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joy-haver · 2 days ago

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This is an article about someone who spent a few years infiltrating neonazi militias in the United States, managing to raise high in the ranks and uncover many ties to law enforcement.

It’s a long article, and worth reading, but here are some insights for those who might not have the time.

1. The leadership of these neo nazi militias are often police or ex police. The recruiters are often ranking officers in the US military. The non military members train under these guys. But it’s also folks in other positions of power; power over you, power over your city, power over who goes to prison. On the board of one of the largest neonazi orgs of the country was an OB-GYN, a former city councilor, a police sergeant, and a city prosecutor. (The doctor worked for UnitedHeath, unsurprisingly).

2. At least until 2014, police in some places divide investigation squads by the race of the suspect. The Las Vegas police had a “Black Sqaud” whose job was investigating crimes where the suspect was black. One of the leaders of these militias was in the Black Squad. He’s a white man who said he “welcomed the coming race war” and had a framed plaque on his wall that said “There is no hunting like the hunting of man. Those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else.” He talked about waking up in the desert with blood on his hands, exhilarated.

3. Police and neonazis leaders see themselves as hunters, as predators. As killers of men. Part of this is sport for theme as much as ideology. They enjoy the training, the learning, and the violence. They enjoy the way it makes them feel.

4. If a group is being infiltrated, the infiltrator is probably whoever goes for the ��security officer” or “information officer” position. Whoever’s job is spotting moles is probably the mole.

5. Neo nazi militias have a lot of interchange between them, from the rank and file to the leadership. This should scare you. This means that they aren’t a bunch of little groups of meager threat; in reality, these folks know each other. They are aligned. They have each other’s number and they might act together. Sowing distrust in their structures is key to keeping them from allying.

6. Part of the goal of some neonazi organizations is to become a political force so well known and looked to that candidates seek their endorsement for elections.

7. These organizations have enough ties to the feds to keep pressure on them low, but not to avoid it entirely. They are fine feeding a few people, even leaders, to the machine in return for the ability to keep operating.

8. These groups really value expansion. They say they want to be as common as McDonald’s.

9. They have purposely been laying low over the past several years, preparing for the election.

10. These militias stalk journalists, student film critics, and other folks they don’t like. They keep dossiers on their addresses, and phone numbers, and families. They hold stakeouts to watch them.

11. It takes a tole on someone to infiltrate the organizations. It’s exhausting work. It’s dangerous. But it’s also incredibly necessary.

12. It’s easier to infiltrate the highest ranks of the largest fascist militias in the country than it is to get a journalist to respond to your emails.

The closing lines from this article fill me with determination.

“Williams wants to let his former comrades know “a faggot is doing this to them.” He thinks his story could be his most effective weapon. Every time militia members make a phone call, attend a meeting or go to a gun range together, he wants them “to be thinking, in the back of their heads, ‘This guy will betray me.’”

https://www.propublica.org/article/ap3-oath-keepers-militia-mole

#rose baker #text post #link #antifascism #antifascist #anarchy #antifa #ACAB

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tiredandunfortunate · 2 months ago

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Watching ‘Megalopolis’ it’s clear that Francis Ford Coppola thought he was literally Shakespeare meanwhile I’m not even convinced this is as successful as ‘Cats’

Also it’s so funny having seen ‘Metropolis’ and watching this because almost every element people said made it defensible as a movie or art or whatever is directly lifted from the “fascism is our only hope” movie—starting from the first visuals

The whole thing is hilarious

It’s not a successful commentary on anything but itself… and I guess maybe ego?

Made for a pretty good ironic Halloween film—I laughed at it many times

#you can directly tell where everything is from and it’s not very cogent and it’s not very good #the acting is terrible #if you’ve seen older experimental movies the visuals are stale #the narrative is a metaphor but the metaphor is ‘fascism is good’#the soliloquies would work better in the Shakespeare adaptations he lifted them from #if you gave anyone a hundred million dollars they could more likely than not make a watchable movie #I’m not convinced this clears that bar for anyone who doesn’t assume Coppola is a genius #so probably most people who aren’t film critics #some of the shots and movements are funny but it’s impossible to tell when or if it’s on purpose #a la ‘The Room’#I’ve seen this all done better before

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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 25 days ago

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Kraven The Hunter - Thoughts

Let’s state right now by saying that 90% of the reason I went was for Fred 😭 the other 10% was ATJ, Russel Crowe and it being a Marvel film to be honest.

I’m also still slightly ill as I’ve been battling a cold since late Sunday/early Monday so I probably shouldn’t have gone but I dosed myself with Sudafed and for the most part wasn’t congested during the film, plus I feel miles better today, so…yeah. Bear with me if I seem dumb or like I missed something 😭

Anyway… Spoilers below for Kraven the Hunter!

First, some general things:

The way the critics were going on, you’d think this film was completely unwatchable and that there’s zero redeeming features, which in my opinion is not true at all

Let me make it clear right now: is it the best movie I’ve ever seen? No. Is it the best Marvel film I’ve seen? Also no. Is it the best Sony Marvel film I’ve seen? Still not really. But it was watchable and I had a good time eating popcorn while watching it

I really could have done without the cinema going couple on the row behind me who kept going “it’s Kraven time” during the film and who laughed at weird moments but eh, they aren’t the worst people I’ve been stuck in a movie theatre with

AARON TAYLOR JOHNSON’S ABS 🥵

The best performances in this movie were definitely Aaron, Fred and Russell in my opinion (although young Sergei and Dmitri were also good)

Some of the line deliveries in this film were not always it 😭 I don’t know if it’s a post production ADR problem but Ariana DeBose had some really wooden line deliveries which baffles me because she’s an Oscar winner?!? Did she just not care?

Some of the special effects were also not it; I wasn’t expecting ATJ to fight a real lion or for a real bear to kill Nikolai but come on now-

Oh this film delivered on bloody and violent!

My only knowledge of Kraven before this film was from watching half of JackSepticEye’s Spider-Man 2 playthrough so I’m probably the worst person to ask about whether they did his story justice or not 😭

Okay, now the actual film:

I was half expecting David Harbour’s character from Black Widow to turn up in Russian prison 😭

(Speaking Russian) “Can I sit with you at lunch?” “No.” - ASDFGHJKL

Kraven really wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be gone in 3 days, he was in and out fast

Bear with me and I’m sorry if I sound stupid but is Kraven damage proof or are the Russian guards just shit shots? 😭

My mind blanked for a hot second when ATJ turned around shirtless at the beginning and his fucking 8 pack was on view 🥵

The film kind of weirdly started in present day, then spent 30ish minutes in flashbacks, then went back to present day which was an interesting choice

Baby Dmitri 🥹 I wanted to protect him so bad

Nikolai really just went “boys, your mother is dead. She took her own life, she was weak, she does not deserve funeral so we’re going hunting”?!?!

Calypso being there and being told by her granny about the tarot cards saying something bad was going to happen, and being given the potion was…very convenient. Like the grandma really was just there to dump some lore and plot devices I guess

FUCK PEOPLE WHO HUNT ANIMALS 😤 the ONLY reason it’s ever remotely okay to hunt animals is if you’re doing it for food/survival. If you’re doing it for trophies, for “legacy”, just for the horns etc., you can get fucked

I felt so sad when the hunters were making fun of Dmitri for being a bastard 😭 at the very least Nikolai said “it’s not boy’s fault for his father’s weakness”, he’s not a great father but at the very least he said that

^So does this mean that Dmitri’s mother is not Sergei’s mother? Because both boys are Nikolai’s sons? But did Sergei’s mother raise Dmitri too or…?

