#these are the patriarchs of my chosen people btw :) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bossbutch · 3 months ago

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halfway thru chapter 1 of umineko. idk how meaningful it is to speculate this early, The Real Umineko hasnt even properly started. these arent fully thought out and organized it's just scattered thoughts

battler's gender politics are entertainingly weird. he's like "when i meet a woman, even if she's my cousin or my servant, i NEED to make a big show of grabbing her tits so that she can hit me and everyone will laugh at the Classic Gag and it'll lighten the mood" which is just ridiculous enough to be something a rich teenager in the 80s could convince himself is okay. and then he sees the dinner seating and he's like "damn my family's so patriarchal. thought gained: inexplicable feminist agenda". i'm assuming this is a genre deconstruction thing. also lol that he is right next to maria in grandpa's tier list

maria is awesome btw i hope she gets to infodump about magic a lot more. some goon in the SA thread said the umineko author was once a social worker, so like. even if they don't use the word because it's japan in the 80s she's gotta be Intended as autistic

kinzo's room is so telegraphed to be a locked room mystery. he's entertaining too but i kinda zone out when he's talking about how his magic system works. i get the basic of more risk = more magic power but i worry it's the kind of thing that has Important Clues that my brain autofills with [arcane rambling]

battler constantly gasses up how good george is with kids and then george sees a family member repeatedly hitting their 9 year old disabled child and says, out loud, "not my problem"

assuming the epitaph is a puzzle intended to be solved and not the kind of puzzle that frames all the other puzzles and isn't solvable til the end: until the first butterfly i thought all the death and traveling was metaphorical. it still could be. like the six chosen by the key could be objects. the hands of a clock may be involved because that's in all the promo stuff and chapter start art. kinzo acted like the riddle was totally solvable by the doc or kanon or any of his kids. but if it was unsolvable until People Started Dying, it seems kinda pointless to have put the painting up years ago? but beatrice is a Dramatic Bitch.

Who Took The Rose?! no idea, but i'm sure it's important. if there's a 19th person, definitely them. totally possible the wrapper fell off but they'd still recognize the withered rose i reckon

Who Gave Maria The Umbrella?! again, if there's a 19th person, it's them. if not, natsuhi was my prime suspect because her alibi didn't have any witnesses but everyone else's did (if you really count grandpa and the doctor, like doc could easily say "i was with kinzo" and no one would verify that with kinzo). but then there was a scene right after from natsuhi's pov (migraine and can't sleep without meds, literally me) where she speculates who did it. so either the narrative is heavily fucking with me, it's gramps or the doctor, or it's someone with an accomplice

the narration is from battler's pov except when it's not and it's strange. it even isn't from his pov in some scenes that he's in, like the letter reading scene. this is the type of thing that could Mean Something way later but is just a little confusing sometimes right now

kyrie saying there's a contradiction in beatrice showing herself to maria but hiding from everyone else, failing to consider beatrice may be a Dramatic Bitch. i think there's probably a 19th person even if they are not necessarily a witch with magic powers

the furniture being totally able to break promises but can't disobey orders is the kind of exact words semantic sillies that umineko memes made me expect

goes w/o saying that the way the servants are treated is supremely fucked up. going to servant school and then working in the mansion at age six... george proposing to a girl that he has so much power over is lol. it's nice that umineko cares who the servants are and why they're there, and other logistical human things like how kinzo made his money and what they're all doing with it

at midnight, where was the doctor?

they drop some hints that the non-shannon, non-krauss bodies have their faces disfigured and Could be other people but that is pretty ridiculous and there's no reasons to consider that yet

i wish the LP used the doughy original art but that's the price i pay for convenience

#:crying_while_seagull:#will be my umineko tag

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mysterious-prophetess · 4 years ago

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Age of Calamity feelings and thoughts

I did a review but this is going to be even more all over the place and full of speculation and theorizing.

Tl:Dr about the review-I liked the game despite a few things here and there that frustrated me. Like the divine beast sections.

So Feelings? The game did make me happy and I’ve had a really terrible setback in what I thought my life would be and that occurred two weeks before Age of Calamity was released.

I failed my Comps and therefore was dismissed from my doctoral program. I used this game, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, and Hades to cope somewhat.

So...if I’ve attached a little more of my emotions to this game, it’s because it’s helped me through this shitty time of my life.

