#say what you will about netflix they can produce a documentary

[ceasarslegion]

Ive been spoiled by netflix true crime docs. Primes are... very badly produced

[sapphiresaphics]

So these are screenshots in the Bridging the Rift documentary about the creation of Arcane. This is from episode 3 which debuted in August 2022. The episodes are all up on YouTube for free btw.

You can see them working on designing Lest.

Viktors metal hands.

And a very close to completion shot of Caitlyn in S2E1 handing tea to her grieving father.

Season 1 was released on November 2021. This documentary came out almost a year after the first season aired and they were already deep enough into season 2 that shots and characters from Act 1 were already nearing completion.

Amanda Overton has said in interviews online that season 2’s story was finished being written before season 1 even aired. The voice actors for Maddie and Sky both have said they recorded their lines for season 2 right around when covid hit in 2020. And these glimpses behind the scenes seem to confirm that. You can’t be working on near completed shots if you don’t have a script and dialogue already written and recorded.

This is why I really hate the speculation that the season was “rushed” or that the issues people have with this season are the result of Netflix or some corporate overlord cancelling future seasons or forcing them to add stuff they didn’t want. From all the evidence I can see and from all the information we’ve gotten from the writers themselves, both seasons of Arcane were written back to back and completed before season 1 even finished airing.

I know that if you had issues with season 2 it’s easier to blame some sort of external force for what’s wrong, but so far all of the evidence just points to this is how the season was written for good or bad.

Also we neee to clear some things up. Christian Linke may be going around giving interviews, but that’s mostly because he’s the show runner and producer. That’s a technical term for the guy who funds the project and makes sure it’s on budget and gets done. He doesn’t really have a lot of story credit, he’s a music producer. So take whatever he says with a grain of salt.

The REAL people you should be listening to are people like Amanda Overton who have not been shy about taking about their process in writing the series. She’s answered a lot of questions about the series in YouTube videos like this.

Additionally, you need to understand that Netflix is mostly just the distributor. Riot funded and produced the whole show on their own. And while they had some Netflix censorship guidelines they had to follow (for scenes where the lesbian sex got a little too spicy), Netflix has no control over the series. They did not cancel the show early. They do not promise them 5 seasons and suddenly cut it back to 2. Netflix is in it for the viewership only. If they actually DID cancel the series, Riot could easily just keep producing more shows and release them on any other streaming platform instead. Netflix holds nothing over them.

I guess all I want to do is show how LONG of a process all of this was and to give some insight into the making of the show. I want people to understand these things so they’re not out here coming up with conspiracy theories and out what they THINK went wrong. Uninformed speculation is not useful or productive.

Personally, I loved season 2 and the “rushed” feeling has been dwindling the more I rewatch the show and appreciate what they were doing. I strongly recommend that if you have issues with the show, go back and rewatch the entire show from start to finish. I’m finding stuff in season 1 that only makes more sense now that season 2 is out.

[sportincinema]

There is one huge oversight when it comes to the success of the sports genre, though. The soccer movie. The beautiful game has never looked as alluring when it has been made for the big screen. Sure, Escape To Victory is an enjoyable romp, Bend It Like Beckham is undeniably feelgood, and Michael Sheen has never been better as Brian Clough in The Damned United. But even in these films, the shots, passes, and tackles are too choreographed. Goalkeepers look as if they’re moving out of the way of shots instead of saving them. The pace of the game is too languid. There’s a complete absence of technique. You can never really tell where players are on the pitch, which itself often looks too small. It’s also incredibly difficult for a director to shoot a prolonged sequence of play, while any edits or use of slow-motion immediately makes the game look unnatural. It’s notable that soccer looks best on screen when the action is real: as in the recent Netflix David Beckham documentary or Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. (...) So what needs to change in order to right this cinematic wrong? “You just can’t script a film in the same way as a real soccer match,” says Kyle Kusz, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. “Baseball and football are more static, they stop and start, and don’t have the flow of soccer.” This gives film-makers a chance to build up the tension of these isolated moments, as audiences wait to see if a quarterback can throw a touchdown, a batter can smash a baseball out of a stadium, or a boxer can knockout his opponent. For Franklin Leonard, a film and television producer and the founder of The Black List, “conventional western, particularly American, storytelling tropes about a single hero doesn’t suite the nature of [soccer], which is fundamentally communitarian. It’s never just one person winning anything. It’s a team sport.”

Gregory Wakeman, Why has Hollywood failed to produce a truly great soccer movie? (2023)

[kitorin]

11:56 pm - 11th of November : s.akito

contents. shinonome akito x gn!reader, 2.485k words, fluff, no warnings really, rushed, mizuena mention

happy birthday to my love <3 wish i had time for a full fic but it is what it is

It's the dead of night when Shinonome Akito's night is interrupted.

The sky's pale blue was washed away long ago, by the brooding navy of the night, the sun bid the world farewell and traded places with the moon. Both inside and outside was desolate, with the winter wind's whispers and moths pursuing the weak light of the street lights being exceptions. Not even Ena was awake, for once sleep, due to lassitude's victory.

Typically, Akito refuses to sleep so recklessly, always brushing his teeth before a certain time and avoiding screens half an hour before bed. It was too late for his liking, fatigue rubs at his eyes, urging him to close them and fall into restful slumber.

But today's sort of special.

In twenty minutes (now nineteen) he'll turn seventeen— a mere year away from eighteen. He knows it's a big number, inching closer to graduation and eventually adulthood. He doesn't exactly feel thrilled, nor fearful. There's a sliver of yearning to be a carefree primary schooler again, other than that he felt quite stoic towards the matter.

Yet he still decided on waiting 'til midnight. Just for the sake of it, no rational or particular reason.

Borderline foolish, really. He'll feel a sense of achievement when the clock strikes twelve, then retreat to the blankets of his bed right afterwards.

Two taps sever the silence of the room, abrupt but loud.

Akito immediately looks up from his book to the door, instinctively. But his mother always notifies him with the gentle call of his name (while Ena yells at him instead), and his father simply doesn't bother with knocking. Ena passed out almost instantly when she came home (an hour or two ago), and his parents maintain a healthy sleep schedule.

"Yes?" He says, pushing his chair out of the desk, the wheels quietly rolling against the carpet. When he opens the door, he's met with nobody. A quick scan of the corridor produces no results. There were no footsteps, and no one in his family was immature enough to do knock and run in the dead of night (maybe Ena, but she wouldn't be bothered to sprint away).

Fear approaches him, its cold grip tightening around his chest. Suddenly he regrets watching Youtube videos about gruesome murders and true crime documentaries on Netflix.

With a shaky inhale, Akito prepares himself. He hasn't got the faintest clue from what, but he's ready to throw a front kick if needed.

The knocking happens again, this time a lot louder. Now it's obvious that it's not against wood, and cautiously, he turns to his window.

It's you.

The whole situation makes his heart skip a beat, both because you're perched on the window sill outside, and that he's not alone in his room (well technically, you were still outside).

Concern makes him act quick (especially with the shoulder bag you were wearing whilst precariously hanging onto the window), he opens the window and you're greeted immediately with a scolding when you enter.

"What the hell? Why are you here, this is the second fucking floor— Are you crazy?"

"Happy birthday!"

The ebullience reinforcing your voice catches him off guard, silencing reprimands. You were just saved from a highly likely (and fatal) injury, yet you're smiling as if you're on top of the world.

"Don't ignore me. How are you up here?"

You shrug, unfazed by his worry. "There's a tree."

"I can see that idiot. What you didn't was the things that could've happened. What if you fell down? I could've been asleep and no one would've been able to help you and—" Akito senses himself edging towards a mental breakdown, from the simple thought of something happening to you. Terror strangles him, and his words can't be uttered smoothly.

You seemed to take notice of this panic. "But I didn't fall. I'm okay. I wouldn't've done this if I wasn't confident in my own capabilities."

Unstable, though deep, he breathes in, focusing on how the air enters and exist. There was no need to think about what could've went wrong when the right thing already occurred.

He clears his throat, embarrassed at how emotional he got earlier. "Was a text not enough? Why'd you come here?" You didn't make an attempt to break in at An's house, nor Touya's or Kohane's. Why his specifically?

"Because today's special. It's your birthday." You unzip your bag, but instruct him before taking anything out. "Close your eyes, it's your gift."

He does as he's told, and he listens to your shuffling around the room and your possessions.

Electric guitar floods the room, accompanied by piano in the background. The tune rings a bell in Akito.

An entire stadium of ego, the wintry rationality.

Akito knows this song. Uninterrupted Indigo. Both the lyrics and music were created by Shishishishi (formerly known as Chosauce), there's two original versions of the song, one where the composer himself performed while the other featured Hatsune Miku.

But these vocals weren't the composer's. Nor Miku's

They were Akito's.

Heat permeates his cheeks rapidly, his eyes open without waiting for you to ask him to. He finally grasps input on what you're doing.

His record player is open and placed on his desk. The transparency of the case permitted the moonlight through, its pale complexion revealing the vinyl record slowly rotating in the dark.

Only now he just noticed that it was sort of the record player's birthday too. Precisely a year ago his mother gifted it to him, as his love for music was nurtured the more he spent time performing. Akito had told himself that he'd buy vinyls, but it completely slipped his mind (they were expensive, too). Streaming services were much more tempting anyways, their convenience were unmatched and he could listen to music whenever, wherever.

He only indulges in his own covers to review where he can improve, never for his own enjoyment. What is there to enjoy when it's the very reason why he struggles so much一why he's so unworthy of his dream that no one seems to have faith in.

Akito's about to say something, ready to criticise his vocals.

"I love this song, but I love the way you sing even more. It's my favourite. Anything you create, as well."

