#honestly if i was going to do actual criticism i'd need to rewatch it since i'll be honest i don't remember everything that well

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

yeah a post I saw just reminded me of how... mediocre the Barbie movie was. as far as a fun movie goes, it succeeded! it was fun! and I'll say there were a few lines that hit but imo...

The movie did not have great writing. Themes were confusing - sure it's about women and the patriarchy and all that but it was difficult to tell for a good chunk what it was trying to say about those things

The jokes did not always land and at times I felt undermined what they were trying to say

This movie is lauded as a feminist movie but did not delve into that topic in any satisfying way. It was all very surface level

The most memorable character in that movie was Ken. ...in the movie that is supposed to be about women. Yes, they used his character to illustrate a point. That point, again, did not delve deeper than a surface level depiction of the way women are treated under the patriarchy

It had a very white lens on what it was portraying. (That one joke was horribly unnecessary.)

So, yeah, fun movie! I enjoyed watching it. But I don't really think it did what it set out to do, and I think, under some simple scrutiny of the themes it kind of falls apart.

Yet, I'm still glad it was made because apparently even this surface level "feminism" was enough to get people up in arms. Which is sad, honestly, but hey, if it moves things forwards a little, I guess that's better than nothing. I just expected a lot more from it.

[perseidlion]

This is why streaming is dying.

I'm Canadian, and I used to watch Star Trek on Crave. Crave saved us for awhile from the fracturing of the streaming landscape because it stayed as an umbrella service for quite some time. I used to get Star Trek, HBO, WB shows, Starz, Sony stuff...basically Hulu + HBO + Paramount. That was actually worth it because for the same monthy fee I could get House of the Dragon, Star Trek and more.

But that wasn't going to last forever. When Paramount+ launched in Canada, Star Trek got taken off Crave. I'm a huge Star Trek fan but even I couldn't justify a FIFTH streaming service just for Trek.

So I waited until Discovery was finished. And then I binged it and season 4 of Lower Decks. And then I cancelled. I won't get it again until S3 of Strange New Worlds and Season 4 of Lower Decks are finished, then I'll binge and cancel again.

There is literally nothing else on P+ I want to watch. I looked, because if there was something I'd cancel Netflix for a bit. But it's all movies I've seen and don't want to rewatch, shows I already have access to on other streamers, or things I have no interest in.

When the networks were working together to put lots of tasty treats under one streamer, it was absolutely worth it. I'd pay $20 a month for Crave if HBO kept making good shows (instead of cancelling them, RIP Our Flag Means Death) and if P+ had lots of Trek (and...didn't keep cancelling those shows like they did Lower Decks and Discovery.) Between that and Trek that would mean I always had a show releasing on the platform that I wanted to watch.

As long as there isn't a steady diet of things that appeal to me, I WILL keep subscribing, binging, and cancelling. Churn is the reason these networks aren't profitable. But there is literally no incentive for me to NOT do that when the things I want to watch are scattered across 5-6 different streamers, each charging $15+ a month.

In trying to get their slice of the pie, the networks have guaranteed there isn't enough food on their buffet to keep people coming back for more.

It creates a vicious cycle. This fracturing means there's not enough budget to support the flagship shows/franchises. Then, they get cancelled and/or budget reduced. So they take away or vastly reduce the thing I want to watch the most.

PLUS none of the networks are nurturing the cult hits/franchises of the future. Shows that have the potential to be the reason I subscribe are being cut off at the knees after virtually no promotion.

I watch every new show like Dead Boy Detectives knowing there is a very high likelihood that this will be the only season I'll get to watch. So much potential is left on the table. If there were four or more shows like Dead Boy Detectives and Kaos getting ongoing commitments from Netflix I wouldn't even consider cancelling my subscription. Instead, I know that any show that isn't an immediate cultural moment is probably getting the axe, or getting two seasons, max. Especially if it's SF&F. Especially if it's queer.

We live in the world where even the critically-acclaimed and franchise-based House of the Dragon is getting truncated episode runs and reduced support.

Regardless of how you feel about how Game of Thrones ended, that franchise is a cultural juggernaut. House of the Dragon is legitimately good and packed with talent. The rough patches of Season 2 can be easily traced back to reduced budgets/cut episode run at the last minute that forced the production team to scramble and adapt.

Honestly. Is there anyone actually committing to their series other than FX, AMC, and Amazon with Rings of Power? Although RoP can also be considered a sunk cost fallacy since Amazon invested a SHIT TON into the IP and the series, so they need it to work. They also have a wobbly track record supporting other shows. (I will never forgive them for cancelling A Leage of Their Own.)

FX and AMC are the only networks that feel like they're actually supporting their content. And what do you get for that? Shogun, one of the best shows in recent memory. The show absolutely swept awards season (and rightfully so) and is now setting itself up to be a tentpole show in the mold of such classics of the historical fiction genre like Deadwood, The Tudors, and Rome.

Interview With the Vampire, is an AMC show which has a very active and passionate fandom eager for more of it and Anne Rice's Immortal Universe. This is a rare example of a new franchise (albeit based on an existing, well-know IP) is really finding its feet and its audience. The audience for it is not of the size of something like House of the Dragon, but AMC is feeding the audience it does have unapologetically, with queer camp horror full of messy, toxic relationships.

Then there's What We Do in the Shadows, which seems to be ending on its own terms this year. FX is a Disney subsidary which somehow manages to commit to the series it creates, which proves it can still be done.

I do hope that FX and AMC continues to support their weird and wonderful shows, and I hope they keep getting rewarded for it with high ratings and awards so that the rest of the networks will smarten up.

If we hadn't just come out of a golden age of streaming where every network was producing excellent TV, all of this heavy cancellation and fragmentation wouldn't be quite so devastating.

Entertainment seems like it's constantly in a feast or famine churn. Right now, we're careening toward famine, which is full of one-season shows, overextended franchises, flagship shows being cut/restrained and a whole lot of cheap dreck.

It's the reality TV heyday all over again and I hate it.

