raincitygirl76 - Tumblr blog

[raincitygirl76]

When August is King and his kid has a teen romance with someone he shouldn’t, Sara is going to be his “unfortunate romance” that he references but never explains in an attempt to keep his kid in the status quo

[raincitygirl76]

Simon and Wilhelm (almost) every time they shared a look

[raincitygirl76]

I like having August and Wille apologise to each other and like end the feud but I really really hope they aren’t suddenly friends or something - I hope it’s a we are on neutral terms situation

Because even before the video they weren’t friends and it’s like too much happened I feel for hen to suddenly be friends

[raincitygirl76]

The spirit of Diogenes is alive and well

[raincitygirl76]

No indoor competitions, thank god. And no, of course rowing is not a real sport!

[raincitygirl76]

this is so real

[raincitygirl76]

August's Ending Was NOT "Justice"

I am astonished and frankly appalled when I see people extolling how August's storyline was concluded, lauding it as the best and most appropriate fate for him, and going on and on about how beautiful the poetic justice of it was.

And then those exact same people pat themselves on the back for being in favor of social justice, talk about how the system must be burned down, and preach about how even though it is hard to destroy institutions it is so important to keep trying.

And they do not see or understand how these two positions conflict with one another.

First, those who believe that August becoming the new Crown Prince is a fitting punishment must also be in favor of the monarchy continuing. They have to be pro-Monarchy because how else can August's "punishment" take effect? And they have to want the monarchy to reign on exactly as-is with no change or advancement because, again, August must face the exact same system that Wille did as his "punishment."

And since they want the monarchy to continue unchanged, they also are in favor of giving an unrepentant sex offender money, power, and influence. They want August to be given more money, power, and influence than Wilhelm because August will now outrank Wille. But that is "punishment" for August apparently.

They want August to be looked up to, admired, and set up as a role model, catered to, bowed down to, extolled as a leader, and have his ego continually stroked. Because that is "punishment" for him. They want August to represent (fictional) Sweden on the world stage. That's his "punishment."

"But it's "punishment" because August will be sad!" they cry! "He has lost Sara and won't be able to do anything he wants! The show told us so", they exclaim!

What the show actually depicted was that what August wants is to have authority, admiration, class privilege, and a system that will coverup his wrongs. Guess what he gets as Crown Prince: Check, all of the above.

August's desires are completely in synch with what the Crown wants *and* August is good at the slick, surface level glad handing and PR required. The Court can with utmost discretion make sure he gets treatment for any addiction or disorders he may have; the military service can offer the structure and chain-or-command he adores; the Palace, which he can control more completely than he ever controlled Hillerska because he is the only option, will be his new home; no more need to make up lies to appease others, Royal PR will do that for him. And now Vincent has a direct line of access to and influence over the Monarchy. But August is the one being "punished" here.

"But he's lost Sara!!!" Sara was right, his feelings for her will pass because they weren't about her, they were about the way she made him feel. There will be lots and lots of women who will be more than happy to make him feel good about himself.

Those who are happy with how August's storyline ended are happy that the cis het rich white male got away with every crime he committed without even being subjected to public shaming or ridicule, or any loss of status and instead was given his heart's desire. Because he may regret it one day. And that is sufficient "punishment" for him. Right.

Guess I was wrong for wanting to see Prince Andrew prosecuted and made to account for his actions. He's been punished enough apparently, is continually being punished in fact, because he is a royal and must resign himself to all the indignities that come with being the 1% of the 1%. Good on King Charles to make sure he is oh so "punished."

August's ending was perfect poetic justice! Just once, it would be nice to get actual justice served on the person that represented classism, racism, sexism, all the "isms" and more. But no, not even in a work of fiction. The rich white man wins again.

Maybe Young Royals is a realistic drama after all.

[raincitygirl76]

The more I sit with S3 of Young Royals, the more I love it. I feel like it gave us the revolution we were promised but it was personal instead of systematic, and that's okay.

Sometimes you can't burn down everything, some systems are too entrenched to change overnight. But even so you can choose to change yourself, and you can change the people around you, and you can learn and listen and grow. You can choose to put yourself first when you're up against an enemy that's too big to fight and the fight is making you lose sight of who you are. You can choose to walk away from the toxic situation. You can choose the friends that help you grow over the friends that hold you back. You can choose yourself and your friends and your family over the person you have romantic feelings for. And those are all revolutions in their own way.

