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mab1905 · 3 years

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Things I needed to get off my chest, referring to the last epsiode of Supernatural.

WARNING: EVERYTHING YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ IS A PERSONAL OPINION, IF THIS FACT GETS YOU HEATED THEN GET OFF MY PROPERTY.

WARNING: (PART TWO) I USE THE WORD QU**R — UNCENSORED — AS A GENERAL TERM FOR THE LGBTQ COMUNITY, I ALSO USE IT AS A PERSONAL SEXUAL IDENTITY. IF THIS WORD TRIGGERS YOU THEN KEEP SCROLLING PAST THIS POST.

We all knew how this was going to end. Whether you’ve watched forever or stopped years ago or have never seen it but know the jist because of all the shit that’s been going around tumblr; you knew how this was going to end. And it was never going to be explicitly queer, it just wasn’t. Somehow, despite knowing that, it still hurts like a motherfucker. I’m disturbed. I’m actually disturbed. I’m disturbed as a queer man, I’m disturbed as a fan of the show, as a fan of the writers, as a fan of Misha (who is all good in my books because we all knew he put his heart and soul into that fucking confession scene despite knowing the horseshit that was gonna follow). So let me break this down.

Part One: The episode, in of itself, kinda just sucked.

The begining I liked— I thought, okay, some reminiscent stuff, they said it would be like older episodes, they’re referencing shit, they got a dog, okay sure. This is sweet. J2 knocking it out of the park with all the brotherly banter. I laughed, it was nice. The introduction of the monster was scary, an elevated classic. Some good old dean and Sam torturing the monster, I’m digging it. Going to some rusty old building, suspense where you see the monster in the background, a good time, you know? But that death scene— w o w. Now, I actually like the idea of Dean dying suddenly with something seemingly so small and trivial, (great life ends with a whisper not a scream, right?), but it was TOO sudden. It came out of nowhere in a bad way. The whole fight, them finding the monster, the brief flashback to someone from a past epsiode we had all forgotten about, it just felt so rushed. Rushed to the point where, throughout the entire death, I was just waiting for Dean to smile and say “sike.” I literally couldn’t believe it, and not because I was sad; how it happened, how it was written, was so awkward that I couldn’t believe they actually had it happen. I actually didn’t believe it until Dean’s body was burning. That’s how in shock I was. And even though Jared and Jensen were acting their asses off and doing a great job of it, it didn’t effect me emotionally at all, cause it just felt so weird, like I couldn’t take it seriously. Then that feeling lasted throughout the rest of the epsiode. Every thing that happened after that felt forced and unnatural. Like I was watching the YouTube Original knockoff of my favorite HBO show. It didn’t even end with Dean and Sam in the Impala. Them looking at the lego pieces stuck in the air vent or putting in a cassette tape and letting a NOT COVER VERSION of Wayward Son play. Why the fuck were they on a bridge.

Part Two: Cas.

It would have been almost better, if they hadn’t said anything at all. If it was just Dean and Sam for the entire epsiode and that’s it. I could have gotten behind that. But the second they made some half assed comment about moving on and sacrifice, it was fucking over. Any respect I had for this show was thrown out the window because I knew he wouldn’t be mentioned again (and I was genuinly shocked when he was). I wasn’t expecting a kiss, or for them to hold hands, or even for Dean to reciprocate at all, but that? What they fucking did? Every single bit of character development, every scene, every amazing bit of acting, all of it to feel like it was essentially thrown away with “we gotta just move past it.” We all knew it was a queer bait, we knew it from the begining, and I had prepared myself to be disappointed from the moment I started watching this show, but that just made me angry. Really truly angry. And no it’s not just a fucking TV show. It’s the longest running sci-fi show to date, it was the spec of queer representation people latched onto during their childhoods a grew up with, it is what influenced the lives of hundreds of thousands of people— and for them to essentially take the queer character that so many people had associated with and looked up to and seen themselves in and trusted and used to keep them going, and just push them aside and say that’s okay? They actually looked at that, they looked at the two lines this character who carried the entire show on his back was mentioned in, and said that’s okay? Again, I prepared for it, but to see it done so damn shamelessly, so blantanly, was just a fucking punch to the gut. Like I never truly realized how little they cared until now. I’ve been abused and bullied on the basis of my sexuality before, and it really does feel similar, certainly not as bad, but similar, because it’s coming from the exact same place in their minds. Even if they don’t truly mean to be homophobic or hurtful, that part of their brains told them this was okay to do to the people who had followed them and sung their praises for years. Well guess what. You’re done. You can leave now, thanks, but no thanks.

Part Three: Paint a Rainbow On Your Impala

I told my friend this, who has been watching the show for longer than I have, and who owns two toy model impalas: “keep your impala and paint a rainbow on it and hang it on your wall because fuck those assholes we didn’t need them to make it gay we did it ourselves.” I will not be boycotting the show entirely, and neither should you. I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to watch another full episode after this. That was it. That was really just... too fucking much. So that’s it. But I’m not going to pretend I won’t look up my favorite scenes once and a while. I’m not going to stop loving Cas, I’m not going to stop loving Misha ‘cause it’s not his fault for what the writers did. I’m gonna write a better ending in my head and read a fanfic and read metas from a few years ago and maybe make a gay crack video— because that’s the part of this that made me really happy. The queer part. The unashamed, open, diverse, amazing and wild queerness of this fandom and the development of this character. The part that the community built despite knowing the bullshit the show was putting us through. We held up this dumbass show because we had made an entire queer subculture for it to stand on. And maybe the source material is bullshit, but that’s real. That’s so fucking real and that on its own brings in enough representation for anyone too feel accepted and seen and heard. Music is very important to me, almost unmatched by anything else actually. I use it as comfort, as communication, as esacpe, as focus. I have a playlist for everything, and I have never in my life deleted a single one of them. It may seem like a small thing, but trust me it’s just one of those habits that’s built into my code and is so important to me. I was on the verge of deleting my SPN playlist, even just looking at it reminded me of how disturbed and wronged I felt. It was just so shitty and it made me feel shitty and it made anything connected to it feel shitty. But I came to the decision, that this is my fucking playlist, and Cas is our queer character, and he’s going to have lunch with the Crystal Gems and She-Rah and Deet’s dads from The Dark Crystal, and we are going to celebrate our own queerness within this community, and we are going to play “Angel With a Shotgun” SO loud and paint rainbows on our impalas and write the most passive aggressive fix-it fics we can and revel in this fandom and I will never touch another epsiode because F U C K. T H E M.

#supernatural #last episode #spn 15x20 #castiel #dean #sam #misha collins #spn #gay #lgbtq #pride #fuck em all we made it gay #queer representation

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rocknrollbodhisattva · 5 years

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The Paranormal and the Sitcom: A So Weird & Girl Meets World Crossover Essay

Inspired by @fi-phillips | @thats-so-weird | @boymeetsworldconfessions | @rilaya | @rileymatthews-xo

Introduction

From 1999 to 2001, Zoog Disney aired a paranormal show named So Weird, the Disney version of the X-Files. Micheal Jacobs revived Boy Meets World with a continuation called Girl Meets World. On the surface So Weird and Girl Meets World have nothing in common. The former show filmed in Canada, the latter was filmed in California. Cooksney and Jacobs couldn't be more different, Jacobs is known for comedic sitcoms like My Two Dads, John Astole and producer Jon Cooksney, focused on speculative fiction. Astole worked on Stargate, and the 1980s Twilight Zone revivals. Disney Channel hosting their television shows is their only commonalities so far. What made these programs successful was pushing Disney's Astole limits on what considered acceptable. As a result, So Weird was the darkest show Disney Channel aired where Girl Meets World was one of the smarter television shows of modern Disney Channel. Audiences don't think of Disney tackling death acceptance, religion, or feminism

Fiona "Fi" Philips (Cara DeLizia) along with her older brother Jack, join their mother Molly Phillips (Makenzie (Phillips) on her comeback tour. Having a Rockstar mom isn't easy, especially when evil spirits begin stalking Fiona. When Annie (Alexz Johnson) arrives a paranormal panther follows suit. Riley Matthews (Rowen Blanchard) along with her best friend Maya Hart (Sabrina Carpenter) continue the lessons her father learned almost Boy Meets World. At six years old I loved stories about hauntings and dark creatures, so, So Weird naturally appealed to me. Nostalgia over Boy Meets World influenced my decision to watch its sequel and the quality of it surprised me. This cross-over essay's purpose is dissecting these shows popularity and their similarities rather than their differences.

Surface Similarities & Differences

At the surface level SW and GMW's similarities are minor., Fi Phillips and Riley Matthews are our brunette primary protagonists; Annie Thelon and Maya Hart are our blonde secondary protagonists. Fandoms hated Annie and Riley because they interfered with the fandoms' favorites then subsequently blamed for the lackluster third seasons. Celebrities Carpenter and Johnzon used their shows as advertisement for their music careers. Actually Disney gave Carpenter a record deal before casting her as Maya. Carpenter is talented but still sounds like a Disney pop star, however, Johnson has more experience. SW had better music because there was a larger variety of genres like Rock, Pop, Blues, and Celtic music. SW alluded to Celtic and Greek mythology like changelings and sirens. GMW alluded to BMW and nothing else like Cory and Shawn's jellybean scene. Both shows had actors who appeared in crime shows including Carpenter and Eric von Detten.*1

What else SW and GMW had in common was that they had realistic friendships and family dynamics. Friendships weren't used as problem-solving devices but to deepen the characters. Jack (Patrick Lewis) and Clu (Eric von Detten) hung out because they wanted to not because the plot required them to. Parents were written as people. Molly struggled with widowhood and had goals outside of being a mother. Irene felt inferior to her younger sister and Ned Bell was a biker before he married Irene. In addition, Cory taught History yet offered fatherly advice to his daughter and her friends. Single mother, Katy, struggled with her part-time job and caring for Maya. As siblings, Jack/Fi and Riley/Auggie neither fought constantly nor always got along. 'Singularity' Jack and Fi do nothing but argue but in 'Medium' Jack uses "colourful language" when a psychic angers Fi. In GMW, Riley and Auggie argued in 'Forgiveness' then have a touching moment in 'Christmas Maya.' When writing only children Jacobs and Astole never relied on only child stereotypes instead showing the complexity of being one. Not to mention, as an only child myself, I loved this. Maya and Annie weren't spoiled were confused over siblings concepts, like sharing. Trapped in endless detention, Annie's confused by Jack standoffishness finding out that he falsely believes that Annie's replacing his sister. After assuring him that was never her intention, she and Jack become friends. Likewise, Maya confuses Rucas' (Riley/ Lucas) relationship with that of a brother-sister one because she doesn't understand how siblings act. Siblings are loving and friendly but also bicker like Lucaya (Maya/Lucas). Eventually, they develop sibling dynamics with other characters, Annie/Jack and Maya/Lucas.

