#it is very interesting to focus on the major role that colonialism plays under the surface of everything in Canada

[riverkingmarley]

We’ll introducing the “lord of Toronto” as having two indigenous slaves is certainly a strong choice.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by

TAMMI ROSSMAN-BENJAMIN

While civil rights law continues to play an important role in how DEI programs operate, they have since evolved and expanded, especially in the last decade. With the establishment and rapid growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and the popularization of critical race theory, there has been an explosion of interest among colleges and universities in establishing or expanding DEI programs not just to reduce social inequality, but to fight the systemic injustice that leads to it. Although the same identity groups remain the focus of DEI efforts, those efforts now view them through the lens not of social inequality but of systemic oppression.

How do Jewish students fit into this picture? Until 2004 they were not afforded Title VI protections from discrimination, because they were regarded solely as members of a religious group — not a protected category under Title VI. As a result, campus affirmative-action or equal-opportunity programs had no reason to include Jewish students in their efforts. But even after 2004, when Jewish students were deemed eligible for Title VI protection as members of a national origin group, neither they nor antisemitism was integrated into most DEI initiatives, despite an increasingly hostile campus environment.

The blindness of DEI programs to Jewish students and antisemitism is likely the result of two factors.

First, although Jews were once a historically marginalized and underrepresented group in American higher education, that is certainly no longer the case. Consequently, despite having endured thousands of years of oppression, including one of history’s largest genocides, and even now suffering more hate crimes in America than any historically marginalized and underrepresented group except African Americans, Jews are not viewed as oppressed at all within a DEI framework. On the contrary, they are generally seen as white, privileged oppressors who do not merit the attention of DEI programs.

Second, even if Jewish students manage to secure a seat at the DEI table, a thornier problem awaits. Although a growing number of DEI officials are willing to respond to and educate the campus community about acts of classical antisemitism, such as swastikas painted on a Jewish fraternity house or neo-Nazi fliers distributed on campus, many of those same officials are unwilling to acknowledge and address anti-Zionist-motivated harassment. Yet this is by far the predominant form of antisemitism facing Jewish students today.

The disparate treatment of these two types of antisemitism is very much related to the ideological leanings of most DEI programs. Because instances of classical antisemitism are often perpetrated by individuals associated with white-supremacist groups, who are also perpetrators of racist attacks on many historically marginalized groups, calling out and educating about this type of antisemitism actually kills two birds with one stone.

On the other hand, many instances of anti-Zionist harassment on campus are perpetrated by members of identity groups served by DEI programs. In addition, many DEI staff themselves harbor virulently anti-Israel sentiments, as demonstrated in a 2021 report examining the social-media postings of DEI staff at major universities. Drawing heavily on ideologies undergirding most DEI programs, these postings portrayed Israel as a racist, settler-colonial state, linked the plight of Palestinians to the struggles of oppressed minorities in America, and implied that it was the duty of antiracist activists to support the liberation of Palestine “from the river to the sea,” a rallying cry for the elimination of the Jewish state.

Against this backdrop, it’s not hard to see why so many DEI programs are loath to acknowledge the antisemitic nature of anti-Zionist behavior that so often leads to the harassment of Jewish students. But that hasn’t stopped Jewish advocates from trying.

[xtruss]

Troublemaker

— Liu Rui | May 22, 2023

Plague-driven G7 offers empty promises, winning no faith from Global South countries, Wang Zixuan! May 22, 2023. Illustration: Liu Rui/Global Times

This year's Group of Seven (G7), under Japan's presidency, has advocated a stronger relationship with the "Global South" and invited leaders from India and other developing countries to attend the G7 Hiroshima Summit. However, ultimately, most of the summit's focus was put on opposing Russia and China.

In response to the G7 Hiroshima Leaders' Communiqué, an article in Oxfam, a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, noted, "The G7 have failed the Global South here in Hiroshima."

"As a club of developed countries, G7 can't represent other countries. Although they can no longer fully dominate the current order, they think they still play the dominant role and want to control this order at their will and in their own interests, but there is always a gap between ideal and the reality," Wang Shuo, a professor with the School of International Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

Oxfam estimated that the rich countries of the G7 owe poor countries $13 trillion in unpaid development aid and support to combat climate change. However, the G7 countries and their banks are demanding $232 million per day as debt repayments from the Global South countries.

"This is a very unequal relationship. The developing and developed countries have many conflicts on rules, development interests and other issues, and these conflicts become more prominent amid the Ukraine war. This is instigated and manipulated by the developed countries, but the poor countries have become victims, and this is one of the reasons why the Global South is now extremely dissatisfied with the rich countries," Wang said. He noted that the voices of Global South countries indicate that they gradually don't trust the developed countries, whose credibility is declining and whose dominance of the global order is being weakened.

Wang also pointed out that these G7 countries are now in a bad situation. With their own lingering economic, social and political problems, they will pass the buck to others, their sense of responsibility as major powers will reduce, and their vision will become more and more shortsighted, which will lead to a lower possibility for them to play an active role in global affairs. The worse their own situation becomes, the more rogue and selfish they themselves become, then things get even worse. This is a vicious circle that brings ruin upon themselves.

Moreover, Global South countries are now being plagued by serious food and debt crises. Hunger is increasing faster around the world than it was decades ago. These crises are a direct knock-on effect of the war in Ukraine that is being supported by these developed countries.

Wang believes that developed countries have a moral responsibility to assist developing countries, because many poor countries are former colonies of rich countries, and in fact the socioeconomic problems of these former colonies now are largely caused by the previous colonization of the developed countries. Nonetheless, the developed countries usually advocate the so-called international responsibility while ignoring others' interests.

Shi Yinhong, director of the Center for American Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the G7 summit mainly announced some principles, but these principles are still very far from further implementation in helping the Global South to tide over the difficulties and turn into concrete and operational policies, and the West is relatively limited in this regard, both in terms of their willingness and ability.

The G7, as a clique formed for their own interests, is actually unable to afford the maintenance of a rational global order, so this kind of clique may be further and further away from the vast number of developing countries which are expected to play an active role in the world.

— The author is a reporter with the Global Times.

[itonje]

people of color in arthurian legend masterpost

hi! some people said it would be cool if i did this, and this is something i find interesting so. yeah! are you interested in king arthur and the knights of the round table? do you like to read about characters of color, especially in older lit? well, i hope this can be a good resource for people to get into stuff like that, especially poc/ethnic minorities who might feel uncomfortable or lonely getting into older media like arthuriana. this post is friendly to both those who prefer medieval lit and those who prefer modern stuff!

disclaimers: i am not a medievalist nor a race theorist! very much not so. i am just a 17 year old asian creature on the internet who wants to have an easy-to-reference post, if i’m not comprehensive enough please inform me. i’m going to stay closely to the matter of britain, as well, not all medieval european literature as a. this is what i’m more familiar with and b. there’s so much content and information and context to go along with it that it would really be impossible to put it all into one tumblr post. (however there’s always going to be overlap!) also, please do not treat me or any other person of color/ethnic minority as a singular all-knowing authority on anything! we’re all trying to have fun here and being made into an information machine on things, especially what is and isn’t offensive isn’t fun. with that out of the way, let’s get into it! (under cut for length!) 

part i: some historical context (tw for racism and antisemitism discussion)

fair warning, i’m going to start off with some discussions of more heavier history before we talk about more fun stuff. while pre colonial racism was far more different than how it is today, there still...was racism. and it’s important to understand the social mien around nonwhite people in europe at the time these works were written. 

to understand how marginalized ethnicities were written in medieval european literature, you have to understand the fact that religion, specifically catholicism, was a very important part of medieval european life. already, catholicism has violent tenets (ie, conversion as an inherent part of the church, as well as many antisemitic theologies and beliefs), but this violence worsened when an event known as the crusades happened.

the crusades were a series of religious wars started by the catholic church to ‘reclaim’ the holy land from islamic rule and to aid the byzantine empire. while i won’t go into the full history of the crusades, (some basic info here and here and here) its important to understand that they had strengthened the european view of the ’pagan’ (ie: not european christian) world as an ‘other’, a threat to christiandom that needed to be conquered and converted, for the spiritual benefit of both the convertee and the converter. these ideas of ethnoreligious superiority and conversion would permeate into the literature of the time written by european christians. 

even today, the crusades are very much associated with white supremacy and modern islamophobic sentiment, with words such as ‘deus vult’ as a dogwhistle, and worship of and willingness to emulate the violence the crusaders used against the inhabitants of the holy land in tradcath spaces, so this isn’t stuff that’s all dead and in the past. crusader propaganda and the ignorance on the violence of the catholic church and the crusaders on muslim and jewish populations (as well as nonwhite christians ofc) is very harmful. arthuriana itself has a lot of links to white supremacy too-thanks to @/to-many-towered-camelot for this informative post. none of this stuff exists in a bubble. 

here’s a book on catholic antisemitism, here’s a book on orientalism, here’s a book about racism in history that touches on the crusades. (to any catholic, i highly reccommend you read the first.)

with that out of the way, we can talk about the various not european groups that typically show up in arthurian literature and some historical background irt to that. the terms ‘moor’ and ‘saracen’ will typically pop up. both terms are exonyms and are very, very broad, eventually used as both a general term for muslims and as a general term for african and (western + central) asian people. they’re very vague, but when you encounter them the typical understanding you’re supposed to take away is ‘(western asian/african) foreigner’ and typically muslim/not christian as well. t

generally, african and asian lands will typically be referred to as pagan or ‘eastern/foreign’ lands, with little regard for understanding the actual religions of that area. they will also typically refer to saracens as pagans although islam is not a pagan religion. this is just a bit of a disclaimer. the term saracen itself is considered to be rather offensive-thank you to @/lesbianlanval for sending me a paper on this subject. 

while i typically refer to the content on this post as having to pertain to african and asian people (ie, not european) european jewish arthurian traditions are included on this post too. but, i know more about poc and they’ll feature more prominently in this post because of that, lol. 

part ii: so, are there any medieval texts involving characters of color?

i’m glad you asked! of course there are! to be clear, european medieval authors were very much aware that people of color and african + asian nations existed, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. even the vita merlini mentions sri lanka and a set of islands that might (?) be the philippines!! for the sake of brevity though, on this list i’m not going to list every single one of these small and frequent references, so i’m just going to focus on texts that primarily (or notably) feature characters of color. 

first of all, it’s important to know was the influence of cultures of color and marginalized ethnicities that helped shape arthurian legend. the cultural exchange between europe and the islamic world during the crusades, as well as the long history of arab presence in southern europe, led to the influence of arabic love poetry and concepts of love on european literature, helping to form what we consider the archetypal romance. there are also arthurian traditions in hebrew, and yiddish too, adding new cultural ideas and introducing new story elements to their literature-all of these are just as crucial to the matter of britain as any other traditions!

when it comes to nonwhite presence in the works themselves, many knights of color in arthurian legend tend to be characters that, after defeated by a knight of arthur’s court join the court themselves. though some are side characters, there are others with their own romances and stories devoted to them! many of them are portrayed as capable + good as, if not better than their counterparts. (this, however, usually only comes through conversion to christianity if the knight is not christian...yeah.) though groups of color as a general monolith created by european christians tended to be orientalized in literature (see: mystical and strange ~eastern~ lands), many individual knights were written to be seen by their medieval audience as positive heroes. i’m going to try to stick to mostly individual character portrayals such as these. 

with that all said though, these characters can still be taken as offensive (i would consider most to be) in their writing, so take everything with a grain of salt here. i will also include links to as many english translations of texts as i can, as well as note which ones i think are beginner friendly to those on the fence about medieval literature!

he shows up in too many texts so let’s make this into two bullet notes and start with one of, if not the most ubiquitous knight of color of the round table (at least in medieval lit),-palamedes! palamedes/palomides is a ‘’saracen knight’’ who (typically) hails from babylon or palestine and shows up in a good amount of texts. his first appearance is in the prose tristan, and he plays a major role there as a knight who fights with tristan for the hand of iseult-while he uh. loses, him and tristan later become companions + friends with a rivalry, and palamedes later goes off to hunt the questing beast, a re-occurring trend in his story. 

palamedes even got his own romance named after him (which was very popular!) and details the adventures of the fathers of the knights of the round table, pre arthur, as well as later parts of the story detailing the adventures of their sons. it was included in rustichello da pisa’s compilation of arthurian romances, which i unfortunately have not seen floating around online (or...anywhere), so i can’t attest to the quality of it or anything. he appears in le morte darthur as well, slaying the questing beast but only after his conversion to christianity (...yeah.) in the texts in which he appears, palamedes is considered to be one of the top knights of the round table, alongside tristan and lancelot, fully living up to chivalric and courtly ideals and then some. i love him dearly and i’ve read the prose tristan five times just for him. (also the prose tristan in general is good, please give it a try, especially if you’re a romance fan.)

speaking of le morte d’arthur, an egyptian knight named priamus shows up in the lucius v arthur episode on lucius’ side first, later joining arthur’s after some interactions with gawaine. palamedes has brothers here as well-safir and segwarides. safir was relatively popular, and shows up in many medieval texts, mostly alongside his older brother. i wouldn’t recommend reading le morte of all things for the characters of color though-if you really want to see what it’s all about, just skip to the parts they’re mentioned with ctrl + f, haha. 

the romance of moriaen is a 12th century dutch romance from the lancelot compilation, named for its main character morien. morien, who is a black moor, is the son of sir aglovale, the brother of perceval. whilst gawaine and lancelot are searching for said perceval, they encounter morien, who is in turn searching for aglovale as he had abandoned morien’s mother way back when. i wholeheartedly recommend this text for people who might feel uncomfy with medieval lit. though the translation i’ve linked can be a bit tricky, the story is short, sweet, and easy to follow, and morien and his relationships (esp with gariet, gawaine’s brother) are all wonderful. 

king artus (original hebrew text here) is a northern italian jewish arthurian text written in hebrew- it retells a bit of the typical conception of arthur story, as well as some parts from the death of arthur as well. i really can’t recommend this text enough-it’s quite short, with an easy-to-read english translation, going over episodes that are pretty familiar to any average reader while adding a lot of fun details and it’s VERY interesting to me from a cultural standpoint. i find the way how they adapt the holy grail (one of the most archetypal christian motifs ever) in particular pretty amazing. this is also a very beginner friendly text! 

wolfram von eschenbach’s parzival (link to volume 1 and volume 2-this translation rhymes!) is a medieval high german romance from the early 13th century, based off de troyes’ le conte du graal while greatly expanding on the original story. it concerns parzival and his quest for the grail (with a rather unique take on it-he fails at first!), and also takes like one million detours to talk about gawaine as all arthurian lit does. the prominent character of color here is a noble mixed race knight called feirefiz, parzival’s half brother by his father, who after dueling with parzival, and figures out their familial connection, joins him on his grail quest. he eventually converts to christianity (..yeah.) to see the grail and all ends happily for him. however, this text is notable to me as it contains two named women of color-belacane, feirefiz’s black african mother, and secundilla, feirefiz’s indian wife. though unfortunately, both are pretty screwed over by the text and their respective husbands. though parzival is maybe my favorite medieval text i’ve read so far i don’t necessarily know if i’d recommend this one, because it is long, and can be confusing at times. however, i do think that when it comes to the portrayal of people of color, while quite poor by today’s standards, von eschenbach was trying his best?-of course, in reason for. a 13th century medival german christian but he treats them with respect and all these characters are actually characters. if you’re really interested in grail stories (and are aware of the more uncomfortably christian aspects of the grail story), and you like gawaine and perceval, i’d say go for it. 

