#and i do think it's fascinating to look at in our current media landscape. but do i really want to go off about big mouth

[magentagalaxies]

so close to writing an essay on the very hit-or-miss quality of queer representation in big mouth bc oh my gog i have Opinions but also like no one wants to read this and it's genuinely weird that i have such distinct opinions on how fucking big mouth of all things handles its queer characters

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Right, I'm back. I didn't post anything yesterday because I thought it's best not to rush. But it was indeed fascinating to see reactions in real time to the photo. Yes, I'm talking about the photo posted on IG of JM, JK and another person.

I think I must have read opinions that varied on a entire spectrum and expressed quite vehemently. It's safe to say everyone has really strong opinions and you either condemn it or you're totally fine with it, as long as you pick a side and don't question anything. In sitautions such as these, the tendency to add just a touch of conspiracy is right there. And it gets a pass when there's a lack of information, a language barrier, etc.

I too have my own questions and observations, to which I don't necesarily need an answer, but I'll just write them down.

1. I couldn't help but think of how deep the level of social media stalking is in this fandom. I looked up the account immediately as I saw a screenshot because initially there was confusion about the source. That guy made no previous photo uploads of either JM or JK. At a first glance, there is nothing to connect him to them. And still he had fan accounts following him, before it all blew up and he gained a lot more. My question is, how did that happen? Are there people who look up Jimin's followers list and they try to figure out if there's someone from an inner circle? In all those 50 million people? Do they check some select few accounts daily to see if there's a possibility of a post? The logistics of this are giving me a headache. Or maybe there's some obvious, easier answer and I don't know it.

2. Considering that the account is public, it's not like the photo is leaked. I don't know exactly the nature of the relationship that man has/had with JM & JK and I do not wish to make any speculation with regards to his intentions.

3. I think the outrage was mostly caused by jikookers bringing back to the surface that old photo under the heart arch. Which indeed paints a certain picture, but it's also not the most incriminatory thing out there. I don't think there's any real actual danger, considering that it was supposedly taken from Jungkook's dad Kakao talk. If that's true then it means the dad was ok with showing it.

3. What I personally believe should not have happened was to circulate that photo so easily on social media. People knew about it for a long time, even before someone posted it on I-Jikook twitter. But in cases like these, the photos will always be revealed. They will leave the group chats and out into the wild usually for a petty reason. Because at the end of the day, that's the issue. It has nothing to do with giving a shit about the people in the photo, it's about winning a shipping argument, about screaming "we won". Win what exactly???? It shows who is in it for the fantasy. No single argument could work for them. Replying on and on about deleting doesn't matter.

4. Maybe my last point, but this situation has revealed some things which were already known, but maybe not really articulated specifically all the time. As people not only part of the fandom, but also using social media 24/7, our ideas about privacy and what we should have access to when it comes to public figures has certainly been influenced by the current landscape. In the case of JM & JK particularly, they have been sharing pieces of themselves for more than a decade. It was the BH strategy, the BTS brand. It worked wonders because look at the huge fandom it gathered and the relationship that was built between idol and fan. Hell, Jungkook is doubling down heavy on it with his livestreams. How can anyone really expect a mass of people to really stop and think about privacy? We ourselves as regular people curate our social media image and we voice our opinions and share the places we go to, who are our friends, what parties we attended, when we get into a relationship. Every mundane or special occassion is posted for public consumption. I'm not saying this as some excuse that would justify sharing what looks like a private photo. What I'm saying is that it's to be expected in a way. As harsh as it is, but we live in this reality where the line between the public and private sphere is getting more invisible day by day.

What I think it's scary is that if there's a situation in which an actual compromising photo would somehow be leaked and which can be in the detriment of the people in it for various reasons, so called fans would still share it as proof. Because it doesn't matter for them. It's the high of finding it, of screaming about it on social media, without thinking for more than a second about possible implications. Everything needs to be done fast, regardless of consequences because people need to feed themselves with gossip and leaks.

I'm really just rambling here and not making too much sense. Anyway, I think we should always take a step back and really assess the situation and not scream about it, regardless of our position. Not everything is a threat, or privacy violation or putting people in danger, but it doesn't mean that it needs to be treated lightly as if it's no big deal (which usually comes from people who care more about their own safisfaction and feeling like a "winner").

[sarasa-cat]

I am reading (technically listening) to:

You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape by Whitney Phillips and Ryan M. Milner. MIT Press, 2021.

Only in chapter 2. But hoooooboy do I want to hold a reading group that reads this book and discusses it.

Chapter 2 includes a big bit on how millennials who were internet researchers in PhD programs (such as these two authors) during the early 2010s actually PERPETUATED the problems of online racism, sexism, protecting the privacy of minors and other vulnerable classes of people.

Including the outrage that some of these young researchers felt when they were told HOW FUCKED UP THEIR RESEARCH WAS (often by peer-reviews my age, which definitely did in fact include me for those attempting to publish in ACM venues) .

I eventually left academia and the tech world because of so many things in this book --- the tide of move fast and break things --- the overwhelming onslaught of smug young idiots with freshly minted Harvard (etc) degrees who had bizarre notions of what "free speech" actually means even in a US legal context. There was far too much of a revolving door between research academia and Facebook, Google, Twitter, Etc.

Well. This chapter attempts to apologize for the idiocy that swept through that group of people.

...

But before that, lots of discussion about other idiots far older than them (and many far older than me too). So, they have words for everyone.

My problem is that I'm just extra salty at a specific group for reasons personal. Sorry. But I am salty and I will remain salty and so will every single damn person (generally in my age group) who warned and warned and warned and warned about how the information ecosystem was being taken over by bigots and by political-ideological agents with dangerous goals.

Anyhow. (Still salty. Salty since 2008. Actually, no. Salty since 1998.)

I think I need to get my hands on a text version of this book because audiobook while cleaning is sort of brain tuning in and out.

The whole section on the rise of Christian media (in the 70s-90s) and how that walked hand in hand with the so-called Satanic Panic (!!!) of the 1980s was really very well spelled out.

If anyone wants to read this book with me, please let me know.

Here is a preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/You_Are_Here/-ScZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The chapters are:

Introduction: Mapping Network Pollution

The Devil's in the Deep Frames

The Root of All Memes

Tilling Bigoted Lands, Sowing Bigoted Seeds

The Gathering Storm

Cultivating Ecological Literacy

Choose Your Own Ethics Adventure

(The intro does something clever -- it looks at information networks as ecological networks)

(Ch 1 was basically Lakoff & Johnson's linguistic frame theory crossed with the rise of Evangelical media networks that sucked in conspiracy theories in order to push back against fears of modern secular society which was rapidly changing in the 70s and 80s).

(I'm currently in Ch 2 which is about meme culture -- and also WHY these two people - millennials of a certain vintage - had trouble seeing the forest for the trees because they grew up immersed in internet culture and didn't realize (lacked the wisdom and perspective) to see what was wrong with even the things they were doing as researchers)

okay. back to cleaning --- ping me if you are fascinated. I'm gonna keep listening but I also need to find a print or ebook copy bc audiobook isn't the best for close reading.

[otenvs3000f23]

Week 1

BLOG PROMPT: Describe your current relationship with nature. How has this developed/evolved? Who offered you “a sense of place,” as described in our textbook?

Hello, my fellow nature interpreters!

I look forward to getting to know you all through sharing our thoughts on Tumblr – I honestly forgot this platform even existed! Nonetheless, I wish you all luck in your studies and am excited for this semester with you!

Do you guys ever think about the things that have shaped who you are and your interests? What influences and experiences made me who I am today? If you’re anything like me and coming up to your ‘quarterly-life crisis’, you might spend countless hours pondering (and stressing) over who you are and what you’re meant to do; what is going to bring me happiness and a sense of meaning? At least for me, I think this is where the natural world comes into play in my life.

Let us begin…

For as long as I can remember, I could always be found reading some book or encyclopedia on wildlife. I’ve always been fascinated by animal behaviour, animal physiology, wildlife conservation, and pretty much anything animal-related. Was anyone else obsessed with BBC’s Earth nature documentaries? I would argue that David Attenborough must be one of the best nature interpreters of our time. He encapsulated millions by sharing breathtaking landscapes and all the life that depends upon it. His impassioned rhetoric brings meaning to conservation efforts and displays the beauty of our home. His documentaries profoundly enriched my admiration and awareness of the fragility and adaptiveness of nature. As I grew older and as my knowledge of animals expanded into the natural world and the environment, I began to notice the interconnectedness of life; I learned of issues our planet was facing, such as how climate change was affecting wildlife and biodiversity, the inequalities and ethical concerns found within so many industries, and most importantly, how utterly crucial it is to protect our beautiful little planet.

After the release of several articles all over social media explaining that we are in the ‘decisive decade’ and on the brink of the sixth mass extinction, there seemed to be nothing but bad news everywhere. Essentially every article and social media post alluded to the idea that humanity is doomed and that we’ve completely screwed up our planet. I honestly struggled with a lot of anxiety around this, and I took this issue personally (and still do).

On a side note, I like the idea that amongst chaos and ruin, nature and life on Earth will continue to rebuild itself – maybe we can look at times of hopelessness and chaos in our own lives this way, we are forever transforming and learning, perpetually being rebuilt despite it all. I think if we all look at nature as our friend instead of trying to be separate from it and viewing it as a commodity to be exploited we can instead appreciate our planet, and then perhaps we can save it too.

While I always felt that anything I did would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, I still do my best to live more sustainably and try to encourage others to do the same. After having such a defeatist mindset about the state of our planet for quite some time, I would say I grew quite proficient in appreciating the natural world around me and am in constant awe of its resiliency. If you pay attention to the beauty of it all, you too can feel a little more at peace. Take a minute to look up and be captivated by the stars at night, isn’t it neat that the longer you look, the more stars that seem to appear? Study the intricate chevron markings on the legs of a grasshopper. Stick your arms out and feel the heat from the sun on your skin and the wind blowing across your face. We come from nature, it is ingrained in who we are; so take a moment to be present and admire what our wonderful world offers – I hope it brings you as much peace as it does me.

