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sevikas-biceps · 4 months ago

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[TLDR: me attempting to make sense of the Arcane's eldritchness, which sounds ironic in hindsight but hear me out]

Revelation after revelation aside, there are many pieces of foreshadowing that tell us why Viktor's commune wasn't as great as it seemed.

Visually speaking, all the clues are right there.

The first thing we see of the slums of Zaun is this.

Vi, leading their little group, is astonished to find such a thing—and to think that Huck was there, serving as one of its ushers! Huck, who she immediately calls a filthy traitor; having succumbed to shimmer the last time she saw him—meaning he'd turned to Silco both literally and figuratively—what with his use of the drug and the fact that he'd ratted her and Caitlyn out to the tycoon.

Miss Ma'am is bamboozled.

How the hell did he end up there? At this...paradise? At the slums, which, only a few weeks or months ago; was still dark, dusty, violet, and violent!

Something has changed, obviously; and Huck himself admits that his past was him 'at his worst'. Simply awful. But the Herald had saved him. And because of that, he was leading a better life, now. Naturally, at this point, Vi and Jinx seem wary.

There's gotta be a catch, no?

The landscape and the characters exemplify this.

Let's start with the land itself. Look at how empty it actually looks. Yes, there's a field of flowers. Yes, there's a community, teeming with life. Yes, it's literally heaven. But the lighting. The colours. It's so...bleak. Like a dream. The mountains are green, but they're cast in grey and white; and added with the negative space, there's an eeriness to it that contrasts Piltover's version of an eutopia.

You can argue it being the vast resource difference, as Topside is the superior city for a reason, but the commune is still filled with numerous individuals with just as much creativity as their counterparts. Intelligent and sentient beings—people, with minds to set to whatever task may be at hand.

Now, let's think of the people.

The biggest difference between the two communities is this: the 'healed' of Viktor's paradise wear only one mode of dress: white. It's almost uniform—which is notable, as, previously in the episode, Viktor speaks of 'chaos'. We see how fascinated he was by the mess that Vander's psyche had become, and in an attempt at detangling that chaos, he was 'setting things right' inside the man's mind. Bringing him back to something resembling normalcy. Order.

This is particularly significant for the fact that, in the game, he's remembered for his philosophy on glorious evolution (also mentioned in the show, as we know)—which is centred on the enhancement of the human body to transcend its fleshly limits.

Piltover, in contrast—and by extension the 'unhealed' of Zaun—go against this code. We see shimmer addicts, we see corrupt individuals, we see bigoted populations, we see conflict between the cities. We see human nature at its finest. Even the episode titles, all the way from Season 1, display this.

S1E1: Welcome to the Playground S1E2: Some Mysteries are Better Left Unsolved S1E3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change S1E4: Happy Progress Day! S1E5: Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy S1E6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down S1E7: The Boy Saviour S1E8: Oil and Water S1E9: The Monster You Created S2E1: Heavy is the Crown S2E2: Watch It All Burn S2E3: Finally Got the Name Right S2E4: Paint the Town Blue S2E5: Blisters and Bedrock S2E6: The Message Hidden Within the Pattern

Again, human nature. Colourful, tumultuous, unsynchronised. A need for knowledge. A need for violence. A need for change. A need for exploration. A need for control. Everything that we can have, we take.

That's the point of Viktor's quote:

I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right—it's inescapable. Humanity. Our very essence. Our emotions—rage, compassion, hate. Two sides of the same coin, inextricably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil.

It's a paradox.

This is a sophisticated conjuration. A singularity, simultaneously self-replicating and self-annihilating.

He wasn't just talking about the Arcane. It wasn't just about that 'voice' he and Sky heard when gazing at Jayce through Salo's eyes. It's also about humanity.

So, how does that relate to his commune?

Here's the thing: it looks like heaven, but later on, when Viktor dies and everyone else follows, it's practically limbo. It's liminal. Initially, you only have the vague sense that there's something off about it, but you can't tell what. It's filled with people, yet at the same time, it looks like it shouldn't have any to begin with. Mysterious. Suspicious. Almost dreadful; something that makes you realise: if you think about it too hard, you'd drive yourself insane.

There's something intrinsically natural about the commune, something untouched by human hands; but there's also something intrinsically human about it, something unnatural, cultivated in a way nature itself cannot replicate. That's the catch. It should be a balance of both. An ideal community would show this.

Viktor's connection to the Hexcore tells us that he's, in part, transcended both humanity and the natural world. He's breached the ineffable and the incomprehensible, and brought it into the existence(s) of those who could know of and experience it. Bringing 'paradise' to those who were never meant to realise what it was. Forcing onto them the Arcane, even when done with the best intentions.

For the suffering Zaunites, they have everything they could possibly want: food, water, shelter, rest, belonging, peace, survival; the life that they once could only dream of having. It's perfect. They don't have to be in pain, not anymore.

But the commune is isolated. This is very much seen in the gate symbolism: all are welcome, but once inside, you'll never want to leave. You'll never have to. Because to be cured by the hands of the Herald means to bear his mark. To be saved is to bind yourself to him.

The open archway is also a taunt: the gate is open, it'll always be open, but would you ever risk going back out? Would you really trade this for anything else?

Are you truly willing to leave paradise? Are you truly willing to part with the Arcane?

The Arcane, which had given them everything they'd yearned for through Viktor.

Now, see here: Vi catches a glimpse of Singed exiting Viktor's abode. It's presumably the healing tent, as his main 'bubble' (the place where he 'recharges', so to speak) is the one in the distance.

The point is: Vi sees Singed leave the healing tent. What makes this suspicious is the fact that the man left unhealed.

Note that, prior to this point, the sisters have reconciled and were even willing to stay in this little underground haven despite their initial scepticisms. They, just like everyone else, have been lulled into the comfort the commune provided. So, to see someone else suddenly exiting Viktor's watch—someone with no traces of the Herald's touch, someone who's still bandaged and deformed—is a wake-up call.

Why else would you go into the healing tent, to the commune, if not to have yourself cured or seek respite? Why is this man, who'd obviously be easier work to deal with compared to Vander, not 'saved'?

Vi follows him. Then, Singed leaves the commune entirely.

In her eyes, someone had willingly turned away from 'paradise'.

Logically, this begs the question: Why?

Because that's where the fantasy ends.

Right as Vi comes to the gate, the camera cuts to that Noxian spear upfront. A threat to the 'perfection' that existed within the borders. A reminder that the world outside still exists; a world that Viktor hasn't touched in its entirety, a world that still begs to be saved, a world that is still human at its core brimming and simmering.

That's the reason Viktor's named a herald: he's an omen. He'd brought about a transformation to those he healed. To the slums. Providing a drastic shift in people's lives (or whatever 'life' still counted for those he'd influenced) that left many devastated when Jayce blew a hole in his chest.

By spreading the use of the Arcane through other agents (again, the 'healed'), he essentially reproduced the effects of the power that he had at his disposal, while at the same time allowed himself to better comprehend how the Arcane worked—and by extension, allowed that very power to adapt.

But at the same time, he himself is also the key to undoing it.

From Jayce and Ekko, S2E3:

Viktor hypothesised that there may be something he called 'wild runes'. Patterns that occur naturally when the border between our world and the Arcane is thin. Runes like the ones you use in Hextech. What's the difference between those and wild runes? Pass me a tome. So, I used words you understood in order to elicit your action. This is what Hextech runes are. Pass me a tome. Pass me a tome! There—you sighed. Still a kind of language. A sound, but not words. Something raw; natural. That's wild runes. In most places, the Arcane is dormant—but here and there, it's more active. Wild runes are— —sort of like its fingerprints. Exactly! ...so, you're telling me: that pattern is on my tree, because you pissed the Arcane off with all your demands?

Viktor being infused with the Hexcore—which we can reasonably assume is a wild rune, as can also be seen with its matrix—makes it so that he himself acts as what a Hextech rune would do to it (the Hexcore). Through Viktor, the Arcane is refined, and in a process that doesn't completely destabilise (compared to pure Hextech, as can be seen with the weapons). For Viktor to lose control or to be harmed means making that magic either go wild (the weapons) or make it dissipate (the commune).

That's why the fantasy 'ends' at the entrance of the commune: anything past that is out of Viktor's reach, and remains 'untouched' by the Arcane.

From Jinx, S1E5:

So, all about these runes: they form some sort of mathy, magicky gateway...to the realm of heebie-jeebies. And this turns it on!

Say it again: the runes make a gateway. The Hexcore was a rune matrix, an array of wild runes that formed a singular entity. An entity which is now 'one' with Viktor. It means being the 'Herald' is also being the 'gateway' for the Arcane. The traditional role of a herald is to proclaim and carry messages; we don't know what message the Arcane itself wants to send, but we do know for a fact that Viktor is at least doing its work in creating that commune in the slums of Zaun.

From Singed, S1E6 & S2E6:

The mutation must survive. You must survive, Viktor.

The Machine Herald himself is self-replicating and self-annihilating. He can 'cure' the afflicted, thus infusing the Arcane into other individuals and replicating its structure inside them. And at the same time, the Arcane is also what 'kills' him—with Jayce using (what looked to be a mutated version of) the hexcrystal of his hammer to blow through Viktor's chest, where we know the Hexcore was placed during Jayce's revival of him in Act 1.

This is why the commune, despite its purpose as a safe haven, also exists as a place of great danger. Why it really isn't all That™, even despite Viktor creating it as a safe space for many.

See this exchange between Vi and Jinx:

This place...do you think it could actually work? Underground utopia, run by a skinny tin Machine Herald. Maybe when Piltover slides into the Sump.

Jinx was right in calling it for what it is, despite the words being in jest. A utopia. Working 'when Piltover slides into the Sump'.

It's an impractical scheme. Too perfect. Too good to be true.

An impossibility.

Do you believe in fate, Doctor? Our paths carved before us. Guided by an invisible hand? Not fate. Evolution. Nature's greatest force, forever in flux. No. Evolution has a destination. Not to combat nature, but to supersede it. The final, glorious evolution. But he isn't a specimen—he's a man. And he needs my help. I will not sacrifice his humanity for your cause. You may leave. Very well. But I assume you understand already: if you perish, this community is soon to follow.

Viktor understands. He understands. He just wasn't ready to admit it to himself when Singed said it.

I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right—it's inescapable. Humanity.

Human nature and human essence aren't self-sustaining. That's why the Arcane was so effective in 'healing' all those people. Their humanity hampered them from healing themselves; both in the sense of the human bodily condition (the limits of the physical self), and in the sense of humaneness (of empathy, of choice). The human body cannot survive its own traumas without an artificial means of a cure (case in point: Vander). And the Arcane acted as its solution.

Mere instinct doesn't let you live—you need to learn how to direct your life after survival. To adapt. To grow. Humanity, self-replicating and self-annihilating; the escape from that cycle, that's the glorious evolution Viktor speaks of.

A utopia. Impossible and impractical. Humanity: that which inspires us to our greatest good, and the cause of our greatest evil.