Sergei really just wanted to protect Dmitri and he got injured 😭 thing is, I don’t think the lion was going to hurt him until Nikolai fucking shot at it - before, it seemed like Sergei and the lion were having a moment, and it only got aggressive when it was shot at, so really it’s Nikolai’s fault entirely

Calypso being more interested in her grandma’s wack ass tarot cards and potion than in the giraffes on safari was by the most unbelievable part to me, like that girl really was so unbothered about the fucking animals in nature?!?

The lion carried Sergei’s lifeless body for MILES, saw Calypso standing there, put Sergei down and looked at her for a moment before wandering off, as if he was bringing him to her?!? 💀

I’m so confused, is it the potion that gave Kraven his abilities? The lion’s blood entering his?!? A mixture of both?!! They don’t really go into detail

Sergei: *lying in Ghanian hospital after being mauled by a lion and being medically dead for at least 3 minutes* // Nikolai: Get your ass up I’m taking you boys to London

Sergei’s mom wrote him a note before she offed herself telling him not to become his father so that’s…why he doesn’t want to be like his father I guess

Dmitri’s powers are shown by him doing spot on imitations of other people’s voices, like he opens his mouth and Russell Crowd’s voice came out, and Sergei is like “you’re getting way too good at that”

Nikolai killed the lion 😭 fuck that guy

I get that Sergei was upset about his dad being an asshole but why did he shut Dmitri out like that 😭 so rude of him

So because his dad is a dick, young Sergei decides he’s going to run away to Northern Russia or Serbia or wherever, abandoning his little brother who their father clearly doesn’t like very much… bro-

I wasn’t aware that Russia or Serbia or wherever he went had a particularly large buffalo population, can someone confirm?

How does his vision just zero in on things from absolute miles away while his eyes turn gold?!?

After young Sergei it switches back to present day and I do feel they could have done it a bit better? It just cuts to black then cuts to present day I think. There’s a scene before this young Sergei seems to be testing his new abilities by jumping over a chasm, running through the forest etc, they could have easily done a switch there in my opinion (if that makes sense)

I smiled so stupidly when Kraven got a voicemail that started with his father’s voice before Dmitri laughed because it was him messing about 😭 And immediately I love him-

Did Kraven eat a fish raw?!? 💀

I agree with Sergei/Kraven, we should 100% kill hunters who do it just for sport/not for survival

HE BIT A GUY’S FUCKING NOSE OFF I WAS GAGGED A BIT

I won’t lie, I was also gagged when he was going through the book of names, found the Andrei guy’s name, then immediately killed him before crossing off the name like it was nothing, I think that was pretty fucking good

So Calypso is a lawyer and Kraven somehow managed to track her down just from the tarot card she left in his pocket and the potion vial?!? I know that’s his whole thing, tracking and finding people, but HOW-

With all due respect to the actors, there was pretty much no chemistry between Kraven and Calypso so if they were meant to be love interests, I was not feeling it at all

Not me getting overexcited when I saw the Daily Bugle newspaper and website 😭

Aleksei (the Rhino) has a dog and I thought he was going to hurt the dog 😭 he just snapped at him but still-

“Like a Rhino, I take what I want” - BRO I AM SORRY BUT WHAT

DMITRI PLAYING PIANO AND SINGING SIGN OF THE TIMES BY HARRY STYLES?!?

For the record, whenever Dmitri “sings”, it is NOT Fred singing - they use studio recordings of the actual artists and Fred just lip syncs which is kind of a shame because I personally want to hear that man sing 😭

So Dmitri runs a nightclub where he plays piano and sings while impersonating actual singers which is…definitely an interesting use of his gift, to be honest

Nikolai says Dmitri does this for him and that just breaks my heart personally

“My son, he is like a Chameleon” - bro. Bro. BRO. This film has zero subtlety 💀

There’s something about Fred wearing rings and a gold chain, his chest hair on display, that just hits different 😋

Nikolai: I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Tony Bennett

If I had a nickel for every time Fred was in a movie released in 2024 hiding under a piece of furniture, I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened in two different movies released a month apart 😭

Dmitri was really upset about his club being the site of a fucking shoot off (understandable), and Nikolai started saying what a coward he was and berating him, as if Dmitri didn’t impersonate Tony fucking Bennett for his father-

There’s a noise the Rhino guy let’s put when he hears that a load of his men were killed at the nightclub that made my entire screening (of which there were not many admittedly) burst out laughing - not in a good way, but in a “what the actual fuck” way because he sounded like a velociraptor or something?!? It was so fucking odd

Kraven scales the outside of the apartment building to get into Dmitri’s penthouse instead of just taking the lift like a normal person-

FRED IN THE SHOWER I REPEAT FRED IN THE SHOWER-

^Regrettably, we do not see him in the shower nor shirtless - for some reason Dmitri has a bathrobe on before he steps out of the shower 😭

IT’S DMITRI’S BIRTHDAY 🥳

“When it’s your birthday, we can go to a petting zoo or whatever it is you do to unwind” ASDFGHJKL I LOVE DMITRI SO MUCH

I literally burst out laughing when Sergei and Dmitri walked past a couple while going into the club and Sergei was like “oh nice perfume” to the woman, and she said “I’m not wearing perfume”, and he sniffed again then looked at the boyfriend who had wide eyes - for a moment I thought they were making a joke about the boyfriend wearing perfume but then Sergei was like “she had to find out eventually” and I realised “ohhh he cheated on her and has another woman’s perfume, got it”. Had us all laughing in the cinema though, so 10/10 for that scene

Dmitri got really hammered and I think that’s adorable of him personally, that Sergei had to put him to bed like that 😭

Dmitri saying he forgives Sergei for leaving and that he knows the only reason Sergei comes back for his birthday every year is because he feels guilty?!? 😭

Sergei decides to sleep barefoot in the park where it’s allegedly quieter for him (which is bullshit because anyone who’s been in London knows that even at night it’s a fucking nightmare of noise)

“I was going to hold it open for you” “No you weren’t” ASDFHHKL

Not him telling that random man he hunts people like are you even trying to be low-key about being a serial killer at this point 😭 (cool motive but still murder-)

So the Rhino’s men went to Dmitri’s apartment to find Sergei and trashed the place, and they took Dmitri instead?!? Like you’re telling me they managed to figure out he had been to Dmitri’s apartment but they didn’t see him lying in a public park sleeping on the floor?!? 💀

I just want to know why Sergei didn’t put any shoes on before going up to the apartment, he had that whole lift ride to do it-

You can tell that most of the film is set in London because when Kraven is running through the streets barefoot and climbing shit, no one moves out of the way or blinks an eye 💀

THEY CUT OFF DMITRI’S FINGER?!? 😭

Nikolai really believes his legacy and power is more important than Dmitri’s life, which is why he refuses to pay a ransom… fucking hate that man-

Not Dmitri sassing the guard by mimicking him 😂 he got smacked bad for it but still, love him

I am still so confused about the Foreigner and his powers like…? Is it when he takes his glasses off, it’s to do with the eyes or…?

