Zawe Ashton On Mr. Malcolm's List, Theo James, And Onscreen Diversity - Exclusive Interview

Ashton is as lovely in person as you would think. Charming, humble, and immensely funny, the Marvel newcomer and fiancée of the dapper Tom Hiddleston is taking the entertainment world by storm, and "Mr. Malcolm's List" is sure to be a hit. Ahead of the film's premiere, we sat down with Ashton for an exclusive interview where the actress dished about "Mr. Malcolm's List," much needed diversity on screen, her co-stars, and more.

What initially attracted Zawe to Mr. Malcolm's List?

I loved ["Mr. Malcolm's List"]. It was so entertaining, so witty, [and] so funny. I'm a big "Pride and Prejudice" [and] "Bridgerton" gal, so it was up my street.

I'm so glad. Honestly, thank you for saying that. We are at the beginning of hearing people's responses, so it really does mean a lot, so thank you.

I want to dive into it because we've seen such a resurgence in period dramas lately, but this film brings such a needed diversity to the era, to that timeframe in history. What about this project, with that in mind, and revisiting this time era excited you as an actor?

It was an opportunity to live out all my imaginings as an avid reader as a child. You are reading Jane Austen, and you are reading the Brontë sisters, and you are injecting yourself into those stories — Shakespeare, the same.

To finally find a moment where you're invited to the table to embody something — it's not only Regencycore, but it also has this very contemporary edge to it. It's a blessing, and it's so much fun as well as being this wonderful, serious commitment to the way that we want to see the genre transforming from now. It's got a real duality to it and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it.

It's such a retelling of a period of history that so many of us love the romanticism of, but that diversity really was lacking. It's wonderful to see it played out on screen in such a different way.

Thank you, and I feel especially proud of this because the protagonists, like the Julias, like anti-heroes, are of color and they're coming up against the romantic leads who are also of color. It's not just representing one type of character or one personality type. Everyone is coming up against each other and creating the emotional landscape. That isn't something that's always been given to you as the heart of the story, as an actor of color in this genre, sadly. As you're saying, we're seeing that finally changing, which is good.

Zawe reflects societal expectations women face, both on-screen and in life

We really see Julia at such a crossroads at the beginning of the film. In the first few minutes, you feel the pressure that she's feeling from society, having been out for four seasons. I can't even...

You love that, she's like the Regency Bridget Jones. I love it.

Oh my God, and from Mr. Malcolm specifically, I think of when they were at the opera and I could feel her stomach drop in that moment. In what ways did you sympathize with her and understand the pressure she was feeling, but also that social humiliation that she experienced as well?

Even you talking about it, she's so hugely relatable. That's what came off the page when I first read the script. I thought, "This is a woman who wants to stay true to her desires." She's made this pact with her childhood friend to marry for love, and yet society's expectations are starting to close in on her. Her mother is starting to close in on her.

Hold on a minute — this doesn't feel like it's [restricted] to the 19th century. I feel like we can absolutely lift that storyline in those expectations for the present day. I felt for her hugely, and especially in those opening scenes with Malcolm, where she is trying so hard to be everything that she's not.

What I also really loved about her is she's a high society woman who makes huge mistakes. She's deeply flawed, and it's her flaws that actually lead her to finding her true love in Theo James' character, Henry Ossory. That was a lovely end to the journey that I didn't expect to happen. [It] feels like such a good message for our times — find a guy who wants you for your flaws rather than despite them.

The actor challenged the status quo

To get into that, with such a list of specifications – just the line of Malcolm's complaint about not liking Julia's eyelashes. I was like, "Oh my gosh". And...

Come on, dude.

...down to your own line in the film. At one point you said, "A gentleman doesn't like a lady to be more intelligent than he is. A wife with a mind, god forbid."

I absolutely love that line.

I want to get your thoughts on that. It's such expectations that women have carried forever, and as you said, the setting of this film, the 1800s, feels very relevant to today.

I'm so glad to hear you say that. Honestly, I love those lines and I loved Julia's courage of her convictions and her modernity in that space. She's challenging the status quo in so many different ways, especially when it comes to the expectations on women, and love, and romance, and matching up, and domestic life. She really is a very modern character.

I know exactly what you mean when you hear those lines said in this genre, they really ping out. You can relate them quite easily to today, and that was a real pleasure. The men in this film were completely on board with all of that as well. The depiction of a female friendship at the center of this story also feels so relatable.

