#samoan history

[valkyries-things]

TERISA SIAGATONU // POET

“She is a Samoan spoken word poet, arts educator, and community organizer. In 2012, she was awarded a Champion of Change Award for her activism in LGBTQ rights, racial justice, mental health, gender equity and climate change. Siagatonu is a queer Samoan woman and activist. She spoke at the Obama White House and to the UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris, France.”

[elliscraddock]

Here's my #8thRocksShuffle #8thRocks dance video w/song called Good Ol' Days by #BooYaaTRIBE.

(w/heavy rain sound effects/high tone version). I don't own this song but enjoy. #OldSchool #GFunk #Samoa #Samoan #AmericanSamoa #SamoanCulture #SamoanHistory 🇼🇸🇦🇸

[vintagecamping]

Samoan campers around a campfire. Textbook illustration.

New Zealand

1948

[islandtarochips]

Hello! You've been super nice with my content and I would like to thank you for being so kind 🥺

I have a question since I'm interested to ask! Can you tell me something about your culture and Samoan people? :D

Of course dearie! Everything that you've created is an ABSOLUTE stunning art! You and the others that I have followed!

And yeah! I would LOVE to! But just to let you know, I’m slowly learning as well since I was young. Because of how a slow learner I am but I will do my best to answer your question! (And it will be in a little detail for me to explain EVERYTHING about our culture.)

Starting off about the Samoan people. Us Samoan people are very strict with our culture. And they said that we're the most recognizable people showing it. Our dances, our music, visual arts. All of that! The Visual Arts are the most interesting thing that I've seen so far. Like the Tatau (tah-tah-oo).

The Tatau are like tattoos mainly on the thighs and waist. You can say that they're wearing like clothing. Which means they are practically...Ahem. You should know. And they said we started using this as an inspiration by the two Fijian women who came up to the shore and brought their materials and knowledge of tattooing. Next one that we're known for Visual Arts is Siapo (see-ah-poh). A Samoan word for "A fine cloth made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry tree."

The Siapo is very important for ceremony, especially the wedding occasion and the funeral service, just to wrap the dead body and put in the grave. (Since we have caskets now. We put the Siapo on TOP of the casket instead.) It's even for High Chiefs or village maiden wearing the Siapo around their waist. Like in this old photo!

(IF you can even SEE it) Now the next one is the Ie Lavalava (ee-eh lah-vah-lah-vah). An Ie Lavalava is a piece of fabric that Polynesians tie around their waists that gets worn like a skirt. Both men and women wear this type of garment in Samoa and is considered to be a traditional daily outfit used for school uniforms or work attire paired with a jacket and tie. Like this one:

(Students wearing their Ie Lavalava for school) Or this one:

(This is somewhere in the state as they allowed them to wear it in school campus. I forgot the name of the school and place.) Men and Women wear them like that. For anywhere they go. Back in the days, my dad use to tell me that women should wear an Ie whenever they go out in the village. If they don't, it goes to show that they are not respecting our people or the village for it. And nowadays, we hardly done that. I mean, there are still some of them wears an Ie when they go out but most of us aren't. I only wear an Ie when I go to another Pastor's house or go to Church. Anyway, here is some BEAUTIFUL design that they made an Ie Lavalava!

And LASTLY of the Visual Art, is Weaving. I'm sure you already know of what weaving is. For us, we weave baskets and Ie Tonga (ee-eh toh-ngh-ah). It's like the Ie Lavalava but it is made of native pandanus (lauie) tree. And it's BIGGER. I forgot if my dad told me if it was the BARK or the LEAVES they use to make it. Here is what the Ie Tonga look like:

