#being pissed off about a television programme and raging about it and boycotting it? is going to stop nothing

[burnedlegend-archive]

And that was the end of the crossover. Trigger warning for upcoming discussion about my thoughts on the episode, which are not all negative.

Now, I’m more excited for the upcoming episode because what bugs me most about this episode is the severe lack of Coldwave - not even romantically, just Mick and Leonard (whatever version of him there is) getting moments together. I’d be a lot more pissed off right now if I didn’t know Leo was returning in the upcoming episode, and I hope that we get more to go off with that.

On the crossover itself, I have a lot of varying thoughts. Stop reading now if you don’t want to hear a more neutral/positive outlook on this crossover, because that’s what you’re getting from me. 

Firstly, were there issues with this crossover? Yes. Could they have easily done the same thing without using Nazis? Yes, and I believe it would have been better if they had.

That said, I look at this like I look at all media in all walks of life: as a creative art form. I hate some art, I adore some art, and sometimes, art that I love is universally despised.

I grew up watching films with Nazis in them, so maybe I’ve got a different outlook on things. But I grew up on war films, and B movies from the 80s, and Indiana Jones was my life to the point where I could recite all of the three earlier films line for line.

NAZIS ARE BAD. And just like in all those films I watched, where the Nazis were bad, I saw it the same way here. The Nazis were bad and they were defeated. Yes, they had the faces of familiar characters, but in the end, they were portrayed as bad and they were defeated as such.

All that to say: I loved this crossover. I did. I thought it was much stronger plot and character-wise than the crossover from the last season. I adored Leo and Ray. I adored what little I saw of Mick. I am angry about what they did with Stein but by god I adored how beautifully heartbreaking Franz’s acting was.

Everyone’s acting in this crossover was stunning; they were doing their best and it showed.

I appreciate that the pink triangle was mentioned, because it is erased from so many history books and documentaries to the point where most people are unaware that the pink triangle even existed or what it means. 

I appreciate that we get to see Wentworth reprise his role in part one last time and I adore that they showed two gay actors kissing onscreen as two queer characters and it wasn’t treated as anything out of the ordinary or horrifying or fetishized. 

Do I wish there had been more done with Mick, or that perhaps a romance between him and Leonard would have finally been shown? Yes. But I’m not going to die angry about it. I’ll write my own stories revolving around such an idea and leave it be.

I’m not happy that they used Nazis when they could have used generic baddies and I am not happy about Stein.

But at the same time I hold a very neutral ground because of one, Victor Garber’s request to leave the show. I understand they had to write him off and most likely wanted it to be in a dramatic, memorable way. I think they did it wrong, but I digress.

Two, this is a creative work. And just like all creative works that feature things like murder, arson, thievery, violence, torture, serial killers, cannibalism etc... it does not reflect the views or support of the creators nor the people who enjoy it. Is it distasteful to portray right now, with all that’s been going on? Yes. But it does not make you a bad person for creating things regarding it or enjoying watching it. You do not support Nazis just by intaking media, any more than you support murder by intaking crime shows.

Three, this is not my story. This show has creators - those of the comics and those of the show itself - and I have no say in that. I can protest things they put in their content, I can refuse to watch it, but that’s where the line ends. I don't get to harass the writers and actors themselves any more than I want people harassing me about my writing - or any more than I’m sure some of you would want people harassing you about your A/B/O or mpreg fics, or anything else dealing with taboo topics.

LONG STORY SHORT: I enjoyed this crossover and I am not a bad person for that. There were problems with it and things I wish they had done differently, but at the end of the day this is fiction just like Hannibal - which I wager many people enjoy and yet somehow do not support cannibalism. And I’ve seen AO3 - there are a lot of noncon fics out there and yet somehow I feel that most of you do not actually support rape. Think about the planks in your eyes, people.

I felt the need to say this because of how many close friends feel like shitty people just because they enjoyed the crossover or were excited for it.

To anyone else who has felt like that: you can acknowledge the faults a work of media has without hating it. You can simultaneously enjoy and have excitement for media while admitting its faults and seeking something better from your media.

You aren’t a bad person. You just have the ability to separate fiction from reality and the ability to see things on a more neutral perspective, and understand what hills will help to die on. That’s all. 

