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victorineb · 5 years

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New instalment of my occasional series, in which Will and Hannibal are cheating scumbags and Alana deserves better. This one contains water guns, Bev Katz, and Hannibal’s entrancing chest hair...

Also on AO3.

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To be honest, Alana had never expected Jack to go for her suggestion. She’d been pretty certain he was kidding when he asked what she thought he could do to improve team morale now that Will was out of prison and back working with the BAU. So when she’d told him to take them all to the park for a picnic, it had been in the perfectly reasonable belief that he’d take it in the spirit it was intended – one dripping in sarcasm.

She certainly hadn’t expected to be, a week later, attending said picnic with Hannibal on one arm and a huge bowl of potato salad in the other.

“Shall we add our offerings to the feast?” Hannibal asked, nodding at the long, gingham-covered trestle table with what Alana was fairly sure was a note of facetiousness rather less well hidden than usual under his unflappable politeness. He had, of course, not seen the casual setting as a reason to eschew his trademark gastronomic flair, and held in his hand a gigantic woven basket full to the brim with homemade delicacies. Her potato salad looked pretty frumpy by comparison (and Alana knew it was damn good potato salad, actually). She could only imagine how the usual array of barbecue wings and corn salad would fare. She couldn’t even give Hannibal the benefit of the doubt — he’d deliberately set out to win the picnic and she could already feel the smugness radiating off him.

“I wouldn’t want to deprive the crowd of your gourmet glory a moment longer,” she said, resolutely straight-faced. Hannibal didn’t buy it for a second.

“My dear Alana, can you be accusing me of showboating?”

“My dear Hannibal,” she shot back, “can you have the nerve to claim you’re not?”

He smiled at her, the slightly predatory one that made her shiver. “Why Dr Bloom, I believe you see right through me.” He leaned in, close enough to make her wonder if he was about to renege on his usual rule about public displays of affection, but instead simply deposited a kiss on her cheek and relieved her of her bowl, sauntering off to the picnic table with a triumphant swing in his hips.

Alana hung back a little, deliberately, all the better to take in the sight of Hannibal in his version of casual summer-wear. It was a rare event that he deemed unsuitable for his signature three-piece suits but apparently an afternoon in the park counted amongst them. And so Alana was treated to the sight of her usually formal boyfriend clad in the fewest layers she’d seen him in outside of the bedroom. Slim, rust-coloured pants sat on his hips, a much lower cut than Alana would ever have expected but one she couldn’t help but appreciate, given the way they framed the doctor’s enviable ass. Above the waist, a simple, crisp white shirt would have made Hannibal almost unrecognisably understated, were it not for the blazer carefully folded over his arm, a steely blue offset by wide windowpane check in the same colour as his pants. A different silhouette than usual but still the same elegant loudness that could belong only to Hannibal, not to mention the same sharp tailoring, precision cut to show his form to its greatest advantage.

“Hate to see him leave, love to watch him walk away?” Bev nudged Alana in the ribs, having snuck up while she was distracted.

“Can you blame me?”

“Mmm, nope. Best view for miles around.”

Behind them, someone made a noise of disgust. Both women turned to see Will skulking in their shadows.

“Got a problem, Graham?” Bev raised both her arms and Alana realised that she was toting two impressive looking water-guns in a genuinely horrible neon green. She trained them on Will, along with a wicked grin. “Cos my little friends here are just itching to take care of some troublemakers.”

“Do it and die, Katz,” Will growled. Probably in jest, Alana thought, though it could be hard to tell with Will these days.

“Big words for a guy in such a skimpy shirt,” Bev drawled. She had a point; Alana could definitely see the outline of a nipple poking through the thin cotton of Will’s tee. Shame he wasn’t in his boxers too – Alana would have pulled the trigger herself if that had been the case. She was only human, after all.

Will crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “Ok, all right, what do I have to do to avoid a soaking?”

Bev considered him for a moment, then flipped one of her guns in the air, grabbed it by the barrel and offered it to Will. “Help me take out Preller and you’ve got immunity.”

Will grinned, the kind of evil expression that explained why he freaked so many people out. “Deal.”

He and Beverly exchanged a handshake, both with a kind of wicked glee all over their faces. Alana was, if she were honest, a little jealous – she used to have that kind of camaraderie with Will. Plus, who said she didn’t like playing with (water) guns?

Then Bev pulled a pistol out of her waistband and offered it to Alana. “You want in, Dr Bloom?”

Alana’s hands itched to take her up on it. Visions of smacking Jack Crawford between the eyes with a well-aimed blast of water swam before her eyes. She was just about to take hold of the gun when a voice called out behind her.

“Alana?”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Hannibal sauntering towards the little group, having divested himself of both food and jacket.

“Sorry Dr Lecter,” Bev chirped, clearly not sorry at all, “I was trying to recruit her to our hunting party.”

