#rwrb meta
Text
Hi I'm here to talk to you about the museum scene
Particularly about the moment they start dancing
Please look at this
Do you see how they both look down?
Well I guess Henry was grabbing Alex' hand not even intending to go much further
But Henry, my dear, this is Alex
As if this man does anything half-assed
He's like na-uh if we're doing this, we're doing it right with arms and all
And look at Henry
He tries to be exasperated but he can't even
He just can't help but smile and Alex is like.... Yeah I know it's stupidly romantic but that's what we do
Like Henry took him there showing him who he really is, letting Alex in completely
And Alex just so naturally meets him right there and is like...
I got you
#Rwrb#red white and royal blue#Rwrb movie#alex claremont diaz#henry fox mountchristen windsor#Firstprince#I can't with them#I really can't#I love them so much#I love their love so much#The museum scene#I won't shut up about them ever again#Chaos rwrb meta#Rwrb meta#Chaos' rwrb meta
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Okay so this is a bit rambly but bear with me.
One of my favourite things about the rwrb movie (the book too, but does it to a lesser extent) is that, in defiance of all romcom conventions, every time there is a misunderstanding/conflict, instead of stewing in it and letting it create more problems, within minutes of screen time, one of them forces a confrontation, they communicate and the problem goes away. (Almost like communication works or something.)
This happens multiple times throughout the film: Alex hates Henry. Henry makes him explain why, the hash it out, Henry apologises, problem solved.
Henry ghosts Alex after New Years. Alex makes him meet with him. Okay, to say they talk it out is probably too generous, but communication happens. They establish that they both want this (repeatedly), they create some mutual understanding, Henry lays out the boundaries of what this relationship can be for him and they find a way to make that work.
The same when Henry runs away from the Lake House. Alex comes after him and forces him to talk to him and while they obviously can’t solve the root problem, they settle on a compromise and a promise of ‘we’ll figure it out together and we’re not giving up’. They're back together and reasonably optmistic about the future.
To a lesser degree this even applies to other relationships in the film: Alex and his mom’s fight after the Texas memo leak ends when Ellen starts actually listening to him and reads his memo.
The e-mail leak can only be handled once Alex breaks the communication embargo, goes to Henry and they talk to the king. (Who tries to hide the true reaction of the public from them and the situation can only be resolved once someone (Bea) tells them about the crowds outside.)
Ellen wins the election, because of Alex, after she listened to him and after she lets him give his speech/communicate his truth about the leak (unlike the king who tries to hide Henry away and deny the truth).
Characters get rewarded for talking to one another and punished for not communicating.
The memo wouldn’t have been a problem if Zarah and Ellen had actually listened to Alex’s ideas about Texas before. Alex and Henry end up in the wedding cake & their forced public friendship they hate, because they refuse to talk to each other like normal people and it only stops being a punishment when they start doing that.
Philipp is shown the entire film talking at Henry without any interest in listening to his brother even once. The same goes for King James. He doesn’t communicate, he merely declares his intentions and actively shuts down anybody else’s contribution to the ‘conversation’. Both of them end up not only looking utterly ridiculous but they also loose in the end. The loose face, the loose control over Henry and they’re the ones who have to pick up the pieces of their failure to handle this situation while Henry gets to celebrate and be with the man he loves. (You could even make an argument that the way he is in the election celebration and then at Alex family house symbolises he gets a whole new family and home.)
In so many comedies the humour relies entirely on people not having the simplest conversation and making the characters behave utterly absurd in order to avoid conversations, and here is this movie telling us over and over “Communication is important!” Blame my deep hatred for the avoidable miscommunication trope but I just love that.
99 notes
·
View notes
Text
We’ve talked so much about Alex’s comfort with physical affection and how guarded Henry is with his affection. I think this moment captures Henry perfectly. His sister, one of his only remaining supports in this life grasps his hands, but that’s it. Even in this moment of unfolding horror, Henry only receives the barest amount of physical comfort (no shade to Bea, I absolutely adore her - and she’s clearly shook too - the whole royal family needs a hug). We see here how Alex is the only person that has fully breached Henry’s walls as you see a few moments later when Alex embraces Henry on the stairs.
I have whole head canons of Henry getting comfortable with casual physical affection.
#red white and royal blue#rwrb#rwrb movie#alex claremont diaz#firstprince#henry fox mountchristen windsor#rwrb alex#rwrb thoughts#rwrb rambles#rwrb meta
378 notes
·
View notes
Text
RWRB Movie Analysis: Who I am and Who you want me to be
“For Christ Sake, Alex! For once! I wish you could see me for who I am and not who you want me to be!”
“Starting today, the world will know me for who I am, and not who you want me to be.”
Okay so let’s take a look at these two lines, shall we?
Henry views his own self as two facets: Prince Henry, and Henry Fox.
Prince Henry belongs to Britain. He is a servant of the crown. He has to prioritize the crown’s image, what the crown wants. The mindless ribbon cuttings, the convention and appearances, the hiding in the closet, it's what's demanded of Prince Henry. Prince Henry cannot pursue a relationship with a man because he has to maintain a “traditional royal image”. Prince Henry cannot be seen walking through Austin holding hands with Alex because “the nation will simply not accept a prince who is homosexual".
Henry Fox, is a romantic and a dreamer. He wants to be a writer and live in Paris. He called his first time with Alex "making love". He wore a white suit to a vacation, wowed at his boyfriend's family lake house even if he lives in a palace and jokes with his boyfriend's father. He plays volleyball and reads while lying in a hammock. He rants about literature, poetries and books. He watches Bake-off with his dog while eating Jaffa Cakes when he can't sleep. He does tequila shots and sings Queen in karaoke. He laughs when Alex splashes water all over him and kisses his shoulder.
The public, see Prince Henry.
Alex, sees both, but knows Henry Fox intimately. When you ask him to talk about Henry, he will think of Henry Fox.
So here's the thing.
Henry, is ultimately, both. He is the Prince of England's Hearts. He is also the boy who has been in love with Alex for years.
But Henry feels like one is more important than the other.
So in the Kensington confrontation, when Henry says “I wish you Could see me for who I am and not who you want me to be!"
"Who I am" refers to Prince Henry.
"Who you want me to be "refers to Henry Fox.
From Henry's perspective, in this scene, he's prioritizing Prince Henry. He thinks that he has to be Prince Henry first and foremost. That's why he's labelling that facet as "who he is", even though he has mentioned before that he doesn't want to be this image of the "perfect prince", that being Prince Henry requires him to hide pieces of himself and it hurts.
What he's saying here, is essentially Alex is not taking "Prince Henry" into considerations regarding their relationship, that he's being idealistic on the degree of freedom Henry has. He's saying that all Alex sees is Henry Fox, his private, true, personal side, that Henry, at that moment, thinks is less important than Prince Henry, which bless him, but is sort of true on Alex's part. Alex is so used to being with Henry Fox that he forgets about Prince Henry, which is why he talked about their future so casually with not much regards on Henry's part.
So this sentence can be rephrased as "I wish you could see all the burden I carry and how impossible it is for me to escape it, rather than just our happy moments together that are not meant to last.”
Now let's look at the Buckingham Confrontation, where the words are flipped: "Starting today, the world will know me for who I am, and not who you want me to be."
This time "Who I am" is Henry Fox, and "Who you want me to be" is Prince Henry, which I would say is the objective allocation of the two names.
This is Henry reclaiming his own identity and image. This is Henry pushing away the traditional, perfect, heterosexual “Prince Henry”, saying “That’s not who I am”, taking that title and merging it with bits of “Henry Fox”: the gay prince in love with FSOTUS, the romantic who writes poetry about his man’s body, the lover who encourages Alex when he loses his confidence.
There are parts of Henry Fox that they don’t show the public, that should be kept between him and his loved ones: the boy whose heart broke when his father died, the boy who struggles with self-worth and depression, the boy who likes grabbing his boyfriend’s hair. Honestly as a public figure, or anyone who interacts with a group of strangers, it’s completely normal to create a public persona that only shows parts of him.
The difference now is that he gets to decide what to show the public. Prince Henry is no longer a straight-up lie, rather than an incomplete version of Henry Fox. This is his identity to claim, and his image to build.
Now, Prince Henry and Henry Fox both belong to him.
Now, Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox can write his own history.
#red white and royal blue#rwrb#rwrb movie#alex claremont diaz#henry hanover stuart fox#henry fox mountchristen windsor#firstprince#nicholas galitzine#taylor zakhar perez#rwrb thoughts#rwrb movie analysis#again just my two cents on it#coming from the fact i used to do this#as in compartmentalize my identity#meta#rwrb meta#rwrb analysis#meraki essay
300 notes
·
View notes
Text
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT ALEX:
At the Melbourne Climate Conference, Alex tries talking to Henry who promptly walks away. Alex felt really rejected, like Henry left him hanging in the wind at one of his first appearances as First Son. He was nervous at the event and saw Henry as a possible friend / coach / ally, but then Henry walked away.
At the wedding, the first thing Henry does is walk away from Alex's greeting AGAIN. And this is right after Henry tells Nora he's super nervous about using the wrong fork and being an embarrassment in his role as First Son particularly in comparison to Prince Henry's composure.
