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bamfdaddio · 3 years

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X-Men Abridged: 1981

The X-Men, those back-to-the-future mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(Uncanny X-Men 141 - 152) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Brent Anderson, Dave Cockrum, Jim Sherman, Bob McLeod and Josef Rubinstein

While I also committed various fashion atrocities at the age of 14 (tye-die and fauxhawks, oh my), even Liberace would find Kitty’s outfits too much. (Uncanny X-Men 149; Uncanny X-Men Annual ‘81)

We dial back from the v. epic scope of the last few arcs. Instead, 1981 is just a lot of fun! We get:

Storm and Emma doing a Freaky Friday!

the X-Men vs. Magneto (again!)

A surprisingly effective Alien rip-off

An dystopian future! (OoOoOoOo)

Last year was the year of the Dark Phoenix, this is the year of Kitty Pryde. That’s not to say Jean’s death is swept under the rug: all throughout, we see her friends mourning her loss or remembering her fondly. (Scott even gets to have a demonic adventure about it.) But in general, Claremont puts Kitty in the forefront, fleshing out his YA-addition to the team. And what would a YA heroine be without a grim dystopia? Roll out the iconic Days of Future Past!

To be fair, 2013 was a dark time for all of us: What Does the Fox Say somehow got to the top of the charts and I was still watching Glee. (Uncanny X-Men 141)

How cool would it have been to see a name like Jonothon Starsmore or Eva Bell on those tombstones?

Anyway, that’s Kate. Kate’s had it rough. Mutants are at the bottom of the foodchain, most X-Men are dead and only a small cadre of resistance fighters remain, Sentinels dominate, and while she is married to Piotr, her children have been murdered. Bleak. Luckily, the rebellion has concocted the plan to shunt Kate’s spirit back in time to prevent this awful future from happening. (You’ve seen Days of Future Past, the last passably good X-Men film, you know what’s up.)

Let’s do the time warp again! 1981!Kitty’s mind gets taken over by 2013!Kitty, who promptly tries to convince the X-Men that a new Brotherhood of v. Evil Mutants will try to kill Senator Kelly, a presidential candidate who tries to put the mutant menace on the agenda. (Mutants tend to blow stuff up when he’s around.) Since the X-Men recently took a literal trip to Dante’s Infero and also befriended a cosmic world-ending entity, they basically shrug and go: “Yeah, this checks out.”

Off to Washington they go (zoommm) and there, they happen upon the Baddest Bitches in Herstory:

“How dare you hate mutants, senator Kelly! We’ll fix that by killing you!” (Uncanny X-Men 141)

This All-New, All-Different Brotherhood consists out of:

Destiny, a blind woman who can see the future. Definitely the eeriest member of this group. Badass lesbian, though that won´t be canon for years.

Avalanche. Greek who makes things shake. Is a long-standing member of the X-Men Rogue’s gallery, but rarely features in the spotlight. I think he got more characterization in four years of X-Men Evolution than he ever did in the comics.

Mystique. Shapeshifter. Ruthless and unhinged, the Cersei Lannister of the X-Men universe. Absolute legend, secretly the wife of Destiny, currently not as unhinged as she’ll be later. Immediately implied to be related to Nightcrawler: it’s the yellow-eyes-blue-skin-combo.

Pyro. Can manipulate fire, not create it. Absolute pillock, in all the best ways of the word. Originally intended as gay, but they decided to make him Australian instead. (?!)

Blob. Big, strong, immovable. We’ve seen him before.

One of the details in this fight I enjoy is that Storm is still struggling with her leadership, although she has a better grip on things than Cyclops:

Wolverine then proceeds to use those iconic but deadly claws about twice per issue for the next, oh, forty years. (Uncanny X-Men 142)

While the X-Men fight the Brotherhood in the present, we cut back and forth to the future. There, the X-Men consist out of some familiar faces - Storm, Colossus, Wolverine - and some surprises: Magneto (in a wheelchair), Franklin Richards (son of) and an unfamiliar ginger girl called Rachel. (She’ll be important later.) We even learn (one of) Magneto’s names: this is the first time he’s canonically called Magnus.

One of the strengths of Days of Future Past lies in its brevity, the way it tantalizingly taunts us with a brutal but familiar future without giving away too much. It’s single-handedly responsible for all those dark future timelines the X-lines are so fond of which will eventually culminate in time-displaced grandsons from alternative dimensions and the impossibility of a succinct answer to the question: “Who’s Cable?” Too much of a good thing and all that.

Still, what Days of Future Past does so successfully is:

Put the idea of the mutant menace back at the forefront, hammering home the metaphor of mutants being a minority. Mutants being put in camps and being forbidden to breed should - regretfully - make us think of all too many real life equivalents. (Specifically, all of the imagery harkens back to the Holocaust.)

It starkly shows what happens should the X-Men lose, reminding everyone of the stakes. The X-Men are here for a reason: bridging the gap between mutants and humankind. If they fuck up, we end up with mutant concentration camps.

It helps that the X-Men in the future almost all die horribly: Franklin is incinerated, Storm is impaled… It's brutal stuff. The only one to survive is Rachel, who wonders if their plan actually changed the future or if they created an alternative timeline. (It did the latter, sorry ‘bout it, Rachel.)

In the present, Kate chases after Destiny, who trains a gun on senator Kelly. I always wondered how this works: if Destiny saw the future, she knew that killing Kelly would trigger a terrifying future. What in the current Marvel timeline made her decide that the Days of Future Past was better? Did she see her own death? Did she see the Onslaught-crossover coming? The Chuck Austen run? What was it?

In any case, time-anomalous Kate stops Destiny from killing Kelly and the future is safe! For now. Kate disappears, Kitty returns to her body and some of the Brotherhood are apprehended. All is well, for now.

After being a key figure in DoFP, Kitty is also the main character in the Christmas special, which is basically a straight up horror and a pastiche of the Alien-movie.

Seriously, John Byrne still isn’t sure why he wasn’t sued by Ridley Scott for this. (Uncanny X-Men 143)

If you love Kitty Pryde? Read this issue. If you’re not convinced you like 80’s Kitty? Read this issue. It’s not continuity relevant and it’s basically Kitty playing the part of a Final Girl in a horror where she’s being chased by a demon, but it’s so good. It showcases all her strengths and her foibles. Kitty’s intelligent, cute (sometimes preciously so) and brave, but she’s also young, self-conscious and hot-headed. And it's not as if the other X-Men automatically adore her: Storm berates her all the time, she’s afraid of Kurt because of the way he looks (though she grows out of that) and she fights with Professor Xavier a lot. Moreover, she has a clever power-set for a young superhero who faces menaces on a daily basis: a thirteen year old who can go intangible is far less likely to have reality ensue on her and be dramatically offed because she's better at protecting herself.

I’m sure there are people who thought Sprite was hogging the spotlight, but I, for one, say she brings more to the table than, say, Angel. She’s not the Dawn Summers of this franchise.

Scott also gets a side quest. Poor guy can’t catch a break: first the love of his life dies, so he quits the X-Men, then he realizes he can’t do much else than be a superhero. He becomes a sailor on the ship of spunky captain Lee Forrester, is drawn into the sadistic plans of a demon unironically named D’Spayre and then shipwrecks in Bermuda with Lee.

The X-Men, meanwhile, are tormented by a team-up of Doom (who’s currently Latverialess and working on a comeback) and Arcade, that annoying crony. Locke, Arcade’s dom, has kidnapped the loved ones of the X-Men (Moira MacTaggart, Jean Grey’s parents, Illyana Rasputin and Amanda Sefton) in order to blackmail them into getting Doom to free Arcade. Apparently, Arcade accidentally insulted Doom and DOOM DOES NOT FORGIVE THAT FOLLY.

While the B-Squad (Polaris, Havok, Banshee and Iceman) goes to save Arcade’s hostages, the X-Men sneak into Doom’s castle. Well, except for Storm, who doesn’t give a single fuck and simply flies up to Doom, demanding an audience. Doom likes the cut of her jib and invites her to have dinner. (This is pre-Tinder, so this is a legit way of scoring a date.)

If Storm has a flaw (I said if!), it’s got to be her atrocious taste in men. (Uncanny X-Men 145)

The X-Men find Arcade’s cell empty, while Arcade casually saunters up to Storm and says hi. Storm realizes too late that this is a trap: while the X-Men are all trapped in Saw-like traps, Storm is encased in ‘living chrome’.

If you remember she’s claustrophobic, you know why this is a bad move.

While the X-Men free themselves from their traps - Polaris hilariously has to deal with a murderous merry-go-round - Storm is slowly driven mad in her prison, triggering a worldwide tempest. (She causes Lee and Scott to shipwreck.) Under the threat of Wolverine’s claws, Doom releases Storm - or rather, unleashes her.

“Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!” (Uncanny X-Men 147)

The memory of Jean brings Ororo back to herself and she starts undoing the superstorm she created. (If only climate change were reversed that easily.) Their confrontation ends by Storm easily forgiving Doom, because she apparently trespassed on his grounds without adequate cause.

Mkay.

All of Arcade’s hostages return to their homesteads, except for Illyana Rasputin, Piotr’s sister: she’s staying at the mansion for a while. Angel, who’s sort of been a part of the team since the Phoenix thing, has had it with Wolverine and his ‘tude, and decides to quit the X-Men : he doesn’t want to be a part of an outfit that has a killer like Wolverine on it. (Or maybe he’s just mad Claremont didn’t give him any storylines: his presence has been mostly pointless.) It’s too bad he left before Kitty started experimenting with her outfits: I bet he would have loved her ugly-ass costumes.

Equally inconsequential is the introduction of a brand new character, who then proceeds to disappear from the narrative for the rest of the year:

Black Tom has tried to kill you at least twice, but him sending you a long-lost daughter doesn’t give you pause? Ugh, Sean, you deserve Moira. (Uncanny X-Men 148)

Intrigued by Theresa? TOO BAD, WON’T SEE HER AGAIN ANYTIME SOON.

Another new character is the lonely, decidedly mutant looking Caliban, who can sense “people like him” and is on the lookout for companions. Like many lonely people who try and grasp at friendship, he decides to overshoot his shot and ruin the night of Storm, Kitty and Jessica Drew at a Dazzler concert. Because he tries to kidnap Kitty, the girls react a trifle aggressively. When they realize their mistake - the eerily pale Caliban is a simpleton rather than a menace - he’s already fled. No mention is made of the Morlocks yet!

There’s also another dull annual where the X-Men team up with the Fantastic Four to save Arkon’s dimension from the Badoon and yaaaaawn. Far more interesting is the landmark issue #150. Slowly, through the adventures of Scott and Lee Forrester, Claremont has been setting things up for the return of a favorite villain. While the X-Men investigate Magneto’s old base in Antarctica on a hunch of Professor X and tangle with Garruk, Scott and Lee survive Storm’s tempest, only to wake up next to a strange island that seems to have been raised from the ocean.

It’s apparently some ancient citadel from a long forgotten civilization with a fondness for squid statues. (I don’t know man, I’ve never been to the Bermuda Triangle, maybe this is just super-accurate.)The tentacles make Lee Forrester feel very amorous, but before Scott can tell her he is way too repressed to just have sex with an attractive someone he’s known intimately for a month or two, Magneto saves his ass by revealing he, in fact, raised this island from the seafloor.

Oh, Magneto. So extra.

My ambitious little mutant demagogue then proceeds to take the entire world hostage, showing how much he’s grown from the pompous, raving madman from the sixties. (Sure, Magneto is still a bit of a madman, but increasingly, he starts being on the right side of history.)

“I’m trying to make Magneto more sympathetic.”

“Just put him on a page with some bigger villains who are less noble, like the Vanisher, Count Nefaria, or…”

“Reagan, Thatcher and Brezhnov?”

“Er.” (Uncanny X-Men 150)

It’s obvious Magneto is being pivoted as a more noble villain, codified into the well-intentioned extremist we know and love today. Not only do we get the first hints at his past, fleshing out his motivations, he’s also not wrong. Humans are historically not great at taking care of the planet or each other.

When the Russians call his bluff and launch nukes at Magneto’s new island, he quickly disarms them. His retribution is swift and ferocious: the entire citadel is a machine that massively amplifies his powers. He sinks the submarine that launched the missiles, condemning the entire crew to death, and he casually erects a vulcano in a Russian city in Siberia.

Damn. Not messing around this time.

Despite his good intentions, Magneto is still definitely in the wrong: not only because of his methods, but as Scott points out: if Magneto unifies the world under his kind of benevolent dictatorship, all of that will simply fall apart as soon as Magnus dies.

In a way, Magneto is just as big a dreamer as Charles is: Charles believes in peace and integration, whereas Magneto believes his iron fist will be enough to make a perfect world happen. Both of them ignore the reality that acceptance is difficult and messy, because you’re trying to change essential human nature: the fear of the other. Magneto believes in big, sweeping gestures that will fix the world in move, while changing the world is also boring, hard work. One step forward, two steps back. Magneto just wants to leapfrog to his ultimate goal.

The X-Men fly over the citadel, returning from Antarctica, and their plane crashes into the ocean. (Magneto does not brook planes over his territory, humans!) The Professor is also nearby, looking for Scott with Moira, Peter Corbeau and Carol Danvers. The X-Men sneak onto the island, but to their horror, their powers are nullified by some machine of Magneto. They reunite with Scott, who formulates a plan to thwart the would-be ruler of the world.

While the rest of the X-Men go to trash the machine, Storm, Kitty and Lee infiltrate the control chamber where Storm finds a sleeping, shirtless Magneto. Once again showing her terrible taste in men, she is not weak in the knees at the sight of a sleeping Magnus: instead, she contemplates killing him.

Storm knows how dangerous he is, but she also knows that he’s a great man who’s fighting for ideals, no matter how misguided. She hesitates too long: Magneto stirs, suspects an attack and tosses her out of the window, to her death.

Magneto quickly undoes the sabotage the other X-Men have wrought to his machine. A fight erupts. Storm, meanwhile, has managed to grab hold of a ledge. She crawls back up and smashes an important-looking computer, restoring everyone’s powers.

The battle turns grim, but Scott sends Kitty away to wreck Magneto’s machinery. She sneaks off, following Scott’s orders and destroying both Magneto's power-up device and all of his plans by phasing though the computer circuitry. Magneto senses this and furiously gives chase. Overcome by rage, he attacks Kitty and disrupts her phasing power with a magnetic bolt, seemingly killing her?

Everything about this story beat is great: mama bear!Ororo, mournful Magnus and even the fact that Kitty’s godawful outfit serves a narrative function: highlighting to us (and Magneto) just how young she is. The fact that Kitty’s Jewish is just icing on the cake. (Uncanny X-Men 150)

And thus, the softening of Magneto commences. 1981 might be a year with wildly varying narratives, but it has given us at least three enduring legacies to the X-Mythos: a new kind of Magneto, a fondness for dystopian futures and the character of Kitty Pryde, who's really come into her own this year.

Ugliest Costume: Kitty! Purposefully, but still. Best costume, by the way, goes to Destiny, with her creepy, creepy golden mask. Just imagine this lady casually strolling across a battlefield, eerily calm and collected, dodging everything you throw at her. Awesome design.

Best new character: I usually pick one character - what good is having a shared award when declaring the best of anything? - but this year, it’s going to one of my favorite couples: Mystique and Destiny. Can’t wait to see more of them.

Most audacious retcon: Blob somehow retroactively becomes a member of the original Brotherhood, which is not what happened. Ever weirder is Xavier pondering that he never met Magneto before his attack in X-Men #1, while their cordially adversarial relationship rooted in a youthful friendship would soon become a cornerstone of the X-Men.

