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discotreque · 3 years

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LwD 2.05: An Embarrassment of Dooplers

So I was a little nervous about this one! I hadn’t heard any spoiler-spoilers, but screeners have been out for weeks now, and I’d heard a bunch of individual, vague, non-spoilery hints about (1) big character moments, on the scale of a mid-season finale even though the show’s not taking a mid-season break; and (2) an ending that would make me cry.

I guess I imagined something relatively serious and dramatic, like “No Small Parts”? This show makes me cackle with laughter and giggle with nerdy glee and “d’awww!” at heartwarming friendships every week, but it’s only ever made me cry once—and then I was impressed that they were going to get there from the wacky hijinks we saw in the brief teaser.

The lack of a cold open made me apprehensive too—in my experience, that’s typically a sign that there’s so much plot in the rest of the episode that they need that extra scene—but after ~21.5 minutes of aforementioned hijinks, I was having so much fun that I’d completely forgotten about the alleged tear-jerker at the end…

…and they were not the tears I was expecting.

I didn’t think I’d be smiling and crying!!!! That was wholesome as SHIT!!!!!

I almost can’t believe they earned that—but they totally did.

After a Mariner–Tendi episode and a Boimler–Rutherford episode, we’re back to the “usual” Season 1 pairings… except the relationships between these characters have changed since Season 1. Mariner still feels thwacked in the abandonment issues by Boimler bailing for the Titan, and Rutherford’s having a tiny little existential crisis about losing an entire year of his life.

Both of which are extremely understandable and very heavy situations—and both of those situations get resolved because everyone in them is vulnerable with each other and honest about their feelings—AND that honesty and vulnerability brings both pairs of friends closer together. Are you kidding me?? I would watch SEVENTY seasons of that shit. Put it in my veins.

Onto the notes:

So basically Dooplers are Tribbles, but for cringe comedy instead of slapstick? Ohhhhh boy.

Look at Ransom the diplomat, tossing his own fork on the floor! I like that he’s actually a pretty competent Starfleet officer, despite also being a completely ridiculous person.

Wait a second, is that—OH HOLY SHIT, THE DOOPLERS ARE VOICED BY RICHARD KIND.

It makes sense that B. Boimler would find William annoying—who likes seeing their own flaws reflected back at them? And who could be a better reflection of one’s flaws than one’s literal duplicate?—but most interesting to me is that it implies on some level, Bradward knows the stick up his butt is a flaw. (Does William?)

Why does the Cerritos model have working phasers?!?!

I’m loving hot pink as the currently en-vogue colour for “dangerous sci-fi energy” in animation (cf. almost every previous episode of this show; Into the Spider-Verse; other stuff I can’t remember right now). As a former child of the 80’s, I’m living for it… but as a former teenager of the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to age as poorly as the harsh neon green of The Matrix, every Borg appearance on Voyager, and like 80% of the websites I made in high school…

SKANTS! SKANTS! SKANTS!

That fake-out joke with the fly-by over the Cerritos model was in the season trailer weeks ago, and I was so enthralled by that handsome lady that the sticker coming into frame still got me good 😂😂😂

BECKY Mariner????? omg yes

Some top-quality Boimler screams in this one. Poor Jack Quaid must drink gallons of throat-coat tea when he records.

One of the great things about Star Trek to me is that you never know what you’re going to get from any random episode. A murder mystery? A road trip? A spooky thriller? A cheesy romance? Broad comedy? Body horror? Didactic political screeds shrouded in tissue-thin science-fiction metaphors? Brain and brain, what is brain??? And after this many years of watching, you’d think I’d be hard to surprise. But if I ever told you I thought I’d see a Blues Brothers–style car chase through a frickin’ shopping mall on an episode of Star Trek, I would have been straight-up lying to you. I loved it, it worked for me, my jaw was on the floor and I was clapping with joy—but I’m definitely comfortable calling this one “unexpected.”

It’s CAPTAIN SHELBY!!! And an ancient babydyke crush rose from the depths of my childhood subconscious… (Also I think her Number One is based on the original makeup—eventually deemed too complicated—for Saru? Now that’s a deep cut.)