[lee-tucker-seminar-blog]

In Summary (Module 7)

Looking back at what I've learned from this class, I've decided to be less analytical than in my previous posts. For the other modules, I wanted to show that I had a full understanding of concepts taught during the class, but now that I've done that, here's what I think about them.

Module 1: I’m not sure what I would have been like if I didn’t grow up in a time with the internet. Maybe I would have turned to more analog versions of games. I do know, however, that I am changed for having the internet. I had a few restrictions growing up, but not enough to hold back whatever this fascination is that I’ve had for 16 years.

Module 2: Net neutrality is inherently a good idea, but not a very innovative one. If all parts of the internet, and service providers, are bound by the same rules and regulations, then there is the possibility of stifling innovation. Also, I’ve mostly learned to ignore ads. It is nice when I see something I care about, but it’s more rare than anything else.

Module 3: This may not be a popular opinion, but a small, little bit of bullying can be a good thing. Now let me be clear, the current situation that appears online is bad. I do not agree with it. The idea of anonymous people shouting hate at the other end of a screen is not what I’m talking about. I think that in general, people want to be accepted by society. As children, bullies pick on those with some form of unwanted trait. In the case of personality or other nonphysical traits, I would at least want someone to tell me that it was socially unpopular. That way, if I were wanting to fit in, it could be fixed.

Module 4: Admittedly, I did skip this one. Apologies, Dr. Zeng.

Module 5: To be frank, I don’t much care for politics. I do understand why they are an important part of our society, but nearly nothing that goes on in policy making affects me currently. I may one day change my mind, but my thoughts have stopped no one from taking matters into their own hands. I think that people my age that are interested in politics should stop at nothing to get involved, and the advent of social media has created a perfect opportunity for it.

Module 6: Nothing is perfect. With the want to create a networked society, some things were found to be bigger problems than we thought. Admittedly, some of these could be helped. Certain data breaches, (the one coming to mind might be the military’s confidential files that were leaked on a Minecraft Discord channel. Seriously.) stricter policing of the illegal activities on the “dark web”, and learning when to take a break, and be less dependent on technology. All of these can be examined more closely.

For my paper, here is the abstract:

This paper explores the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on the future of work. It examines the benefits and challenges associated with these technologies and discusses their broader societal consequences. The analysis highlights the need for proactive measures to address job displacement, ethical concerns, and income inequality. Policymakers and businesses must navigate the evolving landscape of work to ensure that AI and automation advancements align with the greater welfare of society.

And the presentation:

(Please reach out to me if the video does not work. I am having a few small technical issues with Youtube at the moment. Hopefully they will resolve soon.)

[femmesfollesnebraska]

Artist feature: Helena Baka

Artist Helena Baka shares with LFF about her inspiration as an artist through trauma, experiences, identity, femininity and more. All images and text (c) Helena Baka, helenabaka.com.

Where are you from and how did you get into art?

I’m from Elmwood Park, Illinois, but I’m currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both of my parents were born and raised in Albania and immigrated from there before I was born, a few years after the collapse of communism. I’ve loved art since I was a child – I used to draw princesses, my favorite television show characters, Sanrio characters, and self-portraits. This was probably because both of my parents were artists - my father is a painter, and my mom used to make little angel Christmas ornaments and draw mermaids for my sister and me (although she stopped doing that very early on once she became a paralegal). All my life I had been surrounded by my dad’s oil painting landscapes of Albania hanging on the walls of our home, so I think I wanted to be just as good as him.

It’s been hard to be upfront about this, but my mom committed suicide when I was only 16 years old, and that was really the beginning of my painting practice because I started to draw inspiration from my traumas, dreams and experiences after that. Now, my work is motivated by my cultural identity and the distance I’ve experienced with my Albanian culture while growing up American. Lots of my current work shines on aspects of my identity, both relating to culture and femininity. I also have been exploring the relationship between sculpture and painting in my work because I’m fascinated with how bending the rules of traditional sculpture and/or painting can possibly make either of those fall into either category.

I have a few impetuses for creating; much of it derives from the need to tell my story, to use my practice as a form of therapy, to take risks and experiment with both familiar and unfamiliar mediums, and to educate my audience on whatever topic evokes strong emotions from me.

Tell me about your most recent exhibit.

4th Midwest Open at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago is the upcoming show I’m featured in, and I’m really excited for it because it’s going to be filled with so many different types of work featuring many artists of diverse backgrounds. It’s a chance to showcase the voices of women and nonbinary people in a space that is not male-dominated, which I think is so important because spaces like these are rare to find in the art world.

I hope when people see my work, it can spark some curiosity and self-education of what and where Albania is, and that it’s not just some impoverished Eastern European country that never made it into the footnotes of western history textbooks. My work touches on themes of loss, displacement, and frustration with one’s identity, as well as learning to accept and embrace who you are; that it’s okay not to fit into the mold of who or what you’re “supposed” to be. So, I hope at the end of the day, anyone who views my work can see a little bit of themselves in it, too. Most importantly, I want to be the Albanian woman artist role model that I never got to see growing up.

Does collaboration play a role in your work?

Although I have always worked independently in the studio, I’ve found collaboration beneficial to my practice through exposure of others’ ideas and methods of production. Being in my last year of art school toward my BFA, I have grown used to surrounding myself in an environment of plenty of working artists, and that alone inspires me to create, too. I think the act of critiques and even showing in-progress work has been a collaboration between me and whoever is critiquing my work, because most of the time I’ll come out of it with fresh ideas handed to me by another person. It works the same way vice-versa.

I once had my first ceramic sculpture fall apart in the kiln, and through a collaborative effort of mending it with my friend who was very familiar with working with plaster, my sculpture was repaired and I gained new insight toward this specific material and potential future uses in my practice. My work could never have progressed the way it has without the exposure of different ideas, methods and materials that other artists use.

What do you think about making work right now with the current political climate?

The political climate we’re living in right now has brought on so much outstanding work that has been made by BIPOC creators. Through the darkness of the pandemic, a corrupt, unfitting president in office, systemic racism, police brutality, and all of the tragic deaths we’ve experienced in 2020 from these events, one of the few instances of light the world gained out of these tragedies was the art made by black folx and BIPOC. From music to writing to visual art, BIPOC’s voices have been uplifted and encouraged on every accessible platform, and I continue to see more and more spaces made exclusively for these communities in the art world. Art really makes a difference in impacting our ways of thinking and beliefs, and I believe that if we continue to make BIPOC creators and voices a priority after Black Lives Matter is no longer a trending topic, there could be huge changes in the art world that provide even bigger opportunities for BIPOC creators, such as solo/group exhibitions, publications, grants and rewards, and leadership positions, if not more.

Is feminism relevant to your work?

Absolutely! I would categorize much of my work as feminist pieces because it discuss the contrasting distance and pride not only between myself and my cultural identity, but with my female identity as well that has been challenged and taken advantage of throughout all my life by others. Sexism, misogyny perpetuated by both men and women, double standards, and body image dysphoria as a consequence of these things have all been themes I’ve had to work through in my life and practice.

I can’t speak for every womxn or nonbinary person, but most who are or have once been feminine presenting in their lives have experienced a hypersexualization of themselves and their bodies through the media, culture, and the overall tainted perspective of the patriarchy we’ve been trained to look through. Instead, my work inevitably sees through the lens of the female gaze, where there is no objectification or negativity associated with the female/feminine body or experience, and instead the viewer is presented with this sort of chaotic, distortion of the faces and bodies of my characters, who are often abstract depictions of self-portraits.

What’s the best advice you have received about being an artist?

Strive to make work better than the last and only compete with yourself. Never measure your talents and successes to someone else's.

helenabaka.com

instagram: @artbug666.

~

Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Brown Deskins.  LFF Books is a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014) , The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015 and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017). Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. A portion of the proceeds from LFF books and products benefit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Wanda Ewing Scholarship Fund.

Submissions always open! - Check out the 10th anniversary call here:

https://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/callforart-writing

[the-irish-mayhem]

Happy Fosterson Week Day 2: Outside POV! This fic stemmed from my love of fake academia, but also my absolute desire to never write an academic paper ever again. So I found a bit of a middle ground. Fair warning: Both Jane and Thor have passed away in this. But never fear, their life together was long and happy.

A generation later, a budding social scientist tries to figure out Jane and Thor.

Read on AO3.

Legacy.

Post Thread Created: 1/23/01 Originally Posted: 1/23/01 Post Edited: 10/30/04

Edit 10/30/04: WOW, I did not anticipate that this post series would blow up the way it did! Thank you to all who shared this and supported me in this journey, and if you’re wondering, yes, my book is now out! You can get your copy of The Dynasty That Never Was: A Biography at your local retailer, the Bionic Press cloudstore, or at your local library.

Just a little bit of context: this was very early in my thesis writing process, back when Jane and Thor were only planned to encompass a single chapter of my book (ha!) and I was planning on writing a straight cultural analysis rather than the cultural analysis-slash-biography it became.

Okay, now on with the original post!

Good morning, fellow New Asgard Anthropologists. For any newcomers, my name is (future Dr.) Melanie LaComb, and the purpose of this blog has been to share my research on a little more of a ground level, record my process of writing my thesis, and talk/write through some problems and put them up for community collaboration. It’s also nice to be able to shed the academic discourse for just a few minutes and write informally. So much freedom! So many exclamations and I statements! Anyway, I’m writing this new post to talk my way through a bit of a new thorn in my research. The late Thor Odinson and Jane Foster.

A lot of academics have kind of scoffed at this problem of mine—they were two extremely famous individuals! Integral to so many galactically significant events! Of course there is absolute mega loads of information on them! There must be dozens of biographies and at least two definitive autobiographies for beings of such impressive historical stature!

