#this is also why i never call myself african american
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odysseys-blood ¡ 1 year ago
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the zionist idea of absolutely needing to have a "home country" to "return" to has always baffled me as a black person.
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sweetiebriar ¡ 3 months ago
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I really shouldn’t get involved in this debate because, first, it's utterly absurd and immature, and second, it will likely earn me a few enemies and drag me into conflicts, which I despise more than anything… Yet, I can’t stay silent. My anger is boiling over because creators and writers like myself are being bullied by so-called fans with narrow-minded perspectives, forcing us to bow down to politically correct foolishness just to be able to continue our work in peace.
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ÂĄSwearwords Alert!
What the fucking, shitty, bloody heck is wrong with these people?! This is a work of fiction—a story set in a fantasy, medieval Slavic world. The rules of the modern, real world do not apply here. Why on earth is representation being demanded in a context where it makes no sense?
ÂĄSwearwords Alert End!
For those who’ve wisely avoided this whole debacle—and I congratulate you, keep doing so in the future if possible, let me fill you in: our dear RC team, along with the author of "The Thunderstorm Saga," Alexander D., were recently pressured (and in some cases harassed) into changing the main character sprites, which originally consisted of various elven races—forest, moon, and dark elves—into human representations (Asian, Caucasian, African, Latin, etc.).
AS: I didn’t get involved in the uproar about Volot’s skin tone in "And The Haze Will Take Us" being a player choice, because frankly, it was ridiculous for a portion of the community to react negatively, as if RC’s decision was some kind of racist move. Let me remind you, we’ve had this kind of choice before, like in "Vying For Versailles" with King Louis, and no one complained. Also, if you weren’t aware, book covers are often altered in their Russian versions. A main character who is Black or Brown in the American/European editions is frequently depicted as white in the Russian versions, except in rare cases where the character’s ethnicity is central to the story, like in "Garden of Eden" or the "Kalis". This change is due to the narrow-mindedness of the Russian community, and RC makes these changes to avoid backlash from its largest player base. Perhaps the decision to change Volot's skin was made with the Russian market in mind, and they decided to keep it consistent for all players. But frankly, I don’t care, and I don’t want to know.
Now, back to the main issue:
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I’ve been a writer for most of my life, and I cannot stress this enough: a writer’s vision is theirs and theirs alone. While we might choose to revise certain aspects of our stories or find new ways to tell them, the opinions of readers and fans should never dictate those decisions. We are the creators of the content you enjoy. You read our work because you appreciate our vision. If we start crafting stories the way you want, it ceases to be our vision, and the magic is lost. Instead of venturing into the unknown, the story becomes a mundane reflection of everyday life. People read books to escape reality, not to mirror it.
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Frankly, I find the elven races in this story quite representative, if you ask me—certainly more so than in LOTR (And remember the backlash about the Black dwarf queen? How ironic…).
- Forest Elves One have very fair skin, which can be linked to Caucasians. The Forest Elves Two can be more compared to Mediterranean people.
- Moon Elves One & Two, with their warm, brownish skin, can be connected to Hispanic or Latin people.
- Dark Elves, as you might expect, are associated with people of African descent, with group One being darker than group Two.
Sure, not every community is represented here—where are the Asians, the Eastern Europeans, the Arabs, Indians, and Indigenous peoples? There are more than just three skin tones, after all.
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But this debate is utterly ridiculous. This is a work of fiction set in a fantasy realm. These characters are elves, not humans, and they don’t need to represent human diversity. The vast majority of players enjoyed the story as it was, and do you know why? Because they chose their main character based on who they found most appealing, not because the character resembled them. Contrary to what some believe, representation isn’t always necessary in fiction. Yes, there were fewer Black and brown-skinned characters in the past due to racism and segregation, but today, in a diverse and cosmopolitan world, young writers incorporate their modern perspectives into their work, and people generally don’t complain about representation anymore. So stop making a fuss over something that was never an issue to begin with. Let writers do their work. Criticising elves for not being "human enough" is not constructive; it’s just nonsense. And if you want to argue with me over this, don’t bother. I refuse to debate anyone over a fictional world, and especially over a game.
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hellomynameisbisexual ¡ 10 months ago
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Bisexual Basics
— Karin Baker
THE MOST BASIC thing about bisexuality is that it unlinks what most cultures see as a fundamental connection: sex and gender. If you can understand that for some people sexual attraction is not tied to a specific gender, then you understand the most important thing about bisexuality.
At least in the United States, separating sexuality and gender is difficult. While public attention—negative and positive—has recently been focused on homosexuality, the idea that it is not the only alternative to heterosexuality is less often recognized. This is not surprising, given that here as in most western cultures, there is a tendency to organize concepts dualistically, to see only opposites.
Heterosexuality and homosexuality as related ideas are one example. Thus, even while homosexuality is not an acceptable alternative to heterosexuality for many people, it is clearly fixed in their minds as the other option. Few conceive that there could be a third option, or even a continuum of possibilities.
This or That
Bisexuals sometimes refer to society’s tendency to dichotomize as an “either/or” approach. You must be attracted to either women or men, be either heterosexual or homosexual—what bisexuals sometimes lump together and call “monosexual.” Similarly, in our society, no matter what your actual racial background, you are seen as either white, or a person of color.
In contrast, some of us see bisexuals as having an approach to sexuality that could be called “both/and.” We are heterosexual and homosexual, both at the same time—which actually adds up to something completely different.
The woman whose parents are respectively white and African American is not racially or culturally half one and half the other. She is a blending of the two, in which neither aspect can be separated out. Similarly, bisexuals are not “part” queer, or “part” straight—we are what we are.
The Continuum of Sexuality
Maybe the idea that sexual attraction actually falls on a continuum, rather than clumping around homosexuality and heterosexuality, seems obvious. As a bisexual person, it is certainly obvious to me. However, I have come to realize that some are confounded by the idea.
This inability to imagine that someone could truly be attracted to more than one gender is probably the origin of myths such as “bisexuals don’t really exist,” and “bisexuals just haven’t made up their minds yet.” For some, sex means desire for women or men, but never both.
In a recent example, a bisexual friend of mine overheard a conversation between a lesbian and a gay man in which both commented on how confused bisexuals were. One of them said, “sooner or later bisexuals have to make up their minds!”
I wish I’d been there to ask them, why? Can you explain the basis for your reasoning? Why can’t we have already made up our minds—to be bisexual?
It seems to be hard to escape the assumption that there are only two choices, and everyone must ultimately settle for one of them. I have never heard a logical argument, or any biological law that explains why this choice is so unavoidable.
I have an easier time with this when I think about how hard it is for me to grasp attraction to one gender only, whether gay/lesbian or straight attraction. Because sexuality and gender aren’t linked for me, I’m surprised when I hear about people who are only attracted to women, or only attracted to men.
As a feminist I can understand why some women would choose not to be with men. I can also see that a person might want something in a sexual relationship that is more typically found with one gender or the other. But how could one gender always fall outside the boundaries of sexual possibility?
I believe that it happens, because people tell me that it’s true for them. It’s just extremely hard to imagine.
In fact, we bisexuals have a tendency (which I resist in myself) to think that all people are potentially bisexual. If they haven’t acted on it yet, monosexuals must either be repressed, or they just haven’t found the “right man”/“right woman” yet.
I suppose this is the bisexual equivalent of the monosexual perception that bisexuals are just going through a phase and haven’t made up our minds yet.
Gender in Bisexual Attraction
Although gender is not a limiting factor for bisexuals, it does sometimes play a role in bisexual attraction.
Some bisexuals that I know are attracted to women and men for gender-specific reasons. For instance, they like women because they see them as: easy to talk to, or nurturing, or soft and curvy; and they like men because they find them: straightforward, or more assertive, or hard and muscular (or some such gendered reasons).
So in this case, gender is part of the formula, but not a limiting factor.
Other bisexuals I have spoken with are also attracted to women and men differently, but they turn the previous specifications upside down. These bis say they find they like butch women and effeminate men. In a way this comes down to appreciating people to the extent that they escape genderedness.
But there are also many bis, such as myself, for whom gender has no place in the list of things that attract them to a person. For instance, I like people who are good listeners, who understand me and have interests similar to mine, and I am attracted to people with a little padding here and there, who have fair skin and dark hair (although I’m pretty flexible when it comes to looks).
“Male” or “female” are not anywhere to be found in the list of qualities I find attractive.
Monosexual Misconceptions
Bisexuals in the United States often experience hostility from lesbians and gay men, as in the incident described above. Lesbians and gay men, like heterosexuals, are often uncomfortable with breaking out of a dualistic way of looking at things.
Bisexuals blur boundaries thought to be fixed in stone, and this is disturbing.
Actually, bisexuals may appear to pose a more direct threat for lesbians and gay men than this general social disturbance. Lesbians and gay men who a in our society have almost always gone through a long process of leaving their family and heterosexual friends, as they leave the closet.
The community that rejected them is replaced by the one they join when they come out; the lesbian and gay community becomes their new family and friends, the place where they feel security and belonging.
Bisexuals who pop up in their new community blur its boundaries, making it feel less safe, less apart from the rejecting heterosexual community. Especially for those who believe that a bisexual has a fifty-fifty chance of finally choosing heterosexuality, a bisexual may well appear as the enemy within their midst.
Bisexuals often face misconceptions shared by lesbians, gay men, and heterosexual people. One of these is mentioned above: that bisexuals are confused people who havent made up their minds yet.
Undoubtedly some bisexuals are in a transitional phase between heterosexuality and homosexuality, but this is not necessarily so. And even when it is true, why should transition be seen as problematic?
Another common myth is that bisexuals are not committed to the struggle against queer oppression. Like many stereotypes, this may have some basis in reality. There are bisexuals who stay in the closet, who gravitate toward opposite gender relationships, marriage, and whatever else it takes to fit in.
Of course, many gay men and lesbians also never make it out of the closet. In fact, the lesbian and gay movement has always included bisexuals. Some have been openly bi, while others haven’t felt it worth the struggle to be open in the face of disapproval from the community that is so important to them.
Today, some bisexuals, like some gay men and lesbians, are not interested in getting involved in political struggle, but many others are very active within the queer community.
Another misconception is the idea that to be bisexual you must be sleeping with both women and men, and along with this, probably cheating on your partner. This is like saying that you cannot call yourself a lesbian (or gay, or straight) if you are single and celibate.
I believe that you’re bisexual (homosexual, heterosexual) if that’s what you call yourself. Your orientation stays the same, you still feel attraction, whatever your current actions.