Just like that! They use these for the funerals as a gift to show their respects. I've seen this MANY times. They use these for Fa'alavelave (fah-ah-lah-veh-lah-veh). Means "Families dig deep to help fund funeral, wedding, or other life-interrupting costs, to the tune of thousands of dollars." And oh yeah, the Samoan funerals also involves money. To help out to get the things for the high chiefs and other pastors and wives. ANYWAY, they said the I'e Toga originated from our neighboring country, Tonga. The I'e Toga was originally brought to Samoa by a Tongan lady named Fuka (foo-kah). Fuka's older sister, Lautiovogia (lah-oo-tee-oh-voh-nee-ah) the Queen of Samoa, was married to the King Tuiatua (too-ee-ah-too-ah). During Fuka's visit to Samoa, she gave her sister an I'e Toga as a gift. And that's how the Ie Tonga came into Samoa. That's about it for the Visual Art. And for the music and dances. The dancing is mostly about elegant and grace. The dances also tells the story about our ancestors and mostly about love. Just like any other countries uses their music in dancing to tell the story! Another thing about us Samoans. Samoan parents are VERY strict of disciplining their children. Like let's say....Mexican/Asian/Black mothers disciplining kind of way😅. But they're just doing that out of love. Nothing abusive. I promise. And also, there are TWO different Samoa island. One island is named ACTUALLY Samoa and there's AMERICAN Samoa (That's where I'm at right now!). The differences is. Samoa are like the independent one. Nothing owns them. Until New Zealand took Samoa under them. While American Samoa is under the US. If I remember correctly the reason why American Samoa is under the US. Is because of the Americans assisting us from the war that is going on. Going against Germany, I think. So I guessed that's how we became under the protection of the US.

Here are the two Samoan islands. Almost close but it's like 1h 12m on an airplane and 16h on a car ferry. I prefer the plane (If I didn't pack anything HEAVY. Lol.) So yeah, that's about it. Thank you @welldonekhushi for the ask and hopefully this will help you answer your question! I'm trying be detailed as I can.

[inspofromancientworld]

Tattooing in the Far East and Oceania

Since preserving skin takes mummification, without direct effort, a dry climate, whether hot or cold, is needed to create them, so we don't have a complete history of tattooing in many cultures, or even back as far in history as we have evidence of humans. But, there are locations that have preserved skin or customs for us to learn about ancient practices.

Source courtesy Victor Mair, Culture: Unknown, Location: Tarim Basin, China, Date: 1000-600 B.C.

One of those deserts is in China, the Taklamakan Desert, which shows that tattoos were used around 1200 BCE, but during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 BCE), tattoos were used to mark criminals. These mummies were discovered in the Tarim Basin (which contains the Taklamakan Desert) from what are thought to be the ancestors of Uyghur people today, looking more Caucasian than Asian, were decorated with several motifs, such as crescent moons, suns, and other intricate designs, which may show their primary god and indicate they were a shaman. This interpretation is based on the evidence from near-by cultures. They also tattooed their face at times, which indicated pride in and the importance of the tattoos.

By anonymus - Mann und Weib.III. page 458, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15174677

In Japan, men started wearing elaborate tattoos in the late 3rd century CE, though there is also evidence for tattooing going back to the Joumon (or paleolithic) period given that there are figurines with cord patterns on them. In the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) tattoo designs on Chinese visitors in Kyushu were documented on, with speculation about them being spiritual or for status. In the 8th century CE "Records of Ancient Matters", tattooed people were considered outsiders, denying a history of tattooing in Japan. The Ainu people, the indigenous group of northern Japan, however, have a tradition of tattooing for decoration or status, or as protection against disease.

Te Ara The movement of peoples around the Pacific and from Asia into the Pacific over the last 6,000 years.

The Polynesian cultures of Oceania have a very long history of tattooing, developing over thousands of years and through the cultures that developed on the various islands they inhabited. The word 'tattoo' comes from the Tahitian islander's term 'tatatau' or 'tattau', as reported by James Cook's expedition in 1769.

By Louis John Steele - bwEy48meVL_AzQ at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21871113 and By Louis John Steele - bwEy48meVL_AzQ at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21871113

One of the most well known Polynesian cultures is the Māori of what is now New Zealand. Their tattoos, called 'tā moko' (the art of tattooing), are marks of high status and survived European attempts to eliminate them. Each moko is designed specifically for the person since it conveys much about who that person in, from their family to their accomplishments. On women, these tattoos are centered around the mouth and chin, while men often have tattoos around their whole faces and bodies. To receive a moku, generally certain milestones or accomplishments need to be reached and the recipient needs to have the right social status.