In 20th-century Trek, you almost never got to see what was going on inside a starship from the outside. Even after they switched from physical models (where it was next to impossible on a single episode’s budget) to CGI (which was still in its infancy, still not exactly cheap, and still broadcast in SD anyway), it was a rare thrill to see any meaningful interior details in an exterior shot. Disco’s modern VFX have given us some tasty, tasty treats in that department, but nothing quite as sublime as all the pink Doopler light glittering through the Cerritos’s windows.

Mariner says she’ll take her contact Malvus down with her, and threatens that they’ll end up “in the same cell.” Malvus is a Mizarian, a species introduced in TNG’s “Allegiance,” in which Captain Picard is held in a mysterious prison with one. I think I see what you did there, McMahan?

Bartender… so hot… lesbian circuits… overloading…

The Tendi and Rutherford C-story was, well, a C-story within a 22-minute episode, so there wasn’t much to it, but the one scene that mattered actually mattered a lot. I’m ambivalent on whether they should end up romantically involved—I’d prefer they don’t, but they’ll be one of the cutest couples in Trek history if they do—and as long as they keep that pure, sweet friendship between them at the heart of whatever else happens, I’m on board.

Carol Freeman was already one of my favourite captains before this season, and she’s been steadily moving up the list. The quiet throughline about her ambition to be on a better ship has been fascinating so far, and it’s starting to actually make me feel a little conflicted: I’m of course rooting for Captain Freeman to recognize her worth, make Starfleet recognize her worth, and become the ass-kicking captain of a hero ship that she’s clearly ready to be—but that almost surely means she’d be kicking ass off-screen, because LwD isn’t about those kind of adventures, and I’d be devastated not to have Dawnn Lewis on the show every week. So I’m kind of on the edge of my seat about this one!

I had so many favourite jokes this week I put them in a separate list:

“Even the replicated water on the Titan tasted better” is a low-key brilliant dunk on people who can’t shut the fuck up about the cooler places they used to live.

“Ooooh, they have a Quark’s now! That used to just be an empty lot where teens would make mistakes!” ← That’s literally me every time I go back to where I grew up. I felt so Seen™ I almost hid under a blanket.

“I would never go down the stairs!” (evil grin) (goes up the stairs)

The “well, shit” expressions from Mariner and Boimler as their crashed car sank right into the water… which started to bubble innocuously… and then the bottles of Data bubble-bath popped up, paying off a joke I thought had already been paid off—that was the one that woke up my poor cat this week. Just exquisite timing.

“YOUR PAGH IS WEAK, AND IT DISGUSTS ME!” “I don’t even know what that is, but I don’t like your tone!”

“Okona’s in there? He’s not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!” made me shout “NO!” at the screen like I was scolding my cat for scratching furniture. (She did not wake up that time.)

Best background joke: the neon sign at the dive bar advertising FREE SHOTS & BEERS. (Get it? Because they’re on a Federation starbase? Where nobody uses money?)

And of course Quark merchandised DS9.

This wasn’t just a standout episode of Lower Decks, this was a brilliant episode of Star Trek, period. The Dooplers, though extremely silly, are nevertheless also a clever sci-fi metaphor for real and relatable personal/interpersonal issues, and an effective plot catalyst for meaningful character growth from all four of our ensigns and the captain.

The jokes were hilarious, the action was kinetic, the A-, B-, and C-plots linked up thematically, the visuals were consistently and thoroughly gorgeous, the character beats—between Mariner and Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, Mariner and Capt. Freeman—were all genuine, heartfelt and wholesome, and the references to other Trek canon were both deep and deeply affectionate.

Only 15 episodes in, and this series knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to do, and knows that it can knock our socks off doing it. Mike McMahan has said in recent interviews that the back half of S2 (and the apparently almost-fully-written S3) is a straight line uphill in quality from here—which surprised me at first, because McMahan seems like a pretty chill dude who doesn’t normally brag about his own work like that.

