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maxwell-grant · 3 years ago

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Do you think The Shadow could/should have an end ? If yes, how do you think she would be ?

I(Sidenote but "The Scent of Death" is one of my favorite Shadow covers, if only because I am deeply in love with the idea of The Shadow meeting with a Grim Reaper who's just casually offering flowers. It's what I see when I look at it anyway)

Not gonna reply how I think it should be, because that goes into some of my plans for the character I don't feel like letting out, but regarding him having an "end", yes. Actually, if you ask me the number one story I want to tell with the character, after of course just telling general Shadow stories the way I think they should be told and stories about the agents, it's the story of how he dies.

Not how he achieves immortality, not the story of how he dies but lingers as a ghost, but dies for real. No second chances, no hidden plans, no successors (I'm very strongly against the idea of the Agents becoming The Shadow or him having bloodline descendants who take the role), no returning from the grave. He gets to, for once, for real, die, and actually stay dead.

I think part of that is because of something that Alan Moore mentioned in his Twilight of the Superheroes pitch. As horribly misguided as that was, I do think he opens it with a very solid idea:

As I mentioned in my introduction to Frank's Dark Knight, one of the things that prevents superhero stories from ever attaining the status of true modern myths or legends is that they are open ended. An essential quality of a legend is that the events in it are clearly defined in time; Robin Hood is driven to become an outlaw by the injustices of King John and his minions. That is his origin. He meets Little John, Friar Tuck and all the rest and forms the merry men. He wins the tournament in disguise, he falls in love with Maid Marian and thwarts the Sheriff of Nottingham. He lives to see the return of Good King Richard and is finally killed by a woman, firing a last arrow to mark the place where he shall be buried.

That is his resolution—you can apply the same paradigm to King Arthur, Davy Crockett or Sherlock Holmes with equal success. You cannot apply it to most comic book characters because, in order to meet the commercial demands of a continuing series, they can never have a resolution.

Whether (The Dark Knight Returns) will actually ever happen in terms of "real" continuity is irrelevant: by providing a fitting and affective capstone to the Batman legend it makes it just that... a legend rather than an endlessly meandering continuity. It does no damage to the current stories of Batman in the present, and indeed it does the opposite by lending them a certain weight and power by implication and association— every minor shift of attitude in the current Bruce Wayne's approach to life that might be seen in Batman or Detective over the next few years, whether intentionally or not, will provide twinges of excitement for the fans who can perceive their contemporary Batman inching ever closer to the intense and immortal giant of the Dark Knight chronicles.

(Another sidenote is that me and my family cried very, very hard at Spock's death the first time we watched it, even knowing immediately he was gonna come back the next movie. It still hits pretty hard just thinking about it)

You can argue whether or not this is a requirement that holds back characters from becoming "true myth", but there's an undeniable power and status that is to be found in stories about The Death of The Hero. It's not just a cornerstone of storytelling but quite often it can end up becoming the most popular and/or critically-beloved story of a long-running franchise character, who of course doesn't need to actually die forever and gets to have it both ways, truly great characters who stand the test of time can have iconic death scenes. And The Shadow doesn't have one. The only time he's ever even died in a narrative was in Andy Helfer's Shadow run, and everything in that run was mostly played as a farcical joke and his death was only the pretext for his eventual return in a robot body.

In truth, it is pretty difficult to imagine The Shadow ever dying, because sure, we can imagine Superman or Batman dying to save humanity or Spider-Man biting the dust after an ungodly exhertion to save lives. Not that The Shadow wouldn't do those things, but he's the kind of character who seems like he's going to inevitably get back up again, like Jason Voorhees who won't stay down no matter what, who's always going to show up in a last-minute jumpscare or a secret plot. Because The Shadow is strongly associated with horror and supernatural, we tend to assume he's never going to die so much as he's just going to retreat to the darkness to come back when someone least expects it.

It's interesting also that, while The Shadow isn't suicidal, he is also much more willing to throw away his own life for the sake of others than you'd expect from a character of his personality type, even in circumstances where he would save more people in the long run by protecting his own life. The Shadow is unshakeable when it comes to death, of those he chooses to kill as well as his own, and on the few instances where Shadow stories have gone deep in his head enough to showcase fears and anxieties, the fear of death or injury is never among them, it's more consistently a fear of failure or a fear of his own worst nature coming to the forefront (in a way, the only thing he really fears is himself). But when it comes to death?

He's been canonically described as a daredevil who welcomes danger (usually by laughing), and he seems to treasure the idea of dying for the sake of something, of getting to go out while fighting and taking a bigger monster out with him.

SHADOW: Cain, that vault door is six feet thick...and when it's shut this vault is absolutely airtight. Even you can die of suffocation. Sit down, Cain. You and The Shadow will be here a long time...forever.

CAIN: I don't believe you! You wouldn't make this insane sacrifice just to kill me.

SHADOW: The Shadow has spent a lifetime fighting crime. There could be no better death for The Shadow than this. I will take with me the greatest archcriminal of all time - The Immortal Murderer

Looking at it from a general perspective, the fact that every Shadow story that makes him immortal usually exaggerates his worst and most toxic traits. even starts to have some grounding to it. Because these are stories that happen past the point where The Shadow would have been allowed death, the death that every human, every warrior, every hero, must be allowed to have. You know how that "you either die a hero" line goes. Well, what happens when your hero, who's already skirting pretty damn close to villainy as is, isn't allowed to die at all? Worse, isn't even allowed to change with the times?

Not that this justifies those stories or how badly they mangle The Shadow's character (because they always come from the idea that he's always been the sadistic jerk they make him into), and I'm definitely not stating that "immortal Shadow" stories have to revolve around the deterioration of his persona (I'm partial to ghost teacher Shadow myself), but the idea is there.

This is part of why my stance on this question changed from "well, yeah maybe that could be a fun story to tell" to "actually, yes, we need a Death of The Shadow story, and it has to be done very well and done to a version that's written in-character, and I don't currently trust anyone to write this story the way it needs to be told. I don't trust myself to fully deliver on this premise either, but it's a necessary idea that's been long overdue."

So, yes, I definitely think The Shadow could, and should, have an end. I definitely think it's something that should be considered by anyone who wants to write the character.

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #the shadow #alan moore #grendel

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recurring-polynya · 4 years ago

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Oh boy!!! Polynya I have a sudden ferocious hankering for Byakuya and Aizen being viciously passive aggressive to each other. Most of the time you write B he is in the company of his family or his loved ones. So clearly the ultimate way to bring out the knives is an AU in which all the captains are in the same Homeowner's Association. I have no preference for ships; I crave only drama, the pettier the better.

Alopex. Alopex. Why. Why u do this 2 me. You’re my favorite, tho, I cannot refuse you. I hope this is petty enough. I almost made this whole thing an epistolary fanfic that took place over NextDoor, the worst “social media”, but I think it worked better with everyone in person.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

🏠 🏠 🏠

“Gosh darnit, the only K-cups left are apple cider and pumpkin spice!”

“Oh, that can’t be right, I know I filled up the carousel just before the meeting! Retsu! Retsu, honey, we’re out of K-cups, and I bought a whole carton at Costco and I just don’t understand--”

Kuchiki Byakuya glanced up from the presentation materials he was reviewing for the six hundredth time. For starters, Byakuya wasn’t really sure anyone should be letting Hitsugaya Toushirou have coffee in the first place. It was 8p.m., and the child couldn’t be more than twelve. Byakuya had never been very clear on a) why the Seireitei Estates Homeowners’ Association let the child attend the meetings in lieu of his father (or possibly step-father?), a doctor who worked late hours, and b) why a young child would want to attend a Homeowners’ Association meeting anyway, but he had more sense than most of the other board members, so Byakuya didn’t ask questions.

Byakuya also wasn’t sure why they had to have “refreshment breaks.” Breaks were for quitters, in Byakuya’s opinion. Granted, the meeting was being held at Unohana’s house this month, which meant that the baked goods were impeccable, but Unohana’s high-strung wife tended to radiate so much nervous energy that Byakuya worried the woman was going to spontaneously combust.

“Oh, sunflower, I’m sure they just got pushed behind the croquembouche,” Unohana purred reassuringly. “I’ll help you look-- oh, excuse me, Mr. Ichimaru.”

As Unohana pushed past that weaselly shyster Ichimaru Gin, she swung her hips, knocking into him. Approximately thirty K-cups tumbled out of the pockets of Gin’s couture tracksuit.

“Oh, there they are!” Unohana sang innocently.

“How did those get in there?” Gin gasped, as though he were genuinely puzzled.

Byakuya shuddered. Ichimaru worked for the second biggest law firm in town, after, of course, Kuchiki and Sons. Byakuya dreaded the day he might find himself across a negotiation table from the man. Not that harbored any doubts about annihilating that idiot in a contest of the law, he just didn’t like being in the same room with him.

“Here you go, dear,” Unohana said, popping a K-cup into the machine and patting little Toushirou on the head. Toushirou was too busy glaring at Gin to notice.

“That looks like some presentation you’re givin' after the break, eh, Kuchiki?” Ichimaru drawled, selecting a bearclaw from the pastry tray. “Or didja bring home the paperwork from the Tsunayashiro merger?”

Byakuya sniffed and shuffled his papers back into their portfolio. “I approach all areas of my life with the same diligence as I do my professional work.”

“What a coinky-dink! I do, too-- I don’t work hard at anything.”

Byakuya had no interest in frittering away his preparation time to small talk with a moron. “I am going to set up,” he said coolly.

“Good luck!” Ichimaru trilled, giving a saucy little finger wave.

Byakuya returned to Unohana’s sitting room, where he had left his easel and poster board near the hideous faux fireplace with its tacky LED candles.

Aizen was sitting at the cardtable he’d set up at the front of the room, fiddling with his chintzy little gavel. “You look very prepared,” he said, in a tone of voice that was almost as insipid as the oatmeal-marl turtleneck sweater he wore. “Do try not to run too long, though. I’m only the substitute president, you know! I want to run a tight ship, ha ha!”