Suddenly the harsh things he wanted to say were gone.

He's heard you compliment him before, but each time feels just as magic as the previous.

"Did you know I fall asleep to this? I don't know if that's weird, but it's so comforting, the vocals and lyrics."

His voice, comforting? Being labelled as your favourite was surprising enough, but for his singing it be a source of comfort and joy almost made his jaw drop in disbelief.

Akito's scepticism of your words doesn't go unnoticed by you.

"I know you don't like your singing. And that's fine. But there are plenty of things I didn't like about myself too. Yet I love them now, thanks to you."

He knows what you're referring to, how when you mentioned suffering from self esteem, so he wrote something he found admired about you on a page per day in a notebook, 'til it was full.

"I wanted to do something similar for you too. Though I don't think I'm very good at it, I want you to view yourself the same way I do. Beautiful and perfect, just fine the way you are. Even if people try to accuse you of being any less."

Akito's heart throbs, both with appreciation and desire. Yearning blossoms within him, pining thorns strangle his heart as it frantically races. Teeth dig into his lips, and red pervades his cheeks for a reason other than hearing himself sing.

"If you like it, then it's more than enough for me. It makes me happy beyond words that you enjoy my music." He notices the record's case, a photo of him from when you went camping together, when you spent the night sleeplessly; roasting marshmallows and laughing until you struggled for air.

It's always you. You're the one who does reckless shit for his sake, you climbed up a tree to the second floor just to say happy birthday. You do the things you hate with a passion if it meant the slightest more comfort for him. It's always you who notices when his throat is overworked, or when tears threaten to spill.

It's only you.

The initial grin on your face dissipates, concern growing. "Do you have a fever? You're really red." A hand comes up to his forehead, and he's quite certain it reddened him even more. "You're heating up." Even when you're frowning he can't help but stare.

"And this is why I like you." Akito breathes out. He didn't want to confess, not yet, at least. Yet the words still found their way out, he might as well ensure they're told in the right way. "I can't help but want you more and more with each second. I can't think properly when I think of you, let alone when you're around."

The timing was horrid really, but though he'd much rather look at you in proper lighting, something about the shadowed room and sliver of moonlight highlighting your face is charming. "So then, may I be yours?"

This is what he means when he says he can't think. Look at him, confessing at midnight, on the day of his birthday, too.

"Of course." With a blink of an eye Akito finds himself wrapped in the warmth of your arms. "I like you too, Akito."

The weight on his shoulders which he didn't even noticed was lifted, finally free from his fear of awkward rejection. There's no more fighting his emotions to maintain composure in front of you, no more worrying about you accepting another as yours.

Now, turning seventeen didn't seem so bland.

"Thank you for tonight." He murmurs into your ear. Something inside of him pleads him to kiss you, whether it may be. But the mere thought of planting one on your cheek seemed impossible, let alone meeting his lips with yours. "Thank you for staying safe out there."

"Sorry if I scared you. Sleep now, you must be tired. We have a big day for you planned." And there it is, the cheery grin he'd never get sick of. "There's more to your gift too."

Akito doesn't want to sleep, not when his crush of over a year reciprocates his feelings. Lethargy was nowhere to be seen, right now all he wants is you.

"Mind if I pick up my bag later today? It's a lot easier to climb without it. The rest is just water and snacks I brought just in case, feel free to have 'em." You're already half out the window.

"You can't just like me back then leave."

"What do you suggest then?"

"Stay the night." He'll deal with his father's scolding. He'll answer all his mother's questions and he'll even tolerate Ena's teasing. If it meant you'll stay, that's fine (he doesn't feel alright knowing you're travelling late too). "Your parents are away, I'll deal with mine."

"If you say so then." Akito goes to his closet, where his futon is stored. You pull him away, almost making him fall over.

"We're sharing a bed, please? We did it at An's, why not now?"

But that was as friends, and he barely confessed a few minutes ago. "I'm fine with that." Adores and entertains the idea of it, though he doesn't know what to do. What if he's too cold? Kicks in his sleep? Snores?

You already indulge in his blankets, lifting them up to let him in, he accepts the invitation, and ends up regretting because his face is hot enough already.

You find your arms snaking around his waist. "Is this okay?"

The unfamiliarity of the contact flusters him, but he doesn't hate it. "Yeah, really good." His voice is a breathless whisper, a bit shaky from being so nervous.

"Can I do more?"

He nods.

Your chin is nestled on his shoulder, the sensation of your hair against his neck slightly ticklish. He can smell your breath, the saccharine scent of haichus and the other sweets you adore.

"Good night."

You mumble it back, and for the first time in a while, Akito feels at genuine peace.

"What are you studying in school?"

You list off your subjects with confidence, subtly hinting at success and awards in them, all while wearing a sweet smile.

"Mum, there's no need to interrogate them." Akito finally swallowed the large bite of pancake he was on, the rest of the dish shining in the dining room's light, soaked in maple syrup.

Mrs Shinonome didn't seem to care. "I need to know the kind of people you're hanging out with, you never bring anyone home. I've been worried that you didn't have any friends." Socially, he was doing fine, Weekend Garage was a much more appealing place to hang out, with the live bar and cafe. "They seem like a great influence. Studying difficult subjects and still doing well, they're well educated. I hope you start rubbing off of them."

"Akito, it's fine, really. She's fun to talk to." It was entertaining to watch her talk about Akito as a child, while Ena poked fun at them. She was sweet, complimenting your skin and marveling at your jewelry, while thanking you for being Akito's friend for so long.

He murmurs in response. "That's only because you saw baby photos of me." There was that too.

"To be honest my impression of you wasn't very nice. It scared me to see someone else in Aki's room." A sip of her tea, Akito's mother rests her chin on her palm. "How did you get inside? You didn't find the spare key or anything, did you?"

"Actually, I cl一"

"I let them in. I asked them sort of last minute. Y'know, waiting until midnight together." Ena watches Akito keenly, eating her pancakes as her gaze remains on him as he speaks.

"Awww, that's so cute." Ena comments with a grin. "So, how long have you been dating?"

Akito scoffs. "We're not dating dumbass."

"Then I guess y/n's holding your hand under the table because it's cold?"

"Ena, shut the fuck up, you haven't told Mum about being in love with Akiyama either."

The sudden change in atmosphere makes you purse your lips, the sight of what seems to be a war exclusively between siblings.

"Language!" Their mother scolds them, but too preoccupied to do it as she flips part of the table cloth up to see better. "You really are holding hands- And Ena who is Akiyama?"

You weren't the only one being interrogated that morning, the siblings exchanged heated words throughout their mother's quest to learn more. But amidst this chaos was you, chuckling in your seat at the ordeal.

taglist (send ask to be added) : @yuzurins, @pokkomi, @chigirizzz

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

[cursed-man-prayers]

High Infidelity is about Miss Americana.

Notes before we begin: First, I can’t post screenshots from the doc bc Netflix, but I have pulled direct quotes and rewatched scenes over and over as I wrote this analysis. The more I watched, the more this theory made sense.

Second, while I obviously don’t know what Taylor Swift’s relationship with her dad is like, the clips in Miss American plus the song tolerate it are enough to convince me that he’s not/wouldn’t be accepting of Taylor being queer. There’s a reason she’s a mama’s girl. This is a Scott Swift hate account.

Let’s begin

Verse One

Lock broken,

A common interpretation of this lyric is the invasion of privacy that is someone reading your diary/journal. Having a locked diary is also something most common with young girls (only girls get privacy, sorry lads), and in Miss Americana, the first diary that Taylor shows in the first scene while she says the first words of the film is a diary that has a lock, and there’s also a closeup of another diary with a lock, as well as the words “bitch session.” There’s also the very common trope/reality of parents reading your diary. Speaking from personal experience, this can genuinely be traumatic, especially taking into consideration the next two words.

Slur Spoken

Seeing as Taylor is a white woman, I genuinely don’t know how else this can be interpreted besides a homophobic slur being spoken. $!u and b*!tch are derogatory, but that’s not the same thing as being a slur. Also, I’m not going to justify the “she’s talking about slurring words while drunk!!” interpretation bc that makes less sense than thinking the slur is “whore.” (I think the diary I mentioned that says “bitch session” is further proof that Taylor doesn’t consider ‘bitch’ to be a slur, even though she has called out the misogynistic way men use it in music.)

Wound open, game token

The person who is breaking this lock and speaking this slur and opening this wound is using Taylor’s pain as a means to get a prize. “You play stupid games you win stupid prizes” (MAATHBP), “You knew you won, so what’s the point of keeping score?” (hoax).

I didn't know you were keeping count

In the Man music video, during the tennis match, Scott Swift is playing the scorekeeper. This line is repeated multiple times in the song. The context of the repetition does change and develop throughout the song.

Rain soaking, blind hoping

I think this refers to the Lover era and how Taylor was not able to come out (specifically that video where she’s talking about ME! and looks sad as shit). I think it’s also a reference to Midnight Rain, rain being a metaphor for unexpected, unseen change, and also the isolation of staying hidden.

You said I was freeloading / I didn't know you were keeping count

As someone with a dad, I can confirm that this is very dad-coded. Like, I can’t think of a context in Taylor’s life where a romantic partner would’ve said this to her, especially considering how idk, rich and successful she’s been since she was a teenager? While I don’t think her dad would ever be justified in saying this to her either, it could be a reference to him throwing his role in her career in her face, the way we see in Miss Americana.

Chorus

This is where things come together in terms of being about Miss Americana.

