#/girls tolerating nick is my aesthetic
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Incorrect quotes feat. @ineveryvein
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Betty//things change and friends leave. life doesn't stop for anybody.
Request: Can I request a Betty/Reader where you fly in with Nick St Clair as one of Veronica's old friends and you ask her to show you around Riverdale
hey! i hate nick...a lot. i wonder if that translates in this? anyway, i hope you like it! also, it seems every gay thing i write always has some sort of quote in all lower case letters as the title. hmm... this one is from the perks of being a wallflower. maybe i rushed in with the romance and lovey stuff, maybe i don’t care.
“You really are an awful person.” You spit as you get out of the cab. Nick smiles sweetly at you while he gets out the other side, practically sprinting so he can get to the boot and pull your bags out before you have a chance. He places them on the ground but doesn’t take his hands off the handle until a few seconds after you’ve grabbed it, and your fingers touching his makes you feel even sicker than the plane here.
“Thats not very nice Y/n.” He replies, before sending a very fake, but very big smile to the cab driver and giving him a large tip. “Especially not to someone like me. Or do you want me to tell my parents?”
“Your parents know you’re an ass, they just don’t want to be murdered in their sleep.” You reply and spin on your heel, pulling your suitcase behind you.
“Hey!” He calls after you and you groan, you’ve already been stuck on a plane and in a taxi with him and the short walk from the side of the road to the hotel you’re both staying in seems like a lifetime away. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“I am not your friend. I tolerate you because of Veronica, and after she left to move here, I’ve barely seen you. And when I have, it hasn’t been enjoyable.”
“Clearly, that plane ride made you grouchy.” He teases and pinches your cheek. You stop abruptly and turn to face him, you’re just about to slap him when Veronica’s cheery voice stops you.
“Next time. I won’t stop.” You whisper in his ear before looking at your friend, a bright smile appearing on your face as you take in her appearance. She looks different since the last time you saw her, but thats what a small town does to someone like Veronica, however she doesn’t look sad, she looks happy instead, and even though she left you in New York to deal with Nick St douchebag, you’re happy she’s happy.
“Y/n!” She squeals and wraps you in a tight hug. “Nick!” She says once she’s pulled away and you can tell she isn’t as excited to see him, that fact alone makes you feel a little better about all the time you’re inevitably going to have to spend with him. “How’s New York?” She wraps an arm around your shoulder, guiding you up the steps of the hotel and Nick walks on the other side of her.
“Not the same without you.” You say genuinely and she looks at you sadly.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I’v-”
“We’ve missed you too.” Nick interrupts and as soon as he starts talking its like your automatic response is to roll your eyes.
“Aww.” She hits his arm lightly as you walk through the front door and in to the lobby. Its not as fancy as the hotels you’ve stayed at before, but for a small town you’re quite impressed, however you can’t imagine that they get many people staying.
Veronica’s told you so much about Riverdale, about how quaint it is, and how it looks like it would be the backdrop of some coming of age film that the two of you would watch back home. You would fawn over the protagonist, who would be trying to figure out what she was destined to do with her life, while trying to juggle everything else that was thrown at her. And Veronica would drool over her love interest, who would look far to old to be playing a 17 year old, with a chiseled jaw line and abs that definitely did not fit the aesthetic. You missed those times, but like in those coming of age movies, life doesn’t always go the way you want it to, and usually the universe will throw a curveball your way, and you can’t always dodge it.
So, when she invited you to come visit, you were excited to see her new home, meet her new friends, and a small part of you had hoped that your own film, romantic or adventurous or anything in between would start here. But, thats not how the real world works. And instead of meeting the love of your life, you end up stuck with the devil himself on a plane, while he talks about how much he’s missed Veronica and if she’s got a boyfriend yet.
“Oh, before you guys check in, I want to introduce you to some people.” She smiles. “Archie! Betty! Come here!” She waves behind you, and you and Nick both turn around at the same time. You’re met with a red-headed boy and a girl with very light green eyes, pink lips and blonde hair. The pale pink shirt underneath her short dungarees, is so simple but so elegant and even though you’ve never met her, it seems to be so her. “Y/n, Nick.” The sound of his name in the same sentence as yours makes your face scrunch up and the blonde girl seems to notice, a small smile flickering on her face. “This is my boyfriend, Archie.” She says and you glance at Nick, the bright smile on his face drops, and your smile widens. “And this is my best friend, Betty.” She introduces you all.
“Rude.” You mumble and send her a teasing smile before waving at the two. “Y/n.” You smile, your eyes lingering on Betty for a moment longer than normal and a soft blush dusts her cheeks.
“Nice to meet you both.” Archie says while shaking Nick’s hand. “Veronica has told us so much about you.”
“All good I hope.” Nick jokes, but the tone of his voice seems to make you all a little uncomfortable.
“Nothing about you is good.” You reply and send him a sarcastic smile. Both Betty and Archie stifle a smile at your comment, and you can tell you’re going to get along with them. Veronica decides to change the subject to stop any fights happening and soon the five of you are exchanging in polite small talk.
“Anyway.” She claps her hands together after a few minutes. “I need to take Nick to talk to my delightful father.”
“Yeah, I have to go back home.” Archie scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry I couldn’t hang out with you guys more.” He sends both you and Nick apologetic smiles, to which you return and Nick just huffs.
“Who says hang anymore.” He whispers in your ear, a small snicker following it making you roll your eyes...again.
“Everyone that talks about how they’d like to watch you die.” You return and shove past him as you walk closer to Veronica. As soon as your by her side she looks between you and a very annoyed Nick before giving you a confused look.
“Well Betty, I guess you’re stuck with me.” You move to look at her, and the two of you send each other small smiles. “Thats if you’ll have me.” You add and she nods, some would say a little too quickly.
“Yeah.” She says. “I can show you around if you want.” She suggests.
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Well, we all have our orders. Y/n, I’ll meet you at Pop’s later on if you like.”
“Pop’s?” You ask.
“I’ll take you there last.” Betty says.
“You can leave your bags here and they’ll put them in your rooms.” Veronica tells you before calling someone over. She gives them their orders and you smile gratefully at them as they grab your bags. “See you later Y/n. And thanks Betty.” She hugs both of you, before kissing Archie quickly and then guiding Nick out into the street.
“See you Betty. It was nice meeting you Y/n.” Archie is the next to leave and you wave politely at him before he disappears.
“So where do you want to start?” Betty asks.
“I don’t know.” You shrug. “Do you have a favourite place?” You ask as the two of you walk down the steps.
“Hmmm.” She thinks about it for a few seconds before her face lights up in a bright smile, and the sight alone makes you feel a whole lot better about being here for a week, even if you do have to spend some of it with Nick. “I know just the place.” She says before turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction than you were originally going.
“Is this place far?” You ask. “Because these shoes are not made for walking far. I’m not like Veronica, I can’t sprint in heels.” You giggle and she glances at your black heels.
“I think Veronica could run a marathon in heels if needed.” She laughs. “But don’t worry, my car is parked down the street.” She reassures you. Once the two of you are in the car and driving down the small streets she glances at you quickly before looking back at the road. “Do you miss her?” Her tone changes drastically and the sound of the street your walking down seems too loud all of a sudden. You came here to have fun and see your friend, not talk about serious things with a stranger, no matter how cute said stranger is.
“Erm. Yeah. I do. New York doesn’t feel the same without her.” You admit and look at the passing trees. She sighs, trying to think of something to say to you. However, no matter how much of a people person she thinks she is, she knows how close you and Veronica where, and she knows that if Archie moved to a different street let alone city or town, nobody would be able to make her feel better. So instead she keeps to simple girl talk, something that you’re grateful for, even if you don’t tell her.
“I like your outfit.” She says and you look at her, a small smile on your face.
“Thanks. I like yours too.” You reply and she rolls her eyes.
“You don’t have to be nice.” She shakes her head and you stare at her confused.
“I’m not. I genuinely like what you’re wearing. Why is that so surprising?”
“I just thought it wouldn’t something you liked, I mean based on your outfit right now, I can’t imagine you ever wearing short dungarees.”
“I’m full of surprises Betty.” You nudge her causing her to giggle.
“I’m sure.” She replies, stomping at some traffic lights. Her gaze lingers on your profile for a few seconds too many, and when you catch her staring she can’t help the blush that burns her cheeks.
“So, where exactly are you taking me?”
“I am also full of surprises.”
You continue looking out the window, and wonder what type of place could pull someone like Betty in.
-----
“This is your favourite place?” You wonder as you look around.
“Yep.” She smiles back at you before sitting down on the ground. “Its great isn’t it?”
“It’s an abandoned railway.” You quirk an eyebrow as you look at her. “Its hardly paradise.”
“It is to me.” She smiles, her eyes are closed and her head is tipped back slightly, a soft breeze making her ponytail sway a little and she looks so calm, so peaceful, so at home. “Me and my sister, Polly, used to come here when we were little. Our mom would always tell us to stay away from this place but we never listened. We’d play and run around and just escape into our own little worlds.” She explains before looking back at you. “Do you have anywhere like that back in New York?”
“Hmm.” You think for a few seconds before sitting beside her, your legs outstretched on the cold concrete while hers are crossed next you. The coldness of the ground makes you shiver a little and she’s quickly untying the jacket from her waist and handing it to you. You’re about to argue, but the look she gives you shuts you up and so you smile at her gratefully before draping it over your shoulders. “Not really. When you live where I do, there’s not a lot of places like this. Its all high rise buildings and busy roads, not sleepy streets and abandoned railways. Plus, with my parents being who they are, especially back then, I couldn’t really go out alone. I was always with someone, whether it was a nanny or a chauffeur.” You sigh. “I know.” You hold your hands up. “That makes me sound really stuck up. But I promise I’m not.”
“That honestly never even crossed my mind.” She replies quietly and you turn your head a little to look at her. “Nick however, is an ass.”
“Don’t even get me started.” You groan. “He is the worst person in the world. I honestly don’t know why Veronica is friends with him. Literally the only reason I talk to him, is because of he-what?” You ask when you notice her still looking at you, an un-readable look in her eyes.
“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “Come on.” She stands quickly and pulls you up with her. “I have somewhere else to show you.”
-----
“Oh yeah. This is it.” You smile brightly at her and she gives you a confused look.
“This is what?” She asks as the two of you look around. The bridge connecting Riverdale to the outside world is quiet for the time of day. The sun is high in the sky, warming the two of you, and her jacket is now wrapped around your waist, it doesn’t entirely go with your outfit but Betty thinks its cute, and she has to give her head a shake to get rid of that thought. You’re Veronica’s friend from New York who she’s showing around, nothing more and nothing less. The water from Sweetwater River is gentle beneath the red bridge, but you can hear it none the less, and that sound mixed with the birds in the trees makes you smile as soon as you parked.
