#I really like Edgar's face in that one good angle :D
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suca-loca · 5 years ago
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slip of the tongue.
Pairing: Anxceit (Virgil/Janus)
Tags: Sympathetic!Janus, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: It was supposed to be a quick phone call. They found out Patton got a promotion - from a Facebook post of all things - so of course, they called to congratulate him. Had Damien known he’d end the call with “See you at Christmas, Dad” he would have just congratulated him in the comments.
Author’s Note: I completed this a week before Deceit’s name was revealed so... oops. That’s why he’s named Damien in this fic. Also, the Eleanor and Park book is kinda problematic. The quote I reference here really touched me during a hard time which is why I used it, although I do not recommend reading it because the representation is b l e g h .
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“Holy shit.”
Damien hides his face in his hands.
“Holy. Shit.”
A sound eerily similar to that of a dying bear leaves Damien’s mouth.
Virgil laughs. He doesn’t even try to hide it. He explodes like a shaken Coca Cola can until he’s nothing but a mess of overflowing tears and fizzling out snorts.
Beside him on the couch, Damien grabs one of the pillows. “Oh, how I adore seeing you enjoy yourself over me acting like a fool,” he grumbles as he smacks it over Virgil’s head. “It really shows how great of a boyfriend you are.”
Virgil, unable to speak - because he’s currently bent over, clutching at his sides - responds with two middle fingers.
Damien reaches for the last remaining couch pillow.
“No!” Virgil somehow wheezes out, the terror in his voice terribly contrasting against the grin on his face. “I’ll stop! I’ll stop!”
Damien doesn’t believe him. He throws it without mercy.
He was right to see through Virgil’s lie because two minutes pass before Virgil finally gets it out of his system. All the while Damien waits at the opposite end of the couch, watching with a pout as his boyfriend begins to crawl towards him.
“That-“ Virgil wipes away one last tear from his eye - “was beautiful. Truly the greatest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. I would love to see it on the big screen, looping for ten hours.”
Damien gives him a (totally real) disgusted look as a kiss is pressed against his cheek. “You are insufferable.”
“Is that why you made my pancakes this morning in the shape of hearts?”
“You’re totally right! Next time I won’t go through the trouble of making the pancakes into different shapes. I’ll just poison them.”
Virgil chuckles.
“Don’t you start again!” Damien groans, looking like he wants the couch to become quicksand and swallow him up. “I’ll get up and grab the pillows from the floor. Watch me.”
“Sorry,” Virgil says in a tone that is definitely not at all sorry. “It’s just...You just called my dad, Dad. That’s, like, better than when you said you loved me for the first time.”
It was supposed to be a quick phone call. They found out Patton got a promotion - from a Facebook post of all things - so of course, they called to congratulate him. Had Damien known he’d end the call with “See you at Christmas, Dad” he would have just congratulated him in the comments.
Damien watches in horror as he sees Virgil’s shoulders begin to shake as the memory comes back to him.
“It wasn’t a slip of the tongue if you consider the circumstances!” He cries out, desperately not wanting to sit through another one of Virgil’s cackling.
He only realizes what he said when Virgil’s dimples disappear and are replaced with a curious look.
“Oh?” Virgil coos, smirking in the same way that made Damien fall in love with him all those years ago. “Care to explain what these circumstances are, D?”
Damien fiddles with the hem of his pajama shirt. He’s blushing.
“Well,” he inhales sharply, suddenly acting so small and nervous in a way Virgil has never seen from him in the four years they’ve known each other. “I should get used to calling him dad since he’ll become my father-in-law.”
Virgil stills. “What?”
Deceit stands up, only to then drop to one knee.
Now it’s Virgil’s turn to inhale sharply.
“Virgil Hart,” Damien looks up at him with clear adoration and a voice oozing with love from just those two words, “Years ago, for some odd - and very stupid - reason you risked sitting in a jail cell for a guy you didn’t know.”
Virgil blushes, the day they met coming back to him in pieces. He remembers sneaking out of his college dorm room past curfew to join a protest. Remembers how the protest turned south as sirens could be heard ten blocks down. Remembers the adrenaline that passed through him as he chucked an egg at one of the cops who was in the middle of arresting some guy. Remembers the adrenaline being replaced with fear as the cop charged at him, only to then be pulled down the street by the same man he rescued.
Remembers the two of them hiding in a thrift shop that sold dildos and smelled too much like weed. Remembers learning the man’s name was Damien from the slip of paper handed to him with a phone number. Remembers getting caught sneaking back into his dorm room and not even caring as the principal shouted at him because he was too busy thinking about what a great runner Damien was. He also remembers thinking how great it was to run behind Damien.
“And now,” Damien says as he presses a kiss against Virgil’s hand, “because of your lack of control that day, we sit here in this apartment that we share. With plates still in the sink that is your turn to wash, with two cats I gifted Patton curled up on our beds because you never told me he was allergic and with the insides of my favorite sweaters smudged with black lipstick because no matter where I hide them you always find them,
But, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Which I now realize, given my moral compass, doesn’t say much, so let me rephrase; I wouldn’t change it even if it meant I had to delete all my eat the rich tweets. I didn’t realize it then, but I fell in love with you the moment I heard that egg crack against the cop's helmet. I only continued to fall more in love with you as you sent me memes past midnight and the way you scrunch up your face every time someone admits to never reading one of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. You are an inspiration to me and I hope that you remain only my inspiration. Which is why, Virgil Hart, I ask you today...”
Damien slips out a ring. It’s all black, except for the purple jewel at the center, decorated with petals curling to where the diamond sits.
“Will you marry me?”
Virgil blinks.
“There’s cheeto dust on the hoodie I’m wearing.”
Damien raises an eyebrow. “Excellent observation skills.”
“Our cats’ assholes combined are in a better state than my hair right now,” Virgil continues.
“Thank you for the mental image.”
“I gained ten pounds this week!”
“I was wondering why our cuddling sessions felt better.”
“I’m pretty sure my breath smells like Remus’ room.”
“I’m well aware. I kissed you good morning, remember?”
“Then why the fuck do you still have the ring out?!” Virgil huffs, pulling his hands away. He gestures to himself. “Do I look like a picture-worthy fiancé?”
Damien raises an eyebrow. “So what you’re saying is… I should propose after you’ve taken a shower?”
“No!”
Virgil yanks his hands away. He does it so hard Damien is surprised the other doesn’t send him flying backwards. His temper flares and his mouth snaps open to say something snarky, but it shuts when his eyes fall on the emo’s face.
Sad isn’t the right word to use. It’s devastation. Even with Virgil burying his face against the knees hugged to his chest Damien can see how hard his lips wobble and the way his eyes blink rapidly against the incoming of tears.
“Why can’t you see I’m not worthy to be a fiancé?” He croaks, voice going weaker towards the end. “Much less yours?”
Damien wastes no time cradling Virgil’s face in his hands. He rubs the pad of his thumb against Virgil’s left cheek, knowing it’ll help calm him down.
“Eleanor was right,” he begins, voice softer than the most expensive silk money could buy. “She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice. It was supposed to make you feel something.”
Virgil’s breath hitches. “Eleanor and Park, chapter 28, page 165. My favorite quote.”
Damien clicks his tongue. “And yet the message escapes you. You’re not stupid, mi vida. So stop acting like it. You’re too good to fall for society's expectations of beauty.”
Virgil looks ready to interject, but Damien keeps going.
“When I bought this ring it wasn’t because I thought every angle was your best angle. It wasn’t because you lack fewer fat rolls than other people. It was because of how you showed up at my door with my favorite movie and snacks after I got a bad grade on an exam. It’s because of how you headbang and jump around the living room every time I put The Crow soundtrack on when we clean.”
Damien brushes Virgil’s bangs to the side. He presses a kiss against his boyfriend’s forehead. Virgil is quiet through all of this.
“And most importantly, it’s because whenever I picture myself happy it’s with you.”
A sob breaks through the silence. Tears, big fat crocodile ones, pour down Virgil’s face. For a second Damien thinks he said something wrong, but then Virgil swoops down to capture his lips in a kiss.
There’s nothing soft about it. Not even three seconds in and Virgil’s hand tugs at his long locks, making Damien see stars. Somehow he’s able to break through the daze and wrap his arms around Virgil’s back, pulling him close until there’s no space between them.
Besides the occasional growl and groan, there’s just the sound of their heavy breathing whenever they disconnect for a few seconds and then continue where they left off. Virgil plays dirty by wrapping his legs around the other’s waist, so Damien retaliates by biting at his lips.
When they break apart, eyes half-lidded and hands still wandering, they smile at one another.
“Brilliant idea,” Damien breaks the silence first, voice rough like sandpaper. “Kissing me while you’re crying. Now all I can taste is salt - ow!”
Damien rubs the spot where Virgil threw a pillow at him. All the while Virgil sticks out the same tongue just shoved down his throat a second ago.
“Well played,” Damien grumbles.
Virgil shrugs. “It was either the pillow or not saying yes.”
“Truly, what a difficult decision. Me versus your fragile pride.”
“Shut up and give me the ring before I hit you twice.”
Damien rolls his eyes, but there’s fondness behind them as he slips the ring on. All the while Virgil is smiling so wide and so hard he doesn’t know how his face doesn’t crack from the pressure.
Virgil knows for a fact that his eyes are puffy, that his nose is running and that his face is the same color as a cherry. But he doesn’t care. All he can focus on is the man in front of him, with his beautiful mind and a stunning smile currently aimed (and from now on always will be) only at him.
“I love you.”
Damien doesn’t hesitate. “I love you too.”
