#especially as a ​twitter phenomena….

[cuntstable]

i looove online so much and how everyone always jumps to the most bad faith interpetation they can think of in regards to any sentance ever. very cool and honestly funny

[miraculouscriticismshub]

Is Chloe Bourgeois a senti-being? Season 6 theory explained

Introduction

As season 6 is only a couple of months away from being released, it’s time to discuss some interesting and bizarre theories surrounding different characters among the main cast. Today we will be discussing the controversial character of Chloe Bourgeois who is making a comeback in Season 6. This post will analyse the theory that claims that she is a senti-being which has gained traction among MLB tiktok, Twitter and Reddit after the release of Season 5. I am neither supporting nor denying this claim but providing evidence,ideas and theories I found on social media that props up both sides of the argument. I will be analysing evidence that supports the idea of her being a senti and of her not being one.

Evidence supporting this claim

Revolution

On the plane ride in Revolution, after Chloe has been exiled from Paris and sent to live with her abusive mother, Audrey says 

“ I will take control of your life again starting with your education”.

What did she mean by “again”? Did she use to control Chloe when she was younger with an amok and it was only when Audrey left for NYC that she finally experienced freedom? Control has always been associated with senti-beings with Gabriel and Colt both controlling their sons using rings. When Audrey is saying this line, there is a specific emphasis on the ring on her finger.

We know rings in this show are synonymous with senti-beings and amoks based on how the three confirmed senti's in the show (Adrien, Felix and Kagami) all have their amoks embedded in their rings. So are the writers implying that Chloe could be Senti based on this?

The Tsurugi, Agreste and Bourgeois families - possible alliance?

From the first 4 seasons of the show, it was speculated among the fanbase that the phenomena of senti-beings and creating a child using “magic” was only limited to the Agreste/Graham de vanily family with most of the fandom believing only Adrien and Felix to be senti’s. However, Season 5 revealed that there is another senti-monster in the cast which is Kagami Tsurugi meaning more families knew about the peacock miraculous and used it to create their senti’s. This changed how the concept of senti's were seen by the fanbase now with the possibility of theorising that characters outside of the Agreste/graham de vanily families are possible senti-beings. One reason why fans believe Chloe could be one is because of The Bourgeois family’s close ties to Gabriel Agreste.

Audrey and Andre both knew Gabriel in their youth so it isn’t a stretch to assume that he told them about the peacock Miraculous and allowed them to use it for certain reasons. The Tsurugi family is also another family close to the Agrestes and it is confirmed that Kagami is a senti meaning Gabriel gave the miraculous to Tome to use. If Kagami is a senti, then Chloe could be one too as both of their families are associated with Gabriel and are part of the elite.

We see Audrey, alongside Tomoe (who we know has an alliance with Gabriel) watching the news about the rediscovery of the Guardian's temple. Why would the writers focus on Audrey unless she knows about the Miraculous because of Gabriel and Emelie? If Chloe is a senti-being, why would the writers want to make all the rich kids of Paris senti’s? Do they want to imply that all the wealthy families in Paris are part of some secret cult and that all the rich kids we saw in the diamond dance in Emotion are all senti-beings?

Evidence debunking this claim

Andre Bourgeois

If Chloe is a senti , (and I know this will sound horrible)  why didn’t Andre just use the amok to discipline Chloe and keep her in line since he had so much difficulty in keeping her well behaved and well mannered ? We know he wasn’t a good person and didn’t care much for Chloe especially at the end of S5 where he disowned Chloe , sent her off to live with Audrey who he’s know will abuse Chloe , replaced Chloe with Zoe (another man’s daughter) and let her be scapegoat for the fiasco in Revolution when he know Tomoe and Gabriel were pulling the strings. If he is capable of being this lazy with his daughter when it comes to raising her, why didn’t he bother using the amok to keep Chloe in check if she is a senti ? Does he not know where the amok is or does Audrey have the amok? Either he drew the line at controlling people against their will or Chloe is not a senti .

The writers

It’s obvious that the writers are not even trying to hide their hatred towards Chloe especially after watching S5. They have no desire to redeem her or at least write her to be a decent villain. If Chloe is revealed to be a senti then that would mean she would have limited control over her actions in S4-S5 if someone like Audrey had her amok in S4-S5. That would imply Chloe isn’t to blame for some of her behaviour and that she is sympathetic which is the last thing the writers want her to be portrayed as. We know Felix who initially started off as a villain later became a little bit sympathetic as it was revealed he was A senti and that his father was horrible towards him by abusing and controlling him. Why would the writers make Chloe a senti in order to make her look sympathetic and redeemable when they made it clear Chloe would never change ? Therefore there is a possibility that she couldn’t be a senti.

If Chloe is a senti, why and how was she created and where could her amok be?

If this theory is true, One reason I could see Chloe being created was that one of her parents was likely infertile. The infertile parent would be Andre as we know Audrey is fertile because of her accidental pregnancy with Zoe. However, it is a coincidence that all the wealthy parents were infertile and would look like bad writing. Another reason why the Bourgeois could’ve used the peacock miraculously was because it was easier than getting pregnant. Audrey maybe didn’t want to get pregnant as it would ruin her physical image and Audrey is the type of person who prioritises herself and cares a lot about looks.

She thought creating was child using magic was much better than ruining her own body with pregnancy. However, this idea is debunked with the character of Zoe. We know Zoe is younger than Chloe so she was born after Audrey used the miraculous. Why would Audrey use the miraculous to create a child to preserve her body if she ended up ruining her body anyway when she biologically had Zoe? Why not abort? Did Mr Lee threaten her? Either both Zoe and Chloe are senti-beings or none of them are. 

Unlike the other senti-kids who has either One parent dead or absent, Chloe still has both of her parents alive. We know Colt used the miraculous to create Felix while Emelie used the miraculous to create Adrien. Because of using the broken peacock miraculous, both Colt and Emelie eventually got sick and died. However, Andre and Audrey are alive and healthy so if Chloe is a senti, somebody else must’ve used the miraculous instead. Either Audrey paid somebody to use the miraculous to prevent herself from getting sick or one of Chloe's grandparents used it and their death could’ve been passed off as old age.

Another theory suggests that Audrey did use the miraculous to make Chloe however instead of losing her life, she got lucky and the miraculous only corrupted her psychologically making her lose her empathy and morals instead of her life. This theory is related to the Tsurugi family, where the fans speculated that Tomoe was the one who created Kagami instead of her absent father however instead of losing her life, she got fortunate and only lost her eyesight. The idea of Tomoe surviving despite using the miraculous caused fans to speculate Audrey also used the miraculous and survived as well.

