#a couple more caveats: i may have forgotten something and also the context of these clips could very well be misleading

[chloecherrysip]

Every time Mario is visibly concerned/worried about Luigi in the trailers/TV spots/sneak peeks/etc shown so far.

[scrunchie-face]

My ranking of TS8 based on absolutely nothing but my personal opinion

From least to most favorite:

peace: this is the only song on the album i really don’t like. her accent/cadence sounds a little affected to me and there aren’t any lyrics or musical moments that really resonate.

invisible string: i feel like i might get some pushback on this since so many people seemed to LOVE this one but hear me out. This one is clearly about Joe and their relationship and for me, there is not a single song about him that she has written that has been as good as “Call It What You Want” and “New Year’s Day.” Every other song she has written since then about being happily in a relationship with Joe has fallen flat for me. Also, I’m not gonna lie, the more cynical and less romantic side of me finds the whole concept of the “invisible string” to be a bit trite and saccharine. “Isn’t it just so pretty?” To me, yes, it is a pretty thought and that’s all it is.

mirrorball: this song is pretty, and reminds me very strongly of the Speak Now era, but with the complexity and maturity that she’s obviously acquired since then. That being said, to me the metaphor feels like it’s trying to go in two different directions at once and neither one quite gets there, leaving a song that feels somewhat unfinished. It’s either a very pretty love song or a darker reflection on identity, but it never feels like it commits to either.

august: this is where we really start to get into “there’s nothing really wrong with it, I just like other tracks better” territory. Lyrically, I think it’s very poignant, with its reflections on love, time, and memory. Unfortunately, I think the whole “Teenage Love Triangle” hint actually does this song a disservice by indicating that the speaker is the “other woman.” Since the bent of the other two songs (”cardigan” and “betty”) seems to indicate that those two singers/speakers are the couple that is “meant to be” it gives the poor unnamed “august” singer a bit of an uphill battle for sympathy in context. That’s not to say I don’t have any sympathy for her; I have by far the least sympathy for James. Unfortunately, James gets a catchier song (more on that when i get to “betty”). Which brings me to the real reason for this low-ish ranking: I just don’t find the song as musically compelling as most of the others on the album.

this is me trying: as I suggested in the previous paragraph, a lot of the way I rank songs personally is by how much the music resonates with me. I can forgive a lot lyrically if the way the music moves gives me goosebumps. With “this is me trying,” there are several lyrics that I love. The repeated “I have a lot of regrets about that”? PERFECTION. Musically, however, the song as a whole doesn’t really impress itself upon me, making all but the couple lyrics I really love forgettable to me.

mad woman: this song, and the two on either side of it, were ranked somewhat arbitrarily. higher than “this is me trying” for having a little more edge and a more engaging tune, lower than “hoax” because I generally prefer sadness and angst to anger. This is by far the most vindictive track on the album, and while I understand it and think it’s executed very well, the tone isn’t totally appealing to me personally.

hoax: this song, to me, has a very strong Hozier vibe that I enjoy very much. As i said in my blurb about “mad woman” I connect more emotionally with the sadness and turmoil here, hence its higher ranking. “stood on the cliffside screaming ‘give me a reason’“?! Gorgeous, and if you’ve ever felt that way, the line resonates in your bones. “the only hoax I believe in” is such a complex line that I could probably write paragraphs about it; it’s got psychological, emotional, and even religious elements to it that I think are part of what makes such a sad and personal song still feel universally relatable. It asks you, what are your hoaxes? Which ones do you believe? Is it because you want to? Because you have to? betty: ranking this song was difficult, because i find the character of James to be incredibly irritating. Unfortunately, the questionable nature of James’ behavior and attitude towards Betty and the unnamed girl is not enough to condemn the song to a lower ranking because the tune is just so catchy and fun. It’s got one of the best hooks on the album: the rhyming of “Inez” and “she says” just delights me every time. The “--most times--” caveat is amusing and very in character for a teenager trying to explain himself. And then “the worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you.” It sounds super trite, yes, but it would’ve probably gotten my forgiveness when I was seventeen. Also I love “will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?” Bold words for someone in James’ position but I love the bravado and the way it pairs with the music. The triumph here may be premature but it’s SUPER contagious. epiphany: so this one is perhaps the most arbitrarily placed because I realized when I got the the end of my list that I had forgotten  it.... BUT that being said, I really like this song. It seems to be one of the more divisive on the album; people either love it or think it’s boring. I like it a lot. When we talk about big events--wars, pandemics--it’s very easy to distance ourselves from them and forget that those more affected than we are are people too. This song gently rehumanizes the people we see in books and newspapers and tv reports, reminding us that they are suffering, they are trying, and reminding them that they are seen and loved. It’s extremely beautiful and moving.

the 1: based on my previous claims that the music is  my most important factor in song ranking, this one may seem unfairly high. Like with “peace” I find the accent/modulation of her voice in this song to be somewhat affected and irritating. The tune, while fun and catchy, doesn’t really have much power behind it. But I enjoy it just enough that, paired with some absolutely spot-on lyrics, this becomes a song I was deeply attached to from the first listen. Anyone who has ever had an important relationship that came to nothing will recognize the brief emotional rollercoaster of “I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t though,” and feel absolutely convicted by the bridge. “persist and resist the temptation to ask you/ if one thing had been different/ would everything be different today?” If you’ve lost a friend or a lover, you’ve tormented yourself with that question, I guarantee it. Even off her musical A-game, she absolutely nails the emotions here, and I love it.

