#Learning the Opera

[reallybadblackoutpoems]

meditations on first philosophy (1641) - rene descartes

"who give a shit"

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The Yiling Band Tour!

[hollowistheworld]

Thinking about that post about the show murderbot characters not being as 'developed' (as in, are still in the beginnings/middles of character arcs) as their book counterparts, and I think a big plus of it is it lets Murderbot be in the same category as them.

The most obvious example is it and Mensah - both of them struggling with anxiety and fighting through it because there are people counting on them. But the one I'm really thinking about is Murderbot and Ratthi.

Ratthi didn't get weapons training like he was supposed to because he 'slept through it' which was because he was hungover (would love to know if Mensah already knew that before he accidentally announced it over the comms). His very feeble, obviously shame-filled excuse is that he didn't think he'd need it. Just like Murderbot didn't think it'd need the hopper repair manual.

These are dumb, youthful things to do. Go out and party and be too hungover to make it to class the next day. Watch your favorite TV show instead of copying down your homework. These things happen and 95% of the time it's no big deal.

And then one time it is. It's a big deal and now they can't help when they really want to be able to help. And Murderbot and Ratthi react to their mistakes the exact same way - by giving themselves a lecture on what big fucking idiots they are. Ratthi then does something dumb and dangerous to try and make up for it and Murderbot has Mensah crack open its spine. It's a very fun parallel between them and I think it's going to add some really nice depth to their friendship as things go along. You fuck up. You do dumb shit to get the short-term gratification.

And people love you anyway.

[tennessoui]

crying for Anakin bc Obi-Wan stopped calling him padawan but also knowing Obi-Wan would have so many hang-ups calling his new student and his brother/son/lover/soulmate the same term (of endearment in Anakin’s case)

also obsessed with Anakin cheating at therapy to get opera tickets like idk bro maybe if you spent less time angling for tickets you could’ve just bought and more time talking about the new padawan and all the other trillions of feelings you have every minute of every day, you might just win therapy

anakin, age 17 probably: ugh i hate it when master obi-wan calls me padawan, i'm almost a Jedi Knight and he should treat me as an equal because we ARE equals >:(

ana-can't-share-akin, age 22: why would he call him padawan when that is his term of special endearment for ME who is his eternal padawan and should always be allowed sole use of that word for forever >:( what is the ten year old gonna call him next?? master??? i'll beat him up if he tries. i'll beat up a ten year old. don't think i won't

mind healer, taking notes, but they're really just question marks up and down the page: but you're not mad about the new padawan.

anakin: of course i'm not mad about the new padawan!!!!

[clarissaweasley-10]

Imagine Gray calling a 911 meeting right after he and Lyra kissed. And then when they all have assembled, he just blurts out something like "I like Lyra Kane and we just kissed"(full stop.) All hell breaks loose with the rest already planning how their (Gray and Lyra's) wedding's gonna be like, the name of their kids and ofc teasing lil Gray bear for finally getting a girl...

P.S- Should l make a fanfic on this?

[amazingdeadfish]

Do u think u could make an opera version of mayor? I've seen a few artists make diff opera wukong/Mac designs but I think a opera mayor design would look very cool :D

Not gonna lie, I was nervous to do this, but, I don't regret trying out this challenge.

RAMBLES + (literally only two) REFERANCES BELOW THE CUT:

The costume is based on the classic armor outfit in Chinese Peking Opera. Since, we all know that the Mayor doesn't actually have that many identifiable characteristics or, much of a role in the LMK show other than being LBD's foot soldier or, thrall. So, I had to reflect that in what's probably an incredibly basic interpretation for what their design could be (because if you actually see the insane level amount of detail in peking opera outfits, you'll understand that this drawing is heavily simplified and lacks detail).

The mask, is, also simple. I tried to look at numerous references and get my head around the insane amount of possibilities of patterns and designs and what they mean, as well as what the colours symbolize, but all that's important is that blue symbolizes stoicism, black for integrity, and white symbolizes evil (but of course these meanings for colours have leeway in between depending on what source you look at. There is no definitive answer).