If Chloe is a senti, where could her amok be? It isn’t in her teddy bear as that was broken in Despair bear yet Chloe did not disappear. It is either in Audrey’s ring or her sunglasses as Chloe doesn’t go anywhere without her sunglasses.

Conclusion

To conclude , both sides of the “Is Chloe a senti ? “ debates have compelling arguments backed up by lot’s of evidence. However , I  haven’t officially picked a side yet and have just analysed and presented suitable evidence for and against this theory. It would be interesting if Chloe is a senti as honestly, Chloe being revealed as such might be the only thing that would save her character and redemption arc. However , the writers could also decide she isn’t a senti but a regular human . Now I want to hear your opinion. Do you like theory or hate it ? Here is a poll on the Chloe being a senti theory if you're interested.

Comment you thoughts below and let me know ?

[shinozaki-ayumi]

This is something that I was thinking about myself but I didn't really want to write about it on Twitter (Kedwin follows me so I feel a little guilty for being negative on there, I know that's a bit dumb but whatever lol), so I guess I'll spill my thoughts on here.

Anyway I really hope there's a lot more to the premise of DD than they've given us so far because "seeking social media fame" is just so bland... I appreciate the setup of Blood Covered because it establishes a lot in from the get-go about both the characters themselves (and how they feel about each other) and the story's major themes (coping with loss and change, in particular). It gives the story solid ground to build up from, like:

Ayumi's guilt stemming from "I just wanted to keep us together as friends and instead I got you all killed"

Mayu's death feeling especially awful since the whole situation was started in an attempt to make her feel better, and she yet dies first/in the most gruesome way

Kind of a sick irony that the survivors are definitely closer with each other by the end of it all than they were at the start, so in a roundabout way the charm "worked" when it comes to keeping them together

So I'm hoping we get some more robust thematic/character buildup other than "streamer does a challenge to up her subscriber count."

There's also been comparisons floating around about how it's just the modern equivalent of the Sachiko ritual spreading via blog sites in the 2000s and I actually agree with that! Paranormal phenomena going viral on the internet is completely rooted in reality and I've watched my fair share of YouTube videos reviewing/debunking "paranormal" TikTok content myself lol. But even then, Naho's motivations were still in line with the overall themes of the story. Her goal wasn't to find fame, it was to stay close to Kibiki -- and, like Ayumi, she got the people she cared about killed instead (Kibiki, Sayaka, etc.).

Anyway all of this is just a really long-winded way to say, I really really hope the story previews we're being given are extremely simplified and that the starting incident isn't JUST "I want subscribers." I want these characters to be emotionally invested in their relationships with each other and I want to watch them suffer for it lol. Maybe there could be some turmoil over prioritizing internet fame/validation over genuine, real life relationships? So the opposite of Ayumi's good intentions, basically. I just hope a character with as unserious a vibe as Nemu can be taken that seriously lol.

[thatdogmagic]

The "NSFW = Easy Mode" Post

We all know this post. We all know this complaint. NSFW artists have faced it the entire time we've spent drawing.

Aside from being hugely denigrating towards a very legitimate craft, there are multiple fallacies involved in the argument.

Let's start off with the most obvious, the very real phenomena of getting visible traction on social media sites. Namely, to say that, LIKES/RTS DO NOT TRANSLATE TO FINANCIAL STABILITY. Working your ass off does. NSFW artists who make it their livelihood churn out an absurd amount of work to stay relevant, constantly have to work outside of comfort zones, and face steep competition.

Next, the argument presumes that all NSFW is created equal. It's not. For example: mlm, that is to say, men loving men, will earn you much more traction than wlw, women loving women, and mlm involving trans bodies will earn you much less traction than the cis standard. Additionally, your audience for any of those things is NEVER guaranteed.

It places porn an erotica on the same footing, which is also enormously wrongheaded. Porn has an almost singular focus on secondary sex characteristics, and will rush straight to the point at every given opportunity; erotica is holistic, and doesn't even really have to show genitalia in order to hit its mark, if it's written and framed correctly.

To be clear: both of these things take an enormous amount of skill. It is not something you just learn to do overnight. Good, illustrated porn requires an understanding of action, anatomy, perspective, and all sorts of other technical skills that are often beyond even very adept artists.

With erotica, technical prowess is less of a focus. It's more on character art, scene setting, and story (be it implied by imagery or written in). I don't need to explain the level of expertise this requires, not the least of which is being a good writer, which is fully beyond a lot of peoples' grasp. It's a whole different skill, and being good at erotica is tough for even industry professionals. Many are embarrassingly bad at it.

The other bullet points, I outlined in a Twitter rant, but here they are:

NSFW artists face logistical hurdles SFW artists don't. Namely: we don't know when the site we're posting on will ban NSFW content.

We can be randomly banned/shadowbanned from a site whose rules are not especially clear (Tumblr), and whose filters are garbage. We can also have our work deboosted and effectively removed from circulation because we didn't label a nipple appropriately (Tumblr still thinks a female-presenting nipple is 100% sexual).

We can have our funding cut at random, for seemingly arbitrary reasons.

We face a host of degrading comments and overfamiliar clients.

NSFW artists working commissions have to take on work they're not personally very interested in. This takes way more work and fortitude than anyone is willing to admit. If you're commissioned for a fetish you don't like, you still have to make it look hot for the person who commissioned you. If you don't think that takes extra effort, IDK what to tell you.

We are constantly subjected to arrogant shitbags saying they can just jump in and make bank, because Site Number Went Up that one time.

Bottom line is the 'I should just do furry porn I guess' joke is not a joke. It's not funny. It's just you showing your ass, and insulting your friends/colleagues, who do very hard work for very little reward.

[skinnytuna]

I really really like that long post you did about making art. especially: 'i have somehow convinced myself that, if i maybe try a little bit, not exceptionally hard, but only a little bit, maybe i will somehow magically be good enough and worthy of critical praise.'

I spend all my time thinking about the beautiful or ""groundbreaking"" things I would make but no time actually doing it. and then when I attempt to create something the actual discomfort of physically drawing, writing or even coding is so unlike the idealised version in my brain that I have to stop because it is so frustrating. I wish I could be the sort of person who decides to spend hours upon hours perfecting a craft. but I just cant. weirdly I've come to terms with it. theres a whole world of art that exists just for me in my head. maybe one day ill be able to translate it into reality. but for now, im just going to be happy with the dual presence of my shitty real art and my lovely art thats just for me.