my tears ricochet: this song actually started out pretty close to the bottom and slowly made its way up. Honestly, the reason for its low ranking was that I still can’t quite figure out what it means. Taylor occasionally writes songs that are very hard to tease out into any sort of linear narrative or neat metaphor; you feel them more than you understand them. And for that reason it usually takes me a little more time to get to a point where I appreciate them. The relationship here is tangled; it’s not the simple bad guy/good girl that we would’ve seen in the Speak Now era, and I would argue that at times it’s unclear which party is even the speaker. Once my analytical mind got past that hurdle, I remembered that this is one of the most musically powerful songs on the album. The bridge? GOOSE.BUMPS. The way the music builds and pounds at “just not home... in your bones.” Shivers. Even if I don’t totally understand what the song means, i can feel the conviction and emotion in the words and music and that is what makes it such a pleasure to listen to.

cardigan: this song is simply beautiful. just lovely. sad and nostalgic and hopeful and it just hits on some stuff that is absolutely true. “when you are young they assume you know nothing./ But I knew you.” I recently had a conversation with my husband about this very concept. This idea that adults look down on young people simply because they don’t have “perspective.” But the truth is that young people know something very important: what it is like to be young and to experience things AS A YOUNG PERSON. Not as an adult looking back on being young, but as a person to whom these experiences are fresh and real and important. “cardigan” takes that whole concept: the struggle between youthful experience and adult perspective, and absolutely NAILS IT. Add in a touch of the sentiments from “the 1″: “i knew you’d haunt all of my what ifs.... i knew i’d curse you for the longest time,” and combine it with a melody that rises and falls and slows down and speeds up and you just have this gorgeous tribute to youth and life and love.

illicit affairs: i love this song so so much. I’ve never been in an “illicit affair,” but the regret and the confusion and the attachment and the love and the hate and the feeling of being trapped are all so raw and visceral that even if you’ve never felt anything like this before in your life you can feel it now. Underneath the fairly simple melody of “don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby,” you can hear the screaming anger and heartbreak. “look at this idiotic fool that you made me!” Gah. I can’t even. It’s just so real. So there. This is a song that you both understand AND feel and it’s so powerful it’s almost overwhelming. Taylor and her killer bridges absolutely ending me every time.

the last great american dynasty: this song is so fun. The story is funny and sad except the indomitable Rebecca doesn’t for a moment let you feel sorry for her. As soon as you see her pacing the rocks looking out over the ocean--a wistful, often angst-ridden position--the song turns right around and informs you that she stole a neighbor’s dog and dyed it green. And then, “and then it was bought by me.” The story has been so definitively about someone ELSE this time until suddenly SURPRISE! The twist at the end is delightful; every story we tell, every story we love, we tell it and love it because it’s about us too. And like i said, there is a quiet undercurrent of sadness and loneliness that never becomes the focal point of the song but is there giving it depth and something more to think about that facts and funny anecdotes. This song is a unique one in Taylor’s discography, and it stands up very well to that status.

exile: is my love for this song partially colored by the fact that Justin Vernon’s voice makes me swoon? Probably. The duet between him and Taylor is hair-raisingly beautiful and heartachingly melancholy. But that aside, I think the thing that first caught my attention was Taylor’s verse. The “staring honey/understudy/knuckles bloody” rhyme drives me absolutely WILD. It’s SO GOOD. It flows perfectly and poetically and honestly i transcend my body and scream with delight into the ether at those three lines every time. That is not an exaggeration. Also, “I’m not your problem anymore, so who am I offending now?” And of course the juxtaposition between “never gave a warning sign (i gave so many signs)” is this perfect description of how, to quote another, much older, lyric “miscommunication leads to fallout.” This song reminds me very much of “Story of Us.” In case you couldn’t tell from previous comments, this whole album, for me, recalls Speak Now, very strongly in many ways. I see her revisiting a lot of similar themes and stories with a more mature perspective and a different sound. Red  as well, actually, but I digress.

seven: i knew from very early on that this would be my favorite song on the album. Taylor’s voice goes places I have NEVER heard before, evoking something elemental and primal. “Before I learned civility/ I used to scream ferociously/ any time I wanted.” Her forays into actual childhood in her songwriting are periodic but relatively rare, and this is unquestionably the best of the lot. Here we see children, almost too young to remember exactly what happened, but marked forever by their experiences of nature and relationships. “I can’t recall your face/ I’ve still got love for you.” This song evokes all the things that dance around the edge of your memory: faces from long ago, the feeling of flying, the fear of falling, the irresistible impulse to plant yourself on the ground and fling your existence out into the world with your voice. The need to feel safe. The references to a friend’s troubled home life are oblique: “your dad is always mad... you won’t have to cry or hide in the closet,” and the solutions are childlike: “come live with me...and be pirates,” “move to India forever.” The song is an immersive experience, charged with feelings you can’t quite express, but that you know and remember, although they are perhaps faded a bit around the edges.

[tlbodine]

Twisty Turns and Horror

“Every story ever told can be broken down into three parts. The beginning. The middle. And the twist.”  — Jack Black as RL Stine in Goosebumps

I want to talk about twists. 

Specifically, I want to talk about two primary types of twists in the horror genre, and how and when each can be employed -- and the pitfalls of both. 

But first, a caveat: What do I mean when I say “twist”? 

A plot twist occurs when the audience’s expectations are subverted. 

Based on the existing information in a storyline, a reader or viewer expects a certain outcome. A twist occurs when something unexpected happens instead. But a twist is not a mystery. A mystery presents a question -- who did it? how? what happened? -- and then challenges the audience to figure it out before the characters involved. A good mystery requires you to lay down foreshadowing and set up all of the clues, providing red herrings as necessary to distract the audience, before tying it all up at the end with a neat bow. 

A twist, on the other hand, does not necessarily require such setup and foreshadowing. And, indeed, some of the very best twists in the genre do away with such things entirely. 

So with that out of the way, let’s talk about the two types of horror twists -- what I’ll refer to as The Hitchcock Twist and The Shyamalan Twist. 