Damien watches with love in his eyes as Virgil’s eyes crinkle around the corners.
He then watches with confusion as Virgil pulls out his phone.
“Oh no,” Damien groans, “don’t tell me you’re going to tell your Tumblr followers the news first.”
“First off, fuck you. You’re just sour over the fact that Remus was the first person I told about my Tumblr account. Secondly,” Virgil puts the phone to his ear. “No, I’m not.”
The person on the other end of the line picks up on the first ring.
“Kiddo, I was hoping you’d call back! Tell Damien I don’t mind what he said. I take it as a compliment, truly!”
Virgil smiles. “I’ll do you one better. How about I give you the phone to talk to him yourself?”
He hands the phone over.
Damien, once again, doesn’t hesitate.
“Good morning, father-in-law.”
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forgottenlivesobverse · 4 years ago
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Kara Dennison Q&A
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Today we have a Q&A with Forgotten Lives author Kara Dennison, whose story ‘Gauntlet of Absolution’ features the Philip Hinchcliffe Doctor.
First, the opening of the story:
‘For some, the appearance of the TARDIS from thin air on their home world was met with confusion, bemusement, or even fear. Some fled, sensing an incongruous power from the vessel as it warped and shifted to fit its surroundings. Others scoffed at the sight, believing it to be a prank and not wanting to give its perpetrator the satisfaction of a reaction. But as the TARDIS materialised on the pinkish-white earth of Idrotha, butted up just against the inside of its capital kingdom’s outer walls, the two guards nearby only watched calmly.’
FL: Tell us a little about yourself.
KD: Weird American, easily distracted, possibly too influenced by anime. My first story in print was with Obverse Books, actually – in The Perennial Miss Wildthyme. Since then I’ve shown up in the Black Archive series, a few City of the Saved anthologies, a Sherlock Holmes book, several SF/F books and charity collections, and occasionally people’s homes if they leave their tea cabinet unattended. By day I’m a journalist writing for Crunchyroll, Otaku USA, and Sci Fi Magazine. Guinea pigs are involved in this somehow.
FL: What attracted you to this project?
KD: For one thing, it was the opportunity to create a Doctor almost entirely from the ground up. I’ve written a lot of existing Doctors for charity anthologies, and written a lot about what makes a well-portrayed Doctor, but I’ve never tried it myself to any serious degree. I wanted the fun and the challenge – both of which I got.
Also, working with Philip Purser-Hallard is always a treat. He’s kind of like the Kojima of my writing circles: he calls, I drop everything and answer, no questions asked. And I always have a great time, and love the people I’ve gotten to work with and alongside because of him.
FL: Each story in the book features a different incarnation of the Doctor. Tell us about yours.
This Doctor is just so excited about his new regeneration. He’s going to live every cavalier swashbuckler dream, and he doesn’t care how ridiculous he looks doing it. Which is good, because he looks extremely ridiculous most of the time.
This is the Doctor, though, so there’s a terrifying level of competence even under his occasionally childish behaviour. It’s just a matter of whether you ever get to see it. If you do, you’re likely either a very close friend or about to get your entire situation destroyed.
FL: These Doctors only exist in a couple of photos. How did you approach the characterisation of your incarnation?
KD: To me, Doctor Who has always played like a classic adventure serial. So I wanted a classic adventure serial hero. I really pandered to myself in that regard: who would I tune in to watch every week? My version of the Hinchliffe Doctor is my answer. This is my ideal classic adventure hero. I’m not sure what that says about me.
The other big help was my habit of ‘casting’ someone as any new character I write until they’re evolved enough to stand on their own. In this Doctor’s case, it was a certain Rogue from a certain online D&D campaign. There’s still one little hold-over I left in as a hat-tip, if you know what to look for.
FL: What’s your story about?
KD: Our heroic Doctor has a fresh face and a fresh outfit, and he’s taking both to the planet Idrotha. But he’s ended up getting rolled into the planet’s outdated correctional system, which jails you for minor infractions and dangles absolution at the end of a very long competition. He’s going to run that Gauntlet – to its end, if he has his way – and might even pick up a new companion along the way. Expect political intrigue, science-fantasy antics, and no fewer than one epic arena battle.
FL: The stories are intended to represent a ‘prehistory’ of Doctor Who before 1963. How did that affect your approach?
KD: For me, as someone born in the US in 1981, I knew I’d do better approaching the ‘prehistory’ element from a literary and stylistic angle. Forgotten Lives would be taking place, if it existed, just as the revival of what we now call sword-and-planet fiction was about to hit. So I was looking to mid-century writers like Michael Moorcock and Manly Wade Wellman, and of course the writers they would have looked to (Edgar Rice Burroughs in particular).
I imagine this Doctor’s adventures as instalments in Amazing Stories, and that was the experience I wanted to give the reader: that they’re picking up the magazine and starting a new adventure series.
FL: Who would be your ideal casting for a pre-Hartnell Doctor?
KD: Gene Kelly. Stick with me here. Does his own stunts (even if you try to stop him), looks fantastic even in ridiculous clothes, can somehow make even the silliest dialogue work. I’d love to see it.
FL: What other projects are you working on at present?
KD: So much in the cooker! 2020’s compressed and expanded pretty much every writer and publisher’s schedule in crazy ways, but a lot of things are rolling out. My first book in The Chronosmith Chronicles, Eleanor’s Tears, is one cover typeset away from publication, and there are some anthologies I’m on pins and needles waiting to tell everyone about.
On the ‘now writing’ front, I’m finishing out my first YA book and a short story. There’s also a passion project on the back burner, which would be best described as ‘MR James meets PG Wodehouse.’ Whatever I do, it’ll pop up on karadennison.com in a timely fashion.
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mikqueen12 · 5 years ago
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Week 13 Draft (Read Me!)
Sheridan Clark is a friend of mine I’ve taken a few classes with. When you look at her, you might get the overwhelming feeling that you just have to be their friend. Her quiet and bubbly personality meshes well with her perfectionist tendencies. Considering I am also quite shy, it took me forever to get up the nerve to talk to her! We went through almost an entire semester before I was giving more than a friendly nod. I learned that we were both taking our same professor the next semester, and this moment is when we both blossomed and really started chatting! 
On the day of the interview, I picked her up at campus. I had already heard that she doesn’t like driving places she doesn’t usually go, and I can relate entirely. I had to grab gas at the nearby gas station, and it was right at 5:00. After struggling with my gas cap and pumping gas, we prepared for take-off. I went to turn left on a busy road and instead turned right, defeated.
“Oh, well I should have known that wouldn’t work during rush hour. I’ll just make a u-turn up here. That is if I can…” I drawled off. Sheridan pointed out the sign and said “There it is! Canada has some weird laws dealing with u-turns.” “Oh, really? I thought you said you were like 3 when you moved down here, how do you remember?” 
“That’s a good question,” she says as she laughs with me. “I guess sometimes you just remember random details for life.” 
I must have made a grimace, because Sheridan and I broke out into a little laughter. “How long have you lived in the U.S.?” 
“Uh, for about as long as I can remember. I think for about 17 years?” She ended her sentence, as if questioning if she was fact checking herself. When I asked her about her memories of Canada, most of them involved her family. 
Sheridan was not a U.S. citizen, and had never had been. One time in class we all showed younger pictures of us (old drivers license photos and such) and we all saw child Sheridan on her green card. She’s a passionate Canadian, usually representing her country with a little button on her hat. The rest of our conversation was rambles about classes and any little thing we felt like talking about. 
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The apartment isn’t the cleanest one you will ever see, but it is far from dirty either.  The bar separating the kitchen and the living room tries to fool you that people use the common space. The wax warmer was turned on, illuminating the side of the wall with good lights and a slight cherry smell. The key rack is varying shades of blue, it looks as if it was painted with care at home and was hung up with an off colored green string. It was at an angle and the wall behind it had a few scuff marks, showing continuous use. However, the unopened mail and the red money gun that gets used only when guests are over begs to differ. It seems things are tidy simply because the common space isn’t usually used. Two wood panels hang above the TV in completely different styles. The first looks rustic with blues and beiges. It states “The more people I meet, the more I like my cat.” The second one would be an important item in a mystery video game, if the game was about this apartment; it is brightly colored with orange, turquoise, pinks, and purples and says “Stay Salty.” 
We sat on opposite couches, which faced each other perfectly for this type of activity. The lamp behind us helped fill the room, both with light and space. The furniture in this apartment doesn’t match, but it doesn’t look completely out of place either. The dark brown coffee table housed a few figurines: a snowman left behind from Christmas storage, handed-down coasters holding our halloween cups, and a very round green frog wearing sunglasses playing a saxophone. The TV stand was located in front of us, and held some of my artwork from classes we shared. A pumpkin was painted with a panoramic view of the night sky, with a cat walking on its fence. A metal bust of a cat with his tongue sticking out hides beneath my favorite 3D art. Made of only foamcore, masking tape, and a little glue after it was turned in, these triangles scream activated space. Activated Space was a meme from our 3-D design class, threatened to become a T-shirt design several times.
Sheridan would have a lot to say about this scene. When asked “What do all of your buttons on your bag and hat say about you?” She responded with the idea that it’s a way to learn alot about someone right from the beginning. If you look at her beanie, you’ll see LGBT+ pins, Twenty One Pilot pins, Canada pins, and many more. This shouldn’t be the only way you learn about someone, but you can find out if you will get along if you see some of these little signs. I can relate to this, as I watched back the interview footage I noticed I was wearing a flannel I have dubbed the “Bi Shirt” due to its color scheme. Nods to things like these can go unnoticed, but can become a conversation starter if one wishes.