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. He was still slightly salty that President Yamamoto had felt the need to take a last minute trip on a “Single Seniors Cruise.” Something something about a flash sale and when you’re old you have to take advantage of the time you have left, etcetera, etcetera, but if there were anyone that Byakuya could count on take his side in the matter, it was that antediluvian rule-enforcer. For that matter, Byakuya wasn’t actually sure whether Yamamoto even cared about clipped hedges and shoveled sidewalks or if he just liked yelling at people and slapping them with fines.

Aizen was also a bit of a stickler for the finer points of home maintenance, but the man had no substance to him, with his floppy hair and his chunky knitwear and his horn-rimmed glasses.

“All right, everyone!” Aizen called in his stupid simpering voice. Byakuya had no idea what the man actually did, but Byakuya figured he was a preschool teacher or an art therapist or something equally touchy-feely. “Please take your seats! The next item on our agenda is a presentation on, uh, ‘A Secret But Important Topic, from our neighbor over at number six, let’s give a big hand for...Byakuya!”

“Hold the applause,” Byakuya said sternly, holding up a hand. “I come to you today to call for-- nay, demand the expulsion of one Zaraki Kenpachi from the Board of this Homeowners Association, and possibly also the entire neighborhood, if that’s possible.”

“We can’t kick people out of the neighborhood,” Aizen stage-whispered to him.

“Is he actually a member of the HOA Board?” Kyouraku asked, scratching his shaggy mane. “I’ve never seen him at one of these meetings.”

Byakuya turned to Tousen, the Board treasurer, who had taken his seat at the front table with Aizen and Ichimaru. “Mr. Tousen, did you happen to look into the dues records, as I requested?”

“I did, yes,” Tousen replied. “It turns out that Mr. Zaraki is excused from paying dues. There was a post-it note in President Yamamoto’s handwriting that said,” Tousen made finger quotes, “‘Zaraki fixed my car, excused from dues.’”

Byakuya scowled. “That doesn’t seem… sufficient… it is of no matter.” He grabbed the bed sheet covering his posterboard, and dramatically swept it away. It would have been more dramatic if the bedsheet weren’t covered in Chappy rabbits, but there was no way he was bringing one of his own 800-thread counts into a house that contained cats.

“I have been closely watching Mr. Zaraki’s residence for the last few months, as his rear yard backs to mine, and I believe he may be operating a fight club in his garden on weekends. They do move into the garage if the weather is unpleasant.”

A hush fell over the room, except for Isane and Ukitake Juushirou, who were discussing the merits of blind-baking pie crusts.

“Er, sorry, did I miss something?” Juushirou asked apologetically, after realizing he was the only person talking.

“Kenpachi seems to be running some sort of fight club,” his scruffy husband supplied, looking deeply confused, as usual.

“Goodness!” Juushirou exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

Byakuya cleared his throat. “Allow me to present the evidence I have gathered.” He picked up two large binders, and handed one to Soi Fon in the front row, and the other to Aizen, who immediately passed his, unopened, to Ichimaru. “There are about two dozen disreputable personages who are frequently found loitering about the premises. The first page of the binder indexes each of them by a descriptive nickname, including times I have seen them. Photographic evidence follows.”

“They seem to be washing cars in most of these photos,” Soi Fon pointed out, flipping a page back and forth. Or are they fixing the cars? I can’t tell.”

Komamura craned his head over, curiously. “Wow, is that a ‘73 Stingray? Nice.”

“Yes, they also like to get together to maintain and detail their vehicles,” Byakuya snapped. “Usually at ungodly hours of the morning. I am almost positive that many of those cars do not employ catalytic converters. In any case, it is easier to take pictures of them during the day.”

“Looks like they like to spray each other with hoses, too,” Gin noted, waggling his eyebrows. “Why are there so many pictures of this one guy with the red hair and tattoos? He sure doesn’t like to wear a shirt, does he?” Aizen appeared to be leaning to the side, trying to look at the book out of the corner of his eye.

“My dutiful sister did the photographic surveillance! She is very thorough, and I appreciated the help!” All these questions were knocking Byakuya off his game. He smacked his pointer against the poster. “May I direct your attention to Figure A, a bar chart of traffic on his street vs. hours of the day.”

“Tell us more about the fight club,” Soi Fon interrupted, shoving her binder over to Komamura. “Are there weapons involved, blunted or otherwise? How many people usually show up? Is it held regularly, or do you suspect there’s, say, an email list or something?”

“I think it’s some sort of mixed martial arts,” Byakuya said, rubbing his forehead. “There are often up to a dozen of them, but sometimes it’s as few as three or four.”

“You know, I’m looking through the bylaws,” Aizen said, turning pages in the bylaw binder without actually looking at them, “and I’m not exactly clear on whether fight clubs are actually… you know, forbidden.”

“They’re illegal,” Byakuya bit off.

“Per-haaaps,” Aizen drew out. “But what really constitutes… a ‘fight club,’ am I right? I mean, Dr. Unohana teaches kickboxing classes in her basement studio, is that a fight club?”

“No,” Byakuya replied.

“Exactly, and we wouldn’t want her to be painted with the same brush for just trying to teach other women the arts of self-defense, now would we?”

“It’s not for self-defense,” Unohana clarified.

“Or what about having a bunch of friends over and hitting each other with foam swords while you pretend to be werewolves?” Ichimaru broke in cheerfully. “That’s just our rights as citizens, to pretend to be werewolves in our basements with our friends.”

“It’s a tabletop RPG,” Komamura growled. “I am not a LARPer. There are no weapons. Also, you really do not need to bring it up every single board meeting. It is a perfectly normal adult hobby that I do to spend quality time with my friends.”

“Speaking of which,” Gin turned his binder of pictures around, “isn’t this guy in your group? With the sunglasses?”

“Hmm?” Komamura flipped a few pages. “Oh, huh, yeah, that’s Iba.”

“Surely a good friend of yours wouldn’t have anything to do with an illegal fight club, eh, Mr. Komamura?” Aizen suggested.

Komamura made a non-commital grumble. “I mean, I could ask him if it’s a fight club, if you want me to.”

“I have yet to hear any evidence that supports the existence of this so-called ‘fight club,” Tousen broke in.

“That’s because I keep getting interrupted, I have an audio recording and also some several emergency room admission records--”

“Mr. Zaraki is an upstanding citizen of our town and a devoted father,” Tousen continued. “Are you suggesting that Mr. Zaraki is not a responsible parent?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” Byakuya mused.

“Juushirou, you and Shunsui babysit for little Yachiru all the time, don’t you?” Aizen asked sweetly. “Have you ever seen any evidence that she isn’t the sweetest little girl in the entire world?”

Toushirou raised his hand. “Excuse me? She is a menace, actually?”

“Oh, no, Yachiru is always a ray of sunshine!” Juushirou beamed. “Very active child.”

“Eats a lot,” Kyouraku added.

The edges of Byakuya’s vision were beginning to bleed into red. “We are not talking about the Zaraki child--who, by the way, buried an entire ham in my prize tulip bed--”

“It sounds like you have a grudge against the entire family, Kuchiki,” Aizen replied mildly. “These board meetings are not a venue for airing your petty grievances.”

“You are not even listening! If you would just turn to page--”

“I think you’ve wasted enough of everyone’s time.” Aizen turned his doe eyes to the audience. “Is there anyone here who wants to invest any more energy listening to Byakuya’s vitriol?”

Byakuya looked out over his audience, looking for an ally. Komamura shifted in his seat uncomfortably. The Kyouraku-Ukitakes refused to make eye contact. Unohana was reading a magazine about decorative wreaths. Toushirou raised his hand again with a helpful smile, but no one actually ever cared what he thought.

“Soi Fon, you’re an actual police officer!” he begged.

“It’s just a fight club,” Soi Fon shrugged.

Byakuya was desperate. “Dr. Kurotsuchi?”

Kurotsuchi looked up from his phone. “Eh?”

“Have you been paying attention to any of this?”

“Of course not, I only come for the snacks.”

Byakuya gritted his teeth. “Zaraki is running a fight club and these fools wish us to turn our heads and look the other way.”

“Well, it’s not a very good fight club,” Kurotsuchi agreed. “I’ve been. They don’t allow poisoned weapons and the beverage selection is quotidian at best.”

“You see! You see, right there, Kurotsuchi has even attended! That’s proof that a) it exists and b) it defames the character of the neighborhood!”

“I’m declaring this issue closed,” Aizen replied breezily. “And Kuchiki, I really think you should try to get along better with Kenpachi. You are neighbors, after all.” He brightened. “Oh, I know! We’ve got the community yard sale coming up in June. Why don’t you go ask him if he wants to join the planning committee?”

“Byakuya… will...ask....Zaraki...to chair…the yard sale planning committee,” Gin read aloud as he wrote it into the minutes.

“I agreed to no such thing!” Byakuya howled.

“Onto the next topic!” Aizen chirped. “Trash pickup happens every Friday at 7am and a few of our neighbors have been leaving their bins out as late as noon.”

Later, after the meeting, as Byakuya was packing up his binders and his posterboard, Aizen walked up to him, munching on a rhubarb scone. “Really nice presentation, Byakuya. Good fonts, well cited, you obviously put a ton of work into it. Also, that Zaraki is a blight on the neighborhood. Ideally, he would be thrown in prison.”

Byakuya stared at Vice-Presiden Aizen, mouth agape. “Then why did you and your cronies ruin my presentation and shut me down at every turn?”

Aizen’s eyes narrowed. His mouth curved into a cold smile. Light glinted off his glasses. “You dared to usurp my rightful place as the winner of the Spring Spirit Most Beautiful Yard competition.”

Byakuya blinked at him blankly. “You cared about that? A man’s lawn is his pride. I keep my yard beautiful as a matter of principle, not for some silly competition.”

“You pay for a lawn service. You shouldn’t have even been eligible.”

Byakuya didn’t even recall entering, he’d just received a letter that he’d won, and a festive yard sign appeared next to his front walk, which he had immediately removed and thrown in the garbage. “The prize was a gift certificate to a miserable chain restaurant. I would give it to you, except that I already gave it to my sister to go out with her hooligan friends. They are perpetually short on funds. I could get you another one, I suppose. The amount was paltry enough, although I was given to understand that the place offers ‘unlimited breadsticks’.”