(Oh, sweetheart, if only your faux pas was using the wrong fork.)
Alex copes with it in a not-at-all-wise way: by drinking until he isn't nervous anymore.
Then he's brave enough to try talking to Henry again!!
(Ok, this was not without a Texas-sized helping of wanting to (1) provoke Henry, and (2) figure out what the fuck his problem is. Alex's ego is hella bruised that this guy doesn't want to be his friend. That never happens.)
Alex misinterprets Henry's "It's Schubert" as snobbery, even though Henry doesn't mean it that way.
(For real, look at Henry's face. He's not trying to lord it over Alex that he knows classical music better than he does. He doesn't know how to talk to the hot person. We've all been there, amirite.)
Fast forward to the children's hospital. As soon as Henry says he comes to the hospital often-ish but never for the publicity, Alex is like "um wait one darn minute here this guy is nice?? And hot?? And I'm enjoying being here with him??"
Community service is the way into Alex Claremont-Diaz's pants.
#in this essay i will#rwrb movie#firstprince#alex x henry#rwrb#red white and royal blue#red white & royal blue#rwrb meta#alex claremont diaz
171 notes
·
View notes
Text
RWRB costume/ colour meta!
Ok, lets do this!!
Man have I missed writing costume/colour meta, so its good to have something to write about again! This took me far far longer than it should have - I kept getting distracted by the film while I was working on this - I'd go looking for a clip or to grab a still and end up just watching the film again 😂😂😂 but I've finished it and I hope you all enjoy it! Grab a beverage of your choice because this thing is a beast coming in at over 7000 words - I totally understand if you want to skip, but I have ADHD and do not know how to be concise 😂😂😂
Red white and royal blue employs several fun and interesting costume and colour theories (also made use of in the set design) to help tell the story of Alex and Henry. I’m not going to write a detailed meta for each costume - I just don’t have the time - but I am going to look at some costume/ colour details in focus, especially for Henry and Alex as well as highlighting other interesting choices! I also do not have the picture limit (I need more than 30!!!) to include every image I would like to, so if you want to see what I'm talking about, you might have to go check out the relevant scenes (I'll try to give you timestamps where I can!) I’ve kind of tried to do things chronologically, but I’ve left Alex and Henry to the end so if I don’t talk about them very much in the rest of this meta - that is why! putting it under a cut because its so long!
The royal Wedding
There are a couple of key themes here, the wedding party (consisting Lady Martha, Bea and Henry) have a distinct colour palette - dusty blue, dusty pink and Ivory, with the exception of Prince Phillip who is in his red Dress uniform - they’ve used a red uniform to make him stand out, convey that he is more important than the bride (what with his being in line for the throne and all that jazz) and hint at power - red is a power colour.
I’m not sure what royal orders the collar and riband that Henry is wearing are supposed to represent as they don’t belong to a specific British order - if I had to take a punt I’d say his red collar is meant to be a AU version of a Knight Grand Cross of the order of the bath but the one he’s wearing certainly isn’t a real order in the UK (it isn’t meant to be an order of the garter as that is the highest ranking order and Henry would then also be wearing the light blue riband we see on Prince Phillip) the royal blue riband with the red edging is more i line with the night grand cross of the order of Victoria, although in real life that riband should be for in the opposite direction. My feeling is that they wanted a red collar on Henry to play into the red as a symbol of power theme they’ve used on Prince Phillip, placing Henry as having the ‘power’ in his conversation with Alex (as he is on home turf) and the royal blue sash is a deliberate choice that I will talk about later when I focus in on Henry and I think its actually pretty significant as a choice. essentially the order insignia he is wearing are not real orders which is totally fine as this is essentially and au royal family!
We do have to talk about that wedding gown - not royal in the slightest - spaghetti straps and a low back would never be allowed for a royal bride, the dress is also too long on her (but that’s a different conversation about budgets and rental gowns so we’ll let it slide here!!) and her hair should also be fully up - not in the half up do she has going on! The colour is also wrong - she would have been tied to a very limited colour palette of white or ivory - no colour in a royal wedding gown, so the blush colour we see is a no go! I totally get why they did what they did with her gown in terms of colour and I’m fine with that choice (i’ll explain more in the next paragraph), I even get the fairytale princess look they were going for with that dress - but when you’re trying to portray a family so stuck in tradition and history etc, I can’t help but feel that they missed a trick to show her as buttoned up, conforming to the crown etc, especially as we never see her again!
At the reception we see pretty much everyone in colour of some description, with the exception on Alex and Nora who are both in black - this is why Lady Martha’s wedding dress is a pale blush pink colour rather than white. The only reason that the men aren’t in colour (if they’re not in dress uniform) is because they are wearing white tie for the formality of a royal wedding, otherwise I think we would’ve seen coloured ties or some such on them. This is intentional because the room has a general (muted) wash of colour which serves to highlight Alex and Nora, making them stand out and look like they don’t really belong.
Its a way of creating a them and us vibe and helps to establish the rivalry between Alex and Henry - we have a British scene, full of colourful clothing and the only identified foreigners are in black and white. We actually only see a black and white colour palette for the clothing of the Americans until Alex returns from his PR fix it trip to London after cakegate, while nearly all the Brits all were colour of some description - we can see this clearly in the hospital - all the children in colour, Henry in blues and - Henrys security in coloured ties while Amy is there totally in black.
Alex himself does wear navy blue but its a dark navy and that jacket is actually two tone - black and navy and its paired with black trousers in this scene - we see it again later - paired with taupe trousers which really helps to establish this idea of colour entering Alex's world once Henry is in it.
Sets
I’m going to pause on clothing here to quickly talk about the sets in the film and their colour palettes because they fall into three distinct categories;
We have the sage dusty greens, gold and bright reds of the British spaces - they have a regency and victorian air to them, all very traditional, opulent and royal in feel - they are the definition of a gilded cage and are ostentatious and Henry’s bedroom even fits into this mould (its very telling that we only see very limited physical intimacy between the two of them in this space - because its a space that neither of them truly fit or belong in) with its sagely green walls that echo the green walls of the state room the big royal family showdown occurs in.
Then we have the creams, taupes and beiges (with a bit of minty green for the walls of oval office) of the America spaces combined with the very intentional colour choice of that rusty orange (there is also the red room but that is a whole other conversation - I’ll go into it later).
The Rusty orange is such a colour choice, its rich and eye-catching. All colours have meanings associated with them - these can vary wildly depending on where and how they are used and have both positive and negative connotations.
Generally speaking, orange is an attention grabber - its energetic and stimulating, but it also conveys transformation and endurance. This orange has brown undertones which means we should also reference brown colour meanings when thinking about what the colour means on screen - brown is a safe colour and it is also strong and reliable, but it can also portray a sense of loneliness - that is something I think is a really interesting concept - we see Henry in Alex’s world (through the text chats as well as in the first blowjob scene) on the rusty orange sofas and one of the underlying major parts of who Henry is, he is enduring like the orange (and his royal status make him an attention grabber without needing to try) but there is that underlying sense of loneliness - yes he might’ve had a crush on Alex since the climate conference, but as soon as the air had been cleared between them during the PR trip Henry reached out and pursued Alex because he was lonely and wanted a friend - not knowing if it could ever be more than a friendship.
Then, finally we have the spaces Henry and Alex occupy - spaces which are just theirs to occupy - spaces when they are themselves - these are predominately yellow and blue spaces, with some deep colours such as the teal we see on the walls of Alex’s room and the red room.
I’ll go into more detail about all the yellow and blue in this film a bit later on in this meta, but to provide a comment on the red room - red is a colour of passion and love, but this shade of red they’ve chosen maintains that orange undertone we see in the rest of the American spaces.
I wrote a post on the choice of red calla lilies and how they are both a symbol of love and commitment, as well as a phallic symbol of sexuality, and I know Alexander Hamilton was on the wall in the book, but he is there not only because he was very likely bi, but also because he was the subject of what is known as the first political sex scandal - something our boys are essentially also themselves going to end up becoming!
Once Alex does return stateside we start to see colour begin to fill his world. This is a really interesting thematic choice - think how the wizard of Oz (a film very much associated with gay culture - ‘a friend of Dorothy’ was a slang code used by gay men to identify one another and there is obviously the rainbow connotation) begins in black and white and then transitions to colour as soon as Dorothy wakes up in Oz. This film is playing on that same trope/ concept - this is a story essentially told from Alex’s perspective, so Henry and his world is already in colour - its only when Alex enters that world and becomes entwined with it that colour starts to seep into his life - its done in a much more subtle way, but it is there - even during the text bantering they have going one while he is watching a film with Nora - it is a black and white film (‘Some Like it Hot’ - its self a film that helped open conversations about queer identity and the queer community at a time when the Hays code was still in operation and when Sodomy laws still existed in the US, but that is a whole other conversation and lots has been written about it before, its one of my favourite films and if you want to know more then head to your search engine of choice or hit up my inbox! It’s also a film our director Matthew Lopez adapted for the stage which is possibly partly why it was chosen for this scene- as a nod to his other work!)and they are both wearing grey while Henry is in colour (cream and blue - playing into the queer coded yellow blue theming) and sits on the bright orange sofa.
