#Denise was well written I think but short lived | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dollythesheepp · 2 years

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Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Chapter 6.

You can read it on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39467289/chapters/104264037#workskin

Two hours later, Janis and Heather step out of the busy police station, the balmy breeze and the morning sunlight embracing them like a warm hug as soon as the doors open.

"I nailed it, every detail!" Janis says excitedly, she feels as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

"They haven't made a decision yet," Chandler reminds her, putting on her sunglasses in a very cliche detective fashion.

"Please contain your excitement..." Janis mumbles.

"This is me excited," Heather replies, earning an eye roll from Janis.

"Come on, Chandler, give me a little love here," she teases. "Why do you have to be such a megabitch?"

"Because that's your favorite thing about me," Heather gives her a wink and a lopsided grin. Janis can tell that the casual banter easily rolling off of Heather's tongue —the sarcastic remarks, the witty insults, all wrapped up in a slightly flirtatious tone— was something common in her friendship with Veronica, they had probably known each other for years. Janis is walking in dangerous territory, she says one wrong sentence or gets a small fact wrong and her whole act will fall apart.

"Look, JD doesn't know about the money yet," Janis takes advantage of Heather's good mood to bring up the elephant in the room. "Let me put it back before he finds it."

"That's not the deal, Sawyer," Heather's expression closes up and she speaks in an annoyed tone.

"There was no deal!" Janis says, the frustration making her voice louder than she wanted it to be. "It was just you taking-"

"Looking after you, partner." Heather cuts her off. "And if you bring that shit up one more time, I swear I'll throw it all in the shredder," with that being said, Heather walks away before Janis can get another word in. Janis stands on the sidewalk, fuming, as she watches Heather's figure become smaller and smaller, until she reaches out for her car and leaves. Before Janis can do the same, she feels a small vibration coming from her back pocket and picks up Veronica's cellphone; Denise's name appears on the screen.

"This is Janis," she answers.

"Well, Janis, this will be quick," Denise says. "Since you already know where I live and I can't find a sitter on such short notice, I expect to see you at my house tonight at 9."

"How about right now?"

"Tonight! Go through the back door and knock quietly," Denise lists out the instructions. "And don't forget to bring everything you have from Edith!" with that she hangs up.

Janis isn't liking twin number 6 very much.

***

It's 8:54 when Janis parks Veronica's black Altima in front of Denise's house. Seated next to her is Damian, who gazes at the neighborhood like it's insulting him, disgust written all over his face.

"I never would have agreed to come with you if you said we were going to the suburbs," he mumbles as a tall couple who looks like they belong in a Light and Fit commercial start jogging next to him. "What are you doing?" he asks when Janis makes a motion to exit the car.

"Just stay here, I won't take long."

"You're gonna leave me here?" he asks, incredulous. "Why the hell did you bring me in the first place? You told me we were gonna get frozen yogurt."

"We will, I just need to talk to someone really quick..."

"Who's in there?" Damian asks. Janis is starting to think that the whole twin sister drama is his private little drama show. "Is it Edith?"

"It's definitely not Edith," Janis answers. "She's dead."

"She's dead?"

"Yes. This one is Denise, she's just a suburban bitch. She knows things but she won't tell me unless I give her this," Janis gestures to the briefcase that's in her lap. "So I need you to be my backup."

"I don't even know what that is," her brother says. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing" Janis responds as she opens the car door and gets out, much to Damian's dismay. "I just need someone to know where I am."

"That is not comforting!" he yells at her from inside the car, sticking his head out of the window like a dog, but despite his protests, Janis is already crossing the street. "Janis!"

At Denise's behest, Janis goes to the back of the house. The small wooden gate is unlocked, leading up to the backyard that, even with snow covering most of it, looks straight from a vintage illustration of The American Dream, with an outdoor grill in the corner and a porch swing. Janis walks to the back door and knocks softly, and it swings open half a second later. Expecting to see Denise on the other side of the door, Janis is surprised when she is greeted by a woman she doesn't know.

"Uh, sorry I think I got the wrong house..." she says. These damn houses all look the same.

"No, you didn't," the woman chuckles. "You're Janis, right? Come in, Denise is upstairs. "

She opens the door wider for Janis to pass, then closes it behind her. In different circumstances, unfamiliar faces would apprehense Janis, but after the current events, meeting someone who doesn't look like her is a relief. The woman appears to be in her late twenties just like Janis, with dark blue eyes that almost look violet, wavy ginger hair, slightly lighter than Chandler's, and a friendly expression on her face.

"I'm Cady!" she says with a smile and extends her hand;Janis shakes it. "Nice to meet you."

"Janis," she says. "But you already knew that, somehow..."

"Good, you're here," says a third voice. Janis follows the sound to see Denise Sadler standing on the stairs. Unlike Cady, she doesn't look friendly at all, and neither does the revolver in her well-manicured hands.

"Woah, is that necessary?" Janis asks.

"Be quiet, my kids are sleeping," Denise whispers, meeting Janis and Cady in the living room.

"You're gonna shoot me while your kids are sleeping?"

"If you show your face to them to or my husband then yes, I will shoot you."

"You're gonna scare her," Cady intervenes.

"I've never known a blood relation but I have to say, being your twin sucks," says Janis.

Denise looks at her with a smug look on her face and scoffs. "Twin?" she repeats. "You really have no idea, do you?"

Not understanding what she means, Janis doesn't respond. Denise saunters over to another room; she says something in a hushed voice to someone inside, but the person is out of view. Denise prompts the person with a soft "Come on," and the person obliges, stepping out of the room and into full view. Janis sucks in a breath.

"Hi!" says twin number seven. This version of Janis has messily styled hair, its dyed blond locks falling all the way down to her shoulders, and her black The Clash t-shirt. "I'm Lizzie. We spoke on the phone."

"Shit," is all Janis is able to muster after staring at the woman for what feels like forever, unable to form a coherent thought. "How many of us are there?"

The new lookalike, Lizzie, exhales through her mouth in what Janis assumes is a nervous laugh. "We're not sure. At least 8, including you,'' she says in a gravelly voice. ''But as far as we know there could be more of us out there."

"But what exactly are we?" Janis asks. Lizzie exchanges a quick look with Denise who nods her head in denial. Meanwhile, Cady remains seated on the couch, awkwardly fidgeting with her bracelet like she's an outsider standing in the middle of a family discussion.

Wait, isn't that technically what this is?

"We can't tell you that yet," Denise says.

"What? I did what you asked, the least you can do is give me an explanation-"

"We will," Lizzie chimes in diplomatically. "But...we don't know you, dude. And believe me, we have our reasons to be wary right now. "

Janis runs a hand through her hair, irritated. "There's not much to know. I was born in Alaska, then I moved to Illinois with my foster mom and my brother when I was six, dropped out of high school when I was sixteen, around the same time I came out of the closet, then got into a crappy relationship at eighteen and moved out of my mom's house to live with my girlfriend. I wanted to be an artist but that didn't work out so now I just hop from shitty job to shitty job," she blurts out. It feels weird to tell her life story to a bunch of strangers but if that is what needed to be done to get to the bottom of this then so be it.

"Wait, you're an orphan?" Cady reminds Janis of her presence by asking this question. "So you don't know your birth parents?

"No," Janis says, confused as to why that specific part caught her attention. "I was adopted when I was five. That's all I know."

"You forgot to mention the part where you stole Veronica's identity," Denise says with her arms folded.

"We'll talk about that later, let's just-" Lizzie starts to talk but she is interrupted by Denise.

"No, we'll talk about it now. Suicide? I don't accept that!" she says. She is facing Lizzie and Cady, excluding Janis from the conversation altogether, like she isn't seated inches away from her. "This one is some kind of low-life grifter, how do we know she didn't push her?"

"I didn't want to be her!" Janis exclaims. "I was running away from my own problems."

"Oh, I can only imagine," Denise scorns.

"That's enough, Denise," Cady says softly. "I know this is hard but yelling at her won't change anything."

"We're all sorry about Veronica but we can't say we're surprised, can we? She was losing it, like, clinically," Lizzie says.

"She was the strongest one of us. If she couldn't cope then..." Denise pressed her lips together and doesn't allow herself to finish, letting the sentence dissipate into the air.

Janis slumps forward on the armchair so she's closer to Lizzie and Cady, the least hostile ones in the room, who are both seated on the couch. "Can you just tell me how we are related?"

"Give us the briefcase first," Lizzie insists.

"I'm not giving you shit until you get me some answers," Janis answers back. "How are the eight of us related?"

"We're not," Denise chirps.

"Well, you are," Cady says, then turns her head to face Janis, ginger curls swaying as she does so. "By nature, at least. She's referring to nurture."

Janis squints her eyes in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Do you really want in? Fine!" Denise bellows at her, the rule of keeping quiet not to wake up her kids completely forgotten by now. "We're clones! We're someone's experiment and they're killing us off. Is that helpful?" Denise spits out the words like they're poisenous seeds.

Silence overcomes the room the second Denise closes her mouth. Janis keeps her gaze on Denise, who doesn't elaborate. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Lizzie on the upholstered couch rubbing her forehead, but she doesn't say anything; neither does Cady. Janis turns her head to look at them fully, in hopes they will start laughing and say "Gotcha!" or deny it, but both women remain quiet.

Clones...

There is no way they expect her to believe that, right?

"Sorry, I wanted to land the whole clone story a lot softer..." Lizzie says at last.

Janis doesn't have a lot of time to process the information that had been thrust upon her, as the motion sensor light on Denise's backyard announces the presence of someone else in the house. Cady, seated in a spot that gives her full view of the windows, is the one to notice that.

"Is someone out there?" she asks. Denise grabs her gun in a hurry and heads towards the back door to confront the intruder.

"Holy shit! Don't shoot me!" Janis hears a male voice come from outside. Janis bolts out of the chair as it occurs to her a second too late that the person screaming is none other than her brother. When she gets to the backyard, Damian stands like a deer caught in the headlights, with his hands up in the air to prove he means no harm as Denise points her revolver at him.

"Denise! He's with me!" Janis says, she gets in between the two of them, the gun now pointed at her. "He's my brother."

Denise looks from Janis to Damian, who looks paler than a ghost and slowly puts the gun down with shaky hands. Infuriated with Damian for not doing the one thing she asked him to do, Janis grabs his hands and starts dragging him far away from the crazy lady with the gun, heading in the direction of the house to get her keys and her cellphone — she hasn't let go of the briefcase, there's no way she will be giving that to these women. She remains unsatisfied with what they've told her and the briefcase is her only leverage— before getting the hell out of there.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay in the car," Janus hisses at him. Lizzie is waiting for her by the door, with Janis's belongings in her hand; she makes a motion to give Janis her stuff but moves her hand away when Janis reaches out to get them.

"You just broke the first rule of clone club," she says, craning her head.

"Never tell anyone about clone club?" Janis derides the lame movie reference. Lizzie nods her head, then sets her gaze on Damian who stands behind Janis, flabbergasted.

"Well, this is awkward. Hi, I'm Lizzie!" she says with a quick wave, to which Damian retributes without saying a word, too verklempt to communicate verbally.

"I have to go back to Long Island this weekend, but you have the girls' number, give them a call when you decide what you want to do," Lizzie says to her. "You need answers; we need the briefcase. Seriously, it's life or death."

***

"Clones?!" Damian repeats the word for what feels like the hundredth time as he tries to churn on what Janis told him.

"They're not me," Janis maunders, slumped on his couch, the vertigo in her head matching the one in her brain. "They not. They are completely different people."

For a moment, Damian's frantic paces around the loft are all there is to hear. "Cop Janis, Soccer Mom Janis, Punk Rock Janis..." he mutters. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know!" Janis can't help but lash out at him. "What difference does it make?"

"A lot. Last time I checked human cloning was illegal, let alone impossible!"

"Just let it go, it doesn't matter!" Janis tries to eschew the subject but Damian doesn't back down.

"It does matter, though," he says. "You can't just ignore it."

Janis can't get Denise's voice out of her mind, her harsh words gnawing insider Janis's brain.

Clones...someone's experiment...killing us...

"Yes, I can! This doesn't change anything." Janis yells, meaning every word. The song remains the same: get the money back from Heather and get out. Janis doesn't know what those women are dealing with, granted not even they know, but it's something dangerous. People getting killed and people killing themselves because of it and Janis plans to remain untethered, she refuses to get sucked into this mess.

***

Janis waits until the next morning to talk to Heather again, one last desperate attempt to get the money back. She steps into the police station as if she belongs there.

"Veronica!" a man she doesn't know approaches her with a smile. "Are you back already? I thought you were still off."

"I am but I can't get enough of this place," Janis says. "Is Chandler here?"

"Yes, I think she's at her desk," he says. Janis thanks him and follows the place he pointed at. The guy is right, Chandler is in fact at her desk. She is seated in front of the computer, a mountain of files beside her.

"Hey," Janis greets.

"Hi," she says but doesn't take her eyes off of the computer. "Are you going to bug me about the cash again?"

"Things are bad between JD and I," Janis tells her the fabricated lie. "At any moment, he's gonna see the empty account and-"

"Stop pulling my dick about this, Sawyer," Chandler scowls. "I told you, you'll get the cash once you're on active duty."

"Sawyer!" both Janis and Heather turn their heads to see Lieutenant Gowan standing at the door of his office.

"Sorry, just came to say hi!" Janis says.

"No, you're not," he says. "In my office, now."

Janis swallows dry but complies with his order, she takes one look back at Heather with an expression that asks "what did I do?" to which Heather responds with a shrug.

"Congratulations, you're reinstated." Lieutenant Gowan tells her. He gives her Veronica's gun and police badge, the objects feels heavy in Janis' hand, like they don't belong there. "Welcome back, detective."

Heather's eyes meet her as soon as she walks out of the office, whatever she was working on her computer is forgotten, as she's focused on Janis.

"I have bad news for you," Janis holds up her badge for Heather, in glee. Heather tries to fight the smile that starts creeping up her face but eventually gives in, her pearly white teeth lighting up her whole face.

"Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw," Heather says. "We just got a call, some idiot didn't realize they were burying a body next to an active gravel quarry. Buckle up, bitch."

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the1975attheirverybest · 10 months

Note

Can I just say you are very smart and know Matty pretty well. Everytime he posts something and I get confused about what he means exactly (maybe it’s the language barrière, maybe it’s because sometimes he actually doesn’t make sense) I always come to your blog to read your thoughts. It helps me understand!

That being said, I’m still a bit confused. I think to be ‘officially’ catholic you not to be baptized etc. Like my mom was catholic raised and baptized and everything but she had herself written out (apparently that’s a thing) by the time she learned more about the sexual abuse within the catholic church. But she still says she was catholic raised ‘cause that’s just how it is. But that doesn’t mean she IS catholic. Isn’t that what he means?? Like it’s not that he IS catholic, his roots are just based in Catholicism??

(I just feel that Matty would written himself out of the church to in light of everything he stands for so it feels weird that he says he is catholic. Not that it would be a problem if he actually is, or anyone for that matter)

Awww, thank you for your very kind words and for being here and being part of the discussion 🥹🥹🩷🩷🩷

Yes! You are very right and I think what you say here is part of what he means.

So, let’s put it this way: for every religion, there is “theology” and there is “culture” right? Cuz usually religions will have advice for you on how to live your life. What’s good and what’s bad. How to dress, how to behave, etc. right? These practices become part of the culture of a country or community and participating in stuff like that gives oneself an identity. Yes? For a lot of atheists, they don’t believe in the “theology” ( there’s a god, there’s heaven, there’s hell etc) but the culture affects who they are and where they came from. I think when Matty calms himself Irish catholic, he’s speaking about the culture.

A, VERY VERYYY brief history of Irish Catholicism here (everyone!: please, please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. Especially Irish folks or Irish catholic folks):

Irish Catholicism is an ethnoreligion. That’s when the culture is part ethnicity (in this case Irish) and part religion (Catholicism). This matters because built into Irish catholic culture is an important history. Ireland was colonized by Britain. As you can imagine, when colonizers try to oppress people, they do it through religion and religious practices (among other things like language, culture, food, education etc). And this affected Irish culture deeply.

So, when Matty says that he is catholic he doesn’t mean that he used to be religious and now isn’t. I don’t THINK Denise or Tim were particularly religious? So I don’t think they raised him on a particular belief system. Could be wrong.

BUT, I think He’s more referring to the ethnicity and religious identity of his Irish family roots. Even for a lot of non-practicing Irish Catholics, when they say that they are Irish Catholic, they’re referring to their countries culture and how their ancestors who were catholic dealt with British colonialism and formed cultural practices around it.

Let me use this an an apology. It’s like when someone asks me where I am from. I’ll say Boston but then I’ll say “I’m actually Arab American so my family is originally from the Middle East, etc). Matty would say he’s from Northwest England but originally Irish catholic.

Because his stance on religion has to do with how politicians use it to oppress people, the fact that Irish Catholics were oppressed by British colonialism is an important part of his family history and it’s cultural practices that he holds onto. Even if he’s not a practicing catholic. It’s still part of who he is and it’s still informing a lot of how he views religion. Just like I’m still Arab even though I don’t live in the Middle East. It’s still a part of me and how I think about myself.

IN SHORT: he doesn’t believe in Catholicism as a religion, but his cultural identity is rooted in it and is important to him and how he thinks about religion. So even if he doesn’t believe in god he’s still counting the ethnicity snd religious ancestry.

Does that make sense? Sorry I’m just now waking up. So this may not be the most eloquent answer. Also again if I got anything wrong .

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maybankiara · 4 years

Text

I’LL BE MAKING MY OWN WAY NOW

pairing: JJ Maybank x Reader

summary: Some girls from the Kook Academy are messing with you, and JJ makes you stand up for yourself.

word count: 2.5k

warning: bullying

additional: a bit of angst and a bit of fluff. sorry if there’s any typos - i’ve been trying to get through this for about a week now and i can’t bring myself to proofread.

masterlist

tag list

written for an anon

It’s not a big deal, you tell yourself, day after day. People have the right to not like you, or dislike you, and they also have the right to show it. Standing up to them would be no good – they’d only treat you worse, much like they did when this whole thing started, before it became a running joke between the Kook Academy’s worst.

So you keep your head down, even though their taunts are echoing the street. What’s up, dyke? Jesus, Jeanie, something stinks like rotten fish. You keep walking, your training bag on your shoulder, and you let your hair out of the ponytail. It’s filled with sweat and dirt from the football field and it’s a mess, but at least it hides your face from them.

Must be the Pogue. It’s the universe telling them they should stick to fishing and getting our stuff. You keep walking, and you hear them moving a few feet behind you, in their brand new Cadillac convertible. I wish they would sort the trash. Keep it off our side of the island, at least.

Your teeth clench as your tongue threatens to snap back, and get you into more trouble. Just a little longer and they’ll leave you – they always do.

At the sight of the first house that marks the Cut, a big building that was once a local restaurant and is now more of a shrieking shack, you straighten your back. You tie your hair back into the ponytail, too, because you know if they were to confront you on your territory, things wouldn’t end well for them.

‘I’m bored, Jeanie,’ one of the girls says, drawling out the other’s name. ‘Let’s go somewhere fun.’

The car drives away and you flip them off as they get lost in the distance. There’s a reason why they don’t enter the Cut, and your friends’ reputation is one of them.

Nobody messes with the Pogues.

From there, it takes you about fifteen minutes to get to your house. You get changed quickly, jump into the shower, and you’re out of it as fast as possible. It’s a hot day and although you wish you could do your makeup, it’s the height of summer in the Outer Banks and you’re not a Touron who believes her makeup wouldn’t melt. You stick to just covering up your blemishes, and focus on your outfit, instead (you’d focus on your hair, but with the humidity in the air, what’s the point?).

this is me, you think as you face the reflection in the mirror. A bikini top with a sheer blouse over it, denim shorts and black sneakers. Simple, sporty, and kegger-appropriate.

You arrive to the Chateau on time, just as you promised. Kiara’s the first to see you and she waves at you, overseeing the boys putting a keg into John B’s van.

‘Hello,’ you greet them, placing a kiss to JJ’s cheek. ‘You guys done?’

‘You’re just in time to not need to do anything at all.’ JJ pulls you into a hug. His arms feel like home, and you let yourself relax into them – it relieves some of the tension you didn’t even know was there. ‘How was your day?’

‘Good.’

JJ pulls back and frowns, having noticed you pointedly not looking at him. ‘Yeah?’

You smile, offhandedly, and turn to help Pope and John B push the last keg into the van, what JJ was previously doing. ‘I’m fine, JJ.’

He doesn’t buy it, but he’s got half a mind not to push it while you’re with all of your friends. JJ puts a hand at the small of your back instead, looking at you with his eyebrows ever so slightly pointed up, and gives you the smallest of nods.

I’m here for you, is what he’s saying.

All you do is give him a chaste kiss on the lips, and go off with Kiara to get your hair done while the boys set up everything at the Boneyard. If anyone seems to notice the silent exchange between the two of you, they don’t bring it up – at least not in front of you.

Kiara’s hands are swift and competent when flowing through your hair. What you asked for was “anything that’ll keep my hair out of my face” and she decided that meant “an elaborate braid with some strands pulled out a bit to make it look messy and loose”.

You don’t mind, though – it looks good, halfway through.

‘So,’ Kiara begins. ‘You’re a bit quiet today.’

‘I’m just tired. Practice was more draining than usual, and I just can’t wait to relax at the party.’

You see her pout in the mirror, giving you a look that means she can see right through you. ‘You sure it’s just that?’

A reassuring smile appears on your lips. ‘Yeah, Kie. It’s all good.’

Kiara nods, focusing back on your hair. ‘Everything’s fine between you and JJ, right? I saw what happened earlier, I hope you know you can talk to me about anything.’

‘Oh my god, no! Is that what it looked like?’ You sigh, rubbing your forehead before Kiara slaps your hand away, telling you you’re going to ruin your hairstyle. ‘JJ and I are great, don’t worry about that, at all. I just had a kind of a bad day, is all.’

She sighs and you can tell it’s relief. ‘Shit, I’m glad I don’t need to go all Mama Pogue on your asses.’

Both of you break into laughter. It relieves the tension that you feel in your shoulders, and things seem a little less daunting when you realise how the whole situation must’ve looked like to everyone else.

But there’s a thought that comes with that realisation – ‘Do you think JJ thinks it was about him?’

‘I don’t know,’ admits Kiara. ‘You should probably go talk to him once we’re at the Boneyard.’

You nod, because Kiara’s right. It ends up being all you can think about until it’s half an hour later, the party is officially underway and JJ is catching up with some friends while you’re just chilling with the rest of the Pogues.

