#for various representations of them in movies and documentaries

[wolfofansbach]

Villains wiki is so fucking crazy

[pinkanonwrites]

(part 2. now featuring me rambling about a Modern Triguns hc i have)

okay so im Native American and i do think, in my hc (not yours. wanna reiterate that i am saying this for Fun Conversation and not to convince you of shit), i really like the idea of Vash and Knives being either surrounded by Indigenous American influence (people who are non-Indigenous can live on our reservations, maybe Rem is Indigenous and is cross-racially fostering them, i dunno) or Vash and Knives are white-passing Indigenous Americans themselves (i say "white-passing" bc i know their creator is Japanese but also Vash and Knives are pale-skinned, blue-eyed, blond boys so im assuming they are white? but some Japanese people could be mixed, that's true. i dont know enough about Trigun to know ethnicity canon/fanon, i just know "ah!!! they might be blond and blue-eyed, but i see Me in them!" so. headcanon. anyway)

and i say that bc a huge part of a pan-Indigenous culture (not that we are a monolith to generalize, theres so many fucking tribes and specific tribal cultures, but you get what i mean) is focused on the enviroment and our interconnectedness to it, ontop of our history of being genocided against up until the last Indian Residential School closed down in 2007 and we had our right to practice our culture given to us in 1978 (so 1978 is actually when American achieved religious-freedom) and now we are facing various Indigenous protective laws being disbanded in the U.S.-- it's easy for any marginalized group, esp ethnicities, to see relatability in the Plants. like, the Americas were founded with the blood of Black and Indigenous people. but also many other cultures have faced similar experiences. so i do think its easy to project any marginalized culture that has suffered onto Plants. its just also cool to be like "yo, my culture is very much based on protecting and understanding the enviroment, and this fictional group is called PLANTS? hell yeah, easy projection" but like. we arent the only culture that does that. so i dont think Indigenous Americans are special any form of projecting ourselves with Plants/Trigun. i just also AM Indigenous American and also AM projecting. so. im biased

and i am, in fact, doubly biased bc my Indigenous American father was a BIG fan of westerns, something Knives loves. my dad loved them bc He Is Very Old (im talking "my dad was 60, close to 70 when i was born" old. my mother is his second wife and they met when she was 40. so i was "wow thats late to have a baby, but not SUPER dangerous") and, though things have gotten slightly better since he was my age but uh.. the reason why he liked old westerns so much was because that WAS the only place where he could see people like him on-screen. even tho they died half the time. and were often racist. highly recommend the documentary "Reel Injun" if you would like a summary on how Indigenous people have been depicted on film, it is very funny for a documentary lmao but anyway, yes, this does also mean my dad was a Twilight fan. he watches those movies all the time (even tho they are ALSO racist against us, but its still really funny to say my dad is a Twi-hard lmao). and my dad wasnt alone in being like that, a LOT of Indigenous people my age (mid-20s) grew up with old western movies and whatnot bc it was the only representation we had for a long time, even moreso for any generation older than us. i can still hear "John Wayne's Teeth Hey-a, Hey-Hey-a" a'la the 90s movie, Smoke Signals, being chanted in my mind lmao

so Knives' lil "bang, bang" and how much he loved old west content made me feel especially seen lmao so i like the idea of him and Vash either being raised in an Indigenous culture by Indigenous people or being Indigenous themselves and being raised by Indigenous people. it brings me joy ♡ especially the latter, bc, tho im not blond and blue-eyed, i am white-passing. people assume i am white until i "out" myself (im also queer, i label myself as Two-Spirited actually, so i am using the verbage "out" knowingly lmao). i grew up hating my pale skin and my monolingual tongue, because that meant i looked like a colonizer and spoke the colonizer's langauge (and i, unfortunately, dont have the kind of brain that absorbs second languages well. at all. damn you auditory processing disorder lmao rip). i wanted to look more like my Indigenous relatives, and less like my white mother who married into our culture. and i see Knives' hatred of Plants' oppressors, and with the modern au and my hc of Indigentity and my personal history of struggling with self-hatred, and i see reflections of myself in him

and like. Knives' desire to kill all humans isnt translatable in a contemporary context, really. i dunno what job i would want my hc of him to have. you could argue he would be on the side of the extremeists in protesting, But Equating A Genocidal Character To A Contemporary Protestor feels.. bad lmao thats an understatement. but like. yeah, i do hc my personal modern au Knives to be a Land Back protestor, and i think Vash would agree actually. but im biased bc i support that movement too lmao i think the fact that Knives is so untranslatable to a modern context in all his variety adds to the tragedy of the Trigun/Trimax/Trigun Stampede/what-have-you narrative. i think modern au Knives might be antagonistic and a nag (or i could empathize with seeing him as modern cult-leader, tho thats irrelevant to this conversation. just bc i can empathize with it, doesnt mean i would ever create content of it or have it as my hc. cults are serious stuff people shouldnt trivialize and i dont have any experience with them, but if people want to vent out their feelings about cults using a modern Knives au?? i can understand that, im using him to project and vent too afterall lmao) to his brother, maybe be estranged, but overall i think the rift between them would be easier to breach than in the canon

i just find modern au Knives to, at least have the capacity to be, more sympathetic than his canon counterparts in all their variancies. he's fun to stretch around and play with lol

anyway, thanks for making a space where i felt welcomed to talk about Trigun modern hcs with you. i cant wait to see what you make. and, again, this was NOT an endorsement for you to follow me at all in this hc, i completely get (1) people have their own hcs of what Knives and Vash's ethnicities may be in a contemporary world and (2) that other people's modern au stories might not even feature disclosing an ethnicity. i just loved your excitement and wanted to spend part 1 engaging with you with your possible hcs, and part 2 sharing mine. i hope i worded all of this in a way that makes sense. thank you again ♡

Ooh, I really love your hcs! I'm always a little hesitant to do any in-depth headcanoning about the intricacies of racial minorities because I'm a very white person myself (a quarter Korean technically, but a blue-eyed blondie nonetheless), so it's really cool to read in-depth and interesting takes from people who obviously have a better scope on the ins and outs than I would!

I agree that Knives's genocidal nature isn't really easy to translate to a modern era. He's a tough guy to nail down! In my head at least, he's more of a nihilistic environmentalist while Vash is an optimistic one. I see him working in a very white-coat, laboratory, scientific field when it comes to conservation, he just strikes me as a scientist type. Him and Vash don't always see eye to eye on everything, and oftentimes he thinks he has to protect Vash because his brother is far too forgiving to the world, no matter how cruel it's been to him. But Vash doesn't want to be coddled either, he's not naive. He's making a conscious effort every day to choose to see the good in the world around them, and for one reason or another Nai just can't wrap his head around that.

He still loves his westerns though, I'm definitely keeping that. Nai was glued to Vash's stream when he was playing through Red Dead Redemption 2, no matter how much he says he doesn't care for video games.

I really liked reading your headcanons too, so thanks for reaching out! If you ever end up wanting to write anything longform that takes place in your modern AU, be sure to link it to me!

[omegaphilosophia]

The Impact of Film and Video on Society

Film and video have profoundly impacted society in various ways, shaping culture, politics, social behavior, and individual identity. Here are some key effects:

1. Cultural Influence:

Storytelling and Shared Narratives: Films and videos serve as powerful storytelling tools that create shared cultural narratives. They convey societal values, norms, and ideals, influencing how people perceive the world and their place within it.

Globalization of Culture: The global distribution of films and videos has facilitated the spread of cultural ideas across borders, promoting cultural exchange but also raising concerns about cultural homogenization and the dominance of certain cultures over others.

2. Social and Political Impact:

Awareness and Advocacy: Films and documentaries have been instrumental in raising awareness about social and political issues, from civil rights movements to environmentalism. They can mobilize public opinion and inspire activism.

Propaganda and Persuasion: Throughout history, films have also been used as tools of propaganda, shaping public opinion and reinforcing political ideologies, particularly during times of war or political unrest.

3. Behavior and Social Norms:

Shaping Social Norms: Film and video often depict societal norms, behaviors, and expectations, influencing how individuals perceive gender roles, relationships, and other social constructs. This can reinforce stereotypes or challenge them, depending on the content.

Consumer Behavior: Advertising through video content has a significant impact on consumer behavior, influencing buying decisions and popularizing trends.

4. Identity and Representation:

Representation of Diversity: Film and video provide platforms for representing diverse identities, including different races, genders, sexual orientations, and cultures. Positive representation can foster inclusivity and self-acceptance, while negative or stereotypical portrayals can perpetuate prejudice.

Identity Formation: Individuals often see themselves reflected in film and video, influencing their identity formation and how they relate to others in society. This is particularly impactful for marginalized communities seeking representation.

5. Education and Information:

Educational Content: Films and videos are widely used as educational tools, providing accessible and engaging ways to learn about history, science, and other subjects. Visual storytelling can enhance understanding and retention of information.

Misinformation: On the downside, the spread of video content also facilitates the dissemination of misinformation, especially in the digital age, where videos can go viral without verification.

6. Technological and Artistic Innovation:

Artistic Expression: Film and video have expanded the possibilities for artistic expression, combining visual, auditory, and narrative elements to create new forms of art. This has led to the development of various film genres, styles, and techniques.

Technological Advancements: The evolution of film and video technology has driven innovation in both the arts and other fields, from CGI in movies to virtual reality experiences that blur the line between fiction and reality.

7. Social Connectivity and Communication:

Social Media and Video Content: The rise of platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram has democratized video production, allowing individuals to create and share content widely. This has revolutionized how people communicate, share information, and build communities online.