High infidelity / Put on your records and regret me / I bent the truth too far tonight / I was dancing around, dancing around it

In order to produce a consumable product (the Lover journals) around her and her art, she had to dance around the full truth. The entries were meticulously chosen and most likely edited. In Miss Americana, the segment where she “comes out” as a democrat feels like it might’ve been a different kind of coming out story, especially when you factor in the creation of You Need To Calm Down. It comes across as extremely personal, and while there are multiple factors leading to the experience being emotionally charged for Taylor, I do think that her own queerness is one of those factors. The entire documentary feels like she’s dancing around a bent truth.

Put on your headphones and burn my city

Putting on headphones is shorthand for ignoring someone. “Burn my city” in the context of how Taylor equates her (former) lover with *a certain city* feels like an indication that the subject of the song did something to sabotage and burn down the relationship. I think this is a reference to how her career and the people controlling it (such as her father, but others as well) ruined the love she’s been singing about since reputation.

Your picket fence is sharp as knives

This also goes back to Midnight Rain (“my town was a wasteland, full of cages, full of fences”)

I was dancing around, dancing around it

Taylor has used dancing as a literary device throughout her discography. I believe it’s typically a metaphor for queerness.

Post Chorus

Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?

This goes back to the diaries from Miss Americana. This is Taylor being confronted about a journal entry from an April 29th where she wrote something gay. When *her dad* saw it, it led to a slur being spoken.

Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes?

This refers to the segment in Miss Americana that is allegedly all about Joe. Call It What You Want plays over a montage of videos filmed by an unseen lover. The only clip actually featuring Joe in the entire film is a single moment where Taylor and Joe look vaguely excited to see each other after one of the Rep shows. The way she wrote and sung this line makes it seem like charting constellations in some dude’s eyes is the last thing she wants to do.

Verse Two

Storm coming, good husband / Bad omen / Dragged my feet right down the aisle

This very much sounds like Taylor being forced to be romantically linked in a traditional, heterosexual way. The storm coming and bad omen are what led to her being pushed into this, likely the media storm that happened in 2016. It ties together the lines about pickets fences and how the rain referenced in the first verse is connected to Midnight Rain, because, as we learned with the very first track on Midnights, Taylor is not interested in 1950’s shit.

At the house lonely,

“To a house not a home all alone ‘cause nobody’s there,” Dear Reader

good money,

“the jokes weren’t funny, I took the money” from YOYOK is just one example of how the money comes at the cost of herself and who she is and her worth as a human being…

I'd pay if you'd just know me / Seemed like the right thing at the time

…but now she’s regretting paying that price, wishing that she could be truly known. It seemed like the right thing, but she’s realizing that it wasn’t. Alternatively, she regrets coming out to her and the price she now has to pay of knowing his love was conditional. She paid the price for being known. Also, during the clips that play during the segment allegedly about Joe, Taylor is singing Call It What You Want, specifically the lyric “At least I did one thing right” which is… devastating in this context. She also says:

But I wasn’t happy in the way that I was trained to be happy…It was happiness without anyone else’s input. It was just, we were happy.

Anyway she doesn’t seem happy anymore.

Pre Chorus

You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love / The slowest way is never loving them enough

This creates a strong connection to tolerate it. I feel like this lyric is the thesis of that song. Again, this is a very dad-coded lyric. It’s the slow realization that a parent’s love can be conditional. It’s like when a queer kid comes out and a parent says “I still love you, but…” There’s other contexts where that phrase could exist, but it’s an extremely common queer experience.

Do you really want to know where I was April 29th? / Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?

I think this could refer to the narrative of Joe Alwyn being William Bowery (which is suspect at best and criminal at worst). She has to say that Joe helped her write devastating breakup songs like exile and champagne problems to keep up the narrative that they are in a VERY HAPPY relationship.

The next new lyric is in the third chorus and let’s just say I have thoughts about it.

Put on your records and regret meeting me

THIS LYRIC HAS BEEN DRIVING ME MAD FOR THREE MONTHS. In the other choruses she says “regret me,” but she changes it here to be “regret meeting me” in the last chorus. “Regret me” implies regretting the existence of Taylor Swift. It’s the people credited with kick-starting her career (such as her father!!!) putting on your records, a double-entendre for her albums + the awards and accolades she has earned for those albums. But! In this chorus! The lyric is! Regret meeting me! The promo for Midnights focused heavily on “meet me at midnight,” the concept that she would be showing who she really is with the album, so much so that people thought she might be coming out with this album. While I think this lyric is a reference to that narrative and the fear that her fans won’t get her or won’t like her after listening to Midnights, I also think it is about how her dad regrets learning who she really is, and how he therefore IGNORES IT by listening to the albums she wrote about me. This is the only lyric in the chorus that changes, and it’s seemingly such a small change, a single word added to the line, but that’s what makes it so massive. Because why would she change this lyric if not to completely change the meaning of the line? It’s drawing a distinction between regretting someone’s existence and regretting knowing the truth about them.

Oh, there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love

And it's never enough, it's never enough

I think the phrasing here implies that Taylor feels like she can never be good enough to earn the love she needs and deserves. This ties it, again, to the intro of Miss Americana where she’s going through her diaries and talks about how her main goal in life was to be a good girl.

Outro

The entire first chorus is repeated, and we have a new perspective.

You said I was freeloading

When it comes to this line specifically, I think it refers to the conversation about Taylor’s desire to speak publicly about politics, in which her dad throws in her face how he hired armored cars, essentially saying that she owes him something. It’s just phrased in an odd way and it makes everyone uncomfy.

I didn't know you were keeping count / But oh, you were keeping count

The repetition of the first chorus at the end of the song implies that this song is cyclical. It’s a loop that she’s trapped in. (If you put this song on repeat and turn up the crossfade, you can listen on a seamless loop). Tolerate It does the same thing. Repetition also draws attention to the lyrics while recontextualizing them. The last lyric (“but oh, you were keeping count”) is this acknowledgment that her relationship with this person was/is transactional.

What about the name of the song?

Okay, I’m convinced the only reason anyone would ever think this is a song about cheating is because of the title. Obviously, the primary definition of the word infidelity is cheating on a romantic or sexual partner. Nothing else in the song indicated cheating. SO. OBVIOUSLY. I GOOGLED. THE DEFINITION. TO SEE. WHAT. AN ALTERNATIVE. MIGHT. BE

unbelief in a particular religion, especially Christianity.

Jesus Fucking CHrist. Taylor Swift has called herself a Christian, and she has also written songs with overt religious themes, typically borrowing from Christianity specifically (Don’t Blame Me; False God; Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve; Soon You’ll Get Better). While I know that you can be queer and Christian, it is not unreasonable to conclude that coming out as queer to a conservative Christian (parent) would be considered a lack of belief in Christianity. Infidelity literally means “unfaithful.” To many people, Christianity and queerness are unreconcilable, to the point that they believe accepting yourself as queer can lead to you going to hell. While they won’t say this outloud, many Christians put “homosexuality” into a higher category of sin, meaning that being queer is HIGHLY UNCHRISTIAN, HIGHLY UNFAITHFUL, HIGH INFIDELITY.

One last thing. Miss Americana was released at midnight PST. Which is 3am EST. High Infidelity is a 3am track. So, yeah.

tl;dr

High Infidelity is about being considered unfaithful for being who you are. It’s about dying slowly because you are not loved (enough) for who you are. It’s about how the lies you’ve been forced to tell have forced you to be unfaithful to yourself. It’s about Miss Americana.

[cringengl]

"Delusional fangirls": the 'never ending story' of the dismissal of byler being rooted in misogyny.

As someone who is passionate about both feminism and fandom culture, when I got sent this ask a little less than a month ago, it made me ask myself the question on why shipping byler has been viewed in such a negative light, and you'll never guess, but it's rooted in misogyny.

Even if this ask is a troll, it's clearly replicating what can be seen not just in the Stranger Things fandom, but in general fandom culture, showing the prevalence of this issue. Although this post will be looking specifically at byler, what I'm discussing in this post isn't an issue specific to byler, even if I will be considering some things that are byler specific, such as the likelihood of byler endgame.

Before we start, I just want to talk about why I'm talking about misogyny instead of homophobia (though homophobia will be discussed a little later but it's not going to be the main focus of this post). Homophobia and why people dismiss byler has already been talked about a lot (for example, I've seen posts about people saying that making byler endgame would be a 'risky' move and as Stranger Things produces a lot of money for Netflix, therefore they won't do it, the belief that they wouldn't/shouldn't break up a heterosexual ship for a homosexual one or the failure to put Will outside the 'tragic story of a gay kid that falls for their straight best friend' box).

The dismissal of byler as a 'valid' ship is just as much down to misogyny as it is homophobia and it's an issue that I haven't seen as talked about, likely due to how byler is made up of two guys. If anything I've seen way more people call the byler community misogynistic, and whilst these things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, I do want to open up the conversation about how misogyny deeply affects the public perception of byler and byler shippers as well as talk about how ingrained misogyny is in fandom culture.

The average dismissal of byler as a ship tends to look like this:

All bylers are teen girls.

All bylers are stupid and delusional.

The motivation to ship byler is born out of a fetish of mlm relationships.

Not only is this a summary of what that anon sent me in May, but it's also a rhetoric that can be seen across multiple anti byler statements/posts/comments etc. It's way more common than you may think.

So what is the fangirl stereotype?

A fangirl by Oxford dictionary definition is mainly characterised by the word "obsessive", which has been constantly portrayed in a negative light by the media, and isn't exactly a new phenomenon, with Beatlemaniacs being called "the dull, the idle, the failures" in a 1964 New Statesman article. In fact it hasn't been until the 2020s where the epidemic of constantly making fun of teen girls has finally been criticised.

The most common stereotype of a fangirl is someone who is screaming, crazy and rabid, with "rabid fangirl" having its own Urban Dictionary definition.