Now it’s true, there are bisexuals who feel more fulfilled if they have relationships with a woman and a man. Some of these may have an agreement with their partner(s), and some not, but bisexuals are not the only sexual orientation where unorthodox relationships can be found, or where some cheat on their partners.
Bisexual Oppression?
A lesbian once told me that bisexuals experience oppression only to the extent that we “are homosexual.” She used this as an argument for leaving the name “bisexual” off titles of marches, community centers, newspapers, etc.
Who is included in group names has been a controversy for years (going back at least to the time when including the word “lesbian” was controversial because “gay” could supposedly count for both).
I don’t agree that bisexuals face only homosexual oppression. It’s true that when we are in same-sex relationships, one of the things we experience is heterosexism (and also, in our opposite sex relationships we do not as directly face the oppression gay men and lesbians face, although if we are openly bisexual we never completely escape heterosexism).
However, bisexuals confront forms of oppression that lesbians and gay men do not. Bisexual oppression includes compulsory monosexuality and the invisibility that is a result of monosexism. We are made invisible when people can’t conceive of sexual attraction that isn’t tied to one gender or the other, thereby denying our existence.
Even face to face, there is nothing about us that says we’re bisexual—if we’re with the same gender it’s assumed we’re lesbian/gay, and we must be straight if our partner is of the opposite gender.
Unless we happen to be holding hands and kissing a woman and a man simultaneously, an either/or way of seeing things means most people will automatically categorize us as either homosexual or heterosexual. This is monosexism at work.
In recent years some things have changed for bisexuals in the United States. We have started to find each other and form organizations and small communities. Conferences happen regularly in different parts of the country, and a national network exists.
Books about bisexuals multiply, as we tell our stories and develop theories about how we fit in. Much to the discomfort of some lesbians and gay men, we have been increasing the pressure to have our presence within the queer community acknowledged.
It seems inevitable that we will have an impact on how the people of this country view sexuality. Will this go further and affect the fundamental tendency toward dualistic categorizing, the either/or mindset?
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teruthecreator ¡ 1 year ago
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(tw for racism, pedophilia, transphobia, child impregnation mention)
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yeah idk why y'all read this
i was originally going to just post this and have some tags with my reasonings, but i realized that opens me up to too much bullshit from people who may think i'm being unnecessarily mean or whatever. so i'm going to explain exactly why the screenshots above are something i hold issue with.
firstly, and i just want to get this out of the way, this post is not intended to be a hit piece against the creator. i've seen how she reacts to any mild-mannered or slightly joking criticism, so i know this post is probably going to not land well. but it isn't my intention to make her mad or anything--she's writing a piece of content for the internet, which means she is just as open to criticism as any other poster. and what i intend to go into in this post is criticism. i'm allowed to do this, as that is the nature of the internet. people are allowed to critique whatever they please, and if you don't want critique then you shouldn't post. simple as!
i am also making no attempts to posit myself as better than the creator. i'm not doing this for clout or moral superiority or any of that dumb shit. i simply want to discuss something that's been bothering me for a bit, while simultaneously warning people who haven't read this yet (who may be sensitive to the issues above) to steer clear. if things like casual racism or transphobia aren't properly tagged, then readers who are affected by such things run a risk reading this! same goes with people who are triggered by lewd content involving minors. i wanna make sure people are getting a more critical scope of this work than what has been hoisted up by others.
okay, now that i've gotten that out of the way, i'm going to get into my points.
firstly, the subtle and not-so-subtle racism throughout this fic, especially in relation to serizawa. i'm white, so there is only so much i can speak on without trampling over the words of other fans of color, but some of this feels so blatant it's odd it hasn't been noted earlier. it's important to note before i go into it that serizawa is specifically written as half-black half-japanese for this fic, in case the screenshots don't make it abundantly clear. but there are just too many moments of casual racism in this fic. i'm not talking about the plot point of serizawa being bullied as a kid for being mixed; i'm not mixed, so i can't speak on the accuracy there but it is well-known that black people face a lot of racism in japan. i'm talking about how it seems everyone else has these racist moments that aren't acknowledged by serizawa or the narration as being bad.
reigen hypothesizing over serizawa's exact ethnic background is just strange. yes he's a fairly observant guy (he has to be, with his job), but there is no canonical evidence to suggest he would immediately jump to theorizing whether serizawa is american or not. and the way it's posed in that first quote--"he has darker skin and the kind of hair texture that would likely indicate African ancestry"--is not great. that's an extremely inappropriate way to bring up someone's race. i don't think most people would stare at someone and be like "hmmm well your nose shape and hair texture would suggest you're of this race". it's racial essentialization that is only slightly covered up by the excuse of "oh he tweets in english". there are some other smaller moments of questionable wording, like calling serizawa's afro "sloppy" when it isnt (which btw there's another issue with the creator only referring to an afro as a "fro". it's a hairstyle; you're allowed to use the actual name of it). even if reigen cuts his hair in canon, he never states it's because serizawa's afro looks sloppy. (also there's something to be said about the casual racism baked into making your employee cut his natural hairstyle for a job, as that is a very real issue many black people face when wearing their natural hair or even protective styles in the workplace.)
i'm especially bothered by toichiro's very casual racist remarks. toichiro in this fic is a general bother of mine (most of which can be boiled down to "he would not fucking say that"), but the way she chooses to characterize him in relation to serizawa feels gross. calling a black man a slave should be a very obvious red flag, but also saying serizawa (again, as a black man) has a "brutal masculine appeal" is also extremely stereotypical and racist. and really there is just no need for it; toichiro's actions in canon prove how shitty of a guy he is without the need for him to be racist (along with other things i'll get to in a bit). as my girlfriend put it: he doesn't need to be a member of the fucking kkk to show he's a bad guy.
there's also, again, the very casual racist remark of calling serizawa a "dog". i don't care if that isn't the intent; when you are writing a character of color you need to be aware of your wording, even in insults (unless she intended to make tsuchiya racist, which i don't think she did).
secondly, the eugenics/child pregnancy bit. it is surreal to even have to write this, but i seriously do not understand the purpose of either of these bits in the story. they are so minor yet so jarring you can't help but wonder why they're there. once again, i do not think you need to have toichiro doing esper eugenics just to prove he is an evil guy. he has nuance, and by making him casually reference child pregnancy (like that isn't an INSANE thing to say) reduces that nuance to nothing. that's the only reason i could see why that bit was included: to make toichiro look worse. but, even still, the author is running the risk of potentially triggering victims of csa or people who don't want to see that by not properly tagging the mention of it (or, at the very least, warning readers in the intro notes). the only other explanation for it would maybe be shock factor??? but that's a pretty shitty thing to use for shock factor, if i'm honest. also the fact that the esper eugenics was referenced again in a more recent chapter just has me very disturbed and confused. there isn't a canonical explanation for why we see less espers who are women than espers who are men, but that doesn't mean we need to jump to fucking Eugenics. it's weird!
thirdly (and this is probably one of my biggest problems and the main reason i wanted to make this post), the weirdly lewd/sexual language shou uses constantly, along with referring to reigen as a pedo or a creep at several points. frankly, i think it's pretty fucking gross for someone in their near-40's to be writing a 12-year-old talking so casually about sex like that's normal. which, i'm sorry, but it's not. yes, teens know about sex and like to joke about lewd shit. but a 12-year-old is not about to make references to a grown man's virginity. 12-year-olds draw dicks on their desk bc they think it's funny. 12-year-olds say the word "buttfuck" because it has the words "butt" and "fuck" in it, and those are the two funniest words on earth to a kid that age. i literally do not understand the purpose of having shou be so lewd all the time. for one, it doesn't make sense for his character. shou is shown time and time again to be extremely mature for his age, but that maturity extends to shit like assembling a counter-terrorism unit and extending a hand to his father to allow him to try again. and even then he's still just as naive as any other kid his age! the omake where he's telling his guys to go to the "far right corner" based on ritsu’s advice proves that he still has plenty of blindspots that are indicative of his age. leaning into this raunchy, lewd version of shou is just weird. and, again, i think it is made a bit weirder given the author's age!!! not ageshaming or whatever--i'm 23 and i write fanfic, clearly i cannot judge there--but it is just extremely inappropriate in my opinion. also having shou be more versed in sextalk than serizawa is odd too and speaks to a larger issue of serizawa's infantilzation throughout this fic, but that's something i can get into in another post if people want an explanation.
also, the way she constantly calls reigen a creep and even has him being accused of being a pedophile during the twitter cancellation is extremely inappropriate when, again, there is NO CANONICAL BASIS FOR THIS! everyone just calls him a fraud and a scammer during separation arc; there is never a reference to reigen being seen as a pedophile in that arc. and, yes, while there are versions of mob psycho where reigen is very clearly written as a creep (looking very specifically at the netflix adaptation), that doesn't mean it's good. honestly, the creep mentions all just feel like really poor jokes that do not land in the slightest.
finally, the transphobia (aka WHY IS SHIMAZAKI A CHASER). i literally do not know what else to say other than: why? why is this a thing? why is he a chaser? what is the purpose of this? is it a joke? i feel like it's supposed to be, but seeing as the author is cis i don't think that's a joke she should really be making. it not only comes out of left field, but it's just kind of a weird thing to ascribe to a character for no reason. not to mention, it's uncomfortable! trans women deal with enough creepy antics from cis men in real life--why must they be accosted by this guy too? it's just weird and uncomfortable.
i wanna round out this post by saying, once again, that i'm not trying to attack anyone with this post. but i do hope people come away from this with a new perspective on this work, and maybe think twice before recommending it uncritically to someone. to the author specifically, i hope you can read my post without rage or indignance blinding you. i might be a little blunt or rude in parts, but it's only because i'm passionate and i don't mince my words when it comes to things i'm passionate about. to the readers, understand i am not judging you for reading this fic without noticing these things. your own life experiences will give you certain blindspots and there's nothing wrong with that. i have plenty of blindspots of my own! it's what makes us human.
there is more i could say, but this post is long enough. i ask that if you come to me in my inbox or in dms about this that you treat me with respect, as i will do that for you. writing something like this took a lot out of me, as i'm usually not so open about my opinion on shit like this.
have a good day :-)
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fynnisshit ¡ 7 months ago
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Nina the killer: Rewrite
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Update 1/?
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For my Nina rewrite, I just wanna put some things down for debate on if I should include this. A lot of what I'll be saying here are personal headcanons and such of the type because from the original story, there isn't too much to go off of. I am also going to be referencing Seireitonin's (on tiktok and tumblr) headcanons for Nina because I agree with some.
