kazetoame

[kazetoame]

THE BLOODY HELL WE ARE NOT! Slidey trumpet, my ass! Thems fighting words, sir! I’ll poke your eyes out!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW

THIS IS A TRUMPET

THIS IS A TROMBONE

THIS IS A TUBA

AND THIS IS A FRENCH HORN

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

[kazetoame]

Before sharing my thoughts on the passing of the great Chadwick Boseman, I first offer my condolences to his family who meant so very much to him. To his wife, Simone, especially. 

I inherited Marvel and the Russo Brothers’ casting choice of T’Challa. It is something that I will forever be grateful for. The first time I saw Chad’s performance as T’Challa, it was in an unfinished cut of Captain America: Civil War. I was deciding whether or not directing Black Panther was the right choice for me. I’ll never forget, sitting in an editorial suite on the Disney Lot and watching his scenes. His first with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, then, with the South African cinema titan, John Kani as T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka. It was at that moment I knew I wanted to make this movie. After Scarlett’s character leaves them, Chad and John began conversing in a language I had never heard before. It sounded familiar, full of the same clicks and smacks that young black children would make in the States. The same clicks that we would often be chided for being disrespectful or improper. But, it had a musicality to it that felt ancient, powerful, and African. 

In my meeting after watching the film, I asked Nate Moore, one of the producers of the film, about the language. “Did you guys make it up?” Nate replied, “that’s Xhosa, John Kani’s native language. He and Chad decided to do the scene like that on set, and we rolled with it.” I thought to myself. “He just learned lines in another language, that day?” I couldn’t conceive how difficult that must have been, and even though I hadn’t met Chad, I was already in awe of his capacity as actor. 

I learned later that there was much conversation over how T’Challa would sound in the film. The decision to have Xhosa be the official language of Wakanda was solidified by Chad, a native of South Carolina, because he was able to learn his lines in Xhosa, there on the spot. He also advocated for his character to speak with an African accent, so that he could present T’Challa to audiences as an African king, whose dialect had not been conquered by the West. 

I finally met Chad in person in early 2016, once I signed onto the film. He snuck past journalists that were congregated for a press junket I was doing for Creed, and met with me in the green room. We talked about our lives, my time playing football in college, and his time at Howard studying to be a director, about our collective vision for T’Challa and Wakanda. We spoke about the irony of how his former Howard classmate Ta-Nehisi Coates was writing T’Challa’s current arc with Marvel Comics. And how Chad knew Howard student Prince Jones, who’s murder by a police officer inspired Coates’ memoir Between The World and Me. 

I noticed then that Chad was an anomaly. He was calm. Assured. Constantly studying. But also kind, comforting, had the warmest laugh in the world, and eyes that seen much beyond his years, but could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time.   

That was the first of many conversations. He was a special person. We would often speak about heritage and what it means to be African. When preparing for the film, he would ponder every decision, every choice, not just for how it would reflect on himself, but how those choices could reverberate. “They not ready for this, what we are doing…” “This is Star Wars, this is Lord of the Rings, but for us… and bigger!” He would say this to me while we were struggling to finish a dramatic scene, stretching into double overtime. Or while he was covered in body paint, doing his own stunts. Or crashing into frigid water, and foam landing pads. I would nod and smile, but I didn’t believe him. I had no idea if the film would work. I wasn’t sure I knew what I was doing. But I look back and realize that Chad knew something we all didn’t. He was playing the long game.  All while putting in the work. And work he did. 

He would come to auditions for supporting roles, which is not common for lead actors in big budget movies. He was there for several M’Baku auditions. In Winston Duke’s, he turned a chemistry read into a wrestling match. Winston broke his bracelet. In Letitia Wright’s audition for Shuri, she pierced his royal poise with her signature humor, and would bring about a smile to T’Challa’s face that was 100% Chad. 

While filming the movie, we would meet at the office or at my rental home in Atlanta, to discuss lines and different ways to add depth to each scene. We talked costumes, military practices. He said to me “Wakandans have to dance during the coronations. If they just stand there with spears, what separates them from Romans?” In early drafts of the script. Eric Killmonger’s character would ask T’Challa to be buried in Wakanda. Chad challenged that and asked, what if Killmonger asked to be buried somewhere else? 