Neither show's focus was on romance. SW focused on family while GMW focused on friendship and love interests didn't appear in more than one episode. Jack's girlfriend, Gabe, appeared in 'Angel.' Ryan was Fi's first kiss in 'Second Generation' and GMW had two date episodes. 'Brother' was about Cory and Topanga's date night; 'First Date' was about Lucas and Riley first kiss. If romance wasn't plot important then why did GMW develop a shipping war while SW was immune to such disputes? In comparison to GMW, SW had limited couple options meaning there weren't many options before couples became slash or incestuous Those options are: Annie and Fi with either Clu or Carrey. GMW avoids this pitfall with a diverse amount of characters but started shipping wars by introducing the leads and love interest simultaneously. Fanon favourites were Jack/Annie, Carrey/Molly, Lucas/Maya despite the intended couples are Cory/Topanga, Riley/Lucas, and Fi/Clu.

Why did Anti-Annie fans hate her less than Anti-Riley fans? Again, the fandom hated Riley more because of differences in character casting. If a Jerkass character is among the main cast the fandom automatically absolves them, giving their retribution to the kinder characters. Maya's the "broken bird" so fans will prefer her and discount Riley giving fans reason to pair Maya in a love-hate romance. For extra information on this, TvTropes offers an analysis using Nickelodeon television as examples. SW main characters aren't jerkasses toward their friends meaning Annie gets less hate and Friend-Lovers are on equal levels with Love-Hate ones.

Seekers: Fiona & Riley

Seekers of the 12 Archetypes are constantly searching for expanded knowledge of the world at large or themselves. Riley and Fi want to understand other people's perspectives in a worldly sense (Riley) and supernaturally (Fi). However both are open-minded toward unproven phenomenon as opposed to our blond protagonists who rather "go with the flow." Also as the primary protagonists they possess the most contradictions of their worlds. Fi's an amateur parapsychologist but wants a normal life to protect her family. ('Lightening Rod') Fi is a computer geek struggling academically but loves learning new subjects ('Tulpa', 'Escape', 'Vampire'). In comparison, Riley succeeds with her schoolwork but is naïve to the world around her. ('Pluto') She insecure often becoming victim to peer pressure but craves uniqueness away from her peers ('Popular', 'Jexica') Riley and Annie love feminine hobbies – makeup and shopping – but love masculine pursuits too. Both of them love the outdoors, athletics, but are terrible at sports. ('Ski Lodge' in GMW and 'Sacrifice' in SW) Riley can't make the cheerleading team but loves basketball; Fi fails at baseball but tries appreciates the sport. ('Singularity', 'Rah Rah') Contradictions make them rounded characters but causes internal conflict when they attempt to form a stable Ego.

Upon waking up in the middle of the night, Riley eavesdrops on her parents where she doubts if she's good enough compared to her parents. After all Topanga is a successful lawyer, Cory is a successful teacher, and have a perfect fairytale love. ('Cory & Topanga') Unable to connect with her father, Rick, Fi seeks resemblances between herself and him. Just like Riley's atelphobia, Fi feels disconnected from her family because of her paranormal interests. An example is 'Strange Geometry' where Fi feels betrayed that her mother kept Rick obsession a secret. Since Lucas doesn't differentiate between Riley and Maya during the love triangle, Riley further doubts her worth as a girlfriend. In the pilot and a deleted 'Upstate' scene, Riley molds herself into Maya so she'll have an identity. Constant identity searching is another aspect of the Seeker archetype.

Caretaking drives our protagonists to seek out the world's answers. Fi wants closure with her father yet her investigations aren't just for her benefit, but for the benefits of her loved ones. Molly's friends Rebecca left when she was Fi's age, thus Fi confronts Rebecca's "daughter" so Molly will have some closure of her own. Reluctantly, Fi leads the two of them to Rebecca's house where history repeated itself again; Rebecca's family disappeared again leaving Molly more betrayed and confused. 'In Forgiveness' Riley back talks to Kermit wanting answers as to why he left her best friend when she was younger. Town members become annoyed by Fi when she forces them to remember the alien invasion the day before. ('Memory') Fi helps a coma girl's mother and grandmother with technology to revive the girl from her coma even though these people are strangers to her. ('Lost') Riley invades her friends' boundaries so Maya will have hope ('Master Plan'), tries jumping into a bull pen to save Lucas ('Texas'), and keeps her friends in a stairwell so they'll reflect on their surroundings ('High School'). Fi challenges Bricriu to hangman so he'll stop possessing her brother. ('Will-o-Wisp') Riley gives up her relationship with Shawn, her godfather, so Maya will have a father. She forgets her affections for Lucas so Maya will have a chance at love. ('Texas', 'New Years') Occasionally their actions cause annoyance among their friends but its for the greater good. Sacrificing one's own desires is the key component in the Caretaker's goal.

Creators: Annie & Maya

Creators turn illusion into reality and similar to Seekers, Creators are invested self-identity and possibilities. When we're introduced to Annie and Maya both are immediately drawn to creative fields. By the ending of 'Lightening Rod', Annie confides in Fi that she's always had an eerie connection to music and find inspiration from something as insignificant as a stick. Furthermore, Mr and Mrs Thelon inform Molly that Annie has the ability to master most any instrument. 'In the Darkness', the theme song, shows Annie playing as well as popular instruments like the guitar. Maya gained that same artistic guidance from the stars or a paint war. ('Meets Boy', 'Upstate', 'Maya's Mother'). Partly due to Carpenter portrays her, Maya masters singing and guitar quite easily. ('1961', 'Creativity') An added bonus to Annie's is that they act as retrocognition from her past.

Both blondes quickly give up old lifestyles for chances at an art or singing career. For example, Annie's ecstatic she'll join Molly's band on tour, granted her parents reason this is so Annie will have a normal and balanced life. ('Lightening Rod') Impulsive, Future Maya leaps at the opportunity when she receives a SoHo gallery internship. ('Bay Window') Creators share the fear of not having an identity. When a recording agent steals Annie's voice and likewise when the art teacher grades Maya's painting as incomplete, the girls doubt their self-worth. In 'Carnival' Annie's reflections mock her abilities when she rescues her friends from an evil ringmaster. Season one Maya wonders if Riley was right and Maya's troubled past is responsible for her artistic ability. What's more is that the Creator archetype gives the character a dangerous duality; either they're practical with their art or they drown themselves in their disillusion. Which is why the Orphan archetype lurks beneath the Creator.

The Thelons and Hart families are alive but their actions produce an orphan effect on their daughters. Traveling across the globe before the So Weird eventsprohibitedestablishing permanent roots somewhere. Kermit's physical abandonment compounded with Katy's emotional abandonment ensured that Maya wouldn't have a support system. Although being an only child isn't problematic, not having someone to depend on made connecting with others difficult. Neither would form a real connection until they made surrogate families out of the Phillips and Matthews families. Its not surprising their friends would find them selfish at times.

Death Acceptance

The major difference between Cooksney and Jacobs is Cooskney never intended lessons for So Weird whereas Jacobs' moralizing hindered character development on Girl Meets World. Jacobs's lesson was the vague statement, "People Change People" I'd argue his actual moral is not taking people for instead. Cooksney's moral, if you could consider it one, was sacrifice. Fi gets lost camping and sacrifices immediate help to save Big Foot. ('Sacrifice') Barring those morals, the writers over-arcing themes of both were acceptance. SW's primary theme was death acceptance for the Phillips and Matthews family with the minor theme of childhood acceptance Annie) and Maya. All stories lead back to sex and death, Disney's not going to discuss sexuality, but death resounds through every film since Disney's inception. Also no SW or GMW character was exempt from death confrontation. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's Five Stages of Grief: Anger, Sadness, Denial, Bargaining, and Acceptance aren't linear and one may never gain acceptance. All the characters are stuck in one of the stages and only Fi gains acceptance.

Earnest Becker's seven reasons why people fear death are as followed:

1. Fear of pain

2. Fear of not knowing what becomes of our bodies

3. How our dependents will manage after our death

4. How our loved ones will cope emotionally after our death

5. Fear of an afterlife, such as eternal oblivion, or Heaven/Hell

6. Fear of dying with an unlived life

7. Fear of dying with uncompleted projects

Thantophobia is why humans behave the way they do. Rick's untimely death when Fi was three-years-old affected her because she has no memories of her father. She often resented her brother and mother because they knew him and she did not. Rick/Fi's shared fear is emotionally coping of his death. Maya struggled with coping with the metaphorical death of her father, possibly thinking he's dead to her. Kermit intentionally abandoned his family, whereas Rick intended on returning to his family, but he didn't plan on evil spirits murdering him. Fi and Maya are stuck in the anger phase of grieving. When her grandfather is visited by a banshee, Fi tracks the creature down and asks Death personified the fairness in taking her father away from her. Death responds that it will even the imbalance by extending her grandfather's life for a time. But for seasons 1 and 2 Fi copes with death by actively seeking the paranormal afterlife to escape and accept death.

