#or even when she does have east asian features she sometimes is just as pale as the white cast

[the-shark-is-a-mammal]

everytime an artist / colorist forgets Linda Park is korean a fairy loses her wings

[fearthedancer]

Ok can i be completely honest right now? This fandom has a huge issue. A huge whitewashing issue.

Now before you say: "Oh but legos dont have races! Thats why theyre yellow!!" You dont only need skin color to imply a characters ethnic background. You can also do that with the characters other features like hair, eyes, lips or even stuff like their name. And thats exactly what dreamzzz does.

The most common characters i see whitewashed are Zoey and Logan. I absolutely NEVER see Zoey drawn black, even tho 1. She has twists (which some people draw them as just a side shave) and 2. Her last name is Okoro, indicating she could be igbo.

As with Logan it goes a bit deeper than that. As the issue takes two forms: 1. When its him being drawn white and 2. When its him being drawn asian, but extremely pale.

First, him being drawn white is obviously an issue because he is canonically asian. His last name is Chan (a surname with chinese origin), he is voiced by Vincent Tong and he is designed to look visibly asian.

(And before anyone says its eyeliner i found another character with the exact same eye print)

People often draw him slightly tan with eurocentric features and call him asian. Who the fuck are you deceiving.

Now with the pale issue: this is also an issue i see around in the ninjago fandom. East asian characters liked by the fandom are drawn to appeal to the beauty standards while the ones hated by the fandom are drawn like actual east asian people. Altough Logan is the only east asian character in the show that we currently know of, this does apply to him. And him being pale wouldnt even make sense! He is a soccer and baseball player! That kid plays in the sun for hours!

And Logan isnt even the only asian character that constantly gets whitewashed. Take a look at fanart of Nova! If i didnt tell you, you probaly wouldnt even know shes south asian! In her insomniac club shorts its revealed her last name is Patel, an indian surname btw, yet i dont see ANYONE give a fuck cause i only see white Nova everywhere.

And yes! Mateo and Izzy are also victims of this aswell! Mateo's locs are never drawn right and i see people draw him like 1 shade darker than the others and call him black 😭. Izzie is white washed aswell and sometimes, only her and NOT MATEO?? HUH??? They are siblings 😭😭

Anyways, the moment the fandom actually learns how to depict the characters, we will finally be free.

[blogspersonal707]

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[softsweetsuffering]

OC LIST (New)

Trey:

Has an ability to mimic or amplify abilities/powers of others, as well as telekinesis

Was previously part of a group of people who also had abilities, however after mistreatment and other issues within the group, he left.

He's got a good wealth behind him.

Extremely gentle

Handsome ;)

Loves photography

Has lavender hair

Respects all

'Secretly' Plays violin

Lowkey a sugardaddy

Hamrish Benat:

Has four eyes!

Pink and blonde hair

He loves parkour (as in climbing buildings and leaping around in gyms)

Has PTSD (There are two AUS of which I default as to how he obtained it)

Ready to deck a bitch

Trained nurse

Loves teddy bears and fuzzy pink socks.

Also goes by Hami/Hayden

Andy peters:

Strong, kind.

The quiet Big Type, doesn't always talk, but his heart is in good places.

Wishes he could do more

Buff + Tall

Wears a pair of dogtags.

Has red streaks in his hair for the fun of it

Is extremely brotherly to Adrian

is friends with Hami

Adrian Géarán:

Nervous Malnutritioned anxiety filled tired mess

Has emotionally linked fire abilities (does not like having them)

likes to make little robots!

Easily bullied

Missing an arm

Struggles with normal life

Blames himself for Andys death

Looks unintentionally vaguely like Fry from Futurama

Chris:

Leader of a summer camp for kiddos

Huge fan of the outdoors

Loves to garden

Red head with freckles

Healthy!

Good build, a little on the below-average male height

Likes to hike

Loves kids

Strong but pacifistic

Great smile

Surprisingly a little shy around other adults

Bisexual

Himbo energy

Douglas Connelly:

Just a regular chubby guy

His chub is only important because this man gives some of the best hugs, he's like a marshmallow

He is outwardly confident about his size, even if it sometimes worries him internally

He loves music, loves to groove in the kitchen while making snacks

Always open for roommates and new friends (one of his roommates is a hot bartender called Donovan)

A bit awkward but he tries his best.

Tucker:

Badass

Bunny hybrid (ears :3)

White hair

Likes to wear denim jackets

Fast runner

Has had experience working in the force

Izekiel Iris:

Bruised and abused in a facility

Was turned from human into A being of made of Paint (Useful? no. Fun? yes. Rainbow blood anyone?)

Loves painting

Wallflower

Easily anxious

Loves to draw on his own arms

Matthew Libelle:

Aka Matty Very delayed development wise as well as Autistic

Very much a texture lad, soft blankets are his thing.

Doesn't like loud sounds ( who does honestly).

Tries his hardest to function normally but it's hard.

Watermelon colours are his fav. Green hoodie is his fav.

Has watermelon pink hair.

Gale:

Eldritch bab

Was cursed by a group of guys who were messing with magics they didn't understand

Did in fact murder said group of guys and is traumatised by the idea he has become a monster

hears voices

Has Tendrils that have burst out of his back

Has the ability to move from this realm to the Eldritch planes and back. (is terrified of said planes)

Doesn't have a home

Black curly hair- frizzy- shimmers like Slick oil

Shy type kinda, tall Pale. cold.

Kinda wishes he could just go back to normal.

Would really like to eat some fresh warm bread.

Rowan maverick

Was abandoned as a teen

Also known as Rogue/Red.

Lost some of their tongues making them mute

Trained Assassin.

Previously part of a cult

Addict to painkillers (Caused by the mental issues from the cult and the loss of tongue.)

Bad with Physical affection

Could use a friend

Jace

Cop/Ex Cop.

Laid off after an incident

Has a pubby called Otis

Likes the occasional beer

Dad energy

Issac Merewen

Was previously a Teacher - grade 11/12s

Kidnapped and kept Drugged the hell up.

Was given the new name: Jess/Jack. AKA The Jester

Now has Amnesia problems .(Anomic aphasia)

Was stored Cramped in box.