Impact on Attention Span: The proliferation of short-form video content, particularly on social media, has raised concerns about its impact on attention spans and the quality of discourse.

8. Economic Impact:

Entertainment Industry: The film and video industry is a significant economic driver, creating jobs and generating revenue globally. It also influences tourism, fashion, and other industries.

Piracy and Intellectual Property: The digital distribution of films and videos has also led to challenges with piracy, affecting the economic model of the entertainment industry.

9. Psychological and Emotional Impact:

Emotional Engagement: Films and videos have the power to evoke strong emotional responses, from joy and laughter to fear and sadness. This emotional engagement can have therapeutic effects or, conversely, contribute to emotional desensitization.

Escapism and Coping Mechanism: For many, watching films or videos serves as a form of escapism, providing a temporary reprieve from the stresses of everyday life and offering a means of coping with personal challenges.

10. Ethical and Moral Reflection:

Moral Dilemmas: Films often explore complex moral dilemmas, prompting viewers to reflect on their values and beliefs. This can lead to greater empathy and ethical consideration in real-life situations.

Impact on Violence and Behavior: The portrayal of violence in films and videos has sparked debates about its potential influence on behavior, particularly among young audiences, leading to discussions about censorship and responsible media consumption.

Film and video have transformed society by shaping culture, influencing behavior, driving technological innovation, and providing new ways to communicate and express ideas. While they offer significant benefits in education, entertainment, and social awareness, they also pose challenges related to representation, misinformation, and ethical considerations. As these mediums continue to evolve, their impact on society will likely grow, further intertwining with our daily lives and collective consciousness.

[techtired]

How Do 4K HDR Projectors Stand Out from the Rest?

Visual technology has evolved dramatically over the past few years, driven primarily by the increasing importance of visual communication across various sectors. From business presentations to educational content delivery and even entertainment, the demand for high-quality visual displays has never been higher. One of the most transformative innovations in this realm is the introduction of a 4K HDR projector. These devices have set new standards for image clarity, color accuracy, and overall viewing experience, making them indispensable tools in today’s visually driven world. The Evolution and Impact of 4K HDR Projectors on Visual Technology In this article, we’ll delve into what makes 4K HDR projectors stand out from other display systems, focusing on their key features, applications, and the technology that powers them. Unparalleled Image Quality and Resolution The cornerstone of any visual display system is its image quality, and this is where 4K HDR projectors truly shine. With a resolution of 3840 × 2610 pixels, these projectors deliver four times the detail of Full HD, ensuring that every image is sharp and crystal clear. Whether you’re watching a blockbuster movie, playing a video game, or delivering a critical business presentation, the 4K resolution ensures an immersive viewing experience with lifelike detail. Unlike traditional projectors that may suffer from pixelation or blurred images, especially on large screens, 4K HDR projectors maintain their sharpness and clarity, even when projecting onto expansive surfaces. This makes them ideal for a variety of settings, from home theaters to large conference rooms. The Power of High Dynamic Range (HDR) High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a feature that significantly enhances the quality of visuals by expanding both the color range and contrast of the projector. HDR technology allows for brighter whites, deeper blacks, and a more extensive range of colors, resulting in images that are more vibrant and realistic. When HDR is combined with 4K resolution, the result is a truly unmatched display quality. The enhanced contrast ensures that even the subtlest details in dark or bright scenes are visible, while the expanded color gamut provides more accurate and lifelike colors. This combination is especially beneficial for content that demands high visual fidelity, such as nature documentaries, cinematic films, and detailed graphical presentations. Superior Color Accuracy and Wide Color Gamut Color accuracy is another critical aspect of visual display quality. No matter how sharp the image is, if the colors are not accurate, the viewing experience is compromised. 4K HDR projectors excel in this area by offering superior color accuracy and a wide color gamut. The wide color gamut means that the projector can display a broader range of colors, closer to what the human eye can perceive. This is crucial for displaying natural scenes, as well as for any content where color plays a significant role in conveying information. For instance, in educational settings, accurate color representation can help students better understand complex diagrams and visual data. In business, it ensures that brand colors are displayed consistently and correctly. Advanced Brightness Settings for Versatile Use One of the challenges with traditional projectors is their performance in varying lighting conditions. A projector that works well in a dark room may not deliver the same quality in a well-lit space, leading to washed-out images and poor visibility. This is where the advanced brightness settings of 4K HDR projectors come into play. These projectors are designed with high brightness levels, often exceeding 2,500 lumens, making them capable of delivering clear and vivid images even in rooms with ambient light. Moreover, the brightness can be adjusted according to the specific requirements of the environment, ensuring optimal viewing conditions whether you’re in a darkened home theater or a sunlit conference room. The ability to adjust brightness also extends the projector’s lifespan. By reducing the brightness in darker environments, you can conserve the projector’s lamp life, which is a critical consideration for long-term use. Cutting-Edge Processing Technology The processing technology in 4K HDR projectors is one of the features that set them apart from regular projectors. Traditional projectors often struggle to display low-resolution content effectively, leading to pixelation and a subpar viewing experience. However, 4K HDR projectors are equipped with advanced image processing capabilities that can upscale lower-resolution content to near-4K quality. This upscaling process involves sophisticated algorithms that enhance the detail, sharpness, and overall quality of the content. Whether you’re watching a standard-definition video or streaming content in 1080p, the projector can enhance it to take full advantage of the 4K display, ensuring that you always get the best possible image quality. Versatility Across Various Applications One of the most compelling reasons to invest in a 4K HDR projector is its versatility. Thanks to its combination of advanced brightness control, superior image quality, and high color accuracy, this type of projector can be used across a wide range of applications, making it a valuable tool for both personal and professional use. Home Entertainment For home entertainment, a 4K HDR projector is an excellent choice for creating a cinematic experience in your living room. The high resolution and HDR capabilities make movies, TV shows, and video games look stunning, with lifelike colors and deep contrasts. Additionally, the projector’s ability to handle fast-moving content without lagging makes it ideal for gaming enthusiasts who demand smooth and responsive gameplay. Education In educational settings, the clarity and color accuracy of a 4K HDR projector makes it easier to display complex information, such as scientific diagrams, maps, and multimedia presentations. The high resolution ensures that even the most minor text is readable from the back of the classroom, enhancing the learning experience for students. Business For businesses, a 4K HDR projector can elevate meetings, presentations, and collaborative projects. The sharpness of the image ensures that detailed charts, graphs, and other visual data are presented clearly. At the same time, the projector’s ability to handle various lighting conditions makes it a reliable choice for any meeting room setup. Moreover, remote collaborations can benefit from the high-quality visual output, making video conferences more engaging and effective. Enhanced Connectivity and Smart Features Modern 4K HDR projectors often come equipped with a range of connectivity options, including HDMI, USB, and wireless capabilities, allowing you to connect various devices with ease. Whether you’re streaming content from your smartphone, playing a video from a USB drive, or connecting a laptop for a presentation, these projectors offer seamless integration with multiple sources. Some models also include intelligent features such as built-in streaming apps, voice control, and compatibility with smart home systems. This added convenience makes it easier to access your favorite content directly from the projector, reducing the need for additional devices and cables. Long-Term Investment Value While the initial cost of a 4K HDR projector may be higher than that of standard projectors, it’s essential to consider the long-term value. The combination of superior image quality, durability, and versatility makes it a worthwhile investment for anyone who prioritizes high-quality visual experiences. Additionally, the ability to adapt to various settings and content types means that the projector will continue to meet your needs as technology and content standards evolve. Final Thoughts In conclusion, the 4K HDR projector is more than just a display device; it’s a powerful tool that enhances visual communication in a variety of settings. Its unmatched image quality, advanced processing technology, and versatility make it a standout choice for those who demand the best in visual performance. Whether you’re looking to create a home theater, improve educational presentations, or elevate business meetings, a 4K HDR projector is an investment that will deliver impressive results for years to come. Read the full article

[mcardel0]

Multimedia Blog 2 (Crazy Rich Asians)

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy film directed by Jon M. Chu, based on the novel by Kevin Kwan. Set in Singapore, the film follows Rachel Chu, an American-born Chinese professor, and her boyfriend Nick Young, who happens to be from one of the wealthiest families in Singapore. One of the main themes of the film is about cultural identity. It is a representation of Asian identities in popular visual culture, as well as commenting on the intersections of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and gender.

Stream Classic Cinema, indie film and top documentaries. Kanopy. (n.d.).

In Crazy Rich Asians, racial and ethnic identities are central to the narrative. The film depicts various aspects of Asian culture, from traditional customs to modern lifestyles. Through characters like Rachel Chu, who straddles the line between her Chinese heritage and American upbringing, and Nick Young, who grapples with his family's expectations and his own desires, the movie explores the complexities of Asian identity in a globalized world. The film uses stereotypes as a comedic aspect. This is done to challenge these stereotypes that are often seen in other popular forms of media in the past. A video from class called “Slaying the Dragon”, created by AWU, explores how Asian people have been represented in other forms of visual media. Actresses like Kim Miyori, or news anchors like Emerald Yeh, were forced into fitting stereotypical Asian appearances. 

Clifton, C. (2023, June 6). The ending of crazy rich Asians, explained. Movie Web.