“This is where my coming of age story starts.” You spin around and take in your surroundings, and Betty’s looking at you even more confused than before.
“What?”
“This.” You look at her. “Is where everything starts. I’m going to fall in love and have to defeat evil all while trying to figure out who I am.”
“You’re...” She tries to find the word to describe you, to describe how you look right now. But there’s no word to describe how Betty feels when she looks at you. Despite knowing you for less than two hours, she can’t help her stomach doing summersaults every time she looks at you, or the way her heart hammers in her chest every time you laugh. So her sentence dies, whatever compliment she was going to give you disappears, and she’s left watching you while you try and find a stick to drop into the water. “Coming of age?” She asks and hands you a small twig. Your eyes light up as you take it from her and the two of you lean over the ledge, you watching the way it falls and her watching you. You then grab her hand in yours, quickly look at the road before running across it and leaning over the other side. As soon as you see the stick you do a little celebratory dance, and the laugh that comes from your lips is something Betty could never get sick of hearing.
“What about it?”
“Whats it about?”
“Well, Veronica told me that Riverdale could be used in a coming of age film. And we used to watch them all the time at home, so I was excited to see it for myself. The railway was a good contender, but this bridge...this is it. I mean look at it. Its so old and solid and just...here.”
She nods and she looks around. “I get that. But I have somewhere else to show you.”
----
“This place is great.” You look around in awe. “Why the hell was this placed closed.”
“You know, I have a friend called Jughead who you would get along with very well.” She says as the two of you walk through the empty drive in. “So where does this come into your story?”
“Oh, okay.” You stop suddenly and she almost walks into you. “So, two options. Which one do you want to hear?”
“Both.” She nods.
“Well, first option. I’ve met my love interest...whoever she is.” The word she makes Betty’s heartbeat pick up, and now she’s even more interested in what you have to say. “And, she’s showing me around, hey, kind of like this.” You laugh. “And we break into here, and she’s trying to show me that there’s more to life that whatever the hell I’m worrying about, maybe a murder or something. Basically she’s showing me how to live. And we end up here, stood right in this spot, both of us inching closer to the other.” You’re both hyper-aware of how close the two of you seem to have gotten and you don’t remember being this close before. “And...she’ll hold my hand softly in hers, tip my chin to look at her and then lean in slowly, and the whole thing will feel slow and fast all at the same time. And she’ll kiss me, and it’ll be soft and gentle and everything I thought it would be.” You finish, your eyes feel heavy as you look at Betty, your lips centimeters apart and Betty’s hand is holding your arm gently.
“What happens in the second scenario?” She asks quietly and you glance at her eyes. Very light green from far away, but when you look at them up close, they have darker green and even golden specks in them.
“Well, its gotten to the point where everything has gone to shit. My whole life is falling apart, I’ve lost friends, made enemies and the whole reason for my story seems lost. So I come here to make myself feel better, to remind me of the happier times. And she follows me. We fight. We scream and shout at each other and its raining so much you can barely see in front of you. And just as she’s about to storm off, I grab her wrist and pull her back to me, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.” You’re voice is practically a whisper as you look at her. “And then we make out.” You say the last part casually making her laugh loudly.
“Is that the night you guys go like all the way.” She teases, her voice high pitched and mocking and now its your turn to laugh loudly.
“Erm, duh.” You reply, flicking your hair over your shoulder and the two of you giggle.
“Ooooo.” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“So, where are we going now?” You ask.
“Somewhere, that I think you’re really going to like.” She replies, her eyes shining as she stares at you.
For a split second while you’re looking at each other, it feels like you truly are in some sort of movie.
----
“This our last stop before Pop’s.” She turns to face you, as she rambles about the history of this place she walks confidently backwards until you stop at a clearing.
“We’re in the middle of the forest.” You look around.
“I know.” She says. “But its so much more. This is where stories begin.”
“What do you mean?” You ask and she smirks at you.
“Sit down.” She guides you to a worn out brown sofa, pushing you to sit down. She then stands in front of you, a bright grin on her face as she begins. “This.” She points to the ground. “This is where me and Archie buried treasure when we were 8. Its where me and Polly dug it up a week later and its also where Archie got annoyed at me for digging it up, despite him being there with Jughead, to also dig it up a week after that. Its where Cheryl Blossom had her first kiss at 12, with an unknown boy, the mystery of who it was still causes controversy. Its where Jughead went when his dad was drunk, and its also where me and Archie would meet him. Keeping him company until one of us had to go home. Polly told me she had her third date here with Jason Blossom, and that something else happened too, but I won’t divulge.” She scrunches her face up at the last bit and you do the same, standing up quickly and dusting yourself off.
“Gross.” You mumble and decide to sit on the plastic chair.
“We’ve had bonfires, fireworks, parties, fake weddings...don’t ask. Even a fake funeral...definitely don’t ask. There’s been first kisses, first dates, first friendships made. Handshakes and hugs, and everything in between...for generations. This is where everyone’s coming of age story starts and ends. So how do you want to start yours?”
“Like this.” You stand up and walk the short distance towards her. Your hearts in your throat and your stomaches seems to have dropped to your knees while your hands cup her cheek. Her breath hitches at the sudden close proximity but she doesn’t seem to mind, in fact she leans into your touch, her eyes fluttering closed. And then you’re kissing her, softly at first, just to test the waters. Her lips taste like strawberry chapstick and vanilla ice cream and you can’t help but wonder when the hell she had that because you met her at 11 this morning. But that melts away with the rest of your thoughts when her hands rest on your waist, squeezing ever so slightly as you deepen the kiss.
Yeah, this is so much better than any film.
#betty cooper#betty cooper x reader#betty cooper x you#betty cooper imagine#betty#betty imagine#betty x reader#betty x you#riverdale#riverdale imagine
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I’m caught up on the Stand here r some opinions (OBVIOUSLY spoilers thru episode 6)
good:
Glen Bateman, Tom Cullen, Nick Andros, Larry Underwood casting/rewrites/adjustments
(Jovan Adepo deserves full credit for me not only tolerating Larry but actually liking him most of the time cause hoo boy I hated his guts in the book)(also!!! he played Teenager Michael Murphy in The Leftovers and it’s TRIPPING me out because he is OLDER than me and I never would have guessed it watching that show!!!)
(also it’s SO nice to see Brad Henke playing a teddy bear of a guy bc he is shaped like a friend but I’ve literally only ever seen him play absolute monsters)(I luv Tom Cullen)
dayna jurgens best character in the book best character in the series
I wasn’t sure about Owen Teague as Harold bc book Harold is overweight and pimply and kind of greasy and off-putting and Owen is skin and bones and good-looking but he projects creepy and sus very well. he is doing my boy Justice
speaking of, odessa young REALLY sells "girl stuck with a creepy guy who has an unrequited crush on her" like you can feel the discomfort and borderline contempt streaming from her pores
appreciated the rewrites of Rita to make her whole deal not horribly sexist and weird (same goes for most of the women tbh). Heather Graham did great
updating it to 2020ish works well. Glen vaping all the time = legendary
they did a good job of trimming and conflating some of the stuff so the story stays focused. things they cut MOSTLY weren't super important
alex skarsgård scissors stab neck smeared in blood sexy
J! K! Simmons! CAMEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
meh:
james marsden is fine (actually better than I expected in this) but he always fails to excite me. gary sinise in the OG miniseries was a better vibe for Stu and they should've gone for someone with more of the everyman energy. Marsden looks like a catalog model and doesn't seem to be able to bring an observable personality to his roles (sorry man)(on a more positive note this is why he was a perfect Scott Summers)
Whoopi Goldberg is a fine actress and apparently in contrast to a lot of critics I’m actually fine with her casting but mother abigail is SUPER under-used and way less developed than she should be-- we know literally nothing about her outside of her occasional appearance to scold and/or guide and that lack of personhood plays heavily into into the “magical negro” trope which. ugh. at least in the book she had a ton of backstory and family and stuff to do outside of “be the magical prophet for everybody else”
I love the whole Skarsgard family and am always happy to see one of them. that said, Alex lacks Randall's bouncy gleeful chaos energy and sheer malevolence. also he whispers all the time and I'm not sure what that choice is all about (no lbr that’s just an askars acting habit and outside of Eric from True Blood it’s not a great one)
bad:
not enough dayna screen time
pacing is weird and makes it really hard to get invested. starting at the free zone in Boulder and only jumping back to how they actually started/how they GOT to Boulder in pieces every episode feels really disruptive. not that it’s hard to keep track of, but it’s hard to really feel anything for anyone with such a disjointed narrative. the trip to Boulder is half the novel and it’s super important for establishing character dynamics, rivalries, motivations and personalities and if you meet these people mid-story after their arc is half finished and only get fragments of the VERY IMPORTANT ESTABLISHING STORY every now and again it feels like being robbed of setup and then payoff? idk. I hate it. I think they should have started at the beginning and gone thru chronologically, the story works way better that way
for that matter, playing all coy and mysterious with Randall and only showing Vegas for the first time in episode 5?? when the book has us there every step of the way? I don’t need a 1:1 adaptation but I do think following Vegas developments is super helpful re: understanding stakes and how much of a threat your enemy is, and with so little focus ON the enemy, it’s just not scary?
SPEAKING of Vegas what the actual hell. apologies for going “but in the book!!!” so many times but literally in the book Vegas would be a very appealing prospect for just about anyone. there’s electricity, there are supplies, there’s peace, there’s structure and organization. iirc Dayna is even tripped out on her recon mission because she makes friends with people and is struck by how normal and decent everyone seems? WELL this adaptation just threw that out the window and just went full fledged hedonistic sin bin full of just deeply unpleasant people that are more caricatures than characters. everyone there sucks turds. lacks any kind of depth. HUGE swing and a miss bc it hits so much better if you’re like “these are largely decent people lured in by the promise of stability, making moral compromises because they’re scared and trying to survive and Randall’s leadership is a huge temptation” vs “every single person here would roofie my drink and not feel a twinge of conscience about it”
every single choice made with regards to Nadine. badly miscast, robbed of the kickass witch’s streak aesthetic, set up as a consummate villain from the beginning (her constant struggles with her fate are totally omitted till it’s way too late for them to be in any way believable), relationship with Larry is basically nonexistent, and the planchette incident from her childhood is revealed much too early so it’s devoid of any real sense of horror (portrayed as a catalyst for lifelong villainy rather than a late-in-story revelation that she was set on a path against her will). done right she’s complicated and sympathetic at least until her complete heel-turn, in this series she’s just 2d and dull
randall beating bobby terry to death instead of ripping him apart with TEETH was a stupid change made to spite me personally. I mean can you IMAGINE how good that scene could have been
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schizochroal
This is a strange reversal from where it was a few years ago..
well, I dont know that you can consider it a prevailing trend or anything, its just one flow of several. Theres a difference in culture between idk r/traaaaans and whatever that one is where people post their selfies and ppl call them bricks (I make it my business not to know about this part of the world) - something like 4chans trans generals on /lgbt/ seem to have the Wesen of both a susansplace ‘enlightened normie’ current and a moneycat ‘we need to trans the bronies’ current, with the understanding that you have to maintain a kind of ambiguous relationship to either one so you dont get (you)’d too much.