For starters, I am going to write Nina as a Blasian person (Dad was Black, Mother is Chinese). I think in a lot of ways it can add depth to her character, and it also makes sense in a lot of ways to me. In Seireitonin's post about why she thinks Nina is black she mentions how in a lot of cases black people often have absent fathers (That is not coming from me, that was said by Seireitonin who *is* a black person) and it lines up with how Nina's father was never once mentioned in her original story. In my rewrite, I want to write that her father actually dies from an illness like cancer. I think that it could be more sympathizable when it comes to her insanity that her father passes away when she is still growing rather than is absent since she was a baby. Also, in regards to her being part Asian, I think it could add to why she was bullied. I'm aware that many Asian people have and are often times made fun of and picked on for their ethnicity, and that also goes for African American peoples (in no way am I excusing this behavior). The bullying part of the story isn't only going to be motivated by her race, and I do not wish for it to be.
As I'm sure many people and myself headcanon her as a scenekid, I'd like to include that. I assume she is a scenekid and has just moved to a suburban area with her mother and brother. Many suburban parts of towns are generally middle-upper class, white, and typical "normal" people. I would assume that if a Blasian scene teenager moves into their part of town, it would probably give them some "bad" impressions.
For the setting of the rewrite, I'd like to make it known that Nina has just moved from California to a small town in Michigan. I think the generic trope of a girl from a small town moves to a big city is very fun, but I think it'd be super rad if the trope was reversed. In the rewrite, I want to include that one of the only reasons that Nina moves to a small town in Michigan is because of her mom having a job relocation. There's a city in Michigan called Freeland that is really close to a river, which I think later on it'd be handy for Nina herself when it comes to discarding the bodies she had killed. Also, Freeland is very close to a city called Midland, which is the headquarters of a big chemical plant/company called Dow (This is true, I actually researched for this, lol). Dow has a location in Hayward, California, which I think would be a good place for Nina to move from, assuming that her mom works at Dow.
I researched and found out that Midland is actually pretty expensive to live in, so I thought that the smaller and more affordable town nearby, Freeland, would work just fine.
In the rewrite, Nina and her little brother, Chris, would go to school at a Catholic or Christian, K-12, school. I don't think that Freeland actually has any religious schools, but I'm not going to be *that* accurate. At the school, I imagine that they would have a uniform and dress code that Nina tried her hardest to push the limits of with out breaking them to get away with being able to express herself in the way that she likes. That's where her canon outfit would come into play. The classic black skirt, purple hoodie, and red striped stockings are seemingly tame outfits. At school, I imagine the dress code is not too strict. Simply, a black or navy skirt, stockings, or tights with no more than two colors and a school polo. I'm sure they allow sweaters or jackets when coming and going from school, so thats why Nina would be able to wear her purple hoodie.
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fin
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renyen808 ¡ 10 months ago
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The TV Show We (and Disney) Needed
Back when I was a child, I had a difficult time reading. In fact, I loathed it. I never understood why we had to read in the first place, it seemed extremely tedious to me. It had gotten so bad to the point where it became obvious that I just did not want to read. It wasn’t until my parents signed me up for this reading thing at my elementary school, where after hours, like dinner time, they would give us a book to read. I wasn’t a fan of this because why the hell would I want to be reading at 7 pm on a Wednesday night? Yes, you read that correctly, a Wednesday! The first session, they made us read a book from an author in Hawai’i. They wrote a children’s book and they made us read it, which I didn’t because it never interested me. So, the next Wednesday comes around and I just expect it to be the same. Just give me my copy of the book that I am never going to read again and I’ll call it a day. But that didn’t happen. For the first time, I actually found a book I was interested in: The Lightning Thief. 
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(Credit: Goodreads)
Everything about Percy entrapped me in this mystical world of Greek Gods, monsters, and half-bloods. I was never like this before, reading page after page just to know what happens next. Along with that, since I started reading them when I was twelve, it was a great way to see myself in these different characters, feeling the triumph and betrayal throughout every twist and turn of their adventure.
I read all of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus throughout my time in school, and also watched the movies, but, while watching the movies, I was disappointed to find that it wasn’t like how I imagined it. They changed aspects of the story that didn’t need changing and in doing so, kinda destroyed the magic that made it so great. Grover was a kind hearted boy and while I like Brandon T. Jackson, I didn’t buy him as Grover. Sure he was a great friend to Percy, but he wasn’t Grover to me. Logan Lerman was the perfect Percy, just the wrong time for him. And do not get me started on Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth, she was the worst offender of the three in my opinion. Them changing every aspect of the story just made me super upset, and do not get me started on that second movie (Love you Blackjack). The point is, as a Percy Jackson fan, we needed better, we deserved it!
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(Credit: Wikipedia)
During 2020, I finally got my wish when they announced that the show was greenlit. Everyone around the world rejoiced as we finally got our chance. Once that happened, everyone started to wonder about who would be casted as the titular character. Then, April 2022, Walker Scobell was announced. At this point, I haven’t watched the Adam Project or anything that he has done, but after watching it, I was stunned, I was like, ‘That’s Percy…’ Then, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri were casted as Annabeth and Grover and the world lit on fire in the community.
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(Credit: Polygon)
As a woman of color myself, not African American, but Asian, I was ecstatic to see Jeffries take on Annabeth. I’m the type of person that cares more about if they embody the soul of the character than the appearance. Daddario may have looked like Annabeth, but Jeffries IS Annabeth. There are still portions of the community that cannot wrap their head around that the beloved daughter of Athena is a different race, but I don’t care. It is especially prominent in this Facebook group (yes, I still use Facebook) I am a part of to share my love for Percy Jackson. I try to surround myself with like minded people, and sometimes, a few of the racist ones just come through.
As you can see, I loved the series. From the moment I heard Scobell’s voice, I knew the series was built with so much love. I always felt drawn to Percy, being from Hawai’i, the ocean is special to me. I always found his snark and humor relatable, since I am similar with my friends and family. I also was drawn to Annabeth with her no nonsense attitude, along with being a strong female character. Also, cannot forget Grover, the literal glue of the group. The quest would have gone completely wrong if not for him. Scobell, Jeffries, and Simhadri all played their roles to perfection. They are truly the Golden Trio come to life. 
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(Credit: Town and Country Magazine)
I need to also call attention to all the different actors and actresses who played supporting roles throughout the series. Virginia Kull’s masterful performance as Sally, showing just how difficult it can be on the mortal parents of a demigod child. Glynn Turman as the perfect Chiron, showing a sense of care and concern as Percy’s mentor. Jason Mantzoukas’ performance as Mr. D is a standout, with him completely capturing what it means to be the punished director of Camp Half-Blood. Megan Mullally was an amazing Alecto, bringing a sense of fear immediately into Percy’s life. Timm Sharp played an amazing Gabe Ugliano, showcasing a different way that Gabe could be portrayed for an audience today. Adam Copeland, also known as Edge in the WWE, plays Ares, a terrifying force in the book that Copeland captures perfectly. Also want to shout out Nick Boraine, the voice of Kronos, who brings a sinister feel to the series, showing he is the big bad of this story.
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(Credit: PopBuzz)
I wanted to make a separate paragraph for the last supporting character: Luke Castellan. Luke is played by Charlie Bushnell, who really sold me as a demigod feeling betrayed by the gods. Just from his acting in Episodes 2 and 8 solidified to me that this is how Luke is. Granted, the confrontation scene is not as sinister as it is in the book, I believe that the TV series did it better, where Annabeth is there in person to see the betrayal happen. I mean, that is literally her brother betraying her, I cannot imagine what she is going through. Bushnell really sold it as Luke honestly, showing he’s an upset demigod who believes the gods have turned their backs on them. He made use of his time on screen, and I cannot wait to see him in future installments as our big bad.
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(Credit: IGN)
Overall, this series is what we all deserved! I understand that people are upset that it was not completely faithful to the books, and that is a valid argument, but I will say this: if you want a faithful adaptation, read the books and recreate it in your head. Nothing will ever be a perfect copy of another, not with humans around. I think instead of nitpicking the differences and inconsistencies between the two, we should embrace the changes. Embrace the fact that this was even created in the first place and be grateful for it. Embrace the fact that we have a great TV show, but god forbid they forget about the scorpion that Luke poisons Percy with. The books, movies, the TV show, they’re all interpretations of the same idea, and we all have different thoughts about the idea, that at the end of the day, at least one person will be a hater. Anyway, with millions of views each episode, I’m sure season two is coming, and with that my boy Blackjack!
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cleoselene ¡ 8 months ago
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nine favorite albums in no particular order,
tagged by @an-ivy-covered-summer (thank you I love to ramble about music)
Portishead - Dummy - This is probably my favorite album of all time? It's perfect to me. It makes me feel so good, physically and mentally. It's the quintessential 90s album, the definitive trip-hop album, and always makes the list of "25 Albums You Should Own On Vinyl" for a reason. It's immaculate and it spawned a slew of imitators who never ever got close to this kind of quality. I think people also don't appreciate hop much trip-hop/downtempo has influenced today's pop music. SZA's latest album especially felt super trip-hoppy, so did elements of Midnights.
Massive Attack - Mezzanine - if there's one other trip-hop album you should pick up, it's this one. This album benefits greatly from Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins' ethereal vocals. Every song on this is amazing. When I was playing this album for a friend about a decade younger, he said "oh this is the album with the music from all the movies." lol. Indeed It's been licensed to hell for a reason!
Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk - Okay I set a rule for myself that each artist would only get one album in this list to avoid putting up nine Tori Amos albums, but Scarlet is my favorite. This road trip across America immediately after 9/11 is one of the first albums to... if not criticize the US response to 9/11, because it was really too early for that, but to be very, very wary of what the response would be. It's an album that expresses sympathy for a wounded nation, while also acknowledging the nation's sins. I think this is one of a few Tori albums that was too high concept for the mainstream audience, but Tori has never been for the mainstream audience, anyway.
Taylor Swift - evermore - Of all the Taylor Swift albums, it was reputation that brought me to the dance and Red that made me fall madly in love. But evermore is her best work. It's perfecting upon the formula she came up with in folklore. Which, don't get me wrong, I love folklore, but with Taylor's obsession with being "sonically cohesive" it's kind of a bummer of an album? I appreciate how the vibes of evermore are more varied. Also, "ivy" is the most beautiful song she's ever written.
Green Day - American Idiot - This album doesn't need much description, it's so well-known, but nothing really compares to how hard this album hit during the height of Bush Era Hell. As a 26 year old when this came out, it felt like my generation was getting our mainstream protest music, finally.
