#we can be civil about and critique media we like

[m00dysunflower]

Testimone di Gangster vs Purple Haze Feedback

Just came fresh off of reading the new Squatizi light novel (which I LOVED) and decided to ruminate on why I loved one and hated the other so much.

I want to preface that if anyone is nasty in replies or tags about my views and opinions of PHF, I'll block you, I don't have time to fight over a non canon Fugo centric light novel. And I think it's valid to compare the 2 stories because they're both based around part 5 and in light novel format that supposedly expands upon the part. If you find my thoughts valid and insightful, cool, if you don't, move along, you're not going to convince me to change my mind sadly.

Also this isn't going to have too bad of spoilers. I'm kinda more vague when it comes to talking about the Squatizi story.

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Purple Haze Feedback:

I respect that people needed more Fugo content and it was a genuinely good premise. An aftermath story of Fugo returning to Passione under Giorno and Mista? Yeah I would have loved a story about that. But if you need to warp characters' personalities and throw in a bunch of forgettable stands and their users to do it... I honestly can't bother to care.

If it was much shorter then I could tolerate it, but it wasn't, so here I am. I'll be going point by point with PHF just to organize my thoughts better for such a chaotic story.

1. It warped the pre-established characters.

Mista I think was done the most dirty with that opening scene, but to insinuate that Abbacchio and Fugo killed kids behind Bruno's back felt like absolute whiplash. Also Abbacchio is bisexual obviously, he would have slept with men too, not just women lol.

I don't like that they made Trish become a pop star. Maybe she would have been better as a model, but regardless, not so soon after part 5 when she needed her time to be normal and heal, or at least be under Giorno and Mista's protection.

The whole "Fugio" moment also felt off-putting to me and is part of the reason I don't like the ship. Look, it was absolutely no rain scene or "The only time I feel at ease", let's not try to compare it.

Fugo was okay, but he was just boring and I feel that's not good... you know, considering he's the protagonist of this story. He got better near the end, sure, but by the time I got to the end I was so tired and done with the story. A better writer would have done him and the story more justice.

2. Uninteresting supporting cast and villains

Cannolo was a fine addition, but I never understood what his stand actually did, same with all of the villains' stands. I think that's just poor writing if people walk away not understanding what just happened. I had to reread scenes and I still didn't get most of what happened. Voodoo Child was a cool stand, reminded me a bit of Moody Blues, but I didn't like Sheila as a character. And I'm sorry, who let's a 14 girl in a skimpy ass outfit be the Don of Mafia's bodyguard? Sheila's whole design was so hyper-sexualized and gave me the ick, especially if she was allegedly supposed to be indigenous coded. I've only seen speculation though so I won't go into it further.

Volpe and Manic Depression are the only villain names I remember. I couldn't even tell you the names and stands of the others or what Manic Depression even did as a stand. None of them felt like an actual threat.

3. Felt like a poorly written fanfic

The random mention of Tonio from DIU as Volpe's brother was also a whiplash "where the fuck did that come from" moment, because it was so unnecessary and felt like a cheap tie in for something that was formally published in a book. It really helped give it an average fanfic feel (and I write cheesy, overly dramatic fanfiction!). I think that was also when I was nearing my breaking point.

I once had someone try to mansplain to me that PHF was a "more realistic look of the mafia"... it is not, I promise you that lol. Mafia had rules about women and children and all other kinds of shit that Passione definitely does not abide by. Real life Mafia has so much more to it. This is camp fictional media, no one should ever take it so seriously.

In short, I just think PHF had a lot of wasted potential and would have done better with an altered story. I just can't convince myself to blindly love it, no matter how much I tried to like it.

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Testimone di Gangster

I read it last night so it's still so fresh in my mind, but this is how you expand upon a story in my humble opinion. This is also probably going to be shorter just because it was a shorter and more focused story with less characters. I also don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet since it just came out in English.

First off, I think it was a such great idea to take two characters we knew so little about and expand upon them in a way that felt so much more natural. There's less room for warping characters when they didn't have such distinct personalities to begin with and also helps build the world up.

There was no overly complicated plot about drugs and stands and it gave more insight on how the crime world works in Jojo's version of Italy. It even had nods to other real life gangs and how Passione fit into this world with them. It even gave nods to the Cosa Nostra and a real life prosecutor (Falco) who dealt with a lot of gang business in Italy and I think that's just so cool. I love shit like that so much, I adore me some good worldbuilding in general that we didn't necessarily need, but it's just cool to see.

I'll admit, the story was bit hard to follow in the first chapter, but once I picked up that it was from Squalo's perspective, it was such an easy and fun read that didn't make me question what was going on every two paragraphs.

It really showed us how Tiziano is clever and calculating and can be such a useful stand user and teammate. It solidified why he and Squalo are partners (and most definitely in more than just crime for sure now ahaha). I also just love the idea of him being an attorney, especially with Talking Head as a stand, it was a fantastic concept.

The entire time I was just so entertained and caught up in the story, it was so much more engaging than I thought it was going to be. I was genuinely invested in the trial and how Tiziano was going to win the case for Passione. I'm almost sad that this story was so much shorter and would have loved more in between moments with Squalo and Tiziano, but maybe it was for the best not to drag things out.

The ending was a great nod back to their involvement in part 5 and this was in general a great insight into who they were before joining Diavolo's special guard. Plus it makes so much more sense and is amusing to know that he had a lawyer (Tiziano) apart of his elite team.

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Now look, I don't think I necessarily have a bias because I do like Fugo just as much as I like Squalo and Tiziano. I also normally don't care for light novels when comes to anime/manga so I don't think it could be that either.

Maybe it was simply the Fugo/Fugio lovers had over-hyped and demanded that everyone read PHF that it just soured the novel before I even read it? I couldn't say for sure. All I know is I went into PHF was no expectations and was so dissatisfied where as I went into Testimone di Gangster with some expectations and was thoroughly entertained.

This is by no means a dig at Fugio shippers, like I said, PHF's ending and the hype around it made me personally more uncomfortable with the ship than I already was before reading it. Simple as that.

If I were to recommend additional Jojo content, especially for the part 5 lovers, Testimone di Gangster is the one I would urge people to read if they have an hour or two to spare. It's a short and sweet look at some great side characters and has more of part 5 spirit without getting caught up in a bunch of bland ocs.

[mochifiction]

I’m totally not back for some Late Night Transformers One discourse…who said that…I wanna address something I’ve seen in some of the feedback for the film that, I don’t know, irks me…? One of these things is the fact that “Orion is an asshole” or “immature and stupid” and therefore people don’t like him. I don’t know how to say this, but…he’s like that in a lot of continuities. Orion, in most variants, is a smartass. He has a mouth which gets him both a platform and also in trouble. He also has a habit of seeing short-term solutions to long-term issues. These are things that have existed for a long time, and I think those who have been calling him unlikeable or an ass haven’t seen his variants in the source material. People who also expected him to be a data clerk and throwing a fit about the fact that he’s not also need to realize that it’s a COMIC FRANCHISE. You won’t get the same story every time, and to expect a new continuity to fall back on the sole continuity YOU want is honestly insane. If we regurgitate the same narrative over and over again, the franchise loses originality. Audiences for other franchises have also voiced disdain when their favorite pieces of media get repetitive. This is also a reminder to people that Orion Pax and Optimus do not have the same exact personalities. That’s the whole point and why some people grieve Orion’s absence. To expect him to be the likable gentle giant we know as Optimus Prime right away is an impossible demand to be met. Not only that, but this isn’t even the film relying on one version of Orion, but a mosaic of them all.

I also saw people saying D-16 switched on Orion way too quickly. I’d also argue here that other continuities did similar behavioral changes. In Aligned, Megatronus literally turns his back on him and abandons him at the Council meeting. The behavior is shockingly abrupt, which hurts Orion because he didn’t understand what he could have possibly done wrong. I’d also argue that, in this film, you see multiple times where D-16 is irritated with Orion’s sense of almost immature and irresponsible justice. It’s subtle but then leads to a quick snap. The behavioral change is supposed to be jarring. You’re supposed to feel like it comes out of nowhere.