Slaying the Dragon also addresses how socioeconomic factors intersect with race to shape opportunities for representation in media. The documentary illustrates how Asian Americans from different socioeconomic backgrounds may face different barriers to visibility and success in Hollywood, with class dynamics influencing the types of roles available to them. This difference in class and treatment is very apparent in Crazy Rich Asians. Rachel’s character is heavily scrutinized and treated poorly because of her socioeconomic status and her lack of “Traditional Chinese values”. Eleanor, Nick’s mother, was at odds with Rachel as she was not traditional, “Pursuing one’s passions… how American.” Rachel’s character was criticized for socioeconomic status, and her gender and the “traditional” values and roles that come with that. Both Slaying the Dragon, and Crazy Rich Asians comment on how Asian people are represented in popular visual culture, and how things like race, socioeconomic status, and gender, all played a role in that representation. 

Citations:

YouTube. (2011a, February 17). Slaying the dragon. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Ka_xIPsHE 

IMDb.com. (2018, August 15). Crazy rich Asians. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988

[ecsundance]

Blog #4

From the beginning of this course, my classmates and I have been discussing exactly what independent film is and what it means to us. We have watched various different indie films and documentaries while also reading a book titled, Indie: An American Film Culture by Michael Z. Newman, which is a book that details what aspects make an independent film. Indie is a term that is short for independent film and it has its own genre and culture surrounding it. 

The main aspects that make an indie film are three slogans; characters are emblems, form is a game, and when in doubt, read as anti-hollywood (Newman p.29). These are all various different aspects that define what an indie film is and how it can be spotted in the media. To break these down further I will talk about the first slogan which is that characters are emblems. Newman defines this slogan as characters becoming emblems of their social identities (Newman p.30). Newman emphasizes the importance of character and this can be seen in many of the films I watched in class and out of class. When looking at the second slogan, form is a game, the emphasis is placed on the things like camera angle and aesthetics (Newman p.34). The third and final slogan implies that indie/independent film “allows spectators to make sense of the most confounding avant-garde films by reasoning that they sometimes reject cinematic conventions as a way “to shock viewers out of their complacency”” (Newman p.42)  

In class we watched Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984), which was one of the first old indie films that I have watched and it was really interesting to view it with the mindset presented in the Indie textbook by Newman. I have decided to discuss this film because of how new it was for me. I had never seen a film like this so I was intrigued by the directorial choices. For this first film characters as emblems was extremely visible to me. This film follows a New Yorker whose Hungarian cousins come to visit him from her hometown. When looking at the characters I can easily break down each of the characters and determine how that added to the overarching plot. I think that this film is a perfect demonstration of what indie film actually is. It is shot in back and white and there is hardly any editing. The scenes are one continuous shot and then it cuts to black before the next scene begins. To me this is extremely anti-hollywood because it is something that I would not see in mainstream cinema. This can also be seen as form is a game because it approaches the film from an aesthetic perspective. Each of the characters also represent their social identities in ways that affect the actual plot. As an immigrant and a woman, Eva was treated extremely differently and because of that the film ended in the way it had. As men, Eddie and Willie 

Independent film rejects the way that mainstream culture would do things and I can relate this back to one of the films that I watched for my independent film reviews. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael, 2021), is a much newer indie film which is also why I thought I should bring it up since the film above is older. This film attacks a difficult topic from a comedic perspective which is something that is not done normally. It was interesting to be laughing at a film that revolves around two best friends having one more day before they end each other's lives in a suicide pact. The characters are also extreme representations of their social identities, accompanied by a lot of talk about their social identities. Val is a black man and Kevin is a white man and on the “last day together” they have conversations about their identities. Both of them are mentally ill and that also impacts their identities and how they see themselves in the world. 

Overall Newman does an excellent job explaining exactly what an independent film actually is and how it can be seen in movies. It is important to look at characters as emblems, and to understand form as a game that viewers actively play when watching movies. Anti-hollywood is also an important aspect because independent films go against what mainstream media does and that is something to look up to. I like to see things that go against the societal norms and that is exactly what 

Samantha Levy

[harryrich]

The Pagan Motorcycle Club, often simply referred to as the Pagans, is one of the prominent outlaw motorcycle clubs (OMCs) in the United States. Established in 1959 in Prince George's County, Maryland, the Pagans have a storied history and a distinct subculture within the broader motorcycle community. It's essential to note that the Pagans, like other OMCs, have faced scrutiny for alleged involvement in illegal activities, including organized crime. This article aims to provide an overview of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, shedding light on their history, culture, and the controversies surrounding them.

A Brief History

The Pagans Motorcycle Club was founded by Lou Dobkin, a former Marine, with a small group of motorcyclists who shared a passion for riding and a rebellious spirit. Over the years, the club has expanded its presence across the East Coast of the United States, with chapters in various states. The Pagans are known for their distinctive patch, which features the Norse fire giant Surtr wielding a sword.

Brotherhood and Culture

Like many motorcycle clubs, the Pagans place a strong emphasis on brotherhood. Members often refer to each other as "brothers," fostering a sense of family and loyalty. The club has a hierarchical structure, with a president overseeing the national organization and regional chapters led by vice presidents.

The Pagans have a distinctive culture that revolves around motorcycles, camaraderie, and a rebellious attitude. They often organize group rides, attend motorcycle rallies, and participate in events that celebrate the freedom of the open road. The club also has its own set of bylaws and codes that members are expected to follow.

Controversies and Legal Issues

Throughout its history, the Pagans Motorcycle Club has been associated with various legal issues and controversies. Law enforcement agencies have accused the club of engaging in criminal activities, including drug trafficking, racketeering, and violence. These allegations have led to numerous investigations and prosecutions targeting individual members and the organization as a whole.

The Pagans have been involved in conflicts with rival motorcycle clubs, particularly with the Hells Angels, which has resulted in violent clashes and incidents over the years. These tensions have contributed to the outlaw image associated with the Pagans and other similar organizations.

Media Portrayal

The Pagans Motorcycle Club has been featured in various media outlets, including documentaries and fictionalized representations in television shows and movies. These portrayals often emphasize the outlaw nature of the club, highlighting their clashes with law enforcement and rival motorcycle clubs.

Conclusion

The Pagans Motorcycle Club, like many outlaw motorcycle clubs, has a complex and controversial history. While some members may emphasize the camaraderie and love for motorcycles, the club has been associated with illegal activities and conflicts. It's important for individuals interested in motorcycle culture to approach such organizations with caution, considering the legal and ethical implications of involvement.

As with any motorcycle club or subculture, it's crucial for individuals to prioritize safety, legality, and ethical behavior. While some motorcycle clubs provide a sense of community and shared passion for riding, potential members should carefully consider the reputation and values of any organization before seeking membership.

[indig3aux01]

CTS A — Week 12 - Compulsory question 3

A collaborative project I am highly interested in doing is a social media campaign together with the Diploma in Creative Direction for Fashion. It would be about advocating for proper pockets in women’s clothing. In our collaborative campaign, they would spearhead the creative direction for a photoshoot exploring women’s pockets, highlighting the way it is right now versus the way it should and could be. My role would be to produce the deliverables that could visually communicate the campaign’s message, such as posters, publications, and videos. It would hopefully be an eye-opener to the public and inspire concrete change in the fashion industry.

For my final project, I want to explore the misrepresentation of women in pop culture. Various stereotypical portrayals of women still persist today wherein they exist to be damsels-in-distress, domesticized, objectified, or used to advance a man’s self-development (Walters et al.). I want to foster change in this matter by designing a website similar to the Bechdel test website but encompassing forms of media beyond movies—such as books, comics, video games, etc. This would be accompanied by a publication and a video that would provide a rationale for this advocacy and why there is a need for such a website.

An organization I would like to collaborate with is UNESCO, particularly in the aspect of their Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Lists. I want to aid in preserving the intangible cultural heritage of Asian countries through creating a documentary series; as well as creating branding and publication materials for the ICH campaign.

If there was one word to describe how I aspire my designs to be, it would be “memorable”. I aim to be a designer and/or illustrator for book covers, posters, and brand materials but I believe that a better placeholder for all these for now is a graphic designer in general. Through CTS A, I believe that I would be equipped with the skills, work ethic, and mindset to think creatively and critically for every project I am faced with, ensuring that each of them is memorable, as I aspire them to be.  

(348 words)

Cornwall, Gail. “Why girls need pockets - The Washington Post.” Washington Post, 15 January 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/01/15/why-girls-need-pockets/. Accessed 15 November 2023.

Diehm, Jan, and Amber Thomas. “Women's Pockets are Inferior.” The Pudding, https://pudding.cool/2018/08/pockets/. Accessed 15 November 2023.

Walters, Aly, et al. “A Look at Women Represented in Media.” Study Breaks, 17 July 2017, https://studybreaks.com/culture/women-representation-media/. Accessed 15 November 2023.

“What is Intangible Cultural Heritage? UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, https://ich.unesco.org/en/what-is-intangible-heritage-00003. Accessed 15 November 2023.

[ithastogosomewhere6]

Social Justice Film Festival

The Social Justice Film Festival, organised by the SJU English Department and NOUS, was held at Xavier Hall, SJU, on the 30th and 31st of January. The Social Justice Film Festival is an event to showcase what is happening around the world and especially in the film industry through films. It is called Social Justice Film Festival because they would like to portray what bad and good is happening throughout. 

R.P. Amudhan, the curator of this festival, had chosen 11 documentaries that are relevant to social justice and social issues. Various directors and filmmakers of the documentaries screened came for the interactive sessions. The English Department had been in touch with these filmmakers in the past years, as they have been coming every year.

