#this story does not pass the bechdel test /j

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Total $hit$how: The Tables Turn

in which Joy sorta gets asked out

cw: adult/crude language, manipulative leader

previous // Masterlist //

×~×~×

Joy was probably driving way too fast.

She couldn't help it. Knowing that Kaius was out there, stuck who-knew-where---and Vic wasn't gonna let them help---really lit a fire under her ass. If the other two noticed the high speeds, they didn't comment on it. Jericho was staring out the window, and Benji was squeezed beside her, chewing on his thumbnail.

“I remember where we turned,” he mumbled as they entered the city limits and the truck began to slow down. “We had to go on foot for a ways, but I should be able to pick out the spot they got him.”

It was dark. Joy didn't even know what day of the week it was at this point, but it didn't look like many of the shops were open, save a bar or two.

“Then what?” she asked. “How do we find him?”

“We…” Benji trailed off, shaking his head.

“We trigger the alarm again,” Jericho answered, eyes still locked on the window. “One of us can act as bait while the other two hang back. Tail whoever comes to take them.”

“And if it's Finley?”

“Then we should've been careful what we wished for,” Joy muttered. An irrational part of her wondered if this was all part of Vic's plan. Get one of them kidnapped to teach the others a lesson about pushing back against his decrees. Well… maybe it wasn't that irrational.

“I'll play the bait,” Benji said.

Joy gave him a sidelong glance. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, they already saw me. Maybe it'll be fun?” He didn't sound convinced.

“Okay,” Jer said. “We'll have our eyes on you. Promise.”

Benji nodded, hands folding in his lap. “Fuck, I hope we find him before Vic catches us.”

Joy'd had similar thoughts the whole ride down. Her optimistic side wanted to believe their handler would be impressed with a successful rescue, but a much bigger part of her doubted it. Was it even possible for them to pull this off without Vic knowing? It'd be real hard to convince him Manak came back on his own, especially if the three of them were cut up from a scuffle. 

And what happened if he did catch them? Would he kick them off the mission? This was probably the best test for pushing boundaries they were gonna get. At least it served the bigger picture. If they could pull this off, maybe there were other rules to be bent. Avenues for doing it their way instead of Vic’s.

“Up ahead,” Benji said, pointing at a brick building. “There's an alley just past there. That's where it is.”

Joy slowed to a roll, eyeing the spot as they passed it. “It's embedded in the wall?”

“Yeah, behind a… a fake brick plating or something.”

Neat. The plating was probably wired into the building itself to get the signal out; either that, or the receiver was pretty close by. Was it inlaid in the building's plans? Or maybe whoever’d built it just snuck out night after night, chipping away a secret compartment. Ballsy of them, if that was the—

“Uh, we might be a bit far?”

“Shit, sorry.” Joy hit the brakes. Probably a little too hard. The other two lurched forward in their seats.

“Okay,” Jericho said, rubbing his neck. “Benji, you can hop out here. We'll swing the truck around and keep a lookout.”

Benji gave several quick nods, but didn't say anything. Or move as Jericho unbuckled and hopped out.

“Hey, you ready?”

He shrugged. “I don't know,” he said, a nervous laugh following the words out. “I guess… easier said than done, playing bait. I mean, I've done it before, but that just means I know it's really fucking scary.”

Joy hit the release on her own seatbelt. “Then I'll do it.”

“Huh? No, you don't have to. I just need to get my nerve up—”

“I'll do it,” she repeated. “Jer, take the wheel.”

“I'm sorry,” Benji said. “I know I'm a coward, I just—”

“Benji.” She clapped his shoulder. “It's cool. Just watch my back, okay?” She was curious about the alarm system anyway.

The truck pulled away as she made her way toward the alley, cursing the dim light and her neglect to ask exactly where on the wall the panel was. Oh well, too late now. She ran her fingers along the bricks, feeling for any difference in structure with her nails. A few areas gave her a false positive, yielding nothing when she tried to pry them backwards. 

When she reached the definitely more obvious panel, she felt a little dumb for trying the others. Joy popped it off, a grin crossing her face as a little green light inside began to flash.

Mission accomplished, now for that side quest. She lined her face up with the compartment, squinting inside. Transmitter, motion sensor… ah, looked like it had light shift detection too, maybe as a backup. The wires disappeared into the wall of the compartment.

Wired into the building itself. First guess. Joy grinned. She almost didn't hear the hum of an engine getting closer.

Right. The other half of the mission. Eh, she was supposed to get grabbed anyway, Joy thought, not bothering to drop her focus from the little hidden setup. The receiver was small, and who she assumed were its creators had gotten here really quick, so their hideout had to be nearby. Either that or the transmitter was running on a mega power source. Though it could also be a combination—

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and Joy turned to see a tall man with a spiky purple faux-hawk, hair shining neon against the headlights of a van.

“Ah. Hi,” she said. Weird. She figured she'd be grabbed by now.

“Whatcha doin’ there then?” the man asked.

“Checking out your system,” Joy said. “The hidey hole is neat, and I was curious.” Mission. “Guy named Vic told me about this spot,” she added, hoping that was enough to get the ball rolling.

“Right.” The man shrugged. “I was afraid of that.” He seized the handle of the van’s sliding door and jerked it open, inclining his head towards it. “Alright. Ah, you can just hop in.”

Joy stared at him. If this was how they fucking got Kaius…

“Ah, shit. Wait, my bad. Manak said you'd be good with it. You're on his team, yeah? Finley just wants to chat.”

Well well. How the tables turned. Joy simply gave the man a shrug and climbed inside.

“Oh, we'll grab your friends too,” he said as he climbed into the passenger seat. “The more the merrier.”

×~×~×

“Thought there was five of you?” The driver, a woman who'd introduced herself as Duckie, said.

“There are.” Jericho had adapted to the sort-of-being-kidnapped thing really quickly. Maybe it was just a skill that you got once you became a parent. “The fifth person… well, it's just us tonight.”

Yeah, because no way would Harbor stick out his neck for this. Joy didn't even want to try to ask after their last proposed rescue.

“Well, Finley will be glad to talk to any of you.”

“Didn't Kaius tell her enough?” Benji asked, still hunched in a nervous pose. He took the kidnapping a lot worse than Jer.

“It isn't about what you know,” the third passenger, a man who hadn't bothered to toss out a name, put in. “It's what we know.”

Ominous, but she liked the sound of that. She was already dying to know more about any of the mission details. If Finley could offer that, willingly, Joy was ready for it. She could only hope the new information was more of a blessing than a curse. But then... Look at their luck so far.

As she'd assumed, it wasn't a long ride before the van was pulling into some oversized garage.

The three of them were ushered out of the van, through an open bay area, and into some side office while Jazz went and got Finley. The place was far from homey, covered in dust, and full of junk. Probably not their usual hideout.

Despite the gentle kidnapping, Joy still let out a sigh of relief when they found an intact Kaius in the other side of the office door, reading a dusty manual for what looked like a hydraulic press, a half-empty plastic water bottle on the desk beside him.

The guy was a bit of an arrogant ass, but it hadn't taken Joy long to accept him as their arrogant ass.

“Thank fuck you're okay!”

Kaius was stiff as a board as Benji’s arms wrapped around him, but under the irritated look, Joy could almost swear she saw the hint of a smile.

“A congratulatory handshake would have sufficed.”

“Ah, right, sorry.”

“So,” Joy said, taking a seat in a rusting foldout chair. “Where are we sitting on a scale from ‘hostage’ to ‘secretly in charge’?”

“A good distance from the latter,” Kaius replied. “But we'll be free to go once Finley gives you her spiel.”

“Oh?”

“Allegedly.”

“Then why are you still here?” Jericho asked, leaning on the desk.

“Wasn't convinced he wouldn't just yap to Vic.”

Joy's head swiveled towards the doorway, where a lean woman with a highlighter-yellow mullet was standing.

Kaius seemed unsurprised by her entrance. "Speak of the devil."

The woman shrugged. "Speak of the yapper."

“What was your plan?” Joy asked, folding her arms to match Finley's stance. “Keep him here forever?”

“He was on the verge of convincing me otherwise when the alarm hit.” She cocked her head. “Now I just have more people to share the good news with.”

In the corner of the room, Benji looked like he was trying to make himself smaller. “So is it actual good news? Because the way you said it…”

“No, you're right. I lied. It's shitty news, but it's the truth, and that's better than anything Vic’s feeding you.”

“What do you want for it?” Joy asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd dealt with this type before; friendly strangers with something slippery about them, always swore they had something you wanted, but it always came with a price. 

“Only your undivided attention.”

Ah yes, the one thing she had a hard time giving. Joy glanced back at Jericho, then Kaius, who gave a single nod. The gesture seemed to be enough of an invitation for Finley.

“I was Vic’s first pick,” she said, stuffing her hands in her pockets and throwing a grin into the room. 

Vic's first… he knew her? Was that why..? Joy bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to let any surprise cross her face. Shock and awe seemed to be exactly what the woman wanted, and Joy didn't want to give her that satisfaction. Not yet.

“I used to work for Rotorworx covertly,” Finley continued. “Ferried supplies back and forth for their batshit science projects. And I guess somewhere along the line, things got a little too batshit. The government took notice and didn't like what they saw. Now,” she swatted her bangs out of her eyes. “That was where it got complicated. See, the DoD has a contract with Rotorworx. Uses them for weapons advancements and aircraft shit. It's not a relationship they wanna fuck up, but they can't let RW keep playing with fire the way they have been. Because it's bigger than a little fire, a little lab disaster. They're…” She snapped her fingers a few times. “well, they're—”

“Fingerfucking reality?” Benji offered, and Finley pointed at him with a smirk.

“They sure are. And as you can imagine, the Department of Energy had something to say about that.”

“Then why didn't they just shut them down?” Jericho asked, shifting in place.

“Oh y’know. Privatized company, partnerships with various three-letter-agencies, high value assets, billionaires,” Finley replied, counting off each on a finger. “It gets really convoluted really fast. The DoE tried to have a chat, but their CEO wasn't having it. So they figured, why ruin a perfectly good relationship when they could just hire someone to break their new toy?”

“So they hired Vic,” Joy finished.

“Bingo. And Vic tried to hire me. He wanted to build a specialized team and needed my expertise, or so he said. I mean, can't blame him. I'm probably the best pick for an op like this.” Finley shrugged. “But I did my own digging. Poked around, listened in on a few closed-door conversations, found out that yeah, they want the Reality Cage destroyed, but they also want someone to pin the crime on.” She leaned into the doorframe, fixing each of them with a look before continuing. “And that's where you come in, sweethearts.”

It took a moment for the words to settle, split-seconds of denials and excuses and justifications flashing through Joy’s head like a firing squad. Vic needed them, they had specialized skills, he'd made a deal that benefited everyone, why trick them like that?

But Finley was right, wasn't she? As much as Joy wanted to tell herself that no, she was inclined to believe this stranger over Vic because she was biased, because Vic was a cold bastard who clearly didn't give a damn about them, it was enough. 