#arcane #arcane s2 #arcane league of legends #arcane analysis #viktor #the machine herald #viktor arcane

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veeranger · 2 years ago

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Vee’s Steam Summer Sale 2023 Recommendations

as always these are just personal opinions etc etc please look up some real reviews before buying a game if you aren’t sure and remember that steam will give you a full refund if you have less than 2 hours played in under 2 weeks.

im going to try to recc stuff i havent shilled every 6 months for the last 5 years but the VNs are going to be the same as always honestly

Fighting Games

Guilty Gear -Strive- Ultimate Edition 2022 ($55.99)

yes im specifically saying buy ultimate edition because it has all the dlc as of this writing. buy the base version if you want but i hate playing fighting games with incomplete rosters.

anyway this is my favorite fighting game, bar none. this is the game that after years of screwing around on a bunch of other games finally got me to really want to get better and actually play against other people. there’s a super active playerbase and at least another year of support from arcsys on the way. the best time to start playing strive was a year ago but the second best time is right now.

Idol Showdown (Free)

yes im shilling a free game here. idol showdown is a good fighting game and the result of like three years of hard work from a small team. try it out and give them some love

Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel ($4.99)

this is not a good game but it is a funny game. saber is in it.

Narrative Games

AI: The Somnium Files - $7.99

one of the finest mystery games you can play imo. maybe uchikoshi’s best work. a perfect blend of mystery, character, and style. every character and conversation is compelling in its own way and every little thing builds up to the huge moments which makes them all feel totally earned. as always uchikoshi is a genius in the way he blends his signature branching timeline style with the themes and core concepts of the game. the twists and turns this game goes down are so crazy that weeks later you’ll still be realizing how all the little things you thought were just quirks were actually foreshadowing. cannot recc this enough tbh.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games - $11.99

another uchikoshi joint, also extremely good. ive only finished 999, the first game in this collection, but i can recc it just based on the strength of that alone. whereas somnium is a murder mystery, 999 is a visual novel about being trapped in a murder game interspliced with escape room segments. whatever you think you know you dont, 999 will take you down so many twists and turns you’ll be fucking dizzy when you’re done with it. big recc.

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - $10.04

i could probably talk about this game for as long as the others, even though its way way less complex. va-11 hall-a doesnt have a huge sweeping story with insane twists and massive reveals, but what it does have is an extremely personal narrative about loss, healing, and just living your life the best way you can in a horrible dystopian world. the cast of characters feel utterly real and you learn about the world they inhabit through interactions with them, rather than being infodumped by exposition. everyone has their own story and everyone is just trying to get by, including you. one of the best small scale personal narrative games ive ever played.

Night In The Woods - $9.99

another vn i would consider “small scale” but equally as impactful. nitw is a story about a disillusioned and struggling college drop out returning to her economically declining home town. nobody is secure, nobody is happy, everyone is suffering through their daily lives. you follow mae as she struggled to readjust to her childhood home and the people she left behind. until something happens that changes her priorities radically. all ill say. despite how i just made it sound, nitw is not all depressing. theres lighthearted moments and wacky days to cut through the bleak fog, as well as genuinely heartfelt moments that feel very earned. nitw is a game i think that everyone struggling through their 20s should play.

Grim Fandango Remastered ($3.79)

i know this is an old school adventure game and you might yell at me for sort of grouping it in with the VNs but i dont care. its a classic, its a beautiful game, everyone should play it. its old, it controls like shit, the puzzles are obtuse, but the experience is wonderful and memorable. its cheap as hell just go for it.

Action

Assault Spy ($4.99)

this goofy ass game is fun as hell. its a very dmc style character action with upgrades and moves to buy, and it actually has a pretty goddamn good mechanical system in place. the gameplay loop rules. only warning is this is not well optimized so watch your computer doesnt explode.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered ($40.19)

i shouldn’t even have to shill. a must play for any spider-man fan. one the best spider-man stories ever hands down. such an incredible experience seriously. i cant even say enough here, if you haven’t played this yet you should do it asap.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales ($33.49)

everything i just said for the first game goes here too. a MUST play for miles morales fans. the combat is even better than the first too. you won’t regret playing this trust me.

Marvel’s Avengers - The Definitive Edition ($5.99)

no i’m not joking. ok well i kind of am but this game is getting delisted in september. it is an unforgivably mid piece of shit but if you have an interest in game preservation or playing something so bad they’re killing it forever, well here it is. they made all the microtransactions free btw.

Others

Tinykin ($13.75)

its like pikmin but its legally distinct! i like this game a lot, it has a very cute art style and its got easy to enjoy gameplay. i find it very relaxing. there’s a demo.

System Shock 2 ($2.49)

i will never stop shilling this game. fucking play it. its a cornerstone of video games. one of the most influential pieces ever put to pixel. you owe it to yourself to experience this if you feel any interest in it. maybe read a guide though its unforgiving if you screw around with your build.

Dead Space [2023] ($41.99)

exceptionally good. i dont have to shill the old shitty pc port of the original anymore. an A+ remake, i think it improves on the original in every conceivable way.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night ($11.99)

such a goddamn good metroidvania. its almost like the platonic ideal of a castlevania game. a true spiritual successor to SOTN. this isnt your dime a dozen soulslike vania, this is a true vania game in the best original style made by basically one of the core founders of the genre.

STAR WARS™ Knights of the Old Republic™ II - The Sith Lords™ ($3.49)

its a fuckin classic rpg. one of the best of the era. get it on pc so you can get that extended content mod they promised to import to the console version and then cancelled.

Save Room - Organization Puzzle ($2.09)

this is just a cute puzzle game. i like it.

#veepost

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qboo78 · 6 years ago

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Reading ASOIAF (Jonsa Edition)

“No one can save me but my Florian. Ser Dontos had promised he would help her escape, but not until the night of Joffrey’s wedding. The plans had been well laid, her dear devoted knight-turned-fool assured her; there was nothing to do until then but endure, and count the days.” - Sansa, A Storm of Swords

I was just rereading this chapter of Sansa and this passage suddenly gave me an epiphany of major Jonsa proportions he he he. I realised that it was not just Ser Dontos that became Sansa’s Florian or like what the passage said “her dear devoted KNIGHT - TURNED - FOOL. And ahem who do you think suddenly remind me of these phrase?

A KNIGHT

TURNED “FOOL”

gifs credit to @arin-arryn

I always wondered why in Season 7, it seems to be a running theme that Jon has become a “fool” and not so cunning when it comes to dealing with power hungry royals... when I have seen him dealt with two kings already and lying to these two kings to boot. And what’s funny was that Jon seems to be the one to perpetrate and first point it out that he is “a fool”...

I just liked how Jon is turning out to be the hero that Sansa has always admired, her very own Florian, and you can bet on it that unlike Ser Dontos, Jon’s devotion for Sansa and the North is real and true.

Jon and Sansa chapters are just filled with Jonsa nuggets.. I love it.

#jonsa #actually jonsa #game of thrones #got #asoiaf #reading asoiaf #foreshadowing at its finest #visual echoes #jon snow #sansa stark #jon is sansa's florian #qboo78 reads asoiaf

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 3 years ago

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Is It Really THAT Bad?

Move over MCU. Step aside, DCEU. Get the hell out of the way MonsterVerse. The big boys are in town now, as Sony Picture’s Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC for short) has dropped the finest piece of cinema mankind has ever seen: Morbius. Starring God’s gift to humanity Jared Leto as the titular Living Vampire, this movie is such a morbtastic experience that it’s no wonder it grossed a morbillion dollars at the box office, cured the impotence of everyone who went to see it, and has been nominated for every Oscar imaginable. Truly we live in a society—or, better yet, a morbciety.

...Ok, yeah, I’m not doing the whole review like that.

This movie’s reputation truly precedes it. It’s hard to say people were actually excited for this, but as soon as Morbius hit theaters it became the laughingstock of superhero cinema; it even released after numerous delays on April 1, perhaps the most apt date possible for a film such as this. Not only did this movie bomb, the Sony execs saw the memes and decided to put it back into theaters only for it to bomb again. That’s right, this movie bombed twice. It truly is the anti-Avatar, and is the perfect showcase for how utterly out of touch Sony is with what audiences actually want from their Spider-Man villain spin-off movies.

The movie does have a fandom… kind of. The main “fandom” is generally comprised of people who probably never watched the movie, a bunch of ironic memers who have transformed the film into something of a memetic badass, a film that can unite the world, end poverty, and even take your virginity. A big part of it is obviously the name of the character; Morbius is just a fun name to say. Another part is definitely that the title role is being played by reviled actor Jared Leto, a man only tolerated when he’s being brutally murdered by Christian Bale, beaten to a pulp by Edward Norton, or in a film that contains Ryan Gosling. The film was basically doomed to memedom from the start.

Now that things have cooled down a bit and the memers have moved on to The Rise of Gru, it’s time for me to ask: Is Morbius really that bad, or is there morb to it than meets the eye?

THE GOOD

Sigh… Ok. Jared Leto is alright here.

Look, I hate Jared Leto as a person. I think he’s a creep, I think he’s an obnoxious asshole with his method acting, there’s nothing nice I have to say about him in those regards. But he’s (unfortunately) not a bad actor, and even with what little the script is giving him here I think he does a solid job at making Michael Morbius a decent protagonist. He’s definitely not on the level of Andrew Garfield trying valiantly to save the dumpster fire that was the Amazing Spider-Man duology, but he’s at least in the same zip code.

The action isn’t too bad either, even though there isn’t a whole lot of it. There’s a lot of slow-mo to the point where it’s like something out of a Zack Snyder movie, but the effect with the color trails is really pretty and visually appealing, and there’s also a part where Matt Smith kills half a dozen cops singlehandedly before Fortnite dancing over their corpses. It’s PG-13 violence, sure, but it is enjoyable in its own way.

Speaking of Matt Smith… It’s finally time to

HAVE SEX!

Matt Smith’s Milo is the absolute best part of the film, full stop. Smith manages to channel exactly what is needed for any given scene. When it’s time for drama, he actually gives a pretty heartfelt performance, especially during his character’s death scene; while it’s not quite as strong as it could be, his relationship with Morbius is actually handled fairly decent, all things considered. But the real fun comes when it’s time to play a campy, hammy supervillain. Smith goes balls-to-the-wall, absolutely apeshit, dancing and being smug and just morbing people for shits and giggles. He basically does a 180 in terms of personality, with a tiny bit of foreshadowing early on that doesn’t entirely mesh with his reasoning for killing, but frankly it’s too goddamn fun to care. Smith owns this movie.

THE BAD

Almost every bit of writing in this film just falls completely flat. Aside from Milo and Morbius, every single character is underbaked. Morbius’s girlfriend? Morbius and Milo’s mentor? The two cops investigating the vampire killings? All of them are rather flat and not explored to any great extent, and considering one of the cops flippantly admits to not caring about murdered mercs because they might have done something bad and thinks you can call a cat by shaking its litterbox, I need to know more. What the fuck is wrong with this lunatic? Please explain, movie.

The story is a mess too, and is shockingly low stakes and features things happening solely to happen. Morbius catches all those vampire bats at the start offscreen, because fuck showing us that. Morbius gets a boat full of illegal mercs to do his bat research because fuck it, plot contrivance. Like yes, there is little bits of dialogue that set these things up, but they’re so baffling and confusing and downright stupid that you can’t really care if the movie justifies them. For a movie that was continuously delayed, it’s pretty obvious no one thought to go and run the script by an editor a couple more times.

Of course, the single worst thing in the movie by a country mile is the credits scenes featuring Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes.

