to go along with that poll though... you should try rereading, as an adult, books you hated in high school or college. like. i cannot stress how much more sense they will make. (sometimes. personally i don't think i ever will understand the appeal of Moby Dick but that's probably more a me-problem.)
you change. you see things. you learn things. you start to understand what empathy actually is and see things from other people's povs. and suddenly that book you thought was so incredibly dumb becomes an "oooooh" moment because you realize it was bigger than your developing 8th grade brain could realistically process.
we force kids to read books too young -- like, yeah. you should be forced to read things that bore you or that you don't fully understand. that's how we grow. but also Romeo and Juliet was written about teenagers, not for them. no book that has been long considered a standard part of The Literary Canon should be tossed because college freshman find it boring. they're freshmen. they do that. they also think all-nighters, keg parties, and a steady diet of pizza and ramen are good ideas lol.
reread books you didn't get. there's a good chance you'll see why it was required reading.
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It's 3 am. I can't sleep. And I'm still a little drunk so I'm going to word vomit into the void about Last Night in Soho.
I absolutely adore this movie. The acting, the directing, the cinematography, the themes- it's all fantastic! ... except for the character John. And this has nothing to do with the actor portraying him but John's place in the narrative as friend/romantic interest to Ellie while being a foil to Sandie's own "Johns".
Ellie's John is everything Sandie's aren't: kind (apologizing for taking her coke and offering to give it back, saving a seat for her in class, checking up on her through the semester), respectful (of her boundaries and her passion and personhood), supportive (showing up for her exhibition), and helpful (offering to look for Sandie in missing person cases and moving her out of her apartment at the end of the movie). Even Sandie - the character who hated men most - pardons him and absolves him of any perceived wrong doing, "Save the boy downstairs"; although just minutes ago she stabbed him in the gut and left him for dead.
Unfortunately, it reads alot like "Not all men!! ☝️"
For a movie to be so focused on the relationship between two women and one of them understanding the other as if she was herself, the crux of the film, the resolution of it is Sandie saying "You can't save me, it's too late for me. Save yourself. Save the boy downstairs." And it's only then that Ellie goes to safety, she saved herself to save a man.
It's frustrating.
It's also frustrating that any other girl around Ellie's age is vapid and facetious "So brave ❤️" or an insecure bully dragging people down. Of course, this serves to make Ellie's attachment to Sandie stronger but writing John as a woman without romantic connotations would not stop her from being starstruck by Sandie. It would only highlight the sisterhood theme.
Sandie saying, "Save the girl downstairs" would make way way more sense for her character, Ellie's character, and the themes.
You can still have Ellie bring home someone near Halloween and still have his name be John and still have him respect her boundaries when the vision bleeds into reality.
Gotta keep in mind that this would edge itself closer into the black best friend being a prop/support for the main white character without being afforded their own personhood cliché, but that could be easily circumvented with decent writing.
Overall, it would tighten the film's message of sisterhood, women supporting women, and advocating for each other. This film is at its best when Ellie is showing kindness to Sandie by pulling the blanket over her feet. Her being protective over Sandie by shouting, "She said no!" Trying to hug her and show her she isn't alone. Her hugging Alexandra and seeing Sandie. Her refusing the Johns' their revenge. By taking Sandie's side time and time again. And Alexandra asking Ellie after the dance when her John left, "Did he hurt you?" As if she would hobble down the street that very second with a knife to track him down.
Another girl must not suffer in that room. Not under that roof. Not in the whole damn world. Not if Sandie or Ellie or I have anything to say about it.
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IPKKND HEART TO HEART CONVO-(1/n)
It was a nice Sunday morning. Arnav was laying on his bed lazily, half asleep, with his hands folded behind his head. Khushi was, fresh out of the shower, getting ready for the day.
Khushi (quietely inching towards the bed) : Arnavji...? Aap so rahe hain kya...?
Arnav (already squinting at her with sleepy eyes and ruffled hair) : Khushi tum mujhese 'ji'-'aap' karke kyun baat karti ho...? Maine tumse kaha hai na that you are my equal. Tum me aur mujhme koi difference nahi hai.
Khushi (a knowing smile on her face, sat down beside him) : Yeh toh aapka baddappan hai Arnavji, joh aap humse aisa keh rahe hain.( You are being modest, Arnavji.)
Khushi : Hum aapse aise baat isiliye karte hain kyunki hum aapka samman karte hain. Humari nazron mein aapka kad bohot uncha hai.
Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki aap humein apna baraabar maante hain. Lekin aap nahi jaante ki aap humein jaan-anjaane mein kitna kuch sikha dete hain. Aap bhale hi kehte ho ki aap bhagwan mein vishwas nahi rakhte par humne apni puri zindagi mein aapke jaisa, nek insaan, aaj tak nahi dekha hai, joh apne aap ko nastik (atheist) kehta ho.
Arnav : But Khu-
*She placed her index finger on his lips*
Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki aapko purani baatein yaad karne ka koi shauk nahi hai par aaj humein bolne dijiye Arnavji. Aap humesha humein chup kara dete hain par aaj hum bolenge aur aap sunenge.
Khushi : Aaj hum aapko batana chahte hain ki hum aapki itni izzat kyun karte hain.
Khushi : Hum samajhte hain ki aapke liye kisi par bharosa karna kitna mushkil hai. Humein ab samajh mein aata hai ki, aap par kya beeti hogi, jab aapko yeh laga ki, jis ladki se aap pyaar karte hain, usne aapki zindagi ke sabse ahem insaan ke saath, dhoka karne ki koshish ki hai.
Khushi : Beshak tab aapke paas hum par vishwas karne ki koi vajah hi nahi thi kyunki tab hum aapke liye koi nahi the.
*Arnav knew where this was going and closed his eyes to steel himself*
Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki, har roz aap apne aap ko koste (curse) honge. Aapko lagta hoga ki, na aap Di ki raksha kar paaye aur na hi aap, humari vajah se, humare liye, apne aap ko, rakshas banne se rok paaye. Aapne kabhi socha hi nahi hoga ki, jis ladki se aap itna pyaar karte hain uski, nazron mein aapko itna niche girna hoga, ki aap apne aap se bhi nazrein nahi mila payenge.
*Arnav slowly starting to get teary-eyed, turned his face away from her, to hide it*
Khushi : Hum jaante hai ki hum galat nahi the phir bhi humare saath galat hua par hum yeh bhi jaante hain ki aapko bhi utna hi jhelna para tha. Hum samajhte hain ki aapko kitni ghutan hui hogi. Chahte hue bhi aap hum par vishwas kar hi nahi paaye honge.
*She laid her head on his chest with tears rolling down her face*
*Arnav slowly starting to sob, placed his hands softly on the back of her head, caressing her hair gently*
Khushi (speaking through her shaky voice) : Hum jaante hain ki aapko kitna dard hua hoga, ki aap hum se kitna pyaar karte hain, ki aapne hum par vishwas kiya aur humein mauka diya, humare pyaar ko apnaya.
*She started crying bitterly, shaking, trembling against his chest*
*Fresh tears, big and hot, rolled down his face as he took in her words*
He gently pulled her upright, sat up and wrapped his arms around her tightly, eyes shut, tears flowing continuously, his body trembling with the weight of the emotions, that her words held.
****Both of them sobbed for several minutes, calmed down gradually****
Khushi (wiped her tears, sniffing) : Isiliye jab hum aapke pair chune ke liye jhukte hain, toh aap humein roka mat kijiye.
Arnav (wiping his tears, look at her, pursing his lips) : Theek hai. Lekin SIRF tumhare liye.
Khushi (grinned) : Wada kijiye humse! (extended her palm)
Arnav (held her hand, smiling) : I promise, Khushi. Tumhare liye, kuch bhi.
Khushi : Hum bhi na! Ek hi din aap chutti par ghar-pe hote hain aur woh bhi hum roh-dho ke barbaad kar rahe hain.
She stood up hurriedly to complete drying her hair with the towel and placed it on the recliner.
Arnav : Tum chah kar bhi mera waqt barbaad nahi kar paogi, Khushi. (Note- *cue* when he had said something similar but very different to La, in her intro epi)
He made his bed, hung the towel on his shoulder and walked to the bathroom.
Few minutes later....
Khushi (to Garima, smiling dreamily) : Amma, aapko pata hai! Humare Arnavji duniya ke sabse acche pati the, hain aur humesha rahenge....
So.....I tried this one in Hindi....shall I...umm...is it better in English..? I don't even know... Also I don't know if I am allowed to casually tag people here or not. But I wanna thank them as well...so..
Phati-Sari, Jalebi-weds-bluetooth, Paobhaji, chutkiandchotte, onadaanparindey, dimaagkadahi, kashmakash, arnavsinghraizada, laadgovernorandsankadevi, pakki-ya-nahin and all the other IPK fans as well..
Mentioning all of you here because I have huge amount of gratitude to all of you, in some way or the other, I owe you the entertainment that I have received and enjoyed from all of your content and that too for...um...FREE!?!?! I can never thank all of you enough for all that you have done and are still doing for us IPK kids. So, I am trying to do something close to what all of you have done... THank you from the bottom of my heart.
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