Chad deeply valued his privacy, and I wasn’t privy to the details of his illness. After his family released their statement, I realized that he was living with his illness the entire time I knew him. Because he was a caretaker, a leader, and a man of faith, dignity and pride, he shielded his collaborators from his suffering. He lived a beautiful life. And he made great art. Day after day, year after year. That was who he was. He was an epic firework display. I will tell stories about being there for some of the brilliant sparks till the end of my days. What an incredible mark he’s left for us. 

I haven’t grieved a loss this acute before. I spent the last year preparing, imagining and writing words for him to say, that we weren’t destined to see. It leaves me broken knowing that I won’t be able to watch another close-up of him in the monitor again or walk up to him and ask for another take. 

It hurts more to know that we can’t have another conversation, or facetime, or text message exchange. He would send vegetarian recipes and eating regimens for my family and me to follow during the pandemic.  He would check in on me and my loved ones, even as he dealt with the scourge of cancer.  

In African cultures we often refer to loved ones that have passed on as ancestors. Sometimes you are genetically related. Sometimes you are not. I had the privilege of directing scenes of Chad’s character, T’Challa, communicating with the ancestors of Wakanda. We were in Atlanta, in an abandoned warehouse, with bluescreens, and massive movie lights, but Chad’s performance made it feel real. I think it was because from the time that I met him, the ancestors spoke through him. It’s no secret to me now how he was able to skillfully portray some of our most notable ones. I had no doubt that he would live on and continue to bless us with more. But it is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now. And I know that he will watch over us, until we meet again.

[kazetoame]

“I started out as a writer and a director. I started acting because I wanted to know how to relate to the actors. When people ask me what I do, I don’t really say that I’m an actor, because actors often wait for someone to give them roles.”

Chadwick Boseman + Filmography

[kazetoame]

[kazetoame]

I’m going to make a quick post and then hop back into the void from whence I came, so here we go:

This will contain spoilers for those of you that haven’t seen or read Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin for elitist sensibilities, even though Isayama came up with the English title)

Telling a secret that gets a character’s parent killed

Erwin Smith is one of the most badass characters in anime/manga today. When first introduced, he is the Commander of the Survey Corps, leading his troops to kill Titans and find a way to reclaim lost land. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, eventually leading a coup d’état and installing one of his own as Queen (she has the blood, but was a bastard). This is a man who gets his arm bitten off during a fight and still shouts for everyone to keep moving forward. Shinzou wo sasageyo (dedicate/sacrifice your heart) indeed, this man lived this and even became the devil in the process to move humanity forward.

Now, why am I writing about him, it’s mainly his past. You see, as a child, he asked a simple question during class: Why humanity had no memory of what happened before they lived within the Walls, because even if they had lost all their records, the first generation should have been able to teach their children? His teacher (who also happens to be his father) gave him the standard answer (which I cannot find at the moment). Later on, Erwin’s father shares his true thoughts on why, that the king had somehow altered humanity’s memories when they first entered the Walls so he could control them better. Unfortunately, Erwin was too innocent and naive to the reasons of why his father didn’t share this in class. He shared this information with some of the kids in town, which made it back to the Military Police Brigade’s First Interior Squad and subsequently, Erwin’s father suffered a fatal “accident”. Funny, how years later, working within the system, Erwin gambles to bring down the regime responsible for his father and many others’ deaths due to thinking outside the box, as it were. All in an effort to prove his father right, which he was.

To the ASOIAF fandom, who does this sound like?

Sansa Stark

That’s who! So, next time people get on Sansa for being the sole reason for Eddard’s death (which she is NOT!), point out Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corp from Attack on Titan lost his father in a similar manner, the girl is in good company. Erwin Smith grew up to be a legend and proved his father right. I think Sansa will prove to be just a legendary as Erwin in her own way.

