#I've blocked like maybe two people and it was generally a result of really bad comment threads

[phoenixyfriend]

Unrelated to anything: being blocked on AO3 hurts way more than being blocked on Tumblr

[timesomewhere]

in honour of the West End's next to normal closing today I've finally proof-read my 'things I noticed/general thoughts' post that's been sitting in my drafts since I saw it earlier this month. it's very long I'm very sorry.

Act One:

it was really fun watching this show in September given that there's two references to it in the first song

I adore the monologue about the pills that Dr. Fine gives during 'Who's Crazy'. it's rhythmic and funny yet also unnerving. It's such a quick and impactful way to summarise what Diana has been through for the past 16 years

Gabe does a 'one of your French girls' pose on the kitchen counter under the cabinets during 'My Psychopharmacologist and I'

Jamie Parker made direct eye contact with me during the last part of 'Who's Crazy' and it was one of the most intense experiences of my life

I might just be dense but I don't get the point of the neon sign that says 'Fine' which drops down during the Dr. Fine scene. Initially I thought that then one would drop down saying 'Madden' during his scenes to help people differentiate between the doctors but then it didn't so it just feels like a weird extra prop

speaking of random props, shout out to the iPad on the table in the opening scene which Gabe pretty much instantly takes away after telling Diana that she shouldn't obsess over tragic news stories and is then never seen again as far as I remember

Dan in the flashback scene being such an optimist about Diana's pregnancy and the future they're gonna have together... soul-crushing

Caissie Levy's 'I Miss The Mountains.' Holy Shit.

I love how Diana and Gabe are the only characters who sing on/stand on the table. it's as though it's this extra dimension of the house that only they have access to and it's a really neat and subtle way to show that they relate to each other in ways other characters don't

'It's Gonna Be Good' is so underrated. Jamie Parker's somewhat genuine optimism becoming optimism-through-gritted-teeth is incredibly acted

The way Jamie delivers the first line of 'He's Not Here' is devastating. the heaviness of that moment as you feel the audience around you realising what's just happened is something I'll remember forever

Gabe body-blocking Dan from Diana during 'I Am the One' is such good staging. People talk about how Jack Wolfe plays Gabe with a lot of layers and a lot of simultaneous contradiction and this song is one of the best examples of that. how Jack manages to project a character who is goading his father and protecting his mother at the same time is beyond me

also Jack has maybe half-an-inch on Jamie which obviously isn't something the actors control but it does makes Gabe seem just that bit more threatening when he's getting in Dan's face

for the first part of Superboy and the Invisible Girl when it's just Natalie singing, Gabe is actively laughing. He's totally unperturbed by her efforts to make herself seen to her mother. it's only when Diana replies, particularly when she says "you're our little pride and joy, our perfect plan" that you see his face drop and you see him trying to figure out a way to stop her from getting Diana's attention which then results in him kicking her off the melody in her own song

"I'll hurt you" being directed at Dan and "I'll heal you" being directed at Diana as Gabe gently touches her face gets me so bad. but the most painful part of 'I'm Alive' for me is when Gabe looks at Dan as he says "I'm the perfect stranger who knows you too well." that's the first time you realise that perhaps Gabe doesn't just impact Diana, and there's something much larger at play

Caissie and Jack W's voices harmonising on 'Catch Me I'm Falling' was one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Their voices are so magical together and their mother/son chemistry is incredible

The 'I Dreamed A Dance' into 'There's a World' sequence is one of the most tragically beautiful things I've ever witnessed. I went into the show knowing what Gabe was trying to achieve during 'There's A World' and yet Jack's voice is so beautifully haunting you totally forget you're supposed to root against Gabe in that moment

Jamie Parker's 'I've Been' is some of the best acting through song out there. Interestingly my friend and I had very different interpretation's of what Gabe's horrified reaction to the blood meant. I viewed it as him being upset about what he convinced Diana to do - he doesn't like seeing her hurt. Whereas my friend saw it as him being angry at himself that she didn't manage to follow through, meaning that he has failed to regain control over her life

'I'm no sociopath, I'm no Sylvia Plath. I ain't no Frances Farmer kind of find for you' is one of the best musical theatre lyrics of all time. I genuinely don't know why I Miss The Mountains is the 'big song' known from N2N over 'Didn't I See This Movie?', it's just so good

Natalie's 'She trusts you!' line is heartbreaking, I was basically watching that entire scene through my fingers because of how high the emotion was

Act Two:

'Pfizer's woman of the year' will in fact be peak comedy every time. Eleanor's delivery is *chef's kiss*

Gabe having just one line in 'Wish I Were Here', and that line being 'Wish I were here.' Yeah. I feel very normal about that.

Natalie's line of "Can I hide my stupid hunger, fake some confidence and cheer?" being pretty much exactly what Gabe has done throughout the entirety of act 1

"And you're not a scary rockstar anymore" got one of the biggest laughs at both of the shows I went to

Dan's desperation during 'Better Than Before.' He is simultaneously trying to cajole Diana into remembering and get Natalie to be more positive. This one song really highlights how he's being pulled in a million different directions while trying to hold it all together and Jamie portrays that so well

Aftershocks. Wow. The way the last word of each line echoes throughout the theatre is great sound design. I've been in exam halls louder than the audience during that song. Holding a room that captive as a silhouette is quite the feat Jack Wolfe you will always be famous

"I don't know where the fucking pieces go" as Diana pushes things off the table as if there's a real jigsaw there that she's rage quitting and choosing to give up on is such a nice detail

"Have you talked of your depression, your delusions and your son?" The gasp in the theatre both times was sickening

the response of "good' in reply to "name?" when technically that was part of his name as they are the "Goodmans". I don't really have a point here I just think it's neat

The 'It's Gonna Be Good" reprise was one of my favourite Dan/Diana moments. Caissie and Jamie are really pushing each other to their emotional limits and they handle it so well

The first "Why stay?" is so fragile as Diana sits against the kitchen island. Also interesting given that Dan and Gabe will also sit against there later when they are at their lowest point in the story. The idea of the characters crawling to the 'centre/heart' of the home when they are at their weakest

"This is one old game that I can play so well" is the line that has stuck the most with me throughout the show. Jack's delivery of it while striding across the kitchen table - seemingly totally invincible - is crazy.

how Caissie manages to deliver "you shrugged and said that no one really knows" with humour and desperation at the same time is amazing

When Gabe and Diana stand on the table and if they let go of one another they'll fall. yeahhhhh.....

