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dana-chan-the-control-brain · 4 years ago

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Hey, did you saw the film theory on Invader Zim on Membrane that Low-key makes sense

NO. IT. DOESN’T!

Okay, maybe this is my personal bias shining through, because I really don’t like Mattpatt sometimes... No. Okay, I have nothing against the guy personally. More frankly, I don’t like his fanbase or the way he structures his videos.

The way Mattpatt words and structures his videos acts like he’s the first person who thought of this idea, it’s the main contributor to why I stopped watching his videos a long time ago.

He speaks in a lot of rhetorics and strawman arguments rather than just saying what he wants to say. Like “If you don’t believe me... look no further then...” and that’s the one thing I ABSOLUTELY HATE on theory videos.

And some of Mattpatts own theories he doesn’t take seriously, but this is what you get when you base your INCOME off of youtube ad revenue and browse the reddit forums for new ideas. A completely monopolized way of theorizing. (and this is why there are several paragraphs in my current chapter of Tech Support of Zim’s Computer complaining about the concept of youtube entertainment in general.)

Sure, I don’t think Mattpatt will run out of theories... but I really hate the structure of his videos follows along strawman arguments, acting like he’s always arguing with an imaginary audience for entertainment value rather than just say what he wants to say.

That, and people will often cling to theories of someone with good editing software and a youtube channel then Their own opinions.

Something that I learned was incredibly dangerous to do. I learned my lesson with “That Guy with the Glasses dot com” and I don’t plan to act like I know something or am better than someone else cause I agree with someone who said something on youtube once.

I do watch Internet reviews and theory videos for entertainment, but that’s all they are to me. I don’t like to watch youtube videos to give me opinions on how I feel about things. And I seriously think a wide margin of his subscribers lack critical thinking skills at times, as well as a majority of the youtube audience, or from what I’ve seen in the comment section.

However, remember... These are just my thoughts on the matter... My thoughts are not law and I never claim them to be.

Like when I first joined the fandom and posed my GIR analysis questions... I even said:

“I don’t know if the fandom has talked about this in depth or not... I just got here... or if someone put it into this many words before but...”

Also... the thing that bothers me about his Invader Zim theory...

A lot of Mattpatt’s sources are just..... Wrong...

(for the next few minutes I will be talking about this video, feel free to watch or don’t)

Okay.. “Membrane is an Irken” this has been a popular fan theory since before I even entered the fandom and there are old fics about this. I have read Irken Membrane stories before.

It’s not personally my cup of tea, but it’s fun to think about.

But the straws Mattpatt grasps in his video.... Really upset me because there is some thought to the theory back in the day.. ... Like back in 2002??? but like.... NOW?!

Okay, I’ll pick apart this a little... bit by bit...

He says that Membrane takes a hard stance against anything paranormal.

Kinda... but no.. Membrane never outright denies the existence of aliens. (except in ETF... which he mainly says out of frustration...) This is what Membrane says about “there are no aliens” in the show:

Membrane just says that there are no “intelligent” aliens...None that are able to travel the massive distance to Earth, anyways... If aliens existed at all, (like the cryptoids Dib talks of) they would have traveled the distance to the planet and communicated with them by now.

However, this is a nitpick of a minor issue. One that a majority of the fandom tends to overlook when viewing Professor Membrane and Dib’s relationship in general.

And I do find it weird that he used this for evidence when he cut out the most important snippet from the full lecture he gives Dib here.... JUST to support his claim... as if he’s intentionally leaving that part out.... hmmmm

However, I can let this slide, because it’s a nitpick and really doesn’t change anything that Membrane is very dissuasive of Dib’s alien-hunting hobbies. (I have a theory as to why and I explain it here in my own way)

The point is, Membrane is dismissive of anything alien... maybe because he’s an Irken...okay, good, yes. fair.

A lot of Mattpatts claims from then on are pretty solid, and I won’t bunk them with “But in my headcanon/Fanfic verse...” Because what he is saying is all true.

Membrane denying the existence of aliens even after being taken to space jail doesn’t have much of an explanation and is played for comedy and there are many ways you can go with this, and I am not going to bring up my fanfics or my own headcanons to argue with him here.

Because there is no explanation, and he is going with the “Membrane is Irken” theory... So that’s very solid when he’s talking about Membrane denying the Hallucinations.

Mattpatt claimed that Membrane wore his face covering at all times and had been dressed this way since he was a child.

I will not deny this. This is true.

However, isn’t bringing up Membrane’s childhood kinda put a hole in your own argument?

MEMBRANE WAS A CHILD.

He had been shown to have childhood memories in the comics and the show.

Irkens don’t really have a “Childhood” per say, at least not in the way that humans do. They are a smeet, then elite, then Invader..

If he’s claiming that Membrane came to earth as an Irken SMEET....How, why, and when?

That kinda raises more questions than it answers.... What are you proving by bringing up Membrane’s baby pictures on Earth exactly? It kind of works against your own argument?

Saying that they’re Irken because they all have the same hair.... that’s just stupid... and he’s citing the Invader Zim wiki on this .... oh boy.

Yeah, Like before I watched the show I thought Dib and Disguised Zim were the same character or brothers...

But I don’t think character design here is a solid enough reason in this case... At least not when it comes to the hairstyles... That’s a stretch.

“Hmmm Membrane’s hair forms an M shape... What could the M stand for? Mirken?! SUSPICIOUS!” (this is just a joke)

Also... the lack of ears thing... He did say it would be hard for Membrane to hear if his headpiece was covering his ears, but not necessarily... The entire thing is a headset and he is the man of science, he can really do whatever the fuck he wants cause Science is like magic in a show like this. So if Membrane wears a headset that doesn’t obstruct his hearing at all, I can buy it... Also.. it’s equally possible his ears got blown off in a chem lab accident or he’s legally deaf and that headset acts as a hearing aide and HELPS him hear...

Actually, I always noticed how in Membrane’s original design from the show, the headset looked a lot like a hearing aid. Specifically one with a head clip, It’s one of the things I first noticed about his design in the show.

And it’s just something I always assumed because he’s a scientist who deals with explosions in his face on a daily basis... (in fact he experiences one in episode 2B) So on first viewing, I thought that his headset served as a hearing aid as well as prescription glasses and a communication device.

I’m just throwing out possibilities because the “lack of ears” is also kinda a stretch.

Mattpatt complaining about “lack of nose” however... Okay, yeah I’ll give him that one. It’s a character design choice that is a little odd for Professor Membrane, but it does fit with the Irken theory, since a majority of human characters, in fact, all have noses. So, Yes the “lack of nose” does fit more into the Irken theory.

However.... Florpus anime Membrane DOES have a nose...

Meant to be drawn in a more semi-realistic artsyle, you can clearly see the bridge of his nose here.

And he looks very similar to anime Dib... Sooooo... Shrug-city...

It’s likely that Membrane not having a nose in the show is simply a stylistic choice than anything else. Basically, the bridge of the nose is there... we just don’t see it.

Especially since Nightmare Membrane has a nose as well..

Membrane is like Home Improvement’s Wilson. We will never see his face, and that’s part of the gag. The man probably sleeps in his labcoat honestly...

I also find the voice pattern thing a bit of a stretch. Membrane and Zim are just eccentric characters who yell to emote or emphasize a point or emote stronger. And Membrane’s inflections are never the same as Zim’s.

Remember, no other Irken TALKS like Zim. Professor Membrane doesn’t really go around screaming: “I AM PROFESSOR MEMBRANE” either.....

If anything... it just kinda proves both characters have auditory processing issues or hearing problems more then anything.

And there is a lot of screaming on this show.... Screaming from Dib, screaming from Membrane, Screaming from GIR, screaming from Zim... Screaming is funny... and characters scream so much that the characters with their mouths wide open is somewhat a staple of the show.

This is more because of Johnen Vasquez’s voice direction...

Especially since no other Irken really talks like Zim..

Zim’s manor of Speach is strictly a Zim thing and not an Irken thing.

Professor Membrane’s manner of speech is simply a Membrane thing and not a human thing.

I will give Mattpatt that. That a lot of tech in the show looks similar to Membrane’s. I feel this is mostly a stylistic choice, but it really does fit in with the Irken theory.

Like that Zim just so happens to use the same operating system as Dib is played off as a joke. But it does add some small credence to the theory here... I need to point out when he does get it right... some pats on the back.

These are very good points and does follow through with what he’s trying to prove by the end of the day.

(even if Membrane was lying about the destruction of all mankind with the beans thing, but that’s a minor nitpick here)

But his entire paragraph comparing Membrane’s tech to Irken tech is a really good one. Props there.

This whole paragraph about there being only Tall or short irkens cause their society is height based and there are no “medium-sized” irkens....cause they were “dealt with”

Okay.

....

Sure Mattpatt. Let’s just entirely ignore the existence of the Frylord and this entire character even though you mentioned it in the synopsis at the start of your video... Showing that Taller irkens are in positions of power against the shorter, also... Zim is a tiny irken... there are many Irkens that stand taller then Zim.

Being tall in Irken society is a rarity, and Almighty Tallest Purple said that he and Red “became” the Tallest. How? We don’t know, but we do know at one point the current Tallest looked like this:

How do Irkens get that Tall? Body modifications? Maybe... it’s never explained, but considering the Frylord is super big and probably eats a lot of snacks might have something to do with it. We don’t know.

It’s safe to say that being Tall in their society is a rarity and Tallests are either born or made special from the cloning chamber from the get go.

Not to mention, Membrane is Taller than the current Tallest are already...

and you said earlier in the video that Membrane would have gone to Earth as a child...

When he was no taller than a wrapped Christmas box of socks...

So why would Membrane take refuge on Earth at this point? Mattpatt says that Membrane was sent on a mission to Earth because the Tallest felt threatened by his rule...

BY MEMBRANE’S RULE?!?

HE’S THE SIZE OF A CHRISTMAS BOX OF SOCKS!

What do they have to be threatened by?

Because... Mattpatt DID bring up Membrane as a child earlier in the video... meaning Membrane came to earth when he was about the same size as Zim.

SO THEY HAD NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT AND HAD NO EVIDENCE TO BELIEVE MEMBRANE WOULD GROW TO BE TALL ORE EVEN VIEW HIM AS A THREAT

You bunked your own argument. Congradulations.

Membrane conquered the world through his inventions. In a way, sure. Membrane Labs does own a lot of stuff. But he doesn’t own everything. A majority of the Corporations that keep the population stupid usually don’t have anything to do with Membrane Labs and aren’t affiliated at all.

But this does fit into the “Membrane is an Irken” theory so I will give him that one.

However, Membrane being an evil corporate dictator is a hot take I never really appreciate at all and I can never get behind it.

It hits too close to home in the real world, and I always like to view Membrane as a self-made man and a World loving hippie at his core who just wants to make the world a better place, much like his son, but he actively does something about it. (which can also be why he encourages Dib with real science so much cause he knows Dib wants to save the Earth as much as he does)

Just calling Membrane a capitalist billionaire that doesn’t care about the little guy kinda seems disingenuous towards his character for me.

Especially when Membrane in “Ten Minutes to Doom” created a machine (foodio) that completely end world hunger... which was in BETA in the unreleased episode...

but by the time the movie rolls around... Foodio exists... past his BETA, meaning that he’s probably no expensive than a common household microwave and can materialize food from nothing:

Yeah. Membrane completely ended world hunger off-screen. thanks. (something no capitalist would ever do...)

Membrane also does appearances for charity (in the comics), and often takes funding for sponsorships when he is low on funds and he had to find a cure for pig mouth.

Sure “Membrane conquered the world” fits the Irken theory...

But I never appreciate that take on his character and that is admittedly, very personal bais.

I just wanted to say my peace a little bit here about how I 100% don’t vibe with the “Membrane capitalist/billionaire scum” especially since he ended world hunger...and invented a cure for the un-common cold.

Works for the theory, so good on Mattpatt for that one, but I personally don’t vibe with it.

Mattpatt compared Zim and Dib’s head shape as something to argue... Like because Dib has a similar head shape to Zim... that Dib has to be an alien... Okay... But If you look at the Invader Zim artbook (which I own)

The show has a very distinct look on how they draw characters’ heads. It’s a very distinct stylistic choice and there are pages upon pages in the artbook describing the style and how it looks in motion, and many revision notes to the Korean animators.

There are lots of pages on the artbook describing in detail the differences between the main characters’ heads, what to do, and what not to do.

It’s a difficult style to replicate, and Dib having a big head was mostly a joke from the showrunners to the showrunners, cause they kept drawing Dib’s head slightly bigger to make him look more appealing.

A majority of the audience doesn’t really notice because all the children in the show have big heads. All the kids are like 3-4 feet tall and have huge heads.

Also... Dib’s head is far more rounder then Zim’s in the comics and the Movie... comparing their head shape as an arguing point, when Dib’s head shape changed midway season 1 when the designs got slightly more streamlined is just... bad form..

Dib and Zim’s heads never really look the same from the early episodes as they do later on.

Comparing this character design similarity just because of the artstyle is really stupid.

This is the most infuriating thing about the video... because Mattpatt disproves his own argument with his own footage not a few seconds earlier.

He claims that Gaz sarcastically mentioning she has a squeedly spooch is a canon fact...... but ... hmm.. Mattpatt... can I rewind the footage of your video, please?

Where’s her squeedly spooch?

IS IT BEHIND HER CLEARLY HUMAN ORGANS?! I DON’T SEE IT?

And this isn’t just a stylistic choice... here’s a picture of another human’s organs for comparison.

Mattpatt literally disproved his own argument and ignored the fact that we saw an X-ray of Gaz’s organs in the very same episode...

Gaz doesn’t have a squeedly spooch and she literally was being sarcastic.

and the whole thing is disproved very easily.

Everything Mattpatt says in between those two points, about Dib being taken aboard an alien ship as a baby, and that there is no mother, and the Clone theory... That is all good stuff and this is what the theory video should have speculated and focused on, because there is some digging to be had here... I feel he focused a lot on the wrong points in his video...

And this is the most outrageous point he makes in his video. It’s the thing that pissed me off the most... and lead me to write this essay in the first place.

He claimed Eric Trueheart himself confirmed the clone theory and had story plans where Dib would discover his clone origins.

HE DID NOT!

IN FACT, Eric Trueheart himself published Volume One of the Invader Zim script book AND THIS IS WHAT HE SAID:

Eric neither confirmed nor denied the rumor.

But for Mattpatt to blatantly say that Eric said that Clone Dib was a planned thing by the screenwriters?!

He is BLATANTLY putting words into a Screenwriter’s mouth! Something that you should NEVER do.

Because it is 100% a lie.

He had no source for this claim. He probably just read the same rumor on the wiki and has no source.

This is the reason why I don’t trust videos like Mattpatt. The truth is often stretched for entertainment value, or information is just made up to prove “they were right” about whatever the topic of the day was. He doesn’t even bother to cite the source he got “Eric Trueheart’s word of mouth” from... because it was wrong.

Sorry if this whole thing is more hostile than it intended to be... But Mattpatt was looking at the ENTIRELY wrong evidence for this show....

Irken Membrane is a fun theory... but Mattpatt picked the entirely wrong topics and points of discussion, even to the point of hiding the truth and straight-up lying to his audience about his sources.

It’s kinda like saying “Birds eat ghost peppers because they’re part dragon and dragons can handle spicy food”

While, yeah, Birds are descended from dinos, it’s kinda missing the full story there and it’s not the reason why birds can eat spicy food.

Irken Membrane is a fun fan theory... do what you want with it. I am not here to dissuade Irken Membrane headcanons...

I’m just here to encourage critical thinking, and perhaps NOT put words into content creators' mouths when there is no credible source for it just because it benefits your argument.

#Invader Zim #Film Theory #Mattpatt #danachan's rants #lol sorry i went off but he really needed to cite his sources more on this one

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kingk8art · 4 years ago

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hetalia rant

pls ignore how I won't use any proper punctuation or capitalization because my arms and fingers all hurt from volleyball :( Edit: My arm’s are better now so I’m actually using proper capitalization and punctuation (special thanks to my friends for proofreading and also Google autocorrect.) Special thanks to my friend for helping me out with writing this.

so i'm one of those people who joined the hetalia fandom like REALLY late, having first watched the anime in like 2017 or 18. Nevertheless, when I heard about how the anime was coming back in 2021 I was really excited!! I’ve been reading world stars lately but there’s just something in the hetalia anime that made me love it so much. the voice acting and how it’s animated and everything, it really brings the characters to life! out of curiosity I searched up hetalia on twitter. keep in mind that i’m pretty new to the fandom so i never really got to see the shipping wars, or really any toxic part of the fandom, since i wasn’t there when hetalia was at its peak.

What i saw was really different from what i expected to see. I kinda expected twitter threads hyping up the new season, or things like that but most of ones I found in the top section were hate comments about hetalia, and things about why it shouldn’t come back. I was reading these and I was like, wait why? Some of them actually made sense, and the others had flawed logic. Here are my rants on why hetalia ISN’T anti-Semitic or problematic (as of now).

Misconceptions About Hetalia

1. Hetalia is About Nazi Germany or the Holocaust

If you’ve actually watched the show/read the manga, it’s quite obvious that although some of the events take place during WW2, it never mentions Hitler, Nazis, the Holocaust, or anything like that. and there’s a good reason for it. In the first place, hetalia isn’t meant to be a serious comic. The manga only focuses on subjects like funny things that happened to historical figures/occurrences during a war, weird inventions; generally those kinds of things. It focuses on the cultural differences between countries, or wholesome moments in history (such as when two enemies stopped fighting on Christmas day to play soccer.) Hetalia itself is antiwar. Consider the main character himself: he absolutely hates fighting. I don’t see how hetalia can be anti-Semitic or pro-war at all. But what I will say is fucked up are those certain cosplayers that did the Nazi salute, posed in front of a Holocaust memorial, etc. But I can still guarantee that the MAJORITY of the fandom is not like this. Every single fandom has its bad apples, some more than others. It’s not right to generalize the entire fandom as anti-Semitic, racist, disrespectful shits.

