#i haven't watched it & now i never will because i'll spoil myself reading your paper!
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From one south asian sister to another….. oh no :( have you been telling them you’re wearing the hijaab but not actually wearing it? I can definitely just TELL the absolute awkward tension though of them finding out.
Luckily enough my parents haven’t really forced it onto to me and respect my own boundary of when I want to wear it, I can wear it.
thank you for checking in! i'm gonna use this ask to explain what exactly happened. i'll put most of it under a cut since this got really long. at a cliffhanger too, click read more to see the story.
so my first day of work was yesterday, i started at a store in our local mall. i knew my parents were the type to drop in without warning and i did expect them to do it eventually, but not on the first goddamn day. i had my phone on me tucked under my clothes even though technically i should have left it in my bag, just so i could check their location, but obviously i was training and couldn't just pop it out and look at it whenever. so when they came and saw me, without my hijaab on, i never saw them.
my youngest sister texted me saying that my mom had come home, said they went to the mall, and said they "needed to talk to me." she said my mom didn't seem too mad, but obviously i got nauseous pretty much right away, i could barely focus in the last hour i was there. it was better that i knew before they could ambush me, though, so thank god for my sister.
i get home and immediately play off that i'm sleepy, and crash onto the bed for a "nap." i heard my mom say something like "so why weren't you wearing your scarf" but i was pretend half-asleep so it got brushed off. then i pretty much just laid there for a couple hours.
we were supposed to go to my aunt't house, but my mother didn't want to go anyway, and she told my sister that since i wasn't feeling well, she would just use me as an excuse to stay. and, y'know, fuck that. i have a ten page paper due today that i have written half a page of that i need to get done and submit in eight hours today. and i should have worked on that yesterday instead of going to my aunt's house, but the idea of being alone in the house with my mother after that revelation actually makes me wanna drive a knife into myself.
so anyway, i "wake up" and tell my dad i'll go, he just quietly nods along and whatever. so i go up, and now everyone's upstairs, and as i'm drinking water my mom asks, "why did you have your scarf off while working?"
and while i was asleep, i considered three options: a, i could tell her that i decided to do it for job hunting and work because of discriminatory reasons. b, i could tell her that i started doing it a few months ago when law school started. or c, i could i tell her the truth, that i've been doing it consistently for two years and even before that whenever i wanted since i was 13.
i went with option b. so i told her no one made me, or anything, i just didn't want to wear the hijaab anymore. and that went about as well as you would imagine it to. here are some of the things i heard last night (not capitalizing, but most of these things were yelled, not spoken calmly):
"You're so spoiled. I allowed you to stop reading Quran, but this is too much." - not true, I stopped reading Quran everyday and she has continuously pestered me about it since, she hasn't allowed me jack shit.
"What's next, you stop praying, and then you're not even Muslim anymore!" - haven't prayed in years, but she doesn't need to know that. also, never wanna hear anyone say to my face again that all muslim women choose to wear the hijaab and no one ever forces them, or at least not in the precious western world.
"I always thought cousin x was like this because of the way she was raised, but now my daughter with MY raising has turned out like this." - the cousin of hers she was comparing me to hit her while she was pregnant with my sister. lovely comparison. also way to make it about yourself.
"It's because you watched too many movies and listen to too many songs." - a classic. check out all those things i participated in that hurt so many people. listening to music? what a horrible sin.
"It's because you hang out with friend x and friend y, they've filled your head with these thoughts" - the friends she named were my two closest friends, both of whom are black women. mind you she followed up with "i don't want you hanging out with black or white or non muslim friends anymore" but she also reemed into friend y, who mind you, has always greeted her politely and dressed appropriately if she was visiting my house. the other girl? more religious than i am (though she's christian) and neither of them drink or smoke or anything like that. meanwhile a muslim girl i hang out with wears a hijaab on her head for sure, but she vapes, drinks, goes on dates, but sure. muslim girls are the fuckin role models for this generation, definitely.