The whole monastery thing is a blur for me because I was trying to clean my glasses at this point and so the screen was literally a blur 😭

That guy recording on his phone like “We killed the Hunter!” Only for Sergei to appear behind him and go “no you didn’t” 💀

If I’m getting this right, the Rhino’s whole deal is that he was upset by Nikolai on that hunting trip years ago (when the boys were kids) saying he was weak, so he allowed himself to be experimented on so he’d be stronger, and now he has rock hard skin but he’s also in pain which is why he has to keep medicine in his backpack that’s fed to him through a tube into his side?!? And when he takes the tube out he goes from looking normal to the greyscale rhino shit?!?

I’m sorry to be that thirsty bitch but Fred looks so good in the turtleneck 😌

^Me too, mate, me too

There’s a scene where Kraven meets Calpyso off some kind of aircraft when she arrives in Russia or Serbia or wherever, and I’m so sorry but the line delivery Ariana DeBose gave was REALLY wooden and their conversation was clearly ADR work.

When it shifted to the next scene of them walking through a forest, it was so fucking jarring and I can’t put my finger on why exactly that is

Kraven wrestling with the leopard only for it to run away and he’s like “…knew her as a cub. She’s a lot bigger then last time” “?!?

So is Kraven just able to communicate and be a friend to all animals or…?

The whole second half of the film is a blur to me quite frankly, Calypso has to go to Serbia or wherever to stay with Kraven because her informant was working with the Rhino’s men, all the baddies went to go kill Kraven… I don’t know, man, a lot happened and my congestion was kind of coming back by this point, so…yeah

Some random lore drop: Calypso is good at archery because she learnt at camp, I think?

THE GASP I LET OUT WHEN KRAVEN USED THE BEAR TRAP ON THAT GUY’S FACE, WHAT THE FUCK-

The Foreigner uses this poison dart thing that apparently causes the person to see their deepest fears and then kills them, which is why Sergei starts hallucinating fucking spiders in the middle of the woods

So Sergei’s mother was driven insane because…she was seeing spiders? And she’s afraid of spiders which she’s passed on to Sergei?

(Me too, Sergei, me too 🥲)

I shouldn’t be surprised that Calypso saved Sergei by shooting the Foreigner with a crossbow especially since ten minutes before they made a point of her holding a bow and going “I’m good at archery” 💀 also that she just so happened to have some more of the magical strength “this can cure any injury” potion on her person so she could save Kraven

I’m being 100% serious when I say that my reaction to seeing The Rhino in his full form was “what in the actual fucking greyscale?!?”

Kraven stabbing the Rhino in that little hole where his medicine tube should be was so nasty 😭 and he was still fighting after that?!?

Bearing in mind the Rhino’s skin is indestructible enough to withstand being shot, I’m honestly surprised that being trampled by a buffalo herd was enough to do the man in 😐

When Dmitri appeared with the gun I thought that the film was dropping a “Dmitri was in cahoots with the Rhino all along” twist but…no. He was just wanting to shoot the Rhino but his brother wouldn’t let him (would it even have done anything though given the Rhino seems bullet proof?)

WAIT IS THE RHINO FUCKING DEAD?!? I THOUGHT HE WAS A HUGE SPIDERMAN VILLAIN IM SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW

This film had way too many bad guys for any of them to feel actually threatening: Nikolai (technically?), Rhino, Foreigner… they were all shoved in I guess

Nikolai was the one who leaked the video of his son being the Hunter who escaped prison etc like…? I thought Sergei was the favourite, bro, the fuck you doing-

HE REALLY TOOK THE BULLETS OUT HIS DAD’S GUN AND A BEAR KILLED NIKOLAI

Fred was so fucking hot in his last scene and a half, I’m sorry but I’m right, stop booing me-

The first two times we saw Fred lip sync in the earlier part of the film, it looked more believable that Dmitri was singing with someone else’s voice but maybe that’s because the camera didn’t linger too much…in this last scene though? Oh that was OBVIOUS lip syncing, again that could be an ADR/post production thing though?

Dmitri says that a doctor in New York did something to him…? Who? Is it Miles Warren or whatever the name Rhino mentioned earlier was?

Dmitri is pissed that Sergei killed their father, says Sergei is just like him, just “big game hunters searching for their next great trophy” and he’s…technically not really wrong?

BRO WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK-

So Sergei is trying to talk to Dmitri as he walks away across this busy London Bridge (I think it’s the Millennium Bridge?) and when Dmitri turns around he’s got Sergei’s face and speaks in Sergei’s voice…?? And then he walks away and his face goes all white and porcelain and blank before going back to being Fred?!?

SERGEI WAS GAGGED AND SO WAS I 😭

Fred looked hot as fuck though so I’m not going to complain

The film ends with Kraven going back to his dad’s London house, reading a note from his father and a vest made from the skin/fur of the lion he killed years ago, and Sergei puts it on before sitting in a chair in front of a mirror…and then the film just fucking ends?!?

There’s really no mid credits or post credits scene 😶

FRED HECHINGER THE MOVIE STAR YOU ARE

Final thoughts:

Honestly the film was okay. Not great but it was watchable and not the worst film I’ve seen (that honour is currently held by “Sausage Party”). “Mid” is a good word to be honest.

Listen I know I’m biased but I do truly think Fred was a highlight of this film 😭 the fact that Sony has already said they’re giving up on the SM villain universe thing they’ve had going on makes me sad because we probably won’t see more of Fred as Dmitri but given the reception some of the films have had… yeah.

I feel like this could have been a great movie if the editing and post production had been done better. And some of the lines, obviously, because there were some REALLY cringey lines in this film that not even the greatest of actors could save (I’m pretty sure a few of them were definitely the Rhino)

It makes me sad that you can tell ATJ was genuinely passionate about this character and doing him justice, but the material he was given let him down I think - again, that could be a mixture of editing and writing

Hearing F bombs dropped in a Marvel film just seems so strange to me 😭

Honestly, I think I’m probably giving this a 5.5/10, maybe 6/10 if I want to be generous. It was watchable and fun to watch while eating popcorn, which can be nice sometimes.

#kraven the hunter #kraven #dmitri smerdyakov #dmitri kravinoff #sergei kravinoff #nikolai kravinoff #marvel #fred hechinger #aaron taylor johnson #russell crowe

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castlebyersafterdark · 26 days ago

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I was always so confused why people think Will being emotional is a bad thing because I thought we as a society had mostly moved on from the “boys don’t cry” nonsense that used to plague us. I mean, it’s not like Will is the first emotional male protagonist! Based on how people act, you’d think every male protagonist was some kind of super stoic! Also, music culture had shifted tremendously, right? Was there not a whole era where emo music was popular, which led into emo rap music, both of which were male-dominated?

But then I realized that while guys are often allowed to be more emotional in music/in the arts, the top male artists currently are all more “traditional” cause there’s still that stigma (hence why morgan wallen will always be more popular than troye sivan). And even with male protagonists who are more sensitive/emotional (Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon, Samwise and Frodo, Luke Skywalker, Percy Jackson, Aang from ATLA, even Harry Potter!), there is still a tacit expectation that they’ll “grow out of it” and have their big, damn hero moment. People are STILL mad at Aang for not killing the Fire Lord and for being “whiny,” and many of them think he doesn’t “deserve” to be with Katara because of it.