Do people realize that Germany’s character in Hetalia isn’t Nazi Germany? In the first place the Holocaust wouldn’t be Germany’s responsibility — the depictions of these characters are meant to portray the people as a whole, not their systems of law or government. It’s stated in the series that nations MUST obey orders from their “boss” (which probably refers to the country’s ruler, president, prime minister, or other leaders at the time. Nations can’t choose what their superiors do, or what those under that control do. Saying Germany is humanized Nazi Germany is like putting that label on all German people without considering factors like time period or representation. Hetalia characters are a mere representation of each country’s people, nothing else.

How does mentioning WW2 in a comedy make it offensive? There are PLENTY of movies, novels, and other kinds of media that take place in WW2 and yet are in the comedy genre. Ever watched Jojo Rabbit? If you thought Hetalia was offensive, have you ever watched South Park or looked at CountryHumans? I do get why some people dislike Hetalia, but why does it receive so much hate for something that was never in the series (or generally speaking, for the wrong reasons)? It may have flaws, but there’s a strong definition to what those flaws actually are. It doesn’t revolve around antisemitism or Nazism.

2. Hetalia is Racist and Stereotypes People

Now this is a pretty controversial topic. Being a comedy about personified countries, stereotypes are really something that HAS to be used at some point to make the characters funny. But does that automatically make it racist? No. I saw this on a YouTube video comment section somewhere, but stereotyping (generalizing) that all stereotypes are ‘bad’ (or have negative connotations/associations) is literally stereotyping. Not all of the stereotypes are bad. Like the way Britain acts like a gentleman or likes drinking tea, which in a way, is a British stereotype. That’s not a bad thing, just funny to see in the show — played for comedy purposes, and not necessarily offensive.

Although Hetalia characters are sometimes influenced by stereotypes that revolve around the actual countries and represent the people in general, they DO NOT always represent what those country’s people are actually like. Also, I’m pretty sure the point of comedy about personified countries is to use some of those generalizations. Specifically, stereotypes that the Japanese have about foreigners. France is portrayed as a flirty man because in Japan France is known for being a “romantic country.” But that doesn’t mean that they think all French people are like that — it’s just a lighthearted joke. And now, Hetalia characters have grown to be more of their own character rather than simply a humanized country at its base. Despite being a personification, they’re like their own person, not just used to depict stereotypes. Just because a character has a certain personality trait doesn’t mean Hima believes that everyone from that country has the same trait. It’s not meant to be racist, and isn’t.

What I Think Was/Is Problematic

As much as I love this show, there were DEFINITELY some problematic things that people tend to ignore.

1. Korea Controversy

As a Korean American, I have to say that I was quite disappointed when I learned about how Hima portrayed Korea in the manga. I won’t go that deep into this one since it’s not that relevant to what I'm talking about now, but it was definitely a HUGE problem and I’m glad that he was removed from the series.

2. Iron Cross on Germany

The iron cross that Germany wears in Hetalia (in every time period) is a military decoration that was used since the King of Prussia until the time period of Nazi Germany in WW2. Today, it’s considered a hate symbol, similar to and alongside the swastika. To be fair, it wasn’t just a decoration used purely for the Nazis, unlike several other examples of Nazi symbols and memorabilia, so I suppose it could be up to each person to judge whether it should pass or not, despite the surrounding circumstances — it isn’t up to me as part of the fanbase. But personally, I think it should have been removed/not used in the first place. I mean, it wasn’t that necessary, seeing all of the military uniforms drawn in Hetalia were simplified anyways. Perhaps it would be much less problematic if Hima didn’t draw the iron cross, and the same goes for the other presented issues.

3. Japanese Imperialism

The way Hima portrays Japanese Imperialism was pretty offensive in my opinion. An instance is the presentation of the Japanese invasion of Korea. It wasn’t just like how the colonies were under Great Britain’s rule. It limited much more of Koreans’ rights and was much more gruesome. I don’t know about anyone else and can’t speak for each individual, but as a Korean, portraying all of this as Japan merely patting Korea on the head is fucked up. This ties to the controversy of Korea’s character. From what I’ve seen, Hetalia is pretty close to a rightist (in Japan, not the US) series. I won’t dive too deep into that, but rightist — or in Korean, 우익 — animes are animes that glorify their country’s past/country, or use content to make fun of or criticize other nations. Actually, it’s probably much more complicated than that, but as of now I don’t know much about it. It mostly ties to the tension between Koreans and the Japanese, so if you’re not either, there’s not really much to worry about. But (maybe because I’m Korean) I found it weird that the manga seems to give every single character a bad/negative characteristic except Japan. I guess it’s only natural, since the creator is Japanese. But then again, France was basically drawn as a rapist/pedophile, but I have never seen a French person complain about it. Or maybe they just completely avoid Hetalia? If anyone knows about it, I would be glad to listen. Perhaps it’s just a bias that I have as a Korean. It could also be a cultural difference too, since we tend to be very patriotic.

4. The Title: Axis Powers

Although the main character is Italy, and the story revolved (emphasis on the past tense) around the 3 countries that were part of the Axis, Hima should have been more considerate with the title of the show, thinking about what the Axis Powers actually did during WW2. Just “Hetalia” would have been fine. But it also should be considered that when Hima started drawing the manga, he did not expect it to become a long-term thing or for it to blow up so much. Thankfully, only the first two seasons of the anime were titled as Hetalia: Axis Powers, and later seasons were titled more acceptable things, like World Stars (manga) or The Beautiful World.

5. Seychelles

Personally I don’t find a problem with there not being that many African/South American countries in the show. Africa’s country borders (and all of that related material) were very different from what they are today, and it would be really fucking hard for Hima to keep track of all of those while still writing good characters. And unlike Europe, Africa’s history was not transcribed much, and is a lot less-known. The problem with Seychelles was her skin color, which wasn’t accurate. But that’s since been fixed.

Is Hetalia Really Problematic?

My most straightforward answer for this question would be no, it is not problematic as of now. Something I realized while listing all of the aspects of Hetalia that I personally thought were wrong to put in was that most of them don’t exist anymore. Besides Germany’s iron cross, all of them were removed from the show. Korea was banned from the anime, and he no longer appears in any of the manga strips. The manga strays further and further away from topics like Japanese Imperialism or WW2. Most of the time in the manga, countries do not wear their military uniforms anymore, but stick to more casual clothes. The characters stray further away from stereotypes that Hima used to use as a comedic effect when he first started drawing. My point is: Hima learned his mistakes. Which only makes sense, considering all of the criticism he probably received when the series first started. I think that’s a good thing. Now back to what I was ranting about earlier. I don’t get why people are saying Hetalia shouldn’t come back! The new season is most likely going to be based off the most recent Hetalia manga series, which is Hetalia World Stars. If you’ve ACTUALLY READ THE MANGA AND DIDN’T JUDGE THE ENTIRETY OF HETALIA BASED ON ITS FIRST FEW SEASONS, you would know what World Stars is about. It’s about all sorts of things. My personal favorite strips are the ones about ancient Rome! It’s not just drawn to give readers a laugh but it actually teaches you some history. Other than Rome, the manga is also about the trends of clothes in certain countries/time periods, industrial revolutions, or just the interactions between the characters in general. I really don’t see how animating these would be harmful at all. The subjects don’t revolve around what a lot of opposers say/negatively connotate the series with. If you think bringing Hetalia back is a terrible thing to do because the fandom would return and start doing toxic/weird things, I really don’t know how to respond to that. The fandom already died out around the time the last season was released. Now newer fans will come around, and the former fans would return (hopefully) matured up. It's already been 5 years since the last Hetalia season aired, after all. And like I said earlier, toxic fans never represent the entire fandom. If you really hate the fandom that much, I recommend not getting involved at all.

#hetalia #rant #hetalia 2021

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ask-2p-hetaliaaa · 4 years ago

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What would the 2ps do as youtubers?

2ps as youtubers:

Allen: Would be one of those fake ghost hunters that makes it onto Nuke's Top 5s.

"GUYS, GUYS, OHHH MYYY GODDD GUYYSSS,..... I THINK THAT WAS THE GHOOOSSTTT?? *pans to matt in a white sheet*"

Matt: Would upload funny out-of-context 5 second clips of his friends every 7 months. Gained popularity as a "top ironic humor figure"

Francois: His whole gimmick is staring into the camera for minutes on end without talking. People use him in reaction memes.

Oliver: Makes cooking videos, but in the style of Ted Nivision and twomad thanks to Allen's help with editing. Sometimes he swears in his videos, and when he does, his loyal following goes INSANE in the comments

Viktor: Makes audiobooks that peoples use as asmr to sleep. People who like Russian accents often flock to his videos as well

Xiao: Makes weed and vape reviews and 'hot boxes'; he collabs with matty smokes.

"WE'RE ABOUT TO HIT A FUCKIN OVER 9000 UHHHH DECIMIBITEABLES PUFF *coughing and gagging in mandarin*"

Luciano: Makes reviews of movies and games that have mafias and gangs. Is absolutely brutal in these critiques.

Flavio: Does makeup tutorials, fashion showcases, shopping vlogs, etc. Would basically be like the Lunch Club if it were full of drag queens

Lutz: Makes really obnoxious yet entertaining vlogs doing stupid shit around his country. Says offensive shit in a joking way that everyone is fine with. Has probably held illegal meetups in a mcdonalds

Kuro: "extreme japanese apoligizing" - makes videos along the lines of that, basically clowning on his own culture. occasionally makes anime reviews.

Gillen: Makes gaming videos out of his twitch streams. Sometimes Roland will just be walking in the background and go "Hi!!" and the chat will not shut up about him for next 2 minutes

Roland: He's like Sam O Nella Academy but Austrian- He'll mainly make parody videos of ww1 and ww2 because we all know the funny ww1 and 2 austria jokes. Since he can play guitar, he adds bits inspired by bill wurtz that are just jingles, ends up being used in memes

Andres: Uploads pirated, obscure Spanish music with blank descriptions and no other context

Egil: twomad videos, basically. everything he posts feels like adhd personified, at random points the video will go 200x speed and back to normal its chaotic

Loki: Is a prank channel, but actually funny because his pranks are "lets set shit on fire until the police get involved"

Denmark: His gimmick is making fun of Francois and trying to beat him in subscribers, but Francois doesn't even know he has a channel. People meme in a bad way like "look at this dumbass"

Bernard: Makes commentary videos like Memeulous and James Marriott, has an ongoing joke of making fun of the 1ps (in a friendly way). at random points a picture of Berwald will pop up with the vine boom sound effect

Thurston: Screams into his camera about things that make him mad, a bunch of teenage girls stan him because they think he's hot and relatable. He then made a video screaming about how much he hates his fanbase, which didn't help at all. It only attracted Bernard's fans who clowned on him

Hermes: Makes videos explaining the lore of Greek Mythology, in a girl-talk sort of way. He tried making true crime videos but kept putting his opinions in which nearly got him canceled.

Caligula: Too old to use youtube. Only has an account to like Luciano's videos.

Germania: Also too old to use youtube. But he does comment on the germanic countries videos with things like "LETS FUCKING GOOO"; has become the Justin Y. of 2p comment sections

Leonas and Franciszek: Have a couples channel that people HATE because they act so fake that it's dreadfully annoying. Has had videos made about them by Bernard, Lutz and Flavio

Anastasia: Makes videos about self-care for both men and women, similar to channels like Sexplanations. Also makes videos teaching young adults to cook simple meals, how to do unique hairstyles using wigs of different lengths and textures, how to have a clean house (making beds, doing laundry, organizing cabinets and fridges), etc. Has a large following of people who genuinely appreciate her work and motivation

Katya: Uploads vertical phone videos of her at casinos drinking champagne, playing darts, winning slot machines, etc

Egor: Similar to SomeOrdinaryGamers. Browses the deep web on his AmogOS system he made.

Raimonds: Viktor doesn't allow him to have a youtube channel

Paul: Takes videos of him rolling down hills and making fun of people at his school. Luckily doesn't gain much traction because people would definitely cyber bully him. Most of the adult 2ps have an agreement to not mention him in their videos lest their followers go after him

Wy: Takes behind the scenes videos of Oliver's videos; Her following is basically just Oliver's following who think she's his daughter (she's not) (This rumor caused a huge scandal within the Ollie simping twitter community)

Romeo: Doesn't have youtube, has TikTok and makes shitty e-boy thirst traps and POVs. Bernard wears his merch as satire in his videos.

#2ptalia #2p hetalia #ask 2p hetalia #asks #all of them #textposts #headcanons

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xb-squaredx · 4 years ago

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Rise of the V-Tuber

As a platform, YouTube has gone through a variety of “eras,” wherein a particular trend catches on and defines the website for some time. In the early days, you had funny cat videos, then Let’s Plays of video games became rather popular, and now we seem to be deeply entrenched into a new era that has exploded in popularity as of late. If you’ve frequented the website at all in the past few months, it is almost inescapable. Cutesy, anime-styled avatars that play games, sing, chat with viewers, or even cook! What does it all mean? Where did they come from? Are they here to stay? Most importantly, how does one crawl out of the rabbit hole once they fall into it? All that and more will be revealed as we delve deep into the wacky, wholesome and sometimes worrying world of V-Tubers. (photo credit YuuGiJoou. Check her out on YouTube, Twitter or Twitch!)

THE ORIGIN

To begin properly, let’s define the subject. A “V-Tuber” is a “Virtual YouTuber,” someone who streams on YouTube (or any other streaming platform) using a digital avatar as a proxy. The streamer in question typically uses face-tracking software so that the avatar can emote (or at least attempt to emote) to match their own reactions as they provide entertainment for their audience. While it may seem as if V-Tubers are rather new, in doing research on the topic, you’d be surprised how far back things go.

For starters, the concept of a virtual celebrity has been around for a while, with one of the most notable efforts being Hatsune Miku, a Vocaloid voicebank program. Hatsune Miku is every bit as famous and beloved as a flesh-and-blood singer or entertainer despite being nothing but voice synthesizer software. Vocaloid got its start back in 2000, eventually being reworked into a commercial product in 2004, though it wasn’t until the programs started receiving anthropomorphic character designs that it took off, with Hatsune Miku’s own debut in 2007, and the rest is history.

Many will consider “Virtual Idol” Kizuna Ai as the true pioneer of what we call a V-Tuber today, making her debut in 2016, however one could make an argument that Ami Yamato, a 3D-animated vlogging channel debuting in 2013, beat her to the punch. Honorable mention of course goes to Any Malu, a Brazilian animated YouTube vlogger who debuted in 2015 and eventually gained her own show on Cartoon Network Brazil. While Ai may not be the first, she is undoubtedly considered to be the codifier that many later V-Tubers would follow. Ai’s entire shtick was being an AI program that wanted to connect with humans, playing games, singing or interacting with fans. Following her explosive popularity, it was clear that other companies would follow the model established by Ai, with their own spins on it of course.

Nijisanji, established in 2018, proved that this trend could be incredibly profitable, becoming trailblazers in their own right as they established various “branches” of their company in several countries with their own unique performers that could cater to a wider range of viewers. As of this writing, Nijisanji employs over 164 “Virtual Livers,” most of which come from their Japan branch, alongside their Korean, Chinese, Indian and Indonesian branches. Similarly, there is the Hololive corporation, which saw substantial growth throughout 2020 in particular. Established in 2016 originally as Cover Corporation, at first Hololive was the name of an app meant for use in 3D motion capture, though following Nijisanji’s success, Hololive was rebranded as a V-Tuber competitor and also features a variety of colorful characters spread across many different main branches. There is of course the Japanese branch, as well as Hololive Indonesia, the relatively new (and highly successful) Hololive English, a defunct Chinese branch and an all-male Holostar branch in Japan.

Other, smaller V-Tuber groups have sprung up alongside the corporate powerhouses, such as VOMS Project, established in March of 2020, as an independent trio of streamers, and more recently at the tail-end of 2020 with V-Shojo, featuring a group of Western streamers (who ironically mostly stick to Twitch). Outside of this of course are the countless independent streamers who utilize avatars for one reason or another across many different platforms. Even prominent Twitch streamers seem to be getting in on the act, such as Pokimane, though that one has not come without some backlash. So consider that a rough history of how V-Tubers got started in Japan but how did they gain a more global fanbase? Well, in a word…”memes.”

GOING INTERNATIONAL

I won’t deny there had to be at least SOME overseas fans who enjoyed watching V-Tubers before they became more well-known, but for many Western fans their introductions to V-Tubers in general typically came from viral videos taken from various streams that spread like wildfire, eventually getting people curious enough to check them out. For Kizuna Ai, her playthrough of Resident Evil 7 gained notoriety for her mimicking the cursing of the English-speaking player character, and for Hololive, arguably the first real Western breakthrough for the company came from a now infamous moment from Sakura Miko’s stream of Grand Theft Auto 5.

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Also from Hololive, Inugami Korone in particular had a variety of memes spread about her due to playthroughs from various games that even got acknowledged by the developers themselves. Her playthrough of DOOM 2016 resulted in a short-lived Easter egg implanted into DOOM Eternal, and her video on Banjo-Kazooie (and the animated Eekum Bokum fan video that spawned from that) got the attention of Rare, Xbox and even Grant Kirkhope, the composer for the original game.

Honestly, the real unsung heroes of sorts for V-Tuber popularity might just come from foreign fans that would clip and translate various moments from streams that helped to build an international audience. There are dozens of Twitter handles and YouTube channels that specialize in spreading these clips around and if you factor in the YouTube algorithm, once you see one video your feed will be flooded with similar videos. It is no surprise fans call getting into the fandom “falling into the rabbit hole.” When you look at the more popular members of Hololive, often the ones with various viral clips have the higher subscription counts. In the case of Aki Rosenthal, one of the older members, her sub count exploded after a fan translated a section from a then-recent stream in which she talked candidly about her less-than-stellar growth as well as the difficulties of standing out in general. While at one point having the lowest amount of subscribers (well below 200,000), in the months since that video her sub count has more than doubled going past 400,000. Sometimes the talent needs a little push.