By nature of the subject matter, this will be spoiler-heavy, so follow under the cut!

Alfred Hitchcock and M. Night Shyamlan are two directors who made their careers from creating movies with a twist. Although plenty of other horror directors employ the same techniques, the careers of Hitchcock and Shyamalan are defined by twists in a way others are not. 

But -- however much he may try to emulate him with his signature on-screen cameos -- Shyamalan trades in a very different type of twist than Hitchcock. Taken at a plot level, the two approaches to storytelling are actually completely opposite. 

A Shyamalan Twist Occurs at the End, Reinterpreting Everything That Came Before 

Let’s briefly review Shyamalan’s twists to see what they have in common, shall we? 

The most famous -- in The Sixth Sense, we discover at the end that the character played by Bruce Willis has actually been dead the entire time, and that he is just another of the ghosts the little boy can see. 

In The Village, we learn that what appears to be a rural pioneer settlement is in fact a modern commune that’s been lost to history for a couple generations, and the monsters are manufactured as a way to keep the inhabitants in line (and from escaping). 

In Unbreakable, we discover that the story isn’t just the hero origin story for Bruce Willis’s character, but the origin story for the villain Mr. Glass -- who was responsible for the accident that set the hero on his journey in the first place. 

In The Visit, we find out that the kids haven’t been staying with their grandparents at all, but rather with a pair of escaped and murderous mental patients. 

What do all of these have in common? The twist is revealed at the climax of the film, and it acts to completely reinterpret the events that came before it. You’re left leaving the theater to think about everything that came before the twist, and try to find a way to piece it all together. All of your expectations up to the climax have been subverted, and you’re left to do the work of figuring out how to make sense of what you’ve seen (or not, of course - perhaps you leave the theater without ever thinking about it again). 

Done well, this twist can be incredibly powerful because it invites interaction from the audience even after the story is finished. The twist introduces new questions that it doesn’t answer, and conversation can spring up around finding solutions for it -- either within the text itself, or contemplating it in a larger context. Done well, a Shyamalan twist can lead the audience toward introspection and create a haunting effect. 

Done poorly, of course, it can feel cheap, cheesy, unearned, or just downright stupid. That’s the greatest risk of the Shyamalan twist -- it can leave the audience thinking, “Who cares?” 

Of course, Shyamalan didn’t invent this sort of twist -- it’s just what he’s best known for -- and there are tons of other examples out in the wild. Here are a few to consider: 

The Twilight Zone -- When I’ve delivered this talk before (if you can call “rambling about movies to my coworker” a talk), it’s been pointed out that this twist was really codified first by The Twilight Zone, and I should really call it a Serling twist. Well, I’m not doing that for two reasons. One, because Serling never tried to draw a direct parallel between himself and Hitchcock, so Shyamalan is really inviting himself to this discussion. Two, because The Twilight Zone uses the formula a little bit differently. 

First, not every Twilight Zone episode had a twist ending (although the most famous ones did, probably for the reason I mention above -- people like to talk about surprise endings, and they stick in the memory). But more importantly, the twists were the story. The sci-fi/horror shorts were structured like jokes where the twist was the punchline, often crafted to deliver a particular message or parable. Most of the episode existed to set up the twist, with little time spent on extraneous plot and character development. Thus, Twilight Zone stories are more clever than shocking. Still, they are a treasure trove of storytelling to study, and they make for a wonderful compare/contrast with Shyamalan’s films. 

Other notable Shyamalan-style twists: 

Fight Club, where we learn that Tyler Durden is not real, but rather the alter-ego of the seemingly meek and unnamed narrator. 

Memento, where we learn that the film’s core mystery has been solved numerous times, only to be forgotten -- and that the main character is being manipulated every step of the way. 

Orphan, where we learn that the titular orphan with homicidal tendencies is in fact a grown woman with a peculiar form of dwarfism who is manipulating the families who adopt her. (the movie is better than that plot synopsis makes it sound, I promise)

In Hide and Seek, we learn that the little girl’s evil imaginary friend (at times implied to be a ghost) is in fact her father’s alternate personality. 

There are, of course, lots more. There are also some near-misses. For example, despite its bleak “gotcha”, the ending of The Mist -- where the main character mercifully kills his fellow survivors before running out of bullets to use on himself, only to find that help was just around the corner -- doesn’t quite count. It’s a shocking and heart-wrenching twist, but it doesn’t fully redefine the film that came before it. 

Pros to the Shyamalan Twist: 

Gives your audience something to think about long after they walk away, generating discussion and hopefully that haunted “I need a minute” feeling to process the story.

Invites a second watch/read in order to pick up the clues and pieces and see how the story unfolds differently after you know the ending.

Cons to the Shyamalan Twist: 

Can feel cheap or un-earned if the twist makes the events of the film no longer seem to matter (eg, “it was all a dream!”) 

Often ends up relying on ableist mental health tropes (split personality, escaped lunatic, etc etc.), so please do something new with it 

Can completely fall apart if the ending is spoiled ahead of time, making it difficult to succeed in a post-internet environment. 

All in all, the Shyamalan Twist can be a powerful storytelling tool, but it can also fall flat on its face. The thing that will make it succeed is if the other elements of the story, especially the characters, are compelling enough on their own to make the reader want to know more. 

A Hitchcock Twist occurs early in the film and changes the rules of what you’re watching

A primary characteristic of the Hitchcock twist is that it happens early in the story -- about 1/3rd to 1/2 of the of the way through. It sets up a premise, invites you to get invested in the characters and their situation, and then pulls the rug out from under you by dramatically changing the movie into a different type of story altogether. 

For example: 

In Psycho, the first 47 minutes of the 109-minute movie are all about Marion Crane, a woman who steals money from her job and skips town before ending up at a seedy roadside motel. These 47 minutes spend a lot of time building Marion’s character and setting up what could be a crime thriller...until she is abruptly and violently murdered, and the narrative shifts over to the killer. 

