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llycaons · 1 year ago

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hi, which one do you recommend the most: reading mdzs, watching the anime adaptation or watching the untamed?

hi, anon! I'd be happy to help you. short answer: try the untamed, and then try the animated series if it's not grabbing you. read the novel only if you finished and enjoy one of the others, and after you've learned about its issues. as I'm unfamiliar with your specific tastes, I'll give an overview of what I think the pros and cons of each version are

oh, and I'd suggest looking up trigger warnings for any of the versions no matter what you decide to start with. the novel may be the worst in terms of romanticizing sexual violence, but the all versions include suicide, torture, child death, mass murder, gore, and various other potential triggers

The Untamed/CQL: the live action drama version of the story. this is the adaptation that is most different from the source material (the mdzs book), and the one I like the best. it's a dramatic, at times tragic, and highly emotional narrative focusing strongly on character relationships, with a lot of original context, several changes to plot and character choices, gorgeous set designs, charming cgi and practical effects, and wirework classic to wuxia. woman are a little more central than in the other versions, too. family drama and romance are both important to the story, though the central m/m love story is censored. the writers changed so much about the romance that it's quite different from the original novel and the donghua. I personally prefer the cql romance for reasons I'll get into later, but can be summed up as 'it's nicer and based on mutual respect/trust',

I love these characters and I recommend this version the most, but if you're not used to the genre it can be confusing and hard to get into. the timeline is also somewhat inconsistent so if that bothers you, it can be hard to enjoy. it's also gotten complaints about the necromancy not being as hardcore or authentic than in the other versions (it was also censored). nonetheless I would recommend starting with the untamed (it's 50 episodes total, complete and available on Viki, Netflix, or free on youtube) and googling if you have questions. as in all versions,there are a lot of characters with various names and allegiances that can seem overwhelming, but in a few episodes things becomes easier to track. if it doesn't grab you by episode 4-5, try the donghua instead. I love the opening scene to cql, but I think the donghua has a better first episode

Donghua (animated series): although it looks like an anime, it's Chinese rather than Japanese, and called a donghua. I like the donghua and it's my second recommended place to start. it's far more faithful to the original novel, and is therefore more coherent at times, with some excellent scenes that didn't make it to cql. the takes on some of the characters was also really interesting. I find the character designs unspeakably ugly and some of the scenes are really cringe, but the music, plot, background, character writing, humor and pacing make up for it, and soon enough I didn't even notice. and the necromancy was really cool! a little over the top for me, but aesthetically it went hard. unfortunately the second season of the donghua was...really bad for reasons I assume have to do with budgeting restrictions, so the story told by the donghua felt incomplete to me, with some pieces missing. but it's completed, the ending was satisfying, the and lots of people really like it. it's also free on youtube (three seasons). I did find a lot of the side characters really flat though, an issue I also have with the novel

MDZS novel: this would be my last recommended place to start, and the only one you can't get for free (to my knowledge). I have not read the official english translation, only the now-unavailable fan translation, but apparently some people find it really hard to read/poorly translated. personally I thought the book was funny, inventive, and compelling, with really cool necromancy and an unflinching relationship with violence (seriously, there is heavy gore and tragedy in the novel too), but it was poorly structured, frustrating, gave shallow side characters, and was unarguably homophobic. the central romance has some really nice scenes, and the characters are interesting, but the two love interests play into 'stoic top' and 'whiny bottom' tropes so much I couldn't stand it. much of the presumed appeal predicates on the characters violating each other's boundaries in various ways, which includes one of them forcing a kiss on the other while blindfolded, and their first sex scene being while one of them was drunk and wouldn't have consented otherwise. the kiss is later framed as romantic (even though the guy never admitted to it) and the drunk sex scene is chalked up to a tragic miscommunication that they move past immediately. the writing about one of them being 'unable to contain his urges' was super weird and I just don't think the author is very good at being normal about gay men. could have been the translation, and maybe I haven't given them the benefit of the doubt, but I just don't trust like that. the plot and necromancy is the strongest part of the book and it's not worth it for a lot of people.

see, the novel extras at the end include rape and pedophilia fantasies that are apparently enthusiastically consented to after the fact (? it's weird) so I cannot recommend it without mentioning that. also I found the love interest a lot more unlikeable and boring in the novel, compared to the donghua and especially cql. despite being a complex and interesting character, the mc was likewise extremely annoying in the novel, for reasons that made sense for the story, but that made reading him a chore. in the donghua he's fun and in cql he's one of my favorite characters of all time

the donghua and cql were both censored from showing anything explicitly gay, but imo they each handled the romance well their own way. the donghua was faithful to the novel up until a point, including their semi-antagonistic interactions and more mild crossing of boundaries, but never to the point where I had to stop watching. they had tremendous chemistry and their story ended in a very romantic way.

meanwhile cql took an entirely different approach, relegating their antagonism mostly to their young teen years and focusing instead on building a strong friendship that always seemed like it was on the cusp of something more, only to be pushed back by internal fears or external pressures. it's been criticized for not being gay enough, but the high romance between the leads was more than obvious to me, and I love how many parallels where drawn between other gay couples in the show, even ones not even implied by the other versions. of course I would have liked them to explicitly get together, but there was so much emphasis on their shared ideals, and so much subtext, such simmering tension, so much support, and so much chemistry, and so much that the actors communicated nonverbally that I saw the romance very easily. the music, acting, writing, lighting, and tone all worked in service of it

in all three versions the family situation is quite tragic but in the novel the situation is more...black and white? so in many ways cql is more tragic for being messier, and I find it the most compelling. the donghua strikes a satisfying balance but not one I was really invested in despite being pretty good

tl; dr it depends on what you like! I hope this helped, and please feel free to reach out and ask more about anything specific. it's an incredible story and I'd love for another person to experience it, no matter how

in terms of other adaptations there is also the manhua (looks kind of ugly to me but uncensored, so all the sex scenes are there and presumably the necromancy) and the audio drama (very high-quality in terms of production, but hard to find, and loyal to the novel to an unfortunate degree given the sex stuff), and the mdzs q show (looks kind of silly and sweet? idk) but I haven't seen those so I can't say much more on them

if you read this far thank you! hope you like whichever you pick!

#asks #it's so fun to talk about the differences between the adaptations! thanks for the ask #mutuals feel free to chip in your perspective as well

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thekatebridgerton · 3 years ago

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Now here's my honest review of season 2 gentle reader. And beware beware I have never held my tongue Infront of all of you

SEASON 2 BRIDGERTON can be summarized in one sentence for me: WHAT THE F NETFLIX

I'm sorry I was not aware I was watching the kissing booth 5. Because it seemed to have been written by the same writers who delight in reducing characters to love triangle plot devices

I understand Bridgerton had to stop production multiple times due to COVID-19 and this may have resulted in less intimacy scenes but cero intimacy at all?? Do the creators hate Kanthony?

Let's start with the plot. Those of you who know your classic Indian movies. Tell me this plot between Kate Anthony and Edwina didn't scream 'Mujhse Dosti Karoge' to any of you. Except that 2002 Mujhse Dosti Karoge did it better. Google the Bollywood movie dear readers its one of my favorites

The whole 'marry her even when you love me' thing. Not all viewers know their Bollywood movies but I certainly know mine and I smell a distinct lack of creativity in the writing room for this classic to be what they choose to copy.

Was the writing team responsible for adapting the source material of the viscount who loved me also among those who had COVID-19 during the production hiatus?

Netflix I demand to see your books, so I can know where all your budget went. Because it certainly didn't go to the writers room.

I honestly did not understand what was the big deal about Anthony not being able to marry Kate. He's a bloddy viscount! He's got a title. His reputation will survive and so will his family's if he marries the sister of the young lady who jilted him. He is a peer of the realm and he's rich. His sister is a duchess!!

Why was the ton acting like it would be such a scandal? Not even Penelope saw fit to make fun of the situation in Lady Whistledown. That's how meh it was.

Kate is all I expected her to be. Except I did not see enough of her and that made me angry. Who cares about Jack and Lady Featherington. I wanted to know about Kate's life in India with Edwina, Mary and her father.

Hate to say it but the Sharma family was better developed in the books. Kate's trauma with storms and the death of her parents seemed entirely removed and I can't believe I'm saying this but the whole love triangle plot made me MISS SIENNA

Gosh I can't believe there would be a day I'd be asking for Sienna to be back.

Anthony's man pain took presedence over Kate's story which is all well and good but I can't help but think that whoever was in charge of season 2 hates Kanthony as much as they hate wholesome female friendships. Of which I found none in season 2

Kate treated Edwina like a child, Edwina treated Kate as her surrogate parent, Eloise and Penelope spent the entire season being low key judgmental of each other. As was Violet, Mary Sharma hardly spoke up for herself, and God bless Genevieve Delacroix really. The only woman with sense in that ensemble

Francesca disappeared to God knows where. But given that Eloise was off romancing a printers apprentice right under her family's noses I have no doubt that the far more discreet Frannie was off expanding her her drug empire From Bath to London with the help of her brother in law Simon.

Daphne at least grew on me. She's a far better secondary character than she was a main. Although everytime she opened her mouth to talk to Eloise I was waiting for someone to call her out on the hipocrysy. Daphne you literally married your Duke because Anthony was all 'pistols at dawn mate'

Eloise, darling I was rooting for you to shake up the ton and speak your mind to your would be suitors. Instead you pull a Colin and run off from camera to prove you lack common sense, at whatever chace you get

Also is the printer man okay? Penelope wasn't particularly nice as the Irish maid but the printer deserves our respect for being a good business partner. I hope he still earns a lot of money

Colin and Penelope were okay but gosh the season was already painful enough without pushing forward the scene that broke Penelope's heart.

The Featherington plot was unnecessary but funny. And Portia IS quite growing on me.

The show is really going out of it's way to hammer down the fact that Colin is a pretty gullible idiot isn't it? Are they trying to convince me he lacks the braincells necessary to deserve our Penelope? Because if so, they're succeeding

It was naturally a delight to see sir Phillip again. He's still the most adorable of all Bridgerton future spouses and I hope we see glimpse of him in later seasons. Marina... Well her personality has not changed, I'll give you that

Benedict. Sigh. Wholesome idiot. Next

Also What the F was up with Lady Danbury?? What was the point of spending 7 episodes cockblocking Kate? Why exactly? Street cred? The opinion of the queen? Satisfying her own pride?.

At least Queen Charlotte is consistent with who she is and her motivations in general. Lady Danbury baffled me to no end.