Gabe's realisation that Diana isn't going to give up on getting better. Totally collapsing in on himself and beginning to cry. How you manage to feel bad for him after all the destruction he's caused is wild

Diana's "maybe I'm tired of the game" relating back to Gabe's "this is one old game that I can play so well"

the lyrics in 'Hey #3' clearly reflecting things Diana has done, Henry cutting Natalie off at "bleeding in the bathtub"

"I am the one who'll heal you" being said to Dan not Diana this time

"Why didn't you go with her?" is the most devastating line in the whole musical I said what I said. Jamie's delivery of it is heart wrenching

the drums and bass kicking in for the loud part of I Am The One as Gabe becomes desperate to be seen once again

Jack and Jamie's acting in this moment is so intense. there's a moment where it's genuinely feels as though only one of them can make it out of the interaction alive

Jack's emphasis on the word 'loved' in the line "I am the one who loved you" nearly killed me on the spot. how somebody can deliver a line so desperately while remaining pitch perfect is unfair

Natalie coming in to kiss Dan's head at the start of 'Light' like Gabe kisses Diana's in the first scene. I'm such a sucker for a gut punching

the "And are they real?" line about Diana's parent's from Henry gets such a loud reaction from the audience. Some people laugh immediately, some people clearly get shocked out of their sobs. so good

In conclusion, this is my favourite musical of all time and I'm going to be so annoying waiting for the pro-shot to come out

[shoechoewarriors]

I just finished reading Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect going in- all I've ever heard about it was from people going "Can you believe Nickelodeon asked a guy who makes stuff like that to make a children's show!?" After reading it, I can say that it's definitely interesting in a way I don't think any basic plot description could've fully prepared me for, and I kind of want to dump my thoughts about it as I just come away from it.

As the title would suggest, its most noticeable surface-level feature is that there is a lot of gore. It gets about as brutal and graphic as it can with its cartoony art style- I was actually a little bothered by it a couple of times. There are a lot of things reminiscent of Invader ZIM beyond its art style- it shares a lot of the same humor, its randomness (often to the point of stupidity), and the chaotic nature of the story progression. (There are also two aliens that show up in a few pages that I'm pretty sure are the same aliens that appeared in the IZ episode Abducted, which would mean that ZIM and JTHM take place in the same universe...? Interesting.) In a lot of ways, it had the same energy as ZIM, but lacking the restraints of a children's network- admittedly, it was very fun and tickled the twelve-year-old ZIM fan part of my brain.

The story itself is a bit trippy and somewhat disjointed. There are lots of times where Johnny will go on long monologues about how he sees himself and the world (alongside blocks of text at the beginning and end of each issue from Jhonen himself). The actual story is cut up in-between little unrelated comics of various characters getting slaughtered and mutilated in some way, facing their inner turmoils and making other people miserable, or yelling incoherent word salads and then getting murdered. You are often left unsure as to whether some of the story's events were really happening or just Johnny dreaming or making things up. It also gets kind of cosmic horror-ish at one point, but that proceeds to end itself somewhat abruptly.

I haven't looked at any discussion of the comic and what it's *really* about yet, but my first impression coming out of it is that it's... a lot of things, really? It's a nihilistic black comedy, but I got the feeling that it was also somewhat of a vent story- A lot of JTHM is dark humor and absurd scenarios for the sake of societal criticism and expressing frustration with the world. It brings up a lot of ideas about what the "nature" of humanity is, if there is a caring God, the good and bad of living, and ultimately, what the true "evils" of society are and what causes them- all told through the eyes of a weird morally bankrupt loner that likes torturing and murdering people he doesn't like.

Most of the people that Johnny goes after are assholes and bullies, generally bad people, or anyone that just generally upsets or inconveniences him in day-to-day life. His arc throughout the story is discovering who and what "controls" him in his search for true freedom- and through that, he realizes that he, himself, is a massive contributor to why everything is so awful, eventually seeing people like himself as one of society's issues (but not really doing anything to change or control his behavior, which, to me, suggested he really never attained the "freedom" he desired so much). It was quite interesting to have a main character like that.

And, while I do not really know anything about Jhonen Vasquez as a person, a good amount of Johnny's traits struck me as... maybe a bit of a projection? A lot of the blocks of text from Vasquez at the start of issues will have him describe his thoughts and behaviors, and then in the story, Johnny displays a lot of those same thoughts and behaviors, like his hatred of sleep resulting in him regularly staying up the entire night and his tendency to experience loneliness and sadness (though, of course, these blocks of text might also be Jhonen simply putting up a persona as well.) Still, though, I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of things about Johnny were in fact an exaggerated depiction of the author's own perceived negative traits and turned into an edgy serial killer character (especially since I know that this is indeed the case for a lot of Vasquez's characters, like ZIM in his inability to realize when his ideas won't work and Dib in his undying need to prove himself above all else in IZ.)

JTHM was one of the most unique things I've read in a while- it's one of those stories that sticks in your brain and leaves an uneasy feeling in you when you come away from it, but it definitely has a lot of substance to it beyond the "edgelord serial killer gorefest" surface-level appearance. It doesn't give you any moments of comfort in its overt negativity, but I think it manages to come out as something meaningful beyond just a nihilist "everything is awful and there's nothing you can do about it" message. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're up for it, I'd really recommend giving it a shot.

[katyspersonal]

Мы не разговаривали и больше не будем разговаривать. Но я очень сожалею о той боли, которую я вам причинил. Я прошу у вас прощения и надеюсь, что вы обретете покой.

Hey.. I will use English because I think you did use Google to translate this, especially since no Russian-speaker hurt me to the point of needing to feel remorse (unless my memory gaps gotten this bad and I pray that's not the case)

There are 6 people that 'caused me pain' and not like, just blocked me and called me a bitch in past 3 years... ....and only two of them qualify for "not having spoken with me". o_o And honestly, I do not really know which one of you guys had a change of a heart. One of you is a generally chill guy that was clearly unaware of how deep those things went and just was scared, another... clearly has conflicting emotions and traits, and I could always see something like that. And you both tried to follow what seemed like perfect rules of living and dogmas and judging people, yet you felt betrayed by them because you had too many braincells for this "lifestyle". Maybe I've started this crack, maybe something else.

After all, when I was 17-18, I also got ideologically set up by "noble warriors for justice" on what to oppose and how to judge people and what was right and wrong. I was so prepared to separate the world on fitting and unfitting and shun the latter.. But then something my "allies" were doing felt unfair even for my autistic easily groomed ass, and later my "ideology" completely broke against a forehead of a particular very stubborn middle-aged woman. This mindset can't handle real people. It is always someone really naive and not hidden behind the mask, right? In any case, if you still have any humanity, you will desert this insane battle with no realistic endgoal or positive results for you or world sooner or later, and hopefully wander aimlessly instead of falling for another extreme. I know it is scary to just.. let it go on, but the problem with these fights is that these people start eating their own.

