#Sarah Jeong

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 3, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Dec 04, 2024

For an astonishing six hours today, South Korea underwent an attempted self-coup by its unpopular president, Yoon Suk Yeol, only to see the South Korean people force him to back down as they reasserted the strength of their democracy.

In an emergency address at nearly 11:00 last night local time, Yoon announced that he was declaring martial law in South Korea for the first time since 1980, when special forces under a military dictatorship attacked pro-democracy activists in the city of Gwangju, leaving about 200 people dead or missing. South Koreans ended military rule in their country in 1987, writing a new constitution that made South Korea a republic.

Yoon claimed he had to declare martial law because his political opponents were sympathizing with communist North Korea. It was a thin pretext.

A member of the conservative People’s Party, Yoon was elected to a five-year presidential term in 2022 after a misogynistic campaign fueled by young men who saw equal rights for women— whose average monthly wage is 67.7% of that a man, according to the BBC’s Laura Bicker—as reverse discrimination that is taking away their own rights and opportunities.

Before his election, Yoon had no experience in the National Assembly, and once he was in office, his popularity slid to record lows. In legislative elections held last April, voters crushed Yoon’s party, giving opposition parties 192 of 300 seats in the National Assembly. The legislature fought with Yoon over his budget and launched a number of corruption investigations into Yoon’s allies as well as his wife.

And so, Yoon declared martial law, bringing the media under his control and banning political activities, “false propaganda,” “gatherings that incite social unrest,” and strikes. Police officers formed a blockade around the National Assembly, and helicopters landed on the roof to prevent lawmakers from getting inside to overturn Yoon’s declaration.

The South Korean people reacted immediately. Reporting from Seoul, John Yoon of the New York Times recounted the story of a real estate agent who watched President Yoon’s speech, got in his car, and drove for an hour to get to the National Assembly. The man told journalist Yoon, “I thought, ‘The end has come,’ so I came out. The president of a country has exerted his power by force, and its people have come out to protest that. We have to remove him from power from this point on. He’s in a position where he has to come down.”

Editor of The Verge Sarah Jeong, who works out of the U.S. and does not cover South Korean politics, happened to be working in Seoul this week and was on site after a night of drinking, giving an informed and honest account of what she was seeing. “[T]he crowd is a pretty even mix of young people and the older folks (mostly men) who would have been young during the dictatorship…. I heard tanks were here but I haven't seen one yet. [O]ld men swearing "how dare the military come here.”

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post Tokyo/Seoul bureau chief, reported that the National Assembly managed to pull together a majority of its members—190 of 300—in about two and a half hours to participate in a unanimous vote to overturn Yoon’s emergency declaration of martial law. That vote included members of his own party.

Political commentator Adam Schwartz shared a video taken by the leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, as he climbed over the wall of the National Assembly to vote against Yoon’s martial law declaration. Other videos showed people in the streets boosting legislators over the walls for the vote.

Yet another video showed South Korean soldiers trying to get into the National Assembly during the voting thwarted by people wielding a fire extinguisher and flashes from cameras.

While the law said Yoon had to abide by the legislators’ vote, it was not clear whether Yoon would do as the law required. About six hours after he had declared martial law, Yoon bowed to the National Assembly and the popular will and lifted his declaration.

Yoon has been widely condemned, and South Koreans from all parties, including his own, are calling for his resignation or impeachment. Raphael Rashid of The Guardian reported today that on the morning after the attempted coup, South Koreans are bewildered and sad. “For the older generation who fought on the streets against military dictatorships, martial law equals dictatorship, not 21st century Korea. The younger generation is embarrassed that he has ruined their country’s reputation. People are baffled.”

For the rest of the world, though, South Koreans’ immediate and aggressive response to a man trying to take away their democratic rights is an inspiration. Among other things, it illustrates that for all the claims that autocracy can react to events more quickly than democracy can, in fact autocrats are brittle. It is democracy that is determined and resilient.

The events in Seoul also cemented the shift in social media from X to Bluesky, where news was breaking faster than anywhere else, in a way that echoed what Twitter used to be. Since Twitter was a key site of democratic organizing until Elon Musk bought it and renamed it X, that shift is significant.