But then the Prophets sent me a vision of my space dad Ben Sisko, who reminded me of the words of 1930’s baseball player Dizzy Dean:

“If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.”

[Thanks to cygnus-x1.net for the screenshots this week—I was too lazy to do my own.]

#star trek #star trek lower decks #lower decks #lower decks spoilers #lwd spoilers #amy's episode notes

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sinfulshelbys · 4 years

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𝟏𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐜 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

in honour of this account reaching (over) one thousand followers, i put together a list of some of my favourite fics by incredible authors in the peaky fandom!! these are only a few & i can’t wait to read and add more to the list!! as always thank you guys for the support on this account & make sure to show love to everyone on this list - they deserve it <3

@chlnymphadora

↳ 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 [shelby! sis]

this is by far one of my favourite shelby! sis fics!! the sass & intelligence of the reader is just *chefs kiss* - a must read for those who love shelby! sis fics!!

↳ 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 [tommy x reader]

what can i say? im a sucker for idiots in love & this whole fic captures that trope perfectly!! your writing is: immaculate!!

~~~

@smallheathgangsters

↳ 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 [bonnie gold x shelby! sis]

i can’t tell you how much i absolutely adore this whole series so far!! you capture bonnie PERFECTLY & every line feels like magic!! truly a fic everyone needs to read in the peaky fandom!!

↳ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 [John x reader]

i think the entire fandom can agree that we will never accept john’s death, and this fic was like i watched that episode again lmao – BUT, who doesn’t love angst? once again, you managed to amaze me with the way you’re able to put words together so damn well (pls spare me an ounce of your talent)

~~~

@johnismyreason

↳ 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 [alfie x shelby! sis]

as you can probably tell by my own writings, i adore the alfie x shelby sister trope so much - so when i found this lil series i fell in love!! worth the read!!

↳ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 [finn x reader]

finn shelby has my heart and soul & i found this while i was suffering from major baby fever and fell in love!! plus you can’t go wrong when you sprinkle some polly gray into a fic!!

~~~

@xsyntheticsensation

↳ 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧' 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 [modern! michael x reader]

jeez, words cant even explain how much i love this whole series!! in fact, i actually read it before watching peaky and love to come back and re-read it. like there is nothing i can fault this story about, from michael being a hockey player (HOT) to modern! peaky boys - LOVE LOVE LOVE

~~~

@nofuckingfighting

↳ 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 [tommy x reader]

fuelling my baby fever with this fic!! tommy plus babies = adorable!! i loved every single second i spent reading this delightful piece!!

↳ 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 [tommy x reader]

im a sucker for the secret relationship trope - so i loved this so so much!! plus i can imagine the reactions from everyone when it’s announced so vividly just through your words!!

~~~

@readerstories

↳ 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 [arthur x reader]

i think we as a fandom can agree that arthur deserves more love - that’s why i cherish any fic about him & this series is just perfection!! we also love a reader who can keep up with our favourite hothead!!

~~~

@multi-fandom-iimagines

↳ 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 [bonnie x shelby! sis]

firstly, i love anything rebecca writes - but this fic has to be one of my favourites by far & inspired me to write more for bonnie!! you effortlessly blended two of my favourite things - secret relationships and mr bonnie gold. 10/10 recommend!!

↳𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 [finn x reader]

everything about this story is perfect - from the pacing to the plot, not a fault in sight!! plus the foreshadowing of the swing was done so well & the result in the end was the cutest thing ever!!

↳ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐝𝐧𝐚 [isaiah x shelby! sis]

i will not tell you how many times i have gone back to re-read this series - because i’ve lost count!! a must read!!

~~~

@theshelbycompanyltd

↳ 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 "𝐟" 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 [isaiah x reader]

isaiah is one of the most underrated characters on peaky and if we don’t get more of him next season i suggest that we all take our pitchforks to steven lmaoo – but that’s why i love this fic so much!! your writing is perfect & adding isaiah to the mix whewwww PHENOMENAL

~~~

@theshelbyclan

↳ 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 [shelby! sis]

this fic genuinely made me giggle like a schoolgirl talking to her crush. the awkwardness is absolutely delightful and the plot twist ending made me toss my head back with nothing but absolute joy!!