Hannibal’s eyes twinkled at this, as he glanced around the group, noting the guns in both Beverly and Will’s hands. “Quite the formidable team you’re putting together, Ms Katz. May I ask what kind of quarry you are targeting?”

“Only the most dangerous game.” Will was staring straight at Hannibal as the words left his mouth, a twist to his lips somewhere between a smirk and a grimace.

“Really?” Hannibal asked, delight etched across his face. “Should I be concerned for my safety?”

Will took a step towards him, coming to stand in the space between Bev and Alana, and raised his gun, pointing it directly at Hannibal’s chest. “Scared, Dr Lecter?”

“Will!” Alana smacked him in the arm. “That’s not funny.”

Hannibal waved a placatory hand, clearly amused by Will’s behaviour. “It’s quite all right, Alana; not being a wicked witch, I believe I won’t dissolve from a little water. Besides,” he said, pointedly looking Will up and down, “I’m curious to see what will happen.”

“You smug bastard,” Will snarled, and opened fire.

An impressively forceful jet of water hit Hannibal square in the chest, creating a wet spot that immediately began to grow and spread as Will strode towards him, pumping hard and maintaining a steady stream right up until his tip was pressed directly against Hannibal. Hannibal, who hadn’t moved a muscle, hadn’t even flinched, just taken everything Will had to give with both arms open. Now he stood, watching Will and being watched back, both men panting at each other as Hannibal dripped onto the ground below, his shirt turned transparent and clinging to his flesh. Will tipped his head to the side and pressed a little harder with his gun, almost as if urging Hannibal to-

“What is your problem, Will?” Alana hissed as she and Bev reached him and wrenched him away from Hannibal. “You had better hope someone has a change of clothes so that he doesn’t have to spend all afternoon soaking wet.”

Once again Hannibal stepped in to defuse her irritation, as if she were still that overeager student he’d taken under his wing. It was just as annoying now as it had been then. “It’s no problem, Alana. I believe there’s an American expression that applies in this particular scenario. What is it…” His eyes seemed to linger a moment too long on Will, who looked like he might start squirting again at a moment’s notice. “Ah yes, ‘sun’s out, guns out,’” he concluded, gleefully. With which, Hannibal began unbuttoning his shirt as a speechless Bev, Will and Alana watched, three sets of eyes following the progress of Hannibal’s deft fingers as they travelled down his placket, revealing flashes of damp skin as they went.

Alana, who was by now very familiar with the sight of Hannibal’s torso in a state of undress, was first to recover and turned to the other two, to gauge their reactions. Bev looked mostly amused, a smirk on her face that suggested she was wondering if she had any ones stashed about her person in order to make it rain something other than water. Will, though. Will wasn’t amused, or embarrassed, or even incredulous. Will was actively staring, his already-wide eyes grown to anime proportions, his posture slightly forward-leaning, as if magnetised by the sight of Hannibal’s flesh. And then, as Hannibal finished unbuttoning and peeled off his shirt to reveal nipples slightly peaked by the cold water, Will made a soft noise that Alana would be hard-pressed to describe as anything other than a whine. He even licked his lips as he did it.

Oh. Oh.

“Will?”

No response.

“Will?” Alana tried again, waving a hand in front of Will’s face. Still nothing.

“WILL!” she yelled, which – aided by Bev delivering a smack to the back of his head – finally did the trick, making Will jump a little and come back to himself.

“What?” he asked, voice slightly strangled, his arms twitching as if to cross over his chest before he thought better of it and let them hang at his sides, fingers drumming on his thighs.

“Were you aware,” Alana began, voice clipped and cold, “that you were staring at my boyfriend’s chest?”

Will’s eyes darted from side to side, an apparent attempt to avoid both Alana’s accusing gaze and the sight of Hannibal’s slick skin. “What? No! I… no I wasn’t. Aware of that. Because I wasn’t doing it. At all.”

Alana raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m stupid, Will?”

“No! Of course not. You’re one of-”

“Or blind? Do you think I’m blind, Will?”

“I… no?”

“Ok, then cut the crap. Are you attracted to my boyfriend’s chest?”

“Absolutely not. Under no circumstances. I just…” Will trailed off and Alana had the impression that he was having to try very hard not to take another look at Hannibal.

“Just what?”

“Just… didn’t realise he was so…” His eyes finally lost the battle and snapped back to Hannibal’s torso. “…hairy.” The last word came out on a squeak, causing Will’s cheeks to get even redder, something Alana wouldn’t have thought physically possible. She’d be worried for his brain being starved of oxygen if she didn’t suspect its blood supply had already been diverted elsewhere anyway.

She turned back to Hannibal, almost involuntarily, already wondering how he would spin this awkward situation into something socially acceptable. Instead, she was confronted by her boyfriend staring at her former-almost-lover with a kind of hungry, yearning expression that suggested the last thing he was feeling was awkward. And was he… Was he really…

“Hannibal Lecter are you flexing right now?!” Alana yelled.