And finally, the events in South Korea emphasize that for all people often look to larger-than-life figures to define our nations, our history is in fact made up of regular people doing the best they can. Journalist Sarah Jeong found herself entirely unexpectedly in the middle of a coup and, recognizing that she was in a historic moment, snapped to work to do all she could to keep the rest of us informed. “I’m f*cking blasted and hanging out in the weirdest scene because history happened at a deeply inconvenient hour,” she wrote on Bluesky. “[S]o it goes.”

When she finally went home, Jeong wrote: “I expensed my cab ride home. I’m tired so I put ‘korea coup’ down in the expense code field.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[vertiny]

YUNHO 'ICE ON MY TEETH'

[unicorn-elvis]

Also, her disclaimer:

Liveskeets from the South Korean Parliament

Sarah Jeong, editor of the Verge, is liveskeeting from the Korean Parliament building during the recent coup attempt. It's 1AM local time.

[sunatsubu]

updates from Sarah Jeong on bluesky about the martial law in S. Korea that came and went within 3 hrs lol.

[objectheadzine]

Thank you for your patience! I'm happy to present our artists for the 2025 edition of the Object Head Zine:

Potentialforart | Corviday | Kimberly Wang | Louise Kay Uy | Cosmicloak | jeong | theHoleyness | Nighto | Blacklimes | Autumn Haynes | Jenny Park | Shibara | Juliette GMM López | Lemonjuiceday | Cacoethic + Lenalis | Vetiverfox | Caitlin Ono | Inktrashing | Jackarais | Pastachyan | nauma | april | siins | Kosse | PigDemonArt | CHRISQI | R-GIE | BunnyangelArt | K_Duffles | 1000 Dead Draculas | Rainboopz | Krispy | Feefal | Andrea C. | JOU | Kai_QS | Winiberto J. Garcia | Mina Martinez | koloquials | Kaz Fantone | Den_Ai_D | Nisnow | Iris | Andrhomeda | KIDSID | Yuki M / KAISEI INK | TK Pinkerton | Guillermo Saavedra | SkyShard | June Flores | Sarah Skrutskie | bluequills | Nikru | corruptimles | Jara Draws | Chroma | ZOOT | Null | Dr.Jingles | Solaire | arcadechan | planetsandmagic | Poofylion | cowsaresushi | Kadin DiStefano | Frouponic | Mangozic | Tien

Thank you all for applying, I can't wait to see what our participants create!

[sillyspaghettihead]

Sarah Jeong is a fucking icon

[bobcatmoran]

Absolutely wild that in the time I was at work (which was, to be clear, the middle of the night in South Korea) the following happened:

a) The South Korean president declares martial law because. Uh. North Korea? Exists?

b) 190 of the 300 members of their National Assembly manage to make their way into the Assembly Hall, skirting police and soldiers who were enforcing the martial law, which includes no parlimentary activity. Some of them literally climb the walls around the building to get in, and others are aided by the MASSIVE amounts of protestors that have shown up at, like, 1 AM local time. Barricades are put up to keep the police out of the Assembly Chamber.

c) The vote is unanimous to overturn martial law. This means that the president's declaration has to be lifted.

d) The military says they'll keep enforcing martial law until the president says not to.

e) Three hours after the vote, the president says martial law is lifted.

People are now calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign or be impeached, and rightly so.

(Sources: BBC liveblog, Guardian liveblog, Associated Press, this thread from The Verge reporter Sarah Jeong who just happened to be in Seoul and doesn't usually report on Korean politics)

[filmcompanion]