I feel like the only episode worth watching was #8 because at least the pacing is what it should be in episode 8. Even if it felt like a huge cliffhanger to not even give us a wedding

Overall Season 2 was obviously made for show viewers. Not book purists like myself. I look forward to discussing s2 with all of you. But this author feels that a year and 3 months of anticipation were just dashed and it certainly wasn't what I expected

The good news is, there's still fanworks. And I can definitely find many fanfiction writers ready to rewrite that mess of a season 2 into something that's less of a letdown.

If you put them in my inbox I'll give a signal boost.

And that has been the tea

#bridgerton #what the fuck netflix #anthony bridgerton #kate x anthony #eloise bridgerton #kate sharma #kate sheffield #benedict bridgerton #kanthony #polin #Eloise Bridgerton

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retvenkos · 3 years ago

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No, I am not done talking about aging up the characters of the Grishaverse, thank you very much...

(Spoilers for pretty much all of the Grishaverse!)

I’m going to come right out and say it - I don’t think aging up all of the characters was the smartest move. I think the Grishaverse is compelling, and the characters can be very complex, and part of that leans on the ages of the characters. I’m going to be talking about why I think (at least some) of the characters should have retained their same age, or at the very least, shouldn’t have been quite so aged up.

But first, I understand some reasons as to why they aged up characters, so I’m going to state them outright, to advocate on their behalf (but also, I can try my hand at debunking some of these. For funsies):

1. Mass audiences will be less interested if the main story feels too Y.A. - most adult audiences won’t want to watch that genre.

(This is a very fair argument! However, when comparing Shadow and Bone to other popular (non Y.A.) fantasies, Shadow and Bone is very Y.A. Compare Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings to Shadow and Bone, and you can see how the Y.A. genre permeates the text. There are character moments and story beats that Shadow and Bone utilizes that are characteristic of the Y.A. genre. It was created with that audience and expectation in mind. No matter how hard the show tries to divorce the source material from it’s Y.A. roots, it is still very much a Y.A. story. The second most important plot line is a romance and not the implications of how society created the Darkling and how society Must Be Fixed if we ever want to move on and win the war. Those problems of the wider Grishaverse are better tackled in the Nikolai Duology (which still stumbles), and the Nikolai Duology feels like a different story/genre because it’s tackling something different. Shadow and Bone is an inherently Y.A. story, and really, it is the later books in the Grishaverse that deviate from the tropes and traps of the genre. No matter how you dice it, the original trilogy is very much a Y.A. story. Lean into it, and you might be better able to mess around with the fluidity of the genre, all while your audience knows what the story is, and what will come of it. Alternatively, the writers could have gotten deep into the text and tried to bring up the deeper problems of the story (most of those grey areas) to make it less trope-like, but that would require an almost complete retelling, which we did not get. Too often, Y.A. stories are divorced from the genre when they are adapted, but it’s not done in an organic way that looks at the text itself, and it feels very off when viewing. Just let Shadow and Bone be what it is. If you want a longer rant on this, hmu.)

2. Some very serious things happen to these characters! To write about it is one thing, but to watch a 17 year old Alina be manipulated in this way or to watch a 19 year old Genya be used in this way is dark and very much Not Okay!

(Yes! Watching all of the terrible, terrible things happen is bad enough on it’s own, and when you de-age Alina from 25 to 17 and Genya from 30 to 19, there are some very big consequences! It’s not nearly as inviting or Okay to view! Anyone would be rightly horrified! Especially older audiences! Well, forgive me for being so blunt, but that is part of The Point. Part of what makes all of this so cruel and so unfair is that these characters are young - they are barely no longer children - and that is what heightens the injustice of it all. Alina is a teenager who is tasked with saving the world and freeing an oppressed people! And she doesn’t want to do it! That’s a lot to handle, right? Arguably, by keeping their young ages, you are better breaking out of the Y.A. adaptation trap because you are making a statement about how young these characters are and how unfair all of this is. Y.A. adaptations always age up the characters for palatability, but by keeping them young, you are making it more grungy and more frightening without even changing the source material!)

3. Okay, but adult audiences don’t want to ship teenagers. How will we get them to watch?

(This argument is probably the most sound, and it makes the most sense! Netflix wants to get the widest audience they can - they know teenagers who read the book are going to watch it anyway, so they need to get the older crowd invested. An easy way to get people invested is to get them hooked on a romance plotline. Then you have to watch the show to see how it progresses! It would be hard to do that if adults feel uncomfortable telling 16 year olds to kiss already. Another problem is that Shadow and Bone doesn’t have an adult cast - they have the young ones and that’s about it. Compare that to Game of Thrones (or, if you want me to stop with GOT references, shows like Cobra Kai) where there are 2+ generations - fans have the older group to ship, and the younger group to wish the best for. This is a trap of the Y.A. genre. They are Kids, but they are Not. In the book, this works fine, as their ages aren’t mentioned often. In fact, in the books, they read like competent 25 year olds, except for key moments when they show their age, which usually feels bittersweet (the Six of Crows Duology is much better at this than Shadow and Bone, but I digress). So what do we do? Well, D*rklina fans aren’t going to like this, but I would argue that we keep Alina and Mal aged down, and the story subliminally changes from “the love triangle” to “coming of age while dealing with abusive relationships”. In fact, this is another great way to divorce it from the Y.A. genre, which was already a goal we had in mind.)

✧ *:･ﾟ

Now, let’s move onto character analyses... everyone’s favorite.

In this section, I’m going to break down some main characters from the Shadow and Bone Netflix show (and some upcoming characters, just for the hell of it) and I’m going to advocate for changing their ages. At the end, I’ll give you a rough ballpark estimate for what I think they should have been.

(Also, I just want to address that I loved the actors chosen for the Netflix show, and this is in no way an attack on them. They did great, and they’re performances were amazing. This is me talking about an issue the showrunners made, not the actors.)

Alina Starkov

First, we get to talk about the lovely Alina Starkov. Jessie Mei Li is 25 years old. Her book counterpart is 17. That’s a whopping 8 year difference where a lot of growth happens. Alina Starkov in the books is doing her best for a girl who is told that she is going to save the world. She doesn’t have a lot of experience outside of the orphanage and the army, and so her knowledge of how Grisha are treated is ignorant at best, and malicious at worst. She doesn’t see nearly all of the suffering that is happening in the world, and for the most part, it stays that way. She knows the Fjerdans don’t like them, she knows the Shu are bad too, but she doesn’t really know the extent. She really gets a good look at it in the 3rd book, but for a large part of the series, Alina doesn’t really know what she’s up against, and her age is an easy explanation for her ignorance. A 17 year old growing up in a remote orphanage hasn’t had the greatest education. A 25 year old Alina has less excuses.

(There’s also a lot to be said about how Alina mostly... doesn’t care about the wider issues plaguing Grisha. This is decidedly Bad. I’m going to say this once, and I will say it many times again, but generally, audiences are more okay when a younger character does Bad Things because they reason they’ll learn in time. Thus, for a show, it’s strategically better to make these characters younger. Saying this doesn’t mean I support Alina’s disregard, it just means I recognize how it is utilized in storytelling.)

But why is her ignorance important, you ask? Because, Alina misses a key point of why the Darkling does what he does. To her, his actions of expanding the Fold are very black and white. Even when she’s with him, she refuses to see how it’s justified. Thus, a younger Alina is a little more understandable.

If Netflix was planning on focusing on how the Darklings desires are good but his methods are wrong, keeping Alina aged up is fine because she could be the voice of those concerns. However, I don’t really see that happening, so aging her up seems cheap.

Furthermore, part of the injustice of Alina’s character is that she is a child tasked with saving the world. She is a teenager who is being worshipped as a Saint, and who is going to have to martyr herself for the good of the world. It’s unfair. It’s cruel. Alina being 25 doesn’t somehow change this injustice, but to the average viewer, seeing a 17 year old child dying for the good of Ravka - dying because she’s the only one who can stop the villain - is more emotional and more disturbing. There’s your grit, Netflix. It was already handed to you.

And I know, Ben Barnes (who plays the Darkling) is 39! It would be extremely uncomfortable to watch him fall in love and manipulate Alina! Again, I’m apologizing to the D*rklina shippers, because that is The Point. The Darkling is hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years old. That is why his talk of “eternity” is so compelling. He has felt it. He has lived it. When he tells Alina that he will break her, it should be greatly disturbing! It would change the feeling of the story completely if Alina looks like a teenager. It would be a story about survival - not of romance. And while survival is definitely a Y.A. dystopian or fantasy trope, depending on how it’s handled, it could be markedly different from its predecessors.

However, book Alina is a minor, and that doesn’t sit right with me. Thus, I would make Alina 18, or 19 at the most. She should still very much be a teenager.

Malyen Oretsev

Mal is the next character we get to talk about, and I’m sure you have an idea about what I’m going to say. Archie Renaux is 23 and his book counterpart is 18. That’s only a five year difference, which isn’t that damning, but still leaves some problems.

One thing a lot of people disliked about Mal in the books was his temper and the way he expressed his frustrations. Now, while it’s true that viewers tend to be more forgiving with male characters having bad attitudes, this attitude problem could still be something that viewers will dislike in later seasons. This problem is only larger when you factor in an older age. Already, I expect people to complain about Mal’s temper and his inability to vent his frustrations in a healthy way (avoiding talking to Alina, blowing up, having a sour mood, having violent or explosive tendencies). This is only going to get worse when another argument added is “he is a grown man. He should have learned how to cope by now.” This argument isn’t completely nullified by a younger age, but it is made a little more understandable to the audience. (Again, in no way am I justifying these unhealthy behaviors, nor am I saying it’s okay when younger men do it, I’m just saying that viewers on a whole are more likely to excuse this behavior from a younger man - a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless.)

And as for his tracking ability, which is the best out of everyone in the world, he is gifted primarily because he’s an amplifier. At the end of Ruin and Rising, it’s noted that he can’t track nearly as well as he could because the world doesn’t hum with life in the way it used to. The in-world explanation probably also explains the ease with which he can pick up new skills. Thus, Mal doesn’t need to be aged up for skill reasons.

So, I would make Mal 19-21 in the series. He can be the slightly older than Alina, and everything works out how it should.

The Darkling

This one is going to be really quick - I think the age they made the Darkling was fine. Ben Barnes is 39 and we really don’t get an answer as to how old the Darkling is in the book (although he’s older than 400 years old, because the Fold was created 400 years ago).

It’s worth noting that in the books, the Darkling isn’t described as being much older than (a 17 year old) Alina, but having him be markedly older than Alina was a smart move for subtext, but also for the presence that the Darkling has, and the reverence with which people regard him. The Darkling has power - I can’t imagine a 17 year old boy having the same effect as a grown man.