(R.P. Amudhan)

Ayush, the General Secretary of NOUS explains that there were 7-10 office bearers of the various English Associations as well as 10-12 volunteers to help out at the Film Festival. They would mainly help with the registration and attendance of the audience, setting up the hall, and passing the mics around during the interactive sessions. It was a small event that did not require too many volunteers. Some of them had to come compulsorily but others came because they love the English Department and helping out. And also because they could deny people entry and take away their attendance.

I had the chance to attend the very last session of the Film Festival, which was a homage to K.P. Sasi, who has recently passed away in December 2022. Amudhan has chosen 2 of Sasi’s music videos to be presented, America America and Gaon Chhodab. K.P. Sasi was very passionate about justice, social issues and music. In America America, he protested against the many and various crimes perpetuated by America. Gaon Chhodab talks about the exploitation and destruction of tribal land and forest in the name of development.

(A scene from America America by K.P. Sasi)

The last film screened was called ‘Breath to Breath’ and was directed by R.P. Amudhan. It is an interview with K.P. Sasi where he talks about his childhood, school life, his introduction to literature, the accident of his life and how we must all make our lives meaningful even though they are accidents. 

(A scene from Breath to Breath by R.P. Amudhan)

Many loved the documentary ‘Longing/Taangh’ by Bani Singh, the daughter of hockey Olympian Grahnandan Singh, where she explores the life of her father and his teammates. Everyone also enjoyed the choice of films, the amount of diversity, representation and portrayal of various issues presented through the documentaries. Though in the end, some of the audience would have liked better seating and longer breaks between the movies to allow them to reflect on what they saw.

[signalwatch]

Doc Watch: Harlan County, USA (1976)

Watched:  01/14/2023

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  First

Director:  Barbara Kopple

One of the things I wonder about as The Kids have decided that labor movements are a fine idea and that they should unionize is if they're well educated on the incredibly bloody history of labor movements in the US.  I'm not recommending one path or the other (I am, but this isn't that blog) but things tend to get really dark when the operators see the minions getting organized.  

To a 20-something working at Starbucks in 2022 or 2023, it may seem like the good fight, but in the places Starbucks tends to exist, you can usually just pick up and go work somewhere else if the deal isn't what you want.  And, of course, 1972 is ancient history when old-timey things happened.  Like the events of the documentary, Harlan County, USA (1976) a film about striking coal minors in Kentucky and the various factors at play and persons involved.

For those familiar with the history of mines and strikes, which swiftly becomes part of one's education if you study US History, this looks familiar.  And because it happened in a period adjacent to my own lifetime, it feels far more present than reading about such activities in books.  But, yeah, the miners want better representation from their union (who is painfully and obviously corrupted) and the Feds (the oversight of mines feels wildly compromised), aren't getting it until an election finally occurs, and then a strike unfolds.  And violence and the threat of violence spills out.  

The thing which is not obvious is that the catalyst for the doc happening was the murder of a gentleman running against the company-approved President of the union who had been in power for years, and seemed to think this was the natural order of things - that he knew what was best for the miners.  But, yeah, a union election wound up including a murder of a man, his wife and daughter.  So the stakes here are wildly high as the union also sees armed thugs appear, threatening them and shooting into their homes.

Mostly the film tracks the conversations between the miners and the wives and mothers of miners, who are even more at the mercy of the mining company than their own husbands, but it also looks in on medical treatment and those suffering from black lung, and looks into prior incidents in mines that could have been prevented with more precautions from the mining company.  Throw in the fact the Feds and local law-enforcement are on the side of the owners, and it's utterly crushing watching the miners try to move the ball forward - let alone their wives with spines of steel.

With a soundtrack of Appalachian labor and traditional songs, the movie focuses more or less on the side of the miners.  There's not a lot of both-sides-ism, but it doesn't take much to guess what would be said as the doc sits in on shareholder and other meetings where the miners themselves seem an after thought, and the cost of lives is the cost of business for men in New York counting nickels and dimes.  

Before the film has ended, the crew itself is attacked.

Mining of course continues to be an issue.  Some have declared coal mining a way of life that must be protected, and there may be something to that - even as technology offers us alternatives, the geological and environmental impacts become obvious, and its not hard to see the folks who know no other way of life being used as pawns in political machinery working beyond the scope of their situation.  This movie seems to sit somewhere between the strikes of the 100 years before and the shift to the political movements that somehow shifted the miners to side with the anti-union forces (given how inept the unions seem here, one gets a clue as to why they'd throw their hands in the air).  

But I don't need to point out the relevance and quality of the film.  It shows up regularly on "best of" doc lists, it's in the Library of Congress, etc..  

At this point, I would recommend it not just for working as a piece of successful journalism, but also for connecting the 19th century to the 21st, and a fascinating portrait of a geographically isolated area and closed culture that rarely is seen except as cartoonish backdrops in film.  Instead, these people and their real situation is brought to the fore in living color.  And, frankly, the open villainy you would think was too unsubtle for a movie is right there on display.

https://ift.tt/P7u6jyB

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/a7yL0MN

[writingwithcolor]

I'm writing an AU of a movie that takes place in the 1880s USA, where a travelling white character and a Jewish character are waylaid by Native Americans, who they befriend. Probably because it was written by and about PoC (Jews) the scene actually avoids the stuff on your Native American Masterpost, but I'd still like to do better than a movie made in the 1980's, and I feel weird cutting them from the plot entirely. I have a Jewish woman reading it for that, but are there any things you (1/1)

2/2 1880s western movie ask--are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s? I do plan to base them on a real tribe (Ute, probably) and have proper housing/clothes and so forth, but right now I'm just trying to avoid or subvert awful cowboy movie tropes. Any ideas?

White and Jewish Men, Native American interactions in 1880s

I am vaguely concerned with how you only cite one of our posts about Native Americans, that was not written by a Native person, and do not cite any of the posts relating to this time period, or any posts relating to representation in media. 

Sidenote: if you want us to give accurate reflections of the media you’re discussing, please tell us the NAME. I cannot go look up this movie based off this description to give you an idea of what my issues are with this scene, and must instead trust that the representation is good based off your judgement. I cannot make my own judgement. This is a problem. Especially since your whole question boils down to “this scene is good but not great and I want it to be great. How can I do that?”

Your baseline for “good” could very well be my baseline for “terrible hack job”. I can’t give you the proper education required for you to be able to accurately evaluate the media you’re watching for racist stereotypes if you don’t tell me what you’re even working with.

When you’re writing fanfic where the media is directly relevant to the question, please tell us the name of the media. We will not judge your tastes. We need this information in order to properly help you.

Moving on.

I bring up my concern for you citing that one—exceptionally old—post because it is lacking in many of the tropes that don’t exist in the media critique field but exist in the real world. This is an issue I have run into countless times on WWC (hence further concern you did not cite any other posts) and have spoken about at length. 

People look at the media critique world exclusively, assume it is a complete evaluation of how Native Americans are seen in society, and as a result end up ignoring some really toxic stereotypes and then come to the inbox with “these characters aren’t abc trope, so they’re fine, but I want to rubber stamp them anyway. Anything wrong here?”. The answer is pretty much always yes. 

Issue one: “Waylaid” by Native Americans

This wording is extremely loaded for one reason: Native American people are seen as tricksters, liars, and predators. This is the #1 trope that shows up in the real world that does not show up in media critique. It’s also the trope I have talked about the most when it comes to media representation, so you not knowing the trope is a sign you haven’t read the entirety of the Native tag—which is in the FAQ as something we would really prefer you did before coming at us to answer questions. It avoids us having to re-explain ourselves.

Now, hostility is honestly to be expected for the time period the movie is set in. This is in the beginnings (or ramping up) of residential schools in America* and Canada, we have generations upon generations of stolen or killed children, reserves being allocated perhaps hundreds of miles from sacred sites, and various wars with Plains and Southwest peoples are in full force (Wounded Knee would have happened in 1890, in December, and the Dakoa’s mass execution would have been in 1862. Those are just the big-name wars. There absolutely were others). 

*America covers up its residential schools abuse extremely thoroughly, so if you try to research them in the American context you will come up empty. Please research Canada’s schools and apply the same abuse to America, as Canada has had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission about residential schools and therefore is more (but not completely) transparent about the abuse that happened. Please note that America’s history with residential schools is longer than Canada’s history. There is an extremely large trigger warning for mass child death when you do this research.

But just because the hostility is expected does not mean that this hostility would be treated well in the movie. Especially when you consider the sheer amount of tension between any Native actors and white actors, for how Sacheen Littlefeather had just been nearly beaten up by white actors at the 1973 Academy Awards for mentioning Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act had only been passed two years prior in 1978. 

These Native actors would not have had the ability to truly consent to how they were shown, and this power dynamic has to be in your mind when you watch this scene over. I don’t care that the writers were from a discriminated-against background. This does not always result in being respectful, and I’ve also spoken about this power imbalance at length (primarily in the cowboy tag).

Documentaries and history specials made in the 2010s (with some degree of academic muster) will still fall into wording that harkens Indigenous people to wolves and settlers as frightened prey animals getting picked off by the mean animalistic Natives. This is not neutral, or good. This is perpetuating the myth that the settlers were helpless, just doing their own thing completely unobtrusively, and then the evil territorial Native Americans didn’t want to share.

To paraphrase Batman: if I had a week I couldn’t explain all the reasons that’s wrong.

How were these characters waylaid by the Native population? Because that answer—which I cannot get because you did not name the media—will determine how good the framing is. But based on the time period this movie was made alone, I do not trust it was done respectfully.

