#ethnic costumes books

[fashionbooksmilano]

Caftani

Daniel Rey

Fotografie di Jacques Paul

Idea Books, Milano 2008, 257 pagine, 26 x 34,5 cm,   Testo Italiano, Francese e Inglese,   ISBN  9788888033617

euro 79,00

email if you want to buy :booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

Patrimonio, nel XVIII secolo, i caftani sono oggi il simbolo della cultura femminile marocchina, l'elemento che rivela lo stato sociale di chi li indossa, l'abito che testimonia l'arte di vivere di un popolo in piena evoluzione, legato alle sue tradizioni e nel contempo volto alle tendenze artistiche dell'Occidente. Il libro, vuole essere un viaggio attraverso l'arte della moda, ripercorrendo la storia dei caftani attraverso le collezioni di Tetouan, Fès, Rabat, Salé: caftani appartenuti alle famiglie reali e principesche, e a quelle dei ricchi commercianti del Marocco. "Caftani" si sofferma inoltre sulla sua evoluzione da quando, abbandonato all'inizio del XX secolo, è tornato di gran moda grazie alla grande creatrice Tamy Tazi e ai nuovi stilisti quali Barada, Mao, Fadyla El Cadi, Nourredine e molti altri, che realizzano veri e propri capolavori sartoriali dai quali prendono spunto anche grandi stilisti come Yves Saint Laurent e Jean Paul Gautier. 

Caftans opens the doors of the greatest collectors of caftans of the past, and of the most secret and prestigious ateliers; meets both innovative creators and those more tied to tradition; witnesses thrilling fashion shows; and places devoted entirely to paying homage to one of the most fascinating chapters of female fashion.

21/01/23

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[is-the-19thcentury-man-okay]

Help! My 19th century man has become obsessed with olden times. He frequently visits ruins of old castles, composes odes about Agincourt, and he even went to purchase ancient armour when he heard something about the Earl of Eglinton putting on a medieval joust. Should I allow him his eccentricities? I worry that he'll forget what year he lives in entirely!

Fear not, dear anon, because it sounds like your 19th century man is very much of his own time and place with his medieval meanderings!

Here's Prince Albert himself, notable ye olde times enthusiast, in costume as Edward III in 1842. There are a number of books about Victorian medievalism that can help you understand how your 19th century man may be turning to the past as a rejection of Age of Enlightenment values (which modernity and war have tarnished in his eyes), or perhaps as a commentary on industrial society!

The aesthetics of historical times are a big draw to 19th century people (who even made ye olde medieval jokes about it). While you want to encourage a healthy balance of interests and activities, there is nothing wrong with indulging your 19th century man's love of courtly knights and castles. This is natural behaviour for him, and many of his 19th century male friends share his interests in fancy dress costumes and historical romance.

'Knight in Armour' costume from Male Character Costumes, a guide to gentlemen's costume suitable for fancy dress balls and private theatricals (1884).

[noir-fleur-creations]

Crill, Rosemary. Dress in detail from around the world.V&A Publications ; New York. 2002.

This book from the Victoria Albert Museum is “An illustrated journey through the intricate details of ethnic dress” (Crill, Rosemary). It features clothing from a variety of places including Europe, Asia, and India. It features detailed and full color photos of the garments, proving useful for any costumer. More importantly though for the costumer, this book features line drawing of the garment’s internal structure. In fact the book is designed for “designers, students, and other style-o-philes.” (Crill, Rosemary). It was published in 2002 but remains relevant to this day as an outstanding resource in their line of dress in detail reference series.

[crescenthistory]

10 people i’d like to get to know better<3

tagged by the lovely @rodyassock on my main account, mwah👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

last song you listened to: sour breath by julien baker

favourite colour: i’ve always been a blue girlie up until two years ago when i embraced green and now it's all i wear

last book i finished: “trials of nation making: liberalism, race, and ethnicity in the andes, 1810-1910” for my uni book review 🥲 & i'm constantly rereading my favourite passages of my favourite novel “oranges are not the only fruit” by jeanette winterson

last show i watched: taskmaster uk lol

sweet/salty/savoury: for enjoyment sweet, for medical purposes salty (POTS gang rise up)

relationship status: long-term partnership with my best friend 🤍 (legally shes my wife bc of benefits so i love to call her that, but we prefer 'partnership' as a label because it's beautiful)

most recent google search: violet beauregarde (halloween costume)

current obsession: marauders era in general, this week i’ve mostly been thinking about rem

looking forward to: finishing my book review tonight so i can breathe

tagging (no pressure):

@regkitblack @hyunielover @soleilfool @poetichibiscus @gl1tterc0rpse @butt3rnugg3t @m00nkissedlover @honeyssweetened @rosieswriting @helens3amstuff @alwaysanundertone & anyone else who wants to play 🤍🤍

[felassan]

The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard - more preview pages, under a cut due to spoilers. Preview pages come from Amazon.

( Other batches of preview pages, spoiler warning for links:

[Foreword]

Google Books pages [Part One]

Google Books pages [Part Two] )

Antiva We wanted the city of assassins to be opulent, seductive, and theatrical. The tongue-in-cheek design concept was 24/7 Batman opera: dark roofs to perch on, rich interiors with daggers behind every curtain. Antivan designs worked best in high contrast with rich colors. It increased the overall drama. We made the rooftops the domain of the Crows. Above the city they move freely, striking bold silhouettes for the population to thrill at. Some parts of the city have sunk deeper into the sea.

Antivan Crow Costumes The Antivan Crows are murderers, yes, but they are wealthy, flashy, stylish, sophisticated murderers. They are not a goon squad killing innocent, helpless people. They are what Antiva has instead of an army to (for a price) protect the nation from threats both foreign and domestic. While outsiders may see them as swords for hire with delusions of grandeur, the Crows are a celebrated and integral part of Antivan culture. This is you working alongside Antonio Banderas in Desperado, not Steve Buscemi in Fargo. They may not be nice, and it is totally reasonable for a player to be opposed to working with assassins, but this specific group is not intended to be uniformly grim. Crows aren’t shy about displaying their wealth. [Center] Originally designed as a seasonal Halloween costume, this Crow was too good not to build. Costume design for a faction that’s all about theatricality gave us a chance to go big.

There are still a lot of different archetypes within each faction.   For the Crows, they can range from ominous to bombastic. It was fun to explore the range of Crows, from the elegant to the scoundrels. We briefly explored giving Crows functional grappling hooks. While the Crows were mostly about leather and silver, we still wanted to have some heavy armor in their lineup.

Furniture tells you a lot about a region. In the case of the Deep Roads, we went for as many single-cut stones as possible. Paragon sculptures celebrate prominent figures in every profession. [top right] A tongue-in-cheek design for a dwarven mining suit. Bas-reliefs, sculptures and signs all speak about what life was like in the Deep Roads before they were abandoned.