What to read: Uncanny X-Men 141 - 143 and 150 - 152

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elenamcwrites · 4 years

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folklore - a reading

If you’re a swiftie (officially not capitalized now), like me, you’ve probably been experiencing the mystical reverb and spiritual reckoning that is folklore. You’ve also probably been reading plenty of reviews and analysis articles--there are some stellar articles out there already.

Listening to the album is like lying in a meadow over the course of a summer day, afternoon thunderstorm, and the harsh sunset that comes afterwards, spiraling through memories and contemplation. It’s the best of the worst feelings you’ll ever have, and you can’t stop.

So, compulsively, I had to share my own interpretations and thoughts as I listen to the album again for the 7th time.

the 1 - Starting out with just piano, and then turning into what feels like a casual bop, the attitude of this song starts out very ‘I Forgot That You Existed’. And we hold onto that cavalier, ‘oh well’ attitude until... UNTIL. “If my wishes came true, it would’ve been you.” That line starts the slow ache that builds through the end of the track and makes this song much more more layered and complex than the first song of Lover. Perhaps this is a more honest version of the same feeling. Swift digs deep into that nostalgic feeling, letting us vibe to the wistful wishing at the same time. And of course, there is foreshadowing in the lyrics--film, graves, rose, chosen-family, painting. All of these reappear later on in various songs on the album, and some have been themes from earlier albums, too (especially graves).

Highlight lyric: “In my defense I have none // for digging up the grave another time.”

cardigan - We start with a beat that sounds reminiscent of “high heels on cobblestones,” and it emphasizes this early imagery. Being young is one of the major themes of this song, even though it’s also part of the triptych of songs about a love triangle. The nostalgia feels more specific to young love generally than to the specific lover, asking us to wonder why we judge the young perspective so harshly. The song is an anthem to how much she knew about love, including the pain of it, despite what people say. Swift has shown a special appreciation for the wisdom and raw experience of youth, and this song is another classic defense of the teenage experience. The metaphors in this song are classic Swift, and the structure of this song is reminiscent of ‘All Too Well’--the chorus lyrics change just a bit each time, and we get a powerful, gut-punch verse at the end.

Highlight lyric: “I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs // the smoke would hang around this long // cause I knew everything when I was young.”

the last great american dynasty - ‘The Man’ was probably Swift’s first real feminist anthem, directly stating how sexism affects her career and the perception people have of her. But this song gets at feminism from another perspective. First of all, she’s telling the story of Rebekah Harkness, who was the heiress that lived in her Rhode Island mansion before her. She was a trouble-maker in her town, blamed for her husband’s death and for ruining the calm status quo of the old money neighborhood. It’s completely apparent that Swift relates to this experience, and she likely knew some of this story before she purchased her home. In telling the story of a powerful, interesting woman, Taylor is rebelling against the patriarchy in a slightly subtler way than her previous songs--though she still makes her point pretty clear. Swift cares about the herstory of her home, and she’s made this story iconic by including it on her album. It’s like she took the idea of ‘Starlight,’ but instead of retelling a happy love story, she used her powers for an even more important tale. Now, there are also two potential connections to note: Rebekah also went by Betty, and her maiden name was West. Just remember that. And of course, the theme of the mad woman returns later as well.

Highlight lyric: “who knows if I never showed up what would have been // there goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen // she had a marvelous time ruining everything.”

exile - I like to imagine this song as the follow up to ‘The Last Time,’ from Red. Both are duets, and they both have relatively simple, but strong chords as the primary musical backdrop. Where ‘The Last Time’ depicts a relationship at the cusp, moments before their final conversation, ‘exile’ is post break-up. She’s out with someone new, and we understand this is an unspoken conversation across a room. And the vibe of the songs fit with this progression perfectly. ‘The Last Time’ feels like anxious desperation, but exile feels heavy and depressingly final. We revisit the film motif, and there’s some potential connection to the archived ‘If This Was A Movie’. Now, is that intentional, or does Swift just really like movie imagery? Does it matter? The build in this song is arguably the best on the album, which I think is partly due to the style of the musicality, and partly because it’s helpful to have a lower voice to mix it up. This song sounds the least ‘Swift-esque’ to me--reminds me of Damien Rice most of all--but it still fits beautifully into the album. Also, lots of callbacks in here--town and crown are used a LOT in her prior albums. A few examples: “You traded your baseball cap for a crown” in ‘Long Live’, “They took the crown but it's alright” in ‘Call it What You Want,’ “Staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town” in ‘False God.’ Now, again, these could just be words that she loves to use (they also rhyme with a lot), or there could be some deeper connections. I’m guessing it’s somewhere in the middle.

highlight lyric: “second, third, and hundredth chances // balancin' on breaking branches // those eyes add insult to injury”

my tears ricochet - I’ll admit this song had to grow on me a little bit. Why? Well, I don’t love revenge-ballads. But, this is much more complex than LWYMMD, and like the rest of the album, it centers the more vulnerable side of her anger. This song is 100% about Big Machine Records and Scooter Braun. The funeral is for her--or the version of herself that died just before Reputation--and she is back as a ghost (or another version of herself) to haunt those who caused her death. It’s slow, moody, haunted... Everything you want from a bitter funeral march. The best part of this song is that she doesn’t solely pass blame. She shows off her self-awareness, which has become more common in all her music since 1989, but still very clearly places responsibility on Scooter for her ‘stolen lullabies’ (i.e. her masters). Swift claims this song is about young love gone wrong--but, death is a pretty intense metaphor, and given that she blatantly used it (for the first, and maybe only time?) to talk about her career, I don’t think anyone is buying it.

highlight lyric: “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace // and you’re the hero flying around saving face”

mirrorball - Maybe I’m just a biased toward romantic and nostalgic songs, because I don’t love this one either. (I’m sorry!) But, here’s what I’ll say: this song is still exquisite. It reminds me of the reverb-radio-vibe of the late 80s songs, but with the astral, saccharine flavor of the rest of the album. If you condensed the Miss Americana documentary into a song, this would be it. A reflection (get it?) of fame and her desire to be everything to everyone--to be well liked, to be the center of attention. The coolest thing about ‘mirrorball,’ to me, is that she hasn’t written a song quite like this before. It��s sort of a manic-pixie-dream-girl version of herself. Swift is telling us that she knows who she is, and that comes with seeing the less ‘pretty’ side.

highlight lyric: “I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why // I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try try.”

seven - Can you say haunting innocence? This is a great song for half-attentive listening in the sun, and it could almost be a lullaby. In Swift-lore, the theme of childhood shows up every so often, like in ‘Mary’s Song,’ ‘The Best Day,’ ‘It’s Nice to Have a Friend,’ and ‘Christmas Tree Farm.’ This one is definitely the most dreamy, and it is also tinged with that darkness that consistently underlies all the tracks on this album--“Are there still beautiful things?” Imagine a sepia filter, and that’s kind of what this song embodies. Some fans have wondered about this song as a possible hint to bisexuality and/or relationships with women in general. (See Kaylor fan theories if you want to dive deep.) I can see this--the childhood friend has braids, which could imply she’s a little girl, and they ‘hide in the closet’. However, it seems more likely to me that this is coincidence. Lots of kids play in their closets, and if the song is about the friend’s father being angry all the time (and maybe abusive?) hiding in the closet also makes literal sense. I think the imagery in this song is some of my favorite on this album.

Another interesting point that I haven’t seen discussed so far is that Swift names this song ‘seven’ spelled out, yet uses the number ‘1′ in the first track title. The only other track she uses numbers in the name is ‘22′, which is about being 22. So, she could be trying to push past the idea that ‘seven’ is just about being 7 years old--though I do think it’s about that, too. She could also be intentionally connecting ‘the 1′ to ‘22′ in some way. They are both a similar vibe, and perhaps they even refer to the same time period in her life. If we go with that theory, who was T dating at 22? The most likely candidate for that timeframe is Conor Kennedy, which was sort of short-lived, and didn’t seem to end with as much fire as many of her break-ups. So, it’s possible that it’s about him. Or, maybe she just wanted to make sure we knew that ‘the 1′ was a concept she doesn’t really believe in anyway, and didn’t want to grant it the full word ‘one’. Will we ever know?

highlight lyric: “Before I learned civility // I used to scream // Ferociously // Any time I wanted”

august - It seems clear to me that this is the second song in the love-triangle narrative. I’ve heard people claim this is ‘illicit affairs’, but those people obviously haven’t looked at the lyrics. The narrator says ‘James, get in the car,’ which is directly connected to the lyrics in ‘betty.’ But, even without that obvious link, the style of august fits in with the stylistic choices of ‘cardigan’ and ‘betty’. All three have strong instrumental tracks complementing the vocals, soft harmonies, and lots of wistful lyrics. ‘illicit affairs’ cuts much sharper and deeper, but more on that later. Combining the dreamy vibes of ‘seven’ with the slight bop of ‘the 1′, this track is sticky--easy to get stuck in your head. The only thing I wonder about this song is how old this narrator is meant to be. They’re drinking wine, and she references going ‘back to school,’ which sort of feels like a reference to the college experience. But, the betty and james characters make numerous references that feel like high school. So, maybe this affair took place in another city with a college girl? I have to wonder if this is Swift referencing some of the age-gap relationships she’s been in. Again, with Conor Kennedy, she was 22, and he was 18. She also supposedly crashed his sister’s wedding in August, and that was the start of the end of their short romance. I’m just saying...

highlight lyric: “Wanting was enough, for me it was enough // to live for the hope of it all.”

this is me trying - If ‘The Archer’ was Swift confessing to her bad habits after a couple early relationship fights, ‘this is me trying’ is a desperate reminder a few months into the relationship. The two songs are sonically very similar, and I didn’t love the vibe (sorry, again!) the first time. But, I do love the artistic continuation. ‘this is me trying’ slows us down even more than ‘The Archer’ did, with a drum line that is almost like a heart beat, and it feels much less hopeful as a result. The lyrics are also some of the darkest I’ve heard from Swift--”I got wasted like all my potential” and “could’ve followed my fears all the way down.” My heart almost can’t handle this song, to be honest. She also references films again, but my favorite imagery connection is her standing over the lookout, which calls back to Rebekah looking out over the sea in LGAD.

highlight lyric: “and maybe I don't quite know what to say // but I'm here in your doorway”

illicit affairs - This song has that ‘All Too Well’ ache with a hint of ‘Death by A Thousand Cuts’ energy, and personally, I love it. You’ve got the busy instrumental strings underneath a simple, yet haunting melody line, and it’s that light, anxious tension that fits beautifully with the theme of the song. The lyrics depict the simple, small heartbreaking things that remind you of the pain you’re putting yourself through, which is reflected in the slightly surprising, soaring note at the end of the line in the verses. Whether you’ve actually been involved in an affair, these feelings show up in plenty of toxic relationships, and that universality is part of what makes the song powerful. The lyrics aren’t about pretty images, but that’s sort of the point. It’s prime Swift conversational lyricism, and you could pick out any number of lines that make a painful short poem all by themselves.

highlight lyric: “and you wanna scream // don’t call me “kid,” don’t call me “baby” // look at this godforsaken mess that you made me // you showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else”

invisible string - The primary love song on the album, this feels like a follow up to ‘Lover,’ maybe something she’d sing after being married a year or two. It’s sort of like ‘Mine,’ but much more mature, partly indicated by the pace of the song, which is steady and sure of itself. It’s also lovely to me that she’s returned to a bit of her country vibes--I ask you, would it feel like true end-game love for Swift if she couldn’t write a country love song about it? Back when she wrote country, all her happy ending songs were merely aspirational, and now they feel true. This is also 100% about Joe Alwyn, and to me, this is proof they have not broken up like some early reviews speculated. We also need to acknowledge that she’s past the Joe Jonas break up (um, good, that was ages ago) and is sending him and Sophie presents for their baby. I read a review that basically said this song seems a little too ‘all tied up’ for Swift, and that it doesn’t feel as genuine as a result. I sort of agree, but if we can take a sad song and accept that it isn’t how she feels 100% of the time, can’t we also do that with happy songs? Plus, she technically does say that it would be ‘pretty to think,’ which sort of implies it’s more a thought experiment than an actual belief. So, there’s that little twinge of sadness we needed to appease the folklore goddess. Oh, and of course, there’s a reference to Lover’s color scheme, saying time “gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies.” Which, many Kaylor hopefuls read as a reference to the Bi pride flag. To that, I just say... Maybe?

highlight lyric: “time, mystical time // cutting me open, then healing me fine”

Mad woman - My favorite thing about this song is the piano melody that happens in the background the whole song, working in concert with the main melody, but also completely independent (and haunting). It reminds me of one concept of madness--having multiple voices or thoughts going on simultaneously. But of course, it’s artfully and perfectly put together, which is the whole point. What could be perceived as madness is, in this case, what makes her able to create a masterful work of art. Now, this is also certainly a song about her masters, Scooter Braun, and Scott Borchetta. But it is also another feminist anthem. Women are taught not to be angry, not to yell, not to react with any emotionality otherwise we are discredited entirely. Swift directly calls this to attention by explaining that we’re angry for a reason--often antagonized intentionally until ‘you find something to wrap your noose around.’ She also makes the important point that women can also ‘hunt witches,’ and can be complicit in treating one another poorly. This is a reference to Scooter Braun’s wife defending him publicly against Taylor. Probably the most savage line is about the ‘master of spin’ having affairs, which she implies his wife knows about and seems to passively accept. But Swift doesn’t go too hard on her, reminding us that ‘no one likes a mad woman’, and that pressure is real. Could this ‘master of spin’ also be Scooter? I think probably. But I did read that some people are connecting this song to Hillary Clinton (she’s a scorpio, and the song references a scorpion sting), and that maybe Trump is the adulterer here... I feel like that’s a stretch, but I appreciate the interpretation.

highlight lyric: “What a shame she went mad // You made her like that”

epiphany - I suspect this song is directly related to how Swift is processing the current state of the pandemic. The atmospheric vibe with slow, clock-ticking beat in the background really feels momentous and poignant. Yes, she starts with images conjured from her grandfather’s stories of World War II, but she quickly seems to compare this awful battle to the doctors fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines in hospitals. The lyrics are simple, repetitive, and powerful. With so many ill literally struggling to breathe, the lines about breathing out really do hit especially hard these days. I can’t believe that wasn’t a thoughtful choice. The chorus is just barely hopeful, reminiscent of the numbness we all have to use as a coping mechanism to get through traumatic experiences. But it’s that little sliver of hope that makes the song even sadder--is that possible?

highlight lyric: “only twenty minutes to sleep // but you dream of some epiphany // just one single glimpse of relief // to make some sense of what you've seen”

betty - Give me all that Tim McGraw, Love Story, early Taylor pop-country. This song is definitely enhanced in part because of its connections to ‘cardigan’ and ‘august,’ but it stands strong on its own. It’s old news at this point, but James and Inez are based on the names of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’s daughters, so it’s all-but-confirmed that their third daughter was named Betty. Written from the perspective of James, there is massive speculation out there about whether the narrator is meant to be a boy or a girl. There are reasonable clues on both sides, so I’ll just say this: I love Taylor, but she’s always been a little late to the party when it comes to socialized ideas of male/female. Because of that, I don’t think she’d have a female narrator riding a skateboard. I also feel from the style of narration--“I don’t know anything;” “just a summer thing;” “would you tell me to go fuck myself”--it does sound more like stereotypical teenage boy language than what we know as swiftie teenage girl language. What I do like about this song, though, is that because it’s written from James’s perspective, it does sort of leave a wider opening for personal interpretation than some of her other love-story-like songs. The reason I personally love this song is that it’s mostly about redemption and forgiveness. Everyone has wished someone who broke their heart would write this song about them, and so it offers catharsis. Plus, it’s the only song on the album that truly feels happy at the end--thanks, key change! It’s refreshing and heartening, and it’s good timing, too. After the heaviest song on the album, we needed it. (Oh, and there’s a callback to the broken cobblestones from ‘cardigan’. And then he literally mentions her cardigan. So.)