(also: I dont think your posts are lacking. the way you use language is unexpected and hilarious. I like it a lot.)

we should have a word for the terminal need for validation but lack of any and all discipline ... seems like a relatively new phenomena. i'm considering the strong possibility that it's a widespread result as the death of the "hobby"... however many years ago i imagine it was normal to just do something for yourself, because you love doing it. in fact i see a lot of my friends parents still doing stuff such as this.

i have a lot of friends whose dads make eps and albums for fun. for them only. no wishing on a star for it to blow up overnight. none of that. security in the quality of it. security in how far it probably won't reach. now that security, of course, could just come with age. but i suspect there's a generational parasite.

we were all raised with Numbers. the follower count, the like count, these are burned into our psyche. a neurosis coiled tightly around an objective metric of validation. a handful of years ago such a neurosis couldn't even exist! and it especially couldn't exist in a matter of seconds or minutes. your value as a person is a pair of dice that you roll and you snatch them back the moment you see snake eyes. almost all of the amateur art, music, writing we are exposed to has a number right under it. you don't get to evaluate it yourself. there is immediately a pavlovian connection, i like this thing, this thing has this number attached to it, if i can get a number like that i'm worthy of coexisting with this thing.

there's an almost instant dissociation between the craft, the skill, the time, and the FRUIT. what you get back. we are almost trained to care more about how popular something is than how good it is. not like, hollywood productions, or Columbia Records' chart topping album by a thirty something with A&R parents, but how popular someone just like you is on the internet. a plausible professional with a twitter account who draws whatever they want. someone you could relate to. someone you could be.

but because you want the numbers you skip the learning... you make something and put it out. and you keep doing this. your learning is public, your honing of the craft is documented before an audience of hopefully thousands. and you see what they respond to. and their responses steer the direction of your learning. you never have an opportunity to make something shitty. make something no one likes. experiment. you just keep feeding the computer. and it works until the point where you want to do something else, or something real, or something better, or something serious, and realize you don't know how. and you're like Fuck Shit why did I hustle instead of learning in peace.

but of course this is all by design. the numbers can't teach themselves more numbers if you doodle in your sketchbook and don't show anyone. i'm not sure if it was ever a specific person's idea to make everyone's entire life a performance, but whoever engineered it did a damn fine job. takes a sledgehammer to break out of. oh well ! in a few generations i'm sure all of our skin will have glare dampeners evolved specifically to vlog better with. and everyone will have forgotten what it's like to do something in your room, by yourself, because you like to do it

[saturniandevil]

August 2023 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's August forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, and Michael J. Morris. Under the Venus retrograde we've seen Twitter's rebranding, the success of the Barbie movie, and SAG-AFTRA actors joining the WGA on strike, including the London premiere of Oppenheimer where the stars walked off the carpet, as part of the strike means stopping publicity appearances. Saturn in Pisces has also corresponded to new research finding "forever chemicals" in more than half of American cities' tapwater--we're now starting to get structured about it.

We're going into this month under a Venus retrograde, which began July 22nd. Here's the graphic:

August 1st - Full Moon in Aquarius

With Mars trine Jupiter and the Moon/Sun squaring him, we have some positive influences during the Venus retrograde, especially since this activity is in the fixed signs. With the ruled by the Sun and Saturn, the center of the solar system and furthest visible planet, we question what's at the center and what's on the periphery: "What's happening in my life that's part of larger social systems?" Austin also brings up necessities we have to address, which Mars in Virgo is well-suited to help us investigate. However, with the upcoming Mercury retrograde as well, issues may not be immediately soluble--some things take three passes to get right. The mutable energy of Mercury in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces gives us opportunities to be flexible to changes.

August 7th - Auspicious election for the month (not pictured)

Set at just after sunrise at 6:12AM local time, this chart has Leo rising and Venus in the first house. Jupiter is in Taurus in the tenth house (whole signs), as is the Moon who is exalted in this sign. Thus this chart is good for both tenth and first house matters. The fixed sign placements are slow, but sturdy and lasting. As the moon rules this chart's twelfth house, her proximity to the Midheaven makes it a good time to bring our hidden efforts to the surface.

August 9th - Mercury trine Jupiter, Venus square Uranus (not pictured) Mercury will trine Jupiter twice more as he retrogrades, and soon Mars will leave Virgo, removing some obstacles. Michael predicts that we'll be well-equipped due to Mercury's dignity along with Jovian support. Similar to the Venus retrograde, getting into it is the hard part. Venus & Uranus also help us think outside the box with regard to our desires--what's no longer exciting to us? Follow what brings you joy, pleasure, and satisfaction.

August 13th - Sun-Venus Cazimi This marks the halfway point of the retrograde and prompts deep reflection on questions of what we want or have wanted, and how to go forward. It's also important to prioritize our desires to get the best results. Once we know we can feel the full depth of emotion and satisfactions, which shackles will we break? We've gotten to the heart of the matter. We can also draw from the myth of Inanna in the underworld, the events of which line up perfectly with observable astronomical phenomena (ex. evening star Venus becomes invisible and reemerges as a morning star, the lunations line up with the eight gates where she must surrender her talismans and robes....).

August 16th - New Moon in Leo

Our hosts say this lunation is heavily influenced by the preceding astrological events already discussed here.

August 22nd - Mars Opposite Retrograde Neptune Their conjunction back in May 2022 may give some clues as to how it emerges now. Watch out for paranoia and acting out based on warped imaginations. Exercise caution when you're unsure of the facts.

August 23rd - Sun enters Virgo, Mercury stations Retrograde Mercury's station is tinged by the Mars-Neptune opposition just hours before. Mercury is desperately searching for clarity. With Mars also in Virgo, we want to cut out excess, but may not have the clearest vision.

August 27th - Mars enters Libra This concludes the Mars-Saturn opposition that peaked in late July and also represents a loss of dignity for Mars. In general, Mars in Libra reminds us that while we want to forge our own paths, we are inherently interconnected to each other. It's not always easy to depend on others. Expect to see some frustration in the Libra area of your charts as we attempt to sever with the tools of diplomacy. Mars wants to be active, and laziness can also crop up.

August 28th - Uranus stations Retrograde Happening at 23 degrees of Taurus, we'll feel this change of motion as it overshadows the upcoming lunation.

August 30th - Pisces Full Moon

This is our first lunation with the Moon conjunct Saturn since he entered Pisces back in March, though this separation ameliorates some of the tension, as does some support from Jupiter via sextile. The Moon will also be close to the Tail of the Swan in Cygnus, associated with artistic creativity as well as some divine connotations. Austin describes this as having a "huge, heavy imaginative depth." The heaviness of Saturn and the retrogrades of Venus and Mercury will have some light shone on them by this Moon. How can I live with this? What wisdom do I attain by bearing witness?