Even fangirls of fanbases that are most notorious for 'crazy, rabid fans' have come out and said that they have been misrepresented, such as the comments section of this documentary about One Direction fans made by Channel 4 in 2013.

The stereotype of having a fetish for mlm relationships.

Another common stereotype of fangirls is the fetishization of mlm relationships. Whilst this is a very real issue that needs to be addressed properly, I very clearly remember seeing women talking about "getting off" to scenes in Call Me By Your Name when the movie first came out, however this accusation is often misplaced, meaning it loses it's power as an accusation, leading to the perception that it isn't as big of an issue that it actually is.

Girls, women or even afab or feminine presenting people who ship two men together are often seen as people with fetishes and accused of such. Not only is this sexist as it assumes that women's interests are sexually motivated, but it also reduces women's intelligence by suggesting that the only reason that they are interested in it is because of a sexual factor. This also ties back to the oversexualisation of gay relationships due to traditional, religious, conservative roots- classic homophobia.

And whilst this might sometimes be the case, this ideology ignores something extremely obvious: not all fangirls are straight (which clearly shows why we need lesbian visibility day haha).

This era we are in right now seems to be the dawn of LGBTQ+ rep that seems to be more and more prevalent and the amount of mainstream movies and TV shows that have positive and well developed queer rep is growing day by day. However, queer representation had been previously very hard to find and even now is not perfect (remember that one lesbian purple cyclops from Onward that appeared for like 10 seconds, said the easily censorable word "girlfriend", and was then never seen again??).

Whilst fandom spaces with TV shows and movies such as Stranger Things may have lots of female or female presenting/aligned people, there is also an abundance of queer people in almost any fandom, especially one with existing queer characters or ones that claim to be "an anthem for the marginalised and imperfect", which of course leads to the abundance of queer women, and can also be seen in the byler tag.

However I do want to point out that obviously not all people in fandom spaces and the byler tag are female and/or queer, but a lot of them are and this does vary fandom to fandom. Furthermore, I really don't know the actual ratio of different genders specifically in the Stranger Things and byler fandom- however I feel that it doesn't matter as shipping and other fandom traditions have been associated with teen girls and women anyway. The suggestion that all bylers are teen girls is a sweeping overgeneralisation and the fact that it's used as an insult and a way to demean this ship is sexist.

Queer representation and shipping mlm ships- even if they are not canon.

So how does this link to the abundance of shipping male characters? This is clearly something that has been going on for a long time, as illustrated beautifully through this reddit post:

And you might be wondering that if there are a lot of queer women in these spaces, then why isn't there more sapphic ships? And of course the answer is misogyny.

Women in TV shows and movies are so often underdeveloped and fall victim to millions of sexist stereotypes that make them unlikeable and boring, such as 'damsel in distress', 'strong and unfeeling' or they just have a 2D personality. Furthermore, female characters in media are just less numerous in media. All of this is is we have measures of the Bechdel test.

This is also not helped by the constant cancellation of wlw shows after only one season, which does not allow for the development of the characters or their relationship (I Am Not Okay With This, Warrior Nun, First Kill, Willow, Paper Girls etc).

This idea is only supported by the arcane fandom, where the most prevalent ship is Caitlyn/Vi on pretty much every social media site and ao3, likely due to the focus and development on their relationship.

Moreover, male friendships often have a lot more focus on them than female characters and their relationships. This was particularly obvious and blatant in My Hero Academia, where despite Deku and Uraraka (the het ship) being set up to be endgame, the main relationship that has the most focus and development is the one between Deku and his friend turned enemy turned rival turned best friend (??) Bakugo.

Whilst positive and intricate male friendships are never a bad thing, it does become very annoying very fast when those pieces of media also push female characters to the sidelines (and then also oversexualise them, which is often seen particularly in anime and manga such as mha).

So it's no coincidence when mlm relationships become more popular through the want for queer representation, female characters being ignored and the male characters and friendships having better development (as well as the use of queerbait to bring in a wider audience). However, other fans with little critical thinking skills and the general audience tend to jump to the conclusion that the amount of mlm ships that include straight men (even though these 'straight' men are fictional and don't have confirmed sexualities) is due to fetishization and fans being "weird and delusional".

Back to byler.

So let's link this back to byler. One thing that drew me to make this post is due to how bylers have been called "delusional" which was a specific word I saw byler shippers being called a lot in the June/July era.

Even the word "delusional" implies a detachment from reality and one of the most common sexist views is that women can't lead or make good decisions due to their supposed inherent irrationality, which is apparently caused by hormones and being over emotional (despite testosterone being used as an excuse for cheating- high sex drive- and aggression issues as well as anger not being counted as an emotion. One of the biggest reasons that the stereotypes around fangirls are rooted in misogyny is due to the polar opposite treatment of male sports fans, which if you remember the insane violence that occurred when the fake Tubi ad appeared to disrupt the Super Bowl, this idea is insanely hypocritical).

It confused me as even from a general audience perspective, it would seem that byler at least had a decent chance of becoming endgame, so why is it being so easily dismissed?

It is because shipping, especially mlm ships, are strongly associated with fangirls and are therefore seen as weak, delusional and irrational, not something to be taken seriously and likely the product of a fetish.

Not only is this harmful for the perception of mlm relationships in media, but it also promotes internalised misogyny- distancing yourselves from "rabid fangirls" as soon as possible so that your not seen as one and are instead seen as more rational and sensible.

The powerful arc that Mike and Will have gone through for four seasons now doesn't matter, nor the fact that El's independence is linked with Mike's absence or even what the implications of mleven endgame for not just a queer audience but a general audience would be. None of that matters as ships like byler aren't taken seriously, they're dismissed, due to misogyny (and homophobia).

In conclusion, fuck the patriarchy, let's change fandom culture for the better.

Links to things I watched/read in order to help make this post (not including the misogynistic and homophobic is reddit/tumblr/twitter posts lol):

(Do bear in mind that these tend to talk more about music fans/fandom rather than TV shows)

Frailty, Thy Name Is Fangirl: Misogyny and Fandom Culture

Shaming Fangirls: A Practice Rooted In Sexism

How misogyny-laced comments, actions in fan culture can drive others out

Ted talk: For the love of Fangirls | Yve Blake

From Beatlemania to the Beliebers, What Makes a ‘Fangirl’?

The Channel 4 Crazy About One Direction documentary and the ad for the documentary

Fetishizing Gay Relationship: When Ship and Fan Fiction Turn Toxic

[saintmeghanmarkle]

JAN MOIR: As Prince's chief of staff departs after briefest of tenures... So why is it that few aides in Harry and Meghan's court have lasted longer than the gestation period of an elephant? by u/Von_und_zu_

JAN MOIR: As Prince's chief of staff departs after briefest of tenures... So why is it that few aides in Harry and Meghan's court have lasted longer than the gestation period of an elephant? Yet the Sussexes' troubled history as bosses tells its own story of difficulty and departure, with 18 staff leaving over a six-year period.Perhaps that's not too many if you are an international conglomerate, but it's a huge number if you are simply a couple of – how can I put this? – philanthropically-minded opportunists whose commercial interests to date include producing 50 jars of strawberry jam, writing a whiny book, complaining about their lot on Netflix documentaries and accepting awards for being Best Prince Who Ever Lived, Number One Diana Son and International Duchess of Dior (Sample Size Please), not to mention being given the infamous Global Ribbon of Nonsense.Whatever their role, few aides in Harry and Meghan's court have lasted longer than the gestation period of an elephant, but the truth is that most are out before a crested porcupine can pup, which is 90 days, if you are interested.So what happened this time? We have been told that Joshua Kettler left by mutual consent. It was a trial period, sources told People magazine (a regular outlet for friends of the couple). And in the end, he simply wasn't 'a good fit'.It was a different story back in May when Kettler was initially hired by the Sussexes as a Chief of Staff, which is rather a grand title to confer upon someone by a couple who are basically unemployed.**For every time another staff member leaves the employ of the Sussexes, a cloud of secrecy descends.'They will all have NDAs up the wazoo,' as one American business expert told me, meaning that staff will have been asked to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements as a condition of their employment.The Sussexes are great believers in liberty, freedom of speech and the eradication of misinformation, until it comes to those who work for them. Their ex-employees are pledged to secrecy until death – or else they can expect a knock on the door from Jenny Afia.**'Prince Harry has a bit of a history of cosplaying as an expert on internet speech, without the actual expertise to back it up,' Masnick said.'The Parents Network website provides precious few details – and seems to suggest the effort is really focused on just demonising social media.'Meanwhile down in American Riviera Orchard, nothing much has happened since the Duchess of Success soft-launched her lifestyle brand in March this year.There was some jam, a jar of homemade dog biscuits and then – nothing. A void that cannot be avoided, a great big lake of flake which has squandered any PR initiative gained by the launch.Recently Meghan has been crazy busy filming the cooking and gardening show that will supposedly complement the hard launch of ARO in 2025, and the last we saw of Harry he was in Colombia posing for selfies in his crumpled linens and trying not to look miserable. Some public figures have a talent for kinship and generating affection wherever they go and some – what can I say? – do not.Amid their ongoing staffing problems, Harry and Meghan are in perpetual danger of appearing like self-appointed experts on everything, a couple who are only out for themselves rather than their pet causes.They are better than that [No. No they are not.] , but their lack of loyal and long-serving aides to guide them, wise heads to advise them and staff to support them in their endeavours and difficulties only gets more obvious by the day. [Give the devils their due, Jan. It is THEIR fault, not anyone else's fault.]https://ift.tt/ei6bdph post link: https://ift.tt/206E5rM author: Von_und_zu_ submitted: August 17, 2024 at 05:42AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[katseye-daily]

KATSEYE for Vogue

From left: Sophia Laforteza wears Renaissance Renaissance. Lara Raj wears a Christopher John Rogers dress and Albertus Swanepoel hat. Megan Skiendiel wears a Patricia Voto top and Renaissance Renaissance skirt and hat. Manon Bannerman wears a Wiederhoeft top and Renaissance Renaissance skirt. Daniela Avanzini wears a Nicklas Skovgaard jacket, Renaissance Renaissance skirt, Gigi Burris hat, and Theory shoes. Yoonchae Jeong wears a Claire Sullivan top, skirt, and sash and Theory shoes.

