#anti joe locke

[jewishbarbies]

would love to see an mcu actor playing a canonically-jewish-character-turned-goy-for-the-screen respond to casting criticism with maturity and understanding some day. maybe an apology, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves.

[swiftiesbuddie]

Marvel once again dropping the ball on casting Romani actors for Romani characters.

EDIT: Also, the fact that in the comics, before Captain Marvel is a White woman, they were a Black woman (at least Mar-vell went from being a White man to a White woman) and the OG Doctor Doom is a Romani man, but in the MCU, our introduction to the characters are both White people. And same goes for the Maximoffs.

And whitewashing Wiccan, Lilia Calderu, the Ancient One, and casting a fairer-skinned actor for America Chavez. Not a good look for them.

(Thanks to everyone for the corrections)

[acesartemis]

I'm gonna add some positivity to the tag bc it's being flooded with bs and the show only JUST AIRED

they are handling billy so far way better than i ever expected and joe is doing a good job.

[fallingleaves-46]

charlie's speeach at the end of 2x01

nick's speech at the end of 2x08

i love how both of the vow to be each other's safe place. the journey isn't going to be easy or perfect, but they will 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 be each other's anchor no matter what.

[unhealthyobsessionslol]

Ben finally realised: it's me, hi, i'm the problem, it's me

[azurecanary]

Everything i learn about the "Teen" casting in Agatha All Along has been against my will

[cyarskaren52]

Ditto! You read it right & I agree with you!

[kcyars99]

The media is a flop

[dinosaursatemymom]

rant about heartstopper for a little

just a word of warning, this isn't going to be extremely positive, but it's not hating on the show

Also all of this is just my opinion, but I'm very open for disagreements, as long as it's respectful

Right off the bat, I have to say, I absolutely hate Nick and Charlie together. I just think they are the most bland boring relationship in the entire show(I also don't think the actors are the best on the show which might have something to do with my dislike of them together) I have to say, my dislike of them together likely also stems from fluff not being my favorite (but I did like them in the books). Just looking at the relationship itself, it kinda feels like the writers weren't sure what to do with them after, like the first three or four episodes. All of the drama and conflict felt extremely forced, just for the sake of needing the main couple to be compelling. In the books, the majority of the plot took place in one or two books;but the show obviously had to stretch out the plot, which didn't work great. I feel like I might've liked the relationship more if they just dealed with all the conflict right off the bat, instead of trying to stretch in out. If they had done this, then all of the disgustingly sweet scenes could've happened without forced conflict, and the conflict(which is basically necessary for entertainment) could've been saved for other characters where it wouldn't have felt forced. Also, all of their scenes together just feel so... loud(?) To me...?(idk if that's just me)

I also have to say I do like the way they handled Nick and his getting comfortable with his sexuality. I also really enjoyed Tara and Darcy(for the most part), as well as Tao and Elle in general. I absolutely loved Isaac and his storyline of realizing hes ace and stuff (although I think it's absolutely ridiculous that hes always reading, and it felt a little bit like the creators were saying that ace people can't even enjoy being around their friends)

I also think that s2 was so much better than s1. Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about s2 was the stupid fricking hickey plotline, it was just completely unnecessary. I feel like the hickey could've just been replaced with, like, a video of Charlie kissing someone or something like that. (Idk?? The plotline was dumb is what I'm saying)Other than that, I really liked how Nick and Charlie took a little step back from being in the constant spotlight, and let the other(imo more compelling) characters/storylines shine. It was good, and the extremely disgustingly cringy akward scenes that made me dislike s1, seemed to leave for the most part(which might be due to the actors just getting better at acting and getting more used to being on screen) only one or two moments made me yell at the screen this season, as opposed to s1 where I was yelling every two seconds at something. Also I just love Imogen.

I just feel like, the show is good, not great or horrible, it's just a good show. I feel like that it really should just be taken for what it is, it's nothing revolutionary(I understand it has a lot of queer characters, but so does DC legends of tomorrow and all of those characters are fleshed out better; whilst I feel as though the heartstopper characters are fairly one dimensional) but it is just a good show. I just think that the show wanted to give the exact same vibe as the book and it just didn't translate well to a TV show. Also I'm gonna admit to being extremely biased here because I absolutely HATE Charlies character and portrayal (not so much in the books though), but that's for another rant.