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Expressing yourself is one of her favorite qualities. This can be done through everyday life, but it can also be expressed through art. I once in the interview asked her, as a fellow artist, how she is able to express her emotions so well in her art. As children become teenagers, they obtain more vocabulary to express how they feel. One study done by Nancy Johnson took school age kids and asked them how to answer the question “What is art?” or “What do you think art is?” (61). The younger the child, the more their response would have been like this: something fun to do, making something, using clay, etc. As the grade levels rose, so did their responses. Once you ask the third graders, they began to use emotions along with actions. One student said “it’s just something you have fun with!” and others art as beautiful or playful (Johnson 63). High schoolers who were asked these questions responded with things that please you, an opinion, something that is relative, and other answers (Johnson 64). As we get older, we can describe our feelings better, and Sheridan is very in tune with her feelings.
Back in Professor Peterson’s class, our classmates were shy. However, by the end of the semester, we were all cracking up. The class was Concepts, Creativity, and Studio Practices. This class had little rules; the first project was simply to “make a time machine” and no further explanation was given. The last project was a research art project. It followed the usual frame of do whatever you want, no restrictions. This allowed everyone to create what they wanted, and the class had varying projects. Mine was a poster I created to advocate for the cats on the Marietta campus, and call for them to be TNR’d (trap, neuter, return). 
Even sunshine will eventually meet rain. Sheridan briefly mentions that she meets with her therapist to manage her anxiety and depression. One of the things that I can resonate with her the most on is these topics. Just by looking at her, I can tell she was called “mature for her age” as a child. When I was smaller, I took it as a compliment, thinking I was one step closer to being an adult. However, as I got older, I started realizing it was a soft way of saying “you’ve been through some stuff, and it’s made you into a peacemaker.” Despite the origins, Sheridan appears to be one of the most peaceful people I have ever met.   
However, Sheridan’s project was a real show stopper. She chose to research some of the most common mental illnesses and recreate them in her own way. The below piece she named “Anxiety.” The eyes everywhere to her represented the feeling of anxiety, and other ways of expressing that feeling. She also created 3 more types, with her interpretations of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Her determination for a perfect project-- or 4 for that matter, is prevalent here. This piece represents the feeling of being anxious in its entirety; sometimes when we feel anxious, we might wonder if we have general anxiety too. That’s what the research done by Takeshi Hamamura and Christian Chan focused on. The mere concept of being anxious correlated with increased googling “symptoms of anxiety” and reports of self diagnosed anxiety rise as well (Hamamura and Chan 2). The good thing about Google is how soon we can pull up information, and in this case someone might be able to schedule an appointment if they need to. (Hamamura and Chan 1). If not, researching the symptoms can give you some piece of mind!
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Something I envy about my interviewee is her determination to have a perfect, well, anything. This expresses itself most often in the form of art projects. For example, in our 3D Design class we had a project called “Paper and Metal.” The goal was to make a casting of pewter and have it suspended in air only by paper and glue. The class met 6 hours a week, and she never had a moment of downtime; she was always creating the paper trees, grass, or leaves for her project. Whereas I only spent about 7 hours on my project (pictured below so you can get the idea) outside of class, I’m fairly certain she spent twice that on hers. Hard work pays off, and I hope she got a well deserved break after the completion of this pristine project. 
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Sheridan doesn’t stop at expressing herself through art, or style. She also has a new hobby: Furbys! In the interview, she described them as the toy she always wanted until right before Christmas, when she forgot it existed. Now that she’s out on her own, she has more freedom and goes to  buy them, clean their fur, and revamp them! The tech that hides within these furbies is quite impressive. The article “There’s a lot of smart electronics inside a furby” describes this perfectly. For example, furbies are programmed to begin speaking “Furbish” and progressively learn English. (Edgar 28) To a child (or even me until I read this article), it would look like the Furby is learning directly from you! The realism packed into the fury creature is shocking, as many of its responses don’t seem to have a rhyme or reason. If you hold a furby upside down at first it will giggle, but if you keep holding it upside down it may say “I’m scared.” (Edgar 29)
Out of all the furbies I’ve seen, Cabbage is the one I’ve seen the most. But she has a variety, ranging from Big Mama, Shifty, and Maw. Since most of the ones she owns are ~15-20 years old, few of them work. She enjoys taking them apart, “deskinning” them and attempting to fix them. A project she’s had in the making is to make a rainbow pride furby by dying their fur. This furby is beginning to come together as of me writing this, and has been named June. Although Cabbage doesn’t work yet, I still have hope for him! 
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Being LGBT+ is an important part of both of our lives, and we both identify as Bisexual. A paper that Sheridan is writing this semester focuses on more education for LGBT+ students as well as just acceptance in schools. When I went to look up this topic, I found this research that came from Canada and thought it was fitting. Catherine Nash and Kath Browne talked about the importance of these topics being taught in school. With LGBT+ issues being more accepted and acknowledged, we have to remember that our society is centered around a hetronormalitive lifestyle. It has to be remembered that “The drive for LGBT integration often works in concert with broader efforts to teach multiculturalism, diversity and inclusiveness.” (Nash and Browne) School is the place where you can learn things you wouldn’t have at home, and these schools need to be a safe environment where a student won’t feel judged. Not only in Canada do LGBT+ students in school feel they are not accepted or wanted. If the environment you learn in isn’t a good one, there is a likelihood this student may not want to do work. 
In the end, I feel I got to know Sheridan on a more personal level than I did from small talk from class. It’s important to listen and understand in friendships and relationships, and if you do it might help you grow. It reminded me that expressing yourself is important, and perhaps you should consider more ways than one. Picking up a hobby that others might think is quirky might just be the thing you need to ease your mind at the end of the day. If asked “Who is Sheridan?” I feel that I can confidently answer this question. Sheridan is the single beam of sunshine that sneaks through your window to wake you up gently. She is wise beyond her years, and typically acts as a “Mom Friend” in her friend group. She won’t let herself get walked all over, and she will find a better way to live! Sheridan is the definition of expressing. Whether it is through art, furbies, buttons, music, or plants, you can find a bit of Sheridan everywhere. 
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reactingtosomething · 7 years ago
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Reacting to Baby Driver
The Wright Amount
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The Setup: For this post we’re thrilled to bring you two Guest Reactors, both former film school classmates of ours, and both Edgar Wright aficionados. One is Andrew, one half of the Punder Twins (we hope you’ll meet the other half in the foreseeable future), and the other wanted a codename like Bats and Buddy, so we’re calling him BOB. All caps, because BOB likes that it works as an acronym for “Boring Old Bob.”
SPOILERS -- and fan/re-casting -- after the jump!
MIRI: Ok, so what did we think of Baby Driver?
ANDREW: Oh we're starting this? It was very, Edgar wright-y
KRIS: I don’t know how much this will matter, but for context I thought it might be fun to start with everyone’s favorite (pre-Baby Driver) Edgar Wright movies/moments
MIRI: I went into the movie not really expecting to like it (the trailers just didn’t grab me the way they did SO MANY people) so I was actually really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it
Ooh, I like that
What are yours?
BOB: "You ain't ever seen Bad Boys 2?" - Hot Fuzz
KRIS: With the caveat that I haven’t rewatched any of them, I think my favorite is Scott Pilgrim
ANDREW: The entirety of Scott pilgrim vs the world 
KRIS: which admittedly has the unfair advantages of Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza
But also “Chicken’s not vegan?”
Just an insanely stacked cast
ANDREW: I was about to say that!
MIRI: I’d have to go Sean of the Dead
*Shaun
BOB: 
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KRIS: Of the Cornettos I do think Hot Fuzz is my favorite
ANDREW: Mine too! I still wish he directed ant man. I mean, I liked ant man. But...
MIRI: Hot Fuzz is excellent, but Shaun of the Dead just surprised me so much in so many delightful ways
KRIS: Oh also I liked that in the big GQ interview Chris Evans did when he got cast for Captain America, he mentioned that his friends thought his Scott Pilgrim character was hilariously spot-on, though maybe they thought this ironically
I’d have to revisit the piece, which I feel like is semi-legendary in entertainment journalism circles
BOB: I really like how he took that film and made it both a reflection of the action genre as a whole while also making it very much so an original film 
KRIS: I’ll try to find and link
MIRI: Yeah, he does great things with loving parodies
KRIS: Shaun of the Dead was definitely revelatory, although I probably saw it a year or two too early to fully appreciate it
BOB: Which when I watched Baby Driver, you could say he does the same to an extent with heist and car chase movies
MIRI: This didn’t feel as much like a sendup to me as it did just an example of the genre
BOB: It has a little Reservoir Dogs / The Killing (Kubricks) feel to it with the nicknames
KRIS: Guillermo del Toro’s very complimentary Twitter thread about the movie made a point of stressing that where Wright has previously been ironic, Baby Driver was newly and lovingly earnest
MIRI: Yeah, I’d agree. And in some places that worked better for me than others
ANDREW: I concur with the famous director.
MIRI: I’m curious--on a scale of 1-10 how much did you guys love this movie?
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BOB: 9.5 
ANDREW: ...8?
BOB: Maybe cause i am sucker for the non verbal acting in the first half and the syncing of music with action 
ANDREW: That's true. The non verbal acting was top notch.
KRIS: I’m probably a 6.5 - 7? I liked but didn’t love it, and the framing for my expectations is that I follow approximately 3 million film critics on Twitter and everyone who saw the movie screen at Austin L O V E D it
MIRI: I’m somewhere around a 6.5 or a 7. It’s totally fun! The performances are great! But it’s also pretty lazy in some ways and has some plot issues. But the action is GREAT
KRIS: The physicality of Baby was definitely great
(Do we know that actor from anything?)