Park Chan Wook + Jeong Seo-kyeong when making The Handmaiden (2016): juxtaposes objectification with genuine representation of sex, in a way Sarah Waters said is true to her novel Fingersmith that the film took inspiration from. Male entitlement is rejected as violent and unwanted a contrast to love between women being embraced as a means for liberation. Films sex between two women as actual sex - the full-bodied, passionate union between two people, without objectifying the women by keeping a distant, neutral frame that has the body parts men want to leer at out of focus. Shows women having active desire for each other, with love and sex being two sides of the same coin for those characters, as a contrast to men's cold view of women as objects. Uses abundant POV shots and spends a multitude of scenes building up the sexual tension and emotional intimacy before going explicit. Fills the scenes with narrative motifs and symbolism, emphasizing Hideko and Sookhee as equals despite their class disparity, as well as creating the imagery that two women can fulfill each other without a man. Focuses on the women's faces, includes dialogue and lots of humor. The scenes sex are literally so emotionally charged and revolutionary for the characters they are ready to change their entire life course after - it's the only time they can be completely honest with each other, and that emotional journey is conveyed. Writes Sookhee reclaiming the Count's fake fuckboy line of "spellbindingly beautiful" with literally the most genuine emotion after seeing Hideko's *****. Films cunnilingus as equivalent, or even superior, to penetration as a sex act. Asked an actual lesbian what sex would make sense to include in the movie, and from her request includes scissoring while making the point is it's an advanced sex move. Addresses the complexity that while men can objectify sex between women, the concept can at the same time be appealing to women and it's possible to reclaim it for yourself. Visually spells out that men thinking something is for them doesn't mean it is (their entitlement leads to the men literally dying). Explicitly dismantles pretty much all lesbian tragedy tropes with intent, such as suicide/death/torture/mental institution, lesbian relationships as inconsequential or ending in betrayal, lesbians having sex with or being objectified by men. Literally makes the whole movie about lesbians reclaiming narrative tropes used against them, and has them Win Everything with the most happy ending ever.

People with gender and film studies degrees who make a living out of writing intelligently about these topics: two women naked so for men :) only men like lesbian sex, please cut to black next time bc my brain cannot comprehend anything important happened, as I associate women having sex with p*rn and nothing else :) it's "performing" for men when it looks pretty! (in a movie something is Real and not performing when it looks Ugly). we as a society can only move on from the dichotomy of lesbian dehumanization as either desexualized or hypersexualized by diving all wlw media into the pure a-touch-of-your-hand-made-me-cry-alone-in-my-room-for-10-years with endlessly obsession about chaste Gazing from a distance versus the icky icky sex stuff that only men want to see!

[rosewind2007]

This was the first major news story I followed via BlueSky, and I am slightly in love with the reporter…

[everythingbap]

📲 r_seop Instagram update:

저의 첫 K-POP 타이틀곡 연출🎬 도와주신 모든분들 감사합니다!! 정신없이 파도치듯 제작했습니다. All glory to God Moon Jong Up - ‘TWIST YA’ MV CREDIT PRODUCTION | Ad.A @.ad.a_official STARRING | JONG UP MOON @.moonjongyeup DIRECTOR | RYUNSEOP, BOUQUET @.booquet PRODUCER | JASMIN @._sminnnn LINE PRODUCER | SEONA JEONG PRODUCER ASSISTANCE | YOUNG JOO KOH LINE PRODUCTION | GER PRODUCER | SOYOUNG PARK @.nessxap PRODUCER ASSISTANCE | MINJI KIM AD | JAMES CHOI, YEONHUN CHOE, SARAH EL-ALI VISUAL & STYLE DIRECTION | DAFTBOY @d.aftyob DOP | INSEOK JUNG @.dontgoyet FOCUS PULLER | YUNHWAN PARK @.oeenqm 2ND AC | JEONGWOONG CHOI 3RD AC | SEOUNGEUN KIM DIT | JUNGEUN LEE @.19971230_ GAFFER | SEONGILL LEE @.2gender1 1ST | MINCHEOL KIM 2ND | JAEJUN YU, WOOJIN SUNG, JONGSEUNG SONG 3RD | YUSUNG HAN, HYUNJUN LEE 4TH | SIYOUNG KIM, IKHYEON JO JIMMYJIB @.yeonhuidong_dalguzi OPERATOR | KITAE KIM 1ST | JUNGHYUN BING 2ND | JAESUNG LEE 3RD | HYUNGMIN KIM ART DIRECTOR | SEBIN LIM @.our_fourth.avenue , YOOONCHEI BANG @.batodeon ART TEAM | DOHOON SONG, YOONSEO BANG, MINHO LIM, SUNGJUN HONG ROBOT ARM MADE | LEE EUNSEO HAIR STYLIST | HOJIN LEE ASSISTANCE | YERI MAKE-UP | JAEIN HEO ASSISTANCE | JU YEON KIM EXTRA HAIR STYLIST | SEONGHEE JEONG EDIT | RYUNSEOP COLOUR & 2D | CAPRA @.capra.official.colour VFX | POKIN TULAPRAPRUT, NUTTAPUT TULAPRAPRUT @.guidddiii DANCER | GRACE, ILCHEON LEE, JAE HUN JUNG, SEONJIK CHAE, TAE UK PARK, YEON JIN CHO, JI YEON LEE, SUNG YEON JEON, ZU WON YI, JI MIN LEE, SUN BIN KIM, YE JIN CHOI, TAE YOUNG KIM, YE JI JEON, JUN HEE KIM, YO SEOP BYUN, SUN HYEON HWANG, CHAE RIN LEE, YE RAN MOON EXTRA | JUHO SHIN, KYU YOUNG KANG, SCILA SOFIA, LARA, NICOLE ALDAMA, TIM BASO, TITA, KENZA KHALIFA, SOPHIA G THANKS | SURGERY, SAMPLAS, KEEPUSWEIRD

