#and being shaped by and simultaneously rejecting that environment

[unhelpfulfemme]

Padmé is Load Bearing for Anakin, and by late RotS she is the only thing that is helping him maintain his sense of self.

Let me explain ^^.

a) Anakin grew up in an environment where people could beat him, and punish him, and deprive him of anything they wanted, and order him around, simply because they were powerful, and he wasn't, and there was nothing he could do about it except make himself useful as best he can. The only things he can rely on is his own competence and his own usefulness. This probably instilled in him some ideas about How The World Works.

b) The counterpoint to this, obviously, is Shmi, with her philosophy of kindness and helping each other out - emotionally, this rings true, and Shmi fulfills Anakin's psychological needs in a way nobody else does, and he wants to make her happy and proud. But Shmi too is powerless to stop anything that's happening to her.

Then the Jedi come, and they take him on. Why? Because he is good at things. Because he is powerful. He won the podrace. He is strong in the Force. Shmi, who is not powerful, is left behind.

The Jedi philosophy preaches b), but the shape of the events surrounding Anakin's acceptance into the Order, from Anakin's POV, screams a). Obviously there is more nuance to it, but not nuance that Anakin would be able to perceive or understand.

This creates a kind of inherent tension in the way Anakin approaches the world, because over and over again he is in situations where, to gain the approval and affection of his loved ones, Anakin should be b), but what's effective, what gets him where he wants to be, is a). Except, unlike with Shmi and the slavers, the Jedi are kind of both sides simultaneously, in his eyes.

Except there's also Padmé. Padmé, when she meets Anakin, is nobody to him, and he is nobody to her. She is obviously high up on the societal totem pole (though he doesn't yet know how high), and she has little obvious use for him, she has nothing to do with the Jedi or midichlorian counts or strength in the Force, but she is still nice, and caring, and kind.

Then, he learns that she's the fucking Queen of Naboo. Can you imagine how he feels about that? In his eyes, she really is an angel. Unlike Shmi, she's not a fellow disenfranchised person, she is so high up he really can't be of any use to her at all, and she still took the time to comfort him and treat him as a person.

Now Anakin knows that there is a person - outside of his immediate family - who will care about him even if he's not useful or powerful. It's no wonder he keeps thinking about her for years - he's struggling with being a good Jedi, with reconciling the abovementioned a) and b), with his emotions and self-control, with the fear that the Jedi will turn him out if he's not good enough (Obi Wan says he cares - but would he still care if Anakin disappointed him?), so of course he'll mentally escape into the fantasy of boundless, unconditional love from a beautiful, genteel woman.

And then - and this is the crux of my argument - the Tusken massacre happens.

It happens because, in that moment, the stark apparent uselessness of approach b) is particularly salient to Anakin: Shmi had been kind her whole life, she always insisted on Anakin being kind and selfless and helpful, and this is what she got from it, it got her nowhere, it got her tortured and killed with nobody to stop it. So approach a) - a massive show of ruthless strength, PUNISH!! - becomes the only possible reaction for him.

BUT STILL, he knows that this would have immensely disappointed her, and more importantly he knows that this would immensely disappoint the Jedi if they knew about it, he knows that he could suffer rejection and casting out and, well, serious legal consequences if they found out.

From this point on, Anakin's fate with the Jedi is sealed. There's nothing they can do to help him, any validation they give him will not reach him in any way that matters, because he is presenting a facade to them and he knows it in his bones that who he truly is would be fundamentally unlovable for the Jedi (I don't know whether this would truly be the case, but the important part is that Anakin is sure it is). Ultimate imposter syndrome baybeee.

BUT there's Padmé. Padmé understands. Padmé is still willing to see him as a good man. In a world that seems cleaved in two in such a way that he can either be cruel and unlovable and completely defined by his power and competence and alone, or roll over and be kind and let people hurt him (he knows no option c), while his identity is unraveling because he has built it on a foundation of others' approval and he knows that approval is not coming or deserved, Padmé is once again the only true thing in his life, the only oasis in a sea of conflicting expectations. She has seen the worst of him, and she is still there, in a way the Jedi would never be. She IS option c). She is stability. She is something outside of himself that holds together the fractured pieces of his self-image and his conflicting worldviews. Without her he'll fall apart.

This is why he functions so much better during the Clone Wars. This is how he gets to be a good master for Ahsoka.

But as far as he's concerned, the relationship between him and Ahsoka is a one-way street, because Ahsoka doesn't really know him. He has molded himself into what Ahsoka needs, as he has tried to mold himself into what his slavers or the Jedi needed, but the face he presents to her is ultimately a kind of facade, a splitting of the "good parts" of him and the suppressed parts that would bring him to do horrible things like massacre the Tusken raiders. This is where his perception of "Anakin" and "Vader" as two different people originates. For him to heal this split, he would need to see that he is accepted by others despite his genocide, and to reveal what he did is too great a risk because... well, fucking genocide.

And this is, essentially, why Ahsoka can leave and Padmé can't. He cares for her, he wants to do good by her, but knows that the foundation is false with Ahsoka. He knows (or "knows") that she, like Obi-Wan, would turn on him in an instant if she really saw who he was. It's not that he has "attachment issues" that severe across the board, it's that Padmé is the only thing maintaining his sense of self, his psychological integrity.

And this is, in the end, why Ahsoka can die, why she is basically sacrificed for Padmé. It's not Ahsoka vs. Padmé, it's Ahsoka vs. Anakin, because he can't live without Padmé, and OTOH he knows that Ahsoka doesn't truly love him as he is. Ahsoka would abandon him if she knew, so it's okay if he does so first.

Same goes for Obi-Wan: Anakin is so defensive on Mustafar because he is already expecting Obi-Wan to hate him, he knows he did wrong things and he is already expecting Obi-Wan to disapprove and try to stop him, and he is defending himself by striking first so he doesn't feel the sting of Obi-Wan's rejection as badly.

Same goes for Padmé - the presence of Obi-Wan implies that she agrees with him, and that she will leave him, and because he is so codependent, because she is the only truly Load Bearing thing for him, Padmé's removal from his life is a direct attack on his integrity, on his capacity to function, on the only possibility of him being happy and safe and loved. So he ends up attacking her, because her possibly leaving is so threatening that it's equivalent to an attack.

Once Padmé is gone (and once Obi-Wan attacks him and proves what Anakin has always suspected), there is nothing to prop up option b). Option b) has become associated with Anakin Skywalker. There is only option a) - become as powerful as you can, please your master: Darth Vader. Until Luke comes along and extends his hand and shows him again that option b) is possible, no, actually, that option c) is possible because Luke, too, has seen him be awful over and over again and cares anyway.

Anyway, I think this is why it's important to see Anakin insist that he is both a) and b) in the Ahsoka WBW scenes, to see Vader and Anakin integrated, because it's his way of acknowledging that what they had WAS real, that what she saw in him wasn't a facade but something that he had genuinely wanted to give to her, but that the realness of their connection made him all the guiltier for hurting her.

[thecreaturecodex]

Adachros

Image © Paizo Publishing, accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[The second of two "ennosites" I'm covering from Bestiary 3. I imagine that these would be a good way to get that Planescape feel into a game, if only for a few encounters. These definitely fit into the domain of "philosophers with clubs".]

Adachros CR 13 N Outsider (extraplanar) This glimmering giant appears to be made of silvery facets, arranged into a humanoid shape.

The adachroses are beings of pure thought, each one embodying a philosophy and promoting it with megalomaniacal zeal. Some of them are created when a demiplane is partially formed and then collapses, whereas others are created when artificial demiplanes (such as those made by the create demiplane spell) are abandoned, and still others are born when multiple philosophers die simultaneously in defending their beliefs. Most of the time, an adachros’ philosophy is exaggerated to the point of self-parody, and the adachros refuses to acknowledge any perspective other than its own.

Some adachroses are tyrants, ruling over a tiny fiefdom with an iron fist and lashing out at anyone who dares to disobey their strictures. Others are somewhat more reasonable, acting as teachers of their philosophy, albeit ones who refuse to engage with any opposing viewpoints. They can be potentially manipulated by a canny outsider, one who can convince them that their outlook would be best served by doing whatever the manipulator wants. But if an adachros realizes it’s been duped, it will turn its entire fury on that creature and their allies and cause.

Most adachroses prefer to befuddle enemies with complex hallucinations before fighting them—both in order to confuse and destabilize strategies, but also because the monster can strike with deadly precision at creatures engaging with its illusions. It fights simply but effectively, crushing foes with its mighty fists and using occult magic to blast away at enemies that keep their distance. Its sense of self-purpose is so great that it can reject enchantments or illusions that clash with its beliefs. Depending on the values system it embodies, an adachros may fight to the death, or may prefer to surrender or flee if a combat goes poorly.  

Adachros               CR 13 XP 25,600 N Large outsider (extraplanar) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +25, thoughtsense 120 ft. Defense AC 28, touch 12, flat-footed 25 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +16 natural) hp 178 (17d10+85) Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +12 (+16 vs. mind-influencing effects) DR 10/magic and silver; SR 24 Defensive Abilities self-absorbed, splinter sycophant Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good) Melee 2 slams +22 (2d8+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Psychic Magic CL 13th, concentration +21 40 PE—complex hallucination (4 PE, DC 22), contagious zeal (3 PE), detect magic (1 PE), ego whip III (5 PE, DC 23), hallucinatory terrain (4 PE, DC 22), mind thrust IV (4 PE, DC 22), modify memory (5 PE, DC 23), reverse gravity (7 PE), scripted hallucination (5 PE, DC 23), unshakable zeal (6 PE) Special Attacks fatal fantasia Statistics Str 23, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 20, Wis20, Cha 26 Base Atk +17; CMB +23; CMD 36 Feats Combat Reflexes,Dodge, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Intuitive Spell, Iron Will, Power Attack, Vital Strike Skills Appraise +22,Bluff +28, Diplomacy +28,Fly +21, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +25, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +25, Stealth +15 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft. Ecology Environment any land or underground (Astral Plane) Organization solitary or college (2-6) Treasure standard Special Abilities Fatal Fantasia (Ex) Against a target that is currently effected by an adachros’ illusion or enchantment abilities, the adarchos’ natural weapons threaten a critical hit on a roll of 19-20 and deal x3 damage on a critical hit. Self-Absorbed (Ex) An adachros gains a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws against mind-influencing effects. On any round it is suffering from a mind-influencing effect, it may attempt to counteract that effect, using its caster level as an opposed caster level check against the level of the effect. If it succeeds, the effect is removed. An adachros can use this ability even if it cannot act on this turn, but can only remove a single unwanted effect per round. Splinter Sycophant (Su) When an adachros takes damage from a critical hit, an ioton is split off from its body and appears in an adjacent square. This ioton has absorbed one language that the adachros speaks, and unless given orders to do otherwise, begins to sing the praises of the adachros that created it as a standard action each turn. An adachros gains 4d6 temporary hit points when the ioton begins to flatter it, and gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, skill and ability checks so long as the praise persists. The effects of multiple such sycophants stack. An ioton creates in such a fashion vanishes into vapor 1 minute after it is created or when it is reduced to 0 hit points.

[wesser1]

7 Essential Skills for Successful Charity Fundraising Jobs

Embarking on a journey into charity fundraising jobs can be both personally rewarding and professionally enriching. It's a role that requires a unique blend of skills, commitment, and passion for making a positive impact. Whether it's door-to-door campaigns, face-to-face interactions, organising fundraising events, or excelling in charity fundraising, jobs demand a specific skill set that goes beyond the ordinary. Here are the fundamental skills essential for thriving in charity fundraising roles:

1.       Exceptional Communication Skills

The cornerstone of successful fundraising lies in the ability to communicate effectively. As a fundraiser, you'll interact with diverse individuals daily, conveying your charity's mission with clarity and conviction. Active listening, empathy, and the capacity to adapt your communication style to various audiences are crucial.

2.       Persuasion and Negotiation Abilities

Effective persuasion begins with a deep understanding of donor motivations. Understanding donor motivations and tailoring your approach accordingly can significantly impact fundraising success. Crafting compelling narratives and persuading potential donors to contribute requires finesse in persuasion and negotiation.

3.       Resilience and Determination

The nature of fundraising involves facing rejection and overcoming obstacles daily. Being resilient in the face of setbacks and maintaining determination to achieve fundraising goals is key. Embracing challenges as learning opportunities fuel continuous improvement. Resilient fundraisers embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than roadblocks. They analyse their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and adapt their approaches accordingly.

4.       Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Empathy forms the bedrock of successful charity fundraising endeavours intertwined with the multifaceted dimension of emotional intelligence. In charity fundraising jobs, possessing a high degree of empathy is not merely a soft skill but a guiding principle that shapes meaningful interactions and fosters genuine connections with donors. Fundraisers can establish a profound connection, aligning the charity's mission with the donor's desires to create a resonance.

5.       Time Management and Organisation

Charity fundraising roles often involve juggling numerous responsibilities simultaneously. Effective time management is paramount, from organising events to conducting outreach campaigns and maintaining donor relationships. Prioritising tasks based on urgency and impact ensures that critical fundraising objectives are met without neglecting essential ongoing activities. Prioritising tasks based on urgency and impact ensures that critical fundraising objectives are met without neglecting essential ongoing activities.

6.       Adaptability and Flexibility

Adapting to changing circumstances, unexpected challenges, and diverse environments is crucial in charity fundraising roles. Flexibility allows fundraisers to adjust strategies on the go, ensuring effectiveness in various situations. Being adaptable means thriving in various settings, adjusting communication styles, and tailoring pitches to suit each environment. Adaptable fundraisers stay updated on donor preferences, incorporating new engagement methods to resonate with donors effectively.

7.       Teamwork and Collaboration

Working collaboratively within fundraising teams or alongside volunteers and donors is essential. Collaboration enhances creativity, problem-solving, and overall productivity in achieving fundraising objectives. The ability to collaborate seamlessly, respecting and leveraging each team member's strengths, leads to more innovative fundraising strategies and increased efficiency in achieving goals. A cohesive team maximises its potential, generating more innovative and effective ways to reach potential donors and achieve fundraising targets.

Conclusion

Charity fundraising jobs demand a diverse skill set encompassing communication, resilience, empathy, and adaptability. Cultivating these skills can pave the way for a fulfilling career dedicated to creating positive change in the world. Whether you're considering a short-term summer job or a long-term career in fundraising, honing these skills will not only benefit your professional growth but also empower you to make a meaningful difference in society.

For those aspiring to enter the charity fundraising arena, leveraging the expertise of fundraising recruitment agencies like Wesser can provide invaluable guidance and opportunities. At Wesser, a leading fundraising agency, these skills are highly valued. With a focus on face-to-face fundraising, the company recognises the importance of recruiting individuals who embody these qualities. They offer student jobs with accommodation, making it an attractive option for those seeking summer jobs aligned with a purpose.

[trickstercaptain]

JACK, MASCULINITY & BISEXUALITY.

          so I’ve made absolutely no secret of the fact that one of the big things I love about Jack as a character ( among plenty, plenty of other things ) is how he challenges traditional ideas of masculinity, and I’m gonna use this meta opportunity to elaborate on that and hopefully connect it to Jack’s sexuality ( mostly within his canon verses, though a lot of this does also apply to his modern verse ). the long and the short of it is that Jack is simultaneously allowed to be a badass and admirable to the audience and display selfishness, cowardice, his own quirks and his desire to avoid violence wherever possible. the first two demonstrate the perks of being an anti-hero, but it’s the last one that I’m going to talk about first: Jack does not like violence. he will choose methods of solving a problem that avoid, where possible, the use of brute force, even when it puts him at a disadvantage. he chooses not to shoot Will in order to escape the smithy in CotBP despite that proving to be the easiest way out, and he is told by Barbossa in that same movie that it’s likely the mutiny would not have happened if he hadn’t been such a merciful captain. we are encouraged to like him as an audience because he uses his wits to get out of trouble, and we are encouraged to like him in spite of the fact that he is the worst swordsman of the franchise, relatively speaking, and that he in fact loses every single fight he is a part of ( unless he cheats, which he does frequently ). 

        second, he is also allowed to be quirky. a lot of this links in with the idea that Jack is an archetypal trickster: he is transgressive on purpose because that is what a trickster does. he breaks the rules because it’s fun, he manipulates others because it’s fun, he gets bored easily and uses trickery and deceit to get ahead of his opponents while casting himself as a fool. tricksters also tend to have a very fluid attitude towards gender because, once again, it is another way to transgress boundaries, and there’s certainly an undeniable sense of androgyny to Jack. I’m not here to label him as anything because a) in Jack’s canon any modern ideals just wouldn’t apply and b) he is still a man and, more importantly, still benefits consistently in his narrative from being a man, so this androgyny is purely in how he outwardly expresses himself rather than the result of any internal struggle. he is experimental and individualistic and this is one of many ways in which Jack’s character draws on the rock star tradition ---- particularly the rock star tradition of challenging masculinity with the way they dressed on stage ( think Bowie, Jagger and Hendrix ).

         but this sometimes effeminate expression of his sense of self does make it more difficult to be taken seriously by others, both within his own social strata of fellow pirates and outside of it: he wears kohl that, while practical, accentuates his pretty boy, fey image, he wears his hair long and braided ( which isn’t necessarily a sign of “femininity” in itself, though he combines this with tying trinkets and beads and jewellery into it ), he sways as he walks ( again, a practical response to being on a ship for long periods of time, but isn’t something that Jack ever seeks to correct in order to appear more intimidating ) and is fond of theatrical gesturing which, yes, feeds into a stereotype but means that in no way does he carry himself in a typically masculine way. for instance, the way Jack sits: while yes there are times when he deliberately kicks his feet up on the table to occupy extra space and piss people off, he doesn’t consistently sit down in a way that emphasises his physical power or dominance ---- in fact, in the last multiple Jacks scene in AWE, when Jack is talking to himself in the brig, we see one of the clones crossing his legs with his hands on his lap as he sits on the bench ---- something I would argue is rather reserved and not overly masculine in nature.

        now there’s an argument to be made that Jack uses his effeminacy to his advantage, in the same way that a trickster would bend any rule that benefitted him, and that this isn’t the true him, but I’d argue that, while there is of course an element of using that behaviour to encourage others to dismiss him as a fool of no consequence, it is too consistent for it to be an act, particularly as it causes him as many problems as it does solutions. it’s absolutely in his nature. another great example I want to draw on is in The Price of Freedom, where Jack uses his “sexuality” ( I use this word loosely as it’s really the only way to describe what he does lmao ) to unsettle one of Teague’s lieutenants and jailors and throw him off, both while he’s been searched airport security style and while he’s trying to conspire with Christophe to break him out of Shipwreck’s cells.

