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argumentl · 3 years

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The Freedom of Expression Ep 56 - Dir en grey live with audience scheduled! and, Thinking about the aftermath of inappropriate remarks.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru, with this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe, Tasai, welcome. Um, I think it was two days ago, Dir en grey announced that we will do a live show.

T, J: *applause*

T: How long has it been?

K: Well, as for proper lives, its been since last year in February when we were on the European tour. We did do the no-audience lives since then, but as for lives with an audience, thats how long its been.

T: Its a big decision, isn't it?

J: Yeah, and people have been waiting, right?

K: Well, I think people will have a lot of opinions about it, and its a bit hard to say to people, 'Please come!'... Well, as for why we havn't been doing lives, of course its because of corona..there was a risk there. As for the live venues, within these restrictions we weren't sure whether we would be able to complete the type of show we wanted to do...Like, the audience can't use their voice etc. So I was a little concerned when I thought about that, but at the same time, it's strange to say 'it can't be helped', but I thought we could at least try it once. You know, like a live show within these restrictions. We might even get some new feeling or new atmosphere out of it that we've never had before. I mean, we might not, but like, rather than not doing it and worrying, we could just give it a try once, and it might even turn us in some new direction. Then after we do it, we can think about what to do next.

J: I see. Yeah, if you spend all your time thinking it over, nothing will happen, right?

K: Yeah. Well, its not bad to do that though, I just wonder whether we might be able to create a new kind of experience in this way. We won't know if we don't try..

Kami: Um, if you don't try, you won't be able to say what it was like, will you?

K: Well, yeah, thats right. I'd like to experience it.

T: Yeah, within the restrictions, see what type of performance you can create.

K: Well, and people are slowly beginning to restart this kind of thing.

Kami: Um, doesn't it kind of feel like having a school fieldtrip, but being sick so you couldn't go, and then afterwards feeling sad that you missed out?

T: Haha

K: No, its not like that.

T, J: Hahaha

J: Nearly, Kami.

T: Yeah, nearly.

Kami: I didn't get it.

J: Your example was very easy to understand, but it was wrong.

T, K: Haha

Kami: Ok.

K: Well, well, I mean, it wasn't the right example, but the feeling is similar I suppose.

Kami: Ah! See, it is similar! I was right!

J: Oh, Im sorry Kami.

T: Haha

K: So, we're gonna do it. So for anyone who wants to experience this, I'd like you to come and see us... Ok, well..

J: Yes, today's topic is...well, this topic is a little old already, its about Mori Yoshio and the Olympic committee. He has made a run of problematic comments like 'if there are a lot of women, the meetings will last longer', and 'famous people could carry the Olympic torch only through rice fields', and has been forced to resign. Well, this has been big news, but well, this program is about 'The Freedom of Expression', so from that perspective, could you not say that he just slipped up? He slipped up, but shouldn't he still have freedom of expression? Of course, I think these were careless remarks, uttered without a sense of responsibility, but whats the best way to deal with a situation like this? What about just telling the person in question to stop it? Is that enough? So, thats the theme today, in regards to freedom of expression, of course you are free to say what you want, but what should be done if what you say is thoughtless, or clearly at odds with the common view in society? Is it ok to just criticize the comments only? So its quite a serious topic about the freedom of expression today.

T: Well, as for me, if I had to say...I'd say im in the 'if it creates further discussion then its ok' camp. Um, he's a tv celeb now, but do you remember when Sugimura Taizō won his first election? He said, 'I want to go to the high-class restaurants', you know, like political meetings at high-class restaurants? And he was criticized a lot for that. But when I interviewed him in person, I asked him about how he had felt at that time, he said he was simply just curious about whether this type of thing really went on in the world of politics. It was a pretty innocent thing, but when he said it, he was called into question massively. Thats what he said when I asked him. So I don't really think we will make any progress in situations like this, if we don't stop and think about why a person might say things before we launch an attack.

J: I see. Kaoru, what do you think?

K: Nothings come out it in terms of making a bad thing better. I think its a good thing to start a discussion out of it afterwards.