Literally everything about his appearance is the biggest load of bullshit imaginable. Now, he is ostensibly here because of the spell Doctor Strange cast at the end of No Way Home, that much can easily be surmised. And yet, nothing about that makes sense. The spell sent people like Andrew!Peter, Tobey!Peter, and their villains back to their home universe and made everyone forget who Tom!Peter is, so by the actual rules of the spell the only thing that should have happened with Toomes is that he should have forgotten Spider-Man was Peter. That’s it. Why he got teleported into the Sony-verse is anyone’s guess, as is his complete lack of care that he is now likely never going to see his beloved wife and daughter again. He makes some comment about hoping the prison food in the new universe is better, and that’s it for angst from Mr. Toomes despite the fact he is now separated from the very people he turned to crime for in the first place.

And somehow, some way, they manage to make this even worse and stupider. Morbius meets up with Toomes in his full Vulture suit, which he somehow acquired despite Tinkerer and the Chitauri scrap used to make said suit not even existing in this new universe, and Vulture drops this wonderful gem of a line: “I’m not sure how I got here. Has to do with Spider-Man, I think.” This is it. The “Somehow, Palpatine has returned” of superhero cinema. Just an astounding, insanely lazy way of establishing something that spits in the face of logic and reason. Why is he blaming Spider-Man for this, when last he remembered Spider-Man saved his ass to the point where Toomes willingly protected the guy’s identity in prison? Hell, there’s no indication Spider-Man even exists in this universe!

And even that isn’t the worst part! The worst part is how completely nonsensical Leto’s replies to Keaton are, showing that this whole thing is just a bunch of greenscreen and ADR bullshit that was slapped together to set up another (likely ill-fated) attempt at a Sinister Six movie. The whole scene is just jaw-droppingly embarassing.

Oh, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he never says “It’s Morbin’ time!”

Is It Really THAT Bad?

Honestly, it’s not that bad. It’s not good, but it isn’t awful. It is essentially a throwback to early 2000s superhero films… with all the good and bad that entails. Most of the characters are one-dimensional, the plot rarely makes sense, and its attempt at setting up a sequel is so idiotic that it makes the Dark Universe look dignified in comparison. And yet, there’s still some fun to be had when it’s Morbin’ time, and Morbius morbs all over some bad guys. And Milo is definitely a fun antagonist, despite how utterly stupid and nonsensical his turn to villainy is.

If I’d compare it to anything, it would be the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie, and honestly how well you like or can tolerate that movie will likely be an indicator as to whether you can like or tolerate this one. Frankly, this just seems to be the angle Sony is going for with its cinematic universe: Trashy, early 2000s superhero throwabacks that feel like they belong on the shelf at Blockbuster. I’m okay with these kind of schlocky films existing, because frankly I’d like a few superhero films that are hilariously dumb as opposed to being genuinely awful. This is nowhere near the fun stupidity of the Venom movies, but I think if you get on board with the Morb, you’ll have a decent enough time. I think it’s a bit too low, I’d bring it up to a 5.7 at least, but it’s definitely no higher than a 6.

As my brother put it, “There’s 90 minutes of my life I’m never getting back… It was Morbificent.”

#Is it really that bad #IIRTB #review #movie review #Morbius #It's Morbin time #Sony #Marvel #Jared Leto #Matt Smith #superhero movie

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9w1ft · 2 years ago

Note

Go with me for a moment.... When Taylor said "songwriting is a calling" in her NSAI speech and then hosted a game where she used a phone to call the 13th track of Midnights, it got me thinking. She clearly tells us in LWYMMD that the "old Taylor can't come to the phone" "bc she's dead". She also said in her NSAI speech she no longer writes in a "quill" pen because she got mad and broke it. What if, all of Rep was daydreaming and foreshadowing the point in Taylor's life that she no longer has to answer the call using quill pen lyrics, it's only fountain pen lyrics where she gets to take us to the moment, conveying the exact feeling, allowing us to visualize the finest of details, and the "old Taylor" will no longer answer the call to conform to what is acceptable according to the music industry or what society blesses as worthy. It's now the real Taylor, living her truth and putting her real lyrics out into the world. The old Taylor used to answer the calls to change pronouns, not make people uncomfortable with the truth, etc. now the real Taylor makes the calls! Perhaps she got mad, broke that quill pen and said no more writing from a closeted coded truth similar to Emily Dickinson. What if her making the calls now means she's all done with the games, "here's the truth from my red lips"????

so here’s the thing,

in LWYMMD when she says to the phone that “she’s dead” its pretty clear to me that it was a direct reference to snapchat gate and the #taylorswiftisover hashtags on twitter… where in fact people were not just saying she was “over” but were also joking that she was “dead”

so while we can try to make some sort of metaphor out of the phone, or look for connection between the many phone moments in her discography —and i do find parts of your thinking interesting in the abstract— i do feel it is also important in this instance to remember the very specific context for that line and the bravery and power that she displayed in coming back with lwymmd… and crafting a whole era around the idea of her maligned reputation and the hatred she received because of the moment.

yes, in a sense she has reclaimed the moment, and thus the idea of the phone call.. and it is worth thinking about. but i worry about centering specifically that phone call or the idea of a “old (dead)” taylor within her journey to write more “truthful” lyrics, based on the observation that she said in a speech that writing was a calling. it’s not that these ideas all have to be entirely independent but, i don’t want to lose sight of the context.

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enigma-the-mysterious · 9 months ago

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Oh, definitely. That bridge scene is visual storytelling and foreshadowing at its FINEST. I have a whole post in the drafts analysing it! Also, the flag protects Bheem from death by fire yes, but also, remember that Ram had to drench the flag IN WATER FIRST before passing it to Bheem. It's a perfect balance between fire and water!

Bheem's way of serving his country is defending his people and loving a little girl enough to move mountains. His love is protection. It's pure and straightforward.

Ram's way of serving his country is through lies and treachery, a stubborn adherence to an ideology, pretending to be someone he is not, wearing a mask of cold indifference to hide the raging fire in his heart. His love is deception. It's twisted and dark.

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robbyrobinson · 4 years ago

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Best Moments of True Colors

1) Just when it seemed that all was lost, Anne essentially goes full on Super Saiyan and starts to kick Andrias's ass. Everything was breathtaking. There's the OST for one: a slow tune only to gradually become higher when accompanying Anne activating her powers on the gem and then turns triumphant with Anne swiftly decimating the robo-frog army and socking the mad king in the face. The visuals are also amazing as Anne travels at lightning speed.

2) While bad, Marcy getting stabbed was something I did not expect. It wasn't surprising that Disney delayed the episode. Really, the episode was Marcy at its finest point. Haley Tju does a fantastic job with her role. I could feel her practically breaking apart from the scene where Marcy confesses that she knew about the Calamity Box and, while she didn't know whether it would work or not, she was that desperate because she didn't want to leave her two best friends.

3) The rematch between Anne and Sasha was also good. While the whole toads flawlessly taking over Newtopia was quashed fairly quickly, it was good to see them fighting again,

4) Andrias. Like I already said before, Keith David does a phenomenal job playing the King of Amphibia and how he was able to play both roles as the seemingly friendly grandfatherly ruler but also as a megalomaniacal warlord with grand delusions. It was a seamless transition between roles that made the king being revealed as evil more believable. Plus, it is good that they left several hints of foreshadowing.

5) Polly grows her legs. I admit that it is still pretty weird to see her with little legs due to being used to her original appearance, but it was great that they used that as a means of having the heroes temporarily obtain the music box...even if she almost immediately learned how to use her legs after forming them.

#true colors #amphibia #truecolors #amphibia season 2 #amphibia season two

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itsbuckysworld · 5 years ago

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Knives Out - a spoiler-free rant

I did say I would do this and there’s a 99.999999% chance that NO ONE cares about my opinion or this post, but hey, I’m in film school and if I can’t make a single assessment from this movie that sounds like it came from the mouth of a ‘film student’ then I'm wasting ma moneeeh.

Let’s start with what I think is the basics: the screenplay.

OH, MY WORDS! THE WORDS! and not just that THE SETTING! If you have never read a screenplay let me give you a crash course: you gonna build a house? you need yourself some blueprints. Scripts are blueprints: they tell you when what where and so much more in between the lines. Knives Out has one of the best blueprints I’ve seen – granted that may not be much coming from someone who hasn’t seen most cult classics - I know, why am I even in film school? – Anyways, as a lover of storytelling and writing, I just have to say it: holy shit it’s so well written!

Each character has a clear voice and not just because there are very different actors playing these parts, no, I can tell this must have read like a dream on table reads! – I’m legitimately on the hunt for hopefully all the drafts of this screenplay, I need to read this – The pacing is incredible, the exposition. The amount of information you know or think that you know over the characters is set at the perfect level. It’s your classic who-dun-it but like... Fucking hilarious and amazing. It’s witty, funny, and very captivating. You go in and have your assumptions about everyone and everything and then the rug is pulled from under you but not in that “wtf did i just watch” way. It all makes glorious sense, it all has purpose and I LOVE IT.

As a person who got the ‘who did it’ spoiled - I STILL DIDN’T KNOW WHO DONE IT UNTIL IT WAS REVEALED!

HOW AMAZING IS THAT! I literally saw a tik tok with pictures of who’s responsible and went god fuck damn it, and then I sat in that movie theater and honest to God I was doubting myself and the information 100% I knew.

I knew I knew... but I didn’t know at the same time... and that, my friends, in this setting, is fan-tas-tic storytelling. I sat there making excuses for this person because they didn’t seem like it, but then they did, and then they didn’t and I was having the time of my life in this rollercoaster.

AND THAT’S ALL WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE IMAGERY?! Oh my sweet baby moses, the production design team here takes all the marbles! ALL OF THEM – except the ones that already went to the writers – because this is just visual metaphor heaven! This movie is GORGEOUS, every prop and/or piece of decor is just an absolute delight!

Without spoiling anything, the camera placements to put certain people in certain shaped frames at certain times? G E N I U S! The frames themselves are just so natural yet completely whack? The whole house decor is completely nuts, crazy enough that after a while there’s absolutely obvious things hidden in plain sight because your eyes are just used to this clutter by now. And this clutter makes sense after spending a while with these crazy characters.

Not only that, some of the foreshadowings – I guess that’s a word i made up now – and metaphors are so on the nose that any other movie would have done it and you’d be mad that the creators would think you’re not smart enough to get it, but in this movie, it’s just perfect comedic timing and so relevant, especially because, as I said earlier, you know, and you know you know, but you also don’t know.

I could watch this movie over and over and just do it for the sake of looking at the backgrounds and foregrounds and deciphering extra stuff. There is magic and beautiful storytelling in every corner, every frame of that movie.

I will keep this as spoiler-free as possible but to anyone that has seen this movie, think back to it, these characters all wore basically the same thing or themes the whole movie, from solid one-color pieces to the same shoes to the same jacket to the same style of suit, and it ALL MEANS SOMETHING. And if you’ve seen it, think back to that phone call between ana de armas and the girl from 13 reasons why – too lazy to look up her name – when she steps forward and what do we see perfectly framed by the light? GOSH! it’s just poetic cinema at its finest!

Feel free to fangirl over this movie with me, whenever. This movie was the best game of Clue ever and you can 100% play more than once, which is insane to say about a movie when you think about it. I, for one, cannot wait to watch this movie again. I think it’s probably going to be one of my favorite movies of 2020. Maybe the whole decade.

Hands down, knives out.

#knives out #a movie rant #little l talks #no one cares but oh well #good night people #spoiler-free

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cheryls-blossomed · 5 years ago

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i know you bring flash1x20 up a lot in your meta. is it your fave episode of the show? why do you like it so much?