“Roger, old chum, unless you want to cause me embarrassment—and yourself a lifelong case of envy—by demanding that I actually produce the goods for your delectation…er…inspection, I’d suggest you desist.” He batted his eyes at Teague’s lieutenant.

[...] Without answering, Jack abruptly turned to confront Mortensen, who was looming behind him, scarcely a handbreadth away. “I don’t care if you’re present, Roger, but must you breathe down the back of me neck?” He rolled his eyes. “Or are you trying to work up the courage to grab me backside and give it a squeeze?” He’d spoken loudly, and his voice carried to all Christophe’s crewmen. The cell-bound pirates laughed, whistled, and jeered obscene suggestions at Mortensen.

        I love this scene because it shows how Jack switches effortlessly between typically masculine and typically feminine behaviour and uses both to achieve what he wants. the seductive act of flirting with Mortensen ( despite the fact that Jack is twenty in this scene and is very likely half the age of the jailor in question lmao ) to throw him off is a very femme fatale sort of solution ( and that is an archetype that Jack plays around with a lot ), but being a man adds an element of what I spoke of earlier too ---- that he’s more likely to be dismissed as an irritating little shit and not someone who is conspiring to break someone out of the cells. he also relies on the hyper-masculinity he is surrounded by when he speaks loudly enough for all of the pirates in the cells to hear and jeer Mortensen in response, further embarrassing him and diverting his attention long enough for Jack to make his intentions to Christophe clear.

        because this is the thing about pirates, friends. yes, they were largely accepting of and/or unbothered by homosexual behaviour, and had crews who operated in a far fairer way than many merchant or naval ships of the same period, but they are still male-dominated environments. female pirates are rare as far as historical records show purely because we only know for sure that a few were women. women would, for the most part, have to adopt masculine traits in order to exist in the same space, and many would and did disguise themselves as men in order to achieve this. Jack is therefore something of an anomaly in his challenge of male gender norms ---- he could act more like your typical brutish, violent male captain and have a far easier time of it because that’s ultimately the sort of behaviour that is rewarded in this hyper masculine space, but he doesn’t, and this is where he stands out and positions himself as an outsider even in the profession he had literally branded into his arm.

        Jack has also been directly hurt by this culture of hyper masculinity, too. it’s clear that his grandmother sees him as an easy target for her abuse because he both struggled to and didn’t want to conform, and he faces similar criticism from Teague because of his non-violent personality. in his attempt to not become like Teague, too, Jack internalises his own anger and aggression which makes him self-destructive as opposed to outwardly destructive to others. Christophe is the most similar pirate in the franchise to Jack in terms of the flamboyant way in which they both present themselves ( and Jack is no doubt influenced by Christophe in that respect, though that’s another meta entirely ), but Jack does not share his ruthless, amoral personality. and he is mutinied against by Barbossa because people are easier to search when they’re dead. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but it speaks to the strength of Jack’s character that he remains a largely good-hearted individual when it ultimately comes down to it, and did not contort his sense of self in order to make his life easier.

        so linking all of this into his sexuality, while Jack is bisexual by modern definitions of the word and does not have any shame associated with it due to the openness of pirates to living outside of the established norm ( and the fact that Jack grew up among these pirates, so would likely have not realised the extent of the prejudice that existed until he joined the merchant service and entered into civilised society ---- and I mean, when he did he was called a molly at one point by Mercer ), he was never properly taught how to have a healthy relationship with another man, whether romantically/sexually or not. Jack doesn’t really have many positive close relationships with other men to draw on ( Robby and Gibbs are of course the exceptions, and they are both extremely important ) and all of the betrayals in his life until Elizabeth come from men. moreover, just because pirates were more accepting of homosexual relations between men, doesn’t necessarily mean that pirates should be held up as paragons of healthy behaviour lmao, both in general and in regards to male on male relationships. ships are male dominated microcosms in the same way that all-male prisons are. and this is why Jack does develop one toxic male trait: the inability to express his emotions in a constructive and open way.

        Jack therefore, for the most part, just doesn’t like men. he knows how to get along with them, he certainly has a brothers-in-arms approach to his crewmates and isn’t beyond liking the odd one or two, like Robby and Gibbs ---- and it is certainly a theme that Jack is drawn to those soft, non-threatening, nurturing sorts of men ( to fill a void of nurturing behaviour in his life, imo ). of course he has trashy taste too thanks to the lingering damage of his crush on Christophe and living and growing up in the sort of environment that rewards hyper-masculine behaviour, but his most successful relationships with men are those he doesn’t perceive as threatening, and those who are happy to compliment rather than challenge him in his position as captain.

       meanwhile, he loves women. absolutely fucking adores them, and I don’t mean this just in a sexual way, but in a genuinely appreciative way too. he craves their company and prefers their company to men ( he is honestly so much happier sat at a table with five other women than he is sat with five other men ), and I think this is because he’s more likely to find acceptance with them than he is men, and historically speaking in his life has found greater understanding and affection and care from women than he ever has from his own sex. and I think in turn, because he too is a very non-threatening sort of man, absolutely a woman’s man like my god, is why he is generally adored so much by the women in his life in spite of his flaws and lesser traits lmao. why do Giselle and Scarlett constantly let him back into their lives?? because yes he’s fun and  good in bed but, if Jack’s list of corrected lies to them at the end of AWE is any indication, he also spends a considerable amount of time just talking to them, spending time in their company and getting to know them.

[black-banjee-baltimore-bred]

Susan Smith-Pinelo, Sometimes

by kyle vincent scott

Susan Smith-Pinelo’s Sometimes (1999) is a single channel video scored to ‘Workin’ Day and Night’ (1979) by Michael Jackson. In an effort to conjure questions both around the perception of blackness and the function of femininity in a racially abject space, Smith-Pinelo rather directly uses cleavage as a conduit for a larger conversation around class and the hilarity of gender performance. The viewer is presented with a claustrophobic view of what the female body is most regularly reduced to: breasts. After watching the subject adjust her shirt, as if presently in front of a mirror, she proceeds to contort her breast along to the beat of the song. They bounce and shake, almost hypnotically, directing the viewer's gaze to what, in most public social environments, is forbidden to be surveilled. In a world of male domination, the very notion of women revealing their bodies, as a culturally understood phenomenon is a space of precarity. For many of us, either male or female identifying, the public sphere is a space in which we are regularly stripped of the autonomy to control our viewership. The very moment that we exit our homes, our bodies become something else entirely. Rather than these tangible extensions of our own singular identities, our physical selves take the shape of currency almost, in that they welcome a myriad of experiences relating to work, commerce, interpersonal relationships, as well as cultural exchange. What we more personally know as flesh, in communion with the metropolitan, transforms oftentimes into a more symbolic or representational form of selfhood. The dominant racist, social frameworks present within the United States regularly re-code the individual being to be understood through its connection to a larger collective. Our elbows and shoulders, which within the confines of our homes are to be rubbed and caressed, become communal almost – objects that could be bumped into, lusted over, laughed at, etc. Traditionally speaking, for women there is often this balancing act of wanting to celebrate and showcase the body while wrestling deeply with the understanding that this act could be misinterpreted. When first engaging the video, phrases like “eyes up here” are immediately pulled to the forefront of the viewers mind, nevertheless; the artist rather audaciously rejects that even as a possibility. We are made to sit uncomfortably in the strange embarrassment that arises when consuming “sexual content” in the presence of others. In a manner that isn’t dissimilar to accidentally swiping past your own nude photography while in line for a movie, the piece evokes the flush like feeling that infects us when the line between private and public becomes abstracted. Is it better to laugh and embrace the shock of someone seeing something that maybe they shouldn’t have? Or is it more courageous to be confident in the existence of a version of the self that maybe is as regularly offered center stage within our everyday lives? Smith-Pinelo hones both the rigidity and oddity of gender and sexuality while one of our deeply troubled cultural icons bellows out in the background. As a people, navigating towards a future that is free of the sexual subjugation of slavery, we have in a multitude of ways found ourselves at these very particular impasses. Wanting to be fiercely in control of the narrative of our own sexuality and passion, while simultaneously being aware of the history of sexual violence and neglect that has filled so many of our lives. What is to be said of a past sexual awakening scored to that of the tune of R. Kelly in that it is only in our retrospective awareness that we begin to unpack the ramifications of those instances? Is a first kiss seen as sinister if it was born in the low hum Bump n’ Grind? Or do we look at the inception of life differently in that maybe it occurred in a motel at Freanknik or on the backseat of a stranger’s car? In speaking of her work, Smith-Pinelo is specifically looking to add a layer of humor to how contrived and unimaginative the pressures of gendered expectations can be — especially in that, we walk away from the work knowing that the subject is a black woman, holding true the racial, socio-economic, and interpersonal complexities that such an identity can withhold, and yet we only have an infinitesimal glimpse of her exterior. We have the markers to understand that society might be disinterested in knowing who this woman really is and we, regardless of gender, are confronted with whether or not we do the work of perpetuating that erasure. And through this limited scope, Smith-Pinelo provides the viewer with a question of the “male gaze” without the inherent presence of a “man.” As we plainly watch this woman shake her breast on camera, we are forced to ask ourselves who exactly is the powerful force behind objectification? bell hooks and other feminist theorists have critiqued the notion that feminism is a direct translation of all women being labeled as victims, and within hooks’ framework we are to understand that Sometimes looks to ask where exactly women and femmes pick up the torch in regard to their own oppression and sexual objectification. And if the girl gaze was all that we needed to be free, then why weren’t we free yet?

[dweemeister]

NOTE: This is the first (and perhaps only) film released theatrically during the COVID-19 pandemic that I am reviewing – I saw Wolfwalkers at the Vineland Drive-in at the City of Industry, California. Because moviegoing carries risks at this time, please remember to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by your local, regional, and national health officials.

Wolfwalkers (2020)

In interviews prior to and after Wolfwalkers’ release, co-director Tomm Moore has described the film as the last panel of Cartoon Saloon’s Irish folklore triptych. That triptych (an informal trilogy) began with The Secret of Kells (2009) and continued with its centerpiece, Song of the Sea (2014). The global environment for animated cinema has transformed since Kells, and now – unexpectedly – Cartoon Saloon finds itself a hub for not just hand-drawn animation, but animation that rejects the crass commercialism emerging from mainstream animation studios (mostly from the United States). With the triptych completed (as well as 2017’s The Breadwinner), one can trace Cartoon Saloon’s evolution from their beginning to its present artistic maturation. While the film asserts its own uniqueness in the Cartoon Saloon filmography, there are connecting strands – aesthetic, spiritual, thematic – of the studio’s previous features apparent throughout. Upon a week’s reflection, I think Wolfwalkers is the studio’s second-best film, just behind Song of the Sea. Even at second-best, this level of artistry has rarely been seen in this young century.

It is 1650 in Kilkenny. Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey) is an apprentice hunter and only daughter of Bill (Sean Bean). Robyn and her father are expatriates from England, and some of their Irish neighbors will not let them forget that. Oliver Cromwell (Simon McBurney) – referred to as “The Lord Protector” throughout the film – has invaded Ireland and looks to secure his conquest over the Irish people (Cromwell is a despised figure in Ireland and lionized by some in England to this day). On an ill-advised trip outside the walls of Kilkenny, Robyn encounters and eventually befriends Mebh Óg MacTíre (Eva Whittaker in her first film role; pronounced “MABE”), a Wolfwalker. As a Wolfwalker, the animalistic Mebh can leave her physical body and take the shape of a wolf while slumbering. Mebh’s mother – who is also a Wolfwalker – has been missing for sometime while Cromwell has ordered the slaughter of all of Ireland’s wolves. Things are complicated when Bill is tasked by the Lord Protector to destroy the wolves living in the woods surrounding Kilkenny.

From the opening moments, lead background artist Ludovic Gavillet (2016’s The Secret Life of Pets, 2018’s The Grinch) sets the contrast between the scenes within and outside Kilkenny’s walls. Kilkenny is suffocatingly geometric, with squares and rectangles dominating the background and foreground. Backbreaking work defines life in Kilkenny, all devoted to the residents’ English conquerors, God, and the Lord Protector. Rarely does the average city resident venture outside the looming outer medieval walls (there are two sets of walls in the city). The structure of Kilkenny is inconceivably box-shaped when seen from a distance. It appears like a linocut. In that distance are the countryside and the forests. As one ventures further from Cromwell’s castle, expressionist swirls define the foliage that seems to enclose the living figures treading through. Green, brown, and black figures twist impossibly in this lush environment. Seemingly half-drawn or faded figures suggest a depthless, dense forest – similar in function to, but nevertheless distinct from, Tyrus Wong’s background art for Bambi (1942). In both Kilkenny and the forest scenes, selective uses of of CGI animation capture the dynamism of certain action scenes – two running scenes in particular employ these techniques (once in joy, the other in terror).

So often in modern CGI-animated films, the animators seem to grasp for heightened realism and minutiae. In such movies, too many details are packed into frames that can only be appreciated if prodigiously rewatched or paused mid-movie. It might feel like completing a visual checklist. In Wolfwalkers, the half-finished details amid breathtaking backgrounds, angular (or round) humans, and simultaneously threatening and delightful wolves almost seem to announce that, yes, humans drew this – and they did so with such artistic flare. In keeping with the references to triptychs in this review, the film itself sometimes divides the frame into thirds (a top, middle, and bottom or a left, center, and right) or halves in moments of dramatic weight. The thirds or halves are separated by dividing lines and are used for various purposes depending on the moment: to save the filmmakers from making two extra cuts, juxtapose differing if not contradicting perspectives, and intensify the emotions portrayed. Less utilized in this film but even more radical than the aforementioned techniques is the film’s use of shifting aspect ratios. Wolfwalkers is principally in 1.85:1 (the common American widescreen cinematic standard, which is slightly wider than the 16:9 widescreen TV standard), but there are notable moments which temporarily dispense of these standards. Like the division of the screen into thirds or halves, the shifts in screen aspect ratio help the audience focus and understand what is occurring on-screen. The most memorable screen aspect ratio shift appears before an eruption of violence.

The Secret of Kells, too, was set in a city designed in a perfect, orderly shape. That film, like Wolfwalkers, evokes Christianity for narrative purposes. But where Kells celebrated God and found religion as a source of comfort, Wolfwalkers’ depiction of Christianity – specifically, Cromwell’s Anglican zealotry – is without redeeming elements. Under his breath, the Lord Protector prays to God that he will execute any providential commands by any means necessary. In public, he announces his actions as essential to rid Ireland of the lupine paganism that inhabits the wild. Without saying as much, Cromwell’s orders are nevertheless Anglican England imposing its will on Irish Catholics. Irish cinema, until the late 1990s and early 2000s, was usually deferential in its depictions of the clergy and religious practitioners (almost always Catholic). Though it is not unheard of for an Irish film to be critical in portrayals of religious belief, it remains uncommon. And though Cromwell is Anglican and not Catholic (and despite the fact he remains vilified in Ireland), Wolfwalkers’ cynical depiction in how he wields his religiosity as a cudgel is an extraordinary development in Irish cinema.

Tied to the film’s depiction of religiosity are its undercurrents of English colonialism and environmentalism. The latter will be obvious to viewers, but the former might cause confusion during a first viewing because it seems to be, at once, on the periphery and yet central to Wolfwalkers. Cromwell being referred to as “the Lord Protector” for the film’s entirety is indicative of screenwriter Will Collins’ (Song of the Sea) decision not to provide much historical context within the film. English colonial oppression usually occurs off-screen or is implied. This seems inconsistent with Cartoon Saloon’s work on The Breadwinner. That film identifies and openly describes Taliban injustices.

So what gives? As much as those who admire animated film disdain perceptions that it is solely for children (like myself), animated film is oftentimes a gateway for children to be exposed, eventually, to other corners of cinema. Can children understand Anglican-Catholic tensions in Cromwellian Ireland? Perhaps (especially British and Irish children), if presented with enough care. But the answer probably lies with the fact that the thematic goals of Wolfwalkers are more aligned with Kells and Song of the Sea than The Breadwinner. Cartoon Saloon’s Irish folklore triptych is concerned with how the Irish are inextricably, spiritually, bonded to the environment. There is a balance between humanity and nature – a mystical connection that, when disrupted, brings harm to all. The Breadwinner, though very much a part of Cartoon Saloon’s filmography, is grounded in recent history and, because of recent developments in the Taliban’s favor concerning the Afghan peace process, present-day concerns. In the film, fantastical stories are used to bring Parvana’s family together as the Taliban tighten their grip before the American invasion. This has little bearing on the folklore-centric storytelling of Wolfwalkers, but Collins, Moore, and Stewart’s editorial decision to downplay the film’s historical basis tempers any messaging they wished to convey.