By Thomas Andrew (1855 - 1939) - National Library of New Zealand, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10113865 and By RunningToddler - Bits & Bytes, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3148860

Another well-known Polynesian culture with a rich tattoo history are the Samoa. In Samoa, men receive a 'pe'a' tatto, which covers their lower back and legs, and women receive a 'malu' which covers the legs from below the buttocks to below the knee. Malu tend to be more delicate and less covering than the pe'a, and are focused around a particular motif (called the malu) which is tattooed in the popliteal fossa (back of the knee), and has suggestions of shelter and protection. Sometimes, women are tattooed on their hands and lower abdomen as well. These tattoos are a sign of cultural pride, status, such that when a man completes his tattoo, he is called a saga'imitti and respected because he underwent the painful ordeal. A man without a tattoo is called telefua or telenao, meaning 'naked', and a man who hasn't completed the tattoo process because of the pain (or not being able to pay) is called pe'a mutu, a mark of shame. The tattooists (called a tufuga ta tatau) are revered as well. Modern Samoan tattoo artists continue to practice their art in the same way as they did prior to European contact, with serrated bone combs tied to tortoise shell fragments, tied to a short wooden handle and then tapped with a mallet. The ink is made from candlenut soot and stored in coconut shell cups. A length of tapa cloth (a barkcloth) is used to wipe blood from the skin and tools.

By Thomas Andrew (1855-1939) - http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/Search.aspx?page=8&imagesonly=true&term=Thomas+Andrew, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10113825

Previous post

Resources:

The Beauty of Loulan and the Tattooed Mummies of the Tarim Basin

Pacific voyaging and discovery

Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

[willknightauthor]

POLYNESIAN METAL

Found another Polynesian metal band. Holy fucking shit 💀

There's something about it. It's like Mongolian metal: a cultural combination that makes perfect sense in retrospect.

[ipwarn]

[mariacallous]

This is a gift article

In the final week of this election season, the Republican Party is running two different campaigns. One of them is an ugly and angry but conventional political enterprise. Donald Trump and other Republicans make speeches; party operatives seek to get out the vote; money is spent in swing states; television and radio advertisements proliferate. The people running that campaign are focused on winning the election.

Last night, in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, we caught a glimpse of the other campaign. This is the campaign that is psychologically preparing Americans for an assault on the electoral system, a second January 6, if Trump doesn’t win—or else an assault on the political system and the rule of law if he does. Listen carefully to the words of Tucker Carlson, the pundit fired from Fox News partly for his role in lying about the 2020 election. Warming up the crowd for Trump, he mocked the very idea that Kamala Harris could win: “It’s going to be pretty hard to look at us and say, ‘You know what? Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s so impressive as the first Samoan Malaysian, low-I.Q., former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.”

“Samoan Malaysian” was Carlson’s way of mocking Harris’s mixed-race background, and “low-IQ” is self-explanatory—but “85 million” is a number of votes she could in fact win. And how, Carlson suggested, could there be such a “groundswell of popular support” for a person he demeaned as a mongrel, an incompetent, an idiot? The answer was clear: There can’t be, and if anyone says it happened, then we will contest it.

All of this is part of the game: the Trump campaign’s loud confidence, despite dead-even polls; its decision, in the final days, to take the candidate outside the swing states to New York, New Mexico, and Virginia, because we’ve got this in the bag (and not, say, because filling arenas in Pennsylvania is getting harder); the hyping of Republican-early-voter numbers, even though no evidence indicates that these are new voters, just people who are no longer being discouraged from voting early. Also the multiple attempts, across the country, to remove large numbers of people from the rolls; the many claims, with no justification, that “illegal immigrants” are voting or even, as Trump implied during the September debate, that illegal immigrants are being deliberately imported into the country in order to vote; Vance’s declaration that he will accept the election results as long as “only legal American citizens” vote.

At Madison Square Garden, Trump doubled down on that rhetoric. He repeated past claims about the “invasion” of immigrants; about “Venezuelan gangs” occupying American cities, even Times Square; and he offered an instant solution: “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get these criminals out. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail.” But he left open the question of who exactly all these “criminals” might be, because he seemed to be talking about not just immigrants but also his political opponents, “the enemy within.” The United States, he said, “is now an occupied country, but it will soon be an occupied country no longer … November 5, 2024, nine days from now, will be Liberation Day in America.”

The insults we heard from many speakers at Madison Square Garden, including the description of Puerto Rico as “garbage” or of Harris as “the anti-Christ” or of Hillary Clinton as a “sick son of a bitch”—insults that can also be heard in a thousand podcast episodes featuring Carlson, Elon Musk, J. D. Vance, and their ilk—are part of the same effort. Trump’s electorate is being primed to equate his political opposition with infection, pollution, and demonic power, and to accept violence and chaos as a legitimate, necessary response to these primal, lethal threats.