This may shock you, but NO there actually isn’t. Or, I suppose in some ways there is but not in the ways that would be most useful for me. For Odinson, who grew up on Old Asgard, the destruction of the planet meant the destruction of many records kept from his years before the Greatest War Against Thanos. His years afterwards are better trackable, but hardly centralized and hardly the more personalized records I am (now trying to get at. Foster, known on Midgard as Dr. Jane Foster and colloquially throughout the galaxy as “Jane the Thinker” or “Jane the Brilliant,” is surprisingly easier to get a handle on. Her fame wasn’t contingent upon her marital status, and she was well-known in scientific circles even before the first battle of the War in the year 2012.

So the root of my problem is this: fitting this pair into my New Asgard diaspora research. Because they are….. how do I say this…. not fitting? With my methodology? (I went to the school of redundancy school, but F*ck I’ve been writing and writing and writing for like 8 hours today already and I’m not changing it so THERE.)

So most of my research deals with the formation of a New Asgardian identity, and it relies heavily upon the shared cultural experiences of the Dark Elf Invasion of Old Asgard and the death of Queen Frigga (an aside, but one of my classmates, Korla Majer, wrote a really stellar article on why the Dark Elf invasion should be included as one of the major battles of the Greatest War, and how the dismissal of the event by most historians actively hurts our understanding of galactic politics at the time and I absolutely 10/10 would recommend you go read it after you finish this blog post) as well as the battle for and destruction of New Asgard. For beings so long lived as us, Asgardians have proven that we can make our memories as short as we need to, and those two events seemed to create the largest basis for the new cultural identity forged on Earth. (For some obvious reasons, namely being the events that led to the planet being destroyed and necessitating the move to Midgard, but ANYWAY.)

But I can’t really deny Jane and Thor’s place in the New Asgardian identity because their effect on the masses is well-documented. There are libraries full of memes, old paper magazines with paparazzi photos paired with barely-real stories that say a lot more about the readership than they do the subjects, even some old FanFiction that I was able to dig up that is in some ways more helpful than all the academia from that time period combined XD

In my roundabout way, the problem I’m trying to sort through is this: HOW do I tackle the Jane/Thor chapter?

Because in my original outlining of my thesis, I had planned on their chapter being a quick summation of how they met just before the Greatest War’s beginning, courted through the course of it, and married at its conclusion. Then, I’d give some context on their influence on galactic politics (because despite what some people erroneously think, they actually were not the monarchs of New Asgard. They remained advisors only after Thor abdicated the throne and named Brunnhilde [of house Dragonfang, an extremely old and well-respected Old Asgardian family] his successor. There was the five year gap of the Blip where Thor was officially King, but it was hardly a politically significant time as for much of this period Thor was gone from New Asgard), how some political maneuvers affected the general New Asgardian populace, and then move back to the cultural study portion of things. But the more sources I gather about them, the more I think this chapter might need to be extended, or made into some… sub point of my main thesis.

Because while I said earlier that information on them is hard to find (because it is!!! You try making document requests to 17 different universities on 15 different planets!!!! Alfheim literally delivered what I asked for in a light spectrum file format!!!!!!!! Like WHAT!!!!!! AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS????? HOW DO I CONVERT THIS INTO A PDF OR EVEN JUST MAKE IT COMPATIBLE WITH HOLOREADERS) it’s not always the quantity that’s the issue, it’s the content. I found myself longing to know more about who these people were and why they did the things they did. I’ve always found that I've done my best research when I follow my gut feelings, and research things that I’m passionate about. New Asgardian diaspora culture? I’m living it, baby! I’m very interested because my generation is the first generation to have never set foot on Asgard, and that’s something worth exploring!

And now here I am weirdly fascinated by an almost-king whose magical powers are pretty legendary who was banished and fell in love with a woman (who was 100% human at the time, by the way) whose scientific theories were so advanced that her own people thought she was a bit of a kook until all of her theories started getting proven right. From a non-academic perspective, that sounds like a freaking romance novel or epic movie or something. (Which, by the way, it was! There were at least 6 separate pieces of media [film, novel, television show] that were based on their story that I can find on record.) So on a personal level, here I am wondering why two people in the past got married in spite of wildly different life circumstances/why one of them abdicated a throne that was his birthright, and on an academic level A) trying to figure out how to fit this weird fascination into my thesis B) how did these two political and cultural figures shape the cultural landscape C) was their effect on the cultural landscape more or less significant than the two events which have been taking the most of my focus for the last year? D) how productive is it to even ask the question of more or less significance?

*screaming*

A few people have asked me if I should just switch my track to talk about how they affected Brunnhilde’s rule over New Asgard (which, in case you missed previous posts, Brunnhilde is a huge part of my current thesis as she essentially presided over what I’m terming “The New Asgardian Cultural Renaissance” and was absolutely critical to how things were shaped.) I’m hesitant to do this because this has actually already been done. I’ll stick JSTOR links in the endnotes, but Dr. Hamel Radley literally wrote this. “A King For the Ages: Brunnhilde’s First Three Decades.” Also, Dr. Leslie Storn’s “A King’s Court: Brunnhilde’s Advisory Council.” AND Dr. Jorseph Naulty’s “King Brunnhilde’s Surprising Advisory Council: Steady Hands, Scientists, Military Minds, and Galactic Politicking.” Look, there’s a LOT on Brunnhilde’s rule, and a LOT written on her advisory council. She was the ruling monarch, so it’s pretty par for the course.

But for how politically and culturally significant they seemed to be, there’s not really much specifically on Jane and Thor. Their cultural influences are given lip-service, and that’s it. (Again, Jane has been scientifically significant in a way no one has achieved since Albert Einstein, so in that way she’s more famous than her husband, but scientific notoriety isn’t the same as recognizing the fullness of her cultural contributions.)

I brought this stuff up to my advisor, and she said to keep pulling this thread because I’m on to something here, I just need to figure out what.

So my next research goal is to reach out to their descendents. They have a few children and grandchildren living, and hopefully at least one of them is willing to speak to me about them as people so I can get that portion of things nailed down before I go insane.

My almost-insanity probably bled into this post a little bit because it’s redundant as heck and you can bet your bum I am not spell-checking or proofreading. I need a break from that garbage. The life of a doctoral student continues.

Here’s to pulling the thread. Hopefully something useful unravels.

-(Future Dr.) Melanie LaComb

Reply posted by: Winsome34, 1/23/01 08:23

Melanie--this is a super interesting track, and your advisor was absolutely right when they said to follow it. I think it would be really interesting to read a sort of half-biography, half-cultural analysis piece. Would be really unique, and I’m sure any doctoral committee would find it an engaging topic.

Not sure if you’ve tried the Avengers Museum and Historical Library yet, but that might be a good place to go for some more primary sources, since Thor was a founding member and Jane was closely tied to them throughout their life. They have a really solid amazing librarians there who know the stacks backwards and forwards. I relied heavily on them when I was researching my last paper about racism against superheroes of color in the early 21st century.

Reply posted by: KorlaMajer, 1/23/01 10:22

Thanks for the shoutout boo ;) Your thesis is gonna be amazing!

ALSO: I have a light spectrum file converter from my dad. He does a ton of business with Alfheim and they are NOTORIOUS for sending incompatible LSFs.

Reply posted by: Chloe Durbin, 2/2/01 20:40

Hey! My mom is actually really tight with Thor and Jane’s oldest daughter Valkyrie. I think they knew each other from school or something back in the day, but she’s really awesome and basically my aunt, so if you need an intro or a number to call, I’ve got you! Just shoot me an email chdurbin02@naun.edu. She’s really approachable if you don’t mind walking up to a lady who is literally 6’8” and looks like she literally HAS killed a man with her bare hands. But super nice though!

Universal Reply posted by: Blogmaster, 5/3/01 06:27

Thank you everyone for the tips! It’s going to help so much! The Avengers Library has actually been majorly helpful (I never even thought to look there, honestly!) and Valkyrie has agreed to sit down to an interview (of sorts) so everything is seriously looking up. And THE LSF CONVERTER WORKED LIKE A CHARM.

[aggresivelyfriendly]

Chapter One- Ichiriba Chode-

Here she is- give her a shot! I’m a little in love with japan harry, and want him to fall- in love or on his face! Thanks to the tripod, Writers cannot live without ass taps, laughs and love!

The ride down through the clouds was tougher than any flight he'd been on, and he was double glad that Jeff insisted on him using the private jet. It was the right decision this time. He avoided flying private whenever he could. It always made Harry feel weird, like he wasn't a normal person or something.

Jeff often reminded him he was the most normal non normal person he had ever met. A normal person perhaps with a crazy abnormal life.

