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tawneybel · 2 years

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Note: Ten favorite monsters, part seven. Part six. To be clear, do to past confusion, these are not lists of monsters I’d bang. Adult-content creator =/= turned-on 24/7. ._. Sometimes I just like to talk about character design and review media I like.

I pretty much like every kind of dragon, from friendly to terrifying. If we’re going off of scary, my favorite’s maybe from The Mists of Avalon. A lot of my fave monsters are literary, but don’t have official art. :(

1. Cat in the Hat from The Cat in the Cat

The Cat in the Hat’s more enjoyable if you view it as demonic horror. There’s a lot of elements I like. Quirky architecture, jokes that go over kids’ heads, goofy magic companion, fun costumes. Yet it’s not a good movie, even by my standards. Audrey Geisel was so disgusted by it, any plans for future live-action adaptations of Theodor’s works were nixed.

I’m kind of glad TCITH was the bad live-action, early ‘00s Seuss movie instead of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Imagine how horrifying they could have made the Grinch.

2-4. “Girly girl” dragons

Barbie As Rapunzel: I have the Penelope plushie, whose design I actually prefer to the movie’s.

Dragon Tales: Before FIM Fluttershy, Cassie was THE shy pink and yellow creature. Dragon Land’s just one of various portal fantasy realms I wanted to visit so badly as a tot. Still do.

Raya and the Last Dragon: People were way critical of Sisu’s design, calling it Elsa’s scalesona. Like Disney hasn’t reused/referenced old designs, jokingly or not. Not that their human(oid) designs are always unique… But Ghibli gets more leniency in that regard. (Haku’s a great dragon design, btw.)

5. the Moving Finger from Nightmares & Dreamscapes

Horror doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.

6. Jean Jacket from Nope

Take elements of UFOlogy, meteorology, marine biology, and animal exploitation, then produce the most terrifying movie monster ever.

7. Stuff from The Stuff

Metaphor for frozen yogurt? Diet food craze?

8. Scary Lion from The Teletubbies

A good example of how audio can determine whether something is cute or terrifying.

9. Wild Things from Where the Wild Things Are

One elementary art class, we got to make our own chimeric Wild Things. Wish I knew where mine was. They’re grotesque, like to party, and actually pretty wholesome.

10. subway station from The Wiz

The Wiz is an interesting localization of The (Wonderful) Wizard of Oz. Garland!Dorothy is taken from Kansas to a mostly unfamiliar fantastical land. (I say “mostly,” because some of the Ozians have Kansan counterparts.) Ross!Dorothy is taken from NYC to fantastical NYC.

Originally, I considered using the book Kalidahs ‘cause I love mix-’n’-match critters. Then I watched this scene. That and the Munchkins coming out of graffiti like ghosts out of chalk outlines was oneiric as fuck. Anyway, the station isn’t just a liminal space, but another architectural monster. The train itself never appears, but we see trash bins and columns advance on Dorothy and co. There’s seemingly non-automated gates and prehensile electrical wires. Also, that peddler with his growing marionettes…

Note: The pic for “The Moving Finger” is actually from the show Monsters, but I only found out it was adapted after deciding to include it. Nightmares & Dreamscapes has one of my favorite covers, even if it’s deceptive. No scarecrow stories.

Unfortunately, the last gif can’t convey the awesome liminal horror that is the Ozified Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station. Fun fact, it was also used in The Warriors.

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sun-kissed-star · 6 years

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what are some newsies blogs i should check out because i am new here

OK BUCKLE UP FELLAS

@poorguysheadisdoingwhatnow has amazing headcanons and never fails to hurt my heart with her fabulous writing

@newsiesheadcanon also has awesome headcanons, even though they might make you cry

@your-brother-crutchie has made me cry with his writing, you’re in for a wild ride if you check out his blog

@ben-cook-can-cook is the greatest gal you can have in your life, she’s so funny and her posts/fics are legendary

@seizethegay1899 is one (1) amazing person I’ve been following for the longest time ever and they never fail to make me smile

@disney-princess-sized is the biggest Ravey Shipper™ around and she’s damn good at convincing you they’re meant to be, it’s her legacy

@elmers-half-a-cup is super nice and just a really great writer

@brooklynbadbois memes and smiles for days, I love her a lot

@tony-higgins is the bane of my existence because her fics are so good but she makes it a point to rip my heart out and stop on it with each one

@dank-crypitic i don’t know how to describe her, all i know is that I love her so, so much despite the teRRIFYING EDITS YOU SEND ME

@who-is-the-king-of-new-york great writing and headcanons! I haven’t talked to her much but I’ve been following her for a long time.

@newsies-fics I live for how much your friends mean to you. She also has a lot of reblogs of great content for our favorite dancing bois

@we-dont-sell-papes has a big heart and fights for her friends any day, I’d die for her

@racetrackcook is so nice, not to mention the queen of all things Ralbert. Between her and my Sprace trash, we’ll be unstoppable

@got-the-east-side amazing fics and AUs! super friendly! what’s there not to love?

@elmer-s-s0cks AMAZING WRITING GIRL WTH H O W

@wetcoffeejpg I just really, really, really love her art, she’s an incredible artist

@races-erster an amazing person and so nice go give her the apPRECIATION SHE DESERVES thanks for your time

@notes-the-newsie a whole lotta reblogs and Good and Gay Content™

@the-supporting-character Very much lives up to her url because she’s so very supportive and leaves the nicest comments on stuff! Also a great writer and a just a very wholesome person

@bexlynne shoutout to this bean for editing my stories and helping me figure out storylines. She’s so nice and leaves asks wherever she goes and writes great angst for my boy Race

@newsies-everlasting SUNNY I LOVE YOU she’s the person to go to with questions and asks, she’s easy to talk to and so nice!

@i-got-personality the fandom’s Crutchie, she’s got the poisonality we all need to get through a rough day and seeing her on my dash cheers me up no matter what mood I’m in

@shes-the-apex-predator can be summed up to FUSE NO but hey we all love her and this fandom wouldn’t be the same without her

@shes-a-plum a constant mood, lots of textposts that basically sum up the human condition. She’s wonderful and so kind.

@sunshine-musicals-yea LOVE HER she always checks up on me, thank you for mom friending me and putting up with how annoying I am. An amazing writer, a great friend

@ridin-in-style hmmmMMMmm this person? endlessly loving and supporting her friends and reblogging all the newsies aesthetics and art she comes across? It’s more likely than you think.