[ahappydnp]

This might be controversial, I don't know. But I honestly don't like Dan's content post coming out nearly as much as pre-BIG. It used to be silly -yes- but relatable videos with one or two edgy jokes thrown in. Now it's ALL "I'm gay, horny and depressed and the world is ending but we also kind of deserve it" ... I know that last part has a lot to do with We're all doomed and Dystopia Daily - like the clue is in the names, I get it. But when it's all jokes like that... where is the lightheartedness? Where is the fun? Where is the relief from the problems of the world? Pre-BIG Dan at least had a better balance with that. Anyway, rant over. Hope it made sense.

mmm normally i'd ignore this kind of ask because it's nuanced and i don't want a dozen more hot takes in my inbox but i get that you're not just criticizing dan as a person but more his content shift so (many) thoughts under the cut:

i think first and foremost it's hard to gage dan as a content creators post BIG because the only content he's consistently made has been dystopia daily and wad (discounting gay & not proud because...you know...)

it's also hard to compare him to his content pre BIG since: 1) the video format is different- DD is a scripted persona heavy talk show format that's more commentary on culture than personal experiences 2) he's not supplementing DINOF with liveshows/regular social media posts + gaming channel videos that showed different (usually softer or more lighthearted) sides of dan and gave the audience a more well rounded perception of him as a person

which i think is one of the biggest ""issues"" people have with DD. it's not even necessarily the content itself (though i doubt anyone would say DD is their favorite content by any stretch), but the fact that the main source of perceiving dan is this heavily edited persona that's a bit too detached from real life daniel howell? because yeah like you said, we know he has a lighthearted side, we know he's actually very kind and thoughtful; however, dystopia daily is about the content, not dan as a person. the product isn't himself anymore which is a massive shift from old content. about dystopia daily as a concept- like i said, the reception from long time subscribers has been basically "i don't love this but i love you and am excited to see you again". it's not BAD it's just not what people watch dan for? it's definitely not something i would click on or enjoy from anyone else, but i love seeing dan in anything and supporting him. and some of it is good! there are some rewatches in there! but yeah if you didn't know him prior to DD you might assume this was just another ~generic angry rich white guy complaining about the world to be edgy~

i don't agree with you that it's ALL "i'm gay, horny, and depressed" and might even say it's not a crime if it was? dan spent the first decade of his career having to edit himself and if he needs a professional second puberty to feel better then go off! am i excited for him to explore more topics or stories or formats?? like absolutely!! but i'm not angry about this era of him getting his bearings. did i love him pretending he doesn't like/has never been around kids when we know for a fact he does? no it felt weird and forced but i get his thinking that he wants DD to be detached from dan. "where's the fun"?- i will say that this year in particular we've seen more of dan's personality online! like the silly little instastories and tweets, he's sharing more about his life (like seriously who would have bet he'd post anything about their japan trip????), him in phil's video + the hair clip. and it's just like the biggest breath of fresh air because that's our dan!!! that laugh!! i know that guy!!! and i do feel like he's ready to incorporate letting people see more sides of him again after giving himself the space and boundaries to readjust after a massive life change. but there have still been bits of him this whole time! the few liveshows he did on tour were fun, him at the tour preshows was PEAK classic dan and he was truly the sweetest during his m&gs (seriously i cannot recommend enough checking out the preshow compilations playlist on youtube or meetdnp on twitter because it's just....god it's so fucking nice to see him being so fucking nice and remembering why he really is special). check out the idb instastories playlists because there are so many gems from the past couple years people forget about!!

i know it hit harder because dan is such a LIGHT and it felt like we lost it for awhile. he didn't lose the kindness or silliness or creativity, he's still dan! he's older and not the same person he was in 2014, but also who is? i'm not the same person i was in my 20s which is a great thing!

change can feel scary, but dan's entire genetic makeup didn't change. i totally get if DD isn't your thing and that is perfectly fine! but i will say if you're mourning the other sides of him, you've got plenty of examples that aren't current main channel videos. i do believe we'll be let back in even more soon though :)

[bardicious]

Star Trek TOS' wrongs

So I said I'd do it so I'm doing it. This is just a handful of, honestly, insulting details of the original trek. Now, TOS is still my favorite trek, but it is outdated. You, frankly need to remove significant parts of canon to cope with this in a modern day mindset. Which is why I find it so hilarious that people are so precious about star trek canon. This, like comic books, is the last thing you should be taking literally.

A brief list of outdated trek:

Established in Turnabout Intruder, Woman are not permitted to be Starfleet Captains

Takes place in Elaan of Troyius, in Kirk's attempt to coach Elaan into being more "womanly" he threatens to spank her. (Also possibly Kirk is raped with Elaan's magical pheromone tears?? Which is not acknowledged as rape. I have to fact check this one.)

Takes place in The Enemy Within, Janice Rand is presumably raped and then interrogated by her rapist. The rapist is Kirk (the barbic side)

Established in Amok Time, T'Pring is considered property to either Spock, Stonn, or Kirk, going to the winner to a battle to the death.

Takes place in Bread and Circuses, showing a civilization influenced by ancient Rome. The episode ends with a group of people worshiping the son of god… alluding to Christianity.

Takes place in Omega Glory, Enterprise encounters a planet where the "Kohms" and the "Yangs" are in conflict. We learn these terms actually refer to "Communist", and "Yankee", respectively. The episode ends with Kirk reading straight out of the Pledge of Allegiance that is identical to Earth's. Somehow this planet has developed… exactly to earth to a point...

The countless amount of planets that developed parallel to earth, ie: the Nazi planet, the gangster planet, the cold war planet, native american planet, SO many greek gods, jesus fucking christ (literally), cowboy planet??, space hippies, Halloween planet... sigh, the one with goddamn Lincoln...

TOS' general treatment of women, especially seen in: Mudd's Women, Metamorphosis, Wolf in the Fold. And sprinkled in all the rest TOS.

And many more… I'll possibly add more to this post later since I'm planning a full rewatch. But if anyone has some glaring additions, feel free to add! (Ideally with the episode in question)

In conclusion, forget your canon! For the love of god! If you don't like SNW, don't watch it! It didn't happen! If you don't like a particular episode, banish it from your mind! What? Are you writing character metas or something? Pray tell, how? And good luck.

And yes, stop bothering people who enjoy a series with your criticisms. Fans and writers do not have to adhere to your particular perception of a character. We are given only glimpses into how these characters work. They're tools for self expression, not real people.