Commercial flights meant fans and at least one Instagram or twitter tag with his at. A geolocation attached. Then people would know where he was.   Where he was, he felt like he was about to enter another world, another phase of his life. A much anticipated and talked about phase, but one not explained or complained about yet.  He could see the Sumida River below him and the light dawning over Tokyo. He grabbed his tattered, leather notebook and pressed it to his nose, like he always did, before opening it. 'A sunrise over its homeland, welcome to Japan.' There had been a little rash of songs about this place as of late, though the interest in it wasn't exactly new. Harry loved this place, its sights and sounds, and the language that he could replicate in very short carefully memorized sentences.   He loved the sentiments expressed in those untranslatable sentences. That’s why he picked it. When he'd been near finished with the last album and realized he had a three month hole in his schedule, Jeff asked him what he wanted to do. And Harry wanted to do another movie. There was a script he'd been secretly hoarding, one he really wanted to make. He’d procured the rights to it, and a few others to cover his tracks.  It had a lot to do with his absolute love affair with this city. And his love of rom coms. And because he liked to either defy or supersede expectations. Everybody expected him to do a rom com, so he would, and he'd do the original with a current twist. Tokyo Holiday. The script was fun and pithy and used the landscape and culture and language he'd found so entrancing. He'd even made a solo trip once he'd read the screenplay, to visit some of the places and see a friend. He fell in love here. With the city. It would be easy, what he had to portray. He could easily imagine it. That was, he could imagine falling in love there. He wanted to fall in love, in Tokyo. On screen at least. It was the one he wanted to make, and since Jeff liked to exceed his expectations, they were doing a condensed shooting schedule. Jeff had gotten him just about everything he wanted. Including Ada Scott. He'd been enamored of her work for years, and he'd met her father, Garner Scott, many many times. He was a close friend of Irving's, and had been an influential producer and maestro in the music industry for so long, it was more accidental than anything else that Harry had never directly worked with him. Ada was the mystery though, he'd never met her anywhere in LA or New York or London. He thought he'd heard she went to school for some time in England. He was fairly certain she went to the Sorbonne for University. Ok, he was totally certain, he had spent a lot of time researching her. Ever since her little movie cum critical darling, Wildflower, had taken up permanent residence in his mind and inspiration bank.  It wasn't a love story, not really, so it was weird he wanted her to direct his rom com. And he wanted her at the helm so bad he had insisted and said he wasn't doing it, even after they had gone through all the set up motions and contracts pending, unless she was the director. It was the way she framed the sexual moments in 'Wildflower', a coming of rage story about the daughter of absent parents who struggles with addiction, to substances and love. The sex scenes were just part of the landscape, an aspect of the lead character's life, not the focus of the story. Some of the set ups were unromantic at best. Ainsley, the lead character, was flippant, and occasionally predatory in her search for affection. But the love scenes, sex scenes, were so beautifully framed and imperfect, sexy in their raw realness. They lacked the air brush of Hollywood and the filter of instagram. There was nothing perfect about them, but the emotion was real and moving. Even the negative emotions. And they were from the female gaze. Which was getting more common. However, Wildflower's female gaze was imperfect, skewed, and flawed.  That was not so common. He wanted to bring that to the Tokyo Holiday script, some aspects of the story needed grit. The plot of the movie was a young royal sent on his first solo trip. Eyes of the world on him and a laundry list of rules about his behavior. He'd be in a city, Henry Stuart,  the royal was named, that he harbored a fascination with, and no opportunity or chance to see a thing. All of his sight seeing would be carefully guarded and heavily photographed. And official. Henry hated official. Basically it was familiar territory for Harry. The flip side of the movie, was the translator assigned to Henry. Akio was a gatekeeper. The translator gig gave him the ability to exercise that. It was also a means to an end for him, the translation was so that he could pay for his travel in and around Japan, his love of good food, and constant need for fashion and fun. He was older than Henry and burly, manly, and everything Henry secretly fantasized about. And when he noticed the young prince's absolute frustration with the gilded prison he lived in, he fished. He'd share pictures of his adventures, and tell Henry about meals and moments he'd loved. It didn't take long before Henry was sneaking out to try the tiny sushi bars and all night dance clubs. The best part was Akio's warm hand in his own and wide shoulders bracketing him when they came across another threshold, when Akio let him step first into new worlds. Harry was excited to see how Ada would handle the dichotomy of the polished world versus the gritty excitement Henry and Akio found in underground Tokyo. He hoped she made the night life dreamy and the day times surreal. Harry was sure she would. The notes that Jeff had brought out from meetings he had missed were exactly what he wanted. He was excited to see how Ada would handle their love scenes. They were so bittersweet on the page, awkward and almost uncomfortable, but such a eye opening moments for Henry, Harry could see Ada mastering them. True to life and life altering. He was excited to see how Ada would frame Tokyo. She'd traveled here, he'd found deep in her Instagram. She was younger, and there were lots of emojis and exclamation points. Those were largely absent from her current social media presence. He wasn't sure if that was due to her falling in love with Japan, like he had, or because she had grown out of effusion. He hoped the latter was not the case. He appreciated enthusiasm, liked it loads better than sophistication. He was excited to meet Ada. Not because she was beautiful, but because he was a fan. And he was damn lucky the scheduling had worked out, and that she was willing to risk her critical capital on him. Risk the buzz around her on a rom com. It could be a really good movie. He knows, and bankable. He could be bankable, was. It could also be a huge flop, effectively ending his film career for a time and her directorial rise. Harry wasn't sure why she was doing this. It wasn't about money. She'd been raised music royalty and could probably just be rich as a job for her whole life. But she'd gone to really great schools and worked really hard. She'd made a great but uncomfortable film. It was nothing like the film she was going to make with him. Harry was a bit confused about why she had said yes. Sometimes, when he was trying to close a deal, wanted somebody, like Jeff Bhasker, he met them personally. It always did the trick for him. He was charming. Jeff always said people fell a little in love with him. Harry would deny it, if it wasn't mutual. He always fell a little in love with the people he worked with. It was almost never consummated. But he hadn't met Ada. So it hadn't been his famous charm that got her to sign on. Harry hadn't even called. Jeffrey said the negotiations were surprisingly brief. "Is it because our dad knows her dad?" Harry was searching. Why would she take the risk? Irving was compelling, he knew that. "'Maybe, but I think Ada is, like, begrudgingly in the industry, like was looking to make her own name and avoid Garner's large footprints." That’s probably why she stayed away from music, or maybe she had a bad voice. That would do, she needed a flaw. With the Ivy League, and the face, and the taste. What was she doing with him? With his movie? Maybe she was a secret directioner. He laughed out loud and startled the quiet air of his solitary cabin. Unlikely, though that wouldn't be the weirdest or the first. God, what if she had a little thing for him? That would be so awkward. Kinda thrilling too, he bit his lip at the thought. He'd shaken that older woman stigma, but it was still a flavor he enjoyed under the radar. He shook his head at himself. Ada was a woman, women didn't risk their whole lives for his dimples. They didn't have the time. You could come over after their kids were asleep, so long as you left before they got up for school. Or you could spend the night when they were at dads for the weekend or school Holidays. You had to work into their schedule. Like the movie had. Maybe it just fit and she liked the script. It was good and a fresh take on a classic, like Alessandro reincorporating the green and red web. In any case, Harry was a bag of nerves to meet her, his director. Maybe not the way he was for Chris. But he'd met him way later in the process. And that wasn't his ship. He was a member of a big and bright ensemble. He hoped they got along, he hoped she got his dumb jokes, and they had creative chemistry. He hoped she liked him. They finally got to where he could deplane and go straight through customs. He hoped the hour, just gone dawn where it first touched earth, meant he'd be able to get in undetected. He'd gotten lucky a lot lately. The short hair helped. He missed the long locks as much as everybody else, but princes were not allowed rockstar hair so, he'd cut it. His mum favored this length. "Welcome to Tokyo, Mr. Styles,"  a bright eyed customs girl smiled. It was conspiratorial, like she'd helped him pull off a trick. Masa was waiting at the baggage area for him, and had collected his things already. That would be a neat trick, if the private stuff didn’t always come out of the oversized belt to the side.  Plus, it was all worn high end pieces.Masa knew them. They'd lived in his living room going on three times now. "Osu Ha-ri, genki?" His burly friend said. He loved when men were taller than him, then he drew fewer eyes. "Hisashiburi, Masa!" They embraced. He also loved when he was smaller, his wingspan was usually the widest. Not with Masa. He barely remembered how'd they met, Harry thought it had to do with Bell. Something to do with the dog. No, it was the boxing gym; Masa’s business, but the dog was there. But he'd immediately felt comfy and happy. Cozy. That was a feeling Harry had learned to listen to, made sure to include people in his life who made him feel like he was at home immediately. When you essentially run away with the circus at 16, you get homesick. The road family was good, but after time, Harry realized there were people who looked out for you, people who looked out for themselves, and people who used you. The ones that looked out for others, like Cal, and Ben, and the Azoffs, gave him an immediate feeling of home. Like when he would wake up and smell his mom baking, or see her come in with dirt under her nails, or the steam of his favorite mug placed in front of him, but flesh.   Since he'd started his own circus, he'd felt at home with Mitch, especially, which was why he was closest to him and Sarah. And Helene, though that one got complicated a few times, and he'd felt like that with Masa. Or maybe Bell, in any case, he liked seeing them when he was in Japan. As he was setting up arrangements and Jeff had asked him who he wanted for his own Akio, his own Japanese handler, he'd immediately said Masa. Masa has been thrilled, had even wanted Harry to stay with them. "You sure you want to go to the hotel, Ha-ri. We set up the guest room?" Masa took his carry on from him, but was wise enough to not try for the suitcase. Harry could only take so many insults to his man hood. He liked being smaller, but not feeling small. "Nah, man, I couldn't put you guys out, and I have to be on set so early sometimes. I may even sleep in my trailer, if my last time on set is anything to go by." He hefted his brown leather satchel up and rolled his massive-'whole life in a suitcase' bag behind him. "I'd hate to think you guys may be waiting for me." "We wouldn’t mind." Masa, so polite. The Japanese could give the English a run for their money in manners. Masa meant it. He didn't break out any of the pleases Harry had tried to learn last time. There were a lot of ways to say please in Japanese. Harry was relieved Masa didn’t push more. He could stay there, it would be ok. But there would be expectations. "The studio already paid for the hotel." That could be fixed, but Harry knew he would run himself ragged trying to please everybody. He'd see Masa every day and his girl and Bell on weekends, or when they traveled.  And he'd work out at the gym. They'd shoot a little in Kyoto too. And somewhere on an island with gorgeous hot springs. All around Tokyo, mostly. He expected his four legged family to show occasionally. He hoped that the already paid money and set up would be enough. Masa smiled a little bemusedly and hoisted Harry's bag with his journals and toiletries and workout shoes up his shoulder and then tromped to his car. When Harry sat in the front seat, Masa looked at him, "what are you doing?" "You want me to ride in the back?" Harry could tell he looked like a really attractive bug at the moment. "Well, you won't stay at my home, so, figured I was just an employee." Harry stood with the door open trying to figure out how to respond, he felt like his was standing hanging his ass out a window for how exposed he was. Standing outside near an airport of all places. He was stuck, he had no idea he had offended Masa so much. Could they get over this? Would he be pissed for long? Should Harry just stay with him? Dammit. He totally didn't subscribe to the you shouldn't work with friends idea, most of the people he worked with started or became friends. It usually meant trust, not squished toes. Fuck. The grin took over Masa's handsome face a moment later, it was huge, big as the freak out Harry was just engaging in. Then he snorted a laugh that sent Harry's eyebrows way up his forehead. "I'm just fucking with you. Get in before you get photographed, or worse, mobbed!" Masa was coughing by the time Harry had the door closed and was pulling the seat belt on. "That wasn't very funny." Harry shook his head but a laugh was rumbling in his chest too. "That's because you couldn't see your face!" Masa wiped a tear, he was very satisfied with his joke and Harry narrowed his eyes at him. Gemma would pull some shit like this, play on his natural insecurity about upsetting somebody, especially somebody he cared about, and then crack up in his face. This felt familial. Which was why he had learned to listen to the warm feeling in his gut when he met certain people. They were the best ones. And they made the traveling circus home. Masa was home. Japan in a person. He had lived in the U.S. as a teenager, and was fluent in English, which helped him teach Harry Japanese. He even got English humor, though Harry's puns were inevitably lost on him. Lost on everyone. "Alright, Jesus. You're not that funny. Keep your eyes open, so we make it to the hotel in one piece. Just for that I should make you be a chauffeur and ride in the back of the car." "You won't. You'll feel too off. Besides, I can drive and laugh at you, I suspect I'll get really good at it the next couple months." He grinned like an ass Harry's way. "So what's the next couple days like, the itinerary I got is kinda bare at first." "I think that's to do with people arriving, Ada, the director, is coming right off some work in New York, and flights and delays and crews and entourages." He made a ‘you know’ gesture. Masa just looked at him, and Harry had to laugh. His life was weird. Most abnormal normal person ever. "But, anyway, I'm supposed to, um, wow the river!" And he pointed to the bright sun spot on the water and got totally distracted. He loved this city. "Do you want me to stop?" Masa asked, put on his indicator. He knew Harry was going to be impossible to distract from the sight until he really saw it, maybe wrote on it. It was quiet. Harry thought he could chance it. So he nodded, barely waited for the car to stop before he stepped out, on what would soon be a very crowded bridge and stood, bathed in the opening day. This could be a good thing, a great start of something. This morning felt like it. This movie was the beginning of something, big. He was terrified. But he tried to do things that scared him. And this movie was going to bring up the perpetual questions about his sexuality. Harry was ready to just say the obvious. But point out that actors didn’t need to be lgbtq to play a character who was. He was scared of this too, because he didn’t like the pressure to define himself, to be definite. He liked fluidity, ambiguity. But he’d do it, for the film. Maybe to stop the question once and for all. That made him laugh, unlikely.