I have no beef with a 39 year old Darkling. I wouldn’t age him down much more, but I also wouldn’t make him much older, either.

Genya Safin

Genya Safin is another character I feel like should be addressed. Daisy Head is 30 years old. In the books, Genya is 19. Now, Genya’s character is an interesting one, because arguably either age suits her character. Throughout the series she’s shown to be more mature and capable than Alina, and while she places importance on the cliques of the Little Palace (which was poorly shown in the show, imo), she was raised in this environment from very young, and she’s at the bottom of the ranking. Her investment in it is justified. Sadly, I think more viewers would be moved by her story of sexual abuse if she were younger, but what happened is a tragedy and it was wrong no matter how you dice it.

Her age is one of the few I’m neutral on.

However, she and Alina are shown to be very close in the book, and while that doesn’t carry over as easily in the show, I think it would be nice to place her at least a little closer in age to Alina, but still keep her a little older so that she can offer her advice and it doesn’t feel preachy or unearned.

I would place her around 19-26. She has a lot of room for her age, because it’s not vital that she be any specific age.

David Kostyk

I’m very briefly talking about David because Luke Pasqualino is 31 and David in the books is 19-20. I aged down Genya, and since they are love interests, I would like them to be in a little closer range of each other.

However, David is a very gifted Fabrikator - so much so that he changes the war considerably in later books - so I still want him to be older than the average cast.

I would place him around 24-29, and mostly, it would be based around the age of Genya. I wouldn’t want him to be 29 if Genya is 19. That’s just the ballpark range.

Zoya Nazyalensky

The final Shadow and Bone character I’m going to talk about is Zoya because she’s really important later in the Grishaverse. Online, I could not determine exactly what Sujaya Dasgupta’s age is, but the two ages most commonly given are 19 or 21. Zoya in the books is 19-20, so Sujaya is one of the most faithful castings in terms of age.

I think it’s important that Zoya is around the age of Alina. Not only do they have a shared love interest in the form of Nikolai (and the Darkling in the show, which I absolutely hate), but they also have a rivalry for the Darkling’s favor (which isn’t romantic, but about sTATUS), and having her be markedly older than a teenage Alina would be weird, in my opinion.

Furthermore, Zoya’s character is pretty closed off and (dare I say) one-dimensional in the original Shadow and Bone trilogy, so keeping her younger isn’t going to make her any less believable. She’s not particularly wise, so keeping her young won’t be an issue.

Finally, she has a romantic plotline with Mal (even if it doesn’t go anywhere), so we want to keep her within range of Mal’s age, too.

I would place Zoya at 19-22. Thus, I am in agreement with the showrunners!

Nikolai Lantsov

A character that has yet to make an appearance in the show is Nikolai Lantsov, who is stated as being 20-21 in Siege and Storm, and the rest of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Nikolai hasn’t been casted yet, but I decided to put him here because why not?

Nikolai, interestingly enough, is a character I would like to age up, however, only slightly. Nikolai is a very accomplished character, as anyone who has read the series knows, and while he does have the grooming to be that smart and accomplished, he is able to outsmart the Darkling and other older characters on multiple occasions, and him being so young just seems off. Of course, I understand why he is young - his love interests are, and he certainly has his moments where he’s boyish and unprepared - but these reasons pale in comparison to all of his talents and accomplishments.

Taking all of this into consideration, I would put Nikolai at 23 or 24. It’s a minor age change, and it would really just make him more apt to grow into his role. He’s still young enough to where people can underestimate him, but he’s old enough to justify having such smarts and charm. The only argument I can see going against this is his love story with Alina, seeing as she’s 18/19, but I think there was a lot that went into his pursuit of Alina. At first it was political, but after that, it became about how Alina was someone who challenged him and knew him for all that he was. It was less of a romance and more of a friendship that lended itself to a nice opportunity. It could have been more. It wasn’t. Plus, the age gap isn’t egregious.

Tamar Kir-Bataar and Tolya Yul-Bataar

I’m briefly talking about these twins, because they are originally 18-19 in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, and I would like them to be older overall. Tamar and Tolya are some of the most competent characters in the Grishaverse, and having them be the same age as Mal and Alina is off, in my mind.

I would like them to be at least Nikolai’s age or older, so 23-27.

✧ *:･ﾟ

Finally, we’re on to the crows....

Kaz Brekker

Ah, yes. The Bastard of the Barrel. His is a character I was actually really glad to see aged up, before watching the show. Afterwards, I have some more complex thoughts. Freddy Carter is 28 years old and Kaz, in the books, is 17.

Kaz in the books is very competent. So much so that he outsmarts everyone he comes up against - characters who are older than him and often have military strategy. Furthermore, he is ruthless. He is probably one of the darkest characters in all of the Grishaverse, and all of that is placed on the shoulders of a 17 year old. To make a comparison, he and Alina are the same age when their stories take place (Shadow and Bone for Alina, and Six of Crows for Kaz). I don’t know a lot of young celebrities to make the comparison, but he’s a teenager. He’s a child. Aging up Kaz in the show was something I was very much on board for. Kaz is a ruthless killer and an expert thief, and making him older was a smart move, imo. A Kaz in his 20′s made more sense.

However, when we meet Kaz in season one of Shadow and Bone, he’s very much in his fledgling state. Not a single plan of his goes as planned. He is foiled at every step, and the most gruesome thing he did in the show wasn’t bad, when you compare it to thing Kaz has canonically done. Rumors say that the Six of Crows arc is going to pick up in season two, and while I hope it doesn’t, I covered that particular argument far more in depth in another post and won’t address it here. Whether or not I think show Kaz is up to snuff, I think they aged him up too much and they depowered him too much.

Part of Kaz’ secret weapon was that he was wicked smart and crazy competent, but people underestimated him because of his age. They figured he didn’t have nearly enough experience to be as ruthless and cunning as he was. They were clearly wrong.

I think that Kaz in his 20′s makes sense, but Kaz in his late 20′s does not. Especially when you factor in the fact that he was so epically unsuccessful in the show, the extent to which they made him older wasn’t doing him any favors. It made him less “Dirtyhands” than he is.

So, final say, I would have made Kaz 20 or 21 in Shadow and Bone. We’re de-aging him so he still has time to grow, but he’s not crazy overpowered at 17. Furthermore, in a perfect world, he has time to age between Shadow and Bone and the events of Six of Crows.

Inej Ghafa

Inej is played by Amita Suman who is 23 years old. In the books, Inej is 16. In an interesting turn of events, I don’t find Inej in the books to be terribly overpowered so much as she is just really talented.

Inej in Six of Crows is hesitant to kill. She’s smart and watchful, and she’s a really great spider. She’s given backstory to explain all of this, and it makes sense. At most, she is mature for her age, but that is also given a pretty damn good reason. She has to be.

The few reasons I could see as to aging up her character is to make it less awkward for the romance between her and Kaz, as well as make the crows group more cohesive in age, with fewer outliers, both of which I am not against.

I would make Inej around 18 or 19 and call it a day.

Jesper Fahey

Jesper is another character that I largely have no problems with. Jesper is played by Kit Young who is 26 years old, and in the books, Jesper is 17.

In the books, Jesper is an extremely talented marksman, but part of that (even if he doesn’t know it or doesn’t want to acknowledge it in the books) is because he is a Grisha Fabrikator and he is using his gifts to bend the bullets he shoots and aims them where they need to go. His character wasn’t particularly overpowered in the books, and as for his personality, in the books he acted the most “teenage-like,” but in the show, he retained his same youthfulness without it seeming out of place, so that isn’t particularly damning.

For Jesper, I don’t mind aging him up or making him younger. Both work.

However, he has a romantic plotline with Wylan (who I will get to eventually), so we wan’t to keep that in mind.

Final say, I would make Jesper 18. He’s the same age as (or slightly younger than) Inej, and that sits well with me.

Matthias Helvar

Oh, boy. If you’ve been on my blog long, you know this is the character that started this whole rant. Because here’s the thing: Matthias is an incredibly complex character. And part of that complexity comes from the fact that Matthias doesn’t know about anything beyond what Fjerda has taught him. He is heavily indoctrinated and heavily ignorant, and his struggle is what makes him such an interesting character.

Matthias is played by Calahan Skogman who is 28 (in my other meta, he was 27, but birthdays, y’know?). In the books, Matthias is 18 when Six of Crows takes place. That’s a whopping 10 year age gap. As you can imagine, so much happens in 10 years time. Now, with Matthias, we’re going to look at his life a little more in depth so that you can really understand how this 10 year gap affects his ignorance.

Matthias’ family were killed by Grisha when he was a child. We don’t know how young, but that doesn’t really matter, because either way it’s traumatic. Soon afterward, he starts training to become a soldier. Now, just when drüskelle are allowed to be fully initiated at Hringkälla is unknown, but I’m guessing the age would be at youngest, 14 (although, it’s probably closer to 16, but I’m not arguing about that right now). Grisha are supposed to be the most dangerous type of person. The Fjerdans are not going to put 12 year olds out there to fight them. So, a roughly 14 year old Matthias is going on expeditions to catch Grisha. When he is 17, Matthias meets Nina. At this point, he has only been a full drüskelle for 3-ish years. Regardless of how many Grisha Matthias has captured, 3 years is a vast difference from his show counterpart, who is 28 and therefore (as a drüskelle since he was 14) has been capturing Grisha for 14 years. In fact, in the show, they give Matthias props for having been the one with the clever ideas for capturing Nina, which shows he has done this often. After that, Matthias spends one year in Hellgate, making in 18 in the books and (eventually) 29 in the show.

So, why was it so important that I detail that for you? Matthias’ change of heart is prompted by Nina, a pretty Grisha. I’m not saying their bond is shallow, but if you are a man who has a nasty past with Grisha and has been hunting them for 14 years, having a pretty Grisha change your mind is a little shallow and a little unbelievable. Even though Nina saved his life, I think it’s a little hard to sell the substantial change of heart he has. On the other hand, if Matthias is 18-19, he’s still a hormonal teenager, and his feelings for Nina prompting some critical thinking makes more sense. Furthermore, Matthias is younger and more impressionable. It would be much easier to change his worldview, if he were younger.

All in all, I would de age Matthias to be 19-20. Slightly older than in the books to allow for Nina to be a little older than her book counterpart (which I’m about to get to.)

Nina Zenik

Almost finished with my rant, we’re talking about Nina. Nina is played by Danielle Galligan who is 28 years old, and in the books, Nina is 17.

Now, Nina Zenik is a capable character. She is a spy. She speaks multiple languages, she’s a talented Grisha, and she’s quite self-assured. All of that advocates for an older Nina, so that she may have time to hone these impressive skills. Furthermore, Nina is the most sexualized of the Crows. I wouldn’t mind her being older, and I’m sure general audiences would be in favor of her not being a teenager.