[long post idk why, racism tw - epistemic status tentative, some guesswork]
When Nick Land coined Gnon (Nature or Nature’s God), he said its function was to suspend a discussion - that is, between religious & secular neoreactionaries. Their discussion over whether God exists or not could go on indefinitely, but nonetheless the two have philosophical points on which they can agree and discuss. It was necessary to abridge the discussion over whether it is God’s design or merely nature, without actually resolving it. "’we’ emerge from a pact, with one basic term: a preliminary decision is not to be demanded.” He relates Gnon to “the Pyrrhonian epoche” (usually translated as ‘the suspension of judgement’) - “an abyss of unknowing, necessarily tolerated in the acceptance of reality”. (Credit to Land here for being able to talk about something as staid as natural law in such exalted terms...)
I think you can see a lot of online communities as being stitched together not through common bonds but through these epochic pacts. The DMC and Ninja Gaiden communities on gamefaqs, for example, were bitterly divided in the 2000s by intense arguments, DMC players dismissing NG’s combat as mindless button mashing while NG players mockng DMC’s passive enemies, etc., but now those “lines drawn in the sand” don’t make any sense. The two share an increasingly withering community on the margins of other videogame boards and, therefore, have to establish a principle of ecumenism that allows them to talk about what they really value about stylish action games without giving up their preferences or forgiving the old strife. This is a lot more true in communities where the stakes are higher. The online trans community’s irony & ambiguity is its bargain for shared space, the necessary cost of abrogating old resentments, envies, disputes... The need for an epochic framework is more pronounced on those online spaces patterned after forums - 4chan, facebook groups, discord servers and reddits - less so those of us on tumbr and twitter, where you can just block & unfollow someone. Our houses are more in order at the cost of a maximum capacity of about five girls, while forum communities have to tolerate a certain amount of incoherence.
Anyway, theres an opportunity to repurpose the old now totally disused shorthand for the community: trans* - but in this case instead of the search call representing a taxonomy of identities it indicates the full text of the collected space without abnegating anything in it; whatever results when antagonisms are bracketed off. (I bet there’s a better programming metaphor for that?)
I think this might be part of why a lot of online trans spaces today are so much more militantly white than ten years ago (isnt it so?) - one of the things that had to be suspended in a lot of these communities was, it seems to me, the question of race & its role in structuring our communities; the promotion of a thin, white trans womanhood as the object of trans aesthetics & erotics; etc... On that last point: there was this blog that a girl on here made which was a bot that reblogged all selfies tagged with relevant trans tags. Occasionally it would get comments complaining that they only reblogged thin, white, conventionally attractive women... She made a nice post addressing this, explainig that its a bot but saying: yeah, it does, because thats whats there. Whatever it is works on an even more atomic level, before you even start looking for pictures to reblog (perhaps people know they’ll be excluded so they dont try, etc...). She attempted a solution by including some tags that only trans women of colour use (like #twoc lol). It’s tempting to argue here that that was what was wrong all along, so its another instance of the programmer’s unconscious bias affecting the data, etc... but I think thats whats at stake: trans women of colour already have to make their own contraflows which don’t overlap with ours. Their scene begins to fragment from the whole (or perhaps was never successfully incorporated). The purpose of the epoche was to prevent fragmentation, but whatever was suspended was left to fragment anyway. Perhaps young trans women’s anxious aversion to being #woke is an echo of, not a cause of, this failure.
The problem here reminds me a little of Bernadette Devlin’s remarkable speech about the political situation in Northern Ireland, Too Apalling a Vista, where she said that for her the problem with the end of Sinn Feinn’s abstentionism was not that they were negotiating with the DUP but the kind of things to which they would agree: austerity, anti-abortion policies, etc... It had agreed to bracket off its socialist, emancipatory content in a single-minded gambit to secure Irish reunification - which would make the reunification meaningless. I think we made a similar historic mistake; some kind of epochic pact was necessary, but the kind of things which were suspended were too costly to suspend. Is it possible to find some way to fix the error, or do we need to accept a fragmented present & find ways of overcoming its limits? What would that look like?
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JENNY LEWIS - WASTED YOUTH
[6.40]
Candy Crush do do do do do do do...
Alfred Soto: If hep cats (okay, me) sneered at Sheryl Crow during her peak for the size of her El Lay Rolodex, wait till Jenny Lewis releases the liner notes to On the Line. Benmont Tench! Ryan Adams and Beck productions! Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner! The strength of her hooks commensurate with her vocal command, she do-do-dos through another day in paradise in which her mother's heroin addiction and other candy crushes don't quash her commitment to a distance that deepens with age. She hasn't made a bad record yet. With these connections, though, it's a matter of time. Consider the grade a warning.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: As someone whose youth wasn't wasted so much as spat on, crumpled up, and nuked from orbit, I can relate. The warm, chipper poppiness, doot-doo's and all, is the musical translation of a coping strategy that I can't relate to, I can certainly acknowledge. (Though the framing device, "do you remember when [Dad] used to sing us that little song?" is silly -- sillier than the "candy crush" bit, which is non-literal and was good enough for Kehlani.) I just think I'd rather hear the song ("Listerine," maybe) that isn't the facade.
[6]
Juana Giaimo: Jenny Lewis is an expert in irony, not just when she uses it in the lyrics but also in the way she sings. "Wasted Youth" is a clear example: the "doo doo doo" of the chorus, rather than sounding cheering, us exactly the opposite -- like a fake smile, too conscious that life is sometimes too hard
[8]
Anthony Easton: Everyone thinks Lewis is Neko Case, but she's really Tom T. Hall, a great story teller, an underrated wit, and someone who knows how to swing. This is burnt-out '70s California, recast as Nashville, and its genial shrug towards addiction takes some aesthetic bravery.
[8]
Stephen Eisermann: A weak attempt at modernizing Stevie Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac, this has an interesting enough melody but the lyrics leave something to be desired. I've never seen Jenny as a master lyricist, but mentioning Candy Crush is a pretty embarrassing attempt at pandering. Jenny can, and should, do better.
[4]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I've been on vacation for the past week, and I've spent most of it reading Inherent Vice. It's an interesting piece of faux-hippie fiction, willfully obtuse and circular in its plotting and dense and obvious in its drugged out decadence. It's the kind of book that will at once bowl you over with a moment of deep pathos that emerges from the morass and make you roll your eyes at a too obvious joke about weed or something harder. "Wasted Youth" doesn't quite ascend/descend to the level that Vice does, but it hits a similar balance between hamfisted drug writing and sincere emotion, all wrapped into a convincingly nostalgic pastiche. Jenny Lewis is a deft enough songwriter and arranger that "Wasted Youth" stays charming and not hackneyed in its early-70s vibes, and her ear for a hook wins out with the endless, "Baby Shark"-esque "Doo-Doo"s of the chorus, which lull you into submission by the track's end.
[7]
Vikram Joseph: Few songs sound truly timeless, but this genuinely sounds like it could have been released in any decade since the 1960s. Whether this is a good thing depends on your tolerance for plush, classic-sounding piano pop; I'm totally fine with it when it's done as well as this. Jenny Lewis's vocals on Rilo Kiley songs always had a frisson of anxiety underlying them, but now, in her 40s, she sounds so at ease here - even while singing wryly affecting lyrics about her mum's drug addiction, or when stretching skywards into falsetto. The melodies are achingly familiar; "Wasted Youth" feels like a comfortable sweatshirt you'd pull on when you're not trying to impress anyone.
[7]
Josh Love: This is the sort of song Lewis writes in her sleep -- wry Gen X musings on unstable childhoods and drugs both real and virtual, superimposed over a Baby Boomer backdrop (in this instance, it sounds to me closest to Tom Petty). Lewis can pull this off for entire albums because her lyrics are frank and mostly stay on the good side of pretentious while her command of classic pop forms remains sturdy. Plucked out of its surroundings, though, "Wasted Youth" isn't likely to turn many heads.
[6]
Iris Xie: I find it unfortunate that my first understanding of this type of music is the word "twee," Zooey Deschanel, Wes Anderson, Modcloth, birds' nest earrings sold on Etsy, and all other attempts at a "quirky," (what a fucked up word, now) retro feminine aesthetic with vintage dresses with swing heels. But, I also haven't listened to this type of pop-folk/country music since 2008, so I own that I'm a frozen dinosaur. But I don't know, "Wasted Youth" and its brand of wistful sentimentality, that slight 'doo doo doo,' and cliched sayings such as "the cookie crumbles," only reinforces my initial understandings. When I was 16, I would listen to these type of songs, look at vintage-style fashion blogs, and dream about dressing up in the aesthetics of older, twee, melancholy white girls in perfect pinafores. It was all aspirational, inaccessible, and not-representative to this Asian American highschooler, but it was an escape from going to school every day in a hoodie and jeans and grinding hard in AP classes. Now, I'm more secure in my identities and look, and listening to "Wasted Youth" with its mild rock overtones and how Jenny Lewis sings "I wasted my youth on a poppy," I understand more. The charm is in the nihilistic chipperness, with the helium of Lewis' voice catching and carving on her sentiments. It's a surprisingly dark song, repressing its emotions and leaving me with the feeling of my throat being blocked because the little feathery notes sound like they're covering up the sadness. Maybe the quirkiness and affectations are to cover up the despair, and that's Jenny Lewis' unique coping mechanism. Ultimately, it gives an impression that the song is laying waste to itself. I never really got around to doing that full vintage makeover, but in the end, we all have to find our own, true-to-us aesthetic.
