#Theology of Theater

[garthnadermemestash]

defund trump

[gods-jester]

Hi. I should probably introduce myself 👋

I’m Bee, or Kate, either one is fine by me.

I’m 21 (minors DNI) and I’ve had this blog for over two years, but I haven’t ever thought to establish myself lol.

Lets begin with the basics:

I’m an art history, law, and classics student. i also have a minor in creative writing (which i need to do more of)

I am also an artist, brass musician, and theater director/techie/intern

I live in Italy, but i’m originally from the US

I’m disabled and autistic (don’t worry the special interest section comes later)

I’m tragically the chaotic bisexual stereotype

More below 👇

Welcome to the Chaos Zone

As promised, the special interest list (alphabetic lol)-

art history- modern and contemporary; preraphealites, impressionism, soviet and post soviet art, biennale exhibitions etc. and ancient; greek, roman, etruscan, and far eastern

Billy Joel

classical studies

conservation

Dimension 20

dungeons and dragons (and other TTRPGs)

firewatch

five nights at freddy’s

fran bow

gothic lit

Hamlet (and no other shakespeare)

horror movies

jacksepticeye

linguistics/foreign language study

markiplier

minecraft

musicals- Phantom of the Opera - Jekyll and Hyde (1996 ✊✊) - Hairspray - Ferngully: the Last Rainforest

the New York Mets baby

Panic! at the Disco (i know i’m sorry)

Percy Jackson

the Princess Bride

pro-wrestlers (this is only recent. i love you CM Punk and Rhea Ripley)

radium. and all other radioactive things

theater directing

theology

i’ll have tags for different things but that’ll be a running/incomplete list;

Target Languages

Italian

French

Spanish

Russian

Mandarin

Arabic

Korean

Yea, I am disabled; and yes, we can talk about it.

I am autistic (if that wasn’t already evident)

but i also have a neurological condition that impacts all aspects of my life- and i’m open to talking about it for curiosities or anyone going through something similar. i’ll be your disabled big sister to guide you. *pat pat*

Anyhow I think that’s all the major points hit.

Let’s be friends?

[dreamy-conceit]

As the Bacchae knew, we always tear our gods to bits, and eat the bits we like.

— Adam Gopnik, 'What Did Jesus Do?', The New Yorker, 24 May 2010

[ed-recoverry]

THERE ARE NO USELESS MAJORS!!

Learning about theater is important! Learning about art is important! Learning about sociology is important! Learning about history is important! Learning about anthropology is important! Learning about philosophy important! Learning about music is important! Learning about English is important! Learning about dance is important! Learning about photography is important! Learning about art history is important! Learning about ethnic studies is important! Learning about theology is important! Learning about performing arts is important!

Usefulness does not equal high income!

All education is important!

[wifelinkmtg]

This was intended to be an essay about chivalry—its history, its uses, its various incarnations—medieval violence, the Romantic reinterpretation, the ideal of chivalry in the American South and its attendant lynch mobs. I would have talked about the chivalric triad: Knight, Innocent, Enemy—the way the Innocent serves as a fulcrum for the Knight to enact violence against the Enemy—the iterations of this triad in any number of places in our society, from the so-called sheepdog mentality trained into our police to the legion of revenge-fantasy Taken clones. I would have talked about the way Kierkegaard in Fear and Trembling incorporates chivalry with the sacrifice of Isaac, the theology of self-justified suffering that comes from that. I would have talked at some length about various portrayals of lesbian chivalry in media—Revolutionary Girl Utena, the Locked Tomb books, Signalis—how they use it, what they say about it, and whether at the end there is anything worth salvaging from this intrinsically violent way of relating to the world, to others, to oneself, to God.

I think a version of that essay might still be worth writing someday, but right now, there's something I need to talk about much more urgently. Right now, there's something I suspect you might desperately need to hear. Today I'm going to talk about Godzilla.

GODZILLA SAVED MY LIFE: A Polemic

Godzilla Minus One (2024) takes place in Japan in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Its protagonist, Koichi, is a failed kamikaze pilot who in the opening scenes is repeatedly excoriated for his cowardice and dereliction of duty. When he returns home to a bombed and desolate Tokyo, his bereaved neighbor tells him, if people like you had done their duty, this would not have happened. The film spends the rest of its runtime doggedly refuting this idea. It says, out loud, that the relentless calculus of sacrifice that turns men into things to be spent has no place in this world, that it is needless and cruel. It is not subtle about this point. It is not trying to be.

I saw this movie in its black and white version in theaters in February, on the last day of its run. Its version of Godzilla inspires in me both terror and near-religious awe. It looms over the film, an echo both of the devastation of the war and of Koichi's guilt and shame, its presence inviting—demanding—the final consummation of the mission he abandoned.

I wept in that theater. I gripped my friend's hand and I sobbed. This is unlike me (unless I'm watching Gunbuster), and it took four days for me to work out why this Godzilla movie had affected me so profoundly.

arkansas kamikaze

and she looked, and behold! a beast rose from the sea, and against the beast he breathed glory in a Zero dive. his beatified smile shone from the wreck of the Little Rock Planned Parenthood clinic. and a great wind blew out of heaven, and she woke

and made breakfast, and watched her son wholly absorbed in Bonhoeffer, found her lipstick worn down to the nub for practice stigmata, and saw for a moment the dove descending, the tongue of fire over his head.