(she also took this opportunity to walk into my sisters' room and scream that she doesn't want them hanging out with their nonmuslim friends either. we live in a very white area—they don't have muslim friends. i only started to make them in college because my high school didn't have any but me. so.....total isolation except from their family! how healthy i'm sure my sisters will be fine.)
"I don't want you around my other daughters, i don't want you influencing them." - probably the one that stung the most, but also hilarious. HILARIOUS that she thinks i need to influence them. my middle sister hates my mother at the age of 15 far more than i did in my teen years. she's had trichotillomania for years and my mother has consistently told her to: just stop, that she's doing it for attention, that she must like doing it, etc.. so, yeah, my influence? definitely not needed. it's not like my sisters come to me to talk about things they can't talk to our parents about. i'm not worried about the day i have to move out and leave them, not at all! i'm sure they're in such good hands!!!
oh, fun fact also! my mother got married at like 25? 26? and only started wearing her hijaab like a few years after that. i wonder how she was raised! if me having been forced to wear it at 8 is bad parenting, i wonder what this says about my grandmother.
and here and there my dad being the coward he is interjected with "i don't understand why it's so hard" to which i answered that i didn't expect him to. when she screamed at my sisters i told him to stop her and he just said "she's in shock." like okay??? so come scream at me you fucking bitch???? i also had to play pretend that my sisters didn't already know i did this.
my brilliant father also said that while i was living with them, i need to wear it, but after marriage it was on me. oh RIIIIIGHT. marriage! after i belong to a man instead of my parents! the marriage that could very well be to a man who requires a hijaabi wife! why didn't I think of that??? and when i told them as much my mom cut in before my dad could and said "so what if he wants a hijaabi wife? is it a bad thing for him to be religious? better than being a degenerate!" am i actually. here? is this real life? is this fantasy? i mean same woman who told me she hopes my husband beats me if i continue to do theater so not surprising, but i'm sure my spoiled little brat self just doesn't understad.
then my mother goes and sobs in her room for a couple minutes. my dad gives her: reassuring words, hugs, back rubs, comfort. i got a head pat. i mean i was crying too but not loud heaving sobs like someone just shot my cat, so what did i expect, right?
he tells me to start wearing it at work. i say no. he tells me to quit, then. okay. four interviews, four job offers—i got every. single. job. i. interviewed. for.—and i walk away with nothing. nothing! side note, will probably be opening commissions soon, because i'm not in a hurry to take up another customer service job and deal with this again. i quit this morning. the manager was understanding even though i worked all of one day and black friday is coming up. this one's genuinely on me. i could just work with my hijaab on. but i won't. and again, not the reason i did it, but something just tells me in the area we live in, i was not getting four job offers with a hijaab on my head.
anyway, i just ask him if we're going to my aunt's house, and we are.
in the car, with just him and my sisters, i talk openly. he knows that i don't wear my scarf when i don't have to. he doesn't care. supposedly he understands (how interesting that he understands when my mother isn't there to hear it.) his advice? "just tell her you will, and then don't." oh.......so what i've been doing! lying! fantastic, brilliant, inspired. and he's very sure that a, she will believe me when i do this now, b, i'll "definitely" be married within two years, and c, that she won't stop me from hanging out with my friends or sisters.
like, in the nicest way possible, i wasn't worried about that in the slightest. i pay for my car. i'm in law school—LAW SCHOOL!—on FULL ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP. and i'm bragging. i am. the year's tuition could have been more or around 50,000. my parents aren't paying a dime to send me here. if i'm gonna go get lunch with my friend after class, there's quite literally nothing she can do to stop me. my sister and i just will not stop talking and if she ever tries like locking my sister in her room it's fuck around and find out at this point. what does she hold over my head? a toxic home environment. it's definitely exhausting to study for LAW SCHOOL and do LAW SCHOOL reading and then come home to utter bullshit, whether that's more yelling or the silent treatment or whatever. she also cooks for me. again, nicest way possible, i can cook for myself. i can buy my own ingredients if i need to. i can eat out. i don't need my father's money to do it either. not that i have enough saved that i could live on my own, but my father isn't kicking me out of the house, and i worked hard and saved enough that i can very much afford to make meals for myself, thanks.
