#pop tate working class hero

[stonerbughead]

@lilireinhart's latest Riverdale film = hot looking covers for two of my fics

pop tate, working class hero

down at the drive-in

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

In honour of 6x11:

Pop Tate, Working-Class Hero: The Untold Story of How Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative by @stonerbughead

Heavenly Creatures by @satelliteinasupernova

[hoe-doroki]

stay

A response to this ask:

Reader having a silent mental breakdown and trying to hide it with Bakugo and iida!( bakugo’s fine if not iida)

warning: detailed descriptions of panic attack, self-loathing

pairing: Bakugou x gn!reader

genre: hurt/comfort

word count: 2.2k

edit: I no longer write x reader but here’s my old masterlist - mobile | desktop

It seemed stupid to have any kind of mental illness around someone like Bakugou.

Bakugou had experienced near death multiple times by his mid-twenties had had witnessed the worst of the world first hand. His teens had been littered with trauma and, as an adult, his work was constantly throwing him into circumstances where his body, his life was at risk. He did this day in and day out and it wasn’t even a question. He survived it all and, more than that, he let the world think it was easy.

Sometimes just getting out of bed wasn’t easy for you.

You felt like your body was rotting. You’d been on the couch all day and it smelled stale from the layers of lazy sweat you’d gotten on it. From the shower you hadn’t taken and the hair you hadn’t touched. But was it rot from the outside in—something a bit of soap and buffing could slough off—or was it the inside out? Harder to reach, harder to fix. As your brain sent your every thought clenching on your veins, your vital organs, you couldn’t help but wonder if it was both. Rotted from the inside out and the outside in.

You tensed when you heard the door to your shared apartment click, a key being shoved into the lock. Over the cold numbness that you’d felt all day, a shot of panic sprinted through your bloodstream as a million ways to lie popped into your head. You popped off the couch and tried to think of a way to look busy, so you ran to the kitchen and started boiling some water.

This was something Bakugou couldn’t see. The last thing you wanted, the last thing he needed was for you to be another person that he had to save. Another person to risk himself for.

You eyed Bakugou when he came in, shoulders drooped, gait wide. He looked tired, but otherwise normal. You usually tried not to worry yourself with the cuts and scrapes he often showed up with after work, and, so long as he was walking, he usually told you to calm down and that he was fine. You weren’t going to test it today.

“Hi, babe,” you said, putting strained effort into your pitch, your tone, your face. Maybe your voice was too high, maybe the smile spread a bit too wide, so you turned back to the water, watching it heat.

“Hi,” Bakugou greeted as he kicked off his sneakers, voice gravely as it usually was after a shift. He was in civilian clothes now, having showered and changed at the agency. A black tee and jeans that never fit quite right on his narrow hips and tall frame. “What’re you up to?”

“Oh, I, um…” You looked down at the water, still cool enough to stick a finger into. You’d done nothing all day, having skipped out on all your classes with half-assed emails sent to the teachers. The idea of going had been too much to take—for reasons you had no language for—so you’d wallowed on the couch as the hours of the day had bled away. So the question felt like an interrogation about to put a scalpel to your flaws. “I’m just heating some water for tea. Was gonna get started on dinner.”

“What were you gonna make?”

Bakugou was in the kitchen now, coming up behind you to press a kiss against your temple. Your heart rate increased but not in the good way. Not in the way that it should. Instead of flutters it was pounding, smacking against your ribs in a reminder that he was too close, you were too visible—you might explode and you would hurt him.

“I, um, I wasn’t sure,” you said, the answer sending shameful heat to your cheeks. And then you were slapped the other way by how stupid that was. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Okay,” Bakugou said, going to the fridge. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Bakugou was always insistent on having a stocked fridge. With his job and you in your master’s program it was hard to find the time to grocery shop, much less eat consistent meals together, but those were the kinds of things that Bakugou prioritized. The things behind his sharp persona and shrinking legacy of reckless anger that made him a good boyfriend. An amazing partner and enviable roommate.

And what did you offer him? Emotional instability without just cause? A nascent—at best—career while he was climbing the pro hero charts every cycle?

Who were you kidding? You hadn’t even gone to class. You hadn’t done any of the work that you needed to do—the evening was a wash now, so you wouldn’t catch up. You were just wasting everyone’s time, like you always did.

“Hey, babe?”

By the tone of his voice, you realized that Bakugou had called you multiple times. Your eyes flicked toward him, but your head felt heavy to lift. “Hmm?” you asked, squeezing every last bit of breath into that hum.

“The water’s boiling.” Bakugou walked over to you, two mugs with teabags slumped at the bottom. He set them on the counter and put a hand on your shoulder, turning you a degree closer to him.

“Oh,” you intoned, pulling away and turning off the fire. Stupid. You were about to grab the pot when Bakugou dropped his hand down to your elbow, giving a firm squeeze.

“Are you okay?”

You ignored his gesture to stop and reached for the kettle, putting all of your effort into keeping your hands steady as you poured hissing water in one mug and then the other. Doing something was the only thing keeping you upright as your thoughts continued to swirl in your head poisoning each brain cell you had. You hadn’t done anything worth living for today. But goddamn it, if you couldn’t make these mugs of tea, then you should just walk out of the apartment and let Bakugou be better off without you.

“Woah, woah, what’s happening?”

Bakugou’s hand was on your chin as he pulled your face a little too roughly towards him. Or, rather, it wouldn’t have been rough, if you weren’t resisting it. But you didn’t want him to look you in the eye. See what a failure you were. Someone who couldn’t even overcome a bad emotional day to go to class while he’d been out saving lives—as usual. He took the pot from your white-knuckled grip and set it on the stove.

“Why are you crying?”

Were you? You hurriedly brushed a hand under your eyes and they came away slick, the water hot as the tea you were steeping.

“The…The steam…” you started, prepared to lie and lie and lie until there was nothing real left. The real stuff was too hard to hold. “I think…It just must have irri…tated my eyes.”

Your breathing was running away with you, chest heaving as you pulled away and faced the other direction. Your attempts were thin, too threadbare to hide behind. And your boyfriend wasn’t nearly stupid enough to be fooled, even by your best efforts.

“Babe, tell me what’s wrong,” Bakugou said forcibly, stepping around to face you again.

His eyes were searching for yours, but you held fisted hands to your cheek as you turned away from him. Now you could feel the tears streaming, and you couldn’t turn them off. But what was there to tell him? That you were just a big, stupid idiot who cried for no reason? That watching him become a better man only emphasized how totally shit you were? That when the two of you were on the street together, you knew that people wondered what a guy like him was doing with a person like you?