[top center] A mobile crucible. [center left] Crane powered by a walking wheel. [center right] A walking wheel-powered pile driver. [center bottom] Industrial-level blacksmithing equipment, including a trip hammer, a grinding stone, and bellows. [bottom right] An industrial-grade blast furnace where tons of metal are smelted and poured out into giant molds.

Rivain Castaways making new lives. The majority are human, descended from Tevinters and their longstanding trading partners. There are ethnicities here who don’t seem to match the currently documented list of nations, hinting at shores not visited in living memory, and there are also Qunari. Some fleeing the Qun. Some not fleeing, but reinterpreting. There is a sizable Qunari community, and it is finding converts and alarming both Tevinter and the Qunari triumvirate. Rivain is a mix of outcast people making something new. Life beneath Rivain is just as varied. Banners of conquerors over buildings touched by many cultures, smuggler tunnels, Tevinter public works, the bones of conquered cities and even deeper infrastructure, elven ruins, deep roads, and deeper roads. Rivain was a great palate cleanser between dense urban regions, midnight swamps, and vast caverns. It may be beautiful, but it’s no less dangerous to navigate. From the earliest sketches, we wanted a land of tropical colors, infested with dragons.

Arlathan Forest Arlathan Forest, once the seat of power for the ancient elven empire, is now a realm where magic runs wild and twists reality itself into new and terrifying shapes. Artifacts from that long-ago time have begun to activate. Infused with the powerful magic that saturates the very ground in the forest, they have made what was already a dangerous place far stranger and more deadly. [right] [there is one more caption in this image that I cannot make out the text of]

[omgthatdress]

In Meet Marie-Grace, Marie-Grace celebrates carnivale by attending a masquerade party wearing a fairy costume loaned to her by her voice-teacher, Madame Océane, a leftover from one of her operas.

While a fairy costume isn’t inaccurate, the overall costume is tbh kind of plain for fancy dress costumes in the 1850s. Fancy-dress parties were a staple of the Victorian-era upper class, ie, the class who had enough disposable income to waste a lot of money on a frivolous dress that was only worn once, so they tended to be incredibly elaborate displays of wealth, like these costumes designed for House of Worth:

Costumes back then aren’t like they are today. They still fit the fashionable silhouette of the time and rarely strayed from polite dressing conventions. Subjects like fairies, shepherdesses, ethnic wear, and historical figures were common.

But you also had much more interpretive costumes, representing abstract popular themes and objects:

“Ben Franklin and his Luminous Kite”

A Dirigible

electric light

Good and Evil

a lily-pond

photography

a scrap book

[dcdreamblog]

A few decades ago while I was visiting Coast City, I found an interesting partial poster in a head shop. It was advertising an archery exhibition by "the Green Arrows of the World" in Star City at the Civic Auditorium.

The painted illustration has a fellow in what looks to be the pre-beard Green Arrow costume, and several men in "ethnic" variations of that costume in various bow-drawing poses.

The bottom of the poster where presumably the date and time of this event would have been printed was missing. I purchased the poster at a very reasonable price, the owner of the shop disclaiming any knowledge of how he'd acquired it, though he was quite voluble on the Rolling Stones concert one I also picked up.

I've often wondered since if there was ever a Green Arrows of the World event since I've never heard of non-USAn GAs otherwise, or if it was someone's fun fantasy project they got printed. Any thoughts or insights?

THIS poster? (Side note, this poster was done by truly legendary pop artist Jack Kirby who was probably most famous for his work at Marvel Comics but he also did a ton of miscellaneous work related to real life superheroes too) This exhibition was done during the early days of GA's career as you can see by the age of Speedy (Now Arsenal/Red Arrow) in the artwork. In short it IS the genuine article and the Green Arrows of the World was not only real but is STILL an extant organization. It consists of...well what it says on the tin. Green Arrow-esque heroes from around the world. There's been a lot of ink used about the prominence of archery in the heroic tradition (The book "Brave and the Bowmen" by Andy Diggle comes most easily to mind) with GA being its most obvious standard bearer in the modern day. Its membership has been fairly steady since inception including: Green Arrow and Speedy, naturally (USA)

Ace Archer (Japan)

Phantom (France)

Bush Bowman (Kenya)

Arabian Archer (Saudi Arabia)

Britannia Bowman (UK)

Troubadour (Spain)

Shark Sharpshooter (Samoa) Verde Flecha (Mexico) Archer of the Alps (Switzerland)

Emerald Bowman (India)

and Alba Archer (Scotland)

Now even those of you reasonably familiar are scratching your heads at most of these names but I promise this comes directly from the minutes of their only recorded meeting stored at the Moira Queen Memorial Library at Star City U. It's just that most of these heroes were fairly low key. Archer heroes and the urban vigilante type that they're usually part of tend toward low prominence and quiet careers because they're usually limited to action in singular cities or even neighborhoods. Most of them either did their time as small time protectors and then retired or are still fighting the good fight on a smaller scale. The Green Arrows of the World is a collective resource and support organization, sort of like Batman Inc in miniature. No one is quite sure who runs the organization's modest budget but lines have been drawn between it and Star City billionaire Oliver Queen whose philanthropy and focus on community organization projects is well known. They check up on one another, support one another where they can. There's only ever been one in person meeting of the organization, which this poster is from the public facing portion of, a charity drive run through the Queen Foundation for support of the then recent Boxing Day Tsunami. They're not open to public donation and are a rather private organization but spreading the word like this is part of my job. If the poster you have is different I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to turn it in at the museum of your choice. You may be holding an artifact of a much forgotten organization of heroes who really deserve the spotlight.

[sacredhyacinth]

Hi! As you seem to get more into Regency clothing, and as I am a person interested in historical accuracy in clothing and armor throughout history and grew up with the ‘Smithsonian FASHION , the definitive history of costume and style’ , I wanted to share some pictures .

The most common form of Regency clothing is in 1810s France. Unless this isn’t canon anymore, you have stated that Harmonia brought French culture to organa in a lore dump post but without a date of when she traveled to France would be hard to say what era of clothing she would’ve brought to the island. I’m gonna assume she went when napoleon just gained power and picked up some fashion and culture from that time, so around 1799 to 1801. Also after the Duke of Wellington defeated napoleon at Waterloo, Wellington boots were popular. I don’t know why I included this.

Here are the actual pictures of the Regency era clothing from the Smithsonian book:

(The 1830s had a stark contrast in fashion and looked at bit weird with their sleeves.) also looking through my old sketches I found my first fan-sketch of Jane O’gunua

The historical accuracy was a bit of a mess on my part. I tried to go for the whole ‘mysterious’ thing with a veil and that didn’t work. Also I imagined her as a governess or wet-nurse for Harmonia before you re-canonized her as a formal 2nd wife , but historical wise, the medical period to late 17th century weren’t that big on wet-nurses if they had a different skin tone or ethnicity or religion as the family paying them (some shit about ‘corrupting’ the child).

and this is my current fanart:

((The back of the dress is a mess.) also I had the weird idea of her wearing more and more red and less gunua yellow/gold the more she got more used to the house of Julius.)