Nina is also a soldier and she has a very complex storyline in Six of Crows, and later. By all accounts, aging her up is not a bad idea. In fact, I quite like the idea that Nina is older. I agree that she should be aged up, just not to the extent she was.

If this were my world, I would make Nina 20-22. That would make her the oldest out of all of the crows, and I quite like that.

Wylan Van Eck

Wylan has yet to be casted, but he is 16 in the books, and pretty damn smart. He’s not street smart, mind you, but he’s a chemistry nerd and demolitionist, so he’s very competent. He’s still under his father’s thumb, but I don’t take that to mean he has to be young - abuse can affect you well into your life. He’s definitely a character more naive to the realities of the Barrel, but that can easily be played off as “the rich boy is out of depth.”

There’s nothing that explicitly needs him to be younger than an adult, although the argument for making him young amongst the crows is strong and still stands.

He has a love story with Jesper, so we want to keep in mind the fact that Jesper is an adult.

Wylan also has the tricky little storyline of him being tailored into being Kuwei, so in determining his age, we want to keep him in the ballpark of Kuwei. Luckily, he was tailored from a Grisha on parem, so truly, anything is possible.

For his smarts, his competence, and his love story, I think we should age him up.

All in all, I would make Wylan 18. It’s not far from his book counterpart, and I think it makes sense.

Kuwei Yul-Bo

Kuwei is another character who was yet to be casted. He is 16 in Six of Crows, and I would say he is the character who most shows his age. Kuwei may be wicked smart, but he’s a chaos gremlin who doodles in his notebook, pretends to not understand Kerch, and also renames himself to be nhaban - “rising phoenix” in Shu. He doesn’t scheme the way the rest of the crows do, and while this can be explained away by the fact that he’s not a criminal, there still seems to be something hopeful and youthful about his character.

He’s still a boy in mourning over the death of his father, and he’s currently one of the world’s most wanted. In Crooked Kingdom, he’s vibing in a tomb for the majority of the book. Kuwei is honestly such a fun character that I hope gets more complexity in coming Grishaverse content.

Kuwei is very similar to Wylan in that he’s wicked smart (although his dad is a scientist and they have worked together, so there is some in-world explanation) and he has a crush on Jesper (don’t we all?).

Taking this into account, I would make Kuwei 17 or 18.

✧ *:･ﾟ

TL;DR, the characters of the Grishaverse were aged up and I’m a little miffed about it. The reasons for aging them up are to detract from the source material being a Y.A. story, but you cannot separate a story from it’s genre. The story is inherently Y.A. because it uses story beats that are typical of a Y.A. story. It’s not just viewer expectation - the story is Y.A. The ages of the characters in the books are very young in some cases, but in the show they were aged up too much, imo. It detracts from the tragedy of them being young and forced to survive, and it adds very little in most cases.

✧ *:･ﾟ tagging @missumaru

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k00257586 · 4 years ago

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Pendleton Ward

Pendleton Ward is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor who works for Cartoon Network Studios, Frederator Studios and Netflix Animation. He created the Emmy Award-winning series Adventure Time, the Internet series Bravest Warriors, and the adult animated interview series The Midnight Gospel. Ward is a graduate of the CalArts (California Institue of theArts) Animation Program. Ward became interested in animation at an early age, inspired by his mother, who is an artist and worked with animators. He started drawing flipbooks in first grade. Ward attended CalArts, where he became friends with J. G. Quintel and Alex Hirsch. They later worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack together. Eric Homan, vice president of Frederator Studios, offered Ward a job at the studios after watching one of his films at the annual CalArts animation screenings. Ward created two shorts called The Bravest Warriors and the Adventure Time animated short. The Adventure Time short was made in 2006 and went on to become an internet phenomenon in 2007, with over a million views by November of that year. Ward initially pitched Adventure Time to Nickelodeon but was rejected. It also took some time before Cartoon Network decided to pick it up. Sometime during the fifth season of Adventure Time, Ward abruptly stepped down from running the show, explaining it was negatively affecting his "quality of life". In the October 2, 2014 edition of the Rolling Stone magazine, Ward stated "I quit because it was driving me nuts". However, he continued to work as one of the show's writers and storyboard artists until the end of season six, and still served as an executive producer up until the series finale. Now Ward had stopped writing episode outlines at the beginning of season 7 but still looked over them and provided input. Now Ward works on an adult animated Netflix original show called The Midnight Gospel, about a guy called Clancy who is a space-caster who uses a multiverse simulator to interview beings living in other worlds.

For this project, I thought there was no better artist than Pendleton Ward to look at. Especially since he has worked as one of my greatest influences for this project which is Adventure Time. When I began this project Adventure Time was one of the first story items I picked. I think this show teaches a lot of lessons to children or to anyone who watches it. Adventure time is a very uplifting happy cosy show to watch. When looking at what it teaches to its viewers I saw bravery, loyalty, doing the right thing, acceptance and tolerance which you may not see directly but let me explain.

Adventure Time takes place on post-apocalyptic Earth where mutations occurred in humans. Everyone has these mutations, so everyone looks different. The entire population is a mix of different shapes, sizes, and colours. The things are, these mutations are not seen as mutations, really, because the people in Adventure Time don't know of a world where anyone was uniform. In the show, people are generally accepted how they are, no matter what "flaws" they may have.

In our time, this can be related to social judgements or prejudices of any kind. These can be based on race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, and more. The acceptance promoted in Adventure Time teaches kids how to accept others around them, no matter if they have qualities that make them different.

Here are the ceramic works I have made influenced by Wards work:

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton_Ward

https://time.com/66262/adventure-time-season-six-preview/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/adventure-time-the-trippiest-show-on-television-84180/

https://twitter.com/catsuka/status/1108123185613078528

https://www.rotoscopers.com/2015/11/10/adventure-time-movie-will-happen-when-pendleton-ward-finds-a-premise/

https://www.sacurrent.com/ArtSlut/archives/2019/12/20/netflix-announces-new-animated-series-from-adventure-time-creator-and-san-antonio-native-pendleton-ward

#art school #art project #art research #art project research #adventure time #land of ooo #pendleton ward #the midnight gospel #the marvelous misadventures of flapjack #story project #story #cartoon network #frederator studios

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xenonwitch · 3 years ago

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What do you think about season 2 being such a hit with critics. It’s had such a significant jump in score on Rotten Tomatoes and most of the reviews I’ve seen say it’s better than the first season?

I honestly do not know.

As someone who believes they can recognize good vs. bad story telling I just did not find this season compelling. Perhaps individuals who are not familiar with the source material were able to just enjoy an admittedly shallow and convoluted story. I don’t know how, as I believe just as an independent story the writing and story execution are very poor in S2, but clearly others either did find it compelling or were watching it more for base entertainment without putting that much effort into thinking if the things they were watching and the things the writers were telling them actually made sense or were meaningful.

This Got kinda long so more below the cut:

A part of me wishes that I could have approached this season as a person who was not familiar with (and slightly obsessed with) the lore of the Witcher books and games. That I had only watched S1 of the Netflix show so I could approach S2 completely blind and with no expectations about what the content of the new season would be.

For Rotten Tomatoes, it looks like the majority of the reviews that rate it positive (and note the “Fresh” score is based on only 23 reviews) were released prior to S2 being released in full. Reviewers were only given access to the first 6 episodes of the season instead of all 8, and were thus not able to fully review the season as a whole. I also generally do not trust reviews that are released prior to the release of the relevant piece of media, as these reviews were based on early access copies given to reviewers directly by the production company (in this case Netflix). It is by no means a rare sight to see reviewers approach pieces of media they obtained early directly from production companies with kid gloves, or to flat out lie and say they enjoyed a piece of media or found it compelling/good when it was not. This is born out of a very real fear that if they actively (truthfully) criticize or give a negative review to said piece of media, the production company will “blacklist” them and no longer send them prerelease reviewer copies, which would almost certainly negatively impact the reviewers careers. This is not to say none of these reviewers genuinely enjoyed the show, only that I find the entire practice of Prerelease Reviews to be unreliable.

I’ll close up by going back to my “Getting Apple Pie when I ordered Chocolate Cake” analogy that I discussed here.

I approached Netflix Witcher Season 2 expecting a Chocolate Cake, and was instead given an Apple Pie. No matter how good the Apple Pie may be, I am simply not going to be that happy that you didn’t give me the Chocolate Cake I ordered and that you said you would serve to me. I personally also don’t like Apple Pie, and (already pissed that you didn’t give me what I ordered) found the Apple Pie to taste like crap.

Is it possible that I am letting my displeasure at not getting the Chocolate Cake cloud my judgement (and tastebuds), and thus I dislike the Apple Pie even more than I would’ve had I gone in with no expectations about the dessert? Maybe, but I hope that I know my tastebuds well enough, and have tasted enough desserts in my life, to know when a dessert just tastes bad.

But, for the people who walked in and just said, “Give me any dessert”, they do not have that beginning disappointment with getting an Apple Pie, because they did NOT explicitly ask for Chocolate Cake. Just a dessert in general. Maybe not having that initial disappointment at having their order mixed up made it so they could enjoy the Apple Pie more, and they found that they genuinely enjoyed how it tasted. (Although I watched S2 with a person only familiar with S1 of the Netflix Show, and no other Witcher lore, and they found the Apple Pie to taste awful as well.)

Maybe others didn’t even think so much about the taste of the Apple Pie itself, and merely wanted something to fill their bellies for the moment. They simply chewed and swallowed without taking the time to think about how the Apple Pie actually tasted. I really can’t say

Ultimately, we all have different “tastebuds” and different expectations of what we want out of a dessert. Perhaps it just lined up that the majority of reviewers for S2 found the Apple Pie to their liking.

I can’t control others tastebuds. I can only share my own thoughts as to reasons why I believe the Apple Pie tastes bad, and hope that others take a deeper taste and change their minds and realize the Apple Pie tastes horrible.

♥️I hope that my (somewhat rambling, sorry!) answer was satisfactory! Much love to you!!

#the witcher Netflix #the witcher #be critical of the media you love #but I don’t love this #the witcher season 2 #look what they did to my boy #the witcher netflix critical #to be safe #Chocolate Cake and Apple Pies #ask xenon

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nanowrimo · 4 years ago

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5 Lessons I Learned Writing a Book in a Pandemic

This year has presented us all with unexpected obstacles and challenges—not the least of which is a global pandemic. Today, author Uju Asika talks about what she learned in the process of writing and publishing a book this year:

As the author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World, which was published in September, one question people ask me is, “How on earth did you manage to write a book in a pandemic?”