↳ 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 [shelby! sis]

it’s safe to say you’re my favourite shelby! sis writer on tumblr because this fic inspired me so so much!! i fell in love with the way you wrote vulnerable shelby reader so much & her lil moment with isaiah was an extra cute bonus!!

~~~

@cas-kingdom

↳ 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥 [shelby! sis]

i usually don’t cry while reading fics but this made me full sob!! the readers relationship with tommy is so well written and the whole fic flows absolutely perfectly!!

↳ 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 [shelby! sis]

i can’t tell you how much this fic melted my heart!! such a wholesome piece of writing - seriously teach me how to be as good as you!!

~~~

@justanothershelby

↳ 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 [alfie x reader]

DAD ALFIE, DAD ALFIE, DAD ALFIE!!! need i say more?? such a perfect wholesome piece!!

~~~

@peakymarvelworld

↳ 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 [bonnie x reader]

firstly, do you know how hard it was to pick just a few of amirah’s works?? i wanted to put in her whole masterlist (which you should 100% binge) but this fic is the cutest ever!! protective tom mixed with adorable bonnie x reader, LOVE IT

↳𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 [alfie x reader]

im in love with soft! alfie and your flawless writing for him in this blurb is perfect!! plus, who doesn’t want to imagine the big scary wandering jew like this?!

~~~

@blinder-secrets

↳ 𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 [arthur x reader]

i cherish arthur fics and this series is done PERFECTLY. your writing is phenomenal and made me fall in love with arthur so much more!!

↳ 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 [bonnie x reader]

i am soft for this fic!! the line “you’re going to be a star, bonnie gold” just made my heart fall in love with them!! for those of you in your bonnie feels, this won’t disappoint!!

~~~

@shelbylimiited

↳ 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 [isaiah x shelby! sis]

this fic is the one that inspired me to start writing for isaiah!! i can not tell you how much i hold this piece close to my heart and re-read it - you’re an exceptional author!!

~~~

@peakyxshelby

↳ 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 [tommy x reader]

i have a burning hate for grace and this just fuelled it more and i love it lmao! an absolute rollercoaster of emotions from an extraordinary writer on this site!!

↳ 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 [alfie x shelby! sis]

my god where do i even start? this fic is EVERYTHING i search for when reading fics in this fandom. you are able to write the characters so perfectly and the dialogue is amazing!! 10/10

~~~

@writersmacchiato

↳ 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 [bonnie x reader]

bonnie gold will always hold a special place in my heart and this fic fills it perfectly!! in love with this piece and continuously go back and re-read it!!

~~~

@lotsoflovefromlea

↳ 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 [isaiah x shelby! sis]

there is just enough angst and fluff in this fic to break your heart and then perfectly put it back together. one of the first isaiah fics i read and i admire it so so much!!

↳ 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐡𝐧 [shelby! sis]