@and-a-snip Just an overall great person to go to for endless support and reblogs of headcanons and fics!

@the-1992-newsies-is-better LAY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! She scares me sometimes but she loves Racetrack Higgins almost as much as I do and she’s very soft, don’t let her fool you

@albertdasillva GREAT WRITING and also a great personality! Has all the gay newsies you’ll ever need. She holds a special place in my heart, love ya babe

@mush-mike-and-ike Deserves all the appreciation in the world. Has lots of love for the rest of the fandom and some greats headcanons!

@daveys-pet-snake GAY NEWSIES ALL AROUND, LETS GO FELLAS also so nice and cares so much for her friends?? like what?? stop that?? you’re making me smile so much from the love that radiates from you??

@races-papes hilarious? makes me laugh? more great newsies content? sounds good to me.

@voice-foundshoe-lost LISTEN I LOVE HER AND HER WRITING A WHOLE LOT very dedicated to our newspaper sons and I respect that. You go girl.

@thebiggestyamfan the sweetest ever, she pops up all over and honestly I’m living for it.

@c0ronas great writing (as always!!), just constant references, and I, too, love Race, so she’s therefore counted as one of the many people I hold near and dear to my heart

@thestoryweneededtowrite AGH I love everything about this blog you have no idea. So creative, quality content, 11/10

@thatguylex STOP KILLING OFF MY BOYS GOSH DARN IT but yeah anyway I love him and I wanna give him a really big hug because he deserves it (unless you don’t want that, then a fistbump is cool too!)

@purenewsies Such a very pure person, just like the newsies. Stans my boy Elmer and writes some great stuff!

@jeremyjordan-am-i-right If you love Jeremy Jordan as much as I do then I have the blog for you, right here fellas, let’s all go appreciate this man

@headcanons-making-headlines Has some awesome hcs that are totally canon, what are you talking about, and shitposts which is really all you need in life

@broadwaycantdie ITS ALL NEWSIES TRASH WHEREVER YOU LOOK AND I’M LIVING FOR IT. Go talk to this lovely person! Reblogs All The Headcanons and Fics (now there’s a headline even Elmer could sell)

@anotherday-anotherdestiny President of the Trans Racetrack Higgins movement. That’s all you need to know to know her blog is Valid™

@timesarehardfornewsies she’s a big mood for forever and a talented, amazing gal

@race-ace Quality indeed with all this happiness going around when I see this lovely person on my dash

@thatfancyclam OWNS MY ENTIRE HEART, dubbed me the Queen of Sprace, she’s the light of my life with all the positivity and love that she throws out

@seizetheimagines very, very talented and creative. She has a big heart and a lot of passion.

@crutchieee-morris MY PARTNER IN CRIME I WOULD DIE FOR HER SHE’S AMAZING AND I WOULD BE CONSTANTLY LOST WITHOUT HER

@soak-em So sweet! She’s Sparks’ second-in-command as Crutchie in my heart.

@shes-the-king Has some really great Sprace stuff, but also just a lot of different ships in general! I haven’t talked to them, but they seem really nice from what I’ve seen.

@gothemcityshipper Great hcs and super friendly, from what I’ve seen! (we should talk more, babe!) I’d 100% check her out if I was you.

@sqecs I feel like his posts are just such icons in the newsies fandom,,,, he’s made me fall off my bed from laughing so hard so his blog is pretty Great

@imjusttheoutgoingsidekick I LIVE FOR ALL THE HEADCANONS! Very accurate posts too, like I feel like you’re seeing into some minds to get this information.

@unofficialfansie Also has a lot of great headcanons! I haven’t been following her for very long but I stan her anyway, she’s just great that way.

There’s probably so many more I missed agh, I love you all!! Not sure why you put up with me in this fandom because I feel like a grain of sand next to you legends. Love you guys

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nadjaofstatenisland · 7 years

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Im saddened by the lack of teen Hiram and Hermione content. I'm sorry but I love this shady ass couple lmao

Teen Hermione? Queen bee. River Vixen. (always competing with Penelope for head cheerleader while trying to remain on somewhat friendly terms with her) Her family wasn’t rich, per say, but they were better off than most. She could have lived off her allowance, but actually liked having a job and sense of purpose. (I mean, it was just working the jewelry and perfume counter at her dad’s store, but it was still contributing.)

She wasn’t the kind of “pin me and lets go steady” kind of girl. She liked to keep her options open, enjoyed having a different boy take her out each weekend. It didn’t make her slutty. She just didn’t want to be one of those girls who settled for a boy at 15 and never experience anything else.

Of course, she was most often the object of two different boys affection. Fred Andrews and Hiram Lodge.

Fred was your typical, aw shucks all American kid. Played football (not great), had a band (also not great but damn did they throw their heart into it). Dates with Fred meant splitting sundaes at Pops and going to the Twilight and parking and singing along to whatever was on the radio until they both had tears of laughter falling down their faces. Fred was a gentleman. Never rushed or pushed and she knew deep in her heart this boy really cares about me.

But, as I said, Hermione wasn’t settling down in high school. No way, no how.

That Hiram Lodge on the other hand? Talk about a charmer. Came from one of the richest founding families of Riverdale. Big house, new car on his 16th birthday. Wrestling team (light weight, of course). Just like Fred, he was a shameless flirt, but damned if you didn’t even know you were flirting with him until he walked away. (level headed Mary was never much of a flirt, but even she couldn’t hold a conversation with Hiram without bursting into giggles and blushing. he just had than effect on people.) Hiram just had that air about him. You wanted him to like you, even if you couldn’t understand why. Dates with him were trips to nice restaurants in Greendale and lunch at the country club. Dates where you couldn’t just toss on some jeans and a crop top, you had to plan an outfit.

By junior year, Hermione realized she wasn’t getting asked out as much. As a matter of fact, it seemed like one weekend she was going out with Freddy, one weekend with Hiram, next weekend with Freddy again, and so on and so on.

Alice finally broke the news to her one day, laughing her head off at how naive Hermione was. Of course other guys weren’t asking her out anymore. She, Fred, and Hiram now made the ultimate Riverdale High love triangle. The school was practically placing bets on which boy she was going to choose by graduation and, “come on now, Hermione. Hiram has the money, but Fred has the heart. Don’t be stupid now.” Every other guy in school was wary about even getting to close. Because if you cross Fred, you’d have FP breathing down your neck looking for a fight. And if you crossed Hiram… well, god help you if you crossed the junior godfather.

