#but turns out we've actually taken direct action together in the past | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thelawsofdaylight · 6 months

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I'm sorry if this isn't approriate, but I don't really understand why you find Les Mis a good target for a climate protest? I get that the musical has themes that align with the protesters but like... what was the good outcome? Are there really People in that audience that don't know climate change is happening? How Will this change their mind? What action is meant to be brought on by trowing soup at paintings or disrupting a performance? Does that actually help the cause of combatting climate change at all? Does it help make people more aware, does it have an effect on the mechanisms of polluters? Isn't there anything more focused that these resources (both money and the incredible bravery and drive of the People themselves) could be better focused on. These protest feels so different from like, people chaining themselves to a private jet or the schoolchildren going up to parliaments by the thousand to demand policy chances to better their future. All of the JSO actions feels so performative, I just don't see how they are actually doing anything of even the mechanism by which they are meant to accomplish anything? Which doesn't mean that the people involved aren't great people or that the reaction of the Les Mis crowd wasn't fucked up. Just... what was even the goal?

Hey! I know it's been a while since I made that post supporting the JSO protestors but I've gotten a few asks like this in the time since (and am still getting them) so I'm responding to this as the most good-faith one in my inbox and hopefully it answers others that have been asked to me in the past couple weeks as well. Disclaimer: If I'm responding to things outside the remit of this ask, it's likely that it's because someone else sent an ask about it and I've been juggling them all in my head as I've been thinking on a response.

I think in order to answer the first part of the ask we have to tackle the second. 'What has this action achieved' only works as a comprehensive criticism if we look at it in isolation to all of JSO's other actions. What I mean by this is: JSO launched by blocking oil refineries for days on end. In the two years they've been active they've done similar actions, including but not limited to disrupting fuel distribution centres, petrol stations, interrupting fossil fuel conferences, and, most recently, trying to stop the relocation of asylum seekers to prison barges. Their actions go far beyond blocking roads and disruption of public events. I think this is important to establish as I don't know how much of a working knowledge anyone not in the UK Climate movement actually has about JSO and I think it's good we're all on the same page.

But if they do all that (effective, important) direct action, then why target Les Mis? What does a West End show have to do with fossil fuel companies and climate change? And in response to these questions I'll ask one of my own: were you aware of the fact that JSO tried to stop migrants from being deported until I mentioned it just now? A lot of these actions, the ones that actually target infrastructure and confront those directly responsible, get little to no media coverage. When news of the Les Mis action first broke out, I saw so many people on Twitter with the same reactionary takes: why target Les Mis when the Conservative Party Conference literally happened the same weekend? And that's a fair and valid point- if it wasn't for the fact that JSO were at the conference. I know this because I was there too. They had a huge bloc in the march and went on to do other actions in the city after the march had ended. The whole thing, the entire 10,000+ strong protest, got maybe 30 seconds coverage on the local news and not even a mention of JSO's presence (or of climate change in general for that matter.) JSO's previous actions directed at fossil fuel companied themselves get very little, if any, coverage compared to their big flashy sports/awards show/performance interruptions.

So yeah, some of JSOs actions are 'performative'. But I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that even performative actions have their place within the wider struggle. I understand not liking public disruption as a tactic and I understand the issues with it, but I also think it's worth reflecting on why groups like JSO use it.

Editing my draft here to report that earlier today they smashed the frame of a painting that was previously vandalised by the Suffragette movement in 1914. That's a performative action, sure, but you have to admit it makes a point. Just like the tageting of Les Mis, a play about an unjust society and the people striving to change it, makes a point about hypocrisy. It gets the media coverage. We can debate all day about the usefulness of that coverage and if chasing media headlines should be our goal in the first place... but at the end of the day, it's been proven that JSOs membership grows every time they do something like this. It gets more people to join, which means next time it comes round to blocking key infrastructure, they'll be in a stronger position to succeed.

This isn't to say don't criticise them at all! I actually think criticisms like this one are a key part of organising and, done with care, can only make our movements stronger. I have my own issues with JSO- namely, the carelessness with which arrest is actively encouraged/promoted as the only valid form of resistance- but that's a whole other conversation and one that doesn't undermine my support and solidarity for the activists who are doing those actions (and sacrificing a whole lot in the process.) I think mass direct action movements are rarely ever perfect but I also think we need to show solidarity first and foremost when people are trying to do the right thing, especially if how they're doing it is in conjunction with or as a response to other tactics.

