#every single act is commodified

[wen-kexing-apologist]

What the Fuck Is Boeing Doing Here?

Listen. 

I know that I don’t have to write an essay at the end of every episode of Only Friends. But you see, I have decided I need to either hit or break the number of essays I wrote for Moonlight Chicken. 

So, I want to talk about Boeing and the narrative purpose he serves. Mostly because there seems to be some contention around whether Boeing was introduced too late in the plot. But he wasn’t. Why?

Photo from @chicademartinica

Because Boeing serves as external pressure, not internal.

The final relationship boss if you will

Only Friends appears to have a four act arc. 

Act 1: We meet the characters, the couples are introduced to one another, they fuck, they establish some modicum of a relationship, and we see the aspects of their characters that are going to cause the tension points. 

Act 2: The couples engage in Chronic 20-Year-Old behavior and fuck up their relationships internally by: cheating, secretly recording, blackmailing, commodifying, misunderstanding, etc etc. 

Act 3: Everyone does everything in their power to ruin their own relationships further by trying to set a record for Most Number of Impulsive Decisions Made in One Sitting, thoroughly fucks their life and relationships, stops, thinks, “hmmm, well, I’ve tried everything else, I wonder if talking might help?” and starts resolving their relationships. 

Act 4: With the internal tensions resolved, make up sex had, and tenuous peace beginning to be forged between all couples, it is time to put their ability to weather external pressures to the test. 

gif by @25shadesoffebruary

Which is why we meet Boeing for the first time with Mew and Top, because Top and Mew have not fully reached a resolution when he arrives. Mew has decided he wants to give Top another chance, but we know Mew is having difficulty moving past his anger at being cheated on. Boeing comes in, pokes at the potential weakness/fracture points of Top, and is denied. So he turns to Mew, whose cracks have not been healed enough. 

The external pressure seems to have taken a hold, and the beginning of TopMew Round 2 is under threat of not taking off, because Boeing as an outside player has found a wound he can press in to. In Episode 11, Mew is once again, set on a course, (whether or not it is the one he would have ultimately chosen for himself without added suggestion remains to be seen), acknowledges that he doesn’t think that he is going to be Top’s last boyfriend, and does decide to try to move past his hang ups and start over with Top. 

Top and Mew have passed the test of external pressure. Boeing has served his purpose, he has poked and prodded, manipulated and made out, and Top and eventually Mew saw through it. 

gif by @moonkhao

So Boeing goes wandering towards his next victims, Sand and Ray. And again, we have a situation where one person in the couple is more susceptible to Boeing’s manipulations. In this case, Sand is the one, unsurprisingly, who is more likely to fall for Boeing’s flirting, though Ray is far more volatile of a person than either Mew or Top is. Which means that Boeing is in for an external pressure application treat because the thicker he lays it on with Sand, the more reactive Ray is going to become. 

Ray has a lot of changes going on in his life right now, he’s making some breakthroughs in therapy, he’s starting rehab, he’s waking up more to the ways that Sand has twisted himself in knots to help him and all the ways he has failed Sand in return. And Sand, our favorite wet blanket, is physically incapable of maintaining a single boundary with anyone that gives him positive attention. Which includes Boeing, and we knew this was a potential outcome because of how pissed Sand continues to be about the fact that Boeing left him for Top. Sand has never gotten over Boeing, it’s part of why he cares so much that Top “stole” him. 

Say what you will about SandRay’s opening in Episode 11 feeling a bit rushed, we want, or at least I can assume Jojo and co wanted some moments of peace and happiness between Sand and Ray to give them just a moment of stability. Because, I don’t think they are ready for the test of external pressure. They got this brief moment where they are happy, sappy, and in love, planning for the future, yada yada, but the fundamental internal issues between Sand and Ray, namely Sand’s inability to maintain a boundary and Ray’s inability to tolerate a boundary have not been worked through. Ray’s jealousy and ownership of Sand have not been worked through, Ray’s alcoholism has not been worked through, Sand’s compulsive caregiving have not been worked through. 

gif of Ray saying he won't be jealous, you know, like a liar by @firstmix

And in comes Boeing, calling Ray Sand’s friend, trying to get Sand to take him home with him, trying to talk to Sand alone. Flirting with Sand, reminding him that Ray isn’t his type, being physically affectionate. Boeing, once again, is serving as the external pressure testing the weak points in SandRay’s relationship, in this case Sand’s simpdom and Ray’s possessiveness. 

Ray’s method of getting between Sand and any other potential romantic interests has always been to suggest a threesome. To throw out a claim on Sand’s body, and to get right with Sand exploring other sexual options while Ray is still there able to watch, participate, and/or control the sexual encounter. It serves as a great way for Ray to stake his claim, to make people who thought Sand was single (when he is) feel like they are invading a relationship, etc. and up until now it has worked. 

But Boeing is the external test of Sand and Ray’s relationship. And Boeing is a chameleon that can slide in to anyone’s personality. And Boeing has no issue with sex or intimacy with total strangers, especially if it brings him closer to what he wants, as we know from him making out with Mew. So Ray takes the bait, offers a hangout with the three of them, and takes Boeing and Sand back to his house. Ray is, however, extremely insecure about his relationship to Sand, as we can see from the preview that Ray is buying in to Boeing’s External Issues Test. He wants to know if Sand has gotten over Boeing, he wants Sand to kiss Boeing, I do not yet know how that whole thing is going to end (though I for one hope there is at least a threeway make out if they don’t end up with an actual threesome) but considering that Sand seems pretty pissed in the preview, I don’t think it is going to go over swimmingly (haha get it? swimmingly, cause they…nevermind).

gif of a truly pining Sand made by @sunsetandthemoon

What I personally think Boeing is going to do with Sand and Ray’s relationship is expose the part of their internal struggle that they have not addressed yet, and that is either going to tear Sand and Ray apart (for you know…the three hours Sand is able to stay mad at Ray before Ray makes puppy dog eyes and Sand succumbs to his masochism once more). Or potentially, highlight the issues and allow Sand and Ray to talk through where the rough points in their relationship are (haha, can you imagine?)