Anyway. This game really made my inner ZeLink shipper so very happy. Yes, I know they’re never really going to go as far as they did with Skyward Sword, but it was still enough to get my little shipper brain going.

I also feel they made Revali more belligerent towards Link without him already starting as the Hylian Champion/Knight Who Wields the Sword that Seals the Darkness, and I think this is Revali’s own inferiority/superiority complex coming into play.

From what I’ve read into this, it seems like Revali thinks Link is just a knight sworn to protect the Princess and therefore doesn’t even compare to Revali-who is the best Rito Archer, invented his own quasi magic technique (Revali’s Gale), and is the Rito Champion chosen to be Divine Beast Vah Medoh’s pilot. Yet, this nobody is in the thick of it and being trusted to do stuff that challenges Revali’s image of himself at the top of the pile.

Never mind the fact that one of his fellow Champions is the Chieftain of her people nor another is a Princess of hers, Revali sees Link the Knight as a threat to his own perceived view of things where he-Revali-is top bird.

I think it’s because Link can used any weapon he come across, including the bow, with proficiency. Revali can’t stand Link because he thinks Link is a threat to his own perceived idea he is the BEST. In canon BotW, at least he could take solace in the fact that Link was a fellow Champion from the start and therefore, while not as exceptions as himself (from Revali’s perspective), he at least was the Hylian Champion. In Age of Calamity? Revali doesn’t even have that much for half the story.

Daruk doesn’t get much of an expansion beyond what we learned in the Champion’s Ballad. He’s steady and willing to indulge in some sassing at Revali whenever the Riot Archer’s arrogance gets to be a bit much.

My favorite moment was in the story Mission “Freeing the Korok Forest” when he made the comment “If only there was someone who could fly ahead and scout it out.” in the midst of Revali’s bitching.

His interactions with Yunobo were cute too. Honestly both Gorons got the short stick in this as far as their characterizations were concerned.

Doesn’t help that of all the Future Champions, Yunobo is my least favorite to play, tied with Teba. So, I was less inclined to do much with him.

On the other end of the scale, we get Mipha and Sidon. Mipha’s interactions with Daruk helped flesh out her crush on Link more as well as her own motivations for helping others AND seeing both baby Sidon and the adult he was in BotW was interesting too. It’s not often we get to see that in a game. Sidon’s desire to save his big sister resonated with me a bit more than the two descendants- Riju and Yunobo- saving ancestors they’d likely never have met regardless of them dying then or dying of natural causes later. Sidon, on the other hand, as a Zora is part of a very long lived race and knew her and this adult Sidon has lived longer mourning his sister’s death than with her alive. Mourning her and wishing he’d been bigger or stronger to save her. Seeing them together made me so happy because I’d always wished he’d gotten closure, even if all he’d seen was her ghost from a distance.

Teba? Aside from being tied with Yunobo as my least favorite future champion to play as, he only showed that he grew up idolizing Revali and was shocked to see Revali was a bit of a jerk. I remarked to my friend that it was sad to me that the only legacy Revali seemed to have was his flight range, but now with Teba’s hero-worship (and shock that Revali is a jerk), perhaps the legacy was also the legend of a fantastic archer and hero of his people too.

Teba does seem to understand Revali isn’t what he portrays himself to be, and that is what I think he means by “seeing the face behind the Champion.” He sees through all of that posturing to see Revali as he is: deep down a hero who does care about others and not just himself and his own glory but also has an image he likes to project (which is why I think he has both an inferiority and superiority complex a la Bakugo of BnHA).

Now to the character I have the most feelings about:

King Rhoam Bospharmus Hyrule.

Learning he married into the royal family, and therefore, is not of the blood of Hylia does make his lack of knowledge of how to raise an heiress to the golden power make a lot more sense. This was something I gleamed from across the two games and the DLC. If Zelda’s mother had the golden power, she is the blood of Hylia, ergo, Rhoam isn’t and married into the family.

I’ll go one step further. I think that despite being the “Kingdom” of Hyrule, the bloodline of Hylia is matrilineal and therefore only daughters of the royal family can inherit this power. Though, for some reason it’s still a patriarchal society.

Zelda’s dead mom died before she could start to teach Zelda, and therefore Rhoam ever saw the external stuff that his wife might have done. He also seemed to have little patience for the metaphysical despite knowing a lot of that was real (at least when he was alive).

His approach to it was wrong and it damaged Zelda to the point that her powers awakened too late to stop them.