I would like to know which one of you it is, but maybe it is better that I don't. Heck, it is to the better if we never "communicate" directly, right? Change of a heart is good. Change of a circle... not so much. It applies for both of you guys, but you are close friends with people who have much less wit. (please just try to accept that my opinion on that won't budge). And to think of it, it should stay this way. I could tell you are very comfortable with the friends and position in society you've chosen, and only ever got love and support from masses personally. We would not want this seed of doubt sprout so wild that its roots make the whole building crumble, would we? Heheheh…

[adelle-ein]

regarding your latest post, at first i had rted one or two jackson hinkle posts since the sheer numbers on his posts seemed to encourage the idea that there would be more reach of the videos he was bringing attention to, but his account felt odd to me and once i snooped a little and realized he's a white supremacist it became clear that the fact that he was getting so many numbers compared to the sources the videos he posted were originally from is precisely what was so insidious about it all. and that's, like you said, true of quite a few white supremacist accounts that are trying to capitalize on this situation. it's so despairingly evil. i'm really sorry you're having to see so many people rt from those kind of sources, i can't imagine how frustrating it is, and i really hope more people bring attention to it. i did see a post going around on twt about jackson hinkle being a white supremacist but i'm not sure if there have been any made about some of the other figures. are there any names you would particularly recommend watching out for?

Yeah, Hinkle is a huge one that I've seen going around. In my case, I have a lot of big name nazis already blocked, so it's hard for me to know for sure if people I follow are rt'ing directly from them. I hope not, but there's no way for me to be sure, and frankly they've demonstrated such bad judgement I wouldn't be surprised. I will say that off the top of my head Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate have joined the "pro-palestine" cause (obviously not genuinely), and both are dangerous nazi lunatics. I would also STRONGLY discourage interacting with Hasanabi, who is ostensibly a "leftist" youtuber but has joined many far-right and bigoted causes in the past, including helping kick off the mass harassment of Amber Heard last year. If you want to support the charities he's done streams for, donate to them directly, don't go through him or give him publicity.

The ones I'm mostly seeing people retweet aren't big names, they fall into one of two categories:

a) "Meme accounts" made specifically to spread nazi rhetoric, generally with blue checks. Honestly, treat a blue check as a red flag, ESPECIALLY if it's not under a real name. Check the bios and timelines. Like I said, greek statue avatars are a favorite of these and are massive red flags. Emphasis on "manly" or "male" strength is really common. Also look out for "conspiracy" themed language, ie "what THEY don't want you to know" "the REAL news" "the REAL truth" "[x] supremacy" "jewish supremacy" "deep state/elites" etc. They use memes a lot, which like…don't retweet memes and jokes about people dying just in general, maybe (that's another complaint i have about the way people are behaving), but also know it's a red flag. If the bio isn't enough then scan their timeline and see what else they've posted, especially before October 7th. You'll almost certainly find out and out antisemitism and transphobia. Also bear in mind that gold checks just mean paying Musk more money, they're not necessarily "legacy" or legitimate sources or anything like that.

b) This one is sadder, but younger teens who recently discovered politics and have just completely been indoctrinated and are lashing out at all Jewish people as a result. Go to their timeline and see them talking about how antisemitism isn't real, how the Hamas attacks were completely fake, how the entire conflict was manufactured to make "them" money, and Holocaust denial (and generally interacting a lot with the above listed nazi accounts.) They often support Russia and similar politically too because they're angry at America. There's a lot of them on here as well. It's sad but it's dangerous and they shouldn't be given platforms. This one is easier to not notice, though, since they aren't necessarily hardcore white supremacists, just kids who got roped in and aren't necessarily going to be blowing as many dogwhistles in their display names, icons, etc.

in general just be careful, be mindful, and seriously keep an eye out for blue checks -- a LOT of these accounts have them.

[symptoms-syndrome]

I understand why you're adverse to a tag for discussing later stages of CDD recovery, and I think your concerns about people becoming kinda authoritative about recovery are valid (although I would say people are already like this in most CDD spaces). But it's also understandable that some people want a space to talk about their phase two and phase three work or remission. I find these voices constantly being pushed out of CDD spaces usually because people earlier on in their recovery find them triggering or needing it to be spoilered. Sometimes I find them triggering, too, but that doesn't mean they're not valuable. It can be really hard to find these voices and experiences when I want to. CDD spaces online tend to focus on system discovery and phase one work. I think you're being a tad callous towards the people who want to create a separate place to talk about the later stages of recovery. Is it really that bad of an idea?

I feel people may be misinterpreting me.

But it's also understandable that some people want a space to talk about their phase two and phase three work or remission.

What would we define as phases two and three? How would we reach these definitions? Do they require outside therapeutic intervention or confirmation? Do they require formal diagnosis?

I understand wanting a space to talk about your specific experience as it may or may not relate to the common narrative. But that's what Tumblr is all about. That's what your blog is for. I post about my experience here and I don't think it's often similar to the common DID tag posts, but as my DID is not necessarily in conversation with the flow of the DID tags, I'm not impacted by them at all. I suppose I just don't understand what sort of space is not being allowed, as anyone can post literally anything onto ones own blog. It's not like this is reddit, where posts need to be moderated and/or are censored or removed.

I find these voices constantly being pushed out of CDD spaces usually because people earlier on in their recovery find them triggering or needing it to be spoilered.

Not to invalidate your experience or anything, but I've personally never encountered this, and even if I did it's an incredibly easy problem to solve. This is on the other party to either block you, or you can block them. Either way, your posts will not show up in their feed if they search the tags. Why are we afraid of blocking people. I block people all the time and have had an absolutely delightful experience on Tumblr for the most part.

It can be really hard to find these voices and experiences when I want to. CDD spaces online tend to focus on system discovery and phase one work.

This is just kind of the nature of the internet I'm afraid. The folks with the most to talk about will be the folks who appear the most. I'm in a stage of recovery where I am no longer constantly in crisis/thinking about my DID as often so I post less. Similarly, I was in a support group for a surgery, and now that I've recovered from that surgery for the most part, my days are more or less the same vis a vis surgery results and so I don't join the support group as often because I don't have as much to talk about. There will always and forever be more people discovering or questioning or what have you online than there will be people talking about how they're fine now.