Regardless of whether or not Sand and Ray pass or fail Boeing’s external pressures test, Boeing will have done his job exploring the strength of Sand and Ray’s relationship and will move on to testing the fractures in Boston and Nick’s relationship. Which, honestly, I think Boston and Nick have the strongest chance of passing with flying colors because they have been working through their internal problems extremely, extremely well the last few episodes. But we shall see what actually happens in the finale. 

Anyway, all of this to say, that if you think Boeing should have come in to this story earlier, I personally think you have misunderstood the purpose Boeing serves to the plot. He should not have been introduced while the group was still intact, because there were too many other moving pieces of internal dynamics issues that needed to be worked out without a random stranger coming in and trying to fuck with it. As we head in to the finale, we need to understand how the characters get to the end point of the story.

And I think we can only really do that, when we see how every couple holds or crumbles under the pressure of the outside world, now that they have that talking things through like adults actually may be a valid method of getting what you want out of a relationship.

Who knew? 

gif by @sunsetandthemoon

[pillarsalt]

I just watched a man come out as trans in an online place I'm in and I can't do it. He used to mansplain everything and always defend men's actions and now he's doing this 180 and I can't even comment on it. I'm tired to constantly hear that trans women know how to define feminism and womanhood best I don't want them speaking for me. I'm tired of whatever this whole thing is. I keep seeing trans friends celebrate having no hair like it's women's default state. They always say that we never comment on cis women upholding misogynistic beauty standards so why judge them. But when women shave or get plastic surgery at the very least THAT is seen as a bad thing unlike their actions. I can't stand hearing the ones who started estrogen talk about their "periods". I wish we would just see trans women as trans women and leave women's language alone. They definitely do experience misogyny but they always act like they get the worst of it. Some told me they're seen as a porn category but they fail to see how my whole being IS the porn. Every porn action is on default done to women. It's just so so so tiring I don't know what to do anymore.

I totally understand, anon. Male entitlement combined with the societal go-ahead to speak over any woman they want on the subject of womanhood has created this misogynistic toxic sludge of a subculture, and it's so hard to escape. As usual, misogynistic stereotypes are fuel for the fire of trans identification.

And the porn category thing astounds me, like oh you want to talk about being reduced to porn categories? Every. single. minute little aspect of a woman has been turned into a porn category, be it physical or cultural or behavioural or fucking psychological. Thinness, fatness, hairiness, hairlessness, whiteness brownness blackness, youngness, oldness, any profession you can imagine, any sexuality, any level of mental or physical ability, there is not a single kind of woman whose existence can escape being fetishized and pornified. I have to fucking laugh at the audacity it takes to act like we as women don't understand being sexualized and commodified.

I'm sorry you've had to put up with this. The main reason I moved on from my college friend group is that, besides 100% of them "coming out" as some form of nonbinary, one of the men decided he was now a Real Woman with a ridiculously cutesy girl's name and I just couldn't fathom playing along for the sake of my relationships with them. I know it's difficult but removing yourself from that space might be better for your mental health. Going along with things you know are wrong is really stressful, and taking care of yourself should be priority #1. Be well 💜

[iinkbones]

My thoughts on AI "art"

Today a youtuber who I've been following for years started giving his perspective/argument towards the usefulness of AI image generators for content creators. It really put into perspective for me how, outside of the art sphere (with the exception of a handful of outliers), the general public has absolutely no concept of the value of art and artists, much less the damage being created by these AI "art" generators. The accessibility of art on social media and the mentality of content creation have completely commodified art, rendering the figure of the artist just another worker to purchase a service or a product from. For years, I've tried to hold onto the hope that a large amount of people still have some semblance of appreciation towards art. Hypebeast imagery, NFTs, and AI "art" have completely shattered any hope I had left.

One of this youtuber's arguments was that, for just $15, an AI could make you hundreds of images to choose from, in varied styles. That it's much more efficient than searching for an artist whose style you enjoy and then going through the back and forth of concept sketches and then the rest of the artist's process. This argument feels like a slap to the face; to completely disregard the artistic process as an inconvenience, to act like the soulless images produced by AI are of equal standing as art made by an artist's hands, born from a creative mind- it hurts.

As artists, every day we are met with a world that continues to lose artistic literacy; we create for audiences that no longer give themselves the time or do the self reflection needed to form emotional connections and intellectually explore the messages of a piece.

Art isn't a commodity, it's a necessity. It's the most human form of self expression. Art has been a fundamental part of humanity since the very birth of our species. There will never be a single line of code in this world that can replicate the all-encompassing complexity of the human experience contained within every piece of art.

It's completely soul-crushing to think that art could be in its dying days. AI "art" is not art. It is the culmination of the death of the artist.

[cissa-calls]

Countdown to Agatha: Darkhold Diaries: Day 667

Thinking about how at the end of Wandavision, Wanda yells at Agatha:

“I don’t need you to tell me who I am!”

And it’s powerful, it’s supposed to be. Finally, an act of pure agency! It’s Wanda’s frustration at the powers she was unwillingly saddled with that caused her so much grief. She is exploding outwards at Agatha the combatant who embodies everyone who commodified her for her abilities.

But at the same time, there’s something so poetically tragic about it. Wanda doesn’t need Agatha to tell her who she is, because Wanda KNOWS it. She has been reminded every single day, she lives it. It’s is inescapable. Perhaps it’s obvious, but for as bitter as the chaotic and destructive magic she wields is, at the ending of Wandavision Wanda can no longer deny its power. And who she is connected to.