I am half asleep writing this so I can make another in-depth post when I’m more alive, but I just wanted to remind people they only had an hour and forty minutes to display how a civil war occurs. That’s very hard to do as someone who studies and writes about revolutions and anti-colonial resistance. With the time they had, it was a good job. I only pray people read the source material before giving CinemaSins-esque critiques as well. No Transformers film is perfect. This one definitely wasn’t trying to be.

[valyrfia]

hi i came here from thearchercore where they said that you think there seem to be friendship cliques forming around the paddock as of late like carlando vs. lestappen. i've seen these divides between fans but what makes you think there's also that divide between drivers?

I wouldn't call them friendship cliques. More....workplace alliances regarding the way F1 is going and the way F1 should go.

(Full disclaimer. This is a theory of grid dynamics that's been brewing for a little while in my head and I've only really bounced it off people in dms so far, so feel free to critique or refine it.)

Now, why would these two camps clash? Apart from interpersonal reasons (power struggles at any of the teams for example, I think any of the drivers listed racing or PR would resent being labelled as the team's n2 driver), F1 itself as a sport is at a crossroads. We're seeing the obvious effect of DTS in popularising the sport and making these athletes world-famous. In the past, only the world champions really became world-renowned. Now, most drivers are massive social media stars, or even proper A-list celebrities in their own right (Daniel at the Met Gala, for example). This one one hand is brilliant for the sport, because it brings more attention and eyes, and F1 becomes far more popular than it ever has been in the past. Liberty media especially is fond of this, as it brings in more profit for them.

However, in a lot of ways quintessential aspects of racing are lost via appealing to the masses. We see this in the removal of traditional purpose-built tracks in the calendar to make way for street races, in team line ups prioritising the PR-friendliness of a driver much more than before. The question of can the individual personalities of these drivers be sold is now a much bigger factor when considering a line up now than it was even ten years ago.

Since the question of racing vs. PR is raging in F1 in general right now, I think there's natural battle lines being drawn up in the paddock at the moment, that seem to fall along drivers which prioritise racing results over PR, and drivers that rely on PR/sponsors to boost their image without the racing results to necessarily back it up. Let's call them the racing clique vs. the PR clique for simplification.

Furthermore, I think these battlelines are drawn between teammates more often than not. So for example, I'd say Oscar tends to fall into the racing clique, Lando the PR clique (because let's be frank, his level of hype in British media especially WITHOUT a grand prix win is a little ridiculous). Likewise, if we consider our once and future RBR teammate pair, Max is the racing, Daniel the PR.

Ferrari is a little trickier because Charles is a PR mastermind and plays the PR game well in order to manipulate public perception about him. However, I will say that above all Charles has a fair estimation of his own abilities, an incredible racing IQ, and a sharp hunger to win that shines through despite the scrupulous Ferrari PR training (lest we forget the origin of the Il Predestinato name). For this reason, I think I place him in the racing camp. Considering the way that the Sainz camp uses leaks, well-timed sympathy posts, and Carlando to boost the public perception of Carlos's racing ability, I would place Carlos in the PR camp.

There are also other natural flash tensions between these people, but from Lando and Daniel distancing themselves from Max post his Vegas derogatory comments (@tsarinablogs has written some good thinkpieces on this), to the Ferrari civil war (as currently being chronicled by @thearchercore, along with some pretty good evidence as to McLaren trying to copy Ferrari's contract renewal hype, which further puts Lando and Charles into conflict). I don't think the happy go lucky Landoscar dynamic will survive McLaren being a competitive car, especially if Oscar wins a grand prix before Oscar.

There are faultlines and flashpoints forming in the paddock, and I think that especially with the incoming silly season, this question of PR vs. racing when picking drivers will be thrown into haut relief and that'll serve to only heighten the natural and/or pre-existing tensions between these two different groups of people.

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

hey tweam, i know it's a bummer but it's time for a pinned announcement post due to the insane amount of hate messages i am receiving daily regarding natalie. if you're a normal, decent person, feel free to scroll past, disregard, and tumblr on…

RE: NATALIE AND EVAN

since some of you non-tweam members like to thrust your ugliest inner musings anonymously into my ask box and seem to think that's okay, let me make one thing clear: i don't tolerate hate. and i won't tolerate unfair criticism and negativity towards natalie, because up to this point, not one of you have brought forth a legitimate critique. no, natalie posting evan on instagram, going with him to events, just publicly existing as a couple.. is NOT ''using him for fame''. that's called being his girlfriend, and those are all normal things for couples to do. you wanting evan to either not date at all, or do so in utter secrecy to protect your jealous heart is NOT a legitimate reason to dislike natalie. if she does something problematic, then yes, you have every right to voice your feelings and i would absolutely allow that (civil) conversation - until then, i suggest that you print your message out on the thickest, roughest card stock you can find at your local office depot, wipe your ass with it, and then throw it in the trash where it belongs as i won't be entertaining you.

i remember all too well the slippery slope with frances, and the way people justified terrible behavior towards that woman by pointing to perceived ''wrongs'' that apparently meant it was okay to bully her, not just on here, but on her own social media. was there some fair, due criticism somewhere underneath all of that? absolutely, but it was never truly about that. some ''fans'' simply want evan to date villainous women so that they can ''legitimately'' hate on them without being called a hater - and if the woman isn't an actual villain, they will create a narrative that paints her as one. that's why they have all this smoke for fran, haley lu, now natalie.. but it's crickets for emma, who is well-known for being awful. even gftwd, who would've told you frances was satan incarnate, defended emvan. why? because deep down, they like evan with emma because she's an overtly bad person and they could hate her freely if emvan got back together. oh, they'd change their tunes quick.. but they aren't together, so they focus elsewhere. yet fran, whose worst offense was being an internet troll and edgelord, had multiple hate blogs, discord servers, instagram accounts, etc. all dedicated to tearing her down and actively encouraging other people to join in. and that's exactly what some of you unstable weirdos are preparing to do to natalie, which i can't stop you from doing - hell, rosa already posted the address to a place natalie was staying and endangered her safety and potentially evan's. once you cross a certain line, good luck going back. some of you never learn.

we're all here because we are fans of evan, not fans of the women he dates. you are not obligated to like natalie and talk about her, not with me or anyone else. in fact, i encourage discussion that deviates from the relationship chat and my hope is that as evan and natalie settle into a long-term relationship, a sense of normalcy can begin to form where people do not feel so tense about something that really should not be our concern. it can be background noise. if he's happy, she's not causing problems, and they appear to have a healthy union.. what's there to hate? we're here to support the man, not tear him down. this is a major reason for the disdain i have for the tarot blog(s) currently running - your sole purpose for being on this app and engaging in fandom should not be to incessantly, repeatedly, multiple times a day be putting out undeserved negative commentary about evan, his relationship, and the woman he is dating. how would YOU feel if, completely unprompted by any controversy, someone decided they were going to make it their job to obsessively post negative things about YOUR relationship? hell, at least be fair! if any of you just need an outlet, idk, maybe start shit talking the woman evan dated for nearly a decade who has shown herself to be a literal demon instead lmfao at least she is deserving of your ire. i understand that this is a gossip and discussion blog, and by default, it can turn intrusive in nature. but it does not have to be negative in nature.

again.. can you imagine if you were just minding your own business, living life, dating someone.. and a stranger who has no reason to speak out against you decides to take offense to another person calling you gorgeous, to the point they have to log onto tumblr and anonymously message a blog to announce that they think it's ridiculous someone has called you attractive.. oh, and by the way, your current boyfriend's ex? now, SHE'S gorgeous! not you though, you're mid. yeah, i'm pretty sure you would realize real quick just how fucking uncouth that message was.

anyway, if this miserable behavior happens to be your jam, your IP address will be blocked from sending me messages and any that i do receive will be promptly deleted unless it's juicy enough that i will derive pleasure from roasting your ignorant ass.

to all the truly funny, kind-hearted, intelligent folks who frequent this blog and brighten my day with your messages and discussions.. love ya.