in the turk and sir gawain, an english poem from the early 16th century, gawaine and the titular turkish man play a game of tennis ball. i’m shitting you not. this text is pretty short, funnily absurd, and with most of the hallmarks of a typical quest (various challenges culminating in some castle being freed), so it’s an easier read. it’s unclear to me, but at the end of the story the turkish man turns into sir gromer, a noble knight, who may or may not be white which uh. consider my ‘....yeah’ typical at this point, but i don’t personally read it that way for my own sanity. also he throws the sultan (??) of the isle of man (????) into a cauldron for not being a christian so when it comes to respectful representation of poc this one doesn’t make it, but it does make this list. 

the revenge of ragisel, or at least the version i’ve read (the eng translation of the dutch version from the lancelot compilation), die wrake van ragisel, starts off being about the mysterious murder of a knight, but eventually, as most stories do, becomes a varying series of adventures about gawaine and co. one of gawaine’s friends (see: a knight who he combated with for a hot sec and then became friends and allies with, as you do) is a black knight named maurus! he’s not really an mc, but he features prominently and he’s pretty entertaining, as all the characters in this are. i also recommend this highly, i was laughing the whole time reading it! it’s not too long and pretty wild, you’ll have a good romp. this is a good starter text for anyone in general!

i’ve not read the roman van walewein, which, as it says on the tin, is a 12th century dutch romance concerning some deeds of gawaine (if only gawaine was a canon poc, i wouldn’t need to make this list because he’s so popular...). i’m putting it on the list for in this, gawaine goes to the far eastern land of endi (india) and romances a princess named ysabele. i can’t speak to ysabele’s character or the respectfulness of her kingdom or representation, but i know she’s a major character and her story ends pretty well, so that’s encouraging. women of color, especially fleshed out woc, are pretty rare in arthurian lit. i’ve also heard the story itself is pretty wild, and includes a fox, which sounds pretty exciting to me!

now the next two things i’m going to mention aren’t really? texts that feature characters of color or jewish characters, but are rather more notable for being translations of existing texts into certain languages. wigalois is a german 13th century romances featuring the titular character (the son of, you guessed it, gawaine!) and his deeds. the second, jaufre, is the only arthurian romance written in occitan, and is a quite long work about the adventures of the knight jaufre, based on the knight griflet. what’s notable about these two works is that wigalois has a yiddish translation, and jaufre has a tagalog translation. wigalois’ yiddish translation in particular changed the original german text into something more fitting of the arthurian romance format as well as adding elements to make it more appealing for a jewish audience. the tagalog translation of jaufre on the other hand was not medieval, only coming about in 1900, but the philippines has had a long history of romantic tradition and verse writing, so i’m curious to see if it too adds or changes elements when it comes to the arthurian story, but i can’t find a lot on the tagalog version of jaufre unfortunately-i hope i can eventually!

this list of texts is also non-exhaustive! i’m just listing a couple of notoriety, and some to start with. 

part iii: papers and academic analysis

so here’s just a dump of various papers i’ve read and collected on topics such as these-this is an inexhaustive and non-comprehensive list! if you have any papers you think are good and would like to be added here, shoot me an ask. i’ll try to include a link when i can, but if it’s unavailable to you just message me. * starred are the ones i really think people, especially white people, should at least try to read. 

Swank, Kris. ‘Black in Camelot: Race and Ethnicity in Arthurian Legend’ *

Harrill, Claire. ‘Saracens and racial Otherness in Middle English * Romance’

Keita, Maghan. ‘Saracens and Black Knights’ 

Hoffman, Donald L. ‘Assimilating Saracens: The Aliens in Malory's ‘Morte Darthur’

Goodrich, Peter H. ‘Saracens and Islamic Alterity in Malory's ‘Le Morte Darthur’

Schultz, Annie. ‘Forbidden Love: The Arabic Influence on the Courtly Love Poetry of Medieval Europe’ *

Hardman, Philipa. ‘Dear Enemies: the Motif of the Converted Saracen and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’

Knowles, Annie. ‘Encounters of the Arabian Kind: Cultural Exchange and Identity the Tristans of Medieval France, England, and Spain’ *

Hermes, Nizar F. ‘King Arthur in the Lands of the Saracens’ *

Ayed, Wajih. ‘Somatic Figurations of the Saracen in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur’

Herde, Christopher M. ‘A new fantasy of crusade: Sarras in the vulgate cycle.’ *

Rovang, Paul R. ‘Hebraizing Arthurian Romance: The Originality of ‘Melech Artus.’’

Rajabzdeh, Shokoofeh. ‘The Depoliticized Saracen and Muslim erasure’ *

Holbrook, Sue Ellen. ‘To the Well: Malory's Sir Palomides on Ideals of Chivalric Reputation, Male Friendship, Romantic Love, Religious Conversion—and Loyalty.’ *

Lumbley, Coral. ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth and Race’ *

Oehme, Annegret. ‘Adapting Arthur. The Transformations and Adaptations of Wirnt von Grafenberg’s Wigalois’ *

Hendrix, Erik. ‘An Unlikely Hero: The Romance of Moriaen and Racial Discursivity in the Middle Ages’ *

Darrup, Cathy C. ‘Gender, Skin Color, and the Power of Place in the Medieval Dutch Romance of Moriaen’ *

Armstrong, Dorsey. ‘Postcolonial Palomides: Malory's Saracen Knight and the Unmaking of Arthurian Community’ (note this is the only one i can’t access in its entirety)

part iv: supplemental material

here’s some other stuff i find useful to getting to know knights of color in arthurian legend, especially if papers/academic stuff/medieval literature is daunting! i’d really recommend you go through all of these if you can’t go through anything else-most are quick reads. 

a magazine article on knights of color here, and this article about the yiddish translation of wigalois. 

this video about characters of color in arthurian legend!

the performance of the translation of arabic in Libro del Caballero Zifar, and how it pertains to the matter of britain 

a post by yours truly about women of color in parzival

this info sheet about palamedes, and this info sheet about ysabele-thanks to @/pendraegon and @/reynier for letting me use these!

this page on palamedes as well

this post with various resources on race and ethnicity in arthuriana-another thank you to @/reynier! 

part v: how about modern day stories and adaptations?

there’s a lot of em out there! i’m not as familiar with modern stuff, but i will try to recommend medias i know where characters of color (including racebends!) are prominent. since i haven’t read/watched all (or truly most) of these, i can’t really speak on the quality of the representation though, so that’s your warning. 

first of all, when it comes to the victorian arthurian revival, i know that william morris really liked palamedes! (don’t we all.) he features frequently in morris’ arthurian poetry, (in this beautiful book, he primarily features in ‘sir galahad, a christmas mystery’ and ‘king arthur’s tomb’. he has his own poem by morris here.)

and some other poems about palamedes, which i’d all recommend. 

for movies, i know a knight in camelot (1998) stars whoopi goldberg as an original character, the green knight (2021) will star dev patel as gawaine. 

some shows include camelot high, bbc merlin, disney’s once upon a time, and netflix’s cursed, all featuring both original characters of color and people of color cast as known arthurian figures. 

for any music people, in ‘high noon over camelot’, an album by the mechanisms, mordred is played by ashes o’reilley, who in turn is performed by frank voss, and arthur is played by marius von raum who is perfomed by kofi young. 

i’ve also heard the pendragon and the squire’s tales have palamedes as a relevant character if you’re looking for novels, as well as legendborn and the forgotten knight: a chinese warrior in king arthur’s court starring original protagonists of color! 

part vi: going on from here

so, you’ve read some medieval lit, read some papers, watched some shows, and done all that. what now? well, there’s still so much out there! 

if you have fanfiction, analysis, metaposts, fun content etc etc about arthurian poc, feel free to plug your content on this post! i’d be happy to boost it. 

in general, if you’re a person of color or a jewish person and you’re into arthurian legend, feel free to promote your blog on this post as well! i would love to know more people active on arthurian tumblr who are nonwhite. 

this is really just me asking for extra content, especially content made by poc, but that’s okay! arthurian legend is a living, breathing set of canons and i would love love love to see more fresh diversity within them right alongside the older stuff. 

a very gracious thank you to the tumblr users whom i linked posts to on here, and thanks to y’all for saying you want to see this! i hope this post helped people learn some new things! 

[sugarcomatosed]

On Miyuki Inaba and Macross:

I’ve heard nothing but love for wave 2-10 of destruction; but I’ve realized that the scene loses some of its magic for western audience because they don’t know it’s a shout out. 

So today I want to break down for you today the biggest reference in 13 Sentinels you most likely missed out on; Miyuki Inaba, Lynn Minmay and The Super Dimensional Fortess Macross.

Join me under the cut for massive spoilers for Sentinels of course, and a nearly 40 year old anime you’ve never seen.

I think everyone knows Sentinels is chock full of sci-fi shout outs. From War of the Worlds, to Terminator, The Matrix, heck even GroundHog’s day, the list goes on and on. Most western audiences will be able to spot the bulk, so why haven’t you heard of Macross?

Simply put, copyright battles. In 1985, Hamorny Gold stitched together three unrelated animes to create Robotech. One of the anime series involved was Macross and Harmony Gold has kept a tight leash on the copyright preventing the series from ever getting a real proper English release ever since.

...so what is Macross?

Well, in super blunt Wikipedia stolen summaries:

Macross (マクロス, Makurosu, English: /məˈkrɒs/) is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the human race after the year 1999, as well as the history of humanoid civilization in the Milky Way. It consists of four TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel, and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West Advertising, in addition to 40 video games set in the Macross universe, 2 crossover games, and a wide variety of physical merchandise.

If you asked me to boil the series down to it’s three staples I’d pick the following three elements. Big robot fights, love triangles and music, usually all interplaying together to make some of the most exciting fight scenes in anime.

The series is going strong in Japan ever since its 1982 release, with the most recent series Macross Delta’s newest film “Absolute Live!!!!!!” getting its first teaser trailer days before I sat down to write this post. It’s insanely big in Japan and you’ve probably seen a half dozen Macross references if you’ve watched a sci-fi anime before. Most likely the signature missile blast.

Sentinels pulls specifically from the 1984 film: the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? The story is largely a shortened version of the first tv series which aired in 82 and is considered in canon a film retelling of the events.

The film focuses on a colony ship adrift through space suddenly being attacked by an alien race called the Zentardi, it’s both a war film and a very quiet drama all tangled up in the three central characters of Hikaru Ichijo, the young pilot, Misa Hayase, one of the bridge officers and then Miss Macross herself; Lynn Minmay.  An idol singer aborad the ship who has during its journey become a huge celebrity after starting as a simple waitress at her family’s restaurant. 

Minmay is considered something of the face of the series and while other characters may never come up again in its extended universe, the story of Lynn Minmay is akin to legend in later entries in the seires. 

When mankind was faced with these invaders, there was one simple thing that managed to send the enemy into disarray, the music of Lynn Minmay shocked the Zentardi who had no concept of culture and music. They end up capturing her and the other two leads during the course of the film and while the others manage to escape; Minmay is trapped behind with the Zentardi.

They eventually ask her to look and exam a relic they’ve kept on board their ship, and Minmay discovers it’s of all things, a song.

So, if isn’t obvious enough by this description alone, Miyuki is modeled after Minmay. It’s not a 1 to 1, but the curls in her hair and the style of her outfit make it even more obvious.

They have a lot of the same general vibes too, Minmay over the course of the film becomes a tragic melancholic figure and a symbol of the war effort against her will. Her sweet dreamy smile and glittering energy become subdued as she faces set back over setback. She remains strong up until a point behind her facade of confidence until she discovers Hikaru now has feelings for Misa. Culminating in the finale of the film where a despair filled Minmay refuses to sing because it all seems pointless.

Miyuki foils this of course with her journey from the plucky Tomi Kisaragi of a prior loop to a ghost in the machine; a somber beautiful figure but a changed person. She only has this role she’s taken on in the end. All she can do to impact the out come of this fight is sing and hope Shu hears her.

In the finale, Minmay is given a wake up call and asked by Hikaru to sing her song and try to save the lives of everyone left aboard the macross. Roused from her despair, Minmay agrees and the final battle is set to the tunes of the song the Zentardi had shown her, now with lyrics Misa had translated. At long last reaching them and halting the conflict.

This is of course, what 2-10 is a direct reference too. Miyuki sings Seaside Vacation until she can’t be heard any longer.

Even if you’ve never seen the film, the clip alone is a treat in itself. It’s a lovely piece of animation 

But Macross’s influences go deeper than just Miyuki and the original Macross. In Macross Plus, the primary idol is the artificial intelligence Sharon Apple. She is also it’s major villian as her AI becomes destabilized during the course of the film.

With the illegal modifications installed in Sharon takes control of the capital of Earth with her music and nearly destroys the city. Miyuki’s character is all Minmay, but her role in the story is a heroic Sharon Apple.

And outside of Miyuki, Macross references and influences can be spotted in Tomi’s story in which she and Nenji are trapped in 2025 and he begins to fall for her mirrors the arc that occurs between Hikaru and Misa after they escape the clutches of the Zentardi. The pair find themselves trapped on a mysterious planet, which turns out to be Earth rampaged by the Zentardi. Misa and Hikaru’s hostility towards each other fades as they try to come to grips with this truth. They spend a long time alone in the ruins and eventually fall in love before eventually being saved by the Macross. Which, is roughly what occurs in Tomi’s story between her and Nenji.

Shu’s story as well, with the minor focus on his confusion of his feelings towards Tomi and Yuki are also arguably a tongue in cheek reference towards the series many Love triangles, which aren’t always true triangles but always remain a corner stone of the series. 

Does Shu actually have feelings towards Tomi? No but she’s showing up everywhere and it’s left him a little out of sorts and plays into the misinformation sentinels feeds you, leading you to think there’s a triangle of some sorts:

Maybe they’re stretches, but considering it was stated in an interview the film was a huge inspiration for the game, I wouldn’t be shocked. I found the interview on twitter back in November but can’t track it down now and I’m v. sad

There’s also the matter of the Protoculture.

The Macross is a massive colony ship, sent out into space with the goal of returning to earth after a long space voyage to insure humanity’s survival, much like the probes the 2188 colony sent out. Misa and Hikaru return to find this was the only thing that’s had prevented humanity from being wiped by the Zentardi.

While on earth, Misa and Hikaru manages to discover a set of ruins of a highly advanced civilization that had created both humanity and the Zentardi. The protoculture.

