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#peak comedy is when characters get a real life gun
doodlehyth · 1 year
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Day 31 // holy shit
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the-cat-chat · 2 years
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September 3, 2022
On the Count of Three (2022)
Two best friends, Val and Kevin, spend the last day of their lives together.
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JayBell: This movie begins with a very tense scene, which is a smart way to introduce the characters and the plot. The movie does a great job in showing how two people with different experiences and life traumas can end up in the same dark place. It’s sad, but the two friends were able to create a more intense bond through their suffering.
Little bits of their backgrounds are shared along the way, which makes the viewer feel like they understand just enough of their history to understand how we got to this point. This also made their friendship feel more believable and realistic. 
As a whole, the movie feels like a conversation about suicide and depression, which hardly lends itself to a comedy. However, they managed to include a few moments that successfully lightened the tone, rare as those moments may be.
But more than anything, this was a movie about friendship and supporting another person in their darkest moments.
Rating: 5.5/10 cats 🐈
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Anzie: First things first, my interest was peaked when I saw this on Hulu’s main page, and I saw Christopher Abbott. I always thought he was cute in a lost puppy way and we shouldn’t acknowledge the hair- I don’t know how it works for some guys……buttttt, anyway not mentioning it. I’m not entirely sure if I’m mad at the movie’s ending or myself for being an optimistic fool?? And while it doesn’t totally end how you’d believe or the synopsis leads you to believe, it still utterly terrible and awful and sickening.
The actors did a great job in portraying their characters bc you do sympathize with them and the whole time it’s just like “Noooo don’t do that!!!!” “Pllllsss No!!!” But no it happens and probably happens ten times worse than you thought. Plus we are given backstories on the two friends so we aren’t left to guess about too much throughout the movie, we get to see them as the full character they are meant to be. And too for such a depressing movie it does have sweet moments and funny moments, and definitely speaks on so many relevant issues we are facing as the human race, like depression and suicide, as well as the problems guns create.
In the end it’s really sad that Kevin’s totally fully prepared to sacrifice himself bc he sees nothing else- whereas Val finally kinda of realizes that tomorrow is another day and emotions can pass and it’s worth finding out what the future will bring. (I’m still kinda mad about bc it was kinda Val’s idea- even if Kevin was already in a hospital for trying to kill himself days before, but whatever). The music is great and on the nose- who doesn’t love Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to be Alive” ? No one. The directing and vibe of the movie also lends itself well to the story, it feels dreary at points but also seems toned down to be more ‘real life’ like?? In the end I was sad, and although really disappointed with the situations the characters faced and the outcomes, I don’t regret having watched it.
Rating: 6/10 cats 🐈
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aion-rsa · 3 years
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Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor
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As recently as September 2020 David Tennant topped a Radio Times poll of favourite Doctors. He beat Tom Baker in a 2006 Doctor Who Magazine poll, and was voted the best TV character of the 21st Century by the readers of Digital Spy. He was the Doctor during one of Doctor Who‘s critical and commercial peaks, bringing in consistently high ratings and a Christmas day audience of 13.31 million for ‘Voyage of the Damned’, and 12.27 million for his final episode, ‘The End of Time – Part Two’. He is the only other Doctor who challenges Tom Baker in terms of associated iconography, even being part of the Christmas idents on BBC One as his final episodes were broadcast. Put simply, the Tenth Doctor is ‘My Doctor’ for a huge swathe of people and David Tennant in a brown coat will be the image they think of when Doctor Who is mentioned.
In articles to accompany these fan polls, Tennant’s Doctor is described as ‘amiable’ in contrast to his predecessor Christopher Eccleston’s dark take on the character. Ten is ‘down-to-earth’, ‘romantic’, ‘sweeter’, ‘more light-hearted’ and the Doctor you’d most want to invite you on board the TARDIS. That’s interesting in some respects, because the Tenth Doctor is very much a Jekyll and Hyde character. He’s handsome, he’s charismatic, and travelling with him can be addictively fun, but he is also casually cruel, harshly dismissive, and lacking in self-awareness. His ego wants feeding, and once fed, can have destructive results.
That tension in the character isn’t due to bad writing or acting. Quite the contrary. Most Doctors have an element of unpleasantness to their behaviour. Ever since the First Doctor kidnapped Ian and Barbara, the character has been moving away from the entitled snob we met him as, but can never escape it completely.
Six and Twelve were both written to be especially abrasive, then soften as time went on (with Colin Baker having to do this through Big Finish audio plays rather than on telly). A significant difference between Twelve and Ten, though, is that Twelve questions himself more. Ten, to the very end, seems to believe his own hype.
The Tenth Doctor’s duality is apparent from his first full appearance in 2005’s ‘The Christmas Invasion’. Having quoted The Lion King and fearlessly ambled through the Sycorax ship in a dressing gown, he seems the picture of bonhomie, that lighter and amiable character shining through. Then he kills their leader. True, it was in self-defence, but it was lethal force that may not have been necessary. Then he immediately topples the British Prime Minister for a not dissimilar act of aggression. Immediately we see the Tenth Doctor’s potential for violence and moral grey areas. He’s still the same man who considered braining someone with a rock in ‘An Unearthly Child’. 
Teamed with Rose Tyler, a companion of similar status to Tennant’s Doctor, they blazed their way through time and space with a level of confidence that bordered on entitlement, and a love that manifested itself negatively on the people surrounding them. The most obvious example in Series 2 is ‘Tooth and Claw’, where Russell T. Davies has them react to horror and carnage in the manner of excited tourists who’ve just seen a celebrity. This aloof detachment results in Queen Victoria establishing the Torchwood institute that will eventually split them apart. We see their blinkers on again in ‘Rise of the Cybermen’, when they take Mickey for granted. Rose and the Doctor skip along the dividing line between romance and hubris.
Then, in a Christmassy romp where the Doctor is grieving the loss of Rose, he commits genocide and Donna Noble sucker punches him with ‘I think you need somebody to stop you’. Well-meaning as this statement is, the Doctor treats it as a reason to reduce his next companion to a function rather than a person. Martha Jones is there to stop the Doctor, as far as he’s concerned. She’s a rebound companion. Martha is in love with him, and though he respects her, she’s also something of a prop.
This is the series in which the Doctor becomes human in order to escape the Family of Blood (adapted from a book in which he becomes human in order to understand his companion’s grief, not realising anyone is after him), and is culpable for all the death that follows in his wake. Martha puts up with a position as a servant and with regular racist abuse on her travels with this man, before finally realising at the end of the series that she needs to get out of the relationship. For a rebound companion, Martha withstands a hell of a lot, mostly caused by the Doctor’s failings. 
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Series 4 develops the Doctor further, putting the Tenth’s Doctor’s flaws in the foreground more clearly. Donna is now travelling with him, and simply calls him out on his behaviour more than Rose or Martha did. Nonetheless the Doctor ploughs on, and in ‘Midnight’ we see him reduced to desperate and ugly pleas about how clever he is when he’s put in a situation he can’t talk himself out of.
Rose has also become more Doctor-like while trapped in another reality, and brutally tells Donna that she’s going to have to die in order to return to the original timeline (just as the Doctor tells Donna she’s going to have to lose her memories of travelling with him in order to live her previous life, even as she clearly asks him not to – and how long did the Doctor know he would have to do this for? It’s not like he’s surprised when Donna starts glitching). Tied into this is the Doctor’s belief in his own legend. In ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’ he holds a gun to Cobb’s head, then withdraws it and asks that they start a society based on the morals of his actions. You know, like a well-adjusted person does.
What’s interesting here is that despite presenting himself as ‘a man who never would’, the Doctor is a man who absolutely would. We’ve seen him do it. Even the Tenth Doctor, so keen to live up to the absolute moral ideals he espouses, killed the Sycorax leader and the Krillitanes, drove the Cybermen to die of despair, brought the Family of Blood to a quiet village and then disposed of them personally. But Tennant doesn’t play this as a useful lie, he plays it as something the Doctor absolutely believes in that moment, that he is a man who would not kill even as his daughter lies dead. It’s why his picking up a gun in ‘The End of Time’ has such impact. And it makes some sense that the Tenth Doctor would reject violence following a predecessor who regenerated after refusing to commit another double-genocide.
In the series finale ‘Journey’s End‘, Davros accuses the Doctor of turning his friends into weapons. This is because the Doctor’s friends have used weapons against the Daleks who – and I can’t stress this enough – are about to kill everyone in the entire universe. Fighting back against them seems pretty rational. Also – and again I can’t stress this enough – the Daleks are bad. Like, really bad. You won’t believe just how mindbogglingly bad they are. The Doctor has tried to destroy them several times by this point. Here, there isn’t the complication of double-genocide, and instead the very real threat of absolutely everyone in the universe dying. This accusation, that the Doctor turns people into weapons, should absolutely not land.
And yet, with the Tenth Doctor, it does. This is a huge distinction between him and the First Doctor, who had to persuade pacifists to fight for him in ‘The Daleks’.
In ‘The Sontaran Strategem’ Martha compares the Doctor to fire. It’s so blunt it almost seems not worth saying, but it’s the perfect analogy (especially for a show where fire is a huge part of the very first story). Yes, fire shines in dark places, yes it can be a beacon, but despite it being very much fire’s entire deal, people can forget that it burns. And fire has that mythical connection of being stolen from the gods and brought to humanity. The Time Lord Victorious concept fits the Tenth Doctor so well. Of all the Doctors, he’s the most ready to believe in himself as a semi-mythic figure.
Even when regenerating there’s a balance between hero and legend: the Tenth Doctor does ultimately save Wilfred Mott, but only after pointing out passionately how big a sacrifice he’s making. And then he goes to get his reward by meeting all his friends, only to glare at them from a distance. His last words are ‘I don’t want to go’, which works well as clearly being a poignant moment for the actor as well, but in the context of Doctor Who as a whole it renders Ten anomalous: no one else went this unwillingly. And yet, in interviews Russell T. Davies said it was important to end the story with ‘the Doctor as people have loved him: funny, the bright spark, the hero, the enthusiast’.
It’s fascinating then, that this is the Doctor who has been taken to heart by so many viewers because there’s such an extreme contrast between his good-natured front, his stated beliefs, and his actions. He clearly loves Rose and Donna, but leaves them with a compromised version of happiness. They go on extraordinary journeys only to end up somewhere that leaves them less than who they want to be, with Russell T. Davies being more brutally honest than Steven Moffat, who nearly always goes the romance route. Davies once said to Mark Lawson that he liked writing happy endings ‘because in the real world they don’t exist’, but his endings tend towards the bittersweet: Mickey and Martha end up together but this feels like they’re leftovers from the Doctor and Rose’s relationship. The Tenth Doctor doesn’t, as Nine does, go with a smile, but holding back tears.
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It’s a testament to how well written the Tenth Doctor is that the character has this light and shade, and with David Tennant’s immense likeability he can appeal to a wider audience as a result. It’s not surprise he wins all these polls, but I can’t help but feel that if the Doctor arrived and invited me on board the TARDIS, I’d want it to be anyone but Ten.
The post Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor appeared first on Den of Geek.
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blrush · 3 years
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Rec List Request
A personalised list for @jammy-boy 🥰 could be of interest to others, so enjoy!
Basic requirements: - just finished and loved SOTUS - is Arthur/Merlin trash - loves a twist or reversal of classic “power-dynamic” - loves angst with happy ending ______________________________
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Theory of Love
Film student Third (Gun) has been secretly in love with his best friend Khai (Off) for three years, but Khai is straight, a massive player, and a total arsehole if we’re being honest. This starts painful, but then they start playing around with tropes and expectations and then it changes POV which just HITS so hard and completely changes your whole perception. You know the movie Flipped? It references that, and then does the flip - so good.
Knowing the level of pining, pain and angst that you love (plus your background in film studies) I feel like this is required viewing. Get out the tissues. But also, it’s still really funny and cute/dumb (cause gmmtv) and the production was excellent. Also, Off/Gun are PEAK natural chemistry and Gun is such an incredible actor that watching him cry or yell at someone is still preferable to other actors being happy.
Watch on YouTube HERE
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He’s Coming To Me
Precious baby boi Singto plays Med, a ghost, who is is stuck in limbo for 20 years - until he meets a boy who can see him, Thun (my baby boi Ohm) who promises to help him figure out his unfinished business and cross over. And then they were roommates! And then they start falling in love and it’s ANGSTY because they know Med will have to leave one day. Ouch, my heart.
You will enjoy the mixture of domestic fluff and tragic angst in this. But don’t worry it has a happy ending (kind of, I think, from memory haha). Also, you will enjoy the fact that they can’t touch (cause, ghost) which is *chefs kiss* except for moments of heightened emotions when Thun’s powers become strong enough that he can touch Med (FUCK YES, THIS TROPE IS EVERYTHING)
After much whining from fans, they put it up on Youtube haha so watch HERE. 
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Until We Meet Again
ANNGST. RE.IN.CAR.NA.TION. ANGST. What else do you need to know?!?! Reincarnated soulmates trope?!!? HELLO!?!?  It’s so beautiful. I’m still not over it. And yes it has a happy ending, it starts super sad, then ends up super fluffy and the romantic fluffy moments oh god it’s so romantic. I know you love like soft domestic food sharing etc - this show is ALL about the cooking.
The casting, the characterisation, the acting, the story, the music, even the friendship group and the side-couple, it’s perfection *chefs kiss* PERFECTION
Watch on youtube HERE
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A Tale of A Thousand Stars
After the lovely volunteer teacher Torfun dies (RIP poor torfun) in a tragic accident, her heart is transplanted into selfish pretty rich boy Tian (played by the beautiful Mix). After learning of her selfless character, he feels guilt and shame for living (the angst is very real) and makes it his mission to complete her life’s wishes and follow in her footsteps. 
As the new village volunteer teacher, he then falls in love with the very handsome and very shirtless chief Phupha (Earth), who lives to protect the trees, we stan an environmental man. Angst, fluff, complications, and many miscommunications ensue. I was tearing my hair out by the end of this show. Yes, it has a happy ending (eventually). Earth x Mix was a pairing we did not know we even wanted or needed until this show happened and now I cry every time I see a picture of them together. Every single time Phupha looks at Tian in this show I literally tear up. HE LOVES HIM SO MUUUUUCHHH *crying again*
Watch on youtube HERE
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I Told Sunset About You
Childhood best-friends, turned enemies (for stupid kid reasons), to lovers. This is ANGSTY but so fucking beautiful it’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t even class this as “BL” because it doesn’t have any of the standard tropes, and there’s no silly sound-effects or innuendo jokes. This is like genuine lgbt+ indie-film realness. You can honestly just watch it for the cinematography and the music. The AESTHETIC of this show is what truly makes it special. The symbolism, the colours, this show said CINEMA. And the sexual tension is absolutely WILD. You will live for the angst (with a happy ending). And no, do not bother watching season 2, it’s perfect as a stand-alone mini-series. (I’m still upset).
Watch HERE 
and now for some stand-out non-Thai series...
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Where Your Eyes Linger
Korea has gotten on the BL train, and has now made a whole bunch of viki mini-series that are all cute but this one is right up your alley. This is VERY merthur. It’s literally servant/master, bodyguard/prince trope. But, I thought the characterisation was nicely thought out and wasn’t what I was expecting. The tension is palpable, the angst is juicy, and the soft kdrama vibes are cheesy and wonderful. Angst with a happy ending (of course).