Now, within Hololive itself, I think Kiryu Coco is also partially responsible for expanding the fanbase, being one of the few employed talents with the ability to speak English (likely a native speaker), she gained a large international fanbase as she would work to translate what she or other members were talking about on the fly, and later on established an ongoing series where she would directly engage with fans over websites like Reddit and “rate” the various memes they would send in. Coco also pushed for establishing what would become Hololive English, which has proven to be a gigantic success, each member of that branch blowing past more established talent’s subscriber counts, with Gawr Gura becoming the first Hololive V-Tuber to pass one million subscribers and just recently passed the two million mark. So yeah, V-Tubers are a big deal now but…what is about them that makes people want to watch them in the first place?

THE APPEAL

So, right off the bat, if we’re going to ask why someone would want to watch a V-Tuber I think it’s fair to ask that of virtually ANY internet personality. The reason why someone would watch Game Grumps or Pokimane or Jojo Siwa or whoever else is the same reason they’d watch Kizuna Ai or Inugami Korone or Ironmouse: they’re entertaining. I guess that seems like a bit of a cop-out answer, right? There MUST be a reason why V-Tubers have blown up in popularity over the last few years, so are there things that make these particular Internet entertainers stand out from the crowd?

Undoubtedly, the fact that these streamers are playing a character is a deviation from the norm, though the dedication to staying “in character” seems to vary from person to person, and over time many V-Tubers tend to open up and are far more genuine. At any rate, even the best actor out there can’t possibly make up various daily happenings or childhood stories for their characters on the fly, day after day, stream after stream. Still, I’d imagine the decision to use a proxy as opposed to their real self can be liberating, a mask they can wear to speak more freely or a role they can play up for entertainment. For the most part, I think the persona aspect is mostly harmless fun that makes the streamer seem more distinct; ask yourself which is more eye-catching: some normal human playing a game and occasionally cracking a joke, or a one-eyed pirate girl discussing her raunchy past? Or maybe you’d rather watch the grim reaper practice her raps? Even talent that don’t really play up their character much still often have interesting character designs; we have princesses, dragons, devils, robots and more. A little something for everyone!

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Speaking a bit more personally, I find it interesting to watch streamers from an entirely different culture and how they interact with fans or engage with games. I find it funny when Inugami Korone or Sakura Miko plays more Western-oriented games like the DOOM series or Grand Theft Auto V respectively. Often times they’re blown away by the culture clash, or they view these games through a different lens since it’s so different from what they’re used to. In particular, those two are just genuine goofballs that are funny all on their own. More chat-focused streams are an interesting view into daily life in Japan, such as the stories Houshou Marine tells, though obviously a given V-Tuber’s viewpoint isn’t a metric you can apply to the whole country, but she’s still interesting to listen to. Takanashi Kiara is also notable for her multilingual skills, which has helped her bridge the gap a bit more between the various Hololive members through her Holotalk segments where she interviews other V-Tubers. Outside of Hololive, Amano Pikamee from VOMS Project is just a bundle of energy that’s fun to watch as she rages in Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine. Her tea-kettle laugh is also just kinda charming. The V-Shojo group stands out for being super vulgar compared to the more corporate V-Tubers and while I don’t watch them all that much, there’s still some fun chaos to be had. Still though, I think there’s one big elephant in the room that would also help explain V-Tubers catching on at this specific point in time: the pandemic. Streaming is one of the few jobs not really affected by the pandemic, and with people stuck inside, they’re more likely to scroll through YouTube or Twitter and find a funny clip and then…well, you know… It’s one bright spot in an otherwise dark time…but I’d be lying if I said it was all sunshine and rainbows.

THE DARK UNDERBELLY

The overall idea behind V-Tubers, at least in Japan, seems to be an extension of Idol Culture…and uh…if you know anything about Idol Culture in Japan, it is all kinds of scummy. Exploitative, filled to the brim with harmful rules and regulations and largely catering to some vary unsavory “fans,” I’ll make it no mystery that I find it incredibly distasteful. Look no further than what happened to Minegishi Minami from the idol group AKB48. To keep a long story short, the obsession with “purity” and being this idealized Japanese beauty means idols are effectively locked into their work, unable to discuss or in many cases partake in romantic relationships, as that would make them less “desirable” to their audience. This unfortunately does at times extend to V-Tubers.

Take Tokoyami Towa, who was suspended for some time and forced to make an apology video for…having some male voices briefly heard over Discord during an Apex Legend stream. She even lost a lot of subscribers and support from Japanese fans following this, though once learning of this, Western fans flocked to her as a show of support. Hololive has also dealt with a variety of issues coming from Chinese fans; though that’s a particular hornet’s nest I don’t want to delve into here too much. To sum it up, fans can get obsessive and toxic, which can lead to the talent being harassed. It is for this reason, it is generally agreed upon by fans to not delve too deep into the personal lives of the V-Tubers, for fear of being doxxed and the illusion being broken. These kinds of issues certainly bring up some interesting questions regarding how talent should be treated moving forward.

Are these V-Tubers characters or just alternate sides of real people? Where does the fantasy end and reality begin? Ultimately, the lines are somewhat blurred. Talent certainly brings some of their own personality into the performance, but they are forced to remain anonymous and as can be seen in the case of Kizuna Ai, they are not always in control of the character they’ve been given. Kizuna Ai’s initial actress was for a time replaced, and “clones” of the character with different voices and personalities started to spring up, likely as an attempt to compete with the likes of Nijisanji and Hololive. In cases where V-Tubers retire from the industry, or “graduate” as some call it, all of their hard work cultivating a fanbase might end up being for nothing as they were forced behind a proxy that isn’t truly themselves and I imagine it can be hard to start over again from square one. Never mind the attempts to step out of the shadow of your older work. Man, Perfect Blue was downright prophetic at times, huh?

I don’t want to dwell on the negatives too much though. It’s worth noting for one thing that Nijisanji seems relatively lax regarding how their talent operates, whereas it seems Hololive is the standout for adhering to the idol ideal, though considering how some of the talent acts (in particular Kiryu Coco), one has to wonder if they’re softening their stances a bit. Many V-Tubers generally talk about the positive aspects of the industry and being given the opportunity to reach people from all over the world. Shortly after Ina’s debut in Hololive English, she was actually brought to tears when told her art streams convinced people to get into (or back into) the hobby, which had been one of her goals for becoming a V-Tuber in the first place. Ironmouse, now a member of V-Shojo, has an immune system disorder that keeps her bedridden and forced to stay inside, so the opportunities afforded by this particular type of streaming has allowed her to reach out to others and as per her own words, has changed her life for the better. While there are definitely “fans” that go too far, corporate practices that are outdated, or harmful and a slew of potential unfortunate implications, ultimately I think most people out there are just looking for quality entertainment, and these digital proxies give these entertainers an outlet to connect with fans in a way that they might not have otherwise.

CONCLUSION

V-Tubers are in a bit of a boom at the moment, though I can’t imagine it’ll last forever. We’re quickly approaching market saturation and after a point, people can only follow so many streamers at once. Hell, as I was editing this up, it seems as if prominent YouTuber Pewdiepie is about to step into the ring, so who knows what kind of shake-up that could bring. The bubble will undoubtedly burst and what becomes of V-Tubers then is still up in the air. Or who knows, maybe V-Tubers will endure and replace all entertainment and we’re just watching the beginning of a cyberpunk dystopia. Stranger things have happened! Considering the world is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, that should largely have an impact on the popularity of V-Tubers for some time to come, though as we emerge into a “new normal” in the world, it’ll be interesting to see how these entertainers continue to evolve. Now, I suppose there is one question I never quite went over before now, isn’t there? How does one escape the V-Tuber rabbit hole? Well, I’m sorry to say but there is no escape.

Enjoy your new home!

-B

#xb-squaredx #blog #vtuber #v-tuber #hololive #nijisanji #VOMS project #korone #sakura miko #pikamee #kizuna ai #youtube #twitch #v-shojo #ironmouse #houshou marine #eekum bokum

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nissakii · 3 years ago

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Squid Game: First Impressions

In a world where money doesn’t just buy you comfort, but is detrimental to your livelihood and how you’re brought into the world, financial ruin is a destination that can lead to horrible conditions and heartbreaking situations.

Money can’t buy happiness, and while it is true in some cases it’s also no lie that money is the biggest contributor to comfortable living in this society, and we all work hard or even as hard as we can to ensure a safe life for us and our loved ones.

This is our main focus for today’s ‘First Impression’ post, as we will be going over the new Korean Drama: Squid Game or in the original Ojing-eo Geim. If you’re interested in more first impressions, you can look at our Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revengers and Vanitas no Carte post that we made so far!

In our ‘First Impression’ posts, we look at the premise and first episodes of anime and in this case a Korean Drama to see what really lies behind the series. This will mean major spoilers for the entire first episode of Squid Game, so if you wish to have a fully blind experience make sure to watch the first episode first and then come back!

If you’re okay with a little spoiling before deciding if the series is right for you, let’s continue on together!

As a child, Gi-hun used to play a game with his friends called the squid game, in which if you persevered through the end you would feel like the king of the world, but if you lost you would be left dead.

You heard it right, dead.

Of course as children it was merely a funny joke and no one was harmed supposedly, but many years later as Gi-hun is an adult the game becomes much more lethal suddenly.

With a dark premise that is all about innocent childrens games but a grimy and dark look from the start, the series starts off realistic with that finish of imagery that is pretty similar to our world right now as well.

But before we go further in the plot, let us first check out more about the production of the series.

The Netflix series with the genre tags of drama, action-adventure and survival has sparked a huge fanbase very quickly especially through social media and trends on the platform TikTok it has grabbed onto many viewers internationally and was the first ever Korean Drama to make the Netflix US’ number one spot in their top ten.

It was published on September 17th in 2021 after two years of production overseen by Siren Pictures Inc. and distributed as a Netflix original as an exclusive series.

The first season consists of nine episodes so far, with no announcement on any sequel coming out, but Netflix has been known to wait and see for the popularity of a series before continuing it, and since it has topped the charts a season two may not be confirmed but is not impossible.

Written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who has had experiences writing and directing popular works such as “My Father” and “The Crucible (Silenced)” which both had very dark themes and seem to be a signature motive in Hwang’s directing.

The realism and crushing messages that are delivered in his dramas are not far from his newest series ‘Squid Game’ to which he stated himself that “I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life.”

Since he wrote the series all alone until he asked some friends for further ideas on how to continue the story, we will look at the cast who will represent these relatable characters.

The main protagonist Seong Gi-hun who we see from the first seconds of the episode is played by Lee Jung-Jae who one might know from “Oh! Brothers” (2003)” or the high grossing heist movie “The Thieves” (2012), whith many won awards and interesting roles in all sorts of movies he now steps into the role of a deadbeat dad.

Other interesting choices for the surrounding cast are Park Hae-Soo who plays the cunning Cho Sang-Woo and the female model that debuted as an actress Hoyeon Jung who plays Kang Sae-byeok also known as No.67.

Even the music was made by none other than Jung Jae-il, who’s name might not immediately ring a bell but is known to be the composer of the soundtrack for amazing movies such as Okja and Parasites, both having won multiple awards.

Now that we know more, we can start to let the plot unravel itself.

The Plot:

Gi-Hun is more than just a little short for money, since we see him for the first time as an adult living off of the money his elderly mother makes.

He gets mad at her for working so hard yet seemingly doesn’t contribute much to buy groceries and provides just a little money with his job as a driver. As he remembers darkly, his young daughter’s birthday was today, so he begs his mom for a little more money to take her to eat some nice food and buy her a present.

As she reluctantly does so, she walks out of the house and when she does Gi-hun steals her bankcard and runs away to try and steal money from her.

As sad as it sounds, Gi-hun has a serious gambling addiction as he somehow even after losing the first time has luck and makes some serious cash.

Totally ecstatic, he tips the young girl working at the counter and runs out into the world, happy to have won the money. He even calls his daughter telling her he’ll buy her a very expensive meal.

Soon enough, some loan sharks spot him and run after him to presumably get their money back.

After cornering him and trying to take his freshly earned money, he realises that it’s gone and with that he gets beaten up by the one in charge of all of the loans he’s taken on so far. With debts he can’t pay, he’s forced to sign some sort of paper with his fingerprint and gets left alone.

He then realises he has no money left to buy something for his daughter, and tries to play with a stuffed toy at an arcade, which only fuels his money loss.

His mother had told him beforehand that his daughter merely wanted some fried chicken, but even for that there was no money left.

As he picks up his daughter from school, they can only eat some tteokbokki, to which his daughter said it’s fine since she’s already eaten a nice steak with her stepfather. Even the present Gi-hun got from the arcade was a pistol shaped lighter, another disappointment for his daughter.

He promises that the next time her birthday comes around, he will get her an actual present and pinky promises her this time.

Dejected as he brings her back to her mother who only cusses him out, and frustrated when he misses the subway home he plops down on a bench to let the day loom over him.

Things change when a nice businessman sits down next to him and suddenly gives him the opportunity to bet on a game called ddakji, in which he will win 100.000 won if he succeeds, and gets slapped in the face if he loses the round. After multiple failures he makes some money and gets a card from the gentlemen who tells him there are other games like these where he can make even more money.

Gi-hun brings the earned money to his mother who accuses him of gambling again and promptly informs him that his daughter and her new family are moving to the US.

Struck by the realisation that he won’t have another birthday with his daughter in which he can redeem himself if he doesn’t sort out his financial situation and fight for custody, he calls the number on the business card he was given to play more games and get his life back.

Shockingly enough, he gets picked up by a weird guy in a pink overall and put to sleep in the car. When he wakes up he is in a warehouse with 455 other people all dressed in the same green overalls ready to play the games.

All the other players are in just as much debt or even more as him, and they all are on the brink of financial ruin, all playing to get the announced prize money.

All seems well until the first game rolls around, a seemingly innocent game of “Red light, green light” which spirals out of control completely as every person who moves is not just “eliminated” but actually shot and killed on the spot.

And so the bloody games begin.

Expectations vs. Reality:

In looking at the first episode and giving you my first impressions I hope to shed some light onto this new series so you can decide for yourself if you want to watch it or not!

Squid game was introduced to me via videos and trends on TikTok, showing just how much influence social media can have in terms of advertising.

From what I could see from the start, we’re very mysterious and dark vibes with the stark contrast of the neon colours of the overalls all of the staff and players were donning. Even the scenery of the games was curiously childlike themed although the story is very much the opposite.

With a general premise of a battle royal type of gameplay and very interesting and three dimensional characters with relatable flaws, I was pleasantly surprised by the realism that was playing into the series.

With Squid game, I expected something along the lines of sci-fi, and while there are elements of a future reality it is still the dark realism of a capitalist world and the struggle of staying afloat financially that sets the tone.

Another positive point is the genre of survival and action-adventure is no false promise, the events of the games and the characters leave you at the edge of your seat with iconic characters such as No.1 who is an old grandpa with not much more time to live.

The fear the viewer feels for the character with bloody violence scenes and hopeless and anxious characters that seem to have nothing left to lose is a refreshing and new rendition of older dystopian works such as “The Hunger Games” or other anime like “Danganronpa”.

If you are a fan of a lot of mystery and suspense building paired with children’s games that have more to them than first meets the eye, then you will surely enjoy Squid Game as it mixes different in testing aspects such as realistic characters with mysterious games that is an enjoyable watch!

Already watched the first episodes? I would love to know what you think of the series and what you expected and how your experience was! Share it in the comments below if you so desire!

Until then, make sure not to move too much!

Green Light! (Run!)

-Nissa

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spookyboogie3 · 4 years ago

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MY FAVORITE AH MOMENTS W/O R*an H*yw**d

Also keep in mind some of these moments i picked Bitch Face r*an may have been present for but this aint about his stupid ass.

The straw bit on Off Topic

Fiona and Trevor’s “Look at us” “Look at us” “Look at us” in TTT

Drunk Jeremy inhaling helium, followed by Jack and Trevor on Off Topic

“Krusty KrAYAYAB!!!” TTT

Jeremy trying to slam his face through a table, followed by Michael doing the same thing

“my god…… the munchdew” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Minecraft: Skyfactory

Actually all of Simple Farmer Geoff from Skyfactory

Whatever those sounds were that Jack was making in the beginning of GTA video

Alfredo screaming as he continues to fall down a steep tube in a GTA race

DESTROYING THEIR OFFICE DEAR LORD

“How did he drown though?” “UNDERWATER, MATT!”

Anytime Fiona starts to RAGE in TTT (bonus if others join in)

The time Gav was the phantom in TTT and he kept dying and being brought back and Jack spitting water and then trying to catch it

Alfredo’s Magoo moments in Minecraft

Geoff laughing in the background of a video hes not in

Lindsay fucking around with Chef Mike on Harecore Minigolf

Lindsay fucking around in general

Gavin and Fiona playing Animal Crossing and laughing at the stupidest shit

The Fish Tempura incident on Wheel of Fortune

Lindsay’s reasoning for why her and Michael should have 4 kids

Geoff’s fucking ad reads (my favorite is 23&Me)

The whole thing during Push the Button where everyone especially Michael gets mad at Fiona because she said the best candy to get while trick or treating was lollipops

Matt’s fucking desk in the corner of the room

Anytime Millie is in a video

Everyone falling off the pink ladder during TTT and dying repeatedly because of it

Alfredo “the two-time champ” Diaz dying very early in YDYD 3

Gavin and Michael fucking up almost every game they play on Play Pals

RAY OR NO and then RAY OR NAY on Off Topic

Reddit Roasts Geoff

Gavin asking if someone could kill 20 cows with their bare hands and the proceeding so say he could rip out a cow’s veins by reaching into its neck

Ify’s narration during Let’s Roll Ave Caesar

The internet losing its shit when Jeremy shaved his head years ago

“We need a knife” Gavin comes back with a hammer

Griffin chain sawing the Off Topic table up

“How do I put the boat in the water??” “Right click you animal”

As of 2020, 8 years of playing Minecraft, certain people still do not know how to play the basics of this fucking game.