Hannibal’s face went briefly blank before he slid on an expression of patronising indulgence, but Bev headed off whatever excuse he was about to come out with. “Definitely. Sucking in his gut too,” she added, clearly torn between disgust for the vanity of men-kind and glee at confirmation that Will and Dr Lecter were hot for each other after all.

“He does not have a gut!”

Three heads turned, in various states of disbelief (and smugness, in Hannibal’s case), towards Will, who looked entirely shocked at the words that had come out of his mouth. “Well, he doesn’t,” he muttered. “Little bit soft in the middle, maybe, but it suits him-” He slapped a hand over his mouth, as if he could trap any other incriminating statements that might fly out of it.

“Why, thank you, Will,” Hannibal purred. “Coming from you, that is praise indeed.”

“Why coming from him?” Alana demanded sharply.

“Well,” Hannibal said, with infuriating deliberateness, “when one’s admirer is blessed with the proportions of the David, it is reassuring to know that one’s own imperfections are not too off-putting.”

Will’s mouth worked as he stared, apparently stunned, at Hannibal. “I- I’m not…”

“My dear Will,” Hannibal said, gliding towards him and raising a hand to cup his cheek, “you are exquisite in every way, you must know-”

At which point he was forced to break off, spluttering, as Bev pulled Alana behind her and then soaked the romantic moment. “Dude, priorities,” she drawled, once she’d finished spraying.

“What the fuck, Katz?” Will yelled, spinning round and spraying droplets everywhere like a wet dog.

“Graham, it is trashy to make out with a guy in front of his girlfriend, come on bud.”

“We weren’t! I wasn’t going to… we weren’t!”

“Weren’t we?” Hannibal purred into Will’s ear from behind, causing Will’s already-rosy blush to deepen into crimson as his hand snaked around his waist. “I must say, I find myself quite disappointed to hear that.”

Bev hefted her gun upwards and pointed it at Hannibal with a threatening expression. “I thought you were supposed to be some classy gentleman,” she said. “Alana, if you don’t dump his admittedly fine ass right now, I’m gonna waterboard the crap out of him.”

Alana watched the exchange with a strange sense of distance, as she realised one very important fact: she did not want one single, solitary part of whatever dumb fucking shit was going on between Will and Hannibal. She stepped around Bev, putting herself in front of the still-dripping Will and Hannibal.

“Ok,” she declared, “since I’m the only grown-up here, I’m making some decisions. Hannibal, we’re breaking up. If you’re very nice I might allow you to continue being my friend in a few weeks. Will, stop lying to yourself. You don’t hate Hannibal, you’re in love with him and you’re not even subtle about it. And,” she continued, poking him in the chest to drive the point home, “if you dare try to deny it after the display you just gave, I’ll… I’ll… I’ll tell Jack you two have been getting it on behind his back. And in his office.”

Will looked utterly horrified at the prospect and even Hannibal gave a small moue of disquiet.

“You wouldn’t,” Will whispered.

“Watch me.” Alana patted his cheek, just hard enough to sting. “Now, since that’s all sorted, I don’t want to look at you assholes any more. I think I could do with a drink.”

“I can help you out there, Doc, my contribution to the potluck was entirely in the form of grain alcohol.” Bev grinned, clearly having the time of her life watching this romantic drama explode right in front of her.

“I…” Will looked all around himself, as if searching for something that would make sense of what had just happened. Eventually, he gave a tiny shrug that still seemed to express total, incredulous helplessness and looked down at Hannibal’s hand, resting firmly on his stomach. “…don’t understand what just happened.”

“That’s ok,” Alana said, “Hannibal does, and he’s just itching to explain it to you.”

“Indeed,” Hannibal said, coming round to Will’s side and taking his hand, “let us find a quiet spot. I believe we need to talk, darling. Thank you, Alana. Miss Katz,” he added, as Bev singularly failed to stifle a snort of laughter at Will’s open-mouthed reaction to darling.

They watched, as Hannibal led a dazed but unresisting Will away from them by the hand. Alana wondered for a brief moment if she’d done the right thing, if either of them was really safe for the other. Then she shrugged and remembered that she really didn’t give a shit.

“Well, damn, looks like I’m out a partner for Preller hunting,” said Bev, and then gave Alana a sly, sidewise look. “Unless you’re up for a little target practice, Doc?”

Once again, she offered Alana the pistol. Alana eyed it, unimpressed, and crossed her arms. “Either I’m an equal partner, or I’m out.”

Bev grinned and switched the pistol for the full-sized shooter Will had discarded. “Atta girl,” she beamed, as Alana grabbed it, “always wanted to see you in action.” Her grin had twisted into a smirk. It was, Alana had to admit, pretty hot.