it’s rare for me to find a fic that brings me to tears, but this one did just that!! you know how to write angst flawlessly and i wish i was able to pull emotions from my audience as well as you can with yours - just using your way with words!!

~~~

@lovebitesimagines

↳ 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 [alfie x shelby! sis]

THIS SERIES OH MY GOD!!! this has to be one of my favourite series i’ve ever read on tumblr. each part had me hooked & the pacing and flow of your writing is INCREDIBLE. not to mention, it inspired my alfie x shelby!oc fic on wattpad - thank you so much for posting this!!

#i will add more fics to this list when i read them!!#pls tag me in all your works!!#for now check out all the authors on this list!!#fic recs #peaky blinders #peaky blinders imagines #peaky blinders fanfic #also thank you for 1k!!!

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chromsai · 7 years

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Top 5 favourite fruitship moments

wow i’m so sorry kouhai this is damn overdue (and i owe you a lot) and honestly now i’m regretting getting back to this because aughsfndifdjsls there are SO MANY cries why did u make me pick just 5 i hate u

top 5 so far as of today (rip we just got thru ep 146):

5. Episodes 50/51

ah yes the first episodes where yuya not only begins to realize a bit of his own denseness in regards to his feelings towards yuzu, he openly states out loud all of the reasons why yuzu is so important to him: she stayed with him even when he was bullied and cheered him on despite this, she was the one that gave him an idea of how to evolve as a duelist, he straight up says both rune-eyes and beast-eyes are monsters he was able to summon thanks to yuzu, he realizes the reason she was trying to get stronger was to protect him and his friends… and of course even reiji takes advantage of his feelings for yuzu. reiji. taking advantage. of his feelings. before this duel, yuya wanted nothing to do with becoming a lancer, but by the end of it… he joins because, just as reiji stated, he wants to save yuzu. and then episode 51 ends like this

oh my god the pain in his voice

(also quick shout out to ep 54 becuz it shows us the struggle of being separated from yuzu’s perspective and well she cries just as bad *dies*)

4. Episode 125. I think this post pretty much sums it up.

3. The end of episode 129. idk what to say i mean… yuzu actually gets through to yuya for a moment (and it almost seems like he’ll come back to his own senses but…), then afterwards we get this

and yusho pretty much explains that them being so close to each other isn’t a coincidence… like…………….. i’m sorry i’m such a sucker for the whole… destined intertwining fates/red-string-of-fate trope… except for the kicker here is that they weren’t exactly meant to (uh) fall in love? their red-string-of-fate was just meant to pretty much stop him from becoming a demon and destroying the world… and also the fact that they’re reincarnations of zarc & ray who were enemies (technically)… oh my god……. the irony ugh my heart this is the kind of shit i fall for every damn time

2. Episode 140.

episode 140.

oh my god first of all just the lone fact that Yuzu is the only person, out of all of the ones that had been trying to get him back for five episodes straight, that Yuya explicitly responds to would have pretty much been enough for me tbh like that is all i needed but then they also had to throw in this

like shit even Zarc himself is surprised

and it doesn’t stop there

just look at her holding out her hand to him so gently even having to look at him like that as a demon like ashfkjsdlf

look at this shit Zarc is so dumbfounded yet Yuya’s like you know what you’re right babe like just looking at her and hearing her makes him feel calm and gives him the strength to overcome his own inner (er, outer, i guess i should say) demons aaaaaa

1. my favorite fruitship moment and the one moment that made just go from casually shipping them for the heck of it to straight up OTP AF status is this:

(episode 69)

….. LOOK AT HIM HE’S SO DAMN HAPPY FOR HER HE LITERALLY CRIES?!?!????!!!!!???!?!?!?!???!!! (ALSO LIKE HE’S SO SPEECHLESS FOR A MOMENT TOO THAT IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY YOU CAN HEAR HIS FIRST REACTION WAS TO SLAP HIS HAND ON THE SCREEN WITHOUT EVEN THINKING. AND HE’S TOUCHING HER FACE THROUGH THE SCREEN?!????!???1??1!!??!?!?!?!!!!!!! BYE)

THIS IS HOW YOU SELL ME ON YOUR OTP. Like honestly tears because one of them is dying or because they miss the other are also good but HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE CHARACTERS CRY OUT OF JOY FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHER???? LIKE. LEGIT TEARS OF JOY.

I am not kidding when I tell you that even with all the ship tease before this episode (and there’s A LOT of it), i was still pretty on the fence on this ship like i was in the “yeah i kinda ship it” part of the fandom not because i didn’t really like it (all the ship tease was good and their relationship has ALWAYS been wholesome) but more out of pure caution because I KNOW how main male/female ships in yugioh usually go and they are usually not very good imo. But this. this moment. This EPISODE. Yuzu shows she cares. Yuya very fucking explicitly shows he cares (he cares so much that his body has a real autonomic physical reaction to this emotional stimulus oh my god my psychologist is showing). They’re not even in person next to each other or anything yet they are communicating and understanding and supporting each other.

