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[imaginary-wanderer]

[imaginary-wanderer]

Why do I keep doing this to myself? 😭

[imaginary-wanderer]

Omg they didn't have a kid named Jaden lost in a mall (and wearing green!) and so many people shouting his name 😂 I really hope it's a reference to Heavy Rain. It has to be lmao

[imaginary-wanderer]

[imaginary-wanderer]

What's interesting when you binge-watch a show with several seasons is to immediately see how things changed over the years, how the writing evolved, the narrative choices they made, and the character development.

I've been watching 9-1-1 everyday, currently in the middle of season 6 (yes I'm fast, I have no social life and a crochet sweater to finish using size 2 yarn and it feels like it never ends) and seeing how the writing really improved around season 5 was interesting. Something definitely changed, the tone is a bit more neutral (I was talking about how religious the show was), and it's actually more impactful to have religious characters who show their faith in crucial moment instead of bringing it for every minor reason.

Cut for spoilers and long post.

I really like some of the choices they made with the character development. Like Eddie and the fact that he's a single dad and doesn't feel the need to "fill the empty place" after his wife died. He tried with Ana but it didn't feel right. They show him enjoying a video game at night (very relatable lol) while still being a professional and a very good dad. It also makes me feel like he could be demi and as a demi, I'd love that.

Buck also has a great character development. Since it's a positive show, of course he took the "right path". I just finished S6E11 and it was nice to see him come to terms with himself. He's such a raw character with a good heart, and a real dumb dumb, seeing him putting himself in shitty situations where he knows he'll end up getting hurt, physically or emotionally, made me roll my eyes with despair so many times lol

I also like that they don't make Chris a beacon of will. No "if he can do it, anyone can do it" bullshit. Cerebral palsy isn't even the main trait of the character, he's mostly here as the kid of a single dad, also made for Buck to project himself on him. We also have great domestic scenes with the three of them thanks to that, thank you very much.

I really enjoyed seeing Hen deciding to go to medical school at 40. Once again, very relatable and not something we usually put forward. At this age, society expects you to have a job and stick with it. Seeing Hen having ambition, and a big one at that, at 40 was refreshing. Of course everyone was supportive, because again, it's a positive show, but her wanting new things in her life for herself was nice.

It's also crazy that they didn't have a protocol to replace Bobby in case of absence. Like, how is that even possible? I have no idea how firefighters stations work in the US, but there has to be a protocol, you can't just be "I have to leave but who will be in charge of the station?" lol Especially knowing captains are not at the top of the chain of command. They have superiors, there's a whole system. I know that's a detail but seeing Hen struggle for the sake of drama because she accepted (and wanted) the role was weird.

Not a fan of the whole "family at work". Well, I like it in fiction because we're absolutely here for that, and I know this is the kind of job where your coworkers become significant people in your life or it just can't work. But the constant narrative of "my family is where my job is"... yeah, better be careful with that knowing how wide the target is for this kind of show.

Not a fan either of the early "not all police is bad" with black people directly involved. I know they tried to show both sides, and I know how it feels on a personal level, but still. Nope.

I know some of what will happen in season 7 thanks to gifsets all over my dash (and this is what made me watch the show, after years of seeing gifsets of Eddie and Buck, knowing there was nothing between them lol I'm here for the real queer), so I can't wait!

[imaginary-wanderer]

Why do people need subtitles to watch a show in English? I don't get it. What is wrong with the ears of young people?

[imaginary-wanderer]

it really is insane to me how in the mid 2010s netflix had a reputation of making cool, inclusive series as well as saving tv shows after their networks cancelled them, and now here we are today with every halfway decent netflix original show getting cancelled after 1-2 seasons and a bajillion episodes of bigmouth

[imaginary-wanderer]

Reading love confessions in fics made me remember of that time, when I was a teenager, I wanted to ask a boy out, who was a friend. Following the long tradition of sending a friend tell a friend you like them, I wanted to do the same, but this boy ended up asking that I ask him in person.

And I did, with all my social anxiety and fear.

And the guy rejected me 🤡

[imaginary-wanderer]

Ok so, as I said in a previous post, I started watching 9-1-1 like 2 weeks ago and I've been sort of binge-watching it since I always put a low-commitment series to "watch" when I crochet. Gifsets have been on my dash for years and I decided to watch it after a more recent character development. Tumblr did it again, making people watch something thanks to gifsets. Best marketing ever indeed.