Vic didn't give a shit about them. Finley didn't stand to gain anything from telling them, at least as far as Joy could figure. And worst of all, this was the final puzzle piece to make it all make sense. Why else would Vic hire a bunch of random criminals he had no reason to trust? Why else would he put them through weeks of training to do what he and Sahota could've done in one night?

It was all a con, and she should've known better. Of course they weren't being set loose after the mission. It had seemed legit enough when the offer was first made, but had that just been her desperation talking? At the time, the choices she'd been presented with were to take Vic’s offer or land her happy ass in prison. Guess either option had always ended at the same destination.

“We appreciate the warning,” Jericho said, his expression nothing short of troubled. Jer… he had a lot more stake in this than any of them. All he wanted was to see his kid again, but Vic, that son of a bitch…

“Why did you tell us?” Joy said. “Why not let us take the fall?”

“Good old fashioned chivalry ain’t dead yet,” Finley said. “And I wanted to let you suckers know you're off the hook.”

Benji's eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“I pulled a few strings and got my guys signed on as a contingency team. If Vic fails, the DoE is sending us out. Only difference is, we're not playing scapegoat.”

“And they're letting you?”

“The prison scheme was Vic’s plan,” Finley answered. “Five nobodies with criminal history, caught breaking into Rotorworx with intent to steal and pawn and break things. The poor Reality Cage was caught in the crossfire, bringing a year of sketchy-ass progress to a close. So sad.”

“Then why would he bother with us? He could be in and out without a trace.”

“Does Vic really seem like the type to neglect covering his ass? He's not gonna risk it.”

“And you are?”

“Sweetheart, I am all about risk.” Her teeth flashed in a fresh grin, and Joy forgot her next point. Fuck.

“The sum of it is, we're free to go,” Kaius said.

“Exactly. No guilt, no betrayal from old man Shepard, no cops. Pick up where you left off and don't look back.”

“What about Sahota?”

Finley raised an eyebrow, squinting at Jericho. “Who?”

“Sahota,” Jer repeated. “Vic’s partner?”

She shrugged. “I didn't know Vic had a partner. Everything I dredged up pinned him as a solo operator.”

Joy exchanged a look with the others. “Does… do you know anyone who would know about him? If he's in on this?”

“Vic’s a shadowy bastard. There's a lot about him no one knows. Including what company he keeps.”

Was Sahota in on this? She didn't want to believe he could be, but he was just as secretive as Vic. He'd given them the chance to win a chat with Finley, which could've blown the whole lie wide open, but had he known it was a losing game from the start? Even after Jericho came out on top, Vic hadn't honored the bet. 

Maybe he did know. But maybe he didn't get a say. Vic called the shots in their partnership; in their relationship.

“Is that all then?” Joy asked, slouching in her seat. Free to go or not, there was a big fucking mess in their wake, and she didn't know if they should do something about it. She didn't know if they could.

“That's all. Run away, or go back to Vic. I did my moral duty. It's in your hands now.”

This was it then. They could just leave. Fuck off and slip back into the lives they'd left. Would it be safe? Probably not, but none of them had really been safe from the start. 

“What do you think Vic will do?” Benji asked as Finley left the room, closing the door between them. “If we leave, I mean.”

“We just have to get far enough away that he won't find us,” Joy answered, uncertain even as she said the words. What would Vic do? What would Sahota do?

“What about Harbor?” Jericho said, and Joy cursed under her breath.

“Harbor has a hard-on for Vic,” she muttered. “I'm sure he'll be fine.”

Jericho didn't look convinced. “You want to leave him there?”

Ah fuck, she couldn't handle the disappointed dad look. Jer was a master of it. “I didn't… I mean, no, I don't want Harbor to take the fall or anything. But he's cozy with Vic, isn't he?”

Jericho grimaced. “He… I think there'll be trouble for him if he stays.”

“Because of Sahota?” Honestly, if their trainer wanted to kick his ass again, Harbor had it coming.

“Because of Vic.” Jer sighed, rubbing his face. “It's been a long night. I… I talked to Harbor. Just before Benji came in. Vic was there when he hurt Sahota. I think… I think Vic made him do it.”

Fuck. Joy bit her lip. Fuck. What was one more thing she didn't want to believe? From the start, she'd known their relationship went deeper than business partners. They loved together for fuck's sake. Sahota had been there for twelve years. Why would Vic encourage that?

As much as she didn't want to, it was just one more thing that was easy to believe.

“We need to go back for him," Jer said. "Maybe we can convince Sahota to come too.”

“You think he would?” Kaius piped up, brows creasing.

“I think he should have the option. Look, you all can run. You should run. I'll go back to the compound, talk to them both about this—”

“No,” Kaius said. “They will know we were gone by the time we return. If it's only you, I'm not certain Vic will give you another opportunity to leave. He still needs his scapegoat.”

“He knows it was Finley who got you,” Joy cut him off. “Either way, he'll be suspicious.”

“So we'll lie,” Kaius said, getting to his feet. “Tell him it was Finley, but we don’t believe a word she said.”

“It won't work. He'll see through it.”

“He only needs to buy it for one day,” Kaius said. “Once night falls, we'll be gone. For good. If Harbor has any sense, he'll be with us.”

“And if he doesn't?”

“He's a free man. It's his funeral to plan.”

Jericho stepped in closer, closing the circle they'd unconsciously formed. “It's worth a try, but I'm not the best liar.”

“Ruebin is,” Kaius said, and Benji perked up beside him. “I'm sure he can convince Vic long enough to give us time.”

“One last mission,” Joy said wryly, and Jericho cracked a smile.

“Guess we should hit the road.”

Joy hopped up, pushing the door open. Finley was still outside, slouching against a shipping container like a freckled scarecrow.

“I guess I did tell you you could go back to Vic,” she said, eyes glittering as she fixed them on Joy. “Didn't think you'd reach that conclusion so soon, but props for the heroism.”

Joy raised an eyebrow. “Another closed-door conversation?”

“It's a bad habit.” Her arm swept out, gesturing for the warehouse exit. “I won't stand in your way. Best of luck tricking that sly bastard.”

Joy sighed. “I guess… thanks. You saved our asses.”

“Only for you to jump back into the frying pan, but I did try.” Her smile faded for a moment, eyes holding the tiniest bit of seriousness as she looked at Joy. “Well hey, I can't blame you either. I'd do the same for any of my idiots.” She reached out her hand, pressing a piece of paper against her hand. Joy closed her fingers around it, looking to Finley for an explanation.

“If said sly bastard gives you too much trouble, give me a call," she said in answer. "I'll see what I can do. And if he doesn't, and you wanna get dinner sometime…” She winked. “It's a versatile offer.”

Joy tried to keep herself from flushing as she gave a quick nod, squeezing the paper in her fist. “Yeah. Yup. Uh, thanks. Again.”

Dinner, huh? She hadn't given much thought to after, and they still had a long and bumpy road ahead, but… she could do dinner. Probably. She had questions about that alarm system of theirs anyway.

The hard part was behind them. Now time for the harder part. The Harbor part. The guy was a dickhead, but if Jer’s assumptions were true, he didn't deserve to be left in the dust. They could get him out of Vic’s clutches and part ways, easy peasy. If they could get him out of Vic's clutches.

What if they couldn't convince him? What if he just ran off to snitch the first chance he got? They'd have to be ready for a quick exit. And Sahota…

She didn't know how they'd convince Sahota. It was a dangerous bridge to cross. If he knew, if he'd been lying to them all this time, the game would be up. The end. But if he was in the dark too, didn't he deserve to know? Didn't he deserve the chance to quit a job that would probably get him killed one of these days? To leave behind a partner who would let that happen?

The four of them squeezed into the truck’s cab and Joy started her up. They'd walk that line when they came to it, and damned if she wouldn't give it her all, but right now, they had an hour to get their story straight, an hour to prepare to face Vic. No sleep, plenty of new, exciting, dooming information. 

The shitshow was about to begin. She just hoped they were all ready for it.

×~×~×

tag list:

@theonewithallthefixations , @violets-whumperflies ,

@whump-me , @pirefyrelight , @soheavyaburden , @snakebites-and-ink , @whumpsday ,

@kixngiggles , @echo-goes-aaa , @whumpcateyes , @clickerflight ,

@sodacreampuff , @starfields08000 , @neverthelass , @melpomenelamusa

[writingraccoon]

tagging @origami-butterfly bc i think you'll be interested at least

So some posts about women in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and it's adaptations have been going around, so I thought I'd give my two cents that no one asked for.

In the original novella there is one important female character I can think of- The girl Hyde tramples. I have not seen any J&H movies or adaptations, unless you count the four episodes of Once Upon a Time that had a (bad) J&H plotline, but i have a decent impression of how most adaptations treat the women they add in.

First of all, I don't think adding women to Jekyll & Hyde is necessary. It speaks to the attitudes of the time that more women are not in the original book, but the book as a whole is inextricably linked with the attitudes of the time, and separating the culture from the novel serves to strip away much of its meaning. Perhaps casting the butler Poole as a woman, or even making Lanyon a woman could be reasonable ways of putting a little more diversity into screen/stage adaptations, but the novel does not even pass the 'two men talk to each other about something that isn't a man' test.

A piece of media does not need to pass the Bechdel test to be good, or interesting. Frankenstein, J&H, Les Mis, Dracula (iirc), and the Christian Bible are all, to my knowledge, things that do not pass the Bechdel test. They are not less valuable for that.

Many J&H adaptations add a love interest to be killed or spurned by Hyde, or a sex worker to be raped or killed to display how evil he is. I hope I need not say that adding a woman to your story just for her to be fridged to say something about a male character is FAR more sexist and hard to watch than a piece of media that just happens to have a lack of women.

At it's heart, Jekyll and Hyde is a story that needs few characters to be told. There is, of course, Dr Jekyll himself, his alter ego Hyde, Utterson, the lawyer turned detective, Lanyon, and Poole. Any other people that show up in the story are unimportant except for what they say about the main characters (pretty common in fiction. the family that dies at the beginning of the hero's journey is not important in and of themselves). The girl that is trampled by Hyde is there to set up how Enfield met him, and tell the audience how evil he is. The old man who is trampled is there to shock the audience and Utterson, and reveal a new depth to Hyde's cruelty. Now, there's something to be said for the fact that the old man is named while the little girl is not.

While pieces that are less adaptations and more inspired by J&H have far more freedom in what they add and what they omit- The Glass Scientists comic, for instance- adaptations that aim to bring the book to stage or screen should actually read the book before deciding what should take place. I would say that adding a love interest not only is unnecessary, but in fact actively harms the effectiveness of any J&H adaptations. Jekyll and Hyde is simply not about that. It is not a love story, (except, you could argue, the love for Jekyll that drives Utterson to become more invested in his hunt for Hyde) and trying to make it a romance interferes with the point and themes of the story, just like switching the perspective from Utterson to Jekyll messes up the story.