[vertiny]

wdym he doesn't naturally have gems in his hair...?

[doux-amer]

Look, there are great threads breaking down the South Korean martial law attempt today, but the best thread about it is Sarah Jeong accidentally finding herself reporting live at the scene while drunk (this is a link to the last post in the thread so scroll all the way up and start from the beginning because for some reason, the thread's broken if you link to the first post). It encapsulates the entire mood of the moment and the Korean spirit.

[rosyfingered-moon]

Twenty Questions

@angryteapott Thanks for the tag! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

748,763

What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly television: kdramas and cdramas, and some English-language shows. The only films I have written for are Decision to Leave and Cyrano de Bergerac.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of them are Mr. Queen:

Mrs. Queen - A rushed fix-it that I began one day after the show ended and then published daily for two months straight. It was a super fun writing exercise bc I tried to work in as many reader prompts as possible to salvage all of our broken hearts after the horrid ending. It was also the unfortunate beginning of my haphazard style of posting first chapters with no clue what the rest of the story will be. (100k)

The White Grass- Non-magic AU. I really enjoyed writing this because 1. it's my only properly beta read story and it was sooo fun to go over things with Sarah in advance! and 2. it features a noncon scene that was really divisive and led to a lot of very interesting discussions about power and consent on Twitter. (74k)

The Raw Ingredients - Bong-hwan finally returns to Joseon, but not as a queen, but a chambermaid!! So she has to scheme her way back to Cheoljong with the help of Minister Kim Soyong. I loved writing this, it was pure wish fulfillment and lowkey I think the most hilarious way a season two could have gone (if I may toot my own horn). @lady-guts has made theeee most beautiful fanbinding of it which has made me appreciate it more <33 (41k)

And I, and Silence - Soyong wakes back up alone inside her body with no memory of what has happened and has to fend for herself. I loved writing Kim Byeong-in's pov and also Jo Hwa-jin's pov and also their freaky love story!! (99k)

Whatever Souls Are Made Of - After almost drowning Soyong ends up with the complete memories of her future self (Bong-hwan). So suddenly she is both a Joseon woman and a South Korean man and has to grapple with that. Also there's a sweeping romance crossing time and space. (61k)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to respond to all, because I think those connections is what makes fandom worth engaging in. Currently behind on answering though :(

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm a HEA gal, but my Kingdom fic Something Rotten ends with hate sex that isn't maybe only hate but more hate than love. (Also, at least one of the main characters is gonna get eaten by zombies in the future.) I wrote a short My Liberation Notes piece called These Winter Fields where I let Mr. Gu attend Alcoholics Anonymous, but his recovery is left open-ended. Writing it felt very bittersweet to me personally, as someone who has been close to an addict.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them have tooth-rottingly happy endings! But the ones that felt the most healing to me were my The Hour fic not even the rain because I had been hurting for a decade over its cancellation, and my Beyond Evil fic Splinters where I unfridged Kang Min-jeong and let her live a vibrant poly life without having to die to fuel other people's manpain. Also very much enjoyed saving Comrade Gu in my Crash Landing on You fic Allegretto, not so much for his own sake as for Seo Dan, who deserves to have everything she wants.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. Sometimes people have expressed disappointment. I think the most hate I got was a person on Twitter who got really upset that I wrote a ship they didn't like and in a way they didn't like, but I don't think that had very much to do with my actual fic (since they hadn't read it).