The thing about being raised in a right-wing fundamentalist family is that you are from birth being prepared to be a weapon, or a martyr, and there is really no difference between those two things. If my mother had had her way, I would have gone to a tiny far-right college and studied law for the sole and explicit purpose of getting Roe v. Wade overturned. She would, I believe, have settled for me bombing an abortion clinic. Certainly it would have been easier for her to reconcile with that than with what I became instead.

The other thing about being raised in a right-wing fundamentalist family is, some things stick. And it's very hard to notice, as your beliefs and values and identity undergo radical changes, that there is still a whisper in you that believes in the power of the glorious death, of the ultimate virtue of strapping explosives to your chest and walking into the halls of the Enemy. And when you feel helpless, when you watch systems and institutions that ought to prevent atrocities instead encourage them, that whisper grows louder and louder and louder.

Watching Koichi fly his last mission, watching him an instant before impact eject, and live—watching everyone live through the final confrontation because they had all rejected the calculus of sacrifice—allowed me to see also for the very first time this parasitic idea that had grown coiled inside me since infancy, allowed me to see where it had come from, its whole monstrous lineage, and then it allowed me to take hold of it and pull it out.

Twenty days later, Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in protest of the still-ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. He was, like me, raised in a right-wing fundamentalist environment. He was, like one of my siblings, a member of the US Armed Forces radicalized by his experiences and his own conscience. People called him a hero and martyr—on this very site, in responses to the excellent Crimethinc piece circulating at the time, I saw people saying they felt like they should follow suit (even though the article in question explicitly and repeatedly warned against it!) As if the loss of a person of conscience and conviction could be anything other than a tragedy, as if anyone in power choosing to support the genocide could regard the death of one of their own soldiers as anything other than what soldiers are for, as if the moral response to a genocide could ever be to add another corpse to the mountain—and still I saw people lionizing him, praising his courage and his sacrifice, all but telling people to follow in his footsteps.

No. Aaron Bushnell was a suicide. He lived his whole life within organizations that taught him that he could purchase more with his death than he could ever accomplish with his life, and while we may praise his conscience, we can only mourn his loss and the grievous error that led him to it.

This is the thing about learning to see this parasite: you begin to see it everywhere. Our history for millennia is awash with human sacrifice: Abraham and Isaac, Jephthah and his nameless daughter, Agamemnon and Iphigenia, the crucifixion of Jesus—and later, litanies, row upon row of dead saints, stories of glorious last stands. The courageous martyred dead: blood and corpses, only and always, to Moloch.

In light of the recent US election, perhaps many of my American readers are feeling shock or horror or despair. I understand, and without blame, with love and gentleness, I tell you that this is because you have not correctly understood the scope of the problem. You imagine a discontinuity between the liberal version of American capitalism and imperialism and the fascist version of the same. No such discontinuity exists. Things will no doubt be different for us here in the US than they would otherwise be, and probably worse, but there is no distinction to be made between the genocide of yesterday and the genocide of tomorrow. The enemy is the same. The work is the same.

Above all else, this is to warn you: when you do this work, when you look for a place you can put your shoulder to the wheel, there will be people who want to spend their lives—or yours—like coin to purchase some great change immediately. Perhaps they mean well, and helplessness and desperation drives them to act without regard for the consequences. Perhaps they do not mean well. Do not follow these people. Perhaps they merely expect you to go to prison, and have no plan for how to support you after that. This is barely different. It is far better for you to languish in useless liberal nonprofits which will accomplish nothing of value than to attempt radical direct action with people with correct politics and no forethought, and end up dead or imprisoned—but these are not the only two options. Aaron Bushnell cannot ever again do anything for anyone. You can.

This is as much as I know for certain. I love you. Don't die.

-------

End Notes

It would not be unreasonable to ask me, in light of what I've said here about martyrdom, what I think of it in other cultural contexts, especially since a similar word is often used to refer to e.g. Palestinian people murdered by Israeli soldiers. The answer is nothing at all. Such people get to use whatever words they want to salvage whatever meaning and comfort they can.

Godzilla Minus One, as effective a movie as it is, was not solely responsible for the scales falling from my eyes. It was an important part of the process, but I doubt it would have sufficed on its own were I not in community with people I trust and talk to about such things. "Godzilla and also my trusted friends saved my life" is, alas, a worse title.

There will be a part two to this. Part one seemed more urgent.

[mask131]

While checking around for my “Roman gods are not Greek gods” posts, I found back this tripartition of mythology, which is actually a fact that everybody should kno about if they want to dabble in Greco-Roman myths (especially Greek myths).

We know that, during Antiquity, the Romans and the Greeks thought that there wasn’t just one, but three different types of “theology” - three different views, perceptions and reception of the gods.

The first theology was the theology of the priests and of the state - aka, religion. The Greek gods as perceived and described by religion, as honored through rituals and festivals.