The mask is also important because it creates the most visual distinction from Mayor being a Jing instead of a Sheng (male protagonist). And, even though it's a basic mask, I did create it to imply an almost 'skull' shape to it. But it's discrete and, you have to be looking for it to be there (which I suppose fits because, Mayor being LBD's thrall wasn't revealed straight away)

Now okay look, I'm- I'm not an expert on peking opera at all, I had to do a bit or research to do this in order to actually understand what I am doing when it comes to designing an outfit for Mayor. You might see a hint of his Chief costume in the chest plate I decided to keep, and all those skull motifs to show that he is a thrall of Lady Bone Demon. But in short, he is a warrior, a soldier, a chief of war, and he fights and works for Lady Bone Demon. He is to be a character with heavy, dramatic armor, and a mask to not only symbolize his role in whatever theatre show he lands himself in, but also for the shrouded identity he has and, well, not exactly being the most in-depth or open character in the show :))).

Anyways, here's a beta design back when I legitimately had no idea what I was doing and had done like zero research apart from looking at references I lied and, thinking Mayor would have a 'lighter (less heavy) and less decorative outfit (clearly I changed my mind later on):

I am, glad I did not follow through with this design. This is, not a peking opera outfit. Not a conventional one at least, that would reflect who the Mayor is (because this mf is conventional as hell, fitting in with modern times with his suit and all).

And here are the, uh, two references I used (obviously there's more but, these two were the ones I really picked apart and analyzed and, have clearly referenced):

And yes, I copied the pose on the right.

Design is welcome for critique (again, I am not an expert on peking opera (it's such a vast, complex, and wonderful artform that the more I found out the more I was intimidated by) and possibly subjected to be redesigned later on should I look back on this months-years later and cringe horrifically.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Eddie diaz was not content with watching a telenovela he decided he needed to be his own telenovela and I for one love that for him

[michamiw]

Classes with the angel of music ...if he where a lil more normal

I recently finished ch 1 and the beginning of ch 2 and dear god

[forever-and-whats-left]

Vroom vroom here comes a stupid poto analysisssssss. Once more I've run into that plot point where they point out "Would you have loved him if he were an ordinary man?"

IDK DUDE.

Her silence is important because it says a lot more than whatever else words would. She doesn't hate him, she is disgusted by him. That is what is clearly stated. But more broadly, who the fuck would Erik be if he WERE ordinary? His name wouldn't even BE Erik. Would he still be so into music? Would they have met? Would Erik even have spent the time to develop her singing skills because, let's be honest, the whole "dead" father bit definitely made her more open to manipulation? So whenever people say, "It's her saying she's in love with him" I feel like people are missing the big picture, because, the WHOLE theme of the book is how we treat those who are "different". Literally. The end of the book has a monologue about questioning whether we should pity Erik. (and the answer is a lot more complicated than a simple yes or no).

SO. IDK. MAYBE???

[jonahmagnus]

Zack if youre gonna deliver on the dreamhub agent alt-text promise you HAVE to deliver on this one too. Please I beg 💘 ignore any hater and dedicate a whole multi year arc to these guys. For me.

[tennessoui]

"Anakin would give a fake name and Obi-Wan would mess it up all the time and be very obvious about it" <- OK but what if there is a Stewjoni endearment that begins with "Ana" and instead of thinking Obi-Wan is fucking up his name, they think Obi-Wan is trying incredibly incredibly hard to not call him by that endearment (which is /obviously/ the reason Obi-Wan is embarrassed and reticent to meet their eyes every time he does it)

[reference to this post]

oh man!! this is genius, absolutely!! obi-wan and vaderkin keep having to sit down at family dinners together on opposite sides of the table (exes in a romcom where they end up back together style)

and everytime anakin (who is called set by the rest of the kenobis because anakin is using His Fake Name) says anything, obi-wan reflexively replies even if it has nothing to do with him and he's on the other side of the garden patio area and also he hates vader with a mustafar-level burning passion

but also he always also ends his rebuke with anak, which is like a stewjoni term of endearment that means like. sweetest of my heart's desires or something just incredibly cheesy.

and all of obi-wan's family is like lol get a load of this guy so obsessed with our set that he's performing verbal acts of cringe-worthy pda in front of us!

but obi-wan's parents are like we can't outwardly make fun of him! obviously he is learning our culture and our language!! and we can't discourage that!!

so every time obi-wan goes to say anakin's name and then chokes, his family is like lmao fucking transparent loser (but politely hiding their reactions so as not to bully their obi-wan's honest attempts at embracing his stewjoni roots) and both vaderkin and obi-wan are none the wiser

[dartalias]

I think the fact that Kyoshi canonically knows how to dance and sing is severaly overlooked in this fandon

Its such a cool thing to put in her character, especially in how it complements her design

Its also so weirdly funny

[habunshu]

Hello! Sorry to bother you.