If the name Katseye isn’t familiar to you now, that is sure to change very, very soon. The six-person global girl group, made up of Daniela Avanzini, Manon Bannerman, Yoonchae Jeong, Sophia Laforteza, Lara Raj, and Megan Skiendiel, was created last year through The Debut: Dream Academy, a high-pressure competition program engineered by Geffen Records and Hybe, the South Korean entertainment conglomerate behind BTS, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, and other outfits. (This summer, an as-yet-untitled Netflix documentary series directed by Nadia Hallgren will retrace Katseye’s formation, a process that included whittling some 120,000 hopefuls down to just 20 candidates.) Ranging in age from 16 to 21 and variously hailing from South Korea, the Philippines, Switzerland, and the United States, Katseye’s members are out to change the look and sound of modern pop as we know it.

“All I can say right now is that it’s going to be super exciting,” says Manon of their much-anticipated debut single, due out this year. Adds Megan, “We’re ecstatic to present a song that reflects our unique experiences and personalities. It’s a track that’s true to us and tells a relatable story.” If you’re wondering what to expect sonically, this is a band of young women whose chief musical influences manage to plumb every possible corner of contemporary pop music. (They include, in no particular order, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Erykah Badu, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Shakira, Pharrell, and Kaytranada.) Daniela seems to speak for all of Katseye when she identifies her ideals in a recording artist: “powerful vocals, dynamic stage presence, versatility, and advocacy for empowerment.”

So too is the group eager for people to see just how thoughtful (and rigorous) Geffen and Hybe were in putting them all together. “Each person has had their own struggles, wins, and memorable moments throughout this journey,” says Sophia. She feels that the Netflix series will provide “a deeper dive into the reality of reaching for the dream.” Yoonchae echoes that sentiment: “I hope you can learn more about our members and what process we have gone through by watching our growth.”

To a one, Katseye’s members regard their dramatically disparate backgrounds as an asset—something that has only made them more dynamic as a sextet. “We each have our own strengths, so we will always do everything we can to help one another and lift each other up,” says Lara. “We’re in a situation where we really just have each other and have to take care of one another always, which we really do. We are each so unique and come from very different walks of life, but at the end of the day, music is what really brings us together.” —MM

Hair, Lacy Redway; makeup, Holly Silius using YSL Beauty. Produced by Family Projects. Set Design by Olivia Giles.

[sassyfrassboss]

Very interesting that Spotify dumped them… because they were also very animated sending their PR pieces about Archetypes being No.1 and how she did it and how she was at the level of Rogan (as if). only her fans were believing her ‘success’ there, while we see the debacle when her best episode (the first one) only could ranked no.11, then next were between 12-19th.

Do you think the same fate can be expected for Netflix?

That’s why isn’t good thing to brag about being paid millions (when the deal was a different thing) or sending Scobie to say that they were building a ‘billionaire empire’ 🤣. No wonder why he has been crying for his security (costs a lot). But hey, they have the millions they made while working royals with the merching

I think Spotify fudged the numbers when Meghan's podcast was #1 for "weeks" at the beginning because they used that to draw in listeners.

But the last podcast it was debuting pretty far down on the top 100 list which is never good when you sink that type of money into a project like that. The $20m was what the contract could potentially be worth but that also included cost of producing the episodes which Spotify eventually had to hire and pay producers on top of what they had already given M&H.

I think they were probably given something around $3M to begin with as initial payment and startup/producing costs. More than likely they spent this on nothing to do with the actual production of their podcast. Spotify later had to step in and hire their own production people to get the podcast done which means that Harry & Meghan fully expected $20M to be handed over to them and they weren't going to have to do any of the work.

As for Netflix, I know their series was the second most watched Documentary Netflix has ever produced but it couldn't crack any of the other shows for top 10 ratings. Even when it was released, "Wednesday" was still number one. The Rotten Tomato ratings are not great either.

So while Netflix got some of their money back, not sure if it is anywhere near the amount they spent on production costs or travel...

[readingslover]

Chapter I

Welcome to the first chapter. I hope you will like it Link to next chapters will always be placed below the story.

January 10, 2020

I always try new things. I always want to be doing something, and lately, it is reaching further than just writing music or directing music videos. In 2019 I was approached by Baz Luhrmann. He alongside others is doing a movie about Elvis Presley. They asked me if I wanted to be the vocal coach for the actor who plays Elvis.

I had to think about it and see if it didn't cross with my upcoming tour. But after talking to him about it, Baz said they could try to film those as one of the first ones since the tour started in June. But it also meant that we had to go to Queensland as quickly as possible. So he decided that for this month I will meet up a few times with our Elvis, whose name I learned is Austin, to begin the vocal lessons for him to be in the right range. And then in February, we need to fly out to Queensland.

So he decided to get the main cast and crew together at his California house for dinner so we could get to know each other. But I don't think other people know who's working in the crew behind the scenes.

So here I am stressing out on his doorstep. In my blue jeans and gray pull. I know some people would say relax, but after everything that happened, it's really hard not to think about what they think about me. What did they hear about me? Will they like me?

But I just do what I always do, suck it up, and just do it. A few seconds after knocking on the door it opens. Baz is standing there with a big smile "Come in... You're the last one to arrive." He says while letting me in the house and closing the door.

"Well... I tried coming here earlier, but you know how traffic can be and I was in the studio preparing things for the release of the documentary. But I'm here now." I say following Baz into the house.

We get to his living room and he introduces me to everyone who is there. Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Dacre Montgomery, Richard Roxburgh, Austin Butler, Jeremy Doner (story writer, Gail Berman (producer), Damien Drew (art director). Some of the cast and crew couldn't make it due to personal reasons which I understand. I almost didn't want to come with everything that happened, but my mom said it would be good for me to mingle with people. Especially if I'm going to be working with them for the next couple of months.

After a while, we all go sit at the table. While dinner is being served everyone is making small talk about other projects they had the past year. "Hannah, this might be a rude question, but during filming, don't you have a tour?" Dacre asks and everyone turns their head to me. "I do have a tour planned, but when Baz approached me last year he said we could work around it since the tour only starts in June. Which gives us about 5 months before I have to leave." I say. I know he doesn't wanna be rude. With other people who would have something planned during this period, I would also ask questions.

When dinner is done I excuse myself for a moment outside. This sounds weird, but being with a large group of people for a long period of hours while just talking and not working is something I can't do. In between, I try to have these moments for myself, focus on myself, and after a few minutes go back inside.

I know I perform in front of thousands of people, but this feels different.

"Are you alright?" A deep voice asks me, startling me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed a breather." I answer. I turn around to look at the person who came outside to see it is Austin. "I get it. Sometimes it's just too much. I have my moments too." He says. For a few moments, it is just a comfortable silence between us before he speaks again.

"This may be weird, but I saw your Reputation stadium tour on Netflix. You did a great job. It's weird standing here next to you and talking to you."

"Thank you. We will try our best."

"You know what's weird about it? On the stage, you have this other personality. You are very open about everything. You are standing there as you do it evevery daynd then here you are talking like the least of everyone in that room. And I thought that, when I was watching the show, you were this person that just always talks. but you aren't."

"Throughout the years you learn that sometimes it's better to be preserved with people you don't know. When I'm on stage on tour I know that these people came to see me and everyone with me on stage, not because they are put in a room to get to know each other."

"I would wanna be put in a room with you," Austin said after I finished talking. I look at him to find him looking at me. "Oh, you would be disappointed to be put in a room with me. It's not that fun."

"It can't be that bad."

"I either write music or am overthinking about the things I wrote that I want to put on an album. It's not fun when nothing is happening around me for me to not focus on that."

"Is that the reason you are partly gonna be on set for the movie?"

"Partly. I have done coaching for musicals and stuff and it is fun, but I wanted to try something new. I just can't imagine doing nothing until I go on tour."

"Aaah, I get it. You just always want to do stuff."

"Yeah... I always want to do stuff."

After that, we stay outside for a few more minutes before heading back inside.

----------------------------

January 15, 2020

You think you would get used to all the different interviews and rooms they put you in when you've done this since you were 15 or so.... but you don't.

I still am nervous about what they would ask. And for years I've played the girl who was quiet and would just be polite and wave, but over the last year, I learned that I don't have to be polite all the time. So here I am getting ready for my first interview of 2020 with Variety in the Beverly Hills Hotel.

We talk about the Golden Globes nomination with 'Cats' and my upcoming Netflix documentary 'Miss Americana' which will be out on January 31.

"The documentary will be about my whole life experience from being in the spotlight at a very young age to the whole world turning on me in 2016 to me going on my reputation tour and releasing my newest album 'Lover'.

I think it lets the people, mostly my fans, get to know a side of me they didn't. I talk about very controversial topics, which I normally only do in my songs. "

"Were you bummed that your album Reputation didn't receive any Grammy nominations?"