where my mom has me, and where she doesn't even know she has me, is that i'm not as batshit as her. sorry to seem ableist, but she gave me most of my mental issues, so. i care about my sisters. i do not want them dealing with her and her abusive ass everyday. i care about my pussy ass father. he's already in a marriage with her and works full time, he's got enough on his plate to have to deal with her ranting his ear off about it everyday. and i care about her. can you believe that? i don't. i care about this bitchy ass woman and how she's a victim, how she had to move to a new country after marriage and how her in laws don't always treat her well. how she's schizophrenic and how terrifying that must be. so after all that, do i have any choice but to play nice? i quit my job, i'll tell her what she wants to hear. i'm not going to wear my hijaab at school but i'll still let her think i do. if she wants to watch me pray, she can.
so at the end, i am still the only one compromising. and all this because i don't want to wear the hijaab. which is supposedly as so many stupid fucking people have told me, is my choice, it's up to me! i live in a western country! but it's okay because once a man owns me i will maybe be able to make my own choices. yay!
yeah. sorry for this, it's super long—thanks to anyone who read it. i now have to get this ten page paper out, because it's definitely too late to ask for an extension and professors don't really care about minor religious complications. hope everyone has a good day, love you guys <3
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I have many ideas for the latam au, but I will answer that later or tomorrow because TODAY IS MARCH 15 JULI.
IT'S THE IDES OF MARCH. THE PERFECT TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT RAFFLES - and to betray Caesar- 😈
I've been debating with myself whether I should try to summarize it or would it be more useful to send you a post that explained the plot but I have a terrible physical and psychological need to talk about Raffles when asked, so I'm sorry you'll have to endure verbal vomit about these books but before I lose my mind about the cricket boys, I'll lose my mind about your ocs ~
🥰 Vienna!!! My love!!! She sounds so interesting. I really wanted to know more about the journalist, so appreciated getting to know some of her background. Oh buddy, you can feel her frustration, as she tries to escape the dramatic world of racing only to end up stuffed to the bottom jsjsjs literal in a rabbit hole but she won't be able to complain about the lack of gossip
Oh and I read about Rodri. Im fine :)))) I haven't suffered any emotional damage that will leave sequels for life *I'm going to cry next to Ale for the rest of my days*
I only knew him for a couple of days but DAMN I didn't expect to lose him like that, Rodri didn't deserve to leave 😭😭😭😭 (not complaining tho, I actually love the angst and the idea of Ale spending the rest of his days affected by the love he lost AFTER THEY RECONCILIATED 👌 it's BRILLIANT AND TRAGIC)
And I appreciate that you told me what happened between them... I can only say that oh boi I need to hug Ale, at the end of the road he took the worst part although he had a good part of the blame in the argument doesn't take away that his lifetime trauma will not be taken away by anyone and oh poor Rodri, he also had his part of the blame but I can't imagine how much it must have hurt at the moment to realize that Ale wanted him in his shadow although yes it was very dramatic on his part to crash, f1 guys can't fight like normal boyfriends, they have to destroy their cars and put their lives at risk 😭
About the 2000s guys: IM GIGGLIN to the fact that THE STORIES ARE CONNECTING, EVEN IF IT'S SUCH A SMALL DETAIL AS ANDREA END UP ON ALE'S TEAM!!!!
🙏🙏🙏🙏 Andrea is an easy going it kid, vibe of be the sun, charming, friendly but full of pressure (and guilt) to be somebody because of his parents' sacrifice to support him in his career? THATS MY KIND OF GUY, he is my babygirl now. Im protecting him, I WILL FIGHT FOR HIM AND HIS HAPINESS
Also me: but Kimi kinda slay you know?
