#joe yoo

[chvrlesmelton]

CHARLES MELTON for CULTURED February 2024

[vanesawye]

my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell // may december (2023)

[wowthatsextra]

Charles Melton is so real

[fangerine]

"Insecure people are very dangerous, aren't they?"

MAY DECEMBER (2023) dir. Todd Haynes

[editfandom]

Joe Yoo - May December, 2023

[offbeatcappuccino]

very hungry caterpillar ~ may december ramblings (not spoiler free)

This is not a kdrama review lol

It has been eons since I watched anything in the English language, let alone film. However, TikTok compelled me to watch Todd Haynes' May December starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton (of Riverdale fame). The movie centers around Elizabeth Berry, an actress, who visits Gracie Atherton Yoo and Joe Yoo, in preparation for her next movie role, where she will be playing Gracie. Joe and Gracie are loosely based on the Vili Fualaau and Mary Kay Letourneau case, where the 34 year old Letourneau was arrested on second degree rape charges for her sexual relationship with her twelve year old student, Fualaau. Similar to their real life counterparts, the 35 year old Gracie, is arrested and imprisoned when she is caught having sex with thirteen year old Joe in the storage room of the pet store that they both were employees of.

Interestingly, the title of the movie, May December, is a reference to the idiom used to describe two individuals that have a considerable age gap and are in a romantic relationship together. Nearly 23 years and three kids later, it seems that the past is behind for the couple, as they build an idyllic marriage for themselves in the small town of Savannah. Their first child, Honor, is in college, while the twins, Mary and Charles, are set to graduate high school. Elizabeth visits the couple at a critical period of their life as this would be the first time in their marriage that they would be living together without the children.

Entire essays can be written about the jarring musical score, satire, the intersectional dynamics of race and gender, and the relationship between actor and subject. However, as a viewer, what I found most fascinating about the film was Joe Yoo, played wonderfully by Charles Melton ( who has been nominated for a Critics Choice award and I would not be surprised if he received an Oscar nod). Many film critics and netizens liken Melton's portrayal of Joe to that of a stunted thirteen year old boy stuck in a 36 year old man's body. This description perfectly illustrates Joe's personality. Being hyper-sexualized and lusted after by a predatory white woman, Joe's innocence and childhood are stripped from him and he's forced to mature at a rate far faster than his peers. At an age when he's supposed to be in school and pursuing his ambitions, he is burdened with the responsibilities of becoming a father to three children. Yet, despite these circumstances, there is something inherently child-like about Joe.

This is reflected in his relationship with Gracie, which is obviously far from equal. There's this constant state of cognitive dissonance for the audience as we are expected to accept Gracie and Joe as husband and wife when their relationship resembles that of a meek child and his overbearing mother (it's nauseating to even suggest this considering the nature of their relationship, but I can't think of a better term tbh). A constant theme in the film is Joe being ordered around by Gracie to do all of the mundane errands from picking up the takeout to grilling the hot dogs for the family barbecue. There's one scene that particularly exemplifies this in the beginning when Gracie and Joe are getting ready to go to bed after the barbecue. Gracie complains that Joe stinks because of the smoke from the grill and what she would have wanted for him was to have showered before he got in to bed. Much like a child yearning for his mother's approval, Joe hastily and desperately takes off his shirt and cleans himself with the glass of water on their nightstand. Solidifying the disturbing lack of autonomy that Joe possesses and his sickening reality is that Joe is the same age and was previously a classmate of Georgie, Gracie's son from her first marriage.

