#Through The Queer Lens

[haapy]

JIMIN: Through the Queer Lens [Episode 02: 'FACE' ]

Watch the new episode of my deep dive of JIMIN: Through the Queer Lens about FACE on YouTube:

FACE

Circle of Resonance

“Reflection of Vulnerable minds and unexposed wounds

Face, the reflection of myself in an unfamiliar appearance

Face of facing the deepest part of inner-self.

An echo, tremor and small movement to reach you.

Waves originated from the deepest invisible inner world, pass through the face on the surface and reach others to resonate while transmitting the inner voice.

Wave spreads beautifully, finding its own flow despite wounds and distortions from a smallest scratch.

The face of unwavering effort despite repeated falls and pain.”

_________________________________________________________

Those are the lines to introduce the listener to Jimin's debut album FACE.

FACE is a mirror to Jimin’s inner side and it is packed with thoughts and feelings that came and left during his moments of solitary contemplations. 

Jimin crafted the lyrics and composed the tracks for FACE himself, working closely with a small team of producers he lived with for nearly a year, creating a truly personal project while facing himself completely. The Songs offer a glimpse into his relentless reflections and thought process of the stories he always  wanted to tell and feelings he always wanted to ignore.

As Jimin explains in his own words, the Album tells his own story and has a healing concept encountering his inner wounds and the desire to win over the pain they caused. 

There are two versions of FACE: Invisible Face and Undefinable Face or simply Software and Hardware.

While one describes the pure inner self of Jimin himself and the other one suggests the hard shell he created for himself. One could also look at those two versions as his Real Self and his Persona or his unconscious and conscious mind.

The album revolving around Jimin confronting his true self, while using the metaphor of inner Self and outer Shell, aligns with BTS’s long-standing use of Jungian concepts. Dating back to their Wings album, which was inspired by Herman Hesse’s Demian, and particularly in their “Map of the Soul" series which is directly inspired by Murray Stein's book "Jung’s Map of the Soul". 

Jungian psychology, developed by Carl Jung, focuses on understanding the unconscious mind. Key concepts include the collective unconscious (a shared reservoir of archetypes or universal symbols across humanity), personal unconscious (repressed or forgotten memories and experiences), and archetypes like the Shadow, Anima/Animus, and the Self. Jungian psychology emphasizes individuation, the process of integrating all aspects of the psyche to achieve a more balanced, whole self.

The cover image of the Album has ripples on a shiny, reflective material resembling a liquid surface. It’s Jimin’s own Face that is reflected in the water that looks inside the depths of himself underneath the surface. 

He explains how this album represents the depth of his most vulnerable inner self.

The Album is the bravest and most transparent work for Jimin to openly speak about his identity and inner turmoil through his art. 

Interestingly, “FACE” appears to have parallels to Jimin's “Me, Myself & Jimin” Photofolio, with the number of songs aligning with the various themes presented in the Photofolio. Although the Photofolio seems to be rooted in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, it holds many similarities to Jungian’s psychology.

(Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory)

For instance, there are clear thematic parallels, such as "Color, Freedom" resonating with the track "Set Me Free part 2"

(Color: Freedom)

and contextual similarities like "White, Intactly," which, among other things, depicts Jimin removing a mask, connecting to the song "Face-Off".

(White: Intactly)

"Like Crazy" aligns with "Black, Come Face to Face,"

(Black: Come Face to Face)

while "Alone" could tie into "ID, Chaos (Light & Darkness)," looking at the depicted scene.

(ID: Chaos - the name alone shows the direct connection to Freud's pschoanalytic theory))

These connections reveal a unified narrative across both projects, deepening the meaning of FACE while hinting at more symbolism about the meaning of his inner struggles which could help to further explore Jimin's expressions as he navigates through the album.