“I just want you to stop crying,” Bakugou said, and you could hear him getting desperate, only making you feel worse. You were biting your lips closed to keep the sobs from tearing out, but that only made embarrassing little huffs come out your nose, whimpers sneak past the back of your throat.

You couldn’t stop crying. How could you stop it when you didn’t understand what had started it?

“I’ll just,” you hiccupped, backing away from him. “Just give me…I’ll be fine, just give me a minute.”

“Fuck that,” Bakugou said, grabbing your wrist. “Do you want me to go because you want me to go, or because you think you deserve to be alone?”

The words felt like a trick, a riddle from some fairytale turned nightmare intended to make you fail either way. Telling him the truth would trap him in whatever trip wires had you tied in knots right now. But, at the same time, he was expecting the lie. He wasn’t letting you save him from this.

But why? He was always saving people. Why, for once, couldn’t you save him from you?

“Idiot,” Bakugou said, pulling you in to him. You cried harder, the weight of your failure dropping in your well and spilling more tears out of you. “Why would I leave you alone?”

A sob crashed out, breaking through haphazard letters of attempted defense. He needed to go; him seeing you like this only made it worse.

“It, um,” Bakugou’s voice was low, a register that was unfamiliar even to you, unsteady and unrehearsed. “It seems easier to be alone. I know it does. But…you’ve shown me that’s not true, so just. Let me show you the same, okay?”

You could feel how hard he was trying as he pressed you into his chest and you finally, finally let him. The sobbing made you weak in the knees, light in the head, but he held you. He held you up, held you close, and he wasn’t letting go.

Everyone always talked about how crying felt good. About it being a release that helped you process your pain. And maybe that was right when talking about grief or loss, but not this. These tears felt like nothing more than splashing in the masturbatory wallowing hole of your self pity. Embarrassing and stupid.

“Why?” you finally whispered when the sobs subsided a bit, letting you keep enough of the air in to at least say that.

For a moment, Bakugou didn’t say anything, and you wondered if you’d imagined the words. If you were imagining the whole thing and he really had left like you’d wanted. But then you heard breath catch in the back of his throat as he seemed to try and fail to find the words a couple of times.

“In another world,” he finally started. “I’d come home from a day of work fucking exhausted, slump on the couch, eat, and pack it in to go to bed before starting all over the next day. And I’d probably be fine with that. But I’d be a fucking idiot, because coming home to you makes it worth coming home.”

Your breathing was steadying as he talked and you could feel the tears cooling against your cheek, against his wet t-shirt.

“Even with you looking like a damn mess like this,” Bakugou said and you could hear the smile in his voice. His smile, which had grown less rare over time, was always so wide that it made his words sound different. Warmer. They managed to draw a haggard chuckle out of you. “I’m happier just to be around you than convincing myself that being lonely at the top is the best way.”

“I don’t want to drag you down from the top,” you said. “Your company shouldn’t be dead weight.”

“Dead weight?” Bakugou repeated, pulling back to look at you. “Dumbass.”

He pulled you in again, both of his arms around the back of your head so that you were nearly smothered in his chest.

“That’s the stupidest fucking shit I’ve ever heard. You’re fucking incredible, and if that’s why you’re crying today, then you and me have to do some talking.”

Another laugh managed to crawl its way out of you and Bakugou let you pull back to breathe again.

“Are you okay now?”

‘Okay’ felt like such a far ways away. But you were above water again. Somewhere next to okay, distance undetermined.

“I’m surviving,” you decided.

Bakugou looked at you, a couple different things flashing over his eyes, too quickly for you to identify. “Well, that’ll do for now, but we’re not settling for that. Just talk to me. I’m not the best at this, but…I want to be better at it.”

In that moment, you remembered that Bakugou wasn’t perfect either. That he constantly had voices in his head telling him that he wasn’t doing enough and, not only that, he had the public constantly critiquing his attitude, his skills, his work. That, to some degree, this was already something you were going through together.

“I think you’re better at it than you think.”

Bakugou smiled again, this one not so wide, but more private. “You too, he said. Whatever bullshit you’re telling yourself—you’re better than you think.”

He pulled you in close again, and this time you sunk into it, enjoying his warm muscles, the way that his hair was still a little damp from the shower. You weren’t sure if anything had changed—all your problems were still present as they’d ever been. But yet, there was one thing. Now, with Bakugou’s arms like a buttress to your shaky but standing foundation, you, paradoxically, hoped that he would stay and stay and stay.

[lexifleurs-versace]

The former East

As Igor Zabel writes in his book Contemporary Art Theory " the eastern artist  has , in his effort to produce modern art, remained a kind of incompletely realized  western artist, and thus a second class artist" or sometimes a slightly different situation where  the eastern artist is seen as a "representative of a different and exotic culture". The Eastern artist, in  their attempt to please the idealized West, has become either an incompletely developed Westerner or  has turned their "easterness" in an exotic fiasco. In the post-Cold War period, the Eastern artist is no  longer expected to be a universal artist, the eastern artist is expected to be a Polish, a Bulgarian, a  Russian but never "just" an artist.  

The Bulgarian contemporary artist rarely admits to have been influenced by bulgarian art and even disregards the bulgarian art. This attitude is self colonial because they are denying the importance of the cultural context that they have grown up in and are striving for these universal forms of art which in their essence are Western ideas of art. Everything on the periphery of the Western idea is seen as “the Other” and the Bulgarian artist does not want to be that Other.

In this text I am going to explore parts of that vernacular pop culture which the Bulgarian intellectual elite are trying to escape from, to be unassociated with and are trying to eliminate its presence in their identity. DRIFTING EAST    CHALGA

 Chalga is the Bulgarian version of the Balkan folk music known as Turbo-folk in Serbia, Laiko in  Greece, Manele in Romania or Tallava in Albania. Etymologically the word “chalga” means popular  entertainment music, once played in Bulgarian towns during the Bulgarian Revival under Ottoman rule  by ethnically mixed instrumental bands, the so-called “chalgii”.  The popular culture of chalga appeared during the "transition" period which rattled Bulgaria and  other post-Soviet countries. While in ex-Yugoslavia this transition period was experienced through wars, Bulgaria's war was an economic  one. A survey done by sociologist K. Kolev shows that during the transition period “65% of all people  have not bought shoes or clothes in the past two years. 54% have not traveled between settlements.  20% have not bought even soap” . Amidst this national crisis I was born in an intellectuaé Bulgarian family strongly oppossed to chalga culture invested  in "protecting high culture". According to Open Society foundation, around the time of my birth the situation in Bulgaria was that “76% of the people have lost their social status, both objectively and subjectively, which leads to social degradation… The people’s vault of values is emptied of meaning as well as is their psychological capacity of correctly responding and dealing with problems and the elite do  not need the population, which has fallen into a state of complete exclusion and inertia." . During  this turmoil chalga music is gaining traction as the "hero" of the time, an art medium  which makes the Bulgarians forget the massive political issues going on. Shops are empty, protests for  democracy are ongoing, organized crime is steadily entering politics and people are brutalized. There is an  ongoing danger in Bulgaria, especially in the 90s, in these wretched conditions and the brutalization of  people, and the relationship between “life” and “art” gives only chalga as a result. Chalga is rejected by the intellectual communities, and "high" and "counterculture", but if reflection of reality in itself is a "high" culture, then isn't chalga a paradoxical high culture in itself?        