Early September will bring us some more conclusive resolution as we experience the second half of the Venus retrograde.

[jyt-120]

The Everlasting Influence of #MeToo: From Online Hashtag to Real-World Change

Introduction:

Social media movements, the phenomena that are redefining contemporary activism, find their roots not in the digital world but in the lived experiences of individuals. They originate in the offline spaces, the daily lives of ordinary people who are driven by the need to stand up for what is just and right. These movements are deeply entwined with social and political activism and serve as platforms for the disenfranchised and marginalized to have a voice.

However, the trajectory of social media movements, as impactful as they may seem in the digital realm, often faces criticisms of "clicktivism" and "slacktivism." These terms reflect the concern that online participation might lack real-world impact. To truly understand the influence of social media movements, it's essential to recognize the synergy between online and offline spaces, where the most successful movements thrive and endure.

The #MeToo Movement: A Case Study:

A prominent example of a social media movement that has transcended both online and offline spaces is the #MeToo movement. It is a testament to the fact that these movements do not begin with hashtags but with the earnest efforts of individuals who strive to bring about change. The #MeToo movement originated in 2006, created by social activist Tarana Burke. Burke's vision was to create a movement that empowers survivors of sexual violence, particularly young women of color in underprivileged communities. She coined the phrase "Me Too" to symbolize empowerment through empathy, laying the foundation for a movement against sexual abuse.

The movement remained largely under the radar for over a decade until 2017, when actress Alyssa Milano shared her personal experience of sexual abuse on Twitter using the hashtag #MeToo. Her call to action resonated with countless others, encouraging them to share their own stories. The hashtag quickly spread across Twitter, being used 1.7 million times in 85 countries. It received support from numerous female celebrities who echoed the message of "Me Too."

The Symbiosis of Online and Offline Spaces:

While the #MeToo movement gained immense traction online and earned recognition as a global digital campaign, its impact was not confined to the digital sphere. It transcended into the physical world, sparking campaigns against sexual violence across various industries, including film, music, politics, education, sports, military, and medicine. The movement prompted legislative and legal actions, such as the Me Too Congress Act, and led to convictions of rapists and sexual abusers, especially those who held positions of significant power in society. One of the most notable outcomes was the conviction and downfall of Harvey Weinstein, a former film producer who had enjoyed a position of authority. The #MeToo movement mobilized diverse groups, including celebrities, activists, survivors of sexual abuse, and everyday citizens. It spanned multiple spaces and platforms, from social media to workplaces, red carpet events, and courtrooms. The movement leveraged social media for awareness, and this digital presence spurred real-world efforts against sexual violence.

Conclusion:

Social media movements are not born with hashtags but with the dedication of individuals determined to champion social justice. The #MeToo movement exemplifies how social media can amplify voices that have been silenced and ignored, providing survivors of sexual violence with the power to share their stories. While hashtags are crucial for mobilizing these movements online, it's essential to acknowledge the pioneering work of activists like Tarana Burke, who laid the groundwork long before hashtags began trending. Social media movements thrive when they bridge the gap between digital and physical spaces, forging lasting change in an increasingly connected world.

The #MeToo movement illustrates that social media movements are more than mere hashtags; they are driven by individuals committed to societal change. This movement, initiated by Tarana Burke in 2006, showcases how real-world impact transcends the digital realm. By sparking campaigns against sexual violence, inspiring legislative changes, and leading to high-profile convictions, it demonstrates the tangible influence of social media movements. Their continued relevance underlines the significance of bridging the gap between online and offline spaces. Social media movements amplify silenced voices and exemplify that true change begins with dedicated individuals.

References:

Hashtag Activism. (2012). Margaret Rouse. Retrieved October 28, 2023, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/29047/hashtag-activism

Goswami, M. P. (2018). Social media and hashtag activism. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326655352_Social_Media_and_Hashtag_Activism,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

alignmedia. (2023, March 16). More than a Hashtag: The #MeToo Movement is 10 years in the Making - ALiGN: Alternative Global Network Media Lab. ALiGN: Alternative Global Network Media Lab. https://carleton.ca/align/2023/more-than-a-hashtag-the-metoo-movement-is-10-years-in-the-making/,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

Burke, T. (2022, October 12). Tarana Burke: What “Me Too” made possible. Time. https://time.com/6221110/tarana-burke-me-too-anniversary/,viewed on 28 Oct 2023.

Jeff Grabmeier. (2023, August 8). Why #MeToo remains a rallying cry for sexual abuse survivors. OHIO STATE NEWS. Retrieved October 28, 2023, from https://news.osu.edu/why-metoo-remains-a-rallying-cry-for-sexual-abuse-survivors/

Rosa, J. (2019, October 16). Alyssa Milano on sharing alleged sexual assault story 25 years later. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/alyssa-milano-sharing-alleged-sexual-assault-story-25/story?id=66317784,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

TEDx Talks. (2021, May 1). Can a “Like” change the world? The power of clicktivism | Jenk Oz | TEDxYouth@Engomi [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evvv45BAYvc,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

TEDx Talks. (2018, November 12). Slacktivism: Social Media’s Effect on Activism | Sophie Egar | TEDxYouth@PepperPike [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhPIgES_hws,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

Giphy. (n.d.). GIPHY - Be animated. GIPHY. https://giphy.com/,viewed on 28 Oct 2023

[kittyscarfredux]

Huh I just encountered another fascinating linguistic phenomena on pixiv that the English translation cannot explain

So a lot of fandoms, especially big ones, have a tag with a pun or abbreviation of the media name and "腐". This kanji that means things like decay/spoiled/fermentation figuratively comes up in some turns of phrase referring to being "spoiled" because your gay fictional character brain rot prevents you from being a good cog of society (you already know the OG and most infamous term with that meaning - yes, it is the “fu” in fujoshi!)

Anyway, if you follow Japanese fanartists on Twitter, you will also notice that some will have "腐向け" in their bio meaning that the account contains stuff by/for that community that might be considered uncouth or not cool to put in main tags (something that JP fandom is really cautious about). While most people who describe their content that way do draw m/m ship art, that isn't always the only thing they limit themselves to, so this is not the first time I've wondered how broad 腐 can be

Going back to the fandom-specific 腐 tags on pixiv, the English translations of these tags are usually "[media name] BL/yaoi". Okay, sure. Usually not wrong if you look through a tag like that. But sometimes I see outliers like explicit or suggestive solo characters, and I just found one of those tags on a HET piss doujin. Is piss 腐 in itself? Is any and all kink art 腐? I'm going to ask some friends who know more about Japanese and fandom terms because this blows my mind lmao

[luxnebula]

A couple of years ago I attended to a course on online communication in my university studies. One of the assignments on the course was to write a blog post about a subject we chose. When I was on that course, I didn't have this blog, so I published the blog post on my Twitter and LinkedIn. These platforms do have limitations on how long the posts can be, so I had to edit my blog post a lot to get it published. But now that I have this blog, I can translate it into English and publish it as I wrote it. So here it is:

Library services for LGBTQI people

Pride month is still ahead of us this year, but LGBTQI folks exist outside pride month, too. That's why it's good to consider how libraries could be more open and comfortable for queer people. In this blog post I introduce a couple of ideas on what libraries could do to enforce the equal treatment of sexual and gender minorities.