YOU.

the way I’m going insane over jane’s design it’s so fricking cool

[wit4writ]

PJO: Episode 1 Detailed Review

The first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians has dropped on Disney+ and I have OPINIONS. I’ve been scrambling to shove my thoughts back in my brain like they’re snakes escaping from a basket. *pushing lid down* I’ll let you guys out once I can wrangle you into a coherent, easily comprehensible form, okay?

Here are a few disclaimers: I am not an expert in any way, shape, or form. This is meant only a critique with changes I would have personally added, and I will be highlighting things I liked as well as disliked. If you disagree with me, that’s fine, just be respectful. There will be tons of spoilers. Also, I have no issues with actors based on their looks/ethnicity.

Before I delve into it, I will say that overall, the episodes aren’t bad. They do a decent job of introducing us to the world and our protagonists. The setting, costume design, special effects, and lighting were well done, and the actors did a good job of portraying their characters.

However, the entire thing feels rushed. Almost as if someone at Disney freaked out and tried to push something before it was ready to please fans and investors. (I’m not saying this happened, I just wouldn’t be surprised if it did.) Transitions between scenes were choppy and/or long. Instead of letting us get to know the world and characters organically, such as through dialogue and interactions, it forced characters into being exposition robots instead (more so in the second episode). Examples will be highlighted as I get into the detailed review.

So, let’s begin with episode one!

The beginning was great. I loved the voiceover as we introduce Percy and his past. I enjoyed the changes that were made to translate the book to the screen in this case, as it was condensed into a watchable form, but it still was able to tell us important details: Percy has been seeing weird things since he was little, he’s an outcast at his school, and he has a best friend, Grover, who’s being bullied.

Next was the museum, which was also good. Mr. Brunner’s speech was great. Percy looking at the page and seeing all the letters rearrange themselves was a literal “show, don’t tell” that worked well. The flashback with Sally explaining Percy’s name and the story of Perseus was amazing. I loved we got more of Sally and Percy’s relationship here, as well as the emphasis that not all heroes look like heroes and not all monsters look like monsters.

The sudden shift back to reality was a great transition, especially since it highlights how his ADHD can make him daydream. We see the same girl who bullied Grover make a nasty comment, and I think a response from Percy would have been great here (“Shut up, Nancy!” etc.) so we naturally get to know her name and justify Mrs. Dodds’ warning to Percy. Mr. Brunner’s intervention was a good move and I liked how he gave Percy the pen, though if he tried to make Nancy apologize to Percy it would’ve been more impactful. If Nancy blew him off and Mrs. Dodds defended her, we’d see this was an ongoing problem and we’d get some characterization. If Nancy did apologize, she’d have a reason to resent Percy beyond bullying him for the sake of it, and we could connect it to her actions of going after Grover.

Grover’s conversation with Percy was good, but it should’ve been longer. We get told they’re friends and saw them hanging out in the introductory montage, but beyond that, we don’t get much of them actually being friends before everything blows up.

When Nancy goes after Grover, it’d make sense for her to antagonize Percy more, to highlight her nastiness and their ongoing problems. We’ve only seen two incidents of bullying, three if we count her throwing food at Grover, and it felt very cold and unemotional, like someone pulled real-life bullying incidents and put them in a training video. Her just walking away after doesn’t make sense. She knows she’s made Percy angry, and she has a chance to provoke him further and indulge in the rush of power that bullies get when they torment their victims. A back and forth between Percy and Nancy would have gone a long way to showcasing their history and Grover and Percy’s dynamic. For example, after Nancy throws the food at Grover:

// Nancy: “Oops.”

Percy stands up.

Percy: “What’s your problem?”

Grover grabs him and tries to pull him back. Classmates start to notice.

Grover: “Percy, don’t.”

Nancy: “I’m not the one with problems here.”

Percy: “Look, can you just back off?”

Nancy: “Aw, does wittle baby Percy wanna whine to Brunner again?”

By now, their classmates are surrounding them and laugh at her comment. Percy looks around, but the teachers are nowhere close. //

In my ideal scene, there’s a few more barbs from Nancy as we focus on Percy’s reaction to the bullying and humiliation, and as his temper roars, and there’s screams, water sprays, and Nancy’s in the fountain.

The impact of him just walking up and “pushing” her into the fountain was lackluster. Part of what’s great about this in the books is that not even Percy himself is sure what he did, so when his powers emerge at Camp Half-Blood it hits even harder. Also, the way she just flew into the fountain made it look like he had telekinesis, not hydrokinetic powers.

The pen vibrating when Mrs. Dodds started coming after Percy…I’m neutral on that. But the menace of her just getting closer was amazing, and the fact no one noticed was cool. When Percy started backing away, I was sure he was going to run, and then the confrontation would take place somewhere more secluded. I was disappointed when that didn’t happen, because the whole thing felt too short. This is his first monster encounter, and it was over in a matter of seconds. There was no sense of stakes (Stakes are used to engage your audience and make them care about the characters/their problems), it was more like—that happened, okay, everyone move on. This moment would have benefited from us staying in it longer.

Percy fainting/blacking out after the fight was a choice I also don’t agree with. The effect of him not only surviving his first fight but being able to walk away would’ve given us a sense of a couple different things: there’s more to the world and him than meets the eye.

The old lady with Nancy during this part needs clarification. Readers of the book know that she’s the “new” teacher, but she could also pass for a concerned citizen. This could have been clarified by Mr. Brunner saying something like, “Mrs. Kerr, take Nancy to the gift shop and get her a new shirt.” Then, when Percy freaks out, they drop the bomb that Mrs. Kerr is their teacher and Mrs. Dodds doesn’t exist.

What followed was a four second darkness transition (felt too long and took me out of the viewing) and the scene in the principal’s office. Honestly, that entire scene could’ve been shortened or maybe even skipped. It didn’t make sense, which I could go deeper into, but for now, I’ll just say that we don’t need the added scene of Percy getting beaten down by this. We’ve already seen him bullied and almost killed. Ideally, I would have the scene go something like this:

// TRANSITION

Percy is zoned out, still thinking about the fight, and the principal calls him.

Principal: “Mr. Jackson? Mr. Jackson, are you listening?”

Percy: “Yeah, sorry.”

Principal: “As I was saying, you have been on thin ice since the term began.”

Percy: “So it’s my fault that Nancy’s bullying me and Grover?”

Principal: “You should’ve informed a faculty member.”

Percy: “I tried, but none of you listened!”

Principal: “Nevertheless, pushing Ms. Bobofit into a public fountain was a step too far.”

Percy: “So how many detentions do I have this time? Or is it a suspension?”//

Then we cut to Percy packing his bag and heading out.

Grover betraying him was unnecessary and cruel. We did not need the extra angst and that kind of behaviour ruins the trust in a friendship, no matter the reason. I’d have them sharing a short, yet heartfelt goodbye before Percy goes out to wait for his ride and talks with Mr. Brunner.