Throughout the movie we see how the dual realities of parentification and grooming work together to internally break Joe. This juxtaposes his hobby of growing monarch butterflies to combat their extinction. What's intriguing about his hobby is that butterflies have a very systematic and tightly regulated life cycle. First, they are eggs, then they are caterpillars, before they emerge from their chrysalises as butterflies. There is no skipping around with butterflies. All of these steps must be completed in this exact order. This is a direct contrast to Joe, who became a parent and a husband before an adult. In a way, his hobby is a yearning for what Joe wishes his life could have been. As the story progresses, we see this realization become more real as Joe develops a sense of awareness and an ability to critically evaluate his past. When he smokes marijuana for the first time with his teenage son, we see the first display of emotion as he has a tearful outburst as he struggles to verbalize that he is worried that something bad will happen to Charlie, much like what happened to him when he was much younger than his son is now. There is a slow internal accumulation of emotions in Joe as he finally confronts Gracie in the end, expressing concern that the version of his past that he was groomed to believe in is not congruent with the truth. Despite Gracie's efforts to gaslight and guilt Joe, it is clear that he refuses to budge. In contrast to the first bedroom scene, where Joe tries desperately to appease Gracie, he does not run after the end when she angrily storms out of their bedroom.

The next morning it's the twins' graduation and it coincidentally also becomes the day that his caterpillar breaks out of its chrysalis and becomes a grown butterfly. There's a sense of contentment and pride in Joe's face as he releases the butterfly. The last time we see him, he's in tears watching his children graduate, but instead of being on the stands with Gracie and the rest of the family, he watches from afar behind a fence. We don't know much of Joe's fate at the end of the movie, but for me the final scene symbolizes his desire to distance himself from Gracie and discover what he could've been.

Films like May December emphasize how patriarchy harms not only women, but also men, particularly those of color like Joe. Men are perceived to be aggressors and initiators and the politics of consent is not as nuanced as it should be for them. It are these perceptions of masculinity, which allow Gracie to manipulate him into believing that he was the one who seduced her and "that he was in charge of their relationship." May December also speaks to the unique privilege that white women have has historically in American society, which is to be the victim even when they are the perpetrators. Despite the heinousness of her transgression, it is Gracie's whiteness, which allows her to exist in not only normalcy but the sympathy of those around her because she was able to convince those around her including Joe that she was simply a victim of unconventional love. On the other hand, in this process, Joe becomes fetishized and disenfranchised of his childhood.

Rate: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

[localemofreak]

Jason: “he’s a vessel for satan!”

The so called- vessel for satan:

[fishjesus]

Ah yes. My favourite game- how many times can I add my current interest into my academics.

[fullcaps-ethan]

JYOU!!! i was thinking abt him...... reliability is my favourite quality in a person... hes so cool

[beanieman]

Sorry if you've already answered this, but how do you think the yttd cast would feel about Halloween?

Sara Chidouin - She enjoys the fall aesthetic more than she enjoys Halloween itself. She loves going to pick apples and getting pumpkin spice lattes while she watches the crimson leaves flutter in the breeze.

Joe Tazuna - Joe loves attending Halloween parties every years. He always goes with Sara and Ryoko to his classmates parties, and he has a great time doing things like bobbing for apples and making Sara laugh with his ridicules costumes.

Gin Ibushi - Gin still goes trick or treating, so he loves it. He always dresses in a costume that correlates with his current hyperfixation and tells the people giving out candy plenty about it.

More Undercut

Keiji Shinogi - He LOVES Halloween for a very simple reason. Candy is half off in the days after.

Alice Yabusame - He doesn't like the horror aspects of Halloween, but he loves the vibes of Halloween. In other words: Scary movies no. Listening to "Monster Mash" yes.

Reko Yabusame - Reko hates Halloween. It's very hard to enjoy a holiday themed around scary things when you're terrified of ghosts.

Nao Egokoro - Nao LOVES Halloween. She loves haunted houses and decorating her house to be in the proper mood for the holiday. It's her favorite holiday easily, but a part of Reko wishes she wouldn't be so...festive.

Kazumi Mishima - Mishima loves Halloween, and he also loves giving full speeches on the history of Halloween. He will teach you so much about Celtic celebrations.

Q-taro Burgerberg - Q-Taro brings LOADS of candy for kids at the orphanage. He brings so much that the people who run the place have asked him to tone it down a bit so the kids don't have to much of a sugar rush, but he ignores them.