The reason why so many adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde fail to capture the essence of the original novel, is that none of the people in charge of them seem to understand the novel at all. They don't understand why Gabriel Utterson is not only not boring, but why he is the lens through with Stevenson chose to tell the story. They don't understand that Hyde is not a separate person, or an evil second personality, or anything else, but that he IS Jekyll, and Jekyll is him (which is an interesting point about humanity's unwillingness to accept the presence of evil inside of ourselves but i don't think most screenwriters are doing that on purpose). And they don't understand why, to put it simply, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde does not need the addition of a love interest, and in fact is better for the lack of one.

[amidst-wonderland]

final fantasy: rebirth {a mess of emotions, not in chronological order}

this is more story-based, so heads-up spoilers below.

“question. does that make me a dumbass?”

not aerith asking about reno

chadley nearly outing cissnei and cloud getting real confrontational about it.

cloud is so much more conversational in this, i felt in remake he was bordering on joker level’s of player-character. he’s a lot more laidback, which is understandable since he didn’t really know anyone but tifa and midgar’s only like what a week long?

the game now feels like an ensemble piece rather an a cloud simulator.

cloud not realising he’s the one loner friend

americans aren’t the best swearers - put to much emphasis on the swear itself but cloud does it so well.

he’s a prickly, backchatting bitch in this game and i love every single second of it. he’s not mopey, stubborn and grumpy. he’s ‘i’m going to actively make myself your problem if you cross me, so don’t.’

barret immitating yuffie?! or, “oh, wow. tell us more.” it’s giving abridged.

yuffie’s little naruto run!

yuffie and cloud’s growing sibling dynamic is the cutest shit. like, he should be be pissed at her but immediately protected her from the captain.

all i hear is priscilla’s dad’s irish accent from abridged when ever someone says her name or, “mr dolphin, ye daft bastard.”

rufus shinra… the man that you are.

every rude and elena scene, just, yes. her with the ice-lolly, the corneo fight, rude’s pub club?! babysitting palmer. (also, they call it the clean-shaven club when rude literally has a beard).

i genuinely thought we were gonna at least get that iconic reno and rude scene outside of gongaga (and as a long-shot a reunion with cissnei - i stand by the fact tseng absolutely knows where she is.)

that final turks training facility was a bitch to find.

don’t get me wrong, yuffie, barret, tifa and red’s trials were sad but aerith’s absolutely wrecked me. like i’ve got a stuffy nose already and i literally couldn’t breathe with the tears.

same with dyne and barret, like what you mean you want me to fight palmer?! i’m sitting here ugly crying about two men who love their daughter and have been through hell and back.

i’d love to see cissnei and leslie get involved with the wutai turk team-up

as much as i love aerti’s ‘improved over og’ friendship. it’s not passing the bechdel test anytime soon.

fuck queen’s blood.

cloud saying “down boy” sir- THE WHIMPERING!

the kids locking yuffie in with the hooded men on the cruise.

nanaki walking in the cabin on two legs fucking kills me. i also caught barret admiring himself in the mirror.

the fact the name tag is, “???” when we can hear yuffie cheering on cloti.

did they kiss?!

so, we finally see loveless and it was everything i ever wanted. genesis, i’m sorry, you were right.

“death doesn’t suit a turk”

cloud jr is too cute and i love my chocobro protagonists

speaking of, i’m in two heads about ffxv. you can see a lot of the inspiration the team got from that game but i think they left out the one thing that made ffxv perfect, which was the constant chatter during traversal

cloud turning on tifa during the gongaga reactor mission is giving the ffxv: omen trailer

i need a tonberry robot for my desk

jessie’s poster! i really thought she’d be alive with biggs

cloud calling gus a prick is when it clicked for me, like cloud’s got bite

i need esther’s red boots

cid is played by j. michael tatum?! sebastian- france- kyouya-

elena stuck in the heat yelling at rude, omg this is the turk moments i love.

as someone who is scottish, i can’t believe i witnessed cait sith tell cissnei to “wheesht”.

not the biggest fan of cissnei’s new colour scheme. would’ve gone with browns, accented gold buckles and mustard yellow personally

wished they’d’ve put in an turk easter egg in her house.

cosmo canyon’s lantern scene is so pretty.

gold-fucking-saucer. woah

sitting at the water tower with aerith felt wrong, and i know that was intentional.

omfg vincent, why he kinda dressed like gyuvin in en garde?

jesus, roche.

still not keen on seph’s voice - mainly because i don’t like tyler and also zack is better but i’m still not keen

symbiote!peter to “OMG GUYSSS HAIIII” is like fucking whiplash. two minutes ago we were crying over harry, now hotels?!

i knew that’s what marlene saw! and now zack knows! i am not okay!

was low-key waiting on elena throwing the keystone to reno to catch for a grand intro but he kinda just appears, and i loved every second of it.

the way both tifa and aerith have had to stop cloud murdering a turk.

cloud with blood by his own hand on his face is such a chilling image. it’s like seeing someone like superman with it.

avalanche versus reno and rude’s fight was giving advent children, like specifically reno and rude’s fight with loz and kazoo. (which i rewatched recently. rude’s face when reno steps on his glasses is the funniest thing in that film, also i can’t unhear fred from scooby-doo when loz speaks even though i know it’s not frank welker - it’s the dude that plays corneo).

[beyondicelebrities]

Week 7 - biopic

'Oppenheimer' - the turbulent, genius, life of a man with a eternal legacy

A dense and powerful movie that tells the story of the man who created the atomic bomb. Directed and written by Christopher Nolan, the narrative expose the connections of J. Robert Oppenheimer with very powerful people, himself and close ones. the personal narrative also covers in details historical contexts.

The three hours long narrative was a success, winning several Oscars, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards of best pictures, actors, music and more. Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey jr. , Florence Pulgh, Emily Blunt are some of the names of the amazing cast. In terms of writing and techniques used the director really did an implacable job to create a blur vision of thoughts and events, the use of effects and dialogs were well explored and the proximity with the main character and his life was well explored and vital to the story. In my opinion, a well deserved attention to the movie.

The atomic bombs used in the World War II are well known history, a tragedy that devastated cities, however the background to this story might not be well known by many, and this movie gives context to the life of the man and the institutions that had the power of using the bomb make in 1945. I wouldn't say that it brings a new context to the subject, at least not for everyone, but it brings a new and more personal look to what happened.

It is also interested to think about the time in which the movie was released. Wars are present in our history since the begging of humanity. Destroying cultures, cities, taken innocent lives, and responding to conflicts in violence. Nowadays, there are wars happening in this exact moment, when the film was released, there were wars happening at the same time. Israel and Gaza conflict, Ukraine and Russian conflict, civil conflicts.... If I had to say that the movie had a purpose to be commented, or a cautionary tale to prove, I would say it is a reminder of what humans created in the past, the power that nations have, the destruction that it can cause.

While watching the movie, even though there is the presence of woman in it, I didn't stop to think if they interact to each other and talk about something that it is not related to men, but I researches after watching and disappointingly, this is what I found:

"

In a movie like Oppenheimer that packs an all-star cast and an intricate narrative, one would think that it would pass such a simple test. But surprisingly, the thriller biopic fails the test in the last two parameters as it doesn’t have any scenes to tick those boxes.

Applying the Bechdel test on Oppenheimer delivers the following results:

Are there 2 or more women in the movie?

Yes. Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer, Jean Tatlock, and more.

Do Kitty Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock or other women in the film talk to each other?

No, not in any scene of significance.

Does the movie have two women talking about anything besides a man?

No."

As a conclusion, I really liked the movie. It is well interpreted, well written, directed and the production as whole ( clothing, make-up, effects...) are all well thought. I would say it is dense, and tragic at it's nature. It interprets an event that resumed in uncountable deaths. Maybe due to that, many people that I talked about it didn't think it was as good as other movie, such as Barbie. I think it is a matter of interpretation. But when looking at representing history, I believe it was a good take about the event.

[denimbex1986]

'Oppenheimer is once again trending on social media, but this time it’s because it fails the Bechdel Test. Here’s how the record-breaking movie fails the Bechdel Test.

How Oppenheimer fails the Bechdel Test

Also known as the “Bechdel-Wallace Test,” “Bechdel Rule,” or “Mo Movie Measure,” the Bechdel Test assesses Oppenheimer on three parameters:

Whether there are at least two women in the film. Whether they talk to each other. Whether they talk about something besides a man.

In a movie like Oppenheimer that packs an all-star cast and an intricate narrative, one would think that it would pass such a simple test. But surprisingly, the thriller biopic fails the test in the last two parameters as it doesn’t have any scenes to tick those boxes.

Applying the Bechdel test on Oppenheimer delivers the following results:

Are there 2 or more women in the movie? Yes. Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer, Jean Tatlock, and more. Do Kitty Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock or other women in the film talk to each other? No, not in any scene of significance. Does the movie have two women talking about anything besides a man? No.

And that’s how Oppenheimer fails the Bechdel Test.

Oppenheimer’s plot and cast

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer follows the story of Robert J. Oppenheimer, whose unparalleled contributions to the Manhattan Project led to the creation of the Atomic Bomb. The film also dives deeper into its consequences and also showcases a conspiracy against the popular theoretical physicist.

It stars Cillian Murphy as the titular character. Others involved are Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, Rami Malek as David Hill, and Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr...'

[make-mine-movie]

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the last movie of Walt Disney’s Wartime Era. It was released in 1949 and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%. This movie is a segmented film similar to the others of its time, but consists of two stories which correlate to one another, retelling notable novellas from the 18- and 1900s.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a fun combination of classic stories that was entertaining and quite frankly hilarious. Unlike the other films of its time period, it has relatively consistent plot and theming. The Wind in the Willows was exceptionally funny. My only qualm with it was the use of derogatory word typically used against Romani people used by one of the characters to describe the cart Mr. Toad was traveling in. The rest of this half of the film was very comical and even somewhat relatable. My favorite parts were the aforementioned “TOAD ARRESTED” bit as well as Mr. Toad claiming, “Police? I’m not afraid of the police,” and as soon as someone knocks on the door he goes, “It’s the police,” in this absolutely horrified tone. As for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this part was less entertaining than the prior, but still enjoyable nevertheless. As someone who has read the novella, albeit for a class, the animated adaptation is pretty accurate to the original source material. I also liked how the narrator made fun of Ichabod the whole time, even if unintentionally. The only thing that was kind of unnerving in this segment was the treatment of one of the background characters, a petite fat woman named Tilda. Brom Bones, who I should note is one of the antagonists and not viewed in the most positive light, uses her for his own means to get to Katrina, a woman he considers prettier and more worth his time.

In conclusion, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is by no surprise my favorite movie from Walt Disney’s Wartime Era. It was both objectively and subjectively better than the prior movies in this time period. Overall, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad receives 8 out of 10 stars from me, a great score. It lost points due to usage of a slur as well as its uncomfortably negative treatment of the only fat woman in the movie. Additionally, this movie had consistent speaking roles unlike some of the others beforehand, so this score does include whether or not it passed the Bechdel Test (which it did not pass). The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad received a point back for its music, which was exceptionally jolly and very fitting for the film.

