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fancoloredglasses · 1 year

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[RERUN] The Star Wars Holiday Special (May the Farce Be With You)

[All images are owned by Lucasfilm Disney, whether they want them or not. Please don’t sue me]

Much like with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, this review was one that I feel truly suffered due to not finding many images to work with before I knew how to screencap. It’s also the other of my reviews that one of my followers (who is one of my best friends) thought was too painful to slog through (whether it was due to the walls of text or the subject itself is anyone’s guess)

Therefore, in honor of the holiday season Life Day, I present a RERUN version of my original review (which can be found here)

You’re welcome! Now, on with the review!

Every Christmas season (yes, I know there are other holidays in December, and I would happily acknowledge them if the networks would, but I have only heard of one Hanukkah special and not one Kwanzaa special), the airwaves are flooded with holiday specials dating as far back as the mid 60s. Many are classics, others...not so much (I’m looking at you, He-Man and Pac Man!) However, there is one holiday special that lives on in infamy.

The year was 1978, A New Hope Star Wars was released a year prior and fans worldwide were looking for anything to get their fix until the promised sequel would be released in 1980. What they got was...well...this.

The major characters returned: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3P0, Vader (well, clips of Vader from Star Wars, though James Earl Jones did phone in a few new lines of dialogue over the old footage), although they were all regulated to cameo appearances.

[Quick note: Harrison Ford wanted nothing to do with this. Mark Hamill agreed as long as he didn’t have to sing. Carrie Fisher agreed as long as she could sing.]

No, sitting center stage were characters that were sure to at least be supporting characters in the promised sequel (...well, one on the periphery made good on that promise)

You see, someone in their infinite wisdom decided that veteran comedy actors Art Carney (Ed Norton from The Honeymooners), Bea Arthur (the star of the sitcom Maude and future Golden Girl), and Harvey Korman (regular cast member of The Carol Burnett Show, playing three roles in this production) would entice the fans of Star Wars and they would line up to get toys featuring their characters.

The show was never seen on TV again after its initial airing. Fans hated it. George Lucas disavowed its existence, stating he wanted to round up every bootleg copy so he could burn them in effigy.

I remembered enjoying it (but then, my age at this point had not reached double digits), and wondered why it didn’t return the following year. A number of years ago, one of my favorite websites, in their annual celebration of the worst holiday fare (which includes Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, Santa With Muscles, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians) wrote a review of this program (I admit I may have stolen been inspired by a few of the jokes for this review. I regret nothing!), and I decided it couldn’t be as bad as the site claimed.

It was. Hoo-boy it was! It wasn’t 100% devoid of entertainment, though it certainly doesn’t fall into “so bad it’s good” territory.

While, as of this writing, Disney+ ain’t touching this with a ten-foot lightsaber, you can find it online via several sources. I’m using this one on YouTube.

We open to footage ripped from the movie (we will see that a lot. These guys obviously had very little budget) of the Millennium Falcon being chased by two star destroyers near a planet that looks suspiciously like Tatooine.

Han (who looks like a man who is contractually obligated to be there and just wants to get this over with) is desperately trying to get out of this production Chewie home to his family in time for something called “Life Day” (what, you thought they celebrated Christmas in a galaxy far, far away?), which is an important day in Wookie culture. In fact, it’s so important that it’s never mentioned again in any of the films or television series! Han eventually engages the hyperdrive and the Falcon speeds away and the opening credits roll.

Speaking of the opening credits, we are introduced to Chewbacca’s family for the first (and only) time...

First we have Chewie’s wife, Malla. We know she’s a female Wookie because she’s wearing lipstick.

Next up we have Chewie’s son Lumpy (dear gods I hope that’s short for something or this kid is gonna get the shit kicked out of him in Wookie school) Lumpy has the sort of voice that’s nails-on-the-chalkboard irritating. It doesn’t help that he looks like an overweight Ewok in desperate need of a haircut.

Finally, we have Chewie’s father Itchy, (I swear I’m not making that up!) an ancient Wookie with a serious underbite and an unhealthy love of porn (I wish I was making that up!)

These three are the central characters of this production, and get the majority of screen time. Anyone who has seen any Star Wars film featuring Chewbacca knows how Wookies communicate. Picture repeated conversations over 10 minutes of Wookies talking to one another...with no subtitles.

Anyway, the credits end and we open on a matte painting of a bunch of tree houses that I’m assuming is supposed to be a village on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk.

We then switch to the inside of one (Chewie’s home...not that he’s ever there with his free-wheeling life as a smuggler keeping him away) where Malla is fixing dinner (wearing an apron. OK, I’ll give that a pass. I wouldn’t want...whatever that is she’s making getting all over my fur either)...

...while Itchy is showing infinite patience by not smacking the hell out of Lumpy (hey, it was the 70s. That kind of stuff still happened) because the kid won’t leave him alone (or shut up) Finally, (I’m assuming...remember, no subtitles) Itchy tells Lumpy to shut the fuck up and leave him alone. Malla tells Lumpy to help her fix dinner...or maybe to take out the trash (again, I’m assuming) Lumpy whines a bit (then again, he always sounds like that) before Itchy yells at him some more and he sulks off to the kitchen.

He doesn’t sulk for long because he spies...cookies? crackers?...some kind of snack and tries to sneak one, but Malla catches him and makes him take the trash out. I’m guessing Chewie must love Lumpy, because he has to be the only reason the rest of the family hasn’t thrown Lumpy over a railing to the forest below yet.

Lumpy them takes (what I’m assuming is) the trash outside and we’re treated to a horrible green-screen effect as Lumpy walks along the matte-painted rail outside his house. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll fall...

Inside (where unfortunately we don’t hear the whiny scream of Lumpy falling to his death), Malla realizes Chewie isn’t home yet, so Itchy consoles her (at least I think that’s what all those growls mean...) Then Lumpy (definitely not a lot flatter) wanders in and bugs Itchy until he manages to shut Lumpy up by letting him watch a holo (even in a galaxy far, far away adults use TV to shut the kids up)

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(Thanks to Robert Angelli)

Finally, Malla has enough of whatever the hell that was and (I’m assuming) tells Lumpy to do the dishes, which causes another whiny tirade from Lumpy...

...while she goes to a computer that looks outdated even by 1970s standards her highly advanced computer system to scan the area for the Millennium Falcon, but to no avail.

She and Itchy then go to another outdated computer a video communicator behind a hidden panel to contact Luke Skywalker (so Luke knows Chewie’s family too? Amazing that we don’t hear more about this in the movies...)

Luke and R2 are fixing an engine from his X-Wing (wouldn’t the Alliance base he was stationed at have a maintenance crew to do that?) They all growl at Luke, wondering where Chewie is. Luke has no clue, but tells Malla to smile (Jesus The Force, Luke! You NEVER tell a female to smile, especially one who could rip your arms off!)

Malla tries another channel, this time to a Kashyyyk trading post manned by Saun Dann (played by Art Carney), who is dealing with an Imperial guard (who obviously got issued a helmet two sizes too large) Since there’s an Imperial, Dann can’t speak plainly, but sorta-kinda tells Malla that Chewie is delayed, but is on his way. Having gotten Malla off the line, Dann offers to sell the Imperial some tiny fish, but he’s not interested. He then shows the Imperial an all-purpose comb and stain-remover. The Imperial is interested, and asks for the give-it-to-me-for-free-or-I'll-call-in-a-raid-and-summary-execution-on-you-and-your-shop discount. Dann “happily” obliges.

Meanwhile, inside the stock footage of an Imperial Star Destroyer, stock footage of Darth Vader tells his aide to go to Kashyyyk and (this is a direct quote) “search every household” for any sign of the Rebellion (I’m assuming that includes Han and Chewbacca) I don’t know about you, but I can’t see Vader saying the word “household”.

Back on Kashyyyk, (what, you thought you’d be able to get away from more Wookie dialogue with no subtitles?) Lumpy has finally finished the dishes (this sure is riveting TV!) and wanders off, leaving Malla to fix the family’s Life Day dinner, so she turns on the TV to watch a cooking show starring...

...a four-armed Harvey Korman doing his less-than-best Julia Child impersonation.

Korman Gormaanda instructs her viewers on how to make Bantha Surprise (the surprise is how much it costs to import a Bantha from Tatooine) I’m sure the writers thought this would be comedy gold, but it’s just painful to watch. And to think, just four years prior, Korman was risking an almost certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. (sadly, he didn’t get the nomination)

We then switch to stock footage of the Millennium Falcon being attacked by TIE fighters (only this time without Luke manning the guns) Han hopes the fighters will shoot down the Falcon so he can go home, but unfortunately they fare about as well as you’d expect Imperial forces to fare (how the hell did the Empire stay in power as long as they did when this was what typical troops were like?)

Back on Kashyyyk, The Empire has declared martial law and Imperial forces have raided Chewie’s home!

No, wait. It’s only Saun Dann, who offers hope to the family that Han and Chewie will get past the blockade (after all, he could do it...wait, wasn’t he already on Kashyyyk?) He has Life Day gifts for the family.

Malla gets a...sewing machine, I think?

Lumpy gets a...Lego set?

And Itchy gets a video with a bit of “wow! If you know what I mean” (i.e. He brought the dirty old man the family-friendly version of porn). The part of the hologram Mermeia (or, as IMDb dubbed the role “Holographic Wow”) was played by legendary singer/actress Diahann Carroll (who would go on to play Dominique Deveraux of the ABC series Dynasty, but those who watched the USA Network series White Collar will know her as Neil’s landlady June) Say what you will about the shitty writing and production values, but the bit players had star power. The Holographic Wow Mermeia sings a song before doing...whatever it is she does that makes Itchy bounce in his seat like he’s getting his hairballs off.

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(Thanks to Commander FemShep)

Meanwhile, at an undisclosed Alliance...accounting office? (Well, it sure looks like Leia is working on an adding machine...) Leia and 3P0 contact Malla and asks where Chewbacca is. Needless to say, this upsets Malla (you know, I kind of get the feeling that if Chewie doesn’t die at the hands of the Empire, Malla’s gonna kill him!) Leia staggers over to the screen (you know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Leia was either drunk off her ass or tripping balls...hopefully not Itchy’s) Leia is tired of not having subtitles to find out what Malla is saying and asks to speak to anyone who doesn’t growl. Dann comes to the screen and IDs himself as Alliance deep cover (over an open channel? Good thing the Imperial forces in this sector of the galaxy are fucking idiots) and promises to keep an eye on things until Chewie arrives.

Once again we’re treated to more stock footage as the Falcon approaches Yavin with a heavy green filter Kashyyyk, but Han realizes the Empire has the planet blockaded, so tries to phone in come up with a plan. Han manages to find a lightly-guarded section of the planet and lands, though some distance from Chewie’s village.

The Falcon’s approach is loud enough to alert the family, so they rush to greet...