Jack's death phobia is similar to Fi's except he fears losing his sister and mother like he lost his father; his nightmare is a manifestation of that fear. In the midst of gang's lucid dream, Jack leaves them for a method to awaken from the dream but is transported to the night of Rick's. Dream Rick promises he'll return, but knowing the future Jack chases after his father. Fear trapped Jack in Grief's denial stage subsequently causing his resentment of the paranormal his dad loved so much. And it's not until 'Changeling' when Jack accepts his dad's death when he starts singing again. Surprised, Clu comments that Jack hadn't sung since Rick died. Jack responds with, "Well, maybe it's time I started again."

Minor episodes such as 'Fall' (SW) and 'Gravity' (GMW) discuss death on a smaller scale. 'Fall' details Ned and his childhood friend, Sam, on the death anniversary of their other friend's drowning. Haunted by the memory, Sam is literally haunted by Pete's ghost leading to Pete's recent. The men's responses to death are vastly different; Ned would rather forget Pete's death and Sam tries to confront it. Both are part of the grieving sequence but overall, 'Fall' discuses the myriad of complex emotions after death. Childhood deaths are rightly considered "Bad Deaths" whether or not loved ones are complicit with the death, we often feel that we could've prevented it. Sam is stuck in the bargaining and grieving stages before he can move on. As the men relive that fateful day admits he was scared of dying and can finally accept death now. In 'Gravity' the teens are crushed when a beloved bakery owner dies leaving the bakery to Topanga. The episode ends with Auggie opening his gift with a note reading "It's not My-Kranian bakery, I'm dead." Cory phones telling him that he is glad Feeney isn't dead, perhaps this was an allusion to 'I Dream of Feeney' when Cory wished him ill. Riley gives the eulogy and everyone learns to cherish their loved ones while they're alive.

Next is Molly and her death phobia in the series. Molly's emotions toward her husband are erratic in all three seasons. It's been over a decade since Rick's death and she still hasn't accepted it. In the Christmas episode 'Fountain' Molly admits to a young Fi that her loss bothers her. In 'Medium' Molly began to resent Rick's memory because she felt haunted by him wishing that she could forget him. Molly misses being a lover but is guilt-ridden because she feels like she is betraying her husband. ('Fathom') And in season 3's 'Muse,' Molly and the band travel to the town of their first concert to recapture the inspiration she felt there. Molly never gains acceptance over death and I loved that this option was shown as well. Not everything is wrapped up in a happy ending.

The final lesson is accepting your own death. Self-death may be literal like the episodes 'Rebecca', 'James Garr', 'Angel' or 'Grave Mistake'. Or death can be metaphorical like Riley becoming new personas, Maya losing herself, or the death of love. The former episodes dealt with the concept of immortality and coming to terms with one's final moments. Fi investigates a girl claiming to be Rebecca's daughter in truth, she's Rebecca herself. Amazed at how much this immortal girl knows and has seen in her years, Rebecca refutes this saying that she hates her immortality. She can never marry, she had to leave Molly, her only friend, behind. Who wants to live forever? 'James Garr' is about the titular character undergo cryonic preservation as a cancer cure. The procedure's successful, but James Gar hasn't a soul anymore with this realization he gives his life to an elderly patient Jack met. In the subplot that elderly man dying of cancer beleives that whenever death comes for him he will greet death with willingness and bravery. James Garr realizing his hollow life switch places with the man so he can live a little longer. 'Grave Mistake' is about a family friend of the family who's been receiving death threats and runs to Annie and the Phillips for help. With Annie's guidance, the woman discovers her dead husband wrote "You're dead" so that she'd remember she died. It's rare that a children's show relays the message that death isn't ominous, it's part of life.

During an interview Cooksney admitted that if Disney had allowed them to, Fi would descend into Hell to rescue her father's soul.*2 Jack would have discovered his past life as a Celtic knight who begged that his next incarnation would be as Fi's older brother. Moreover, it explains that dragon's fear of Jack in 'Strangling' and aside from familial bonds, knight life explains his overprotection of him mom from a mermaid siren. ('Fathom') A tenet of the Order of the Good Death's death positivity is "I believe that my open, honest advocacy around death can make a difference, and can change culture." Cooksney probably didn't intend for SW to have so much death focus but it's applicable to the show.

'Yearbook', 'Triangle', and 'Ski Lodge' are examples of metaphorical death. Whenever Riley embraces different personas, she's undergoing an Ego Death in an attempt to discover her true self. She becomes a Goth Girl so her classmates visualize her shadow side. Contrary to her masquerade, Riley's shadow side isn't Goth but is a metaphor of her dark side coexisting with her light side. Maya lost herself during her dalliance with Lucas to understand her relationship identity contrasting he singular identity. Later on during the love triangle's conclusion, Riley's first comment is "This love triangle needs to die. Nature knows that it needs to die." Of all her friends Riley mentions death the most, examples are 'Yearbook', 'Gravity', and 'Pluto.' Continuing with this death theme involve the teenagers' fantasies as a metaphor for the death of their romance. During their respective daydreams, Riley and Maya inform each other that their dream romance isn't reality. In Dream Riley's fantasy she dies, in essence, the girls kill their ego and their romances to grow.

Childhood Acceptance

Transforming themselves from childhood trauma are Annie and Maya's ultimate goals within the series. Annie's panther and Maya's hope are key in reaching their transformations. For this essay portion, I'm using Widow's Walk', 'Pen Pal', and 'Annie's Song.' For Maya's episodes, I'll use are 'World of Terror 3', 'Forgiveness', and 'Goodbye.'

Symbolically the panther represents the death-rebirth cycle and confronting fears. According to Spirit Animal's website, those with the panther guide are blessed with powerful protectors. In addition, panthers indicate supernatural journeys with occult leanings. Therefore her character's introduction served a purpose in So Weird despite being unplanned. Finally as Annie's panther endows her with strength to confront any obstacle before her.

'Widow's Walk' acts as a transition between death acceptance into childhood acceptance. Tired of her age limiting her privileges Annie swaps ages with an elderly woman. Shocked by her transformation she finds a bottled message from the woman's husband. Desperate for her youth back Annie begs the woman to reverse their ages. Selfishly, the woman refuses due to her thinking that her husband's waiting for her at home not realizing he died in sea storm that turned the woman into a widow. Growing weaker daily Annie knows if she can't convince the woman of the truth she will die. When Annie feints in an attempt to reach the woman and true to its nature, Annie's panther appears at her side giving her strength to continue on. Obviously Annie's successful getting her age back. What's interesting are the contradictions between the elderly woman and Annie. Both characters fear death desperately clinging to life, but Annie's aware of death while the woman would rather delude herself of human mortality. At the climax the women's remorseful of her selfishness wishing she knew how to reverse her wish. Annie's regrets her wish understanding living in the present is better than living in living in the future.

Similarly 'World of Terror' along with 'Pen Pal' shows the girls' adolescence if their positive influences were absent in their lives. By befriending Jennifer and not meeting Riley, Annie and Maya become rebellious Goths. Maya no longer believes that she deserves good things; Annie pushes her friends away. Following this change, Alternate Annie's panther is a worthless tattoo, Alternate Maya begins bulling Riley for not letting her in her bedroom. . Deprived of hope or understanding our alternates protagonists cannot accept their pasts. Being Disney, these girls defeat their alternates. Annie through using her panther power, Maya through befriending Riley in the parallel universe.

These last three deal with Maya and Annie discovering the truth and making amends with their childhoods. In 'Forgiveness' Maya writes and letter to her father, Kermit, in an attempt to forgive him as part of Cory's homework assignment. That following day Kermit returns to town hoping what his daughter said in her letter was true. Unable to forgive Kermit, he leaves once more reducing Maya to tears. As a result Maya realizes she's forgiven herself for believing she had caused Kermit's departure. By forgiving herself, Maya's ability to accept her past and find a new father figure in Shawn Hunter when he adopts her in 'Goodbye.'

In the penultimate episode the characters travel to a Native American reservation as a break from touring. Unlike her friends Annie can't enjoy her day off with strange flashbacks coming to mind. Coyote possesses the tribe's leader when a little girl becomes lost in the forest, forcing Annie to remember her childhood memories. Years earlier the Thelon family visited a jungle for a research assignment, little Annie awakens before her parents do and wanders into the forests. She happens across a petrified tribal man and it's only when a poisonous snake attacks her she realizes the danger she's in. As her parents discover their daughter's disappeared, the man rushes her to his village in an attempt to save her life. With shaman magic, the man's father removes the venom and takes Annie to a location where her parents will find her. Grateful Annie sacrificed her life to save his son, the father promises to protect her all her life in the form of a panther. With full understanding of her childhood, Annie manages to accept her past as Maya did.

Conclusion

Girl Meets World and So Weird are different shows catering to wildly different audiences. Still, each character follows similar archetypes as well as themes people wouldn't expect of Disney Channel to allow on their network. More importantly, the fact that it does shows its capability to portray mature, darker subject matters for all audiences. Readers may disagree with my argument but these are shows the current generation should watch. Girl Meets World is a television show that my generation should watch. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my essay and I would love it if you gave me your opinions on each program, as well.

End Notes

*1 – Many Disney Channel actors starred in Law & Order: SVU episodes. Von Detten, Carpenter, and Kimberly Jean Brown as examples were in that Law & Order spinoff. Someone even wrote a crossover fanfic of GMW and SVU. If a fan theorist could invent a theory that Disney and any crime universe are connected I would be ecstatic.

