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#u ever quarantine so hard u watch an entire docuseries in a night
prongsmydeer · 4 years
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Ayesha Liveblogs Tiger King 
“I think it would be fair to say that Carole is the Mother Teresa of cats” now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear
“I’d never been a person who had friends” statements like this always perplex me because surely there had to be ONE other person in however long you quantify childhood that you identified with. Like not one whole ass person? You’re not the only person who loves cats Carole
The juxtaposition between Carole Baskin’s “Animal Print for Animal Rights” and Joe Exotic’s “Tiger King underwear is our bestseller” is poetic cinema
Okay this isn’t a reflection of my opinions on this man but I Saw a Tiger is a good country ballad there I said it 
“When I first met Joe, I was like a month out of high school” well that’s not good
[Joe Exotic voice] Some people have tigers to cope
Doc Antle has only been on screen for 30 seconds and already he has made himself memorable by directing the film crew
Is Bhagavan Antle Indian in some way or did he just have a really intense Eat Pray Love journey with his guru
Also is he really a doctor orrrrrrrrr
“I am out there in the forefront so known of being this guy that is in love with big cats and has them love him back” please don’t tell me this guy does anything weird to his animals
“People only care about saving what affects them” 
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“You can’t put a price on holding a baby tiger” but you did and apparently it’s $625 
The fact that multiple tigers have had albinism is probably a sign of major inbreeding practices at these zoos
You know, even if I ate meat*, there is no way I would be able to handle any kind of early prep stage of it bc seeing these cow carcasses is A Lot
*If u r reading this I don’t care if u eat meat leave me alone
“Animals just wasn’t enough, okay? So then I started adding magic” well that took an unexpected turn
I don’t know if it’s for real fair to criticize every person who has brought a big cat out in a public venue/talk show because I know at least like Dave Sal/moni is always going “THESE ANIMALS MAKE TERRIBLE PETS” 
As a sidenote from what I understand this Saff person keeps being deadnamed/misgendered throughout this documentary and I do not appreciate it 
“I grew up a professional cowboy in a family of professional cowboys” every sentence on this show is a journey
WHO is letting their ONE-YEAR-OLD lay on top of a tiger cub I know you’re at a zoo but BRUH
“It’s going to be a small Waco” to say this ON THE NEWS
This 2 minute stretch of episode is all the PSA anyone ever needs to never own a gun
Well I think we can all agree that PETA is a fucking mess
God this is like battle of the people who are terrible at doing anything good for animals
“What do you carry that gun for?” “People” AHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!!!!?!?
“I sleep with an AK-47 under my mattress, loaded, ready to roll” WILL SOMEONE HELP THE U.S. OF A
I was warned about this show and yet I was still not prepared for the level of UNHINGED it would be 
How in the FUCK does a place like this not have an on-site medic
“Why don’t you come back on another day” he said, after telling the public an employee had his arm taken off 
“I am never gonna financially recover from this” SURE JOE THIS IS ABOUT YOU
To go back to work a WEEK after getting your arm amputated... BRUH
“Any law that you think’s unfair or unjustice, it is your obligation, it is your responsibility to stand up against that bullshit law” well Thomas Jefferson was a slaveowner so clearly the injustice thing was relative for him
Traditionally don’t drug addictions fuel people choosing extreme paths with their life rather than the other way around? 
JKHGKJHGKJH this whole exchange:
Interviewer: What kind of doctor is he?
Maria: Mystical science.
Interviewer: Mystical science?
Maria, nodding: Yeah.
“How many wives does Doc Antle have?” I didn’t expect this but somehow it tracks
I’m gonna bet none of these people with subcontinental names have a single bit of South Asian heritage like okay “Moksha” and “Rajnee” did Bhagavan name you
On a more serious note: It’s really fucked up that these men keep meeting literal teenagers, making them their employees, and then also get into relationships with them. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough THIS IS NOT GOOD OR HEALTHY
It’s pretty weird that Doc Antle keeps emphasizing so frequently that one of his partners is Italian 
“I’m gonna go be a yoga animal trainer” ah, white people bullshit
“Goodbye. Don’t fall in love with your boss.” Good advice, Dad
I was not expecting all this subcontinental imagery to get under my skin this badly but what’s your problem dude can’t u be normal for like a second 
“You’re this garbage person, but if you listen to me, I’ll make you great” again this tracks but gross
Again, on a more serious note: if a partner ever talks to you this way please call a domestic abuse hotline 
Not that India is at all in a good place right now but I personally ban Doc Antle from ever entering India. Banned. Forever. I will not be accepting constructive criticism at this time
“I didn’t really know any better” is a really good way of summarizing what all of these younger partners have been through
Wow Carole is really explaining this abuse issue succinctly 
Antle’s indignation at being implied to be a cult leader despite the fact he is most definitely a cult leader
Joe’s story in his documentary is constantly “is this going to be a humanizing moment PSYCH it’s still terrible”
HOW IS THIS LEGAL PAY YOUR WORKERS A LIVING WAGE
Why is this husband-killing thing JUST A FOOTNOTE AT THE END OF THIS EPISODE OH MY GOD
We have deviated so far from the tiger thing oh my god
Why is the only man in this documentary who is faithful to his spouse the man that smuggled drugs inside of snakes
Every time I learn a new thing about a person in this documentary I have to reorient myself