(what, you thought this would be over that quickly? There’s still almost an hour to go!)

The troopers’ commander (who apparently got his helmet from the same outfitter as the last one) informs the officer in charge (who has way too much swagger for someone roped into being in this production) that there should be one more Wookie than is currently home. Dann thinks quickly and fast talks the officer a hell of a lot better than anything Han could do.

The Imperials try interrogating Lumpy, who’s having none of it, which almost starts an armed confrontation! (like Stormtroopers could hit them. I mean, they’re at point-blank range! There’s no way they’d make that shot!) Fortunately, Dann sorta-kinda defuses the situation and tries to run interference on the troops by turning on the video player he gave Malla (you mean that wasn’t a sewing machine?)

...and we’re “treated” to a very forgettable performance by Jefferson Starship (well, their band name is kinds sci-fi-ish, but who knew the band traced its roots back a long time ago?)

Eventually, the troops decide they’ve paid Carney enough grow tired of Dann’s rambling and shoo him away so they can actually do their job. Lumpy doesn’t want the troops in his room (why not? If he’s a typical kid, it’s not like the Empire tossing his room would make it look any worse) and tries to stop them, but gets thrown aside (those guys must work out!) Itchy’s family bonds win out over common sense (I mean, if the troops blast Lumpy then no one has to hear his whining again) and he tries to protect Lumpy, but gets the same treatment. The officer warns Malla to calm her family down or Bad Things will happen (like what? They’ll force the family to watch this production?)

Malla has Lumpy sit at a video player (how many of those things does this house have? Counting the communicator and computer, I’ve counted 6 so far!) and watch...

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(Thanks to SWarchives)

Yes, it’s the first ever appearance of Boba Fett!

Once the troopers are done tossing Lumpy’s room, he goes up to assess the damage. Seeing it’s no worse than before, he goes to his Lego set, which is actually a do-it-yourself transmitter kit (so 7 video screens...or 8 if you count the screen explaining how to assemble the kit)

Speaking of the assembly instructions, they are given by Harvey Korman, playing a very glitchy robot.

Meanwhile, the troopers downstairs watch a program (don’t they have other “households” to search?) showing the cantina at Mos Eisley for some reason.

...where we see yet another character player my Harvey Korman (apparently he works cheap. And to think, three years prior he won his fourth straight Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series) as Krelman, a being that looks like a volcano with hair.

...who apparently drinks through the hole in the top of his head. He has apparently decided today is the day he will woo the girl of his dreams...

...the bartender Ackmena, played by Bea Arthur. However, Ackmena is having none of it and is trying to politely brush him off (while still getting him to buy drinks...I mean, she is a businesswoman)

Eventually, the night is cut short as the Imperial official (who is the same official who announced the blockade on Kashyyyk...guess all those celebrities don’t come cheap), so Ackmena has to close the cantina...in to the tune of the Cantina Theme

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(Thanks again to Robert Angelli)

I will say, I would not want a steady diet of Bea Arthur’s not-quite-melodious singing, but this somehow works for me, and is probably the second most entertaining thing in this program so far (the first being the cartoon)

Back on Kashyyyk, the Imperials get orders to return, but the officer has one of the troopers remain to catch Chewie when he comes home. After the Imperials leave, the recall order is still being heard.

It turns out Lumpy is transmitting the order from his new computer (that he somehow managed to build despite Harvey Korman’s instructions) The trooper stationed doesn’t think forging Imperial orders is that funny and smashes the computer (great, so now we have to hear Lumpy whine some more) and chases after Lumpy to either blast him or beat the shit out of him (I’d be OK with either, but given the accuracy of the average Stormtrooper, the latter might be more effective)

Fortunately(?) Han and Chewbacca show up and do to the trooper what the rest of us have been wanting anyone to do to Lumpy (throw him over the rail to the forest far below)

Han and Chewie then go inside for a completely phoned-in and emotionless heart-felt reunion with Chewie’s family. All too soon (or not soon enough, if you’re Harrison Ford) Han needs to get back to where he stashed the Falcon, leaving Chewie to have a touching (if fairly awkward-looking...almost like Malla and Chewie had no clue how Wookies would express affection) family moment before there’s a knock on the door.

Expecting the worst, Chewie readies his bowcaster and opens the door, but it’s just Saun Dann looking to pad his paycheck a bit clean up Han’s mess by fabricating a story to the Imperial official about the trooper going rogue and giving the Empire a worse name than they already have. Somehow, the official buys this story (maybe Luke and Ben should have hired Dann instead of Han to rescue the Leia from the Death Star)

We are then...treated? to a scene that is sure be treasured annually on television for years to come: the Wookie Life Day ritual.

...which apparently involved dressing in red robes (sure, why not?) and walking through space into a white hole. I’m sure this is supposed to be symbolic of something, but I don’t speak Wookie so I have no clue.

On the other side of the white hole, the Wookies are hanging out in some sort of bog, where they are joined by Han, Luke, Leia, 3P0, and R2 (of the group, Han makes the most sense as Chewie’s family treats him as one of theirs, but the droids? They’re not even alive! How can they celebrate Life Day?) Leia still looks drugged to the gills as she sings a song to the tune of the Star Wars theme.

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(Thanks to The Movie Dump)

I personally would rather hear Bea Arthur’s singing than Carrie Fisher’s.

We then are treated to a bunch of clips from Star Wars featuring Chewie, (to remind us of when these guys were awesome instead of what we’re seeing here)

...followed by the traditional Life Day meal of Bantha Surprise (imported from Tatooine) as we fade out.

Happy Life Day everyone!

#star wars #art carney #Bea Arthur #Harvey Korman #Diahann Carroll #boba fett #life day #i hate reruns #Fan Colored Glasses

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butterflyinthewell · 4 years

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Important online safety message to minors.

I’m almost 40. I’ve seen some scary stuff online.

It’s a sad world that someone has to tell you to be more situationally aware of creeps, but I hope this advice helps you be safer online.

🗣

You don’t have to specify your age, but make sure it’s clearly known that you are a minor if an adult engages you online.

If it makes you more comfortable, you can put something on your profile like “I am a minor, 18+ please do not interact.” Add it to your posts too if you have room (it depends on the site). One unfortunate part of Web 2.0 social media is not everyone checks a profile before they retweet / reblog / share someone’s stuff.

If an adult keeps engaging with your stuff and you don’t want them to, it’s okay to block them.

Stay away from spaces adults have marked as nsfw, off-limits to minors or unsafe for minors. Chances are there is material in those spaces that you may not be ready for, or it will shock, offend, frighten, disgust and/or trigger you.

Some adults will pretend to be minors, and unfortunately I don’t know what kind of “tells” give away that they’re lying about their age, but I’m sure someone who knows more about that can reblog this and add that info.

Now, here’s what to do if a creepy adult starts creeping.

If their profile states they’re a MAP or NOMAP, block instantly. MAP / NOMAP means Minor Attracted Person / Non-Offending Minor Attracted Person. These people are pedophiles. Some of them identify themselves with the acronym PEAR or the pear emoji. 🍐 Be wary if you see this in someone’s profile info.

PEAR stands for Pro-Expression Anti-Repression. That’s something you apply to fiction, NOT reality. Fiction can be turned off, flicked off a screen, a book closed or otherwise disengaged from the moment someone doesn’t like it. Real life doesn’t work that way, and don’t trust anyone who claims it does.

It doesn’t matter if a MAP / NOMAP claims they’re getting “help” for their pedophilia or not, they should not be engaging you in any capacity.

If you engage them and discover they’re a MAP, disengage and block.

If an adult sends you anything that is sexually explicit, no matter the form, be it art, fanwork, videos, audio, roleplays, etc, screenshot it for evidence, block that person and tell someone you can trust.

Even nudity that is not sexual (this includes furry art with exposed genitals) should be treated as suspicious if an adult knows you’re a minor and still sends it to you despite being told you’re uncomfortable with it. They might be trying to desensitize you to the sight of nudity so they can show you more and more explicit stuff. Do as above; screenshot, block and report to someone you trust.

+ Part of the grooming process is the adult tries to reach you somewhere private, like DM’s or a messenger app and desensitize you to stimuli you would normally reject by exposing you little by little to it. Think of it as a twisted form of exposure therapy for phobias, but you don’t want this exposure. They want you to get curious and will up the ”intensity” of the explicit material.

The media itself existing is not the problem (unless the adult using it on you made it), the real problem is adult using it specifically to desensitize you into thinking that kind of stuff is okay in the real world. If an adult engages you, shows you media with questionable material in it and tries to tell you “see, it’s okay because it’s being done here” screenshot it, tell them fiction is not the real world and break off contact.

Most creeps stay hidden, so their blog may not contain a trace of anything weird, but when they engage you they send you all kinds of creepy adult stuff. An adult who is engaging you to groom you will use pretty much anything to try to make you think it’s normal and okay for them to do that to you. Remember always that it’s not. Remember the line between fiction and reality.

No adult should be sending a minor any pictures of naked people (or naked furry art with visible genitals) of any age no matter how innocent it seems!!!

If an adult sends you pictures or videos of themselves in their underwear, naked, showing their genitals or showing themselves doing sexually explicit stuff, screenshot the evidence, block them and report it to someone you trust.

If an adult asks you about sex toys or sends you info about them, that is really suspicious. Screencap, block and report to someone you trust.

If an adult asks you questions about your body, like what your hair ‘down there’ looks like, or how you’re developing, or if they ask if you touch your private parts, screenshot the evidence, block the adult and tell someone you trust.

If an adult asks you questions like “do you know what a (something sexual here) is?” or any questions that are sexually explicit or makes you uncomfortable, screenshot that crap, block them and tell someone you trust.

If you’re a creator and an adult tries to commission materials with nudity or sexually explicit stuff, refuse and tell them you’re a minor. If they persist, take screenshots, block them and tell someone you trust.

If an adult sends you violent or gory stuff and you don’t like it, demand that they stop and block them if they don’t. Screenshot anything they say if they keep doing it, and tell someone you trust.

If an adult demands you get on camera for them, do not do it. Screenshot the evidence, block them and tell someone you trust.

If an adult is threatening to reveal secrets you told them unless you do what they say(ie “send me a closeup of your private parts, or I’ll email all our chatlogs and your old naked photos to your whole school”). DON’T DO IT!! Screenshot the evidence, block them and tell someone you trust.

If an adult threatens to hurt themselves if you stop talking to them, stop talking to them anyway. This is especially true if they actually harm themselves and show you pictures or videos of it. That is a classic abuse tactic and it’s not your fault if they hurt themselves. Block them.

If an adult you blocked makes more accounts to keep contacting you, or starts showing up on other sites you visit trying to contact you, screenshot all the evidence and tell someone you trust.