Summary of the film under the cut.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad consists of two stories: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It begins with the prior, a story featuring Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad as its protagonist. Mr. Toad is a fun-loving, rambunctious character who loves traveling and causing trouble. His family estate, Toad Hall, is currently going bankrupt because he owes most of the town money. This responsibility falls under his exasperated bookkeeper, Angus MacBadger. Mr. Toad has other friends as well, Water Rat “Ratty,” Mole, and Cyril Proudbottom. When Ratty and Mole ask where Mr. Toad is, Angus MacBadger tells them that he is traveling with Cyril. When confronted by his friends, he explains his philosophy of “travel, change, excitement,” and leaves. On his way he sees a couple of men driving a motorcar, which he is very enthusiastic about. He becomes so manic about obtaining a motorcar that Ratty and Mole strip him of most of his clothes and lock him in his bedroom to prevent him from spending more of the money he does not have on something he does not need. Mr. Toad sneaks out the window in the middle of the night. Once the camera pans away a newspaper is flown at the screen; it reads “TOAD ARRESTED.” The next scene shows Mr. Toad on trial for apparently stealing a motorcar. He acts as his own defense attorney, calling Cyril to the stand as his first witness. Cyril explains that he and Mr. Toad were out and about when they stumbled upon a bright red motorcar outside of a bar. Mr. Toad goes inside the bar and asks the bartender, Mr. Winky, who owns the car. The car belongs to a group of weasels. Mr. Toad offers to create a trade with them for the motorcar since he has no more money. The thing he elects to trade is Toad Hall. When Mr. Toad is seen out and about with the motorcar he is arrested under suspicion for stealing it despite the fact that he bought it. However, when he calls Mr. Winky to the stand, Mr. Winky denounces this recount, claiming it untrue. Mr. Toad is imprisoned. During Christmas Cyril visits Mr. Toad in prison under the guise that he is his grandmother. Cyril gives Mr. Toad a disguise, and he escapes pretending to be an old woman. At first he gets away with it, but the police catch onto him. He flees on a train he steals, getting shot repeatedly by the police, but not getting hit. He then purposefully plunges into the river below, the ball and chain still around his ankle. He begins to drown, but then shows up at Ratty and Mole’s house. Someone knocks on the door and barrels in, Mr. Toad panicking that the police have found him, but it is actually Angus MacBadger. The four of them talk about how Toad Hall has apparently been taken over by the weasels, who Mr. Winky is the leader of. When they arrive at the manor, sneaking in through a secret passageway, they notice that the weasels all fell asleep drunk, and Mr. Winky is also asleep with the deed tucked into his shirt. The four of them devise a plan to get it back by leaning over the side of the balcony and lowering Mole just enough to grab the deed. One of the weasels catches onto the plan and alerts the others to what is going on, causing chaos to ensue at Toad Hall. In order to confuse everyone, Mr. Toad throws a bunch of paper airplanes around, making them all look like the deed. Somehow the group of friends escape with the deed, and Mr. Toad returns a hero, free from prison and once again in possession of Toad Hall. The last scene of this segment features him flying away on a plane, once again preaching, “travel, change, excitement!” The Legend of Sleepy Hollow begins by introducing its protagonist, Ichabod Crane. The narrator characterizes him as peculiar, tall, and lanky. He is traveling to the town of Sleepy Hollow, where he has been hired to be the new schoolmaster. The narrator introduces another important character, Brom Bones, to the story. Brom Bones is a strong and proud young man who is the head of the social sphere in Sleepy Hollow. When Ichabod gets to town everyone is so taken aback by his appearance and demeanor. After he adjusts to his new home it is further explained that Ichabod is especially social with the women around town and is very food-motivated. The narrator then introduces the last significant character of the story, wealthy heir to a prosperous farm, Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina is exceptionally popular with all of the men in Sleepy Hollow, but she constantly keeps them on their toes, never actually showing particular interest in any one of them. Ichabod is intrigued by this new figure, but the more he thinks about it, the more he considers how marrying her would benefit him - he would have plenty of food and money from the Van Tassel family farm. Ichabod attempts to court Katrina, giving her favors and helping her clean up. Brom Bones witnesses this and starts competing with Ichabod over Katrina’s affections. It appears that Katrina is favoring Ichabod, and she invites him to her family’s annual Halloween Frolic. The two of them dance there for quite some time before Brom Bones forcefully cuts in. Towards the end of the event the group gathers to tell ghost stories, and Brom Bones sings about the Headless Horseman, “the worst” of all of the local haunts who “goes a-joggin' 'cross the land

[mst3kproject]

She Freak

Oh, boy, this is going to be a fucking delight.  If the 1932 movie Freaks were Invasion of the Saucer Men, She Freak would be Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  Freaks is a very troubling movie, but it does go to great effort to present the denizens of the sideshow as human beings who can be loving, greedy, heartbroken, or naïve as much as anyone else, and who find family in each other when the rest of the world rejects them – and must be very careful who they let into that club.  The horror of the story is derived as much from their predicament as from the fate of Cleopatra.  She Freak is… not like that.

A woman named Jade Cochrane works at a little diner somewhere in the south, quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) enduring sexual harassment from both the customers and her married boss.  Wanting more out of life, she quits her job and goes looking for work at a passing carnival, which she figures will at least allow her to travel.  From there she sets her sights on marrying Steve St. John, the owner of the freak show and the richest man connected with this community. Unfortunately for everybody around her, even this very moderate form of power corrupts Jade to the core, and after too much of her mistreatment, the sideshow stars take a horrible revenge!

The opening sequence is a bunch of carnival footage in which everybody looks bored, worryingly reminiscent of both Carnival Magic and MUZ.  Even worse, quite a bit of it is shot by somebody sitting on a moving ferris wheel or other midway ride.  I’ve never been able to enjoy midway rides because I get motion sickness (I can’t see J. J. Abrams movies in theatres for the same reason), so this was not a fun experience for me, even on my tiny laptop screen.  It goes on way too long, and most of it doesn’t even have any credits over it.  Crow would have fled to go throw up in a corner.

The moment I knew She Freak belonged on MST3K, however, is this shot:

What the hell does that sign say?  YHJCY A+ FTJB?  What does it mean?  Is it an acronym?  A secret code?  An in-joke? A message to or from aliens?  That would have fascinated Mike and the ‘bots.  They’d have built a whole host sketch around that sign.

She Freak is tooth-rattlingly bad in many different ways.  I don’t know what any of the people in it think they’re doing but it sure isn’t acting.  It’s relentlessly padded, full of pointless footage of putting the midway up, taking the midway down, putting the midway back up again, and carnival-goers wandering around looking dazed.  At one point we have to watch a stripper do her act, to a chorus of background hooting and applause that sure isn’t coming from the bored-to-shit audience we see.  Most of the film feels like nothing is happening, and then what ought to have been the entire plot is crammed into the last fifteen minutes.

The one place where there is a glimmer of competence is in a couple of quite nice directing choices.  There’s a scene where Jade leaves her new husband with his buddies and sneaks off to bang the guy who runs the ferris wheel, Blackie (don’t worry, he’s white. She Freak has a little person called ‘Shorty’, but to my relief it wasn’t tasteless enough to cast a character named ‘Blackie’ as an African American) that makes a very good use of shadows to tell us what’s going on in two places at once.  Pity the film stock is so crappy it almost ruins it.  I also liked how Jade’s scenes with Blackie have proper dialogue, while Steve woos her in a series of montages.  Jade wants to spend time with Blackie, while her marriage to Steve is something she goes through the motions of and gets out of the way.

She Freak really has no right to tout itself as a remake of Freaks, for the simple reason that it isn’t even about the sideshow.  The older movie had characters like Hans the dwarf and Daisy and Violet the conjoined twins, who were people with relationships and roles in the plot.  In She Freak we never even see the sideshow that so upsets Jade in an early scene.  There’s Shorty, the little guy in a cowboy hat who works for the carnival, but when we see him he’s acting like he’s Steve’s friend and assistant rather than one of the exhibits.  An armless woman and a few people in funny makeup appear at the climax, but we’ve never seen them before and we have no idea who they are.  Where the hell is the ‘Alligator Girl’ the banners promised?

It’s probably all for the best.  If there had been any ‘unusual people’ with major roles in the movie it would doubtless have treated them in a disgusting and exploitative manner.  But what’s on screen shouldn’t even pretend to be a remake of Freaks.

As the owner of the sideshow, Steve insists that he cares about his employees and considers them ‘human beings, just like you and me’. He tells Jade that many of them came from abusive homes, and that in his show they’re able to earn a living and be around others who won’t judge them.  This is a reasonably noble sentiment, but what we are subsequently shown is somewhat at odds with it.  Steve says his employees are also his friends, but he hangs out and plays cards with the other carnies, not with them.  When Shorty tells him that Jade is cheating on him, Steve slaps him like he would a misbehaving child.  This is not how people treat friends and equals.

You may have guessed where this is heading: in one of my favourite running complaints, yep, we have nobody to root for in this movie.  We’re probably supposed to like Steve, but he’s bland and his actions don’t agree with his words insisting he’s a nice, compassionate guy. The character from whose point of view we see the events is of course Jade, but Jade is the villain of the movie and we’re watching it to see her hubris destroy her.  That means the protagonists ought to be the sideshow people themselves, but since we never actually meet them, their revenge is meaningless. In this context they are not human beings, they are not characters, they are merely what Jade has been calling them all along: monsters.

(Shorty, by the way, is played by Felix Silla, who is the closest thing this movie has to a star. He was Cousin Itt on the Addams Family TV show.)

She Freak presents us with several reasons why we ought to dislike Jade.  She’s introduced working at the greasy little diner, where she turns down a date first with a customer and then with her boss.  The customer accepts this gracefully but the boss does not.  The scene tries to show us Jade as an uppity bitch who thinks she’s too good for other people, but her boss is such a slimy toad that we have to take her side.  She tells us how her mother married too young and lost any chance at her own dreams, and while Claire Brennan is a terrible actress, the story is one that inspires sympathy.  When Jade seizes on the carnival as her chance for escape she becomes downright pathetic.  I mean, how awful is your life if a travelling midway and sideshow seems like a step up in the world?

Of course, as the movie continues we find that Jade really is just a snotty bitch whose idea of ‘getting more out of life’ is having a rich husband to carry her bags when she goes shopping. She sees others only as what they can provide to her – Steve for money, Blackie for sex.  This attitude blinds her to others’ true intentions.  She is entirely oblivious to the fact that Blackie is an abusive bastard or that Steve honestly loves her.  The lesson of the movie seems to be ‘beware of women who want more out of life.’  She should have known her place!

This is a pretty nasty attitude towards women but there are other female characters who are treated a bit better.  Pat the stripper tried marriage and domesticity and didn’t like it.  She seems to enjoy working at the carnival and is gregarious and kind-hearted.  We’re invited to leer at her performance but she’s presented as much less trashy than Jade, who considers herself above such things. Pat continues to try to be a friend to Jade for as long as she can, and keeps giving her second chances long after it should be obvious that Jade isn’t interested in reciprocating her kindness. There’s also Olga the fortune-teller, who needed to support herself after her husband died.  The three of them even manage to have conversations that pass the Bechdel test.  In a movie called She-Freak that’s almost impressive.