[elekinetic]

does st have copaganda? yes im sorry i wanted to ask this question because it seems a lot of people don't think so (harmful in so many ways)

alright. let’s have this conversation.

Copaganda is media that promotes celebratory portrayals of the American* police force. These portrayals are often antithetical to the realities marginalized groups (POC, queer people, working class, the intersections of these groups, etc). Copaganda rewards fictional officers who ignore procedures (that often protect civil liberties) in favor of chasing a “hunch” or “doing what’s right,” even without evidence. When you have a police system with deeply ingrained racism, those “hunches” will be painted by said racism. Basically a show tells you to trust the instincts of police, regardless of proof. By portraying cops as heroes and inherently good, copaganda discourages rightful critique of the police force. They’re the cops. They’re the good guys. What could they possibly be doing wrong?

Jim Hopper, as sheriff, represents the police in this show.** He regularly breaks protocol and the law in order to save the day, and the plot rewards this behavior. Between his relationships with Sarah, Joyce, and El, Hopper is deeply empathetic. we love Hopper and we want to see him win. Most importantly, we trust Hopper. So, if Hopper, who consistently breaks protocol for the greater good = police (which he does, bc being sheriff is a massive part of his character which we never forget), and Hopper = good and trustworthy, then cops who break protocol = good and trustworthy.

Spelled out like that, it seems so obvious. How do you fall for something like that? But they’re all subconscious connections. Often the writers don’t even realize they’re doing it. we’re so used to the “hero cop” archetype that we don’t even stop to think about its repercussions. think about shows like Brooklyn 99 or Psych. It’s pretty clear the showrunners didn’t sit down and say “Okay, how can we further manipulate the American public into trusting a system that primarily exists to oppress marginalized peoples and reinforce harmful social structures?” But that’s the effect. You bombard the American public with media that tells you to empathize with the police and to take their side…. the American public will take their side. So yes. Stranger Things absolutely has copaganda, and it doesn’t matter that it’s unintentional. It is still harmful.

This isn’t to say you have to stop watching Stranger Things.*** Just… be mindful of this. Be aware that this is fictional. The guy in the cop car parked on the corner is not Jim Hopper, or Jake Peralta, or Juliet O’Hara. Cops are not your friends. They do not want to help you. (If one bad apple is protected by ten good apples, you have ten bad apples. all cops are bastards****.)

Garfield said it best: you are not immune to propaganda. Stay critical of the media you consume. Don’t let yourself get played.

*copaganda is not exclusive to the US, but it’s especially widespread here and that’s what is relevant to this conversation given ST takes place in indiana.

**in seasons 1-3. callahan’s joviality and powell’s struggle to fill hopper’s shoes in s4 make them empathetic. again, getting us on their side and trusting them.

***full disclosure: it is in no universe my call on whether you should or shouldn’t keep watching a show bc it’s copaganda. i’m very white and it is not my place to decide whether a show can be “forgiven” or not. again. stay critical.

****just a reminder that ACAB does not mean all cops suck, it means all cops are part of a bastardized system that, again, exists to serve and reinforce oppressive structures.

[fromevertonow]

This is a paper I wrote for one of my courses about media and materiality. I will use any excuse to write on The Hunger Games. My instructor actually liked it, asking why I didn't write anything on Snow lmao. Maybe for part two, David. Don't encourage me. I also want to say that the responses on my post regarding the names in THG helped so fucking much. Thank you to those people who interacted with that post!

Disclaimer: this assignment was meant to be informal for us so we wouldn't feel too overwhelmed with the studyload, so there is some non-academic register in here.

Panem et Circenses: The Forecast of a Mass Culture Storm

In a world long ago, the Roman poet Juvenal critiqued the people of Rome for discarding their responsibilities as citizens. While Sejanus tried to overthrow the Emperor Tiberius, Juvenal claimed that the people only cared to lavish in food and frivolities, saying that “the mob / That used to grant power, high office, the legions, everything, / Curtails its desires and reveals its anxiety for two things only, / Bread and circuses” (Juvenal ll. 78-81). Juvenal’s phrase “bread and circuses” is often referenced in relation to “mass culture to denote a process of social decline” (Brantlinger Bread and Circuses 22). The Roman Empire had a method of appeasing the masses to avoid uprisings: keep them fed and offer them entertainment (23). Similarly to Juvenal who disapproved of this manner of ruling, socialist scholars and avant-garde artists criticized mass culture for subjecting civilization to this numbing of critical thinking (Brantlinger “Mass Media” 99). The twentieth century knows an incredible rise of technological developments and mass production of consumer goods which has led to several social developments, e.g. the blurring of class distinctions and an increase in literacy (100, 103). Although these may seem as positive effects, mass culture threatens to silence individuals into commodification, as happened to the Romans (Dubord 14). Juvenal had forecasted the enslavement of people to mass-produced consumable goods and, looking at contemporary times, it seems we are left standing in the rain without an umbrella. Yet, this is not the worst mass culture has to offer. A flood of dystopian stories in the literary world has predicted and warned us for far crueler storms, depicting oppressive governments that have gradually dominated their citizens through bread and circuses.

            One of these stories is The Hunger Games (THG) by Suzanne Collins. Set in a futuristic United States, renamed ‘Panem,’ THG depicts a picture of mass culture at its extreme. Panem is divided into twelve districts, each responsible for the production of a specific good. These products are the sole reason the districts are still considered as relevant for the Capitol, the oppressive government. While the majority of the districts suffer from poverty, the Capitol lavishes in the districts’ importations of food and other materialities. Collins depicts the duality of abundant, capitalist consumerism with the contrast between the riches of the Capitol and the scarcity of the districts. The Capitol has managed to keep the districts sedated through fear; they are coerced into complacency through strict regulation and the annual Hunger Games. Seventy-four years before the original events of THG, the thirteen districts rebelled against the Capitol but were violently defeated. As punishment, District Thirteen was completely obliterated and the remaining twelve districts were forced to send a male and female tribute between the ages of twelve and eighteen to the Games where they would have to fight to the death in an arena as entertainment for the Capitol. The twenty-four tributes are randomly selected and can place their name in the reaping multiple times in exchange for tesserae, a year’s supply of grain and oil. Households that could not afford food could make bread from the tesserae. Collins draws a connection to ‘panem’ in Juvenal’s phrase through the tesserae system which is a method for the Capitol to keep the districts dependent on the government’s supply of basic needs, like bread.

Juvenal’s ‘circenses’ is apparent in two elements in THG. The first is the Hunger Games themselves which are meant to entertain the Capitol’s citizens. Before the Games there are interviews with the tributes and various television segments. The coverage of the tributes has two purposes: to show the Capitol’s citizens how well-fed the tributes are in the Capitol, a kindness offered to them by the very institution that places them in a position of death, and to obtain sponsors during the Games who will send necessities to the tributes in the arena, e.g. medicine or water. The second reference to ‘circenses’ is the character Peeta Mellark. Peeta is the male tribute from District Twelve and the baker’s son. His first name is a reference to pita bread, and as the baker’s son, he is also a clear connection to ‘panem.’ Moreover, he once gave bread to Katniss, the female protagonist, when she and her family were at the brink of starvation. The loaf of bread symbolized hope and sparked a new motivation in Katniss to live again (Collins THG 37). His surname is a shortened version of ‘malarkey,’ meaning “silly behaviour or nonsense” (“malarkey”), similar to the contents of circuses. Peeta is not a seasoned fighter and his chances of winning the Games are low. However, the Games can be played either through fighting or entertainment. Peeta is incredibly charismatic and uses that to his full advantage whenever the cameras are around to gain sponsors (Collins THG 158). He is, like the Capitol, both a provider of food and entertainment.