Paul Simon - Graceland - This album won the Grammy for Album of the Year for a reason: it's soooo good. I know there's a lot of drama/controversy surrounding it, but I always felt Paul approached his love of African music from a genuine place. It's such a good midlife crisis album, I understand it now more that I am in midlife than I did when I discovered it at age 12. And the bass line for "You Can Call Me Al" is fucking legendary, isn't it? PS - Paul Simon is the greatest songwriter of all time.
VNV Nation - Automatic - Why was it so hard to pick a VNV Nation album? I really kind of wanted to put last year's Electric Sun in the mix, but I need to let that sit with me before I add it to a list like this. This is the album that brought me to the dance: "Gratitude" is an all-time fave VNV song of hopefulness. "Control" is the dance club banger to end all dance club bangers. I loooooooove this band. I wish there were more futurepop bands out there, tbh, it's SUCH an excellent genre.
Lana del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! - This is Lana's best. It's not really even close. This is one of the best albums of the 21st century. The way "The greatest" so perfectly encapsulates the Trump-era nihilism... I DO want shit to feel the way just like it used to. Kanye West IS blond and gone. We DIDN'T know that we had it all. :( The ache of nostalgia in our current very painful times hits perfectly on this record (WHYYYY don't I own it on vinyl yet??)
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning - So hard for me to pick a Maynard project and not pick TOOL, but Puscifer has become my favorite of his three bands. Existential Reckoning is similar to NFR! in that it captures the political moment. Maynard has never seemed particularly political in his music until this record, which is pretty interesting. ER seems to be advocating for a return to rationality over ideology, of moderation over extremism, of science over faith. It takes a very humanist approach to looking at life in 2020. "Apocalyptica" is probably the craziest song because it sounds like it was written about COVID, but it was not, in fact was written just a few months earlier. "Bedlamite" is the coda to the album that promises hope: It's gonna be all right. When they did this album Live at Arcosanti and sang this song while the sun rose behind them, four days before the 2020 election and Maynard crooned that it would be all right, I looked at my roommate, and I said, "it really is, isn't it?" And we both got kind of overwhelmed. And then a few days later, it was. Trump lost.
I went into way detail >_> told you I like rambling about music
tagging: @swiftzeldas @emmaswanned @brightnshinythings @mariacallous @ouijawaydidhego
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just-antithings ¡ 1 year ago
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Re: refrainbow (creator of the Boyfriends webtoon) saying the n-word. (Note, I'll be switching between he and they pronouns for refrainbow, since he uses both, I hope it doesn't end up confusing. Also, the bold is to help with reading (at least, it helps with my ADHD, but there's also a td;lr at the bottom as well))
I don't have screenshots or links, but it's been noted that refrainbow has admitted to having said it when he was younger and still learning English (mostly from the internet). They are Indonesian and did not know the history behind the slur. I'm not sure they even knew it was a slur until getting called out for it; from what I've seen, refrainbow thought it was English slang calling someone stupid or bad, due to learning it through I think gaming, where the n-word and other slurs were often thrown around liberally.
People ofc are valid being wary around refrainbow or anyone who's used the n-word or other slurs as general insults (or just saying them in general). No one is entitled to anyone's forgiveness.
One thing I've seen thought up, though, is people saying that refrainbow should have known anyway that the word was off-limits. One anti art-commentary youtuber said, "I knew as a little kid that it was a BAD word, that you just DO NOT say." And yes, as an American kid, I'm sure they were observant enough to realize that it was a horrible word, even if they did not automatically know the history of that word.
Refrainbow is NOT American. He was learning English mainly through the internet, iirc, and even if he was also taking formal English classes, there usually isn't a section on slurs in said language. Now, in my French class, part of the lesson plan was learning about racism north African and Middle Eastern people faced in France (a very compressed lesson; I barely remember what the teacher told us in that lecture). We were not told slurs and told "Do not, under any circumstances, say these words." If I'd been in an online gaming community with a bunch of French kids back then, there is every possibility I could have repeated slurs in French, not knowing they were slurs, if everyone around me were using them like general insults. I would have assumed it was slang first, not slurs.
As for why antis add refrainbow saying the n-word at the very end of a rant/call-out, this is a pretty common tactic that I've seen in call-out-type posts I end up coming across. Lots of buzzwords are used, many with the barest amount of "evidence" (if there is any, or if there is, it's usually worst-faith takes of some post or passage from a fic). Usually it's full of rhetoric meant to stoke people's anger or disgust, and then at the very end is a claim not mentioned in the bulk of the call-out/rant and usually a shorter sentence. It's usually something worse than what else has been stated and may or may not come with actual proof, and this last part might be actually true or true if you hide context around it.
I think there are two main reasons for this. One is that depending on how long the call-out/rant is, most people are more likely to pay attention to just the beginning and end parts, skimming over the rest. Placing "the worse/worst thing" at the end then makes sure people actually read it. Another reason (tied to the first reason) is that this last point is more likely to stick in people's memories this way, so if people only skimmed the rest, they're more likely to believe the other points are true, too, especially if that last point has evidence attached or is easily searched.
There's been a few call-outs in my fandom recently (some were technically responses to earlier call-outs, showing proof that the original people making their call-out posts were lying/twisting the truth), so whenever I find myself getting disgusted or upset, I make sure to go back and read it more closely (if the call-out is about someone I follow/a mutual; I don't have energy to read rants about people I've never heard of before).
td;lr: refrainbow did say the n-word before, he's apologized, explaining that he was still learning English at the time and didn't know how bad the word was, and using points like this at the bottom of a call-out post seems to be deliberate, so that people remember The Bad Thing about the person more clearly.
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mask131 ¡ 1 year ago
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The culture clash between France and the USA can be so strong sometimes... But on such essential, dangerous, “hot topics” that it becomes sometimes very difficult.
Take the word “race” for example. The USA has a very neutral, desensitized, common use of the word “race”. The USA made race a widespread word, not just of racism or science, but also of pride and of every day talks. It doesn’t surprise anyone to have surveys asking you your race. It isn’t shocking anyone to hear about “racial tensions” or “racial conflicts” in the USA today. But if in France you start speaking of “race” you come off as massively racist, because race never lost its scientific meaning of “a different species”, nor its racist meaning of “another type of human being”. Which is why I am a bit uncomfortable using “race” in my posts, even though the word is now neutral in the US-English. In France we speak of things such as descent or ethnicity or communities - but not “race”. 
The USA’s very different approach to ethnicity, historical descent and nationalities compared to France was perfectly illustrated by a famous incident (that I keep reusing myself as an example over and over, but that’s because of how telling it is). [Note: While I thought the man involved in this story was purely American, I just discovered today he was born and raised in South Africa, so the example isn’t perfect - but it is telling]. After France won the 2018 World Cup (FIFA of course), Trevor Noah celebrated how “Africa won the World Cup”, since most of the French team was made of black men. Problem, the French footballers immediately took offense to that and answered back that no, they were French, thank you very much. You see, from the “American” point of view here (and I don’t know much about South Africa I admit, so I’ll leave it aside), it is normal to have this sort of “bi-nationality” or “bi-racial” recognition as “Afro-American”. For the Black community of the USA, it is a question of allying their Americaness with their African origins to be “whole”. So Black Americans tend to refer to themselves as “African” commonly and pretty proudly. But in France? Oh boy, no. In France, only massive racists call Black French people “African”. Well not exclusively but here’s the problem: African-originated immigrants (or even just Black people that happened to be born French) had to fight for a very long time to be recognized as “French citizens”, or as “French” short. In France it is still a logic implanted in the far-right and other racist movements that if you have non-French origins, you will never be French, and that black people do not “belong” in France but in Africa. It took a long time for people to stop considering Black French men and Black French women actually “French” before all, French before their skin color, and black doctors, black artists, black politicians had to fight to have their full Frenchness recognized (especially since most of them were born, lived and raised in France). 
So, Trevor Noah’s comment came of to the French sportsmen as massively racist and denying them French status, while Noah thought the French footballers were basically denying or rejecting the origins of their parents or grandparents... 
Another big culture clash that happens between the USA and France - and which results in the USA calling often French with all sorts of “phobe” adjectives - is religion. Oh boys and girls and other critters... Americans, with their melting-pot culture, their deeply Christian history (and their very weird take on Christianity as a whole), their multiculturalism and their acceptance, tolerance and embrace of all religions, have established a mindset and a model which makes it hard for them to grasp one of the basis modern France was built over: laicity. Laicity is one of the main principles and laws of France, one of the key ideas the modern Republic and nation was built over, and it is something we try to teach each children - and recently the absence or failure of laicity in our society is causing all sorts of debate and threats. But what is laicity you might ask?
Laicity, French-flavor, is simple. There is an acceptance and a tolerance of all sorts of all sorts of religion in France, a bit like how in the USA you can have any religion you want - BUT to ensure that this equality and acceptance of all religions exists, France makes sure that no religion is above another by all relegating them to the background and ensuring there is no religion of state. So what does it mean exactly? It mean you can have any religion you want and practice any cult you want, AS LONG as it stays a personal, private matter. You can cover your house in religious symbols, you can walk down the street in religious outfits, these are your personal choices and no law can prevent you from belonging to a religion or showing you belong to this religion. Except if it is a truly mad endangering sectarian cult, or if you’re a terrorist... and EXCEPT if you are in a public position or a representant of the state. France, by the principal of laicity, is not a state or nation that has a religion. It means all those that represent it, serve it and embody it should not have any religion. France is supposed to be religion-neutral. 
In details, it means that no minister, no member of the government, no president can actively enforce or promote any religion, and cannot wear any religious symbol or outfit. Same thing with the police, which is the servant of the state and the enforcers of its law - policemen are not supposed to carry religious symbols or profess publically their religion. And same thing with public schools, public libraries and other public institutions directly funded, overseen and organized by the state or the government. The principle of laicity is that all religions are the same because they are, in theory, belonging to personal choices and personal life. But religion is not supposed to be a “public” thing, and so if you enter the state/government, or are supposed to represent it as a bureaucrat or agent, you are meant to erase all of your personal choices, all of your personal preferences, to represent the religious neutrality of the state - a state supposed to protect, defend and respect all religions by not choosing one, not taking one above the other, and not taking any part among the religious conflicts. 