I think you're being a tad callous towards the people who want to create a separate place to talk about the later stages of recovery.

Maybe! Comes w the 'tism generally. I apologize if I'm coming off as unkind, as it's not my intention. I wish the best for folks who are seeking that and do want them to find it, I just don't think a tag is the best way to do so. I also want that for myself, but I've sort of cultivated it by following blogs that post things I like and relate to and blocking blogs that annoy me or post content that makes me upset.

Is it really that bad of an idea?

It's not a bad idea. I just don't think it'll be effective. That's my opinion, as someone who's seen this sort of thing happen before. Like. IDK putting a cocoa butter bath bomb into your pool so it's moisturizing when you swim isn't a bad idea, I just don't think it'll work. People are welcome to put bath bombs in their pools and I'm not going to stop them, and hey maybe it'll work and I'll be wrong and I'm fine with that! I just don't think it'll work.

If people tried to do something that I think was actually a bad idea I'd make more of a stink about it. This is just me saying that I don't think it'll work the way they envision it will.

[genloss-soundtrack-bracket]

WELCOME TO THE GENLOSS SOUNDTRACK BRACKET

We here at genloss-soundtrack-bracket are here for a great time. unlike the sorry fate our hero came to (but we won't talk about that) so we want you to have an easy time making your favourite tune a winner!

about the blog and it's owner

genloss-soundtrack-bracket is currently run by @gay-crows-in-a-trenchcoat (they/them) so if there's anything you'd like to know more about, or chat about, go check their blog (look I'll be honest talking about myself in third person is weird, come talk to me about the songs or some strange thing up with the blog or if I've got something wrong or mistagged (I don't bite, promise))

have any propaganda, or maybe you just really want to talk about this specific part of a song in the soundtrack thats as amazing as that cheesecake? go click on the ask button labeled 'goo goobie' (I don't know why it's that either)

this is all for kicks and giggles, so please don't bring any negativity and hate around these here parts, this means no exlusionary behaviour (terfs, transphobes, homophobes, racists, ect arent welcome here, else we'll just call you a cop, mkay?) and no hate at anyone who may like a song you don't

VOTER FRAUD IS FINE TO DO

rounds, generations and more (polls)

the first round of TSES (The Social Experiments Soundtrack) polls is complete (go look at the results here)

the second round of TSES polls are complete (go check out the results here)

the third round of TSES are complete (go check it out here)

the fourth round of TSES is begining on November 5th, 3pm aedt (check it out here)

the fifth round of TSES will be out soon :)

if there are more soundtracks with upcoming generations the polls will be linked here

other things (FAQ (sort of) and more)

this blog is not run by any of the original generation loss team, it is not our intellectual property (if you have any issues over this blog please talk it out with me (@gay-crows-in-a-trenchcoat) in dms, NOT any of the people or ccs involved in the original media)

"what if I want to know when a poll is out but blog notifications aren't my thing/ I may not see the notification?" just send an ask here or DM/ask me @gay-crows-in-a-trenchcoat! We can set up what you would like to hear about (e.g. new poll, new post, poll results, ect.) and I can DM you when those things are posted!

"I noticed something about the blog that may have been done by mistake/ the owner is unaware of, can I send an ask about that?" you can send an ask or DM about anything you think we may be unaware of! (due to me being quite accident prone I may reblog things onto here that were meant to be on the other blog, if I am aware but the post is relative enough to the blog it will be tagged 'not a poll' sometimes I just don't realise and there's no harm in pointing that out! :D)

"I want something tagged but there's no tags already existing on the blog/I'm unsure if you'll tag it" if there's something you want tagged just ask! unless you're asking to tag things so you can avoid seeing them when they're a major part of the blog there's no tag too outrageous!

"I have other questions that aren't on the FAQ, what do I do?" send an ask here or to @gay-crows-in-a-trenchcoat or DM me, there's no way the FAQ can cover everything so don't feel bad about asking questions :)

tags

(any other tags will be added later)

#winners <- these are the poll winners and posts announcing such

#genloss <- anything involving generation loss, it could be a poll or just a post

#genloss soundtrack <- something to do with the genloss soundtrack

#genloss spoilers <- posts that involve potential generation loss spoilers will be tagged with this (although if you have this blocked I am unsure why you would be looking at this blog)

#round 1 polls <- posts and polls from round one of TSES

#round 2 polls <- posts and polls from round two of TSES

#round 3 polls <- posts and polls from round three of TSES

#not a poll <- posts that don't involve polls (could be an ask, accidental reblog, ect.)

#polls <- its a poll!

#propaganda <- people want you to vote their songs! this tag involves reasons why :)

#genloss [song] <- what songs are mentioned in the post (specifically from the genloss soundtrack)

#//[trigger here] <- if there is any potentially triggering content in the post it will be tagged with this e.g. #//repetition (please let us know if there is something you'd like tagged with this)

#<-prev [comment here] <- this means that the post is a reblog of something with text in the tags (the arrow will always point to the previous tag)

[sukibenders]

this is why Kate fans don’t like you, reblogging posts like “Kate ruined edwinas life” (no she didn’t), from those two Edwina stans who talk shit about Kate and Simone all the time for over two years, trash behaviour from a trash fandom, the three of you are repulsive

I've followed the two accounts that you probably are, rudely (like come on, have some couth) talking about, and I've seen nothing bad about Simone because, newsflash, they understand there's a difference between the actor and the character. While I'm not saying some Edwina stans don't shade Simone, I haven't seen any of that from those I associate with and I damn sure haven't been one of them (unless some of you carry the mindset that by supporting Charithra, who also received a lot of hate similar to Simone added with the fact that some toxic Bridgerton (specifically Kate or Kathony) fans are still in her mentions or just general conversations about her, as dissing Simone. To which, if that's what you believe, because apparently some do, then I'm sorry you can't allow yourself to defend more than one person at once). And Bridgerton does talk about how precious a reputation is, especially for women, so why would it be far-fetched to believe that Edwina, who was supposed to marry a well-known Viscount from a well-known family, who ran away abruptly during their wedding and then after, would face some social repercussions? Especially with how gossiping the Ton is (which literally happens right after her failed wedding and the episodes following). I give Kate way more grace than Anthony (because he was the man in the situation and held a lot of power, he should've known better), but it's very weird some choices that she makes that, ultimately, would have placed her sister in a loveless marriage, a marriage to someone who had feelings for her sister. Even if Kate wasn't sure about her own feelings and thought that they might fade away, there still was a necessity to be honest with Edwina about THAT in particular. And, no, Kate just telling Edwina that Anthony isn't right for her and little else does nothing, especially when Anthony himself continues to discredit her words and embarrass her. Do I feel like Edwina could have asked why exactly Kate felt that way? Yeah, definitely, but I also think it would've helped in the long run had she just told Edwina the complete truth, no matter how messy it was. Or do you think continuing to keep the secret was good, even if it almost meant Kate had to watch the love of her life marry someone else and move away as a result? Like, you think criticizing that is wrong?