#les mis #just stop oil #i know this is old news now but this was in my drafts and i feel like i should probably still post it given that JSO are in the news again #also disclaimer: since my last post i found out that not only do i know one of the ppl who interrupted les mis #but turns out we've actually taken direct action together in the past #and i'm not about to announce details of my ongoing court case on tumblr dot com #BUT i think it's also worth keeping in mind that a lot of these activists aren't only doing the 'performative' stuff #sometimes they also [redacted]

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fromheroestodust · 5 years

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Rose Killer: Pt.4; Stuck Together

Summary: You're the leader of the strongest mafia in London. What will happen when you're forced to team up with your worst enemy

Warnings: language, violence, PTSD, cringy askout

Word count: 3852

A/N: my friend asked me to add her into this, hence Paddy's friend 😂

You wake up, finding your mattress suddenly very firm and uncomfortable. Wait - This isn't your mattress, and this isn't your room. Bolting into an upright position, you find yourself on the floor of... Harrison's room? A blanket falls off of your shoulders and you find the half finished board game two feet away from you, a piece rolling on the floor from your movements as another falls from your palm. The memories from the previous night flood in, causing you to cringe at your own actions. How could you let yourself do any of that? A little further on past the gameboard lays another figure wrapped in the duvet, his hair covering most of his facial features. Why'd Harrison sleep on the floor? Did he just fall asleep there?

"Haz." You whisper in a low tone, not wanting to cause him to jump awake. "Haz!" His eyes blink open before he rubs them and sits up, his hair even more of a mess now as some of it falls to frame his face while the other half sticks up in odd directions. "Mmmorning." He hums before standing up, taking the blanket with him and throwing it onto the bed.

"Why'd you sleep on the floor?" You ask through a yawn, picking up your own blanket - you could've sworn you didn't fall asleep with it - and picking up "High-Ho-Cherrio".

"Why'd you sleep on the floor?" He questions, causing you to role your eyes with a smile. "I fell asleep first." You point out, setting the game box on the bedside table. "Anyway, it's not my bed. It'd be weird if I slept in it."

"Good point. I just fell asleep." He shrugs. "Isn't there some group meeting at ten?"

"Yeah," You confirm, giving him a questioning look, cocking your head to the side. "Why?"

"It's 10:01." Harrison answers nonchalantly before rushing to grab his stuff, his body turning to a blur in front of your weary eyes. "What?!" You exclaim, looking at your phone.10:01. "Shit! Where's my stuff?!" Both of you run around, two tornadoes nearly destroying the room with every unsteady, tired step. Finally you find your rose, gun, and dagger. After pulling your hair up into a messy bun the two of you run down the halls to the conference room where Tom was surely waiting to curse you out for being late. 10:08

The door to the large room is thrown open, you and Harrison walk in out of breathe with messy hair and clothes, seeming like you spent the past three days in the woods. "I- ehm- I brought the files." Haz says before handing the multiple folders over to Tom who wore a very questioning and weirded out look as if to say what the fuck happened to you two? And why is she with you? The blonde just shakes his head, taking a seat in one of the two open large leather chairs surrounding the long, glossy, dark oak table. Taking the one next to him the meeting starts, everyone's expression in the room saying they'd moved passed the event but their eyes held many questions that will never be answered.

"So Y/n and I will see to Leo after they bring him here. After a nice beating he'll cave." Tom summarizes, your face back to the stern glare you wear for work. A few more words are traded before everyone except you, Tom, and Harrison are left in the room, for you three didn't have to rush of to another destination.

"Did you hear that?" You ask Tom, picking up a few papers giving you information on Leo Sandraya, your target for the next few weeks.

"What?" He asks, a look of alarm on his face as his eyes scan the room quickly, a hunter looking for prey, before landing back on you, his brows furrowed together.

"Silence. For once in a meeting we didn't tell at each other." You smirk, Haz suppressing a laugh behind his friend.

"Shut up, Y/l/n." He hisses, clearly not amused with your humor as a stern look plays on his face.

"Someone's being bitchy." You mumble, collecting your files on Sandraya.

"Look, I don't know why all of a sudden you're being soft around us but your plan won't work." Tom says, venom oozing from his words as he turns to face you with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't have a plan!" You exclaim in defense. "I actually have a version of me separate from the me at work. But this is the only one you'll ever see." With that you strut out of the room and to your own to change out of your nightwear and probably into a outfit to workout, a limp obvious in your step.