Now, this is in theory. Again, this is the principle France was built over. And for Americans, this principle can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. For example today in France we discuss, with the rise of Islam-oriented terrorist threats and Islam-fanaticism, in front of rises of anti-Christian, antisemitic and anti-French manifestations, there is a lot of debates about the problem of Muslim communitarism, extremism and “overlap”. It is has been attested, certified and confirmed that a lot of Muslim youth today live in much more isolated and fanatical Muslim communities or families than before, and that a good chunk of them answer proudly that they consider that the law of the Coran is above the law of France. And for us this is a problem, because the model of the French citizenship and of France as a whole is the reverse - the law and principles of France as a nation go first, religious laws go second because they are of the private domain. This is also why for example teachers in public school or police officers are forbidden and criticized for wearing signs of appartenance to the Muslim religion, like a hijab. This is not “islamophobia” or “Muslim-hate” as Americans like to say (though I do not deny there’s a lot of far-right groups that are islamophobes and use this in their rhetoric). But originally it is rather a defence of laicity. 
And here’s the thing with laicity: it applies to all religions. Islam is currently under the fire due to its active terrorist threats and communitarism, but the same laws and critics apply to Jewish or Christian people. For example, this is one of the reasons extreme-right groups are criticized, rejected or disqualified from politics, when they break the principle of laicity by trying to actively promote Christianity and reject or forbid any other religion.  Because this is against the and against the principles of the Republic. Of course, France will always have a bias for Christianity because France is a deeply Christian country that built itself over Christianity and still has a lot of Christian elements in its culture - but the thing is that what modern France is supposed to be is a nation that has Christianity as part of its culture, but not as part of its government, institutions or nation. It is a nuance that can be hard to understand - especially for Americans, because the USA have a quite crazy model, where their culture is a mixture of all sorts of diverse religions, and technically there’s a freedom of religion and all that, but their nation and government still is based on Christianity, with the President still taking an oath over the Bible. In fact this is something French people like to mock Americans about, when people of the USA criticize French for being somehow not progressive and open-minded enough in terms of religion, we like to throw them back that their president literaly takes an oath on the Christian Bible. 
Anyway - as I said, Christianity doesn’t get any favor compared to Islam by the principle of laicity. This is why public schools teach nothing about Christianity outside of historical facts, and maybe a “religion class” which is obliged to cover all religions, dead or alive, not just Christianity. This is also why today there is a true “loss” of Christian culture in France because a good chunk of French citizens and youth are non-religious and so have no clue what some concepts of Christianity are. It seems that Christianity gets “favored”, but that’s just because it is part of the old French culture, but in terms of laicity, it isn’t supposed and shouldn’t and most of the time doesn’t have favors. There are religious schools yes, Christian schools, and Jewish schools and Muslim schools - but they are “private schools”, surviving on their own fundings, and not public schools depending from and organized by the state.
 This is why for example as a French boy, I was deeply surprised and a bit shocked to see in British-influenced media policemen openly wearing things such as crosses or hijabs - because it cannot be done in France. One last fact about laicity: the fact Christianity doesn’t get any favor is especially prominent when you consider that laicity in France was created in the first place to cut off Christianity. Laicity is an inheritance of the French Revolution, whose purpose wasn’t just to destroy the monarchy to create a democracy, but specifically to destroy an absolutism of divine right. High members of the Christian Church and French nobility were the same, the monarch was the “first defender of Christianity”, we had taxes for both the state and the Church... and so the French Revolution created an absolutely non-religious democracy, removing all religious days like Christmas or Easter, renaming all towns and buildings that had a too-religious name, and making sure to kill, steal from and burn as many Christian monasteries, churches and members of the Church they could find. This was reinforced by a date every French kid learns at school: La séparation de l’Eglise et de l’Etat, The Separation of Church and the State, 1905, which was THE political decision still followed today by modern France to make all religions equal by removing all publicness from religions and making it a definitively private and secondary business - and again this decision was mostly taken against Christianity. 
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mymarsmoonandstars ¡ 2 years ago
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About Killmonger...
and his usage of the word sacrifice, and how he compares to Namor
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It's so interesting to me that just like Shuri, Killmonger is wearing white in the ancestral plane. They're mourning clothes for him, too, aren't they? If they are, in a film about moving through the grief and resentment that comes with loss, his white clothes represent that Killmonger is stuck—stuck in anguish, stuck in rage. This may explain why he told Shuri that Ramonda sacrificed her life for Riri, because in his mind, his own father N'Jobu sacrificed his life for the African diaspora.
(By the way, I am using the word sacrifice here because this is the language Killmonger uses, and I merely want to study why. I myself do not believe N'Jobu's or Ramonda's deaths were. When black folks are murdered, I don't view their deaths as sacrifices. They didn't want to die. Both N'Jobu and Ramonda were human beings desperate to save someone (or someones, in N'Jobu's case). The word sacrifice to describe the deaths of black people should be applied with the utmost care, because there is a history of people using that word against us, as it places culpability on the murdered black person instead of the one who actually did the killing. It also reduces black folks to always being the strong and resilient type when we can be victims, too.)
In the first film, Killmonger's father's death motivates him to finish what N'Jobu started and spread vibranium weapons outside of Wakanda to wage a vengeful war—this is his way of "taking care of business" which he encourages Shuri to follow. In calling Ramonda's death a sacrifice, he does not take away blame from Namor, but rather does so to inspire Shuri to act. He urges Shuri to make sure her mother did not die in vain and to instead use her to justify even more bloodshed, just as he had done with his own father. Him wearing white shows he hasn't progressed from this sentiment, and even after all that's happened, he is still very much in pain. It's like he wants Shuri to wage the war that he never got to.
I think Killmonger views the loss of his father as a sacrifice to cope with it, and to him, his father's and Ramonda's deaths are one and the same. In reality, N'Jobu was killed by his own brother then abandoned. Ramonda was drowned as punishment. Neither wished to die. Neither should have died. But to view their deaths as sacrifices? It takes away the brutal truth and gives their deaths purpose. Sacrifice as euphemism. Sacrifice translated into action. He spurs Shuri to vengeance this way, but it doesn't come across as manipulative. For Killmonger, Ramonda and N'Jobu both died protecting a Black American(s), and being that he's never healed from his trauma, he coaches Shuri in the only way he knows how.
But how is never as important as why, isn't it? I've been trying to come up with an answer as to why Killmonger mimics Namor's line. I think to understand it, you have to draw some parallels between him and Namor. The core of what makes them anatagonists is that they both wanted to wage war against colonizers in the name of protecting their people. But they have much more in common beyond that:
White supremacy displaced both Killmonger and Namor. N'Jobu had to hide them away in Oakland just as Namor's mother Fen had to take refuge in the water.
You know how N'Jobu always told his son about how beautiful the Wakandan sunsets are? And how Fen told her son stories about a land and people who never had to change? N'Jobu and Fen filled their children's heads with stories of their homelands dressed up as fairytales. Consequently, Killmonger and Namor grew up thinking of home as an idyllic place that they should have belonged to, but a place always out of reach.
Killmonger and Namor witnessed their father and mother grieving the loss of where they came from. They inherited this grief, this longing.
They have a complicated way of seeing life—they fiercely want to protect their people, but are so blinded by this that they harm those who should be their allies (Killmonger killing black people and other people of color as an American soldier, Namor's assault on Wakanda, both becoming the very thing they hate).
Adding onto the last point, death is sadly common for them. As a boy, Killmonger says, "everybody dies, it's just life around here" which is very similar to Namor's "when you age as I do, you realize we all lose everyone we love." Their hearts are hardened against death, and this is truly a sad thing, and allows them to commit tragedies devoid of sympathy.
So it's kind of perfect that Killmonger echoes Namor's "how is never as important as why." The two characters uphold the same motif of the Black Panther films—to not only look at their methods, which are not the best and at times even downright wrong, but to understand the reasoning behind them.
Remember, despite everything, T'Challa still takes Killmonger to see the Wakandan sunset. The image of these two sitting together and watching the sun go down in Wakanda embodies this theme of empathy, and mirrors Shuri and Namor watching the sun rise over Talokan.
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airic-fenn ¡ 1 year ago
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Only If You Think I Am.
Sometimes I remember the temp employee at my old high school job who offered to buy me lunch since I forgot my wallet, and then asked immediately after we sat down if I was mixed. I mean, he was right, but it was a very uncomfortable first question to be asked by a complete stranger.
But it was also one of the many instances that gets me thinking about how weird it is to be mixed race and also racially ambiguous.
Whether or not I’m perceived as a person of color depends entirely upon who is doing the perceiving, and even when and where in the world they’re doing it. Am I in the southern US, or Colorado? Am I in Europe? Is it summertime and I’ve developed a tan, or is it the dead of winter?
Some people dont bat an eye, other people look at me curiously, knowing I am something but they’re just not quite sure what.
One curious man jumped to the proud assumption I must be Turkish, instead of letting me finish explaining that my mom was only born there because her dad was stationed there once.
In France at New Years, my penpal’s friend made a joke about slavery, then laughed and assumed that if I was offended, its because I’m White.
And all of my experiences like these leave me wondering, where do I put myself?
A friend once admitted to me that in middle school when we were covering slavery in class, he had watched me closely to see my reactions to it, because at the time I was just about the most diverse that school got.
The funny part is back then I was barely aware of being mixed race, other than that my Opa is Black. I was just me, and that was just how my family was.
I didn’t really have Black friends growing up (re: very un-diverse schools and neighborhood). Though, my mom would tell stories about how as a kid, she’d get teased and called an “oreo cookie” and blatant questions from her cousins like “what are you?” She’d mention how she would code switch with them, and try to act extra Black with them because otherwise she wasnt Black enough.
But she didn’t talk about race, or how any of it might apply to me. She stuck with the facts: I was mixed. And that was it.
And so I grew up with little understanding of what that meant until I reached high school. I was sheltered, oblivious, surrounded almost entirely by Whiteness and barely aware that people might, sometimes, treat me differently.
That temp worker back at that job of mine was the first time I had considered that people might.
But because I am caught in this limbo, I will never know for sure. Unless they say it out loud, I am left to wonder whether someone is just being angry and rude, or if they’re pulling a racism.
Generally, I give the benefit of the doubt. And why shouldn’t I, when I often barely know for sure how to perceive myself? I’m just me.
Race feels like a concept thrust upon me. Am I
☑️ White/Caucasian?
Or
☑️ Black/African American?
If I’m given the option, I’ll fill in “Other.” But I’m rarely given the option to fill in both.
The problem with being asked to respond with one or the other is that singularly neither feels right. I’d be lying.
