#time for a video jessay

[magentagalaxies]

video essay!!!

hi friends!!

if you were curious at all about the video essay i was putting together for my comedy-theory class or are interested in hearing about some projects i'm working on, here's the link to watch it:

the video is unlisted bc it was specifically made for a class, and since a lot of the future-projects mentioned will probably go through major changes before i'm ready to release them to the world i didn't want this to seem like any kind of announcement video, but i'm also super proud of this video (it's probably my favorite final i've done) and i wanted to share it with any tumblr friends who are interested

if you'd like to learn more about any of the projects feel free to dm me bc i love infodumping about what i'm working on and the projects i mentioned here are very important to me. also dm me if you're at all curious about the comedy theory i'm citing, unfortunately due to the time limit on the assignment i didn't have enough time to give an in-depth explanation people outside of the class could get, but i LOVE comedy-philosophy and i made sure to download all the readings by the end of the course, so i would absolutely be willing to send over some PDFs and do some comedy analysis education lmao

also the first thirteen-and-a-half minutes are the video i turned in as my final, and the last six-and-a-half minutes are my in-class presentation that went along with it. for this assignment we had to construct a "comedy manifesto" using some of the theorists we covered in class to analyze our own comedy and outline goals for what we want our comedy to accomplish, and then for the in-class presentation we had the option of either presenting an abridged version of what we said in our "manifesto" or performing a piece of our own comedy that aligns with our goals. i of course did the second one bc i will never waste a captive audience.

tbh i don't think this was my best performance but i will say i literally memorized it in 24 hours so the fact that i only messed up twice is still impressive (also the lack of audience response is at least partially bc this was the last week of classes so most people who didn't have to present just skipped class)

presentations were also optional and i was the only one who did a piece fully in-character so that also gives you the vibe of the room

btw every piece of music in the video essay (aside from "having an average weekend" by shadowy men on a shadowy planet aka the kith theme) was composed by me for my musical other girls (who needs royalty-free music when you still have the demo files from your musical in fall 2022)

also there was no requirement on this assignment to interview a comedian, i just decided to zoom with paul bellini the week this was first assigned as a flex for my video essay lmao. so anyway watch this video if you want never-before-heard bellini content (at least 20% of which is just bellini complimenting my writing)

oh also if you're curious about the buddy cole tour behind-the-scenes thing i edited for my final in a different class dm me and i'll send you the vid, i'm not posting that one anywhere bc it's not great quality (i made it while super burnt out and i didn't have all the time/resources to include everything i wanted to include, plus the audio's not great) so i don't want it to be released as like an "official first look at the upcoming buddy cole documentary" until i can put together something more polished, but i would be willing to dm the link for people who just want to see a video of me and scott causing chaos on tour knowing it will be a much more polished edit later

anyway go watch my video essay i got the highest possible grade available on it and i'm very proud

[ingoodjesst]

have you put the pieces together yet, detective

[daydadahlias]

Bestie did you make the post about ashton hugging with his fists closed (or was it michael when hugging ash?) if yes, do you have any updates now that we have a whole tour of post show hugs under our belts

that WAS me bestie! I assume you're referencing my two little mashton hug analysis posts <3 and i am more than happy to pop off again about my Thoughts on the way Ashton hugs.

so buckle up for this one bc this is gonna be a jessay

Just as a little refresher, in my previous "hug analysis," I talk about how when Michael hugs Ashton, he always used to hug him with his fists closed and often with only one arm. From what we've learned in the past, Ashton is not a very touchy guy. He's referenced previously that he didn't participate in the band cuddles when they were young and also isn't the biggest fan of hugs/cuddling in general; he isn't into physical affection.

This is important to note in reference to the way that Michael hugs him because Michael is always very aware of this. Ashton doesn't like hugs so Michael doesn't hug him in the way he hugs Luke and Calum who both love physical affection. He hugs with his fists closed and one arm usually so that way, Ashton has a lot of space and opportunity to "escape" the hug if need be. Michael is very careful not to trap him. However, as you pointed, we got a ton of post-show hug content this year and that's not something that we usually saw w/ Ash in the past!

I was just thinking about this the other day, funnily enough, that Ashton suddenly decided during this promo/tour cycle that he really liked physical affection. There were multiple times during shows - and even in press - where he actively sought out physical affection from the guys.

This moment, for instance, really stood out to me.