If you'd like, please feel free to share your opinion! I would love to understand what people see in heartstopper, other than representation.

[andrwgarfields]

this sounds super lame bt for everyones sanity DO NOT search joe’s name on twitter and do not interact with those who are against him being wiccan (its not even exactly confirmed at this point but ppl are comfortable bullying a 19 year old thinking he has so much control over how a character and series is written…)

[jewishbarbies]

lmao some fucking tween with a stan account who reposts leftist manifestos and thirsts over bella fucking hadid tried to tell me that joe locke acktually deserves an apology from jews because we were ‘calling him slurs’. I have yet to find a single jew who called him anything other than an ignorant goy that knowingly took a jewish role in place of a jew, and he literally said anyone mad about it is just jealous. you can’t make this shit up. heartstopper stans are so fucking weird.

[myanimatedopinion]

I will never get over how, when they were doing casting calls for Charlie and Nick, they said, “any ethnicity can audidition❤️” However it extremely obvious that the casting crew were basing who the chose on looks , like let's be real Joe and Kit look exactly like the book characters

This is in no way implying that both boys don't deserve the role; in fact, I truly think it was made for them. However, I will say that it was just pandering and unfair to say every race had a chance when they wanted to go for white people in the end. There would've been ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong if they originally went “looking for two white males”. They explicitly stated the ethnicity they wanted to audition for Tao and Elle; what was stopping them from doing the same for Nick and Charlie?🤷🏾‍♀️

[scarlet--wiccan]

Agatha All Along, the highly anticipated follow-up to WandaVision, begins airing this week on Disney+. Now is the perfect to revisit some important information about both shows and the context in which some of Agatha's new characters are being introduced.

WandaVision primarily followed the character Wanda Maximoff and expanded on her family history by introducing her late parents as well her twin sons, who are born from magic and age rapidly over the course of the series.

In the Marvel comics source material, Wanda is part of a large, multigenerational family of Jewish and Romani characters whose stories frequently reflect the systemic violence and oppression that both communities face-- including Romani Holocaust victims, who are critically underrepresented in both education and media. In the MCU, these identities and histories are completely erased, and the characters are all played by white actors. Alternate versions of these characters also appear in the Fox X-Men films, and are similarly whitewashed.

The Romani people are a racialized minority that originated as a South Asian diaspora, and who face severe systemic oppression in Europe and North America. The modern Romani population is quite diverse, but they are not of white ethnic origin, and despite the fact that Wanda and her family have historically been drawn with white features, they are minority characters and ought to be considered as such.

Depictions of witches and witchcraft are often entwined with antisemitism and anti-Romani racism. In pop culture, witches and fortunetellers are typically portrayed as visual stereotypes of Romani women. In the real world, fortunetelling is a profession born from survival work, one which Romani families are often heavily policed and racially profiled for practicing. While Wanda usually subverts these tropes, they are often played straight elsewhere in the superhero genre, and any story about witches, especially one featuring Romani characters, needs to be critiqued in this context.

Agatha All Along introduces viewers to a new cast of characters, including Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, and the enigmatic "Teen", played by Joe Locke, who is heavily speculated to be an incarnation of Wanda's son, Billy.

In the comics, Lilia is a member of a prominent Romani family in Wanda's community. Often lauded as the "witch queen of the gypsies," Lilia embodies many racial stereotypes about Romani women. In Agatha All Along, Lilia is depicted as an older Sicilian woman, however, being portrayed as a batty fortuneteller with a tawdry psychic shop, she still embodies an offensive trope. Although Lilia is far from "good" representation, this is not an improvement-- if anything, it's even more exploitative.

Billy was raised in a Jewish American household and places a very strong emphasis on his Jewish identity, in addition to having Romani heritage. His identity as a young gay man is always presented in conjunction with this heritage, not in spite of it. Though there is a significance to Locke being a gay actor playing a gay character, his casting-- if he is indeed playing Billy-- is not authentic. White gay representation should not supersede racial inclusivity, and it is not an excuse for whitewashing or Jewish erasure.

Marvel Studios recently announced that the character Doctor Doom will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who is returning to the franchise after many years in the role of Iron Man. In the source material, Doom is also a Romani character with a very similar background to Wanda's. This identity is central to Doom's character-- although he is written to be both morally and politically challenging, the liberation of his people has always been a primary motive.