"What's her fucking problem?" Tom groans to Harrison after turning away from your shrinking figure, putting papers in a manilla folder.

"Nothing really, mate. Like she said she has a side separate from work." Haz shrugs.

"What, like you know her?" The brunette scoffs. Why was his friend suddenly defending her? Especially after what happened between them?

"Because I actually took the time to get to know her. We've been friends for a bit now." Haz says in a tone much more angry then he meant before switching to a calmer one. "Just... Try talking to her instead of being at her throat everyday."

Tom stares at his friend, trying to decipher something from his expression or his eyes. "Fine. I guess I sort of have to considering there's that party next week." He sighs in defeat, trusting his best friend. The only person who could make Tom change his mind or take in a new idea was Harrison. And, as much as he'd want to deny it, the decision was almost always right excluding a few choice occasions.

"I guess that meeting did end in yelling." Haz jokes, attempting to lighten the mood, carefully watching Tom to see how he'll react.

"Shut up." He smiles with a small laugh. "Wanna head down to the gym?"

"Yeah sure." He agrees, scooping his work into his arms before walking out the double doors and down a hallway, opposite from the way you went with playful banter filling the air between the two.

After finally making it back to your own room, you change out of your night clothes and into an outfit that's easy to move in, the feeling of the fabric almost seeming like velvet after being in the same small shirt and baggy pants for so long. While you're not supposed to workout, you are allowed to walk on the treadmills and do stretches, and you're not one to not go to the gym at least once a day.

Braiding a rose into your hair, you take a shortcut to your destination. The shortcut includes going outside and whilst out there you spot Tom's youngest sibling with someone. Your lips ever so slightly turn upwards, as you continue on your way, most likely to tell Haz about it later.

You reach the doors to the gym and pushing them open you groan. Tom and Harrison are hitting the punching bags, neither of them noticing your presence as you walk to the treadmills. After stretching you step onto the machine, setting it low enough to where you're walking but high enough to where you'll get at least some exercise in. You put your earbuds in and start walking, blocking out the world with one of music.

"Y/n." A voice says, pulling you out of your escape world.

"What?" You sigh, pulling out your earbuds that were playing Weak.

"It's like one." Harrison informs you, Tom standing a little back and to the side of him, refusing to look at you as he averted his gaze to the small screen on the treadmill.

"Oh." You turn off the machine, grabbing your bottle of water and taking a long sip. "Why are you two here so late?"

"Training." Tom surprisingly answers, no glare or mean tone. Something fishy is going on you think, but don't mention it, comfortable with the friendly atmosphere in the room.

"I saw Paddy outside with a girl on my way hers." You add as the three of you walk out, the air between you and Tom stiff but not nearly as suffocating as usual.

"Oh, yeah. That's his friend Ashlyn." He confirms, a smile grazing his lips as your trio turns the corner into the hallway that holds the bedrooms.

Suddenly, extra weight is placed atop your head causing you to jump and look up. "Haz!" You groan, finding his arm resting on your hair. He laughs and removes his arm as you lightly shove him to the side. Tom watches the two of your interactions, realizing that there is a part of you that allowed you to relax and slightly smile. Maybe you smiled more before being taken.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Tom says as he turns into his bedroom, Harrison bidding him goodbye before you two continue to your own. You arrive at yours, both of you walking in with your steps in sync. Almost as soon as you close the door, something wraps around Haz's and yours ankles before pulling you up to the ceiling, pressed against each other upside down.

"What the fuck?" He exclaims, looking around with his hair reaching for the floor.

"Oh yeah... I sorta, maybe, might make traps when I'm scared... And set them." You mumble. "I must've forgotten to take this one down."

You try to reach up to free you two but find your arms pinned under coils of rope. curse my good trap setting you groan in your head.

"Tom!" Harrison yells. "Harry! Sam! Paddy!"

You suddenly become aware of how close you both are, bodies pressed against each other's, chest to chest. A blush spreads across your cheeks like setting fire to dead leaves in the middle of a forest.

Harrison groans and stops attempting to yell for someone, for if they heard they would've came already. "We're going to pass out." He sighs, returning his attention to you as he himself comes to the same realization you had. His own cheeks become dusted in pink, if it was from blood rush or a blush, you'll never know.

"How long do you think we'll be up here?" You ask, averting your gaze from his face as the blanket on your bed was suddenly very very interesting.

"Hopefully not all night." He sighs as your rose falls to the floor, at least seven feet away for it was a very high part of your ceiling you hung from.