Wolfwalkers meets The Breadwinner in its depiction of a young girl growing up in a male-dominated society. This film’s lead was supposed to be a young boy. But the story, to Collins, Moore, and Stewart, just did not click with the original male protagonist. As such, the trio made the decision early in the film’s production to switch the protagonist’s gender. Robyn, an English transplant to Ireland, is allowed remarkable freedom to do whatever she wants with her time in the opening stages of the film. This arrangement cannot persist as her father falls from the Lord Protector’s good graces. She is relegated to washing dishes from daybreak to dusk in the scullery – a task that she, in her heart, rejects for its gendered connotations. Robyn wears a Puritan’s frock while at the scullery, a uniform she has no desire for. While outdoors beyond the Kilkenny walls, she wears what her father wears – pants! – while out hunting wolves. Other than her father, few in the city care for Robyn’s intelligence and instincts. Most everybody ignores her protestations and truth-telling about the things she has seen in the forest. By film’s end, she is vindicated, in spite of Cromwell’s (and, to a lesser extent, her father’s) bluster and bravado.

This film also contains potentially queer subtext between Robyn and Mebh. Writers more skilled than I will provide better analysis of that subtext. Nothing explicit is shown, as the two are still children. Yet the nature of their friendship, the themes contained in Wolfwalkers, and some unspoken moments between Robyn and Mebh seem to relate a possible queerness. The film also does nothing to present either girl as heterosexual. Queer or not, Wolfwalkers shows the viewer a blossoming friendship between two girls – not without its tribulations, but rooted in their common earnestness.

Unlike previous films in Cartoon Saloon’s Irish folklore triptych, there are no notable original songs in Wolfwalkers. French composer Bruno Coulais and Irish folk music group Kíla are Cartoon Saloon regulars and return for Wolfwalkers. The musical ideas for Wolfwalkers’ score are not as apparent as the previous films in the triptych, as they are not quoting a song composed for the film. But the use of Irish instruments in their collaboration lends at atmospheric authenticity that only heaps upon the film’s sterling animation. Norwegian pop sensation AURORA has altered the lyrics and orchestration to her 2015 single “Running with the Wolves” to accompany a running scene that, by the filmmakers’ admission, was inspired by the running scene from The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan). The scene pales in comparison to the context and music from the late Isao Takahata’s final film, but Wolfwalkers is a movie more than the sum of its parts.

Production on Wolfwalkers was in its final stages as the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Republic of Ireland. When the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced a countrywide lockdown on March 12, 2020, Cartoon Saloon had already started preparing for a lockdown contingency three weeks’ prior. Clean-up was divided between Luxembourg-based Mélusine Productions and Cartoon Saloon’s headquarters in Kilkenny. After assessing the needs of the clean-up animators, both studios moved to remote work where the most pressing complication was their Internet bandwidth slowing down upload speeds.

Cartoon Saloon’s Irish folklore triptych is finished. In the last eleven years, the studio has proven itself one of the most interesting and important animation studios currently working. They have even proven they can make quality films without its primary director, as evidenced by Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner (Twomey’s next project for Cartoon Saloon is My Father’s Dragon, slated for a 2021 release). Though just an indie studio with limited resources, their standing in animated cinema has only strengthened with this, their most ambitious film to date. It might seem like a rehash of the animation from Kells, but Wolfwalkers has improved upon its predecessor, and boasts perhaps the most beautiful artwork of any animated movie released this year. The film’s grandeur belongs on a movie screen, but, understandably, very few will have the opportunity to experience it in such an environment. This latest, ageless triumph will outlast these extraordinary times.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[robhorninginternalexile]

masochism vibe

This New Yorker piece by Kyle Chayka provides an overview of "vibes" as a social media phenomenon, epitomized by TikToks that deemphasize narrative in favor of evoking a mood or an aesthetic or a genre, a -core.

With respect to social media, a vibe is basically a commodified piece of affect situated within a person's profile. It drafts on the broader idea of an environmental ambience, a harmonious suite of elements that coalesce in a nameless but distinct feeling. Vibes are basically affects that are circulating around us and settle in us and hijack our subjectivity in an opportune moment — they take us outside ourselves while simultaneously reminding us we are a discrete self.

But because affect precedes an individual's experience of it as an emotion — "affect is the circuit of bodily responses to stimuli that take place before conscious apprehension," in Anahid Kassabian's definition — it stands in tension with the autonomous, self-identical "subject" that would be capable of generating an online profile that truly expressed "who they really are." So to try to capture vibes or produce them for a post is to catch oneself up in a contradiction: If affects shape our experience and we come to terms with them only after the fact, then we are not capable of unilaterally dictating what sort of feelings we want to have or express. Instead we try to assert agency over affects by naming them in a certain way, packaging them. This is what happens with the "vibes" that are reified into social media posts and deployed as attempts a self-branding.

That's one side of the "vibe" equation: it's an attempt to master circulating affects and turn them into a kind of capital. (Is "capitalizing on vibes" a vibe in itself? That is often the mood I take away from "stories"-driven social media platforms.)

But there is another side, that Chayka suggests here:

Exhausted by the Internet of personalities and expressed individuality, constantly measured and sorted by likes, we perhaps find comfort in turning our gaze outward. There is a self-effacement that takes place in embracing this new language, a sense that you are not “the main character” of a situation, as another TikTok meme might describe it, but a replaceable observer. “No thoughts, just vibes,” one online mantra goes, and after a year of constant anxiety it has a certain appeal.

What's being described here is when one lets affect efface the self, when affect becomes a means of being reformulated as part of a "subject" that exceeds the individual and comprises an entire environment — the assemblage of people and objects and actions that had generated and circulated the affect. In Ubiquitous Listening, Kassabian calls this nebulous condition "distributed subjectivity," the potentially liberating feeling of being a node in a network that conducts a feeling.

As Chayka notes, the exhaustion with subjectivity, with the self-branding of self and others, plays a part in wanting to dissolve subjectivity into a miasma of affect. Vibes are construed as a rejection of individual personality, an expulsion of the self, a self-objectification. This aligns vibes with masochism, at least as Roy Baumeister describes it in the paper "Masochism as Escape From Self." I've applied that paper to social media practices before; social media grants lots of apparent agency over self-presentation, which has the effect of generating an intense anxiety about it, a need to repudiate agency, to reject "adulting," to experience oneself as a thing without capability that is carried along passively within emotions that overwhelm the self and at the same time secure it.

As I wrote then, to address how social media makes us feel would seem to require deeper engagement with social media, as in a negative feedback loop. Social media make “self-construction” masochistic and simultaneously self-negating (as well as addictive, or strategic).

Vibes would then tend toward increasingly self-annihilating or objectifying expressions of themselves — cringe, humiliation, obedience, compulsive repetition, going blank, and so on, experiences that actively and explicitly nullify the space of personal autonomy.

[sugoikawaiimiyafuji420]

My Life Can’t Be This Boring! (My Mahjong Tournaments Retrospective)

The Wheel of Fate Is Turning.

Riichi mahjong is a strange game. At its core, it is traditionally a gambling game where players’ necks are at the mercy of Lady Luck’s guillotine. One decision, a doorway brimming with light and hope, could house a grim reaper behind it, waiting to behead you. Obviously, it would sound foolish to compete in such a game where a stroke of misfortune can sway your tournament results, right? Well, jokes on you! I was born a fool, nya!

In these past months, probably nearing two years by now, I have had the chance to participate in multiple online mahjong tournaments. Not that I was bored or anything, but really I was bored and felt like taking a stroll into a psychedelic inner chamber of insanity. And while I may not have had any success in any of the tournaments except for one, going through a mental Hell back and forth was a worthwhile journey, as disbelieving as that may sound. To fight through the unknown, taking on risks, gathering courage while all the same seeing it shattered immediately. In a chaotic, frenzy environment, a slight misstep in decision could lead to a disastrous fall, the end of a tournament life. 

To combat, players equip themselves with knowledge and information accumulated from experience and study materials, allowing them to more accurately read their opponents hands and possibly deduce what they hold. The problem is that with the impact of luck, deduction skills are not foolproof. It is near impossible for players to have a correct assessment at all times, as such skill is resemblant of an upper deity’s. Multiple variations of patterns can occur in a single situation, and using process-of-elimination to narrow down to a specific shape is not viable in nearly all scenarios. As a result, players take every possibility into consideration and assign a risk percentage to each one, leaving the ultimate choice to be a gamble if they want to pursue victory.

With the risk management mindset and the random element established, a single mahjong game is not enough to determine who is the better player. Sure, it may be enough to see the difference between an incredibly bad player and a good player, but it’s not enough between two players with close skill gaps. Only in the long term, as more samples and statistics are recorded, the difference in capability becomes more apparent. With that said, what’s the point of tournaments, an environment where a single game of randomness can decide your tournament life? Why go through such an ordeal only to be unluckily busted out by newbies and pros all alike? I probably have a better time with my tummy out, snacking on ranch doritos while watching Joshiraku and not getting any of the cultural jokes again.

Competitions can turn a man upside down, twirl him around, and put him back upright. A man of pride can enter a competition and leave with the lowest self-esteem. Thoughts of doubt, thoughts of hatred, intermingling with thoughts of confidence and thoughts of goodness in a short span of time. Repulsive elements chaotically intertwine in a downward spiral through a game of randomness, conjuring an experience of pointless meaning but simultaneously a newfound perspective of what it means to fight. 

As one passes through the nauseating wave of emotions and competitive turmoil, stumbling and tumbling, the ocean of misfortune plunges them into the deepest depths of despair. And then at some point, at some space and time, what was left of an emotional resistance becomes a reprieve of the soul. The still body, battered and scarred, floats back to the surface and reaches the shores of enlightenment. 

A state of no expectations, 無心 (mushin), a state of no mind.

A concept in Zen philosophy, mushin is a mindset where one does not expect anything, great or less. What happens, happens, and one reacts accordingly in a simple manner, with no fear and no euphoria behind their actions. Prior, in the whirlwind of emotions, focusing on a grander goal, emphasizing victory, fearing defeat, the dopamine shots of riichi and the dread of dealing in. Packs and layers of such thoughts could obstruct decision-making and lead one astray from the golden path. Reading defense theory, paying attention to the discarded tiles, and calculating probabilities may put one into a state of comfort and control. But that amount of knowledge they put forth does not prevent illogicalness. The tower crafted from collecting information can be easily toppled by a pebble of whimsicality, creating a double-edge sword that challenges one’s beliefs in their learning and casts them back into the fear of the unknown. Thoughts of self-doubt and uneasiness reverberate through the corners of the mind, otherwise known as ‘tilted’. But at the end of the day, all the worries and frustration belong to a natural cycle that one must accept. Being slighted and rejected, experiencing mental pain, expressing sadness is all part of living. Getting hurt is part of the risk and acknowledging that is part of the maturity. Putting forth energy into the extraneous, echoing thoughts hides the core question of what one should be facing at the mahjong table: “Which tile do you discard?”.

Carrying no expectations, be void of outside noises and focus on the task in front of you. The simplicity of it all is in reality, hard to practice since there is a sense of hypocrisy. Mushin is a state of no mind, but that does not mean the absence of critical thinking. Intelligence is not mutually exclusive from mushin. Rather, what mushin means is to free oneself from unnecessary, cumbersome thoughts, to have a quick wit. A punch is thrown and a person dodges. He doesn't think about what happens when he dodges, how to dodge, the advantages of dodging, the fear of failing to dodge, and all those big and however small miscellaneous assortments of dodging thoughts in the heat of battle. He simply dodges with no hesitation.

It lies here where a form of self-confidence starts to sprout. Not being tied down by extravagant thoughts, an appreciation for the simple and mundane act of doing and not doing. Even if a failure occurs, or when things don’t go in a favorable way, to decisively make a choice and accepting all possibilities of the outcome leads to a renewed faith in oneself. The willingness to accept the truth of their existence and dying in comfort knowingly. In mahjong, one can calculate the Bayesian probabilities or make a chart to weigh the benefits and consequences of each choice, but at the end, it is simply whether they want to take the risk and discard that tile. And once one full-heartedly embraces everything about their decision with no hesitation: the worst case scenario, the best case scenario, and everything in-between, their action is an honest and confident representation of their true self.

And there is something unique and transcending when people in earnest are in battle for glory. An experience that is difficult to translate to words, and can seem contradictory. Like two climbers clinging desperately towards the peak of the mountain within the harsh, unpredictable wind of fortune blowing in folly. In those instances of times, the brief silent moments of the cruelty of battle, spark a connectivity between humans. A passage of relatability and a source of warmth in the blizzard. The duality of understanding each other and the acceptance of the death of another, no words spoken in-between. A high-stakes, ephemeral stage: the proof of exchange of one’s life’s emotions and hardwork.

As the conclusion nears, as one eventually falls from the mountain peak, they stare back in wonderment if they were honest in their struggles. Their efforts fading like sand in the wind only to be caught by the love of the sport and rebuilt again.

In turn, the wheel of the competitive cycle continues to spin, the experiences and exchanges among different people help build a steel foundation of perseverance and respect amidst the unexplained insanity of luck and flow. Shifting fortune can strip a person bare whilst making a person wealthy, underlining adaptation and calmness as landscapes morph haphazardly through the flow of time. And while sceneries change into unrecognizable crossroads, walked by new, ever-changing people on their own mental journeys amidst the formidable chaos, the familiar lingerings of the bond that was once felt among the glory mountaintops still remain.

The Wheel of Fate Keeps Turning.

[eloisevisualculture]

Essay: The ballroom culture

Born from repression, the underground ball culture expresses a lot of social and cultural themes through a visual representation of gender norms, social standing, race. Through performances, fashion and dance the people belonging to minorities (both in race and sexuality and gender) can simultaneously stand out and fit in, in a safe environment where their creativity, individuality and ambition is celebrated.The purpose of this essay is to explore the nature of the ballroom community and their purpose, the way they advocated freedom of expression in matters of gender, sexuality and race through art, fashion and dance.

Rather than focus on a single artwork, i will be discussing the origin and some major elements of the ball culture, followed by the long lasting impact it has had on widespread society, the general fashion world.My main sources is the 1990 film ‘Paris is burning’.

How did Ball room culture influenced societal norms through performance, fashion and modelling?

Underground ball culture finds its roots the 1920s, but it truly built shaped itself as it is know today in 1960s, in New York, after the Stonewall Riots where Queer people stood up against the police. It was originally founded by the drag queens who were tired of the racist and restrictive drag ball shows that were usually directed by white men. Mostly organised by and for young African American and Latin American members of the LGBTQ community, the ball culture centres around events where people compete for trophies, titles and glory through dance, fashion modelling, and lip-syncing.

The ball room competitions allowed young trans and queer people of colour to display their sexuality freely, socialise with likeminded people and explore a world of fashion, performing and fame in a free, safe environment.

Ball room modelling and fashion contests evolved to contain a lot of diverse categories, allowing everyone to participate (particularly around the 70s). ‘There is always something for everyone. It’s what keeps them coming back’. Some of those categories included ‘Evening Wear’, ‘Butch queen’, ‘executive realness’. In the white dominated society they were living, the ball community had accessed to tv shows and magazine showcasing the life of luxury, leisure and fame of white America, inaccessible to them. Most of them lived in poverty, difficult familial situation, and more generally had suffered through discrimination, rejection and abuse all their life, so the balls were a way for them to construct their own fantasy, of fame, wealth and freedom. Through their clothes, the fashion they inhabit these roles, imagine a reality where these doors would be open to them. 

This was illustrated in an interview in the film Paris is Burning “In real life you can’t get a job as an executive unless you have the educational background and the opportunity. In a ballroom you can be anything you want. You aren’t really an executive but you’re looking like one. You’re showing to the straight world I can be an executive if i had the opportunity. I could be one, because I look like one.”(Pepper Lebeija, 1990).

This notion of identity intrinsically tied to appearance is fascinating, and while fashion can be considered in some regards to be very superficial and nonessential, it has a major role in society, an important way of expressing oneself as well as delimiting and breaking barriers of gender conforming, class.

Another important factor of these balls is that it prevented some of youth from entering gangs, giving them an outlet, and community and goals to aspire to.  “Those balls are more or less our fantasy of being a superstar, like at the oscars. [...] or being on the runway, as a model. A lot of those kids at the balls don’t have two of nothing, some of them don’t even eat. They come to the balls starving, and they sleep in ‘Under 21’ or on the pier. They don’t have a home to go to. But they’ll go out and steal something and get dressed up and come to the ball for that one night and live the fantasy.”

At the heart of the ball community are the Houses. Led by a Mother or Father, they adopt youths into their midst and form a protective group, supporting and looking out for each other in the still very homophobic, racist and transphobic society (still the case today unfortunately). The houses compete for glory and recognition in the balls and hold a fierce rivalry between each other. A lot of the youths attending the balls lived in extreme poverty, in difficult familial situations or on the streets, having been thrown out of their homes, so the houses are extremely important.