It’s a humid and exceptionally hot day, as you assumed it would be, and it’s somehow making everything worse. You want to talk to JJ because it feels as if he’s been avoiding you a little bit, and the fact that you can literally feel the dampness of your skin is definitely not helping.

Kiara shoots you a sympathetic smile, throwing a hand over your shoulder. ‘It’ll be okay.’

‘He’s avoiding me.’

‘It’s JJ,’ she reminds you. ‘He’ll last fifteen more minutes, tops.’

As it turns out, you find JJ’s gaze on you less than ten minutes later, as you’re chatting to someone Touron whose makeup is already melting off her face.

You smile at him, and wave, and he does the same. The moment you see him bidding the group goodbye, already half-way to you, you excuse yourself and make a beeline for him.

He’s sweaty when you pull him into a hug, but so are you, and it only makes everything sticky but funny. You smile, laughing a little. His eyebrows shoot up.

‘We’re both very sticky,’ you explain, still grinning.

JJ rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face. His hands are resting on your waist and you don’t care that there’s dozens of people around you, doing whatever they are – it’s just the two of you right now.

Some of the hairs that Kiara pulled out of your braid are now sticking to your face, and JJ pulls them behind your ear.

‘Did I do something?’

You shake your head. ‘No. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I had a bad day and I just didn’t want you to worry about it.’

He sighs, relieved, just like Kiara did. ‘This was the worst hour of my life.’

‘You could’ve asked!’

‘It didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about whatever it was!’

‘Well, I didn’t,’ you agree. At this, he quirks his head to the side, and you kind-of prove your point. Playfully, you smack his chest and wriggle your way out of his hands. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Jumping-To-Conclusions.’

‘Oh, shut up.’ He takes your hand and pulls you back close, pressing a kiss against your lips. His fingers are rubbing your palm. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

You let your shoulders fall again, biting your lip. Of course, you’d love nothing more than to talk about the reason why you fucking hate the Kooks and why they make your life a living hell at times, but it’s just that Jeanie and Denise, the girls from earlier, are just now getting beer from Pope at the keg.

So you shake your head, intent on not talking about it.

‘It doesn’t matter anymore,’ you tell JJ, looking away from the girls. ‘I’m over it.’

But JJ knows you, and he glances at Pope and the two Kooks, and when you see his lips pressed together, you know he’s connected the dots.

‘JJ—’

‘Is it them again? Are they bullying you?’

You sigh. His eyes are drilling into yours, and you feel him stiffen. ‘It’s fine, J, honestly. It’s not a big deal.’

He shakes his head. ‘No, it is. It’s not okay. Why are you letting them run all over you?’

‘I’ve got no other choice.’

‘That’s bullshit,’ he tells you, and you know it’s true. ‘You’re not someone who takes shit from others, especially not Kooks. This has been happening for way too long for there not to be some other reason.’

You look down, at your feet; if it wasn’t for JJ holding you in place with his hands resting on your waist, you probably would’ve stepped back.

It’s not something that should be embarrassing, but it is. ‘I worked so hard to get into the club. Coach was hesitant on taking someone from the Cut. I’ve been under the magnifying glass ever since I joined. One wrong thing, I’m out, back to square one.’

‘Is that why?’ he asks. ‘What does that have to do with the Kooks?’

You laugh, but there’s no joy in it. You shake your head at JJ’s obliviousness – he’s the last person you expected to be so naive. ‘Everything. If I stand up for myself, they’ll come up with something to get me off the team, and I’ll love everything, JJ.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘What do you mean?’

He cups your face, smiling at you with warmth in his eyes. ‘You’re not a part of the team because you’re from the Cut, or whatever. It’s because you’re a good soccer player. No one can take that away from you.’

‘But—’

‘There’s no “but”s, Y/N. If you let them walk all over you, they won’t stop doing it. I don’t think they’ll say anything, but even if they do, you’ve got nothing to worry about.’

You nod, relaxing into his touch. ‘Are you sure?’

JJ hesitates. ‘No,’ he admits, ‘but are you really going to keep letting them fuck up your life?’

he’s right, you realise. This can’t go on.

So you nod again, kiss him, and promise him you’ll stand up for yourself next time.

What you don’t expect is that the next time would come just a few short hours later, with either Jeanie or Denise—both names are so pretentious and stupid that you don’t know which is which—making a remark about the way you look tonight.

‘Whores from the cut, you can tell from the braids and the exposed boobs.’ She says it to a guy who’s chatting with her, a mere dozen feet away from you, JJ, and Kiara, loud enough so that all of you hear it.

Loud enough that JJ hears it.

He whips his body around, walking up to the two before you get to stop him. ‘What did you just say?’

You follow suit, a hand on his bicep. ‘JJ.’

The girl chuckles, throwing her head back in laughter. She points a finger at JJ then you, then back to JJ. ‘You need a guard now?’

‘Bitch—’

‘JJ!’

He looks to you and his eyes are full of rage. His chest is rising up and down frantically; your thumb moves across his bicep, calming him down. You give him a look that says this is my fight and he relaxes, as much as he can.

‘Great,’ says the girl. ‘Discipline your dog.’

If JJ takes a step back, you take a step closer to her until you’re almost in her face. She’s about your height, a big bigger, and could likely easily take you down in a fight if she wanted to – but there’s more to you than just your build.

‘Say that one more time,’ you order through gritted teeth.

She doesn’t. She takes a step back instead, quivering before you. ‘Fucking psycho.’

‘No, you don’t get to be a bitch to me anymore. I’ve had enough of you and your fucking clique. I don’t give a shit what you say.’

‘What, because you got your dog to bite for you?’

‘Oh, I assure you, I take my own bites,’ you tell her, grinning slightly. ‘By the way, don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at him. Are you jealous? Are you wishing he was yours instead of mine? Because that’s never going to happen.’

‘Go to hell.’

You laugh. ‘Save me a spot.’

She flips you off, in a grandiose manner, and you can’t help but shudder. This isn’t you – sure, you can stand up for yourself, but it’s never been like this.

JJ takes hold of your hand and pulls you close. You relax at the feeling of his chest against yours, and your hands find their safe place on his back.

‘You were good,’ he tells you. ‘I was going to step in, but this was your fight.’

You feel yourself start to shake, and JJ holds you a little tighter. ‘It was too much.’

‘They’re not going to bother you anymore.’

Even if you don’t believe that just yet, you nod, because you feel like it’ll stop JJ from worrying about you. It doesn’t work – the moment you take a step back and he takes a look at your face, he tells you that you’re going back to the Chateau, at least for a bit.

None of the Pogues question it – they’ve all seen the showdown. The Chateau is quiet when you come there, stepping off JJ’s motorcycle. It’s a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere at the beach, but it’s good.

You feel like you needed a breather.

JJ takes off his helmet and walks around the bike, wrapping an arm around your waist. You let him pull you into the hug and you rest your head against his shoulder, breathing uneven.

‘Thank you,’ you say, ‘for being there for me today.’

He kisses your forehead. ‘Anything for my girl.’

★

tagging. @jjtheangel @teenwaywardasgardian @thelocalpogue @jjmaybanky @sacredto @chasefreakinstokes @shawnssongs @drewstarkey @thatsme-johnbookerroutledge @outrbank @yourlocalauthor @justawilddreamerchild @activist-af

#jj maybank #outer banks #obx #outer banks fic #obx fic #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank fic #f: obx #c: jj #my fic #my imagine #jj x reader

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ladyonfire28 · 4 years

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Here’s a (disastrous) translation of the interview Adèle Haenel in France Inter back, in their « Popopop » radio show back in June 2019, when she was promoting her film Le Daim. They rebroadcasted a couple of days ago. I’m really sorry about how messy that translation is, it’s even worse that usual lol. But anyway here you go:

Begins at 6:00 -

The lady interviewer, Charline Roux (CR), talks about Adèle’s filmography: Les diables, Naissances des pieces, l’Apollonide, Suzanne, Les Combattants etc.

6:45

The presenter Antoine De Caunes (ADC) says that if she gets two more Césars she can make a coffee table out of them (the 4 legs of a table). And she replies that only one César is enough for that.

7:00

De Caunes asks her how does she feel when she wins awards.

AH: It’s enjoyable obviously and it gives you confidence. And it’s encouraging. I try to be sincere in my work and to have this support reinforces my desire to work that way.

ADC: It makes you feel like you didn’t take the wrong turn ?

AH: Or everybody is taking the wrong turn with me

CR : You’ve been nominated almost every year for the César (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and she didn’t know yet but 2020)

AH: Yes it true

CR : So you’re not really taking any wrong turn here

AH: Yes but it’s not the reason why I do this, but I’m happy when it happens of course. It helps me staying confident in a job envrionment that is quite unsettling.

8:00

So then they said they asked for her « pop » list, which are her favorite book, film, tv show and song. So De Caunes says that Adèle’s book choice was Mémoire de fille by Annie Ernaux published in 2016.

Charline then talks a bit about the book and then Adèle reads a short extract of the book. Then she explains why she likes it.

9:23

AH: I love Annie Ernaux and you chose a very good extract for me to read because it talks about how she tries to find her presence in her absence of life. And this where she really tries to find who she is. And it’s very powerful and it’s a very honest writing.

DC: You like all of her writing ?

AH: Yeah I love the writer she is.

Then De Caunes says Adèle chose Carol as her favorite film. And then Charline explains the plot of the film.

10:35

Then De Caunes asks why she likes the film so much. If it was because of the complicated love story, Todd Haynes, Cate Blanchett, the drama, all of that ?

AH: It’s all of this together. To me it’s an amazing film, a film that makes the emotions speak. For me Cate Blanchett is an incredible actress, she plays that fantasized character but we also see the fractures that appear in her character and in the image. I find her way of working wonderful and the image is beautiful. And also the relationship between brave and beautiful people. I love that film.

ADC: When you see Cate Blanchett acting you as an actress -

AH: I’m so thrilled haha, it’s amazing

ADC: Yes but do you tell yourself « this is what I’m trying to reach » ?

AH: What I like about her is that she doesn’t try to just act well, she takes the job as a artistic research. And it wouldn’t be good to try to do like her but to follow that way of working, that spirit, that’s interesting.

CR: And what is great is that she does that no matter what is the film. She does that with Carol but also with Thor. Even in Thor we believe in it and she’s really good.

AH: She’s always searching and I don’t know her personally but this way of being is always the most enjoyable and the most interesting one.

12:08

ADC says they also asked her to chose a tv show but Adèle had nothing. And he asks her why she doesn’t watch them.

AH: Well I don’t know why. I just don’t. And I wasn’t going to give you a show like Une femme d'honneur *laugh* (it’s a terrible cheap French show)

CR : Because you really watch Une femme d’honneur ?

AH: No but not anymore *laugh*, it’s awful, but yeah I just don’t watch shows. I find them very interesting when people tell me the story but I don’t watch it.

ADC: Is it because it’s too long ?

AH: I don’t know, I just don’t, I don’t find the time for it, I’d rather read.

ADC: Well since we’re not scared of anything, we will recommend you one show that is linked with one of your inspiration for Le Daim

CR : You said you got inspiration from the Goosebumps books so we’re recommending you the series adapted from the books that was broadcast in the late 90’s on France 2. They’re now on Netflix

AH: I didn’t think of it but if I did I would have watched it.

ADC: Let’s finish your pop list with the song you picked and it’s this one: *Mississipi Goddamn by Nina Simone is playing*.

13:55

ADC: So what’s up with Nina Simone ?

AH: Nina Simone is an wonderful artist. Sometimes in her songs she’s really in the present moment and it’s the goal of every artist. I love everything she does and here it’s really beautiful because there’s a political thought that leads to anger that is used as an artistic inspiration and that’s very powerful.

DC: So you’re more Nina Simone than Joe Dassin, who’s in the soundtrack of Le Daim

AH: Well a priori yes.

Then they’re doing a mix of all her pop list.

15:20

DC: So do you recognize yourself in that mix ?

AH: Well it’s pretty well done live yes.

They play some music

17:00

De Caunes explains the story of Le Daim and tells Adèle it’s a pretty weird plot. She agrees. And he asks her if that’s how they presented her the movie.

AH: No they gave me the developed version of the story, which is called a script. And then I made my own pitch with it.

CR: So Quentin Dupieux didn’t just come to you and tell you « its’ a story about a guy with a jacket »

AH: Actually he didn’t explain me anything, he sent me the script directly

ADC: In the past Dupieux made Steak, Rubber and Réalité. But for that one he said he he wanted to film about madness. So are we close to that with that film ?

AH: Well to me there’s always a part of madness in all his films. I don’t know if we’re close to that but we’re in his world.

CR : What did you see from Dupieux before saying yes ?

AH: I loved Réalité. I didn’t know much about his films. And so I’ve been told to watch Réalité and I loved it. And I also saw Au Poste later. And What I love is that crazy side. And that’s why I wanted to do that film. The main character is the jacket, the supporting role is Jean Dujardin, and the third character is me. And I tried to make a character that goes along with the film's craziness.

Then they play a extract of the film.

19:35

Charline talks about Denise, Adèle’s character. And since we don’t know much about the character’s background she asks Adèle if she imagined one for her.

AH: No, not at all. I think all the characters are really uprooted in this film. What I tried to do is to find a goal for her. Her goal was to shake her reality by adding some craziness in her life, even if it becomes macabre in the end. So I tried to focus Denise’s fascination on the jacket. That was the idea. ADC: A suede jacket, which is the main character as you said, worn by an Oscar winner. How did you work with the jacket, did you feel like you had two different co-workers with Jean Dujardin and the jacket ? Was it easier, harder ?

AH: No it was great because originally, Denise was written in support of the character of Georges. And what I tried to do with Dupieux was to change this so Denise wouldn’t just look at Georges but also the jacket. And that’s how the relationship with Jean Dujardin could really be developed. Georges was so obsessed with that jacket, the only thing he was looking at were the people interested in the jacket and everything around the jacket. And when Denise started to focus on the jacket Georges saw a partner in her. So we built our relationship like that.

ADC: And you also yourself stopped wearing jackets, you came here in a sweater.

AH: No no, I just let my jacket outside

DC: Oh well sorry

CR: Dupieux said he wanted to talk about madness with this film but he also wanted to make his first realistic film. So how do we try to be realistic as an actress in that kind of film ?

AH: That was the whole point of the movie in the first place. My idea was to include my character into this crazy film and I didn’t try to be realistic. Jean Dujardin has an amazing character and totally crazy from the beginning and I thought I had to make my character become even crazier because she’s a normal person and we don’t see her becoming mad.

CR: So we have to ask that question. Do you consider your fashion style as « un style de malade » (it’s a catchphrase from the film that means « dope » basically)

AH: *laugh* yes yes… nope.

22:33

ADC: So I read that you have many inspirations from the Wolfe in Tex Avery, to Jim Carrey in The Mask or even Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut. What do you take from those people to make your own thing ?

AH: Well I kinda say this without really thinking about it. We all say stupid things sometimes. But what I like in Tex Avery is how you imagine your body as something else that what it is and I creates an physical imaginary that I love. For Nicole Kidman I don’t know, I must have answered that without really thinking.

ADC: You prefer Cate Blanchett now

AH: Yes I do, but I already talked about her. And for Jim Carrey, he’s the human version of Tex Avery. I love how he doesn’t even think about his acting and if he’s acting well. He’s going mad but with so much honesty. And it’s so great to see imagination pictured like that.

ADC: Is it something we develop more in comedy ?

AH: I think it’s more necessary in comedy. It’s harder to run away from that. But you can bring that in drama and all genres. There’s not just one way of acting, which is why it’s great.

24:11

CR: We’ve seen you more in dramas but comedies suit you very well like we saw in Le Daim or in En Liberté !. Is it a choice not to do a lot of comedies or don’t you get a lot of offers ?

AH: Until now people didn’t offer me a lot of comedy roles, they probably thought I was boring as fuck. But I’ve always loved comedy as a spectator, it’s a way to discover everything we can do in acting. We’ll see what happens now.

ADC: What do you find in comedy that you don’t in drama ?

AH: The imaginary is stronger in comedy. There’s also a very strong accountability. But it’s also present in drama, it’s pretty much the same, there’s a dialogue in both. And we’re also less in the continuity in comedy. That’s what I learned with Salvador in En liberté!. There’s a much more discontinuous rhythm in comedy, where in drama it’s usually more flat and it’s about the rise of emotions.

CR: And didn’t you talk about an experience that was more collective in comedy ?

AH: Yes we built the rhythm with two people. So yeah it’s a collective work with your colleague but also, for me at least, I can’t do comedy on my own, so the look and support of the director is really needed and they can help us with the acting. We’re more independent in drama.

ADC: in the soundtrack of Le Daim we only hear one song : *Et si tu n’existais pas by Joe Dassin plays*

AH: I love that song, it’s beautiful.

ADC: Is it a song that capture the craziness of the film ?

AH: well there’s that kind of nostalgia - I think it’s a very beautiful song, it wasn’t in my pop list but I love it. But yeah there’s that nostalgia, like a boat that leaves the coast and won’t ever come back.

26:43 - end.

#adèle haenel #adele haenel #le daim #france inter #popopop #sometimes i translate things

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lo-lynx · 4 years

Text

A brief defence of Selyse Baratheon (kinda)

CW: sexism

Spoiler warning: All A Song of Ice and Fire books

Now, I’m the first one to admit that Selyse Baratheon née Florent is an extremely unpleasant, filled with racism and internalised misogyny (see for instance Jon XI in ADWD… or any ADWD chapter she’s in… or any chapter she’s in generally). But nevertheless, I want to offer a brief defence of her, mostly because I’m tired of seeing her joked about in particular ways (both in story and in the fandom), specifically regarding her looks. This essay will most likely be shorter and have slightly less depth than my usual work, but I just wanted to get my thoughts about this out there.

When we’re first presented to Selyse in the prologue of A Clash with Kings she’s described thusly:

Lady Selyse was as tall as her husband, thin of body and thin of face, with prominent ears, a sharp nose, and the faintest hint of a mustache on her upper lip. She plucked it daily and cursed it regularly, yet it never failed to return. Her eyes were pale, her mouth stern, her voice a whip.

So, the reader immediately gets a description of her that’s not exactly flattering. In Storm of Swords we get a similar description from Davos’ fifth chapter:

Queen Selyse, a pinched thin hard woman with large ears and a hairy upper lip.

By A Dance with Dragons this has evolved to rumours of her having “a great dark beard” according Val (in Jon XI). Jon assures her that it’s only a mustache, but later Val counters:

You lied about the beard. That one has more hair on her chin than I have between my legs.

So, it seems pretty established that most characters think Selyse is ugly and notice this mustache of hers. In the Clash prologue that I started quoting, we also get one of the many mentions of how bad Stannis’ and Selyse’s marriage is:

Stannis had always been uncomfortable around women, even his own wife. When he had gone to King's Landing to sit on Robert's council, he had left Selyse on Dragonstone with their daughter. His letters had been few, his visits fewer; he did his duty in the marriage bed once or twice a year, but took no joy in it, and the sons he had once hoped for had never come.

So, Selyse’s marriage isn’t great, and she hasn’t been able to give her husband the sons he had wished for. Later, in Tyrion III, Littlefinger talks of Stannis’ and Selyse’s marriage like this:

Lord Stannis has spent most of his marriage apart from his wife. Not that I fault him, I'd do the same were I married to Lady Selyse.

So, further confirmation of the unhappy marriage, and further insulting of Selyse (probably of her looks, though it’s not made entirely clear). Then in ASOS Davos IV:

The throne is mine, as Robert's heir. That is law. After me, it must pass to my daughter, unless Selyse should finally give me a son.

My point with all of these quotes is basically to prove two things:

1) Selyse is continually described as ugly, with prominent ears and a mustache.

2) It’s continually pointed out how she hasn’t been able to give Stannis the sons he wants (one could of course argue that this is hardly just her fault…)

This, I argue, essentially makes her a failure as a woman in Westeros (and to a certain degree in our world).

As I’ve written on numerous occasions before, the gender norms of Westeros are very restrictive, and those who break them are generally punished. Based on how much different characters comment on Selyse’s, and other character’s, looks, beauty ideals seem to be part of those gender norms. We can see that Selyse’s body, particularly her ears and mustache, makes her ugly in many people’s eyes. Her body and looks doesn’t confirm to the norm, even less so the ideal. Researcher Denise Malmberg describes how the normative body in contemporary Western society is defined what it is not, for instance too fat, too tall, too short etc. I’m pretty sure we could add hairy and having prominent ears to the list of things an attractive body should not have. As Malmberg points out, women who are not seen as attractive, who aren’t sexualised, is in some ways seen as less of a woman. They’re not womanly, not feminine, not a proper lady. I also find it interesting that Selyse’s mustache in particular is pointed out so often. To me, it immediately brings associations of so called “bearded ladies” who often figured in the “freak-shows” of the 19th century and have remained in the public imagination ever since. As for instance researcher Clare Sears have pointed out, such shows often included people who in some ways broke gendered (and racialised) norms of embodiment, and in that way policed the borders of gender norms (2008). By showing for instance bearded ladies as “freaks” it became apparent to the public that having such a body was unacceptable. I’m not saying that GRRM purposely drew on such history when describing Selyse’s mustache, but I think the description of her looks have a similar effect; that is to show what is unnormal.

When it comes having children, loads of feminists and feminist researcher have written about motherhood’s significance for womanhood, for instance this is something Denise Malmberg mentions as well. Malmberg writes that a “normal” woman is expected to become a mother, and a woman who doesn’t have children is therefore exempt from true womanhood (this is also something I explore in this essay about disability and gender in ASOIAF). Authors such as Jack/Judith Halberstam, Sara Ahmed, Anna Siverskog etc. have all also written about how having children are expected by the heterosexual life script that we’re all expected to follow (2005, 5; 2006, 85; 2016, 14). I did a quick search for scientific articles about childfree women and got an overwhelming amount of results, and to write a complete overview of the topic would take ages. But, for instance, a 2011 article about childfree women in Australia found that childless women were seen as “unnatural” and unwomanly” (Rich, Taket, Graham, Shelley 2011). So, I think that we can conclude, that in general in society, women are expected to have kids. To not have kids is unnatural and unwomanly. The fact then, that Selyse is seen as not capable of giving Stannis a son, contributes to her being a bit of a “failed” woman in the eyes of Westeros.

So, in conclusion, the way Selyse is described in story makes it clear that she fails to live up to the norms and ideals of womanhood. For that I feel sorry for her. That’s it, that’s the defence. As I pointed out in the beginning of this essay, that doesn’t make her less of a horrible person with her racism against Free Folk, and internalised misogyny. That part of her personality should be critiqued, and harshly so. However, her looks are not part of that. It should be possible to criticise her without making fun of her mustache or ears. Such jokes only contribute to already existing sexist views of how people of different genders should act and look.