The logs they manage to Find reveal that their inventions grew too great and they have all but disappeared from the universe, but humanity in the end are aliens as well. The invading Zentardi were just tools used by the Protoculture to wage war on itself and contributed to the death of their people.

The song Minmay sings is a relic of the Protoculture, an ancient highly advanced civilization from thousands of years ago.

Now Hm. Why does that sound familiar? What was it Fluffy said about 2188 and the Deimos code....

They’re obviously not 1-1 references, but Sentinels was such a labor of love that pulled from so many genres it’s nice to see such an iconic series get a well thought out reference. 

I hope this was something of a fun read and gives you a better love of Miyuki and 2-10.

I don’t know if I’d recommend getting into Macross if you liked Sentinels, but if you’re interested send me an ask and I could probably give you a helpful breakdown. I love both series so much and consider them my top two sci-fi! 

[ikuzeminna]

Why I love Gundam Wing and hate Frozen Teardrop

With Frozen Teardrop being the first new thing released in the Gundam Wing universe in ages, I feel I should make my stance on it clear, seeing as I’ve read (and by now thankfully forgotten) a large chunk of it.

So, what do I like about Gundam Wing? I can say without lying, almost everything. I like the story, the characters, the themes, the designs and the music. I like its humor, its subtlety, the fact that everyone plays a role and that there's no definite bad guy (nor good one for that matter). I like its dynamics and how you can view it any way you want, e.g. the Gundam pilots being heroes or plain murderers. And I like that you can and even must dig to understand things. The whole composition really works for me.

And what's best is that this entire composition makes Gundam Wing more; it makes it unique. I grew up with classics like Dragonball and Sailor Moon, the forefathers of the 'Idiot Hero' archetype for both males and females. Even to this day you see series featuring these types of main characters. Classic scenario of a naive yet pure kid growing up to become the savior of the world. We've all seen that.

It's why Gundam Wing is so special to me. It has a completely atypical setup and there's absolutely no stereotype I can apply to any character, no matter what TV Tropes may say. Heero is hardly your typical hero, is he? Heck, Heero is hardly a typical anything. What's more, Gundam Wing doesn't follow the 'growing stronger' plotline that, for example, the original MS Gundam or Seed series used. No, Gundam Wing starts out with fully trained soldiers who can kick your butt from episode 1 and will kill you without qualms if the situation requires it. (That's not to say that the characters don't grow, it's the physical growth and capabilities I'm talking about.) What's truly surprising about that is the age of the characters. This is another important point. Gundam Wing and realism. Many times I hear that GW is realistic. I'm sorry but no. Teens fighting against armies isn't realistic. Teens leading said armies isn't either. Neither is bending steel bars, nor surviving jumping off cliffs or blowing up your suit, nor successfully back-flipping from a motorbike onto a clothesline, nor becoming the Queen of the World as a teen, nor stealing a MS carrier plus suit at the age of ten, nor walking around with bazookas at the age of ten nor what have you. It's safe to say that Gundam Wing lacks any sense of realism. But it does not lack logic.

Realism never was Gundam Wing's aim to begin with. The way I see it, it's not just the plot or circumstances that prove this, but also the "inhumanity" of the characters. Would a real person with a similar background as Heero, Duo or Trowa really exhibit such selflessness or noble-mindedness as them and risk his life for strangers by fighting a war that could end in their death? I don't think so. Would anyone as sheltered as Relena give up her lifestyle, have the guts to go against the world's armed rulers with just words and put her life on the line for the sake of others? Hard to believe.

And that's it. One of the things that contributes to Gundam Wing's uniquity and is therefore a, if not the, defining trait of the series, is that it doesn't tell the story about angst-riddled terrorists and princesses, but a tale of heroes. The characters are ridiculously noble, strong, selfless, courageous, determined, make the impossible possible and still retain a certain purity, despite having gone through hell and back. It's what makes them so awesome. It's what makes the series so awesome. Duo isn't badass because he fights in the war. He's badass because he fights "so that no one else will have to" and when you see what he went through, you can only say "wow". Lady Une killed Relena's father and when Relena is given the opportunity to take revenge, she declines, saying there's been enough bloodshed. That's role model material there. Something that is sorely lacking in a lot of shows nowadays. And something that a lot of people seem to miss the point of (I'm referring to those that call the pilots wussies for not killing in EW).

All of this is the reason I hate Frozen Teardrop with a passion. Forget the nonsensical, recycled plot or the billion clones of everyone or the terrible mobile suit names like Snow White or Merciless Fairies. Forget Treize getting French’d by his mom or the Zero System being a digital cat or Relena’s grandfather being a disgusting ephebophile. That stuff is messed up and random and dumb and I have no idea what was wrong with the author at the time to write this.

It’s also that he completely destroys the essence of the original series, making every single characters whine about some drama and the never ending “woe is me” monologue I had to wade through every chapter.

Let’s take Duo, for example. He woke up one morning and decided to become an irresponsible, gold-digging bastard. To get Hilde’s money, he agreed to her terms to cut his braid off and get a “proper” name, just to buy himself a motorbike with their joined assets. Then he inherited a church plus orphanage, which Hilde got stuck with, too, being his wife, and when she asked him how to fund the orphanage, Sumizawa wants me to believe that Duo freaking Maxwell was just “Eh, whatever, leave them to it. I’m out” before taking off? Excuse me, what???

I’ve had discussions with people about this and there were statements that maybe more people just need to learn how actual manic depressives and people with PTSD act in relation to Duo's development in Frozen Teardrop. I've noticed a tendency for people to want to apply realism to Gundam Wing, especially in fanfics, but as I said before, Gundam Wing and realism don't have anything to do with each other. So why should I apply it?

What I expect from anything featuring Gundam Wing's characters is the same "heroic" behavior that was displayed in the series. Sure, the pilots each had a mental burden to carry but it wasn't what defined them. For example, Trowa's insecurity about not having a name or yearning for a home never became the main focus unlike his endless selflessness. And Heero's bitterness about the colonies' betrayal was well hidden under his joining the Treize faction to be able to keep retaliating against OZ. A noble deed to fight on but was it really necessary for him to go for the missions with the lowest chance of survival?

As I said, Gundam Wing is unique because it is atypical. That encompasses pretty much everything; you have bloody murderers in the role of the 'heroes', noble, honorable 'bad guys' who value life and the ever flashy Gundams that can't even begin to compare to non-flashy Relena's influence and importance to the plot. So why on earth should I go along with Duo and Wufei bickering like kids, like characters from five million other series do? I want my uniquity. I'm not saying that it isn't a possible outcome for Duo and Wufei to become bitter and bicker and argue and not be able to stand each other when they become adults. But considering those two could get along splendidly, it's a letdown. Duo and Wufei are very much alike; they both lost people important to them twice, they both fight partly out of revenge and their loss has had the biggest impact on shaping them into what they are in the series, unlike the other pilots. Heck, they both wear their respective culture's colors for mourning. Despite that, their personalities (or ways of dealing) are exact opposites. It's enough to make for a more interesting relationship dynamic between them than what was done in Frozen Teardrop and a lot of Gundam Wing fanfics.

Heero's regression is the same. He was frozen because J said something to the extent of "a guy like him would be needed in the future". How J is even alive is another point of unnecessary addition. But what would a guy like Heero be needed for? Killing, apparently.

Way to ignore the ending of Endless Waltz.

I guess it's partly my wish for Heero and everyone else to live a well-deserved 'happily ever after' which makes me have such a knee jerk reaction to all the drama. That and the fact that there was nowhere near as much drama in Gundam Wing. Nor sap, nor stereotyping, nor "realism". >_>

This grated on my nerves, which was why I dropped Frozen Teardrop like a hot potato and haven’t bothered since. This novel does not only fail on a general level with all the random, messed up crap and terrible pacing, it also fails to satisfy the Gundam Wing fan in me because Sumizawa, the very head writer of the show, also ignored major character traits on top of everything else. Why would Catherine, who stated that she hates war and did everything she could to keep Trowa from fighting, train his clone to become a soldier? Why would Duo become that deadbeat I described above?

Being the sole writer of Frozen Teardrop meant he could take as many creative liberties as he wanted. But in the end, he took too many, which in turn resulted in so many inconsistencies with the series that Frozen Teardrop now takes place in an alternate universe, in which not the series but the manga Glory of Losers takes place. Which is the sole reason I’m not bothered by Frozen Teardrop’s existence anymore.

There were some good passages in the novel, it wasn’t all bad. The battles with the new characters were exciting at times, I’ll be honest, but even those couldn’t be called genuinely good because of the carbon copies deal. There is always some blemish. Like Heero’s proposal to Relena. I’ve seen fans of the pairing rejoice at the scene. Alas, I’m not one of them because frankly, the characters in the novel hardly resemble the original ones. So I don’t care.

As the head writer of the show I had expected him to treat the source material with more care and not run it over with retcons and meaningless additions. Best example being everything surrounding Odin. The world could've definitely done without him being Heero's father. Or freaking Trant being related to him.

But again, alternate universe so who cares.

[weirdcanucks]

For today's feature film, we look at Kevan Funk’s critically-acclaimed debut feature Hello Destroyer. The film swept Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle, winning 5 awards including Best Canadian Picture, Best BC Film, and Best Director. I've compiled a bunch of reviews and filmmaker interviews on the institutionalized violence, hockey culture, the craft of filmmaking and the Todd Bertuzzi case. 

Synopsis

A young junior hockey player Tyson Burr’s life is shattered when a routine hockey play goes bad. In an instant his life is abruptly turned upside down; torn from the fraternity of the team and the coinciding position of prominence, he is cast as a pariah and ostracized from the community. As he struggles with the repercussions of the event, desperate to find a means of reconciliation and a sense of identity, his personal journey ends up illuminating troubling systemic issues around violence.

Where to Stream

CBC Gem if you are in Canada

Keep Reading for

Directors Guild of Canada post screening Q&A: does the Todd Bertuzzi case inspired the film?

Aggressively Canadian: An interview with the director Kevan Funk

Hello Destroyer explores the thin line between hockey menace and model

Review from Josh Cabrita of VIFF

More filmmaker Q&As

Content Warning: Violence 

🎤 DGC Post screening Q&A

Audience: I grew up in BC. I remember in high school, the Todd Bertuzzi case was hung over the news of the city for a while. And I was just wondering if that's something that inspired this film at all?

Funk: Yeah. Todd Bertuzzi is my favourite hockey player of all time. So, yes definitely. I grew up in Banff, but I was a Canucks fan. The Todd Bertuzzi thing was something that I found remarkably frustrating at the time because I remember it really well too. I remember the hit on Steve Moore ahead of time when he hit Naslund, and I remember very well there was this intense bloodlust in Vancouver for retribution. And I don't mean just like among the fans. (There were) literally editorials about being like "we get pushed around too much, we need some identity. You can't let this happen, blah blah blah." And Todd was that guy. I still think Todd certainly deserves to be held responsible for what happened as an individual in that incident. But again, like that moment in terms of thinking about cultural culpability and how the idea of an act of violence extends beyond just a perpetrator of a crime and the victim and how a much broader group of people are implicated. I'm I really don't believe this idea of good and evil is something that really exists. There's like a select handful of people who we might be able to define as evil. But I think most violence that exists has a lot to do with social or cultural conditions around the people who are involved in that.

The Todd Bertuzzi thing was definitely something that informed it. I was hesitant to talk about it earlier before the film sort of got its own life and took out its own legs because I didn't want it to be "the Todd Bertuzzi story" because it informed it. But so did Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, a lot of these guys. And to be honest, the fundamental thing that started me on writing this film was Errol Morris's film Standard Operating Procedure. It's about the prison guards at Abu Ghraib who were busted for this despicable torture. He does this incredible thing of holding them morally responsible for what they did, but also showing that they're victims of a system that essentially asked them to do this and then throw them all under the bus to wipe its hands clean when it becomes public. So that came first. But certainly heavily informed by Todd Bertuzzi. I mean, his name is Tyson Burr. You know, there're some strong hockey knots in there.

🎤 Aggressively Canadian: An interview with the director Kevan Funk

NOTEBOOK: You’re a Canadian filmmaker making a film with hockey in it, so there’s an impression that the film is about hockey. But from watching the film there’s a sense that it’s not the game, necessarily, that interests you, that if you were working in a different setting, you’d have made the same film, but about, say, football or the military instead of hockey. Would you say that that’s an accurate assessment?

KEVAN FUNK: Yes. The inclusion of hockey has much more to do with its presence as a cultural institution, because the film is very much about institutionalized violence. I have this frustration with English[-language] Canadian cinema’s lack of boldness in terms of embracing our identity and placing ourselves in Canada. So I knew I wanted to make something that was very Canadian, and so hockey just sort of ended up being that. 

Hockey movies are super interesting in that they’re associated with being very Canadian, but most of them—the majority of them—are goofy comedies that say very little about either Canada or the sport of hockey itself. So again, even though Hello Destroyer wasn’t a film about hockey per se—certainly more the setting than the subject, having that locker room culture be reflective of an actual reality was very important to me, because I don't think that it’s represented properly in most work.

📄 Seventh Row: Hello Destroyer explores the thin line between hockey menace and model

In major junior hockey, players must walk a thin line between what their coaches deem acceptable and unacceptable violence. If players avoid violence, they risk being seen as “soft” by their teammates and employers. At a home game when the team is trailing, the coach, Dale Milbury (a name referencing two notorious champions of hockey violence, Dale Hunter and Mike Milbury), demands that the team “protect the house”. Eager to prove his worth, Tyson throws an illegal check that slams an opposing player face-first into the boards, leaving his opponent with broken vertebrae and a brain hemorrhage.

Televised hockey tends to glorify cheering for violence but provides no explicit reminder of any physical consequences. Hello Destroyer breaks this convention and does not sanitise the violence. In Funk’s hands, a fight is not heroic, gladiatorial combat, but sweaty, desperate grappling, conveyed through the thudding of fists, cries of pain, and, loudest of all, the cheering crowd. Funk frames the fights themselves in claustrophobic close-ups, frequently shifting focus, and never quite providing a clear view as the punches connect. The effect is alienating, and it forces an audience familiar with hockey fights to confront their brutality. Funk implicates fans for enabling violence by foregrounding the pleasure on their faces and the players’ pain through the physical ugliness of the fight.

✏️ Review from Josh Cabrita of VIFF

Kevan Funk’s debut feature, Hello Destroyer, is not only a perceptive exegesis of Canada’s colonial history and cinematic representations of hockey, but also about a myth that all children who play the game grow up with. Funk has stated in interviews that if the film was made in another country, it might’ve been set in the military or a different institution, but the fact that Hello Destroyer -- one of very few Canadian films to grapple with the sport’s hypocrisy -- takes place in the world of junior hockey makes it hard to deny the specifics for the allegory. The buzzing sounds of the overhead lights in a vacant rink, the dress code of having a black suit and tie for every game, the anger expelled at a hockey stick during a coach’s rant: these are all textures and details I’m firmly acquainted with. Yet it’s these same environmental observations that form the basis for a critique of hockey culture's contradictions and hypocrisy: contemplation and belligerence, civility and violence, alienation and ‘community’.

