january 15th-16th ❄️☕️📖

my first class of the month! quite an interesting topic, but overall did not learn much seeing as we already covered it in a previous class.

it’s finally snowing, and i’ve been spending my days idly at the library doing nothing with my friends. i met up with some friends i hadn’t seen in a few weeks, had a few drinks and played wii party (seriously how long has it been since i last played that game??)

the next days are probably going to be filled with café meetings, walking around town, watching movies - anything but read the books i’ve had on my tbr list for the past months (my attention span has gone to shit)

also been listening to the good witch album by maisie peters all day and it’s very refreshing to be listening to upbeat pop instead of depressing ballads all day long lol

january 12th 💐🥨🚌

having (almost) no classes for the whole month means i’m free to travel around, even though i don’t actually leave the city all that much. i went home for the weekend, got flowers for my mom and enjoyed some gluten-free pastries that they don’t sell where i live.

first class of the month is on monday and i’m done with the readings, then it’s back to being idle for 10 days

january 7th

since it was the last day of an exhibition i’d had my eye on for ages, i quickly went to check it out before meeting up with a friend at the library (second pic is her cup lolol).

it probably was one of the most moving exhibitions i’ve seen in a long time. one of the rooms consisted of a mirror and a speaker going through various questions to ask yourself: one of them was “why do you think suffering is central to modern identity?” and it dawned on me that most modern media heavily relies on displays of hurt and constant suffering, if not martyrdom. i could not say if it was much more different before. i know i personally indulge in suffering at least multiple times a week, as if there was always poetry in that feeling.

what really got to me, though, was one of the interviewees in this short film about first loves in korea: this man was talking about this girl he was in love with and how she always used to sing this song in school. he started singing it in front of the camera and quickly stopped, and all he said was that he’d forgotten how it goes.

the weather is getting colder; and i think moving to a new country leads to the rediscovery of everything mundane. suddenly, you remember why people wear hats and scarves in winter, and i remembered why it felt so good to sit in my car by myself, with the heating on, on my way to university back home. it feels so stupid to have forgotten what the cold felt like.

the phrase "derivative and masturbatory" revolutionized the art of hating for me

I hope this doesn't come across as mean spirited in any way, just wanted to add to a discussion and need to get these thoughts off my chest after seeing your Saltburn post.

After reading/listening to a bunch of interviews/q&as with Barry Keoghan and Emeral Fenell i'm pretty sure that at least the intention was that he's not 100% honest with himself/us in that monologue and it shouldn't be taken at face value.

For one Barry has said something like that Olivers motivation changes throghout the film and that he (Oliver) is often confused and not completly aware of what he really wants.

Emerald has said multiple times that the first idea about the film she had was someone saying "i didn't love him" and then licking that persons bathtub and that therefore that that person's obviously not being entirely truthful and that line is part of how he starts the monologue so i'm pretty sure we aren't supossed to take the whole thing at face value.

I can't remember which of the multiple live q&as you can find on youtube it is but i also remember her responding in a after the film q&a to someone seemingly having that same read of the film i've seen so many people have of Oliver being a mastermind that had this whole plan laid out from the start and she said something like that it was in part actually more like responsive to the situation from moment to moment

Like it starts with him seeing Felix and being like "i wanna get closer to that guy" and since he has seemingly always just been good at knowing what people want and giving it to them (another thing emerald has been reapeating in a lot of q&as) he knows that setting up the bike and drinks at the bar situation and a sob story of a family backgroud will get Felix's attention but then like he always does Felix get's bored and starts pulling away so Olivers like "aw fuck what do i do? oh i know just up the story by saying my dad died" and that does make Felix invite him to Saltburn but that wasn't like the concious end goal of that action he just wanted to get Felix's attention back in that moment and i don't believe Felix dying in any way was a concious goal at any other time but pretty much right before he did it. His obsession with him comprising of part loving him, hating him and wanting to be him just escalated to that point.

Now, you could say that with so many (hard to say but maybe even the majority of) people "misunderstanding" the film/that part as him accuratly, sincerly and 100% honestly revealing that he masterminded and planned the whole thing from pretty much the beginning that they (Emerald & Co.) just did a bad job of getting that across which would be fair.

As someone that didn't read the film/monologue that way and then was validated by all the q&as i've seen i can't lie that it hasn't been at least a little frustating that so many people "misread" that part (or take it "too" honestly) but i would say that it's more the fault of the film actually not making that intention clear enough. Also "death of the author" and all that, i guess.

But i would recommend checking out all the after film q&as with Emeral Fenell you can find on youtube anyway if you're interested.

P.S 100% agree what you said about Felix tho

hey, not mean-spirited at all! i’m always open to discussion, media analysis is rarely about being right or wrong :)

it could surely be read in that way - i have not seen the q&a’s, i’ll check them out! i think i personally focused on the class commentary because of how much of a trend it is in cinema at the moment. discussions of social status and class have always been apart of media (i was talking about maupassant in my previous post, which goes all the way back to the 19th century), but it has become more prevalent in mainstream cinema nowadays. everyone is trying their hand at it, and i would argue that parasite winning the oscar for best picture reinforced the idea that class commentary in movies was socially acceptable enough to still win awards.

my main issue with saltburn is that the same story has been done multiple times before, and apart from cinematography, i fail to see what saltburn brings to the table. @tigerfancy mentioned the talented mr ripley earlier in my notes, which i’d forgotten about, but it is very similar and strikes that balance between obsessive, unreliable narrator and mastermind social climber quite clearly. someone i know irl also mentioned summer of 85 (été 85) and how in her eyes, saltburn is essentially a ripoff of that. it’s all inspiration; but seeing all these other stories that deal with this nuance more adequately unfortunately makes saltburn look clumsy in comparison.