*2 – Walt Disney has had hell landscape stories since the 1930s. Silly Symphonies' 'Goddess of Spring' had Satan-Hades drag Persephone to Hell. Fantasia ended with the song 'Night on Bald Mountain' where Demon Satan tortures souls only stopped when Holy light/God intervenes. Frollo damns Esmerelda to Hell if he can't possess her and little mentions God and Satan. (Hunchback of Notre Dame) CoCo takes place primarily in the afterlife. Disney Channel could've done a Hell episode.

Links

www . orderofthegooddeath resources / death-positive-movement

so-weird . proboards

Disney . wikia wiki / So_Weird

www . youtube user / OrderoftheGoodDeath (Ask A Mortician)

www . youtube user / littlemissfuneral (Little Miss Funeral)

www . youtube user / UnderTheKnifeShow (Under the Knife)

www . fanfiction s / 6178294 / 1/Love-As-True-As-Time

www . fanfiction s / 6067416/1 / An-Ultimate-Hey-Arnold-Essay

www . spiritanimal . info / panther-spirit-animal /

post / 125280313440 / so-weirdgirl-meets-world-parallels-these-are-my (SW & GMW)

#so weird #girl meets world #mine #fi phillips #annie thelen #alexz johnson #cara delizia #maya hart #sabrina carpenter #riley matthews #rowen blanchard #disney #disney channel #the disney channel #comment leave notes #reblog

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gilbertandanne · 6 years

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Katie please go off on how much Lucas respects Riley in GMW like in the crossover episode "we'll go when you're ready" and then in girl meets bear "After you" like my fucking heart Katie

Ohhh, we all know how much he respects her and he’s proven time and time again that when it comes to their relationship, he lets her take the lead:

GM Sneak Attack: He knows she’s not ready to go out on a date yet. Part of the episode is her realizing that she’s not ready to take that crush to that level yet, and he sees that. He’s a year older, so he’s probably ready to go out on dates and whatever, but he recognizes that she isn’t, so what does he do? He tells Missy that they’d “have more fun hanging out together”. He’s willing to wait.

GM Truth: “My moment will by my moment.” -- Clearly letting her and the audience know that he’s waiting for the right time.

GM First Date: Throughout the first season, we see their friendship growing as they become more and more comfortable around one another. Fast forward to GM First Date. Riley announces to the entire class that “I will decide who I will go on my first date with at such time as somebody asks me.” That was what he needed to know. His hand goes up, my heart melts a little, and well, cue the theme song.

Farkle: So, are you gonna ask one of them out?

Lucas: Maybe I will. Someday.

He’s still waiting for the right moment, but Maya comes in with her grand scheme and forces his hand. He asks Riley’s father’s permission (who DOES that?!) and then asks her. Aside from Ski 2, this is the only time he really takes the lead in their relationship by asking her out. Cue the ooey-goodness and the look that still leaves me shook™ and their first and only screen kiss.

GM New World: Perfect example of what happens when everyone else kind of forces them into rushing into a relationship. I have conflicting opinions on whether or not Lucas was ready to try being in a relationship with Riley at this point, but either way, it becomes apparent in this episode that he sees (I mean, how could he not) how uncomfortable she is. He knows they’re being pressured into it and knows that it’s affecting their relationship. It’s the last thing he wants. As we find out later (Ski 2), his favorite thing in the world is talking to her, and they can’t even do that anymore. So, what does he do? He breaks up with her because they aren’t ready. He wants her to be comfortable with whatever they are, so, once again, he lets her take the lead (which is apparent when she addresses the students at school at the end of the ep: “{...} nobody is moving too fast here”

GM Semi-Formal: “Charlie, you may not know this, but Riley and I kind of have an unofficial thing going.” He didn’t think he had to ask her to the dance. He assumed they would be going together because he thought their unofficial thing was more official than that. “I just naturally assumed that we were going together. I thought we were going together. I’m...I should have asked.” This episode is truly one of my favorites of the series for several reasons, and one of those reasons is because (for me), it seems apparent that he took their unofficial thing fairly seriously considering how their conversation at the semi-formal went:

Riley: “Why did you assume we were going to the dance if we’re not officially together?”

Lucas: “I don’t know. Why would you make a big deal about it if we’re not officially together?”

Between the events in Yearbook and the events in Semi-Formal, confusion about their relationship and what it is (or isn’t) forms because their lack of communication with one another. All the while, there Lucas is, still waiting for his moment, waiting for her to be ready to make that unofficial thing official, but here comes another issue: Charlie. Does she like Charlie? Where does that leave them? Lucas, being Lucas, doesn’t push the issue.

GM Rileytown: As my bf so lovingly put it: “Damn, is Lucas gonna beat up a chick?” Protective AF, but when it came down to it, when she told him not to get involved, he backed off, and let her handle the situation how she wanted to.

BFW - Cyd & Shelby’s Haunted Escape: I LOVE how Riley and Lucas are written in this episode. I really do. There are so many little moments between them that show how their friendship as progressed like how Lucas loves the show Cuddle Bunnies, and Riley knows he watches it everyday. Their comedic timing was perfect in this one.

The “we’ll go when you’re ready” is quintessential Lucas. He never wants to push her into anything she doesn’t want to do, even if it’s something he doesn’t quite understand: like wanting to stay in an escape room.

GM Rah Rah: He's proud her, but he also doesn’t want her to get hurt/disappointed by potentially not making the squad. Even when she decides to continue, he’s there supporting her with everyone else.

GM Texas 1, 2, 3: This post is already getting long, and I feel that Texas is pretty self explanatory. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if I would have survived in New York.”

Ok, this thing is really going off the rails into something you didn’t even ask about...

GM New Year: No-chill Friar. Trying very hard to keep it together because he thinks she wants to be with Charlie-----until he finds out she doesn’t.

GM Legacy: He steps back from her because he doesn’t “want this to be the end of us.” He can’t hurt either girl because no matter what happened, he would end up hurting them both.

GM Jexica: “I’d recognize you anywhere.”

GM Triangle/GM Upstate: I’ll forever maintain that he realized what was going on with Maya during the jellybean scene and before he announces that he’s made his decision. He wasn’t surprised by Maya saying that no matter who he picked, it’d be Riley since she had been acting like that. He might’ve not known why she did it, but I think he figured it out. But, out of respect for both girls and their friendship, he decided to keep his decision to himself until Maya became herself again.

GM Ski Lodge 1, 2: No-chill Friar returns. They realize that conversation is the most important part of any relationship (to which he prob already knows since a lot of the drama could have been prevented had they just communicated, but whatever). He’s trying to get them all to agree to a decision because as I mentioned before, if he hurts one of them, he hurts both of them, and he could never hurt them. Once he feels like he’s able to have that conversation with Riley, he does, and the things he says are so incredibly respectful. He’s quick to let her know that she can talk to whoever she wants to (that her talking to Evan wasn’t what made him upset). “So, you’ve been thinking about this too?” “I choose you, and I really want you to choose me.”

And, of course, he finally had his moment.

GM Bear: Obviously him and Farkle wanting to bail on finding the bear toward the beginning of the episode was there for comedic effect, but he was right next to her as they searched for it. He told her about his little sack of gold and helped her to realize that sometimes things needed to be let go of in order to grow up. Then he was completely adorable and asked her to go to the movies with him.

GM GLONY: Deleted Scene: Riley thinks she rambling on about these Russian nesting dolls, so she stops and apologizes. Lucas tells her "No, keep going. I like it when you keep going.”

GM She Don’t Like Me: Literally picked her up and carried her to class because she was too depressed to do it on her own.

GM WOT 3: He lets her handle her conflict with Maya in her own way, but sticks close by just in case.

GM Sweet Sixteen: “I’m hopeful for us too, Riley.”

I don’t think any of this made sense. I went off the rails, and didn’t cover everything, but I’ve worked on this for awhile now, and I’m just gonna post it.

ANYWAY, Lucas respects the hell out of his girlfriend, Riley Matthews, and it’s a beautiful story that ended WAY before it should have.

#my chaotic ramblings #if you understand this then bless you #i'm not even gonna re-read it #so this is unedited #madelinecoffee

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mxdam-a · 7 years

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me, on my deathbed: my son... come... closer me: i need to tell you something... before i go... my son who i adopted with my wife (s*rah p*ulson) when she was 70 and i was 40, tearfully: i’m here, mom me: *lays my hand on his cheek and draws him closer* me, with my dying breath: can you believe that a deleted scene from cinderella 2015 had lady tremaine smirking as she watched ella say goodbye to the servants she’d just fired? in basically any period of history in any culture anywhere, servants are a status symbol, and the movie has just set us up to see lady tremaine as vain, superficial, and status-obsessed. it doesn’t make sense, even if she knew ella’s emotional attachment to the servants, for her to enjoy letting them go, because their absence is a visible and tangible reminder of how far she’s fallen from her previous social position; she went from a very comfortable, wealthy life where she was wholly taken care of to one of uncertainty, debt, and insecurity, with no money to take care of her own future, much less the future of her two dependent children

#██ fun with a bun ( OUT OF CHARACTER. )#my son: *looks directly at the camera like he's on the office*

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gossipgirl2019-blog · 6 years

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The Complete History of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B's Beef

New Post has been published on https://gr8gossip.xyz/the-complete-history-of-nicki-minaj-and-cardi-bs-beef/

The Complete History of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B's Beef

For more than a year, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B walked on eggshells while rumors of their alleged beef bubbled just below surface. Through shady interviews and sneak disses, the rappers waged a cold war. Then, during New York Fashion Week at Harper’s Bazaar Icon party, photos and video of a physical altercation between Cardi and Nicki’s parties circulated the web.

