Ok, so I've been watching Beavis and Butt-Head lately (I was born in 2001 with a mom who hated it. Give me a break), and while watching it with friends last night there was a part that I can't stop thinking about.

Basically, while watching a music video, Butt-Head exclaims something like: "I wish I could watch this over and over and over again." My gut reaction was "don't they have a VCR?" but then it dawned on me: "No! Of course they wouldn't have a VCR. What am I thinking!" For context, when I was growing up in the early 2000's, one of the cheapest and most cost effective ways of owning video content was by buying VHS' second-hand. I had a huge collection of movies growing up which my parents bought through a local re-seller. Others I would borrow from the library. A majority of homes had them as a part of their setup, often in tandem with a DVD player. This was the default I was familiar with for years before VHS fell completely from relevance. Meanwhile, this show came out in the early 90s and centers on what are clearly two low-income boys. Of course a VCR wouldn't be something just naturally available. You had to just hope something good would pop up on TV or in a movie theatre. If you're lucky you'll catch something you like getting replayed. I find this "dated" little throwaway dialogue so interesting because of the specific image it paints of the decade it came out. The limited accessibility of information and media, and how a large portion of it centered around the home television set. How exciting and invigorating it was seeing anything playing on there, because there was no telling when you will get an opportunity to see it again. I don't know. Maybe that is a little dramatic (especially for any one reading this who actually lived through the 90s), but it resonated with me a bit. It got me thinking about not only how much has changed in media-consumption, but how expansive and fast accessibility is now. How the television has diminished in relevance as a medium, and how little people seem to care about what they are watching.

emmeranners replied to this post:

I agree with everything else you have in the tags (especially the smiling thing - Darcy was not that somber and brooding in the book!) but may I ask what you disliked about 1995’s handling of the letter? Nothing ever struck me as terribly egregious on that front (except for the part where Lizzy is riding away and Darcy’s disembodied head pops up…seriously wtf was that?)

The disembodied head is hilarious, ngl, and strong agreement about CF’s Darcy being much more somber and brooding than Austen’s. As for the handling of the letter in that adaptation, it’s a bit unusual because, while I do hate it, I also find it very interesting (where I think a lot of the 1995’s choices are boring appeals to generic stereotypes). I was just talking to a friend about this, so it’s fresh in my mind—

In fairness to Davies et al., Darcy’s letter is probably the single most difficult element of P&P to adapt. It’s too essential to his characterization, to Elizabeth’s arc, and to the overall plot to exclude. It is also long and detailed, and instead of snappy dialogue or scenic visuals, we just have Elizabeth reading and re-reading it and evaluating what he’s saying and ultimately having her grand realization in response. This is the turning point of the story and so it’s really important, but it’s not very cinematic.

So I do get the difficulty. On top of that, I think the seeds of the best approach are actually there in the 1995, in which Elizabeth’s reading of the letter is inter-cut with actually showing us the moments Darcy is talking about.

However.

The production makes some very strange choices of what those moments should consist of. It plays up Wickham’s predation on Georgiana through a little flirtation when he’s at Pemberley and she’s ... eleven, I think?? Weird choice. It has Elizabeth remember her family’s worst behavior when he’s talking about it (smart!) and then has her remember it as worse than it really was in those earlier scenes, which is an interesting choice in terms of memory and her character, but I think obscures the point about the effects of their impropriety and the foreshadowing of where it’s going to lead. It shows us Georgiana and Wickham at Ramsgate, but instead of giving Georgiana the agency that Darcy emphasizes in the book, he discovers them on his own.

That is, I do think representing what he’s talking about visually is the right approach to the letter, but the specific choices they made are kind of odd and annoying.

But these are smaller issues. The big one is that, if I recall correctly, the 1995 rearranges the structure of Darcy’s letter, so while it has some of the original wording of the letter, the pacing of it, the change in Darcy’s feelings as he’s writing it, and the final impression get really messed up. 

The thing is, the bitter and resentful opening of Darcy’s letter—while it does include an acceptance of Elizabeth’s refusal and clarification that he’s not going to keep pursuing her—more or less corresponds to the audience’s likely view of Darcy at the time. His tone is haughty as he goes into the explanation of his actions with regard to Jane and Bingley, in which his motivations turn out to be much more complex than Elizabeth assumed, but which is at least something he actually did. His tone gradually softens as he’s writing and his anger burns out, so by the time he gets to the Wickham situation, where he is completely in the right and he and his sister are the real victims, he’s able to explain the truth gently and to end on a note of forgiveness and love.