Hermione stopped seeing them both for months. Took up extra shifts at the store just to keep herself busy. End of junior year, Fred came to her, hat in hand, asking her for another chance. She figured she’d punished him enough. And after all, wasn’t Fred the kind of boy you dreamed of? So wholesome and sweet. He’d jog a mile just to make sure he got to the door first so he could hold it open for her. (and then if he wouldn’t hold it open for the next ten people who walked in to because damnit that is so Fred.) So she went out with Fred and they started going steady. After all, senior year is full of making decisions, right? And at 17 going on 18, you’re not really settling anymore. You’re practically an adult who needs to make an adult decision.

College was still so up in the air. Fred was staying in Riverdale, already had a job lined up working construction with his dad. He’d make foreman soon enough, hell maybe even management in a few years. Hermione could continue working at her dad’s shop (she was still undecided about college), and maybe even take it over when he retired. Her older sisters had already married and moved on, so who else would do it?

But then… wasn’t that all settling? All American boy in this all American town that time forgot. They’d never be well off, but they’d be comfortable. Never could afford to go to Europe, but they could definitely take a week to spend at the Jersey shore. Maybe if they saved enough, they could pack the kids in the car and all go to Disney World. Hell, it wouldn’t be glamorous, but they’d still be happy, right? Right?

Senior year got weird. Alice disappeared and Hal mentally checked out and Mary nearly went full on panic mode trying to get into a good college and FP was getting into some shit everyone was too afraid to question him on. And then good old Freddy was there, smile on his face, telling everyone to just relax. Everything is going to be just fine.

How Fred? How can everything be just fine when a life of Riverdale and being a shop girl and construction and weeks at the shore is right there and maybe it’s not what you want?

So she felt bad, so bad, when Hiram invited her and Fred to a party and she went without him. But what could she do? She needed some excitement in her life.

And then her and Hiram spent the whole party on the bench swing in the yard while the party raged on inside. (alcohol only at this one. Alice was gone and everyone knew FP would only get you weed, nothing heavier.) They drank rum from the bottle and he told her about New York and going to school and how he wanted to stay there after graduation and fuck Riverdale, right? We don’t have to be these small town nothings. We can be bigger. Big fish in a small pond? Fuck it all. We’ll be big fish in the ocean still.

And she leaned over and kissed him and he kissed her back. And the next morning she went to Fred’s house in tears and broke his heart and never looked back.

Her parents always preferred Hiram anyway.

When Alice came back to school, she made a point to call her a heartless bitch in front of the entire locker room one day. Even Mary became a bit cold towards her.

And then prom came and they were crowned king and queen. (which Alice sweetly pointed out was only because her and Hal didn’t run.) And then graduation came and they had a huge bonfire party near Sweetwater River and when Fred and FP started singing around the fire, her and Hiram joined in with the rest of the senior class. They kept their distance though. She saw Fred toss his arm around Mary at one point and kiss her on the cheek and she couldn’t explain the feeling of discomfort afterwards.

They packed their bags in August. Only Mary came by to say good bye. As they hugged, Hermione asked her if she was dating Fred now. Mary told her to keep in touch.

They passed the Town with Pep! sign as they left Riverdale for good. She made the right choice. Right?

(i took this too far. did i take this too far? damn, send me more asks.)

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eknowledgetree2015 · 5 years

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Netflix vs Hulu vs amazon prime vs Hotstar: Which is the Best Streaming Service?

The 21st century has made the tv industry obsolete. As the internet opened the doors to entertainment to billions of people. As streaming services took over the dying network media by storm. The viewers at home gained much more by choosing the streaming service over the networking media. No longer they have to pay for every little thing that came with the package, with the streaming service, the viewers are in charge of the service.

Netflix vs Hulu vs amazon prime vs Hotstar

Now in 2019, picking the best streaming service can be a tough thing to do, as more and more prominent companies have started getting into the streaming service pool. For example, now you can sign up for a streaming service for each sport that you used to watch on a sports channel. There is freedom in the streaming service. Before this, people used to pay for every sport on the channel because the channel had that one sport that they liked the most. Now with the streaming service, you can just start your membership with any sport that you want to watch unlike in the tv cable medium where you have to pay for every sport because the channel had your sport. Over the year many streaming moguls like Netflix, Hulu, Hotstar, and amazon prime has expanded their coverage to more people and providing great benefits with the product. Before we decide which is better than which, first we have to go through every one of them. So we can extract the detail information that will conclude which one of them is the best streaming service available in the market.

Netflix:

The letter N on a red background has been a recognized symbol for Netflix. They are the ones who started the revolution of streaming services even long before streaming service was a thing. Now they have a massive catalogue of all sorts of shows that appeals to every demographic. The only word that is synonymous with Netflix is the quality they offer for the price they charge for membership. For people who like movies, Netflix has the best collection of movies that you just watch in your home without going to the theatre. They even produce and create movies, and it opens the door to all the small creators with a camera and a dream. And many big-name directors have been moving to the Netflix streaming service to premiere their movie. Because of the streaming service in the future. Netflix has over 150 million members worldwide, 60 million of them are from the United States. Many special shows from the different regions have found a home on Netflix. That’s why Netflix has become a great streaming service for anybody looking for a diverse range of the program. You can expect movies, but with movies, you will get special tv shows, anime, sports, live concerts, and most important them all Netflix specials. These specials are what Netflix considers as watch worthy for the viewers. Out of the famous shows they have under them – Orange is the new black, south park, The OZ, Arrested Development, Stranger Things for the people who want the tv experience. For the people are more into adult theme cartoon, Netflix has a great list of Anime for you – Death Note, Naruto, Castle Vania, and many more. There is another reason that adds more weight to the Netflix, They always keep their list updated every day and add new stuff every season. So, people won’t get bored with the service. Netflix understands watching the same stuff over and over again might make the audience switch to other streaming services. The market competition makes every streaming service to add something new to their list every single month to be the best streaming service available in the market. The viewer will also get the option to download the shows, In case if there is a networking problem in your area, or you just don’t want to be connected to the internet all the time. Netflix also supports a wide variety of devices for you to stream without putting hassle on the set up of the task. Netflix offers a quality dark-themed interface to browser whatever you want to watch. This looks good and it won’t hurt your eyes if you open the app at midnight for a binge-watch a show or watch some movie on the couch. When it comes to the price point, Netflix starts its membership fee for $8.99 a month for the standard definition. For the people with HD tv, if you want the High definition experience of a show, you have to pay a little more than the standard definition users, $12,99. And for the people with a 4k screen, Netflix has you covered with Ultra HD package for $15.99.