The ending of She Freak is the only place where it really even seems inspired by Freaks.  The sideshow employees take their revenge on Jade, and we see her on display in the sideshow, licking a snake and wearing some unconvincing Harvey Dent makeup.  This is supposed to feel like justice, in that she has become what she most hated, but it’s been so watered down by the movie’s refusal to humanize the sideshow, or even to show us Jade interacting with them at all, that it has no power to horrify.  It’s a big letdown after the opening scene that promised us a horrible freak that was once a human being.  Why does her burned side have an elf ear?

Invasion of the Saucer Men was not a good movie, at all, but it still deserved better than Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  It’s up for debate whether Freaks was technically ‘good’ but it was an ambitious film with much to say about how human beings treat one another and about the eugenics movement of the 1930s.  In fact, the US National Film Registry considers Freaks one of the most significant films ever made, and it currently boasts a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The fact that writer David Friedman claimed She Freak was a remake of Freaks just proves that, like the audiences who booed that film in 1932, he never bothered to understand it.

[kdramaxoxo]

Current K-Drama Watchlist

I’m currently watching these Korean dramas. I don’t do reviews until I’ve seen the whole show but here are my feelings so far.

The Secret Life of My Secretary: I cannot believe that a rom/com featuring a spoiled boss who can’t see faces, his secretary, a mistaken identity trope and a fish that gets surgery (!) has emerged as my favorite show of the season! True, it’s not going to get any writing awards, but the leads’ chemistry together is just perfection. If you love watching a couple fall all over each other with awkwardness, this is for you. At first you might be annoyed by Veronica Park (I hated her at first but she is my favorite now) and the dating story, but Kim Young Kwan is great as the pouty puppy dog with literally two brain cells - I’m shocked at how into him i am lol.  I adore Jin Ki Joo - she is hilarious and so fun to watch.

Angel’s Last Mission: Love: A very close second is this gorgeous melodrama featuring an angel (L) who falls in love with a ballerina he is supposed to be helping. It’s gorgeous and Shin Hye Sun is a truly gifted actress. Her emotional range is incredibly impressive (so much that I was worried our adorable L wouldn’t be able to keep up but you’re doing great sweetie! ) and the two together are magical. Heads up though: this is not a comedy. Do not be tricked by the first few episodes; you will feel a ton of angst.

Search: WWW: Powerful women! Power Suits! Noona Romance! I wasn’t sure if a high budget show about search engine list rankings could hold my interest but with all of that girl power I couldn’t pass it up. If you like watching powerful women with actual character development pass the bechdel test in the first 2 minutes, you’ll love this show. And the noona romance (a genre I love) is very cute and heart fluttery so far. But what I want to really say is this: This drama shows a lesbian vibes hug scene, and if this show doesn’t acknowledge this ship in an open and affirming way, I will revolt! So far, amazing but the pressure is on for the queer representation we all deserve. 

One Spring Night: A love story between a women in a stagnant unhappy relationship and a sweet pharmacist with a kid this slow-paced but cinematic romance is similar to the creator’s last show ‘Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food.’ I mostly put off starting it because I was too stressed that it would break my heart like Noona Did because there are a lot of realistic unpleasant characters including controlling men and family members. So far it’s amazing though, and I’m glad I finally started it. One note: does this director think they can only use ONE SONG in each show? Seriously, you’re allowed to have more than one ok?

Absolute Boyfriend *Shakes Head* Why am I still watching this show about a girl with a celebrity boyfriend who ends up living with a love robot? Who can say? Is it Yeo Jin Goo’s face? Definitely. Listen, this show has a ton of plot problems from the get go AND it’s 40 episodes long. It’s highly flawed and a very frustrating watch. It doesn’t really know what kind of show it wants to be, or who we are supposed to be rooting for. Like, who is managing Yeo Jin Goo? He’s so talented and yet he makes the funniest drama choices... Will I drop this drama? Probably Not. Should you start it? No. Save yourself.

Tvn Confession: We all know I’m watching this because it’s Junho’s last drama before enlisting. And listen, it’s actually really well done! I love all of the characters and despite it being a thriller/crime/lawyer drama with no romance, I’ve made it all the way to episode 13 (this is amazing if you know my inability to watch procedural dramas) If you DO like this genre I highly recommend it, but if you prefer romance or comedy, skip it (unless Junho is your bias wrecker).

and…the classic non-airing watch:

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes - Rewatch A psychological thriller based on a J-drama, this show has an unusually creepy feel with a lot of mystery. I know this isn’t a ‘Classic’ since it just aired last year but I wanted to watch it again anyways. When I hear the soundtrack I literally feel physical pain (should I go to the doctor? ;-) I’m just so entranced by how Seo In Guk can be Shopping King Louie AND this character, and Jung So Min is perfect - she always is. If you didn’t get a chance to pick this up last year, watch this!  

[pass-the-bechdel]

Alias s02e09 ‘Passage, Part II’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test? 

Yes, three times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Two (13.33%)

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Thirteen (86.67%)

Positive Content Rating: 

Three

General Episode Quality: 

Alright.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel: 

Irina tells Sydney about security in the facility they’re infiltrating. Sydney asks about mines in PRF territory, and Irina asks about school.  Irina tells Sydney to rest.  

Female Characters:

Sydney Bristow

Irina Derevko

Male Characters:

Rick

Michael Vaughn

Kendall

Craig Blair

Jack Bristow

Rajive

Sark

Arvin Sloane

Ramon

Alain Christophe

Gerard Cuvee

Marshall

Arshad

Other Notes:

This episode reminds us for the first time this season that Sydney is a grad student, and tells us that she’s working on her dissertation.  While this part of Sydney’s life never got the most attention, the fact that it is only now that we even get a hint of it tells you a lot about the series’ changed priorities. 

I like Jack’s contact. He’s got personality, and I always like it when the series references the older generation’s past lives. 

That said, not all nods of that sort work. Gerard Cuvee, introduced this episode as a former colleague of Irina’s, is a really bland antagonist, with nothing beyond the actor’s previous working relationship with Lena Olin to make him stand out.

On a similar note, I want to acknowledge all the work the writers of these two episodes—Debra J. Fisher and Erica Messer for part one and Crystal Nix Hines for part two—to flesh out Kashmir and its geopolitics: I’m not sure it could be considered good, but it is, by far, the best job the series has done in giving a sense of place to its locations—especially in comparison to episodes like “The Counteragent.” It feels like a specific place with an existence independent from that of Spy Family, which is something the series very rarely achieves or even attempts.

I remain uncertain whether the disguises the SpyFamily don this episode constitute brownface or not; if they’re wearing makeup to darken their skin, it’s subtle enough that I cannot easily tell. Still, given past precedent, it can’t be really ruled out.

This episode, more than any previously, makes the best case for Rambaldi ultimately being an unnecessary liability for the series. The episode worked perfectly well as the story the spy family preventing SD-6 from obtaining nukes; however, once it’s all revealed to be about Rambaldi, any sense of stakes the story had disappears. The writers haven’t done the job of convincing us that it’s all as important as characters believe it is, so there’s no reason to be invested in Sydney and company’s success.

This two-parter is often held up as among the best season two has to offer; it’s certainly emblematic, and not in a great way. Sure, it’s fun when it’s all Spy Parents bickering, but as with the Rambaldi reveal at the end, it’s all rather empty.

The big change at the end here is meant to be the shift in Sydney’s relationship with Irina, as the former starts seeing the latter in a more benign light. And yet, the work to get there has not been done, despite the fact that this was ostensibly all that the two-parter was about. Yes, Irina did not betray Sydney in this instance, and yes, Irina’s life was more complicated than Sydney believed (at least, if Irina is to be believed, which is far from a given). And yet, none of this actually addresses the two chief sources of tension Irina presents: that Irina was an enemy of the United States and continued to be an enemy of the United States until she turned herself in for reasons she has yet to explain; and that Irina’s life parallels Sydney’s to a degree NO ONE HAS ACKNOWLEDGED YET.  These two episodes should have been where the series hashes out these matters.  Instead, it sort of suggests that the stuff she’s done she did under duress, and that Irina displaying the ability to be maternal somehow solves everything, which is nonsense. Granted, Sydney has always been fickle when it comes to her feelings towards people, but as a TV show—as a story—Alias needed more.

[brainstatic]

Lol, oh my gos The National Review just learned about the Bechdel test and boy are they not happy one bit! This monstrous thing, which was viral for a few months in 2011, is ruining film criticism! Let’s share some highlights. 

>Suppose your favorite film critic started sprinkling his reviews with references to the “Cowboy Test” and made it clear that he was factoring into his appraisal of a work of art whether it contained cowboys. La La Land? Manchester by the Sea? Moonlight? All problematic, as these benighted films contain no cowboys. On the other hand, Cowboys and Aliens, Armageddon, and the Village People movie Can’t Stop the Music, each of which contains cowboy characters, would easily pass the Cowboy Test and receive a hearty blessing.

There are only two genders: women and cowboys. If Kyle Smith wasn't dumber than a bag of hammers, he might question why he chose cowboys and not men in general, realized that male characters are represented in a panoply of film tropes, and gotten the point of the Bechdel Test. And then he’d be fired from The National Review, home of the conservative intellectuals who used to passionately defend Apartheid. 

>Lots of films that have female protagonists fail the Bechdel Test — notably Alien 3; Run, Lola, Run; Breakfast at Tiffany’s (there is actual heated debate on this one, but if it passes it barely does so); and Gravity. The Princess Bride fails the Bechdel Test, as does Finding Nemo, and some argue that The Little Mermaid does, too. (Again, it might barely earn a passing grade.) Lots of blockbusters with beloved female characters fail the Bechdel Test, including the original Star Wars trilogy, Avatar, and all of the Lord of the Rings films. So do many classic Hollywood films, from Citizen Kane to The Godfather, and lots of films directed by women, including Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, not to mention most of the Harry Potter movies adapted from J. K. Rowling’s novels. Showgirls, on the other hand, passes the test. Do feminists look at Showgirls and chalk that one up as a big win?

Literally the entire point of the test is to show how few movies pass it, not to gauge a film’s feminism. Admittedly, many people made this mistake in 2011, when most people first heard about it. 

>But movies aren’t intended to be a proper demographic cross-section of America. Movies (at least Hollywood movies) are about people on the extremes of society — cops, criminals, superheroes. 

Cops are on the fringes of society now, and they're all men. Criminals are also all men. Superheroes are also on the fringes of society, in that they do not exist, but if they did none of them would be women, except the countless who are, including the one that just made the GDP of a small island nation  

>Women enjoy much more prominence in the milieu of low-budget independent movies, where the stories are more focused on ordinary people with real-world problems, but those movies usually attract small audiences.

Again, a central part of the point Bechdel was making is that women are relegated to indie movies, which are enjoyed by men and women, as are blockbuster action movies. 