“It’s too late for that,” Aizen declared. “You have made a powerful enemy. You will feel my revenge in a thousand cuts.”

Byakuya wondered how much of a hassle it would be to just move. He’d heard there were some nice houses over in Karakura Acres.

~end

Shinigami’s Cup: GOLDEN!

“Do you think it would help if I infiltrated the fight club?”

“I appreciate your zeal, Sister, but, no, I do not think it would help.”

“Because I think I might have an in. I feel like I would be really good at going undercover. I could wear a body mic.”

“Rukia, you know I have the utmost faith in you, but are not even five feet tall. I do not, in any way, see how you could realistically ingratiate yourself to an organization populated by large, lumpy men whose raison d’etre is to clobber each other in the face.”

“I have cat-like reflexes! I am really good at dodging and weaving!”

“Rukia.”

“And I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos about muscle cars. Go on, ask me something about Dodge Chargers!”

“Rukia.”

“I even ripped the sleeves of an old t-shirt, I look super tough in it. Please, Byakuya, please can I?”

“All right, fine. But do not drink any alcoholic beverages that have ‘light’ or ‘ice’ in the title. It is against our pride as Kuchiki.”

“Thank you Brother, you’re the best!!”

#my writing #wacky au requests #is this...the first time i have written aizen?#wait i wrote some aizen in a flashback scene of a little in love #i do not write very much aizen #it was...kinda fun #the man is petty as hell and i am here for it

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starwarsnonsense · 6 years ago

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Top 10 Films of 2018 (So Far)

Since I quite like continuing old traditions, I wanted to do a post rounding up what I consider to be the ten best films of 2018 so far. This list includes a few films that came out in 2017 in the US, since they were only released here in the UK this year.

Have you seen any of the films I cover below? Have I piqued your interest in a title you might not have heard before? Let me know, and do share your favourites too!

1. Annihilation, dir. Alex Garland

This was my most anticipated film of the year, and my hype for it was more than rewarded. This is a marvellously rich and transporting science fiction film that isn’t afraid of taking the viewer to some very weird places. However, Annihilation doesn’t simply rely on its strangeness to succeed - it is also firmly rooted in its characters and themes, which has made it incredibly rewarding to return to. Natalie Portman is fantastic as Lena, and Annihilation is a brilliant showcase for her - Lena is a complex and frequently self-destructive character, riddled by guilt and regrets that shape the pulsating, luminescent world of the mysterious ‘Shimmer’ that she has to venture into. The Shimmer might seem like an environmental phenomenon at first, but it’s really more psychological, being a space that adapts according to the people who enter into it. This film overflows with fascinating and thought-provoking ideas, and it was entirely worth the hike I made over to Brooklyn to catch one of the final showings at the theatre (since Annihilation was denied a theatrical release in the UK, I made a point of seeing it while I was on holiday in New York). I think it will go down as one of the great science fiction films, and it belongs in the same conversations as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris.

2. Beast, dir. Michael Pearce

This little British film - shot mostly on location in Jersey by a first-time director - was easily the biggest (and best) surprise I’ve had so far at the cinema this year. I literally had no idea this film existed until a day or so before I watched it, and that made the experience of viewing it even more wonderful. Moll (Jessie Buckley) is an isolated young woman who is stifled by her controlling family and quiet life on a remote island, as well as a secret sin that bubbles away underneath the surface. Her life is predictable - safe, repetitive and dull - until she meets Pascal, a mysterious local man who she finds she has an affinity with. However, there is a murderer haunting the island, taking the lives of young girls in the night. Who’s to blame, and what impact will the killings have on Moll and Pascal’s swiftly escalating romance? While that is a synopsis more than a review, I felt it necessary to explain the premise to try and compel you to seek this one out. Beast is raw, woozy and utterly absorbing - the love story between Moll and Pascal is one of the most passionate and gripping you’ll ever see on screen, and their chemistry is simply sensational. There’s a real gothic, fairy-tale edge to the story which appealed perfectly to my (admittedly rather niche) tastes. This is a real hidden treasure of a film - do yourself a favour and make it your mission to watch it.

3. Lady Bird, dir. Greta Gerwig

This film was so, so relatable, despite my not really having experienced an adolescence anything like “Lady Bird’s”. While the details of her life are very different from mine, I think anyone can relate to the sweeping brushstrokes - the tensions that can arise between parents and children, the thirst for freedom and independence that builds the closer you get to the final days of school, and the feelings of love and loyalty that are always there even when they’re unspoken. Greta Gerwig captures all of this and so much more with marvellous delicacy, balancing little moments that add colour and spark with more serious scenes so deftly that it’s amazing to think that this is her first feature. Lady Bird is a very specific and very beautiful film, and it’s special precisely because it feels universal even as it feels small and personal to its director.

4. Eighth Grade, dir. Bo Burnham

This is the perfect double bill with Lady Bird, and the people who have dubbed this film “Lady Bird Jr” are right on the money. Elsie Fisher has a real star turn as the heroine Kayla, who is a very special child - she’s kind, sensitive and thoughtful, which basically means she’s my kind of superhero. But even as she is a good and sweet person, she is also going through all of the trials you’d expect a 13 year old to be facing in 2018, as she wrestles with acne, confusing feelings about super-dreamy boys, and the escalating anxiety that comes with a comment-free Instagram post. Like Lady Bird, this film succeeds in being both very specific and highly universal - the only social media I had to deal with as a teen were MySpace and Bebo, and I found that seeing Kayla wrestle with a whole kaleidoscope of feeds, devices and platforms made her strong grip on her integrity as a funny and deeply warm-hearted individual all the more remarkable. Bo Burnham, as with Gerwig, made a pretty incredible film here - in particular you should watch out for the father/daughter dynamic, which is my favourite part. Eighth Grade is funny and generous, and the perfect medicine if you’re feeling demoralised by the state of the world right now.

5. The Breadwinner, dir. Nora Twomey

The Breadwinner is a really lovely animated film telling the story of Parvana, a young girl living with her family under the Taliban. When her father is taken off to prison, Parvana sees no other choice but to dress as a boy to provide for her mother and siblings. But how long will her disguise last? The story here was what really gripped me - it’s very simple, in both the telling and the themes, but it is truly beautiful in that simplicity. The emotions are very raw, and this film goes to some shockingly dark places at times - while I think it can be watched with children as long as they are mature enough for some challenging themes and upsetting moments, it’s likely to speak most strongly to adult audiences with a fuller appreciation for the context in which the film is set. It’s a great and moving alternative to more mainstream animated efforts, and is well worth your time.

6. Phantom Thread, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

This was a delightfully twisted film with an absorbingly complicated and twisty relationship at its centre. Vicky Krieps is an absolute marvel as Alma, and it’s wonderful to see how she battles to bring the fragile and austere designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) to heel. It’s also a beautiful film with rather fabulous fashions - if you love couture, particularly from the ‘50s, this will be a real treat. I also appreciated the many allusions to classic cinema - there are strong shades of Hitchcock’s Rebecca, as well as the underrated David Lean film The Passionate Friends. Check this out if you like your romantic dramas weird and entirely unpredictable.

7. Revenge, dir. Coralie Fargeat

Revenge is angry, sun-soaked and batshit insane - and it is pretty great for all of those reasons. It follows Jennifer, the teenage mistress of a sleazy married man. After a horrifying assault Jennifer returns, phoenix-like, to wreak her revenge upon her attackers. This movie was very much inspired by exploitation flicks, with their penchant for showing scantily clad (and frequently bloody) women wielding shotguns to hunt down the brutes who did them wrong. However, first-time director Coralie Fargeat takes every one of those tropes and owns them, ramping up the blood and giving the action a propulsive energy that keeps you gripped even as you know exactly where things are going. The soundtrack here is also one to look out for - it’s all pulsating synths that do a great job of building the suspense and tension from the get-go.

8. Lean on Pete, dir. Andrew Haigh

This is a very painful film in many ways, but it’s only painful because it does such a great job of earning your emotional investment. The lead of this film is Charley, a sensitive and quiet teenage boy who becomes attached to an ailing race horse as he seeks to escape his troubled home-life. When he finds himself in crisis, Charley takes the horse and they head off on a journey across the American heartland. Charlie Plummer is extraordinary as the lead here - Charley is the kind of character that makes you want to reach through the screen so you can offer him a hug of reassurance and support. The photography of the American countryside is exquisite, and means this film really deserves to be seen on the big screen - the breadth of the landscape gives all of the emotional drama some (richly deserved, in my view) extra punch.

9. You Were Never Really Here, dir. Lynne Ramsay

This is a very weird film (you’re probably noticing a theme at this point) but it’s completely absorbing. It’s very much actor-led, and the film rests on the shoulders of Joaquin Phoenix’s gripping and unpredictable performance - in some scenes he’s muttering in deference to his mother like a modern-day Norman Bates, while in others he’s portrayed almost as a lost boy in an overgrown body, disorientated by his environment and engaging in acts of extreme violence as if in a sort of trance. The narrative is fuzzy and unfocused, but I didn’t find that mattered much since I was too busy following every evolution of Phoenix’s face.

10. Thoroughbreds, dir. Cory Finley

Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy make fantastic foils to one another as two appallingly privileged teenagers whose obscene wealth is only matched by their resounding lack of morals. This is a film that plays with your loyalties, trying to wrong-foot you at every turn - it’s frequently difficult to figure out what’s genuine here, and while that did sometimes leave me feeling a bit emotionally detached that’s usually the point. This film is more of an intellectual puzzle than a lean, mean, emotion-extracting machine (see: Lean on Pete), and it succeeds brilliantly on that level. The simplicity of the story means the fun lies in picking apart lines and expressions, so go in prepared for some close viewing.

#annihilation #films #cinema #movies #list #movie recs #beast #lady bird #lean on pete #the breadwinner #phantom thread #Eighth Grade #you were never really here #thoroughbreds

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kitt-andrea · 6 years ago

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What is Queer?