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Mostly het. I think I have progressed from more tender depictions to, like, trying to hone in on the slightly weird or awkward parts of sex, and also to describe the scene more straightforwardly and let people's imagination do the work for them?

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

A Six Flying Dragons/My Country: The New Age crossover, and a Rookie Historian/Sungkyunkwan Scandal crossover. Neither feels very crazy to me because the universes fit so well (the two former because they feature the same historical people and events, and the two latter because they are both fluffy fusion sageuks with perky heroines).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, or at least reposted without credit.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would love if that happened!!!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Gotta go with Goo Hae-ryung and Min U-won because they are sooo delightful to write, really grew on me (I didn't ship them immediately), and the fandom are such lovely people!

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I hope I will finish all of them in time.

What are your writing strengths?

Funny dialogue! (At least I think it's funny.) Readers mostly seem to appreciate the heart-wrenching confession oneliners.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Pacing, repetitive descriptions, that classic hyperfocus on the main ship to the detriment of other characters, and action scenes. There's probably many cultural misconceptions as well, especially since I mostly write historical pieces (ranging from the Joseon Dynasty and Tang Dynasty to 1950s Britain). I try to research, but being a foreigner means that there will always be a gap.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Since I'm not a native English speaker, all my dialogue is in another language! In the kdrama fics I sometimes include familial terms, honorifics, and other forms of address in transliterated Korean, because I think that helps remind people reading it of what the sentence "actually" sounds like within the fiction, and also maybe allows them to recall what those particular words sound like when spoken by the actors of show. It gives the appearance that the fic only translates the character's "real," embodied, Korean conversation and keeps the readers immersed. At least that's my intention.

First fandom you wrote for?

On AO3 it was for Supernatural, since 15x20 enraged me enough to finally post something. But I also wrote Buffy and Harry Potter fic on FF.net when I was a kid. Including Snape/reader inserts, which I recently told a friend about and she gave me the most repulsed look I have ever seen :)

Favorite fic you've written?

I don't actually know!! Whatever Souls Are Made Of is probably one of the best pieces I have written, but all of them are dear to me in different ways.

Tagging @drivingsideways and @comfect and @elderflowergin and anyone else who wants to do it!

[chillingcinemachronicles]

Top 5 Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix

5. Predestination (2014)

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Alicia Pavlis, Annabelle Norman, Arielle O’Neill, Ben Prendergast, Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen, Cate Wolfe, Christopher Bunworth, Christopher Kirby, Christopher Sommers, Christopher Stollery, Dennis Coard, Dick York, Elise Jansen, Eliza D’Souza, Eliza Matengu, Ethan Hawke, Felicity Steel, Finegan Sampson, Freya Stafford, Giordano Gangl, Grant Piro, Hayley Butcher, Jim Knobeloch, Katie Avram, Kristie Jandric, Kuni Hashimoto, Lucinda Armstrong Hall, Madeleine West, Maja Sarosiek, Marky Lee Campbell, Milla Simmonds, Monique Heath, Noah Taylor, Noel Herriman, Olivia Sprague, Paul Moder, Raj Sidhu, Rob Jenkins, Sara El-Yafi, Sarah Snook, Sophie Cusworth, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Tyler Coppin, Vanessa Crouch

Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, The Spierig Brothers

Rating: R

One of the most original time-travel thrillers since 12 Monkeys. A brilliant subversion of the Time Paradox trope, with enough plot twists to keep you entertained until well after the movie is finished. Predestination is an amazing movie with great performances from Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook. It’s a movie that will feel like Inception, when it comes to messing with your mind and barely anyone has heard of it. It is highly underrated and unknown, sadly.

