#and also this whole thing is a prequel to the wizard of oz and like. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 7 months ago

Note

right now my absolute favorite musical is wicked, coinciding with my perpetual oz interest (I hope I used that word correctly). I used to listen to Dear Evan Hansen quite a lot but haven’t listened to it in a while. Except for “a part of me”, one of the cut songs.

can I ask why it’s your favorite?

Wicked and Oz in general are awesome. I read through the books semi-recently (as well as re-watching Return to Oz) and it always amazes me to remember just how different in tone the 1939 film is. It's truly a world of it's own, with a different feel an overall mood - Dorothy is obviously far different. Our stage adaptation is primarily based on the 1939 movie so my analysis is based on that, but I'd practically call it an Oz AU with all of the liberties it takes. Mostly with Dorothy. She is largely a pawn in games played by the Witches and Wizard of Oz. A game that ultimately, Glinda won. (My feelings about the 1939 version of Glinda are very similar to my feelings about Dumbledore for similar reasons.)

But Wicked is different. Wicked is a commentary on...on, so many things, but I think a major one is complacency. (It's similar to why I love Borrasca actually.) The idea that there can be something rotten in the state of Denmark, something bad happening in Oz, and people will look the other way. It's painfully realistic. Galinda's whole character arc is intertwined with this. Because it's like Elphaba says. She'll grovel in submission to the corrupt institution if it means advancing her own position and career. But in her heart, she knows better. I love the repeated use of the words "good" and "wicked" blatantly deconstructing them and proving that things aren't black and white. That good and evil are just...words that we say. And their weight depends on who is saying them and about what.

The only thing I don't care for when it comes to Wicked is that...well, it kind of succumbs to what I call "Prequel-itus." As a prequel to Wizard of Oz (well, it technically is both a prequel and a retelling since it goes past the end of the original but I digress) Wicked feels the need to give everything and everything a backstory. Fiyero...didn't need to be the Scarecrow. Fair enough to that one, since it was clearly planned and a major part of the story (though it casts a shadow over his bond with Dorothy in all honesty) but Boq as the Tin Man? Give me a break. That asshole is nothing like The Tin Man, who was sweet and sensitive and, oh yeah, already had a backstory. Not to mention the hastily thrown in line about the Lion being the cub from Act 1? Come on now.

As for Dear Evan Hansen.

I just. I really love human dramas. (Again, Borrasca. I can't recommend it enough, except, every trigger warning you can imagine applies to it.) Dear Evan Hansen is such a magnificent story about realistic people going through emotional issues. It's a story that isn't guided by plot, but by characters reacting based on their feelings and desires. The inciting incident is Connor's suicide and the misunderstanding with Evan's note, but after that, the entire plot could be resolved if the characters (mainly Evan) just made different choices. Better ones, smarter ones. But it's not a plot hole, either. It's characterization. You can see the exact moment when Evan falls in love with the lie. "And I see him come to get me. He's....come to get me. And everything's....okay." I've seen a slime tutorial of this show and based on the performance, that is the moment that Evan went from awkwardly trying to comfort a grieving family....to telling himself a better story, about his own life. One where he had a best friend, and wasn't having suicidal thoughts.

And that's one of the major themes of Dear Evan Hansen. Rewriting history when there's no one to contradict you, and living in the new reality you've created from that story, because there's nothing to stop you except yourself. It crops up all over the place, not just in the #BigLie, but Evan also initially lies to Larry about the situation with his father. This idea is echoed in Sincerely, Me as well. "All that it takes is a little reinvention." and "Just believe you can be who you wanna be." It comes up again in Words Fail which is...the most fucking raw and emotional that a musical has ever gotten, for me anyway. I sob when I listen to that song, especially at the crescendo when it reprises Waving Through a Window. Evan talking about no one seeing the real him, because he fears "Will they hate it too?" Just broke me. Because...honestly? I relate to it. And I think a lot of people can. "Will I just keep on running away from what's true?" Like. Oof.

Everyone in this show is miserable, in different ways, and they manifest it in different ways that are typically unhealthy. Though I think my favorite character is Heidi. I don't know if she's considered problematic in the musical fandom, but I will pick up my foam finger and defend her to the last. She was doing everything she could. Evan's anger at her for being absent is understandable, but it wasn't out of negligence. She was working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. She didn't always handle situations the best, like the dinner with the Murphys...but she was blindsided over and over that night, so, fair enough. She isn't very knowledgeable about her son's mental health issues, but it's not for lack of trying. She's doing her best, and also, Evan isn't telling her anything. He's not sharing with her. He's lying to her, on top of lying to everyone else.

The situation needed to end. Because it was unhealthy. Even if Connor and Evan's friendship had been real, it was reaching unhealthy levels. They gave Evan Connor's clothes. They gave him Connor's college fund. Given how he was sleeping over at the Murphy's house all the time, and I don't see them making him take the couch (or allowing him to crash with Zoey) he was probably sleeping in Connor's room. Like, it was reaching creepy levels even if you ignore that it was all based on a lie. And when they find out...yeah, they don't forgive him. Why would they? It would be way too good to be true, Evan would be getting off far too easy, if they just forgave him. They didn't expose him to the world and that is charitable on their parts. Evan had to lose the life he'd gained and return to reality. I like that even though Zoey ultimately forgives him, they don't get back together. Realistically, there's no way they would.

God this story just rips me to shreds. I feel bad for everyone involved, but they're also culpable for their own choices. Like...Alana is another example. We're meant to sympathize with her (and Jared) by the end. Sure, she's a little annoying, but she means well, and her dedication to the Connor Project is sincere. That said...she really doesn't know what she's talking about, claiming the emails "don't make sense" because Connor seemed to be doing better before he died. That's...shockingly naive. Also, the fact that she posted Connor's suicide note (as far as she knew) online without permission. She didn't ask his family if that was okay. She did it explicitly against the wishes of his best friend who the letter was written for. That's fucked up.

I could write similar analysis of Jared, Connor's parents, Zoey...but I can already tell this one is gonna be a long runner so I'll cap it here.

#Wicked #Wizard of Oz #Dorothy Gale #Glinda The Good #Dear Evan Hansen #The Tin Man #Evan Hansen #Alana Beck #Heidi Hansen #Connor Murphy

4 notes · View notes

firefirevampire · 2 years ago

Text

Okay so this is all just speculation and my own thoughts/theories and also idk wtf I'm talking about SO

please keep in mind I'm super new to Ghost so I may misunderstand or miss some crucial lore and don't hesitate to correct me if i do!! I am also sleepy so this is not well explained 😅 under the cut for length

Basically I think they're going to kill Copia to resurrect Terzo. Here's why:

1. Very obvious hints in the chapters that Copia is going to die - namely the coffin

2. Lyrical connections between Meliora and Prequelle/Impera

Cirice: "can you hear the thunder that's calling?"

Respite on the Spitalfields:"did no one hear the distant thunder?"

Absolution: "Ever since you were born you've been dyingEvery day a little more you've been dying" (This could also be alluding to the idea that Copia has been slowly dying ever since we were introduced to him)

Pro Memoria:don't you forget about dying, don't you forget about your friend death

Themes: anti- corruption/greed (Square Hammer and Mummy Dust, Twenties)

More lyrics from Respite on the Spitalfields (I know this song is about Jack the Ripper but analyzing it in a purely lore sense here):

One day he will come back / From the bowels of hell / He appeared to ascend / So we all stood there in awe / Now we have to pretend / We didn't see what we saw / When the curtain unveiled / To the sound of applause / That the king that we hailed / Was the Wizard of Oz / We will break away together / I'll be the shadow / You'll be the light / Nothing ever lasts forever / We will go softly / Into the night

Terzo, after being killed, was sent to hell and will now ascend. The Clergy had to sort of ignore his death when Copia took over. Copia was the "wizard of Oz" because he was almost like a puppet for Sister Imperator.

Nothing ever lasts forever, self explanatory.

Theologically speaking, you could argue that to be the anti-Christ, you have to die and be resurrected just as how Christ was, but the Clergy doesn't do things in an explicitly Christian way. Catholic papacy is not lineage based but the Ghost papacy is, so there's room for different interpretation here. You could definitely argue that Copia, not Terzo, is going to die and be resurrected, but I think what makes me believe more that it's Terzo are all the thematic/lyrical connections between his and Copia's albums.

I think either way it's inevitable that Copia will die, especially with the lyric changes in the cover, but whether he or Terzo will be resurrected, we'll just have to wait and see. I'm very doubtful on a whole new Papa being introduced though.

#Someone has probably said this in a much more eloquent and understandable way but #Yeah #The band ghost #I'm sleepy #But that cover was fire #Ghost bc

4 notes · View notes

redheadedbrunette · 2 years ago

Text

BELOVED

1: Ramona and Beezus (You might think moving the time period of a book set in the past into the modern day would ruin it, but it works so well)

2: The OG Weird Girl gets the movie she deserves. Also the only movie that has ever made me cry.

3: The Peanuts Movie (The nostalgia based CGI reboot that remembered to add the good)

4: If I get a t-shirt with a movie quote on it, it’s going to be from this movie

5: The books are fairly basic stories, and the movie took all the basic elements, added a few more, and reworked them into a more big screen masterpiece that I’m so sad bombed

6: Cinderella (1950) (I know everyone loves the live action version, but this one has talking animals)

7: Hamilton (If I get Disney+, it’s so I can get this back)

8: Cars 2 (Not an *objectively* good movie, but a silly goofy one that does not deserve the hate gets and I will passionately defend)

9: Matilda (Another Weird Girl gets the movie she deserves, but this girl has superpowers)

10: The Wizard of Oz (This one was my entire personality when I was five, and it wasn’t new when I was five by any stretch of the imagination)

BEHATED

1: Oh wow! What a fun movie with a look at the role between tradition and innovation in the Church....oh dear, is that a romance subplot with a priest?

2: My grandma said this one was cute and funny. The girl’s mom gets murdered in the second scene and there isn’t a funny joke in the whole movie

3: Did you read the book? Did you give the source material more than a passing glance? Did you understand anything about the themes?

4: Okay I *know* you didn’t read the book. The main character has the same name and I can’t think of a single other thing that they held over from the books.

5: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (I wanted to go see this one instead of Grinch (2018). I should have gone and seen Grinch (2018))

6: I liked her better when I didn’t know about her political opinions

7: Rise of Skywalker (I wasn’t even invested in the franchise and I thought it was so bad)

8: Toy Story 3 (Highly overrated conclusion to a highly overrated trilogy)

9: I didn’t want to criticize this one because I watched it with my grandma who said it had “good messages”, but the actual execution was so bad

10: You take a perfectly good comic relief character and you make a prequel and make it sad to watch the first movie unless you completely don’t think about this movie at all

13 notes · View notes

witchesoz · 3 years ago

Text

After Oz: Legends of Oz

I hesitated before doing this one, because this movie is mostly based on the book "Dorothy of Oz" by Roger S. Baum, and I haven't read said book. It is something that tends to get on my nerve, when people actually don't care about the original material an adaptation was based on, and consider the adaptation as its own entirely original piece of work, when in fact, a lot of it was taken from somebody's else work. I mean, the perfect exemple is Shining. Some people praise Kubrick for being a pure genius for inventing this story from A to Z, and consider Stephen's King television series a "poor attempt at a remake of the movie", when... you know, King originally wrote the Shining and Kubrick merely adapted it. In fact, people tend to forget most of Kubrick's movies were adaptation. Dr. Strangelove? Loosely based on "Red Alert". Lolita? Everyone knows it is Nabokov. A Clockwork Orange? Anthony Burgess. 2001: Space Odyssey? Inspired by shorts stories of Clarke, the co-author. Eyes Wide Shut? A 1920s German book, Traumnovelle. And so forth and so forth...

Hum. Sorry for the rant. I just needed to explain why I always want to take in consideration the original material when tackling an adaptation. But since I haven't read and can't get this book, I will mostly rely myself on the Wikipedia plot and other reviews I read. If you wonder, yes, Roger S. Baum is Baum's great-grandson (or great-great-grandson?), and he wrote "Dorothy of Oz" as a direct sequel to the first book, "The Wizard of Oz", ignoring all of the others, and... apparently he is not a really good writer. But anyway... I still decided to do a little something about this movie, because... well just because I wanted Oh yeah, another thing... an elephant in the room I have to adress right now. I only discovered it this year, by doing research about the movie (because before I only saw it at the time of its released and then forgot about it). You can know it, or completely ignore it - yes, I know that this whole movie was the result of a huge scam that robbed hundreds of people out of their money, and that the case has been even brought to trial. But... well the movie is still here, people still saw it, it is still around, will be for still quite a long time, and it is now part of the Oz inheritance, that you want it or not. Anyway, a lot of Oz movies had a dark and troubled production. It seems almost like a pre-requisite: if you do an Oz movie, you'll never end happy. Maybe it is a curse? Who knows.