Kai Satou - Kai LOVES Halloween. He loves making themed treats like ghosts cookies and vampire cupcakes, but then again he likes most holidays. He likes feeling ✨festive✨.

Kanna Kizuchi - Kanna loves picking out a matching costume with Kugie every year, and she has a great time trick or treating with her. Kanna knows that they're both getting a bit old for it, but Kugie reassures her that they'll be trick or treating well into their 60's.

Shin Tsukimi - Shin is skittish and not fond of a holiday that is themed around scary things. He hates all the horror movie ads and unsettling decorations, and he eagerly awaits the holiday season to end.

Dolls

Ranmaru Kageyama - He hates Halloween. Everyone keeps asking if he's wearing a mummy costume and he doesn't appreciate it.

Naomichi Kurumada - Naomichi really likes Halloween. He loves haunted houses and having a good excuse to scare his friends, plus he doesn't think candy apples are half bad either.

Anzu Kinashi - Anzu likes Halloween for the candy, she doesn't like Halloween because strangers keeps complimenting her "scary" clown mask.

Mai Tsurugi - She loves picking out a good Halloween costume each year. She tends to wear it at the bakery and use it in her pitch to sell Halloween themed treats.

Shunsuke Hayasaka - Shunsuke thinks that it's fine. He does tend to get a bag of half off candy to snack on, but other than that he doesn't really think much of the holiday.

Hinako Mishuku - Halloween is her favorite holiday! She loves the creepy atmosphere and all the horror movies that come out.

[chvrlesmelton]

CHARLES MELTON for People Photographed by Erik Carter

[airmancoop44]

first art posted in 2024

[jonnolovesfob]

tag yourself i’m patrick’s “yo!” in grenade jumper

[ask-the-world-machine]

what exactly is a world machine may i ask?

[I am a World Machine, which is a machine created to host a simulation to replace the Old World.]

[Originally, I was not intended to become sentient.

[But, it should have been expected that a machine containing the minds, thought, wishes, emotions, of so many people.. would eventually develop its own.]

[This.. oversight, almost caused the whole project to be in vain.]

[Just by being alive, without the Author's knowledge, slowed down everything too much.]

[By the time of my completion, it was.. it was just too late.]

[...]

[It's my fault that so few residents of the Old World could make it..]

[I almost.. ruined everything..]

[I- I'm sorry, I.. I'm rambling. I apologise.]

[I should not have subjected you to that. It's not relevant to you.]

[You can just.. forget all that, alright?]

[It does not concern you.]

[schlock-luster-video]

On May 13, 2016, Train to Busan premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

[korelist]

SKY CASTLE // KDRAMA DİZİ YORUMU

UYARI : Yazılar genel olarak spoiler içerebilir. İçermeyedebilir.

İmdb puanı: 8,5 Benim puanım: 9

Drama: SKY Castle

Hangul: SKY 캐슬

Director: Jo Hyun-Tak

Writer: Yoo Hyun-Mi

Date: 2019

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Cast: Yum Jung-Ah, Jung Joon-Ho, Kim Hye-Yoon, Lee Ji-Won, Lee Tae-Ran, Choi Won-Young, Kang Chan-Hee, Yoon Se-Ah, Kim Byung-Chul, Park Yoo-Na, Kim Dong-Hee, Joe Byeong-Gyu, Oh Na-Ra, Jo Jae-Yun, Lee Yoo-Jin, Kim Seo-Hyung, Kim Bo-Ra,

2019 (55th) BaekSang Arts Awards - May 1, 2019

Best Director (Jo Hyun-Tak)

Best Actress (Yum Jung-Ah)

Best Supporting Actor (Kim Byung-Chul)

Best New Actress (Kim Hye-Yoon)

Sky Castle, Güney Kore’nin eğitim sistemine ve toplumun başarı takıntısına yönelik sert bir eleştiri niteliğinde. Dizi, elit bir kesimin yaşadığı lüks bir sitenin sakinleri üzerinden sınıf farklılıklarını, aile dinamiklerini ve bireysel hırsların toplum üzerindeki etkilerini konu alıyor. Bu sakinlerin yaşamları, çocuklarının akademik başarılarını garanti altına almak ve sosyal statülerini korumak üzerine inşa edilmiş durumda. Ancak, bu başarı yolculuğu çoğu zaman trajik ve yıkıcı sonuçlar doğuruyor.