Clearly, this type of whitewashing is an ongoing pattern in the MCU franchise. Although "Teen's" identity is still unconfirmed and Lilia may, ultimately, be of little consequence, they are part of a larger problem, and Agatha All Along needs to critiqued in that context.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lauren Gambino at The Guardian:

Joe Biden has signed into law a bill that rushes $95bn in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan legislative victory he hailed as a “good day for world peace” after months of congressional gridlock threatened Washington’s support for Kyiv in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion. The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure in a 79 -18 vote late on Tuesday night, after the package won similarly lopsided approval in the Republican controlled House, despite months of resistance from an isolationist bloc of hardline conservatives opposed to helping Ukraine. “It’s going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer,” Biden said, in remarks delivered from the White House, shortly after signing the bill.

“It was a difficult path,” he continued. “It should have been easier and it should have gotten there sooner. But in the end, we did what America always does. We rose to the moment, came together, and we got it done.” The White House first sent its request for the foreign aid package to Congress in October, and US officials have said the months-long delay hurt Ukraine on the battlefield. Promising to “move fast”, Biden said the US would begin shipping weapons and equipment to Ukraine within a matter of hours. Biden admonished “Maga Republicans” for blocking the aid package as Ukrainian soldiers were running out of artillery shells and ammunition as Iran, China and North Korea helped Russia to ramp up its aerial assault on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Rejecting the view that Ukraine is locked in an unwinnable conflict that has become a drain on US resources, Biden hailed Ukraine’s army as a “fighting force with the will and the skill to win”. But the president also pressed the case that supporting Ukraine was in the national security interest of the US.

[...] In an effort to attract Republican support, the security bill includes a provision that could see a nationwide ban on TikTok. The House also added language mandating the president seek repayment from Kyiv for roughly $10bn in economic assistance in the form of “forgivable loans”, an idea first floated by Donald Trump, who has stoked anti-Ukraine sentiment among conservatives. Although support for the package was overwhelming, several Democrats have expressed their concern with sending Israel additional military aid as it prosecutes a war that has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis. Three progressive senators, Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch of Vermont and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, voted against the bill for its inclusion of military support to Israel.

On Wednesday, Biden called the aid to Israel “vital”, especially in the wake of Iran’s unprecedented aerial assault on the country. Israel, with help from the US, UK and Jordan, intercepted nearly all of the missiles and drones and there were no reported fatalities. The attack had been launched in retaliation against an Israeli strike on an Iranian consular site in Syria. “My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad,” Biden said. “The security of Israel is critical. I will always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists who it supports.” Biden’s abiding support for Israel’s war in Gaza has hurt his political standing with key parts of the Democratic coalition, especially among young people. As he spoke, students at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities were demonstrating against the war. Biden emphasized that the bill also increases humanitarian assistance to Gaza, touting his administration’s efforts to pressure Israel to allow more aid into the devastated territory. But House Republicans added a provision to the bill prohibiting funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Unrwa, a “lifeline for the Palestinian people in Gaza” that Israel has sought to disband.

President Biden signed a foreign aid package worth $95BN containing foreign aid for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel and provisions to a TikTok ban.

The good: Ukraine and Taiwan funding. The bad: TikTok ban and Israel funding.

See Also:

Vox: Ukraine aid and a potential TikTok ban: What’s in the House’s new $95 billion bill

[joesalw]

my 27 year old swiftie friend has been saying joe cheated, abused her, locked her up, resented her success since the day they broke up. she was convinced the album would vindicate her. now she is coping so hard, claiming matty lyrics are ALSO about joe, saying joe did abuse her because she felt her youth is wasted and he didn't marry her, depression isn't an excuse for hurting her... etc. no mention of taylor cheating or outing someone. criticizing her for dating matty is anti feminist, talking about her carbon emissions is hypocritical. she spends all day arguing with ariana, beyonce and sza fans and gleefully saying joe's career is over because he hasn't booked a new role.

the parasociality is pathetic. i've tried to gloss over it as a phase or a special fandom interest but such behaviour speaks volumes about a person's character, worldview and personality. swifties are in a cult. i've been so turned off by taylor's true colors and unhinged fanbase. the matty bomb has ruined my fav f+e songs too. im out.

.

[cyarskaren52]

The anti-cancel culture folks are predictably quiet about what’s happened to Claudine Gay. Of course.