The complexity and deep layering with the metaphors Jimin made use of brought an ambiguous meaning to all the songs. When asked about the album, Jimin says: 

“It contains my honest feelings that I felt during the pandemic. Like the title, FACE, it tells the story of how I faced myself and finally stood at a new starting point. This is my first album and it reflects who I am.” 

The word “pandemic '' that we all went through during the last years acts as the container of his album. 

A phase during which the bustling lives of all humankind was unexpectedly halted, causing each of us to disconnect from the external world. Isolated in our own rooms, when the variables around us suddenly stopped shifting, we found ourselves face-to-face with the long-neglected aspects of our inner selves. This scenario might have triggered Jimin's own, very personal mental pandemic, being confronted with his long neglected inner self, reassessing the longstanding issues and thoughts that had been plaguing him.

Although Jimin explains the album containing the story about his real self, he is keeping his answers vague and generalizes the deeper meaning of the album in Interviews. This gives the listener the opportunity to identify and relate to the songs and interpret them to their own liking. The literal layer of lyrics without further context, engage topics like betrayal and realization, in “Face Off”, Drinking, Sex escapades and losing oneself as coping mechanisms in “Like Crazy”, Depression and Loneliness in “Alone”, and finally getting out of all those problems and overcoming these issues with “Set Me Free part 2”. While the last two songs are far more straightforward and less layered, their meanings become much richer with the depth of the album's established context and taking Jimin's previous art into account.

Concealing secondary and even tertiary layers beneath the surface layer of these songs, designed to elude the casual audience, is executed with such ingenious sophistication that this album stands as a veritable masterpiece of artistry and brilliance.

[emthejedichic]

You will pry my "Bilbo Baggins is gay" headcanon out of my cold, dead hands. This motherfucker is one of the richest Hobbits in the Shire, certainly the richest in Hobbiton, and he needs an heir. But did he marry and have children? No, no he did not. He adopted Frodo, the other "weird" Baggins and I cannot unsee the inherent queerness of this. Chosen family, even though they're already related. Bilbo is NOT Frodo's biological uncle, Frodo just calls him that. But they chose each other. And I think Frodo is gay too, and that's part of what Bilbo saw in him. He knows the queers need to stick together.

[ohwatson]

MY PROF JUST REFERENCED JOHNLOCK IN 2024 JOHNLOCK NATION HAS NEVER BEEN MORE UP 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[beastwhimsy]

dress up!!

image description in alt text!

[hom3landr]

Firecracker is a closeted lesbian experiencing comphet who is still in love with Annie. In this essay I will…

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Thinking about step 9 and the whole concept of forgiveness of one’s self and others and it bringing healing and how bobby and Eddie have been paralleled a fair amount and the idea that Eddie started this process back at the end of s5 with his forgiveness and acceptance of his father but how he hasn’t yet gone anywhere near his mother and their relationship .

How his catholic guilt storyline seems more likely to play on his reltionship with his mother than his father (if his father wasn’t around that much it would’ve been Helena taking him to church etc each week) so the idea of an Eddie - Helena storyline that plays on catholic guilt and potentially his queerness in relation to that has me chewing on glass - it could be so epically good

[alexkablob]

not to wade into discourse about shows online which I swore to stop doing but I think some of you need to recognize that not every piece of media is about you, and that focusing only on the themes that you personally identify with while erasing the ones you don't is Not Great

[cobainqueer]

List of Posts about Kurt Cobain

(Kurdt Kobane) by @cobainqueer

Last Update: 29 OCTOBER 2024

Topics: Personal Life; Sexuality, Gender & Expression; Journals, Lyrics, & Assorted Writings; Artwork; Music; Concerts; Tributes; Documentaries; Death & Investigation, and more…

ASKS & SUBMISSIONS OPEN: send in asks, submissions and requests I'll get back to you!

Note all submissions will be credited, unless submitted anonymously or otherwise specified.

NEW Community! All Cobain lovers welcome!