References

Ahmed, Sara. 2006. Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press: Durham

Halberstam, Judith. 2005. In a Queer Time and Place. New York: New York University Press.

Malmberg, Denise. 2012. “’To Be Cocky Is to Challenge the Norms’: The Impact of Bodynormativity on Bodily and Sexual Attraction in Relation to Being a Cripple.” lambda Nordica, 17:1-2, 194-216.

Martin, George RR. 2011. A Clash of Kings. Harper Voyager: London.

Martin, George RR. 2011. A Storm of Swords. Harper Voyager: London.

Martin, George RR. 2012. A Dance with Dragons. Harper Voyager: London.

Rich, Stephanie., Taket, Anne., Graham, Melissa. & Julia Shelley. 2011. “‘Unnatural’, ‘Unwomanly’, ‘Uncreditable’ and ‘Undervalued’: The Significance of Being a Childless Woman in Australian Society”. Gend. Issues, (2011)28:226–247.

Sears, Clare. 2008. “Electric Brilliancy: Cross-Dressing Law and Freak Show Displays in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco”, WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly, 36: 3-4, 170-187.

Siverskog, Anna. 2016. Queera livslopp. Att leva och åldras som lhbtq-person I en heteronormativ värld. Linköping: Linköpings universitet.

#asoiaf #selyse baratheon #cw: sexism

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route22ny · 4 years

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One Life

For the love of God, white America, which part of this don’t we get?

Do we not see the armed cop’s knee pressing down for senseless, endless minutes on George Floyd’s neck as he begs for air? Do we not hear a helpless, handcuffed, unarmed man’s pleas for breath and mercy? Do we not register how the whole murderous scene reeks of ownership, control, smug supremacy, and indifference so brutal and inhumane it is sickening?

Do we not see Ahmaud Arbery being killed by white men who had no right to accost him, let alone to shoot him dead because they “thought” he might have committed a crime? Do we not see their grotesque certainty that they had that right, because this man was black and they had guns and suspicions and questions he didn’t answer?

Do we not see how, until the videos held them accountable, the law was absent?

Do we not see, amid a pandemic that is killing black people at disproportionate rates, how decades and centuries of racism, discrimination and deliberate impoverishment of an entire people perform the same function as gun and knife and knee? Do we not see the line etched through history and drawn in blood from those deaths to Ahmaud Arbery’s to George Floyd’s?

Do we not see the irony in the protests? White protestors angry over public health measures storm the holy houses of the people’s democracy in military garb, waving military weapons, to intimidate cowed legislators into bowing to their threats—and are treated with kid gloves. Black protestors in Minneapolis taking to the streets to protest an unjust death are met with tear gas and militarized police. Be peaceful, they are told. But when Colin Kaepernick quietly took a knee, what then? And who would take a knee now, a peaceful symbol forever remade by violence?

When will we finally be honest with ourselves? This isn’t about how someone protests, or whether they transgressed, or any excuse we can possibly dream of to excuse our inhumanity and push away the discomfort. This is about skin. This is about belonging. This is about who gets to live truly free in America, and even more tragically, about who simply gets to live.

When I heard about George Floyd’s death and finally brought myself to watch the sickening video, I was reminded of a poem by the Irish theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama, who for many years led Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. A segment of that poem is worth rendering here:

"When I was a child, I learnt to count to five one, two, three, four, five. but these days, I’ve been counting lives, so I count

one life one life one life one life one life

because each time is the first time that that life has been taken.

Legitimate Target has sixteen letters and one long abominable space between two dehumanizing words."

One life. Ahmaud Arbery. One life. George Floyd. One life, died by gun noose fire COVID neglect poverty racism. Each the first time that life has been taken.

When did we stop counting in this country? No, better to ask: when did we ever count? Slaves were numbered as property but never counted as lives. Not until Bryan Stephenson built the National Memorial for Peace and Justice just a few short years ago did anyone bother to count and name the lynched. The ease with which we swap one precious life of a fellow human being for the cheap currency of legitimate targets stretches deep into our past and well into our present. We live in a country still doing its official damnedest not to count black votes, and in the Census, not to count lives at all.

Which part of this don’t we get? Oh, I think we understand most of it just fine. We see what we want to see, what we are trained to see. We too often ignore experience that is not ours. We choose this not seeing, this not hearing, this not caring, every time we excuse racist comments, police brutality, voter suppression, the discrimination that locks neighborhoods and families into poverty for generations. Every time we make it the victim’s fault, convince ourselves there were “special circumstances,” we lock in the guarantee that it will happen again, when we will pretend to be shocked once more, asking how it could happen in today’s America when what we should be asking is, how could it not?

I’ll tell you the part I think we miss, though, the part we never seem to get even if we “mean well”: how this affects us, all of us, even those who imagine themselves to be cocooned safely in their whiteness. How it corrodes our humanness. How it perpetuates division. How it limits potential. How deeply it degrades the country we purport to love and defend and honor. How bound we are, every one of us, to those who are killed. The perpetrators of these crimes make corpses of their victims and murderers of themselves, but they make monsters of the rest of us. In 1963, after the racist bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham killed four young girls, the Atlanta Constitution columnist Gene Patterson wrote a blistering column indicting the ethos of the white South that tolerated and fed such vicious hatred. It could have been written today. Here is a segment, with one change—I have replaced the word “South” with “America”:

"We watched the stage set without staying it. We listened to the prologue unbestirred. We saw the curtain opening with disinterest. We have heard the play. We -- who go on electing politicians who heat the kettles of hate. We -- who raise no hand to silence the mean and little men who have their [racist] jokes. We -- who stand aside in imagined rectitude and let the mad dogs that run in every society slide their leashes from our hand, and spring. We -- the heirs of a proud America, who protest its worth and demand it recognition -- we are the ones who have ducked the difficult, skirted the uncomfortable, caviled at the challenge, resented the necessary, rationalized the unacceptable, and created the day surely when these children would die. Let us not lay the blame on some brutal fool who didn’t know better. We know better. We created the day. We bear the judgment. May God have mercy on the poor America that has so been led. May what has happened hasten the day when the good America, which does live and has great being, will rise to this challenge of racial understanding and common humanity, and in the full power of its unasserted courage, assert itself."

One life. Addie Mae Collins, age 14. One life. Carol Denise McNair, age 11. One life. Carole Robertson, age 14. One life. Cynthia Wesley, age 14.

Patterson’s point was that responsibility for ending the violence that led to the loss of those four precious lives lay with white Southerners whose sins of omission and commission seeded the soil in which such acts took root. All of society, not just people whose black skin makes them the target, must recoil in disgust and rise up with one voice to demand, no more. In the 1970s, a decade after my family moved from our native Australia to a land with an even more troubled history of racial injustice, aboriginal activists in Queensland adopted this saying: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

It was the same concept articulated a decade earlier by Martin Luther King Jr. when he spoke of the “network of mutuality” that binds us all together. We cannot dishonor someone else’s one life without denigrating our own. We cannot stop the cycle of dehumanizing violence without giving up the idea that we are doing someone else a favor to stand alongside them in the call for justice. This is not altruism; the freedom, dignity, life we are fighting for is our own.

What does that mean for America, and for white America in particular? It isn’t complicated. Stop making excuses for the perpetrators and hold them accountable. Demand better of our leaders and hold them accountable. Change the laws and policies that devalue black lives and black communities. End the practices that lock in disparity and poverty. Stop dismissing racism as just another “issue” and see it for what it is: poison in the well from which we all drink.

Recognize, finally, that this is our collective fight—a fight for the soul of who and what we are.

***

Written by Grant Oliphant, President, Heinz Endowments.

source: http://www.heinz.org/blog-the-point/blog-detail/?id=75

***

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

#racism in america #grant oliphant #george floyd #heinz foundation #social justice

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doof-doofblog · 4 years

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"It's At An Insurance Company In Shoreditch!"

Monday 16th November 2020

Good afternoon / evening everyone! Hope you all had a brilliant weekend. This is quite an exciting post for me this one as this will be my 100th written blog post reviewing an episode of EastEnders, and I have a feeling it's going to be such a good episode to write about! I'm excited to get stuck in so let's jump right into it!

The episode begins with Kat sat on the sofa in her living room, checking the amount of her wages that Ian has paid her, as she checks them she notices that Ian has cut her short of the correct amount she's owed. As she's chatting to Stacey, the conversation turns the event which will be happening that night. It sounds as if this robbery she has planned with Phil will be going ahead that night. Kat informs Stacey to look after the kids and tells her that if they ask where she is, to make up some kind of logical excuse for her absence. Stacey once again tells her cousin that she still doesn't have to go through with this robbery and that they'll be able to find another way to find the money they owe Suki. But Kat is convinced that there is no other way and that this is the best shot she has of getting quick cash. As Stacey leaves the room, she suggests to take Kush with her to be on the safe side, suddenly Kush enters the room and informs Kat that he's planning on attending a Gambling Addiction meeting in an attempt to put things right between the couple. Kat informs her boyfriend that Phil has already organised for another driver, but Kush is quick to fight his corner and persuade her that whoever this other driver will be will not have her back as much as he will.

At the Vic, Ian is having what appears to be trouble with a supplier. As his brother and his family look across at him, its looks pretty clear that they have been made aware about what Ian has done to Kathy. Lexi tells his Uncle that the family aren't speaking to him anymore, as she sits with her Dad and Callum. As Ian takes himself behind the bar, Lexi asks her Dad what plans they have for that evening but Ben apologises to his daughter and explains he's having to work, to which Callum looks at him and pleads for him to be careful. Is Callum letting on that he knows what his boyfriend has planned? Or is he simply just showing support? Suddenly, Kat comes flying into the pub demanding Ian to pay her wages correctly, as she does so she sees Ben sat across the other end of the pub. As Ben and his family get ready to leave, Kat approaches him and asks who the new driver is that Phil's pulled in for the robbery, but before Ben can respond Ian is quick to insult Kat about cleaning for the Mitchell's and she storms off. Ian then enquires as to how much the Mitchell's are paying her but Ben really doesn't seem interested in making small-talk with his brother, he informs him that he's having to hold back really hard to not hurt him after what he did to their Mum, but he warns him that he ever pulls a stunt like that again, he'll come for him. I hate to say it, but I'm feeling glad that Ian has been making a lot of enemies lately, he seems to just be annoying everyone and he's digging his heels in deeper and deeper. There seems to be a lot of people he's upset right now - Max, Kathy, Sharon, Ben, Kat, Peter, Bobby, Dotty - I think someone needs to teach him a lesson!

After leaving the pub and witnessing Ian be the big "I am!", Max makes his way into the Café and finds Linda sitting on her own. They both greet each other as Max informs her about what has been happening in the Vic. It's then she mentions that her husband has gone to stay with their son, Lee, for a few days after the events that happened with him at the Vic. She informs Max that Ian had also sent them a bill for the bottle of alcohol that Mick accidentally smashed. Oh and what a coincidence! Max then happens to mention to Linda that he's actually thought of a way of getting back at Ian, to which she is instantly interesting in hearing his plan.

At the Masood/Ahmed household, (to which now Iqra, Ash and Tina are living in) Tina is confiding in Iqra about putting her foot in it with Mick and that he's not answering her calls, Iqra can kind of relate to Tina as she mentions that her sister, Habiba, has blocked her on all forms of social media. It seems as if they both have something in common when it comes to their families. Ash can be seen just listening in on their conversation as Iqra admits she doesn't know what to say to her sister if she'd try calling her. What is she supposed to say regarding Jags? In Iqra's mind, Jags is the one who's in the wrong - but of course Ash knows differently, she knows the truth. She grabs her coat and makes an excuse to leave, informing her girlfriend that she's going to work.

The next scene shows Jack visiting Denise once again, Denise informs him that she's been to the church with Raymond again and that the pastor gave her a book for Raymond. She informs Jack that she's been told more about Raymond's adoptive mother and how the little boy is constantly drawing pictures of his parents. Something is telling me that Denise feels like she might not be able compare to Raymond's adoptive Mother. Jack once again suggests she tells the young boy the truth about her identity in a case to make him feel more settled, he shuts the door behind him to make sure they don't have any interruptions whilst Denise tells her son who she is. Denise is looking a little bit nervous, but can only hope that the little boy will understand and accept the truth.

Returning to the Vic, Sharon is quick rush Ian into sorting the fact that they're running out of booze, Ian tries to reassure her that he'll get onto the supplier and sort it. Suddenly, Max and Linda sneak into the pub and they both make their way behind the bar announcing to the locals that all drinks will be free on behalf of Ian. Ian is absolutely stunned and can't believe what is happening. As Stacey and Jean enter also enter the pub, Stacey notices Linda behind the bar and comments how long it's been since she's seen Linda serving drinks. Linda appears incredibly happy to be where she once stood and she's looking even more happy to be helping Max wind Ian up. Ian is eager to stop what's happening before it the situation carries on or gets carried away but Max stops him from walking any further behind the bar and informs him he still owes him thousands of pounds! Ian questions him on how he's able to get that money so quick, but Max sarcastically suggests to him to rob a bank!

(Why do I have a horrible feeling that something is going to wrong with the robbery job that Kat and Phil are going to pull? Why do I feel that Ian might somehow get his hands on the money they get/nick, just so he can pay Max off? Will that then mean that the Slaters will be kicked out of their house? I admit I've got a very bad feeling that this robbery isn't going to end well!)

At the Mitchell household, Kat and Shirley are sat discussing the robbery job, Kat shows Shirley that she's made her a pass for her to get inside the building, she informs her that they may come in handy, unfortunately Shirley point out that she's made the blunder of putting their real names on the passes. As Phil and Ben make an appearance, Kat once again asks them who the new driver is that they've got for the job and inform her that it is in fact Shirley. Kat is left stunned as she informs them she needs her on the inside with her, but Phil reassures her that Shirley will be the best driver to get away. Kat is left reeling as she tells them to forget about the job and leaves, to which Ben runs after her. As he catches up to her outside, Ian can be seen in the background as Kat informs Ben that she'll get another driver, suddenly Ian speaks up - has he been listening to everything that they've been talking about? Is he aware that there's going to be a robbery? He asks his brother whether he could be a driver for them. Ben is clearly shocked, but as Ian continues to plead to his brother, it becomes clear that he is also desperate for money. Ben tells his brother to actually beg - it's clear that Ian is looking a little uncomfortable as he begins to kneel to the floor, to which Ben bursts out laughing and informs his brother that he wouldn't involve him if he was basically the last man on Earth. Things are looking really sour between to the two brothers, Ben is clearly angry with Ian because of what he did to their Mum. As Ben begins to walk away Ian shouts to him to stop acting like his Dad, which stops Ben in tracks, the next line really surprised me - Ian actually told his own brother that his Dad hates him - well clearly he doesn't know Phil and Ben as much as he thought, considering what Ben has gone through in the last few months regarding his hearing loss, Phil has tried his absolute best to support his son, even acknowledges his boyfriend which speaks volumes. Ben informs Ian that the relationship between him and his Dad is solid and the only person who is hated at the moment is him! As Ben makes his way inside the house, unfortunately, Ian notices that the pass made for Shirley has been accidentally left on the floor. What the hell is he going to do with that?!

Returning to Denise and Jack, as little Raymond is doing more drawings, Denise is trying to talk the young boy. I have to be honest, I found this scene very touching. Raymond is drawing a little picture on the floor as Denise is very softly talking to him about how his adoptive parents told him about "Another Mummy" who grew him in her tummy. Raymond nods his head in acknowledgement, showing that he knows what she's talking about, at such a young age he appears to understand. Denise asks whether he thought about her to which he gently nodded his head again, Denise then tells the young boy "That was me!" and she continues to mention how she gave him to special parents because he was a special boy. Suddenly Raymond turns around and gives Denise the picture he has drew, to which Denise instantly thinks is of his adoptive Mother, but when Jack notices that he's drawn a dress the same colour that Denise is wearing, Denise asks little Raymond whether the picture was of her, to which he smiles and nods. This was just an incredibly cute scene, I absolutely loved it! Beautifully done!

Returning to Ash, who has actually just gone to the Panesar household, she appears to be on the phone to Iqra, trying to reassure her that everything is fine. On the other end of the line, Iqra seems erratic, questioning her girlfriend why she left in such a rush and whether she is actually okay. Ash makes the quick excuse that she has to go and hangs up the phone. Behind her, we can see that Suki has been listening in on her daughter's conversation, trying to be the supporting Mother, she asks whether everything okay. But Ash admits that she's hating having to lie to her girlfriend, lying about Jags and everything else. Suki then tries to comfort her and explains that having to lie is probably best then telling a devastating truth. But then, Ash turns the conversation completely onto what her Mum is doing to the Slater's - are the Slater family even aware that she's planning on changing their house into studio apartments?! It looks as if Suki was planning on posting some fake letters to them, but then admits that perhaps she might think of another way of telling them. I really don't like Suki and I really hope that she'll get what's coming to her - eventually!

Back at the Slater household, Kush can be seen playing on his laptop again - is he really playing another game of poker?! Kat calls him from the hallway and he quickly shuts the laptop down before she can see. As she enters the kitchen she asks her boyfriend whether he was serious about seeking help for his gambling addiction, he confirms to her that he is. Kat then informs Kush that she's willing to let him join her on this robbery job if he's still interested, to which he seems incredibly eager to help out. He asks what's changed her mind, to which she explains that she needs someone to support her and be on her side - as it's fair to say that none of the Mitchell clan will be - she tells him that she does trust him as she leaves the room. As she enters the hallway we can hear her arranging with Phil to meet in the Arches, meanwhile Kush goes back onto his laptop, revealing that he has been playing Poker, yet again, but interestingly he actually pressed "Fold" and quits the game! I think the knowledge that Kat actually does trust him to help her with this job must've proved to him that he doesn't need to be playing Poker any more. Hopefully this will be the big turn around for Kush.

Meanwhile at the Vic, Max and Linda are once again sharing a drink. Sharon approaches them and questions Max's actions and how it would help Ian paying him back, but Linda is quick to defend Max, informing her friend that she hasn't laughed so hard for a long time. As Sharon leaves them to it, Linda confesses to Max how much she misses being behind the bar, Max understands and tries to comfort her, he tries to lift her spirits saying that that was her past, she bound to miss it, but she now needs to focus on the future. It's then that Linda reveals that she's had a new business idea, thanks to her son, Ollie. She reveals her new business idea would be superhero costumes for children with autism, to which Max agrees would be a brilliant idea. This is very interesting - does this mean that Linda might go down another road and start her own business? It could be a big success! Will Max convince her to go for it?!

At the Arches, Phil, Ben and Shirley are waiting for Kat to turn up, both Ben and Phil are looking a little bit tense. Shirley informs her boss that there will be other jobs, but Phil think that this opportunity it too easy to pass up, £100,000 for a few motors! It should be an easy job! Eventually Kat turns up and passes Shirley another leopard print piny, much to everyone's confusion. Phil makes the valid point that Shirley is going to be one of the driver's but then Kat reveals she's got someone else - as they all walk outside the Arches, Kush is seen standing very stern and he looks Phil dead in the eye. Will Phil agree to this arrangement?! Or does he perhaps feel that he could land them in trouble?! I mean, I don't think something should go wrong with the group they've got, but I fear something might go wrong for maybe one of two of them. What do you guys think? Is their robbery going to be a success? Or is something going to go horrendously wrong?!

Back with Jack and Denise, Jack praises Denise for the way she approached Raymond and revealing she was in fact his real Mum. Denise shows him the picture Raymond drew and he thought Jack was his new Daddy! Am I the only one who found this incredibly cute?! Jack at first looked in shock, but Denise reassured him that she's going to tell the young boy that they're just good friends - however from the look of both their faces, something tells me that they wish they could in fact go back to the way things were between them. I've got a feeling that they will rekindle their romance, they clearly still have feelings for one another, and perhaps Jack might come to love little Raymond as his own and they could be a family. Suddenly a voice from the hallway breaks the silence, Denise and Jack look in surprise as Kim walks through the door and announces her return! I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE KIM BACK!!! However, she's got a lot to find out - first she'll have to find out about Chantelle passing away, and then the bombshell of having Raymond back in her sister's life! How is she going to react to the recent news?!

Back at the Arches, Shirley and Phil voice their concerns about Kush being involved, they make the very valid point that there isn't any room for mistakes. Ben questions whether he even knows the plan, to which Kush then gives a note by note to what the plan entails. Phil questions whether Kush will make a mistake or not, but Kush makes his feelings perfectly clear to him. His family is on the line, their plan has to work! Phil acknowledges that Kush means business and that he's serious about being a driver for them. Phil instructs them to meet later in the evening with a car as they walk away, as they do, Kat is looking more nervous as the plan comes closer and closer together. Kush tells her not to worry, he has her back and everything will be fine. (Famous last words, right?!)

Returning home to Iqra, Ash starts making up an a story as to how her day was, Iqra is visibly not having any of it. She questions her girlfriend straight out as to whether she is seeing someone else, which takes Ash completely by surprise. Ash tells her girlfriend that that is not the case, however when Iqra reveals that she went to the hospital to drop off her lunch for her, she sees that her story isn't going to work. She then tells Iqra the truth that she was in face at her Mum's house, but however, she still doesn't tell her full truth and instead tells her that the reason she left was because of Tina. She explains that Tina is getting in the way of their relationship and that they're not being able to spend time alone together. Iqra appears relieved and states she'll tell Tina to move out, to which Tina then appears from the hallway with a devastated look on her face.

The final scene of this episode was a very good one I have to say! Callum is at work and we can see that he's sent Ben a message asking him to be careful, however DI Thompson walks in on Callum and informs him that he's got recorded footage from the recorder that he planted at the Arches! Ooooohhhh gosh, I had forgotten all about that! So everything that Kush, Kat, Shirley, Phil and Ben had discussed has all been recorded! Callum at first reveals that that is the first he has heard about it, but once again DI Thompson blackmails him, saying if he doesn't tell him what he knows, he'll make sure that Ben goes down for his part in this crime! As all this is taking place, Phil, Ben, Kush, Kat and Shirley are all seen wearing dark clothes, of course except for Kat and Shirley in their leopard print pinnies, and approaching their cars ready to set off for the robbery. However what they don't see as they drive off is Ian, stood in a phone box! He's only gone and phoned the police and reported them! Is this to get his own back on Ben and Phil?! I fail to see why Ian has done this, what is in it for him?! PRIDE!!!!!

Will the police already be there as they approach the building? Will they get away with the robbery? Will Callum be backed into a corner and reveal what he knows?! Or is something going to go terribly wrong and someone end up getting caught? I for one, pray it's not Phil or Ben, however something tells me it will be! What do you guys think? I know the following episode will probably be nail biting, but I'm really looking forward to watching it and catching up on it tomorrow and reviewing it!

Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing this blog post! I'll be back tomorrow following tonight's exciting episode! Enjoy the rest of your evening folks! xXx

#eastenders #katslater #kushkazemi #philmitchell #benmitchell #shirleycarter #ianbeale #callumhighway #maxbranning #lindacarter #sharonwatts #tinacarter #iqraahmed #ashpanesar #suki panesar #denisefox #jackbranning #kimfox #staceyslater

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bestofallhans · 4 years

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Normal problems?

I liked the BBC’s adaptation of Normal People. I watched it fast, and felt nostalgic for those years of my own life in equal measure to realising how universal the feelings of self-doubt, discovery and searching are amongst the age group it depicts. But the more I think about it, the more I have issues with the story as a representation of sexuality, awakening, and the transition from childhood to adulthood. What initially feels like a very 2020 treatment of teenaged sex - lots of double checking on consent and mutual pleasure - is actually not all that egalitarian or progressive on second glance. Here’s how I saw it…

Her narrative arc isn’t clear

Initially, Normal People is the story of Marianne. She’s obnoxious to her teachers, arrogant to her peers and like many of us in that last year before university; she can’t hide her disdain for her small-pond hometown a second longer. So far, so relatable.

***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!***

What troubled me though was not how far she came, but the opposite. In the last episode, she asks Connell’s mum what people think of her own mother. The answer is “she’s a bit odd”, and most certainly, we are directed to feel Marianne’s realisation of how similar they are rather than how different. Most of us over 30 might say we’ve had this moment. “There but for the grace of God….” mixed with the revelation that our parents are both human thus flawed, and that they were trying their best to give us more than they had - even if it really didn’t feel like it at the time.

But the problem is - I didn’t feel she had come very far. Only a few minutes before (admittedly 4 months in plot time), she was telling Connell he could do whatever he wanted to her. If there was something I wanted from Marianne at the end, it was the idea that despite appearances, she would put herself first. But she never does. Even in the final scene, she’s telling Connell that he should go do his thing, and she’ll stay put. She says they don’t know if they’ll wait for each other, but she doesn’t seem to offer much that she’ll be doing in the meantime, other than perhaps finding another poor substitute for Connell, who’ll either turn out to be abusive or a damp squib.

Her fierce intellect got her a scholarship, but we have no idea what she’s doing with it. Whilst Connell finds himself in multiple golden opportunity situations, the assurance Marianne had of her place in the world has disappeared and we haven’t even noticed.

My point is that the girls who get ‘A’s across the board at school are erased from professional success in the real world, and if this was supposed to be anything other than a mirror of that, it fails. Marianne’s intellect is erased before she’s even graduated. Now everyone recognises Connell’s brain, and she’s literally standing on the sidelines (when his triumphant literary journal is published).

Bechdale test: does not pass

In fact, we spend a lot of time listening to men speak and women allow them to. The only person who carries on referencing Marianne’s brain is ace friend Joanna. But this is poised with its own problems too. Joanna is bypassed for a sexual storyline, talked over by Jamie (albeit with a nonplussed side-eye), and even vocalises her own fate: “did we get married and become 50 without noticing?”

Which brings me on to the most disappointing element of the adaptation. I realise this is a romance, and thus our main concern is going to be, well, the lovers, but good lord do people think of nothing else? Even at 20, I was very aware that I wanted to have friends whose pants-contents I was not interested in.

The frisson of meeting new people as an adult is definitely intoxicating, and for many people I realise that this is the first time they’ve been doing this stuff (I wasn’t far ahead) but the whole plot centred on who was in whom.

Wait, it’s more nuanced than that - no female character was allowed an identity that did not reference her sexual choices: Marianne, Lorraine (“you were my teenaged mistake, son”), Peggy (“you could have a threesome with me”, “everyone’s saying she’s into S&M, was that your influence?”), Denise (defined by her violent ex and equally shitty son) etc, etc.

Connell and several other male characters, some of who we know very little else about, have career prospects (Alan is doing well at work over family dinner), interests (debating, photography, writing) and friendships that don’t revolve around outing each other’s sexual proclivities (even poor Rob). This is based on a novel written by a woman. I’m disappointed her female characters can’t have an identity beyond their sex lives.

Her sexuality is up for judgement, his is not

Then there’s this undercurrent of ‘why’ both Marianne and Connell are drawn back to each other. From about halfway through, I thought we were going to get a revelation about Marianne’s childhood; either her dad or brother or maybe both, had abused her. I thought I saw a few hints of this, but nothing transpired.

The reason I am disappointed by this is nothing to do with ‘wanting’ there to be that storyline present. I felt that ‘the way’ Marianne ‘is’ was being judged. It’s easy to see a short jump from Jamie’s insecurity to him wanting to act out porn style sex to make himself feel powerful. But as she spirals into increasingly more detached relationships, I felt the judgement amp up. The sadder she is, the heavier the masochism gets.

But, and I’m no expert, that isn’t how it works. If Marianne is expressing her preferences, they are not altered by her sadness. They do not represent her ‘broken-ness’ and will not go away when she’s ‘fixed’ or happy. Here, I found a deep misrepresentation of ‘normal sex’, that is both damaging to the viewer’s understanding of the breadth of sexual preferences and the plot. So, if she was asking for things she didn’t want - why no address that? We’re left believing that she only wanted to be hurt because she thought that was the only way she was attractive to whichever man. Neither is gives Marianne much agency.

Connell on the other hand is a nice, normal boy who wants to have nice, normal sex. In fact, so little of his characterisation is about his sexuality, we only ever see him have sex with one other person - Helen. And it could be Marianne if you squint a bit. We aren’t asked to align Connell’s enjoyment of sex with his state of mind or his success as an adult. In fact, it’s a mistake that everyone forgives him for as a schoolboy - he was obsessed with people finding out he was with Marianne, and as Eric points out, “everyone knew” and no one even mentioned it. Whilst Marianne only experiences everyone’s judgement more as she gets older.

Where does it leave us?

I haven’t read the book. I don’t think anyone who made the series sat down and thought ‘let’s make this show shame female sexuality and erase female intelligence’. But this is the feeling I was left with. A beautifully shot, cast and acted piece of TV that doesn’t quite hit the mark on progressive attitudes to female agency isn’t a crime; but it’s a missed opportunity.

#Normal people #tv #feminist critique

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theyearoftheking · 4 years

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Book Forty-Six: Hearts in Atlantis

“There are also books full of great writing that don’t have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story... Don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read something for the words- the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers that won’t do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.”

As a lifelong and Constant reader, there are certain books that act as a time machine... I can remember where I was when I cracked the spine for the first time, my current mental state, how the people in my life impacted the way I viewed the characters, current events... the best type of books do this for you. They act as a time machine and take you back to being young and eighteen, even when you’re forty, your back hurts and you no longer have the deep sleep that only the youth are blessed with.

Hearts in Atlantis is this book for me.

I remember being eighteen, and sitting on the second floor porch of the Edgewater in Old Orchard Beach, Maine; devouring the advanced reading copy like it was my job. Well, it kind of was my job; I was gainfully employed at a bookstore that took more of my money than I made. I remember a young, cute cleaning guy seeing my book, and telling me to drive up to Bangor and find Steve’s house. This struck me as a particularly inspired idea, and I convinced my mom and sister to do it.

For the very young Constant Readers, this was back before the days of social media and accessible internet. There was no typing, “How do you get to Stephen King’s house?” into Google. So, we took off on our drive, and stopped at the Bangor Chamber of Commerce and stupidly asked, “Hey, how do you find Stephen King’s house?”

They proceeded to give me directions which I jotted down...and kept! Finding this piece of paper tucked inside the book made me smile.

But spoiler! The directions are backwards. Back in the day before social media, Bangor protected Steve (well, except for the asshole who hit him with his van), and they didn’t give directions out to his house to obvious tourists. Thankfully, my sense of direction is terrible, and we accidentally found Steve’s house anyway! I wish I still had the pictures, I remember grinning like a fool. It’s still one of the craziest, most spontaneous adventures ever.

Is Hearts in Atlantis a good book?

Yes.

Is my review colored by the memories surrounding this book?

Also yes.

And honestly? My reading of it this time was far richer because of all the Dark Tower references I hadn’t yet read. It’s obvious in the first novella that Steve is deep in Dark Tower thoughts. The concepts of Breakers hasn’t even been discussed in the previous four books yet. So let’s get into it, shall we?

Hearts in Atlantis is broken up into five novellas and in my opinion, the first is the strongest, and they get progressively weaker as they go on (still good, just not AS good).

The first one, Low Men in Yellow Coats centers around the unexpected friendship between Bobby Garfield and his new neighbor, Ted Brautigan. Bobby is being raised by his cold, and slightly distracted single mother, and Ted hires him for a kind-of detective job: looking for missing pets signs around the neighborhood, “items for sale” signs hung upside down in the local grocery store, and hearts, stars, and moons drawn around hopscotch outlines. If Bobby sees any of these things, he needs to tell Ted immediately, because it means The Low Men are after him. The Low Men wear yellow coats, and drive around in obnoxiously flashy cars. Ted doesn’t explain WHY they’re after him, he just explains they’re bad guys.

In the midst of his detective work, Bobby is hanging with his friends Sully-John and Carol Gerber, who he might be feeling some kind of way towards. There’s a day at the beach, and a kiss on the Ferris wheel that’s particularly sweet in it’s innocence. But then Sully John leaves for a week of YMCA camp, and Bobby is left mostly with Ted. Ted recommends Lord of the Flies, which changes Bobby’s life. He swears he’ll never go back to reading kids books again.

Bobby’s mom is really suspicious of Ted, but not too suspicious, since she leaves him in charge of Bobby while she goes to a real estate conference with her creeper of a boss. A word about Bobby’s mom. I find her to be one of the worst Steve villains written. She’s truly as evil as Pennywise. Why? Because she’s real. And there are moms out there like her. Moms that let their kids go without, but always manage to have a fresh manicure or a new bag. Moms that blame their poor living situation on their ex, and make their kids feel bad about it. Moms that just don’t like their kids. It’s a thing. And it makes me sad.

While she’s at her conference, Bobby and Ted hit up a sketchy bar in an equally sketchy neighborhood, where Ted makes a bet on an upcoming boxing match. Bobby then understands Ted has powers: he can see into the future and can read minds. And when he touches Bobby, his ability brushes off on him. Bobby has seen some of the things Ted has been warning him about, but he hasn’t told Ted, because he didn’t want Ted to get spooked and leave town. Bobby doesn’t have a lot of people who have shown an interest in him the same way Ted has.

The story comes to a climactic point when Bobby finds Carol being beaten up in the woods by some neighborhood boys. He carries her back to his place where Ted fixes her dislocated shoulder. Bobby’s mom walks in beaten up (physically) from her time at the real estate conference, and assumes Ted is molesting Carol based on the way he’s touching her, and his torn shirt.

Ted leaves, Bobby is hysterical, and his mom goes to take a nap. Bobby heads back to the bar he and Ted went to, assuming Ted is going to stop there to pick up his gambling wins. Bobby finds the Low Men escorting Ted away. Come to find out, he’s a very powerful breaker: one who can break the beams The Dark Tower is resting upon. If the breakers all go, there’s no Tower.

SO MANY DARK TOWER REFERENCES!

“All things serve the Beam”

“Ka”

“Other worlds than these”

“The Crimson King”

“All things serve The King, or All things serve The Beam?” <- a moral dilemma for our times.

“Tower, Beams, and Breakers”

So, Ted is shuffled away by the Low Men, Bobby ends up with his winnings, his mom recovers from her sexual assault, she and Bobby move away, and he keeps in touch with Carol. One day, she sends him a letter she had received from Ted, with the most beautiful rose petals inside. Tis ka.

Novella two is Hearts in Atlantis... the story of how the Vietnam War affected a group of students on the University of Maine campus in Orono, especially Peter Riley.

Pete shows up on campus with his Goldwater bumper sticker, and eventually leaves as a war protester with a peace sign scrawled on the back of his letterman jacket. It’s an honest look at how college changes kids. Few kids leave with the same beliefs and sheltered world views they go in with. And no, Karen, it’s not indoctrination by liberal professors... sometimes kids talk to each other and realize they’re not all the same, and some have viewpoints worth listening to, and potentially adapting. Mind-blowing, I know.

There’s a lot of card playing... so much card playing in fact, most of the boys don’t end up coming back to campus. This isn’t great, since you’re on the draft list if you’re not in college. Pete makes friends with, and eventually hooks up with Carol Gerber, who has to break it to her boyfriend John Sullivan (Sully John) that she’s kind of in love with someone else. Awkward.

Carol ends up protesting the Vietnam war, and drops out of college. Pete never hears from her again. He pulls his shit together, passes his classes, and realizes his original viewpoints on politics was silly and sheltered. It’s a great story.

Novella three is Blind Willie, and it’s a short, strange little story. Bill Shearman (one of the boys who beat Carol Gerber up in the first novella), travels to his office in New York City where he transforms into Blind Willie, a Vietnam war vet who panhandles for change. It’s unclear if his wife knows this is how he brings money home, and it’s also slightly unclear whether or not Bill actually becomes blind when he puts on his Blind Willie costume. But, his claim to fame is that John Sullivan pulled him out of the jungle and onto a helicopter during the Vietnam War.

Novella four is Why We’re In Vietnam and starts with John Sullivan going to the funeral for a soldier he served with in Vietnam. We find out John is frequently visited by an elderly woman he witnessed being killed in Vietnam. He refers to her as “Mamasan”. John ruminates over his fallen soldiers (some of whom were dropouts from the University of Maine Orono campus, and all knew Pete Riley), what the war did to his life, and how upset he was that Carol Gerber became an extreme protester who ended up blowing up a building that killed quite a few people, including (presumably) herself.

On his way home from the funeral, he’s stuck in crazy traffic. He looks over, and thinks he sees Carol in a car a few lanes over. He goes over to investigate, and all of a sudden, heavy, deadly garbage starts falling out of the sky. One of the things that falls is Bobby Garfield’s old baseball mitt (that Bill Shearman had stolen from him when they were kids). John grabs the mitt and tries to duck the garbage. Mamasan beckons him to her, and promises to take care of him.

There was no garbage falling out of the sky. John was killed by a major heart attack. But, he did somehow end up with Bobby’s baseball glove. Curious.

The final novella, Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling recap Bobby Garfield going back home for John’s funeral. He meets with Carol; who is no longer Carol, and now Denise Schoonover; her new identity after that whole ‘blowing up a building, killing people and faking her own death’ thing. Carol/Denise has his old baseball glove, and somehow got it from Ted, who got it from John. I’m not sure. And then fade to black.

It’s a lovely collection of novellas, all strung together with the same group of characters. Admittedly, I’m too young to know anything real about the 1960′s beyond bell bottoms and peace signs, so it was a slice of history and culture. And it wouldn’t be a Steve book if there weren’t mentions of the Derry newspaper, and a chambray work shirt.

There was one Wisconsin mention. In the first novella, Sully John’s mom was taking the Greyhound to northern Wisconsin for vacation. God bless. My own family wasn’t even able to do that this summer. #thankscovid

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 29

Total Dark Tower References: 45

Book Grade: A+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

Needful Things: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Hearts in Atlantis: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B

Storm of the Century: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Regulators: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Next up we have On Writing; which I also adore. But I need to build up all this goodwill and warm feelings toward Steve, because Dreamcatcher is right on the horizon, and to borrow a quote from the second novella, “It sucks the rigid cock of Satan.”

Seriously, y’all...

That is hands down one of the best insults I’ve heard in a long time. If I wasn’t the mother of an already feral child, I’d start using that on the reg. Do me a favor, and find a subtle way to use it in conversation sometime soon.

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca

#hearts in atlantis #stephen king #constant readers #the dark tower #ka #derry #the gunslinger #chambray shirts #vietnam war #rigid cock of satan

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loljulie · 5 years

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title: bet on it

genre: borderlands

timothy lawrence x reader

word count: 2522

(am i really making timothy lawrence imagines now?? yes, yes i am. just to put this piece of work into a clearer setting:

Y/N is CEO of hyperion now because she was decently close to jack before he died, and he promised his position to her. she is a much nicer CEO than him, and when she got power she def absolved timothy’s contract but he stayed with her anyway because, cute love or whatever.

timothy is kinda flustered, kinda confident in this because in this AU he’s had a lot of time to explore who he is without jack around

i really have this whole character’s backstory planned out so maybe expect more imagines in the future as i explore their relationship?? also don’t come @ me about the title it’s midnight and i couldn’t be clever, but Y/N and timothy watch a spaceball game and it’s just baseball in space because, once again, i’m not clever)

Tired fingers stretched across the keyboard, typing up an email you had been pushing off nearly all day. You sighed as you held down the backspace key and deleted the previous minute’s work, not quite liking how your sentence sounded. Being CEO was awesome as hell for the most part, but you as you stared at the blinking cursor, you suddenly loathed the title.

The door to your office opened. You didn’t need to look up to know who it was, as there was only one person who was allowed to walk in unannounced.

“Ah, perfect timing - I needed somebody to blow my brains out so I don’t have to write this damn email,” you muttered as Tim’s footsteps came to a halt in front of your desk.

“It sounds like I should’ve come earlier, then,” he commented, and you finally tore your eyes away from the illuminated screen to look at him. You were slightly surprised to see him in more casual clothes than he normally wore, as he sported a short-sleeved shirt with Hyperion’s logo across it and jeans. It fit him very well, so much so that you got mildly distracted staring at him. “The spaceball game is about to start, so we’d better hurry.”

“The - what?” You asked, your eyes narrowing at the unfamiliar word.

“Spaceball, remember?” He repeated in a more questioning tone. When he saw that you still didn’t understand, he went on. “You signed off on the request for some workers to form their own teams and play against each other at the end of the fiscal quarter - which happens to be today.”

He didn’t need to remind you of that; the email addressed to accounting was still waiting to be written. You let out a large sigh and rubbed your hands over your eyes.

“I totally forgot, babe,” you mumbled between your hands. “I don’t think I can make it, this email-“

“Can be sent tomorrow,” Tim gently goaded as he walked around your desk to get to you. “The workers have been training all quarter long for this and an appearance from their CEO would help their morale for next quarter.”

You didn’t speak, just let out a soft grunt to let him know you heard. He had a point, after all.

“And, from the looks of it, the CEO could use some morale too.” You felt his hands envelope your own as he moved them away from your face. “You’ll work yourself to death one day, you know.”

You looked into his beautiful heterochromatic eyes and attempted one more weak protest.

“I don’t even know what spaceball is - I just signed it so our employee health and wellness budget went somewhere useful.”

Tim wrapped his hands around your wrist and slowly brought you up to your feet. Though you brought up reasons to not go, you and him both knew that you’d ultimately cave in to his demands. He was the only one who could chide you into taking time off for yourself when you forgot to; and without him, you probably would’ve gone delirious.

“I’ll explain it all on the way down, pumpkin,” he assured. You lifted your hands from his grip to grab your coat from the back of your chair.

Your uniform was all designed by your assistant, and you had to admit she did an impeccable job. Despite it being a black long coat, the material was light and breathable; the inside was lining was a smooth, silky yellow, and a golden “H” pin adorned the space above your left breast.

While it had the option to be buttoned, you left it open to reveal your white, collared shirt which tucked perfectly into your high-waisted black pants.

Really, you would’ve prefered your outfit from your prior-Hyperion-CEO days, but Denise insisted that you dress the part for your employees. The heeled boots you wore made you feel badass enough to accept the change to your wardrobe.

You began to walk in pace with Tim, who managed to interlock his left hand with your right one as you made your way to the elevator down the hall from your office.

“So, the batter has to hit the ball and run to first base…”

As the elevator slowly descended the space station, you listened intently to Tim’s description of whatever “spaceball” was. Games and recreation of that sort were never something you enjoyed growing up, which meant almost all aspects of the game were confusing to you.

“Wait, so how many times do the teams switch spots?” You asked after he explained what it took to have the different teams switch sides.

“Well, there’s 9 innings, so -”

“9? Why do they need so many?” You asked, incredulous. “Who came up with that number?”

“I, uh…” Tim trailed off, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “I actually don’t know, that’s just the number.”

The elevator doors opened, and the two of you stepped out into an old storage bay that had been transformed into a makeshift stadium of sorts. Tim had mentioned that they only had time and space to build half of a stadium, but its appearance still stunned you nonetheless. You were surprised to see just how many people made up the audience alone; rows and rows of seats piled to the ceiling were filled with employees (and family members, you had to guess, because there was no way Hyperion had that many workers).

Tim gently guided you away from the main ramp that audience members were still funneling into, and up a flight of stairs. After entering the door at the top of the stairs, you were met with a moderately sized room - one big enough for plush seating for two and a table in the back for refreshments. A large window revealed the interior of the stadium below, and you realized that you were placed above home base. In the middle of the ledge was a microphone that, you guessed, was placed there in case you needed to make any announcements.

The opposite side of the stadium, where the wall would have normally been empty and barren, was decorated with a large screen that displayed a countdown. You walked to the front of the window, and gazed out at the people below and around you.

Some employees had been watching the box for your arrival, and though you didn’t recognize most of them, they still seemed to be delighted by your presence. Those who noticed you quickly turned to their seat partners and, soon enough, more pairs of eyes looked your way.

The teams, which were out in the concrete field throwing a couple balls around, noticed your arrival too. The only way to distinguish the two different teams was the fact that half of the men on the field had on a black shirt with yellow trimmings, and the other a yellow shirt with black trimmings.

A member of the black-shirted team caught your gaze and winked at you; had you been your predecessor, that would’ve undoubtedly been the man’s last action.

“So, who’s going against who?” You asked as Tim sidled up next to you at the window.

“Well, instead of having two departments go head to head, I thought it’d better promote interdependent teamwork and have a mixture of employees on each team,” he answered as he rested his forearm against the ledge and leaned his tall body forward.

“Look at you,” you chirped, mimicking his position while you moved close enough to touch shoulders. “Maybe you should be CEO instead.”

“Yeah, no thanks, I’m good,” Tim hastily replied, causing you to chuckle at his obvious disinterest.

Below, an announcer began to tell everyone to take their seats as the players got into their positions. The digital countdown vanished, and instead showed a live feed of some of the players getting ready.

“Who do you think’s going to win?” You asked as you scanned the players below, wondering your own answer to the question.

“Black, definitely. I’ve seen their practices and, based on the numbers, they’ve got this in the bag.”

You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped your lips at his response. Tim, looking suddenly offended by your reaction, bumped into your shoulder. “What?”

“I just can’t believe you’re nerdy enough to calculate that,” you commented, giving him a playful shove back. A smile tugged at Tim’s lips as you let out another laugh.