J: Yeah

K: Of course if its wrong, its wrong, but it seems natural to ???*1

J: This all reminds me of this difficult word we hear in the media a lot, 'political correctness'. Like, being forced into the political medium ground, and if you ever make a small mistake with what you say, you'll be accussed of being wrong. People are scared of being targeted like this...Even when you see press conferences, people will only ever talk about thier own position, so as an observer, even press conferences get boring. I'd like people to speak their raw words more, I want to hear what they really think. But if they did, they would be accused of saying the wrong thing. Its like you said Kaoru, if their mistake was shared it might end up heading in a better direction, but if people just immediately and triumphantly scream, 'Thats wrong!', then I have a feeling its gonna carry on like this forever. Its important to think about whether the mistake can be repaired. Anyone makes mistakes. Whatever you say, it will be different from what some other people think. And rather than fixing the mistake, I think some people see it as a game of winning or losing.

K: You can't just say 'sorry', can you?

J: No, you can't. Why is that??

K: This type of person (*Mori*) can't say it for some reason.

J: Like, 'I'M SORRY, I'M REALLY SORRY FOR WHAT I SAID!!

K: ??*2

J: Then they would understand their mistake, and be able to fix it. I think that would be ok!

T: Yeah, we should give people a chance. If you don't point out their mistake, and let them say sorry..

J: Even though it would be good to create that kind of grown-up environment, with everyone on the attack so much these days, people are so cautious about what they say now, the press conferences are more like rituals. Its become a kind of never-ending ritualistic exchange.

K: If nothing is done, Mori will never learn, right?

J: Thats right.

K: If someone just tells him he needs to change his ideas, he can take that to heart..well, did he?

J: Haha, well, I don't know, when he's that old, I don't know. But I think he probably felt something, surely. Also, we ourselves are getting old, and when we get that old, some stuff that was correct for our generation will suddenly become wrong, right? We could say something, and people would be like, 'Eh?!', even though it was fine for our generation. We are bound to be caught up like this eventually. Honestly, there will be people who saw this press conference with Mori, who didn't realise what was wrong at first. You know, with Mori's remarks.

T: People from his generation may even sympathise with him, they might not understand.

J: Yes, yes, yes. But if it was made into a public discussion, they might start to understand the problem. There might be people in that generation who don't understand that saying this type of thing about women is complete prejudice.

T: But as you said Kaoru, when people get that old, the don't like saying sorry.

K: Ah, yeh.

T: So, I want people to be aware of the discussion that can happen after that.

J: It just makes me think eventually, we'll be in that generation. It will happen to us.

T: You might say this type of thing, Joe.

J: Yeah.

K: You already do, don't you?

J: Maybe. I might have harrased people without realising it. I might have said things to people which I thought would make them happy, but actually made them think I was really annoying.

K, T: Ah, yeah.

J: When you're in that kind of position with a huge public stage, you will suffer huge effects, but when you're in my kind of position, its not as decisive, so there is a possibility I'm also doing that. Its possible Im becoming like Mori.

T: Will your radio listerners be saying, 'Joe always says that kind of thing!'?

J: Yeah, now you mention it, Hiranabe was pretty bad. haha

T: Yeah, you could just write Hiranabe here instead of Mori, and it would fit. haha

J: Haha, he would definitely say that kind of thing. So, anyway, yeah, we have to be careful with this.

K: Well, even just discussing it like this is a good step.

J: It is, yes. Ah..Kami is quiet today.

Kami: Well, I thought this was pretty bad.

J: It was bad?　

Kami: Yeah, a long time ago I used to say things about women, and I got a fierce backlash, and realised I was wrong. Um, it was a road trip with a few adults to an onsen, we went in a few different cars. During the drive I was talking about how women always take ages in the toilet, and one of them said that she is actually really quick in the toilet.

J, T: Haha

Kami: It was possibly bad timing that she started to need the toilet just then. She said she'd be quick, so asked us to stop at the next convenience store, so we stopped at some place like that. And I was like, 'Eh?! Already?! You're back?!'. She was so fast! So after that, I repented, I realised it wasn't the same for everyone. Then I gave up the front passenger seat for her.

J: Hahaha

T: What kind of story is this?! Kami thinks the front passenger seat is some kind of treat?

Kami: Well, anyway, that happened to me. People usually have this image that women take a long time in the toilet, don't they?

J: Yeah.

T: Are they fixing their make-up and stuff?

J: Some might be, yeah.

K: Well, men also have the stand-up option, right?

Kami: I realised at that time that it all depends on the person.

J: I see.

T: Ah, thats good, Kami learned something new?

Kami: Yeah.

J: Yeah, in regards to toilets.

K: If you took a long time in the toilet at school, they used to say you were doing a poo, right?