‘Families for a lot of kids who don’t have families.’ 

The ball room culture, through it’s celebration of sexuality and it’s breaking down of heteronormative society, defined as “Heteronormativity is the idea that heterosexual attraction and relationships are the normal form of sexuality” in the Encyclopedia of Critical psychology. The participants of the balls are not tied by their birth assigned or assumed gender, their garments and make up reflect this. The wave of recognition of gender fluidity in the last decade, the emphasis on pronouns for instance, are a testament to the impact of the subculture.

Trans women and men are at the heart of ballroom culture, were rejected not only by heteronormative society but the queer community as well, the balls rooms and houses were truly the only place were they were accepted. The series Pose, based in 70s New York illustrates the segregation of Trans people, who weren’t even allowed in gay bars for instance, and their mortality rate was and still is today extremely high. 

Ball room culture has had and continues to have a lasting impact on society, particularly in the visual world of Fashion, inspired by the thrifted or homemade couture, the innovative shapes and modelling techniques, accompanied with music and ‘Voguing’ a dance that originated from the ball room. Unfortunately the ballrooms are not always acknowledged for this. Cultural appropriation has been going on for decades, the language, visual ideas, dances and concepts of ball room and more generally queer culture has trickled down to the general public, who do not know to acknowledge their source.

They opened the question of sexuality and ushered in a new age of questioning and freedom through their flamboyant shows, and use of clothing. But further than that, the legacy of the ball room culture is a message of freedom of sexuality and expression, a rejection of gender norms through the destruction of, advocating trans rights. Over the years drag and ballroom culture has become more and more accepted, less stigmatised. The television show  Rupaul’s Drag Race caused a historic change for the community, showcases some aspect of the culture, drag queens mainly, to a much more widespread international audience. Other shows like Pose also documents the history of the balls in the 70s.

Conclusion;

The ball communities has massively influenced the visual culture of today, men can wear makeup, clothes are slowly becoming genderless. Traditional gender roles and gender performance are being toyed with, criticised, and society is slowly changing to include Trans people. People are feeling more and more empowering to wear what they want, appear as they wish to appear and not to be defined by societal norms.The High fashion and the artistic world is opening up, and while there is so much more progress to be made total, freedom of expression and sexuality has come a long way since the 70s.

 It is important to remember who inspired these changes, fight against cultural appropriation and to give respect to the creative, incredibly courageous individuals and communities that made an art out of ballrooms.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

Fig 7

Bibliography:

Fig 1: Zay Wilder walking in the Blackout Ball, November 2015. Photographed by Anja Matthes

Fig 2 and 3: Members of the House of Bangy Kunts, photographed by Anja Matthes

Fig 4 and 5: Stills from Paris is Burning (1990) Jenny Livingston

Fig 6 and 7: Portraits taken from Damian Frost’s Night Flowers: From Avante-Drag to Extreme Haute-Coutur (2016)

Paris is Burning.(1990).[film]New York: Jenny Livingston

Pose.(2018).[television series]New York: Ryan Murphy; Brad Falchuk; Steven Canals.

Matthes, A.(2019-2020). Kiki Ballroom Portraits.[photograph]. Available at: https://www.anjamatthes.com/kiki-portraits [accessed 4 Jan 2020].

Matthes, A.(2019-2020). The House of Bangy Kunts.[photograph]. Available at: https://www.anjamatthes.com/kiki-portraits [accessed 4 Jan 2020].

Matthes, A. And Salzman, S. (2019).In the Kiki ballroom scene, Queer kids of colour can be themselves. The Atlantic,[online]. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/11/nyc-kiki-community/599830/ [accessed on: 2 Jan 2020]

Frost, D. (2016). Night Flowers: From Avante-Drag to Extreme Haute-Couture. London: Merrel Holberton

[solacefruit]

Hi Grey, I struggle a lot with world building and I think it's easiest for me to learn by example. I was wondering if you had any books or series you'd recommend that you thought did particularly well in the world building department or that you found inspiring. I'm trying to start building a list of things to read, could be any genre

Hello there and thank you for your patience! I’ll be honest, this one’s a challenge to answer, but I’ll do my best. I’ll put it all under a read-more, because I’m going to talk a lot about why I feel these books are good places for thinking about world-building. 

Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman. (fantasy)

This one comes up a lot when I’m making recommendations and that’s because I love it. For me, it was deeply formative in many ways, and especially when it came to world-building, because Pullman uses a style of world-building which really clicks for me--which is basically throwing your reader into a world and not explaining much at all, leaving many things gestured at but never explicitly said. Things just happen, things just are, and the reader has to keep up. There’s a lot that goes unsaid in this book, and it means you as a reader have to start thinking and “solving” the gaps in the world yourself. There’s room for speculation and I thrive in that environment, and lean on it heavily in my own work. 

A great example of that comes in the first chapter of the novel, on the fifth page and then again on the seventh: 

“As Lyra held her breath she saw the servant’s daemon (a dog, like almost all servants’ daemons) trot in and sit quietly at his feet...” - page five. “... and said something to his daemon. He was a servant, so she was a dog; but a superior servant, so a superior dog. In fact, she had the form of a red setter.” - page seven.

That’s good oblique storytelling, because you are told so much and simultaneously so little. From these two tiny pieces, you now know that:

servants usually have dog-shaped daemons

some daemons, even within a family, are “better” than others

daemons mean something about their person

But these pieces tell you enough that you can now speculate and question the world as you read on. Things like:

why do servants have dog daemons?

what makes a red setter daemon better than another dog daemon?

what does a dog daemon mean?

what is the hierarchical system of daemons, who is better than whom?

are people sorted because of their daemons, or do the daemons reflect where the person is sorted to after the fact? 

what do other daemons mean?

are these meanings innate or cultural? 

The book itself will directly answer maybe one or two questions, hint at a few others, and leave many completely unresolved. But that’s not bad world-building. For me, that’s the kind of world-building I love best. The book can now say, “this person’s daemon is a butterfly,” and you will be primed to read symbolism and significance into that, even in moments where the book itself doesn’t give you any. You’re a participant in creating the world as you read. A little goes a long way. 

The Discworld novels, by Terry Pratchett. (fantasy, comedy) If you’re trying to pick a first book, start here. 

And now for something completely different. Pratchett’s Discworld is an absurdist world, created to satirise fantasy tropes and play as the stage for social and political commentary. What makes Discworld so interesting as a place to learn about world-building is that it is a world that doesn’t take chronology or “consistency”  or “authenticity” seriously. Where a lot of fantasy writers will stress over making sure every detail lines up, and their fans will often get very upset if they find anything “inconsistent” or “incorrect���, Pratchett’s world entirely rejects that way of doing things. Pratchett commented: 

 “[S]ometimes I even forget [...] where things are ... I don’t think [...] even the most rabid fan expects complete consistency within Discworld, because in Ankh-Morpork you have what is apparently a Renaissance city, but with elements of early Victorian England, and the medieval world is still hanging on. It’s in a permanent state of turmoil, which is very interesting for the author.” (quoted in Hills, Guilty of Literature).

There’s something very liberated and fluid in how Discworld forms, because it’s such a committed pastiche, but it doesn’t at all (at least, for me) undercut believing in the characters or story. I adore Discworld and its characters. I think it’s very valuable to read if you’re in fantasy writing (or speculative fiction in general), because it’s easy to fall into thinking that unless you make everything Perfect and Realistic and Consistent, your world-building isn’t good. 

Something else about Discworld worth noting is that, despite being absurd and fluid, it is also grounded in the real. Pratchett’s world is in turmoil, but it includes sewer systems, passages of trade and commerce, and a pervasive sense of the civic life happening and living outside of the plot-line: it’s not just a diorama to be walked through, but a place where people exist and do mundane things and have everyday needs. I personally find it fascinating that the story manages to exist sort of balancing at oppositional ends of the “realism” spectrum at all times, but I think that’s also the key to why it is so successful at what it does. 

(Side note: Matt Hills’ chapter in Guilty of Literature is a great read if you want to know more!) 

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (science fiction)

I’m not a big reader of science fiction, because my heart is with fantasy, always. But this series was super interesting and I can recommend it, especially if science fiction is more your flavour! It’s been a while since I’ve read it, so I can’t give the same amount of detail as I’ve done above, but it was thoughtful and intriguing and I loved the ways this trilogy defamiliarised and refamiliarised ideas through the world and characters. 

“The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. Le Guin. (short story)

It’s only four pages long, but it’s haunting. I’ve put this story on the list because I feel like Ursula K. Le Guin belongs in many conversations about world-building; her work, in her time, was often radical--and remains so, in many cases. She didn’t flinch away from making her worlds alien, not in the sense of writing about space and people out among the stars (which admittedly she did also do!), but truly questioning and challenging cultural and societal norms and creating new ones, even (and especially) when they were uncomfortable to the status quo. 

To me, that’s a core part of good world-building. You can just recreate the world we live in, with all the biases we’re raised to have, with the beliefs and expectations of conduct we have, with all the same bigotry--or you can push yourself to pull it all apart and pick from it the pieces you want to play with. You can push things to their extreme limits, or erase them entirely, or just... slide things a little to the left and make the whole world slightly off. Being able to be flexible in your thinking is vital for making vivid, interesting worlds, and Ursula K. Le Guin's work is a place you can start exploring that kind of thing if you’re unfamiliar with it. 

For instance, in her novel Left Hand of Darkness, there is only one pronoun (a theme you’ll notice in Ancillary Justice) and the people of the planet Gethin change sex regularly. In her collection of short stories, “The Birthday of the World and Other Stories,” she writes about sedoretu, a four-way marriage she invents, as well as exploring gender, religion, culture, and society. Any of these are worth taking a look at, if you’re feeling a little boxed in. 

However, despite saying all this: I don’t really enjoy her writing! I don’t have fun reading Le Guin’s work in practice; it doesn’t mesh with me beyond my delight at the conceptual elements she discusses. I often feel about reading her work like how kids think about medicine: tastes kind of awful, but it’s good for you. I’m grateful to her for paving the way, but I don’t read her work for fun. 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente. 

I’m throwing this one in the ring for a few reasons. One is that I am heavily indebted to nonsense; I grew up on Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland + Alice Through the Looking-glass, Edward Gorey, A. A. Milne, H. R. Pufnstuf, and a little later, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Discworld. This book feels representative of that big love, and taps into what I love about nonsense. 

Another reason is that it’s a good example of what I think of as delightful lawlessness in storytelling. It feels--as respectfully and lovingly as I can say this--like a game of mad libs turned into a book, because of how free and wild it is with what is allowed to happen. I think it’s very difficult to do something like this well, but I also think it’s a great place to play around when you’re first beginning to get to grips on world-building. Spin a wheel of options and go, “okay, so there’s a manticore in the basement, what now?” Make up reasons for things on the spot as a game for yourself. Ask and answer questions, just for fun! “Why is there a manticore there?”  “It got in through the magic portal.”  “Where’s the magic portal?”  “It’s an old picture of the protagonist’s grandmother.”  “Why is it a portal?” “The grandmother is secretly a witch and the ex-queen of a fantasy land.” “Why is the manticore here?” “Come to retrieve the queen, but accidentally takes the protagonist by mistake.” “Why does the manticore want the queen?” “Extreme Trivia Night at the Castle has really sucked lately. Also she misses her.” And just like that, you’ve got the start of a wacky but not impossible-to-tell story.  

My final suggestion isn’t a book, but a podcast!

Be The Serpent (a podcast of extremely deep literary merit). 

A fortnightly podcast by three charming writers who discuss a different theme or topic each episode (using a couple of texts as reference material), and will also make media recommendations. I love listening to it and it’s a great place to think about writing, both as a reader and as a writer. I don’t have a lot of writing friends myself, unfortunately, so it’s honestly so valuable to me to be able to hear them discuss their process and ideas on topics I care about. 

I hope this helps! Best of luck to you, and please feel free to write in if you have any other questions. 

[conseille]

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2018) AESTHETICS.   repost, don’t reblog. bold whatever applies. tag whoever you want and feel free to add to the categories.

THE SHAPE OF WATER : early mornings. art on an easel. being trapped. flashy cars. self-righteous intolerance. speaking volumes without a word. being submerged. learning and adapting. raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water. cats. taboo desires. tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia. kissing underwater. silence.  isolation. golden age hollywood.  sign language.  scales.  egg shells. jell-o. the smell of cleaning supplies.  creature features. the space race. red coats. monstrous fairy tales.  lab coats. lunches in brown bags. the click of shoes.  smog. dance routines.  slices of pie. toxic masculinity. chains. government secrets. seeing past flaws. floating aimlessly. needles. greens and blues.  deep, inexorable scars. gills.  music from the 30′s.  retro-futurism. bloody handprints.  routines.  record players. old movies. love in unexpected places.

PHANTOM THREAD  :  a doll in a gilded birdcage.  butter to bread. the death of a mother. cycles. hidden messages.  a disruptive presence. longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control. post-war. brightly colored socks. inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations. family dysfunction. rich fabrics. curses. soft piano music.  restrained anger. spinning out of control.  artist and muse. dark love. pastels. peace in the countryside. clockwork dynamics. perfection.  wild mushrooms.  giving up every piece of yourself. rags to riches.  ghosts.  new year’s.  lingering gazes.  needle and thread. fine dining. hearing every sound.  being ambushed. ego.  flowing dresses.  a person out of place. defiance.  ink to paper.  an artist tortured by their art.  obsessive personalities. peepholes.  soothing elegance.  silk. spiral staircases.  driving at high speeds. high society.

THE POST : typewriters. newspapers.  tense climates.  distrust of authority. internal battles.  a legacy at stake. secrets. cover-ups.  defending what you believe. peering through windows. melodrama. political corruption.  behind closed doors. sniffing a scoop. ringing phones. lying for over a decade.  cramming and crowding.  cold grays.  war.  fluorescent lights.  treason.  shuffled papers.  the jungle.  a weight on your shoulders. fresh coffee. thousands of deaths. burglary.  finding your voice.  risking everything.  propaganda. tough choices. exposure.  type being set by hand.  workplace rivalries.  abuses of power.  security breaches. hierarchy. a bed strewn with papers and books. paranoia.  orders. clicking keys. redacted files. desk clutter.  cigarette smoke.  precious cargo.  vanished technologies.  suspenseful conversations. facing charges.  courtroom battles.  suits and ties.

DARKEST HOUR  : never surrendering.  duty.  countless negotiations.  the flash of cameras.  beaches. historic buildings.  guzzling booze.  resignation. utter catastrophe. bunkers.  radio broadcasts. going against the odds.  bathed in red light.  a sense of humor.  allies. shouting matches.  small square windows. selfishness. walking with a cane. war rooms.  chandeliers.  dust floating in air. righteousness.  a poor reputation.  an elevator surrounded by darkness.  a world at war.  needing a miracle.  interruptions.  a last hope. cigar smoke.  quoting poetry.  photos of a loved one.  a single sunbeam. monarchy. vanity. rescue missions. refusing peace.  pallid chambers.  military uniforms. taking a stand. common folk.  suicide missions.  drums of war.  tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance.  complete collapse.  evacuations. enveloped by fog.  changing history. blood, toil, tears and sweat.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI  :   severe burns.  police uniforms.  sirens. the calmness of a deer. strumming guitars. grieving. horrifying memories. sucker punches. a lack of respect. facing threats.  skin under fingernails. flicking cigarettes.  awkward dates.  nasty rumors. claustrophobia.  lush green pastures.  molotov cocktails.  the fire of anger and revenge.  strangers.  no remorse. bashing in windows.  the midwest. provoking a fight. pointing fingers. being pressed for time.  rundown old houses. grey morality.  dark undercurrents. insurmountable losses. cruel laughs. the american flag. dive bars. guilty no matter what.   buildings in flames. ambulances. coughing up blood. spitting.  chewing on fingernails.  one versus many.  black and red. not understanding another’s feelings.  a mother and child.  the pain of others.  a quest of justice. abandoned billboards.  a hardened gaze.  driving to nowhere.  small towns. last letters. absurd violence.

DUNKIRK  : burying a body.  warm cider.  narrow escapes. a race against time.  a small boat. all hope lost. being unable to come home.  taken prisoner. shipwrecks.  assuming the identity of someone else. setting fire to it all.  smoke rising from a crash. sea foam.  seaports.  rendered blind. dropping to take cover. land, sea, and air. entangled in chain.  toast with jam.  suspense.  waiting for escape.  wounded men. lying in the sand. trauma.  blank spaces.  sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun. swallowed by darkness.  bullet holes. obstacles and delays.  a hero’s welcome. planes overhead.  the sounds of a ticking clock.  bullets ricocheting off metal.  people by the thousands.  shell-shocked.  the explosions of shells on shores.  the sound of destruction. rising tides.  head injuries. target practice.  compressed time and space. the perennial threat of death.  oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good.   blocking out the noise.  primal dangers.  taking command.  sole survivor.

GET OUT  : deer antlers.  suburbs.  hypnosis.  strange behavior.  familial tension.  chopping wood.  uneasy stares. tears and a smile. deception. fight or flight.  blindness.  survival.  sinking into the floor. watching but powerless. strapped to a chair.  plugged ears.  a failed handshake.  car accidents.  sunken places. something out of a nightmare.  going hysterical. bingo cards. smoking cigarettes.  static on a television set.  doing more harm than good. a hint of a smile. a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them. waiting for someone to come when they never will.  overturned candles.  wealthy garden parties.  constantly looking over your shoulder. silence no matter how hard you scream.  trances.  catharsis.  a battle of wills. layers being peeled back. a cup of tea.  nosebleeds.  addiction.  last bits of life leaving a body.  black and white photography.  sprinting at high speeds. conspiracies. surgery. blankly polite speech.  noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.   a deer in headlights. staring at your own reflection. unable to sleep. loyal friends.