The second theology is the “mythic theology” - what we call “mythology today”. It is a set of legends, folktales and stories that are not part of religion, but rather used and carried by art - it is the gods are seen, perceived and described by the poets, by the epics, by the theater plays.

The third theology is the theology of the philosophers - who used the gods and their tales as images and allegories for various abstract or concrete topics. It is the gods as depictions and description of natural phenomenon, or the myths as a way to actualy exemplify a social fact or explain psychological workings. 

For the classic Greeks and Romans, there was a clear divide between those three very different point of view of the gods. It was basically three different versions of the pantheon. This is notably why you will find texts noting that priests disliked and condemned the poets’ mythological works, due to them being blasphemous and making the gods too human when religion described them as perfect ; and it is also why the philosophers of old dissed on and rejected the literary works of mythology as nonsense only good to feed superstitions, because for them the gods weren’t characters or realities, but rather abstract concepts and rhetorical allegories.

This is something I feel needs to be reminded, because today these three different theologies have been mixed up into one big mess - as literary myths are placed one the same level as philosophical “myths” (actually texts taking the shape of myths), and both considered of outmost religious importance. When in fact, things were quite different... 

EDIT: I was asked if there was a myth that could illustrate the three different theologies, and on the spot I would say “the affair between Aphrodite and Ares”.

This story originates from the “mythological theology”. It is primarily a story, and a good one. It is the story of a husband who discovers his wife is unfaithful and tries to get revenge, it is the story of an extra-marital affair gone wrong, it is typical set of divine shenanigans ending on a grotesque display of divine humiliation - it is an excellent narrative material for plays and poems (and the legend does originates from poems).

The story was also dearly beloved and reused by the “philosophical theology”, because the philosophers adored the idea of the love between Ares and Aphrodite - for them it was the perfect depiction of how the concepts of “love” and “war” , despite being seemingly opposite, attracted each other and were closely tied. For them, this story isn’t to be taken literaly as “a god cheated on another god”, but rather as “this is an allegory showing that love and war are two sides of the same coin, which is why Aphrodite falls for Ares despite being married to Hephaistos”. But for them the whole net part is just poetic nonsense invented to make people laugh ; or maybe they will reinvent them as a moral, cautionary tale that should be used to warn people of the dangers of unfaithfulness. 

And then there’s the “religious theology”, the point of view of the priests - for whom such a story is mockery and sacrilege. You can imagine them saying: “You are making the gods look like fools! Gods don’t cheat on each other, gods don’t get captured in nets while butt-naked, gods don’t even sleep on beds - GODS DO NOT EVEN HAVE HUMAN FORMS IN THEIR NATURAL STATE - what the heck is this bullshit you’re saying, you’re just insulting the gods by turning them into lecherous humans and grotesque clowns for your vulgar story!” (This is a reconstitution and not the actual words of an Ancient Greek priest)

[valkyriexo]

Send this to a stay! Have them describe themselves and see who their followers would “Ship” them with in the group! <3 (no pressure baby)

hiiiiiiii <3 heres a little about me :

I call my self Val.

I'm 24 years old (born in 2000)

She/Her

5'0"

I love animals (and at one point almost became a vet)

My favorite colors are rose gold and black

I am Dominican, but I live in the United States

I speak English, Spanish, A little Italian, and very little Korean (I'm learning, but I need people to practice with)

I'm a professional dancer and Theater, film/TV Actress I have a degree in acting and theology. ( and a diploma in manufacturing )

I love directing and all things writing, film, and TV

I'm a Entj-a

I like playing sports and ive played soccer, track and field, and cheer

I'm a hugeeeeee gamer! I mostly play on pc but I also play on ps4, wii, ds, and vr My most played games are Overwatch, Stardew, Spiderman, and GTAV In the same vein I also have a growing board game collection with 72 games (currently) and I recently opened a board game club with 15+ members

... and thats a little about me :)

tagging my moots because I'm making this into one of those tumblr games... no pressure tho :)

@kirbyscreeper @intrikatie @escapetheshark @2mins-world @miueo

@misadrawss @bodybahng @torialefay @calypsohan @linoalwaysknows

@stayinlimbo @xxkhxndlelitexx @dandelions-143 @ssickmagnolia8 @seungminindabuilding

@httpdwaekki @lookitsjess @neverendingstay @seungfl0wer @gnabnahc143

@hwangism143 @linoyes @cutieleeknow @miss-daisy04 @kisskissbanggang

@palindrome969 @rylea08 @beautyandmentalbreakdown @boyfiechan @dwaekkicidal

@leeknowsallyoursecrets

[serpentface]

i'd love to hear more about the akoshos! i'm sure they'v been brought up more than twice, but tumblr's search function is the enemy of knowledge :')

Yeah so the akoshos gender role is a long standing practice in the Wardi cultural sphere that has ancient roots, existing in both Wardi and Wogan spheres (I'll mostly be talking about the modern Wardi context here). Its ancient precedents were varied and often broader in description, often encompassing people designated male who present and live as women and/or engage in sexual/romantic relationships with men (and usually involving additional cultural roles beyond just being an Identity).