It feels authentic, seeing the complexity of it. I loved getting to sink my teeth into their story.

I'm so glad, because we haven't spoken to many people about how they've enjoyed the film. I'm like, "[You] liked it, oh my God!" I'm behind myself answering your questions going, "Oh my god, [you] really liked it. This is really..."

Zawe dishes about working with Theo James and a standout ensemble cast

I'd love to chat about your dynamic with Theo James' Henry and that love that developed between Julia and himself. What was it like not only working with such a great ensemble cast, but allowing Julia to fall for someone that she clearly didn't anticipate?

I loved it. This ensemble cast brings me joy even thinking about them. It brings a real spark in my heart and a real smile to my face because we genuinely had such a wonderful time. Theo is the biggest quirk step. His roles are so intense and then you meet him and he's like Comedy Central. He's a very gifted comedian in life and on screen, but also is so able to portray that lovely, complex, romantic element too. So many of our scenes were built on basically trying not to laugh at each other, which is something [you might experience] on a date. You love that.

You're feeling that spark. I feel like there was a lot that we had for free between us that has come to the screen. It was so nice to play the anti-love story. The [enemies] becoming lovers trope is hugely enjoyable, and the mustache is irresistible.

Bleecker Street will release "Mr. Malcolm's List" in theaters nationwide on July 1, 2022. (x)

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Events 1.23

393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons' War. 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries. 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel. 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000. 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such. 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London. 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands. 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales. 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire. 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.) when Bishop John Carroll, Rev. Robert Molyneux, and Rev. John Ashton purchase land for the proposed academy for the education of youth. 1793 – Second Partition of Poland. 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry. 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished. 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor. 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre. 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Battle of Rorke's Drift ends. 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first president. 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat. 1904 – Ålesund Fire: The Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style. 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day. 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague. 1919 – The First Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Velykomykhailivka. 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies. 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime. 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler. 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan's invasion of Australia's Territory of New Guinea. 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army. 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal. 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the "Frisbee". 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela. 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean. 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown. 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese Army stationed in Tite. 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified. 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established. 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty-one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age. 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by the Korean People's Navy. 1985 – World Airways Flight 30H overshoots the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and crashes into Boston Harbor. Two people are presumed dead. 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. 1987 – Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan sends a "letter of death" to Somali President Siad Barre, proposing the genocide of the Isaaq people. 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State. 1998 – Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source. 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution. 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered. 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted. 2018 – A 7.9 Mw  earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities. 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials. 2018 – The China–United States trade war begins when President Donald Trump places tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines. 2022 – Mutinying Burkinabè soldiers led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba depose and detain President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid widespread anti-government protests.

Sent by @lastpupp

'Im playing TF for the first time and i'm in book 2, i know WHY the LIs are mad at me but... it made me mad too so by the time the dance came at the end i didn't want to go with anyone lmfao. not only does james break up with you for keeping a secret, kaitlyn gets mad at you for .. existing??? and chris gets mad at you for having some pretty good dirt on someone crappy! im oversimplying stuff but it makes u see how childish theyre being!! i wish TF wasnt genderlocked so i could just date zack 😭'

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE MOD���S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

Continuing my “why all the LIs in The Freshman suck (in the not-fun way)” series: James. Or, as we now know him, Jomes.

Jomes is a rich boy. Let’s start there. He has no qualms making comments about MC’s wardrobe, fully knowing that unlike some people, she’s living on a budget.

In book 1, he starts out by being a bit of a sarcastic ass. Then, he ropes you into lying to his parents by pretending you’re engaged to him, without so much as a warning. Shitty, Jomes.

In book 2, he freaks out on you when you don’t tell him about Vasquez’s condition, despite knowing full-well what an unreasonable hard-ass the man can be, and that your educational future depends on doing whatever he says. He literally expects you to risk your entire college career for the sake of friendship, and betray a confidence besides. Fucker.

In book 3, he blatantly ignores and blows of your character multiple times, even going so far as to mute you during a Skype call and only pretend to be listening. Seriously? I get being busy but there’s no excuse for that behavior that doesn’t come down to being a really shitty person.