Also, Rhoam was trying to be too clever by half. In trying to just replicate what their ancestors did, he missed the point that the ancestors had a full understanding of what it was they were up against and what they’d created. Rhoam thought Calamity Ganon was just this beastial force and that underestimation was why he had all his plans blow-up in his face and the collective faces of Hyrule.

This is where my theories come into play.

After playing as him in Age of Calamity and finding his move set surprisingly effective, I’ve come up with a theory: The Magical Queens of Hyrule tend to choose men with extremely good Martial Skills as their husbands to create a balanced pair to reflect the first Zelda and Link who were Goddess incarnate and her Knight.

No, this isn’t just my Zelink shipper talking. Ok it IS partly but it would make sense. From a traditional standpoint (and Hyrule is steeped in tradition), the pairing of Goddess and Warrior being reflected in the Queen and her consort King makes sense.

It would also explain why Rhoam is so very military minded in attempting to get things done. I think he was nobleman who was either a general or captain or something similar. Which is why he’s so focused on training and getting rid of “distractions” from Zelda’s training (even if she’s a FUCKING CHILD and you shouldn’t do that to a kid who isn’t ready for such a regimented lifestyle).

Now, I don’t know that they were a love match or not, but either way, I think his prowess as a warrior was part of what drew Zelda’s Mom to him.

I’m saying it outright: I think Hylia, her incarnations, and her female descendants have a type and it’s men who kick serious ass.

Now I touched on this in my review of Age of Calamity but the story was very AU because in Creating a Champion it was revealed Link was TWELVE or THIRTEEN years old when he pulled the Master Sword free of its pedestal in the official canon BotW timeline and Link being around eighteen during the events of 100 years before and Age of Calamity, therefore should have had that sword but didn’t. It’s on page 376 btw.

Ergo, something affected this timeline and Link didn’t go into the Lost Woods and pull the sword.

In my review I speculated that this might have still been in part of Zelda’s wish that helped the little guardian go back in time. It might have had a ripple effect that allowed Link more time as just a knight and not THE Knight Chosen by the Sword that Seals the Darkness.

It also allowed them to have a much better relationship without Zelda’s resentment of Link achieving his destiny so much faster, and easier, than she was with her training amounting to nothing.

I also think after she and Link grew closer in BotW and she found out how much bearing the Master Sword for so long affected how Link viewed himself, she might have also wanted to grant him more time as another knight without the pressures that come with his destiny. (not that Age of Calamity really played that up).

Not going to lie, I loved the parallels between their awakenings in Age of Calamity. His with silvery-white light and hers with golden light. Both reaching for the other because they care....ah, that pleased the shipper in me.

I know Link doesn’t talk because reasons but I almost wish he did because I’d have loved to have seen a scene where the Future Champions all talk to him and he’s like “Uh.....do I know you?” or even some sort of silent version of that scene to preserve the lack of speech on his part.

The time travelers present a lot of funny moments of them speaking about stuff BotW Link did that his HWAoC counterpart didn’t.

The Future Champions, on the other hand, also present an avenue for angst. They’re from what is essentially the darker timeline. Their predecessors died lonely deaths and were trapped as ghosts for a century while Link awakened alone, without memories or his sword and Zelda lingered in divine form keeping Calamity Ganon at bay. They have to go back to that darker timeline after having gotten a moment to meet those they’d have-likely-never met or really knew well, with the exception of Sidon and Mipha.

It’ll hurt worse for Sidon knowing a version of him will get to have his big sister and all he has is some closure in knowing that in a version of events she got to live and he saved her. Sidon is a blinding beacon of positivity after all.

Plus, how would that conversation go down in the future?

“Hey, we’re back. We time traveled and saved our predecessors in a different timeline.” That just seems like a way to rub salt in the wounds of Link and/or Zelda depending from when they were pulled from into the past. Post-Game or just before Link defeats Calamity Ganon.

Again, there is potential here with this. It’s just not the angst a lot were expecting since we all thought this would be a prequel to BotW, major character deaths and all.

Instead it was an AU Time Travel Fix-it Fic full of everyone lives, no one dies except the bad guys.

Considering my personal circumstances, I needed a story like this where the past can be changed for the better even if it is in an alternate timeline.

Also, this being an AU Time Travel Fix-it Fic gave them more wiggle room than just following the events of 100 years pre-BotW. There they’d have to had either made the build up to the Calamity longer (and less fun) or just had a much shorter story. What they did instead was what was needed for a full game.