Hulu:

Hulu started focusing more on networking tv than the movies. Hulu launched its service one year after Netflix launched theirs, in 2007. If you compare Netflix vs Hulu, Netflix has the experience and the more featured diverse list of shows under their belt. Many networking shows found Hulu as their secondary option of broadcasting shows. NBC universal found its place on the internet through Hulu. Now prominent programs of the ’90s can be found on Hulu. Good wholesome shows such as Friends, Seinfeld can now be streamed via Hulu. The question still stands, does Hulu has what it takes to become the best streaming service for the viewer? While other streaming services offering their work for the worldwide audience. Hulu is only available in the united states. They have the eyes of 28 million people to their service. When it comes to Netflix vs Hulu, Netflix has the number. The number for Hulu has been going up every year, in 2017, Hulu changed their business model. As they started adapting more Live tv shows on their streaming service. On Hulu Live streaming service blew up pretty fast. Where more people went to Hulu for a live broadcast without paying any extra fee. Just like every entertainment medium, Hulu is owned by Disney. Hulu had 5 year deal with the CW for streaming of shows such as Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Supernatural, but the contract has been expired, and all the shows have gone to Netflix. When it comes to Netflix vs Hulu, Netflix has a wide range of shows packing in a different category, Hulu lacks the content that another streaming service has to offer. Hulu now has the popular sitcom Seinfeld, Family Guy, and south park. All of these shows are the best what the entertainment media has to offer. With Hulu you will also be able to have access to the past season of highly popular Rick and Morty, Handmaiden’s tale, Chance, Casual, and many other shows to pass your time. Hulu has been adapting to the premiering of the original shows broadcasted on ABC, CBS, and FOX. As the originals shows are getting better reception by the critics and the audience. In Netflix vs Hulu, Hulu takes the cake here by providing the live telecast of the networking shows in your handheld devices. Hulu packs in a lot of channels for a few bucks from your pocket. If you want to watch other than the shows from ABC, CBS, or FOX. Then you have to pay some more, for example, you can watch the Game of Thrones on Hulu for $14.99 a month by getting the HBO channel package. With Hulu, you will get the entire channel under your disposal. Showtime for $10.99, Cinemax for $9.99. At the price point, Hulu comes in $5.99 per month. But this includes the commercial between the programs. If you are not an AD friendly person, you will have to switch to the non-ad Hulu service, which starts at $11,99 per month.

Amazon Prime:

Amazon has been reaching towards the streaming service too with brand new content on their list and proving many more benefits to the normal amazon member. We are now living in an age where streaming content has taken the centre stage of all entertainment mediums. And Amazon is not falling behind the schedule. They are on their way to becoming the best streaming service in the market. So far, compare it to the other streaming services in the market amazon prime offers their streaming services for a cheaper price. There are other benefits that a viewer will upon becoming a prime member of Amazon. For example, you are going to get a faster delivery service without any shipping fee. If you shop for a product on amazon, and the selective product doesn’t match the ideal rate for free delivery, then becoming a prime member would get you a free delivery option. When it comes to the show that they have to offer, it pretty lacks lustring. They are not that good while at the same time they are not that bad. Shows such as Jack Ryan, Marvelous Maisel, The Man in the high castle, Downton Abbey, The boys, The expense, and many more. All of these may not bring the best answer to the entertainment that you want, but they will quite a lot of fun to watch with your loved one or sharing with the family. The price tag for Amazon prime sets at $12.99 per month and $129 per year. If you join amazon prime now you are going to get a 30-day free trial which will cover up the shows and the shipping charges for your shopping. If you are a frequent Amazon shopper than amazon prime membership is a must-have, the benefits of the membership also expands to the entertainment system. This makes Amazon the wholesome choice for entertainment. If you are living in India then the prime membership would cost you around 999 rupees, which would land somewhere between $13 – 14 per year.

Hotstar:

By far the cheapest among all the streaming services and providing good quality content to match the price range. Hotstar is owned by the beloved star company. It features a lot of national and international program without making the viewer going for another streaming service to get access to their favourite program. As Hotstar manages to get all of the favourites into one place. Star network brings all sorts of entertainment channels to the touch of your fingertips. Not only you will have access to the tv shows and movies but you will also get access to the sports section without paying any additional price for it. And if you prefer watching shows from HBO, with Hotstar you will get access to all the mainstream show under one app. This makes Hotstar the best streaming service in the market. As shows such as the game of thrones, silicon valley, West world, girls, True detective will be in one app without signing up for a new deal with HBO Go. And the fun doesn’t have to stop at the tv section. With Hotstar you will have access to thousands of movies from different genera all of it covered under one price point. No additional money is required to access each category of entertainment with Hotstar. Just download the app and enjoy the services. Hotstar also features the live telecast of sports. For anyone like to glue to their tv in cricket season or football or basketball season, Hotstar is a perfect place to get your sportsmanship going to another level. As all of these will be available to you at the same time as they are being premiered throughout the world. With Hotstar you won’t miss your favourite program or fall sort on tracking your favourite sports team. Because you will be watching your favourite team playing the match on your handheld device and keeping up with the events in your favourite show. The regular subscription plan for Hotstar starts at 199 rupees per month, and 696 rupees per year. The price point makes the Hotstar the best choice for anyone looking for a streaming service on their phone or computer. That’s it! The answer to the best streaming services available in the market is totally on you to decide which one of them spiked your interest in getting a monthly or yearly subscription. With Netflix, you are going to get access to specials, anime, tv shows. With Hulu you are gonna get the blast from the past shows, with Amazon Prime, you are going to get a decent amount show but extra benefits to your online shopping, and with Hotstar you are going to get every entertainment program and sports package under the cheapest price range. Read the full article