I didn’t even know that I bring up 1x20 often. I honestly don’t remember which episodes I talk about frequently, other than 3x01, 3x21, and 4x15, because I know for a fact I talk about those episodes A LOT. I wasn’t under the impression that I talk about 1x20 more than I do other episodes, but maybe I do, lol.

In relation to 1x20, specifically, since you asked, well, objectively I think it’s a very good episode. The story-telling is fast-paced, and it’s one of those episodes where not even a minute is wasted (and there are only a handful of Flash episodes which can claim such a feat), and every character has good moments in that episode. Also the humor in this episode is top-tier (Cisco and the shirt that he thought the dryer ate; Barry bumping straight into Iris after talking with Singh about Singh’s upcoming nuptials (foreshadowing at its finest); Eddie showing Barry the engagement ring, and Barry being all, “I think she’s gonna want to hyphenate,” when Eddie walks away. The humor employed is both charming and seamless, and it doesn’t in any way detract from what is otherwise quite a serious, dramatic episode. Plus, I love episodes which mirror previous episodes. Part of the reason I love 3x21 so much is that it mirrors 3x01, with Iris getting to experience her own mini Flashpoint and having to make a decision to return to the way things were before Barry lost his memories, the same way Barry had his Flashpoint and had to make a decision to reverse Flashpoint. There’s something so poetic about this kind of story-telling, but it’s also very rare in The Flash’s history, and 1x20 is another example of mirroring. In this case, 1x20 mirrors 1x15 stunningly. The stakes and immediate intensity aren’t as high in the short-term in 1x20 as they were in 1x15 (I always say that 1x15 feels it builds to this mighty crescendo that is truly unmatchable, with Iris’s feelings for Barry bubbling more and more to the surface until they tumble out of her in a moment of high emotional intensity, just as the stakes of that episode become explosive, what with Mardon having kidnapped Joe and readying to send a tidal wave upon the city, and Cisco confronting Thawne), but the characters have garnered a lot more knowledge about Thawne, and so the sense of foreboding is particularly heightened in 1x20. It’s also the episode which tells the story of the SPARK; Iris first feeling that jolt of electricity when she goes to see Barry at S.T.A.R. Labs (and we get the first direct mention of home in relation to Westallen), and then the jolt of electricity which later passes between her and the Flash’s fingers, signaling to her that Barry is the Flash. It’s so subtle, but such a beautiful visual representation of Barry and Iris’s love, while also empowering Iris in that moment, as she discovers on her own, through this unique connection with Barry that only she is aware of at the time, that her best friend is the Flash. So yeah, overall a great episode.

#anonymous #replies

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blackjack-15 · 5 years ago

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The Force of Nature and the Cackling Madman: What Hux Should Be (and What ROS Won’t Be)

Warning: two mentions of the leaked/newish pictures. They will have spoiler warnings bracketing it, along with the appropriate tags connected to the post. You’ve been warned.

INTRODUCTION

With RoS mere months away, this meta really can’t be delayed any longer before it becomes moot, so here we go!

TLJ was a lot of things — some good, some bad — but what it wasn’t was surprising (unless you count just how shockingly bad 90% of Finn’s storyline was). This is generally a good thing in movies nowadays, where surprises come not from clever writing, but from enormous missteps in the writing or the desire to feel clever by putting in a twist that isn’t foreshadowed, or even just by breaking the rules of your universe.

Ignoring all but the main storyline — which is about Rey and Kylo Ren and their obstacles/conflicts — TLJ didn’t bring any surprises, but instead followed on the lines that TFA set up. As this is obviously the storyline that’s been hashed out from the start and is the point they’re building to, it’s thus safe to say that RoS is simply going to do the same, and follow the lines that TLJ set up.

SPOILER WARNING BEGINS

(Side note: this is why, when the absurdly stupid tuning-fork-lightsaber of Rey’s showed up in the first looks at RoS, it was immediately obvious that she was going to be able to “break” off half of it to give to Kylo when his saber is ultimately gone/self-destructs. Not only does the spoiler picture all but confirm this, but it’s also the obvious trajectory from the two fighting over a lightsaber in TLJ and breaking it in half.)

SPOILER WARNING ENDS

Anyway, with this framework in mind, and with the knowledge that every Star Wars media since the OG trilogy is in some way an adaptation of the OG trilogy, let’s examine what this means for the villain.

TERROR AND STAR WARS VILLAINS

There’s really no getting around the fact that one of the weakest facets of any Star Wars movie — yes, the OG trilogy is included here — is the villains that accompany them. A few SW video games fare a bit better in this, but most follow the movies’ path. This isn’t shocking — Star Wars is a Hero’s Journey, and in a Hero’s Journey it’s the presence of a villain, not the nature of the villain itself, that’s the important part — but it is crucial to understand.

Darth Vader is by far the most iconic and scariest villain that Star Wars movies can boast of, and for those born after 4/5/6 came out, he’s not really that scary, because those viewers go in knowing who Vader is and that he’s (at least partially) redeemed through his sacrifice. The greatest contribution that Rogue One made to that viewership is the scene with Vader at the end, where he is legitimately an object of terror as he was when 4/5/6 were first out.

This leads to a discussion of Palpatine-as-villain in RotJ, where the best that can be said for his status as terror-inducing villain is that at least he has Vader to do most of the heavy lifting for him. As a villain, Palpatine is just not scary. Maybe it’s the makeup, maybe it’s the fact that he gets thrown out like a sack of garbage to his death, maybe it’s the cold ham delivery he gives to what should be properly menacing lines.

Darth Maul’s visuals in TPM alone are scarier than all of Palpatine in RotJ, and, before it’s brought up, Palpatine is even less scary than that in the prequels, so I’m not even considering that part.

The thing that most Star Wars villains have in common (aside from Tarkin, who is my person favorite movie-verse villain) is that they’re forces of nature; they have the force and/or use lightsabers, they’re larger than life and beings of immense power and reputation, and they’re there to sort of loom over movie, causing overwhelming-yet-non-specifc terror to motivate the plot in a “avoid the bad guys” sort of way.

This is especially obvious in the prequel movies, where Darth Maul (ignoring his awesome visual effect), General Grievous, and Count Dooku are all basically meant to Stand There And Look Menacing, rather than having anything about them that’s actually interesting.

And here’s where the interesting things in the sequel trilogy begin.

WHY SMOKE SNOKE?

There was never any way that Snoke was going to live past TLJ, just like there was no way that Hux wasn’t going to survive TLJ. Remembering that the sequel trilogy is in a lot of ways an adaptation of the OG trilogy (as all Star Wars movies are), TFA was trying to get you to think of Snoke as Palpatine — an overlord that survives until the last bit of the last movie and Hux as Tarkin — the non-Force user who is Evil and all but dies b/c he’s too smug and petty.

But neither one of those things were actually true. Because that would position Kylo Ren as the Vader analogue, and all of TFA is dedicated to showing just how wrong that assumption is.

Because Kylo’s not Vader, Hux isn’t Tarkin, and Snoke isn’t Palpatine. Thus, Snoke has to die, because we can’t go into the last third of the trilogy with competing big bads (and no, Kylo and Hux don’t count there, either — Kylo isn’t a big bad at all, unless you think that the Big Bad Villain’s job is to fall for a British honeypot with a lightsaber).

I’ll admit, I was a bit smug when Snoke died and left only Hux alive and kicking out of the Three Bad Guys (as Kylo/Ben isn’t even pretending to be a bad guy anymore), because that’s what I had predicted — a fake-out with a Palpatine-style, force-of-nature villain only to reveal that the real Big Bad was with us all along — a mortal; a cackling madman: General Hux.

PLOTTING WITH PALPATINE

When spoilers first indicated that Palpatine would instead make yet another appearance in a Star Wars film, I was optimistic. Optimistic not in the “hey the Rebels will totally win” sort of way; no, optimistic in the “these kind Jedi will definitely free the slaves and not just take the kid because They Must Deal Kindly With Illegal Slavers”. AKA misplaced optimism rather than genre-savvy faith in the heroes to prevail.

Because actually bringing back Palpatine would be a stupid move all the way around, I tried to figure out why they’d advertise it and not try to hide the bad idea in a Secret Twist.

So here’s where we get the interplay between the Force of Nature and the Cackling Madman.

In a world where the Force exists, it’s easy to imagine that those without it feel rather powerless — or at least overshadowed — when near those who do wield it. Certainly, that’s true for most of Tarkin’s council, and true of Hux.

Over and over again in TFA and TLJ, we see Hux trying to prove that he’s every inch Kylo’s Equal. Even after Snoke’s death, he uses no deference to the new Supreme Leader and repeats his commands so he can believe that the First Order soldiers are following him.

Hux’s scene in TFA where he’s commanding the troops shows Hux at his finest (and most evil); apart from any Jedi/Sith/Force influence, he is himself to a glorious extreme: the Cackling Madman.

THE CACKLING MADMAN

I don’t use this title to say that Hux is insane (though he’s clearly a bit off) but rather to show the difference between a villain like Hux and a villain like Palpatine. Unlike the Force of Nature villain, a Cackling Madman is usually present over the entire story, seen as a person rather than as a shadowy figure, and is allowed to fail and succeed at multiple times during the trajectory of the story, rather than only failing at the very end when the heroes triumph.

In short, Star Wars has never had, in the movie-verse, a Cackling Madman as the main villain. The prequels play at it for about .5 seconds with Senator Palpatine, but he’s still the Force of Nature, ultimately, just pretending to be a Good Guy.

As the sequel trilogy, is, once again, and like any other SW media, an adaptation of the OG trilogy, I was really excited for this shift in formula — it would play on audience expectation that Snoke would just be Palpatine 2.0, only to reveal — with the proper set up, as shown in TFA and TLJ — that the true villain was there all along, just unnoticed for what he was.

THE FACADE OF THE FORCE

So where would the intervention of Palpatine go in this shift from the formula?

Hux as the ultimate Big Bad would know that he would need the support of a powerful force user — or, at least, the appearance of support of a powerful force user.

And, in the Star Wars universe, you could do worse than to claim the support of (in the EU) the eternally clone-happy Emperor. Hux’s only problem is that the Emperor is dead, and thus not really up to supporting a ginger with dreams of Ultimate Power.

So any support would have to be a facade. And how is Star Wars uniquely equipped to handle facades?

We’re talking holograms, baby.

Holograms of a weakened yet still powerful Emperor — maybe missing a hand or something, a few attacks “directed” by the Emperor meeting wild success, manipulation of the Holograms to say Hux’s name and offer support of him as his Preeminent General or whatever, and Hux has the galaxy at his feet.

IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT (SPOILERS HERE AGAIN)

And then the spoiler pictures of Palpatine came out and — disappointment was prevalent, but I wasn’t surprised.

The big problem with the Sequel Trilogy is that it has one well-plotted plot line — the main plot line with Rey and Kylo/Ben — and then every other plot line is pretty much left up to the whims of the moment. It’s especially evident in Finn’s TLJ plot line, but it’s present to some extent in every other plot line throughout the two movies currently out.

What Hux should be is the danger lurking in plain sight; the villain seen but not understood, and the evil present but not accounted for. That alone would add a dimension to the Sequel Trilogy that it’s lacking right now — and lacking even more with the advent of Palpatine’s return. Not only would it acknowledge its freedom as an adaptation to play with audience expectation, but it would demonstrate something that both it and the Prequel Trilogy lack: trust in its audience.

THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION

What RoS should be is a movie that delivers something new but still authentic to the Star Wars universe. Ultimately, that’s all it would take to please the majority of its audience, because those who are watching the ST without having seen any other Star Wars media are few and far between.

The shame is that what RoS will be is a movie that (wrongly) doesn’t trust its audience to consume nuanced media, and instead tries to placate them with false advertising (trying to give off the air that RoS will be a trio movie with Finn, Rey, and Poe when everyone knows it won’t be) and with the return of old characters and the descendants of old characters. It’s like adding blue flashing lights to an old snow globe and declaring that you’re recaptured lightning in a bottle.

#star wars #star wars spoilers #rise of skywalker #SWROS #SWTLJ #SWTFA #star wars meta #my meta

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kainosite · 6 years ago

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Les Misérables 2018, Episode 4

If I post the review before the next episode airs in the US that counts as “timely”, right?

The Good

• Extremely South London Éponine is the best thing in this series. From the moment she steps into Marius’ room, their interactions are absolutely perfect. Her crass attempt to offer herself to him and her delighted wonder when it fails, Marius’ appalled, half-paralyzed bewilderment at the whole situation and his awkward charity, Davies’ made-up slang for the écu, “You’re a star, are you sure!?”, Éponine code-switching at the end and then grabbing the bread on her way out, even the noncanonical, nonconsensual kiss – the whole scene is spot-on from start to finish.

As is her reunion with the rest of the Thénardier clan. The coarse sisterly banter and Azelma’s look of joy when Éponine hands her the stale bread, Thénardier’s petulant ranting, his violence towards Éponine and Mme. Thénardier’s weary indifference to it, his immediate attempt to crush Éponine into submission when she shows any sign of independence or self-worth – it all paints a vivid picture of Éponine’s world, and the juxtaposition to the scene with Marius makes it very clear that her infatuation with him is not about a crush on a boy but rather about getting the hell away from all this. And I love that she grabbed her five francs back at the end.

• It’s interesting that the miniseries with the most graphically awful Toulon also has the most determinedly reclusive Valjean, and it’s consistent with his experience in Montreuil-sur-Mer as well. In the novel Madeleine’s fall is precipitated by his carelessness towards his subordinates, first with regard to the consequences of his factory’s morality policy and then with regard to Javert’s feelings. But that’s all pretty indirect, and Brick Valjean could reasonably feel that he was the victim of an arbitrary misfortune and that if he’d been a bit luckier everything would have worked out fine. Westjean, on the other hand, was hunted from the moment Javert showed up in town and was personally responsible for Fantine’s downfall. From his perspective, his attempt to participate in society must seem like a catastrophe. He might well wonder whether it’s possible for someone in his position to do any good at all, given the debacle in Montreuil. Both guilt and prudence suggest it might be better to just give up and become a hermit.

• Cosette’s little convent friends. This miniseries has consistently gone out of its way to place the female leads in community with other women, and it’s nice to see.

• Rivette continues to be excellent even with a silly moustache.

• The Mabeuf + Marius timeline continues to be nonsensical, but I enjoyed their meet-cute and Marius was charmingly obtuse. I also enjoyed Davies’ commitment to Georges Pontmercy/Mabeuf, which is the only explanation I can think of for why Mabeuf might keep a collection of old newspaper clippings about Georges in his attic.

• Gillenormand is still pitch-perfect.

• This episode was not Quinjolras’s finest hour, but he was extremely done with Marius’ shit, which though not particularly Brick-accurate is a quality I always appreciate in an Enjolras. Giving him Combeferre’s “To be free” line was inspired. I’m also impressed by his ability to adjust his rhetoric to match his audience – “Think of the poor veterans living in poverty!” is the way to win Marius to the side of revolution, if anything will.

• The juxtaposition of Javert’s lonely, cheerless bedtime routine and Valjean broodingly watching Cosette at the piano could have been filmed by a Valvert shipper (Look! They’ll never be complete without each other!), which in a way I suppose it was.

• The police patrolling the Luxembourg Gardens while Cosette is looking around in raptures was a nice subtle touch. This series plays up the Valjean vs. Cosette conflict more than I might like, but it does a very good job of showing you where they both are coming from.

• THE HANDKERCHIEF SCENE!

• I do appreciate Westjean’s ongoing commitment to self-branding. Also the fact that they included the chisel scene makes the Coin of Shame a nice piece of foreshadowing.

The Meh

• I suppose it makes sense for a Cosette raised by Shouty Valjean to shout a lot herself. This Valjean + Cosette pair actually articulate their needs and desires and communicate them to each other, instead of repressing everything and sinking into silent depression.

On the one hand, that’s healthy. Good for them. I know people are concerned about the tenor of their relationship, but frankly Westjean has done a better job than Brick Valjean of raising Cosette out of the unquestioning silence of her abuse. They both adopted a kid who “had suffered so much that she feared everything – even to speak, even to breathe”. Only Westjean has a kid who doesn’t exhibit the exact same trauma symptoms six years later.

On the other hand, who are these people?

• I do not appreciate Javert’s medal, but I very much appreciate Javert’s resentment of his medal while there’s still a Valjean on the loose. If we’ve gotta go Bread Crimes let’s really commit to it.

• Sister Simplice is convinced the outside world has become more dangerous. Sure, I guess? 1823-25 when they came into the convent was a relatively calm period, and there has just been a successful revolution. Still, this seems like a good time for the show to mention that.

• “Wow,” I thought, “What a perfect choice for the Rue de l’Homme Armé!” Oh wait, it’s the Rue Plumet which is still mostly orchards at this point. That said, the garden is fantastic.

• Marius’ wet dream was actually okay. After the Éponine Peep Show Incident I feared the worst, but there was nothing terribly wrong with it. Marius had vaguely sexual thoughts about Cosette, his subconscious pulled a bait-and-switch and transformed her into Éponine, at which point he went “Nope nope nope DNW!” and awoke in a cold sweat. This is not at all an unreasonable thing for Marius to dream, especially in an adaptation that’s dangling Éponine’s sexuality in front of him as aggressively as this one is. The key theme of Marius/Éponine from Marius’ end, which is that he’s not attracted to her because he understands it’s immoral to fuck starving child prostitutes, comes through loud and clear.

• What a weird way to do the Chaîne scene. I can see it happening: most Valjeans would never intentionally expose Cosette to a sight like this, but because Westjean is stuck with a Cosette who actually asserts her needs, he has to push back much harder than usual in order to maintain their secrecy. He doesn’t show her the Chaîne to punish her or upset her – it’s clearly an ill-judged attempt to convince her The World Is Bad and win their argument from the day before, and perhaps also to start a conversation about his own past which will explain why he’s a paranoid recluse. A bit manipulative perhaps, but that’s well within Valjean’s repertoire, and he’s thoroughly punished for it by the narrative since the whole scheme ends up backfiring horribly on him. Cosette is not just appalled by this glimpse into the brutality of their society but repulsed by the convicts themselves, and the viewers get an explanation for why Valjean will be so adamant later that Cosette must never learn his true history.

I do think the Chaîne scene is important for explaining Valjean’s Cosette Issues so I’m always glad when an adaptation decides to include it, but on balance I think it works better when they stumble across it by accident.

• The attempted kidnapping at the Gorbeau tenement was fine. Points for including the chisel and all the “neighbors” slipping into the room, minus points for Valjean punching everyone. I’m not sure why Valjean thought paying off Thénardier would help anything, but then Valjean has never been the king of good decisions and this Valjean less than most.

The Bad

• I appreciate Valjean’s aspiration to spend the rest of his life hiding in a hole. I do not appreciate the hard sell on Cosette taking the veil. It just makes him seem selfish and inconsiderate of her needs, to a degree that he isn’t in the novel. His “I thought we’d found a home here together where you could grow up and I could grow old, and you could grow old, and I could die, and you could die, and we’d be buried and we’d be together forever! :D :D :D” line is hilarious and adorable in the way it expresses the tragic limits of his aspirations, but I would sacrifice it in order to lose this scene.

• After holding down the fort on costumes and set design for two episodes, the Prefecture of Police sadly let us down this episode. You guys were doing so well! No uniforms, no illegal tricolors in 1823 like some adaptations we could mention *cough2012cough*, but now it’s 1832 and suddenly everyone is dressed like an officier de paix and Javert has a medal and they’ve still got the fleur-de-lys up. Also that blah jacket of navy serge is not what the Prefect of Police’s uniform looked like in the 1830s, lmao. I mean, for fuck’s sake, it’s fancier than that now. That thing Chabouillet was wearing in the 1978 movie is also not remotely what the Prefect’s uniform looks like, but at least they bothered to slap some gold braid on it.

I will grudgingly accept the uniforms as a visual representation of the increasing professionalization of the police, Not!Gisquet’s Légion d’honneur is a reasonable reward for him apparently allowing the July Revolution to happen, and I do appreciate them swapping the portrait of Louis XVIII for Louis-Philippe inside, but there’s no excuse for Javert’s medal or the flag.

• Surely the entire purpose of casting Josh O'Connor as Marius is so Marius can be shy and stiff and awkward, and emphasize these qualities by having a face that consists primarily of nose and ears? Otherwise you could cast someone who actually looks like Marius.

I know everyone shouts a lot in this and he probably needs to be able to shout back to keep up with Cosette, but from his very first words to Gillenormand he’s far too assertive and confrontational. Part of the charm of Marius/Cosette is how isolated and naive they both are, and how these victims of childhood abuse are able to find in each other a safety they might not find in anyone else. (Marius’ damage is obvious, and while Cosette’s is more subtle her tendency towards unquestioning acceptance would leave her incredibly vulnerable to the Tholomyèses of the world.) This adaptation portrayed this kind of mutual refuge very well with Valjean/Fantine, of all things, so it’s weird they didn’t think to do it here.

Of course, Bambersette is healthier than Brick Cosette in some ways so maybe she doesn’t need it so much, but they still need to sell us on the pairing somehow. Meet-cutes in the Luxembourg are all very well, but handkerchief sniffing can only get you so far.

• I see Fantine’s inability to put her hair up like a respectable woman is hereditary.

• If we have to see this much of the principal-tenant of the Gorbeau House I want to see some parrots, dammit.

• Éponine has a job and we have no reason to assume she’s bad at it, so I’m not going to say she wouldn’t do a sexy peephole dance for her new neighbor the law student. At this point she knows nothing of Marius’ virtuous chastity; all she knows is that he’s young, male, richer than her, and she’s probably going to be forced to sleep with him for money at some point. This scene could happen.

But we sure as fuck didn’t need to see it. Stop sexualizing the starving child prostitute, Davies. It’s disgusting.

• Speaking of things not to sexualize, why the hell does the dressmaker assume Valjean is Cosette’s sugar daddy and not her actual relative? It made sense that everyone thought so last week because Valjean was being super shady. It makes sense for Thénardier still to think so, because Thénardier is Thénardier. It makes absolutely no sense for random strangers to assume it. It’s the nineteenth century! People die in childbirth! There’s a cholera epidemic! Teenage girls need their fathers to take them clothes shopping because all their female relatives are dead. This is not such an unusual scenario that anyone would remark on it, or make highly offensive insinuations about a customer. And why doesn’t Valjean just introduce himself to people as her father???

Mild, mild Valjean/Cosette is Brick canon and I don’t think we can justly criticize an adaption for including it, but every random passerby shouldn’t be remarking on it.