Maybe when I get some inspiration, I might play with these ideas in fic form.

Maybe I won’t. Either way, this game gave me a lot to work with.

#hyrule warriors age of calamity #age of calamity #spoilers #age of calamity spoilers #hyrule warriors age of calamity spoilers

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fortunatelylori · 6 years ago

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I think one of the reasons some people hate Sansa is that she represents real people, women mostly, during the medieval times. Even now. People won’t be so annoyed with her or call her useless if this was just a period drama. But they added the fantasy side, with dragons and assassins. Along with women that possesses these. Why couldn’t Sansa do the same? Sansa is the reason why I watched GoT in the first place. I saw myself in her. I don’t have dragons or fighting skills, I only have my mind

Hey, nonnie!

I saw myself in her. I don’t have dragons or fighting skills, I only have my mind

This right here is the reason why I love and identify with Sansa, as well. I’ve never been a fighter. Dragons don’t exist. I’ve always been feminine and proud of it. And I was encouraged from a young age to use my brain to get out of problems. Seeing a character like that on screen is interesting for me because it feels realistic and her slow burn arc makes me feel like I can actually see her developing as opposed to having been granted the fantasy equivalent of super powers over night.

I thought it might be interesting if I actually talked a little bit about the reasons why I feel Sansa is such a divisive character within the fandom as well as one that is, frankly, overlooked by most of the GA, despite her growing importance to the plot. Because while some of the reasons can be dismissed rather easily, at least one of them is an issue of execution (particularly within the show).

The issue of femininity, agency and use of sexuality

I’ve grouped all of these together because the root cause for them is the same: Patriarchy, which in turn encompasses such wonderful things like misogyny and victim blaming.

Sansa’s femininity will always be used against her not only because feminine qualities are seen as lesser than masculine qualities (which is why characters like Arya and Brienne get the stamp of approval from misogynists everywhere) but also because she doesn’t “use them properly”. By that I mean that she’s a beautiful girl who does not weaponize her sexuality and, also, doesn’t put out. And within a patriarchal mind-set that’s the ultimate crime. And that’s further exacerbated by her foil Maergery, whose sexuality is her greatest asset and weapon, as well as by D*ny and her use of sexuality in order to flip the tables on Drogo.

Sansa doesn’t do that. Instead, she goes as far as to dare to withhold her sexual favors and affections from fan favorite Tyrion which enrages the truly vile of this fandom. How dare she? Doesn’t she know that if she wants to be a feminine girl, she is obligated to give her body away to the men lusting after her? Why is she so stupid? Look how Maergery is playing the game and has Joffrey under her thumb! That Sansa, she’s soooo useless! I mean, we’ve been watching this show for 7 seasons and we have yet to see Sophie Turner’s boobs! The outrage!

This argument can go die in a ditch. I actually love that Sansa has retained autonomy over her body and has refused to use it in order to get out of problems. I’m genuinely tired of seeing “smart” or “important” female characters depicted solely as either women with masculine pursuits or “enchantresses”. I want to have a cerebral female character who uses her brain to win over or defeat her foes and Sansa Stark is developing in exactly such a character. And I love it!

She’s one of only main characters who isn’t magical

You’ve touched on this in your ask and while I agree that, in many ways, Sansa is meant to represent the reality of medieval women stuck in a system that was working against them at every turn, I do think GRRM did Sansa a disservice by eliminating all connection to magic from her arc.

That’s because all of the remaining Starks are magical to a degree. Bran, of course, is the one with the most magical abilities in the family (and probably in the whole series). However, Jon is pretty magical as well. Not only is he a warg through his connection with Ghost, he is now resurrected as well as the blood of the dragon which makes him, in part, the product of magic. Arya, for her part, is not only a warg but also possesses magical abilities through her Faceless Men arc.

Sansa’s connection with magic was severed irrevocably when Lady was killed and even prior to that, we never see that warg bond with her. In that sense, she’s the plain Jane of the family and thus seen as less important or special. Which coupled with her lack of fighting skills as well as her prolonged victim arc, makes her seem inconsequential and disposable. This is unfair, of course, because in every other respect, she’s a wonderfully developed character (particularly in the books) but this is a fantasy series. I think GRRM should have retained some sort of magical qualities for her.