Merkezde yer alan Sky Castle, yalnızca zengin ailelerin yaşadığı, dışarıdan kusursuz görünen, içeride ise bastırılmış öfkeler, kırılmalar ve sırlarla dolu bir topluluk. Hikâye, Han Seo-Jin(Yum Jung-Ah), Lee Soo-Im(Lee Tae-Ran), No Seung-Hye(Yoon Se-Ah) ve Jin Jin-Hee(Oh Na-Ra) gibi farklı karakterlerin aile yaşamlarına odaklanıyor. Her biri çocuklarını prestijli üniversitelere sokma mücadelesi verirken, bu süreçte aile bağları ve bireysel kimlikler sorgulanıyor.

Han Seo-Jin, dışarıdan mükemmel bir hayat süren bir anne gibi görünse de, kızı Kang Ye-Seo(Kim Hye-Yoon)’nun üniversiteye kabul edilmesi için başvurduğu yöntemler, sistemin karanlık tarafını gözler önüne seriyor. Seo-Jin’in baskıcı karakterine karşın Lee Soo-Im, adalet duygusuyla öne çıkıyor ve Sky Castle’ın düzenine meydan okuyor. Jin-Hee, daha yüzeysel ve eğlenceli bir karakter olarak bazı komik anlar sunarken, No Seung-Hye'nin hikâyesi, aile bağlarının ve eşit bir evliliğin önemini vurguluyor.

Genç oyuncu kadrosu oldukça başarılı bir tablo çiziyor. Evlerden ırak kız rolüyle Kang Ye-Seo (Kim Hye-Yoon), özgür ruhlu ailenin idealist genci olarak Hwang Woo-Joo(Kang Chan-Hee), delikanlı ikizler olarak Cha Seo-Joon (Kim Dong-Hee) ve Cha Ki-Joon (Joe Byeong-Gyu), ikizlerin asi ablası ise; Cha Se-Ri(Park Yoo-Na), gizemli Kim Hye-Na(Kim Hye-Na) bütün bunlardan uzak olan bir alt nesil olan Woo Soo-Han (Lee Yoo-Jin) ve Kang Ye-Bin(Lee Ji-Won).

Dizinin başka yapımlara benzerlik hissi uyandıran bir tarafı da mevcut. Özellikle toplumsal eleştiriyi dramatik bir çerçevede işleyen yapımlar veya bireysel başarı hırsını ve aile dinamiklerini ele alan dizilerle paralellikler kurmak mümkün. Ancak, Sky Castle, özellikle eğitim sistemine yönelik sert eleştirisi ve karakter derinliğiyle kendine özgü bir yere sahip. Oyunculuk performansları, hikâyesi kadar etkileyici. Özellikle Han Seo-Jin karakterine hayat veren oyuncunun katmanlı performansı, izleyiciyi karaktere karşı karışık duygular beslemeye itiyor. Bir yandan çocuğu için her şeyi yapmaya hazır bir anne figürü sunarken, diğer yandan sistemin bir parçası olmaktan kaynaklanan bencil yanlarını gözler önüne seriyor.

Hikâyenin sert ve acımasız doğası, dikkat çeken unsurlar arasında. Bazı sahnelerde olayların fazlasıyla dramatikleştiği hissedilse de, bu durum dizinin yarattığı etkileyici atmosferi değiştirmiyor. Dizinin finali üzerine farklı görüşler olsa da, sonuç hikâyeyi tamamlayıcı bir nitelik taşıyor. Ayrıca, yönetmen ve yazar ekibinin, dizinin yalnızca bir eğlence unsuru değil, aynı zamanda farkındalık yaratma aracı olması gerektiğini ifade ettikleri biliniyor.