Watch on VIKI
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HIStory 3: Trapped
So the Taiwanese HIStory series has been around forever, and I love the whole series (History 2: Crossing The Line is my all time fav). But for youuuu, I think the most appropriate is Trapped. Police detective single-mindedly obsessed with a gang leader? Yes please. But whatever power-dynamic expectations you would have of a police/criminal couple are twisted and warped immediately! This series is so endearing, it’s mostly comedy/action, and whilst it has plenty of angst, mostly it’s just CUTE as fuck. Also the side couple are adorable too!
The whole History series is on Viki now yay!
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The Untamed
Look, I KNOW 50 episodes of plot-heavy chinese historical fantasy is a lot. But there’s a reason this show was soooo popular. It only took me like 3 attempts and a whole ass “guide” pdf to figure out what the fuck was happening in the first ep cause its non-linear. But, if you are in the right mood (ie; sick, or in lockdown) and need something to get completely LOST in for like a week, then watch this haha. I know you couldn’t make it through Guardian, but maybe this one will hit the spot.
This has all the angsty character tropes you live for. And cause it’s censored, there’s no actual romance, so instead it’s just the best kind of UST, character driven, emotional soulmate angst. To summarise: Wei Wuxian is; adopted, a trouble-maker, impetuous, head-strong, fun-loving, has a martyr complex and wants to save everyone. Meanwhile, Lan Zhan is; lawful good to a fault, stoic, shy, and has a martyr complex about saving Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian ONLY. Now throw them into the middle of supernatural / political turmoil and see what happens. Well I’ll tell you what happens, Wei Wuxian becomes the “villain”, gets killed, and Lan Zhan spends 16 years looking for him. FUCKING KILL ME OKAY. (No, that’s not a spoiler it happens in the first episode haha)
Do NOT watch on Netflix the subs are trash. Watch on Youtube or Viki
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This list may seem long but I was VERY reserved in my selection okay you have no idea how tiny this tip of the iceberg is 😂
Also, knowing your love of no-touching, tension, and angst. I would also briefly draw your attention so School 2013 in my bromance list which is the single most angsty show about friendship ever made.
Enjoy!
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rachelbethhines · 3 years
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Vintage Shows to Watch While You Wait for the Next Episode of WandaVision - The 50s
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So the first three episodes of Wandavision have dropped onto Disney Plus and like me you’re probably already obsessing over it. Also like me you’re probably jonesing for another fix while waiting for more as the episodes only come out once a week. 
But never fear, we literally have decades of cheesy comedy sitcoms to sift through to keep us entertained during quarantine. Along with the occasional action and/or horror stuff  if you’re so inclined. So if you’re trying to decide where to start I’ll be making short lists for each decade that coincides with each episode. 
1. I Love Lucy (1951- 1957)
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The granddaddy of all American television sitcoms staring the first lady of comedy herself, Lucille Ball. While not the first sitcom to air, tv had been kicking around since the late 40s, this show did pave the way for many technical innovations for the new medium both on and behind the scenes. As such Elisabeth Olsen cited Miss Ball’s work as one of her inspirations for her role as Wanda in the series, as do many a woman entering into the comedic field. 
Also the show is just flat out funny. One of those rare 50s sitcoms that manages to overcome some of it’s more dated aspects through shear force of personality and peak comedic screwball antics. The only downside is you have to have Hulu to watch it as the copywrite is tightly controlled even to this day.  
2. Amos ‘n Andy (1951-1953)
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The 1950s television landscape was overwhelemingly white. It’s no secret that POC had a hard time finding work in the field of entertainment let alone be the stars of the show. Amos ‘n Andy, a spin off of the earlier same titled radio show, was one of, if not the first black led shows on television and so deserves a mention just for that alone. 
Now I will not act as if this show is perfect or ahead of it’s time. The series was controversial even during its day for is depictions of racial stereotypes. Eventually the series was canceled because of protests from the NAACP despite being very popular in the ratings. However I’m a full believer that history should be observed and talked about in order to progress further so check out an episode or two on youtube and decide for yourself if it’s worth remembering or not. 
3. The Adventures of Superman (1952 - 1958)
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Ok, not a sitcom, but as we all know, Wandavision isn’t just a sitcom it’s also a superhero show and this is one of the first tv series in this genre. It and the Fleischer Superman cartoons from the previous decade helped to make the juggernaut industry that we know today. 
Plus Superman did an official crossover with I Love Lucy, seriously. 
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4. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 - 1966)
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Hardly anyone talks about it today, but Ozzie and Harriet is the longest running sitcom to date. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia being the only other show threating to up seat it come next year. However the two sitcoms couldn’t be any more different. 
The series stared the real life Nelson family who had got their start in radio as comedians and singers who then crossed over into tv. While the show was completely scripted it tried to hew as close to real life as possible, kicking off American’s obsession with platonic voyeurism. Much in the way Wandavision has the meta storyline of being watch in their own home. 
5. Father Knows Best (1954 - 1960)
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Another radio to television entry here, however the series drastically changed the main character during the transition. During the 40s radio sitcoms were very biting and sarcastic, often either going the complete surreal screwball route or were satires of the day. This fell out of favor as tv became more dominated by commercials and advertisers feared offending their potential costumers. So things were greatly toned down as the decade progressed. 
Therefore when Father Knows Best hit the small screen gone was the rude and domineering dad and in his place we got the very model tv father; affable, gentle, loving, devoted, and very congenial. All traits we love to see in Vision some six decades later.      
6. The Honeymooners (1955 - 1956)
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I physically can not make a recommendation list of 50s sitcoms and not mention The Hoonymooners. I just can’t. It’s one of the greatest sitcoms ever made and hugely influential. So much so that The Flintstones ripped off the series whole sale to the point that Jackie Gleason threatened to sue Hanna-Barbera. However there’s little such influence in Wandvision. 
See what made The Honeymooners stand out at the time and what gave it such longevity is the fact that the main characters were poor. They lived in a cramped and over crowded sparsely furnitured one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. They owed bills, they dressed plainly, they worked long hours at low paying jobs, and they were often dirty from said work. 
Much like how Wandavision will pull back the curtain a little to see the reality hiding underneath their suburban utopia, so too did The Honeymooners defy the the ‘perfect American dream’ that was soled on tv during the 50s to show us the trauma of poverty and the only thing that you can do when you find yourself trapped within that reality, laugh. 
7. Leave it to Beaver (1957 - 1963)
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You can not get any more quintessentially 50s than Leave it to Beaver. The series has become synonymous with the decade and it’s take on the ideal American family life to the point where it’s become a punchline of numerus jokes criticizing the values and attitudes of the era. 
Does it really deserve such mockery? Who knows. I think one needs to watch it for themselves to decide. However it slots right into the aesthetic that the first episode of Wandavision is trying to recreate and it must have been popular for a reason, right? 
8. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959 - 1963)
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We featured wholesome family sitcoms and screwball comedies with married folks but we haven’t covered any surrealist humor yet, and Wandavision is seeped into that sort of stuff. That’s because there really isn’t a lot of fantasy in most 50s sitcoms. So while the trappings for episode one of Wandavision is very 50s the effects and premise is more 1960s. 
That’s where Dobie Gillis comes into play. Like Wandavision, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is based off a comic book, or comic strip rather. However that comic was very down to earth and tame compared to the tv show. More fondly remembered as the inspiration for Scooby Doo a decade later, Dobie Gillis quickly transformed from a typical coming of age show about teenagers to a surreal, sarcastic, tongue in cheek comedy, complete with get rich quick schemes, spys, bongos, and a giant chicken. 
9. Bonanza (1959 - 1973) 
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Yeah, I know all of y’all are judging me right now. “A western in a sitcom/sic-fi list? What are you thinking?” Well one really can’t talk about 50s television and not mention westerns of some sort. They permeated all mediums and dominated the cultural air waves. And Bonanza is far more than just a western.
Bonanza is literally every thing. It’s every genre at once; western, historical drama, sitcom, action adventure, satire, crime drama, soap opera ,and yes even the occasional foray into science fiction, albeit with a more Jules Vern take than a typical spaceman theming. 
If Wandavision is a melding pot of seemingly disconnected genres then it’s because Bonanza paved the way with it’s similar breakage of formula. 
10 The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964)
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Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. When not being a homage to sitcoms Wandavision is a downright horror movie, but not one with gore and mindless monsters. Rather the show evokes old school surrealist horror, like that employed in the famous (or infamous) Twilight Zone. 
What you probably didn’t know is that we have the I Love Lucy show to thank for it. See Lucille Ball and her then husband Desi Arnaz had created their own production company in order to make I Love Lucy. This production company,  Desilu Productions, is responsible for picking up Rod Sterling’s pilot and producing The Twilight Zone. 
Runner Ups
Good shows that have little to do with Wandavision but are good anyways.
What’s My Line (1950 - 1967)
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Just a really fun game show. Stars of the day would sometimes appear on it including many of the sitcom comedians listed above
Have Gun - Will Travel (1957 - 1963) 
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One of the very few pure westerns that I can tolerate. The lead actually cares about people and justice and will stand up to bigots.  
Dennis the Menace (1959 - 1963)
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While I have fond memories of the 90s film, I thought it was a tad redundant to put on the list when there’s already Leave it to Beaver. 
So there’s the 50s list. On Wednesday I’ll post a list for the 60s and cover some of the more obvious stuff Wandavision was paying homage to. 
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reachexceedinggrasp · 4 years
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Fated to Love You here reaffirming my long held conviction that no pure romance drama should be 20+ episodes.
This show is... really something. It is, in the fullest possible sense, A Lot. It starts out as an all-out screwball comedy wrapped around a troperiffic romance fluff plot. Wall to wall clichés, but not in a bad way; in a meta, self-aware, peak performance, finest Velveeta way. And if you’re not familiar with screwball comedy, think ‘light-hearted crack fic with slapstick and farce’. There is nothing believable or grounded about any aspect of it, it starts at Bonkers Level: Platinum and it only climbs higher as it goes on.
(On a side note, this results in the leading man being possibly the most memorable love interest in romcom history. His introduction scene is nothing short of batshit insane and you can't reliably predict how he will respond to anything. I have never seen a main character like this, he is all over the shop and utterly singular. Your first reaction to him is ‘wtf?’, your second and third reactions are ‘really?! this guy??’, your fourth reaction is ‘okay he do be mad hot tho’, your fifth and final reaction is ‘I cannot believe this performance exists, I have no idea what he is doing, but it is amazing.’
Appropriately(?) the actor who plays him is an uncanny Korean doppelgänger of Johnny Depp and- between the resemblance, the mannerisms, and the fearless total commitment to a bold as fuck acting choice with the very serious chops to back it up- I’m not convinced they aren’t half brothers separated at birth.
They do sabotage my happiness several times by starting to randomly style his (long, beautiful) hair very weird, fixing it right when the plot is rapidly circling the drain so he looks his hottest just as the show becomes briefly unwatchable, and then ruining him for the entire second half of the series by shearing it all off. WHY, my anguished cry goes up. Why do you do this?! Why does he have like seven hairstyles over the course of the show? Much later they even briefly give him that ubiquitous Kdrama Second Lead haircut with weirdly forward combed fringe in a solid straight line across the brow all the way back from the crown. It looks terrible on everyone and I hate it so much. This version was less bad than most but it is still bad. Anyway.)
So it’s an incredibly fun time to start but there are some problems with the tone and plot even in the first 9 episodes, including when the lovers start getting along really well right away and they’re both thoroughly decent people so there’s nothing keeping them from having a lovely time together making the best of the circumstances (forced/fake marriage). And, instead of introducing new conflict or advancing one of the dozen conflicts previously established and actually moving forward, there is a painfully contrived rehash of something they already dealt with which is then just never resolved. They make the hero leap to a conclusion his wife is nefarious after he’d already decided once that she isn’t (though it was completely reasonable for him to think she was- the fact that he decided to trust her so quickly just speaks to what kind of person he is), never try to find out more or talk to anyone about it, start pushing her away because of it, and have all this come to absolutely nothing. It only exists so he’ll stop being so incredibly nice to her and they won’t fall in love too fast.
You’d think they would have to eventually clear the air before the romance advances right? No. It wasn’t a real plot point, it was just a reset button to get them estranged and hostile again after they connect over their kindred spirits and we’ve spent a bunch of time showing how profoundly supportive and honourable our hero is. He’s being beautifully mature and selfless because he’s a really good dude (unusual for a romcom drama, right? for the main guy to be nice and considerate? to accept responsibility even if he doesn’t have to? Gun’s weird but he’s wonderful), but the writers need him to be cold and standoffish, so they just make him act like an unreasonable idiot for a while. He’s been thus far hugely proactive and direct and honest about everything, it’s one of his most prominent character traits, but suddenly he’s going to avoid confrontation in favour of being super passive aggressive?? Then the writers never solve it. Never! It just goes away. He got over it, I guess? He decided he doesn’t care if she’s a gold digger who deliberately trapped him? God forbid we have motivations that make sense and organic character drama, right? It's not like he didn't have totally valid reasons to be suspicious that could have led to legitimate conflict our heroine would struggle to vindicate herself from.
But anyway, apart from that kind of lazy bullshit, it’s a fine romance plot with extremely endearing characters who have great chemistry. They are fun and well-rounded and incredibly human despite all the silliness and OTT antics. Their relationship is hugely, hugely engaging and the dynamic is perfect, they really complement each other as characters and organically drive each other's arcs. There's the genuine depth and warmth and quiet pathos so often lacking from this kind of show. Things progress at a semi-reasonable pace. They work up to confessing their mutual feelings and get into some cute shenanigans before making out. It happens soon enough that you are not frustrated, but there's still plenty of build-up. Then- uh oh! We’re only 9 eps in and we have another 11 hours to fill with this fluffy plot!
Time for a bunch of absolute fucking nonsense. Time for our show, which has been so goofy and removed from reality it occasionally resembles a Monty Python skit, which has been so light it asks you to ignore the frankly incredibly fucked up implications of its premise for the sake of comedy (they were both drugged and proxy raped resulting in a pregnancy- the FL was a virgin prior to this and Gun had a girlfriend he wanted to propose to- and it was the FL’s family who did this to them: SUPER FUCKED UP), so farcical that it makes Some Like it Hot look like a gritty crime drama, that show to cover a bunch of serious heavy shit.
First, the rankest of melodrama. The families and the world all turn on our couple, but their love is true and will conquer all- UNTIL, he randomly collapses and gets convenient Soap Opera Amnesia. He’s forgotten their entire relationship and a series of coincidental pieces of misconstrued evidence, the machinations of his scheming ex girlfriend, the Soap Opera Doctor’s advice, and his closest confidants all going along with this conspire to make him believe (AGAIN) that his wife just wants his money.
This whole terrible episode is mercifully brief, but it just gets worse after his memory returns. This is where we get into the Noble Idiocy. The ‘pretend you don’t love them to “save them” from getting hurt by hurting them and making their important life decisions for them as if they don’t have a basic fucking right to decide that themselves’ kind. Which goes on for three FUCK years in the show. He wastes three years of their lives they could have spent together because he’s worried he might die young (in a terrible way) and doesn’t want to put her through that. And, of course, they inevitably get together later, so all he did was make it infinitely worse for her either way. To say nothing of how he thus couldn’t be there for her through the loss of their child. Possibly my most hated fucking trope of all time when done this way.
And, yep, you read that right. This show that has the single most batshit bonkers over the top slapstick I have ever seen in a kdrama, this show has a storyline where the fluffy romcom trope accidental pregnancy ends in massive trauma. Because she was standing around in the street after realising he does remember her (he continued to pretend he had amnesia after his memories came back, it’s all part of the stupid noble idiocy so I glossed over it) and gets hit by a car in the middle of their angst staring.