He’d tested it out in the mirror a lot when the movie got the greenlight. ‘I’m bisexual.’

‘I fall for people, not women or men necessarily.’ ‘I like both.’ It didn’t really matter, but the question was the bad penny that kept turning up, so he’d lay it to rest, say he was bi, and hope nobody pressed, like that awful woman in that Bowie interview. He hoped some progress had been made. He hoped lots of things.

Harry was so glad Jeff was coming and that he had Masa. He could do it as long as he stayed near people who made him safe, like Jeff and Masa.

He hoped Ada felt like family, like ichariba chode. Like Masa taught him. Friends that feel like home. Harry loved that the Japanese had a word for his abstracted feelings. That would make it easier for him to slip into character. This prince in an ivory tower with high expectations,myriad rules, and attraction to something uncommon. It was much closer to him than Alex, his previous role. He felt good, like this moment was an omen. He took it in like he did the crowds at his shows, looked over the water like it was a whole sea of people who thought he was amazing. He could be amazing. He hoped Ada thought so. He couldn't wait to meet Ada. He was terrified. It was three days later when she made it to set. She was late, so the production had started without her. Just coverage and blocking. They couldn't get too far behind. So the producers urged the A.D. to get going. It was going well, Harry felt like he'd made a good opening salvo by renting the karaoke hall last night. He'd sung with each group, in each room, even took requests. They were out until really late. He knew he looked slightly worse for wear, he hoped Ayae’s eye patches took down the bags. She made some very unhappy noises over the concealer this morning. His balance, which sucked most days, was always worse when he was hungover. It was why he rarely drank when he had to perform. He really shouldn't have last night. But you have to drink when you’re being toasted. He got toasted a lot. After every song. Before every song. During musical breaks. He was feeling really queasy, having trouble staying on his mark when he heard a new voice. The whole room was angled it's way. "Sorry," her voice was huskier than he expected. It was...nice. "I think they grounded every damn plane on the eastern seaboard. I was afraid I might have to reenact the movie Terminal. Get a set of toiletries at the overpriced shop, buy myself a blanket to go with the travel pillow I wore like a necklace for three days." The pillow necklace was still on, and it dawned on Harry that she had come straight from the airport. The pattern on the pillow was wild, kinda seemed to be moving. He needed some water. Wow, he felt a little like he was on a tilt o wheel.  She was really pretty. Better than her photos and she was dragging her suitcase. He should help her. Harry rushed up to take her bag, and lost his balance. Pulled his Harry special and tripped over his own pigeon toed feet. Ada reached out to grab him and he fell face first into her cleavage. He knew his cheeks were red, well, if they weren't green. The motion angered his tender stomach. The croissant he'd hoped would calm his belly came up, he missed her cleavage, but it splattered, green and chunky all over her Gucci trainers.

He should have bought those, was his thought before they got covered in sick. "Fuck!"  Ada screamed and jumped back from him. Just keeping ahold to keep him aloft but trying to get out of the way of his spew. He felt more than embarrassed, like when he'd got caught saying pussy on TV. But mom wasn't here to ground him this time. What a shit first impression! Only way out was through. He didn't even try a charming smile, the spit trail would ruin it. "Hi, sorry, I'm Harry."

[tisthenightofthewitch]

Tobias Forge On Taking Ghost's Live Show Into U.S. Arenas, Achieving Mystery In The Social Media Age.

Since forming in 2006, Swedish metal act Ghost has toured opening for metal and rock stalwarts like Iron Maiden, Slayer, Mastodon, Alice in Chains and more, gradually bringing their music to more and more people in America.

The group has never had a lack of famous cheerleaders, like Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl who produced the 2013 covers EP If You Have Ghost (and is rumored to have performed in costume, unbeknownst to fans, in the group's backing band as a "Nameless Ghoul").

Their third album Meliora marked a major leap forward in the United States, giving Ghost its first #1 album, topping the top rock albums chart and leading to slots in front of larger crowds at places like Lollapalooza in 2016.

But it's their most recent studio effort Prequelle (June, Loma Vista) which signaled a breakthrough for Ghost in the United States.

While Meliora hit #1 on a rock chart, Prequelle managed to debut at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, just underneath Kanye West and Post Malone, in front of Luke Combs and Cardi B, no easy feat in America today for a group holding guitars.

As expected, the group's current "A Pale Tour Named Death" road trip sees them playing larger venues in America than ever before, making the jump to arenas on some dates (The Forum in Los Angeles this Friday, November 16 and Barclays Center in New York on December 15) for their first time as a headliner.

It belies the necessity of a strong live show for any rock act in a changing music industry landscape.

"I think that it’s crucial. I think that playing live, if you want to be an artist - that’s what artists do," said Ghost frontman Tobias Forge. "I mean, if you’re a carpenter, you need to build sh-t. For us, if you’re a rock band, there’s no way around it. You have to tour. You have to tour a whole lot."

On a recent November stop at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom (capacity 5,000), Ghost performed from a massive three-tiered stage, amidst the religious imagery fans have come to expect, under an arena-ready light show, that comfortably housed Forge and his seven piece backing band (Ghost's Nameless Ghouls).

The key logistically during a tour that jumps from larger mid-size venues to arenas and back, is how to present that show in the larger setting without losing what makes it a virtually unparalleled staging somewhere like Chicago's Aragon.

"I think that one of our biggest hurdles right now - not in terms of imagination and planning but just economically and practically - is how to make those arena shows not look like we just put our theatre show into The Forum or Barclays. It needs to look like we look like this every night on the tour," observed Forge astutely. "There’s usually a makeshift stage - a very generic square stage. A PA company has come in and put up a big PA, usually with a lot of speakers and stuff in front of the stage. So you end up in a situation that in a way sort of increases the distance between you and the crowd," observed Forge of what bands can often expect if they choose to rely upon the staging provided to them in the typical arena. "Whereas if you go see Bon Jovi, he will have built a stage that is meant to be in some sort of proximity to the crowd," he said, noting the need for hands-on customization prior to Ghost's L.A. and New York shows.

Forge pointed out the need to hire a video team to properly utilize arena video screens or jumbotrons for these larger shows, singling out the need for additional lighting and followspots. It's the type of attention to detail that has defined the group's costumes, staging, messaging and music for over ten years and primes Ghost for success in larger U.S. venues.

"I like that," said Forge of the challenge involved in properly pulling off Ghost's first American arena concerts. "This is my job. This is my dream. This is what I have been wanting ever since I was a kid. I sat in front of my TV in our living room. I had a VCR looking at tapes I’d freeze frame and draw the stage. I loved that stuff. It takes a lot of planning and you definitely have to grind your teeth a lot knowing [maybe] it won’t really turn out the way I wanted… but f--k it," said Forge of the risk.

With each album, Forge has built for Ghost fascinating, character-driven narrative that plays out both on album and on stage, as one of the most interesting, thought-provoking acts in rock and roll.

