#i feel like it's cos tumblr can be an echo chamber like. real bad. a lot of the time. but so many ppl
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#i feel like it's cos tumblr can be an echo chamber like. real bad. a lot of the time. but so many ppl#seem so convinced that e/s/i is gonna happen. and i gotta be honest i donut want that#i want izzy to not have this unhealthy dependence on ed and i want edstede to blossom..#izzy deserves the character growth to Not have his entire personality revolving around ed and thats the that on that#i know people love izzy and eds relationship and sure its fucked up and enjoyable. but i just... dont want them to be endgame kfnsjd#ofmd spoilers#like even if they repair their relationship i don't want it. maybe its just my own trauma around the shit#poly situation i was in when i was like 21 but i dont want that for any of them. lol
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Frozen 2, the spoiler debacle, and the dehumanization of Elsa
Hello there! Let’s talk. (Warning: this post will contain some of the leaked spoilers. Read at your own risk!) You may notice this is my first and only post on this blog. I started this side-blog just to iterate my opinions on Frozen in an anonymous setting, and my main account isn’t suited for that. As for me, I’m a 26-yo Frozen fan. Elsa is my favorite fictional character of all time; she means a lot to me. By day I work as a graphic designer in the southern US, by night I struggle to sleep. Really exciting life.
Anyway, because I’m human trash, I read the spoilers. I sought them out. I kind of regret it. Initially I was shocked, hurt, betrayed, and uneasy about the apparent direction this movie is going in. And the more I read about people’s backlash & opinions, the more my understandings were bolstered. People have a lot to say about this. People get very up-in-arms about the direction their fictional characters take.
Let me start by saying that if you are staunchly opposed to the PERCEIVED ending of the movie, I’m probably not going to change your mind. I’m writing this for those people like me who are just confused, uncertain, worried, and anxious. After all, we have a whole month until this movie is released. Are we going to have to live in this limbo for another month?
After reading a lot of accounts & interpretations of Frozen 2, I want to say: no.
If the implied ending is in fact how the movie ends- separation of the sisters, Anna as sole monarch, Elsa as the fifth spirit- I’ve made my peace. And you can too (Excuse me while I sound like an infomercial.)
First, let me play devil’s advocate and pull some of the speculation apart from the facts:
- Regarding the pages from the art book, we don’t know if Elsa relinquishes her title to Anna. There’s nothing saying they’re not co-rulers. It notes that Anna inherits the throne from the “queens before her,” including Elsa, but this could be interpreted as “Elsa was queen first,” NOT “Elsa is no longer queen.”
- We don’t know if Elsa becomes a goddess, immortal, or some ethereal being. There is mention of her becoming the fifth element, but this could be a descriptive characteristic, NOT prescriptive (ie, she doesn’t need to “transform” to become it, she is it by simply being herself.) If that even is true. It’s just as likely that the bond of Elsa-Anna is the bridge/fifth element, not Elsa herself. AND if the fifth element is the harmony between humanity & spirit, Elsa can’t become un-human to fulfill that role, or she becomes wholly spirit... which is what Pabbie warned against in “losing herself” to magic. Also note that “transformation” was used to describe Elsa in her Ice Palace in the first movie. It didn’t mean she became inhuman, it meant she became more herself.
- We don’t know the nature of their “separation,” if there even is one (the leaked book pages talk about different roles only, and the Foreword of the art book only alludes to them living different lives.) The picture of Elsa riding away on the Nokk & waving? That doesn’t mean she’s leaving forever. Hell, she could be off to save Olaf from a wolf.
- We don’t know that there are two separate Epilogues chronicling their separate journeys. The Color Script page has two boxes labeled “Epilogue.” It also has two pages labeled “Dark Sea.” Are those two separate scenes? Or just two color schemes? Given the context of the sheet’s title... I’m going with the latter.
We know very little about the context of the movie to make these judgements anything more than speculations. Take a deep breath. The movie isn’t ruined.