4. Train to Busan (2016)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Ahn So-hee, An So-hee, Baek Seung-hwan, Cha Chung-hwa, Chang-hwan Kim, Choi Gwi-hwa, Choi Woo-shik, Choi Woo-sung, Dong-seok Ma, Eui-sung Kim, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-eun, Han Sung-soo, Jang Hyuk-jin, Jeong Seok-yong, Jung Seok-yong, Jung Young-ki, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Chang-hwan, Kim Eui-sung, Kim Jae-rok, Kim Joo-heon, Kim Ju-hun, Kim Keum-soon, Kim Soo-ahn, Kim Soo-an, Kim Su-an, Kim Won-Jin, Lee Joo-sil, Lee Joong-ok, Ma Dong-seok, Park Myung-shin, Sang-ho Yeon, Seok-yong Jeong, Shim Eun-kyung, Sohee, Soo-an Kim, Soo-jung Ye, Terri Doty, Woo Do-im, Woo-sik Choi, Ye Soo-jung, Yeon Sang-ho, Yoo Gong, Yu-mi Jeong, Yu-mi Jung

Director: Sang-ho Yeon, Yeon Sang-ho

Lights, camera, VPNaction! Elevate your movie nights with NordVPN. 🎥🔒secure your connection and Download NordVPN . Click now to unlock global cinematic thrills!

A zombie virus breaks out and catches up with a father as he is taking his daughter from Seoul to Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city. Watch them trying to survive to reach their destination, a purported safe zone.

The acting is spot-on; the set pieces are particularly well choreographed. You’ll care about the characters. You’ll feel for the father as he struggles to keep his humanity in the bleakest of scenarios.

It’s a refreshingly thrilling disaster movie, a perfect specimen of the genre.

3. Serenity (2005)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Carrie ‘CeCe’ Cline, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Patrick Lynch, David Krumholtz, Demetra Raven, Dennis Keiffer, Elaine Mani Lee, Erik Weiner, Gina Torres, Glenn Howerton, Hunter Ansley Wryn, Jessica Huang, Jewel Staite, Linda Wang, Logan O’Brien, Marcus Young, Mark Winn, Marley McClean, Matt McColm, Michael Hitchcock, Morena Baccarin, Nathan Fillion, Nectar Rose, Neil Patrick Harris, Peter James Smith, Rafael Feldman, Rick Williamson, Ron Glass, Ryan Tasz, Sarah Paulson, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Tamara Taylor, Terrell Tilford, Terrence Hardy Jr., Tristan Jarred, Weston Nathanson, Yan Feldman

Director: Joss Whedon

Rating: PG-13

Lights, camera, VPNaction! Elevate your movie nights with NordVPN. 🎥🔒secure your connection and Download NordVPN . Click now to unlock global cinematic thrills!

Serenity is a futuristic sci-fi film that serves as a feature-length continuation of the story-line from the TV program Firefly (2002–2003). The story revolves around the captain (Nathan Fillion) and crew of the titular space vessel that operate as space outlaws, running cargo and smuggling missions throughout the galaxy. They take on a mysterious young psychic girl and her brother, the girl carrying secrets detrimental to the intergalactic government, and soon find themselves being hunted by a nefarious assassin (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The first feature-length film from Joss Whedon (The Avengers), Serenity is a lively and enjoyable adventure, replete with large-scale action sequences, strong characterizations and just the right touch of wry humor. An enjoyable viewing experience that stands alone without demanding that you have familiarity with the original program beforehand.

2. Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Actor: Armie Hammer, Danny Glover, David Cross, Ed Moy, Forest Whitaker, James D. Weston II, Jermaine Fowler, John Ozuna, Kate Berlant, Lakeith Stanfield, Lily James, Marcella Bragio, Michael X. Sommers, Molly Brady, Omari Hardwick, Patton Oswalt, Robert Longstreet, Rosario Dawson, Steven Yeun, Teresa Navarro, Terry Crews, Tessa Thompson, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tony Toste, W. Kamau Bell

Director: Boots Riley

In the year of the Netflix TV Show Maniac, another absurdist title stole critics’ hearts. Sorry to Bother You is a movie set in an alternate reality, where capitalism and greed are accentuated. Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta) is a guy called Cassius who struggles to pay his bills. However, when at a tele-marketing job an old-timer tells him to use a “white voice”, he starts moving up the ranks of his bizarre society. A really smart movie that will be mostly enjoyed by those who watch it for its entertaining value, and not so much for its commentary. It is like a Black Mirror episode stretched into a movie.

