#Wholistic Wizards

[sparkyskid]

Gale Dekarios The Wizard of Waterdeep ace-spec propaganda

Spoilers for Gale’s romance below the cut

I, an Aroace, have finished BG3 having romanced Gale and taken the route to “fix him” (I.e. encourage him that he is enough as he is and doesn’t need godly power, that his value does not depend on his power or talents or usefulness to others.)

Yes you make out a little in his romance scenes. Yes he says that he has been intimate with mortals before Mystra, and was Mystra’s lover.

BUT.

It is never stated that you have sex with him.

At most, it is implied that you are physically intimate in some way, primarily the post-game where he asks you to marry him, you wake up together and you can beckon him to come back to bed.

Even then, even when it is implied, Gale’s romance is entirely chaste. For a game so horny, a game so ready to let you fuck so many people, a game that gives you power to make your party hang out at camp in their underwear or even naked…

Astarion and Shadowheart definitely have topless/nude scenes. Karlach and La’zell express sexual attraction. Wyll is entirely unknown to me. But Gale, despite being very upfront about his feelings in some key moments, does not have a nude or partially nude cutscene. A game that loves showing or describing the sex you have with NPCs, and Gale has none of it.

Furthermore, the moment that stands out the most as possibly showing sexual attraction, in Act 2 when he comments about reading a book that links the rush of battle with desires for other “stimulation”. He is having such thoughts, but even as he says he wants Tav, it seems to be about pleasure and stimulation more than flat out sexual attraction.

As we all know, willingness to engage in sex and the experience of sexual attraction are different. Gale expresses a very ace or demi sort of relationship with sex- for him, it’s about pleasurable stimulation with a beloved person.

Take this in contrast with Halsin. In my game, Halsin came onto my Tav in the last night before the final battle. He spoke of natural desires, of wanting skin on skin etc. similar to how La’zell expresses a desire for Tav’s body in Act 1 or Karlach “ride you till you see stars”. Halsin, La’zell, and Karlach, all clearly express sexual attraction. Astarion is, well, Astarion. I don’t know Wyll very well, but his first romance scene is a dance and he gets such puppy eyes when you reject him. There is none of these things in Gale’s route.

One last thing, the compliments Gale gives. Yes, this is a difficult thing to write because the appearance of Tav can vary wildly. But his compliments are centered around aesthetic attraction, not physical. “Beautiful” is one of his most common ones. Non-specific, wholistic, and aesthetic. It would be hard to write anything more specific with the Tav’s appearance being so variable. But the other NPCs still have doubtless sexual attraction.

So Gale is a romantic, so what? He could also be a “wait until marriage type”? False. He has not been married, but (at least implies that) he has had sex before.

But it could just be that his route is supposed to be the most romantic, and not all of the NPCs need to have equal levels of horny? Yes. Not all of the NPCs should be the same amount of horny. And the least horny, if they are this different, will always come across as ace-spec or aro-spec, if only by comparison (as it is in the real world).

Consider another detail as well: how the people closest to him are expected to react to him finding a relationship.

Both his BFF Tara and his mother apparently want him to get in a relationship. Tara is obvious, Gale speaks of Tara encouraging him to have more mortal friends after his relationship with Mystra ends. And Tara does at one point comment on Gale finding a mortal partner in-game. Later when Gale asks Tav to marry him, if you accept, he remarks how his mother will also be very pleased to hear the news.

This is a theme in his life. People pressuring him to find a relationship. This is also a very commonly shared experience for a-spec people of all kinds. Pressure from others to find someone. (The most toxic variation being “you haven’t met the right person yet”)

My own mother would be overjoyed if she heard I found someone to get married to, even though she knows I don’t want that. Sure, many parents are this way about their allo children as well, but that’s hardly talked about. Parents of a-spec people, whose children “finally get married” or “finally find someone” are specially invested in the outcome. Of course anyone’s supportive parent would be happy if their child got married to somebody they loved. But it’s noteworthy here, for some reason. As if his mother has, in the past, also given him some grief about it in a way that Tara does as well. If she hadn’t, why mention her at all?

Gale being pressured by those closest to him to get a relationship is thematically similar to the way ace-spec (and aro-spec) people get pressured by those closest to them. And the relationship he crafts is one based not on physical attraction, but on aesthetic attraction and romantic attraction. Gale shares physical forms of affection with his partners for the pleasurable stimulation of it. He does not exhibit the same lust or sexual attraction that the rest of the romanceable/fuckable NPCs do. All this to say that Gale is consistently sex-favorable, but does not experience sexual attraction in the same (allo) way that everyone else does. Therefore, he falls on the ace spectrum. Most likely ace or demi.