highlight lyric: “if you kiss me // will it be just like I dreamed it? // will it patch your broken wings?”

peace - The vibe of this song is like laying on your couch in the summer with light coming in through the blinds and the ceiling fan is going around just fast enough to keep the warm air circulating, but not really cool you off. This song has a hint of ‘False God’ style, a little jazzy, but otherwise, it’s a pretty fresh feel for Swift. The message fits this thoughtful, lightly antsy feeling. She’s basically saying she wants to start a family with Joe (no, I don’t think she is literally pregnant yet) and settle down, but there is no real ‘settling down’ with her level of fame. I also think that Swift truly enjoys making music, performing, and engaging with her fans, and she doesn’t want to leave that life behind any time soon. So, she’s asking him if he can make that work. It’s, again, a mature vision of what a long-term relationship can actually look and feel like. Not all of us can truly relate to the burdens of fame, but there are other ways we can be unable to ‘give you peace’. No relationship is idyllic forever in the way romantic love often makes it out to be, and this song gives us a more realistic, consistent example. And just in case we thought this was just a nice song, the whole ‘clowns to the West’ is another potential Easter egg. In the lyric video, east is not capitalized, but West is. Most likely, this is a dig at Kanye. If we want to believe Taylor wasn’t being vengeful, it could potentially be a reference to Rebekah (West was her maiden name). I lean toward theory one, although it’s kind of amazing that it works out such that it connects to both.

highlight lyric: “but I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm // if your cascade ocean wave blues come”

hoax - (Phew last one--I don’t have access to ‘the lakes’ yet) Swift can’t end the album without bringing us all back to the raw emotional space she opened up within us. This song brings back similar piano lines from ‘mad woman’ and the image of screaming on the cliffside. Chronologically, ‘hoax’ feels like it takes place after or during the death of her reputation, i.e. the feud with Kim and Kanye, when she was still very vulnerable. Based on timeline, this seems likely to be either Calvin Harris or Tom Hiddleston. It could really be some combination of the two, since many songs aren’t really about just one person. My gut tells me it’s primarily about Calvin, since she’s referenced that they didn’t have a very faithful relationship--”your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in.” Both relationships travelled a lot--“I left a part of me in new york.” I’m guessing she’s referencing the feud with Harris over her writing credit on ‘This is What You Came For.’ She takes attacks on her career as seriously as hurtful relationships, and since she’s referencing being torn apart by the media when she says that “what you did was just as dark,” I think it’s likely that this also has something to do with hurting her reputation. It’s another hauntingly beautiful song, and you can totally imagine yourself out on that cliff looking at the midnight sea as the piano line ends.

highlight lyric: “you knew the password, so I let you in the door // you knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score?”

---------------------------------------------

Overall, the album is my favorite of Taylor’s so far for two reasons: 1) the continuity in both theme and sound is stellar, and 2) there aren’t any songs that I don’t like. Usually, there are 1-3 songs on Taylor’s albums that are either forgettable or too on-the-nose for my taste. I’m sure that is a product, in part, of having to craft songs for radio-play and for her amazing, cinematic live shows. Having given herself the freedom to make whatever music she wanted without thinking (so much) about whether they’d top the charts or be good for a stadium concert, she made an album without a single ‘pop just because’ track.

Now the real question is... What will she do with the remaining 6 months of quarantine???

#taylor swift #swiftie #folklore #album thoughts #folklore thoughts #ts #ts8 #tswift #who else was supposed to go to lover fest?

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sixcastappreciation · 5 years

Text

sixcago gave me my gay rights

alternative title: review of the evening sixcago show on july third

this is like almost 4k and its mostly just rambling but i need to express how much i love sixcago

like at least half of this is just me being gay so i bolded some of the things that i found really interesting and isnt just me like, freaking out

so to start off: holy shit. the energy of the entire show was amazing, it was really funny and fun and the acting/dancing/singing was on point like i cant think of a single complaint on the part of any of them.

so to get into the actual show

ex wives

when the curtain came up and the smoke started pouring out i actually felt my soul leave my body it was such a good moment

less than thirty seconds in brittney mack made eye contact with me and i swear to god my heart stopped and i honestly had trouble focusing on the rest of the song

i am not exaggerating that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth

shes............. literally so good im still shaking as i write this like three hours later

the third repetition of the rhyme where they all sound kinda pissed off? they nailed that

adrianna was so cute when she said “you wont try that again”

andrea holy shit. thats really a wrap on that

abby got that like, kinda head in the clouds thing that i feel like is janes Brand during this part

when he saw my portrait he was like JaaAAaaa

i love brittney mack

courtney knew what she was doing with that prick line. get it girl

anna has the most angelic voice i swear to god

the six of them work really well together on stage???? like i know its all choreo and stuff but you could Feel the energy that they had together it was good

oh man the choreo for the end. im so gay

intro thingy:

adrianna with that riff!!!!! we stan

annas face after “herstory” was iconic. she knew what she had done wrong

you couldnt hear the intro for maggie bc people were cheering so loud

the way adrianna says maria made me gay

abby also knows what she had to say. she knows how cursed janes sense of humor is and she was really playing it up

protestent............ protestant

“we’ll tell you what you want what you really really want” this made me laugh so hard i dont rly remember the next like thirty seconds because i was dying

“the biggest.... the firmest......... the fullest..............” im. i cant

no way

“maria” AGAIN adrianna please. please i cant handle it

“OH muy bien aHHah” not to be Lesbian On Main but fuck this was so cute

her emotion during the monologue was SO funny

it was peak, it was so good

she really gets it. i dont totally know what it is but this aragon monologue gets it

when she said “really trying” she did like, a motion. i cant go into more detail but Fuck

so after “move me into a convent” everyone like, gathered around aragon and adrianna did a

well idk what youd call it but a like

her entire torso swung around in a huge circle right before “i dont think i’d look that good in a wimple”

and idk what it was but that part just made me Lose It

adrianna had this way of making it all a little funnier?

like catherine is usually pretty Serious, i think but it felt like adrianna knew she was playing a character who was Like That, if you will, and was kinda leaning into breaking the fourth wall a little

i can probably elaborate if that doesnt make sense

you say its a pity cos quoting leviticus ill end up kiddiless all my life

she said that with such conviction goddamn

oh, he doesnt remember

this was so good

the “sh-”s were really funny

the fucking. i dont know what it is but the *ting*

holy shit

i cant put into words

how much i loved that part

the pause after “i’ll go” was............ expansive

i just checked it was 10 whole seconds

that doesnt sound long but it felt like forever

she went high on “end of my life” and thank u for mine adrianna hicks

the amount of no’s was impressive and im heart eyes for it

adrianna just had really good stage presence

like i caught myself looking at her during the dance breaks of all the songs when i wasnt looking at brittney

it was just so fun to watch her go!

dluh

during the intro of like “yeah, you know, the really important one” andrea was doing some Dumb Shit in the background

like i dont know exactly what it was but she was just like

idk like noodling around in the back

and i caught her eye and she like, smiled a little

the gasps the rest of them did were....... cute

then andrea busted out a full on fucking witches cackle

then she stuck her tongue out and looked like she was taking a selfie and it was so cute

like, her tongue was OUT

“not my thing” had the BIGGEST uwu energy of anything ive ever heard

i thought people were kidding when they said andrea boleyn had uwu energy

they were not

pret a manger barely came across as a real line it was more like, an experience

the sorry not sorry choreo. its so funny and cute and simultaneously cursed

the way andrea delivered her lines here was just

it was like, cutesy and fun but also kind of cursed

uwu

when she said “are you blind” andrea like, gestured to herself, in a like “look how hot i am” kinda way

which might be the standard? either way it made me laugh a lot

don’t be bitter/cos im fitter was the only line in the entire production said with a british accent and it fucking slayed me on sight one hit ko

i actually like that they changed “mate, what was i meant to do” to “wait, what was i meant to do” because

it implies that anne had no other train of thought than the one she was on and thats very funny to me

i think it fits w andreas portrayal too

everyone was like, fake crying when anne fake walked down the aisle and it was really funny imo

and as soon as she got to the end anne like, turned, yk?

bro just shut up

the entire audience gasped after that

andrea had actual like, panic on her face

then she led into “i guess he just really liked my head”

and there was a beat after that, where everyone laughed

it was long enough that everyone got the joke

then she mimed the blow job

her riff on “hell”? iconic

“wait, didnt you actually die” no jane she was beheaded but she was fine

abby seymour said dumbass rights she has the Dumbest Bitch energy god

“catherine of aragon had tragically died” catch adrianna looking like, yeah it was so sad for me, how terrible, right?

then boleyn goes off

the. fury, passion, anger, zest, contained in andreas “MASSIVE-”

“over my dead body” andrea gave her this look like, youre damn right it will be

heart of stone

oof

okay so the monologue

oof

“i was lucky. okay, i was really lucky” o o f

“edwina” is still cursed tho

i dont know what it was about this. i dont know if it was abby, or the dialogue, or just it being live but

this made it clear that jane had been Through It

like, this monologue came across (to me at least) as unquestionably a “woman who was abused trying to justify it to herself” kind of situation

“and that’s not because i was scared,” she said, wearing an absolutely terrified expression

this is where she started tearing up i think

okay i gotta take a moment here because

abby was fully crying before the song even started

like somewhere about halfway through her monologue she started tearing up

i was looking for it specifically

i wrote this before the last part so see above

so by the first fucking like of hos you could hear her voice breaking

holy shit ms meuller what the fuck

im not kidding who gave her the right

at the stagedoor she said that after this she was like, “well thats it for my makeup” when someone complimented her song

she is crying. the first chorus and she is actively crying. in the breaks between her lyrics you can hear her crying

abby went high on a couple of notes in here

she riffed on “truthfully” and it was, wow

she didnt go for the whistle tones which was, honestly? the most relatable thing in this entire show

but a couple of the other notes she went high on and they were so killer

there was a second or two of pause after the end where everyone just, absorbed things before the applause

i have some questions for abby about this actually because i dont know if its just because the monologue was different than im used to but

i just want to know if abby meant to have everything come off like That but god

the mental gymnastics jane is doing here are so intense

this performance genuinely changed how i listen to hos forever

i dont think i can ever peacefully listen to this song again

this song gave me so many layered emotions thank u abby mueller

haus of holbein

hans................................. *holbein*

the chaos

i honestly barely remember most of it it was

i had no idea who to be looking at

but i remember it being beautiful

i dont have the words to express how

fucking funny it was

the accents were hilarious

like they werent great german accents, but that made it far better

they were leaning into the ridiculousness of it all

the way abby said “but we cannot guarantee that you’ll still walk at forty” had me on the ground

ive spent the last 24 hrs trying to figure out exactly why it was so funny and i think i got it

she dropped the german accent

and she straight up sounded like she was reading off the side effects of a pharmaceutical ad on tv

the freeze frame? legendary

anna and courtney (im pretty sure?) managed to look so genuinely offended that henry swiped left on them

your highness your highness your highness

god adrianna please

actually every h sound that came out of their mouths

but adrianna Got It

get down

oh god i gotta talk about “didnt live up to his expectations”

brittney like, half took off her jacket and gestured to her body and like, body rolled a bit and honestly? i was fucking dead

the sarcasm really jumped out here. brittney went off in the best way possible

she was fully fake sobbing right before “tragic”

fucking legend

brING me some pheasant!

the woof line is always a good moment but their facial expressions really made it work here

this song has the most outwardly complex choreo (ofc i cant speak to its actual difficulty) and every single one of them crushed it

brittney made eye contact w me again on “looking cute” and im deceased

oh god after “take my fur” she whispered “thank you. honestly” and gestured to herself again and like, i was dying

iirc brittney was like, skipping across the stage or something on “i look more rad” and snapped into position for “lutheranism”

we gotta take a moment to appreciate the operatic talent of that one “get down you dirty rascal” instead of the slo mo

like, ofc the slo mo is a good moment but

brittney went full opera and it was,

wow

shes got a voice on her holy shit

so much talent in such a tiny body

aCHYEAH

she picked the person sitting next to me to dance w her and

they did their cute little dance thing and then brittney gestured like, go sit down, and the person did, then stood back up and started dancing again

not like, in a bad way i dont think

it was super fuckin funny and after the song brittney was like “oh that was cute you think youre funny”

but i heard them talking at the stagedoor and like, brittney was chill it wasnt like a violation of anything

im not explaining it very well but it was really funny in person

everything about her on stage was just, so enrapturing

i dont have too many specific notes about this song because it would probably turn into just, me being gay, which is enough of this already

anyway! get down was good brittney mack is a stellar cleves

her fake crying is next level tho

the confrontation

boleyn, unprompted: i lost my head!

the beheaded cousins high fived after “nice neck” and like, stuck out their necks a bit it was so funny

seymours “i died”

we all know abby is gonna kill her line delivery

but GOD

and then after, she like, realized what she had said and struck a pose like, shit please still think im regal

the line itself was actually pretty, uhhhh, sad

theres something about boleyn roasting khoward in andreas voice

courtney with that “and your songs” had perfect timing

also “when will justice be SERVED” had such good punch to it

after she did that she like

rubbed her hand on janes face

and abby looked SO offended

theres something so, sincere about courtneys delivery of her roasts that i hadnt been getting and its SO much funnier to me

i forget exactly where but at some point boleyn aragon and howard were arguing

and in the background it really looked like seymour and cleves were having a normal conversation and i lost it like. they were just chattin

there were a couple moments of like, cleves and seymour interacting and it was interesting

aywd

courtney! mack! took! no! prisoners!

jesus christ

okay so i dont know if other howards do this or if it was just because i was seeing it live and up close and that made the difference but

for me the most compelling part of this howard was the fear

like yes there was the sadness/anger/etc like there was good emotion but

from the “he says we have a connection” re: henry, and then on, everything about courtneys body language just screamed that she was afraid

idk i might expand on this in a separate post because its a darker topic but yeah. holy shit that was emotional

not a single person clapped after the last line. they all waited until after “yeah, and then i was beheaded” before clapping

like the theater was dead silent. DEAD silent

it was like, so haunting because it was just courtney on stage at that point, with just the white spotlight on her, it was a Moment

im not sure i have the heart right now to get too deep into this

if it would be particularly interesting to anyone feel free to ask, im happy to get more into it but idk its just Emotional

actually this is already so long ima go for it

so on each “we have a connection” it was uhhhh parr and aragon (i think) who each put a hand on like, her clavicle

and for the first two verses she grabbed one of the hands and was like, flirty? ig

but on the one about henry seymour also put a hand around her waist and she like

she freaked out

and listening back to the audio i can

unpopular opinion perhaps but the actual emotion of her on stage didnt come thru in the audio

because it was so physical

like you could see how scared she was

which made it more relateable to me honestly

like she looked so so scared

it was heartbreaking

the confrontation part ii

oh BOOH OO MISTERESSES

“okay catherine, babes” is CUTE fight me

anna looked like, progressively more concerned as that beat went on, and then she just kinda like, deflated? it was really funny tbh

idk her parr feels Different than the parr im used to

during “oh im catherine parr i draw the line in arbitrary places” courtney was playing with her hair it was hashtag cute