I LOVE THE MYSTERY, I LOVE THAT HE HAS A HORRIBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PARENTS -I know that sounds bad JSJSJJS BUT I MEAN THE CONCEPT-, I LOVE THAT HE IS FULL OF SECRETS AND THAT HE IS SUCH A PERFECT CONTRAST FOR ANDREA.
Btw although I'm really worried about Kimi's fate because you mentioned "he doesn't mind risking his life" and because he has substance addiction issues *panics* 😊
ABOUT DUNE 💖💖💖💖💖
I HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK EITHER FOR THE SAME REASONS. I SIMPLY BELIEVE DUNE MUST BE READ ON PAPER 🥺, it's worthy of that honor and other than that I read too much pdf already because of college. I need a break when I read something for fun even though I spoiled some things hehehehe
I LOVED THE FIRST MOVIE TOO. A lot of people say it's boring but I thought it was amazing, I can rewatch it a million times and never get tired of it because it's a visual and sound delight 😔🙏
Every day I confirm more and more that one of these days I must read and watch GOT, (I only saw the house of dragon; rhaelicent my beloved) jsjsjsjsjs but I guess you mean the wonderful political plot, and if that's it I agree that it's one of the best done and most interesting aspects that Dune has
Part 2 did not disappoint, Chani my girlfriend, I will treat her right 🥺💜, I really liked that we finally got to meet her, and that while she is Paul's love interest, she is her own person with her own ideals that she is true to. While it broke my heart to see her leave so disappointed, I was so glad that she was able to go her own way ah
OH BOI PAUL. 😭 I have a huge love- hate on him. I guess you've also seen these "my twink boyfriend turns bad" memes where people compare him to Anakin and Coriolanus; and while I see the similarities I think out of the three, Paul is the only one I'm a more willing to defend than the other two. The boy was born without much autonomy over his destiny - and body - and genuinely fought against the idea of being the messiah for the fremen because he was well aware that this was a bene g. project, and that he had no right to intentionally feed the lie any further. And his visions, they were terrifying and you could see the fear Paul felt for them: he really didn't want to unleash a war and was so willing to listen to Chani and fight by her side BUT WELL :)))) WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND YES I THINK THAT WAS THE WORST PART.
THE NERVE HE HAD TO SAY HE WAS MARRYING THE PRINCESS IN FRONT OF CHANI (and I think he had told her he loved her before, right?, UGHHHH WHAT MAKE IT WORSE)
The good news is that I have heard that most likely we will have a third part that will tie together all the loose threads that were left. I hope Chani ends well and that maybe she kicks Paul's ass <3
Now it's time.
The time has come *thunder my fingers* let's talk about Cricket AND CRIME!!!!
You should know that before my TBOSAS - Sejanus fever, my blog and my fics and my everything, was dedicated to Sherlock Holmes (the books please, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BOOKS BECAUSE MY DETECTIVE HAS BEEN TREATED VERY BADLY BY THE ADAPTATIONS), and it was thanks to Sherlock Holmes that I discovered my cricket boys:
AJ Raffles and Bunny Manders!!!!
Pd: Here I leave another post saying why you should read these books
The connection between them and Holmes is that Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, Ernest Hornung, was inspired by Holmes and Watson when he make Raffles and Bunny and these stories also share a very close temporality (end of 19 century) to the one existing in Holmes stories
But let's begin:
The plot follows the association of Bunny Manders (Bunny is not his name, it's a nickname) with the infamous Arthur J. Raffles, the amateur cracksman.
Bunny and Raffles attended school together, but their paths diverged when Raffles (who is older than Bunny) graduates, until the two meet again years later and end up becoming partners in crime (and maybe they are partners not just in a particular type of crime, laws against homosexuality were a thing at the time...👀)
AJ Raffles is a famous cricketer. He is charming, handsome, and brilliant. He has a reputation for being rich and moving among exclusive high society circles but it's all a facade, because in reality he's broke, doesn't earn a penny playing cricket and can flaunt his luxurious lifestyle because he's a jewel thief. He steals from wealthy people in the exclusive circles he moves in.