[5]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: It's so tightly written that its aching lyrics about addiction find poignancy in the accompanying glossy production and whimsical "do-do-doo"s. There's small, near-hidden catharsis, too: the loping guitar melody that closes the song is a small, private unburdening. It leads into strings as if to celebrate the occasion -- onlookers won't see it as anything remarkable, but to you, it's something you've needed for a long time.
[6]
[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]
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the netflix of history
hard to talk about kitsch exclusively in aesthetic or historical terms - it's more like the point where aesthetic becomes history, or history aesthetic. you know it when you see it, like pornography or the sublime. in fact it's weirdly similar to the modern sublime, the shock of the new, of something you wanted or briefly felt but hadn't realised until now was even possible - "i don't know what this is, but i love it." "i don't know what this is, but i hate it". the truly kitsch is not just the bland, expected, overused or overdetermined - it's more the boundary where all those qualities come into being, where without quite being able to put your finger on it what's good has changed into the horribly false. something you maybe recognise, respect, in principle approve of, is suddenly intolerable. you nitpick, waver, make excuses or hypotheses, and then finally get exasperated: it's just that something doesn't work, has nothing left in it as a style, has become unusable.
which doesn't mean it can't be reconstituted for second-order uses, as thomas mann has the devil say in doctor faustus: "One could raise the game to a yet higher power by playing with forms from which, as one knows, life has vanished." this becomes a way to "acknowledge freedom": that these forms have no more historical or emotional resonance makes their deliberate re-usage sort of an individual, gratuitous act. and they're also a way to examine life in negative, life as being whatever kitsch is not - the very paltriness of these old forms makes it easier to see traces of an active mind which moves through and rearranges them. but even this relies on a certain inert passivity in the forms being rearranged. like enemies that have become distant enough from us in time that they can be remembered fondly, when what's truly awful is that something can "die" without actually going away, or without anyone seeming to notice.
there's no particular moral element to being "anti-kitsch", contra a lot of (themselves by now quite kitschy) arguments about the political benefits of breaking down recieved ideas, vigorous clear language etc. fascism is kitsch, but to be anti-kitsch is not necessarily to be anti-fascist. jenny turner gives the gruesome cautionary tale of "the institute of ideas", ex-trot radicals whose desire to epater lez bourgeoise eventually turned into goading, repetitive pamphlets about the desireability of oilspills and big business. you could also think about the likes of lyotard, hitchens, nick land etc- or johnny rotten...
the moment of irritated dissatisfaction in encountering something perhaps a little too glib, too rote or unsuprising, occurs without respect for the context or scale of the offence. and in fact part of the value of iconoclasm is in this levelling quality, in being able to throw off the habitual guilty hedging of your own impressions. maybe this book, this album, this videogame, is a little corny or trite, but i guess it's basically harmless or "well constructed"... NOT!!!! death to all middle-of-the-road indie games about dead wives!!!! ha ha ha!!!!
well, actually, i do agree with that part, and a big reason i cared about pop music at all as a teenager was the allowance it gave me to be fast and loose in my antipathies. the famous "value of art" is not just about what's beautiful or moving, it can also be in the reverse, the negative, the rush of finally putting a finger on just what it is that always bugged you about some element of culture as you finally encounter an alterity to it (which is partly why artistic canons are exciting as a set of arguments and next to useless as a set of inspirations). aversion can become a chance to have the courage of your own understanding, as they say, and connect private sensibility to the world at large. and i always enjoyed it, but also wonder what would have happened if these irritations had instead been channeled by, say, videogame youtube, or 4chan, or any of the public figures who rail against the yoke of bien-pensant liberal platitudes while continuing to support the, apparently less chafing, yoke of racial suprematism and US imperial policy.
i think being anti-kitsch is the founding, sustaining effort of experimental art, but when the power of that effort is that this negativity has no necessarily determining form there's also no guarantee it won't morph into its ghastly opposite - anti-kitsch kitsch, of the kind purveyed by the late ayn rand who produced, as turner also writes, a strange but recognisable mirror image of high modernism itself.
but then what? you can't avoid kitsch, the awareness of it, you can't always be "understanding" of it, i feel it's a terrible mistake to just claim we can all just be more mature, less vindictive and perverse, more focused on the REAL problems of the world (lower your sights and raise your aim, as ABC once said) and less caught up on the negative. i don't think it goes away when you repress it, i think there'll always be a tipping point. true kitsch is what always just barely exceeds what you're willing to tolerate.
one of the strands in percival everett's "erasure", memorably glossed by greil marcus, tracks the narrator's efforts to repress the nagging, peripheral awareness of a really bad book, an irritatingly worthy, false, self-satisfied piece of commercial hokum which is of course held in wide esteem, praised for its authenticity- until it's casually mentioned by a friend, and he can't help himself, it comes out, venomous, disproportionate rage, pure spite, and the friend not unreasonably is asking what the fuck is your problem? everett's hero is black, the book he's attacking is one that claims in whatever way to be representative of his life and experience - - and here's another reason the problem of kitsch is not so easily avoided, not so easily consigned to mere bad taste. kitsch might well exist in every culture, but in the manner of the old modernist sublime, the form it takes is absolutely distinctive to that culture, to the time, historical, material conditions in which it is produced. the manner of the really bad book is as mysteriously expressive of its period as that of the really good one. and so it appears less as an aesthetic failure, more a challenge from history itself, a challenge to deal with and reimagine that history's own conception of itself.
the connection of experimental art with the contemporary is not that it's directly expressive of contemporary conditions but that it's directly engaged with contemporary kitsch. i don't know if you can sever this without also losing the contemporary itself in the process, which is maybe why certain mature works appear weirdly self-satisfied, adrift, as if having finally rid themselves of the nagging imperative to deal with some specific formal problem they're finally free to relax and become as boring as they wish.
the line quoted earlier from doctor faustus was directed, tauntingly, at the book's protagonist, who refuses to be fobbed off by playing with dead forms: what he's bargaining for is an entirely new one, an eerie, uncanny reemergence of new life within dead culture, a fresh beginning, purchased through sacrifice. and it's tempting to think of that in relation to the videogame industry with its mandatory newness purchased through burnout, an institutional eternity - "make it new", make it new, i know, but why bother when stockholders (or whatever handful of Chosen Auteurs are still kicking) will accrue all the reward? maybe it should be changed to "make it old". or maybe there are other ways to engage with kitsch than with horror, the perpetual flight backwards into the unknown, with property surveyors lurching along behind. to take the urge to "make it new" itself and treat it like gertrude stein did placidly interminable magazine prose, or robert walser did the sentimental novella, thomas bernhard did the blowhard rant, as mann himself did the bourgeois novel, like a habit to be chopped up and emptied out - a kind of reptile tank for nervous consciousness, to watch it as it scuttles between the camoflague of its era. and what better form to do so than videogames, where newness has always been the attempt to outrun judgement. we pull aside the plastic rock and glimpse it - the horrible distracted grimace of the past, busily churning out the future........
(image credits: Crescent Moon Girl, Bloody Roar - Gado, Lunar 2, Anton Ze Player’s Bubble Bobble: The Adventure)
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Thoughts During OUAT Series Finale: The Final Battle
Yeah, you heard me. Series Finale. Season 7 is a spinoff as far as I’m concerned. Let’s get this stupidity over with. At least it looks better than Descendents though. ....Sigh, ok that sounds abrasive....I’m going to miss this show, don’t get me wrong.
Let’s do this one last time, ya’ll.
Oh wow Pilot flashbacks. Season 1 flashbacks. Good times. Remember when this show was complete and utter magic.
“Time of great upheaval.” ......Ok then.
Thought that was Gideon for a sec. He about to die though.
Ah! Starting with Henry. Where you at boy? Oh look, SB looks populated again! She in the hospital? Wha...... Oh a regular psych ward. ......Whoa ......OH HELL NO! FIONA IS THE MAYOR NOW!?! .....I shouldn’t be so surprised..... OH HELL NO HENRY IS REGINA’S KID YOU BACK OFF!!! Well...I’m unnerved.
And here’s the sneak peek that was released today because someone on the team is a complete moron. Regina worried about Henry is my aesthetic. Oh and hi Baby Neal. ....Is Zelena back in Oz?
He’s not...your son....you sneaky B****! There was some funky camera work there that makes everything uneasy. Nice. Ok, you need to stop calling her Miss Swan. Only Regina is allowed to do that. Quit trying to replace Regina!!!! ....I mean, granted, you’ve been more interesting to watch than Regina this season but omg you are not going to take her son and her co-parent away from her! SQ BroTP!
There’s Z! Escape....Oz? CGI definitely improved.
What did she do to Belle?
JASMINE AND ALADDIN!!!!!! YES REGINA! RESCUE YOUR SON AND BRO!!!
Tank Top Emma! Jailbreak!
Uh, as sweet and lovely as this speech is Hook time is of the essence so if you and Charming could get moving that would be swell.
Henry is trying so hard.
Whatcha doing Gold? Geez so Fiona made it where Belle just straight up “abandoned” them. And made herself the central maternal figure in Gids life. .....You evil witch.
Oh hey EQ!!!! ....Ok...my three favorite witches/queens teaming up is all I needed in life.
She’s going to push him down the stairs.... and yep. There it went. His foot was literally right on the edge, and then he turned his back to the stairwell. Of course she was going to push him. Although, she apparently still has her magic.
She freakin tried to break his neck!! WTH! You know....I completely forgot the fact that Henry is her great grandson.
You know....this dragon just reminded me that we have not seen Mal or Lilly, or even mentioned them, since the end of season 4. .....A&E completely forgot about them. Unless of course this dragon is Mal?
Fiona you evil conniving witch! Your photoshop skills aren’t even that good! But you know what’s funny. That’s exactly what I always wanted Belle to do. Ditch Rumple and go on an actual adventure like she always wanted. Like, the only problem, really, is that she left her son. That part isn’t cool.
Fiona is like that voice in the back of your head, man.
NO! EMMA DON’T! YOUR FAMILY IS GOING TO DISAPPEAR!!! DON’T DO IT! Really? You show Hook but not any of her other family? Not, you know, her mom and dad, Regina, or August, or any of the other six or seven people that mean something to her?
Sup Tiger Lilly. You talking reunited in death or what, girl?
She’s trying to add to her orphan collection with Henry is seems.
That sharing a heart thing comes in handy. And we all knew Hook would be fine. Hook, it would be preferred if you took Regina and Z and Snowing with you. The more people that are trying to convince her the better. But I bet the writers are only going to send Hook because screw Emma’s family. (Yes, Hook’s a part of her family too but this is so dumb.)
Also, “Hello there, Mommy.” ......pfft
I recognize this apartment.