I submitted the first draft of the manuscript 12 days before the UK went into lockdown, but I still had weeks of drafting, cutting and revising left to do.

Being a NaNoWriMo winner in 2018 (whoop whoop!), I was used to churning out words at speed. But this was a work of nonfiction involving interviews, studies and checking sources. Also the topic was both deeply personal and hugely important. I couldn’t just wing it. Here are 5 lessons I learned in the process of writing a book during a pandemic:

Lesson 1: It’s Ok to Freak Out

I spent the first weeks of the pandemic scrolling news feeds 24-7 and becoming an amateur epidemiologist via the School of Google. Similarly, when I started writing the book, I lost entire days to ‘research’ (aka Facebook). I felt like a fraud, a sham, a big fat failure. Who told me I could write an entire book? Why did I think this was a good idea? Now I realize this was all completely normal. Freaking out is part of the process. Whether you are taking on a huge, scary project or a global outbreak, you are entitled to lose your shit at least for a bit.

Lesson 2: Take Regular Breaks

As a writer, once you’re disciplined enough to keep ‘butt in chair’, you might find yourself suffering sciatica, eye strain and other ailments. Likewise, if you don’t switch off from Trump tweets and Boris briefings, it can mess with your mind. Taking breaks is essential, both for your sanity and to replenish your creative well. You don’t have to go on a marathon hike or visit a remote island. Try a stroll around your neighborhood or an evening with Netflix instead of your laptop. (Just don’t use Netflix as an excuse to stop writing.)

Lesson 3: Pace Yourself

At the start of the pandemic, several world leaders claimed it would be over soon. However, common sense, instinct, and science says we are in it for the long haul. So don’t burn through those store cupboard recipes and homeschooling hacks. Equally, don’t try to write a book in one stretch (although you can do it in a month if you’re crazy enough). Set smaller goals like a daily word count or a timed writing session. Writing apps like Scrivener are great for helping you stay on track.

Lesson 4: The Only Way Out is Through

This sounds like the theme song from a disaster movie (apt for 2020) but it’s true. Whether tackling a creative venture or a crisis, the only way out is through. There are times you’ll want to turn back or give up entirely. But the best option is to keep moving forward until you see that glimmer of light at the other end. I used to fantasize about holding the finished book in my hand. But the only way to get there was to stop fantasizing and get to work. Or to paraphrase Finding Dory, just keep that ink swimming.

Lesson 5: The Magic is in the Edit

Ask any author, most of us would rather extract teeth than remove precious words from our manuscripts. However, something magical happens in the edit. Ideas that began as loose threads weave into shape. Your work is better for what you choose to keep and what you’re willing to let go. Some call 2020 a giant reset. I think it’s a giant edit. We are letting go of what no longer serves us. Discovering what truly matters and cutting out the other crap. It is painful on many fronts but I do believe we will emerge stronger, tighter and clearer for it.

I hope these lessons are useful to anyone attempting to write through difficult times. It’s ok to freak out, whether on the page or in real life. Take regular breaks both from writing and from world news. Pace yourself but keep moving forward because the only way out is putting one foot (or word) after another. And don’t worry if your project/home/life in general feels ridiculously messy right now. The magic is in the edit.

Uju Asika is a multiple award-nominated blogger, screenwriter and digital consultant. She is the author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World, published in September 2020 by Yellow Kite (Hachette). Buy the book on Amazon UK, Waterstones, Word on the Water (delivery to North America and Europe) and other good bookshops.

Author photo by Storm Davison.

#nanowrimo #writing #amwriting #nano prep #pandemic #writing advice #by nano guest #uju asika

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therealabbyham · 4 years ago

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Racism in modern media.

A lot of controversy over the depiction of people of color (POC) in modern media has arisen. With both the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements that have happened in the last year, both new and old shows and movies have been brought forward as examples of what is not okay. Now, with some research, I'd like to go through these examples and go through what has made them controversial.

"Stock characters and slapstick tropes have always existed in theatre, from Shakespearean comedies to even something as seemingly benign as the Disney Channel show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (remember Esteban?). But ethnic stock characters have been tricky to write in an increasingly politically correct 21st century, despite their appearances in such Broadway classics as “West Side Story” and “The King and I." (The Muse at Dreyfoos)

”Song of the South (Disney film) - By far one of the most controversial and well-known instances of controversy. So much so that Disney never sold the movie on DVD and will not be putting it on Disney plus. Disney's most recent effort to erase the racism from their history (also see: the crows in Dumbo and the original draft of Fantasia), was to go farther in changing Splash Mountain. Originally they had gotten rid of the characters on the ride (who were all characters from the movie), now, however, they are changing the ride altogether, changing it into a Princess and the Frog-inspired ride. "Song of the South’s African American characters are treated warmly, particularly Uncle Remus, who is Johnny’s best friend and confidant, a charismatic storyteller, and, most importantly, the film’s conduit to the animated world of Br’er Rabbit... The problem isn’t necessarily what Song of the South depicts, but what it chooses not to depict. Although Harris’ Uncle Remus stories were set in Georgia after the Civil War, the film adaptation never makes it clear when the story is taking place... If you’re not a scholar or an Uncle Remus expert, it’s very easy to assume that the film is set before the Civil War, and that Remus and Aunt Tempy (Hattie McDaniel) are slaves — and that they are completely fine with that." (Quotes from Screencrush) "By stripping out any concrete details of time and place, Disney essentially turned the plantation system into a ludicrous utopia where blacks and whites live in harmony — a harmony where the only thing that’s clear is that the blacks are inferior and servile to the whites, but are content to work the fields anyway." "Several of Remus’ stories are about Br’er Rabbit wanting to run away from his problems; the moral, inevitably, is that you can’t avoid trouble and there’s no place like home. These lessons are particularly important to Johnny because he doesn’t like life on the plantation initially and wants to run away to live with his father in Atlanta. But when coupled with the African American characters’ oddly cheerful attitude about their social status, the movie seems to be arguing on behalf of complacency. Don’t leave the plantation, don’t try to better yourself. Just go with the flow."

Thoroughly Modern Millie (Broadway show) - The show is about a young girl named Millie who moved from a small town to NYC, and the show is known for having "the subplot and the peddling of outdated Chinese stereotypes". (A lot of this will be in quotes from the previous link). Although "the play is set in the 1920s... the script was written in 2000, based on source material from the 1967 film of the same name" On Playbill, another study is done, "As much as the 2002 Tony-winning Best Musical is a love story about making it in the big city, the show’s major subplot centers on “white slavery.”" An argument could be made that “To actually have real Chinese guys singing and speaking in their own language and meaning it, and to link their immigrant story to the same story as Millie ... and come to America because of the American Dream, all these people who come to New York to reinvent themselves and be modern—I think is exactly what the Chinese guys are all about." (This is irrelevant if the characters are not played by someone who's Chinese). With accurate casting then it might be "another opportunity to cast shade on racist attitudes and assumptions about us [the Chinese] and what we know and how smart we are and what we’re capable of..." However it still "can be racist if you do it racist. This show can be done racist but it doesn’t have to and actually, it can actually be anti-racist." Personally, I think if the line you walk is so fine and covered in eggshells, it may not be worth it (but of course, it's an opinion, even if it's widely accepted). Even Ashley Park, who wanted to be Millie, thought “It’s one of the characters that I’ve loved, always, but I always figured I’d never play it just because of the race stuff that’s in [the show].” because she's Korean-American.

Emily in Paris (Netflix show) - Speaking of Ashley Parks, let's talk about Emily in Paris, one of Netflix's most controversial and most hated shows. To put it simply, the show (which I have not seen) is about an American girl who moves to Paris. Yep. That simple. In a video by Friendly Space Ninja (who's French), he says "I've been insulted by this show, more than once... Emily in Paris has a huge racism problem... and it also comes up as arrogant." He goes on to say, "When people say Emily in Paris portrays French culture in a very insulting way, they're not exaggerating." "The French in this show think Americans are the greatest and they aspire to be more like them and as a French person myself... Yeah no that's not accurate." "During the entire show, Emily tries to teach the French that doing things the American way is the right way." (I highly recommend watching this video if you don't mind the swear words, it has good points, that's why I'm just using quotes). "Emily in Paris only has two characters of color... these two characters of color are made of degrading cliches..." "All of the racist things [Mindy, a POC character,] says were written by a white writer." "The other non-white character is this guy... He's one of Emily's co-workers and he's gay... and I had to read he was gay online... and his entire point of existence in this show is to be the most stereotypical gay man the writers could come up with... all he does is stand in the background and act sassy... The writers are so dismissive with him I'm pretty sure the only reason they made him black is so they could kill two birds with one stone." "Emily in Paris has two actors of color and both of them feel like an afterthought." My thoughts: Don't watch this show. It has a season two coming out, don't watch it, even if you want to see how bad it is. There will be someone online who will tell you why it's bad and you'll save time reading or watching their review instead of giving Netflix a reason for a season three.

Anyways, those are just a few (obvious) examples of how racism isn't okay, even if it isn't inherently meant to be racist. Song of the South was meant to be a heart-warming movie full of stories about morals, but it's been banned and basically erased from Disney history because it comes off as being pro-slave. Millie was meant to be a commentary on Asain stereotypes while lifting up Asain actors so they were given more opportunities, yet most schools have banned it. And Emily in Paris, despite its connections that got it nominated for awards, was such a dumpster fire, a good review is near impossible to find.

#black lives matter #stop asain hate #song of the south #disney #thoroughly modern millie #broadway #ashley park #emily in paris #netflix

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blueikeproductions · 8 months ago

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@vihattu-thethoroughbredofsin I will say in IDW’s defense, they didn’t come up with the caste society angle, they only attempted to flesh it out. It originated in Prime, and has since been used in Cyberverse, I believe Netflix War For Cybertron eluded to it, and I might be misremembering but I believe EarthSpark also uses the caste system as the source of the war.

The problem remains is Hasbro and assorted writers had no idea how to write the caste system other than it was bad, and it was enough to rework Megatron into being the one wanting abolish it.

Functionalism I can sort of understand. For the lack of a better comparison, Antz explored a similar shake up of the system where Z temporarily became a soldier ant while his soldier friend became a worker and the soldier found he LOVED being a worker over a soldier. They otherwise can’t change jobs or go outside the system until Z, in his own neurotic way, but the idea forward they could change.