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iamandco · 5 years

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PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY What’s your favorite Disney movie? There are many to choose from, whether you're a fan of the classics, the animations, the live action, or even the newer remakes. Whether you classify yourself as a die hard fan with a Disney annual pass or you’ve never even visited one of their theme parks, I’m sure you’ve seen one of their movies at some point. I grew up with a dresser full of old VHS Disney tapes that I treasured growing up. My love for Disney goes past all the princesses and falls more on the forgotten movies like “The Black Cauldron” and my all time favorite, “The Aristocats.” Since 2016, Netflix has been the go to place to stream some of your Disney favorites. But all of that may be changing soon, with titles like “Bridge to Terabithia,” “The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story,” and many more already having been removed. With Disney announcing their new streaming service “Disney+,” the fate of current Disney content on streaming services such as Netflix remains uncertain. It seems like all Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars content will only be available on “Disney+.” There is no current set date on when these titles will be leaving other streaming services, but it may be after the official launch of “Disney+.” “Captain Marvel,” along with future Disney theatrical releases like “Frozen 2,” will only be available to stream on “Disney+.” We suggest planning a movie night sooner rather than later, to watch all the Disney movies currently on Netflix. “Disney+” is set to launch on November 12, 2019 and will be available for a $7 monthly payment or $70 for a year subscription. At those prices, it is sure to rival Netflix. Below I have listed ten of my favorite Disney movies still available on Netflix! PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Chicken Little” Truly a classic from childhood, “Chicken Little” gives a new meaning to the story of the boy who cried wolf. Released in 2005, this movie follows a small town character called Chicken Little, who throws his entire town into a panic claiming the sky is falling. A year later, Chicken Little is still trying to redeem himself from the fiasco and he joins the baseball team. The night of a big baseball game, Chicken Little is again convinced the sky is falling and discovers a UFO. He must now convince his entire town that they are in danger and this time it’s not a false alarm. PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Coco” This movie hit home for me. I am a Mexican American and seeing my culture represented on the big screen was huge. Especially at a time in my life where I had lost a family member and celebrating their life through the “Day of the Dead” had a whole new meaning. “Coco” is a vibrant film that does an incredible job at showcasing just a small part of Mexican culture. With a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is described as “a thoughtful narrative that takes a family-friendly—and deeply affecting—approach to questions of culture, family, life, and death.” Released in 2017 by Disney and produced by Pixar, “Coco” follows 12 year old Miguel Rivera. Despite his family’s generations long ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming a musician. He idolizes Ernesto de la Cruz, a fictional character who is described as one of Mexico’s most famous musicians, who had a tragic death. In an unexplainable turn of events, Miguel is transported to the Land of the Dead where he meets his deceased ancestors. Clearly a living human boy, Miguel must find his way back home from the land of the dead. On his journey, he will unlock his family history and the reason behind the Rivera’s hatred for music. “Coco” received positive reviews for its respectful portrayal of Mexican culture and was even chosen as the “Best Animated Film” of 2017 by the National Board of Review. The film also received many awards, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Critic’s Choice Movie Award. PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Meet the Robinsons” Another one of my favorites, “Meet the Robinsons” blew my mind the first time I watched it as a kid, almost teenager. I remember crying watching the wholesome film that centered so much on family. Despite being a children’s film, the movie has incredible depth, with a storyline focused on time travel. I love that the movie pushes kids to have an interest in science and engineering and its underlying message of “keep moving forward” inspires kids to get back up and try again after you fail. The movie follows Lewis, a 12 year old orphan boy with a love for inventing gadgets. Unfortunately, his passion for building scares off couples looking to adopt him. The events of the film begin to take off when Lewis creates a memory scanner for his school’s science fair. Wanting nothing more than to locate his mother, who abandoned him as a baby, Lewis creates the memory scanner in hopes of remembering what his mom looked like. On the way to the science fair, Lewis meets Wilbur Robinson, a mysterious boy who claims to be from the future. Wilbur promises to take Lewis to the past, to meet his mother, if he first helps him recover a stolen time machine from a villain called the “Bowler Hat Guy.” When Lewis and Wilbur adventure into the future they accidently wreck the time machine. Wilbur must find a way to get Lewis back to his own time before his family realizes he is a boy from the past. As Lewis begins to meet the rest of the Robinson family, the movie begins to be filled with more twists and turns and secrets about who Wilbur and his family really are will be revealed. With the “Bowler Hat Guy” in possession of one of the time machines and eventually, Lewis’ memory scanner, it’s a race against the clock before the villain alters time and Lewis must step up to save the future, or the Robinson’s may cease to exist. PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Ralph Breaks the Internet” A sequel to the 2012 film “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” was released in 2018 and takes place six years after the events of the original film. Now best friends, Ralph and Vanellope must venture into the Internet via a Wi-Fi router to save her home and game, Sugar Rush. Inside the World Wide Web, the two must be helped by the netizens, citizens of the internet, to navigate the mysterious world and find the part that could save the Sugar Rush game. “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” like the original film, has many popular culture cameo appearances. Which is to be expected with a movie released during our time where society cherishes the internet and social media. The amount of Disney characters, including the princesses, alone that are seen in the movie are hard to count. My personal favorite was a scene where Vanellope is shown running into a man, who turns out to be Stan Lee, the infamous Marvel Comics writer, speaking with Iron Man. PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Incredibles 2” I don’t think there has ever been a want for a movie sequel as much as their was for “Incredibles 2.” We all grew up wanting to be a part of “The Incredibles” family and have superpowers of our own. And let’s be honest, how many times have you recited Frozone’s infamous line: “Where’s my supersuit!?” “Incredibles 2,” which was released in 2018 shows a switch in family dynamic. With Helen now in the spotlight, Bob stays at home with the three kids, doing his best to adjust to “normal” life. When a new villain comes into the picture, the family must once again work together to defeat the evil character, which is easier said than done with hidden tensions coming to the surface. Oh, and let’s not forget everyone's favorite superhero, Frozone! Yeah, he helps, again! PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Bedtime Stories” In what could literally be anyone’s dream, “Bedtime Stories” is a live action fantasy movie where innocent bedtime stories begin to come to life in the real world. Released in 2008 and starring Adam Sandler, the film follows Skeeter Bronson, a hotel maintenance man who has had a love for hospitality since a young age. When Skeeter is asked to watch his niece and nephew for a few days, he finds himself coming up with intricate and whimsical bedtime stories for them. To his surprise, the outlandish stories begin coming true and impacting his real life. With twists and turns, this film proves to be just what a family needs for a fun-filled movie night. PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Race to Witch Mountain” Released in 2009, “Race to Witch Mountain” stars Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, and Alexander Ludwig. Johnson stars as Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas taxi driver who is caught up in a race against time, government agents, and an alien bounty hunter. When he meets young Sara and Seth, he finds out the two are aliens and chooses to help them get to Witch Mountain, the location of their hidden spaceship in order to save Earth from an extraterrestrial invasion. “Race to Witch Mountain” is a live-action remake of the 1975 Disney live-action movie “Escape to Witch Mountain.” PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Mary Poppins Returns” A sequel to the 1964 film “Mary Poppins,” “Mary Poppins Returns” stars Emily Blunt as the beloved and whimsical character of Mary Poppins. The sequel is set in 1930s depression-era London, where adult Michael Banks lives in his childhood home with his three children and his sister Jane, having lost his wife a year earlier. To Michael and Jane’s surprise, their childhood nanny, an unaged Mary Poppins revisits them claiming she is back to look after the Banks children, the same reason for visiting them when they were children. As the family reels through a difficult time, Mary Poppins helps the family, especially the children, rediscover joy in their lives through her magic-filled adventures. Michael, having forgotten what it’s like to be a child blames Poppins for filling his children's heads with “stuff and nonsense” while he struggles to pay off a loan to the bank that threatens to repossess his family home. This time, Mary Poppins has some help from new characters like Jack, a lamplighter, and Topsy, Poppins eccentric cousin. With a star studded cast, Jack is portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Topsy by Meryl Streep. “Mary Poppins Returns” reminds us all that “anything is possible.” PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Saving Mr. Banks” On the topic of Mary Poppins, the original 1964 movie almost never happened. In 2013, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks starred in the period comedy drama “Saving Mr. Banks.” The film is centered around the two weeks of business meetings spent in Los Angeles, California where the author of the Mary Poppins stories, Pamela “P.L.” Travers met with Walt Disney to discuss the film rights to her novels. According to Walt Disney Pictures, the business move to gain the movie rights to Mary Poppins all began when Walt Disney’s daughters begged their father to make a movie of their favorite books, which happened to be the Mary Poppins series, written by P.L. Travers. Walt Disney made a promise to his daughters, not knowing it would take 20 years to complete the promise. P.L. Travers had no intention of her books becoming films, as she didn’t want her stories tarnished by Hollywood. But overtime, as her books stopped selling and money grew short, Travers reluctantly met with Walt Disney in 1961 to discuss selling the film rights. The film title “Saving Mr. Banks” derives from the name of the father of the family in the books. The movie received positive reviews from critics and holds a 79 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes where it is described as “Aggressively likable and sentimental to a fault, “Saving Mr. Banks” pays tribute to the Disney legacy with excellent performances and sweet, high-spirited charm.” PHOTO: COURTESY DISNEY “Christopher Robin” Winnie the Pooh was literally my favorite Disney character growing up. I even, proudly, own a collectors edition of short stories based around Pooh and his adventures. “Christopher Robin” is a live action adaptation released in 2018 that follows the story of Christopher Robin, the boy now a man who must be reminded of how life should always be whimsical and that having a childlike attitude should never be lost. Pooh and his lovable friends, Tigger, Euyore, and Piglet must venture out of the Hundred Acre Wood and into London to help Christoher Robin in his time of need. Disney Movies Through the Years Though Disney has had success with both their animated films and live-action films, over the recent years they have begun to remake their animated films into live action. Examples being “Dumbo” and “Aladdin.” With no plans to slow down on remakes, some of the live-action adaptations to look forward to include: “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” “Mulan,” and “The Little Mermaid.” And of course, “The Lion King” which recently hit theaters. The Walt Disney Company continues to lead the world of entertainment. From its movies and shorts to its theme parks and resorts that have expanded worldwide. With a mission to provide fun for the whole family, Disney has gone above and beyond to spread joy and positivity across generations. Despite the upcoming release of the “Disney+” streaming service, there is still time to catch up on the Disney titles still available on Netflix, but I wouldn’t wait too long for a marathon!