“Henry’s her son too.” .....Henry has four mommies. (Counting fake Momma Fiona.) Kids needs therapy.
Dang it they’re cheating! Playing the scene from the pilot, reenacting.... it’s just so cute! I can’t! I’m a sap!
“What are you up to, grandpa?” That’s still weird. “She betrayed me...again.” I mean, that’s a given.
CHARMING’S SWORD!
Is EQ sacrificing herself!? Oh my god....my baby.... YOU GO GIRL! BE AMAZING!!!!! THROW THE BEAN!
Emma!!!!
Seriously, throw the bean already.....or is it still not in top shape? Either way, Emma believes and just in the nick of time, honestly.
That was bad CGI. The book, I mean. Where’d Gid- oh, there he is. And Fiona has completely dropped the charade. Good boy, Rumple. WHOA HOLY CRAP! HE JUST - DID HE JUST - ........Her curse! It’s undone! He did something right in Season 3. It only took three more seasons for it to happen again.
YES HENRY!!!!
Are you kidding me.....twisted ankle....? Belle continues to be useless! REUNION!!!!!! And what do you know, they’re in the street for the final battle.
...... SQ Bro Moment of beauty.
Oh wow, they actually brought the whole inner Dark One thing back. Never thought they’d address that for Rumple.
Ok Emma, the speech can wait.
So they killed her off. .....No, there’s no way. Also, there’s not even a tear in her shirt. HENRY TLK!!!!!! oh my god....that actually made me tear up a little.... That’s it. That’s what this show is about. That moment right there. Henry got to save Emma.
Gideon’s a baby again? ....ok. Shrug. I’ll roll with it.
And there’s the book. Aw Snow. I’ll let the cheesiness slide because yes. Yes.
Arendelle! Neverland! Wonderland! JASMINE AND ALADDIN!
Aw, they got an actual house! Henry with his Moms!!!!! CS in the Bug! Aw Regina and the Dwarves! Aw EQ and Wish!Robin! Zelena and Robyn!
....L-look at this family....look at them! This...this is...
Hello, little girl.... here we go again it would seem. Yeah so that’s not a spin off I’ll be watching.
Ok. Well....I guess this is it you guys. Wow. I...genuinely don’t know what to say. Ya’ll know more than anything that these last couple seasons have not been easy. There have been some hard times and some moments where we all wanted to storm off and never return to watch this crazy, tolerance testing show. But we kept on, whether due to curiosity, some strange loyalty to the show, loyalty to the actors. I’m sad that the journey had to falter so much toward the end but I’m still glad I watched the show.
This is my last Once review. And I wish all you Oncers out there, those staying and those leaving, the best. Love you all. Bye!
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I feel like I should write about the blogger a little.
Hmm, well, I’m a guy in my mid-20′s, and a film student in my last semester of college. I really want to write and direct movies of my own, but there’s always something about animation that brings me back.
I’d say that my first love would be Disney, my second love Warner, and my third Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network. Like practically every child of the 90′s, I grew up with my favorite Disney tapes on a loop again and again, but one thing about me is that I became so fascinated by Disney’s history, and tried to collect and see every animated movie they’ve done, and a good deal of their live-action stuff.
I remember on a somewhat rare appearance by my father, he was taking us to Toys R Us to buy us a tape of Peter Pan, as per my mom’s request. While that was one of my favorites and I did want to finally own a copy (this being a new release, finally exiting the Disney Vault after a couple of years when we were lucky to find it to rent), I tricked him into buying us Fun and Fancy Free instead, which just came out, and I was curious to see what Jiminy Cricket was like as a host. My mom wasn’t happy, even though I did end up enjoying the movie, and she got us Peter Pan a couple of days later herself. So it was basically a win-win. And I remember being similarly excited when The Black Cauldron and Saludos Amigos were released, so I could finally see these and find out why they were vaulted for so long.
I also remember being excited to finally get Disney Channel as a full-time channel. I loved when we got our weeklong previews every one or two times a year, and getting to watch Disney Afternoon series as well as classic movies and shorts on there. But when we got it... I ended up being disappointed.
Shows like DuckTales and TaleSpin had moved to Toon Disney, which we had yet to get, the studio’s older films were relegated to late nights, and their core schedule consisted of live-action shows that didn’t interest me for the most part, and Playhouse Disney, which I was a little too old for at that point. Around that point, their only animated series was The Proud Family (I got the channel somewhere between the time Lizze McGuire and that started), which I tolerated, but never particularly enjoyed. My attention was more tuned to CN and (to a lesser extent) Nickelodeon. Even when Kim Possible, which I thought was an improvement aired, it wasn’t enough, and I never really connected to the channel aside from Boy Meets World and the handful of times I could stay up for Vault Disney.
That’s about all my Disney-loving self could really accept. I did eventually get Toon Disney, though, and I really liked it in its first few years, as I even liked a lot of their One Saturday Morning shows, but the more that their older series were being taken off for repeats of their Disney Channel cartoons and for Jetix, the less I was into it. I kind of zoned out by the time it became Disney XD. Gravity Falls and Star vs the Forces of Evil are good shows, though.
I was more of a Nickelodeon fan when I was a bit younger, and really liked it in the early 90′s. Their live-action shows were clever and creative, and even today I still enjoy Pete & Pete, Clarissa Explains It All, and the game shows. But I’m a cartoon person at heart, so those are what stick out to me. I wasn’t born when the first 3 Nicktoons aired, and was probably a little too young to watch and appreciate Rocko’s Modern Life as it premiered, but from 94-96, I was really into all of their Nicktoons, including the aforementioned 4. I’m not sure if it was because I was losing interest in the network itself, or if the shows being made at the time didn’t appeal to me, but I wasn’t into most of the shows made from Angry Beavers on, not even SpongeBob, and I still kind of am not. What really killed interest for me was how reliant Nick was becoming on Klasky-Csupo, whose later shows were never as creative or enjoyable to me as Rugrats or Real Monsters (give or take As Told by Ginger). Invader Zim was the next Nicktoon that I really got into, and I don’t care if it’s the edgy choice, I really liked the show, and it was one of the last that I ever got into (I’m not as in love with Avatar: TLA as the rest of the world, but I recognize it as a great show, and I recently got into and really dig Harvey Beaks). It was my favorite Nicktoon for a while, but I think Rocko edges it out now.
I lost interest in Nickelodeon around that time because I discovered Cartoon Network, which for me, was perfect. A channel entirely devoted to animation, including some faces I was familiar with, like the Looney Tunes (which I had grown to love via Nickelodeon and VHSes, but really fell for and started to idolize these cartoons now), The Flintstones and Jetsons, and Scooby, and some I wasn’t as familiar with, like many of Hanna-Barbera’s other creations, and their newer works, like 2 Stupid Dogs, SWAT Kats, and Dexter’s Laboratory. Fitting the decade’s rise of animation at the time, these new series were edgy within tasteful regions, and had good characters that made me feel welcome. They were different from the older shows, some of which had fantastic comic timing and colors that popped out, but also kind of complimented them at the same time. It was a good fit.
But I especially fell in love with the channel when they started to integrate more originals. Johnny Bravo and Cow & Chicken were worthy follow-ups to Dexter’s Lab, being similar in energy but standing out in many other ways. The Powerpuff Girls was another great addition that I instantly started to like as much, if not more, than these 3, and by the time Ed, Edd n’ Eddy hit, I was completely in debt to CN. This one especially looked and felt different from their other shows. Dexter, Johnny, and PPG had old-school designs, and while EEnE had its own retro vibes, the designs and characteristics were more modern, and instead went for Warner and MGM-esque expressions and movement, as opposed to the other show’s Hanna-Barbera/UPA inspired-aesthetics. Right away, I could tell that it was different from the others shows, which we really needed.
And of course there was Toonami! The first year or two of its existence wasn’t too exciting, when it was just HB’s action shows, and a couple of 80′s shows they owned. But when they started to integrate more anime into the network, and replaced Moltar with TOM, Sara, and a backstory, that’s when it became worth watching. Adding the DC shows was an additional great touch, as it was a perfect addition to Turner and Warner’s new-found synergy. Getting to watch Batman: TAS, along with Animaniacs and Freakazoid! on Cartoon Network was perfect.
I’d say CN’s peak was the Powerhouse era, which was 1997-2004, with around 1999-2002ish as the absolute best. Besides some great bumpers and ads, this was a great time to watch the network. The originals were great, while the best of the classics were still being aired, as most else were moving to Boomerang. You were bound to find something good on the network. I’d say that absolute peak started to end when Dexter’s Lab returned after its hiatus, with weaker writing and production values, and was increasingly going down when the post-movie Powerpuff Girls episodes were aired, and had the same problems. Moving The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and even eventually Looney Tunes to Boomerang were additional lowblows that were signaling a change that I wasn’t crazy about.
Not that the City Era wasn’t great in an aesthetic style. I really like the look of those bumpers, and the way that all of these characters fit together. Ed, Edd n’ Eddy, Billy & Mandy, and Kids Next Door were still airing new episodes, and some of their newer shows were showing interest like Foster’s Home and Megas XLR. But their newer shows after these were for the most part getting a little lamer, their old shows were all but gone, and Toonami became a weekly block, instead of being on 5 or 6 nights a week. Things weren’t the same.
Then CN Real was happening, and... yeah. Things have definitely changed since then, with 2010 introducing some great shows that have impacted the network in a great way. And they’ve made some great stuff since.
I made this blog, as well as unofficialcartoonnetwork, to celebrate the network from all ages and periods, not just be a nostalgia hound. I still love Hanna-Barbera, but I keep up with most of the new shows, too, and I think there’s room for everything. Animation appeals to me for all of the wonderful things that can be expressed through it, and I like there being communities where we can appreciate this. I hope my followers can find something in common with that here, even if our experiences are different.
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Ask game
Rules: answer 21 questions and tag 21 people. Because I always feel I little bit nervous, when I need to tag people I like or follow, I would like to see answers of everyone who found this game interesting!
Tagged by @kasielartist. If you don’t know her, just go to check her awesome arts. She’s very talented and I think we will hear about her more in the future. And she’s very kind and modest. Just a precious. :)
Warning: I love writing, so everything you’ll read by me is pretty long. Not Sorry.
Nickname(s): My father started to call me “Niki” when I was 4 years old and I’m so used to it, that I practically like it more that my real name. Some of my friends likes to call me “Angel”, because I like to help people. That’s why my full nickname is Niki Angel. And yes, my older sister calls me “špunt”, that’s a czech slang for “very small person”.