Sexuality, Gender & Expression

Reclaiming the Past: was Kurt Cobain trans? (Medium | Daniel Rowley)

Anyone else get the vibe that Kurt Cobain was polyamorous? (Thread with text and photos)

“I want a dress.”- K.C. (Video post)

“I personally like to wear dresses around the house sometimes.” - K.C. (Video post)

Journals, Lyrics, & Assorted Writings

From Cobain’s Journal: A List - Kurt Cobain, Journals (image & text post)

Just Before I Fall Asleep (semihypnotic state of conciousness) - Kurt Cobain, Journals (image & text post)

I’ve lost my MIND many times, and my wallet many more. — Kurt Cobain, Journals (image & text post)

“May women rule the world.” — Kurt Cobain, Journals (image & text post)

Art

Kurt Filming His Artwork - Kurt Cobain (YT)

In Utero Mixed Media Art - Kurt Cobain

“the male seahorse carries the children and gives them Birth.” - Kurt Cobain, Journals (image & text post)

REVEALED: Kurt Cobain’s Original Artwork | Source: KidsOfDada (article & photos)

Kurt Cobain’s Art: Collages & Sculptures | source: incesticide23 (YT video)

Spoken Word

Aberdeen (Montage of Heck) Kurt Cobain Home Demo

Rhesus Monkey (Montage of Heck) Kurt Cobain Home Demo

Audio from “Kurt Cobain Unseen”

Collaborations & Covers

“The Priest They Called Him” (1992) performed by Kurt Cobain (guitar) & William S. Burroughs (spoken word)

Photos from Kurt’s visit to Burroughs Kansas home in ‘93. A YouTube clip about Kurt’s trip is in this linked post.

Lyrics

Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle - Nirvana (Lyrics & Music Video)

Opinion: Home Demo & Journal Lyrics (previously unreleased home demo audio leaked to YT, & Cobain’s original lyrics from their journal)

Sappy (Cobain’s lyrics from their journals, music video, and song analysis video)

Spank Thru - Nirvana (lyrics & music videos)

Talk to Me - (17 Nov 1991) Nirvana in Italy (video & lyrics)

Music

Nirvana in Chronological Order (list of Nirvana songs and their respective recording/release dates)

In Bloom - All in Dresses (music video)

Lithium - (official music video & article discussing the context behind “Lithium”)

Polly - (music video)

Smells Like Teen Spirit - (music video)

You Know You’re Right-(official music video - YouTube) (music video - tumblr)

Records, Albums, Singles, & Demos

Fecal Matter - “Illiteracy Will Prevail” (1985/1986) full demo

Come As You Are - (1991) Single EP

Lithium - (21 July 1992) Single EP

All Apologies - (1993) Single

Montage of Heck - Full Album (YT Playlist)

Concerts & Shows

Nirvana LIVE at Green River Community College (26 May 1989) [alt source]

Nirvana LIVE at the Pyramid Club (18 July 1989)

New footage from Nirvana doing a show in a Record Store (1991)

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (1991) at TOtP (video of Kurt fucking around singing Smells Like Teen Spirit and essentially pretending to blow a mic)

Nirvana - Live at The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA (07November 1993) Remastered AUD2

Interviews & Radio

What Is Nirvana? (January 1990) Seattle, WA Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, & Chad Channing

Interview with Nirvana at Man Ray, Cambridge, MA (18 April 1990) Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, & Chad Channing

Kurt Cobain LIVE at KAOS (1990/1991?) (YT video) Songs: Opinion, Lithium, Dumb, Been A Son

Early Nirvana Interview About The Growth of Rock Popularity - (June 1992) Sjöhistoriska Museet Sweden, broadcasted on TMF in the Nirvana Special

Kurt Cobain Interview with Jon Savage (22 July 1993) YT

LA Times Interview “Storming Back From The Brink” (August 1993) LiveNirvana

“I have a request for our fans.” — Kurt Cobain

Movies & Documentaries

Nirvana - Behind The Scenes (Full Documentary)