A Transformer who changes into a tank who wants to be a doctor is frowned upon, because tanks are supposed to blow stuff up, not administer system updates. It’s an interesting train of thought, especially with the imagery of Megatron’s fusion cannon now being a medical kit in late stage Lost Light…. But it all falls apart when you think about it for two seconds. What does Functionalism mean for ordinary cars, for planes, for beasts, or something as mundane as RiD15 style Mini-Con Torpedos and Pucks? All it really says about Beasts is that they’re animals pure and simple and the lowest rung for what feels like an awkward joke referencing older fans grousing about Beast Wars.

It also doesn’t help that it’s never been fully understood what constitutes a Transformer on Cybertron. Roberts made a lot of jokes about generics turning into mundane things like laser pointers and Energon Dispensers, but then you had a joke about a Functionary cop yelling at a piece of junk to Transform, only for Ratchet to clarify the junk wasn’t alive. Like huh? Shouldn’t the Functionary have been able to tell?

IDW2 made the right move to return the cause of the Great War to be more about energy and the Ascenicons/Decepticons wanting power & conquest. Unfortunately the writer chose to do it in the most drawn out, dull, dare I say lifeless way possible.

I think the fact of the matter is as much as some fans detest Transformers being on Earth and befriending humans, that’s the only time they shine because functionally Transformers have NO culture. Armada makes a point to show life on Cybertron is purely militaristic, that Transformers are a warrior race at this stage, with Cybertron largely a junk yard with small hints at great cities that once existed. By Energon, Cybertron is restored to what it used to be, but we still don’t have a clear idea on their culture, as the Autobots largely work with humanity now as scientists and technicians and peace keepers. What little we see in most canons isn’t dissimilar from us, and the Autobots seem to graft pretty easily to our culture and entertainment, G1 famously having some of the Autobots addicted to a soap opera, and Optimus becoming a big fan of basketball. Attempts to fill in the gaps outside of Earth in stuff like Cyberverse and IDW is just flat out Earth and Earth culture but as silly robots. How Beast Machines and Galaxy Force went about it aside, how does Cybertron have plant life and jungles in Cyberverse? I don’t know and I guarantee the Cyberverse writers don’t either. But Cybertron just being a robot Earth isn’t clever or interesting, it’s boring, and it just reinforces why most stories get the Transformers off Cybertron where the real fun can begin.

Hello! I'm sorry if you're tired of this topic, but I can't help but be glad that I'm seeing more and more people criticizing IDW comics!

Once I also wrote a post about criticism of these comics, and my main problem was that there is absolutely no lore in these comics, and if there is anything, it is very little.

I just can't believe that for so long the authors haven't brought anything to the transformers lore. During this really huge amount of time and an impressive list of issues, I expected just a ton of worked-out world and everything else. And as a result, the depth of the lore was approximately equal to the depth of the drying puddle.

I don't understand why many fans praise these comics for the politics and the worked-out world, when this is absolutely not the case. Politics is mainly based on some personal conflicts and intrigues, we practically do not immerse ourselves in the structure and work of the political apparatus, ideas, influence on social structures and lifestyle, the response of different segments of the population to this. No, I understand it's difficult and the age audience is not suitable, but maybe you can't make the central theme of comics something that you can't describe and don't understand how it works?

The authors do not know how to describe a truly alien race and, despite their hatred of human characters, have made Cybertronians so similar to humans that it is absurd.

For example, why is functionalism bad? I understand why this would be bad for humans, but why for another species whose lifestyle should be completely different? In fact, this is the most logical way of life for an alien race, because what is the alternative? Is there an alternative? Can Cybertron switch to equipping itself with conventional technology? What will the Cybertronians who are released from work do, what other jobs and activities are there? The authors do not go into this much and we do not see clear ideas of what a Cybertron society should be without functionalism. Well, or I didn't have enough of what the authors gave me.

But well, we have functionalism. Why is it that the elite of society under this regime are mostly the owners of "useless" altmods? Why not those who transform into scientific or very powerful military equipment? In general, under such conditions, the power on the planet would have been seized by the military part of society long ago.

It's not worth talking about the fact that the usual daily life of Cybertronians is described in almost no way. Along with the culture, we have received very little information about it.

Oh, maybe we know something about the transformers themselves then, right? Not really. Basically you can only find headcanon materials. And what about IDW? Maybe they offered us their glossary, terms, schemes? No, there's nothing. Moreover, already at that time, fans on the forums came up with everything and drew the structure of transformers, and the IDW authors were too lazy to even steal any ideas, except for a few.

But if the authors can't work with these topics, do they describe relationships and love well? Again, no, literally all relationships are either built from scratch, or do not develop, or are full of manipulation, deception and emotional swings (yes, everyone's favorite "the only good" pair of Chromedome X Rewind), or end in nothing, as if nothing ever happened. And it doesn't depend on whether it was a gay relationship or a completely straight one, all the relationships there are very poorly written. If this, like Arcee, is a representation, then it looks more like a direct insult.

And, by the way, if love is for everyone, then where is the love between a transformer and a human? Oh yes, authors hate humans. Love is not for everyone!

And in general, it's good, the authors want to add love and romance, but it needs to be justified! Love relationships are not a necessary phenomenon for species, a lot of stars have to come together for this kind of social interaction to be like that. How did the Cybertronians come to this when they don't have any prerequisites for it? How did they get the Conjux Endura ritual (or did you want to say "bonding"? ;) ).Why does such a strict government, as we were told, disapprove, but not prohibit such types of relations, if in all other respects it is totalitarian and cruel?

How do Cybertronian diseases work? Why did Ratchet die of this disease, but not the characters older than him? This point is generally very similar to a cheap way to soften the reader.

I can go on like this endlessly, but I'll stop here. Roberts is not just a fanfiction writer, he is a very mediocre fanfiction writer who may have a couple of interesting ideas, but lacks the talent to show them. And then, ordinary average writers understand what they are doing and why, and do not get paid for it. It's even more insulting for the authors of fanfiction, who, even for the sake of their strange plots and ideas, try and spin like they're on a frying pan, go out of their skin, coming up with a justification for everything inside the fanfiction. Roberts can't do that.

In the end, I respect the Kiss Players more because the author knew perfectly well what he was doing and wanted to anger the audience, and the audience reacted appropriately. The authors of the IDW comics thought they were doing something smart and great, but they weren't. But the audience presents it as something great.

P.S. I apologize for the mistakes, I use a translator.

There is no need to apologize, you managed to point out the issues with IDW Transformers and why no one really bothered to read them outside of that specific hardcore audience, and not even a general hardcore audience, but an audience that agreed with one specific interpretation of the material, and everyone who had other interpretations could go suck a lemon.

I’ve said it before, this is a prime example of “Writing a comic about a comic” where the use of lore and specific characterizations is so specific to the franchise that any story that is told is Greek to anyone outside of the bubble, which accounts for IDW’s horrible sales. Skybound’s story so far has been criticized by some hardcore fans as a G1 redux, but even if it is, it’s still a well told story with universal themes, consistent, easy to understand characterizations, and characters that are likable for the heroes and hatable for the villains. It has a clear tone, something both IDW and IDW2 failed at utterly. Roberts, meanwhile was a terrible writer, but he was good at engaging the audience the same way fanfic writers do, focusing on the relationships that get the most dialogue, and leaving openings for others to fill in, via discussion or their own fic. But that’s useless when it comes to engaging a general audience. Most of the audience didn’t want to do the work of filling in the holes themselves, they wanted to have the story do that, or at least provide enough context to paint a picture.

As for Kiss Players, while I don’t know if he wanted to purposefully offend the audience or just create shock value, it was a side story comic. It didn’t shape shows afterwards causing them to tank, and doesn’t have people looking at the last show aired and yawning out of sheer boredom.

#blueike productions #transformers #maccadam

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

Text

What I Thought About The Mitchells vs. the Machines

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is up there as one of the best installments of the MCU. Sure, the action and CGI sucks, and the season finale could use a bit more polish, but there is so much more of what it does right. It brings up an engaging discussion through Karli; the bromance between Bucky and Sam is incredible; Zemo's surprisingly a riot, and U.S. Agent is a character whose inner psychology is something I would like to study. Plus, the series really dives deep into the themes of race and the realistic hesitance that comes with making a black man Captain America. It's easily an 8/10 series that is worth an in-depth discussion.

But f**k that s**t, because I'm talking about The Mitchells vs. the Machines instead!

I know it might be questionable that reviewing a movie starring a predominantly white family of idiots saving the world instead of the TV series about the powerful journey of a black man taking the mantle of an American icon...but this movie is fun, alright? And yes, I'm going to spoil it to explain how. So if you still have a Netflix account, I highly suggest you check it out when you have time.

Because, random people on the internet who most likely won't read this, this Ordinary Schmuck who writes stories and reviews and draws comics and cartoons is going to explain why The Mitchells vs. the Machines might just be my favorite film of the year (steep contest, I know).

WHAT I LIKE

The Animation: Let's get this out of the way right here and right now: If a single person ever tells you that this movie has awful animation, or the worst animation they have ever seen, just go ahead and assume that person is an idiot. Because holy hot cheese sticks, does this movie look amazing!

Say what you want about most of Sony Pictures Animation's movies, but you have to admit that they nail making a CGI movie looking like it could be in 2D. And The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the peak of that style. Every character in nearly every frame looks like they could work well if the movie was hand-drawn, and I love it. I am addicted to seeing films that look 2D with a 3D makeover because there has to be ten times the amount of effort to get that look just right, what with modeling each character in unique ways to nail that style wherein a hand-drawn film, you could just, well, draw it. Not to mention that the cell-shading and certain hand-drawn elements also add to the aesthetic.

Plus, there is so much attention to details, such as most of Katie's character model being covered in sharpie, or how you can see a hint of Eric and Deborabot 3000's drawn on faces even though their black screens are showing something else. Seriously, you can listen to any criticism this movie gets, but don't you dare let someone get away with telling you that it looks awful. It doesn't. It's incredible, and I SO wish that I could have seen it all on the big screen.

The Comedy: On top of being incredibly well-animated, this movie is also incredibly funny. Like, really funny. I shouldn't be surprised since it's made by the same people responsible for Clone High and The Lego Movie, but yeah, I found myself laughing, chuckling, and snorting with nearly every joke in the film. Not every joke works, to be fair. But because of the fast-paced humor, the bad jokes are almost immediately followed up with better ones soon after. What's even better is that the writers know when to take a break with the humor and let some surprisingly compelling drama take over. And even then, when there are jokes during the dramatic moments, they add sincerity to the scene rather than take anything away. Looking at you, The Amazing World of Gumball...I mean, I love you, but sheesh, you need to learn to let a solemn moment play out.

Anyways, the comedy is hilarious. And while I won't spoil every joke, I will go over some bits that might have gotten to me the most.