The interaction between Eddie the super and Percy was great in adding some context to the apartment dynamics. Gabe was so slimy, and it was nice to see Percy’s sass come out more here. I appreciate the callbacks to the book in that he’s playing online poker and later on, during his conversation with Sally, Sally promises him food to get him off her back.

I was confused why Sally Jackson was standing out on her balcony in the rain. But I liked the interactions of Sally, Gabe, and Percy. Sally was sweet and understanding, and her attitude with Gabe made me laugh. These moments were what I was craving, where interaction and dialogue revealed more about the characters.

Another four second darkness transition (sigh) to Percy’s first weird dream. I liked this sequence, but it felt out of place. Starting with Percy and Sally’s interaction in the car would’ve been better, and showing them running into the house, then Sally dismissing him to get dried off. It was an abrupt transition to suddenly jump to him in the bathroom.

Percy talking to his mom was sweet, but the dialogue could’ve been tighter. That’s how I felt about a lot of dialogue bits. For example, when Sally talks about how his dad was a man unlike she’d ever met before, she said it three times. If it was delivered in a more rambling way it might have worked, but I think saying it twice would’ve gotten the point across.

Sally telling Percy about his dad and the gods was an interesting choice. I liked how they did it, but it felt like there were, again, sentences that could’ve been easily cut to make it more succinct and improve the flow, because she came close to becoming an exposition robot, which is a term I use to describe a character who has become a narrative vehicle to spout huge chunks of exposition at the audience and in doing so sacrifice their personality and characterization.

Percy asking if Sally fell in love with Jesus was a great comment.

Sally and Grover’s interactions were incredible, I loved it. Also, the reveal of Grover’s legs was so well done, I laughed out loud. This, like the previous scene in the Jacksons’ apartment, allowed the interactions and dialogue to reveal more about the characters, allowing for revelation without dumping information.

Grover almost became an exposition robot in the car. If we cut the whole betrayal arc, we could’ve devoted more time to the actual explanation and made it flow better. Also, if we’d established that Percy’s been protecting/trying to protect Grover from bullying, like in my rewritten scene at the fountain outside the museum, that line where Grover said he was Percy’s protector would’ve made for a greater contrast.

I liked the action sequence with the Minotaur and car running into each other, but it was cut abruptly. If it showed the car going off the road, then Grover kicking out the back window, it would’ve allowed for a smoother transition.

Sally getting Grover to swear to protect Percy and her talk with Percy also took too long, considering there was a Minotaur after them. I would’ve cut a lot of it and made everyone speak faster. This moment needed to be shorter to reflect the fact time was literally running out and Percy was in actual danger (thus raising the stakes). Something like this:

// Grover points at a pine in the distance.

Grover: “We’re almost there. Once we get past that tree, we’ll be safe.”

Sally: “Good. Percy, give me your coat.”

Percy automatically obeys and Sally takes his coat.

Percy: “Uh, why?”

Sally: “He tracks by smell. If I go one way and you go the other, it’ll be enough to confuse him.”

Percy: “What? No! We need to stick together!”

Sally: “Grover, you swear to me you’ll take care of him.”

Grover: “I will, Mrs. Jackson.”

Percy: “Mom, what’s going on?”

Sally: “I can’t go into camp. It’s not a place for…mortals.”

Percy: “Whoa, no. I’m not leaving you out here by yourself. What if the monster gets you, what if you get lost, what if—”

Sally: “Perseus!”

She hugs him.

Sally: “Remember you’re a miracle, and my son.”

She pulls back to look him in the eye.

Sally: “I love you.”

The Minotaur roars—they’re out of time. //

Sally facing off with the Minotaur was well done. Though I would’ve had Percy start running back the moment he saw the Minotaur grab her, then stop when she vanished. It would’ve communicated his desperation then devastation as he failed to save her.

I was confused why Percy’s pen started vibrating here. At first, I assumed the pen was some sort of monster detector, but seeing it vibrate at this point seemed to refute that. Now it appears that the vibration serves as a reminder to Percy that he has a weapon, which I don’t like. It takes away Percy’s agency and acts like a sword ex machina. Letting Percy keep the pen from the museum onward was an interesting choice, but I think it’d make more sense to not have it or have him search his pockets beforehand (like at the cabin), discover it, and suddenly remember it during the fight.

The fight between Percy and the Minotaur was all right, but I’m not sure why the music cut out then came back later. Music serves to elevate the emotional intensity of scenes like this, and I think it would’ve heightened the scene to have the music continuous to the end of the fight. A moment of silence, followed by the music returning or blood pounding and/or tinnitus ringing noise could’ve worked too.

The ending was okay. I think showing Percy and Grover struggling to walk through the forest, then collapsing once they pass the pine tree would’ve been better, followed by the last scene playing. Instead, we were given two fainting spells/blackouts, which was two too many for my taste.

This is a big world with lots of lore, but it feels as if we sacrificed characters for info drops. Nancy Bobofit and Mrs. Dodds fell flat, and I felt ambivalent towards them, which isn’t great for antagonists. The changes I outlined would have served to give them characterization in their brief appearance, so they felt more like people rather than plot devices. Also, I don't think we ever shown/told that Mrs. Dodds was his pre-algebra teacher, which seems like an odd omission considering the title of the episode.

My favourite parts of the episode were when characters were allowed to just be people and talk to each other. There are times when I don’t mind exposition, but not when characters are sacrificed for the sake of it.

I liked this episode, but I wanted to love it.

This got far longer than I anticipated, so I’ll be making a separate post for episode two.

[trekbait]

THIS is why you keep FAILING to blend in on ANCIENT EARTH!

Getting stuck on Earth of the past is a surprisingly common occurrence for Starfleet crews. Between slingshots, Q, Devidians, orbs, Borg, kemocite explosions, rogue temporal agents and stray tachyons stuck in your ablative armour; we estimate 80% of time travel occurrences land officers specifically on Earth in North America in the 100 years between the 1930s and 2030s (give or take).

This is your guide on how to stay undercover until you escape.

What year is this?

Try not to ask this question. It is not something that comes up in regular conversation so it will look weird. Instead, look for a shop with large folded batches of paper on display. These will be newspapers and will invariably show the date in the corner of the front page. 

If you have 24th-century technology, you might also be able to tell from the level of pollution or radiation in the atmosphere, or from astrometric readings.

Continue to check the news for more information about this era, its society and historical events that you may be influencing.

Where are you from?

Try not to be specific lest they know the place and ask if you know someone there. Keep it to a general “up north”. If you’re quite far north already, substitute with “down south”.

If you stand out a fair bit, suggest that you are from France (unless you are in France, of course, but this is statistically unlikely). But do not suggest your Vulcan officer had a rice-picking incident or that you are a secret agent; such stories may be read as too outlandish. Plan your cover as soon as possible and research your era and location to get your facts straight.