In The Birds, a socialite and a lawyer spend almost half the movie developing a relationship, from their meet-cute to the ensuing quasi-romantic stalking, the weekend getaway, meeting the locals, befriending the family, attending a party. It honestly feels like a romance (with a few creepy details) right up until a flock of birds starts attacking party-goers. 

In Vertigo, the main character is a retired police officer turned private investigator who is hired to spy on a man’s wife, only to fall in love with her, a situation made complicated by her apparent madness and/or possession by a dead ancestor. This madness drives her to commit suicide. Except then the movie keeps going, and we discover that everything up to that point (2/3rds of the film) was actually a complex setup to disguise a murder...a revelation that honestly takes a backseat to Scottie’s newfangled, creepy obsession with the not-actually-dead girl of his dreams, which then ends in a new murder. It’s a convoluted story that’s much easier to watch than to explain, but it’s a wild ride from beginning to end. 

What do all of these Hitchcock films have in common? They set up one storyline, spending lots of time developing the characters and progressing the plot, only to take an extremely sharp turn. Some might argue that Hitchcock thrillers are just very slow burn, taking their time to luxuriously build up to a crescendo, but I think it goes deeper than that -- some of these movies abruptly change genre. 

In no instance is this as self-evident as in The Birds. The effect of watching it is akin to what might happen if you made a Lifetime movie and then halfway through the zombie apocalypse just happened to take place. It’s brilliant, and it replicates the feeling of real life horror -- where bad things happen suddenly and unexpectedly to ruin your everyday life -- better than any other storytelling device. 

Hitchcock is the master of this type of plot, but there are other stories that employ a similar technique: 

Gone Girl introduces us to a man whose wife has gone missing, and spends a lot of time building up their relationship history and casting doubt on him, so that we begin to suspect that he’s a murderer...only to learn, quite abruptly, that not only is his wife still alive, but she’s the one who set this whole thing up. It’s masterfully done, and the twist occurs about halfway through, giving us plenty of opportunity to see the marriage turn into a real cat-and-mouse game between two equally awful people. 

You’re Next sets up a pretty standard home invasion premise, but it goes sideways when one of the guests begins to fight back. Brilliantly, this is a twist not just for us but for the people in the film -- it’s a turn of events that ruins the evil scheme, where the whole invasion was a setup and many fewer people were meant to die. 

Hereditary lays down all the foundation for the little girl to be supernaturally creepy, the driver of whatever badness the film has in store...right up to the moment of her death. (The film then double-helixes with a Shyamalan twist ending, just for good measure) 

Million Dollar Baby seems at the outset to be an underdog sports film, right up to the point where it actually becomes a treatise on assisted suicide (among other things). 

Interestingly, the Hitchcock Twist finds a home in dramas as much or perhaps more often than in mainstream horror. The reason for this is probably because the twist demands strong characterization, and that sort of lengthy, nuanced character study isn’t as common in genre fiction. This, by extension, means that genre stories that do successfully deliver this kind of twist are often better received by mainstream critics. 

For example, look at Game of Thrones. Ned Stark’s death is absolutely a Hitchcock Twist. At the outset, an audience has certain expectations for how an epic fantasy is supposed to play out -- and brutally killing the main character and ripping apart his family as a “reward” for acting noble is definitely not it. This subversion of expectations is one of many reasons the story resonates so far beyond the usual bounds of fantasy fandom. 

Pros to the Hitchcock Twist: 

Done well, it can make your story feel more literary and/or transgressive, providing cross-genre appeal for audiences who might not normally see or respect your type of work. 

It keeps the audience on their toes by subverting their most crucial expectations; once you pull the rug out from under them, anything can happen! 

Cons to the Hitchcock Twist: 

It can lose the trust of your audience, who may not want to follow you around the bend and might feel betrayed or confused by the sudden shift in expectations. 

It’s tough to market because there is almost nothing you can say about the story that will appeal to the target audience without also giving away the twist. 

It requires a lot of skill with characterization to make up for the slower pace of the plot. 

If there’s one thing that both Hitchcock and Shyamalan twists have in common -- and one take-away I want you to keep -- it’s that successful twists rely on strong characterization. You absolutely must write good, believable, compelling characters first and foremost, or the audience isn’t going to care what happens to them, no matter how twisty those events may be. 

And one final caveat: You can really only afford a couple of major twists per story. You can double up, offering both a Hitchcock and a Shyamalan twist in a single story (see above re: Hereditary), but it’s extremely tough to pull off and can make your audience confused and even downright angry if you fail. 

What are your favorite movie twists? Reblog and tell me all about them! 

And if you enjoy this content, please consider leaving a tip in my tip jar:  Ko-fi.com/A57355UN

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

“In 2017, Louis’ version of wokring-class masculinity did involve harm - I don’t want to deny that” —could you elaborate a bit more here please? Are you only referring to the Ash London incident, or is there more I didn’t catch at the time? Thanks for being willing to talk 💕

anon 2:

What do you mean when you say Louis version of working class masculinity involved harm back in 2017? All I remember is the bty promo and even that’s a bit blurred to me

Anon 3: “

In 2017, Louis’ version of wokring-class masculinity did involve harm “ How so?

*********

Thanks anons for the opportunity to untangle my thoughts some more.  I don’t think I quite managed it in my last post. 

My starting point for all this was a couple of different asks that saw working-class masculinity as nothing but sexism, homophobia and racism.  Both anons were talking from experience.  And obviously the question becomes very different when you talk about the difference between working-class masculinities in different times and places - polari grew out of a culture of working-class masculinity.