It is nearly Meet Joe Black levels of hilariously abrupt and incongruous.
so, blah blah, they lose their baby (there’s a very stupid whole thing about her telling everyone to save the baby instead of her- the baby is not far enough along for this to have been remotely viable. She is like 3 months pregnant. They all act like there’s a choice to be made between them and she’s mad at her husband for choosing to save her, but there was NO CHOICE. Either she lives or they both die! ffs I’m so irritated about this) and then he dumps her ~for her own good~~ because he loves her too much to make her go through losing him? So she loses him sooner?? right after their baby died???
Why do people in these stories always think being betrayed and abandoned for no reason and being incredibly angry at someone you love while also not getting to be with them is somehow less painful than making the best of your life together and then losing them against their will? ‘I will make her hate me and then she won’t be sad we broke up/I died!!!!’ is such a fucking galaxy brain take and I despise it with the heat of ten thousand suns. Fuck you, Spider-Man. You aren’t protecting anyone, the villains still know you love MJ and will still use her against you, you clod. Emotionally torturing the person you love is not going to make them not a target because the villains are not as fucking stupid as you two. Anyway.
Amnesia was right where I started fast-forwarding and skipping around (because I couldn’t bear it), but it only goes downhill from there. Maybe I would have toughed out more of the wretched middle part plot twist if they hadn’t cut all the hot guy’s hair off. If I’m going to watch total nonsense tedious melodrama, I need it to at least be pretty. I understand it was a Symbolic Haircut but damnit! Let me have this!
And it ultimately does the thing that kdramas seem obsessed with and which makes me want to claw out my own eyeballs with frustration. There’s a giant time skip, the female lead gets a personality transplant, all narrative momentum is lost, and the characters who eventually (at ENORMOUS length) get together permanently are essentially completely different characters with a completely different dynamic than the couple you were shipping for 90% of the story. It is so FUCKING unsatisfying and it is EVERYWHERE.
Not so much with this one because this one still had a lot of very romantic scenes late in the game, but most that do this, it’s also like all the romance is sucked out of the post-time skip episodes and the ending is a consolation prize instead of a triumphant culmination. Inevitably, the heroine abruptly cools off and is suddenly wary of the hero and wants this Important New Career she never mentioned until the penultimate episode but is now her one true life’s dream. What the apparently irresistible appeal is of these contrived separations and demure conclusions is I CANNOT FATHOM. I’m here for the fucking romance guys, you have not made Citizen Kane, please just indulge me with a big schmoopy finale.
And if not that, it’s frequently that there’s been so many random mood swings and so much shitty behaviour by the end that the relationship doesn’t make sense and you don’t know why they even bother to get back together.
I’m not inherently against all misunderstandings (they are the bread and butter of low stakes romance let’s be real) or attempts at noble idiocy from misguided characters, but the duration and seriousness of the drama these generate needs to be in proportion to how ridiculous they are. If your entire plot can be solved by a thirty second conversation there is NO REASON not to have and the continuation of the misunderstanding is a result of someone just NOT SPEAKING UP when any functional human being would have spoken up seven times by now IT’S BAD.
Do little cliff-hangers, whatever, but don’t draaaaagg out silly misconceptions into Shakespearean tragedy, it’s just wearying. It makes me hate the characters for acting like emotionally constipated toddlers with terminal stupidity. If there is so little trust, so little understanding, and so little basic patience between these people, they probably shouldn’t be dating, so try fucking harder, writers. And noble idiocy that is more than an impulse they fairly quickly see the error of is just insulting. You are not helping the other person, you are being domineering and selfish. I have a whole complex about wasting time and seeing endless parades of characters flushing years down the toilet for literally no reason gives me hives. Especially when the whole issue is about time!
(And, btw, so much of the plot is about how desperately the family needs an heir and everyone still wanting them to have kids the second time they get together- while the ~dilemma used to keep them apart is a GENETIC DISEASE which could STRIKE AT ANY TIME. Do you SEE THE PROBLEM WITH THIS WRITERS????? NO, I KNOW YOU DON’T. ommmmmmmmggggg that’s awful! So they’re just dooming more kids to Soap Opera Brain Disease? And maybe growing up without a father just as Gun did? And no one even considers suggesting adoption??? He never considers that he shouldn’t have biological children despite thinking he shouldn’t have a wife?)
ANYWAY. Please do watch the first nine episodes and the last three, it’s bananas. They are cute as fuck, Gun is The Best, and the tropey romance scenes are top quality. You don't get those things executed so well, it doesn't happen, so you need this in your life. The acting is of a calibre you never usually see in modern romcoms; these are people at the top of their game committing utterly and taking these characters completely seriously. In that way it is pure wish fulfilment for me as someone who loves romance and is almost always disappointed by popular romance media, and thus the show is incalculably special. But skip the middle. Just skip it. It's not worth the suffering. I find the tone whiplash honestly just this side of crass.
I’ve been thinking about it for over a week and I truly love the main characters so it did plenty right, but I just cannot with wedding the two things this show is trying to be together, especially when it goes so hard in two mutually exclusive directions. but also the Meet Joe Black sudden car accident device is not redeemable under any circumstances. Can we never do that again, please.
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spideychelleee · 5 years
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My Thoughts on FFH!!!
Alrighty ladies and gents let’s examine the roller coaster of amazingness that is FFH:
Holy crap WOW
I LOVED FFH, yes it was all over the place at the beginning but it was amazing soooo
I was not expecting that tribute to our fallen heroes at the very beginning but it didn’t upset me either Whitney is always a win
I love how they made the “Blip” or whatever tf it’s called comical after how depressing it was during Infinity War and Endgame
Peter’s plan. Jesus Christ. That was the most adorable thing. He is so gone for MJ oml and honestly I was worried about his crush being rushed but Jon made it work sooooo
May and Happy.
Peter cleaning the effing bathroom when he saw MJ was gonna use it next and then doing his effing hair omg comedy gold right there
Peter buying THE NECKLACE and knowing her fav flower ughhhhh😩
That scene between Spideychelle where she explains to him her new fav Italian word was genius FRICK
Peter hitting his head on that bell not once but twice made me audibly laugh our boy can’t catch a break
When peter told nick fury how he’s worried about his classmates JEEZ I love him
Mysterio was extremely charming ngl. I knew he was gonna have to be the bad guy but I actually loved him before he went all psycho killer mode
Peter “I just wanna go back on my trip and tell MJ how I feel and maybe give her a kiss” Parker. His little laugh when he said that made me die inside
When Peter accidentally knocked Flash out HA. I love when they really show Spider-Man’s level of strength
GO AWAY BRAD NOBODY LIKES YOU LITERALLY EW
“Meet you downstairs in 10 minutes. I’ll meet you in 5 minutes”
MJ and Peters Little Walk on the Charles Bridge. They COULDNT STOP SMILING. And MJ breaking out of her shell and showing peter how excited she was that she figured out 67% his identity
Our girl MJ tryna sneak a lil peak at Peter’s ABS. Girl I feel you
Peter breaking the seatbelt. Again I love it when they show his strength
THAT FIRST ILLUSION SCENE AND ALL THE ILLUSION FIGHTS WTF AWESOME
Peter saying “it’s not real” but then still diving after MJ when mysterio dropped her
That iron man zombie was not. ok. Mysterio.
When we all thought nick fury shot mysterio and the day was saved but then NOPE HERE COMES A TRAIN
Peter all beat up was precious and he doesn’t deserve this
I refuse to believe Peter watched porn but HA COMEDY GOLD RIGHT THERE
Happy really came through stitching peter up and then peter getting all angry and yelling but then IMMEDIATELY apologizing for shouting omg my heart he is so pure
That whole London fight scene was amazing. When peter grabbed a sign and something else I can’t remember and used it as a shield was so badass ugh
MJ and that mace. I love her
Here we go people
MJ telling peter she has trouble getting close to people. I love that she’s opening up to him they really did her character justice
Peter apologizing for the broken necklace. But MJ likes it better broken cuz poetic cinema and wow that’s deep. Especially with her closed off nature, the fact that they lost five years of their life with no say. Gawd
MJ stopping peters rambling with a KISS
“And you kissed me”
Peter nervously pecking MJs lips and standing on his TIP TOES YEP I SAW THAT
THAT THIRD KISS. Her hand on his neck. His hand on her arm. They are so pure someone help me
That holding hands at the airport scene and Peters little “awww thanks” when MJ said she pays attention to him
Ned and Betty being a typical and accurate high school relationship was amazing
Peter literally throwing and letting go of MJ while she is screaming at the top of her lungs in the very last shot
WTF WHO WHAT WHY DO THEY THINK ITS OK TO DO THAT TO PETER BENJAMIN PARKER. MYSTERIO I SWEAR TO GOD WTF MAN. WHY YOU GOTTA OUT OUR SMALL BOY LIKE THAT WTF IS HE GONNA DO. WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THAT
Jk Simmons is back and I almost kinda cried of nostalgia? I wasn’t expecting that wave of emotion to hit me but it did. I remember watching all of the Raimi movies as a kid and seeing spiderman 3 in the movie theaters as like a 7 year old and I got kinda emotional seeing him again idk
Omg WAIT I FORGOT ABOUT THE PETER TINGLE
I LOVED THAT RUNNING JOKE THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE
WHEN HE REDIRECTS THE GUN AWAY FROM HIS HEAD WITH HIS PETER TINGLE SHIT THAT WAS HOT
Anywho if you made it this far I love you thanks for reading.
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Episode 1: Pilot
Hey Prodigies. 
Welcome. My name is Jessica. I will be posting my weird thoughts/comments (with approximate time stamps) for every episode of Prodigal Son as I rewatch the episode. I like to be completely absorbed in the show the first time I watch an episode which is why, even for new episodes, this will always be a rewatch commentary.  
I’ve done this for some of my other hyper-fixations and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it so here I am making another one for Prodigal Son. I doubt anyone is interested in my thoughts but I’m just doing this for fun so sorry, not sorry. 
Here we go with episode 1
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SPOILERS AHEAD
0:10 - Baby Malcolm is so freaking cute. 
1:00 - after 60 seconds I’m hooked. This show is incredible. Little boy watches his serial killer father become arrested? Yes. Please. What. A. Concept.
1:47 - Is Bright the only FBI agent on the premises? Maybe I’ve watched too much Criminal Minds but I thought FBI agents travelled in groups for cases?
3:34 - This scene. As a fandom, I feel like we don’t give the adorable actor who plays baby Malcolm enough props. Seriously, his facial expression combined with his delivery of the lines, “They call you a monster....are you?” Breaks my heart. Every. Time. It is the moment I fell in love with Malcolm as a character. Also side note - Michael Sheen is killing it as usual. 
5:10 - This cop shouldn’t be allowed to carry a gun. Seriously - can you say immoral?
6:24 - “Next time you call someone crazy, ask for their gun first.” He’s not wrong. In fact this line is amazing. 
7:00 - I think college!Malcolm is really interesting but that hair part is not ok. Also. The way he tries to hide his hand tremor in this scene is heart breaking. AND. The way Martin talks to Malcolm in this scene (as someone with a manipulative, abusive father who fooled family friends/teachers, etc. that he was a stand up guy) is truly haunting. He is putting up an amazing act. He is calm, kind, understanding, and concerned. He also killed people. That duality is just...upsetting.
9:04 - He sleeps in restraint with a mouthguard. Immediately I want to hug him.
10:04 - This conversation between Ainsley and Malcolm reminds me of my own brother and I (I was ten when my abusive dad left and he was 7, he doesn’t remember much but I do). My ability to connect this scene to my life is probably why I find the dynamic of Ainsley and Malcolm’s relationship so real and believable. These siblings are close, they can go from talking about real problems in their lives to teasing each other and whining about mom in an instant. 
11:00 - THIS. THIS HUG. IS. EVERYTHING. This scene is everything. This is the moment that I became curious about Gil. Who is he? Why does Malcolm (who has already been established as very emotionally wounded) trust him? And why does this guy care so much about the son of a serial killer?
12:05 - Is this the only time we see Dani chew gum?
12:10 - I love the way Bright is introduced to the team. You immediately see that Gil is Malcolm’s fake dad and that Malcolm is very socially awkward. 
13:00 - Something about this scene is reminding me just so slightly of BBC’s Sherlock. 
15:03 - Does no one else on the roof hear this conversation?!? You can see other people on the roof.
15:20 - I love how many subtle nods there are to Malcolm’s hand tremor in this episode.
16:12 - The interaction between Jessica and Malcolm is wonderful. It really showcases how extra Jessica is and how much Malcolm is suffering. Also the fact that Jessica’s pill holder is bedazzled is HILARIOUS.
18:00 - The only thing running through my head right now is how fine Tom Payne looks in that long sleeved polo. 
18:45 - Edrisa is a breath of fresh air. She is awkward and funny and she lightens up the very serious aspects of this show. 
19:00 - “He’s the killer right? We agree?” JT is honestly such an underrated character. He’s honest (a little blunt) but he also has a huge heart. Also the line about Malcolm not sleeping is heartbreaking. 
20:05 - ngl. The whole Edrisa/Malcolm dynamic (in the first few episodes) really grosses me out. It’s awkward and creepy. 
20:21 - What is JT’s facial expression here?!? That weird pout as he looks at the ground?! It’s hilarious but honestly sooo out of place in this scene. 
21:15 - Sooo the killer broke into Nico’s apartment. Why did he cover everything in plastic? I mean why? It’s so bizarre. Also - why did he hang out in the dark? He was just in the apartment. He definitely didn’t turn off the lights as he prepared to flee the scene.
22:10 - I love that Dani, the woman, is the officer to pursue the killer. Not JT who is the most physically imposing. 
23:15 - This scene always gets me. It’s just soooo crazy. I mean everything about it is just wild. 
24:40 - More of my boy and his shaky hand. <3
25:05 - As I rewatch this episode I notice all of the subtle looks that Gil gives Bright. They’re concerned looks. I love them. 
25:30 - It looks physically painful for Malcolm to swallow. :( Also the looks that Ainsley and Malcolm give each other as Jessica prattles on about Egypt are amazing. 10/10 would recommend.
26:00 - “Not with the sound on” Yikes. I like Jessica but she really needs to work on being a better mom to Ainsley.
27:27 - The lighting in the case room is suddenly flickering? Really? Well that’s convenient I guess. 
28:40 - Dani saving Malcolm is so important. She just met this guy. She clearly thinks he’s a little off. But she’s a good person. She wants to help him. She protects him from himself and the gun wielding police officers. 
28:55 - ....Malcolm put on a coat before he went to talk to Gil about his night terror? Interesting. 
29:00 - I love this scene. We find out about Jackie. We find out more about Gil. We see how much Gil cares about Malcolm. AND we can see JT and Dani in the background talking and looking over at Malcolm. It’s so good. Character development for the win. 
30:18 - Ok. So. Martin Whitly is an amazing artist. He drew those. Dang. 
31:07 - How did Martin manage to keep a medical license after killing all those people?!? 
31:10 - Martin and Malcolm’s first conversation in 10 years is so interesting. The dynamic of their conversation is complex and intriguing and honestly I could write a freaking novel about their relationship. 
34:35 - The first hint we get that Martin might care more about merely having company than having a relationship with his son.
35:40 - This scene is peak comedy. “Maybe you should draw your gun.” hahaha. 
37:48 - Malcolm has no sense of self-preservation. Honestly. He walks into a room containing an armed serial killer when he himself is unarmed. 
39:15 - This scene. Malcolm’s speech. You can see how much Malcolm hates himself. How much Malcolm hates his past. How much pain he carries. It’s haunting. 