“'Yeah... I was at a moment in my life when I needed to come back after everything that happened. I showed them a new me. I told them my story. And it felt like it still wasn't enough. No matter how hard I try it will never be enough for some people and during that time I just needed the validation that what I'm doing is right. That I can come back and still make good music. I always had that fear. I told everyone that ‘Reputation’ wasn't good enough, after receiving no nomination. That I needed to make a better record. After some time I realized that just because I didn't get nominated doesn't mean that it's a bad record.”

"In the trailer, it is also pinpointing a moment where you speak up about politics, which you haven't done throughout your whole career. What made you decide that right now is the time to do so?"

"Every time I didn't speak up about politics as a young person, I was applauded for it. It was wild. I said, 'I'm a 22-year-old girl - people don't want to hear what I have to say about politics.' And people would just be like, 'Yeahhhhh!'

I was on my Rep tour at that moment. So I followed it on social media as most people do. I felt like I had this platform to do something about it. I argued with my dad about whether I should do it or not. He thought that I shouldn't get involved as I did earlier, but my gut told me that I needed to try.

To celebrate pride month but not advocate for those who felt wrong to me. Using my voice to try to advocate was the only choice to make. Because I've talked about equality and sung about it in songs like 'Welcome to New York,' but we are at a point where human rights are being violated. When you're saying that certain people can be kicked out of a restaurant because of who they love or how they identify, and these are actual policies that certain politicians vocally stand behind, and they disguise them as family values, that is sinister. So, so dark."

"In your documentary, you cover a lot that has happened over the years, but aside from the whole Kanye thing, there was one thing that I think stood out and that was when you were on stage playing the piano and talking about your sexual assault trial. Could you tell me more about that?"

"For me the trial was crucial. Needing to speak up about beliefs I'd always had because it felt like an opportunity to shed light on what those trials are like. I experienced it as a person with extreme privilege, so I can only imagine what it's like when you don't have that. And I think one theme that ended up emerging in the film is what happens when you are not just a people pleaser but someone who's always been respectful of authority figures, doing what you were supposed to do, being polite at all costs. I still think it's important to be polite, but not at all costs.

Not when you're being pushed beyond your limits, and not when people are walking all over you. I needed to get to a point where I was ready, able, and willing to call out bulls- rather than just smiling my way through it."

" As far as the Kanye thing goes. As a teenager who had only been in country music, attending my very first pop awards show. Somebody stood up and sent me the message: 'You are not respected here. You shouldn't be here on this stage.' That message was received, and it burrowed into my psyche more than anyone knew. ... That can push you one of two ways: I could have just curled up and decided I'm never going to one of those events ever again, or it could make me work harder than anyone expects me to, and try things no one expected, and crave that respect - and hopefully one day get it.

But then when that person who sparked all of those feelings comes back into your life, as he did in 2015, I felt like I finally got that respect, but then soon realized that for him it was about him creating some revisionist history where he was right all along, and it was correct, right and decent for him to get up and do that to a teenage girl.”

------------------

@/HannaGrace posted on instagram

Liked by Selenagomez and others

Variety, I had an amazing time chatting with you. Thank you for stopping by.

----------------

@/HannaGrace posted on Instagram

Liked by Selenagomez and others

I had the opportunity to premiere my new documentary Miss Americana at the 2020 Sundance Festival. Thank you to everyone who joined in. 

----------

Chapter 2

[ingek73]

Tominey: Prince Harry & Meghan ‘could be a poster couple for workshy Britain’

April 02, 2023

By Kaiser

The Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey is frantic. When Prince Harry showed up unexpectedly at a London High Court last week, Tominey could not contain her rage and fury at Harry for daring to stand up to a British tabloid. She barfed out an especially crazy piece about how Harry is a piece of sh-t for calling out the Daily Mail and calling out his father, who hires senior staff straight from the Mail’s editorial board. Tominey even admitted that Harry’s work-trip to London last week “would almost certainly have upstaged the King’s European charm offensive.” Camilla Tominey is such a loser and she defends losers. Well, she had another column in the Telegraph where she latched onto the Daily Mail’s “exclusive” story about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell charity tax filing, wherein they claimed (for tax purposes) that they worked one hour a week on Archewell’s charity arm. Behold, I give you “Harry and Meghan could be a poster couple for workshy Britain.” Sub-head: “But when it comes to self promotion, no one can doubt that the publicity shy couple have put in the hours.” Here’s part of her piece:

We all know that productivity has gone down since the pandemic…But who knew that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have what it takes to become a poster-couple for workshy Britain, even after they left the UK to become “financially independent” in the United States?

The revelation that they last year carried out just one hour’s work a week for the Archewell Foundation, their non-profit organisation, has naturally been seized upon by the sort of people who revelled in that South Park episode. To be fair to the Duke and Duchess, it is standard practice for directors in the US to list their hours, as they have done on these newly released tax records.

Moreover, we can hardly say that they haven’t been busy since they stepped back as working royals – what with their Oprah Winfrey interview, their six-part Netflix documentary and Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare.

Indeed, the Duke has also been occupied at the High Court this week, bravely setting aside his security concerns to join a group of well-known faces in suing Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for allegedly stealing their private information, which the newspaper group denies.

Clearly, the amount of hard graft that is necessary, supposedly to protect one’s privacy, should not be underestimated.

In Harry and Meghan’s case, it has involved the traducing of a great many people to generate the requisite number of headlines to show just how intrusive the press can apparently be. We must never forgive the sacrifices they have made in the name of global royal reporting.

To be a royal is to be duty-bound in pursuit of the service of others, but Harry and Meghan’s approach has been rather more self-serving than that. For when it comes to self promotion, no one can doubt that the couple have put the hours in.

[From The Telegraph]

Imagine writing this about two people who left the UK in 2020, had their security pulled, were in fear for their lives, and were simply trying to survive for months with the kindness of a relative stranger (Tyler Perry). And in three years, this is what Harry and Meghan have done: welcomed a second child and recovered from a miscarriage; bought a home; won at least two lawsuits against the Mail; produced a wildly successful memoir; produced a wildly successful Netflix docuseries; produced a wildly successful and award-winning podcast; taken a Chief Impact Officer position with a billion-dollar life-coaching business; made a successful investment in a small oat-latte business; built a charity which has already worked on several substantive projects with tangible objectives and raised millions of dollars as well as working with corporate sponsors; organized another successful Invictus Games despite a global pandemic; continued conservation work in Africa; built an actual business and charity from the ground up, and on and on. While I wish we saw more of Harry and Meghan too, what they’ve managed to accomplish in three years is amazing.

Imagine writing all of this snide bullsh-t about “work-shy” Meghan and Harry… and then having nothing to say about Prince William and Kate, who barely do one event a week and are currently on a month-long vacation. I guess someone’s buying it?

Repeating this because it is a fantastic list:

Imagine writing this about two people who left the UK in 2020, had their security pulled, were in fear for their lives, and were simply trying to survive for months with the kindness of a relative stranger (Tyler Perry). And in three years, this is what Harry and Meghan have done: welcomed a second child and recovered from a miscarriage; bought a home; won at least two lawsuits against the Mail; produced a wildly successful memoir; produced a wildly successful Netflix docuseries; produced a wildly successful and award-winning podcast; taken a Chief Impact Officer position with a billion-dollar life-coaching business; made a successful investment in a small oat-latte business; built a charity which has already worked on several substantive projects with tangible objectives and raised millions of dollars as well as working with corporate sponsors; organized another successful Invictus Games despite a global pandemic; continued conservation work in Africa; built an actual business and charity from the ground up, and on and on. While I wish we saw more of Harry and Meghan too, what they’ve managed to accomplish in three years is amazing.

[gemsofgreece]

Now it's fashion to cause controversy among the people of it means to profit from it. They don't care about accuracy and quality, they make controversial themes and miscasting so that people can talk about it online. They literally prefer the easy way to have views instead of making something really good.

Also Netflix has taken the down road "έχει πάρει την κάτω βόλτα". They don't know who to promote their works, they don't select a few good ones, they have random to please "everyone". Also they cancel now good shows with potential and keep awful ones for the same reasons above.

Honestly i don't think you should "cancel" Netflix just wish for the company to make again good concept like before.

Although I agree with both of you, are you both addressing to me those advices about what I shouldn’t do? Or are they generic statements? I can’t tell 😂

If it’s to me:

Anon A: I didn’t say to cancel Netflix as a whole, I said if the Cleopatra documentary frustrates you or finds you opposed, then the beneficial way to act is to not watch it because this is the way the rich producers take a hint.

Anon B: I am obviously not trying to manipulate people into silence but it is a very real and almost inevitable weapon in their hands, that if they see similar hate mail and hate tweets coming mixed by both reasonable people complaining and racists who found a good opportunity to raise their heads, then they are going to disregard everyone’s valid concerns with the argument that everyone is racist. “You sent me hate on my Twitter, you are a racist and therefore I am doing the right thing to cast a black Cleopatra”. Nobody ever got their point across with hate mail. It is a very immature and counterproductive way to react.

[denimbex1986]

'Although Matthew Modine has been making his way through the Hollywood ranks since the early ‘80s, the actor has found himself in a new position of prominence thanks to Stranger Things. Since portraying the complicated and devious Dr. Brenner in the first season of the Netflix series in 2016, Modine has become even more of a household name. The role earned him a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and his character’s return last year made waves amongst fans. But Modine has a lot more on his plate. Recently he’s produced and filmed several movies, narrated a documentary (Accidental Truth, about UFOs), and performed onstage in London’s West End. He’s also part of the star-studded cast of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster about the origin of the atomic bomb.

In Oppenheimer, Modine plays Vannevar Bush, a real-life historical figure who headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II. Bush was involved in many of the discussions about the atomic bomb, including which Japanese cities to target. Modine describes filming the scenes where some guys decide the fate of the world as almost absurd.