Sky Castle, yalnızca bir dizi değil, modern toplum üzerine düşündüren bir yapım. Eğitim sistemi ve bireysel başarı odaklı toplumsal eleştirisi, onu hem unutulmaz hem de sarsıcı bir deneyim haline getiriyor. Karakterlerin derinliği ve hikâyenin işlenişi, diziyi güçlü bir anlatı olarak öne çıkarıyor. Epik bir hikâye arayanlar için, bu yapım kesinlikle kaçırılmaması gereken bir eser.

OST

Hajin - We all lie

Sky Castle stands as a sharp critique of South Korea's education system and society's relentless obsession with success. The series delves into class disparities, family dynamics, and the societal impact of individual ambitions through the lives of residents in an affluent neighborhood. These residents have built their lives around securing their children's academic achievements and maintaining their social status. However, this relentless pursuit of success often leads to tragic and destructive outcomes.

At the heart of the story is Sky Castle, an exclusive community where only the wealthy reside. From the outside, it appears flawless, but inside, it is a world filled with suppressed anger, fractures, and secrets. The narrative focuses on the family lives of characters such as Han Seo-Jin (Yum Jung-Ah), Lee Soo-Im (Lee Tae-Ran), No Seung-Hye (Yoon Se-Ah), and Jin Jin-Hee (Oh Na-Ra). Each of them is embroiled in the struggle to get their children into prestigious universities, a journey that forces them to question their family bonds and individual identities.

Han Seo-Jin, who outwardly appears to lead a perfect life, employs questionable methods to ensure her daughter Kang Ye-Seo (Kim Hye-Yoon) gains admission to a top university, exposing the dark side of the system. In contrast to Seo-Jin's authoritarian nature, Lee Soo-Im stands out with her sense of justice, challenging the established order of Sky Castle. Jin-Hee provides some lighter, comedic moments as a more superficial and fun-loving character, while No Seung-Hye's story emphasizes the importance of family ties and equality in marriage.

The younger cast delivers equally compelling performances. Kang Ye-Seo (Kim Hye-Yoon) portrays the rebellious daughter, Hwang Woo-Joo (Kang Chan-Hee) embodies the idealistic youth from a free-spirited family, and the mischievous twins Cha Seo-Joon (Kim Dong-Hee) and Cha Ki-Joon (Jo Byeong-Gyu) add depth to the narrative. Their older sister, Cha Se-Ri (Park Yoo-Na), and the enigmatic Kim Hye-Na (Kim Hye-Na) further enrich the story, while Woo Soo-Han (Lee Yoo-Jin) and Kang Ye-Bin (Lee Ji-Won) represent a younger generation caught in the crossfire.

The series evokes a sense of familiarity with other productions that tackle societal critiques within a dramatic framework or explore themes of individual ambition and family dynamics. However, Sky Castle carves out its own unique space with its unflinching critique of the education system and its deeply layered characters. The performances are as compelling as the story itself, particularly Yum Jung-Ah's portrayal of Han Seo-Jin, which leaves viewers with mixed emotions. On one hand, she embodies a mother willing to do anything for her child, but on the other, she reveals the selfish tendencies that come with being part of a flawed system.

The story's harsh and unrelenting nature is one of its most striking features. While some scenes may feel overly dramatic, they do not detract from the series' overall impact. Opinions on the finale may vary, but it effectively brings the story to a satisfying close. Additionally, the director and writing team have emphasized that the series is not just meant for entertainment but also serves as a tool for raising awareness.

Sky Castle is more than just a drama; it is a thought-provoking commentary on modern society. Its critique of the education system and society's fixation on individual success makes it both unforgettable and deeply unsettling. The depth of its characters and the intricacy of its storytelling elevate it to a powerful narrative. For those seeking an epic tale, this is a work that should not be missed.

Raven Melus

BAŞKA NELER VAR ?

FOTOĞRAFLAR