Each album sees Forge take on a new persona, moving from the fourth and final incarnation of his Papa Emeritus character to Cardinal Copia on Prequelle.

Anonymity was at the root of that and thoughtful fans, for the most part, played along with a wink and a nod, agreeing to Forge's no photo policy as band members, for most of the band's existence, went to great lengths to try and hide their identities, regardless of the level of difficulty that involves following the rise of social media.

In the past, Forge was wont to give interviews in character and/or in costume in an effort to drive the story forward and keep up that air of anonymity. But a 2017 lawsuit by former band members over royalties changed the identity of Papa Emeritus from occasional online whisper to brisk confirmation virtually overnight.

"That was of course... uncomfortable. The last couple of years have, in between spawning a new record that has been successful and tours that have been very pleasant, also been quite grueling," noted Forge of dealing with the lawsuit and the forced change it brought (one of the only elements of Ghost over which he was able to exercise no control). "I had to take into consideration that as much as I wanted the images that people have been fed to be strong enough to sort of survive whatever images would appear of me and however I would be presented, you never know if it changes the perception of the general crowd," he said of the potential consequences in being forced to pull back the curtain a bit so to speak.

Some of the best rock music has been driven by narrative storytelling. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and more used the idea to great effect on the concept albums of the 70s. Prince and David Bowie certainly built the idea of mystery into the characters they portrayed publicly. And general unpredictability has always made for the best rock and roll moments.

In the internet age, where the answer to any question about any celebrity is only a click away, it's become kind of a lost art. But Ghost continues to make that mystery a crucial part of everything they do regardless of the challenge involved.

"I don’t find it too difficult.  With Ghost, I never really foresaw that it was going to take off the way it did. I knew that the songs were good. I knew that it had the ability to turn people’s heads. I knew that we were going to have a crowd. [But] I never thought it would propel into the Grammy world or arenas and all that," said Forge. "So it was easy to make that decision from an aesthetic point of view. Because I want it to be highly theatrical."

Forge notes that while his idea of fame has changed over the years, he believes that it’s possible to maintain some sense of anonymity despite the times.

"I like the fact that my work in Ghost is famous and people know it and we have our crowd. But I am not as antsy about getting recognized on the street as I might have once been," said Forge of his rock ambitions. "As long as I don’t get an Instagram account and start tweeting all over the place about what I think about this, that or the other, I think I should be able to maintain that level of mystery. There’s definitely a middle way to have both: you can be a celebrity but you can still be kind of mysterious. Look at Nick Cave... I know a lot about him. But he’s still as mysterious to me as ever."

Ghost's ability to hone its act and develop an audience organically over the course of twelve years, four studio albums and a series of EPs is also the product of a bygone era.

As it's become more difficult to monetize recorded music, acts tend to be discarded fast as major labels go for the quickest, easiest, most profitable hit. Rock acts in particular have suffered, with little time to develop a sound, let alone a unique persona. That fact isn't lost on Forge as Ghost continues to experience some of its greatest North American success.

"I am very fortunate that I was signed to a label where I was given an old school treatment where I was signed for several records and given the opportunity to evolve and develop - which, unfortunately, is something that most labels would not allow now. Maybe that changes in the future. I think you also have to have a lot of faith in the future," he said. "I think the dark ages of the entertainment industry were definitely between 2000 and 2010 basically - ten years. As soon as streaming sort of caught up, there’s been sort of an incentive for the big powers to keep investing. There’s definitely a need for entertainment," said Forge of changing online consumption methods.

With a #1 record under their belt, and a top 5 debut on the pop chart, the key to Ghost's success has been in the way Forge has consistently managed not just to challenge his audience but engage them by making them an integral part of one of music's most unique success stories.

"One thing that I hadn’t predicted at all upon Ghost’s inception, was the unbelievable surge of creativity that it spawned amongst our fans. I’d say as much as I am the initiator of this and the creator of most of the narrative, I think that the cult, the lifestyle that seems to be Ghost, is definitely something that has been carried forth and developed by our thousands of fans who are building it. They sort of take it and run with it," noted Forge. "For a brand like ours, if I did not have that fan engagement, I would not be sitting here in Tulsa doing an interview with Forbes."

All owned by Forbes.com

[artstartart]

Artist Spotlight: Nina Vitale

Get to know one of our Maryland Institute College of Art artists from the March 2019 Sale on ArtStartArt.

To get us started, share more about yourself and your artwork.

I am a sophomore Painting major at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. I am originally from Boston, Massachusetts. The concept of identity, especially my own, is something I explore constantly in my work. It is a way for me to express myself while simultaneously uncovering aspects of my life through depiction and process. When I am not making personal work, I love to do still lives, landscape, and figure studies that intensify my fascination with color. I love playing around and trying to understand how color works. However, my main passion is for the figure. I have always loved drawing people and portraits ever since I was young. Being at MICA has allowed me to explore and develop my practice into something concrete and exciting.

Tell us about your first experience creating.

I have been creating from as far back as I can remember! I have always loved to draw, and I have always been in tough with my creative side. However, I remember my freshman year of high school was when I started taking art seriously. I kept my own sketchbook and would draw in it every single day. That was the first time I knew I could do something with my passion for art.

What has been your favorite part of art school so far?

There are so many things I appreciate about being at art school, but I think my favorite part would have to be making wonderful, life-long friends who are also artists. I never had a connection like that before coming to MICA. My friends and I are very close and we support and guide each other through our art practices. It is extremely valuable to me.

What are you currently exploring in your work?

Most recently, I have been exploring the idea of technology and its effect on our everyday lives. I am not thinking about it in a negative way- on the contrary, I see it more as a portal that we can look into and experience a multitude of stimulations. It brings people together through music, entertainment, and social media. In my paintings, I try to emulate that sense of community and transcendence.

What excites you about ArtStartArt?

The fact that ArtStartArt is giving art students a platform to sell their hard work is very exciting to me. It is the first time I am hearing of something like this, and it is relieving to see people who are recognizing the talent and dedication of young artists. 

If you had to choose another major besides art, what would it be, and why?

If I couldn't be an artist, I would probably go to culinary school. I love to cook during my free time and make my own recipes. I really appreciate the way the good food brings people together, and I would love to be the person that makes that food. My girlfriend goes to culinary school for pastry, and I love the hardworking community there. It is similar to art school in some ways.

Who, or what, is currently inspiring you?

I am currently a huge fan of Nicole Eisenman's work. Her paintings are just phenomenal, and they deal with subject matter that I am interested in. The way she uses composition in relation to the figure is so impactful. Also, the fact that she is a successful queer woman artist inspires me a lot. Representation in the art world is very important.

Describe your idea of artistic success.

My idea of artistic success is to make a consistent body of work that you can feel proud of, and that only wants you to make more work. Whether you get recognized in your lifetime or not, I feel that having that constant drive is what constitutes success.

Rapid fire questions for Nina:

Next place you’d like to travel: Italy! I am currently applying to study abroad in Florence for next fall.

Guilty pleasure: Eating the whole pint of ice cream in one go.

Last album you listened to: Loaded by The Velvet Underground

Last meal you ate: A pesto panini

Last TV show you watched: Killing Eve

Behind the Scenes with Nina:

We asked Nina to share some images that encapsulated her and her creative process.

VIEW ALL OF NINA’S WORK CURRENTLY FOR SALE.

[gocacolospgs]

Artist Feature: Ben Kinsley

Myco-Ramblings, event and sound work, 2016. Credit: Ben Kinsley & Christopher Kennedy.

Ben Kinsley’s projects have ranged from choreographing a neighborhood intervention into Google Street View, directing surprise theatrical performances inside the homes of strangers, organizing a paranormal concert series, staging a royal protest, investigating feline utopia, collecting put-down jokes from around the world, and planting a buried treasure in the streets of Mexico City (yet to be found).

He has exhibited internationally at venues such as: Queens Museum, NYC; Cleveland Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland; Bureau for Open Culture; Mattress Factory Museum, Pittsburgh; Flux Space, Philadelphia; Katonah Museum of Art, NY; Green on Red Gallery, Dublin; Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Florence; La Galería de Comercio, Mexico City; Catalyst Arts, Belfast; and ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe.

Ben has been an artist-in-residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture; Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts; Skaftfell Art Center, Iceland; Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Ireland; and Platform, Finland. His work has been featured on NPR, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Artforum.com, Wired.com, Rhizome.org, and Temporary Art Review, among others.

Kinsley is Assistant Professor of New Media/Time-Based Art in the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at UCCS.

Kinsley is also currently working on a project with his wife, Jessica Langley. The Yard is a project space and site for public art in their front yard in the Divine Redeemer neighborhood of Colorado Springs. In regards to the project, Kinsley states, 

We thought it would be interesting to use the context of The Yard to bring voices from all over the world into communication with the local. But we really don’t have a set way we are doing things yet, and I imagine ... the process will always be a bit spontaneous. We don’t have a real budget, nor a board of directors. It’s just Jessica and me making the decisions. And that’s what keeps it exciting for us. 

Interview with GOCA Fall 2018 Intern Hannah Shelton:

Have you participated in previous faculty exhibitions at UCCS, if so, how many? I joined the Visual Art faculty last Fall (2017), so this is my first faculty exhibition.

Why do you think it is important to hold a faculty exhibition? While we interact frequently with our fellow colleagues and students, we don’t often have the opportunity to share our own work and research with one another. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the other VA faculty have been working on in their studios, and I’m excited to be able to share new work with my UCCS community.

What type of impact to you believe it has on campus? The Visual Art Department is splintered between several buildings around campus, which means that we don’t have a big visual presence on campus. The the new Ent Center has made this happen quite well for Theatre & Dance, and Music, as well as for Theatreworks and GOCA, however the Visual Art Department still does not have a central hub where someone can go to see what’s going on in VA. Having a faculty show at GOCA for an entire semester will give our program and our faculty some much needed visibility on campus. It is especially great to have this happen within the context of the new Ent Center for the Arts.