[mieux-de-se-taire]

Danger Days - Part 2

Save Yourself - one of my favorites from Danger Days, definitely my favorite Danger Days intro, that simple opening melody is just so perfect, and then the lyrics, god the lyrics, every single line fucks so hard, and they’re arguably some of the best Gerard ever wrote, this song is just everything distilled: the anger and resentment while still being catchy and fun, the raw cynicism paired with the will and determination to live and care for others, the martyr complex in full force with contemplations on legacy and immortality, the song is just screaming “I’ll die for you! I’ll die for you!”, as a fuck you to the media and those who commodified their suffering and the suffering of their fans, and as a promise to their fans, I’ll protect you, I’ll die for you, I’ll die for you, and isn’t that the message underlying all of Danger Days and Conventional Weapons, christ, and then how legacy is tied into it: “We’re never leaving this place alive / But if we sing these words we’ll never die”, “We can live forever if you’ve got the time”,  “This ain’t about all the friends you’ve made / but the graffiti they write on your grave”, when making and joining a band saved your life but then spiraled out of control and fame threatened to tear you apart again but the very thing that’s killing you is also your legacy and the reason you will never die because you will always be remembered and hated and loved, and what kills you keeps you alive, the poison is the cure, oh my god, I don’t know if any of this is coherent, I love this song so fucking much 

Scarecrow - on the surface one of the happier songs MCR ever wrote, but stupidly devastating when you really listen to the lyrics and learn about the context and deeper meaning, still such a bright, summery, comforting song, one of the most important Danger Days songs I would argue, especially the lyric “Love won’t stop this bomb” (3:07), which is one of the central themes on this record, and as a follow up to save yourself, the repetition of the idea that the end is inevitable and they’re going to die, but instead of anger, scarecrow is more about comfort, it feels like a love letter to their fans, the band still acting as martyrs but focusing more on the listener: “He burns my skin / Never mind about the shape I’m in / I’ll keep you safe tonight”, and knowing that love won’t change anything, but caring anyway, man, maybe Geoff Rickly is right

Summertime - a great transition from Scarecrow by keeping the cheerier sound but actually making it joyful through some truly tender and sweet lyrics, it’s so sappy, almost excessively so, but there’s something so pure and genuine about it, which I think is one of Gerard’s greatest strengths as a writer and a singer, to be able to write very simple lines that would otherwise sound cheesy and phony (think Famous Last Words “I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone”) but delivering them in way that feels so honest and resolute and making you believe everything they say, it’s also interesting how unabashedly positive it is considering the darkness and anger or bittersweet melancholy that seems to accompany joy everywhere else on this album, Summertime becomes a breath of fresh air

Destroya - completely unironically my favorite Danger Days song, actually the first I heard other than Na Na Na, it fucks so hard, I always have to sing along with the chorus, it’s just so infectious, and the drums, man, it’s one of the most aggressive and powerful sounding songs on the album, and there’s something hypnotically and subversively menacing about it, especially how it was performed live in 2022 with Gerard growling and screaming with demonic vocal distortion, it sounds like a kind of battle cry, which is part of why the extended moaning sections are such a bold and unique choice, but it works in a weird way, at least once you know to expect it (and it’s not live and Frank isn’t genuinely whimpered and groaning on stage sir this is an all ages show), it’s just so angry and weird and fucked up and incredible, and it has some of my all time favorite Danger Days lyrics like “If what you are / is just what you own / What have you become / when they take from you / almost everything?”, which is a brilliant line that ties into the themes of criticizing commodification and consumerism found on Conventional Weapons and Danger Days, also “You don’t believe in God / I don’t believe in luck / They don’t believe in us / But I believe we’re the enemy” is such a raw line, god it’s such a great song, fuck anyone who just reduces it to just the “horny” song 

Kids from Yesterday - probably of one the best songs on the album, especially how they performed it live in 2022 and 2023 with the extended outro (Ray Toro what the fuck is wrong with you this is devastating), it’s so bittersweet and nostalgic and just brimming with love, they always describe it as a song for themselves and you can really hear and see the joy and love among them when they perform it, while other songs feel like promises to the audience, Kids feels like a promise to each other, “I love you. I love you. I will always love you”, it’s so fucked up, “I’ll find you when the sun goes black”, unforgiveable, and it’s also interesting how they revisit legacy as a theme (”You only live forever in the lights you make” is one of my favorite lines in the entire album) and discuss many of the same struggles of fame as other songs, but do so in a far less angry way, it puts less focus on the band as a single entity to be exploited, revered, and hated and more focus on the individuals and how their legacy relates to them as people and their connections with one another, god, it’s just such a stunning song, wish I could listen to it more but I literally can’t handle it

Goodnite, Dr. Death - I really like the radio transmission at the beginning, but I usually skip this one because I don’t feel the need to listen to the American national anthem on the regular, especially not with the very painful (cool sounding, but painful) jumpscare at the end, that being said, it might be favorite of Dr. Death Defying’s interludes, because it’s much calmer and more muted, almost soothing, but disturbing at the same time with how casually death is warned against in an address to children, really adds to the world building, and “Even if you’re dusted, you may be gone, but out here in the desert, your shadow lives on without you” is such a cool line

Vampire Money - so fucking funny, I don’t even know what to say, the iconic roll call intro and countdown followed immediately by the deeply poetic line “We came to fuck”, the fact that it was changed to “We came to suck” in the clean version, the fact that Frank says “Oh I’m there baby” sounding like he’s talking about sex rather than playing music, which he has never once (at least to my knowledge) properly said live and even refuses to acknowledge, the way the whole song is making fun of how people latched onto and then commodified their vampire symbolism and aesthetic early on, and specifically being asked to write a song for the twilight movies, god, I love how they’re so aware of and continuously willing to poke fun at how they’ve been portrayed and perceived over the years, and I also love how malleable this song is live, changing lyrics in little ways every time they perform it, another great example of Danger Days songs being best live

[proyectofemoide]

Skinned

Because of him, now I am a group of dark silhouettes at which the moon laughs cruelly.

The waterfall of drowned sighs

A perpetually burning machination

The canvas of La Maja vestida waiting to reveal her smooth and pale skin

A match waiting to be lit

A queen with a guttural voice

An involuntary master, a hunting prey

The crow that drools over your carrion

Why do you see all this?

And not the person in front of you

---------------------------------

I wanna die alone, wild in my Venezuelan páramo

03/01/2024

When people get to know me and start to really enjoy my company, they bone me and fill me with cotton, even though I have the eyes of an owl.

I don't know how to live when people don't want me to be honest, but they care more about me acting out a fantasy, their fantasy (never mine). Always with its binary dynamics of power and control, where need is greater than love.

Nobody knows what free love is. Stressed with the assumption that everyone else does it in the most (in)correct way, with (dis)ordered steps, with a brutal and healthy naturalness that our overly awake brains do not understand.

People hold hands, go to a place I don't know, and on the way back they tell me that I should want to go too without further explanation. A site to which almost all songs, books, movies and TV series are dedicated.