I cannot tell you how much I am in love with the Koi carp on Alex’s dressing room wall because the symbolism - the symbolism!!!!! Koi are seen as a symbol of strength, patience, perseverance, love and bravery they symbolise success through courage. Koi are known to swim against the current and overcome great obstacles - there is a Japanese proverb ‘Koi no Takinobori’ which translates as 'koi swim up waterfalls' and as the word Koi in Japanese also translates to mean love the proverb therefore means that love can go against the current and overcome great obstacles and if that isn’t the perfect metaphor for Alex and Henry’s relationship then I don’t know what is!!
I am obsessed and I adore the set designer for including that wallpaper in general, but especially in their text banter flirty developing relationship - the writing is essentially on the wall for where their relationship is going and how its going to unfold - they are literally Koi swimming agains the current and overcoming great obstacles to be together!!
Back to the costuming!
As I said previously - when Alex returns from the PR trip we start to see increasing amounts of colour and it starts with blue - Oscar is wearing a blue shirt - a colour we only see him in for that scene and then again at the end of the film - during election night. Its an important choice - Henry's colour is blue - its the colour we nearly always see him in some form of blue so for this to essentially be the first colour that appears in the clothing in Alex's world is telling in its own way - it is the beginning of the slow saturation of Henry in the world of Alex. Oscar is always in tan colour-ways apart from those two scenes and generally speaking we see him wearing Mexican tribal and geometric prints/patterns and cowboy boots - playing into his Mexican heritage, but also establishing him as Texan.
Miguel is clearly set out as the baddie to us all - head to toe in black all the time expect at the PM dinner - when he has to wear a white shirt because its etiquette - but they do make sure to give him black buttons on that shirt - which separates him from everyone else in dinner dress very clearly and keeps the undertone of untrustworthiness going.
The other thing to note is the grey fuzzy jacket he wears when being interviewed on the news. I’ve spoken before in my 911 meta’s about how the use of the grey fuzzy patterning is symbolic of confusion or obfuscation and that holds true here - Miguel is called out as being the one who hacked and leaked the emails by the presenter and he tries to bluff his way out - to obfuscate the truth.
We see the idea of green and jealousy play out a couple of times in the film - the flirty girl that tries to commandeer Alex and kisses him at the NYE party is wearing a very blatantly iridescent green dress which sets her apart from the rest of the crowd and then when the crowd drops low we also get the green lights on the DJ desk - while the scene is a play on the I saw you across a crowded room idea, there is also that undercurrent of jealousy - Henry is Jealous of Alex’s ease and that he cannot have him loudly and in the way he wants - highlighting that jealousy helps to build into Henrys later actions when he throws caution to the wind and kisses him under the tree.
Ellen Claremont has a narrow colour palette as well - we only see her in black in that first scene and in the ‘new Texas strategy’ arguement with Alex, after that her dominant colour is cream and we also see plenty of red which is a power choice - she wears it in scenes when she needs to convey power and status such as at the PM dinner or when she is shutting down his Texas strategy. The cream is the base colour for her - its a colour of elegance, sophistication, it is also a neutral colour - playing into her position as POTUS, but also when she wears it in one on one scenes with Alex, it is a sign of her being a mother rather than the POTUS.
Zahra tends to wear blacks with one blue/grey cashmere jumper and when we do get colour on her they are jewel tones - purple and teal. We also get some more grey fuzzy patterning - again playing into my previous statements - here it is very much about confusion rather than obfuscation - she only wears the fuzzy grey when she finds out about Alex and Henry and has her mind blown by the knowledge. Its a perfect costuming choice for this scene as it conveys so much about where her brain is - that her mind has been blown by this huge thing she as just become privy to and it helps make her facial expressions even louder!
Nora wears a full spectrum of colours, the stand ones are obviously the red bodice and trousers she wears for new years and the pink shirt she wears in the office when Alex is having a mini bi panic and figuring himself and his attraction to Henry out. Generally speaking a characters costumes are meant to be about them and their own character, however with a film like this, everything is a driving point for the two main characters and so, other characters costumes will, at key points be less about the character wearing them and more about driving the story of the mains forward - this is very much the case with Nora’s red outfit (and we have already talked about the green of the flirty girl at new years representing jealousy).The red is very very red, it is meant to stand out and is a nod to romance - for both herself with Pez and for Alex and Henry, but Red is also a colour associated with passion and sexuality as well as fire and heat - essentially it is a marker that things are about to kick into action on the romance scale - we are heading from friends to lovers.
The pink shirt plays into the same theme - its a continuation, but a cooling down - less about the heat and passion of a sexual encounter, and more about the concept of romance and relationships - because that is what the conversation is ultimately about in this scene. We have the bi flag background helping to visually tell us what the conversation is about, but we also need to have that subtle reminder that this is not about fire and passion it is about the potential for romance - for love - because if Alex is going to hook up with Henry, it isn’t going to be a hook up, it going to be real. We do of course see things heat back up in the red room (as they should), but ultimately that is the last of the fiery heat we see - from then on anything connected with Alex and Henrys relationship is much more steadfast - the blues and yellows I will talk about in a minute!
Lets talk signet rings!! We see them worn on the male members of the royal family - so King James, Phillip and Henry - as well as Alex when Henry gives him his ring. their use is telling and significant. James and Phillip both wear their signet ring on the little finger of the right hand, while Henry (and Alex) wears his on the little finger of the left hand. in a general sense one would usually wear a signet ring on the little ringer of the non dominant hand - so if you’re a lefty you wear it on the right hand and vice versa if your right handed. This is not what is being portrayed here - all three of them are naturally right handed (yes I did spend far too much time on google to find this out!!) which would in theory mean all of them should have their rings on the left little finger and yet only Henry does.
There is however another explanation - a ring worn on the right hand is symbolic of tradition conformity and rigidity and royalty (traditionally the monarch would wear a ring on the right hand and this was offered to subjects to kiss), wearing it on the dominant hand as a sign of power/ dominance. Henry and then Alex wear Henry’s ring on the left hand - the traditional hand that wedding bands are worn - because of the concept of the main artery running from the heart down the left arm and into the left hand, it is a symbol of love and life and connection to another person and is where the concept of the red string of fate comes from (which ties in nicely with Alex referring to the rope in his chest pulling him towards Henry). This all gains greater significance when Henry gives his ring to Alex and that he choses to also wear it on the left hand, its essentially a symbol of engagement and eternity - it is a sort of pre engagement I guess - and is a low key statement from Henry he is giving Henry Fox to someone for eternity - to Alex.
Right, shall we talk about the yellow and blue theming that I keep mentioning. This specific theming, tends to be seen more in sets and lighting than costumes - although we do see it used in costuming too (looking at you Bea!!). For those not aware, there is a tendency to use yellow and blue colour-ways for queer story arcs - if you look at Heartstopper (esp s1) they have been using it to great effect , and it can be seen in other shows and films with queer character arcs to such as 911 (and Lonestar), as well as plenty of other mainstream media if you’re looking for it. I don’t know when or how it became a colour way associated with queer relationships - especially mlm relationships - I’ve not had the time to deep dive into that particular research spiral - but suffice to say we see it put to very very great effect here in Red White and Royal Blue - we only ever see it used as a colour way when it is regarding Alex and Henry and their romantic relationshipI’ve included some of the blue and yellow we see (couldn’t fit it all in - 30 pictures is apparently not enough!!!) surrounding Alex and Henry and there is plenty of it. The first time we see this yellow/blue theming come into play is at the turning point - when Henry opens up the lines of communication with his text message. Alex is in his room - the first time we’re seeing into his room - a room painted dark blue and full of yellow accents - the lamp on his desk and the unit to the side of the sofa, as well as the very yellow and blue painting we see above his bed (which was commissioned for the film and so the colour choice was very much deliberate). Just to show how prolific the yellow/blue colour way is here is a list of most of the occurrences - I've tried to include as many of them in the pictures as I can as well.
The copy of People is yellow and blue, the Jacket Alex wears for new year has gold and blue embroidery. The PM’s dinner has blue lighting with gold curtains and there are a lot of blue and yellow dresses being worn in the crowd when Alex is watching Henry. The cushion on the sofa behind Alex is yellow and blue. Then we get to the French hotel room and the Eiffel Tower - it is literally all yellow and blue - everything - even down to the blue (extra safe) condom packets. the New York hotel room is dark blue and gold another is a blue bottle of lube on the side (the condoms and lube are very much a deliberate colour choice - there are a million different colours you can buy both in so if the colour wasn’t important they could’ve chosen any, esp as fuchsia and red is the most common colour for both in the durex brand in the UK).
In England - Henry mostly occupies green spaces - in keeping with the royal theme I wrote about earlier - however the room he is most himself and most comfortable in is the music room/ library which is yellow and any time we see him in that space, he is wearing blue. It is telling that when the emails between Henry and Alex are hacked, his sanctuary is full of ‘old white men in suits’ and Henry cannot go in there - symbolic that who he is - his true self - has been violated and he is being forced into ‘royal coded’ spaces - back into his box as it were!