Needs glasses. (Long sighted. Cant see Infront of him for shit without glasses. He specifically likes round ones :3)

Natrually Blonde

He was very inspired by the Chitty Chitty bang bang scene, “Doll on a music box”.

- He naturally has two different coloured eyes :D

-He likes podcast n occasionally audiobooks. Its good for learning/remembering words, and way easier than straining his eyes. Although it is upsetting occasionally when he can remember more of a book/podcast he’s into more than real words or real-life things.

Tyrone Li

Incubus.

Wise, Patient, caring.

Brown tattoos wind up his hips and torso, curling around his chest around his heart, and around his back, flaring at his neck.

Glasses.

Loves plants and flora

Sex lost meaning when he was younger. He wants true intimacy again but he wants to find the right person..

Glamors hide the following features:

Tail, brown that gradients into Green, Leaf like tip.

Horns, curled. (green tipped :0)

Glamors break usually after a certain period of time regardless of feeding, however, during bad situations/fight the body may unglamour to reserve the last of its energy.

Caspian:

Basically immortal but can die (Reincarnations)

Not a pacifist, but not instantly into violence

He was blessed by the Heart of the Ocean (Shes wonderful <3)

Can control water, can do minor healing with water

Can make water bubble/ boil when angry

Glowy veins when powers are active

He has had many many lives

Soft..caring..Doesnt remember alot of his past..

Doesn't know how many times hes died

Doesn't have alot of family or friends

Goes on many adventures

Elio Solren.

Nickname: Sunshine

Good lad.

Is a shapeshifter Dealt with being told he was happy and always upbeat. People leaving or ignoring him whenever he wasn't started building this sense of need to be happy all the time for others.

Lots of struggles with self image. Being perfect. Appeasing everyone. Poor self body love/self body image.

Is scared about The hate from humans about shifters. The jealousy and fear about them being able to hide behind other faces.

Smiles to hide the pain

Punk/hipster vibes

Intricate golden tattoos

Doesn't open up easily

Doesn't like to admit to being in pain

Kotori

AKA Corey

Owl lad!

Bright yellow piercing eyes. But is totally blind. (Face scars)

Loves music.

Plays the uke.. hums..sings sometimes.

Big wings- like barn owl.

Likes to perch in trees

Jeremey Caulfield

Winter baby

Was left bleeding in the snow at some point

Father Lovely old man (John)

Mother died (Ellie)

Birthday December 23h

Blue eyes

Black hair

Russel

Box boy

Glasses

Red hair

Real sweetheart

Really needs more dev ; ;

Jules

Loves tofu n chicken

Touchstarved

Stubborn af

Kicks ass!

Has Sass

Wears binders/sports bras for Lotsa running n such

Black hair big messy pigtails

Dark brown eyes.

Has a navy bear sleeps with it ‘doesn't care’ about it but does

Gymnast/kickboxing. Bandages around hands

Loved swinging bars since being a kiddo

Trampolines!!

Participates in Underground fight ring to make easy money

Sleeps on just a mattress

Has a laptop for study work but she's slowly giving up on bothering.

(She's not one originally but Werewolf Jules is one of my fav things)

Miles

Part mole, part orphan

Lives underground

Very light-sensitive

Is colourblind

Absolute nerd

loves tinkering with things

is scared of humans

very foggy memories of his parents.

Leilah/ Lei

Can make/control shadows.

Owns a Magic skull(Speaks to it)

Lives in the woods

Wears a skull to spook off people from her woods

Has Tattoos that are shadow/absorb shadows

Kinda bad at maintaining friendships

Emotionally Distant

Wears a cloak.

Bao Ketsuyki

Blood magic bab

Short

East Asian.

Pink/red medium length hair

Big pretty red flower scar from blood magic use on her shoulder/ back.

Little bit foolish, little bit reckless.

Has almost died a few times from her magic use.

Oran Audun

Pale

Punk

Irish

Plays Guitar

Writes in journal, occasionally song lyrics, occasionally little messy ink drawings.

Easy to aggravate (On edge) however is trying to learn how to meditate and be calmer

Covered head to toe in scars but still tries to find confidence in himself. He doesn't find it unattractive, but he feels like others have no need to witness his scars.

loves wearing leather/fabric wrist bracelets

Unwelcome hands have used his body as a research object

Very very against physical contact, needs to break into it.

Ray

Social worker works mainly with kids.

Has a Shy guy tattoo.

His family consists of a Good ma, younger sister, and super baby brother

Dad died but dad was good.

Dirty blonde hair, kinda messy

Short, 5’

Socks the pupper is his helpful lil buddy (hes so round and white and fluffy)

Super dad vibes.

Owen

a hockey player n gymnast.

His mother died when he was about 9.

has an older brother who is a bit of a big jock type

quite protective and caring of his two much younger siblings.

ended up in a nasty scuffle though at some point during his more competitive years in Hockey

This leads to following his passion for Gym

Pole vault, the rings, trampoline.

Still plays hockey among mates or strangers on the weekends in the cold months tho

Ends up taking a position as a gym teacher for kids after taking a childhood course since he was so good at it.

actually a really sweet guy

Soft but likes his sport and jokes.

He can hold his own somewhat more than he appears.

has blue tips/stripes in his blonde hair.

He often wears varsity jackets or baseball tees. As well as a couple other sport wear shirts. (A. Good few are from his bro ofc. Free merch)

He's short but he's got a fairly decent build on him.

He's got a surprisingly good tackle if you aren't careful. And a good grip strength.

Nohea

but everyone calls him Noah.

Works at a Boba tea cafe..

likes to surf.

has an Epic board.

Back and shoulders all littered with lines and tic tac toe-like scars.

he's the type to brush off any questions and change topic while smiling. But not super bubbly. Just. Go lucky.

has a few friends who like to hang out at the cafe

Was in a surfing accident that involved a lot of rocks.

Ila

4’8 Soft. Short.

Ready to protect.

Loves to bake!!!