maybe oliver is indeed not being 100% truthful, and he didn’t actually mastermind anything beyond his first meeting with oliver up to the point where he is invited to saltburn. personally, though, it does not make the monologue any less gimmicky to me. maybe the intention was not clear enough. maybe saltburn was trying to pull from too many of its inspirations and lost itself along the way. but i totally respect your interpretation of the film! and it would indeed be much better if the monologue at the end is oliver trying to convince himself rather than him revealing earnestly that he masterminded the whole thing.

actually i’ll add this: the most brilliant part of the movie is felix’s character. it kinda dawned on me when i saw a tiktok caption that read “he was the nicest of them”.

felix was nice, sure. but his wealth allows him to be, because he essentially doesn’t have any worries. he could be an asshole, but then it would be a disservice to the story the movie is trying to tell. because felix has so much money and is essentially worry-free, he can afford, both financially and emotionally, to take on “charity cases” such as oliver.

when he finds out that oliver lied, he isn’t pissed just because of the lie. this is also felix realising that all along, he’s been doting on a guy who wasn’t pitiful enough to deserve his attention. emma woodhouse (from emma, by jane austen) has similar reasoning when talking about the martins:

“A degree or two lower, and a creditable appearance might interest me; I might hope to be useful to their families in some way or other. But a farmer can need none of my help, and is, therefore, in one sense, as much above my notice as in every other he is below it.”

this becomes more apparent when you realise that felix takes on a new friend to help every year, and then ditches them. they’re temporary amusement, a problem to solve.

felix wasn’t exactly nice: he was naive.

i’m not a saltburn hater by any means; but parasite dealt with the same themes way better and babylon showcased the same extravagance with more relevance

the only thing saltburn has over these movies is the artsy factor and cinematography (still debatable depending on taste), but otherwise, it dumbed down the whole plot by having barry keoghan pull this stupid villain monologue devoid of any subtlety at the end. we all knew bro lied and masterminded the whole thing - is media literacy so low now that it has become necessary to have characters expose their intentions like marvel villains?? you can’t pretend to be indie and pull this sort of dialogue.

go watch parasite. go watch babylon. go read bel-ami by maupassant. saltburn is decent at best once you’ve seen these other stories

i’m not a saltburn hater by any means; but parasite dealt with the same themes way better and babylon showcased the same extravagance with more relevance

the only thing saltburn has over these movies is the artsy factor and cinematography (still debatable depending on taste), but otherwise, it dumbed down the whole plot by having barry keoghan pull this stupid villain monologue devoid of any subtlety at the end. we all knew bro lied and masterminded the whole thing - is media literacy so low now that it has become necessary to have characters expose their intentions like marvel villains?? you can’t pretend to be indie and pull this sort of dialogue.

go watch parasite. go watch babylon. go read bel-ami by maupassant. saltburn is decent at best once you’ve seen these other stories

𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓 & 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖓 🌲🤎

Public Domain Day 2024

Once again its the day we all wait for, public domain day. the day some thing get ripped out of the clasps of the claws of corporations. This year is notable for many things becoming public domain but specifically a certain mouse in the united states. Here's an example of some of the things but note that this is only a sampling of what's become public domain

In Europe and other life of author + 70 years areas:

The Wind Has Risen by Tatsuo Hori

The polish Koziołek Matołek comics by Kornel Makuszyński

Mr. Weston's Good Wine by T.F Powys

In New Zealand and other life of author + 50 years areas:

J.R.R Tolkien's work, but only the ones published during his lifetime. Things published by his son Christopher are not public domain

Margaret Wilson's The Able McLaughlins

The works of crime writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson (Anthony Gilbert)

In the US:

All things published in 1928

The big one of course, Steamboat Willie and the earliest incarnation of Mickey Mouse. Disney still owns trademarks so be careful and theres some things like his gloves that didnt appear until later and im sure the Mouse's lawyers are watching like hawks

The House at Pooh Corner, first appearance of Tigger

Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf

Theres much more. Take a peek over at Project Gutenberg or The Internet Archive

december 16th • ☕🚲🖋

the faculty was exceptionally open today to study for exams (which are starting next week ooooh boy), so i spent the day studying there. during our lunch break, my friend and i went to shop at a pop up store and i had to hold back from buying everything lolol

exam season is unnecessarily stressful here, and it feels like you never have enough time to even let your guard down. looking forward to my first real break next week!! 🥲

life lately...

i am fully aware that i disappeared for the past few months - life has been BUSY as hell but i really wanna be active on here again. here's an update on my studies and life in general at the moment!!

i'm now doing my master's degree in international law, with a focus on sustainability and human rights for my first year! who knows where the second year will take me 👀

i've moved countries, so this is a whole new experience. had to pretty much start anew, get used to living by myself, but i'd say that it was a much needed fresh start to get away from everything.

had the amazing opportunity to see hozier live - one of my favourite artists of all time and i don't think i'll ever recover aaaaaa

i hope you guys will enjoy following me on this new chapter of my life !! as always, inbox is open, do not hesitate to drop a message whenever :))

Sunny evening with axiomatic quantum field theory

actually I reject the notion that books and films give women too high expectations of men, the grand gestures and perfect words aside. It's not asking too much to desire to be pursued, treasured, and protected, or for a man to have a character that you admire and would make you want to follow his lead. It's wrong to expect perfection of anyone, but it isn't wrong to set the bar high. a man of character will rise to the occasion not persuade you to lower your standards. that's it that's the post

@lovesdaya