Jomes is cute (back when he was James anyway, RIP James) and he’s definitely the least asinine of the LIs, but he’s also a bit of a stuck-up prick and has a habit of being dismissive and condescending toward MC. No thank you.

nathan stans: *complaining*

me: this is so sad alexa play life in prison

Unpopular opinion (?) but

All of y'all who keep posting about not wanting to spend diamonds now that Nathan has officially become the true antagonist of TJ? I respect your decision, because I didn't spend the money or diamonds for his diamond options thinking he was a legitimate new LI. You feel betrayed and that's a completely valid feeling (that might carry over to other books for some).

But if you're doing it to hit PB back where it hurts (because we all know how much pb loves their diamonds) or to boycott them because the story isn't going according to your wishes, please also remember that they're the writers and this is their story. We can headcanon and speculate all we want, but ultimately we're just consumers of the content they put out.

Don't forget that we were the ones whining and complaining about how boring TJ was and how they should just end the book because the series is finally dead and the mc is an idiot etc. We're finally being given the drama and excitement that we've wanted and personally I'm LIVING for it.

We can't expect good stories without twists and betrayals because otherwise it'll be just flat and boring content too.

The Junior

Does Pixelberry even understand how college works? Like your GPA is only calculated at the end of the quarter/semester. Wtf

Also my Indian ass was so bothered by the whole grades situation for Zig, but I still didn’t spend diamonds lmao.

pb guy: -hits blunt- bro.. what if we published another installment of roe that no one asked for, even though we said it was ending.. and fucked around with james ashton’s face for shits and giggles

pb ceo: cletus, you goddamn genius. here are my keys. go to my house and fuck my wife

PB riot yard sale

Pitchforks - 10$

Torches - 5$

Steel Pipes - 5$

Crowbars - 8$

Megaphones - 25$

20% discount if James is your LI and/or if you spent money on RoE

Library Update

Fan Culture Anastasia Salter; Bridget Blodgett - Toxic Geek Masculinity in Media: Sexism, Trolling, and Identity Policing Katherine Larsen; Lynn S. Zubernis - Fan Culture: Theory/Practice Linda Duits; Koos Zwann; Stijn Reijnders - The Ashgate Research Companion to Fan Cultures

Fandom & Fan Practices Bob Rehak - Materializing Monsters: Aurora Models, Garage Kits and the Object Practices of Horror Fandom Francesca Davis DiPiazza - Fandom: Fic Writers, Vidders, Gamers, Artists, and Cosplayers Joseph Brennan - Queerbaiting and Fandom_ Teasing Fans Through Homoerotic Possibilities Lucy Neville - Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys_ Women and Gay Male Pornography Matt Yockey - Monster Mashups: At Home with Famous Monsters of Filmland Melissa A. Click - Anti-Fandom: Dislike and Hate in the Digital Age Nancy K. Baym - Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community Roos Gerritsen - Intimate Visualities and the Politics of Fandom in India Suzanne Scott - Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry

Fanfiction Ashton Spacey - The Darker Side of Slash Fan Fiction: Essays on Power, Consent and the Body Heather Urbanski - Writing and the Digital Generation: Essays on New Media Rhetoric

Boys Love & Yaoi Sandra Youssef - Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: Ethnography of Online Slash/Yaoi Fans

Games Melanie Swalwell; Helen Stuckey; Angela Ndelianis - Fans and Videogames: Histories, Fandom, Archives

K-Pop Crystal S. Anderson - Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-Pop