You let out a groan of frustration, looking around for anything to help your situation but nothing would help considering your arms are pinned next to Harrison's. This is going to be so much fun.

Another two minutes passes, both of your faces red as your roses from blood flowing into them. You'd already tried moving around to release the rope from where it was tied, but it stayed put, the only way you can get down is if someone else cut or untied the material. How fortunate.

A yawn falls from your lips and your eyes grow heavy, the easy workout you had settling in on your already exhausted body.

"Can I confess something while we're stuck here?" Harrison asks, nervousness looming in his voice as he turns his gaze to you.

"Uh yeah. Yeah sure." You allow, your own nervousness working it's way into your stomach, butterflies making a home there.

"I like you. More than a friend. I know it's weird because we've only known each other for a few months but-" he rants while a smile, a real smile spreads across your face.

"Haz. I... I like you too." You confess, biting your lip due to pure nerves.

A toothy smile sprouts from his mouth, the sight making you fall for him more. Oh, how you wished you'd fall.

Slowly, Harrison's face moves towards yours, stopping just in front of yours with the tips of your noses touching as if asking for permission. You answer by leaning forwards ever so slightly, your lips planting themselves on his in a gentle, meaningful kiss. Your heart is beating so fast you're afraid he'll hear it, but it doesn't really matter if he hears it, he can already feel it. The kiss takes you to another world, one where you're completely happy and everything is okay, a world where you haven't been kidnapped and scarred in more than one way. The kiss is like spring, peaceful and safe with new lives starting. Maybe this is your new life, a life with your enemies best friend. Both of you pull away only because your lungs demand oxygen, but you swear a kiss like that could keep you alive forever. You look up at him, both of your eyes ridden of hate and disgust and instead filled with love and wonder. How unexpected was this relationship between two mobsters, one who'd harmed the other? But most things are unexpected, and sometimes things or people just fit perfectly into the holes in the others hearts left by others. They repair the gaps and replace them with love, fixing a person to their former self. And sometimes, a relationship is all you need.

"What the bloody fuck is going on in here?" Harry asks as he flings open the door. "Holy shit." He stares up at the two of you, pure disbelief centered in his eyes.

"Finally!" You exclaim, starting to feel dizzy from being upside down so long. "We stepped in a trap I set up!"

"Get us down!" Harrison yells, starting to move around causing you both to sway.

"Stop moving- ow!" His foot hits your ankle that'd been sprained at the wearhouse, pain radiating up your leg.

Harry runs out of the room and arrives again a few minutes later with Sam and Tom who look in disbelief.

"I didn't think you were serious..." Tom breathes, staring up at his friends. "How the fuck do we get them down?"

"Just cut it." Sam shrugs, walking towards the rope.

"No! Then we'll land on our heads!" You yell, fear coursing through your body.

"Okay we won't cut it. Calm down. Jeez." Harry sighs with his hands out in front of him.

"How can I calm down if I'm hanging from the ceiling?!" You exclaim, sudden anger coursing through your veins as you see red.

"Y/n." Haz says in a gentle tone next to you, his eyebrows raised. "What?!" You hiss with venom starting to seep into your words as you turn your neck to look at him. "Calm down. They're going to get us down. Freaking out isn't going to do anything." He says, keeping his soft voice. You let out a groan but keep your mouth shut as the three brothers try to figure out how to release you two from the rope safely.

After a moment of pondering, they pull your mattress off of your bed frame. "Okay," Tom says, standing next to the part of the rope tied securely to the frame of your bed. "I'm going to cut the rope." You brace for the impact of ground as you and Haz fall onto the mattress, your hair suspending around you.

"That didn't hurt nearly as much as I expected." You sigh.

"Yeah, probably because you landed on me." Harrison groans, his face slightly screwed up in pain.

"Shit!" You exclaim, trying to break free of the rope around your body but finding yourself unable to. "Stop laughing assholes and get us out!" You yell at Harry and Sam who were laughing between the two of them by the door before they walk next to you, still a few chuckles falling from their lips.

"You guys need to stand up." Sam instructs, examining the rope trapping you and your friend together.

"How?" Harrison asks, straining his neck to look at the boy behind him. Tom, Harry, and Sam crouch around your figures before each picking you up and placing on your feet. Once up, they finally unravel the thick rope, Harrison and you taking a few steps away from each other.

"Thank God..." You breathe stretching out your limbs as your head throbs. "Thanks."