Hillerska closes, ending the cycle of bullying and abuse. But the elite will fight to open it again because of course they will. That's how it works. The rich and powerful will always cling on by their fingernails to keep the status quo that works for them. (As Terry Pratchett put it, they'll "do what the aristocracy have always done, which is trim sails and survive.") But even if it does re-open, that doesn't undo all the good done by closing it, because things will never be exactly the same again. The school inspectorate will be breathing down their necks, they'd probably have to replace all of the board and most of the staff to re-open, and a few parents at least will re-consider sending their own kids there. Remember how Henry said the school was having problems finding students even before all of this happened? The old regime can't hold.

The monarchy wobbles, but will survive - or will it? Like the school, it's run into big problems. The monarch doesn't look like she wants to do this any more. Her consort is, let's be honest, about as much use as a jelly pickaxe. The only heir they have left is a teenage sex offender with an eating disorder and a pill addiction. So maybe it too is on its way out. Or maybe, like the school, they'll fight to save the institution at all costs, and probably they'll succeed; but something fundamental has shifted. A seed has been planted.

I just really like all the loose ends and unanswered questions tbh. I know it didn't work for some people, which is fair enough! But it really worked for me, because it feels realistic. That's life. This is a small snapshot of 9 or 10 months or so in the lives of a bunch of teenagers. Of course they're not going to have all their issues sorted out yet. Some won't have even realised what their issues are yet (cough, August).

But what this ending gives us is some small, personal revolutions in the present and hope for the future. (For the characters we love, anyway. August is a bit screwed. Yay!) And I think that's beautiful.

I don't think S3 was perfect by any means. There's things I could nitpick if I really wanted to (#JusticeForMaddie). But I just don't want to? Because everything we did get I love to bits, and that's more than enough for me.

[raincitygirl76]

I hope the first time The Four Friends stop for gas and snacks, Simon sees Wille and Felice whispering together and approaches them warily to ask what's wrong. Wille sighs and says, blushing but unashamed, "Nothing's wrong, Felice is just threatening to tell you about the time I called you the love of my life." He expects to be teased but Simon melts with affection.

[raincitygirl76]

“It hurts so much.. feels like I’m gonna die.” 💔💔

[raincitygirl76]

I actually love how much Simon is not a puppet that can be controlled. He likes Wille but he is not willing to hide to date him. He loves Wille but he is not willing to twist himself into a pretzel to fit the royal family's rules. Simon would do a lot for Wille, but he will never give up on himself.

I also love how Simon's "resistance" pushes Wille to help himself, to come out, to give up the crown prince title. And it's not that he does it for Simon. It really is for himself, but Simon pushes him to admit what he needs and wants.

[raincitygirl76]

During the lake scene when a sobbing Wille was asking Simon questions about how they can be over so fast and how Simon can just be over him and Simon stops him with a “Wille—“

Because Simon knew, I knew, you knew, even the fish in the fucking lake knew Simon would NEVER be over Wille.

[raincitygirl76]

I don't think we're enough talking about the vile racist comments Simon got..."Latino lover", "import" (?!?! wtf)... combined with Felice's storyline this season...like how about all those nasty people just shut up. Hard disagree when people say Simon faces hate the way anyone else in the royal family does. For one thing he is not protected by the royal family, all that shitty hate mail gets sent straight to his house, and for another, he deals with additional racial nastiness, and nastiness because of his socioeconomic class. I am glad yr showed it, even if subtly...there are differences in what he dealt with because of racism/classism.

[raincitygirl76]

Simon in Season 3 Episode 1 + (more stills)

[raincitygirl76]

In an interview of LA Times Lisa says “For me, the ultimate conclusion is Wilhelm understanding his position, saying no to it, choosing freedom, and then having this moment with Simon."

Sorry, what? I must have missed the part where Wille understood his position. In the show Wille knows ridiculously little about the monarchy or about being the Crown Prince. Let me do a recap:

~In season one Kristina says that she and Erik had time to be prepared for their role and Wilhelm did not.

~After Erik dies Kristins suggests that Wille should sit in the morning meeting to learn how they work.