J: Ah yeh. You had to do it quickly, or they would be saying it all day. They would be saying like, 'This guy did a poo'. I wonder what its like for kids these days?

T: Yeah, I'd like that to disappear. I want the toilet to be peaceful.

K: You felt something was coming if you went in the stall, right?

J: Yeah, they would throw water over the top, and shout 'This guy's doing a poo!'.

T: Yeah, yeah.

J: What was that all about?!

T: Well, I think boys' toilets should all be just individual stalls.

J, K: Ahh, yeh.

J: So you can't tell whether someones doing a no.1 or a no.2?

K: But recently there are people who sit on the toilet on their phones not actually pooing, aren't there?

T: There are, yeah. Even if I'm outside desperate to go.

J: Yeah, you can tell they aren't even trying to go, or they've already finished. Its totally silent in there. Or you suddenly hear them answering their phone. Its like, 'Hey! That cubucle is for doing a poo!'.

T: This is a big problem amongst men.

J: It is.

K: Ok, shall we finish on that note, haha. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

*1,2 Couldn't catch/figure out.

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#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #tfoe #kaoru #薫

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caps-clever-girl · 5 years

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jaime brienne actors au

jaime’s been an excellent actor on many tv shows. he’s practically world renowned.

his favourite and most frequent roles are in historical films - basically anything that requires a sword, and he does all his own stunts because he loves the training so much.

he’s recently taken a year and a half break from acting due to an on-set accident filming for his last role, where he lost his sword-hand.

he seems to be back on form to the public eye, but those he’s worked with before can tell that he’s different.

his next few roles all stay well away from anything that involves a sword - aside from a cameo for the sequel of one of his older films. they have to use a stunt double for one of the big fights and it burns him.

however someone finally makes him an offer he cant refuse. its a wonderful prom a director/producer team he’s worked with before and absolutely adores - not that he would ever tell them that, because its his brother and their best friend bronn.

they tell him that he wont be taking the leading role for once - they’ve already found someone that they’ve been wanting to work with for ages and they assure him that most of the big fighting scenes will be focused on her. his role will be more of a reluctant mentor.

when he meets her, he finds that he can take on this role perfectly since he hates her.

well, hate isn’t the right word. shes annoying, and not the prettiest, but she’s smart and stubborn and fun to mess with. but she hates his ‘mildly flamboyant star ways’ and he hates the fact that she’s so good at sword-fighting. she’s relentless about it. she has a drive and passion for it that jaime hasn’t seen on anyone except his reflection. she reminds him of himself before the accident, and thats just a remind her of what he lost.

most of all he hates her because she’s a reminder that he’s given up. not metaphorically - no, she literally doesn’t shut the fuck up about hit, telling him to get off his ass and do something about it instead of wallowing. it infuriates him because shes right, he has given up and he is wallowing, but its NOT that easy. it isn’t. and she’ll never understand what he’s lost.

but he gets pissed off seeing her obliterate everyone on the practice runs and is convinced that if he was back to his old self he could have destroyed her.

so he finds bronn - who’s background mostly consists of stunts and swordplay - and pretty much demands him to teach him left-handed sword-fighting so he can finally one up that prideful bitch. bronn agrees because he’s glad jaime’s finally trying to get out of his funk - and also because his and tyrion’s plan is working ;)

so jaime works and works and works. he gains a begrudging respect for brienne, but mostly he’s more interested about getting a rise from her than say, learning lines or basically doing anything she thinks he should be. by the time he’s confident enough that he can at least hold his own against her though, production wraps. he doesn’t get to fight her - most of the remaining scenes are dialogue based and filmed back to back - theres no time and no reason, since there are no more fighting scenes and no need to practice. and judging by the stilted goodbye she gives him, he’s pretty sure brienne never wants to see him again.

it irks him, that he didn’t get to fight her - didn’t get to properly say goodbye - and continues to do so even after the film comes out.

they see each other for the first time again at the premiere, having done promo stuff and interviews separately because of their differing schedules, and wow, isn’t that a shock. jaime’s never been a big fusser when comes to makeup - girls with, girls without he doesn’t really care. but he admits that brienne looks completely different all dressed up for events and it makes him look at her differently. to be honest, in sweats or grimed up for battle scenes, sweating and messy from training with swords and constant re-takes for hours on end every day, he probably didn’t look his best while they were shooting anyway. but he cant mention any of this, because whatever they attend, she mostly avoids him. he hates it.