Last Days: Kurt Cobain (FULL MOVIE)

Kurt Cobain: About A Son - (FULL DOCUMENTARY)

HISTORY of EARLY NIRVANA 1980’s Documentary - Daniel Sarkissian (2023) YT

Books

Journals — Kurt Cobain (2002, & 2003)

Kurt Cobain Unseen — Charles R. Cross (2008) [Audio CD]

Here We Are Now — Charles R. Cross (2014)

The Pleasures of Death: Kurt Cobain’s Masochistic and Melancholic Persona — Arthur Flannigan Saint-Aubin (2020)

Tributes

Tearjerker by Red Hot Chili Peppers — Song & Lyrics dedicated to Kurt Cobain

Death & Investigation

Cobain’s Autopsy Report (King County, WA Medical Examiner; cobaincase.com)

Cobain Shotgun & Crime Scene Photos (Seattle Police Department)

[lizzyyylmaoooooool]

disclaimer before this rant i’ve read like 2 volumes of the manga so maybe the stuff i’m about to bitch about is actually included and i have no idea

but i feel like there is sooo much more shit in moriarty the patriot that they could of explored, like stuff that was brushed on in the 24 episodes that i think would of been so fun to see and also would of (maybe???) made the main plot better? or things that i would of liked to see explored with more time. this is my comprehensive list which encompasses the main ones -

1) the relationship between william, albert and louis and how it’s less brotherhood and more worship between albert/louis to william, unpacking all of that and how it affected william.

2) the significance of william to moran and fred. how did they meet? why are they so willing to die for william? is it just that they believe in the cause so much or is it because william helped them in some way?

3) sherlock and mycroft and their relationship, maybe their childhood. maybe this is just common knowledge in other sherlock adaptations but i want more explanation.

4) the whole french revolution thing like hello i need more explanation why did that never come up again.

5) sherlock and his cheeky drug problem.

6) are the characters patriots or not (yes i know it’s the name of the story give me a sec). characters like mycroft, william, sherlock and albert seem to toe the line between being pro-british empire anti-revolution and then switching 2 seconds later. they admonish the class system but mycroft works for the fucking queen of england? i find the dissonance of them being seemingly fine with the british empire but wanting to destroy the consequences of it very jarring at times. from a political and social standpoint it doesn’t make a ton of sense. i feel like more content on it would make it clearer.

7) generally i think the plot would benefit from introducing some characters earlier, mainly patterson (inside man in scotland yard), mary (mainly to flesh out john as a character a bit more) and milverton (because mans figured out william as lord of crime in two seconds flat, he could of been a bit more of a longer standing adversary).

8) also introducing irene/bonde earlier because i feel like their supposed impact on sherlock was too profound considering they knew each other for 3 days.

9) more on mycroft and albert and whatever power dynamic they where fucking with.

10) THIS ONE IS UNREALISTIC but the whole show through an overtly queer lens would of been everything to me.

the actual plot and show in itself is so ridiculous but in a really fun way. ive watched it 3 times i think and i enjoy it every time, but in an ideal world having all these 10 things included i think would of padded out a lot of grey areas thematically where the plot isn’t as strong.

[suga-kookiemonster]

i watched the original x-men movies when they first came out, but never bothered to watch the prequel/reboot movies. just randomly decided to watch first class and was reminded what i've always felt my whole life: *whispers* magneto was right

[catwouthats]

Let’s talk about how The Gay Deceivers (1969) is shown THROUGH THE UNRELIABLE NARRATIVE of the government and two comphet (probably queer) men

Danny’s gf literally thinks he needs time to think it through even after he explained the reason he did a bunch of gay shit with Eliot (to dodge the draft). He says he wants to “be a lawyer, have a wife, and have kids” The is the most comphet response. And Karen sees that (he just sees those things as accomplishments he has to do).