40:48 - I love that even after finding out that Bright’s dad is a serial killer, Dani takes a minute to make sure that Malcolm is okay. She cares more about his wellbeing than his past. That’s an incredible distinction. 
41:23 - Gil’s speech. Gil’s story about Malcolm. Wonderful. Chef’s kiss. This is why I keep watching the show. The idea that the cop who arrested a serial killer became that fake dad to the serial killer’s son is such a beautiful and complex concept. I’m obsessed with the father/son dynamic between Gil and Malcolm. 
If you actually read all (or any) of this - Thanks for hanging out. I wish I could say that my thoughts for subsequent episodes will be shorter but honestly I forced myself to be brief with this one. 
Basically - I love this show. I’m someone who is, generally speaking, fascinated with character development and whump. This show is a gold mine for both. 
I’ll post again soon. Read it if you want. Or not. I’m mostly posting this for myself. Because you know, COVID-19. I’m at home. I have way too much time alone with my thoughts and doing this is fun. 
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Veronica Lake (born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman; November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd during the 1940s and her peek-a-boo hairstyle. By the late 1940s, Lake's career began to decline, due in part to her alcoholism. She made only one film in the 1950s, but made several guest appearances on television. She returned to the big screen in 1966 in the film Footsteps in the Snow (1966), but the role failed to revitalize her career.
Lake's memoir, Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake, was published in 1970. Her final screen role was in a low-budget horror film, Flesh Feast (1970). Lake died in July 1973 from hepatitis and acute kidney injury at the age of 50.
Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Her father, Harry Eugene Ockelman, was of German and Irish descent, and worked for an oil company aboard a ship. He died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932. Lake's mother, Constance Frances Charlotta (Trimble; 1902–1992), of Irish descent, married Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, also of Irish descent, in 1933, and Lake began using his surname.
The Keanes lived in Saranac Lake, New York, where young Lake attended St. Bernard's School. She was then sent to Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from which she was expelled. Lake later claimed she attended McGill University and took a premed course for a year, intending to become a surgeon. This claim was included in several press biographies, although Lake later declared it was bogus. Lake subsequently apologized to the president of McGill, who was simply amused when she explained her habit of self-dramatizing. When her stepfather fell ill during her second year[vague], the Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida. Lake attended Miami High School, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to her mother.
In 1938, the Keanes moved to Beverly Hills, California. While briefly under contract to MGM, Lake enrolled in that studio's acting farm, the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting (now the Beverly Hills Playhouse). She made friends with a girl named Gwen Horn and accompanied her when Horn went to audition at RKO. She appeared in the play Thought for Food in January 1939. A theatre critic from the Los Angeles Times called her "a fetching little trick" for her appearance in She Made Her Bed.
She also appeared as an extra in a number of movies. Keane's first appearance on screen was for RKO, playing a small role among several coeds in the film Sorority House (1939). The part wound up being cut from the film, but she was encouraged to continue. Similar roles followed, including All Women Have Secrets (1939), Dancing Co-Ed (also 1939), Young as Your Feel (1940), and Forty Little Mothers (also 1940). Forty Little Mothers was the first time she let her hair down on screen.
Lake attracted the interest of Fred Wilcox, an assistant director, who shot a test scene of her performing from a play and showed it to an agent. The agent, in turn, showed it to producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., who was looking for a new girl to play the part of a nightclub singer in a military drama, I Wanted Wings (1940). The role would make Lake, still in her teens, a star. Hornblow changed the actress's name to Veronica Lake. According to him, her eyes, "calm and clear like a blue lake", were the inspiration for her new name.
It was during the filming of I Wanted Wings that Lake developed her signature look. Lake's long blonde hair accidentally fell over her right eye during a take and created a "peek-a-boo" effect. "I was playing a sympathetic drunk, I had my arm on a table ... it slipped ... and my hair — it was always baby fine and had this natural break — fell over my face ... It became my trademark and purely by accident", she recalled.
I Wanted Wings was a big hit. The hairstyle became Lake's trademark and was widely copied by women.
Even before the film came out, Lake was dubbed "the find of 1941". However, Lake did not think this meant she would have a long career and maintained her goal was to be a surgeon. "Only the older actors keep on a long time ... I don't want to hang on after I've reached a peak. I'll go back to medical school", she said.
Paramount announced two follow-up movies, China Pass and Blonde Venus. Instead, Lake was cast in Preston Sturges's Sullivan's Travels with Joel McCrea. She was six months pregnant when filming began.
Paramount put Lake in a thriller, This Gun for Hire (1942), with Robert Preston as her love interest. However, she shared more scenes with Alan Ladd; the two of them were so popular together that they would be reteamed in lead roles for three more films. Both had cameos in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), an all-star Paramount film.
Lake was meant to be reunited with McCrea in another comedy, I Married a Witch, (also 1942) produced by Sturges and directed by René Clair, but McCrea refused to act with her again, reportedly saying, "Life's too short for two films with Veronica Lake". Production was delayed, enabling Lake to be reunited with Ladd in The Glass Key (again 1942), replacing Patricia Morison. The male lead in I Married a Witch was eventually played by Fredric March and the resulting movie, like The Glass Key, was successful at the box office. René Clair, the director of I Married a Witch, said of Lake, "She was a very gifted girl, but she didn't believe she was gifted."
Lake was meant to co-star with Charles Boyer in Hong Kong for Arthur Hornblow, but it was not made. She received acclaim for her part as a suicidal nurse in So Proudly We Hail! (1943). At the peak of her career, she earned $4,500 a week.
Lake had a complex personality and acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with. Eddie Bracken, her co-star in Star Spangled Rhythm, in which Lake appeared in a musical number, was quoted as saying, "She was known as 'The Bitch' and she deserved the title." However, Lake and McCrea did make another film together, Ramrod (1947). During filming of The Blue Dahlia (1946), screenwriter Raymond Chandler referred to her as "Moronica Lake".
During World War II, Lake changed her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle at the urging of the government to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles. Although the change helped to decrease accidents involving women getting their hair caught in machinery, doing so may have damaged Lake's career. She also became a popular pin-up girl for soldiers during World War II and traveled throughout the United States to raise money for war bonds.
Lake's career faltered with her unsympathetic role as Nazi spy Dora Bruckman in The Hour Before the Dawn (1944), shot in mid 1943. Scathing reviews of The Hour Before the Dawn included criticism of her rather unconvincing German accent. She had begun drinking more heavily during this period, and a growing number of people refused to work with her. Lake had a number of months off work, during which time she lost a child and was divorced.
In early 1944 she was brought back in Bring On the Girls (1945), Lake's first proper musical, although she had sung in This Gun for Hire and Star Spangled Rhythm. She was teamed with Eddie Bracken and Sonny Tufts. The movie was not a financial success.
In June 1944, Lake appeared at a war bond drive in Boston, where her services as a dishwasher were auctioned off. She also performed in a revue, with papers saying her "talk was on the grim side". Hedda Hopper later claimed this appearance was responsible for Paramount giving her the third lead in Out of This World (1945), supporting Diana Lynn and Bracken, saying "Lake clipped her own wings in her Boston bond appearance ... It's lucky for Lake, after Boston, that she isn't out of pictures".
Lake had a relatively minor role in a film produced by John Houseman, Miss Susie Slagle's (also 1945), co starring Sonny Tufts; Lake was top billed but her part was smaller than Joan Caulfield. In November 1944 she made a third film with Bracken, Hold That Blonde (1945). She liked this part saying "it's a comedy, rather like what Carole Lombard used to do ... It represents a real change of pace".
Lake then made a second film produced by John Houseman, The Blue Dahlia (1946), which reunited her with Ladd. While waiting for the films to be released in 1945, she took stock of her career, claiming, "I had to learn about acting. I've played all sorts of parts, taken just what came along regardless of high merit. In fact, I've been a sort of general utility person. I haven't liked all the roles. One or two were pretty bad".
Lake expressed interest in renegotiating her deal with Paramount:
The studio feels that way about it too. They have indicated they are going to fuss more about the pictures in which I appear. I think I'll enjoy being fussed about ... I want this to be the turning point and I think that it will. I am free and clear of unpleasant characters, unless they are strongly justified. I've had a varied experience playing them and also appearing as heroines. The roles themselves haven't been noteworthy and sometimes not even especially spotlighted, but I think they've all been beneficial in one way or another. From here on there should be a certain pattern of development, and that is what I am going to fight for if necessary, though I don't believe it will be because they are so understanding here at Paramount.
Since So Proudly We Hail only The Blue Dahlia had been a hit. She made her first film outside Paramount since she became a star, a Western, Ramrod (1947), directed by her then-husband Andre DeToth, which reunited her with Joel McCrea, despite his earlier reservation. It was successful.
Back at her home studio she had a cameo in Variety Girl (1947) then was united with Ladd for the last time in Saigon (1948), in which she returned to her former peek-a-boo hairstyle; the movie was not particularly well received. Neither was a romantic drama, Isn't It Romantic (also 1948) or a comedy The Sainted Sisters (1948). In 1948 Paramount decided not to renew Lake's contract.
Lake moved to 20th Century Fox to make Slattery's Hurricane (1949), directed by DeToth. It was only a support role and there were not many other offers.
In 1950 it was announced she and DeToth would make Before I Wake (from a suspense novel by Mel Devrett) and Flanagan Boy. Neither was made.
She appeared in Stronghold (1951), which she later described as "a dog", an independent production from Lippert Pictures shot in Mexico. She later sued for unpaid wages on the film. Lake and DeToth filed for bankruptcy that same year.
The IRS later seized their home for unpaid taxes. On the verge of a nervous breakdown and bankrupt, Lake ran away, left DeToth, and flew alone to New York.
"They said, 'She'll be back in a couple of months,'" recalled Lake. "Well I never returned. Enough was enough already. Did I want to be one of the walking dead or a real person?"
She performed in summer stock theatre and in stage roles in England. In October 1955, she collapsed in Detroit, where she had been appearing on stage in The Little Hut.
After her third divorce, Lake drifted between cheap hotels in New York City, and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. In 1962, a New York Post reporter found her living at the all-women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan, working as a waitress downstairs in the cocktail lounge. She was working under the name "Connie de Toth". Lake said she took the job in part because "I like people. I like to talk to them".
The reporter's widely distributed story led to speculation that Lake was destitute. After the story ran, fans of Lake sent her money which she returned as "a matter of pride". Lake vehemently denied that she was destitute and stated, "It's as though people were making me out to be down-and-out. I wasn't. I was paying $190 a month rent then, and that's a long way from being broke". The story did revive some interest in Lake and led to some television and stage appearances, most notably in the 1963 off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward.
In 1966, she had a brief stint as a television hostess in Baltimore, Maryland, along with a largely ignored film role in Footsteps in the Snow. She also continued appearing in stage roles. She went to Freeport in the Bahamas to visit a friend and ended up living there for a few years.
Lake's memoirs, Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake, which she dictated to the writer Donald Bain, were published in the United Kingdom in 1969, and in the United States the following year. In the book, Lake discusses her career, her failed marriages, her romances with Howard Hughes, Tommy Manville and Aristotle Onassis, her alcoholism, and her guilt over not spending enough time with her children. In the book, Lake stated to Bain that her mother pushed her into a career as an actress. Bain quoted Lake, looking back at her career, as saying, "I never did cheesecake like Ann Sheridan or Betty Grable. I just used my hair". She also laughed off the term "sex symbol" and instead referred to herself as a "sex zombie".
When she went to the UK to promote her book in 1969 she received an offer to appear on stage in Madam Chairman. Also in 1969, Lake essayed the role of Blanche DuBois in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire on the English stage; her performance won rave reviews. With the proceeds from her autobiography, after she had divided them with Bain, she co-produced and starred in her final film, Flesh Feast (1970), a low-budget horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline.
After purchasing an airplane for her husband, André de Toth, Lake earned her pilot's license in 1946. She later flew solo between Los Angeles and New York when leaving him.
Lake's first marriage was to art director John S. Detlie, in 1940. They had a daughter, Elaine (born in 1941), and a son, Anthony (born July 8, 1943). According to news from the time, Lake's son was born prematurely after she tripped on a lighting cable while filming a movie. Anthony died on July 15, 1943. Lake and Detlie separated in August 1943 and divorced in December 1943.
In 1944, Lake married film director Andre DeToth with whom she had a son, Andre Anthony Michael III (known as Michael DeToth), and a daughter, Diana (born October 1948). Days before Diana's birth, Lake's mother sued her for support payments. Lake and DeToth divorced in 1952.
In September 1955, she married songwriter Joseph Allan McCarthy. They were divorced in 1959. In 1969, she revealed that she rarely saw her children.
In June 1973, Lake returned from her autobiography promotion and summer stock tour in England to the United States and while traveling in Vermont, visited a local doctor, complaining of stomach pains. She was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver as a result of her years of drinking, and on June 26, she checked into the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.
She died there on July 7, 1973, of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury. Her son Michael claimed her body. Lake's memorial service was held at the Universal Chapel in New York City on July 11.
She was cremated and, according to her wishes, her ashes were scattered off the coast of the Virgin Islands. In 2004, some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6918 Hollywood Boulevard.
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overthedub · 4 years
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Gorillaz Fic Recs Part 1
Today’s a day all about love, and I just feel like there isn’t a whole lot of love shown towards the fanfic side of this fandom. Hopefully my haphazard rec list can fix that.
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A lot of fics on this list (though certainly not all) feature Murdoc as the main character (because I love him lol), so if you hate him, maybe skip over this rec list.
Got a good mix of family fics, angst, and other stuff, so take your pick.
(Part 2 incoming)
Family Fics
Things They Don’t Understand by Ferrenbach
Summary: Murdoc is the most real person in the world, but it's hard to make people understand when he doesn't have the words.
Rating: Teen
BOOOIIII this fic. THIS fic right here is my jam. I absolutely adore it to bits, and whenever I’m lacking inspiration to write for my own fic, I go and revisit it.
The poetic style, the deep characterizations of both Murdoc and 2-D, just everything about this fic is so damn good, my dudes. Holy shit, I cannot recommend this one-shot enough.
Worlds Infinite by Ferrenbach
Summary:
Murdoc goes looking for 2-D, who can only take so much party noise. He can also only take so much alcohol before turning into an armchair philosopher. Murdoc is more practical. There's no sense in musing on "what-ifs" after all, is there?
Rating: Gen
Yet another great piece from Ferrenbach. I’ve been meaning to delve into their other fics, too, but so far I’ve only had time to read a couple of their one-shots.
I adore the atmosphere of this fic, and the descriptions and characterizatons of Murdoc and 2-D are just as amazing as in Things They Don’t Understand.
The Gunpowder Princess by ghoullly
Summary:
A runaway princess with a gun on her back
A man with raven's wings and a bird's skull atop his head.
A giant man with long legs and the biggest heart she'd ever seen (figuratively and literally).
A man with a ghost between his ears and the ability to sway the elements with his mood.
One man is mute, one man is blind, and one man is deaf.
A ragtag group of misfits band together to travel to the edge of Japan to help the young heiress escape her planned assassination. They quickly realize that it's not as easy as it sounds, especially with some dangerous people following close behind.
Rating: Mature
I haven’t had the chance to catch up with this fic in a while (and it’s unfinished), but I adore this AU to bits. Japanese folklore AND found family dynamic? Yes, please.
return address by beepboopwriting
Summary:
Even evil has loved ones.
Sometimes, evil sends said loved ones letters written in nasty ink and addressed from a high security prison.
Loved one replies. She replies a lot.