Back to costumes and he two blue hoodies. I’m gonna get a bit of hate for this, but the blue hoodie is actually two different hoodies! - they are slightly different shades of pale blue - Alex’s is much more dusty blue, while Henry’s is much more baby blue, they are also different cuts - Alex’s a traditional sleeve cut while Henry’s has a raglan sleeve cut (think baseball tee). There is the idea with these two hoodies that they are at different points in their journeys, but still connected and i love that we see them in them at really key points of crisis - they are a comfort blanket in a way - Alex wears his during is bi crisis and again when he's watching Miguel on the news and figures out who the hack was, while Henry wears his when he lets Alex in - when he opens up and unspokenly confesses his love for Alex, when he agreed to take the step and be brave - both are wearing these hoodies in moments when they need/want comfort the fact that they are wearing such similar hoodies speaks to the fact that in it is the other they want that comfort from (even if Alex doesn't actually realise it during his min bi crisis).
And now to our two mains - lets start with Henry.
Henry
The bulk of Henry’s wardrobe is double breasted suits - a key theme for the members of the royal family - not one else where’s them - its a fun costuming choice, cease generally speaking the double breasted suit isn’t in fashion at the moment - the film fit single breasted suits we see on the rest of the characters is. It's a very clear choice to create a them and us concept in a visual and telling way. the other thing to note about these db suits is that only Henry wears plain fabric - the ones we see on Phillip and James are pinstripe or woven stripe. I want to quickly mention the tie King James is wearing because of its very obvious pattern. it is the only loudly patterned tie in the entire film - all others are either, plain , striped or spotted. In the book Henry says that patterned ties are considered too political (i'm paraphrasing and can't find the actual quote!!) and here we have a king playing with politics wearing a patterned tie - I love tiny nods like this to the original source material that only those of us who love the book will pick up on - its just a tie to the ga!
Henry himself wears pinstripes - when he is at his most royal - so for example when he is taking part in the PR exercise post cakegate. His ties also fit into this theming - he almost exclusively wears striped ties excepting at a couple of key moments - when he’s undertaking skulduggery and the yellow one he wears for the election. at all other times he has stripes on his tie. the stripes get wider or skinnier depending on the situation - the wide ones tend to be for royal events while the skinnier stripes tend to be connected to Alex.
Another thing to note with Henry is the lack of black he wears - the only time is at the most royal of occasions - the wedding - all the rest of his suits are varying shades of blue or grey (and cream) even the tux he wears to the PM dinner is a dark navy with black lapel rather than black - it differentiates him from everyone else in the room (esp Miguel) and shows him as the object of Alex’s gaze. I also want to mention the royal blue theme we see on him - something I love Keith Madden for doing - Henry nearly always has something blue on him and a lot of the time (especially connected to times when he is doing something connected to his status as a royal) we see him wearing something royal blue - its why his riband at the wedding is royal blue rather than the lighter blue of the order of the garter - but we also see it in the royal blue socks we see him in several times, the royal blue pyjamas when the hack/leak comes to light and the blue shorts in Texas when he’s lying on the bed before he leaves to return to England. We also see him in a lot of blue shirts keeping that blue theme connected to him.
Then there is my most beloved check theory - (its a theory connected to 911 for those who don’t know my costume metas already) Check is connected to foreshadowing of trouble - Henry wears a check/plaid pattern at a couple of very very key moments - at the bar in Texas - when we see Alex realise his love is the forever kind, when he is back in England having broken his own heart in a misguided attempt to save Alex (gingham shirts in pink and blue) and then the suit he wears when he choses himself over the crown and steps out onto the balcony with Alex to greet the crowds has a subtle check pattern (not sure if you can see it its the pictures but if you watch the scene you should be able to) all of these are moments which foreshadow the upcoming or current trouble in his life.
Yellow roses - symbol of Texas being flipped - from Mexican to independent (and eventually becoming part of US) - symbol of the fact Texas is about to flip blue from red. Yellow roses are also a symbol of good luck more generally and the yellow tie is a great choice to suggest neutrality in the election scenes (at this point in time Henry still has royal status). We see Henry in a grey suit with this yellow tie - this only further highlights his escape from royal life - when he is un the US we do not see him wearing the navy blue suits we see him in in England - the only exception is the dark navy dinner jacket he wears to the PM dinner . In the US he wears either a grey suit or the cream/light blue suit we see him in when he visits the lake house and the light blue linen jacket we see him on his light back to the UK is the only single breasted jacket we ever see him in - I would have loved to have seen the grey suit at the end also have been single breasted, but I'm guessing budget constraints prevented that from happening, as it really would've highlighted the difference between Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox and Henry Fox!
At the lake house we get a piece of costuming that I love - the slightly differing short lengths we see on Henry and Alex - it Alex’s shorts are always shorter than Henry’s - it maintains that sense of Henry be more closeted and buttoned up - the overhead shot of them on the pontoon shows it really clearly - the two of them have similar leg lengths which serves me well here to show this point - the shorts Henry is wearing are at least 3 inches longer (possibly more) than Alex's - it isn't just that one pair of shorts - all 3 pairs of Henry's shorts are longer - its a costuming choice thats s perfectly in keeping with their respective characters.
The final thing to talk bout is Henry’s rainbow turtle swim shorts - a cute nod to his being gay - especially as Alex is is his purple bi swim shorts. But there is also the fact that they are turtles. Turtles are a symbol of steadfastness, longevity, perseverance and transformation. they can also be seen as a symbol of everlasting love. there is also the concept of carrying the weight of the world - which is seen in its most explicit way in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels - where a giant turtle carries the world on its back. All of these metaphors and symbols perfectly fit Henry and his relationship with Alex - it is a symbol of the enduring nature of their love for each other, the perseverance we will see for them to overcome the obstacles thrown at them, the steadfastness of their love, as well the transformation we are seeing Henry go through - from closeted gay thinking he has to conform to the very rigid and dated ideals of his family - to the freer Henry we see in the US - the real Henry and the version of himself he so desperately wants to be but thinks he can’t - he has the weight of the world on his shoulders at that moment a la the disc world turtle.
Alex
Alex, obviously has the largest number of costumes, as well as the largest colour palette, but even that is pretty limited. In the same way we see Henry’s wardrobe go through a subtle transformation, we also see the same for Alex, almost in the opposite direction - while Henry’s wardrobe becomes freer, Alex’s becomes more grown up - more mature and conveys his growth as a person - becoming more certain in who he is. I’ve already written a fair amount throughs this meta about Alex’s costumes, so this section is a little shorter than Henry’s for that reason!
We get rebellious Alex to begin with - the leather jacket easily conveys this to us, its almost a universal symbol or rebellion in costuming speak at this point and one of the reasons I like its use here is that it very quickly sets him apart from everyone else in the film - yes its early on, but he is the most casually dressed character by a long way - and this jacket it the antithesis of the buttoned up penguin suit from the wedding - it emphasises how uncomfortable Alex was in that environment and as a result gives the heavy drinking we saw before the cake went flying purpose and visually sets him up as the lead and as a rule/ convention breaker. The same is true of the greyscale with leopard print Hawaiian shirt which is meant to contrast him dramatically with Henry, who is still stuck in that stuffy double breasted suit prison of convention and expectation to behave a certain way - the costuming does a big chunk of the work in giving us rebel v prince in those opening scenes. I actually like that they brought the leather jacket back for the drive to the lake house - it sets up Alex’s falling in love arc nicely - in that it allows the idea of rebellion to continue flowing through the story - Alex wanting to be outing proud in Austin and not grasping that that isn’t an option Henry at this moment in time and is a nod to his not really understanding the different places he and Henry are in when it comes to what being out means for them respectively.
I’ve already written about the black and white colour way we see him in until his PR stint when we start see colour appearing in his wardrobe. I’ve put the pictures roughly in chronological order because it helps to show his progression, but it also shows the increasing amount of blue in his wardrobe, especially in moments connected with Henry.
To pick out some of my favourites - the Mexican pattern shirt with the red cardigan is wonderful - we have the shirt hinting at Alex’s heritage - in blue with the chunky knit red cardigan - I’ve written above about the use offered as a colour of passion and how that passion ebbs and flows - this cardigan also plays into that idea - it is the first time their texting becomes flirty - even the text message is in a red bubble on screen. This idea carries on with the orange red tee he is wearing during the turkey conversation - I made a post about that outfit being the same colour way as the turkey in question and how to talk turkey means to talk honestly and openly with someone - the very thing we see in that scene.
I adore the subtle yellow and blue jacquard embroidered New years jacket - the moment our boys connect and we move further into the lovers part of the enemies-friends-lovers trope and it keeps the yellow/blue theming an active part of the storyline. - the contrast with Henry’s orange tie is a choice - while there is a lot of colour at the NYE party Alex blends into the background while Henry is quite literally tied into the orange theme we’ve already seen in the furniture and sets - orange stands out and now we the audience are being drawn into unconsciously making the same connection that Alex is making - Henry is lonely, but he is an enduring and attention grabbing part of Alex’s life - it only further reenforces the direction of Alex’s gaze - green wearing flirty girl who??