Also, what really tickles me is the fact that, if you find conversations about this topic old (even though remnants of it were brought back in s3, unless you missed something, unsurprisingly) and find the fandom trash, why are you here then? Like, for real, why are you in this fandom and/or on my page? Returning back to the latter, even with you stalking my page, kind of sad, you would have seen more post defending and speaking up for Simone (some my own), post calling out the racist and disrespectful behavior in the fandom toward poc actors and characters, including Kate and Simone, and you would have seen post about Kate that included excitement over her character and many other things. But because you lack the comprehension of the idea that you can critique some of the actions of a character while still enjoying them, you missed all of that. Due to the fact that you preferred to stalk and send annoying anon rather than just staying away because you can't stand the fact that people like Edwina, you missed all that. You, anon, missed that and that's supposed to be my problem? No, I think I'm good. Maybe if you weren't so high and mighty, using anon to talk shit about actual people on this app and came to talk one on one, we could've had an actual conversation whether we disagreed or not. But then that also might have given me the ability to block you, which I don't think you wanted. To each their own.

[luckystrike-x]

this has to be one of the most annoying debate this website has sprung. i think deep down we moslty agree on the same things. it's just that we refuse to use the same terms and focus on the same underlying issues + accusing people of being “reactionary” and failing to consider other forms of arts as Art (like collage, photography, pollock? is now thrown into the mix) is just so intellectually dishonnest. no one in their right minds thinks that and y’all know it but it's easier to think others disagree because theyre so close minded rather than for other more sensible or plausible reasons, so SO many people are gleefully falling for this bad faith rethoric.

plus people must have such a debased image of artists if they think they have the same working process as an artificial image generator on its own..💀 i know ai gives a seemingly more grounded and easier-to-grasp definition of what art and the process of creation might be that isn't so obscure, and thats why people hold on to it so damn tightly maybe, but i don't think ai cracked the code and managed to reduce Art to its bare essential. i think it's just another tool that wa can dispose of or not, much like photography is a tool or a medium that becomes art only if we make it: the forensic photographer taking pictures of a crime scene isn't an artists simply because he is using photography, but a dude using photography as a medium for his artistic expression of course is one but doesn't simply have to push a button, he has to go places to find his subjects and inspirations he has to choose the most appropriate camera he has to apply his technical skills,or lack thereof, that will influence the result because there are millions of ways a photo can be taken that depends on the angle, on the framing, or blocking, or the use of light, of shadow, of colors, of mouvements or sheer luck. it's not just a clic. and then he disposes of multiple ways in which he could develop it and/or post process it and present it to the world. that is the creative process. there are so many ways in which the results can deviate from its initial intentions. what i paint or draw rarely looks exactly like what i envisioned in my mind just because the creative process runs its own damn course, algorithmlessly, and because i am free to change my mind as things go, it's annoying sometimes i cant always control it and i am limited by my own abilities, experiences, cultural influences or mood. but that is the craftsmanship that art requires on topof intellectual or emotional intentions. craftmanship can require skills or effort whether high or low, it is not what dictates art's validity or quality, but it influences its result and that is something ai on its own can't fabricate or replicate because it fluctuates from person one person to another, to one culture to another, to one time period to another etc.

fabio comparelli's human evolution uses ai to craft his work that is real art because there’s intellectual intent: seeing how ai would interpret his prompts, the evolution of humanity, based on the materials ai is disposing, he raises the question how is the machine perceiving us humans? how accurate would that be? how limited would that be as well? is it really a machine reflecting our image or is it ourselves through the machine? and how would a representation of our own evolution so coldly layed in front of us will make us feel? (emotional intent) + craftmanship (or skills or effort whatever you want to call it): it took him two days to compile his findings into one video, maybe that doesn't sound impressive for some but i know my mom couldn't do it and if i did it myself it might have ended up looking different, i might have used a different music or sound design, or framing, or pacing etc etc. in this instance ai was used as a tool within an artistic project. ai isn’t art by its own mean. i've read an article about a bunch of guys (researchers at UCSF and UC berkley) developing an ai that helps giving people who suffer from speech paralysis a voice, so they could communicate faster, more naturally and efficiently. obviously that's awesome but again, not art. i can keep going, but idk, people who are worried about the use of ai within the entertainment industry and other different art fields don't necessarily wanna toss it in the bin! it's just that art, like the rest of things, is a defined thing and not everything blindly fits into it no matter how hardently we want to kiss technology's ass

its so funny when people try to argue that ai art isn't art and end up with totally incoherent definitions of art or just like lie about what happens when someone makes ai art

[ariminiria]

When will bootlickers understand that alot people have no problem with diversity in RoP. The actual problem is the fact that Amazon disrespected Tolkien's legacy and tried to change alot of character's backstories and personalities. Not to mention making a cash grab out of it.

Fair warning, this is going to be a bit long simply because I have a lot to say on this.

I don't know how many people I've blocked over them calling everyone who hates RoP a racist. It's ridiculous. I don't know how this started.

But Hollywood has tricked people into defending the worst possible media in the world, tooth and nail, fighting for it like their life depends on it... simply dependent on if it has POC or women even mildly featured.

Instead of making good media, they tokenize minorities like a shield against all criticism. And I'm sad to see it actually working on so many people.

The thing specifically about RoP, is that there is some valid criticisms regarding the specific way the casting was handled, but Amazon has the easy out of calling everyone a racist in order to ignore the nuance. If they lump the genuine criticism in with the people who are just mad that there are POC, then that's how I get ignorant asshats in my notes calling me a white supremacist and telling me how I support Harvey Weinsten (tf?) all because I said that the show is bad.

Further breakdown under the cut, criticism of how Amazon the racist megacorp handled diversity in RoP.

I'm not an expert in Tolkien by any means. I'd say I know a bit more than most casual fans, only because I obsessively research the lore for my fanfiction, but I'm no Tolkien scholar.

That being said... I know that Tolkien already has built in diversity to his world. So right off the bat, it's inherently problematic to racebend characters and claim that you're "adding diversity" as if there never was any. You're flat out ignoring nonwhite nations, which... seems pretty racist to me.