However, if these things turn out to be true, we can still be at peace with the decisions made at Disney Animation by preparing an open mindset. Here's how I’ve been processing it, and how I’ve come to defend the creative team regardless of their decisions for Elsa & Anna. The Perception of Wrongdoing There are a few specific implications in the spoilers that rubbed me the wrong way. I’d been optimistic for the movie until this morning when I pored over everyone’s interpretations. I don’t like the idea of the girls being separated. I don’t like the idea of Elsa no longer being queen (at least, in royal title via her family line. Snow Queen is a different honor.) I don’t like the idea of Elsa becoming something more than human, a spirit or goddess or force of nature. Elsa is beloved because of her humanity. In fact, I think the first Frozen was beloved because of its humanity. We saw the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of its two heroines and we fell in hard, deep love with the story. We’ve had so many years to marinate on that story over and over again that it’s become cozy and familiar, a hygge of itself.
And when we’re faced with the prospect that our favorite story’s world is about to be flipped on its axis, we panic because it feels vulnerable. We’ve put so much love and time into this franchise and we feel helpless to watch other people- the people who are, in fact, in charge- make decisions about it. Dehumanization
Because of my love for Elsa, I’ll speak about her as an example, though this applies to any aspect of the story we feel is “wrong” in the sequel.
There are two ways to dehumanize someone. One is to think of them as worthless; the other is to idolize them.
It’s not a secret that Elsa is one of the most idolized fictional characters of our time. Some of her creators even fell a little bit in love with her, as admitted by Jennifer Lee. She was written as someone who is inherently beautiful, but fragile and unsure of herself. She is kind, gentle, wise, and compassionate. Even her flaws- her penchant for being too reserved, her anxious and worried nature- are romanticized into beauty. Moreover, her flaws as characteristics rather than actions make it difficult for us to perceive her as anything other than our perfect, honorable Snow Queen.
Codependency, by definition, involves the idolatry of another human. Obviously Elsa being fictional doesn’t make her codependent to anyone, as it’s not a mutual relationship. But the idolatry is there. We feel we “need” her to be and act a certain way to fulfill our desires.
So when we hear word that she’s acting in a way we don’t like? We get scared. Perhaps we didn’t understand her the way we thought we did. Perhaps we’re not as “close” to her as we thought. Perhaps it feels like a betrayal.
Jennifer Lee & Christopher Buck know Elsa better than we do. We project our own experiences onto the character of Elsa because she’s so unique and still relatable. But her creators are the ones who know her wholly, truly, as she is. Jennifer Lee wrote journals to “listen” to Elsa & Anna, and their respective stories. They employed mental health professionals to analyze the characters and help determine arcs that would make sense. They care a lot about what these sisters do and feel, and no one- not even you or me- is more committed to playing these characters truthfully. This is something that idolatry blinds us to. The image of Elsa in our heads doesn’t match the expression in the sequel, and we get scared of the cognitive dissonance. Who is Elsa if she’s not the Queen? Who is Anna if she’s not living with her sister? We panic because what we THOUGHT we knew is suddenly revealed to be a lie. We imagined the ending of Frozen 2 to be an idyllic family setting, when in fact it might stretch our definition of “family.” All that to say: it’s okay to be scared of what this movie might reveal about characters we thought we knew. The familiarity of the first movie is being challenged. But growth can’t happen without some sort of variable change. It’s okay to disagree with how the creators specifically do that, but be aware of why they chose to make those decisions in the first place. The trailers have been alluding to a separation of some kind, with Elsa’s “What would I do without you?” to Anna’s “you’ll always have me” as foreboding clues to the movie’s interpersonal conflict. For reasons we don’t know, this is the route the creative team has taken. It might feel unfair, but we don’t have the whole story. And whatever that story is.... it will all be okay. Jennifer and Chris will make the right decisions for their characters. The sisters will be happy in the end because this is a Disney movie (do you really think they’d be happy separated against either of their wills?) They’ll be a family regardless of the circumstances. It might not be how you or I would have written it, but that doesn’t make it a bad story nor an invalid one. And we can be content with that for another month. (I have a working hypothesis that we’re all going to be happily surprised by the ending’s larger meaning, once it’s revealed.) Wait, isn’t this just a kid’s movie? Shouldn’t we just suck it up and move on? Elsa may be fictional, but that doesn’t mean she’s not real. She means a lot to a LOT of people because of her very real relationships with herself, her capabilities, her power, and her family. It’s not silly to worry about her arc, nor Frozen 2′s arc as a whole. Stay Mindful
If you’ve been scouring Tumblr & Instagram all day today in a panic trying to decide how to feel about the Frozen 2 leaks, please get off the echo chamber that is the internet. Eat a chocolate chip cookie, meditate, sit outside with a cup of tea- enter back into the “real world.” It pains me to say this because I’m talking to myself as much as I'm talking to anyone else, but: Frozen is not the determinant of your existence, nor your happiness. It’s one story among SO many, all of which have the potential to form and influence us in various ways.