Funny looking pyjamas

People of this era consider Starfleet uniforms to look like pyjamas. Go with that and say you had to leave your flat in the middle of the night due to a fire or an argument with the “missus”. This is also a good opportunity to appeal for advice on where you can find replacement clothes. 

If necessary, do not be afraid of stealing period-appropriate clothes to maintain your cover. It may not be moral, but you will be less disruptive to the timeline by stealing a shirt than walking around in full uniform. 

You should avoid high-security places when committing theft without technological aid; interacting with law enforcement can be deadly in this era. This is especially true for officers who cannot pass as humans of the local dominant ethnic group; these individuals should lay low as much as possible.

Non-human officers

The unexpected nature of time travel may preclude preparation for non-humans to hide their more obvious alien features. Some species (Betazoids, Deltans, Baku) can easily pass as humans and will have no problem blending in. Others may pose a challenge. Here are ideas of how to stay covert;

Vulcans, Romulans: Wear a hat, sweatband or long hair to cover your ears and eyebrows.

Bajorans: A band-aid over the nose and pass it off as an injury.

Trill: Pass off your spots as tattoos or wear a hood to cover the sides of your head.

Former Borg: Pass off your implants as jewellery or a body mod. Draw on some extra tattoos to add to the effect. Alternative communities can provide great cover to non-humans due to their non-conformity with the dominant society.

Orions, Andorians, Bolians: Add makeup and glitter to your face and say you’re going to a festival (Andorians should also wear a hat for the antenna - pick a flashy one to add to the festival aesthetic).

Cardassians, Ferengi, Klingons etc.: This is a lot harder. These species should stay hidden as much as possible unless there is a “comic book convention” in town. In this case, steal a lanyard and offer to pose for a photo to anyone who gets suspicious. They will assume you are in an elaborate costume seeking attention

These later examples will protect officers in casual interactions but will be out of place if entering more formal environments.

Zippers

Clothing items and bags on Earth often used a device called a “zipper” formed of metal teeth. You placed the ends together then pulled a tog up to close the two sides of the fabric. You won’t be familiar with these because they have been banned by the 2274 Oddenbery Accords after zippers were instrumental in the collapse of space-time in the Kandari sector that cost 6 million lives. 

It goes without saying that 20th-century humans should not be made aware of the mortal danger zippers pose to the universe or you may alter the timeline. Holographic versions are safe to use if you wish to practice their function and blend in.

Currency

Old Earth still relied on capitalist economics and the use of currency which had no intrinsic value. This currency often took the form of circles of decorated metal and printed slips of paper; in later decades it was also electronic, traded via plastic rectangles. The plastic rectangles will be unobtainable to you (and if stolen, would allow your movements to be tracked) but you should be aware of their purpose. 

Currency was required to even access the most essential services such as shelter and food so your first priority should be acquiring some of these scraps of paper. 

Theft: Ideally you don’t want to steal from individuals. Poverty was widespread and you could impact someone's life significantly. Instead, if safe to do so you should aim to steal from an institution such as a bank’s currency dispenser (such companies would not be impacted by small-scale theft due to something called “insurance”).

Trade: If you have on you something that holds an intrinsic value that does not contain components from the future, consider taking it to a “Porn Shop”. Tell the shop owner you have something to sell and you can obtain legal tender from them. 

Labour: Those at the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy obtained currency via performing labour for most of the day. Your best bet is irregular work such as cleaning; this will give a very low return of currency despite intense labour but it is your best way to stay under the radar.

Gambling: Humans of this century gambled a great deal more than they had the resources to. If you have an unfair natural advantage in the games they play then you should find people willing to place a wager. Humans bet on anything, from animal races to elections or their whole economy.

Humans were particularly attached to their money and gave it names like “Abe” or “Benjamin” to create a bond with it. You should come up with your own (human) names for any money you obtain to blend in with capitalist exchanges.

Note that this region was fond of “tipping”. This is when low-wage staff were given extra money by the customer beyond the stated value of the service to compensate for their employer paying their staff less than that needed to survive. This will often be indicated by holding out a hand or a quiet cough.

Colourful metaphors

Profanity is common on old Earth in a way that is seen as inappropriately aggressive today. Nobody pays any attention to you if you don't swear every other word. So you may need to employ some yourself in casual conversation to truly blend in. Many words used then are now automatically censored by our universal translators such as ****, ****, ***** him, go **** yourself up your ******* *******, **** ** ***** **** then ***, and *. 

Transport

North America of this era was obsessed with a highly inefficient and dangerous form of personal transport known as the automobile (or “car”). These will likely end up being your primary form of transport and being a proficient driver of these vehicles is important for blending in. So you best spend an hour on the holodeck familiarising yourself with the control scheme of its interior.

Mass transit also existed, though due to chronic underinvestment in the regions you are statistically most likely to arrive in, you may find it difficult to obtain. The most common of these are “buses” which are large automobiles capable of moving around 50-100 people at a time along major routes. Usage will require currency; be sure to check the fare before boarding as some may require “exact change” to be provided.

And the timeline?

Let’s leave that side of things to the boys at the Department for Temporal Investigations. But what we will say is that this era is particularly savage. You may be tempted to right injustices left, right and centre (there are a lot) but if you, say, save a woman from getting killed by one of those deadly automobiles we mentioned then you could find out that the whole timeline is thrown off course. 

So follow these tips, keep your head down and look for a way home. That is unless you cause the death of a pivotal revolutionary figure and need to take their place to restore the timeline. Naturally.

What tips do you have for passing as a local on ancient Earth? Let us know below and Follow us for more essential tips in your Starfleet career!

[strwbrryvagabond]

wanted to get on here and yap about American Girl for some reason today

I'm far from a brand loyalist, and honestly, I was shocked I didn't grow up with the off-brand dolls you could get at Walmart or Target since I grew up poor until recently when my mom informed me that I would save money up for months and months at a time so that I could buy the dolls, and my parents only even actually purchased one for my birthday once we started to do a bit better financially, and after they saw how much I loved and took care of the dolls

I bought accessories for them myself as well, both from the actual company and from other brands like Target and Walmart ones, and even paid my mom to order me a bunk bed for them off of Etsy or something because I was so distraught that they didn't all have their own beds.