Honestly it took over 200 episodes for some of them to figure out how the compass worked. You know after they decided that the sun was setting in the wrong direction. (this was in 2016??)

Flynt coal still is a joke they make

So is Day 2

Whatever happened in that GTA lets play where someone called a mugger or a hit on someone and the game glitched and 50 guys showed up and lined up on the street below from where they were playing

Anytime Gavin gets mugged, it’s an old running gag but it’s a classic

The time a mugger fucking started driving the fire truck away after mugging Gavin with Michael and Jeremy still in the truck thinking the other is driving and it takes them like 2 minutes to realize what happened while Gavin’s yelling “come back”

They got a water jug and immediately started water boarding each other

“It pinged and went dingle”

“Hey Trey-Boi” “Hey Gay-Boi” Immediately realizes what he has said

Jeremy’s website puns

(OLD) Ray jerking off in the corner during a let’s play

(OLD) the world in Minecraft never loading and everyone screaming about as Geoff says its fine for him

Jeremy’s “I AM MONSTER TRUCK”

Jack taking AH to Disney……in Minecraft

On Twitter, Gavin asked about recommendations for a computer mouse and Fiona starts sending him pictures of actual mice.

“Its not ghey, if its on the moon”

Literally anything Fiona does as Po

Jeremy saying the heterosexual flag is boring

UNO THE MOVIE!

Geoff fucking cackling the whole time.

“here’s looking at you kid”

the video was almost 3 hours long

“you know what my favorite color is? blue” “oh really? You know what my favorite hand is? Yours

They all want it to end but no one wants to lose and so they fuck each other and that prolongs the game. Also they put on more rules, so they just keep getting more cards if they don’t have a card to match the previous

Alfredo saying he won’t participate in ghost hunter because he knows what happens to people of color in horror movies

Fiona walking in on Off Topic with a protein shake and Gavin asks if shes drinking milk and she says without missing a beat “ah no that’s cum” and everyone laughed not expecting the answer

(OLD) “SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER” *falls in hole*

(OLD) Ray and Gav running in a panel dressed as X-Ray and Vav and Ray running the whole way around the room before he got to the stage

Duck taping Jeremy to the wall

(OLD) All of Minecraft Episode 3 Plan G (This was the very first AH video I watch and why I know who they are)

Geoff and Gav creating Achievement City and giving everyone houses just to prank Jack into burning house down with lava.

Ray’s house is a dirt block with no furniture and single torch

Geoff’s giant ass house next to Ray’s tiny house

Jack tries to destroy everything with lava throughout the episode

“lets be honest, I realistically didn’t lose anything”

Michael stealing art from Gav’s house “NOO! I want nice things”

The sign to Michael’s says “Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Approval” he runs into house and say “I’m home”

Ray also steals this sign at some point

Plan G – The failsafe.

“Oh whats this? Is this a button? Whats this? (pushes button) Yeah it was a button”

“Did you push the button?”

“Yeah”

“okay”

“wh-what does it do?”

“uh…”

Cue Achievement City beginning to explode as Michael starts screaming

Rays reaction “NO, MY SHITTY HOUSE JUST GOT EVEN SHITTIER!”

Not something funny but something VERY IMPORTANT. AH admitting that they all fucked up and how shitty their behavior was when dealing with harassment in the fanbase. People were racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, and just downright horrible to a lot of the employees at RT and AH. This came up after Mica Burton left the company and talked about it publicly and how nothing was done about it. Fiona who also experiences these same things, along with Lindsay and other employees, but Fiona took the charge on the Off Topic talking about people can’t continue to get away with that behavior. She got to sound off her feelings to a group of white men who all respected her and LISTENED to what was saying and how she felt. She cried; Geoff cried. They all want to do more, so this doesn’t happen in the future and they’re not tolerating the racist and horrible comments. AH taking a mature moment to talk about how they failed to stop these comments and Geoff was right when he said the company has a long way to go.

Outside of AH each member has more to them than just all of the comedy and laughs and dumb shit they do

Geoff helped found Roosterteeth and Achievement Hunter. He has a beautiful daughter in Millie who is awesome in her own right. He’s a recovering alcoholic. Currently doing F**k Face podcasts. Was in the fucking army. Takes accountability for every mistake he makes.

Jack also helped start Achievement Hunter. He does so much work for charity. His twitter is full of things to help people go vote. He’s like the dad to AH, especially Fiona. He’s happily married to his wife Caiti.

Michael was an electrician and has a lot of handy man experience. He made a few videos online about him raging at games and that got the attention of RT. He’s currently married to Lindsay who he met because of RT. They have two kids together.

Gavin is an expert at high speed filmmaking and know how use and edit footage from a slow-motion camera. He has worked on actual films. One of the creators of the Slow Mo Guys. Worked his ass off to get to work for RT. Currently dating model and cosplayer Meg Turney

Lindsay flips between being the mom of the group and a complete chaos queen and we all love her for it. She started as an editor for the RT podcast and then AH stuff. She is an incredible voice actor, most known for Ruby Rose (RWBY), Space Kid (Camp Camp), Hilda (Xray & Vav) just to name a few. She also has a degree in finance

Jeremy started as a fan who made videos on the community page. He took over Ray’s place after Ray left to do Twitch full time. He is a self-published author and a skilled rapper and singer. He’s currently married to his wife, Kat.

Matt also started as a fan making videos on the community page. He actually interacted and made stuff for the guys in really early Minecraft episodes. Seriously this guy is like king of Minecraft. He has a degree in electrical engineering. He also has pretty decent singing voice.

Trevor is THE BOSS. Has a degree in aero-space engineering and is getting paid to babysit AH. Currently dating Barbara Dunkelman, RTs queen of puns.

Alfredo worked at IGN before RT and is a well-known streamer. He is the best when it comes to first person shooter games. He and Trevor look so similar.

Fiona. Po. Her majesty. Host of This Just Internet. A Twitch streamer. Baby of the bunch. Grew up in Europe. Her and Gav act like a pair of siblings. She has stated and showed time and time again she will fight for people to have safe spaces for anyone who needs them.

Ify, our new guy. He is wonderful and I want to stay forever. He’s a comedian, a writer, and an actor. Co hosts F-ing Around with Fiona. Has his own film podcast, Who Shot Ya? I look forward to more content with him in it, cause everything he’s been in so far has been great.

Were all hurting but well make it through this

We have all these wonderful moments and a lot more that I didn’t list and this incredible team of personalities with their own accomplishments and achievements. Not to mention old team members who were also great additions and the entire crew behind the scenes editing and making videos look the best that they can.

Here’s to Achievement Hunter and to this community. We need to be here for each other in times like these.

@theonyxranger gave me the idea for this based on their own post they made about the fans giving their favorite moments without bitch face and there were just too many. Oop.

#Achievement Hunter #Jack Pattillo #Gavin Free #geoff ramsey #michael jones #lindsay jones #alfredo diaz #trevor collins #fiona nova #jeremy dooley #matt bragg #ify nwadiwe #roosterteeth #yes im calling him bitch face now

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nightcoremoon · 4 years ago

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here's some controversy that has nothing to do with social issues.

a lot of people hate the band five finger death punch. saying those words provoked a visceral response in half the people reading this, and a "who?" in the other half. they're a groove metal band; similar to slipknot, mudvayne, disturbed, all that remains, system of a down, korn, and killswitch engage. they're one of those really controversial bands that are hated because they're ~not real metal~ by dumbshits who think that NWOBHM is the only valid metal genre. even though england ruined metal and punk but that's a conbfetsation for another day.

now, if you just don't like metal, that's fine. I don't expect everyone to like every genre. so obviously you won't like them, or any band in the genre. obviously. and these are not the people who are being targeted with this post. no, this goes to those who love metallica, ozzy, megadeth, slayer, pantera, testament, opeth, tool, manowar, meshuggah, children of bodom, cannibal corpse, fear factory, mercyful fate: this is to the people who love metal. now, I say this as one of us, but metalheads are one of the most judgmental groups of people in history. and frequently I find that metalheads make the same remarks in regards to their opinions on five finger death punch.

they do nothing but covers. they just yell and cuss. forty year old men with teenage angst. bad musicianship. they look stupid. they fuck their sisters and daughters. they sold out to the military. they're gay. they do too many ballads. they're redneck bait. they're toxic masculinity and macho personified. they rely on guest stars to carry their songs. they're talentless hacks.

these are all complaints I've heard multiple times from multiple people. and frankly I'm sick of it. I'm sick of hearing the bullshit complaints rather than the ACTUAL REASONS why they aren't the best band in the world. which I'll go through now.

they have an overreliance on breakdowns as if they were a post-hardcore band but they're not. breaking benjamin also skirts the line between post-grunge metal and post-hardcore and have many breakdowns, but the difference is that BB's breakdowns have math rock roots and use different patterns that syncopate well. five finger's breakdowns are... eighth notes. it's the difference between, say, black veil brides- who have excellent syncopated breakdowns- and as I lay dying, who have shitty and boring breakdowns. the only difference is that AILD has blast beats (and is fronted by an abusive asshole), and five finger has... ivan growling threats or whatever because they think that it sounds cool to have metal blaring while he says shit like "you wanna disrespect me? I will slap you so fucking hard you'll feel like you kissed a freight train, fuck you," or "if there was ever a time for you to back the fuck up it's right fuckin here and right fuckin now" or "it's not the size of the dog in the fight it's the size of the fight in the dog," or "in the end we're all just chalk lines on the concrete, drawn only to be washed away; in the time that I've been given, I am what I am", etc, all preceding screams. and no these are not exaggerations, these are literally exact quotes. there's also one that plays radio chatter from the military while he goes "hut hut oorah", which is different slightly. and in any case, they have done nearly a hundred different solos over their career, there is NO REASON for them to have such a ridiculous amount of breakdowns. they rival memphis may fire in that regard, but MMF actually has great breakdowns. churko is a metal producer, NOT a hardcore producer, and they sound empty when you strip out the vocals.

sometimes they will overuse a chorus, and hit the pop music pitfalls of having a song that's over half chorus. I'm sure they did this so the label would be happy with singles because the music industry is a commercialized garbage fire and holding it against the artists would be so fucking stupid especially since tool (the best metal band in existence) fucking said it best, "all you know about me is what I sold you, I sold out long before you ever knew my name, I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit, then you bought one; I've got some advice for you little buddy, before you point your finger you should know that I'm the man and if I'm the man then he's he man and you're the man as well so you can take that fucking finger and shove it up your ass". translation; the fact that you know a band at all means that they sold out to even exist in the first place because that's what selling out is. so even this complaint I have that sometimes they have repeated chorus is more of a complaint about a music industry which dumbs things down to sell radioplay to the lowest common denominator, which EVERY SINGLE ARTIST IS GUILTY OF. so moving on.

sometimes they'll have songs which are fairly simple from a harmonic/mechanical standpoint. opening verse chorus verse chorus solo bridge chorus chorus ending. verse goes some mix of eighth and quarter notes and rests in 4:4, solo is just the vocal line of the chorus, bass and drums are nonexistent and only serve to be a melodic backbone, and the music only exists to serve the lyrics... oh wait I can make the exact same arguments about metallica, rage against the machine, pantera, disturbed, and a hundred other bands. those guys aren't hated as much as five finger. hmm. wonder why.

the lyrics are often angsty. namely that they deal with honor, government corruption, mental illness, we live in a society, religious corruption, abandonment issues, recovering from toxic relationships, hey wait a minute these are all just insanely common topics for metal songs!

they usually play in the same key- wait shit every band has a favored key.

they do a lot of covers- wait shit they have literally more ALBUMS than covers.

(yeah that's weird to me too, but they only did a new level by pantera, from out of nowhere by faith no more, bad company by bad company, mama said knock you out by LL cool J, house of the rising sun by the animals, gone away by offspring, and blue on black by kenny wayne shepard... that's 7. they have 8 albums now.)

so shut the fuck up forever about the cover songs. metallica and the deftones and a perfect circle all had fucking cover ALBUMS, van halen only has a career because of the kinks, and every single rock band in the world is just ripping off the beatles, pink floyd, black sabbath, the who, led zeppelin, and cream. pick a legitimate reason to hate on a band, hypocrite.

alright what else...

"they're gay"

I'm not gonna dignify that with a response.

"they suck"

so does your favorite band. boom roasted.

"they're bad at music"

I'd like to see you do better then.

"they sold out to the military"

no they support the veterans and the troops; they fucking hate the military if you pay any attention at all. they believe in the good parts of the military that the government pays half our taxes to make us believe. you're not better than anyone else just because you see through one specific piece of propaganda because odds are you're blinded by another dozen. they write songs about how war is hell and how when vets come home they should be treated better. and anyway when you're in the dog eat dog world of the music industry hey guess what you need a market to sell to or else it's back to baskin robbins. I don't blame them for one second. if I had the option of endorsing cops to pay my bills you bet your ass I'll fly a blue lives matter flag and sell my soul to make money, and then donate shit to the black lives matter movement. flying a flag is worthless if I can do actual good with the money that those dumbasses send in. and name better irony than fighting to abolish a group that pays me to do it go on I'll wait.

"you're just a fanboy"

a) it's fangirl but metal elitists don't give a shit about the LGBTQ and b) just because I like a band doesn't in any way diminish the validity of my statements and any bias I might have is easily countered by whatever bias you might have and c) they're not even my favorite band you idiot I just think there's way worse out there just like I think it's unfair to say nickelback is the worst band in existence when drunk mom rock like hinder buckcherry savingabel and kidrock exists, and limp bizkit is standing right there, and d) they're not even the worst groove metal band, just look at fucking lamb of god, and e) if I was a fangirl I wouldn't have pointed out the flaws you fucking brainless troglodyte, and f) even if they were my favorite band in the world it doesn't matter if you think they suck because music taste is subjective anyway you goddamn moron. those guys write their own music, play their own music, perform their own music, and they love their fanbase more than most other bands. andrew biersack and kellin quinn and pepper keenan and glenn danzig and liam gallagher and axl rose and van halen and ted nugent and kurt cobain HATE their fans, or at least are huge fucking assholes. but not five finger. jeremy played until he literally broke his back; he's as devoted as phil collins, and if he made like atreyu and sang while drumming he'd be singing from a wheelchair, or like dave grohl when he broke his leg right in the middle of a concert, went to the hospital and got set and put in a cast, THEN CAME RIGHT BACK TO THE FUCKING SHOW AND PLAYED GUITAR AND SANG IN A CAST AND WHEELCHAIR. oh but wait, people say phil collins and dave grohl suck too, and turn around and suck mustaine's dick even though he's the biggest asshole in thrash metal behind tom araya and drunk james hetfield. point being, just because x doesn't like y doesn't diminish z's opinion.

"the singer fucked his daughter lol lol his grandchild is his son too lol lol his daughter is his wife lol lol it's funny because rednecks and incest lol lol" he's from colorado not alabama you dumb motherfuckers, and all the lol incest in georgia jokes are rooted in good ol yankee classism. also the guitarist is hungarian so the american redneck jokes don't even fuckin work. shut the hell up, you have all of the intellectual capacity of a common bog leech.

you can dislike the band. you can say you don't like it. you can say that you'd rather listen to different music. that's fine! that's okay! listen to justin bieber if you like him, listen to taylor swift if you like her, listen to new kids on the block if you want! I don't care! but stop expressing your opinions that you stole from someone else as fact. all you're doing is meme bandwagoning so you can find a community because you don't have the social skills necessary to meet people through the things you love so instead you try to pull serotonin out of making other people feel as miserable as you do.

with that being said, fuck all of the annoying dudebro douchebags who listen to the band and show 5FDP next to the confederate flag, blue lives matter flag, don't tread on me flag, punisher skull, trump sticker, and the crossed assault rifles on the back of your truck. you're all shit for reasons other than your music taste.

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fromis-me-blog · 7 years ago

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Fromis as Youtubers

Disclaimer: In this world the Fromis girls are all aged-up, as the youngest is in high school instead of middle school and 2000-line are freshmen in college. Enjoy!!

P.S: I can’t edit for my life I’m so sorry for the bad edits

Lee Saerom

➥ One of the pioneers of makeup and fashion tutorials on K-Youtube

➥ Known for her on-point eyeliner tutorials because she explains in a really easy to understand way

➥ Nowadays she’s starting to get into yoga so she makes “How to be Healthy” videos bUT no one buys it because she talks about healthy living while having a STACK of chips in the background (tbf she does exercise regularly)

➥ She keeps getting invited to fashion events but usually declines because she gets anxious about her fashion style

➥ Has a collab channel with Hayoung where they post their daily vlogs or some similar domestic crap

➥ Roommate: Song Hayoung (Youtuber, college student/animation major, freelance artist)

➥ Channel Name: romsae | Subscriber Count: 3M

➥ Top Video: Top 10 Things You SHOULDN’T Do With Your Eyeliner

Song Hayoung

➥ Does storytime videos using animations but shows her face here and there (kinda like sWoozie’s videos)

➥ Her videos are very relatable and funny, often revolving around her mess of a student life

➥ She started off posting original songs with her guitar but wanted to share life stories that’s why she’s what she is now (but she does post her songs in her Instagram or Twitter)

➥ Her fans know (No thanks to Saerom) that she professionally trained in hip-hop dance before but she gets really shy when she talks about that

➥ Whenever she poses for her fans she usually imitates the cartoon character Peko-chan so it became a nickname of hers

➥ Roommate: Lee Saerom (Youtuber, beauty guru)

➥ Channel Name: SHY girl | Subscriber Count: 820k

➥ Top Video: MY COLLEGE PROFESSOR SHAT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS

Jang Gyuri

➥ Mostly does storytime vlogs; her life never gets boring so she has new content almost every day

➥ Keeps doing livestreams on Periscope because she speaks more naturally there

➥ The first few videos she posted were filled with “My grandfather didn’t allow me to do this before” so it became an inside joke inside her fandom

➥ Slowly gaining more popularity after being featured in a FBE/Youtubers React video for her cuteness (It was Youtubers React to Aegyo and EVERYBODY was all over her eyesmile)

➥ Sometimes posts skits as well

➥ Roommate/s: Bae Eunyoung (College student/business major) | Yoo Jina (College student/architecture major)

➥ Channel Name: Gyuri Jang | Subscriber Count: 580k

➥ Top Video: What NOT to say to East Asian Kids

Park Jiwon

➥ Originally a viner and her first few videos on YT were compilations of her vine edits (all her friends make fun of her for this but she’s proud of her work... except when she watches them because CRINGE)

➥ Now she mainly does react videos?? She usually reacts to underrated videos (from funny videos to conspiracies) that blow up because of her

➥ Occasionally does Lets Plays too but only for horror games (because she likes screaming)

➥ Sometimes does pranks (mostly on her roommate Chaeyoung #rip)

➥ She’s a popular meme all over the internet. Literally everything she does becomes a huge meme (she’s a 9gag favorite)

➥ Her videos’ intro is her screaming

➥ Roommate: Lee Chaeyoung (Youtuber, college student/law major)

➥ Channel Name: GWon | Subscriber Count: 2M

➥ Top Video: Jiwon Reacts to Her Vine Compilations

No Jisun

➥ Makes domestic videos like Rosanna Pansino

➥ Known for her pretty DIYs. She sometimes makes slime videos but she HATES them because she make a big mess after

➥ She also makes unique cooking vids. She mixes the MOST BIZARRE food together and make them taste EDIBLE?? Like one time she deepfries a chicken leg then dips it in a CHEESE and MAYO combination, and everybody?? liked?? it??