We have a fair amount of Alex and the bi colour ways and we subtly see it coming into play from more or less the moment they start messaging - the light purple tee and purple message boxes, flowing through to the women sufferage wall and the fact he is wearing blue and purple in that scene with Nora in pink to round out the there colours. then we have the blue and purple colour ways he wears at the lake house - bolder and brighter - contrasting with the more muted shades from before - showing that he has recognised and accepted that part of who he is - he’ now out and proud and his parent know about him. I’ve used the old subtle a lot, but this is yet another example of transformation and growth for a character done subtly through colour. We also see him bathed in bi lighting at the bar when he has his 'OH I feel forever about him' moment at the Texas bar - he is the only one in that whole scene lit in that way - Henry is blue lit, while there is a more general lighting scheme that is blue/red dominant for the bar as a whole.
On to Alex’s suits and ties - he seems to have 5 suits and a jacket (not including the formal wear - tux and tails) a black one, 2 navy blue ones (one with a woven pinstripe that he wears in Paris) a bright bluish grey one and a grey one along with the black and blue waffle jacket we see him wear both on the PR trip and at the Polo match. I am obsessed with the fact that when he is in England he wears the navy suits and jackets whereas in the US he wears the other colour s suits - in the same way we see Henry less buttoned up and wearing grey and lighter blues in the US, here we see Alex fitting into Henry’s world and the navy blue suit uniform of the Royal family - its a wonderful piece of costuming that tells so much of how each of them are fitting into the others worlds, especially wen the black and navy waffle one is only worn early on - it is the cross over garment!
The ties have a similar story to tell - we see him wearing 4 ties - a yellow one we see in the beginning in the news reel and never see him in again and then we get the lighter blue striped one at the polo match - the one most similar to the striped ones we see Henry wear - suggesting he is trying to fit into this new world - Henry’s world - that he’s been invited into - its somewhat jarring for his character and plays on the idea of trying too hard - its therefore telling we don’t see it happen again - we only see hi in a striped tie again at he end during election night and accompanied by the black suit we saw him in a couple of times on the campaign trail in Texas. the blue tie is the only other tie we see him wear and it nicely connects all the key moments he has while in his suit - key political moments - his speech at the DNC followed by his speech to the press after the email hack and when he is at Buckingham Palace facing up to the King.
The final ting to talk about is the khaki green shirt jacket - I cannot tell you how happy I was with this costuming choice (and not because it was screaming Eddie Diaz from 911 vibes) khaki is so associated with military - with the army - anti is the most perfect choice for this scene - army are about war - they go somewhere to fight - to storm the palace etc so to have Alex - who has never worn anything remotely like this before rock up to KP to fight for his relationship - for his love - is the perfect choice, its a subtle yet clever way of emphasising the Alex has chosen to fight for what he wants - for his relationship with Henry and what makes it more telling is that we only see him change out of it once Henry has explicitly stated that he will try to be brave and that he wants history to include his love for Alex. It is why we see Alex in the yellow and blue Mexican patterned jacket - he no longer needs fight for his love because he has won - this yellow/blue jacket is a piece of costume tied into pivotal moments - we see the jacket twice - when he wins his bid to get the Claremont campaign to focus on Texas and Ellen tells him he’s going to Texas, and again when he has won the day with Henry and they are back together - in some ways that makes this his victory jacket - victory in his own personal battles - battles that are central to who he is and his development and I think that’s petty neat!
Hopefully you've enjoyed this deep dive into the sets and costumes of the film - I've loved writing it and I can only hope its coherent! Feel free to hit me up with any questions or comments and likes and reblogs are love ❤️🤍💙 thank you for reading and until next time...
#this really is a monster post!!!#rwrb meta#red white and royal blue#alex claremont diaz#henry fox mountchristen windsor#rwrb movie#first prince#costume meta#set meta#meta#long post#kym costume meta#costume theory#colour theory#colour theory meta#kym writes meta
174 notes
·
View notes
Text
"I Can't Believe I Was So Wrong About You": Parallels between the Love Scene and Alex and Henry's First Meeting.
CW: I talk about a part of the love scene in a bit of detail here.
So thanks to this amazing post and reblog by @sylvidra and @manic-pixie-fever-dream, I've been thinking more and more about the Paris Love Scene. Particularly the shots that precede this moment:
Gif by @gay-bucky-barnes
When I first saw this scene I thought of this dialogue as more a general, romantic observation Alex makes of Henry - a result of months and months of being with him and seeing him in a way that very few do. It was only on rewatches that I was able to recognise why he says it in this exact moment.
We know, from the way Henry uses his hand to gently press the small of his back, that he is guiding Alex. But the extent to which Henry guides him, aware that it's his first time with a man, comes from small gestures that are easy to miss because a lot of it is out of frame.
Gifs (from the same gifset as above) by @gay-bucky-barnes
These two moments follow the shot where Henry presses down on Alex's back. In the second shot here, if you look closely enough, you will notice Henry's thumb below his knee, leveraging his thigh to make access for Alex easier. In the first, you see his other arm slightly raised, carefully guiding Alex inside.
Not physically easy to work both your hands when you're so overwhelmed yourself by the sensory and emotional impact of what's happening, but Henry is determined to make Alex's first time an unforgettable one.
At the very beginning of this scene, Alex tries hard to "play it cool" the moment Henry requests they make love - first by simply agreeing (with a catch in his voice), then by breaking into a joke. It's only as they kiss - signifying the start of the lovemaking Henry's proposing - that he admits that he has never had sex with a man before. Alex is nervous and insecure and afraid to show it, but trusts Henry enough to confide in him.
When Henry comforts him and lets him know that he is in good hands, this - this gentle, loving guidance that will not scoff at their partner's inexperience, that is patient and will ease him into the process - is what he means.
That Henry will care for and help him. That it is okay for Alex to ask when he doesn't know. That Alex doesn't have to feel scared, or feel insecure or inadequate. Not with him.
The more I think about that, the more it brings me back to the first time they had met. Not the royal wedding, but the Melbourne Climate Conference that happened years before (according to the film - in the book it was the Rio Olympics).
Gifs by @chiefnooniensingh
Alex is - in his own words - a formerly anonymous working class kid whose mother became President. Someone who always fears putting the wrong foot forward, who feels the weight and responsibility of the platform and position he has, who moves around all these elite spaces feeling a little out of place.
At the very beginning of the film he grimaces when the British press calls him "The American Prince Henry", admitting to Nora that unlike Henry, he wasn't born into this life and "...if I use the wrong fork at dinner, they'll just...eat me alive". Nora is shown helping him with his anxiety just before they enter the palace, reminding him that "you're handsome and charming and everybody loves you". It's pretty clear that a lot of Alex's bravado and humour hide his very deep-seated fears that he won't be good enough, and he's had those fears for a long time.
So when a guy his age - who was born into literal royalty, and who he clearly looked up to - looked at him like he "had head lice" and seemed to not even want to be in the same room as him, you get why he held on to his resentment of Henry that long.
Henry understands this the moment Alex admits the truth, and even offers his perspective of that night so Alex will know that it wasn't him - it was the pain and stress of having to pretend everything was normal, while he was still grieving his father's death. (There is also the fact that he possibly fell for Alex that same night...but of course Alex doesn't get to know that until the State Dinner)
And from this point on, Henry makes sure that whenever Alex reveals his insecurities and self-doubt to him without the varnish of humour, he is there to help him.
Sometimes it's in the form of his letters - reassuring a worried Alex who thinks he's letting his mother down, by telling him about Imposter Syndrome and reminding him of the incredible work he has done so far.
Sometimes it's in holding Alex's hand even when he's shit scared himself, and telling his grandfather and King that he loves the man next to him, deeply, and they are committed to each, deeply.
Sometimes it's in the simple act of wearing a tie that represents Alex's home state, and showing it when Alex feels nervous and scared and regretful, wondering if he is responsible for the (possible) failure of his mother's campaign.
And sometimes it's like this - reassuring a nervous Alex, letting him feel safe both sexually and emotionally, putting Alex's needs first, making him feel safe.
Making sure that when Alex asks for his help, he doesn't regret it.
#rwrb#red white and royal blue#alex claremont diaz#henry fox#henry fox mountchristen windsor#henry george edward james hanover stuart fox#rwrb movie#firstprince#taylor zakhar perez#nicholas galitzine#rwrb thoughts#rwrb meta
75 notes
·
View notes
Text
Henry : Have you heard of a Lord named Byron?
Alex : yes, but I won't be seduced by your romantic poetry. I'm only about heterosexual bro-jobs and heterosexually making out in hot tubs with guys. Naked. No feelings. It's normal.
Henry : I'll never fuck him but I will answer all of his calls & texts because he isn't only hot he's also surprisingly insightful... I will die alone.
Alex : I can't wait to see hot Henry but I won't tell anyone, not even myself.
Henry : That's a lot of calls and texts from an heterosexual man, I wonder? no. NO ! Think of the crown Henry
Alex : Let me flirt with you in a totally heterosexual way. Do you like meeee yet?