But, above all else, this is a film about culpability: the role complacency, the status quo and generational exchanges play in redirecting guilt to maintain a corrupt system of power. Tyson may not be the main perpetrator against the opposing team’s player (for guilt requires free will - something the film posits is out of his hands), but he’s most certainly guilty of contributing to a culture that normalizes the root causes of such an action: how he willingly shaves his own head after his teammates buzz it in a ritualistic hazing, how he remains silent when a lawyer fills in his voice, and how he stands by as a teammate is awarded the player of the game and parades a traditional indigenous headdress around the dressing room.

🎤 VIFF Post screening Q&A

[terramythos]

TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 31 of 26

Title: The Serpent Sea (2012) (The Books of the Raksura #2)

Author: Martha Wells

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, LGBT Protagonist, Third-Person

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 10/30/2020

Date Finished: 11/08/2020

Moon, once a solitary wanderer, has found a place among his kind-- consort to the sister-queen Jade in the Raksuran court of Indigo Cloud. After fighting off the insidious Fell, the dwindling colony returns to their ancestral home among the mountain trees of the Reaches to replenish their population. However, they discover someone has stolen an artifact essential for the giant tree's survival; the seed at its heart.  Now Moon and a group of Raksura must find the missing seed. Their journey takes them to The Serpent Sea and a strange, moving landmass; a city built on the back of a living leviathan. Moon must infiltrate the city and unravel the mystery behind the seed’s disappearance before it’s too late. 

Jade had said Indigo Cloud had had consorts fight to defend the colony, but Emerald Twilight was too secure to need defending. Moon had proved he was different from them. Too different. You are your own worst enemy, he told himself. Not that it was a new revelation; it was just that he was starting to notice it more. 

Minor spoilers and content warning(s) under the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Graphic action and violence. There's some minor sexual harassment that gets challenged and resolved. The Serpent Sea is the second book in the Raksura series, and takes place directly after the events of The Cloud Roads. The Raksura of Indigo Cloud make it to their ancestral home, but discover a seed has been stolen from the giant tree that keeps it alive. So, Moon and a small contingent have to find it, or their new home is lost. Like before, it's a pretty standard story--seek the MacGuffin by X time or else Y will happen-- but it generally serves the purpose of the novel. Other than its cast, The Serpent Sea has little connection to the conflict of The Cloud Roads and feels self-contained, outside one or two details that may be relevant in future volumes.  Worldbuilding comes out the gate swinging, and continues to be the strongest aspect of the series. Wells has great talent when it comes to describing vivid settings and social customs; her background in anthropology does not surprise me at all. In particular, I think the "mountain tree" that Indigo Cloud moves into sounds like a beautiful place to live, and enjoyed hearing all the little details about what daily life there would be like. The visit to a neighboring colony, Emerald Twilight, was also super interesting. I liked seeing what a large, prosperous court of Raksura looks like in comparison to the struggling Indigo Cloud group, as well as their more traditional customs and behaviors. It was another captivating insight into the Raksura, who feel like a vibrant and realistic fantasy culture after only two books. Finally, the city on the back of the leviathan was another interesting place; the whole "giant landmass is actually a living creature" trope is fun, and Wells manages to make it both fascinating and honestly disgusting. It’s no easy task to make a fantasy world feel real and believable, so this series does a great job on that front.  One of my big wishes at the end of The Cloud Roads was for more character interaction and development, and The Serpent Sea certainly delivers. We get to see a lot more of Chime, Stone, and Jade, as well as their interactions with Moon. Character isn't a huge focus in this series; while Moon has personal arcs in both books, he is the protagonist. But there are some interesting developments, especially regarding Chime and his abilities. It's still a mystery what's up with him-- how he spontaneously changed from mentor caste to warrior caste-- and there's some odd stuff in this book that implies something else is going on. Also, am I insane or is he supposed to be like a side love interest for Moon? I mean, the Raksura are Very Poly and that's absolutely the vibe I’m getting.  Moon still has the best development; in this book, his personal struggle is coming to terms with who he is versus who he is expected to be. With the insight from Emerald Twilight, we learn consorts are generally pampered pretty boys who sit back as their queens call the shots. Moon is much more proactive; the first to take command or leap into action in any given situation. So everyone sees him as an oddball because of that, on top of him being an adopted solitary. While this isn't a rare trope by any means, it is rare to see it done with a male character, so it’s a refreshing take. Wells plays a lot with gender roles in this series and I find it fascinating to read about. Moon also gets a foil in this novel from the character Rift, a solitary Raksura he meets during the story. Without spoiling anything, this emphasizes what really makes Moon unique, and why others generally like/tolerate him.  

One criticism I have here is the sheer number of characters. I had a hard time keeping track of everyone. This was less noticeable in The Cloud Roads since everyone was brand new. But for the journey in this book, there's a shit load of characters, especially Raksura, that don't seem to serve much purpose. If you held a gun to my head and asked me to differentiate between Floret and Vine, I'd maybe be able to remember their genders and that's it. I'm generally pretty good at tracking characters but even I found it difficult. I feel like the cast could have been pared down considerably without it affecting the story. This isn’t a huge issue since the major players are all distinct, but the minor characters do tend to blend together.  The biggest potential challenge I can see people having with this book is the pacing. It takes a while for the conflict to get going. Compared to The Cloud Roads, there's fewer action sequences; basically none until the halfway point. I didn't mind this as I really like the worldbuilding in this series and had fun reading about it. The heavier focus on character interaction was also welcome. Furthermore, the emphasis on investigation and subterfuge in the first half is something different, and I enjoyed slowly learning the mysteries of the leviathan city. That being said, I can easily see other people having trouble with it. I think it depends on personal taste and what you like about the series. Another big difference between this and The Cloud Roads is the tone. The Serpent Sea feels much more humorous and sarcastic. There were traces of this in The Cloud Roads, but that book was much more serious overall. I'm not sure if this is meant to symbolize Moon's growth and increasing comfort with the other characters, but I like the change. It also feels more in line with Wells' Murderbot series, and I can see more of a resemblance between the two. Compared to The Cloud Roads this feels like a much lighter story, but it's a fun romp with the characters from the last book. Most of my praise about the previous volume, especially the worldbuilding and Raksura in general, still applies. So my rating has not changed much. Obviously I would recommend reading The Cloud Roads first, and then this one if you're interested in going for the whole series. There are five main books, and at this point I'm planning to read book three, The Siren Depths, next.  

[lgbtqueeries]

Intersectionality: A Necessary Tool

TL;DR Intersectionality plays a role in our everyday life as we deal with the weaving of our identities in various institutions and situations. Intersectionality is also a pivotal tool in creating frameworks that analyze and attempt to fight against system oppression, in which intersectionality has multiplicative effects on individuals. While focused on Black women feminists in this post based on the articles I was provided this concept extends so much further. 

NOTE: Written with help from a fellow student Brennan Ventura taking Intro to WGSS Studies via our College. Feel free to reach out and chat with us about your feelings, understandings, comments, and questions!

Another day, another project in the name of awareness and activism. While this blog may seem to center on only queer rights I want to make it very clear that that is not the case. This blog speaks about and stands up for the many types of injustices present in our current systems and institutions. They do not have to intersect with Queer rights and advocacy but it’s time we focus on the fact that many actually do. Oppression doesn’t seem to go one at a time. You don’t generally deal with the racism inherent in all systems from simply being followed by shop owners in stores to a higher likelihood of police brutality one day and the next day dealing with inaccessible public places and buildings. This doesn’t take into account the discrimination you face from inside your own “safe” communities. 

Because of this, I want to want to bring to people’s awareness a couple of concepts that have been pivotal in sharing such eye-opening perspectives on the mix of oppressions. Intersectionality and system oppression are very important terms that can help in analyzing the lives and situations different people or groups of people across the world may be experiencing.  First off is intersectionality, intersectionality is a fairly new idea and a lot of different authors and people across multiple areas of interest such as activism, politics or science the answer to, “what is intersectionality”, would vary greatly. Most simply put, intersectionality is basically the differences and intricacies that humans in the world face in their daily lives. According to Sirma Bilge, and Patricia Hill Collins, sociology professors at Université de Montréal and the University of Maryland, say that intersectionality is “a way of understanding and analyzing the complexity in the world, in people, and in human experiences”(Collins and Bilge 2020, 1). But more so, intersectionality is a lens that helps to analyze the different situations and dilemmas that people across the world go through and how many times, issues such as gender violence, racism, sexuality, discrimination are connected through underlying strings and the issues that involve these systemic problems typically overlap as well. Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American lawyer, and civil rights activist, uses intersectionality to unveil the hidden binds in cases that deal with race and gender discrimination. Crenshaw views intersectionality as a way of showing that issues such as race and gender that may only seem as racial discrimination or gender prejudice are often overlapped in their issues. In a 2016 TEDWomen speech by Crenshaw she stated “in the same way that intersectionality raised our awareness to the way that black women live their lives, it also exposes the tragic circumstances under which African-American women die ”(Crenshaw 2016). And this leads us to system oppression or systematic oppression through the lens of intersectionality. 

System oppression is the unwritten societal standards and traditions that are discriminatory towards certain races, ethnicities, genders or groups of people in general. For instance, in the United States African-Americans have undergone systematic oppression for generations and still continue to be oppressed today due to the societal standards grandfathered in by millions of people across the United States. Although explicit discrimination against African-Americans or explicit discrimination of any kind towards a specific group was made illegal by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, system oppression and the unwritten discrimination of certain groups throughout the United States are still as prominent as ever. And through the lens of intersectionality, it is evident that more often than not, an issue that may seem only racially charged or motivated is often intersectional and involves problems and perspectives from many other areas of oppression such as gender discrimination, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, etc. and just looking at the issue as one caused by racism will not solve the issue and lead towards more problems later on down the line. Looking at system oppression through intersectionality it is evident a vast majority of issues do not merely involve one aspect of oppression and discrimination but multiple aspects like race, gender, homophobia and many more. According to a case by Kimberlé Crenshaw a young girl was in a lawsuit against a  company that did not hire her due to what she thought was racial discrimination, however, the judge overseeing the case did not agree with the girl’s pleas. When analyzing the lawsuit, Crenshaw noticed that the judge was not looking at the case through the right lens, and because of this, the young girl lost the lawsuit. Crenshaw described this case through a lens of intersectionality and how the young African-American girl could not get helped because she was suffering through both racial and gender charged systematic oppression. As we can see, system oppression and intersectionality play a big role in the world today, and intersectionality, seeing an issue through multiple perspectives, can help to solve so many of the issues brought about by system oppression and discrimination in the United States and other nations across the world that face similar issues and problems. 

These concepts are far-reaching but I think it important to first analyze them in the concepts that they were emphasized in. The frameworks for viewing interlocking systems of power, in this case, focus on weaving feminism and anti-racism together. In the introduction of the book But Some of Us Are Brave we see this eloquently spoken by Gloria T. Hull and Barbara Smith, “Because of white women’s racism and Black men’s sexism, there was no room in either area for a serious consideration of the lives of Black women. And even when they have considered Black women, white women usually have not had the capacity to analyze racial politics and Black culture, and Black men have remained blind or resistant to the implications of sexual politics in Black women’s lives” (Cooper, Hull, Bell-Scott, and Smith 2015, xxi). It is out of absence for this framework that these movements are born. Because of the interlocking identity, instead of being embraced by both communities, they are cast aside and their needs are not spoken for nor are their experiences being shared. Kimberly Crenshaw on her TedTalk about “The Urgency for Intersectionality” spoke about how pivotal that these voices are heard. Her example also focuses on the lived experiences of Black women, mentioning that with the trickle-down sense of social justice that we have currently, people are slipping through the cracks and being left at crossroads of communities, alone and vulnerable (Crenshaw 2016). Social justice movements, despite their call for equality only tend to mention the story of those with other privileges, for instance, feminism speaking mostly for the equality of white women. In this manner, those with intersecting identities have multiplicative effects of oppression and discrimination. As Crenshaw states, Black women brought down by police violence are not covered in the media as breaking news like that of their fallen brothers because of their status as women that are Black and the media simply doesn’t have a frame for how to portray that. 

Of course, Black women are not the only intersectionality groups to have created such frameworks, demanding they be heard for their experiences. Similar movements have happened with queer people of color, disabled queer people, and indigenous people of nonbinary gender identities. Each of these groups speaks out against injustices of racism, homophobia, transphobia, colonialism, and ableism at the crossroads of where they interact, the very spot they were abandoned at. This is a commonality of all of those groups. They have formed communities based on this separation from not only the dominant, privileged culture but also the groups that are supposed to help them as well. This is by far not a new concept. These groups have been standing up for themselves for decades, creating liberation groups like the Salsa-Soul Sisters, a group made for and by Queer women of color. Just because their history has been erased, covered up, and ignored doesn’t mean that they haven’t been there fighting back. These groups are taking a stand for their stories and would love for allies to help spread their cause. Stay safe and stay educated and don’t forget to stand up for what you believe in!

Work Cited

Collins, Patricia Hill, and Sirma Bilge. Intersectionality. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2020.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “TEDWomen 2016.” TEDWomen 2016.

Cooper, Brittney C., Akasha Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara Smith. But Some of Us Are Brave Black Womens Studies. New York: The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2015.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

What if Star Wars had tanked?

May 1977, 20th Century Fox distributes a really WEIRD movie.  It’s a science fiction fantasy story about medieval knight samurais in space with laser swords and fighter pilots.  Nobody expected it to be a hit, it seemed to be such a niche movie, one that would garner a small cult following then be swept under the rug by the other summer tent poles like “Smokey and the Bandit” or “The Spy Who Loved Me.”  To everyone’s surprise, it became an instant success, rocketing no name George Lucas from a no-name bush-league indie director into the echelon of A-list Blockbusters.  His idea for a decade spanning six part saga (two sequels, three prequels) was greenlit then and there, and the budget for Star Wars 2, now called Star Wars 5, was double what he was given for the original.  Star Wars 1, nor 4, was given the subtitle “A New Hope” to let audiences know it was just the beginning of a series, and the rest is history.

But in 1977, George Lucas was not as confident in his vision as he would soon become.  He figured, as every producer did, that his film would be a flash in the pan genre piece, something that would play in theaters just long enough to make it’s budget back, then disappear into obscurity.  In 1976, he planned for the worst.

