#but it’s been on my mind

[alalnsted]

[bizarre-blues]

On an agenda tonight…. shomob….

[nunyverse-scribe]

If there’s one thing I noticed in recent times when it comes to fan engagement with art and artists (TV shows, books, movies [franchises], etc.) is that a big factor in the downward spiral in media literacy and critically analyzing what we engage with is that a lot of people… feel sort of obligated to getting defensive for the specific things they like. And they assume any critique or criticism is a form of ill will or malice towards the piece.

Which I think is SUCH a terrible mindset to have when engaging with any piece of art or media, especially in a time where there’s this general push for dumber downed media for the masses to consume and likewise less critical thinking. I notice a pattern where there are people that will give a million disclaimers about how much they love the media they’re about to critique because they know the average fan will dogpile on them and assume it’s someone who doesn’t like the art that’s critiquing it. Or I notice when a subsection of fans of a media start critiquing it, there’s another crowd in the fandom that say “if you don’t like it so much, then why are you watching it 😒” even though that’s not the case, the critiques come from a place of love. That’s not right, it’s not good to have this general consensus that to love something means to ignore or outright accept glaring problems in relation to it.

We as audience members, we as fans of a certain thing, need to be able to be ok with the fact that the shows, movies, books, etc. we enjoy might have some negative elements to it that we HAVE to be critical of. Sometimes the thing we dislike is something as small as a trope we’re tired of seeing. Sometimes the thing we dislike is a LOT bigger, though, such as questionable messaging subconsciously implemented due to the writers’ internalized bias.

And honestly THAT is what matters most to me when it comes to this type of thing.

Because EVERYONE is susceptible to the subliminal propaganda in a piece. You, me, your neighbors, your parents, kids, the elderly, everyone. And even moreso when we choose not to question or challenge the things in the media or art being fed to us.

Why? Because to just accept any glaring problems in (with the example I’m typically using right now in this rant) a specific narrative purely because as a whole you like the story means that you are allowing that narrative—and likewise other narratives you’re bound to consume and internalize—make the decision on your thoughts and the decision on your principles and moral compass.

To combat that you have to do as I stated above: challenge those attributes of the story or art or whatever that are relaying questionable messages. Even if you, generally speaking, really like it.

QUESTION why that creator will depict women, or POC, or disabled ppl, or queer ppl, or another marginalized identity in the certain way that they do. QUESTION why a creator’s art relays a certain commentary on the systems of fascism, or capitalism, or the patriarchy, or police brutality, or any other oppressive system. Especially because this art and these stories we engage with don’t exist in a vacuum: what came before it to lay the foundations was experiences of the creator, what was there alongside its creation was the creator’s personal principles and ideals, and what comes after it is the impact it will leave on minds and ideologies it will spread.

I dunno, I say this because I enjoy critically analyzing the stories and the art that I love. I will watch a TV show or read a book and I will connect with a lot of aspects of it, I will love it, I will recommend it to others. However, I will also have long conversations with fellow fans (usually friends) about the pitfalls, I will take note of certain aspects of the story that were questionable choices, and I will view it with a critical eye. And maybe it’s just because I’m a writer myself, but I feel like being that nuanced and careful with how you view the art that you love, to praise AND critique it, is in itself a form of love or passion for the art.

And I really wish more people understood that? Especially when it comes to art, things aren’t black and white. They are allowed to be good and bad at the same time. Characters are allowed to be likable but also horrible people. And I feel that having this mindset of “I like it therefore I see it as perfect” is a very, VERY dangerous one to harbor.

[tetsuskei]

i think that men should be given flowers more and i was thinking abt leaving flowers on kaeya’s desk as a silent confession, but of course he’s too smart and figures me out all too quickly

[skullfragments]

ok don’t get me wrong i love that all the starter pokemon are in the s/v dlc but like where the fuck is cubone

[scobbe]

I started journalling when I was 13, and going back to those notebooks it’s fascinating to watch how my faith changed. I had a feral but lively and beautiful relationship with God in my teens, but thanks to long-term trauma and a series of losses, by my early 20’s it had become this blind plea of “God will give me this. God will give me this. God will give me this.�� Magical thinking at best, and very liberating to completely throw away when something other than what I thought I had wanted distracted me. By 30 I didn’t believe in God anymore.