Life’s not black and white and I’ll be damned if anybody is going to make me feel like shit for enjoying what was in all honesty a well-written crossover event with highly stunning and talented acting - despite all the glaring problems there were with it - when I hardly keep silent about problems in the world today and actively fight to change them. I can do both. And I do.

Those are my thoughts.

Goodnight.

[burnedlegend-archive]

Might Take A Hiatus From (Most Of) The Internet

So, I don’t know for sure yet, but I might be taking some time off from Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and stick solely to chatting systems like Skype, kik, discord, etc. 

The reasons for this is that the internet is not an enjoyable place for me right now. At all. Here, let me share one of the many reasons:

All this over stating that despite how much shit is going on in the crossover, I’m still excited to watch it.

And this is a common theme. People getting pissed off at me for - horror of horrors - daring to enjoy something.

I do not support what is going on with the crossover. I acknowledge there are glaring issues with it. But I am allowed to still be invested in a favourite television programme. I am allowed to still enjoy watching it.

This is constant at this rate. I’m harassed for daring to love Johnny Depp as an actor. I’m harassed for daring to enjoy this television show even through the faults. I’m harassed for posting positivity for men due to how much negativity there is toward them on the internet.

I do not ignore the issues of racism, sexism, etc. that are all over the world right now. I acknowledge them. I discuss them.

But I am TIRED of being made to feel like a horrible person for actually finding a balance between enjoying what I love and acknowledging faults.

The internet is almost entirely full of a few things right now. Everywhere I look I see people furious about this crossover/other DC and Marvel films. I see people talking about “all men being pigs” or “all men are rapists”. I see dozens of rape allegations coming out toward famous people - and only the ones with female victims being taken seriously, because fuck male victims of rape, that doesn’t happen. I see all the shit Trump is doing, and all the people defending that. I see posts about how “if you like/enjoy xyz you are a sympathizer and a horrible person sorry sweetie” all over. I see posts boycotting films because one of the actors MIGHT have said something distasteful twenty years ago.

And I am so. fucking. exhausted.

I am exhausted with every single post on my dash making me feel like shit, either because I dare to find a balance or because I’m a man. I should not be made to feel like I’m a piece of shit just because I identify as male, and that’s what most of the internet is doing with their “all men are disgusting lmao let’s poison them all and just become a society of women and men are boring and have no personality and men are all rapists and white men all look the same and men are bland and wow let’s just make it so women control the universe”.

I’m tired of being made to feel like shit for stupid reasons raged about by immature people who can’t seem to understand the world is not black and white, and that balance is possible.

I admit that men as a whole have been awful to women and that many women have a reason to be wary or upset. I admit that racism and sexism are real thing, especiallty in media. I admit that there are some horrible people out there who need to be boycotted. I admit that there are problems in this world.

But I refuse to give up things that make my shitty life a little more worth living just because of this. I will fight in ways that matter. Not by deciding “not gonna watch this show bc something bad happened on it even though I know fully well that my not watching it will solve nothing”.

And unless the state of the internet gets better, I am going to be taking a hiatus and sticking to chatting to safe people via Snapchat, discord, kik, Skype, etc. 

I’m done. My mental health cannot take much more of this constant negativity and constant boycotting of things that don’t matter. (People are in rage over Blake Shelton being nominated sexiest man alive for chrissakes. Is this really something that people need to blow up into a Big Issue? Seriously? It’s a stupid opinion poll that’ll be irrelevant in a year. Why are people acting like it’s a controversial horrible issue?)

If there is one thing I’m realising this year, it is that my mental health is important. I deserve to feel comfortable, and safe, and worth a damn. And I can’t reach that point of stability when the entire world seems determined to tell me that I don’t deserve things that make me happy, or don’t deserve to be happy at all because of who I am.

I am exhausted. I am struggling with mixed emotions in this fucked up, disturbed, troubled world. And much like Dominic, it is too much for me and I need to take a while to get away from it all until things quiet down both in my life and the world around me.

Thank you for understanding, and if I disappear, this is the reason why. (I’m going to clear out my inboxes and thread tracker before I do anything though.)

I’ll put up a page on my blog shortly detailing where you can find me outside of here, just in case I do leave.

Much love.