Male characters like Will are truly rare, and I’d say they’re confined largely to indie films, but even so, most characters similar to Will are girls. And it’s not because Will is particularly flamboyant. He’s more “feminine” for sure, but still in a boyish way. He’s a boy with boy interests like star wars who is still deeply emotional and sensitive and artistic and kind- and that’s genuinely terrifying and confusing to people. I think a good analogue is Gordie in Stand By Me? But that came out a long time ago. And Will is probably more emotional.

Will is super rare, and a lot of people don’t know what to do with him, so they make him out to be this anime crybaby caricature, or they focus on his bowlcut. I value these kinds of traits in male characters, but so many people don’t, way more than I realized. People don’t see the massive amounts of quiet bravery he has. They just see this weak, useless, wimpy boy who cries, who can’t accept that Mike doesn’t like him like that, who “can’t even defend El from being bullied.” I saw this one Reddit post this week where someone was saying he should have punched those bullies in Cali, because everyone knows the only way to be a man is to use physical force 🙄

You see this in the recent american election too, with people- and not just fringe people, but people with huge influence like tucker carlson- casually calling tim walz “gay” because of his emotional demeanor, despite the fact that he’s a married heterosexual man who hunts and coaches football. Gender essentialism is back. People- even those who aren’t actively anti-LGBTQ rights- see everyone who doesn’t fit a narrow standard of masculinity as being a “soy cuck beta liberal,” and it’s so disheartening to see. And it doesn’t help that Will IS gay, so that adds to people not liking him (or not WANTING to relate to him). I think these people picked the wrong show to stan, but that can’t be helped now. They’re in for a rude awakening come Season 5 when Byler happens…

We have most definitely not moved on from men being emotional being seen as a bad thing or unacceptable. I think things do improve, I think there’s sometimes a perception that things are better/worse than they are. An annoying yes and no situation. Overwhelmingly - you do not get praised or rewarded by society by being emotional and a man. Or, hell, not emotional and a woman either but that's a whole other conversation.

But good examples, it's true many will love characters like those because of their sensitivity and how they tap into emotion - but many will cruelly criticize them. Will? Yeah, he cries on screen. For valid reasons. He tears up often and easily. I think it's healthy to let your emotions play out authentically and he's a male character who does that. And he's not rewarded. What are his two cliches by casual fans? Bowlcut. Crybaby. Ughh. Shut up.

It's a societal fear of vulnerability and men cannot be that, right? It's very pervasive, especially now it seems to have taken a big swing back this way.

Anyway. Will and his personality and reliance on emotional expression are reasons I personally love him as is the case for his fanbase. And as is the case with his writers/creators! That's how he's written. And it's not done as criticism. That's how he is. So, regardless of society at large - opposed to common belief, public opinion does not dictate what happens in the show. Our Will is our Will, exactly how he is, and I do agree. I think all too many are watching the wrong show.

#Queued #answering old asks

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lightofraye · 8 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/rrahuntersblog/751766278218350592/jensen-is-in-his-40s-married-for-over-15-years

Okay, I get people not liking to read about someone criticizing other people’s marriages. That’s totally fair.

But then don’t read posts that do so. Don’t seek them out just to try and prove them wrong. There is no “conclusively proving” exactly what any marriage you aren’t a part of is like. Hell, people often probably can’t even see their own marriage for what it is. Denial is a strong emotion, and all people have been involved in a frog-in-a-boiling-pot situation. It can be hard to hop out before you get cooked.

Okay. Sorry for that analogy. I got sidetracked.

Anyway, I wanted to comment on this because, while I think it’s admirable to stay out of other people’s business (most of the time), JA and DHA are public figures. Jensen telling stories about Danneel invites thought and speculation about their marriage.

And here’s the thing. What a lot of use hear in his stories is not good. Jensen paints a picture of a wife who is never happy with him, who orders him around like a child, who always tries to take him down a peg. Some of his stories are obviously trying to paint her in a “strong” and “independant” light, but often just make her look like a controlling bitch (sorry if that’s not a word you enjoy). The other stores he tells about her sound passive aggressive, like he’s purposely cutting her down but in a way that his obsessive fans don’t notice.

I don’t think Jensen is totally an innocent victim here, either. He has thrown her some truly contemtuous looks and bulldozed over her in shared interviews. He often looks at her like she’s an idiot (Same. To be honest). But, she is more blatantly belittling and underming than him.

Whether you believe Jensen is actively being abused or not (I would say he is emotionally at the very least), they appear to be a toxic couple. Danneel, when not cutting him down, seems to feed Jensen’s ego. And the more time he spends with her, the more arrogant he becomes. This could also be over-compensating for low self-esteem from being in a competitive career and having an unsupportive partner.

AAs like to claim that people hate on Danneel because they want to be her. But not only do I not want to be her, I respect and like Jensen less for tying himself to such a deeply shallow and unpleasant person.

Hi anon!

Wow! Thank you for a lengthy, but apt point to the other anon! (Also, Danneel is a bitch, come on, let's be honest. Though she's a cringey, trashy bitch.)

I agree with what you've said--I love Jensen, I support him, but I do not turn a blind eye to how he's been the last few years. He's in a downward spiral and a large part of it is because 1) he's away from a true friend (Jared), 2) been forced to relocate twice (Texas to Colorado, Colorado to Connecticut) to more expensive housing each time no less, 3) see his career basically crash and burn, now surviving on fumes and hand-outs from friends (yikes), and 4) is now in a lawsuit that literally names him and Danneel regarding a crewmember struck by lightning during The Winchester filming.

There's more, but I think I made my point. I see worrying signs and all I can do is sit back and watch, wishing I could reach out and yank him from the edge.

I can't.

This... this is a battle only he can fight. Danneel isn't there for him; she's the weight at his ankles that will drown him at this point.

They are not couple goals. They are not happy. They are miserable and they are poison for each other.

Uhhh... I might be in a bitchy mood. Ahem. Thank you for your input, anon.

#anti danneel #anti elta #jensen supportive #jensen concern

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denimbex1986 · 1 year ago

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'Six BAFTA nominations, universal critical acclaim, and not a dry eye in the house: Andrew Haigh’s ghostly gay romance All of Us Strangers is already the must-watch queer film of the year.

Based loosely on 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, All of Us Strangers follows Fleabag star Andrew Scott as a depressed and isolated queer writer in his forties, who is still reeling from the death of his parents three decades earlier.

In one week, his world changes: not only does he spark up a deep and beautiful romance with younger neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal), but he returns to his childhood home and reunites with his parents – despite them being dead.

Across weeks, he gets to have the vital, moving conversations with the apparitions of mum (Claire Foy) and dad (Jamie Bell) that he was too young to have when they passed, as his romance with Harry blossoms.

Though Yamada’s original novel features a straight protagonist, Andrew Haigh recently explained to PinkNews why he, as a gay man, couldn’t have told his version of the story without centring the queer experience.

“What I’ve always been interested in doing, and especially with this [film], is talking about queerness in relationship to family, and how complicated it can be in relationship to family,” he shared, “especially if you grew up in a generation of the ’80s and into the early ’90s, where it was very different than it is now – thank God.”

A turning point in All of Us Strangers comes when Adam comes out to his parents, who are stuck in the deeply homophobic Thatcher era, and their response is initially less than approving.