“Help me take out a hit on Jack after we crush your nerd boys and maybe I’ll show you just how good I am.”

Bev raised a finger to give a lazy salute, her eyes glittering. “Gladly, ma’am.”

A little while later, as she and Bev were hunting for Price and Zeller, who had run like cowards the first time they’d been tracked down, they found Will and Hannibal again. They’d managed to get Will out of his soaked shirt but apparently no further, since Will currently had Hannibal pinned against his car and was furiously making out with him. His hands were, Alana noticed, buried in Hannibal’s chest hair. Then again, Hannibal’s hands were firmly kneading Will’s ass so it looked like everybody got what they wanted. Including Alana, who got her own chance to spray them like a pair of misbehaving cats, secure in the knowledge that Hannibal would either have to get his precious Bentley wet, or allow his skin to make contact with Will’s dog hair covered upholstery.

“Knew you had a bad side,” Bev cackled as they walked away.

“Only when provoked.”

Bev waggled her eyebrows. “I can be extremely provocative, you know.”

Alana bumped their hips together gently and raised an eyebrow of her own. “Promise?”

#hannibal #hannigram #hannibal fic #hannigram fic #alana bloom #beverly katz #alana finds out #my fic

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chicagoindiecritics · 5 years

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New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: EDITORIAL: Movies and the 9/11 effect

(Image: pathtoparadise.com)

EIGHTH EDITION: UPDATED SEPTEMBER 11, 2019– In an update to my annual editorial (after the original post on the 10th anniversary in 2011), I’ve got new movie inclusions in several sections, including the most recent section of faded and relaxed sensitivity in films. I plan to make this an annual post and study for at least until the 20th anniversary in 2021. (All poster images are courtesy of IMPAwards.com)

Never forget. There’s no doubt that every American over the age of 25 won’t soon forget where they were 18 years ago at 8:46AM on September 11, 2001. The world and our American lifestyle changed forever that day in more ways that we can measure. I know movies and cinema are trivial pieces of entertainment compared to the more important things in life, but movies have always been two-hour vacations and therapy sessions from life, even in the face of immense tragedy. Sometimes, we need movies to inspire us and help us remember the good in things, while still being entertained. In seventeen years, they too have changed.

I’m here for an editorial research piece on the anniversary of 9/11 to showcase a few movies, both serious and not-so-serious, that speak to that day whether as a tribute, remembrance, or example of how life has changed since that fateful day. Enjoy!

MOVIES THAT WERE OPENING THAT FRIDAY EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO

Call this a time capsule, but these were the notable movies that opened Friday, September 7, 2001 and Friday, September 14, 2001, the two Fridays surrounding 9/11. Such a different time, huh? Needless to say, few people were in the mood for a movie in those first weeks and the fall 2001 box office took quite a hit until the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone showed up in November 2001, followed by Ocean’s Eleven and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that December.

The Musketeer (September 7th)

Soul Survivors (September 7th)

Rock Star (September 7th)

Hardball (September 14th)

The Glass House (September 14th)

All were box office bombs at the time. The Musketeer garnered a good bit of overseas earnings and Hardball got some of the best reviews of Keanu Reeves’s post-Matrix career and grew to be a DVD hit. Still, talk about bad timing.

EXAMPLES OF 2001-2002 MOVIES CHANGED BECAUSE OF 9/11

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Spider-Man— Many of you may remember seeing this teaser for the big comic book blockbuster before it was pulled post-9/11. (New remastered video in 2019)

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Donnie Darko— Suggested by Feelin’ Film Facebook Discussion Group contributor Josh Powers. Released months before 9/11, few remember how much this film was somewhat buried and forced to become an underground cult favorite due to a pivotal moment involving a horrific plane crash.

Lilo and Stitch— See a side-by-side video clip of differences in Imgur. The trivia notes behind it are explained on IMDb.

Collateral Damage— The Arnold Schwarzenegger terrorism movie had its release date bumped and terrorist overtones mellowed down. (trailer)

City by the Sea— The production on this Robert DeNiro/James Franco thriller was moved from New York to Los Angeles in July 2001, dodging the terrorism attacks that would have threatened their home Tribeca studios. (trailer)

Sidewalks of New York–– Edward Burns intermingled love story movie was bumped to November and had to have its posters changed. See right here on the left for an example. (trailer)

Men in Black II— The original scripted ending of the movie was scripted to have the World Trade Center towers open up to release a barrage of UFOs. (trailer)

Serendipity and Zoolander— Both movies had shots of the WTC digitally removed from the skylines of their finished films before they hit theaters that fall.