Anyways, I know brands are bad and stuff, and American Girl is not without faults and controversies, but tbh those dolls really shaped me as a kid, like I intentionally bought Rebecca Rubin as my first doll when I was a kid after seeing her in a catalog that we got sent by mistake because she was Jewish and looked like me. I had never seen a doll or character, or pretty much anything at that age who was Jewish like me and looked like me, and she wanted to be an actress, and at the time, I also wanted to act

I took that doll very literally everywhere, half the pictures of me from that age, she's tucked under my arm in a different outfit, her hair as well taken care of as I could manage for being so little. I accidentally messed up one of her curls while trying to fix her hair, and I cried for like a solid half an hour until my mom helped me fix it. even after I got other dolls, all of which I still loved and took care of religiously, Rebecca was the one who came everywhere with me

I'd already been a big reader before that, which is a whole other post, but I devoured those books, and I totally blame them for my current love of learning history and historical fiction. and the different dolls were all depicted as activists and feminists, and do not get me wrong here (I say on the 'taking things out of context' website) they were far from perfect with their diversity and activism, like oh jeez they did some very questionable things sometimes, but for the early 2000s and 2010s? revolutionary

the store closest to me closed a little before my birthday last year. I didn't know that it was even happening, and honestly probably still wouldn't have known if I hadn't been shopping with my friends at that mall like two weeks before my birthday since that was the only day we could all make work. Despite not having touched my dolls in a while, everything was super on sale, and I had been planning on taking Rebecca to college with me, so I figured I might buy her an outfit or something.

while the store was pretty ransacked, I was shocked and, no joke, teary-eyed over how many things they had for different cultures, different religions, and how many little girls I saw in there with big starry eyes looking at a doll that looked like them

I ended up buying a Channukkah outfit, and one of the friends I was with convinced me to, against my nature, let them buy a Lunar New Year outfit for me as well, which almost made me cry again. What really did it was seeing one of the previous Girls of the Year, Corrine Tan. Oh my gosh if they had had her when I was a little girl, she would've gone right beside Rebecca with how obsessed I was with her. I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but as a kid, I LOVED Mulan, and when I went to Disney World and the dress up boutique they had, I was DEVASTATED that they didn't have a Mulan costume. I latched onto her so hard for a very similar reason that I latched onto Rebecca so hard; because even though she wasn't the same ethnicity as me, Mulan was Asian, and so am I. I wore out I think three burned copies of that movie I watched it so often

I'm just weirdly sadder than I expected that American Girl is closing so many stores and not making as many sales I guess. I'm really fighting being a brand loyalist right now, because there are about a million other brands that make super similar dolls that I'm sure little kids all over loved, it's just always stuck with me that they at least seem to care about representation in the stories they make for these dolls

I mean, it clearly impacted me growing up, and I think it was for the better. I remember reading Addy's book being one of the first times I was exposed to the idea of children being slaves because they obviously didn't talk about that in an elementary school in the 2010s. I really just wanted to get all of my thoughts out, I've been thinking about it a lot recently since I took Rebecca to college, and I've now been hearing stories from girls who see her in my room about what doll or what toy shaped them as a child. Very excited to dress her up for Channukkah when it comes around, and tbh I've been looking for more outfits for her online. I just want her to be something I take with me throughout my life I guess. I mean, I took her everywhere when I was little, so it kinda feels wrong not to take her with me on this super big part of my life.

yeah anyways uh, if you had one of these dolls go... idk kiss em on the forehead or something. remind the toys that shaped you that you love them for what they did for you and all that. yap session over

[scarlet--wiccan]

Hello! I was wondering, what would you classify as the outfits defining the different eras of Wanda? Like her first, classic, Wada, and Dauterman outfits.

Well, I think you've kinda answered your own question. Wanda's had lots of costumes, but her most iconic ones can usually be attributed a specific artist's work on a specific book. She didn't really start changing up her look until the 90s, but I would say that her most iconic outfits, outside of the classic one, really are the Pérez dancer costume from Avengers (1998), and Kevin Wada's design from Scarlet Witch (2016). A lot of her other looks are more short lived, or just not well-remembered. The new one's made a big splash, but it's too soon to say what kind of staying power it'll have.

Some of those short-lived looks are actually my favorites, though, so I want to do a brief history of Wanda's costumes. This is only going to be from the main Earth-616 continuity, and, full disclosure, I'm cribbing most of these images from uncannyxmen.net's costume gallery.

The classic Scarlet Witch costume has had several variations over the years. She consistently wears some version of this outfit from the 60s through to the 90s, but there were often changes to the style and cut of her garments. She wore a wimple-like headpiece in her early appearances, and traded it in for the now-iconic M-shaped diadem in Avengers #36, published 1966. She also went through a few maternity versions of her costume during her pregnancy in Vision & The Scarlet Witch (1985).

Wanda's first major costume changes were actually the result of possession or mental manipulation-- when possessed by Chthon, Wanda takes on a ghastly appearance and her clothing transforms into a dark red bodysuit with a tattered cape, sans headpiece. [Avengers #186] Later, while under Immortus's influence, Wanda cuts her hair short, ditches the headpiece again, and dons a red-and-black costume with a dramatic purple cape. [Avengers West Coast #55]

Wanda began changing her look more frequently in the 90s. During the late run of Avengers West Coast through Force Works, she wore a red dress over a black one-piece, with a necklace, gloves, and boots-- no headpiece. This is the first real costume change that she made of her own volition. She also had a brief-lived costume which first appeared in The Crossing, that drew more inspiration from the magical characters in Doctor Strange.*

The Pérez design first appeared in the opening storyline of Avengers (1998). In an alternate reality conjured by Morgan le Fay, Wanda and Pietro both appear as sterotypical "gypsies." Wanda later adapted her her outfit from this world in a contemporary costume. This was intended as an earnest representation of Wanda's cultural identity, but it fell quite short of the mark. Alan Davis later designed a more conventional superhero suit combining many of the same elements, without being an ethnic costume.*

In the early 2000s, Wanda debuted a set of red body armor with that combined fantasy aesthetics with a superhero silhouette*. This what she's wearing during Disassembled, but it's not well-remembered, perhaps because of the understated color palette. Wanda returned in Children's Crusade wearing a slightly updated version of the classic costume, with a halterless one-piece and cowl-neck cloak. I think this is the version most people refer to when they draw her classic suit, so to that end, it might be the most iconic.

Wanda had another rapid succession of costume changes in the 2010s, starting with the knee-length red dress with built-in gloves she debuted in Uncanny Avengers (2013).* In the Uncanny Avengers 2015 miniseries, she and Pietro both donned new, but very short lived, futuristic costumes for a brief adventure into outer space.

Then, in late 2015, Wanda received her first solo title in two decades, and it came with full aesthetic overhaul. Kevin Wada designed a collection of looks inspired by witch-house and dark romance fashion trends. This was eventually streamlined into a cohesive superhero suit for other ongoing comics, with an ornate red bodice and jeweled diadem.

In 2022, Russell Dauterman designed Wanda's look for the second annual Hellfire Gala event, taking heavy inspiration from the silhouette of her Crossing costume and the darker, more ornate aesthetic of Wada's design. A slightly simplified version of this look became Wanda's main costume in Scarlet Witch (2023) Most notably, this design incorporates the same magical galaxy effect from her son Wiccan's costume into Wanda's skirt and hair, signifying her mastery of chaos magic. Whether or not this costume lasts, I believe that the dark, bejewelled aesthetic and galaxy effect will continue to define Wanda and Billy's looks for years to come.

*these are my personal underrated faves

[irish-dress-history]

I’m wondering if you have any examples of Irish clothing from the early 1600s (around 1610-1615)? I haven’t been able to find much from this era so I’d appreciate any sources or museum collections that you could recommend.