“Back then, it was a pretty rough time for a lot of kids growing up and growing into their sexuality. I felt like that adds so much to the story,” the Looking and Weekend creator shared.

“[Adam’s] not lonely because he’s gay. But being gay and coming from that time has made him feel separate in the world to some degree. It’s almost like the world has made him feel lonely.”

As part of the discourse surrounding the film, Paul Mescal has been forced to explain why it was OK for him, as a straight actor, to portray a gay character, arguing that it depends who is in the driving seat of the film.

Haigh has now explained that gay actor Andrew Scott was always going to take the lead role in the film over Paul Mescal, because the story needed to focus on a particular generation of gay men.

“It always had to be from Adam’s perspective,” the 50-year-old director explained.

“I’m the same age or a little bit older than Andrew Scott’s character. That was the generation that I wanted to talk about.”

The contrast between Adam and Harry is an exploration of how gay men of certain ages live their lives differently, even though they are all profoundly affected by the same trauma that can come with growing up queer.

“In many ways, [Harry] is slightly more liberated in the world, and hasn’t been burdened by some of the things that [Adam] has been burdened by. He releases some freedom in Andrew Scott’s character, which I think is really interesting,” Haigh shared.

“Once you’ve seen the film, you realise there’s also a sorrow and a sadness inherent in [Mescal’s] character too.”

Though it’s emotional, All of Us Strangers also highlights the beauty that comes with being able to live as your true self around those you love the most. In opening himself up to his parents, Adam is able to heal the wounds of their complicated relationship.

“I think it’s amazing how often we aren’t our true selves to people, even if people are still alive,” Haigh reflected.

“You still probably don’t have those difficult conversations that you need to have. I understand why we don’t have those difficult conversations; I think there’s a world inside [all] of us that is tormented and a little bit broken, that we’re trying to deal with almost every day of our lives.”

Haigh hopes the film will show that there is an alternative reality out there for those who don’t feel able to be themselves.

“I think the film for me was to say: ‘You know what, it’s OK. I get that you will feel like that, and there is a way out of that. You can find love and intimacy and be known and be understood.”

Rightfully so, All of Us Strangers is pulling in an impressive slate of award nominations – including a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film. It may have been shockingly snubbed by the Oscars, but Haigh is more assured to see the film resonating with so many queer people worldwide.

“It’s always quite surprising to me when something with queer content actually manages to break through and get talked about,” he admitted.

“Now I’m alright with it not being some big mainstream billion dollar because clearly, that’s never going to happen, and there will still be lots of people out there that won’t go and see this film because of the content, or what they think is the content.

“That’s a shame, because I feel like this is a film for everybody,” he added.

“But it’s amazing that it has been taken under the wing by a lot of people and I love that.”'

#Andrew Haigh #Weekend #All of Us Strangers #Paul Mescal #Andrew Scott #Oscars #Strangers #Taichi Yamada #Fleabag #Claire Foy #Jamie Bell #BAFTAs

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georgiapeach30513 · 23 days ago

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I saw a tweet and comments made by some critics online that severely annoyed me again so I’m here to rant about it 🙈😆.

Chris filmed three movies this year. All three of these movies are smaller scale, most of them probably aren’t even on the industry radar in terms of anticipated. They’re not being lauded as such either. They’re smaller and more niche and also interesting. Critics ignore this and continue to harp on R1 over and over and I’m like…girl who hurt you???

Chris’s career outside the MCU has mostly been about doing smaller scale indie projects. Outside of lightyear, he hasn’t joined any existing franchise sequels, IPs, or even any reboot franchises.

Gray man was a one off. (Well with hopes to be something more but again, that’s a Russos Netflix and Ryan gosling thing to worry about. Chris’s character died onscreen so obviously he wasn’t doing it to be added onto to a franchise)

Pain hustlers was a one off.

Ghosted a one off.

Fly me to the moon was supposed to be his role but got transitioned to Channing Tatum.

Red one was an original story with hopes to expand potentially but still a new story with no existing IP to draw from. The franchise talk would have been for the rock and maybe JK, not Chris.

Yet this Twitter account and some fans and critics are acting like Chris is only choosing roles that he thinks can make him money via a big paycheck and not paying attention to art. I’m like…have you seen the rest of this industry? Every single big movie this year is a sequel or existing IP or remake. wtf do you mean then??

I am tired. Chris has every right to choose the projects he desires and he does not owe anyone an explanation for why he does not seem to go for “awards bait” or serious films with Oscar potential.

And let’s be honest, the projects he has chosen that HAD award potential have historically gone ignored or been paid dust.

So he is doing what he wants. How is doing a smaller scale indie film with a new director (Romain) mean he has nowhere to go but marvel? How are these criticisms fair?

I’ve been POed at the industry hate for red one and it’s been bothering me like no other because the Rock too has been ridiculed for months and the industry won’t seem to let him and Chris (by a lesser extension) forget it. Like we get it. You hate the movie and you’re mad it got made. But talk to seven bucks and Amazon about it. Talk to every big studio that continues to fund these projects and ignore the smaller indie films with quality and then we can talk. Blaming Chris for existing isn’t going to help small films get made and popcorn BS stop getting made.

FWIW, Red One is STILL making money. The audiences are generally loving it and it got an A minus cinema score and people are actually still showing up despite the critics bashing and the fact they have Moana 2, Gladiator, wicked, and now fifty other films to choose from. Just because somebody didn’t like this film does not mean it’s a complete failure and that makes it Chris’s fault.

Also…returning to marvel. Okay, so everyone else is allowed to return to marvel and continue to work with marvel but Chris. Is that it? Was he supposed to just leave after endgame and then go on and win awards and that was his only option?? Why isn’t he doing better or where he should be? Well why does the industry always ignore him for virtually everything he has done? He did just as much to create the MCU legacy as RDJ. But RDJ is the one they wanted to treat like a king. Chris is always tossed to the side and you want people to wonder why he doesn’t try harder to make himself be seen differently? Scott pilgrim takes off won a critics choice award. It’s a smaller project but it was a passion project for both Edgar, the creators, and the live action cast. It paid off for everyone and the fans and they don’t want to milk it more so no plans to do a season 2. The same thing for Defending Jacob. Chris has always shown he’s passionate about things that interest him and if he’s allowed to make some extra cash, why not?

Most of these people don’t even think he’s capable of awards anyway so why are so many always whining about how he’s not doing things that can get him awards? Calling him lazy and worthless when literally he’s done three movies this year and he was promoting red one at the same time.

It’s so ridiculous to me.

You know I've had this conversation a lot recently. I really want to know why Chris is held to an impossible standard when it comes to his movie roles. People act as if he has the cure to cancer, and refuses to let anyone have it, and he's just acting. We don't know why he chooses the roles he does, nor is it our business. Chris is carving out his career.

He's never struck me as someone who wanted to make mostly award bait movies. There's nothing wrong with an actor who does choose to do that, just like there's nothing wrong with Chris' career path. As someone who is a Sebastian AND Chris fan, I can acknowledge the vast differences between these actors, even though too many want to pit them against each other. I've also said that I find Chris' movies to be a bit easier to rewatch than Seb's. And that's not taking away from his talent. I think Seb is probably one of the best actors of his generation. But I don't have a strong urge to rewatch Fresh or The Devil All the Time.