 Throughout this period chalga was more attuned to the cultural, political, and societal woes of everyday Bulgarians than anything produced by the self-proclaimed intellectual tastemakers of the times.  Reoccuring topics in Chalga music :

Mercedes or BMW

The presence of the importance of economical status as represented by such brands as Mercedes and BMW has been an omnipresent feature of the venucalare Bulgarian, and to some  extent Balkan, culture since the 90s.After the end of the socialist era people were finally able to buy  easily "western" brands. Owning "western" objects belonging to the world of capitalism before '89 was seen  as an extreme luxury , objects to which only a priviliged few had access to and the free market shift  made the ownership of such objects socially acceptable  The western brands are the symbol of privilege   and an expression of a high class status. Chalga singers dedicated songs to car brands, and if they didn't  explicitly name them after a brand, they implied visually their social status by featuring Mercedes and  BMW in their music videos. Thus creating a visual hegemony and an aspiration for economic stability and wealth which is what these ‘luxury’ brands represent for the masses during the transition period. In contemporary pop culture in Bulgaria one can say that the definition of success  is owning a Mercedes. Usually owning a Mercedes means that the owner is someone who lives abroad - in Western Europe - and is therefore rich (  the local stereotype is that all Western Europeans are rich). It is  very common that most of the people who live up to the Bulgarian dream of owning a Mercedes are  working for less than the minimum wage in countries such as the UK, Germany or Switzerland , working  over hours and living in horrible conditions. They save money during their stay in Europe in order to  buy the shiniest and newest Mercedes or BMW so that when they come back home they can show all  their neighbours how powerful and rich they are. In its essence the Mercedes is a symbol not only of a  mindset developed during the 90s but can also be seen as a symbol of the social position of the  Eastern European diaspora in Western Europe.  

In the video clip of Nelina - Bial Mercedes / Нелина - Бял Мерцедес / ENG: White Mercedes  we see the narrator, the singer Nelina, dancing in the typical lo fi, green screen 90s aesthetics setting montage and shaky low production camera footage. " A white mercedes is following me around in life  and is constantly walking next to me, a white mercedes has taken my attention but love is not sold for  money, I have foreign currency that I can sell but I do not sell my love for money , my mom sent me to  the change bureau so that I can buy one green dollar but in the change bereau they are out of dollars ...  " . The White Mercedes in this song stands for the man whose social status ranks him to have anything he  desires. The Mercedes owner waves a one dollar bill at Nelina only to assert his dominance. As  viewers we are confronted with different images depicting the comfort of this symbol in its making (as  seen in Image 1) and we are put in front of this difficult choice that Nelina is facing. She has to make a  choice - submit to the dream of the "west" , of having money , of being Western and putting aside her  "easterness" but by doing so affirming even more her position as an Eastern European woman in the  context of male - female relationship , or rejecting the idea of having money, as post-socialist philosophy  . In this song we can see not only the inner battle of a woman struggling whether to marry a man for  money, but we see the more complex relationship of former East and former West ideologies. The  "West" represents the bourgeouis, who 50 years prior to this song were murdered or robbed in all  post-Soviet countries, through the symbol of Mercedes and rejecting the symbol of Mercedes

represents the traditional socialist thinking which is "higher" and "devoted to the nation". But in  Image 2. we see Nelina merging with the Mercedes and this can only mean that no matter what choice  she makes it is evident that the symbol of Mercedes is an inevitable part of her identity.  

In Rositsa Peycheva - Dai mi Tate Malko Parichki / Росица Пейчева - Дай ми тате малко  парички / ENG: Daddy, give me some money 1995, Image 4. , we can see a merge between Balkan  culture with the newly arrived Western culture. The five musicians playing traditional to the chalgii  music instruments are fading into a highway traversed by a BMW. But in this context the musicians are  not the ones seeking dominance through owning luxurious items. The musicians themselves are part of  this property. The highest goal for the Balkan gasterbaiter (slang word for bulgarians who work as  construction workers in Europe) is to be able to come back to their home country with an expensive car  and throw a massive party in their home village. But this parties are not what a party looks like in  Western Europe. These parties consist of inviting at least everyone in the village, decorating the village  and inviting the most expensive orchestra, usually a Roma orchestra. The musicians play only if the  audiences sticks money on their foreheads. If the money stops, the music stops. It is very common for  Balkan party- goers to spend between 50euros and 4000 euros per song. Therefore Image 2. is a  representation of the highest form of being the most successful, specifically gasterbaiter, Eastern  European.

In Image 5: Simpatiagi - Za milioni niama zakoni /Симпатяги - За милиони няма закони / ENG  : For people who have millions there are no rules 1998 we see two thugs asserting their power by  standing next to their Mercedes. Here the role of the Mercedes is a little bit different. While it still  represents dominance, it is a different branch of the Mercedes dream. This dream is designated for the  most daring - the ones who are ready to take the once in a lifetime oppurtunity of becoming a criminal.  While it is a job that hides some risks, the thugs of the 90s (as we see in the watermark of Image 5) ruled  the country and potentially are in charge up to this day. The biggest barrier to becoming a Mercedes  owning thug was the risk of getting shot or getting arrested in the case for those who were not so high  in the hierarchal structure. The image represents essential trademarks of the Bulgarian thugs - golden  chains, dark sunglasses and black clothes. And ofcourse, what is a thug without a Mercedes?  

In Image 6: Tzvetelina - Sto mercedesa /Цветелина - Сто мерцедеса / ENG: One hundred Mercedes cars, 1997 we see a young beautiful woman surrounded by a rain of Mercedes. The rain of  Mercedes could be seen as a substitute of the cliché rain of money. After all , anyone can have money,  but not everyone has enough to buy a Mercedes. Interestingly enough, the lyrics of the song are  exploring a love story and the value of the love is represented through the amount of Mercedes cars the  lady owns. " 100 Mercedes, I will drive them for 100 years and a 100 men will want to marry me". In this  song the Mercedes is no longer just a symbol of money. The Mercedes represents everything - it is the  lover, it is the lenght of a life, it is the social position. WOMEN FOR MALE PLEASURE 

In chalga music , the female singer or actress is depicted as a sexy woman whose only  concern in life is how to please the men around her. The man is strong and is either a thug or tries to be  one. The narrative demonstrates the power play position of the rich Balkan man and the quiet beautiful  woman. She is entertaining, forgiving and sensitive. He is strong, powerful and wears gold. He has as  many women as possible. The more women he has around him, the richer he appears to be.