Tyrion, among the mains, is probably her closest analog because he’s not magical either. However, GRRM has imbued him with almost super-human intelligence (an aspect of his character that his fans blow out of proportion even further). Despite that, however, there is still a tendency to try to make him magical in some way to justify his importance, hence the theory of Tyrion as the 3rd head of the dragon.

She feels like an outdated character

I say “feels” because she isn’t really but the “princess in the tower”/”damsel in distress” archetype that Sansa most resembles has, by and large, fallen out of favor with modern audiences.

They used to be all the rage and writers always had such a female character. Sansa, in a sense, shares literary references with Ivanhoe’s Rebecca or Robin Hood’s Maid Marion. Personally I love those characters but the archetype has been used a lot in the past and almost never done right. It’s become a prop in a classical hero’s journey type plot, instead of a character in its own right and Sansa, on the surface, feels very much like that type of character.

Of course, GRRM has really utilized that archetype in the best way possible and instead of making Sansa a prop, he’s exposed us to the reality of the pretty damsel stuck in a tower, to her drama and her tragedy, to her fight for survival and eventual escape.

But people, by and large, have decided to hate the archetype instead of demanding better stories based on it and because of that, they simply bristle at its mere existence.

The issue of Sansa’s POV in the show

This is, honestly, the reason that pains me the most and it’s really a combination of how the show has chosen to portray Sansa and well as the fact that the show is now further along than the books.

This is one reason where I can’t really place the blame on the audience, particularly the general audience.

For a very long time, I wondered why people weren’t really paying that much attention to Sansa in the show. And I don’t mean youtubers or people on reddit etc. I’m talking about normal people watching this show. I have a lot of friends that watch GOT and love it. They’re definitely not involved in the fandom nor are they specifically fans of one character in the show. They simply love the story and find it entertaining.

We’ve had conversations about GOT from time to time and they’ve never mentioned Sansa once. They don’t hate her, btw. They simply don’t think about her very much or consider her important within the context of the story.

And I believe the reason for this is because Sansa started out as a pawn in the Game of Thrones, an arc that lasted for 4 seasons. That’s a long time for a character to have limited to no agency and also enact change in the plot solely through the machinations of other characters.

However, it’s not an issue that can’t be overcome particularly since Sansa has an ascending arc where she goes from pawn to player. The beginning of her “player” arc is marked by her descending the steps of the Eeryie dressed in her Littlefinger dress. Unfortunately, this is also the moment that marks the creators’ choice of cutting the audience out of Sansa’s POV for long stretches of time.

Since season 5, they’ve played a hide and seek game with Sansa where we get glimmers of her POV for a short time (her marriage to Ramsay, her reunion with Jon) only to be cut out as quickly as possible in order for the writers to play up the Dark Sansa red herring.

I believe this reluctance to make Sansa understandable and transparent to the audience is affecting the way the general audience views her. In order to get a handle on Sansa’s character from season 5 onward, you need to watch the seasons a couple of times, think about her character in depth, read some metas as well as be predisposed to like her to begin with. Honestly, that’s too much to expect from a general audience who simply don’t engage with this show as in depth as we do.

As such the character of Sansa has become, I believe, to most of the GA a mystery wrapped up in a riddle, where questions are raised but never answered, where looks and gestures are left unexplained. The GA is not going to do heavy lifting to get to know this character so they’re simply going to ignore her and focus on the dragons instead.

This is a huge disservice to Sansa, in my opinion. Because she’s increasingly important to the plot but I doubt season 8 is going to make the GA get to know her enough to root for her. I fear that the fate of show Sansa is to be the Ginny of Game of Thrones. People are just going to be utterly confused how this character that the creators never gave them much reason to care about ends up married to Jon Snow and becomes queen.

And that, I have to say, makes me very sad. :(

Thanks for the ask!