As I wrote earlier this month, this kind of language, imported from the 1930s, has never before been part of mainstream American presidential politics, because no other political candidate in modern history has used an election to undermine the legal basis of the American political system. But if we are an occupied country, then Joe Biden is not the legitimately elected president of the United States. If we are an occupied country, then the American government is not a set of institutions established over centuries by Congress, but rather a sinister cabal that must be dismantled at any price. If we are an occupied country, then of course the Trump administration can break the law, commit acts of violence, or even trash the Constitution in order to “liberate” Americans, either after Trump has lost the election or after he has won it.

This kind of language is not being used accidentally or incidentally. It is not a joke, even when used by professional comedians. These insults are central to Trump’s message, which is why they were featured at a venue he reveres. They are also classic authoritarian tactics that have worked before, not only in the 1930s but also in places such as modern Venezuela and modern Russia, countries where the public was also prepared over many years to accept lawlessness and violence from the state. The same tactics are working in the United States right now. Election workers, whose job is to carry out the will of the voters, are already the subject of violent threats and harassment. At least two ballot boxes have been attacked.

The natural human instinct is to dismiss, ignore, or downplay these kinds of threats. But that’s the point: You are meant to accept this language and behavior, to consider this kind of rhetoric “baked in” to any Trump campaign. You are supposed to just get used to the idea that Trump wishes he had “Hitler’s generals” or that he uses the Stalinist phrase “enemies of the people” to describe his opponents. Because once you think that’s normal, then you’ll accept the next step. Even when that next step is an assault on democracy and the rule of law.

[camillasgirl]

Her Majesty The Queen’s speech to the CHOGM Women’s Forum, 24.10.2024

Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a huge pleasure to be here with you today.  I would, first, like to thank the people of Samoa for the warm welcome that my husband and I have received and for your hospitality and generosity to us and to the whole Commonwealth family.  

I was delighted recently to come across the wonderful Samoan proverb:  E au le Inailau a Tama’ita’i. With apologies to the men in the room, I thought that we might make this our motto today.  

According to a legend, a competition was once held between men and women in a village to thatch the roof of the house of Chief Tautunu. Although they started at the same time, the women finished their side first, as they had laboured through the night, while the men slept.  As one whose husband is often toiling into the small hours, long after my head is on the pillow, I should stress there are plenty of exceptions! But the moral of the proverb is: Women will turn their hands successfully to any task that must be done; and will work hard until it is completed.

As we gather to discuss our theme, “Advocating for Women and Girls in the Commonwealth”, we have a gigantic task ahead of us, for which we all – male and female – will need the same spirit that inspired those women thatchers. It is this: to end domestic and sexual violence across the Commonwealth, now and forever.  And its enormity can be seen from the shocking statistics.  Globally, 30% of women have been subjected to either physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.  Most of this at the hands of an intimate partner.  Worldwide, 27% of women aged 15-49 who have been in a relationship, report that they have experienced some sort of abuse from their partners.    

Faced with the vastness of the issue, it can seem almost impossible to know where to begin.  Yet our Commonwealth’s 75-year history offers hope, inspiration and – crucially – solutions.  Leaders from around the globe are willing to meet, as equals, and to have difficult, and constructive, conversations.  

The Commonwealth Says NO MORE campaign, which takes a culturally sensitive approach towards ending domestic and sexual violence, is supporting people from all walks of life to identify and implement practical steps which we can all take to make homes, workplaces and communities safe for women and girls.  We know that abuse can be prevented and ultimately eliminated, but only if we work together until that task is completed. 

That is our commitment – to each other, to the Commonwealth and to the generations to come.  

E au le Inailau a Tama’ita’i.

Thank you.  

[bijouxcarys]

I seriously can’t stop thinking about Roman’s return at Summerslam, and it’s not just because I’m a huge Reigns fan and a huge fan of the Samoan dynasty.

This man grew up with a father whose job was a professional wrestler in the biggest wrestling federation in the world. Anyone who knows anything about that industry knows it’s one hell of a feat to be able to maintain a family in tandem with working for the WW(F).

This man was a talented football player. He worked hard to get somewhere in that field. He had a good woman by his side, a good career, a tight family. He was heading straight to the top. The NFL. And then found out about the leukaemia. Back to square one.

This man got released from two football contracts after his diagnosis, headed home and worked in a furniture installation warehouse with his cousins for 2 years.