LADY BIRD : california landscapes. budding romance.  uniforms. consolation. plain and luscious colors.  apologizing.  boorish sex. prom dresses.  secondhand dresses.  strong personalities. the theatre.  being simultaneously warm and scary.  battling depression.  90’s fashion.  dreaming of elsewhere. partying. signatures on a cast. living on the wrong side of the tracks.  not being bound by any era. rejection.  sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis.  a place that looks like a memory.  going behind backs.  disappointed parents.  catholicism.  poverty.  busy new york city streets. monotonous hometowns. shitty bands.  teenage anarchy. drifting in and out of friendships.  menial jobs.  red hair. self-given names.  coming-of-age.  a broken arm. excessive drinking.  first kisses.  cupcakes.  smudged eye makeup. strained relationships.  screaming in the middle of the street.  thoughtful letters. standing out. decorated bedroom walls. having a change of heart. expressing individuality.

tagged: @decepteur​ ( thank you ! loved this ) tagging: @rousseure​ @sunplagued​ @yenure​ @tigertempered​ @rakkirrrowch​ @thornvows​ @astralsung​ @florensflos​ @courtscaptor​ @xmenageriie​ @evokered​ @ravyndae​ @sakuraari​ @sampatii​ @favdream​ @xonismsx​ @rainatsu​ @daemonry​ @theycallmekaibara​ @raiiju​ @xking​ @fukenzena​ @esluthe​ @lcgcrity​ @turquoisedays​ @tcndrcssc​ @astrumstilla​ @bcbybats​ @midoriimu​ @monstheart​ @ukubi​ & you

[dragonofyang]

The Heroine with a Thousand Faces

As the youngest member of #TeamPurpleLion, not only have I learned a lot in just the four months we’ve been working together, but I’ve explained a lot of what I’ve learned to others. Sometimes it’s about the history of Defender of the Universe and Beast King GoLion that @crystal-rebellion researched, sometimes it’s referencing @felixazrael‘s musical knowhow or @leakinghate‘s animation knowledge, and most recently, it’s leaning on @voltronisruiningmylife‘s expertise in how to break down and identify writing to provide corrections to those who see something in a show or article not working but can’t tell why. One big thing I learned since starting this crazy ride with my team is a massive hole in my college education on writing, which Felix filled in for me since we hit the ground running. Sure in my fantasy literature class we discussed Aesop and The Hobbit, and what the phrase “The Hero’s Journey” means and why it’s the monomyth, but there was one thing that my dear professor never taught us, although I’m sure she will in the future. Compared to Joseph Campbell’s heroic journey, this other monomyth is much younger.

What is it, you may ask?

Simply put, it’s a heroine’s journey.

[Image description: Princess Allura with her hair up and wearing her flightsuit from season 1 “The Rise of Voltron” backlit by white light.]

Let’s go on an adventure together.

To understand the heroine’s journey, I want to give you all a rundown on what exactly the hero’s journey is first. While it was never neatly labeled as “The Hero’s Journey” until Campbell, studies on common themes and plot points began back in the 1870’s. As time moved forward, Campbell published his 17 steps to the monomyth in 1949 (The Hero with a Thousand Faces) and as we move toward the present his monomyth is eventually dubbed as “the hero’s journey”. I won’t overload you with the dates and stuff I needed to study since that’s a) not the point of this piece and b) Campbell’s monomyth is actually secondary to the main one in Voltron: Legendary Defender. That said, it’s the backbone of a lot of literature both old and new, and while not every story follows these 17 steps outlined by Campbell or approaches them in the same order, you’ll find everything from the story of Christ to Lord of the Rings somewhere in these steps. It’s just that a lot of times the steps of the hero’s journey aren’t ever really explained, so you as a reader/viewer/consumer will see them and will have a gut instinct as to what’s supposed to happen, and when it happens you feel great! The story followed a formula that satisfies its audience! But it also makes a story that doesn’t follow a formula feel fundamentally wrong, from just a mild discomfort like putting on a shirt and buttoning it slightly off, all the way to triggering strong emotional responses including panic attacks or tears. Stories are designed to bring forth emotions from their audience, but what good is a tragedy without a lesson to learn? How can we enjoy an empty marriage when the couple has no chemistry?

So with this piece, I hope to illuminate just what the steps of the heroine’s journey are, contrast them against the hero’s journey, where VLD fits into all of this, and through that demonstrate why they are not interchangeable even though they share similar names.

Part I: Of Heroes and Heroines

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell outlines seventeen steps, which are laid out in this diagram by Reg Harris:

[Image description: diagram of The Hero’s Journey using a circular diagram shape separating out the seventeen steps into eight categories, divided into the Known World and the Unknown World.]

In Maureen Murdock’s The Heroine’s Journey, she writes the heroine’s journey as follows:

[Image description: The Heroine’s Journey depicting a cyclical diagram of the narrative, featuring 10 distinct steps that loop back to the beginning at the top.]

The Heroine’s Journey is fundamentally cyclical in nature, and while the diagram above shows the Hero’s Journey as a circle as well, it ultimately has finite start and end points. One of the key differences between these is that the Hero’s Journey explores internal character in an external adventure and the hero achieves a (theoretically) lasting peace once their journey is finished. Conversely, the heroine must constantly evaluate themselves in the bigoted environment that tries to disenfranchise them.

As a note, while I use gendered terms such as “hero” and “heroine”, I use them as gender-neutral placeholders to label which monomyth I’m speaking about at present. Women can undertake a hero’s journey, and men can undertake a heroine’s journey, particularly when you examine them in an intersectional lens.

A heroine’s journey, at its heart, is an examination and acceptance of the self in an unaccepting environment, and its cyclical nature stems from the fact that whenever a heroine moves into a new environment, they have to make that journey over and over. They can be a queer man of color, a white stay-at-home mom, a disabled nonbinary person, whatever the case, the constant need to re-evaluate their place in the world is what marks the heroine’s journey as separate from the hero’s journey.

But while it’s cyclical in nature, we should start at the beginning nonetheless.

[Image description: Alfor (right) holding Allura (left) in the Castle of Lions. She says, “We can’t give up hope!” and he replies, “I’m sorry, daughter.”]

In The Heroine’s Journey, the story begins when an event causes the heroine to separate from the feminine. A significant event spurs them to reject the prescribed role of the patriarchy, which in the case of a woman could be a mother, a damsel in distress, a wife, etc. The heroine is put into a box and chafes against its edges because it cuts them off from their ability to reach for the masculine, the power and privilege it affords. This marks a stark difference from how our archetypal hero lives and begins their own adventure. The hero lives a fairly mundane life for the brief time we see them before the first element comes into play: the Call to Adventure. This is generally an external force spurring the hero to action, as opposed to the internal force of the heroine.

The hero then will Refuse the Call and will be introduced to the Mentor they will come to rely upon, whereas the heroine typically immediately begins on a journey to become more powerful/masculine, generally through rejecting femininity. Princess Allura does not inherently reject her own femininity. She rejects the helplessness of being forced into cryostasis after her people have been destroyed and embarks on embracing her masculinity by finishing the war her father and Zarkon started 10,000 years ago. The heroine Identifies with the Masculine and Gathers Allies, which we see Allura do in the pilot of season 1 of VLD. She awakens to find a team of five men and her male adviser Coran, her allies in the coming intergalactic war, and she takes up the metaphorical lion herself as the pilot to the Castle of Lions, changing into her armor--pink, to honor the fallen--for the fight against Sendak as he tries to claim the Lions of Voltron for Emperor Zarkon. Her choice of pink, particularly pale pink, is reminiscent of the breast cancer awareness ribbon, baby pink, it is an intrinsically female color that she dons to assume the role of her father, King Alfor. The narrative is reminding the audience that Princess Allura--the first nonwhite Allura, no less--is just as much a princess as her previous white and blonde iterations are warriors.

After choosing their allies and undertaking this quest of gaining power (not to be confused with empowerment, our heroine is still operating within the confines of the patriarchy here), our heroine undergoes trials and faces enemies that try to persuade them back into the box, into what’s known and fundamentally safe and silencing. The words may be kind, be delivered kindly, but ultimately they can be boiled down to a single message: “go back to where you belong.” For the hero this is a point of no return as an external journey. The hero can choose to go home and leave saving the world to someone else, or they can choose to face the trials that bar them from their prize. But the heroine? They can’t. There is nobody who can save the heroine’s world because for them because their world is what they are trying to escape, and often they are the prize for a hero. It’s up to them to save themselves, and at this point in time, adopting the masculine and the power of the father figure is the way to go. And it works. Princess Allura, again while she does not get discouraged by the men around her to remain an idle princess, because this is the 21st goddamn century, her conflict arises from inexperience. King Alfor supports her drive to finish the war and take decisive action, to finish what he started. The Paladins challenge her authority as a sovereign in the beginning because even if she’s a princess by birth, she has no planet and they’re not of her planet or species anyway, and until they themselves undergo trials in the first few episodes do they appreciate that Allura is still critical as a person, despite her lack of sovereign weight.

Together, she and her team move through the obstacles and the war against Zarkon together, while simultaneously trying to build a coalition of allies to aid in the fight. In fact, much of the plot of VLD takes place during this stage of the heroine’s journey, and it’s here where we as the audience follow Allura as she meets her animus in the form of a Shadow figure: the cunning Prince Lotor. He takes on the role of the challenger to force Allura to better herself, and as Allura rises to the occasion each time, he is textually impressed by her battle skill, then by her intellect. The most iconic moment of Lotor as a Shadow (aka: the half of herself that Allura doesn’t want to accept yet), is when he baits Voltron into battle, then pilots his cruiser through the volatile environment of Thayserix. He expresses disappointment at Voltron’s ability in battle, but when Allura in Blue rises to meet the challenge he lays out, he praises her, even if he textually does not realize who is in Blue at the time.

[Image description: Prince Lotor in profile, a pleased expression on his face, and the subtitles read “Someone’s learning.”]

As a brief aside: the animus comes from Jung and is often paired with an anima, or masculine and feminine energies. The key takeaway is that these energies are complementary to each other and exist in a balance. While they typically are portrayed in a more heterosexual context, like everything else in this meta, the terms are used in a gender-neutral context when not applied directly to Allura’s storyline. While Lotor could be likened to either Meeting the Goddess or (Wo)Man as Temptress in the hero’s journey, a key difference between the heroine’s journey animus and either of these feminized roles is that the Goddess and Temptress are two separate figures--generally women to male heroes--and are generally not equal to the hero physically or mentally. The animus, however, is intrinsically the perfect match to the anima of the heroine, being their complement and their intellectual and physical equal. Lotor is not meant to be seen as the woman on Indiana Jones’ arm, he’s meant to be a force in his own right, challenging Allura to better herself and raise the standards for them both. It’s fitting that this occurs in an episode full of fog and a dangerous abyss, because the traditional hero descends into a metaphorical (or literal) one to encounter these flattened versions of feminine energy.

The trials continue for Allura through the seasons, and she makes many allies and continues to face their enemies head-on, and once Prince Lotor, now Emperor, cements his place as one of Allura’s allies he shifts from the Shadow figure challenging her to the animus in full, being encouraging and supportive as they work together as allies to find Oriande, a mythical place that should yield them the secrets of unlimited Quintessence. While Lotor challenges Allura in a traditionally masculine way (physical trials, battle, strategy), he also encourages her in a decidedly feminine way through Altean history and mythology, as Altea is very feminine-coded compared to the Galra Empire, which through Zarkon represents a familiar and violent strain of masculinity that seeks to crush Allura and force the universe to fit his will through abusive language and physical violence and genocide. Allura taking up the battle in Alfor’s place is simply her continuing the cycle and seeing power in masculine terms, rather than breaking the cycle.

Now here is where the diagrams diverge even further. Until this point, the journeys followed fairly similar trajectories. After the trials and battles of the heroine’s journey, they experience the boon of the journey, which the hero does not achieve until they face further trials and temptations. As such, we will continue to follow the heroine’s journey model and I’ll explain the significance of the flip.

Part II: Not the Place to Arrive

One of the significant things about the heroine’s journey is that when a woman undertakes it, it’s empowering and her becoming her most unified self. Campbell once reportedly said to Murdock, “Women don’t need to make the journey. In the whole mythological journey, the woman is there. All she has to do is realize that she’s the place that people are trying to get to.” In the hero’s journey, often a woman’s place is as the prize, rarely is she her own agent. As I stated previously, the hero and heroine journeys do not have to ascribe to gendered protagonists, however the reality is that the hero’s journey is very patriarchal in nature since it was formulated primarily through the study of male heroes and does not take into account the constant reassessment heroines must face. For heroes, they simply must survive going from point A to point B. Heroines are always subjected to reevaluation within their environment and the people around them, so their journey never really ends.

All this is to say that the hero receives their boon at the end of their story and that’s the end of it. They get a happily ever after and can return to normal life and spread their bounty to those in need or dearest to them.

The heroines?

They get their boon at the middle of the story.

And there’s still more to come for our heroine as they build toward the climax (pun intended).

Princess Allura receives the boon of Oriande’s secrets with Lotor by her side, which in pretty much every literature class would become a discussion on the ways this represents sex, or the the ways Allura is interacting with the world in terms of gender, particularly how they discover Oriande after having an emotional reaction in Haggar’s lab and activating the Altean compass stone. In the heroine’s journey, this boon is often of the same significance as the hero’s boon/reward at the end of their journey, but for the heroine it’s false. It’s fleeting. It’s not meant to last. This is the turning point for our heroine because while yes, our heroine achieved the goal of the adventure, they did so by consciously or unconsciously shunning the feminine. In Allura’s case, she’s still taking after her father, trying to follow in his--and to an extent Zarkon’s--footsteps by mastering the unlimited Quintessence.

And true to form, before season 6 is out, our heroine seems to be betrayed by her animus, returning him to the status of Shadow figure as he challenges her to unleash the power within one final time. Princess Allura thinks Lotor lied to her and has been harvesting Alteans for their Quintessence when Keith and his mother Krolia discover a living Altean in the Quantum Abyss, and with the budding on-screen romance between Allura and Lotor, this betrayal cuts our heroine deep. To her, he not only lied about there being no more Alteans left, but he actively continued the genocide his father began 10,000 years ago. That’s not an easy thing to get over. So Lotor assembles Sincline, which bears a visual resemblance to a wingless dragon--the last metaphorical dragon she faces before moving into the next step of the heroine’s journey--and with Allura in Voltron the two battle it out in a tragic action-packed scene that leads to Voltron overloading Lotor with Quintessence and leaving him in the Rift.

With the dragon defeated and the boon lost, the heroine has to sacrifice not only her animus, but the last vestiges of her home to try and undo what following the masculine has done: close not only the original Rift, but all the fractures in reality caused by their battle.

And what does a girl who has already lost her planet, people, and lover have left to lose?

[Image description: The five Lions of Voltron flying away from the massive Rift, the Castle of Lions flying straight toward the center of it.]

The heroine following the footsteps of the masculine always comes at a major cost to them. In Allura’s case, she has to sacrifice her castle in order to make right the harm done to the literal universe. In this case, she mirrors Zarkon in his destruction of the universe, but rather than directly harming billions of lives on uncounted planets, she creates a literal hole in the universe because of her blindness to the consequences of the actions of herself and those around her.

And much like her father sending away the Lions, she must send away her castle in the hopes of saving the universe from greater destruction.

Part III: Transcending the Rift

From the gain and loss of the boon, things look dire for the heroine at this stage in the journey. In Allura’s case, she is without people, without planet, without castle, and as she learns at the beginning of season 8, her found family has families of their own--other than Coran, that is. Our heroine continues to lose pieces of the things and people surrounding her at the beginning of the story: which Murdock refers to as awakening feelings of spiritual aridity or death. She is losing her place in the universe even faster than before, when she stood on the shoulders of her father, and she must move forward. Allura passed the point of no return all the way back in season 1 episode 1. As the heroine, she broke free of the safe mold she knew for the past 10,000 years, and every episode since her awakening she has had to try to forge forward on the path she knew: that of her father. Now, though, her father’s methods have failed her, just as they failed him, leaving her with no option but to keep moving forward and to approach her journey from another angle.

[Image description: from left to right, Veronica, Allura, Romelle, and Pidge (mostly off-screen) in a clothing swap shop as Allura speaks. Caption reads, “I could give you a royal decree of service from the Crown Princess of Alte…”]

Allura not only must deal with the loss of her place in the universe, but she must also deal with the fact that by leaving Lotor in the Rift, she abandons half of herself as well. Physically she is a whole person, but if we look at her role as an anima and what her fears and strengths are, destroying her animus throws her self-knowledge out of alignment. She’s careening away from the safe path of her father, but she must now rediscover the strengths within herself without succumbing to her weaknesses and do so by stepping out of her father’s shadow.

Season 8 is rife with emotional buildup and no payoff. We as the audience don’t know what happened to Lotor for the whole of season 7 and we see Allura struggling to deal with all her losses, we travel to Earth and meet the MFE pilots, a plucky bunch who probably were meant to lay groundwork for a new Vehicle Voltron, and we see that Haggar/Honerva is the final big bad of the whole show, ready to vindicate the son she lost to the Rift, but also 10,000 years ago when he was born and she became the Witch we love to hate. So when we join Allura and the gang on Earth with Luca in the infirmary, and Allura’s final trials begin…

Or they should have.