finally, avoidance isn’t possible. the film does excellently - so much so that they are both invited to a charity event on live tv where they will participate in a skit. jaime agrees because it will be good for his career, the charity is actually a decent one, and because brienne will be there. she goes because its charity - who says no to that?

they get given a script, and thats when they discover that it’s a skit. the acting is meant to be bad, they don’t have to try too hard, they have to have fun, so the audience has fun. jaime thinks its a great idea. he loves his job, but it will be nice to relax while filming and not have to be so serious all the time, and purposefully acting bad will actually be a challenge.

the problem comes with brienne. she hates the script for their little group; hates that shes the damsel, hates the stupid dress and hates that she got stuck with the smaller part. most of all she hates the fact that she has to kiss jaime at the end.

shes miserable. and for once, jaime actually tries to do something about it - brienne style, not his own. he cracks jokes, but ones he knows brienne will find funny and not offensive. (well. not too much.) he brings her coffee and tea whenever he gets his own. he actually compliments her - which doesn’t go down well for some reason, so he takes to subtly giving her advice and direction and (genuinely) constructive criticism, which she takes much better to.

eventually things thaw, and they end up having a blast halfway through their rehearsal time, they actually start laughing, joking together like they’re friends. jaime loves it. he starts to wonder if brienne does too.

but she always shut’s down towards the end, like she remembers herself. he gets cold goodbyes and she doesn’t stick around once he gathers her stuff.

so like any good friend/crush/work-buddy/enemy, he follows her home one night. he knows the apartment number from her keyring and he stops off at a nearby store once he finds out the building. once he’s well supplied with coffee, hot chocolate and snacks, and enough stationary to fill his car, he turns up outside.

he doesn’t get a warm welcome, instead she demands to know what kind of creep thinks its alright to follow her home.

he admits that it wasn’t the best thought out plan, but he shows her his offering and tells her his intention: they are going to take their weekend and re-write the script into something that is still fun, but isn’t some well-recycled misogynistic fairy tail princess and knight story that everyone and their great grandma has seen a million and one times.

she agrees. and doesn’t waste any time telling him that it would be much easier to use a laptop than write it out by hand.

he feels like an idiot. (especially when he remembers how god awful his left handed handwriting is and that he’d’ve probably had to make her do the writing anyway.) but it makes her laugh so thats alright.

things are frosty at first - but brienne has clearly been thinking about this pretty much since they got the original script handed to them, so she immediately launches into her idea and starts writing.

they agree to mostly keep everybody else’s parts the same, since its not fair to them to get a script change halfway through.

the stationary does get used - mostly for planning and idea scrapping. brienne is impressed by the collection of highlighters he amassed for going through the old script, and he lets her keep them. shes genuinely really happy about that.

and THATS the moment that he realises he’s in love with this sword nerd geeking out over four different 5 pack of highlighters.

eventually they call it a night. they’re both tired, and they have most of the script outlined and some parts already re-written. they can probably finish it completely by tomorrow.

brienne offers jaime the use of her couch for the night, since its early-late enough that theres no use in him going home if he’s just going to come back tomorrow.

it takes him by surprise, and he says. “such a kind offer m’lady. and here i thought you didn’t like me.”

and just like that, the easy atmosphere vanishes - as does brienne’s smile.

jaime realises he’s fucked up by finally talking about the elephant in the room. but they’ve had fun today, and even if she doesn’t like him like That, he wants to be friends. at least, he wants to know why she hates him. so he asks.

she hates that he talked down to her for most of the shoot. she thinks he doesn’t respect her. he hates that he can just wander about, doing what he wants - if she did that, she’s be blasted as unprofessional. she says that the women she knows had to work twice as hard as the men to get taken seriously in their line of work, and she’s had to work twice as hard as them - she’s not as pretty, she’s too tall and too brutish. shes lucky that she actually wanted to be in the kind of roles she does, they’re the only thing shes really suited for. and even then, she had to work so hard just to prove that she knew what she was doing, that she could fight. her earlier job quizzed her on all parts of the armour she would have to wear - and she knows for a fact that her co-workers hadn’t been asked that.

she says that all those things he said to her - about her height and her hair, the constant reminders that he was better than her, that he could take her even though they never actually fought, made her hate him. she was disappointed because she had heard so many good things about him - his passion, his drive, his devotion to the role - and had been disappointed by the arrogant prick who took everything for granted and avoided his responsibilities.