This man’s father saw it in him. Just as it was in his older brother. One push, into the deep end, and he was training tirelessly to make it in the WWE. To garner the same respect his old man had, the same respect his cousins had, the same respect given to the Samoan wrestling dynasty.

This man smashes it in FCW, smashes it in NXT, smashes a Survivor Series debut at the age of 27.

This man has a long-time girlfriend, a 6/7 year old daughter, his cousins are working in the same company, he’s getting there, he’s working it. And then the beloved faction—The Shield—implodes.

This man is then shoved down everyone’s throats. This is the guy. The new face. The new Cena.

This man loses autonomy as a wrestler. Loses his creative freedom.

This man wins the 2015 Royal Rumble, only to be booed to no end, despite him supposedly being a baby face. A good guy. No guys, this is who you should be cheering for! See how we are pushing him? This should have been the biggest night of his life, but it was marred by a crowd so hateful towards his character, that he’d rather not remember it!

This man is now married. Is the official face of WWE, whose fan base doesn’t want him. They want him gone. They chant their disdain. Every. Single. Time.

This man continues to be given poor promos, poorly written scripts, is made to say lines that make him into a mockery. But he does it. He plays the game. He knows how this goes. It doesn’t take away the fact he is still one of the most gifted wrestlers of the modern era. But the fans don’t see that. They don’t want to.

This man has his championship opportunity taken from him at Wrestlemania. Fuck.

This man, for the next few years, continues to be pushed and pushed and pushed. Fights with his whole soul. He needs that respect. He deserves that respect. His nose is shattered, his face is split open by a former UFC champion.

This man, still billed as the face of WWE, is now to do what nobody expects of him. Defeat the phenom. The Undertaker. Potentially the most beloved character in the history of pro wrestling. More booing. Nobody believes he deserves it. Just more negativity.

And then, the same exact year, this man’s big brother passes away. But what does he do? He keeps it pushing. He will endure these challenges in order to earn that respect he so desperately needs.

This man continues to be booed and mocked and undermined, under appreciated. Until late 2018.

This man announces that his real name is Joe and he’s been living with leukaemia for 11 years. And it’s back.

For the first time, the WWE universe realise this is a real man. And the absence of said man highlights just how important he is.

This man, in February 2019, announces he’s in remission. Gets a taste of the humanity in the WWE universe. But now he’s floating about. He doesn’t know who he is. He’s pushed as a face, but knows he’s destined for something different, something that will command that respect.

In 2020, this man takes a break. Reinvents himself a bit. Taps into who he is, his culture, his family, his traditions.

And then at Summerslam 2020, The Big Dog returns. And there’s something different about him.

The Big Dog is now The Tribal Chief. The Head of the Table.

And you will Acknowledge Him.

For the next few years, this man raises the bar, lifts up his cousins, has the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, and Triple H, praising him. The greats can see it. That respect is so close, he can almost taste it.

By April 2024, this man has had one of the longest title reigns in WWE history. Over 1,300 days as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He’s been pinned less than a handful of times within 4 years. He carried the company through COVID. He’s become the real face of the company whilst being himself, controlling his destiny, his promos, his image.

Yet… he’s still overlooked by the crowd. An undeserving champion some would say.

So you know what? Let’s give this to the man everyone loves. Another prodigy of a legendary family. Cody Rhodes.

Roman’s absence between Wrestlemania 40 and Summerslam 2024 proved just how loved he is. The fans thought they wanted one thing, they thought they wanted Cody. But once Roman Reigns is taken out of the equation… damn, this shit is kinda boring.

The “we want Roman” chants start. The world starts to crave his presence. They need him to come back. To have that genius moment of cinema. The way he commands a room without saying a single word.

During this man’s absence, the wrestling world mourns the loss of Sika Anoa’i. Roman Reigns’ father.

Married, 5 kids, a wife of 10 years, a career like no other, living with leukaemia, constantly working on himself… and now, the man who pushed him, the man who saw something in him, has passed on to the other side.

When those drums rang out in Cleveland on August 3rd 2024, everybody knew how big of a moment this was. Historical. Monumental. And as the Original Tribal Chief turns that corner, showing himself to the WWE universe for the first time since April… he got it.

The respect.

This man is more than a wrestler. He’s a warrior. The pop, the reaction, for his return at Summerslam… it’s never been more deserving. 14 years of trial and error, pain, loss, lack of identity, all paid off.

Because now, we all know. Everyone knows.