[chocchipdisaster]

anon is giving some very bold claims... I'm deep diving into regulus to actually clarify how much of this we know for sure

Your first point. We have no clue about how early on Regulus' beliefs developed, all we know is that Regulus did end up agreeing with his parents, who believed muggle Borns should be ostracized from wizarding society.

BUT.

But. Walburga and Orion were not death eaters. Why is this important? This is the distinction between not liking a group of people and going out of your way to hurt them, or as anon put it, "torture" them. Wanting to ostracise people obviously isn't okay but as I said this is just clarifying some of the stuff anon said.

So- Regulus' beliefs were, as Sirius indicated in ootp, exactly that of his parents' who weren't death eaters. Regulus became a death water however and we don't know what his intentions could have been there. Voldemort would not have wanted to recruit anyone he thought would betray them so Regulus must have shown himself to be very loyal, and judging by his research on Voldemort displayed, very thoroughly informed.

did he intend to encourage the attempted demise of muggle borns to the point of torture? Or did he intend to pull out as soon as he thought the war against muggleborns had pushed them far enough out of society? Was he pressured into it externally? Could he have been what our society would call "alt right"?

We won't know. What we do know is that his allegiance to Voldemort was so weak, or his allegiance to kreacher so strong, he went and tried to KILL voldemort as soon as kreacher was harmed. cannot lie this does not make me feel like he could have possibly been THAT committed to Voldemort specifically. Maybe his ideals about blood supremacy but definitely not him as an individual.

Take what you want from that, but everything I said is canon and very open to interpretation, but none of it is very indicative of regulus being entirely evil the way, for example, Bellatrix or Lucius might have been. The parallels between narcissa and regulus are there if you look hard enough, by the way. In case you're interested.

NOW YOUR NEXT POINT

Snape and regulus cannot be compared in regard to how James would have viewed them. Regulus was a rich pureblood seeker who Sirius cared about, the way all older siblings care about their younger siblings, the way that cannot be helped. Snape was a poor, scrawny halfblood from an abusive family with no friends or support in the whole world except for lily. Snape was so much of an easier target than regulus, as he was defenseless and many people were likely to have agreed with or joined in with the bullying against snape for reasons above.

One thing anon did get absolutely right was that Regulus by no means was a very good person. Maybe he had the capacity for it but I feel like their exaggeration is biased and misleading so I hope this point of view and evidence provides more insight and a more wholistic breakdown of Regulus' character (to my four followers- op, a porn bot, a tumblr bot and a cat video guy.)

regulus was a bad guy until almost the last minute (he was a fictional nazi during his school years and beyond and his death doesnt absolve him of that lol) and james would have treated him the same way he treated snape for almost the same reasons (dark arts, future death eater, but no lily competition). if you dont like this then dont fangirl over a death eater that had voldemort pictures stuck on his walls and loved the idea of torturing muggles?

lmfaooo was this about my recent post bc you have absolutely no proof of this anyways AND ITS FANDOM so yeah let people think what they think(also its obvious that you're aware that its not very nice to send this otherwise it wouldnt be anonymous) chill and let fandom be fandom. none of its real so people can beleive whatever

[wholisticwizards-blog]

the NEW Wholistic Wizards website is online ! :D Thanks to everyone who gave help :)

[kendall-london-reagan]

J'ai enfin reçu ma Wholistic Magic Box de la campagne de financement participatif Wholistic Wizards. Et bien c'est bien cool ! Moi être contente. On a deux fiches de révisions de Minerva McGonnagal 4 badges, deux ronds et deux carrés. Deux étiquettes à bouteilles Bierraubeurre. Deux étiquettes à bagages pour rejoindre Poudlard. Une lettre manuscrite sur un joli papier et sa jolie enveloppe. Une fiole de « Potion pour voir le futur » et une fiole de Poudre de cheminette. Le prospectus du Ministère de la magie pour les échanges interscolaires. Un t-shirt « Vigilence constante » Je n'ai pas voulu dérouler le poster du MACUSA parce que j'avais peur de ne pas le ré-enroulé correctement. Et comme je ne l'afficherais sûrement que dans mon appartement, ce serait dommage de l'abîmer avant.

Résultat des courses : Ce qui faut se dire avant de lire le pavé c'est que je suis plutôt contente de mon investissement bien qu'un brin déçue. Mais c'est un début, un financement assuré de justesse et puis c'est un jeune projet.

