#theres enough subtext where i dont think they have to admit it
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sent a dennis edit to my friend who doesnt watch iasip.. how do i explain this
#iasip#dennis reynolds#its always sunny in philly#its always sunny#iasip dennis#yes he is#they just wont admit it#theres enough subtext where i dont think they have to admit it#we all know
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@likesuperwee replied to your post: [x]
Yes I'm SO glad he trusted himself and didn't let his heart be influenced by "procedure." And again I totally agree and I've struggled with this show because acab and while they touch on serious/important conversations re:policing (ie. michael being harassed in 911) it's just not enough??? Like it's still very much a pro-cop show.
I'm interested to see if Carlos has any doubts about being a cop after that situation... but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't write that because this commentary is way more subtle than it could/should be. It's frustrating and confusing though as a fan for sure
I have so many more thoughts and feelings, and I'm sure you do too but I struggle to communicate them eloquently lol
yeah its not straightforward because while I love the show and ultimately I go to it for escapism - it is also a positive depiction of cops and police, so its irresponsible not to engage critically with its depictions of cops and how it heroises them, and it can’t really be escapism when it is valourising cops.
I dont watch the og 911 so im not quite sure what happened with Michael being harassed but with the latest lone star ep - while I am impressed by the fact they framed it the way they did, ultimately they didnt really push it explicitly - it was more subtext rather than outright criticism. and the thing is, that’s not going to change until there is real world change in the vein of defunding the police and reforming the way domestic policing is handled. they’re both first responder-orientated shows so until there is that kind of reform, cops are going to feature as primary characters who are endeared to the audience. yes they focus on the firehouses mainly but Athena and Carlos are main characters too even if lone star forgets it sometimes and their depictions will therefore be positive.
I will unapologetically admit that Carlos is my favourite character, but I have to acknowledge the system he is part of and the pressures on him to behave in certain ways. it is reassuring to see him shown as resistant to those pressures as he is in 2x08 - but you still see things in the way he responds to emergencies. for me, the mercury poisoning case in s1 had several red flags. first, when a guy was obviously harming himself rather than anyone else, he was treated as a threat to others and Carlos approached him with a hand on his gun. then when the poisoner was called back, Carlos approached the situation with his gun already out - despite there being no evidence of the guy having his own weapon. I dont know what standard procedure is but those were times where to me, lethal weaponry was threatened prematurely and it really stood out to me. idk whether its because I come from a country where we dont have guns - yeah, our police force is still institutionally corrupt but lethal force is not so immediately and easily applied and so it felt really obvious to me.
anyway, yeah I agree - I think that a really interesting and in-character plot line for Carlos would be to advocate for police reform and spearhead a new department that handles cases in a more sympathetic and compassionate way. I dont expect to see it because im not naive but its something that I would like to see. I dont think that he’d want to leave the police entirely, I think for his character theres his family history and also he feels like he can do good with it, and with the validation of the last ep it would reinforce his conviction when it came to resisting ‘procedure’. but I do think that a slightly different direction or approach to being a cop would suit him.
#replies#likesuperwee#a has thoughts#this got long#theres also the whole thing of the shows' only depictions of cops are played by people of colour#which is...complex in a way that I need to do more research on tbqh#and honestly probably should be discussed by a person of colour#rather than me#long post#all cops are bad#self harm cw
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film watch day 30: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Nightmare on Elm Street is not my favourite slasher franchise. while i can appreciate the first one for being a masterwork of horror, i have really no interest in subsequent sequels, and dont particularly like Freddy Krueger as a character after he stopped being a threatening villain and just became a joke. all that said, Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is fucking great.
spoilers for this movie ahead, which im bothering to warn about because i do sincerely recommend it, but i also like, want to talk about this in-depth so im gonna have to give away the plot.
like along with being honestly creepy and suspenseful and having a very likeable main character, i love NoES 2 because the running years-old argument of ‘is NoES 2 gay?’ finally got an answer a little while ago. it is! and while i reject the concept that you need an author to sign off on a gay reading of a text to give it legitimacy, theres something kind of great still about knowing that it was intentional. NoES 2 is a story where Freddy Krueger is a metaphor for homophobia, acting as conversion therapy for a gay teenager.