“Since you’re going black, I’ll root for yellow,” you decided as the first team came to bat. “Gotta go for the underdog.”

“Really? You confident enough to bet on it?” Tim asked, his voice laced with a smugness you rarely heard. It spurred you to challenge him even more.

“Of course I am. What are we betting?”

“A kiss?”

“Too lame,” you dismissed. When you saw his mock look of shock, you continued. “There’s not enough risk involved there. What about winner gets to choose whatever the loser has to wear the next time we’re alone together?”

A red blush crept onto Tim’s cheeks. You felt a smirk appear on your face at his reaction, glad to know you could still make him redden after all this time.

“Deal.” Despite his flushed face, Tim’s voice was steady as he held out his hand for you to shake. You gripped his hand tightly, and met his eyes with a fiery gaze. You couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.

So far, you weren’t doing a good job at that. As the 4th inning came to a close, the black team was ahead by 4 points. Tim, who sat next to you, radiated an aura of smugness you needed to see defeated.

“I told ya, (Y/N), the numbers don’t lie.”

You sat on the edge of the seat, though you had started watching the game in Tim’s embrace. Your jacket had long been discarded on the chair behind you, and your sleeves were rolled up as if watching the game had been some sort of manual labor. The threat of losing a bet to your boyfriend was becoming more and more real, and it was something you couldn’t let happen.

You got up just as the teams began to switch out and a short, loud song played as you made your way to the window. After switching the microphone on, the music subsided, and you began to speak.

“Yellow team, this is your boss speaking.” You felt a thousand pairs of eyes land on you, including the one pair on the back of your head. “I have the utmost faith in you and I believe that you will win this goddamn game. Make me proud, boys.”

You switched the microphone off as about half of the audience cheered and whooped in agreement. Tim’s eyebrows were raised as you sat back down in your seat, allowing yourself to lean somewhat into his side.

“Worried you might lose the bet?” He asked.

“Why, are you already imagining what you’ll have me wear?” You retorted, knowing full well that your words would cause a blush to rise on his cheeks and effectively knock him down a peg.

You angled your neck up slightly to look at him, which confirmed your prediction. Though the wave of competitiveness was still strong inside you, the opportunity to mess with your boyfriend a little bit more was too strong for you to ignore. You planted a kiss just below his ear, and whispered, “because I’m already doing the same for you.”

When you placed another kiss on his neck, you felt Tim gulp as his arm tensed around you.

Your pep talk clearly had done some good for the yellow team, as their performance drastically improved. Tim expressed his shock to you multiple times as they gained point after point, eventually surpassing the black team’s score. By the end of the 8th inning, you settled comfortably in your seat knowing there was no chance the black team could claim a victory.

As the players switched again to start the 9th inning, the giant screen began to focus on a couple in the crowd. A pink border framed the live feed and text in the bottom corner read “Kiss Cam!” The couple in the video smiled, gave a quick peck, and the camera moved to another couple.

You smiled as you watched the various couples respond differently to being put up on the kiss cam; some were embarrassed and shy, while others embraced the attention and showed off their partners. Every time a couple was featured, the audience would cheer and clap for them. It seemed that, as weird and foreign as this event was to you at first, it really did help build morale.

As you watched the couple on the screen laugh with each other after sharing a modest kiss, the scene changed once more and you realized you were staring at you and Tim, cuddled next to each other. The audience grew louder than you thought possible in their cheers and screams, and you felt your heartbeat quicken as you looked at Tim.

You remembered how, when you first started your relationship with him, everything had to be kept secret in fear of what Jack’s reaction might be; even after it all had passed, and everybody knew who the CEO was dating, you still kept public displays of affection at a minimum.

Yet, with how Tom gazed at you and the cheering of the crowd, you wanted nothing more than to give in to the desire to kiss him. He must have known what was on your mind by the way your face relaxed, because soon Tim’s lips were on yours for the first time that night. His slender fingers curled into your hair as he lightly kept your face against his.

You didn’t think the crowd could have gotten any louder, but the instant your lips touched Tim’s, an unbelievable uproar of claps and whistles ensued. It didn’t make much sense to you why seeing your boss kiss her boyfriend was so exciting, but frankly, their reaction gave you all the more reason to continue.

Eventually, the audience died down, and you pulled away just long enough to see the camera instead focus back on the game itself. You looked back at Tim, who was red in the face and out of breath.

“Should we go back to watching the game?” You asked, though you saw in Tim’s eyes that spaceball was the last thing he wanted to pay attention to, despite how excited he had been about it before.

“Absolutely not.” And, as if to cement his answer, he brought his lips back onto yours and used his free arm to pull you onto his lap.

You didn’t remember anything from the 9th inning other than Tim’s warm lips, tight grip, and soft hair. You were sure people were still occasionally watching the CEO’s box, so you reluctantly made sure the two of you didn’t get too far. You did, however, promise Tim that the two of you would finish what you started later that night.

And, for the record, the yellow team totally won.

#borderlands #timothy lawrence #timothy lawrence x reader #borderlands imagines

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captainstrekkinlog · 4 years

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Star Trek: Picard - 1x01 “Remembrance” In-Depth Analysis

Let me start this off by saying, I think this is the strongest series premiere of any of the live-action Star Trek shows to date.

There is a confidence in this episode that none of the other shows had. It’s no secret that every single Trek show has sometimes struggled in finding its footing in the beginning, it’s not easy to make these shows after all. But it seems that from the onset Star Trek: Picard was a show that knew what it wanted to be and what it needed to be. What struck me the most watching this episode is how very deliberate each action is taken. This story was crafted with meaning and intention, they knew what they wanted to convey and they’re going to take their time walking down the path they set.

If the rest of this season are at the level of this premiere, then this might just become one of the best first seasons of any Trek show.

Now with that out of the way, let’s get to breaking down the episode in all its delicious details. This will be a long one as I break down scene by scene.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So we begin with a dream sequence as Blue Skies (sung by Bing Crosby, grandfather of Tasha Yar’s actress Denise Crosby) plays. A wonderful shot of the Enterprise D with Picard and Data playing poker. Picard looks to be in civilian attire, while Data is seemingly in his Nemesis era uniform. The way this scene is set up immediately feels dream-like, especially with the song, which we heard Data last singing it at Riker and Troi’s wedding.

There is a feeling of melancholy in the scene, almost as if Picard’s own consciousness knows this is not real but he wants to keep pretending that it is. As he even says, he doesn’t want the game to end. He much rather wanting to cling onto the past than be awake in a present-day that he isn’t enjoying. As he even says later, it’s the waking up that he’s beginning to resent, and as we find out later on in the story, this dream world is probably a happier place for him than what life is like for him in the years since Data died.

Here in Picard’s dream, he gets to keep holding onto the past - more time with Data, more time playing the poker game that he never got to enjoy until the end, more time for all the things he was in many ways, robbed of doing.

One funny note, Picard offers Data milk, but we did see in one of the TNG episodes where Data comments that he hates milk.

Data is also holding 5 Queen of Hearts, which Picard frowns at. I’m not sure exactly yet what this may represent, it is possible that this could be a foreshadowing to something else down the line. As I said before, the writers and director were very deliberate with every single detail, so I would imagine this Queen of Hearts thing to have a meaning, we just may not know it yet.

This scene ends with the Mars attack that we saw in the Children of Mars Short Trek and leads to Picard awaking rather violently from his dream. Now if this is how all his dreams end, I can definitely see why he wouldn’t want to wake up because that’s rather horrifying.

Now one thing I have to mention, simply because it’s being made such a big fuss over, the whole thing with how Ten Forward isn’t in the right location. First of all, it’s a dream. Dreams never make sense. I dreamed once that my house had wings and was full of plants and my bathroom was outside. Dreams are weird because they are suppose to be. Secondly, this sort of fuss over technicalities, and rather pointless ones at that, are what I would like to call “missing the forest for the trees”, because what is mattering in this scene isn’t the location of Ten Forward, but rather the scene of Picard and Data and what this means for Picard’s state of mind. THAT is the story, THAT is the substance. The location of a place in a dream sequence really is not what should be the take away of the scene, nor should it somehow ruin a scene. Honestly, people need to realize that the STORY is what is important, any small technical things are not the point. We don’t watch Star Trek because we want to point out all the inconsistent and illogical and wrong continuity details. We watch Star Trek because of the stories and the characters. If I was to let every single of those technical details bother me so much that it ruined the story, I would never be able to watch any Star Trek because quite frankly, there’s a whole lot of it in Star Trek, and acting like that one detail is what ruins a perfectly written and acted scene that sets up Picard’s state of mind for his character development is quite frankly very disingenuous.

Now, moving onto the rest of our story. We have Picard waking up to Number One running to him. I imagine Number One is in many ways a service dog, especially given how he was immediately there noticing Picard’s disturbance. The most interesting part of this scene with Picard waking up and looking out into the vineyard where people are working is that he keeps saying to Number One “it’s alright”, but really, he’s not saying it to the dog, I think he’s trying to convince himself that everything is alright, even though he knows it isn’t, and we know he certainly doesn’t feel it.

Then we move locations to Greater Boston, where in the night time skyline, we notice some glowing light ads with the Federation News Network symbol, some Ferengi Alliance and ad products, a London Kings banner, and it looks like Kasidy Yates is still somewhere in the galaxy with a booming interstellar freights business. Good for her!

We finally meet Dahj with her boyfriend who is a Xahean, a nice link to our beloved Queen Po, whom we met in Discovery. I am now curious who is the ruler on Xahea at this time, after all, we don’t really know how Xaheans age. But it looks like Xahea is a part of the Federation, which also makes me curious if Po did eventually reveal her innovation for recrystalizing dilithium crystals. Oh and the eagle eyed folks at Trekcore noted from Dahj’s call logs later that her boyfriend’s name looks to be “Caler”.

So they’re having a great time, Dahj reveals she got into the Daystrom Institute and that she’s a fellow in Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Consciousness, which is an interesting field for her to go into given how she reacts later on to Picard calling them “soulless murder machines”, which seems to reveal her bias. Which also makes me wonder why she wanted to study something that would only be theoretical and she already had judgement against.

Oh and we also see in Dahj’s apartment is the flower, Orchidaceae Dahj Oncidium, that her father made.

This nice moment with the couple gets ruined, as usual, by Romulans. Always out there spoiling people’s fun. They immediately kill Dahj’s boyfriend and capture her. They put some devices on her head, likely to scan her and commenting on the fact that she’s not been activated yet. Somewhat hilariously, one of them gets admonished for speaking in their native alien language and to speak English. I guess it’s still called English? Or is it Federation Standard? Or is it both?

They ask her “where’s the rest of you” and where she’s from. She says Seattle. I guess if you’re from Seattle these days, you should check if you’re either an Android or a Klingon spy.

And just as she put a bag over her head and try to knock her out, she finally “activates” and kills them all. This was a very well choreographed fight scene where we got to see a good amount of the action. Now I’ve heard some people out there complaining about shaky cam, but that’s not what we have here. The camera didn’t shake, and it only does a minor tilt in one scene. Otherwise, this is one of the calmest camera movements in a fight scene. In fact, the directing for this whole episode is very steady and calm. Honestly, it’s a bad faith take to say this show is just all action crazy shaky cam, because it’s not true. In both of the fight scenes we get, there is considerable restraint on the camera work to make sure that we as the audience can still see what is going on and know what’s happening in the scenes at all times. The rest of the show is all steady cam work. I know that people often like to label “New Trek” to be all action and weird camera angles and “not real Star Trek”, but Picard’s camera work is much more in tune with TNG’s steady cam work than it is to anything else. Other than the two big fight scenes with Dahj, every scene is very steady.

So as Dahj is leaning over her boyfriend and mourning him (note that he is bleeding the same orange color that Po did in the Runaway Short Trek), and then she gets a vision of Picard. The interesting thing about this vision is that it looks to be the same shot from one of the very early teasers. I am curious why she keeps seeing this specific scene and if there is any meaning to it.

Now there is one issue I’ve seen pointed out that the first character to be killed on Picard is a character played by a black man. And this is a very valid thing to be concerned about considering the treatment of characters of color, particularly TV’s issues with black men that both Agents of SHIELD and The Walking Dead had gotten flack for before (the rotating door of black characters), and certainly horror movie tropes have been criticized extensively. So I definitely understand if someone saw this and was worried about this sort of thing becoming an issue. I can’t speak for how black people may feel about this, as I am not black and I do not know all the nuances of this problem, but I wanted to bring to attention what director Hanelle Culpepper commented on in a twitter conversation with someone who had brought up this very concern.

I think this is the thing that could sometimes feel like a double-edged sword. In our current entertainment and media, we are still not there in terms of fair and equal representation, and thus when female characters, characters of color, or LGBTQ+, and other minority group characters die or are treated badly in a story, we pick up on it. But I think with the Star Trek shows, both Discovery and Picard, they are trying to show vast array of characters and treating characters from various minority groups in a normalized way. They can be heroes, they can be villains, they can live and they can die. This kind of normalization in treatment of characters is what we hope for, but I just think the rest of TV have not caught up yet, so when characters of color in this case, do die, we notice.

But hopefully, as Hanelle Culpepper states, we will see more characters of color show up. And as we do know, we will be having more characters of color in lead roles joining us soon.

Now, onto this opening credit sequence. There is a lot of unravel here and I could probably talk for hours about what this opening makes me feel. Let’s first talk about the music. Jeff Russo deserves an award. Seriously. He does. If you guys have not seen the Ready Room aftershow where Jeff Russo talks about the choices made for this theme, you really need to. Because you see the care and attention to detail that he brings into even just choosing what instruments to add to the music and what chords used to call back to the past. The flute at the beginning alluding to Picard’s time in The Inner Light, representing his past. And then the cello and the occasional chords of the TNG theme, just slowed down and slightly in a different tone, all building up to what feels like a triumphant rebirth. The flute sneaks back in showing the past and present coming together for Picard. The use of the cello and strings is just perfect. It really gives a melodic and somber feel to it. And as a violin player myself, any time I hear the strings, it’s like coming home. I’ll be very excited to get back on my violin at some point and play this.

The imagery of the opening credit sequence also tells a story. We see a piece of the sky breaks off like glass, it floats down to the vines in the vineyard, then to the quantum archive, which forms into a borg cube, and the broken piece falls through the cube and forms into fractals, and the pieces float around seemingly becoming like a neuro-pathways which becomes like the iris of an eye, and then it becomes a borg eye maybe, and then the planet Romulus, and finally the cracks form back into Picard’s face. It’s all very beautiful imagery and clearly very deliberate as no doubt all these elements will somehow come into the story that we are seeing.

And also interesting to note that only Patrick Stewart, Allison Pill, Isa Briones, Harry Treadaway from the main cast are credited, with Brent Spiner as “special guest star”, which means that I guess actors will only appear in the credits if they actually appear in the episode, much like how Discovery season 2 did the same with Shazad Latif and Wilson Cruz, and how Game of Thrones used to do this with their cast members too. So this should make it easy for us to notice which characters will appear in an episode or not.

Now back to the Chateau in France, Picard is walking through the vineyard with Number One and joking with him in French. I’m pretty sure this scene existed to poke fun at the people always saying why is Picard so British if he’s French. So LOL, now he speaks French finally!

We get to meet Laris and Zhaban, two Romulans who seem to live with Picard and basically be his attendants. Some people may not know, but Laris and Zhaban both appear in the Picard Countdown Comics, the three issue comic series shows us their relationship to Picard. Long story short, they are former Tal Shiar agents who broke the rules falling in love and wanted to leave because they wanted to help people instead. They feel indebted to Picard for helping them and sees him as their rescuer/savior. I also thought it was funny that Laris jokes about Number One being “our little assassin”, given what she and Zhaban used to do for a living with the Tal Shiar.

It is also interesting to note that Laris doesn’t have ridges on her forehead but we do see a slight bit of ridges on Zhaban, making this the first time we see both types of Romulans on screen together. Usually, it’s either one or the other. But it’s nice to see finally some variety even within one species.

Zhaban comments that Laris heard Picard talking in his sleep, Laris notes that he’s not sleeping and wonders if it’s bad dreams, which leads Picard to comment that his dreams are lovely but it’s the waking up that he’s beginning to resent, connecting back to the moment at the beginning of the episode with Data where he says he doesn’t want the game to end. His dreams are happier than his present.

So it seems that Picard has to get ready for an interview, and as he enters, Zhaban says that Number One still won’t take breakfast from him with Picard joking “old dogs”, to which Zhaban replies “which one?”

The relationship between Laris, Zhaban, and Picard is very well established even in these early scenes. There is an unspoken bond, camaraderie, and care. Even if Picard says sometimes Zhaban treats him as if he was “a benign old codger”. They act like a family, a family that’s found each other since Picard no longer has his old Enterprise crew family anymore. Also Picard is drinking decaf Earl Grey tea.

Now as all three of them are talking though, the news report plays on in the background. I couldn’t make out all the words because of the dialogue on top of it, but it looks like something about disturbances continue across the Alpha and Beta Quadrant due to the commemoration of the destruction of Romulus, so there seems to be some unrest still even to this day about what’s happened. And there is also something about a new Romulan capital, and maybe some three state council or something like it that declared it an interplanetary day of mourning for all citizens. I thought this interesting because we do not really know yet what the state of the rest of the galaxy is feeling about all of this, or how Romulan politics may have changed since then, so this news report is giving a tiny glimpse of the status of the galaxy. It’s good background world building, which is always a good thing, and sometimes Star Trek tends to falter at doing things like this beyond just details about Starfleet and its ships. It’s nice to get a look at the civilian part of life, which is the majority of the galaxy after all.

As the first of the visiting news crew arrives, Laris reminds Picard to not forget to wash his hands, and that ten years and she still has to remind him. She also jokingly calls him “your highness”, which I think it’s a funny nod to both the Romulan culture and also her being aware of herself being a “butler/housekeeper” for Picard as if this was a royalty sort of thing. The ten years mention though seems to point to Laris and Zhaban having stayed with Picard from at least 2389 to current day 2399.

Among the news crew doing set ups is a Tellarite, the first we see on screen in the 24th century outside of just archival footage. There is also a Trill among them as well. It also looks like there is some screen projection thing that does make up touch-ups? Oh man I would love to use one of those instead of having to put on real make-up. I really hate make-up, well, I should clarify that my skin hates make-up, SO MUCH. Someone please invent these screen projection make up things! I need it!

Picard is all dressed up and insisting that he’s not nervous, and asks Zhaban if he went over the terms with the news people and Zhaban says “three times, sir” that they wouldn’t inquire about his separation from Starfleet. Laris says that she thinks sometime he’s forgotten who he is and what he did but they haven’t, and Zhaban reminds him to “be the captain they remember.” These two clearly care about Picard a lot, genuinely. And it’s a really lovely moment as they send him off to this interview.

It’s kinda of fun to see the intro to his interview is showing off a bunch of TNG promo photos and episode screencaps. I always find this funny because I’m like, wait, there were no cameras there in those moments, how did they get those pictures!

So we learn in this scene that Picard has never agreed to an interview before until now, and that he’s been writing books on various historical analysis, and that he’s very passionate about working on raising awareness of the lingering impacts of the supernova. It’s clear from the beginning of this scene that the interviewer is looking for something else, that all this stuff they agreed to talk about is not what she actually wants to hear, she very deliberately steers the conversation to things about the Mars attack and why Picard left Starfleet.

Through her, we also start to see the view point of perhaps people who aren’t a part of Starfleet, the civilian side of the galaxy, which she noted that many felt there were better uses for their resources than aiding the Federation’s oldest enemy. And I have no doubt that there were people who did think that. This plays to exactly the sort of sentiment we saw in ENT, when after the Xindi attack, humanity shrank back and started to be xenophobic towards all alien life, not just Xindi. Terra Prime and that whole “Earth First” mentality are all playing again with what we see from this interviewer and her implications. She deliberately pokes at Picard calling for the massive relocation of Romulans. She points to Romulans as an enemy, and she points to the mass number of 900 million Romulan citizens they had to relocate, and how 10,000 warp-capable ferries had to be constructed for the rescue fleet. All of this is clearly a roundabout way of saying that it was a waste of resources, that those resources shouldn’t have been used, and the implication that if they hadn’t build the rescue fleet, then maybe Mars wouldn’t have been targeted and thousands of people wouldn’t have died.

Now, I’ve seen many bad faith takes saying “oh they are making the Federation behave like Nazis!!” or “they are making the Federation into xenophobic racists!!!!” but all of that is disingenuous and ignores what the story actually says. Picard was able to persuade the Federation to help the Romulans, and we know clearly that Spock was also working on the matter to help. The Federation intended to help but only stopped after the rescue fleet was destroyed and thousands upon thousands of people died. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between outright refusing to aid and stopping aid after you’re attacked and your rescue fleet got destroyed. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between maliciously deciding you don’t want to help someone and just watch them drown, and trying to help but you got injured and you are tired and you gave up.

Of course we all want the Federation to keep going and never give up. Of course we want the Federation to always stand up to its ideals of hope and justice. But giving up when you’re hurt is not the same as outright xenophobia, and it certainly doesn’t make you a Nazi. We KNOW from previous Trek shows AND films that the Federation isn’t perfect, that sometimes the Federation makes mistakes, and even has a hard time letting go of grudges and prejudices. I’ve said it many times before, utopias are pretty to look like but they don’t just magically grow out of a vacuum, a perfect world needs work. The moment you become complacent and you don’t put in the effort, a utopia can easily fail. Hell, in this very moment, we are seeing exactly how democracy CAN fail if we don’t work hard to maintain it. And I get it, some people are mad about political allegories, some people are mad that the perfect utopia of escapism isn’t happening. But Star Trek has always held up a mirror to our own world, it has always pointed out our own failings and how we can be better. And THIS is no different. The Federation gave up and shrunk from its duties, yes. They gave into grief, pain, and fear. But it does not mean they are evil. It is telling us that very same thing. We are not evil if we give into fear, but we can also be better, and do better. The world isn’t just magically built, democracy didn’t just happen one day out of the blue, we worked at it, even if it’s sometimes one step forward and two steps back.

Anyways, as we go on with this interview, there’s the bit where the interviewer says it’s only “Romulan lives” at stake and Picard counters her with “No. Lives.” Picard’s very powerful statement that we are all lives, doesn’t matter Romulan or not, is something that is necessary to say not just in the context of the plot, but also in the context of our current society. Right now in this very world we live in, people of color, people from minority groups, are all being dehumanized and otherized, and a populace is basically being fed propaganda hating on people not like them, dismissing people not like them, and somehow forgetting that we are all living breathing beings. So what if our skin pigmentation are different? So what if we speak different languages or have different cultures or beliefs or love different people? We are all still breathing, still living. And this continued otherization has only caused more harm to not only the groups being oppressed, but also to all of us as a species. And yes, I know some people don’t want to hear it, they don’t want “leftist politics” in their Star Trek, but this message has been the same message that Star Trek has been sending out for over half a century. You understood it as kids, you took all that in, so where along the way in your growth did you forget that message?