Since then, their public feud has intensified, with memorable Queen Radio rants and viral Instagram posts. But how exactly did we get here? Was it Nicki’s obsession with being the queen of rap? Is Cardi too sensitive? Below we revisit the history of Cardi B and Nicki’s long simmering feud and the events that led us here.

June 2017: Cardi B joins Remy Ma at Summer Jam

There’s debate on when the feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B began. While some believe it started as early as March 2017, it’s likely that part of the reason Nicki didn’t welcome the young rapper into the scene with open arms is Cardi’s appearance during Remy Ma’s 2017 performance at Hot 97’s Summer Jam festival.

Remy Ma brought Latifah to do “U.N.I.T.Y.” w/ Young M.A, Cardi B, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, Rah Digga & Lady of Rage on stage if you like subtweets

— Jon Caramanica (@joncaramanica) June 12, 2017

The performance came in the heat of Nicki’s feud with Remy, as Cardi B joined a procession of other women rappers to perform “U.N.I.T.Y.,” before Remy delivered a performance of her Nicki diss track “ShETHER” complete with a picture of Nicki behind her.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

August 2017: Nicki denies subbing Cardi on “No Flags”

In August 2017, Nicki Minaj appeared on London on da Track’s single “No Flags” alongside Cardi’s boo Offset and 21 Savage. On it, she rapped the following verse:

Lil bitch I heard these labels tryna make another me

Everything you getting, lil hoe, is cause of me

I heard I’m stopping bags, word to Shaggy it wasn’t me

These bitches is my sons, but they daddy ain’t bust in me

I’m a white picket fence bitch, you a on the bench bitch

See me in the gym, now these bitches wanna go bench press

I ain’t fucking with you sis, we ain’t with the incest

Yes I am the Queen, I’m still trying to find a princess

People immediately began speculating that Nicki was taking shots at the former Love & Hip Hop star, but she quickly denied those claims.

September 2017: Cardi featured on “No Limit,” denies beef on The Breakfast Club

In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne and DJ Envy prodded Cardi B about the alleged beef she had with Nicki. The question followed rumors circulating that Belcalis was dissing Nicki in her feature on G-Eazy’s “No Limit.” “Can you stop with all the subs?/Bitch, I ain’t Jared,” she rapped.

Cardi denied they had any problems saying, “We just conversated man. And that’s it.” She also brushed off the “No Limit” rumor by explaining, “People don’t understand that I got beef with 10 bitches in the hood, and I still be in the hood.”

September 25, 2017: Cardi B makes history with No. 1 song “Bodak Yellow”

In the fall of 2017, Cardi B broke the first of her many records by becoming the second female rapper with a No. 1 hit song on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to “Bodak Yellow.” Lauryn Hill accomplished the feat with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” back in 1998.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

After the news broke, Nicki Minaj congratulated Cardi on the No. 1 hit, praising her on Twitter.

Congratulations to a fellow NEW YAWKA on a RECORD BREAKING achievement. Bardi, this is the only thing that matters!!! Enjoy it💕💞🎀 @iamcardib

— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) September 25, 2017

October 2017: Migos drops “MotorSport” featuring Nicki and Cardi

It was a blessing and a curse when Migos dropped “Motorsport,” a dope track featuring both Nicki and Cardi. Despite both rappers consistently denying their feud, people began speculating they were sneak dissing each other on the same song.

Still, the two women steered clear of the rumors. “I feel like people wouldn’t even be satisfied if me and her was making out on a freaking photo,” Cardi told Complex later that month. “I feel like people just want that drama because it’s entertaining.”

Nicki also denied the beef in a series of tweets she later deleted. “These are men in our culture who simply refuse to let it go,” she tweeted of the alleged conflict. “They don’t do this to male M.C.’s.”

November 2017: “MotorSport” video comes out

Eventually, the video for “MotorSport” comes out and it’s quickly apparent that Nicki did not shoot on the same day as Migos or Cardi. This stokes more rumors that the two have beef, though Nicki later claims it’s because her hairstylist wasn’t available the original day of the shoot.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

When asked about it in one interview in November, Cardi B dances around the question awkwardly, while also revealing that Nicki’s original song on the track was different.

The next day, Nicki fires off the following tweet allegedly aimed at the rising rapper.

The corniest thing you can be is ungrateful. Give thanks.

— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) November 30, 2017

April 5, 2018: Cardi B releases her debut album Invasion of Privacy

The winter goes by quietly, as Cardi and Nicki both seem to be in complete album mode, gearing up for 2018 album releases. Cardi’s comes first. Her debut Invasion of Privacy drops and receives critical praise, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Hours before her album comes out, Beats 1 releases an interview of Cardi where she tells Ebro her beef with Nicki is completely made up. “I just feel like it’s really internet made-up,” she says. “I really feel like fans and people really want to see that happen because it’s really entertaining. To see people beef is entertaining.”

A few days later, we learn on Saturday Night Live that Cardi is pregnant, and all seems well for the newly bonafide star.

April 12, 2018: Nicki’s releases two singles and tells Zane Lowe Cardi never showed her “genuine” love

Following Invasion of Privacy, Nicki releases “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz,” the first singles from her album Queen, which she would later announce. To debut the singles, Nicki heads over to Zane Lowe’s show on Beats 1.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

During her interview with Zane, Nicki finally addresses what’s been bubbling under the surface all these months. “The only thing that Cardi did that really hurt my feelings was the first interview after ‘Motorsport’ came out,” Nicki said. “It just really hurt me because the only thing she kept saying was, ‘I didn’t hear that verse. She changed her verse.'”

“I kind of felt ambushed,” Nicki continued, while getting visibly upset. She also said Quavo “didn’t back [her] up” on the story of how the record came about, which prompted the Barbs to swarm the Migos rapper.

Nicki went on to explain that her hairdresser had a scheduling conflict the day of the “MotorSport” shoot, but that Migos and Cardi kept quiet when rumors about the beef escalated. “All of them allowed me to look like I lied and even with the scheduling conflict, she’s using my hairdresser now, so even he can attest to the fact that there was a scheduling conflict,” she said.

“I really fully supported her and up until this recent interview I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview,” she said, referring to Cardi’s conversation with Ebro. “I can just imagine how many girls wish they could of been on a song with Nicki Minaj. I’m not saying it in a cocky way.”

POST CONTINUES BELOW

Coincidentally, Nicki’s original verse on “MotorSport” leaked the same day as her interview, revealing she had referenced Cardi:

I’m with a couple bad bitches that’ll rip the party

If Cardi the QB, I’m Nick Lombardi

Pull up in the space coupe, I done linked with Marty

I can actually afford to get a pink Bugatti

The final version replaced Cardi’s name with Quavo, and it’s still unclear if it was meant to be shade or a shout out. Nicki later tweeted that she changed the verse per Atlantic’s request.

How can you say someone changed their verse & forget to say Quavo TOLD me to remove my singing part (which I loved) & Atlantic told me to remove your name from my verse per your request? So how were those changes gonna happen if I didn’t “change” my verse? 😩🤣 #NickiDay #ChunLi

— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) April 12, 2018

May 7, 2018: The Met Gala

Despite Nicki’s Beats 1 interview, photographers capture the two rappers having a cordial moment on the red carpet during the 2018 Met Gala. Once again, things seem fine.

Later in May on the Howard Stern show, Cardi explains that the two rappers talked things out at the Met Gala. “I never was feuding with anybody. There was a misunderstanding. She felt a certain type of way about something and I definitely felt a certain type of way about something. Didn’t want to ever talk about it in public because I felt like we gonna see each other again and we will talk about it,” the Bronx native quipped. “It’s always little issues but the thing is, fans are always gonna make it a big thing. I spoke to her about it. It’s just like, see? It was just something that it had to be talked about.”

POST CONTINUES BELOW

August 10, 2018: Nicki releases ‘Queen’

In August, Nicki Minaj finally releases her album Queen, which includes her opening track “Ganja Burns.” Not long after the drop, fans are convinced the slow burn is a diss aimed at Cardi. “Unlike a lot of these hoes whether wack or lit/At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit,” she raps, allegedly addressing the idea that Cardi does not write a lot of her lyrics.

Nicki thru mad shade at CARDI b in ganja burns 😪 lol #Queen I live for the drama

— Gia Katya (@GiaComedy) August 10, 2018

Instead of celebrating, Nicki spends the days after Queen‘s release feuding with multiple people, including DJ Self, who she claims tried to feed her negative gossip about Cardi B. Self later denies it.

“He was just up there dissin the btch thinking that would make me fuk wit him. Lmao. Jokes on you once again dummy. Passed up on ya meal tkt now u get crumbs from her table. Ur a reality tv hoe. Used to be a respected DJ,” she wrote in a series of now deleted tweets.

On Aug. 16, Nicki is interviewed by Ebro on Beats 1, and of course he asks about the Cardi beef. “Now, I didn’t know Cardi and I had an issue, but I guess we do since you’re saying it and other people are saying it,” she said, after trying to dismiss the question. “To me, she may have taken an issue with things that I’ve said, but I’m not going to bite my tongue…. You gotta have thick skin. People talk shit about me all the time…. You can’t be expect to be liked and loved and praised all the fuckin’ time. Give me a break.”

POST CONTINUES BELOW

August 19, 2018: ‘Queen’ lands at No. 2

All hell seems to break loose after Queen lands in the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart behind Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD. Onika immediately responds to the news by going on a tweetstorm criticizing Travis for selling his album in tour and merch bundles (though she used similar tactics) and calling out Spotify for heavily promoting Drake instead of her. Nicki would go on to give Travis the “Hoe N***a of the Week” award on her Queen Radio show.