So if we’re talking about Louis - I think it’s useful to be specific about the sort of working-class masculinity we’re talking about - it’s not some abstract question - he’s interested in working-class masculinity where he grew up.  And I think it’s a really interesting example to think about - because particularly with miners - South Yorkshire shows how working-class masculinity can be part of upholding and also challenging power structures.  It’s almost impossible to overstate the role that creating a work culture based around masculinity played in miners’ workplace resistance and how much of an impact miners defeats and victories have had on the the rest of the workforce.  And also the impact that that culture had on women, both when they were working and when they were not.  Or the deep veins of both racism and anti-racism that run through mining culture. 

So I’m thinking about Louis in the context of this rich complex culture.  And I start from the point of view of explaining to my anons why I think him engaging with an older man and being interested in his story - should not be dismissed in the ways that he seemed to.  But I started thinking about it more broadly - what is Louis engaging with and what is he not. And I thought it was really interesting that throughout all of X-factor there seemed to be concious presentation of a version of working-class masculinity that didn’t rely on sexism or homophobia. (And I think what his continued support of Anthony shows is how that’s not enough - and that not actively engaging in those structures doesn’t undo them - and that there is a genuine challenge between ideas of offering support and solidarity and dealing with male violence against women.  That remains even if you opt out of some ways that sexism is replicated).

And so (to actually get to the topic of this ask) - I was also thinking before X-factor.  And earlier in 2018 seemed to me to be pretty similar to X-factor.  With his tweet in support of Stormzy and criticisms of police - those are certainly compatible with South Yorkshire resistance to power and you don’t get anything that I would criticise.

But 2017 is more complicated. You have two pictures on his instagram that are about making fun of people when they’re vulnerable and the Ash London tweet (edited to add - I'd remembered the passed out man photo in the wrong year - it was the beginning of 2016. I also got an ask that pointed out I was understanding the other photo wrong. So while I'm still interested in everything I say here. Three dynamic is slightly different and the difference between 2017 and 2018 less pronounced). I used the phrase ‘do harm’ in my post to describe these actions - and I don’t really like it - it’s a bit vague and wishy-washy - and can be both an understatement and an overstatement.  But there you saw Louis actively engaging with a version of working-class masculinity that included exerting and upholding power (and I think they are the only examples (apart from covering Little Black Dress) of him engaging with any sort of masculinity that exerted and upheld power - although there were a lot of radio interviews for BTY so I may have forgotten soemthing)

My point in this post is not some kind of judgement of Louis (I’ve said my piece in judgement), but to understand his engagement with working-class masculinity.  Because there is a very definite class culture to each of these acts.

With the photo of the passed out man - it’s a very laddy thing to do and while laddish culture is not restricted to working-class communities - I think that’s the best way to understand it (with an added caveat that all this is infinitely worse because Louis is someone with a platform - it’s different in effect from any other group of Doncaster lads tweeting it out to their dozens of followers). I would say the same was true of the photograph of the guy in the Doncaster shopping mall. And with the Ash London tweet - the ‘love’ has a particular cultural significance. And I’m hardly the person to explain it - but as a term that is pretty gendered - a way that men talk to women - it’s something that makes a nasty comment nastier.

What’s interesting to me is that in 2017 Louis made a concious decision to present himself as working-class in a way he hadn’t earlier.  It’s not like he’d hidden his class identity, but 1D had been perfectly media trained to be safe.  And generally ‘respectful of women (while reinforcing really fucked up ideas about girls’ desires)’ was part of their brand.  When Louis did things that I would object to or I would argue upheld systems of power there wasn’t really a class element to it.  Right up till that ridiculous America’s Got Talent comment - none of the class signifiers were working-class. But when he made a concious decision to present himself as working-class that class inflection carried over to these instances where he was very definitely punching down (I feel like there should be a better way of talking about these actions as a group, but I haven’t found them).

Because of all this, I’m really interested in what’s going to happen next and how Louis is going to present himself with this album campaign.  Louis has inhereited a particularly rich working-class masculine culture that relates to power in many different ways.  In 2017, it seems like he was embracing that in a way that at least at times included claiming and maintaining your power over other people.  But in 2018 that has much less been the case. Although I think Louis’ support of Anthony suggests that you can’t surgically remove the parts of masculinity that uphold male power from the rest. 

What’s next? It seems to me that it must have been intentional for Louis to opt out of sexist and homophobic behaviour in a format that has so much space for it (see Robbie Williams). 

There was so much that I loved about how he was on X-factor - it’s not just that he didn’t leer at the contestants and dead name them - it was that alongside showing a working-class masculinity that involved taking care of people.  And he’s going to keep showing us who he is, in different ways, with his art and everything he’ll do as promo.  And that’s what I’m really looking forward to - seeing what else about him, and how he navigates the world, that he wants to show us.

[wrangletangle]

Sorry in advance if this question is bothersome, but I really have trouble distinguishing this type of thing. On your cultural appropriation post, it was all framed around being personally invited to participate in the culture. Does that mean it doesn't include things like recipes posted online, or videos of dances on YouTube? Is it okay only if the person vets the source? Sorry again for bothering you. This kinda thing has always confused me (might be the autism but I don't wanna make excuses).

Hi anon! Sorry, I wasn’t really on tumblr last week.

No worries, your question isn’t a bother. I’m not 100% sure I understand it, so if I address the wrong thing, please send a clarification.

Caveats Caveats Caveats

First, a note: I am not the final authority on group culture appropriation. I am trying to encourage a more nuanced perspective, particularly for young people, because I’ve personally witnessed some very hurtful things said/done by people in more powerful groups toward people in less powerful groups in the name of avoiding cultural appropriation. I’ve also witnessed some cases where it’s not clear which group is more powerful, but hurtful things were still done in the name of not participating in something out of fear of being seen to be performing culture wrong. That kind of absolutism is mentally easy and feels comfortable to xenophobes, but it still denies real agency to the people it pretends to protect. The goal here is to center the people in the culture that is not your (or my) own and follow their lead, their decisions, and their needs, as articulated by them.

