whisperoftheheart925

[whisperoftheheart925]

hey sorry it's just that i don't think i'm very good at being a person. thanks for letting me try with you, anyway.

[whisperoftheheart925]

[whisperoftheheart925]

i want more nuance to be entered into the discussion of the green girl sorority and how differently cynthia plays elphaba in comparison to those who came before her because while a lot of people are rightfully like "why was elphaba not black from the beginning" and celebrating that she is now being played by a black woman, i think we need to be careful in just writing off all the elphabas of the past as Random White Girls when the role was championed (and often followed/succeeded) by a jewish woman

the pop culture archetype of the Wicked Witch has deep roots in antisemitism stretching faaaar far back. there is a level of reclamation happening in casting idina menzel, a jewish woman, to play the Misunderstood and Maligned young girl who is branded as exactly that. and stage!Elphaba is also written and acted with jewish stereotypes in mind--she is loud, aggressive, no-nonsense, blunt. she is quick to advocate for herself and shut down the discrimination she faces. all of this is very intentional! her personality is abrasive from years of abuse, and that makes propagandizing her easy. this is literally the thesis statement of the musical--it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.

cynthia's performance of elphaba is fucking INSPIRED despite going in a completely different direction. she's much more reserved, analytical, one of her key character traits is how well she can read people (see her calling out Galinda as insecure/putting on airs in their first scene together, clocking that Fiyero is using his party guy persona as a shield for his own depression) elphaba's attempts to blend in and make herself smaller all fail simply because of her existence, if not that then because she feels empathy so strongly she often struggles to hold back from acting, protecting.

personality wise, though, cynthia's elphaba is very quiet and closed-off, not at all the bullet-to-the-face that she is in the stage show, and... she still gets propagandized and maligned. though this seems to contradict the other interpretation, it tells of the other end of the spectrum of propaganda, one that black women watching (and many, MANY other marginalized folks) are sure to identify with--it does not matter how "nice," how reserved, how small a black woman makes herself. a racist society will still scrutinize her every action for a way to parse ill intent from it, brand her as an angry black woman who is dangerous and wicked, and write off any humanity she has in the process.

these two very different interpretations tell of the lie of assimilation. the fact of the matter is, when you are marginalized, there is no way to sand down your edges enough to make the people oppressing you "accept" you. that is why wicked is a tragedy at its core. whether loud and aggressive or quiet and unimposing, there is nothing elphaba could have done to make the people of Oz see her as anything other than a scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

so while i definitely appreciate that people are excited for black girl era elphaba, i would encourage us all to still show appreciation for what came before--that was not white girl era elphaba. that was jewish girl era elphaba. two houses, both alike in dignity, two stories both worth being told.

[whisperoftheheart925]

Less magic schools. More magic universities. Unlearn the simplified models of your secondary education. Discover how to reference scrolls written by a wizard possessed by a different wizard. Identify bias in the voices that whisper from beyond the veil. Have your institution be accused of promoting a Merlinist agenda. Become addicted to energy potions.

[whisperoftheheart925]

usamericans, do you remember in the incredibles when syndrome made the robot go haywire just so he could swoop in and 'save the day'

[whisperoftheheart925]

A copper retriever with her unoxidised puppies

[whisperoftheheart925]

my watery friend... are you too brushed with the pattern of the dappled light...?

[whisperoftheheart925]

I love when you’re reading multiple fics by the same author and you start to spot all the phrases and adjectives they like to use

[whisperoftheheart925]

THE SWIMMING PIC HAS ME SOBBING 😭😭

[whisperoftheheart925]

There's something so deeply profound about Suzume's ideas about how people love the land, and how in return the land loves its people. That the separation of people from the places they love is a trauma so deep, not just in the people but in the land itself, these lonely places that are abandoned, that it ripples and builds and breaks the world again.

That you heal that wound by remembering how people loved that place, and then let it go. You remember the love and happiness. And then you return it to the gods. That you grieve the land like you grieve a person- you have to remember it, love it, before you can really heal from its loss.

[whisperoftheheart925]

Daijin in Suzume (2022) dir. Makoto Shinkai

[whisperoftheheart925]

A lot of people on Tik Tok have migrated over to the Chinese app RedNote, and the Chinese users are so fucking funny about it. I saw one comment that was like "Welcome, I was the Chinese citizen assigned to spy on your data, I missed you"

[whisperoftheheart925]

Don’t watch the movie. Watch this five minute video that tells you what the ending means. Don’t read the book. Watch this review of it that tears it apart. Don’t read that paper. Watch the video that tells you what the science means. Don’t read the article. This video summarizes it. Don’t solve this ARG. Watch the video explaining it. Don’t play this game. Watch the lore video. Don’t participate. Don’t participate. Don’t participate.

You already know what it means, so why would you go look at the original work. Don’t waste your time.

[whisperoftheheart925]

[whisperoftheheart925]

i can't lie to you i loveee bad endings sometimes. what if nothing worked out. what if the characters gave into their worst instincts. what if they became worse. what if there's truly no hope left. what will they do out of desperation? who will they become as their worst selves?

[whisperoftheheart925]

there’s a certain type of Manly Man character who queer people can instantly sniff out as putting on a charade of masculinity that only the deeply repressed can perform but when you point this out to cishet people they’re like “whattt??? but he’s so manly!!! he likes cars and beer and has sex with women!!! how could he possibly be a f - uh, gay”

[whisperoftheheart925]

having a freeze response to stress is so funny in the context of normal adult stressors. millions of years of evolution are trying to tell me that the email will not find me if i stay very still and do nothing