Issue 2: “Befriending”

I mentioned this was in an intense period of residential schools and land wars all in that area. The Ute themselves had just been massacred by Mormons in the Grass Valley Massacre in 1865, with ten men and an unknown number of women and children killed thanks to a case of assumed association with a war chief (Antonga Black Hawk) currently at war with Utah. The Paiute had been massacred in 1866. Over 100 Timpanogo men had been killed, with an unknown number of women and children enslaved by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City in 1850, with many of the enslaved people dying in captivity (those numbers were not tracked, but I would assume at least two hundred were enslaved— that’s simply assuming one woman/wife and one child for every man, and the numbers could have very well been higher if any war-widows and their children were in the group, not to mention families with multiple children). This is after an unknown group of Indigenous people had been killed by Governor Brigham Young the year prior, to “permanently stop cattle theft” from settlers. 

The number of Native Americans killed in Utah in the 1800s—just the number of dead counted (since women and children weren’t counted)—in massacres not tied to war (because there was at least one war) is over 130. The actual number of random murders is much higher; between the uncounted deaths and how the Governor had issued orders to “deal with” the problem of cattle theft permanently. I doubt you would have been tried or convicted if you murdered Indigenous peoples on “your” land. This is why it’s called state sanctioned genocide.

This is not counting the Black Hawk War in Utah (1865-1872), which the Ute were absolutely a part of (the wiki articles I read were contradictory if Antonga Black Hawk was Ute or Timpanogo, but the Ute were part of it). The first official massacre tied to the war—the Bear River Massacre, ordered by the US Military—places the death count of just that singular massacre at over five hundred Shoshone, including elders, women, and children. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the number of Indigenous people killed in Utah from 1850, onward, is over a thousand, perhaps two or three.

Pardon me for not reading beyond that point to list more massacres and simply ballparking a number; the source will be linked for you to get an accurate number of dead.

So how did they befriend the Native population? Let alone see them as fully human considering the racism of the time period? Natives were absolutely not seen as fully human so long as they were tied to their culture, and assimilation equalling some sliver of respect was already a stick being waved around as a threat. This lack of humanity continues to the present day.

I’m not saying friendship is impossible. I am saying the sheer levels of mistrust that would exist between random wandering groups of white/pale men and Indigenous communities wouldn’t exactly make that friendship easy. Having the scene end be a genuine friendship feels ignorant and hollow and flattening of ongoing genocide, because settlers lied about their intentions and then lined you up for slauther (that’s how the Timpanogo were killed and enslaved).

Utah had already done most of its mass killing by this point. The era of trusting them was over. There was an active open hunting season, and the acceptable targets were the Indigenous populations of Utah.

(sources for the numbers: 

List of Indian Massacres in North America Black Hawk War (1865-1872))

Issue 3: “Proper housing/clothes and so forth”

Do you mean Western style settlements and jeans? If yes, congratulations you have written a reservation which means the land-ripped-away wounds are going to be fresh, painful, and sore.

You do not codify what you mean by “proper”, and proper is another one of those deeply loaded colonial words that can mean “like a white man” or “appropriate for their tribe.” For the time period, it would be the former. Without specifying which direction you’re going for, I have no idea what you’re imagining. And without the name of the media, I don’t know what the basis of this is.

The reservation history of this time period seems to maybe have some wiggle room; there were two reservations allocated for the Ute at this time, one made in 1861 and another made in 1882 (they were combined into the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in 1886). This is all at the surface level of a google and wikipedia search, so I have no idea how many lived in the bush and how many lived on the reserve. 

There were certainly land defenders trying to tell Utah the land did not belong to them, so holdouts that avoided getting rounded up were certainly possible. But these holdouts would be far, far more hostile to anyone non-Native.

The Ute seemed to be some degree of lucky in that the reserve is on some of their ancestral territory, but any loss of land that large is going to leave huge scars. 

It should be noted that reserves would mean the traditional clothing and housing would likely be forbidden, because assimilation logic was in full force and absolutely vicious at this time. 

It’s a large reserve, so the possibility exists they could have accidentally ended up within the borders of it. I’m not sure how hostile the state government was for rounding up all the Ute, so I don’t know if there would have been pockets of them hiding out. In present day, half of the Ute tribe lives on the reserve, but this wasn’t necessarily true historically—it could have been a much higher percentage in either direction.

It’s up to you if you want to make them be reservation-bound or not. Regardless, the above mentioned genocide would have been pretty fresh, the land theft in negotiations or already having happened, and generally, the Ute would be well on their way to every assimilation attempt made from either residential schools, missionaries, and/or the forced settlement and pre-fab homes.

To Answer Your Question

I don’t want another flattened, sanitized portrayal of genocide.

Look at the number of dead above, the amount of land lost above, the amount of executive orders above. And try to tell me that these people would be anything less than completely and totally devastated. Beyond traumatized. Beyond broken hearted. Absolutely grief stricken with almost no soul left.

Their religion would have been illegal. Their children would have been stolen. Their land was taken away. A saying about post-apocalyptic fiction is how settler-based it is, because Indigenous people have already lived through their own apocalypse.

It would have all just happened at the time period this story is set in. All of the grief you feel now at the environment changing so drastically that you aren’t sure how you’ll survive? Take that, magnify it by an exponential amount because it happened, and you have the mindset of these Native characters.

This is not a topic to tread lightly. This is not a topic to read one masterpost and treat it as a golden rule when there is too much history buried in unmarked, overfull graves of school grounds and cities and battlefields. I doubt the movie you’re using is good representation if it doesn’t even hint at the amount of trauma these Native characters would have been through in thirty years.

A single generation, and the life that they had spent millennia living was gone. Despite massive losses of life trying to fight to preserve their culture and land.

Learn some history. That’s all I can tell you. Learn it, process it, and look outside of checklists. Look outside of media. 

And let us have our grief.

~ Mod Lesya

On Question Framing

Please allow me the opportunity to comment on “are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s?” That strikes me as the same type of question as asking what color food I’d like for lunch. I don’t see how the cultural backgrounds of characters I have literally no other information about is supposed to make me want anything in particular about them. I don’t know anything about their personalities or if they have anything in common.

Compare the following questions:

“Are there things you’d like to see in a movie where two American women, one from a Nordic background and one Jewish, are interacting?” I struggle to see how our backgrounds are going to yield any further inspiration. It certainly doesn’t tell you that we’re both queer and cling to each other’s support in a scary world; it doesn’t tell you that we uplift each other through mental illness; it doesn’t go into our 30 years of endless bizarre inside jokes related to everything from mustelids to bad subtitles.

Because: “white”, “Jewish”, and “Native American” aren’t personality words. You can ask me what kind of interaction I’d like to see from a high-strung overachieving woman and a happy-go-lucky Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and I’ll tell you I’d want fluffy f/f romance. Someone else might want conflict ultimately resolving in friendship. A third person might want them slowly getting on each other’s nerves more and more until one becomes a supervillain and the other must thwart her. But the same question about a cultural demographic? That told me nothing about the people involved.

Also, the first time I meet a new person from a very different culture, it might take weeks before discussion of our specific cultural differences comes up. As a consequence, my first deep conversations with a Costa Rican American gentile friend were not about Costa Rica or my Jewishness but about things we had in common: classical music and coping with breakups--which are obviously conversations I could have had if we were both Jewish, both Costa Rican gentiles, or both something else. So in other words, I’m having trouble seeing how knowing so little about these characters is supposed to give me something to want to see on the page.

Thank you for understanding.

(And yes, I agree with Lesya, what’s with this trend of people trying to explain their fandom in a roundabout way instead of mentioning it by name? It makes it harder to give meaningful help��.)

--Shira

[blanket-boi]

Infinity Train is a Masterpiece (Pt.1) - Introduction

  Infinity Train is a masterwork in sci-fi comedic horror for all ages with a novel concept, powerful experiences, interpretable character relationships, and a kickass amount of representation that more than deserved to have it’s entire story told; it is a tragedy that we may only ever see half of the content that Owen Dennis intended to create from it.

^ [created by @ashidaiiart​, posted on twitter Apr 29, 2021 for the #FinishInfinityTrain tag]

The reasoning behind the nigh universally praised show’s cancellation was alleged due to a “lack of child entry point” as the ages of passengers have indeed grown in age over the seasons.

Overall, it should be noted that in recent years there was a changing of presidents from Christina Miller from 2014-2019, to Michael Ouweleen (2019–2020), and now to Tom Ascheim (2020-present). This is not to say that they made the decision to cut the show themselves, I haven’t a clue about Mr. Ouweleen’s decisions

However, Cartoon Network did not always have this mentality. In the pandemic it may be hard to recall, but there was, if my mush of a brain can remember, a time before when artists weren’t forced into extremely limited 1 to 2 season contracts. Perhaps shows that featured all adult casts... That renewed multiple times over with large 20-40 episode blocks...

Huh, you know funny story Owen Dennis was a storyboard writer for this show. Amazing show, btw. I’m sure that I won’t be haunted by this show as I dive into my months long research into Infinity Train and its production process in comparison to this one...

But anywho! My point that I’m going to be driving at with this particular essay series is what makes cartoons like... WORTH watching. What do we find enjoyable about cartoons, what people usually want to see out of cartoons, and the friction that comes from the medium when it is put at odds with corporate interests in appealing to a particular age demographic.

So the big question is, where does that place Infinity Train? What is it?

This show is NOT a children's show, it is a show for all ages, and that is a good thing. We should be making more shows that we can show our children and also gain something substantive from it, cause uh, I think it’s good to absorb enriching content that makes you think about yourself and how you can grow as a person from seeing human struggles in these fantastical situations.