Smells like a vanilla cupcake most of the time

Isn't afraid to fight although isn't trained

likes Yoga ( and yoga pants)

Needs glasses but doesn't wear them (tsk tsk, unless tryign to read recipes)

Dyes hair silver/white

Jake

Homeless

Snake hybrid can transform his lower half from human legs to tail

Also has fangs, and therefore venom

He's got a lot of sass

Can be a bit of an asshole but soft around the right people

Isn't used to kindness

doesn't cry easily

Steals food

Mac Hiato

Also known as Caf

5’6

Very Grumpy.

Very often has bags under his eyes.

Hoodie is life

Insomnia has serious trouble sleeping.

Has nightmares of strangulation

Occasionally sufferers sleep paralysis

Scared of dark- night lights

Owns a mouse called Bean

Does freelancing webdesgisn/coding as job.

Sits like a gay.

Lives on coffee

Minorly Lactose intolerant

Has One bad eye

Neema

Egyptian

Mechanic

Her dad's a mechanic and used to bring her to work all the time

dead mum: which affected her ability to emote.

Works part time at the garage

Dad likes to bring gifts on their small catch-ups that happen every once in a while.

Sheeee. Suffers a bit of resting bitch face.

she's kinda stunted emotionally because she was raised by her dad, who, isn't great with emotions himself being a man's man and all.

She's very much a tomboy gal. Doesn't exactly get dressed up. because she finds it tiresome and not "her".

Also if she did/does have friends the nickname Nemo 100% crops up because it's sadly alll too fitting but also kinda sweet.

She's actually really into cars and mechanics. Which is one of the few good reasons her dad and her are close.

She's hard to get to know, very quiet. And if you're someone who dominates the conversation she won't speak up much, but you'll be surprised to how much she's listened.

Just because she looks tired and done doesn't actually mean she feels that way.

Samson (Lemonade boi)

His name is Samson, but he prefers Sun/Sunny. (Other more affectionate nicknames include Lemondrop and Sunflower.)

He really likes going out to markets and stuff like that, little stalls or knick knack shops to find the odd kinda items.

He also really likes wandering big forests. (Hes got some o that fae energy) He collects various cool stones/rocks/plants from some of them. He also has some small vials from waterfalls and ponds he’s encountered)

He wants to practice magic to become a witch! He loves the candles and rocks and other cool things that come with the craft. (He inherited things from his father)

He really likes loose fitting shirts too, like flowy things, ones with sleeves that drape past your fingers, or has extra fabric on the bottom that dangle down past hips. (Sometimes they come from the ladies section just because they’re softer and have more variety. Others from op shops and other niche little stores.)

He bought a cologne from a witch that looks cursed but the only curse is that it makes the one who puts it on smell like citrus..so not much of curse. (The bottle looks fuckin neato tho)

He looves fizzy drinks. Doesn’t mind his alcohol either, however it takes a surprising amount to get him on his ass despite looking like a serious lightweight.

He’s pretty average in build, bit of muscle in his arms, some fat on his thighs. Slight pouch of a tum (cause no ones flat and thats unrealistic :<)

He’s about 5′4. So not tall, but not the shortest of the short.

He kinda likes to backpack about. Not staying in places long if they get boring. Which means he is kinda jack of all trades when it comes to work, offering to fix things for pay, lots of casual work doing various things.(One of his favorites was helping a little old lady run a paint shop.)

He occasionally snorts when he laughs and tries not to.

He has his ears pierced, and he has a little yellow gemed stud in his nose.

The ring around his neck he found in the middle of a patch of mushrooms.

He has a couple other tattoos. One of them is of bubbles up his wrist :3 He also has some stars on his ankle, and a sunflower on one of his fingers on his left hand.

He’s not super in to gardening but he does have his lemon tree. He also wants to grow some mandarins

His eyes look silver in a lot of lights, but occasionally there’s some strange hints of yellow, and other times blue.

He has freckles!!!! that look alot like bubbles ;)

He has a twin brother called Fraser.

Scrunches his nose

Hides his laughter behind his hand

[nedraggett]

Run ragged

It didn’t work.  And while I wasn’t surprised by that, I did want to tease out why, at least for myself.

I honestly was openly skeptical of Blade Runner 2049 for a while, so I can’t hide my bias there.  I wasn’t totally ‘salt the earth and never mention it again’ then and am certainly not saying that now.  But each new trailer left me feeling more ‘uh...really?’ and the explosion of immediate praise from many critics even more so.  I wasn’t contrarian, and neither did I think groupthink was at work, but I suspected a massive wish fulfillment was. 

So I generally avoided reactions after that and figured I’d wait for things to die down a bit -- even more quickly than I might have guessed, seeing its swiftly collapsing commercial performance over here. My Sunday early afternoon showing near here was about maybe 2/3 full on its third weekend, so it’s found an audience, but I’m in San Francisco -- I expected an audience there. Enough friends have posted theater shots where they were the only person in the room to know this is dying off as an across the board thing, and never probably was.

I’m not glad it failed, but I’m not surprised -- in fact, being more blunt, I think it deserved not to be a hit.  The key reason for me played itself out over its length -- it was boring.  It’s a very boring movie.  It’s not a successful movie except in intermittent moments.  

That said, of course not everyone agreed (I’ll recommend as an indirect counterpoint to my thoughts this piece by my friend Matt, which went up earlier today). And boredom is not the sole reason for me to crucify it -- there were a variety of things one can address.  I’ll note two at the start since they could be and in a couple of cases I’ve seen were particular breaking points for others:

* The sexual politics of the movie, however much meant to be in line with the original scenario as playing out a certain logic, were often at least confused or hesitant within a male gaze context, at most lazily vile beyond any (often flatly obvious) point-making.  I often got a mental sense of excuses that could be offered along the lines of ‘well...you know, it’s supposed to be like that in this world, it’s a commentary!,’ which is often what I’ve seen in positive criticism of, say, Game of Thrones. Maybe. That said: not that any sort of timing played into it, but the fact that Harvey Weinstein’s downfall began two days before release, and the resulting across-board exposure and on-the-record testimonials from many women against far too many men, couldn’t really be escaped.  Further, since the fallout was first felt, after all, in the film industry, seeing any film, new or old, through the lens of what’s acceptable and who gets through what hoops -- and who is broken by the experience -- is always important.  It’s not for nothing to note that the original film’s female lead Sean Young got shunted into the ‘she’s crazy’/’too much trouble’ file in later years where male actors might perhaps find redemption; the fact that she played a small part in the new film made me think a bit more on her fate than that of her character’s.  (Another point I saw a few women brought up as well -- having a key to the whole story be pregnancy and childbirth as opposed to infertility wasn’t warmly received.)