Eliot just goes through girl after girl but once he starts to find queer joy he struggles to use that outlet for escapism (he’s thinking. It’s hard for him. Also the girl was DANNYS SISTER that he was struggling with. I think he kind felt like he was betraying Danny. A “girl Danny” still isn’t Danny. So… he can do girls but… not now. He’s went from not having one person to have one person he has to be loyal to. HAS TO).

It’s very bisexual of both of em. Not gay enough for gay men, not straight enough to be “normal”

Also them being total opposite versions of comphet gets me. One being the picket fence type and one being the play boy.

[deancasforcutie]

Steve Yockey and Richard Speight Jr and Jeremy Carver really said we see you Supernatural so true Gay Love DOES Pierce the Veil of Death and Save the Day in every version of this story (so hard the canonical reunion is uncensored and onscreen this time)

[fellhellion]

sorry i need to expel the demon that is comicsverse thoughts from my head w a weirdly structured ramble ive been trying to articulate fdsjkfhkjds

-> miguel is initially alienated from his body post transformation - not just due to the nonconsensual nature of being spidered - but because he views the transformation as alienating him from a claim to humanity

-> however, the identity of spiderman and the ideals that represents seems to be in big part the means by which miguel reconciles himself to the nature of his physical body. not only do his abilities become naturalised to his understanding of himself as Miguel (rather than being thought of as alien) but they enable spiderman to be that force for good and change that miguel so desperately wants to see in himself

-> but miguel simultaneously depersonalises himself from his spiderman identity. he thinks of it as the better half of himself, as something almost ephemeral, that he doesn't quite have a claim to or is able to reconcile completely to Miguel The Human Being and all his associated baggage

-> and that's an interesting internal conflict to have when he simultaneously can never escape the lived reality of his own body and where it diverges from those around him, even as that lived reality eventually becomes something he can reconcile himself to far more easily

-> and what overhangs across this entire discussion is context of (and thus how Miguel would be influenced by) Nueva York's hypercapitalist society and thus the understanding and conception of your physical body in that lens. how much or little your body is owed by you yourself. the access you are told must be permitted to it by others/corporations. how the physical body is policed and politicised. the commodification of the body in the most literal sense via Vulture's cannibalism.

[juney-blues]

incredibly funny when someone says that transfems are playing oppression olympics, trying to make out that they're the most oppressed.

because like, as far as queerness and gender goes? they *are* the most oppressed lolol.

this is incredibly obvious to anyone who hasn't spent their entire life living under a particularly dull rock, and anyone trying to pretend otherwise is either especially ignorant or especially malicious, (or both.)

[tenderflint]

skull meme dot jpg yes yes YES

[secretsofthewilde]

Sexual intimacy in seasons 1-3 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer - continued

@girl4music asked me to write a section on Willow, so here is my very quick initial look into Willow's relationship with sexual intimacy in the first three seasons of Buffy. okay wow this ended up much longer than intended

The original post with my points briefly covering Buffy, Faith, and Cordelia is here (x).

Willow Rosenburg

As I touched upon in my actual essay, I think that the introduction of Tara marks a difference in how gender norms come into play in the depictions of sexual intimacy in the show. For this section, as with the others, I am going to be sticking to the first three and how they depict Willow's relationships.

When first introduced to Willow she is a shy and often meek character, who we know has a heart of gold and are supposed to sympathetic towards. Comparatively to Buffy and Cordelia, Willow could be seen as the true "good girl" of the Scooby for the most part. While she attempts to emulate Buffy's confidence or more risk taking tendencies, when it comes to her role in relationships in the first two seasons she still defaults to gendered stereotypes for the most part.

Upon the very first episode of the show we are introduced to her as having an unrequited and rather hopeless crush on Xander. Despite the fact that it's puppy love she feels for him, we are meant to still view her love for him as pure and good. When Buffy urges her to try seize the day in those first episodes, she then decides to go against her heart and goes out with a boy she just met at the Bronze, who is then of course revealed to be a vampire. This first attempt of Willow's to seek an intimate relationship is one she is punished for (though it may not stick out to us, it is an important moment for her), because it doesn't have the emotional connection that the show requires of it's female characters to have.