For some reason, I feel like there’s this attitude that people being age inclusive got it wrong for being present and including/thinking about various age groups and instead we should be uh... gatekeep the medium from older audiences because “strictly comedic” shows for the youngest demographic are allegedly Cartoon Network’s bread and butter, despite previous success from Adventure Time or Steven Universe who had long runnings and nuanced plots (even those I hear were hard fought battles, though)

I think that the attitude that was shown here does a huge disservice to many worthwhile and impactful pieces of media that want to do anything other than exploit a generation of people for support when other age ranges of people could be more emotionally and analytically critical of your work. It’s also a show made by adults, to make money for adults. And in this essay series I’m gonna show why Infinity Train was a great shining example of what shows could be if we didn’t have this mentality, and what it says if we are to let shows like this die  for reasons like this.

I don’t want infinity train to necessarily make as much content as possible, I want them to tell their story to their satisfying completion. So if the team (not just owen, but the many people who worked on it who are now separated and working on different projects now) wants to do something, then great, I will happily watch a movie for book 5 or a whole 4 more seasons or even just another One-One train documentary, but first and foremost, I want them to tell the story that they want to and can reasonably make... and be PROPERLY PAID FOR.

This is my first part of Hyperfixstation, and I guess my essay career as a whole (late in the game at 23, geez), so I just wanna say right before I get into this LONG essay series what this is for. I want to talk about media and the teams of it that executed their projects really well, and I want to gush about them and see if I can adequately explain why I love something so much, and after seeing all my Cultivated Content ™ I know how to do essays now and I want to do them myself because my partner says I should do things in a more academic approach, and the theatre kid in me hisses like a feral cat being introduced to humans for the first time, so this is the best middleground that I could come up with. This series won’t be restricted to shows either, it’ll be any form of media I have a lot of thoughts about, good or bad.

Hope you guys enjoyed! See you all in Part 2 when I talk about the 10 episode, 10 minute format!

[gianarosegoestothemovies]

New Queer Cinema

Starting from the late 1980s through early 1990s, a “new wave” of queer films became critically acclaimed in the film industry, allowing the freedom of sexuality to be featured in films without the burden of approval from the audience. This raw and honest film genre displays the truth, secrets, and vulnerability of the LGBTQ+ community and the representation that is deserved. The New Queer Cinema movement was started by scholar Ruby Rich who wrote “This movement in film and video was intensely political and aesthetically innovative, made possible by the debut of the camcorder, and driven initially by outrage over the unchecked spread of AIDS. The genre has grown to include an entire generation of queer artists, filmmakers, and activists.” (Rich) This movement started from Rich’s writing piece, not the filmmakers themselves. An article by Sam Moore discusses Rich’s start of the movement. He states, “Rich acknowledges that the films and filmmakers she considers under the umbrella of New Queer Cinema (including Todd Haynes, Cheryl Dunye, Isaac Julien, Gus Van Sant and Gregg Araki), don’t share a single aesthetic vocabulary or strategy or concern.” Instead, they’re unified by the ways that they queer existing narratives, subvert expectations and foreground queerness in material where it had been only implicit” (Moore). The journey through the New Queer Movement started with Ruby Rich defining the movement through her writing and inspiring filmmakers to continue producing movies with the correct representation.

           Actress from Gone with the Wind Susan Hayward claimed that Queer cinema existed “decades” before an official title was given to the genre. French filmmaker Jean Cocteau created Le sang d'un poète in 1934 which is documented as one of the earliest Queer films. This avant-garde style of film is associated with Queer cinema filmmakers such as and is displayed in many upcoming films such as Ulrike Ottinger, Chantal Akerman and Pratibha Parmar. The influence of Queer theory that emerged from the late 1980s helped guide the movement with the creators. The theory states "Challenge and push further debates on gender and sexuality.” Another closely related statement by feminist theory states,"Confuse binary essentialisms around gender and sexual identity, expose their limitations.” Queer cinema filmmakers were sometimes known to depict their films in a “mainstream” way that is agreeable to the audience. There was no exposure to the truths and horrors that the LGBTQ+ community experience and had a lack of representation of historical elements or themes. The concept of “straightwashing” was described to filmmaker Derek Jarman’s 1991 historical film Edward II. This film received backlash from the LGBTQ+ community due to the film’s queer representation catering to heterosexuality and heteronormativity.  

           The truth of the movement was for Queer films to stop romanticizing or bringing positive images of gay men and lesbian woman. The push for authenticity and liberation for the community needed to be represented in films. New Queer films were more radical and sought to challenge social norms of “identity, gender, class, family and society.” (Wikiwand.com).

           To quote the amazing drag queen of all time RuPaul “Everyone is born naked, and the rest is drag” the idea of gender identity and representation in the community is unlimited, why do you need to follow the norms of society when anything is possible? The late 90s documentary Paris is Burning introduced the audience to drag culture in New York City and the people of color who were involved in the community. The term “aesthetic” was repetitive in the research of New Queer Cinema which suggests the significance involved with the style of the films. The documentary includes the aesthetic of the drag world involving the makeup, fashion, and politics. AIDS activism was involved heavily in New Queer films and ridiculed the failure of Ronald Reagans acknowledgment of epidemic and the social stigma experienced by the gay community. Conservative politics occurred during this movement resulting in lack of media coverage and government assistance for the LGTBQ+ community. This political struggle did not discourage the community and the fight is still continuing today.

           Beginning in the 2010s LGBT filmmakers Rose Troche and Travis Mathews created a “newer trend” in queer filmmaking that evolved toward more universal audience appeal. In an article from Wikiwand.com states,

           “Rich, the originator of the phrase New Queer Cinema, has identified the emergence in the late 2000s of LGBT-themed mainstream films such as Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and The Kids Are All Right as a key moment in the evolution of the genre.[20] Both Troche and Mathews singled out Stacie Passon’s 2013 Concussion, a film about marital infidelity in which the central characters' lesbianism is a relatively minor aspect of a story and the primary theme is how a long-term relationship can become troubled and unfulfilling regardless of its gender configuration, as a prominent example of the trend” (Wikiwand).

           The film Watermelon Woman was one of the first queer films I watched for a film class, and this film allowed me to dive deeper into the subject I care a lot about which is the representation of queer narratives about woman of color. Queer woman and men deal with the most discrimination. It is unfair and cruel to see the difference of racial treatment in the LGBTQ+ community because the backbone motto is full exclusion and equal rights. The film Watermelon Woman shined light on LGBTQ+ black woman and interrogated the “Mammy” stereotype that most films depict about black actresses. Minority narratives were pushed into the circuit of the movement with developed into the later academy-award winning film Moonlight that displays those representations makes film history!

           Films to recognize in the height of the New Queer film movement are

Mala Noche (1986), Gus Van Sant, was an exploration of desire through the eyes of a young white store clerk named Walt and his obsession with a young undocumented immigrant named Johnny. The film is shot in black and white on 16mm film, contains many of the early Van Sant fixations that viewers would later see get refined in My Own Private Idaho, including male hustlers, illegality, and class.

Chinese Characters (1986), Richard Fung, this early film asks still-pressing questions about the nature of gay desire when it’s mediated via pornographic images of white men. The video defies genre, mixing documentary with performance art and archival footage to explore the tensions of being a gay Asian man looking at porn.

Looking for Langston (1989), Isaac Julien, this short film, a tribute to the life and work of Langston Hughes, is a beautiful and vibrant elegy. Julien creates a lineage of queer black ancestors for himself. The film moves like the poetry it recites, playing with the gaze and how various eyes look upon the black male body.

Tongues Untied (1989), Marlon Riggs, guided by the writer Joseph Beam’s statement, “Black men loving black men is the revolutionary act,” Riggs goes through his own complicated journey of homophobia from other black people, and then racism in the gay community, to find a community of queer black people.

Poison (1991), Todd Haynes, the three parts of the film tell a story about ostracism, violence, and marginality: the bullied child who allegedly flies away after shooting his father in order to save his mother (“Hero”), a brilliant scientist who accidentally ingests his own serum to become the “leper sex killer” (“Horror”), and a sexual relationship between two men in a prison (“Homo”). Exploits radical work that Haynes later uses in his other films.

The Living End (1992), Gregg Araki, the film follows Luke, a sexy homicidal drifter who has a distaste for T-shirts, and Jon, an uptight film critic in Los Angeles. Both are HIV-positive, and as their relationship unfolds, they fight about being respectful or lustrous.  

Swoon (1992), Tom Kalin, a black and white film that romanticizes wealthy Chicago lovers kill a 14-year-old boy named Bobby Franks because they want to see if they are smart enough to do it. The murder is more a play of power between them, with Loeb weaponizing sex as a way to control Leopold.

Rock Hudson’s Home Movies (1992), Mark Rappaport, Rock Hudson’s Home Movies is a documentary made up of glances and innuendos from Rock Hudson’s persona, displaying how this dashing, leading man of the Hollywood Golden Age was a closeted gay man.

MURDER and Murder (1996), Yvonne Rainer, is known for her experimental filmmaking and choreography, this film represents a late-in-life lesbian named Doris who suffers from neuroses and breast cancer. Her partner, Mildred, a queer academic, tells the story of their romance as older women. Rainer also makes appearances throughout the film in a tux, going on rants about smug homophobic parents while showing her bare chest with a mastectomy scar.

           1992 was the year of the highest amount of New Queer films being produced and exceeding box office expectations. Upcoming 2000s films such as “Booksmart”, “Call me by your Name”, “The Prom”, and “Rocketman” all represent the truths and authenticity of the LGBTQ+ community and creates pathways for more films to include these cinematic themes. The movement continues to grow and succeed in the film industry with new creators and actors being more honest about the LGBTQ+ community.