So... let's get into the subject. Is "Dorothy's Return" a bad movie? (I'll use this name, because "Legends of Oz" was the name of the intended franchise of three, maybe ten movies). I wouldn't say so. A lot of people said it was crap, or worthless, but I wouldn't call it bad. People also said that it is a bland movie, and I would say yes - but only partially. I think a good lot of the extreme bad reactions were caused because of 1- people who just disliked the idea of more Oz adaptations, 2- people too old for this movie, because you have to remember that this is a movie aiming at children and 3- people who are hard-die fans of the MGM movie and not so much of the original Oz books. It may also play in account that Dorothy's Return was roughly released the same year, and played as a "rival" to "Oz the Great and Powerful".

Now, note that it isn't a memorable movie (except for a few bits). It isn't an excellent movie. It isn't a cult classic (even though it may become it with the whole scam background, who knows?). It isn't something I would watch again and again with pleasure. It isn't something exceptionnal or groundbreaking, it is even quite generic. But, it has some good parts, and it manages to be entertaining, and honestly as a child I could have sit in front of it and watch it with no problem. Because, yes, it is a children movie. The action is rushed, the characters lack depth, some moments are too sugary-sweet or even cringy (for exemple the song "We'll work together". Seriously, I just looked away and sped up a bit because that was too sickening-sweet for me.) As a result, as a child movie they missed things that could have been really good (the old tree agreeing to be use for a boat, which is played straight up as him being killed, the characters even say so, but then it turns out he is still alive as a boat? You could have had a great, deep, fascinating almost philosophical moment, but you just waste it for a happy ending). Anyway, what was I saying? Yes, a children movie. As a result, some people called the movie "too simple". On the other side, people called the story "too confusing".

To an Oz fan like me, it isn't actually confusing. It isn't at all - but indeed, for someone with a limited knowledge of Oz, it will be confusing. Because, while they base themselves on an Oz book that re-uses many elements from the books (the Queen of the Field Mices, the Sawhorse, the China Country...) it also decided to include a lot of elements from the MGM movie (the Wicked Witch of the West is the one from the MGM, Glinda is also quasi-identical from her MGM counterpart, the Winged Monkeys work with the evil people...). As a result, yeah, it may be confusing. But the inclusion of the MGM elements actually managed to correct some flaws of the original story. For exemple, in Roger S Baum's book, the Jester was merely a normal jester possessed by the ghost of the Wicked Witch of the West, through her magic wand. Wait, magic wand? There wasn't any magic wand mentionned in the original book! But in the movie, to use the broomstick of the Wicked Witch makes much more sense.

I'll take a short time here to comment on the character of the Jester, who is, I think, the highest point of this movie. He is a good villain. A cliché but interesting backstory cashing on the idea of Oz vilains as siblings, a clear shout-out to the Joker which isn't so bad, interesting plans. He is also the provider of many nightmarish elements (the fate of Dorothy's companions, which I think was a very good idea, or the people turning into puppets and being used for a creepy dance) that made this Oz movie feel... well Ozian. Because a good Oz work is a work that will traumatize your kids! I guess a bit part of why the Jester works so well is that he basically repeats and remakes all his sister, the Wicked Witch, did in the MGM movie, and let's be honest, she was a great villain. (And this again makes sense when you remember the Jester is originally supposed to be possessed by the Witch's ghost). But at the same time he has his distinctive signature and style, with his Jester persona, his circus-related punishment and his personal plots to conquer Oz. [People noticed obviously the sweet irony of things in this movie. You have a double-character that, on the Earth world is a cheater and criminal trying to steal people of their houses and using several fake identities, while in Oz it is a villain that turns people into puppets he can manipulate and relies mostly on cheating and misleading Dorothy to her doom. Which is eerily similar to what the creators of the movie/franchise did with their financers and investors.]

Talking about the Earth side... The whole "earthly" parts are all bland and not memorable. Just like Dorothy, who isn't really... anything to be honest. The songs sung aren't memorable either. All of that is a fail. A lot of people also considered the Earthly animation uncanny, or even disturbing, but I personally wasn't bugged by it at all. I saw much more uncanny animation.

When it comes to the Oz part, I actually think they managed to create a perfect "Ozian story". As in, the general schema of the girl entering in Oz through an uncommon mean (here a people-eating rainbow, that I have to say was quite a scary scene to look at), then passing through many small kingdoms, meeting new friends, forming a team, discovering the villain and fighting him off - this plot was repeated by Baum times and times and times again, and probably comes from the original novel Dorothy of Oz. But it still works, as simple as it can be. Plus, the use of the China Country and the Candy County (I think its their name?) was quite a good choice. The China Country was one of Baum's earliest invention, while the Candy County (originating from the Roger S Baum book) is eerily similar to the Bunbury village, an invention of Baum, inhabited by living baked goods that also get angry at the protagonists for trying to eating them. Yes, all in all, the characters feel really Ozian. As for the other member of the team, "Wiser the Owl". Well... he had the potential to feel an interesting and Baum-ian character. But it falls flat because he just becomes one living fat joke. I mean, fat jokes can be funny. But when the character is mostly the joke itself well... yeah, not really working. He had a much interesting role in the prequel comic book.

Because yes, there is a comic book associated with this movie! As I said before, originally the project was to create a franchise of several movies, with toys, goodies, applications and video games. (Or at least that was the project the scam used). The comic is however found under the original title for the movie "Dorothy of Oz". I don't have much to say about it, outside that is was quite pleasing (even though it sometimes doesn't make sense when put in direct relationship to the movie), and that it introduced one interesting idea: that the magic of the broomstick/Witch relied mostly on manipulating the weather and nature. The Jester causes a flood to destroy the Munchkin town, he causes an earthquake to break the China Country, he uses heatwaves to melt the Candy County... And another interesting point, the role of Wiser. Indeed, in the movie he is presented as a "motor-mouth" that keeps talking about everything, knows a lot of stuff and has the tendency to finish other people's sentences. But it gets quickly overshadowed by the fat jokes (cause a big part of his character is that he used to be able to fly but now, because of his love for candy, he is too fat to fly). However, in the comic book he has rather the role of the one voice of reason and intelligence that offers down-to-earth, simple solutions to problems where the other Ozians search for more extravagant and magical possibilities. Exemple (SPOILERS: when trying to create a rainbow, the team searches everywhere, thinks of asking witches, wizards and candy makers. Wiser has to remind them that anybody can create a rainbow with just a good crystal and some light. SPOILER ENDING.)

(I actually read the comic book before looking at the movie, which may explain why I consider it better than the movie.) To return to my opinion on the movie... Not the greatest Oz movie, but certainly not the worst. Average, but on the good side. Entertaining and interesting, even though bland and generic. They got the feeling of an Oz story but they just didn't found a way to freshen up or make the story shine on its own. A good villain for a heroine easy to forget. Simple. Ideal for children, or to kill time, or just to inspire one for more Oz work.

#oz #review #after oz #opinion #animated movie #legends of oz #dorothy's return #legends of oz dorothy's return

17 notes · View notes

thebirdandhersong · 3 years ago

Text

Fairy tale retellings! because I couldn’t help myself (under the cut because I got carried away and remembered my fairy tale retelling phase from middle school........ oh boy)

Cinderella

Cinderella (2015 Disney live action): beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL (the music! the script!! the Hope! the costumes! the dress! the gentleness at its heart! the overall design and the colours!) (I still believe it’s the best live action re-adaptation they’ve come up with so far) (then again they DID have one of the Rogue One writers and Kenneth Branagh--both of whom understand story AND fairy tales--on the team, and possibly the best combination of actors and costume designers)

Cinderella (Disney animated movie): like a dream. Can’t remember it that well because I haven’t watched it in over ten years, but I remember that I loved it

Cinderella, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical featuring Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana: Laura’s Cinderella is so lively and hopeful and bright and affectionate and I Love Her!!! The script is also surprisingly funny, and the little changes they made (like the fairy godmother being an old beggar woman in the village, the subplot with her stepsister, the scene at the ball where she suggests that they should all be kind to one another, the fact that the prince is called His Royal Highness Christopher Rupert Windemere Vladimir Karl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman (HERMAN!) Gregory James....... iconic) added rather than detracted from the themes they chose to emphasize

A Cinderella Story: possibly one of my favourite films. I loved the fact that they knew each other before the ‘ball’. Loved the way the fairy tale was ‘translated’ into the 2000s. The friendship was strong with this one. I had the best time watching this movie. (Dress-wise, Hilary Duff’s dress is my least favourite, but that’s a minor quibble, and is also due to the fact that it has Lily and Laura’s gorgeous fluffy ballgowns to contend with, and that’s not fair competition)

Persuasion, by Jane Austen: does it count?? The way I see it, Persuasion is like Cinderella gone wrong (we discussed this in class, and my prof called Lady Russell a fairy godmother who means well but fails her protege before the story even begins. We talked about Anne’s ‘Cinderella’/makeover moment taking place over a longer period of time, about the ‘evil’ stepsisters, etc. etc. I’m not entirely sure I agree with every single comparison he made, but he made some Very interesting points).... at least the first time :)

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. Oh, the images!!!!! Marissa Meyer is WONDERFUL at them. You wouldn’t think they’d translate well into a futuristic sci-fi (almost steampunk) world, but she did it SO brilliantly (the slipper! the ‘dress’! the whole family situation!)

Rapunzel

Tangled (Disney animated movie): an absolute joy. Rapunzel is an Ariel-like character who has hopes and dreams of her own, and I love how warm and vivacious and endearingly transparent she is. The dance scene is so, so lovely. (I stand by my opinion that very few little went right with Disney’s fairy tale retellings after Tangled.)

Cress, by Marissa Meyer: once again. Images. I can’t believe she managed to pull Rapunzel-in-space off so well. (Plus she’s a hacker, and such a sweetheart!!)

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (Disney animated movie): Amazing. Gorgeous. Brilliant. The buildings and the music and Belle (Belle, my darling!!) and the darker, more Gothic feel to the art and the design...... Yes

Beauty, by Robin McKinley: knocked it right out of the ball park, right through the atmosphere, right into outer space... The language is so lush and atmospheric, and even though I knew roughly what was going to happen, I loved every moment of it. She puts a special emphasis on family and on human connection and I Loved that so much.

Rose Daughter, by Robin McKinley: also gorgeous!!!!! Beauty is still my favourite of the two, but this one was also a gem. (Again: the emphasis on family and sisterhood!!!)

Beauty and the Beast (the Broadway musical): Susan Egan’s voice is SO lovely. And Home deserved more than just an instrumental reference in the 2017 version.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George: the Best. The sisters are easier to distinguish, the changes/things she added (the war, the queen’s past, etc.) make the story even more interesting, and Galen is fantastic (courteous, kind, brave, AND likes to knit?? NICE)

The Barbie movie: I loved it when I was a little girl (it is also Muffin-approved!)

The Princess and the Pea

@fictionadventurer‘s Wodehousian one :) which is an absolute delight. Every once in a while I remember it and then can’t stop smiling

The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale: the Best. And by the Best, I mean the absolute Best. Her writing is so beautiful and her characters are so real and distinctive. The worldbuilding is fascinating. It’s so simple and so beautiful, and is near-perfect as a retelling and as a novel. The rest of the Bayern series is also wonderful!!

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Disney movie): can’t remember it very well, except for the chef who wanted to cook Sebastian and also Ariel’s very cool sisters.... the music and Ariel’s character are lovely :)

The Little Android, by Marissa Meyer: genius. The first time I read it, I cried furiously. What does it mean to be human?? Marissa Meyer loves to talk about this in her other books (through malfunctioning robots, androids, werewolves, etc.). And the conclusion she comes to is always the same (and always done so beautifully): it’s about love and sacrifice (and tbh even though she’s talking about this through robots and werewolves, she’s got a point!!! When you act with love and self-sacrifice, you reflect the character of the Maker and His love and self-sacrifice, which is what makes us in that moment the most human--or at least human in the sense that that’s what we were made to be and to do towards our neighbours and enemies)

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli movie): this counts, doesn’t it?? A film that is an absolute joy through and through. It doesn’t completely stick to the original fairy tale but it also talks about compassion, kindness, and love as a choice

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog (Disney animated movie): can’t remember it very well, but Anika Noni Rose has a fantastic voice, and I loved Tiana’s practicality, optimism, and kindness

The Prince of the Pond, by Donna Jo Napoli: can’t remember it either (read it in third grade) but basically it’s about how the prince turns into a frog and starts a family with another frog (the story is told from her perspective). I do remember that the ending made me so sad, though

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (Disney movie): can’t remember it at all either, except for: 1) Once Upon a Dream (a brilliant song) and 2) forget pink or blue. I liked her grey dress the most

Spindle’s End, by Robin McKinley: the story was told in such an interesting way (the animals! the way she wrote about love and protecting the people you love and self-sacrifice in familial and platonic relationships!) with Robin McKinley’s beautiful style

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

East, by Edith Pattou: I was obsessed with this book in elementary school. Obsessed. I kept rereading it over and over again because I just loved it so much. It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, but I can remember certain scenes (Rose entering the ballroom for the first time, the white bear’s hulking figure in the doorway, the architecture of the hall where she washes the shirt, her fingers running over the wax, the reunion scene) so vividly as if it had been a movie instead of a book, or if I’d actually been there, experiencing what Rose was experiencing

Orpheus and Eurydice (which kind of counts)

Hadestown (the Broadway musical, the original cast, AND Anais Mitchell’s original concept album): I’ve talked about it so much I probably shouldn’t even start slkfjsdl;kfjlk; I just wanted an excuse to mention it again

Tam Lin

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones: I loved it when I first read it but I was so confused and so fascinated by it.