Queer people read books like cis straight people do. That's why it's important to have current and fresh literature where queer people can see themselves. Queer fiction is still unfortunately rare, but there are recommendation lists and book reviewers who specialise in queer fiction. Libraries can use these lists and reviewers to find new material for their collections.

Of course, libraries need also nonfiction, which acts as a segue to my next point: information services. There have been studies conducted on especially trans people's information needs and information seeking in the field of information studies, because they have especially unique information needs in different stages in their lives. Especially Aira Pohjanen found in her study Transsukupuolisten identeetin rakentamiseen liittyvä informaatiokäyttäytyminen (2013) (link and study are both in Finnish, unfortunately) that transgender people need information on a huge variety of subjects. These include:

identity, words, phenomena and concepts,

other trans people's experiences,

gender reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments and how they affect the body,

how to get a referral for these treatments,

how much these treatments will cost and how long they will last,

changing one's name

and risks involved with the surgeries.

According to Pohjanen, the most important information source is peer support and other trans people, but libraries should also know where this information can be found and offer this information for various reasons. For example, there might be trans people out there who don't have a peer support network yet or if a cisgender person is just interested about the subject and wants to educate themselves. Brandon Lyttan and Bibika Laloo agree in their study Equitable Access to Information in Libraries: A Predicament for Transgender People (2020): they say that libraries can ease trans people's information seeking by making it easier to access information about trans issues and offering physical and digital material on the subject.

Libraries can do other things too: they can offer a safe space where to meet other people. A majority of queer-oriented spaces are bars or nightclubs, which excludes a lot of people, for example minors, former alcoholics, people suffering from epilepsy and those queer people who just don't like noisy clubs. It is especially crucial to offer places for queer minors so they can be themselves without fearing discrimination and where they can get peer support and the sense of community.

Library staff also has to be ready to meet queer patrons. They have to be aware of the basic terms (transgender vs cisgender, asexual, nonbinary etc) and a patron should not be cross-examined on why they want information about transition processes. Librarians should be aware of reliable information sources about queer issues and challenges their own internalised thought models. It would be great if library staff could get training against discrimination and anti-discrimination policies were used in general.

Equality can be advanced in the patron databases of the libraries also. For example, marking down the patrons' gender feels, to me personally, unnecessary as a library patron and as library staff. But if there is indeed some insurmountable reason to mark down patrons' genders, the options "other" and "prefer not to say" should also be offered. And of course, the patrons should be given free access to change their gender marker later by themselves, either from the library's website or by email. Changing your name should be just as easy.

[romilly-jay]

Lost - and Found! - in a Loop

*** spoilers (I guess, probably) ***

Good job this isn't in anyway attempting to be a timely look at cultural phenomena because this movie landed on Amazon Prime in Feb 2021. (And I discovered, in the Lev Grossman interview linked down near the bottom of this piece, was one of the many productions impacted - in this case, shortened - by the 2020 pandemic.)

Is being timely important for a time loop movie? Okay, clearly facetious question since the answer will be NO for the characters other than, I guess, there would be Better and Worse days in history to be trapped in, but YES for the production, for practical reasons - like, COVID, above - but also for zeitgeist reasons.

This was the movie's Twitter campaign BTW - super cute - it's a time loop movie - every day's the same day! - sort of.

On the subject of timeliness -

Sort of a segue but I was listening earlier to Richard Osman and Marina Hyde discussing the summer's Strictly Come Dancing scandal on The Rest is Entertainment. One factor they covered was that generally it's very unusual for Big Shows to last twenty years and that Strictly has achieved this by changing what it's like as a show, in line with the times, fashions, assumptions etc also changing.

Specifically for Strictly, that has involved the level of difficulty and skill increasing massively. Marina quoted a piece from Michael Hogan in The Guardian that identified that S1 of the show saw a single 10 given by the judges while in S19, there were 69 10s, not because the judges are softer but because the standard of dancing performance has risen - and the toll on participants has risen along with it.

She linked that to a general rise in intensity, perfectionism, and performance pressure - and the driving out of fun - even in supposedly amateur contexts. Feedback loop to social media, ofc.

Well that's incidentally a nice reverse segue back to this movie, because this movie is a sweet celebration of low-key, unimportant magic moments. A love story between the MCs that is also / somewhat / mostly a love story to enjoyment of the everyday.

I'm not saying the movie itself is amateurish (it's not) but it's two teenagers hanging out in small town America. There's no saving the world, there's no super-hero antics, and there's no magic escape from everyday tragedies, either - the lost job, the parent with cancer.

There IS some quantum physics babble and some blurred logic (like, is it okay to take someone else's future hostage? - even if you didn't do it intentionally - just because you're super sad and it would be nice to have someone to help you go through the grieving*?)

*this is, I think, the most cynical possible take - a less cynical version being that the universe somehow figured out that these two were made for each other and held onto HIM until SHE was ready to let go of her difficult day and move forward. Arguably, IRL, she wouldn't have had the choice because time DOESN'T conveniently loop just because someone wishes hard enough that it would - or maybe it does, but not for me... I can understand how someone who has experienced that exact thing would want to stay quiet about it.

The point is - best not to get too Hard Science critical, but taking the story on its own terms, I liked it. And *especially* the shift in emphasis from his story to hers in the final act of the movie.

Here's a review by a real film critic - they also seemed to like it:

The movie was written and I think exec produced by SF writer Lev Grossman, who gave a nice interview about getting it made (below).

He also cameoed in the movie as "rescued from bird poop" guy - and talks charmingly about his experience of being in front of the camera as a little anecdote at the end of the same interview.

BTW having seen that the clothes in the promo poster were the same ones as the Lev Grossman scene, I wondered briefly about whether I'd forgotten the two MCs wearing the same clothes all the time. Flicked back to Amazon. They didn't! Then, ofc, I realised that it would have been weird if they did. The entire point was that they were the only two people making different choices during the course of that single day. What simpler visual cue for us than changing the clothes they're wearing on different versions of that same day?