As Picard stated, lives were at stake and the Federation and Starfleet understood that, they had all those ships out there in the shipyards because they had every intention to help. And if not for the attack on Mars, it would have happened. If 92,143 lives weren’t lost, and 10,000 warp capable ferries weren’t gone, they would have been ready to help. Instead the galaxy mourned, and Starfleet and the Federation withdrew because they too were licking their wounds.

The interviewer compared this logistical feat to the Pyramids, which Picard calls vanity. He points out Dunkirk, the rescue of 400,000 troops on the beaches done through calling in civilian boats. And it’s a more than apt comparison.

We learn that the planetary defense shields were dropped, and Mars’ defense net was hacked, all of this indicates that I think something more than just the synths themselves were involved. Picard says they still don’t know why the synths went rogue. So I think that the synths were nothing more than someone’s means to an end. Either someone in the Federation wanted a reason for the Federation to pull back from helping Romulus, or Romulans from the Tal Shiar wanted to prevent the Federation from helping because they didn’t want to be indebted to Starfleet and the Federation. Whatever it is, it’s covert, and the synths were just the scapegoats for the attack.

And as if the 9/11 analogy isn’t more complete, we know the Mars attack was the reason that synthetic life-forms are now banned. And just to give it some sort of scale that we can understand, it is said that 2,977 victims died from 9/11, the attack on Mars had casualties at least 30 times that of 9/11. Not to mention the shipyard and all the vessels. It would have shaken the Federation, and especially those on Earth, to their core. The fact that the interviewer points out that Mars is still on fire to this day is another thing to note of the effect that is still lingering, much like how 9/11 still is a collective trauma for those who lived through it, even to this day.

Now we see the interview becoming more and more heated, in many ways, the interviewer bringing up Data and asking if Picard lost faith in him, to which Picard says “never”. And we also know that Picard thinks that banning synthetic life-forms was a mistake. The interviewer finally gets to what she clearly wants to ask, why he left Starfleet and what was it that he lost faith in. And Picard answers that he left because “it was no longer Starfleet”, he angrily states that Starfleet had slunk from its duties, and that the decision to call off the rescue was not just dishonorable because they had sworn to help, but also downright criminal, and he wasn’t going to be a spectator about it.

Now, there is something interesting in this moment that I don’t see mentioned much, and it’s that you see Zhaban and Laris watching the interview, and they hold hands. This is clearly something that hurts them too. You can see the emotions on their faces. And while this interview is focused on Picard, we should not forget that this matters to them too. This was Laris and Zhaban’s home that was destroyed, probably people they knew too that died, their families and friends. They are watching an interview that is not just disparaging their race but also discounting the meaning of their lives. And this moment will speak to anyone who has been part of any oppressed groups seeing themselves dehumanized by their lives being an “other”. Picard is standing up not just for Romulans or synthetics, but he is also standing up directly for the two of them, two refugees who have lost everything except each other. It’s a small moment, but it really meant a lot to me watching it, because I understood those feelings. And it made me connect to Laris and Zhaban so much more as characters.

Picard at this point is ready to tear into the interviewer, stating that she has no idea what Dunkirk is, because she’s a stranger to history and stranger to war. And how it isn’t easy for those who died and those who were left behind. Now this moment is very powerful, and clearly the meaning of this scene is meant to be also calling us as viewers to realize how much of our own history that we are a stranger to, and how forgetting that history is the reason we get into the sort of messes that we have today. And I am sure that the writers and director didn’t intend for this to be viewed as anything other than Picard giving all of us a lesson. However, as is with the case of the Xahean boyfriend who died, it is noticeable that it is a white man lecturing a black woman about history. Of course, in universe this isn’t an issue, and as with the issue from before, this is no doubt them wanting to cast actors of color in as many roles as possible, and this is a big scene to have with Picard so of course they cast a brilliant actress for it. But nonetheless it is something noticed, and I think if people make a criticism of that, I would understand, even if I understand also that this is clearly not the intention of the writers or the director.

By the way, the interviewer’s name is credited as Richter, which is a german word meaning “judge”, though I was reminded of the richter scale for earthquakes, and giving she looked to be causing her own little earthquakes during this interview, and being a judge in many ways, both meanings are appropriate.

Finally, Picard walks away from the interview, and this interview is going down, we see Dahj walking in the rain, seeing Picard on the screens nearby doing the interview and recognizing him.

There is also a sign in that scene that says “behold the future, preview next year’s padd tech today” so I guess even in the future, we still get new tech updates like those Apple iPhone conferences and whatnot.

We get a “commercial break” and we’re back at the Chateau. Picard is sitting with Number One quoting "there is no legacy as rich as honesty” from Shakespeare's All’s Well That Ends Well. Number One barks at Dahj approaching, runs over, but seems okay with her. Picard wants to know what she’s doing here and Dahj says she saw his interview and wants to know if he knows her. He does a “what????” expression that kind of made me chuckle because I can just see the question marks in his head. He’s just so confused.

Now there is an interesting thing to note here, Dahj immediately comments “you’re not sure, how do I know that?”, as if she is reading his mind somehow. So could this mean she has some sort of mind reading abilities too? Or is it just that she can read people really well?

Dahj describes all the things that’s happened, saying that her abilities came to her like “lightning seeking the ground” and she’s clearly very upset. Picard, who has every reason to turn away someone who could be rather alarming, instead takes her hands and tries to calm her down. I’ll expand on this later in another scene, but the kindness that he immediately has towards Dahj’s situation is just such a good thing. Compassion is something so lacking right now in the world, and having him being kind to her and not push her away even though he doesn’t know her, is so important. And when Dahj says “everything inside of me says that I’m safe with you”, we the audience certainly believes that.

We cut to Laris healing up Dahj’s cut, and Zhaban puts a blanket on her. Again, showing how kind these two people are, and the caring and kindness that surrounds Picard. No wonder Dahj feels safe. Picard gives her Earl Grey tea and says it “never fails”. The whole scene that follows is just a really sweet and lovely scene of two people connecting. Picard never treating her as if she isn’t to be believed. She asks him if he’s been a stranger to himself, and he answers “many, many times”, which we have seen throughout TNG. If anyone knows how Dahj is feeling, it is Picard. And I love that he connects with her, never dismissing her feelings.

Picard also comments on Dahj’s necklace, saying it was unusual. Dahj said that her father gave it to her. Now some have wondered why it would be an unusual necklace as it doesn’t look unusual, but I don’t know, I guess it looked kinda strange to me. Or maybe Picard recognized the symbol from somewhere and thought it was strange. Dahj says she doesn’t just know Picard because he’s famous, but she knows him from something older and deeper, and Picard says she may be right, clearly feeling like maybe he does know her from somewhere. He again reiterates that he believes her, joking that if she were dangerous, Number One would let him know.

Laris takes Dahj to her room, and she thanks Picard before she goes, clearly very grateful for someone believing in her. Dahj does leave the necklace behind on the table, which Picard looks at.

Next day, he opens up the window and nobody is working. I realized at this point immediately it must be another dream sequence and sure enough Data is in the fields painting. Both him and Picard are in their TNG era uniforms, and Data asks if Picard wants to finish the painting which has no face and is a hooded figure standing overlooking an ocean. Picard says he doesn’t know how, but Data says that’s not true. The moment Picard takes the brush, he’s awoken by the clock, and he immediately turns around to look at the painting behind him hanging up on the wall, which is almost exactly the painting from the dream, only the head is turned away. Obviously his dreams are a way for him to work out things he’s busy thinking about when he’s awake. God if only my dreams work out life’s problems for me. It would be so useful!

Laris comes in to say that Dahj is gone. Now this scene is logistically a little bit oddly placed. I don’t know when Picard wakes up from his dream, but it doesn’t look like 5am. And Laris comes in rather calmly to tell Picard that Dahj is gone, so did Laris just get up at 5am, saw Dahj gone, and went about her day until Picard woke up? Now Picard could have woken up just minutes before too. They just didn’t exactly make it explicitly clear. She did note that Dahj’s door was open, Number One was on her bed but she was gone, and they checked the feeds and she’s not on the property.

Picard, who now has an idea of what to look for, says he has to go but for them to contact him if Dahj returns.

We then change locations to Starfleet Archives, which uses the same museum symbol that the Star Trek Tour folks have. So that’s a nice little touch, nodding to the fans. It’s really sweet. Star Trek Tour is canon now! :D

Now at this moment when we see Picard approaching the archives, the Jerry Goldsmith theme from the Motion Picture plays a little in the background. Again, a beautiful addition from Jeff Russo knowing exactly where to add in the music to make everything feel perfect.

Picard is with a program called Index, who seems to keep an eye on the quantum archive. Picard wants to be sure that his archive is locked in stasis and no one has access, Index makes a joke about selling tickets with Picard noting the humor and saying “don’t give up your day job”. I love funny snarky holograms.

We then see Picard going into his archive and this is certainly a room full of easter eggs, so I’ll just note the items I saw and double checked with Memory Alpha to make sure I had the correct names:

USS Stargazer model

USS Enterprise D and E models

Captain’s yacht from Enterprise E model

Kurlan naiskos – ceramic figurine statue made by Kurlan civilization – gift from former mentor Richard Galen?

TNG era Bat’leth and D’k tahg

Captain Picard Day banner

Picard’s edition of The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works, usually seen in his ready room/quarters – book is opened to first two pages of Act III of All’s Well That Ends Well – quote from earlier

It was noted from the Ready Room aftershow with Hanelle Culpepper and Michael Chabon (the showrunner), that the Captain Picard Day banner is an interesting way to tell the story of Picard’s change. He used to not like that day at all, and now he keeps that memento as if to remind himself that he maybe should have had more of those moments, showing a bit of his regret.

We get some updated LCARS, which the Picard production crew did give a shoutout to Mike Okuda on twitter. It’s always great to see these original designs get a little update with the times. It’s got more muted colors, which I quite like. And also, the object that covers the painting and retracts back is similar to the mechanical hood device that they used in the Ask Not Short Trek that Pike wore.

Index notes that this painting, which we see has Dahj’s face, is item 227.67, painted by Data in 2369, one of a set of two, gifted to Picard on the Enterprise, and the other is hanging on the wall at the Chateau. And the title of the painting is called Daughter. This confirming that Dahj somehow is Data’s daughter, which makes sense given her resemblance to Lal.

Picard asks Index to be sure that no one has been in the archive, not even for servicing. This means that no one else could have known Dahj’s face unless they were someone who actually knew Data or somehow had access to Data.

Back in France, Dahj seems to be hiding in an alleyway. She contacts her mom who tells her to get somewhere safe. Dahj notes that she did tried but she couldn’t stay because she didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. Her mom says she has to go back to Picard, Dahj frowns because her mom couldn’t have known. We see the image of the Mom glitching somehow? At this moment we don’t know if she’s a hologram or a memory or maybe a person who is being used or coerced? Her mom insists for her to find Picard and that he can and will help her. I can’t be sure if the mom is good or not, but her insisting that she goes to Picard does seem like she wants Dahj to be safe. So maybe the mom is also Dahj’s own defense mechanism? A program that makes sure she stays on course and doesn’t stray? The mom tells Dahj to close her eyes and focus, as if giving her directions on what to do. Next we see that the transmission has terminated and Dahj pulls up new information to find Picard’s location.

We also note that in her call list of favorites, there’s Soji’s name too, which connects to the later scene we see.

Back at the Starfleet Archives again, Picard sees Dahj and is clearly relieved that she’s okay. Dahj points out that she knew how to track him here, “I know stuff now, I can hear conversations a block away.” She then tries to insist that she did research and that she must have schizophrenia or something. Picard says she doesn’t have that and tries to assure her that she isn’t a freak, and instead that she may be very special. He starts telling her about Data, and you can hear the emotions in his voice about what Data meant. Dahj doesn’t know why Picard is telling her that and Picard gently tries to let Dahj know that she may be like Data and that the attack may have acted like a positronic alarm bell. But Dahj doesn’t react well to that, comparing synthetics to the ones who attacked Mars, even at one point calling synths “soulless murder machines”. We can see from Dahj’s comments that resent and fear still exists in the Federation towards android/synthetic life-forms, which from what we know, the attack was only about 10 years ago, so it would still be rather fresh on everyone’s minds.

Picard tells Dahj that Data painted her over 30 years ago, she still tries to resist, stating that she’s from Seattle and that her dad was a xenobotanist who spliced two genuses and named the offspring after her. Dahj clearly feels like she’s losing her sense of self if she is not real, but Picard tells her that her beautiful memories are hers and that no one can touch it or take it away. Picard’s insistent kindness and compassion are just SO VERY IMPORTANT. It is not always in entertainment media that we get these unabashedly kind characters, especially with male characters. And sometimes I think Star Trek is the only kind of show where truly kind and loving male characters are allowed to thrive because that’s the world we expect it to be. But even so, having characters like Picard, an older white male in a place of authority, still being so kind and caring and willing to help people instead of judging them, is important. Because this allows younger generations watching this to have someone good to be their role model, to teach and instill in them that kindness is what you need to have more of in this world. I am especially thankful that new Trek has been able to bring forth these kinds of kind characters, and especially white male characters. We see it with Picard, and we saw it with Christopher Pike in Discovery season 2. Both of these characters’ kindness is what allows others to not only feel safe, but allow people a place to grow and learn, and to have people standing in their corner even when they feel alone. That sense of safety and love, like having a safety blanket over you, is so essential to characters that are eschewing the toxic masculinity that is often very prevalent in entertainment media these days. In many ways, Star Trek, through Picard and Pike, are pointedly stating that men, especially white men, being kind and understanding, is not something to be belittled or dismissed, but rather important things because kindness is its own super power, and it’s with that kindness and love that they can stand up to institutions’ whose ideals have gone astray. Picard standing up to Starfleet is really no different than the scene of Pike calling out Starfleet’s use of drones and stating that “giving up our values in the name of security is to lose the battle in advance.”

Principled and kind lead white male characters are what we need more of these days.

Picard insists to Dahj that she was “lovingly and deliberately created” and that “You are dear to me in ways that you can’t understand, I will never leave you.” And adding that they will go to Okinawa to the Daystrom Institute and get this all figured out. He brightens up when Dahj mentions her having been accepted into the institute, happy for her even if Dahj is no longer happy anymore after all that’s happened. Picard reminds her “You are the daughter of a man who was all meaning, all courage, be like him”

This whole thing of him talking about Data to Dahj is just really emotional, you can see how much he wants to protect her, and how he genuinely means it that he will not leave her. And you can sense the guilt that still clings to him about Data dying for him.

Of course, nice moment again gets interrupted by Romulan assassins, because Romulans just love to ruin your nice moments. Dahj notices someone coming after them and runs with Picard, who can’t really keep up with her. They get to the roof and the assassins start shooting. Dahj tells Picard to stay down and gets on with some serious ass kicking. Again, as I said earlier, this whole fight scene is just so well done. The action is steady that you know exactly what is happening at all time and what she is doing and who she is fighting. You’re not lost, it’s not shaky and blurry.

One of the assassins gets his helmet taken off and as he falls down the stairs, Picard notices that they are Romulan. Another assassin gets knocked over a railing but seems to beam away. Dahj is about to shoot another one when this assassin bites down on a capsule and spews out some kind of liquid acid which gets on the gun and on Dahj’s face and her clothing. She and Picard exchanged a horrified look, she screams and Picard tries to reach for her as the energy gun blows up and Picard is knocked back and blacks out.

Now this moment was certainly a surprise. Through all the marketing, they kept talking about Dahj being the mysterious girl, they never mentioned someone else, so we just always thought it was one character. And I remember looking at the trailers and thinking, did Dahj get out of the cube and run to Picard and then gets taken back to the cube somehow and Picard has to go get her again? But it looks like they were just hiding the surprise of the twins in plain sight and we just didn’t have the information to realize it until now. Dahj’s death is certainly very tragic. Though I don’t know you could call it fridging a female character given that she was always meant to be a catalyst role so they could get to saving her sister? I’m not sure, simply because the story is set up in this way and I’m not sure it would work as well if they told it another way simply just to avoid character death. But perhaps someone would disagree.

But we get back to the Chateau where Picard wakes up after having numerous flashes of previous scenes that’s happened. We see Laris and Zhaban worriedly leaning over him as he’s laid up on the couch. He’s got a bad knock but other than that he’s okay. Picard reveals that Dahj is dead and Zhaban and Laris are surprised because the police didn’t mention her. They only said that Picard was alone when they found him on the roof. There was no one else on the security but him running. Zhaban suggests Dahj could have had a cloaking device and that’s why she wasn’t seen on their property feed either, and Picard thinks it may have activated automatically. So this explains why Dahj couldn’t be seen. But this doesn’t necessarily explain why even the Romulan assassins weren’t seen either or why the police said he was found alone. Which means that between the time the police found him, someone, possibly Romulans, could have wiped all the traces of what happened, and maybe even administered some healing stuff on Picard. OR as some have suggested, it could be that the Federation police could be involved in it, maybe it is some massive cover up. Maybe the Federation is infiltrated somehow by Romulan agents. This certainly wouldn’t be unusual tactics for the Tal Shiar, and we know even back in Discovery, the Klingons made one of them look like a human just so he could be a sleeper agent. So there’s no reason to not think that Romulans couldn’t do the same.

Picard tells Zhaban and Laris that Dahj was a synthetic and that the assassins were Romulans, which surprises both of them, given that they are Romulans, can’t be easy to hear their people are up to something shady. Of course Laris and Zhaban wants him to rest and that he’s done a lot for everyone. But Picard delivers a really powerful and brilliant line that really explains a lot of things.

He says: “Sitting here, after all these years, nursing my offended dignity, writing books of history people prefer to forget, I never asked anything of myself at all. I haven’t been living, I’ve been waiting to die.”

If you look back to the interview when the interviewer asks him why he left Starfleet, that he left in protest, and how angry he got. I think Picard left Starfleet to try to force their hand to help, essentially doing a last desperate bid of if you want me then you better go help these people. And Starfleet basically called his bluff and let him go. That is the “offended dignity” that he’s been nursing. That he tried to do something, using his reputation and importance, and Starfleet basically said, yeah okay, you can go then. I think, more than just Starfleet and the Federation deciding to withdraw, he felt a personal betrayal. The organization that he had given everything to didn’t even bother to fight for its ideals or fight to hold onto him, they gave up on their ideals and they gave up on him, so therefore, he lost faith in them as well. And all this time he’s been wallowing in anger, guilt, and essentially being the spectator that he said he didn’t want to be. He’s been wallowing in self pity, and in that moment, he’s realized that’s not what he wants to do, he’s not going to just slink away from his duties like Starfleet did, he’s now going to do something about it.

We then go to a new location, finally the Daystrom Institute on screen for the first time, in Okinawa. There is this little orbital station in the sky, it looked like one of those stations from The Girl Who Made The Stars Short Trek that young Michael and her dad were on.

Picard meets up with Dr. Agnes Jurati, and asks if it’s possible to make a sentient android out of flesh and blood, she laughs. I find her to be very adorable, a quirky scientist type but not entirely socially awkward, so it’s not the full on nerd girl trope. Once she realizes that he’s serious, she tells him that “even before the ban, a flesh and blood android was in our sights, but a sentient one, not for a thousand years”. She also notes that a sentient synthetic inside and out was the grand slam they were hoping for.

She leads Picard into the Federation’s Division of Advanced Synthetic Research – now a ghost town - because the Androids that attacked Mars came from this very lab - so now they can only operate theoretically – study, publish, run simulations, but they can’t make anything because it would be a violation of galactic treaty.

Jurati shows the drawer containing B-4 to Picard, says he was an inferior copy of Data, but noting that Data tried to download the contents of his neural net into B-4 before his death, almost all of it was lost. Note that she said ALMOST all of it. Which means that they did have some pieces of Data to create things from him. She also brings up Bruce Maddox, whom we saw in the TNG episode “The Measure of a Man”, and despite him trying to get Data to be declared property, we know that he and Data did keep in contact afterwards. Jurati says that Maddox recruited her out of Starfleet, and apparently they came close to create other synths like Data before Data died, and then when they got shut down, it crushed Maddox and he disappeared after the ban.

Now, I suspect that someone may have taken Maddox, and maybe used him to somehow get the synths to go rogue and attack Mars. Maybe even got him to somehow bring down the defense nets. And maybe Maddox could have even created Dahj and her sister Soji for whoever is controlling him as well? Agnes does say that if they had Data’s neural net, then making a flesh and blood body is relative simple, but Picard says Data’s neurons died with him, and thus Jurati says that’s why she kept telling Picard it wasn’t possible to create any other synths. Picard then shows Jurati the necklace from Dahj, and Jurati recognizes that the symbol is for fractal neuronic cloning, an idea of Maddox’s where the theory was that Data’s entire code, even his memories, could be reconstituted from a single positronic neuron.

So given that Jurati said they almost lost all of Data, I assume Maddox took that bit of Data they still had from B-4 and somehow got his theory to work to make Dahj and her sister, modeled from Data’s painting.

Picard learns that the cloning would be created in pairs, twins, realizing that there is another one. And showing us who were surprised at Dahj’s death that the rest of the season must be with the sister instead.

I’m still not entirely sure if Jurati knows something more about what’s going or not. I also don’t know if maybe she helped Maddox create the twins? It’s possible but maybe she is also just a good person and I’m being way too suspicious. But who knows. Anything is possible. TV is making it hard for me to trust people.

Then we get this beautiful transition shot from Dahj’s necklace symbol to a similar shaped rings of light in space as a new looking Romulan warbird flies through space and reaches the Romulan Reclamation Site.

We get the first shot of Narek walking through some smoke with purpose as the Romulan theme from TOS episode “Balance of Terror” plays on in the background like the Imperial March every time with Darth Vader. I LOVE this newly updated rendition. Honestly, someone please give Jeff Russo some awards because his music in this episode is just SO SPOT ON!

Narek is clearly the president of the Romulan division of the Emo Spock Fashion Fan Club? I’m just waiting for him to actually be Spock’s secret son with some Romulan, I mean, we know Spock was on Romulus for a time. And Narek sound close to Sarek. (I’m secretly hoping for this because it would just be hilarious to me!)

He meets with Doctor Soji Asha, Dahj’s twin. I noted that Dahj sounds like an Indian name perhaps? And Soji is a Japanese name. Which seem to be appropriate given that actress Isa Briones is also Asian, being part Filipino, and having spoken about Asian representation in entertainment.