“The idea that there was this small group of men sitting in a room, old white men, who arbitrarily make a decision in that moment of going from one bomb to two bombs is incredible,” the actor tells Observer. “That a decision as powerful and as dangerous and as deadly as that could be made in a room—it’s beyond my comprehension and my belief that that’s how decisions are made. But it’s historically correct of what would happen in that room.”

Oppenheimer, which marks Modine’s second collaboration with Nolan, is one of two projects Modine is involved with which reflect on humanity’s obsession with nuclear weapons. His recent documentary Downwind, which Modine executive produced, examines the real-world impact of the nuclear tests in America. The actor made both films in between shooting the upcoming thriller Retribution with Liam Neeson and true life drama Hard Miles, as well as writing and directing a short film, I Am What You Imagine, which will premiere in film festivals this fall.

Here Modine speaks to Observer about making Oppenheimer, why humanity is in dire straits, and how Stranger Things has changed Hollywood.

What drew you to this project?

Film, for good and bad, is a powerful tool of influence. You can make films that glorify combat and war and make it romantic—what I call war pornography. Or you can make a film like All Quiet on the Western Front that shows you how ugly and horrible it is. That there’s nothing that’s sexy or romantic about it. It’s an ugly, horrible solution to people who hold different views. So with Oppenheimer I said yes right away. There’s a scene where [Vannevar] Bush is speaking during Oppenheimer’s trial and he says he’s expressed an opinion that was unpopular and that if we’re going to destroy people’s lives because they express an opinion that is unpopular, then you should start with me because I’ve expressed an unpopular opinion.

In the time we’re living in, especially with social media and the way that people are so quickly crucified for expressing an opinion that somebody might find contrary, that doesn’t bode well or speak well of humanity and civilization. We have to be able to discuss our differences and, more importantly, to hold a different opinion. That’s how we evolve. We’re living in a really, really volatile time with these really, really powerful weapons of war.

The massive cast was probably also a draw.

Just to get a sense of Christopher Nolan, when I asked him about participating, he said, “We’re casting a bunch of unknowns. The only person that you know is Cillian [Murphy], who’s playing Oppenheimer.” I knew Cillian and hadn’t worked with him, but we were in the same movie, The Dark Knight Rises. He’s a wonderful actor. And then you get closer to going to work and all of the unknowns are people that you’ve known or worked with or people you admire, from Kenneth Branagh to Robert Downey Jr. to Matt Damon. I mean, it was ridiculous. But that’s a testament to Emma [Thomas], Christopher’s wife, and Christopher. They’re such lovely people. They’re so kind and smart and obviously great filmmakers that these are folks people want to work with.

So were you cast because you had worked with Christopher previously?

I hope so! He’s like an orchestra conductor. Christopher is always on the set, he’s always standing beside the camera. He’s there in the scene with you when you’re doing it. What generally happens today is the director’s in another room watching on a television monitor, but because he’s in the room you can feel his encouragement. The same way that a conductor stands in front of an orchestra and raises his hand and opens his palm and says, “A little bit softer, a little bit louder.” Christopher conducts when on his set and it’s something that I really appreciate.

And as a cellist or a violin player or percussionist, it’s your responsibility to learn the song. You have to learn the role and show with all of your knowledge of how to play that piece because you’re part of a big orchestra. It’s not Christopher Nolan’s responsibility or job to teach you to do your part. That’s why he hires you. It’s why those actors come to work because they do all of their homework and their research. They show up and Christopher conducts them.

How long ago did you shoot Oppenheimer?

I’m very bad with dates. I saw a five-year calendar on someone’s wall once and it was just a bunch of boxes. And in the boxes, he had ticked off what he was going to do in six months time and a year and two years and three years. What was astonishing to me was how few boxes five years represented. What it looked like. From that point, I took my watch off and I tossed the calendar and I said, “I just don’t want to measure my life by a calendar or clock.” But I want to say it was about a year ago—it was pretty fast.

In general, why does it feel important for you to be part of the conversation about nuclear weapons?

Nuclear bombs and nuclear energy are a temporary solution to a permanent problem. As long as human beings use violence and war to solve our problems we are the stupidest primate. There are eight billion people on the planet consuming the Earth’s resources at an unsustainable pace. We are about to experience the largest migration of climate refugees in the history of the planet. I picked up a book in England, which I encourage you to read, called The Long View. The problem with the world is the political systems and the economic systems are all designed for the short view. To address the environmental problems that we have, it demands a long view. You can’t look at it in four year cycles, you can’t look at it in quarterly cycles. It demands that we look at the systems where the tree that you and I plant today, we will never enjoy the shade of that tree. You plant that tree for your grandchildren. And that’s what’s missing from the human race today is that ability to see the long view.

The film Downwind, which is also about nuclear bombs, reflects on that. I grew up in Utah. My family—my father, my uncle and my grandfather and my grandmother—they all lived out in the desert in a place called China Ranch in Death Valley. They all died with cancer. They were all downwind of the almost one thousand bombs that were tested in the Nevada desert. They were downwind of the radiation that was falling depending on which way the wind was blowing. I was watching the news once and I saw my brother Maury being arrested and he said what I consider one of most significant things about atomic bomb testing: We know they work, so why did we have to test almost one thousand bombs on American soil?

Did you film Retribution before or after Oppenheimer?

Right before. Liam Neeson and I have been friends for almost three decades and we’ve always wanted to work together. There’s been some plays that we were going to try to do on Broadway.

The director of Retribution, Nimród [Antal], was directing two episodes of Stranger Things. One day, he said, “Come on, they’re ready for us on the set. So we’re going to walk through it together.” I said, “I’ll walk with you if you give me a job in the Liam Neeson movie you’re directing.” He laughed and I laughed. About an hour later, he showed me his phone and had a text message from his producer saying, “We think it’s a great idea.”

It’s a good lesson in asking for what you want.

I would have never done it before because it sounds like such an ass-holic thing to do. That’s a word I learned from Christopher Nolan—I have to give credit where credit’s due.

How has Stranger Things impacted your career?

I think it’s changed the entire entertainment industry. When I began, one of the most famous films I was in was Full Metal Jacket, a very powerful anti-war film. If Full Metal Jacket was successful in 60 territories around the world that was an unbelievable success. Netflix is in over 190 territories around the world, bringing entertainment right into people’s homes. So the kind of success that you can experience today from a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu is something that’s never existed in the history of the entertainment industry.

Have we seen the last of Dr. Brenner?

I hope not! It has been announced now they’re doing the origin story on stage. The producer of a play that I did, To Kill a Mockingbird, in London, Sonia Friedman Productions, is doing an origin story of Stranger Things. I think the whole scenario is about the origin of Dr. Brenner and the children.'

[cyarsk52-20]

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newsone_official If Will was wrong for slapping Chris, he was wrong because it was violent and uncalled for—not because he did it in front of white people. When is the last time you heard about white people ceasing violent white shenanigans because they’re afraid of embarrassing the white race in front of Black people?

Many people on social media pointed out, Chris Rock can bash a Black woman, joke about poor Black people and produce a whole documentary about Black hair in mixed company, but God forbid white people see him hit a Black man who hit him first.

That would be a travesty—if you care way too much about what white people think.

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Op-Ed: Chris Rock’s Diss Against Will And Jada Was Strong Until He Started Tap Dancing For White People

Rock can bash a Black woman, joke about poor Black people and produce a whole documentary about Black hair in mixed company, but God forbid white people see him hit a Black man who hit him first.

Posted March 6, 2023

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I‘m not sure when Chris Rock became such a controversial figure among Black people, but it must have been before Will Smith smacked himin front of the entire world from the Oscars stage last year. And it must have been some time after the mid to late ’90s when he was churning out comedic classics like his specials Bring the Pain and “Bigger & Blacker, because back then it really seemed like we were pretty unified in our love for the comedic stylings of Pookie from New Jack City.

And, content-wise, his comedy really hasn’t changed much.

So, on Saturday, Rock’s latest Netflix standup special Selective Outrage premiered. Was it any good? Well, that depends on who you ask. In my not-so-humble opinion, most of the live-streamed set, which he performed at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, was pretty unremarkable. Not necessarily bad, I just didn’t find myself laughing out loud as much as I did when I watched Rock specials back in the day.

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Maybe it’s because, like Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr and pretty much every straight male comedian over 45, he started off his set lamenting largely fictitious “cancel culture.” It just gets tiresome to hear comedians moan about how no one can say anything even remotely offensive without getting in trouble, just before saying those very offensive things on stage without any fear of getting in trouble for it. I’m also always baffled when Black people use the word “woke” in the same context white people use it.

Or maybe I just wasn’t terribly interested in things like his thoughts on Meghan Markle or his family life or being single and trying to date and find love despite being a “hoe,” or his continued loud and wrong claim that women experience more social privilege than men or how everyone these days is always playing the victim. Because once it leaked that he was going to be talking extensively about Will, Jada and the slap, that was pretty much all I was tuning in for. And he didn’t get to that until the last 10 minutes of the special.

Now, there are some folks on Black Twitter who think Rock should have been over it by now. It’s been nearly a year. Chris needs therapy, not a stage. He should have addressed it when it happened, not now.

Here’s the thing: Even if Rock wasn’t still worked up over the slap, which he clearly is, he still would have HAD to address it in his first special since it happened. If he didn’t, everyone would have been wondering why he didn’t. The think pieces would have been about how he declined to talk about it and a million writers, Twitter users and other assorted media people would have been analyzing to death his continued lack of transparency and unwillingness to open up regarding his feelings on what happened.