So I spent about ten years in more or less worldly life as an atheist deeply critical of religion, feeling it was all a manipulative sham, until a car accident left me wondering like whoa wtf none of this makes sense to me.

And the funny thing is I returned to God the way I had left, first through a bunch of superstition and magic (actual, like, Golden Dawn and folk and voodoo magic) and then gradually listening to various mystics until C.S. Lewis explained Christianity to me in a way I’d never “gotten” it before. Sort of like finding myself back in confirmation classes as a kid. But I could taste it then - even just watching Canterbury Cathedral on Youtube - I could taste that warm exciting gorgeousness I’d experienced as a teen. So when I went back to actual church with some actual Christians I just sat there spellbound, God piecing our relationship back together, sometimes with winsome little stitches and sometimes with the most maddening, infuriating things that have ever happened to me.

And in the end, I received what I’d been praying for all those years ago, which was actually just permission to be myself. (Big surprise.)

But now I’m finding knowing the difference between life with God and life without God has been an indescribable gift, even if it is almost impossible to articulate most of the time. It’s like I was not even really here for a couple decades. Life was life and had its ups and downs but in comparison was like black and white tv vs color, or mono vs stereo sound. (And I am still only just beginning to see and hear again.) But as much as I had removed God, I was also removed from the full richness of life - a great deal because I was living primarily in my own head, believing there was nothing else.

I mention this because when something mentions healing requires an external source, like yes, it absolutely does, and that source is - not to sound spooky but - out there and waiting.

[wawataka]

to the ppl who complain abt artists drawing top surgery scars “inaccurately” you’re LAMEEE if i ever get top surgery i’m getting tattoos that make my scars look like that

[eyeslikewatercoolers]

Anetra and Mirage as My Melody and Kuromi 💕

[regscupid]

and if i said a black brothers cow belles au

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[zytes]

this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Feeling incredibly sick and angry about everything. I’ll go about my day and try to be normal and then it just ambushes me and honestly the only people keeping me sane rn are the Arabs who’ve voiced similar experiences and are staying the course and being vocal despite all the attempts to basically blame everything that’s wrong with this country on us

[chipistrate]

A normal Wachowski brothers afternoon

og under cut

[botanyshitposts]

lichens at the lichen new years party and they say 'heres to another prosperous 0.002 millimeters of growth everyone the sands of time march on!!' and they all absorb passing nutrient dust at the same time

[diivineray]

Maybe I’m doing a lot but I don’t think it’s a lot to ask of my white friends to use their privilege and their voices and speak out a little more.

This has been going around in my head because, as the election draws closer I’m seriously worried for the outcome.

Just him running has people being loud and bold to be racist as shit and it’ll be worse if he’s actually elected.

I remember that scene in Ginny and Georgia, where Ginny walked out of her English class because of her racist ass teacher.

And Max could only see the Ginny’s outburst as rebellious and hyped it up, she wasn’t really seeing Ginny in that moment.

And Ginny said she was upset because English is her favorite subject and max is being so immature about it and asks what she wants to do. Ginny finally says ‘I don’t know Max, you’re in the class, you see it. Why do I always have to be the one to say something’

And I think about that a lot. And btw, that show is realllly good at pin pointing what being the only colored person is like in high school, so much that happens in that show with Ginny I relate to so well.

And the best thing about this example is that, Max is a lesbian. But she only sees things from her pov she doesn’t look at anyone elses because she doesn’t care to. But she’s also a deeply caring person, and she starts to learn how to really see the people she cares about.

I usually try not to let the shit the media says get to me but I swear it’s harder and harder to ignore everyday and especially when there possibility of it becoming more than just seeing in the media. When ppl start to get more even more bold and take it to the streets.

Racism has always been around, but yeah I’m scared of how much worse it’s going to get. So when I think about that, I really don’t want my white friends to just sit idly by while we get insulted everyday. I want them to be as angry as I am. I wanna trust that when someone is being racist towards me, you’re not gonna try and tell me I’m overreacting. You’re not gonna try and appease them. You’re not gonna be afraid to speak out.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Must be a Sugondese joke.