Gay 1 told me to ‘settle down, our lot can get married now so (I) should Stop complaining- and while (I’m) at it, get a job and stop dyeing (my) hair weird colours.’ I gulp down my imperative to scream at his condescending tone, and walk away. To be Queer is to be looked down upon, but to know one’s value and try to be better.

And the teacher stuck in the 70s hasn’t realised yes, I can study Queer Theory at university -And even as a word itself, it is one I treasure: Can he not tell I’m not slurring it across a room like his other student did just last week?

Just as the grassroots informed the naming of our theory of life, The tensions of which branch of non-normative identity one takes up Is present in its constituents too. But Gay 1 runs our Gay Straight Alliance, And important politics are formed in the process of making a capital-a Ally so I play nice.

It seems the Allies want to join the acronym too now, And the Lesbians and Gays are in pieces over how respectable they should be today. Being an Ally isn’t Queer, sorry, we say, but they never wanted to be Queer anyway.

Being Queer means knowing that co-operating is sometimes useful to the movement, But that ultimately your aims are totally disparate, and it is more useful to Find a group on the margins too for totally different reasons And find where the struggle does overlap- and in the space it doesn’t create mutual aid.

Grinding my teeth in the fifth meeting this week- with staff, or my own constituent students That tell me, maybe I’m too militant for liberation and should focus on Going to the raising of the flag at University House instead.

Queers look to total liberation, that is tied up in the liberation of everyone else too So we will demonstrate: against racism, to end the thinly veiled neo-colonialist war- For any cause that drives humanity towards a utopia, no matter how useless Such an endeavour feels. To be Queer is to actively oppose harmful structures.

No, this does still not make Allies Queer. Show me their action extending past A GSA meeting, into the streets for us and others, or to their homes- their bedrooms. Point to how they Queer their movement through the world.

Could a Heterosexual person be Queer? Queer 2 replies, ‘maybe if they are Trans.’ While I do agree, being Transgender is as much a way into Queerness as being Attracted to multiple genders, the implied definition for Queer (as told by Queer 3) Is simply non-normative gender and orientation, nothing more and nothing less.

We are a politics against purity, but did you see the same logic of LGBTQUIAP+ (and endless formations even less useful than that) Shining through? This is not who we are meant to be, damn it!

Let’s Queer the pitch and challenge these outdated lines of gatekeeping. What of the Ethically non-monogamous? What of those who practice kink and have Non-normative sex? What makes their variety of relationships not Queer? What even is Queer? It has dead bodies in itself, but birth and celebration too.

And I know that the cisgender heterosexuals in those communities Are still prone to shouting abuse or laughing at us or denying us access: I am adamant. Those ones Queer nothing. But some still do.

Consider the limited parental rights of those categories, or the working opportunities. Sexual violence is laughed at when other pain is consensual. There are powers at play When a BDSM scene creates a culture of consent stronger than its vanilla counterparts And when non-monogamy undermines the premises of an efficient nuclear family.

At my first social, I am told to use a fake name, and call the one I am under protection of ‘Amy’. The name stumbles across my lips but it is for our protection, no one can know she Studies … No one can know I’d teach if I could one day.

Is anything solidly Queer? Queer is a verb, I am Queer because of how I choose to Act in my life. I am Queer when my sex(uality)/ relationships/ gender undermine That which is the norm. When I struggle in solidarity and revolt against the logic of this world. Gay 1, or Lesbian 4 are not Queer because they uphold this Straight hegemony.

Queer is anti-capitalist, so join me on the streets in the march to Grenfell, Or smash your way to the top of Millbank Or mask up for when Mark Duggan…

The Queer cannot beg to be ‘like everyone else’, with a normal family and marriage, Or ask to join the army and kill some brown (queer) people for their country. We are a set of demands alight in a Molotov Cocktail- and if our flame makes the sparkliest rainbow, Then so be it. Queer is a potential found across gender and orientations, embrace it.

In a room full of the closest friends, she admits that maybe she too is a bit Queer, a bit genderqueer, that these norms do not fit her either, but she is afraid To come out- to family yes, but to the community of letters who should judge her not enough.

I am not a subcategory of anything or anyone, not even the Gay and Lesbian group. Queer means so much more than a simple identity, it is a statement of intent, A set of demands and constant striving to have made oneself who we needed as children.

We are the eternal collective of Dykes, Fags, Trannies- and above all else- filthy Queers. And we are here, we will eternally fuck this shit up in the name of glorious revolution-

My beautiful body that pleasingly straddles binary gender and sex is its own small Revolution. It is yet more beautiful when the binaries dissolve under the weight of A gender pluralism that recognises gender’s present importance but eventual death.

To kill gender and sexuality and leave only pleasure and people is our aim, for now we fight-

February 2018

#queer theory #poetry #queer riot #anti capitalism

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wichitahouseholdservices · 3 years ago

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loveiscosmicsin · 7 years ago

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Dreaming of the Dawn

Post-canon Noctis (or should I say Post-Episode Ignis canon as of December 13th 2017? Well, it was written long before the DLC came out) and Ignis visit the old apartment building. A spontaneous decision led by another, they would always be at each other's side no matter the outcome.

Inspired by this tweet thread by titansatemysoul / @nokuigu : https://twitter.com/nokuigu/status/930533797438816257 Written with her permission. I love the headcanon and how well now it fits better than ever. Posted on my Ao3.

“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” - Maya Angelou

“What do you see?” “I...” Noctis struggled to articulate the view. “It’s different. And in much better shape than I thought it’d be.” Before the attack on the Crown City, there used to be a grand wisteria tree that grew in the centre of the courtyard. The very same tree where Ignis parked his car under one day in spring and found it overwhelmed by the fallen flowers. While Ignis lamented over retracting the roof, Noctis made no comment and compelled by some adventitious force, reached out to pluck the lavender blue blossom from the chamberlain’s chestnut locks and innocently, “You look so good in purple, Ig.” What remained of the tree now was a dead charred stump with its years before it was cut prematurely engraved in it, but beside it, two saplings had sprouted from the icy, withered ground. “Does it look safe to go inside?” Ignis asked, readjusting the plum scarf around his neck and removing the frosted visor over his scarred face. “Yeah,” Noctis forced the lump in his throat down. “Just... a lot to take in at once.”

“Then we have little to fear.” Ignis pressed a gloved finger to his lips, pensive before cocking his head assertively. “May I remind you that it was your idea to come to this place? We mustn’t drift from the goal now.” Whether Ignis was aware or felt exhausted hearing it time and time again, Noctis knew he was right. It was his idea and stopping halfway would be unsatisfactory to the both of them. With one hand holding the bag containing their lunch and the other finding catharsis from the emanating warmth of Ignis’ hand, Noctis led him inside the building. Despite its haunted and somber exterior, he can’t help but to feel relief to finally approach this piece of his past. Electricity was one of the vital resources that withstood the passages of time and underground conduits extended to all parts of the city. The apartment complex was no exception. The elevators responded when summoned and lifted the two men to the top floor. Noctis had lived in Insomnia Tower when he was fifteen and had vacated the premises five years later for Altissia. For a time, he lived a normal life and his duties as crown prince were lenient, but at the cost of being kept out of the loop of his father’s failing health. Death had followed the young prince since the beginning. Succession to the throne meant his father’s death and the frailty of his own mortality and it drove him to distance from anything and anyone that reminded him of it. “Well?” Ignis turned his head after Noctis got them inside the apartment, waiting for the grand tour he had been promised. “Don’t keep me in suspense.” “I’ll, uh, let me get the lights.” Noctis hit the switch by the entrance and light flooded the hall leading to the living room and kitchen. “Abandoned,” he paused, holding his breath to stop himself from sneezing. “And pretty dusty. Watch out.” “Duly noted.” Noctis swore he heard an eye roll with that. Ignis removed his gloves and carefully tucked them away in his pocket before feeling his way against the walls, tracing cracks and peeling wallpaper. “It’s rather drafty here, wouldn’t you say? I fear we’ll catch our death of cold.” The king agreed, it was musty and freezing inside, but he didn’t have the heart to let a gentleman suffer. “I can think of a couple ways to keep warm.” “Not so fast, Majesty. See if we can heat this room up a bit.” The power still worked, but it was too much to hope that the heating system would as well. They would just have to endure. Curiosity was the best cure to keeping minds off the cold. Ignis was more eager about coming here than he showed, examining the condition of the interior and making comments every now and then. Save for the cupboards, counters, and appliances bolted down, the apartment was stripped bare. Not a single piece of furniture remained. Not even the bed frames in the main bedroom and guest room. Noctis walked around the living room, the floorboards reverberated and eerily welcomed its visitors. He mostly remembered where everything was and the accidents that occurred. Every spot, though the physical markers long gone, carried fragments of his closest relationships. By the veranda, Cogsworth, a resilient house plant he received from Iris, was either swollen from excessive watering or went through days without a drop of water. Taking advantage of their strongest to weakest subjects, Prompto and Noctis had intense study sessions on the couch, comparing answers in preparation for exams with lots of junk food involved. Not taking no for an answer, Gladiolus had always came over with a deck of cards and despite the bitter taste of defeat more rounds than victory, somehow, became life lessons about decision making. Noctis had kept the red leather notebook that he used to write to Luna in a bookshelf, sending trading cards and limited edition stickers her way, knowing she loved collecting them. And Ignis, no matter what kind of day Noctis was having after school or work, the chamberlain had one of the vinyl records in the collection playing and a home-cooked meal waiting, starting a tradition that he would wait until they were able to eat together.

Deciding to head to the veranda, Noctis noticed that the velvet curtains swayed as if possessed, and pulled them wide open. Many times a young prince stood outside and stared out to the metropolis that he was to inherit, a myriad of thoughts plagued him. Insomnia at night had life, a cacophonous and yet, harmonious energy to that was easy to lose himself in. He was part of the city as it was of him. He wasn’t the prince, he was just Noctis and it was okay to forget for a while. “Found what’s making the place cold.” There was a massive crack in the window and it allowed gentle gusts of air to come through. “I wonder who lived here after we left. If there was a somebody,” he pondered aloud. If someone did, maybe they saw Insomnia differently than he did. “Best not to ponder over less than savory thoughts.” Ignis said, close by, assessing the kitchen and finding that the facet ran dry.