[kazetoame]

Alan Rickman behind the scenes of Sense and Sensibility [1995]

[kazetoame]

[kazetoame]

Arya: *enters Sansa’s room*

Sansa: *doesn’t look up from writing a letter* Arya you’d better not have his face on

Arya:

Sansa:

Arya:

Sansa:

Arya: Hurr durr durr I’m Petyr Baelish

Sansa: Too soon

[kazetoame]

[kazetoame]

[kazetoame]

Hajime Isayama did it right.

If you want to “shock your audience” maybe you should just try writing a good story.

[kazetoame]

John Boyega at Hyde Park demonstration #BlackLivesMattter

[kazetoame]

anonymous leaked bolsonaro’s private info including his credit card number and someone on twitter bought a whole ass macbook pro with it. yes. a person bought an macbook pro with the president’s credit card. this country really isn’t for beginners

[kazetoame]

i knew i could trust richard madden with my life

[kazetoame]

[kazetoame]

I’m Sorry You Loved Daenerys Targaryen

I’m sorry you loved Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles and Mother of Dragons

All joking aside, I am genuinely sorry for people who related to her character in such a deep way. I’m not as sorry for people who love her just because they do, but to the women who found her story of abuse relatable, or her fear of mental illness. I understand why you felt so attached to her, and how this could be a huge blow to how you view the story in general.

But that is not George Martin’s fault. 

A huge part of enjoying fantasy, and books/art in general, is that it gives us a whole new world to step into and enjoy. A Song of Ice and Fire in particular encourages readers to really step into the characters (especially considering the POV structure of the books) and understand why they do the things they do. George Martin wanted his readers to empathize with Daenerys, and how she went from a scared young girl to being the Mother of Dragons. But he is not responsible for the life history of all of his readers. Just because you saw something in particular in Daenerys, does not invalidate what the creator of Daenerys sees in her. You may have found strength in her reclaiming her life from Viserys, moving on from her abuse, and rising to be Queen of Meereen, but that doesn’t change that Martin has been writing her as grey from the start. Just because you found personal satisfaction in her highs, does not invalidate her lows. 

From the start, Daenerys was written as the natural antagonist of our heroes (Starks). We know that she is being lied to, and is lying to herself, when her first chapter starts with lines such as “The Usurper and his dog” and “Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men”. If you comb through any of Daenerys’ chapters, you’re bound to find at least 4 or 5 quotes that should’ve been raising red flags for readers. George Martin literally begged people to understand what he was doing when he publicly said The Meereenese Blot understood exactly what he was doing with Daenerys. Its unfair to say GRRM didn’t try and warn you.

As far as “well she also freed slaves!” that is an oversimplification, and contrasts what Martin himself thinks about people:

We have the angels and the demons inside of us, and our lives are a succession of choices. Look at a figure like Woodrow Wilson, one of the most fascinating presidents in American history. He was despicable on racial issues. He was a Southern segregationist of the worst stripe, praising D.W. Griffith and The Birth of a Nation. He effectively was a Ku Klux Klan supporter. But in terms of foreign affairs, and the League of Nations, he had one of the great dreams of our time. The war to end all wars – we make fun of it now, but God, it was an idealistic dream. If he’d been able to achieve it, we’d be building statues of him a hundred feet high, and saying, “This was the greatest man in human history: This was the man who ended war.” He was a racist who tried to end war. Now, does one cancel out the other? Well, they don’t cancel out the other. You can’t make him a hero or a villain. He was both. And we’re all both.

This is very clearly Martin talking about Daenerys, and how someone who did great things can also be terrible. 

What I’m trying to say is, it is perfectly okay that you found strength in certain elements of Daenerys’ story. If she made you feel better or helped you recover, that’s okay. It’s okay that you didn’t see certain elements of her story because you loved the good parts. But you also have to admit you fell in love with your Daenerys, not George Martin’s. GRRM has written an extensive amount of characters actively fighting against destructive and oppressive power structures, while also overcoming their abusers, so to demonize his story at this point is unfair. Daenerys never represented those things within his narrative, so he never took that away from her.

Your Daenerys may represent those things, and she still can. If you enjoy your interpretation of the character, write that. But don’t say George Martin made a mistake, because he didn’t. 

His Daenerys was always coming with Fire & Blood.

[kazetoame]