At some point, you'll want to choose what you're going to be. A person who creates and uplifts? Or someone who can only destroy, and rage at the unfairness of the world. And for that, I say good luck as well.

[dorkynerd23]

NOT ALL CARTOONS NEED TO HAVE LORE AND BE STORY-DRIVEN

I just gotta say this real quick because it's honestly been on my mind lately and I think more people need to see this because this issue is kinda an ongoing problem with cartoons these days, especially with cartoons with high expectations from some people out there, and with the recent TCS hate that's been happening around lately on Twitter, I'd figure I make a post and give my thoughts and also give my thoughts on people who expect every cartoon now to be story-driven and have lore.

Not all cartoons need to be deep and serialized, have shipping, ect to be good and watchable, not every cartoon needs that and it isn't always necessary. I'm saying this because people still whine and complain about the reasons TCS and shows like it, (like BCG, TGAMM, and more) are just bad because it doesn't have deep storytelling and isn't dark, (Hell, some haven't even watched the show and given it a chance, and still call it shit) but it isn't really relying on that and besides, cartoons are supposed to be fun and give you a good and fun time, it shouldn't matter what the story is just as long as you're enjoying watching them. Now let me just say this, there's absolutely nothing wrong with liking shows that have lore, the issue is setting up high expectations for other shows and being upset because it doesn't have lore, not every show needs to be like Steven Universe, The Owl House, Amphibia, and so on, not all shows need that, AT ALL. Sometimes it's good and fine to watch characters going on wacky adventures and just be episodic and fun, not everything needs to be serialized to be good.

And also, let's not forget before shows like Avatar The Last Airbender came around, we always mostly had shows that were episodic and didn't take themselves all that seriously and we're just there to make you laugh and have fun. :) Trust me, I enjoy and love serialized shows (even though they aren't always my cup of tea, it depends sometimes) as much as others do, and I do get interested in what'll happen next and things to theorized in lore type of shows and enjoy seeing the world-building and strong storytelling. But, at the same time, sometimes I just wanna step away from serialized shows and just laugh and turn my brain off and a thing I love and enjoy about slice of life/episodic shows is rewatchability. And while yeah, overarching narratives can be rewatched, but it's kinda hard to pick out an episode in a serialized show because some episodes might include some important details that you might've missed and such and have to go back, if that makes sense. So most of the time I usually wait until a show ends to really catch up and watch them, since it's kinda difficult to watch a show that's still ongoing.

Now, even though I absolutely love and adore Cuphead and the show, I'm not gonna act like everything in the show works because it doesn't, there are some issues. TCS isn't perfect at all and is pretty flawed and there's things I hope they approve on if they get renewed hopefully, but I just wish some would appreciate the series more, because most criticisms I've seen of the show is that it's not like the game and doesn't have lore, which is criticisms I'm honestly sick of when it comes to shows like TCS. It's understandable if you don't like the show and just aren't a fan, but at least understand and see that not every cartoon needs to be grand and epic to be good and give actual reasons for not liking it! To conclude, I just think episodic shows should be more appreciated and deserve so much better, and it isn't fair for how people treat slice of life shows, it's okay to like and enjoy both serialized and episodic shows, they're both good and great in their own way.

Sometimes, all a cartoon needs is a blend of fun, comedy and along with heart, you don't always need a deep, grand epic story for cartoons. There's no need to fight and harass others over which one is better and more superior, just let people love and like what they love, let people enjoy their cartoons!

I'd totally recommend watching these videos by Alpha Jay Show + KashCash when it comes to my post, because I think they do a better explanation and talking about this ongoing issue in the cartoon community and the high expectations people seem to get when it comes to certain shows. Again, this isn't me trying to start a fight and harass anybody, I just wanted to give my opinion on this issue because it's really starting to be talked about on Twitter, so many people are really just tearing down The Cuphead Show for simply not being serialized. Even though as I've mentioned, not all cartoons need to be that and besides, shouldn't we remember that TCS is clearly trying to be based off 1930's cartoons, especially shows like Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse + Disney cartoons, and Tom & Jerry. Which didn't take themselves seriously and we're just very simple and there to make you laugh and smile! They're also still very loved and appreciated by so many today and they didn't rely on anything big and epic, and give anything complex to be entertaining and enjoyable.

(Links To The Videos I've Mentioned!)

[Alpha Jay Show - https://youtu.be/0jSXat7kEa4]

(A Deep Dive Into The Awful Criticisms Of Cuphead)

[KashCash - https://youtu.be/UcB3ZtziXvg]

(Not All Cartoons Need To Have Lore)

[the-kipsabian]

listened to a podcast talking about this a bit, so im gonna be unhinged for a hot second about the orange cassidy belt corruption arc

i would love one day to write a kinda comprehensive "guide" to all of this, but i'd have to go back to watch a lot of stuff for it (so it would probably have to be after im done with all kip vs oc rewatch stuff. ofc if theres critical changes to this situation that might change idk let me know if this is anything of interest?), buttttt heres a few misc highlights for what i can pull out from the top of my head

first of all, here. what i believe is one of the most pivotal moments in this whole thing. so during the match with pac where oc won the title, danhausen threw a curse at pac literally right above the title

now this was because pac was trying to cheat by using a ring hammer (twice). which honestly kind of already tells us a lot about corruption, i dont remember if he was already kind of mean and wicked with the hammers before his reign, i mean pac has always been a bastard, but you know. did he start doing this after he won the title? cause that would be saying a lot

this also goes hard in this match, cause after pac is caught trying to use the hammer, oc also almost uses it on him. at this point, its just almost tho. its very close, but he chooses to throw it away, and win the match clean. the key here is, what the title is already doing to him before he even gets his hands on it

anyways. so oc does this title reign. all is swell up until the point kip challenges for it, cause thats where the mind games begin which i believe is an important part of this whole deal. kip separates him from his friends effectively, continuous taunting and mind games, he pushes oc to his limits mentally, forcing him to tap into a very dark place in his mind to overcome the odds to beat kip (also oc was showing the first cases of more vicious behavior in this match so like)

like literally this whole storyline is confirmed by the man himself to be about this like. how could this not tap into and mess with ocs psyche going forward tho