They acknowledged him.

Finally.

I’m so proud of him.

[elliscraddock]

Here's my #8thRocksShuffle #8thRocks dance video w/song called Good Ol' Days by #BooYaaTRIBE(w/heavy rain sound effects/high tone version) on YouTube. Also click the like, share, subscribe, & hit a notification button on my YouTube channel. #OldSchool #GFunk #Samoa #Samoan #AmericanSamoa #SamoanCulture #SamoanHistory 🇼🇸🇦🇸

[andypantsx3]

now you're one of those ppl who wants to:

Please God, I want to be impregnate by Toji Fushiguro so bad. I want him to make me bear our children with my beautiful child-bearing hips. That handsome, radiant white angel. Like a god, having come down to Earth to cleanse us of our sins.

Toji is beyond divine. I can’t help but drop to my knees in worship whenever I see his manly figure. I yearn for him in a way both primal and spiritual. I would commit more war crimes than every president in United States history just to lick the sweet, glistening sweat from his smooth, creamy skin. I want him to listen to my moans as his manhood throbs within me, I want him to hear my heart race as our bodies become one and our souls irreversibly intertwine in the holy sin of carnal union.

I want him to suckle at my motherly bosom, slurping that rich coconut milk from my teat as I gently strokes his raging erection. I would like him to stir my velvety Samoan cream into my coffee and let his balls boil in it. My cries of pleasure and the rocking of our bed would be louder than the cacophony of ten thousand drone strikes. He would make love with me until my body gave out, and then some. I would let him break my rib cage with any part of his body. I would let him hit me with his cursed tool just to be near him for a brief moment.

He's so perfect it hurts. Every moment without him I suffer a pain worse than breaking every bone in my body simultaneously while drowning and also having shards of glass coated in hot sauce forced through every orifice of my body. I want him, I need him. I want him to desecrate my pure, white pantsuit. I want to start a family with him and retire after our twenty seven children have grown up and moved out. I want to see those luscious lips speak such filthy, perverse words into my ear while I slides ice cubes down his gaping pisshole.

every day i log on to tumblr.com and i am forced to see things with my good christian eyeballs

[toopimpabutterfly]

making my INTRO!!!!! or this is my intro. ykykyk. (meet my shitty way of designing intros and stuff too,)

HIHI call me Jésus I'm 16 Apache Mexican American. With some other stuff cause yeah. just mentioning that cause. I will say a lot of stuff yk. I'm autistic and scitzohenic but PLEASEEEE I NEED FRIENDS and PEOPLE TO talk to about my current interests!!!

MOVIES

Oh to go. on ABOUT THIS.. here's my letterboxd I fucking love movies.

DOGMA, MOONLIGHT, CLERKS, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, GOOD WILL HUNTING, FIGHT CLUB, NAKED LUNCH, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, CONSTANTINE, HELLBBOY, GUMMO, MAD MAX + FURIOSA, GODZILLA, I SAW THE TV GLOW, AVATAR, JACKASS, MID 90S, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS, WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S, FRIDAY, THE MATRIX, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, THIRTEEN, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, TRAINSPOTTING, THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLYNT, DUCK TILL DAWN, THE WATERMELON WOMAN, DONT BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL, BOYZ IN THE HOOD, 12 MONKEYS, MENACE II SOCIETY, WATCHMEN,MALL RATS, KIDS and a lot more.. coughs.

TV SHOWS

PREACHER, THE BOYS, THE MAXX, ÆON FLUX, THE BOONDOCKS, LOITER SQUAD, CLERKS ANIMATED, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE, BOJACK HORSEMAN, BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD, JACKASS THE SERIES, SMILING FRIENDS, THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW, FUTURAMA, KING OF THE HILL, MORAL OREL, BLACK DYNAMITE, HOME MOVIES, SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, THE OBLONGS, and more stuff again. Assume that a lot tbh.

MUSIC

THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, KENDRICK LAMAR, ICE CUBE, N.W.A, BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDY'S, LEONARD COHEN, NINE INCH NAILS, OUTKAST, TYLER, THE CREATOR, NAS, DR DRE, BONE THUGZ, QUASIMOTO, EAZY-E, KMFDM, ALEX G, WEEN, CHEMLAB, JANE'S ADDICTION, GERMS, ANGRY SAMOANS, NEW ORDER, JOY DIVISION, COWBOY JUNKIES, JESUS LOVES JUNKIES, PIXIES, DINOSAUR JR, HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE DEAD MILKMEN, NECROS, CIRCLE JERKS, HOLE, and a lot more. I love hardcore punk, crust, hip-hop, rap, and basically everything tbh.