[Image description: Lance and Allura kissing in rainbow lighting where they are artificially-colored in red, then pink, then blue from top to bottom in front of a fading background of warm yellow at the top to gray at the bottom.]

Instead, we are treated to the final acts of a hero’s journey, but still following our heroine through the steps.

Our heroine wears down to the persistence of Lance, who in a heroic journey would receive a fair princess as his boon, and Allura is trying to find a place to belong. In seasons prior to this, Lance acts like a goofy everyday guy, very much a typical character in many present-day stories that allows the audience to see themselves in him. He fantasizes about wooing the princess, calls himself a ladies’ man, tries to be funny, he’s a pretty typical character that a male audience is more likely to sympathize with, and as such the fantasy is pairing up with the prettiest, smartest, etc. girl in the story. The woman as a boon, the Goddess, and the Temptress are never on equal footing with the male hero, and even in the case of female heroes, the meeting with a god(dess) means that the female hero is worthy of being a consort rather than the equal that a heroine is to the anima/animus. In fact, Campbell reportedly told Murdock, “Women don’t need to make the journey. In the whole mythological journey, the woman is there. All she has to do is realize that she’s the place that people are trying to get to.” In the hero’s journey, if the hero is male and heterosexual, the women will always be the prize, the virginal ideal, or the sexualized damnation, and in all of them, the woman is meant to be receptive to the man (and doesn’t THAT sound like some familiar rhetoric). Never is the woman an agent in the hero’s journey when it fulfills a male fantasy. And it is this very same box that spurs a heroine to begin their heroine’s journey: this breakdown of people to individual parts as determined by a patriarchal society.

While Lance is a hero in his own right, in Allura’s heroine journey, he acts as an ogre that comes dressed as a male ally all the way back in season 1. He’s a Subverted Nice Guy in that he’s constantly trying to woo Allura, but ultimately he’s still reinforcing the same patriarchy that not only plagues Allura in this iteration, but also in previous iterations of the Voltron franchise. The Nice Guy doesn’t challenge the heroine like the animus, but rather encourages them to stay in place or to fit a predetermined mold once more.

Look familiar?

[Image description: Lance’s fantasy, with him standing triumphant over Zarkon as the team cheers him on, Allura kneeling at his right side and looking up at him, while a flag with his face waves on his left.]

Many of the silly shots in the series have been foreshadowing, whether in the most direct sense or in the promise of subverting what’s portrayed. In the case of this screenshot, by the time Lance gets the girl, Zarkon is killed (by Lotor), Allura has already had an intimate relationship (with Lotor), and the team collectively became heroes and allies of Lotor before the end of season 6 happened. Lance, textually, is not Allura’s equal as an animus, and while he doesn’t quite view her as his equal--especially in earlier seasons--he can only textually become her equal when she is at her lowest point, and he’s still affixed to the idea that she’s a prize, going so far as to say that “winning prizes is my specialty” in “Clear Day”. Really, it’s a messy relationship dynamic that tries to show the audience why, as they stand in the canon material, they don’t work. Not only is Allura still not his equal, but his fantasy comes about at the hands of others, or with the help of others, and he comes second. He plays a role, but he is not the singular hero he once fantasized about being. Textually this subversion is teaching him a lesson about becoming his best self and acknowledging that he doesn’t have to be the hero, the payoff of which should have come in season 8 as Allura completes her heroine’s journey to become her most unified and realized self. It’s meant to be his apotheosis, the new perspective and enlightenment brought to the hero after facing all the trials of the journey as a part of the final reward.

Allura, fighting with this sudden loss of herself, must now also help spearhead the war against Honerva, the archetypal Bad Mother, in an alchemist-versus-alchemist battle for not only Lotor’s physical soul but for Allura’s metaphorical one as well. This is a new fight, the gauntlet thrown by someone other than her animus, and after all his tests, she must still rise to the challenge with the same energy, but she must do so with new knowledge now that she knows she cannot rely solely on her father.

But what’s the next step for a heroine trapped in the arid desert of the unknown self and with the weight of the world pressing onto them?

They must descend to the underworld and begin the transformation from the masculine methods to unleash the femininity that’s been locked away this whole time.

And who do we have to escort Allura to the metaphorical underworld as she falls asleep?

[Image description: A close-up of Lotor’s face in deep shadows as he stares head-on at the “camera”.]

Her Animus, acting as a Shadow once more.

His entrance is littered with sex. Not literally, but metaphorically. He greets Allura while she’s in bed, the camera does a gratuitous slow pan over his body in a way that many cameras exclusively afford to women, the presence of a blooming flower with an erect stamen, the lighting of the preview--altered in the final season itself--is purple even, a romantic and spiritual color. You know the joke in college English classes about how everything is sex except sex? That’s this scene in a nutshell. He’s always been drawn and behaved in a way designed to appeal to the female gaze (an essay in itself), but this scene really takes the cake.

[Image description: Lotor as viewed in profile from a low angle in a Garrison room, looking down at a juniberry flower in a pot.]

And it’s this scene where we see Lotor give Allura the first critical piece of information for how she can stop Honerva/Haggar, but also reminding her that some people do not change. While Allura must change to achieve her realization, he reminds her that Haggar is still the same witch, and that her pain of losing Lotor becoming public does not excuse the fact that she has not expressed remorse or tried to change herself, let alone her hand in not only his downfall but in the brainwashing of the Alteans. She is an antagonist so focused on the wrongs done to her that she justifies the wrongs she does to others with them. Allura, however, expressed remorse and wanted to save Lotor as soon as she realized what was going on, which further cements the ways in which their fates could have been the same or switched had they made slightly different choices. Honerva is 10,000 years too late. Like Lotor mirrors his father and in “Shadows” is shown to be more empathetic, Allura mirrors Honerva and both prove throughout the show to have stronger moral compasses than their predecessors. They are the Emperor and Alchemist, and while fate decrees they must take up the mantle left behind, their free will dictates that they should not blindly follow their footsteps if they truly wish to make a lasting change. Narratively, they must forge a new path if they are to bring the universe to peace again.

[Image description: A close-up shot of the juniberry flower with Allura visible in the background, but blurred. The subtitle reads Lotor’s line, “The witch may change her name, but she will always be a witch.”]

Lotor tempts Allura to take the entity into herself, and when she reaches out to connect with it, she is taken further into the dreamscape and finds herself back on Altea and greeted by her mother. This marks the beginning of the reconnection with the feminine, but while Allura has always so desperately missed her family and Altea, she finds herself in a precarious position. Suddenly, she is in the very same mech suit that Luca was found in, and to save Altea from the Galra fleet overhead, she makes the decision to use the planet’s Quintessence. However, in the process of destroying the Galra fleet, destroys Altea as well. As her world crumbles, her mother congratulates her for a job well done. This presumably mirrors the dropped plot about the Altean Colony and the decisions Lotor would have been faced with, and after “Shadows” would lend both Allura and the audience a greater appreciation for the position he was in before he died.

And when she finally wakes?

[Image description: Allura sitting up in the Garrison bunk, looking at the mice, the juniberry dry and wilted in the foreground, blurry. The subtitle reads, “It was only a dream.”]

Our oh so sexual symbol is wilted, and Allura wakes up alone.

With the visual deflowering and this new revelation about the kinds of decisions those before her have had to make, Allura can begin reconnecting with the feminine in earnest without falling into the old placements she may have been subjected to at the beginning of the story. This would have continued further with Allura reconnecting with her animus in the missing episode @leakinghate titles “The Descent”, especially fitting as she continues her descent to her feminine roots as a heroine and to reconnect with her lost animus. Reconnecting and reconciling with him--and with the side of herself he represents--is critical to her achieving unity within herself and being able to face Honerva head-on.

Once the heroine has descended to the underworld, begun the reconnection to the feminine, and returned with new knowledge on their relationship to their emotional side and the aspects overshadowed by the masculine, they are ready to begin healing the mother/daughter split. This in essence is the heroine returning to the old knowledge she has cast aside when following the path of the masculine/father, but approaching it with a new understanding and perspective. Think of it as understanding why your parents enforced rules like “don’t run into traffic”. As a kid, the danger may not be obvious, but as an adult you’re able to look at the same situation, see over obstacles younger you might not have, and realize “oh shit, that’s a car”. That said, the heroine does not allow themselves to get put back into the same or even a different pre-prescribed role because they now have a greater understanding of the situation at hand.

In Allura’s case, this means revisiting the plan on how to take down Honerva, and realizing that she must pursue the course laid out by her trip to the underworld to not only save the universe, but awaken Lotor from being a robeast. Part of the conflict against this plan comes from the team, who see the entity she took within herself as dangerous. While that’s true, stopping the plan also prevents Allura from growing in strength to be able to fight Honerva. The power flowing within her that Lotor referred to back in season 6 is at her fingertips, and like his visit in “Clear Day” reminded her, she need only take it. During both parts of the “Knights of Light” episodes, Allura is confronted with shades of Honerva’s memories as they dive deeper, and it’s here that we as the audience and the cast are meant to learn what truly became of Lotor after he was imprisoned in the Rift, and it’s meant to be utterly jarring to everyone. Instead, with how the scenes were edited together during the post-production alterations, Hate aptly points out in “Seek Truth in Darkness” that Honerva promising vengeance and seeing Lotor’s corpse has next to no impact. Or rather, it does to the audience--a melted corpse isn’t exactly Y-7 appropriate--but the characters don’t really react to this revelation at all.

That said, it’s more than likely that Allura genuinely believes Lotor to be dead (as opposed to a sleeping prince), which would explain her aggressive reaction to seeing pre-Rift Zarkon, and we don’t see his reaction to learning what he did to his son, either. This would be a prime location for Zarkon to experience and express remorse for what his actions have done to his son, subverting the toxic masculinity narrative his character had been representing prior.

At the end of “Knights of Light Part 2”, Hate mentions that Allura would need to make another trip to the underworld to commune with Lotor and realize that no, he’s not dead, but also that she not only must defeat Honerva, she must do so in order to save Lotor and free everyone of the cycle of violence that began 10,000 years ago. This is the final descent she makes before she can heal the wounded masculine, both in herself, and Lotor directly.

[Image description: Allura in profile inside the cockpit of Blue Lion, unconscious. Her window displays measurement increments and stars in red-tones, while Allura herself is lit in blue tones.]

After the end of this episode, however, Hate mentions that much of what was there is butchered in the post-production editing, so I will be extrapolating based on the content we have in the season as well as utilizing her analysis of the story as it should have been.

When Allura wakes up from falling unconscious, this is when we should see her proposing to save her animus, and it should come with a discussion with Lance about how they don’t click romantically. That said, in the version on Netflix, we see their relationship continue, however much of their shared body language doesn’t necessarily even match up with an awkward couple. Lance seems sullen and possessive, and while he might still be sullen in Allura’s original heroine’s journey, he would have had this moment of growth in which he learns to let go of Allura. She’s his fantasy, and not only is that unfair to Allura, it’s also unfair to him, and he doesn’t need to be the hero or the guy that gets the girl. He can be himself, silly, sharpshooting, video game-playing Lance. A genuinely nice dude, which completes the subversion of the Nice Guy trope his character embodied for so long.

“Uncharted Regions” is a hot mess of an episode in terms of narrative flow and consistency, but this would have marked the beginning of the alchemist vs. alchemist fight for not only Lotor’s soul, but the universe. Honerva uses the Sincline mech and her new mech to start tearing holes through realities, and once Allura jumps into the fray, that moves the audience into the next missing episode proposed by Hate: “Storming the Pyramid”. This would be where Honerva uses Allura to revive Lotor because she did not receive the life-givers’ blessing, and Allura would do it, literally healing the wounded masculine, but also falling right into Honerva’s trap in the process. This would almost certainly be a highly-controversial thing among Allura’s allies, but like Allura remaining on the path she knew, it’s easier to accept Lotor as pure evil who got what he deserved, when at no point is there a definite case against him. In fact, “Shadows” is designed to render him as a sympathetic character, and seeing his melted corpse is even more horrifying after seeing him as a baby and child. But that’s the way it is when a heroine breaks the mold. The heroine defines their own role, and as part of that, it gives them the ability to help others break theirs. The heroine experiences true empowerment by divorcing themselves from the power structures that defined them before, and doing so with the greater knowledge of their internal masculinity and femininity. Allura revisiting the war of her father with the lifegivers’ knowledge to compound her intrinsic alchemical abilities is the moment when she achieves union within herself, and it manifests physically as reviving Lotor, her animus.

It’s after this point that we see the Purple Lion and Purple Paladin manifest, our namesake.

In “Day 47”, Kolivan references the team sizes the Blades of Marmora use. He references four and five as the usual sizes, but six occasionally happening, but what he says next is particularly interesting.

[Image description: Kolivan being filmed for an interview, saying, “Seven seems rare, but… it could happen.”]

The Voltron team had four Paladins briefly after Shiro disappeared and before Allura took up the mantle, but the full team always has five. After Shiro returned for good, their team became six Paladins.

Now, with the healed animus Lotor on their side, they could have the rare seven-person configuration that Hate discusses at length in “Seek Truth in Darkness”.

With the anima and animus aligned together at last with no secrets, they can unify externally the same way Allura unified internally, and battle against Honerva properly. Now, Team V, Lotor, and the entire universe can face Honerva head-on and stand a chance at winning.

We also should get the emotional payoff for Lotor as an abuse victim in his own arc, closing up this nice little loose end that hurts way more than it did before season 8 dropped.

[Image description: An up-close shot of Lotor glaring into the “camera” in green lighting and saying to Haggar, “maybe I will take pity on you when the time comes.”]

And it’s worth mentioning that while the final battle is exciting and action-packed, the final surrender of Honerva comes quietly, in the rift of all realities. The characters of Team V are able to deliver their character-based arc lessons, it’s a somber moment of learning as Allura, using once more the blessing of the lifegivers, enlightens Honerva to her memories and what she’s done, but also restoring her sense of self the way Allura was. This is the final healing of the mother/daughter split, and it’s significant that Honerva’s abuse victim not be her healer. Not only does Lotor (as far as we know) lack the ability, but it’s never the victim’s job to heal their abuser, just as it’s not the obligation of the oppressed to appease their oppressor. Honerva can finally move on and begin atoning for what she did by setting the ghosts of the Paladins of old in her mind free, but that still begs the question of what our heroine and her animus must do to finish the job.

This is where Lotor would get his second chance, in the most literal sense of the term, where he faces a similar trial to the one in Oriande back in season 6 and the burning question for a man so concerned with survival and cunning.

Is there something he would give up the life he has known and fought so hard to keep for?

And this time, the answer is yes.

Allura.

It was always Allura.

While Honerva is able to stop the rift from expanding by, well, not expanding it herself, she lacks the ability to properly close it the way that it was closed the first time. It takes one final adventure, one final unification by the anima and animus, by the heroine and her Shadow, and one final goodbye. Allura and Lotor, born of an age long past, become the lifegivers eternal through staying behind to close the rift.

The lionhearted goddess of life and her stalwart champion of survival.

[Image description: The final scene after the credits, where an Allura-shaped nebula is nestled up against a smudged, darker nebula with a sea of stars among them, and the five Lions of Voltron flying toward the nebulae.]

Sources

Dos Santos, Joaquim and Montgomery, Lauren. Voltron: Legendary Defender. Netflix. 2016-2018.

LeakingHate. “Seek Truth in Darkness”. VLD Visuals Detective and Imperial ApologistTM. 2 Mar. 2019. https://leakinghate.tumblr.com/post/183160042843/seek-truth-in-darkness

“Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey Arc”. The Heroine Journeys Project. https://heroinejourneys.com/heroines-journey/

Murdock, Maureen. The Heroine’s Journey. 1990.