BOB: Fault in our stars
MIRI: Kris, I love you
He’s also in the Divergent films
and he’s the new Han Solo
ANDREW: He is also in baby driver
MIRI: This definitely seems like a step away from the teen heartthrob of it all for him
KRIS: The new Han Solo is Alden Ehrenreich. Same initials, different dude
MIRI: Ohhh oops
BOB: Fact check - han solo is alden something
They look very alike though!
MIRI: Was Elgort in the mix at one point or am I 100% wrong?
BOB: However... he is credited as Ansolo in Bad Santa 2
Yes he was
MIRI: Ok, that makes me feel slightly better
BOB: Damn this guy is only 23!
MIRI: OOOhhh, Alden Ehrenreich is the kid from Beautiful Creatures
I’m never going to get them fully separate in my head now
ANDREW: Bob! Don't look at ages!
It's depressing.
KRIS: (To our guests: we also have frequent and lengthy digressions)
(we very briefly tried to fight it but we know our limits)
MIRI: My favorite person in this movie was definitely Joseph, the foster dad
ANDREW: My favorite was Kevin spacey's kid.
KRIS: I kind of wished we’d gotten more of Jon Bernthal but I did love the Joseph scenes
OH YEAH
He was great
ANDREW: Oh my god, yes! I thought Jon was gonna come back!
I almost forgot he was in the movie.
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BOB: Back to BD, BOB is very interested in getting his hands on seeing how much of the movie was motivated by the actual words on the page. A bevy of characters like the nephew and Jon Bernthals limited scenes. Heck even the small bits like the postal worker were interesting
MIRI: I liked the interactions with the postal worker
The headshake played really nicely
BOB: One plot hole for me was who was the hero that tried to ram them (The Flea/Brian Tee trio) because that guy had some guns on him
KRIS: I did really like how IMMEDIATELY everything went to shit in that moment
The second act really dragged for me but I thought this started and ended really strong
MIRI: That’s the plot hole that bothers you?
KRIS: Say more BOB
ANDREW: Damn you good Samaritan! 
BOB: Seemed like a setup that wasn't fully explained. Was Brian Tee's character in on it? Is that why he got s bullet in the head? Or was it more so over the fact that he fucked up 3 times
MIRI: He seemed like an ex-military hired security guy to me
BOB: Mike myers, dragged getting into car, left his shotgun
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KRIS: I think he was just a Good Samaritan but he had a Marine Corps hat
BOB: I noticed that hat too but unsure if there was a fix there
MIRI: Oh, I thought it was additional hired security since there had been so many robberies lately
BOB: Miri good point!!!
KRIS: Oh, I didn’t think about it after the movie but in the moment I thought the lost shotgun would come back to bite them
ANDREW: Ooooh that's smart. ... I hope that it.
BOB: Yes likewise about the shotgun 
MIRI: Yeah, I definitely thought the shotgun would come back
I did like the clear willingness to take out allies like that
BOB: What plotholes bugged you MS?
MIRI: BUT that makes me buy Doc helping Baby TO THE EXPENSE OF HIS OWN LIFE even less
BOB: Yes that was good. Start of seeing how Bats was real fucked up
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KRIS: Yeah, I did like the setup of Doc’s operation a lot
BOB: Bats killed him
Not Doc
MIRI: I get the weird affection, but that carried it way beyond believability to me.
There’s no planting of that (at least not any that works for me)
ANDREW: I don't know. I bought doc helping baby.
MIRI: Oh, Bats killed him? How do we know that?
BOB: "Moment you catch feelings, moment you catch a bullet."
KRIS: But it would’ve been on Doc’s orders, right?
MIRI: But the guy didn’t catch feelings, he was just bad at his job
BOB: He was already riled up. And he is very trigger happy
Perhaps Docs orders but he didn't seem type to get dirty.
He caught a feeling of being dumb then! Lol
MIRI: I don’t buy Doc helping Baby. Baby destroyed his whole operation, put his actual loved ones in jeopardy, and is now leaving him meaning he can’t pull any jobs for/with him ever again. Plus Doc definitely seems like a survivor above all else, which helping Baby totally invalidates
BOB: Would it have made sense if say Doc was like a relative ala how we see him train the nephew?
MIRI: Sure, but he’s not
BOB: I thought it was gonna go in that direction
ANDREW: You’re right, but he essentially raised Baby and worked with him for like a decade. Albeit forcefully. Do you really think after all that doc would just shoot baby in the face?
However logical it seems?
MIRI: For the level of betrayal Baby has just given him, maybe
ANDREW: Doc seems likes family man to me.
MIRI: Or at least let him twist on the rope he’s put up himself
ANDREW: A sick
KRIS: I buy Doc not killing Baby, if not the risks he then takes on Baby’s behalf
MIRI: He definitely seems like a family man, but I don’t think he treats Baby as family enough to justify the turn for me
ANDREW: That fair.
MIRI: Agreed
KRIS: I think meeting his son, and seeing how the kid is totally well adjusted, is part of setting that up
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BOB: Doc shooting up people was a stretch 
MIRI: The kid was his nephew, I think
BOB: I buy the take this money and run angle a lot
Yes nephew
ANDREW: Then baby is the son he never had!
Son of a bitch!
MIRI: But he’s clearly close with him--watches movies with him, etc. He doesn’t spend time with Baby outside of business
BOB: He bought him dinner!
ANDREW: He bought him dinner!
MIRI: i’m with Kris--I don’t think he would have killed Baby necessarily, but he goes way further than I believe
He bought him dinner once, and partially as a chance to threaten Debbie and get Baby back into the game
BOB: He talks to him perhaps more so whenever he picks up him for a job
KRIS: I can sort of see dots to connect from Doc being willing to order terrible things but deliberately distancing himself from them to avoid catching feelings, because he knows or suspects that if he gets too close then he’ll stop being the criminal mastermind he wants to be
MIRI: He’s clearly closer with him than with most employees, I’m not denying that!
I just don’t think they put in enough groundwork to make me believe the turn
KRIS: I don’t think the movie does that work for you
MIRI: The movie expects me to buy emotional connections that it doesn’t show on a couple of fronts
The fact that Deborah is willing to run away with a guy she BARELY knows is ridiculous
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BOB: Stop trying to catch feelings Miri!!! Bats may be listening!
ANDREW: Bro, that train I can get on.
MIRI: Even without the bank robber, just shot someone right in front of her thing
ANDREW: I kind of wanted Debra to say "thanks but no thanks" in act three.
That would have been a funny twist.
MIRI: I would have been into that
BOB: It happens... maybe she felt protected?? But they do have moments where they are similar. The love for the road, the music, the need and want to escape 
Maybe she was tired of the old humdrum reality of things
ANDREW: But baby just shot a man at the diner
BOB: Ala Thelma and Louise
MIRI: Right, they have the building blocks for dating, but not “Run away from everyone you’ve ever known with me forever”
Thelma and Louise were lifelong friends
BOB: I'm comparing the desire versus status of relationship length
MIRI: Baby and Deborah have had like 7 conversations
KRIS: (Oh god for like days I’ve been confusing Lily Collins with Lily James)
ANDREW: Most of them are about names.
MIRI: (Me too! Can I blame you this time??)
KRIS: (Yes, because you were there when I did it out loud)
BOB: Too many Lilys and Han Solo look alikes!!
MIRI: BOB: Right, but the “you jump I jump” of it all makes sense because of the love that’s already there. You don’t risk it all for a virtual stranger Basically, I think some of the relationships are weak. They knew what marks they wanted/needed to hit, but didn’t do the work of getting there well
KRIS: I think they do establish that Debora doesn’t have anything in her life early on, but I agree that across the board the movie wants me to make emotional leaps that it doesn’t work to achieve
HOWEVER
MIRI: When there’s an actual depth of relationship like between Baby and Joseph it WORKS
Buddy and Darling work
KRIS: For the sake of argument, there’s this “all the characters in Baby Driver are archetypes” case I’ve seen floated
MIRI: (we have three spellings of Debora’s name going and Kris is right about it)
KRIS: Which doesn’t work for me, but I want to know how you feel about it
In fairness, I have IMDB open
MIRI: Eh. Feels like an excuse. Especially when there are the examples of genuine emotional connections
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ANDREW: Can we talk about how there are only two female characters in the movie? 1 is a love interest and the other is fodder for Jon Hamm to be the villain?
MIRI: I would say that Debora and Darling fit the Madonna/Whore archetypes to a disturbing level
KRIS: AND EIZA GONZALEZ IS 20 YEARS JON HAMM’S JUNIOR
ANDREW: Genre be damned. That's a little ridiculous.
MIRI: more than a little
BOB: Hmmm interesting point Andrew! But what about the Mom? So 3?
KRIS: She’s not a “character”
MIRI: The mom isn’t a character
ANDREW: Fodder for baby to have tinnitus?
MIRI: she’s an excuse for maintain
*manpain
BOB: Ahh man pain 
MIRI: She has no arc or actions, and her only voice is filtered through Baby
Also, they do an interesting thing of rarely showing her face fully, which I assume is due to his memories being limited/fading
and it’s very cool on that front
BOB: Ditto with Miri
MIRI: but also she’s about 1/4 of the women in the entire film and we barely see or hear her
it’s not great
Can we take a moment to imagine how much more interesting the Buddy/Darling dynamic would have been if their ages and roles were reversed?