The Snow Queen

Frozen (Disney animated movie): no (insert heart emoji)

And contemporary(?) books that are considered modern classics, if not modern fairy tales (depends on how you look at it, really):

Peter Pan

Peter Pan (Disney animated movie): a childhood favourite!!!

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry: the whole series is so much fun (and they’re among some of the funniest books I’ve read). This one serves as a sort of prequel to Peter Pan, but it’s safer to say that Dave Barry reimagined the whole story.

Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway play adaptation of the book, which is a reimagining of the original Peter Pan..... yeah): the source material is incredibly funny, so naturally the play adaptation makes you laugh until your sides feel ready to split (I mean!! You have Christian Borle as Black Stache, Adam Chanler Berat as Peter, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Molly..... they’re all brilliant) The script, the way the cast makes use of the set and props, the perfect comic delivery....... love it

Finding Neverland, a musical adaptation of the movie (the A.R.T. production with Jeremy Jordan as James Barrie): the music is so good, and the way they write about the value of looking at the world through the eyes of a child?? of seeing the beauty in everything?? of hope and imagination and wonder?? If it weren’t for the way it handles adultery (even emotionally cheating!) and divorce :( but Laura Michelle Kelly is absolutely enchanting, and the script is also incredibly funny and heartwarming

Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson: a twisted fairy tale... it was quite disturbing at times, but it was also beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s a darker take on the story, which I tend not to like (at all), but the way it explored Tiger Lily and Peter was quite interestng

The Wizard of Oz

WIcked, the Stephen Schwartz musical--I haven’t read the book: as far as retellings-about-the-villain-of-the-original-story goes this one is my favourite. It is another twisted fairy tale, though, and there’s a constant undercurrent of doom and dread, even in the motifs Stephen Schwartz uses... the ending is not completely happy, but the music is FANTASTIC (Mr. Schwartz also did The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Prince of Egypt!!)

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland (Disney movie): another childhood favourite... I also haven’t seen this one in over ten years, but I can still remember specific scenes very clearly in my head

Alice by Heart: a musical about a girl called Alice Spencer whose coping mechanism (quite literally) is Alice in Wonderland. She knows it by heart (again. Literally) and she dives into the world as a form of escapism (LITERALLY. There’s even a song at the end where the characters acknowledge how unhealthy this is). There’s a lot about growing up, losing a loved one, learning to let go... about self-deception and grief and the control one has over one’s life (unfortunately it IS subtly antagonistic towards Christianity at times)..... i do wish that writers didn’t have to treat sexual maturity as the most prominent/interesting part of coming-of-age stories, though. The characters, the set and lighting and costume design (BRILLIANT, by the way!!!!)... all wonderful. But the strangely sexual references can be a bit uncomfortable. (Really!! You can tell a coming-of-age story WITHOUT that stuff, you know!!!!!)

That Disney Movie directed by Tim Burton: wouldn’t recommend. Alice doesn’t need to be a warrior. (At ALL.)

Would also like to mention: Princess Tutu :)

#i am sorry but i am very emphatically not a frozen fan #especially since we read snow queen at jellicoe lodge?? it's such a beautiful story #and the IMAGES #but hollywood is more into self-actualisation/self-discovery/self-acceptance/self-centric stories these days #i guess they just didn't want to tell a story about self-sacrifice and selfless acts of love ? i don't know #anyway i get irrationally worked up about frozen sorry #the second one nearly made steam pour out of my ears #i GET they want to focus on the Self (and all the selfishness and self-importance that comes with our world's idea of self love)#but ELSA as an oldest sister HOW could you make all these decisions #fairy tales #i need to finish princess tutu sometime (sigh)#songbird again #my posts

18 notes · View notes

twdmusicboxmystery · 4 years ago

Text

S6 Template for Where We Are Currently in the Show

Morning Everyone! So, after getting a particular Ask almost two weeks ago about shirt colors (black and white) in 6x08 and 6x09 pointing to future story arcs, I decided to re-watch the episodes and see what I came up with. This post is what came out of that. It’s a bit long, so get comfortable, but I had tons of fun rewatching these. I don’t get to do that much anymore these days.

So, I looked at Carol's white shirt in these episodes, but as I watched, I kept going back to an earlier time that we'd seen Carol wearing a white shirt.

Remember, this was the episode where she went out together acorns and had to kill that really Beth-ish walker and then come back and shower and change her clothes. It's also in this episode that she takes Tobin acorn cookies. And they’re pink. (Pink Theory)

So, the gist of what I'm going to say is that I think the entire season is a template for what's going happen moving forward. And honestly, we’ve seen this often enough that it's probably true of every season in some way or another. But will stick with S6 for now.

So, in thinking about Carol and Tobin 6x02, something occurred to me. I think Tobin is a prequel/foreshadow/forerunner of Ezekiel. It's actually a fairly common way to foreshadow something: have a smaller instance of it to foreshadow the bigger instance. I’ve said that with Glenn's death before. His death fakeout served many purposes, but in terms of his own arc, it was a foreshadow of his upcoming real death. In this case, they just put Carol in a short-term relationship in order to foreshadow her long-term relationship with Ezekiel.

And I bet if we studied Carzekiel as closely as we study Bethyl, we would come up with a lot of dialogue parallels and such. I don't have a whole lot of them, but I can think of one major event that was the same in both cases. ( I just had the thought that Carol showing up at Tobin's doorstep with cookies is a whole lot like Ezekiel showing up at her cabin with the pomegranate.)

So, in Carol and Tobin's arc together, remember that she takes off and leaves him at the end of S6. That's when Morgan goes after her and it leads to her finding Ezekiel in the Kingdom. (Not at all an accident that she leaves Tobin and immediately runs in to her soulmate.)

I'm equating that with her leaving Ezekiel after Henry died. And Henry is the other part of the parallel. Carol left Tobin because she was dealing with Sam's death. The death of a child that she felt guilty about. She left Ezekiel for the same reason, after Henry's death. So, you can see the parallels between the two arcs. And that shows that what happened in S6 can foreshadow what's happening currently in the show between her and Ezekiel.

I promise I'll stop talking about Carol and get to the more important stuff. But one more interesting thing that kinda made my jaw drop: After Creepy Wolf Dude took Denise and Morgan, Carol, Rosita, and Tara are on the brownstone together, Carol is looking out the window and Morgan walks up behind her.

He says, "you had a child? A husband?" And it's interesting because he doesn't say daughter, and Carol doesn't reference Sophia or Ed by name. And if you think about what's happened—Morgan was trying to keep her from killing Creepy Wolf Dude because "life is precious" and all that—there's really no reason for him to randomly ask about her past. But I think this shows that it's a foreshadow of what's to come. The next time around, they'll be talking about Ezekiel and Henry, rather than Ed and Sophia.

Okay, so all that was just to show that the entire season foreshadows what's to come. And when I watched 6x09, Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham on the road with the saviors, my just my mind just kept going back to the previous episode about them, which was 6x06.

And we all know how much Beth symbolism was in that.

We saw Daryl meeting Dwight in the woods in 6x06 and all of the symbolism there. We already know from plenty of analyzing that Sasha and Abraham represent Beth and Daryl. I also think, in some cases, the two of them together represent Beth. But if you look at Daryl's arc in a very broad way for 6x06, we have him getting separated from Sasha and Abe (Beth) and by the end of the episode, he finds them again.

So, in terms of S6 being a template, 6x06 represents Beth and Daryl's entire separation arc. It's on a very small scale, but it kind of makes sense, doesn't it? Why the place they stayed, and Daryl later found them again had a sunrise on it. Why Sasha wrote his name with the huge X in the center. It's to show that this is a type of Beth and Daryl’s separation arc and then their reunion.

Okay, so let's go back to what’s happening in S6. I'm not going to do this chronologically, but let's start with Daryl on the road meeting saviors. I want to point out one thing. The main leader of this group says something I've always zeroed in on but could never quite make fit.

At one point, he says, "ding dong, Hells bells." That's a reference to the Wizard of Oz. Because, "ding dong, the wicked witch is dead." I've always wanted to make that a Beth thing because the Wizard of Oz template was used for the Grady storyline. When I first heard it, back when this episode aired, I felt sure it was because she was with the Saviors and it was a hint toward that. Obviously not.

But now I'm seeing that this is a Beth template, and that's probably why they put this here. Also notice the Saviors here are wearing black. Which could mean that they foreshadow the CRM. So, the most obvious thing I'm seeing here is that per 6x06, Beth and Daryl reunite after being separated for a long time. Then, on the road back to Alexandria, they run into the CRM (people in black). Maybe Daryl blows up the CRM in some way or kills them. And that will bring TF into a war with the helicopter group, much like it did with the Saviors.

(@frangipanilove also pointed out that there’s an AC/DC song called Hells Bells. So there’s a musical reference thrown into the mix. Which is awesome! ;D)

Okay, the next thing Nonny said is that Glenn and Enid probably represent Beth. I think that's true, but I think she's represented in a lot of different ways in this sequence. Specifically, through Sasha/Abe, Glenn/Enid, and Denise.

I won't need to go into a lot of detail about Denise. I didn’t see a whole lot more here than I’ve said in the past. I still think her being taken captive by Creepy Wolf Dude is a foreshadow of a storyline for Beth. There were two lines of dialogue that jumped out and me. When she’s in the brownstone, alone, with Creepy Wolf Dude, she tells him to "show me the wound." That SUPER jumped out at me because in 9x05 when Rick left, we heard Beth’s voice say, “what’s your wound.” Very similar.

The other one was Creepy Wolf Dude explaining how he got his injury. It really wasn't a bite. He said he was breaking into a car and got cut on a rusty bumper. So, the car mention really jumped out at me. I feel like were going to see the fulfillment of this sequence with Creepy Wolf Dude and Denise for Beth sometime after she wakes up. Maybe whoever saved her after Coda gets hurt and she tends to them medically. He also talked about wanting to take over the wall with him to the outside and about how it wasn't as scary out there as she thinks it is. So yeah, it still screams Beth to me.

For Enid and Glenn, they return, and immediately run into Beth's (the blue, green, and yellow) church. And there, they find a gun. We have a combination of the weapon and the biblical symbols. Glenn even tells Enid to look inside the Bibles in case one of them is hollowed out.

But the biggest thing here is that Maggie was in trouble and they came back to save her. And they sort of did, but then Glenn got in trouble and Sashraham showed up to save the day. So, we have two separate instances (Glenn/Enid and Sasha/Abraham) of Beth or Bethyl showing up in the nick of time to save everybody. I think we can all get behind that.

Also, when Maggie gets up on the scaffold, we see the red and green together. Green cord, Maggie’s red shoelaces. We’ve always seen that as a resurrection symbol, and said it probably has to do with Glenn being alive. I still think that’s true, but taken a broader context, it could also be a foreshadow of Beth's return and that this is a template for it.

Okay, so let's look at this from a little bit broader view. We have five main groups that these two episodes focus on alternately. Maggie, Daryl/Sasha/Abraham, Tara/Rosita/Eugene, Carol/Morgan (by 6x09, the two of them merge with Eugene’s group) and then Rick and Michonne's group who are in Jesse's house.

(For the record, there are two other groups we see very briefly but they aren’t focused on in this episode. One is Olivia and Eric (Aaron's boyfriend) in the armory. We don't see what they're doing except that when the rest of the group runs out into the street to fight the walkers, they join in. And finally, the group that's in the infirmary before Denise gets there. This includes Aaron and Heath. Especially where Heath is concerned, I think that's super important. I’ll come back to it in a minute.)

I’ll start by talking about Morgan, Carol, Tara, Rosita, and Eugene. There’s definitely some interesting dialogue, especially from Eugene. I also think it's super important that they all seem to be wearing light-colored shirts, and that Eugene and Carol are in the same place.

Because where we are currently in the series is that Eugene and Ezekiel are the same place. Now, Ezekiel wasn’t in the show at this point, so it was impossible to have him here, but I'm wondering if at some point in the spinoff, Carol and Daryl will split up and go their separate ways and Carol will go to find Ezekiel.

(We already know there will be a falling out between Daryl and Carol in the upcoming bonus episodes and that they will go their separate ways for a time. Obviously they’ll come back together for the spinnof. But I think this separation foreshadows that in the spinoff, they’ll leave together, but at some point they’ll split up and go to separate places. We saw this with Huck and Felix in TWB, which is a template for the spinoff. And my theory is that Carol will go to find Ezekiel when that happens.)