University of Kansas. “Science Fiction Writers Workshop: Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey”. KU Guinn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. http://www.sfcenter.ku.edu/Workshop-stuff/Joseph-Campbell-Hero-Journey.htm

[wishfell]

best picture nominees (2018) aesthetics.

the shape of water.  early mornings.  art on an easel.  being trapped.  flashy cars.  self-righteous intolerance.  speaking volumes without a word.  being submerged.  learning and adapting.  raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water.  cats.  taboo desires.  tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia.  kissing underwater.  silence.  isolation.  golden age hollywood.   sign language.   scales.  egg shells.  jell-o.  the smell of cleaning supplies.  creature features.  the space race.  red coats.  monstrous fairy tales.  lab coats.  lunches in brown bags.  the click of shoes.  smog.  dance routines.  slices of pie.  toxic masculinity.  chains.  government secrets.  seeing past flaws.  floating aimlessly.  needles.  greens and blues.  deep, inexorable scars.  gills.  music from the 30′s.  retro-futurism.  bloody handprints.  routines.  record players.  old movies.  love in unexpected places.

phantom thread.  a doll in a gilded birdcage.   butter to bread.  the death of a mother.  cycles.  hidden messages.  a disruptive presence.  longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control.  post-war.  brightly colored socks.  inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations.  family dysfunction.  rich fabrics.  curses.  soft piano music.   restrained anger.  spinning out of control.  artist and muse.  dark love.  pastels.  peace in the countryside.  clockwork dynamics.  perfection.  wild mushrooms.  giving up every piece of yourself.  rags to riches.  ghosts.  new year’s.  lingering gazes.  needle and thread.  fine dining.  hearing every sound.  being ambushed.  ego.  flowing dresses.  a person out of place.  defiance.  ink to paper.  an artist tortured by their art.  obsessive personalities.  peepholes.  soothing elegance.  silk.  spiral staircases.  driving at high speeds.  high society.

the post.  typewriters.  newspapers.  tense climates.  distrust of authority.  internal battles.   a legacy at stake.  secrets.  cover-ups.  defending what you believe.  peering through windows.  melodrama.  political corruption.  behind closed doors.  sniffing a scoop.  ringing phones.  lying for over a decade.  cramming and crowding.  cold grays.  war.  fluorescent lights.  treason.  shuffled papers.  the jungle.   a weight on your shoulders.  fresh coffee.  thousands of deaths.  burglary.  finding your voice.  risking everything.  propaganda. tough choices.  exposure.  type being set by hand.  workplace rivalries.  abuses of power.  security breaches.  hierarchy.  a bed strewn with papers and books.  paranoia.  orders.  clicking keys.  redacted files.  desk clutter.  cigarette smoke.  precious cargo.  vanished technologies.  suspenseful conversations.  facing charges.  courtroom battles.  suits and ties.

darkest hour.  never surrendering.  duty.  countless negotiations.  the flash of cameras.  beaches. historic buildings.  guzzling booze.  resignation.  utter catastrophe.  bunkers.  radio broadcasts.  going against the odds.  bathed in red light.  a sense of humor.  allies.  shouting matches.  small square windows.  selfishness.  walking with a cane.  war rooms.  chandeliers.   dust floating in air.  righteousness.  a poor reputation.  an elevator surrounded by darkness.  a world at war.  needing a miracle.  interruptions.  a last hope.  cigar smoke.  quoting poetry.  photos of a loved one.  a single sunbeam.  monarchy.  vanity.  rescue missions.  refusing peace.  pallid chambers.  military uniforms.  taking a stand.  common folk.   suicide missions.  drums of war.  tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance.  complete collapse.  evacuations.  enveloped by fog.  changing history.  blood, toil, tears and sweat.

three billboards outside ebbing, missouri.   severe burns.  police uniforms.  sirens.  the calmness of a deer.  strumming guitars.  grieving.  horrifying memories.  sucker punches.  a lack of respect.  facing threats.  skin under fingernails.  flicking cigarettes.  awkward dates.  nasty rumors. claustrophobia.  lush green pastures.  molotov cocktails.  the fire of anger and revenge.  strangers.  no remorse.  bashing in windows.  the midwest.  provoking a fight.  pointing fingers.  being pressed for time.  rundown old houses.  grey morality.  dark undercurrents.  insurmountable losses.  cruel laughs.  the american flag.  dive bars. guilty no matter what.   buildings in flames.  ambulances.  coughing up blood.  spitting.  chewing on fingernails.  one versus many.  black and red.  not understanding another’s feelings.   a mother and child.  the pain of others. a quest of justice.  abandoned billboards.  a hardened gaze.  driving to nowhere.  small towns.  last letters.  absurd violence.

dunkirk.  burying a body.  warm cider.  narrow escapes.  a race against time.  a small boat.  all hope lost.  being unable to come home.  taken prisoner.  shipwrecks.  assuming the identity of someone else.  setting fire to it all.  smoke rising from a crash.  sea foam.  seaports.  rendered blind.  dropping to take cover.  land, sea, and air.  entangled in chain.  toast with jam.   suspense.  waiting for escape.  wounded men.  lying in the sand.  trauma.   blank spaces.   sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun.  swallowed by darkness.  bullet holes.  obstacles and delays.  a hero’s welcome.  planes overhead.   the sounds of a ticking clock.   bullets ricocheting off metal.  people by the thousands.  shell-shocked.  the explosions of shells on shores.  the sound of destruction.  rising tides.  head injuries.  target practice.  compressed time and space.  the perennial threat of death.  oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good.  blocking out the noise.  primal dangers.  taking command.  sole survivor.

get out.   deer antlers.  suburbs.  hypnosis.  strange behavior.  familial tension.  chopping wood.  uneasy stares.  tears and a smile.  deception.  fight or flight.  blindness.  survival.  sinking into the floor.  watching but powerless.  strapped to a chair.  plugged ears.  a failed handshake.  car accidents.  sunken places.  something out of a nightmare.  going hysterical.  bingo cards.  smoking cigarettes.  static on a television set.  doing more harm than good.  a hint of a smile.  a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them.  waiting for someone to come when they never will.   overturned candles.  wealthy garden parties.  constantly looking over your shoulder.  silence no matter how hard you scream.  trances.  catharsis.  a battle of wills.  layers being peeled back.  a cup of tea. nosebleeds.  addiction.  last bits of life leaving a body.  black and white photography.  sprinting at high speeds. conspiracies.  surgery.  blankly polite speech.  noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.   a deer in headlights. staring at your own reflection.  unable to sleep.  loyal friends.

lady bird.  california landscapes.  budding romance.  uniforms.  consolation.  plain and luscious colors.  apologizing.   boorish sex.  prom dresses.  secondhand dresses.  strong personalities.  the theatre.  being simultaneously warm and scary.  battling depression.  90’s fashion.  dreaming of elsewhere.  partying.  signatures on a cast.  living on the wrong side of the tracks.  not being bound by any era.  rejection.  sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis.  a place that looks like a memory.  going behind backs.  disappointed parents.  catholicism.  poverty.  busy new york city streets.  monotonous hometowns.  shitty bands.  teenage anarchy.  drifting in and out of friendships.   menial jobs.  red hair.  self-given names.  coming-of-age.  a broken arm.  excessive drinking.  first kisses.  cupcakes.  smudged eye makeup.  strained relationships.  screaming in the middle of the street.  thoughtful letters.  standing out.  decorated bedroom walls.  having a change of heart. expressing individuality.

TAGGED BY: @conseille ( tysm!! tfw i don’t know more than half of these movies...... orz ) TAGGING: @rousseure​, @megane-samurai​, @ikiruwill​, @pasttorn​, @benosuke​, @eiikyuu

[alexandriteobscuraarchive]

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2018) AESTHETICS Repost don’t Reblog

Muse: Howard Silk (Prime)**

**Howard Silk (Alpha) will be under the cut at the bottom!

THE SHAPE OF WATER

early mornings. art on an easel.  being trapped.  flashy cars. self-righteous. intolerance.  speaking volumes without a word.  being submerged.  learning and adapting. raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water.  cats.  taboo desires.  tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia.  kissing underwater.  silence. isolation.  golden age hollywood.  sign language.  scales.  egg shells.  jell-o. the smell of cleaning supplies. creature features. the space race.  red coats.   monstrous fairy tales. lab coats.  lunches in brown bags.  the click of shoes. smog.  dance routines.  slices of pie.   toxic masculinity.  chains.  government secrets.   seeing past flaws.   floating aimlessly.  needles.  greens and blues. deep, inexorable scars.  gills.  music from the 30′s.  retro-futurism.  bloody handprints.  routines.  record players.  old movies.   love in unexpected places.

PHANTOM THREAD

a doll in a gilded birdcage.  butter to bread. the death of a mother.  cycles. hidden messages.   a disruptive presence. longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control.  post-war. brightly colored socks . inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations. family dysfunction.  rich fabrics.  curses.   soft piano music.  restrained anger.   spinning out of control. artist and muse.  dark love.   pastels.  peace in the countryside.   clockwork dynamics. perfection.  wild mushrooms.   giving up every piece of yourself.   rags to riches.  ghosts. new year’s.   lingering gazes.   needle and thread.   fine dining. hearing every sound.   being ambushed.  ego.   flowing dresses.   a person out of place.  defiance.  ink to paper.   an artist tortured by their art.  obsessive personalities.   peepholes.   soothing elegance.   silk. spiral staircases.   driving at high speeds.    high society.

THE POST

typewriters.   newspapers.   tense climates.   distrust of authority.   internal battles.   a legacy at stake.   secrets.   cover-ups.   defending what you believe.   peering through windows.  melodrama.   political corruption.  behind closed doors.   sniffing a scoop.  ringing phones.  lying for over a decade.   cramming and crowding.   cold grays.   war.   fluorescent lights.   treason.   shuffled papers.   the jungle.   a weight on your shoulders.   fresh coffee. thousands of deaths.   burglary.   finding your voice.   risking everything.  propaganda.   tough choices.   exposure.   type being set by hand.   workplace rivalries.   abusing power.  security breaches.   hierarchy.   a bed strewn with papers and books.   paranoia.   orders.   clicking keys.   redacted files.   desk clutter.   cigarette smoke.   precious cargo.   vanished technologies.   suspenseful conversations.   facing charges.   courtroom battles.   suits and ties.

DARKEST HOUR

never surrendering.  duty.   countless negotiations.   the flash of cameras.   beaches.   historic buildings.   guzzling booze.   resignation.   utter catastrophe.  bunkers.   radio broadcasts.  going against the odds.   bathed in red light.   a sense of humor.   allies.   shouting matches.    small square windows.   selfishness.   walking with a cane.   war rooms.   chandeliers.   dust floating in air.   righteousness.   a poor reputation.   an elevator surrounded by darkness.   a world at war.   needing a miracle.   interruptions.   a last hope.  cigar smoke.   quoting poetry.   photos of a loved one.  a single sunbeam.   monarchy.   vanity. rescue missions.   refusing peace.   allied chambers.  military uniforms.   taking a stand.   common folk.   suicide missions.   drums of war.   tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance. complete collapse.   evacuations.   enveloped by fog.   changing history.   blood, toil, tears and sweat.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

severe burns.   police uniforms.   sirens.   the calmness of a deer.    strumming guitars.  grieving.   horrifying memories.   sucker punches.   a lack of respect.   facing threats.  skin under fingernails.   flicking cigarettes.   awkward dates.  nasty rumors.   claustrophobia.   lush green pastures.   molotov cocktails.   the fire of anger and revenge.   strangers.  no remorse.   bashing in windows.   the midwest.  provoking a fight.  pointing fingers.   being pressed for time.   rundown old houses.   grey morality.   dark undercurrents.   insurmountable losses.   cruel laughs.   the american flag.   dive bars.   guilty no matter what.   buildings in flames.   ambulances.   coughing up blood.   spitting.   chewing on fingernails.   one versus many.   black and red.  not understanding another’s feelings.   a mother and child.   the pain of others.   a quest of justice.   abandoned billboards.   a hardened gaze.    driving to nowhere.   small towns.   last letters.   absurd violence.

DUNKIRK

burying a body.   warm cider.   narrow escapes.   a race against time.   a small boat.   all hope lost.   being unable to come home.   taken prisoner.   shipwrecks.   assuming the identity of someone else.   setting fire to it all.   smoke rising from a crash .  sea foam.   seaports.   rendered blind.   dropping to take cover.   land, sea, and air.    entangled in chain.   toast with jam.    suspense.   waiting for escape.   wounded men. lying in the sand.   trauma.   blank spaces.   sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun.   swallowed by darkness.   bullet holes.   obstacles and delays.   a hero’s welcome.   planes overhead.   the sounds of a ticking clock.   bullets ricocheting off metal.   people by the thousands.   shell-shocked.   the explosions of shells on shores.    the sound of destruction.  rising tides. head injuries.   target practice.   compressed time and space.   the perennial threat of death.  oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good.   blocking out the noise.   primal dangers.   taking command.    sole survivor.

GET OUT

deer antlers.   suburbs.   hypnosis.   strange behavior.  familial tension.   chopping wood. uneasy stares.   tears and a smile.   deception.   fight or flight.   blindness.   survival.   sinking into the floor.  watching but powerless.   strapped to a chair.   plugged ears.   a failed handshake.  car accidents.   sunken places.   something out of a nightmare.   going hysterical.   bingo cards.   smoking cigarettes.   static on a television set.   doing more harm than good.   a hint of a smile.   a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them.  waiting for someone to come when they never will.   overturned candles.   wealthy garden parties.   constantly looking over your shoulder.   silence no matter how hard you scream.   trances.   catharsis.    a battle of wills.   layers being peeled back.   a cup of tea.  nosebleeds.   addiction.   last bits of life leaving a body.   black and white photography.  sprinting at high speeds.   conspiracies.   surgery.   blankly polite speech.   noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.  a deer in headlights.   staring at your own reflection.   unable to sleep.   loyal friends.

LADY BIRD

california landscapes.   budding romance.   uniforms.   consolation.   plain and luscious colors.   apologizing.   boorish sex.   prom dresses.   secondhand dresses.   strong personalities.   the ups and downs of adolescence.   the theatre.   being simultaneously warm and scary.    battling depression.   90’s fashion.   dreaming of elsewhere.   partying.  signatures on a cast.   living on the wrong side of the tracks.   not being bound by any era.   rejection.   sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis.  a place that looks like a memory.   going behind backs.   disappointed parents.   catholicism.   poverty.   busy new york city streets.   monotonous hometowns.   shitty bands.   anarchy.   drifting in and out of friendships.   menial jobs.   red hair.   self-given names.   coming-of-age.   a broken arm. excessive drinking.   first kisses.   cupcakes.   smudged eye makeup. bruises gained unknowingly.   strained relationships.   screaming in the middle of the street.   thoughtful letters.   standing out.   decorated bedroom walls.   having a change of heart.   expressing individuality.

Muse: Howard Silk (Alpha)

THE SHAPE OF WATER

early mornings.  art on an easel.  being trapped.  flashy cars. self-righteous. intolerance.  speaking volumes without a word.  being submerged.  learning and adapting.  raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water.  cats.  taboo desires.  tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia.  kissing underwater.  silence. isolation.  golden age hollywood.  sign language.  scales.  egg shells.  jell-o. the smell of cleaning supplies. creature features. the space race.  red coats.   monstrous fairy tales. lab coats.  lunches in brown bags.  the click of shoes.  smog.  dance routines.  slices of pie.   toxic masculinity.  chains.  government secrets.   seeing past flaws.   floating aimlessly.  needles.  greens and blues. deep, inexorable scars.  gills.  music from the 30′s.  retro-futurism.  bloody handprints.  routines.  record players.  old movies.   love in unexpected places.

PHANTOM THREAD

a doll in a gilded birdcage.  butter to bread. the death of a mother.  cycles. hidden messages.   a disruptive presence. longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control.  post-war. brightly colored socks . inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations. family dysfunction.  rich fabrics.  curses.   soft piano music.  restrained anger.   spinning out of control. artist and muse.  dark love.   pastels.  peace in the countryside.   clockwork dynamics. perfection.  wild mushrooms.   giving up every piece of yourself.   rags to riches.  ghosts. new year’s.   lingering gazes.   needle and thread.   fine dining. hearing every sound.   being ambushed.  ego.   flowing dresses.   a person out of place.  defiance.  ink to paper.   an artist tortured by their art.  obsessive personalities.   peepholes.   soothing elegance.   silk. spiral staircases.   driving at high speeds.    high society.

THE POST

typewriters.   newspapers.   tense climates.   distrust of authority.   internal battles.   a legacy at stake.   secrets.   cover-ups.   defending what you believe.   peering through windows.  melodrama.   political corruption.  behind closed doors.   sniffing a scoop.  ringing phones.  lying for over a decade.   cramming and crowding.   cold grays.   war.   fluorescent lights.   treason.   shuffled papers.   the jungle.   a weight on your shoulders.   fresh coffee. thousands of deaths.   burglary.   finding your voice.   risking everything.  propaganda.   tough choices.   exposure.   type being set by hand.   workplace rivalries.   abusing power.  security breaches.   hierarchy.   a bed strewn with papers and books.   paranoia.   orders.   clicking keys.   redacted files.   desk clutter.   cigarette smoke.   precious cargo.   vanished technologies.   suspenseful conversations.   facing charges.   courtroom battles.   suits and ties.

DARKEST HOUR

never surrendering.  duty.   countless negotiations.   the flash of cameras.   beaches.   historic buildings.   guzzling booze.   resignation.   utter catastrophe.   bunkers.   radio broadcasts.  going against the odds.   bathed in red light.   a sense of humor.   allies.   shouting matches.    small square windows.   selfishness.   walking with a cane.   war rooms.   chandeliers.   dust floating in air.   righteousness.   a poor reputation.   an elevator surrounded by darkness.   a world at war.   needing a miracle.   interruptions.   a last hope.   cigar smoke.   quoting poetry.   photos of a loved one.   a single sunbeam.   monarchy.   vanity. rescue missions.   refusing peace.   allied chambers.  military uniforms.   taking a stand.   common folk.   suicide missions.   drums of war.   tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance. complete collapse.   evacuations.   enveloped by fog.   changing history.   blood, toil, tears and sweat.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

severe burns.   police uniforms.   sirens.   the calmness of a deer.    strumming guitars.  grieving.   horrifying memories.   sucker punches.   a lack of respect.   facing threats.  skin under fingernails.   flicking cigarettes.   awkward dates.  nasty rumors.   claustrophobia.   lush green pastures.   molotov cocktails.   the fire of anger and revenge.   strangers.  no remorse.   bashing in windows.   the midwest.  provoking a fight.  pointing fingers.   being pressed for time.   rundown old houses.   grey morality.   dark undercurrents.    insurmountable losses.   cruel laughs.   the american flag.   dive bars.   guilty no matter what.   buildings in flames.   ambulances.   coughing up blood.   spitting.   chewing on fingernails.   one versus many.   black and red.  not understanding another’s feelings.   a mother and child.   the pain of others.   a quest of justice.   abandoned billboards.   a hardened gaze.    driving to nowhere.   small towns.   last letters.   absurd violence.