            Where the Capitol symbolizes fear, Peeta represents hope. As an oppressive government, the Capitol’s goal is to silence people into complacency so they do not rise against the authorities, as the Roman Empire. This is the opposite for Peeta who, in the sequel Catching Fire, uses his likeability among the citizens of the Capitol to defy its very government (Collins 289). Throughout the trilogy, he has consistently used his abilities to both provide and perform for noble causes that concern the people, not the government. When Peeta gave Katniss the bread, he gave her renewed hope to live again which was more sustainable than the Capitol’s tesserae supply that merely lasts a year and is only given in exchange for a bigger chance at death. Peeta’s hope was free. THG serves as a warning for a future that is ruled by mass consumption and production which blinds citizens to the dictatorship they are governed by. Juvenal’s faraway world of the Roman Empire is not so far away after all, it has always been here and is gradually taking over our future. But, we know what is coming and we can prepare for the storm and find shelter. As Peeta’s character shows, there is hope, a possibility, to provide for each other rather than depend on authorities that prefer to see us as commodities, to use the government’s very own methods against it and become individuals once more.

Works Cited

Brantlinger, Patrick. “Introduction: The Two Classicisms.” Bread and Circuses: Theories of Mass Culture as Social Decay. Cornell University Press, 1985, pp. 17-52.

---. “Mass Media and Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Europe.” Fin-de-Siècle and Its Legacy, edited by Mikuláš Teich and Roy Porter, Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 98-114.

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. Scholastic Ltd, 2011.

---. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Ltd, 2011.

Debord, Guy. “The Commodity as Spectacle.” The Society of the Spectacle, translated by Ken Knabb, Bureau of Public Secrets, 2014, pp. 13-20.

Juvenal. “Satire X – The Vanity of Human Wishes.” Poetry in Translation, translated by A. S. Kline, 2001, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/JuvenalSatires10.php. Accessed 14 Dec. 2023.

“malarkey.” Cambridge Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/malarkey. Accessed 14 Dec. 2023.

[whiplashisthinkingaboutbakugan]

I watched Gen 2 Bakugan’s anime because when it was announced I had just reignited my Bakugan hyperfixation.

I had watched the original show when I was soooo tiny, it changed my life forever. When I realized how much it affected me as a person years later, I felt the need to revisit it.

Then I heard they were doing a reboot. I was so curious as to what they’d do. The original show was so pivotal to my development, I wanted to see if that could happen others and if this had the merit the other show did.

I’d say it does. I find Gen 2 lacking in some ways but it’s not like Gen 1 wasn’t. Gen 1 isn’t some untouchable master piece.

I enjoy Gen 1 more because I think it wasn’t afraid to be creative and have an overarching plot. Gen 2 is like it’s more normal younger brother.

I think Magnus and Haavik are great characters that’d fit right in with Gen 1. S1 and Armored Alliance are the best parts of Gen 2 they’re a lot of fun.

I watched Gen 2 as it aired. It’s special to me in a different way than Gen 1 is. This is my way of saying I ate two cakes when offered.

Ehh I'm just not in a place in my life to welcome whatever Gen 3 is. Simply because they changed out my Drago. I'm an old dog you can't teach me new tricks. Don't make my Bakugan beyblades, don't change my Drago.

When it comes to reboots comparison is inevitable but not required. For some people Gen 2 or maybe even Gen 3 is their first Bakugan. It's crazy to think but it's true. Comparison can be an interesting avenue for analysis. But we also gotta respect that these are two different versions of a boys toys concept. It's odd to disavow or hate one for it's differences in content and style because they're essentially new media. I don't think I'll like Gen 3 but that doesn't make it bad I'm just not it's audience. Though make no mistake, this isn't me saying you shouldn't be critical of them. Critiquing media is important, fun, and in some cases educational. Anywho Bakugamers let's be civil about reboots because at this point we have three cakes and while it doesn't matter which ones you eat everyone's eating one of them so be kind to your neighbor.

My Bakugan hyperfixation may ebb and flow but I'm here to stay.

[rebuke-me]

broadway bmc critiques

this is a list of all my critiques of broadway bmc, in no particular order. this is not a post meant to hate those who are fans of Broadway bmc, because preference is subjective. I did my best to keep personal bias out of it, but some aspects are inextricable. please keep discussions civil. if you think critique will make you upset, I encourage you to skip this post.

- the writing is significantly watered down for the audience. while the original show was not a masterpiece of writing by any means, it only occasionally talks down to the audience. part of my interest in the original show was the open-ended characters. however, in the Broadway version, subtext is made into text, and that really hurts the show. most of the characters in tr had presumed depth, whereas bw wrote sync up: a song telling everyone exactly what was wrong with every character, rather than having the viewers observe it for themselves through dialogue and actions. tr already laid that foundation, it already had the character development. fans had already been analyzing the characters for years, and everyone pretty much got what they meant. bw felt, to me, like it was holding my hand through it and explaining to me every aspect of the characters.

- the writing of the new songs especially is. incredibly contrived. I've listened to the songs as I can bear (I do not like some of the voices in the songs, so I will admit to not listening to all of the songs, but I did make an attempt.) and the writing is significantly worse. while the tr songs weren't masterpieces, by any means, they were at least catchy and fun. the appeal of the bmc music is the earworm of it all, the way that it's fun and memorable. the bw versions new songs have not stuck in my head whatsoever, unlike the previous songs. loser geek whatever is another case of telling the audience rather than showing it: fans of tr already knew Jeremy was upset about being an outcast. we understood that. his decision at the end of upgrade was understandable to audiences, although usually not agreed with. an entire song with the writers literally physically telling the audience how he is feeling, in simple rhyme and a melody that doesn't stick out, wasn't necessary. a new song was intriguing, and could have fleshed out plot holes of the original show, but instead just tried shoving another square peg into a hole we had already been made aware of.

- fan pandering. this is an aspect of every media that has a large internet fan base, especially in the past ten years. while some aspects of the show may have been in the plans all along, the Broadway version feels like they were too engrossed in the fan culture. im a big proponent for creators being divorced from their fans, and the Broadway version is why. the addition of more moments implying a romantic connection between rich and michael at the end, with no discussion of character development, felt shoehorned in for the fans. Michael as a whole shifted closer to the fanon interpretation of him, rather than remaining the character from the original show, becoming more soft spoken and awkward.

- failure to add in diversity in a respectful way. (to preface this, I am a white person. if I say anything out of line in this section, I am more than willing to admit that, and would love to hear from the perspective of poc bmc fans, especially black fans.) a main critique of tr bmc in my opinion is the way it handled a lot of heavy topics, including diversity and the like. bw bmc made strides towards giving roles to non-white actors, which is always a good thing. however, the characters chosen for the diversity were made more stereotypical for being made into poc. jenna rolan became more of a stereotype of a talkative, phone obsessed black woman. Jenna is the less egregious example of this, as she has more depth. however, jake being black makes his character traits of being the child of money launderers, being violent towards others, being unhoused and physically harmed in the fire, not knowing how to "speak properly" at times and being a "player" seem more racially motivated. of course, none of these aspects of a character are bad, per se, but all combined into a character that is now black feels stereotypical.

- failure to fix some issues with tr. I am always willing to critique my own interests. while I have a preference towards tr, and a fixation on it, I will admit it has issues. notably, these include telling rather than showing (an issue that only got worse in bw), the treatment of female characters, and a variety of other issues. female characters in bw still have the same issues, as a whole. brooke is still the stereotypical blonde ditz. she does get a bit of development, but an opportunity for her to stand up for herself could have been needed in bw. christine is still little more than the love interest, and still ends up with the main character at the end, despite being meant to be a feminist, complete with patch on her jacket. the female characters rarely talk to each other about anything other than a man, or gossip, usually about men. none of them form solid friendships with no romantic ties with almost any of the male characters, either. the show costumes the characters in apparel that preaches feminism and writes a message about equality and being yourself, yet bars most character development from the female characters. this could have been rectified in bw, considering an entire song was added and scenes were rewritten, but was not.

I have other issues with the show, but those are more personal critiques with preferences, rather than in depth analysis of why I think the show is not as beloved by the fan base as a whole. those aren't going to be added here, because a lot of them don't lend any credence to my arguments, they're just personal opinions on character choices and actors.

if anything I've said in this post is incorrect, please let me know. I admit I'm not very well versed in the Broadway show, since I very much dislike it, so if any details are incorrect, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

also like. don't be a dick in the replies and tags please, that'd be nice. civil conversation and debate is okay, but attacking people for their interests is not.