September 8, 2018: Cardi attempts to fight Nicki at NYFW

Finally, the culmination of over a year of sneak dissing, shady interviews, and rumored beef comes to a head. News that Cardi B and Nicki got into a physical fight at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party during NYFW flooded timelines on Sept. 8 with video and photos of the incident. In one, Cardi appears to have a giant lump on her head following the fight.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

In some videos, Cardi can be scene taking off her shoe to throw it. In another, she’s being held back while yelling “Play with me bitch…keep fucking playing with me, play with my fucking kid bitch…I’ll fuck your ass up,” while Nicki is protected by security.

According to TMZ, the fight broke out after Cardi approached Nicki’s table “to address the lies Nicki was spreading.” She was reportedly met with an elbow to the face as security attempted to halt the “I Like It” rapper, and Nicki’s friend Rah Ali apparently also go involved in the scuffle.

Wayment wayment… I was trending for fighting Cardi? Why am I just finding this out?!?!? 😂😂😂 I’m home tryna binge watch Ozark 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Too bad i dont have new music to drop. Gosh darn it. Now back to the cartel…

— Rah Digga (@therealrahdigga) September 8, 2018

Cardi was eventually escorted out of the event, and went on Instagram to address the altercation without directly mentioning Nicki. “I’ve let a lot of shit slide! I let you sneak diss me, I let you lie on me, I let you attempt to stop my bags, fuck up the way I eat,” Cardi wrote. “You’ve threaten other artists in the industry, told them if they work with me you’ll stop fuckin with them!! I let you talk big shit about me!!”

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September 10, 2018: Nicki Minaj addresses NFYW fight on Queen Radio

Things were initially quiet on Nicki’s end following the NYFW incident. Ms. Minaj waited until her eighth episode of Queen Radio on the following Monday to address the altercation, and when she did, she went in.

Nicki started off the discussion by playing a clip of Cardi B during an interview she did in 2017 with Fader. In the clip, Cardi explains that “nothing is off limits” when she claps back at people, even their children. “I hate when some people come at me like, ‘Why you coming at kids for,'” Cardi can be heard saying. “I’m my mother’s baby.”

The reason Nicki played this clip is pretty obvious. In her Instagram post following their fight, Cardi indirectly claims Nicki talked about her daughter Kulture and her parenting skills. The clip is aimed at highlighting hypocrisy in that accusation, while the Queen rapper also denied ever saying anything about Cardi’s daughter. “I would never talk about anyone’s child or anyone’s parenting,” she said. “And it’s so crazy to me that people always need to make Onika the bad guy…I am not a clown. That’s clown shit.”

“You knew that when that footage came out you would look dumb,” Nicki continued, explaining why Cardi and her team would make up the accusation. “I didn’t even feel the need to defend myself that night. …She has built her career off of sympathy and payola.”

POST CONTINUES BELOW

Nicki denied ever stopping bags from coming Cardi’s way, and actually accused her of more than a few things, including attacking a woman on Instagram whose child died, and calling the child a “monkey.” She called out Cardi for previously referring to darker skinned black women as roaches, and alleged that Cardi actually threatened a male rapper to not shoot a video with her.

“The lord gave you a blessing with a bundle of joy and the only thing on your mind was to attack people and to stop their bags,” Nicki said, after suggesting Cardi might have postpartum depression. “Who are you angry at sweetheart?”

Nicki also brought on her friend Rah, who was involved in the NYFW brawl. They spent a good amount of time talking about the two women who are reportedly planning to sue Cardi B for allegedly organizing physical attacks on them. In the conversation, the women dragged Offset and blamed him for being the reason Cardi is so pressed, since Cardi reportedly thinks one of the victims slept with her husband.

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October 28, 2018: The Leak, Allegedly

Cardi’s sister Hennessey Carolina went on social media to accuse Nicki of leaking Cardi’s phone number to the Barbz, leading to a barrage of hateful messages. “She leaked my sisters [sic] number to her fan pages,” Hennessey wrote.

October 29, 2018: “What Type of Bird Sh*t You Talking About?”

Nicki returned to Queen Radio, and unleashed a long monologue about Cardi, the fight, music, and pretty much everything else.

When it came to the fight, Minaj said that her friend Rah Ali did serious damage to Cardi (as opposed to Cardi’s telling, where security was to blame), and that there was footage to back that up. “Rah beat Cardi’s ass really bad,” Nicki said. “Rah beat you so bad that I was mad at Rah.”

Minaj also denied leaking Cardi’s phone number (“What type of bird shit you on, bitch?” she asked incredulously), and said that she had asked Cardi to collaborate, but got turned down. Nicki also claimed that she had been offered—and turned down—Cardi’s Fashion Nova deal, and offered to take a lie detector test to bolster all of her claims.

In more fashion news, Wilhelmina CEO Bill Wackerman took Nicki’s side, disputing Cardi’s claim that Nicki was Diesel’s second choice (behind her) to be the face of their Fashion Week campaign.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

October 29, 2018: Cardi Fires Back

In a series of 10 (!) Instagram videos, Cardi laid out her rebuttal. A list of key takeaways:

If she was getting beaten so badly by Rah Ali, why hasn’t any video of that surfaced yet? As Cardi memorably puts it, there was “so much footages” of the party and the fight.

Cardi cops to demanding that Nicki change her verse on “Motorsport,” saying that she refused to shoot the video unless the now-infamous “Nick Lombardi” line was changed.

Cardi claims that Nicki turned down a chance to be on “No Limit,” and then turned around and got upset at her management after it became a hit.

Cardi attacked payola claims, pointing out that her single “Money,” even before it was delivered to radio, was charting on iTunes—the same company that hosts Queen Radio.

Cardi claimed that Nicki was responsible for the phone number leak. It happened one hour after their fight, Cardi said. Adding to the circumstantial evidence, Cardi said that neither her new number nor her sister’s number had been leaked, and that no one in Nicki’s camp had either one. “How come everybody that y’all have issues with, and y’all got the numbers in y’all camp, they numbers got leaked?” Cardi asked.

Cardi claims that Nicki endorses her fans’ “sick-ass fucking behavior” by liking Twitter posts that advocate harassing Minaj’s enemies.

Cardi denied telling 21 Savage not to shoot a video for “No Flag.” Instead, she says, the song just wasn’t doing well.

All of this back-and-forth ended later that night in a truce…for now.

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rocknrollbodhisattva · 5 years

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So Weird & Girl Meets World Crossover Essay

Introduction

From 1999 to 2001, Zoog Disney aired a paranormal show named So Weird, the Disney version of the X-Files. Micheal Jacobs revived Boy Meets World with a continuation called Girl Meets World. On the surface So Weird and Girl Meets World have nothing in common. The former show filmed in Canada, the latter was filmed in California. Cooksney and Jacobs couldn’t be more different, Jacobs is known for comedic sitcoms like My Two Dads, John Astole and producer Jon Cooksney, focused on speculative fiction. Astole worked on Stargate, and the 1980s Twilight Zone revivals. Disney Channel hosting their television shows is their only commonalities so far. What made these programs successful was pushing Disney’s Astole limits on what considered acceptable. As a result, So Weird was the darkest show Disney Channel aired where Girl Meets World was one of the smarter television shows of modern Disney Channel. Audiences don’t think of Disney tackling death acceptance, religion, or feminism.

Fiona “Fi” Philips (Cara DeLizia) along with her older brother Jack, join their mother Molly Phillips (Makenzie (Phillips) on her comeback tour. Having a Rockstar mom isn’t easy, especially when evil spirits begin stalking Fiona. When Annie (Alexz Johnson) arrives a paranormal panther follows suit. Riley Matthews (Rowen Blanchard) along with her best friend Maya Hart (Sabrina Carpenter) continue the lessons her father learned almost Boy Meets World. At six years old I loved stories about hauntings and dark creatures, so, So Weird naturally appealed to me. Nostalgia over Boy Meets World influenced my decision to watch its sequel and the quality of it surprised me. This cross-over essay’s purpose is dissecting these shows popularity and their similarities rather than their differences.

Surface Similarities & Differences

At the surface level SW and GMW’s similarities are minor., Fi Phillips and Riley Matthews are our brunette primary protagonists; Annie Thelon and Maya Hart are our blonde secondary protagonists. Fandoms hated Annie and Riley because they interfered with the fandoms’ favorites then subsequently blamed for the lackluster third seasons. Celebrities Carpenter and Johnzon used their shows as advertisement for their music careers. Actually Disney gave Carpenter a record deal before casting her as Maya. Carpenter is talented but still sounds like a Disney pop star, however, Johnson has more experience. SW had better music because there was a larger variety of genres like Rock, Pop, Blues, and Celtic music. SW alluded to Celtic and Greek mythology like changelings and sirens. GMW alluded to BMW and nothing else like Cory and Shawn’s jellybean scene. Both shows had actors who appeared in crime shows including Carpenter and Eric von Detten.*1

What else SW and GMW had in common was that they had realistic friendships and family dynamics. Friendships weren’t used as problem solving devises but to deepen the characters. Jack (Patrick Lewis) and Clu (Eric von Detten) hung out because they wanted to not because the plot required them to. Parents were written as people. Molly struggled with widowhood and had goals outside of being a mother. Irene felt inferior to her younger sister and Ned Bell was a biker before he married Irene. In addition, Cory taught History yet offered fatherly advice to his daughter and her friends. Single mother, Katy, struggled with her part-time job and caring for Maya. As siblings, Jack/Fi and Riley/Auggie neither fought constantly nor always got along. ‘Singularity’ Jack and Fi do nothing but argue but in ‘Medium’ Jack uses “colourful language” when a psychic angers Fi. In GMW, Riley and Auggie argued in ‘Forgiveness’ then have a touching moment in ‘Christmas Maya.’ When writing only children Jacobs and Astole never relied on only child stereotypes instead showing the complexity of being one. Not to mention, as an only child myself, I loved this. Maya and Annie weren’t spoiled were confused over siblings concepts, like sharing. Trapped in endless detention, Annie’s confused by Jack standoffishness finding out that he falsely believes that Annie’s replacing his sister. After assuring him that was never her intention, she and Jack become friends. Likewise, Maya confuses Rucas’ (Riley/ Lucas) relationship with that of a brother-sister one because she doesn’t understand how siblings act. Siblings are loving and friendly but also bicker like Lucaya (Maya/Lucas). Eventually they develop sibling dynamics with other characters, Annie/Jack and Maya/Lucas.