[ilooklikeaburntchickenugget]

Only Mine Pt. 5

A/N: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SWEET MESSAGES ABOUT THIS SERIES! It’s honestly so fun to write about so I’m glad all of you like it as much as I do. Pairing: Gerard Way x F!Pop Star!Reader Word count: 2,337 Warnings: Some swearing, mentions of anxiety and stress

You were humming an idea you had, your phone sitting out and playing one of the hundreds recordings you had for songs. Sweatpants and a large hoodie with fuzzy socks were the only appropriate attire for the recording studio, your hair carelessly held up by a scrunchie in a bun on the top of your head, glasses slightly crooked on your face.

“You get it, right?” You asked from the couch, where your legs were propped up against your chest.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do.” Ray smiled, turning back to the computer and putting in a few various sounds.

“I’m thinking of putting in these ‘Oh’ sounds over and over, as background, pre-verse and then in the chorus.” You included.

“That would be cool.” Gerard laid back in the chair in between you and Ray, “Make them lower though, they’ll contrast your voice.” You nodded, agreeing.

“I want to make it sound frantic, almost anxious, right? That’s kind of the feeling of the song.” “Well, yeah, that makes sense with the meaning and lyrics.” Ray added on and you nodded. “I think it sounds sick.” “Thanks man.” You smiled lightly, “I have like 20 of these. Not the same song, but for the new album.” “Already?” He asked, shocked.

“Don’t underestimate her,” Gerard looked over at him, arms crossed and slouching back, “Give her five minutes and she’ll have an entire fucking song conducted.” You nodded.

“Maybe not five, but something along those lines.”

“Have you made a title for the record?” Ray asked next and you shook your head.

“I have most of it composed, I don’t have a title though.” You said, “It’s a concept album, so as you guys know, it’s written like a book. But there’s this whole plot and everything. So it’s not like I can name it after someone or something, like I did with the last one, I have to find something.” “What about a song name?” Gerard looked up at you, “Name it after a song, maybe. One that you feel embodies the record as a whole.” “I don’t know,” You sighed out of partial frustration, “I’m not good at naming albums. I almost named the last one Gerard, but Ray told me no.” You could hear Ray lightly snicker remembering that.

“Really?” Gerard asked, a look of slight shock on his face.

“What?” You asked, “You act like you don’t know that entire record is about you.” He shrugged.

“It still flatters me.” “Well this one is kinda about you,” You admitted, “More about the picture the media has painted us out to be.” “You mean bad boy makes innocent girl bad?” He asked and you nodded.

“It’s almost set out as a character v. self, character v. character, and character v. society album.” You explained, “She’s frustrated with herself because she knows he’s bad but she loves him, she’s mad at him because he’s that way but she also loves him for it, and she’s mad at everyone who’s telling her he’s bad, because she knows it, but she can’t help it.” “So like an addiction?” Ray asked and you nodded.

“That’s why Clean is on there. It’s the last track, it’s her almost cleansing herself from everything.” “That makes sense.” Gerard nodded.

“I mean, I think it’s brilliant.” Ray began playing with a few more sounds while talking, “I hope people take it as it is, AKA it’s very ironic, but addressing that by making an entire record is pretty bad ass.” You lightly laughed.

“Thanks,” You smiled, “Maybe Gerard is making me corrupt, making me a badass and all.” You winked playfully at him.

“Ah yes, I’m going to make you my emo queen.” The three of you began laughing.

“I am thinking about changing my look to take on this alter ego,” You began, “You cut off all your hair and bleached it to be a representation of The Patient.” You looked to Gerard, “I don’t think I would do anything to my hair, but I would change up my wardrobe and makeup look.” “Like start off as you are and gradually get more rebellious looking?” Ray asked and you nodded.

“The paparazzi will love that.” You lightly smiled sarcastically, a few moments of silence at the end. “Thank you guys, by the way, for taking time off to help me make this.” “No problem,” Ray smiled and nodded, “Besides, everyone loves you and we’ve been having some writing block lately.” “And I didn’t have a choice.” Gerard said. You eyed him, throwing a pen which hit his head and he very lightly flinched at the impact.

“Oh stop it.” You rolled your eyes.

“Ready to go in?” Ray asked, motioning to the recording booth. You nodded getting up and grabbing a pair of headphones. You put them on, beginning to do some short vocal warm ups. Ray was sitting right outside through the glass window at the panel, Gerard leaning over and playing with a few things on the sound board.

“Ready?” Ray asked into the mic and you nodded, pulling out notes on your phone to read lyrics.

“We’re just doing verse and chorus, right? No belts or high notes or anything?” He shook his head.

“That’ll be next.” He responded and you nodded. The music started up, giving you a few seconds to prepare before you began singing the lyrics, both Gerard and Ray actively adjusting various switches and such. Finally, when the song wrapped up, you took a few steps back from the mic as they stopped the recording.

“How was that?” You asked.

“Incredible as always.” Ray smiled and you smiled back, “Now we have to work on high notes and belting for the bridge and final chorus, then we can do background vocals.” You nodded, “Let me just edit a bit of the track.” It only took him a matter of minutes before replaying the track, a huge smile plastered on your face the entire time.

“It’s sick!” You smiled and clapped, jumping a bit.

“It’s honestly incredible.” Gerard smiled too.

“Thank you.” You smiled back.

“Ready for everything else?” Ray asked and you nodded.

It took you another hour of recording and getting everything before you could finally retire the recording and production process for the song, getting out of the booth and grabbing a water.

The finished product was incredible, it had the perfect amount of everything from base to drums with a little bit of synth and a light echo attached to your voice.

“Do you think this new record’s gonna be as big as the last?” Ray asked you, all three of you now on various pieces of furniture in the studio and eating burritos, which had been jointly decided upon pretty quickly when you all grew hungry. “Mmm,” You hummed, thinking for a minute, “I don’t know. Probably not considering winning 10 Grammys in one night is a record,” “On top of the, like 40 other awards you got.” Ray laughed.

“Yeah, true,” You agreed, “But I don’t make music to win awards or anything. I make music because I want to and because I love to and other people like it.” You explained, “You guys are the same.” They nodded. “The awards are just something nice.”

“I mean, you’re basically on top of the world.” Ray responded.

“Yeah, but that’s what makes it all the more scary,” You began, “You kind of look down from your stance at the top, having everything you’ve ever dreamed of in your career, and you have to ask what do you do next. And then it turns in to panic because there’s no where to go. And that’s why Gerard is up with me every other night while I’m having a panic attack about what the fuck I do next.”

“I don’t think I’m much help.” He added.

“You’re more help than if I was alone.” You responded, “But I’m kind of excited for this new era. There’s no limits anymore, I feel like, so I’ll just take on this good girl gone bad character. Not in real life, of course, but my alter ego.” “So you’re gonna reset everything?” Ray asked and you nodded.

“Yeah, hopefully. Starting with my closet.” You took a bite of your food, “Gee, take me to Hot Topic.” He rolled his eyes.

“If you want to do that, then just take all my leather jackets.” “You have too many anyways.” “Do not,” He warned, “I take pride in my jacket collection.” This time you rolled your eyes. “You have an entire rack in your closet for jackets.” “Uh huh, says Miss ‘I have to have an entire room for my purse and shoe collection’.” “Oh, please, it’s part of my personality.” “Well jackets are apart of mine.” He fired back.

“You two are literally an old couple.” Ray interrupted.

“Kinda.” You agreed.

“But for real,” Ray asked next, “What is going on in the world of Y/F/N Y/L/N?” You sighed.

“For once it feels like nothing,” You admitted, “No brand deals really, almost no interviews, no tour because that finished up, just this I guess.” You took another bite and continued, “I did recently get the opportunity for there to be a documentary on me and my life though. Like a camera crew and everyone follow me around for a few critical weeks of the year, put it into a whole movie type thing about how I live, my fame, all that.” “Wait, what?” Gerard asked, now a mixture of shock and concern on his face. “You-you never told me.” He said next.

“Well, yeah, I mean I told them I would at least have to think about it. I was planning on telling you but I needed to figure out if I wanted to go through with it first. I was very indecisive about it. Still am.” “So what are you thinking?” Ray asked, clearly trying to break some of the tension.

“I still don’t know,” You admitted, “I mean, a part of me really wants people to understand why I’m so under the radar, why I’ve disappeared from the world for a while. But the other part wants to protect that privacy. Plus if we were to theoretically go through with this, Gee, you would have to be okay with it too since they’ll be filming in our homes, and very possibly me and you.” He nodded, “And plus, I don’t know if it’s the right timing. I’m starting this new era of me being private and taking on this alter ego for everyone else, it may just be bad timing too.”

“I think it would be interesting for people to be able to see you, like the real you. And how you deal with the fame and all.” Ray added.

“Yeah, but,” You took a brief pause to find words, “How much of my privacy am I willing to forfeit for that?”

You and Gerard got back to your New York townhouse, kicking off your shoes and almost immediately crashing on the bed. You had to admit, at least to yourself, that your mind was beyond conflicted with what to do. Your next album release would have been perfect timing to plan starting a family with Gerard. Release the album, stay completely under the radar, and go on a small tour with a few big shows. But the opportunity for the documentary to be made would make a huge deal to your life. It would be nearly impossible to do both at the same time, though.

You laid down, your head on Gerard’s shoulder, as you both laid in bed reading your books trying to wind down. But Gerard, being your husband, best friend, and soulmate, knew you were stressed. Just from even looking at you, although no one else could tell, he could.