BACKING VOCALS RIP CATHY PARR

idnyl

a cute little b flat major 7

yeah anna parr seems

hmm

she seems like she’s just, over henry

like from the start she just has no time for him

idk im Conceptualizing

anna uzele is

her voice is next level

she put survived in the “got married to the king became the one who survived” in air quotes which i think is an interesting note

anna got really physically into the “remember that...” bit of it and everyone in the back was also having a good time with it it was Good

andrea. she stuck her pointer finger between two of her other fingers on her other hand for the “my sixth finger” line and it was SO funny

khoward keeping aragon in line was

not the hot take i was expecting but nevertheless the one we deserved

both for “dissolution of the monasteries” and “well actually”

idk it was a cute character moment

one of *unsure, disgusted, vaguely annoyed* siiiIIIiix

abby was right in front of me and she looked SO uncomf

yeah, i read

iconique

andrea like, threw her head back for this line

the pause after “theres not much we can do about it now” is

painfully long and so so so funny

i was only really looking at brittney but she was like, arms down head up no body language it was SO funny

also her “yeah?” ended my life

she raised the mic up to her mouth while not moving an inch of the rest of her body

the part where they get all meta. has me dead

it was about halfway through this second part that i realized cleves had her coat back. i dont know when that happened. if anyone else knows when exactly anna of cleves gets her coat back after it gets taken off in get down please tell me. i genuinely want to know

this actually distracted me

i got vibes that they genuinely hated henry during this part

first off, mood

secondly, good

annas riffing. god.

she is so talented

dsfjksdf they all straight up left

six

the opening moment is really sweet and kinda funny

abby again killing it with janes cursed lines

courtney howard is actually so cute

when shes not being heartbreakingly sad that is

like her “bye!” was so cute

theyre all so supportive of each other its very cute

megasix

adrianna and abby both looked into my camera and like, i died

at the end anna and brittney were doing some dumb shit as they walked off stage and it was SO cute

after the show

i went to the stagedoor and it was a really fun experience! ive never done that before

it seemed like everyone was being pretty respectful and stuff, thank u six fans for being sane

i got four signatures on my program dklfjsldfjds

abby was such a sweetheart, we actually talked a tiny bit

i told her i loved her line delivery (because uhhhhhh i do) and she said that she tries to get in that comedic timing when she has Those Lines and like yeah

she was seriously the nicest

the ladies in waiting came out as well and everyone cheered for them and lets be real they DESERVE it

lemme sidebar here actually and talk about the ladies in waiting because

they killed it

bessie on the bass was living her best life at literally all times

brittney was also super sweet! i told her she had good energy (because uhhhhhh she does) and she was very nice about it!!!

i didnt really talk to anna or andrea but i got their signatures!

also speaking of my program im still losing my mind over “remembered for: headlessness” and “remembered for: staying alive”

thank u sixcago program

in conclusion! this was such a great+special experience!!! all of the actors were incredible, it was so wonderful

im also not claiming any of this stuff was unique to this performance or to sixcago in general this was just the stuff i noticed as i was watching it. if you clown on this post ill end u

#six the musical #sixcago #**#i typed up no way dluh idnyl and the after show part in a daze as soon as i got back #i got more of it filled in later and then i kinda lost steam #and im filling in the last bit almost a day later so yeah thats why some of its Like That #i ran out of energy for six/megasix but im not sure when ill get the energy so #and also this is Long as Fuck #and i have even more thoughts re: the cast and their portrayals #esp vs the west end cast portrayals

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learningrendezvous · 3 years

Text

Social Documentary

CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

Directed by Jim Cricchi

Unravels the ways that years of minority rule by one party have reshaped democracy in Wisconsin, where voters are finding their lives increasingly irrelevant to state lawmakers.

Small-town activism. Nail-biting elections. A last-minute power grab. In Wisconsin, where extreme partisanship has become the norm, voters are finding their lives increasingly irrelevant to state lawmakers.

Through the stories of four tireless women fighting to have their voices heard, CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? unravels the ways that years of minority rule by one-party have reshaped democracy in a state at the heart of American politics.

DVD / 2020 / (Grades 9-12, College, Adults) / 87 minutes

GIRL WITH THE RIVET GUN, THE

Directed by Anne de Mare, Kirsten Kelly

Takes you beyond the iconic "We Can Do It" poster girl to the millions of real-life women who shook the foundations of the American workplace in WWII.

Built entirely by women filmmakers, THE GIRL WITH THE RIVET GUN is an unconventional animated documentary short based on the adventures of three real-life "Rosie the Riveters" - "Esther Horne, Susan Taylor King and Mildred Crow Sargent. From vastly different backgrounds, these three women came of age in an America united by war but struggling with divisions of gender, economics and race.

THE GIRL WITH THE RIVET GUN serves as an entry point into a rich, layered, and adventurous rewriting of history as herstory, inspiring conversations about working women everywhere and taking viewers beyond the iconic "We Can Do It" poster girl to the millions of real-life women who shook the foundations of the American workplace - "forever changing not only their own lives, but the very perception of what women can do.

DVD / 2020 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 15 minutes

NO FEAR NO FAVOR

Directed by Mirra Bank

African communities on the front lines of the poaching crisis fight to protect their wildlife for future generations.

Shot over two years in Zambia's Kafue National Park--one of the largest intact wilderness areas in the world--as well as in Kenya and Namibia, NO FEAR NO FAVOR illuminates the wrenching choices faced by impoverished Africans who live where community meets wilderness--on the front lines of Africa's poaching crisis. The film follows follows local women and men who fight the illegal wildlife trade through cooperative law enforcement and innovative conservation.

Through community conservancies, the people in these communities protect wildlife and the region's wilderness heritage, return eco-tourism profits to local people, and generate sustainable livelihoods -- especially for women and girls.

DVD / 2020 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 66 minutes

PAULETTE

By Heather Rae

PAULETTE follows the historic campaign of Paulette Jordan, the first Native American candidate - " as well as the first woman -- to win the Idaho Primary for Governor.

PAULETTE is an inspiring short film that follows the historic campaign of the first Native American candidate -- as well as the first woman -- to win the Idaho Primary for Governor.

Coeur d'Alene tribal member Paulette Jordan comes from a long line of ancestral leadership deeply connected to the land of Idaho. The single mother of two ran for Governor in 2018, winning the Democratic Primary by a landslide. A victory in November would have made her the first woman to serve as governor in the state -- and would have marked the first time in U.S. history that a Native American has held the governorship of any state.

Despite a hard-hitting loss in the general election to a conservative Republican male opponent, Jordan's groundbreaking bid for Governor represented a growing movement for Native people, people of color, and women fighting to have a voice and visibility in American politics. Forging ahead and staying true to her path as an Indigenous leader, Paulette Jordan is currently campaigning for a seat in the U.S. Senate and won Idaho's Democratic primary in June 2020.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2019 / 18 minutes

BABYLON DREAMERS

Director: Roman Shumunov

Headspins, windmills, and b-boying: a group of immigrants from the former Soviet Union form a breakdancing troupe in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Israel. They dream of competing in the International Breakdancing Competition in Germany, but the road is paved with hardship and crisis. Lacking an instructor, they learn moves from videotapes and move one step closer to their goal.

DVD (Russian, Hebrew, English, With English Subtitles) / 2016 / 90 minutes

CHILD MOTHER

Directors: Yael Kipper & Ronen Zaretzky

Child Mother" tells the story of elderly women, born into Jewish communities in Morocco and Yemen, forced to become brides when they were still little girls.

Conversations between mothers and their families reveal haunting histories of women forced into marriage as young children. Born into Jewish communities in Morocco and Yemen where child marriage was a culturally sanctioned custom, these women's voices were largely unheard. When they were only five or six or ten years old, their parents snatched them from the playground and handed them to much older men×ª to be married. They recall the violence and fear they were subjected to, the pregnancies at the age of eleven or twelve, becoming mothers when they were still little girls themselves.

It was an open secret but one they put aside forever, because revealing it might tear their family apart, causing commotion and creating chaos. The memories of their tragic childhood never healed - " they were simply suppressed for the sake of their children, their livelihoods, and their husbands. No more.

DVD (Hebrew, Moroccan, Yemeni Arabic, With English Subtitles) / 2016 / 90 minutes

TALE OF TWO, A

Director: Zohar Wagner

How to get a pair of perfect breasts and stay alive? Zohar Wagners' journey of survival.

In her fourth highly self-revealing documentary film, Zohar Wagner discovers she has to undergo a mastectomy. Using self humor and optimism, she explores her conceptions of femininity, body image and sexuality.

DVD (Hebrew, With English Subtitles) / 2016 / 59 minutes

SAVING UNCLE JACOB

Director: Sivan Shtivi

Sivan, the film director, sets out to quit smoking together with his Uncle Jacob, a heavy smoker whose life is in danger. The initial plan involves recruiting the entire addicted family, but rapidly twists and turns as it becomes a more complex and eventful story. Sivan, who is about to become a father, must inevitably confront the painful memories of his father's suicide, while Jacob's health continues to deteriorate.

This dark-humored, smoke-filled film shares the story of a tight, loving, self-destructive family, as they reach out to smokers everywhere - " active or passive.

DVD (Hebrew, With English Subtitles) / 2015 / 70 minutes

L'CHAIM! (TO LIFE!)

Director: Elkan Spiller

L'Chaim! is a glimpse into the unusual life of Chaim Lubelski, who had a wild past as a hippy, before he became a millionaire and a professional chess player. When his mother needs care, Chaim decides to move in with her into the elderly home in Antwerp, Belgium. He cares for her around-the-clock with remarkable joy, lots of laughter and singing. Shaped by his mother's history as a Holocaust survivor, Chaim feels his mission is to ease her pain. The film is an intimate story about altruistic love and deep humanity.

DVD (German, English, Hebrew, With English Subtitles) / 2014 / 52 minutes

AL HELM: MARTIN LUTHER KING IN PALESTINE

The glorious strains of gospel music wash over the West Bank in Field's potent film. As the Palestinian National Theater and an African-American choir mount a touring play about Martin Luther King Jr., written by Stanford Professor and King scholar Dr. Clayborne Carson, an impassioned cultural exchange ensues, new friendships are forged and attitudes are altered. A rousing portrait of the changes unfolding in the Middle East as a nonviolent movement grows in Palestine, this dynamic and complex work is born of a brilliantly simple and potent idea: what would happen if African-American Christians--the same group who served as exemplars of the Civil Rights Movement--could witness first-hand the plight of Palestinians today?

DVD / 2013 / 93 minutes

LUCKY DEVILS (GLUCKSPILZE)

Director: Verena Endtner

In the fairytale city of St. Petersburg, 8,500 children live on the streets, but the innovative circus Upsala with its charismatic director Larissa is giving some of those children a chance to leave all that behind them. Meet 6-year-old Danja and his peers, training at UPSALA circus and trying to win over new kids from the streets. A journey from the Russian slums to the lights of the big top.

DVD (Russian, Swiss German, With English, Swiss German, Russian Subtitles) / 2013 / 52 minutes

TURBULENCE

Directors: Roni Livneh and Kobi Davidian

For the last 27 years four Bedouins have been serving a life sentence for kidnap, rape and murder, and they have since been protesting their innocence. Dr. Arial Livneh, a pensioner of Israel's General Security Services and a Doctor of Criminology, decided to investigate obsessively during 3 years and met with anyone that was connected to the case. The stream of new information raises many tough questions on the way that brought the four Bedouins to convincement.

DVD (Hebrew, Arabic, With English Subtitles) / 2011 / 90 minutes

DARK CIRCLE

Directors: Judy Irving, Christopher Beaver & Ruth Landy

It's been 75 years this month since the start of the Atomic Age, with the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, but its trail of destruction has never ended.

Dark Circle covers both the period's beginnings and its aftermath, providing a scientific primer on the catastrophic power of nuclear energy while also relating tragic human stories detailing the devastating toll radioactive toxicity has taken on people and livestock - focusing in large part on Rocky Flats, Colorado, whose plutonium processing facility infamously contaminated the surrounding area.

Documentary Grand Prize winner at Sundance, Academy shortlisted for Best Documentary, and Emmy winner, Dark Circle is no less potent today than it was 40 years ago.

DVD / 1982 / 82 minutes

FREEDOM ON MY MIND

The Story of Freedom Summer

Freedom On My Mind vividly chronicles the complex and compelling history of the Mississippi voter registration struggles of 1961 to 1964: the interracial nature of the campaign, the tensions and conflicts, the fears and hopes. The film provides a sweeping panorama of a turbulent time: a time that tested America's purpose. It is the story of youthful idealism and shared vision, of a generation who believed in and fought for the principles of democracy.

DVD / 110 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: DIVEST

We have made this special short film so that organizers in today's social justice and environmental movements can learn from and be inspired by the story of the U.S. movement to divest from companies doing business with Apartheid South Africa.

DVD / 31 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: FAIR PLAY

Faced with governments reluctant to take meaningful action against the apartheid regime, athletes and activists around the world hit white South Africa where it hurts: on the playing field. International boycotts against apartheid sports teams help bring the human rights crisis in South Africa to the forefront of global attention and sever white South Africans' cultural ties to the West. The sports campaign becomes the anti-apartheid movement's first victory and succeeds in culturally isolating the white minority in an arena of passionate importance.

DVD / 52 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: FROM SELMA TO SOWETO

Long one of South Africa's most important and powerful allies, the United States becomes a key battleground in the anti-apartheid movement as African-Americans lead the charge to change the government's policy toward the apartheid regime. A grassroots movement to get colleges, city councils, and states to divest their holdings in companies doing business in South Africa spreads across the entire nation pressuring the U.S. Congress to finally sanction South Africa. This stunning victory is won against the formidable opposition of President Ronald Reagan. African-Americans significantly alter U.S. foreign policy for the first time in history. European sanctions follow, and with them, the political isolation of the apartheid regime.

DVD / 56 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: OLIVER TAMBO

This film tells the untold story of Oliver Tambo - "who lived a life on the principles of ethics, compassion, inclusion, social justice and equality - "the man behind the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Described as one of the world's greatest statesmen, his strategy to the international community to isolate and sanction the Apartheid regime created the most globalized human rights struggle of the 20th century. Regarded as a terrorist in the West, he was hunted by the South African government's assassins. He narrowly escaped death at their hands, and succeeded in leading the overthrow of apartheid and fathered the new constitution of a democratic South Africa.

DVD / 97 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: THE BOTTOM LINE

This is the story of the first-ever international grassroots campaign to successfully use economic pressure to help bring down a government. Citizens all over the world refuse to let business with South Africa go on as usual. Boycotts and divestment campaigns bring the anti-apartheid movement into the lives and communities of people around the world, helping everyday people understand and challenge Western economic support for apartheid. Faced with attacks at home and growing chaos in South Africa, international companies pull out in a mass exodus, causing a financial crisis in the now-isolated South Africa and making it clear that the days of the apartheid regime are numbered.

DVD / 52 minutes

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Directed by Connie Field

Seven stories of the global anti-apartheid movement

Have You Heard From Johannesburg is seven documentary stories, chronicling the history of the global anti-apartheid movement that took on South Africa's entrenched apartheid regime and its international supporters who considered South Africa an ally in the Cold War.