Second, a reality: This is my system for sorting things out. It might not work for your brain. It also might not work for your context.

Implied Invitation

There is an implied invitation of sorts when people share their own activities publicly. For example, a public performance that sells tickets is generally fine to attend. Videos posted to youtube that are of public performances or are private but are done with the knowledge of the participants are fine to watch. The key would be to understand that you may lack context the activity, and thus any opinions you form may be somewhat clueless or even disrespectful. For that reason, it’s a good idea to keep most of those opinions to yourself and consider them extremely provisional, pending further information.

(There are some exploitative performances, but you won’t know what those really are unless you ask members of the community themselves. And even then, the situation may be complicated.)

For example, if I cooked a kimchi recipe off the internet, I wouldn’t then say “I hate kimchi.” I’d probably say “welp I’m not very good at cooking kimchi yet. Maybe I should watch some youtube videos instead of just going from a recipe.” I would never hold myself up as an expert at cooking kimchi, nor would I tell other people that kimchi is gross because I can’t manage to make it well. If I did finally manage to make it well, I wouldn’t act like I was the new messiah of kimchi - I’d send anyone who was curious about learning to cook with it to the same resources I used.

For a reverse example, put yourself in my shoes for a moment. My grandmother was an amazing cook who worked very much in the local style. She tried to teach me from a very young age. I can burn water most days, but I do have many of her recipes, and I cook them to remember her.

One time, a friend of mine came over while I was still baking a pie. I showed him the steps and how I did it. He asked some questions. It was great. (He liked the pie, too.)

If I were a better cook, I might feel inspired to record myself cooking one of my grandmother’s recipes and put it up on youtube, as a way of honoring her and keeping her work from being forgotten. If I did that, I would actively want people to copy what I was doing and cook this for themselves. I wouldn’t choose a recipe that I didn’t want to share.

Checking Sources

It’s also important to do what I personally think of as the source sniff test. Does the source smell like an outsider pretending to know something about the group? If so, they’re very likely to be giving misinformation. This is where exploitative works like “Memoirs of a Geisha” come in - using a culture and abusing/twisting it to prop up the outsider’s career. Don’t support that sort of thing if you notice it happening. We need to make that less profitable than it currently is.

However, be wary of saying things like “X person looks white, so they must not be from Y culture” or “X person doesn’t have a family name from that culture.” Mixed race and mixed culture kids deserve better than to be erased. If in doubt, look less for an individual person to tell you their own personal history and look more for 1) how other people in that culture receive the work/talk about it, and 2) whether the information reflects other sources you’re more confident of.

Asking Questions

From one ND person to another, how you ask follow-up questions is really important. I personally prefer to do most of my follow-up research online or in books, from trustworthy sources within the community. Often in person I’ll just ask for a recommendation of such a source, or nod and smile for as long as the other person is willing to talk but not pepper them with more than a couple of questions.

This is because I know my curiosity level far exceeds most people’s desire to keep talking about a topic, even one they enjoy. Also, the added element of them talking about something personal to which I’m an outsider can make that kind of conversation really uncomfortable for some people. I make sure to begin any follow-up conversation by expressing my enthusiastic appreciation for some element of the thing, so they know what kind of conversation it’s likely to be and can either stick around or bail as they please.

Cultural Diffusion

Then there’s also cultural diffusion. This is a complicated topic, but it’s realistic to recognize that cultures influence each other and borrow from each other. Just don’t imagine that the resulting borrowings are anything like the original - they generally transform a great deal in the borrowing process.

The relative power of the cultures and their history together informs some of how we should deal with these cases individually, as does the history of the specific cultural element. (For example, yoga was deliberately introduced to the west in a modified form.) So there’s a lot of nuance to be considered. Absolutes tend to be too simplified to be of much use.

I hope that helps? If I missed what your question was really about, please send another ask.

[digitalmark18-blog]

17 of the Best Ways to Build Good Links Today by @seo_travel

New Post has been published on https://britishdigitalmarketingnews.com/17-of-the-best-ways-to-build-good-links-today-by-seo_travel/

17 of the Best Ways to Build Good Links Today by @seo_travel

Links remain one of the most effective ways to move the needle on your SEO performance.

The only caveat is that the quality of your links now needs to be at a much higher level than they ever have been in order to bring you sustainable results that won’t have you looking over your shoulder every time there’s an algorithm update.

This has led to a lot of doom and gloom in the SEO world with cries that link building is dead and it isn’t a tactic worth pursuing.

The reality is quite the opposite.

The gains to be had are bigger than ever if you’re prepared to put in the work and use the right approaches to get your links.

As is the case in most areas of life, when something is difficult it only makes the payback all the more rewarding as others aren’t prepared to go the extra yard.

Below are 17 ways you can do this so that if you are one of the people prepared to invest time and resource into the link building process you will be putting it into the right places that will bring you a good return.

1. Get Interviewed

I know what you’re thinking, who’d want to interview me right?

Well, you’d be surprised.

Blog interviews have been around for a long time and might be a bit harder to get featured in good places, but podcasts are blowing up as a channel with more and more shows out there that are desperate for people to interview (as that’s generally the form that a podcast takes).

Do some research around the top podcasts in your niche, and reach out to them to let them know you’re available for interview with a quick blurb around why you’d be a great guest.

And guess what?

Podcasts usually have a dedicated website which lists episodes and links to relevant content from each show, and the sites of people on them.

Bingo!

2. Guest Writing

A tactic that has taken a beating in recent years following Matt Cutts’ announcement but which remains a great approach if done right (like most approaches), as evidenced by the fact that I am writing for SEJ here!