That's really the biggest thing I think this points to. I also wonder how and if Morgan will be involved. Since he still alive, he could be. But he's also not on the show right now, so it's hard to tell. I suppose it just depends on where FTWD is at that point, and if they bring him back or cross him over into the spinoff. I think that's a real possibility.

I also want to point out the beginning of 6x08, right after the church falls, Carol trips and falls down. It turns out, she slipped on some bullets. Morgan helps her up and they run into the brownstone. It then goes on to say that she's hurt in the head and may even have a concussion.

Now, my first thought was that was super unrealistic, since all she did was trip and fall and we don’t even really see her hit her head. But she's also tricking Morgan and pretending to be more hurt than she actually is, so it may just be a ruse anyway.

But the point is, between the bullets, and the mention of concussion, that's a huge Beth parallel. So, not sure if this points to Carol being part of a death fakeout, or somehow it's pointing back to Beth. If anything, I think it might point toward the Carzekiel death fakeout because it's after this that Morgan mentions you had—past tense—a son and a husband. So, if I'm right about that, we have a representation of the fake out, and then eventually Carol goes to where Eugene is. See what I mean?

Oh, one more cool thing about Eugene’s group? Remember at first it was him and Tara and Rosita in the garage. Eugene had to pick the lock to get into the house. As soon as he does, they run into Denise and Creepy Wolf Dude kidnapping her. Um…Denise = Beth, so this may well be a representation of Eugene and his two friends (in S10 it’s Yumiko and Ezekiel) running into Beth. Also notice the lock/key reference that led to her. Just saying.

Okay, let's talk about Rick and Michonne’s group. In a lot of ways, this might be the biggest deal, but it's also the most fluid. I had a hard time seeing much of anything as a foreshadow from this group. At least, during the first part in Jesse's house. I mean, Rick is with Jesse, and there's drama between Ron and Carl. I've said before that a lot of their dialogue foreshadow Ron’s death for sure. But I just wasn't seeing anything very new. But I will say now that I think that this does foreshadow Carl's death as well. I get to that in a minute.

But I really started seeing some important stuff with Rick and Michonne’s group in 6x09 when they all moved out into the crowd of walkers covered in guts.

When they decide to go to the quarry instead of the armory (because they can’t get to the armory) Jesse says Judith won't make it. And Father Gabriel says he'll take Judith and protect her. I'm sure you can figure out why think that's important.

1) The Sirius character who represents Beth takes Judith with him to protect her.

2) We have a representation of Rick and Michonne and being separated from Judith. Even if FG just represents himself in this sequence, where we are in the series now, we have Judith and FG in the same place. So again, this feels like a representation of where we are now. Rick and Michonne have left Judith in, sort of, Gabriel’s care. (I know she’s really more in Daryl’s care, but Michonne did tell her to be good for Aunt Rosita, and if Daryl doesn’t leave with Carol to get Judith in the spin-off—if it’s about Rick instead or something—I’m assuming he’ll leave the kids with Maggie and Gabriel.)

Interestingly, Rick and Michonne are still together, which they aren’t where we are now in the series, but we don't know how long it's gonna take Michonne to find Rick. She might find him quickly and the two of them will be together for significant period of time together inside the CRM. The point is, they’re in a different place than Judith.

So, the group moves on, and of course both Sam and Jesse are killed. And when Ron tries to shoot Rick, Michonne kills him and Carl is shot.

This is the next significant piece. Of course we all know that Carl was shot in the eye in the comic books, so it’s something that they were always going to do in the show. But I really think this probably foreshadows Carl's death as well. Much like Glenn, his almost death here could be used as a foreshadowing for his real death down the line.

Of course, Rick picks him up and he and Michonne make their way to the infirmary. And here's what really jumped out at me about the infirmary: Heath is there.

Angela Kang has confirmed that Heath is inside the CRM. We know Rick is inside it somewhere, and that Michonne is heading to him. So, we have this interesting sequence where Michonne and Rick arrive in a new place and Heath is already there. See what I mean? So, I think we could possibly interpret this as Carl getting shot foreshadowing Carl's death, and then sometime after that, Rick and Michonne and end up at the CRM with Heath.

But I can even give you third possibility here. With Carl being hurt, Rick goes into one of his losing-it trances and leaves the infirmary with his ax to fight the walkers. We hear Michonne screaming after him to wait. She waits until Denise has a good handle on Carl's condition and then she hurries after Rick to fight the walkers. I always loved this scene.

This is the only real representation I saw of Rick and Michonne being separated for a short period of time. Because he heads out without her.

So, think of it this way. He heads out into a hoard of walkers alone. And she screaming his name. Sounds a lot like what happened when he disappeared in 9x05. Meanwhile, Michonne stays behind, taking care of Rick's kids. In this case, it's Carl, but in S9, it’s Judith and RJ. Then, when she sure Carl is safe, or as safe as she can make him, she kisses him goodbye and goes after Rick. So, kind of like she left Judith and RJ behind to go look for Rick. Interestingly, who did she leave Carl with in S6? Denise. Who is a proxy of Beth.

So, I get that all of these overlap and they're very nonlinear. But I’m sure you can see what I mean about why I think all of S6 is a foreshadow of what's to come. And where we are right now in the series is at the crossroads of a lot of these possible foreshadows. Especially of Eugene finding Denise/Beth.

And if we’re super literal with the interpretation, we might even say that Eugene finds Beth (Denise) in the Commonwealth, but then she leaves with someone else (whoever the equivalent of Creepy Wolf Dude will be for Beth) and then Denise goes to the infirmary, which is probably the CRM because Heath is there. And she's there when Rick and Michonne arrive.

I'm not at all set in stone about what I think will happen. I'm just saying its possibility. Beth, CRM, and Rick are things we’ve been looking at closely since Rick left in S9, so this is super-interesting.

Kind of a footnote, but when Denise is still with Creepy Wolf Dude, Carol shoots him. I'm not really sure how to interpret that. Maybe that was just for this episode and not part of the template. Because Carol was still with Eugene's group, but she went outside, saw Denise and Creepy Wolf Dude, and shot him so Denise could get away. So, no idea how to interpret that for future storyline, but it's kind of interesting. Carol being at all involved could possibly be traced back to the fact that she and Beth were at Grady together. Also makes me wonder if maybe at some point in TWB, Huck will shoot someone to save Will, Felix's boyfriend. Just because of the parallels.

And finally, I feel like Rick and Michonne going outside and leading the charge against all the walkers is something that has been foreshadowed many times. Remember that when I talked about 7x08, I said that Rick and Michonne coming to hilltop represented them returning after the CRM to Alexandria to lead the war? I saw this same thing foreshadowed in 8x09 when they return to Alexandria and find out Carl’s been bitten.

In this case, they fight walkers rather than people (the CRM) so I don't know if that translates to the same thing, but the two of them being out there make other people want to join the fight. People come out of their respective hiding places and all of them fight the walkers together. And obviously, in the war against the CRM, everyone's going to have to work together.

I even wondered if these different little groups could represent different factions (Alexandria, Hilltop, the Kingdom, but also the people from Fear, the people from TWB, and anyone Beth might bring with her.) But I couldn't pin down who would be who. For example, if Carol, Eugene etc. represent the Commonwealth, that could be one group who comes out to help. Father Gabriel and the people who were in the church coming out to help could represent the people at Alexandria etc. You get the idea.

And of course while all this is going on, we had the super interesting symbolism of Daryl, driving the Paddy truck (Beth symbol), picking up several people which include Glenn, Enid, Sasha, Abraham (all Beth proxies) using gasoline (Beth symbol) and fire (Beth symbol) to set a body of water (Beth symbol) on fire (Bethyl symbol).

And it really goes along well with everything we've always said. I definitely think that the entire group is going to be fighting a big war and Beth isn’t by far going to be the only component. But something about her or maybe her and Daryl together come back with a key or a weapon that will help them win the war. If Daryl hadn't started that lake on fire, the walkers might have overwhelmed them all. It simply gave them the edge they needed to keep fighting and actually win.

And of course, in the sequence we see Daryl join the fight with two knives, including Beth's.

Okay, I'll stop there. Just a lot of food for thought, no?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

10 notes · View notes

tisthenightofthewitch · 6 years ago

Text

How Ghost became the face of the new generation of heavy metal

Pressure. Controversy. An army of haters. It seems like nothing can throw Ghost off-course. How Ghost's mastermind Tobias Forge took on the world… and won

Paris, tell me… did that make your asses wobble?” It sure as hell isn’t “Scream for me, Hammersmith!” but somehow, inexplicably, this flirty, moustached, makeup-splattered dandy wiggling about in a tux and leather gloves has 9,000 people in the palm of his hand like he’s Bruce Dickinson in ’86. Hammer is at hallmark gig venue Le Zenith in France’s capital city, witnessing Ghost deliver their latest sermon.

The City Of Love might be frozen solid on this chilly February evening, but the unstoppable Swedes are heating things up in style – fire, steam cannons, confetti, a dazzling light show and enough costume changes to make Lady Gaga dizzy are just some of the ingredients reaffirming their status as one of metal’s premier attractions in 2019.

It all makes a two-hour set fly by in no time, guided masterfully by that aforementioned, ’tache-donning Daddy. Cardinal Copia, Ghost’s Master Of Ceremonies, raised a few confused eyebrows when he was unveiled this time last year, breaking an eight-year streak of Papa Emerituses who’d fronted Ghost since its inception. But he’s since become the beating heart of a band that have continued to evolve, grow and adapt beyond all expectations.

He’s also a world away from the blue-eyed, slick-black-haired, quiet and thoughtful man we spent time with two hours earlier, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, decidedly sans-moustache and doing much less wiggling.

When Hammer last spoke to Tobias Forge, he’d recently (some may say forcefully) been outed as Ghost’s resident mastermind – its very own Wizard Of Oz, working behind the scenes and behind the mask to help orchestrate one of the most unlikely success stories of recent times.

We are creating a dynasty.

Soon after our last conversation, Ghost dropped their latest album, Prequelle – an instant classic stacked with playful menace and 80s-tinged pop-rock bangers – and have pretty much been on the road ever since.

“Hey, if you wanna rock, you gotta rock,” shrugs Tobias of his relentless schedule. “It takes a lot of effort, a lot of cogwheels spinning and turning, to make all this work.” He’s not kidding.

A weary roadie will later inform us that it takes almost four hours to pack up Ghost’s monstrous set each night – a towering, multi-platformed, chapel-esque set-up that recalls the kind of backdrops Maiden have made home for decades. “But, once you’ve got that whole machine rolling, you don’t wanna stop,” Tobias adds. “At some point, we will have to wind down a bit, but we’re not there yet.

If you wanna be comparative, look at all the big bands; even though they made it in a different time, statistically it takes five records, about 10 years, to go from nothing to something to something great.”

And that, right there, sums up Tobias Forge. The reason Ghost have been such a triumph isn’t because of great songs, a good live show and a savvy gimmick – metal history is littered with bands that never made it despite boasting all those things.

The difference is that Tobias is the man with the plan. He may not be the tortured artiste or swaggering hellraiser that rock’n’roll loves to stick on a pedestal, but he’s a leader: a brand ambassador with a calculating mind and a shrewd business acumen who knows exactly what needs to be done to immortalise Ghost’s legacy.

He’s playing the game, and he’s winning. And if you look hard enough, the seeds for it all were being sown right at the very start.

“You can find all the details in my record collection,” he says with a knowing smirk – and he’s not wrong. Before Cardinal Copia, there were Papa Emeritus I, II and III – a line of frontmen that not only enabled Ghost to set up a deep-running narrative, but change up the formula and the image for every album cycle. Sound familiar? It should – it’s what rock’n’roll superstars have been doing for decades.

"I’ve always been a big fan of Kiss,” he continues. “Most Kiss fans can tell the era [of the band] by the photo, what they’re wearing. You can say, ‘That is ’75, that is ’76, it’s in the spring, it’s in the fall, it’s Rock And Roll Over, it’s Destroyer.’ So I figured that in order for this band to age, we need to create dynasties.

"And that way, there’ll also be nostalgia. Because I come from a heavy metal background, I know how important nostalgia is, and the attention span nowadays is so short, so you need to create it quickly. You need people to be able to say, ‘I was there when this part happened.’ That’s why it was always Papa Emeritus I, right from the start.”

It’s a meticulous level of forward-thinking that has come up trumps, but amazingly, you’d have been hard-pushed to find anyone who’d have backed Tobias to carve such a path 10 years ago.

Before 2010, it was with respected Swedish death metallers Repugnant that the Linköping native had had his most ‘success’, his love of rock’s theatrical side flirted with via a splash of corpsepaint and a drop of fake blood here and there.

A spate of EPs and splits and one well-received album, 2006’s Epitome Of Darkness, ensured a small part in heavy metal folklore was guaranteed, but it was what happened next that changed everything.