If an adult (or anyone)tries to smear your name because you wouldn’t obey them, use any evidence you have against them in your defense and tell someone you trust about the situation.

If you run a blog talking about your abuse or experiences and an adult engages you to ask uncomfortable probing questions about the details of your trauma / abuse, be very suspicious and block them.

If an adult talks to you like you’re their special friend, or if they say you’re their very special friend, be very suspicious.

Acting like a sole source of kindness is one way an adult can groom a minor. They want you to feel like they are the only source of good that you can trust because they want you to gravitate more and more to them.

If you tell an adult you don’t like it when they swear while talking to you privately and they stop, but gradually start to do it again, be wary! An occasional oopsie slip or typo is one thing, but slipping in swear words when they know it makes you uncomfortable is suspicious. They may be testing your boundaries.

If an adult tries to set up an in person meeting, refuse it and talk to someone you trust about it.

If an adult (or anyone) tries to tell you that you should only trust them and nobody else, expects you to behave a certain way to be accepted, or if they act as if you’ve wronged them for trusting people other than them, that is a huge abuse warning sign. They are not safe to be around and you should break contact immediately.

If an adult compliments you in ways that makes you uncomfortable, break contact. A grown adult should not be telling a minor “you’re sexy” or “you’re hot.”

If an adult makes frequent comments about how mature and grown up they think you are, be suspicious.

If an adult learns you’re trans / non-binary and asks questions about your private parts or whether you plan to get surgery, be suspicious.

If an adult asks if you’re alone at home, say no even if you are.

If an adult asks if they can come visit you, say no.

If an adult asks for your phone number, don’t give it to them, no matter how nice or tempting they may be.

If an adult is making you uncomfortable in any way, it’s okay to block them and disengage.

Do not approach an adult with nsfw stuff you made. If they run across it in public on your blog that’s one thing. Sharing it with them in private can get both of you into trouble. Don’t do it.

🗣

Note: if you, a minor, did any of the above because you didn’t know better at the time, know that you are not a bad person. No adult should take advantage of your youth or innocence to hurt you.

🗣

To adults out there:

Do not approach minors with anything sexually explicit!!! This should not need to be said.

If you send something and find out they’re a minor after the fact, apologize and don’t do it again. If you think it’s proper to avoid any more private contact, do that. If you think breaking all contact period is proper, do that.

Make sure minors know you are over 18, whether it’s somewhere on your profile or tacked onto your posts. Something like “over 18, minors DNI” is helpful. I personally have my year of birth (1980) on my profile because that’s easier than changing a number every year.

You can’t prevent minors who fake their age to see naughty stuff from engaging with your stuff, but you can make it clear that you will not engage them back. And do not engage them. In fact, if you’re worried about that, block them when you discover them.

Private conversations with minors is okay, but make sure you tell them you’re not comfortable talking about something if they mention something sexually explicit. Even if it’s fandom related stuff, keep the conversation away from anything more than talking about characters dating or kissing or whatever.

If something you ship has an underage character, do not talk about it in private with a minor, not even if the character is aged up to adulthood.

Got nsfw stuff on your blog? Tag it that way.

I use “n s f w post” for stuff I want to show up in other related tags, “nsfw post” for reblogs, and “nudity” for nonsexual nudity like mermaids with bare chests or artistic nudes. Those tags are specifically for minors to blacklist or mute. (I don’t usually reblog nsfw artwork, but sometimes I post nsfw fanfics, create nsfw text posts or reblog nsfw text posts / fanfic. If I feel it’s nsfw, I tag it such even if most people don’t think it’s nsfw.)

If it’s fanfiction, I make sure the rating is listed and that it’s nsfw, and I try to warn for triggers as best I can.

If your blog or website features a lot of adult or violent content, mark it 18+ and tell minors to not interact.

If a minor approaches you and tells you a harmless secret, fine, keep it secret. You, the adult, should never approach a minor and tell them you will keep their secrets.

If a minor is expressing a desire to harm themselves or someone else, don’t keep that secret. Tell them to talk to someone they trust irl or put them in contact with a hotline or website where they can get help. Be supportive in talking them down from immediate harm, but do not become their therapist. (It’s tempting, you see a kid in trouble and want to help, but always be careful!)

If a minor tells you they’re being abused by an adult in their life, put them in contact a website or phone number where they can seek help. Be supportive and listen, but don’t become their therapist.

If you run a role play blog, state explicitly that you will not engage in nsfw rps with minors.

If you’re roleplaying with a minor and the story takes a nsfw turn, tell the minor you will not role play a sex scene with them no matter how much they want to. Either fade it to black with a time skip or bail out of the rp.

I say this because I forgot the age of someone I was rping with on AIM a long long loooong time ago and it got explicit, and they got in trouble with their parents for it. Their parents contacted me on AIM without their teen’s knowledge and reamed me out so hard I was scared for weeks. They were right to do so! I told them they were right, apologized profusely and swore to never rp with or speak to their teen on AIM ever again, and they agreed to those terms. I kept that promise. Any contact with that former rp partner was done in public, such as via deviantart comments or LiveJournal comments. It was a major learning experience for me and it stuck because this happened almost 20 years ago.

As an autistic adult I feel more like a kid with all kinds of adult knowledge and privileges (ie can gamble, drink, visit adult places) that most kids don’t have. I relate more to people who are younger than me, but that doesn’t give me the right to assume their level of knowledge or lived experience is equal to mine.

What I’m trying to say is always be aware of the age of the person you’re rping or speaking with!

Do not commission sexually explicit or violent stuff from creators who are minors.

Do not engage with a minor who sends you sexually explicit stuff. Tell them that’s inappropriate or you’re not comfortable with getting that from them.

It’s okay to agree with a minor that an adult celebrity or character they have a crush on is attractive or whatever, but if the celebrity / character is a minor or the minor talks about wanting to have sex with that character / celebrity, tell them that’s not an appropriate topic of conversation because of your ages.

This also applies to them sharing fanworks with you depicting explicit nsfw stuff. Deflect them and tell them it’s not appropriate due to your ages.

Do not ask minor for personal info like their school, phone number or address.

Don’t do any video chats with a minor unless they’re family or it’s a group thing like a Zoom event.

‼️ TAG YOUR STUFF APPOPRIATELY!! YES, EVEN STUFF YOU RESHARE!!

‼️ USE APPROPRIATE WARNINGS!! YES, EVEN STUFF YOU RESHARE!!

#online safety #grooming #abuse #safety #predatory behavior #antis #anti antis #pro shipping #purity culture #fanpol #online grooming #online predators #internet safety #internet grooming #web 2.0 #psa #signal boost #important #MAPS and minors should not interact because its too risky

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potatotwins0320 · 4 years

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PasuPare's Agency?

Randomly looked at my phone's screenshots and stumbled upon this old screencap from anime season 2:

This is a shot from the outside of PasuPare agency's building.

So... Their agency's name is "Purely Promotion" entertainment?

Source: BanG Dream! Season 2 Episode 5

#pastel palettes #pasupare #bandori #bang dream #locations

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caranfindel · 5 years

Text

Recap/review 15.02: “Raising Hell”

THEN: Sam shot God! Welcome to the end. Demon!Jack. Last week's non-scary ghosts or spirits or whatever. Strangely missing from the "Then:" Sam's godhole vision. It's actually a very short "Then." Maybe the episode itself is so good, so crammed full of wonderful things, that the "Then" had to be kept brief to make room for all of it.

Or then again, maybe not.

Now. We're still in Harlan, Kansas. A woman holding a scarf over her nose and mouth sneaks into the forbidden zone, and is startled by a neighbor. Or "neighbor." She's seen Close Encounters and knows the benzene story is fake (but if it was true, lady, I don't think that scarf would save you). And yet she's apparently never seen a horror movie, because the fact that her "neighbor" is silently and creepily staring at her doesn't raise any alarm bells. He stabs her a few times and then smokes out into an old-timey ghost who says "Disembowel. D-I-S-E-M-B-O-W-E-L. Disembowel." Well. Okay. She certainly doesn't look disemboweled, but I'll take your word for it. I mean, you spelled it and everything.

Title card. (BTW, you need to check out this very through breakdown of everything you're missing in the title card. It's fantastic.)

Nighttime. Harlan High School. Sam is large and in charge, but the people are restless. And apparently there are "hunters in the zone." Sam gets everyone's attention and tells them the EPA will be here tomorrow (a lie) and they need to stay out of the zone (the truth) and is adorably befuddled when he asks if there are any questions and everyone raises their hand. He's wearing a huge chain around his neck and, unfortunately, has gone back to the undershirt.

[[MORE]]

The zone. Dean and Belphagar. Dean's EMF meter is going crazy, and Belphagar says there are spirits about (are they ghosts? souls? spirits?) but they don't like him so they skedaddled. (Do we believe that?) Dean can't believe he's working with a demon again, and Belphagar can't believe he's working with a hunter, and it's the classic buddy comedy all over again. Except it's not a comedy and they're not buddies. (Do I miss Metatron?) He reminds us that his rationale for working with hunters is that he liked Hell the way it was. (Do we believe that?)

There's a fiery blast at the zone border, and even though Dean was facing it and Belphagar was facing in the other direction, Belphagar is the one who points it out and says "escape attempt, eleven o'clock." The bad guys can't cross the barrier, but rock salt can, which is convenient. Dean blasts a spirit away, who I believe is the same one from the "Then" but I can't be bothered to confirm and is relieved that the warding still works. Belphagar expositions that it won't last forever, and these ghosts/spirits/whatever are more dangerous than average. For example, the ghost Dean just shot was Francis Tumbelty, aka Jack the Ripper.

(Sidebar: Okay, I did actually rewind and use closed-captioning to confirm what Jack said, because what I heard was Francis Tomelty. And here's how my brain works: I can't remember my kid's phone number, I can't remember my license plate number, I can't remember to call the guy to fix the garage door opener, but I do remember that musician Sting's first wife was named Frances Tomelty. That's how useless my brain is. But Wikipedia confirms that Francis Tumbelty is, in fact, a Jack the Ripper suspect.)

I know, Dean, I feel the same way.

High school. It's daylight now. The citizens are still restless, someone's wife is "missing," the benzene story is wearing thin (sidebar: I'm still using captions, and they misspelled benzene,) and people are plotting an escape.

Zone. Ghosts/spirits/whatever are gathering in one of the houses. Francis Tumbelty, who does not have a British accent (but it turns out he was born in Ireland but raised in America so okay, I guess someone did their research), informs the group that they were released from Hell by God himself. And all of these spirits know what hunters are. And Belphegar's name is actually Belphegor. Well. So much to learn tonight. Tumbelty says they need to gather the spirits who are still in hiding. And they can break the warding because "Warding is a door, doors have locks, locks have keys." Actually, the analogy I would have used is that warding is a lock but WHATEVER. Their plan is to "make it as ugly as possible for those who stand guard." Well, the ineffective spooky makeup will help.