as far as for yugioh goes tho, even with ship teases, usually the main female/male pair keeps to status of “friend” because ofc this is yugioh this is all about the nakama. and they usually stop there. or just they leave it at that for the most part and don’t go in depth as to why they should be shipped together besides just them being boy+girl friends = a couple but in this case they, imo, they really went above and beyond that and welp now i’m here crying

idk bout you but this convinced me their feelings for each other were more than that. and i wasn’t fruitshipping trash before this so.

anyways, that’s the end of my list but you’re probably wondering why i didn’t include the episode 99 reunion they had… dude… trust me… i love that scene… but i feel that if you ship these two, that scene is a given as a fav moment. lol it’s like if you made a “fruitshipping moments” bingo, the episode 99 reunion would be your free space lmao i mean i ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT and i will watch it a million times over and never get tired of it but it’s also so obvious lol

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fashiontrendin-blog · 6 years

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The Dark Side of Viral Stories Meant to “Restore Your Faith in Humanity”

https://fashion-trendin.com/the-dark-side-of-viral-stories-meant-to-restore-your-faith-in-humanity/

The Dark Side of Viral Stories Meant to “Restore Your Faith in Humanity”

rom the dancing Eid boy, to photos documenting the growth of Fiona the hippo, to dogs rejoicing at their owners returning from war, wholesome memes are supposed to be a source of guilt-free pleasure. It makes sense that your average social media user would develop an appetite for “pure” content in the era of multi-level irony, fake news and alt-right trolling; it’s a pleasant palette-cleanser. And it can feel inspiring to read that specific genre of viral news story in which people overcome extraordinary odds or extend random acts of kindness to their fellow human beings. (Eli Pariser built an entire business model around demand for this content when he founded Upworthy.)

Like many others, I was moved by the recent story of Tasia, the Walmart cashier who took time out of her lunch break to give Angela, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, a manicure after she was turned away from a nail bar. It was an act of unsolicited kindness that granted a woman the dignity she deserved — but it was one fueled by injustice on the part of a world that likely has and will continue to exclude Angela on the grounds of her ability. Tasia rightfully called out Da Vi Nails in a Facebook post for denying Angela service, asserting that she has the right to the same beauty treatments and pampering experiences as everybody else, especially considering disabled people spend so much of their lives being infantilized or dehumanised.

Tasia and Angela’s story is just one example of a wider trend. Look closely at the touching true life stories which spread across social media and you’ll find that, while they are presented as positive, they actually reveal some pretty ugly truths. Take the video of the Alabama teacher who cried tears of joy when she was gifted a car by the mother of one of her students after years of taking the bus to work. Courtney Adelaye, the parent in question, is the CEO of a successful hair care product company. Of all the coverage of this story online, few outlets if any addressed the fact that teachers are grossly underpaid, and not all of them are lucky enough to have the child of a generous business owner in their class.

Then there is the story of Walter Carr, who walked for almost 20 miles to his first day of work at a moving company, embarking on the eight-hour journey at midnight, walking beside busy highways and encountering stray dogs along the way. He was aided by police officers who drove him some of the way and was, in the end, rewarded with a car. Jenny Lamey, the customer whose house he walked all night to reach, started a GoFundMe to help Carr with his transport troubles, and raised more than $44,000. Of his ordeal, she said: “I think God helped him through.” It is far more likely he was motivated by sheer economic desperation.

It is understandable that The Washington Post and other news outlets would latch onto Carr’s extraordinary story, but it is also necessary to examine the structural problems that forced him to take such drastic action, including a lack of public transportation and a dearth of jobs with sufficient pay in his local area. We’re applauding the generosity and self-sacrifice of ordinary people like Lamey and Adelaye instead of holding the institutions at fault accountable.