* It’s a very...white future. Not exclusively, certainly. But people of color barely get a look in, a quick scene here, a cameo there. A black female friend of mine just this morning said this over on FB about the one African American actor whose character got the most lines, saying: 

to have the only significant black character be this awful, creepy man who seemed to be an "overseer" type to the children, was really uncomfortable and another perfect example of scifi using an 'other' narratives or american slave narrative but within a white context. We all know what it's supposed to represent and so it's just straight up lazy writing at the end of the day and exploitative.

Meantime, another sharp series of comments elsewhere revolved around how a film perhaps even more obviously drenched than the original in an amalgamated East Asian imaginary setting for the Los Angeles sequences barely showcased anyone from such a background. Dave Bautista certainly makes an impact at the start, but after that? The fact that I can think of three speaking roles for actors of that (wide) background in the original, as in actually having an exchange with a lead character, and only one in this one, maybe two if you count the random shouting woman in K’s apartment building, is more than a little off.  Add in a ‘Los Angeles,’ or a wider SoCal if you like, that aside from Edward James Olmos’s short cameo apparently has nobody of Mexican background, let alone Central American, in it, and you gotta wonder.  My personal ‘oh really’ favorite was the one official sign that was written in English and, I believe, Sanskrit.  Great visual idea; can’t say I saw anyone of South Asian descent either.

Both these very wide issues, of course, tie in with the business and the society we’re all in -- but that’s no excuse. And there are plenty of other things I could delve into even more, not least my irritation over the generally flatly-framed dialogue shots in small offices that tended to undercut the grander vistas, or how the fact that Gosling’s character finding the horse carving had been telegraphed so far in advance that it was resolutely unremarkable despite all the loud music, etc. My key point remains: boring.  A sometimes beautifully shot and visually/sonically striking really dull, draggy, boring film.

The fair question though is why I think that.  A friend in response to that complaint as echoed by others joked what we would make of Bela Tarr films, to which I replied that I own and enjoy watching Tarkovsky movies. Slow pace and long shots aren’t attention killers for me per se; if something is gripping, it will be just that, and justify my attention. Meanwhile, the original film famously got dumped on for also being slow, boring, etc at the time, and plenty can still feel that way about it. Blade Runner’s reputation is now frightfully overburdened and certainly I’ve contributed to it mentally if not through formal written work; it succeeds but is a flawed creation, and strictly speaking the two big complaints I’ve outlined above apply to the predecessor as much as the current film, it’s just a matter of degrees otherwise. But if you told me I had to sit down and watch it, I’d be happy to. Tell me to do the same with this one, I would immediately ask for the ability to skip scenes.

I’ve turned it all over in my head and these are three elements where things fell apart for me, caused me to be disengaged -- not in any specific order, but I’m going to build outward a bit, from the specific to the general, and with specific contrast between the earlier film and the new one.  These discontinuities aren’t the sole faults, but they’re the ones I’ve been thinking about the most.

First: it’s worth noting that the new film brings in a lot of specific cultural elements beyond the famed advertising and signs. Nabokov’s Pale Fire is specifically singled out both as a visual cue and as an element in K’s two police station evaluations, for instance. Meanwhile, musically, I didn’t quite catch what song it was Joi was telling K about early in the film but a check later means it must have been Sinatra’s “Summer Wind,” featured on the soundtrack.  Sinatra himself of course shows up later as a small holographic performance in Vegas, specifically of “One For My Baby,” while prior to that K and Deckard fight it out while larger holographic displays of older Vegas style revues and featured performers appear glitchily -- showgirls, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis in his later pomp, Liberace complete with candleabra. All of this makes a certain sense and on the one hand I don’t object to it.

But on the other I do.  Something about all that rubbed me the wrong way and I honestly wasn’t sure why -- the Nabokov bit as well, even the quick Treasure Island moment between Deckard and K when they first talk to each other. The answer I think lies with the original film. It’s not devoid of references either, but note how two of the most famous are used:

* When Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty introduces himself to James Hong’s Hannibal Chew, he does so with a modified quote from William Blake’s America: A Prophecy. (This fuller discussion of that quote and how it was changed from the original is worth a read; it’s also worth noting that Hauer brought it to the table, and wasn’t planned otherwise.) But he doesn’t do so by spelling out to the audience, much less Chew, that it is Blake at all.  You either have to know it or you don’t. If, say, we saw Batty clearly holding a copy of the book -- or maybe more intriguing, a copy in Deckard’s apartment -- then that would be one thing...but it becomes a bit more ‘DO YOU SEE?’ as a result. Clunkier, a bit like how Pale Fire worked in the new film.

* Even in the original soundtrack’s compromised/rerecorded form, I always loved the one formally conventional song on the original soundtrack, “One More Kiss, Dear.” I just assumed as I did back in the mid to late 80s, when I first saw the film and heard its music, that it was a random oldie from somewhere mid-century repurposed, a bit of mood-setting. It is...but it isn’t.  It’s strictly pastiche, a creation of Vangelis himself in collaboration with Peter Skellern, an English singer-songwriter who had a thriving career in his home country. It just seemed real enough, with scratchy fidelity, a piano-bar sad elegance -- which was precisely the point. You couldn’t pin it down to anything, it wasn’t a specifically recognizable element. It wasn’t Elvis, or Liberace, or Sinatra. 