jaime responds that he was always like that - at least the last part. if she wanted the first part too then she should have done a film with him before he lost his hand. theres a lot of bitterness there, more than brienne expected, and she doesn’t know what to say.

so jaime speaks instead. he says how much of his role depended on his hand and how no one understood how fucking awful it was losing it because it was practically his identity. it was all well and good people telling him to go for other roles, but he enjoyed the ones he had - thats why he took them. thats why he hated having stunt doubles. in the past he just really wanted to do it himself. now it just reminds him that he cant do that shit any more. he tells her that a lot of that was why he was so difficult with her; he was jealous. jealous of her skill, and that she could still do what he couldn’t.

he acknowledges that he was a prick. he explains that most of it was just teasing, trying to get a rise out of her. he didn’t know how much it was actually getting to her since she never showed it and always gave as good as she got. he admits that he is self-absorbed; but he does try to look out for the women on the set. his sister used to be treated like shit on the sets she worked until she quit, but she had never shown or said anything about it, he hadn’t noticed because she seemed fine enough that he didn’t look for it.

she says thats because she was lucky in that set; the only problem was him. he’s fucking mortified and apologises profusely. he tells her that he does respect her - very much in fact. he admires her skill greatly and he admits that he knows that his brother bronn want to do more with her. he tells her he likes her, he’s seen her as a friend for most of the time even though she hated him, and she admits that she has had fun with him. when he’s not being an ass he’s fun to be around, and when he’s not being a cock he does seem to understand her. they get along well when they aren’t at each other’s throats.

they resolve to be friends, now that they’ve aired so much stuff. the air is still heavy, but jaime finds it more like the air after a long rain. thick and heavy but with the sun already starting to come through the clouds.

she lends him some sweatpants and a shirt to sleep in. they’re both too big and he plans on stealing them the next morning.

(spoiler alert: he doesn’t even change out of them the next day. when the script is done and he has to leave, she doesn’t even ask for them back and he leaves in them, a very very happy man.)

they take the script’s out to the show’s producers the next day and are impressed, particularly since the only major changes are to their own lines. any prop changes are small and require no additional cost, and there are no additional backgrounds or anything like that. everything gets the green light.

rehearsal goes so much better after that; their acting improves as it worsens and the two of them love it. brienne has a blast - finally able to loosen up properly and stay that way, no longer running out the door to avoid jaime. instead, they hang around while they pack up and hat. sometimes they go get dinner or a coffee afterwards, or go back to hang at brienne’s - since it’s nearer. jaime still hasn’t returned the clothing he stole. in fact, he steals more.

(thats fine though, because his favourite fleece plaid jacket and mustard yellow hoodie have been nabbed in return)

by the time the live production roles around the two of them are practically joined at the hip.

everything goes wonderfully. jaime, the dashing knight, manages to get to the princesses tower by ‘fighting’ anything in his way - aka being saved by multiple unrelated but coincidental things like falling branches and dragon’s being afraid of mice while jaime trips over his own sword - and when he gets there and shouts for the princess; gets told “MOVE.”

brienne, having ‘shorn off’ her massive plaid of hair before jaime got there, throws it down and uses it to rappel to the ground. jaime says hes come to rescue her, to which brienne replies that she ‘can to that myself, thanks.’ and reveals shes only been in the tower for a day. she rips off the tear-away bottom of her dress, picks up a sword, and proceeds to kick the ass of everything that comes their way after - including, of course, a bear - as she basically becomes jaime’s escort to the city and keeps him from getting killed.

then comes the big issue. the kiss scene, which they’ve never practiced because they both avoided so well that they hadn’t realised they hadn’t practiced until the moment they have to do it live on air.

it makes the final scene EXTREMELY awkward - which is Very Obvious and the audience finds absolutely hilarious - as they both realise and both Panic...

until brienne says in a very loud voice: “oh screw this” and grabs jaime by the fake leather doublet and essentially snogs the shit out of him - to the point where jaime has to scrabble to get hold of her and keep his balance and spends most of the kiss severely off balance on his tiptoes trying not to fall over.

the show gets the most donations ever recorded for that particular programme.

jaime and brienne’s newest film - which is brienne’s first production credit, since bronn and tyrion insisted she help write the script after finding out about her work on the last one - is a spy comedy that has brienne playing the lead role of the spy, and jaime has the wonderful role of the villain that falls very obviously head over heels in love with her and leave his evil ways behind - but not without bringing some tips and tricks to defeat the True villain of the film.

principal filming takes place the day they get back from their honeymoon, where they wrote a script for a knight movie that features jaime as the best knight getting his ass handed to him by brienne, and spending the rest of the movie trying to marry her. turns out that being a very lovestruck idiot is a role jaime suits rather well.

#brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #braime #got #game of thrones #au #txt #fic #kind of #squeak.txt

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samanthasroberts · 7 years

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RuPaul Is Ready for His Legacy

With a new game show, Gay For Play, and more than 100 episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mama Ru pauses for a moment of reflection: ‘I get to do whatever the f*** I want.’

“>

You dont question the motherfucking queen, bitch.

RuPaul Charles, at this point on a first-name basis with the world much like his fellow Unapologetic Bitch, Madonna, is nothing if not direct.

The host of RuPauls Drag Racenot to mention drag icon, activist, actor, recording artist, spiritual leader to a horde of fabulous worshippers, and, thanks to a recent, provocative as it was profound real talk interview with Vulture, the newest dream candidate for presidentis on the phone the week after a rare and shocking elimination on his cult hit reality show.

Asked to explain the atypical twist, RuPaul concluded his answer bluntly. Because the shows called RuPauls Motherfucking Drag Race, bitch. I get to do whatever the fuck I want.

Its an intimidating-bordering-on-terrifying reaction to a question, to be sure, were it not for the warm cackle he immediately delivers to diffuse any heart attacks. After all, the pulsing heart of nurturing compassion underwriting RuPauls unabashed realness is the driving force of his nickname, Mama Ru.

Besides, this is the RuPaul who, since the 1992 release of Supermodel (You Better Work) has become the face of drag, launched a long-running talk show, and became a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics 20 freaking years ago, at a time when any conversation about drag going mainstream would have gotten you murdered with shade.

To that end, RuPaul just celebrated the 100th episode of RuPauls Drag Race, now in the prime of its eighth popular-as-ever season, in an age when talent competitions are wheezing their last breaths. (So long, American Idol.)

So yes, to be fair, RuPaul can do whatever the fuck he wants.

(As Ru says on the show, You dont have to be gay to play. But it shore do help.)

More than that, as becomes increasingly clear over the course of our conversation, what RuPaul motherfucking wants is to make an impact, to leave a little something behind should he ever sashay away to the catwalk in the sky.

Hes passionate about it, too, as soberly earnest as he was playfully intimidating at the start of our talk. The fame, the money, all the stuff: after a whileIve been doing this 34 yearsits about the legacy work, he says.

Referencing the Drag Race contestants, he continues, The legacy lives through these girls. And the kids who love the show and who have learned so much about themselves and about the history of the bohemian through our show.

Make no mistake, Gay For Play is a very silly showloud and giggly and naughty and campy and, because of all those things, a whole lot of fun. But its also part of that legacy. Watch an episode and listen to the language, the proud way the celebrity contestants talk so very, well, gay.

Weve seen this language being tapped into by mainstream culture everywhere, RuPaul says.

He remembers when he first heard everyday people on the street saying, You go girl! and Hey, girlfriend! which has been taken straight from gay vernacular. It used to take about 10 years, he says, for the phrases to get to Betty and Joe Beer Can, the masses, but now because of social media the turnover is exponentially faster.

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And so you have celebrities like Amber Rose and Ross Matthews being quizzed about Meryl Streep and Shonda Rhimes shows, with innuendos and entendres abound. There are hot, mostly naked male dancers everywhere. Michelle Visage, as always, reigns queen.

In many ways, RuPaul expects the appeal of Gay For Play to mirror what has become one of the more powerful hooks of RuPauls Drag Race. Again, its that vernacular. Its that language.

We encrypt Drag Race with the secret language that kept gay people linked for many years before the 80s, he says. Gay people had to be secretive. There was a certain way, a certain vernacular, a certain approach to pop culture that we maintained. We lost that in recent years, but we encrypt our shows with that secret language of our gay brothers and sisters past.

And for all of the shade, reads, and spilled tea that defines any stellar season of RuPauls Drag Race, the show and Gay For Play share another crucial elementagain, one that sets it apart from other talent competitions and game shows that populate TV.

Theres a palpable sense of fun that radiates from it. These people are enjoying themselves. In some ways, they feel free. The word that Ru uses: Joy.