Outside. Hunters are patrolling the perimeter. Civilians sneak out of the bushes and then walk right down the middle of the dang street. And then meet a couple of very unscary ghosts. Oh no, what will happen?

I don't know, because we cut back to the high school. They found the first woman's body, and Cas thinks they need to tell her family, and Sam's all, can't do that yet, people are gonna panic. They're interrupted by the arrival of Rowena, which was a surprise to me because I covered the guest star credits. Although it shouldn't have been a surprise, since Dean called her for help in the previous episode. (See how useless my brain is?) She pretends to be more interested in Cas than Sam but I'm not fooled.

Sam says "Remember a couple of years ago when we were trying to get rid of Amara," as if that's how the conversation would go, as if that's anything either of them would need to be reminded of. What he really would have said was "You know the soul bomb you made for Amara? We need another one of those."

WHATEVER.

They don't want to use it as a bomb, they just want a way to capture the ghosts. Rowena thinks it would be too difficult, but they're interrupted by someone who tells Sam they have "a situation."

Zone. The situation is that the two civilians are facing down Dean and Belphegor. And apparently they've been standing there long enough for Sam to actually show up at the zone, which is miles away from where he was. WHATEVER. Dean explains that the guy is married to the woman who was D-I-S-E-M-B-O-W-E-L-E-D earlier and came to look for her. (BTW, we're almost 10 minutes in, and this is the first scene with Sam and Dean together.) Sam, in his kind way, tells them they need to go back to the school. Then black goo drips out of their eyes and Dean realizes they're possessed. The whole standing-and-staring part didn't clue him in (WHATEVER) but now he gets it.

Bowlegs! Hair blowing in the breeze! Something for everyone!

Tumbelty appears and tells them if they don't open the warding, the spirits are going to kill these two civilian vessels. The civilians drop to the ground, groaning in pain, and I remember back when the guys would have let the spirits out in order to save two innocent people. Or at least would have been conflicted about it. (WHATEVER.)

However, some unexpected shots ring out, sprinkling the possessed civilians with... confetti? How festive. Tumbelty zaps out and the Winchesters and Belphegor turn to see none other than Arthur Ketch. Who is also a surprise to me. I guess that gig as an insurance agent didn't work out. Dean seems ridiculously annoyed to see him. Ridiculous considering that they were working together fairly recently. (WHATEVER.)

And now, since none of my regular download sources worked out and I'm forced to rewatch on the CW app, I'm sitting through commercials. Like a goddamn animal.

Back at the school. Ketch says he just happened to be in the area when they sent out the call for hunters. Dean's still not pleased. What is his problem? Am I forgetting something? Did they leave on bad terms? His gun, stolen from the BMoL, shoots iron flakes. Which somehow expels the spirit without hurting the vessel. He and Rowena reacquaint themselves, and she holds no hard feelings against him regarding the whole prisoner thing, since he let her escape. Well, you actually bought that escape, Rowena, but okay. There is an uncomfortable level of eyefucking, as least as far as the Winchesters are concerned.

Belphegor shows up and they have to explain to Ketch that Jack is dead and oh, Sam's face, when he says "dead." This is the first time this episode has made me feel anything. Well, anything good. And it turns out Ketch was actually contracted by "an attractive female demon" (seriously, that just means a demon in an attractive female vessel but WHATEVER) to kill Belphegor. Her name is Ardat and I guess she's gonna show up later. Yawn.

At least sad Sammy is good.

Reno? I laughed and said ha ha, I wonder if Amara is here and it turns out she is! (Because, again, I covered the guest stars.) She's getting a massage. Her maseusse is replaced by Chuck, who looks about 10-20 years younger than he did the last time we saw him. (Just for Men. Find it in the men's section.) She's annoyed with his presence. He's rambling. He liked the Game of Thrones ending, which I guess is supposed to signal what an awful hack of a storyteller he is. Or to warn us that we won't like the ending of our own Show. Or both.

High school. Poor Cas has to lie to Restless Citizen #3 that they're looking for the other missing citizens. "You said you'd keep us safe!" the guys says. That cuts deep, man. Meanwhile, Rowena has given Dean a shopping list. She asks him about Ketch, even though, as Dean points out, they've obviously met. "That was more of a torturer-torturee relationship. Fun, but I didn't really get to know him." But Dean doesn't want to play matchmaker, and says she shouldn't get involved with Ketch. "I mean, Sam is right here," he says. "Why don't you guys get off high center and do it?" (No, not really.)

Cas comes up behind Dean, all rumpled and sad and wanting a hug, and he apologizes for "dropping the puck." Dean doesn't want to hear it. He's so very angry, at Cas and at Chuck and at his life being one giant rat maze. Cas doesn't think their whole existence has been a lie, because even though they were in a maze, they were still living their lives in that maze. That's what life is. Chuck sets up the obstacles, but they still run their own obstacle course. Dean doesn't accept this.

It's interesting that Dean is the one who's taking the truth about Chuck so hard. Sam and Cas were the ones who had faith, and you'd think they'd be knocked harder by the realization that there was never a benevolent God. But on the other hand, Sam's so used to being manipulated by outside forces; this is nothing new to him. And Cas has already seen how the sausage is made. So they're both just, yeah, this is how it is, let's deal with it.

However. I'm not feeling the Dean-Cas conflict at all. I don't really care. And I suspect it's going to be a Big Deal. {sigh}

I’m definitely feeling angry Dean. So much.

Zone. Nighttime. Dean and Ketch are on patrol. I mean, I guess it makes sense to leave Chief Sam in charge at the school, but I'm tired of the guys being split up. Dean gives Ketch one of the giant chains they've been wearing, and says it's iron, to prevent possession. Wow, that would be a heavy chain. They talk about God and Rowena, and then Dean gets a text message. "Trouble. Two hunters haven't checked in." Uh oh!

Meat packing plant. Seriously? There is a meat packing plant in the middle of this residential area? So many chains hanging from the ceiling. I wonder what kind of cage flashbacks Sam would have in here. (And if you fic that, I'd like to be notified, please and thank you.) Dean and Ketch search the place and then it gets cold and then Ketch is hurled against a wall. Hard. Lizzie Borden appears, prepared to take an ax to Dean's head, but an electronically altered voice says "Stop! Get out!" She zaps out and we see the voice belongs to... Kevin???

Turns out when Chuck said he was sending Kevin to Heaven, he lied. Um. Why? What's the rationale for this? I mean, he did things to make a good story, but what was the purpose of sending Kevin to Hell and not letting the Winchesters (or anybody else) know? Dean promises they'll get him to Heaven, and Kevin accept this happily, because Kevin knows that Dean always takes care of him, as promised. (Ha.) Kevin can feel the wards weakening, but he doesn't know if the other spirits can detect it. And the other spirits are afraid of Kevin because he was personally cast down by God. Um. Okay. WHATEVER. But this tells Dean they can use him as a spy.

Reno. Chuck is flipping through channels, and he spends a couple of seconds watching a cooking show where the recipe involves tripe. Which is so meta, isn't it?

He's whiny. I'm over it. So is Amara. And she suddenly detects (WHATEVER) that he needs her for some reason. She can feel his own version of the godhole? She pokes at it and it hurts. "Something happened. You're not complete. You're not at full strength."

Zone. Sam doesn't think using Kevin is safe. Well, he's already dead, so. Belphegor shows up and they're all, your wards are failing and he's all, duh, I told you that was happening, I thought you heroes would have this wrapped up by now. (Are they really fading due to the nature of wards, or is this deliberate? Discuss.) And this spell was a one-time thing - he can't do it again. Because...? We'll never know, because neither brother asks. WHATEVER.

This conversation is like some people. Stupid but pretty.

Belphegor knows Kevin and calls him a "whiny millenial" and my goodness, he gets around a lot for a low-level grunt, doesn't he? He tells the guys that Kevin can't get into Heaven because once a soul is cast into Hell, Heaven can't take it. I am quite sure that Show has forgotten about John and Bobby, who both accomplished that very thing, and I'm shocked to find Show actually address this. Belphegor says God made an exception, and that isn't likely to happen again, since God doesn't like them any more. Oh no! The only way to fix this is if someone else takes over for God!

Reno. Chuck checks out his own godhole, which looks just like Sam's. He pokes at it and winces in pain.

Zone. Sam feels pain in his own godhole. Because they're connected! He lies that he's okay and it's getting better and Dean's all yeah, right.

Sam, for a professional liar, you are so bad at it.

Zone. Spirit meeting. They know the wards are fading. Tumbelty thinks they should attack at a weak point, rather than waiting for the whole thing to collapse. Kevin shows up. They all know him, and some fear him. But Tumbelty knows he's buds with the Winchesters. Because all these spirits know the Winchesters. You know, I can understand all the demons knowing who they are. That's justified. But every resident of Hell? I'm not feeling it. WHATEVER.

High school. More heavy flirting between Rowena and Ketch. Somehow Ketch knows something she doesn't know - that a jolt of electricity will fast-forward her spell. Can we just skip this part? It makes as much sense as the Rowena/Gabriel detour when they were trying to open the rift. They're interrupted by a call from Dean, who demands she hurry. Yes, please.

Zone. Rowena shows up with a bag and runs right into Tumbelty. Who knows her. Because they used to date. All this romance for Rowena, and Sam's still sitting alone at the high school. Come on, Ro. Climb that mountain. Tumbelty tells her they've got Kevin, and sends a message for the Winchesters to meet them at their spirit house. Ketch shows up behind him, with his iron confetti gun, and blasts him, but Tumbelty whacks him with a rock. However, Rowena escapes.

{Commercial time. Zombieland 2 looks good.}

TFW is finally all together. Rowena tells them about Kevin. Dean asks if she has the soulcatcher, and for some reason, Sam has a problem with the name soulcatcher. I suppose this was supposed to be humorous. She does, but she doesn't know if it will work.

Spirit house. Winchesters show up. Tumbelty says if they shut down the warding, he won't devour Kevin. They say no. Tumbelty sticks his hand into Kevin, and this takes a really really long time, but Rowena finally shows up with the crystal and catches all of their souls. Boy, it's a good time devouring Kevin's soul took so very, very long. Rowena tells them this crystal isn't as powerful as the earlier version, and can only gather a few souls at a time. In fact, some of the souls here got away. Oooh, I wonder who.

Kevin tells them about the plan to break through the warding at the weakest point. Jump to the weakest point. There are at least 100 spirits there, according to Belphegor, and more are coming. Dean brings his gun up when someone approaches, but it's only Ketch. Oh, good, he escaped safely from Tumbelty's clutches! How fortunate. It's odd that he's no longer wearing that huge iron chain, though.