• On my first viewing of this episode, I assumed that its portrayal of the Amis as tiresome drunken louts could be explained by the fact that Andrew Davies simply didn’t like Enjolras, and probably not the other Amis or the June Rebellion very much either. The superb barricade sequence in the subsequent episodes demolishes that theory. Never has it been portrayed so well, and certainly not in any English language adaptation. But that leaves me at an absolute loss to explain what Davies was doing here. This is our first introduction to the Amis: they should be likable, so that we will like them. They are not.

The irony is that it’s not particularly hard to prosecute a case against Enjolras, if you want to complicate his heroism a bit. Enjolras is ridiculous and slightly insufferable! Enjolras is a guy who thinks “Citizen, my mother is the Republic,” is a coherent and comforting response when his best friend musically drags your Napoleon eulogy. I mean, just look at these twats in hats in the Théâtre de la Jeunesse adaptation. They are highly mockable! And on a more somber note, Enjolras led a revolutionary cell that misjudged the public mood so badly it got a hundred people killed to no useful purpose.

But Enjolras is not deliberately trying to orchestrate a battle to the death over France’s system of government. Enjolras had the chance to battle to the death only two years ago, and he’s still here. What Enjolras wants is to jump up on Lamarque’s casket and have all the National Guards and the troops of the line wave their muskets in the air and say “Yeah, fuck that pear-faced buffoon! Down with the king! Vive la république!” That’s why his side have been quietly trying to propagandize and subvert every military unit in Paris for months, which Davies knows, because Enjolras mentions it himself in Episode 5! If the monarchy could be overthrown without any bloodshed at all, that would be ideal.

And Enjolras has too much dignity to throw food at anyone, even Grantaire. If we must take a swipe at Enjolras through the medium of food fights, Courfeyrac should throw food at Grantaire and Enjolras should give him a pious lecture about wasting food when so many are starving. That wouldn’t be in character either, but it’s at least within shooting distance of proper characterization and it highlights annoying qualities the characters actually have.

• Speaking of annoying qualities characters don’t have, when Courfeyrac is coming off as sleazier than Tholomyès you are doing it wrong. Courfeyrac knows girls you don’t have to pay, beyond the usual ‘showing them a good time’ expenses. He does not have to take his dorky virgin friend to a brothel to get him laid!

• Grantaire is a drunk, but he’s a grandiloquent drunk. That is... his entire characterization. How could anyone get this wrong?

• That fucking brothel scene. WHY.

If you must do a Sexual Awakening of Marius plotline, and evidently Andrew Davies must, I think the correct sequence is this: Courfeyrac and Grantaire take him out beyond the barrières and try to set him up with cute girls. Marius is having none of it, of course; he’s too shy and awkward, girls are scary, he doesn’t want a fling. Then he sees Cosette in the park and he’s smitten.

A visit to a brothel Courfeyrac is too classy ever to patronize is not in the cards. The sole redeeming feature of this scene was the fact that Enjolras declined to attend.

This episode was a return to form, and by form I mean the Thénardiers were fantastic and everything else was incredibly fucking uneven. While I can’t say that this Gavroche will make fun of Enjolras’ rubbish beard, I can say this Gavroche would make fun of Enjoras’ rubbish beard, and that’s what really counts.

#Kainosite's timely episode reviews #Les Misérables 2018 #Les Mis Adaptations #Les Misérables

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veeranger · 3 years ago

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Vee’s Steam Summer Sale Reccs

VISUAL NOVELS

AI: The Somnium Files - $7.99

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games - $11.99

another uchikoshi joint, also extremely good. ive only played 999, the first game in this collection, but i can recc it just based on the strength of that alone. whereas somnium is a murder mystery, 999 is a visual novel about being trapped in a murder game interspliced with escape room segments. whatever you think you know you dont, 999 will take you down so many twists and turns you’ll be fucking dizzy when you’re done with it. big recc.

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - $10.04

Night In The Woods - $9.99

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy - $14.99

a trilogy of some of the most iconic visual novels ever made. if you havent played ace attorney what the hell are you doing? these games blend outlandish humor and engaging characters with genuinely impactful writing and thoughtful social commentary. these are truly genuinely classics and i cannot express the kind of treat youre in for if youve never experienced these games.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - $24.79

imagine the ace attorney trilogy but with the serious themes and social commentary turned up a few notches. great ace attorney is what you’d get. like the trilogy this is multiple games bundled into one (two of them) and is a great value. a must play for fans of the originals, and frankly a perfect jumping point for new fans as well, if you so choose to. you cant go wrong with either the trilogy or tgaa.

SHOOTERS

Halo: The Master Chief Collection - $15.99

yes obviously im going to shill for mcc. this is SIX whole games. fully functioning multiplayer, custom lobbies, co-op, everything you remember from these games on xbox but better. this is literally $360 worth of games for $16. if youve ever been curious about this iconic franchise or want to relive the xbox live days, mcc is damn near perfect.

Portal 1 & 2 - $2.98

honestly its 2022 and you dont own portal? cmon. two of the best narrative puzzle games ever made. a strong argument for games as art. incredibly clever game design and timeless writing. the portal games are something everyone should experience. i paid like $80 for these games back in the day, the fact that you can get some of the greatest games ever made for $3 is astounding. yes this is technically a shooter.

DUSK - $8.99

an extremely fine shooter. excellent level design, outstanding sound design, amazing art direction. dusk isnt just a retro throwback, it pushes the style and mechanic of those classics forward to heights that were impossible back then. imo dusk is a modern classic when it comes it a tight, well designed shooter.

ULTRAKILL - $14.99

an extremely fine shooter. excellent level design, outstanding sound design, amazing art direction. didnt i just say that. its still true. ultrakill is a game that will test your reflexes, text your ability to adapt on the fly, and demand you do everything as stylishly cool as fuckin possible. when they call this game “devil may quake” theyre not joking. the skill ceiling is insanely high but the skill floor can be as low as you want it thanks to very granular difficulty and accessibility options. the game will push you to want to learn the tech and master everything, but it never stops you from just wanting to have fun above all else. theres also a demo!

DEATHLOOP - $23.99

another excellent experience from the fine folks at arkane studios. deathloop combines combat that is fast and snappy thanks to unique powers and cool guns, with a story you slowly unravel piece by piece. the way the story unfolds and the immense amount of interaction you have with that almost makes you feel like youre playing a detective game. the game does an excellent job of making you feel like you are constantly making progress through exploration and discoveries that get you one step closer to your ultimate goal, or even just small things like discovering a new safer route to a target or getting a new powerful gun thanks to a side quest or secret area you stumbled upon.

HORROR

Dead Space - $4.99

re4....in space!!!! dead space is a horror classic imo. while obviously inspired by re4, it takes the design and aesthetic in its own direction, and is a more modern controlling experience compared to re4. the atmosphere and feel of dead space is intensely good, and even when you get used to the scares the game is still a tight and well executed third person shooter that demands smart use of ammo and careful avoidance of damage.

Resident Evil 2 (Remake) - $14.99

one of THE finest horror games ive ever played. the action is always tense, the strategy is interesting and difficult, and the atmosphere is top notch. what i said about dead space becoming a tight third person shooter after the scares wear off goes double here. re2 is a very very tactical experience that asks you to carefully consider your inventory and route every time you step out of a safe room, and the stress of that management can be scarier than any zombie. i cannot overstate how well tuned the game experience is.

System Shock 2 - $2.49

yes ss2 is horror. one of the finest classic pc games you can play. frankly unmatched even by some modern outings. if youre an avid gamer you’ve surely played many a game that were inspired by the legendary tone and style of this game. i recc this game to anyone who wants to experience some truly iconic sci fi horror, but i will this game can be pretty brutal if you build a character wrong. if you dont have the patience for old school hardcore trial and error, dont be afraid to check a guide or two, but i promise the game is worth it.

ACTION

Bayonetta - $4.99

one of THE defining character action games. bayonetta is a modern masterpiece that should always be recc’d whenever possible. stylish action and impeccable mechanics, just dont ask me to explain the plot.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengence - $7.49

while mgr might be slightly more experimental and obtuse than your average modern character action, and to some it may be the meme game, it has earned its place as one of the greats imo. if you let yourself indulge in the game the plot is genuinely impactful and the combat is extremely rewarding once you put the work in to grasp the systems at play.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - $22.49

a simply fantastic game. a complete no brainer if you love brawlers or tmnt. the art direction is beautiful and so so detailed for a sprite game, combat is simple to grasp and easy to execute, and the soundtrack elevates the game extremely. this game pivots away from the cheap quarter munching design of the games it takes its direct inspiration from, and instead supplements that with the ability to let you truly display skill and mastery of the game through combos, supers, and intelligent positioning. also it has 6 PLAYER CO-OP

#veepost

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daeneryses · 6 years ago

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okay so I KNOW NO ONE ASKED but im stil gonna comment on the episode

ofc its filled w spoilers and under a read more

how the hell is the death count so freaking low. plot armor at its FINEST i could have sworn sam was ab to bite it at like 3 different times. also brienne jaime and podrick (at least one of them should have died and u KNOW IT). i know some characters have to be alive bc KL but???? what are the odds mate they were being fucking massacred. also conveniently all the dothraki died i gues to make it seem like they really lost smth while conveniently not killing off named characters

how is greyworm still alive

how did we only lose five (5) named characters in the battle WHAT ARE THE FUCKING ODDS. they didnt burn edd’s body i’m ;___; that’s all he wanted

no one important died at the crypts not even VARYS can u believe

so i guess i’m mad at how we all built up so much anticipation over this chapter, the longest episode ever, longest battle in cinematographic history, and then nothing happened??? i mean yeah jorah died i was DEVASTATED bc my dude kept on fighting even with 63 stab wounds and theon who got to die protecting his little brother and little lyanna killed a giant!!! but ????

i also CANT believe how useless dany and jon were. Jon mostly. he really was about to die yelling at a wight dragon im sorry but i have to laugh. at least dany set some wights on fire what did jon do. YOU TWO HAD D R A G O N S that should have been a real game changer but they were playing tag with viserion.

ALSO

that was it???? the big threat that was looming over westeros for 7 seasons is just gone??? how did the NK survive being ROASTED but with a stabby stab he was dead. i am so confused what even was that. im conflicted because arya did that!!!! she really saved the day but it shouldnt have been that easy, how did she even sneak up on him, weren’t all of his WW watching???? also so many wights? how did she fight that i just---????

so now the main threat is cersei which i ?????? WHAT

she was right all along how HILARIOUS is that. her plan might work that’s just so fckin ridiculous i dont even have WORDS

episode 4 better fucking deliver and answer many questions bc i am not satisfied at all

but it wasnt all bad!!!! the scene where the dothraki get obliterated sent chills down my spine i have to admit it. also, all those who died died really good and worthy deaths, except maybe edd.

brienne and jaime saving each other several times was great.

the hound overcoming his fear of fire to go save arya was very sweet and emotional.

arya in general was very very fucking good this episode, her fights were amazing i can’t imagine how much maisie had to train. she owns the episode imo (not just bc of the final scene). Arya fighting with the weird ass weapon gendry made her? a V I S U A L. the scene where she’s hiding in the library was very good imo, it made me very tense i was so nervous it’s ridiculous how invested i was. arya with the arrows? i loved it, she was just overall amazing.

also beric dying after he saved arya bc that was his great purpose made me emo.

so im not mad ab arya doing it, it was a good twist bc everyone thought it’d be jon and it shows that azor ahai is bullshit. but the execution was so fucking anti climatic and LAZY. they should have dropped more clues throughout the series bc all we had was the whole speech mel gave her back in season 2 WHICH NO ONE COULD HAVE GUESSED BECAUSE SHE ACTUALLY BECOMES AN ASSASSIN OFC SHE WOULD SHUT BLUE EYES NOT ONLY WHITE WALKERS HAVE BLUE EYES.

but well i guess next episode will have to answer some questions huh.

also i really hope they drop the whole tyrion x sansa thingy they tried to give us bc im huuuuuhh not feeling it. at all.

its a well directed episode, it gave us some amazing visuals, some very emotional moments, but if they wanted to pull off such a twist like the one i just witnessed they had to earn it throughout the entire SERIES. arya should have had more screen time throughout the series, they should have dropped more foreshadowing that would make us go :0 in hindsight.

idk man

BUT SHE DID THAT!!! I CAN ONLY HOPE EVERYONE GIVES HER THE RECOGNITION SHE DESERVES AT WINTERFELL. HELL AT WESTEROS!!!!! the princess who was promised. i expect everyone bending BACKWARDS for her they owe her so much. she should just dip out now and go love a happy peaceful life no one deserves her.