1. Ex Machina (2015)

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction

Actor: Alex Garland, Alicia Vikander, Chelsea Li, Claire Selby, Corey Johnson, Domhnall Gleeson, Elina Alminas, Gana Bayarsaikhan, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno, Symara A. Templeman, Symara Templeman, Tiffany Pisani

Director: Alex Garland

Rating: R

Lights, camera, VPNaction! Elevate your movie nights with NordVPN. 🎥🔒secure your connection and Download NordVPN . Click now to unlock global cinematic thrills!

Ex Machina is the directorial debut of Alex Garland, the writer of 28 Days Later (and 28 Weeks Later). It tells the story of Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson from About Time), an IT developer who is invited by a billionaire CEO to participate in a groundbreaking experiment — administering a Turing test to a humanoid robot called Ava (Alicia Vikander). Meeting the robot with feelings of superiority at first, questions of trust and ethics soon collide with the protagonist’s personal views. While this dazzling film does not rely on them, the visual effects and the overall look-feel of Ex Machina are absolutely stunning and were rightly picked for an Academy Award. They make Ex Machina feel just as casually futuristic as the equally stylish Her and, like Joaquin Phoenix, Gleeson aka Caleb must confront the feelings he develops towards a machine, despite his full awareness that ‘she’ is just that. This is possibly as close to Kubrick as anyone got in the 21st century. Ex Machina is clever, thrilling, and packed with engaging ideas.

[identity-library]

Diverse Sexuality (Books)

A:

Alice Isn't Dead (Joseph Fink)

Alice (Unspecified WLW)

Keisha Taylor (Unspecified WLW)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Sáenz)

Aristotle Mendoza (Gay)

Dante Quintana (Gay)

Aru Shah (Roshani Chokshi)

Brynne Rao (Bisexual)

A Step Towards Falling (Connie McGovern)

Richard (Gay)

Harrison (Gay)

Hugh (Unspecified MLM)

B:

Blood Like Magic (Liselle Sambury)

Keisha (Demisexual, Lesbian)

Bruised (Tanya Boteju)

Daya Wijesinghe (Unspecified WLW)

Shanti (Unspecified WLW)

C:

Cemetary Boys (Aiden Thomas)

Yadriel (Gay)

Julian Diaz (Gay)

Chaotic Good (Whitney Gardner)

Brian "Farrin" (Unspecified MLM)

Cooper Birch (Gay)

Wyatt (Gay)

Connection Error (Annabeth Albert)

Josiah Simmons (Gay)

Ryan Orson (Gay)

Crown of Feathers - Series (Nicki Pau Preto)

Anders (Unspecified MLM)

Avalkyra Ashfire (Aromantic, Asexual)

Callysta Lightbringer (Lesbian)

Kade (Gay)

Latham (Unspecified MLM)

Nefyra Ashfire (Lesbian)

Sev Lastlight (Gay)

Sidra (Unspecified WLW)

Tristan Flamesong (Bisexual)

D:

Dear Mothman (Robin Gow)

Alice (Unspecified WLW)

Molly (Unspecified WLW)

E:

Exit, Pursued by a Bear (E.K. Johnston)

Amy (Lesbian)

Polly (Lesbian)

F:

G:

Gifted Clans (Graci Kim)

Bob (Unspecified MLM)

Chae (Unspecified WLW)

Gong (Unspecified WLW)

Jangsoo Jeong (Unspecified MLM)

Girl Mans Up (M.E. Girard)

Blake (Bisexual)

Penelope "Pen" Oliveira (Lesbian)

H:

Highway Bodies (Alison Evans)

Dee (Bisexual)

Eve (Unspecified WLW)

Jojo (Bisexual)

I:

Icebreaker (A.L. Graziadei)

Jaysen Caulfield (Gay)

Mickey James (Bisexual)

I Hope You're Listening (Tom Ryan)

Delia "Dee" Skinner (Unspecified WLW)

Sarah (Unspecified WLW)

J:

K:

Keep This to Yourself (Tom Ryan)

Mac Bell (Gay)

Quill (Unspecified MLM)

L:

Learning Curves (Ceillie Simkiss)

Cora McLaughlin (Panromantic, Asexual)