La totalité m'a coûté 42€. J'avais envie de soutenir un projet à la fois Français, sur mon fandom préféré et artisanal. C'était réellement tout bénéf donc le prix me semblait cohérent.

Mais, c'est pas tout à fait ce à quoi je m'attendais. En effet, en voyant les photos présentes sur le site ou sur la campagne de financement, je m'attendais à des objets fais à la main par des artisans. C'est probablement le cas de l'imprimeur qui a du faire les goodies et le t-shirt. Je suis plutôt déçue par les fioles. En les voyant je m'étais dis que c'était peut-être une recette X ou Y de l'univers façon « préparation pour cocktail » ou autre. Ou bien quelque chose de réellement... utile. Là il s'agit simplement de deux fioles à poser sur une étagère.

En dehors du Crowdfunding, la box coûte 33€. Si on fait le décompte finalement, la box seule ne contient que : le prospectus du Ministère de la magie, les deux fiches de révision, les deux étiquettes à bagages, les deux fioles, le poster et le t-shirt. Et j'ai totalement conscience du prix que ça peut coûter, d'autant que les papiers et les finitions sont belles et que le t-shirt à l'air solide.

En vrai, je m'attendais à un partenariat avec un artisan français qui aurait réalisé un objet décoratif en bois / cuir / tissue / autre qui aurait pu figurer dans un salon. Je m'attendais à une gravure sur bois d'une citation, d'une scène, d'une infographie sur x ou y chose de HP (ce genre de tableau qu'il y a beaucoup sur leur site / projet kickstarter : https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/…/b72c2b3c56e2d110537a77ee1d6eb9e… ) ou même un simple cadre un peu gravé. Une sculpture d'un animal fantastique, petit format. Ou je sais pas, un partenariat avec un artiste qui aurait pu réaliser une image spécialement pour Wholistic Wizards qui aurait pu être sérigraphier sur quelque chose. Sincèrement je sais pas exactement, et je suis persuadée que ça aurait probablement coûter plus cher. Je suppose que je sous estime complètement ce genre de projet mais voilà.

Verdict : les goodies sont biens sympas, je saurais jamais quoi en faire mais c'est cool xD La présentation est vraiment soignée, la lettre est super jolie, le papier explicatif est cool aussi. En soit c'est un joli produit de qualité. Box Harry Poter : Check. Réalisation française : Check. Réalisation artisanale : Bof.

BREF. Je ne sais pas si je prendrais la prochaine box pour l'instant mais, j'y reviendrais parce que je suis sûre que le projet va se développer et devenir plus gros et, donc, plus intéressant dans le contenu ! :D (Bon en vrai l'arrivée de cette m'a donné le smile et je suis comme une gamine après Noël donc prenez pas ma critique trop à coeur Wholistic Wizards u_u)

[armazeilor]

Bold the traits of each type of love that are most relevant to your muse. All these types of love are valid with both benefits and pitfalls. People exhibit them in different ways with different people, but tend to follow trends. Everyone experiences more than one.

EROS - ROMANTIC LOVE ( Sensuality, Intensity, Passion )

Feels strong physical and emotional connection through the relationship | Begins with a partner who is a stranger and evokes immediate excitement | May be exclusive but not possessive | Seeks early sexual adventure, variety and technique | Is ready for love and the risks

LUDUS - COMPETITIVE LOVE ( Teasing, Attention, Fun Before Commitment )

Is not ready to commit to anyone | Has no intention of falling in love | Is anxious about a partner who is too intimate | Allows early sexual activity only for fun, without emotional connections

STORGE - FAMILIAL LOVE ( Loyalty, Siblings and Friends, Commitment )

Is not looking for love but is ready if encountered | Is quietly possessive but not overly jealous | Believes love comes from friendship but not a goal of life | Only has sexual desires after commitment is declared

MANIA - OBSESSIVE LOVE ( Obsessions, Possessiveness, Jealousy ) - Ludus-Eros

Is anxious about falling in love and has expectations of pain | Quickly becomes overwhelmed by thoughts of their partner | Forces partner into showing affection and emotion | Is easily frustrated and does not enjoy sexual intimacy | Is very possessive and jealous

AGAPE - ALTRUISTIC LOVE ( Unbreakable, Forgiveness, Wholistic ) - Eros-Storge

Is attracted to several types of people | Meets people easily so most likely will begin with a stranger | Feels concern and care for each partner they have | Is neither jealous nor obsessive | Enjoys sex and is willing to improve it

PRAGMA - PRACTICAL LOVE ( Rationality, Realism, Collaboration ) - Storge-Ludus

Is certain of their preferable “types” | Begins a relationship with an already familiar person | Believes a loving relationship is desirable for a happy life | Expects reciprocations with feelings | Believes sexual compatibility can be worked out

tagged by: @xxslavextoxcuriosityxx​ [ thank youuu ! ] tagging: y o u !