Just for fun
ANDREW: No. I was kind of hoping for something more out of Darling. But then she got shot... a lot.
BOB: Maybe if Doc was a female then perhaps the whole giving themself up in Act 3 seems more believable
MIRI: Because I would have been totally there for that
ANDREW: I was just thinking that Miri!
BOB: She got shot the fuck up
This movie put the female characters through the ringer in terms distress and pain
MIRI: The whole benevolent tolerance of Baby thing that Buddy does would have hit so harder from a potential mother figure when it went away
Yeah, it’s very lazy on that front. And--much as we love him!--not super surprising from Wright
He doesn’t seem to hate women by any stretch, he just doesn’t really seem to think of them much
KRIS: I want writer-directors like Edgar Wright and Christopher Nolan to have to take a seminar co-taught by like, Ava Duvernay and Patty Jenkins
MIRI: Is there more than one female character of note in any of the films he’s written and directed (not based on preexisting property)?
BOB: Now you have me catching feelings... questioning my overall thoughts
MIRI: YES
Also, I want to take those seminars too!
Sorry, BOB
BOB: Sign me up
MIRI: But also not sorry because it’s important to be critical of the media we love!
And the dude is clearly smart and awesome and I expect better of him
ANDREW: True that!
MIRI: Female Baby would have been interesting too
BOB: Very true... i guess I was caught up with the beauty of the action and syncs with music. Didn't take a step back to examine the archetypes 
I'm down to an 8 now
KRIS: I do think that Lily James and Eliza Gonzalez both do a lot with a little, but I also want to point out that that’s something actresses in every genre and every budget range have to do all the time
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MIRI: SO true
KRIS: Also here is a tweet for Miri:
https://twitter.com/carolineframke/status/880639492025090048
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MIRI: HAHAHHAHAHA
BOB: Still thinking about your posed question
MIRI: I love Caroline Framke
KRIS: About reversing the age dynamic?
BOB: I loved Lily James in this
KRIS: I’m trying to think of who I’d like to see in that reversal
BOB: Daisy Ridley?
MIRI: Ooh
BOB: Or in the Buddy / Darling?
MIRI: Wait, Daisy Ridley as female Baby? I’d be into that
KRIS: Buddy/Darling I mean
Ohhhh
BOB: Helen Mirren / Dave Franco 
KRIS: I don’t know that she’s my first choice but I could see it
MIRI: Ooh, interesting! Even more of an age gap, but I’m not it
ANDREW: No... James Franco. 
Spring breeeeeeak
MIRI: Maybe Marisa Tomei and someone?
BOB: Susan Sarandon / Zac Efron
MIRI: (Spring Break fo’evaaaaa)
BOB: Ahh Marisa! Aunt freaking May
KRIS: I almost went with like Kate Beckinsale/anyone but then I thought about all the thinkpieces about movies/TV that keep pairing brown men with white women
MIRI: She’s a similar level of hot and unexpected for a vicious role like this
GINA TORRES
GINA TORRES AND SOME HOT YOUNG DUDE
BOB: Hmmm let's switch it up.... Viola Davis / White dude
KRIS: Or like Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez would’ve killed in this
BOB: Ahhh J Loooooo
MIRI: Omg yes to both of those
BOB: J lo and Drake
MIRI: Drake’s not young enough, is he?
ANDREW: De age him 
MIRI: Ooh ooh ooh, John Boyega
JLo and John Boyega
BOB: No he seems to big in size
For J Los taste
MIRI: This tangent has gone wildly afield and I like it
KRIS: This is making me think we should make fan-cast pieces a regular thing on Reacting to Something, not that it’s super original but it would be fun
BOB: But i like that it'd be interesting to see her be the one in control and she is super tiny
MIRI: YES LET”S DO THAT
BOB: slap hands!! Yes
MIRI: I think JLo could play that
KRIS: It’s also making me think of a writing exercise Writing Teacher likes to suggest, where you have a stack of locations, a stack of actors, and a stack of genres on index cards, and you draw randomly and have to come up with loglines
BOB: 
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MIRI: Wait why are we not doing that as a party game?
KRIS: Oh she also always includes tequila when she says this
MIRI: I am IN
KRIS: Literally always
BOB: I like tequila
That would be a fun game 
MIRI: I might do gin instead sometimes, but I am IN
KRIS: We’ve never actually done it but she likes it as a brainstorming thing
MIRI: ok, we should maybe talk some more about Baby Driver
Let’s talk about the awesome music some, because it really was great!
KRIS: Yeah
BOB: Actually I have a game like that minus the whole actors/ actresses names
KRIS: You still have to write a Saoirse Ronan movie, BOB
Film school cohort reference, sorry readers
ANDREW: I would like to talk about something I did really like though, and that was the use and portrayal of tinnitus. I know a few people with the condition, one more severe. But whenever there isn't music, there is a faint ringing in the sound.
KRIS: (I like that the all caps just comes off as accusatory)
MIRI: Say more, Andrew
ANDREW: How it’s something he lives with, but it's also his biggest weakness.
Like when Jon Hamm blows out his ducking hearing at the end.
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BOB: Don't remind me Kris :-(
MIRI: Oh I misread that as something you DIDN’T like, whoops
ANDREW: Fucking*
MIRI: OMG that was such a vicious move!
Honestly, I didn’t expect it
And I may have jumped in my seat a little
BOB: It was vicious and a great line/scene
MIRI: Totally
KRIS: Yeah
MIRI: I expected the whole kill your girl thing, but the hearing was a great touch
ANDREW: It's just nice to see people acknowledge that it exists. And having it shown with accuracy.
MIRI: Did anyone else not super buy his whole Quirky Thing?
ANDREW: Which quirky thing? There are like 30z
MIRI: Exactly
KRIS: And whose quirky thing?
MIRI: Baby’s
It felt like a very deliberate persona
ANDREW: It did, yeah.
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KRIS: I mostly bought the mixtape stuff etc. as an extension of his obsession with music between both the tinnitus and his mom
MIRI: I liked him a lot when he wasn’t performing--when he’s dancing around in the apartment, etc--but as just a dude on the street who doesn’t care that he’s walking out in front of people all the damn time it’s a bit much
The mixtapes I buy
ANDREW: I liked that he had 5 pairs of sunglasses.
KRIS: I actually bought his clumsiness on the street because I read it as a cost to having to pump music into his ears all the time
MIRI: And the iPods, now that I’ve read the Edgar Wright explanation that he finds them (and the sunglasses) in cars
BOB: I can understand it as him thinking its a little game the first time he does that
But yeah running into people is just rude!! Expected someone to deck him
ANDREW: Ooooh I like that he finds them in cars.
MIRI: He just felt like he was trying really hard to be weird a lot of the time
(Right? that’s a nice detail!)
ANDREW: I didn't even think of that. But I love it!
MIRI: But then again, he only feels comfortable with a very small number of people, so I guess a persona is not surprising
BOB: Just thought of anther Baby - Chloe Grace Moretz! 
KRIS: I’ll say I didn’t really buy him as turning out to be a badass
MIRI: And the bigness of it all makes a lot of sense with Joseph, since ASL relies pretty heavily on exaggerated gesture to convey tone
KRIS: I’m going to pitch Saoirse Ronan, who is also 23
MIRI: Really? It semi made sense to me as an extension of his driving insanity
KRIS: Not just because I’m giving BOB shit
Hmm
MIRI: omg YES to Saoirse Ronan
KRIS: (BOB have you seen Hanna yet?)
MIRI: Like, he’s super willing to take risks and put it all on the line when driving. He doesn’t have a desire to be violent, but when put in the position to be I believe him capable
BOB: Yeah not a badass. The him running and jumping scene when he escaped and jumps over the car was a little crazy. Only reason I could see it being believable is because he had a pull up bar in hid kitchen and he might work out or like to swing around and shit.
MIRI: (I haven’t seen Hanna yet and I know I need to)
KRIS: (I FORGOT YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT)
BOB: (no ... stop making BOB feel bad)
MIRI: Him being able to outrun the cops surprised me some
(I KNOW, I KNOW)
ANDREW: I... also haven't seen it.
BOB: (Let's watch Hanna Miri)
MIRI: (Is ist streaming anywhere??)
KRIS: I almost bought the parkour-lite, because it seemed to be an extension of how in tune he is with his physicality
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ANDREW: Sorry Kris.
BOB: (Checking Netflix)
MIRI: Yeah, that makes sense. Except that I’m also supposed to be ok with him being super clumsy and unaware other times
KRIS: I forgive you Andrew
MIRI: Maybe it’s all a matter of focus?
KRIS: (Miri/BOB Guest Reaction!)
BOB: (no sadly)
MIRI: (I’m checking Amazon)
BOB: Yes matter of focus like an adrenaline rush??
ANDREW: Yeah, probably.
KRIS: That and it doesn’t involve him in direct confrontation with another human
BOB: (No to amazon)
KRIS: the same way driving is impersonal
ANDREW: I empathize with that.
MIRI: (rentable, though. We could do a watching party sometime)
KRIS: I own Hanna
MIRI: (Oh, sweet)
KRIS: should’ve led with that
MIRI: Way to abandon the parentheses convention too
KRIS: SORRY
MIRI: 😉 
SOMEONE TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC IN BABY DRIVER
I liked it
ANDREW: Is there a reason half the convo is in parenthesis?
MIRI: Yes, because it was an aside about Hanna, not anyhting about Baby Driver
KRIS: I thought it worked the way Wright wanted it to, and BOB and I talked about how it’s almost like the logical next step of what Guardians of the Galaxy does with its music supervision
MIRI: it theoretically helps keep this tangle all straight when you read it
Does it, readers?