“Talk to me.” He said softly, barely above a whisper.

“I don’t want to disrupt your reading,” You sighed, “Or annoy you.” “I like listening to you talk.” He glanced to you, your eyes meeting. You didn’t know how a man could be that gorgeous, he just was. “It’s soothing, even when you rant.” You lightly laughed, snuggling further into him. He willingly took one of his arms, swinging it behind you and placing his book down on his nightstand, marking the page. 

“Fine,” You sighed, moving down so your head was on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with every delicate breath he absentmindedly took. Your hands found their way there too, drawing circles on the shirt he had on.

So there the two of you laid, you pouring our your anxiety and worries to your husband, who seemed to understand what you were saying, translating every jumble of emotion you had into a symphony of calmness. 

“This is all up to you babe, I’m just along for the ride.” He said, “But maybe this is a sign, ya know? Maybe you should take this opportunity to have a documentary be made about you, because maybe people will begin to actually understand the extent to which your life has been thrown into the spotlight, and why you need that privacy. And maybe that sympathy will get us to an even better place where we can start a family, worry free from any chance that our child or children will be in the spotlight.” “You’re so smart.” You lightly laughed, nuzzling into him. “I’ll think about it, Gee.” And like that a lightbulb went off in your head. You squeezed out of his embrace, groaning and getting up out of bed, his face filled with confusion. “Where’re you going? Did I say something wrong? I-” “No, it’s a song idea.” You palmed your face in your hand, “Like a really good one.” You grabbed your phone to go record it. “You get it, right?” “Not really because I don’t record as many songs as you, but kinda.” You groaned again, his face so innocent as you eyed him.

“You’re an ass.” 

[centaurianthropology]

A List of Older Fandoms for Quarantine Viewing

I thought it might be fun to put out a list of older fandoms or smaller fandoms that might be of interest to folks here.  As we’re all still stuck with quarantine, perhaps you’re looking for some new/old media?  Perhaps this list could help?

This is halfway between a rec list and a charting of my own fandom history.  For anyone looking for some new fandoms to check out that are various flavors of interesting and a little older, check ‘em out! 

Feel free to add your own!

In no specific order (other than maybe my DVD shelf??)

Patrick O’Brien books/Master and Commander - this was a fairly good-sized fandom back when the movie ‘Master and Commander’ came out.  A must-watch for anyone who likes historical fiction, age of sail, and powerful homoeroticism.

David Drake’s Royal Cinnabar Navy series - did you ever want Master and Commander in space, but Stephen Maturin is a librarian named Adele Mundy who is a sharpshooter and utterly terrifying and wonderful and beloved ace representation?  Fair warning: this series contains grapic descriptions of violence from an author who’s still working through his Vietnam PTSD.  Here be dragons.

Adam Adamant Lives! -  an Edwardian adventurer got frozen in a block of ice by his arch-nemesis The Face, thawed out in 1969, and now fights crime with a young woman sidekick and an actor-turned-butler who spouts limericks.  It is a completely insane show and joyously dumb.  Everyone involved is having a whale of a time.  It’s hard to come by, but so worth watching it for the pure silliness.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I can’t believe this has become a fandom some people haven’t heard of, but here we are, far enough out from the massive cultural impact of Buffy that I need to remind folks.  1990s series about a cheerleader-turned-vampire slayer, struggling with both the supernatural and with high school (which is much worse).  

Angel - spinoff of Buffy, and in some ways my preferred series?  It has so many problems, and the writing of seasons 3 and 4 is quite weak, but the characters are strong, the stories are solid, and Alexis Denisof’s Wesley Wyndam-Pryce remains one of my favorite character arcs in television.

Marble Hornets - here’s another fandom that doesn’t feel like it should be old, but it’s now over a decade since its premiere.  One of the early webseries, Marble Hornets is still one of the best.  Well done horror with occasionally iffy amateur acting, easily overcome with a surprising touch for cinematography.  I’m a sucker for amateur film, especially when it’s well done and ambitious.

Babylon 5 - This was the first fandom I posted about on here, and still one of my great loves.  Arcs before arcs on television were a thing.  Huge overarching stories playing out over seasons.  Great political intrigue on a space station.  The grandest, most tragic Shakespearean romance that ever played out between two middle-aged alien diplomats.  

Carnivale - HBO prestige show before they had prestige shows.  Bought the DVDs on the cover art alone, and they were so worth it: “1934.  The Dustbowl.  The last great age of magic.”  Like most HBO shows, every possible content warning does probably apply to this show, though it’s not nearly as extreme as Game of Thrones, so if you could watch that, you can probably watch Carnivale.

Firefly - space western courtesy of Joss Whedon.  Only one series long, but really well done.  Probably Whedon’s best work.

Homicide: Life on the Streets - early 1990s police procedural with a twist: it wanted to be a very accurate, realistic portrayal of a homicide unit, based on a documentary novel.  The characters all feel real, you’re certain they all smell like cigarettes, coffee, and sweat.  Also, can we applaud a show that has a female homicide detective who doesn’t wear makeup, has frizzy red hair, and never wears heels?  Kay Howard is such a fantastic character.  Frank Pembleton and Tim Bayliss and John Munch and Gee are all such wonderful, real characters.  Another great show for prestige-television-before-it-existed.

The Last Detective - British detective series about a detective who gets small, mournful cases ignored by everyone else and solves them mostly through dogged work rather than brilliance.  This show is the most melancholy show I have ever seen, shockingly good in the quietest way possible, and remains one of my favorite detective series ever.

M*A*S*H - have you ever wanted a proper tragicomedy billed as a sitcom?  There’s a reason this show is still considered the greatest sitcom ever made.  Fair warning: the early seasons really haven’t aged well, and a lot of the comedy doesn’t land.  But if you’re willing to stick with it to the later seasons, you’ll find a show that shifts toward one of the greatest tragicomedies ever.  

Sapphire and Steel - 1970s/1980s British horror/sci-fi show about two mysterious beings that appear to resolve science fiction reinterpretations of horror concepts.  Despite a shoestring budget, the writing is phenomenal, and the acting is perfect, particularly the icy intimacy between the two leads, David McCallum and Joanna Lumley.

Sherlock Holmes - before the modern interpretations, there was the 1980s series starring Jeremy Brett.  If you want the single most accurate interpretation of Conan Doyle’s work, with characters who feel and look like they’ve stepped off the page (and the series that singlehandedly rehabilitated the character of Inspector Lestrade), this series is a must-watch.  This has been my go-to comfort viewing for years.

    Also, if you’re a Sherlock Holmes nut, and you’re desperate for more content, and willing to navigate a Cyrillic DVD menu for subtitles, might I suggest the late 70s Russian Sherlock Holmes series?  Vasiliy Livanov’s Holmes is such a different interpretation of the character, and he’s a delight.  And Vitaliy Solomin’s Watson is possibly my favorite Watson ever.  He’s so done with everything.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - sort of the forgotten middle child of the Star Trek series, but in many ways it’s one of the most ambitious.  It was a rival/developed at the same time and somewhat by the same team as Babylon 5, so there are some striking similarities (space station, overarching stories, etc), but while B5 manages the political intrigue better, DS9 does a war better.  It’s the darkest of the Star Trek series, investigating the more tarnished edges of the utopia.  The characters are more deeply developed and flawed, and I love them all.  Andrew Robinson’s portrayal of tailor-with-a-mysterious-past Garak is probably the best character Star Trek ever created in any series.

Hope those of you looking for new things to watch and dig into might find something in this list!

[routledgecompanionreflection]

Module 2: LatinX Pop Culture

The readings for Module 2 described the advancements associated with LatinX representation in Western pop culture, as well as the issues underlying this progress.

Specifically, shows such as Dora the Explorer and Juan Bobo commodify- or are used as a means of making money- LatinX cultures while not doing the intricacies and traditions of these communities justice. In the case of Dora and Juan, these characters embody the cartoonizing and whitewashing of Latinidad in order to make it more digestible for White audiences. By not distinguishing the ethnicity and heritage of LatinX characters in pop culture, we are creating one unidentifiable, racially ubiquitous race and are perpetuating the idea that Latinos are all the same.

I have noticed this aspect of television in my own TV-watching experiences. Notably, although there is an increase in people of color in popular TV shows and movies, these characters typically perpetuate certain stereotypes or are whitewashed, so the various cultures and traditions of other ethnicities and races are still being excluded from the general movie and TV industry.

I found the origin of Juan Bobo to be particularly interesting because I had not realized his story originated from Puerto Rican oral tales. Additionally, I found colonists' use of Juan Bobo for their own benefit to be quite manipulative. Moreover, I think that this fact should have been taken into careful consideration before making a show about Juan Bobo for the producers' and the industry's economic interests and desires. The use of Juan Bobo's story took Puerto Rico's beloved trickster from historically oral accounts and infused the story with stereotypes, as well as exploiting the culture behind this story and monetizing a cherished tale.

The majority of LatinX actors, producers, directors, and crew members make their start in children's television because it typically has low production value; therefore, it is often the stepping stone for people of color in the television industry. Once again, although people of color are featured more commonly in pop culture today, it is still significantly harder for them to make it to desirable roles and get into the industry.

The documentary, Maquilapolis, looks into the Mexican women working in maquiladoras, or large factories, while allowing the women to film their own experiences as the factories exploit and endanger the communities they set up shop in. This documentary showcased the women's stories, allowing them to tell their stories as they preferred, and documented their accounts of unfair treatment and wages, pollution in their homes, and taking legal action against these companies.