also this is just my things but. at revolution, that one time he tagged with danhausen to challenge for the tag titles, oc was the one to change his gear to black. tbh this is personally for me where this whole corruption brainrot started, but its worth mentioning, cause he has not done it since. even when teaming with hook, it was hook who changed his gear colors to match the denim. im just saying (as in, danhausen has to have a finger in this pie somehow. he just absolutely has to)

i didnt watch a lot of what happened with house of black, but thats where the physical issues started. im just inclined to believe that the physical pains just amplified his need to push himself, to show the world that hes worthy of holding this belt and being a champion despite being injured - cause thats what all this was about, right? oc having to prove to the world that despite how hes been viewed up until this point, hes actually an incredible wrestler and a worthy champion. come hell or high water, he will prove that

and thats part of why the belt was so important to him, which could easily be also turned around to be the so called "siren call" of the belt. get me and keep me with whatever way is necessary to prove yourself as a worthy champion. yes even if it costs your mental and physical health and all your friends

and so this got pushed until he literally couldnt do it anymore as mox took oc to his limits and defeated him after physically beating him down worse than before (or i mean, a week after stadium stampede? yeah both of these are factors here lbr). and you saw the miserable creature oc was after losing that title. finding solace in friends that were champions (hook and kris. i think this is an important plot point, i dont think we saw him around chuck and trent during this time. the best friends with no titles....), maybe trying to grasp for some of that former glory that he used to have

until he won the title again. and he was HELLBENT on getting it back. and after he won it, well.. i shared thoughts about this here. which is a very interesting contrast to the first time, a year ago, when he won it the first time

i dont know if i had more thoughts rn, i have lost the plot so heres everything for now. just.. yeah. i have way more things somewhere in my blog and like said i should watch all this back to get everything, but quickly putting it together heres few key points of things. anyways enjoy or whatever. feel free to share thoughts im all ears (especially if i missed anything seemingly key stuff)

[waheelawhisperer]

Okay gonna go ahead and watch the entirety of Volume 9 now that the whole thing's been released. I'll share my impressions of each episode. Half this post is out of date because I originally started writing it when the premier came out and then decided I didn't care enough about RWBY to either continue watching it or continue writing about it midway through, so it will probably be a little disjointed. Further episode reviews will probably be a bit more coherent.

Gonna put everything under the cut because honestly I was not impressed with this episode at all. While there were some things I liked, the tone of this post is going to be very critical in general, so I'm putting that warning out there right now so the people who want nothing to do with that can skip over this post and go on with their day.

Before we begin, I'd like to make it explicitly clear that these are my initial impressions based on my first viewing and that I'm well aware that later episodes might reveal information that changes how I feel about choices made earlier on in the Volume. Given the typical pattern that occurs when I watch RWBY, I fully expect that when I rewatch episodes or watch later episodes or see someone else's takes on the show, I will make connections that I didn't before or find that specific writing choices bother me more or less than they did in the initial moment, so I'm not going to waste time saying "maybe seeing what they do with this later will make it feel better to me" every single time I express a negative opinion. Just assume that I'm doing my best to keep an open mind and remain cognizant of the possibility that things I don't like at first can be recontextualized based on subsequent information.

I should also note that there will be several other factors coloring my analysis. I have listed them below:

Volume 8 sucked ass and did likely-irreparable damage to my opinion of the series

It's been two years since the last Volume released, which means we've had time to build up hopes and expectations. There are things that frustrate me now that may well play better if I watch the prior Volumes and then watch Volume 9 in its entirety immediately after.

Between Volumes 8 and 9, we learned that Rooster Teeth hadn't actually improved like they promised and instead did things like not pay their workers, fire their animation department, and call employees coded slurs on camera. On top of that, I personally learned about some of the stuff Miles Luna has said in the past that is just... ugh, so I don't have a lot of faith that a show controlled and written by this awful fucking company founded on dudebro humor will be a) good and b) willing to tackle any kind of sensitive topic with the tact and seriousness it deserves.

I'm working long hours right now, which means I'm stressed, exhausted, and overall not in a good headspace. My temper is frayed, my memory's slipping, and I'm having trouble gathering and expressing my thoughts. Things that bother me are bothering me more than they normally would, and things that normally make me happy are not making me happy right now. This is unlikely to change prior to the end of Volume 9.

All of this together means I'm much less willing to give Volume 9 the benefit of the doubt than I would've been a few years ago, or even six months ago. That's something to keep in mind as I progress through this post.

That said, I actually really like the opening. The first-person perspective was an interesting change compared to what we usually get, and I really like the way it showed how damn fast Yang went over the edge. I've talked about it before, but the way they chose to portray Yang's fall in slow motion, while suitably dramatic, definitely didn't make it clear that the characters had very little time to react. I think we needed to see Yang get knocked off the ledge in real time and then see Blake fail to save her in dramatic slow motion (side note: Blake was booking it when she saw Yang fall)

I also gotta say I love how Neo was totally willing to throw hands with a teenager in midair. Like, she's just been betrayed by her employer and is possibly falling to her death and the first thing in her head is that she's gonna get her revenge if it's the last thing she does. It's so gloriously self-destructive. I think this is a good character moment for Neo.

After a start that I personally felt was pretty strong, the quality... kinda dips a little. I don't like what happens once we start focusing on Ruby. Her initial response feels very dull to me, and it raises a lot of questions. The first is, like... why isn't she freaking out? Why didn't she vocalize any thoughts? Why is the first thing she actually does vocalize frustration, but specifically frustration played for comedy? Why doesn't she go through the basic wilderness survival checklist a Huntress would presumably have learned (if her schooling didn't teach her, I imagine Qrow would've, and it would've been a nice little callback to the way he mentored her if she had remembered receiving that sort of advice and then acted on it)? Why does she not care that her weapon is missing? Why does she just walk off into the woods like she doesn't give a fuck about anything, including her teammates? Is there a reasonable explanation for her behavior? Is she in shock or something? Is it a good decision on the part of the writers if the answer to the previous two questions is yes (i.e. would it have been better to make Ruby react in some other way)?