The Time Machine— Had its December 2001 release bumped to March because of a potentially sensitive scene of meteor shower over New York (which it cut). (trailer)

Big Trouble— It too had its nuclear bomb-centered plot cause a release delay well into 2002. The delay didn’t help this already awful movie. (trailer)

MOVIES ABOUT 9/11 ITSELF

September 11 (2002)– International directors from around the world, including Ken Loach, Mira Nair, and future Oscar winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, made a two-hour anthology of short films showing creative expressions of other cultures and their reactions to the tragedy.

United 93 (2006)– Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass took an unknown cast and directed a harrowing real-time account of the flight that fought back. Hard to watch, but undeniably powerful without exploiting the tragedy. (trailer)

World Trade Center (2006)– Conspiracy specialist Oliver Stone turns off the urge to dig into his usual musings and delivers an incredibly humble, respectful, and understated (words that hardly ever describe an Oliver Stone movie) true story of the last two men (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) rescued alive at Ground Zero. Worth every moment to see and a great tribute to the first responders and their families. (trailer)

9/11 (2017)– I think we all knew a day would come where some hack film was going to come around and exploit the tragedy that is the 2001 terrorist attacks. That award goes to Charlie Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, and director Martin Guigui’s straight-to-VOD trash heap. Sheen, a noted conspiracy theorist on 9/11, took it upon himself to make a glamour project stepping on history. Do not waste your time with this film.

MOVIES WITH PROMINENT 9/11 CONNECTIONS

The Guys (2002)– One of the first reactionary films to 9/11 came from Focus Features in 2002 and starred Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver. Based on Anne Nelson’s heartfelt play, LaPaglia plays a fire captain who lost eight men on 9/11 and Weaver plays the editor who helps him write eulogies for the fallen. The film is only available on disc from Amazon. (trailer)

WTC View (2005)– Gallows humor bubbles to the surface in this off-kilter indie romance from Brian Sloan about a SoHo man who placed an ad to find a new roommate and September 10th and now lives through a more difficult and trying landscape. (trailer)

Reign Over Me (2007)– In a rare dramatic turn, Adam Sandler plays a fictional wayward man who lost his wife and daughters on 9/11 and tailspins through life fiver years later when an old college friend (Don Cheadle) tries to help keep him from being committed to a psychiatric care. (trailer)

Remember Me (2010)– Billed as a coming-of-age film starring Twilight star Robert Pattinson, it features a fictitious family affected by the tragedy, including the fall of the WTC. Most critics found the 9/11 connections exploitative and offensive. (trailer)

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)– Speaking of exploitative, the Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock Oscar nominee from this past year definitely rubbed more than a few audiences the wrong way in using 9/11 as a backdrop to a fictional family tragedy. Critics (including this one) clamored that if you’re going to bring 9/11 to the big screen, use a real story. (trailer) (my full review)

September Morning (2017)– Independent writer/director Ryan Frost crafted a small drama about five college freshman staying up all night after 9/11 weighing the impact it will have on their present and future. The film won a youth jury award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. (trailer)

MOVIES ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR

In the decade since September 11, 2011, our largest response as a nation to the terrorism of that day has been a pair of wars overseas in the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. The “war on terror” has quickly grown into a ripe orchard for possible movie storylines.

Home of the Brave (2006)–Rocky producer Irwin Winkler earns the credit for the first mainstream Hollywood movie depicting the Iraqi War and the initial soldiers returning home to re-acclimate to society. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jessica Biel. (trailer)

The Hurt Locker (2008)– Of course, the best-of-the-best is the 2009 Best Picture winner from Kathryn Bigelow starring Jeremy Renner as a driven, yet dark Iraqi bomb specialist. Its quality needs no introduction. (trailer)

Grace is Gone (2007)– In the Audience Award winner of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, typical gender roles are reversed when John Cusack plays a homefront father (in my opinion, the best he’s ever acted) who has to find the best way to tell his two daughters that their soldier mother was killed in Iraq. This movie is “guy-cry” level brilliant. (trailer)

Rendition (2007)– Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, and Meryl Streep get together for a movie calling out the wrongs of detainment, interrogation, and torture. (trailer)

The Kingdom (2007)– Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman investigate a bombing and throw down in the streets of Riyadh. (trailer)

Lions for Lambs (2007)– Robert Redford delivers a three point-of-view discourse on U.S. war affairs before home and abroad with the help of Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. (trailer)

In the Valley of Elah (2007)– Crash director Paul Haggis leads Tommy Lee Jones (in an amazing Oscar-nominated performance) and Susan Sarandon as parents investigating with a local detective (Charlize Theron) the disappearance of their AWOL son returning home from Iraq. (trailer)

Body of Lies (2008)– Ridley Scott’s fictional take on the CIA’s involvement in preventing Jordanian terrorism starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. (trailer)

Stop-Loss (2008)– Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play three young Texas schoolmates who are finally home from overseas but are forced back via the stop-loss clause. (trailer)