>It might be true that there would be more women prominently featured in movies if more women were writing and directing more movies. But it might also be true that the reason there aren’t as many women making films is that women’s movie ideas aren’t commercial enough for Hollywood studios. To be slightly less reductionist than the Bechdel Test, women tend to write movies about relationships, and men tend to write movies about aliens and shootouts. Have a wander through the sci-fi and fantasy section of your local bookstore: How many of these books’ authors are female? Yet these are where the big movie ideas come from. If a woman wants the next Lord of the Rings–style franchise to pass the Bechdel Test, then a woman should come up with a story with as much earning potential as J. R. R. Tolkien’s.

. 

[jadelotusflower]

May 2021 Roundup

Watching

Chess: The Musical - My second live theatre experience for the year, but this time with no seating restrictions. It certainly felt weird and uncomfortable to be packed into a full house again, even if everyone was wearing masks. I've never seen Chess performed, although I have watched the 2008 concert version many times. I enjoyed seeing it properly staged and sung live, even though I suspect there may have been some illness in the cast as there was issues of breath control and strained voices on occasion. Natalie Bassingthwaighte has a good pop/rock voice and she killed Nobody's Side but was just fine with the rest (including a patchy British accent). Paulini has the pipes as Svetlana, although I do wonder if she would have made a better choice for Florence. The other standout was Brittaine Shipway as The Arbiter, usually a male role but actually working much better gender flipped and having a powerful female character outside of the love triangle (and who spends almost the entire show onstage observing).

Mank (dir. David Fincher) - A love letter to old Hollywood through the eyes of Herman J Mankcovitz as he writes the screenplay for Citizen Kane and looks back on his days in the studio system. Some familiarity with that film is required, or at least the broad brushstrokes and the main players - William Randolph Hearst as the inspiration for Charles Foster Kane, the actress Marion Davies, and Welles himself (who looms as a shadow figure throughout most of the film, shot in shadow, or profile, or in costume until the climactic confrontation with Mank). Gary Oldman is somewhat miscast as Mank imo; he carries every one of his 65 years and is just not believable as a 43 year old Mank, affected with alcoholism and a broken leg though he is. Maybe it’s that Mank (as the film depicts him) is just not very interesting - we’ve seen the self destructive drunk with acerbic wit so many times there’s just nothing new in it and feels quite tiresome. He is however a fulcrum for the other more interesting characters to work around; the lens through which we see Hollywood in action. And there’s a lot going on - the ruthless duplicity of Louis B Mayer, the writers rooms at work, the rich and powerful dismissing the rise of Nazism, Hearst bankrolling a campaign against socialist Upton Sinclair. This video is worth watching dealing with some criticisms, particularly the depiction of historical events, Marion Davies, and authorship. The rest of the cast is however very good - Amanda Seyfried as Davies, Charles Dance as Hearst, Tom Burke as an uncanny Welles. It was also nice to see Robin Hood alum Sam Troughton as John Houseman!

Seyfried has been rightly praised and she is indeed the best part of the film (aside from the bizarre Brooklyn accent and the missed opportunity to give the role to an actual actress in her 40's), so much so I wish it had been entitled Marion and about her perspective of Hollywood. Because there’s still distance, we are viewing her from afar - the bird in the gilded cage - not privy to her inner world and that’s a shame, because she’s clearly the most interesting of the lot. It should come as no surprise that this film does not pass the Bechdel test, even though there clearly was An Attempt to boost the presence of the female characters. Other than Marion Davies, we have Lily Collins as the long suffering assistant Alexander, Tuppence Middleton as the long suffering wife Sarah, and Monika Gossmann as the enabling German housekeeper Freda. Variations on a theme, all revolving around and Mank and exerting little to no agency. There’s also, rather out of place, the silent women in the Paramount writers room, topless except for sparkly pasties. If it’s meant to be a comment on sexism of the time it fails, because it is just there, like window dressing, when female screenwriters did exist and are yet somehow completely absent. Also absent are the women who wielded power at the time - the gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons who threaded the Hollywood needle much as screenwriters did. I enjoyed the film, it’s beautifully made and the time period lovingly depicted, down to the era-appropriate framing, camera lenses, music, and of course, filmed entirely in black and white. I guess I’m just less and less interested in these kinds of stories, or at least these stories told through the same old perspective. For a different take on the Welles/Mank collaboration, check out RKO 281 (that incidentally does feature both Hedda and Louella and is on youtube in its entirety). For more of the facts, The Battle Over Citizen Kane is also a very good documentary about Hearst’s attempts to kill the film. Marion Davies is also fictionalised (earlier in her career) in The Cat’s Meow, which I have not seen for many years but remember quite enjoying. Girls5Eva (season 1) - A girl group with one hit album in the 90's reunites after a rapper samples their biggest hit - this is a fun show satirising the artifice of 90's pop as well as the current music scene, with a great cast including singing greats Sara Bareilles and Renee Elise Goldsberry, and comediennes Busy Phillips and Paula Pell (who has at least ten years on the other girls, but they hang a lantern on it, and I appreciate her plot/character in no way revolved around her size). I really enjoyed it, and am still singing the ridiculous but catchy title song with big Spice Girls/B*witched energy.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (season 2, episodes 5-13) - A meandering, hit and miss season overall - multiple characters introduced and given setup only to be shunted within a few episodes, plotlines picked up then pushed aside (Emily's post-partum depression that basically boiled down to "I'm on meds so I'm fine now" was particularly egregious) - I cut the show some slack because clearly covid interfered and caused a shortened season, which makes the latter half of the season exceptionally rushed. Alex Newell continues to be MVP, and his romance plot was honestly so much more compelling than Zoe's. I didn't really have a horse in the Simon/Max race, I liked both characters even if the OTP of the show was Zoe/Therapy, but while I'm happy the love triangle finally over, the speed of the back and forth really undermined the story. But I enjoyed the final twist and look forward to next season (hopefully it is renewed).

This is Us (season 5) - I don't expect much from this show other than soapy drama and emotional scenes engineered to make me cry, but is yet another reminder about why I shouldn't get attached to ships while shows are still airing. I have a soft spot for Smallville alum Justin Hartley, but Kevin's season of girlfriend's past is so damn tiresome. Maybe it's just that Madison has become my favourite character and I want the best for her, maybe it's the sloppy writing more interested in twists and turns than a compelling character arc. But hey, there's still the always excellent Sterling K Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson, and I continue to be impressed by Mandy Moore - I remember when she was a teen pop star breaking into acting and she's come so far, making all the right career choices (including pulling double duty as producer/choreographer over at Zoey's).

Reading

Mythos (Stephen Fry) - Fry's typically irreverent and witty take on the Classics (even though he is on occasion a bit twee), his focus mainly on the gods, their origin and exploits. I was a Greek mythology kid, absolutely obsessed with these stories although I never really graduated to a Greek mythology adult but rather a casual fan. It was nice to revisit this world, as many of them I had forgotten or had never known all the details (children's versions being understandably light on the rapes and grislier aspects). As Fry notes, these myths were not kindly to humanity and particularly women, which perhaps leads into the remainder of my Greek mythology reading month:

Circe (Madeline Millar)- A retelling of the Circle myth, the goddess best known for transforming Odysseus' men into pigs, and a book that I've finally got around to reading after many, many recommendations. While perhaps not all I was expecting, Millar's writing is lyrically beautiful and touches upon the nature of gods and humanity, parents and children, exile and freedom,and I enjoyed it very much.

The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood) - Another retelling, this time from the pov of Penelope. I've wanted to read this since coming across a quote ("be like water") that I used for a fic, and the novel, while very short, is typical of Atwood's masterful writing style and love of multi-layered meta. Like Circe, this does not paint Odysseus in a good light, as Penelope reflects back on her life from the Underworld, her story interspersed by the Greek Chorus of the maids butchered on Odysseus' return to Ithaca, and the story is as much a vindication for the innocent maids as Penelope.

Writing

Nothing posted this month, but words written for Against the Dying of the Light (1111), The Lady of the Lake (1006), and Here I Go Again (1390). That makes a total of 3,507 for the month and 27,469 so far this year.

[asian-fiction]

Soaking Wet Private Detective Hagoromo Mizuno

Runtime: 25 minutes Episode Count: 12 Budget: Medium? Maybe. ( Maybe Medium Low--I keep oscillating)

Story:

Woman can time travel to the past to solve mysteries by getting soaking wet. (Clothes on BTW).

People expecting ecchi? Not here.

People expecting it to pass feminism tests--kinda does, though you can't say it is high on it.

Passes the Bechdel Test, first episode (talk about bullying). (It's a bit squinty since Female Main character says, "Can't talk now." in reply). Passes the Sexy Lamp test-character makes decisions on her own that affect the plot. She does. But doesn't feel like high agency. Squint a bit and it passes the Maki Mori test but you really have to squint.

It's about 80% slapstick. 20% story, but I don't quite find the slapstick that funny--it's too expected. It's not even Japanese-branded slapstick. That given, it might be to some people's tastes in a way I don't see. Might be because the cutting on the jokes isn't quite there. Feminism Tests: Squint and maybe it’ll pass.

Production values: Skimped on actors, have a decent amount of locations, and the cinematography is passable. (Serves the story OK, but isn't going to be an art shot any time soon)

Writing is OK. Apparently based on a manga?

Directing is passable.

Acting fluxes a bit. Sometimes it's really on point, and other times it feels like they are reading a script. (If you don't understand Japanese well enough, you might not be able to pick this up.)

Note that all of the writers are newish. (and I think male). I don't recognize their writing credits... but then they share many of their writing credits.

Who is this for?:

Something to play in the background, or if you're massively bored and like J-dramas. It's light and doesn't take much thought. The cases are pretty irrelevant--oddly, I don't find myself getting invested in them.

Honestly, there are two other J-dramas that did this with higher budget and better (time traveling detectives)

Mop Girl- She time travels after she touches dead bodies. High production values. And rather intense plots. Defocus on romance. This one is the closest to what I think they wanted to achieve. More front burner, though.

Mirai Koshi Meguru- This is about a teacher who can see the future after eating too much for her students. Though it's comedy, it's formatted a bit like mystery. Silly and funny, less slap stick, but also pretty good drama. (Some people hate the actresses' voice, but I think that's a petty reason to hate on a drama).

[mercerislandbooks]

A Disability Book Resource

One square in the Seattle Arts and Lectures Book Bingo has a few of our patrons (and both Lori and myself) asking for suggestions. The “Book about Disability” square is purposefully open ended, giving you the opportunity to read fiction or nonfiction, sci-fi or memoir. When I first saw the square, I was a little daunted because I was concerned about defining disability as an able person. Was this book about a girl with a mental illness a book about disability? If a book has a disabled character, but doesn’t focus on their disabled experience, is it about disability? What constitutes a disabled person?

Recommendation cards by Caitlin for two books listed in the resource below.

Part of the reason why I reacted at all to this square is because I just don’t like the word disabled. I prefer differently abled or neuro-diverse or other terms that don’t hold onto negativity. Disability is something that has affected my life through family, and the up-close exposure challenges the stereotypes that persist in media. What I have seen through those that experience it around me is that the “dis-” part of their abilities is an opportunity for problem solving, finding their own solutions to accomplish what they want to do in their own way. It’s about redefining cultural expectations to fit into the trodden trails and finding their own path. These are large and generalized statements, but there are so many different ways a person can be differently abled that it is impossible to say exactly how people interact with their bodies and minds. I didn’t want to label something as a book about disability if that wasn’t the intention. Even so, having an open definition about a large and varied category of people is important. This allows for learning and transformation.