#self care #self love

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templeadlib-blog · 8 years

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Instagram Celebrity

Many believe that Instagram has taken over the spot once uniquely held by Facebook. Instagram is viewed as appealing to a younger age group, based in part on the fact that it allows regular people to get a glimpse into the lives of celebrities. And celebrities also realize the value of Instagram as they attempt to increase their followers. But not all popular Instagram users are celebrities. Take for example, Morgan Stewart Fitzpatrick, a “regular” person with one million followers, whose posts depict her “everyday” life. There are plenty of selfies, some with celebrities or unknown people, but mainly her posts are comprised of her daily life- gym pictures, pictures with her dog, friends, etc. And there is no doubt that her followers love her. Comments such as “you’re gorgeous” “you look like a Victoria Secret’s model” and “oh the legs that don’t stop” clearly expose her popularity. Of course, there is her handle, “@boobsandloubs” which, needless to say, is enticing and interesting and there is no doubt that she takes advantage of her looks as she promotes her sexy image. In her case, sex certainly does sell. Morgan loves her followers just as much as they love her and she interacts with them on a friendly basis, as if she knows them personally. She juxtapositions everyday pictures of herself in jeans and t-shirts against glossy, dressed to the 9s pictures allowing her to portray herself not only as a sexy bombshell, but also the girl next door.

In contrast to this regular girl next door, Selena Gomez earns the title for the most followers for a celebrity. What makes Selena so popular on Instagram? Again, it come back to the access she allows into her personal life. Numerous selfies show her out to dinner with friends or celebrities, glamorously dressed for a red-carpet appearance, or hanging out in jeans and t-shirts. It appears to encompass her life, or at least the life she wants to portray. Instagram accounts are popular for celebrities not just because it increases their popularity and therefore increases their overall wealth, but also because they have control of what gets posted. Franco states that Instagram gets attention and attention is power. This power allows celebrities to have control over what people see of their lives instead of what the paparazzi have control over. Selena’s comments from her followers are positive, praising, and adoring. Her followers are generally in her age range and most likely grew up with her through her Disney days. This age compatibility, in combination with her average-twenty-something-year-old posts and seemingly down to earth personality, makes her relatable with her followers. They are able to feel that, in some respects, she is just like they are, while still getting an inside look at her glamorous celebrity life.

Overall, the Instagram for Selena and Morgan are very similar. They offer lots of selfies in varying situations, most obviously posed and contrived, but rarely ones that are not staged. Though they clearly want to relate to their followers, they make sure that each picture is either perfect or close to perfect, because after all, even as we protest that we want celebrities to be just like us, at the same time, we hold them to extremely high standards and one hair out of place could potentially ruin someone’s opinion of that person. This is especially true for people like Morgan whose “celebrity” foundation was built on her online appearance. Morgan has garnered so many followers because she knew how to play the game. She knew what sold, she knew the look and image she wanted to attain and maintain, and although most of her pictures are wholesome, every once in a while, she posts that sex symbol picture that lures followers right back into her fold. This diversity of pictures is similar to what Taylor swift describes when she talks about how genres of music sometimes coalesce into one another, leaving a foggy distinction as to which genre they belong in- pop, rock or country. For Morgan and Selena, they portray different facets of their lives as they encourage us to like them and their posts. Franco states that selfies are “one of the most popular ways to post and garner the most likes from followers” and clearly this idea has helped him, Selena and Morgan. He suggests that unpopular posts include poems, art projects and those aimed at haters. There are no signs of any of these in Selena’s or Morgan’s posts.