DUNKIRK

burying a body.    warm cider.   narrow escapes.   a race against time.   a small boat.   all hope lost.   being unable to come home.   taken prisoner.   shipwrecks.   assuming the identity of someone else.   setting fire to it all.   smoke rising from a crash .  sea foam.   seaports.   rendered blind.   dropping to take cover.   land, sea, and air.    entangled in chain.   toast with jam.    suspense.   waiting for escape.   wounded men. lying in the sand.   trauma.   blank spaces.   sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun.   swallowed by darkness.   bullet holes.   obstacles and delays.   a hero’s welcome.   planes overhead.   the sounds of a ticking clock.   bullets ricocheting off metal.   people by the thousands.   shell-shocked.   the explosions of shells on shores.    the sound of destruction.   rising tides.  head injuries.   target practice.   compressed time and space.   the perennial threat of death.  oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good.   blocking out the noise.   primal dangers.   taking command.    sole survivor.

GET OUT

deer antlers.   suburbs.   hypnosis.   strange behavior.  familial tension.   chopping wood. uneasy stares.   tears and a smile.   deception.   fight or flight.   blindness.   survival.   sinking into the floor.  watching but powerless.   strapped to a chair.   plugged ears.   a failed handshake.  car accidents.   sunken places.   something out of a nightmare.   going hysterical.   bingo cards.   smoking cigarettes.   static on a television set.   doing more harm than good.   a hint of a smile.   a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them.  waiting for someone to come when they never will.   overturned candles.   wealthy garden parties.   constantly looking over your shoulder.   silence no matter how hard you scream.   trances.   catharsis.    a battle of wills.   layers being peeled back.   a cup of tea.   nosebleeds.   addiction.   last bits of life leaving a body.   black and white photography.   sprinting at high speeds.   conspiracies.   surgery.   blankly polite speech.   noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.  a deer in headlights.   staring at your own reflection.   unable to sleep.   loyal friends.

LADY BIRD

california landscapes.   budding romance.   uniforms.   consolation.   plain and luscious colors.   apologizing.   boorish sex.   prom dresses.   secondhand dresses.   strong personalities.   the ups and downs of adolescence.   the theatre.   being simultaneously warm and scary.    battling depression.   90’s fashion.   dreaming of elsewhere.   partying.  signatures on a cast.   living on the wrong side of the tracks.   not being bound by any era.   rejection.   sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis.  a place that looks like a memory.   going behind backs.   disappointed parents.   catholicism.   poverty.   busy new york city streets.   monotonous hometowns.   shitty bands.   anarchy.   drifting in and out of friendships.   menial jobs.   red hair.   self-given names.   coming-of-age.   a broken arm. excessive drinking.   first kisses.   cupcakes.   smudged eye makeup. bruises gained unknowingly.   strained relationships.   screaming in the middle of the street.   thoughtful letters.   standing out.   decorated bedroom walls.   having a change of heart.   expressing individuality.

[reincarneth-moved]

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2018) AESTHETICS.   repost, don’t reblog. bold whatever applies. tag whoever you want and feel free to add to the categories.

THE SHAPE OF WATER : early mornings. art on an easel. being trapped. flashy cars. self-righteous intolerance. speaking volumes without a word. being submerged. learning and adapting. raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water. cats.  taboo desires.  tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia. kissing underwater. silence.  isolation. golden age hollywood. sign language. scales.  egg shells. jell-o. the smell of cleaning supplies.  creature features. the space race. red coats. monstrous fairy tales.  lab coats. lunches in brown bags. the click of shoes.  smog.  dance routines.  slices of pie. toxic masculinity. chains. government secrets. seeing past flaws. floating aimlessly. needles. greens and blues.  deep, inexorable scars. gills.  music from the 30′s. retro-futurism. bloody handprints.  routines.  record players. old movies. love in unexpected places.

PHANTOM THREAD  :  a doll in a gilded birdcage. butter to bread. the death of a mother father. cycles. hidden messages.  a disruptive presence. longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control. post-war. brightly colored socks. inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations. family dysfunction. rich fabrics. curses. soft piano music. restrained anger. spinning out of control.  artist and muse.  dark love.  pastels. peace in the countryside. clockwork dynamics. perfection.  wild mushrooms.  giving up every piece of yourself.  rags to riches.  ghosts.  new year’s.  lingering gazes.  needle and thread. fine dining. hearing every sound.  being ambushed. ego.  flowing dresses.  a person out of place. defiance.  ink to paper. an artist tortured by their art. obsessive personalities.  peepholes.  soothing elegance.  silk. spiral staircases.  driving at high speeds. high society.

THE POST : typewriters. newspapers. tense climates.  distrust of authority. internal battles. a legacy at stake. secrets. cover-ups.  defending what you believe. peering through windows. melodrama. political corruption. behind closed doors. sniffing a scoop. ringing phones. lying for over a decade.  cramming and crowding.  cold grays. war.  fluorescent lights.  treason.  shuffled papers.  the jungle. a weight on your shoulders. fresh coffee. thousands of deaths. burglary.  finding your voice.  risking everything.  propaganda. tough choices. exposure.  type being set by hand.  workplace rivalries.  abuses of power.  security breaches. hierarchy. a bed strewn with papers and books. paranoia.  orders. clicking keys. redacted files. desk clutter.  cigarette smoke.  precious cargo.  vanished technologies.  suspenseful conversations. facing charges.  courtroom battles.  suits and ties.

DARKEST HOUR  : never surrendering.  duty.  countless negotiations.  the flash of cameras. beaches. historic buildings.  guzzling booze.  resignation. utter catastrophe. bunkers.  radio broadcasts. going against the odds.  bathed in red light.  a sense of humor.   allies. shouting matches.  small square windows. selfishness. walking with a cane. war rooms. chandeliers. dust floating in air. righteousness.  a poor reputation.  an elevator surrounded by darkness.  a world at war.  needing a miracle.  interruptions.  a last hope. cigar smoke.  quoting poetry.  photos of a loved one.  a single sunbeam. monarchy. vanity.  rescue missions. refusing peace.  pallid chambers.  military uniforms. taking a stand. common folk. suicide missions.  drums of war. tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance.  complete collapse.  evacuations. enveloped by fog.  changing history. blood, toil, tears and sweat.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI  :   severe burns.  police uniforms.  sirens. the calmness of a deer. strumming guitars. grieving. horrifying memories. sucker punches. a lack of respect.  facing threats.  skin under fingernails. flicking cigarettes.  awkward dates.  nasty rumors. claustrophobia.  lush green pastures.  molotov cocktails.  the fire of anger and revenge.  strangers.  no remorse. bashing in windows.  the midwest. provoking a fight. pointing fingers. being pressed for time.  rundown old houses. grey morality.  dark undercurrents. insurmountable losses.  cruel laughs.   the american flag. dive bars. guilty no matter what.   buildings in flames. ambulances. coughing up blood. spitting.  chewing on fingernails.  one versus many.  black and red. not understanding another’s feelings. a mother and child.  the pain of others. a quest of justice. abandoned billboards.  a hardened gaze. driving to nowhere.  small towns. last letters. absurd violence.

DUNKIRK  : burying a body.  warm cider.  narrow escapes. a race against time. a small boat. all hope lost. being unable to come home.  taken prisoner. shipwrecks.  assuming the identity of someone else. setting fire to it all.  smoke rising from a crash. sea foam.  seaports.  rendered blind. dropping to take cover. land, sea, and air. entangled in chain.  toast with jam. suspense.  waiting for escape.  wounded men. lying in the sand. trauma. blank spaces. sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun. swallowed by darkness. bullet holes. obstacles and delays.  a hero’s welcome. planes overhead. the sounds of a ticking clock. bullets ricocheting off metal. people by the thousands.  shell-shocked.  the explosions of shells on shores.  the sound of destruction. rising tides.  head injuries. target practice.  compressed time and space. the perennial threat of death. oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good. blocking out the noise.  primal dangers.  taking command.  sole survivor.

GET OUT  : deer antlers.  suburbs.  hypnosis.  strange behavior.  familial tension.  chopping wood.  uneasy stares. tears and a smile. deception. fight or flight.  blindness.  survival.  sinking into the floor. watching but powerless. strapped to a chair.  plugged ears.  a failed handshake.  car accidents.  sunken places. something out of a nightmare.  going hysterical.  bingo cards. smoking cigarettes.  static on a television set.  doing more harm than good. a hint of a smile. a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them. waiting for someone to come when they never will. overturned candles.  wealthy garden parties.  constantly looking over your shoulder. silence no matter how hard you scream.  trances.  catharsis. a battle of wills. layers being peeled back. a cup of tea. nosebleeds.  addiction.  last bits of life leaving a body. black and white photography.  sprinting at high speeds. conspiracies. surgery. blankly polite speech.  noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.   a deer in headlights. staring at your own reflection. unable to sleep. loyal friends.

LADY BIRD : california landscapes. budding romance.  uniforms. consolation. plain and luscious colors.  apologizing. boorish sex. prom dresses.  secondhand dresses.  strong personalities. the theatre.  being simultaneously warm and scary.  battling depression.  90’s fashion.  dreaming of elsewhere. partying. signatures on a cast. living on the wrong side of the tracks.  not being bound by any era. rejection.  sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis. a place that looks like a memory.  going behind backs.  disappointed parents.  catholicism.  poverty.  busy new york city streets. monotonous hometowns. shitty bands. teenage anarchy. drifting in and out of friendships. menial jobs.  red hair. self-given names.  coming-of-age.  a broken arm. excessive drinking.  first kisses.  cupcakes. smudged eye makeup. strained relationships.  screaming in the middle of the street.  thoughtful letters. standing out. decorated bedroom walls. having a change of heart. expressing individuality.

tagged: @bojoukken​ tagging: @kaerux​ @fmthefm​ @nostomannia​ @fxtelism​ @precure-memory​ @batoushoujo​ @sukiban​ and whoever else wants to do this-

[raiiju]

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2018) AESTHETICS.   repost, don’t reblog. bold whatever applies. tag whoever you want and feel free to add to the categories. 

THE SHAPE OF WATER : early mornings. art on an easel. being trapped. flashy cars. self-righteous intolerance. speaking volumes without a word. being submerged.  learning and adapting.  raindrops on windows.  bubbles rising in water. cats. taboo desires. tanks of water.  kitschy nostalgia. kissing underwater.  silence. isolation. golden age hollywood. sign language. scales.  egg shells. jell-o. the smell of cleaning supplies.  creature features. the space race. red coats. monstrous fairy tales.  lab coats. lunches in brown bags. the click of shoes.  smog. dance routines.  slices of pie. toxic masculinity.  chains.  government secrets. seeing past flaws. floating aimlessly. needles. greens and blues.  deep, inexorable scars. gills.  music from the 30′s.  retro-futurism. bloody handprints.  routines.  record players. old movies. love in unexpected places.

PHANTOM THREAD  :  a doll in a gilded birdcage. butter to bread. the death of a mother. cycles. hidden messages.  a disruptive presence. longing.  wedding gowns.  posh control. post-war. brightly colored socks. inner turmoil.  poison.  an air of quiet death.  hallucinations. family dysfunction. rich fabrics. curses. soft piano music. restrained anger.  spinning out of control.  artist and muse. dark love. pastels. peace in the countryside. clockwork dynamics. perfection.  wild mushrooms.  giving up every piece of yourself.  rags to riches.  ghosts.  new year’s.  lingering gazes.  needle and thread. fine dining. hearing every sound.  being ambushed. ego.  flowing dresses.  a person out of place. defiance.  ink to paper.  an artist tortured by their art.  obsessive personalities. peepholes.  soothing elegance.  silk. spiral staircases.  driving at high speeds. high society.

THE POST : typewriters. newspapers.  tense climates.  distrust of authority. internal battles. a legacy at stake. secrets. cover-ups.  defending what you believe. peering through windows. melodrama. political corruption.  behind closed doors. sniffing a scoop. ringing phones. lying for over a decade.  cramming and crowding.  cold grays.  war.  fluorescent lights.  treason.  shuffled papers.  the jungle.  a weight on your shoulders. fresh coffee. thousands of deaths. burglary.  finding your voice.  risking everything.  propaganda. tough choices. exposure.  type being set by hand.  workplace rivalries.  abuses of power.  security breaches. hierarchy. a bed strewn with papers and books. paranoia.  orders.  clicking keys. redacted files. desk clutter.  cigarette smoke.  precious cargo.  vanished technologies.  suspenseful conversations. facing charges.  courtroom battles.  suits and ties.

DARKEST HOUR  : never surrendering.  duty.  countless negotiations.  the flash of cameras.  beaches. historic buildings.  guzzling booze.  resignation. utter catastrophe. bunkers.  radio broadcasts. going against the odds.  bathed in red light.  a sense of humor.  allies.  shouting matches.  small square windows. selfishness. walking with a cane. war rooms.  chandeliers. dust floating in air.  righteousness.  a poor reputation.  an elevator surrounded by darkness.  a world at war.  needing a miracle.  interruptions.  a last hope. cigar smoke.  quoting poetry.  photos of a loved one.  a single sunbeam.  monarchy.  vanity.  rescue missions.  refusing peace.  pallid chambers.  military uniforms.  taking a stand.  common folk.  suicide missions.  drums of war.  tears down sullen cheeks.  reluctance.  complete collapse.  evacuations. enveloped by fog.  changing history.  blood, toil, tears and sweat.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI  :   severe burns.  police uniforms.  sirens. the calmness of a deer. strumming guitars. grieving. horrifying memories. sucker punches. a lack of respect. facing threats.  skin under fingernails. flicking cigarettes.  awkward dates.  nasty rumors. claustrophobia.  lush green pastures.  molotov cocktails.  the fire of anger and revenge.  strangers.  no remorse. bashing in windows.  the midwest. provoking a fight. pointing fingers. being pressed for time.  rundown old houses. grey morality.  dark undercurrents. insurmountable losses. cruel laughs. the american flag. dive bars. guilty no matter what.  buildings in flames. ambulances. coughing up blood. spitting.  chewing on fingernails.  one versus many.  black and red. not understanding another’s feelings. a mother and child. the pain of others. a quest of justice. abandoned billboards.  a hardened gaze.  driving to nowhere.  small towns. last letters. absurd violence.

DUNKIRK  : burying a body.  warm cider.  narrow escapes. a race against time.  a small boat.  all hope lost. being unable to come home.  taken prisoner. shipwrecks. assuming the identity of someone else. setting fire to it all.  smoke rising from a crash. sea foam.  seaports.  rendered blind. dropping to take cover. land, sea, and air. entangled in chain.  toast with jam. suspense.  waiting for escape.  wounded men. lying in the sand. trauma. blank spaces. sinking ships.  commended a hero.  cocking a gun. swallowed by darkness.  bullet holes. obstacles and delays.  a hero’s welcome. planes overhead. the sounds of a ticking clock. bullets ricocheting off metal.  people by the thousands.  shell-shocked.  the explosions of shells on shores.  the sound of destruction. rising tides.  head injuries. target practice.  compressed time and space. the perennial threat of death.  oil ignited into flames.  lying for the greater good.  blocking out the noise.  primal dangers.  taking command.  sole survivor.

GET OUT  : deer antlers.  suburbs.  hypnosis.  strange behavior.  familial tension.  chopping wood.  uneasy stares. tears and a smile. deception. fight or flight.  blindness.  survival.  sinking into the floor. watching but powerless. strapped to a chair.  plugged ears.  a failed handshake.  car accidents.  sunken places. something out of a nightmare.  going hysterical. bingo cards. smoking cigarettes.  static on a television set.  doing more harm than good. a hint of a smile. a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them. waiting for someone to come when they never will. overturned candles.  wealthy garden parties.  constantly looking over your shoulder.  silence no matter how hard you scream.  trances.  catharsis.  a battle of wills. layers being peeled back. a cup of tea. nosebleeds.  addiction.  last bits of life leaving a body.  black and white photography.  sprinting at high speeds. conspiracies. surgery. blankly polite speech. noise of a spoon scraping across a teacup.   a deer in headlights. staring at your own reflection. unable to sleep. loyal friends.

LADY BIRD : california landscapes. budding romance.  uniforms. consolation. plain and luscious colors.  apologizing. boorish sex. prom dresses.  secondhand dresses.  strong personalities. the theatre.  being simultaneously warm and scary.  battling depression.  90’s fashion.  dreaming of elsewhere. partying. signatures on a cast. living on the wrong side of the tracks.  not being bound by any era.  rejection.  sparklers.  thrift stores.  high school.  identity crisis.  a place that looks like a memory.  going behind backs.  disappointed parents.  catholicism.  poverty.  busy new york city streets. monotonous hometowns. shitty bands.  teenage anarchy. drifting in and out of friendships. menial jobs. red hair. self-given names.  coming-of-age.  a broken arm. excessive drinking.  first kisses.  cupcakes.  smudged eye makeup. strained relationships.  screaming in the middle of the street.  thoughtful letters. standing out. decorated bedroom walls. having a change of heart. expressing individuality. 

tagged: @conseille​ & @xking​​ ( ty! ♥ ) tagging: @jaxyu​​, @horclogium​​, @reiked​​, @pseudogaiety​​, @abendrotbrav​​, @darkbootsofblood​​​