~Wille didn't have any idea how to date as a prince and had to ask Nils for advice.

~In season three the court planned a Prince school for him because he hadn't had a chance to grasp what being the Crown Prince entails.

~When Simon asks Wille what he likes about monarchy, Wille gives a very lame school book answer, like he has no personal connection to the monarchy.

It's hard to believe that Wilhelm grew up in this system but was touched by it so very little. Being royal is his family and culture.

At least there is consistency in how out of it Wilhelm is and how little he cares about his duties. And that's fair, Young Royals is a story about a prince who doesn't want to be a prince. But don't try to tell me Wille understood his position.

What's the choise between love and duty if Wille never wanted the duty and didn't even understand what it was?

I can't help but to feel that it made the supposed central conflict of the show quite boring.

[raincitygirl76]

so i watched The Video (tm) lisa tweeted out and may have ended up with a full running commentary...

before i say anything else: i wanna make it clear that i'm not saying james somerton's take on the portrayal/gaze of the rich young royals is, as a whole, bad. there are actually a lot of points he made that i agree with, it's just the bringing together of those points to form an argument and derive a conclusion off of, as well as how he relates it to young royals, that i feel was a bit of a reach. so i just wanted to clarify that i do appreciate him for taking the time to put together this video essay, even if it didn't necessarily work for me. it did still give me lots of food for thought.

now, hold onto your hats. this is going to be long.

1. BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO OR READING ANY RESPONSES

first, for context, here's my immediate response to lisa's tweet, before i even watched the video. looking back on it after having watched the video, i think i still feel pretty much the same.

2. BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO BUT AFTER READING SOME OF THE RESPONSE

i also jotted down some of my thoughts as i started seeing the discourse around it online, again before i watched the video:

a comment from the video came my way implying... that portraying happy middle-class/poor people is somehow unrealistic... i don't think i can agree with that

i mean, yes, capitalism is absolute shit, especially to middle-class/poor people. that's not to say they're always thinking about the utter misery that is their lives?

plus we do see simon's family deal with the pressures of not having money, so it's not like they're pretending those don't exist

this is my main gripe with this entire thing-- the erikssons are just not poor. it's very privileged of US middle-class folk to think of ourselves as tragically oppressed by capitalism when there are people who have it so, SO much worse

(insert the whole "but just because my problems are not that bad doesn't mean they're not valid!" argument here-- yes, i know. that's not what i'm saying. it's just, rich people aren't the only ones who are privileged and people tend to forget that in their analysis, so it needs to be pointed out)

see that's my thing with the "why do we focus on the problems of the rich?" argument-- i find it equally dehumanizing. yes, capitalism predisposes us to put rich people on an aspirational pedestal that isn't real and it's fair to demand media focus more on the opposite end of the class spectrum. but i object to linking people's humanity, and the empathy we should have for them as fellow human beings, with the size of their bank account, whether it's because they have too much money or too little. rich people can also struggle, and i think it's fair (and sometimes necessary) to tell stories of that struggle, too. there's an argument to be made that we maybe focus too much on the stories of rich people, and i don't disagree. but picking on one specific show that does it like it's representative of all the evils of capitalism seems a bit much to me. wille (and felice, and august, etc...) is a human being regardless of his status and i'm sure his problems and struggles resonate with many viewers out there, even though most of us aren't royalty or are even rich. we all can relate to having to deal with our personal issues while navigating our privilege. i would never feel like that story shouldn't be told. and with simon there, we also get to see ourselves reflected on a character on the other end of the spectrum, as well. we get to see and empathize with both sides, because they're all HUMAN BEINGS despite their differences, which i think is something we really urgently need more of in this world.