Rating: Teen
This one makes me wanna cry, man. Murdoc and Noodle’s father-daughter relationship was one of the reasons I joined this fandom in the first place, and this Phase 5 fic does NOT disappoint. My heart aaaaah
Horse With No Name by Invader Sam
Summary:
Another one-shot Gorillaz fic, this time set during their first US tour. Noodle is plagued with nightmares and Murdoc, fearing it may be affecting her performance in the band, decides to 'handle it'. :) Rated for one or two curse words.
Rating: Teen
This is a really cute Phase 1 Murdad one-shot that made me smile a lot.
Sleepover by vinnie2757
Summary: 'Is this "Everybody Crawls into Murdoc's Bed Night" and I wasn't informed?’
Rating: K
Another cute Phase 1 one-shot where both Noodle and 2-D have nightmares and sneak into Murdoc’s bed to talk to him about it like the kids they are, much to his weary dismay.
Snapshots by vinnie2757
Summary:
The early years are full of the soft moments, the easy smiles and piggybacks, the laughter and the supportive hands behind backs. [A collection of moments from a time when Gorillaz were happy.]
Rating: K+
This one-shot collection spans across multiple phases and is an all-around nice time. No drama, no angst, just Gorillaz being a family. :D
You Are Now Entering The Harmonic World... by OceanBacon23
Summary:
A collection of little scenes. Each deals with a certain song by Gorillaz, and you might need to know each song before you can read the story.
No archive warnings apply. ADDITIONAL WARNINGS MAY BE PLACED IN AUTHORS' NOTES.
Rating: Gen
I haven’t read all the one-shots in this collection yet, but it’s nice to take a peek into these song creation moments the band members get up to here.
The Apology by eyedentification
Summary: Murdoc makes amends. (My own take on a common Gorillaz fanfic trope.)
Rating: Mature
This is more a comedy one-shot than a family one. I’m not exaggerating when I say I yelled at this Phase 4 fic lmao. I won’t spoil anything other than the fact that this is just Peak Murdoc™.
Press, Release by ratbat
Summary:
Privacy is something you trade for fame, Murdoc knew that, but there's always something personal you hope to cling to, something to keep for yourself.
Now if only the fucking media and their hack lackeys would quit acting like that belonged to them too.
Rating: Teen
This is a great Phase 1 fic focusing on Murdoc’s own battle with internalized homophobia after the media tries to rip his coming out away from him in an interview.
This fic does have some slurs in it, courtesy of Murdoc’s own foul mouth and internalized hatred, but do read this one if you’re okay reading that sort of thing.
What Are We Going to Do? by Close_enough_to_lose
Summary:
Murdoc notices that Noodle looks embarrassed while handing 2D the lyric sheet for Every Planet We Reach Is Dead. He quickly figures out why. Luckily, it’s one thing he’s equipped to deal with.
Or,
Murdoc finds out Noodle is bi and gives her his advice.
Rating: Teen
More Murdoc being a good dad to Noodle. :D Just a bi dad giving his bi daughter (actually good) advice.
2D is Weird by alexisntedgy
Summary:
2D has always been a little different. Or, other people always thought he was. But when people keep telling someone that they're weird, it starts to get to you.
Or, 2D is autistic and has a panic attack because of his ~issues~.
TW for internalized ableism, panic attacks, and general ableism. Any other TWs in the notes.
Rating: Teen
I also have a headcanon that 2-D is autistic, and I like how this fic portrays how he struggles with his and other people’s perceptions of it and him. Noodle’s also being a good sister to him here, so that’s a plus.
Just Another Girl by alexisntedgy
Summary:
Noodle is a girl. She knows that. The only problem is, the rest of the world doesn't know it.
Rated T for Murdoc
Basically just trans Noodle. I love her she's gr8 :))
Rating: Teen
I haven’t caught up with this fic all the way through yet either, but the chapters I have read are super cute and wholesome and full of Gorillaz family-bonding. :3
Angst Fics
Pretending by FleetRed
Summary: After a casual hookup, Stu imagines what it would be like if it were something more.
Rating: Teen
I adore the many character study fics in this fandom, and this one is no exception. It’s a great insight into 2-D’s romantic mind.
The Selfish Giant by fashionpixiez
Summary:
YOU ARE MURDOC NICCALS, AND YOU ARE EMPTY.
No, no. Don’t tell me you’re not. You’re empty, aren’t you ? A vessel. But you aren’t the kind of vessel that wants to be filled, are you? No. You reach out to people and you touch their hearts and you burn them, because you want them to feel some of that burning emptiness too. that’s all you’re good for. (It’s like it’s all you’ve ever known.)
Rating: Teen
This fic hurts my heart, but damn is it good. The descriptions of Murdoc’s feelings and his past are so poignant here, I just want to hug him.
Other Murdoc-Related Fics
Tattoos by HowlingMisfit
Summary: There's a reason why Murdoc doesn't have them anymore. (Rated for: Major character "death", Gore, Blood, Nudity and Murdoc.)
Rating: Mature
This is a horror/supernatural one-shot that (to me at least) is more comedic than scary. Of course, the descriptions are downright macabre (which I love), but...again Peak Murdoc here.
Lucy, I’m Home by TheDarkLegate
Summary:
After the release of Humanz, Murdoc isn't willing to wait another seven years for more success. Lucifer wants to see just what he'll give up to get it. One shot. Spiritual Successor to "A Day in the Life of Satan".
Rating: Teen
I’ve hardly (if ever) seen any fanfics that delve into Murdoc’s deal with the Devil. The way Lucifer is portrayed as a world-weary businessman rather than someone to fear is pretty funny and really in line with Gorillaz’ sense of humor, too.
Morning Person by Lmaooooonade
Summary:
A young boy cherishes the mornings where he can just exist. Things might not be great, but he can at least exist peacefully for a while.
Rated Teen for my fucking language.
Based off the headcanon of another creator I very much admire, please inquire within.
Rating: Teen
This Phase 0 fic is a great stand-alone read even if I haven’t really delved into the headcanons that inspired their fic (though I have seen their neat artwork around sometimes).
If I move my hands fast enough, I won’t die by alexisntedgy
Summary:
Murdoc Niccals has Tourette’s syndrome, this is the story of his journey.
Because nobody else has written about this headcanon yet!!
This will probably be a place to keep Tourettes!murdoc ficlets and one shots!!! For context, I (the author) have a tic disorder :)
Rating: Teen
Personally, I like Murdoc’s verbal tics, so it’s interesting to see someone else’s take on why he does them here.
Aaaand that’s it for now! I’ve read a lot more Gorillaz fics than this, but this list was getting long enough as it is, so I figure it’d be best to just make another rec post based on genre.
Part 2 of my recs will focus more on OC/Murdoc and reader/Murdoc romance fics, so stay tuned for those!
If you have any fic recs for me, by all means tell me about them! Just keep in mind that I don’t like any band ships aside from 2Russ and RussDel.
Self-insert OCs or reader fics are a-okay, though!
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todpolle · 4 years
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Meme Gene Scene:  The 7 Deadly Sins of the Anime Arc
So 2019 is over and another season of SMG4 is around the corner. But while I’m rewatching the season to make my top and bottom 5, I might as well talk about the bleeding knife wound that SMG4 is too proud to show us instead of going to a hospital, the Anime Arc. I hate it.
Now I waited to write this cause I wanted to see if anything else happened and to see how Axol turned out. I was also debating on how to format this analysis but I figure I’ll do what Linkara did for Identity Crisis and Civil War and just list my issues in a list of no particular order. Now with the other arcs and even Meta Runner, they only had one issue that ruined everything: Villain, Ending and Pacing respectively. But I counted seven issues with this arc so we have seven knife wounds to examine.
But before we get to that, I would like to list some things I liked or not worth bringing up in my discussion.
- Hideo Kojima was an amusing running gag.
-If I were to list the good episodes, they are ‘The Anime Challenge’, Mario’s ‘Lemonade Stand’, ‘Meggy’s Bootcamp’ and the Meggy half of ’Mario Showdown’. But even that has an issue I’ll talk about later
-Meggy’s redesign. I like it.
-Francis introduction. I may have my issues with Francis but how he was introduced is not one of them, showing him both as a intimidating crime boss and a pathetic loser.
-That short bit with Saiko in ‘Japan trip’. I thought it was a good character moment with no dialogue showing how insecure about her appearance she is.
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-Bob. I may had be biased against him for the previous arc on first viewing but he was actually one of the few consistent rays of joy this whole mess.
-I won’t be talking about the humor at all for the most part. Mainly cause that’s subjective.
-nor would I waste energy complaining about the musical number when there are other things to complain about. Intentionally bad is still bad though.
And I think that’s it. Now to explain why the Anime Arc is bad story, that is bad.
1: DESTI’S DEATH
Okay. Lets get the big one out of the way first. Desti’s Death. The scene that made me give up on this arcs. But before we talk about this some more, how about a complete history of Desti and her long rivalry with Meggy before the Anime Arc.
Desti was the main villain of ‘If Mario was in Splatoon 2′.
That was it.
Now I talked about Desti’s death before here
https://todpolle.tumblr.com/post/185301760988/meme-gene-scene-how-to-kill-a-life
But SMG4 made two video’s talking about Meggy’s redesign, assuring us it was planned and even some of the better ideas they should’ve used like the sharks with chef hats or Boopkins being a crime boss.
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Neither of them talk about why they killed Desti. it just seems like something they decided to get a reaction which seems to have work. That doesn’t mean it was good! As for me, my reaction was the same as listening Sonic Cd’s American OST. Pure rage. Personally this ending is everything wrong with the arc. It tried to be “so serious”, it wasted a perfectly good character, and it did unnecessary damage to Meggy’s character.
But while I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea of killing someone off, since one of the main forms of comedy in this show is slapstick and character regualerly being set on fire for comedic effect and in the same episode Mario jumps on a land mine causing it to explode and survive, if someone were to be killed off, who should it be.
I would’ve said SMG4, but he’s really been getting better these past few mouths and he was the main character of one of the best episodes of the year. You know the one. When runs out of memes. Also when he posted cringe. I think any of the recolors could be a good candidate for the chopping block since the audience has this nostalgic attachment to them and they aren’t really use any more so getting rid of them for good wouldn’t hurt. Maybe Starman cause he’s suppose to be horrible in real life. Or maybe one of the joke characters that aren’t really used anymore like the Toast guy or that fat shy guy. People know them and would be more like retiring a joke than wasting a potential recurring villain.
Or just kill Axol. Not like he’s been enjoyable since his introduction.
Speaking of which...
2 AXOL
First things first. I have to say that Axol is not the worst thing ever. I’m still watching SMG4 so he isn’t bad enough to put me off. I mean I watched this show called Miraculous Ladybug for a season and I hated this rich brat call Chloe. And when I heard she was becoming a hero, I noped so hard I never watched the show again.(Which is good cause  heard that show went to crap) And Axol doesn’t reach the levels of bad like the possibly offensive Ben or the sexual predator Donkey Kong or the constantly abused Yoshi.
No, Axol is on a similar level as X. And by that I mean he’s BORING! He’s the most boring character currently in the main cast and I just want him to leave so we can have fun with the better characters. I never had any issue with  any of the original characters before. I love Meggy, I love Shroomy, I love Jeeves, I love Saiko and I love Tari. They are all enjoyable to watch. Heck, even Greg is a better character and he’s just a prop.
But Axol... Every time he’s on screen I’m not enjoying myself. I mean the Mario and Bob story in the Lost City was funny and enjoyable. The Boopkins and Axol story was just dull and that had Teletubbies. Teletubbies. Axol is so boring he made Teletubbies unenjoyable.
Also. What those he add to the show. I would say straight man but we already have Luigi, Meggy and SMG4 filling those role and have their own little quirks to help them stand out like Luigi’s cowardliness, Meggy’s competitive nature and SMG4 and his video making job and memes. I would say weak but Tari and Boopkins have that covered. We already have Bob and Boopkins to mock anime with. And while I think Inkweaver is cool, so far it’s only purpose was to get stolen by bad guys which is more trouble than it’s worth.
And this might be a me thing but in the season finale, Axol manged to win one of those carnival shooting games by ricocheting a bullet onto multiple objects and getting a perfect shot. That’s Meggy’s thing! If he made an anime character to make the shot or just get Haru Okumaru to blow the stand up with her grenade launcher, I wouldn’t be annoyed by this. I mean Tari and maybe Luigi I can by, but Axol. This just screams like a desperate push to make Axol as cool as Meggy.
According to SMG4, Axol was the original villain they had for the arc and I wished they stuck with that cause as a good guy he’s just there. I can just picture him giving a monologue about spreading anime to the ignorant Inkling population while making over the top poses before getting kick in the groin by Meggy cause she’s not putting up with his anime crap. Plus his backstory which would explain his motive for doing something like this wouldn’t seem like a red herring. It’s too late to make a change like that now without it feeling forced.
As what should happen to  Axol. Well....
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3: MANDATORY VIEWING:
SMG4 is an episodic show and one of the benefits of that kind of format is that you can jump into any video and get a complete story. Even the first two arcs had episodes that were self contained even when they advanced the plot, they could still be enjoyed on their own. Like you can watch ‘Mario Saw’, ‘Waluigi’s Time’, ‘Mario and the T-Pose Virus,’ ‘Mario Concert’ and ‘Mario And the Diss Track’ and still get a full experience. The only exception would be ‘Mario Con’ to WOTFI 2018 but you could argue that is a finale.
The anime however doesn’t have self contained stories. Even when it’s doing it’s own thing, each episode has an ending that says “Keep watching and maybe you’ll find out.” What did Francis want Mario to do? Keep watching and maybe you’ll find out. What is Axol’s plan to save Anime? Keep watching and maybe you’ll find out  How is Meggy going to get her guns back from Desti? Keep watching and maybe you’ll find out. Is Meggy going to be okay? Well you have to wait two weeks cause we going to have the 3 million subscriber collab at the worst possible time.
And unlike Waluigi or Rapper Bob, this arc those change the status quo so in order to understand what’s happening, you have to watch these episodes. Why is there a boring axolotl hanging around them now? Anime Arc. Why those Meggy look human? Anime Arc. And why is she crying over this Dizty Doo girl? Anime Arc. Huh. Peach seems to like anime now for some reason. Nope. Anime Arc. This was never an issue before but now if you’re a newcommer, you have to watch the whole thing to understand stuff even if you don’t like it.
4 “I’m so edgy!”:
Now to be fair, a serious tone doesn't mean it’s bad. Sometimes a serious helps punctuate the happier times the all the joy and happiness makes the dark moments more impactful.Or you could miss it up with a horrible joke that gives your story a horrible double standard. Looking at you Persona 5 and it’s two horrible gay predator scenes However, the way it was done it left me either bored, annoy or pissed  off. Like the whole Meggy is Missing thing did peak my interest, but rewatching it just left me empty and that not even the stupid fight made it enjoyable, especially since I know how it ends.
And the worst of this dark tone was the worst episode of SMG4 “World War Mario”. Even if you ignore Desti’s death this is episode is just ugly, unpleasant, these blood and death every and not the way Happy Tree Friends made entertaining, and Meggy is being tortured.
But if WWM is my least favorite episode, then why is Meggy’s Bootcamp my favorite episode of this arc. Simple. The emotional scene that suppose to tug on the cold, dead heartstrings had impact cause it was about Meggy dealing with actually pretty poor win-lose ratio and the frustration getting the better of her. Like the whole Bob being a villain, it’s something that would naturally build up over time and have an emotional impact that lands. Something the end to WWM lacks.