One of the books currently featured on our Kids’ SAL Book Bingo table for its “book about disability” square.

No matter your experience with differently abled people, the book bingo is an opportunity to read something that humanizes marginalized perspectives. In my previous SAL Book Bingo blog post, I chose Juliet the Maniac as my book for this square. I still have yet to read it, so I have opened my choices to others through researching books for this post. In particular, The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is a recent release I have been drawn to. Little Red Riding Hood becomes a post-apocalyptic amputee warrior in this violent and unapologetic twist on the fairy tale. I love gruesome fairy tale twists, but it leads to the question if this is really a book about disability. The book is a bout a character’s experience in a futuristic horror world, and she happens to differently abled. This is where your own judgement lies. Her disability is part of her experiences and part of the experience that you would be reading.

The books and resources below are a just a short introduction to various works that expand all of our understandings on what it means to be a differently abled person. I aimed to find books that celebrated people, discussed stigmas, or depicted experiences. I used lots of the blogs referenced below as well as information from Annie Carl, owner of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds. She shared the Fries Test with me, which, is a disability equivalent of the Bechdel Test named after Kenny Fries. It asks:

Does a work have more than one disabled character? Do the disabled characters have their own narrative purpose other than the education and profit of a nondisabled character? Is the character’s disability not eradicated either by curing or killing?

Admittedly, not all of these books pass the Fries Test but quite a few of them do. More information can be found on each of the books by clicking through the links. Not all of these books are currently in stock at our store, but all can be ordered at the drop of a hat!

Adult Fiction

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Anatomy of a Miracle by Jonathan Miles

Good Kings Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum

Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escoria

Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

So Lucky by Nicola Griffith

Spiritual Choreographies by Carlos Labbé

Please Read This Leaflet Carefully: Keep This Leaflet. You May Need to Read It Again. by Karen Havelin

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison

The Right Way to Be Crippled and Naked: The Fiction of Disability edited by Sheila Black, Michael Northen, and Annabelle Hayse

Nonfiction

Disability: The Basics by Tom Shakespeare

Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation by Eli Clare

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxanne Gay

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement by Joseph P. Shapiro

Not Always Happy: An Unusual Parenting Journey by Kari Wagner-Peck

The Chicken Who Saved Us: The Remarkable Story of Andrew and Frightful by Kristin Jarvis Adams

Waist-High in the World: Life Among the Nondisabled by Nancy Mairs

Poetry

Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability edited by Sheila Black, Jennifer Bartlett, and Michael Northen

Black Kripple Delivers Poetry & Lyrics by Leroy Franklin Moore Jr.

Young Adult

A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending) by India Desjardins

Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott

How We Roll by Natasha Friend

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw (nonfiction)

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

This Is Not a Love Scene by S. C. Meagle

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens by Marieke Nijkamp

Middle Grade

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Worth a Thousand Words by Brigit Young

Blogs

Mariah Nichols: One of my favorite blogs that I have found so far is Meriah Nichols’ website. On it she has a large amount of resources for a variety of disabled people for careers, parenting, etc… and discusses the challenges she faces in passing as an able person. Some of the book choices here were recommended by her.

Nicola Griffith: A writer currently located in the Seattle area, Nicola’s website is an intersectional ally’s dream. From cat pictures to archived twitter chats for and about disabled writers, it’s a joyful yet confrontational resource.

If you have more suggestions for additional books, please let us know by commenting below! I would love to be able to add to this list. I am curious to see what I will discover from reading for my “about disability” square; I’ve already added quite a few of these books to my “to be read” list!

—Kelleen

[s0021845a2film-blog]

S. Creative Investigation – Essay Abstract

Subtopics

Does cinema du look sacrifice narrative for style ?

Is the movement actually ironic? Is humour often presented?

Does cinema du look films feature a doomed romance and/or alienated characters?

Question 1: 

For this question I am hoping to find out whether the movement actually does the thing that so many critics have an issue with; the conscious decision to sacrifice narrative for the pursuit of style. I will be looking at three cinema du look films, two of which stem from the fathers of the movement - Beineix and Besson.

Question 2:

For this question i will be looking at the parody elements of the movement, and how the movement may appear to be ironic. I shall analyse my three films and pick out the humorous elements and how they are created. via mise en scene, editing, cinematography and sound. I will also look at the critical reception of the humour in these films, analysing whether it was successful or not. 

Question 3:

For this question i will be studying the narrative structure and character types of my chosen films and whether the romance arc is in fact doomed or not. I will be picking several scenes from each film to help support my argument. 

1. Does cinema du look sacrifice narrative for style ?

Intro: As part of my study of Cinema du Look focusing on style and narrative, I have analysed the films Leon the Professional, Betty Blue and Amelie in order to determine whether Cinema du look can be considered to sacrifice narrative in order to focus on style. 

Point: Through my research I have found that there are similar themes in the majority of cinema du look films, suggesting a repetitive and unoriginal narrative, however the films I have analysed do all have unique and pleasing aesthetics, reinforcing the idea that the movement prioritises style over substance. 

 Sources:·       

According to film theorist Guy Austin Cinema Du Look is “categorised not by any collective ideology but rather by the technical mastery of the medium, a cinephile tendency to cite from other films, and a spectacular visual style le look).” This suggests the movement places more emphasis on style rather than story line. ·        

 Greg Hainge discusses in Cadrage Exquis: Refraining Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva  “these films were often dismissed as “a series of irretrievably vacuous exercises in the exploitation of the youth market”.4 Or, in Ginette Vincendeau’s terms, these films’ detractors saw them “as typical of a postmodern ‘image for image’s sake’ style in their lack of social or ideological substance”. ·         

Ian Nathan accurately describes Betty Blue in a review as having “More style than substance… but such sexy, sexy style…” this essentially reiterates my hypothesis as summarises the agenda of the movement. ·    

 Andre Pulver in ‘A Short History of French Cinema’ (The Guardian) describes “The films in this group have in common, according to most critics, a preoccupation with style as the expense of narrative.”  

Evidence 1:

This can be seen in Leon The Professional, when Mathilda coolly adapts to the life of an assassin despite her age and somehow maintains iconic outfits at the same time despite fleeing from her home where presumably all her clothes and personal items are kept. This could show a blip in the narrative where somehow her style is maintained and appearance despite the scenario she has been placed in. Hence mise en scene, particularly costume could be used to support my argument that it values style over narrative. 

Evidence 2:

This is also seen in Amelie, when Amelie falls asleep but her pig lamp comes to life and turns off the light. This shows a break in the verisimilitude of the film but it is fitting with the fantastical themes and tone of the film. The animation shows a break in the narrative and is one of the few uses of animation in the film. The film isn’t marketed as a fantasy film and the animation  isn’t necessary to the plot but is rather used as a stylistic flourish. Hence editing and cinematography has been used in this scene to prove the point that style is valued over narrative. 

Evidence 3:

Furthermore, this is evident in Betty Blue, when Betty sets fire to the beach house in a fit of anger. This makes for a very interesting wide shot as the flaming beach house creates greater warmth to the sunset scene and pastel colour palette already used. The fact that Betty just set fire to his home doesn’t even seem to faze Zorg and perhaps that this act portrays her as edgy and rebellious could show how style is used more over narrative - most people would feel worried and slightly freaked out if their significant other set their house on fire but in the film Betty’s stylistic insanity is romanticized to some extent. Therefore showing how mise en scene, cinematography and performance of actors has been used to prioritize style over narrative. 

Explain:

This demonstrates that Cinema du Look most prominent quality is style, and therefore suggests the movement could looked at more as an art form, in comparison to other film movements.

2. Is the movement actually ironic? Is humour often presented?

Intro:  I want to explore the use of humour as a narrative device and its consistent use in cinema du look films, they all tend to have it as an underlying mood shifter to help distract from the implausible plot or lack of character development. 

Point: Cinema du look often has a ridiculous plot created for stylistic choice and I believe that the directors of such films often use irony and humour as a way to essentially distract the audience from the sheer use of materialistic value.   

Source: 

 In a Betty Blue Review for Empire Magazine, Ian Nathans suggests that “There is a pleasing sense that Beineix is leaving to us to decide whether this is   pure parody, fully aware of its loopy overtones, or blunderbuss wish fulfilment, an artist’s ultimate concoction that his muse would turn up with great breasts, an insatiable itch and a willingness to do the     paperwork.” 

 Phil Powrie in ‘French Cinema in the 1980s: Nostalgia and the Crisis of     Masculinity’ writes that “The key word is “irony”, because such films     inscribe images or narratives from previous films in ways which are     playfully ironic. 

Powrie also suggests in the book that “The cinema du look articulates a change in film language which focuses in particular on the status of the film image, inscribing it within the trajectory of postmodern culture, as defined by writers such as Jameson and Baudrillard: the image as a simulacrum, the image without origin, endlessly reproduced and recognised as already present in the culture, and therefore always already a pastiche, steeped in the irony of the loss of origins.” 

Evidence 1:

This can be seen in Leon The Professional, when Leon and Mathilda play a dress up game which proves fairly unsuccessful and slightly uncomfortable due to borderline sexual dressing of Mathilda and the age difference between the two.  It is a fairly humorous scene due to the recognizable but bad impersonations but this again links to the point as it could be ironic. Another factor supporting this is that both Leon and Mathilda just happen to find clothing that would make for perfect costumes of recognizable celebrities/characters. Therefore mise en scene could be used to present irony and humour in this scene. 

Evidence 2:

This is also seen in Amelie, when Amelie sets her love interest on a wild goose chase, leaving several clues and hints for him to track her actions and obtain the information she is trying to give him. She hides from him but she could just go up and talk to him, thus showing irony in the situation, with the unessential goose chase just adding light-heartedness and humour to the situation - thus linking to the point. 

Evidence 3:

Furthermore, this is evident in Betty Blue, when meets Zorg outside the grocery store, the sexualisation of Betty in this scene is fairly unnecessary but the diegetic dialogue of why she is acting this way creates humour. 

Explain:

This demonstrates that one of Cinema du look’s prominent qualities is irony and humour, with often sexual aspects being used to create this quality to the films. 

3. Do Cinema du look films feature a doomed romance and/or alienated characters?

Intro: I want to focus on this particular aspect of the narrative and whether the films follow romance genre convention or subvert them, I would like to explore whether there are reoccurring character types within cinema du look, particular the hero and the princess character types and whether the films pass the Bechdel test.

Point: When analysing my three chosen films, I found that doomed romance was an underlying theme and key aspect of the linear narratives. The doomed romance aspect of the plot helps shape the character development while also adding to the spectacular criteria that determined them as cinema du look films. 

Sources: 

Patrica Allmer believes that Cinema du Look’s signature theme is doomed romance, “Cinéma du Look characters are placed in hostile spaces, which are dominated by commodities. The characters are alienated, sexual relationships are not shown (unless in terms of amour fou and a sexuality which is penetrated by madness as in Betty Blue or sickness as in Les Amants du Pont Neuf), they are divorced from any past or future and devoid of social contact, living in an eternal present of the commodity.”