Amusing (to me) side note - I tried to tell one of my lecturers about this movie and he was HORRIFIED by the cuteness of the central concept, that the key to the time loop dilemma was linked in a non-metaphorical way to the movie's title. I didn't and don't find that horrifying or disappointing but rather charming and a little delightful. Oh, you smuggled the answer to the puzzle right there in front of me in the actual title and I feel comforted that your characters are taking joy and hope from small things like - little girls jumping after soap bubbles in the back yard or a sea eagle grabbing a fish from the lake. This is in keeping with our respective tastes (and, for all I know, our respective characters) and without question relates to whatever internal factors explain why he loves The Road and I love cosy things.

[kitty-box-101]

I don’t tend to do Post where I’m just talking but today I think I needed to talk about something The phenomena of guilt some people have over shipping

TLDR: Komamiki enjoy yours are the strongest soldiers of the fandom

In a server it seemed that a few people share this common feeling because God forbid you like something different than what’s popular

Then I mention a rare pair that I know a few people like had it as a discomfort to the point where I censored the word (using the Discord spoiler thing and btw it’s komamiki so ajshhs) especially for a friend who is in the server who I know it’s his discomfort

Despite that my friend notice and joined in the conversation, at first, it was joking around like haha your my enemy haha “you’re the reason I don’t talk about this ship” I said that jokingly but looking back this came off more like I had a grudge against him 😭lol

Then my friend explained I quote “ it’s problematic so not too surprising” (in a fandom like dr throwing that word around is not good at this point it’s lost its meaning and has so much nuance that it simply is a black-and-white)

Probably the fact that it was my friends discomfort clouded his judgment, so it makes sense that he was gonna be sort of bias, he explained why to him it was problematic and a lot of it was up to personal preference. The only moment I can see being a problem was when in one of the manga mikan is on top of Nagito (my friend says that she s/a him and I heavily disappeared. It did not seem like she was doing anything to him other than pointing needle at him, which you know now that’s just a different thing)

It also had to do with her habit of making her patient sick so they stay longer, as far as I remember in the game, it was definitely the opposite, and wanted to make sure that he was alive more than anything before she got infected with the disease. This goes with all the other patient characters, I think a pretty good example would be fuyuhiko who stayed at the hospital and came back and it’s not like he stayed for so long so it’s not like she was planning that.

Would Mikan normally go that extreme just for a classmate to stay sick and with her? No i don’t think so

I didn’t exactly bring up my opinions and points exactly I just kinda nodded, but didn’t necessarily agree with anything, there was another person involved in the conversation mainly asking a lot of questions like why they think it’s problematic ect. I guess it was hard for my friend to explain since he was in school and couldn’t write out his thoughts properly ( he explained it to me later that he has a hard time detecting tone on text, but like still wondering what made him think I wasn’t listening to what he was saying

(and I was starting to think he was getting uncomfortable since it seemed like he was made up to be the bully cuz I ship them) and he said at least twice that he wanted the conversation to stop, but it kept going ??? Hell people were even backing me up, saying what I was doing was harmless and just letting me be a silly goobre and hell I even found someone who ships it that as well  eventually he genuinely said “I give up 💔” which I found funny in a kind of “could you not be the dense!?” Way 

After a while, I decided to check up on friends since In his insta note it said he wasn’t feeling well. I decided to check up on him and he said he was fine and explained more of why he doesn’t like it. Just like I thought it had a lot to do with projection, which I completely understand. You’re going to project to your favorites a lot and seeing a contradiction of your personal hc we’re gonna hurt just a little if you do take them personally.

Now here’s something. I’m definitely going to ask him about; and his Twitter he had a post that was just “Komaeda is gay” over and over again and sure I drew him a little drawing to show good faith, but I wonder if it was done out of spite? not because of me, but because of hc(and in his own words the bi hc for Nagito makes him vomit)

I very much have an issue with that kind of language because obviously someone who hc him that is going to feel like shit and that’s literally not what you wanna do ever

There’s definitely a lot to sort out ? I’m in good terms and everything Hell love the guy/p but it’s those little things that I gotta get out of my system and the only way I know how is My talking about it in a social media he doesn’t have ajhsgsgs don’t wanna feel like I’m shit talking yk?

But ye that’s all just remember to respect other peoples ships and if you don’t like them, just say they’re not your cup of tea and go drink your cup of coffee ☕️

(if somehow you’ve made it this far in reading, you’re insane and that’s awesome)



[translationandbetrayals]

The Gojo Altar Phenomenon

JUJUTSU KAISEN MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD

  Gojo Satoru, a famous and very beloved character from Jujutsu Kaisen, has amassed a huge fandom over the years. He is probably one of the most popular characters of the modern era of manga and anime. 

So, when the spoilers for one of the latest chapters in the manga got around, revealing that Gojo, one of the strongest characters of all the series, almost invincible, had died fighting against Sukuna, everyone freaked out.

The reaction was massive, it was almost impossible to not get spoiled, either by the massive amount of memes that got out, or the people mourning him. You could say it broke the internet in a way. It trended all over Twitter, as well as Instagram. Even Duolingo joined the fun!

  But one of the most noticeable and viral phenomena that accompanied this internet collective grieving, was the “altar” incident that occurred here, in Santiago de Chile.

  To understand how this occurred, we need the background to 2 things first. The Crunchyroll excessive propaganda of Jujutsu Kaisen around the public transportation, and the cultural significance of what “animitas” are.

The first one is easy to understand. Crunchyroll has the rights over the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, and it being one of the most popular on its platform, they have made sure to properly advertise the series, putting flyers all around the public transportation system in Santiago. Whether it is in the back of the bus, gigant announcements in the subway stations, or signs on crowded streets of the city, it is very easy to find these ads around the city. 

The second thing to understand is what an “animita”  is.  According to the website Memoria Chilena, “Animita is an expression of our particular way of experiencing religiosity, life and, especially, death. It is an anonymous and spontaneous manifestation that arises in the face of a tragic and unexpected event, and that marks the untimely presence of death in this world.(1)” 

In other words, Animitas constitute a type of religious and aesthetic event, where people honor the memory of someone who was taken early in life, becoming a testimony of faith in a life that transcends death. This cultural tradition has a long history and religious importance in our country, with its many forms. They can be small houses/temples on the side of the road, or big murals with messages and art.

Another way to put it would be: “The "animitas" are born from the mercy of individuals and communities in the place where a "bad death" occurred. They can be defined as a popular cenotaph, since the remains of those who tragically perished rest in the cemetery, so in this other space, the soul of the "anima" is honored. (2)” . So these are a direct respect to someone’s soul who has tragically passed away, a different space than when someone mourns in a cemetery.