And the story narrated by Bunny who has an anxious, nervous, fragile and intense personality. Who is an aspiring journalist and occasional poet, tells us about what he calls his "fall from virtue." (Although as someone who has already read the books, I can tell you that it is Bunny's recounting of the most important person in his life: Raffles)
Bunny is an unreliable narrator <3 I should clarify tha. It's fascinating to see how fickle his memory of Raffles (who we know only through his eyes). There are 3 books made up of short stories:
1. The Amateur Cracksman
2. The Black Mask
3. A Thief in the Night
All by E. W Hornung
You can read them on a page called Raffles redux, on Project Gunterbeng or there is a project called Letters from Bunny where they will send the stories to your email
WARNING: THEY WERE WRITTEM IN THE 1890s BY A BRITISH AUTHOR, I think that pretty much sums up the flaws and criticisms of the text although it is an interesting study of the dynamics of the social classes in London at the turn of the century and a glimpse into the criminal world of the time.
Ah yes, the reunion of Bunny and Raffles. The first story in the saga takes place on March 15 and is called:
The Ides of March
🤭
HELLOOO AND HAPPY IDES OF MARCH!!!! (1 day later tho, but still 😭)
(and also, can't wait to hear your ideas for the latam au, bc I'm this 🤏 close to asking you if I can write something abt it bc it's driving me CRAZY)
KSLSKLKS noooo don't say you're sorry, first bc I love hearing when ppl are passionate abt something, second bc I LOVE anything related to sports, and knowing now it's also related to crime and sherlock holmes made me even more interested!!! (but before let me answer abt my silly little guys)
poor vienna, all she wanted was to get out from the formula 1 world somehow because she knows abt how the drama is insufferable, and now she's deeper than ever, you can almost hear her screaming into the void and trying to explode her mom with her mind 😭 BUT at least she starts getting interested because it's really bizarre how the cycle never ends and just keeps going on and on
I'M SORRY ABT RODRI 😭😭😭 but welcome to the "mourning over rodrigo" club, founded by alejandro himself!! rodrigo deserved much better, even though his death was mostly a terrible accident. he was such a young driver with such a bright future ahead... and plus, he just reconciliated with alejandro, he missed him so much. things were fine. they were, really. also, it's worth saying that after this, alejandro spent the rest of his career as a team principal trying to reinforce the security for drivers and proposing changes to make it safer. each time a crash happened on the racetrack, that man was on the verge of fainting. and the worse is that... he could only think abt how things could've been different. maybe if alejandro was more mature, or if he listened to rodrigo, or if he tried to talk to him much before that crash... would it still happen? it's all so tragic (and that's why I made it that way ☝️
ale definitely got the worst, that man got a trauma for LIFE. racing was his passion, before rodrigo died he didn't intend to stop any soon, but after his death, he couldn't get inside a car without panicking. and things just weren't the same anymore, you know? he tried to go out in dates with other people, but he couldn't move on, he felt too guilty, he felt too bad about it ("trends change, rumors fly through new skies, but I'm right where you left me"). rodrigo was so hurt atp, because he believed alejandro wanted him alongside him, not below him; alejandro was treating him more like a decoration than anything and it HURT. but yeah, these two guys should've gone to therapy instead of risking their lives, racing boyfriends really are the worst 😭
(it's so funny what you said abt f1 guys not fighting like normal boyfriends and instead crashing their cars bc this actually happened a couple of times in real lifeKSLSKLSKLKLKS)
YESSSS THE STORIES ARE CONNECTED!!! :D that's also how vienna have it easy to be able to talk to these guys, because everyone kind of knows everyone somehow
ANDREA IS SO SWEET 😭😭😭 he's a sunshine, rlly. like, I always say that rodrigo is the devil, but tbf him and alejandro are kind of made for each other (nobody else would be able to stand them). but andrea is such a sweet guy who was unlucky to be teammates with kimi, from all people. he got a heart of gold, just wants to help and to not disappoint his parents after everything (he doesn't know they are already so proud of him, like, their son is a FORMULA 1 DRIVER, this is already so awesome!!!)