I don't see too many people criticizing Tom Cruise's movie choices, and how he always returns to Mission Impossible. How many failed movies has he had? What about Channing Tatum? Or even Ryan Reynolds? Are all his movies the best movie of the year? And yest constantly Chris is held to this standard that nobody could sustain. It's weird. And I promise you, Red One is not the worst movie of the year. Not by a long shot. But hey, sometimes it takes talent to have actual lines of dialogue.

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robothyenawasteland · 2 years ago

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I think a contributing factor to this ongoing OGL mess is Hasbro/WotC higher-ups conflating “dnd” with “Dungeons & Dragons.”

We’re really talking about two things here. There’s one thing: a tabletop roleplaying rules system for playing out fantasy-themed scenarios with dice, figurines, and character sheets.

And then there is THE FORGOTTEN REALMS©, a proprietary fantasy setting featuring creatures like beholders©, Githyanki©, and the dreaded mind flayers©, not to mention fan-favorite characters like Drizzt Do’Urden©! THE FORGOTTEN REALMS takes place on the continent of Faerûn©, on the planet Toril©, which used to be called Abeir-Toril©, which was the case until the dreaded Spellplague©--

You get the idea. From the perspective of ‘the suits,’ they’ve watched DnD take off since the advent of 5th edition, as the game expanded beyond what was previously thought possible. What triggered it? The OGL, certainly, allowing people to make third-party content for the game (most of it not Forgotten Realms). Critical Role (also not Forgotten Realms) played a part. Probably, to a certain extent, sheer intertia. DnD, it turns out, is pretty good for playing fantasy-themed scenarios with dice, figurines, and character sheets. Incidentially, people sometimes pick-and-choose pieces of the Forgotten Realms(©) to include in their games. Sometimes people even use WotC’s first-party adventure books and tweak them to suit their needs.

My sneaking suspicion is that the people at the top don’t really see it that way. To them, the visuals, the details, especially the Named Characters and Things, are one in the same with the rules system. The rules system is, indeed, quite secondary! Why, after all, would people be buying all these little WizKids DnD figurines, signing up for DnDBeyond, if they were not having canon-appropriate adventures in The Forgotten Realms©, in cities like Waterdeep© and Baldur’s Gate©?

To them, the OGL constitutes people being able to muck about and muddy the waters in their pond. Why, they might do things that cut against canon, possibly confusing readers who happen across them! This could be dreadful. This could damage the brand. And the brand is the Forgotten Realms and the characters, creatures, spells, and scenarios therein, all of which are ripe for further use in movies, novels, video games, comic books, NFTs, and other stuff.

You might say, “How does OGL content conflict with Hasbro/WotC’s official releases? It’s not like a third-party is going to release a competing film, or something that could challenge their market dominance.” You aren’t thinking like a corpo (that’s from Cyberpunk). Consider Nintendo’s highly litigious stamping-out of fan content. Disney’s ironclad control over images of the Mouse. Neither have anything like the OGL, of course, but similar logic animates the DnD situation: things which could pose a problem should be stymied before they can ever become a problem. An unsecure (from their perspective) OGL is a time bomb waiting to blow, with the potential for someone to make a lot of money using their rules (rules which, remember, exist in subservience to their copyrighted settings) in a way that undermines their careful image management.

So, I think that’s why they want to corral the OGL into something more secure, from their perspective. Why risk it, when the thing you want more than anything is a customer base that sees it the way you do, a rules-system and setting that cannot be unspooled from one another?

(If you want my other opinion, its that Hasbro is a publicly-traded company, and DnD is now a significant chunk of their revenue, and that means Line Must Go Up, or Investors Get Mad.)

#dnd #dndbeyond #rpg #ttrpg #ogl #ogl 1.0a #wotc #Dungeons and Dragons

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destinyc1020 · 4 months ago

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You are right, fans shouldn’t compare actors. But when as fans you see other actors having movies that aren’t well received by critics or don’t do much money at the box and You don’t see the media writing essays about how bad they performed, then you see Tom and how everything he fails is overblown, how his play was insanely criticized because his co star was black, when other actors have had black leads and nobody blinked an eye or cared. We as fans see this and feel that is so unfair to Tom. If Tom had been the lead in a movie like Challengers, I can bet on that the media would had written essays calling him a flop because the movie underperformed at the box office. It seems all the actors have a free pass but Tom is not allowed to. Even NWH having the other Spider-Men, instead of becoming something good, help to create this narrative that he is not good enough and Sony should do more movies with the others.

If Tom had been the lead in a movie like Challengers, I can bet on that the media would had written essays calling him a flop because the movie underperformed at the box office. It seems all the actors have a free pass but Tom is not allowed to. Even NWH having the other Spider-Men, instead of becoming something good, help to create this narrative that he is not good enough and Sony should do more movies with the others.

I'm sorry, but I had to stop reading when you claimed that "Challengers" "UNDERperformed" at the box office.

Last I checked, Challengers did pretty well at the box office! Especially considering that it was a film that wasn't based on a franchise, a sequel, and wasn't part of a huge IP and had an original screenplay.

I mean, these smaller films are doing pretty well imo. It probably did BETTER than expected actually.

And since when has Tom had a box office film that was called a "flop" Anon? Seriously.... I'm waiting. From what I've seen, most of Tom's films since Spiderman have done pretty well at the box office? Maybe CW would have been a flop had it actually come out to theaters, but it didn't.... it went straight to streaming. 🤷🏾‍♀️

So which imaginary film is this that you've said Tom has had come out to theaters, and he's been called a "flop"? I swear sometimes you all just make stuff up. 🤦🏾‍♀️ The Avengers films did AMAZING at the box office, the Spiderman films did awesome at the box office, Uncharted did amazingly well (even surprisingly well) at the box office. Sooo...... 👀

And what actors are you saying get a "free pass"??? I just posted an article where Tom Hardy's film with Austin Butler got called a "flop". Tom Hardy didn't get a free pass did he? 🥴

Look, you can't take these media articles this seriously. EVERY single actor has had a bad review of their film or TV show at SOME point in their lives. Guess what... they're still acting!

Some people HATED the "Venom" films. Well guess what? Tom's 3rd Venom movie is STILL coming out in the future.

Like seriously y'all.... 🙄

Please see my points above ☝🏾

how his play was insanely criticized because his co star was black, when other actors have had black leads and nobody blinked an eye or cared. We as fans see this and feel that is so unfair to Tom.

Now hold up. ✋🏾

I know you're not going to blame the racist hate that Fran got from weirdos online, and put that as "proof" of Tom getting crapped on?

SERIOUSLY Anon? 🤨 That's a horrible take. Not to mention, it's very insensitive and dismissive to Fran, when SHE was the one who was at the brunt of the backlash and hatred. 😒

Anything that I've read about Tom's play had nothing but good things to say about Tom's performance! Maybe some didn't care for the austere vibe of the stage set, or didn't really care for some of Jamie's decisions with regards to this play, but I rarely saw anyone criticizing Tom's acting in the play. And if the crowd size is just a snippet of how people felt about this play, then I'd say that most of the general public liked it? 😅

The play sold out in HOURS with just Tom's name being announced Anon. 😒 Idk how anyone can say that this was a "flop".