Zodiac: Acording to Horoscope, I am -- creative (yes), passionate (kind of), generous (yes!), warm-hearted (yes!!), cheerful (yes!!!), humorous (trying but failing), arrogant (well, yes), stubborn (more than anyone around me), self-centered (nope), lazy (ooooh), inflexible (yes, and I hate it) -- a summer and Sun child, Leo.
Height: Something between dwarf, human and elf -- 1.55 cm.
Hogwarts house: Traits: dedication, hardworking, fairness, patience, kindness, tolerance, modesty, loyalty and produced the fewest Dark wizards of all the four Houses. Who I am? I’m Jean Valjean Hufflepuff! I remember how sad I was like a kid when everyone thinked about me like a stupid person, just because I was in the Hufflepuff. But, after some time, I wear our colors just proud as other houses. Because we have nothing to be ashamed of! Just look at the traits! That’s something what can change the world in the most positive way!
Last thing I googled: Keanu Reeves. It was because in Czech republic he isn’t so popular and everyone around tumblr and youtube are just so crazy about him that I wanted to know why. Now I know and I watched two films yesterday with him in lead role.
Fave musician(s): I FREAKING LOVE MUSIC. My taste it’s pretty diverse. I wrote only favorite of every gender of music I listen mostly everyday, because otherwise we would be there for more than a week. When you click at the name of the artist(s) you can hear my favorite song made by them.
Kpop: Ultimate favorite is “TVXQ”. It was my first Kpop band back in 2007, when I started to listening Kpop. Then I love “VIXX” (+ “Leo” / “Ravi” / “LR)”, “4Minute” (+ “HyunA” / “TripleH” / “Troublemaker”) and “KARD”. Others I like to listen everyday:
Girlband: “2NE1″ (+ “CL”), “AOA” (+ “Jimin”), “BLACKPINK”, “Brown Eyed Girls” (+ “GaIn”), “CLC”, “EXID”, “Girl’s Day”, “Girl’s Generation” (+ “Taeyeon”), “Miss A”, “Red Velvet”, “Secret” (+ “Hyoseong” / “Jieun”), “SISTAR” (+ “Hyolyn”), “Stellar”, “T-ARA”
Boyband: “100%”, “B.A.P” (+ “Yongguk & Zelo”), “B1A4″, “BEAST”, “Big Bang” (+ “G-dragon”), “Block B”, “BTOB”, “BTS” (+ “Rapmoster” / “Agust D”), “EXO”, “GOT7″, “iKON”, “INFINITE”, “JJCC”, “MBLAQ”, “MONSTA X”, “Nu’est”, “SHINee”, “SS501″, “Super Junior”, “U-Kiss”
Solo: “Ailee”, “BoA”, “DEAN”, “HOLAND”, “Hyoshin”, “Jessi”, “Sunmi”, “YEZI”
Rock / Alternative: Tie between “Panic! At the Disco” and “The Score”. Their music helped me on every exam on university and inspireted one of my biggest Les Mis fanfic project (I think it will be done next spring). Others: “8 graves”, “30 Second to the Mars”, “Billie Eilish”, “Against The Current”, “Coldplay”, “Disturbed”, “Evanescence”, “Fall Out Boy”, “Five Finger Death Punch”, “Get Scared”, “grandson”, “Hurts”, “Imagine Dragons”, “Linkin Park”, “MISSIO”, “Nine Inch Nails”, “One Republic”, “Set It Off”, “SIAMÉS”, “Starset”, “The Cab”, “Thousand Foot Krutch”, “The Neighbourhood”, “Twenty One Pilots“, “Digital Daggers”
Classic: Favorite is our composer “Bedřich Smetana” His Moldau is still one of my favorite piece of work. Then “Beethoven”, “Mozart”, “Vivaldi” and “Wagner”.
Cover: Because this talented people matters too! “Chase Holfelder”, “Nick Pitera”, “Peter Hollens” and “ZEK”.
And many, many, MANY soundtracks and instrumental music for games, films, series, original works, etc.
Following: Les Misérables and Ao no exorcist artists, writers and fans. Some psychology blogs too.
Followers: 10! And I really appreciate it. I’m still new to tumblr, not so active and my fanfiction writing is still on start. Hope, maybe after some years, I will have more thank to my works.
Song stuck in your head: “Imagine Dragons songs battle - Peter Hollens vs. Chase Holfelder”.
Amount of sleep: 2-4 hours per day. I’m so used to live under pressure, stress and lack of sleep, that’s is weird to sleep more than 4 hours. That sometimes happens on holidays, 1-2 times in year. And I seriously don’t remember how much sleep I’m getting. Maybe 8 or 9. Irony -- I love sleeping, but we have some love-hate relationship.
Lucky number: 13. Stuck with me from my middle school years.
Do you get asks: Actually - no. And I need you to know, that I’m absolutely okay with them. So if you want to ask something or just chat or you have problem and want to help, just messege me. I’m open to everyone.
What are you wearing: Red summer dress. (And, yes, I’m not one of the fashionable person you want to know.)
Dream job: Soldier! But... Well, I’m too small and not 100 % healthy so I must give up this dream when I was 14 years old and my doctor told me that I will never be a soldier. It was pretty hard for me back then, but I decided to work for police in Special Victims Unit with focus on sexual abuse on children. I’m slowly getting there thank to studying and hard work!
Instrument(s): I played piano profesionally for 10 years. I stopped after some time on highschool because I could no longer attend courses in my town. I can still play it, but don’t have piano or keyboard at home, so I sometimes play on train stations just for the nostalgy. BUT! I want to buy my favorite piano for 30. birthday. Hope I will save the money, I have 7 years for it. OH, and I can play some songs on quitar.
Language(s): Motherlanguage is czech, so is absolutely normal for me to understand slovak. I speak english, even thoughs I have C1 certificate, I’m nervous and can’t speak or write without shaking, sweating and making stupid mistakes. I learned german on middle and high school, but can’t say a shit practically anything in this freaking language. When someone ask me something in croatian, polish or russian, I mostly understand but I blame it on Slavic roots. And I’m learning french for 6 months now, because I always wanted to speak and understand this language.
Fav song(s): “Hurricane by 30 Second to the Mars”! Mentioned already in the “Favorite musician(s)” ask.
Aesthetic: piano sheets, coffee, blue color, literature, music, theather, optimistic thoughts, deep thoughts, dogs, family, friends, love... <3
Random fact(s): My lucky number is 13, so 13 random facts about me!
MY FAVORITE book is “The Picture of Dorian Gray”; musical is “The Phantom of the Opera”; anime is “Yu Yu Hakusho”; manga is “Ao no Exorcist”; film is “The Shawshank Redemption"; series is “Game of Thrones” but not the season 8; band is “TVXQ”; color is blue in any shade; season is autumn; dogbreed is “Czechoslovakian woldog” and icecream with flavour of citrone or pistachio.
My biggest dream it’s make everyone on this world happy, satisfied, loved and accepted.
I’m coffe AND tea person. I can’t choose what I love more!
I love cleaning the house while listening (and stupidly dancing and falsely singing) to music.
My life motto? “Freedom. Beauty. Truth. Love.” Bohemian all the way!
I’m pretty shy and don’t talk much at first. I like to be around people, don’t get me wrong, but mostly I’m a listener. That’s maybe why I love writing so much.
I already know what song will play at my funeral! It’s “Lacrimosa from Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”.
I’m romantic! If you’re my parnert just prepare to be woke up with your favorite breakfast, we will watch your favorite series and talk about it all the time, I will plan our vacation just to make sure it will be unforgettable for you, I will buy your favorite perfume, I will DIY presents for you, I will respect and love you with all my heart, I will praise your work, I will learn about your hobbies and support them... Yeah, my friends call it’s “annoyingly submissive” but who cares? That’s just me.
Even thought what I wrote here (^8.) - I fall in love only one time in my whole life. It was 2 months after my 18. birthday. He was tall, black-haired cishet man, witty, inteligent, humourus, gently, ironic, sarcastic and beautiful human being. And he’s my boyfriend for 5 years now and we have awesome 1 year old daugher.
I studied law and public administration in highschool and criminology on university. In Semptember this year (2019) I’ll start my master’s degree for public safety and 2 years long psychology practice. After this I’ll go to work and start my distance learning of psychology (A/N: 3 years for bachelor + 2 years for master + 4 years for doctor + 2 years of another practive - then exams and only AFTER ALL OF THIS you can become a psychiatrics with your own office! That’s why I wanted start studying this subject AFTER my police graduation).
I have emepthophobia - abnormal and very strong fear of throwing up. This is why I eat only things I know for long time (no raw meat, no sushi, no experimental cusaine); I don’t like eating at restaurants (I’m afraid that some guest can get nauseated and start throwing up); I don’t go to amusent parks and never was (and I'll never be!) on their attractions; I am abstinent (Don’t try to force, seriously); I don’t like to be around drunk people; I hate hospitals and doctors (even thought a deeply respect them, but try to get the tube into my mouth ONE MORE TIME AND WILL DESTROY ALL YOUR BLOODLINE) and I HATE films when they put throwing up like “comedic” aspect (mostly American comedies. That’s why I don’t watch them.). Actually, just writing it down makes me anxious because I imagine all the things I’m writing and it’s horrible... (I needed to stop writing, calm myself for like half a hour and even after this I didn’t wrote everything that I hate about this phobia).
I’m demisexual but still don’t see myself as a part of the LGBT+ comunity. Maybe because when I come out some friends of the comunity (namely gay, lesbian a trans female lesbian) they say that “demisexuality is nothing compare their fight for rights” and it’s “just another heterosexual made-up thing for which don’t want sex or want to judge others who love sex with no relationships including”. That’s why, when someone ask me why I support LGBT+ so much and have so many friends of them, I’m saying that I am a “Straight Ally”. Even though I know it’s not all the true (because I don’t identify myself like heterosexual at all), I just don’t fell I need to explain or “come out” like some others. I just live with it and I’m happy.
To all demisexuals: Don’t ever think you are weird. You aren’t! You can fall in love. You can feel aroused. You can have fuctional relationship with no sex or sex including. You don’t need to have anyone to be happy. Just like have a family, child/children, husband/wife and be sometimes excited to be touched by your loved one(s). You can love or hate hugs. You can found someone attractive just INSIDE and be happy with it. Every demisexual it’s different. But still matters. Don’t ever think about to be ashemed by your sexuality. It’s your thing and NO ONE can’t say a shit about it.
Yeah, and I beat cancer when I was 17 by the way. And still not 100% healthy but living.