I love kimi so muchKSLSKLSK his whole character is just so fun, even though he's a prick. and yesssss in almost every single aspect, he's a foul to andrea!!! but at the same time, they have a lot in common (ahem, being so insecure about themselves and failing people around them, feeling alone while being surrounded of people, and, ofc, their unconditional love for racing and how it's their life).
(since you asked, and also because I can't keep my mouth shut... I particularly find kimi's fate to be more cruel than rodrigo's. he didn't die on the racetrack. atp of the story, kimi and andrea had a better relationship, and andrea knew more abt his secrets and some of kimi's reasons. kimi had just won this year's championship. he was supposed to be celebrating with the team, after all, they all worked so hard for it. but andrea notices kimi isn't around. he's worried, he knows kimi, he knows abt kimi's deal with his parents. he decided to go to kimi's hotel room. he found kimi so high, so drunk. andrea helped kimi clean up and they had an emotional talk, even though kimi was not sober. andrea promised he would help kimi, that kimi wouldn't need to go back to his parents again. he put kimi to sleep and left the hotel. the next day, andrea woke up with countless calls on his cellphone. kimi eriksen had died from an overdose on his hotel room during the night.)
BUT OKAY, LET'S TALK ABT DUNE, MY BELOVED:
YESSSSS dune is that book to be full of post-its and highlights, I CAN'T read that book on digital 😭 KLSKLSKLS ans yeaaaah absolutely, when you read too much pdf for college, it's just authomatic your brain will associate it with studying, while reading physical books become more associated with fun (plus, this is more personal now, but I love scribbling on my books, can't do that on digital)
yesssss I get why people say it's boring (it's rlly slow), but the worldbuilding is just so nice + it's gorgeous visually + LETO ATREIDES IS IN IT OKAY IT'S ENOUGH FOR ME. idc if it's boring, I would watch it 100 times for that man.
(pls read got, it's so worth it, even though I think we as a fandom collectively accepted we'll never get the ending 🙏)
((and also NO WAY YOU LIKE RHAELICENT TOO, THESE ARE MY GIRLS 😭 you know that when I prefer the adaptation rather than the original work it's bc they did something right, and when it's related to alicent and rhaenyra, I like the tv show sooooo much better actually, they gave so much more depht to their relationship which is basically non-existent in the book))
save me chani.... chani save me.... and yes!!!! I remember that everyone was so excited during the first dune bc of zendaya, but when it actually premiered, there was like 10 minutes of her in the whole movieKLSKSLSKL but I'm so glad we got to know her bc she's such an interesting character!!! and it's just like you said, she's actually her own character, and it's just really refreshing seeing this and seeing how they decided to wrap up her arc (specially in a science fiction franchise)
PAUL WAS SOMETHING ELSE. from the three, he's actually the one I genuinely like as a person; imo, I feel like he tried to resist until the very end, that was not what he wanted. he only gave in when he felt like there was no other choice, specially after the whole thing with the harkonnens..... that's what hurts the most regarding paul, I actually LIKED him. anakin and coriolanus, we knew who these guys were, we knew their end, we knew what was going to happen. but paul? we could have this hope that things would be different, that he could choose or change things. but... yeah, things end the way they do and I felt betrayed over a characterkslsklsk 😭
NAHHHHHHH HE WAS SO WRONG FOR THAT, SRSLY, I was so happy chani left at the end of the movie because she deserves so much better 😭 (I know things in the book are different, but in this case I'm willing to block my ears and go LALALALALA to pretend that only the movie exists)
and yessssss!!! from what I've searched, the first book ends exactly where the movie ended, but the little change of chani leaving can actually make such a big change on the story, and I'm really interested to know where this will lead (and plus, there's the whole thing with paul's little sister, which is also another loose end I'm excited to know more abt).
but now: CRICKET!!!!
buddie, I've seen some of your reblogs abt raffles and bunny, and I was like "oh, this reminds me of sherlock holmes a bit, the aesthetic and all" (even tho I've never read sherlock holmes, I could recognize the close temporality) and I kept wondering if the stories were connected, like some thrillers' I've read, that are on the same universe but with different characters, sometimes with the same detective, so I thought this was the case.