So Austen structures things so that the letter concludes on a high note for Darcy that Elizabeth later describes as “charity itself.” From this point on, Darcy is on the way up. Everything we find out about him after this will only make him look better.

It’s been a long time since I watched it (I do own it but my discs are scratched), so I could be wrong, but my memory is that the 1995 P&P inverts this structure. Darcy’s first explanation is of the Wickham situation, where he is the most innocent, and having acquired some sympathy by that point, he then goes into the messier explanation of his interference with Jane and Bingley. So the evolution from bitterness, to complicating his motives, to grace where he has the most right to be indignant, is omitted. The powerful final line of the letter (I will only add, God bless you) is omitted, which I think is an absolutely terrible decision for any adaptation, but a natural byproduct of changing the structure.

So yes, it’s a difficult part to adapt and I get that, but I think they made the wrong choice structurally, the flashbacks and such are a good idea executed in dubious ways, and leaving out the end is just flat-out bad.

A completely unhinged discussion about every one of Chloé's outfits and how I feel about them:

under the cut because it's too long

First up, Chloé's childhood outfits. I will admit the details are hard to make out. In the first image she's pretty much covered completely in a cloak. All we can really see of her dress is the sleeve but I think the sleeve is cute. Solid 5/10 Chloé outfit. Nothing noteworthy but perfectly serviceable and I think she looks cute bundled up in a cloak.

Then we have the dress she's wearing while her father promises to make her human. I like dark colours on Chloé and the dress does suit her but again, not many details that can be made out. I like the collar that can be seen briefly in one panel but I'm not a fan of the headpiece really. It's cute though 6/10

Next up, this outfit is only seen very briefly in one panel. It's what Chloé wears at her father's bedside when he dies. Chloé's wearing a light shawl/cloak and a dark dress, neither of which can be seen particularly clearly. 0/10 this makes me sad and there aren't even any cute/pretty details.

Then there's Chloé's mourning outfit after her father's death. It's a simple black dress and a veil. I really like the veil honestly, it looks super pretty in my opinion and the dress isn't bad either, I like the detail on the collar and the little white ruffles at the sleeves. It's probably Chloé's simplest outfit and that makes it stand out as quite unique and interesting. Still, -100/10 this makes me even sadder than the last outfit I never want to see her wear anything like it again.

Next up the dress she was wearing when she met Ruthven! I love when she has ribbons tied around her neck so that the ends can billow dramatically behind her! Top notch for when she's being more threatening. The ribbon does lose points though for looking potentially scratchy/uncomfortable according to my sensibilities anyway. Of her outfits this looks like one of the warmest ones, potentially because she's carrying a really lovely shawl most of the time when wearing it. I like when she looks comfy and the shawl is very good for that! Maybe this is just a manifestation of my desire to wrap Chloé in a warm blanket? Anyway, the details on the bottom of her sleeves and around the white part at her shoulders are a nice touch that I'm really fond of. I like the puffiness of her sleeves too and the little flower on the front of her dress is cute. 8/10 great outfit, very pretty.

This one only appears in a few very small panels but nonetheless I am unreasonably fond of it. It shares some elements with the previous dress but is clearly a different outfit. The sleeves of this dress are pretty, I like any that have ruffles at the bottom and the neckline of her dress also pleases me. The shawl is nice and again plays on my desire to see her rugged up and safe. I am extremely in love with the little bow around Chloé's neck, it's incredibly appealing. 7/10 love this but can't see enough of it to rank it higher since these are the only panels it shows up in.

Next outfit! From the time she met Jeanne and one of the outfits she was most consistently drawn in! Point one in its favour, it's dark and I've already stated that I'm biased towards dark dresses on Chloé. Really I love everything about this to be honest. The necklace and choker combo is so pretty and it may be my favourite of Chloé's many neck accessories. I like the lacy collar of her dress and the bow with the rose in the middle too! I absolutely adore the sleeves on this dress, they just look so cool to me! The sleeves are potentially my favourite thing about this outfit ngl. I also think the dark cloak she wears on top of it briefly looks quite nice, it seems really soft and warm. Also there was a very brief flashback that I think involved this outfit (based on the sleeve) in which Chloé was wearing gloves and I don't know why but I'd really like to see her wearing gloves more clearly now. I just think she'd look cool. Overall this outfit is 10/10 perfect I am incredibly enamoured with it.