Elena Mendez (Lesbian)

M:

Matt Sinclair - Series (Tony Fennelly)

Matt Sinclair (Gay)

More Happy Than Not (Adam Silvera)

Aaron Soto (Gay)

N:

O:

P:

Pahua Moua - Series (Lori M. Lee)

Ka (Unspecified WLW)

Yeng (Unspecified WLW)

Paola Santiago - Series (Tahlor Kay Meija)

Carmela Mata (Bisexual)

Emma Lockwood (Lesbian)

Kit (Unspecified WLW)

Paola Santiago (Bisexual)

Percy Jackson - Universe (Rick Riordan)

Hemithea (Lesbian)

Josephine (Lesbian)

Lavinia Asimov (Lesbian)

Magnus Chase (Pansexual)

Nico di Angelo (Gay)

Paolo Montes (Unspecified MLM)

Piper McLean (Bisexual)

Poison Oak (Unspecified WLW)

Reyna Ramírez-Arellano (Asexual)

Shel (Unspecified WLW)

Will Solace (Bisexual)

Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

Patrick (Gay)

Pulp (Robin Talley)

Abbey Zimet (Lesbian)

Janet Jones (Lesbian)

Punk 57 (Penelope Douglas)

Manny Cortez (Unspecified MLM)

Ten (Unspecified MLM)

Q:

R:

S:

Sadie (Courtney Summers)

Sadie Hunter (Unlabeled WLW)

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe (Carlos Hernandez)

Reina Real (Bisexual)

Salvador "Sal" Vidón (Aromantic, Asexual)

Scholomance (Series - Naomi Novik)

Ibrahim Haddad (Unspecified MLM)

Jermaine (Unspecified MLM + Polyamorous)

Yaakov (Unspecified MLM)

Sikander Aziz - Series (Sarwat Chadda)

Daoud (Unspecified MLM)

Idiptu (Unspecified MLM)

Mohammed Aziz (Unspecified MLM)

Sidana (Unspecified MLM)

Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

Jesper Fahey (Bisexual)

Nina Zenik (Bisexual)

Wylan Van Eck (Gay)

Synchro Boy (Shannon McFerran)

Bart Lively (Bisexual)

T:

The Agony of Bun O'Keefe (Heather Smith)

Chris (Gay)

The Art of Saving the World (Connie Duyvis)

Hazel Stanczak (Asexual, Lesbian)

The Buried and the Bound (Rochelle Hassan)

Leo Merritt (Bisexual)

Tristan Drake (Gay)

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager (Ben Philippe)

Eric (Gay)

The Immeasurable Depth of You (Maria Mora)

Brynn (Bisexual)

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali (Sabrina Khan)

Ariana (Unspecified WLW)

Rukhsana Ali (Lesbian)

Sohail (Gay)

The Luis Ortega Survival Club (Sonora Reyes)

Ariana Ruiz (Bisexual)

Shanaya "Shawni" (Bisexual)

The Manifold Worlds (Foz Meadows)

Gwen Vere (Aromantic, Unspecified WLW + Polyamorous)

The Montague Twins (Drew Shannon, Nathan Page)

Pete Montague (Gay)

The Mortal Instruments - Series (Cassandra Clare)

Alexander "Alec" Lightwood (Gay)

Magnus Bane (Bisexual)

The 100 (Kass Morgan)

Octavia Blake (Bisexual)

U:

V:

W:

Way to Go (Tom Ryan)

Danny (Gay)

We Contain Multitudes (Sarah Henstra)

Adam "Kurl" Kurlansky (Gay)

Jonathan Hopkirk (Gay)

What Unbreakable Looks Like (Kate McLaughlin)

Elsa (Lesbian)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (David Levithan, John Green)

Gary (Gay)

Gideon (Gay)

Nick (Unspecified MLM)

Tiny Cooper (Gay)

Will Grayson (Gay)

Winger (Andrew Smith)

Joey Constantino (Gay)

Wings of Fire - Series (Tui T. Sutherland)

Anenome (Unspecified WLW)

Burnet (Unspecified WLW)

Silverspot (Unspecified WLW)

Umber (Gay)

X:

Y:

Z:

#:

36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You (Vicki Grant)

Max (Gay)