The theme for this exhibition is time. How do you see this theme connecting to your work? With the work I am developing for this show, I’ve been thinking a lot about slow time. Slowing down the way we move through the world, the way consume and experience things, and placing more value on long-term thinking. I am an amateur mycologist and I spend a lot time foraging for mushrooms. This requires deep observation and attentiveness to the landscape, and it has changed the way I interact with nature. Hiking to the top of a mountain is nearly impossible for me now, as I get lost for hours at the trailhead finding all sorts of fascinating fungal life hidden in plain sight. Studying mushrooms is a great way to shift one’s focus, to slow down, pay attention, and be present. Many people aren’t aware that John Cage (the composer) was also a renowned mycologist. I see a direct relationship between Cage’s ideas of “silence” and his interest in mushrooms. Both offer a formal opportunity to observe the often ignored but deeply meaningful happenings of the world around us. With all this in mind, I am developing new work for the faculty show inspired by mushrooms, deep listening, and John Cage (the mycologist).

As an artist, what advice have you received that has proved to have a large impact on you or your work? To never give up. Working in the visual arts can be a challenging path, and it might (probably will) take years to gain a foothold. It is helpful to remember that there are many ways to be an artist in the world, not all of which involve being a commercially successful studio artist in New York or Los Angeles.

Experience the work of Ben Kinsley and his fellow UCCS VAPA Faculty at TIME at GOCA Ent Center for the Arts (5225 N Nevada Ave) starting January 31st and running through May 18th.

[holisticsoulhealer]

Manifesting - A Spiritual Story

I have always been fascinated by the subject of manifesting. We know the ability to manifest exists, because some people who are successfully using the laws of attraction, will probably swear by it. I feel there are many factors that go into the art of manifesting. Just like many skills in this life, manifesting I feel, is one of them.

I have seen clients create visions for their lives and are in several cases, living the lives that they drew out in their visions. I met some great people while leading a class at a 9 month New England massage course, that inspired students to create their businesses, in a learning environment titled “Psychology for Success” class.

The guidelines included a thick book and plenty of topics for group discussion. I took it a step further and made it fun, by purchasing journals for each student, a cardboard triple folded 2-sided tabletop display stand that could hold potential dreams and hopes for life ahead.

I rushed around collecting magazines and printing words onto paper for the class, and when the students came in to that class, not only did we walk through the books briefly every week as we were supposed to, we worked on our vision boards every single week as well. They got to pass the written test with flying colors, and I think more importantly, they got to take their well thought out and planned visions for the life they were wishing to create.

At that time I too chose to do my own vision board, with pictures, words and affirmations. I have to admit at least 60% of what I placed on that board did come true. One of the big things that has surprised me, is that while I was living in my gorgeous, expensive, oil heated Victorian home, shoveling snow until I personally overheated, I stuck a photo of a tropical paradise on my board and then forgot about it.

I currently live on Maui, in Hawaii. My home looks almost exactly like the vision board. It is in a less than 2 minute walk to beautiful beaches and has a lush, tropical green landscape off a large eat outside and sit on deck. I am simply renting it with the freedom to move anywhere I wish at any point, and yet this manifestation was created in thick snow, while leading a class in one of the most snowed on places on our planet earth.

I will say that I’ve lived in some of the most breathtaking scenery and have felt very fortunate as a co-creator of that reality. I also wrote a list within a year of my husband’s passing, to call in someone who met some massive criteria that nobody I’d ever loved had ever met. I am with my twin flame and the relationship honestly gets better every day.

Manifesting is possible, and sometimes I have to remember what I’ve created already, for the times when I lose a little faith, especially when I look outside of me and see the chaos and slight insanity of my sweet World.

Perhaps with enough individual momentum to co-create, we can also build more community co-creation to manifest a World we want our children and especially our grandchildren to inherit.

As always, please share this post with anyone that you feel can benefit from it! Please like us on your social media channels and subscribe to our mailing list if you haven't already done so! We are mailing out a monthly newsletter and a recap each week of our blog posts and interesting tidbits! This is how you can stay informed with what is new in the world of The Holistic Soul Healer!!

Love & Blessings,

Ruth

Get personal with your Angels!! Connect with me and see what they have to say!!

BOOK NOW!

[acrazyinkling]

I also disagree with these tweets.

I don’t have twitter and I don’t want one, but I wanted to respond to these ideas. I will admit that my first emotion after reading this was to be defensive because I love the show. However it didn’t take me long to come up with reasons I disagree with this take that are more grounded in criticism.

First off, I agree that we should be critical of where our media comes from, who is making money from it. Disney is a bad corporation which should be dissolved. It is interesting that Disney green-lit this project that is full of critiques of capitalism and fascism. At some level it is true that these concepts presented in a sci-fi tv series are not seen as a direct threat to Disney as a corporation. However I disagree that the show should be written off entirely and it’s value as a piece of media with leftist ideas is discounted because it is a Disney property airing on Disney plus.

Corporation don’t make tv shows/video games/etc, people do. Many people worked on this show, and put these ideas into the world with nuance and care. I don’t know Tony Gilroy or the writers’ personal political leanings. From interviews it comes off that they really wanted to make this show and that Disney gave them free reign to do mostly what they liked. I don’t have knowledge on how these shows get made, but I think the level of meddling and control over the content of Andor that Disney as the corporation had is lower than it could be (for example kids shows).

Also, I think the ideas presented in Andor are well executed and worth putting out there, even though it is attached to Disney. I would rather have a show like Andor than a movie like Rise of Skywalker where they cowed to racist fans and undid the more interesting statements made by the previous film, regardless of how you feel about tlj.

If nothing else people are talking about these concepts. Dedra Meero is a fascinating character because she is a fascist and antagonist but we can still understand her struggles. Recognizing that tension is really important if we are to understand real people who are complex but ultimately on the wrong side, especially willingly fascist. To dismiss this show is to ignore an interesting piece of media that we can use to discuss these concepts in accessible ways.

You can make your own choices about the media that you consume. Watch Andor or don’t. Consume Disney products or don’t. But I think dismissing the content of the show based on the cooperation that is attached to it closes us off and is too cynical. People are excited about the ways these ideas are being portrayed and that allows for further discussion. We still can be critical of Disney and we should be, but based on the current media landscape it is worthwhile to look at what this show is doing in comparison to other media. I have hope that things can get better and maybe stories like this have a positive influence. It has certainly made me think about things.

Nothing against andor but ... Disney (derogatory)

[sarahdavismfa]

Artwork Q&A

What do you do? What sort of things do you make? Or capture? Or select?

I work with lens based media, primarily photography. I make photographs and moving image works. I am interested in ideas surrounding liminality and ecology and the way that photography can reveal the unseen and overlooked.

What is it you’ve been trying to do to make the work relevant in relation to ideas, cultural circumstances or contemporary issues?

I am interested in ecology, and how restorative ecological efforts are needed now, more than ever in our current age of climate change and the anthropocene. I am interested in how photography can be used as an agent of change, and how highlighting these remediation efforts can be used as a reminder of how urgent change is needed for the benefit of the environment. I am also interested in landscape and the juxtaposition of natural and man-made, and how this also relates to ideas around the environment.

How do you make decisions during the making of your work? How and why do you select the materials, techniques, themes that you do?

I am interested in photography as an art medium and how historically, photographs have been questioned for their truthfulness. The idea that something is not quite as it seems, and how photography can be an aid of this idea fascinates me. I enjoy making people question what they’re looking at. I am interested in several ways of working - documentary and intervention. Intervention is something I am interested in as a concept - with my Verdant Tree series, I was intervening by introducing a sheet of plastic into the scene, this in turn created a water-like effect. In a more documentary way of working, I am interested in overlooked things or seemingly ordinary scenes, and by photographing them, am bringing them into a sense of importance. I am interested in how the two interact, and the juxtaposition of looking at a seemingly documentarian image, yet questioning the reality of it.

Kōwhai, The Verdant Tree Grows Ever Green, 2019.

What are you trying to say in the work? What are you valuing in the work?

I am interested in subjects that are not often regarded as important, and so by photographing them, I am therefore placing value on them. I am asking the viewer to regard these subjects as important, and to reconsider their relationship with them. I am also trying to engage the viewer with these themes, especially in Verdant Tree, where I was trying to encourage the audience to think about river health and climate change.

How do the materials, techniques and themes relate to one another?   In Verdant Tree, I was interested in the subject matter of the image and how it related to the materiality of the print. As I shot my image through clear plastic, I printed the images on glossy paper to give a sense of plasticity. I was interested in the relationship between the subject matter of the trees being wrapped in plastic, the materiality of the print being plastic-like, and how these alluded to a wider theme surrounding climate change and plastic infringing on our environment.

How does your current work relate to your previous work? I think that my wider practice has always had an overarching theme of finding something interesting or beautiful in the ordinary and placing importance on something that is overlooked. Whether it be lost shopping trolleys, or common weeds, or even native tree saplings, I am interested in things that are often glanced over and not often thought about as ‘important.’ In my more recent work, this is no different. I am often drawn to ‘ordinary’ subjects and enjoy exploring them through a lens.

What are your sources for images or forms used? I am inspired by forms in nature, of symbolism used in art history, and botanical themes and illustrations. I am also interested in scientific botanical drawings and holotypes.

How does this work fit into a larger body of work or overarching project of ideas (if it does)? Verdant Tree was made in a response to research around restoration ecology. My more recent Architecture of Trees series, started looking more at the intersection between man-made and natural, and how the two interact in a form of hybrid landscape. I have an overarching interest in ecologies and landscapes, and that is a theme I have been exploring historically, over my general practice, and want to continue exploring going further.

Osaka, The Architecture of Trees, 2020.