Specific Fandoms [Buffy] Allyson Beatrice - Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? True Adventures in Cult Fandom [Comic Books] Bill Schelly - Founders of Comic Fandom: Profiles of 90 Publishers, Dealers,Collectors, Writers, Artists and Other Luminaries of the 1950s and 1960s [Doctor Who] Matt Hills - Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the Twenty-First Century [Doctor Who] Paul Booth; Richard Wallace - Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who [Harry Potter] Christopher Bell - From Here to Hogwarts: Essays on Harry Potter Fandom and Fiction [Harry Potter] Travis Prinzi - Harry Potter for Nerds: Essays for Fans, Academics, and Lit Geeks [Jane Austen] Deborah Yaffe - Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom [Jane Austen] Sarah Glosson - Performing Jane: A Cultural History of Jane Austen Fandom [Music] Daniel Cavicchi - Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning among Springsteen Fans [Music] Eoin Devereux; Aileen Dillane; Martin J. Power - Morrissey: Fandom, Representations and Identities [Music] Mark Duffett - Popular Music Fandom: Identities, Roles and Practices [Music] Toija Cinque; Sean Redmond - The Fandom of David Bowie: Everyone Says Hi [Supernatural] Katherine Larsen; Lynn Zubernis - Representations of Fans on Supernatural [Supernatural] Travis Langley; Lynn S. Zubernis; Jonathan Maberry; Mark R. Pellegrino - Supernatural Psychology: Roads Less Traveled [Westworld] James B. South; Kimberly S. Engels; William Irwin - Westworld and Philosophy [Twin Peaks] Marisa C. Hayes; Franck Boulègue - Fan Phenomena: Twin Peaks [Hunger Games]Nicola Balkind; Emma Rhys - Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games [Mystery] Marvin Lachman - The Heirs of Anthony Boucher: A History of Mystery Fandom [Lost] Jon Lachonis, Amy Johnston - Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other [My Little Pony] Edwards; Chadborn; Plante; Reysen; Redden - Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of Adult My Little Pony Fandom [Shakespeare] Johnathan H. Pope - Shakespeare’s Fans: Adapting the Bard in the Age of Media Fandom [Sports] Adam Brown - Fanatics: Power, Identity and Fandom in Football [Sports] Carrie Dunn - Football and the Women’s World Cup: Organisation, Media and Fandom [Sports] Dağhan Irak - Football Fandom, Protest and Democracy: Supporter Activism in Turkey [Sports] Erin C. Tarver - The I in Team: Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity [Sports] Gary Armstrong; Alberto Testa - Football, Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football [Sports] George Dohrmann - Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom [Sports] Jamie Cleland; Mark Doidge; Peter Millward; Paul Widdop - Collective Action and Football Fandom: A Relational Sociological Approach [Sports] Mariann Vaczi - Soccer, Culture and Society in Spain: An Ethnography of Basque Fandom [Sports] Nina Szogs - Football Fandom and Migration: An Ethnography of Transnational Practices and Narratives in Vienna and Istanbul [Sports] Phil West - The United States of Soccer: MLS and the Rise of American Soccer Fandom [Sports] Radosław Kossakowski - Hooligans, Ultras, Activists: Polish Football Fandom in Sociological Perspective [Sports] Stacey Pope - The Feminization of Sports Fandom: A Sociological Study [Sports] Steve Redhead - Post-Fandom and the Millennial Blues: The Transformation of Soccer Culture [Sports] Tamar Rapoport - Doing Fandom: Lessons from Football in Gender, Emotions, Space [Sports] Younghan Cho - Global Sports Fandom in South Korea: American Major League Baseball and Its Fans in the Online Community

Zawe Ashton on Bringing Her "Quirky" Love Story to Life in "Mr. Malcolm's List"

Zawe Ashton grew up a Jane Austen lover. Her gateway to the world of Regency romance? 1994's "Emma," starring Gwyneth Paltrow as the titular heroine.

"When you've loved a book and you see it being imbued with so much contemporary humor and with one of the biggest movie stars in the world at that time, it feels exciting," the actor tells POPSUGAR. It's appropriate that Austen's prickly Emma was Ashton's favorite, since her scene–stealing character in the Regency romance "Mr. Malcolm's List," Julia Thistlewaite, is, as she puts it, "so Emma-y." Plus, Ashton's middle name is Emma.

Ashton only had 24 hours to decide to sign on to the movie, directed by Emma Holly Jones (another Emma!) and based on the novel by the same name from Suzanne Allain, who also wrote the screenplay. "I read the script. It was the intersection of so many genres that I am passionate about, rom-com and this new wave of Regencycore that we're seeing," Ashton says. She fell in love with her character immediately. Plus, Ashton has a "very clear intentionality" about supporting first-time female and other underrepresented directors. It was easy to say yes.

Ashton explains about the film's premise, "We meet her four seasons into her unsuccessful matching with the husband. Just felt like something was very contemporary about meeting a woman at this point in life where society and her mother and all of this messaging is saying, 'For goodness sake, just make a match already, just marry yourself off.' "

But Julia, for all her wealth and snark, is still intent on marrying for love, a promise she made to her friend Selina (Freida Pinto) when they were young girls at school. "She's a woman who knows her own mind, and society isn't necessarily supporting that," Ashton explains.

Once Ashton arrived on set, she says it was easy to form connections with the rest of the ensemble, who she calls "glorious." There was, of course, the challenge of getting to know people when COVID-19 restrictions demanded they wear masks and shields most of the time. But she says that they quickly realized they had a lot of connections, and with familiarity came "effortless" chemistry. Her favorite scene to film was the big dinner party, for which most of the cast was together. "All of that fizzy energy was just really palpable."