(note that i'm not saying the video implies this. i actually haven't watched it yet, i'm just about to 😂 those were just the thoughts that came to my head as i read the responses)

3. RUNNING COMMENTARY AS I WATCHED THE VIDEO

and then i moved into actually watching the video and commenting live. you may be able to follow along as you watch, but it took me like two hours to get through it because i had to keep pausing/rewinding. 😂

watching the video now and... LOL it has like full-on opening credits 😂 i don't know why i found that so funny

i... am not sure i like the tone of this

"attending hillerska through scholarships" no 🙄 seriously, where do people get this idea??

okay yeah i'm not liking this. you have 43 minutes to change my mind about you, dude, tread carefully

did he just say simon doesn't deal with his own emotional ties and only struggles with wilhelm's??? DID WE WATCH THE SAME SHOW???????

i do like the flipped cinderella comparison, though

okay i'm actually getting a little bit angry now. it's rich to say the show doesn't delve into simon's own issues when in reality it's just this analysis willfully ignoring that YES, IT DOES

like, yes, the point of how portraying the wealthy/royals as flawed human beings is capitalist/monarchist propaganda is a good point. yes to that. but that doesn't necessarily imply that the PoV of the lower-class people is ignored in favor of making their lives seem perfect/happy to show that poverty isn't that bad?? that's a leap, my dude. maybe i can see that in the crown, but definitely not in YR

oh he did NOT just reduce the choir scene to a "service" simon is performing for wilhelm. THAT'S NOT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT *head explodes*

disagree about "poor people are better off because they have freedom." VERY much disagree with this.

the LAST thing simon would ever do is imply that people should feel grateful they are poor, omg what is this

i appreciate the deep dive into shameless but if he plans to compare shameless to YR i feel like that is a massively unfair comparison

the CEOs vs royals point is good, though

LOLing at the trump point because yep, i completely agree

i don't think the show is at any point trying to imply simon is "impoverished," though. he keeps making this point, and i don't think it's the flex he thinks he is. he's falling into the trap of seeing things from the rich people's PoV because that's what the rich people do in the show-- when that doesn't necessarily mean the audience sees him that way, or that the show is saying he should be seen that way. you're falling into the exact propaganda system you're trying to denounce, my dude

also that's not AT ALL what rosh and ayub's reaction to simon's aggressiveness to august was about, nope, hard disagree

.............................................i'm just sitting here laughing at the way he pronounced "august" 🤣

ok i'm about halfway through and my thoughts are: good points are made. most of the putting together of those points to make an argument is... a reach

also i am not entirely sure this person actually watched the show, or maybe that's just how people who only watch the show once actually manage to get from the show, and it differs from my experience having watched it at least a dozen times

i feel like he's trying so hard to be snarky. and usually i like snarky, but i feel it's wholly unnecessary for this topic. i'm having a hard time separating the content from the tone

love that he makes the point that intellectuals glorify dourness right after he went on a 10-minute spiel about how much better shameless is

basically saying that shameless focuses on the struggles of a lower-class family trying to make its way out of poverty while YR focuses on the struggles of a rich/royal kid being mildly inconvenienced

i'm not commenting on shameless per se-- i've never watched it, but i've heard it's very good. i'm just saying, comparing it to YR feels like apples and oranges to me... and then he goes into that whole section about dourness and the glorification of tragedy... my man...

YR is not a tragedy. tattoo that on my forehead and carve it on my tombstone

..................what was this point about aristotle and mitochondria, whut 🤨

yeah i was wondering why he was equating drama to tragedies... not the same thing, dude

okay, bonus points for quoting carrie fisher

i feel it's also a reach to say that all of wilhelm's issues save for the death of his brother are a product of his own choices. some are, sure. maybe even most. but i think he's ignoring the level to which wille's life is out of his control. i certainly don't think the sex tape being produced OR released to the public is something he had any control over, and (while certainly NOT to the level of how society limits lower-class people) the monarchy itself does exert some level of control over him, which generates his internal struggle. should the show be more balanced about this vs the struggles of non-rich people? sure, that's a debate we can have. but don't put the faults of the system on the individual character's choices. it's as much of a fallacy as saying we can fix climate change by recycling our day-to-day trash. wille is a pawn of the system as the rest of us are-- perhaps on a lower level than those of us less privileged, but he still is, particularly because he's a kid. he has very little choice in the grand scheme of things. could he, perhaps, make the choice of saying "to hell with this" and renounce his birthright and live the life he wants to live? sure. but he's sixteen. are we really expecting him to? at least the characters in shameless are mostly grown up.