Narek comments on her necklace, which Soji says her father made it, one for her and one for her sister. There was some confusion as to if only Soji knew about her having a sister, but as the earlier call list from Dahj shows, she knew about Soji too. They clearly just held it back from showing it for this reveal. Narek says he had a brother and they were really close but that he lost him last year very unexpectedly. I have a feeling we will get to see what went on with that, or maybe we even know who his brother may be? I originally thought it was Elnor, but I don’t think it works with what we know about both characters, as Elnor was said to have been raised by female warrior monks? So the “last year” comment wouldn’t work for timeline purposes. So the brother is likely someone else who died in 2398, again I don’t know this may be a character we know from any other of the older Trek shows.

He’s clearly trying to flirt with her and get close to her. He also notes that she spends her day fixing “broken people”, so is she fixing Borg survivors or androids or maybe both? We do see in the this season promo of her with Hugh somehow, and other people who look like they got implants, so are the Romulans kidnapping Borg survivors and trying to use them to make androids or something?

Anyways, Narek seem to succeed in ingratiating himself to Soji, looking like they’ll be spending some time together. And the camera then pulls back to reveal the site is in a Borg cube. Meanwhile, that beautiful Romulan theme comes back and plays til the end of the episode.

There’s a “this season on” promo that I’ll probably talk about maybe in a separate post. But YAY we have reached the end of this LONG analysis. If you’ve managed to get through all of it. I commend you and thank you for reading my ramblings.

This episode was a really solid start, setting up great characters and mystery, and reminding us why we love Jean-Luc Picard.

I can’t wait to see where the story will take us next and meet the rest of the cast!!!!!!!!

#star trek picard #star trek picard spoilers #in depth analysis

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thegloriouscollectorlady · 5 years

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Deaths on TWD and what Beth’s means to Daryl’s story

My original plan was to post a continuation of my thoughts on Lydia/Henry and Daryl/Beth and where the writers might be headed with that story and those parallels but I realized in working through those thoughts in my head that it might be best to discuss this topic first because it affects my thoughts on Daryl’s coming arc and how Beth relates to that. So below I am going to discuss my thoughts on deaths on TWD and how the writers use them and why they are placed at certain points in the story and what this means for Daryl’s story moving forward and how it is still very much connected to Beth.

So the pike deaths in 9X16 got me thinking about deaths on TWD and how and why they are written. I started to mull this idea over when I was considering all the ramifications of Henry’s death and how and why the writers were using his death. Those thoughts had me considering main character deaths on TWD and how they have been used in general throughout the show and in considering that I realized there are some key similarities to all the big character deaths. The two that I want to talk about today are that big character deaths always do two things. They affect a target character or characters in a way that is visible to the audience and they alter the course of the story in an important way through their relationship with the characters that are affected by their death. So below I am going to talk about a few big character deaths that we’ve seen over the last few seasons and how these principles apply to them.

So the first big death that I want to talk about is Herschel’s. Herschel died in season 4’s midseason finale at the hands of the Governor. Just as a side note I would mention that the Governor used Michonne’s katana to kill Herschel by slashing at his neck which is exactly what Pete does to Reg when he is going after Rick. But I digress from the main discussion which is Herschel’s death and which characters it affected and why he was the character chosen to die at that moment in the story. So the really interesting part of Herschel’s death is that the characters it affected the most were Rick, Daryl, and Beth and there was very little effect on Maggie which is curious because we will see something similar later when we talk about Beth. So now that we’ve identified which characters were most affected by Herschel’s death we can examine from a story standpoint why. Herschel’s death affected Rick in a huge way because Herschel was almost like a surrogate father to Rick. He guided him and pulled him back from his darkest moments. Herschel created balance for Rick. Herschel helped Rick to understand that there had to be something “ after” that there was more to life than just surviving and that it was up to Rick as a leader to be able to see that. Herschel reminded Rick that “after” surviving came living and that was the important part of life. Without Herschel Rick could easily slide into the role of red machete Rick who was solely focused on survival and the brutality that comes with that mindset. Herschel’s death in 4X8 is intended to help catapult Rick into the mindset of red machete Rick which is important for the coming story line and which we see play out throughout seasons 4, 5, and into season 6.

The other characters who are affected in a huge way by Herschel’s death are Beth and Daryl. Beth struggles to cope with the loss of her father and tries to find a way to reconcile herself to it and in those struggles she pulls Daryl along with her. The interesting thing about the development of Beth and Daryl’s story in season 4 after the fall of the prison is that it is almost entirely predicated on Herschel’s death. Daryl is struggling with the fact that he blames himself for what the governor did and he is particularly bereft over Herschel’s death as Herschel was a mentor and father figure to Daryl as well as Rick. Daryl feels responsible for Herschel’s death and the writers paired him with Herschel’s daughter to help him work through that grief. There could be no more in your face reminder for Daryl of what happened than being paired with Herschel’s daughter Beth. But not only does Beth not blame Daryl for her father’s death but she is responsible for helping him to move beyond his feelings of inadequacy that stem from what happened and she helps him to understand that there are still good people in the world despite the bad ones. When Beth and Daryl stop in the graveyard in Alone and place yellow flowers on the beloved father grave it is a way for them to mourn Herschel but it also represents Daryl laying to rest his insecurities and letting them go because of the comfort and understanding he found with Beth. The character development that we see in Daryl throughout season 4 is a result of the story that takes place because of Herschel’s death and without that death those character developments would not occur.

The next big death I would be inclined to discuss would be Beth’s but I am going to skip that for now and move onto Tyrese. So Tyrese’s death is really interesting in hindsight because it happened for several reasons. So the really interesting thing to consider about Tye’s death is that it would not have occurred without Noah. TF taking Noah to his home is the catalyst for Tye’s death and in fact it’s even Noah’s brother who bites Tye. But the crux of this discussion is what characters does a death affect and why and I think Tye’s death is interesting in that it affects more than just the characters in the story. Tye’s death affects Sasha primarily. Not only did she just lose Bob at the beginning of the season but she then loses her brother also propelling her into a really dark and violent place. This is important to the story because it later explains why Sasha does what she does after Abe’s death, it creates the context for her later actions, but it also does something else. Tye’s death in the mid-season premiere shifts the audiences focus away from Beth and through Tye’s funeral gives the audience an allusion of closure for Beth that never occurs. There are still many people in the fandom who think Beth had a funeral because they mistakenly remember Tye’s funeral as Beth’s. The placement of 5X9 directly after 5X8 also creates a scenario where the focus of 5X10 is on more than Daryl and Maggie’s grief and it becomes about Sasha’s as well.

The next death I want to talk about is Glenn’s and then also Abe’s. I know I’ve skipped a bunch in between but I really want to focus on the big deaths and how they shift the story with the understanding that the other character deaths can be observed and examined through a similar lens. So Glenn’s death was particularly tragic because of its senselessness. But from a writers point of view there was a purpose for it occurring at that point in the story. So the characters most affected by Glenn’s death are Rick, Daryl, and Maggie and the main character affected was Maggie. So for Rick and Daryl Glenn’s death was a catalyst for their story moving forward. For Rick Glenn had to die in the way that he did to evoke a feeling of hopelessness and loss. Abe had literally offered himself as a sacrifice and his death would not have done enough to quell Rick’s desire for retaliation against Negan. In fact I would surmise that if only Abe had died then it would have fueled Rick’s desire to strike back. However Glenn’s death in all its tragic, senseless, and horrifying abruptness shocked Rick into submission. It’s the same reason the writers had Negan threaten to cut Carl’s arm off and the same reason Negan took Daryl. It was all intended to pound Rick’s character into submission in a way that Abe’s death alone would not have. So Glenn’s death affected Rick’s story and the overall Negan story line and it also affected Daryl and his continued story line. After Beth’s death Daryl struggles to find his place again. Alexandria does not feel like home to Daryl and he struggles to find a purpose. Aaron bring Daryl back to himself a bit when he suggests that Daryl help to find recruits for Alexandria. It’s a role we know Daryl played at the prison because of things C@rol said and also because we see it through Bob’s story. It’s a small piece of himself that Daryl gets back for a short period of time until he meets Dwight and Sherry.

Once Daryl meets Dwight and Sherry his confidence in his own judgment is shattered. Aaron tells Daryl at one point that he knows the difference between good people and bad and Daryl knows that Sherry and Dwight are good people but their actions are not the actions of good people and Always Accountable is a huge turning point for Daryl’s character. That last little bit of hope that Daryl was holding onto that he could do something good that would honor someone he cared about slipped away catapulting Daryl into a really dark and emotionally vulnerable place. Daryl’s anger at Dwight is in a way a reflection of his own self-loathing which is directly related to the huge emotional loss he was still coping with. The writers used Denise’s death and then Glenn’s to help beat Daryl towards rock bottom. The Cell was Daryl’s breaking point. The point at which his character not only reach rock bottom and broke but the point at which the writers began to build him into a wholly different character than he was before. But it was Maggie whom the writers were looking to most impact with Glenn’s death. Her arc as the leader of Hilltop and the strength she shows as that leader is a direct result of the loss she suffers. In season 4 the writers showed the audience Maggie’s single minded focus in regards to Glenn. Her love for him was so overwhelming that the writers make it the focal point of her story with little to no mention of her sister or father. With Glenn’s loss Maggie becomes the sole protector and provider for her child and in that role becomes a leader she would not have become with Glenn still a part of her story. Firstly because it’s highly unlikely that Glenn would have left Rick to go to Hilltop and secondly because Maggie turns her single minded love for Glenn towards her child and that love is what drives the choices she makes as a leader.

The writers used Abe’s death to also affect multiple characters. Those most affected by Abe’s death were Eugene, Rosita, and Sasha. Abe’s death was used as a balance to Glenn’s for the audience. It showed TF’s resilience and courage and it showed their willingness to sacrifice for each other and that sacrifice is something Rosita later comes to understand. Rosita’s story line is directly affected by Abe’s death because she is finally able to confront her relationship with men and move on as a much healthier individual. Eugene’s story line is affected by Abe’s death in a way that affects the entire outcome of the war with Negan. But Abe’s death affects Sasha the most as it compounds a story line that for her began with Bob and continued with Tye. Sasha went to a very dark place after losing both Bob and Tye and Abe helped to pull her out of that place but after losing Abe Sasha is bereft. Her single minded determination to go after Negan stems directly from Abe’s death and her death directly affects Maggie and Rick’s determination to finish he war with Negan and win.

The next death I want to discuss is Carl’s. Carl’s death affects many characters but it’s intended to mostly affect Michonne and Rick. The writers use Carl’s death to help Rick to see that his mercy can prevail over his wrath. Carl’s death gives Rick a reason to fight for something greater than what he sees. Rick’s entire arc from Carl’s death until the end of this own is driven by Rick’s desire to honor his sons vision for the future. A vision where the communities come together and work as one and where mercy and justice prevail over anger and violence. While Rick is alive Michonne works with him to honor this vision and later in season 9 we see her reminded of Carl and what he hoped for through Judith. In fact Carl’s dreams for Alexandria and his family directly callback to the things Herschel was trying to teach Rick and by extension Carl and also to what Bob said to Rick in season 5. That nightmares end but that they sounded end who you are. In the end Rick was always the sheriff doing the right thing even when it was hard. Rick symbolized at the end of his arc on TWD justice , honor , and self-sacrifice. In fact Rick’s own “death” was in a way a mirror of his mentor Herschel’s. When Herschel risks his own life to go into the infirmary to help people in season 4 he makes that choice knowing what he is risking. His death at the hands of the Governor is something he is okay with because he’s made peace with himself and he sees that Rick has learned the things he was trying to teach him.

Rick’s “death” in season 9 while not a true death deeply affects the characters on the show because they believe him to be dead. Michonne and Daryl are the characters most affected by Rick’s “death” and they are profoundly affected in ways that drive the story forward throughout season 9. Without Rick and after Jocelyn’s betrayal Michonne falls back onto her desire to protect her children in a way that is unbalanced. Without Rick to reassure her Michonne has no ballast to balance her characters inclinations and it isn’t until Judith becomes Michonne’s balance that she sees what her actions have allowed. Rick’s bridge was a symbol of unity and bringing the communities together and Michonne verbalizes to King Ezekiel in 9x16 that she understands that what the Whisperers did to them as a group stemmed from their lack of cohesion as a group. What DJ, Ozzy, and Alec did was to remind Michonne and everyone that survived the Whisperers that it’s worth fighting on the side of good to save people even people that you don’t know. Siddiq says of that moment that they all fought together like family even though some of them did not know each other. That moment was the writer’s way of illustrating their point about unity and family and doing what’s right even when it’s not personally expedient. Alec, Ozzy, and DJ could have made different choices but they chose to do the right thing even if it meant dying for people they barely knew. Tara and Enid’s death’s in particular were about this theme. Their sacrifice was intended to remind TF that standing up for what is right is more important than simply living. The courage that Tara in particular showed is something that I also think we will see King Ezekiel grapple with in season 10 as it appears her death may play a role in his story moving forward.

The other character profoundly impacted by Rick’s loss is Daryl. During season 7 and 8 we began to see cracks forming in Daryl’s relationship with Rick as both characters changed and evolved. Daryl began despite himself to shift more into the role of a leader and at the same time he felt that Rick was pulling away from him. Leading Daryl to make some choices that he later felt led to what happened to Rick. Losing Rick was the final straw for Daryl in a way. Losing Beth separated Daryl from the group in a way he doesn’t ever appear to recover from but losing Rick causes Daryl to physically separate himself. Because none of the communities were ever home to Daryl he goes off into the woods to live by himself and search for the brother he believes may still be out there somewhere. We know through the story shown to use in season 9 that Daryl continued to have contact with both Michonne and C@rol but to a large extend he spend his time alone and solitary until C@rol came to him and requested that he watch over her son.

Henry’s death is the final one I want to discuss before returning to the point of this very long discussion which was Beth’s death. So Henry’s death affected C@rol, Ezekiel, Lydia, and Daryl and Daryl mainly because of Lydia. So Lydia is affected by Henry’s death because she feels responsible for it and her trauma directly affects Daryl who has taken on the role as her father figure. Lydia and by extension Daryl’s story will be driven in season 10 by the fallout from this event. The other two characters most affected by Henry’s death are Ezekiel and C@rol and their stories will be driven in a huge way in season 10 by the fallout. We’ve already seen a direct affect in that C@rol walked away from Ezekiel at a time when he was losing everything. I think we will see a big character arc for Ezekiel in season 10 having to do with courage and perseverance. C@rol’s arc will most likely be much more complicated but we’ve already seen her expressing that she is losing herself again and she seems to be falling back into the C@rol we saw in previous seasons so it will be interesting to see how that all plays out. But we saw with Henry’s death huge story line shifts for characters who knew and loved him and whose stories are being driven forward by his loss.

So we see through how the writers use main character deaths on TWD that they are almost always done with a purpose and with far reaching consequences that affect the story itself in an indelible way. Which brings me back to the original point of this discussion which was Beth’s death in Coda. So I have listened to a lot of pod casts and you tube videos about Coda and one of the biggest things commentators bemoan is the role Maggie played in searching for and finding Beth. Maggie’s character was so removed from Beth’s story arc that her response at the end of Coda almost seemed out of left field. I think the reason the writers did this was twofold. One it illustrated for the viewers that Maggie’s story revolved around Glenn with a single minded focus that was important to later events in the story. Two the writers doing this brought to the forefront something many viewers chose not to acknowledge which was that Beth’s story was primarily about Daryl with a small side note thrown in for Rick at the end. And that side note wasn’t so much about Beth as it was about rescuing Beth and Rick’s world view and how it was affected by that experience. So Beth’s death minimally affects Maggie which we see at the end of Coda and then in Them when Daryl fixes the music box for Maggie as a reminder of Beth and the other two characters most affected by her death are Rick and Daryl.

I want to talk about Rick first and then conclude with Daryl. So Beth’s death in Coda affects Rick because it affects Rick’s world view by reinforcing his current mindset of brutality. The Rick we see in Coda is red machete Rick to the extreme. A series of events sets Rick on this path which culminates with his outburst at Alexandria. It started with the Governor when Rick tried to reason with him using Herschel’s philosophy and failed. Not only did he fail but Herschel died. Rick’s mindset continued to deteriorate because of Gareth and Terminus and what happened after Terminus. Rick and crew only did enough damage to leave Terminus. They weren’t actually intent on killing everyone that had anything to do with the place. But then Gareth and company followed Rick and his family and then they kidnapped Bob and did what they did and that drove Rick over the edge. Rick’s actions at Father Gabriel’s church are so traumatic for Tye that they inform his hallucinations in WHAWGO. Not only is the voice on the radio Andy Lincolns but the things the radio is talking about are a hodge podge of how Tye sees Rick and all the bad things Tye has seen that he can’t reconcile anymore. The voice talks about machete wielding bad guys (that’s Rick) going up and down the coast (TF travels) and the deaths of innocent young mother s (Beth) and children (Mika and Lizzie). Rick’s actions towards Gareth’s people make Tye question everything and the fact that he is responsible because of not killing the one Terminus guy is something he can’t cope with. Rick’s decline continues in Crossed when he runs officer Bob over in such a cold blooded way. It’s interesting because we see Sasha respond to Officer Bob and the callback is supposed to be that this man symbolizes Bob. Bob told Rick at the beginning of season 5 that nightmares end but that they don’t have to end who you are and then in Crossed Rick runs down and kills Officer Bob which is a symbolic rejection of what Bob said to Rick about nightmares not ending who you are.

This is all really interesting when you consider that Rick’s nightmare continues into season 6 and when Jesse and her boys die in a way that is the literal nightmare of what C@rol threatened Sam with we actually see Rick see red like what Morgan talked about when he talks about losing himself. But it’s afterwards when he’s sitting with Carl at the infirmary that we begin to see Rick coming back to himself a little bit. It’s not for him but instead for Carl which is a theme we see continue into seasons 7, 8, and 9. Rick’s nightmare ends because he finds a greater purpose in his son and honoring his son. But I digress from my point which is that Beth’s death helps to reinforce Rick’s red machete mindset. Rick wanted to go into Grady guns blazing and just take C@rol and Beth. He doesn’t trust anyone anymore besides his family and he felt that was the best way to get his people back. C@rol had basically done just that when she rescued them at Terminus and now they had to rescue her. In Rick’s mind this would work just like it had before but the rather interesting thing about this is that the writers very subtly show us that it would not have through Beth’s actual death and it’s such a subtle thing that it’s very easily missed. So Rick wants to go into Grady guns blazing and use violence to take C@rol and Beth back and Tye and Daryl talk him into negotiating. If Rick hadn’t of killed Officer Bob the Grady standoff would have never happened. They would have had three people to trade for three people. However Rick’s brutality causes them to be one person short in that hallway and it provokes the confrontation between Beth and Dawn. The rather interesting point here is that if Rick had followed the plan Tye and Daryl’s plan would have worked flawlessly. Then there is a snag in the plan and the writers show us a very subtle point that is easily missed. Most people walked away from Grady believing that Beth’s death reinforced Rick’s red machete beliefs. That if they had stormed the building and just taken their people back it might have worked. I mean who would have guessed that Dawn would be the way she was not TF and obviously not the officers ( or maybe they did and were hoping to provoke Dawn as a way to take her out). Rick probably believes this as well. However the writers gave us a very subtle and easily missed clue that this was not actually their point. When Beth approaches Dawn she has two choices neither of which is TF aware of. They don’t know that Beth has scissors in her cast but they also don’t know that Dawn owes Beth and told her as much after Beth helped with Officer O’Donnell. That scene seems ridiculous and useless to the story unless you consider that the writers left it in the story for a reason. The reason was this Dawn owed Beth and if Beth had brought that up in that moment she could have used it to force Dawn to let Noah go. She could have told Dawn you owe me and I am calling in my favor and if you don’t let Noah go then I am going to tell everyone what happened to O’Donnell and it would have been the final nail in Dawn’s coffin as leader at Grady. Beth literally had all the leverage and could have chosen a peaceful resolution to the situation with Dawn. Instead Beth takes Rick’s route of violence and attacks Dawn leading to the aftermath of Coda.

Viewing Coda through this lens also makes you consider Beth’s statement before she stabs Dawn when she says “I get it now”. I think the reason this statement is so confusing to the viewers is because it doesn’t make sense in the context but on its simplest level maybe it does. Beth says “I get it now” and physically attacks Dawn implying that she thinks she understands that violence is the only way that works in this world. It shows a huge but also very tragic shift for a girl who was once an optimist. It shows just how much Beth has been traumatized by the events that have happened to her at Grady. But more than that Coda shows that violence is wrong because not only is it not the way but Beth’s death highlights that it’s not the way. Beth had a more diplomatic tool at her disposal and she didn’t chose to use it which is something only the viewers know. This is something that Rick will not learn until much later because of Carl. But Coda is essentially the writer’s way of very subtly reinforcing something that becomes a huge part of Carl and Rick’s arc moving forward. The rather interesting thing about this is that while Beth’s death reinforces Rick’s red machete point of view in the story the other subtle aspects of this story are not driven home by the writers to either the audience or the characters. They are instead left to linger like unfinished puzzle pieces which would seem to indicate that they are unfinished pieces of the story. The viewers never get to see Beth lament the fact that she made the wrong choice and the characters never know that Beth had a different choice that she could have made. It’s all very interesting in hindsight because that’s not the way TWD stories traditionally work especially when they involve character deaths. In this instance the audience knows something the characters never did and that knowledge has yet to play into the story in a way that pays off. Not only that but something else really interesting happens in Coda and that’s the reintroduction of Morgan at the end. Coda as an episode is thematically about mindset. It’s about the mindset of violence versus diplomacy and we see that play out through what happens to Beth. During Coda both Beth and Rick represent violence over diplomacy and at the end of Coda the writers reintroduce Morgan whose journey and story is very much about learning to reject violence for diplomacy. So thematically through that lens it makes sense why the writers reintroduced Morgan at the end of Coda as a Coda. The Coda to the story can be seen through Morgan’s approach to the world. Again this is all very interesting because we have not yet seen these points driven home within the narrative itself.

