#DEI in media

[gdusil]

The internet and social media have fundamentally reshaped the beauty industry, influencing everything from consumer behavior to branding and celebrity. In the past, beauty standards were dictated by Hollywood, magazines, and television....

[neo--queen--serenity]

The Black Butler revival will, of course, in this day and age, be the complete embodiment of pro-ship vs. anti-ship discourse, given the subject matter.

But for those of you who are watching this for the first time in 2024 (which includes myself!), there are certain things about the show you simply must understand, for the sake of media literacy.

The first is that Black Butler is supernatural gothic romanticism at its core. This genre alone should tell you that the relationships integral to the plot will be complex, messy, and toxic, by default. That is not only a huge part of this genre’s appeal, but very much the point of the story.

The themes are dark, the terrible things that happen to the main characters are dark, and therefore the relationships at the forefront (and in the background) will reflect that.

The gothic genre has been alluringly popular for over a century (longer, if you know your history) because audiences are entranced by the macabre, the tainted antiheroes, the monsters who live inside us all. It’s popular for a reason.

That being said, understand that whether you, the viewer, ship Sebastian and Ciel or not is irrelevant. Their bond doesn’t need to be understood as romantic or sexual, but it sure as hell isn’t normal. It isn’t healthy. And the audience knows that. That’s the draw. It’s what makes them compelling to watch.

Ciel and Sebastian’s relationship mirrors many gothic novels, poems, and penny dreadfuls written in the Victorian Era (the very same time period in which Kuroshitsuji takes place). The Victorian folks who read these tales for the first time ate that shit up, because it was tantalizing. It was shocking. It was inappropriate, and monstrous, and violent, and erotic, and went against societal norms. But that was the point.

A huge part of gothic romanticism is the blatant sexualization of the relationship between the “monstrous” characters and their human counterparts in the story. Sex itself doesn’t need to take place for their bond to be sexually charged. The forbidden nature of their relationship—which typically involves layers of social taboos, moral ambiguity, or simple infatuation—is what makes their interactions erotic. Sexual contact rarely ever actually happens in these stories. It’s the taboo nature of their bond that creates the tension.

One of the many reasons audiences love this genre is the constant question of morality in its themes. Who, between them, is the real monster? Could the human character have ever been saved? This genre is often associated with tragedy, because the bond forged between the characters in these stories are destined to end in death and destruction. The reader knows it can’t end any other way. How can it?

But an integral element of these gothic tales is the catharsis that comes with this tragedy. The corrupted human often gets what they want in the end, even if it’s at the cost of their own life. Whether they regret their choice to foster this monstrous relationship varies on the story, but it doesn’t change the trajectory of their descent.

Sebastian and Ciel’s relationship is the whole plot of Black Butler. Their closeness bears a grotesque ick factor, but it is deliberate. It is a constant reminder of how unnatrual their bond truly is. Rationalizing or watering down how abnormal they are about each other misses the point entirely. They will never have a normal, healthy relationship, and that’s what moves the plot forward.

That’s why you’re watching it.

[bonehilda-deactivated]

One of the best things about Disco Elysium by far is that it does not fear ugly women. The world is full of ugly men, but ugly women are so hard to come by.

[sailortim]

CONCEPTUALIZATION for disco skills zine

[coolmika745]

The Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish Receives Outstanding GLAAD Children's Program Award

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[not-your-asian-fantasy]

Graduate Yurong “Luanna” Jiang delivered a powerful address titled Our Humanity at Harvard’s 2025 Commencement Exercises last week.

“We are living in a very difficult time.” Jiang told The Associated Press on Friday. “There’s a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.”

This week, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to cancel about $100 million USD in contracts with Harvard University. The government already cancelled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard’s enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Then it widened the pressure campaign, suspending visa applications worldwide and threatening to deny US visas to thousands of Chinese students nationwide.

Without international students, it would be a challenge for Harvard to achieve its mission, Jiang said. Campus culture depends on its globally diverse student body, studying and hanging out together.

“Harvard wants its students to go and change the world and you can’t change the world without understanding the world,” she said.

“You can’t understand the world without truly having a personal connection with people from all sorts of countries.” x

[philiponmycracker]

Echo Park (1985) DVD - Der Standard/Hoanzl Special Edition #017 Austrian Film Archive, published in 2006/2007

Received just today this beautiful Austrian version special edition dvd of Echo Park, one of my latest investments all because I really despartely needed it Look how gorgeous he is this dvd is only in German and I don't even fuckn speak German but honestly dont care cause I just had to hold it in my own hands

[gdusil]

Embracing a more inclusive representation of beauty, the media has increasingly featured unretouched images, breaking the illusion of perfection that once dominated the industry. Streaming services and social media disintermediation have amplified voices that were previously underrepresented.

[kinialohaguy]

First Hundred Days

Aloha kākou. The first hundred days of Donald J. Trump’s second term as President of the United States has been extraordinary. It has been, however, not without controversy. As with Donald Trump first term as President, the Deep State has been working to discredit his administration. This is the only U.S. President in history that has the greatest public support but the greatest opposition from…

[k-wame]

OLEG IVENKO & SERGEI POLUNIN 2018 • The White Crow • dir. Ralph Fiennes

[quovadisamerica]

Victory!

[yellowisthecolorofsunrays]

as a media major, i stay vigilant and analyze the media i consume because although i've always known it's all systemic social control, i now see bigger and bigger pictures everywhere, everyday.

as a people, we are distracted. we are weathered down by humour and amusement with little velocity and our desire to do anything but humour ourselves is close to zero.

we have been puppeteered into a formidable consumerism, fooled once again into thinking we are serving ourselves when really, we are walking deeper and deeper into the ocean.

real-life tragedies are playing out, and we can't even react accordingly because our senses have been dulled. the nations are necrotic, and everyone around is high on laughing gas.

can you do me a favour, guys? can you splash some cold water on your face and blink twice? can you focus, please?

the greens are withering.

[timharrold]

Jaywick is a small community near Clacton-on-Sea on the North Sea coast of the county of Essex in England, UK.

[jangillman]

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[lunaticamic]

ESAME PASSATOOOOOOO