I don't like the way we just see Ruby get mad that she's perpetually looping through the forest vs. really grappling with all the events of Volume 8. My guess is that she's doing her usual "crush it all down and put up a front and just never acknowledge any fear or insecurity" thing she likes to do, but it feels to me like it would've been a better choice to get something more out of her, even if it's just a little bit of concern about her teammates. I think they're trying for a slow buildup toward Ruby's breakdown, but we've been waiting for two years and I don't feel like this episode gave us much in general. I'm thinking this might be one of those things where I'd feel better about it if I watched all the relevant episodes in a short timeframe, but it is definitely frustrating now.

This is gonna be a complaint about the episode in general, but I really do not like the decision to go for such a comedic tone. After the tragedy of Volume 8, it just feels jarring. I developed a theory or two about why the writers made this choice as I watched the episode, but neither of them makes it a good one. RWBY should not be trying to be funny right now. A Kingdom fell. Penny died. The girls were traumatized. Why is the first thing we get a bird mocking Ruby and a one-mouse comedy show? This is the wrong choice of tone, and unless the show does something truly phenomenal with it (it won't), I am prepared to die on this hill.

Little's conception of name as purpose is interesting. I have a feeling that identity and purpose and self-perception are going to be prevalent themes throughout this Volume, and I think there's a lot of interesting exploration of those ideas that can be done with all four of our mains, especially Ruby.

WHY DID WE MISS THE BLAKE/WEISS REUNION????? It feels like this episode tries to speedrun the reunification of Team RWBY and there’s no tension to it. That said, I'm glad someone finally acknowledged that weapons other than Crescent Rose have names. That feels like a big part of RWBY's identity and a major element of its themes of self-expression that's really gone underutilized throughout the show's run.

The dialogue here feels a little stilted honestly, would've been nice to see a hug or something (kind of like it would've been nice to see the actual reunion). Really wish that there was more of a sense of urgency when they decide they should try to find the others. Blake was losing her shit when she thought Yang died, I kind of figured she'd be desperate to make sure Yang's okay (and that Weiss, who fought Cinder to the last with her teammate's weapon in her hands and tears running down her cheeks, would have some sort of overt interest in finding anyone that goes beyond "maybe we should look for them, idk").

I like the way Weiss doesn't want to talk about the battle. Feels like it's actually emotionally affected her.

And of course she goes straight from that to comic relief. At least the choice of tone is consistently bad.

We find Gambol Shroud almost immediately. Once again there is no tension or urgency to the search. It's starting to feel like this episode is just speedrunning the Team RWBY reunion so the show can get to whatever the hell it actually wants to do this Volume.

This whole vine trap sequence just annoys me. Why the hell is Weiss cheerleading like Blake is a high school quarterback about to throw a touchdown pass? Why the hell is this show trying to be funny in-universe moments after a Kingdom fell and all four of our mains nearly died? Why the hell are these fucking vines even an obstacle? Blake, you can literally double-jump. I have literally seen you jump higher than this and wall run like a fucking Naruto character without explicitly using your powers. Just pull some Jackie Chan shit and get your weapon back. Pretend, for once, that you are useful in a situation that does not involve either looking cute or pining over Yang. Weiss, you can also literally double-jump. You can help other people double-jump. Stop trying out for the cheerleading squad and do something useful. You could literally make Blake a ladder if you wanted to. For fuck's sake.

When I first watched the episode, I was thinking that maybe the Ever After prevented Semblance use or something, or maybe that it dulled the mental processes of "intruders" like Team RWBY and that was why the characters suddenly had zero brain cells, but after everything else I've learned about this Volume, I'm pretty sure the writers are just incompetent.

There's no tension to them being captured either. Blake, you have a Semblance. Why are these fucking vines even an impediment to you? This episode has thus far failed to set any kind of stakes or establish any kind of threat at all. I don't feel scared for Monochrome here because their captors are a bunch of fucking mice. Blake could free herself with a thought and literally stomp the mice like cockroaches.

Not that it would matter if I did feel anything but annoyance about this scene anyway because Ruby arrives to solve the problem immediately, thus ruining any chance of the show managing to establish any kind of stakes here. Little starts off by... sleeping. What does this character do? Very useful.

The mice, all of them, are fucking annoying. I don't know why they set this trap to begin with or how they knew to bait it with Gambol Shroud and I don't really care. Maybe this'll be one of those things the Volume expands upon later, idk, but right now I'm just waiting for Monochrome to be freed so we can go somewhere else and do something interesting.

Blake, why are you okay with being referred to as a cat? Isn't your whole arc about how Faunus aren't animals and shouldn't be treated as such? Or did you forget that when you also forgot how to fight? Really not doing a great job defending yourself against the years-long accusations of character regression, hon (most of those accusations are stupid but the fact that she did fuck-all besides stare longingly at Yang and wait to be rescued during the Atlas arc lends them some credence, and this is still not a great look regardless).

Interesting that Blake describes Yang as not scary. Very interesting.

Also interesting that Weiss says Yang could be scary if she wanted to. You're not beating the bottom/sub allegations anytime soon, girlie.

Okay, we finally get our first hint that Ruby has an actual plan instead of aimless wandering. Would've been nice if this was indicated in any way earlier, but at least it's something, and that's more than I expect from this episode at this point.

Eat the mouse, Blake. You know you want to. If you're not going to defend yourself against the catgirl profiling, at least live up to it and make this episode more tolerable. I don't know how I feel about her freaking out about Little climbing on her. I think the show is trying too hard to be funny again.

So glad no one gives a fuck about reuniting with Ruby either. Very moving, very emotional. What a close-knit band of friends, what a wonderful found family. RWBY's always had a problem selling the idea that the characters care about each other and are close to each other in the way the narrative wants us to believe they are (because the show doesn't have enough runtime to build those relationships properly and organically and refuses to adjust its scope to fit its resources) and it's getting noticeably worse this episode.

Little fell asleep again. "I can be your trusty guide" -> immediately fails to do anything useful. I don't like this character.

Blake finally shows some urgency. This should've come several minutes ago, but better late than never, I guess. Would be nice if anyone else showed concern for Yang, but I'm not convinced the writers realize there's a spectrum of goal alignment between "unified hivemind" and "only one character is allowed to want or care about any given thing". I still feel no tension around the search for Yang in the slightest. There is nothing in this world to indicate that she won't be totally fine unless she got caught in another stupid vine trap and eaten by mice.