"No problem." Tom says, his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm going back to bed." With that the three brothers walk out the doorway, all whispering while looking back at you two and laughing.

"That was- ehm- interesting." Harrison coughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as a pink color runs across his cheeks, yours following suit.

"Yeah..." You agree while fiddling with a piece of your hair, the air between the two of you suffocatingly awkward.

"Would you maybe like to... Be... My girlfriend?" He asks, hope and slight fear shining in his eyes, his expression eager for a response like a puppy waiting for a treat.

"I'd love to." You grin, teeth trapping your bottom lip between the rows. Haz's own smile spreads across his lips as he moves closer to you. "Oh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have-" he apologizes, his arms going back to his sides but you cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder and meeting his lips with yours in a quick kiss before backing away.

"It's fine." You smile.

"Right." He states, surprise still evident in his features. "Well, I'm going to head to my room." Harrison starts walking out the door but you stop him, yelling out.

"Wait! C-can I... Come with you...?" You ask, fear striking your body at the thought of the countless nightmares you experienced the previous night.

"Yeah, sure." He answers nonchalantly, waiting for you to join his side before continuing down the hallways. "What time is it?"

"2:34." You answer after checking your phone. "God, no wonder I'm so tired."

You both turn into his bedroom, Harrison shutting the door after you walk in. Awkwardly you climb into his bed, a safe distance away not wanting to over step anything on not even your first hour of a relationship. You feel the mattress dip with Harrison's weight and then your empty palm you had in the space between you both filled with his own. A soft smile falls upon your face before your eyes flutter shut, and you swear that's the most peaceful you've been in years.

"Where are they you little bitch?" A stern voice says, a dark figure towering over your trapped body. "I told you. They're dead." You mumble, head hanging down facing your lap. Suddenly, your face is gripped tightly and forced upwards revealing your parents dead bodies. Blood. Every where. You look at your shaking hands, those covered in the thick crimson liquid that seems to be endlessly pooling in your palms. "Since you won't fucking give me any answers, I guess we'll have to beat them out of you." A man says before something, most likely a knife, cuts across your stomach causing you to yell out in pain. You let out a blood chilling scream and sit up, body covered in cold sweat as you breathe heavily though it feels as if no air is entering your lungs.

"Y/n?" A voice asks from behind you, causing you to turn around with pure terror painting your face. "Har... Harrison?" You breathe out, still sucking in lungfulls of air as your arms threaten to give out under you.

He wears a confused look before realization sets in an "o" expression on his face. "You're fine. We're back at Tom's place not there. You're not there anymore." He assures you, his face softening in an effort to comfort you.

"M-my parents..." You whimper before practically throwing yourself at him, whether he minded or not he didn't show it, only held you against him and ran a hand up and down your back. "You're okay..." He coos, your tears falling onto his shoulder in a trail. You pull away and wipe the streams off of your face, embarrassment consuming your thoughts. "I'm s-so sorry." You apologize. How could you expect him to take care of you every time you go through these nightmares? How could you expect him to stay with you if you're so mentally broken?

Listen." Haz says, taking one of your hands in both of his, easily covering it's entirety. "You don't need to be sorry for something you can't and couldn't control. Even though we've only known each other a short time, friends help friends and hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you?"

Thanks." You say with an almost unnoticeable smile. Leaning forwards, you place your forehead against his bare chest, his chin resting on top of your head, the scent of your shampoo filling his nose. You felt safe for the first time since you were little, to you the safest place on Earth is in Harrison's arms as if nothing could hurt you because you're with him.

"Wanna go back to sleep?" Harrison asks, moving to look you in the eye. Your y/e/c eyes stare into his blue ones, searching for trust and almost immediately finding it. "Yeah."

With your confirmation, Haz slowly lays down, his arms still around your middle. Again, you both stay a distance away from each other though this times it's closer, the feeling of peace stronger than before as you both fall asleep with the other in your grasp. Slash after slash your own blood circles around you. "I can't give you anymore information." You grunt, someone punching you across the face, a metallic taste filling your mouth with the crunch of bone. Sucking in a large breath, your eyes open in panic and lingering pain crosses your arms and stomach. You're about to bolt upright but your eyes land on Haz's sleeping face, his features are completely relaxed, an ever so small part in his lips with his hair hanging over his forehead and eye.

You're not there anymore. You're safe. His voice echoes in your mind, calming you down and turning your breathing back to a normal pace. Like he said, you're safe. You're safe as long as you're with him. For the second time that night you fall back into slumber, repeating Harrison's words in your head like a broken record.