"You're not supposed to say that," Ashton admits. "You're supposed to say, 'I worked very hard to establish the connections. I was working hard to pretend that I liked Oliver Jackson-Cohen.' Actually, we became best friends on day one. And the only challenge that I saw presented to me was how I was going to keep a straight face in doing a film with him."

Jackson-Cohen plays Julia's cousin Lord Cassidy, and the two are a classic, catty pair of friends. "We are very much hoping for a spinoff," she jokes. "So if you could just start that campaign, that would be wonderful."

Ashton's onscreen love interest is Theo James as the dashing and slightly ridiculous Captain Henry Ossory; viewers might not even recognize him with his resplendent mustache. "I'm looking forward to people seeing the blooper reel so they can see just how hard it was to not break character when I was with him," she says. "He's got such a wicked sense of humor."

"Theo's such a brilliant romantic, leading partner as well, because he was kind of the anti-hero," she says. "And it's just so much easier sometimes when you don't have to carry the central love story. You can be much more quirky, maybe a bit more acerbic. And that was just very, very fun to do with him."

The other relationship she loved playing out was that between Julia and Selina. "[It's] that push and pull friendship that has existed from childhood that feels so familiar and safe, that you can sometimes show up as maybe not the best version of yourself, but it will always hold you and sustain you," she says. Ashton explains that she's had similar "very long, fruitful female relationships" in her life.

Ashton hopes she's "quite different" from her character, though she loved diving into Julia's mind. "There's something about the way that she leans into high society," she explains. "Bless her, she's been really conditioned and trained to exist in that echelon of the world. And that was something that I really, really loved embodying and getting under the skin of. Because I personally am not about to go to the opera wearing a huge feather and have that be a status symbol."

Julia, she notes, also "finds it hard to let her guard down." "I don't struggle with that," she explains. "I let people in all the time. I don't have a guard. I need to build a guard. So it was very satisfying to play someone who has that edge to her."

Julia gets her happy ending, and it mirrors some big changes in Ashton's own life. On June 29, Ashton and her fiancé Tom Hiddleston went public with the news that they're expecting their first child. And her career keeps on rolling; in 2023, she'll appear in "The Marvels," the upcoming "Captain Marvel" sequel.

But it's not a happy ending for Ashton; she's just getting started. (x)

Why did the Emancipation Proclamation not free slaves?

As early as 1849, Abraham Lincoln believed that slaves should be emancipated, advocating a program in which they would be freed gradually. ... The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. Rather, it declared free only those slaves living in states not under Union control.

Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the United States, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. ... Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union (United States) military victory.

Why were there exceptions in the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves who lived in areas that were in a state of rebellion against the United States. This limited its impact because any slave in an area that was not rebelling was not freed by the Proclamation.

Why would Lincoln only free the slaves in the states that were in rebellion and not all of the slaves throughout the country?  The president did not have the power to end slavery within the United States; this would have been a matter of changing the Constitution, which cannot be done by the president alone.

When were the last slaves set free? 

Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn't reach the last enslaved black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. Excerpt from google 

JUNETEENTH: ON THE FREEING OF THE LAST SLAVES IN TEXAS

Then, on June 19th, 1865, General Gordon Granger read General Order No.3, a simple proclamation, from the balcony of the Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas.

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. 

The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

Thus, the Juneteenth proclamation said that slaves were free from bondage, but were not going to be allowed to leave their masters or to seek military protection — hardly a resounding proclamation of unbridled freedom. General Granger had arrived with 2,000 Union troops just the day before, to enforce the order.  

In the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln had exempted those slave states not involved in the Confederate rebellion: Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, Missouri and the territory which is now West Virginia. He also exempted the captured territories of Tennessee, Louisiana and Southeast Virginia.  The Emancipation Proclamation was meant to disrupt the institution of slavery only in those states that were in rebellion and fighting the Union in the Civil War.

Until the day that Lincoln was assassinated, he worked on several different fronts, not always in line with the high ideal that once the slaves were freed they would be welcomed into the post-war society. In his book, What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America’s Greatest President, historian Michael Lind explains that, in 1862, Lincoln appointed James Mitchell, former director of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in Indiana, to “oversee the government’s colonization programs.” The ACS was an organization dedicated to solving the “race problem” by moving free Blacks to a government-established colony in Africa. Lincoln “allegedly asked Attorney General Edward Bates if the Reverend James Mitchell could stay on as ‘your assistant or aid in the matter of executing the several acts of Congress relating to the emigration or colonizing of the freed Blacks.’“

In 1858 during his fourth debate with Steven Douglas, Lincoln made a statement that helps us understand his actions in support of the ACS and its mission in 1865.