With regards to Tom's other projects on streaming platforms, I actually recall TDATT getting pretty good reviews? 🤷🏾‍♀️ And with Cherry and TCR, the critics may have had issues with the Russo brothers and their directorial choices, or with Akiva and his writing or his refusal of wanting critics to mention DID in their reviews, but that's not TOM'S fault Anon.

Anon, as long as an actor is an actor, they are GOING to get bad reviews. It's just a fact of life.

Every actor has a "flop" at some point in their career. Even the great Meryl Streep. Yes, even Mr. Timmy Chalamet. 😏

youtube

"Bones & All"... hello?? 🥴

But look, there are plenty of smaller and indie films out here that aren't MEANT to be box office kings. They are just made for the art of film. "Saltburn", "Challengers", "The Bikeriders", "Bones and All", "Kinds of Kindness", etc.

I think fans need to stop looking at Tom's work as always needing to be on the level of Spiderman success and acclaim. Just be happy for Tom that he's doing the types of work that he wants to do! 😊

Whether critics like it or not, oh well!? 🤷🏾‍♀️ I'm sure Tom isn't taking on projects for critic review. Most actors take on roles because the script or the story appeals to them in some way.

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acglobalcinema · 2 years ago

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Blog 5

Throughout my blog entry experience, I have focused on the somewhat well known director Romain Gavras. I say a somewhat well known director because he is also known for wearing many different hats, like producing music vidoes. I have seen a few tweets and posts here and there regarding Romain and who he is. I attribute that to his dating history as he was known for being in a relationship with Dua Lipa… which can speak some volume.

This image was the photo that spread like wildfire…

Anyways, through my journey I have developed my own opinion towards this director so I was curious to see what critics have said about him as well. I found one critic who wrote about Romain back in 2010, which intrigued me to see if he has any character development. The critic named Lauren Cochrane started her review by setting an image in my mind. She described him as a smoker with a trucker's mouth and this bad boy attitude. I was surprised to find out that Romain does not have the best reputation on youtube, which is more in regards to his music videos. Romain has developed a very controversial title, many critics seem to not bat an eye at this man. Romain lives up to this reputation of the bad boy attitude. When confronted with the controversial title he repsoned with, “If I wanted to be controversial, I would ahve Nazis raping children or something”. Overall Romain Gavras is not loved by most critics.

Here he is, smoking that cigarette.

Here is a link to Lauren Cochranes post in the Gaurdian.

Jay-Z & Kanye West - No Church In The Wild ft. Frank Ocean, The-Dream

This video is one of the music videos Romain did, it was for Jay-Z and Kanye West's “No Church In The Wild”. This video alone has over 100 million views. Even though this video is over ten years old, there are a lot of similarities to his 2022 movie Athena. There seems to be a heavy focus on violence, fighting, and political war. There were even some moving camera techniqes I saw in the video that seemed to be the same as some of the ones in Athena. Made me question his development overtime, if he really has gotten any new ideas or skills?

Athena- | fight scene | Athena fight clips| Athena 2022-

This video shows one of the most intense battle scenes in the movie where you can see a bottle being lit on fire and thrown on the ground just like what happened in the 2010 music video.

In addition to focusing on Romain Gavras I chose to focus heavily on one of his most recent films called Athena. I knew about this movie before doing my blogs because luckily this movie was released on Netflix, which was where it got its popularity from. Critic Tomris Laffly probably sums up the movie the best. He said, “You arent likelky to see a more rightfully angry film this year than “Athena”, a non-atop opus examining the racism, inequality, and police violence that wreak havoc on France's banlieue communities of color”. I do not think you could get a better cover of what Athena is.

This is the link to more of what Tomris has to say about Athena.

Here is a picture of just one of the intense scenes in Athena, taking in all the chaos and movement even though this is a paused moment in time.

There is another critic A.O Scott, who seems to be very impressed by the filmmaking of this movie. He said that he thought that it was technically impressive. In Athena we see many long shots, and unique camera skills. Scott describes this work as these breathless takes. Critic Justin Chang also talked heavily about the camera work. Something he noted was how this film was done in a way that made it seem like it was all done in one shot, which speaks to the camera skills in this directing. Finally, critic John Serba thought that the technique in this film was marvelous. That seems to be the overall review of the film. People are blown away by the camera work and directing skills Romain has. Although they are just as equally impressed by the message of the film. How it captures violence, police btrutality and racism perfectly for the time and place.

Here is the link to A.O Scott review

Here is the link to Justin Changs review

Here is the link to John Serbas review

Here is an image that captures the power and strength in the movement these brothers started, they are quite literally facing the battle ahead and they look ready for it.

ATHENA - Fuite du commissariat (VF)

This video is another fast-paced scene of one of the moments from the political movement.

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raincitygirl76 · 1 year ago

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Everybody acts like a pair of minors who got sexually violated are the ones who did something wrong. It’s important for Simon to say, “We haven’t done anything wrong,” and for Wilhelm to acknowledge it by saying, “No, we haven’t.” Wille eventually got talked out of that entirely accurate summary of the situation by his mother. But Simon said it, Simon was right, and at least in the moment, Wille believed him.

I have my criticisms of Linda Eriksson’s parenting, but she was the only adult in the entire show who ever suggested filing a police report. And she first did so in 1.06, when every other adult was running around like a chicken with their head cut off worrying about the scandalous bad publicity. Linda saw clearly that a crime had been committed against her son and his boyfriend. The royal court surely has highly-paid lawyers on staff, or at least on retainer. But it took Linda, a lowly nurse, to speak the truth. Not that she was in a position to do much about it, but points to her for suggesting it.

I also think it’s ironic that Linda, the working class immigrant from Latin America, is the only one who thinks of involving the police. We don’t know for sure which country Linda is from. But there is a pretty widespread perception in the Anglosphere (and I suspect also in non-English-speaking Western Europe) that Latin American law enforcement and military are highly likely to be corrupt and to violently repress their citizens.

That said, law enforcement in the Anglosphere and Western Europe is also highly likely to be corrupt and to violently repress their citizens (particularly the ones who aren’t white). It’s truly astonishing how often body cameras and police car dashboard cameras malfunction. And by an incredible coincidence, those malfunctions almost always seem to happen during an incident of alleged police brutality. The rest of the time the technology works just fine. It’s a scientific puzzle.

But the public perception among most middle class white people in the Anglosphere (and probably also in non-English-speaking Western Europe) has long been that Latin American police and military are violent symbols of “banana republic” corruption and brutality. And in the pocket of either drug cartels or authoritarian leaders, whoever pays the most.

So here we are at an elite boarding school in Sweden. Considered to be one of the least corrupt nations in the world, socially liberal, a good country to be queer in. 2 minors (both boys, incidentally) are filmed from outside a bedroom window at the school, having consensual sex and obviously unaware there’s a voyeur filming them. Then the voyeur leaks the tape all over the internet. Crisis!

Lots of highly educated, highly paid upper class white adults descend upon the crisis, including the queen and her courtiers. You can’t get any more upper class than the hereditary head of state, from a dynasty that’s been in power for 200 years. Queen Kristina is as upper class as it gets, and her only surviving child is one of the victims. Surely justice will be done.