The main issue of the specific way that diversity was handled for RoP is just another indicator that nobody involved in this manure pile has ever actually picked up a Tolkien book because...

There are tan/brown-skinned Hobbits mentioned. There are two proto-Hobbits as the main characters in RoP. Why weren't one or both of them POC? It would be canonical.

Or did they think that making the two filthy, hungry, idiot, moron buffoon characters POC would be too offensive? Though they had no problem making them stereotypically Irish... really makes ya think.

The showrunners are crowing about adding diversity that Tolkien supposedly "never did", yet they ignore the people groups and lore of entire POC nations he created in favor of poorly created OCs, and "representation" in the form of sloppy seconds by taking an originally white character, casting a POC actor/actress, and calling it representation. Maybe it's just me, but I think POC deserve original characters... and ones that are better written than the ones in RoP.

Not to mention that there is less known about these other nations, so less lore to screw up. Of course, making a series about the tragic story of how the Haradrim, the badass people group who tamed freaking Oliphants, eventually fell under the will of Sauron would mean they didn't get to use the names of characters that Everybody Knows. They'd actually have to be creative 🤪

Another huge thing is the specific implementation of "diversity" in RoP: It isn't diversity. It's tokenism.

The way the now-POC characters and OCs are treated is very odd. For some reason, the xenophobia/interspecies tension between Men and Elves is apparently all directed at the singular black elf?

And that's another thing.

One. Singular. Character.

Of each race.

Realistically, unless it's a coastal trade town or a large international city, the region will homogenize in about 3 or so generations. So either these characters are colonizers/the result of colonization in-lore, or... the more likely explanation... they're being used as mascots by Amazon. Because let's say that the "adding diversity that never was" argument actually made sense, despite the fact that we've established Tolkien already has diversity written into his wolrdbuilding...

Is it really adding diversity if it isn't reflected in the whole culture?

Why aren't a portion of the elves caucasian, then some are black, some are east asian, some south asian, some indigenous? Maybe the diversity is even based on the subcategories of elves, like the Silvan vs Sindar divide. Why not commit fully, use some creativity, and implement it in a way that is both interesting and complements the worldbuilding?

Because Amazon doesn't care about diversity beyond tokenism. As long as they check off their boxes ("make sure we get one dwarf, one elf, and one of the race of Men, the ladies can be royalty!"), they don't care about exploring what that would actually look like in the lore and worldbuilding.

And just a final note, but the Tolkien fandom has battled racists claiming that "orcs are black people" for so long. Only for Amazon to essentially canonize it (as much as this manure pile can be called "canon") because they couldn't be assed to know the barest bones of the lore.

(Or even watch the PJ movies apparently, because the Orcs coming from dark magic-twisted elves is explained by Saruman in Two Towers.)

I understand that some of this is extremely specific lore based stuff, but I suppose I'm used to adapted works of Tolkien having actual passion behind them, enough to care about the small details like the patterns on armor or the specific fabric of costumes. Even the notoriously awful Hobbit trilogy had more passion behind it than dollar signs.

The diversity itself is by no means problematic, and thats not what I or (most, I would hope) other critics are saying. But the ignorant implementation utilized in RoP winds up actually being offensive, and it's because everyone making this Product™️ went into it not with the mentality of passionately expanding what Tolkien had already created, but instead arrogantly thinking that they were surely making something better than the original.

[yellowocaballero]

11 & 35

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

Actually, yes, absolutely. Character wise - I've had a long-standing idea that I've talked about here before that, as a side result of people writing stories around their OCs instead of the other way around, they end up with a character who is just not a good fit for the story they are telling or the narrative they're trying to craft. And we all know that in fandom specifically people really project or get really attached to a specific character or really struggle with showing them in a potentially negative or difficult light, and it's extremely detrimental on the actual story that they're telling. Your DnD character can be great for DnD and it can, occasionally, be really bad for a story.

And of course story wise sometimes you really do just need to scrap the entire plotline and start over. I've killed a lot of scenes or subplots. I don't edit as much as I should, but when I do it always involves a lot of rewriting. If you're hitting a block where you are, you probably need to backtrack and see what isn't working. And you'll probably have to cut that. But never delete anything! I never erase an entire scene, i just stick it at the end of the word document or put it in a different one. Everything gets recycled or massaged into something else. I rarely have to full-out kill a darling, just rework it.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

All three people have asked me this and my answer is so bad, I don't know any writing rules, I don't know writing, nobody's ever told me anything, :( :( :( :(.

Thinking on it further, maybe I do have one thing to say about it: my 9th grade theater teacher was incredibly pretentious (nobody cares that you went to Yale, man) but he did say two things that stuck with me. One was the fact that, before you break a rule, you really have to master the rule. You have to really know how to play by the rules before you deviate from the rules. I hate the guy, but look at some of Picasso's stuff from when he was a teenager - the man had absolutely and 100% mastered the technical skill of art so young, and it was only once he did that he went back and broke every rule of art. Breaking a rule you haven't mastered is just ignoring stuff you don't like. I see a lot of people on Tumblr talking about breaking the rules from a philosophical or ideological level, but generally speaking I'm not certain that's always the best approach.

I don't know a lot of rules, but I actually do try to rigidly stick to the ones that I do know. Because I'm not a master, and I'm not better than the rules!

Thanks for the ask!

[kimtaegis]

Maybe you just don't want to talk about this with anyone, so feel free to ignore it, I'm glad if you only read. Please please take control of the people you follow, the people you interact with and have on your blog or in any other site or social media that you use to share your interest in BTS... Our experience in the fandom will depend 100% on that, the way you see armys will be entirely affected by it. Don't follow anyone just 'cause they're nice if what they say upsets you, don't be afraid to block or unfollow anyone who makes you uncomfortable. There are many types of armys and accounts you can engage with, there are fanbases sharing beautiful projects and kind actions from armys around the world, there are artist armys (just like you!) who show their creations, armys focusing on gathering votes and streams (this will be forever important) and overall many many armys who just care about what BTS have to say, trusting their messages and trying their best every day. I'm afraid that you may start to see armys in a negative way, I'm afraid that you can believe that this fandom isn't a good fandom, that this doesn't feel like home... This is not true, please remember that? Ever since I becamy army I never thought bad of this fandom and I always could understand why BTS love armys so much, 'cause armys have been comforting me too and I don't even have friends... I'm comforted just by "strangers". Even on Twitter, where things are much bigger and easier to trigger us, I've found my "safety zone". It's all a result of whom you follow. This doesn't mean I haven't found mean people, stalkers or antis, I did and sometimes I kept looking for them, even knowing how it made me feel, but I do my best to control what and whom I search for. Please take care of this ♡ life is already so hard, this part doesn't need to also be. Our fandom is the biggest in this world and of course that it means there'll be more toxic and obsessed people, the bigger it is it can be scarier, but I hope you can always see that this number isn't even close to all the kind armys who learn a lot with BTS, all the armys chasing for their future and trying to be better human beings. You're one of them!