Nice to see Ruby showing interest in the situation. Finally. Also nice to see someone besides Blake showing concern for Yang, muted as it may be. I like the way Weiss is clearly uncomfortable talking about what happened on Rainbow Road. I hope they actually do something with this, but I don't expect it. I don't have enough faith in RWBY's writing for that at this point.

The Jabberwalker is cool. Really freaky. Unfortunately, my torrent didn't have subtitles, so I have no idea what it's saying, which is really annoying.

The mouse goes from useless to active liability. Love it.

Ruby realizes, apparently for the first time, that she doesn't have her weapon. I want to assume that finding it will be a priority, but none of our current main three seem to have any actual priorities at this point, or at least none they care about enough to show any urgency about fulfilling.

Yang, unsurprisingly, is the best part of the episode, not that this is a difficult achievement in the slightest. She demonstrates her absurd (and sexy) physical strength by carrying a rock, this episode, and the weight of her massive balls all at once despite having one arm. You go, girlboss.

Paying attention during the flanking scene, there's a very visible gap in the formation where Ruby's supposed to go. I bet that not being able to participate in combat is not exactly doing great things to her mental state.

The Jabberwalker runs away pretty quick. It feels more like a warning system, or maybe a white blood cell, than a major threat (or maybe trained and Aura/Semblance-empowered Huntresses are just super powerful in comparison to the Ever After). I bet it'll be a recurring problem in this Volume, maybe getting stronger or smarter with every encounter.

I liked that Ruby was running up to Yang and getting ready to greet her until Yang reacted negatively, and I really like that Yang wasn't happy to see Ruby and her other teammates. First Yang thought she died, then she saw Ruby and the others and thought she'd died for nothing. It makes perfect sense that she's not happy right now.

(Side note: I think the Yang Curse Count is up to 3? all under extreme emotional duress. Still not on board with fanworks that portray her as swearing like a sailor. She'd be a better example for her little sister, I guarantee it)

"If you thought we wouldn't come for you, then you must have forgotten who raised me" Ruby what the fuck are you talking about? Were you just going to yeet yourself into the void if you'd won the battle? There was no possible reason for them to think Yang is even alive. They don't know they're the protagonists of a web cartoon. They don't know they have plot armor. To them, Yang was fucking dead. What could following her on purpose even have accomplished besides introducing them to whatever's at the bottom of the abyss at terminal velocity?

That said, I do like the acknowledgement that Yang raised Ruby. That's very important to both characters and I'm really glad someone finally said it out loud. Maybe this'll finally put the "Yang is a bad sister" allegations to rest (jk the people who believe that could be confronted with all the evidence in the world and it wouldn't change a thing).

The Bumbleby reunion feels kinda weird, I was expecting a bit more than a tackle-hug, but it's sweet overall and I at least dislike it less than the rest of the episode. I took a screenshot here for the sake of making a stupid meme but I don't like this show enough to post it anymore.

Would be real nice to know how Yang got from where she started to where she is now and I think we’ll see some of that, but given how rushed the reunion feels, I’m not confident.

Love the way Yang thinks she’s dead and is still ready to throw hands, really shows us who she is and that she can’t be broken. Truly the Woman Of All Time.

Would be interesting to explore the ramifications of this but I honestly doubt we will.

Weiss is still the one most visibly affected by the battle on Rainbow Road, I like the way this has been very consistently a point of emotional turmoil for her over the course of this episode. Would love to see that continue throughout the rest of the Volume.

Ruby's fainting is interesting. It's nice to see her have an actual emotional response now and just kind of shut down. I've seen debate about whether her team cared for her properly. Some people say that the team did what they should have and put her in the recovery position, but I think they're missing the point a bit. Even assuming I trust the writers to know what should be done for someone who faints (which I don't), that isn't knowledge the general audience can reasonably be assumed to have, so they needed to find a more obvious way to convey that WBY were concerned about Ruby and took steps to make her safe and comfortable. Either have a scene somewhere earlier in the show (maybe back at Beacon, or somewhere in Volume 7) where the team learns first aid or convey the fact that they're taking care of Ruby more effectively.

Notably, it’s Yang who’s right next to her and who shows concern - she immediately asks if Ruby's all right once Ruby starts speaking. Bad sister tho amirite?

Doesn't really help that they start discussing the situation before Ruby wakes up. I can see why people say WBY don't care about her or her input here, but I think this is just clunky pacing more than anything. The fact that the conversation continues while Ruby’s asleep means we don’t see how anyone else reacts to Penny’s death or the events in the liminal zone, which is kind of annoying. This is starting to feel like another "only one character gets to react to things" event like we had with Pyrrha's death almost exclusively affecting Jaune.

Still hate Penny’s death but it seems the narrative wants us to believe that Penny made the right choice and there was no better option.

Like how Blake takes charge, this is a huge bit of development for her, though I worry that seeing Blake essentially usurp her role is going to hurt Ruby when she's already fragile. NGL when I saw that sunbeam hit Blake I thought they'd fucked up the lighting lol.

Blake saying she thinks we’re in a fairy tale would hit better if the Ever After wasn’t based on an Earth fairy tale and also if we knew more about Remnant’s fairy tales. Yes, the spinoff thing exists, but I don’t want to have to do fucking homework to understand a fundamental aspect of the show.

(I've actually heard that this fairy tale isn't even in the fucking spinoff, which means it got introduced last Volume with like 1 fucking conversation that told us nothing useful. This isn't setup, MKEK. Build this element into the story properly if you want to use it, especially if this Volume was supposedly "planned from the beginning" or whatever the fuck.)

OP is mediocre by RWBY standards which means it's decent but not particularly good by other standards. Say what you will about this series, but the music always slaps.

Overall this episode kind of sucks and in fact made me not want to watch the rest of the Volume until I got fed up with seeing spoilers I had no context for on my dash. This is the first time I can remember that I've watched a RWBY season premiere and not wanted more. That's how bad it was. Can't believe we waited two years for this.