I'm not going to get into Moloch (the demon that possesses a computer) too much, but I will just quickly say I think that an argument could be made that the relationship between them was punishing Willow for attempting to form a relationship with someone through means that went against the norm for teenage girls at the time. Obviously the key theme of that episode is a sort of 'Online Stranger Danger' but at the same time it's interesting that Willow's key strength (the supposedly feminist aspect of her early character) lies in her computer skills in these early seasons, but she is unable to use those skills in order to establish an intimate relationship.

Her relationship with Oz is arguably presented as the most healthy of the Scoobys' relationships at this time. He respects her and routinely informs her that he doesn't want her to feel the need to change herself or present a certain way in order for him to remain interested in her. His more mellow personality and constant praise towards Willow often makes us forget the dominating traits he has in the relationship - i.e. his age, experience, and the fact that he is a werewolf. I also think it's interesting to note that due to his werewolf status that we see her falling into a more submissive feminine lover role; she is a beauty who loves the beast and believes that the power of her love is strong enough to perhaps tame him one day. When she does initially attempt to initiate sex into their relationship, Oz rebuffs it, suggesting that they take their time with introducing sexual intimacy, as he believes she is primarily initiating it out of her personal insecurity at her lack of experience. He primarily makes the decisions in how they move forward in their relationship, but because we know that Willow is intellectually superior to many of her peers and Oz presents himself as not at all domineering, we don't question whether it's right for him to speak for her as to whether she really feels ready to have sex yet. 

When it comes to Willow and Xander cheating on their respective partners for one another... I'm not going to rewatch that story line just for this post, so this will be based off of my memory (about a year a two since I've last rewatched). While we are made to understand that Xander and Willow are both in the wrong for their emotional affair, the show does constantly remind us that Willow has held love for Xander for several years and in doing so it tries to make us more sympathetic towards her actions. While Willow is (from my memory at least) the one who initiates and pushes them to continue their behavior, she is the one the show expects us to be forgiving towards. This brief dominance she displays with Xander breaks her usual passiveness and in doing so also appears to be playing against gender roles in their relationship. However, when the pair are caught kissing by their respective partners they quickly revert to their expected roles; Willow becomes a passive and submissive partner to Oz again, wracked by the guilt of her actions and wanting to repent. While she isn't granted instant forgiveness by Oz, it's relatively quick that the two resolve their conflict and go back to being the Scooby's representation of a "good relationship". It is very interesting to note that the show forgives Willow for her cheating behavior, whereas it could be argued that Cordelia is punished for not forgiving Xander for his behavior. This reinforces the idea that Willow is supposed to be a passive participant in her relationship, as we see Cordelia, who refuses to do so, gets exiled from the Scooby gang and narratively punished.  

The first time that Willow has sex in the show is with Oz and it's one of the rare times we see sexual intimacy being portrayed as both loving and without punishment for the women during these early seasons. As Buffy and Angel's first time was presented as being a reflection of their love, so too is Willow and Oz's. One could argue that the show even rewards Willow for returning to Oz and submitting herself to him sexually. At the end of season three their relationship, the one which appears to fit gender roles, is the only one that remains. From this we can see that though Willow attempts to contest gender roles through the same strengths that grant her position in the Scooby gang, when it comes to relationships and intimacy she is often pushed into the role of being the token "good girl" of the group; even when she does navigate contesting this role, such as in the case of cheating with Xander or expressing the desire for sex casually, we will see her revert back into a more submissive characterization afterwards.  

To draw this all back to my original post; the female characters are able to challenge gender roles in many ways in the first three seasons, however this isn't extended to sex. Willow is allowed to desire sex and even enjoy it, however it is on the provision that she fulfills certain heteronormative conventions, or is at least perceived to do so during these times.