Channelling his love of catchy NWOBHM mainstays like Angel Witch and Demon, Tobias wrote what would become Stand By Him – an irrepressible schlock-rock anthem a world away from the guttural noise of Epitome…

He called up former Repugnant bandmate Gustaf Lindström to help record it, and more songs quickly followed in the same, earwormy vein – “I’ve always liked the NWOBHM bands that had melody and pop sensibility,” he says today.

But there was still something missing. The songs Tobias was now writing were following a formula that had been laid down since the 70s. It needed something different. Something fun. Something… metal.

Deciding that this new project should carry an image that’d bring it a world away from its influences – a band that, in Tobias’s words, should “sound like Angel Witch but look like Death SS,” he began doodling some ideas. One scribble stuck – the image of a Pope-like character, plastered in ghoulish corpsepaint. Papa Emeritus was born.

I was 29 years old. I wasn't going to get another chance at this.

“And as soon as it was confirmed that he’s gonna be a Pope… well, when a Pope dies, you have a new one!” adds Tobias with a laugh. Soon after Papa I came the idea for the Nameless Ghouls – masked, anonymous backing musicians that’d add to the band’s hokey mystique.

By 2009, the project had an image, some songs and a name: Ghost. But it’d be a little while before things started to move forwards, and Tobias’s grand plan would take shape.

Between 2008 and 2009, there were maybe 20 people who knew about Ghost,” says Tobias, who ended up fronting the band through default after unsuccessfully offering the gig to a variety of names from around the metal scene.

“The guys in In Solitude, the guys in Tribulation, the guys in Watain… they were the only people who knew about it! But I knew at that point that it was gonna have the ability to turn heads, because it made everyone [excited].

"Repugnant were popular, but nothing I had ever done had had such an immediate impact on people. They were all like, ‘Ghost! I wanna hear more!’ I knew that there was gonna be some sort of buzz.”

A “buzz” is an understatement. When Ghost’s first songs were finally made public – on MySpace, no less – things began to move very, very quickly. Metal messageboards were set ablaze with excitement and offers came flooding in.

“I was quickly in touch with Will from Rise Above,” notes Tobias now, and he would eventually accept a deal with Lee Dorrian’s much-respected label. An album, Opus Eponymous, was recorded, and the metal underground waited with baited breath for its new favourite band to deliver on the hype. And yet, even at this stage, Tobias wasn’t totally certain just how far things would go.

“Originally, I thought that Ghost was gonna become more like a theatre/installation sort of band, like Sunn O))),” he reveals. “We would play Roadburn, arthouse concerts, five dates at the London Scala, that sort of thing.”

So a kind of ‘event’ band. You’d show up to play special shows and residencies.

“Exactly,” he confirms. “I never thought we would be the band that would play metal festivals, play in daylight, play with other bands.”

But then more offers started steaming in. Suddenly Ghost – with not so much as a gig to their name – were being asked to go on tours, play festivals and do interviews. For Tobias, there was a straight decision to be made: keep this project as a ‘cult attraction’, stay within the underground and become everyone’s favourite ‘Oh, you wouldn’t have heard of them’ reference point, or take a leap into the unknown and reach for greatness.

For a man that had spent years keeping a lid on his grand ambitions, now was the time to sink or swim. And, really, there was only ever going to be one option.

“I wasn’t gonna get another chance,” he states flatly. “I was already 29 years old at the time, so it was like, ‘This is the train and it’s leaving now.’ You can choose to stay, and sit there and fucking wonder all your life, or you can get on.”

Tobias got on the train, and it hasn’t stopped rolling. Opus Eponymous was released on October 18, 2010, and within three years intimate club shows became packed-out academy shows in front of 5,000 people, and soon after that the band could be seen supporting everyone from Metallica to Foo Fighters to Iron Maiden.

They won a Grammy for Cirice (and have been nominated for two more); they’ve been championed by everyone from James Hetfield to Phil Anselmo; their merch has become obscenely big business, t-shirts selling out in no time at gigs (including the show Hammer attends tonight) and the Ghost IP being plastered across everything from baubles to butt plugs to custom plague masks.

Tobias has manoeuvred that quick sketch of a spooky lad in a Pope hat into a machine Gene Simmons would be proud of, all underpinned by a storyline that has fans salivating as they wait for the next chapter to be revealed.

And if there was any doubt that this is still very much Tobias’s baby, you need only look at the casualty list littered with names that have crossed him. There are the disgruntled ex-bandmates who attempted to bring a lawsuit against Tobias in 2017 after claiming they were denied their rightful share of the Ghost pot.

The lawsuit was thrown out in October last year, his former colleagues ordered to pay Tobias’s legal costs (around $145,000, if you’re counting). There was also the Sister Imperator incident, where the elderly Ghost matriarch and star of their ongoing vignette series had to be swiftly recast after a mysterious falling out.

“All of a sudden, you’ve an actress who decides to start making fucking trouble and makes herself unemployable,” Tobias says. “Well, then you have to do what they do in any soap opera… a car accident.” That’s not allegorical, by the way.

Tobias literally had a new vignette made revealing that the Sister was in a car wreck and needed reconstructive surgery. The new actress was brought in so smoothly that many Ghost fans assumed it was the same person with a different haircut. How’s that for efficient?

“That’s how you solve things,” the frontman shrugs. “But that was not planned at first, because we’d been working with the same actress for three years, and then all of a sudden, things fell apart. But, you have to roll with the punch, you have to bite your finger, and come up with another plan… car accident. Boom.”

That Tobias won’t be moved on what actually happened between he and the original actress is understandable – after all, this is a man that spent years holding his cards close to his chest.

That this all managed to play out under the noses of one of modern metal’s most fanatical fanbases, however, is pretty damn impressive. Basically: don’t cross the boss.

While Tobias’s masterplan may seem iron-clad, he will at least admit that there is room for fine-tweaking along the way. He recently revealed that Cardinal Copia’s character could stick around for another five years and multiple albums – a first for Ghost, who have thus far changed up their protagonist for every record.

“That’s just because of the potential of him being a ‘Pope’ or a Papa Emeritus IV,” he explains, before adding: “If he becomes a Papa Emeritus.”

So there could be multiple endings planned for Cardi C?

“Absolutely. All of this is an organic movement, and that is one of the biggest paradoxes for me, as a control freak. To be part of this living world, I can’t control everything. I can control a lot, and I can influence a lot, but I can’t control it [all]. And coming to terms with those things and accepting that is a big struggle for me.”

He’ll also admit that being the mastermind behind a machine as big and ever-evolving as Ghost has had a serious impact on his personal life. Being a part of a successful band is one thing, but having that success rest almost entirely on your shoulders is something altogether different.

“It’s very hard to do this without any casualties,” he muses. “It takes a toll on your surroundings, your crew, your parents, your children… I have two kids, 10 years old. They were toddlers when this whole thing started. My family’s had to endure a lot for this to happen.”

He’s also had to face up to the reality that being in a big rock band means you’re going to attract the attention of

a fair few haters – and Ghost have an army of them. Check out Hammer’s Facebook page to see the dizzying levels of vitriol that a post about Ghost will attract. Recurring issues seem to be accusations of selling out, anger at Tobias’s treatment of his former bandmates and, most commonly, whether Ghost belong in our world at all (and to be fair, you’d be hard-pushed to describe Prequelle as a true heavy metal record by any standards).

“I’ve noticed it,” says Tobias. “I noticed it in the beginning. I think that it’s the same old discussion. ‘Is Ghost a metal band?’ ‘Are we a clone of Mercyful Fate?’ It’s the same old thing. But now these people are saying the new record is not as good because it’s not as much of a clone of Mercyful Fate! OK…”

Why do you think Ghost wind people up so much?

“Because we are ever-present, all the time. We are being shoved into people’s faces, and we’re rubbing it in. They wouldn’t talk about us had we not been successful. Does it worry me? Not really. If they’re talking shit about me, that’s one thing, especially if it’s someone that I know. That can hurt me deeply. When you’re at the beginning of your career, especially nowadays, you spend a lot of time surveying what’s going on, because you need to feed off anything that’s happening to the band. So I noticed there was a lot of ‘controversy’, a lot of mixed opinions. It’s surprising they don’t understand that the more they talk about us, the more traffic there is about our band. More than we would have had had they not spoken!”

Once again, it’s there: the unnerving feeling that Tobias is metal’s modern-day puppet master, pulling the strings above a performance that we all continue to play our parts in. Whether it’s the media, his fans, his critics or the few who have attempted to foil him, everything only ever seems to play into his hands, and the Ghost train rolls on.

“A few months ago, based on metadata alone, a website made a list

of the biggest bands in metal,” Tobias reveals as a PR informs us our time together is up. “We were number four! Right up there. And that’s thanks to these people that keep on fucking hating. So I have nothing but great feelings for them.”

He makes to leave before adding: “That’s how all these bands made their careers. You think Lars would shy away every time people would talk shit about Metallica? Fuck. That.”

Hated, adored but never ignored. This summer, Ghost will play in front of stadium crowds with Metallica once again – something Tobias calls a “PR exercise” – before more global dates and, eventually, a new album that’ll reveal the next chapter of his grand plan. You can imagine that people will have plenty to say about it. And you can imagine that Tobias Forge is going to relish every second.

ALL RIGHTS OWNED BY METAL HAMMER

#The Band Ghost #Ghost Band #Cardinal Copia #Nameless Ghouls #Tobias Forge

148 notes · View notes

booksandwords · 4 years ago

Text

Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

Read time: 102 Days (Intermittent) Rating: 4/5

Contains Stories By: C.M. Stunich, Elizabeth Briggs, Margo Bond Collins, Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape, L.C. Hibbett & N.M. Howell, Lena Mae Hill, Eva Chase, Julia Clarke, Bea Paige & Skye MacKinnon, Amy Sumida, Chloe Adler, AJ Anders & Amanda Perry, Angelique Armae, Joely Sue Burkhart, Caia Daniels, May Dawson, LA Kirk & Lyn Forester, Jackie May, Cecilia Randell, Erin Bedford, Catherine Banks and A.E. Kirk

Overall It took me a while reading this to figure out what was frustrating about it, primarily the stories are first stories or prequels. I would have preferred more stand-alone stories. It is not impossible to create a world in this shorter space but it seems that authors have used it to provide fanservice and some background they wanted but had not written previously. I really hope most of these get published as individually, especially the 1st stories. This is a reasonable collection if you like reverse harem and want something to break up your other reading, none of the stories are taxing. And there is something for all tastes.

See No Devils by C.M. Stunich Disclosure: See No Devils is why I bought Realms and Rebels. I have written a full review which I will post when and if C.M Stunich publishes the story individually. I'm glad I bought it See No Devils is a fast-paced fun ride with brilliant characters that engaged me and made me theorise the significance of characters, of situations. Any story that can do that in 10 chapters is impressive. I loved the characters and the writing, both are amusing and intelligent. This is definitely a series I will be keeping an eye out for. 4.5 stars.

Light the Fire by Elizabeth Briggs Light the Fire is a prequel in the Her Elemental Dragons series (1st book Stroke the Flame). It's not a series I have read but this does make me want to read it, as any entry in an anthology should. The lore is brilliant, there are reverse harems woven into the world, the mythology and I like the fate angle that was used. What really struck me reading Light the Fire is the feeling of fan service, Calla and her men appear in Her Elemental Dragons as supporting characters this feels like something that fans wanted, had asked Ms Briggs for. (Full review is available here.) 4 stars.

Her Big Bad Wolves by Margo Bond Collins Another story with editing issues. Days and names were wrong sometimes. Liam was originally Seth I think and there is one instance where that wasn't changed. And there are continuity issues in the timeline. It is a helluva into a world with decent lore. I would love to spend some time getting to know, James, the pack historian. He is the brains trust and after the alpha the best person to introduce a reader to the world. Has the feel of a prequel if or when the series continues I don't think this will be a necessary read just a pleasant addition. But it did it the nail on the head to a degree S's options are a complete, balanced man. This is common in a reverse harem. (Full review is available here.) 3 stars (.5 loss due to bad editing)

Fifth Soul by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape Fifth Soul feels like a lost opportunity. The harem is 3 men and 1 woman centring on a bisexual protagonist. It is a situation I had thought of but never seen in a stand-alone. Given the authors have a series for this universe (Dragon Soul, Torn Soul protagonist Holly makes an appearance) it could have been published left on its own and done very well because that is a situation that is a fantasy for some. It is lost in here this anthology. It's also odd, the lore isn't explained well, the writing isn't consistent and there is too much focus on a single relationship. It's rushed and disappointing because of that. I can't even make this 2 stars. 1.75 stars

A Nightmarish Mystery by L.C. Hibbett & N.M. Howell I have never read any of the Cats, Ghosts and Avocado Toast series, that put me at a distinct disadvantage reading A Nightmarish Mystery. This story fits between A Vet Vanishes (book #2) and A Devilish Disappearance (book #3) and is admitted fan service, though not the kind of fluff one expects from fan service, this is heavy and dark. It can be read as a stand-alone though that is not its intention. I give props to the authors for creating a situation that allowed for fans to get what they wanted but didn't mess with the continuity of the series. I know from the authors note that A Nightmarish Mystery is different to the series but reading this first does not endear me to the series, does not make me curious to read it. Might that defeat at least part of the purpose of the story? 2 stars.