7 DVDs / 393 minutes

LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSIE THE RIVETER, THE

Remastered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The U.S. entry into World War II created an unprecedented demand for new workers. Notions of what was proper work for women changed overnight. Thousands of posters and billboards appeared calling on women to "Do the Job He Left Behind." Rosie the Riveter was born -- the symbol of working women during World War II. Women found themselves doing "men's work" and they did it so well that production levels rose despite the military call-up of millions of male workers. When the war was over, Rosie wanted to stay. But neither the structure of the American economy nor the dominant view of women's place in society sustained such hopes.

DVD (Closed Captioned) / 65 minutes

WHISTLEBLOWER OF MY LAI, THE

The Whistleblower of My Lai tackles the concept of heroism, the definition of morality in wartime, and guilt both personal and national. The film follows the Kronos Quartet's production of Jonathan Berger and Harriet Chessman's opera My Lai, which takes at its heart the actions and life of the whistleblower who revealed the 1968 massacre by U.S. troops in Vietnam.

The massacre of over 500 innocent civilians by American soldiers in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968 was one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War. The events of that day may well have gone unnoticed save for the actions of a young army helicopter pilot who, by happenstance, witnessed the killing in the course of a routine reconnaissance flight. Appalled by what he saw, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson attempted to intercede. Aghast at his inability to stop the slaughter he reported the massacre to military high command thus putting the incident firmly in army records. In November 1969 Seymour Hersh broke the story in his Pulitzer Prize-winning expose, which shook the national conscience. Thompson's refusal to remain silent about the massacre forced the military to conduct an inquiry and trial.

Among the generation that came of age during the 1960's were four artists - "David Harrington of the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet, composer Jonathan Berger, novelist Harriet Scott Chessman, and singer Rinde Eckert - "on whose lives the Vietnam War and its controversy left an indelible mark. Out of this concern they created a new music opera, with musician Van-Anh Vo, that explores the tragedy of My Lai through the perspective of Thompson's naÃ¯ve, heroically idealistic, ethical decision to act, and its consequences. The creativity of this artistic collaboration brings a whole new dimension of understanding of the Vietnam War and of Hugh Thompson that one cannot get from a traditional historical documentary. The intensity of the libretto, the power of the unique music, the focus of a haiku encapsulation of a specific story captures the essence of the tragedy of that war.

DVD / 64 minutes

http://www.learningemall.com/News/Social_Documentary_202104.html

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thecineastes-blog · 7 years

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Grand Prix RPDR RuView: Material Gurlz (S06E06)

Dust off your vintage cone bra from the closet! For Grand Prix RPDR RuView, we’ll be giving you the overview of each episode, top moments of each episode, the shadiest moment of each episode, our favorite queen of the each episode, our least favorite queen of each episode, best looks on the runway, and our predictions for next week.

So the episode begins on a rather somber note. For the first time this season the lipstick farewell message was read aloud, Eureka’s was especially heartfelt. But all these warm feelings were cut short when Farrah asks Nina Bo’Nina a rather pointed question, “Do you even want to be here?” But before things could really get heated Shea defused the situation. Farrah’s question, however inappropriate for the moment is very valid. All we have heard from Nina is how she thinks people are trying to sabotage her.

One of the best moments of this season is Peppermint coming out as a Transgender Woman. I think Peppermint will be a great advocate for the Trans community. I am so happy she felt comfortable enough to live in her truth. Unlike instances in other seasons where a contestant has come out as Trans, this was taken more seriously and less for dramatic effect. Peppermint is a trans woman of color, who performs as a Drag Queen. She has spoken about how some Trans people are against Drag Queens and how some Drag Queens are combative with Trans people.

Now let’s get to what we have been waiting for this ENTIRE season (and no I don’t mean my intervention…) SNATCH GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! American Horror Story’s Dennis O’Hare and Drag legend Candis Cayne were the contestants on the show. I’m glad they chose some more animated guests, because the supermodels from last season were so boring.

Now I’ll just say this, Snatch Game has become the be all to end all for RPDR; this challenge separates the tops for the bottoms of the season. And most importantly, BE FUNNY! BUT just because someone bombs Snatch Game does not mean they will no win (Tyra Sanchez) and just because someone wins Snatch Game, does not mean they will even make it to top three (Tatianna and Stacy Layne Matthews).

So the queens (from best to worst):

Alexis Michelle as Liza Minnelli

I’m actually surprised that no one had never impersonated Liza before in all 9 nine seasons (and 2 All Stars Seasons) of the shows; though Mrs. Kasha Davis has said she would have done Liza for Snatch Game had she made it that far. Classically Liza is one of the major Gay icons that is rather shocking no one did yet (I’m still waiting for Judy Garland, Bette Midler, and Barbra Streisand). Alexis was definitely able to capture Liza’s funny manic personality. She was definitely one of the saving graces of the episode. I also recommend watching Liza Minnelli’s appearance on HSN from a few years that’s on YouTube.

Shea Couleé as Naomi Campbell

I was really hoping Shea was going to be Grace Jones. But Naomi is just as good! She was quick with the quips and had a great British accent. I just wished she threw that cellphone at someone! Now I want her and Raja (as Tyra Banks) to do some videos together.

Nina Bo’nina Brown as Jasmine Masters

It was rather fitting that Nina decided on RPDR alum Jasmine Masters. Nina was able to embody Jasmine’s dissonance and cold indifference. I hope the judges were able to see Nina in a different light after this episode.

Sashsa Velour as Marlene Dietrich

Sasha was very strong as Dietrich; she was able to give a funny, phony German accent (reminiscent of Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles). It would have nice to have some have some jokes about Marlene never having a German sausage she did not enjoy. And it is true, Teutonic Bisexuals do make the most forceful and unforgettable lovers.

Trinity Taylor as Amanda Lepore

Trinity did a good job as Amanda, but it was nothing groundbreaking. She asked where were Cynthia’s jokes...I wanted to ask Trinity the same thing.

Valentina as Miss Colombia

Valentina was humorous, even though the character was rather one note.

Aja as Alyssa Edwards

This was a swing and a miss. This seems to be the big unwritten rule of RPDR, DO NOT impersonate an alumni unless it is HILARIOUS; I think it was especially jarring since Nina as Jasmine Masters was so much more entertaining. I was hoping that Aja would have done Rosie Perez, or with the way, her makeup could have been Telenovela star, Itatí Cantoral. Itatí Cantoral would have been even that more overly dramatic and hilarious. Also, Aja’s second choice was Crystal LaBeija.

That would have been a great history lesson for everyone who is not aware of LaBeija, and how modern Ballroom culture owes so much to her.

Farrah Moan as Gigi Gorgeous

I had NO idea who Gigi was prior to this episode...and unfortunately, Farrah was dry as month old toast. There were no zingers, just a lot of her smiling and throwing makeup around.

Peppermint as Nene Leakes

As much as I love Peppermint, this was so hard to watch! Like in the earlier acting challenge, Pepper kept flubbing her lines. And We barely got ANY of Nene’s quips. This was a definite Xanadont.

Cynthia Lee Fontaine as Sofia Vergara

This is arguably the WORST Snatch Game performance in the show’s herstory. Cynthia was so scatterbrained; her long tangents were not funny, just torturous. I’m glad she was not called on much.

Fashion Over-Ru:

Category is Night of a 1,000 Madonnas-the sequel. I'm so glad they decided to do this runway again after #KimonoGate of the last season-although they technically had a celebrity inspired look in episode 1 with Lady Gaga. First up on the runway was Aja, in a look inspired by Madge’s Who’s That Gir Tour. It was kind of just a basic look, it lacked a lot of refinement and detail.

Also, I get that Aja doesn't (or rarely) pads or breasts, but I feel like she needed something to fill out the top portion of the dress-it looked a bit saggy and sad. Next up, Alexis Michelle as Breathless Mahoney from ‘Dick Tracey’. This look was flawless. Alexis can construct for the body, and she really looked identical to Madonna in that movie.

Twinsies? Next up was Peppermint as Madonna in ‘Material Girl’. I liked Peppermint’s gown and felt it was really true to the source material, but the hair made it too Marilyn Monroe. I would've gone for dirty blonde wig.

Next up was Shea Coulee...in the exact same look. Granted, Shea’s was more Shea- the black gloves and the jewels were different, also another platinum blonde Marilyn wig. These two looks were just okay. The next set of twins? Trinity and Nina Bo’Nina Brown Joan Hart, as Madonna a la the Met Gala circa 2013.

The pageboy dominatrix plaid no pants look (it was The Met Gala) was well executed by Trinity, very Tailored, although her bangs could've been an inch and a half longer (insert Trinity’s eye roll here). Nina’s look was more Nina, it was less structured and looser, with Nina’s signature breast plate and padding. I preferred Trinity’s but Nina’s was a B+ for me.

Sasha’s ‘Erotica’ look was well done but could've used a little finessing, had she added the tie and did a bra w/ padding than black pasties it would translated better.

Farrah’s SuperBowl 2012 look was spot on. It looked practically identical to Madonna’s. This look was, in my opinion, enough to compensate for her lackluster Snatch Game performance to at least save her from lip syncing.

Cynthia Lee Fontaine’s matador homage to Madonna’s Brit Awards 2015 look was good. Even her intentional slip and fall was spot on (even if it did make her look like runway roadkill). The only thing “wrong” with the look was her face, she contoured so darkly it read ‘beard’ on the runway.

Last up was Valentina as M on the cover of the Sex Book. It was naked to say the least, save for two black strips for censorship bars. This look was kind of genius, although according to the cut scenes, it looked like Valentina had a little, ahem, trouble with her lady bits.

So Peppermint and Cynthia are in the bottom two, and Peppermint shows her exceptional lip synching skills. She went in for the kill, and Cynthia was sent home packing. The best thing about Untucked, was seeing Nina’s mom.

Jonny’s Favorite Moments:

To Thine Own Self Be True: i’m really glad that Peppermint felt safe enough to tell everyone that she was Trans, and that everyone was so accepting. I really think she can the bridge that helps connect the Drag and Trans worlds.

It Takes a Village: In one of the deleted scenes pretty much everyone was trying to convince Aja to be Crystal LaBeija. I wish she had listened.

Jonny’s Favorite Shadiest Moments:

Make ‘em Laugh?: Trinity pretty much summed up this lackluster episode of Snatch Game, “Where are the jokes?!”

Dopplegangerland: WHY did this have to happen two years in a row? You should not have any duplicate looks on the mainstage! The producers should have made sure that all 13 contestants did not do the same Madonna look, even if they did not make to the Snatch Game episode. It’s Madonna, she has a million looks. I also tired of seeing these esoteric outfits she’s worn. Why has no one done “Like a Virgin” Madonna in a bridal gown?

Jonny’s Favorite Queen:

Alexis Michelle: her Liza was flawless and her Breathless Mahoney was even better. I would have also said Shea, but her and Peppermint going dutch on the same costume was unforgivable.

Jonny’s Least Favorite Queen:

Cynthia. These last few episodes, she’s been barely coasting. She was not suited for season 9.

Predictions:

Something else?

Anais’ Favorite Moments:

Original Sin: if another Queen has done a character in Snatch Game justice, don't do the same character. It was really a missed opportunity for Aja to do Alyssa when it had already been done (pretty well, I might add) by Violet Chachki when she could've done Crystal LaBeija. Also I was kind of bummed Charlie and Jaymes didn't make it Snatch Game so we could see their Joan Rivers and Rebel Wilson

How does this still happen?: Contestants should bring an extra look for runways like these just in case. (Also apparently Peppermint did? Why didn't you wear it, Pep???) There's really no excuse for two sets of identical queens with someone who has hundreds of iconic looks like Madonna. I could feel Michelle seething through the television.

Anais’s Favorite Shadiest Moments:

Laugh In: Trinity’s confessional spiel about “where are the jokes”- was the cherry on top of Cynthia’s Snatch Game train wreck.

All T, all shade: the PA’s and editors literally act as an extra shady queen. By grouping the two sets of twins to the added sound effects-I live for them.

Anais’s Favorite Queen:

Sasha Velour. I totally thought she was going to bomb Marlene Dietrich, but she was surprisingly funny.

Anais’s Least Favorite Queen:

Cynthia Lee Fontaine. I think she’s lovely and very nice but I feel like she's a queen that doesn't translate well to drag race.

Predictions:

No more celebrity runways! PLEASE.

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biofunmy · 5 years

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The Joy of Queer Parties: ‘We Breathe, We Dip, We Flex’

On a recent night on the dance floor at Elsewhere Bar in Brooklyn, the air was heavy with sweat, joy and sorrow. I’d seen someone bury their face in their hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs, and then, in what felt like seconds later, drop to the floor, behind bouncing, hands blurry with the tight micro-choreography of vogue.

In moments like this I think about the last line of the artist Sable Elyse Smith’s 2016 essay titled “Ecstatic Resilience.” It reads: “by taking a breath … by breathing … the club is a sanctuary for queer liberation.”

For many, in big cities and beyond, the club can exist as a rare space where we feel free from the responsibility of representation and the pressures of monetization. In 2019, the optics of gay liberation are paradoxical. Rainbow logos are everywhere: store windows, shopping bags, TV commercials, ride share applications, social media ads and Instagram hashtags.

The onslaught is relentless. Queerness has never been more visible, more trending and more in demand and yet, our lives and our livelihood feel extremely tenuous and fragile. Many queer communities are still struggling for basic rights and recognition.

The party itself is a breath, an essential timeout from the hyper-vigilance and chaos of being black and brown queer bodies who exist beyond the scope of majoritarian and normative expectations. Gay clubs and safe spaces have always offered a place for experiences and road-testing new looks, identity expressions, desires and orientations. And even though landmark and legacy gay bars and clubs are slowly disappearing all over America, the club lives on, in parties, on apps, and through spontaneous encounters.

Right now, there is an abundance of gay parties in New York City — Papi Juice, Yalla, Hot Rabbit, THEMbot, Bubble T, Homotown, Teaze, Femmepremacy, Truuu Party, Hot ’N Spicy and Set it Off — serving every intersection and identity expression. A friend calls it “getting a rinse.” Rinsing off the tragedy and drenching ourselves in a new, invigorating sensation or perspective.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, a landmark moment in the gay civil rights movement, and that lends a heightened lens on all that has changed for L.G.B.T.Q.A.I.+. in this country and all that has not.

On June 10, after an exuberant weekend of Pride parties and celebrations across the boroughs, people gathered in the rain to demonstrate for an investigation into the death of Layleen Polanco Xtravaganza, a 27-year-old woman found dead in her cell on Rikers Island earlier this month. She belonged to one of the most iconic communities in the black drag ball scene, the House of Xtravaganza. And tragically, heartbreakingly, her death was not singular. According to Human Rights Campaign, a leading L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. advocacy group, three black trans women have been killed in the United States, this month alone

In “We Are Everywhere: Protest Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation,” a new book of gay history, the authors Matthew Reimer and Leighton Brown write that in New York, at least, L.G.B.T.Q.A.I.+. bars have always functioned as “the central institution of queer life, serving as a social center and a crucible for politics” as far back as they can tell.

After the end of Prohibition in the 1930s, that legacy was cemented, as gay bars, social clubs and nightclubs emerged where queer people led gay renaissances around the boroughs.

But those newly forming spaces were, and many of the ones that still exist are, dominated by white-bodied cisgender men and cater to their experiences and comfort levels. Discriminatory dress codes and practices of so-called double carding — asking for two forms of identification — were rampant, as was charging people of color more for entry than white-bodied people in an effort to discourage them.