I noticed you are in JTTW fandom and wanted to ask if you know where can I find more info on Sun Wukong's make up and stage performance? I tried to find stuff on my own but quickly realised that I'm just one small weak goblin. I saw some blogs about chinese opera behind the scenes with SW images and couple of videos but that's about it... and since you look like you are way more knowledgeable I came here to beg a favour.

Do you know any videos, documentaries or blogs on this topic?

Thank you for your time ♥♥♥

Hi!

TLDR: Bold text are writings/videos linked to Peking Opera Culture and specifics surrounding Monkey King performances. Post has a mid-length summary of key aspects of his Peking appearances and core thematics. This mainly goes along visual design analysis, as I don’t focus in performance art as much! Read more divide for courtesy

(Also taking a moment to highly praise @/bonesmarinated ‘s Peking opera Wukong pieces!)

The Monkey King/Sun Wukong is a very well covered and well performed character in Peking Opera, I’ll give a short(ish) summary of the key aspect of his design across various performances based on work I can recall from my Undergrad as well as my own experience- and i’ll link any documents/websites/images I have on hand

Wukong’s Lian Pu falls under what is known the Jing role (complex hero) with similar facial decoration also being delegated to the Chou roles in Opera as well.

The dominant school of art in depicting him either on live performers or maskwear, have a fairly universal foundation for his appearance.

The oldest forms of Peking opera stick to Wuseguan (Five Colour Theory) with his Lian Pu sticking to a core 3 of White (Cunning), Red (Bravery), and Black (Loyalty). Even with Modernisation of the Peking Opera and developments in the science behind art and makeup, Lianpu is specific in its purpose of portraying the nature of a character beyond body language and aiding in accessibility for people at the far end of the audience.

The Monkey King’s Lian Pu is reflective of his mischievous and bold nature, combining it with the shape of an Old World Monkey’s furless face shape so that even those “uneducated” in Peking Opera culture can at least see /what/ Wukong is before they see /who/ he is. The White and red placement are linked to yin-yang dynamics relating to the stone he was born from and the energy it cultivated) as well as general themes beyond the tale itself.

Zheng’s “Evolution, Symbolism, and Artistry: A Study on the Colors of Peking Opera Facial Makeup” Discusses this in more detail. ( DOI: 10.23977/artpl.2023.041207) (ISSN 2523-5877)

(General Mask colours in Peking Opera, separate from Lian Pu: The Cultural Connotation and Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Opera Mask Color - Hanbing Tu)

In more modern designs, the key foundation of Wukong’s face doesn’t change much, however some variations do add colour to Wukong’s eyelids- mainly pink or yellow/gold. Both of these relate physically to the ‘whites’ of Old World Monkey’s eyes, with the yellow face paint being representative of “barbarism” or “savagery”. Gold is used on the faces of various immortal creatures from all backgrounds as Silver is.

(Left: Chu Luhao as Monkey King, stedling divine peaches and wine in celestial realm, Kaohsiung ) (Right: Monkey King Wukong in Beijing Opera Journey to the West at Liyuan Theater)

As with Taiwans branch off in culture, This Lian Pu on the left shows the eyebrows as the top of the eyelid makeup, contrast to Chinese style and other Sino-influenced regions. This works in Chu Luhao’s production as it plays towards the character Wukong is before he’s sealed under the mountain and begun the journey- hence more “wide eyed”.

Mentioning Yellow within the Wuseguan, this is why most of his earlier outfits have such a heavy bias towards yellow cloth, barbarism being represented across his whole body (his form, as a monkey over his soul that achieves enlightenment) with costumes later down his hero’s journey adding more black, blue (simplicity).