➣ Wizard Verse !

EROS - ROMANTIC LOVE ( Sensuality, Intensity, Passion )

Feels strong physical and emotional connection through the relationship | Begins with a partner who is a stranger and evokes immediate excitement | May be exclusive but not possessive | Seeks early sexual adventure, variety and technique | Is ready for love and the risks

LUDUS - COMPETITIVE LOVE ( Teasing, Attention, Fun Before Commitment )

Is not ready to commit to anyone | Has no intention of falling in love | Is anxious about a partner who is too intimate | Allows early sexual activity only for fun, without emotional connections

STORGE - FAMILIAL LOVE ( Loyalty, Siblings and Friends, Commitment )

Is not looking for love but is ready if encountered | Is quietly possessive but not overly jealous | Believes love comes from friendship but not a goal of life | Only has sexual desires after commitment is declared

MANIA - OBSESSIVE LOVE ( Obsessions, Possessiveness, Jealousy ) - Ludus-Eros

Is anxious about falling in love and has expectations of pain | Quickly becomes overwhelmed by thoughts of their partner | Forces partner into showing affection and emotion | Is easily frustrated and does not enjoy sexual intimacy | Is very possessive and jealous

AGAPE - ALTRUISTIC LOVE ( Unbreakable, Forgiveness, Wholistic ) - Eros-Storge

Is attracted to several types of people | Meets people easily so most likely will begin with a stranger | Feels concern and care for each partner they have | Is neither jealous nor obsessive | Enjoys sex and is willing to improve it

PRAGMA - PRACTICAL LOVE ( Rationality, Realism, Collaboration ) - Storge-Ludus

Is certain of their preferable “types” | Begins a relationship with an already familiar person | Believes a loving relationship is desirable for a happy life | Expects reciprocations with feelings | Believes sexual compatibility can be worked out

[witchofleviathan-blog]

Discord Server Recommendations

Here’s a list of all of the server’s I am currently apart of, if anybody would like to join: Minecraft Roleplay Servers: -Eden Roleplay. (High fanasty, strict roleplay)  (Yet to be released, invite only through fourms) -Nythercraft Official (High fanasty, low roleplay) https://discord.gg/uqPCnj -Aethier (High fanasty, medium roleplay, must whitelist on their fourms to access Discord) -Mysteries of Elenar (Yet to be released) https://discord.gg/2W4j7W -Zyria Roleplay (Yet to be released, invite only through fourms) -Broken World Roleplay (High fanasty, medium roleplay, invite only through forums) Tulpamancy Servers: -Tulpa Palace https://discord.gg/p5NPMM -Tulpa Central https://discord.gg/2gJEBR -Tulpa.info https://discord.gg/qCB8FP -Tulpa Chat https://discord.gg/pMEgjg Witchcraft/Occult Servers: -The Wilder Guild https://discord.gg/DN3fkb

-Baby Witch Cottage https://discord.gg/qfAsC7 -The Wiccan Grove (Invite only through Disboard) -The Quantum Alchemists https://discord.gg/AnqUQW -Wholistic (Invite only through Disboard) -Light and Love https://discord.gg/GEcPQG -Ascended Realms (Invite only through Disboard) -Astrology Lounge (Invite only through Disboard) -Angel Haven & Refuge https://discord.gg/YU8dE6 -Shamanism (Invite only through Disboard) -Cognitionem Aeternae (Invite only through Disboard) -The Akashic Records (Invite only through Disboard) -Cafe Esoterica https://discord.gg/CFFcbw -Place of Light777 (Invite only through Disboard) -Kundalini Support Group https://discord.gg/CRrwMj -Witches of The Unseen Sun (Invite only through Disboard) -/rEmpaths https://discord.gg/7tXggv -Cult Eclipse https://discord.gg/TAC3Hu -Arispal https://discord.gg/mCkjWN -Witchcraft https://discord.gg/uNgkMm -Eclectic Encyopedia (Invite only through Disboard) -Witchcraft and Wicca https://discord.gg/m7nXz2 -Academy of Magic (Invite only through Disboard) -The Coven of Evergreen https://discord.gg/KGt7WY -The Raven’s Perch https://discord.gg/kXe47m -The Witchy Academy https://discord.gg/25ZfC8 -The Altar https://discord.gg/mEWEKn -The Witches Coven (Invite only through Disboard) -Pestle and Mortar https://discord.gg/VtFpQH -Gaelic Polytheism https://discord.gg/Tb9SED  Group Hangouts: -Ahpmau Community Discord https://discord.gg/7x7JGE -The Right Lounge https://discord.gg/wbPDg4 -RightWingRegion https://discord.gg/3Dr2wz -Chill City https://discord.gg/QbxxKT -Wizarding World  (Invite only through Disboard) -Matcha https://discord.gg/Jy8zjK Mental Health: -AntiDepressionSociety (Invite only through Disboard) -The Outcasts https://discord.gg/qTrNyy -To Reach For The Stars (Invite only through Disboard) -Elysium Support Mental Health https://discord.gg/En3s8Q