And if they made it inside, intimidation, harassment and threat of police raids loomed large. Bartenders could refuse service to gay customers, and anyone inside accused of “disorderly” or “immoral” conduct, like same-gender flirting, kissing or dancing, could be arrested. It was illegal for two men to dance together in New York until 1971.

The first season of “Pose,” a show about the ballroom scene — and so much more — set in the late 1980s, included a window into this experience in a heartbreaking scene in which Blanca, played exquisitely by MJ Rodriguez, endures transmisogynistic harassment for trying to integrate a downtown gay bar. That scene was filmed at Julius, a real bar in New York and one of the older sites of gay activism and patronage in the city.

The contemporary black ballroom scene has its origins in white exclusion. In Out Magazine, Mikelle Street traced it back to a camp beauty pageant in 1967, when Crystal Labeija, one of the scene’s most popular drag queens, placed third runner-up.

As she left the stage, she delivered a searing speech about racial discrimination in ballroom scene, an address so iconic that it has reverberated through time, and was recently referred to on an episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” After that, Ms. Labeija and a friend began throwing black-only balls, creating an inheritance that is treasured and celebrated to this day.

Gerard H. Gaskin, a Trinidadian photographer who documented the contemporary ballroom scene, captured intimate images of gay gatherings that breathe and perspire on the page.

In an interview with AfroPunk, Mr. Gaskin said these gatherings are not limited to New York. “This happens at night in small halls in cities all over the country,” he said. “These photographs show us different views of these spaces as they are reflected in the eyes of house and ball members who perform what they wish these cities could be.”

At the Lesbian Herstory Archives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, a hand-drawn map shows where black lesbians met in Harlem, defunct places with promising names like Zambezie Bar, the Zodiac Club, Mahogany and Tubby’s.

Several names are on the map, too, suggesting homes were nexuses for gatherings. Shawn Smith-Cruz, an archivist at Lesbian Herstory Archives, told me that in those days “the very act of attending and being in the space was the penultimate goal.”

The club is not bound to a specific place. It can’t be. Time, gentrification and predatory business practices have kept the club on the move, and not bound to a single venue or neighborhood. Spaces are queered by the bodies that congregate there and the politics that they bring en masse.

The Bklyn Boihood collective hosts events and gatherings that center queer and trans people of color. Despite the popularity and demand for Boihood parties, the ability to erect the club is extremely vulnerable and tenuous: organizers burn out, or a neighborhood gentrifies and spaces are forced to close. The parties that existed 10, five, even a few months ago in New York aren’t happening anymore, according to Ryann Holmes, one of Boihood’s founders.

That is what happened a few years ago with the Starlite Lounge in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the oldest black-owned gay bar in New York.

Mx. Holmes is also one of the organizers of a monthly summer party called Joy, which they started three years ago with a good friend, Maria Garcia, a D.J. who goes by Rimarkable, as both a memorial and a wake for the people killed at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

The event was intended to be a one-off. The organizers named the gathering Joy for what they hoped it would provide for people in mourning. They estimated 50 or so people would come. More than 200 showed up.

“People had gone through so much. The energy was through the roof,” Rimarkable recalled. She also felt it was important to hold daytime events, in a nod to the afternoon parties, called tea dances, that have been a staple of gay culture for several decades. And the parties are often intergenerational, with queer youth and elders alike sharing space.

But Joy faces the same threat as its forebears, as the number of black-owned spaces dwindles, and the venues that remain aren’t always eager to host large gatherings of black people on a regular basis. Mx. Holmes is working toward buying a venue to liberate themselves from that problem.

The club can also be a site for shaping cultural change within communities. “We can’t just say this is a safe space,” Mx. Holmes said. “We have to actually make it safe for people to come and enjoy themselves.”

That includes educating security staff on how to interact with nonbinary bodies and what to do when a person’s name may not match what is on government-issued identification. The parties center nonwhite bodies, as the desire for proximity to queerness and blackness has intensified over the last few years, and they both honor the need and desire to protect the sanctimony of spaces. Some party organizers offer cab fare to partygoers who may feel safer avoiding public transportation late at night.

The club also functions as a living archive, from the music that is played to the people who show up to celebrate each other and be celebrated. I saw a recent set by Rimarkable that only included house tracks and classic disco songs — an ode to the black origins of house music, born on the South Side of Chicago, and techno, with roots in Detroit. “This music is also our legacy,” Rimarkable said.

The gay bars that existed when I was a younger adult in New York didn’t feel welcoming to me, and when I went, I was often one of few people of color, and never felt desire or desired. Angela Dimayuga, a chef and rising star on the New York food scene, felt the same way.

“I’ve been here 13 years, and I’ve never gone to gay bars,” Ms. Dimayuga said. “They all felt divey and not for me.”

When Ms. Dimayuga was hired by the Standard Group as its creative director of food and culture in May, she took over the event coordination and hired Candace Williams to work alongside her as the programming and night life director.

The two of them wanted to create a feeling for a space that they felt was lacking in downtown Manhattan, and they transformed the bar in the bottom of the East Village Standard into a gay bar named No Bar.

Most spaces accommodate queer people but aren’t designated that way. They are made queer by the bodies that congregate within them, en masse. With No Bar, Ms. Dimayuga was determined to put her queer community first.

The tension between activism and capitalism has inspired the creation of a Queer March, by a coalition determined to reclaim pride in the spirit of Stonewall with a march that exists beyond the scope of commercial floats and heavy police presence that define the traditional NYC Pride March.

“With more of a presence in society comes more of a need to exert our sociopolitical power,” Raquel Willis, the executive editor of Out magazine, wrote in a recent article. No matter what commercial trends tell us, being out and open is still a privilege and a luxury. And we will always need safe spaces.

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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masksandmasquesbeautyblog · 6 years

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Makeup Questions & Answers

Question Everything

How do young Black Brown Tan and Beige girls/children learn about Culturally Significant Benchmarks throughout the history of the world and History of Multicultural/ People of Color/ Women Icons/Iconoclasts and their cultural significance?

I had the opportunity to ask a group of Black Brown Tan and Beige theater kids {between 12 - 25 years old} 2 questions.

What would you want to learn in a makeup class with Getmade

Are you familiar with Multicultural Beauty /Makeup Brands and the Creators/Owners?

Just the facts, Ma'am.

The responses to the first question were exactly what I expected. They wanted to know how to choose correct colors, where can multicultural brands and products be acquired and application techniques for regular life and theater. There were a few specifically asking about Horror and Special Effects.

These wants are precisely what I have been plotting hoping and planning to address.

Color Me Motivated

The response to the second question were quite disappointing and considerably MORE inspirational, simultaneously. This situation is similar to the Schrödinger’s cat conundrum.

I expected that they would be familiar with the brands that specifically created/designed their products & advertising & supporting actions to Multicultural Persons, with darker and deeper skin tones, are more readily available, are affordable for the average consumer; as well as promoting individual self confidence, self awareness and self love. Of course these children, with their smartphones and immediate instant access to the Matrix, would know about these Nationally sold, advertised and available products.

Yet, THey. Did.Not

Not one knew who Iman is. They did not know they could get makeup made for them, by a woman [an ICON] that looks like them. Not one knew about Black Opal having a skin care line.

Not one heard about Cover Girl Queen, Queen Latifah or the My Black is Beautiful movement. I hoped, At least they would know Janelle Monae. They did not.

They did, however, know about Kylie Jenner and M.A.C. [insert audible exhale indicative of heartbroken frustration]

These children have never heard, read or identified with the words; Black Opal celebrates the nuances of black skin, in color, identity and empowerment.

They have no notion that Black Radiance has always been on the Black Beauty Matters, agenda.

If these girls/children don’t know about the National Brands, then they most assuredly would not know about the New New League and Next Evolution of Beauty, Grooming and Cosmetics brands that are made by Persons of Color for Persons of Color and Owned by Persons of Color.

I am still shaking my head; how will these Black Brown Tan and Beige girls learn about the Benchmarks, Timeline and History of Black Brown Tan and Beige Icons/Iconoclasts and their cultural significance? How do they Not know who and what Iman has been and created? How do these young people NOT know about Vanessa Bell Calloway, Queen Latifah, Grace Jones, Geoffrey Holder, Alek Wek, Bethanne Hardison, Nichelle Nichols, Vera Moore, Celia Cruz, Eartha Kitt ?

How will they know where they can go, if they do not see where they came from?

If only there would be an opportunity for a Multicultural Makeup Artist [with syllabus and course descriptions already drafted] to create and put on a series of of substantive events, classes and seminars designed for Persons of Color that would be providing content that is more educational/informational than color swatches and full face product holy grail makeup demos.

No shade or disrespect to holy grail makeup demos.

#imancosmetics

#blackopalcosmetics

#blackradiance

#covergirlqueen

#earthakitt

#iconoclasts

#veramoore

#benchmarks

#melanin

#makeupforwoc

#history

#herstory

#evolution

#melaninated

#mfmg

#blkopal

#findyourshade

#mbib

#myblackisbeautiful

#iman

#vanessabellcalloway

#queen latifah

#benchmarks #plainjanebeauty #vanessabellcalloway #myblackisbeautiful #blackopalcosmetics #blackradiance #mbib #covergirlqueen #ugetmade #beautyblogger #masksandmasques bblogger beauty

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njawaidofficial · 6 years

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32 Pictures That Will Shock You At How Much The World Has Changed In Five Years

https://styleveryday.com/32-pictures-that-will-shock-you-at-how-much-the-world-has-changed-in-five-years/

32 Pictures That Will Shock You At How Much The World Has Changed In Five Years

2013 vs. 2018 is a wild ride.

J.Law took a tumble on her way to picking up her Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Also, her chopped-off look made major headlines!

Rob Kim / Getty Images

Taylor Swift towered over Bruno Mars at the VMAs (dying @ all the people in the audience staring at them).

Rick Diamond / Getty Images

Taylor ALSO brought an up-and-coming artist by the name of Ed Sheeran on her Red Tour.

Anna Webber

Ellen checked out Katy Perry’s……………..hemming.

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

Kim Kardashian wore THIS iconic number to the 2013 Met Gala while pregnant with North, spawning a million jokes (in our opinions it’s an iconic look, don’t @ us).

Larry Busacca / Getty Images

The Kids’ Choice Awards were a good enough reason for Kylie Jenner to leave Calabasas.

Mark Davis / Getty Images

Adele and Beyoncé chit-chatted at the Grammys, and TBH we are all the woman in the red dress in the background excitedly watching every second of the conversation.

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

Britney Spears and Katy Perry at a Smurfs 2 screening. This is herstory being made, people!

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

You may now know her as the Queen of Twitter (whether she wants to admit it or not) but in 2013, Chrissy Teigen like the rest of us just wanted to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Rob Kim / Getty Images

Lady Gaga showed up to the AMAs on a human mechanical horse. 2013 was weird.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

A reminder this was the Artpop album cycle — maybe we can forget the era, but still bop to the iconic album.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

Here you are witnessing a rare moment of peace between then-American Idol judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, with Randy Jackson in the middle, DAWG!

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Before there was Beychella, Yoncé brought out her Destiny’s Child bandmates to her ICONIC Super Bowl performance.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images

And Bey even performed for President Barack Obama’s second swearing in.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Justin Bieber was every bit the big-name pop star, just with a few less tattoos.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Before he contributed to the Trolls soundtrack, Justin Timberlake reunited with his NSYNC bandmates for his VMAs Vanguard performance.

Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images

Also, Miley Cyrus’ VMAs performance. Need we say more?

Rick Diamond / Getty Images

Rihanna cheered on her favorite athlete, LeBron James, courtside while he was still a member of the Miami Heat.

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

Margot Robbie got her big Hollywood break, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Michael Loccisano / Getty Images

X Factor judge Demi Lovato posed with Fifth Harmony (all contestants on the show) at a Topshop event in some very 2013 lewks.

John Sciulli / Getty Images

Game of Thrones besties Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams looked absolutely ADORABLE posing together on the red carpet. Our little Starks have grown up!

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Duchess Kate popped out her firstborn Prince George…she’s since welcomed TWO more children!

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Oscar Isaac wasn’t yet a hot-shot Star Wars pilot — he was still an indie darling!

Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images

Emma Watson was moving on from her Hermione Granger days, celebrating the premiere of The Bling Ring.

Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

One Direction were still five members strong (AND showing up to the Teen Choice Awards).

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Nick Jonas posed with Donald Trump at the Miss USA pageant.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Anne Hathaway was…blonde.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

Audrina Patridge and Zendaya (random pairing LOL) posed at a 7/11 Day event with their free Slurpees…we’re wondering what flavors they picked?!

Charley Gallay / Getty Images

Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson promoted Captain America: Winter Soldier at Comic Con. Somehow, five years later, we STILL don’t have a Black Widow solo movie.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

And THIS is what Tom Holland looked like a few years prior to slinging webs on the big screen!

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

And finally, before she was snatching wigs, Ariana Grande was celebrating her birthday on the set of her Nickelodeon show.

Araya Diaz / Getty Images

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lipsyncforyourlife · 2 years

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Bosco's Favorite Villains + "The Daytona Wind" Recap (Issue #7)

The RuPaul's Drag Race Official Newsletter

In this week’s newsletter, we air out “The Daytona Wind,” reflect on a life-changing Untucked, and share an exclusive interview with Bosco. Don’t forget to subscribe so you can stay tuned for all of the latest Drag Race updates!

Well, that was a gas! In “The Daytona Wind,” Drag Race’s latest acting challenge pulled one over on this talented cast of queens, making them unknowing participants in what is surely the longest fart joke in the show’s herstory. It all leads to a surprising Lip Sync For The Win between two underdogs and an Untucked that leaves not a single dry eye in the house. My name’s Cameron Scheetz, and it’s an honor to guide you through the latest from this ridiculous, touching, and extremely gay show. Let’er rip!

The Set-Up

The previous week’s critiques (and lack thereof) bubbled over to the top of the episode, with the still-safe Daya Betty not holding back her feelings about Jorgeous’ win for “a piece of fabric.” This sent Jorgeous on the defense (“If you’re so mad, do better!), as her sister’s complaints clearly undercut her winning moment. The next day, Daya came to the Werk Room with an apology, but the all-too-familiar sound of the “shade rattle” hinted that not everyone was buying it.

All of the theatrics dovetailed wonderfully with the week’s Maxi: A group acting challenge called “The Daytona Wind,“ a southern-fried tip of the hat to the soapy melodramas of the ‘80s, particularly RuPaul’s favorite, Dynasty. Kerri—again, the MVP of confessionals—laid it all out, explaining the logistics of the challenge: The “mother” roles are the strongest with the most lines, while smaller roles leave a lot of room for creativity and can therefore steal the show. The design challenge winner was given the opportunity to assign the parts, and Saint Jorgeous did so courteously, allowing each girl to speak up for the role they wanted to play (except for DeJa, that is, who eyed the same one as Jorgeous). That left the slow-reading Lady Camden with the final, unwanted character, but the queen shared she had professional acting training, so we’re not really sweating for her.

After some Werk Room rehearsals, the gals got to set where Director Ru imparted the wisdom of Joan Collins: “Acting isn’t about feelings, acting is all about your camera angle!” In front of the camera, some of the girls got tripped up by the thicc script (Angeria, DeJa), some found fun avenues into their characters (Willow and Daya as blonde bimbos, Bosco as Alexis Carrington Colby by-way-of Reba McEntire), and some… well, I don’t know what the hell Jasmine Kennedie was doing, but girl, I am living! Ru’s note to the cast to include pauses and drag their words out read as strange on set, but never doubt Mama Ru—she’s got something cookin’!