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girlonfilmmovies · 3 years

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Welcome to Friend Island: "Love Island US Season 3" and the Gaping Sores of America

So I foolishly thought that in the new year of 2021, the world would be in a better place than it was the previous year. After all, we were coming out of the "worst" of the most horrifying pandemic of the past century, a middling presidency that at that point served only a wealth of TV soundbites and less actual damage to the political system, and we were looking forward to a brighter future and a return to what some hoped would be "normal". The past was the past, and this was going to be a new moment.

Oh how naïve we all were.

As of this writing Covid-19 cases are hitting staggering new highs in the southern US, with Florida (of course) somehow hitting a record amount despite vaccines being easily available in the country for months. The death rates are at almost the same as last year. The middling disaster of the 45th president had one more trick up its sleeve, a firebomb brewing for dozens of years that went off in one of the most embarrassing fiascos of American political history. Misinformation has already implanted itself so thoroughly among half the country that people would rather die than admit they were wrong; the spread of such chaos being happily spat out through the algorithms of corporations only intent on raking in dollar signs. All the potential benefits that could have come from this once-in-a-lifetime moment are being briskly swept away: offices demanding their employees come back, no respect given to science and healthcare workers, the country's clearly weak infrastructure forced right back into action as if we didn't just see its gaping holes. The earth is dying and the people who actually have the resources do something about it instead have kickstarted a capitalist space race.

2021 has gone to show that old, toxic habits die hard.

Sigh.

Yeah, I watched Love Island again.

Despite my... let's say mixed feelings regarding last year's shitshow, I couldn't help but admit that it was the closest thing that I've had to appointment viewing TV that I've had in a long time. In an era of streaming and DVR boxes, it's a bit of an actual feat to get someone who works a fulltime job (especially one with erratic scheduling) to go out of their way to watch something the second it premieres. Love Island brings the family together, so they can engage in our favorite pastime: pointing and laughing at young, dumb, fame hungry cis-hets.

Plus, the second season had offered a fascinating glance at how to contend with a pandemic while also trying to stage a typical dumb reality show. The tropical island villa was swapped for a luxurious hotel rooftop in Las Vegas -- a literal ivory tower of ignorant hedonism looking down upon a plagued nation. You could feel the sexual tension of the hot, hyper-sexual adults forced without physical contact for months finally allowed to relieve themselves the only way they know how: toxic relationships. It was trying so hard to be an oasis in a desert yearning for frivolous content, but the façade was clearly visible to the point of satire. It was a wonderful thing to experience firsthand as what I originally thought as merely me dipping my toes into the genre.

Season 2 was the show that we deserved at the time, a funhouse mirror reflecting all the callous stupidity that had led us to this moment in world history. It attempted to offer a happy ending, a look towards the future: a black couple finally winning a reality show, a first for such a mainstream program (both of them actually kind of turned out to suck, but shhhh...).

It also allowed America to completely break the hearts of people while watching them fall apart live on TV. It was cruel, it was stupid, but most of all, it was fun as hell.

Season 3 is not about torturing the competitors. It's about torturing us.

In all fairness, there were a couple of lovely positive developments for the series this season. While still struggling with racial diversity a little bit, as evidenced by them casting only one very specific kind of black man like five times, strides are being taken elsewhere in the lane of body diversity. Alana makes her debut as literally the first woman on this show who isn't a size 0-2, looking absolutely gorgeous in every single shot.

The almost aggressively heteronormative nature of the show is slowly being shaken by a more openly queer cast than previously expected -- multiple bisexual/pansexual contestants participated, even though there wasn't any overtly queer romance shown (also almost all of them were women, with them describing their sexualities being confined to streaming exclusive episodes, which isn't... great). It's certainly a step in the right direction for a show that unceremoniously shuffled off the only queer member of the Season 2 cast overnight once the internet found his gay porn shoot. Ironically, they also ended up booting off the most openly queer member of this cast too, the purple haired proudly pansexual TikTok-er Leslie, but for the more legal reason of smuggling weed into the villa.