In its essence it is a social game whose winner is the richest. This might be regarded as PTSD  from the deprivation of capitalism before '89. After '89 the people who were robbed of the experience  of "being unequal" could finally show that they are better than their peers. And what other way to prove  your superiority but with demonstrating your wealth to acquire high status. In reality, most people in  the 90s were poor but that made chalga even more attractive. It represented a sort of a dream world, a  so to say collective consciousness. This person, who listens to chalga, is not a chalga celebrity such as  Milko Kalaydzhiev or Kamelia , who are projections of his or her dreams. This person articulates through  the language of chalga imagery but they remain his or hers best self. Chalga dictates the norms and rules  of the pop culture.  

The socialist parliaments in Eastern Europe included a higher number of women than those in Western Europe before ‘89. Prior to the regime change, the average percentage of women in those parliaments was 26% compared to only 12.5% in the European Union member states. After the first free elections the level of women’s representation in parliament decreased. In Bulgaria it fell down from 21% to 8.5%.

As the iron curtain fell, mysoginist came front hiding behind the idea of free speech. We can see the root of this issue in “socialist feminism” – the woman was portrayed both as a laborer and a mother thus retaining her “women” duties in her private life, while being equal on paper to her male colleagues. Even though there was a significant number of women in politics, they had almost no power and were shadowing the male leaders in their sphere. And as the transition period of the ‘90s arrived, Western feminist ideologies were seen either as a colonial power trying to impose foreign beliefs or a type of bourgeouis feminism. Thus chalga reacted as a counterculture agent trying to establish a national identity which didn’t respond to external pressure whether that be from the West or the East.

Whether chalga is one of the roots of sexism in Bulgaria or is a reflection of the already existing sexism in the country is not clear. But in contemporary culture chalga listeners preach beliefs of gender inequality. Even though men are as objectified as women in these videos, the objectification remains in the respective gender boxes. The woman must be attractive, have big breasts, wear as little clothing as possible, be submissive even if she is portrayed as strong and independent. She is suffering for she can not live without the male character. The man must be strong, he must display his financial status through cars and gold, he is in power even when he is weak or dependent. He is suffering for the female character but usually forgets about her because he can have any girl he desires. It is a sort of power play between emotional and financial dominance.

IMMIGRATION / EUROPE

The most traumatic topic for Bulgarians today is emmigration. From a population of roughly  9million in 1989 to roughly 7 million in 2019, Bulgaria faces one of the biggest population declines that  are not caused by a war. Most Bulgarians aspire to live abroad as they know that this is the only way to  self-realisation. The immigration process has become even easier after 2007 (the year Bulgaria became  part of the European Union) as visas were no longer required to live in the EU. Chalga music, as the  trustworthy mirror it has proven to be, has taken this topic at heart and has a wide range of music  clips tackling this issue.  

In Kali - Shengen / Кали - Шенген, 2000 , we see a fictive Shengen border which is guarded by  two border police men . They are playful but at the same time are strict and do not allow the Bulgarians  to enter Shengen. Even though the song was created for parties, it has a strong political message. " Will I  manage to get in Shengen? Can I be a European member?" is part of the refrain. Alongside the video ,  the Shengen song represents one of the biggest political questions at the time. The Eastern European  who is wondering whether they are good enough for the Europeans, whether they are savage or civilised, and their worth is measured by their status in the EU. Some of the characters in the video are represented by "european looking" Bulgarians, whilst others dressed in the traditional Bulgarian clothes represent what needs to be eliminated from Bulgarian culture in order to be seen as worthy. The  characters trying to pass the border are performing different tricks for the border police and their

entry is based on the entertainment value of their performance. The Eastern European is seen as  the one who is invited only if they play by the rules and marginalized if she/he demonstrated  their culture too much. The invitation is conditional.  

In Lia - Mitnichariu/ Лия - Митничарю / ENG: Borderpolice, 2001 we see a beautiful young lady  stuck at a border point. She is begging the policemen to enter their country whilst offering them  different types of bribes. She drives an expensive car, which means that she has been working abroad  and now wants to go back home. The border police do not allow people with expensive cars to pass  the border without taking a bribe, even today. The lyrics of the song " give him 200 deutsche marks, he  is human after all and he needs money to buy cigarettes" are giving a sort of innocence to the act of  corruption. Lia is normalizing the corruption culture but she is also giving a voice to the Bulgarians who  live abroad and experience this border police reality. Rather than describing a fictional situation, Lia is  addressing an actual issue . She is not trying to take a political stance i.e. fight corruption, but rather  is trying to deal with immediate corrupted regulations .The Bulgarian doesn't want to be involved in changing the country, they know it is not possible. The Bulgarian wants to get rid of the  bureaucratic situation as fast as possible and knows the cost of it. The individual wants to give the  money required and go home to see their family as fast as possible because they have only a few days  off from work in the West. In a few days they will have to drive another 1000 km to go back to  Western Europe and continue working. The border police is just one of the many obstacles on the  journey. The Bulgarian knows that if he refuses to pay the bribe there will be greater consequences,  even if he has not done anything illegal. Mitnichariu is a song which I listen to every time I am faced  with Balkan border police, it gives assurance that I am not the only one experiencing this injustice and it  gives me hope that these thug policemen are eventually going to let me through the border.

The border is a mythical location. It is a place where anything it can happen. For the  border police it is a sort of cash machine. Refering to my own experience during the summer of 2020 I  was asked for my car insurance at the border between Montenegro and Croatia. I gave them my international insurance which explicitly covers Montenegro. The borderpolice said it is not possible to pass through unless I buy their insurance and claimed that mine was invalid. After arguing for twenty minutes, one of the border police gave me 3 choice : buy their insurance, get arrested or go back to Croatia. When I bought their insurance at the price of 15 euros and hurried to enter Montenegro, I saw  that document they gave me said One Week Insurance for Belarus. An elaborate scheme for taking  bribes through a company in another country. Technically, this insurance was worthless, unless I went to  Belarus in the upcoming days. This is just one of the many examples of the cash machine which Balkan  borders can be. In the video clip of Lia we can see an exploration of this topic through her personal  experience, which even though personal can be relatable for any Eastern Europeans who has had to  pass through the Balkans by car.  