I'm kinda shocked to discover that its setting is about cricketLSKSLSKSLKS I WOULD'VE NEVER EXPECT THIS, AND I LOVE IT
(also, I've read the post, it won me at "it will KILL YOU" and "the incredible adventures of two broke idiots", specially because I myself am a broke idiot, so I related)
I like the concept of this so much???? first because, again, SPORTS, second because it's also mixed with crimes and aaaaaa it sounds so cool 😭 raffles sounds like a demon, I already love him (every generation have their own saltburn /jk). bunny sounds relatable (cries in crippling anxiety language) and the fact that not only he's an unreliable narrator, but we also only know raffles from his pov is really interesting, idk, there's something fascinating abt never rlly knowing a character bc you only know them from a sole point of view...
tysm for telling me abt it and also for telling me where to read it, I'm already writing down to read it ✍️ (I just can promise to read it soon bc I have a pile of books which are here for MONTHS and just today I came back to reading again 😭 BUT I'll definitely read it, the mix of crimes and sports got me hooked + the gay undertones too ofc, but tbf there's nothing gayer than sports)
(also the fact that their reunion is on the IDES OF MARCH, why do I get a feeling that this is not going to end very well for one of them? 🤠)
#ask#rambling#ocs#my silly little thoughts#also thank you sm for the interest on my ocs#it makes me so so so happy
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...the zany is about performing. Intensely affective and highly physical, it’s an aesthetic of nonstop action that bridges popular and avant-garde practice across a wide range of media: from the Dada cabaret of Hugo Ball to the sitcom of Lucille Ball. You could say that zaniness is essentially the experience of an agent confronted by—even endangered by—too many things coming at her quickly and at once. Think here of Frogger, Kaboom!, or Pressure Cooker, early Atari 2600 video games in which avatars have to dodge oncoming cars, catch falling bombs, and meet incoming hamburger orders at increasing speeds. Or virtually any Thomas Pynchon novel, bombarding protagonist and reader with hundreds of informational bits which may or may not add up to a conspiracy.
The dynamics of this aesthetic of incessant doing are thus perhaps best studied in the arts of live and recorded performance—dance, happenings, walkabouts, reenactments, game shows, video games. Yet zaniness is by no means exclusive to the performing arts. So much of “serious” postwar American literature is zany, for instance, that one reviewer’s description of Donald Barthelme’s Snow White—“a staccato burst of verbal star shells, pinwheel phrases, [and] cherry bombs of … puns and wordplays”—seems applicable to the bulk of the post-1945 canon, from Ashbery to Flarf; Ishmael Reed to Shelley Jackson.
I’ve got a more specific reading of post-Fordist or contemporary zaniness, which is that it is an aesthetic explicitly about the politically ambiguous convergence of cultural and occupational performance, or playing and laboring, under what Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello call the new “connexionist” spirit of capitalism. As perhaps exemplified best by the maniacal frivolity of the characters played by Ball in I Love Lucy, Richard Pryor in The Toy, and Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy, the zany more specifically evokes the performance of affective labor—the production of affects and relationships—as it comes to increasingly trouble the very distinction between work and play. This explains why this ludic aesthetic has a noticeably unfun or stressed-out layer to it. Contemporary zaniness is not just an aesthetic about play but about work, and also about precarity, which is why the threat of injury is always hovering about it.
- ‘Our Aesthetic Categories,’ an interview with Sianne Ngai
#sianne ngai#squid game#i haven't watched it & now i never will because i'll spoil myself reading your paper!
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