#the one who doesn't want to be part of a 'messianic cult' who is her own constituency of one

[palukoo]

this is really super niche but the "amy is dcos and josh is the lobbyist role reversal" au

ooh see this is right up my alley, but also very hard for me specifically bc i do think their paths make a lot of sense for each character and that juxtaposition works really well for them but! i like the idea!!

amy's floating from job to job, as she does, when jed's really starting to think about running and starting to campaign, and she maybe offhandedly comes up in conversation about hiring since she's an old friend of the bartlets' or at least abbey. abbey reaches out to her, and amy's hesitant to take on a campaign, to work for one man instead of with a bunch of women, but it's jed, and she agrees to do some consulting, and then falls in love with the campaign and the work they're doing, and accidentally just... stays (there’s probably some grand speech from jed that convinces her and it’s a really beautiful scene)

amy and leo are not two people i think about interacting with each other a lot so this is fun but! i think they’re both a little iffy on each other at first. like, leo gets that amy’s an old bartlet family friend and really good at politics and legislative stuff and debate prep and whatever, but i don’t really think he gets her... humor, i guess? and he does sort of recognize that she’s a little volatile, and doesn’t have that insane loyalty, and that makes him really hesitant about her. and amy can sort of feel that distrust, and also probably gets into a big argument about something political with him early on (and like, with jed too, and jed takes leo’s side-- jed taking amy’s side at some point would also make a really good scene) but like. she ends up being really right about something, or makes a sort of sacrifice for the campaign, or does something really... idealistic, or pushes jed to, and leo is kind of like, oh, i get it, we do need her. and starts being better about like listening to her, and pushing her ideas with jed and that sort of thing. it’s probably more stilted than josh and leo in a lot of ways, but also i really like this conceptually now. i have a lot of thoughts

josh is working for hoynes and super disillusioned by it, and instead of getting approached by leo to work for the campaign, some old friend with a lobbying firm or some like. sort of activism group offers him a job. he doesn’t want to take it at first but ends up listening to their points on some bill, bringing it up with hoynes and being shut down, and leaving. (he argues with hoynes over social security in canon which is like. important obviously in real world politics but doesn’t quite have the pathos i’m looking for. im not sure what i want him to be doing. gay rights would be really self indulgent but hey! i could also see some type of economic reform stuff or like reforms to the political process, which would be fun.) he’s glad that hoynes doesn’t win the primaries, really, and he’s even more glad that bartlet wins the general, but he’s not super involved

honestly inserting amy into any early josh plot rotates between hilarious, interesting in what changes, and super sad! like amy arguing with the religious right in the pilot? iconic. amy getting shot? painful. also just generally amy being there with the rest of them makes me very happy bc y’all know i love amy&cj and amy&toby and amy&jed (she will absolutely keep poking him with a stick in this!!). but also why change any of the romance subplots? let amy and mandy be exes! (i’m mostly joking because i think they would get along better, usually, than josh gets along with either of them and would make really good friends, but they would argue about politics and publicity sometimes. amy would probably be much kinder to her than anyone else about the memo). let her be absolutely terrible at hitting on joey lucas! (again, joking-- amy is still a mess abut relationships and feelings but she can actually flirt). i also really like the dynamics you’d see with amy in the ms plot, because i think she’d also be more upset with abbey than most of the rest of them are

how you get josh into the plot depends a lot on what issue i’m having him on, but instead of amy reaching out to abbey, josh probably reaches out to his old family friend leo, and leo sends amy to talk to him, and there you go! idk, with who they are and the structure this lends itself to, i kind of feel like amy may be more of josh’s side of whatever than josh was with her. the other thing is, i don’t see the reversed plot playing out where amy makes josh lose his job (less because i think she wouldn’t for a good reason, more because i don’t see him taking the same risks she does) but idk, whatever, eventually you have amy do something volatile and yk sorta fuck some things up, and leo brings josh in for legislative affairs (kind of like with angela blake but i promise somehow she would be here in this au, too, and also probably much less successfully since josh is also a mess), which naturally freaks amy the fuck out. amy’s had at least 20 “i’m going to be fired” crises before this, but like this is one of them! she kind of hates josh for it and argues with him (and leo) a lot, but they do end up making some progress

[vvakarians]

If this person on Monday wants to be my therapist they're going to get blasted in the face with so much shit. My current mood atm is being wildly angry at my mother for lying to me/not correcting me about saying that I'm Ashkenazi Jewish when current DNA tests say I have 0-.9% lmao and then leaving me with the gut wrenching fear I've been appropriating a religion and culture for 25 years that wasn't mine in the first place. But also giving me the lived experience of a Jewish person who was religiously traumatized by Evangelical Christians and Baptists who indoctrinated them into the Jews for Jesus/Messianic Jewish cult. And to have it be shakily confirmed that we're Mizrahi Jewish instead by DNA sites after the fact and wanting to shake my mother and demand to know what our heritage actually is.