Dean tries shooting at the spirits they can't see, but Belphegor tells him there are too many. So Rowena goes forth with her soulcatcher. She still seems to be on this side of the warding, which means she's able to drag the souls through the barrier. I wonder if it would have worked better if she'd gone past the barrier. Then Ketch backhands her because, SURPRISE SURPRISE, he's actually possessed. He drips black goo from his eyes, just to confirm, and picks up the soulcatcher. Dean tries to shoot him, but is conveniently out of ammo. Tumbelty!Ketch monologues and then Dean pulls out his handgun and shoots him and he... tosses the soulcatcher to Dean? Drops it horizontally? Somehow, the thing ends up flying into Dean's hand.

WHATEVER.

(Or did Ketch toss it to him once he was depossessed? Discuss.)

Rowena takes it back and sucks up the few visible souls, including Tumbelty's. Yay! Success! Is Ketch alive? Dunno!

Time jump. Ketch is alive, with only a wounded shoulder, and is being loaded into an ambulance. Cas tells Sam that he tried to heal him, but couldn't. "You're just tired," Sam says. "We all are." Oh, I don't think so, Sam. Dean apologizes to Ketch, and lets us know it was an iron bullet, which is why it expelled Tumbelty. Ketch and Rowena exchange a longing glance. Dean stares. Angrily, maybe? Angry that Mary's ex dared to look for love again? Angry that Rowena is flirting with someone else right in front of Sam? Angry that Ketch is such a wuss that he actually needs an ambulance, and medical treatment, for a mere bullet to the shoulder? Angry that he's stuck inside a Buckleming episode? All of the above? He and Rowena exchange an uncomfortable look.

Aftermath! Kevin doesn't want to stay in the zone and hang out with the guys. He knows he can't get into Heaven, so he's just gonna ghost around and wander the earth. Sam tells him this is a terrible way to exist, and Kevin points out that it's better than Hell. And Kevin and Sam give us what might be the motto for just this episode, or maybe for the entire season:

I'm sorry, Kevin. I wish there was some way to make this right.

Me too. But there isn't. And sometimes, you just gotta accept that.

Kevin tells the Winchesters he loves them (d'aw) and they don't say it back (aw) and Belphegor quite easily makes a little opening in the barrier. So easily, that it really makes you wonder why he has so little power to keep it going. Yep, it sure does. Kevin is gone. Sad waves.

Reno. Amara is hitting the road. Chuck isn't invited. And she knows he's too weak to do anything about it. He can't leave this world without her help, and she ain't helping.

Zone. We see dozens of glowing souls flitting about. The warding won't last long. We need a plan B. "How," asks Dean. How indeed.

So. When I watched this for the first time last night, I desperately wanted to fast forward through the scenes with the spirits in the house. And the Ketch/Rowena stuff. It wasn't any better on rewatch. Some of this episode was just the usual Buckleming nonsense - badly written, stupid things happen for stupid reasons, yada yada yada. But the Kevin plot... can we blame that on the Buckleming? Or was that a showrunner master plan? Either way, it's annoying. And probably pointless. The only good thing about this episode was the confirmation of the connection between Sam and Chuck. I noticed a distinct lack of excitement on my Tumblr feed, so maybe a lot of us feel the same way. If you haven't watched this one yet, my vote is: don't bother.

Please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!

#spn #recap #tv recaps #15.02 #spoilers

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bigfrozenfan · 5 years

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Well...

If in the course of the next 9 days some of you should wonder why i don't post any new content and also no Likes or Reblogs...that's only because i'll be on vacation tomorrow. The only stupid thing is that my smartphone won't work there at all...and the stupidest thing about it is that i'll probably miss the F2 trailer and your reactions to it. Shit!

I had already prepared a text for the "trailer day", which i would have posted together with the link to the video. Now i probably can forget that.

So when i'm back, i'll scroll my dashboard down for 10 minutes - blindly! Then i work my way back up, post for post and imagine "the trailer is coming out today, it should be ready any moment now".

Well, I know it won't be the same, but somehow it's like a soccer game you've recorded: the result is already fixed, but i want to experience the tension from the first to the last minute.

The only drawback: everything is already said, new theories maybe already worked out, screencaps, edits and gifs already finished and so many new fanfics that it might take me a week to read them all. Then what more do I want to post? Shit!

Being there "live" is always better than digging up old stuff, the hype is still fresh and everyone is excited. Fandom at it's best! I can't imagine what it was like when Frozen first part came out and how the fandom reacted to it. Sure I can search the "archives" on Tumblr for the old posts, but that's no comparison. If only i had been there six years ago. Shit!

But hey...it's "only" a trailer and in November i'll be there from the beginning, here in the middle of the fandom, there will be "history written" again. Hooray! Assuming i survive the premiere night in the cinema! :-(

Well...then i already wish you a nice "trailer day"...cu.

PS: one more little thing for you bc i’m not here for the next 9 days...one of the last merch leaks i found and which is already on my "must have"-list:

I know the source but will not name it for the time being because otherwise it also disappears from the net as already before with the other merch.

So that I am not completely without "Frozen" stuff the next few days, i've copied already the most beautiful pictures and the last videos (teaser, promo video) onto my smartphone. And...of course...i have the last portaits of Elsa and Anna set as new start screen and background on my phone. LOL.

Anyway...i’ll try to check for the new trailer if i can find a spot where my smartphone have a connection to the net. If so, then maybe i can post something here...but i guess not.

#frozen #frozen2 #trailer #f2 trailer day without me #trailer day

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viforvictori · 5 years

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Warning: Long Rant.

Y’all... I’m so mad. I came to terms that YG doesn’t treat his artists like people, and he never will, years and years ago. When he let BigBang ruin themselves for the cameras, when he let them sleep with rats in a one-room shack, when he let Daesung face 2011 by himself, and more recently, when he let Jiyong, Youngbae and Daesung fatigue themselves with both solo tours and then group concerts, and when he acted like Seunghyun didn’t even exist in July 2017. Even then, it’s unfathomable to me that someone can treat their largest, most integral source of income like absolute shit.

I truly did believe that during Seungri’s solo promotions he’d be treated humanely, at least. He’d be supported, at least. After all, it’s his first solo comeback in nigh on five years, and he’s the only active member of the megastar group BigBang who brought YG from the ground up and who are literally the only reason he’s able to have any relevancy or even produce more groups. Perhaps this is my fault for trusting a man - a rat, rather - who’s shown time and time again that loyalty and hard work and complete and utter devotion does not matter to certain people.

Some people ask why YG gets so much hate. There’s a plethora of disgusting, vile things that YG has done over the years but his constant mistreatment of BigBang, especially Seungri, is disgraceful, even for a man consumed by industry.

Let’s put aside for a moment the fact that this Seungri has been denied a solo comeback for years and years while having to watch his family, his brothers, be given priority over him every time, and just focus on what’s actually happened during Seungri’s year.

First of all, the album didn’t come until later on into the year, and as such, Seungri went on many shows without anything to promote. Grateful though I am to have been able to see Seungri on so many shows and be given the spotlight for once, he couldn’t bring attention to his actual work. This is a small misfortune though, in my opinion.

Once the album came out, we were happy! It’s a well-produced album with amazing songs, both old and new, combined with beautiful photobooks and impressive MVs to boot. We also got epic live stages from music shows~ We also got the privilege of a tour - something we had been expecting to be quite honest. The majority of the concerts seemed to have been incredible both for V.I.Ps and for Seungri, and I’m so happy and proud he’s had this opportunity. But apparently, Seungri has had little to no support from YG and YGE in making these concerts a reality. He’s had to spend his own money and use his own connections to secure venues and put everything together. YGE is supposed to take care of these things, being overseen by Seungri. Despite this major setback that should have lowered the quality of the concerts, Seungri has prevailed and most likely made huge financial sacrifices during this time, all because he doesn’t want to disappoint us.

This brings me to the most recent source of my anger towards YG. This concert in Hong Kong. Most people are probably aware by now, but Seungri was left to perform with only the Kwon Twins and without a band because HITECH, CRAZY and The Band Six were all sent to Thailand for BlackPink’s concert. (don’t even get me started on Jennie lately as well)

Now, the Kwon Twins and Seungri are very talented stage performers and, although I haven’t seen the concert, I know they will have done as well as they could given the circumstances. There are screencaps and videos of this circulating, but Seungri said that he talked with YG on the phone who

1) Did not know Seungri had a concert today

2) Asked him if he wanted back up dancers, and then promptly told him that he could do it by himself.

It will have been so, so tiring for the Kwon Twins and Seungri to be the only ones on stage. They couldn’t have many, if any, costume changes because they couldn’t leave the audience with nothing to entertain them while they change. Personally, I find it greatly disrespectful that YG wasn’t aware of Seungri’s schedule and that he told Seungri he could do it alone after asking him something as ridiculous as “do you need any dancers?”. YGE needs to get a hold of themselves. They must have known that BlackPink and Seungri’s schedule clashed, and they should have made preparations for it. BlackPink are four people and should require fewer backup dancers (unless they’re covering for Jennie lmao), whereas Seungri is one person, and would, therefore, need more dancers.

Seungri ultimately said that he was fine because he had V.I.Ps, but I hope he’s not tricked himself into forgiving YG for his words and actions today, or any other day. It’s not right by any standard that he should be treated like this when he’s mere months from leaving for the military. On top of everything that’s happened, he’s had to work his many side businesses and surely that’s taken a toll on him.

All I can hope for is that he manages to have a long, long rest before he enters the public eye again, and while he’s gone, I hope YG learns to appreciate what he actually has. Perhaps he’ll even consider treating his artists like people? It’s an unreal dream, but a dream nonetheless.

I know nobody will read this far down, but if you seriously did, thank you for actually taking your time to read my rant lmao <3

#rant #i am very very angry #the great seungri #irrelevant.txt

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kingofthewilderwest · 6 years

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I can't stop thinking about how beautiful Lotor and Allura's children would be if they ended up being together

Oh goodness. Lotor is unfairly pretty, as is Allura. That’s quite a lot of way-too-pretty genetics all in one place! XD

Now… I don’t like raining on anyone’s parade, and I know you just want to have a friendly squee, but I hope it’s okay to bring up how Lotor and Allura have been written throughout the Voltron franchise. I want to write this as a fair warning in case people don’t realize what the issue with Allotor is. Now, technically, if we were looking just at VLD, Lotor and Allura’s interactions have been fine, so I can see why people who lack context to the full franchise would jump into a ship with these two. But the ongoing history of Lotor and Allura hasn’t been so innocent. It’s consequently why I personally would be uncomfortable to hook them up.

The longstanding tradition between Lotor and Allura has been… Lotor lusting after Allura, and trying to force her into a romance.

It’s not been pretty.