Maybe I'm the problem, because my freedom looks rough from the outside. I do not know what I feel when your eyes salivate leaning towards me, when that big and vitreous gaze opens the cage of the lava ants within my veins and colours me. I take a taxi, I don´t wanna be reduced to a rating of 1 to 5, where my uterus becomes a hotel.

I cannot find the seven differences between the consumption of human bodies and my mother's conditional love. That's why I live every single day at a time, sipping and sipping the flavours of life that are being denied to me, where erotism inhabits the beating of wings or a melody.

"When sex is commodified, it becomes an article of conspicuous consumption." 

— Angela Chen (2020).

[dlcallie]

it irritates me that some people on tumblr saying that The Menu is a shittier version of Parasite, cus while yes they both have to do the poor vs the rich. While I forget the themes of Parasite cus its been a while since I’ve watched it if i remember correctly its themes are more the differences between the poor and the rich and the different lives that each live and the dangers of what money can do to people. While The Menu is more of the cost of consumerism and the death of the joy of creating.

Cus like the whole reason the chef decided to kill was because he grew to resent the people who commodified his food. The reasons he invited everyone were like really clear, he invited the food critic because she is the reason why he rose to the heights that he did. He invited the movie star guy simply because he represented what he saw himself as an artist who lost all meaning. He invited the old couple because they had eaten at his resturant ELEVEN times when most could only ever eat at his restraunt once because it was 1250 dollars per person. They have paid 13 THOUSAND DOLLARS to go there 11 TIMES and they didnt remember a single fucking dish that they had eaten despite him telling them what they were eating every single time and presuably after each meal they got the menu to take home like at the end.

While the tech bros stood for how he had to sell out. They were a reminder of how his investor (who they work for) always demanded substitution of his art. And fucking Tyler represented the people who while they savor the food are arrogant and think that they are better than everyone else for knowing everything. Margo/Erin reignited that passion for cooking if only briefly which is why she was allowed to go. She didnt try to get on his good side ,she didnt try to impress him with all of the shit that she knew, she used to enjoy her job just like he did. She didnt want all this flowery fucking food. She just wanted a cheeseburger. And the act of making that cheeseburger and forcing him to remember his time as a hamburger cook sparked his love of cooking again. Which is ultimately why shes spared because while yes the whole movie was about the givers vs the takers, ultimately erin/margo was the only one who was actually a giver. Because in the end the Chef did take. He took his diners, his staff and his own life.

[unpassive-viewer]

The Bear: Season 2 Thoughts (Mild Spoilers)

Hey y’all,

I binged The Bear S2 this week and I have things to say.

This show is so visually beautiful, the shots of the food, the tight shots on the actors - everything was gorgeous. The cinematography impacted the story so perfectly in a way that I am not used to witnessing in television versus movies. 

I was rooting for every single character so much. Their stories were all expanded upon so well, and none of them were static. The acting was 10/10, I really bought the development of the relationships even though some of them seemed a little random coming off of S1. The writing for Carmy was perfect as a product of his dysfunctional environment (disclosure: my family is very similar to his, it was like watching myself in a character). Jamie Lee Curtis’ acting made me want to crawl out of my skin, which is a testament to how well she played the part. 

In particular, I fell in love with Richie and Tina this season. 

Richie got the perfect redemption arc - this season was truly his and I loved it. I could not stand him in S1, but S2 fleshed out his character so well. I want his character to get win after win, and I think he has has a long way to go in S3 (should we get it). Matty Matheson’s character was also a great counterweight to Ebon’s pessimism, I thought their dynamic was a lot of fun. 

I feel similarly about Tina’s character. This season you’re really able to understand their motivations and fears, which I always adore. Liza was incredible in the role. On one hand I think the show is best as a stand-alone, but I could also watch Tina’s story by itself. Both she and Richie get a huge dose of self-confidence this season and it makes for a very endearing, relatable story. I think very often stories that involve that kind of realization are very commodified and dramatized when it comes to middle-aged protagonists, but the growth of these characters felt very real and well-deserved. (Side note - I follow Liza on Instagram now and she’s such a sweet lady. She reminds me so much of my mom.)

Sydney - Ayo Edebiri - is an incredible character and Ayo’s writing was perfection. Syd’s and Carmy’s signing “I’m sorry” was a really interesting touch and encapsulates their dynamic so well. I also oddly love the way she’s styled. When she’s not wearing her work clothes, her style isn’t flashy, but she looks fantastic always. Her style is so reflective of her character - often slouched, baggy styles with pops of colour. In my opinion she looks like an artist - a creative - which I’d say is pretty accurate to her reality. 

Lionel Boyce’s portrayal of Marcus was once again very sweet, and I liked his somewhat less dramatic character arc. I didn’t love his little outburst at the end of the season, but as a character that’s been such a consistent teddy bear it’s nice to see some more conflict introduced to his story. 

After this season, I want more Will Poulter and Olivia Colman. I am very much in love with them, and their brief parts in the series were so lovely (despite feeling a little random). Olivia Colman brings the most incredible energy to every project I have seen her in, she is radiant and I love her. I also love the attention to detail with Poulter’s tattoos having a story behind them. 

Claire was a good character as well, but she didn’t have the same effect on me as Poulter and Colman. While they’re all static characters, Claire was just... too perfect. Not entirely manic pixie dream girl perfect, but I didn’t find her particularly compelling. For what the character was, she was played well by Molly Gordon, and it was nice to see Carmy get the chance to be something other than an anxious unhappy wreck for a few episodes. 

My singular big criticism as of now is that there was so much compressed into this season that it all felt a little random. There were a lot of characters introduced in a very short period of time. While it was nice to see the environment external to the restaurant and I think all of those characters fit very well, it was just a lot. I think the Christmas dinner episode was very important to the story, but the rest of the season could have used a little more breathing room that that episode took up. 

I binged it, but this show deserves to be mulled over. 