Whats happening is that these kids are outsiders, and theyre coming together with other outsiders on this show, he says, speaking specifically about Drag Race.

Earlier in our conversation, he talks about the show being, at its core, about the tenacity of the human spirit, which is something that connects not just the contestants, but the fans who obsessively watch it as well. Especially those who feel disenfranchised from society, he says. Like, wow, here is my tribe.

He again brings up the secret code, the shared vernacular and shared spirit. Its why Judy Garland and Joan Crawford speak to us so much, he says. Theres a certain desperate, dark, painful element to these people that we can relate to. And in spite of that, they have overcome it and become glamorous, joyous, beautiful fun-loving people.

He pauses again, breaking a rule of his not to think about the past and reflect. Always think forward is a rule of his, as is not to have any expectations, a lesson learned the hard way in three decades of show business.

And certainly, theres no way he could have expected to launch the careers of 100 drag queens, or a fanbase that debates every lip sync, drag look, and challenge performance with rabid sinceritysome becoming encyclopedic scholars of the shows history. (Not to mention who worship the show even if theyre given a disappointing Snatch Game episode.)

Its the tribe, RuPaul says, that theyre all connecting to, whether they realize that or not.

These are boys who were ostracized from everyone in the community and against all odds they were like, Fuck it Im going to do this anyway, he says. They made all the way to RuPauls Fucking Drag Race and here they are. Its so fucking awesome, I love it.

On Monday night, the night that Gay For Play premieres, RuPaul will host the 107th episode of RuPauls Drag Race. And, for the 107th time, at least on Logo, he will preach his famous affirmation to end the episode: If you cant love yourself how the hell are you going to love somebody else? Can I get an amen?

RuPaul has been saying that at every performance, not just on Drag Race, for 30 years, along with two other phrases he refers to as his doctrine: Everybody say, Love! and You were born naked and the rest is drag.

What is it like after all this time34 years and 107 episodesto say those words? Does he still feel them? Does the message change?

The truth is that I say that every single time not for the audience, he says. I say it to remind myself.

Again, he reflects. This time, back to when he was 14, maybe 15.

I was going through such a hard time thinking, Im becoming a young adult, how am I going to manage this fucking mediocre hypocritical world? Well, Ru, the only way I can do this is to make a pact to never drink the Kool-Aid, to never join the matrix.

Then RuPaul starts invoking the film InceptionI know, I was surprised, too.

Specifically, he references the totems that the characters in the film set to remind themselves that theyre in a dream. Ru has his totems, too. Theyre those three phrases. His doctrine.

Youre born naked and the rest is drag: Dont believe the hype, dont believe what it tells you on your drivers license. You are an extension of the power that created this whole universe. Dont forget it, and dont take any of this bullshit too seriously, because its hypocritical and mediocre at best.

The love yourself mantra, he says, is to remind you that it comes from the inside out.

The meaning behind Everybody say, Love! after our conversation, becomes more essential.

This is RuPaul, who began our interview with suchhow should I sayverve. Whose interview with Vulture clapped back at (and for good reason): Ellen Degeneres, David Letterman, the mainstream, the Emmys, Lip Sync Battle, the relationship between the drag and trans communities, educating youths, political correctness, and the wigs in The Danish Girl.

Everybody say love, indeed.

Its a neutralizing mantra to say to everybody, I come in peace, he says. I come in peace. Thats why its important.

Can I get an amen?

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/10/11/rupaul-is-ready-for-his-legacy/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/10/11/rupaul-is-ready-for-his-legacy/

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adambstingus · 7 years

Text

RuPaul Is Ready for His Legacy

With a new game show, Gay For Play, and more than 100 episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mama Ru pauses for a moment of reflection: ‘I get to do whatever the f*** I want.’

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You dont question the motherfucking queen, bitch.

RuPaul Charles, at this point on a first-name basis with the world much like his fellow Unapologetic Bitch, Madonna, is nothing if not direct.

Asked to explain the atypical twist, RuPaul concluded his answer bluntly. Because the shows called RuPauls Motherfucking Drag Race, bitch. I get to do whatever the fuck I want.

So yes, to be fair, RuPaul can do whatever the fuck he wants.

(As Ru says on the show, You dont have to be gay to play. But it shore do help.)

Weve seen this language being tapped into by mainstream culture everywhere, RuPaul says.

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