5 THE STORY WAS OVER:
Let be clear here. The story was over after “Mario” saved anime. What was the plot of the arc? Anime was banned. What happened after that episode? Anime was unbanned. The conflict was over. The villain was beaten. It was done. But no, we have to add another month and a half to this. I mean I was getting bored with the plot but at least it had an ending that wrap things up.
“But Todpole,” I hear you whine. “There was still the Splatfest stuff. That wasn’t resolved.” And I agree. The problem was that was a completely different story was happening. A side story. A B-plot. The part of the episode where Bart owns a factory. It was something completely unrelated. It had nothing to do with the anime stuff.
And the result of this. Arc Fatigue. We already had our ending and we want something new like McDonalds or more Minecraft or chores. Since the whole arc is released, it seems fine now. But imagine watching this as each episode is released and getting more and more frustrated as you just want the story to end and move on from this singular plotline I’m forced to watch. But instead it just got worse and worse and worse til the real ending came around and I just didn’t give a shit anymore.
6 : THE USE OF THE CAST:
I know some people complain how some characters feel like they’ve been forgotten like Bowser and Toad but that’s just  the arc not ending so we can move on again. Instead, lets complain about the characters that did make it into the arc
Like Boopkins. The biggest anime lover in the show. How those he react to the whole ban. Well he crys about losing his body pillows. And he introduces us to Axol. Other than that nothing. what Mario. He’s the main character of the whole show so he’s bound to have something to do and after the Lemonade Stand, he’s a tag along who doesn’t do anything but makes you question why he’s in the title. Oh, SMG4 joins A.S.S. at the start of the arc that doesn't matter at all since he quits at the end of the episode. Tari? Just there to fill up Meggy’s team, Luigi? Same. Bob? Nothing. Chris and Swag? Amazingly boring henchmen. Which is a surprise since they were great villains in the Prison Break episode.
What about Saiko? She has to leave the Kingdom cause of the ban. And we don’t really explore how she feels about this and is mainly to get Meggy on board to stopping the ban. And for the second half of the arc is the who mostly goes “We’re coming to save you Meggy.” which is fine and all but let other people have those moments you worry hog. Speaking of Meggy, she probably is the closest thing to a main character in this arc, which isn’t a good idea since she hates anime and would most be in favor of another ban after this mess. The Splatfest side of the story is about her desire to win Splatfest and this leads to her pushing her friends too hard and getting frustrated about losing again and when they planning to unban anime, she choose helping Saiko stay then training for Splatfest. Shame she then gets tortured for her ink later and that rival dies to give her emotional baggage she didn’t need so she got the best and worst deal in this entire arc.
But what about those villains. Well A.S.S. was just there to move the plot along which is fine as villains do but Peach being beaten by a song instead of the song being called shit and then gets kidnap by Bowser is anticlimatic. Francis however started out pretty good actually being the some loser who runs a crime organization of other losers. But when he gets inkweaver and kidnaps Inklings, he stops being fun and we got another Waluigi problem who I’m glad they killed this time. Also SMG4 said they made him the villain for hell of it instead of Axol which is not really a good idea. I mean if Boopkins was the main character, and evil anime fan would make perfect sense.
And Desti. Poor, poor Desti. I know they want us to believe that she and Meggy had this long and intense rivalry when they didn’t. And this whole beating Meggy fair and square seems OOC for her when earlier she stole Meggy’s guns and in her first appearance she tried to get Mario on her team. I get the wanting to humiliate her thing but that’s about it. And now all she’s going to be know for is the girl who died in the Anime Arc. Being know for being dead isn’t praise of any kind.
7: WHAT DID THIS ACCOMPLISH
Well Meggy got a cute redesign. Axol has appear in a few episodes and has sucked the whole time. There was a brief segment in the chores episode. There was “There’s Something Up With Meggy” which was based on Desti’s death and many people I’ve seen do not like this episode... We could’ve had an episode where they teach Meggy how to swim but we just skip over that in “Minecraft Plague”. That’s about it.
But if you asked me what this arc accomplish, I’ll tell you it filled me with dread. Each week I now worry if the dumb show about memes and wacky adventures would turn into another story arc and do something that makes me just quit the show altogether. I mean the rest of the season was alright after it recovered and I even liked that “Boy’s VS Girls” Episode people are spitting venom at. But that dread never went away. This show gives a smile every week for the stupid antics Mario and friends get into and I don’t want it to become something it’s not just so it can be taking seriously. I mean we can’t take this show seriously, Mario wants to fuck his food.
And can we please have sharks with chefs hats
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michalwu · 6 years
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Best TV series of 2017
Another year past and it’s time for another summary of television. Of course it was terribly hard to choose the best shows like last year, but maybe even harder considering how many new things came up and in how good shape the “old” series came back. So I chose my TOP 10 but also ten another series that was very good and close to be in my rank.
Places 20-11
The Crown, Stranger Things, GLOW, Game of Throne, Anne, Mr Robot, Fargo, Twin Peaks Return, Crazy Ex-Grilfriend, Better Things.
And now my TOP 10
10. American Gods. I’m not sure if I can be impartial about this show. It has many various review but I love Neil Gaiman’s book so much and I couldn’t love this series. Or maybe I could because as a fan I should be very critical about it. Nonetheless this show didn’t dissapointed me and gave a lot more. Great casting and what’s typical for Bryan Fuller it was very stylistic show as it should have been.
9. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She got this place in the last moment because I just watched the show. I was hoping for Gilmore Girls to be on my list this year but Amy Sherman-Palladino didn’t let me down anyway. It’s like a very sweet, colorful and tasty candy from her. Very funny, smart and it shows well those crazy years (especially for women). The biggest adventage is adorable and very likeable main character.
8. Feud: Bette and Joan. Ryan Murphy may dissapoint me with once amazing AHS series but he always give something in return. How could it go wrong? Incredibly interesting  true story of two amazing women. Great cast, containing some of my favorite actresses: Lange and Sarandon. Plus Murphy who showed again that he know how to write the female characters and how well he understand them. Of course stylistically this show can blow your mind.
7. Master of None. Aziz came back with season 2 and it may be even better than the first one. This show delivers so many various attractions. Episode in black and white, the best episode about Thanksgiving I ever saw (Angela Bassett was stunning), beautiful Italy and even more beautiful Francesca. Love story in this season is so cute and kind like in oldest movies. I was a big pleasure to watch this season and I hope Aziz will be back.
6. Handmaid’s Tale. This is one of must see in 2017. Beautifly shot and played by very talented cast. The thing I remember most though is Alexsis Bledel and episode three which made me cry like nothing else. Although this version of future is very scary it was a pleasure to get depper and deeper into regime with our main character. Acting is the biggerst virtue of this series and I think the reason of its seccess.
5. Leftovers. It is a very special show. I watched the whole two seasons in last year just before its coming back for finale. The writing is so smart, natural and authenic even though it is such a crazy world the show depicts. It has so many beautiful, scary and heartbreaking moments. I like how this season particulary refers do Bible and how creators play with apocalypse vibe. The finale was tremendously emotional and so subtle in the same way. I will miss this one.
4. Mindhunter. Big positive suprice for me but also considering it is influenced by David Fincher it shouldn’t be at all because I love his movies. Especially I love Zodiak and any movies with familiar topics connected with serial killer cases. And this show have everything to steal my heart. Great cast, interesting characters, stunning music, amazing writing with smooth dialogues and climate of 70s. First season gave us many frightening story and amazing gallery of personalities. Every actor who played killer did a great acting job. There was no big  gun action or plot twists but those meetings were enought.
3. Big Little Lies. Another series with remarkable nast of female. But we all know that cast isn’t enough. It’s the story and fascinating characters what make the show great. Cast and acting was rewarded so many times that I can just say that of course I agree with critics. For me the biggest treat in BLL is the director. Jean Marc Valle is one of my favorite creators of last years. I love his work and the way he combines great acting in emotional scenes with beautiful shots and music. He made watching this life of rich housewifes and their children so interesting and fascinating I fell in love with this show.
2. BoJack Horeman. I think it’s the best drama of 2017. The only reason it’s not consider this way is because it’s animated. I will say again that BoJack is the best antihero character that tv ever made. Complicated and depresing life of this horse and his friends get even more fucked up this season but still with grace and great sense of humor creators of show can make it a great comedy. And this season really was depresing considering we get to know BoJack’s family better with very dark past of his mother (the ending with her in eldery institution broke my heart). Plus Princess Carolyn get some more time and fail to become a mother. This kind of drama actually always was the best way to bring comedy so no wonder it work so great in this season. I’d really like for this series to get more appreciations because BoJack realy don’t deserve to be forgotten. I love this horse and I’m glad it came back in such a good shape again.
1. Legion. The biggest suprice and the biggest joy of this year. I love comic book especially Marvel and mutants the most of them all. So imagine my hope and expectations when I found out that amazing Noah Hawley is making a show in the world of X-men and even more about character so crazy, bipolar and strange as LEGION. Well the show is a lot more than I could imagine and hope. The cast is great. Stevens is doing a great job as the madman but he’s not even close to amazing Audrey Plaza (one of my favorite young actress) because she goes in completly nuts places the bring the best...ehmm the worst of Shadow King. Noah Hawley also go crazy with artistic solutions he uses this season. The way camera works, music he chose and characters he made...it’s all so fascinating, creative and CRAZY good! I know I use “c” word a lot but it’s the best one to describe this series. Narrative is really smart and demanding from viewers. Stopping the time, journey in different dimentions, black and white movies, getting lost in memories, even being trapped in silent movie.  I really am supriced by complete lack of nominations and awards for this show. Well I guess critics still think that comic based shows and movies are not worth their attention. Too bad because even though comics adaptations in tv really did fail me this year, Legion is the real gem. I can’t wait for next season and I pray that mutants coming back to Marvel won’t affect this magnificent series.
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*****
The most important trait of this year ranking is how many of those shows are new. Many great shows came back in good shape (Starnger Thing, Game of Throne) but not good enough to get into best 10.
Another one is lack of my last year numer 1. Why? Unfortunatelly Mozart in the Jungle was not broadcast this year...I have to wait till February.
Biggest disapointments:
1. AHS Cult. Like I said Murphy let me down again with this one. First of all. Stop calling it horror. It’s not horror since season 3. Another flaw is the theme. I get that political situation in USA is a hot topic and going after Trump is a thing now. But it really bores me so much. Trust me, I think Trump stinks but did Ryan had to try win his part in this trend. A large number of nominations for SNL is an example that it can be lucrative but Ryan did it very bad taste for me. Showing in stereotypical way of both sides, characters without brains, boring plot and all of it so predictable. Well he still have two seasons left to fix it or destroy this once great series completly.
2.Iron Fist and Defenders. I have no patience to write about terrible Iron Fist. What really upset me it that Defenders was such a medicore series and in the end so boring and unattractive season to watch. It had Daredevil and Jessica Jones! Still it sucked so much.
3. Friends from College. Great cast for comedy. No comedy at all. The lack of chemistry between the characters killed this series. Too bad because it had potential.
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thecinephale · 6 years
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I was arguing with my sister about whether Friends was homophobic or not and it led me down a rabbit hole watching a 50 minute supercut of every homophobic/transphobic moment in Friends (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsQ5za-J6I8). Some of it’s really not okay. Some of it actually seems to be commenting on the characters’ homophobia in a way that at least for the time might’ve been progressive. But most of it is just the kind of seemingly innocuous stuff that shapes our culture in a really harmful way. 
Since coming out I’ve had a lot of people ask me why it took until I was 23. Given what I knew about being trans, of course it did. Here is a list of every representation of trans people I saw (that I can remember) in film and tv throughout my childhood and adolescence. 
Friends - Chandler’s parent seems to be a trans woman. It’s somewhat hard to tell because she’s misgendered and dead named by most of the characters. Her attraction to men and wearing of women’s clothing is what Chandler considers to be the root of his emotional problems. She performs at a drag show in Las Vegas, she is very flamboyant, and she’s portrayed as very sexually aggressive (multiple jokes are made out of her coming onto Ross). She is played by Kathleen Turner. I prefer cis women to cis men playing a trans woman but here it just feels like a joke that his “father” could look so “womanly.” Ross and Monica’s dad says, “I didn’t even get to pretend like I’m okay with it” when pulled away at Chandler and Monica’s wedding. Chandler’s “dad” is played as a joke the whole series and any poignancy added when Monica convinces Chandler to invite her to the wedding is lost by the continued jokes at the wedding and throughout the series. Unrelated, Joey says he hooked up with a woman with a big Adam’s Apple. The other five friends comment that women don’t have Adam’s Apples. Joey having hooked up with a trans woman is the joke. I think about this scene all the time.
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult - Anna Nicole Smith does a silhouetted striptease that ends with the reveal of a penis to Leslie Nielsen’s horror and induced vomiting. It’s funny because her having a penis is SO gross! Ha. Ha. Ha.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective - Similar but even worse. When Ace Ventura realizes his crush/person he just kissed is a trans woman he has a full Jim Carrey freak out, eating a tube of toothpaste and showering like a cliche sexual assault victim (funny!). Then even worse at the end he reveals that she is trans by forcibly stripping her naked and revealing the outline of her genitalia tucked between her legs. This causes the dozens of cops and detectives witnessing this charade to gag. Because it’s SO gross!!!
Family Guy - There’s probably so much transphobia on this show that I don’t even remember and I certainly haven’t watched this show since high school so who knows with the later seasons. But the most obvious example was the very special episode with Quagmire’s dad coming out. There are a lot of awful jokes I don’t want to dwell on, but the worst is when Brian fills the room with vomit because he slept with her. This vomiting thing seems to be a trend.
Life of Brian - I take issue with Monty Python and lot of British comedy for constantly thinking putting a man in a dress equals comedy. I’m totally fine with sketch shows where men play women characters but the joke can’t be the gender swap. When I first tried wearing dresses outside I couldn’t shake the feeling of being a joke in a Monty Python sketch. Well, here the offense is more direct. Eric Idle’s character “wants to be a woman” and it’s played for laughs with the ultimate conclusion being that he’s detached from reality.
South Park - Similar to Family Guy I’m sure there’s transphobia throughout the series I don’t remember (plus Caitlyn Jenner jokes in recent seasons… yes I still watch for some reason). But the main issue is Mr. Garrison. “He” has gender confirmation surgery and it’s shown very graphically not in cartoon. It’s compared to Kyle wanting to be tall and black and Kyle’s dad wanting to be a dolphin. A lot of attention is given to Garrison’s testicles and ultimately in the show Garrison de-transitions. By the way, he eventually becomes the Trump surrogate and Jenner is the Pence surrogate. So the most anti-LGBTQ administration in decades is represented in the South Park world by two (?) trans people.
The Silence of the Lambs - When the Criterion Blu Ray comes out in a couple months I’m going to rewatch this and finally finish my longer piece on the movie. But we all know this one. Buffalo Bill skins women and dresses in their flesh while tucking her(?) genitals. “Would you fuck me? I’d fuck me” was a commonly repeated phrase thrown around by friends in high school. I think about that scene a lot when I look in the mirror.
Sleepaway Camp - Another in the genre of trans woman killers. The ending of this movie is really horrific. Re-watching it now, I still feel repulsed by Angela. The terrifying music, the slow camera pull back, Angela’s deranged face, the way the shadows make her transgender body look more beast than human. Oh and that she’s just dropped a human head on the ground. Writing up this list I rewatched a lot of terrible shit, but this one really hurts. Maybe because it’s still such an effective horror movie ending. Maybe because it doesn’t even give Angela any agency. It seems to imply she isn’t trans but was given forced surgery/hormones as a child. I guess this should make it better, but it makes it worse, because it implies trans people were just damaged as children. It really makes me want to cry.