[destinygoldenstar]

Why I Don’t Want To Talk About RWBY Again

Yes. She decided to show her face again.

And she will probably instantly regret it.

So, this isn't usually the media I talk about. However, I addressed it in my post 'Is Screen Time An Issue For A Character', where I talked about multiple media to gain a wider perspective on a solid critique point to figure out where this possibly came from? And in terms of the RWBY-related stuff I said there, I got... some honest, fair, completely non-personal attacking feedback. No personal attacks whatsoever.

I thought 'okay, maybe I am wrong' if everyone is so insistent that I am 'incorrect' and what they're saying is 'facts'. We all make mistakes. So I decided to rewatch the show in it's entirety and actually see Volume 9 for myself. I actually hoped that maybe I was wrong and they were right and I could see this show for the masterpiece that it is...

Uh, short answer: Not really...? For the most part, the points I made in the past are still how I feel. (I just didn't word it very well in that post. I'll take the L for that one)

I'm disappointed I learned nothing too. I really wish I did.

Okay, so for my background, I jumped on the train of this show just about a month or two before Volume 6 came out. I got it recommended from a classmate in school who was obsessed. And I thought it was... okay.

And then I got bullied and harassed by the person for the remainder of the school year. Cause I DARED not said it was a masterpiece.

(Yeah, this is a running trend for me)

But with every new Volume from there, I rewatched the show as background noise for homework, to the point where I've at least rewatched it 5-6 times, maybe 7 including this rewatch. But with every rewatch where I actually noticed certain details... the certain volume would get a little worse. (Except for one case)

Maybe it's because I'm a jerk. I've been called that more than once.

Maybe it's because Celtic Phoenix's rewrites of the show are a thing. But that’s also a topic for discussion here.

But I know the exact point when I abandoned the show for over two years. When Volume 8 came out.

It was... it was a miserable viewing experience for me. And for me, this was my last straw with the show and I fell to the dark side. There were so many production problems where I could see why it turned out the way it did. There were so many decisions with the plot that I did not agree with.

And the biggest reason why I left. And this is a thing that's been consistent anytime I engaged with the show in any way. And the reason WHY I don’t feel safe talking about this show.

The fandom is terrifying.

It's not as bad as the Dhar Mann situation, I don't think, but it's still a nightmare to engage with.

There are so many toxic entitled people online that feel the need to bully and harass anyone who says ANYTHING about the show that isn't 'I think this was handled perfectly'. You say anything even slightly neutral, or even hint that you may not think perfection, you will get cyberbullied.

And I MEAN THAT when I say cyberbullying, you get personally attacked, you get cursed at a lot, you get accused as homophobic and misogynistic, and you get double bullied and ganged up on when you ask for feedback towards you to be impersonal and focused on the work itself. There is NO breather to this.

People just really love to attack every single being they can find. Over a CARTOON.

If this was some real life documentary or something, then I would get it.

But this is a FICTIONAL SHOW.

It's very unwelcoming and it's miserable for people like me to engage with these people as a result.

NO, I AM NOT SAYING EVERYONE IS LIKE THIS. I'm sure there are still good civilized decent people in this fanbase. But the ones that are like that are the loudest.

There's also a 'hate-fandom' spawned. Which I also despise cause it's basically just the same thing but the opposite approach. And why are you even tearing apart something as sport? That's sick. Do something else with your time. Do literally anything else.

You have to pick a side.

Either you love the show, if you don't you're a horrible person.

Or you hate the show, if you don't you're a horrible person.

THIS is the real reason why I left the show.

And the fact that I'm even daring to say this guarantees that I will get backlashed.

At least I anticipate that this time. (But I'm just gonna ignore this behavior and I will only respond to people who keep things impersonal and just focus on the content. I don't care if you have a valid point against what I say, if you personally attack me or anyone else, and act like you know me, I won't listen to you. It doesn't make you better than me, it's cyberbullying.)

For the sake of this rant post, I am OPTING OUT of the idea that 'I have to love the show or hate the show'.

I'm a neutral saying my perspective as a neutral.

And I will say that as long as you're not a cyberbullying racist/sexist/homophobic piece of garbage, your opinions towards this show is VALID in my book.

If you think this is the best show of all time, that's VALID.

If you think this is the worst show of all time, that's VALID.

If you disagree with either of those two statements, then you can leave my post right now.

I am not going to take either side, as I really don’t want to. I am not the type of person to be openly happy all the time, as when I feel any emotion at all I will say it. And I am not going to hide my emotions to make other people happy. That’s not who I am.

But I also don’t want to be seen by the public as a hardcore complainer for that. Spending all your time whining is just exhausting and tiring and unrewarding, when you could be doing literally anything else, and healthier stuff, with your time. I should know. I used to criticize Dhar Mann videos. While those were worth critiquing it cause multiple mental health problems for me. So I stopped and did other stuff with my life.

So really, if I were to pick a side, either one, it would be doing injustice to my character. And the fact that people have to be split in fandom sections for a single show is insane. I’d be harassed endlessly no matter what.

And harassment like this over a cartoon is just not worth it. Even if you try to calmly explain yourself and defuse a fight, you’re not gonna be heard. They’ll just keep arguing until you reluctantly confess to their side. Which is gaslighting.

And this is a both sides issue. So you know. Again, I’m not picking sides when I say this.

This is not a ‘this side good ; this side bad’ issue.

At that point it has nothing to do with the show itself, or a rewrite of said show that some people made.

Fixing RWBY, that rewrite project on YouTube, is not immune to criticism. It’s not better than the original show. It’s not worse than the original show. It’s just a thing that exists. Like all rewrites do. This whole project is just a group of people approaching a story in their own writing style, like fanfiction tends to do. It’s really just a group of artists and writers coming together to play around and have fun.

So obviously that makes this project a crime against nature and a product made out of pure evil spite. /s

FIXING?! FIXING a show? HOW MALICIOUS CAN YOU BE?! YOU DARE IMPLY THAT YOU THINK THE SHOW ISNT PERFECT AS IS?!

Now, take note, I myself HAVE seen the entirety of this fan project. I have my own problems with it, and it certainly did not fix everything. But I can also safely back up that SOME PEOPLE are fat liars with their critiques on this project.

There’s being critical, and there’s lying.

That’s it. That’s all I’m saying about certain users. Because this isn’t really a ‘one person is entirely to blame’ problem so I don’t want to pin blame on one user.

And the worst part about all that is that it’s one thing to be a critic towards anyone’s work, you know, looking at their work and giving feedback. It’s another to act like this is personal.

It stops being about the show and more about throwing around accusations on people as though you personally know them.

News flash: ten to one, you don’t.

And it’s not just me. There are multiple blog users and YouTubers who said their peace on this and said the same things I’m saying. People will go out of their way to personally insult and harass neutrals to make sure their point sticks and they take it to heart. Because if it’s about the person and not the work, they have to change their mind, right? No one wants to be called a gross human being after all.

That’s not how that works. This is why if you go to my blog you see me more often than not making posts about other media. Not because I think these shows are better than RWBY (I’ve criticized them plenty as well, criticisms that I think are deserved), but because I feel more welcome in their fandoms…?

I’m not gonna pretend they’re perfect, every fandom has some nasty people, but at least I’m not gonna get barraded for every single opinion I have as though my opinions over cartoons are a judgement of my real life character.

Yes people have disagreed with me and given me criticism, but at least it’s focused on what I’ve written and the flaws in my logic of writing style. An IMpersonal critique towards me. That gets more through to me than personally insulting everyone and treating everyone that isn’t you like they’re pure evil.

Even when I try to look at RWBY related tags, it’s just this exact stuff.

You say an opinion that isn’t 100% positive? BASH.

You like something about the show? BASH.

You make art of a ship someone else doesn’t like? BASH.

You try to make an analysis post? BASH.

You write a fanfiction? BASH.

You like a fanfiction of the show? BASH.

You don’t like a fanfiction of the show? BASH.

You dare title that fanfiction ‘fixing’? BASH.