The Looks

On the day of the runway, the queens checked in with one another after filming their soap, and the category—Chaps? On The Runway???—inspired a tangent about San Francisco’s kinky Folsom Street Fair (“Bitch, I want to go to the fair!,” said Angeria). After the gals laced up, it was time to hit the catwalk.

First out was Willow, whose atomic wedgie/Atomic Blonde leather look has got to be one of the more ingenious concepts to hit the runway this season. Bosco continued to show her versatility with a sexy, dusty pink Rock of Love reject, while Kerri served fringe of a different breed, stunning in a garment made of hand-dyed human hair. Jorgeous missed the chaps memo, but gave more shape than usual in a lacy showgirl look, and DeJa was similarly body-forward, her curves looking right in a blue cheetah-print piece. Angeria sparkled in a Solid Gold disco bodysuit, Jasmine surprised in a quirky nod to high school graduation, and Daya brought it as a CE-hOe look that was decidedly not Crystal Methyd. And then Lady Camden gave us a complete heart attack with a Willy Wonka-esque fakeout tumble that revealed a glam-rock ode to Freddie Mercury, complete with the iconic mustache.

The Challenge

With all the girls on the main stage, it was time for them to watch “The Dayona Wind” to find out if they passed with flying colors—they sure passed something, alright! As Ru revealed, the original edit had a whiff of something off, so she took matters into her owns hand and gave us “The Daytona Wind: RuPaul’s Director Cut”—now with more farts! Suddenly the dramatic pauses in acting, the many lines referencing smells and sounds, and the titular wind made sense: It was all about farts! The whole thing reeked of (in a good way) the classic “Rake Effect” bit from The Simpsons, where a funny gag is beat again and again and again, pushing it past tired to the point of delirious comic absurdity. As DeJa would later note in Untucked, that was one of the better acting challenges the show’s ever pulled off, and I have to agree! Some of the girls showcased better acting chops or stronger character work than others, but no one was completely overwhelmed by the challenge. I also love that we got to watch them experience the surprise flatulence firsthand with the show often cutting to the queens in laughing fits on the stage. I can’t stop thinking about Kerri’s reaction: “Now y’all know damn well I didn’t fart!”

The Critiques

Activist/actress/entrepreneur/movie star/all-around ICON Ts Madison returned to the show this week and, my goodness, was it wonderful to see her again. Drag Race is elevated by her mere presence, and it’s such a gift to have her not only on the Judge’s Panel, but also acting alongside the queens in “The Daytona Wind,” and again later in Untucked. We can never get enough of her.

In a bit of a shocker, Ru announced that DeJa Skye, Kerri Colby, and Angeria Paris VanMicheals were safe. After the queens had a chance to catch their breath, it was revealed that the remaining six were all in the top this week and that no one would be sent packing—hallelujah! Jorgeous and Jasmine both felt vindicated, having struggled in past challenges that required them to act, and Daya was ecstatic to finally be on that stage again, the judges deeming this “the week that Daya showed up!” It’s enough to put her in the top two opposite Lady Camden who wowed the judges with a performance that was somehow both heightened and believably real (“Maxiiiiiiiiine!”). As Michelle later noted in deliberations, Lady’s acting abilities are far beyond what they usually see on Drag Race.

In their Lip Sync For The Win, both queens brought an infectious energy to Blondie’s “One Way Or Another.” Daya went punk with a rocker chick routine, but Lady Camden ultimately edged her out with a performance that can best be described as “Freddie Mercury meets a ballerina meets a velociraptor.” It was pure theatricality, and it scored Lady her first win of the season, making her something of a dark horse to watch out for in the competition. Brava, Lady!

Burning Questions

Save Room For Dessert

With no elimination this past week, that means we’ve still got 9 girls, 8 chocolate bars, and 1 gold bar in the running. For a second there—thanks in part to Kornbread’s surprise departure—it felt like we were flying through this cast far too quickly, but this episode set things back on track, especially since we still have half of the season to go (and, again, performances were pretty strong across the board this week, so it would’ve be tough to see another queen cut loose). Though we can’t help but wonder: Where is that gold bar? Do we see it sooner than later, or will it come into play right down to the wire? We may have another non-elimination week in our near future.

Camgeria Lives!

The Lady Camden and Angeria Paris Van Micheals ‘shippers were fed this week after a few episodes of radio silence. Lady may have been stuck with the role seemingly no one wanted, but, as it turned out, that meant she and Angeria would get to kiss on camera (this revelation in rehearsal was ultimately a spoiler for “The Daytona Wind’s” final lesbian twist). There actually isn’t any lip-locking in Ru’s director’s cut, but the two do get mighty close, which warmed my heart. Is the Camgeria spark still alive?

Hidden Messages

Speaking of Lady Camden, I noticed that Season 14 promo video appears to have hinted at her fake-out tumble on the runway this week (her look even comes complete with a cane—with a mustache on it!) Look, if Taylor Swift taught us anything, it’s that anything and everything can be riddled with clues. So, are there more hidden messages to be found in the video? Take a look for yourself, and let me know. Happy hunting!

Next Week: Tuned In

In the teaser, Ru tells the dolls they’ll be performing “a brand new retro hit” for the next Maxi Challenge. From the looks of it, Angeria is hitting all the right notes, while Bosco struggles. A glimpse at critiques finds Michelle tossing out the much-dreaded “you’re not standing out” note to a queen, and it’s possible some Werk Room drama is stirring between Jasmine and Kerri. Could it be true, or is this just another well-edited “super tease”? Plus, the charming Alec Mapa stops by for the first time since… season two??? It’s been too long, Alec!

The Other Half Of The Story

Normally I reserve this section to run down a list of Untucked’s most notable moments, but this week’s edition was so emotional and so moving, that I don’t think a couple of bullet-points could do it justice.

When the girls expressed their relief that Kerri, DeJa, and Angeria (a.k.a. the aunties of the group) were safe, the conversation turned to this cast’s especially strong bond and how difficult it’s been for them to be away from their usual support systems. Ts Madison walked in at just the perfect moment to share her journey of acceptance with her own mother, and how she regrets shutting her out through her transition. The two have since mended their relationship, and their bond has grown stronger because of it, underlining just how crucial family support can be for those in the LGBTQ+ community. Jasmine then shared the impact COVID has had on her career, confessing how difficult it’s been to even keep food on the table, to which Ts replies, “God gave you the gift of drag—you take your gifts and you flip that around. You know, we go through hard times, we fall down, but we don’t stay down.” She is everything.

After Ts left, DeJa asked the group if any of them had considered transitioning. Bosco said she’s considered it, especially living through the pandemic where she had to go through a full year “without” Bosco, who allows her to feel “gender euphoria.” Recently the queen took to social media to announce that she is trans (her pronouns out of drag are she/they) and the happiest she’s ever been, and it’s really powerful to hear that the love of her boyfriend and the support of her sisters has enabled her to live freely and comfortably in her truth.

It’s then that Jasmine works up the courage to admit, “I don’t know where I’m at right now.” She was planning to start hormones prior to Drag Race, but felt too scared to make the leap. It took seeing Kerri Colby and how confidently she carries herself to affirm what Jasmine’s been feeling her whole life. In that moment, she acknowledges that she is Trans and can’t lie about it anymore. She commits herself to starting therapy, starting hormones, and working to get herself to a place where she wants to be after filming wraps. In response, Kerri says the following:

“The energy that you need, you hold in yourself. You don’t have to look outside yourself to find that. Because the woman that you are is housed within you. And the fact that you had the strength to bring that forward is the affirmation that you were needing to push yourself into who you’re going to be. When you know what you need, go and get that. You owe it to yourself to be happy, and to live your life as the human being that you want to be. That puts the “T” in the LGBTQ—it is a family.”

This is the power of representation. This is what can happen when queer people are given the space to live in their truth. Thank you to Kerri Colby for being such a source of inspiration, and major respect to Jasmine Kennedie, Bosco, and Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté for finding the courage to share their own journeys with us throughout this season. We’re in awe of the spirit of all of these queens.

The Serve-ey w/ Bosco

Each week, we’ll get to learn more about one of the queens of season 14 when they take our brief questionnaire, a.k.a. The Serve-ey. They’ll all get the same six questions, and then we’ll throw in one final “wildcard” question just for fun. This week: The demon queen with a heart of gold, it’s our exclusive interview with Bosco!

1. In keeping with the season promo’s board game theme: What was your favorite game growing up and why?

Oh, I kind of hated board games growing up—that was not my moment. I did love a good card game though. And then, as far as video games go, I was a huge Legend Of Zelda fan for a very long time, and I think I played like every release since I was like six or seven? So I love Zelda. My favorite is for sure Breath Of The Wild, which is one of the most recent ones. But the one that I started with was Ocarina Of Time [for Nintendo 64]. Because I’m old! [Laughs.]

I think it kind of makes sense that you love Breath Of The Wild—which is this big, open adventure game—but don’t like board games, which usually come with a very specific set of rules. Am I reading too much into this?

Maybe that, or maybe I’m just too dumb. [Laughs.] Too dumb to lose myself in something that requires imagination, and I just need, like, nonstop stimulus to enjoy myself.

2. How would you say the city you’re from helped define your drag?

Well, Seattle’s definitely home for me. Like, I’ve never felt like I belonged in a city quite as much as I do when I’m Seattle. I came up in the scene here. I learned how to do drag from celebrity impersonators here—because I used to be a backup dancer for them—and then I started going to club kid parties with the skills that I learned from the celebrity illusionists, and that’s kind of how I ended up finding Bosco. She’s kind of like the middle ground between those two worlds for me.

But I’ve always lived in landlocked places before, so being close to the ocean really was something for me. I mean, I’m from Montana, and I don’t think there even is a gay bar—still—in the entire state. But then I moved here and there’s an entire community of queer people, and I just fell in love like immediately.

I love hearing that there were these really well-defined scenes in Seattle: The celebrity illusionists, the club kids—who were some of the earliest performers in those space that you remember being drawn to?

There’s kind of two that represent the two different sides for me. The celebrity illusionist—who is still my favorite drag queen in the world and does the majority of my hair, and the majority of my hair for Drag Race—is Kaleena Markos. She’s the best drag queen in the entire world. At the time she was the Nicki Minaj impersonator, but, like, she does everything. She is the best drag queen to ever exist, and I adore her. And then, on the club kids side, Arson Nicki was the first person who ever booked me, and I started doing drag at her parties. She’s just a cool, incredible person who is incredible at drag.

3. With this season’s candy bar twist—

[Makes a sad trombone noise.] I want to give all of my prize money to the person who picked that sound effect. [Laughs.] I swear to god, I’ll be watching [the episode] in the club, watching my friends’ hearts break, and then that sound comes on and I start laughing! Who did that?

[Laughs.] Right! That’s what’s Emmy-worthy right there. But, with that twist, I’m curious: If you were a piece of candy, what kind would you be and why?

Hm. My, like, stupid drag queen answer is, “A 100 Grand Bar because I’m gonna win, diva!” [Laughs.] I want to do that! Yaaaaas. No, but I don’t want to do that. Let’s go with Reese’s because they’re my favorite, I love them—you just can’t go wrong. But the 100 Grand Bar answer is funny, it’s just too “slay,” too “yaaas” for me at this moment.

4. What can you tell us about your “confessional” interview look? How did you decide what to wear? What do you think it says about your style out of drag?

I feel like my confessional look is really funny because people keep on tagging me in pictures of people they think I look like. There’s the landlord lady from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt [Carol Kane]—people tell me I look like her because of it. There’s Lindsay Lohan’s mom in Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen [Glenne Headly]. And I think I kind of looked like Miss Frizzle—like Mx Frizzle—from The Magic School Bus.

I don’t know, I wear chokers very, very often. I like having my hair up. And I was wearing a crop top, but I think they wanted a little bit of color, so I put on the button-up. I didn’t really go too much into thinking about what I was going to wear for this. And I think they wanted me to be the laidback Seattle grunge queen anyway, so I think I delivered.

I also had to laugh in the “Pair Of Balls” episode, when your premiere gets assigned animal prints, you’re like, “And I love animal prints!” It was like, “yeah, no kidding.”

Yeah! It was like, “I’m dropping hints that I want animal print.” [Laughs.]

5. What’s a fun fact you can share about one of your season 14 sisters that might surprise the fans?

I’m going to give you a twofer because it’s a fact about somebody, but it’s a fact about a lot of us. And that is that Lady Camden was our professional “smut peddler” in the hotel. She brought a DVD player and several porn DVDs, and she would have them, like, renting out to the girls. So, by the end of filming, I think everybody had seen what was on the DVDs—including Maddy! And there was a very spectacular Cirque du Soleil kitchen sink moment that we would like to reference a lot on stage. Impressive! The flexibility? Wow.

6. Here’s a chance to shout out another drag performer, designer, hair & makeup artist, etc… who really helped inspire you or prepare you for your journey on Drag Race. We perhaps already touched on a few of them when we were talking about Seattle.

Definitely. So, to bring her back up: Kaleena Markos, for sure. My Achilles’ Heel is I don’t know how to style hair particularly well. Like, I can straighten a wig, and that’s about it. She is the hair wizard that allowed me to look like I knew what I was doing with hair. Definitely want to give a shout out to Lucy Lips who was kind of like my pragmatic little organizer friend that helped me organize all the designs that I was working on, helped me with hand sewing, helped me with bedazzling things. She was definitely the brains of the operation while I was running around, crying, nervous and poor. And then, probably my friend Irene DuBois. She is just a lovely, lovely human being who is wildly talented, and who I’ve come up in the scene with. And I think we both learned a lot from each other and informed each other’s drag. So Irene, too, for sure.

And who can we credit for the lovely rattail on the blue wig from your Glamazon Primetime runway?

Oh, fun fact: That was not Kaleena—that was my friend Jackson Brown, who is another great hairstylist, who did that particular wig. Jackson Brown used to be the Cher impersonator that I used to dance for. So, it’s all in the family!

And for that [look] I’d been looking at what I’d worn up until that point, and I was like, “Okay, they get it—you do villainous stuff. If you wear black and red one more time, they’re gonna open the trapdoor on your ass!” [Laughs.] And those [pants] the most heinous sound on the runway you could ever imagine. It’s like, “SWISH, SWISH, SWISH.” So it’s dead silence and the judges are just telling puns at me and then the stupid swishing of those pants. [Laughs.]

7. Wildcard: Your drag pulls a lot of inspiration from villains and horror in general. Who are some of your favorite villains in pop culture?

Yeah, for sure. I’m a huge anime fan, so I’m, like, a huge nerd that’s never going to have any friends. But there’s so many villains from anime—I really, really got into Castlevania when that first came out, and that informs a lot of my eyebrow choices. So that’s Dracula. I love all the monsters—vampires, the werewolves, the witches—all that’s really, really good to me. Oh! And Kate Beckinsale in Underworld—full cultural reset for me: Anti-hero, black Spanx, just everything about her everything about her.

Oh, deeply iconic, absolutely. But these monsters and villains—it’s been much discussed that these are characters so many queer people are drawn to, even from a young age. What’s your take on their queer appeal?