This careful hiding of concrete details -- even when the original film showcased other clear, concrete details of ‘our’ world culturally, but culturally via economics and ads -- is heavily to the original’s benefit, I’d argue.  There’s a certain trapped-in-baby-boomerland context of the elements in the new film that, perversely, almost feels too concrete, or forced is maybe a better word. It’s perverse because on the one hand it makes a clear sense, but on the other hand, by not being as tied to explicitly cultural identifiers -- whether ‘high’ literature or rough and ready ‘pop’ or whatever one would like to say -- the original film feels that much more intriguingly odd, dreamlike even. I would tease this out further if I could, but it quietly nags -- perhaps the best way I could describe it is this: by not knowing what, in general, the characters, ‘human’ or not, read, listen to, watch in the original, what everyone enjoys -- if they do -- becomes an unspoken mystery. Think about how we here now talk about what we read, listen to, watch as forms of connection with others; think about how the crowd scenes in the originals feature people all on their own trips or in groups or whatever without knowing what they might know. We know Deckard likes piano, sure, but that suggests something, it doesn’t limit it.  We know K likes Nabokov and Sinatra -- and that tells us something.  And it limits it.

My second big point would also have to do with limits versus possibilities, and hopefully is more easily explained.  Both films are of course amalgams, reflections of larger elements in the culture as well as within a specific culture of film. The first film is even more famously an amalgam of ‘film noir’ as broadly conceived, both in terms of actual Hollywood product and the homages and conceptions and projections of the term backwards and forwards into even more work. It is the point of familiar reference for an audience that at the time was a couple of decades removed from its perceived heyday, but common enough that it was the key hook in -- the weary detective called back for one last job, the corrupt policeman, the scheming businessman, the femme fatale, etc. etc. Set against the fantastic elements, it was the bedrock, the hook, and of course it could be and was repurposed from there, in its creation and in its reception. 

2049 is not a film noir amalgam.  Instead, it’s very clearly -- too clearly -- an amalgam of exactly the wrong place it should have gotten any influence from. By that I don’t mean the original film -- above and beyond the clear story connections, its impact was expected to be inescapable and as it turns out it was inescapable.  Instead it’s an amalgam of what followed in the original’s wake -- the idea of dystopia-as-genre -- and that’s poisonous.

Off the top of my head: Children of Men. The Matrix. Brazil. Her. Battlestar Galactica, the 2000s reboot. A bit of The Hunger Games, I’d say. A bit of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (not a direct descendant of the original at all, of course -- George Miller always had his own vibe going -- but I caught an echo still). The Walking Dead. A fleck of The Fifth Element. Demolition Man, even, if we want to go ‘low’ art.  But also so many of the knockoffs and revamps and churn. There could be elements, there could be explicit references, there could be just a certain miasma of feeling.  But this all fed into this film, and made it...just less interesting to me. 

Again, the first film is no less beholden to types and forebears.  But the palette wasn’t sf per se, it was something else, then transposed and heightened and made even uneasier due to what it was.  2049 has to not only chase down its predecessor, it has to live with what its predecessor created.  But did it have to take all that into itself as well? It becomes a wink and a nod over and again, and a tiring one, a smaller palette, a feeding on itself. And it’s very frustrating as a result, and whatever spell was in the film kept being constantly rebroken, and the scenes kept dragging on.

This all fed into the third and final point for me -- the key element, the thing that makes the original not ‘just’ noir, the stroke of genius from Philip K Dick turned into tangible creations: the replicants, and the question of what it is to be human. Humanity itself has assayed this question time and time over -- let’s use Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a start if we must for the modern era, it’s as good as any. We as a species -- if we individual members can afford the time and reflection at least -- seem to enjoy questions of what makes us ‘us,’ and what we are and what we have in this universe.  This much is axiomatic, so take that as read.

The replicants in the original film -- famously thought of differently by Dick and Ridley Scott, to the former’s bemusement when they met and talked for their only meeting before the latter’s death -- set up questions in that universe that are grappled with as they are by the characters in different ways. Between humans, between replicants, between each other, lines always slipping and shading. Their existences are celebrated, questioned, protested against. But we don’t live in these conversations for the most part, we tend to experience the characters instead; it’s often what’s unsaid that has the greatest impact. And if the idea of a successful story-teller is to show rather than tell, then I would argue that, again, flawed as it can be, the original film succeeds there be only telling just enough, and letting the viewer be immersed otherwise. (Thus of course the famous after the fact narration in the original release insisted upon by the studio, and removed from later cuts to Scott’s thorough relief.)

By default, that level of quiet...I would almost call it ‘awe’...in the original can’t be repeated with the same impact. The bell cannot be unrung, but that’s not crippling. What was crippling was how, again, bored I was with the plight of the characters in 2049. How unengaged in their concerns I generally was. One key exception aside, I never bought K’s particular angst outside of plot-driven functionality, and frankly they often felt like manikins all the way down from there. Robin Wright’s police chief had some great line deliveries but the lines were most often banal generalities that sounded ridiculous. Jared Leto’s corporate overlord, good god, don’t ask. As for Joi and Luv, Ana de Armas and Sylvia Hoeks did their best, and yet the characters felt...functional.  Which given the characters as such would seem to be appropriate, but their fates were functional too. Of course one would do that, of course the other would do that, of course one would die the one way, of course the other would die that way, and...fine. Shrug. 

So, then, Deckard? Honestly Harrison Ford had the best part in the film and while I found him maybe a bit more garrulous than I would have expected from the character, he did paranoid, wounded and withdrawn pretty damn well. Not to mention comedy -- the dog and whisky combo can’t be beat, and it’s worth remembering his nebbishy ‘undercover’ turn in the original -- and, in the Rachel scene, an actual sense of pathos and outrage. I bought him pretty easily, and it made everyone else seem pretty shallow. When K learns about the underground replicant resistance and all, the bit about everyone hopes they are the one was nice enough, but the rest of it, clearly meant to be a ‘big moment,’ was...again, dull, per my second point about the limited palette. A whole lot of telling, not much showing, and such was the case throughout. It was honestly a bit shocking -- but also very clear -- to myself when I realized how little I cared about humans or replicants or any of it at all towards the end. It all felt pat and played out, increasingly unfascinating, philosophy that was rote. It could just be me, of course -- maybe this is an issue where the stand-ins of replicants versus realities of robots and AI, along with the cruelties we’re happy to inflict on each other, means the stand-ins simply don’t have much of an imaginative or intellectual grip now.