Beast King Golion (1981-1982) is the main source material from which the Voltron franchise developed. It set the stage for many things, including how Lotor (Prince Sincline) interacted with Allura (Fala). Even one summarizing paragraph from the Voltron wiki gives us an extremely unpleasant situation:

Sincline’s obsession with Fala was revealed that she resembles his mother and that his obsession was rooted in an Oedipus complex. Sincline’s infatuation with Fala is a constant motivation behind most of his attempts to defeat Golion to which even his father warned him to stop. Because of that obsession, Sincline kidnapped Fala’s identical cousin, Princess Amue of Heracles, rapes her, and attempted to execute her after she foiled his plans.

I own the entire Beast King Golion series on DVD, and I can confirm that Sincline does indeed try to pursue Fala and take her against his will. These screencaps all come from just one episode:

Fala is unconscious, Sincline steps over her, declares he’s going to make her his wife, and then picks up her up to kiss her. Obviously this is as “not okay” as you can get between Lotor/Sincline and Allura/Fala.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984-1985) takes the animation of BKG but edits out and tones down its most disturbing content - avoiding deaths, blood, etc. - but it still keeps the concept of Lotor constantly pursuing Allura. This is the corresponding DotU episode from the BKG screencaps I gave you. “Give Me Your Princess” is also about Lotor deciding he wants to take Allura as his bride - something she obviously doesn’t want. And this becomes a recurring conflict throughout the DotU series.

Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998-2000) is part of the franchise I haven’t gotten to yet, but it’s written essentially as a sequel to DotU. Though I haven’t watched T3D, I have seen a few clips, and in E3 “Building the Forces of Doom,” Haggar shows Lotor his dreams and his fears. The dream he desires is… you guessed it… Allura…

The history of Lotor chasing after Allura makes its way into the comics and graphic novels. The Devil’s Due Publishing omnibus (2008), which retells DotU with more depth, grit, and maturity, is perhaps my favorite telling of Voltron. I’ve had my suspicions since S4 that VLD has been influenced by material within DDP, given as it contains a story where Sven (aka Shiro) is rejected from his lion, seems to get brainwashed by Haggar, betrays Voltron, and teams up with Lotor. There’s a point where Voltron and Lotor make a temporary alliance to fight against Yurak/Sendak. There’s a fight for leadership and power within the Drule (Galra) Empire. And it’s the only material in the Voltron franchise that seems to write a strong psychic bond between the Voltron pilots, their lions, and each other. Sound familiar?

So, one other thing that DDP brings up is the idea of Zarkon and Alfor initially being at peace, but then Zarkon capturing the planet Arus/Altea when Lotor and Allura were children. In this telling of Voltron, Lotor and Allura knew each other during childhood.

This gets slightly closer to what we see in VLD, but it also perpetuates the impure nature of Allotor. When Lotor reunites with Allura, he grabs her and says, “Now I’ve returned. And by rights, the spoils of war are mine for the taking.” This proceeds into a fight where Lance tries to stop Lotor from doing anything.

(Apologies for the terrible picture I took with my phone).

So what’s repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly been the case in Voltron canon for thirty years, starting back in 1981 and going well into the 2000s, is Lotor pursuing Allura and attempting to take her without consent.

The creators of Voltron: Legendary Defender have consciously cut away many of the franchise’s historic problems regarding issues like gender representation and misogyny. They’ve done away with the trope of one female character existing in an otherwise all-male team; Pidge, originally, Darrell Stoker, has become Katie Holt. They’ve written Allura far more favorably, with much less emphasis on her being the “pretty one” who’s not as good fighting because she’s “just a woman” (yes, this was in BKG). Instead of giving Lotor a harem (yes, this was in BKG and DotU, too), VLD has Lotor working respectfully with women generals. The writers have also intentionally promoted racial diversity by giving Hunk a Samoan background, Shiro a Japanese background, Lance a Cuban background, and designing Allura with a darker skin tone.

And VLD - praise God - seems to have consciously cut away Lotor lusting after Allura, trying to capture her, and trying to force her to marry him.

Now here’s the reason why I don’t like the concept of Lotor and Allura hooking up in VLD. In the DreamWorks show itself, there’s nothing wrong with Lotor and Allura’s interactions. That’s totally fine. If we look at it in a vacuum, it’s fine. And I like that it no longer writes that poisonous material between them. However… how disrespectful would it be for VLD’s creators to take a relationship that’s been written for 30 years as desired rape… and turn it into a romance? By writing an Allotor romance, they’d be acknowledging all the material that’s come before… all the very, very, uncomfortably impure material that’s come before. However you write an Allotor romance in the present day, there’s no way to deny that the firmly-embedded history of Allotor is non-consensual.

I don’t like the concept of taking something that’s been so thoroughly written as unhealthy, and which is well-known within old time Voltron fans as unhealthy, and making it into a new healthy ship. It’s not that it would “legitimize” the old, gross Allotor stuff. But it would… sweep aside all the problems behind it. It’s far more respectful and less controversial to simply delete Lotor’s romantic interests in Allura altogether.

I mean… if you think about it in terms of real life… if you were someone who had been sexually harassed by someone in the past, and then people wrote a novel about you based upon your real life where your harasser was now a nice prince charming… wouldn’t that feel… disturbing and disrespectful… to you?

So it means that I don’t want VLD to write Allotor. The way VLD has set up Allura and Lotor, yes, it would be alluring on its own. But the problem is that it’s not on its own. And it also means that I’m not going to hop onto any fandom ships for these two, either. I don’t enter ship wars. I don’t. I always want people to have fun shipping! I’m happy with people shipping whatever they want, just so long as they don’t hit any of the following three points: incest, pedophilia, and inherent abuse/lack of consent. Allotor rubs me wrong because of point number three.

So like you’re seeing here, if I see people hit upon one of these points, then I like to kindly inform people why I think it’s not the best ship to ship.

If VLD is going to write in a reciprocated romance between Allura and another individual (and they might not), they have some good options that also have franchise precedent, or at least franchise basis. Allura kisses Lance’s cheek several times in DotU, making him blush. Allura and Keith get engaged in Voltron Force comics, there’s a long Kallura plot arc in the Devil’s Due Publishing Omnibus, and Allura professes Keith as the one she loves in other DotU comics, too. And of course VLD always has the option of going on a new romance that hasn’t been done before, as I’m sure Shallura shippers would be quick to pipe up.

Again, I’m sorry to rain on your parade, since you’re so happily imagining how good looking Allura x Lotor children would look like! I know how much fun it is to imagine these things with our ships.

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mittensmorgul · 7 years

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More sheep and goats

I’ve been threatening to write long meta on 13.02, but there’s so much visual symbolism to parse out and it is so early in the season, so while there’s a barrage of imagery to sift through, it’s still a bit early to know what sort of weight to attribute to them, but a few of these things are also carryovers from s12. As such, Instead of writing that long meta, I’m gonna use this post as a pinboard of sorts and make some notes for future consideration.

(all screencaps from HotN)

We’ve already seen some hints (from bts and promo photos) that there’s a sort of cowboy/wild west theme running through at least a few of early season episodes, and that’s already become apparent between Dean’s Chuck Wagon Donuts and coffee, and the sign for the hotel:

Black Hat, with a side of glowing spur (which also resembles all the starburst lights Jerry Wanek is so enamored with). Even without knowing there’s an attached bar called the Black Spur yet, we’re already being subtly reminded of 10.01 and Dean’s “howling at the moon” with Crowley at another bar/motel called the Black Spur here. From 10.01, Black Spur and attendant blonde waitress/bartender that Dean had a relationship with (in a room with ugly yellow diamond-patterned lights in our prison imagery recap, while spending most of his time getting blazingly drunk and singing terrible karaoke and avoiding any sort of responsibility at all, since he was a demon and all that... but point being that Dean was with Anne Marie because she was there, and the alcohol was there, so he slept with her and drank and did whatever he wanted because he could):

And then the current Black Spur Bar, with attendant blonde waitress/bartender (who unbeknownst to Dean had been murdered and replaced by a yellow-eyed demon, but who Dean was as honest as he could be with, because he didn’t have any reason to lie. He also turned down her offer for another drink. Just because the alcohol was there and the waitress was there, didn’t mean he would just take them like he had in the past... a lot of this scene was a complete subversion of his Summer of Love...)

We even have a similar shot of her in profile as they have similar conversations from opposite ends of the line... One about abusive relationships, and the other about failing to live up to the expectations of an absent/abusive father.

Which brings me to the sign behind waitress!Asmodeus here:

While Dean had come to the bar to get a little reprieve from the horror of the last three days, he had ONE (1) drink, and not diving head first into a bottle, while looking through something on his phone in a rather contemplative and quiet fashion. It made me wonder if the place had reminded him of Crowley (and possibly their flickr albums), but also of Cas (who he’s been shown repeatedly to be in hardcore grieving mode over, and maybe scrolling through all the texting and emoticons Cas exchanged with him over the last few years). Whatever he’d been doing, it was clear he was looking for a little quiet space to collect his thoughts.

He’s interrupted by Asmodeus, who was fishing for information by doing what any bartender in an otherwise empty bar would do-- strike up a conversation with the only patron in the bar. I’ve read some pretty far-fetched theories that Dean should’ve been on his guard and suspicious of the woman, and that he was dumb for being so open and honest with her, and that it’s a definite sign that Dean is In A Bad Place™ and dangerously off the rails... and no? Just because he had a “bad feeling” about stopping at the motel/bar to begin with? (which they only apparently did because, as Sam said, Dean had been hallucinating sheep on the road... which actually reminded me of Cas’s dilemma over falling asleep in 9.03 when it was suggested that he count sheep, resulting in his perplexed wondering about what sheep...)

I’ve seen it suggested that the fact he didn’t immediately notice the waitress was actually Asmodeus was a sign that his “spidey senses” had failed, as a direct result of his current nihilistic mood. Even though it isn’t even until the following morning that they have any reason to suspect demonic involvement at all. They’d warded their rooms against angels, so Dean didn’t fear angels would be able to get to them for the time being. As far as Dean knows, he’s covered his bases.

Proof that his spidey senses (and self-preservation instinct) are still in full effect is his fight with the demon in his room the next morning. Even with his back turned, he knows there’s something behind him and he reacts appropriately. While talking with what he had no reason to believe was anything other than a human woman just trying to make polite conversation, he simply tried to do the same in return.