This is behavior from Ash that we didn't really see prior to 2022! There's so much physical affection in just this one frame! He's leaning his head on Cal's shoulder, touching him on his knee, and also letting Calum lean closer to him and hold his head. He doesn't seem put off by the affection at all whereas, in previous videos we've seen of Ash, he can sometimes physically lean away from touch (as the Ashton connoisseur I am, I've also noticed that he's actually a very jumpy guy and there are several instances I've seen of him flinching away from people when they get close without his prior knowledge). But now, we see a big change from him in this era where he is the one who is trying to get physical attention.

For obvious reasons, I think quarantine is to blame for this newfound behavior. From what we've heard from Ash, quarantine was a great but also rough time for him. He was able to write his album and really tap into certain parts of his creative process but was also going pretty stir-crazy and wasn't able to do the things he often relies on for peace/happiness. Over the years, we have seen that Ash thrives from social interaction. He loves connecting with people. And I assume that quarantine was especially hard on him seeing as he is an extrovert who craves that connection and no longer has access to it. Taking this into account, I think his newfound desire to be physically close with people makes a lot of sense!

I think that over quarantine, after not having the opportunity to hug/touch his best friends (who are all very touch-prone people), he realized he didn't want to have that taken away again. He realized the benefits of touching his friends as now he knows what it's like to not be able to.

However, all this being said, Ash still hugs in a similar way to how he used to. Even though Ash is the shortest in the band, he makes active effort to be the "dominant" one in a hug, always being the one to hug the guys over their shoulders. You will never find a 5sos hug photo where Ashton is the one hugging from the bottom. Even if this means standing on his tippy-toes or the other guys leaning down for him, Ash will always hug from above.

I think this pretty clearly shows Ashton's inherent desire to be a protector/caretaker for his friends/little brothers. He doesn't let them take care of him nor does he let them take him into a hug. He always wants to be the one to invite them in, and to hold onto them. And I also think this showcases a lot of discomfort from him still to be the one who gets comforted rather than comforts. He pretty obviously does not like being "trapped" in a hug.

The only person he lets hug him from above, actually, from what I've seen, is John Feldmann. I think I've talked about this before somewhere but I find this especially noteworthy because Feldy is one of the few parental figures in Ashton's life who actively sought to take care of him rather than sort of... rely on him as a crutch? Obviously, I don't wanna speculate, but Ashton has talked about it in many interviews that he felt very responsible when he was younger for his mom/siblings. He never really got taken care of as a kid. But Feldy was an adult in his life that did seek to provide for him and help him and treat him like someone who was younger and deserved to be given that guidance. And, of course, Ash loves him. They clearly have a really incredible bond like Feldy does w/ all the guys. So it's notable to me that Feldy is the only person Ash lets hug him from above because he's one of the few people in Ashton's life that he doesn't feel a responsibility to protect.

[magentagalaxies]

just got a like on my brooklyn 99 jessay-post from a while back which reminded me i've been thinking about the show a lot more bc my brother is currently watching it for the first time so sometimes i'll be in the room while he's watching an episode. and it's such a bizarre experience bc my brother is VERY anti-cop and that made him not want to watch the show at all until a friend convinced him to, and now he really enjoys it in this compartmentalized-way of being like "i know a lot of aspects of this are copaganda but also the character writing and comedy are objectively well done"

and as i'm rewatching bits and pieces it's bizarre bc i also had no desire to rewatch the show after it ended mostly bc of that copaganda aspect and how it fumbled its social commentary in the final season, but damn it i feel myself getting nostalgic and liking the characters. but mostly i feel myself realizing basically all the best parts of brooklyn 99, even if you try to ignore the baggage, have nothing to do with them being cops. it's just a fun group of diverse friends making jokes together! except it isn't, the cop thing will always be the elephant in the room.

i'm not going to reiterate all the points i made in that original essay bc i just reread it and even after properly revisiting brooklyn 99 i think the points i made hold up, but the main thing i think about now is actually an anecdote i heard about when they first decided to adapt "the office" for an american audience. and once of the biggest notes its american showrunners got was you can make michael scott as immature and obnoxious and ridiculous as you want, but you HAVE to make him still good at his job. american audiences won't tolerate that kind of character unless they still get results.

and then you have brooklyn 99. filled with these ridiculous characters having their own zany-and-distracting adventures week after week, but don't worry, they're "good at their job." but when their job is fundamentally an archaic institution responsible for ruining many people's lives and perpetuating the racist prison industrial complex, how "reassuring" is that quality really?