[americanphysco]

i don't disagree with your critiques about iwtv (although fwiw everyone i've been following has been critical of the source material and anne rice), but i think framing "good leftism" as based around response to representation and whether or not you eat at chick-fil-a is really unhelpful. leftism is about improving the material conditions of working class & marginalized people, and for most of us that looks like attending to what's going on our local community. at this point im very hesitant to equate representation with material improvement in conditions, given the places our media comes from are inherently corrupted by wealth and power and have every incentive to maintain the status quo. the representation we have only exists because it is profitable, and i dont want my liberation to happen because it's "profitable." that's not real liberation.

again, i don't disagree with your critiques. i would just caution against equating having good media opinions with good politics. being critical matters, but my opinions of people's politics doesn't live or die based on whether or not they hate the right tv shows.

I just used leftists as a general term to avoid repeatedly saying "people" or the plural "you". it wasn't really meant as a political critique, more of a rant where I wanted to point out how it's a hypocritical behavior on the parts of the people I'm singling out. I completely agree with you and I also do not want my liberation to be profitable or commodified. it was more just an open ended rant focused on seeing people who claim to be anti racist praise racist media time and time again. also I'm not sure who you've been following, becquse I've had several people both post about and msg me directly blindly praising the source material and acting blissfully unaware of its bigotry. it's nice to know at least some people are mindfully consuming media but unfortunately it seems like a large subsection of white queer fans simply aren't engaging in that kind of behavior. I know what leftism is and how activism works, and I engage in things like the examples you mentioned myself. I appreciate your warning and I agree with your points but I really didn't mean it at some jab at leftists. I was just aggravated and used a word to describe a part of the group that my frustration was targeted at. it was a vent post, not a political critique, and I changed the one use of the word "leftist" to replace it with white queer people, since that's more representative the group I'm upset with. I don't really think an individuals taste in media is indicative of their political stance, and I'm very active in my community and open minded irl, but the hypocrisy of the blind praise I kept stumbling across on my dash was frustrating and I made a vent post in response to that and that alone. watch what you want. formulate any opinion you want. but I just find it annoying when I see so many people being uncritical of the media they consume despite claiming that they are. that's all I was complaining about. not politics.

[fat-fuck-hairy-belly]

They commodified our attention, they turned the very act of existing in society into a labour, and then stole it from us. Every single human being living in any society is a part of the biggest labor force in history of humanity, all of us constantly generating profits for the advertisers by just existing, without our consent, without any compensation. We live in a dystopia that puts any cyberpunk story to shame, and the scariest part is that it's so insidious that most people will think you are being silly if you try to explain this.

Something so profoundly fucked up between the inverse ratio of shrinking middle class and ever increasing aggression of advertisement

[biillyhargroves]

I know I’ve talked about this before but I'm still out here wishing that Joyce got a moment with Billy, because you know that woman would clock what’s going on within five seconds of seeing that kid and she’s not the kind of person who sits back and lets others get hurt. This is the woman who fought to get away from her own abuser, who pulled her sons out of that fire, who took one look at Eleven and decided “I’m your mom now.” Joyce doesn’t let kids fall through the cracks, and Billy deserved at least one person in his life who’d stand up for him, who’d look out for him, who’d show him a single ounce of kindness.

Joyce’s entire personality is built around protecting others, and Billy has never had a single person protect him in his entire life. HIs mother left. His father beats him. His step-mother stays quiet. Grown women, mothers themselves, fawned over him, sexualizing and commodifying his youth, never seeing him as a full person, just a body to gawk at and objectify. Every single adult in his life has failed him, and nothing would enrage Joyce more than knowing that there’s a child whose had to live his entire life walking on eggshells and fighting for control, for safety, for security. A child living the life her boys could have fallen into if she hadn’t made the right choices, if she hadn’t loved them more than she did herself, if she hadn’t valued her children over a marriage that, let’s face it, was probably doomed from the start. She’d be furious to know that nobody, not one single person, had ever looked at Billy the way she looked at Jonathan and Will and Eleven, that no one had stepped up for him, that no one had put him first in their hearts.

Joyce Byers is five foot, three inches of pure Mama Bear Energy and she wouldn’t be able to stand by and let a child get hurt. I have zero doubts that she’d stand toe-to-toe with Neil to give him a piece of her mind, any time, any place, because how dare a grown man lay a hand on a child? (And of course, Hopper would be terrified at all of this, because if this man is willing to harm his own son, what might he do to a stranger butting into his business? But that’s the beauty of Joyce: she doesn’t care. Sure, Neil is bigger than Lonnie, probably stronger than Lonnie, and yes Billy is strong himself, but this is not a burden for a child to carry and she would be hellbent on lifting as much off his shoulders as she could.)

Joyce is the person that Billy deserved. She’d see right through his charm; she’d never fall for the cocky smile, the little winks, that sultry voice he puts on when he’s trying to impress someone. She’d know that it was all an act and she’d get to the bottom of it, and when she saw what was there she’d do whatever she could to help him. She’d mom the hell out of that kid, and he’d have no idea what to do with that, how to react to this genuine love and kindness from a stranger, but maybe one day he’d realize it was how he truly deserved to be treated all along.

[apolloandr]

An Exhaustive Review of BBC Les Mis (Part 1)

So this review ended up being long. Like ABSURDLY long. So long that I had to split it up into multiple posts. But after 5 years of bad faith superiority I finally got around to watching the 2018 BBC Les Mis miniseries! I have…a lot of thoughts.

This post is going to go through the things I liked about the series, because believe it or not there is actually quite a bit that I liked. Then the next post will go over the things I didn’t like, and the final one will be a sort of “what did I think/what did I learn” thing. Without further ado:

My favorite thing about this whole series was Jean Valjean. I LOVE Dominic West’s performance and I love the way he’s written. Turns out this is an unpopular opinion, because the fandom tends to perceive Valjean as this innocent, bread loving, do-no-wrong grandpa type which is not in keeping with his character in the book at all. Remember, Valjean is a person who tries very hard to be good, not a person to whom goodness comes innately. He has a huge heart, is incredibly charitable, and is always ready to help those who need him. He also steals, lies, acts selfishly, has violent thoughts, and is not above making threats. I really appreciate that this series allowed Valjean to struggle, and be brutal, and do morally dubious things without undercutting any of his goodness. This is the most nuanced portrayal of Valjean I’ve ever seen.