Katie Mitchell: Let's just go ahead and add Katie Mitchell to the list of characters I highly relate to on a personal level (which is getting longer by the minute, hot damn). But jokes aside, I really like Katie. Her love and desire to make movies is something I identify with, and her goal to just go to a place where she feels like she belongs is easy to understand. Trust me, if I found out there was a group of weirdos who like the same things I do and enjoy the things I make, I’d be willing to pack everything I have and go to them as fast as possible too. Plus, I feel like a lot of us can relate to a character who lives in a household where people question if our career goal is something we can make a living with. I remember two years ago when I told my aunt that I wanted to make my own animated series, and her reaction is a little too similar to Rick's when Katie showed him her movie. They mean well, but sometimes it's for the best to have a cheerleader rather than a critic, especially if that person is family.

Now, Katie isn't perfect as her enthusiasm can get a little annoying at times, and her desire to leave can be conceived as a little too harsh as well. Still, she's pretty cool and serves her role as a protagonist pretty well...also, if the movie gets a sequel, let's hope she and Jude become cannon by then. GIVE KATIE A GIRLFRIEND, DAMN IT!

Aaron Mitchell: But as great as Katie is, it's this goober that earns the reward for my favorite character. At times it looks like Aaron is nothing more than a source of comedy, but he handles some dramatic moments really well. Partial credit goes to Michael Rianda for that one. Yeah, having a child actor would have made Aaron sound more like a kid, but no other voice could have fit him better than what Michael offers as he comes across as weird but never obnoxious.

Also, let's give the writer points for making a character who is clearly neurodivergent. Yet also refraining from having him be annoying or useless to the rest of the cast. No one ever really disrespects or belittles Aaron and instead chooses to work with him rather than against him. Especially Katie, who forms a solid sibling bond with Aaron as a fellow weirdo. It's genuinely sweet to see, and I loved every minute that the writers showed that just because someone acts on a different wavelength doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated any less because of it. You get that with Katie, a little bit, but I see it much more with Aaron, for some reason. And I love him every minute, so that’s a win.

(Plus, I may or may not have had a dinosaur phase when I was younger, so go ahead and add him to the list of relatable characters too.)

Rick Mitchell: This is probably a character you will either love or hate, and I can see both sides of that argument. Because on the one hand, I really like Rick Mitchell. His motivation is clear and understandable from the first set of home videos with him and Katie, both near the beginning and the end. Sure, he messes up a lot, but he is still a man who cares deeply about his daughter, as well as his entire family. He gets to the point where he would make great sacrifices for all of them, especially Katie. Plus, it's just pleasant seeing a cartoon dad who isn't a complete idiot or overprotective regarding his daughter's love life.

However, there are times when Rick comes across as an irresponsible d**k. When he does things like smash the family's phones without telling them or giving them screwdrivers for "presents," you're either gonna find that funny or you won't. Personally, I enjoy Rick and his antics, and I have no problem with irresponsible cartoon dads. As long as they don't cross the line toward Modern-Peter Griffin territory, I've got no problem with dads like Rick, who I believe has never even got that bad. Still, some people might think differently, and I can't blame them. Because after getting great cartoon dads like Greg Universe, I can understand if some people won't be interested in characters like Rick Mitchell.

Rick’s and Katie’s relationship: Alongside the top-notch animation and gut-busting comedy, Rick and Katie's relationship is what I consider the movie's most essential asset. These two are the main characters of the film, and as such, they develop through each other. And what's crazy is that they have very conflicting goals. Katie wants to escape and be with her people, where Rich just wants one last chance to have a good memory with Katie before she leaves. To do so, they first have to understand each other. Katie has to learn why Rick is so desperate to spend time with her, and Rick has to realize why Katie is, well, Katie. What I love most about it is that they try. These two don't spend the entire movie arguing and being at each other's throats until a sudden "Oh" moment in the end. No, there are actual moments when they genuinely try to understand one another and fix their relationship. It's nice to watch, and I especially love when it cuts to Linda and Aaron celebrating each time Katie and Rick get closer to each other. When recommending this movie, I'd say come for the animation and comedy, stay for the phenomenal relationship building.

Monchi: There are probably people already comparing Monchi to Mater or the Minions due to being a comic relief with nothing else to add...but gosh dangit, do I love this little gentleman. Maybe it's because I'm a dog person, but I find Monchie to be incredibly adorable, and I will fight anybody who disrespects this king of kings. Probably not physically, 'cause I'm a wuss, but I will verbally. So WATCH IT!

“HeLlO. i Am DoG.”: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

Rick’s videotapes of him and Katie: And right there. Rick's motivation for everything is set in stone through a solid case of visual storytelling.

PAL: The writers do almost everything they should have with this character. PAL might not have the most creative evil plan in the world, but to me, a villain can have a generic scheme as long as they're funny. Thankfully, PAL is funny. Not only is the idea of a smartphone ruling the planet hilarious in all the right ways, but Olivia Colman delivers such a great cynical energy that the character needs. The way PAL reacts to people explaining why humans are worth living is just the best, and her flopping around in a fit of rage successfully gets to me.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that I wish PAL had more of a meaningful resolution to her character. The movie builds up that she makes a big deal about Mark dropping her, so it feels weird that neither of them really get any actual closure with each other. I'll get more into that in the dislikes, but I wish PAL had more of a fitting end than just dying after accidentally getting dropped in a glass of water. Other than that, she's a great comedic villain for a comedic movie.

PAL MAX Robots: These guys are the funniest characters in the movie. Half of it is the bits of visual humor, while the other half comes from the solid line delivery from Beck Bennett. Especially with Bennett's and Fred Armisen's Eric and Deborahbot 3000. These two are definitely the comedic highlights, as nearly every line they say is both hilarious and kind of adorable at times. And just like with Monchi, if you dare disrespect these characters, I will fight you. Because they are funny, and I will not hear otherwise.

PAL demonstrating what it’s like to be a phone: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

(Don't disrespect your phones, kids. Otherwise, they'll try to take over the world.)

PAL turning off the Wi-Fi: Again, have I mentioned this movie is funny?

“I love the dog. You love the dog. We all love the dog. But at some point, you’re gonna have to eat the dog.”: It's the sick jokes that get to me the most. Everyone booing Rick afterward is just the cherry on top.

Attack of the Furbies: Have I. Mentioned. That this movie. Is funny?

Seriously, if you haven't lost your s**t during every second of this scene, then you never had to deal with the demonic entity that is a Furby. In a way, I commend you. But you also don't get to appreciate the comedic genius of all of this. So I also weirdly feel bad for you.

The Mitchells deciding how to celebrate: You don't have a real family if you spend more time arguing about how to celebrate after saving the world than you do about how to save the world. I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

The PAL MAX Primes: There's not much to say about them. The PAL MAX primes look and act pretty cool, are brilliantly animated, and raise the stakes while still being funny at times. I love 'em, but I don't have much to analyze with them either.

The origin of the moose: ...I'd make the "I didn't need my heart anyway" joke, but to be honest, it's still shattered after WandaVision.

(For real, though, this is a really effective scene that establishes why Rick makes a big deal with the moose and why he might feel hurt that Katie is willing to disregard it completely)

The Theme of Technology and Social Media: There's a theme about how family is important, and working hard on making things work is worth the effort. But that's a bit too generic for my tastes, so instead, I'm gonna talk about the equally important message this movie has about technology. Because as twisted as she is, PAL makes a great point. The technology we have today helps us in a variety of ways. It's especially useful with sites like YouTube, allowing content creators like Katie to reach out and share their voices. The only issue with technology is how people use it. Take note that the main reason why the Mitchells stand a chance against PAL is by using her own tech against her. Yes, over-relying on all the advancements around us can be dangerous, but if we're smart with how we use them, we can get by just fine. This movie isn't about purging all technology like most robot apocalypse stories are. Instead, it's about using it correctly and not being helpless sheep the second the Wi-Fi gets turned off. Which might just be the most unique thing this movie has going for it story-wise (more on that later).

The Climax: The Mitchells vs. The Machines has everything that I think I climax should have. First off, it utilizes callbacks and jokes that I wouldn't have thought twice on actually coming in handy for how the Mitchells win the day. But showing that Monchi causes the robots to malfunction turns a pretty "eh" joke into a solid case of foreshadowing.

Second, everyone does something. Some characters do more than others, sure, but the fact that every Mitchell, even Monchi, has a hand in beating PAL and her robots is a great sense of writing to me. It shows that you really can't cut anyone from the main cast, as they each add value to how they are essential to the plot. Even Aaron, who arguably does the least in the climax, still manages to be the catalyst to what is easily the best scene in the movie. Speaking of which...

Linda Kicks Ass: By the way, that's the actual name on the soundtrack. I'm not even kidding. Check it.

Anyways, for the most part, Linda seemed like a decent cartoon mom. She's insanely supportive but still has the common sense to keep her foot down, like agreeing with Rick to stay safe in the dino stop the second the apocalypse starts. A pretty fun character, for sure, but nothing too noteworthy...but the second she loses her s**t, Linda Mitchell frickin' SKYROCKETS to the best-cartoon-mom territory! Believe me when I tell you that seeing her slice and dice robots like a middle-aged female Samurai Jack is as awesome as it is hilarious. Does it make sense how she can suddenly do this? No, but at the same time, who gives a s**t about common sense?! Because this moment was epic, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching it over and over again.

Rick Learning How to Internet...Again: I consider this the funniest moment in the movie. Trust me, the Furby scene is a close, close, CLOSE, second...but I think this scene was funnier.

The final goodbye: This is what I'm talking about when I say humor adds to the dramatic moments. The Mitchells saying "I love you" in moose is pretty funny, but it's also a sweet moment given that this is absolutely how this family of weirdos would say goodbye to each other. And, yeah, I got a little misty-eyed during this scene. Especially when Rick saw Katie pocketing the moose. That s**t just cuts deep, man.

Alex Hirsch Voices a Character: ...That's it. I look up to Alex Hirsh as everything I want to be as a creator, and the fact that his name is on this movie fills me with joy. He's also a story consultant, so that can also explain why the movie turned out as great as it did...although there are some imperfections.

WHAT I DISLIKE

Katie-vision: What's Katie-vision? Well, throughout the movie, we get to see how Katie views the world as there are these hand-drawn elements that look like effects Katie would add if she was the one who made the movie. At times it can be subtle and cute, like when this little beating heart appears when Katie is talking with Jude and her other friends. It's when the movie is in your face with Katie-vision does it get annoying. Like showing how Katie is lying about being certain she can drive up a vertical ramp or signifying what is the Rick Mitchell Special. Even if you justify that this would be how Katie would edit the movie, it still doesn't change how obnoxious these moments can be. For instance, Monchi is justified to be essential for the plot, but that doesn't mean people won't hate him...I'll still fight them if they do, but that's beside the point.