Thank for tagging and hope you found it interesting!
See you next time, maybe with my another Les Mis fanfiction!
#ask me#personal#me#sometimes it's good to open up#do it with the one you believe and trust#it's worth it#thank you all for reading
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Justin Bieber may now be a family man.
The pop star and his fiancée, model Hailey Baldwin, are rumored to have gotten married in a secret civil ceremony at a New York City courthouse, People reported in September. Other sources, including TMZ, report that Bieber and Baldwin were just at City Hall to pick up a marriage license. Either way, wedding bells are in Bieber and Baldwin’s future, as they are now planning a bigger religious service and celebration, according to Vanity Fair.
Bieber’s nuptials mark yet another tentpole for the pop star’s transformation from drug-addled, womanizing bad boy to squeaky-clean, presumably monogamous husband. Central to that narrative is Bieber’s well-documented embrace of evangelical Christianity.
Since 2014, when Bieber was baptized in an NBA player’s bathtub by Pastor Carl Lentz, his relationship with the evangelical megachurch Hillsong has been an essential part of his personal brand. And with his marriage — impending or otherwise — to fellow Hillsong member Baldwin, Bieber enters a new stage of his narrative: faithful, honorable Christian husband.
Bieber and Hillsong’s relationship has been, since its inception, a symbiotic one. The wildly popular Hillsong, which boasts 100,000 weekly attendees in churches in 21 countries, came to international prominence the same way plenty of celebrities do: by creating an easily marketable persona, curating a brand custom-made for social media, and advertising an identity both accessible and aspirational.
Hillsong is the “chill” church where pastors wear skinny jeans. Showing up hungover to Sunday service is not considered the worst thing. Hillsong’s sermons, influenced by the self-help-style theology of the “prosperity gospel,” promise adherents a life full of material as well as spiritual blessings.
Bieber’s presence in the pews has ensured Hillsong and its media-friendly pastors a place in the tabloids. And in return, Hillsong has granted Bieber a rebirth both religious and reputational.
There is nothing new about Christianity providing certain pop stars a veneer of respectability, especially when they’re trying to rehabilitate a “bad boy” or “bad girl” image. As Ellis Cashmore, author of Elizabeth Taylor: A Private Life for Public Consumption and a sociologist of celebrity culture, pointed out to Vox, ’70s singer Donna Summer famously transformed her public persona from that of a “slithery sexual” siren to a “slightly too pious symbol of purity” after she was born again in the 1980s. UK pop star Cliff Richard, likewise, came to prominence as an Elvis-esque rock-and-roller in the 1950s, only to pivot to Christian music and a softer image in the mid-1960s.
“Today’s culture has a few spots open for holier-than-thou celebs,” Cashmore said. “They’re almost reassuringly pure in the midst of unbridled debauchery, degeneracy, and all-round immorality.”
But in Bieber’s case, the relationship with Hillsong is a two-way street. Each bolsters the other’s personal brand.
Justin Bieber and his fiancée, Hailey Baldwin, spotted at a delicatessen in Brooklyn on July 30, 2018. James Devaney/GC Images via Getty Images
Back in 2014, Justin Bieber was a mess: drinking too much, doing too many drugs. He was a reliable tabloid train wreck, making headlines for trying to illegally import a pet monkey and spending a night in jail for underage drag racing. He’d been raised an evangelical Christian by his mother back in Canada, but lost connection with his faith.
Enter Carl Lentz, pastor of the New York City branch of the international Hillsong megachurch. Bieber had known the young pastor since they’d met at one of his concerts in 2008, according to the New York Post. Lentz and Bieber had another pastor friend in common: Judah Smith, known for befriending celebrities. But they’d only started to get closer recently, around the time Bieber’s life started falling apart. Lentz declined to comment for this story; Bieber has not responded to requests for comment through a representative.
By 2014, Bieber was hitting rock bottom. According to celebrity lore, best recounted in this GQ story by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Bieber was desperate for a way out of his downward spiral. Lentz convinced him Jesus might be the way. And so, one night at 3 in the morning, a despondent Bieber begged Lentz to baptize him immediately. Unable to find a place safe from the prying eyes of paparazzi, Lentz ultimately baptized the pop star in the bathtub of Lentz’s friend NBA player Tyson Chandler.
Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz and Justin Bieber talk at the 2017 Aces Charity Celebrity Basketball Game at Madison Square Garden. Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images
And just like that, Bieber was transformed. He became, as in Psalm 51, “washed clean … whiter than snow.” Now, Bieber’s Instagram feed is full of Bible verses and devotional texts, not selfies with monkeys. His personal brand and his conversion comeback are inextricable from one another.
Since then, Bieber has been both a vocal Christian and a vocal Hillsong supporter, appearing at Hillsong events and conferences, as well as frequently appearing alongside Lentz on social media.
For example, a video from April 12, posted to Bieber’s Instagram Live and later reposted to YouTube, perfectly captures the new, “purer” Bieber. At first, it seems just like any other social media post, designed to foster a celebrity’s sense of intimacy with his fans: hands tinkling piano keys; a breathy, even erotic, melancholy croon.
The lyrics, too, sound at first like a conventional love song: I breathe You in / I lean into Your love / Oh, Your love. Then Bieber gets to the point. His voice all but breaks. Drawing close / Stirred by grace / And all my heart is yours.
It’s a Hillsong United song — written by the church’s flagship band. It’s not about Baldwin, but about Jesus.
The video captures the essence of Bieber’s current celebrity persona. The boy who once sang, “Coffee table, girl, get ready, I’mma put you down / All the way down,” with disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is now embracing a gentler, even teenybopper romantic rhetoric.
He’s safely, endearingly Christian, but he’s also not too Christian. (Tellingly, Bieber leaves out some of the song’s most explicitly Christian lyrics — You are my everything / Jesus Christ / You are my one desire.) His song is a song of religious praise, but it also doubles in its secularized reworking as an accessible, tame melody for fans who would rather imagine themselves as objects of Bieber’s love than lust. His Christianity and his reformed, “safer” public image are inseparable.
O. Alan Noble, editor-in-chief of the website Christ and Pop Culture, told me that Bieber’s approach to that song ties into a wider divide within evangelical culture over the extent to which Christians should engage with the tools of secular media, such as pop music.
“That’s the joke among evangelicals who are very critical of [pop-style] worship music,” Noble said, “that it just sounds like a love song, and that if you took out Jesus, it would just sound like any other love song.”
However, Cashmore warns that when it comes to our celebrities, at least, our culture tends to easily get bored of Bieber’s redemption narrative. Hillsong may have solidified its prominence due to its affiliation with celebrities we love, like Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, and Hailee Steinfeld, but Cashmore argues that ultimately, we as a culture gravitate toward celebrities who titillate, not preach.
“We stay interested in celebrities because they’re mostly the opposite of pure,” he noted, “the more sullied, the better. I think celeb culture tolerates a limited number of evangelical types, but not too many or they become tiresome. We like our celebs dirty, flawed, contaminated, disgraced, tainted, and, yes, impure.”
Nonetheless, Bieber is reflective of a bigger trend, Noble says. Churches like Hillsong, and “crossover” celebrities like Bieber, are the new normal. “There’s a lot less siloing going on than there was in the early ’90s and 2000s,” Noble said, referring to the separation of Christian and secular media. Evangelical college kids these days will “listen to an artist talk about loving God, and [also] talk about going clubbing.” In general, he says, the evangelical world has moved away from a suspicion of the corrupting influence of media and pop culture, and toward a desire to engage with it.
Hillsong, and Bieber’s role within it, is perfectly representative of that trend.
Given its extraordinary spread, with branches as far afield as Kiev and Buenos Aires, and its pop culture-savvy vibe, it makes sense that Hillsong would be the church of choice for a young, evangelically minded pop star like Bieber.
The church’s wholesale adoption of what has come to be known in church circles as a “seeker-sensitive” model — maximizing outreach through feel-good rhetoric and the veneer of accessibility — combined with its “the Lord will provide” prosperity gospel, has allowed it to spread across more than 80 cities, 21 countries, and five continents, resulting in an estimated 50 million people a week singing Hillsong-branded music across the globe.
Hillsong’s ethos, while distinctive, is not unique or unprecedented. It involves an approach to worship shared by many other churches: an aesthetic characterized by intense emotional outbursts and a firm faith in the sanctity of everyday experience. Its theology is relatively, though not extremely, conservative from an evangelical perspective. And its near purpose-built appeal to younger audiences is also shared by a number of other megachurches across the world.
Hillsong is rooted in an Australian church called the Sydney Christian Life Centre, created in 1977 by Rev. Frank Houston. The church was Pentecostal, which is an umbrella term for any one of a number of evangelical movements that emphasize the direct action of the Holy Spirit in a worshipper’s life (often through acts like miracles of healing, or believers speaking in tongues). Pentecostal churches tend to stress members’ displays of extreme emotion, as well as a highly charged atmosphere — including music, dancing, and clapping — designed to foster the worshipper’s connection to God.
When Frank Houston left the church in 1999 under undisclosed circumstances (more on that later), his son Brian Houston and daughter-in-law Bobbi Houston, both pastors, folded Sydney Christian Life Centre into their own emerging church, called Hillsong.
From the beginning, Hillsong was characterized by its focus on Christian pop music as a means of attracting a younger, pop culture-savvy audience. Under the younger Houston, Hillsong had been releasing Christian music since 1992, annually producing what would come to be millions of dollars’ worth of albums and singles.
Hillsong added a healthy dose of prosperity gospel theology, adhering to the belief that spiritual purity, “positive thinking,” and expressions of unswerving faith will yield immediate material benefits for true believers.
As Brian Houston proclaimed in one sermon: “The only people who ever talk about a prosperity gospel are people who are threatened by God’s blessing in people’s lives.”
Hillsong’s services are both high-tech and minimalist, equal parts rock concert and TED talk. In services and sermons available for streaming on Hillsong’s website, with motivational titles like “Your Dream Is Your Destiny” and “Relevance: Hole-y Jeans or Holy Life?”
In one sermon, which was filmed in Hillsong’s headquarters outside Sydney, Houston appears in front of an LED-lit screen, dressed in a blue button-down shirt and jeans. “I encourage everyone here to dream a dream,” he tells listeners, “so much God-given potential perishes because of a lack of a dream!”
Later, he becomes more animated. “Never, ever discourage people and their dreams, because you know what God can do with dreams,” he exclaims, clutching the microphone. “Dreamers understand other dreamers! That’s why it’s good to come along with a church that’s filled with vision!”