[spanky606]

@Regran_ed from @benevolent_blizz - What's a cold and flu to a wellness wizard who stays on the #wellnesswave ‼️🤔💪🏄🌊... Ask someone whom lives wholisticly whens the last time they've had the flu and they'll proly laugh out loud‼️🙏.. All you need to navigate out here in babylon is the proper tools in your tool belt‼️👁... When talking #coldandflu we have many #naturalalternatives in the wholistic community to subpar big pharma harmaceuticals‼️💉👺👹... We look to #herbs for #healing ‼️👁... Herbs are the #healingofthenation ‼️💪.... #Elderberry and elderflower are some of the best herbs for cold and #flu ‼️💜... Elderberry and elderflower are powerful immune builders as well as good for cough and to expel mucus and congestion‼️💪... Opting for bulk elderberries is a good way to dodge fuckery found in many #elderberrysyrup ‼️👁.... #Echinacea has been used for many centuries to fight #cold and flu and build immune system‼️💪.... Meta analysis studies show echinacea can cut the chances of catching common cold by 58%‼️🙌... #chaga is one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth containing one of the highest orac scores, which is a system to test the amount of #antioxidants found in a food‼️💪... #slipperyelm is a mucilage herb that helps coat the throat, lungs and stomach, great for #coughandcold and #ibs ‼️🙏... #burdock is one of the greatest sources of #plantbased #iron , a great #bloodpurifier And also a very powerful antioxidant and detoxifier ‼️💪.... There is zero need inject ur #cellf with canine or monkey cells, formaldehyde, mercury and any other fuckery found on any other harmaceutical, nature knows and nature nurtures ‼️💚... As always, much #love ,... #benevolentblizz .... #healthiswealth #italisvital #foodismedicine #holistic #holistichealthcoach #raiseyourvibration #alkaline https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKhQbUHlJl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q7opmpx9u4s6

[criophorus]

I’m getting a lot of questions about using “wizard.” I have less of a wholistic understanding of this term, but from what I know:

Some traditions may use the word Wizard for those who do magic just like there is a tradition of magic where one would be called a Druid. Unlike the word Druid, I’ve never known Wizard to be a closed word. You can use it is you want, but it’s not usually associated with witchcraft in the way that the term “witch” is.

The word “wizard” comes from “wisdom.” It translates, in a literal sense, very similarly to philosopher. You could totally use it if you wanted, it’s your label! However, the modern connotations are generally seen as less serious and real-world as “witch.”

PSA

WITCH IS A GENDER NEUTRAL TERM

“Warlock” means “oath-breaker.” It refers to someone who betrayed their coven and was subsequently kicked out. Guys and enbys are still witches, not warlocks.

[k-hippie]

Forgotten Hollow Terrains Replacement

( UPDATED February 2018 )

We have updated the terrains replacement package of Forgotten Hollow ... Rocks of this world have been modified and included ( and tested without any problem )

( new link to the 303 terrains master post ) <---

( download link ) <---

Or download in the first post related to Forgotten Hollow, few posts below ;) the link has been updated too :)

[ this package overrides a game file, and works really fine in game  ]

Made with S4Studio and SimsPE.

Date of release : April 15th 2017 Expansions : Base Game, Outdoor Retreat, Get to Work, Get Together, City Living, Vampires (Forgotten Hollow) Contains : 1 individual package of 15mb Category : None Price : 0§

Have fun :) And PLEASE, help the Wholistic Wizards to success their Potterverse project kickstarter, aka the Wholistic Box : RIGHT HERE !