Instagram has changed the idea of celebrity because now anyone, if done properly, has an opportunity to become famous through Instagram without following what we would think of as the traditional celebrity route. And some, like Morgan, have become so well known that they have made it onto a reality show. The key is finding the niche that fits and then exploiting that niche into stardom, whether it be based on physical appearance or baking prowess or even being able to bring cartoon characters to life.

So, just as Swift believes that the music industry is not dying, in fact in her opinion it is growing, Instagram will grow and change as well. The lucky ones will be those who recognize that change is good and get on board with new concepts as soon as they become popular. Maybe one day the selfie won’t be the most popular thing on Instagram- maybe at some point, the audience will demand more personal content. The ones who will be successful will be those who can keep ahead of the change curve and adjust to what their fans want to see, not necessarily what they want to show.

#Instagram Celebrity #submission

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believermag · 8 years

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Who Will Think of the Children?

Jim Knipfel on Satire and Children’s Books

This past September, the Abrams’ imprint Image, which specializes in illustrated and reference works, published a novelty book entitled Bad Little Children’s Books by the pseudonymous Arthur Gackley. The small hardcover, which itself quite deliberately resembled a little golden book, featured carefully-rendered and patently offensive parodies of classic children's book covers. Instead of happy, apple-cheeked tykes doing pleasant wholesome things, Gackley’s covers featured kids farting, puking, and using drugs. Others included children with dildoes and racially inflammatory portrayals of Middle Eastern, Asian, and Native American youngsters. The book was clearly labeled a work of satire aimed at adults, and adults with a certain tolerance for bad taste and crass jokes.

Upon its initial release it received positive reviews and sold fairly well. Then in early December, a former librarian named Kelly Jensen posted an entry on Bookriot entitled “It’s Not Funny. It’s Racist.”

“This kind of 'humor' is never acceptable,” Ms. Jensen wrote. “It’s deadly.”

Jensen’s rant circulated quickly across social media, and Abrams suddenly found itself besieged by attacks from the outraged and offended, who assailed Gackley for creating the book in the first place, and the Abrams editorial board for agreeing to publish it.

“There is a difference between ‘hate speech’ and free speech,” one outraged member of the kidlit comunity wrote on Facebook. “In the same way, you cannot yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater just because you feel like it. This book was in very bad, insulting, racist taste, and designed to look like a children's book. How is that a good idea? Children are too young to understand this as parody. If it's for adults, why is that even funny? Oh, I guess if you are a racist you would think it's funny.”

Another tweeted, “Sounds like something that should've been completely ignored and removed before it hit the shelves. Just because we have the freedom of speech, it can be taken way too far.”

Still another confused and enervated soul wrote, “Argue all that you want, but this particular book was for children yes? Or no? If it was, does that mean we should allow and subject young children to gratuitous violence, gore and pornography? And what age is it acceptable? Does this mean we have to start putting PG-14 on printed material and make it mandatory because certain writers can't conduct themselves with a moral scale?”

Another angry reader summed it up quite simply by posting, “Freedom is bullshit, literally.”

[Note: As much as possible, the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors which peppered the above posts have been corrected here for the sake of simple comprehensibility.]

Although Abrams initially stood by Gackley and the First Amendment right to offend, and had received the public support of several anti-censorship organizations, by December tenth the noise had simply grown too shrill. Mr. Gackley, maintaining to the end his intentions had been grossly misinterpreted, admitted there was no way to salvage things, and asked that Abrams not reprint the book. In a statement, Abrams announced they would be complying with his wishes. Although Bad Little Children’s Books was not banned in any official capacity, it had all but completely vanished from online booksellers within a few days after the announcement. Used copies, while available, are now selling for outrageous prices.

At the same time that this was happening, there were also calls to ban the (real) children’s books When We Was Fierce and A Birthday Cake for George Washington. The invented slang used in the former was interpreted as racist by some parent groups, and the latter was attacked for its historically inaccurate portrayal of the daily lives of slaves on Washington’s estate. Meanwhile, a mother in Tennessee led the call to pull Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from the local school system. The New York Times bestselling biography, which concerned a Baltimore woman whose massive cervical tumor had become the invaluable source of several generations worth of cell lines used by cancer researchers, was being taught in local high schools as a means of educating students both about cancer and about racial issues within the medical community. The Tennessee mother calling for its removal, however, found the book pornographic.

Point being, I guess, that certain sectors of the population harbor an insatiable, even desperate desire to be shocked and offended by something they’ve read, seen, or even heard about, and the drive to ban these things (made much easier with the advent of social media) will likely always be with us. But back to the Gackley for a moment. Reading through the enraged postings aimed at Abrams, a number of the offended make the point that they are not attempting to censor, but are merely exercising their own First Amendment right to criticize. That’s fine and understandable. But the crux of the matter is that these people would be much happier if the book never existed in the first place, and considered Abrams’ decision a glorious victory for their cause.

Let’s try to put it in some sort of semi-comprehensible historical context. Dark and occasionally tasteless adult-oriented satires of children’s books, television and toys have been with us about as long as media aimed specifically at the innocent set. We just can’t help ourselves. Present us with the doe-eyed lukewarm treacle of the Smurfs or Care Bears, and some of us will instinctively reach for a baseball bat. In the case of Bad Little Children’s Books, the outrage in many instances seems to be sparked less by the content than form, and the fear that the book might actually be mistaken for legitimate kidlit. So here are a handful of similar cases from the last half-century. While reactions and results differ wildly, a certain historical pattern does seem to emerge.