➥ She didn’t want to monetize her content but everybody wanted her aesthetic products so she opened up an online shop

➥ She’s in a culinary course and everybody is scared of her weird ass experiments

➥ Roommate: Lee Dahee (College student/culinary major, freelance singer)

➥ Channel Name: No Jisun | Subscriber Count: 2.5M

➥ Top Video: lettuce + ketchup + fish = ?? || cooking experiment #5

Lee Seoyeon

➥ Mainly a music youtuber (song covers, dance covers, freestyle raps ─ she’s very multitalented) but often posts vlogs

➥ Her fans wanted to know why she didn’t try to make it as an idol and she said that she did train in an agency before but didn’t like how her artistic freedom was kept from her

➥ She used to cover up her eyebags but after opening up about how it made her anxious, she slowly started to leave it as it is

➥ Used to do Lets Plays but she just LAUGHED throughout the games so she stopped

➥ Collabs with a lot of people who people didn’t know were good singers

➥ Roommate: Yoon Jiwoo (College student/music major)

➥ Channel Name: SEOYEON | Subscriber Count: 500k

➥ Top Video: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5 (Acoustic Cover by SEOYEON & GWON)

Lee Chaeyoung

➥ The “Challenge/Tag Youtuber”

➥ Cinnamon Challenge, Spicy Noodle Challenge, Try Not to Laugh Challenge, BFF Tag, Girlfriend Tag (she doesn’t have a girlfriend so she did it with Jiwon)─ you name it, she has it

➥ Not all her attempts are successful though, especially not with Jiwon as a roommate. In some videos, half of the time was spent on Chaeyoung chasing Jiwon who stole the brush she needed

➥ She talks in a very slurrish and not understandable way so she doesn’t do livestreams

➥ Her fans have to talk her out of a dangerous challenge,, When they went to Paris she wanted to do a “Fall from the Sky Challenge”... You’d see how that would have turned out

➥ Roommate: Park Jiwon (Youtuber, college student/psychology major)

➥ Channel Name: CHALLENGE CHAE | Subscriber Count: 790k

➥ Top Video: Roommate Does My Make-up Challenge (MESSY)

Lee Nakyung

➥ A world-famous gamer

➥ Her most popular Lets Play series is Overwatch (mostly because it’s also her favorite so she gets REALLY hyped in them)

➥ Whenever she’s agitated she starts full on SCREECHING at her screen (”Idiot why did you go there!!! NO FCKER THE BASE IS GOING TO OH MY GOD STUPID”)

➥ If she doesn’t post serious Lets Plays she plays the most obnoxious games in the internet

➥ Used to cosplay video game characters but hated having to exert effort all the time so she quit (but her photos are in the internet)

➥ Roommate: Jo Yoori (College student/piano major) but she doesn’t go to college

➥ Channel Name: kyunglixe | Subscriber Count: 10M

➥ Top Video: WHAT NOT TO DO WHILE PLAYING | overwatch #13

Baek Jiheon

➥ Started in Instagram with studyblr that’s why she has a loyal fanbase

➥ Now she does aesthetic Study With Me, What’s in my Backpack, Book Reviews, etc. videos

➥ Her videos are ALWAYS in low saturation AND in pastel or pink and purple. There is NO in between

➥ Sponsored by A LOT of stationery brands that liked her videos, that’s why she has an unending supply of washi tapes and blank notebooks

➥ Occasionally posts vlogs whenever there’s something interesting in school or if her friends come up with something stupid

➥ Roommate: n/a, still in high school but is planning to move in with Nakyung and Yoori

➥ Channel Name: studynread | Subscriber Count: 900k

➥ Top Video: How I Take Notes!

Extra:

↳ Aspiring voice actress Seo Herin is also planning to move in with Dahee and Jisun when she graduates high school

↳ Lee Sian and Jo Youngju live in the room next to Chaeyoung and Jiwon’s so they usually visit over and things go REALLY messy

↳ HaRom is easily one of the most popular ships in the community

↳ Chaeyoung and Nakyung collaborated for a gaming video and people started to ship them

↳ Gyuri sometimes makes videos in the wee hours of the night and over the audio you can hear Eunyoung screaming “SHUT THE FCK UP GO TO SLEEP”

↳ Seoyeon tried to collaborate with Bin Haneul but they played Mario Kart and didn’t finish anything

↳ Jiheon and Jisun collaborated for a DIY video and everybody was BLINDED with the amount of organization and aesthetic in their video...

↳ Don’t tell Nakyung but Jiheon’s better than her in story-based games

#fromis #idol school #ot9 #mine #fromis au #fromisnetwork

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nellpire · 7 years ago

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[0701xx] Nell - Ceci 2007 January issue interview (translation)

Q: You've gone through various changes as you released this album. First of all, the biggest change seems to be that there's a married man among you now! I heard Jaewon has became a father? Jaewon: Yes. (with an indifferent expression) It was a shotgun wedding, so our daughter is already one.

Q: (flustered) Ah, yes. What do the members think have changed since Jaewon got married? Junghoon: The fact that the four of us can't stay up all night drinking anymore. Because he has to go home the moment his wife calls. Jongwan: (suddenly) I think he's pitiful. In my opinion you shouldn't get married to someone you love. The moment you two get married, all of a sudden lots of things like restraint, responsibility and a household that pays no heed to your emotions starts getting involved. I want to live my life with someone without getting married and just let our love grow properly.

Q: Another change is that you left Seo Taiji company for Woollim Entertainment. Some people are critical of that decision. Jaewon: Like many other singers we just changed labels when the contract period was up. It was no more and no less than that. The purpose of their company is to bring indie bands into the spotlight, you know. Now both Taiji hyung and ourselves think it's time for us to stand on our own feet, is all.

Q: Didn't the circumstances surrounding your production change when you switched labels? Jaekyung: When we were in Seo Taiji company we could pick a studio and environment as we pleased without the company interfering. And we made this album too in the same way we always have. There was no physical change other than how the members each own a few more instruments now.

Q: What do you think is the biggest difference between your previous albums and your fifth? Junghoon: The fact that we tried lots of new things. We tried things like string music and electronical sounds and I think it mixed well with our music and gave it a distinct characteristic. Jaekyung: We always used to record as a four man band. As Junghoon said, for this album the scale got bigger while we didn't lose our own touch. It feels like an extension of our previous work. Jongwan: I don't want to compare it musically to our previous albums. On a personal note, my attitude to working was the biggest change. Of course we always work hard on songwriting, but I think I developed a more mature side this time around. Should I say I realized why I make music?

Q: If you were to share a little of that realization? Jongwan: I think happiness is not a possibility without music. A lot of bad things happened in my personal life between the fourth and fifth album. It got to the point where there was not a single thing I wanted to do, not even sex. But I wanted to make music. I realized it's the one and only thing I want to do.

Q: This album is very subjective, and you're speaking about your personal feelings and emotions. So there are many songs that make people feel like they must be written from your own personal experiences. Jongwan: I usually speak through songs to say the things I can't say to anyone, not even my closest friends or family. Most of the lyrics take off from memos I make in my daily life, like excerpts from a diary. Other people set out to write lyrics, but I don't know how to do that. So it has to be from my personal experiences. Making lyrics out of the things I find the hardest to talk about so that even more people find out about it is a contradiction, in a sense. But I have a desire to express, to scream out all the stories that are stacked in my heart for other people to hear. Rather than being embarrassed when people find out the things I've kept so securely guarded, I feel it's a good thing if someone out there who has a hard time can be comforted by knowing that others feel the same.

Q: I was curious to know if, since you make deeply emotional music, you react in a more sensitive manner than other people who go through the same things as you. (all nod) Junghoon: There are times when I'm like that and times when I'm not. If there's something I'm more sensitive to than others, then loneliness? There are times when I'm with the members or my family but all of a sudden I feel like I'm all alone, and I think I'm more sensitive than necessary in those times. Jaekyung: I'm sensitive to fantasies. I have a bad habit of becoming completely engrossed in images from time to time. For example, there's an image in my head for when someone walks past me and I can smell their perfume, and I get lost in the feeling that follows. And when we play music, I have to do it with that feeling. It all feels dull to me if I don't. Living like that makes me distant from reality. Jongwan: I think my personality in itself is sensitive to suspicion, lies and hope. If I'm happy, I should enjoy that, but instead I get suspicious of whether or not this is really happiness. Is the person who makes me this happy really honest with me, how hard will it be when this happiness ends, these kinds of thoughts come to mind instinctively. Everything works in a pattern like that for me. Women, my relationship with my parents, even my work. But when I start hoping for something, then I live on because of that.

Q: Nell is a band with a huge fanbase. What do you feel is a common denominator for the people who like you? Jaekyung: There are fans who have watched over us unchangingly for ten years. And there are many times I've been happy thanks to them. But we never sit down and talk to them. We always see each other from a distance. It's funny but we always say 'It's hard being a Nell fan'. Jongwan: They're people who feel similar things to what we do, is a good way of putting it, I feel. If we fill a song with anger and sing it to them, then they hear anger rather than jealousy or complaints. People like that.

Q: You've often said in interviews that music heals you. This album title is even 'Healing Process'. Junghoon: Even if it wasn't to the point of being autistic, I was a very unsociable child before I met the others and started making music. I had almost no experience of hanging out with friends, always alone at home. Since we started making music I've become a person who laughs a lot, someone who's animated and active. Jongwan: I don't think healing means simply becoming brighter. You know, you can endure sadness and depression if there's a meaning to it. Meaninglessness is what's truly torturous. Finding meaning in a meaningless life, that's how I think music has healed me. Jaekyung: I have thought about whether or not I'd be able to work in another field if I didn't get into music. I think I would have gone completely insane. And I think my ability to express myself has gotten richer through music.

Q: Please tell us about a song that has comforted you a lot throughout your life. Jongwan: Coldplay's Fix You. The lyrics really hit home and makes you realize you can live the way (the lyrics describe). Jaekyung: The new age musician Enya's Watermark. Once the song ends, you're done with living while waiting for your current emotions to disappear. Junghoon: Lee Munse's As Time Goes By. I want to live in the way those lyrics tell me to. Jaewon: The rock band Pearl Jam's first album. Until my second year of middle school, I only listened to light music with no thoughts. They're the band that made me serious about music.

Q: The words 'lyrical' and 'depressing' always appear in Nell interviews, right? Do you dislike that fact? Jaekyung: They are somewhat correct, but I do feel a bit trapped in those words. Jongwan: They're easy words to use. We don't exactly hate the words; we're just frustrated when people don't even try to take us seriously and throw those words around.

Q: Then please tell us some words you wish would appear in your interviews in the future. Jongwan: I really wish to hear cursing for once. ‘Crazy bastards, Nell!’ Ah, now that I said it, it seems a bit too perverted. 'Please curse'. Like a true sadist.. haha.

Q: What do the other members have that you're jealous of? Jongwan: Jaekyung's 188cm height. Junghoon's personality that makes him kind only to women. Jaewon's face? Although, since he's married even his face isn’t what it used to be. Haha. Jaewon: Jaekyung's height. Junghoon's sense of style. Jongwan's sensible personality. Junghoon: Jaekyung's height and silhouette. Jongwan's ability to make you focus on what he's saying, no matter what he’s talking about. I'm jealous of his absorptive power, and Jaewon's ability to not look stupid no matter what jokes he plays. I'm the style to always look stupid, you see. Jaekyung: Jaewon's optimistic side. Jongwan's delicate side. Junghoon's knowledge of the art of living.

Q; Please give us three words each to give us a clue to who you are. All: Three? It's okay if we turn them in next time we meet, right? Haha. (after a very long time of contemplating...) Jongwan: Alcohol, cigarettes, sex. The fundamental things that give me honest comfort. I've never once thought of quitting either of them. Junghoon: Women, women, women. Oh! Now that I say it it makes me think of Seol Undo sunbaenim (t/n: Seol Undo has a song called women women women). Haha. Women are the most important existence in the world. It holds the meaning of love, relationships and several other things all in one. Jaewon: Nell, drums, married man. Those are the most precious things to me right now. All: Hey~ you're being too exemplary~. Jaekyung: For me, idealism. Hedonism... What other similar words are there? Ah! Illusionism? Haha. (Stretches out his hand with his palm facing forward like a certain idol group) We're the illusionists!

Feel free to use, but please credit Nellpire.

#nell #ceci #interview #translation #jongwan #jaekyung #junghoon #jaewon #healing process

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 6 years ago

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Rick and Morty REVIEW: (With MiketheHuman113)

... ... Ahem... To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theo-

Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and welcome to my first review of Deviant-cember year two! In case you aren't aware what Deviant-cember is, it's we're I post one regular upload every Monday and one cartoon review every Friday for the entire month of December. Why am I doing this? Well, consider it a Christmas present from me to you, as a way to thank all of you for helping me get this far. I've done a lot in my three and a half years on this site, and want to keep doing better and better things as the years go on. But I never would of gotten this far without all of your support. You have no idea how much I appreciate all you guys do for me, but hopefully this can give you all somekinda idea. Anyway what can be said about Rick and Morty that hasn't been said already? Ever since the series premieres on adult swim back in 2013 it has blown up in popularity and has become a GIGANTIC hit in not just the animation community, but also in main stream nerd culture as well. T-shirts, figurines, stupid twenty four hour Youtube livestreams that Youtube just won't stop recommending me no matter how many times I click the "uninterested" button, the show is everywhere. Even the big M themselves have taken notice. Clearly there's something about this show that really resonates with people. But what is it? What is it that makes people love Rick and Morty so much? I don't know. Cause I don't like this show. At all. Okay, maybe "at all" might be a bit strong, as there are a lot of elements of the show that I very much like. But as a whole, I really don't get why so many people love this show so much! I tried to like it, I really tried, but no matter what I could never give the series more than just an "okay" at best. And this isn't just hype backlash either, I've been watching the series since episode one, before the show had the recognition that it has now. I just don't like this show! But why don't I like this, you may ask? Is there something there that everyone else see's that I just don't see? Man, if only I had someone semi-notable to help me answer these questions, perhaps in some kind of "collaboration" style situation- WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB!