“Yeah, you’re right. Having fun yet?” “I was just recalling our game nights. How far a man would go to get the last slice of pizza.”

“Those were the days.” The king agreed, remembering the best and cheapest pizza on the block. Through the best and worst days, Noctis treasured those memories. Ignis didn’t live with him, he stayed over often, and it was perfect even if it was only overnight and having to leave before Noctis woke up. Knowing that it wouldn’t last, the young prince pretended that they would live here forever without the burden of the royal family name looming over them. A futile and foolish fantasy. A few weeks after he survived the blood prophecy, Noctis knew not what to do next. He had no plan. No goal. Death was the last and only plan, he entrusted Lucis to his retinue and allies. Since then, rebuilding was the only thing he managed to stay focused on. He bore no weight on his own future. Ignis believed in him. Blind loyalty, he claimed, but Noctis knew better: Ignis never once lost the light in his eyes. “Shall we take a break? I’m feeling a bit peckish.” Noctis wasn’t done looking around and while they could always return, he hadn’t been fully truthful to Ignis that he informed the others that they were here. There was something here to be uncovered and he thought if he didn’t have the answer, Ignis might provide input. “You sure? There’s nowhere to sit.” “We’ll settle for the floor then.” The king and the strategist sat on the floor across each from other where the dining table used to be, and dined on what contents Noctis brought in the bag. “What kind of sandwich—” “PB and J,” Noctis answered cheerfully with his mouth full. “Of course.” Ignis chuckled as he bit into his sandwich. “Compliments to the chef as always.” “I know my way ‘round a jar or two,” the king replied, licking the peanut butter off his digits. They ate their food in comfortable silence and tidied up before resuming to the investigation of the apartment together. “We’ve achieved much in the past several months,” Ignis remarked, joining Noctis at the veranda. “The progress of repairs in the Citadel have exceedingly gone beyond expectations.” “It’s because everyone’s been so willing to help,” Noctis explained, giving credit where credit was due. “Men, women, even the kids pitched in. Everyone’s giving their all.” “They’ve been inspired by their king and his trusty pickaxe, toiling away to clear the rubble with his own two hands. It sounds like a folktale, given your new honorific as the Dawn-Bringer.” The strategist crossed his arms. “Let’s turn our attention to this place next.” “Huh? Didn’t know we’re playing real estate now. You sure love taking your roleplaying seriously.” “Come now, it’s more of a personal interest. I thought we ought to restore what memories we can.” “We can always make new ones, right?” “Is that not what we’re doing now?” “Yeah, but...” Noctis’ mind painted of what used to be there. Yes, it was where he lived, precarious circumstances aside, but it wasn’t home. Home was in the people, not the place. In a way, his heart moved out when Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis helped him pack that day. If he were asked to provide a definition of home, Ignis’ smiling at him was the thought that came to mind. Since the first moment Ignis breathed his name in absolution, Noctis had thought of the future even when the universe fought so viciously to deny him of it. Ignis had never left Noctis’ side. When Noctis returned from his time in the Crystal, he had thought Ignis would treat him as a stranger and after all that time, the strategist would have a change of heart. It was a cruel reality that he was ready to accept, ten years was more than enough time for a person to change. He was glad he was wrong. Nothing changed. “Noct?” “Back when you, we, had our doubts about how this would turn out, I promised you that every morning when you wake up, you’ll never regret being with me, right?” “Of course. I never regretted you or us, cherishing the time we have together.” “And we agreed to one day going to Caem and locking ourselves in a cottage for a week. Finally get that peace and quiet we talked about.” “Mhm. After Insomnia’s rebuilt. Not before,” Ignis reminded him of that condition for good measure. “You were quite persistent that I wear that swimsuit when we both know how inappropriate it is for harvesting mussels.” “Hey, hunting for seafood is your idea, not mine.” The king realized that the conversation was starting to go off-track and revealed the first five words without hesitation, “Ignis, will you marry me?” Ignis’ eye widened and his body stiffened for a moment. He made a sound as if the puzzle pieces in his ever-calculating mind have finally clicked in place. “Are you...” Noctis took Ignis’ left hand and his lips caressed the knuckles, unable to look at his face while his own warmed. “I... don’t have a ring. Yet. But I can ask this again when I do.” A soft, rueful laugh escaped him as his forehead touched Ignis’ chest. He didn’t have a speech prepared, but that didn’t mean the desire to spend his life with the man he loved wasn’t without certainty. “Not once we talked about this, but in my head, I see us tying the knot already and it always felt so right. So... You don’t have to give me an answer now. Just think about it.” Draping an arm around him, Ignis rested his chin on the king’s crown, his voice unexpectedly low that it raised goosebumps. “That won’t be necessary.” His chest rose and fell once with ecstatic conviction. “Nothing would make me happier.” Noctis’ heart thundered in his chest at the vagueness of that answer. “Do you—”

“I do.” “Wait, you didn’t let me finish,” the king frowned, untangling himself from the strategist’s embrace. “Is that a yes or a no?” Ignis tilted his head, a teasing smirk on his lips. “I didn’t wish to waste a single second to give you my answer. Twice. And yet, you certainly love to keep me waiting.” His fingers twined in Noctis’. “You may not realize this, but the thought about marriage has crossed my mind. I swore to love you until the last star in the galaxy is extinguished, have I not?” He said, bringing Noctis’ palm to his lips, adding, “I aim to keep my vow.”

The king pouted, tracing the thin scar on the lower lip. “You could’ve said something.”

“Patience is a virtue. I can account that the quality of is quite rewarding. Your spontaneous proposal caught me by surprise.”

“If anyone asks, it’s because of your ‘patience’ that we’re not married right now.” “Perhaps,” Ignis admitted and he reached out with his free hand to stroke Noctis’ cheek. “However, I will tell you this once more and for as many times as need be: I do.”

Noctis grinned, standing on his toes as he circled his arms around Ignis. He could never get sick of hearing those words. There were many ways to express their love and those two words were enough for now.

“I do, too,” he murmured before he kissed him.

With every atom of his existence and all the light that shined on their world.

#ignoct #Ignis Scientia #Noctis Lucis Caelum #ffxv #ff15 #ff #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy #headcanon inspired fic #nokuigu #titansatemysoul #older IgNoct #drabble #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #marriage proposal

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grabosky · 4 years ago

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My Answers to HW2case, Q3

Q3 Write up your case on your blog with the following subheadings:

Case

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 16 aptly titled "Ethics"

In case you are unfamiliar with the series, you can read the basic premise at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation

A more complete explanation of this particular episode can be found at https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ethics_(episode)

The facts

In an serious accident, Worf is paralyzed from the neck down.

Worf is a Klingon, a race that prizes prowess in battle and personal honor above all else. To a Klingon, living with a debilitating condition like Quadriplegia brings great shame and dishonor not only to the injured, but to his entire family as well.

Worf resolves to perform the Hegh'bat, a traditional Klingon ritual suicide. This is not only normal in Klingon society, it is considered the morally correct thing to do.

Worf pleads with Commander Riker, a close friend and a human, to help him perform the Hegh'bat. To be asked to assist someone to perform a Hegh'bat is considered a honor in Klingon society. To refuse the request is considered despicable.

Commander Riker is torn. On the one hand, Riker treasures his friendship with Worf and, for the most part, greatly respects Klingon culture. He knows how important Klingon traditions are to Worf. On the other hand, he sees no reason for Worf to die. With good medical care, Worf could regain some mobility and go on to live a full life. Assisting Worf with suicide goes against human societal norms and against Riker's personal ethical values in particular.

The Enterprise enlists the help of a brilliant, innovative, and very ambitious neurology specialist (Dr. Russell) to help treat Worf. Throughout the episode, Dr. Russell shows an inclination to take risk with her patients lives in order to advance her research into new treatments.

Dr Russell has been pioneering an impressive, but very experimental new procedure that could be used to completely heal Worf. However, the procedure has never been used on a live patient before and thus carries significant risk of death.

The ship's doctor (Dr. Crusher) recommends neural implants. A proven technology that has no risks and will give Worf aobut 60% of his normal mobility.

Due to the significant deadly risk of Dr. Russell's treatment and knowing Worf's suicidal mental state, Dr. Crusher forbids the procedure and instructs everyone to refrain from mentioning it to Worf.

Against Dr. Crusher's wishes, Dr. Russell informs Worf of the experimental procedure that is very risky but may restore Worf to 100%. She greatly desires to prove her new treatment theories, knows it will be difficualt for Worf to decline any chance to be fully healed, and knows Worf's insistence is the only chance she has to change Dr. Crusher mind about allowing the procedure.

Worf chooses the experimental procedure. After much drama, the procedure is ultimately successful and Worf fully recovers.

A number of ethical dilemmas are presented in this episode

Analysis / Conclusions

The well discussed ethical dilemma of euthanasia. The individual's right to end one's life to relieve pain and suffering and whether assisting one exercise that right.

Dr. Kevorkian in the late 90s purportedly assisted 130 terminally ill patients end their life. He was tried 4 times for assisting patients commit suicide and walked free 4 times. However, after he broadcast the voluntary euthanasia of a patient in the final states of Lou Gehigs disease very publicly on CBS News' 60 minutes, he was tried and convicted of second-degree murder.

This story seems to mirror societies view on euthanasia. Eliminating religious thread from the matter as that is it's own rule book, I don't think many would be willing to morally condemn someone wishing to end their life by choice and bypass a few last moments of agony. For unambiguous cases, I think assistance would be looked upon as an act of compassion as opposed to an act of evil. But, if someone were to put assistance on display, to advertise it, or to seem too eager - well that is an entirely different matter. To let that pass would be an implicit sanction of the practice and society is not comfortable with that.

Me personally, as i stated in part II of this case, I believe in the protection of life. In most cases I would consider suicide an unethical choice. However, I will not judge someone who makes that choice in pain at the final moments of their life.