And one of the first things that really stood out was how religious, and especially christian, the show was. At first, it just made me eyeroll because I know it's an USAmerican tv show (as in not streaming), and I know they're made for a very wide audience, and it's the US, and it's Fox, so it makes sense. But it's so heavy on the religion, like all the damn time, that I started to doubt: is it officially a christian show? lol

So I looked it up and I'm surprised by the amount of people who didn't even notice the amount of christian content. There's absolutely no religious diversity in this show so far (I'm in the 3rd part of season 5), everyone is christian or it's not addressed, everyone prays, everyone thanks God, everyone is grateful for miracles. And I mean, fine, yeah, if I don't like it I can just stop watching it! It's not like I'm the target audience. But more than the content of the show, it's how culturally telling it is, and it's very interesting.

I've always lived in countries where religion, whatever it is, has no real place in entertainment. It doesn't mean it's not there, just that it's not culturally something people will use as a central topic in media, not usually, unless it's specifically about it. As an atheist, religions have no real place in my life but that also makes it easier to watch things with various religious background since I'll watch them from a neutral place: a religion is a religion, it's never "mine vs the others". So when a show has so much religious content like in this one, it really feels like it's a full on christian show.

What is also funny is how educative the show is, showing once again the audience target is very definite: gay people are okay, biracial couples are okay, children outside of mariage are okay, depression happens, mistakes happen. It's all good... as long as you're a good christian. And not as long as you have faith, no, it's about being christian. I'm still waiting to see what they'll make of Ravi's character and background.

The episode where they make a very heavy point to mention "trust in science!" only to oppose it to a big circle praying had my eyes roll like a slot machine lol I understand how religion can be a huge source of support and comfort for people, but in the years 2020, it feels like they live in a completely different world when it comes to life as a society.

Interstingly, I saw people opposing the constant christian undertone to other types of diversities. But being gay or black is not a choice (I know, it's still a hot debate among dumb people), while religion absolutely is (and yes, it's still debatable with how people are born into religious family and raised with no other choice).

Anyway, I haven't watched a show like this since probably the 1990s or the early 2000s, absolutely made to educate people around more modern christian values. It's always very interesting to watch from a societal pov, how they tackle current/recent events, how they deal with nationwide or world wide problematics like the pandemic and the covid vaccine and how, once again, it's clearly made to educate people. Which is fine! I just didn't expect this show to be so heavy on the christianity of the characters and the US society.

[imaginary-wanderer]

you know what really gets my goat?

[imaginary-wanderer]

Well... 🤡

[imaginary-wanderer]

vegans make peace with honey

no shut up do it

[imaginary-wanderer]

(possible Dune 2 spoilers but not really)

I just watched Dune Part 2 and didn't understand why those movies feel so empty, with a wonky pace and weird structuring. Then I read that Villeneuve doesn't like dialogues and said he makes movies for the beauty of the pictures. And my guy... it shows. The Dune movies have been visually gorgeous so far, beautiful art direction, but they are empty. The story is there, and we get to the point eventually but there's nothing. The characters give nothing, the relationships are completely dull, I don't even talk about the """romance""". No chemistry at all. Nothing.

I liked the movie for what it is, like the first one, but when you didn't read the book, the lore feels forgotten, the motives are simple and yet the actions to get to the point are barely explained and what seemed to be several key moments in Paul's time among the Fremen are very short scenes with almost no importance. It's rushed and at the same time there's nothing. Very strange writing.

Unpopular opinion, I know, since today a beautiful movie is a great movie, whatever the quality of the writing. But at least Villeneuve seems to be faithful to his own vision of what kind of cinema he wants to do and definitely nails it. It's beautiful.

[imaginary-wanderer]

Looks like The Old Guard is still in post-production 😔

(update via press release of Victoria Mahoney’s latest directing project)

Source: deadline article, 16 April 2024

[imaginary-wanderer]

I have absolutely nothing bad to say against Undertale but I really don't understand what makes it so mind blowing in its narrative. It's a nice game, I enjoyed it but nothing really stood out to me. And I'm really only talking about the story, the characters and how people have feelings so strong about it.

So I wonder if I missed something or if I'm not "aligned" with whatever the game is delivering. I mean, there's so many other great stories that didn't create a similar reaction from people.

So yeah, good game and all but maybe I'm missing something lol I also played it long ago and it was such a regular game to me that I barely remember most of the stuff.

[imaginary-wanderer]

When you rewatch the second episode of Hannibal and see Beverly Katz walking past the SECTIONS of the shooting gallery…and you understand Fuller & Slade are slyly using visual foreshadowing to hint at Katz’s gruesome demise in season two…

…fuck!