#sansa stark

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tingsicantsayoutloud · 3 years ago

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writing, like talking, enables us to name our pain and to seek healing.

and I write today because,I feel ready to atleast write about an experience I had recently, which on the one hand,was liberating and felt deeply spiritual and familiar , and exciting and still,and on the other sore, esp as I write this because I am having to really sit with the reality that nothing else will become of it ,besides what was ... Nevertheless, I wrote about Berlin and Nostalgia but didnt get into the boy I met there who I guess is deeply connected to that nostalgia and me remebering.Remebering the self that I had forgotten , that possessed depth and range, remembering the wounds inflicted by the white supremcist patriarchal,racists capitalists structures here, remebering that inspite of these wounds that ran deeeep, i had managed to bend worlds into form in the fight for self actualization, wellness and liberation (which is still a constant struggle btw). But also remembering joy and seeing representation and manifestations of that in human form cuddled beside me , and it felt familiar and safe especially upon hearing my spirit whisper to me that this is what it craved and needed all along . Needless to say, he went AWOL,ROUGE, GHOST on me for whatever reason LOL, which I hear is pretty normal for men in that neck of the woods but also in revisiting our last bit of texts, i realised that he had somehow left the chat , because of his seeming aloofness and disintrest ... and I guess ,i am trying to be honest about the root of the pain i am experiencing atm and to come to terms with the fact that it was what it was. Mom always said to always stay true to who you are and continue to seek happiness regardless of how much people hurt you, so i am also trying to revel in the moments with him that brought me joy and pleasure . And who's to say that maybe he was just there as vessel to light the fire in my reawkening and remind me that i deserve honey in all its sweetness and thats it? its a good way to look at it i suppose but it doesnt take away from the fact that it hurts and I feel sad and lowkey triggered becuase i am being reminded that I will never be chosen by black men especially over here and I feel basic, and inadequate and just not enough to have made him want to stay , ugh. anyway, im trying not to wallow too much in these feelings and pain , but i am naming and claiming it that it was messed up, and messed me up but at the same time , trying to find solace and comfort in the beauty of the experience and that he watered the seeds in me that are going to help me grow and propel me closer to my journey, into Godhood

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daehwi · 7 years ago

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I was reading both of your post about Korean standard about "visuals". You did a great job in explaining it btw! I also wonder if the Koreans have such distinctions of beauty. How come in Season 1, Somi received a lot of attention despite being mixed while Samuel has such a rough time in this season? I also noticed that many mixed idols don't have a lot Kfans but they have a lot of international fans.

I’m not confident in my ability to answer your first question because I haven’t read too much on the literature of being mixed in a country like Korea. In addition, being mixed race isn’t the only factor contributing to their difference in popularity. Keep in mind Somi was on Sixteen which was really popular whereas Samuel being on STVtv is more well known to people who followed SVT. In addition, they both have different personalities and Mnet has chosen to show them in different ways. So this topic is very nuances and we shouldn’t focus solely on being mixed race.

But I did some quick research and found an article by Mary Lee (2008) that says this about it:

“..some of the discursive ‘‘paths’’ by whichmixed-race people have been produced as foreign, ‘‘other,’’ or non-Korean [include] …as anoutcome of the interconnection between the patriarchal Korean familysystem and national political projects, such as the goals of industrializationand militarism during the Cold War and the more recent challengesposed to Korean national life by the neoliberal ethos—free-market competition,privatization of public services, rising costs of living, populationand labor shortages, among many others.” (p. 26)

So from that little snipped we can see that a lot of factors play into how “other” someone of mixed race is seen as.

Here’s another section that I think plays a big role in how mixed people are seen as an “other”: those who lack a Korean father are subject to more legal technicalities which stem from the government’s own systematic “othering” of them: (note that the writer uses Amerasian to refer to mixed race Koreans specifically of American descent)

“Citizenship hasbeen determined by patrilineal descent, and through this arrangement,one’s access to citizenship, health care, social welfare, and state education,among other rights, hangs in the balance. Amerasians with Korean mothers(which is the case almost without exception) have been excluded fromobtaining these basic benefits until very recently.” (p.5)

And another big thing is military service. Korean Women don’t serve mandatory military service but Korean men do, so mixed foreign-born Korean men may be seen as “cheating” the system simply by being born in another country:

“Military service, whichis mandatory for Korean men but illegal for Amerasian men, is also aninstitutional rite of passage which enables access to citizen rights.” (p. 5)

“Reversingor amending these fundamental posts carries weighty implications forupsetting and redefining the hegemonic marker of Korean national identityand family—‘‘blood purity’’ endorsed by patriarchal authority.” (p. 5)

So wow, from those few snippets you can see that this topic runs deep and I’m not sure I can do it justice. My take on this is that 1) Samuel is male, which means he is subject to more scrutiny because he is exempt from the main male rite of passage: military service. 2) We can’t ignore the fact that Samuel is darker skinned and (not mixed with white) than Somi which has it’s own implications and honestly would need an entire essay to wade through.