Thanks 4000 times :D Blackgryffin

[phogenson]

Top 100 Movies 2017

Introduction

There’s something that seems a little uninteresting about this year’s list, almost regressive. Like this year’s Top 100 seems pretty uncontroversial, it seems very consistent with all my past lists. There aren’t a lot of movies new to the list, instead theres some old ones back on it. In the past I’ve been open to having outright bad movies on the Top 100 because they were bad; I’ve tried to modernize the list by importing recent movies and watched them sort of wash off; there’s been the odd year where I watch a lot of new movies and it upends everything. By comparison this Top 100 is practically establishment. What’s that about and how does it even happen? Well there’s a number of reasons and we’re going to talk about a bunch of them.

First though, I’m more proud of the shape this particular list took than almost any other year’s effort. This list, you might say, seems the most right of any list I’ve put out maybe since 2014. In that respect I’d say it’s authoritative, which is rather reflected in its white-bread ranking of the most likely movies to make a Top 100 movie list ever. Again, this is, as always, an informed product of the list along a number of avenues I was looking down in producing this ranking.

However, there’s one simple reason which we can just get out of the way right now. The list just turned, I guess, old this year. Like I’m sending my list off to first grade. And I did the first Top 100 going into my senior year of high school. This is the seventh Top 100. I’ve grown up a lot with this project. But weirdly, I think there’s something to be said for this list crossing the seven year milestone in that it’s aged a bit too. To me this seems like the first year where putting this project together could be said to be on cruise control. I’ll take steps to avoid really getting complacent, but it almost felt likely.

The Top 100 doesn’t use training wheels any more like it did the second time around with a stupid honorable mention section. It can tie it’s shoes, unlike when I had to put a reminder to add Treasure of the Sierra Madre to the list because I meant to and then forgot. It doesn’t poop it’s pants like it did in 2015 when I lost my marbles and didn’t get around to ranking till January 2016. That doesn’t mean it’s stale either if that’s even possible. It hasn’t aged like a wine, or a Twinkey, or even like I have as much as we’ve grown up together anyways. The truth is that this Top 100, sort of conservative as it may be, actually represents some really important and I think advanced values I’ve developed in recent years.

Not the Time for Politics

I’ve always had a bit of a leaning toward granting that a movie was important. It’s part of the holistic view of history and society the Top 100 tries to advance which in the past has extended equally to Tron as it does to The Battle of Algiers this year and years in the past. This principle extends to so much of the make up of the Top 100. But I actually worked this year to keep at bay the so-called topicality of any movie. Which, as I’ll explain, this list is still very topical, but it’s not intended as a political manifesto at all.

The Battle of Algiers made it’s entry on the list as the Arab Spring heated up. It’s moved around since then like a literal barometer of that movie’s relevance, how important it seems, but that’s not what it’s doing here this year. The Battle of Algiers remains a beautiful and well constructed film all around. We should try to make movies that look like this one more. That notion, of making formally good films, is if anything at the very center of this Top 100.

Still Downfall, is here as well as American History X which are movies I think are highly prescient today. Do the Right Thing is at it’s highest position ever, which has always had the flare of being a statement. This Top 100 has features seeming like it’d be political. More films by more black directors than ever before, including recent films like Moonlight. More films by more women directors than ever before, including new comer to the Top 100 Lost in Translation. I warmed to Lost in Translation this year having admired it for a while in parts but never as a whole.

There’s a very compelling school of thought around these days that suggests that the moral features of a work’s production are in a sense part of it. I’ve always resisted that kind of thinking, and propaganda still makes it’s way onto the list this year in step with my thinking. Even so, arguments are emerging which are robust that there are moral parts of art which is formal. My position is that there shouldn’t be any sort of moral context that excludes a work from being good. The fact of the matter is is that films with greater representation are more indicative of other good making features of a film being present than anything else. You might say that’s the case with Moonlight. The characters that Moonlight sets about bringing to the screen in a compelling way demonstrate a high degree of complexity that is irrespective of what might be seen as its stance toward Hollywood filmmaking. The point is Moonlight, for instance, has many so good-making features in its cinematography and writing and it’s acting that put the movie on the Top 100 without the important-making features it has in film history.