(Left: Performer playing Monkey in Journey to the West, Chinese Opera performance in Singapore) (Middle: Chu Luhao’s production, Sun Wukong arrives at the Dragon Palace of the East Sea) (Right: CANTON, CHINA – CIRCA JULY 2019: Beijing Opera performance of “Monkey King Making Havoc in Heaven”)

Key Read -> The Artistic Symbolism of the Painted Faces in Chinese Opera: An Introduction, David Ming-Yüeh Liang. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43560653

Book -> Chinese opera: Images and stories, Peter Lovrick, Wang-Ngai Siu

Book -> Drama kings: Players and publics in the re-creation of Peking opera, 1870-1937, Joshua Goldstein. https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XT_1fZ9Jp18C&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=info:49R3XREYwVoJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=3OF1F4SILK&sig=gQyW7bGJzgnxG62Y2TxU01ZPazQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

This analytical paper on Monkey King: Hero is Back showcases modern animated links to Peking Monkey King designs - https://fslmjournals.taylors.edu.my/wp-content/uploads/SEARCH/SEARCH-2024-16-1/SEARCH-2024-P5-16-1.pdf

A blog site I found interesting was an interview with Yao Yudong, the successor to colourful Peking Opera masks, where he discusses creating the mask designs (with a Wukong mask as a recorded example) and a more in-depth written post. He expresses the key two styles of Wukong’s red markings known as “Upside down Gourd” style, and the less complex “Upside down Peach” style attributed to a different art school. In which his mask is directly attributed to items that come into contact with his face.

Jiao Feng, Peking Opera Facial Makeup: The Art of Face Painting: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/2018/ich/202001/t20200117_800190202.html

Connected is a video of an Opera performer who does his own Lian Pu, which depending on the time period could take up to two hours. Although this design is significantly more contemporary in the use of gold on white sections as markings like black paint. https://x.com/chinadaily/status/1365730927133958144?s=46&t=06bYiE12l6qVJUxPCBuvvQ

In regards to Wukong’s combat performances, he falls into the role of a Wusheng (武生), which is the strand of stage costume used in representation of his staple armour.

(Monkey King in Journey to the West Performance, Beijing Opera)

In this costume, Wukong’s Phoenix feather cap is mirrored by Lingzi (翎子) or Zhilling (雉翎), which likely play back and forth with influencing eachother as time progresses, due to Wukong’s theatrical personality being heightened by the Pheasant tails and their movements as actors play their roles. In his Wusheng roles, he is more likely to be adorned with gold eyelids to highlight his layered immortality and connect to the golden armour he wears. The trait of biting the pheasant tails as a theatrical act of frustration is seen across adaptations, most recently in Black Myth: Wukong’s Chapter 6 Animation.

This animation’s design seems to relay the Lingzi strongly due to the way the studio details the lowest connection points to the crown ornament.

As stated in Bond’s writings “BEIJING OPERA COSTUMES: THE VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF CHARACTER AND CULTURE”, Wukong’s in-game Suozi Set and various adaptations Dragon Palace armours split similarly to the Kao (Armour) on Peking stages, with the falling of the frantic drastically increasing the size of the actor and his silhouette.

Qing-era flags on the costumes of Wusheng were used to express social standing, gender, nature, and ranking. The image above showcasing them has them match the Kao pattern of the clothing, other flags often held zodiac patterns- with the monkey showcasing vain, egotistical, inventive and tricky individuals; and the peach included in a flag hinting towards immortality.

(Ching Dynasty Year of the Monkey Flag used in the Peking Opera) Zaricore Flag Collection: https://www.flagcollection.com/itemdetails.php?CollectionItem_ID=943

Due to the History of Lian Pu, and Wuseguan, despite modernisation of Opera arts vastly widening the colours and complexity of costumes; Wukong sticks to a key 5 colour scheme, with a emphasis on the original trio of red-white-black, and gold being reserved for Wusheng/Wuxiaosheng to showcase immortality and strength. The prevalence of Opera alongside fictional theatre means that the two constantly play off of eachother in mannerisms and influence, both at the time of JTTW’s writing to the 21st century. But as Opera is a physical performance, all aspects of Peking costume design is meant to make the emotional and psychological aspects of characters physical, to a large audience space needing to see facial expressions heightened and clarified by Lian Pu.

Read -> Cultural-based visual expression: emotional analysis of human face via Peking Opera Painted Faces (POPF)

[thedeadthree]

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐆𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 ➸ irulanne . the rook .

𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 . 𝐄𝐋𝐅 . 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 .

-`. template by @kanos . coloring . icons .

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[aanthonyvb]

Italy production Erik