#got spoilers #got rant

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gimmeanaplease-blog · 6 years ago

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From Glass Slippers to the Glass Ceiling: 15 Ways Disney has Improved in the Face of our Cultural Shift

Disney has had a long and complicated history with being outdated. Sexism and racism plague the older movies. However, in the past decade it’s been clear that with the shift of public views Disney has been making a run to catch up with the times.

1. Disney’s First African American Princess

Disney’s shift into the new culture all began with their first African American princess. Tiana began as a hard working woman who simply wanted to achieve her dream of owning her own restaurant in New Orleans. With an upbeat attitude and more than a few bumps in the road she meets her prince, falls in love, and defeats the evil witch doctor.

Tiana remains, however, as hardworking as she started out when pursuing her dream. Even when she marries Prince Naveen she doesn’t use her newfound privilege to get her restaurant. Rather she uses the money she’d earned from years working as a waitress in a cafe as well as the allies she’s met along her journey to buy the abandoned building which she envisions as her future restaurant. With her new husband she renovates the place and opens the door to her new life.

2. Breaking Their Own Rules

Merida was Disney’s next great leap into Disney breaking their mold of the standard princess. Merida was messy, ungraceful, and she hated having to act “like a princess”. She’d much rather stuff her face with food, sport her unruly natural hair, and go shooting archery in the woods. Throughout the movie she participates in activities that her mother initially deems unfit for a princess.

In the ultimate act of defiance of the movie, Merida takes off her headwear containing her hair, rips her dress for mobility, and shoots three arrows into their marks in a competition men were engaging in to become her fiance. She obliterates her competition and shows that her hand in marriage isn’t to be won.

3. A Strong Independent Woman

In the past Disney has had heroines that don’t need a man to save them. From Belle to Mulan we saw princesses who saved the day all on their own. Yet time after time we saw they always ended up with their man in the end. Along comes Brave, a story of a young Scottish princess to be betrothed by her family. Merida, however, loathes the concept and in her own act of rebellion she deems that she will be competing for her own hand.

Through a convoluted plot involving bears and family drama at its finest, Merida finds herself at the epicenter of having to repair her broken relationship with her mother. The central conflict isn’t her engagement to a man she just met, it was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Even at the end of the movie when we’re expecting the stereotypical happily ever after, Merida remains single. “There are no intimate evenings, sparkling jewelry, dazzling gowns (Merida, in fact, hates her formalwear), sweet gestures or smart give-and-take dialogue that foreshadow a final, emotional kiss. The suitors are simply buffoons, not fit to brush Merida’s flowing red hair, much less match up with her archery skills” (Zakarin, 2012). To add onto the quote from The Hollywood Reporter, Brave didn’t even star any men that weren’t Merida’s family. She was the first true Disney princess to end up without a man at the end of her movie.

4. Prince Smarming

During the climax of Disney’s biggest hit in years we’re expecting a Prince Charming saves the day moment. Anna is about to succumb to a frozen heart so a collective breath holds as Prince Hans leans in to deliver True Love’s Kiss in order to reverse the curse. Then through a head spinning twist, we find out that Hans had been our villain all along.

In Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist she details the trials of “Prince Charming”, “The man in most fairy tales, Prince Charming in all his iterations, really isn’t that interesting. In most fairy tales, he is blandly attractive and rarely seems to demonstrate much personality, taste, or intelligence. We’re supposed to believe this is totally fine because he is Prince Charming. His charm is supposedly enough” (Gay, 2014). The writers of frozen use this subconscious ideal of what audiences expect of Prince Charming to disguise his true intentions. In reality Hans wants the kingdom and is willing to kill both princesses in order to achieve a spot on the throne.

5. Maleficent and the Me Too Movement

Maleficent is a movie that came out in 2014 depicting the villain of the same name’s side of the famous story Sleeping Beauty. Starring Angelina Jolie, Maleficent is a tragic hero of sorts as when she was young, she fell for her best friend - and future king - Stefan. Stephan’s father, however, had sent his son off to kill Maleficent as she is the queen of the faeries and keeping him from conquering the land. To prove he’s killed Maleficent, Stephan must deliver her wings to his father. Unable to bring himself to kill her, Stephan gives her a sleeping potion while they are together and cuts off her wings in her sleep.

Sound familiar? That is because this scene is meant to depict a rape scene. Writer Linda Woolverton talked openly about the scene with the press, “I had done some research, and the biggest surprise is that she’s a fairy, not a witch. I’ve always wanted to do a dark fairy story. Then I watched that scene where she curses the baby, and I’m thinking “well if she’s a fairy, where are her wings?” Suddenly it was “boom. Lightbulb. Oh! It’s the wings!” Then I worked backward from there to create the Stefan relationship” (Krischer, 2014). The portrayal of the scene is vastly important to culture as only 3 years later, the Me Too movement brought to light the ever present normalization of sexual harassment and assault that women face every year. The fact that an action is so prevalent in society that it has an allusion in a Disney movie is both heartbreaking and incredibly telling.

6. Queer Eye for the Bad Guy

Disney has had a long history of queer coding their villains. The most basic definition of queer coding is using giving characteristics, behaviors, and actions to their characters so that the audience may read them as gay. Often these are stereotypes such as the Lefou's flamboyance, Hades’ sass, or Ursula’s likeness to a drag queen. Now Disney attempted through their movie to depict a gay character in it’s live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. However it seems their belief of depicting a gay character is turning Lefou’s flamboyance from a 7/10 to a 12/10. There was even a brief scene of him dancing with a man but if you blink you could miss it. Rani Barker describes how this act is harmful to the LGBT+ community, “The problem, as queer people, is this continues to treat our stories, our yearnings, and our experiences as unspeakable. Something to be whispered, scrutinized and doubted. Keeps it closeted right in front of our faces” (Barker, 2016). It feels like a spit in the face for the first “gay character” in Disney to be such an obvious trove of stereotypes.

All is not lost for Disney’s representation in the LGBT+ community though. Andi Mack, a television show on the Disney Channel features a character that has openly admitted that he is gay and actually approached an arc where he had to come out to his friends. He is not a throwaway character either, he is one of the main characters on the show. Hopefully this character on the small screen will pave the way for proper representation on the big one.

7. Zootopia’s Depiction of Race Relations

Zootopia on the surface appears to be the classic Disney talking animal movie on the surface but underneath the detailed animation and so many puns is an actually complicated statement on race relations. The animals of Zootopia are divided into two types, “predator” and “prey”. As the plot develops Judy, a rabbit cop, and Nick, a civilian fox, discover that there are a series of attacks developing where predators are suddenly “going savage”. As Judy took the lead in the case, she must be the one to talk at the press conference despite them still not knowing the true cause. Chaos ensued as an all out battle broke out between predators and prey.

Not very subtle huh? Charles Pulliam-Moore describes how this scene in particular applies to our society today, “As much as the scene is grounded in the world of Zootopia, it's shot through with elements of many of the real-world police-run press conferences that have followed in the wake of the dozens of high-profile shooting of black people in recent years. Though Judy admits that the ZPD doesn't know the specific details of the case, reporters focus on the few problematic soundbites she feeds them while taking in visuals of rabid, muzzled animals that the police have detained” (Pulliam-Moore, 2016). Both in the movie and in real life it’s media that digs into certain words and forces a fear fueled narrative to cause prejudice in people’s day to day life. Though Zootopia doesn’t quite rise to the ranks in favor of a child’s story happily ever after, it was bold of Disney to try to scale that height in the first place.

8. Realistic Bodies for Women (Finally!)

The proportions for female bodies in Disney has been a rough ride for decades. Since the release of the first princess movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Disney has long regulated the eurocentric ideals of beauty with large eyes, full lips, and a ridiculously tiny waist. Momentarily it seemed like we’d seen a shift via Nani Pelekai in the 2002 movie Lilo and Stitch. Nani defied the Disney standards of beauty with a large nose, a darker skin tone, and even a more realistic stomach. Yet as the next princess movies rolled around, they resorted right back to their usual bullshit.

The tide shifted yet again in 2016 with the release of another Hawaiian based film, Moana. Unlike Lilo and Stitch, Moana was a titular film for the company as it was it’s next big “princess movie” after their big hit Frozen. Moana was the soon to be chief of her tribe and she sported everything the princesses of the past hadn’t. Moana had wild hair, a darker complexion, realistic muscle tone for the activities she participated in (climbing and sailing), and much more realistic proportions. Moana brings forth a body type that much more girls see when they look in the mirror than those looking at Ariel or Jasmine.

9. The Importance of Female Solidarity in Feminism

Yet another climax of a film yields an entirely different result. This time the movie we focus in on is Moana. She and the demigod Maui have traveled across the ocean to return the Heart of Te Fiti. They are stopped by a lava monster Te Kā. When all seems lost Moana discovers that not only is Te Fiti missing but Te Kā is not who she appears to be at all.

It is Moana who realizes that Te Fiti and Te Kā are one in the same. Valentina Boré remarks on the importance of solidarity in feminism perfectly reflects Moana’s thoughts as she returns her heart “If we don’t try to understand what our other fellow feminists have gone through, how can we really make a change for anyone at all” (Boré, 2015). She makes the connection that Te Fiti had her heart stolen from her by Maui and thus lost herself. Through Moana’s kindness and comfort for another woman, she is able to save her island.

10. Real Portrayals of Diverse Cultures

Moana and Coco are two of the most recent additions to Disney’s animated movies. Both contain great amounts of respect towards the given culture shown. It is clear that a great amount of research went into both of these films, including featuring songs in the native languages. In Moana the song “We Know the Way” features a large portion in the Tokelauan language while a lot of the songs featured in Coco are Spanish.

Coco, especially is a feat to be admired. Director Lee Unkrich early expressed concern of rejection as he, himself, is not hispanic or even latino. However, to combat this Unkrich and producers opened the film to Latino cultural consultants for criticism and the ability to toss around ideas to better improve the film. This was met with initial outrage by the company since, for the longest time, production was meant to be kept under tight wraps. Producer Darla K. Anderson commented in an interview, “We don’t normally open up the doors to let people in to see our early screenings. But we really wanted their voice and their notes and to make sure we got all the details correct” (Ugwu, 2017). To go against traditions in order to assure that they got the movie correct shows true care and love for their story and what it will mean for other people.