It could be said that Moonlight and others are here at the expense of important movies like The Wizard of Oz because these are the better movies. Therein is the guiding principle throughout this year’s Top 100. Indeed this is the stated principle of the Top 100 every year, that it’s simply about the best movies and nothing else. It is my belief that this year’s Top 100 essentially comes closer to properly evaluating those qualities in film. Even so, I’d really like to see a Bechdel-type analysis of the Top 100 over the years.

But here’s the rub. This Top 100 is specifically trying not to be political. To not take relative importance too seriously you might say. On the contrary, this is a reaffirmation of a strictly formalist properties of movies being what makes them good. Look, there is plenty of room for writing about movies that are salient at the present moment. That will happen, perhaps, just as much as Top 100 lists come out, but it’s not a reason to throw out the exercise I’m trying to go through with here. So there.

But Formalism

So what is this this focused on in positive terms? Well, there is a some sort of guiding principle which guides the Top 100 every year. It’s usually pretty changing, tacit, and more thematic than anything else. For instance, in 2014 I used new experiences in directing to guide me through my monkish meditation on the Top 100. As I mentioned I’ve seen times where it struck me as worthy to consider a movie’s importance or relevance. The past years have sort of update the list to our present day.

In, as I say, rejecting a statement that could should be construed as political though, I have embraced something that’s a bit more positive than the “I’m not going to make a statement at all,” which seems worthy. The result is to say that this Top 100 attempts to take a strong approach to formalism about movies. In essence “what is the most complete or comprehensive answer to the minimal qualifications of being a movie that we can see?” is the question this Top 100 seeks to answer. This Top 100 is the closest I’ve ever come to establishing a sort of list of qualifications—formal properties—a movie has to take to make the grade.

Thus this Top 100 really reflects a lot of the thought that I have put into movies this year. I’ve turned a more theoretical and introspective light on film in 2017 than I ever have. I’ve been toying what feel like weird views to me about film over the past months. It would be impossible to talk about all these kinds of avenues of thought here because this year has felt like it’s revised somewhat the very way I watch film as a formalist proposition. That is to say, yeah, unlike in the past I actually find myself looking for and recalling things about certain movies that are in a sense requisite for me saying that a movie is any good. Is there a rubric for assessing movies on this Top 100? No, there never has been and I can’t imagine there ever will be. But if you make a movie that is formally very similar to the common properties among this set of the Top 100 films, I think it stands to reason that you will have a very exceptional film on your hands.

What are these formal properties like? Well they’re a mixed bag and I actually fairly uncomfortable with where a lot of these views come from. It’s hard to endorse the idea that there is in fact and inventory of things a movie must do to be any good at all. But here we are. Additionally, taking this approach lays a lot more of my taste in film out here than I’m comfortable with. The only movie missing from this list that is very me is A Hard Day’s Night. Otherwise, these are movies which seem to reflect my sensibilities more than the formal properties I’d espouse as being what what makes or breaks making the Top 100 cut. But I have to stand by the ideas that this is a matter of a formalism to maintain my integrity about what I believe about this list.

Therefore we can see things like the presence of feet in the frame at various points showing up as a good making feature in filmmaking. A sort of deliberateness in the choices of lens, film stock, and process are obvious here. Really exacting performances or highly dramatic performances purvey this list. High complexity in storytelling comes through. Tidiness and exactitude in the edit is here. A general sense of an iconographic and minimalistic approach has become very important to me—the idea that nothing can be taken out of a film. There’s also some weird wholistic aspects to this formalism for me. For example, that all of these pieces work together. There’s also a certain ideology advanced by these films that manifests a sophisticated warping of photographic reality into cinematic reality. And yes, as close as ever before, I go to movies looking for these very things today more than ever before. This Top 100 movies have been most impressive in all these regards.

But these kinds of notions are hard to evaluate and even more difficult to be exhaustive about. Well, as I said I can hardly talk about each of them. But Dunkirk is maybe a significant example here, especially since I’m highly critical of Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker. But ultimately I was really impressed by this film. It shows the immense integrity Nolan has in his craft; 70mm presentation, practical effects, a genre tradition, a narrative trademark, playing to strengths, a muted and terse matter-of-factness which I found gripping. I think Nolan nailed it here. In a sense, even though this film is far down the list, you could look at Dunkirk as epitomizing the approach I’m endorsing here.

This positive approach—a strong formalism about good movies—has made me proud of this Top 100. But it’s hard to live with. I think that there’s a host of hard to swallow philosophical pills here. Medium specificity is maybe the most difficult one to hold, it’s certainly the area I most have to examine myself. This is the idea that there is a way that it is proper for an artwork to be, but what I’ve outlined above seems to be an extreme application of medium specificity. I am advancing with this Top 100, I would say, that Schindler’s List reflects most closely the way film wants to be.