Dog Day Afternoon - This is certainly one of the more sympathetic portrayals on this list even if the trans woman is played by a cis man, Chris Sarandon. Al Pacino’s Sonny robs the bank to get money for his lover’s gender confirmation surgery and the scene between them on the phone is rather poignant. Still, “Leon” is not exactly an enviable character and it all ends in tragedy.
Dressed to Kill - This movie is pretty directly a reimagining of Psycho. That movie isn’t on this list because the doctor explicitly says Norman is not a “transvestite” but it’s harmful influence is still clear. This movie does the opposite. The doctor here very clearly explains that Dr. Elliot “wanted to be a woman” and that’s what led her to kill. Lovely.
The 40 Year Old Virgin - Jay hires Andy a sex worker. She turns out to be a trans woman. Andy leaves. He’s upset at Jay. Many transphobic comments and lots of misgendering occurs. It’s a real hoot.
All About My Mother/Bad Education - I love Pedro Almódovar and I appreciate that he has always included trans characters and even cast trans actors sometimes. I don’t take issue with either of these movies. I personally didn’t see myself in them but sex work, HIV, and sexual abuse are all common experiences and totally have a place in stories about trans women. I haven’t seen either of these films since I was in high school and I’d be interested in revisiting them now.
Twin Peaks - David Duchovny plays Denise, a trans woman. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the character, I suppose. But it also feels like including her is just to add further idiosyncrasy to Lynch’s world. Just like having a character called the One Armed Man is ableist. Lynch is gonna Lynch, but this character played by a cis man is certainly not some great representation like the revival seems to want to paint it as.
Dallas Buyers Club - Jared Leto’s Rayon is both comic relief and tragic masturbation all servicing the story of a cis straight man (in the movie… in real life he was bisexual). She never feels like a real person even as she’s meant to represent so many common experiences. Leto overacts and of course won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It’s so exhausting being Oscar bait. But I guess it’s better than being a serial killer.
Maybe this explains why it took me until I was 23.
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cum-om-me · 4 years
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Personal Entry:
Otter here, first i guess itd be fair to explain a few things up top.
Firstly Otter is a metaphorical alter ego which was created based of a nick name given to me in highh school.
I was coined as "the nomadic Otter" due to my well known history of drifting continuously through this existence being born in a foreign land not to many continents away,but like a gracious river otter flowing with the rivers which eventually reach the seas, i was always stoned more naive, but ironically zen. I was brought here by my single mother at four yrs old, my father was never in the picture nor was i allowed to speak about him or inquire about him to my family and those who may have any information regarding the history of my own coming into being.
We became permanent residents four years later and im currently going through the process of naturalization. I went through the american education system since pre kindergarten so naturalization has occured as an outcome, but just isn't finalized and paid for so i am now going through that initiation. Ive paid and gone through the preliminary round.
We landed in a small town in texas, age four. Came to california at fifteen, twenty years id moved one year to, year and a half due to my mothers profession In the medical field, sometimes, or i guess i should say almost always, we would have to go to where the work was most needed in order to sustain our basic living, taking us all over texas and parts of southern california. After eighteen yrs of age, i left home with duffel bag and a guitar because i wanted to escape the conventual fate planned for me by my elders.
Nature loves courage.... And it is Apparently so.
Of course there are so many factors and so much information to divulge to add the proper context to the point im trying to get to in the conclusion of this story. Im afraid id diverge so ill have to return to all that some other day.
Now that you understand where the otter ego within me (pun intended) was teased and entertained as an ideal character for the person i am, its seeds didnt really start sprouting till last year (2019) and its peaked above the mud, i can explain my newly found understanding of the purpose of using this "alter ego" "character" "avatar" to be able to dissolve the borders of my own limitations as a person creating art. To be able to truly entertain these thoughts through the medium of the otter avatar and not as the man, for it has been increasingly difficult for me to be able to contemplate and philosophize with my peers and the community of souls i once accepted as my tribe, in a way of intellectual taste and progress.. Now it seems the bridges between me and the village are dissolving and im trying to understand why. I stand on the side which i believe to be that of the importance of knowledge of self, critical thinking, and responsible skepticism in order to be able maintain reason within the tribe, to perserve that which is most human in our nature, in comparison to the madness we have seen over and over throughout history displaying itself in obvious patterns of repetition that consumed mobs rabidly, making itself its own enemy. Lets use a symbolic metaphor. The snake eats its own tail in the delusions of unity to find when its finished nothing remains but its mind left exposed, and without protection from even the weakest but competent prey.
You see the metaphors are simply the inner poet, using symbolic visual linguistic tools to paint a clearer picture.
We are a story driven organism, just ask the keepers of morality and the stories of god which has defined the basis of our now hypocritical society using it like a crutch too old to withstand the withering of time, frail and ready to snap like a twig beneath ones feet.
As george carlin once said "no one seems to notice, no one seems to care" and every debate that has naturally transpired in my social structures as of late has lead to a point where logical conclusions, non threatening ones at that, lead to the opposing side raising their white flag and settling for mediocrity. "I dont care, leave me alone"
Then the attack on personality and character are used as a defenses to preserve the beliefs already founded due to the uncomfortable nature of growth.
I sit and watch as i always have the flicker, flame and smell of the bridge burning in blazes right before my teary eyed soul.
Am I no longer included, wanted by the collective community? Has my own pursuit for knowledge, understanding, truth and the inner rapture of personal discovery lead me to ruins door? Am i incapable of getting out of my own way? Can you even go to far within yourself?
No one wants me to feel but its not ok to feel nothing at all
To think but, only on the agreeable subjects of status quo
To speak when spoken to but to only speak what is conveniently easy to digest by a still watered mind threatened by the chaos of waves beating on the shores of its shared sands.
Has erosion driven us mad. Have the corrupted springs poisoned our waters too far beyond repair.
Must i reluctantly recluse amidst the tides and hide underneath lonely currents that travel vast desserts beneath oceans.
Pandemics, parks closed, beaches are now illegal to its native children, by a seemingly upset stepdad whos love is equal to obedience and incapable of parenting,it seems theyre now gunning for the fringe, the free, the open, the love expressed through physical incarnation as its own self love for its own existence, through the odd, differnt, freaks, weirdos, mutants, prophets, and visionaries
Why should i fight for those who dont care about their own person their, own freedom.
Why stand for those who wouldnt even stand with you, nor for you.
"Those who trade freedom for security deserve neither"
-Benjamin Franklin
Yet who am i to claim that anyone deserves anything or doesnt. So regardless of the I Dont Care Generation emerging. I choose to care for not what is principles of good or evil but what i intuitively feel is sincere and right. So I must begin with myself and only in following intention will i be able to incite any real change. By making a difficult choice and knowing that it feels as though the risk is worth the gamble.
So now ive heard loud and clear and i have nothing else to let go of but this. So ill hold my tongue and wish for the best. For the eutopia not the the sneaky slip into distopia.
There's nothing further i can do other than create, experiance, enjoy, let go, and face the music, To put it as Alan Watts did, " this doesnt mean you wont jump when you hear the bang, or that you wont feel fear, but youll accept it, and the person who understands the tao in the morning my sleep peacefully at night"
"Once the mind has been extended it cant ever go back"
-Terrence Mckenna
I hope that you know ive accepted the multitudes of possible outcomes for our future, i may be optimistic but i feel prepared, oddly prepared. This isnt a statement or message based on fear but something none the lesse my heart cannot hold in.
So Otter is born so to speak to embody the imagination im trying to let out without it being taken seriously, but sincerely and within the temple of the timeless. Art.
Without it having to be the me, the person, that funny feeling between the eyes that screams out I, who finds himself walking away from flames due to trial and failure in channeling its own expression. I will not desist i just must evolve and create the platform on which i may rebuild. The system updated and the restart brought about change. Now we begin again. Full of breath, with new found vision, i forgive myself for my failures but i wouldnt ever be able to look at my own reflection if i didnt try until i got it right. I vow to myself and olny to myself for thats the only source of validation needed to exist freely, sovereign, that i will do my best to be who i am meant to be, the being and self of my choosing.
"Most people spend their lives trying to find themselves, lifes about creating yourself"
-Bob Dylan
So in conclusion i know im different, and it may be intimidating but you cant just get rid of it, turns out you must overcome it, and the only way out is through and for me that began when i went within.
I am all for the rules, and being apart of this country and its society and obeying social order but as John Locke wrote in "Common Sense" that this is an unspoken agreement between the govenrment and its people that so long as they are just in ruling us" we will have to obey the law but there must be a way for its people to regain its country when tyranny and injustice is getting in the way of democratic processes and this is coming from a almost fully naturalized immigrant that came here to seek safe haven from a Democratic country plagued by unfairness. It would be a pitty to see it happen to a promise land founded of rich ideals. To those ive come to see as my own brothers and sisters, i love the ideal of true patriotism but where has it gone? If i need to be more protective of my personal privacy so that i may be able to practice my philosophical self studies, music, and comedy, to persue basic creative thinking methods openly. Then i choose this mask nit the one i was told to wear since birth. Theres always an person beneath the mask playing into the drama of this darma and we get into yoga with its fun to preten that we loose ourselves and assume the identity of the character portrayed in the scene in order to truly bring the crowd to the edge of its seat in awe and anticipation of the beauty of its poetry that at the end when the play is concluded both protagonist and antagonist join hands and the audience cheers for both equally for the dazzling deception and its cleverness for playing on the emotions of the observer.
Then the cast returns to the green room and become again who they were naturally.
Im 26 and ive found my character and im ready to submerse myself in its divine play and get involved participate, get lost in the mask of the person which is temporary but the spark behind conciousness seems to be the driving energy of existence benevolent, and eternel. Worth gambling so, now we roll the dice and hit the mystery button, just like the amnesia serum we gave ourselves before conception, into the womb we went. Only when you awaken your consciousness in the dream do you get to control the avatar, lucidly.
It doesnt seem to be a requirement, more like an EXPERIANCE badge rewarded for interesting work in the feild.
These again are ideals, not truths, thoughts and patterns worth examining and if capable entertaining till the conclusions and realizations of truth or delusion run their course. If you havent reached that point you havent really thought it through logistically right?
Lets discuss this comment below.
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scrapyardboyfriends · 7 years
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12 July 2017
[Outside the Mill of Misery with Robert and Aaron]
ROBERT: Bob’s back! The fans and I are so excited. And as a bonus, we might actually get what we order, which reminds me, I haven’t had my trademark Americano in far too long.
AARON: I’m far too preoccupied with my #PeakAngst Plot to be bothered about Bob or breakfast.
ROBERT: But it’s my mission in life to make you happy and food always makes you happy. That is the way to a bloke’s heart and all *Pats Aaron’s Stomach*
AARON: *Recoils* #Foreshadowing
ROBERT: Are you okay? - I have a bad feeling about this -
AARON: Yep. I’m totally and completely fine. #StopLyingYouLiar In fact, I’ve really got to get to that job I never actually do. I mean, unless you count kicking a door in as work. Still, it’s a great Plot Device.
ROBERT: If we still need to talk… (FANDOM: Please do more talking!!!)
AARON: We did all the talking yesterday. #StopLyingYouLiar
ROBERT: That was hardly #ActualConversation Aaron. I mean, we were approaching it which means the Plot is totally going to blow up in our faces soon and force us to try to get there again. That seems to be the cycle. But you didn’t come to the pub yesterday when you said you would and you went to bed early.
AARON: Sucks being left out of the Plot doesn’t it?
ROBERT: Fair point.
AARON: Yeah well, since I did no work yesterday, I’m playing catch up now. So...another time, yeah. I need to be off screen now so your worry levels can escalate. But we’ll do something tomorrow.
ROBERT: What? More angst?
AARON: Probably.
ROBERT: Well we can’t tomorrow. The car’s in for its service.
AARON: You do remember that I also have a car, right? #PlotHole But anyway, we’re totally good at the moment. #StopLyingYouLiar See you later for more angst.
ROBERT: *This is going to get bad Face* - I never should have put on this tainted Red Shirt of Doom -
[The Shop with Robert, Adam and Cain]
ROBERT: What the hell Adam, Aaron just ran off to ‘work’ claiming he had a ton to do but here you are doing nothing as usual. Aaron’s totally stressed out. I can totally read my husband like a book… *Confused Face*
ADAM: Hey, I’m just happy to be in a scene and have lines mate, but yes, I also saw Aaron really stressed out yesterday. Might have gotten it out of him too if the Plot hadn’t brought you to the portacabin right as he was about to tell me.
CAIN: I was the other person saw Aaron struggling yesterday, which is why the three of us actually get to share a scene. In any case, you should obviously talk to him.
ROBERT: *Confused Face* Clearly there’s something I’m missing here. I really hate when I’m not Plot Aware.
CAIN: If you don’t know what the problem is Robert, maybe it’s you.
ROBERT: *Did he just call me Robert instead of Sugden Face* and also *Getting super worried about my husband Face*
[The Woolpack with Robert, Debbie and Victoria]
ROBERT: AARON AARON AARON...Have you seen AARON?
DEBBIE: Hmm.. I feel like the last time we actually spoke to each other in a scene was when you were threatening Ross with a gun. No, I haven’t seen Aaron. Let’s now go back to ignoring each other.
VICTORIA: Help...help...help...help #AdmittingYouNeedHelpIsTheFirstStepToRecoveryFromBabyObsession
ROBERT: I can’t stay...cause AARON!
VICTORIA: No no, not Aaron, BABY!!! How do you feel about pale green and enchanted forests for the nursery? BABY! BABY!! BABY!!! Oh yeah and let me just mention Rebecca’s name too because this BABY is totally her’s and I accept that. #Projecting
ROBERT: Sorry Vic, AARON!
VICTORIA: BABY!
ROBERT: AARON!
VICTORIA: Blah Blah Other stuff about your issues with Aaron and money that I’m absolutely incapable of connecting back to issues he might have over BABY and the fact that you cheated on him because for some reason I’ve never been allowed to have a reaction to that Blah Blah BABY!
ROBERT: No, AARON! Forget it. Something is definitely wrong here. There’s clearly a Side Plot that I’ve been unaware of so far and I’m going to go investigate.
[The Mill of Misery with Robert and Aaron]
AARON: *Looks pained* *Retrieves unidentified food items from fridge*
ROBERT: *Displays ability to descend the spiral staircase sober* Oh, now you’re hungry...you know you can tell me anything…
AARON: Nothing good ever comes after that line Robert.
ROBERT: Yeah, but I saw Cain earlier and apparently there’s a Side Plot I know nothing about. I’m really worried about you.
AARON: Well you don’t need to be. - I mean Cain wasn’t the first one to find out about the last time I was self harming either. Nope, not at all…-
ROBERT: If this is still about the money…
AARON: No, Robert, that was yesterday’s Side Plot to dredge up our issues and inch us closer to #ActualConversation Keep up.
ROBERT: Well, care to share what this Side Plot is then?
AARON: Well, you see, the Plot contrived for Ethan and Jason to both be out of prison right when I needed them to score me some of those drugs I got addicted to super fast and then got over in a day. The fans were really pissed that that storyline got dropped so they brought it back. Makes for an excellent diversion from the truth though.
ROBERT: Drugs?!
AARON: I didn’t take any, but this Plot is super stressful and I just needed to escape it for a bit...It’s not a big deal.
ROBERT: Not a big deal?!
AARON: *Tries to walk away*
ROBERT: *Grabs Aaron to stop him walking away* *Finds the bigger deal* Show me your stomach.