Even though there are other visual culture references in chalga music , I have decided to focus in this text on the holy trinity of the chalga person - cars, women and Europe. heteronormativity

To end this visual analysis of chalga we must have in mind that the music in its essence is Orientalist but it is not the Saidian concept of Orientalism. Bulgaria does not have the colonial history which Europe has with Oriental culture but was rather under Ottoman rule for 500 years up until the late 19th century which makes orientalism a big part of the Balkan identity. The orientalism of chalga helps the listener to break free from the cultural elite formed during Soviet times and it can been seen as a tool to decolonize the national identity from Western culture. Rather than mocking “Eastern” values which are seen as uncivilized or backward in the eyes of Western Europe, the sultans and sheiks are transformed in a treasure vault mocking the Western ideals. They have been transformed in mafia businessmen, luxury capitalist gods, and the target of irony , even if not conscious, are the dreams connected to the Western life. 

__________________

Bibliography:

Igor Zabel - Contemporary Art Theory

Rosemary Statelova - The Seven Sins of Chalga

Boris Groys- The Total Art of Stalinism: Avant-Garde, Aesthetic Dictatorship, and Beyond

Boryana Rossa - The Tree of Bulgarian artists

Vesa Kurkela - Balkan Popular Culture and the Ottoman Ecumene: Music, Image, and Regional Political Discourse 

Rory Archer - Assessing Turbofolk Controversies: Popular Music between the Nation and the Balkans.

 Reference links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv18ZnLFQBc - Bial Mercedes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dJVFoXzL4  - 100 Mercedesa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvjzB3zQDRg - Dai mi tate malko parichki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVMTaIIFQgQ - Za milioni niama zakoni

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZtN1Fu_G6I - Mitnichariu

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

[kenology]

(feel free to pick and choose from any of these) 13 !!!!!!!!! 15, 23-25, for the fanfic ask meme, and a freebie bc i want to: favorite line (or paragraph 🤠) you wrote this year mwah

13: favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

ive been listening to roy orbison a lot actually! im not like a huge fan of his in general, but the In Dreams album is the perfect vibe for writing exit wounds 😳

15: something you learned this year

that it's okay and valid to hate adverbs bc adverbs kind of suck JDKDJDJDKS also that its very possible to write fics longer than 10k i just have to plan them out in advance

23: fics you wanted to write but didn't

i mentioned the band camp au and college au in my previous ask, those were definitely two of them but im planning on maybe doing them next year! in terms of things that i don't think i'll ever end up writing, at one point id been planning to do a fic set in s3 where the farm was more like. an actual cult. cause i think cults are fascinating (in a morbid way) and it'd be really interesting to think abt how that would play out in rvd

24: favorite fic you read this year

this was so hard to choose!!! i decided to narrow it down by fics that were published/finished this year to make it a little easier, and i have to go with homemade dynamite by @gaycinema because it truly just gave me all the serpents + fred + archie found family i could ever want PLUS jarchie, and it made me both cry and laugh out loud at least once every chapter. all of my friends fics are honorary mentions though i wish i could list everyones 🥺

25: a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

"Pop Tate, Working-Class Hero: The Untold Story of How Pop’s Chock'lit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative" by @stonerbughead is FANTASTIC and does everything the show could never do and more. this is like the best possible continuation of the class conflict the show started to explore (but eventually abandoned) in s2!! and i always love to see a fic about pop 😌 after reading this i have also agreed that it's canon that pop was a black panther in his youth

favorite line/paragraph i wrote:

ok this was SO hard to pick but i’m really attached to this section from still fighting it. im pretty happy with how jughead’s age (hes 11) came through here, and also just. jones family angst. sibling relationship angst. alcoholism angst. yeah <3 (i know this is like. multiple paragraphs. but pretend it isnt xoxo)

Jughead’s mom says his dad is throwing his life away. Mr. Andrews says his dad is sick. Jughead wants to believe the second one, because if his dad is sick, that means he can get better. He tries to help his dad get better, but he’s not sure how. Sometimes, when his dad comes back late at night and crashes on the couch, after he falls asleep, Jughead picks up his coat off the floor and hangs it on the hook, and helps take his shoes off, too, setting them right next to the front door. Those things, he knows how to fix. Once, Jellybean wakes up when their dad comes home, startled by the noise. She joins the two of them in the living room and picks up a pillow from the armchair. Making her way back over to the couch, she carefully lifts up their dad’s head, just enough to put the pillow underneath, and kisses him on the forehead. Go back to sleep, Jelly, Jughead whispers. There are some things she shouldn’t have to learn.

[stonerbughead]

familiar places

Pop Tate has a feeling, like something big is about to happen. After all, Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones just rolled back into town.

a fluffy little story that fits into the Pop Tate, Working Class Hero universe, for week 1 of the @riverdalepromptathon: Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe + exhilarated + red

absolutely FLAWLESS header by my queen @fyeahbughead

[bodysuitsforbughead]

pre-order the riverdale pride & joy zine!

hey y’all! wanna buy a beautiful zine filled with fan-created Riverdale content AND support a good cause?! Preorder the @riverdaleprideandjoyzine​ at gumroad.com/riverdalepridezine! All proceeds go to the Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network!

The zine is divided into five color-coded sections, making it easy to skip ships you’re not as into: Underrepresented Characters, Queer Core Four, Choni, Varchie, and Bughead

I (@stonerbughead​ on AO3/Tumblr) wrote two stories for the underrepped characters section: “last summer at band camp” about Melody Valentine (with a side of Munroe and the other Pussycats) and “Pop Tate, Working Class Hero: The Untold Story of How Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative” (with a side of investigative Bughead!)

The zine is filled with art and stories by some of the most talented creators from across the Riverdale fandom. PREORDER HERE and signal boost: gumroad.com/riverdalepridezine

[legendsmagazine]