So how did these two things combine? In the great animita of the subway station Universidad de Chile.

There is a gigantic signboard promoting the series, that includes a mid-profile image of Gojo. People saw the opportunity to express their respect for such a beloved character and honor his memory that ended with such a tragic death, in the form of a very popular and culturally significant tradition, even if it was something they didn't think much through.

The community gathered almost unanimously, as well as had fun showing off creative ways to decorate the sign, whether it was funny or heartfelt messages, little drawings, lipstick stains, flowers or even candles, people got together to created this “animita”, for a character that has touched many people’s hearts, even outside of the Jujutsu Kaisen community.

  This did cause a little trouble with the poor workers of the substation, but thankfully there was an accord to let people stick things, even if they end up cleaning it up every night. 

To this day, the Animita still stands, as a testament to the memory of the great Gojo Satoru, and what communities brought together by events like this can do.

  - Millaray González Aravena

[haleigh-sloth]

What do you say to people who interpret MHA differently than you? Do you think their experiences are invalid and they're idiots?

I don't say anything to anybody.

I do exactly what I've always done:

post my own takes

if I see a take I don't like and think is wrong (and care about it enough to refute it), I will make my own post saying why I think said take is wrong

It's as simple as that.

I don't argue with people online. My twitter is private for this reason, and I've started making some of my posts non-rebloggable for the same reason. If you look on my blog you won't see me reblogging posts I don't agree with and arguing, you won't see me arguing in the comments either, not even on my own posts.

As someone who rejects everything I USED to think about the manga, I can safely say that no, I don't think anybody is invalid. That would be saying what I used to think back then was invalid. And while I do think that I was completely and entirely off the mark back then and interpreting things entirely wrong and reading everything in bad faith, and not giving the author enough credit and getting mad at his choices for really NO reason, I can still remember why I thought the way I did, with the text that we HAD AT THE TIME.

That doesn't mean I don't think certain takes are straight up wrong though, whether I understand why the take exists or not. My frustration is when these phenomena in the fan base don't evolve and grow as the manga progresses, and stop shitting on the writing as if it's so horrible and a "disservice to abuse victims". I hate the victim blaming that comes from the crowd that swears up and down that they reject the idea of victim blaming themselves, but in fact do it all the same. I get annoyed at takes that do just straight up ignore the text and then the same crowd screams that everything is a retcon or bad writing. It gets old after a while, especially when your dash is flooded with it nonstop and you can't find anything that isn't engaging in bad faith doomerism but also you don't want to engage with the crowd that thinks all your favorite characters should just die because they refuse to read past "good guy bad guy", it sucks when the same crowd used to be fun to engage with before a certain point. It got exhausting. It's still exhausting.

But tl;dr: I say nothing to nobody.

[weiszklee]

This whole debate on whether or not "transmisogyny exempt" (TME) versus "transmisogyny affected" (TMA) is a useful concept always seemed to me like the sort of inconsequential intra-trans-community quibbling which is best left ignored, especially by outsiders like myself. But I'm afraid I have formed an opinion on the matter and must now subject y'all to it, so here goes.

Julia Serano, who coined the term "transmisogyny", has mostly been vague on the issue, for example here:

they seem like potentially useful non-binary- and non-identity-based ways of discussing the phenomenon. But I’m admittedly not familiar with everything that others are saying or claiming under this newer rubric, so there may potentially be some points of disagreement. 

Or in a twitter threat where as an indirect response to the debate she linked an older piece of hers about who faces cissexism (Spoiler: yes cis people can be targeted by cissexism, but please read the whole essay because the contextualisation and nuances she adds are important, even if you have to increase the zoom of your browser a bit to cope with the small font size). But I especially recommend reading a more recent one of hers on sexual stigma, mostly for being a refreshingly clear example of discussing transmisogyny without falling into dichotomizing patterns.

I basically see "trans misogyny exempt" as an unfortunate reversal of the conceptual development that the word transmisogyny represents. Transmisogyny is a very careful and exact concept (something you come to appreciate when you've been disillusioned one too many times by overly grand theories), it is literally only a way to talk about specific stigma which a specific group of people experiences. Sure, the edges are fuzzy, but that's about as good as it gets with social theories, and the fuzzy edges don't matter much, because the concept is not really about delineation. You can point to phenomena which are definitely transmisogyny, and you can point to phenomena which definitely aren't, and that's good enough. The word enables you to do theoretical work by quickly pointing to a defined grouping of experiences so that you can analyze the content and history and effect of those experiences.

This is a big step up from theories of privilege or theories of an oppressor-oppressed-dynamic, which are often oversimplified to the point of being distorting. Theories of stigma are just better suited for talking about the experiences of sexual and gender minorities (and many others), because thinking in terms of stigma makes it easier to conceptualise social costructedness, overlap, conditional acceptance, intra-community hierarchies, weaponization of shame, and so on.

Meanwhile "TME", when it isn't being used to silence certain opinions (for which purpose it is perfectly suited, but I hope we can all agree that this isn't very aspirational), has much narrower explanatory power. Probably there are some phenomena out there which can most easily be explained by referring to the circumstance of some people being TME, granted. But overall, if you know that I am exempt from transmisogyny, you actually know very little about me, so it can't explain very much. So why then is talk about it so widespread? Why do (for example) nonbinary people feel the need to clarify whether they're TME in the same breath as mentioning they're nonbinary? Sure, this fits into the general standpoint epistemology that is so unfortunately popular nowadays, but I'm not convinced that that's all there is to it.

An annoying hunch of mine of course tells me that this is all downstream of the misguided ~mid-20th-century fad to try and apply Marxist class analysis to things which aren't classes in the Marxist sense: Every instance of suffering needs an "oppressor class" to benefit from it, so if transmisogyny is a thing, then it must be those evil TMEs behind it. Like a pathological version of that Haruki Murakami quote: "I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning."

But I'd probably have to read a lot more before I could possibly assert this with any amount of certainty, so it remains a hunch for now.

[pixeljade]

hmmm. been noticing whispers of disc horse returning to Tumblr lately, i feel like the sudden migration of twitterers is to blame.

So heres your regular reminder that, when you encounter a disc horse post, it is YOUR duty, yes YOU, to ask: Does this really genuinely fucking matter? Or is this just some pseudotheory bullshit spewed by nerds who want to pretend they're activist-philosophers by writing ten-page responses to the latest breadtuber video? Will the results of this discussion actually matter in the real world?? or is it something about a phenomena you almost entirely see through the internet?? And perhaps most importantly: does arguing about it actually help my cause, or does it perhaps just give attention to some pathetic loser who says shocking shit just for a quick bump of serotonin?