Then people really love to use buzz words fir extra power. ‘Sexist’ ‘Racist’ ‘Homophobic’ and all kinds of bad words. Without ever actually hearing an explanation.

You like a certain ship? BASH. YOU’RE HOMOPHOBIC. (Never mind nobody ever said they hoped their ship was canon or said they preferred that ship over a canon one)

You think a villain character is a well written and interesting character? BASH. YOU SUPPORT TERRORISM. (Never mind there’s a difference between agreeing with a characters POV and just liking them as fictional characters)

You like a character that so happens to be male? BASH. YOU’RE SEXIST. (Never mind that no one said they should’ve been spotlight characters or anything. And the least sexist people don’t even give a shit about the gender of the character)

You don’t like this character? BASH. CLEARLY YOU DONT LIKE THE CHARACTER BECAUSE THEYRE NOT STRAIGHT WHITE MEN.

Completely ignore if the person who says the opinion actually explains WHY they don’t like the character. Completely ignore if they don’t even mention the race, sex, or sexuality of the character once in said explanation. Completely ignore if they even said they like other characters that fit those same categories as the one they didn’t like.

Completely ignore actually checking out the persons blog to see if they like other characters in anything, not just RWBY, that have some sort of diversity to them. Maybe even love those characters and praise them.

Nope. Doesn’t matter. You don’t like one character, clearly you just hate women.

CLEARLY everyone who doesn’t agree with you are dares to say why and how they personally would’ve done it is a PURE EVIL HUMAN BEING GOING OUT IF THEIR WAY TO SPITE AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY. Don’t even bother hearing the person out or letting them say WHY they feel this way or WHY they changed it, (like the FRWBY writers DO in streams btw) NOPE. PURE EVIL. SOLELY BECAUSE YOU MADE A REWRITE.

It’s not like rewrite fanfiction as a concept is all about people reimagining someone else’s work into their own vision, and multiple fandoms do this with varying intents, whether it’s out of fixing a critique they had or trying a different tone or ‘what if’ scenarios or whatever. And again, multiple fandoms do this. (Hell, I did it with Total Drama’s Season 2. I don’t think that show is perfect, either. Far from it.)

But I don’t even trust myself to word this all right, so I’m case you don’t trust my word. I’ll link some people who have said the same things I’m saying but in more detail than I could ever. That way I can avoid plagorism.

Judgemental Critter and Twilight Guardian go VERY in detail of these problems. They go in depth about certain users I don’t feel comfortable talking about myself, they go in depth about how this is a both sides issue, and so much more.

Go look at both of these.

It’s all so unwelcoming and I just… can’t.

I can’t take that.

No one deserves that level of harassment over something so not worth it at the end of the day.

It’s just a show guys.

This isn’t real life propaganda.

This isn’t Election Day.

This isn’t school.

It’s a product designed for entertainment purposes.

You can feel whatever way you want to about it. You don’t deserve to be shut out for however you feel.

I am not a perfect person. That much, I will admit. I will admit to my mistakes when I recognize I make them and try to improve myself. Just like the rest of you, I’m just a normal human on the internet talking about stuff I find interest in. But I will also admit I need to get better at defending myself when I recognize something is just plain bullshit.

So… yeah. I did a poll on the possibility of me doing commentary posts to expand my blog. I already decided I’m starting that experiment with The Amazing Digital Circus’s one episode right now. But I do have a set poll for shows people want me to do commentary on. And RWBY is one of the options. If that wins, then I’d have no choice but to explain all my opinions of the show in as much detail as I could.

No one deserves to feel this unwelcomed and unsupported. Maybe I would talk about the show more if I wasn’t this scared of harassment. But nothing is worth it if it’s accompanied by that amount of bashing. It has nothing to do with the show. It has to do with the treatment of said show. That’s the worst part.

And I personally don’t want to be a part of such an unsupportive and unfulfilling environment. Especially when I can do other stuff with my life.

Maybe I will try to talk about RWBY again one day. Explain my opinions fully. As honestly as possible.

But I KNOW no matter what I’m gonna say, I will NOT be welcomed with warmth, instead with guns pointed at my head.

And to that, I’ll just say, ‘Hit me with your best shot’

*sigh* Welp, if you excuse me, I’m barricading my windows for the mob that I know is gonna come at me for the sins I have committed here.

[rwritingblog]

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Rewrite (And My Relationship With Star Wars)

So I'm a fan of Star Wars which if you know me isn't surpising. What is surpising however is the fact that I'm not a lifelong Star Wars fan. Of course I knew of Star Wars, everyone knows Star Wars but for most of my life I hadn't watched a single one of the movies or seen a single episode of The Clone Wars.

I can't tell you what made me decide to watch Force Awakens in 2018 but I did. And then I watched The Last Jedi, got about half way through. Not because I wasn't enjoying the movie but because it made me want to watch the others. That didn't work at as well because I didn't know what order to watch the movies in. The first Star Wars movie is called Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope while the fourth one is called Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

You can see where the confusion came from.

When I did figure it out I'm not going to lie it didn't capture me at first and Star Wars kind of faded out of my life for the next few years.

2020 was an odd year for everyone I'm no different. I was 17 years old who had just moved to an entirely different state in August the year before leaving all of my friends behind. I hadn't made any new ones and lost contact with my old ones. Bad year to be 17 honestly.

Now around this time a show I don't know if you've heard of, It's called The Mandalorian btw, was airing it's second season. Twitter was on fire and I didn't have anything better to do so I watched both seasons.

I fucking loved it.

Went back in watched the Original Trilogy and loved every second with them. My reaction to Darth Vader revealing he was Luke's father was this meme.

I'm not joking ethier I literally gasped and then said this meme out loud to myself.

I also had a blast with the Prequel Trilogy and the Clone Wars series. I even bought a lightsaber with money I had been given for my 18th birthday. (Yes I do in fact know how to do the obiani spin.)

And it's been four years now and I can't say any Star Wars media has captured me like the Prequel and Original Trilogies, the first two season of The Mandalorian, and Clone Wars did. (Andor and Rouge One are exceptions.) And that kind of upsets me because I fucking love this franchise man. I really do. (The cancellation of The Acolyte has not helped the matter honestly.)

There are two reasons this post and any other post I make on my Sequel rewrite.

A simple writing exercise

As an expression of love

I may not like Star Wars as it is today but I'll always look forward to what it'll be tomorrow. Force Awakens and The Last Jedi may not be my favorite part of Star Wars but they were the first Star Wars thing I saw. And for that I will always have a deep love for them and the characters within them.

With all of that out of the way. Let's Rock & Roll.

The Inspo & More!

The thing that inspired me to think about a Sequel Rewrite was the youtube video Star Wars - A Critique Of The Sequels by DX . specifically when he talks about the worldbuilding. He asks questions about where the First Order gets the money and man for their bullshit and my mind went into overdrive. It had already been rewriting Reylo scenes and going on rants about Rey's character. Thinking about the First Order seemed like the next step.

In my version of the sequels the First Order isn't a rebel group but a nation with it's own territory, laws, and govenment. The reason for this was simple; we haven't seen a war between nations in Star Wars yet. The Clone Wars was a civil war and so was the rebellion. This would be new ground.

How did the First Order Form?

Was a question I asked myself and to find the answer all I had to do was think about what would logically happen after the credits rolled on the Original Trilogy. The Outer Rim is kind of always left to the wayside by galactic powers, making it the perfect place for a now former Admiral of the Galactic Empire to hide from New Republic authorities.

It is also the perfect place for a sith to hide.

Say this Admiral, let's call him Val Snoke, meets a young sith woman named Darth Malith while hiding out in the Outer Rim. Together they form a team and take control of the Outer Rim and Hutt Space through cunning and trickery all with the goal of reforming the Empire with themselves at the head.

They also manage to grab hold of old Empire territory the New Republic hadn't gained a stronghold in. Making the First Order one of the most prominent forces in the galaxy. Darth Malith is the diplomat who runs intellgence while Snoke is responsible for the day-to-day military operations of the First Order. The Rule of Two is in full effect here.

By the time the sequel trilogy starts the First Order and the New Republic has been at war for a quite a while.