Asmodeus (walking around collecting empty beer bottles): Get you another? Dean (sitting at the bar with an undrunk shot of whiskey at his elbow, focused on his phone): Yeah, sure. Asmodeus: What the hell, you’re not driving, right? J.. I seen ya at the hotel. Passing through with, what? Your buddies? Dean (from a different angle, where the yellow and blue glowing Kingdom beer sign is now literally perched on his shoulder): Ah, that’s my brother, and... some messed up kid. Asmodeus: Aw, kid’s messed up? Dean: Yeah, issues with his dad. Asmodeus: The older fella? Dean: No, that’s uh, Donatello... uh, he’s a... guy we work with. Asmodeus: I hated my old man. I ran away myself. See, my mom would never stick up for me, but... (sighs) you know kids. No matter what, they still want the old man’s approval. Well, that’s how it was for me... Dean: Yeah, That’s... that’s how it was with me, too. Asmodeus: I’m talking your ear off. I’ll-- I’ll grab you that drink. Dean: You know what? I’m good. Uh, I’m gonna take a walk. (he finally drinks his original drink and leaves)

NOTHING HE SAID IN THIS CONVERSATION WAS DANGEROUS OR LED TO ASMODEUS TAKING JACK. Nothing he said here was particularly secret info, and he obscured the actual truth of who the people he was with really were. He didn’t go announcing the kid’s father was Lucifer or that Donatello was a soulless former prophet of Chuck... I mean, this woman was trying to be nice to Dean, he was just trying to be left alone for a few minutes and still engaged in polite conversation that she essentially pushed on him, and excused himself after a reasonably polite amount of time. Notice through the entire conversation he continues looking down at his phone, signalling that he’s not really interested in conversation, yet the woman persists. If she’s noticing things happening at the motel enough to have noticed Dean’s associates, then he literally does need to give her some sort of reasonable story lest she get suspicious of him... That’s literally part of how Sam and Dean have always tried to blend into the background and not get noticed.

He was actually laying down what seemed like a reasonable cover story along the lines of reasonable cover stories they’ve always used in the past when locals got a bit overly-friendly or nosy about their business.

I did, however, find it interesting that after the establishing shot of the bar, the next shot we get is a wide shot in which the Fast Jack Ale sign is visible again, but is almost immediately obscured by this post beside Dean:

It’s on screen so quickly that there isn’t even a cap of it on HotN., but you can see it glowing a little bit from behind that post... I find it an interesting justaposition for an earlier shot, where Dean, Sam, and Jack first enter the hotel room. I’ve also seen a gif of this going around saying that Jack was the only one “in the light” in this shot:

Which is true in one sense, because you can barely see Sam in the shadows at the right, while Dean’s lit with red prison bar imagery... but at least he’s standing NEXT to a lamp. The source of light making Jack so bright isn’t visible to us, but the brightest light source in the room (that we can see, illuminating the bright blue wall over Jack’s shoulder in that first cap), Jack walks right to the center of the room and physically blots that light out with his body.

Considering the Fast Jack Ale light gets the same treatment by a big wooden post Dean’s leaning against in the bar scene, I find it interesting enough to point out here.

Okay, back to the shot of Dean in the bar, huddled around his phone... while the Fast Jack sign’s obscured behind him and all we see is the purple-to-pink glow above him (hello bi flag lighting). Thing is, as soon as Dean’s attention is drawn away from his phone, he’s reframed not against the bisexual colors, but with something protective hovering above his shoulder-- the Kingdom Beer sign most commonly associated with Cas.

Who said Cas wasn’t there to be the angel on Dean’s shoulder? Because that’s exactly what this shot’s implying throughout his entire conversation with Waitressmodeus. Short aside here to reiterate the comment I made last week about Jack walking around in the altogether looking for his “Father.” People thought I was joking when I suggested he hadn’t been talking to the pirate, but to the parrot on the pirate’s shoulder. I really wasn’t joking. For now, I’m taking this shot ^^ as proof that Jack was talking to the parrot.

It’s just like the shorts thing... Just because Cas said once, years ago, that he’s not there to perch on anyone’s shoulder... it’s kinda been his whole shtick for the last 10 years so...

Back to the point of this post... (sorry, as per usual, there will probably be more tangents I’ll run down... it’s because I have no other choice...)

Aside from the Kingdom, the obscured Fast Jack, and the 3 Sheeps, the only other glowing signs in this place are these:

The red and yellow Tom’s Tequila sign featured prominently in 11.21 (with very long meta attached here and here and here), but again it’s the red and yellow warning colors in this shot to counteract the blue and yellow heaven-coded Schultz sign (i.e. DEAAAAATH by duty). Note there’s no El Sol going on here, because Dean has no idea that the waitress isn’t anyone other than she appears to be. But the Tequila sign is sort of pointing to a bait-and-switch...

There’s also one of those infamous “caged halo” lights we so often associate with Cas on the ceiling behind Dean in this shot, but notice it’s switched off right now...

Also in the very near foreground of this shot, it’s hard to make out but it looks like two glowing beer taps, the handles of which are pink and blue. Just saying...

And again detouring back around to the original reason I starting putting all these images together...

The 3 Sheeps meta from 12.16 and 12.18.

We wrote a lot about different bible verses having to do with sheep and goats, including the passages from Luke where Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, which is the third version of the sheep/goats parable that he relates.

Sheep are mentioned several times in the Song of Solomon, as well. Throughout the bible people have been compared to sheep, flocks, etc. with the Lord as our shepherd. There’s no shortage of possible metaphorical comparisons to sheep imagery in the bible. But since we were specifically shown the Song of Solomon in this episode, I think that’s likely the source of comparison relevant to this particular episode.

But we also know that Jack himself is serving as a mirror for all three members of TFW. The Rule Of Three is applying in all sorts of different contexts through this one sign. :)

So there you go. I probably should’ve titled this Mittens Rambles On Pointlessly While Gesturing Wildly At Seemingly Random Stuff But I Swear All Of It ///Means Something///. None of this currently Means Anything yet, though. I’m just beginning to pin random stuff to my cork board. I haven’t even got out the red twine yet. I just wanted all of this potentially future relevant stuff in one place for ease of future pointing and screaming and red twine connect-the-dots. :P

#spn s13 spoilers #spn 13.02 #i love those dumb starburst lamps #*idiotically waves at internet photo of a couple of lamps* *imagines jerry knows and understands*#this is a jerry wanek appreciation blog #supernatural beer signs #3 sheeps #fast jack's ale #where's that gif of the Kingdom logo fade in to cas's face from that episode...#the scheherazade of supernatural #silent storytelling #revenge of the subtext #worst ship on the show #spn 10.01 #spn 12.16 #spn 12.18 #schultz the beer of death and debt #tom's tequila #dean winchester is bilingual

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its-just-like-the-movies · 7 years

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Horror For Horror’s Sake

Looking at the (albeit few) films I’ve chosen to review, the ones I’ve been willing to dive into blind, the expectedly shitty ones I’ve willing put up with, it’s fair to say I have a bias to exploring horror films more than other genres. At the very least I’m more interested in exploring scary movies when looking for something to watch than other genres. And in some ways, they’re more rewarding on a base level than say, romantic dramas that are equally good or bad. I’m sure Death Note is worse than Tulip Fever, but lord knows I’m not gonna go watching the latter for “fun” the way I got wine drunk with friends and tore at that racist, unscary piece of shit. On the other side of that spectrum, I went and saw It with that same dynamic duo as Death Note roughly a week later and had a ball, premised around actually having a wonderful time with a great film that all of us liked on its own merits and as an adaptation. It was all we talked about during dinner, and if I didn’t have to run home before meeting them at Tommy’s place we probably would’ve talked about it even longer. The film is a monumental step up from the original TV adaptation (obvs), but I sincerely hope that we’re at a place where the culture can stop being as reverential as it is with Tim Curry’s performance - one I liked but couldn’t quite be impressed by - in favor of the truly horrifying wraith that Bill Skarsgard has created. Andy Muschietti deserves plenty of credit for Pennywise too, but also for negotiating such a dense source novel, a mostly child cast, a more elastic range of tones than necessary, a time period wholly original to this adaptation, plus all the hokum reputation surrounding the author, and doing justice to all of it. Never in my life would I have expected the director of Mama to have succeeded in marshalling all of that into such a purely enjoyable, scary, funny, and utterly full film as It. Yes, it’s not perfect in parcelling out equal screen time to every member of The Loser’s Club or establishing what their lives are like when they aren’t hanging out together, but if that’s the worst this film has going for it, I’m absolutely delighted to recommend it to everyone and go along with friends who’re too scared to see it alone. Maybe with a red balloon in hand, and a severed arm to hold it for me.

I originally intended this to be a sort of two-shot with mother! but, given how absolutely insane that film is and the likelihood I’m going to ferry David along someday soon, I’m going to put off a formal review of it until another showing. I think I have my reaction to it sorted out, though another trek through it would do me good. The last scenes recontextualize the whole film so fully, even one as bluntly allegorical as that one, I think it’d be worth checking out again before I dive into it. With that being said, and to give me something fun to write about, I’m gonna just jot down some favorite memories of horror films I’m really in love with. You can consider this a recommendation list, I’d be more than happy to elaborate on full-throttle reviews and explanations of any of these films. Hopefully there’ll be another list of five tomorrow. Either way, sit back and enjoy the ride, dear reader.

To start off with the recentest features, I think one of It’s greatest successes it that each of its characters has pretty individualized embodiments of fear that Pennywise deploys, each scene delivering its own unique terror. That being said, there’s no way the film’s most utterly terrifying scene isn’t its first, where Pennywise lures poor Georgie into reaching out his hand for a little paper boat. For all I said at the top about Bill Skarsgård’s interpretation of It - and I’ll be shocked if I don’t write up this performance on my year-end list - credit must also be given to Jackson Robert Scott’s sweet, almost saccharine take on Georgie Denbrough. Watching Pennywise somehow circle this poor child even from within a sewer grate, convincingly entrancing by the standard of a six year old even if he can’t help but notice how unhinged this clown is, it’s maybe the only film I’ve been around for the release of that palpably conjured the same kinds of lumps in my gut I got watching Ileana Douglas and Juliette Lewis wrangle with Robert De Niro in Cape Fear (minus all the sexual overtures of Cape Fear, thank god). It’s the only time Pennywise is patient enough to even try and lure in his prey like this, more eager to eat the boy than he is to prey off his fear. The tension here is so efficiently realized I had to wonder what a version of It that drew out a few more of these encounters into their own short films would look like. A little longer, sure, but when the result is more scenes that make your skin crawl and your stomach churn, we’d all be winners.

mother! was an insanely vexing experience, purposely so, but in many ways a virtuoso one. A lot of it comes down to how marvelously it’s crafted, plus Michelle Pfeiffer’s deliciously crafted turn as a home invader, and I’d love more time to sit and think about Aronofsky’s script. Pfeiffer is the only ingredient missing in the film’s most stunningly crafted scene, where the house of Jennifer Lawrence’s nameless character is beset by an seemingly infinite swarm of her husband’s idolaters. Her painstakingly assembled home, one she made all by herself with her own two hands, is torn apart by the mob of fans proclaiming the poet’s will of sharing all that he has. One hangs up the phone as she calls the police only for another to yank it out of the wall, each hurling the philosophy of sharing at the other to justify their actions as though the other is stupid for not expecting them to do this. The police arrive a few minutes after, and suddenly her house seems to be divided into factions of SWAT members, violent cabals of her husband’s words, and those directly loyal to him. It’s almost impossible to imagine how long this sequence takes, especially since mother! often presents its sequences as though they’re happening in real time, but it’s stupendously mounted and realized by everyone involved. The transformation of Lawrence’s home from an idyllic, rustic nest for her and her hubby into a war-torn wreckage plucked straight from Children of Men isn’t the film’s scariest scene - that would be everything immediately after something delicate is inevitably, disastrously shown off - but on a sheer technical level it’s the film’s most impressively realized scene, and one of many I can’t shake for the life of me.