I think a lot of folks are “selective” in their ability to remember how the drama-addicted media actually works. Even as someone who honestly thought folks were overreacting to the slap, I wouldn’t try to tell Rock how to feel about it or when he should be over it, and I would have been surprised if he stood on a stage and talked for an hour with nary a mention of the thing everyone was waiting for him to talk about, whether they’re willing to admit it or not.

And talk about it he did.

Seriously, Rock went full 2Pac “Hit Em Up” with this one.

“Y’all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith,” Rock began before praising himself for taking the hit like boxer Manny Pacquiao and then going in on Jada Pinkett-Smith and her “entanglements,” which he blamed for all the fanfare surrounding their marital woes in the first place.

“His wife was f–king her son’s friend,” he said. “I normally would not talk about this…but for some reason, these n—-s put that sh-t on the internet!”

From the Washington Post:

Rock said Smith’s masculinity was then called into question, but it was Rock who wound up paying the price. “Everybody called him a b—-,” he said. “And who’s he hit? Me. [Someone] he knows he can beat.”

Pinkett Smith was not spared from Rock’s criticism, either. Rock said it all started after comments she made in 2016, when he was hosting the Oscars a previous time. “She starts it … I finish it,” Rock said. (His version of all of this is sure to be finely combed over and debated in the days ahead.)

Again, Rock’s Ice Cube “No Vaseline”-style rant against Will and Jada got mixed reviews among watchers, and especially among Black people.

People, of course, noticed that he was still so affected by the slap that he messed up his final joke on the matter by momentarily mixing up Smith’s movie Concussion with his newest film Emancipation.

Speaking of which, a lot of Black people took issue with Rock saying he watched the film just to see Will get whipped. (Which, I mean, I get that it’s a slave movie and it wasn’t a good look for Chris to be “rooting for massa” as he put it, but we’re talking about an actor playing a slave getting whipped by an actor playing massa. It’s not like Chris is cheering on slavery. It’s just a movie and it was just a joke.)

Personally, I only had one real issue with Rock’s Dr. Dre “Dre Day”-like roast of Will and Jada, and it came at the very end when he was explaining why he didn’t hit Will back that night.

“I got parents. And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of White people,” he said.

Seriously, WTF?

Look, regardless of whether you’re “Team Chris,” “Team Will” or “Team Jada,” you have to admit Rock was on his way to giving his special a strong finish with his clap back. Why sully that by signing off with a shucking and jiving, borderline sunken place expression of fear of the white gaze? It’s like, he came so close to sticking the landing, but, at the last second, he started tap dancing for Caucasian approval instead.

If Will was wrong for slapping Chris, he was wrong because it was violent and uncalled for—not because he did it in front of white people. When is the last time you heard about white people ceasing violent white shenanigans because they’re afraid of embarrassing the white race in front of Black people? Rock even talked about the Jan. 6 World War White People rebellion at the U.S. Capitol, which he cited as an example of white men wrongly thinking they’re losing power in America and playing the victim because of it. What he didn’t mention is that those white people should have felt ashamed for behaving the way they did for non-white people to see. 

And as many people on social media pointed out, Chris Rock can bash a Black woman, joke about poor Black people and produce a whole documentary about Black hair in mixed company, but God forbid white people see him hit a Black man who hit him first. 

That would be a travesty—if you care way too much about what white people think.

SEE ALSO:

Chris Rock’s Jokes About Will Smith Leak Ahead Of New Live Netflix Comedy Special

‘Will Smith Just Smacked The Sh*t Outta Me’: Chris Rock’s Uncensored Audio Revealed After Getting Slapped At The Oscars

The Verdict Is In: Snoop Dogg’s Full ‘Red Table Talk’ Has Left People Even More Divided

10 photos

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#newsonesocial #willsmith #jadapinkettsmith #chrisrock #selectiveoutrage #netflixisajoke

[a-winged-beast]

So sorry to pile onto your post but I think about this a LOT. I have this headcanon that a few years after they go pro, Ichirou Moriyama is arrested and subsequently killed in prison. The whole organisation basically unravels. And then a year or so later, after all these crazy stories come out about the Moriyamas, there's like a Netflix docuseries that's made that focuses on just the Foxes. The documentary producers can't get too many of them to agree to talk, however, Kevin, Allison, Matt, and Dan have a loooong conversation with their old teammates and agree that they'll talk, because the four of them can usually handle themselves well on screen. The Twinyards refuse to be involved in this, but after some consideration, Neil also agrees to do it because he likes to cause trouble (lol) and he has Things To SayTM. Wymack, Bee, and Abby decline to comment.

Anyway they end up talking about "what really happened", and they talk about Aaron's trial, Neil's past, Kevin's abuse...they even manage to get Jean to contribute. Stuff like that comes up. It breaks the fucking internet.

You have exy historians and reporters (in the documentary as well as online) saying things like, "The one thing you must understand is that until very recently, in almost every way that matters, Exy was a sport that was owned and controlled by the mafia." And some other investigative journalist tweeting like, "None of this surprises me, we've been needing to know the truth about the Moriyamas for years" and "There's a lot of money in pro sports. And where there's a lot of money, there's a lot of crime." People compare it to the involvement of the mafia in other pro sports like soccer. It just becomes this whole THING.

(I love Aaron the most so this is supposed to be about how Aaron hates how everything gets dredged up again when he's trying to move on with his life, but that's by the by).

ALSO I have this headcanon that when introducing the Foxes (in the docuseries), the producers use MCR's "Teenagers" as their intro song LOL

I wonder what the Ravens NDA for new recruits looks like. I wonder what legal protections they have in place against graduates/ex-Ravens who consider talking about their treatment in evermore. I wonder if Evermore were to fall would people start speaking out, and would the numbers of victims coming forward just keep rising and rising? Every day, new athletes names being added to this infamous list. Famous athletes on the US Court talking about their abuse, other people on pro teams getting the courage to come out about it. Suddenly it’s on everyone’s mind, suddenly it’s a top story on the mainstream news. It breaches containment out of the sports world and it’s all that anyone can talk about.

The NCAA Exy Scandal. Athletes declining to comment because they’ll always be a Raven. “You were a Raven before - did you see this happening? What did you see happening?” A number of weeks where every single day something new comes out, some new abuse story, some new shocking detail that leaves people unable to comprehend how nobody noticed, or spoke out before now.

If someone were to do the hard thing, to open that door, would they be able to stop the outpouring of other athletes following suit to come out about their time in Evermore? Would the Moriyama’s ever be held accountable, and how many people would be implicated? The team nurse who turned a blind eye, who refused proper medical care for the athletes, the campus president who didn’t notice this happening right under his nose, the people who wrote the contract that forced the players to stay silent.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Recap of Juicy Scoop episode w/Spencer Pratt from April 23 2024 re: polo show by u/RBXChas

Recap of Juicy Scoop episode w/Spencer Pratt from April 23, 2024 re: polo show Spotify link: https://ift.tt/AX2jUMs at ~32:35Heather asks Spencer if he’s gotten any jam, and Spencer sounded confused and said he thought she was doing some coffee thing. Then Heather got confused and asked if M was working at a coffee shop like Ben Affleck making donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts. (They go on a bit of a tangent here, so I’ll skip ahead.)Heather asks Spencer if he’s a M fan (he says he’s a big fan) and if he thinks her creating ARO is a good move. She says that some say it’s a long name but is supposedly the actual name of the orchard “in which she lives on or where she’s grabbing her berries from.” Spencer says he would be more excited if she figured out a way to be on a reality show without saying she’s on a reality show, and he feels like “the polo show” is the way to do that. Heather asks what that is. Spencer says M is executive producing it with H and goes into how Heidi used to go to polo matches in Santa Barbara and thought it would make a good reality show, so he told her that now the show she always wanted is getting made, except it’s even better because it has H&M in it. He said these are some of the richest people who get together and drink. Heather basically expresses that she doesn’t know anything about polo. Spencer recounts what we all saw about the cameras being at the recent polo match in Florida.They move on to talking about Harry’s announcement that his official residence is no longer in the UK as of June of 2023. Spencer says it could be “a tax thing”, and Heather says she doesn’t know about that but thinks that they tried the documentary thing and the podcast thing, realized it was harder than it seemed, so now the cameras just follow them around because that’s what we all want to see, since they hang around with rich people who can just hop on private jets and go to things, then throw in a charity event here or there to make it look like they care about people.Spencer says he saw “the best clip” from the polo match after the trophy ceremony. Heather interrupts to say that he’s talking about old footage, the stuff where M is trying to take the trophy, but Spencer corrects her and says that this is something from the recent polo match. He goes on to describe the lady who stood next to H, but M whispered something to her to make her move away, which Spencer says is the show he wants to watch. (In other words, he wants to watch some drama.) Heather says that M is beautiful and stylish and that even if you don’t like her, you’re still intrigued, so Netflix should go for it.Spencer lamented that M and her team still haven’t figured out a way to get in with Taylor Swift, which is “such a no-brainer”. M and Taylor could hang out while H and Travis could hang out, and Travis has a new show that H could go on._______________________________My take? Nobody in the US cares about polo, and IMHO, making a documentary about a sport that’s too expensive for most people to play is not exactly a good look. “Waaaah, King Pa cut me off, waaaah, M can’t even afford her own lip gloss, waaaah, I can barely see through my tears when I brush my ponies, and the only thing I have to wipe my tears is the wads of hundred dollar bills that my pockets can’t seem to contain.”However, I think people will watch if only to see how gruesome H&M are. I certainly won’t tune in but will have my eyes peeled for recaps. post link: https://ift.tt/FSVXMjz author: RBXChas submitted: May 01, 2024 at 02:45PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.