deewesspeaks

[deewesspeaks]

Something I wrote about Cruella

“I was 16 years old when I found out I couldn’t use my own name as a member of the Screen Actors Guild. They already had an ‘Emily Stone’ in their system. To ask a 16 year old to pick a new name is quite interesting because I was thinking ‘I’m gonna be Riley, my name’s gonna be Riley Stone.’ So my name was Riley Stone for about six months, then I booked a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle. When it was time to begin filming the first day, they called me, ‘Riley! Riley!’ I had no idea who they were talking to. I quickly then changed my stage name to Emma since it was close enough to my real name.” – Emily J. Stone, W Magazine Screen Tests, 2017.

The concept of duality is defined as an “instance of opposition or contrast between two facets of something.” This concept has been repackaged in numerous other ways: nurture vs. nature, reason vs. intuition, free will vs. predestination, etc. It is the closest humans have come, outside of spirituality, to clearly defining their place within the universe. Although, let us go inside of spirituality to show that logic is the greatest ally of faith, not the enemy.

In Christianity, names hold an important role. Once one accepts their place as a child of God, they are “reborn” and live the rest of their life from that point forward. However, after one accepts their place, they are not “reborn” as a new person. Instead, one realizes why they were hiding who they used to be to begin with. This is where the titular character of Cruella finds herself near the true turning point of this expertly written film.

Prior to Cruella’s monologue at the fountain, she holds a prestigious position with Baroness von Hellman, a decorated designer who is also her birth mother. Reading into the Snow White parallels, her mother viewed raising her as a threat to her self-identity. This led to Cruella being raised in secret by Catherine, a servant to her mother. Catherine, deputized as her foster mother, imparts the only lessons she knows to her: patience and humility. Cruella could not care less; giving into her selfishly primal urges feels so much better.

Now, Cruella finds herself perfectly balancing her duality. Estella, Cruella’s idea of maternal compassion, handles the endless sadism the Baroness puts her through. Cruella fulfills her childhood dreams by designing clothes which will be seen by the adoring public. Still, neither receiving credit nor barely being paid for her hard work was not a part of those dreams. Despite these conditions, Cruella still confidently balances the two different worlds because the connection she feels to Catherine still feels immediate, which is why she pretends to be her for a solid chunk of the film.

Unfortunately, the truth about Cruella’s life becomes unavoidable. The love and guilt she has felt for decades becomes inauthentic in an instant. Feeling pressure from simultaneous confusion about the past, anger for the present, and fear of the future, Estella surrenders her dominance. She cannot lead the journey anymore because the map she trusted was of a land which never existed. She needs Cruella’s unfiltered confidence to take the lead, because the one thing Estella is sure about now is that nowhere is safe for her anymore.

[deewesspeaks]

literally the peak of Conan

[deewesspeaks]

hey!!! sorry if this sounds rude but do you mind not getting rid of my caption and replacing it with yours? i dont mind of you add it on to mine but please dont get rid of mine!! (im talking about the all the small things audio)!! sorry if this sounded rude!!

I don't remember what this was concerning. Could you remind me?

[deewesspeaks]

constant mood

[deewesspeaks]

This is how good Kevin Smith is when he tries.

Serendipity saying it how it is

(Dogma, 1999)

[deewesspeaks]

Almost a decade since this came out 😓

[deewesspeaks]

HANNIBAL WAS A GOOD ASS SHOW

[deewesspeaks]

Which one would you like?

[deewesspeaks]

This feels like a Fox News reason why women can’t be president.

[deewesspeaks]

I've seen so many sitcoms...

that reflect on the futile nature of life in such an existential manner (Louie, Bojack, Rick and Morty, Crashing, Master of None, etc.) that I feel as if I've had 15 mid-life crises.

[deewesspeaks]

Who's watching Big Little Lies?

[deewesspeaks]

How do ppl not realize...

the liberal media obviously conspired with the elites to get Trump elected. The media have him tons of ironic airtime (“He’s so terrible!, let’s show him for 96 non-stop hours”) and didn’t act like Trump was a problem until he started winning. Look at his administration. The president is openly playing the fool, while his seedy underlings pass discriminatory legislation. All of this while the banks get rich off private prisons, and liberal comedians have an easy target for modern times.

[deewesspeaks]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfRDUsvu5fE

[deewesspeaks]

Q: Why do you feel so bad? A: Because I need to get my life together. Q: Why don't you get your life together? A: Because I need time. Q: Why don't you take the time now? A: Because I need more. Because it's not enough. And why do/start something if you're not gonna finish it?

This is the mindset I need to escape. If I can just get out of this mudslide, I'll feel a little bit better, at least how normal people feel. I wonder if nirvana is possible to achieve, and if the first step is to simply not care.

[deewesspeaks]

Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm.

a friend told me this today and honestly it might be my new motto for 2015  (via msh30)

[deewesspeaks]

[deewesspeaks]

#squad