BOB: I liked how he used the music to drive (pun intended) a lot of the action and dialogue 
MIRI: Hmmm, how so, Kris?
ANDREW: Ooooooooooooooh. I get it.
MIRI: Also, how many steps between this and the jukebox musical format? Because I feel like it’s getting close
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KRIS: But we’ve previously established on this blog that I much prefer instrumental scores to needle drops, and at some point that’s more a taste thing than an artistic criticism
MIRI: Not that I mind that
ANDREW: Like one. Baby needs to actually sing.
BOB: Wright had the music in mind as he wrote it ala James Gunn but it does more than just be backdrop music or something that comes on when play is clicked
MIRI: Kris hates excessive needle drops so much, you guys
BOB: I love needle drops
MIRI: Does the fact that it’s all diagetic make it more palatable, Kris?
KRIS: I guess what I mean -- and BOB please interject here -- is that Guardians uses really well chosen needle drops as a critical part of Peter’s emotional arc
Yes
ANDREW: I agree with that too, actually.
KRIS: And Baby Driver takes that to 11 by syncing it to the physical action
MIRI: I’m with you
BOB: Like the Jamie Foxx scene where he tells him to play something funky --> shootout --> Tequila line
KRIS: That like half-second shot of Buddy cocking Darling’s pistol in time with the music in the warehouse gunfight is super cool
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BOB: The music itself lended to the shootout scene
KRIS: And of course the timing of Buddy’s shots in the shootout with the cops when Darling gets killed
ANDREW: That was pretty sweet!
MIRI: I also liked him making them wait for him to restart the song on the second job
BOB: Whenever a drum banged, a gun shot rang out
ANDREW: That's me. That's what I would do.
MIRI: God, that one was screwed from the beginning, wasn’t it?
KRIS: Yeah, and I read that partly as a way he has to compensate for his hearing being compromised
BOB: Haha yes it was Miri
MIRI: Yeah, the shooting synchronization was obviously awesome
KRIS: Presumably he knows all the streets of Atlanta really well so he figures out his route ahead of time and syncs it to his playlist
Have any of you been to Atlanta?
Or I guess spent serious time there?
MIRI: Yes, but it was about 6 years ago and I didn’t drive
So no
ANDREW: Nope!
KRIS: I’ve seen/heard different opinions on how well it’s used as a location
And I was just curious if any of you knew it well enough to comment
BOB: I've seen the show... that count?
MIRI: Yeah, lots of relief that something shot in Atlanta is actually being presented as Atlanta instead of New York or whatever
But some people feel like they kept it very surface level, right?
KRIS: Right
Almost touristy, I guess is that line of thought
MIRI: I’ll agree that it didn’t have a particularly Atlanta feel in anything other than Baby’s accent (which ALWAYS surprised me every time he opened his mouth)
BOB: Yes much relief!! I liked that. Wish they had used Ludacris now that i think about it in the soundtrack... but perhaps since he is in F&F probably thought otherwise
KRIS: Hahaha
BOB: It felt somewhat like a different city when he walkef around during the coffee runs
Driving on the highways too.
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This move may have been Miri’s favorite thing Baby did all movie
So it didn't have the NYC or LA feel to it
KRIS: Yeah, the first coffee run scene for sure definitely felt distinct in that way
“for sure definitely”
shut up Kris
MIRI: Don’t tell yourself to shut up, Kris
ANDREW: I didn't really realize it was in Atlanta. To me it was nameless city.
But, I don't know anything about Atlanta, so... *shrug*
Can I tell Kris to shut up?
KRIS: I also had that!
The not realizing where it was exactly
And yes
BOB: (Gonna be driving for next 10 mins - so a little radio silence on my part)
It felt like a Southern city though
Thanks to the accents
ANDREW: Good! I'm glad I'm not the only one, Kris. Now shit your pie hole!
KRIS: I need to get better at placing accents
MIRI: I guess the food didn’t feel very regional to me, and I would have expected it to
Better like you didn’t pick up that they were Southern? Or better like you didn’t read it as Atlanta specifically?
ANDREW: The second one, for me personally.
KRIS: Both that I definitely didn’t read Atlanta specifically, and that while I recognized Southern accents I didn’t connect the dots to “oh this is in the South”
MIRI: I don’t think most people not from the South would read it as Atlanta specifically, so I wouldn’t worry about that
KRIS: Partly because I think Southern accents are sometimes used in kind of a tropey way with characters like Debora
MIRI: They so are
ANDREW: Right!!
KRIS: And I guess I’m also just used to hearing Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood?
MIRI: Yeah, I think I am too
ANDREW: Me three.
MIRI: Ok, any points (or random thoughts) left to address? 
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ANDREW: Man, the last two action films I saw had Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in them respectively...
MIRI: What Does It Mean??
I thought the dude describing guns as cuts of meat was incredibly Extra and I liked it
ANDREW: That we are in... a house of cards?!?!
KRIS: That we need a movie where Robin Wright punches Kevin Spacey in the throat
I also liked the gun thing
Although it’s hard to beat John Wick 2 for that
BOB: Lol a house of cards?!
Need to see that still
MIRI: “we need a movie where Robin Wright punches Kevin Spacey in the throat” YES YES YES OH MY GOD YES
I just need there to be an Antiope movie
And for most if not all of it to take place on Themyscira
I NEEEEEED it
KRIS: I feel like most people would agree this is a very surface-level movie, and that where opinions diverge is on whether that’s A) deliberate and especially B) a good/cool thing
MIRI: That’s fair
Where does everyone stand on both points?
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KRIS: I have definitely liked style-as-substance things very much before
I mean again, John Wick comes to mind, at least the first one for this point
MIRI: John Wick might be style over substance, but I think it’s consistently so
KRIS: And Tarsem Singh’s wild Greek mythology action movie Immortals
But I don’t know, this lost me for a good long while in the middle
ANDREW: It also very auteur. In the sense of, if you watch this film, you either learn what wright is like as a director, or recognize his directing.
KRIS: For sure
MIRI: That’s the hanging point to me--if you want that as an excuse, you can’t go deeper on some parts. You have to stay on that level and have fun there 
ANDREW: Even if there are better films in his roster.
MIRI: Yeah, you always know you’re watching an Edgar Wright film
ANDREW: For me, it's more surface than anything else. Stylish and fun, but there are much better films of his, and better stylish films in general.
I guess it depends on how much you like Edgar Wright.
KRIS: Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t put this in the upper half of his filmography
MIRI: It’s definitely a fun movie. I enjoyed the whole thing in the theater, with some moments of having to just accept the flaws. 
KRIS: Which I guess is why the reactions out of Austin surprised me in hindsight
Oh I did really like that Baby didn’t get away
MIRI: Basically, if you can resist pulling the threads and you want a car chase movie it’s exactly what you want
KRIS: Although I don’t know that I loved him getting out of prison early
ANDREW: Me too!!!
MIRI: Yeah, I’m surprised it’s been as critically loved as it has (and largely without caveat)
ANDREW: What a twist!!!!
MIRI: Yes, that was an actually unexpected beat and I really liked it!
KRIS: Yeah I was really like “Man, how is he going to end this?” and then he really did the right thing and went with something that felt both surprising and inevitable
MIRI: Props to Mr. Wright!
ANDREW: I was still expecting him to escape Bourne style into the water until he got the cuffs thrown on.
MIRI: That would also have been a turn
ANDREW: Like Debora would smile as Baby swims away and the action music will play.
And credits.
KRIS: And the structural success there again makes the characterization choices frustrating to me
https://twitter.com/tvoti/status/881358030016618497
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MIRI: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA
KRIS: I didn’t actually CARE that much about Baby
MIRI: Well that’s not a great thing, is it?
KRIS: I would’ve dug a Bourne style ending
Although I could also see it feeling tonally more like previous Wright films than this one
Because it was such a “Fuck yeah!” moment in Ultimatum
MIRI: I think Debora should have busted out unexpected abilities and gotten them out
KRIS: And I guess this was generally more elegiac
ANDREW: The Baby Ultimatum.
MIRI: hahahahaha
KRIS: A+
ANDREW: Or the Bourne Driver?
KRIS: We need a Punder Twins reaction at some point
I’m out of stuff but I want to wait for BOB to get back to check in one more time
MIRI: Btw, if Baby’s Saoirse Ronan I still want Debora to be a girl (which I know surprises no one)
ANDREW: The Punder Twins will always be there Kris, when you need us.
MIRI: Hmmmm, what should we have them React to?
KRIS: Something they could use as a Nostalgiology tie-in
#crosspromotion
ANDREW: *Shrugs* I'm up to anything.
MIRI: ANASTASIA
Because then there can be gifs of the dress to fully convey the wonder of it and I can talk more about Anastasia
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Which is always a goal
KRIS: I have not seen Anastasia
MIRI: KRIS
KRIS IT’S A GODDAMN DELIGHT
ANDREW: In the dark of the night... Kris will watch it!
Watch it!
You'll get that someday, Kris.
MIRI: ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 
KRIS: BOB I am starting an arbitrary countdown
I am not sure what the units are
Or how many of them
But it is happening in my head
MIRI: That is the most arbitrary of arbitrary
I like it
KRIS: What was the first song in Baby Driver? Let’s do the runtime of that
MIRI: I don’t know
KRIS: 
youtube
ANDREW: I think "Bellbottoms?"
Oh hey!
KRIS: THIS IS A VERY GENEROUS COUNTDOWN BOB
ANDREW: Let's hope he doesn't... bottoms out?
IM NOT SORRY!