oh you’re very sweet for sending all this, I appreciate it. I just think that it’s pretty much impossible to avoid any of this simply because of how today’s social media works; I have a tiny twitter account, only follow a very small bunch of fans (mostly mutuals from here and editmys/fanartists); the algorithm still suggests super problematic tweets to me. Which is sad in itself because those tweets get so much traction that they’re suggested to me, do you know what I mean? I do block and mute every single one of these accounts, have a mile-long list of muted words, and yet. And just leaving or disabling these functions would let me not see the stuff I would like to see anymore, so that’s also not great. Tumblr is comparably fine but is also absolutely deserted and boring. I’m sorry to say this but ever since I joined the fandom two years ago, I had my opinion on the general vibe of armys and this didn’t change at all. I’ve never seen this fandom as a healthy community or a home, I’m only in it because I love the group. Yes there are definitely amazing (and sane) people I’ve met here on tumblr through the boys and I’m so grateful for that, but unfortunately it’s really just a very small number of people who I truly get along with (probably my own fault but yeh). Also it’s not just the negativity by the way, but also the infantilism, or the other extreme, sexualisation of the members, the absolute obsession with chart and streaming numbers, awards and records, the “quantity over quality” way of thinking, the list goes on. There’s just so much I can’t vibe with, don’t want to. I’m trying my best to keep curating my own fandom experience and I don’t see myself not following bts’ career at any time soon, but it still sucks that such a big part of loving them feels so.. corrupted at times.

[jingyismom]

I'm truly not trying to start discourse make you feel bad personally, I just wanted to check if you're alright with chengxian? One of the jc-lwj-wwx parallel posts you rebloggged was tagged by the op as chengxian and that makes me uncomfortable with interacting with it, but I haven't seen any of that on your blog and I really like it here, so I'm wanting to clarify for myself if I'm better off unfollowing on grounds of incompatible vibes (i.e. even if I didn't view them as siblings I wouldn't like them as a ship but I've heard the relationship is less familial in the novel and more typically martial sibling like so idk but yeah anyway. Hope you're having a nice day and this doesn't come across as offensive)

Oh! Well, anon, I'm gonna take a two-pronged approach here just to be clear for your needs and mine 😅

Firstly, I don't personally ship chengxian! I just really really love parallels and meta involving the three of those characters (and lxc too, they all mirror each other in super interesting ways). I'm all for curating our own experiences, so I will say that if you don't want to see romantic chengxian you ARE more than likely safe on this blog. This is because, while probably boring to many, I only ship wangxian with each other in my little monkey brain/heart. I am pretty set in stone and vanilla when it comes to my main ships in general (don't @ me abt the fact that I'm a smut writer U KNOW it's relatively vanilla 😂).

Secondly, I am wholeheartedly "alright" with chengxian!!! Anything anybody wants to ship and however they want to ship it is a-ok, regardless of if I personally like it/want to see it/am squicked by it or not. I am not judging anyone for anything their brain finds enjoyable, as long as it is not causing harm, which to be clear, internet shipping of fictional characters cannot do as long as it is all tagged correctly in good faith etc.

It's highly possible I will reblog lots of things that were maybe intended to be posts suggesting ships I don't like/read/whatever, but if I don't see the post that way myself I won't clock it or care! If I like it and get something from it then I'm gonna be reblogging it without knowledge of or regard for op's intentions. Not sure if that's in bad taste or something these days but I am simply not checking op's tags for fandom stuff unless I happen to see them directly.

Also, just to tack on, I want to assure everyone that unfollowing/blocking people on the internet is a 100% great tool for any reason you might want to use it. Unfollow me if you need to!! Unfollow anyone!!! Make your internet experience as calm and happy for your soul as you can, it's one of the few areas of life in which we have that ability, so definitely take advantage of it!!

(Choosing not to address the fact that martial siblings are not actual siblings because it does seem that anon gets it, and it seems irrelevant here, and MANY people with far better knowledge of the culture of martial siblings have tackled the subject. If anybody asks for links I can try to dig some up, but I think search engines would also yield results?)

[revchainsaw]

Demolition Man (1993)

I am by no means an Action Movie guy. I have however time and time again found myself surprised by the genre when it has found its way into my viewing habits. The first Action Movie that really impressed me was Die Hard. I watched it one Christmas as I searched for more unusual holiday fare and was utterly blown away. I felt as if I should seek out more of these films. I got as far as Lethal Weapon 2 before I retreated back to the world of absurd horror and sci-fi. If not for the power of cultural osmosis and the question of the 3 shells i might not have worked up the interest to check out 1993's Demolitions Man. I was expecting a typical cop vs criminal action flick starring Stallone, but what I found was an absolutely delightful Science Fiction Comedy.

The Message

Released in 1993 Demolition man starts right out of the gate with a hilariously pessimistic prediction that by the year 1996 every city in America will be Gotham on crack. The Joker of this film is Simon Phoenix and though he lacks the circus act accoutrement he is absolutely a clown prince of crime. I would not be surprised to discover Heath Ledger took inspiration from Snipes for his turn as an agent of chaos. Phoenix is an unstoppable force and in Stallone he finds his immoveable object, John Spartan (God I love these action movie names), a cop who will walk through hell itself to see this mad man brought to justice. However in his blind pursuit of his greatest enemy Spartan is easily coaxed into making reckless decisions, resulting in unnecessary fatalities. Both Spartan and Phoenix are thus sentenced to cryogenic prison sentences.

In 2032, Phoenix is thawed out for a parole hearing and of course things go as you might expect. Phoenix finds that he has changed, someone has used scifi shenanigans on him while he was frozen giving him abilities both mental and physical that he had not had before, hinting at some kind of conspiracy, he also finds that this was overkill as even the unmodified Phoenix would not have had any trouble conquering the world of 2032. Society has become utopian and nobody has a concept of using physical force to resolve issues. This leads the police of the time to make the controversial decision to thaw out Spartan to bring down the villain.

Hilarity ensues as Sandra Bullocks character, Lenina Huxley (awesome name once again; named after the author of Brave New World), is tasked with keeping the primitive 90s action hero in line with the moral imperatives of the time. This includes avoiding violence, not using naughty words, a vegetarian diet, and socially distanced sexual intercourse (a gag at the time but in the real life 2020's may have been a welcome invention).