11. The Voices of Coco are All Latinx

Coco was a movie unlike any before it. The Pixar film depicted a Mexican story of a young boy Miguel getting trapped in the land of the dead when he tried to connect with his estranged ancestor who shared his love for music. Coco was based around the holiday Dia de los Muertos and surrounded an entirely Mexican family.

What sets Coco apart from other films of Disney’s past is it’s determination to have an entirely latinx cast. Everyone from the lead Miguel to the featured character of Frida Kahlo to unnamed correction officers are played by latinx actors. Even Princess and the Frog, who had a mostly colored set of characters as well didn’t mimic this action.

12. What Makes a Princess?

Disney, like many other industries, has poked fun at itself more than once. This typically involves a playfully jab at character’s affinity to burst into song. Tangled and Moana alike have teased the song filled musicals but none have been so ruthless to Disney’s archetype of a princess as Wreck It Ralph 2.

Vanellope stumbles upon a trailer full of all the princesses we are familiar with, claiming that she is a princess as well. Naturally, they have to question her. In detailing the scene writers describe, “As the princess encounter evolved, the writers played off the fact that not only do Disney princesses often get kidnapped, but that they are forever gazing into “important waters.” (In their attention to detail, one princess fan at the studio noted to Ribon that Mulan does not look into a puddle, but rather a horse trough. Robin’s enthusiastic response: “Even better!”) The scene also skewers the reliance on a lumbering hunk to solve a damsel’s thorny problem” (Cavna, 2018). While Disney is only making these jokes in jest of their past and how each of the princesses have something in common, it’s nice to see that they’re acknowledging Disney’s untold rules of what makes you a princess. It takes Vanellope affirming that people say her problems were all solved because of a man for the princesses to accept her as so. Ironically, this is the one point that connects all of the princesses together.

13. Stories About Mental Health

Outside of physical representation Disney has created a rich environment for representation for mental health as well. Inside Out was a movie that told the story of physical manifestations of a girl’s emotions having to deal with making her happy after a cross country move takes her away from familiar surroundings and friends. Throughout the movie it shows clear depictions of Riley, the girl who houses the emotions, experiencing what many people can recognize as depression.

The standout of them all seems to be a Disney creation that isn’t even a full length film. Before every movie Disney airs a Pixar short. This separate story can hold just as much emotion as a full length movie but sometimes the message can be missed completely based on racism alone. Before Incredibles 2, a short called Bao aired. Bao featured an Asian Woman who became the mother of a dumpling that came to life. However, as the dumpling grew older he became more dismissive of the mother while she became more desperate to hold onto her dumpling child. At the climax as the dumpling tries to leave she eats him. Now, any person with half a mind can recognize this as a metaphor for empty nest syndrome. This is a feeling of loneliness and depression that a parent may feel when their child leaves the home. It is revealed at the end that she was reflecting on her relationship with her human son after all. Given, she did not actually eat her son but more than likely got into a nasty fight to push him away.

Yet, some people simply didn’t get it. Rather than recognizing the story as a mother and son fighting and coming together once more; people saw a dumpling and a woman with Asian features and completely shut down. The thing is, they could’ve told this story with any race of mother and son and food of their given area. “Our cultural signifiers might be different, but basic human emotions are an experience that spans all of us as humans on this planet” (Jitchotvisut, 2018). Any mother who cares for their child would experience empty nest syndrome but the creators of Bao chose to make this character Asian and they didn’t need a reason to do so either.

14. Putting a Woman in Charge

After John Lasseter was asked to step down amid accusations of misconduct a new head of Disney Animation was needed and there was only one man for the job, a woman. By the end of 2018, Jennifer Lee would become the new Head of Disney Animation. Only joining in 2011, Lee quickly gained wins under her belt such as being a co-director for Frozen, being a co-writer for Wreck It Ralph, and being a key component to Zooptopia.

Lee marks a change from Disney’s initial brand of vapid misogyny and truly shows how the brand has taken a turn for the better. In response to her promotion she replies, “My hope is to support the incredible talent we have, find new voices, and work together to tell original stories. The great films of Disney Animation — the films I loved as a kid and my daughter has grown up loving — are magical, timeless, and full of heart, and it is our goal to create films that carry on and grow this 95-year legacy for future generations” (Berger, 2018). We should be able to look forwards to seeing these new groundbreaking stories with a woman at the lead of the studio.

15. Using Their Other Brands to Reinforce this New Image

Along the years the empire that is Disney has bought out many other companies. The cultural shift has created a wave that rippled these industries as well. Star Wars and Marvel alike have seen a move towards the society Disney began reflecting in 2009.

Star Wars revived after 10 years of remaining dormant with an all new story with a female at its center. Not only that but 3 of the other new heroes are all people of color: Finn played by John Boyega is an African American man, Poe Dameron played by Oscar Issac is Guatemalan, and Rose Tico is played by Kelly Marie Tran is a Vietnamese woman.

Marvel’s shift took more time but isn’t any less prevalent. Perhaps the most apparent is the bold move to have an almost entirely African American cast for the 2018 film, Black Panther. With a world of research on the culture backing the project the film broke records and earned Marvel it’s first Oscar.

Disney backing these projects reflect it’s turning tide and the world is more than supportive.

Sources

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blacklakeinavalley · 7 years ago

Text

Have you noticed ...

... the similarity between this structure that Rey scavenges for reusable parts in her first scene in TFA and Kylo Ren’s lightsaber?

Said similarity inspired me to write a little meta piece on Rey’s introduction in TFA. Due to my over-excitement there’s probably some garbage (I know ...) in it, but also some interesting stuff, I promise!

Scavenging for Kylo’s good parts (a TFA/TLJ meta)

The Force Awakens introduces Rey by showing her plundering an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Watching the movie for the umpteenth time before Amazon’s release of The Last Jedi, the structure we see Rey standing on suddenly reminded me of - a lightsaber hilt. This might seem a bit farfetched at first. But have a look at the next shot:

With the maintenance flap left wide open the construction evokes not just a lightsaber, it’s reminiscent of a very particular one: Kylo Ren’s. For comparison:

[Image: “IMG_4127 - Kylo Ren’s Hilt 3D Print” by Anime Nut (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).]

Kylo’s lightsaber hilt has that very characteristic opening that makes the inside easily accessible. Also, its grooves and ridges bear resemblance to the tubular metal cover Rey opened.

Now it would be interesting to know what Rey took out of that “lightsaber”. We first get a look at the thing immediately after she detaches it from the structure. It’s definitely the same piece she’s cleaning at Niima Outpost later:

We probably get to see one half (!) of it even for a third time, namely in the hands of Unkar Plutt, before he rewards Rey with the infamous “quarter portion” for her day’s work:

Seeing Unkar Plutt with one half of the object, I first thought of the blue legacy saber’s broken kyber crystal from the end of The Last Jedi. Moreover, the shape of the thing Rey scrubs is in fact a bit crystal-like (like a cut diamond, maybe?). And whatever you see lying on the table in the background looks pretty much like a blaster, so there’s definitely an association with arms.

We have to keep in mind though that Kylo’s/Ben Solo’s red crystal is indeed cracked (credit for that piece of information belongs to this great post about lightsabers, bonding with a crystal and how all of that relates to Kylo’s/Ben’s weapon!), but, unlike Rey’s at the moment, not broken, and still part of a functional lightsaber. The thing Rey took with her from the Star Destroyer surely needs some polishing, but she would have saved herself the entire trouble in the first place had it seemed useless or beyond hope when she found it. Obviously, she considered it worth the effort. The payment turned out to be a huge disappointment nonetheless, but that probably tells us more about Unkar Plutt (and Rey!) than the actual value of the object. All of that reminds me heavily of Rey‘s bitter disappointment in Kylo/Ben at the end of TLJ.

A connection between Kylo Ren and the starship Rey plunders is also implied by quasi canonical sources other than the movies. Not only was Kylo/Ben born during or very soon after the Battle of Jakku took place (source), where the Star Destroyer in question crashed (source). This very Star Destroyer, like all capital ships, has a name - it’s the Interrogator (same source). Yup. Additional fun fact: The AT-AT Rey used to live in on Jakku “was designated ‘Hellhound Two’, and formed part of the Hellhound attack force of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Interrogator” (source). (In case the Hellhound Two makes you wonder: There’s in fact a whole lot of visual duality in Rey’s first scene. Have you for example noticed the second “lightsaber”-structure inside of the Star Destroyer? I have a strong feeling that some things could also be said about the Hellhound; maybe another time.)

So we basically have lonely Rey climbing around inside of the fallen Interrogator, looking into its darkest corners, always in desperate need to obtain some good/useful/valuable parts. But she actually manages, however poorly, to live on the fallen battleship, and has found at least some kind of home in an associated AT-AT. Kylo, on the other hand, feels “torn apart” and like thrown away under the façade he built, so he definitely has some things in common with that Star Destroyer.

It’s highly likely that Rey’s first scene in TFA is also meant to foreshadow the eventual interrogation scene. As we know, Rey fights back and indeed manages to wrest an important piece of information from Kylo Ren: “You ... you‘re afraid ... that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!” This has lots of implications. Sure, to emulate a Sith Lord seems indeed pretty dark. But that Kylo is afraid to fail also shows how full of self-doubt and even self-hatred he is. He hates himself for what he thinks is his greatest weakness and therefore the biggest obstacle to surpassing Vader - the “pull to the light” he admitted feeling earlier in the film, to his grandfather’s helmet. By looking into Kylo’s mind, Rey hit right upon the conflict in him. She came across his good parts without properly noticing - then.

Maybe that’s also the reason why the scavenged part can be split in two (if that’s really what’s going on in the scene with Unkar Plutt, of course). There is light and darkness in Kylo/Ben and in Rey as well. In order to reach their full potential in the Force, they must embrace either aspect and find a balance of the two (I would love to mention chandrilasky’s metas as a source here, they are, however, no longer accessible). In the throne room scene in TLJ we saw them finding that balance and thus a new level of strength through each other. Rey and Kylo/Ben are not only stronger together because that makes them two instead of one. One and one make not two in this case, but three. Let me try to explain. The two parts of the scavenged piece are presumably pretty useless on their own. But if properly put together (again), they are not just two useless parts screwed together – no, purpose and functionality is suddenly gained. Maybe that piece also implies that Rey and Kylo/Ben specifically belong together, at the very least if they both want to draw on their full potential in the Force. You cannot stick one half of the scavenged part on a random other piece and expect that combination to be useful or even functional. On the contrary, lasting damage might be inflicted on the involved parts. So the scavenged, made-up-of-two-parts piece embodies the nature of the Force, and speculatively (we will ultimately learn about that in episode IX) symbolizes the Force-willed connection between Rey and Kylo/Ben, too.

And there is yet another layer of meaning: “The heart of the lightsaber, the crystal is”, says Yoda (source). If Rey stealing a certain something from the Interrogator is not cinematic storytelling at its finest (and most touching), then I don’t know what is.

THANKS FOR READING AND PUTTING UP WITH MY ENGLISH AND WRITING STYLE!!

[Copyright disclaimer: Since 1. the used screenshots are part of the argumentation 2. there is no commercial purpose behind their use 3. these shots are only a comparatively small portion of the copyrighted work The Force Awakens 4. the argumentation appreciates said work, I consider the use of these pictures to be fair use according to § 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.]

#reylo #ben solo #kylo ren #rey #lightsaber #kyber crystals #star destroyer #blacklakeinavalley #feel free to reblog #do NOT repost

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