The key is to identify good quality publications in your industry that your audience is reading and then write great stuff for them.

Avoid doing it for any site just for the sake of a link.

This can become increasingly effective the more often you write and the better targeted the publication, and not only brings the value of great links but also increased brand awareness and referral traffic that might result in leads and business.

3. Reverse Guest Writing

Here’s a crazy idea, how about instead of you writing on someone else’s site you get them to write on yours?

But how does that yield links for you?

Well, you’ll find that the majority of authors list and link to articles and places they’ve been featured, so if you’re one of those then that can lead to some very nice links indeed, as well as free content that can consistently bring traffic to your site.

4. Traditional PR

I wrote recently about the power of PR on SEO performance, and it is the link building aspect of this that holds most of the benefit.

Links on top-tier publications like national newspapers and industry publications, carry lots of power. Even just a couple can have a significant impact on your ranking performance.

Whether you follow #journorequest on Twitter, carry out stunts, or hook into news trends, good old PR will never stop being effective.

5. Be the Source

If you break news that the world wants to hear, then people will link to you as the source of that story.

Now, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be sat on world-beating news before anyone else, but even if you have just a small nugget in your locker that you can announce before anyone else then it could lead to some big links.

Maybe you feature a property that well-known celebrities could be visiting on honeymoon, or you get the scoop on a recent change in regulation in your industry.

You should always be aware of this kind of opportunity, even if it’s seemingly small. Ensure you can be used as a source if needed.

Publish it on your blog or build relationships with key industry journalists so they know that if they need a source for a story you’re the one to come to.

6. Create Linkable Assets

There’s no more satisfying link building approach than one that works on autopilot.

Done right, this is the dream tactic.

This involves researching the different types of content in your industry that attracts links, recreating it (and making sure it is better than what’s out there), and then trying to get onto Page 1 for the phrase people search for to find it.

The best way to do this is to look at the pages on Page 1 for certain phrases and see how many links are pointing to the results. If there are lots of links pointing to lots of the page 1 results, you probably have a good linkable asset.

In travel, a good example is the phrase “top travel blogs,” which is packed with pages that have lots of links pointing to them.

It makes sense; whenever someone is writing an article about travel bloggers they want to reference a list that features the best ones and so do a search and link to one of the results. It’s the link version of the rich getting richer.

7. Content Marketing

We use content marketing as a way of gaining links on top-tier publications that are difficult to gain through other channels, except maybe traditional PR

The approach is similar to PR, but where we create a piece of content to give to the publication that may be an infographic, illustrations, maps, or some other asset that can be used in an article on their site.

This approach has led to coverage in a wide variety of top-tier publications from national newspapers to specialist places like Lonely Planet.

Check out these examples of it in action.

8. Buy Old Blogs

Like many approaches, this tactic hinges on being done in a genuine way rather than just spammily buying a domain for its links. However, if done right, it can be a hugely accelerated approach to gaining lots of relevant links and content in a short amount of time.

It’s actually something Rand Fishkin highlighted many years ago on Moz, and the same approach could work just as well today.

There are lots of blogs out there that have become stale and may not be updated at all, or may just be getting the minimum attention from their owners.

We see this a lot in the travel industry from people who have been away traveling, written about their travels and developed a blog, but then forgotten about it when they returned home and joined “the real world.”

But the content and links those blogs have are still extremely relevant and can have a significant impact if you move the content across on to your domain and redirect the links into the relative destinations on your site.

The key is to keep the old content and redirect to like-for-like pages, rather than just deleting everything and redirecting the whole site to your homepage (not good).

9. Competitor Analysis

Two for the price of one here:

Analyze Their Profile

From a strategic perspective, look at your competitor’s link profile and see what kind of links they are getting to drive their performance.

Try to get a feel for the reasons why they have gained certain links and look to replicate those approaches.

Don’t focus on things like directories or easy-access approaches here. You should look for the hidden gems that other people won’t be using.

Look at Their Top Pages

Using Ahrefs you can look at the best pages for links on competitor websites that will help you identify the best types of content to produce that will attract links.

Like in the Linkable Assets point earlier in this post, this will help pinpoint exactly what kind of pages get linked to in your industry so you can work on replicating it and doing it even better.

10. Link Reclamation

Link reclamation is an approach that is more effective for larger brands, but is still worth being aware of for everyone.

If you aren’t tracking your brand name then you should set up a Google Alert straight away so you can see when people are talking about you.

If you see something pop up and they haven’t linked to you then drop them an email and ask nicely if they could add a link.

Even better, give them a good reason why they should link to you by sending them a link to some relevant content on your site that is useful in the context of how they mentioned you.

11. Carry Out New Research

New data is something that consistently attracts links and, if done the right way, can lead to lots of links in one fell swoop.

The key is collecting data and forming research that shows off something new and interesting that journalists will feel compelled to cover.

Research that shows Macs are a popular choice of laptop probably won’t be as interesting as one that shows that Chromebooks have halved the use of Macs over the last 5 years (imagine that!).

Surveys are a good way of collecting data from consumers that you can use to establish interesting trends. The key here is to write effective questions so that you get data which will feed an interesting narrative.

This post from Andy Crestodina is a great guide on how to do so, and his blogging survey shows how effective the approach can be.

12. Give Testimonials

Simple, but effective.

If you use tools, software, services of other people and are a big fan then tell them about it!

People love positive feedback and usually take the opportunity to feature it on their site, which could well include a link back.

Quick, effective. What’s not to like?

13. Broken Link Building

Broken link building can be an arduous task and is often something people shy away from.

However, it can be incredibly effective if you do it the right way.

Fortunately, this great guide from Ryan Stewart breaks down how to do it for lazy folks.

Jackpot!