Carl Lentz leads a Hillsong NYC Church service at Irving on July 14, 2013. Tina Fineberg/AP
Hillsong both holds to, and generally underplays, a conservative evangelical theology, although its leaders have in recent years generally been reluctant to speak out on hot-button issues. The church appears to have a quiet “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on LGBTQ issues, and hot-button issues like abortion and homosexuality are rarely, if ever, weighed in on from the pulpit.
Its celebrity adherents, such as Bieber and his ex, performer Selena Gomez, tend not to focus on these elements of Hillsong’s ethos when prompted. Instead, Bieber, for example, encouraged a queer fan to come to Hillsong, promising she’d be welcome at the church.
What’s striking about Hillsong, however, is less the fact that it holds conservative views — plenty of evangelical churches do — and more that it’s successfully refocused its look, feel, and rhetoric to cater specifically to the #blessed. It’s managed to market a feel-good Christianity, using the branding of progressivism to do so. And, insofar as Bieber’s Christianity has given him a solid tabloid redemption arc, he has benefited from that marketing — even if the church’s leaders haven’t been as fortunate.
Despite (or because of) its popularity, Hillsong has not been immune to scandal. As early as 1999, according to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, rumors had spread that Frank Houston had molested boys in his community. These rumors, of which Brian Houston was reportedly aware, may have contributed to the elder Houston’s abrupt retirement. A year later, Frank Houston confessed to his son that he abused a young boy 30 years prior. The matter was never formally reported to police. The elder Houston died in 2004, after having drawn a consistent pension from Hillsong since his retirement.
In 2014, an Australian police commission found that Frank Houston had molested up to nine boys. The British newspaper the Guardian reported that he offered $10,000 to one victim, saying, “I don’t want this on my head before God.” Brian Houston also failed to inform police of his discovery. He has maintained that he has always acted in the best interest of his father’s victims.
While there is no documented link whatsoever between pedophilia and homosexuality, Houston maintained this as a potential reason for his father’s acts. “I think my father was homosexual, a closet homosexual,” he later told an interviewer. “I’m no psychiatrist … but I think whatever frustrations he had, he took out on children.”
Pastor Brian Houston (right) with Bob Carr, former premier of New South Wales, during an annual Hillsong convention at the Sydney Superdome on July 4, 2005. Fairfax Media via Getty Images
Hillsong’s views on homosexuality, which mirror those of typical evangelical churches, clash with its vibe that is seemingly youthful and therefore overtly welcoming to LGBTQ people. Like many, if not most, evangelical churches, Hillsong formally holds that the only legitimate and godly sexual relationships are between married heterosexual couples.
Outside of same-sex marriage, though, the manner in which Hillsong treats its LGBTQ members is less clear.
On the one hand, Frank Houston started Exit Ministries, a so-called ex-gay ministry, which was devoted to using therapeutic methods to essentially try to make LGBTQ people straight. After that shuttered, Hillsong outsourced its conversion therapies to outside companies throughout the 2000s.
But around 2011, that changed. Brian Houston decided that a church at which young LGBTQ people did not feel they could pray was a church that could not grow, and he started distancing himself and Hillsong from conversion ministries altogether. He also started adopting more LGBTQ-sympathetic rhetoric, talking more and more about the difficulty of being LGBTQ in the church and advocating compassion for LGBTQ teens. (As an example of how LGBTQ attitudes among evangelicals are changing, 53 percent of white evangelicals ages 18 to 30 support same-sex marriage.)
Lentz has, in interviews, stressed that Hillsong does not treat homosexuality as markedly different from what evangelicals might consider other sins, including premarital sex between a man and a woman. LGBTQ issues rarely come up explicitly in the pulpit at Hillsong, though some former members report the church’s tone having “mixed messages.”
Ben Fenlon, an ex-member, described his experience at the church’s London branch for the Huffington Post: “When I first started attending I questioned those around me about how the church felt about homosexuality having read conflicting reports. The answers were always vague, telling me that God loves everyone and that everyone is welcome to come and worship. There was never a clear answer on the gay issue.”
In practice, this has created a tension within Hillsong’s pews. Often, LGBTQ members are welcomed as parishioners, but, according to ex-members, those in same-sex relationships are discouraged from seeking leadership positions. When it came out that a male church leader in the New York choir was in a same-sex relationship (something the couple says was an open secret with the church), Houston and Lentz quickly clarified the formal position of the church: that being gay is, indeed, a sin. They wrote in a 2015 blog post
Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles. Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid.
Celebrities affiliated with the church, including Bieber, have often tried to walk back the more politically controversial statements of Hillsong. He’s told queer fans, who’ve expressed sorrow over homophobia in other churches, that they’d be more than welcome at Hillsong: “That’s not okay. If you ever want to come to any of the [Hillsong] services, we’d love to have you in there. You’re more than welcome to come any time.”
Bieber has never commented specifically on Hillsong’s stance toward LGBTQ people. While his words to his fan were approvingly quoted in the secular press, other Christians, including former Christian rocker Trey Pearson, who is openly gay, pointed out that Hillsong is not an LGBTQ-affirming church.
Still, despite criticism, Hillsong has made itself into an astounding financial and social media success.
Central to Hillsong’s success, of course, are its high-profile ambassadors, such as Bieber.
It makes sense that Hillsong would appeal to celebrities. It demands neither vows of poverty nor renouncing the glitz-and-glamour lifestyle that characterizes the celebrity experience, even as it offers a kind of structure and meaning inherently absent from, say, a drug-fueled life on a tour bus.
It’s social media-friendly, its leaders’ impeccably curated Instagram aesthetic of self-care and self-acceptance perfectly dovetailing with the #inspirational messages of its most famous member.
Lentz has appeared, for example, on Oprah Winfrey’s show Super Soul Sunday. His highly appealing, easily marketable narrative of Christianity — though it differs in content from Oprah’s more vaguely spiritual mantras of self-care — is, like hers, accessible, consumer-friendly, and social media-savvy. The blessings it provides are a mixture of spiritual, communal, and aspirational. Who wouldn’t want to look like Carl Lentz, or have the happy marriage he seems to have?
It would be easy to be cynical about Hillsong, and the degree to which Lentz’s Instagram content informs the church’s aesthetic as a whole. But for Kelly Bollmann, 31, the aspirational nature of Hillsong’s leadership, and the way the leaders represent Hillsong’s branding, is part of its appeal. Bollmann has been involved on the volunteer creative team of Hillsong New York since the beginning, when Lentz, the pastor at Bollmann’s old nondenominational church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, left to start the New York branch of Hillsong in 2009.
“I wouldn’t be part of the church if I didn’t know the leadership was that much more of a beautiful representation of the church off-platform than just preaching it,” Bollmann told me. Hillsong’s “platform” may be its services, but its “off-platform” identity — as curated on social media and in the personas of its pastors — creates a holistic sense of Hillsong as a Christian identity that transcends Sunday morning. For Bollmann, that “off-platform” identity was enough to lead him to follow Lentz to New York and help plant Hillsong as a member of the initial creative team.
Carl Lentz prepares to lead a Hillsong church service. Tina Fineberg/AP
In this way, Hillsong is the apotheosis of both the prosperity gospel movements and the seeker-sensitive church movement. It’s a place where the language of #blessed is re-sanctified and renewed. It’s certainly possible to ask whether a church that relies as much on Instagram branding and photogenic pastors as Hillsong is a good thing. But that might be missing the point.
Hillsong, with its talk of “off-platform” pastor behavior and its curated Instagram feed, is successful precisely because it ties into an existing cultural need. It embraces a spiritual life that infuses our social media as much as our souls. It uses the language and rhetoric of the millennial experience to win millennial souls.
For Bollmann, Hillsong’s message of welcome is one that transcends the specifics of its theology. Jesus, he says, “made everybody feel welcome” — especially the sinners.
Sure, he sees plenty of Beliebers, as Bieber’s fans are known, show up at Hillsong in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their icon. But he doesn’t mind. Even if people come to church for the wrong reasons, he says, it’s still an opportunity for them to see the love that Hillsong has to offer. “You’re going to find that you love what our relationship with Jesus is all about … they’re quickly just reminded, hey, there’s people that have a certain status, but they want to just come here and praise Jesus just like you.”
For Bollmann, who grew up in a multiracial family of 11, Hillsong’s image as a diverse, young, and welcoming church is a vital part of its Christian ethos. “You see more cultures in one subway car in New York City than you do in whole cities,” he says. And Hillsong — youth-focused, informal, multiracial — reflected that diversity. “What it enabled a lot of people to do when they saw such a beautiful community come around so many people, and it’s all welcoming of any gender, color, sex, everything. And they saw there’s absolutely no judgment.”
Justin Bieber performs at Hyde Park in London on July 2, 2017. Samir Hussein/Redferns via Getty Images
It makes sense that Bieber and Hillsong would engage in a spiritual and — in effect, if not in intent — commercial partnership. Hillsong provides Bieber not only with spiritual fulfillment but with a tabloid-perfect redemption narrative. Bieber provides Hillsong with publicity.
But, viewed another way, the partnership is as natural as it is seemingly transactional. In an age in which our “on-platform” and “off-platform” selves converge, Hillsong offers something, well, holistic. The Christian identity and sense of fellowship it provides its largely young, smartphone-savvy parishioners is designed to transcend Sunday morning services. It’s designed to go on Instagram, or Snapchat, precisely because that’s where its worshippers are exploring their own identities.
While it’s certainly possible to critique the perhaps packaged nature of Hillsong’s theology — its reliance on motivational speech and prosperity gospel narratives of success, for instance — it’s also worth asking the bigger question: Why do these narratives work?
For a church to be as successful, as much of a phenomenon, as Hillsong is, does its theology have to lend itself to the rhetoric and imagery of social media? Does Christian identity have to root itself in personal identity?
After all, the most enduring Christian movements in America have allied themselves most prominently with other, more insidious, kinds of identity politics and identity formation. All across America, we’ve seen the rise of a white evangelical Christian nationalism that equates Christianity with a particular notion of whiteness, as well as with GOP party politics.
If religion and faith are as much about how we see ourselves — our identities, our personal brand — as they are about what we believe, then Hillsong has cornered the market on a particular kind of self-identification for young Christians.
It’s fair to ask whether a church as social media-engineered as Hillsong represents the “real” Christianity. But it’s also fair to ask the reverse. If it didn’t use its mass-market appeal to spread the gospel, would anybody listen?
Original Source -> Hillsong: the evangelical megachurch that helped save Justin Bieber’s soul — and image
via The Conservative Brief
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