 “Social alienation served up in slickly stylised fashion was the key ingredient of Cinéma du look, the movement in 1980s French cinema which encompassed films by Jean-Jacques Beineix (Diva, Betty Blue) and Leos Carax (Les amants du Pont-Neuf), as well as Besson’s The Big Blue and Nikita.” Solomans, J (2009), Interview: Jacques Audiard, The Observer, The Guardian.

Phil Powrie also suggests that “the films of cinema du look are fundamentally films for the young: neo-romantic heroes stricken by amour fou in a fairytale world of stereotypical gangsters and heroines.”

Allmer also suggests that “Throughout these films the question is asked: How can I establish meaningful relationships in a world where meaning ceases to exist and is replaced by empty mediation, and more accurately in a circumstance where the word “social” is emptied out of signification?”

Evidence 1: 

This can be seen in Leon The Professional, when Mathilda dramatically holds a gun to her head saying she wants either love or death. The use of the prop gun has connotations of death and doom and her having to declare this so early on the film immediately sets the tone for the film. 

Evidence 2: 

This is also seen in Amelie, when the relationship between the cafe worker and customer that Amelie essentially created by telling one that the other was interested. Here character performance is used to show a breaking down of her relationship and thus Amelie’s aim to make everyone’s lives a little better starts to break down, thus alienating Amelie slightly and demonstrates a doomed romance. 

Evidence 3: 

Furthermore, this is evident in Betty Blue, when Zorg murders Betty though the act of euthanasia is implied. This a definite act of doomed romance and it is painful to watch, the performance and dreary mise en scene of the hospital location as well as the cinematography of cool blue tones and colour palette helps emphasises the point and alienated Zorg as he has lost the love of his life. 

Explain: This demonstrates that Cinema du Look does has reoccurring themes and doomed romance often creates alienated characters and thus can be an aspect that I can incorporate in my own film. 

[tialovestelevision]

Judgement

Back over to Angel for Season 2! I’m not sure what all’s coming, but I do know Lindsey is missing a hand. 1. He’s very green, isn’t he? And he’s singing I Will Survive. That’s awesome, and this guy’s got a hell of a voice. He’s telling us about the city. Now Cordy is telling Johnny that she loves him, and he’s moving on, and she slapped him. She’s acting. She has to leave ‘cause her pager went off. 2. Wes is playing darts at a bar. He has to leave because his pager went off. 3. Angel, Cordy, and Wes are at a gym. The guy doesn’t want them to come in, but Angel keeps going. They’re in front of a mirror, and that stopped the guy. Oh, look… demons sacrificing humans. Angel: “Stop that.” They attacked him instead. Lots of violence. No more demons. Opening credits. J. August Richards - Gunn - is in them now. 4. Guest stars include Christian Kane and Stephanie Romanov, so we’re going to get more of that story. Wes, Angel, and Cordy are at Cordy’s place, talking about the demons they killed and whatever Wolfram & Hart summoned. Angel wants to join a gym once he’s human. They fought a Vartite that took two days. Cordy has a cold and is having a vision. They have a nasty emon of unknown origin to deal with. 5. Lilah at the office. I think she’s talking to Donald Trump. They’re in Lindsey’s office; he can’t get the jewel case of a CD open. Darla wants to listen to classical music. She doesn’t look like she’s feeling great. She likes the preludes and nocturnes better than the waltzes. She can sense Angel. She remembers him killing her. She wants to see him. 6. Angel is doing a forensic drawing of the demon Cordy saw in her demon. It’s a war-beast, or a pit fighting beast… Cordy described it as a pit bull. I just realized that this show was made before the pro-pit bull movement became mainstream. Prio Motu. Wes knows a demon named Merl who might be able to help. He hangs out at a safe haven for demons, which Wes wants to take Angel to, but he’s not sure Angel’s going to like it. 7. Demon singing a song. The bar doesn’t allow weapons or violence. Merl feels safe because the bar is a sanctuary. Mortar the Bentback is going to sing while the host talks to the demon who was singing before. There’s more to life than eating your young. Wes found Merl, and paid him off, so he’s giving them info. The Prio Motu is in the tunnels. The Host met Angel, and told him the name of the place is Caritas, which is Latin for “mercy.” The Host thinks Angel is cute. The Host can read souls when people sing. “Three things I don’t do. Tan, date, and sing in public.” They’re going after the Prio Motu. 8. Tunnels. Hispanic woman running. Prio Motu attacks Angel. He’s fighting it. It… doesn’t seem as tough as all that. The woman is sad the demon is dead. Angel is shocked. He was the woman’s guardian. She’s terrified and hates LA. She needs protection from the Tribunal. She wants Angel to stay away from her. 9. Cordy’s house. They’re discussing what to do next. Wes is stepping in it. The Powers do not give good instructions. Angel says the Prio Motu’s mission is his now. Merl sold them out, to get money from the dark powers. Angel’s going to find the woman. So are a lot of demons. 10. White guy sees black people, runs away, meets vampires. Doesn’t thank Gunn. Angel and Gunn are looking for the woman. Gunn found the place, because he knows his city. The space the woman and the demon were living in is very nice. Angel found a thing, and is sending it and the name of the Tribunal back to Wes and Cordy. 11. This scene is lovely and sad… Angel learning the life the woman and the demon were living. Someone just came in, though. He grabbed a sword. Angel gave the woman one of his cards and offered to help. They need the coat of arms Angel sent with Gunn to keep the Tribunal from doing something. And now Angel is fighting a demon that wants to kill her. More demons are coming, and Angel and the woman are running. 12. Oh god Cordy and Wes are so very white. Oh so white. Gunn was playing with them, but delivered the coat of arms. Angel and the woman still running… they made it to the surface. Inside a building. Well, that’s pretty. Angel’s been here before. It’s creepy. The Tribunal is an overworldly court that might save the woman and her daughter. Angel sent the woman to Cordy’s, and is now fighting more demons to give her time to escape. 13. Angel’s at Cordy’s. The woman didn’t make it there. Angel is sad and self-doubty. Wes knows what the coat of arms is… it’s for going before the Chair of Judgement. They do trials by combat. 14. Angel’s singing so the Host can help them find the Tribunal. Ye gods he’s bad. Really, really bad. Cordy is impressed by what he’ll do to save a life. Durthok the Child Eater is feeling country and singing next. The Host wants to know wh Angel picked Mandy. Angel thinks it’s pretty. The Host told Angel where to find the Tribunal. 15. The woman is on the street, and the Tribunal just showed up in a pretty snazzy special effect. And there’s a knight with a lance. A demon knight, but a regular horse. She has no champion, so her life is forfeit, except Angel showed up and offered the coat of arms, so he’ll be her champion. They’re doing trial by combat. She doesn’t think Angel’s good at anything. Angel grew up around horses, but it’s been a while since he rode one. Now he’s on the horse. He has no armor and has never jousted - he’s from too late in history for that. Now they’re jousting. Angel hit the knight in the head, but it’s still mounted. Second pass, Angel gets dismounted. Knight draws its sword. Angel gets a sword too, and dismounts the knight. This is a better place for him to work. The knight is using a mace… that’s a bad option. Stabbed Angel with a sword, though. Angel gets up and beheads the knight. The Tribunal will protect the woman and her daughter. 16. Cordy’s house. They’re getting rid of the whiteboard. Angel leaves and goes to the jail. It’s Faith! She’s doing pretty good. Having a bad day, though. Someone tried to stab her. Nobody got killed, though Faith wanted to kill her and got beaten by the guards. Faith and Angel are talking about him singing. “Road to redemption is a rocky path.” “It is.” “Think we might make it?” “We might.” Overall: I’m not sure what to say about this episode - it speaks for itself. Ohgod they’re showing Angel singing over the closing credits and it’s wonderful. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Episode speaks for itself. I’m not sure they ever named the woman on screen, though I may have missed it - Wikipedia calls her Jo. That I could have missed her name is an issue given that she’s really central to the episode. Her toughness and humor and wry cynicism are a fair bit of the glue that holds a kinda absurd narrative (demon court that offers protection or kills you based on the result of trial by combat?) together. I wish I expected to see more of her - her chemistry with Angel was really great, and I’d like to see her interact with the other cast members. An issue with Angel: Very little of it passes the Bechdel test. Cordy’s presence as the only woman in the main cast does it few favors. The Host and Caritas are a breath of fresh air in the show - simultaneously dramatic and deeply emotional and wonderfully silly, the Host’s gift and his bizarrely upscale demon club fit this show’s Los Angeles like a glove. Then there’s the continuing narrative of Angel’s redemption. I’ve talked a bit about how problematic the show’s insistence that he needs redemption is, but the story’s told well here. The death of the demon guardian and Angel’s taking the guardian’s calling on, plus the wonderful scene with Faith at the end, speak a great deal to what redemption means. I’m very impressed with this episode.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend s01e13 ‘Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, six times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (37.5% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Ten.

Positive Content Rating:

Four.

General Episode Quality:

I’M SO HAPPY.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Rebecca is reunited with Audra. They pass in flashback. Paula and Rebecca discuss the case. Rebecca addresses Judge Sacarello. Paula tells Rebecca how proud she is. Audra says goodbye.

Female characters:

Rebecca Bunch.

Valencia Perez.

Paula Proctor.

Heather Davis.

Audra Levine.

Judge Sacarello.

Male characters:

Trent Maddock.

Josh Chan.

Greg Serrano.

Darryl Whitefeather.

White Josh.

George.

Kevin.

B. J. Novak.

Bert.

Paul Ramirez.

OTHER NOTES:

“Bunchsanity”, that’s right, Greg, attribute your own bad behaviour to Rebecca again. Alternately: die.

I LOVE WHITE JOSH I LOVE WHITE JOSH I love what they’re doing with this story line so far, I am so refreshed. Please don’t ruin it.

“I drag boulders and trees for fitness.”

Boundaries, Kevin.

White Joossshhhhh! Taking no shit but still being supportive and understanding and helping Darryl navigate his complex feelings about his sexuality! This is that thing I always want from coming-out narratives, but never normally get because the story is too busy generating drama through negativity and rejection. I did not expect this and I’m so happy. Between this and the wonderful personal journey Rebecca is on right now, I’m raising the content rating. We need this kind of thing on tv.

Is Greg a nice guy? Or is he a Nice Guy? 0/10 Greg, no one cares.

Rebecca ‘beating’ Audra even though she doesn’t win the case is a cathartic moment of emotional progress for her that is so much better than all the mess and struggle we’ve sat through so far. Obviously, Rebecca being a huge erratic disaster was an important starting point for the whole premise of this show, but seeing the clear evidence of how she’s doing better and finding happiness and fulfillment in her life now (even without Josh) is a really positive step forward, and the show needed that before it became some absolute chore of dark-humour misery. Like most tv shows, it’s taken us ten-ish episodes to hit our stride, but I’m really starting to see why this show was recommended to me so much. I hope we continue forward without too many terrible set-backs.