Overall rating: ASS/10

[protagonistheavy]

Maybe this is weird but recently I was struck with the sad realization that some of my favorite anime is just realistically unwatchable at my maturity and mindset right now. Specifically it was Kill La Kill that really hit me as the first anime that I'm going to feel bitter leaving behind me. As much as I did enjoy the over-the-top theatrics, the sheer idea of rewatching a show almost entirely about naked 16 year-olds just puts me off as I near 30 -- if it came out today, I'd almost definitely criticize its expression of sexuality rather than find it freeing and exciting like I did before.

It's a topic I'm sitting critically on, not helped by the fact that honestly I dont even remember too much of KLK at this point, since I only ever watched it as it aired. It obviously had intended themes to explore with its emphasis on nudity, and not every moment of being naked was for fanservice........... but yeah 99% of it IS about fanservice, titilating the viewers with naked high school girls. And boys, too, I guess. Beyond just nudity, there's also just outright molestation played for laughs, which was never something I took kindly to; it feels like for everything good the series had going on for it, it was undone by at least ten excessive examples of fanservice, each.

Anyway I'm extra conflicted/bitter because this was the kind of thing I'd argued in favor of back in the day lol. Just a different person and mentality then, I suppose, and it's hard for me to just accept that I'm not like that anymore. I'm left wondering what else I'm going to have to eventually disown and distance myself from -- stuff I could be very well watching today, unaware how its problems will be illuminated to me later. And it makes me afraid, genuinely, to get into anything else, because god knows what it will do to make me regret giving it my time.

Ultimately, I do believe fault lies on the creators of such shows. It would have cost nothing to make these characters adults with an actual grip on their sexuality; would have cost nothing to exclude rape humor. At least if it were thought of with these consequences in mind, that the show would age poorly with its aging audience becoming less favorable towards the sexualization of minors. But this is the state of the industry, where it's hyper-normal to make a show about high schoolers getting naked in order to fight each other.

And I guess what also drives me crazy is the amount of people who WON'T disown KLK or other similar anime. Other ~30 year-olds who will still have affection for the show and encourage people to engage with it. Maybe I am crazy! Maybe this is something everyone else just has the capability to ignore and get over with, but I feel this unrelenting guilt and it so often feels like the only resolve to it is to commit to this stance, to get away from the toxicity and remind myself I don't need it. But it's admittedly so hard when my peers will not do the same and seemingly go on living guilt-free; I'm not the scolding type so its not like I'll ever say something to them, but I guess I wonder if theyre ever going to have the same maturity breakthrough I did these last couple years.

[hardestgrove]

Dude! You're completely right that Willow and Xander have very specific voices; and honestly I don't think I could get them down as well as you have, even after spending the better part of 20 years rewatching the show. (I'm 28, I used to stay up specifically to watch btvs with my mom bc she taped it from tv lmao.) I'm super excited that you're working on more crossover stuff, that's gonna be awesome!!

thank you so much!!! i watched bits of buffy growing up on tv and but moreso angel the series bc i literally remembered all about s5-- more than i remembered anything specific about buffy then rewatched/watched all of btvs in 2019 while doing inktober and it's been downhill ever since lol.

i have more buffy writing on my AO3 and my btvs side on here is @annyankers

i'm genuinely interested in doing some kind of btvs/st crossover bc i think you can make it work and work well but i have to really brood over it you know? like i need to sort out just how much of which thing is staying and how to shave the cast down to something manageable and then which ships stay from both canons and which go etc. god i just thought of cordelia/eddie enggame holy SHIT--

it's something i'd actually love to brainstorm and talk out with people. as it stands i'll probably only write little things like this that are kinda just nebulous and on there own bc i really do need to get to other projects and i really wanna be very critical and think about what i'm doing here. i have a habit of not wanted to cut out too much of canon even when i know it's making things too bloated re: a new plotline and usually i end up whittling it down over time as i narrow down the outline but i would really wanna try and go for the jugular right from the start with this one bc there's just so much fuck shit to deal with and i wanna really try to blend things as seamlessly as i can

[giorgiastastes]

버닝 / Burning (2018)

"It's too close, you might not see it"

What to say about this movie...

The film itself is quite simple, even too easy at first sighting I'd dare to say, but the meaning behind, the interpretations and smart details is what makes it unique and pretty much a masterpiece.

I'm sure that most people, or at least those who usually watch unchallenging to elaborate movies, won't like it. If you're looking for something what will be "explained to you", for the director to give you that big plot twist or long monologue, you won't find it here. But if you want to watch a work of art that'll make you think, reflect and crash your minds, you have a good journey in front of you.

I remember that as soon as I've finished watching it I went online to look for theories, to see if someone else had the same idea as me, if I got it right and what I've missed, and then I planned to write here my thoughts on the real explaination, but after rewatching and searching I've figured it out BURNING doesn't really have a "true" explaination in my idea, or better, the director definitely knows what he believes is the so called truth, but the strength of it is how free of interpretations it is. I've read hundreds theories and honestly all of them could fit just right, so for once I've decided to do something different.

In here I will summarize all the theories, under layers and explaination that I've read, figured out or found, and I will leave to you, the reader, to believe your own "truth"

This will be full of spoilers, it's actually a summarization of the after watch, so read at your own risk, and since I'm taking for granted that you've watched the movie and remember it quite well too, I won't always repeat the plot when not necessary.

• Ben sells organs on the black market. That's how he gets his money and Haemi is aware of this, and decided to sell her own organs to pay off her debt. She even says I'D SELL MY ORGANS IF I WERE YOUNGER. She could also be unaware of this and that's why she dissapears.

• Ben is a serial killer. He seduces fragile women who are very easy preys to such an handsome and carismactic young man, and then gets rid of them after he gets tired. This happens about every couple of months, which corresponds to his journey in Africa timeline. They are the greenhouses he burns, because he knows nobody will look for them, and in fact the police does not care about the greenhouses, just like they don't care about missing women nobody knows about.

Ben also owns all the qualities of a maniac sociopath who's keen on control and feels no emotion or empathy. He never cries for example. He also feels pride in his crime and he's almost tempted to confess them to show how good he is. That's why he says to Jongsu that he will burn a greenhouse close to him, but he didn't mean it in a special terminology, but more like in an emotional sense. He will kill the the closest thing the other has, which is Haemi. He also states that she dissapeared like "smoke".