*Gasp!* MiketheHuman, from MiketheHuman Deviantart reviews? (PLUG!) mikethehuman113.deviantart.com… Here?! In my review? What a simply preposterous concept, if I do say so myself! I’M MR. MIKESEEKS! LOOK AT MEEEEE! *pause* Yeah, I’m not gonna do that voice for the whole review. But it’s still great to be here, man! Right. So let's dive right in, and talk about the adult swim smash hit, Rick and Morty. Also light spoiler warning for the series ahead. Though we'll try to leave a spoiler warning before we talk about any important plot points...let's say beyond the season two finale. Just in case you havn't seen the show yet and want to check it out for yourself. Let’s do it! So grab your plumbus and a bowl of Eyeholes because it’s time to get schwifty in here! I apologize for nothing. Rick and Morty, created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, follows the adventures of Rick Sanchez, an amoral, narcissist, alcoholic mad scientist who, after twenty years of being mysteriously absent from his families life, shows back up into there lives out of nowhere. The series follows Rick, along with his neurotic yet somewhat snarky grandson Morty, as they go on a wide array of sci-fi adventures. Along for the ride is Rick's vapid yet spunky granddaughter Summer, his emotionally repressed daughter Beth, and his idiotic loser of a son in law Jerry. Galaxy and Multiverse spanning shenanigans ensue. Now normally this would be the part where I would go into more details about the characters, but I want to save that for a bit later. As for now I want to talk about the elements of Rick and Morty that I personally think work the best. One thing about Rick and Morty that I have to praise is the way that the show handles it's voice acting. If there's one thing that people think of when they think of Rick and Morty, it's the shows trademarked use of adlibs and retroscripting. Characters stutter and fumble there words when they talk, (A staple of co creator Justin Roiland's work.) and while it may sound like it would get annoying very quickly, it actually gives the show and by extension the comedy a very naturalistic feel, as well as gives a uniqueness to the shows dialogue. The characters talk like how real people, and it's refreshing to hear when compared to the way characters talk in tv shows. Also because of this process the show lends it's self to some really good improved lines. I have to praise co creator Justin Roiland, who does an excellent job voicing both Rick and Morty. He manages to make the two characters sound completely different from each other and the fact that he voices both characters also makes it all the easier for chemistry to build between them, in the same way some cartoons have all the actors record in the same booth to give there characters a dynamic between the characters. It really is impressive how a single man can create two insanely iconic characters with two distinct voices that are still both very much his own. He’s certainly not the first to do it, or even the first to do it in the realm of adult cartoons (Trey Parker and Matt Stone from South Park and Seth MacFarlane from Family Guy), but still, if you were to close your eyes and listen to either Rick or Morty speak, you’d immediately recognize them. And the improvisational style of comedy and dialogue shines through in a vast majority of the show’s episodes, especially both episodes revolving around Interdimensional Cable, in which the writers and voice actors just have a blast throwing whatever they can at the wall and seeing what sticks. Trust me, it’s a lot funnier than it sounds. The rest of the case also deliver good performances as well. Particularly Chris Parnell as Jerry, who plays the character in a very similar way to the way he plays Cyril from Archer. (However, not so similar the point where it feels like the exact same character.) My only criticism with the shows voice acting is that, while Justin Roiland is able to give two characters completely different voices, he's can't really do a third. This results in a lot of the shows side characters sounding very similar, as Justin Roiland plays a lot of them. Sometimes it works in cases where he goes really out there with the voice and comes off very funny, but it's hard to deny that characters like Mr. Meeseeks, Noob Noob, and Mr. Poopybutthole pretty much all have the exact same voice, and it can be a bit jarring. And to be fair, this is an issue Justin Roiland’s had in several other shows he’s done voice work for. Lemongrab from Adventure Time and Blendin Blandin from Gravity Falls both pretty much share the same voice as Mr. Meeseeks and the other previously mentioned characters, for example. It’s a type of voice that I can totally understand if you would get easily annoyed by, and if you see the first episode and you’re already sick of the voices, then this show likely isn’t for you. But if, like us, you find an earnestness and charm to both Rick and Morty’s voices and verbal tics, then it’s just one extra detail to appreciate about the uniqueness of this show overall. The comedy of the show is also pretty strong. While many lines do feel like there improvised (and improved well) a lot of the jokes in Rick and Morty feel very layered in terms of the way that they are written. And considering the sometimes over year long break between seasons it would be hard for me to believe that multiple drafts and rewrites and weren't used when writing these jokes. The shows humor feels very well thought out. This combination of both deeply written layered jokes and off the cuff drunken improve works well in tandem to make the humor really work the majority of the time. I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of dark humor, and that does hold me back from loving the shows comedy, but I completely acknowledge that that's a personal preference, and doesn't take away from the shows writing on an technical level. I feel the show does best when it delves into absurd surreal humor, which it often does. The comedy of Rick and Morty is extremely quoteable in the same way that say The Simpsons and Futurama are. Not to mention the way the shows surrealist style of humor melds so well with modern meme culture. Weather or not that's a good thing or a bad thing I'll leave up to you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpsKsBqqwE

Well, especially given the universally negative reaction to the fanbase lately, I’ll just assume most of you find it a bad thing, so moving on. However, if I had to pick the element of Rick and Morty that I think works the best, it would be the series creative way that the series satirized and subverts the tropes of science fiction genre. Without going into to many specifics, it's clear that the writers behind this series know there sci fi lore and the series is constantly doing new and creative things with it's sci fi premise. This is where the show really shines, with episodes like "Total Rickall." "Auto-Erotic Assimilation" and "A Rickle in Time" while not necessary being the best episodes of the series per say, are the episodes where we see the series at it's most creative, at least in my opinion. Not to bring up the Futurama comparison again, but the series does sort of remind me of Futurama in the way that it satirizes the science fiction genre. Though Rick and Morty's take on the genre is a lot darker, and this does help a lot in differentiating the series and stop it from feeling like a rip off. Even in the show’s weaker episodes, which tend to vary from person to person, you’re almost always guaranteed to encounter something you’ve never seen before. This all comes down to, as previously mentioned, the creativity of the ingenious writers. Even if an episode’s concept has been seen before, the writers will throw enough twists at it to make it feel fresh and new. “Anatomy Park” isn’t a great episode because it’s a parody of Jurassic Park, it’s great because of all the areas explored and the creatures encountered, and the overall unique conflict. “Look Who’s Purging Now” isn’t just great because it parodies The Purge, it’s great because it takes that concept and kicks it up to eleven in the best and most creative way possible. This extends into the episodes that aren’t just straight-up satires, but if I were to list them all, we’d be here all day. This series has this massive scale to it, in terms of the scope of it's story. The world and adventures of Rick and Morty exist on an entirely cosmic scale. The series goes well out of it's way to make you feel the unimaginable scope of the multiverse. It's not something that you see much in many other series. It's one of the shows greatest strengths, but it also may be one of the series biggest weakness too too. But I'll go more into that later. Unfortunately one of the series flaws is that while the writers are able to give the science fiction elements this massive scale, they aren't really able to do this with the more mundane elements. Weather it be Morty's crush on Jessica, Summer's boy troubles, or Beth and Jerry's struggling marriage (which to be fair I don't think I hate as most Rick and Morty fans seem to, and I personally think did improve a lot in season three...) these elements just never seem to be as interesting as the sci fi adventures, which is probably why the series tends to focus less and less on these elements as the series progresses. And to be fair, while it can be a bit frustrating that these plot points are rarely touched upon, there is always a chance that they will be touched upon in future seasons. Even if they aren’t, the focus of the show is still primarily the bizarre, downright insane adventures that Rick and Morty themselves go on. The more mundane elements can kind of be considered a cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that the writers sometimes forget to add. I also want to briefly talk about the show's animation. I've heard a lot of people call it bad. And yes, while it isn't the greatest looking series (I mean it's adult swim after all) I think the the animation does what it's suppose to do. While the art style may not be as crisp and clean as say Steven Universe, I don't think the show would of worked if it was. The world of Rick and Morty is alien, dark, bizarre, and ugly. And the animation reflects this. Sort of like the story the mundane Earth elements is where the animation feels the weakest. But when the series goes into the weird alien worlds and the artist get to just fun with it, that's where the art really shines. It uses creativity to make up for any of it's other shortcomings, and most of the time it works out pretty dang well.

And unlike other “edgy” adult shows like, say, Mr. Pickles, Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, King Star King, and the like, Rick and Morty’s style of somewhat ugly animation isn’t ugly for the sake of ugliness. As Anthony said, it helps that the worlds visited are usually quite varied, unique, and at times even beautiful. No two areas look the same, and it's just another thing to look forward to with each new episode you choose to watch. This applies to both the worlds visited and the creatures encountered, even if most of them end up looking like penises and testicles, whether by accident or on purpose. You make the call! I also want to give the series credit for being, to my knowledge, the first adult comedy cartoon to have a fairly thick continuity. Where actions in one episode has a direct effect on other episodes. (And yes, I'm sure there was some adult comedy series before Rick and Morty to have a continuity, but I'm talking specifically about series with a fair bit of continuity, not just occasional status quo changes or references.) However this show does suffer a bit from what I call Adventure Time syndrome in terms of it's plot points. What I mean with this is that the series will introduce interesting concepts for new plot lines, and just reset to the status quo. Like (Spoiler Warning) the family being intergalactic outlaws after "The Wedding Squanchers." Aliens colonizing the Earth, also in "The Wedding Squanchers." Or the entire Season three divorce plot line. All things that would have been interesting to expand upon, but are just undone to return the series back to the status quo. (Spoiler's Over Now) However, luckily not all the changes are like that, and there are some series changing elements still present in the show, which works to keep the series fresh. It can be quite risky for a show like this to have a non-floating timeline, as it poses the risk of alienating the audience, but Rick and Morty pulls this off quite well. True, there are some episodes that you pretty much can’t skip if you choose to watch this show, like the aforementioned “Wedding Squanchers”, “Total Rickall”, “The Rickshank Rickdemption” and most notably “Rick Potion #9”, but for the most part, the show doesn’t punish you if you’ve missed any of these episodes. The plots themselves are mostly self-contained and if there’s a plot point from a previous episode that makes a return, it’s generally not the main focus of the episode, but more something for the dedicated watcher to pay attention to. But with all of that said, I think it's time that we go back and talk about all the stuff that I said we'd get back to. Let's start with the characters, particularly Rick. Because, while this show may be called "Rick and Morty" the show is really about Rick. Not only is Rick the most popular character in the series BY FAR, but he is also in the A plot of every single episode of the series as of the first three seasons, while there are several episodes where Morty is given the B plot. Your opinion on Rick will make or break this show for you. I will say that Rick is by far the most interesting character in the series. I also think that he is the funniest character, with most of the series's best lines coming from him... ...But honestly, I frickin' hate Rick. And frankly I think about ninety percent of the reasons why I don't like this show come down to how the show treats Rick. WHAAAAAAAAAT?! How could this be?! Rick is an amazing character! This revelation comes off as totally shocking to me and not as though we had planned it weeks in advance! Please go on, I need to hear what you have to say!

Rick's just a really unlikeable character to me, and he becomes more and more unlikeable each and every season. Really, I don't quite get why so many people like him. He's honestly not anything I haven't seen before. He's the same token jerk who you see in every other adult cartoon. You see, ninety percent of all adult American animation tends to fall into two main camps. They'll either have a cast full of jerks, (Like most Seth MacFarlane series for example) or they will have what I refer to as the "token jerk." Y'know, the jerky character who usually becomes the fan favorite because they say what's on there mind and usually have the best lines. Often times the character is an alcoholic, a womanizer, a cynic. And don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with this type of character at all! I don't want you to get that impression. It's a character trope, and there is nothing wrong with character tropes if you use them right or do something different with them, and in all fairness Rick does have a bit more depth than most other characters that fall into this camp. The problem though comes from to way that the show treats Rick. And to explain my problem with Rick, allow me to present this graph I made to help illustrate my point! God, you're a loser. Hey, who the heck said that?! Oh, sorry, that's my TRADE. The fu*ks a TRADE?! Oh, just my Totally Real Assistant that Definitely Exist. Don't worry about her. (She doesn't do much.) I have a name you know. It's- Oooh, side characters interrupting the review. Okay. Nice lore, Linkara. You wanna be the victim of my next satire? I'll...I'll be good s-sir. Yeah, this'll make no sense to any of your watchers you know. Anyway don't you have a graph to show off or something? Ah, right. You're both idiots.

So as you can see by this graph, there tends to be a scale that most "Token Jerk" adult cartoon characters fall under. There's an axis of how likeable vs how evil the token jerk will be. The farther left you go, the more likeable or sympathetic the character is. There the characters who are jerks, but aren't too jerky to the point that we stop rooting for them to succeed. And the farther right you go, the more unlikeable the character is. These are the character who we want to watch fail. We want to watch them be jerks, but then get there just desserts at the end of the episodes. It gives us a sense of schadenfreude. And characters don't just have to be on one side or the other, they can kinda dance around the line depending on the situation, but overall they tend to have some general point that they fall under. And both types of characters can work. One side is not better than the other. It all depends on how well the character is written and how the series presents the character. Okay. So if that's the case where does Rick fall on this axis? Well see, that's my biggest problem with Rick. The show wants to play it both ways! If we're going by moral standards Rick would be WAY on the right side of the graph. He murdered countless people, destroyed several civilization, supplies assassin's with weapons, literally owns slaves, and he also steals cable. Overall, he's a very bad bloke. And again, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. The problem comes from the fact that the show also wants us to sympathize him. And I don't. His actions are horrible, and the fact that this show has continuity makes it even worse, because it makes it a lot harder to look past his actions. Cause basically what were watching over the course of the three seasons that are out so far, is the story of an abuser slowly conditioning his family to take his abuse, and it get's really bad in season three. Again (Spoiler Warning) But if you pay attention it's fairly easy to see how twisted Rick is. He abandons his daughter for twenty years, causing her to grow an almost stockholm syndrome-esq dependency complex, doing anything Rick wants in order to prevent him from leaving. He then purposely let's himself get captured in the season two finale as part of his plan to get rid of Jerry, and not only reawakens his daughters fear of abandonment issues, but passing this fear onto Summer as well. Resulting in her gaining a hero complex regarding Rick. Rick pressures Beth into divorcing Jerry, and due to her newly revived fear of parental abandonment she excepts even after admitting she love's Jerry seconds before. Then Rick either replaces Beth with a clone that he could destroy at any time, or a version of Beth that thinks she's a clone and THINKS that he destroy at any time. All as a ploy to take over the family by manipulating his families abandonment issues that he himself caused. Cause if they don't do what he says doesn't he can just leave again. Who knows, maybe that's why he left twenty years ago in the first place. I mean the creators have said we're never getting any kind of backstory on Rick. All so he can forever force his family to be his assistance, weather they want to or not. (Spoiler's Over Now)

So yeah, between all of that I just don't find myself liking this character. Just because he has one or two sympathetic moments doesn't make up for everything else. What doesn't help is the fact that, despite all of his horrible actions, he always comes up on top. In all thirty one episodes out so far there are only two episodes where Rick really loses. "Auto Erotic Assimilation" and "The Rickchurian Mortydate." You could also make an argument for "Meeseeks and Destroy" but he chose to lose in that one. Other than that, he always wins. He's always right. He always get's his way. It get's to the point where he really comes off as a real Mary Sue character, where he always has something that can fix the situation at hand. Even if it's not set up or even explained, we're just suppose to buy it because it's Rick's and he's the smartest person in the multiverse. Well, the Mary Sue argument is one that I’ll gladly defend against. While yes, Rick does end up winning in a majority of the show’s episodes, it’s not always something he does effortlessly. He has to use his wit and scientific skills to figure his way out of the terrible situations he finds himself in. There’s even some instances in which he has to rely on others to bail him out of an episode’s conflict. He was the only male on Gazorpazorp in the episode “Raising Gazorpazorp” and had to be bailed out by Summer, he lost a ton of IQ points in “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy” and only didn’t die because of pure luck, “Get Schwifty” shows that he doesn’t work well under pressure, hell, even in “A Rickle in Time” not only is he one of the main contributors of the episode’s conflict due to his own uncertainties, but the episode ends with Beth and Jerry laughing at how ridiculous he looks. I’d hardly call that a win. Plus, I think he has more sympathetic moments than you give him credit for. We find out at the end of “Ricksy Business” just how sad and lonely he is with the revealed meaning of his catchphrase, there’s a really subtle scene in “Something Ricked This Way Comes” that displays just how lonely he is without the rest of the family, he actually apologizes to Jerry for interfering with him and Beth’s Marriage in “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy”, and both “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez” and “Pickle Rick” explore how self-loathsome and flawed of a person Rick is, especially with the speech delivered to him by Dr. Wong in the latter episode. The latter two examples may not be sympathetic moments, per say, but they do at the very least prove that he’s not a Mary Sue, or Marty Stu, if you will. And (Spoiler Warning) while I will admit that it’s a pretty despicable action to try and force two people into a divorce, I think the audience can make an exception for Beth and Jerry. Prior to season three, everyone wanted them to divorce. Just ask any fan of this show and they’ll say they wanted them to divorce, I guarantee it. True, but it's how it was handled that bothers me. If Beth and Jerry decided to separate on there own, I wouldn't of minded it. It's the fact that it was Rick, the man with all of the emotional power over Beth, that pulled the strings to make it happen. (Spoiler's Over Now) The show makes many parallels between Rick and God, and I admit that the idea of a person who has all the power of a god, but all the flaws and vices of a human is interesting. But it doesn't really work in the way that the series presents it. We know Rick's going to win in the end, and there's no tension as a result. Also because of this there are a lot of easy ways that problems can be fixed, but aren't because of the plot. Like in "The Rickchurian Mortydate." (Spoiler Warning, Again) Why doesn't Rick just leave and find a universe with a more submissive family? It's not because he loves them, because he's reality hoped before. Also, why doesn't he just use the mind blower from "Morty's Mind Blowers" to just erase Beth's memory of possibly being a clone once it started becoming a problem for him? That's just one of many examples of plots that could be solved WAY easier then they are. (Spoiler's Over Now) The shows nihilistic philosophy also helps make it hard to care about anything that happens. When there are an infinite number of realities, and the show goes with the idea that anyone can easily be replaced by one of the infinite possible versions of themselves because nothing matters, then why should I be invested? Who cares if someone dies, they can just go find another version of them, or clone them, or whatever. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters, which I guess is the point of the show. But to me what it really comes down to is that Rick and Morty is the story of an immoral, emotionally abusive all powerful God, who always wins and exist in a universe where nothing matters. And we're suppose to be emotionally invested? How am I suppose to relate to a God? I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work for me. At all. Again, I would disagree that Rick always wins, but I think you just hit the nail on the head on why people relate to Rick and, by extension, this show. It is purely nihilistic, but, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, so is this latest generation of millennials! I know, I know, there’s a lot of stereotypes surrounding this group, but I’m not kidding when I say that nihilism in this day and age is more prevalent than ever. All you need to do is go to any news channel to figure that out for yourself. But that’s why people can relate to Rick. He’s the ultimate in nihilism. He has all the power in the universe and yet he’s absolutely miserable. He can create anything he wants at any time he can, but he’s lonely; he can’t relate to people, he’s harsh to the people that love him the most. A lot of people around our age have found themselves in very similar states of depression that Rick is going through. Obviously a majority of the people I’m referring to aren’t super geniuses like Rick, but that nihilistic aspect of his character just makes it that much more relatable that even a character as godlike as Rick can be as bitter, unhappy, and lonely as a lot of people find themselves these days. Maybe that’s why a lot of people can identify with him and look past the terrible things he’s done that have either been seen or alluded to. That is an interesting perspective. I guess I can see how some people could relate to this. And if Rick and Morty has helped people like with these problems realize that there not alone, than I can't fault it for that. I guess part of it comes from the fact that, I'm not a nihilist. I try to be an optimistic person and see the best in things, so maybe that's why I have trouble relating to Rick. As for why he doesn’t just switch universes, he did say in “Rick Potion #9” and “Morty’s Mind Blowers” that it’s something he can only do a limited amount of times, so there’s at least a bit of an explanation for that. Yeah but they never explain why he can only do it a couple of times. If there are an infinite number of universes then there should be a infinite number of universes at any given moment that he could switch to. It's not like traveling between universes is at all difficult for him. It honestly just feels like a line thrown in to try to give the show more stakes, even when there aren't any. Honestly this may be something that we might have to just agree to disagree on... The rest of the cast range from meh to okay personally. Though they all commit the same kind of terrible acts that Rick do, though to a much lesser extent. This, again, makes them hard to like. Also several characters like Summer and Beth seem like there written pretty inconsistently between episodes. If I had to pick a favorite out of the main cast I'd probably say Jerry. He's flawed, he's by far the most likeable, and I'm actually rooting for him to win. Sure he's not perfect, and has his fair share of jerky moments too, but when it comes to character motivations all he wants is a normal life. It's hard not to root for that. I also do kinda like Morty's character act of learning how to manipulate Rick and becoming more and more disillusioned with with him. Someone that doesn’t loathe Jerry with a fiery passion of a thousand suns? I thought people like that didn’t exist! It’s nice to know SOMEONE doesn’t despise this harmless character. Yeah, he’s not perfect and he can be manipulative at times, but WAY too many people treat him like he’s the most unlikable character ever conceived. To that I say, really guys? Is he really that bad? I will give you Summer and Beth, though. Summer can be cool but wildly inconsistent, and Beth is just….the worst. Never funny, always bitchy, and always unlikable in every episode she’s in, with the exception of the final two episodes of season 3. Hell, when she was threatened into making a choice of saving one of her two kids, she INSTANTLY chose Summer. Right in front of Morty! Why does a majority of the fanbase hate Jerry when Beth exists in this show, exactly? I know. I personally don't get it. Personally I think a lot of my points I pointed out above are why so many (Not all, keep in mind.) of the people in the Rick and Morty fan base are so toxic. Because while yes, the show does try to show that you shouldn't be like Rick, they never really show any negative repercussions for acting as such. The show gives off this vibe that, as long as your smart, nothing else matters. Which is a real philosophy that I think is becoming more prominent by the day, as I think that there are people who hold intelligent at a higher value then just being a good person. And I think this attitude is what attracts these types of people. Because it's easy for someone to decide that there smart. (SOME PEOPLE KEEP IN MIND. I'M NOT SAYING ALL RICK AND MORTY FANS ARE LIKE THIS. IN ACTUALITY IT'S PROBABLY ONLY LIKE ONE OR TWO PERCENT. I'M JUST SAYING.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GC5rAX0xHg