KRIS: Oh now that I’m listening to it this was a REALLY fun opening wasn’t it
MIRI: You’re never sorry
ANDREW: It was!!!
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MIRI: It really was
Although!
KRIS: Offscreen action is almost always a fun choice
MIRI: Him operating the windshield wipers dry BOTHERED ME
KRIS: Like in Mission Impossible 3
ANDREW: They didn't do a good amount of off screen action.
KRIS: I guess it wasn’t really offscreen here
But it sort of feels like it in my hazy memory
MIRI: But it was removed--we were seeing it from a distance
KRIS: BOB has 2 minutes
ANDREW: And the heist gone wrong had off screen action too. Before the Good Samaritan got involved.
KRIS: Oh yeah and that was used pretty well as a dramatic beat rather than a comic one
MIRI: The Heist Gone Wrong is a good title
What genre would we put this in?
ANDREW: Rom com
MIRI: I’ve seen it described as a comedy and it isn’t to me
Andrew
ANDREW: What?
MIRI: If it was a rom com she’d have held him not talking to her in front of his friends against him way harder
KRIS: Oh maybe that was also part of why it didn’t totally work for me, in terms of expectations
BOB the song is over
BOB
ANDREW: I was taking about the Heist Gone Wrong as a rom com!
MIRI: A lack of communication gone horribly awry is fundamental in rom coms
Ohhhhhhh
That makes sense
I meant to ask about Baby Driver
ANDREW: Oh! Action... thriller... musical?
MIRI: Is The Heist Gone Wrong our alternate universe version of this film with Ronan, JLo, etc? Because I’m into that
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It is now
KRIS: Hmm
MIRI: Yeah, I’d put Baby Driver as action drama, not comedy
ANDREW: Yeah, it wasn't really funny.
KRIS: I’m thinking of how the Golden Globes lumps musicals and comedies together
MIRI: I mean there are definitely comedic beats! But they’re not the focus. Plus way too many people die if we’re going classical on our definitions
KRIS: There’s an element of genre snobbery
MIRI: Very much so
ANDREW: A lot of people do die in Shaun of the dead though.
KRIS: I like action musical
MIRI: But it’s not actually a musical
KRIS: Hmm
ANDREW: Its more of a... ballet
But with driving
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MIRI: Yes!
Very apt description!!
ANDREW: And murder
Why thank you!
KRIS: Yeah, that’s good
MIRI: A...Ballet but with Driving and Murder for sub-heading?
KRIS: BOBDAMMIT
Yes
MIRI: hahahahhahahahha Bobdammit
Ok, we may just have to call it, guys
KRIS: I won’t hold anyone else hostage here if anyone needs to bail but I’ll wait it out
MIRI: Ok. I have to get my Orphan Black thoughts in order to post, so I’ll be around
ANDREW: It's up to you two. I'm a guest here.
BOB: Sorry reading 
KRIS: BOB!
MIRI: BOB’s back!
BOB: What's the question?!
KRIS: Just anything else you wanted to bring up
MIRI: We just didn’t want to wrap up without you
BOB: In a different life I am Baby
Very interested in the idea of reclassifying films such as this one with an alternate casting
Got me thinking all types of things now
MIRI: We should definitely make that a thing we do
KRIS: I actually really want to hear more about you-as-Baby, if you have more to say about that
BOB: Overall down to an 8 after the very Wright-ful comment on lack of women
MIRI: Andrew, he’s coming for your pun king crown!!
BOB: Well based on him driving and my life as a Lyft driver i started thinking about what I jam out to
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ANDREW: Welcome to the fold, BOB.
BOB: But I enjoyed the film thoroughly and as mentioned yesterday want to get my hands on the script
To see how the link up and syncing up with action and music
MIRI: I wonder if Wright is a better director than he is a writer
BOB: I believe that despite its flaws with some characters and a few plot holes, as a whole should be considered for something award worthy because of its ingenuity with music and action
ANDREW: A Wright... er.
MIRI: I wouldn’t say it deserves best screenplay or anything, but a sound design nom would be well deserved
Especially factoring in the ringing
(Is that sound design or sound engineering? I always mess them up)
BOB: I think a Golden globe nod
ANDREW: I think design!
I could be wrong.
I'm probably wrong.
MIRI: Whichever I mean, that one!
KRIS: For the Oscars, Sound Editing is for making effects, Sound Mixing is for how you layer them together
So I could maybe see nods for both in this case
MIRI: So design isn’t even an option
That seems right
KRIS: I tend to say “sound design” as a safe/cop-out catchall
Oh I could totally see a Globe nod
BOB: How about its cinematography?
KRIS: in that weird Best Musical or Comedy category
MIRI: Hmmmm. I never really noticed the cinematography the way I did the sound
(don’t tell my dad)
Miri’s dad is a camera operator
KRIS: Same, except in that single shot coffee run
MIRI: Yeah, that was fun
BOB: It was shot really well
KRIS: But I would believe it was a hard movie to shoot, since most of the effects/stunts were practical
MIRI: They ought to get recognition for the stunts/driving
ANDREW: It was shot very stylistically too.
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MIRI: Is there a stunt Oscar or Globe?
ANDREW: How many cars were destroyed in the making of this film?
BOB: Not yet
KRIS: I feel like I’ve heard that stunt people have been pushing for an Oscar?
Which should definitely be a thing
MIRI: Yeah, looks like no go yet
BOB: The Wright amount of cars were destroyed
KRIS: Oh my god
ANDREW: Son of a bitch!!!!
MIRI: Roughly 150, apparently 
ANDREW: Is that really the number?
Holy shit!
MIRI: http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1665810/the-crazy-number-of-cars-edgar-wright-used-for-baby-driver
Not sure they were all wrecked!
Just used
KRIS: I think we may have a new title contender
That’s also going to be hard to beat as an exit line
ANDREW: I will play Angel by Sarah McLaughlin as I think of those cars this evening.
Thanks very much to Andrew and BOB for Guest Reacting! You will almost certainly hear from them again.
For even more pop culture reactions -- just, uh, mostly from people who aren’t us -- follow us on Twitter!
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sjwmothman · 8 years ago
Text
 tagged by @keybladedetweiler​ !! Thanks !! I’m doing it late bc I’m always on mobile................
1. Are you named after someone? 
I dk  ?? hrc was big in the year I was born and my conservative mom like............... zagged profoundly. 
2. When was the last time you cried? 
I almost cried a bunch today but I Have Not so like......... can’t rememb er.
3. Do you like your handwriting? My handwriting isn’t great but I think it’s mutant freak part cursive part printing charm is undeniable. 
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? 
Can I say pepperoni?
5. Do you have kids? 
No :v and I don’t plan on it either 
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? 
I think so but I’d probably secretly think I was Annoying.....................
7. Do you use sarcasm? 
not as much as I used to but I gotta clear this bile from my soul somehow 
8. Do you still have your tonsils? ye.
9. Would you bungee jump? 
i’m super not great at heights and once refused a four foot trust fall in the woods so .................... I guess not ?
10. What is your favorite kind of cereal? 
some kinda almond special k i had once.... cookie crisp............
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? 
NEVER unless they are very tight goth shoes 
12. Do you think you’re a strong person? 
nah. 
13. What is your favorite ice cream? 
a local kind with candy corn in it called witches brew. or any kind of fudgy cookie dough sort of hunting quest of a pint.
14. What is the first thing you notice about people?  
honestly? if they laugh a lot or tell jokes.
15. What is the least favorite physical thing you like about yourself? 
if my teeth could just .................... stop. my face from most angles. one time I looked down at my own body and thought “kinda looks like the monsters from crow cillers” 
16. What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? 
black pinstripe pants and not wearing shoes now but I was wearing black boots earlier
17. What are you listening to right now? 
the silence by bastille 
just switched to hymn to breaking strain 
18. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? 
as a rule I don’t like this question but.......... blue or yellow I guess 
19. Favorite smell? 
The sort of fresh smell of a summer evening??? or like a woodstove smell on a cold fall or winter day ???/ lots of airy stuff I guess ............ also the yankee candle factory outlet on route...........................
20. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? 
probably the person from the program who called to congratulate me! and see how I was doing. before that me mum and be fore that the DND CREW !!! 
21. Favorite sport to watch? 
fencing probably but I don’t really watch sports. as a rule my brain sort of glazes in response to action......
22. Hair color? brown yo.
23. Eye color? a blue so blue people mention it frequently ???????
24. Do you wear contacts? 
I would have no personality without my enormous glasses so. Never. 
25. Favorite food to eat? 
lemon pies and bars, tangerine chicken from this one place I used to go with my college friends (TT.TT i miss you guys........and the delicious chicken), candy corn, apple anything, muffins!
26. Scary movies or comedy? 
.why is this a question when edgar wright exists???? all scares either bores or freaks me out and The genre of funny movies that goes out of its way to be labelled comedy tends to be so misogynist or just embarrassing it hurts to watch....
27. Last movie you watched? 
I can’t remember?? oh go d. wait uh! probably treasure planet. .. 
28. What color of shirt are you wearing? 
just a black and grey striped sweater. 
@keybladedetweiler ur frodo shirt sounds rad.
29. Summer or winter? 
summer totally. but autumn is KING of this heart
30. Hugs or kisses? 
i’m so uh bad at physical contact. can I say like a radical high five ? I mean definitely hugs though. I could be hugged by like one of 6 diff people rn and I’d be really happy :v 
31. What book are you currently reading? devil in the white city, also crow cillers if comics count, and this rad as hell beatles fic called strings or the big pink job 
32. Who do you miss right now? 
hi it’s time to be candid and sappy.... I miss my friend group from school and scifi so much :( you guys are my best dudes ............ and i’m already getting sad thinking about how I’m gonna miss my best friend milk when I leave :( 
(hi so the one question about crying should be updated to now.... bc I’m crying right........... now................. ) 
33. What is on your mouse pad? 
I don’t have one :( I don’t think we’ve ever had one...