This would also be justified by the creepy call the protagonist receives by Haemi before she dissapears. The biggest evidence placed by the director to prove that this theory is the most correct one is in the last scene, where Ben is putting makeup on a new girl. For a non Korean speaker it's quite hard to get the reference but Makeup and corpses' cremation are spelled in the same way in the hangul language, therefore the movie showing us Ben doing the girl's makeup is the alternative way to say he's killed her and is now cremating the body, hence his obsession with fires.

He's the one who cleaned Haemi's room and took her cat. He also keeps his victims personal objects as a throphy of some sort.

• Ben is a pimp. He's the trainer for these beautiful, young but poor women who are ready to sell themselves when he convinces them to do so. This is shown as Haemi also become less and less shy as the movie goes on, as seen in the undressing scene, while being more bold and provocative too. He changed her drastically, or maybe only let her discover a different, more free, part of herself. He also applies makeup on them how he would do to a doll, playing dress up for a woman who's now becoming just an object of desire that can be bought.

• Ben is a human trafficker. He sends women into slavery while promising them a life of luxury and happiness. That's why he shows off his idyllic lifestyle, and then sells them in Africa (where he goes frequently), where they'll never be found.

• Ben is a life guru. He teaches unsecure and frustrated women to feel liberated and less oppressed, to leave it all behind and start from scratch. They pay him, that's why he's rich. He also keeps a "souvenir" of every woman he has turned. This could explain why he shows up to the meeting with Jongsu in the finale. If he actually killed or sold these women he wouldn't fall into the other man's trick.

• Ben doesn't exist. He's just the symbol of everything Jongsu is not but aspires to be. He's rich, confident, cultured and attractive. Every flaw and layer of insecurity Jongsu seems to have, Ben lacks. And in the end, when the protagonist finally becomes brave enough to mature, to actually chase the woman he loves, he's able to kill the shadow of himself that only reminded him of how miserable he was.

• Ben and Jongsu are the same person. Much Fight Club like, they're the same human being, just different, extreme sides of one. Jongsu could have a personality disorder or maybe we're just shown two sides of him that prove his mental health issues. That's also why Haemi seems to be involved with both of them without choosing a side, because one is the gentle but insecure fraction, the other the bold but arrogant one. And then, in the end, when such division is making him go insane, he decides to kill his alter ego.

• It's just a love triangle. One of my favorite songs of all time had a similar topic. There's the main character, a shy and quiet boy, who falls in love with a girl who feels foreign and unreachable to him. But he's not the only one in her life. She also has another lover who's much more attractive and manly in a way, and all three start to share this peculiar poliamorous love story, mostly platonic. She's very pretty and feels as free as Venus, torn between two men. Then one day she leaves, and she'll never come back. But while the second boy easily moves on with his life, figuring out it was just a näive fling, the singer remains stuck, obsessing over her day and night, trying to find answers and solutions just not to deal with the realization of her not loving him enough to stay.

• Every character represents a social stereotypes and criticism of modern South Korean classes. I think this is very straightforward, especially Jongsu's jealousy of Ben's wealth, and Haemi's attempt to RISE in the social pyramid, surrounding herself with high class people like Ben or his friends, even letting them make joke of her, to mock her, all of it just to feel part of their group and reality.

• It's all in Jongsu's head.

• The disappearance of Haemi, whether it happened or not or HOW it happened are not the main focus on the movie, which instead is the characters dealing with such loss and lack of knowledge on what happened. Much like the Russian movie Loveless (2017), where the event is only used as an artistical device to let the story progress and the characters' grief culminate. Maybe we really don't need to know what happened to her, maybe she's dead, maybe she's alive and better than ever, but to the movie's intent such information is superficial, it's just the human need to fill our curiosity when were too afraid to deal with the pain of remaining unaware of it. Jongsu is sure she's been killed and that brings him to his next move, but the viewer, he doesn't need to know, because he doesn't need to act, to keep the story going.

• Haemi might have killed herself. Ben is the only one who knows about this and that's why she gives him her cat. She also shows multiple signs of advanced depression, for more than half of the movie is almost like she's not there, like she's already just the memory, the ghost of a girl who once was there.

• The movie itself is just a metaphor. The metaphor is many times used by the characters and maybe not only as a word, part of a dialogue, but the overall film might be A BIG, CRIPTIC METAPHOR.

• Everything is hereditary. From family's fortunes and richness to behavior and inner rage. Jongsu was born poor and will die as such just like his father, and even though he seems like the most innocuous being, he's able to take out his rage on other just like this father. I guess it's in the genes.

• Jongsu is the calf. The calf represents Jongsu's pureness and naivety. And when he sells it, he's also selling his soul in a way.

• Haemi represents South Korea, Jongsu North Korea, Ben is the new Korea, the one always more and more Westernized.

• We're just reading the plot of Jongsu's book. When Haemi leaves for Africa he has plenty of time to write the story he's planning to put into words, and that's what he does. Everything we see after she comes back from her journey is just the plot of the book, and the creation of Jongsu's imagination.

• A modern reinterpretation of the Great Gatsby. Yes, obviously a VERY liberate view of the novel, but many details seem to be quite evocative.

• A criticism to how South Korea treats women. Even the movie itself does this, probably on purpose. The one who disappears is a woman, but the ones who are the main centre of attention are men. She's only a story device, never the real protagonist.

• Ben wanted Jongsu to discover his crimes so he could reach fame if the other ever made a book out of it. He's so full of himself he'd rather be punished for his crimes than never showing off how good he was at covering every proof. That's why he dies almost peacefully, and shed a tear, which he claimed to have never done before.

• The well Haemi reference to, symbolizes falling into prostitution. That's why Jongsu's mother knows about it too, since it's quite obvious she's now an escort. But she states the well is dry, as a way of saying that it's not how easy and fun it might seem.

• This is just the tragic story of a boy who's lost every possible source of love. From his father in jail, his mother who abandoned him, to the only girl that ever showed him affection disappearing, and a new friend who he decides to kill.

• Ben is Death or maybe the devil personified. He helps Haemi get the courage to end it one for all, and even pushes Jongsu to kill, cursing his soul.