I had a section about Rey but I deleted because I hve thoughts and none of them make sense. So I'll make a whole other post just for Rey (and Kylo).

See You Soon,

Rebel

[majorbaby]

Can you elaborate on your personal gripes for how mulcahy is used in the narrative? I have seen people talking about not liking him but I think it was more disliking him as a guy, so I would like to hear your thoughts

okay well, first i'd just like to say that nobody is a bad person for liking mulcahy and i have less of an issue with HIM as a guy (his thoughts, feelings, wishes, his favourite colour, his favourite food, his relationships with others) as i have with how he is positioned by the narrative. you seem to get this, but i still want to make it clear. if anything i'm all for mulcahy getting it on with whoever because it would undermine his vocation as a celibate priest.

long explanation under the cut but TL;DR: mulcahy is positioned as being a morally upright person. this is dangerous because apart from his being a character on the show, he is also representative of the catholic church. moreover, positioning the church this way severely undermines the show's central, anti-establishment, anti-war messaging.

there's lots to love about MASH, but the way it deals with religion and the church is a major weakness. the show wants me to accept that patriarchy, militarism, imperialism, social conservatism are bad, but draws the line at critiquing religion, by positioning its chief representative in positive light. it's a big oversight.

let me try this a new way compared to how i've done it in the past and start with the military:

fuck the military, right? we agree that it is bad? and we agree that MASH came out swinging against the army and that that is part of the central messaging of the show? and we agree that one of the best things about MASH is that it took such a hard line against the military? cool.

why do we hate the military? it's violent, it's paternalistic, it eats up public money that could otherwise be spent on making peoples lives better, it influences public policy in a negative way, it's hostile to equity-seeking people (racialized people, lgbtq+ people, women, people with mental and physical disabilities), it is also hostile to even the most privileged in our society. MASH specifically took aim at the draft, which still functionally exists in US law.

basically, it is overwhelmingly oppressive and does far more harm than good, if you can even make a case for what good it does.

the catholic church is bad for all the same reasons. most catholics are born into the church, assigned catholic at baptism, which occurs when you are a baby and which cannot consent to. its ranks are overwhelmingly male and priests are literally called "Fathers".

your mileage may vary when it comes to the separation of church and state but...

where i live, the catholic school system is funded by tax dollars - technically any child can attend a catholic school even if they aren't catholic, but say, idk, want some free indoctrination. but you must be catholic to teach in catholic schools, so half of all these 'public service jobs' which are unionized, pay well and difficult to secure are only available to catholics. you can go to catholic school yet grow up and be unable to teach in one, like, currently, in 2023, in Canada which has some fucking nerve to be still upholding this archaic system. people aren't born pro-life or homophobic or believing that sex should be between a man and a woman and purely for procreation, or that masturbation is a sin... these are all things we see in policy, in education, in medicine, in media, as a result of the influence of christianity. what flavour of christanity varies based on where you live but in many instances, it's catholicism. you could extend some of these critiques to organized religion in general but i'm not doing that right now because mulcahy is catholic specifically.

like... purity culture didn't just pop out of nowhere. you may not be christian but sex shaming and the elevated ideal of marriage and the gender binary and the idea that we need to be 'civilized' in a certain way are all christian values that were spread violently across the globe, often hand-in-hand with military exploits. not only are the military and the church similar, they're often indistinguishable and they very much need one another.

MASH was trying very hard to say, originally at least, that there are no good military brass. even henry gets the piss taken out of him whenever he tries to be a 'colonel' to hawkeye and trapper. so why henry, and not mulcahy? (also why not potter but like, that was a different era and potter is a character i actually do proper hate)

if there can be no good army officers, then there can be no good priests. and mulcahy was both.

[tomorrowusa]

Far right ideologues, like DeSantis buddy Chris Rufo, like to refer to themselves as the "dissident right". That is a euphemism to hide their true anti-constitutional pro-dictatorship nature.

Chris Rufo, a rightwing culture-war celebrity and close Ron DeSantis ally, has maintained a close relationship with IM-1776, a “dissident right” magazine that regularly showers praise on dictators and authoritarians, puffs racist ideologues, and attacks liberal democracy. The outlet’s editors and writers – many of them so-called “anons” working under pseudonyms – have variously advocated for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act; celebrated figures such as the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and the proto-fascist Italian nationalist Gabriele D’Annunzio; and advanced conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, and what they term the “regime”, a leftist power structure that they imagine unites the state, large corporations, universities and the media.

Rufo and his cohorts are working to muddy the difference between themselves and the less extreme right.

Last month a “manifesto” written by Rufo – The New Right Activism – ran in the online and print versions of IM-1776, and Rufo has publicly urged his audience to buy and subscribe to the outlet. He has also co-hosted a series of Twitter spaces with the magazine’s editors, beginning in July last year. In one of them, recorded in October, he indicated an interest in incorporating the “dissident right” more fully in mainstream political discourse, saying: “I think there is a room for engaging the dissident right and the establishment right. I think we need to have a bridge between the two and and engage in thoughtful dialogue.” More recently, he has expressed a personal interest in expanding the range of acceptable political discourse. On the Pirate Wires podcast earlier this month, he told host Mike Solana of his own activism: “I try to play that game, I try to lay traps, I try to provoke certain reactions, I try to launder certain words and phrases into the discourse.”

Rufo's rag IM-1776 glorifies domestic terrorists.

Last June, IM-1776 published an obituary of Ted Kaczynski by another pseudonymous author calling themselves “The Prudentialist”. Kaczynski died in a federal prison last year at the conclusion of a life sentence he received for a 17-year mailbombing campaign that killed three of his targets and injured 23 others. Describing Kaczynski as “allegedly a lone wolf terrorist, but also a mathematical genius”, the IM-1776 author relativized his crimes and explained that Kaczynski’s “iconic status on the contemporary right can be partly attributed to the devastating critique of the left included in his famous manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future”.

The Republican Party is now the Trump MAGA Party. It refuses to call out extremists and is cozy with foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán. Permitting Republicans to gain power puts the country under the control of the anti-constitutional "dissident right" who advocate Red Caesarism.

The ONLY way to defeat Republicans/MAGA/the "dissident right"/Red Caesarism is to vote Democratic. Any talk from the third party curious about impotent minor party candidates should get an instant reality check; the last presidential election won by a non-Democrat or non-Republican was in 1848.

[my-misericordia]

So I feel like I’ve figured out how to describe what Souta is as a character to me.

Souta is a critique of the “ideal” Japanese man....and incoming long ass essay I had nooo idea I was holding in lol 

He's a civil servant. Why? Because it’s stable and “contributes to Japans future”. This isn’t scientific, but a lot of English teachers/Influencers I’ve followed have said that when they’ve asked kids what they want to do the answer they get a lot is salaryman/civil servant. I’m sure they say that because it’s the “correct” answer they’ve been taught to say....So Souta has followed the “right” path and He also works like he’s supposed to by doing a lot of overtime. In Japan although overtime is usually not required people do it mostly to appear like good workers, in fact a lot of people actually don’t even do much while they’re at the office they just want to look hard working AND they don’t get overtime pay....This lack of people being fulfilled in their careers and long hours is why I feel Japan has had a drop off in marriage and birth rates..

And this goes to his sexuality. I can see how it can read as Ace/Demi, but I guess the reason I don’t is because I read a lot of manga and characters like Souta are everywhere in Japanese manga...So after some reading and kind of just thinking...these almost Sexless characters are portrayed a lot because they’re kind of what Japanese society sees as an ideal man. A good, respectable man will be focused on his work and not let sex cloud their thoughts/goals. He will pursue a partner After he’s met his goal. I know that a lot of the media has reached the west has made Japan appear more “sexually outgoing” than maybe the west, but it’s still a very conservative country. The stuff we get is pretty “weird” for other Japanese people too. People are expected to be married by 27ish, divorce is still very tabboo etc....oh no gay marriage too

So he’s living how he’s supposed to and has convinced himself it’s fine. Once he’s worked himself up the ladder he’ll start thinking about love etc... Which is why he’s so miserable and restrained that it’s manifested in him feeling “liberated” while eating naked....I’ve seen a lot of people relate it to sexuality but to me it’s a small part of everything else lol

That’s why he needed to go to the countryside and have this cooking experience too! To open his eyes to the world around him...See how he’s very much been soo miserable living the life that society expected him too.