AARON: No.
ROBERT: *Lifts up Aaron’s shirt* (ANTI FANDOM: Robert is a disgusting human being who should probably die a horrible death. - sorry I was in the ed lb tag and I saw things -)
AARON: *Look what this Plot has done to me Face*
ROBERT: *I fucking hate this Plot Face*
[The Mill of Misery with Robert and Aaron]
*Peak Angst Alert*
ROBERT: How long has this been going on?
AARON: Weeks…you happy now?
ROBERT: I think I’m the opposite of happy. Have been since the last major time I wore this shirt. So, since the Plot Device came back then?
AARON: I don’t want to talk about it.
ROBERT: #Epiphany Pretty sure that’s why we’re in this mess. But I thought that you were–
AARON: Thought what? That I was over it? Besides the fact that that’s not now mental health issues work, the Plot will never let me be over it completely. It enjoys making me suffer. I never should have cried so well in that scene where Uncle Zak gave me that lecture at seventeen.
ROBERT: So...this is why you were turning down food and sex on Friday and all those other times when we were off screen.
AARON: *Super sad and tired Face* Yep. Has the Plot sufficiently made you feel like this is all your fault yet?
ROBERT: Yep, Cain was right, I’m definitely the problem. But you’re not leaving until we have a #ActualConversation This is what the Plot was warning me about in our first scene this morning. Stupid Plot, it gives so little and takes so much.
[The Mill of Misery with Robert and Aaron]
ROBERT: Right, let’s recap. The Plot is bringing back the unfinished drug Side Plot and the ever present Self Harming Side Plot...and you don’t think I should be worried?
AARON: I just needed a release from this Plot Robert! It’s so exhausting.
ROBERT: And you don’t think I should be worried about that? I live to worry about you Aaron!
AARON: You have your own Plot to worry about and I’d rather wallow in my Side Plot, okay?
ROBERT: Now we’re getting to it.
AARON: You think I want any of this?! Don’t you think I’d rather have a fun little comedy Plot or summat?!
ROBERT: But maybe if we have an #ActualConversation we can get through this Plot and move on to something else, something lighter!
AARON: Where does talking ever actually get us Robert?! All we do is go round and round in circles either having vague arguments where we avoid our problems or big blow outs that we think are going to finally be #TheActualConversation but turn out just to be another plateau that we sweep under the rug a few days later. They even managed to do it to Maxine’s episodes. I’m so tired of it. #Relatable
ROBERT: *I’m tired of this Plot too Face*
AARON: Look at these wedding photos that just happen to be sitting on the table! Remember our wedding? What a joke! What if we’re just a joke?
ROBERT: Don’t say that!
AARON: Why not? Our wedding was happening and this Plot had already been devised, Robert! We should have known this was going to happen. I should have! When has anything good ever happened in my life?! *Smashes wedding photo dramatically*
ROBERT: What are you doing?! Vic gave us that back when she was still the captain of our ship!
AARON: I’m trying to create a metaphor Robert! To really drive the point home to the audience. That *points at shattered frame* is us! Shattered to bits! The Plot did that! Through you! - sorry you’re such a Plot Device sometimes...if it helps, you’re my favorite one - *On the verge of a breakdown Face*
ROBERT: *I still really hate this fucking Plot Face* *Picks up shard of glass* Cut me! (FANDOM: Are we really going here?!)
AARON: *Shocked and Confused Face*
ROBERT: It’s dramatic, Aaron, just go with it. The last time you had a self harm Side Plot it was because of Gordon. Now it’s because of me. The last time you were self harming because of a Plot we were involved in, I let you beat me up on the side of the road. This is totally in character for me.
AARON: *Takes shard of glass*
*Scene break for extra dramatics*
AARON: *Drops shard of glass* I’m done Robert. Even the fans are deserting us at this point.
ROBERT: Not all of them! We can all still get through this Plot Aaron!
AARON: No. Not this time. I already hate your unborn child. #Relatable
ROBERT: Me too...sometimes. But I love you! Please let me try and fix this.
AARON: You know, I thought about what it would be like if Rebecca lost the baby. #Freedom #Relatable
ROBERT: I really wanted her to get that abortion. I went full 2015 villain on her and everything.
AARON: And still, this Plot is happening. It’s real, whether we want it to be or not.
ROBERT: It’s okay…
AARON: You’re not listening Robert! They’ve written us into an impossible situation that we can’t get out of! Your son is always going to be a reminder of what you did! And I can’t handle it unless the Plot is willing to really invest in getting me therapy or they actually let some part of The Theory live! (FANDOM: Please let The Theory live!!!)
ROBERT: Don’t write us off! Please. Just remember that there’s always AU fanfic where Rebecca and this Plot Baby don’t exist.
AARON: Sorry, I usually only read the canon ones…
ROBERT: No no, there’s still a way. *Heart is actually breaking*
AARON: Robert… *Heart already broken*
ROBERT: Look, we go away, just you and me, get that spinoff we’ve been joking about. Maxine will write it, she already said she would on Twitter. All the fans will help. Then that will be canon, a world where we never have to see Rebecca or this Plot Baby. She can write them out entirely and then we never look back!
AARON: *Thoughtful Face*
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spotlightsaga · 7 years
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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Orange is the New Black (S05E05) Sing It, White Effie Airdate: June 9, 2017 @oitnb Ratings: @netflix Score: 8.75
**********SPOILERS BELOW**********
OITNB has a habit of having white folks tell black folks’ stories… Normally you can kind of sense it right away, but after watching ‘Sing It, White Effie’ I had to look up the primary writer. I’ve talked about this a few times but never on this grand of a stage. I know that this has been addressed by many in previous years including Essence Magazine (which, yes I do read). It’s true that we as human beings, of blood and guts and organs and bones, are for the most part the exact same, sans a few genetic defects that only affect a certain race… And it’s true that some of us in different parts of the world have very different experiences due to environment. For instance, for over a decade in Miami, my only friends have been ones of color… Literally 98% Latin & Black… Despite how other parts of my family live, I live very differently. Growing up a 'sexually fluid’ ginger with a mother who was a very young teenager in high school gave me a vastly different experience than most. I’ve always celebrated my fucking weirdness. In high school I was literally a walking oxymoron, wearing 90 inch GAT pants I stole from the mall or borrowed from my friend, GlowGirl (yeah in the late 90s we all had Rave Names, didn’t you know?), paired with an oversized button up I found in my step-dads closet and a vest from Structure and Brooks Brothers eyeglasses that my Grandmother bought me on a visit… Not to mention spiked up Backstreet Boy haircut (that may or may not have been blue), tousled in the front, and fucking candy and jelly bracelets from the base of my thumbs up past my elbows. What the fuck, right? You’d think I’d look back and hate it, but all I see is a RAD fn’ Rave Star with 'anti-anti’ 90’s culture embodiment… Serving up Rave-Tastic Soccer Playing Prep Freak “on a Lemonade budget”…. Thank you, Shea Coulee!
Diversity has always been a part of my life in one way or another. I love to trade perspectives. I ask questions and offer up personal experiences instead of telling people their way of thinking is wrong, because I want people to understand me and I want to understand them. I truly believe that if we all at least tried to understand each other instead of this 'This opinion is right. This opinion is wrong,’ divisive mindset so many have seem to have adopted as of late the world would be a much better place. That being said, I just wrote a few articles on the 3rd Season of '60 Days In’ and stated there were certain topics I couldn’t completely speak on, even being a diverse ginger gringo faggot or whatever anyone wants to throw my way. On the internet today I was told I have a PHD in Cock Sucking (and other things that literally just look like letters on a page to me) and on the bus just last Monday, I let Snapchat take a quick, disappearing peak at a woman attacking my partner and I on the bus with an umbrella who called us 'stretched out asshole faggot cock sucking mother fuckers that will fry in hell’, I couldn’t make this shit up even if I tried. She had gotten a glimpse at my partner helping me on the bus because I have some issues moving around on Monday’s due to some disc issues in the upper parts of my back and went in for the kill when my partner asked if she could please turn the music down that she was blasting from her phone like she wasn’t aware that one can totally sonically invade someone’s space. None of these experiences give me the proper perspective needed to make a complete series featuring an episode that looks through the lens of a woman of color’s standpoint on Culture Appropriation on an all white 'DreamGirls’ production at the 'White School of Rich Bitch Privilege’.
Don’t get me wrong, this is probably the best take on racial issues I’ve ever seen on OITNB. I was moved, accomplished NYC playwright and television writer & editor Molly Smith Metzler, whose worked on two of my favorite Streaming Only series (OITNB & Hulu’s 'Casual’) is a raw talent that streaming networks would be lucky to have work on their exclusive series… But it all still felt like it was missing something. Some might tell you that the 'diversity’ plays itself out in front of the camera, but I assure you as a writer that it takes a village. When it comes to television particularly, everything is filtered through a lens after a lens after another lens…. As the showrunner draws out a storyboard with producers and then oversees the writing of a script which is handed to an editor and then off to a director which directs the actors who have their own interpretation of that character who are then filmed and framed by a cinematographer who hands over the multiple takes to an editor, who then slices and dices and puts together the final product that the network may possibly need to approve and by now I’m out of fucking breath. And I didn’t even mention the composers, casting directors, production designers, art directors, set decorators, costumes, makeup, the fn’ art department, sound department who collaborates with special effects people, not to be confused with the visual effects crew and the dozens and dozens of others who’s lens it funnels through to make a finished product. Did I make a point yet?
'Sing It, White Effie’ is by far the best of #OITNB5 but just like the tears that filled my eyes during the final moments when a young Janae has an epiphany when she realizes what her trip to a private school that has a trio of rich white girls playing the main characters of 'DreamGirls’ truly represents…. Just like Taystee’s beautiful, enthralling speech that I’m sure we all applauded and were worked up over emotionally… It just could have been better. No matter what you know, no matter what you’ve seen, no matter how intense your empathy radar is, no matter how many shoes you have traded with other people… We can write out someone else’s story, we can do our research, we can firmly believe the things we say, we can identify pieces of a puzzle of someone else’s story through idiosyncratic experiences, but we’ll never be able to put the entire puzzle together without the missing piece.
I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining, I’m only imagining that a fantastic show could be even bolder, even more intense, even more 'on the nose’ with it’s ironic comedy style, that’s sometimes dark so that it fades into the drama with more ease. I love OITNB, I do. I would go as far as to say that this is the most bingeable show ever created. The hardest thing I’ve had to do in the past few months (thank god) is to decide to go to sleep instead of watching and writing about another episode of this very show. Slowly but surely, the inmates of Litchfield are shown to notice little things that are waking them to the impending consequences that are sure to devastate these women in a major way.
Right now it’s the little things, like Suzanne (Uzo Aduba), the usual most 'out of touch’ resident of Litchfield, observing the fact that she’s not being fed during regular hours. Gloria (Selenis Leyva) has come to a point where she is completely overwhelmed, she can’t carry on her normal duties anymore. Her genuine concern for Daya (Dascha Polanco) as well as her inner turmoil she’s experiencing for generally losing control paired with the backfiring of attempting to steal the gun from Daya to impede the takeover is a weight she can no longer carry. Her phone call to Diaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez) was another truly successful, relatable, and dramatic moment that puts the audience inside Litchfield for an oh-so important instant. I think we can all relate to a point in time where we are completely at a loss for what to do in a situation, maybe we want to ask for help, but we don’t know how, or even where to start, or even if we could be helped at all… So you just need a familiar voice on the other end of the line. The family dynamic is so strong with this one, and as a person who lives in a Latin Dominated city, there’s a certain way that pride is carried here that I see in these characters. These actresses are truly amazing to bring their distinct perspective into a script that is not their own, essentially that is what makes this show so special in these dramatic points of reference. It is bigger than the writers, who are great, but just not as diverse as we would like.
If it’s one thing that a talented white woman would write with a pristine birds eye view, it’s satire of a what it would be like to be a rich white woman turned into a slave by white supremacists… Oh yeah, and one white nationalist. Judy King (Blair Brown) looks completely insane with her messy hair, ketchup stained face, and belt leash around her neck. I literally can’t stop laughing as I write this. The image will be forever stored in the memory banks of my brain. Taystee is PISSED. The Helicopter Press snapping a photo of Judy King tied to a cross on top of a roof by skinheads wearing hijab’s has interfered with Taystee’s intentions, which means everyone’s intentions, but most importantly… Justice for Poussey. She means to buy Judy off of the skinheads and grab 'The PR Guy’ Josh (John Palladino) to issue a statement, but the skinheads make Taystee & Friends work for it, holding a ridiculous auction, which doesn’t really work… But for the sake of moving the core narrative onward in what is as close to real-time as possible, I suppose it’s fine…. I’m just not sure where everyone else came from considering in one scene they were alone and the next minute the area is full of potential bidders. Just goes to show you even some of the best shows are fat from perfect.
Pensatucky (Taryn Manning) has yet another memorable moment, again the drama is really what is setting this season ablaze. Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) catches Pensatucky & Coates (James McMenamin) making out. Of course, this not only enrages Boo for obvious reasons, but it also has her worried for Pensatucky’s safety. A lot of people seem incredibly uncomfortable with this subplot, but Manning delivers the true Pensatucky 'thought process’ in a 'methamphetamine metaphor’ that’s just divine. 'No matter how much I wanted different, I had to respect the chemicals… Because Lye doesn’t feel anything until it touches ephedrine’, Pensatucky means this… And even if you don’t understand the white trash chemistry behind the metaphor, she delivers it in the most earnest & steady manner. There’s a beauty to it. She continues… 'Have you ever wanted somebody that you shouldn’t?’ Boo doesn’t have it, 'Of course. It’s called masturbating. Now say goodbye and walk the fuck away, son.’ Pensatucky is a character that we’ve already explored so much throughout the past 4 ½ seasons, but there are so many notes to this character and to Manning’s delivery that they could literally go on forever. This is the very opposite of Piper (Taylor Schilling) who literally seems like a new person, someone completely alien to the Piper who kicked off the show in S1. Even her interactions with Alex (Laura Prepon) feel off key. Maybe prison is changing her? Or maybe they have no idea what to do with the character. They certainly know what they want to do with Alex, as she has started a bit of an 'outdoor prison’ revolution… Grass Roots, if you will!
We should mention that Coates escapes by way of Pensatucky stealing the gun from 'The Incompetent Queens of White Trash’, Angie (Julie Lake) and Leanne (Emma Myles), who don’t even realize that their 'secret hiding place’ they stored the gun while on a massive DXM trip is actually the back of the belt that Angie had no idea she was wearing. Coates actually takes the gun with him… All of these events have me worried for Pensatucky and there is really only so much that Boo can do. Right before his grand escape, Taystee and company lead Judy out for a press conference. Taystee begins and Danielle Brooks delivers her words like a Viola Davis or Meryl Streep in the making. She hands it over to Judy but pulls back when she realizes that Judy lying about her ill treatment will only hurt their cause… And to roll back to my original point, which I rolled off on a bit of a passionate tangent… Taystee literally says the words that I positioned that first point around… Judy King cannot speak for Taystee or any of the inmates, for that matter. This isn’t exactly a Pensatucky 'Methamphetamine Metaphor’ but dammit… In the face of previous controversy the show, particularly the writers room, has been accused of, you’d think that they’d hire equally as talented women of color to write this speech, portions of these episode, entire episodes. Once again, I take nothing away from the talented Molly Smith Metzler, she did an excellent job here… I just think that this scene, as well as others, could pack so much more power and benefit from the proper frame of reference.
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