Like I understand that to other people it doesn't matter but there's so many layers to this lmao and I just want to know what Jewish community I belong to, if any, so I can properly take part in my own culture. I know that it's hard considering my grandmother was adopted and is also dead now so I can't ask her anything, but they went through this whole thing contacting the relatives of my grandma and what not. And the one relative I might be related to never got back to me about my grandmother's bio father being Jewish or not LMAO

TLDR; I am Schrödinger's Jew and it is both hilarious and absolutely frustrating

[revchainsaw]

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Prayers and Salutations Cult Members! I am your mysterious minister Reverend Chainsaw and this is another nights revival service at the Cult Film Tent Revival. I bring you a special word tonight. Tonight's word is about a person who roamed the earth, in a time where people were backward and warlike. A leader emerged into a kingdom full of eschatological expectation. This leader came preaching peace, and was killed for the sins of the world, but was resurrected. In that resurrection a new hope was brought to the planet, and true healing through the power of love in the face of violence is made possible. I am talking of course about Princess Nausicaa from the Valley of the Wind.

The Message

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is the film that put studio Ghibli and Hayoa Miyazaki on the map. No animated feature this grandiose and epic had been achieved by 1984, as much as Disney may beg to differ. The tale may be simple, and it may feel super 80s to us today, but Nausicaa is a masterpiece, and the fact that Howl's Moving Castle is brought up alongside Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away more often than Nausicaa is a farce and a tragedy.

The film takes place on a fantastic planet that seems to have suffered the ravages of an apocalyptic war. A war that involved gigantic warriors with powers so devastating they about made the entire planet inhospitable if not uninhabitable; save for a few areas. The fall out of this ancient war has left the earth in a state of repair, where the natural processes of a planet healing has creating giant toxic jungles.

Beyond these jungles lie two imperialistic factions, they seem almost to be city-states but it's not terribly clear. The Kingdom of Tolmekia, a militaristic proto-fascist society of almost Spartan sensibilities. Tolmekia is governed by the ambitious and cynical Princess Kushana, But I like to call her Furiosa. Just like Furiosa, Kushana is physically missing parts of herself, a visual metaphor for her metaphysical lacking and the parts of her humanity she has cut away. Kushana's world view is one of fear, a fear that can only be quelled by waging a genocidal campaign against her enemies.

Speaking of enemies, the Athens to Tolmekias Sparta would be the Pejite Kingdom. The Pejites might like to view themselves as simply responding to Tolmekian aggression, but the narrative of the film, and the story told quite visibly on the body of Kushana, is quite different. The Pejites are just as bloodthirsty if not more palettable in their approach, but like the Tolmekians, they believe only their own lives have any value. And thus, in this theatre of war, a Giant Warrior from the ages before is unearthed by the Pejite Kingdom, Stolen by the Tolmekians, before the forces of nature themselves, seem to conspire to drop the Giant Warriors "egg" right into the Valley of the Wind.

The Valley of the Wind is populated like the world of Avatar the Last Airbender, that is mostly of children and the elderly. The people of the Valley have been able to remain untouched by the ravages of war and the toxic jungles of the damaged world primarily due to geographic luck that's explained in minor exposition in the film. They are ruled by a King, and they are all deeply enamored by their beloved Princess Nausicaa.

Nausicaa is a gentle soul. She is kind to animals, she is empathetic, unreasonably patient, and bears pain and grief inflicted on her out of cruelty with a saintly understanding. She really is a thinly veiled Christ figure, scratch that. There is no veil. But she's also my favorite Christ figure. She does not preach a message, as much as she tries to save everyone from their own short sighted goals. She is not perfect, she does lash out and do some fantasy sword fight murder, but she regrets her actions so deeply that it seems to have played a part in motivating her to become even more compassionate and patient with the evils of the world.

Nausicaa discovers yet another plot by the Pejites, who are afraid of the possibility of the Tolmekians awakening the Giant Warrior, to use animal cruelty to enrage a group of almost invincible giant insects known as the Ohm. By luring the Ohm into the Valley of the Wind where the Tolmekians have become an occupying force, they hope to completely wipe out everything that threatens them. The Tolmekians DO awaken the Giant Warrior and pure pandemonium ensues. Nausicaa manages to save the Baby Ohm and calm the rage of the bloodthirsty Ohm swarm, and to defeat the warlike tendencies of both the Pejites and the Tolmekians. All the while fulfilling a prophecy fortold about a messianic savior figure called the Man in Blue.

Now that you have heard the Gospel of Nausicaa, please stand to receive The Benediction.

Best Character: Half a Person

Now that I've spent the better part of this review gushing about our Lord and savior Nausicaa. I have to admit, she's at times a bit too perfect, a bit too saccharin. Even her flaw, or her one weakness and her failing to be perfect, just adds to the perfection. I can't even say she never makes mistakes cuz she made one, and that's infuriating. It's even more infuriating that I still think she's a great character. Normally this kind of thing really kills a hero. Most Chosen Ones are the most boring and least likeable characters in their narratives. I don't know how Nausicaa avoids this trap, but she does. I'll have to do some meditating on that.