Still, though, I’ll give the film one full scene, without Ford. As part of his work, and to answer the questions in his own head, K visits Ana Stelline, a designer of replicant memories. This, more than anything else in the film outside of certain design and musical elements, felt like the original, or something that could be there. It introduced a wholly new facet -- how are memories created for replicants? -- while extending the idea that instead of one sole creator of replicants there are multiple parts makers with their specialized fields in an unexplained (and unnecessary to be explained) economy. Stelline’s literal isolation allows for space and the limits of communication to be played out in a way that makes satisfying artistic sense, and Carla Juri plays her well. It builds up to an emotional moment that sends K into an explosive overdrive that is actually earned, and Juri’s own reaction of awe and horror is equally good.  But -- even better -- the scene ends up taking a wholly new cast later in the film, when more information reveals what was actually at play, and what K didn’t know at the time, and makes the final scene a good one to end on in turn (and by that I mean back in her office, specifically).

The problem though remains -- one scene can’t make a film. One can argue that it’s better to reach and fail than not at all, but it’s also easily argued that one gets far more frustrated with something that could have worked but didn’t. I don’t think an edit for time would have fixed the film but it would have made it less of a slog while not sacrificing those visual/sonic elements that did work; it still would leave a lot of these points I’ve raised standing, but it would have gone down a little more smoothly, at least. But sometimes you’re just bored in a theater, waiting for something to end.

[jakey-beefed-it]

Here are the character descriptions of the major ‘good guys’ in my novel for anyone who might be interested. Not everything is gonna make 100% sense without the rest of the worldbuilding but it was already too much of a long post. Loooong post. Long long post. Under a cut out of courtesy to anyone not wanting to encounter a long fucking wall of text, and courtesy to everyone else who has no reason to give a crap about any of this. :p

Verity Black, Protagonist

Verity is a short, slight (5'3”, 112 lbs) 23 year old woman of east Asian descent. The best faceclaim for her is model Kiko Mizuhara. Verity has narrow shoulders and very subtle curves. Her eyes are very dark, nearly black, and somewhat narrow- particularly when she's annoyed. When she wears her glasses her eyes appear sharp and clever, but without them she has a vaguely baffled myopic look. She has a light golden skin tone that has gone very pale, with faded childhood freckles across her nose and cheeks. She has poor muscle definition thanks to a desk job and no physical hobbies. Despite this, she is considered quite pretty, with waist-length, slightly wavy black hair that she usually keeps in a loose ponytail gathered in a wide barrette at the nape of her neck. She has a heart-shaped face with flattish features, arched eyebrows, high cheekbones, a narrow jaw tapering to a pointed chin, a slightly broad nose and wide, protruding lips. Her ears are a bit large and poke through her hair, earning her childhood nickname of 'little mouse.' Her smile is rare but winning, notably crinkling the bridge of her nose and both sides of her eyes, and dimpling her cheeks at its widest. Her speaking voice is usually a mezzo-soprano, wry and somewhat acerbic, though it climbs in pitch and intensity when she is upset, even sometimes breaking with a squeak (which didn't help with the nickname). She privately sings along with her favorite recorded operas, her voice trying to hover around a soprano but cracking up or down and unable to sustain notes for long. She does not sing publicly.

Most of the time, Verity wears dark-colored 'bureaucratic' robes (hanfu-style robes/dresses) layered under a vest and a warm coat. In all but the warmest weather she wears black tights and a cotton undershirt. She favors white, grey, and cream-colored scarves and carries a black umbrella in even slightly inclement weather, and turns up her coat's collar to warm her ears in the winter. She usually wears soft shin-high boots or loafer-style shoes when outside, and goes around home in her socks. She applies eyeliner and lip color nearly every day, unless she's not going out, or unless she's too sick to care. Her spectacles are round pince-nez style with brass frames and a brass chain connecting to her vest pocket. She has a selection of barrettes, but most of them are finely-carved 'whalebone' (actually baleen, which is flexible and strong) or brass.

Amyrinth Lafuerza, Verity’s Best Friend

Amy is a 23 year old woman of Latina descent. She is of average height and trim build (5'6”, 126 lbs). The best faceclaim for her is actress Seychelle Gabriel. She has a slender build with average shoulder, hip, and bust proportions. Amy's eyes are a distinctive light amber-brown verging on orange, and like the rest of her face are highly expressive. Her skin is brown with a ruddy undertone. Her habit of riding a bicycle and her interest in social dancing keep her in better shape with more muscle definition than her best friend despite having the same sedentary job. Amy is always considered pretty, but when she puts extra effort into her appearance people call her 'beautiful.' Her hair is auburn, wavy, and extends to her mid-back. She sometimes braids it at the back when she wants to keep it out of the way. She has an oval face with wide-set features, peaked eyebrows, sharp cheekbones, a curved jawline, a rounded nose, and a large mouth with slightly narrow lips. There is a mischievous, sardonic cast to her smiles. Her speaking voice is a smooth middle soprano, getting louder but not notably higher when angered. Her singing voice is even worse than Verity's, but she likes to sing along with others regardless.

Amy wears the same style of robes and dresses as Verity to work, though Amy wears a much wider range of colors, favoring reds particularly. Her overcoats are well-fitted so that they narrow at the waist and accent her figure even in cold weather. She wears soft boots in cold weather, and sandals in warm. When she goes out socially she tends to dress in looser-fitting calf-length skirts and ruffled blouses, wearing tights underneath if she's riding her bicycle. She tends to wear eyeliner and eyeshadow, though her lips are naturally dark enough that she usually only applies gloss rather than color. She likes to wear slender bracelets in silver and gold, plain or with semi-precious stones (particularly opal and topaz) set into them.