“I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and Black races – that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and Black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.

 And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything.”

A cynical person might say that the Proclamation was more the work of a military strategist and avowed segregationist than a great emancipator.

Source: Afropunk.com JUNETEENTH: ON THE FREEING OF THE LAST SLAVES IN TEXAS

Black paraphernalia Disclaimer - images from Google images

Lincoln and Congress did pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in April of 1864. But the Amendment was not ratified by the required number of states until December of 1865, months after Lincoln’s death. Radical Republicans like Charles Sumner from Massachusetts and Thaddeus Stevens from Pennsylvania were the legislators largely responsible for pushing the Amendment through the U.S. Congress.

They were part of the group of Northern legislators who tried to ensure that the freed slaves would be put on equal footing with the white population. During Reconstruction, some progress was made towards realizing this dream. But in 1876, Reconstruction ended and the South plunged back into inequality, embracing white supremacy, Jim Crow and segregation.

Texas was annexed into the Union in 1845 as a slave state. Northern legislators opposed the annexation of Texas as a ruse by Southerners to spread slavery into new territories. They could not have been more correct. Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829, but Anglos coming into Texas worked around this law by forcing slaves to sign contracts saying they had debts to be worked off or were indentured servants — with life-long terms. 

In 1836 (during the Texas Revolution) there were 5,000 slaves. In 1845 (at the U.S. annexation of Texas) there were 30,000 slaves. By 1860, there were 180,000 slaves; and by the end of the Civil War, more than 250,000.  The reason for the large growth in the number of slaves between 1860 and 1865 was a diabolical one. Slave owners from the Southeast moved themselves and their slaves to Texas to avoid having their slaves taken in states like Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas during the Civil War.

Emancipation was proclaimed by Lincoln. But it was the slaves, free people of color, and whites of goodwill who were largely responsible for ending slavery, by making the institution untenable. In 1850 alone, an estimated 3,000 slaves from Texas escaped into Mexico. During the Civil War, an estimated 75% of the slaves in Kentucky escaped behind Union lines. In border-slave-states, there were daily pitched battles between slave owners and slave catchers, and slaves, free Blacks, anti-slavery sympathizers and heroic abolitionists like John Brown, who were helping slaves escape, or inciting them to revolt. 

 The Underground Railroad was also active in border-slave-states helping runaway slaves. Even in the heart of the Confederacy, it is estimated that more than 11,000 escaped slaves lived in and around the Great Dismal Swamp, between Virginia and North Carolina.

So, as we celebrate that fateful day of June 19th, 1865, and pay homage to the last slaves who heard the news about slavery’s end in Galveston, let’s also take a new and larger view and celebrate the true great emancipators — the people of color and goodwill whose heroic resistance helped topple the vile institution.

Source: Afropunk.com JUNETEENTH: ON THE FREEING OF THE LAST SLAVES IN TEXAS

rewriting ash’s intro post since i link it on his plots page so that the info’s up to date since my last rewrite is over two years old. i added quite a bit about his personality/characterization, so feel free to read it but also feel equally free to ignore it.

tw: mention of depression/anxiety

ashton taeyong kwon, born in san francisco, california on december 24, 1995, and was raised there until age 13

his stage name is taeyong, but friends call him ash. he’s learned to respond to taeyong tho and doesn’t mind fans and acquaintances calling him that; he just doesn’t really like being called ashton unless you’re his actual mom and he will generally make his distaste known if you do that. fans don’t really know he goes by ash in his private life so they call him taeyong and he’d like to keep it that way. (he’s not a fan of fans pretending to have a closer relationship with him than fan-artist... lmao)

was a musical baby from birth so he started taking piano, dance, and guitar lessons pretty early and fell in love with all three

auditioned for bc entertainment’s global audition in los angeles for fun more than anything else as a dancer. he didn’t know a ton about korean music (or korean language) but figured it couldn’t hurt since he knew he wanted to pursue a music career

won a contract offer and decided to go for it with his parents’ approval, so he moved to seoul by himself at 13

he knew very little korean, so he was kind of isolated as a trainee and was really lonely. his parents probably shouldn’t have let him move his life overseas alone at such a young age and on such short notice knowing his personality, but they kinda wanted to live the childfree life again since they had him so young and without plans to have a kid