In the modern context, it is a gendered space where someone designated male at birth performs expected presentation and social roles of women. In terms of Wardi convention, this usually involves braiding the hair, wearing veils while outdoors, longer robes or skirts, wearing non-unisex jewelry, and behaving under the myriad of feminine social conventions. Most akoshos experience strong social pressure to shave any facial hair (and will often be seen as 'overmasculinized' if not).

Akoshos will be referred to with the ‘she’ pronoun and other feminine gendered language articles and titles (with the exception of being called an 'akoshos-husband' if married to a woman).

Being akoshos is regarded as being dual-gendered- having a 'male’ body capable of penetrative roles while otherwise socially performing ‘female’ roles. This is ultimately conceptualized as being physically male and spiritually female (quite literally in the sense of having a female soul incarnate into a 'male' body). They are considered a polar opposite to eunuchs, who are regarded as de-gendered and neither male nor female. Their role is not regarded as a personal choice but to be an aspect of their nature.

This role has some religious connotations, being seen as an imperfect human approximation of God's dual-sexed nature, and a few specific rites and minor priesthoods are exclusive to akoshos. (In deep theology they are imagined as metaphors of the living body of God before the initiation of the death-rebirth cycle, lifting the foundation of the world and inseminating the seas to create humans, while eunuchs can represent the dead body of God in sacrifice and the initiation of the death-rebirth cycle, being severed and divided to grant the world life and form) (This is not going to be a common line of thought for the everyday person though).

The actual word ‘akoshos’ stems from a role in traditional all-male Wardi theater, for actors who specialize in female roles (with no connotations on their gender/presentation in daily life). The occupying forces of the 2nd Burri empire took this performance-specific word and used it as a catchall for dual-gendered members of Wardi and Wogan peoples, with this (in addition to separate Wardi tribes gradually assimilating/being assimilated into an indistinguished nationality) eventually resulting in the linguistic loss or obsolescence of most pre-existing titles in favor of 'akoshos'.

While they are accepted as a specific gendered space (seen as a normal part of the cultural framework, rather than ‘failed’ men or otherwise deviant), they are subject to stigma and disempowerment as a non-male gender in a patriarchal sphere. They are grouped with women in terms of class status and are similarly denied certain legal rights (sole property ownership, self-representation in court, subordinate statuses to husbands in inheritance, legal independence from a familial patriarch, etc).

It is, like most other gender roles here, a fairly rigid gendered space that one can ‘fail’ at or shamefully deviate from. The fact that akoshos are so accepted as part of society is part of what makes this role equally rigid to manhood or womanhood. An akoshos is expected to perform female roles and presentation consistently and as culturally required, and strong deviation from female gender roles (with exceptions for some sexual roles) is treated with much the same disdain as for men and women 'failing' at their own gender.

People generally do not Want their perceived sons to turn out as akoshos, and will often find it an unfortunate lot that a female soul has incarnated into their child's male body. The framework of society heavily revolves around the fundamental importance of the family, preserving and propagating one's family and honoring their name. Children are, in many ways, functionally assets, with their marriage securing a family's future and further descendants, and the success and stability of one's adult child (typically only attainable in marriage) allows for parents to be cared for in old age and to receive necessary and proper rites. Akoshos, in many ways, cannot fully support this framework. They cannot perform expected patriarchal roles of sons as primary heirs, inheritors, and and carriers of the family name and legacy, nor can they function as daughters to be given in marriage, being incapable of pregnancy.

As such, many akoshos lose direct support from their families and on average tend to occupy disenfranchised societal roles. (This is NOT universal though, you’ll find plenty of families that continue to fully support their akoshos children throughout life). Akoshos living in cities often develop microcommunities with themselves and other notably disenfranchised women (often sex workers) as means of self-support.

Akoshos can take on certain jobs ostensibly exclusive (or predominant to) women, including some esteemed fields. Many find work as midwives, and are allowed into certain all-female priesthoods (particularly as physician-priestesses), though they are not accepted as Odonii. A couple of Usoma-Hittibe (the unmarried eldest sister to a king or emperor, outranking a queen or empress) known in history have been akoshos.

While akoshos are not '''useful''' assets in marriage (which is usually arranged, and in many ways a political or financial agreement), they are unique in that they Can legally and officially be wed to both men and women (and will be referred to as an akoshos-wife or akoshos-husband, depending on the gender assignment of their partner). Marriage is otherwise exclusively between men and women, the concept of it existing in other capacities is regarded as an absurdity, given its predominantly reproductive role.

An akoshos taking on a 'husband' role to a woman is not ideal in a practical arranged marriage (especially as, in having a woman's denial of many legal rights, they may find it difficult to perform a husband's role of supporting a family), but these arrangements are biologically capable of producing children, which is of some benefit. Akoshos-wives are less common, as these unions cannot produce a pregnancy and thus cannot fulfill the reproductive role that marriage largely exists to facilitate. But unlike an akoshos-husband, an akoshos-wife is fully capable of performing all Other roles expected of a wife. Men will sometimes remarry akoshos after they have already acquired children through a previous marriage, at which point the akoshos-wife can fully inhabit the expected non-reproductive roles of a wife and mother.