You're really using that clip? Yes. There. Now that we've referenced every Rick and Mortmeme I think it's time we start to wrap up this review. I believe you forgot about "Show me what you got." Mr. CrimeArt. Damn. Well anyway, Mike, since you are my guest I'll let you go first. Any final thoughts? And do you recommend the series to anyone reading this who's yet to watch Rick and Morty? (Who somehow got this far into the review.) I can totally see where someone like you would be coming from in your dislike of Rick. I may love him, but I will fully admit that there are a lot of things to hate about him, and his writing isn’t always the most consistent. But that’s certainly not enough for me to dislike him. To me, he’s the prime example of doing a “jerk with a heart of gold” trope perfectly. Sure, he’s done hideously heinous things in nearly every episode of the show, but something about his not-give-a-fu*k attitude, his charm, and his sheer badassery are enough for me to look past his, at times, pure dickishness. He’s funny, he’s sympathetic, and despite displaying all these godlike abilities and powers, the show does a fantastic job at showing that he’s very much a flawed individual, unlike say, Roger from American Dad! Rick may be the most flawed person on the show, in fact, but that’s all up for debate and this review is long enough as is. In short, Rick is amazing and I love nearly every second of the show when he’s onscreen. Though I can understand where others would disagree. As for the show itself, I absolutely recommend it to anyone that hasn’t seen it yet. Though I would advise starting with the first four episodes and seeing if you like what you’re presented with. This is not a show for everyone and if the first four episodes don’t convince you, the rest of the show likely won’t. But if you find yourself enjoying those first four, I can almost guarantee that you’ll fall for this show head over heels. It’s unlike any show that’s come before it, with its unique plots, fantastic characters (even if we happen to disagree in that regard), beyond clever writing, and bizarre yet somehow beautiful visuals that just get more and more impressive with each season. Easily one of my favorite adult shows, if not my favorite, as well as one of my favorite cartoons of this decade, which is certainly saying a lot. Yeah. As for me, as odd as this may sound after my long tangent, I also do recommend that you check out the series for yourself. Wait, Really? Yes. Because, while I do personally have a lot of problems with the show, I've been around the internet long enough to know that I am in the minority. Almost everyone else I've run in to love this show, and I do kinda get why. The comedy is really clever and funny. The worlds they create is interesting. And I admire that the show has the guts to deal with things like philosophy and existentialism. Also the season three finale seems like it'll be making some changes to the status quo that I think would help improve the show for the better, though honestly I have my doubts that it'll stick, but only time will tell. I get why people like the show. There are elements of the show, and even whole episodes that I do enjoy. I also can see how people can like Rick, and just find him more charming and how endearing than I do. I can also see how he can be seen as a power fantasy character. I mean who wouldn't want to be a all powerful godlike jerk who can do whatever they want while still having a heart of gold? There's nothing wrong with power fantasy characters, if there was then Superman wouldn't be a national icon after all. Honestly, I think it's just a personal thing. Something about this show just doesn't click with me, and while I'll probably never one hundred percent understand how so many people can love the show, that doesn't mean that my opinion is anymore valid than there's. So check out the show and watch it for yourself. You'll probably like it. Or maybe you'll be like me, and just not get what all the hype was about... Thanks for coming to help me on this colab, Mike. Any Parting Words? It was great to collab with you, Anthony. I wish the best for your page and to those of you that want to see more of my stupid shit, I do reviews of TV shows and movies and I also do satires of some of the biggest assholes ever to taint the website of DeviantArt! Links to some of my favorites of each down below. SHAMELESS PLUG!!1!!111!11! So that's our thoughts on Rick and Morty. What do you all think of the series. Leave your thoughts in the comments down bellow. I would love to start a conversation, even if your opinion is completely different from my own. Also tell me what you think of the collaboration format. It's something I want to try experimenting with, so I would love your input. And if I were to collab with another deviantart review, which one do you think I should do? Leave all of that in the comments down bellow. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review and don't forget to check out MiketheHuman's page for more reviews from him. And come back next week as Deviant-cember....get a lot more Super. ... Is it Dragon Ball Super? Frickin' TRADE...(Sigh!) Have a great day. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review. All credit goes to there original owners.)

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weekendwarriorblog · 6 years ago

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND February 8, 2018 - THE LEGO MOVIE 2, WHAT MEN WANT, COLD PURSUIT, THE PRODIGY

Well, folks, this week I’m travelling down to Oxford, Mississippi for the 16th Annual Oxford Film Festival (and my third time there as a juror), so that’s really what I’m most excited about this week, although there are a whopping four movies released Friday then another three wide releases next week, so I’ll be looking forward to when things slow down again.

You’ll also notice a pretty major change in this week’s column, and that’s because I’m happy to report that I’ll now be previewing and reporting box office for my good friend Heidi McDonald over at The Beat (Comicsbeat.com), so you’ll be able to read my box office stuff there but still get some insight into the new movies coming out here, especially if you’re interested in the lower-profile limited releases, streaming and repertory stuff. But I’ll still write about the wide releases, and this is most likely where I’ll be reviewing many of them still, since I haven’t been asked to write reviews for The Beat just yet.

Either way, as long as I still have time to write a modified version of this column focusing on the limited releases, I will do so, including a link to my column over at the Beat every week, so you won’t miss out on what I know some people read the column for, which is my box office analysis. If for some reason, you don’t care about anything besides the studio releases, please let me know, since it’s a lot of writing if nobody is writing. THIS WEEK’S BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS AT THE BEAT

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART (Warner Bros.)

Directed by Mike Mitchell (Trolls) Written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (with story by Matt Fogel) Voice Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell MPAA Rating: PG

This is one of the easier movies this weekend to talk about, since it’s the year’s second sequel after M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, and it’s not exactly reinventing the LEGO wheel, as it follows shortly after the events of 2014’s The LEGO Movie, which became another hit for Phil Lord and Chris Miller after having hits at Sony with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (plus its sequel) and 21 Jump Street.

In the five years since that hit, the Warner Animation Group released The LEGO Batman Movie, which also did fairly well, but Lord and Miller are coming off their recent animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which seems to be heading towards an Oscar in the Animated Feature category at the end of the month.

Reviews for the movie have been great, just like the original movie, but as seems to be the case with me a lot lately, I’m the outlier as I really didn’t care for the sequel at all for reasons you can read in my review linked below.

MY LEGO MOVIE 2 REVIEW

WHAT MEN WANT (Paramount)

Directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray, Bringing Down the House, Rock of Ages, The Pacifier) Written by Tina Gordon, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Erykah Badu, Max Greenfield, Peter Davidson, Kellan Lutz, Shaquille O’Neal MPAA Rating: R

Offering the first bit of counter-programming is the latest movie from mega-producer Will Packer, who has had hits with Girls Trip, Think Like a Man, Ride Along and many more (including sequels to two of those). This one is a reenvisioning of the 2000 Nancy Meyers comedy What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, which scored an astounding $182.8 million over the holidays that year.

This remake switches genders as well as races as Taraji P. Henson plays a woman who can suddenly hear what men think… and I feel very badly for her to be subjected to that, although it’s bound to lead to a lot of funny moments, some of which you can see in the trailer. Helming the movie is Adam Shankman, who has had great success in the comedy realm with movies like Bringing Down the House, which paired Steve Martin with Queen Latifah, and mixed results with musicals. (I actually didn’t like Hairspray very much, compared to the John Waters film, and was also kind of disappointed with Rock of Ages, having seen the musical on Broadway.)

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see What Men Want in time to review – and most reviews probably won’t show up until Thursday either -- but I do hope to see it down the road sometime, as I’m definitely a fan of most of the cast and the cast.

COLD PURSUIT (Lionsgate/Summit)

Directed by Hans Peter Molland (In Order of Disappearance) Written by Frank Baldwin, Kim Fupz Aakeson Cast: Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Emmy Rossum MPAA Rating: R

Also hoping to appeal to older guys who might not be interested in the above two movies, this is the second remake of the weekend and fourth for the year as Norwegian filmmaker Hans Peter Molland transports his 2016 film In Order of Disappearance to Colorado with Liam Neeson as a father getting revenge for the murder of his son. The original movie was quite innovative but didn’t get much attention when it was released by Magnolia a few years back, but one presumes Neeson’s fanbase, who have supported him in similar high concept action-thrillers, will give this one a look as well. I’m not even sure I want or need to mention the trouble Neeson faced recently with a few controversial statements, but I have a feeling those who might be interested in a straight-up revenge movie like this won’t be upset by Neeson’s confession.

Shockingly, reviews for this have also been great, right up there with The LEGO Movie 2, and of course, I hated it! Incidentally, I interviewed Molland for In Order of Disappearance along with original star Stellan Skarsgard, which you can read here.

Mini-Review: Normally, I am not one to trash a remake merely for being a remake, although so far this year, none of the English remakes I’ve seen have stood up to the original foreign language films on which they were based.

I was kind of wondering why Norwegian filmmaker Hans Peter Molland would make the same movie over again with different actors, but maybe he had some ideas of how to reimagine it to rural snow-covered Colorado with Liam Neeson as snowplow driver Nels Coxman. Nels has just learned that his son has died of an overdose, so he goes after the men he thinks is responsible.

There’s quite a few changes from the original movie but few of them are any good, especially the number of unnecessary characters added like a couple local police officers, one played by Emmy Rossum, who just make this seem more like a straight-up Fargo rip-off than the original movie did.

There are plent of other problems with Molland’s attempt to reenvision the original story, including how erratic it is in its storytelling. For one thing, Nels immediately goes after his son’s killers, brutally killing three men after getting information from them, then dumping their bodies in a roaring river. Obviously, Liam Neeson seems more than capable of handling his revenge, so one wonders why he would bother to waste money hiring a hitman to go after Tom Bateman’s Viking, the head druglord in the region who may have ordered his son murdered.

It’s sad that Americans might watch this movie and think anything positive about Tom Bateman’s awful performance, but it’s even sadder when you realize how extraordinary Pal Hagen was in the original role of “The Count” – Bateman just doesn’t have a handle on the character at all.

Worst of all is how the film is fairly misogynistic with Laura Dern (barely in the movie as Nels’ wife) and Rossum being two of the only women in the film not depicted as hateful shrews but really not given very interesting roles to play.

Cold Pursuit never seems as clever or innovative as the original movie, and many of the jokes just fall flat compared to the original where the Scandinavian quirkiness added so much to the film’s dark humor. Cold Pursuit just doesn’t offer anything particularly interesting beyond the typical Hollywood revenge flick with the film’s better action setpieces being taken almost verbatim from the original movie. Rating: 4.5/10

THE PRODIGY (Orion)

Directed by Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact) Written by Jeff Buhler Cast: Taylor Schilling, Jackson Robert Scott, Colm Feore, Brittany Allen MPAA Rating: R

But wait, there’s more! And it’s this high concept horror film that exists within my favorite sub-genre of horror: evil kids! This one stars Orange is the New Black star Taylor Schilling, whose son (played by Jackson Robert Scott) is the prodigy of the title, but he also might be an evil killer. I also won’t have a chance to see this movie before heading down to Mississippi on Wednesday, so not sure I have much more to add, although I did like the trailer when I finally had a chance to see it.

Furthermore, STX and Alibaba released the Chinese animated PEPPA CELEBRATES CHINESE NEW YEAR, based on the British sensation seen on Nick Jr., into 65 theaters across the country Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and I hear that many showings sold out!

FESTIVALS

Sadly, not many of my readers will be able to join me down in Oxford, Mississippi where I will be one of the jurors for the 16thOxford Film Festival, but I might try to write something about my experiences, as I have in previous years, because it’s often one of my favorite annual experiences involving movies.

Besides the Oxford Film Festival, the annual Berlinale runs from Feb. 7 through Feb. 17 AND Lincoln Center’s Film Comment Selects runs from Feb. 6 through 10… but like I said, I’ll be at Oxford, so that’s what I’ll be covering. Got it?

LIMITED RELEASES

This weekend begins the annual OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (separated into four programs with the short docs split into Part A and B), playing at the IFC Center in New York and at the Landmark Nuart in L.A. If you want to do well in your office Oscar pool at the end of this month, you’ll make an effort to see all fifteen of the nominated short films, as that often is the make or break for most predictions. I know that I will try to watch and write something about them (although most of my shorts-focus right now is on the ones I’m judging for Oxford, to be honest).

Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi returns with the Spanish language film EVERYBODY KNOWS (Focus Features), starring Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Argentine actor Ricardo Darin (from The Secret in Their Eyes), which involves Cruz playing a woman named Laura, who returns to her childhood home for her sister’s wedding only for her teen daughter to get kidnapped by people who think her husband (Darin) has lots of money. To find her daughter, Laura calls on her former lover (played by Bardem) and secrets start being exposed about their relationship. I liked this film quite a bit, as it employs much of what has made Farhadi’s Iranian films so special – he’s a fantastic writer who really pulls many emotions out of his actors while slowly building a story into a third act full of interesting developments. Everybody Knows opens in select cities Friday, and likely will expand over the next couple weeks.

The Audience Award winner from last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Shawn Snyder’s TO DUST (Good Deeds Entertainment), stars Geza Röhrig (Son of Saul) as Hasidic cantor Shmuel, who recently lost his wife and tries to find solace by looking into how her body would decay. In order to learn this, he partners with Albert, a community college bio professor played by Matthew Broderick, to perform experiments about body decomposition.

Just a couple weeks after Netflix streamed his movie Polar, Jonas Akerlund’s previous film LORDS OF CHAOS (Gunpowder and Sky/Vice Films), which premiered at Sundance last year, will open in select cities and On Demand. It follows Norwegian black metal band Mayhem whose new singer (played by Jack Kilmer) goes by the name “Dead” … and then he actually kills himself. Fun! The very dark comedy stars Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen (Brooklyn), Sky Ferreira, and it’s pretty entertaining in the vein of the doc Anvil: The Story of Anvil. I’ve seen a lot of hilarious movies about the music biz with This is Spinal Tap and Tapeheads being two of my favorites, and I have a feeling this has the potential to become another cult classic that will be found on almost every band’s tour bus for years to come. In other words, significantly better than Polar.

The next film in the series of anthology films based on major cities around the world is BERLIN, I LOVE YOU (Saban Films), a series of ten fairly humorous and romantic shorts set in Berlin starring Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Luke Wilson, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna, Jim Sturgess and many more. The directors involved in this one are a mixed bag including German filmmakers like Til Schweiger and Mexico’s Fernando Eibecke (Duck Season) and even Glee star Dianna Agron making her directorial debut. It opens in theaters as well as on VOD and digital HD, similar to most Saban Films movies.

From Berlin, we move to Paris as Veep star Matt Walsh stars in Archie Borders’ Under the Eiffel Tower (The Orchard), playing Stuart, a man dealing with a mid-life crisis after losing his job, so he tags along with his friends’ family on a vacation to Paris. After embarrassing himself, he heads off to the French countryside with “ladies’ man” Liam (Reid Scott, also from Veep) and cross paths with a vineyard owner, played by Judith Godrèche from The Overnight.

Following its world premiere at last year’s Fantasia Film Festival, Robert D. Krzykowski’s directorial debut The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Big Foot (RLJE Films/Epic), starring Sam Elliot, will open in select theaters and on VOD/Digital HD Friday. In the comedy, Elliot plays Calvin Barr, a man who… well, read the title. It’s fairly descriptive. Calvin did indeed kill Adolf Hitler and now the government has called on him to kill Bigfoot before the legendary creature spreads a deadly plague to the populace. In other words, Elliot can expect another Oscar nomination this year. (it also stars Ron Livingston, Aidan Turner and Caitlin Fitzgerald.)