This whole episode has been about this murder and I’m concerned that its title, “The Secret,” hasn’t even been revealed yet
GOD I take back what I said about I Saw Tiger, the concept of this song/music video for Here Kitty Kitty is so disturbing that this man deserves no credit whatsoever as a musician 
CAROLE WHY ARE YOU GIGGLING ABOUT THE MEAT GRINDER IT’S NOT FUNNY
Well I don’t have much to say about this episode other than yikes
I guess if you’re really out to spite someone stealing their brand and posting exactly the opposite of everything they stand for is an effective if weird and petty way to do it
Do you think the whole throne footage moment was a “Frankenstein realizing what he has wrought” kind of thing for Kirkham
This is really like watching a sports game of two teams you can’t stand except the sport is murder and other miscellaneous crime
If we’re all being real with ourselves the documentary filmmakers themselves MUST have had some issues going on to be able to walk into this situation and not do anything about it
This series really seems to present a compelling case for why every major figure in this documentary has potentially committed at least one terrible crime
Ah there’s the judgment from the woman in Florida I guess it’s two crimes with one stone
God these poor animals they do not deserve anything happening to them
While obviously people are enticed by the prospect of someone they’re into having an animal JUST GET AN ALREADY DOMESTICATED ANIMAL LIKE DOMESTICATED CATS AND DOGS EXIST OH MY GOD DO NOT USE EXOTIC PETS AS DATE BAIT
 It has been so long since we heard about Travis ngl I already forgot about him 
Why is every single person in this show SO OFF THE WALLS I mean I know why but also WHY
This documentary is also a treatise in the flaws of the U.S. prison system and how it sets up people up to fail or re-offend upon release
Take a shot every time a middle-aged man in this show mentions that he casually bought himself a big cat as a teen
“Joe was the entertainment director.... by title” I don’t think this was meant to be a burn but what a burn
I am almost certain I WATCHED that Last Week Tonight episode during that election and if u told me that 4-5 years later I would be rewatching that clip in a documentary about this man’s journey to being convicted for murder then I cannot say I wouldn’t be surprised but I would probably believe it 
Also I have to wonder what John Oliver thinks about being part of this 
[“Beyonce?” voice] Shaun Majumder?
Sidenote: Until this exact moment I thought of Shaun Majumder as Ben Mulroney even though Brian Mulroney is white as hell I guess I have faceblindness but only for Canadian talkshow personalities
I have been aware of this before now but the fact you can buy a GUN at a Walmart what in the FUCK is U.S.A. doing
Man does this campaign manager really want to take ownership of anything Joe Exotic has ever done
Ngl I was wondering why someone who had at one point clearly had a lot of money seemed to have such poor dental care access but meth certainly does explain it
I mean people can be attracted to both men and women (hello) but since Joe was fuelling their drug addictions since they were teenagers attraction is at best a null factor and at worst an added layer of terrible to this whole mess
It’s hard to even respond to this in a meaningful way because this is so fucked up. Don’t own guns.
“That was a big fucking mistake,” he said, right after someone explained that he was driving large groups of people in an enclosed space in a busy city with wild animals that could maim or kill them
Padlock penls piercing really does not seem like a first date bombshell
“We went to dinner and he never went home” well if that doesn’t set you with a sense of foreboding
TWO MONTHS AFTER WHAT IN THE HELL OH MY GOD also I hope Dillon is okay
“It wasn’t about the animals anymore” you THINK
“It was sort of funny when they started but it’s gotten really dark” how meta
Of all the reasons Joe could’ve abandoned his zoo, I really didn’t think embezzlement would be what pushed him
“He won’t tell anyone where he’s at, not even me,” said Dial, with no acknowledgement of the fact that Joe is also theoretically still married and would maybe tell his husband???
Oh Dillon spotted??? Yikes get out dude
Take a shot every time a white person who really doesn’t understand where the word “karma” comes from starts talking about karma as if it is the Law of Revenge
The fact this man brings a film crew out with him while he’s on the run evading a federal investigation..... incomprehensible
“Joe just wanted to put it in somebody’s name and continue to be the tiger queen, I mean king,” really REALLY of all the reasons to object to Joe you’re going to choose homophobia wow
Is this about an attempt to have someone murdered or does something happen to Baskin it is very unclear
This documentary has an interesting format of switching focus from crime to crime to crime 
“I’ve never been as proud of being married to anyone as I am being married to you” It’s weird to compliment your husband by comparing him to all your other husbands
How is the lesson for Jeff Lowe in this “let’s build another zoo” surely at that point it’s better to just cut your losses
[Garretson voice]: You should pay me for being a bro, dude
“I’m a libertarian, so technically, fuck the Feds,” I’ve never heard an intonation that better suits a conservative millennial 
I mean I don’t think it was advisable but honestly why are people surprised Joe took the stand isn’t delusions of grandeur kind of his thing
Sometimes it’s just that they’ve added in other moments to break up the awful immoral crimes with just run of the mill douchebaggery like the nanny/gym thing huh
I guess the silver lining in this is that potentially these big cat zoos will shut down but like where do these animals who have been raised in captivity go??? I don’t trust anyone in this documentary to not exploit them in some way ugh 
“Not a single animal benefited from this war,” correct, Saff
“I was wrapped up in having a zoo,” not really an excuse but ok
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