Akoshos also have a significantly larger degree of sexual freedom in comparison to those designated women and ESPECIALLY to men. They are still subjects to strict standards of 'appropriate' libido, but are socially permitted to take on any sexual role with partners of any gender. (An akoshos receiving penetrative sex is not 'shamed' like a man is, as they are in part women and that is their lot (including the spiritual pollution seen as inevitable for women via penetration). An akoshos performing penetrative sex is also acceptable (though any receiving male partner is 'shamed'), as they are ''''physically men'''' and this is also their lot). A woman who is 'disproportionately' interested in sex with women may be regarded as overmasculinized or having an excessive libido, but an akoshos exclusively interested in women will not usually draw scrutiny (again owing to their conception as being both male and female).

Not ALL akoshos would be trans women or otherwise transfeminine in the contemporary LGBT+ context (though a probable majority are). This role is also the only one that allows for people designated male to have open and mutualistic romantic/sexual relationships with men (eunuchs can as well, but this is not the most attractive route for obvious reasons), and the only role where one can marry a man, so it may appeal to some who would be considered cis gay/bi men. The role could attract a variety of people for a variety of reasons (a minority could even be cis and het), and conversely not all trans women or nonbinary transfeminine people would be comfortable or self-actualized in the akoshos role. It's culturally specific, just one representation of the myriad ways people conceptualize, reject, or transcend sexuality and gender.

[aziraphales-library]

Hello beautiful human !

Can I find in, your glorious library, stories where Crowley has good friends who care for him deeply? Aside from Aziraphale, ofc.

Thank you so much in advance ❤️

Hi! I would recommend our #apocalypse buddies, #crowley & muriel, and #friendship tags for fics to enjoy. Here are more fics in which Crowley has good friends...

Angel, Please by GhostOfCallisto (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale are both regular old humans who met under human circumstances. Crowley is a part of a struggling band called Hellish Rebuke with the demon crew, Aziraphale is a former drag queen named Angel Fell attempting to be a professional dancer. Maggie and Nina are best friends with Crowley and big fans of his band.

I'm Gonna Set Things Right Again by iocallistoeuropa (G)

Aziraphale has gone off to Heaven, Crowley is driving around the country aimlessly, Muriel has learned how to have a "cupperty", and Give Me Coffee... or Give Me Death has now been expanded and renamed Give Me Coffee, Give Me Records... or Give Me Death. Some things have changed for the better, but others have turned into quite a mess. Is there any way to set things right again?

Who Am I Without You? by Lainey_Marie (T)

After Aziraphale left for Heaven, all Crowley wanted to do was lose control of himself and spiral until he couldn't feel anything anymore but there is an angel needing his help to adjust to life on Earth and a pesky coffee shop owner who just won't let him drown in his immense sorrow. With the help of his new friends, Crowley attempts to figure out who he is when he isn't living for Aziraphale or to do Hell's bidding. But what happens when that very same angel returns in desperate need of a hand to save the world once more?

You're Just a Little Under Rehearsed by MickyRC (T)

Drama teacher Crowley loves directing the Tadfield Community Players' shows—interacting with the rest of the staff at the community center, not so much. So when he meets the new accompanist for this year's musical, he's shocked to find that he might actually like him. Possibly more than like, if he's being honest. Aziraphale is fresh from leaving a long career as a church pianist, and hoping that a new job will get him out of the lonely rut he's found himself in. The attention and kindness of the flashy community theater director are unexpected, but not unwelcome. Far from it. But with a community theater to run, a show to put on, and a disgruntled R.P. Tyler looking for any excuse to get rid of Crowley and his theater program, will they be able to make a relationship work? And, more importantly, can they make sure the show still goes on?

The Prize by Caedmon (E)

Need a car? Date my brother. My brother is a real angel but needs a helping hand in the social/romance department, so I’m trying to help him find a good guy. Ages 35-50, employed, good looking, emotionally stable. After an entrance interview, if you successfully date my brother for a set amount of time and pull him out of his shell, I will give you my garage kept 1933 Bentley. Serious inquiries only. Contact gabriel@messenger.com

love like yours (will surely come my way) by CCs_World (T)

Dr Zira Fell is a new professor of theology at St Beryl's University. His first day there he meets the mysterious and enchanting Dr AJ Crowley, an art history professor and a painter. They almost immediately become friends, and spend most of their time getting lunch together, talking, drinking wine, making art, and falling slowly in love with one another. Featuring cameos of everyone's favorite (and least favorite) characters, gratuitous descriptions of paintings, long text messaging conversations, and one cranky cat.

- Mod D

[local-idiotic-texan]

UHHWISHEOEBEL SO.. UHM.. PEKELN UHMM OKAY I'LL DO THIS ANOTHER POST

Filler post for now though!! AHEM!! SITE-61 AND IT'S DEPARTMENTS ARE WEIRD:

Security Department - First Line of Defense. The On-Site Guard. The Security Force.

Class-D - The test subjects :3

Scientific Department - Your doctore. The fuckin NEEEEERRRRDDDDSSSS!!!