14. Image Link Building

Having a body of great images is another overlooked way of getting links to your site on autopilot.

There are more people publishing content than ever before, and those people are constantly searching for images to use in their articles.

If you can offer something different to the standard stock photos then you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest.

The key is to make sure your image bank is findable, which mainly comes down to being found when people search for “photos of [insert keyword here]”.

It’s particularly effective in travel where bloggers and websites are constantly in search of images for the destinations they are writing about and that are hard to take yourself unless you are in those places.

I’d urge you to read this fantastic guide from Stacy Macnaught for a step-by-step on what to do.

15. Quote or Feature People in Your Content

This involves mentioning other people in your content so that you can tell them about it (and say thanks!).

This could be a roundup of the best articles on a particular topic or a quote from someone within an article you’ve written.

The key to success behind this approach is doing it with people who have a page on their site that lists places they have been featured.

Now, I’d never recommend mentioning people who don’t deserve it, but if you create a list of lots of sites that have this kind of page, then you can pick out those that do have great content or comments to feature in your articles.

Then all that’s left to do is write your article, feature them in it somewhere, and tell them about it!

16. Create a Tool

This is an amazingly effective and incredibly underused approach.

If you can identify a tool that would be useful in your industry then it is almost certain to attract links.

People think this means you have to create something brand new, but just taking an existing idea and putting a spin on it that is specific to your niche would likely be enough to warrant being linked to.

Whether it’s “best XXX tools” posts or press coverage announcing the new tool, this is a great way to attract links on an on-going basis.

17. Make Friends

Another slow burner, but one that can lead to huge results.

Find people to partner up with so that as you promote yourselves you can also promote and mention each other.

This might be linking to each other, but also brings other benefits like sharing each other’s articles or even referring clients.

The key is to finding good people that fit with your values and what you offer, without being direct competition, as you don’t want to partner with anyone.

However, if you spend some time nurturing these kinds of relationships then you can reap the rewards long into the future as you both grow side by side.

Summary

You don’t need to start every one of these tactics straight away, but even if you just carry out one or two of them you can generate some high-quality links that will help push your overall performance forward.

The key is to identify which approaches will be most effective in your industry, and also which fits best with your own time, resource, and budget limitations.

Those with lots of time might focus on relationship building and guest writing, whereas those with more budget available might be better buying existing blogs or developing larger content and research projects.

More Link Building Resources:

Image Credits In-post Photo: Created by author, August 2018 Screenshots taken by author, August 2018

Source: http://tracking.feedpress.it/link/13962/10187800

[fic-dreamin]

5.0 out of 5 stars The Compleat Book of Discworld Knowledge

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Addition to my Disc Resouce Library Caveat: I'm not an expert on the Disc. I read the books, own many of them, but I do not compile endless lists of trivia from them. Briggs does, so I'll use his.This edition of the Companion purports to reinstate material on various walk-on, "bit-part" characters that was excised from the second edition. Other than that snippet from the Author's introduction I have little knowledge and zero feelings about the inclusion or exclusion of such material.The entries I've cherry-picked seem accurate and well written in an informative and concise manner. Were I to have any complaint it is that since I have no Latin to speak of I wish the Latin Mottoes included in the entries for various guilds and organizations had been translated into English. A trivial matter.Certain material may be controversial since the canonical sources may be contradictory due to the evolving nature of the author's vision of the world and the people who run about on it doing all sorts of things that invalidate its warranty. There's a map in the first couple of pages that will infuriate the "Can't Be Mapped" crowd. Also: written by Briggs & Pratchett the same team who brought you Ye Mapps. Don't buy this book if any of those facts will make you wish you hadn't bought this book after you have, in fact, bought this book.The book is a hardbound book with a stitched binding, dimensioned to match the hardbound Discworld books you may (or may not) have on your shelves (not the oversized ones like "The Last Hero", the regular books like "Small Gods"). There's a dust-jacket featuring the art depicted in the photograph. Since I can't read Amazon's listings properly and was expecting a paperback as a result, this was all a small surprise.Read more › Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars The Universe According to Pratchett Have the entire Disc-World series in hardcover, to get them away from me, you'd have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers. This book makes a lovely companion to the series. Full of extra information, and the full cast of characters. Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Discworld So much fun to read. Open any page and there are wonderful reminders of the great humor of Terry Pratchet. A great way to answer a question or to decide which book to re read next. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for Discworld fans Ever read a bit of a Discworld novel and go "Wait. Where did I see him/her/it before?"If you have, and I have many times, this is the book for you. My only wish is that it was available for the Kindle so it could be more easily searched. Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars I adore this book. It's really something meant for ... I adore this book. It's really something meant for existing and well-read fans of Discworld. Without a lot of context already assumed, it's a rather strange collection of anecdotes and characters. Having read every Discworld novel, I was still surprised to read things I'd forgotten, or that I swear I never knew. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent if Lacking the Fun of the Novels Turtle Recall is the definitive encyclopedia of Pratchett's Discworld. It has an entry for what I must assume is anything and everything that has ever made an appearance in the books.I have read all the novels and while it has been a while for some of them, still a fair portion of the entries look to be of people or events I honestly don't recall. The entries themselves are nice and detailed and the illustrations are excellent, though there could be a bit more of them.My main gripe with this companion is that it is nothing more than an encyclopedia. I started off reading entries one by one, thinking that each one would be a mildly amusing in itself, rather like the footnotes littered throughout the novels. Unfortunately rather many of the entries read extremely drily. Not all - some of them have excellent wit and humor, but all too few. Personally, I ended up just looking up my favorite characters, places and events and reading those.For the true fan this is a wonderful addition to the collection. For others, the idea of is nicer than what it actually is. Reviewed from an ARC of the April 8th Edition. Go to Amazon