David Black, Verity’s Uncle and Mentor

David is a tall, rangy (6'1” 168 lbs) 65 year old man of east Asian descent. The best faceclaim for him is actor Ken Watanabe. His narrow-shouldered build is much like his niece's, though a lifetime of fighting and travel have left him all lean muscle. His eyes are very dark brown, sharp and even cold behind his glasses but mostly just tired-looking without them. He has a golden-tan skin tone, darker on his face and hands. In his youth he was considered very handsome, and while age and a hard life has weathered him he remains good-looking in a somewhat rugged way. He has thinning salt-and-pepper hair kept very short, and has a slightly bushy mustache that's better described as pepper-and-salt. His eyebrows are dark and bushy, with a few stray white hairs. His face is 'diamond' shaped, much like Verity's but with a broader chin and narrower brow, and he shares her arched brows and broad nose. His lips are narrower, particularly the upper, but his mustache obscures it most of the time anyway. Unlike Verity, his ears lay flat against his head and aren't especially large. He only ever smiles narrowly, and even then with a slightly wistful, pained look to his eyes. His speaking voice is a rough, low baritone that verges on bass, especially early in the morning or when he's tired. He only sings a few hymns, low and quietly.

As an Evangelist, David wears all black clothing- button-up shirt, suspenders, vest, 'string' bow tie, and slacks over leather riding boots, with a leather gunbelt for two revolvers. Over this he wears a heavyweight black long-sleeved duster, and and a broad-brimmed fedora-style hat. His clothes are well-tailored and accent his narrow hips (the better for quick-draws) and trim waist. When not on duty, he dresses similarly though in a wider array of colors, favoring pinstriped vests, light-colored shirts, and no necktie. Even when he goes without the distinctive coat and hat, it is hard to mistake him for anything but dangerous- his bearing is that of a supremely confident man capable of bursting into action even when he is relatively at ease. He wears steel-rimmed oval shaped glasses that attach behind his ears with swiveling arms, a style that is considered old-fashioned and even quaint.

Varian Ironcrow, (eventual) Love Interest

Varian is a tall and athletic man (6'2” and looks around 210 lbs) of Latino descent who looks somewhere between 30 and 35. The best faceclaim for him is actor Esai Morales in his late thirties (Varian's had a much rougher life than he), circa the late 1990s. His skin is a weathered dark brown with a ruddy undertone. His eyes are somewhat deep-set and a startling blue, and his gaze tends to be somewhat intense as a result. His hair is black and slightly wavy, longer on top than the sides, and he only shaves every few days so dark stubble is the rule to a clean-shaved exception. He is broad-shouldered with a narrow waist, all-over muscular in the manner of a Greco-Roman wrestler, lean and defined but not to the point of a bodybuilder. His features are appealing, but the large prominent scars on his face make him more striking than handsome. The largest scar begins at the bridge of his nose and carries over toward his left cheekbone. It intersects a smaller scar that branches down from below his left eye. He has another notable scar on the right side of his jawline, where his stubble won't grow. He has a number of other scars, mostly on his chest, back, upper arms and thighs, but usually only those on his face show. His left shoulder bears a tattoo that resembles a crow or a raven in flight, in silhouette. He has a 'square' face, with a strong jaw, broad forehead, and strong cheekbones. His brow is somewhat heavy, with thick, arched eyebrows. His nose is aquiline with wide nostrils ('Aztec nose'), the hook coming right where the scar cuts across it. He has a wide mouth with lips of moderate thickness. His teeth are notably white, drawing attention whether he's flashing a roguish lopsided grin, or a more unsettling wolfish look. His speaking voice is a middle to high baritone, rising with amusement, sinking with anger. His singing voice is a somewhat rough-edged tenor on the verge of sliding back into baritone, like Bob Seger or Bruce Springsteen.

Varian tends to dress in rugged clothing suited to a rancher- denim pants, heavy button-up shirts in earth tones, open at the neck to show the white undershirt, and riding boots in scuffed brown leather. He affects a disheveled look that takes far more effort than he's willing to admit. He has a favorite coat that he wears unless it's just too damn hot- a blue canvas soldier's coat with the rank insignia removed, a bit frayed at the cuffs and slightly faded from long use and numerous washings. Unless it would be suicidally stupid (and maybe even then) he proudly wears a scarlet scarf to mark him as a member of the Red Scarves. He wears a brown wide-brimmed hat with the front turned down to shade his eyes and keep the rain off, removing it when he goes indoors. He sometimes wears eyeliner to draw even more attention to his eyes, especially when performing. He carries his battered leather guitar case nearly everywhere, with its dark-stained maple-wood guitar often surprising people with how well-maintained he keeps it, especially in contrast to the rest of his appearance. While he's better at seeming relaxed than David Black, there is still something of the lounging tiger in his bearing even when Varian is at ease, for those who know what to look for.

Atriya Ironcrow, Varian’s Adoptive Daughter

Atriya is a short and slightly stocky (4'10”, 98 lbs) kydoni girl of 13. Her features are best described as south Asian with some east African mixed in. Model Neelam Johal as the best faceclaim for (an older version of) her. Her skin is dark brown with an olive undertone. Her eyes are large, and a striking golden color common to kydoni but impossible in humans. She often avoids looking people in the eye unless she deliberately wants to unsettle them- at which point she's likely to blink only her nictating membrane at them. Her hair is a pale ash brown with silver strands running through it, wavy to curly and cut into a neck-length bob. She is more broad-shouldered and barrel-chested than most human girls of her age, and reasonably athletic, with most of her 'baby fat' turning into rangy muscle. She has a round face (and will grow into an oval face shape as she gets older) with large features generally- eyes, nose, arched dark eyebrows wide to suit her eyes, broad forehead and cheekbones, a narrow mouth with large lips, and a slightly large chin. Her ears come to points, stick directly out from the sides of her head (making her head twice as wide if you count the ears), and are prone to extremely expressive movement in keeping with her emotions. She has a long hairless tail that extends behind her and swishes when she's restless or annoyed. When subdued or sad, the tail droops and is about as long as her legs, the tip brushing the floor. Her smile can be unsettling to humans, given the more pronounced canine teeth and the jagged pseudo-carnassial look of her premolars. Her speaking voice is a bright soprano, but her singing ranges from soprano down to a rich contralto. Like many kydoni, she is capable of a distinct type of overtone singing that produces, essentially, a backing vocal. She is capable of operatic volume and vibrato, though she usually doesn't go all out just for singing in the cantina. Her voice sounds a bit like an even more powerful Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, without the Italian accent.