Another warm-and-fuzzy news story details how a pregnant woman was “very humbled” when her co-workers donated their vacation days so she could spend more time with her new baby. The federal government gives workers the option to voluntarily transfer their paid leave days to another person — a particularly precious baby shower gift, considering the average worker in the U.S. can only expect ten days of paid leave per year, and maternity leave is not mandated. As an outsider, this is bizarre to me. Here in the UK, 28 days of paid leave per year is considered the baseline, and maternity pay is a statutory right.

What many of these “heartwarming” tales have in common is a working culture which places inordinate pressure on individuals

What many of these “heartwarming” tales have in common is a working culture which places inordinate pressure on individuals, coupled with a failure on the part of organizations to pay a living wage and offer sufficient parental or sick leave (not to mention a broader lack of transport infrastructure) which make it essentially impossible for workers to meet these demands without the assistance of a benevolent interloper.

According to Esquire’s Joanna Rothkopf, we love these viral moments because “they’re rare stories of compassion—because we see someone crying with joy, for once, and we cry, too… But they’re also inherently stories of a collective failure to make sure Americans have easy access to transportation and healthcare and maternity leave. They’re stories of how we neglect, and then happily weep when that neglect is temporarily sated.”

Another heartstring-tugging sub-genre of this phenomenon involves communities coming together to crowdfund an individual’s healthcare bill. This was touched on in an episode of Queer Eye’s second season; makeover recipient Skyler Jay, a trans man, had successfully crowdfunded his top surgery but still owed thousands of dollars in additional unexpected medical bills. This was swiftly glossed over in the episode, perhaps unsurprisingly; Queer Eye is wonderful in its focus on empathy and human connection, but it is also essentially a reality show about consumerism-as-self-care, and acknowledging that Skyler’s life remained full of financial obstacles at the end of the week-long shoot would have made for a less tidy, TV-friendly narrative.

Again, as somebody who is fortunate enough to live in a country with a National Health Service (albeit one which is woefully under-resourced by our own government), it makes me uncomfortable to think of somebody’s access to healthcare depending on the efficacy of their GoFundMe campaign, with the burden falling to marginalized people to prove that they are “worthy” of strangers’ generosity.

It’s understandable to seek out the positive in a negative situation, but to go “aww” at random acts of kindness without remaining critical of the social problems which necessitate them is to be willfully naïve. When a media outlet catches wind of a noble oppressed person being rewarded for their hardship, it will likely skew the story in the manner most likely to evoke an emotional response and therefore make it more shareable. I worry that the popularity of poverty-related stories which have been repackaged as fluffy human-interest pieces is damaging our collective ability to discern propaganda from real news in our feeds.

The government can feel free to make all the funding cuts it wants if there is a popular delusion that good old regular folks will step in to pick up the slack.

This trend also helps to perpetuate disturbing new social norms, such as relying on the kindness of strangers in lieu of any institutional support. The government can feel free to make all the funding cuts it wants if there is a popular delusion that good old regular folks will step in to pick up the slack. No need to invest in transportation infrastructure when workers can just walk 20 miles to “earn” a car — and why would you want socialized medicine when you can just ask random people online to cough up the money you need to cover exorbitant healthcare expenses?

When media outlets give these people the puff-piece treatment, they often fail to illuminate that such instances represent the tip of the poverty iceberg. What if you don’t have the kind of inspirational story that would make a great Hallmark Channel movie? What if you’re just one of the many ordinary people out there who’s struggling to make ends meet every single day without the help of a generous fundraising campaign? For every Walter Carr, there are countless people whose toil and suffering doesn’t go viral, who aren’t rewarded with a new car or financial assistance.

Today, as I write this, media outlets are praising school employees for donating their sick days so that a teacher who is battling cancer can attend chemotherapy. The story is getting the usual comments like “this just restored my faith in humanity” and “people are awesome.” And it’s true; every time an ordinary person goes above and beyond to help somebody else, it is worth commending. But they shouldn’t have to. We can’t rely on chance encounters or altruistic co-workers to help us work around fundamental institutional problems. We need solutions, not Band-Aids with smiley face on them.

Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the U.K. You can follow him on Twitter @Philip_Ellis

Photo by Susan Wood via Getty Images.

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