I know a lot of mixed folks identify with being Black. I’m not sure I can no, I’m not sure I’m allowed to, even if I probably, maybe could. Because I get caught up in my own questions and fears of “am I Black enough?”
“What even makes someone Black?”
“Sure, the color of your skin, but its also a culture, its experiences.”
“But isnt it reductive to reduce a person’s identity down to whether they’ve been marginalized?”
“Even if I identified as Black, wouldnt that be perpetuating old racist concepts like the one drop rule?” (And if I think long and hard enough about that, I inevitably fall down the rabbit hole and start thinking about how if I couldn’t or wouldn’t consider myself indigenous despite my great-grandmother, why is it acceptable to identify as Black? Even though, technically, I understand the messed up history of why of both).
I’m never able to answer these questions.
But at the same time, identifying as White would feel like I’m rejecting an entire side of myself. Like I’m trying to hide my Opa.
So, I make myself stop thinking about it for a while, and settle back down on just being “mixed.” Its an answer no one can deny, or tell me that I’m wrong.
And as a result, I find myself approaching prying questions or opportunities reserved for BIPOC folks with varying levels of confidence.
“Do you identify as Black, Indigenous, or other Person of Color?”
Yes. Sometimes. Maybe?
Only if you think I am.
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sinsandsuccubus ¡ 2 years ago
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I'm sorry but you sound ignorant as fuck. everyone can be racist except POC to white people. black people can be racist to asians, hispanics native americans etc. you just can't be racist to white people hence the "you can't oppress the oppressor". racism is systemic, how can black people not be racist towards other poc whenever they have their own slurs and the system is against them as well? White people will always have the upper hand another reason why racism towards them doesn't exist. Why are you being ignorant acting like other minorities aren't oppressed? Hispanic people can be racist to asians & vice versa. Who told you black people cant be racist?? If a black person were to call a mexican the b slur or an asian person the C slur that would be racism....Shit even if they hated crimes someone that would be racism. Look up the definition of racism. ALL MINORITIES CAN BE RACIST PERIOD!! EXCEPT TO WHITE PEOPLE
BUT FUCK NEELAM😹!
I learned that minorities can’t be racist towards another in my African American Studies class. However, once having understood from my fellow sisterwife’s , @mortirolo , I now understand that my point of view is incorrect.
So I do apologize. And this apology also goes to anyone else I offended. I recognize my ignorance and will work in the future to educate myself to this understandings. Furthermore, I’ll take this situation as a lesson.
I don’t mean for it to sound like other races aren’t oppressed, because they definitely are, we’ve seen that over the past few years more than anything. So I apologize for making it seem that way, that was never my intention.
BUT! FUCK NEELAM FORREAL FORREAL. And honestly, Jack’s team as well. He surrounds himself with people who hate on black women and it makes absolutely no sense. The fact that Neelam has been caught MULTIPLE TIMES being rude to fans and appropriating other cultures is enough to make you rich if you had a nickel for anytime she did it.
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uniquejellyfishqueen ¡ 2 months ago
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I'm now unsure who we should be thinking of when we hear Tim McGraw...
10/8/2004 Tim McGraw played the role of a father on the film adaptation of Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G Bissinger (the closest date possible to find is 1990). The story follows the 1988 Permian HS Panthers football team as they took their chance at a run for the state championship. The movie has a run time of 118 minutes, and the 118 show in Germany on 7/18/24 (based on the piano songs from this day is 10/9 suspicious.? And today 10/7 someone posted about a new mural in Germany. It was very "like a rainbow with all the colors."
6/19/2006 TS releases the song Tim McGraw.
10/3/2007 FNL the TV show premiered withe the heartwarming story of the rookie QB getting his shot and the hardass coach that continued to believe in him.
6/16/2009 TM music video
12/6/2011 Ours music video premieres. The male main character is the QB from FNL who is also in love with Coach Taylor's daughter.
*this is silly because now in 2024 TS is dating the TE from Kansas City 1/30/24 he said in an interview that "he knew her before from Philadelphia. Her dad played at Delaware and was a big football fan and had met them there."
*FNL it equals 13
There is also an article from 7/6/2018 titled Kansas City Chiefs as FNL characters. Andy Reid was matched with Eric Taylor and Travis was matched to Tim Riggins. (No offense, trav is too happy to play Tim...)
If you only knew how many other strings this piece of the web was weaving, I'd call this a record year.
Update, yes 10/9 has some things of note:
Happy Birthday John Lennon
And Jack Daniel's is resting in peace I presume.
Elvis and Priscilla divorced after 6 years of marriage (there is a tombstone with for a Priscilla in my childhood backyard)
The U.S. Naval Institute was established
1919 the Cincinnati Reds won the world series
In 1943 Bob Hoernschemeyer (dude I'm so sorry that was the second word you had to learn to spell...rough!) Threw six TD passes in a game
1989 Art Shell was the first African American man to coach an NFL game *inducted to the Pro Football HOF in 1989..
10/9 is also nation pro-life cupcake day
**upon further review and probably a million lyrics later I realized who I wont think of when I hear Tim McGraw.
When you are so blinded to what true love and partnership is you obviously incorporate traits and behaviors that you grew up with for a type of love language. So when you continue to get more and more of the same that becomes your normal, which makes you start to feel a little crazy why would you question something that has always been this way? Because thats when you know it’s not as it seems, it never has been. It could feel like waking up one random Tuesday and running late for work only to smack yourself right between the eyes and literally knock yourself out in the driveway, as you’re crying in pain your partner didn’t even know as they just sat inside the house. Maybe it took you literally knocking yourself to wake up, or maybe it’s looking your daughter in the eyes and hoping to the goddess above that she never knows what it is like to settle. I was blinded by pretty things, when in all reality I thought I really liked those pretty things but I don’t. I lied to myself, I lost myself in this life. In this lie. Now that I know myself again, I see that a best friend wouldn’t let you suffer this way and more importantly a best friend knows when you can’t take it anymore. Therefore in this story all he is, is a supporting character of baby daddy.
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collymore ¡ 2 months ago
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Bullying! Let’s make it the exclusive right of the over-privileged, their flunkies and sycophants!
By Stanley Collymore
It's not right for anyone to be bullied or equally harassed; but why should these tech companies decide only now to act when they assume, that such bullying action is directed at Kate Middleton? I didn't notice or hear any similar demands actually coming from them for such bullies to crucially, and significantly discernibly desist from such awfully, odious behaviour when the target, whom they were focusing on was Meghan clearly an African American woman as apart from Kate who's quite self-evidently, a white Caucasian one! And rather ironically so when the said Kate was one of the primary sources effectively obviously, feeding her sycophants through the MSM with her nastily, spurious stories about Meghan. And on the contrary these said tech companies as they actually still are, were avidly and obviously vitriolically themselves, similarly also promoting the specific bullying of Meghan! And actually on the minimal occasions when crucially conscionable persons obviously pointed out their open vitriol and racism towards this non-white female, the response was always literally one not only of their own but others specifically of their odious ilk to what they were asininely stating, and still do, where Meghan is concerned, as their own, and others that think and act like them always proclaim, they literally were simply, democratically, exercising their basic right, to freedom of speech!
Which actually propagates and also boosts a plausible fallacy, that not only Kate Middleton but similarly too the vile feudal family, which she has evidently acquisitively literally ensconced herself in are beyond reproach, which I don't mind openly saying, they bleeding well, aren't!
(C) Stanley V. Collymore 27 September 2024.
Author's Remarks: Quite unapologetically to anybody I have been throughout my life, ably assisted by the skilled and caring mentors I've actually had from my earliest childhood, been a staunch advocate as well as a committed practitioner of the actually and evidently distinctly enlightening concept of meritocracy, and an aspect of my life  crucially deeply ingrained as it is, will never change.
So perhaps, understandably you'll realize that under such circumstances and rather blessed also with an astute brain, the utter nonsense of birthright by someone or hereditarily privileges attained solely by in-breeding and no real actual intellectual merit, but nevertheless assiduously assuming such individuals and those who very obsessively and successfully social climb into this sort of fatuous milieu, are automatically in every regard better than myself or others like me, is sure arrant nonsense!
The human race per se has ostensibly moved on and progressed since the several millennia that humans have been on this planet; and we're now discernibly if not for everyone, in an undoubtedly distinctively technologically, and advanced era; one in which enlightened people can effectively think for themselves and don't compulsorily in anyway have others dictate to them what they do and specifically as well how they should in essence live their own lives.
However, I'm full au fait that not everyone is so advanced in their thinking, if that's what you can call it, and as such love to fawn over those that they're conditioned from birth to assume are in effect superiors in every regard. A classic Dark Ages, feudal mindset concept. And this is very specifically the case throughout Britain; and is so entrenched that it's enough to make clearly sane individuals go mad. But if that's what these vile sycophants want, then have it by all means but please don't try to foist it onto undoubtedly genuinely liberated minds such as my own, or others like Meghan Markle and a mentally as well liberated Harry Windsor.
Perfectly okay for grifters like William, Kate and the rest of them, but even the massive and prehistoric creatures like the dinosaurs ultimately met their end and so, as in France, Italy, Russia, Greece and Germany, for example, the British monarchy will do the same! And what we're watching quite currently is like a punch drunk boxer who hasn't got the intellectual acumen of effectively, really knowing when to actually quit!
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theanimatedworldblog ¡ 5 months ago
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Psycho-Pass
This anime is very new to me. I have never heard of it before but it has the action packed content that I usually find myself gravitating towards, though it is quite gory to say the least. From the very start of the show you can acknowledge the idea of constant surveillance from the reading. There are within the anime that can track a person's behavior and convert it into some sort of number measurement of their ability to commit crimes or their psychological level. If your Psycho-Pass number goes above a certain threshold you are to be put into therapy or are deemed too dangerous to be a member of society ever again and are killed. Within the first episode the antagonist was caught during a routine street check that revealed his high Psycho-Pass.
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This idea of constantly being checked was the first relevance of the idea of the “all seeing prison” where one is constantly being watched or in this case checked. The anime expresses real world surveillance through all the different devices that can track someone's stress and psychological level. By real world surveillance I’m referring to the idea that we are always being watched by people in positions of authority above us as Professor Smith spoke about during the lecture video. This constant surveillance idea implies that we are being watched through common devices like cell phones and laptops but in the anime the devices are Psycho-Pass scanners which include cameras and dominator guns.
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Later on into the season a group of people began wearing helmets that allow them to alter a Psycho-Pass scanner's reading. One character in that group mentioned that the civil system is the monster because they have a program to make a judgment on people that can alter the rest of their lives by concluding that they are psycho’s. This part of the anime related to the article called “Machine Bias” where after a conviction an algorithm estimates how likely it is for someone to commit another crime in the future.