Starting this out with the caveat that if you're looking for the same level of detail and precision that we have for English dress history in this period, you are going to be disappointed. The types of English primary sources we have for this period (well-dated detailed paintings, well-preserved rich-people clothing, wills, printed books, etc) just don't exist for Ireland. There also seems to be much less research interest in 16th-17th c. Irish dress history, so there isn't nearly as much for secondary sources (books, articles etc.).

You don't mention if you are interested in a specific region in Ireland. Ireland in the early 17th c. was a pretty heterogeneous place. People in Dublin and Waterford wore English-influenced styles. According to British-appointed solicitor-general Sir John Davies, by 1606 a few of the wealthier people in Connacht had started wearing English dress, but many others were still wearing Irish clothing. Ulster was a mix of Irish who were wearing Irish dress and incoming English and lowland Scots settlers.

All of the extant Irish clothing I know of from the early 17th c. comes from either bogs or archaeological excavations. It looks like you've already seen my post on extant garments at the NMI. The NMI also has a couple of felt hats that might be early 17th c. This one is from Knockfola, Co. Donegal. It originally had a decorative cord or band where the pale line is:

There are also another cóta mór and brat, found on a bog body from Leigh, Co. Tipperary, which I don't think the NMI has on display. I did not bother to include them in my post, because they are so similar to the ones from Killery, Co. Sligo, but the fact that these have been found in multiple places suggests that they were common, widely-used garments.

The other major garment-find from this period is the Dungiven outfit which is in the Ulster Museum. a short video The bright blue thread was added by a modern conservator; it's not original. (Side note: The identification of this outfit has gotten unfortunately politicized. Tartan trews were worn by both the Irish and the Scots during the 17th century (McClintock 1943, Dunlevy 1989). The presence of tartan should not be used to draw conclusions about the ethnicity of the wearer.) The primary publication for this outfit:

Henshall, Audrey, Seaby, Wilfred A., Lucas, A. T., Smith, A. G., and Connor, A. (1961). The Dungiven Costume. Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 24/25, 119-142. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20627382

The one other reasonably-well preserved outfit that has published on is from a child burial from Emlagh, Co. Kerry, now at University College Cork. Shee and O'Kelly give it a late 17th c date, but they largely base this date on the presence of a rather generic-looking comb. IMO the outfit could easily be early 17th c.

The Emlagh gown, photographed on a living 8-year-old child who was wearing a sweater and skirt underneath. (The 1960s was a different time.)

The bodice has a wrap-front closure with a back and button-up sleeves similar in cut to the Killery cóta mór. The skirt is a pleated rectangle with the pleats sewn in vertically, somewhat like the Shinrone gown. Publication:

Shee, E. and O'Kelly, M. (1966). A Clothed Burial from Emlagh, near Dingle. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 71(213), 81-91.

There are also, frustratingly, a bunch of fragmentary clothing finds at the NMI which might be 17th c, but no one seems to care enough to do publications on them, and NMI Archaeology still does not have their collection on-line, so they are useless to us.

The typical Irish shoe for this period is known as a brogue (also called a Lucas type 5 by archaeologists). broguesandshoes.com has photos, a pattern, and construction information.

Unfortunately, the illustrations from Speed's map are the only images I know of from this specific period.

If you want details on what materials were used, I recommend Susan Flavin's dissertation. It's about the 16th c. economy, but things didn't change that much between 1599 and 1601. free download here

If you don't mind wading through early modern English and a bit of period-typical prejudice, I recommend reading A Discourse of Ireland, by Luke Gernon written in 1620. His description of Irish clothing starts halfway down p. 356.

Finally, if you can find them, Dress in Ireland by Mairead Dunlevy (1st ed. 1989) and Old Irish and Highland Dress by H. F. McClintock (1st ed. 1943, 2nd ed. 1950) are the best books I know of for this period.

[in-pleasant-company]

Hello new friend,

I'm a 41-year-old white queer femme who has just recently retrieved my three AG dolls from the attic where I put them away before I went to college. I have Kirsten, and the original release Felicity and Addy. I brought them out to clean up and give to my daughter, but have found they have released a great deal of stored up energy, and I have been deep diving into the world of AG since I put it down in 2001. I have been working my way backwards in your Tumblr, and am in 2020 now. I want to thank you for your clear love of and dedication to American Girl, and I really appreciate your various thoughtful perspectives, especially as it relates to the historical PC and current Mattel relationship with race and ethnicity. As an Elder Millennial, I don't really know how to Tumblr, but you can find me on IG as quiltereina (my public account), so you can see that I'm not a total weirdo-in-a-bad-way - just a domesticated rebel with grandma hobbies living in a hippie suburb of my hometown of Washington, D.C.

I found my dolls, but not their clothes or accessories yet, which is a devastating. I received the dolls as gifts, but I earned all of their clothes through chores. I have already sewed more clothes for my girls (plus the three new ones I have purchased since Jan 1) than I had the entirety of my childhood, having leaned to sew in the intervening years. I am balancing the desire to recreate all of the clothes I had, using time-period appropriate prints and patterns, but in my own preferred color schemes (mostly pinks and purples), a sort of alternative history recreation for my own inner child, plus the desire to make fun and frilly costumes for my five-year-old's enjoyment. In these pursuits, I have not only saved the Pretty Dresses PDF from AGPlaythings, but have been searching for patterns that will as closely as possible replicate the Meet outfits for my girls; I have found Addy's from doll-princesse, and think I can wing Kirsten's from her school dress, but Felicity? Still searching.

So I have one very specific question - a woman in a 18" doll facebook sewing group claims that there was 1992 Pleasant Company book of patterns released, which included Felicity's Meet Dress. I have searched the ends of the internet; she is not referring to the PC Pretty Dresses Patterns; there is no record in the AG Wiki or in the Library of Congress for this book. She said someone on Etsy was selling copies of the book and the FB poster got blocked for harassing the Etsy seller for selling a book still under copyright, but I cannot find the like on Etsy or Ebay. Have you ever heard of such a book? Or is _someone_ -lying- on the internet? And if you have any other deep-dive pattern suggestions (I've seen everything on Etsy, PixieFaire, Pemberly, etc), I'd be grateful, and also happy to compensate pattern makers/recreators.

If you've made it this far, thanks for your time reading this, and again for your insightful and informative Tumblr-blog.

Best,

LaLa

Hi, welcome! It's wonderful that you're giving some love to these old dolls once again!

As for the book with Felicity's pattern, it sounds fascinating. I will keep a lookout for it. It's possible the book was an internal, company only creation that was meant for creating the mockups before the doll clothes went into production in West Germany (and later in China). I will say that there was a set of doll patterns (or possibly multiple sets?) that were briefly available from Colonial Williamsburg that the person may have been remembering as Felicity patterns. It could also have been a pattern that was made available for special events at places like the Madison Children's Museum. I know of a pattern for Felicity's Bedding that is associated with the Madison Children's Museum.