A good standard here would be if the decision for an experimental treatment is made with an honest expectation that it is the best option for the patient's survival, then it would be considered ethical. We could think of many hypothetical scenarios where this standard would be difficult to cleanly apply, but ,if the decision is grey enough, then there really isn't a black answer or a white answer, an ethical decision and an unethical decision.

There is the question about when a doctor should recommend experimental treatments, those with high risk and only theoretical rewards. As with many things, this isn't a yes or no answer but more of a spectrum answer. In the show, Dr. Crusher allows the experimental treatment against her own ethical code in order to respect Worf's wishes and his Klingon influenced ethical code.

Dr. Crusher has a great quote at the end of the show directed toward Dr. Russell that sums up the shows intended moral lesson.

"I am delighted that Worf is going to recover. You gambled. He won. Not all of your patients are so lucky. You scare me, Doctor. You risk your patients' lives, and justify it in the name of research. Genuine research takes time. Sometimes a lifetime of painstaking, detailed work in order to get any results. Not for you. You take shortcuts, right through living tissue. You put your research ahead of your patients' lives. And as far as I'm concerned, that's a violation of our most sacred trust. I'm sure your work will be hailed as a stunning breakthrough. Enjoy your laurels, Doctor. I'm not sure I could."

Future environment / Scenario

Well, interestingly, the setting for this case is in the future and the advanced technology doesn't change the dilemma presented, just possibly how frequently it would occur.

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lewishamledger · 5 years ago

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The shop around the corner

WORDS BY RONNIE HAYDON; PHOTO BY LIMA CHARLIE

Michelle Morden never expected to wind up in Lewisham. “I always said I would never live in a city – then I ended up in London via Milan,” she muses, as she shows me round her elegant shop, Zenubian, on Hither Green Lane.

Michelle hails from the Seychelles – and growing up in the island nation, around 900 miles from mainland east Africa, has had a big influence on her approach to life.

“You realise when you live in the Seychelles that possessions don’t matter so much,” she explains. “It’s experiencing life that matters, the growing of food and spending time with family.

“It was a revelation – discovering how much people cloak themselves in stuff, because they get stuff pushed at them all the time.”

In keeping with this, the offering at Zenubian is the antithesis of mass-produced, throwaway culture. Instead, it presents a thoughtful, hand-picked selection of fair trade, artisan goods and holistic services, with the aim of “inspiring a better world”.

Michelle is committed to sourcing goods made from sustainable materials and from ethically maintained sources – and is passionate about championing independent craftspeople.

Her eclectic range of stock includes oils, incense, natural body products, crystals, art, carvings, jewellery, textiles, home decor, furnishings, lighting and ceramics.

“The reason I like what I sell is because I know all the effort and hours that people have put into it,” she says. “The pieces are unique, everything comes out slightly different so customers buy one-offs. There may be only five examples of each piece.

“Although this shop is chock-full of colour, I might be able to choose you one piece, in one colour that just ‘pops’. See that cushion?”

She points to a deep yellow cushion adorned with a heron motif. A canvas with the same print sits behind it.

“Say you have a really plain living room with an Ikea sofa and a couple of chairs. You come here for one piece, like that heron. It will bring you joy, that one piece of colour.”

We might be going a bit Marie Kondo here, but the joy of considered shopping is what Zenubian is all about.

“People stop at this shop because something about the colours draws them in,” Michelle says. “Through the colour they pick out I can often determine what sort of person they are, whether they’re a communicator or a teacher, or if they need some grounding. Colour therapy, if you like.”

Zenubian also offers healing workshops in the light and airy studio behind the shop, which Michelle rents out to an increasing number of practitioners in the community.

Recent events in the studio have included capoeira, drumming and mindfulness, and Michelle has a number of regulars who use the space to great effect throughout the week.

Debi and Oren entertain children with music and stories on Mondays, Chloe Dupre’s yoga class is on Wednesdays. Freelance therapists love the studio, not least because, at £5 an hour, it must be one of the cheapest to rent in the borough.

“I don’t make very much money from it, but I want to facilitate this growth of interest in self-care,” Michelle says.

“If you look at the way the NHS is going – cuts everywhere – and the effect they will have on our health and mental wellbeing, our very humanity, I think we need these services to be affordable.

“We need this creativity and energy at the grassroots. I think that if you nurture these things at the roots, everyone will prosper.”

Recently Michelle has been nurturing her own roots, and those of her six-year-old son. She feels privileged to be able to show her little boy the two distinct lands of his birth. One’s an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, and the other one’s, er, Hither Green.

“My mum is Seychellois, my dad’s from North Cheam, but I found out after my shop had moved from its tiny Ladywell premises to this road, two years ago, that my paternal great-grandparents lived in Hither Green,” says Michelle.

Small world. I imagine the little boy enjoys his trips to see his grandparents.

“Oh yes, and it’s important that he connects with where he is from. Back in January he and I travelled to the Seychelles – January is our only opportunity to close the shop, because no one wants to buy anything.

“The whole vibe out there is different, so my son gets to run around in shorts and T-shirts every day, and help my mum and dad in their gorgeous garden. They grow copious amounts of bananas and pamplemousse.

“Every time we visit we get a tour of the garden, and my son learns about important skills like sewing and growing your own food. Where we live in Lewisham, we also have a garden. He loves to watch things grow.

“My parents moved a lot when I was a child, because my father was a chef, who worked in south Wales, Cheshire and Kenya. I think everything I saw and all the cultures I became a part of influenced the way I choose the pieces for this shop.

“Even the name, which combines Zen philosophy and our Nubian, African roots, represents the multicultural, Creole-speaking society I grew up in, and the London I live in.

“Seychellois culture is so very mixed. Its roots may be British and French colonial but its history of spice exporting means it’s a fusion of Italian, Chinese, Indian and all different religions.

“There’s never any friction; you couldn’t be racist because basically everyone is different. Obviously there’s a divide between the rich and the poor, but wealth is not the sole defining factor. Most of all, the Seychellois treasure their environment. All these are values I want my son to grow up with.”

It’s this multicultural, creative atmosphere that Michelle wants to celebrate in Zenubian, so it bothers her a little when people don’t revel in its difference.

“Someone walked past the shop the other day, and I heard him say, ‘I don’t understand that shop’”, she says. “I was incredulous and thought to myself, ‘What exactly is it that you don’t understand?’

“Then, I thought a little more about it and realised there are some people who don’t see value in creativity that they don’t recognise. Sometimes this attitude does have an impact on me and I ask myself, ‘Am I being too African, too cultural?’

“But not everything in here is African. Agnes who creates the jewellery is French, and Rowena, who made that wonderful heron cushion – she comes from the north of England.

“In the end, I have to laugh. I pitied him in a way, because I know my shop isn’t for everyone, and I can’t hope to appeal to everyone. Whoever is supposed to come, will come.”

And with that suitably Zen observation, Michelle turns her attention to a customer who’s just walked in, helping to bring a little more colour and joy into a grey Lewisham day.

#lewisham #lewisham news #lewisham newspaper #london news #london newspaper #southeast london #catford #bellingham #deptford #blackheath #new cross #sydenham #telegraph hill #hither green #brockley #crofton park #forest hill #ladywell

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dramaclover · 5 years ago

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Ending & Thoughts: The Dripping Sauce

I was super hyped for this drama. I like all the cast members and the premise was interesting. Obviously it’s another family, feuding over the inheritance of an upper class family. This is a pre-modern series so during this time woman weren’t considered someone that can help out with the family business. And this had all the makings of a scheming drama with the backdrop of making soy sauce! It had long lost siblings, fake relationships, sworn friendships, bickering love, amnesia, love triangles - love squares, betrayal, lost love all thrown into the mix. But unfortunately this drama was a flop.

At the beginning of the drama, the plot moved very very slow. I even considered dropping it by episode 6 cause of how slow it was. Also Siu Moon (Rebecca Zhu) was such a unlikeable character. She’s so rude. She’s supposed to be a strong willed woman that has a high sense for justice. But honestly her attitude was just annoying! Half the time she was super rude to everyone around her. She was impolite and doesn’t think logically at all. Every time she fights with Ah Fung (Matthew Ho) I just get pissed. Cause she’s obviously the one in the wrong and here she is making small problem bigger than it’s supposed to be. Ah Fung is also immature as well but boy Siu Moon took over 10 episodes before she becomes likeable! But once it hit around 20+ her strong willed character tapered and she began letting everyone walk over her. Back then she didn’t care who you are, she’ll call you out if she thinks it’s wrong. The amounts of fights she’s gotten with the owners of the soy sauce factory- wow. And she’s training there under them so she should show respect to their elders. They are the one who took her in as a trainee and here she is back talking with the owners?? Dang she was so unnecessary annoying. And then here she is episodes later and she’s all meek and I’m just wondering what happened?

Ah Fung is the main character yet his character disappears midway- literally he goes missing and we don’t see him for 5 episodes a part from the small imaginary cameos. Basically he marries Siu Moon then gets lied to by Sai Yiu (Katy Kung) that they were siblings so he runs away to look for his parents and ask for the truth. On the way he gets beaten from an unnecessary character and then gets kidnapped to be sold as a slave. We don’t see him for many episodes and then he shows up finally. Turns out he’s got amnesia and forgot everyone. That’s okay, except he’s not accepting of this family nor Siu Moon. In fact he didn’t any want anything to do with them cause he finds them rough and impolite. He doesn’t want to associate with them. But dude. Whether you like it or not that’s your family. And Siu Moon your wife? You can walk away from her cause you don’t remember her but walking away from you daughter too? Grade A jerk. It’s only when he starts to slowly fall for Siu Moon again that he’s more accepting of this “family”. In fact at the very end he still didn’t remember them. But he knows he does love Siu Moon, so he stays behind with the family and runs the soy sauce business with her. So if he never fell in love with Siu Moon again, he would’ve just fled - whether he had a child or not. On the last episode Carrie (Kelly Fu) who saved him from being a slave purposely gets him drunk to create an image of them sleeping together. Because do that Ah Fung has to choose between staying with Siu Moon and their daughter or leaving with Carrie who he slept with. Guess who he chooses? Carrie. And his excuse is because he has to take “responsibility” for his actions. Are you serious? Siu Moon literally married you, got knocked up by you and you ditched her the day after her wedding! If you’re gonna talk about responsibility which one seems like a heavier responsibility? Carrie who you slept with once or Siu Moon who gave birth to your child? Like dang. Good thing Carrie admitted her faults or else he’ll be in England with her! While Siu Moon is a single mommy running the factory.