Ralph Bakshi’s 1972 animated feature Fritz the Cat, based on the R. Crumb character, became notorious overnight for being the first theatrically-released cartoon to receive an X rating from the MPAA. What people tend to forget is that the film received the distinction not on account of its sexual content, nor because it included characters who were overtly racist, misogynistic drug addicts who cursed a lot. The real problem was the film featured cute and fuzzy animals who were racist, misogynistic drug addicts who cursed a lot, and had sex. The MPAA board was afraid people would see the cartoon poster and stroll into the theater, family in tow, expecting the latest Disney opus. By modern standards the film should have received nothing more than an R rating, but the damning “adults only” designation was an effort to avoid any confusion. It didn’t matter. People saw the X rating and immediately concluded Bakshi had made a hardcore cartoon in a diabolical effort to corrupt the nation’s youth. Although the publicity attracted large audiences and earned the film an undeniable bit of underground cred, that same publicity did irreparable damage to Bakshi’s career. For decades afterward, even while trying to redeem himself with the family-friendly Mighty Mouse cartoon series for TV, he found himself labeled a racist, sexist pornographer determined to get America’s young people hooked on heroin—charges leveled at him mostly by people who had never seen Fritz the Cat.

Long before he won a Pulitzer for Maus and became a regular contributor to The New Yorker, cartoonist Art Spiegelman spent twenty years working for the Topps trading card company. Among other things, he was one of the primary creative forces behind Topps' wildly popular and wickedly subversive Wacky Packages series, which satirized American consumer products. In 1985, Topps attempted to arrange a licensing deal to release a series of trading cards based on Cabbage Patch Dolls, which were all the rage at the time. Finding licensing fees had already gone through the roof, they decided instead to release a Wacky Packages-style parody. As it happened, an unreleased Wacky Packages design called Garbage Pail Kids was already on the boards, so they ran with it.

Spiegelman and the involved artists took the basic design of the cuddly and adorable plush dolls beloved by all the world and twisted them into deranged monstrosities covered in snot, vomit, oozing sores and bugs. From the moment they hit convenience store checkout counters, the GPK stickers were outrageously popular. Although some school systems banned them as an unwelcome distraction and more than a few parents were mortified and disgusted that any sick individual would do such a horrible thing to something so innocent and cuddly, there was no organized grassroots effort to censor the stickers on moral grounds. Topps' only real trouble came in the form of a copyright infringement suit filed by the Cabbage Patch Dolls’ creators, Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc.

Topps’ argument that what they were doing was clear and obvious parody (and therefore protected under the First Amendment) didn’t quite cut it. The suit was settled out of court, with Topps agreeing to alter the Garbage Pail Kids logo and basic character design so as to avoid any possible confusion with the original dolls. The stickers continued to come out, and went on to inspire an animated television series, a feature film, a book and an unholy array of merchandise ranging from trash cans to sunglasses. In the end, it could easily be argued that over time the Garbage Pail Kids had more of a lasting impact on the culture than their inspiration.

Struwwelpeter was first published in Germany in 1845. The cautionary and terrifying collection of nursery rhymes (with graphic accompanying illustrations to drive the point home) warned children that if they sucked their thumnbs, didn’t eat their dinner, didn’t clean themselves up properly, mistreated their pets or threw tantrums, a horrible fate awaited them. The book became a standard instructional volume in most German households with young children. In 1898, a similar but decidedly British version was released in England under the title Shockheaded Peter, and was nearly as popular. Nobody it seemed thought much about presenting naughty children with images of potential disfigurement or death. The book helped keep the little buggers in line.

In 1999, American indie publisher Feral House released a gorgeous new edition of Struwwelpeter, complete with new illustrations, interpretive and historical essays, and assorted bowdlerized and satirical versions of the nursery rhymes which had appeared over the years. Feral House, which had always prided itself on publishing dangerous and controversial works, soon found this simple history and analysis of a once popular if disturbing children’s book could be just as troublesome as their books by notorious British serial killer Ian Brady or the Church of Satan’s Anton LaVey.

“Yes, we had minor trouble with Struwwelpeter,” says Feral House founder and publisher Adam Parfrey. “But most of that was put to rest when bookstores simply refused to carry the book. I guess 21st century Americans are more touchy than the Germans of yore. For a while, a couple chains and many independent bookstores stopped carrying the Anton LaVey books we published after Geraldo Rivera put on those sensationalist programs about Satanism... I credit Marilyn Manson for putting an end to that crap. After he spoke out about it, so many people went into bookstores to order them that the stores saw best to get them back into their shops. Time passed, and the crazy ideas receded.”

Parfrey also sees a potential connection between the backlash Abrams suffered over Bad Little Children’s Books and the present brouhaha over what has been termed “fake news.”

“Right now there’s a good bit of madness going on with Trump-loving crazies, including Alex Jones and Infowars building up this idea that Hillary Clinton and John Podesta are torturing and killing children…and they’re pointing at Marina Abramović, too. That’s a big deal on Facebook at this instant. And anyone who poo-poos this story is being accused of covering up kiddie killing. I can see how this sort of madness can amplify into the book trade, a situation where parodies are mistaken for outright kiddie torture. Sad, isn’t it?”

As a final example, in 2010 Simon and Schuster published my book These Children Who Come at You With Knives, a collection of darkly comic fairy tales aimed at adults. Across roughly a dozen stories written in traditional fairy tale formats (though with more cursing, gratuitous gore, and uncontrolled bodily functions), assorted anthropomorphized animals, magical creatures, human children, the elderly and the dull-witted come to various terrible ends. The book received decent reviews and publicity, but there was no outcry, no controversy, and no one insisted the book be banned in order to protect the innocent. Meaning, of course, that I didn’t sell millions as a result of the hoo-hah. Christ, I’ve even heard from people who use them as bedtime stories for their own kids. Dammit! What the hell did I do wrong?

I think I made two deadly mistakes. First, despite my best efforts to the contrary, my publisher decided to release the book without illustrations, meaning it could never possibly be confused with an actual children’s book. More devastating still, I was cursed with bad timing. These Children Who Come at You With Knives was released halfway through President Obama’s first term, and while there was certainly a good deal of rancor in the air, satire was still a viable form and accepted as such, at least among the literate.

In different eras and in different ways, all the above examples were damned by a public inflicting its own preconceived notions upon works of obvious satire, insisting they be what the public believed them to be instead of what they actually were.

By the time Bad little Children’s Books was released, the world had become too ridiculous, too absurd, and as a result we lost our sense of humor. There was simply no longer any way to lampoon our chosen leaders or our own insecurities, with the world itself poised and ready to top us at every turn. In short, the book’s publication coincided with the precise moment satire breathed its last, meaning readers had no choice but to take Gackley’s work, as Parfrey points out, at face value. Lucky bastard.

Jim Knipfel is the author of Slackjaw, These Children Who Come at You with Knives, The Blow-Off, and several other books, most recently Residue (Red Hen Press, 2015). his work has appeared in New York Press, the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice and dozens of other publications.

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