Star Wars, like many other films of the day, was being given a novelization.  Before home media became ubiquitous, the only way people could experience the film was to see it in theaters or buy the book version.  Lucas hired a ghostwriter, Alan Dean Foster, to write the novelization of Star Wars 1, AND to create a tentative Star Wars 2 that could be adapted to the screen if the original film failed to meet his high expectations.  Star Wars 2, titled “Splinter of the Minds Eye,” was written to be as low budget as possible; no big set pieces, and for that matter no big sets.  Every scene had to take place in a set that the studio already owned, and couldn’t include any major space battles because there was no guarantee that the special effects would fit into the budget.  On top of that, it meant that none of the characters played by big name actors would be included; no Harrison Ford, no Alec Guinness.  Splinter was a bare bones story set entirely on what would essentially become Dagobah, and would have taken the franchise in an entirely different direction.  None of the story elements from Lucas’ dream sequel were included, and none of the plot twists either; there is no connection between “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” and “Empire Strikes Back,” and in fact, once Empire was released, Splinter was relegated to secondary canon because the official sequel had overidden it so the story no longer made sense.

But if Star Wars 1 had flopped, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye would have been made into the official sequel, and the story would have had to pick up where it left off; Lucas didn’t plot out a low budget version of Star Wars 3, so we can only speculate as to what may have happened.

In Splinter, Luke and Leia are going on a diplomatic mission to convince some neutral star systems to join the rebellion.  Their ship crash lands on a backwater swamp planet (called Mimban, a name eventually used for the World War I trench planet in the Disney movie Solo), which is roughly analogous to the Dagobah we saw in Empire.  Stranded on the swamp planet, Luke and Leia find their way to an imperial mining colony, get into a scuffle, and escape with the help of a Jedi witch named Halla.  The titular “splinter of the mind’s eye” is a broken fragment of a magical crystal, because this was the 1970s and crystals were a big thing in fantasy (the splinter was called the kaiburr crystal; this name would later be re-purposed in canon as the crystals used for lightsaber and Death Star laser construction).  The splinter is said to focus the force, allowing the wielder to become more powerful or something; it’s a MacGuffin, the book is vague as to what it actually physically does.  After a confrontation with locals, and a duel with none other than Darth Vader (in which Leia wields a lightsaber and Luke cuts off Vader’s whole arm), Halla takes over the role of Luke’s mentor to train him in the ways of the Force.

At this point in the series, Luke and Leia were never intended to be brother and sister.  It was clearly supposed to be a chivalric romance between a knight errant and his courtly love.  He is the royal bodyguard to the Queen of Alderaan (the entire Royal Family was destroyed in Star Wars 1, so Princess Leia should by all rights have been coronated as Queen Leia).  George Lucas added the twist that they were brother and sister well into production of Empire; in fact, in Empire he shot two scenes of Leia kissing Luke (one was to make Han jealous, the other was near the end, right after she rescued Luke from cloud city; I’m glad they cut the second one, because it undermines the fact that she literally just told Han that she loves him).  Han Solo himself is mentioned in passing, not even by name, just as some pirate Luke used to know who took his reward money from the first movie and went to pay off some debts.  If this movie had been made instead of Empire, there’s no guarantee that a Star Wars 3 would even be greenlit.

But if it had been, here’s what would have happened.

Darth Vader is not Luke’s father in this version; that too was a twist Lucas invented after the series took off.  So, in this version of Star wars 3, which I will call “Revenge of the Jedi,” Luke goes on a quest to slay the evil Emperor.  It’s a fantasy movie, in any other setting the point of the franchise would be to kill the main bad guy; imagine if Lord of the Rings had ended without the heroes destroying the ring and defeating Sauron, that would have made no sense.  In this version of the story, Darth Vader is just the archetypal Black Knight; tying back into the Japanese influence on the series, he is an evil Shogun, appointed by the Emperor to be the military dictator.  There would be more emphasis on fight choreography in this version, drawing influence from the works of Akira Kurosawa.  The word Jedi comes from the word for the Japanese film genre Jidaigeki, meaning ‘period piece,’ featuring samuri and ronin (for western audiences, “Ronin” are nomadic heroes, like Clint Eastwood’s man with no name, or the Road Warrior).

Revenge of the Jedi would end with a climactic fight scene in the Emperor’s palace, with Luke battling his way through the many levels, defeating wave after wave of imperial soldiers and those red guards fans love to care about even though they do literally nothing on screen.  The prequels we got in canon were bogged down with boring politics about trade federations and unions and guilds and alliances, but politics can be interesting if done well (and written by someone who isn’t George Lucas; the original trilogy we got was good DESPITE him, not BECAUSE of him).  Revenge of the Jedi would see Leia building an army, the rebellion becoming an actual superpower in the galaxy; the New Republic wouldn’t just be restored after the Empire was defeated, it would be restored during the war with the express intent of rallying neutral systems behind an actual government body against the Emperor.

Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Luke’s father, but more importantly he committed genocide against Leia’s people, the survivors of which now live in diaspora.  Sound familiar?  “The Rebellion” isn’t a great name, but “the Alliance” is perfect because it evokes the Allies of World War II and shows that it is a galaxy-wide phenomena, not just a single splinter cell as depicted in the films in our timeline.  Luke wants to avenge his father, but if you’re insistent that the good guy isn’t allowed to kill the bad guy, you could have Vader go out the way he did in “Return of the Jedi,” turning back to the light side and sacrificing his life to kill the Emperor.  Everyone loves a redemption story, but Darth Vader really was a piece of shit and didn’t deserve to just get a free pass into Jedi Ghost Heaven because he decided to stop being evil five minutes before he died.

Maybe in this version of Star Wars 3, Harrison Ford returns for a cameo as a favor to George Lucas.  If so, he dies; Ford wanted Han to die in “Return of the Jedi,” and only agreed to do “The Force Awakens” if they finally killed him off then.  If he returns for “Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Jedi,” he will sacrifice himself for the Alliance, going out as a hero.  After the Emperor is defeated, the threat doesn’t just go away; suddenly there’s a power vacuum, with all the admirals and regional governor’s vying to replace him.  In both pre- and post-Disney Star Wars, the Emperor had a son (Triclops in Legends continuity, and Rey’s dad in Canon), so he would be heir to his father’s throne; perhaps he is propped up as a puppet for the military leaders, or maybe he surrenders to the Alliance and allows his Empire to be balkanized into dozens of independent powers, as with the fall of every great Empire; Rome (East and West), Mongolia, China, Austria-Hungary, Britain, the USSR, the list goes on.

This Star Wars trilogy would not be the enormous franchise we know today, it would still be a very niche series with a cult following.  It would be a step up from the Planet of the Apes series; sure, people have heard of it, and there have been attempts to revive it in the modern day, but it’s not even close to being a tent pole of the modern cultural zeitgeist.  Nobody looks forward to the new Planet of the Apes movie every year, it’s not a multi-billion dollar multi-media enterprise, there’s no dedicated “Planet of the Apes Celebration,” no cartoons, no streaming service shows that everyone geeks out about online, no triple-a video games, nothing.  This version of Star Wars would be just another weird artifact of the 1970s.  Maybe there would be a push to release a sequel, Star Wars 4, in like 2007, but that would be closer to Rambo IV or Superman Returns or Tron Legacy.

There are dedicated fans, but it’s not the biggest movie of the year.

Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars 2: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye (1979)

Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Jedi (1982)

Star Wars: Journal of the Whills (2011, a prequel set during the Clone Wars mentioned in the first movie)

[frederator-studios]

Adetokumboh M’Cormack: The Frederator Interview

Adetokumboh M’Cormack is an actor and producer who also (coolly neglected to mention to me that he) directs and writes. He just directed a live action, period-set short, The German King. You might recognize Ade from Lost, Heroes, 24, Captain America: The Winter Soldier or your pick of syndicated crime dramas - pick one, he’s probably appeared in it. We are very lucky to work with Ade on Castlevania, in which he plays Isaac, an ally of Dracula’s, Devil Forgemaster and new character in season 2. Read on for Ade’s perspective on acting, favorite vampire film (a surprisingly gooby pick for this serious Actor), and discussion of Isaac - including a clip of him in character!

Why did you choose to be an actor?

Gosh, I don’t think I really had much of choice to be honest (laughs). It’s always been something that I just knew I had to do. I grew up in Kenya and went to this school in Nairobi called Braeburn. It had a state of the art theatre where we performed all these plays. I made sure I was in every one - I just loved performing. My dad's story is that when I was around ten, I got cast in a musical called Rats - based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin. I played this awesome lead role as the Rat Leader! (laughs). But my dad took me out of the play because he wanted me to focus more on my studies. I just remember being super bummed about the whole thing. After a few days, the school’s Headmaster called my dad in for a meeting and said “Your son is sad. For goodness sake, you have to put him back in the play!” He did, and I immediately cheered up. My dad later told me that it was at this point that he knew this wasn’t just a hobby to me. I was actually serious about Acting. My parents were super supportive ever since.

What do you love about Acting? So many things! I love studying people. Humans are such wonderfully complex, nuanced creatures. So to get to walk in someone else’s shoes and become a different person, and discover who they are and what makes them tick and convey how they feel - it’s just fascinating. As people, we have so many layers. And I love putting those layers onto my characters. Why do they make certain choices? What secrets are they hiding? I have a lot of fun creating characters. Do you enjoy any aspect of voice acting in particular? I really enjoy doing different things with my voice and vocal register to create different characters, and I enjoy putting on different accents. But I really just love words. And languages. And how things like alliteration can convey a certain feeling. Take Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, or Shakespeare for example. When Macbeth says to Banquo, “To-night we hold a solemn supper sir,” there’s something very serpent-like and ominous because of the “s” sounds. So when the actor says it, the audience feels that. When I read a script, I look for how I can employ the rhythm of the words, the vowels, the use of consonance, to effectively set the picture for the scene. And Warren Ellis is such a talented writer, he uses a lot of these devices. Voice Acting in some ways is harder, because you cannot rely on anything else. People aren’t seeing your facial expressions or gestures. All you have is your voice and that microphone that picks up EVERYTHING. You cannot have one false moment because it’s amplified. So everything boils down to being truthful under imaginary circumstances. You put every ounce of your being into being truthful, and making it come through in your voice. Whenever I’m in the studio, I’m super animated. I fully act out the scene and try to make the situation as real for myself as possible. Only then can it be real for your audience/listener. I’m usually a sweaty mess by the end of it. But when you see it all put together with the animation, it’s awesome!

How were you introduced to Castlevania as a potential project? 

I really enjoy period pieces, and who doesn’t love a good Dracula story? So when my agent first told me about the project I was intrigued. And then when I started reading the script, I was blown away. I really liked the story and characters. And of course with Adi Shankar at the helm, you know you’re going to have something awesome. I remember after I watched his Power Rangers short a couple of years back I was like “whatever this guy does next, sign me up!” (laughs). Needless to say, I was really impressed by the finished product. What do you look for in a project? Do you gravitate toward certain genres? I definitely gravitate toward drama. And I’m a big fan of historical pieces. I’m getting ready to shoot a film called The German King about an African leader who rises up against German colonial rule in World War I. But the most important thing that draws me to a script is the writing. I love a well written piece with interesting, fleshed out characters. What about Isaac’s character compelled you to take the role? When you first meet Isaac in season 2, he’s having this intense, philosophical conversation with a dead creature. You start getting an insight into his intellect. Isaac is super smart. And you start understanding more about who he is, and what drives him. Villains are so often portrayed without much depth - everything’s black or white. But over the course of the season, you gain insight into Isaac’s complex mind, and you find that his motivation is seeded very, very deep. And the fact that it is written into the script that he is an African man. That made me jump at the chance to play this role. You don’t often get to see black people, or people of color portrayed in this way in period pieces, nor with the opportunity to have such rich dialogue. What more can you tell us about Isaac?

Isaac is a really interesting fellow. He has the outward appearance and quiet, peaceful demeanor of a Sufi ascetic. But there’s a lot going on within him. He had a very difficult childhood. He was severely abused. He traveled across much of Africa and the Middle East as a kid. He learned magic from a renegade occultist’s books. And when we meet him in season 2, he’s a Devil Forgemaster, and fiercely loyal to Dracula.

Did his traumatic past present a challenge as you got in touch with his character? Isaac has lived a horrific life. I did a lot of research and read literally everything I could about him. Then I created his backstory, chronicling a timeline of when and where certain things happened to him. I made the people who hurt and abused him very specific. How old was he when this happened? How did that make him feel? When did he commit his first murder? What were the major turning points in his life that contributed to him becoming the man we meet in Castlevania season 2? I needed to make him as specific as possible, in order to make him real. As an actor, you have to go there, even if it’s very uncomfortable. What is your favorite media representation of Dracula / Vampires-at-large? I watched this film called What We Do In the Shadows recently. That has to be one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen about vampires. You’ve got these male vampires knitting and being very uncool and unsexy and it’s just hysterical. It definitely puts a different spin on the whole vampire genre. What do you think Castlevania brings to the canon that is unique or new? Well, Dracula and co. are certainly not the funny, awkward vampires we see in WWDITS, that’s for sure (laughs). Dracula is powerful. I mean, super powerful. And terrifying. The vampires in Castlevania can take on these massive beast like forms. They are next level. But at the same time, there is a very human side to this Dracula as well. You’re seeing someone who fell in love, and suffered loss. And over the course of seasons one and two, you get a better understanding of who he is and why he’s filled with so much hate for humanity.

What TV shows are you a fan of? Do you regularly watch animation? Right now Ozark and Wentworth are my favorite shows. Pamela Rabe is probably my new favorite villain. I'm still catching up so don’t tell me what happens! (laughs) I don’t normally watch animation, but I started to see what else was out there, especially in anime, after working on Castlevania. Right now I’m watching Last Hope which is really cool.

How has the experience of working on Castlevania been overall?

It’s been amazing. The team is really great. Our Director Sam Deats and Voice Director Meredith Layne, and Warren, Adi, and Kevin -  they have all been so incredible to work with. And I’ve had the chance to work with some brilliant actors whose work I’ve come to respect over the years. I’m a huge fan of Graham McTavish so getting to play off of him in the studio has been a really awesome experience. What do you like best about playing Isaac?  

The fact that he’s a badass with supernatural powers (laughs). He’s got these superhuman fighting skills and uses all these cool weapons in combat. He’s like a superhero. And he’s got all this dialogue that’s just fantastic. It’s fun to play this compelling, layered character who has an awesome character arc over the course of season 2. And I love the fact that he’s a black man. We never really see black characters portrayed like this in the media, especially during that time period: the 1400’s. I hope this opens doors to casting more people of color in interesting, robust roles that play against stereotypes.

Do you relate to any aspects of Isaac’s character?

Definitely his loyalty. I’m a loyal friend. And I like to think that I’m the type of person who would sacrifice a lot for someone I love. And also if there’s a cause that I believe in, then I throw myself into it 110 percent (laughs). I like to see things through.

Have anything to say to fans of the series, in advance of season 2?

Season 1 was amazing. But season 2 takes it to a whole new level. Get ready.

Follow Ade on Twitter and Instagram.

Thank you for the interview Ade, and your incredible work as Isaac this season! Can’t wait to see what you do next - in Wallachia and otherwise. 