Every scene between Valjean and Bishop Myriel was GOLD. I’m very fond of this firmer, more authoritative Myriel and the way he bounces off of Valjean’s hostility. The final scene with the candlesticks is particularly fantastic.

This is the first iteration of Les Mis I’ve seen in any medium in which representation is integrated consistently. Tokenism is not an issue here; BIPOC people are everywhere at all times. There is definitely an implications issue, but we’ll discuss that later in the second post.

OLIVIA COLMAN AS MADAME THÉNARDIER AND NO ONE TOLD ME?!??!! It’s so nice to see her in her element doing the kind of character work she’s known for in the UK, especially for western viewers who have a very fixed perception of her as a dramatic awards show darling.

Gavroche is a Thénardier! I am a little miffed that his name is Gavroche, because in the book the Thénardiers cared about him so little that they never even gave him a name, but that is very nitpicky.

I didn’t love the sequence of Fantine losing her teeth and hair, but I DID love the man who did it. It was nice when he sat Fantine down and said “you don’t have to do this.” A single moment of kindness before the enaction of violating and commodifying a body. Very Brechtian. Fantine’s relationship with the man at the post office was also a nice touch for the same reasons. We’re lured into a false sense of security where we see him as an ally, but then he turns on her the moment he perceives her as having lost her value. VERY powerful stuff.

Some of the hair and costumes are really well done, key word being SOME but still, credit where credit is due. It’s great to see women in bonnets and men with lace up back vests and high society hard top wigs. My favorite thing: Black hair that looks good!!! Holy hell it is so common for Black hair to look horrendous on film because white people don’t know how to properly care for or style it (filmmakers PLEASE start hiring Black stylists,) but here the hair looks awesome! We have locs, we have afros, we have kinky curls, and everything looks natural. A+.

Every time there’s an allusion made to Valjean’s past it hits hard, especially when Cosette enters the picture. That moment when Cosette says “this place is like a prison” and Valjean responds with “you don’t know what a prison is…” OOF just twist that knife a little harder why don’t you. 

I don’t mind this Grantaire. Just because he’s not George Blagden doesn’t mean he’s not good. It’s kind of a nice change to see a Grantaire who’s crass and bumbling and not at ease on the battlefield. Also, there is definitely ExR present in the series, you just have to pay attention. In general I’m pretty neutral on the depiction of all of Les Amis. They don’t have a lot to them, but they’re very minor characters who appear in less than a third of the source material; it makes sense that they would be kind of glossed over. (Remember guys, the actual story of Les Mis does not revolve around Les Amis just because you made it so.)

Marius threatening to light the barricade on fire is awesome, it’s great to see him be a badass for once. Love that for him.

This rebellion is BRUTAL. People are getting stabbed with bayonets left and right, bullets flying everywhere, bodies in the street, people have bits of shrapnel stuck in their face, someone starts swinging on soldiers with an axe. I love it. I love that we get to see how UGLY and THANKLESS this moment was. It heightens the tragedy of the moment and the reality of the history.

The died holding hands scene is GREAT.

Javert’s suicide is quite well done. It was an interesting choice to have him resign from his position and leave behind a list of prison reforms, and I like that we got to see him break down and cry, especially since Javert is usually played in a very closed off, unemotional way. 

So those are the things I liked! It’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but things I like I REALLY like, to the point that some of them have become my favorite adaptational moments. See y’all in part 2 for the negativity! Hooray!

[blues-valentine]

Just wanted to say that your point about the Darkling’s storyline about the death of his lover being a manipulative way of generating sympathy for a manipulator and groomer made my jaw drop because I hadn’t even thought about it like that. It’s so true and such a great catch! I’ve never seen anyone point out the way the deaths of women are commodified to ~complexify~ toxic men.

All I can think about now is how problematic it is that some folks similarly use the Darklings “love” and faith in Alina as redeeming points to his borderline misogynistic tendencies. What he did to Genya, his willingness to override consent, etc. It bothers me that his affinity towards one woman (Alina) is also being used to somehow reframe his characters fundamental flaws and inherently violent motivations.

That’s all! Thank you for your long text posts on S&B! I’ve read them all because I find your takes so thoughtful and well worded. xx

Darkling is a text book abuser.

He perpetuates every single red flag from an abusive man there is - and they wasted a big opportunity in making Darkling exactly what he is in the books. This is why Darkling ended up being so forgettable and uninteresting on the show for me – they were clearly afraid of making him just like the books for popularity.

The moment that episode rolled in and I saw what they did with his "background" I had to roll my eyes at the unoriginality of it all. I'm really tired of the narrative of "man becomes villain because they lost the love of their life (a woman)" so are we supposed to feel bad for him and excuse him abusing other women because of some man pain? Like - people acting as that background was neccesary in the show are deluded, that doesn't even exist on the original source it was just bait for the audiences to feel sympathy for a manipulator.

Don't even get me started on the "consent" scene and how ridiculous it was when we know exactly who Darkling is and what he is done. It brings me back to a conversation I saw here on tumblr, because consent is more than just being able to say "yes" – it means having all the information needed for that yes to actually mean something. Alina was being manipulated into it, so that consent just seems like the writers attempt at giving Alina more agency, but it downplays a lot on how their relationship actually is (and let's remember how Alina was sexually assaulted by him on the second book). The conversation is here if you want to read it. (x). I think those that still think Darkling is "so pro-female power" missed the fact that Darkling never wanted or intented Alina to master her powers in the first place, he wanted her dependant on his power, to make her feel like she needs him in order to be powerful and all of those "reafirming" statements were to give her a false idea on how well was she actually mastering her powers but to be fair, that was pretty much stated in the show, that he was trying to make her weak and dependent.

And you are right. I feel like so many of the choices made for Darkling were to reframe his character and hide his violent tendencies - this man is not morally gray, he is downright evil. He sold Genya to the king and queen knowing she’ll be abused when she was 11 years old (and later disfigured her face) - he groomed Zoya when he knew her since she was 9. He blinded his own mother for telling Alina the truth.

I'm still holding up hope that this is going to be explored more in season 2, that they will finally address in the correct way that he is a violent depredador that has hurted countless people, specially vulnerable teenage girls. So, let's see.