Henry : not very heterosexual of you if I'm honest... but that girl on your lap is. My sad life is getting sadder
Alex : Henry sad? Why? Let me leave all the babes and walk in the snow until I get pneumonia for you Henry
Henry : I can't have him and he doesn't want me anyway. I'm double crushed. My whole body is made of despair
Alex : Why do I feel guilty standing under a tree, Henry?
Henry : I'm triple crushed now that I've realised you can't even relate to never having been an anonymous person. You suck balls, Alex, and regrettably, not mine.
Alex : I can't realise you're talking about not being straight or I'll have to think about those totally heterosexual things I did with guys in a new way
Henry : let me get you there faster, then.
Alex : Damn it! Those bro-jobs & naked making outs weren't heterosexual at all! Who would have thought?!
#Here's part 2 because i'm ridiculous#to be fair Alex was basically a liquor soup that night#firstprince#rwrb#rwrb meta#if it's one#alex claremont diaz#henry fox#in a nutshell right#taylor zakhar perez#and#nicholas galitzine#played it way better obviously#i swear i like rwrb#red white and royal blue#alex and henry#damn it henry#this is ridiculous#i have the whole movie like that in my head#it has to go somewhere#rwrb movie
35 notes
·
View notes
Text
The truth is every queer person has the right to come out on their own terms, and on their own timeline. They also have the right to choose not to come out at all. The forced conformity of the closet can not be answered with the forced conformity in coming out of it.
-Alex, Red White & Royal Blue (2023)
i want to talk about this quote. full disclosure, it’s because i keep seeing some really frustrating takes (some of which veer into queerphobia) and i am getting a bit annoyed with people and rather than directly addressing it with them & appear to be picking a fight im going to make an analysis post in my space. (tbf. its mostly on twitter and i have a priv account so that limits me)
disclaimer; this is my interpretation, im not saying its the only interpretation just something to consider. i am queer & cognitively disabled - don’t assume malice and dont be cruel. i will ignore and block freely.
tl;dr/very simplified summary: it doesn’t mean “dont ever speculate about other people’s sexuality” but rather that ‘coming out’ in the way society understands it shouldn’t be a necessity for queer people to exist openly as queer. full context under the cut & self-exploration questions at the end.
so lets start with the context. alex is talking at a point in time when the world has read their emails and so knows both are queer (bi & gay, specifically), but neither alex/the white house or henry/the palace have commented. so more simply - alex and henry are known to be queer, but have not come out. alex uses the speech to come out as bi, and as being in love with henry. he also uses it to imply that he & henry should have the right to choose not to do this formal coming out alex is doing.
—
okay. lets get into the quote analysis.
The truth is every queer person has the right to come out on their own terms, and on their own timeline.
reasonably self explanatory. each queer person gets to decide their own timing for coming out, and the way that they want to address their sexuality.
They also have the right to choose not to come out at all.
this is where problems with interpretation have started to appear. fundamentally yes, this means people are allowed to not be openly queer/‘out’ if that is what their decision is. but it also means that they can be visibly queer - for example being in a visibly queer relationship; signalling with their aesthetic (e.g. someone being butch, someone who wears only ‘girl’ clothes despite that being at odds to their assigned gender); casually posting about queer things on social media etc - without addressing their own sexuality to others.
it does not mean that you should assume everyone is straight until they explicitly tell you otherwise. and quite frankly insisting that it does mean that is veering into homo-/bi-/queer-phobia because you are insinuating that being not-straight is a negative thing.
The forced conformity of the closet can not be answered with the forced conformity in coming out of it.
some people seem to be interpreting this as ‘you shouldnt force people out of the closet’ and i don’t think thats quite to the nuance of what it means. yes, i do think that is part of it - in much the same way as the previous sentence - but it is not really the whole of it. in my opinion this is actually addressing - at least to some degree - the concept of ‘we should assume people are straight until they explicitly say otherwise’.
the ‘forced conformity of coming out’ addresses the idea that to be “out” you have to follow these steps; that you have to make a public statement that ‘this is my sexuality and i am [queer/bi/gay/pan/ace/etc]’. you are conforming to this precedent of “how to come out” that countless queer people have followed. there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing so, but actually there are different ways to be queer - and even being “out” as queer - that don’t involve following that playbook.
here’s a hypothetical to demonstrate my point. two men, who have never dated any women, live together & spend basically all their time together over 5-10 years. they holiday with each other’s family, they’re always together at events (e.g. weddings of non-mutual friends), but they’ve never told you/the public that they’re queer and/or dating each other. at what point does one start to assume they’re together? and does the answer change if its a man & a woman rather than two men? if a man & a woman did that, people would assume pretty early on they’re probably dating. but yet when it’s two men suddenly it’s invasive to speculate. this is where this concept of the forced conformity of coming out comes in - along with the veering into homophobia i referenced earlier - why must they say the words “i am gay” for it to then be ‘okay’ to consider that they’re together? (the homophobia comes into play because if you think being gay is morally neutral (which it is) then you shouldn’t have any issue with the speculation about people being together regardless of their genders.) the idea that straight is the default is where this forced conformity starts to really kick in.
—
i guess the main things i want people to ask themselves are these (and i have been asking myself these questions, there is no judgement or censure just self examination):
1. do you think people can be openly queer publicly without explicitly sharing that they are queer? (by this i mean in an announcement or in casual conversation. can you be openly queer without ever addressing it explicitly?)
2. if you do, why do you think that talking about the possibility someone is queer is something that should be hushed up? is it because there is an internalised concept that being queer is something abnormal and/or negative? if it was a straight couple would you feel the same way?
3. what does “coming out” mean to you? why does it mean that, what have you internalised to get to that conclusion & is it something that always works or are there other ways to be openly queer (or ‘out’ if you prefer)?
4. is it possible that there are queer people living openly and happily as themselves without explicitly addressing their sexuality to the wider world, who don’t want to address it publicly? does this make them closeted or ‘less’ queer to you? if so, what makes you think that?
#dont @ me ab the summary till youve read the post its simplified#rwrb#red white and royal blue#rwrb movie#elio’s meta#elio’s#rwrb meta#this is a sideblog so all replies/asks will be done publicly. if you want it to be private send a dm#i do have a degree in lit analysis so. yeh. but im happy to discuss this civilly if you disagree#key word being civilly if youre angry at me save your breath i will ignore you#i choose not to talk explicitly on my blog about the topic people are using the quote about#if you want to talk about it dm me thats fine. but i am uncomfortable talking about it where i cant control who sees it#i have been.. grumbling about this vaguely its tagged in my negative feelings tag but ive got to a point now#where this quite interpretation is really annoying me#and i cant stop myself#*this quote interpretation - ofc id typo in the tags on my phone where i cant edit it#my punctuation might be terrible i lost track of what i was doing with apostrophes#ive edited this to death procrastinating posting it so im just gonna post it#who cares anymore
27 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ok I've been wanting to scream about the hospital scene since I first watched it
I first thought Alex grabs Henry but it's Amy's hand but look a bit closer
Henry doesn't react, he just looks up and doesn't move
Alex however immediately moves and pushes Henry towards the door
Think about it
Alex went to a public school
He's probably been through active shooter drills
I think this is why he's lowkey panicking here
And then Henry, bless him
He never has been through one
He looks over and realizes how worked up Alex is, how he's struggling to hold it together
And then he decides to distract him
And Alex takes the distraction gladly
I love them so much!!!!
This was partially inspired by this tweet but I've been wanting to talk about the first part since the second I saw it
#firstprince#Rwrb#Rwrb movie#alex claremont diaz#henry fox mountchristen windsor#Like I wish they'd dived deeper into Alex' anxiety in general#But I get that they didn't#But this lil glimpse was just soooooo#Omg#I love them so much#red white and royal blue#Chaos rwrb meta#Rwrb meta#Chaos' rwrb meta
716 notes
·
View notes
Text
Y'know, there's this gripe I've had for years that really frustrates me, and it has to do with Love, Simon and people joking about it and calling it too-pg and designed-for-straight-people and all the like. (A similar thing has happened to Heartstopper, but that's another conversation.)
I saw Love, Simon in theaters when it came out my senior year in high school. I saw it three times, once with my friends/parents on opening night, once with my brother over spring break, and once with my grandparents.
On opening night, the air in the room was electric. It was palpable. Half the heads in there were dyed various colors. Queer kids were holding hands. We were all crying and laughing and cheering as a group. My friends grabbed my hands at the part where Simon was outed and didn't let go until his parents were saying that they accepted him. My friend came out to me as non-binary. Another person in our group admitted that she had feelings for girls. It was incredible. I left shaking. This was the first mainstream queer romance movie that had ever been produced by one of the main five studios, and I know that sounds like another "first queer character from Disney" bit but you have to understand that even in 2018 this was groundbreaking. Getting to have a sweet queer rom-com where the main character was told that he got "to breathe now" after coming out meant so much to me and my friends.