Yip Sai Yiu is the main antagonist. And I think what finds her such a horrible villain is that she didn’t transition into one. She’s just always been a bad person? I understand she was mistreated back then but after Siu Moon saved her and both ran away from the brothel nothing bad happened that made her like this... yes she was poor but it wasn’t enough for her to go full on evil! She takes Siu Moons identity as the long lost daughter, strategically tries to endanger Siu Moons life, she killed 2 different people, indirectly killed others, plotted and backstabbed everyone she didn’t like. It just makes me so confused on why she’s so evil. The turning point would be after she gets raped as her evilness amplified but even then it still didn’t make sense. No matter what Siu Moon never hurt you, she treated you whole heartedly, she didn’t do you any wrong. Do you really have to be like that towards her? And I think the worst, THE WORST part about her story is that she didn’t suffer. And I mean that as in she just died that’s it. A building collapsed on her. That’s it. Like? The whole reason why I sat through all her evilness was to see her suffer and fall from grace. But noooo that’s how she gets offed. Granted she died cause of greed but seriously she didn’t suffer at all! It would’ve been nice to see a showdown between her and Siu Moon but that didn’t happen. She never regretted what she did and didn’t have any remorse. Even when she was dying she told Siu Moon to leave her and not cause she didn’t want her to die but because she didn’t want her to save her. You can’t even say, well her husband left her behind that must’ve hurt her. But umm nooo. She never loved him and he never loved her. They both used each other for their own gains. Him not saving her probably wasn’t even a shock to her. She’s aware he isn’t a good guy and her husband knew she isn’t as innocent as she portrays. I actually thought she didn’t die there. I thought it would pan out and show Sai Yiu alive but disabled or blind or something. Show her homeless or have her locked up in jail. But nope. And technically she got away with all her crimes. The people she killed? No one knows she did it! The evil manipulation of hers was never exposed. Siu Moon and her family just basically thought she’s no longer nice cause she’s rich and doesn’t want to be associated with them. Not cause she hurt them. So like that’s even worse. I really hate how her character ended. No punishment for her crimes. And her fast death. The ending montage was awkward considering it showed her back then all smiley even though she was always evil. And no one even talked about her in the end. After the building collapsed, her character was just shrugged off. Which is weird for Siu Moon considering how she tried to save her and yet there weren’t any last words spoken to her.

One aspect I also really disliked was the amnesia. Cause he never recovered his memories. And it’s okay cause he learned to love Siu Moon again but what about his best friend/ brother Wai Ko (James Ng)? In the beginning of the drama they were the best of friends. They grew up together, ate together, played together, joked around with each other. Always there for each other and always protecting each other. So honestly it broke my heart that he forgot about this best friend. When he went missing Wai Ko worked hard to look for him and always kept him in mind even after he found out about them being actual brothers. He never envied that his brother got to grow up in luxury while he was in the slums. And when they finally meet again he doesn’t remember him. And he never remembers him. Wai Ko ends up becoming a sergeant of this town which means he won’t be free anymore. So long were the days where the both of them would sneak off to eat snacks and go drinking. Wai Ko won’t be around him as often and with Ah Fungs memory gone... their friendship basically ended and forgotten for good. Wai Ko was okay with him not remembering him as he still had the memories.. but boy this hit me harder than when he forgot Siu Moon. Unlike with her he could spend all this time to fall in love with her but with Wai Ko? That’s hard to happen as he’s always off to accomplish his secret duties. Like I’m glad Wai Ko finally became such a successful and heroic person but it sucked that the friendship is no longer there. It’s been thrown away. Something they both treasured is now forever gone. What I find interesting is that in the early episodes Ah Fung talked about how he wish he could enlist in the army as that was his dream to protect others, while with Wai Ko he was content with working at the sauce factory as a trainee. So it’s ironic that both of their fates changed. Wai Ko is the one that ends up bringing glory while Ah Fung stayed behind.

Ko Sheung Sheung (Kaman Kong) was one character where I always thought would be the key to exposing Sai Yius lies. She was the one who told her about her brothers first love. Which she used to her advantage to seduce her brother. Never once did she mention to her brother about that. His brothers first wife, So Chau (Maggie Yu) whom she loved so much like a sister died cause of Sai Yius plotting. Not only did she not try to uncover the truth behind her death.. she never really spoke about her again. She just mentions once about how much she misses her - the end. I don’t know about you but I would have done a something about it. She knows Sai Yiu is not a good person and warned her to be wary of her and then she dies. Who could benefit from her death? Sai Yiu as now she’s the only wife of his brother. Sheung Sheung could’ve convinced her brother about what a bad person she was. In the end her brother did love her. Which is another thing I don’t get. No matter how evil her brother was or how power hungry - one thing did not change! He genuinely did care for her and looked after her very well. So I’m shocked that Sheung Sheung wasn’t upset about what happened to her brother. He was also not brought up again.. I just assumed he went to jail.

Speaking of So Chau her character is pretty pitiful. Grew up in a brothel, never felt love, always been looked down upon. She’s like a Cinderella story where she meets her prince Ko Shui Wing (Andrew Yuen) aka Sheung Sheungs brother and through marriage she became a swan. Except that didn’t last too long as Sai Yiu schemes her way in. But for real even if that didn’t happen it wouldn’t matter. Shui Wing isn’t a good person. He never loved her so when she gets killed and he found out it was Sai Yiu he didn’t care. It’s so sad cause So Chau loved him so much. She didn’t even mind having Sai Yiu become the second wife because she believed he would always love her more. But she was wrong after he married her, he never treated her kindly again. He would always yell at her and at the very end he slapped her. That was also the last interaction they had before her death. But im pretty sure her dying is less painful then finding out Shui Wing didn’t love her the way she did. And I’m not sure how I feel about her never finding that out. A part of me thought that at the end when Shui Wing got a hold of the treasure he would slap and belittle Sai Yiu for killing So Chau. Cause I thought he loved her too but she was just another disposable woman to him. Till the end there was no justice for her death and I can only hope Sheung Sheung regularly visits her grave off screen.

The beginning stated waaaaay to slow with irritable characters, started getting interesting midway but flopped during the end. The ending definitely felt rushed and I believe the writers didn’t even know how to end it. Cause honestly the last episode was all over the place. The biggest villain didn’t get the punishment they deserved. It would’ve been nice if they showed more of the sauce making. Also there was scene where the main sauce maker was trying to figure out a way to have mushrooms last longer. I thought it would later show how he founded the very popular “mushroom soy sauce” - that didn’t happen. At the end they mention it becoming a best seller but they never showed how it was made or how he came up with it. And I feel like it’s such a pity that it didn’t happen. Did the writer forget to write it in? Was it a deleted scene? Well all in all. I felt like this drama was also a waste of time. And if you ask me the only “success” story was Wai Ko. He worked his way up and he never thought of himself much more than another soy sauce boy so to see him became a respected general is nice. For Siu Moon it’s different yes she’s hardworking but in the end she is the legitimate daughter. If she was just another orphan working there she wouldn’t be able to end up being the boss of the factory. I definitely have mixed feelings for this drama. But in the end I’d say pass on this drama. You’re really not missing out much.

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sustainhealthmagazine · 5 years ago

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Treasure Island with Bear Grylls the Interview

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Hit Channel 4 series The Island with Bear Grylls returns, but this time there’s a twist. For the first time there’s money at stake and it’s everyone for themselves. The reimagined series - Treasure Island with Bear Grylls - will once again see 12 ordinary Brits marooned for 35 days on a remote.

We wanted to find out more from the main man himself behind the Island and what’s going to be happening.

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This is the first time you’ve dropped money on to the island, what made you decide to shake up the series in this way?

Well this is something I've wanted to do with the show for a while. It's been a natural evolution, you know? With season one the whole premise was just totally original, then we've gone through so many of the big things in society that are powerful and relevant for people, from ageism to wealth to gender and this was the last one that we purposefully, I personally, held back until now. But we always knew, it's such a powerful force in all of our lives and it can have such pull for good and bad that once we introduced this it would be a whole new level. It feels like it's happening at the right time, having done these other angles on the show before, but this one was always going to be a crowning glory really. What happened was amazing, it really was.

You mentioned that you think this is the right time to introduce money, what do you mean?

Well, I think with money, so much of society is driven by it. I understand it, it's natural, but it's such a powerful force in everyone's life. But it's interesting because ultimately money is neutral, it's us that distils power to it and I always think money amplifies what we are.

It really does expose human nature, doesn't it?

It does. I think the island full stop does that. It just amplifies so much of who we are and it strips it right back. Looks, material things and all the things that society places so much value on, and so actually, if you don't have it and it's taken away what do you really value? And then you start dropping money back into the equation and it's like dropping grenades onto this island, it really was like that. We would watch the footage come back every day and we'd be like, "Oh wow!" You couldn't anticipate how people reacted and you never know what people's characters are like. You never know them really well because it's just words, and until I hear you're good under pressure, you never really see what people are made of and that's the art of the island.

What were you shocked about the most when you saw people's reactions to the cash?

How powerful the draw is, and how people's values can change when they get dazzled. That's the flip side of the coin and the positive so that by the end it was incredibly inspiring seeing people's journeys of looking in that mirror and saying actually, "What is this for? How much does it mean to be able to do good things with this and help people and support people and let's start to plan amazing things for other people." Suddenly you see this light starting to shine through the cracks. I'm always interested, and we gave people an amnesty at the end, for a day, where everybody had to declare what they had. It's such a driving force in society and we wanted to say, "Hold on. What's the real value of it and what are the lessons from this”, you know?