- Cooper ❀

(ANOTHER!? Before you smash a mug on the floor, hit these links to Graham McTavish’s and Richard Armitage’s interviews)

[ara-la]

The Five Faces of Fascism (2005)

        The Five Faces of Fascism

by Michael Novick, Anti-Racist Action-LA/People Against Racist Terror (ARA-LA/PART)

From Turning The Tide, Volume 18, Number 5, November-December 2005

    Like the weather, everybody talks about fascism, but nobody does anything about it. Just like the barrage of deadly hurricanes that continue in record numbers this season are being fed by global warming of ocean waters, the growth of fascism is being fed by a key underlying reality. The Empire is coming face to face with its own limits and with the catastrophic consequences of its own self-destructive contradictions.

    The economic “race to the bottom” of corporate globalization has de-industrialized the U.S. Simultaneously it’s created a massive over-capacity of production using labor priced below the cost of human reproduction in China, south Asia, and elsewhere.

    There’s a concurrent race towards disaster between Peak Oil and Global Warming. On track one, we have the runaway train of economic and social devastation because of the soaring demand for a shrinking supply of petroleum and natural gas. On track two is the runaway destruction of the climate and the seas, through pollution by the gaseous wastes of petroleum. The only question seems to be how rapidly the tracks intersect and how total the smash-up will be.

    Meanwhile, the endless war that hid beneath the surface of the “Pax Americana” has come out into the open. Domestically we see the Empire trying to contain social upheaval by militarizing the schools, the border, the police, and disaster relief. We also see the ineffectiveness of that military approach. Internationally, the US war machine is bogged down and bloodied in two land wars in Asia, Iraq and Afghanistan, trying to figure out how to deal with its problems by expanding them regionally.

    In the face of these growing and intersecting crises in the political, economic and environmental spheres, fascism is once again rearing its ugly head. But like the crisis, fascism presents itself in a multi-faceted way. There are five main forces competing, contending and colluding in building a fascist response and “solution” to the problems of the Empire. Anti-fascist forces committed to human liberation and planetary survival must simultaneously challenge the Empire itself, develop solutions for the problems fueling the fascist response, and disrupt the fascist forces.

    To do so, we need to get a clearer picture of the fascist elements and the contradictions among them.

    Self-proclaimed Nazis, though not the largest or most serious threat, are a place to start. This is the element with the most naked racist approach, based on open white supremacy. They incorporate traditional nazi/fascist symbolism, and classic scapegoating of Jews. Particular groups within this tendency suffer setbacks, and ego drives rivalries between various “leaders.” But this faction has an opportunist tactical flexibility. It benefits from effective use of the media to magnify its forces and appeal. Nazis seize on every sign of racial friction. It appeals to younger whites with a sense of grievance about lost entitlements. They often present themselves as anti-establishment or even anti-capitalist, yet usually seek protection by the cops. They use methods of physical intimidation, as bullies do. But like all bullies, they are highly susceptible to organized physical resistance.

    Clerical fascism is a second major component, also connected to an element of traditional fascism. It is based in religious fundamentalism, and often incorporates well-established and well-funded religious organizations, whether churches or lay fraternal groups. They base their appeal on a sense of moral decay under the Empire, but they are otherwise more than happy to operate within the mainstream and existing political institutions. In the U.S., we are speaking mostly about Christian fascist groups, which focus on anti-woman and anti-gay organizing, opposing abortion and other reproductive rights, gay marriage and similar issues. But in a global context, Jewish fundamentalism linked to a more secular, but still religiously-justified, Zionism is an important element of this tendency, and in the U.S., Christian and Jewish Zionists make common cause. In the colonized and semi-colonized Muslim world, Muslim fascist fundamentalism plays a role more similar to that of western Nazism, presenting itself as the voice of grievance, with an anti-establishment, “anti-imperialist” politics.

     Anti-immigrant border vigilantes have resurrected the worst components of the old militia movement. They’re most interested not in replacing but in supplementing the power of the state. Although some elements engage in anti-corporate or anti-politician rhetoric, this faction, like the Christian fascists, are generally content to seek entry into, and work with, mainstream political power. Thus the Minutemen and such vigilante projects work with the Border Patrol, or run for elective office. They sponsor propositions targeting immigrants, particularly Mexicans, and work closely with Republican and some Democratic office-holders. While professing not to be racist, they also provide a convenient conduit and nesting place for nazi and white supremacist forces. For example demonstrators at anti-immigrant protests in Orange County, CA, showed up waving swastika and Confederate flags.

    This is a growth area for a mass base for fascist solutions. The state legitimizes the use of extra-governmental armed force in direct anti-immigrant action. Anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican hysteria, an outlet for white grievance, has enabled these groups to spread, along with Mexican and Central American migrants, into the southeast, northeast, mid-west and northwest, from the US “southwest,” occupied northern Mexico.

    An element within uniformed and clandestine military, law enforcement, and state security forces, operating independently of the official chain of command, is a fourth component of a fascist movement. This aspect has been somewhat dormant in recent years, at least in the U.S. But the increasing use of mercenaries by the Empire, as well as concerns within the ranks and the brass about the inadequacy of current domestic and international counter-insurgency efforts, is resurrecting it.

     Continuing setbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan could increase this component dramatically, with a possible appeal among demobilized and disoriented veterans unable to find a productive niche in civilian life.

    Fascist elements within the state, the governing party and the ruling economic and political elite are the fifth element, since fascism is built from above as well as below. The Bush forces have been willing to cement one-party rule through electoral fraud and coercion. They provide red meat and marching orders to the clerical and vigilante fascists, and reward or protect fascist elements within the military and law enforcement. 

                Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes of FOX News

This will grow as the disastrous consequences of Empire, and the inability of the rulers to “deliver the goods” to anybody but an increasingly narrow stratum of the wealthy, erode popular support. The Democrats offer at best token alternatives to, if not outright reinforcement of, these approaches. This shows the systemic nature of the crisis, and the limited options available to the rulers as the crises deepen.

Samuel Bush, WWI war profiteer, Prescott Bush, Hitler’s banker, 41 & 43

    The strength of fascism in the U.S. in particular can only be understood when we recognize that the US political and economic system has always contained key elements of what later came to be called fascism. White supremacy, genocide, slave labor, and independent armed action outside the “authorized” use of force by the state, have always been key aspects of the US system.

    The interpenetration of corporations and the state, and the incorporation of a mass base into repressive state organs, have always been found in the US because it is a settler colonial society. Colonized people have always existed domestically within the expanding borders of the U.S. Therefore such colonial methods of rule have always been present within the U.S.

    Moreover, fascists understand, as the “left” in the U.S. mostly doesn’t, that the Empire has always been a cross-class project. The system allows for independent armed action by other classes and class fractions that support the imperial project, rather than a monopoly on armed action by the state or bourgeoisie.

    The only effective resistance to fascism must be a thorough economic, political and social transformation. We can’t appeal to some democratic principle or institution to forestall fascism. Passing a law, winning an election, or even impeaching or removing a president won’t do it. This is a fight to the finish for human and planetary survival.

    Let’s get organized, and build the solidarity and connectivity among people to withstand a fascist onslaught and also the underlying economic system and way of life that are causing the very dislocations the fascists claim to have a solution for. Individually and collectively, we must not merely abandon but actively overthrow an Empire that is destroying the planet. We need to develop a political jiu jitsu, use the force of opponents’ offensives against them.

    We must take advantage of the elite’s growing inability to govern or rule in the old ways to begin to govern ourselves in self-determined ways, through solidarity, mutual aid and direct action.

    In each sphere of fascist activity, we need to build alliances among the potential victims as well as counter-organize among potential supporters.

    This is not about an electoral coalition based on a lowest common denominator effort to muster more votes and ‘throw the rascals out’ in favor of a new group of  rascals. It’s about uniting all the exploited, disenfranchised, and oppressed people to build a new way of life.

    The calamitous nature of the state response to Katrina on the Gulf Coast has been reinforced by their activities in the wake of Hurricane Wilma’s devastation in Florida. Extreme weather will only become more severe. Yet the ‘best’ we can expect from the state is military and police action to protect corporate property and enforce pre-existing privileges.

    So we need on-going, pro-active efforts to build new forms of community, solidarity and environmental responsibility. We must create alliances among Mexican, Haitian, Asian and Muslim immigrants who are being targeted by the state and vigilantes; the women, lesbians, gay, bi, and transgendered people targeted by the Christian right; the Black/New Afrikan, Chicano/Mexicano, and Native people targeted by the cops, courts and prisons; and working people generally. Only decolonization and self-determination provide a basis for this.

    We must create a culture of resistance uniting militant young people with older generations in alliances capable of learning from past errors in order to prevent their repetition. This will allow us to confront and topple the state and fascists.

    With Christian and other clerical fascism, we must identify the fault lines within the base of the fascists, as well as connecting with believers who share the religious faith but not the fascist vision of the right.

    Regarding open nazis, vigorous, overt opposition as well as covert intelligence gathering and network disruption must be combined with a pro-active organizing strategy for reaching disaffected young white people. In this regard, work against not only military recruitment but also the militarist and propagandistic nature of education is important. So is a defense of young people’s health, cultural expression, and rights, especially including those of young women.

    Immigrants’ rights organizing must proceed on the basis of a vigorous anti-corporate strategy for labor, and include solidarity with workers world wide and across borders.

    Our opposition to the Empire’s military aggression must reach women and men recruited as cannon fodder, because the struggle for a better world will require that they turn the guns around.

    If we don’t act to topple the Empire here at its seat, the rest of the world’s people will pay a terrible price to do it for us.

[patriotsnet]

What Do Republicans Believe About The Role Of Government

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What Do Republicans Believe About The Role Of Government

Civil Rights United States Citizens In Puerto Rico

What Do Republicans Believe?

The 2016 Republican Party Platform declares: “We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico’s future admission as the 51st state of the Union”.

America Should Deport Illegal Immigrants

Republicans believe that illegal immigrants, no matter the reason they are in this country, should be forcibly removed from the U.S. Although illegal immigrants are often motivated to come to the U.S. by companies who hire them, Republicans generally believe that the focus of the law should be on the illegal immigrants and not on the corporations that hire them.

The Party Thats Actually Best For The Economy

Many analyses look at which party is best for the economy. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Democratic presidents since World War II have performed much better than Republicans. On average, Democratic presidents grew the economy 4.4% each year versus 2.5% for Republicans.

A study by Princeton University economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson found that the economy performs better when the president is a Democrat. They report that by many measures, the performance gap is startlingly large. Between Truman and Obama, growth was 1.8% higher under Democrats than Republicans.

A Hudson Institute study found that the six years with the best growth were evenly split between Republican and Democrat presidents.

Most of these evaluations measure growth during the presidents term in office. But no president has control over the growth added during his first year. The budget for that fiscal year was already set by the previous president, so you should compare the gross domestic product at the end of the presidents last budget to the end of his predecessors last budget.

For Obama, that would be the fiscal year from October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2018. Thats FY 2010 through FY 2017. During that time, GDP increased from $15.6 trillion to $17.7 trillion, or by 14%. Thats 1.7% a year.

The chart below ranks the presidents since 1929 on the average annual increase in GDP.

President

1.4%

A president would have better growth if he had no recession.

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A Conservative Vision Of Government

Peter Wehner&Michael Gerson

Winter 2014

The past few years have put the size and role of government at center stage of our national politics. But the raging debates about how much Washington is doing and spending have involved almost exclusively yes-or-no questions about the left’s vision of government. The right has been very clear about what government should not be doing, or should be doing much less of, but it has not had nearly enough to say about just what government should;do.

It is not hard to see why. The Obama years have set a high-water mark for the size and reach of the federal government, including a post-World War II record for federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product at 25.2% . The United States has amassed more than $6 trillion in debt since January 2009. Prior to Obama, no president had submitted a budget with a trillion-dollar deficit; he has submitted four of them. And even as the administration’s projections for the coming years promise smaller deficits, they also promise a larger and more expensive government than Americans have ever seen.

Republicans have argued that unrestrained spending, and particularly unreformed entitlements, will burden the nation with unmanageable levels of debt in the coming decades and starve the budget of funds for other essential purposes. They further contend that a large, meddlesome, intrusive state not only undermines the private economy but also crowds out civil society and enervates civic character.

Regulating The Economy Democratic Style

The Democratic Party is generally considered more willing to intervene in the economy, subscribing to the belief that government power is needed to regulate businesses that ignore social interests in the pursuit of earning a return for shareholders. This intervention can come in the form of regulation or taxation to support social programs. Opponents often describe the Democratic approach to governing as “tax and spend.”

Also Check: We Are All Republicansâwe Are All Federalists

Government Should Help People

It is the role of government to help people. And it should help to solve problems. While Democrats, like Republicans, are capitalists, everyone believe in the free market. Their disagreements are over degree. How much government regulation is okay? The Left clearly believes that government should play a larger role in our lives. Among those roles are regulating business and protecting consumers. Government should also help people with poverty. Basically, the Left favors more government. The Right favors less government.

Republicanism In The Thirteen British Colonies In North America

In recent years a debate has developed over the role of republicanism in the American Revolution and in the British radicalism of the 18th century. For many decades the consensus was that liberalism, especially that of John Locke, was paramount and that republicanism had a distinctly secondary role.

The new interpretations were pioneered by J.G.A. Pocock, who argued in The Machiavellian Moment that, at least in the early 18th century, republican ideas were just as important as liberal ones. Pocock’s view is now widely accepted.Bernard Bailyn and Gordon Wood pioneered the argument that the American founding fathers were more influenced by republicanism than they were by liberalism. Cornell University professor Isaac Kramnick, on the other hand, argues that Americans have always been highly individualistic and therefore Lockean.Joyce Appleby has argued similarly for the Lockean influence on America.

In the decades before the American Revolution , the intellectual and political leaders of the colonies studied history intently, looking for models of good government. They especially followed the development of republican ideas in England. Pocock explained the intellectual sources in America:

The commitment of most Americans to these republican values made the American Revolution inevitable. Britain was increasingly seen as corrupt and hostile to republicanism, and as a threat to the established liberties the Americans enjoyed.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Voted

Republican Ideological Divides On Government Role And Performance

Among Republicans and Republican leaners, those who describe themselves as conservative are more critical of government performance than those who describe their political views as moderate or liberal.

The largest ideological gap among Republicans is over the job the government is doing strengthening the economy. Overall, 46% of moderate and liberal Republicans and Republican leaners say the government is doing a good job strengthening the economy. By contrast, conservative Republicans and leaners are 20 points less likely to hold this view .

Conservative Republicans are less likely than moderates to say the government is doing a good job on a range of other issues, including keeping the country safe from terrorism , helping people get out of poverty and managing the nations immigration system . But on poverty and immigration, fewer than half of both groups say the government is doing a good job.

There are no issues for which moderate and liberal Republicans are more critical of government performance than conservatives. However, there are several issues for which there are hardly any ideological gaps among Republicans, including protecting the environment and ensuring safe food and medicine.

Ensuring access to quality education is another area where most moderate and liberal Republicans say the government should play a major role , but no more than about half of conservatives say the same.

