’ll have to experience for 15 months, and the wisest choice director Jenji Kohan made (and there are many) was to heighten the stakes so that what begins as an off-kilter adventure soon takes on the serious proportions prison life demands. And as great as Schilling and Prepon are together, the supporting cast is so universally excellent that it almost beggars belief. There are too many characters who make gold with their limited screen time to mention individually, but suffice it to say that there’s enough comedy, pathos and tragedy here for a dozen shows. The fact that they fit so successfully into one makes OITNB a defining triumph for Netflix. Shane Ryan

2. Master of None

Creators:   Aziz Ansari, Alan Yang Stars: Aziz Ansari, Noél Wells, Eric Wareheim, Lena Waithe, Kelvin Yu, Alessandra Mastronardi, Bobby Cannavale Premiered: 2015

The long-awaited second season of Aziz Ansari’s masterful Master of None begins with an homage to Bicycle Thieves and ends with a nod to The Graduate. In between are beautifully nuanced episodes as Ansari’s Dev Shah tries to navigate his love life and his career. Even when the show goes the traditional sitcom route—the will-they-or-won’t-they romance of Dev and the engaged Francesca (Alessandra Mastronardi)—the dialogue and interactions are decidedly not traditional. They talk like real people not ones created in a writer’s room. “New York, I Love You,” which stepped away from the main characters to showcase the vibrant diversity of the city and “Thanksgiving,” which chronicled Dev’s childhood friend Denise (Lena Waithe) coming out to her family, are easily the season highlights. The show is fun to watch, emotionally satisfying and thought provoking. Unlike anything else on television, Master of None is not only one of the best shows of Netflix, but one of the most important in a long, long time. Eric Walters and Amy Amatangelo

1. BoJack Horseman

Creator: Raphael Bob-Waksberg Stars: Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Amy Sedaris, Paul F. Tompkins Premiered: 2014

 BoJack Horseman is one of the most underrated comedies ever made, and it almost pains me that it doesn’t earn more praise. Right from the title sequence, which documents BoJack’s sad decline from network sitcom star to drunken has-been—set to the beautiful theme song written by the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney—this is one of the most thoughtful comedies ever made. Which doesn’t mean it’s not hilarious, of course. Will Arnett is the perfect voice for BoJack, and Paul F. Tompkins, who is in my mind the funniest man on planet Earth, could not be better suited to the child-like Mr. Peanut Butter. This is a show that isn’t above a visual gag or vicious banter or a wonderfully cheap laugh, but it also looks some very hard realities of life straight in the eye. There are times when you will hate BoJack—this is not a straight redemption story, and the minute you think he’s on the upswing, he will do something absolutely horrible to let you down. (There’s a special irony in the fact that a horse is one of the most human characters on TV, and the unblinking examination of his character makes “Escape from L.A.” one of the best episodes of TV.) So why isn’t it loved beyond a strong cult following? Maybe it’s the anthropomorphism that keeps people away, or maybe it’s the animation, but I implore you: Look beyond those elements, settle into the story, and let yourself be amazed by a comedy that straddles the line between hilarious and sad like no other on television.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: When “Queer” Art Becomes Commonplace

Ariel Goldberg, The Estrangement Principle (image courtesy Nightboat Books)

Reading The Estrangement Principle feels like walking alongside author Ariel Goldberg as they attend art openings and performances, mull over volumes at bookstores and the classroom, ask questions to poets, writers, and theorists at readings and panel discussions, and flirt at dance parties. Each of these events was tagged “queer” by organizers, participants, and publishers. Goldberg, a poet and photographer, began “collecting the phrase ‘queer art’ in all its sweaty megaphone pronouncements” in 2010. In 2012, this collection inspired an essay, self-published as a pamphlet, which Goldberg distributed at events like the aforementioned. In it, Goldberg forewarned of the overuse of the word “queer” and the dangers of doing so.

2012 was the year I personally stopped using the word queer as a descriptor of my identity. The term reclaimed by LGTBQIA folk in the late ‘80s, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, rang out like an S.O.S call across the country, insisting on a radical platform that rejected the heteronormative agendas of the mainstream gay political movement. But by 2012, the term had reached the ears of marketing machines and retailers and it seemed like Urban Outfitters was trying to sell queerness back to me for a price heftier than an inflated sales tag. It seemed that everyone born after 1990s was dressing as if it was 1990 — a light-hearted regurgitation of fashion stripped of politics and the context of mass death.