There is no shame in occasionally getting swept up in the discourse. We all do. But please do not make it a habit to opine on every dumb thing that comes your way. Not every hill needs people dying on it, especially when they're molehills.

[nefretemerson]

full article under the cut :)

When I was growing up in a conservative evangelical community, one of the top priorities was to manage children’s consumption of art. The effort was based on a fairly straightforward aesthetic theory: Every artwork has a clear message, and consuming messages that conflict with Christianity will harm one’s faith. Helpfully, there was a song whose lyrics consisted precisely of this aesthetic theory: “Input Output.”

Input, output, What goes in is what comes out. Input, output, That is what it’s all about. Input, output, Your mind is a computer whose Input, output daily you must choose.

The search for the “inputs” of secular artwork sometimes took a paranoid form—such as the belief in subliminal messages recorded in reverse, or in isolated frames from Lion King where smoke allegedly forms the word sex. Most often, however, the analysis was more direct. Portraying a behavior or describing a belief, unless accompanied immediately by a clear negative judgment, is an endorsement and a recommendation, and people who consume such messages will become more likely to behave and believe in that way.

This theory underwrote the whole edifice of Christian contemporary music, which aimed to replace a particularly powerful avenue for negative messages. One of my running jokes for many years has been that all Top 40 music is effectively Christian contemporary music now; American Idol confirmed the hegemony of the “praise band” vocal style. More clear is the fact that all mainstream criticism—especially of film and television—is evangelical in form, if not in content. Every artwork is imagined to have a clear message; the portrayal of a given behavior or belief is an endorsement and a recommendation; consumption of artwork with a given message will directly result in the behaviors or beliefs portrayed. This is one of the few phenomena where the “both sides” cliché is true: Left-wing critics are just as likely to do this as their right-wing opponents. For every video of a right-wing provocateur like Ben Shapiro decrying the woke excesses of Barbie, there is a review praising the Mattel product tie-in as a feminist fable.

Here, however, I am more concerned with the critical practices of my comrades on the left. Among leftist publications, Jacobin stands out for its reductive and moralizing cultural coverage. Addressing the other major movie of this past weekend, for instance, the critic Eileen Jones worried in a recent column, “If you’re already convinced of the dangers of nuclear war, superseded only by the ongoing end-times series of rolling climate catastrophes that now seem more likely to kill us all, this film is going to lack a certain urgency.” Sadly, instead of an educational presentation on nuclear war, film audiences will instead find a biopic that takes some liberties with its subject’s life and character for the sake of creating a Hollywood blockbuster. Jones finds more to like in Barbie, despite “the familiar, toothless, you-go-girl pseudo-feminist pieties that Mattel has been monetizing for decades, alongside the nostalgic how-can-our-consumer-products-be-bad affirmations of Barbie as some sort of magic, wholesomely progressive uniter of generations of mothers and daughters.”

This trend is not limited to one publication. It is pervasive in online culture, above all on social media. For instance, over coffee on the morning after the epic Barbenheimer Friday, I learned some disturbing facts about Oppenheimer on Twitter. At least one viewer was worried that the film about the man who created the nuclear bomb did not include any Japanese characters. Indeed, it did not even directly portray his invention’s horrific consequences. Surely this aesthetic choice was meant to minimize his actions by rendering his victims invisible. (An article in New York magazine drew attention to the same absence.) I also learned that the area surrounding Los Alamos was actually cleared of Indigenous and Hispanic residents, another bit of history that is effectively erased by the film.

Let’s imagine, though, that those complaints had been anticipated and addressed. Let’s imagine an entire subplot of a family going about their business in Hiroshima. We get to know and like them, to relate to them as our fellow human beings. Then, shockingly, they are incinerated by a nuclear blast. One can already hear the complaints. If the family were portrayed as too morally upstanding, it would be a dehumanizing portrayal that idealizes them as perfect victims. If they had moral flaws, the film would be subtly suggesting that they deserved their fate. And either way, the film would be attacked for offering up their suffering as a spectacle for our enjoyment. The same would go for the displaced population of Los Alamos—by portraying them as passive victims with no agency, critics would surely complain, the film would be reinscribing white authority.

Obviously leftists do not have to be as paranoid in their quest for messages supportive of the status quo as Christians playing their records backwards in the hopes of finding satanic content.  And of course we are a long way from having anything like the real-world thought police of Stalinism. During that dark era of Soviet history, writers and artists were expected to subscribe to the standards of socialist realism—which, instead of portraying the sordid and brutal reality of the present, anticipated the future reality of socialism by showing heroic workers building a utopian society. Those who fell short of those ideological expectations could expect a personal phone call from Comrade Stalin, if not worse. By contrast, it seems relatively harmless to hope that films and TV shows might reflect one’s own politics and to lament when they fail to do so. Yet the very fact that the demand is so open-ended that it is impossible to imagine an artwork meeting its largely unstated and unarticulated standards shows that something has gone wrong here.

To be clear, I don’t want to defend Oppenheimer in any way. I have not actually seen the film. Nothing anyone is saying is necessarily wrong; it’s just not interesting. Like most film and TV viewers, I read reviews because I want to decide whether or not to see a given movie or show, or else to think it through from a fresh perspective. For example, I note that Oppenheimer is very long—how is the pacing? Does it maintain a clear focus throughout, or does it indulge the common vice of biopics by trying to cram too much in? The type of critical literature that concerns me does not address such basic aesthetic questions, or does so only incidentally.

Even more insidiously, though, the logical goal of such very narrow standards could be to create artwork that is straightforward political propaganda. We’ve seen how badly that turned out for the evangelicals (and, indeed, for the Stalinists). Even if we are unlikely to face the scourge of a Leninist equivalent to VeggieTales, however, this style of criticism infantilizes its audience members by assuming they are essentially ideology-processing machines—unlike the wise commentator who somehow manages to see through the deception.

Political problems cannot be solved on the aesthetic level. And it’s much more likely that people are consuming politics as a kind of aesthetic performance or as a way of expressing aesthetic preferences than that they are somehow reading their politics off Succession, for example (“Welp, I guess rich people are good now. Better vote Republican!”). Just as the reduction of art to political propaganda leads to bad art, the aestheticization of politics leads to bad, irresponsible politics. That’s because aesthetics and politics are not the same thing. They are not totally unrelated, obviously, but they are also and even primarily different. A political message can be part of an aesthetic effect, just as a political movement can benefit from an aesthetic appeal. But we get nowhere if we confuse or collapse these categories.

This story was adapted from a post on Adam Kotsko's blog, An Und Für Sich.