Neither show’s focus was on romance. SW focused on family while GMW focused on friendship and love interests didn’t appear in more than one episode. Jack’s girlfriend, Gabe, appeared in ‘Angel.’ Ryan was Fi’s first kiss in ‘Second Generation’ and GMW had two date episodes. ‘Brother’ was about Cory and Topanga’s date night; ‘First Date’ was about Lucas and Riley first kiss. If romance wasn’t plot important then why did GMW develop a shipping war while SW was immune to such disputes? In comparison to GMW, SW had limited couple options meaning there weren’t many options before couples became slash or incestuous Those options are: Annie and Fi with either Clu or Carrey. GMW avoids this pitfall with a diverse amount of characters but started shipping wars by introducing the leads and love interest simultaneously. Fanon favourites were Jack/Annie, Carrey/Molly, Lucas/Maya despite the intended couples are Cory/Topanga, Riley/Lucas, and Fi/Clu.

Why did Anti-Annie fans hate her less than Anti-Riley fans? Again, the fandom hated Riley more because of differences in character casting. If a Jerkass character is among the main cast the fandom automatically absolves them, giving their retribution to the kinder characters. Maya’s the “broken bird” so fans will prefer her and discount Riley giving fans reason to pair Maya in a love-hate romance. For extra information on this, TvTropes offers an analysis using Nickelodeon television as examples. SW main characters aren’t jerkasses toward their friends meaning Annie gets less hate and Friend-Lovers are on equal levels with Love-Hate ones.

Seekers: Fiona & Riley

Seekers of the 12 Archetypes are constantly searching for expanded knowledge of the world at large or themselves. Riley and Fi want to understand other people’s perspectives in a worldly sense (Riley) and supernaturally (Fi). However both are open-minded toward unproven phenomenon as opposed to our blond protagonists who rather “go with the flow.” Also as the primary protagonists they possess the most contradictions of their worlds. Fi’s an amateur parapsychologist but wants a normal life to protect her family. (‘Lightening Rod’) Fi is a computer geek struggling academically but loves learning new subjects (‘Tulpa’, ‘Escape’, ‘Vampire’). In comparison, Riley succeeds with her schoolwork but is naïve to the world around her. (‘Pluto’) She insecure often becoming victim to peer pressure but craves uniqueness away from her peers (‘Popular’, ‘Jexica’) Riley and Annie love feminine hobbies – makeup and shopping – but love masculine pursuits too. Both of them love the outdoors, athletics, but are terrible at sports. (‘Ski Lodge’ in GMW and ‘Sacrifice’ in SW) Riley can’t make the cheerleading team but loves basketball; Fi fails at baseball but tries appreciates the sport. (‘Singularity’, ‘Rah Rah’) Contradictions make them rounded characters but causes internal conflict when they attempt to form a stable Ego.

Upon waking up in the middle of the night, Riley eavesdrops on her parents where she doubts if she’s good enough compared to her parents. After all Topanga is a successful lawyer, Cory is a successful teacher, and have a perfect fairytale love. (‘Cory & Topanga’) Unable to connect with her father, Rick, Fi seeks resemblances between herself and him. Just like Riley’s atelphobia, Fi feels disconnected from her family because of her paranormal interests. An example is ‘Strange Geometry’ where Fi feels betrayed that her mother kept Rick obsession a secret. Since Lucas doesn’t differentiate between Riley and Maya during the love triangle, Riley further doubts her worth as a girlfriend. In the pilot and a deleted ‘Upstate’ scene, Riley molds herself into Maya so she’ll have an identity. Constant identity searching is another aspect of the Seeker archetype.

Caretaking drives our protagonists to seek out the world’s answers. Fi wants closure with her father yet her investigations aren’t just for her benefit, but for the benefits of her loved ones. Molly’s friends Rebecca left when she was Fi’s age, thus Fi confronts Rebecca’s “daughter” so Molly will have some closure of her own. Reluctantly, Fi leads the two of them to Rebecca’s house where history repeated itself again; Rebecca’s family disappeared again leaving Molly more betrayed and confused. ‘In Forgiveness’ Riley backtalks to Kermit wanting answers as to why he left her best friend when she was younger. Town members become annoyed by Fi when she forces them to remember the alien invasion the day before. (‘Memory’) Fi helps a coma girl’s mother and grandmother with technology to revive the girl from her coma even though these people are strangers to her. (‘Lost’) Riley invades her friends’ boundaries so Maya will have hope (‘Master Plan’), tries jumping into a bull pen to save Lucas (‘Texas’), and keeps her friends in a stairwell so they’ll reflect on their surroundings (‘High School’). Fi challenges Bricriu to hangman so he’ll stop possessing her brother. (‘Will-o-Wisp’) Riley gives up her relationship with Shawn, her godfather, so Maya will have a father. She forgets her affections for Lucas so Maya will have a chance at love. (‘Texas’, ‘New Years’) Occasionally their actions cause annoyance among their friends but its for the greater good. Sacrificing one’s own desires is the key component in the Caretaker’s goal.

Creators: Annie & Maya

Creators turn illusion into reality and similar to Seekers, Creators are invested self-identity and possibilities. When we’re introduced to Annie and Maya both are immediately drawn to creative fields. By the ending of ‘Lightening Rod’, Annie confides in Fi that she’s always had an eerie connection to music and find inspiration from something as insignificant as a stick. Furthermore, Mr and Mrs Thelon inform Molly that Annie has the ability to master most any instrument. ‘In the Darkness’, the theme song, shows Annie playing as well as popular instruments like the guitar. Maya gained that same artistic guidance from the stars or a paint war. (‘Meets Boy’, ‘Upstate’, ‘Maya’s Mother’). Partly due to Carpenter portrays her, Maya masters singing and guitar quite easily. (‘1961’, ’Creativity’) An added bonus to Annie’s is that they act as retrocognition from her past.

Both blondes quickly give up old lifestyles for chances at an art or singing career. For example, Annie’s ecstatic she’ll join Molly’s band on tour, granted her parents reason this is so Annie will have a normal and balanced life. (‘Lightening Rod’) Impulsive, Future Maya leaps at the opportunity when she receives a SoHo gallery internship. (‘Bay Window’) Creators share the fear of not having an identity. When a recording agent steals Annie’s voice and likewise when the art teacher grades Maya’s painting as incomplete, the girls doubt their self-worth. In ‘Carnival’ Annie’s reflections mock her abilities when she rescues her friends from an evil ringmaster. Season one Maya wonders if Riley was right and Maya’s troubled past is responsible for her artistic ability. What’s more is that the Creator archetype gives the character a dangerous duality; either they’re practical with their art or they drown themselves in their disillusion. Which is why the Orphan archetype lurks beneath the Creator.

The Thelons and Hart families are alive but their actions produce an orphan effect on their daughters. Traveling across the globe before the So Weird events prohibited establishing permanent roots somewhere. Kermit’s physical abandonment compounded with Katy’s emotional abandonment ensured that Maya wouldn’t have a support system. Although being an only child isn’t problematic, not having someone to depend on made connecting with others difficult. Neither would form a real connection until they made surrogate families out of the Phillips and Matthews families. Its not surprising their friends would find them selfish at times.

Death Acceptance

The major difference between Cooksney and Jacobs is Cooskney never intended lessons for So Weird whereas Jacobs’ moralizing hindered character development on Girl Meets World. Jacobs’s lesson was the vague statement, “People Change People” I’d argue his actual moral is not taking people for instead. Cooksney’s moral, if you could consider it one, was sacrifice. Fi gets lost camping and sacrifices immediate help to save Big Foot. (‘Sacrifice’) Barring those morals, the writers over-arcing themes of both were acceptance. SW’s primary theme was death acceptance for the Phillips and Matthews family with the minor theme of childhood acceptance Annie) and Maya. All stories lead back to sex and death, Disney’s not going to discuss sexuality, but death resounds through every film since Disney’s inception. Also no SW or GMW character was exempt from death confrontation. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief: Anger, Sadness, Denial, Bargaining, and Acceptance aren’t linear and one may never gain acceptance. All the characters are stuck in one of the stages and only Fi gains acceptance.

Earnest Becker’s seven reasons why people fear death are as followed:

Fear of pain

Fear of not knowing what becomes of our bodies

How our dependents will manage after our death

How our loved ones will cope emotionally after our death

Fear of an afterlife, such as eternal oblivion, or Heaven/Hell

Fear of dying with an unlived life

Fear of dying with uncompleted projects

Thantophobia is why humans behave the way they do. Rick’s untimely death when Fi was three-years-old affected her because she has no memories of her father. She often resented her brother and mother because they knew him and she did not. Rick/Fi’s shared fear is emotionally coping of his death. Maya struggled with coping with the metaphorical death of her father, possibly thinking he’s dead to her. Kermit intentionally abandoned his family, whereas Rick intended on returning to his family, but he didn’t plan on evil spirits murdering him. Fi and Maya are stuck in the anger phase of grieving. When her grandfather is visited by a banshee, Fi tracks the creature down and asks Death personified the fairness in taking her father away from her. Death responds that it will even the imbalance by extending her grandfather’s life for a time. But for seasons 1 and 2 Fi copes with death by actively seeking the paranormal afterlife to escape and accept death.

