#yes I'm still on this because usamericans are still being awful to us

[lil-gingerbread-queen]

When you're a sex-repulsed asexual and you are the one calling allosexual "prudes" because they are calling something family friendly in your culture "raunchy" and "unacceptable on tv".

[littlefankingdom]

Everytime something happens in France in a comic, I realize how little researches comics writers do. And like, if they are this bad with my western country, how bad it is with third-world countries they talk about???

In Nightwing (2016), Raptor is from a circus that was near Paris during Mary Grayson's childhood, so more than 40 years ago at least.

In this flashback, they accuse the mayor of Paris of having given leprosy to the romani and of keeping away the meds they need. Already, with our healthcare's system, it's hardly possible, as they would be able to go to a hospital to get the help they need. Do they think "public healthcare" means the state has a direct control on medication, because that's not the case at all. The French gov control the money put into medication, how much is bought, but a mayor has no power over this. I just don't understand how something like this could happen. You can totally write a racist medical scandal in France, but makes it make sense with our system.

But also, Paris didn't have a mayor until 1977, so if it's before 1977, impossible. And, Paris' mayor from 1977 to 1995 is JACQUES CHIRAC, who was the PRESIDENT after. They wrote a story implying that a French President kept medications away from sick people, was discovered and was still elected President. And, yes, the French government is far from good and they have deeply harmed the romani, but like, maybe don't write shit like that. (Also, Chirac was really against the war of Iraq, and stood up against the US, which France is still paying the price for to this day. So I don't really like an USAmerican to criticize Chirac. Like, we can do it, others can do it, but not USAmericans, y'all have done enough) I'm pretty sure that wasn't the goal of the writers. No, what happen is that they didn't do researches about Paris' mayor and so, wrote that shit.

This may be inspired by the contaminated blood's scandal in the 80s-90s, which was worst in France, but no mayor was found guilty, it was doctors who knowingly contaminated patients with a deadly illness. And the French government was held accountable, even if they had no hand in it, as a matter of principle.

I understand it's a fiction, and they didn't literally wrote "Chirac did this", but it's kind of clumsy. (Especially because of everything I wrote earlier about Chirac's politics and how the US is still punishing France for being against killing civilians and destroying Iraq. France was doing the right thing, and the US worked so France would go back in line and treat Arabs like shit. Do not think western countries are free from the US' imperialism)

And in no way I'm saying that you cannot write France being awful, I know my gov's crimes (rn, they have deported homeless out of Paris for the Olympics, the President is refusing to acknowledge the left won the elections and to take a leftist prime minister so we have no prime minister since mid July and fuck democracy I guess, they support Israel's crimes against humanity, and are behaving like the colonizers that they are in New-Caledonia, sending the armies against the Kanaks that have not enough power on their own land), I'm just saying it should at least be believable enough to work. (Easiest way: make the cops racist. Boom. Also, French cops talk like vilains, it's insane.) And also, not about someone touchy like clumsily painting badly a president that was punished by the US for doing the right thing.

[parlerenfleurs]

It is actually really tiring to see so many mean jokes about France and people hating France online, especially with some French people cheerfully agreeing to what is sometimes plain falsehood at worst or stereotypical nonsense at best.

I'm not nationalistic. I didn't even grow up on the mainland. I'm not even french on both sides of my family. And yes, a lot of French people suck (case in point: they elected Macron twice), our government sucks, and, yes, historically France colonized other countries and is still fucking with some African countries' governements and selling armament and generally being a lot of the awful things countries which have some power tend to do internationally in this giant mess that our current dominating system is.

Why don't people talk about that if they've got a problem with France instead of making shitty hurtful jokes, I wonder? Why is it okay to dunk on us? We're not pitiful, but by the same metric the USA for instance are not exactly pitiful either, and yet, people mostly make the effort to put some nuance into their criticisms, to reblog pleas for understanding and explanations of the complex nature of things and situations from interested parties.

We are a whole country with many different regional cultures, quirks, dialects and histories. We are a whole population with many different individuals, just like everywhere else. We have poets, and good authors, and great artists just like everywhere else. We are the good and the bad, and are frustrated and dismayed at our government's actions, or at our violent history, just like everywhere else. Where does not have a violent history, and where does not have most people upset about it, after all?

For some reason it seems it is fashionable to make fun of us and that it is socially unacceptable to defend ourselves when it happens. And since this is an USAmerican dominated space, I do have to wonder, and if you're USAmerican you should ask yourself that too: is this the consequence of the passionate anti-French propaganda that took place when our President at the time (rightfully) condemned and criticised the war in Irak? Is this what is being echoed and perpetuated here, like a virus in our collective consciousness, even though it's not conscious?

I would like for people online to treat us with as much grace and attempt to have as much nuance as they would any other country (and to fact check things for goodness' sake). Don't just treat a whole country callously and mispronounce our words like there is no other way to pronounce them that exists and say whatever because you think it's funny to repeat mean jokes or can't be bothered to wonder if this is the truth. We are online too, we see your jokes and sloppy caricatures, be they intended as flattering or not. We may not necessarily love this country, we may not necesseraly identify strongly with it, but we are a part of it and it is a part of us, whether we want it or not, and when you dump everyone in the same crudely made basket, then we're definitely part of it, whether we want it or not.

[supermario-supersideblog]

My Thoughts on the Mario Movie

I just opened this blog and I'm stuck bored at the laundromat, so now seems like a great time to ramble. Will be getting into spoiler territory.

Just to give background, I literally grew up on this franchise. SMB3 was the first game I ever beat. My favorite cartoon was The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (if you can't tell by the blog URL). I started to write at 9 years old after stumbling onto a Mario fansite and being inspired. This was my introduction to fandom.