[thegreenleavesofspring]

Every single detail about you that has ever been input online - or that you have said within hearing range of some internet-connected device (and don't tell me this isn't true; my phones and my computers both have proven over and over that it is) - or that you have ever given out to acquire a product or service - is a commodifiable product that has been packaged and sold.

They act like you're stealing from them when you block their ads because they have already paid for you.

doesn't it piss you off corporations act like you were born to see ads. why it's so bad for trying to escape them??? the way it's okay for websites to make ads sooo annoying you feel like you have no choice but buy premium. and even then you can't escape ad reads. i don't want to waste hours of my life skipping ads. finding the x button. or being woken by an ad that pops at the end of 3 hours long white noise video. using spotify without premium is a nightmare. i hate how ads are everywhere and somehow it's normal to say 'if you don't want to see ads on youtube and use adblock then you're stealing from them!' what. i'm gonna install adblock on every computer elders in my family use as a preventive measure bc too many websites put ads in between news articles!!!

[foegs]

I've been following you for the last year and love when you speak about your experience growing up mixed. I'm half asian half white too so it feels great to know my experience was shared. How did you deal with white men and their asian fetish in wanting to get with you/date you? Did you feel pressured they objectified you? It's something I'm going through but think maybe it's all in my head.

eeeeee the yellow fever moment. everyone acts like it's a joke and it is pretty fucking funny but what they miss is how pervasive it is. my sister is going through the same thing right now and the only real advice I've been able to give is don't hang out with white men who watch anime. I dated a guy for a year who did a great job at acting like he wasn't actually just w me because he was a weeb but after breaking up w him for being racist about my friends and generally unselfsufficient, I put the pieces together. almost every single time I get hit on irl is the same situation like—you're almost white enough for their racist families but asian enough for them. they are really sitting there doing the math and commodifying you and it's both very gross and very cringe. but I can't really give any advice on the dating scene when you're trying to find someone because I've been in a LTR with a (white, admittedly) guy for years now. we met online incidentally and he didn't know I was chinese until he'd long fallen for me, which is like. one way to be sure they aren't fetishising you? if I was single now and looking for a boyfriend I'd probably only seek out asian or other mixed men, for a multitude of reasons, but I'm comfortable where I am right now.

I don't think it's all in your head. it's very real and thankfully in most cases it's just a funny annoyance, but don't let white men talk to you in bubble tea shops, and if they do, get their name and immediately tell them your brother has the exact same one 🙏

[ronnytherandom]

I forgot to watch content all week so i wrote about games ive been playing

9/2/2021: The Truman Show

You should fear your fears but embrace them and use them to guide you into the unknown, to explore and experience what life has to offer. Fear stands between you and the fullest experience of life so you must pass through it to better yourself. Heed not the walls built about you and the chains made to hold you. Though the architects insist it will preserve your life, containment is anathema to life. Do not take in faith the benevolence of powers that be; instead trust those who would support and liberate you, guide you through fear and into life.

As best I can lay it out, I think this is the philosophy of the Truman show but there is so much more to read into it also. There is critique of systems of commodification and celebrity (i.e. capitalism) reducing human beings to a consumable good as well as encouragement to find and pursue your goals despite adversity and even sensibility which is also tied to the illusion of economic responsibility. You can’t put a camera inside a human head, you can never “know” them without being an active and intrinsic part of their life, but also there is need for reciprocation. If one half exists with ulterior motive then the entire relationship is rotten; sincere humanity is what creates real connections. Without such your world is fake. A world built around one person is a world where no one can truly live. All these actors have given up basically their entire lives for the sake of watching Truman have his life built around him by outside forces, have allowed themselves to be commodified and dehumanised for the good of one man, Christoph. The man at the top has delusions of grandeur and thinks only of his own bottom line, he cares not for his subjects but simply wants them to do as he tells them because it benefits him to commodify their lives and interactions. Even then he cannot stand to lose control and in seeking to demonstrate Truman’s “realness” he structures his life so thoroughly that eventually there’s no reality left, only a script and adverts. But the people watching still empathise with Truman because everyone in the working class understands what it is to be trapped because real life is our own Truman show and one day we must all pass through fear, step out of the dome and create a real life for ourselves outside of the system of commodification which consumes everyone’s life and removes all realness and sincerity and emotional catharsis from it.

I unreservedly love this film.

14/2/2021: Assorted Game Reviews

Horizon Zero Dawn (Unfinished due to technical issues, 45 hours inc. parts of Frozen Wilds): This game is really cool and really fun. I think it is defined by its incredible setting which somehow creates a fresh feeling post-apocalyptic environment. Said environment creates intriguing alt-future lore and some very interesting environments to explore. I love the machine designs (especially tallnecks!) and was very sad to hear one of their contributing artists passed away recently but I’m glad their work lives on in this visually stunning game. I’m a sucker for Ubisoft-style open world games simply because it tickles a certain kind of itch and somehow this non-Ubisoft game has outdone Ubisoft on their own formula, which is hilarious, but also good for me as running around this world exploring and clearing map markers is engaging fun. Not least because of the combat. I have a minor criticism here that the combat feels slightly awkward on mouse and keyboard, the arrows never seem to go where I’m aiming, but aside from that the experience of fighting is a grand one. Enemies never lose their threat and I love the weak spot system the game employs which makes every tool useful in niche circumstance and rewards curiosity. It specifically manages this in a way that I feel the Witcher series could learn from if it ever returns; by making head on assault less viable and encouraging tactical hunting. I do feel this system makes hunting robots so fun that by contrast hunting humans becomes a chore however, though I noted this improves in the dlc with the addition of humans with elemental weaknesses limited in number as they are. I cannot speak for the story in entirety but what I encountered was pretty good, though I feel as if it was only just really getting going at the point where I could not continue. I find Aloy to be a compelling and well portrayed protagonist and though I can guess about her origin and the ultimate end of the alt-future apocalypse I still want to see how it plays out on screen, so will return to this as soon as I’ve fixed it.