I've said I like darker colours but regardless I still think this one suits Chloé perfectly well and am not docking points for colour. First off, my favourite Chloé shawl, it's so big and flowy! Looks warm and is still very pretty. The skirt of this dress is really nice. I love all the bows and the way the layers are separated. It's beautiful! Chloé's choker is one of the ones I'm less fond of. I think I just dislike the beads over the top of the fabric? Not sure. It's still very pretty regardless. The sleeves on this dress are awesome too! I like how wide they are at the ends but also the beaded bits higher on the arm that match her choker. This outfit is very well coordinated and it looks amazing! 9/10 superb

Next we have an outfit that upfront is being judged more harshly because it is solely associated with Chloé in one of the worst states she's ever been in and therefore gives me bad vibes. I enjoy the cape attached to this dress, it's very dramatic and adds a cool flair to this. Also stands out because neither Chloé nor any other character has worn anything else quite like this to date as far as I can remember. I like the bow around her neck and all the bows running down her chest too. They're cute! But also they may be a bit much for me? Makes the front of her dress look very busy. The sleeves are top notch though. I love them. Some of the prettiest sleeves Chloé's worn. Not sure if this is just me but something about this dress doesn't feel Chloé enough. It looks good on her but somehow feels like it suits her personality less than some of her others. 7/10 gorgeous but the vibes throw me off.

Next up is pretty much all she's drawn in throughout the part of her backstory connected to JJ. The only instance in which she wore this without a cloak was when she was still putting it on to go help Jean-Jacques after he became the Beast but I haven't included that panel. She wore a few different cloaks with this outfit that looks pretty similar, though my favourite has to be the one with the ruffles on the hood. I just love it! Though the one with the soft looking hood and bigger bow is a close second. I enjoy the sleeves on this dress, the ribbons tied around them are cool and I'm partial to how they flutter around. The dress itself is pretty, I like the darker part of the skirt in the middle and the details at the bottom of the dress. The bodice of the dress is also nice, I appreciate the buttons running up it. I don't have any particularly strong feelings about Chloé's choker in this outfit but I like how it matches the rest of what she's wearing. A strong 8/10

We have three panels of Chloé in her nightgown and all of them make me sad. It looks cute and the detail around the collar part that I can see is nice. Unfortunately, this is hampered by the fact that Chloé was in a terrible state of mind while wearing it and there aren't any super clear pictures. If Mochijun ever drew Chloé in a nightgown again and she didn't look horribly depressed it would go up the rankings greatly because it would be very cute and I'm weak for Chloé looking cute. For now though 2/10 is the best I can give it because it upsets me.

Last up Chloé's main outfit. I love the ribbon at her neck that billows behind her dramatically and I'm equally enamoured with the big bows at her shoulders and waist. They're so pretty and they blend in with the rest of the dress seamlessly. The lacy parts around the sleeves, the bottom of the dress, the neckline, etc. are really cool, I like how they flutter around and they just generally look incredible. I love the skirt with the little roses and the slightly lighter coloured parts that break up the blackness. The rose on Chloé's chest is also very pretty, I adore how Mochijun coloured it in the volume 6 inner cover. This outfit also has the best Chloé shoes, I love her boots so much (no, I did not talk about the shoes in her other outfits. Yes, I could have. But these shoes are the only ones that matter!). The sleeves on this dress are top tier as well! I like how they flare out at the bottom and the bits at the shoulders. It's just so pretty! This outfit is stunning, jaw-dropping, the pinnacle, 100/10 I am in love with it. Is it boring to pick the main outfit as the best one? Maybe, but it simply is the best. Objectively. Because all my Chloé opinions are correct.

MCU Rewatch: Spider-Man: Homecoming

(Doctor Strange isn’t making my life easy and I can’t wait for him right now lol so Spider-Man it is! I WILL include DS in this rewatch, though. At some point)

It’s really cool that the drawing tips us off that the Vulture has a daughter right on the first scene.

I feel like the second scene, though... is unnecessary. Like, seeing the Vulture with his suit kind of kills the impact of seeing him during the movie. We already know he’s up to no good - we didn’t need the extra scene.

Peter’s vlog is really cute.