Medical Department - Your LITERAL Doctores. ALSO NERDS!!!!

Physiology Department - EW THERAPISTS

Mobile Task Force - The guys who do the same thing as Field Agents except they also fight in proxy wars against GoIs for The Foundation :3

Nine Tailed Fox - YOU NEVER WANNA HEAR THESE GUYS BE ACTIVE. SOMETHING WENT ABSOLUTELY WRONG IF YOU HEAR OR SEE THEM GET DEPLOYED. THEY GO INSIDE SITES. NOT OUT OF THEM. INTO THEM.

Foundation Personnel - Basically every single person. If you don't apply for a department, this is what you're in.

Field Crew - It's a department nobody's actually in forever. You get assigned to a temporary crew, and then either get the weapons to go hunt someone or something down (Field Agents) or are assigned something to study or capture that's put in the wild. (Field Researchers)

Janitorial Staff - Clean up the messes personnel and anomalies leave behind.

Custodial Staff - NEVER MISTAKE THEM FOR THE JANITORIAL CREW OR THEY WILL GIVE YOU MOP WATER. The people who work the mess halls, canteens, cafeterias, whatever you call them? They're the chefs behind it all. They're also in charge pf emergency rationing of water and food, providing anomalies with their meals, and more! :)

Internal Security Department - Site Directors, basically. Make sure things are running correctly.

The O5 Council - "but that's not a department!! 🥺" WRONG!!! IT'S THEIR REPRESENTATIVES! THEIR PERSONAL ADVISORS! THEIR SECRETARIES AND ASSISTANTS! HELL, EVEN THE RED RIGHT HAND IS PART OF THIS DEPARTMENT OF THE SAME NAME!

Board of Classification - One per Object Class. A group of people who determine which object gets what object class, why, and how to contain said object. Case. by. case.

Intelligence Agency - Spies, scouts, and bugs for The Foundation. Usually former theater kids.

Ethics Committee - Make sure morals aren't being broken. Surprisingly? Both the strongest and weakest department. Capable of overthrowing The Administrator if support for the cause is UNANIMOUS but also have to find a workaround to "FOR A SCIENCE!!"

Theology Department - Bunch of religious people. Study scripture. Build chapels into their locations, even when it's unauthorized.

Monitoring Committee - FUCKING SNITCHES. "The Ethics Committee is the worst!! 🙄" WRONG!! MONITORING COMMITTEE. FUCKING "O5's Eyes and Ears" IS THEIR NICKNAME THEY FUCKING SNITCH ALL THE GODDAMN TIME OHMYGOD I FUCKING HATE THEM ALL I HOPE THEY DIE

Paedology Committee - Started FROM Site-61, actually! Dedicated to Anomalous Children getting a fucking normal childhood, and a good education! Board of Education, basically. :)

Maintenance and Repair Crew - Makes sure Site Infrastructure is maintained.

Internal Technician Department - Screams because "my computer won't turn on ://" and it's just because you haven't charged it.

Library of Records - Look around in Foundation History to archive lost files, updates records and files ranging from minute details about a person's life to major breakthroughs in Foundation and GoI History!

Federal Administration - World Governments and Politics found out about 2012 :( LUCKILY!! Not that political in Site-61 (as a series). Most members ARE politicians or representatives of their local areas, but sometimes (like the characters who are part of this department in Site-61!!) They're just random civilians who got accepted into The Foundation AS "politicians" so now they're stuck in their offices making legislature or whatever.

Department of Public Affairs - The Public found out about 2012 :( LUCKILY!! This department exists! It's mostly full of retirement-aged people (60 - 80) who wanna still receive a paycheck so all they do in exchange is represent The Foundation out in public and approve of what the public can and cannot do with the information they have about certain anomalies

yeah :3

[gothicprep]

i have a little bit of time off, and i want to use it to catch up on award season movies. the problem is, of course, that the golden globes is sort of a fake award show. the people who vote on these awards aren’t part of a guild or anything. they’re just guys and dudes. the other problem is that a lot of the nominations don’t hit wide release until well after the awards air.

this is an aside but I love how they have a “cinematic box office achievement” category that’s just shit like alien: romulous, beetlejuice beetlejuice, deadpool & wolverine, gladiator 2, inside out 2, the wild robot, twisters, and wicked pt 1. it’s like saying “we will give a movie you actually watched some laurels so you can tolerate three hours of us giving awards to anora and the brutalist.”

a couple of thoughts outside of that:

I’m happy that the substance has gotten as many nominations as it has. the main issue I had with it when I first saw it was that it was just… so french while ostensibly being commentary on hollywood usa. I’m not going to spoil anything, but near the end of the movie, there’s a nye party that includes a topless kickline. this is DISTRACTINGLY FRENCH. we’re too prudish for that over here! but, the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I love how deliberate the camera work is in it. it deserves a best cinematography or best director oscar nom for this. it isn’t coralie fargeat’s fault that she’s french and this carries into her work. she has a very clear vision and is able to execute it well.