The Messenger (2009)– Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a U.S. Army Casualty Notification Team officer mentoring recent veteran (Ben Foster) on the uniquely difficult job of informing families the bad news. (trailer)

Taking Chance (2009)– Along the same bringing-bad-news-home lines is this gem of a HBO film starring Kevin Bacon (like Cusack earlier, in arguably his best performance as an actor) as a desk officer who never saw combat but takes on the duty of escorting a young fallen soldier’s body back to his old hometown. Even though this wasn’t in theaters, it is outstanding and worth your time on DVD. (trailer)

Brothers (2009)– Jake Gyllenhaal takes care of his older brother’s wife (Natalie Portman) while he (Tobey Maguire) is declared MIA in Afghanistan, from director Jim Sheridan. (trailer)

Dear John and The Lucky One (2010 and 2012)– These two adaptations of Nicholas Sparks romance novels briefly touches on the War on Terror through Channing Tatum and Zac Efron’s lead characters’ return home to romance. (trailer and trailer)

Green Zone (2010)–Director Paul Greengrass followed United 93 with his Bourne series star Matt Damon in this taut and marginally-dramatized account of the early unsuccessful searches and the possible cover-up of Baghdad’s supposed stores of weapons of mass destruction. (trailer)

Restrepo (2010)– The highly acclaimed National Geographic documentary film follows a one-year look at the real men of the platoon embattled in the deadliest fortified valley of Afghanistan. (trailer)

Act of Valor (2012)– Disney pumped up the military with this fictional anti-terrorism film using active duty Navy SEALs. Coming out after the death of Osama bin Laden, this was a welcome and well-promoted hero picture and recruitment reel. (trailer)

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)– The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow made a film about the SEAL Team 6 men and their story of taking down Osama bin Laden. The film was my #1 movie on my “10 Best” list for 2012. (trailer) (my full review)

Lone Survivor (2013)– Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) directed an outstanding and patriotic film based on the Afghanistan saga of Marcus Luttrell starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch that echoes another true-life story from the ongoing War on Terror. Very good movie! (trailer) (my full review)

A Most Wanted Man (2014)– Spy novelist John LeCarre’s multi-layered 2008 novel about the world of inter-agency espionage happening in Hamburg, Germany, the same city where the 9/11 conspirators hatched their plans, is an excellent and different post-9/11 film with an international flair and flavor. It will also be remembered as one of the last performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was phenomenal in the film. (trailer) (my full review)

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)– This modern reboot or update of the famed Tom Clancy character, now played by Chris Pine, roots his pre-spy origins in the aftermath of 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed. (trailer)

American Sniper (2014)– Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture nominee war drama about the real-life story of the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (played by Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper) went on to become the highest grossing film of 2014 (north of $350 million). Kyle’s journey from the heartland to the front lines was spurred by a sense of duty and patriotism that started from the attacks of 9/11. This is, by far, the most high profile movie to date to feature the War on Terror directly correlating 9/11. (trailer) (my full review)

Good Kill (2015)– On the smaller side, but just as solid with warfare and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is this under-seen film which had a limited theatrical release during the summer of 2015. Andrew Niccol (Lord of War, Gattaca, The Truman Show) shifted his focus to the War on Terror by showcasing a Las Vegas base of drone pilots dealing with the ramification of their actions and the war being waged on their screens and with their joystick controls. (trailer) (my full review)

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)– Director Michael Bay’s slanted look at the September 11, 2012 embassy attacks that have become a political firebrand since certainly qualifies to make this list. (trailer) (my full review)

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)– Tina Fey shed her comedic image for a heavyish war drama loosely based the true story of Afghanistan/Pakistan television journalist Kim Barker. (trailer)

Snowden (2016)– Renowned politicized filmmaker Oliver Stone brought his brush of dramatic license to the story of whistleblowing former spy Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The paranoia of the post-9/11 digital age was the mission field for Snowden and many other young men and women who sought the security and counterterrorism industries. (trailer) (full review)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016)– A company of soldiers who lost their commanding officer in Iraq are making a victory tour of press dates and public appearances when the reflections of the title character (newcomer Joe Alwyn) fill the day. Ang Lee’s film felt ten years too late and was not well received. (trailer) (my full review)

Thank You For Your Service (2015) and Thank You For Your Service (2017)– This popular conversation sentence was the title of two different works. In 2015, Tom Donahue’s documentary opened eyes to the shoddy mental health governance for modern veterans and made waves that changed actual policies. The 2017 feature film borrows inspiration from David Finkel’s 2013 nonfiction bestseller dealing with the PTSD topic of returning Iraqi tour soldiers adjusting to civilian life. Miles Teller is the headliner and is joined by Haley Bennett, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, and Amy Schumer. (trailer) (trailer)