MISC + FIXATIONS

I love comics like the Punisher, The Maxx, Preacher, Bratpack, the clerk's comic, Watchmen, Hellboy, little things. I like reading, TOO . I LOVE HUNTER S THOMPSON!!! Mostly Fear and Loathing in las Vegas, Hell's Angels, and the Campaign Trail 72, and other books like Revolt of the Cockroach People, Get in The Van. Little books like that sorta. GAMES TOO I like Faith the unholy Trinity, DOOM, POSTAL, GTA, DUSK, and a few others!

I collect DVDS, games, VHS tapes, books, CDs, records, laser discs, literally any piece of physical media . All of it. I like conspiracy theories, civil rights activists, some art history, Malcolm X. I'm a punk I go to local shows and stuff and might sometimes post that when I can. I have a HUGEEE fixation rn on Dogma(1999) and Kendrick Lamar. But I heavily enjoy the viewaskew universe rn and want to interact with more of the little fandom please... my dad got me into the movies and we watched them all together n stuff. I do powerlifting as a hobby and like to go on walks around my town and say nonsense please interact. I will post whatever I want here really tbh.. BYE.

TAGS!!!

#toopimpabutterfly <- tag for everything I post

#TPAB lyric posts <- me lyric postin, nuff said.

#TPAB rants <- mostly vent or ranting about my horrible life. how fun

I got socials too, discords are irlwillhunting MAIN and h0peeradicated as alt. My Instagram is topimpthebutterfly . Spotify is here .

[amuseoffyre]

I saw a comment on S2 along the lines of "I don't see why they brought in Ricky/The British as bad guys". As if the British empire hasn't been the big threat since 1x01. The Badmintons represent the empire's lesser sons. Ricky is a similar thing, but escalating.

It's not overtly said in the show, but the entire empire and colonialism is the villain. We have crews of various kinds of disenfranchised people - Frenchie (was in service), Olu (implicitly from a maroon community), Buttons (Scots), Wee John (Northern Irish).

And then we have the Queen Anne - Ed's background is woven with the history and legacy of the British school system in his Māori mother's dialogue. Izzy is a working class northern man with the scars of flogging on his back. Also Samoan Fang and south Asian Ivan.

In 1x01, we see how the British upper classes treat people they consider their "lessers". Everything they say about Stede's crew speaks measures for the views of the empire: colourful, savages, slave. The gratification of seeing them immediately punished is *so* strong.

We also see how they treat anyone who doesn't fit into the specific boxes they have assigned to people. Stede is a target of their scorn, violence and mockery and has been since childhood, despite the fact he should - on the surface - fit in with them as a rich white man.

While Chauncey's vendetta against Stede is his primary motive for hunting him, prestige, rank and station are more valuable to Wellington and Hornberry. They defy their commanding officer to elevate themselves when they have Blackbeard take the Act of Grace. It's all about empire - dining with King George himself.

Which brings me around to Ricky. He's a lesser son - like the Badmintons - but also he is the empire incarnate, a minor Prince from the royal family, with Daddy running the treasury. He wants what he sees Stede having. He thinks he can just walk in and take it. When he fails - and is punished - he doesn't grow and learn from it like Stede does.

While Stede willingly gives up everything to be true to himself, Ricky immediately goes running back to cling to the imperial apron strings and uses the wealth, prestige and his name - and royal ties - to bring the wrath of the empire down on the Republic as a whole.

He wants, so he takes. If he can't have, he will destroy. Even after he's demolished everything, he tells himself "well, I beat all the other pirates, so that makes me the best pirate" because he genuinely believes that. He doesn't see them as equals to him. They are to be controlled and beaten by him. We see it from his first scene, referring to the pirates as "rubes", saying that he and Stede are better than the other people in the Republic & telling Stede he wasn't good at what he did.

For him, this is just a game where he controls all the pieces. Much like the British empire did - do what you like for fun & profit & kill anyone who gets in the way.

The threat of the empire has always been there, right from the beginning. The Act of Grace was the first royal step to quash piracy. Ricky was Act 2. We're into the final confrontation now, building steam to the fall of the Golden Age and the end of piracy as it was.