“I don’t know how jobs work” is such a great dialogue. lol

Ok, I have a lot of... mildly negative feelings about several choices in this movie, but it’s hard to complain about the casting because of all the racist backlash it got for being diverse, and I don’t want to add to this chorus by any means. Still... the fact that Flash just doesn’t look like a popular douchebag really kills the effect of his scenes, to me. Like... couldn’t they find an actor that was, I don’t know, a little bit taller than Tom Holland? He looks like someone who would totally sit at Peter and Ned’s table at lunch, not like a bully that’s been harrassing Peter for years. There certainly were ways of keeping these aspects of the character and still having a non-white actor, I think.

Just... stop making people point out Aunt May is young and pretty. I get it, it’s a meta joke because we’re used to having her be an old lady, but boy is it annoying.

I do love the detail of Peter saving the cat.

This is the movie where my Happy annoyance goes off the chart. Shut up, Happy. He’s doing the best he can and all you do is dismiss him at every turn.

May totally thinks Peter and Ned are fucking, doesn’t she? lol

Laura Harrier, otoh, is perfect casting. She’s so pretty and she just really has the air of Liz’s general high school archetype. 

See, this Vulture arrival could have been so cool if we hadn’t been shown the suit in the first few minutes of the movie.

I feel like the fact that Tony handles Peter in the worst possible way in this movie (”because I said so” is soooo not an argument you should throw in a discussion with anyone, but especially not a teenager) is both something I like because I feel makes sense for his character and that frustrates me because it’s another thing his fandom just ignores.

“I thought it was the anti-gravity gun” really dude? Isn’t this scene supposed to show us how ruthless you are? This... is such a weird line that kind of totally undemines that.

“I just wanna thank you for letting me be a part of your journey” Ned is my favorite part of this movie. lol

Thinking about Flash... I feel like maybe the thing is that Flash here isn’t supposed to be cool at all, and it’s just that this version of Peter Parker is not an unpopular bullied kid, but a regular kid who’s actually well-liked by most of his classmates except this one asshole dude who no one else really likes? Which, sure, I mean, it’s a valid story to tell, but it’s just... not that appealing to me. I feel like Peter is not enough of the underdog in this movie, most of the time.

The scene where he stalls with Karen is really fun, though. lol

The scene at the Washington Monument is also really great. Lots of tension and really fun.

I fucking love how awkward Steve looks in those PSAs. I also love that he straddles the chair, because it’s such a non-Steve thing to do, so it really seems like he’s just trying to be cool, like “this is how kids sit these days, right?”.

Also, the director is Morita’s descendant, right? I hope the government was like “stop playing these PSAs” and he was just like “fuck that noise” and kept playing anyway in Morita’s memory.

“I got a nephew who lives here” I’m waiting, MCU.............. give us the pay off we deserve.

I have so many mixed feelings about the scene with Tony. On one hand, I get that this is supposed to be low point of the movie, so Peter screwing up makes sense, but... Tony, couldn’t you have TOLD him you had called the FBI? Why did you just say “yeah yeah, whatever, someone else will handle it” and then not update him about serious shit that HE had discovered? It’s weird, because I feel like Tony is framed as correct here by the narrative, and I really don’t think he is.

I do like the “and I wanted you to be better” line.

Peter and Liz are super cute. And the montage of May preparing Peter to prom is also adorable.

The Vulture reveal still works. It’s a GREAT moment.

“prototype for Cap’s new shield” is a line the Stony fandom has absolutely not taken enough advantage off. Tony just sitting around making Steve new shields? Even though they’re not talking? I live.

I... really dislike how Peter’s Big Hero moment is made to be about the whole “being nothing without the suit” thing. This... just isn’t his narrative? It just feels like the movie is taking Tony’s narrative and imposing it over Peter, and it feels like something we’ve already seen.

And the last scene... Part of me likes that Tony is like “that was totally a tough love moment that you needed, right? right????” because it shows a little how he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but I wish he had apologized. And the fact that he’s got the reporters room ready to go, when, by the Accords, he’d NEED to make Peter remove his mask... I don’t know, I really don’t like a lot of the narrative choices made with Tony in this movie. I think on this aspect, it’s worse than Ultron.

LOL AND THERE IS THE PROPOSAL. The world’s most awkward, anticlimatic proposal. Honestly, as a Stony shipper, I kind of love it, because it’s so bad it becomes incredibly easy to write around.

 Aaaand it’s over. Ngl, this is among my least favorite MCU movies. It just... doesn’t... touch me in any particular way? Like, I like a few things about it, but the overall narrative just doesn��t grab me. It’s not a BAD movie, but it’s a little... Meh.