Megan Leavey (2017)– 2017 was a busy year for War on Terror-connected films with five new entries. Taglined “based on the true story about a Marine’s best friend,” Megan Leavey stars Kate Mara as the soldier leader of a bomb-searching pooch on deployment in Iraq. Touching film! (trailer)

The Wall (2017)– Nocturnal Animals Golden Globe nominee Aaron Taylor-Johnson and emerging WWE movie star John Cena play two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper in a single-setting thriller from action specialist Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow). (trailer)

War Machine (2017)– Enough time has passed now in 2017 where the War on Terror has reached a point of being a target of satire. Animal Kingdom and The Rover director David Michod puts a witty spin on things creating a fictionalized account of U.S. General Stanley McChrystal with Brad Pitt in the lead. Netflix is the exclusive carrier of this one. (trailer)

Last Flag Flying (2017)– The last and best of the 2017 bunch is Richard Linklater’s dramedy about three old Vietnam veterans (Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne) who come together when one of their sons is killed in Iraq and coming home for burial. The excellent acting trio and Linklater’s writing (adapted from Darryl Ponicsan’s novel, a spiritual sequel to his The Last Detail) deliver touching brevity and sharp commentary on the echoes of war across generations. (trailer) (my full review)

A Private War (2018)— Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman made his feature film debut with a biopic on British photojournalist Marie Colvin, who made her stops through the hellfire of Iraq and Afghanistan in her storied career. Rosamund Pike was snubbed for an Oscar nomination that year. (trailer) (my full review)

Vice (2018)— Speaking of biopics, writer/director Adam McKay brought his machete for satire to the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film dove deep into the manipulated machinations from Cheney that engineered the War on Terror during the Bush administration. While not as good as The Big Short, Vice did earn eight Oscar nominations (winning one for makeup), including Best Picture and Best Actor for Christian Bale in the leading role. (trailer) (my full review)

Official Secrets (2019)— When invading Iraq was on the table to push the war to the ground, the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Tony Blair were lockstep next to the U.S. on seeking United Nations approval. The true story of whistleblower Katharine Gun unearthed secrets that led to questioning the war’s legality before it even began. This is a nice step-up for Keira Knightley. (trailer) (my full review)

The Report (2019)— Not yet widely released in 2019 after huge buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, frequent Steven Soderbergh screenwriting collaborator Scott Z. Burns made his directorial debut with this searing docudrama of the use of torture by American agencies during the War on Terror. Check out the film’s trailer:

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MOVIES ABOUT THE CHANGES IN AMERICAN LIFE (BOTH SERIOUS AND NOT-SO-SERIOUS)

25th Hour (2002)– New Yorker Spike Lee was quick to not shy away from the post-9/11 pulse of New York City following Edward Norton’s character’s last night of debauchery and unfinished business before going to prison. Filled with scathing social commentary and visual reminders of 9/11 and Ground Zero, its amazing opening credits sequence alone set the tone as only Spike can. (trailer)

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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)– Documentary maverick Michael Moore’s slam at the handling of 9/11 and the war on terror became one of the most successful box office documentaries of all-time. (trailer)

Sorry, Haters (2005)– Robin Wright played a professional woman who receives conversation and unexpected interaction with an Arab New York cab driver in this IFC production. (foreign trailer)

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)– By contrast, in a small snippet and computer graphic on melting glaciers in this Oscar-winning documentary, Al Gore lets us know that half of Greenland or Antarctica’s melted ice would put New York, including Ground Zero, underwater within the next 50 years. (trailer)

The Terminal (2004)– Airports are now covered in bureaucratic red tape. Heaven forbids, you’re not from America. (trailer)

Anger Management (2003)– Showed us that you can get kicked off a plane now for just about anything. (trailer)

Soul Plane (2004)– Then again, come on, guys. Air travel can still be cool, even with the new security rules. (trailer)

Snakes on a Plane (2006)– OK, maybe not so much… (trailer)

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)– You’ve got to hate racial profiling as much as you equally love a good parody. (trailer)

Iron Man (2008)– Marvel’s steely hero had his Vietnam origin story conveniently and modernly flopped for an Afghanistan-connected one. (trailer)

Bridesmaids (2011)– Now, that’s how an Air Marshall gets down! (trailer)

Source Code (2011)– Our fear of catastrophes on planes can easily be translated to trains as well. (trailer) (my full review)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)– For a serious look at the warped view of Muslim citizens post-9/11, take a look at Mira Nair’s dramatic thriller about a young Pakistani man (newcomer Riz Ahmed) who is successful on Wall Street but viewed differently through profiling after 9/11. (trailer)

The Fifth Estate (2013)– The film story of the WikiLeaks of Julian Assange carry a loose connection to the changed post-9/11 landscape of security and more. (trailer)