(his parents are good parents for the most part, though! he loves them to death and they’re very loving and supportive, they’re just the types that didn’t plan to have a kid until it happened on accident)

by the time he debuted, he knew korean well enough to get by but he did have some attitude scandals when they first debuted because he was trying to overcompensate for not being 100% fluent

bc decided his image should be more ~broody and artsy~ to avoid more attitude scandals. since then, it’s evolved into james dean-esque bad boy heartthrob, but for the longest time his image was pretty much being quiet which led to him not being super popular until he eventually started to shape his own solo career (so he now has a lot of akgaes)

things were going pretty well for him for a while ! knight was doing great and yeah maybe he was a little overworked but he was performing ! which is what he wanted ! right ? right ?????

all hell broke loose on valentine’s day in 2016 when one rather minor dating rumor released by a media outlet led to a much bigger scandal which originated in fan communities through “leaked” pictures of him out with other female celebrities in common date locations or, in one case, entering a hotel together on more than one occasion

antis quickly ran with the narrative of him being a player/womanizer/serial dater/cheater, etc. and further “evidence” appeared on fan communities like unsubstantiated “eyewitness” stories and convenience store receipts and it took a big toll on his reputation despite the company coming out with a statement denying everything and claiming he was only friends with the women

it became a big mess and he tried to put on a strong face but in reality it tore him up because now everyone was talking shit about him online and trying to make his private life their business and he ended up in a Really Dark Place

was pretty much dungeoned outside of knight activities for about eight months before he was made one of the members of the white knight sub unit to get him back in the public’s graces which worked on a minor level. he got his first solo activities (osts) around this time as well to test out public response.

in 2017, got caught with another female idol at a convenience store at night which sparked dating rumors, but those were more easily dismissed. late that year, he got in a scandal for causing a commotion when he was wasted outside of a club in tokyo and called a female friend to pick him up from the club... not his best move.

2018 was the year of being criticized for being lazy on stage and allegedly having an attitude problem with fans during fan signs. was a bad look, but the instances causing the scandal were mainly a result of his poor mental health (depression and extreme anxiety) he was dealing with as a result of making his solo debut amidst quite a lot of online hate.

so yeah he made his solo debut in late 2017 and has had a steady career as a solo artist (he’s dropped four full albums and several promoted or non-promoted singles) and a model for endorsements and cfs (his biggest and longest-term deal has been with calvin klein, and that’s become a part of his Brand now i would say — the sexy, modern, all-american image of calvin klein fits his public image to a t) since then. he and bc have worked very hard to redeem his public image and he hasn’t had a scandal in like three years, during which time he’s had six number one singles, so he’s not public enemy number one anymore and his past scandals tend to be more of a footnote to people who aren’t actively his antis lmao

he also had a viral fancam in october 2020 that went viral for him being sexy and Very Into singing you know i’m no good by amy winehouse (because he hates himself </3)... sexy king who has internalized issues with being sexualized that he kinda has to deal with since that’s a big part of his image and also continuously gets rewarded in his career for his Public Self-Hatred Self-Flagellation... anyway

has also done a lot of work as a songwriter/producer since his solo debut for himself and others and that’s his main passion right now. this man does not leave his home studio a lot

doesn’t have much say in knight’s music but he’s fine with that since he’s pretty much over knight. would throw a party if knight disbanded today and considers other knight members co-workers over friends for the most part.

has major depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder (the former is diagnosed, the latter isn’t officially but ash knows something is up there, he just hasn’t seen anyone with the capacity to officially diagnose him) and insomnia and those took a really bad toll on him for a while and still do but he’s actively seeing a therapist again as of mid-2020 and is trying to handle those situations better

ummmmm, his main personal interest is music, he has an impulsive/rebellious streak for days, and he’s a hopeless romantic who believes his own personal search for love is hopeless

his main motivation is just ?? to find happiness that he doesn’t think he’s really felt in his adult life but he also doesn’t think he deserve it so :/ is also very driven by his desire to have a long-term impact on the world and to Mean Something

his biggest fears are heights, not meaning anything to anyone, and The Inevitability Of Oblivion

he hates being Known . he’s extremely private. doesn’t let anyone know about his relationships and tends to be weirdly private about his friendships as well. doesn’t think anything he does is anyone else’s business unless he personally makes it their business lmao

a hufflepuff who could have also been considered for gryffindor tbh but would choose hufflepuff

infj-t (”the advocate”) - “they tend to approach life with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. their inner vision, personal values, and a quiet, principled version of humanism guide them in all things.” 