Jack’s death phobia is similar to Fi’s except he fears losing his sister and mother like he lost his father; his nightmare is a manifestation of that fear. In the midst of gang’s lucid dream, Jack leaves them for a method to awaken from the dream but is transported to the night of Rick’s. Dream Rick promises he’ll return, but knowing the future Jack chases after his father. Fear trapped Jack in Grief’s denial stage subsequently causing his resentment of the paranormal his dad loved so much. And it’s not until ‘Changeling’ when Jack accepts his dad’s death when he starts singing again. Surprised, Clu comments that Jack hadn’t sung since Rick died. Jack responds with, “Well, maybe it's time I started again.”

Minor episodes such as ‘Fall’ (SW) and ‘Gravity’ (GMW) discuss death on a smaller scale. ‘Fall’ details Ned and his childhood friend, Sam, on the death anniversary of their other friend’s drowning. Haunted by the memory, Sam is literally haunted by Pete’s ghost leading to Pete’s recent. The men’s responses to death are vastly different; Ned would rather forget Pete’s death and Sam tries to confront it. Both are part of the grieving sequence but overall, ‘Fall’ discuses the myriad of complex emotions after death. Childhood deaths are rightly considered “Bad Deaths” whether or not loved ones are complicit with the death, we often feel that we could’ve prevented it. Sam is stuck in the bargaining and grieving stages before he can move on. As the men relive that fateful day admits he was scared of dying and can finally accept death now. In ‘Gravity’ the teens are crushed when a beloved bakery owner dies leaving the bakery to Topanga. The episode ends with Auggie opening his gift with a note reading "It's not My-Kranian bakery, I'm dead." Cory phones Mr.Feeney telling him that he is glad Feeney isn’t dead, perhaps this was an allusion to ‘I Dream of Feeney’ when Cory wished him ill. Riley gives the eulogy and everyone learns to cherish their loved ones while they’re alive.

Next is Molly and her death phobia in the series. Molly’s emotions toward her husband are erratic in all three seasons. It’s been over a decade since Rick’s death and she still hasn’t accepted it. In the Christmas episode ‘Fountain’ Molly admits to a young Fi that her loss bothers her. In ‘Medium’ Molly began to resent Rick’s memory because she felt haunted by him wishing that she could forget him. Molly misses being a lover but is guilt-ridden because she feels like she is betraying her husband. (‘Fathom’) And in season 3’s ‘Muse,’ Molly and the band travel to the town of their first concert to recapture the inspiration she felt there. Molly never gains acceptance over death and I loved that this option was shown as well. Not everything is wrapped up in a happy ending.

The final lesson is accepting your own death. Self-death may be literal like the episodes ‘Rebecca’, ‘James Garr’, ‘Angel’ or ‘Grave Mistake’. Or death can be metaphorical like Riley becoming new personas, Maya losing herself, or the death of love. The former episodes dealt with the concept of immortality and coming to terms with one’s final moments. Fi investigates a girl claiming to be Rebecca’s daughter in truth, she’s Rebecca herself. Amazed at how much this immortal girl knows and has seen in her years, Rebecca refutes this saying that she hates her immortality. She can never marry, she had to leave Molly, her only friend, behind. Who wants to live forever? ‘James Garr’ is about the titular character undergo cryonic preservation as a cancer cure. The procedure’s successful, but James Gar hasn’t a soul anymore with this realization he gives his life to an elderly patient Jack met. In the subplot that elderly man dying of cancer beleives that whenever death comes for him he will greet death with willingness and bravery. James Garr realizing his hollow life switch places with the man so he can live a little longer. ‘Grave Mistake’ is about a family friend of the family who’s been receiving death threats and runs to Annie and the Phillips for help. With Annie’s guidance, the woman discovers her dead husband wrote “You’re dead” so that she’d remember she died. It’s rare that a children’s show relays the message that death isn’t ominous, it’s part of life.

During an interview Cooksney admitted that if Disney had allowed them to, Fi would descend into Hell to rescue her father’s soul.*2 Jack would have discovered his past life as a Celtic knight who begged that his next incarnation would be as Fi’s older brother. Moreover, it explains that dragon’s fear of Jack in ‘Strangling’ and aside from familial bonds, knight life explains his overprotection of him mom from a mermaid siren. (‘Fathom’) A tenet of the Order of the Good Death’s death positivity is “I believe that my open, honest advocacy around death can make a difference, and can change culture.” Cooksney probably didn’t intend for SW to have so much death focus but it’s applicable to the show.

‘Yearbook’, ‘Triangle’, and ‘Ski Lodge’ are examples of metaphorical death. Whenever Riley embraces different personas, she’s undergoing an Ego Death in an attempt to discover her true self. She becomes a Goth Girl so her classmates visualize her shadow side. Contrary to her masquerade, Riley’s shadow side isn’t Goth but is a metaphor of her dark side coexisting with her light side. Maya lost herself during her dalliance with Lucas to understand her relationship identity contrasting he singular identity. Later on during the love triangle’s conclusion, Riley’s first comment is “This love triangle needs to die. Nature knows that it needs to die.” Of all her friends Riley mentions death the most, examples are ‘Yearbook’, ‘Gravity’, and ‘Pluto.’ Continuing with this death theme involve the teenagers’ fantasies as a metaphor for the death of their romance. During their respective daydreams, Riley and Maya inform each other that their dream romance isn’t reality. In Dream Riley’s fantasy she dies, in essence the girls kill their ego and their romances to grow.

Childhood Acceptance

Transforming themselves from childhood trauma are Annie and Maya’s ultimate goals within the series. Annie’s panther and Maya’s hope are key in reaching their transformations. For this essay portion I’m using Widow’s Walk’, ‘Pen Pal’, and ‘Annie’s Song.’ For Maya’s episodes I’ll use are ‘World of Terror 3’, ‘Forgiveness’, and ‘Goodbye.’

Symbolically the panther represents the death-rebirth cycle and confronting fears. According to Spirit Animal’s website, those with the panther guide are blessed with powerful protectors. In addition, panthers indicate supernatural journeys with occult leanings. Therefore her character’s introduction served a purpose in So Weird despite being unplanned. Finally as Annie’s panther endows her with strength to confront any obstacle before her.

‘Widow’s Walk’ acts as a transition between death acceptance into childhood acceptance. Tired of her age limiting her privileges Annie swaps ages with an elderly woman. Shocked by her transformation she finds a bottled message from the woman’s husband. Desperate for her youth back Annie begs the woman to reverse their ages. Selfishly, the woman refuses due to her thinking that her husband’s waiting for her at home not realizing he died in sea storm that turned the woman into a widow. Growing weaker daily Annie knows if she can’t convince the woman of the truth she will die. When Annie feints in an attempt to reach the woman and true to its nature, Annie’s panther appears at her side giving her strength to continue on. Obviously Annie’s successful getting her age back. What’s interesting are the contradictions between the elderly woman and Annie. Both characters fear death desperately clinging to life, but Annie’s aware of death while the woman would rather delude herself of human mortality. At the climax the women’s remorseful of her selfishness wishing she knew how to reverse her wish. Annie’s regrets her wish understanding living in the present is better than living in living in the future.

Similarly ‘World of Terror’ along with ‘Pen Pal’ shows the girls’ adolescence if their positive influences were absent in their lives. By befriending Jennifer and not meeting Riley, Annie and Maya become rebellious Goths. Maya no longer believes that she deserves good things; Annie pushes her friends away. Following this change, Alternate Annie’s panther is a worthless tattoo, Alternate Maya begins bulling Riley for not letting her in her bedroom. . Deprived of hope or understanding our alternates protagonists cannot accept their pasts. Being Disney, these girls defeat their alternates. Annie through using her panther power, Maya through befriending Riley in the parallel universe.

These last three deal with Maya and Annie discovering the truth and making amends with their childhoods, finally able to put the past behind them and move on. In ‘Forgiveness’ Maya writes and letter to her father, Kermit, in an attempt to forgive him as part of Cory’s homework assignment. That following day Kermit returns to town hoping what his daughter said in her letter was true. Unable to forgive Kermit, he leaves once more reducing Maya to tears. As a result Maya realizes she’s forgiven herself for believing she caused Kermit’s departure. By forgiving herself, Maya’s ablity to accept her past and her new father figure in Shawn Hunter when he adopts her in ‘Goodbye.’

In the penultimate episode the characters travel to a Native American reservation as a break from touring. Unlike her friends Annie can’t enjoy her day off with strange flashbacks coming to mind. Coyote possesses the tribe’s leader when a little girl becomes lost in the forest, forcing Annie to remember her childhood memories. Years earlier the Thelon family visited a jungle for a research assignment, little Annie awakens before her parents do and wanders into the forests. She happens across a petrified tribal man and it’s only when a poisonous snake attacks her she realizes the danger she’s in. As her parents discover their daughter’s disappeared, the man rushes her to his village in an attempt to save her life. With shaman magic, the man’s father removes the venom and takes Annie to a location where her parents will find her. Grateful Annie sacrificed her life to save his son, the father promises to protect her all her life in the form of a panther. With full understanding of her childhood, Annie manages to accept her past as Maya did.

Conclusion

Girl Meets World and So Weird are different shows catering to wildly different audiences. Still, each character follows similar archetypes as well as themes people wouldn’t expect of Disney Channel to allow on their network. More importantly, the fact that it does shows its capability to portray mature, darker subject matters for all audiences. Readers may disagree with my argument but these are shows the current generation should watch. Girl Meets World is a television show that my generation should watch. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my essay and I would love it if you gave me your opinions on each program, as well.

#so weird #girl meets world #fi phillips #fiona phillips #annie thelon #riley matthews defense #riley matthews #maya hart #rilaya #mine #boy meets world

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