"according to young royals, being poor is actually kinda great! MUCH better than being rich" he just said this. again. why.

it's a pet peeve of mine when people equate "working class" to "poor"-- they are not the same, and it masks the issues that the people who are legit poor have. this dude keeps doing it over and over again.

like, i could make an argument that, while simon is 100% much better off than actual poor people, that doesn't mean his life is perfect. which it's not, and we see that on the show. but i guess this analysis just misses that?

yeah, i was just thinking that... like, micke might be poor by swedish standards? the rest of them are not

i hate this. i hate this so much.

i feel like i don't understand what solution he's offering with this analysis, if any. like, what should we as a society do with our depiction of class in media, then? never write stories about rich people? write stories exclusively about poor people struggling in life and never being happy? i don't understand what the endgame of this is. yes, it's not necessarily good to frame lower-class people as "having a better life" than those "poor sad unfulfilled rich people" so the capitalist system can make sure the lower classes don't revolt against it. but the solution is not simply to make every piece of media be about the struggle. it's the same for LGBTQ+ people, for marginalized races or religions, you name it. there is SOME value in showing that a marginalized group can also achieve a happy life despite overwhelming odds against it, and without having to "escape" that group (ie getting rich, "passing," staying in the closet). the goal of these happier portrayals is not to uphold the oppressive system, but so that our souls are not crushed by the weight of the knowledge that we can't escape that oppression. i think that's valid. he's somehow intent on making it sound like a bad thing.

"we overinflate the freedom of poverty, and omit the ways that a lack of wealth fundamentally stifles individual freedoms" yes, of course, showing how the poor struggle with oppression, i can't believe no one's thought to make a show/movie/book about that ever 🙄

"the poor in general have to dedicate a lot of their time and energy to not being destitute" WHOA that's a sentence. my dude. i'm just sitting here staring at his jacket and his glasses like...

"it's not fair to expect the poor to liberate the rich when the poor cannot liberate themselves" THEY'RE SIXTEEN, JESUS

he is putting WAY too much on the kids on this show, i swear to god

why did he not make this video about the crown?? this video would've been SO much better if it was about the crown. and hell, even in the ONE segment he actually mentions the crown, the example he uses is... charles not wanting to go to a boarding school his family is requiring him to attend. hey, maybe next time more focus on the adults, perhaps?? y'know, the people who can actually make a difference with their choices??

"why do we obsess over rich people so much?" listen. i know people might not want to hear this, or accept this on a personal level, but knowing that people who have it better than us also have shitty lives makes us feel better about our own lives. and i know that's your point, but you keep avoiding the fact that sometimes we NEED that so that our own problems don't overwhelm us. the point is not to make us satisfied of our own lives; it's to make us not want to jump off a bridge when we realize how unsatisfying our lives are. let us have that, man.

"leave some of your favorite emotional support poors in the comments below" OH MY GOD, STOP IT

he does say at the end that he liked YR and he's not trying to put all of this on one specific piece of media. which, great. but also i just sat through 46 minutes of him doing exactly that 🤔

i am not socialist enough to enjoy this, i think that's where the problem lies lol

"but the part that frustrates me is that even while i'm condemning the use of emotional support poors in media... don't you kinda wish it would happen to you?" LOL NOPE. not even in the SLIGHTEST. 😂 i sometimes enjoy watching it on tv, though!

"there is a literal never-ending flow of media material talking about how miserable the rich are, specifically because they're rich" yes, because "poor" people don't need to be reminded every five seconds of how terrible OUR lives are, thankyouverymuch. we see it every day when we, y'know, live our lives. that's why it's called escapism.

it just occurred to me that he started this whole video essay making the point that he was talking about YR because it's not just "regular" wealth but has the royal component to it... and then spent like 3/4 of the thing speaking about YR solely in terms of wealth. and using it to make points about billionaires and other "regular" wealthy people. 🤔 maybe you should've spent some time talking about your head of state, my dude

i hated the ending. i mean i don't disagree. i just don't think it's fair to spend 50+ minutes talking about how YR glorifies the rich and then be like "but at least it taught me a valuable lesson!" no, my friend. that lesson is what the show was going FOR. you just missed that.

quoting myself here, i'm gonna say "good points are made. most of the putting together of those points to make an argument is... a reach" is still my overall conclusion, i think

oof, this has been a JOURNEY. 😂 idk, maybe someone will find my thoughts interesting. just don't come for my head if you disagree lol