How did your ideas change (if they did) to this point? Or, how are your ideas changing (if they are)? I have long been interested in plants, and how different plants have different values in terms of useful-ness and importance, whether it be medicinal or ecological. I am still interested in plants and ecology, but my ideas are changing in favour of moving towards looking more at the idea of landscapes, and what that means in the age of the anthropocene. I am interested in ways that nature has been almost ‘manufactured,’ in certain ways, and I am becoming interested in the ideas of artificial ‘green’ spaces, and ‘scenery preservation.’ I am also interested in the relationship between the natural and man-made.

Has anyone done this kind of work in the past? What histories are you contributing to? There is an incredibly rich and strong history surrounding landscape art and landscape photography. As I move into more of a landscape based research territory, I am aware of these histories and how they will ultimately inform my research and work.

Does anyone else do it now? Who are the artists that occupy this terrain?

Several artists that occupy this terrain who I am interested in are Wayne Barrar, Edward Burtynsky and Jem Southam.

Who are the writers on these subjects? What specifically have they said, which motivates your own thinking for your work potentially? I have been reading Theatre Country by Geoff Park, and in particular I am motivated by the ideas discussed around ecologies and landscapes. I am interested especially in the idea of “scenery preservation,” where the New Zealand government historically set aside places of prominent scenery as protected areas or national parks to ‘conserve’ the picturesque scenery as a form of future tourism revenue. However in doing so, they colonised the landscape and removed Māori out of their ancestral homelands in order to conserve the wild and ‘primeval’ natural environment.

[mercurygray]

So, I hear you liked TURN.

Apres the Season 4 finale, I know there’s going to be a lot of crying, and hand-wringing, and rewatching, and these are all good and proper things to do in the wake of a TV show you’ve enjoyed.

But after the smoke clears from all of that, you’re maybe going to go looking for your next 18th century fix, just something in between rewatches or while you’re trying to flesh out your next story idea. (Hey, now that we have our canon, go hog-wild on story ideas, guys, seriously.) 

So I’ve saved you some trouble and made you all a helpful list.

Obviously there are a lot of movies and TV shows out there - this is just a selection that I wish more people knew about.

Note: Everyone enjoys a show or movie for different reasons. These shows are on this list because of the time period they depict, not because of the quality of their writing, the accuracy of their history or the political nature of their content. Where I’m able to, I’ve mentioned if a book is available if you’d like to read more.

Before we get to the rest of the list, there are three excellent shows that are either currently on television or about to be very soon:

Poldark (BBC/PBS) is based on a series of books by an author named Winston Graham. It was made into a PBS series in the 70s starring Robin Ellis as the handsome Captain Poldark, who returns from the American Revolution to find his family farm in tatters and his long-time love interest married to his cousin. Drama ensues. The 70s series is worth your time, and the recent remake with Aidan Turner in the title role is also definitely worth a go. (If you like leading men who make terrible life decisions and the women who put up with them, this is totally your show.)

Harlots (Hulu) - If you really loved the TURN ladies, thought Lola and Philomena deserved more than they got, or are just interested to learn more about what life might have been like for the lower classes in London in the 1750s, have we got a deal for you. Harlots follows the lives of 18th century sex workers in this new drama, which was just recently renewed for a totally deserved second season. Female-lead ensemble drama. A little violent at points and deals with some pretty heavy-duty topics like rape, murder, and bastardy, but in a humane and understanding way. Totally bingeable.

Outlander (Starz) - Based on the wildly popular series of books by Diana Gabaldon, this time traveling drama jumps between a couple of different centuries and follows the story of Jamie and Claire, two very strong personalities trying to literally find their place in history. (Hewlett talks about the blade his grandfather picked up at Culloden; that battle forms a critical part of this show’s storyline.) It’s a real pretty show with very high production values.

And, without further ado, the rest of the list!

John Adams:  If you haven’t watched this already, do yourself a favor and go pick it up from the library. Starring Paul Giametti in the title role, this HBO miniseries follows John Adams’ role in the formation of America, through his early days in Congress up through his own presidency. As with any biographical show, characters that we know and love from other media (Rufus Sewell’s Hamilton comes to mind, but see what you think of David Morse’s Washington, too) are presented in a slightly different light and provide some food for thought about how history can be selective in how it remembers us. The costuming is great, the sets are fantastic, and the acting is first-rate.

The Patriot: An oldie but a goodie. Mel Gibson plays a highly fictionalized version of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox while Jason Isaacs turns in a really stellar hottie we love to hate in Colonel Tavington. A little heavy-handed at times, this is a good movie to laugh over with friends.

Sons of Liberty: I’ll be really honest - for a show from the History Channel, the history on this show is pretty awful. But the cast is pretty. This one’s up to you, really. It fills a hole.

Garrow’s Law: William Garrow was a barrister and a pioneering legal mind in the 18th century, and this show (which ran for 3 seasons) is based on real Old Bailey cases and Garrow’s defenses, while also working in his fraught social life. Were you interested in learning a little more about Abe Woodhull’s erstwhile legal training? This is the show for you.

City of Vice: A miniseries that explains the origins and work of the Bow Street Runners, one of London’s first police forces.  Does a great job of opening up some of the early 18th century underside of London including a smidge of 18th century gay culture.

A Harlot’s Progress: William Hogarth was an 18th century artist, printmaker and social commentator whose “A Harlot’s Progress” famously depicts the downfall of a woman who goes into prostitution. This 2006 series explores the relationship that inspired the ‘Harlot’ piece.

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant: At around the same time America was busy trying to figure itself out, halfway around the world another one of Britain’s colonial possessions - Australia - was just getting started. Hundreds of convicts found themselves stuffed in ships and sent to the other side of the world - a sentence deemed almost more humane. This 2005 series with Romala Garai follows a very famous convict, Mary Bryant, and her experiences.

Banished: Another take on penal colonies in Australia. Currently available on Hulu.

Black Sails: A more recent offering from Starz, this show explores the backstory of the pirates in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Lots of great representation issues, a whole lot of ‘how does your story get told’ - and there’s a real big community on Tumblr who loves it and very actively produces all kinds of fic.

Clarissa - Simcoe fans, this one is totally for you. Based on the epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, Clarissa follows a girl of the same name as the infamous rake Lovelace tries to seduce her. Another look at what how women can be corrupted. Also, for you fandom nerds in the crowd, Lovelace was one of the first characters to inspire fix-it fic. Yes, really! Fix-it fic in the late 1700s. Lovelace is one of the original men for whom the ‘No, really, I can reform him’ trope was created. (Richardson, his creator, was so horrified by this reaction by his fans that he actually revised the book several times to try and make Lovelace even more villainous and irredeemable, with little success. Then as now, women apparently love the idea of a bad boy.)

Amazing Grace - The history of slavery in England and its colonies is complicated and nuanced; this story deals with one of the more famous names from that story, William Wilberforce, and his contribution.

Belle - Based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral. Another look at racial politics in England.

The Aristocrats - One of my all-time favorite TV miniseries and based on the nonfiction book by Stella Tilyard, this show follows the (actual, nonfictional) Lennox sisters, daughters of the Duke of Richmond as they grow up, marry, and adjust to rapid social change from the early 1700s into the 1790s.

The Duchess  - About the same time the Lennox sisters were out in society, so was Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. This is based on (I’m not sure how closely) Amanda Foreman’s biography of Georgiana, one of the leading ladies of her day.

Dangerous Liasons - Another story about corruptible young women, this one has 3 very well deserved Oscars to its name and an absolutely stunning Glenn Close.

Barry Lyndon - a very evocative, sumptuous film by Stanley Kubrick. Short on action, but very, very Aesthetic, as only Kubrick can do.

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Based on the book by Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel is largely considered to be one of the world’s first ‘superhero with a secret identity’ stories. Sir Percy Blakeney uses his identity as a dim-witted fop to provide cover for his activities rescuing French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. The 1982 version with Anthony Andrews and the 1999 version with Richard Grant are both a lot of fun.

Speaking of the French, where would we be without them? Our small domestic dust-up with Britain has far-reaching international consequences, setting in motion so many other social movements in Europe. The French, for instance, will have their own revolution several years after ours, which, of course, will lead to a total political shakeup ending with an artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte on the throne as Emperor. (You may have heard of him. He goes on to have his own series of large wars and, you know, completely changes the geo-political landscape of Europe. Like you do.)

La Revolution Francaise, filmed for the 200th anniversary of the Revolution, is available on YouTube in it’s entirety with English subtitles! Starts in 1774 and goes through the 1800s. C’est merveilleux.

Marie Antoinette - Sofia Coppola’s wild, modern romp through the life of one of the 18th century’s most notorious women. It may not be great history, but darn me if it isn’t fun to watch.

Farewell, My Queen - Another story about Marie Antoinette - this one is in French.

Nicolas Le Floch: An 18th century crime procedural set at the court of Louis XVI. The whole show is in French, so watch with subtitles, but the costumes are a lot of fun and it gives an interesting picture of the life a character like Lafayette would have left behind when he came to America. (He gets name dropped a few times, actually, though he never actually appears.)

Ekaterina: A 2014 miniseries from Russia discussing the rise of Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, contemporaneous to the Revolution. The 18th century is a fascinating time in Russian history and Catherine is a really, really interesting lady. Totally go and read about her.

Anno 1790: A Swedish crime procedural set in 1790s Sweden and following Johann Däadh, a doctor recently roped into the police force. Däadh is a bit of a reformer, interested in the rights of man and giving everyone a chance to be heard. Costumes are fun, and there’s a really great slow-burn romance between two of the characters, one of whom is (gasp) married. This show only ran for one season, but it was a really, really good season.

If you’re still jonesing for period dramas after the rest of this list, here’s a lot of shows and tv series set during the Napoleonic Wars that are also totally worth your time - the Richard Sharpe miniseries, the Horatio Hornblower miniseries, the BBC’s War and Peace, Master and Commander, and then, of course, anything based on a Jane Austen novel.

Have fun!