Ariel Goldberg, “Rainbow Dreams” (2012), 17 x 22 inches, archival ink jet (image courtesy the artist)

In its worst manifestations, “queer” is used as a substitute for a politic, the veneer of activism without the action, only utterance. Goldberg’s choice to quantify the barrage of the word as applied to art rather than qualify the many permutations of the word itself was a wise one. The danger of overusing the word “queer,” Goldberg argues, is that it upends its very intention to resist definition, while depoliticizing it and placing incredibly limiting boundaries around the expansive space “queer” purports to be. For instance, there’s been an increasing use of “queer” as a kind of disclaimer for one’s positionality in the world. As a result, the category has been overgeneralized for a group of people with divergent, specific sexual practices and gender expressions. Goldberg, for example, writes from a “Jewish, white, lesbian, trans, middle-class, able-bodied, and united statian perspective.” Throughout the book, Goldberg, who is both a poet and visual artist, parses language, often with evocative and memorable word play. “Queer resembles an umbrella one buys that falls apart shortly after a rainstorm,” they write when considering canonic and contemporary works from the realm of visual art, poetry, fiction, and criticism.

Ariel Goldberg, Strand Bookstore “June is Gay Pride Month,” Cell Phone Photo Notes (June 2014) (image courtesy the artist)

In the book’s earliest chapters, Goldberg resurrects Berenice Abbott and Susan Sontag as examples from a previous generation who refused or did not disclaim their queerness. The shifting relationship to the coming-out story over time becomes an investigation of the queer self against the backdrop of a changing world. American poet laureate Kay Ryan’s self-censored lesbianism contrasts with current generations that actively market themselves as queer. Goldberg points out the intersection of identity politics and capitalism when artists are asked to professionalize and prioritize their public image as much as their actual work. Goldberg delves into the professionalization of the queer artist and the institutionalization of “queer art,” in programs such as the Queer Arts Mentorship, to suggest the ways in which positioning one’s identity at the forefront has become a sales tactic. Though not explicitly stated, this emphasis on the identity-as-marketing strategy has the potential to place the work beyond the reproach of critics belonging to a different identity group.

Ariel Goldberg, “Rainbow Drawing” (2014), 17 x 22 inches, archival ink jet (image courtesy the artist)

Just as interesting as attending to the proliferation of works and events tagged “queer,” Goldberg also takes note of “the palpable silences around events that could have used the word ‘queer’ as a descriptor, but didn’t,” usually when race or multiple subjectivities enter the mix alongside gender and sexuality. Goldberg’s collection of press releases, flyers, and postcards reveal who, when, and how one is tagged with “queer” — almost as metadata that structures where content circulates IRL and in the invisible cloud of capitalism.

Ariel Goldberg, “Missing Photo of Fran Lebowitz from Peter Hujar by Peter Hujar (1990),” Cell Phone Photo Notes, (June 2013) (image courtesy the artist)

Goldberg’s critique is multipronged and, as such, revels in an ambivalence that is refreshing for acknowledging how the questions at stake are complicated. Maintaining this ambivalence is a difficult feat that Goldberg does well. To come to a more direct point, would be, well, too phallic an approach. There are no easy answers as the stakes of visibility are intertwined with cooptation. I appreciate the way in which Goldberg lingers in the folds and dark corners of questions about the relationship between aesthetics and identity, rolling experiences and words around their mouth in a poet’s exploration of textures, tastes, and sensations of language as they attempt to get closer to the core of “queer.”

When Goldberg started this project more than seven years ago, they were “young(er) and hadn’t been in one place long enough to contribute to various communities built around shared interests and experiences. [They] could only have been completed to write this book at that acute moment of estrangement.” The eponymous “estrangement principle,” then, points to the etymology of queer as strange, but also stranger, and one step further to estrangement. Distance, in both its critical and alienating forms, is considered at length in the subtext of the book: How does one formulate and maintain a critical position while immersed in a community of makers, writers, and thinkers who are also friends? As the book surveys the territory where “queer” is staked, it ultimately constructs a portrait of a community of people at various stages of mobilizing. It’s here that I should tell you that I’m in the book, as are a number of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. I was in the audience with Goldberg during many events, though not literally by their side. They recount the conversation we had on the 25th Anniversary of a Day Without Art, for which I curated a project by fierce pussy and Alex Fiahlo led a group from the West Village to the Chelsea piers, stopping at the former homes of artists like Cookie Mueller. It was a joy to revisit the past seven years with Goldberg guiding me through my memories. For the reader not immersed in this community, the book constructs an archive of ephemeral conversations. One is privy to the inside of the “queer” art world as Goldberg centers this self-fashioned community and flips the terms of estrangement.

Ariel Goldberg, “Rainbow Slice” (2014), 17 x 22 inches, archival ink jet (image courtesy the artist)

Ariel Goldberg’s The Estrangement Principle is out from Nightboat Books. 

The post When “Queer” Art Becomes Commonplace appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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