Twisted: A Fairy Tale Mash-up by Lena Mae Hill Another 1st book in a new series unlike the others though this one is explicitly aimed at the YA market. From the time I read it's intended audience I questioned its place in this anthology, Realms and Rebels seems to be aiming at a more mature audience. But Twisted had more sexual intimacy than a few of the others and some seriously dicey consent. Twisted has a well-executed setup Little Red Riding Hood meets Three Little Pigs. Having the leading man be not particularly likeable was a good thing in the scheme of things but Cayenne frustrated me a combination of her Red Riding Hood nature and her attempted modernity, it rubbed me the wrong way. My biggest issue was the questionable consent she sort of assented to their actions but not strongly enough for my conscience. (My full review of Twisted) 3 stars.

Raven’s Fall by Eva Chase Raven's Fall plays with Odin's raven Muninn, the raven of memory and the idea of shapeshifting. When Muninn transforms she appears as standard with a gorgeous black dress. What I really like is the use of the phrase "what in Hel's name" this is possibly the origins of the curse used now, Hel guardian of Helheim the Norse equivalent of the underworld. The language in Raven's Fall is fantastic, it is beautifully descriptive. The raven, the rogue, the healer and the charmer. They are an intoxicating combination. Muninn's innocence/ naivety is endearing because it is understood, she isn't human she is an immortal who has never experienced humanity's joys. Her men share easily, but their stories broke my heart. Mythology is always a whole lot of fun, make it Norse and it becomes even more bloody and vindictive. Reading Raven's Fall certainly made me interested in reading more of the Their Dark Valkyrie series.

Charms of Attraction by Julia Clarke Fantastic characters. Charms of Attraction focuses on the relationships the protagonist has with not only the men in her life but her sister. The portrayal of the sibling relationship between protagonist Katerina and sister Ana is particularly good. I really liked one date in particular. There is potential in the series, as with so many in the anthology though polyandry in the norm in the society. I will say though this story does really need a warning for those sensitive to domestic or psychological violence situations, violence plays a major role in Katerina's past and is discussed in some detail. 3.5 stars

Hell’s Calling by Bea Paige & Skye MacKinnon The first book in the Infernal Descent series re-imagining Dante's Inferno. I enjoyed the characters and the plot definitely looking forward to reading more. This story establishes the word, the characters, some of the internal relationships but stops short of anything drastic physically. Hell's Calling does for me what an entry in an anthology needs to do It makes me want to read more in the series. I want to know what happens to Ciera, Maro, (Cer)Beres, Plutus & Tris. 4.5 stars

Twisted by Amy Sumida What a brilliant take on the Wizard of Oz. It just works for me, nothing feels out of place. The origins are obvious and the twists are so clean and logical. My full review of twisted

Inconceivable Origin by Chloe Adler I read two chapters and stopped. I found the protagonist insufferable, she rubbed me completely the wrong way. Also, I have major issues with rape, I'm sure that there the author finds a way to write her way out of it (we are talking about magic here) but I can't do it.

On The Edge Of Forever by AJ Anders & Amanda Perry WTH just happened? So much promise, so much build. It was so rushed at the end I got head spin. Actually, the story felt incomplete, there is nothing confirming the status of the story as a first or a prequel, it just ends. I was so happy reading the start of this. It has an interesting lore that the authors did their best to explain as briefly as possible. The men having a pre-existing relationship helped for succinct writing as they could talk among themselves rather than just to her. The protagonist is badass and her familial relationships are brilliant. but their end is disconcerting. It's still a 3.5/4 star story.

Eclipse by Angelique Armae Bastet is a fave deity. I had to attempt to put aside some of my own issues to read this, I try to stay away from titles with any BDSM elements, even light ones. Spanking is part of the makeup of Eclipse. So this is an alright read if you don't mind your mythology being butchered. I liked the characters, to a degree I liked the lore but I cringed at the use of Egyptian mythology it just wasn't working for me. The truly appealing aspect of this story was the relationships, the reader meets the immortal daughter of Egyptian Goddess Bastet, Marcus the Lion, Lucius the Tiger and Horatio the Panther in present-day Manhattan but their relationship has existed since 30 B.C. It is an established, happy relationship. There are intimate moments with two of the three men but not the 3rd that was disappointing. 2.5

Queen Takes Jaguars by Joely Sue Burkhart Absolutely gorgeous. So much sex-positivity. I really loved the confidence and the owning of womanhood. I definitely made want to read more of the series (despite it having a different perspective). There is a whole scene in a hotel which is both hot as hell and emotionally devastating. I really liked the characters and the lore. (Full review is available here.) 4 stars.

Sovereign of Soul by Caia Daniels 3 chapters in I gave up. it didn't grab me and had done an awful job of explaining the lore and wtf was going on. Essentially it felt like a combination prequel and fanservice piece, despite only being a prequel. The series does have an interesting basis for the harem creation though.

Ugly Magic by May Dawson This is one of the stories I skipped for no real valid reason. I stopped 4 chapters in one day and didn't pick it up for about 5 weeks. By which point I was completely lost and it just made more sense to skip it.

At Water’s Edge by LA Kirk & Lyn Forester To me At Water's Edge is more a journey of self-discovery than a typical reverse harem, it feels like it's more about her than her relationship with them. The ending is just gorgeous. The story is quite self-contained. There is a lack of explanation that didn't detract from the enjoyability, I get the feeling there is some serious lore in play. I really like the portrayal of the neriads is perfect, they are quite bratty, teenage girl. 4 stars

My Soul To Keep by Jackie May A nicely written, pleasant story with lovable characters in an interesting setting. The protagonist is window-able, she is quite easy for you to see yourself in. Fairy-tale but in the best possible way. A shared trait to Her Big Bad Wolves by Margo Bond Collins with day by day dating to try and choose a man. 4 stars

Blinded Beauty by Cecilia Randell Odd, not bad just odd, it wasn't gripping for me. Blinded Beauty makes decent use of fantasy themes. it doesn't get bogged down in the lore it just gives you tid bits. Polyandry relationship is a non-issue is just happens, which works well. I quite like the characters though. 3 stars

Indebted to the Vampires by Erin Bedford I skipped this one. I just couldn't. it's short the synopsis just didn't appeal. I can see a way to make it not dangerous but it would be difficult.

Moon Academy by Catherine Banks Again the skipped because the premise really didn't appeal. It is possible it might have worked but by the time I got to Moon Academy I was done. I might come back to the 4 (?) I missed but I don't know.

Demon In Distress by A. E Kirk Demon in Distress is a definite book one, or possibly the working base for a book one. It just comes to a dead stop. After reading it I felt like it shouldn't be in here, I really hope they publish it stand alone. It is a dissatisfying end to the collection. It isn't awful but it does just stop with a clear indication of the future direction. I didn't enjoy it, I did enjoy See No Evil which faces the same issues. 2 stars.

#anthology #realms and rebels #reverse harem #book review #read 2018 #ktreviews

6 notes · View notes

justgotham · 6 years ago

Link

Time is running out for Jim Gordon and Gotham, and nobody is more acutely aware of that fact than Ben McKenzie, the actor who has portrayed the flinty Gordon for five seasons on the Fox series that shares its name with Batman’s hometown. “It’s a lot to take in,” McKenzie said about the Gotham series finale that airs tonight. “It really is one of those bittersweet moments. But the show was never an open-ended proposition.”

Tonight’s finale is titled “The Beginning…” but the name isn’t quite as ironic as it sounds. That’s because the drama was built to be a sort of “prequel procedural” that leads up to the familiar Batman mythology that DC Comics has been publishing since 1939. The narrative window would begin in Bruce Wayne’s youth with the murder of his parents, and effectively end with his first forays as a costumed crimefighter: Gotham would end when Batman begins. That graduation moment arrives tonight with the show’s 100th episode, the first to feature an appearance by the Caped Crusader in action.

Gotham fans are more than ready to see the Dark Knight in all his cowled glory, but the show’s creative team hasn’t shared that eagerness. Just the opposite. Executive producer Bruno Heller, the British producer best known for The Mentalist and Rome, has said he would never have developed the show if it was a traditional costumed-hero franchise. “I don’t think Batman works very well on TV,” Heller said back in 2014. “To have people behind masks? Frankly, all those superhero stories I’ve seen, I always love them — until they get into the costume.”

That has made Gotham an eccentric entry in the superhero sector, but not an entirely unprecedented one. Smallville (217 episodes, 2001-2010) still reigns as the longest-running television series ever based on DC Comics heroes, and creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar shared a similar aversion to costumed exploits. Their early mission statement was “no flights, no tights,” and the series held out until its final episode to put Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in Superman’s iconic suit.

For Heller and his team, the key to making a compelling Gothamwithout a Batman was to spotlight the hero’s trusted friend, James Gordon, the dedicated lawman destined to become the police commissioner of a city defined by its lawlessness and celebrity criminals. Gordon was introduced in the first panel of the first page of the first Batman comic book ever published, Detective Comics No. 27, the landmark issue that reached its 80th anniversary last month. Gotham added a key element to its version of Gordon — when Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered, Gordon is the detective who handles the investigation.

Gordon is the good cop who holds on to his morals in a bad city that loses its marbles. The show found the man for the job in McKenzie, who had memorably portrayed LAPD officer Ben Sherman on the highly regarded (but lowly rated) Southland, which aired 2009 to 2013 on NBC and TNT. Before that, the Texan portrayed Ryan Atwood, a scruffy outsider adopted by a wealthy Newport Beach couple and the central character on The OC, the frothy Fox teen drama that aired for 92 episodes from 2003 to 2007.

“I had some things in common with the character,” McKenzie says with a shrug. It’s true, the 23-year-old actor trekked west from dusty Austin (instead of rural Chino) to Southern California, and bought himself a eye-catching Cadlliac DeVille that already had logged 17 hard years and 228,000 long miles. “That’s lot of miles.”

McKenzie has covered a lot of distance in his personal life while channeling the role of Gordon. In 2017, for instance, McKenzie married his Gotham co-star, Morena Baccarin, who has portrayed Dr. Leslie Thompkins on the series (and is well-known for her role in the Deadpool films as the mutant anti-hero’s love interest). The couple now have their first child.

For McKenzie, the end of Gotham closes a pivotal chapter in his screen life. But he’s also hoping that the final seasons will also someday represent a prelude to a different career story — one writing and directing. The actor directed the sixth episode of Season 5, and also directed one in each of the previous two seasons. McKenzie has also written the screenplay for two Gotham episodes: “One of My Three Soups” in Season 4 and “The Trial of Jim Gordon” in this final season.

McKenzie, the writer, didn’t exactly go easy on his fictional screen persona. The cop took a slug in the chest and hovered near death for much of the episode, stuck somewhere between “the here” and “the hereafter” in an existential courtroom where he had to defend his life.

‘I actually feel no sympathy for him at all,” McKenzie said with a chuckle. “The less sympathy you feel, the better, I’d say. The more pain you inflict upon the protagonist, hopefully, the higher the stakes are and the more emotion gets elicited. So I had to be a bit of masochist. Putting him through the ringer and having this existential crisis, this dream, where he’s on trial for his crimes and faces the loss of everything: the love of his life and his child at the same time. I think we got there. That’s about as high stakes as you can get. I think, ultimately satisfying, with the kind of emotional payoff we were looking for.”

That seems to apply to the season as a whole. The final episode is an epic send-off, too, with a story that flashes forward a decade (long enough for Gordon to sport a new mustache) and finds the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) returning from prison and Bruce Wayne returning to his ancestral home after years in self-imposed exile. It also coincides with the rise of the show’s off-kilter version of the Joker (Cameron Monaghan). “It’s fitting that he comes into conflict with Gordon and Wayne right at the end,” McKenzie said. “Cameron has been amazing and there was room for one more big flourish with the role.”

Most of the reviews have veered from good to great, encouraging news for the cast and crew of a series that had been uneven or over-the-top at times. “Everybody’s been very enthusiastic and positive,” McKenzie said. “The final season has been wrapping things up in the way the audience hoped we would.”

Gotham City is arguably the most famous city created in American popular culture since the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (although Metropolis, Springfield, Mayberry, Twin Peaks, and Riverdale are other prominent spots on the map of un-real estate). Even without Batman, the city zoned by greed, paved in corruption, and mapped by trauma seems to have no limits as far as its story range.

“It’s extraordinary when you think about it,” McKenzie said. “The city itself is a character. There’s a lot of stories to be found in Gotham City. There’s a lot of stories being told from Gotham, too.”

It’s true, Gotham City will be the site of Batwoman, the pilot on The CW this fall, and for a string of upcoming feature films including Joker, The Batman, and the Birds of Prey project.