Legend Awards 2022 Nominee List

Top Artist

CIPHER

Essence Woods

Roman Rizvi

Zeke Hawthorne

Penny Lane

Olivia Marie

Elsa Bergstrom

Bonnie Jean

Elijah Rappaport

SAINT

Madam Vivi

Candie Rose

Top New Artist or Group

Zeke Hawthorne

Lupe Medina

Kimber Tate

Bonnie Jean

Caspian Quinn

Food Trvck

Sebby Jones

Damian Kozak

Scar

Top Male Artist

Ivan Morozov

JAE

Greyson Addams

Roman Rizvi

Zeke Hawthorne

Callan Duffy

AMAR

Elijah Rappaport

TAYO

Salvador

Sebby Jones

Top Female Artist

Essence Woods

Venus Marie

Marnie Emerson

Olivia Bennett

Penny Lane

Queen Cardi

Bonnie Jean

Eva Rappaport

Madam Vivi

Candie Rose

Top Duo or Group

CIPHER

Panic Pixies

Camisado

Penthouse Booze

Top Single

Butter - CIPHER

Deachwita - JAE

If I Can't Have You - Ivan Morozov

Summertime Sadness - Essence Woods

Daddy AF - Venus Marie

Nina Cried Power - Roman Rizvi

Monday - Marnie Emerson

Healing - Olivia Bennett

God Is A Woman - Penny Lane

Kiwi - Zeke Hawthorne

Sweet But Psycho - Queen Cardi

Gimme More - Elsa Bergstrom

Issues - Bonnie Jean

Are You Bored Yet? - Penthouse Booze

Strangers - SAINT

Tissues - Sebby Jones

Applause - Madam Vivi

Hero - Salvador

Midnight Sky - Candie Rose

No One Dies From Love - Cassidy Silver

Top Collab

Left and Right - Ivan Morozov and NOAH

Daywalker - Cole and Greyson

Me Myself and I - Cole feat. Elsa Bergstrom

Blueberry Eyes - Amar feat. JAE

Falling Skies - FOXIE and Sebby Jones

Fucked Up, Kinda - Bonnie Jean feat. Cole

LEMONS - Cosmo Yang feat. Marnie Emerson

Sticks and Stones - Caspian Quinn feat. Scar

Despacito - Salvador feat. AMAR

Working for the Weekend - AMAR feat. TAYO

Top Song by a Female Artist

Gimme More - Elsa Bergstrom

Sweet But Psycho - Queen Cardi

Exes and Ohs - Bonnie Jean

The Walls Are Way Too Thin - Marnie Emerson

Summertime Sadness - Essence Woods

Girls Girls Girls - Olivia Bennett

God Is A Woman - Penny Lane

LazyBaby - Eva Rappaport

Applause - Madam Vivi

Midnight Sky - Candie Rose

No One Dies From Love - Cassidy Silver

Top Songs by a Male Artist

First Class - D West Coast

Heat Waves - Roman Rizvi

Deachwita - JAE

If I Can't Have You - Ivan Morozov

Kiwi - Zeke Hawthrone

Give Me Love - Callan Duffy

Tissues - Sebby Jones

Hero - Salvador

Top Songs bye a Duo or Group

Are You Bored Yet? - Penthouse Booze

Miss Nothing - Panic Pixies

Butter - CIPHER

How We Roll - UNDEAD

Death of a Bachelor - Camisado

Top Rap Artist

UNDEAD

D West Coast

TAYO

Greyson

JAE

Cole

Top Pop Artist

Elsa Bergstrom

Queen Cardi

Bonnie Jean

Venus Marie

Essence Woods

CIPHER

Olivia Bennett

Penny Lane

Candie Rose

Madam Vivi

Cassidy Silver

Top Alternative Artist

Marnie Emerson

FOXIE

SAINT

Mia

Sebby Jones

Top Rock Artist

UNDEAD

Camisado

King Blood Red

Top Song for a Soundtrack

Watch Out! - TAYO

Cop Car - SAINT

This House is a Circus - Ryan Price

Jackpot - JAE

Decode - Mia

New Perspective - Camisado

Control - Olivia Bennett

All Eyes On Me - Dessy Barlowe

Part the Seas - Elias Rappaport

Top Pop Song

Gimme More - Elsa Bergstrom

Don't Wanna Think - Bonnie Jean

Daddy AF - Venus Marie

Ribs - Essence Woods

Butter - CIPHER

Left & Right - Ivan Morozov and NOAH

Drivers License - Mia

Sign of the Times - Zeke Hawthorne

God Is A Woman - Penny Lane

Healing - Olivia Bennett

Applause - Madam Vivi

Hero - Salvador

Midnight Sky - Candie Rose

No One Dies From Love - Cassidy Silver

Top Rap Song

First Class - D West Coast

I Remember - TAYO

Better Now - Greyson

Deachwita - JAE

Without Me - Cole

Top Alternative Song

Pumpkin - Marnie Emerson

Soul Sucker Pt. 2 - FOXIE, Mia, Marnie Emerson

American Teenager - SAINT

Summertime Sadness - Essence Woods

Misery Business - Mia

Tissues - Sebby Jones

Fire Escape - Damian Kozak

Drugs - Scar feat. Cole

Top Rock Song

Exes and Ohs - Bonnie Jean

West Coast - Essence Woods

How We Roll - UNDEAD

Death of a Bachelor - Camisado

Crawling - King Blood Red

So What - Candie Rose

[stonerbughead]

Pop Tate, Working-Class Hero:

The Untold Story of How Pop's Chocklit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative.

@stonerbughead excellent.

[malapertmarquess]

Now you've read all the plays I'm curious to know which Shakespeare movie adaptations you've seen. And what you think of them.

WELL THEN YOU ASKED FOR THIS HERE WE GO (sorry about the super long post guys)

Hamlet

Olivier, 1948 - Half the plot was cut to shorten the running time, which surprised me but does make sense. I thought that the focus on Hamlet’s family troubles was done quite well, and it works well. Did not like that Hamlet was one-dimensionally moody. Also the first production to put the infamous closet scene in Gertrude’s bedroom because Olivier quite liked Freud (he even cast a woman 14 years younger than him to play his mother, so super Oedipal). Do NOT agree.

Zeffirelli, 1990 - I know I’ve seen it, but it was pre-2008 sometime and I remember very little about it. I think it was also quite Oedipal? And I don’t think they kept the original text (I wish they had; Mel Gibson trying to speak in Early Modern English would be fucking hilarious). I don’t remember being terribly impressed. Like Braveheart but Danish?

Branagh, 1996 - Olivier’s antithesis! This film was everything Olivier’s was not: the scale was huuuuge, Branagh kept every line of the original text (and added a lot of flourishes), it was very anti-Oedipal (GOOD). The cast was very star-studded, which was cool but seemed to detract from the storytelling a lot because you’re too focussed on the fact that Robin Williams is in it for no known reason to pay attention to the text. Branagh’s characterisation was way more manic than the melancholy Olivier, but still came off as being a bit flat because his only emotion was ~INTENSE~.

Doran, 2009 - My fave.

Much Ado About Nothing

Branagh, 1993 - Kind of quintessential? I watched it in high school when we studied the play in record time because the teacher had us on the wrong one for two weeks. Emma Thompson was in it, and I eternally adore Emma Thompson. Also featured were the guy who plays Wilson on House and Keanu Reeves as the evil Don John, doing a wonderfully mopey Don John (guy’s such a wet blanket). There was a ridiculous scene when Bea and Ben “discover” their “love” for each other and decide to love the other back, which for some reason involved Emma Thompson on a swing and Kenneth Branagh splashing in a fountain. WHY.