When I initially saw the movie, I had mixed feelings. I was floored when they acknowledged and even expanded upon the original story of how the brothers made it to the Mushroom Kingdom. Yes, they're just some guys from the real world, that's the point! They're just some guys!

For the negatives: The pacing is awful. They don't take long enough to pause on any one moment or expand on any point made. They immediately jump to the next thing each time. My boy Luigi barely got any screen time. The voice acting wasn't bad, but it wasn't great (but I can look past that). I'm still not a fan of the final fight taking place in Brooklyn because then that raises a lot of questions that aren't answered (How do the citizens of Earth react to a massive turtle dragon attacking the city??? Did this get news coverage??? Are we just handwaving this??? What????).

As for the positives on my initial viewing: Loved Bowser. They nailed his personality. I knew they would the moment they announced that Jack Black would be voicing him. I loved every moment he was on screen. Zero complaints. The casting of Charlie Day as Luigi was also perfect in my book (even if that one was more controversial for some reason?). It just... Fits. Anya-Taylor Joy needed better direction, but her voice worked well enough and you can tell she really enjoyed her role from the previews. Chris Pratt was certainly there but not as bad as I was expecting.

And the references! God. The references. The movie really looked at its older audience and said "Hey. This is for you too." (I'm hoping the blue toad with glasses was supposed to reference Toadbert, but that may have just been me hoping.)

But, as I said, my feelings were mixed.

Initially.

But then I thought about the movie more and more.

What's important in the Mario franchise is that the CORE is there. I'm not talking "giant turtle kidnap princess saved by plumber the end." I mean the brothers. It's Super Mario BROTHERS.

This was my biggest fear going into the theatre. Mario and Luigi actively care for each other in the games, first and foremost. They bicker sometimes. Luigi can get a bit jealous in some of the games. But in playing the games, it's explicitly clear: They care for each other. They'll protect each other. They'll risk their lives for each other. In the Mario&Luigi games especially, they're not afraid to comfort each other and show affection for each other. "Toxic masculinity" does not exist here.

My fear going in, especially Chris Pratt as lead, would be that this would be outright abandoned. This movie was produced here in the USA, and us USAmericans tend to be HIGHLY touch-averse, to the point of it being cultural taboo. It would have been far too easy for them to ignore or change their relationship to the more 'typical' depiction you see of brothers in media.

But.... no.

THEY NAILED IT. ABSOLUTELY NAILED IT!

The most important part of the series! THEY NAILED IT!!!

Mario and Luigi's interactions are PERFECT in the movie! That's them! As they should be! Constantly reassuring each other before they're separated! Mario standing up for and protecting Luigi since they were kids! Luigi insisting that Mario isn't bringing him down like their dad says! When they reunite! THE FOREHEAD TOUCH! They're on the verge of tears! They only care that the other is safe even though they're in the middle of a massive battle!

The pacing is awful. The voice acting is okay. I still don't like the final battle taking place in Brooklyn without showing consequences. But in the end, that doesn't actually matter to me! This is going to be an introduction to the franchise for so many people! So many new fans, so many kids, so many people who will grow to love it as I do, and the most important part is THERE! The movie is far from perfect, but that doesn't matter to me as much now!

Hopefully we get more of the brothers in the next movie (There's DEFINITELY a next movie). I am actively excited for what the first movie brought and can't wait to see it expanded. It's perfect for what it needed to be.

(Also Donkey Kong's "WELL YOUR DAD'S RIGHT" is the funniest subversion of that trope I've ever seen and had me in tears in the theater, gotta give credit where credit is due.)

[lil-gingerbread-queen]

For informations, a lot of jokes about France are literally the result of the propaganda put in place by the USA in 2003, because France was against the war in Irak. It is about humiliating a country and its population because our gov spoke up against the war in Iraq. It's a well-known fact here, and it's why we hate those jokes so much. Yes, let's humiliate a population because their gov made the GOOD CHOICE to not participate in a massacre. The jokes aren't words for words about the massacre of the Iraqi, but it's making fun of people for caring about their lives. It's been 20 years, and those jokes are still there.

An example: the "surrender" jokes are either about terrorism and the war of Irak (France "surrendered" to terrorism because France was against killing innocent to punish 9/11) or about WWII (the Nazi Occupation, which was very traumatizing and killed a lot of people. And it happened after french towns were bombed and people died in awful conditions. So fucking funny, right?)

This is about my country, so I know this, but it's probably also the case of other countries. A "harmless" joke is easily just fucked up propaganda. And, racism kills and I'm certain that mocking someone's accent does count as racism (sometimes). Yeah, maybe making jokes about your usamerican accent has no damaged, but that's not the case for everyone. (Jokes about the black usamericans accents would be racists, and probably classicist. And we know being black get you killed)

Also, people aren't making fun of dead children, btw when they make jokes about school shootings, but the fact that y'all cannot change shit in your country, that your children are dying and you dare act as the country of "freedom". That you are so ready to come to judge other countries when your own children are dying. These jokes often comes after an USAmerican makes a terrible comment or a poor taste joke about another country. Y'all love to throw rocks from your glass house and cry when they get send back to you.

Y'all can make jokes about other countries when it becomes illegal for you to make people work for more than 48h a week, something that is illegal since 1919 in France and y'all call us "lazy" for (making y'all the clown of your own joke).

making fun of americans is pretty much always ok if youre not doing it in an edgelord “you guys have so many school shootings” way or acting like we’re the only country that has racism. but like posts about americans and hamburger get me every time