Also this year: a Harley Quinn animated series and Pennyworth (a series about Batman’s loyal butler) on Epix. Pennyworth and Gothamare unconnected in their story continuity, but both are from the tandem of executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) and executive producer/director Danny Cannon (CSI franchises).

A passing reference in the 2016 film Suicide Squad identified Gotham City as a major metropolitan hub in the Garden State. The city’s location had been a vague matter for decades, but now it is officially part of New Jersey’s map, and Springsteen isn’t the only local hero named Bruce.

On Gotham, the city feels more like Al Capone’s Chicago than Dracula’s Transylvania. “There’s a specific look and style that Gotham has that sets the show apart. It’s visual identity is distinctive and it was really interesting to work within that as a director.”

Has McKenzie inherited anything Gordon, anything he will take with him forward? “Maybe. We have some things in common, too. He’s living in the same city I live in, New York, but just the slightly more dramatic version. He’s had to figure things out on the fly and his life has changed and met the love of his life and had a child. There’s a lot of similarities there. But I haven’t bought a gun and I don’t go around shooting one. And I’m more a jeans and t-shirts guy. Although Gordon’s given me an appreciation for a good suit, that’s for sure.”

McKenzie said he’s learned a lot from the creative team he’s worked with, and he believes his acting has made his directing better and vice versa, as well. There’s several new projects that looks promising for McKenzie, both as an on-screen presence and writer or director. Still, saying goodbye to Gotham has been a sentimental exercise for the man who plays the taciturn detective.

“It’s hard. I’ve been through it a couple of times before. I’ve been on two shows before, so it’s been less daunting then before. I’ve built really strong bonds with these folks. We spent more time together than we do with our families for nine months a year. It’s been a joy and a experience I will never forget. I can’t forget. I wake up every morning to my wife and child who happened during it. So yes, it’s been a city without limits for me.”

#Jim Gordon #James Gordon #Ben McKenzie #Leslie Thompkins #Morena Baccarin

38 notes · View notes

juvellita · 5 years ago

Text

Wicked The Musical Analysis

There was something I have always wanted to do that I haven't done on tumblr- to make a review/analysis about my FAVORITE musical.

This is different from what I normally post. It's not at all related to otome games, but this musical was THE musical that made me love musical.

Just in case you have never heard of Wicked The Musical, I am gonna just tell the basic premise of the setting (not summary): I don't know how many of you watched Wizard of Oz, but I hope you at least heard of the movie...(if you don't know....pls...PLS go check it out. It's one of you-must-know movie). Wicked The Musical is kind of like a prequel to that movie (I am not saying same writer, but this is more like "what if"). The story focuses on Wicked Witch of the West, named Elphaba, from Wizard of Oz, and it entirely shifts our point of view. Its "what if" the witch wasn't really all that from the beginning? It is basically about Elphaba's struggles because she was born green.

From this point on, I am going to list out some themes, WHICH I NOTICED FROM MY PURE OBSERVATION (no internet source). It may contain spoilers of the musical. If ANYONE is planning to see this musical in the future, and don't want to be spoiled- Proceed at your own risk.

Expectation Vs. Reality

To give a brief background of what’s happening, so you would understand this better: Elphaba is born green. Yes, you heard me right. GREEN. Due to this she gets bullied a lot at her university, and doesn’t have any friends (at least in the beginning). However, she has this ‘gift’ (or curse). She is extremely talented in using magic, which gives good vibe to one particular professor at her University (their University name is Shiz btw lol). This professor tells Elphaba that she will be able to meet the Oz due to her talent in magic, and she gets super excited. This is when she sings ‘Wizard and I’- which is basically her daydreaming about meeting THE great Oz. She thinks ‘finally, someone who won’t judge me based on my looks! That is the great Oz!!’ ( oh Elphaba you will be disappointed later on....) Just like any movie or story, this song both gives the audiences the insights about Elphaba’s Utopian expectations about Oz, and it also foreshadows what might happen in the future.

Then she finally meets Oz. Now this is where we get into reality part of the story.... The great Oz that she was sooooo excited to meet, wasn’t great after all.. To make it even worse, he is THE big villain in the story (when you think about it). It turns out he is just powerless man who wanted Elphaba’s power to control Emerald city (city where Oz lives apparently). He tells her all of how he plans to control, which makes Elphaba UPSET. Of course Elphaba, who has good heart unlike the Oz, refuses his offer- which makes Oz furious. This is when Elphaba sings ‘Defying Gravity’, which is the most climatic song throughout the whole musical.

Power of Social Media

Okay please don’t get miscarried by the title of this theme lol. When I said social media, I meant to refer it to how people believe what they see (perhaps news or some other social media shet). Whether its a truth or just a rumor, people just believe what majority of people believe in.

This is exactly what happened to Elphaba. After Oz gets furious, he paints Elphaba in a bad light. Now everyone thinks Elphaba is this evil witch, when in reality it was Oz who committed all those crimes. Of course the people will believe in Oz, not Elphaba, because he has power and authority. Now they want to kill this evil Elphaba, who was never evil in the first place (Literally, it makes you question the meaning of ‘justice’ that people talk about in social media. Also how things aren’t always true even they are displayed on news. Social media basically is a platform where those rich politicians/businessmen put on for show- although I must say that depends on situation).

Racism

This is pretty self-explanatory. Elphaba is born green. Everyone hates her because she has different skin color.

Well.. there you have it. Those were probably the main themes I could think of. Of course there were more themes, but I didn’t include those because it was all too...cliche? For those who never watched this musical, I STRONGLY STRONGLY recommend it. It seems so light, but its actually very heavy- in relatable way.

#wicked the musical #elphaba #glinda #analysis #musical analysis

1 note · View note

lowkeyed1 · 3 years ago

Text

so here are some adaptations and remakes i don't care for, lol. i don't like hairspray being remade into a full on musical, particularly a movie version with john travolta as the mom. just doesn't do it for me, seems almost like an insult to the original. for that matter, i don't like any of the recent redos of the rocky horror picture show either. the original had a spirit to it that's hard to recapture and every other version i've seen just feels overproduced and tryhard. i didn't care much for the recent adaptation of the stand. it was better than the miniseries in some ways and not as good in others, but i felt the pacing was just wrong, and choppy, and a lot of changes they made to focus more on harold (even though the actor was excellent) undercut everyone else's development, especially nick's. nick was the soul of the free zone in a lot of ways but he's nearly a ghost in this adaptation. plus vegas was ALL wrong -- the point of vegas in the novel was that it wasn't a place of ridiculous excess. it was a place that was even more rigid than the free zone. the point was to demonstrate how people can believe themselves to be good people and still get sucked into evil fascistic systems. why on earth the production team would undercut such a relevant message in this day and age is beyond me. i didn't like IT part 2. they were a little too faithful to the adult parts which are the weakest part of the book, and it felt draggy and boring at times. only bill hader was actually able to make it work the whole time, and i know all the others are good actors but sometimes bad material is hard for even a gifted actor to deliver. and i really didn't care for finn wolfhard in either of the movies. he felt very fake in comparison to the other kid actors, i don't think he's actually a very good actor and i wish he'd stop being cast in so many things i want to see, lol. this is hard... i honestly don't find talking about stuff i dislike all that interesting. i just kind of have the impression, maybe do one post or one small rant to someone else who also feels the same way, and move on to something i do like. oh! and to be honest the original wizard of oz movie is not a very good adaptation of the book. it completely fails to capture the truly weird mood of the books and it leaves out so many good parts in favor of streamlining the narrative. return to oz, while it compresses 2 books into one, does a much better job capturing the spirit of the books. hmmm what else... oh yeah the new y the last man... i just don't know if i'm going to be able to get into that. it feels so much more relentlessly grimdark than the books. and yeah the subject matter is grim but the books injected some lightness into it that helped me keep up with such a dark subject. the series so far is just like BLEAK for me. i'm sure there are other examples but stuff i don't like just doesn't stay front of mind for me very long, when there's so much stuff out there i do like and would rather focus on. and all the stuff i don't like, i know that other people do... and that's fine. good on them lol. i really can't think of anything else right now. oh! also i don't care for hellsing ultimate. i liked the first version of the anime and yes i don't care if it's not as faithful an adaptation of the manga. you could probably also miss me with fma brotherhood too tbh. oh and also also, i don't care for the newer alice in wonderland or willy wonka movies and i'm highly skeptical of the willy wonka prequel. is that tim burton too? anyway tim burton is a hard sell for me any more. it always looks great but has no essence to it i can grasp onto. and i am mighty sick of seeing johnny depp in shit too while i'm at it, that gross old abusive clown. put him out to pasture with mel gibson and set the pasture on FIRE lol

#fandom wank

1 note · View note

sleemo · 7 years ago

Text

“It’s not like any of the ones that I’ve been in”

We talk to Mark Hamill about bringing Luke Skywalker back — SciFiNow Magazine #139

[ I transcribed this myself so please credit + link back to me if you’re sharing/quoting anything from this piece ]

From the coming-of-age hero in the first film to the wise mentor in the latest, Mark Hamill has taken Luke Skywalker on quite a journey in the last 40 years. After making only a brief, silent appearance in The Force Awakens, Luke is back properly in The Last Jedi. We talked to the actor about Luke’s evolution, the legacy of the franchise, new director Rian Johnson, and the cruelty of the fans.

So, mark – was it easy getting back into the character of Luke?

No, it wasn’t easy because there was such a long gap of unexplained activity. And then of course in VII it’s so enigmatic, when he turns around is he happy, is he suspicious, is he angry? When I read the screenplay I was shocked at how Rian decided to use Luke because I never expected that. Without giving anything away, in the trailer he says it’s time for the Jedi to end and that was a shock to me!

Because Luke was always the most optimistic of all the characters, he believed so strongly and was so devoted to becoming a Jedi and following all the tenets that Obi-Wan and Yoda taught him, so it was difficult because it’s not Luke’s story anymore, it’s about Rey and the other new characters.

So, it’s not important to the story or to the audience what went on, but for myself I had to make a backstory myself. And sometimes I talked to Rian about it but so much was left to the audience to make up for themselves.

Why is Rian Johnson such a good fit for the Star Wars universe?

First of all, all his films prior to this are so different from each other. Brick is so different from Looper which is so different from Brothers Bloom so he’s got that versatility and he’s so amiable, he’s not someone who curses or gets angry, he’s just a genuinely nice person.

He’s also highly collaborative, he’ll listen to all of my terrible ideas and maybe find one or two that he likes, and he reshot an entire scene because of something that I suggested but I think even though I thought ‘how would he think I would do this? This is not something I’d do or say’, in a way that’s a good thing because he’s doing something that’s unexpected.

And if I were just another variation of Obi-Wan, we’ve seen it before. If I were a benign, elderly wizardly type, it would be fine but it would be something that we’ve seen before and I think that this film has an identity all of its own.

Yes, there are the elements that we all love in a Star Wars film; there’s action, adventure, humour, suspense and so forth, creatures and fantastic situations, but it doesn’t feel... people say ‘oh, it’s like Empire, it’s darker, right, and it’s the middle part so it can end tragically?’ I said, you know, it’s not like any of the ones that I’ve been in and I think that’s a good thing. You have to try and keep it fresh!

It does feel important that Star Wars try new things...

Exactly, yeah. And I think you should take risks. You can’t please everybody. God knows, I thought they were way too critical of the prequels and a lot of it was because it wasn’t what they wanted. And people become very possessive of it. It’s their story so God forbid you do something that doesn’t fit the preconceived notion of what they want.

I thought they were just so cruel to Jake Lloyd who did a fine job but they were mad because they didn’t want to see Darth Vader being an adorable little child. And I thought that was one of the things that was important, that at that age he could have been a young Luke Skywalker!

But I thought that was one of the remarkable things about the prequels. That if you take the wrong path, this could happen to anyone... I will never forgive some of the cruelty that they inflicted on that poor child when he did exactly what George wanted him to do.

Was it nice seeing a whole new generation fall in love with new Star Wars characters like Rey?

Yeah, and it’s generational. Those original tiny tots are now grown up, they have their own children and they pass on the stories, just the way it should be.

It made sense when I found out that Disney was buying it. Not only because they have an 80-year history of marketing family films but the Star Wars films to me are fairy tales. Even more than they are science fiction. They have a pirate and a wizard and a farm boy and a princess. When I read the original screenplay for the very first one I thought it was so Wizard of Oz!

I remember, we were riding George hard, because, I’ll tell you something, when he’s making a movie, at least when we were making Star Wars, he was so miserable! Not a miserable person but just depressed! He suffered so desperately that when we’d see him smile it was an accomplishment. And now he’s happier than he’s ever been! He’s married with a young child and he doesn’t have the burden of making these epic movies. It’s a win-win for him.

— SciFiNow Magazine #139

#still more to come #*#uploads #star wars #the last jedi #interview #mark hamill #luke skywalker #george lucas #rian johnson #jake lloyd #obi wan kenobi #yoda

250 notes · View notes

nuclearfeels · 7 years ago

Text

SPOILER WARNING I just saw Star Wars Last Jedi and I loved the hell out of it!!!