so NoES2 is about Jesse, whose family has just moved into a house on Elm Street. of course, he begins having vivid nightmares about a terrifying man called Freddy Krueger. however instead of just wanting to kill Jesse, Freddy is actively trying to drive Jesse to kill so that he can take over Jesse’s body, forcing the two to battle over which of them gets control.
lets talk about the gay subtext, which is the only thing i care about in any movie ever. so Jesse is a young dude whos starting to figure out his sexuality. his parents know something is up, but they mostly just want him to toughen up and be normal. he has a girlfriend, but hes uncomfortable being intimate with her and keeps pushing her away so he can hang out with his male friend. hes a nice kid and a good person. he is very transparently gay-coded. his actor, a guy called Mark Patton for whom i have enormous fucking respect and who quit Hollywood acting because he (rightly) felt the industry was intolerant of him as a gay man, influences this to a large degree. his personality shows through in his performance, and i think thats a large part of the reason why people latched onto this as a gay movie so early; its incredibly easy to identify with and connect with Jesse.
so Jesse is a young man trying to come to terms with his sexual identity, but someone takes offense to that, and thats where Freddy Krueger comes in. when Freddy initially asks Jesse to become like him, to kill for him, Jesse obviously refuses. seeing that Jesse will not willingly be what he wants, Freddy decides to forcibly convert him to his way of being.
NoES2 has a pretty low body count for a horror movie; the only two character deaths in the film are, in turn, a teacher at Jesse’s school rumoured to be gay, and Jesse’s male best friend who he was emotionally confiding in. even later in the movie, a guy approaches the Freddy-possessed Jesse and sympathetically asks him if he needs help, tries to offer support. Freddy tosses him to the side, removing yet another person from Jesse’s life. Krueger quite literally is destroying the male connections in Jesse’s life; he sees connections with them that he doesnt want, so he systematically erases them in order to keep Jesse isolated and in fear.
Jesse, who his girlfriend admits has been nervous and unsure of having an intimate relationship, is encouraged by Freddy during one of the few times they kiss, Freddy actively taking over his body in that moment and trying to force him to take it further. Krueger toys with Lisa, the girlfriend, but doesnt actually try to kill her, only chasing and harassing her while he dispatches with the men around Jesse without care.
theres a lot of talk about identity in this film, in an abstract way. a lot of people talk about this film being gay because look! this guy has a man inside him lol! but i think the focus is wrong there. Freddy is a violent intruder to the natural order of Jesse’s life; he wants Jesse to be frightened and alone, because thats what makes him powerful. he wants Jesse to hide and repress his personality, lose all sense of himself, and be in Freddy’s own mold. Freddy encourages Jesse to kill, to cut off the people in his life, to be like him; a violent misogynist who treats the people around him with contempt and has shallow, controlling relationships with women.
during the climax of the movie Freddy succeeds in taking over Jesse’s body. “Jesse’s dead, I’m Jesse now” he repeats, as he wreaks havoc in the real world. the way Jesse overcomes Freddy isnt through violent action against him, its by literally breaking through the outside persona imprisoning him and coming out as himself. he destroys the heterosexual outer shell thats controlling him and making him do and say things he hates, and takes control of his life. this is a film about coming out as a powerful force for good.
to see the entirety of the gay subtext in this film you kind of have to just watch it. again im gonna cite Mark Patton’s performance; he brings a huge amount of personality to Jesse and the film wouldnt be the same without him. and theres so many one-liners and eyebrow raising moments that really add to the greater idea that this movie is about a gay teenager, whether or not thats what it says on the box. like, this film for me is an honestly affirming and positive movie, and it makes me wish there were a lot more gay horror films out there. i mean, i wish that anyway, but this is such a weird example of how to do it right in its own way; creating an environment in which the message of the film can so easily be read as ‘coming out is good’.
also the film is just like, fun. its ridiculously campy and its often very silly but the goofiness and the fun tone stop it from getting too bleak, while Krueger himself manages to keep a respectful enough distance that he actually feels like a tangible threat and not someones wacky murdering uncle.
and check out these outfits from Jesse
this is how i dress now. icon.
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