#patti and Robert

[chrysalismandtea]

once again thinking about adrianne lenker and buck meek and how they’re closer than ever now, after getting divorced, and they seem to be growing together in a way and make more beautiful music. and also patti smith and robert mapplethorpe and how they were each others muse even after they stopped being lovers. and just in general the fact that relationships change all the time and probably for the better and also art never stops being part of the equation I guess

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

Agatha All Along is really scratching an itch in Television right now and even in its own camp it feels like it's breaking ground. It's a Marvel show but they're using practical effects and not relying heavily on CGI. The set designs and props are fantastic and immersive. There is a musical element but it isn't a musical (but there is Patti Lupone!). Kathryn Hahn is infectiously charming and her physicality in this role is almost TOO natural - her witchy mannerisms feel so authentic. It's queer. It's chaos. It's witches being witches and one potentially lethal fruity Teen committing multiple crimes (breaking and entering, blackmailing, probably perjury, etc.). It's a comedy but it's also a horror movie. This show feels like a genuine treat after a year of generally disappointing television - a palate cleanser for media - I can't wait to see how it wraps up and I'm so glad it's a week-by-week release. All of these actors are delivering in show and as cast members, their press junket has been nothing shy of delightful. The chemistry is really palpable with this group and of course Jac Schaeffer being so invested in this project really shines through on and off screen. I couldn't be more excited for the rest of this series, I need it to sweep because costume design and set design are already leagues above what I've seen this year from other series. The music is perfection and the Lopez's need their flowers NOW. It really is a show that is reveling in what it is and that's magic.

[disease]

ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE “PATTI SMITH” // NYC, 1978 [gelatin silver print | 13 7/8 × 13 3/4”]

[the-night-picture-collector]

/ Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti (Polaroid)

[scarlet--wiccan]

Agatha All Along, the highly anticipated follow-up to WandaVision, begins airing this week on Disney+. Now is the perfect to revisit some important information about both shows and the context in which some of Agatha's new characters are being introduced.

WandaVision primarily followed the character Wanda Maximoff and expanded on her family history by introducing her late parents as well her twin sons, who are born from magic and age rapidly over the course of the series.

In the Marvel comics source material, Wanda is part of a large, multigenerational family of Jewish and Romani characters whose stories frequently reflect the systemic violence and oppression that both communities face-- including Romani Holocaust victims, who are critically underrepresented in both education and media. In the MCU, these identities and histories are completely erased, and the characters are all played by white actors. Alternate versions of these characters also appear in the Fox X-Men films, and are similarly whitewashed.

The Romani people are a racialized minority that originated as a South Asian diaspora, and who face severe systemic oppression in Europe and North America. The modern Romani population is quite diverse, but they are not of white ethnic origin, and despite the fact that Wanda and her family have historically been drawn with white features, they are minority characters and ought to be considered as such.

Depictions of witches and witchcraft are often entwined with antisemitism and anti-Romani racism. In pop culture, witches and fortunetellers are typically portrayed as visual stereotypes of Romani women. In the real world, fortunetelling is a profession born from survival work, one which Romani families are often heavily policed and racially profiled for practicing. While Wanda usually subverts these tropes, they are often played straight elsewhere in the superhero genre, and any story about witches, especially one featuring Romani characters, needs to be critiqued in this context.

Agatha All Along introduces viewers to a new cast of characters, including Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, and the enigmatic "Teen", played by Joe Locke, who is heavily speculated to be an incarnation of Wanda's son, Billy.

In the comics, Lilia is a member of a prominent Romani family in Wanda's community. Often lauded as the "witch queen of the gypsies," Lilia embodies many racial stereotypes about Romani women. In Agatha All Along, Lilia is depicted as an older Sicilian woman, however, being portrayed as a batty fortuneteller with a tawdry psychic shop, she still embodies an offensive trope. Although Lilia is far from "good" representation, this is not an improvement-- if anything, it's even more exploitative.

Billy was raised in a Jewish American household and places a very strong emphasis on his Jewish identity, in addition to having Romani heritage. His identity as a young gay man is always presented in conjunction with this heritage, not in spite of it. Though there is a significance to Locke being a gay actor playing a gay character, his casting-- if he is indeed playing Billy-- is not authentic. White gay representation should not supersede racial inclusivity, and it is not an excuse for whitewashing or Jewish erasure.

Marvel Studios recently announced that the character Doctor Doom will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who is returning to the franchise after many years in the role of Iron Man. In the source material, Doom is also a Romani character with a very similar background to Wanda's. This identity is central to Doom's character-- although he is written to be both morally and politically challenging, the liberation of his people has always been a primary motive.

Clearly, this type of whitewashing is an ongoing pattern in the MCU franchise. Although "Teen's" identity is still unconfirmed and Lilia may, ultimately, be of little consequence, they are part of a larger problem, and Agatha All Along needs to critiqued in that context.

[digitulart]

(night parade au by @/staticcl1ng on twitter) i got way too excited by the concept and im just doing whatever with it now. its like The Guy Who Didnt Like Musicals but with clowns instead of songs

concept art belowww. designs are not official but character interactions are

[formlessformless]

Patti Smith photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe - 1973

[davidhudson]

Happy 77th, Patti Smith.

1975 photo by Robert Mapplethorpe.

[undergroundrockpress]

Boat to Fire Island / Patti Smith by Robert Mapplethorpe.

[venusimleder]

Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith.

Ph. Lloyd Ziff

[las-microfisuras]

Patti Smith por Robert Mapplethorpe, 1978.

[twixnmix]

Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith photographed by Andy Warhol, 1971.

[ahhmazing123]

SKETCHES I DID BECAUSE IM GOING THRU SOMETHING AFTER THE LATEST EPISODE

[gigireece16]

my parents

[fragrantblossoms]

Robert Mapplethorpe. Patti Smith, c. 1972 / Patti Smith, 1971.

[saramencken]

Patti and Robert, 1969.

📸 Norman Seeff.