A long-running horror franchise returns with The Amityville Murders (Skyline Entertainment), written and directed by Daniel Farrands, who previous directed a History Channel documentary about the 1974 murders when Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his entire family as they slept, saying that “voices” commanded him to commit murder. This dramatization stars John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Diane Franklin (who appeared in Amityville II: The Possession!) and Paul Ben-Victor from various Netflix shows.

Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s doc The Gospel of Eureka (Kino Lorber), narrated by Mx Justin Vivian Bond, looks at the town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas in the Ozarks where pious Christians mingle with the queer community in a local gay bar, breaking down the divide we’re currently seeing in the country.

“NFL player turned actor” Thomas Q. Jones (Luke Cage) stars in Matthew Berkowitz’s A Violent Man (GVN Releasing), playing an unknown MMA fighter who beats the undefeated champ (played by actual MMA champ Chuck Lidell) at a local gym and gets a shot at a fight for the title until a female reporter covering the story is found dead with him as the main suspect.

Lastly, Emma Forrest wrote and made her directorial debut on Untogether (Freestyle) stars Jamie Dornan as a writer who has an affair with his teen prodigy (Jemima Kirke from Girls), while her real-life sister Lola Kirke (Mistress America) plays her younger sister, who has an affair with an older man (Ben Mendelsohn).

STREAMING

One week after Dan Gilroy made his Netflix debut, Steven Soderbergh continues his run of low-budget indie films with HIGH FLYING BIRD, starring André Holland from Moonlight as sports agent Roy Burke, who is caught in a dispute between the pro basketball league with the players. It’s also written by Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney, who wrote Moonlight.

Also, the Netflix series One Day at a Time returns for its third season, while Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj also returns this Sunday.

REPERTORY

Before we get to the repertory regulars, I just want to share that BBQ Films, a fantastic group of film fanatics who create unique cinema events around films like Beetlejuice and Blade are kicking off their new program GREEN SCREEN this Sunday, Feb. 10, with a screening of David Chappelle’s 1998 movie Half Baked at the Chelsea Music Hall on West 15th, which will include pre-show entertainment, stand-up comedy and more. I won’t go into details about the all-encompassing theme of Green Screen, but you can probably figure it out by clicking on the link. Next show is March 3 with Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which actually celebrates its 30thanniversary on February 17.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

I haven’t been to my favorite local theater in a while but hopefully that will change soon.

This weekend’s Late Nites at Metrograph offering is Luis Bunuel’s 1972 film The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise, while Playtime: Family Matinees screens Tom Moore’s 2014 Oscar-nominated animated film Song of the Sea.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Tarantino’s theater will show the Spencer Tracy-Katherine Hepburn film Woman of the Year (1942) on Wednesday, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II (1974)will screen from Weds. through Sat. with The Black Godfather (also 1974) screening at midnight on the same nights. The weekend matinee is the 1968 Carol Reed musical Oliver! Sunday and Monday, the theater screens double features of Paul Wendko’s Battle of the Coral Sea (1959) with Angel Baby (1961), as well as screening Robert Townsend’s Hollywood Shuffle Monday afternoon. Tuesday’s “Grindhouse” double feature is Shark! (1969) and Shamus (1973), both starring the late great Burt Reynolds!Oh, and Tarantino’s own Oscar-nominated film Pulp Fiction (1994) will screen on Friday at midnight.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Far Out in the 70s: A New Wave of Comedy, 1969 - 1979 celebrates one more full weekend with Albert Brooks’ Real Life (1979) on Thursday, as well as a double feature of Smile (1979) and Stay Hungry (1976), starring Jeff Bridges, Sallly Field and one Arnold Schwarzenegger. Friday is a double feature of The Late Show (1977) and Harry and Tonto (1974), then Saturday sees a single screening of Peter Yates’ 1972 film The Hot Rock, plus a double feature of Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H with Brewster McCloud, both from 1970. Sunday’s amazing line-up is Burt Reynolds’ Smokey and the Bandit, Bread and Chocolate (1974), Hal Ashby’sThe Landlord (1970) and Shampoo (1975)… sadly the latter two aren’t a double feature. Monday is a double feature of Mike Nichols’ The Fortune (1975) and Jack Nicholson’s Going South (1978), and then the rest of the week is mainly repeats.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Luchino Visconti: Cinematic Nobility kicks off on Thursday with Burt Lancaster in The Leopard (1963) and Ludwig (1973) on Sunday. (There’s a Happy Death Day double feature with Happy Death Day 2 U on Saturday night but that’s not quite “repertory” even if it sounds cool.)

AERO (LA):

The one and only Norman Jewison will be appearing in person for A Tribute to Norman Jewison with a number of double features through the weekend. On Friday night, there’s a double feature of Moonstruck (1987) and …And Justice for All (1979), followed by The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! (1966) with Jewison joined by Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint, plus a separate screening of 1971’s Fiddler on the Roof and then on Sunday, there’s a double feature of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and The Cincinatti Kid (1965).

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Actor Jeff Goldblum is getting the retrospective treatment with The Goldblum Variations featuring a wide variety of the actor’s work running through Feb. 23. Some of the highlights this weekend include The Big Chill (1983), David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

Beginning Wednesday, the Brooklyn Arts Museum (or at least that’s what I think BAM stands for) begins a series called Race, Sex & Cinema: The World of Marlon Riggs looking at the work of the filmmaker who brought a voice to gay black men, which includes a 30thanniversary screening of Tongues United, as well as his documentaries Ethnic Notions (1986) and Color Adustment (1992) as well as more, including a screening of Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning Moonlight, which was inspired by Riggs’ work.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Early Godard takes the weekend off, but Waverly Midnights: The Feds shows one of my favorite Ridley Scott films, Hannibal, starring Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore. Late Night Favorites screens Tom Hanks’ popular favorite Big (1988), directed by the late Penny Marshall.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

This Friday’s midnight movie is David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986).

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER(NYC):

Most of the Film Society’s repertory screenings this weekend are part of Film Comment Selects, including a rare screening of Jerry Schatzberg’s Honeysuckle Rose (1980) with Schatzberg in person for a QnA.

MOMA (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Sir Sidney Poitier screens 1962’s Pressure Point on Weds, the 1966 Western Duel at Diablo on Thursday and Paris Blues (1961) on Friday. Cinema of Trauma: The Films of Lee Chang-dong also continues through Saturday with 1999’s Peppermint Candy on Friday afternoon and Lee’s latest Burningon Saturday night.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI begins its latest retrospective series Poets of Pandaemonium: The Cinema of Derek Jarman and Humphrey Jennings with Jarman’s 1993 film Blue (paired with the short Listen to Britain) on Friday, 1985’s Angelic Conversation andThe Last of England (1987) on Saturday and In the Shadow of the Sun (1981) with The Birth of the Robot on Sunday. It runs this weekend and next. Also, See It Big! Costumes by Edith Head (which started last week) continues this weekend with Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) on Saturday and To Each His Own (1946), The Heiress (1949) and Roman Holiday (1953) on Sunday.

That’s it for this week, but time-permitting, I’ll write something about the new movies coming out next week, which includes the sequel Happy Death Day 2 U, the Manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angeland the rom-com Isn’t It Romantic?

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend THeLEGOMovie2 ColdPursuit WhatMenWant #TheProdigy Movies Reviews Repertory Streaming

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years ago

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Go Woke Go Broke

I am a fan of great stories. I adore brilliant, unique, art. I adore when both are integral to a creation be it film, comic, book, short story, light novel, fan fiction; Whatever. I find the ability to build worlds in almost any capacity, incredible. I’m also an older Millennial; Part of the tweener, X/Y, Oregon Trail generation. Born in the 80s, raised in the 90s, and came of age in the early 00s.We played until the street lights caught us, my first game system was an NES, and all my Saturday morning cartoons were sans Disney, toy commercials. I got an honorable mention once at a science fair and my parents were unimpressed so Participation Trophies were a joke to me and i learned how to deal with bullies by dealing with bullies. I had to worry about gangs shooting up my school, not that lone, weird kid in a trench coat. I’m all about representation but i understand that if you want people to look like you on film, you’d better find a way to make that film in white ass Hollywood. Basically, i have sense whereas most Millennials born after 89, do not. I need to make that distinction because we are about to get into some sh*t.

The merit and value of representation or visibility in mainstream media is dependent on the quality of said portrayal in the cultural zeitgeist. I’m a giant black dude who lives in America so representation for me basically begins and ends with a thug persona. As a black person in general, watching actors who look like me get passed over in roles that are uplifting and enriching to the culture like Hurricane or Ali for very specific, very demeaning, very marginalization, stereotypes, is disgusting. Black people, however excellent they are, never win for anything other than the magical Negro, uplifting slave, or non-threatening service person. Hidden Figures is an amazing tale of the trio of black women who saved NASA during the height of the space race. It was nominated for three Oscars and won none. Mahershala Ali did win an Oscar for best supporting actor portraying Juan, a drug dealer. Another movie he was in won several Oscars as well, Green Book. Ali plays Dr. Don Shirley characterized by the magical negro trope. I can go on and on. Denzel Washington got his second Oscar for Training day playing a corrupt ass cop when he turned in a much better, far more emotional performance, in Hurricane the year before. His first? Glory, where he played a former slave. A few years later? Snubbed for Philadelphia. Washington played, deftly i might add, a lawyer named Joe Milller who had to reconcile his own prejudices bout what it meant to have AIDS. Dude wasn’t even nominated. Tom Hanks won, though. See that pattern?

I don’t like Steven Universe. I don’t think it’s a very good show but because it has a massive fanbase among the LBGTQ community, it’s bullet proof from criticism. Nah, i’m about to go in. I adore Rebecca Sugar and i commend her creativity. My favorite episodes of Adventure Time are often attribute to her in some way, wither s0rt direction story boarding, or song writing. Marceline wouldn’t be Marcy with Sugar and i’ll always love her for that. That said, Steven Universe is melodramatic trash that uses pandering as a crutch. I don’t have a problem with the gays or whatever getting their visibility, but there are ways to do it without coming across as plagiarized drivel. Euphoria immediately comes to mind. Universe wears it’s anime inspirations on it’s sleeve. Sugar is a massive fan of Sailor Moon and you see, just, SO much of that in this show. Entire scenes and plot points are directly lifted from Usagi’s epic adventure but, because of the nostalgia goggles, cats are blinded to the straight-up theft. I’m not. That lack of originality is hindrance to the message. I mean, not really, i guess, because people love this show but it’s hard for me to acknowledge anything genuine about it because i know it is all a fraud. Hell, Land of the Lustrous, a manga by the name of Hoseki no Kuni, bares more than a striking similarity to Universe and came out a full year before Steven first bared his belly gem! Guess what Lustrous is? A manga! Guess who loves anime and manga? Sugar! Guess who has built a career on Sailor Moon images and Fan art? Sugar! Hell, Lustrous does a better job of LBGTQ representation by accident. Seriously, check that sh*t out. It’s an excellent narrative that doesn’t pander to the SJW crowd. It just tells it’s story about gem girls and space monsters. Sh*t is dope.

Where i feel the most sting, however, is in the US comic industry. All of this PC wokeness is in direct contrast to creative storytelling, for the most part. Marvel is hilariously guilty of this sh*t. I was on board when they decided to turn carol Danvers into Captain Marvel, effectively retiring her leotard costume and pretending kike it never happened. Fine. I liked that design but i get how impractical is was. The homage to Mar-Vell in her current duds is cool, too. I was one of the few that waited before running to judgment as Bendis race-bent Spider-Man into Miles Morales and then gender bent Iron Man into Riri Williams. Riri is a sh*t character in her own right but the outrage was more about her gender and race which made the criticism seem neckbeard nerd rage. Even then, i stuck around. Hell, when that Mockingbird run dropped and was literally a feminist manifesto, i let it ride because it was cleverly written and, foe the most part, i am kind of a feminist. More Equalist but there are feminist undertones in there. More recently, however, we got this New Warriors book and this is where i have to draw the line. Snowflake and Safe pace? Token non-binary hero? Marvel used to be at the forefront of this sh*t. They had gay superheroes in the 70s. They got married in the 80s. They addressed AIDS in the 90s and muslim bigotry in the 00s. Marvel was always crazy social conscious. That was one of their story telling staples and they delivered those messages with a light but firm touch.

F*ck, dude, the X-Men are an allegory for black people and the Civil Rights movement! Magneto and Professor X are literally caricatures of Malcom X and Dr. King. mainstream comic, broaching the subject of discrimination, camouflaged in the vibrant arto f superhuman clashes, sold to white kids across America, during the f*cking 60s? Are you serious? That sh*t changes minds. That sh*t starts a conversation. That sh*t is status quo changing! Snowflake and Safespace? F*cking really? This is your social discourse now? Disrespectful parody of a marginalizing slur and already absurd concept derived by weenies? This isn’t even satire, it’s outright disrespect. I think safespaces are detrimental to proper, healthy, discourse or that the notion of those who stand up to offense are snowflakes who “need to get a sense of humor”, but for real? The fact that cats just tacked on the one is non-binary just outright exposes the true intent. This sh*t is pandering, straight up. It’s non representation It’s not progress. It’s disrespectful Woke point grabbing. It’s superficial lip-service being played to those that feel like their label isn’t getting enough media scrutiny. I think all of these new genders or whatever are stupid but i’m an old person. Some kid might identify with being non-binary or whatever and THIS sh8t is what they have to look forward to seeing. You can’t be serious.

Now, the whole reason i’m writing this, the entire reason i was even thing king about this subject, is because of Late Night with Lily Singh. Singh is a comedy Youtuber who has crossed over into the mainstream. I, personally, don’t find her funny, but i understand how important her success is in the world. Singh is, if you haven’t deduced by her name, a Desi woman. She’s a Canadian of Punjabi descent and she’s making moves. Ma is one of the most popular channels on the platform and, indeed, i first came across her through another cat i follow. Even though i personally do not enjoy her content, the breadth of what she has accomplished does not elude me. Singh is a powerhouse and should be recognized as such. However, her actual, on-air, late night talk show is f*cking dog sh*t. Singh is not geared for that. Like, at all. Her jokes are bad, her monologues are delivered with a clumsy anxiousness that belies the energetic skit-maker from her Youtube channel, and she is the worst interviewer on television! Her guests are often visibly bewildered. Watching James Corden interview someone is off-putting, dude does his best impression of graham Norton, but Seeing Singh just assault her guests with mediocrity is textbook cringe. Why the f*ck was she put into this very public position, thrown to the wolves, doomed to fail?

Her show is bad, man, but when you say so, the PC Police come out to beat your sh*t in. Singh is Indian, female, and bisexually; The three biggest spaces on the Marginalized bingo board. Being brown, or queer, or prone to vaginas gets you them woke points whenever you create anything but to have all three at once? Boy, you bulletproof! Saying anything remotely resembling criticism gets you cancelled on the grounds of sexism, homophobia or just plain classic racism, all the while, her show i literal sh*t! Singh, herself, is often racist and sexist throughout her “comedy” skits! I’m not one to subscribe to white people being discriminated against. A a black dude with a firm grasp of history, i personally believe white people should just take it when a minority goes after them because they never have a problem taking from everyone else. Goose/gander, you know what i’m saying? That said, there’s an art, a nuance, to that racial observation. Singh does not deliver her content with that deft touch. She’s built a career on malicious caricatures of the whites and the penises, which would be fine if there was a message in her satire, but there’s not. It’s base and uninspired.

You can build a career on that type of content. Dave Chappelle’s entire career is that type of content and he’s one of the greatest comedians to ever comedy. The difference between his material and Singh’s is that Chappelle says something. Chappelle hits you in the gut and forces you to look within. His sh*t is actually profound. Lily Singh is not. She’s skews closer to that trainwreck, Nicole Arbour, than she does Eddie Murphy. She’s more Amy Schumer than Wanda Sykes and that sh*t is on full display with her terrible, terrible, talk show. I read somewhere that it might be getting cancelled soon and my first thought was, “It’s not cancelled now?” If i am aware that Singh’s content is pedestrian, surely the studio knew it was. I mean, the ratings of her show are abysmal. She even found her way into a race controversy as a female, lesbian, Desi on TV! Then it dawned on me; This wasn’t true representation This was NBC casing Woke points. They never believed in this show, rather, wanted to use Singh as a sounding board. She’s a trophy for a network trying to court that meek, 90s baby, everyone-is-special, “Muh anxiety”, crowd. It didn’t work and Singh’s show is getting shelved, as it should, but it’s f*cked up that this is what representation at the corporate level looks like. This sh*t is tokenism, plain and simple

Representation is great. I want all of us to be seen. People around the world judge our various cultures based on what our entertainment contributes to the cultural zeitgeist of the world. Mot blacks aren’t gang-bangers, rappers, or dug dealers. Most Muslims aren’t terrorists. hell, most Muslims aren’t even of middle eastern descent! Islam is the largest religion in the world. You’re more likely to meat an south Asian with a Koran than an Iranian with a suicide belt. Gays aren’t going to turn you, Women don’t have vagina dentata, and the handicapped are more resilient than you think. Don’t pander. Don’t token. This game of playing for Woke points in the media and arts needs to stop. All of this faux outrage by mostly rich, white, people on behalf of the people their privilege marginalizes, needs to stop. Patting yourself on the back because you’re book has a Sudanese, paraplegic, lesbian, lead is not being progressive, it’s masturbatory at best. Approach your project with a sense of levity, common sense, and, more than anything, respect. Is what you deem “representation” a good look for whatever class you’re trying to champion? Or is it just a means to stroke your ego and push your politics? Are you Brad Pitt or are you Kathleen Kennedy? Is what you want to show us going to do more bad than good?

At the end of the day, create what you ant to create, just be conscious of how you create. Evaluate your message. Make sure it’ something that needs to be said. Something that, when said, can’t be ignored. Make the message profound and the representation enriching. Make that sh*t count because doing so in an effort to appear the Wokest, just trivializes everything you are attempting to do.

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Go Woke Go Broke

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