But also, from a designed-for-straight-people POV (which, to be frank, it was written by a bisexual author and directed by a gay man, this was not designed for straight audiences), why is it a bad thing that it appealed to the widest possible audience? That it could make my parents and grandparents see things in a new light? My stepdad wasn't at all interested in rom-coms but he saw it with me because it was something I cared about and he hugged me when we came out of the theater. My very Catholic grandparents watched it with me and though my grandpa said he still didn't quite understand the whole 'gay thing,' all he wanted was for me to be happy and to have a happy ending like Simon did. My Nana actually cried when Simon came out and squeeze my hand when his mother told him he could breathe.
And when Martin blackmailed Simon, my mom, badass ally that she is, literally hissed "Dropkick him. Dropkick him in the balls" leading to multiple queer kids in the audience to laugh or smile. Having my parents there- the only parents, by the way, out of my group of queer and questioning friends- made multiple people realize that supportive adults were out there. That parents like those in Love, Simon do exist in real life.
When people complain about Heartstopper not being realistic or Love, Simon being too cutesy, I remember seeing Love, Simon on opening night. I remember my friend coming out and my stepdad hugging me and my mom defending us through this character. I remember the cheers that went through the audience when Bram and Simon kissed and the chatter in the foyer after the movie was over and the way that this movie made me understand that happy endings do exist.
Queer kids need happy endings. Straight people need entry points to becoming allies. Both of these things can come together in beautiful ways. They can find out about more queer culture later, but for now, let them have this. Let them all have a glimpse at a better, happier world. Let them have queer joy.
#love simon#simon vs thsa#simon spier#spierfeld#bram greenfeld#my experiences#meta#the importance of queer joy#heartstopper#becky albertalli#my mom also watched rwrb with me last year when it premiered#and let me tell you that was interesting sitting in the room with her for an r-rated romance movie like that
7K notes
·
View notes
Text
Nicholas Galitzine talking about the connection between Mary & George and Red, White & Royal Blue
#nicholas galitzine#rwrb#red white and royal blue#julianne moore#nicholasgalitzineedit#userninz#chrissiewatts#usersteen#usernuria#userclara#usergayppl#mine*#YOU'RE JOKING............................#unprovoked he said this#this is so meta#confirmation he Actually read the book lmfaosljfd#omg the layers to all of this#julianne is so invested also...#how do we get her to play catherine...............#personally very gratifying - haters stay mad.
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Translation of a Bilibili Video Analysing the Paris Love Making Scene
HOLY SHIT THIS LITERALLY TOOK ME ALL DAMN DAY
Preface from me: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT MY ORIGINAL CONTENT! THIS IS JUST MY TRANSLATION OF THE FOLLOW VIDEO MADE BY 搭火箭都要追剧 A CHINESE RWRB FAN. I REPEAT, THE CONTENT IS NOT MINE, I'M JUST A TRANSLATOR (that being said I did a little bit of commentary, anything in brackets is my own thoughts)
All photos are unedited screenshots taken directly from the video
Preface from OP: The content of this video is very subjective and shallow, if it's different from your opinions, you're the right one (a Chinese saying which basically means "this is just my thoughts don't come at me") and it's most likely to be very different from any official BTS.
Didn't translate the first part because 1, I can't really translate it well due to cultural references 2, I... don't really agree with it, but did like 90% of the video
Also since it's about the Paris love-making scene, there's sexual content, you have been warned
For the moment when Alex slips his hand under Henry's shirt
When Alex slides his hand across Henry's naked waist, his fingertips, the most sensitive part of the hand is touching Henry's bare skin and stirring his desires, which is why Alex's body tenses: he clenches his jaw and takes a deep breath in.
In contrast, Henry is absorbed in the romance of it all. He's been in love with Alex the whole time and finally, the man of his dreams is here with him, touching him.
For the couple of shots where they stand naked with Henry touching Alex
1, Close Up Shot of Henry's hand gliding up Alex's arm
Henry told Alex that he's in good hands, therefore Henry's the one to lead this dance and set the atmosphere, so most of the light is on him, with the bright spot being shone on Henry's wrist which leads the audience to focus on that point
He starts with his fingertips running along Alex's vein, but the brightest spot doesn't follow the movement of his hand and stays focused on his wrist and the lower part of his thumb while the rest of his hand is in darker lighting. This is to strike a contrast and to put the focus on Henry's hand and therefore his movement. The reason only part of his hand is illuminated is because his entire hand is lit, the frame's lighting loses its balance and looks abnormal, and won't match the more subtle, softer tones of the romance in the movie
A highly saturated orange/golden light is chosen, which increases the feeling of content and ambiguity (I don't that sounds weird but it's the closest word I can think of, but a more accurate description… Imagine the use of steam in a shower sex scene) which also hints that this is going to be a lovely night
The use of light and the contrast of brightness on different parts also serve to convey Henry's emotions and internal thoughts. Even though their first night in Alex's room and their hook-up during the polo match were both really intense, but it was more about the surging, frantic sexual desire between the two. Now Henry doesn't actually know how Alex will react and is somewhat worried about it, which is represented by his fingers in darker lighting. But at the same time, Paris is the first time Henry can be so physically close with his long-time crush and be extremely honest/vulnerable with him, and later understand and feel each other on a spiritual level (… Woah.). He feels contentment from that, which is what the brighter area conveys.
In this single shot, the bright and dark areas are fairly equal, which also means these two emotions are in equal conflict at this moment
Then Henry's hand slides up towards Alex's shoulder and he switches to touching him with his fingertips, which, with its sensitivity, means Henry can feel any tiny change on Alex's skin. He feels Alex's excitement and comfort, which in turn makes him happy and bolder, which is also conveyed in the change of the light in the frame: the fingertips that were previously in dark lighting gradually shift into the brighter area, representing his worries fading
2, The following shot of Henry facing Alex's camera right, Alex's back against the audience, camera left
The light is still on Henry which means this shot is still conveying Henry's feelings
There's a clear contrast of light on his face which makes his face seem more 3D (again sorry for the weird translation but I can't find any other words) and attracts the audience's attention more.
The contrast is also represented in Henry's characterization. To explain this, we need to understand what a cognitive schema is: cognitive schema is a psychological concept which can be summarized as when a person is exposed to an object, event or person, they will use precious experience and knowledge to make a general judgment and description of them thus predicting their next actions. So in the case of Henry, at first since he's a prince, the audience and Alex, using their cognitive schema will assume he's prim and proper, when in reality he's horny (ha), flirtatious and adorable (so in conclusion, he's actually a babygirl)
Henry then lingers his hand on Alex, and glances at Alex with a flirtatious smile, enjoying Alex's shiver under his touch.
3, Shot of Alex facing audience camera left, Henry back against audience camera right
The light is now mostly on Henry's back, increasing the romantic atmosphere of the shot.
The light is also on Alex's torso and cheek forming a light contrast, which turns the audience's focus onto Alex. The larger dark area indicates he's being led by Henry in this situation, and he doesn't really know what Henry's gonna do, therefore his nervousness is the dominating emotion, represented by the dark area.
But he's also enjoying Henry's touches, which is why the light is still mostly on Henry but also partly on Alex now, almost like an extension of the contentment that Henry feels
The lamp that in-universe is providing the lighting is on the right side of the frame. If a similar light source isn't placed on the left side, the left side of the frame would seem too cold, which would destroy the atmosphere previously created. Therefore a mirror was placed there both for spatial balance and to create a reflection of the lamp's light, creating a small light spot on the left, balancing the coloring and lighting of the shot.
To the right of the mirror where the light can't cover is a small cupid statue. The statue not only adds to the romantic atmosphere but also indicates what's about to happen, as cupid symbolizes love and sex. Cupid is also a mischievous God who enjoys pranks, which also somewhat describe the boys' relationship: cupid shoots out the silver/lead arrow of aversion and revulsion that leads to their misunderstanding and subsequent hatred, but the shoots out the golden arrow of fall that led to them falling in love with each other and living together happily ever after.
Alex keeps watching Henry's hand as his hand slides down and looks back up when Henry touches his chest and takes a deep breath. Henry smiles brightly at Alex's reaction.
Alex then becomes intoxicated by Henry's touch as his sexual desires take over him
When Henry picks up the key that means a lot to Alex, Alex clenches his jaw. The highlight in his eyes allows the audience to immediately catch the change in his eyes that's filled up with lust.
So to conclude this part, a lot of attention was given to the placement of props and the lighting: the saturated golden creates a romantic but steamy/foggy (meraki seriously can't find the right word) setting, which is a filmmaking technique often used by Wong Kar Wai, in fact a similar lighting was used in "In the Mood for Love" (Matthew is a true fan)
For the shots of them kissing on the bed
There's a red mark on Henry's chest which OP explained in an earlier video that would have been caused by Alex grabbing there when thrusting forward
There's another possibility which is Alex getting excited when being behind Henry but he doesn't really know what to do so all he can do is grind against Henry. But Henry feels and sounds divine, and Alex gets impatient so he leaves marks on Henry's arm and chest
To prove her hypothesis op did an experiment with her own arm: she chose her arm because just like the part of Henry's chest that's marked, part of the muscle curves (into the elbow just as the chest muscle curves into the armpit) it's not a easy place for fingers to exert force, thus can draw a closer, more subjective comparison.