Here’s one part of the article that touches upon this topic: (note that honhyo˘l is a phrase used in Korea to refer to those of mixed race, as far as i know- it is not derogatory.)

“Soldiers stationed inKorea admitted that ‘’Korean locals have been subjected to the attitudesof the white majority for so long that they practice discrimination withouteven being aware of what they’re doing.’ Amerasian honhyo˘l were likewisehierarchized in society and developed psychological complexes abouttheir ‘’color.’“ (p. 15)

So there is some internalized hierarchy that favors white over others- and it makes sense that this extends to people of mixed race- if you’re mixed with white you will be seen as “better”. EDIT: Clearing this up because it may confuse some people- The fact that Samuel isn’t mixed with white could be a reason why he’s seen as more of an “other” than Somi and could contribute to the general public’s indifference toward him.

This article by Adrienne Lo and Jenna Kim (2011) also touches upon language and how that affects Korean perception of those of mixed race:

“This analysis demonstrates how competence is read in relation to changing notions of citizenship in the new ‘multicultural’ Korea as these men are differentially positioned between multiple raced, classed, and gendered imaginings of Whiteness and Koreanness. More generally, we argue that understandings of linguistic competence are social productions, rather than reflections of language ability.” (p.1)

“The ways thatthey [Korean Americans] are understood in relation to these chronotopically gendered, classed, and racedlinguistic figures illustrates how metapragmatic [how the effects and conditions of language use themselves become objects of discourse] framings of linguistic competency canregiment productions of citizenship” (p. 16)

I don’t speak Korean myself so I can’t verify if Samuel’s Korean is perfectly fluent, but it is not then that could also be a factor.

This is a complicated topic so I encourage you to read the articles I linked (which I’ve uploaded on Google drive here and here) for a much deeper understanding.

In regards to your second question- many mixed idols have a lot of international fans because they’re more “relatable” and accessible (especially if they speak other languages. International fans tend to feel left out sometimes because they are not the main audience, so when an idol speaks English/Mandarin/Japanese/etc. or has ties to other countries it 1) makes fans from that country proud and 2) makes them feel closer to that idol because they share something in common. Obviously these aren’t the only reasons why fans like them but these may be a big part of the appeal (ex. Jackson, Amber, Somi, Eric Nam, etc.)

#produce 101 #replies #kim samuel #indepth #Anonymous

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evilelitest2 · 4 years ago

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@skaberen I”m not an Africanist, so its entirely possibly that I am missing a lot of information on the Ashanti because my studies on the subjects were pretty limited, based on what I have read, it was/is not quite a matriarchy. the Ashanti are matrialineal and give a tremendous amount of rights and respects towards women, which in the 16th/17th/18th century made it stand out as one of the greatest civilizations for women’s rights in the entire world, but it still had patriarchal institutions. For example, in the Ashanti Empire (which btw, is really fascinating and deserves a lot more attention in terms of people studying it), the Asantenhene (roughly translates to King, though a bit more democratic than how we imagine the institution in the west) seems to be a male only position, and the council of elders who served as something like a Senate (the Ashanti political system is really fascinating) tended to be male dominated. Now some of this was due to British influence, such as the obirempon (big man) which was partly influenced by British tradition, but as far as I can tell it is still drawing on earlier traditions.

Critically, as far as I can tell, the military was still primarily a male dominated place, which wouldn’t be possible in a true matriarchy.

Also, I believe (but I am a lot less confident on this so I might be wrong) that the “Chiefs” (term is kinda inaccurate honestly) tend to be men as well, but I might be just utterly wrong on that front. What research I did indicated “The head of the lineage is chosen by its senior men and women; females are prohibited from holding this position because of menstrual taboos forbidding contact with sacred objects” but that wasn’t a primary source.

That being said, this is not my area, so if you now more let me know, I might have missed a lot of context, I don’t speak any of the languages involved and African resources are always hard to find

Thanks for the comment btw, it gave me a great excuse to dive into the Ashanti Empire again which is really cool

It seems like the patriarchy and oppression of women is present in every culture. Is that true or have there been some matriarchies?

Short Answer: No, though that shouldn’t be read as a justification for sexism.

Long Answer: There are a few societies which are somewhat described as matriarchal, but we either have few details about them, or more likely they are more like “Different less shitty patriarchies” There haven’t as far as I can tell any 100% conformable matriarchies .

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