It's not terribly surprising that both Alana and Leslie garnered a lot of positive attention both inside and outside of the villa -- they stand out so much against the otherwise predictable casting that we've come to expect from this show and white American media in general. Alana is a woman with actual curves who looks stunningly gorgeous in comparison to the monotonous supermodel figures of everyone else. Leslie almost falls into a stereotype from the way she appears: dyed purple hair, tattooed all over, obviously queer, vaping weed constantly, exuding the kind of chaotic yet weirdly fun energy that only a former stripper can. Yet she obviously grabbed the attention of the contestants because while people like her abound in real life, in the fantasy land of reality TV she's an absolute rarity, a far cry from the sanitized beauty pageant-esque standards that they seem to pluck girls from. The men are still dumb, bland, boneheaded idiots in this show, but by offering some actual variety, they get to actually pursue people they aren't "traditionally" supposed to, while an outsider audience member like me gets to see women like herself be offered up for titillation in the same way "conventionally attractive" women are.

It's kind of cool, even if it is just playing into the icky sexualization of everyone, but hey...progress?

In an odd "two steps forward, one step back" kind of situation, the show has somewhat dialed down the outrageously toxic relationships of last year into a more relatively subdued level of toxicity. Gaslighting/cheating is at least kept to a relative low in this season compared to the nightmare that was last year, although this year's ratio depends on how much of that corresponds with sexy Columbian boy Will's obviously flimsy grasp of the intricacies of the English language. He continued to be plagued by the cliquey-ness of the cast until the very end but his genuinely sweet couple with Kyra still did enough to sneak into the final two.

The actual main problem this year was an almost unbearably long love triangle between Cash, Trina, and Cinco that refused to solve itself for nearly a month. Cash and Cinco perennially kept flip-flopping in their feelings for each other, bouncing between failed partnerships despite so obviously being into each other. Trina ended up roped in as Cinco's partner for a while, a constant victim of his own lack of courage to make up his damn mind. Cash, freshly single and in horny jail (aka Casa Amor), coupled up with the handsome and mysterious Charlie.

Now we need to discuss how bizarre Charlie as a cast member. Not only is he the only member who is, looks, and acts like an actual adult, but he also seems to show no adherence to the rules of reality TV: he's very relaxed and unassuming, seems genuinely uninterested in the "game" aspects of the show, and only perks up during rare moments of actual romantic potential. He's a fascinating spanner to throw into the machine of Love Island, and once Cinco was eliminated in the competition, Charlie had to sit there while Cash only continued to openly and aggressively pine for a man who isn't even her current partner. Proving once again to be an anomaly in the cast, he actually decided to do something about this: he unceremoniously dumped fan favorite Cash like a sack of bricks, sending her home while hooking up with the previously mentioned Alana. This smart decision was met derisively by viewers, despite him being the only person there who actually acted like a fucking adult for once. Ironically, this got him and Alana into the finals, where they finished in last place with the same trademark lack of enthusiasm that we've come to expect from him.

I suppose now we need to uncork the problem of the season and by extension the franchise as a whole. You might have read that previous situation and thought, "gee, a fan favorite got tossed aside while a guy that everyone hated ended up making it into the final four? That seems weird."

But by that point it really wasn't at all.

See, the problem with the voting is that you don't usually get to pick who goes; the audience only gets to pick who to prevent getting kicked. At that point, the audience control is out of our hands and now into the contestants', and if there's one thing we all learned in high school it's that cliques are very much a thing. The contestants seemed dead set on booting anybody who was new the second they had the chance, so many potentially exciting people were so quickly thrown out. Instead of the exciting potential we could have seen, we got a love triangle sucking anyone nearby into doom, with everyone else being a relatively stable couple or part of the Jeremy/Korey wishy-washy railway. Casa Amor was an absolute bust, with people making half-assed couplings despite still being in love with somebody else (it speaks a lot to the weakness of the Casa Amor men that Olivia literally preferred to come back single than with any of those planks of wood).

Part of the problem did rely on factors that nobody could control at all though. "Romance novel come to life" Slade seemed like a threat with his rugged handsomeness, twangy accent, and classic southern charm, but had to quickly leave due to ambiguous family troubles. Similarly, the nearly perfect Josh and Shannon, who seemed like an obvious shoo-in winner by virtue of being probably the only actual relationship on the show, had to depart in the middle of the night due to the tragic death of Josh's sister. Aforementioned chaotic pansexual Leslie was unceremoniously removed in the middle of the night once they had realized that her classic vape pen was actually full of weed, an especially tragic circumstance considering she basically had Cinco wrapped around her finger and was about to bring that love triangle crashing down (also tragic because she has gone on record saying that she was fully crushing on Genny while they were both in there, robbing us of any potential of a queer couple).