I don’t love conclave getting a best drama nomination. there are very few movies that I watch and think to myself, “this would have worked better as a miniseries”. this was one of them. I don’t know how to talk about this one without spoiling the ending, but the last 15 minutes of it are so cheesy. it’s a slab of brie for dinner. i saw some people compare a speech at the end to aaron sorkin’s writing, but i walked out being a bit offended on sorkin’s behalf.

my wife (theology nut) saw this with my friends and me, and she went off on how disinterested it was in its catholic universe. it hints at a divide between cardinals in the global north and global south, but it doesn’t do much with this. it doesn’t address doctrinal beef at all. and the ending really skates over what the implications would be for the Catholic Church. someone in the theater we all saw this in loudly said “WHAT?” during the last scene. adrienne suggested that it was a bizarrely nested Trump thing because of how negligent it was in this aspect. a relatively progressive pope dies, and there’s a power struggle involved. liberal cardinals are going against an italian who longs for a pope who speaks latin, makes an event of being racist towards the african cardinal, and rails against muslims during the subplot of this movie where bombs are going off outside the church. this is a real thing in the movie that is never explained. i sort of see what she’s getting at. trump has been an inescapable anti-muse in art and it’s really difficult to not interpret this stuff through that lens. the more I thought about this one, the more of a mess i thought it was.

anyway, those are some golden globes hot takes. I don’t know what else to do with my time right now.

[whencyclopedia]

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher and is considered to be the first existentialist, influencing such notable philosophers as Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). His works are a reflection of alienation, angst, and absurdity, and include Either/Or (1843), Fear and Trembling (1843), and The Concept of Anxiety (1844).

He was embraced by his fellow existentialists for his belief in the importance of the individual against an apathetic, hostile society. However, unlike other existentialists, his body of philosophical works has a strong theological vein. Denise Despeyroux, in her book The Philosophers, wrote that Søren's life was filled with painful experiences, which colored his works – works that displayed "great dramatic and poetic power. They are filled with parables, aphorisms, fictitious letters and diaries as well pseudonymous and fictitious characters" (110). She added that his struggles with religious questions served as a "potent stimulus" for other writers and thinkers of his generation.

Birth & Education

Søren Kierkegaard was born on 5 May 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to an affluent family as the youngest of seven children. His father, Michael Kierkegaard, was a successful businessman, while his mother, Ane Sørensdatter Lund, had been the one-time maid of Michael's first wife. Søren claimed his father was the most influential figure in his life. Unfortunately, he suffered terribly from anxiety and inner turmoil, and this Søren 'inherited' from his father. Michael was deeply religious, a member of a pietistic form of Lutheranism, and was convinced that because of his past sins – he had once cursed God – none of his children would live past the age of 33, the age of Jesus Christ when he was crucified. Coincidentally, five of Søren's brothers and sisters, as well as his mother Ane, would die before Søren turned 21. Only Søren and his brother Peter survived. To Michael, it was a sign of divine retribution. According to Jeremy Stangroom in his The Great Philosophers, Søren maintained that his childhood was "insane" and "he had come into the world as the result of a crime" (100). Regrettably for Søren, his father passed on his "pessimistic and gloomy religious outlook to his son" (ibid).

Despite a chaotic childhood, his education was "surprisingly normal," attending a distinguished private school – the Borgedydskolen – where he was considered an outsider, "lonely, aloof, and intellectually the superior to his classmates" (ibid). Hoping to become a pastor as his father had suggested, at the age of 17, he entered the University of Copenhagen, where he studied theology, philosophy, and literature. In 1838, while he was attending university, his father died, leaving him with a large inheritance. After graduating in 1840, he began the life of an independent thinker and writer, but it would be a life consumed by inner torment and angst, evident throughout his writings.

Shortly after graduating, he made the mistake of getting engaged to Regine Olson, ten years his junior. He regretted the engagement the moment it was made. One year later, in 1841, he broke off the engagement, believing that his melancholic temperament made him unsuitable for marriage and he considered her to be intellectually incompatible. The affair with Regine had a lasting effect on Søren and would appear in both his journals and other works. Free from an unwanted engagement and with a large inheritance, he was free to begin a career as a writer. Oddly, throughout his life, he only left Copenhagen three times, spending most of his free time walking the streets of the city or attending the theater.

Continue reading...

[mylifeincinema]

My Week(s) in Reviews: November 17, 2024

Conclave (Edward Berger, 2024)

A phenomenal cast and Berger's direction make this a quietly riveting, wholly unpredictable religious experience. Fiennes and Tucci are the obvious highlights, but there's really no weak spot in this cast. Then there's Berger's stunning blocking, which beautifully enriches the screenplay, editing and performances to create scene after scene of overwhelmingly affecting religious politics. I haven't read the book from which this was adapted, but with how effectively the narrative unfolds, here, I'd be surprised if this doesn't wind up being the front-runner for adapted screenplay. - 9/10

Here (Robert Zemeckis, 2024)

A mess. A sloppy, over-acted, awkwardly structured, emotionally diluted, miscalculated mess. Most of the cast is damn-near abysmal, hamming it up like this was some sort of small town theater production. Zemeckis' vision is interesting for about the first 20-minutes, or so, but then it just repeatedly gets in its own way, bleeding every ounce of emotional resonance from the film until the very final moments, which only hit because of the cast's saving grace, Robin Wright. - 3.5/10