Without giving too much more away, this future peace comes at a great cost to personal freedom and expression and there is a society of free people living in the fringes of society known as Scraps lead by a civil rights leader of sorts named Friendly. There is a sinister conspiracy to wipe them out that is the central plot contrivance that brought our forces of Good and Evil to face off. The Super Phoenix betrays his handlers, seeks to turn this utopia into his personal playground and is eventually defeated by Spartan in the final showdown. Sylvester Stallone eagerly eats a rat burger and Sandra Bullock says a cuss word at one point.

The Benediction

Best Character: Phoenix Rises

Everyone loves a villain. I had mostly known Wesley Snipes from the Blade films and did not know he had this kind of range. I expected very stoic boring bad ass action dialogue from both Stallone and Snipes in this movie, and believed the sci-fi elements would simply be space cars and laser guns but was I wrong. I'm so happy to be wrong. This film just surprised me and Snipes performance as Phoenix was by far the most enjoyable. I loved his menace and the threat that he presented. I don't think there had been such a loveable bastard force of nature character like this portrayed in film so well until this time. He is such a believable threat that I really doubted there was going to be a way to bring him down. It was great to see the other characters underestimate him and to see him not only physically dominate his obstacles but to also out smart and out class his 'puppet masters' was just a pleasure the whole time.

Best Actor: Bullock in the Chamber

I know that Sandra Bullock stars in a ton of comedy films but I've never been able to say that I found her to be particularly funny. She also strangely plays a cop in a lot of these comedies. I may think of Lilina Huxley every time I think of Sandra Bullock from now on. She was absolutely hilarious, deadpan and dedicated to this character in a way that sold the world of 2032 America. I really don't think that the overly sensitive utopic world would have felt like a genuine place where human beings lived and not just a cartoonish backdrop without the honesty that Bullock brought to the role. It's hard to find actors who can inhabit a comedic world as seriously as a Middle Earth. And maybe that's not what she'd like to be remembered for, but I think she deserves that credit.

Best Aspect: a Genre/Genre/Genre Classic

Demolition Man is such a pleasant surprise. No one in this movie seems to begrudge it's wackiness and it lends itself to the humor in a way that lets the audience rest in the assurance that this was a pleasure for the cast and crew as much as it is a pleasure for us. It doesn't sacrifice it's action to be to screwball, and it doesn't sacrifice it's world building to be to absurd. It's a comedy that takes it's self seriously. I can not stress enough that this movie nails several genre's at once. It's a funny comedy, an ideologically committed satire, an exciting action flick, a hard science fiction tale that explores the high concept of the consequences of utopia, and a fantasy that sells it's goofy future world.

Worst Aspect: If Only Cops Were More Violent

I am not a fan of the implications of the film. In the 90s it seemed that PC culture was the big enemy of personal freedom and that giving a shit about other peoples feelings was going to turn our civilization into a bunch of overly sensitive weaklings. This narrative has imbedded itself in our culture and produced a generation of selfish assholes who feel completely justified in their every callous action. Demolition Man is a Libertarian science fiction film, but I find that it's central fiction is just that. I do not believe that committing to non-violent conflict resolutions, considering the feelings of others, and not eating meat will 'neuter' our abilities to live individually free and fulfilling lives. It's a caricature, that while funny, i think is inaccurate. If you are of the mindset that Personal Freedom is at odds with social justice then you may find yourself enjoying the idea that it takes a violent police reaction to save society from it's own worst impulses, but I find that idea fairly fantastical. I think seeing the community stand firm in their convictions and still overcome evil may have been a more ideologically realistic interpretation of how the day can be saved, but instead we are given a lone wolf renegade cop killing the bad guy will reform the world, and in todays world, that just seems like a profoundly stupid message.

Best Scene: Fight at the Museum

Demolition Man boasts several ass kicking confrontations between Spartan and Phoenix. The opening Escape from L.A. backdrop that establishes these deadly foes, and the fall out that an interaction between the two can have is considered extreme even when the world is seemingly at the brink of collapse. It really sets a high stake for our squeaky clean future. The final battle in the Cryo-lab is also iconic and features a pretty excellent practical effect. However, I'd have to give the best scene to the fight at the weapons exhibit. The fact that Spartan knows his enemy so well is on display as he predicts that the Weapons exhibit will be an irresistible draw, we get to see Phoenix at his chaotic best, great one liners, and it's just a toy box for both Hero and Villain to let lose and deliver on that fall out I was just mentioning had been set up in the first act. While I loved the comedic take on this rivalry, I'd like to see Snipes and Stallone take up their beef again in a more seriously violent film. They make for great arch-rivals.

Best Gag: Potty Mouth

When I was a kid I remember my father hauling ass down our residential road and getting pulled over just a block away from our driveway. I think he was doing 55 in a 35. It was his fault but as the proud small government southern man he was, he felt it was absolutely overreach on behalf of the police department to give him a ticket on the road that he lived on. Stupid, I know. But our car was full of groceries and the officer let our ice cream melt while the whole time we sat in the truck with our home in view. My father was so enraged about this ticket that he got revenge on the mean old government by writing the check to pay his ticket, and then using said check to wipe sweat from his ass crack after mowing the lawn the next day. He mailed it in and I as an 11 year old knew that it was not going to effect the offending officer in the least, but that some poor old county clerk was going to probably get pink eye. Anyway, if you handle money or checks, you should always wear gloves, or wash your hands regularly before touching your face or eating. All that to say, I really enjoyed that after being frustrated with the 3 shell system Stallone racks up a series of fines for profanity. These fines are issued via an automated ticket dispenser on the wall in the police department. Stallone lets out a string of hilarious expletives that I hope to God were adlibbed, before he is satisfied with a nice pile of paper in his hand. He implies that he is going to the bathroom to do a little paperwork, and the scene is over. Even if you don't want to watch the whole movie, go ahead and YouTube this scene. Stallone has a surprising talent for comedy on display here.

Summary

To Begin with, I would say not to take this film too seriously: It is a comedy, after all, and I am not certain that the political implications of the movie were meant to be thought out as much as I have above. Unlike Judge Dredd, which Stallone would star in 2 years after this, (tragically deciding to bring Rob Schneider along with him) Demolition Man does not openly advocate for fascism. It's funny, it's a tight story with a satisfying conclusion, it's got great action choreography and it may be Snipes, Bullock and Stallone at their absolute best.

Overall Grade: B