So finally I want to focus on Daryl who was the main character affected by Beth’s death. With all major character deaths we see one main character most affected by the loss. For Glenn it was Maggie, for Abe Sasha, for Carl Rick, for Henry C@rol. In all of these instances there is one person usually a lover or family member who is most affected by the tragic loss of a character and it’s that character whose story is mainly being driven forward by the death of their loved one. We saw for example that Glenn’s death drove Maggie to be the leader at Hilltop, Abe’s death drove Sasha to attack Negan’s compound, Carl’s death informed all of Rick’s behavior towards Negan at the end of the war and then Rick’s vision for the communities afterwards. I am sure in season 10 we will see how Henry’s death directly drives C@rol’s story moving forward. So through that narrative lens I ask how did Beth’s death directly affect Daryl’s narrative in season 5 and or 6 or even longer in to 7, 8, and 9? If a main character death is used to directly affect the narrative of the character closest to them which is what makes the death not a pointless plot device then how did Beth’s death affect Daryl and why did they chose her specifically to die and not any of the other potential characters they could have used to advance the story forward? Because the writers can use any character at any point in the story to affect the story. When they chose a character it is to make a specific point in a way that only that characters death can. So in my mind this is where Beth’s death differs from any other the writers have done on the show and below I will detail why and what I think it means.

So the reason Beth’s death differs is that unlike Carl’s, or Glenn’s, or Abe’s there is no direct and immediate in your face effect on Daryl and his story moving forward. We see Daryl grieve a bit but not in the normal way that a main character is affected by another main characters death. With Rick or Maggie or Sasha we saw them grieve the loss of their loved one and then we directly understood that their actions were a result of the loss of that loved one. With Daryl the writers don’t show a direct and immediate effect on Daryl’s story due to his loss of Beth. In fact the writers do cause other characters motives to be affected by Beth’s loss but not Daryl. In 5X9’s WHAWGO both Glenn and Rick indicate that the desire to take Noah home is based on what Beth would want but Daryl is not even a part of that attempt. He doesn’t show up until the end of the episode to help bury Tye. But the thing is I do think the writers used that to signal something very important about Beth’s story and what she is intended to symbolize to Daryl and his overall story.

So after Grady TF is lost and grieving and with nowhere to go. They are reunited but Eugene’s promise of a cure was just debunked a couple of episode before and they refuse to stay at Grady. So taking Noah home becomes the obvious next step. The thing about the group traveling North is that this could have been accomplished even if Beth had not died because it wasn’t like TF had anywhere else to go. Beth’s death did not have to occur in order to inspire TF to help Noah. Even if Beth had survived Grady they could have helped Noah because why not. Even without Noah TF could have chosen to travel north because Eugene’s idea about DC did make sense which is why he came up with it in the first place. So there were reasons TF could have traveled north without Beth’s part in the choice but by choosing to make the trip north about Beth the writers use Beth as a symbol. Beth becomes a symbol of home. Within the narrative the writers create TF losing Beth is what drives them to take Noah home to honor Beth and it is because of that decision that Aaron finds them. So in the larger scheme of the narrative Beth is the reason that TF find Alexandria and then later Hilltop and the Kingdom. Beth is the reason that each of the characters find the home they were intended to become a part of. The really really interesting thing about this narrative is that while Beth’s death and the results (finding home) affect nearly every other character in the story the one character whose story is least affected by this is the one whose story should have been most affected and that is Daryl.

If the point of Beth’s death was to lead TF home and that seems to be the only real outcome from her death then Daryl’s story should have been most affected by this theme and Daryl should have found not only a home but his place within the larger narrative of the story because of her death. Not only should Daryl have done this but the audience should have been pointedly reminded that Daryl was only able to do this because of Beth. The thing is though that this is not what happened. In fact I would argue the exact opposite happened. Back when the prison first fell in season 4 we are shown Daryl completely unmoored. Not only is he separated from everyone but Beth but he’s also lost possibly the only real home he has known. At the prison Daryl has people who care for him, people who need him, and an important role in the larger community. We see this at the start of the season. He’s settled and almost happy. We see a foreshadow of events to come later in the season when Daryl takes Zack on a run and he doesn’t make it back. Daryl is clearly upset and it’s Beth who comforts him. This foreshadows Beth’s role in Daryl’s loss later in season 4. After the prison falls Daryl is completely without purpose. He’s lost his home and his role in the community and he feels as if he has failed in his role as protector. This failure demoralizes him badly and he refuses to even look for the rest of their missing family .He gives it a halfhearted attempt when Beth really pushes at him but when they find the bodies at the railroad tracks he stops. What’s really interesting about this scenario is it highlights what happens later both in season 5 and during the arc with Negan. Daryl finds his purpose and home through a connection to people. He uses his skills as a tracker, hunter, and guardian to protect the people he cares for. When the prison falls he loses all confidence in those skills and who he is and becomes very depressed and in doing so gives up in way because he loses all hope.

During Still Beth helps to restore Daryl’s hope and creates a connection with Daryl that is so strong his purpose becomes about her. Daryl’s connection to Beth becomes so strong that when they find the funeral home he suggests to her that they stay there and try to make it a home. He is willing to settle there with her. Not only do we see Daryl finding renewed hope in Beth but he also teaches her skills that are most important to him including tracking and hunting. Daryl is sharing with Beth the things that make him who he is and that are most special to him. He wants her to understand them and to be able to do them as well. The reason that I wanted to point out that Daryl suggested to Beth that they stay at the funeral home is because the funeral home is the last place we see Daryl happily settled (like at the prison) that he considers making a home. The Daryl we see at the funeral home with Beth is prison Daryl from early in season 4. He is the man who has a purpose and is happy and settled. The funeral home is the last place we see this because it is the last time Daryl feels that sense of home. The writers do a really interesting thing when Beth is taken. They show Daryl as an inverse version of himself. When the prison fell Daryl lost all hope and connection and stopped looking for his family. When Beth is taken Daryl desperately searches and tracks her even once he is reconnected with the rest of his family. He is even willing to just disappear on them when he has the chance to track a car with a white cross on it. When the prison fell Daryl was convinced everyone had died but when multiple characters ask if Beth has died Daryl insists that she is just gone clearly holding on to the hope quite strongly that she is alive and okay somewhere out there.

After Beth’s death Daryl holds onto the feelings that Beth helped him to feel until Always Accountable which was an episode riff with Beth symbolism. The point was however that after losing Beth Daryl was only able to hold onto the hope that she created within him for so long before he lost it because of the world around him. Daryl had been struggling to fit in at Alexandria and make it a home but at that point he stops. Daryl never feels at home at Alexandria. The writers make a point of this. Aaron tries to help Daryl by giving him a purpose and it works for a short time until Always Accountable. After meeting Dwight and failing to help him Daryl’s confidence shatters again just as it did after the fall of the prison and this time there is no one there to help him pick up his pieces. The reason that Dwight shatters Daryl’s confidence is this. Beth told Daryl that there were good people in the world and that they were worth helping. She tells him he is one of those good people and that he has value to the world. The reason Always Accountable is so riff with Beth symbolism is because it is the episode where Daryl is stripped of Beth once and for all. He loses hope in all the things she taught him and instilled within him and he loses hope in the feelings she helped him to feel which were love, value, and worth. He loses those feelings because he knows that Dwight is a good person. He knows that Dwight is a good person and when he tries to help him Dwight turns on him. What happens after that first encounter with Dwight only rams home to Daryl that even good people can’t be trusted. Because Dwight hurts Daryl over and over again and deep down Daryl knows that Dwight is a good person that he tried to help and this is what happened. Dwight is a parallel to Daryl because he is what Daryl could become if he made different choices. Daryl sees this and it makes him question all the hope he found in Beth to the point that he loses it and becomes very depressed.

If Daryl was attempting to make Alexandria a home by holding onto the feelings Beth made him feel then he stops after Always Accountable and we then see an endless cycle of Daryl moving from place to place to place. After losing his final connection to Beth he loses his desire to try to make somewhere a home. After he escapes Negan he is shuffled from Hilltop to Kingdom to Alexandria and back again. After the war with Negan Rick asks him to run the Sanctuary and then Daryl goes to the camp to help Rick. Rick is the last tie that really holds Daryl to a community in the sense of a home. After losing Beth Rick becomes Daryl’s reason and he wants to be with Rick because where Rick is has a semblance of feeling like home (home is where the heart is and the show has narratively shown us only two people that hold Daryl’s heart in that strong a manner). However when Rick is lost Daryl completely leaves all the communities and makes a home in the woods at the last place he knows Rick was. Being close to Rick becomes home for Daryl even if Rick is not there anymore. But beyond that we see that Daryl has no real ties to any community as a home. At Hilltop he is sleeping in the barn, we know based on Judith and Michonne that he has not stayed at Alexandria for a while, and before Henry’s death C@rol and Ezekiel offer Daryl Kingdom as a home. So it’s clear by this season that if Beth’s purpose was to lead TF to their home the character least affected by that purpose was Daryl who never truly found a home and that is not the recipe for how the writers write these kinds of things on this show. In fact Daryl should have been most affected by Beth’s death and he should have found his home. I think the point is that Beth’s effect on Daryl’s overall story is still happening and that the conclusion and the point is still to come.

So this anomaly in the way the writers used the story structure made me consider Daryl’s story and where the writers are going with it and the theme the writers are using. Daryl’s story while with Beth in season 4 and afterwards all these seasons later has been about home and it is still unresolved. If Daryl’s arc is about finding his place and finding his home he has still not done that even after all these seasons. But the writers steered Daryl’s story in a very interesting direction this season with the addition of Lydia and I have a lot of thoughts about how this theme of home affects Daryl through his relationship with Lydia and how it connects to Daryl’s larger story with Beth who is a literal representation of what home means for Daryl. Because this ramble is already so long I am going to post those thoughts about Daryl, Beth , and Lydia and what I think this all means to the larger story moving forward in a another post that I will hopefully have finished by the end of the weekend or early next week.

#bethyl #team defiance #Team Delusional

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rgr-pop · 6 years

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Regarding the McMansion critique, some of the environmental impacts are very, very valid. But I think we tend to overlook that there are residents living in these structures. We tend to put a lot of stereotypes that we hold about the houses, and about the suburbs themselves, on these residents. The thought is that because they have a big house, the residents are anti-environmental, they don't value community, and they only care about themselves and about their privacy. These houses are assumed to be one, universal; and two, universally bad.

I spoke to the residents that are actually living in these homes and asked them what these homes meant to them. And in doing so, a lot of the stereotypes fell apart. That’s because a lot of those stereotypes were constructed in a post-war white middle-class framework, and don’t necessarily hold up in the face of new immigrants that are moving to suburbs. [...] The McMansion becomes that symbol of a lot of things that Asian Americans aren’t doing right to assimilate. Even the design critiques of these homes are about how they’re too outlandish. They’re trying to do this faux-Mediterranean look, but they're not even doing it right. It’s too tacky, you know? That, to me, is a broader critique of immigrants never really being American enough. I challenge the notion that Asian Americans should fit into a suburban neighborhood exactly the same way a white middle class family does.

This interview with Willow Lung-Amam is the first thing I recommend reading to start unraveling the mcmansion critique and its racial tones. Her book, Trespassers: Asian Americans and the Battle for Suburbia, about Fremont, CA, is one of many studies on American ethnoburbs, but one of a handful that deals directly with the specter of the mcmansion--Lung-Amam is a professor of architecture.

I feel a few ways about what she’s saying above, that a critique of mcmansions might emerge from a well-meaning assumption of the whiteness of suburbia, (and the contents of that suburban whiteness), an assumption that no longer maps onto how (and where) people are living in America. I basically agree, and I think it’s diplomatic. But her work (and the work of others, which I’ll get to) shows that in many cases, planners, critics and neighbors actually develop this critique of the mcmansion after the act of racialization, and wield that critique politically. In some cases, even, the same problematic houses don’t become a problem until they become inhabited by problem residents.

But take this a little blurb on Fremont: mcmansions are built in suburbs that look like a different kind of suburb, and that difference is made political through zoning, design review, etc. Those quotes in there are really something. In this case, it would be hard to convincingly argue that neighbors imposed an existing critique of the white mcmansion onto their neighbors. In their case--and this is my first major stake in this argument--the “white suburb” is imagined to be single-story, a modernist suburb. The whiteness of, say, the modernist ranch, is just as fantastical as the whiteness of the mcmansion, but it’s become unfashionable to make such a critique of those postwar suburbs, and I really don’t think it’s because your average Curbed content creator has read Andrew Wiese’s Places of Their Own, Bruce Haynes’s Red Lines, Black Spaces or Becky Nicolaides’ My Blue Heaven, or any of the other new suburban histories that complicate a history of white spaces (and white architecture). In fact, I think a rise in critique of the excessive mcmansion* has bolstered a new and growing mythologizing of modernist architecture, one that is intimately connected to what’s happening to modernist real estate right now. Remember that Curbed is a real estate website.

*to be clear, there have been critiques of the mcmansion since the mcmansion has existed, and these critiques have come from a lot of different perspectives. but it is true that these critiques have been multiplying, as have their platforms.

But I really agree with Lung-Amam’s implication that as architecture critics, we (yes we, I can be whatever I want to be) can’t know anything by looking, certainly not (ffs) by looking at staged real estate listings. Or, let me rephrase: what can we know about a space, just by looking? That’s my second major stake in this game, and it is my biggest fucking stake. Eight years ago Alexandra Lange wrote that Nicolai Ouroussoff's criticism "shrinks the critic’s role to commenting only on the appearance of the architecture. He might have been the perfect critic for the boom years, when looks were the selling point, but this formal, global approach seems incongruous in a downturn,” and, not to lowkey call out someone I look up to in the field, but what do we have now? We have 1000 words on how the style of houses that were made after the fifties is Bad.

Let me take a few steps backward, because what I just said is not actually my stake. It’s not that I’m unconcerned with image in architecture, and it’s absolutely not that I’m concerned only with program and function (god, function) in architecture. It’s also not even that I care that much that architecture critics can’t think themselves out of a paper bag with Style written on it. It’s that I outright reject an architecture criticism that mistakes a taste objection for a political position. It’s hollow and it is, wholesale, in every case, racist. I’ve been listening to a lot of Vincent Scully lectures lately and I find it hard to believe that this great defender of play and eclecticism, a man who told students that Venturi reclaimed wallpaper as a feminist statement and that anti-ornament manifestos of the turn of the century were homophobic, was really paving the way for us to write about how disgusted we are by an Armenian doctor’s Greek fountain, or that Muslim-Americans should plan the spaces of their home more economically if they want into the polity. Ohhkay! I feel I’ve digressed again.

As you know, my main fight is about interiors. And I’ve learned a lot by watching a meme critique of staged interior decoration launch itself to the top of so-called architecture criticism. Just as you can’t look at the elevation of house and learn (as much as people want to believe) about the sociopolitical content of that home, I believe it’s either dangerous or useless to stake social claims based on a photograph of an interior. I mean: looking at interior space, represented, instead of asking (not rhetorically asking), why might the people who live in this space have configured it as such? what is this space used for? where did these items come from?, the mcmansion critique says: this is wrong, it’s repulsive, it’s amoral. And worse: my revulsion is not only a critical position, but an ethical one. Questions become accusations: Why would anyone need an extra set of bedrooms? Why would anyone need an empty room with a stupid persian rug on the floor? Why would people want to have Mediterranean or Chinese things in their home? Why would an Australian have a corrugated metal roof? Moralistic judgments about lifeways based on the scopic only. I use “scopic” here because I think of this action as fundamentally an action upon, and I want to frame dumbass ethocentric judgment (cast as “criticism”) as a mode of cultural domination.

And okay, so many of these judgments are just funny mistakes that we can laugh at (why would someone in the county with the largest amount of house fires caused by lightning strikes have metal rods on their roof?). But my point is that it is a fundamentally ethnocentric (racist, is the word I like to use) (we’re just going to set “disabled people exist” aside entirely for now) project to advance a critique of bad taste (style) from a position of practicality, one centered on what you understand to be the right way to inhabit a space. Really a lot of words for something very simple! Really impossible to convince anyone of this! And, I conclude, the mcmansion critique is not a political critique, and (you’re gonna hate to hear this, tough love) a politics can’t emerge from a taste claim. The mcmansion critique is nothing more than a taste claim, one very hastily staked.

I actually came here to offer you a short bibliography and nothing else, whoops! I mention Lung-Amam’s work as the one that I’ve found really takes the category of the mcmansion to task, looking at what was just as often called the “monster house” in Fremont. Denise Lawrence-Zuniga, an anthropologist, wrote a book about Southern California historical preservation (Protecting Suburban America) with a chapter on San Gabriel Valley’s Alhambra. That chapter looks at the conflicts between the preservation board, design review board, planning commission etc. and residents, specifically immigrants. She notes how different understandings of governmentality (as in, the need to get certain kinds of permits, etc.), and different ways of living created conflict between local government and immigrants. There are bits about planners’ paranoia about remodels that promote density, like adding too many extra rooms to a historic house, or remodeling interiors in a way that might encourage subletting, that I find pretty disturbing. But the author only mentions the major point: these forms of intensive governmentality in the name of historical preservation were put into place as Alhambra witnessed the transition of nearby suburbs into ethnoburbs. Preservationist policy emerged as a governmental response to a perceived loss of white control. (Much has been said about Arcadia, Chinese investor development, “mansionization.” h/t @prettylittlecrier for this article!) I can’t say that I recommend this book entirely, unless you’re involved in preservation planning.

I’m not sure we can accurately call all of these homes in the SGV “mcmansions,” but people sure love to. In Lawrence-Zuniga’s chapter, Alhambra’s bungalow landscape “needed” to be defended from Arcadia’s mansionization--larger scale teardown and redevelopment, but also from any kinds of additions and modifications to existing bungalows that would alter their scale in relation to the lot and the neighbors, as well as (importantly) their inhabited density. I think it’s worth thinking through the differences between all of these things: subdivided land developed for large houses on small lots, redevelopment for the former, large houses built for large families on small surbuban lots where more “modest” houses might have once stood, or just... big houses on big lots.

I must have mentioned Becky Nicolaides and James Zarsadiaz’s “Design Assimilation in Suburbia: Asian Americans, Built Landscapes, and Suburban Advantage in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley since 1970,” I was so excited when they published this article. They look at San Marino, and consider what they term “design assimilation” to describe the ways (and reasons) Chinese suburbanites chose to consent to preservationist codes and design review, and why they lived in a community that imposed these kinds of racialized codes:

For some, these suburban landscapes seemed to materialize positive images of America they harbored as children back in Asian home countries. Some openly appreciated the classic European inflected architecture, others the open spaces and aesthetic styles of country living. Asian suburbanites also grasped that support of American landscape aesthetics offered certain social and fiscal benefits. To their neighbors, it conveyed a willingness to assimilate through aesthetic behaviors, which helped maintain community peace and ensure social acceptance. Embracing American design styles also conferred a status distinction that positioned these Asian homeowners above those around them—including those in the ethnoburbs. In design-assimilated suburbs, property values were higher and schools were better, signaling a racialized valuing of space not lost on Asians themselves. Design assimilation, thus, was a facet of the production of affluent suburban space, in which white and ethnic Asian suburbanites played complicit roles.

They don’t pick up the McMansion explicitly, but they are marking its absence in a landscape. This is a really constructive piece, chiefly, here, as a concrete example of the ways that some suburbs were understood to be aesthetically Chinese by the eighties, that the mcmansion criticism can be seen to have been racialized by then.

I want to close with an excerpt from anthropologist Aihwa Ong’s 1996 article, “Cultural Citizenship as Subject-Making,” which picks up the problem of taste but also the figure of international wealth, and the Chinese developer rather than the middle class Chinese immigrant:

In wealthier San Franciscan neighborhoods, residents pride themselves on their conservation consciousness, and they jealously guard the hybrid European ambiance and character of particular neighborhoods. In their role as custodians of appropriate cultural taste governing buildings, architecture, parks, and other public spaces, civic groups routinely badger City Hall, scrutinize urban zoning laws, and patrol the boundaries between what is aesthetically permissible and what is intolerable in their districts. By linking race with habitus, taste, and cultural capital (Bourdieu 1984), such civic groups set limits to the whitening of Asians, who, metaphorically speaking still give off the whiff of sweat despite arriving with starter symbolic capital.

Public battles over race/taste have revolved around the transformation of middle-class neighborhoods by rich Asian newcomers. At issue are boxy houses with bland facades--”monster houses”--erected by Asian buyers to accommodate extended families in low-density, single-family residential districts known for their Victorian or Mediterranean charm. Protests have often taken on a racialist tone, registering both dismay at the changing cultural landscape and efforts to educate the new arrivals to white upper-class norms appropriate for the city. While the activists focus on the cultural elements--aesthetic norms, democratic process, and civic duty--that underpin the urban imagined community, they encode the strong class resentment against large-scale Asian investment in residential and commercial properties throughout the city. A conflict over one of these monster houses illustrates the ways in which the state is caught between soothing indignant urbanites seeking to impose their notion of cultural citizenship on Asian nouveaux riches while attempting to keep the door open for Pacific Rim capital.

In 1989 a Hong Kong multimillionaire, a Mrs. Chan, bought a house in the affluent Marina district. Chan lived in Hong Kong and rented out her Marina property. A few years later, she obtained the approval of the city to add a third story to her house but failed to notify her neighbors. When they learned of her plans, they complained that the third story would block views of the Palace of Fine Arts as well as cut off sunlight in an adjoining garden. The neighbors linked up with a citywide group to pressure City Hall. The mayor stepped in and called for a city zoning study, thus delaying the proposed renovation. At a neighborhood meeting, someone declared, “We don’t want to see a second Chinatown here.” Indeed, there is already a new “Chinatown” outside the old Chinatown, based in the middle-class Richmond district. This charge thus raised the specter of a spreading Chinese urbanscape encroaching on the heterogeneous European flavor of the city. The remark, with its implied racism, compelled the mayor to apologize to Chan, and the planning commission subsequently approved a smaller addition to her house.

However, stung by the racism and the loss on her investment and bewildered that neighbors could infringe upon her property rights, Chan, a transnational developer, used her wealth to mock the city’s self-image as a bastion of liberalism. She pulled out all her investments in the United States and decided to donate her million-dollar house to the homeless. To add insult to injury, she stipulated that her house was not to be used by any homeless of Chinese descent. Her architect, an American Chinese, told the press, “You can hardly find a homeless Chinese anyway,” Secure in her overseas location, Chan fought the Chinese stereotype by stereotyping American homeless as non-Chinese, while challenging her civic-minded neighbors to demonstrate the moral liberalism they professed. Mutual class and racial discrimination thus broke through the surface of what initially appeared to be a negotiation over normative cultural taste in the urban milieu. A representative of the mayor’s office, appropriately contrite, remarked that Chan could still do whatever she wanted with her property; “We just would like for her not to be so angry.” The need to keep overseas investments flowing into the city had to be balanced against neighborhood groups’ demands for cultural standards. The power of the international real estate market, as represented by Mrs. Chan, thus disciplined both City Hall and the Marina neighbors, who may have to rethink local notions of what being enlightened urbanites may entail in the “era of Pacific Rim capital.”

#i think i'm forgetting a sociologist...#architecture #landscapes of production #interiors

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