ShakespeaRe-told, Nicholls, 2005 - A modern adaption set in a television studio. Very cleverly done, and given more of a sense of realism in a modern world than the original text has. I liked that at the end *spoilers* Hero wasn’t keen to get back together with Claudio, which is how most modern women would react in that situation. *end spoilers* Good actors, good adaption.

Rourke, 2011 - Another filmed stage show starring David Tennant (shut up). He’s opposite Catherine Tate, and OH MY GOD I love the energy those two have together. There’s a reason Donna’s my favourite Who companion. Both fit their roles very well and carry a believable relationship built on teasing each other mercilessly. The staging was brilliant, with a revolving circle making up most of the stage with some pillars to create separate spaces and for the actors to interact with. Also: Benedick enters majestically in a golf cart. And gets covered in paint. And Beatrice gets hoisted into the air by her belt. Basically this show is a JOY to watch.

The Taming of the Shrew

Zeffirelli, 1967 - I’m pretty sure I watched this one pre-2008 too, so I don’t remember much. I think I liked it well enough? There was a hayloft? Elizabeth Taylor was pretty great I think.

10 Things I Hate About You, 1999 - Pretty fab. Great casting, and I liked the changes they made to the story to make it more in keeping with the setting. Generally pretty good.

Twelfth Night

She’s the Man, 2006 - Another pre-2008 movie. I liked it a lot! I don’t remember terribly much, but I remember that. Makes my li’l cross-dresser’s heart happy.

Coriolanus

Van Someren, 2014 - This is the one with Tom Hiddleston. I like Tom Hiddleston. Almost as much as I like David Tennant. Hey, they should work together on something... Anyway, I watched this before I read the play, so I was unprepared for just how GAY it is. Like, Coriolanus and Aufidius are clearly either boning each other or having a lot of uncomfortable dreams about boning each other. Also Hiddles strips off his shirt early on, and even a flaming asexual can appreciate the beauty that is Tom Hiddleston’s chest. His muscles are very impressive. Another filmed stage show - this one had a fairly minimal set, which I like! It had a really gritty, warlike feel, almost industrial, which worked really well with the grimness of the play. I probably would have gotten more out of it if I’d read the play previously.

King Lear

Nunn, 2008 - Ian McKellan is a brilliant Lear! You can really see how delicate he is, despite all the posturing. The madness scenes were very heartstrings-pulling, with his flowers and all. It’s another stage show, but you’d hardly know it with the amount of dirt and tussock they managed to get hold of. Like how is that workable?? I’m a bit amazed. The costumes are GORGEOUS. So great. I’m retrospectively a bit disappointed that Regan wasn’t cleverer in this version. They did manage to answer the question of the Fool’s disappearance quite well, though.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo + Juliet, Luhrmann, 1996 - It’s very iconic, and Luhrmann uses imagery really well, but I’m just not that into it, despite Tumblr’s obsession with the film.

Titus Andronicus

Titus, Taymor, 1999 - This film is fucking WEIRD. I watched the first 10 minutes of it in a uni class, and they made zero sense. I later watched the whole film, and it made slightly more sense. The film is completely anachronistic, with ancient Rome superimposed onto the twentieth century, or maybe the other way around. There is symbolism in SPADES, and it’s really artsy symbolism that isn’t always clear. Anthony Hopkins plays the titular role, and I think he’s well suited to the role. It also has Alan Cumming in it, and I don’t know how that happened.

The histories

The Hollow Crown, Eyre, 2012-2016 - Lumping this all together because it’s easy. I really liked this series for several reasons:

It presented most of the history plays together in a way that emphasised their interconnectivity, because out of the 10 history plays, 8 of them are consecutive, and the same characters pop up in several plays. It also provided a lot more context for the later plays and about the Wars of the Roses in general.

Margaret of Anjou is a BAMF. Like, so cool. She murders people like it’s the most fun she’s had all day, and she’s fierce and fearless and spitting curses, but she’s also a mother and a powerful leader and strategist.

Bolingbroke/Henry IV is so damn serious - such a stick-in-the-mud - and he tries SO HARD, but then he gets stuck with Harry and is So. Disappointed.

Harry and his gang are pretty great, especially Poins. I may have started lowkey shipping Poins and Harry.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Richard III, and while I’m not as enamoured of him as I was, I still have mad respect for his acting ability, and he does the part really well.

So yeah. A+ work.

Richard III

Loncraine, 1995 - Sir Ian returns as one of our favourite villains. Always a pleasure to watch him, almost as much as watching Maggie Smith as his mother. That woman is a gem, and I can still remember the thrill of hearing her spill all the venom she feels for her son. The setting is a 1930s fascist dictatorship, so obviously a lot of telling imagery there. It was interesting, but I wasn’t as thrilled by the direction as I was by Dame Maggie.

So that’s all of them, And I think I might have seen Branagh’s version of Love’s Labour’s Lost? It’s a musical. And there was colour symbolism. I remember nothing else, so I’m not counting it.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

Portrait of the FBI trainee as a young adult

or Some thoughts on how Riverdale aged up their teen protagonists

Jumping seven years in the future over the span of just seven days is not an easy feat, but it can certainly be done: changes in physical appearance and “adult” stories are very useful tools. But this is Riverdale, which means that, while all characters are adults in season 5, some characters are more adults than others.

Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge and Toni Topaz, in particular, come to mind.

Adult Veronica has been blessed with a new sensational wardrobe befitting a more mature character. To be honest I’ve never met a 25-year-old dressed like Ronnie, however, her clothes are those of a grown up. Character-wise nothing has changed for adult Veronica. However, she had always been portrayed more like a young adult businesswoman than a typical teenager. So, in a way, post-time-jump Veronica hasn’t so much changed, as grown into her age. As a result, she might not be different from her pre-time-jump self, but she is convincing as an adult.

Toni had a similarly drastic change of wardrobe, accompanied by equally drastic changes in terms of her character: Toni is now pregnant but -most importantly- in a position of authority. She might not have her own story line yet as advertised (so far, she has supported the plots of Big Bad Hiram, Hero Archie, Investigator Betty and Isolation Queen Cheryl), however, in every scene she has been portrayed as someone dealing with adult responsibilities and being successful at that. She runs the Whyte Worm, she used to work at Riverdale Social Services, she’s Riverdale High School’s guidance counselor, she secures financing for the school and its activities, under her captaincy the Vixens have become a winning sports team heading out to championships. Adult Toni is drastically different from teen Toni.