In closing:
- keep in mind that most of what’s circulating on Tumblr is part of a rumor mill, and not to trust anything that doesn’t come from Disney themselves
- context is key to everything, and until we see the movie, we don’t have the knowledge to make major decisions about how we feel about Frozen 2
- It’s okay to feel worried or scared that the story won’t be what we were expecting- but that doesn’t make it bad, and it doesn’t mean we’re destined to be disappointed
- be mindful of whether you’re putting the characters/movie/franchise on a pedestal of unsustainable adoration. It can be unhealthy and painful to come down from that high.
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Why do you dislike Ralph so much? I personally don’t like the character because of his powers, he’s exactly what another superhero is only with a different name. Other than that he’s ok, I get where they’re going with it and I doubt that he’ll be a permanent fixture on the show. I can see him make guest appearances but not much else.
I dislike that he was clearly created for and by a sexual harassing misogynist. And then when they dropped that side of him, he still took over the show in both tone (juvenile body humor rather than character-driven heart) and plot. If he remains alive and only makes occasional appearances in the future, that’s one thing. But I won’t know that’s the case - he’s a guest star this season, after all - until several episodes have gone by.
You don’t think these writers are trying to make Iris into the strong black woman trope who doesn’t need an apology, do you? She has a lot going for her such as beauty, brains, a loving family, leader/co-leader with her husband, who just happens to be the lead character. But, no apology from Caitlin for s3 and so far, not one from Barry. That part may come later, but she’s always the forgiving rock to everyone else. Is her rock in the cut scenes?
I don’t think they’re trying to, but that may be the unintentional result given the make-up of their writers’ room. This is why they need more black women behind the scenes.
That being said, Iris has gotten to speak her piece more this season than in previous ones, and Barry did apologize to her at the start of the season over his leaving her. She expressed her pain there, and he responded accordingly. I wish he had explicitly apologized for 4.18 & 4.19, but I don’t know if his scheduling the therapy session was meant to be an implicit apology or if the writers just didn’t see those two scenes as a big deal.
Caitlin not apologizing is bullshit, though, and the writers are never gonna live that one down.
I have a feeling Ralph will be back next season if only because today Hartley was hinting at the the unexplored friendship between him and CS lol. For real tho we don’t know if off the bat Hartley signed a two year contract thus they are obligated to keep him in the show. Todd might not get to choose what he does. I will say since Todd took control he didn’t let Ralph dominate the whole show which I think will be the same in season 5.
I’m hoping that’s him reminiscing and wishing he could be around longer, lol. I’m going off Todd saying that his story is done, as well as the casting call saying it was one season with the possibility of becoming a regular later, but you are right that we don’t know which way it went.
I know people have latched on to that interview, but It’s not like he could come out and say R is coming back tho. That aside, don’t leaaaave uuuuus! You wouldn’t stay even for Dawn? :( Maybe if people stopped dumping all the negativity in your inbox? (but I get it. There r things I don’t like about this season, but the echo chamber of this is the wooooorst here makes everything worse)
You’re sweet, but my inbox isn’t the issue. Y’all are pretty understanding of the kinds of messages I respond to and the kinds I don’t, lol. I meant more the general unhappiness in fandom, which everyone has a right to feel, but which I need to step back from.