34. What is the last TV program you watched? 
I probably in passing sort of saw a few minutes of gf or star vs or something today bc my mom always has a disney channel going. 
35. What is the best sound? 
that weird watery sound in old kinda badly recorded acoustic music from like 60s/70s 
36. Rolling Stones or The Beatles? 
Beatles. but only bc I keep finding weird old fanfiction about them that’s a blast to read. 
37. What is the furthest you have ever traveled? 
Florida I guess... I’ll be going further for The Job though! 
38. Do you have a special talent? 
a lot of strangers have complimented my singing! I’ve never been vocally trained and sing possibly as a stim thing?? I’ve never researched it, I just know I feel a lot better singing! 
I’ve started having a lot of doubt in my writing, but I have been complimented on it possibly even more consistently than singing?? I’m so sad that I don’t write enough anymore and I know it’s easy to open a word doc and just Fucking try but it feels like I can’t do it anymore?? I’m worried that I’m letting myself be blocked by that dumb fear of not being good enough though I guess......... lmao cry #2 i’m the least tough person on this earth...............
39. Where were you born? 
In the sweet blessed autumny bosom of New England 
who needs to tag ppl lma ooooooooooooooooooooo
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Text
Photo Elicitation
Answer the following reading questions about the reading:
 A.      What is the definition of photo elicitation?
“Photo elicitation is based on the simple idea of inserting a photograph into a research interview. The difference between interviews using images and text, and interviews using words alone lies in the ways we respond to these two forms of symbolic representation. This has a physical basis: the parts of the brain that process visual information are evolutionarily older than the parts that process verbal information. Thus images evoke deeper elements of human consciousness that do words (1).”
 B.      When and how was photo elicitation first used as a method?
Photo elicitation was first used by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch in their film Chronicle of a Summer. They had amateur actors watch recorded performances and then reflect on what they had seen. “The characteristics of the two methods of interviewing can be simply stated. The material obtained with photographs was precise and at times even encyclopedic; the control interviews were less structured, rambling, and freer in association. Statements in the photointerviews were in direct response to the graphic probes and different in character as the content of the pictures differed, whereas the character of the control interviews seemed to be governed by the mood of the informants (2).”
 C.      Identify and describe the four areas where photo elicitation has been concentrated.
“Photo elicitation studies have been concentrated in four areas, social organization/social class, community, identity and culture (3).” The social class/social organization/family category uses photos showcasing social life and is able to communicate sociological ideas to the participant. The community category uses photographs to capture neighborhoods and represents changes in the residents who live there, such as gentrification where homes are fixed up and wealthier residents move in, which forces low income folks to move elsewhere. Identity is represented in photo elicitation through what is seen, raising the question of what parts of identity are not visible (6).  Cultural studies are done by interpreting signs, but with photo elicitation interpretations are grounded through the explanations of the individuals that identify with that culture.
D.     How does Harper discuss the notions of “brake the frame” and “building a bridge”.
Harper discusses ‘braking the frame’ as taking pictures from different angles that what is considered the normal gaze. Doing so can make the difference of your collaborator having a lot to say or very little. “It leads the individual to a new view of their existence (9)”. ‘Building a bridge’ is when photographs done by individuals work similarly to the famous ink blot test. People living in the same town can view a photograph of their city from the point of view of someone from a different ethnic background, thus expanding their view of the city into a perspective they had never experienced before.
 2. Answer the following interview questions yourself:
 A.      What do you think of the City of Baltimore?      
Before moving down to Maryland, as a child I use to think Baltimore was this extravagant, magical, wonderland where everything was just bigger and louder. At least compared to the little town of Randolph I grew up in back in Massachusetts. The Wal-marts were bigger. The playgrounds. The houses! It really did something to my eight-year-old mind. But now that I’m 22, that image of Baltimore has gone to the wayside. Especially while attending Towson University. Many times I have gotten lost and ended up driving through East Baltimore. The first time this happened, it was like a wake-call. I felt like I was finally seeing the real Baltimore. Now I see the problems with the city that are constantly ignored. Baltimore is a city full of history, culture, flavor, and diversity, but it is also a city in desperate need of a change.
 B.      What do you think people outside of the city think about Baltimore? Regionally? Nationally?
Nationally, people probably think Baltimore is overrun with crime and violence, especially after the death of Freddie Gray. Before the spike in violence, most might have believed that Baltimore was an okay tourist destination. People in Baltimore county may view Baltimore more negativity because they are already aware of the poorer neighborhoods and street violence.
 C.      What do you think are the biggest problems facing Baltimore?
There are not enough jobs or recreational centers for Baltimore city youths. Putting them in prisons keeps them stuck in a cycle where they will not be able to find decent jobs in the future or even end up in jail again.  
 D.     What are the reasons Baltimore faces various problems like these?
There is no funding for programs supporting Baltimore youths. More money is put into making larger prisons and garbage incinerators than in schools.
 10 images I picked:
Pg. 8 the picture of the young boy holding the ‘end racism now’ sign—it shows how deeply rooted racism is in the U.S. to the point that even children are affected by it
Pg. 18 the young man standing in front of mural of a black man—expresses how proud he feels to identify as a black man
Pg. 33 the photo of the sky makes me think of the saying ‘reach for the stars’, a power image that reminds me my dreams are boundless
pg.37 the picture of the girl doing the needle pose—reminds me of my passion for gymnastics when I was younger
pg. 39 the boy carrying both the basketball and the textbook—I see it as a representation of all the different roles we possess as individuals
pg. 45 photo of girl with her hand pressed against a window—represents wanting to be seen, but feeling trapped
pg.46 the little girl on the right—she reminds me so much of my youngest sister, shy with a goofy streak, but full of so much kindness
pg. 51 the young man appears to be putting out a front, acting unfazed that there’s a camera in front of him, but he’s uncertain. Uncertain about his life and what’s gotten him to this point
pg. 66 the photo with the students writing shows how hard they work in school and that they care about their grades and where they go in life
pg. 67 the photo with the two children holding the camera represents the enjoyment that comes with learning something new
 Collaborator’s responses:
A.      What do you think of the City of Baltimore?
“That grimey place.” Was the first thing my mom said when I asked her the question. Then she went further into detail. “Very diverse. Full of culture. There’s a lot of history. Some good and some bad. It can be a good place to have a family. Good job opportunities. “
 B.      What do you think people outside of the city think about Baltimore? Regionally? Nationally?
“Right now I think they might feel like Baltimore—there’s a lot of issues with Baltimore that need to be addressed. The minority community feels underprivileged. Some don’t even know about that. They only see the Inner Harbor. They don’t understand the struggles of the minorities. Where they come from.”
 Then I asked her what she thought people nationally or regionally thought about Baltimore. “More curious about Baltimore culture and history. They think that Baltimore maybe a wonderful place to live.”
 C.      What do you think are the biggest problems facing Baltimore?
“The crime rate and the lack of resources and jobs for residents of Baltimore. Money generated by the city isn’t going to the people of the inner city. It needs to be applied to the local community.”
 D.     What are the reasons Baltimore faces various problems like these?
“There’s a lack of funding. Ignorance to the needs of others. Lack of resources. Public schooling needs to be better funded. Jobs, of course, for local communities.” The after a moment of talking off topic my mom suddenly exclaimed, “Racism! It’s so hard being black. You deal with racism so often, see it so often, that it becomes part of your daily life. You live with it because it’s the status quo.”
 After the interview she said, “Maybe I should go back and change what I said in the beginning?”
 10 images my collaborator picked:
Pg. 2 the photo with the young man holding up the ‘Bmore United’ sign—“shows how the people have come together for the cause”
Pg. 5 The photo with the young Asian man was “a good representation for how multicultural Baltimore is”; the photo with the two women in purple “shows how the whole community comes together as a whole”; and the photo with the family “represents all the families that have made Baltimore their home”
Pg. 8 The photo of the young boy “shows how even kids feel racism towards themselves even at such a young age”
Pg. 36 and pg. 37 “All the girls on these pages have a sense of pride; they are representations of girl power by holding their heads up and letting us know that they are somebodies”
Pg. 60 the photo of the young man—“he’s looking out, but no one can look in; he’s deep in thought wanting to get out of this struggle”
 Using the book This is Baltimore definitely added another layer of depth to the conversation between my mom and I. She did not identify with many of the pictures I selected for the 20 to focus on, but pulled similar contexts from the photos she did pick. Running themes were pride, family, and a feeling of wanting to break free. After going through the book, my mom had said she wanted to take back what she had said earlier about Baltimore being a good place to raise families and visit. I was actually surprised with some of her answers, as she had grown up in Baltimore city as a child. Of course, back then Baltimore was not the place it is today. She would speak highly of that time in her life, when all the kids in her neighborhood would gather at the end of the block and climb some old statue. Even though it was just her, my grandma, and aunt living in a tiny townhouse, she never felt unsafe. Whenever we drive by her old stomping ground now, she says she almost cannot believe how run down it has become. I believe we did break the frame with the elicitation the moment my mom wanted to take back everything she said earlier. I also can agree that the images acted as a bridge for communication between my collaborator and I. I was able to see how important family was to my mom, and how she wishes to see the pride expressed by the girls in the photos to shine through myself as well.
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