But part of the pain as always has to do with how the producers control everything no matter what: what we see, what we hear, who gets the villain edit and who gets the hero edit. It's why they seem to play Jeremy as dumb hot surfer bro instead of the actual funny and charming guy he is. It's why Trina was treated as a bitch and Cash as a woeful victim despite the roles more often than not lining up the other way around. And most embarrassingly, it's how the biggest joke couple of the show ended up winning it all.

Now, look at this picture right here: the poses, the awkward hand holding, the very strange smiles between those two. No, this is not a picture of two teenagers going to prom together who just met only five minutes ago and are taking pictures on their parents' front lawn; these two are the winners of season 3, the supposedly "strongest" couple on the show. This is Olivia and Korey.

Korey is a charming boyish sweetheart by way of an absolute fucking dumbass. He's sort of like last year's beloved and wonderfully stupid Carrington: a very sweet and nice teenager who seems to have "13 Going on 30"-ed his way into an adult body. He's childish in a way that's very cute and friendly but also woefully unattractive to anyone who's an adult. Just like Carrington, he notched up a staggering amount of dates with pretty much every single beautiful woman that came into the villa, all seemingly very interested in him. Carrington, for as dumb and childish as he is, could bag anyone because he was outrageously confident too. Korey on the other hand seems incapable of making any decision, following any girl who pays him the time of day like a little puppy, constantly looking up to her with his big puppy dog eyes. It's very telling that for all the dates he had, almost none of them actually went anywhere because it's just not that appealing to anyone. If you're looking to win, he's not someone who can scheme and play the game. If you're looking for love, he's not going to cut it because he can't seem to even understand the concept of romance. If you're looking for a friend, he's probably the best damn one you'll get in that villa -- but as constantly established by everyone, this show isn't called Friend Island.

Olivia is a bit of a thornier subject. She habitually couples up with people that you can kind of tell she's not at all into. She started the first half relatively unassuming and not particularly interested in the men that she was supposedly attracted to. But you could basically see her panties drop when Slade walked in, ready for him to pull her up into the saddle and ride away into the sunset. But his sudden departure only left her more empty, desperately grasping onto whatever random attraction she could. She went off to Casa Amor single and had the gall to come back without coupling up with any of them (although once again, they really dropped the ball with the men compared to the stunning Casa Amor women). And somehow in the midst of all this wishy washy mess, she finally settled on the one single man who she hadn't coupled up with and supposedly suddenly had feelings for: lonely, little Korey.

As a watcher of two seasons of this shit, I've seen a lot of fake relationships, but this one is just ridiculous. The chemistry is really nonexistent; she seems more annoyed or at best partially amused whenever he tries to say anything genuinely sweet to her. She reacts like how you would when a little kid tries to tell you they have a crush on you, an adult: you just kind of go, "aw, cute, thank you!" and walk away chuckling. It's genuinely comedic in how tragic it is, a boy who thinks he's finally found someone when all she's found is a trip to the bank.

And what did the editors do? They tried their very best to sell this as genuine, as actual romance. We know what romance is -- we basically saw it with Shannon and Josh, and to a lesser extent Will and Kyra. And yet they whipped out that expert level edit to say, "wow, look at these two lovebirds, huh?" It's ridiculous, especially since only in the final episode did they suddenly remember that Jeremy and the stunning Bailey (aka the combination of Gal Godot and Ashley Judd circa-2001) were an actual couple and even they looked more real than the winning couple.

Love Island is, if nothing else, a reflection of America.

It's an outdated tradition desperately grasping to what's left of the typical western idea of romance. No matter how many beauty pageant contestants they pick, men like women who aren't size 2s, or with natural hair/skin, or with family-friendly occupations. Women are probably tired of the big muscle bound hunks they usually put on here, the nearly identical men that they seem to cast every single season who have all the looks but zero of the confidence or personality.

It's an example of how our choices are an illusion, how our influence can be easily overwritten by those in charge. Votes that don't matter when they change the rules on the fly, ripping out the actual choice of the people in favor of letting them decide what stays and what goes.

It's a testament that even in the face of a viral pandemic that's quickly turning into part two, as the lives of millions are being further destroyed across the world, there will always be some asshole who has more than you and looks better than you, vacationing on a tropical island stolen from its people, ignorant of everything else that's happening around them.

Love Island hates everyone. It hates it's contestants. It hates the viewers. It hates change. It hates me.

But I do still kind of love it.

#tv criticism #deepdives

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