Heretic (Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, 2024)

An academic horror film; a lesson in theology and power dynamics that succeeds because of a wonderful performance by Hugh Grant and the patience of Beck & Woods' direction and screenplay. - 8.5/10

Trap (M. Night Shyamalan, 2024)

I've worked in live music for 16 years, so the whole first half at the concert really stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. Shyamalan clearly did zero research into any of the logistics and mechanics of a concert such as the one featured here, especially in terms of security. And the result is torture. But Hartnett is having some seriously cartoonish fun, here, and that helps things a bit. Not much, but a bit. I don't necessarily dislike Shyamalan, but this one's a tonal, structural misfire whose tension is awkward and narrative is so frustratingly convenient. - 2.5/10

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[anonymous-gambito]

RGU is a lot to take in on the first watch, but after a few months, understanding rgu became easier to me when I realized that:

– It's not that every object of symbolism means its own thing, but that a lot of them are simply different ways of expressing similar ideas

– This is an oversimplification, but a lot of characters in rgu are basically just AUs of each other, so if an aspect about a certain character suddenly becomes clear to you, that means you start understanding like 10 more mfs better by default

– 💖Everything💖 is about Revolutionary Girl Utena actually, so you're watching/reading something about politics, theater, biology, greek mythology, fairy tales, feminism, theology, astronomy, astrology, history, etc? Apply rgu to that and you'll probably find something interesting

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

Goodreads has suspended all ratings and reviews of Hillbilly Elegy, so I'm just going to post mine here:

4 of 5 stars

“By the time I was in seventh grade, many of my neighborhood friends were already smoking weed. Mamaw found out and forbade me to see any of them. I recognize that most kids ignore instructions like these, but most kids don’t receive them from the likes of Bonnie Vance. She promised that if she saw me in the presence of any person on the banned list, she would run him over with her car. ‘No one would ever find out,’ she whispered menacingly.”

Before I worked for CPS, I would’ve said the solution to the underclass was to abolish welfare. After working for CPS, I can tell you the only thing that will fix the pathologies of America’s low-income communities is true religion. They have religion, but it’s a superstitious, prosperity-gospel, liberation theology that requires no repentance and no devotion. It’s something you’re born into, and the mode of salvation is one-hundred percent customizable.

Does this mean their irreligiosity is what caused their economic plight? Not at all. Plenty of people are terribly poor despite their richness of faith. But the social problems that have increasingly plagued the lower classes since men in suits tried to finesse fate in the 60s—broken families, drug abuse, alcoholism, suicidality, sexual promiscuity, domestic violence, recidivism, and job insecurity—cannot be stuffed back into Pandora's Box by anything short of a spiritual, cultural revival. Not even the best psychologists and policy makers can solve issues that stem from the heart.

J.D. Vance reaches many of the same conclusions in Hillbilly Elegy. Certainly, there are strategies we can implement to alleviate suffering where possible. There are countless ways in which the current welfare state could be reformed (without being expanded) to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable (e.g. Section 8 not housing all its recipients together; instead, dispersing them among the middle class where attitudes of self-reliance are more necessary). And I still think eliminating the welfare system altogether, at least at the federal level, is a worthy long-term goal. But to give an escape car to a man who never learned to drive is to merely clutter up his garage at best and cause a fatal highway pileup at worst.

The core of conservatism is the knowledge that mankind is fundamentally wicked, yet many conservatives talk about the poor the same way liberals do. If only their circumstances changed, they would, too. For the liberals, the circumstance is lack of resources. For the conservatives, it’s dependence on the state. Both circumstances are deleterious, but neither is the root cause of our bloated prisons, foster care system, or failing schools.

Working for CPS made me realize that I wasn’t really conservative; I was a libertarian who believed she was conservative. I am still learning what real conservatism is. In many ways, I think J.D. Vance is also a libertarian who believes he is a conservative, but in this particular respect, he is far more conservative than most who claim to be.

I worry sometimes that regular people read books like this or watch movies like its adaptation and merely see a cast of zany characters who represent a tiny minority of people in a faraway region of the country who don’t affect you. But these people exist in your community. You just don’t notice them. They’re at the Applebee’s, the Walmart, the movie theater. They’ve driven 40 minutes to be at the psychologist’s office under the parking garage downtown.

With the rise of social media transcending all barriers, including class, I have observed middle-class teenagers and young adults behaving like these previously invisible people. Adopting the same selfish habits and hard-done-by worldviews. In my job, I saw daughters of wealthy, Christian couples end up in a trailer park, addicted to meth with two baby-daddies. If things continue this way, the underclass will ever expand.

Rather than escapees such as J.D. Vance ascending to a higher quality of life, those ignorant or resentful of their privilege and advantages will descend to this humiliated, chaotic rot that sinks its claws in and doesn’t let go except by divine providence.

[walterdecourceys]

you all have to remember that as much as i may appear to have intellectual interests i am at heart a terrible awful theater kid. classics and theology and 20th century history may come and go but broadway remains eternal in my mind