First off, keep scrolling if you aint seen it. But let me say you still gotta see the movie and dont let anyone deter you from seeing it who didnt like it themselves

Now let’s talk about the bitchiness and complaints from people who hated it that I have been selectively tuning out for all these weeks.

1. I loved how Luke detested the ways off the Jedi, which is fair because he saw that the Religion was flawed. The way they handled emotions was what resulted in the creation of two Sith Lords and that’s all on them. We got to see Yoda again who showed us the dead also wield the Force in ways which explains Obi Wan Kenobi’s last words; “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine”

2. Rey is a badass. Anyone who said she is overpowered is a fool to ignore her backstory. She was a scavenger who looted tech and learned the hard way how to use it, she wielded a staff to defend herself so she knew basic martial arts, and her force sensitivity? PLEASE! People in the real world have proven to be more adept at certain skills than another people in spite of age differences and the lack of all the years of training. Some people just figure things out differently.

3. Snoke being of average height and not being as big as his hologram was kinda obvious considering Darth Sidious did the same thing to Vader. I mean even the fricken Wizard of Oz pulled that shit. And the fact that Snoke died without a sufficient backstory to entertain you is a nonissue. Vader and Sidious did’t even get backstories until the prequels came along. We even got a prequel to explain the creation of the Death Star and how the rebels got their hands on the blue prints. Who is to say what else they will have up their sleeves.

4. Rey and Kylo did not try to flirt with each other, there was no fucking sexual tension, that was all a smokescreen set up by Snoke to coax out the last of the Jedi from hiding so he could exterminate them. That whole subplot between them was nothing but them trying to negotiate switching sides which all fell to hell. The whole darkness inside Rey that Luke sensed? That was most likely Snoke trying to stir the pot!!

5. The animals were cute, if you piss on them I will saber your nipples off

6. The Self sacrifice narrative being cut both ways. We got a tossaway character blow up several ships by warping into the bad guys and visually that was real cool. We also saw Finn who was stopped from doing the same thing by Rose, someone who valued him too much to see him die. And Yeah, I get how it was kinda selfish considering the circumstances, but even good people do stupid things like that. Character flaws are a thing that people are allowed to have and it would be much more realistic for people to have that.

7. Lei awakening her powers when she was at the cusp of death was something I was absolutely amazed and delighted to see. For her to die was something I would have been disappointed to see even though it is kinda something I would have expected to see considering the loss of Carrie Fisher, but for her to actually be able to use the force definitely makes sense. Her brother did it, her father did it, and for her to have a life-threatening experience would definitely awaken those powers.

8. The humor placed throughout the movie is well deserved, like why not be able to laugh every now and then between the tension? Everything between the Porg being disturbed as one of its kind were to be eaten by Chewie, to BB8 being mistaken for a slot machine, even to the communications mischief between Poe and Hux was hilarious.

9. All the female characters were amazing and if you disagree, you’re a soggy bag of rancid sour onions and you will be composted.

10. Luke making the Final stand as a ghost and passing away was NOT expected but it was definitely smart of him to act as a diversion so the rebel forces could escape. Remember though that this was all plotted before Carrie Fisher had passed away. I can only guess as to where they will take the story in Star Wars IIX

#star wars #last jedi #spoilers

2 notes · View notes

witchesoz · 3 years ago

Text

After Oz: The Lion of Oz

This movie was... surprisingly good. To be honest I was waiting a "meh" adaptation, neutral in quality, or just mediocre. But it turned out to be quite entertaining, and quite good. I wouldn't call it my favorite, or recommend it to people, but it is still quite a nice little movie.

First of all: like "Legends of Oz", this movie is an adaptation of one of Roger S. Baum's stories, a book named "The Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage". Once again the great-grandson of Frank Baum (this time I checked the genealogy) wrote an Oz book, this time trying to explain the origin of the Cowardly Lion... and basing it upon a weird idea. That the Lion originally came from our world, thought itself brave due to a Badge of Courage he wore, and that he was friend with Oscar Diggs before being blown away to Oz... So many ideas that contredict every adaptations and takes on Oz, but... I mean, let's imagine for a second that this basis could work (because, actually, it isn't contradictory to the point of complete reject. If we stretch a bit our thoughts and rewrite a bit the original story... anyway let's take the basis this could work.) Again, I haven't read the original book - even though there are some free extracts on Google Book - so I'll mostly base myself on superficial knowledge of the original work.

So... as I said, this movie is quite entertaining, and strangely with not much flaws. Oh, there are flaws, as with all movies. But they are quite minors. Among them, you could mention the crazy basis (not only just the Lion and Oscar knowing each other, but just how Oscar treats the Lion in general... I mean, in real life, nothing could happen this way. This is really a poor excuse for a plot), or how the Lion is often treated as a dog, or how the movie keeps bringing things that are never explained in the end (the mysterious "ice storm"? No explanation. Why does the Lion's eyes turn green when he is courageous? Who knows!) or even how they gladly ignore all ideas of Silver or Ruby Slippers even though the villain is the Wicked Witch of the EAST... There are other flaws, but these come rather from the original material. But anyway, for someone who isn't an original-Baum's-Oz fanatic, or that comes with little knowledge, it doesn't pose any big trouble. In itself, the story works quite well, it is simple, efficient - and from the few extracts I have seen from the book, they managed to simplify a lot the story, deleted unecessary repetitions, removing some unconsequent subplots and mixing background characters. Another great idea the movie had: make the characters much more snarky, self-conscious and funny. I mean, they are all sassy, ironic and almost cynical, but to a soft, child-friendly extent of course, and it makes them really entertaining and attaching. Again, one of the hardest things to do in Oz books is to make the main characters interesting and not just random characters without personnalities, like Baum used to do with his generic "girls from USA" (Betsy anyone?). There are also some really nice song (indeed, most of people adored the "Believe" song, and I have to agree with them, it is quite a good song).

But this leads me to one of my problems with the movie (and I don't know if this comes from the original book): the idea that "believing is enough to make everything good". In general, it is something I have quite a problem with, because in real life, while believing in yourself is indeed important and can help someone on personal levels, just believing leads nowhere and actions need to follow this belief to make the world better. And in this movie you have this idea believing is enough... (It also suggests that Ozians, or at least Munchkins, have the power to change reality and break magic spells by just believing... which poses logical problems, because then they would just need to believe against the Wicked Witch and she would have been powerless...) Plus, you have this girl character, Whimsick I think her name is, that encourages people to believe and when miracles happen she claims it is "their work" or just that the people she helped needed to find it in themselves, when it is also shown quite well that the girl IS the only reason these miracles happen, and that without her nothing could have possibly happen... It also tries to enforce the idea that "What you need is always inside of you" but also fails miserably at it because, as you guessed it, but that is from Roger's book - the Lion will still end up believing he is cowardly when he doesn't have his badge of courage. No matter how much this first adventure and these first friends taught him, and no matter that his second adventure with Dorothy Gale also taught him he was brave, he will still go on believing that without his badge he is a coward... Which is quite problematic. But again, that is due to the original material, or rather the idea of making a prequel centered about how the Lion "lost" his courage. In the original tale, the Lion always believed he was a coward, and only after an extraordinary adventure he evolves into a fierce and courageous character. But with this whole "Lion of Oz" story, it shows that it needs him TWO extraordinary adventures where everyone tells him how courageous he is and where he PROVES how courageous he is to finally accept his courage... Unecessary complications if you ask me.

But again, it is a nice movie, with a good animation, pleasant songs, interesting characters, and only flawed by a lack of explanations on some plot points and a bad handling of the messages it tries to tell its audience. Oh, and of course the addition of prequel elements that contradict or don't work with the Wizard of Oz story. Such as the friendship between the Lion and Oscar. Or the Flower of Oz.

#after oz #oz #review #animated movie #lion of oz #the lion of oz

1 note · View note

areyouwho-ithinkyouare · 7 years ago

Text

wicked is bad bad bad and heres why:

Look, i get that this point isn't so much a criticism of the musical itself as it is of the story, so, idk blame the original book (but they still made this musical when hey didn't have to so also blame the musical). It r-u-i-n-s the premise of Wizard of Oz completely. Now I don’t mind a spinoff. I don't even mind a prequel spinoff. But it HAS to add to & develop what is already established, rather than just tearing the whole thing down!!! Ya know how in the Wizard of Oz it’s left unclear if the whole thing was a dream or of it was real? well, guess we dont need to wonder about that, since Wicked’s very existence means it HAS to have been real. You know how the villain in Wizard of Oz was the wicked witch? well, it turns out she wasn’t REALLY a villain at all. In fact, the REAL villain is..... is...... uh... the wizard?? but... I mean yeah he was a fraud, but, he was also really fucking pathetic, and that was the whole POINT. The big reveal about him isn’t JUST that he isn’t a wizard. It’s that he’s just a relatively weak man who found himself caught up in a lie. But according to Wicked he’s some criminal mastermind who is full of nefarious schemes. The Wizard of Oz is about blind idolisation of a mysterious figure for no real reason. But in Wicked, the wizard has been running a master operation to try to have complete and utter power over the whole of Oz. He’s not just some man behind a mask, he’s a ruthless dictator hell-bent on absolute power. And he never really faces any consequences for that??? Wicked ends with elpheba and fiyero heading off together leaving glinda to look after Oz. The Wizard of Oz ends with dorothy tapping her shoes together and waking up back in Kansas. But at the end of Wicked, Glinda just says.... “Yo wizard ya SUCK get out of here!” and off he goes I guess, but he’s still just??? out there?? free to go somewhere else and do the exact same thing there??? what??? so now you have The Wizard of Oz with a villain who isn’t even really a villain and who gets to walk off into the sunset with her boyf at the end, and you have Wicked where the ACTUAL villain is just free to go, apparently. So now there os ZERO justice in EITHER story. The Wizard of Oz is now.... a pretty pointless story since it’s big plot point twist has been nullified, and there’s no ambiguous ending anymore so the ending is now just.... bad??? And Wicked is a story about friendship and acceptance and good overcoming evil, except the evil faces NO REAL REPERCUSSIONS. So its kinda just.... a bunch of ppl who only care about saving themselves but don't care at all about the risks they put other people at???

Also, ok, ok, let’s talk about the music. It is... bad. i get that this is a controversial opinion but honestly i Do Not like Idina Menzel in this role. I love her, i think she’s great, i don't think she's AS great as everyone thinks she is, and I don't think she's that good at belting. she is killing her voice. she’s completely wreck her vocal chords if she doesn't stop forcing herself to do those long, sustained belts. Listen to her voice in past shows, and then listen to her voice in recent concerts. It is SO much less healthy now that it was pre-wicked and pre-frozen. But putting my concerns for her vocal health aside - there are.. no actually ‘new’ songs in the show at all. It’s all the same shit we’ve heard a million times before, but in this strange key and with a very anxiety-inducing intense/desperate vibe to them. And there isn't really much variation sonically from start to finish. Sure you have songs like Popular and A Sentimental Man thrown in there, but there isn’t a musical arc. It starts one way, it ends the same way. Which is DOUBLY bad since there is *apparently* this huuugeee character arc going on. The music should reflect that, but??? it doesn't?? and that leads me nicely on to..

Elphaba is a shit lead character. I don't CARE how many times she sings loudly about going after what she wants, she’s 2D the whole way through. She starts off misunderstood. She finds TWO people who accept her, but the rest of Oz is still after her with torches and pitchforks, and then she gets framed for crimes she didn’t commit, and then... she leaves Oz?? but what changes about HER? Sure, she gets more confident, that's great, we’re off to a good start here, and sure, she realises her own power, great, great, and... what else. What else... oh, oh thats... thats it?? thats.. that’s her whole arc?? well, uhh. ok. Glinda, on the other hand, has a HUGE arc that would be a super interesting thing to see and that HASN’T been done a million times before (Seriously guys, the underdog-learning-they-had-the-power-inside-them-all-along story has had its day). Give me a show about the girl who had everything, who was popular and pretty and rich, but who struggled with morality and had to face the realisation that she’d actually been pretty cruel to the people she didn’t understand. Give me a show about a girl who tries so hard to become the good, kind person she wants to be, and who has to acknowledge her privilege and her flaws in order to do so. Give me a show about a girl who chooses not to fight because she’s scared, and then has to deal with the guilt she feels from that. Give me a show about a girl who spends her whole life seeking fame, but who ends up serving others rather than herself because she knows it’s the right thing to do. Give me the girl who accepts that the man she is in love with loves someone else, and who let’s him go because they both deserve to find peace and happiness. I cannot stress enough how important it is to choose the right protagonist, and Elphaba just... isn't it.

#i put it under a cut bcus honestly i only wrote this to ramble about how much i h8 wicked and it got quite long and i know loads of ppl love #this show so i figured most of y'all wouldn't wanna read it #and thats fine i get that i respect that #but i just had a few things i needed to get off my chest

3 notes · View notes