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Throughout the article we could see that when placed next to each other African Americans were said to be more likely to commit subsequent crimes than White Americans. The algorithm in these cases were shown to be wrong as within the article it was often the opposite. From this point of view I can understand why the gang people used the helmet to get away from the Psycho-Pass readings, but I also will say that they are only proving the scanner right as they continue to commit more crimes. Overall this anime was really interesting and the graphics were really nice. 
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nyasialiveshere ¡ 7 months ago
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The Exo critique/ comparison continues more of a kpop/ western cultural overview though
for educational purposes only of course. So many links. I never did this if it doesn't work I'll just do something else..
I believe a lot of my issues with exo and struggling to appreciate their discography like I do other groups I listened to was the lack of personal touch as I once said. I don't believe I'm being negative or whatever but at this point you literally can't even give your opinion without being called weird Korean slang terms by ironically non korean people..who don't usually speak korean..super weird. I just am tired of it. I feel like there's worse things in the world than someone giving their honest opinion but understandable some people feel extremely attached to bands and shows. Which I kind of get somewhat. But like I always do I will try to give as much detail as possible it's my thing on here. Weird opinions central. None of my friends ever//ever ever really wanted to discuss kpop on a deeper level. I was going mad not being able to express myself to anyone cause nobody knows it that deeply. That sucks so for a lot of people it's a stress reliver and it's aesthetic. I completely understand. But to me there's a million people that give kpop praise, or even rude unhinged hate. I'm not that type of person. I try and be as honest as possible and then sometimes I make a funny. This is more for people who like history than people who like kpop. But some people who like kpop like history, theories and deep diving. So I just tag relevant things and if you don't like reading that much..you..don't have to..which is kinda obvious. Also if opinions not harming anyone makes you mad, that's fine, but just don't..freak out. Or do. Idk, it's a free world, but the main reason I talk so much is because I care. I want to live in a world where everyone can express themselves respectfully and intently. That will only happen if we start speaking on things nobody wants to speak on. I try and only talk about confirmed stuff that's free real estate on the internet. So it's not a just trust me bro situation. This is stuff anybody can dig into and if it's my opinion I will make that clear.
If I never branched out and read/watched random documentaries etc I wouldn't know any of this stuff either. Many people spend most of their time scrolling may as well teach something while I'm on here.
WARNING I TALK A LOT..so you already know before I keep going
To me I like to stretch back to this infamous quote because it ties in with what I was talking about with the motown inspirations and such
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A Motown alum with many
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Grammy's and a history with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson to me was Lee Soo man's main inspirations for what he wants his S.m artists to be. The entire kpop industry is built off of that model. In the U.S the inspiration is great but I believe in Korea it's what the foundation is built off of almost entirely.
The want to create someone beyond a human being, with a devout fanbase and global success. The indie music industry is barely thought of or given much attention, the rap industry takes a backseat and the idol culture reins supreme.
But why?
I believe many misunderstand that although Micheal Jackson is the name used he himself is used as a stand in for the African American race.
The true inspiration is African American culture itself, the jazz, the rhythm and blues, the hip hop, popping and locking, B-boying. But nobody wants to say all that, it isn't Michael Jackson but he is a representative of the African American population so of course they use his name, because that's what everybody says.
Lsm's first artist was in fact a hip hop star, the large majority of 90s idols were reflections of artists like boys II men, who is a big blueprint for the white American boy band and later the K-pop boy band
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They were clearly and unapologetically black people. The market allowed for glitz and glam and also for performers who were toned down.
With K-pop the market is extremely geared towards the Michael Jackson type of performance extremely theatrical and to this day that's where most of the focus is the performance and not really the vocals.
Lsm's first artist had a different experience than other k-pop idols later would. In the begining things were a bit more loose, still heavily western inspired but relaxed
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To understand the way kpop is now you have to understand it's roots, not the superficial this song sounds like these other song, NO, the actual roots of how this industry even exists.
I could go into what was going on in America at the time while all this was happening but I might do a whole seperate thing on that. The asian american experience during the 80s and 90s had more to do with assimilating into white culture, while trying to distance itself from black culture almost entirely.
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Meanwhile in Korea, things where changing in the opposite direction.
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Now, stick with me, taking all of this into account looking at Exo's trainee process which for some members was right when the hip hop industry was at it's height/also the white boy singing black music craze was also very popular. From a business standpoint of course they want to promote a group that's hip hop inspired. After the incident with Hyun-jin it's clear they may have wanted to distance themself from the urban scene and cater to different audiences.
When Exo debuted they did have that style people were used to from edm, hard base, edm, electronic, not necessarily urban by any means. But they would have a turn in genre for their first full album which featured their first hip hop single Growl.
I consider it old school hip hop, but this is what Rolling Stone said about it
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the original sounds like something that could easily be a Corbin Bleu song or something or a very young Chris Brown. This would be one of S.m's first real step back into the urban market with Exo, but it wouldn't be the last
They went full urban with Call Me Baby
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and remade this demo to a more tame tune. I believe this is the first but not last sample of a black girlgroup they would use. This song has a sort of sample/reference with the 'say my name' which I believe is still dantaethekid's vocals. This using of the demo's singers vocals and remixing it was used one other time. But it's a blend. If you aren't aware of blending vocals, it's a smooth trick to use the original artist vocals and the new artists vocals to get something that sound like normal to the listener, but when you hear the singer sing it acapella something is missing.
S.m paid for all of this, so it's not stolen. That's not what this is about, it's more of a artistic overview and a behind of what went into creating Exo's themes, concepts and what made their music 'special'.
I had no idea Marz was the person who leaked a lot of the original versions, I knew about the older ones but hearing the demo's and now knowing a bit about the music industry...like hearing the original versions help so so much. Good on him.
I honestly thought black people were capping when they talked about what was going on in Kpop. Because, isn't black culture just uesd by everybody? Like they listen to music and their brain makes something similar. That's what I thought was happening...only partially. There is a whole world of information I didn't know about and I thought I knew a lot.
Now that the basis is out of the way, back to the creative process. I believe an integral part of music lasting has to be the emotional connection one has with the music. If an artist's music catalogue was taken away could they start over, if they didn't have songs made for them could they craft their own, or at least try? In a group that's easier, because members can rely on each other.
Using modern western examples, Justin Bieber certainly started out like many artists, he was handed exactly what he was going to sing. He had very little if any connection to his music at all.
Scooter Braun a former party organizer and the opposite of Lee soo man had connections that helped his young client get started in the music industry
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unlike in Korea where many groups may never collab with another artist in their entire career. The west survives off of collabs and hit singles. It's a different system. Justin was helped by a Ludacris feature that gave his sound some validity. It helped him not seem like just a nerdy little kid singing about love.
He did not start off with hip hop and it took years before he developed into a sound he and his voice was comfortable with
But wait..there's another part we're missing. Justin wasn't a songwriter but he was a musician. Let me explain
He was not a composer yet, but he wasn't dead weight, he could play any instrument in a band and sing acapella at random. He even did so in one of his first youtube video's.
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there's a lot and you can only put so many links on here but this is one of his busking performances
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A common misconception when lumping all artists togther is saying they are all untalented or the label helped them sound like this or that. Anyone can get singing lessons, but if this kind of talent could just be put into anybody to sing like this acapella every parent in hollywood would be doing it. Every performer, disney kid would sound exactly like this. Justin was helped by the fact that he didn't need tremendous work on his voice. Only to maintain when he began touring and learning proper technique.
Sm vocal trainer Yoo Young Jin's first album Blues In Rhythm Single 1. and the demo's he does for sm clearly show his singing inspiration comes from Slow Jamz from the 1990. He helped out on Tell me what is love where D.O mimics his style. It becomes like a pattern when you see where they are pulling inspiration from. In terms of american style singing he is thought to have the best voice for rnb. That may not be his preferred style but with the vocal coach they gave him that's clearly what they wanted from him.
I never knew there was another person on this track and back in 2014 I didn't know about their individual vocal coaches and just assumed they were all trained equally. But it seems they gave vocalist specific teachers to improve their craft, screw the others I guess
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Hearing it in 2024 it's clear the soul and feeling that existed in the 90s in Korea is..like it just doesn't exist anymore. Yoo youngjin is honestly amazing and I am wondering why he isn't like on Rain's level. Like, he's one of the best clearly. He recently left s.m I believe but he should make a fortune as a vocal coach wherever he goes though.
Good training is definitely important, but as a wise woman once said
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Honestly there's nothing to explain it there are just some people that are like angels, there voices are out of this world. Yet, sometimes it's not that complex some people just have a knack for music, they create their own special sound and emotion it's incredibly personal they put their soul into what they do.
How s.m teaches...I really think it's similar to what this woman did. Like first time watching it but it's pretty obvious.
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I'm not the most articulate person when it comes to singing, but it feels like they try to purposely use this style to create a flavor that may natural come when other artists are singing, but they do it purposely. Everyone in the company is kind of the same, the stop start, belting, quick talk. It leaves a sense of..how am I even sure what happened, no less what the quality of the vocals are. I like to listen to them cover songs in english because I'm able to tell what their natural rhythm is and not 'sm's rhythm for them' this is important because I like to know that outside of their job an artists likes music and sings music. Korean songs are find but I can tell they depend on vocal tricks they learn to get around actually having to master their voice completely like Yoo youngjin did. That takes mastery. Knowing every limit of your voice.
Not every singer can do this but most successful ones definitely can. Even talking should sound like singing. In general sm and extension Exo sing restrained and restricted even when belting so they hardly ever encounter those surprising vocal tone moments when an artist riffs freely.
I try to be fair yet also I want to use a small pool of artists, Exo is male musicians but I'm not talking in terms of vocal range but technique which anyone can learn.
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In this one take Haley showcases a bit of her preferred vocal technique. She's able to belt, keep good breath control, project, and keep a consistent yet give emotion and go all the way with her lines without getting outside her vocal range. It takes self knowledge completely.
She actually has a wide range but rarely hits the notes Exo is known for hitting. It's her stability and projection and belting that stands out.
Also a lot of people say kpop is performance is choreography, which is true, but Rockers are known for running around jumping up and down during concerts, similar energy is being exerted. Not exact but very similar.
Early in Justin's career he was going through puberty. A very straining time for a singer because the voice gets deeper and you loose your original tone and possibly range. Many singers work very hard to maintain their voice if you ruin your voice that could be it for life.