As for his queerness....Well being just so repressed in general has really stunted his ability to even explore it and how to describe his feelings. Many asians who were not allowed to date or have relationships until they succeeded in what their parents wanted have voiced their experiences online. Some can jump in very easily into exploring what they like but others like Souta have no idea and in a heteronormative world...to even consider being NOT straight?! 

He’s out here being hit with revelation after revelation poor baby. Being the ideal Japanese man set him up for failure... 

[snow-and-saltea]

finished yangtze river dolphin episode from extraordinary attorney woo and i think im near tears. i love this episode so much. a huge chunk of my media experience keeps telling me to be on edge, telling me that things are going to get dirty and dramatic and people are going to get antagonised for the sake of a good show, but it never goes there. the witness (? is that what you call them for civil cases?) temporarily snapping in court because everyone from the company is tired about the lawsuit, but after the court hearing ends, the plaintiffs end up hugging her and reassuring her that "it's okay, people have their own opinions, you're not a bad person, this is just how circumstances are and i wouldn't fault you for not picking the ‘moral high road’ for the sake of your own stability and comfort. i would've made the same decision in your shoes. these things shouldn't be blamed on you, but the way our patriarchal society has been set up even before we were born that forces us to choose between these two things. we will never fault you for not making the impossible perfect choice. no matter what happens in the end, we will never fault you for it."

and i'm just like. crying man. it's easy in shows involving law to easily spin a tale to villainise characters the main characters are disagreeing with, but like... this show goes beyond that and reveals something very simple and true, which is that humans are flawed, which means they can make flawed decisions, but that is not always a failure of morality or conscience.

and my god the critique of the mir life company was so good too. even when i thought i'd hate the hr guy, it turns out he's also just another cog in the machine they'd throw out. he's also been fed the same lies and sweet promises the others were, and i couldn't feel that familiar sense of "vindication!!!" i felt when villains got what they deserved. because it reminded me, once again, that he's not a villain; he's just another guy crushed under the weight of his imperfect decisions, becoming the scapegoat for all the targeted animosity when in reality he was discarded just as easily. it felt like his appearance was deliberately put so we'd have someone's face to hate, to throw the eggs on, but in reality the shitty choices are always made from people higher up than him, invisible and faceless but very much present in influencing the quality of thousands of people's livelihoods.

god. what a good show. between young-woo and su-yeon's friendship, i'm also loving the women solidarity in this episode. i love it so much. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON RYU JAE-SOOK AND HER PHILOSOPHY ABOUT BEING AN ATTORNEY AND HER POEM SHE READ ON THE ROOFTOP. I'LL BURST INTO TEARS IF I REMEMBER IT

[2shebears]

I don't think I have the energy to keep on thinking of the guy who self immolated but I saw a post from yesterday that already has 20k notes saying something like he's "not here anymore because the ruling class decided genocide is fine if it protects imperialism." He's not here anymore because he killed himself, Susan. This is not 13 reasons why. The US could have easily been directly responsible for his death (he was active military) but in this case he set up a twitch stream and poured kerosene on himself and literally set himself on fire. like. batonroue.jpg

it also makes me think of the guy who stopped taking his AIDS medication until a local theatre calls for a ceasefire. I understand that there is a broader history of political self immolation in the modern era (post-WWII) but rarely do they occur across the world from the conflicts in question, and rarely do I see my peers hail them as productive martyrdom. I know we (rightfully) critique the US for sliding into authoritarianism but this is not a place where all forms of protest are a death sentence. choosing to swap out the rest of your life for this... I understand that he's getting the buzz he wanted, and that the shock factor is part of it, but it exhausts and scares me.

Another thing that gets me is that he was an active duty member of the air force. He must personally know people who have bombed innocents into dust. Maybe he himself has done that. and yet amid this entire over-inflamed media cycle he now thinks that the US's greatest sin and shame lies in a tiny west asian country the size of 2 LA counties stacked on top of each other. and that the best thing he can do is kill himself about it. And yes I am going to pathologize him because he made his life and now death a public deal. if that bugs you just look away. but this feels so in line with american gen z delusions of grandeur. he wants to be a hero so first he joins the military; surely that will be the adrenaline rush he needs. then his frontal lobe starts to gel and he realizes he's working for an imperial superpower, so he just fully pendulums over to being a radical and sets himself on fire.

And for the people trying to say this is about the irony that we glorify folks who die in war and pathologize and dismiss folks who set themselves on fire, I think my only responses have to be:

Self immolation is a modern (postwar) infectious phenomenon like school shootings; it's not a timeless tradition of human action or protest. it comes in waves and spreads by media coverage. it can be a real thing that other people do and still is extreme & suicidal behavior

We don't characterize going to war as extreme & suicidal behavior because conflict is sadly a staple of human civilization and our monkey brains create risk-reward cycles even before the dawn of nationalism. you always know that someone will die in the fight but almost nobody would go to war if it had the fatality rates of, again, setting yourself on fire.

I personally don't glorify people who die in war either. I feel sad mainly. I'm certainly not drawing political cartoons of their dying bodies. Or flash tattoos. Or flash tattoos of the cop who aimed a gun at them. Or russian constructivist style aesthetic graphics valorizing them. etc. etc. etc. I am going crazy.

anyways, I've been blocking folks who think it's okay to put snuff on my dash unannounced or glorify this as the morally correct action of a true believer. guys i love life & being alive. I have depression (albeit fairly well medicated) and i love life & being alive. and if you're reading this whether you agree or hate every word I said, I think you're better off being alive too. Please stay.

[tentacleteapot]

didn’t want to lump this into OP’s post unasked, but the topic of “it’s okay if you just so happen to dislike somebody while still being civil about them if you have to engage with them, you don’t have to go digging for the flimsiest possible justification of your dislike” is something I think about a lot when it comes to tumblr’s relationship with media over the years, honestly.

like, it would be ahistorical and downright dishonest to say that some of tumblr’s reputation for being “a blog site with pvp enabled” doesn’t come from the fact that there are and always have been users on here who felt like they had to justify their dislike or disinterest in a really popular thing at one point. it’s just plain factual that said dislike motivated them to go digging into a creator or actor’s past to try and find something sufficiently negative that they could use it as justification for publicly dumping on something. I know this because I’ve had people say it to me, seen people say it, and I’ll admit to even having thought it myself a couple times over the years (in my defense, I’ve been on tumblr since like 2010, I was much younger then).

“I can finally make a post about how awful this show is and then I’ll never have to see people talk about it again because my mutuals will feel like they can’t reblog things from it” may not have been the exact words that anybody said, sure. but in a time before we had resources for blocking tags and posts we didn’t want to see, the extremely nebulous claim that something was “problematic” (scare quotes intentional, the term as tumblr uses it has ALWAYS been too vague and unspecific to have any real place in actual discourse or critique imo) was often enough to get mutuals and sometimes even tumblr celebrities to boost your post decrying it. and that attitude definitely extended toward people whose posts or typing quirk or overall vibe just… didn’t do it for you.

is that an okay way to act? no. is it the ONLY reason people might feel like they have to find concrete ‘proof’ their dislike of somebody is justified? definitely not. is it the only time anybody feels that way? of course not. sometimes bad people DO have bad vibes, or a show’s writing or an actor’s behavior are subtle red flags that subconsciously warn us not to get too invested in something. but the very specific “once I have the perfect reason for disliking this crafted, I can bring it up whenever I need to or keep it in mind if anybody asks why I’m so rude to this guy or get so mad when I see gifs from this show” mindset is one that’s sadly had a lot of cultivation and fuel devoted to it over the site’s various eras of discourse. unlearning the idea that you have to have a reason to dislike someone and internalizing “I can be civil to this person or neutral about this thing other people like, and avoid them/block the tag for whatever reason I want”, is one of the healthiest things for a person to do.