I’ve seen another blogger who got lots of asks do this, and I thought it might help: Only have your inbox open on certain days and tell people which days those are. That way you can partially control and you don’t have all of the negativity (when it’s there) the entire week.
It’s not about what comes to me, it’s about what I seek out. Following fellow fans on twitter and tumblr, looking through tags, etc. The latter is way easier to stop doing, as I’m already not checking the tags on Twitter and only checking the Tumblr ones if I need to reblog/post something for Candice. As for the former, I gotta set up my muted terms or whatever you call it, haha.
If you’re struggling with returning for s5 then i know it’s bad. The season has been poor. so poor.
It’s funny, because I feel the need to defend parts of the season. It’s really only 4B that I want to throw out, with the exception of the excellent 4.15 & 4.16. And it wasn’t until 17-19 that things started feeling really hopeless. But yeah, the over-emphasis on Ralph and the total lack of progression with Devoe is really killing my show spirits.
I’m over CS/KF/DP and her unimaginative fans. They want everything that IWA has. The latest thing I saw - she should get her hair cut (like Iris 🙄). IMO, she’s served no real purpose past S1. Both Barry and Wally have speed healing. SB is never happening and the shows ambivalence towards KF is annoying af. S3 was all about getting rid of her cold powers. Supposedly that’s why she teamed up with Savitar and tried to help him kill Iris. Now she misses them. Miss me with all that. Girl, Bye! ½2/2 Watch S5 be her full blown KF evil, and the return of RF. S4 is almost over, yet they’ve never addressed Two-face apologizing to WA for her BS in S3. Only Joe (not even Cecile) in a half-ass way. Harry needs to go too. Every version of him!!
It seems like they’ve finally found a direction for Caitlin, so we’ll see if it works out. I have a feeling they like all their actors too much to willingly let them go.
#the flash#anti ralph dibny#anonymous#tatiana's thoughts#more asks under the cut#long post for ts#the flash spoilers#sbask
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I get to hear John Green speak this weekend, and I just finished reading Turtles All the Way Down today. It's only the second book of his that I've read, the other being Will Grayson, Will Grayson which he co-wrote with David Levithan, but a friend of mine has been a huge fan since our college days, hence going to the reading.
I should probably write a full review of Turtles, but it might take a couple days. It was a hard read, because Aza's struggles with her compulsions hit me right smack in the middle of some of my more intense squicks. I think it's an important book though, because it's a narrative about mental health from a writer who has actually lived through that struggle, and it doesn't wrap everything in a tidy narrative of perfect instantaneous recovery. Aza doesn't get cured by true love or have her problems hand-waved away at the end of the book. But what the book does say is, 'look, this sucks, and it will continue to suck, but it is treatable.' That's relatable, even if my anxiety and depression are in many ways an entirely different beast than Aza's. And something we need to talk about too.
I think part of the reason I haven't been as active on tumblr for a long time is getting on here feels like stepping back into the place I was two and three years ago, when I was not taking any meds that worked and I was trapped living in my hometown in my homophobic conservative family's house, and everything sucked except fictional characters and the stories I was telling or consuming about them. Different things suck now (*stares pointedly at politics*), but even so, I think the best term for where I am these days would be 'in recovery', to borrow a phrase for AA. And tumblr (not necessarily my corner of tumblr, because my mutuals are still great and I miss them) has this bad habit of being a great place to validate your mental health struggles, and a super shitty place for helping you move past the 'everything sucks and im dying inside' stage of mental illness to 'what steps can I take and who can help me manage this?'. Sometimes, I think tumblr is just this huge echo chamber of Suffering, where we all go around the circle and our individual unhappiness feeds into our collective unhappiness. And I don't want to be There anymore, you know? It's helpful to see a successful 'real' adult like John Green write a whole book about how the crap we neurodivergents go through is crappy, but still not something that can keep us from living full lives, if we fight for our own recovery (and take our meds, dammit Aza).
tl;dr recovery is hard and reading about it is hard, but I want it, you know?
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