With this Top 100 I seek to layout a sort of platonic ideal of film and advance that these movies, queued this way most approach that standard. In the case of this Top 100, then, you could come away saying that the best possible movie has a runtime just under three hours, is probably black and white, may even have already been made (although this is a vexing formal property), is an adapted screenplay, and a number of other generalizations. But to ascribe these traits as necessary seems preposterous. Nevertheless, this is what’s going on behind the scenes here.

Take all that into account as you enjoy the Top 100:

Schindler’s List

The Passion of Joan of Arc

2001: A Space Odyssey

Kagemusha

The Elephant Man

Metropolis

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover

Apocalypse Now (Redux)

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

A Clockwork Orange

The Maltese Falcon

Seven Samurai

The Apartment

There Will Be Blood

Do the Right Thing

Psycho

His Girl Friday

Downfall

Star Wars

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Singin’ in the Rain

Casablanca

The Virgin Spring

The 400 Blows

Bambi

Fargo

Citizen Kane

Back to the Future

The Fall

Jurassic Park

Gladiator

Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

The Godfather Part II

Paths of Glory

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial

Pulp Fiction

Full Metal Jacket

Blade Runner

Barry Lyndon

Hoop Dreams

Titanic

Spirited Away

Alien

Toy Story

The Matrix

Laurence of Arabia

American Graffiti

The Silence of the Lambs

The Great Beauty

Ratatouille

Amadeus

Hero

Russian Arc

The Exorcist

Apollo 13

Léon: The Professional

Mulholland Dr.

The Graduate

American History X

Trainspotting

Gosford Park

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Chinatown

Shane

12 Angry Men

The Big Lebowski

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Lion King

Hamlet (1996)

Le Samuraï

Chariots of Fire

The Big Sleep

Lost in Translation

Roman Holiday

Heat

Battle of Algiers

Raging Bull

Hot Fuzz

Drive

Scorpio Rising

American Psycho

Werkmeister Harmonies

Her

Airplane!

City of God

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Moonlight

The Sweet Smell of Success

Children of Men

Dunkirk

Apocalypto

Network

The Devil Wears Prada

Shame

The Last Picture Show

Olympia Part II: Festival of Beauty

Jaws

The Social Network

The Third Man

[wholisticwizards-blog]

Wholistic Wizards @ Web

We are working hard to finish ( at laaaaaast ) our website, I mean, a more definitive version :D

Soon on your screen, with new free bees ( freebies ) and of course a new “look’n’feel” which should be rather the same from here to the wholistic shop :D

Soon the Wholistic Box #2 ! oh and by the way, WE SHIP ALL OVER THE WORLD ! :D

Society of the Wholistic Wizards

Wholistic Wizards Shop

:D

[wholisticwizards-blog]

Patronus and Wands ...

One of the Wholistic Wizards has an Occamy as Patronus. Cool eh  ;) Occamy is the cutest thing ! Dangerous sometimes but cute too ;)

And what about wands ? What is your patrons and your wand ? Do you find it representative? If not, which one would it be?

...

[wholisticwizards-blog]

Fellows, it has begun !

The Kickstarter is waiting for pledges and shares from all of the #potterheads and #subscriptionboxaddicts who believe that a bimonthly box of props, goodies and stationary from within the Potterverse is worth living :)

We know it is a good idea. Just go and have a look at some of our works, read our story, check our really small goal and give us a helping wand :)

Thanks ;)

http://kck.st/2ow0lLy

[wholisticwizards-blog]

We made a small video for our kickstarter :)

We hope you’ll like it ! :D

http://kck.st/2ow0lLy

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Only 25% left until we reveal what will be in the #WholisticBox  :D

http://kck.st/2ow0lLy - Share the campaign, talk about the box ! 

Opus ( our free Elf ) is already on the road to search the mysterious items which will be inside the first Wholistic Box :D

Maybe you’ll meet him ... You know, he can stand anywhere indeed ;)

[wholisticwizards-blog]

Wednesdays are for Free Bees :)

but not every Wednesday :D 

Here are 4 wallpapers with a Quidditch theme. Hope you’ll like them :)

Today, we are celebrating a milestone in our Kickstarter campaign: 26% reached!

We are also celebrating the article in La Gazette du Sorcier :)

And ... some new freebies :D