The patterns available from Colonial Williamsburg were from Past Crafts patterns (labelled Evoking Period Style for Dolls), and I'm almost positive that there was a set of doll clothes patterns designed by someone who worked in the textiles department of Colonial Williamsburg, but I haven't been successful in tracking them down.

Edit: Could it be they were talking about the GIRL sized pattern for Felicity's Meet Outfit? It wasn't in a book but a paper envelope like commercial patterns.

Edit 2: I reached out on the AG Playthings message board and got some answers. Yes, the pattern does exist but it was never available for sale from Pleasant Company. I imagine it was an internal document that was somehow leaked/stolen. Mystery solved!

[lookinglass-fic]

CALLING ALL CREW!

Putting out the gay pirate bat signal 🍊🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈

Yes you. Writers. Artists. Voracious consumers of the thing.

Have the last eight months of your life been completely unhinged? Have you read more fic, arted more art? Has Samba Schutte inspired you to bake for the first time ever??

Tanya, Kaela and Justine are authors and professional fandom researchers, and they're putting together a book of essays from fans about Our Flag Means Death. Please check this out and reblog!

Tentative Title: 

“‘As a Crew:’ OFMD Fans and Creators on Fandom, Identity, and Creativity”

Editors: 

Tanya Cook (she/they), Kaela Joseph (they/she), Justine Mastin (she/her)

Description and call for proposals:

We are seeking contributions for an edited volume of chapters and essays about the HBO Max streaming series Our Flag Means Death. Contributions may include full-length chapters (up to 5000 words), shorter essays, fan art, or other original work that has not previously been published. The goal of this volume is to celebrate the positive effects of this show on both fans and creators. We hope to include personal and analytical essays or fan works related to any of the following topics or intersections of topics: identity exploration / diversity themes - LGBTQIA+, disability identity, indigenous identity, race or ethnic group identity, age, gender roles, found family or created family; mental health; fandom/fan studies - how the show re-ignited a love of and participation in fan works, fan art, fan fiction, cosplay, cakes(!), conventions/fan communities, fan activism/charity work/advocacy; historical (in)accuracies; production/creative choices - humor, New Zealand humor/culture, costume/set design, etc. If you have an idea that is not listed here, please feel free to submit as long as it relates to OFMD and fandom/fan studies in some way. We are currently exploring publishing options and hope to have more information soon. At this point, contributors will not be paid a stipend, but will receive a complimentary copy of the book. 

Timeline:

If you are interested, please submit a brief abstract/proposal of your idea (up to 200 words) to tncook@gmail.com by 1-15-23. Please use the subject: OFMD Submission. Include the best contact email for you.

1-15-23 = Abstract deadline

3-1-23 = Decisions made about abstracts

5-1-23 = Contribution drafts due

6-1-23 = Drafts returned

7-1-23 = Final drafts due

Book publication = TBD

Sure would be cool if the person who's pretending to be @javiddenkins could share this

[opinions-about-tiaras]

Hoo boy. So the first look trailer for Wicked is out and... well, I'm concerned. Thoughts below the cut.

Let me add my voice to what everyone else is saying first and get that out of the way; it looks awful. Visually, I mean. "CGI sludge" is an apt description. I get that they're trying to evoke the feeling of the Judy Garland Wizard of Oz but yikes, it looks terrible. Just a riot of color that evokes nothing and feels flat. The wonder and majesty of Oz this ain't. Even the costumes look cheap and ill-considered.

And look, I get it. This is a movie adaptation, of a stage adaptation, of a book that's basically Wizard of Oz AU fanfiction. They're going to do their own think. But Wicked (The Musical) already sanded off so many of the rough edges of Wicked (The Book) and it looks like this thing is gonna continue in that vein.

But at a certain point when you pour enough water into your wine, you're just drinking water, and it really feels like we've passed that point.

This is an enormously big-budget musical that seems almost ashamed its a musical; you wouldn't know this is musical theater from the trailer, at any rate. That's not a great sign. Neither is the fact that they appear to be doing some sort of "Elphaba's magical power is driven by her being overly emotional and out of control," which is a questionable choice to make when you've cast a black woman in the role.

Actually, let's talk about casting.

Your leads are WAY TOO FUCKING OLD. I know that doesn't make a difference in a stage production. This is not a stage production. Ariana Grande is 30; Cynthia Erivo is thirty-seven. These people are not college freshmen, and expecting us to believe they are is insulting.

Yes, I'm also aware there's a long tradition of expecting us to believe people in their mid-twenties are high school students. There are limits and this pushes past them. The costuming and makeup departments are working hard, but the amount of makeup they're having to cake on Grande and Erivo in order to make them look like fresh-faced youngsters is extremely off-putting. We're not sitting a hundred feet away in a theater, the camera is doing close-ups a lot. Black Elphaba is an excellent choice, but you could have found a much, much younger actress for it.

They also made some... weird choices for diversification of the cast. Not in a "it is historically inaccurate for these people not to be white" kind of a way, but in a "you're sort of undercutting your own themes" kind of a way.

Wicked (The Book) is very explicitly about white supremacy, imperialism, and class. So is every other book in the Wicked Years, when they aren't also about gender fuckery. The musical cuts a lot of that away, but its still there. The Gillikinese (Glinda the Goods specific ethnic group in the context of Oz) are an explicit expression of this. They're economically, culturally, industrially, and socially dominant, and virulently racist against all of Oz's other ethnic groups (the Munchkins, the Animals, the Quadlings, the "Winkies") for whom they have a charming variety of racial slurs and race legislation towards.

Casting a white British person as Fiyero Tigelaar is absurd in this context. Fiyero's whole deal is that he's from a racially disfavored group and is treated pretty shitty because of it! Yes, I am AWARE the role on-state was originated by a white dude. This ain't the play.

Similarly, casting someone who isn't so white they practically glow in the dark as Madame Morrible is kind of a misstep. Madame Morrible is the enforcer of the Wizard's race policy.

And so I have to question... what the hell are they padding this out with?

The stage play is two hours and 45 minutes long. That would translate to the screen fairly handily, on the long side but about where you'd expect a big epic to be these days.

Only they're doing this as TWO movies, like Dune did. Is doing.

As this is likely to be marketed as a family film (I'm expecting a PG rating) they might just be making two ninety-minute films so that parents aren't off-put by the idea of their kids squirming in chairs for three hours. But given that the director and writers have spoken repeatedly about how this story was just "too big" to be contained in a single film, and that they're planning to add a whole bunch of stuff, that seems unlikely. I have a hard time seeing both movies clock in at a runtime of under four hours.

So what are you going to do here?

I had been hoping at first that they were going to re-add in a bunch of the themes and plot points from the novel. And maybe they are? But I sense that they're being timid here. That they're gonna pull their punches and make this a very straightforward, very paint-by-numbers story about a generically evil tyrant with the race and class stuff shoved way, way, way into the background. For that matter I expect them to dial the queerness back as well, which would be awful because my god is Wicked queer.

I dunno. This just seems like a lot of red flags.