Experiment process: open uses her other hand to grab onto her arm and pull backwards forcefully, to 1, observe the shape of the mark and if it's identical to that of Henry's, 2, observe the time needed to create the mark in order to be the same as Henry's
As shown in the photo, the (faint) red marks are approximately the same shape, width and redness as the ones on Henry's chest. It took 28 seconds to reach this. This approximates the time taken by Alex to "do stuff" (I think she means prep?) from Henry's behind
With how loving and gentle Alex is with Henry it's not that likely that he started groping Henry's chest from the beginning, so the conclusion is when Alex was trying to "move forward" when he was behind Henry (I seriously don't know if she means prep or like, doggy style) but doesn't really know what to do and groped Henry in his nervousness, and this failed attempt lasted at least 28 seconds.
OP thinks the failed attempt was done in front of the window with Henry bending over, gripping the back of one of the chairs, and deduced from the DNC scene: the boys were originally chatting in bath robes on the couch with the curtain mostly closed, but when Zahra barged in, the blackout curtain was out, leaving just the mesh layer closed. There was a bathrobe on the far side of the couch and another in front of the window. So presumably after the talk, they went for another round, Henry ditched his robe on one side of the couch and pounced on Alex (similarly to how he did on Alex's couch), they tumbled around and switched position and ended up in front of the window, Alex remembered he failed attempt in Paris and wanted to make up for it so he pulled open the blackout curtain but left the mesh layer closed, and then he got to work. (...tbn personally I think this is a stretch?)
Henry thinks Alex is adorable but he's also really intoxicated and wants to get down to business asap, so he grabs Alex's neck and presses Alex towards him, kissing from Alex's lips to his neck. He kissed Alex's neck because from their first hook-up and the way Alex immediately stretched his neck to give Henry space when he kissed his neck then, that this is the quickest way to stimulate him. Which is why you can see a faint hickey on Alex's neck
As they kiss they walk towards the bed. During their first hook-up, Henry pushed Alex onto the couch, so now it's Alex's turn to pounce on Henry, which is what we see in the shot: Henry falls onto the bed first, then Alex follows. Alex is really happy and a bit proud that he can drive Henry crazy like this, while (and I quote directly) Henry can't think of anything anymore, and has "please hurry up and fuck me" painted on his face
The mark/hickey on Alex's neck takes the shape of an inverted triangle, with the vertical side and the diagonal side (left down right up, in math it's a positive slope) being more red, which means those two points experienced the largest amount of force
Red Mark on Henry's Chest
Screenshot from In the Mood for Love using a similar lighting
Red Mark Result from OP's experiment
Blackout Curtain Closed on DNC Night
Bathrobe (presumed to be Henry's) on the far side of the couch
Bathrobe (presumed to be Alex's) near the window, Blackout Curtain Open in the background
For the process, deduced with the shot of them laying in bed during the afterglow
The trajectory of sweat on Henry's temple runs downward vertically. If he was fucked lying down, the sweat should run into his ear canal horizontally. Which means he was fucked in a sitting position. For example in the polo match hookup, Henry's sweat is visible in the form of drops running vertically down his face. Also in the afterglow, the sweat also seems to be splattered, which required Henry to have vigorously moved either up and down or front and back. So yeah this further proves that there was a cut riding scene.
Alex also has sweat on his face, and his fringe is wet. So riding should have happened right before they lied down and started talking.
So the process deduced by OP is 1, they tried doggy style in front of the window and failed 2, what was shown in the movie 3, doggy style on the bed 4, riding (OP wasn't aware of the details of the extended Paris love-making scene, but all RWRB fans in China know that there's doggy style and riding that got cut, this is OP's deduction of the order)
Even without looking at the sweats and marks, from the way Henry's signet ring is turned in the movie you can tell that something's deleted, since before Alex intertwined his fingers with Henry, the letter H was facing outwards, and when their hands join the movement causes the ring to turn and for the letter to face inwards. But then the next shot with Henry's hand on Alex's shoulder shows the ring worn normally again, which means something in between was deleted or reordered.
Hickey on Alex's Neck
Henry's sweat in the afterglow
Henry's sweat during the polo hook-up
Alex's sweat in the afterglow
tagging @sanneannelies7 and @na-18dia who mentioned wanting the translation in my original post
#rwrb#red white and royal blue#rwrb movie#alex claremont diaz#henry fox mountchristen windsor#henry hanover stuart fox#firstprince#taylor zakhar perez#nicholas galitzine#rwrb thoughts#rwrb analysis#rwrb meta#I'M EXHAUSTED I LITERALLY SPENT THE WHOLE DAY DOING THIS#which is fine because i spent the day waiting for my dad in the hospital with nothing but my phone and ear buds (he's fine it's a check up)#but still this took a lot outta me#i do think some of this is overthinking but it's fun#also begs the question#the marks are there that's undeniable but for Taylor and Nick how did they get them there#anyways#translating is fun and I do like doing it#this was just really fucking long#the video's 25 minutes#please appreciate my dedication to RWRB this is the hardest post i've ever made#meraki translates
58 notes
·
View notes
Text
MERLIN (2012) | RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE (2023)
history, huh? bet we could repeat some ( 1 / 2 )
#red white and royal blue#merlin#rwrb spoilers#taylor zakhar perez#nicholas galitzine#colin morgan#bradley james#merthur#firstprince#merlin bbc#bbcmerlin#merthur walked so firstprince would run#regulusrules metas
891 notes
·
View notes
Text
President Ellen Claremont's Oval Office
youtube
I was kinda delighted Prime put up a video about this set because with regards to American govt (I'm not from there) a thing that fascinates me is the transfer of power once the reins are handed over to someone else. A lot goes into that and perhaps the most visually fascinating detail is how the Oval Office changes with each President.
The Oval Office is viewed as the POTUS' formal place of work. It is also a reflection of the kind of administration they want to be remembered for. This is why, prior to their Inauguration, the President-elect often looks to history for figures that inspire them and that represent what they are fighting for.
For example, when Joe Biden was sworn in in 2021, his redesign of the office reflected themes mentioned both in his campaign and in his inauguration speech. Benjamin Franklin's portrait to the side of the resolute desk, reflecting his administration's commitment to science. FDR above the fireplace, a sign of the promise of economic recovery - flanked by portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The latter two were chosen to represent Biden's commitment to bipartisanship, to work with the opposition to get things done and bills passed. Busts around the office show figures representing the fight for racial justice (Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks), and labour unions (Cesar Chavez).
In contrast, his predecessor Trump had put up a portrait of Andrew Jackson on the wall at the side of the Resolute Desk, and a bust of Winston Churchill.
Keeping that in mind, what are the things we notice straight off the bat in President Claremont's Oval Office?
Most prominent are the portraits we see on the walls - Lincoln to the wall on the side of her Resolute Desk, FDR above the fireplace. Lincoln for his role in abolishing slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation, and FDR for his role in helping America recover from the Great Depression.
Taylor (as Alex) also speaks about the use of pioneering women in the oval office, both in portraits and busts.
A portrait of the famed social activist who played an important role in the abolitionist movement, Harriet Tubman, is shown prominently to the side of the Oval Office fireplace, representing the role of Black women in the fight to end slavery.
a bust of what I'm assuming may be Eleanor Roosevelt (? I couldn't quite figure out who it was despite searching - can anyone help with this one?). If it is her, then it's likely there to commemorate her advocacy for expanded roles for women in the workplace during her time, among other achievements.
and a statue of Lady Justice, with her blindfold and scales. There's also - according to an interview with the set designer Miren Marañón - small statues of a Valkyrie warrior and Lady Liberty to further emphasize the significance of Ellen being the first women to hold the office of POTUS
Given Ellen's background in the books and the decoration of the office in the film, the themes that were meant to define her administration could have been economic progress, racial justice and women's rights. Her decorative choices for the office itself reflect her knowledge that she is the first female president, and the understanding that that role in history comes with its own weight and baggage.
Towards the end of her first term and going into her second, there is a possibility her history will also include the way she and her administration handled her son's forced coming-out, perhaps with expectations for more visibility on LGBTQ issues. Alex and Henry's relationship, the violation of their privacy and the way Alex and the Claremont administration handled the "scandal", and Alex's own words about the rights of queer individuals will have significant impact moving forward in the story's universe.
Ellen and her family are making history in the White House...in more ways than one.
#Youtube#alex claremont diaz#red white and royal blue#rwrb movie#ellen claremont#rwrb#rwrb meta#rwrb thoughts
30 notes
·
View notes
Text
yeah it really does make a whole lot of sense Henry....
Santal 33 - a unisex fragrance that captures a defining image of the spirit of the American West and personal freedom. (x)
#LIKE OF FUCKKNG COURSE HE WOULD PICK THAT#like sure there’s a lot to unpack in that description#and from like a meta standpoint can people now stop saying things are just chosen Willy nilly for funsies#rwrb#alex claremont diaz#anyway this is what im losing it over this morning#red white and royal blue#matthew im kissing you on the mouth for this#kym where are you#you are the only one I know that loses it over these things the same way
414 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
nikhilsingh77770
Untitled
kittyminaj
Forward Always
elma0021
无标题
nicedongvay
NiceDong
alexknightingale
Not Your Knight