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Do you think the way they all deal with the money will spark arguments between viewers over what they would do in that situation?

Yeah! There is going to be so many arguments like that. I think one of the lessons is that the real wealth in all our lives isn't always found just in hard currency. What are you after, money or happiness? Surely happiness matters more and do you need money for that happiness? I do think that sitting with those guys around that fire at the end, there was a real sense of what we have in life, these shared experiences show perspective on life and perspective on our families back home and our perspective on our work and our own values, it is priceless, you know that matters more than just some cash in your pocket. There's something beautiful when people realise that the real wealth in their lives is found in relationships. It's a really beautiful thing to experience for yourself and it's a beautiful thing to see in other people, especially when they've had a real journey, when it didn’t start off like that.

One islander Ben said he went on the island obsessed with the trappings of wealth, came off the island and within weeks had sold all his watches and his car…

Ben had a pretty strong argument for saying he really found riches on the island. And that's a really cool, positive thing from Treasure Island.

What are your thoughts about money?

Well I think it's always easy for somebody who has money to go, "It's not a driving force of my life." So I'm mindful of that, and I don't want to belittle it because people have real battles financially. All of us are different, but for me the raw pursuit of money has never been a huge driver for me, that's just the honest truth, it really hasn't, otherwise I would have never joined the Army! I would have become a numbers guy maybe, because I would say the chances of what's ended up as my career working out is so small. I say this to my teenage boys that there's been a huge amount of luck involved in my career, and if I'd have been after just money, I would have picked a different career in the outset.

I mean, as a young person I just wanted to really follow my heart and I loved adventure, loved the relationship with people under pressure on a big mountain or in a jungle or on an island, I've always thrived off that. So that's been a much more motivated thing for me. I do think at the same time, my dad used to say, "If you really do what you really love, not always but pretty often, money will kind of follow. But chase the money and it's a bit like a butterfly, it will fly away. But if you just keep on doing what you're doing and then a butterfly comes around it's a nice surprise." I'm not saying it's always like that, but it's felt like a little bit in my life. I've loved adventure and the survival side of things and doing that has brought me my career.

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You don’t seem to be someone who chases fame either, we don't see you at many showbiz parties or on red carpets?

Well I think, none of that is real, it really isn’t! I see it so often in people and especially Running Wild guests, a number of people talk about that and they're seeing the whole cycle. If you chase that stuff, it's so transient and it's never enough. I am telling this to myself as much as you, you've just got to remember this stuff's not real. The real stuff in your life is found in your relationships with those you love. It's your family, your children, and trying to find work that is fulfilling and makes you smile. And the other side of it is that I'm not only quite shy at those sort of events, I don't actually enjoy them. I have a much more extroverted sister who's always going, "God you're rubbish at these things." She'd love it, she'd love to go to all those parties and events, I just find it very uncomfortable, it's just not my natural place. I love being with good friends, sat with your over the wall somewhere, I'm genuinely more comfortable then and I enjoy that. I love the mountains, I love being in these places with great friends. But being at a big party and being in a big room of people and it's all loud, there's an awful lot of showing off, there really is. I actually haven't been to something for so long that I swore this summer that I would go to one. I won't say what it was, but I went to one of the big parties in London and after 10 minutes I was like, “This is why I don’t come, this is such a dark side of society. Every guest was desperate to tell everyone else how famous and successful they are and it just makes me curl in a ball.

What did you think when you found out that Ivar Mountbatten was on the island?

Well the casting is so key on the island, you know, it's getting that right and trying to get a fair cross section of society. But when it comes to dropping money, it's just another interesting dynamic to have somebody who is a Lord. At one point I think he was arguing saying he had more need of the money because his mortgage was bigger and he has school fees for the kids. I can see the logic but that's an example of where views can differ. Some people will listen to him and wouldn't necessarily see it like that, it’s very interesting.

Mano is a leading brain surgeon and says his time on the island has made him better at his job, he feels he has more clarity of thought to deal with intense operations. what do you think about that?

That's amazing, see that's cool, that's not just about happiness, actually now you're saying it's made him more efficient. That's the main thing, you're less clouded by crap. What a waste of energy is all these envy and greed emotions are for all of us. It’s such a waste of emotion. I love that story of Mano, that's great.

Jack was branded the Mowgli of the island and you praised his behaviour on the island…

I really meant it, his journey was incredible, he has my full respect. He did that the hard way. Through cheerfulness and through kindness and through helping other people and by selflessness and it really, really shines bright as you watch those episodes. It's not rocket science, but it's incredibly difficult when you're blinded and dazzled by cash. You know? It's very easy, everyone talks like this when I'm driving them in on the boat. And I smile because I know as soon as the bright lights come on and that cash is waved, people act differently and sure enough you don't know who any of the real heroes are until you're really under pressure, you're really hurting, you're really hungry, thirsty, scared and then £100,000 is waved in front of your face. Then you learn about who the heroes are. And Jack was one of them.

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What motivates you to keep working when you don’t have to given the success you’ve had?

I really love it, and The Island is a great example of what I love in that you go and take these guys off to the edge of the world and you see that light and pride in their eyes when they come back. It is a quiet, respectful, humble, confidence that you cannot buy anywhere. Your money can't buy it, you've got to earn it, you've got to earn this through blood, sweat, endeavour, massive failure, you've got to learn it by facing fears, you learn these lessons on The Island and those that endure, invariably have this feeling at the end. I see it every time. There's a light in their eyes, it's quiet assurance, and it's really powerful. So I did this stuff, why? Same reason why I'm Chief Scout. It's about the outdoors and what scary, tough, cold and desperate experiences give people, is that quiet sense of we need each other, and sometimes you’ve got to reach out a hand, together we're stronger, and I can be really proud of myself. We see that through The Island, we see that through the Scouts, we see it through Running Wild, and it's the reason I do my job.

What would make you want to call it a day then? Can you see that day happening?

Well I would love to do a lot of all of this stuff, but without being filmed! That’s the answer to that! The bit I struggle with is being on camera. I actually find it difficult, I don't really enjoy having a camera pointed at me. So I think maybe there would be a day where we just do this without the cameras. But I want an adventure and the empowerment of these experiences always to be part of my life. Whether it's through kids or grandchildren or great-grandchildren, what a cool thing to have in your life, why give that up?

You mention Running Wild, you've taken some amazing famous figures and political figures into the wild, is there anybody else you would love to take out on your adventures with you?

Yeah, the list of great guests grows. But the one thing I've learned is that I don’t talk about who are target list is until we've got them! We're lucky with that show, we just keep attracting amazing individuals. I'm very grateful for that privilege to show them our amazing world.

Shows like Treasure Island and Running Wild is about getting people outdoors. Why do you think it's more important than ever to get people outdoors?

I think it’s because we grow so much, it's where character develops, you know? It is what Baden Powell the founder of Scouting said, "A week in the field is worth a year in the classroom." Scouting is based on that and I see it with all our TV shows, it's the same thing. When speak to the guys once they are off the island, “What do you learn by sitting through a typhoon with no shelter, no fire, you’re cold, hungry, you can't learn that in an office”. There is something intangible, but our shows are rich in friendships and in hardships and they never give up spirit. Ultimately that's what the outdoors, and the wild teaches us. If we learn these things there, we become so much more powerful in life because we think, "Oh this bit's easy. I remember that time we were stuck in that jungle or stuck wherever," you know? And that empowers you, it's all about being empowered for your everyday life. These guys aren't going to go back to another island in a hurry, but they're going to use these lessons they've learned about wealth and each other and that sometimes putting your head down and keeping going helps you for the rest of your lives, you know?

Do you think the more we get outdoors, the more inclined people are going to be to save our planet?

Yeah, I mean that's definitely the other side of it. To understand why the whole climate change mess is so important, you've got to see it. That's the reason Barack Obama wanted to go on the journey with me, he'd studied the science and he said, "I've seen all the science, I understand that, but I want to see it." And I think when you stand up close you see the effects of climate change closer, whether it's some animals who, like on Hostile Planet, the show I did where you actually see the devastating effect on wildlife all around the world from climate change, you see litter on an island in the middle of the Pacific. That's the classroom, isn't it, for all of those guys on this show, one of the lessons they came back with is they're never going to throw a bit of plastic onto the ground because they've seen it on an island.

Does your heart drop when you see all the impact of what we are doing to the planet?

I really see it all over the world, everywhere I go. We come from a generation where the older people debate it and young people want to solve it, and I see that. I've just been to the World Scout Jamboree in America, 50,000 young kids from all over came from different countries all united in a message that we have to tackle climate change. We have to sort out plastic.We have to reduce fossil fuels. This isn't like, “Let's debate whether or not it's a good idea”, this is like, “Do it, do it, do it”. I'm proud to encourage that in these guys and trying to shine a light where it's most powerfully seen. I feel like it gives us all hope when you've got kids like that, being such loud voices for others, but it's got to come from the politicians, you know? So that’s why having Narendra Modi in the wild was so powerful, I did that show because he said, "My vision is to clean up India." And the message is you've got to do it. Words are words, you've got to actually do it, you've got to lead. So taking him on that journey was important.

We need to get you with Donald Trump because he doesn't believe in any of it…

I know! I think Ivanka really understands it and I'm always hopeful that there are not many people who don’t get persuaded to do things by their daughters, so I just really hope that her understanding on this will rub off, eventually, on him. Let's pray!

You've done so much, you've achieved so much, have you got anything left on your bucket list that you still want to tick off?

Well, you know, all the things of achievement, all of that is tins and pots, you know, tins and pots, nothing more. The real wealth, like Treasure Island says, is around us all and in our relationships, in our family, and that’s a constant thing, you never stop giving to and trying to invest in and protect and treasure. So yeah I love all the TV shows we do as a team, I'm super proud of being Chief Ambassador in World Scouting and the influence that young people can have there. Our Be Military Fit legacy, that’s really important to me because that's so rooted in our veterans and empowering them with businesses after they leave the military. But all of this stuff is the same thing really, it’s about empowering people through adventure, and I hope I'll do that for a while.

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