If you’ve never seen [safe], I beg you to go see it right now. Surely everyone who loved Carol has gone back and examined some of Todd Haynes’s filmography, if not looked up his Wikipedia page and seen this film, whose heroine has the same first name as his 2015 masterpiece. [safe] is about as asphyxiating and antagonistic to the audience (while still being immensely hypnotic) as any film can get, and one I had difficulty rewatching last semester in the hopes of finding a screencap to use for an art project. I ended up not using what I got, but there’s so many indelible moments picking one feels difficult, let alone throwing my hands up and just reveling in what Haynes’ direction does to make the film so menacing. And yet, there’s that one object that I instantly thought of for this little piece, in some ways the one that convinced me to do it at all. Early in [safe], Carol White (a genius Julianne Moore) orders a couch to her house and starts to help the movers arrange it in her house, only to find that it’s seemingly the most antagonistic shade of black on the planet. Carol is horrified to see this thing in her carefully constructed beige palace, as was I when I first saw it. Never has an ordinary couch been so pointy and prickly and out-of-place and threatening in a film, and never have I wanted to leave a room so much once I saw it. Pressing against everything pale and beige and carefully styled in her home, this couch doesn’t just look out of place but as alien and invasive as any of the houseguests in mother!, and even more unwanted. [safe] isn’t necessarily a horror film, but it’s still the most unsettling feature on this list, one that’s even more horrifying for all that it has to say on the human experience, and for the tremendous filmmaking (and actressing) that makes it such a seminal, terrifying film.

Suspiria, on the other hand, is nothing if not an exercise in how many scary, go-for-broke aesthetics you can grate against each other and mold together and throw at the audience at once. The production design can be summed up as though the art directors of Wes Anderson and Pedro Almodovar had a child that was trying to kill you, specifically, but of course the real star of this entry is the vicious score of Dario Argento and the band Goblin. Much like Get Out, you have the distinct feeling that somehow the score itself is going to slaughter our hero before the actual forces of evil hunting them do. Even in scenes that don’t seem overtly menacing, the orchestra shrieks at you to remember that Jessica Harper and her friend are always being watched, always in danger, always among those who have killed before and would kill them if they got the chance. And somehow, this only makes the scenes with an actively dangerous presence more affecting rather than less so. In the words of Decider’s Joe Reid “Everything is heightened, so everything is fuckin’ heightened”. Suspiria is so heightened it’s a wonder the central school doesn’t just fly off into the upper echelons of the Earth’s atmosphere, which is probably close to where the film is heightened to, but thank god it’s stuck to the ground. Not all stories work in space, and sometimes all you need is a man, his dog, a weird gargoyle, and a bunch of nice looking buildings to make a scene as tense as all hell. And, of course, a bullying, visceral score.

There’s a multitude of great performances from David Cronenberg films. In truth, the best two probably reside in the duet between Jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold in Dead Ringers, if not the duet between Irons and Irons in the same film. But we’re really here for The Brood, which boasts the most volcanic performance I’ve seen among Cronenberg’s filmography in the form of Samantha Eggar’s ferocious, unstable shrew of an ex-wife and absent mother. The entire film is premised on her rage, literally summoning embodiments of her anger to carry out acts of vengeance against those she decries in therapy sessions. These sessions have the head physician role-playing as the target of his patient’s psychosis in the hope of provoking a real break in their psyches, and take place in a facility miles out of town and built like log cabins, resembling a hotel from a distance. Her character’s ex-husband is right to suspect something’s amiss here, that Nola isn’t getting the treatment she needs, but even as he finds the corpses of the gremlins whacking their family members it takes until he witnesses the creation of one of these rage babies for him to fully grasp a situation that’s actively threatening everyone he loves. Eggar’s vitality and commitment gives the film a beating, potent heart that The Brood otherwise wouldn’t have, in spite of its crazy conceits and directorial strength. Without her exorcising fury, The Brood would be a weaker film, and it needs Eggar’s to power the whole thing through its demented thesis and towards its inevitable, monstrous climax.

#the brood #it #mother!#suspiria #safe #2017 #1979 #1977 #1995 #my posts #misc

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milliebobbybrownfan · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Millie Bobby Brown Fan #MillieBobbyBrown #StrangerThings

New Post has been published on http://millie-bobby-brown.com/photosvideo-millie-for-teen-vogue/

Photos/Video: Millie for Teen Vogue

Millie will be featured in the new issue of Teen Vogue. I will work on getting actual scans. In the meantime check out the accompanied fun video, the digital cover, and the photoshoot from the spread. Enjoy.

Millie Bobby Brown and Drew Barrymore Open Up About Instant Fame and Family

Last year, we were introduced to the now 13-year-old saucer-eyed actress who plays the enigmatic Eleven with brilliance. This year, we’ve witnessed her meteoric rise and wondered, What is Millie all about? Drew Barrymore digs in.

DREW BARRYMORE: Millie! Where are you right now?

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN: I’m in Atlanta, sitting in a chair, putting in hair extensions for my new movie, [the next installment of] Godzilla.

DB: Dude, I feel you! I’ve been in so many chairs with so many extensions on so many movie sets. When going from short hair to long hair, my whole attitude changes.

MBB: It’s crazy! But I do feel more confident when I have short hair. After shaving it off for Stranger Things, I just embraced it as much as possible. It was so freeing.

DB: I love Stranger Things. It’s full circle for me because it harks back to me playing Gertie in E.T. Both are about the sense of family, humanity, and suburbia. And both are so grounded in relatability. And you talk about space and aliens and the improbable and the impossible.

MBB: Yeah! E.T. was a huge reference point for the show. They wanted me to feel like an alien but also have genuine relationships, like the one with Mike.

DB: The auditioning process is so raw and vulnerable. What was your audition like for Stranger Things?

MBB: It was slow at first. Then it went super fast. I had four audition tapes with all different scenes. It was a good three weeks before I Skyped with the series’ creators, the Duffer Brothers.

DB: Oh, wow. Then what happened?

MBB: We talked about ’80s movies. And I didn’t know anything about Eleven at that point, and they were referencing E.T. And I was like, “Wait, what? I’m an alien now?” I was so confused on what the story was about. A week later, I flew to L.A. for the job. I screen-tested with Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike, and met the creators. I immediately fell in love with the project. I needed to play Eleven. And I connected with Finn. Later, the Duffer Brothers called and asked if I could be their Eleven. I was like, “Oh, yes! Yes, I can!”

DB: Eleven doesn’t talk much. How are you two alike?

MBB: She’s the opposite of me! I’m crazy and very loud. That’s why I love her so much, because I get to play a different person as soon as they call, “Action!”

DB: You mentioned the chemistry you had with Finn. What about the other guys? What’s the dynamic on set?

MBB: We’re a family. We are all growing up together. We constantly have laughing fits on set, which gets me in trouble. But it’s not me; it’s the boys! They’re hilarious.

DB: That’s what chemistry and growing up together is like! Speaking of family, what’s your family life like?

MBB: It’s really fun. I have a 19-year-old brother [Charley]; he’s my best friend. A five-year-old sister, Ava, who brings out the child in me. And then my older sister, Paige—she’s 23 and takes me everywhere. We do family things, like watch lots of movies and have family meetings about everything from schedules to getting a new dog.

DB: I grew up in a single-parent home where no one told me what was right or wrong. There was no parental gure. Do your parents talk to you about boundaries?

MBB: Of course. My mum helps me look my age. Like, I can play with makeup, but I can’t go crazy. She’s also like, “You can’t wear that crop top.” My dad is security, while my siblings take care of my eating, keep me grounded, and make sure I get rest. We are a team.

DB: That’s what chemistry and growing up together is like! Speaking of family, what’s your family life like?

DB: I grew up in a single-parent home where no one told me what was right or wrong. There was no parental gure. Do your parents talk to you about boundaries?

DB: Seems all-hands-on-deck! Family creates a safe place. Especially since everything changed overnight for you, like it did for me. But the difference is that you’re coming of age during the social media boom. What is that like?

MBB: I don’t mind growing up during this time. I can live without my phone, Instagram, or any other social media accounts. I just want to act. That stuff does not distract me.

DB: It’s Teen Vogue, so we must talk fashion! In the last decade, younger girls have prematurely aged themselves by how they dress. I didn’t dress crazy then, but I did crazy things. You dress so appropriate for your age.

MBB: I mean, I’ve never been one of those girls who dresses provocatively. It’s just not me. I keep it as appropriate as possible. I wear tons of shorts and sneakers.

DB: And you’re one of the new faces of Calvin Klein, right?

MBB: Yes! I’m modeling for Raf Simons at Calvin. I’m not a model in the sense that I pose and just suck it up. I’m like, “Uh, no” if something is itchy or not comfortable.

DB: You make a beautiful model. I love the way you express yourself in your face, and you have a beautiful pout and deep, soulful eyes. How do you get in the zone?

MBB: I don’t do anything specially. I ask what they’re looking for…something playful or serious. I love modeling, but it comes second to acting.

DB: You’re an extraordinary example to any actor. And you make girls feel like they can be youthful for as long as they want. No fast-tracking.

MBB: Most kids do what their friends are doing, like a domino effect. It’s normal. But I do my own thing.

DB: When did you feel like you’d made it?

MBB: Having someone like you, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Meryl Streep feel passionate about our show—that makes me feel like I did. Also winning at the SAG Awards, not only because I experienced it with my castmates and my family but because SAG members enjoyed the show.

DB: Have you done any strange things recently?

MBB: Good one. This interview is one of the stranger things that has happened to me! When I was told, “Drew Barrymore is going to interview you for Teen Vogue,” I was like, OMG! I was freaking out. I don’t know if you heard, but I’ve been trembling on the phone this whole time!

DB: Aw. As women, we just need to inspire each other.

MBB: We need to start a girl squad, like right now!

DB: I’ll be in your girl squad any day. I’m cheering you on.

MBB: This is probably one of the most exciting conversations I’ve ever had. It means so much.

DB: Me, too. And here’s my end note: Gertie loves Eleven.

MBB: Gertie loves Eleven! Oh, my goodness! – Source

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2017: Teen Vogue 2017: Photo Session #016 2017: August 17 – Teen Vogue: Screencaps

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