Senator Jim Inhofe Republican Of Oklahoma

Political Parties: Crash Course Government and Politics #40

Incoming chairman of the Senate committee on the environment and public works

Inhofe is the poster boy for Republican climate change denialism, not only for his stridency on the issue but because he is the once and future leader of the key Senate committee on environmental policy. Inhofe will be able to lead the committee for two years before running up against term limits . This time around, Inhofes committee is expected to focus on transportation and infrastructure bills.

But it seems likely that Inhofe will devote some energy to blocking the regulation of carbon emissions. We think this because on 12 November he told the Washington Post: As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to rein in and shed light on the EPAs unchecked regulations.

Inhofe has climate change the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people, has said God, not humans, controls the weather, and has denied climate change in many other ways.

Also Check: Republicans 2016

Reviewing And Using The Lesson

What is republican government?

Define “common welfare.” Give examples of how your school helps the common welfare.

Define “civic virtue.” Give examples of people with civic virtue in your school and community.

Where was civic virtue taught in early America?

Describe a situation in which your interests might conflict with the common welfare.

Explain these terms: republican government, representative, interests, common welfare, civic virtue.

ISBN 0-89818-169-0

Do The Republicans Even Believe In Democracy Anymore

They pay lip service to it, but they actively try to undermine its institutions.

By Michael Tomasky

Contributing Opinion Writer

A number of observers, myself included, have written pieces in recent years arguing that the Republican Party is no longer simply trying to compete with and defeat the Democratic Party on a level playing field. Today, rather than simply playing the game, the Republicans are simultaneously trying to rig the games rules so that they never lose.

The aggressive gerrymandering, which the Supreme Court just declared to be a matter beyond its purview; the voter suppression schemes; the dubious proposals that havent gone anywhere yet like trying to award presidential electoral votes by congressional district rather than by state, a scheme that Republicans in five states considered after the 2012 election and that is still discussed: These are not ideas aimed at invigorating democracy. They are hatched and executed for the express purpose of essentially fixing elections.

We have been brought up to believe that American political parties are the same that they are similar creatures with similar traits and similar ways of behaving. Political science spent decades teaching us this. The idea that one party has become so radically different from the other, despite mountains of evidence, is a tough sell.

Or is there?

So were not there right now. But we may well be on the way, and its abundantly clear who wants to take us there.

Don’t Miss: Democrat And Republican Switch Platforms

Figure 26 Proportion Of Each Group Who Thought That Us Businesses Should Do More About Global Warming

US businesses should do more to deal with global warming. Since 1997, majorities of Democrats and Independents have believe that US business should do more about global warming. In 2020, 92% of Democrats and 69% of Independents believe that businesses should do more. Minorities of Republicans have favored increased action from businesses, with all-time highs of 5859% in 1997 and 1998. The partisan gap is 49 percentage points in 2020.

Average people should do more to deal with global warming. Since 1997, majorities of Democrats and Independents have believed that average people should do more about global warming. In 2020, 90% of Democrats and 70% of Independents think that average people should do more. Smaller proportions of Republicans have also favored increased individual action, with all-time highs of 60% in 1997 and 1998. The partisan gap is 43 percentage points in 2020.

John Maynard Keynes Is A Good Guy

John Maynard Keynes was a 20th century economist. Most Democratic economic theory derives from his ideas. Keynes put forth the idea that supports a government role in regulating the business cycle. For instance, Keynes believed in the idea of stimulus funds as a solution for recession. Traditionally, deficits don’t bother the Left. Spending money is fine if it produces growth. Growth pays for itself. Although the Right often accuses the Left of uncontrolled spending, both sides have created much debt. They argue over the kind of debt. The Left prefers welfare debt. The Right prefers military debt. That’s one example.

Don’t Miss: Are There More Rich Republicans Or Democrats

Which Republican President Inspired The Teddy Bear

Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, inspired the teddy bear when he refused to shoot a tied-up bear on a hunting trip. The story reached toy maker Morris Michtom, who decided to make stuffed bears as a dedication to Roosevelt. The name comes from Roosevelts nickname, Teddy.

Republican Party, byname Grand Old Party , in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the Democratic Party. During the 19th century the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the countrys new territories and, ultimately, for slaverys complete abolition. During the 20th and 21st centuries the party came to be associated with laissez-fairecapitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies. The party acquired the acronym GOP, widely understood as Grand Old Party, in the 1870s. The partys official logo, the elephant, is derived from a cartoon by Thomas Nast and also dates from the 1870s.

Are Liberals To Blame For Our Crisis Of Faith In Government

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Content

Do you trust the federal government? When voters were asked that question in December, 1958, by pollsters from a center now called the American National Election Studies, at the University of Michigan, seventy-three per cent said yes, they had confidence in the government to do the right thing either almost all the time or most of the time. Six years later, they were asked basically the same question, and seventy-seven per cent said yes.

Pollsters ask the question regularly. In a Pew survey from April, 2021, only twenty-four per cent of respondents said yes. And that represented an uptick. During Obamas and Trumps Presidencies, the figure was sometimes as low as seventeen per cent. Sixty years ago, an overwhelming majority of Americans said they had faith in the government. Today, an overwhelming majority say they dont. Who is to blame?

Eight months later, Ronald Reagan, a man who opposed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and Medicare, which he called an attempt to impose socialism, and who wanted to make Social Security voluntarya man who essentially ran against the New Deal and the Great Society, a.k.a. the welfare statewas elected President. He defeated the incumbent, Jimmy Carter, by almost ten percentage points in the popular vote. In this present crisis, Reagan said in his Inaugural Address, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.

Shopping

Read Also: Trump Calling Iowans Stupid

What The World Thinks About Climate Change In 7 Charts

On April 22, leaders and representatives from more than 150 countries will gather at the United Nations to sign the global climate change agreement reached in Paris in December. Pew Research Centers spring 2015 survey found that people around the world are concerned about climate change and want their governments to take action. Here are seven key findings from the poll:

1Majorities in all 40 nations polled say climate change is a serious problem, and a global median of 54% believe it is a very serious problem. Still, the intensity of concern varies substantially across regions and nations. Latin Americans and sub-Saharan Africans are particularly worried about climate change. Americans and Chinese, whose countries have the highest overall carbon dioxide emissions, are less concerned.

2People in countries with high per-capita levels of carbon emissions are less intensely concerned about climate change. Among the nations we surveyed, the U.S. has the highest carbon emissions per capita, but it is among the least concerned about climate change and its potential impact. Others in this category are Australia, Canada and Russia. Publics in Africa, Latin America and Asia, many of which have very low emissions per capita, are frequently the most concerned about the negative effects of climate change.

Also Check: How Many Democrats And Republicans Are In The House

The Founders Studied History

Introduction: Crash Course U.S. Government and Politics

The Founders studied the history of governments. They were very interested in what they read about the government of the Roman Republic. It was located in what is now the country of Italy. The Roman Republic existed more than 2,000 years before our nation began.

The Founders liked what they read about the Roman Republic. They learned some important ideas from their study of the government of ancient Rome. They used some of these ideas when they created our government.

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Illegal Immigration Is A Bigger Problem That Deportation Doesn’t Solve

People emigrate to America for a chance at a better life. We have always been a welcoming land. Democrats believe immigrants enter America with hope. We have a responsibility to be a beacon. The Left supports ways to allow illegal immigrants to stay in this country. This is particularly important if those people are paying taxes and working jobs. Most immigrants contribute to our country. They work hard jobs. They pay taxes. Democrats support penalizing companies who hire illegal immigrants as a first step to curbing illegal immigration.

Democrats believe that most immigration issues, including illegal immigration, are human rights issues. America has an obligation to help persecuted people. When they come to America, we should welcome them, not attack them.

[orhelponefaintingrobin]

Star Trek: Discovery - Episode 4 - “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” - Review

Okay, Star Trek: Discovery time again. Spoilers.

This week’s episode, “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” was an interesting mix of old and new Star Trek.

On the one hand, Discovery continues to be a type of Star Trek we have never seen before. You do need to have watched the other episodes first, for the storyline, there is definitely a slightly darker feel to it, as there has been in previous weeks, etc. And I still don’t think that’s entirely a bad thing. Even though everyone might not like it, they are trying something do with the franchise, and I think that’s worth a lot more than making the same show from the 80s again now.

But there’s still a lot of aspects that feel like Star Trek to me. Burnham’s curiosity and desire to learn, especially when it comes to understanding the Tardigrade’s motivation, to me, is exactly what Star Trek is about. Exploration is the spirit of Star Trek, but it’s not ALL that Star Trek is. Deep Space Nine was about war and conflict, but it did it in a way that still gave it room to explore the themes that Star Trek always was supposed to. We’re essentially only two episodes into Discovery, and it’s all one story, so that is going to happen at a slower pace, but it’s getting there, and I think it’s going to carry on doing that.

The only difference here is that it’s been shown from a different angle. Because of course not everyone in Starfleet would share the same morals. They are supposed to be individuals, and sometimes individuals aren’t quite as morally-upright as they’re supposed to be. That’s why we have characters like Lorca. Yes, he isn’t quite the classic perfect Starfleet officer, but they’re clearly going somewhere with it.

I wasn’t sure how I felt the first time I watched the episode, in all honesty. But, bearing in mind I watched it about half an hour after it released onto Netflix, and I had pretty much only just woken up, I figured it would be best to watch it again. And I did. And I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around.

Part of what I’m enjoying about Discovery is that while the storyline is very much serialised, and is very much one continuous story, it hasn’t been split up arbitrarily, and it hasn’t been split up for pure shock factor. They could definitely have tweaked the pacing/episode lengths and made every episode end on some huge cliffhanger, but instead they’ve chosen to take the story an episode at a time. Although you do really need to have watched the previous episodes to understand, the episodes themselves, so far at least, have been really nicely self-contained. Like last week’s “Context is for Kings”, “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” is very much its own singular episode, with the major plot points resolved by the end, but that also contributes to the larger storyline and brings up questions just as soon as questions are answered. It’s a nice balance that I’m definitely enjoying.

Character-wise, this episode definitely gave us some more insight into a couple of characters. What I especially liked, as I’ve already mentioned, is how the episode pushes Michael’s curiosity. I loved the fact that she was constantly prioritising understanding the Tardigrade, something which in the end saved far more lives than using it as a weapon would have. But, at the same time, it had its own set of consequences, especially for the creature itself. There seems to be a theme through this show about consequences, and how even doing the right thing doesn’t always turn out perfect, and I’m interested to see where they’re going with it. I’m not sure where that is yet, but I think it’s going to be good when it gets there.

Lorca didn’t get too much development here, other than reinforcing his ‘by any means necessary’ ideology that is never going to turn out well for him. Saru hasn’t got too much focus yet anyway, but I do like their angle for his character. I do think that his remark last week about protecting his captain was overly harsh, but as for the rest of his behaviour towards Michael, I don’t think it’s unjustified, especially for a character as afraid of everything as the Kelpian is, and I do like the dynamic it’s creating. Obviously that’s going to evolve as the series goes on, but it’s a solid foundation for some interesting character development on both parts. Stamets got a little development here too, sort of subtly. His reaction to Lorca playing the sound from the colony was actually really intense, and it really shows that, despite the way he acts towards his crewmates (and Captain), he clearly has a sense of humanity about him. Hell, half of the reason that he’s so harsh towards Lorca is because he’s using his work for war, not for what he created it for.

All around, I do really like the characters in Discovery. Again, they feel different to the shows we’ve seen before, and I think that’s a really good thing.

So, yeah, all around, a really good episode. On balance, I think I enjoyed last week’s more, but it’s still building on the solid foundation that the show has proven to have so far. I guess we’ll see what happens next week.

Spoiler comments under the cut.

Okay, Landry. Now, I’m not going to pretend that I really care about her death from a character point of view. Her role was basically just ‘slightly mean security officer’, and although they could have pushed some development through that, it wasn’t like they’d started in the first place. Maybe they could have explored her history with Lorca, but I don’t think it was a huge loss as a character. That said, we’re back to the same issue that Georgiou’s death has, re: race. It’s not a debate I’m qualified to get into, but, while I think it’s a little over the top to go in for the ‘producers are racist’ argument, it really wasn’t the smartest choice they could have made.

Although, halfway through writing this, Anthony Rapp explained that the character was originally written as male, and was always going to get killed, before they cast Rekha Sharma. Honestly, I’m not going to pretend that it wasn’t a slightly thoughtless oversight, but I don’t think it’s anything more than that. Still shouldn’t have killed Georgiou though. Just wasn’t necessary.

We met Dr Culber, sort of. Honestly, I don’t think we can say too much about his character yet, but he seems likeable enough, and should be a decent foil for Stamets’ gruffness.

Spinning saucer! I never really thought the cut-outs in the saucer were a big deal anyway, but it’s nice that it was a thing for a reason, and the effect they used for the Spore Drive jump was awesome.

New favourite line: “That hardly seems fair. I always wanted to converse with my mushrooms” You see, he isn’t just grumpy and mean. He’s just an awkward scientist that just loves his mushrooms. And probably my favourite character in the show.

[gabbysurpblog]

i’VE HIT A WALL

Sorry for the caps, but that’s where my research has taken me to at this moment. Albeit I have not physically run into a wall (yet), after a rather pleasant day spent sightseeing and conversing with my close friend Hope and her boyfriend Ryse, I came to a rather scary realization. What if I am doing my research completely wrong? This is a fear many a student researcher may have at the beginning, in the middle, or even towards the end of endeavors made “in the field” so to say (we wouldn’t be students, or frankly human beings, if not). That being said, I have not Web-mb’ed my symptoms to assess the accuracy of this feeling or the likelihood that many student researchers go through this... But what I will say is that it came as a surprise. 

Coming to O’ahu, I had no idea what I was in for. The trouble with research, especially when you’re a history major who loves to read and could be surrounded by dusty old books, artifacts, newspapers, whatever old and decrepit article of reading one may desire, is the promise, no the absolute certainty, of having just too much material and information to read on and write about. I alone cannot synthesize the entire historiography of the Pacific, even narrowing down further to O’ahu and Guam, into a neat little package based on two broader terms my project was formerly known as: “Environmental History & Ethnography.” First of all, what does that even mean? These two terms are too generic in form, admittedly lacking any indication whatsoever as to what type of ethnography will be conducted or which aspect of the environment and its subsequent history I would focus on. So then I narrowed it down; my first week, people would ask 1) what are you here for/why are you here? and 2) oh, what kind of research? In all honesty, I had no idea. Although supported remotely by my overseeing professor, I was practically alone. In a foreign locale, on an island paradise I was primed and prepped to respect but ultimately to critique as a settler-colonial project at play, to appreciate and be receptive to my hosts and what they desired to show me and share with me whilst here, and to try and figure out what the heck I’m doing all the way out in the Pacific instead of going back home and just spending another summer back home. There were, and still are, a multitude of factors that led me here and continue to inspire my journey. 