In his early 20s honestly he still had a great voice but he also kind of treated his body poorly, more recently he's been trying to improve his health and get used to his older male range. His sound is different but the technique he learned still holds him. The biggest thing I want to show is the importance of being comfortable in your own range it's less about the falsetto's and belting and more a person mastering their own sound and voice.
That's what matters.
I personally in my opinion don't think s.m cares about this and only wants people to adhere to their vocal standard, this is bad for their overall health and will only lead to strained and bruised vocals. Impressing people is not worth declined quality in your natural singing voice.
I think many fans of singers are afraid of them showing their true voice, cracks and bruises and all. Personally for me it's the mark of a weathered person who's lived life. It's genuine, it leaves an impact on people.
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apparently this was at drake's hockey party? I don't know a Canada thing, and he performed a private event, there were no official camera's so the person took the audio that was clear from some and tried their best to cut up and splice it like a seamless video. This is the song most people know him for, it's a completely different arrangement and a natural progression. His voice is rough, smooth, his belting is usually projecting a lot. That's the one thing even back in the day nobody could explain his chest voice, it's evident acapella and with the mic. He does lip sync at times but for the most part whenever he sings acapella it sounds the same or better because he has a crisp to his voice that gives it a unique 'texture'. It's like his voice is the instrument. The projection is crazy though particularly when he's outside. I don't want to put a lot of video's but I wish his talent would be studied more than the gossip. He's a very hurt person, but his talent is a wonder. It's unfair people are only appreciated after they are gone. His relationships, gossip and drama many times over shadow his God given abilities.
There's so many good vocal moments..but I have other stuff to talk about, he's just an example here.
I mainly mentioned him because he trained under the same people Exo's songs come from, but he was trained similar to how the oldies where trained..not in a gospel choir like Elvis but very very close
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Justin sang worship songs on the street and mimicked mainly that sound as a child and other black artists, he copied them pretty much all day and night. Once you get into it...like it's a rabbit whole you won't believe. I'm just trying to fit a little bit of this circus into an article. Elvis basically was heavily inspired by the black Pentecostal church and in his movie in idk 2022 with Austin Butler you can see just how much black culture had an effect on him. Like people even me didn't understand. He allegedly really had a spiritual experience
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there and it changed basically everything about him. Many didn't really like his style and they thought he was too much, too raunchy or whatever. So it took awhile for people to accept what he was doing.
There's a pattern hear somewhere, but it's a lot.
I'm mixing the history with the vocal analysis because it really does overlap, okay back to the black singers from back in the day. So as I was saying, black culture was having a renaissance away from the stereotypical stand up and snap boy groups of the past. Something new was burgeoning, the soulful sensual group that actually danced and walked around. There were so many black boy groups. This could have twelve parts if I go into every way the black entertainment industry has it's grasp on other music industries. And this is just the music, not even talking about the clothes, the hair, the slang, the walk the talk. It's not even making me upset anymore like this is anthropology at this point. So really we should be glad because I've yet to see so much absorption of black culture. Like it was under lockdown and was considered evil and dark for a long time but now it's like people can't get enough. It's honestly interesting.
So one group I always knew about but never went into was Hi-five who have this hit called the kissing game. A super schoolyard song that is like a black community staple. I never thought I'd analyze it or take a deeper look at it because I've been listening to it since childhood.
But looking back at this live performance that they looked like they just walked on stage and are just doing their thing. They seem so casual and calm like singing like that is just normal and anybody could do it. Two members passed away(rest in peace) it's just insane thinking about it. The black community doesn't even think twice about this kind of stuff it's like pretty much everybody has a cousin or two that sings just like this, or an aunt, uncle. It's like nothing. But in other races we praise something we wouldn't praise in our own race cause we'd expect better. Just something to think about.
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Like lord, this precious talented child. Like it's funny cause he don't even take it serious and he's playing around. It's nothing to him, the notes he's hitting so many people have to try so hard. The deep bass to the belting, it's like I always wondered why black people belted like they did, I'm not even sure and I haven't found an answer as of yet.
I purposely chose him singing post puberty because him singing at like 11 literally isn't fair he literally sounds like an angel. From what I understand black boys have a long ribcage and large lung capacity, idk there's theories about it.
Also the audience is important ;a lot of acts mainly K-pop will never play anywhere they don't already have fans, the fans are already there. They will even fill the audiences with fans specifically for each filming session for a broadcast, so they can get the chants and avoid a dead crowd.
They were playing at the Apollo, which is a very tough crowd they boo a lot of people. Like black audiences can be notoriously rude so it's always a hit or miss even if people like you. Like idk if anybody ever got jumped but I wouldn't be surprised.
A big part of sm is their extensive trainee process which is supposed to produce global talent. I still wonder what actually is going on, like there are many cases where the people aren't ready or struggle dang near there whole careers to hold a not and dance properly. I really don't understand it. There is also varying things, on one hand some people train for a short time and debut young, so they aren't ready to sing properly and have to learn but then some train for too long of a time and it's treated like that hurt their talent instead of helped it. So there's hardly ever a person that debut's ready to sing, dance and perform with complete comfortability.
Even by the time they have a solo, their is usually little improvement and it may of been better if they debuted as a soloist and been allowed to grow if being in a group would inhibit their growth so much. Yet at the same time their soloist sometimes struggle as well to make a mark and go global.
The main goal of sm is to focus on fandom and pleasing the fans no matter what so they won't have to truly compete on a global level and will be able to fall back on fans support. Which leads to less cultural impact overall. An artist should be apart of everyday life, there music should be known and listened to passingly not because it's all there is. Variety is key, rock, hip hop, rap, pop being staples in American culture gives soul music credence cause people had choices. When the main acceptable thing is one genre and everyone feels inclined to like it to support the culture it leads to less good music. Variety means competition.
also I believe me using the younger but post pubescent versions of these boy groups are fair because I'm trying to get around Exo's vocal range.
It's not a young Justin completely and not an older Justin so I just used two different video's comparing growth.
I used Haley to cover the belting to compare the technique. I struggle putting into words completely so to give a basis I'm using musicians I actually listen to, in order to give a fair explanation on why I feel like for the kings of K pop operating on a global performance level they don't really hit for me. But not just that, also I just like talking about their impact and what made them a group, both good and bad. I really don't like stan culture, like I really don't. I feel like it took defending celebs way too far. I can't even find an honest review anymore. It's turned fans into babies who can't even articulate what they mean anymore. The brains are beyond fried and it's by choice. Simply to fit in and impress the next person.
I always question if I'm on the right path so I listened to Exo in the studio..I-- it's like average modern korean vocals.
Vocal teachers in Korea that actually want the kids to have vocal chords left after 35
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Because forcing people to sing out of their range when you can instead let them mature, and marinate is so dumb. All to impress people and to keep up with 15 year old idols it's not smart.
A good example of proper technique is Bang Yedam, his parents are godtier stage parents, with their kid every step of the way. YG didn't make him, he can write good decent music on his own, he knows his worth. He was taught I'm supposing in a similar manner to the western artists. Very smart. He never went out of his range for a group and now he still has his voice and will continue to if he cares for it.
I remember watching this years ago, and I still to this day can't put into words everything I have stated Exo I suppose wasn't taught to do..but that's wrong. What I believe is similar to dance there's a breaking in process. You cannot just wake up one day and sing like Aretha Franklin or Mariah Carrey you must start from childhood and train your vocal chords. Also I'm assuming..it is something people may be born with. Training is apart of it but some have trained for close to almost 20 years and like I'm not finding what I find in the other artists even children/men/women from the Philippines can sing a Beyonce song randomly like I've studied a lot. It may be something unseen. Like who's gonna study this. Nobody really cares.
Anyway concerning Bang Yedam he hasn't sung many western songs post puberty but this cover of thinking bout you where he's barely raising his voice yet implements bass. He switches into chest voice effortlessly. Many mistake head voice for chest, if the neck veins are popping for someone slightly lowering there voice that's head voice. Chest kind of flows out. That's where the belting and heavy flow out of projection comes from. He has definitely at a very young age solidified his own voice
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Like if you don't think this is impressive...lord it's like ..this is a talented child for real. Texture is so hard to come by, like he has real texture, he's aware of almost every facet and can bring out emotion like man there's some talented kids in this world. Like, studying the science of it makes it truly more enjoyable for me. The more Iearn it truly helps me understand more about God and how he works, like everybody is truly different and the best part is when a person does what they specifically are made to do. Forcing someone to become someone else, I hate that. Nobody should try to be anyone else but they encourage these kids to do it instead of figuring themselves out
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These companies did not make their trainee's. The credit they are given is honestly blasphemous, it irks me. They helped them get famous but I blame any parent who didn't have their child taught outside these companies. They loose confidence, will struggle to become artists and will loose themselves in this industry.
No everyone isn't the same level of talent. With a lot of these people it's not their teaching, it's their knack for it plus genetics and anatomy. This is clear now, because if everyone were capable of singing just like this is kpop they would. His training helped but people have to stop taking away the self appreciation these people have. They are who they are because they were born with a specific set of skills.
I honestly don't think of western artists much when others berate the talent of others and lift some up. I always think about the precious children left behind because their looks aren't as up to par with the beauty standards, or their fanservice isn't as good.
It's sick to be honest. I understand people can like whatever they like but the lies are getting under my skin, false narratives. Certain talent suppressed. Over obsessed fans laughing at those who are actually more talented than their preferred person but they don't have clout or a huge fanbase so what do it matter. Meanwhile the company isn't even concerned with making good music. They just buy whatever sounds decent hire western producers to do most of the work the throw their staff on it to even it out so they seem self sufficient.
I actually feel better doing all this research cause I always go to the ends of the earth to figure out the truth. I wanted to do other things but this was on my heart for awhile.
I have more specific opinions on Exo but.. I don't know if people are ready for that, it's not rude at all but it's..I'm very blunt and do a lot of research so it's so true to me it would be nothing to say but a pain to explain. I will one day but I mainly just wanted to put non exo musicians here because sometimes you need a fresh perspective. Personally I can't imagine listening to kpop as much as most people do, I bet my perception would be messed up as well. I barely knew s.m had a sound or what techniques s.m used and how once you notice it you can hear the shortcomings of all of their singers, how badly they are straining themselves and how unhealthy it is.
I guess that will be another day when I feel like it. I barely do theories anymore like I used to because reality is way stranger than a theory. But this is just something I do for fun so it depends idk I kinda wanna look at some movies or comic books. It depends whatever is least stressful.
End of pt 2.
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