i used to call him neutral good but i honestly think he’s become chaotic good

melancholic

type 4w5 (”the bohemian” / “the free spirit”) - “four wing fives fear having no impact on the world. they may be reserved, but they seek recognition and admiration. they desire their own personal identity, and may retreat within themselves to discover who they really are. free spirits tend to defend themselves either by withdrawing from others or adapting characteristics of loved ones.”

that’s all really but i can talk about him for hours if anyone ever wants to know more about him

Sent by anonymous

James Ashton used to be my all time favorite LI. But ever since The Junior, I found him so irritating and annoying

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF MODS

Drawing and message in support of Black Lives Matter from 2nd July

The images containing only text read:

“I am not Black.  It is not my place to speak on behalf of the Black community. Instead, I urge that you listen to the voices of the Black community / BIPOC / BAME communities and educate yourself on instances of systemic racism and police brutality.

Nobody said your life doesn’t matter. But all lives can’t matter until Black lives matter. Yes, everyone’s life should matter. Then start working towards that being true! Don’t make excuses. Actions speak louder than words. Speak out against injustice whenever you can.

Here’s some resources where you can find out more:

-> ally.wiki is a document that contains links to many petitions, places to donate, how to contact officials, and where you can go to further educate yourself

- > impact.crd.co contains links with info relating to BLM as well as other global issues that you should know about” (end of text slide 1)

“Say their names. Say as many as you can. There are countless others who have already been forgotten. Do not let any more slip away. We must continue to demand justice for all.

We must say the names of and demand justice for those who have been discriminated against, mistreated, injured or murdered, including:

Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Emmett Till, Elijah McClain, George Floyd, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Dion Johnson, James Scurlock, Tamla Horsford, Dafonte Miller, Dominique Fells, Tshegofatso Pule, Riah Milton, Robert Fuller, Robert Anthony Wood, David McAtee, Ala’junaye Davis, Ndella Jack, Belly Mujinga, Joāo Pedro, Pamela Turner, Ahmaud Arbery, Emerald Black, Amiya Braxton, Darrius Stewart, Jennifer Jeffley, Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, Althea Bernstein, Oluwatoyin Salau, Rayshard Brooks,Anthony Evans, Justin Howell , Willie Simmons, Anthony Wint,  Albert Wilson, Chrystul Kizer,   Crystal Mayson, Cameron Green, Amari Boone, Collins Khosa, Rashad Cunningham, Jonas Joseph, Tazne Van Wyk, Eric Riddick, Angel Bumpass, Chaffin Darnel Y, Kenneth Reams, Ashton Dickson, Anderson Arboleda, Kyjuanzi Harris, Cláudia da Silva Ferreira, Crosley Green, Kenneka Jenkins, Shantel Davis, Christopher Terrell, Mubarak Soulemane, Sheku Bayoh, Martin Gugino, Cameron Lamb, Darrien Hunt, Matthew Tucker, George Dreher, Shukri Abdi, David Dorn, Darren Rainey, LaVena Johnson, Sandy Guardiola, Maurice Gordon Jr, Jemel Roberson, Dana Fletcher, Taliya Denham, Dominique Clayton, Michael Dean, Wallace Gardner Jr, Jaleel Stallings, Lakith Smith, A’Donte Washington, Robert Fuller, Kevin Penn, Nina Pop, Kayla Moore, Marcus Malone, Rodey Reed, Tshego Pule, Jamelia Hinds Vicks, Alaa Massri, Oliver Campbell, Jamarion Robinson, Kimmie Duncan, Kadijah Madinatu Saccoh, Ryan Twyman, Kendrick Johnson, Tyler Lumar, Cornelius Fredericks, Donny Sanders, Christopher Kalonji, Kenneth Walker, Muhlaysia Booker, Merci Mack, Brayla Stone, Elijah Nichols” (end of text slide 2)

Please note the names were only the ones I could gather from research at the time of the drawing.

Statement copied from my Twitter:

“I support #BlackLivesMatter. I will be making an effort to be actively anti-racist and anti-discrimination, and will continue to self-educate.

Drawing this made me reflect on how little I draw Black characters. Apart from Quinn from Final Space, I realised that I can't remember the last time I drew someone who was Black. I'm making it my goal to improve diversity in my art and practice drawing more varied characters.“