The most adult character, however is Jughead. In terms of physical appearance, he has ditched his trademark beanie and very recognisable wardrobe for a new set of clothes, a couple of tattoos, glasses and facial hair (that some love and some hate). In terms of story lines, like Toni, he has the most adult ones. And the most different ones from those of his youth. He has meetings with his agent where he talks about his job. He no longer investigates to unravel Riverdale’s mysteries as much as he interviews people for a book, for which he already has a contract and a deadline. He takes a second job to make ends meet. He faces debt. He (supposedly) drinks a lot. As a teacher, his storyline has been the most realistic of them all. Instead of condoning dance-offs with 25-year-old Cheryl or being given a class of minions like Veronica (wasn’t that a very taciturn and obedient bunch …), Jughead is shown staying out late to prep for class and giving pop quizzes to students who are actually unprepared/bored/rude. Mobster-like debt collectors and alcoholism aside, his “adultness” is the most relatable and the most easily recognized as such.

And then, there’s Betty … Who, apart from her longer hair, has been given a mixed wardrobe of 1. new adult capri pants and heels, 2. her old high school combo of sweaters and collars (that she often wears when she investigates – which makes for quite the visual throwback to her high school sleuthing years) and 3. an FBI jacket than makes her look even younger than when she was blackmailing Donna back in the day. Betty’s natural make-up makes her look especially young. (Hadn’t Lili commented once upon a time about how they had gradually darkened Betty’s make up in s2 or 3?) In terms of characterisation, unlike Toni and Jughead, and much like Veronica, Betty is given the exact same material: in her case that’s: “investigating sleuth usually barging into places demanding answers”. Unlike Veronica, however, Betty has not grown into her role, because from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Nancy Drew, the teenager-badass-investigator-played-by-an-older-actress has been an effing trope, and, so far, the writers have failed in differentiating between 18-year-old Betty and 25-year-old Betty in terms of dialogue, set ups, story lines, agency. In other words, FBI trainee Elizabeth Cooper lacks adult gravitas.

Disclaimer #1: this is in no shape or form a diss on the actress, whom I like a lot. This is a diss on the writers, who didn’t bother to update an extremely tropey character, when they updated her on-screen age.

Disclaimer #2: neither is this a diss on the actor playing Jughead, whom I also like a lot. Just because he’s getting better material, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t put in the work: from suggesting the glasses to Jughead’s fed-up, weary, disbelieving or conspiracy-excited new mannerisms.

Then there’s also the matter of how Veronica, Archie and Jughead, all have regular partners for their post-time-jump story lines, whereas Betty has been given the short end of the scene partners stick.

>> Veronica’s foe is daddykins/Chad (who is, anyway, just another version of daddykins).

>> Archie’s story is Archie & his posse against the world. His partners even dress alike to reinforce the idea that they act as one unit! In 5x5 it is Archie and his posse of similarly leather-clad friends against the Ghoulies. In 5x6 it is Archie and his wannabe Bulldog students against the illusive football funding. In 5x7 it is Archie and his similarly dressed merry band of volunteer firefighters against the blazing inferno that is Riverdale.

>>Jughead shares half his scenes with the same new, exciting and extremely likable Tabitha Tate.

>> Betty’s scene partners, however, are seemingly whoever is available at the moment. Polly. Alice. Kevin. Archie if naked. Glen. A trucker. Dr Curdle Jr, A victim’s mother. Reggie. None of them stands out. As this is Riverdale, it’s hard to tell if this is bad writing (focusing on other characters and letting, for some reason, Betty fend for herself, counting on her popularity to maintain the viewers’ interest) or a conscious choice to portray her as being isolated. If, however, it’s the latter, it does the character no favours at all. Jughead’s also isolated, but his plot is new and exciting. In Betty’s case, 1. we’ve already watched the story of her searching for her missing sister when she was a sophomore and 2. I don’t particularly care about any of her scene partners, who are either secondary characters or people we’re not going to see ever again! And this makes her storyline, for lack of a better word: boring (or, in naked Justin Gingerlake’s case, extremely annoying).

I’m absolutely elated to see Betty investigate with Jughead, not only because this will eventually lead to Bughead, but also for the possibility that her mystery plot line will finally become more engaging. That’s not a very nice thought to have for your favourite female character. That’s not a very nice way to treat your most popular female character, especially when you have previously “gifted” her with a cheating story line and the least popular ship (yes, barchie, that’s you).

5x7 came and went and I’m still waiting to see what’s new about Betty Cooper and her storyline. (This is true about Veronica and Archie too, however, this is a bughead blog, so Jughead and Betty take priority! – and, also, let’s be honest, I never cared much about Archie.)

I do not appreciate that FBI trainee Cooper is written exactly the same way as teenager sleuth Betty. Why affiliate her to the FBI if you’re not going to give the character real authority? I do not appreciate the writing choices that make 5x5-5x7 Betty’s plot boring. Why come down so hard on your show’s most popular female character? I love Betty Cooper, both with Jughead and on her own. Likewise, I love Jughead both as part of bughead and on his own. Adult Jughead definitely has my attention. So, when may I have my interesting adult badass female character back?

[hannahsalvidgephotography-blog]

Art Now - Simeon Barclay: The Hero wears clay Shoes

Today I visited Simeon Barclay’s small exhibition at Tate Britain. Below is a text outlining Barclay’s intentions, interests and the ideas behind work in the exhibition.

“Simeon Barclay is interested in how we construct and perform our identity. Drawing on advertisements, magazines, television and music, he combines images of culturally significant moments and figures with his personal memories to understand how we define and situate ourselves within society.

Barclay uses references from popular culture from his time growing up in the north of England to explore masculine and feminine roles and the expectations of society. Images of footballers, actresses and objects such as a car illustrate how we perform gender. Barclay blurs fiction and reality by adapting a scene from the television drama Boys from the Blackstuff, which refers to class, masculinity and unemployment in 1980s Britain, and collaged images of characters from Viz comic’s The Fat Slags and gymnast Haruhiro Yamashita.

The use of slick, industrial materials reflects Barclay’s time working in industry as well as the aspirational lifestyle presented in fashion magazines. Video clips of Calvin Klein advertisements and a filmed performance by American artist Martha Rosler further deconstruct the power of images, their ability to seduce and provoke, and their intrinsic link to consumption.” - Taken from the Tate Britain website.

Considering the prominence of pop culture and society within Barclay’s work, I though this could be useful in regards to our visual culture case study (advanced research methods module).

[stonerbughead]

AW yess! no one can ever convince me Pop Tate isn't a Black Panther. so glad you're enjoying it, devin!

This zine is so good 😃😃😃😃

@stonerbughead @smudgedbypen

[crepuscolo-vibes]

Pop Tate, Working-Class Hero:

The Untold Story of How Pop's Chocklit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative.

@stonerbughead excellent.

[stonerbughead]

idk what’s going on with this devil dude but DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON WORKING CLASS HERO POP TATE!!!

[stonerbughead]

Pop Tate, working class hero!

if nothing, this whole thing has made me realise that jughead is indeed my favourite character