Atriya tends to wear a short coat over a ruffled shirt and fitted slacks (with a tail cutout) similar to the charro outfit of Mariachi players, in a range of dark colors but favoring dark blue, charcoal, scarlet, and cream. Sometimes she wears skirts instead of the slacks (particularly when she wants to hide her tail). She wears custom-made boots with extra sole at the pads of the feet and inserts that allow her to stand more naturally for a kydoni, with her heels elevated. She wears a red scarf when Varian lets her get away with it- she wants to be more involved in the Red Scarves, but he wants her to keep a lower profile for as long as she can. In bad weather, or when she's trying to hide her more obvious kydoni features (particularly her ears) she wears hooded oilskin rain cloaks. On very bright days, Varian often loans her his hat to keep her eyes shaded. She wraps her hands for knuckle protection while training with Masano, and also when she anticipates she might need to punch someone in the face. She never wears eyeliner, even when performing, not wanting to accent the 'strangeness' of her eyes by drawing attention to them.

Masano, Leader of the Revolution Verity ends up sort of joining

Masano is a 51 year old man of average height and build (5'10”, 171 lbs.) of African-American descent. The best faceclaim for him is actor Jamie Foxx. His skin is very dark with golden undertones and a few faded freckle-like marks on his cheeks and brow. His eyes are darker even than Verity's, appearing black in all but the strongest direct light. His hair is black shot through with some grey, and bound into shoulder-length tight dreadlocks that he usually ties back in a sort of ponytail. He has a full, kinky/curly beard that he keeps to a length between two and three inches. While athletic, he is built like a career martial artist- most of his power coming not from bulging muscle but from stance and movement. His features are handsome, particularly for a man of middle age, and convey a sense of quiet authority. His face is 'diamond' shaped, with a strong chin but narrower jaw compared to Varian's. He has a high forehead, slightly bushy eyebrows, a broad nose, and a wide mouth, with pronounced creases to the sides of his mouth. He tries to maintain a fairly neutral expression most of the time, but as such a charismatic man, his smile is infectious and his glare is blood-curdling. His speaking voice is a powerful tenor, which he can push to a ringing, fiery tone. His singing voice is a high tenor verging onto falsetto for the highest notes. (Think Carl Anderson).

Most of the time, Masano dresses like a laborer, in a Henley-style long-sleeved shirt, loose-fitting trousers, and soft boots or sandals depending on the weather. He prefers light colors, particularly shades of white and tan. In inclement weather he wears a simple brown hooded poncho-style cloak. If he is practicing his martial arts, training Atriya, or anticipates violence he wraps his hands and feet to protect them. He only ever dons ceremonial robes when making a point- such as when giving a speech to any of the labor unions or collectives who make up the Red Scarves, or when standing outside the more well-off temples to rail against their greed. His robes (like most Pardoners' robes) are similar to the hanfu-like robes of the bureaucracy. They are older, the white faded to cream, a bit frayed with age, and utterly unadorned with gold accents unlike other those of most other Pardoners. He no longer wears the saffron single-shoulder over-robes of a practicing Pardoner, as he has walked away from the order. He also never wears the holy symbol of that order, believing that faith is better demonstrated through compassionate action than eye-catching trinkets. Instead of a scarf, most of the time, he wears a scarlet hair-tie holding his ponytail back from his face. While he does have a few of the red scarves that gave his organization its informal name, he has no plans to wear them unless called upon to physically defend his comrades.

Raqui Alkurah, the Slightly-Mad Inventor

Alkurah is a very tall, somewhat gangling (6'5”, 231 lbs.- including his prosthetic, 215 without) half-kydoni, half-human 43 year old man of west Asian descent. The best faceclaim for him is actor Oded Fehr. His skin is a medium brown-tan color without strong undertones. His eyes are a yellowy hazel, not as orange as Amy's amber eyes, not as yellow as Atriya's. His hair is predominantly black, with pronounced silver-grey streaks at the temples. He wears it shoulder-length, wavy and loose unless he's working on something where that would be hazardous, at which point he holds it back with whatever's handy in something between a bun and a pony tail. He has a close-trimmed goatee, unusual for someone with kydoni heritage. Not unusual given his ancestry are the short horns emerging from high on his forehead and curving slightly back. His tail is shorter than a full kydoni's would be, reaching only to his calves, and ends in a hairy tuft. His left leg ends just above the knee, a birth defect he has developed his own prosthetic for. Although he is for the most part wirily built, his shoulders and chest are unusually broad, and his forearms are much more muscular than the rest of him due to how often he works with his hands. He has a heart-shaped face, with a bit of a widow's peak, high forehead, high cheekbones and a pointed chin, and bold features including a strongly aquiline nose and a wide mouth. He has a high degree of control over his facial expressions, but when he is genuinely delighted (usually by his own experiments and inventions) he is prone to a slightly manic grin that shows off his pointed canines. His speaking voice is a low, melodic baritone, and his singing voice trends toward a resonant bass. He sings to himself sometimes while working, making up tunes and painful slant rhymes as he goes.

Alkurah dresses much like other Transmuters and labor foremen, in a cotton Henley-style shirt under durable black wool coveralls (wool for fire resistance, black to hide grease and soot) with many pockets, tool belts, and protective gear including a heavy boot for his right leg, and goggles and gloves as they're required. Over this he tends to wear a light grey, long-sleeved, tailed woolen coat with even more pockets stuffed with precision instruments, half-finished projects, crumpled blueprints, and the occasional snack. His left leg is one of two prosthetics he himself designed. One resembles an oversized metal boot with interlocking armor panels, made of personally-reinforced aluminum. It has a built-in locking mechanism he can activate by hand, so he uses it when he needs to hold something in place while he works on it. The other, more commonly worn, is better suited to walking or standing, with a functional knee joint involving compression springs, and a tapered steel peg from where the calf would be to the ground, with a rubber 'foot' on the end like that of a cane. This leg also contains a number of concealed compartments, which unlike his many pockets, he actually takes pains to ensure are not discovered by anyone not in the Talons of Razhan.