And yet none of the upper class white Swedes in this bastion of supposed non-corruption can look beyond the scandal aspect. The Crown Prince being filmed going down on another boy will destroy his (false) image of heterosexuality, trigger a potential succession crisis, and destabilize the monarchy. None of them, not even the lawyers, seem to realize (or care) that a sex crime was committed. Against the Crown Prince, of all people. And you’d expect that, if any minor were to be protected by the establishment, Sweden’s future king would be that minor.

But no. It takes a poor, brown, immigrant single mom (who probably grew up in a country where the police were justifiably feared by everybody except their paymasters) to say, “My son and his boyfriend were victimized by a sex offender. We need to file a police report so this criminal can be tracked down and prosecuted.” Linda Eriksson shows far more faith in Swedish justice in 1.06 than any other adult. The rest of them are busy putting the fix in to protect said sex offender from the consequences of his actions.

You’re right. We’re doing this together.

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alarrytale · 7 months ago

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That’s not what I meant about shipping. There’s shipping A (thinking two people are cute together) and shipping B (making or sharing fanfic, art, edits about real people.) Most people that are anti RPF are against the latter. The former is mostly grounds for speculation, which has its own group of critics. Most het shippers fall in shipping A category and slash shippers in shipping B category. Larries are interesting because most of the fandom falls in column A and column B.

Hi again, anon!

I can't disagree with you more.

Shipping (derived from the word relationship) is the term for the desire by followers of a fandom for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters (in film, literature, television series, etc.), to be in a romantic or sexual relationship. Shipping often takes the form of unofficial creative works, including fanfiction and fan art.

Source

Speculating that two people are in a relationship isn't shipping. Noticing that two people are in a relationship, but are forced to hide it isn't shipping. Wanting two people to be together because of your own desires is shipping and expressing and honering that relationship through art and fan fiction is shipping. So anti RPF people are basically against shipping when it comes to real people. And you making a destinction A and B where the divide is het shipping (which is okay) and slash shipping (less okay) does read a bit homophobic, i have to say.

Also, the reason why slash shippers are writing more fics, doing more art and edits is because of lack of canonical gay relashionships and gay representation. Het shippers don't need to do this, because they can open any book and read about het relationships, and they can look at any art and see love between a man and a woman. So they way het shippers express themselves is usually through projecting onto the woman in the relationship. There is also nothing stopping a man and a woman from being together (if you don’t ship two people married to other people like Ryan Reynolds with Victoria Beckham), so het shippers usually only ship people where it's suggested there is something there (like Sidney Sweeney and Glen Powell).

Larries aren’t shippers at all. It's sort of offensive that you think i've been here for over a decade because i badly need these two men to be together. I came into this fandom because i thought they were together and were already out! I thought how brave of them and how refreshing. I want to support them and their music. And then it turned out they were actually forcibly closeted and trying to tell us how much they love each other through signalling to the fandom. The shipping aspect of the larry fandom (art and fanfiction) is scondary to supporting H and L against a homophobic industry. I don't think there are any larries who is like "I don't care about how H and L and their relationship are repressed and that they are forced to stunt, look at the new fic i just posted instead".

Larries are people who recognise love between to people who are forced to hide it. Larries are supporting their want to be together and to be open about it. If they weren't actually together, there would probably be a lot of larry shippers, because of their chemisty, who would want them to be together. I think there's currently very few larry shippers in this fandom. Because after all these years, either you know they're actually together or you buy into the enemy narrative and think that shipping them would be hurtful to them. So the current number of larry shippers is low. You are either all in or all out.

Anyways, i think anti RPF people need a long and hard think about why they deem something as okay and other things as not okay, and if any of this is rooted in homophobia or if it's about their own lack of understanding the inportance of representation, and of normalisation of gay relashionships...

#i think we just have to agree to disagree on this one anon #shipping #fandom

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olko71 · 1 year ago

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New Post has been published on https://yaroreviews.info/2023/10/what-does-tiktoks-egx-sponsorship-mean-for-the-games-industry

What does TikTok's EGX sponsorship mean for the games industry?

BBC Sport

By Andrew Rogers

BBC Newsbeat

Walk around EGX, the UK’s biggest video games show in London’s Docklands, and you’ll see bright lights, demos for the latest games, and plenty of colourful cosplay.

But this year you’ll also see something else – TikTok logos everywhere.

The company is now the show’s main sponsor, signing a three-year deal to support it.

It’s probably no secret that TikTok is looking to muscle in on games content – it’s a rapidly growing area for the platform, another category it wants to expand into alongside music and films.

According to its own figures, gaming posts racked up more than 3 trillion views last year.

But video games content is a crowded field, still ruled by YouTube and live streaming site Twitch, although that’s seen some high-profile users move to rivals like Kick.

Some creators say they’ve managed to boost their audience via TikTok, such as Sophie, known to her 500,000-plus followers as Cadaea.

After struggling to build an audience on Twitch for a “good eight years”, she started posting news and views on games on TikTok.

“The discoverability on Twitch isn’t very good,” says Sophie, adding that the competitive platform is dominated by big-name streamers like Ninja and Pokimane.

She believes TikTok is to thank for her boosted following, and it’s going pretty well for her.

“I actually quit my full-time job earlier this year in investment banking to pursue content creation, which is pretty insane if you ask my parents,” says Sophie.

“However, the money is out there.”

On an app with more than three billion downloads, not everyone can become a star. And how much money those who make it actually get from TikTok is a source of debate at the moment.

The app recently revised its payment programme, and some creators have claimed the amounts received vary massively from video-to-video.

On the EGX show floor, Dorrani, known as 100PercentCrit, tells Newsbeat there’s more to be made from brand deals, as with other social media apps.

“There’s career paths here in content creation,” he says.

“You’d be very, very surprised at the money that can be earned. But I don’t think it’s from the sense that people would think.”

TikTok’s UK head of gaming and sports Rollo Goldstaub tells Newsbeat the app is “becoming a more influential part of how games are discovered”.

He believes the app can give smaller developers a chance to go viral.

That’s what happened to the makers of Billie Bust Up – a colourful musical platformer that flooded For You Pages after being boosted by the app’s algorithm.

The small team behind the game said their Kickstarter crowdfunder to raise money for the project hit its target in 48 hours after the viral moment.

“It was a big surprise. A big, big surprise,” says Ash, one of Billie Bust Up’s creators, who’s showcasing a demo of the game at EGX.

“The fact that people are so interested is a big motivator and a big help.”

Rollo claims stories like this are an example of TikTok helping indie developers to reach new audiences.

“The playing field has truly been levelled. The barrier to entry is low. You only need a phone and internet signal.”

But there’s still space for big companies to get their products into your feeds the old-fashioned way – by paying to boost content.

It’s not unique to TikTok, and something big developers such as Activision Blizzard have done for their new releases across most big social networks.

Gaming conventions aren’t the only place you’ll see TikTok’s logo. UFC, the Women’s Rugby Six Nations and Burnley FC’s women’s squad have all been sponsored by the app this year.

The Chinese-owned app is often the subject of negative headlines and criticism, and there’s been talk of banning it among some US politicians.

Could sponsoring some of our favourite hobbies and sports be a way to create positive associations in the people who actually use it every day?

Rollo insists that’s not the case and TikTok wants to be a “friend to games”.

With apps constantly adding features offered by other social media apps to keep users on their platforms for longer, is TikTok looking to follow Netflix and start making games itself?

“There are no plans”, Rollo says, but adds that the company tests new features all the time.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.