Well, I feel like this is a discussion that much smarter people than me have had. But there’s always been a lot of queer coding in villains—like, your Disney villains, comic book villains. There’s a sense of otherness and a sense of monstrosity that’s like tied to queerness historically. And I obviously feel a connection to that when I see these types of characters, and a lot of queer people do, too. Like, there’s a really huge horror following in the queer community. And I think it’s because a lot of us are able to connect with that otherness that’s being displayed. Just like, “Oh no, I’m rooting for that person!” But also villains had the best costumes and best theme songs, so, yeah, you gotta love them.

And, before we go, I want to take a second to congratulate you on coming out last week. It’s huge, and I’m sure you felt the love and support from your fans and sisters. I also noticed how that announcement seemed to coincide with your last-ever shift as a barista—

Yes, it was a very silly, fun weekend of things. I mean, I got to like travel outside of Seattle and perform outside of Seattle in drag for the first time this weekend. It was a really, really fun, wild weekend of firsts—and lasts, I suppose. Hopefully! If you see me in a coffee shop in a year from now, you mind your fucking business! I don’t want to hear it, okay? [Laughs.]

The Looks You Didn't See

It’s practically tradition that eliminated queens will take to social media to show off the stunning looks they didn’t use on the runway. Every week, we’ll reserve this space to shout out our favorite “unseen looks.“

✨Maddy Morphosis✨

@MaddyMorphosis

YEE, (and i cannot stress this enough) HAW https://t.co/K3ZzLqQghe

10:11 PM - 18 Feb 2022

Well, howdy pard'ner! Maddy Morphosis moseyed on into town with this wonderful rootin’ tootin’ cow(boy/girl/person) look, and—there will be no mistaking—she’s definitely wearing chaps. There’s a lot of fun Western details here, but those pink, plus-size chaps 100% steal the show. Also don’t miss: Orion Story‘s prickly cactus chaps and June Jambalaya’s sexy snakeskin look from designer Domingo Cholula.

Gagatrondra! It's The Tweets Of The Week

We wrap up every newsletter with a rundown of some of our favorite reaction tweets of the week, so use #DragRace and you may find yourself here!

shookdrag on IG

@vivalasdrag

Our Trans Icons of Season 14 🏳️‍⚧️ #DragRace https://t.co/8Q5eQrxMO9

10:14 PM - 18 Feb 2022

lucas

@lucasisbasic

the doors she opened #DragRace https://t.co/z1SxOQYtQB

9:08 PM - 18 Feb 2022

live laugh lily

@omgheylily

lady camden’s runway was an emotional rollercoaster holy shit #dragrace https://t.co/T755JKhZLe

8:58 PM - 18 Feb 2022

@heresbosco

laughing bosco w/ coffee for serotonin boost #dragrace https://t.co/0Sv7p1MF45

8:37 PM - 18 Feb 2022

Want More?

It’s the “Alt Girl Realness” edition of The Pit Stop with the lovely Adore Delano joining Monét X Change to talk the art of the fart and the wild days of Tumblr porn. Watch the episode below:

The Pit Stop S14 E07 | Monét X Change & Adore Delano Get Soapy | RuPaul’s Drag Race

Follow RuPaul's Drag Race On Social

Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • TikTok • Facebook

#RuPaul's Drag Race #Newsletter #Bosco #The Daytona Wind #Nintendo #Nintendo Switch #The Legend of Zelda #Breath of the Wild

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omnivore-bibliosaur · 6 years

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I’m on the tail end of my vacation and I am definitely not ready to get back to work. Last week I visited San Francisco on a week-long road trip down the West coast. It’s been on my fantasy list of places to visit for most of my life. The closest I had ever been prior was a camping trip in the Redwoods 8 years ago and vicariously through my older sister’s high school year book trip. I have a lifetime of pop culture-colored glasses and history stored up in my mind. You’d think that could be the recipe for a major let-down. Reality versus fantasy. The only disappointment I experienced was my lack of time to explore all of the nooks and crannies. I’ll return someday and go on that drag queen historian tour while munching on some savory sourdough!

Being the super bookworm that I am, I made the requisite pilgrimage to the iconic City Lights Bookstore. Perched on the edge of Chinatown, it occupies an unassuming space. Inside, two floors of bookshelves line hardwood floor with the occasional postcard. Downstairs I found my vacation date (to pair up with the 3-4 other books I brought on the trip ‘cuz you never know what you will be in the mood for on any one day): Wild Mares by Dianna Hunter.

Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land Life shares author Dianna Hunter’s lesbian farm life and activism from the 1960s-1980s. She acknowledges the vagaries of memory don’t always leave crystal clear recollections; so she checks in with friends, family, correspondence and diary entries, and others to square up details of events. I love memoirs and biographies of queer women. Their everyday lived experiences, activism, and careers captivate me. I guess you could say I’m very nosy, but I think it’s just my appreciation for the countless, and often anonymous folks, whose lives made it a difference for how the world looks today. If not for these kinds of memoirs, I wouldn’t necessarily have heard about certain feminist and queer organizations in Minnesota; lesbian publications like So’s Your Old Lady; and farms with names like Haidiya Farm, Rising Moon, and Happy Hoofer Farm, products of the back-to-the-land feminist movements.

Hunter’s memoir pulled me in even more so because she illuminates lesbian community outside of major coastal hubs like Los Angeles and New York. Having grown up in a small county, I enjoy connecting with novels like Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller and author Catherine Friend’s memoir about raising sheep in Minnesota, Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Farm (2006). Ivan Coyote’s storytelling and Lucas Crawford’s poetry collection Sideshow Concessions feature small-town life in Canada. All of these titles are hard to put down and imprint you forever after the final page. If you have any suggestions for lesbian herstory, historical fiction, and queer life in small and rural areas, please let me know in the comments below. I have one related book on the back burner, Queering the Countryside: New Frontiers in Rural Queer Studies (2016), edited by Mary L. Gray, Colin R. Johnson, and Brian J. Gilley. An important project, Country Queers, gathers contemporary stories of queer country life in the United States.

Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land Life by Dianna Hunter University of Minnesota Press, 2018 Join the conversation on Goodreads!

Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land Life – review I'm on the tail end of my vacation and I am definitely not ready to get back to work.

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lingxij-blog · 6 years

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Blog entry Nov 8th

Brooklyn Museum

Another museum I have never been before. The highlight of today’s visit is the Proof exhibition and the Dinner Party from Judd Chicago. We first went upstairs to the Proof Exhibition. After reading the article named Robert Longo on Editing Eisenstein, Learning From Putins’ Russia and Why Making art is a Political gesture, period, I can see that this exhibition mainly reveals three artists’ political and social concerns in their artworks. The Spanish artist Francisco Goya, Russian Filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and contemporary American artist Robert Longo all reflect their own emotional response to the realities. They convey a sense of energy and empathy for the social unrest, cultural problems and political revolution. I saw how carefully Eisenstein composed each frame in this exhibition. His famous theory of montage is awesome. He uses the filmmaking skill as a narrative of historical events and a metaphor of the political revolution about the communist government. As we read from the assignment, Longo thinks “making art is a political gesture.” My favorite work in this exhibition is Longo’s Untitled (Raft at Sea). It is a triptych photography with an overwhelming scale that represents urgency. It is a typical example that the art historical evidence can be used within visual storytelling. We can feel a sense of emotional and visual connection between the past and present because Longo shows us how history can be similarly altered. The line between reality and fiction blurs is interesting. This work reminds me of Cecily Brown’s A Day, Help, Help, Another Day because both of them reappear the well known Gericault’s triangle in the painting named The Raft of the Medusa.

It is cool to know that Elizabeth A. Sackler Center is a center that will reward female artists’ contribution to the art. The Dinner Party is a very important icon of feminist art in the 1970s. The work is represented on a massive ceremonial banquet table with plates for a list of great ladies appears in history. Judy Chicago chose the women by herself. All historical and mythological female names represented there have either social or political or religious importance at their time periods; all of them motivate the development of herstory. It is interesting that names on the floor correspond to names on the plates. Juddy Chicago got inspiration from the rose plate and the china-painting class. She is not satisfied what the ceramics class is “only for housewives’ spare time” and people’s belief in “ female artists can only do decorative art.” She reflects her worry about female role in today’s society because she finds that women are still domesticated and easily ignored as the ones in ancient times. She wants to establish a respect for a woman through expressing female role in the history. Symbolism is everywhere: For example, the table itself refers to the Last Supper theme; she wants to fight against the mainstream opinions and the most popular idea with the disadvantaged minor group. We talked about the culture is not as big different as biological difference (gender). Female needs to have their own movement rather than being part of others. The china paintings shown here are very richfully colored. Each plate shows the most representative pattern of its owner. For example, The one belongs to Eleanor of Aquatint has the symbol of flower-de-luce (Iris). It is cool that plates will change through the development of the history: they become more sculptured and more decorated with more explicit meanings. My favorite one is the plate for Theodore. She is one of the most famous medieval women with high status and great power. She gains all achievements by herself instead of the born right. Her plate is purple and very delicately decorated that gives me a sense of royal power. Also, the plate with a piano on it is also cool. It is sad that I do not know the one named Smith.

Both of today’s artists reflect their own worry and concern about social and cultural problems through their artworks. They all draw inspiration from art history and history. For example, Longo alters The Raft of the Medusa and Chicago gets inspired by great ladies’ personal experiences in the history. We can know the importance of history and art history for artists’ creation.

Works Cited

Artnet on "Proof" ExhibitionURL

Amelia Jones, "The Sexual Politics of the Dinner Party"File

Judy Chicago, "The Dinner Party"File

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Art F City: This Week’s Must-See Art Events: Patriarchy-Smashing in Full Force

Pelenakeke Brown’s eerie self-portraits open Wednesday night at ORA Gallery.

So far, 2017 might be one of the shittiest years in recent decades for the women of America, but New York’s art world is making sure this will be a Women’s History Month to remember. On Thursday, the New Museum is even hosting a talk on Feminist topics we haven’t even heard of: A.K. Burns will be leading a discussion on “Quantum Feminism”. That same night, Van DebEd is hosting Women’s History Month Invitational in Long Island City.

Kick the weekend off playing artist-designed Feminist games at Bushwick’s SOHO20 Gallery Friday night. Saturday, Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham will discuss feminist icon Marilyn Minter’s show at the Brooklyn Museum. After a week of edifying female-empowering events, head to Interference Archive’s Sunday afternoon Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to make sure it all goes down in herstory.

Tue

AC Institute

16 East 48th Street New York, NY 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Website

Tra Bouscaren & John Schlesinger: Dear Volunteers

It’s usually a turn-off when artwork claims it “implicates the viewer back into what they have arrived to judge.” Tra Bouscaren and John Schlesinger’s multi-media installation, however, sounds so seductively post-apocalyptic that can be overlooked. The duo use video mapping, laboratory detritus, construction rubble and more to form environments that I’m imagining will look a bit like the surface of “the desert of the real” from The Matrix. Timely.

Wed

ORA Gallery

51 7th Ave New York, NY 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Website

Pelenakeke Brown: Reasoning On Paper; The Myth Of Herself

For this series, Pelenakeke Brown drew daily self portraits as she grew out her hair. They’re a little creepy, as she’s left out any other signifiers of identity (facial features, etc…). As the exercise grew, the series took on new meaning as a meditation on gender and self-representation. Her attention to (and omission) of details makes these memorable and slightly uncanny.

Thu

New Museum

235 Bowery New York, NY 7:00 p.m.Website

The Question of Quantum Feminism

“Quantum Feminism” is a concept that’s so new and/or obscure it doesn’t have it’s own Wikipedia page (take note, those participating in this week’s edit-a-thon!) Confession: I know this because I just had to Google it.

This talk’s organizers describe a discussion about “an understanding of bodies as sensory systems can be a starting point for discussions around ethics and ‘entangled relations of difference’.” I’m sure we’ll all have a better understanding of QF after this roundtable discussion, which includes A.K. Burns, Harry Dodge, Carolyn Lazard, Anicka Yi, and Constantina Zavitsano.

VanDeb Ed

37-18 Northern Blvd. Long Island City, NY 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Website

Women’s History Month Invitational

For this year’s Women’s History Month Invitational, curators Marjorie Van Dyke and Deborah Freedman have taken an unexpected route: most of the artists here make cheery abstract paintings. That’s nothing new, of course, but it’s refreshingly outside the usual (bizarrely illogical) narrative that abstraction is a man’s game. And importantly, these paintings are good.

Artists: Marina Adams, Nancy Azara, Andea Belag, Joanne Freeman, Claire Seidl and Dee Shapiro

Fri

Printed Matter

231 Eleventh Ave. New York, NY 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Website

The Schizophrenic Bomb: Richard Tyler and the Uranian Press

Founded in the 1970s, the LES’s Uranian Phalanstery represented a sorta-New-Age-y art collective with its own singular culture. Founded be veteran Richard Tyler, his wife Dorothea Tyler, and some neighbors/friends, the Uranians produced a hell of a lot of printed material.

This includes prints from woodblock to xerox, letters, editioned art books, and so much more. Expect to lose hours digging through one very weird archive.

SOHO20 Gallery

56 Bogart Street Brooklyn, NY 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.Website

Game Night #6: Feminist Politics

What exactly is a feminist game night? Probably more fun than most would expect. The night features games designed by Rebecca Goyette, Desiree Des, and Željka Blakšić.

I’m hoping it’s something like the board game “Don’t Wake Daddy!” but more along the lines of “Get Woke! The Patriarchy!”

Sat

Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum 200 Eastern Parkway 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.Website

Artist's Eye: Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham on Marilyn Minter

We can’t gush enough about Marilyn Minter’s show Pretty/Dirty at the Brooklyn Museum. (Actually, Paddy got to check it out in Denver before the show traveled to NYC.) Now, we get to hear two other greats gush about Marilyn Minter. Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham will have a conversation in response to the show. This is definitely one of the week’s highlights.

Smack Mellon

92 Plymouth Street Brooklyn, NY 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Website

Linda Herritt: Grease Rust Soot Sweat

Linda Herritt’s room-spanning, text-based, mixed-media installations are often the products of researching “lists” of things. Here, she’s turned her attention to Buckminster Fuller’s 1981 “Chronology of Scientific Discoveries and Artifacts.” The publication was a litany of important innovations, spanning centuries of advancements in chemistry and inventions.

Inventions such as steel skyscrapers and the discovery of germ-based medicine will be included alongside guns and hydroelectricity. We’re not sure exactly what this will look like, but we’re told it will “undulate” off the walls of Smack Mellon’s old coal-fired steam furnace.

Sun

Interference Archive

131 8th Street Brooklyn, NY 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.Website

Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

For whatever reason. only 8.5-16% of Wikipedia editors are women. This means topics related to women’s concerns—from feminist art history to films by female directors—can be overlooked. This Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, happening roughly concurrently with dozens worldwide, hopes to close the gender gap a bit.

Bring a laptop, and even a kid (childcare will be provided, but an RSVP is necessary).

Pioneer Works

159 Pioneer Street Brooklyn, NY 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Website

Second Sundays

Conveniently, Red Hook’s Pioneer Works is walking distance from Interference Archive, and their monthly Second Saturdays party is the perfect way to reward yourself after a few hours of performing netizen civic duty. The event features DJs, a performance from Underground System, a CRISPR workshop and more. All for a $10 suggested donation.

Open Studios:

Angel Nevarez/Valerie Tevere Jes Fan Pascual Sisto Evelyn Donnelly SKOTE (Jill Pangallo & Alex P. White)

This is also a prime opportunity to check out E.S.P TV’s epic installation “WORK”, which has reinstalled Pioneer Works’ offices as a functioning television set.

from Art F City http://ift.tt/2lVcesT via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Art F City

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