As to why I’m here, I was granted a paid research assistant job by Pomona College’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), which allowed me to spend 10 weeks conducting research under Gender and Women’s Studies Professor Aimee Bahng, as we articulated what kind of research I would conduct on behalf of her and myself as well, deciding I would spend the month of June on Oahu, HI and the month of July on Guam. As for what kind of research and how it will be conducted, this has taken many forms, directions, and different ways of articulation. The generic description would be “I’m here to explore and understand how Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) on Oahu and Chamorros (those native to Guam) on Guahan/Guam relate to their islands as indigenous peoples, how they take care of and connect to their specific environment despite the presence and encroachment of settler colonialism and their current imperial occupiers (America).” This is a lot. I would continue, “I will be doing so by conducting archival research and oral interviews.” 

So far, I have spent many hours in the archive, the 5th floor of UH Manoa’s Hamilton Library, to be exact. My time slot is usually 9:00 am-5:00 pm, sometimes earlier like one day I left at 3:00 pm. I try to spend majority of the week, about 3 weekdays, at the archive and then accompany whoever or meet up with whoever is hosting me or on island on other days. I haven’t burnt out yet, but I realize how fast time flies when I am doing something that piques my interest and without time constraints or class/assignments in the way to focus on. That’s why I think I might become a librarian after chatting with UH’s Pacific Collection archivist Stu Dawrs (thanks Stu, you rock!), I’ve photocopied (for free I might add), PLENTY of material. Too much maybe, very diverse in content early on, but I think I’ve narrowed my scope mostly in terms of my original intent (how native Pacific Islanders relate to the environment/the impact settler colonialism and its other arms of control impact island environments).

However, here’s the issue. My identity as a Chamorro woman is something I pride myself on and something I can never just leave at the door. On Hawai’i, everyone has the potential to become a “local” but the social mobility/racial capital ladder is quite apparent; it’s something I find both fascinating and confusing, but what I determined early on is that it is not my place to speak on behalf or for the Native Hawaiian people, because that is not my identity. It’s uncomfortable to acknowledge but necessary to make personal progress: I am a settler, I am a tourist, I am a visitor, I am hosted, but I am not native to here and I did not grow up on island either. There are things I will never fully conceive of, but I take that in stride and aim to try and understand; I have asked more questions here than I’ve probably asked in any and all classrooms I’ve ever been in combined (mostly because I pride myself on being able to figure things out alone in an academic setting and asking questions in class is something no one ever truly feels comfortable with). This is partly due to curiosity, but mostly because I am being surrounded by my Native Hawaiian friends who allow me to feel comfortable asking about anything and everything, including the difficult conversations that may not be desired but humor me as their guest (mahalo Kawai and Hope, you and your families gave me so much comfort and support when I needed it the most). So, with all this contained yet tangential rambling in mind, I decided within the first week that I would solely focus my efforts and attention on Guam in terms of archival research. UH is a great resource for Hawaiian Studies (obviously Gabby), but also in terms of Pacific/Greater Pacific Islander Studies. In doing so, I found so many great sources and ideas. But I am left with this residual feeling, halfway through my third week on O’ahu, that I should have devoted my time to Hawaii and its people as they relate to the environment. Even the people I have connected with and whom I intend to interview next week (extremely grateful for as well), are both Chamorro male professors at UH, neither of which are Native Hawaiians. So I have to wonder, is my role and place here, the way I’ve worked to frame my research and ultimate thesis, harmful or beneficial? Beneficial as in Native Hawaiian stories are not being told by another outsider coming in, someone who is also Pacific Islander but understands the struggle for representation by another Hawaiian person... And yet, it feels like a punch in the gut, a slap in the face to not even contribute or highlight the cultural resilience and revitalization made by the people of the land I have been and continue to be hosted on. 

All of this sounds very theoretical but tangible in my head... I want it to make sense, I want to comfort myself by acknowledging my intentions were good but one cannot accomplish everything they set out to... But that’s not enough for me; hopefully I will be having at least a phone conversation and potential face to face meet-up with a Hawaiian lady my dad hooked me up with randomly (outrigger paddling my friends), potentially my friends and their family? I just didn’t think of all this until now, hence the brick wall. I already have concepts and frameworks from the teachings of my dear Kumu Dr. Kehaulani Vaughn and my other valued mentor Professor Alfred Flores in terms of Hawaiian beliefs and strategies of survivance (survival via resistance) in their separate classes (Community Health and Race & U.S. Empire in the Pacific Islands), so I don’t worry about that... If anyone actually read this entire thing, comment or personally message me your thoughts. Would love to hear ideas, thank youuu.

[hashtagfarrakhan]

Day 10: FBI’s Involvement

  It’s not a secret that the U.S. government were heavily involved in trying to dismantle Civil Rights and Black Empowerment Movements. In 1956, the FBI began the COINTELPRO, short for Counterintelligence Program, to disrupt domestic political organizations. FBI director, J. Edgar hoover became increasingly frustrated by U.S. Supreme Court decisions that limited the Justice Department's ability to prosecute people for their political opinions, thus formalizing a covert or “dirty tricks” program. The COINTELPRO was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects aimed at spying on, infiltrating, and destroying domestic organizations considered “subversive”. Some of the groups and individuals that they saw as a threat and were targeted were anti-Vietnam War organizers, activist of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., The Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton, Fred Hampton, The Nation Of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture), some feminist organizations, anti-colonial movements such as the Puerto Rican Independence movement and the Young Lords among others.

  J. Edgar Hoover issued directives governing COINTELPRO, ordering FBI agents to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, neutralize or otherwise eliminate" the activities of these movements and especially their leaders. COINTELPRO tactics included discrediting targets through psychological warfare, planting false reports in the media, smearing through forged letters, harassment, wrongful imprisonment, extralegal violence and assassination. Covert operations under COINTELPRO took place between 1956 and 1971, however the FBI has used covert operations against domestic political groups since its inception.

(As stated in the photos above) Some of the long-range goals of the COINTELPRO were to:

“Prevent the coalition of Black nationalist groups. In unity there is strength; a truism that is no less valid for all its triteness. An effective coalition of Black nationalist groups might be the first step toward a real “Mau Mau” (uprising) in America, the beginning of a true Black revolution.

Prevent the rise of a “Messiah” who could unify, and electrify the militant Black nationalist movement. Malcolm X might have been such a “messiah”; he is the martyr of the movement today. Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and Elijah Muhammad all aspire to this position. Elijah Muhammad is less of a threat because of his age. King could be a very real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed “obedience” to “ white, liberal doctrines” (nonviolence) and embrace Black nationalism. Carmichael has the necessary charisma to be a real threat in this way.

Prevent violence on the part of Black nationalist groups. This is of primary importance, and is, of course, a goal of our investigative activity; it should also be a goal of the Counterintelligence Program. Through counterintelligence  it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they exercise their potential violence.

Prevent militant Black nationalist groups and leaders from gaining respectability, by discrediting them to three separate segments of the community. The goal of discrediting Black nationalist must be handled tactically in three ways. You must discredit these groups and individuals to, first, the responsible Negro community. Second, they must be discredited to the white community,both the responsible community and to the “liberals” who have vestiges of sympathy for the militant Black nationalist simple because they are Negroes. Third, these groups must be discredited in the eyes of Negro radicals, the followers of the movement. This last area requires entirely different tactics from the first two. Publicity about violent tendencies and radical statements merely enhances Black nationalists to the last group; it adds “respectability” in a different way.

 A final goal should be to prevent the long-range growth of militant Black nationalist organizations, especially among youth. Specific tactics to prevent these groups from converting young people must be developed. Besides these five goals counterintelligence is a valuable part of our regular investigative program as it often produces positive information. 

Targets

          Primary targets of the Counterintelligence Program, Black Nationalist- Hate groups, should be the most violent and radical groups and their leaders. We should emphasize those leaders and organizations that are nationwide in scope and are most capable of disrupting this country. These targets should include the radical and violence-prone leaders, members, and followers of the :

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM)

Nation Of Islam (NOI)

Offices handling these cases and those of Stokely Carmichael of SNCC, H. Rap brown of SNCC, Martin Luther King of SCLC, Maxwell Stanford of RAM, and Elijah Muhammad Of NOI, should be alert for counterintelligence suggestions.”

   J. Edgar Hoover, made no secret of his desire to see Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discredited. King received a letter from the COINTELPRO calling for him to kill himself. The F.B.I.'s entanglement with King began not as an inquiry into his sex life but as a “national security” matter. They planted wiretaps in his home and offices and bugs in his hotel room because they were searching for a “Black nationalist Messiah.” The FBI and Memphis police eventually admitted their role in the assassination of Dr. King. Since revealing its illegal COINTELPRO harassment of Dr. King and the existence of at least 5 paid informants, the FBI also Disclosed that Dr. Kings trusted friend and renowned photographer, Ernest Withers, had been secretly working as an FBI informant.

  Another major threat in the eyes of the FBI’s COINTELPRO was Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party. Fred Hampton was the deputy chairman and the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. Because of his connections, Hampton was building a broad-based coalition in Chicago and that was what they saw as the threat. J. Edgar Hoover feared young whites uniting with the Black struggle, so he had the COINTELPRO plant informants as his personal bodyguards.  The informants name was William O’Neal. Akua Njeri, then known as Deborah Johnson, was 8 and a half months pregnant sleeping next to Fred Hampton during the police raided their apartment. During the raid Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were assassinated while Akua Njeri was roughed up by the police. The apartment was described as a slaughterhouse. The Black Panther Party knew it was a political assassination but of course the FBI denied it, told their made up story to the media, and produced propaganda against the Black Panther Party.

  In their reports the COINTELPRO they sent in informants to gather whatever information they could of the Nation of Islam. The COINTELRPO were afraid of a “Black Messiah” in the ranks of the NOI. The FBI monitored Muhammad Ali and his membership in the Nation of Islam. The F.B.I. said in the 142 pages of documents that it had informants close to the Nation of Islam who let them know the details of Ali’s involvement in the Nation. The FBI’s focus was on the Nation of Islam, which a hodgepodge of agency documents refer to as an “all-Negro, semi-religious, anti-white” organization. The records, which refer to Ali as Clay, show that the bureau was paying particularly close attention to the group’s leader, Elijah Muhammad. Any sign that Ali was growing closer to the group received scrutiny. His ordering and wearing of a captain’s uniform from the Fruit of Islam, the group’s paramilitary wing, was worth an entire memo. The FBI Vault also has many pages of reports on Malcolm X, alot of which are blurred out. They tried to openly approach Malcolm X, after he announced he left the NOI, in hopes that he would turn on his former allies in the Nation.

[Note: In this January 22, 1969 previously classified memo, the FBI takes credit for counter intelligence efforts leading to the murder of Malcolm X. The following is a text reproduction of original FBI Document.]

[Click Here To Download Original Document – PDF]

DATE: 01/22/1969

TO: DIRECTOR, FBI (100-448006)

FROM: SAC, Chicago (157-2209) (P)

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM

BLACK NATIONALIST – HATE GROUPS RACIAL INTELLIGENCE (NATION OF ISLAM)

ReBulet has been thoroughly studied and discussed by the SAC, the Supervisor, and Agents familiar with facets of the NOI which might indicate trends and possible future direction of the organization. The Bureau’s concern is most understandable and suggestions appreciated.

Over the years considerable thought has been given, and action taken with Bureau approval, relating to methods through which the NOI could be discredited in the eyes of the general black populace or through which factionalism among the leadership could be created. Serious consideration has also been given towards developing ways and means of changing NOI philosophy to one whereby the members could be developed into useful citizens and the organization developed into one emphasizing religion – the brotherhood of mankind – and self improvement. Factional disputes have been developed – the most notable being MALCOLM X LITTLE.  

Prominent black personages have publicly and nationally spoken out against the group – U.S. District Court Judge JAMES BENTON PARSONS being one example. The media of the press has played down the NOI. This appears to be a most effective tool as individuals such as MUHAMMAD assuredly seek any and all publicity be it good or bad; however, if the press is utilized it would appear it should not concentrate on such aspects as the alleged strength of the NOI, immoral activities of the leadership, misuse of funders by these officials, etc. It is the opinion of this office that such exposure is ineffective, possibly creates interest and maybe envy among the lesser educated black man causing them out of curiosity to attend meetings and maybe join, and encourage the opportunist to seek personal gain – physical or monetary – through alignment with the group. At any rate it is felt such publicity in the case of the NOI is not overly effective.

[Note: The following is a text reproduction of original FBI Document.]

SAC, Chicago (157-2209) January 7, 1969

Director, FBI (100-448006)

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM BLACK NATIONALIST – HATE GROUPS RACIAL INTELLIGENCE (NATION OF ISLAM)

Although the Nation of Islam (NOI) does not presently advocate violence by its members, the group does preach hatred of the white race and racial separatism. The membership of the NOI is organized and poses a real racial threat. The NOI is responsible for the largest black nationalist newspaper, which has been used by other black extremists.

The NOI appears to be the personal fiefdom of Elijah Muhammad. When he dies a power struggle can be expected and the NOI could change direction. We should be prepared for this eventuality. We should plan how to change the philosophy of the NOI to one of the strictly religious and self-improvement orientation, deleting the race hatred and separate nationhood aspects.

In this connection Chicago should consider what counterintelligence action might be needed now or at the time of Elijah Muhammad’s death to bring about such a change in NOI philosophy. Important considerations should include the identity, strengths, and weaknesses, of any contenders for NOI leadership. What are the positions of our [BUREAU DELETION] informants in regard to leadership? How could potential leaders be turned or neutralized?

The alternative to changing the philosophy of the NOI is the destruction of the organization. This might be accomplished through generating factionalism among the contenders for Elijah Muhammad’s leadership or through legal action in probate court on his death. Chicago should consider the question of how to generate the factionalism necessary to destroy the NOI by splitting into several groups. [BUREAU DELETION]

IJD: ekw

– END PAGE 1 of 2 –

Letter to SAC, Chicago RE: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM; (NATION OF ISLAM) 100-448006

Legal action against the NOI on the death of its leader depends on the answers to several questions:

1. Does Elijah Muhammad have a will?

2. Is the NOI incorporated?

3. In whose name and where are NOI bank accounts?

4. In whose name are other NOI assets, such as mosque buildings, school buildings, the newspaper, Elijah Muhammad’s homes, and NOI businesses?

Depending on the answers to these questions, probate law in Illinois, and whether Chicago might have a confidential source in probate administration, tying up the NOI in probate administration might be possible.

Chicago should examine the NOI from the above counterintelligence angle and advise the Bureau. Consider the possibility of drawing up specific counterintelligence recommendations, to be acted upon when necessary, with various contingencies covered.

– END PAGE 2 of 2 –

  In 2009 the Nation of Islam was targeted by Homeland Security. They improperly gathered information in 2007, as part of its speculation about who might succeed the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as the Leader of the Nation of Islam. The agency admitted that on October 12, 2007, the Department of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) released a document titled Nation of Islam: Uncertain Leadership Succession Poses Risk. The fear of Black people rising and preventing us from true Justice, is seen throughout the U.S. government’s history. They go to extreme lengths to try to keep us as a docile people.