However, just like in your typical Chosen One fantasy narrative, the hero is a lot less fun than the villain. I'm going to say the best character in Nausicaa is Kushana. I want to be like Nausicaa, but I don't understand her. She's almost alien, even though we learn all about her. Kushana is mysterious, secretive, and enigmatic, yet I understand her. She barely has an arc, she doesn't really change. She's cold and cynical to the bone, but I don't need to see much of her situation to completely understand why she is the way she is. I usually hate totalitarian bad guys, but Kushana I like. Sue Me.

Also fun fact, did you that Nausicaa means 'Sinker of Ships'. That's kinda fun.

Best Scene: Spoiled for Choice

I'm going to be lazy and say take your pick. There is really not a bad seen in this movie. If the action isn't going, then there's intriguing dialogue. If there's no dialogue then you may be about to get hit with a forceful burst of whimsy. There's horror, there's swordfights and aerial dogfights. The only thing in Nausicaa I don't like to see, is the bloody tortured Ohm Baby. It's like a god damned Sarah Mclachlan commercial.

Best Creature: Foxy Shazam!

The Ohm are so simplistic yet so detailed. The number of eyes is alien, but the way they are used is expertly expressive. Who'd think you could get me to love what basically amounts to a silverfish with the intensity that I love a kitten. How did Miyazaki pull an Okja with a creature that should be haunting our dreams? I don't know.

And what about the Giant Warrior! If you are an Evangelion fan then you probably already know that Hideaki Anno designed and animated the melting goopy biomechanical beast. Surely a sight that would make both H.R. Giger and Clive Barker giddy with excitement. Just the image of the silhouettes marching amidst the desolation of the old world is burned into my brain.

So which of these is the best creature from Ghibli's first outing? It's fucking Teto. It was always gonna be Teto you idiot. Just look at Teto, he's adorable. He's too cute to exist. I'm so alone. I need a pet.

Best Character Design: Tolmekian Regalia

I originally included this category to talk some about Kushana, however, at that time I also thought I was going to say Nausicaa was the best character. I thought hard about deleting it, but I think it's a different category and you can't accuse me of playing favorites because my favorite character is clearly Teto. Just to keep it simple. It's the two costume shift from full military regalia in white and gold, to the one metal arm, warrior princess get up. It's a great costume and a great look. Get on this shit cosplay nerds. It's great for Cons in Canada, you have to think about layers, and you can't keep going as Mr. Plow. It's lazy.

Best Excuse to Talk About Patrick Stewart's Character: Lord Yupa

I just realized that I was about to write this whole review without talking about Lord Yupa. Lord Yupa is a sword saint and all around badass I think a lot of entertainment, especially in the west is lacking bad ass old men. Lord Yupa particularly shines in the early half of the film as a warrior and as a wise council to Nausicaa. If she's Jesus then Yupa is John the Baptist. He is also voiced by the elegant and eloquent Patrick Stewart. He also comes with 2 chocobos!

Worst Character: For Whom Asbel Tolls

This might also be the worst actor category as well. Actual Cannibal (haha meme) and actual monster (haha real life) Shia Labeouf doesn't so much act in the role as he read the lines and it was recorded. The good news it doesn't effect the film too much because Asbel is completely forgettable. He is a catalyst to some of the action, but besides that I don't really care for him.

Worst Aspect: To Be Fair ...

It would be unfair to completely ignore anything negative about Nausicaa. I have already mentioned in many places that there are some pretty corny, or pretty predictable tropes to this movie. But what I can't capture in words is exactly why it feels fresh when it's done in this movie. I suppose that's what makes it good. It's just so good that it's weak points are lifted up by it's strengths. Some people may bored of Nausicaa's unyielding goodness, or that she very rarely chooses to take action as much as she chases and pleads with her surroundings, but I mean, she does pay for that eventually. It's a fantasy story and it hits a lot of timeless themes that have been hit in stories for as long as human beings have been telling stories. Some people may feel that it doesn't do enough to stand out.

Summary

I have defined the S tier for myself as "near perfect and personal favorite" films. I like to think that Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is near perfect. Some may say that it looks like it might just be a personal favorite. In the case of Nausicaa, I'm having a very hard time telling the difference. I think it would be overly simple to claim that Nausicaa is just an ancient archetypal heroes journey with an 80s anime coat of paint. I think it's doing quite a few new and interesting things with that formula, those things are just playing out all around that narrative as opposed to being at it's center. For a first full length outing by the studio, you can really see Miyazaki's heart and the values he holds close to. I'll repeat myself so that we are completely clear on the matter. I think Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is a near perfect movie.

Overall Grade: S