I can totally accept this being a personal issue, as I'm sure some people enjoy it. As for me, I think Katie-vision works best when used subtly instead of crudely.

The Meme humor: It's something similar here. Because some people like meme humor...but I don't. To me, it just dates your story if you reference memes even once. Now, a show, movie, or book being partially dated is nothing new. We Bare Bears, a series that I love, reference memes, apps, and social media constantly. Yet, the show still has a timeless feel to it as it doesn't rely on those references too much. The Mitchells vs. the Machines doesn't rely on memes as much either. But even then, that doesn't make a difference about how annoying that gibbon monkey joke was. Seriously, what the f**k was that? And how is THAT the joke that gets used twice!?

Underutilizing Mark Bowman: It really bothers me how this guy barely does much. I mean, Mark Bowman is the main reason that anything happens in the movie. Because he mistreated PAL, Mark acts as the catalyst for events to come. So the fact that he could have been written out the second PAL takes control doesn't make sense to me. It's worse since I could see more potential with his character through his relationship with PAL. These two could be anti-Rick and Katie, as Mark and PAL show what happens when people disrespect their family. So separating them halfway through the story, and keeping them as such, is a huge mistake as it results in neither having a proper resolution to their arcs. Like I said, Rick and Katie develop through each other, and the same could have happened with Mark and PAL. It doesn't, making it something that I can't help but feel disappointed about.

The Poseys: These are characters I feel like work better with multiple appearances. Sure, they only have the one joke about being a perfect family, but at the same time, you can make a joke like that work. Look at Yvonne from Shaun of the Dead (Which might just be my favorite movie). That's a bit-character whose only purpose is showing how better she is than Shaun despite being in an eerily similar situation. But she works well as we constantly see how great she's doing in every instance we see her. The same could be done with the Poseys, as using a similar joke for one scene is underutilizing great potential to make an already good movie into a better one.

Plus, if you're gonna shoehorn in a romance between Aaron and Abby Posey, the least you could do is have more than one scene developing that...just saying.

Katie’s and Rick’s “Oh” Moments: I want to make it clear that I actually like these scenes. They're well written and effectively emotional. My problem is that they also happen two seconds apart. There's nothing wrong with having a character realize the error of their ways through a tear-jerking moment. It's a popular tactic for a reason. And given how both Rick and Katie are the protagonists, they both need their own "oh" moment. But you gotta space them out, as it makes things easier to see the emotional manipulation that you're clearly trying to pull on the audience. They work, but putting them back to back is an issue easily solved with at least two minutes of padding, not two seconds.

Katie’s Death Fakeout: This is one of the few instances that a joke doesn't work in the movie, made even more annoying with the fact that I could see the punchline a mile away and kept thinking, "Just get to it already." I'm pretty sure no one bought this, especially when Katie didn't look like she could have gotten killed in any way after throwing PAL. It's poorly handled and proof that even the funniest comedies have a stale joke every now and again.

Nothing New is really being done here: Keep in mind that in terms of style, this movie is incredibly innovative. And here's hoping future animated projects can take notes. But narratively speaking? Yeah, there's nothing really new that this movie is offering.

A story about how technology will be the death of us? Been there.

A story about a group of idiots miraculously saving the world? Done that.

A story about a father forcing their teenager on a road trip so they can spend quality time with each other, thus ruining the teen's chance of hanging out with their girlfriend? Believe it or not, I have seen A Goofy Movie...multiple times...both as a kid and as an adult.

Now, I have no issue with a movie's plot being a bit by-the-books, and in some cases, cliche. If done effectively, and if I still have a good time, I don't think there’s much to complain about. And there isn't with The Mitchells vs. The Machines. The problem lies with that I'll forget this movie along with the dozens of others like it in a couple years. Which might just be the biggest issue any film can have.

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Overall, I'd give The Mitchells vs. the Machines a well-earned A-. It has nitpicks, sure, but it's still a blast to watch. It might not be innovative or groundbreaking as movies like the last Sony Pictures Animation movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. However, it is fun. And when the world is burning down around us, it's nice to have a fun movie that can distract us from all of it. So feel free to log in to Netflix the next time you're in the mood for a film that is great for the whole family. You won’t be disapointed

(And I will talk about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pretty soon. I just needed to get this out of my system first.)

#the mitchells vs the machines #what i thought about

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bhaleesi · 3 years ago

Note

Hey Bhaleesi

You are such a great writer! I just wanted to ask you how you set up an outline for your story. I have a story in my mind: characters, plot etc but I just can't figure out how to go abt it.

How do you decide which points are relevant to the story and so on? And what are Arcs in a story and how does one plan them? How does one know which plot lines are superficial and can be removed whereas others aren't?🤔

❤

Hey @theholyfollowerofdeath!

Thank you for the compliment about my writing 😊! Also, I'm glad that you're interested in working on a story of your own; can't wait to see what you come up with!

I'll try and group everything for ease/organization below the cut

CHARACTERS

It sounds like you're still in the planning stages of your story. I'm by no means an expert, but my advice at this point would be to experiment with your characters. Get a sense of their backstories, how they behave, their relationships with other characters, etc. These can have often have huge influences on the plot/storyline, so it's good to lay down the basics first. Don't be afraid to be inspired by existing characters, but ensure that you make them your own!

You don't need to know everything about them at this point. There are still aspects of my own characters that I add and refine even this deep into AWAS for example.

There are lots of useful tools out there to help you. Sites like fantasynamegenerator are good for helping you with naming people (as well as places!). Piccrew is also fun way to get a sense of what your characters might look like - but you can also draw them yourself!

Identifying your protagonist(s) is important, as they're the character(s) we'll be following for the duration of the story. Antagonists are equally important, since they'll be opposing the protagonist and are a good source of conflict.

Here's a very quick way to flesh out a character more (there are many, more detailed sheets out there that you can explore):

What is their name? Does that name have any particular meaning?

What is their personality?

What is their backstory? Is it tied to other characters' backstories?

What is their family like -> siblings, parents, children, spouses, extended relatives, etc?

What relationships do they have? Close friends? Romantic interests, if any? Enemies/people they dislike?

What are their motivations? How will this contribute to the story?

How would they react to a variety of situations? How do they handle conflict?

What events/memories have shaped them?

What role will they serve in the story?

WORLDBUILDING

Worldbuilding to me is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing. It makes the world feel alive, and gives the characters a space to exist in. The best part is that not all worldbuilding has to further the plot - some things are just fun! A bunch of worldbuilding guides exist that will be much better than my attempts. For me, when I worldbuild I think about stuff like

The setting -> geography plays a big part in how stories are going to run (e.g. if you write a war, you'll need to think about how armies move!). I started out by using Azgaar's map generator to get a sense of where all of this exciting storytelling would take place. Even just having an idea of where everyone is can make things easier for you.

Historical events -> History defines our past and shapes our future; it can be a great tool to explain why your world and your characters are the way that they are. I'm often inspired by real events and time periods that I enjoy [which is why AWAS has such a heavy early 20th century inspiration]. I've sunk so many hours on Wikipedia youtube, and netflix documentaries it's not even funny

Other things such as culture, religion, society, are avenues that can be explored and used to create an enriching world

You don't need to be 100% done with worldbuilding to write a story. Often times, the world grows as the plot does

PLOT

And now we get to the tricky part: what is the story about? Here I'll directly answer the questions from the ask - the previous stuff was setup and food for thought.

How do you decide which points are relevant to the story and so on?

The relevancy of points will depend upon what your story is about. This can vary from writer to writer. For me, I generally try and justify the inclusion of every point by asking myself:

Does the point move the story along in a meaningful way? Meaningful doesn't always mean big - some points are huge plot-twists, others are subtle foreshadowing.

Does the point give us more insight into the world and the characters? Not everything has to force the story forward - it's actually good to pause and get a sense of how the characters are feeling or how the world shifts around them.

Points can fall into one (or both) of those categories, or they can be something different. Some are just fun to write! For example, AWAS' 'Spotlights' at the end of certain chapters are things that I loved writing but couldn't fit into the narrative nicely.

Even if you're not sure about a point - write it down and save it! It might not work at one point in time, but it can always be modified or adapted for new scenarios.

And what are Arcs in a story and how does one plan them?

Dividing a story into arcs helps readers and writers better focus on what's going on. This blog gives a solid description of the standard three-act structure (minor warning: it has spoilers for The Wizard of Oz and The Hunger Games if you haven't read either of those)

AWAS uses the less common four-act structure, which can be trickier to write. This other blog discusses how to wrangle that

With each arc, I set a few goals of what I want to accomplish by the end. Then I work from there. For example, I wanted Quill to be crowned Potentate by the end of Act 1 (and to befriend Isabelle, Orion, and Ares). Thus I set out the ways to do so

First, end the war. Theron's betrayal was how I decided to go about that, and then dealing with the fallout of Theron's betrayal.

Next, Quill needs to end up in the capital. Here was a good place for him to meet Orion, Isabelle, and Ares

Finally, Quill needed to be crowned after marrying Ayden

Thus at the end of Act I, Quill is crowned and we've been exposed to a host of characters, motivations, storylines, etc.

How does one know which plot lines are superficial and can be removed whereas others aren't?

This one is tricky, and I don't think anyone has truly mastered it, but I'll try and explain how I go about it

Similar to knowing which plot points are relevant, I ask myself what a particular plot line will accomplish if I include it. Does it move the story towards the end in a way that agrees with the world I've established? Or maybe instead does it give better insight into a character? Both, or neither?

Some plot lines might slow the story down, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just better overall if they accomplish the goals you set up for your story. Set-up and payoff are important here, too.

USEFUL SOURCES

I did a ton of research on storytelling to guide me in the right direction back when I first started writing in 2020. Some of the content I appreciated most were:

Merphy Napier's video essays on youtube

HelloFutureMe's youtube channel in general

Inky-Duchess on tumblr has really great material that focuses on royalty, nobility, etc

The Armchair Historian presents real historical events in a fun, visually appealing way

MasterClass' page on worldbuilding can help you get started fleshing out the settings

Tumblr in general too can be a good start. Tags like 'writing', 'worldbuilding', 'writing guide', and similar are great places to look

And ... yeah! This is just my own experience with writing. It can seem like a lot when you get started, but the more you establish about your story, the easier it can flow. I'd be happy to lend further support!

Thank you for the ask and good luck~

#ask #theholyfollowerofdeath #writing #AWAS #A wolf amongst serpents #writeblr #original writing #original work #writing community

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