Rimworld (122 hours. Familiar with but do not own Royalty Expansion):

Rimworld is one of those super special games that I don’t think I have a single problem with. Fair warning it can be brutal and is heavily dependent on RNG but this allows it to create truly unique and interesting scenarios on a constant basis. In the wider perspective it could be described as formulaic, with regular cycles of managing the settlement between raids and random events, but the devils in the details. Colonist traits, health and skills dictate how you play and sometimes you’ll be forced to adapt as some colonists simply refuse to perform some tasks. The depth of health particularly amuses me, in that each little part of someone’s body is modelled in a way. If you’re in a firefight you may take a single bullet which grazes your finger and you’re fine. Alternately it could pierce your human leather cowboy hat, your skull and kill you instantly and the game will tell you exactly what happened. The risk/reward element is addictive enough, and that’s without accounting for just how cool it is to see your colony slowly expand. Establishing more and more options for crafting is fun and shows off the full range of different items in the game which is fucking extensive. Between clothing, weapons, armour, sculpture and drugs to name only a few you have the opportunity to create many varied production lines either for your colonists or to trade for money and there is a lot of fun to be had here as well as it is quite satisfying to see psychoid you have grown personally become the cocaine your colonists snort to help them stay awake on limited sleep. From an archaeologist’s perspective it is especially cool to look back over your base and see the hints of how and why structures were built and remember the history of your limitations and development through structure. I think the lore of the universe is really cool too, a very 40k-esque kind of place except with far less order, somehow. But the universe does an excellent job of feeling alive and moving constantly on both a planetary and interstellar level. You can fully believe that while you build wooden shacks to shield yourself from terrifyingly low temperatures there are simultaneously rich pieces of shit living it up on the glitterworld that’s one system over. The music does an excellent job of creating the wild west frontier atmosphere the game cultivates to great effect. Ultimately, for just being a grid with a series of different numbers attached, this game does a fantastic job of creating a compelling, brutal and very real colony management experience. I dont think I can properly put into words the grandness and scope of this one. I didnt even mention the modding scene, which is expansive and tailors to basically any need you could have. The Rim is a terrifying place but theres so much fun to be had.

Factorio (86 hours, mostly 1.1): Having completed a game of Factorio I can tell you reliably that this is one of the best games ever made, thoroughly addictive and fun. If you like numbers, logistics, TRAINS, its gonna be your thing. Not to mention its probably the only documented case of a game with no bugs (so far as official forums are concerned). Strictly speaking this games combat is not the most engrossing thing but good lord do you feel it when you acquire a flamethrower. The way each aspect of the game (production, research, logistics, combat, upgrades for everything therein) feeds into the next is a really well constructed balancing act such that you must experience the full game in order to complete it and I always appreciate this kind of design. I think its one of the best tenets of factory game design especially as its something present in Satisfactory too. Beyond all of this generalised good the game is also excellent in its intricacies, the architecture necessary to build a maximum efficiency base, the level of planning and organisation that can be employed is mind-blowing. Not to mention the mod community, factorion is already an extensive experience and some mad bastards have seen fit to complicate it further, hats off to them. This really is a great moment in gaming.

 Destiny 2 (198 hours, all expansions, played some post Forsaken release, mostly Season of Arrivals onwards, spent roughly £20 on microtransactions):

This is a very interesting and enjoyable experience, but I must say it can be a bit controversial at times. What its does particularly well is moment to moment gameplay and design in all aspects. The game is stunning; between environments, cosmetics, shaders ships and ghosts there’s a vast range of incredible things to see, all rooted in the “pseudo-magi-science” aesthetic it’s got going on. The class design is excellent and you really do feel like you embody this rampaging madman / agile gunman / space wizard archetype, whichever you choose to play. The abilities, especially supers, are very satisfying. Everything has heft and power behind it which can be felt in all aspects of design; sound and animation is top notch. Movement is cool, you can feel how fast you move both on foot and in vehicles and the navigation has a little fun subtlety depending on your class jump, even if you can bounce unpredictably occasionally. But for the love of god why is the wall kick in there? It has only ever served to push me from a ledge into a bottomless pit. You're looking to remove antiquated content? Start there. Some guns are not so good to shoot but there’s such a great range of guns that are fun its like complaining about one drop in an ocean; and enemies are fun to shoot at, each faction distinct in meaningful ways and presenting an effective challenge. Speaking of oceans, that’s one way to describe the lore. I haven’t dived too deep but it keeps going down forever and everything I’ve read is intriguing. As a former Elder Scrolls lore nut this is something I could definitely sink my teeth into, though its much more of a pulpy sci-fi vibe than a pure nonsense vibe. I do think the game has a bit of a loot problem, primarily in regards to the conflict between high stats and looking good. This should never be a conflict, and yes you can apply ornaments to any purple gear but that’s not enough when I spend the entire time grinding power levels and thus must change armour and weapons on a constant basis to progress. This game needs a true transmog system and if not that, rethink how gear power level works. Perhaps rather than earning new instances of gear you always possess a version of it and the loot you acquire in missions just upgrades your instance to your current overall power level? This would serve to do away with the current upgrade system which I think is a needless additional grind. Perhaps it could be retained in using enhancement cores to empower gear as present but necessitating a whole upgrade module to keep your favourite weapon on hand is kind of painful honestly. There is also at present the issue of sunsetting gear, mildly controversial to say the least. If it’s necessary to streamline the game and make it function moving forward so be it but surely loot pools should be adjusted so you can actually get useful loot from older locations? And why sunset personal instances of gear which can be acquired at the regular power level anyway? I had to throw away my favourite bow and hunt down a new version of the exact same weapon for… what reason? I do think destination navigation leaves a little to be desired also. I get that having a physical hub world is meaningful but Destiny does not have a very extroverted community; I can count the times someone noticed me in the tower on one hand. And its not even like there’s fun activities to be found in the same sense as say Deep Rock Galactic, which really does take advantage of its hub. Perhaps for players who simply want to go about their business all of the vendors could be set into a menu system where just clicking an icon takes you to their menu from anywhere in the system rather than, per se, having to go through an entire loading screen (Which takes you to orbit and back) to reach a location which serves simply as the front for four menus. These are established player problems. As a dedicated PvE player I can say that this game is immensely fun in combat and growing in power does feel really good. It’s something I recommend getting into, there’s just some very large creases that need ironing which the Bungie should really take the time to address rather than pushing out new in game content every three months.