Boyhood (2014)– Richard Linklater’s huge biographical opus was filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast growing up and aging to tell their family story. The film starts in 2002, where the incidents of 2001 are fresh on the minds of the characters and discussed openly during the first year sequence of the journey. Later on, political mentions of Bush, Obama, and the War on Terror make it into a reflective conversation as well. (trailer) (my full review)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018)– A key moment in the extraordinary Fred Rogers documentary chronicled when a retired Rogers was brought back for a special televised message to young viewers about reacting to the 9/11 tragedy that played on-screen for so many viewers. It’s a touching historical moment. (trailer) (my full review)

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MEMORABLE PAST IMAGES OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN MOVIES

Sometimes, all it takes is the camera making a fleeting, yet memorable, glance at those beautiful and now-gone skyscrapers to immediately remind us of a different time. The WTC towers have been shown in innumerable establishing shots. We’ll highlight some great ones. Beginning with the closing credits to New Yorker Martin Scorsese’s 2002 film Gangs of New York, here’s a great montage of cinematic views of the WTC from various pre-2001 movies.

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Superman (1978)– Even a passing fly-by over “Metropolis” feels different.

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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)– Tell me this clip didn’t just go from cute to eerie to sad. Wonderful then, but different now.

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Godspell (1973)— Submitted by friend-of-the-page and larger-fan-of-musicals-than-me Josh Powers, enjoy this dance number from the summery musical filmed and completed before the skyscraper’s ribbon-cutting.

King Kong (1976)– While it may not match the iconic 1933 image of the original ape towering on top of the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center plays a big role in the 1976 remake starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. (trailer)

Independence Day (1996), Deep Impact (1998), Armageddon (1998), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004)– These all constitute the prominent disaster movies that leave New York (and, in three cases, the WTC) in destructive shambles.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Godzilla (1998), Cloverfield (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), and Watchmen (2009). Kind of not so entertaining for few seconds anymore, huh? See for yourself. Here’s a montage of NYC movie destruction:

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MOVIES THAT FEEL DIFFERENT IN THE POST-9/11 WORLD

I don’t know about you but a lot of movies just don’t resonate or feel the same as they did before September 11th. We’ve changed and the perception has changed. For some movies, their message and impact is only made stronger (in good ways and bad) since 9/11. In other cases, what was entertaining then doesn’t feel so right anymore.

Airplane! (1980)– Farce or not (and still funny to this day), we could never get away with anything that happens on an airplane from that movie now. (trailer)

Passenger 57 (1992)–Let alone this movie… (trailer)

Executive Decision (1996)– …and this movie… (trailer)

Turbulence (1997)– …and this movie… (trailer)

Pushing Tin (1999)– …and probably this movie too… (trailer)

True Lies (1994)– Slammed even then for its depiction of Arab terrorists, it likely has picked up a little more egg on its face. Adding to its burial, the movie hasn’t been released on any physical media format since 1999, which includes zero Blu-ray editions in its history (factoid from Josh Powers). Do you think 20th Century Fox wants that movie to go away or what? (trailer)

The Siege (1998)– This frightening martial law thriller with Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis makes True Lies look like G.I. Joe starring Ken from the Barbie dolls toy line. Scary and eerily prophetic in its over-the-top terrorism and bombing scenarios. (trailer)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)– Though fictional with Pittsburgh standing in as Gotham City, the New York imagery and parallels occurring during its terrorist takeover led by Tom Hardy’s Bane have eerie 9/11-inspired ramifications. (trailer) (my full review)

Syriana (2005)– George Clooney won an Oscar, but the touchy subjects of torture, terrorism, and the oil industry evoke a little dose of fear. (trailer)

Munich (2005)– The Black September assassination of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the Mossad’s reaction was probably the last time before 9/11 that terrorism made worldwide live media headlines. (trailer)

Arlington Road (1999)– While this resonates more as a comparison to Oklahoma City-style domestic terrorism, the Jeff Bridges/Tim Robbins underappreciated thriller is no less scary now than then. (trailer)

Fight Club (1999)– Watching Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt/Edward Norton) destroy New York’s credit district is another example of domestic terrorism and destruction that rings a little louder post-9/11.

The Sum of All Fears (2002)– Many people found the Super Bowl bomb plot far too soon to see those images just a year removed from 9/11. (trailer)

V for Vendetta (2006)– Urban terrorism in London via a Guy Fawkes fan resonates a little different for a public scare on our side of the Atlantic. (trailer)

Courage Under Fire (1995)– Our first trip to Iraq foreshadows a lot of the equal futility, bravery, and loss experienced in our second trip… (trailer)

Jarhead (2005)– …especially when told from the true account of a disillusioned soldier who was there. (trailer)

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)– The same foreshadowing can be made out of our 1980’s Cold War involvement on the side of Afghanistan versus the Soviet Union as outlined by a gem of a Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman film. To think that we could have stuck around and cleaned the place up before they became our enemy. (trailer)

Rambo III (1988)– Speaking of an American fighting on the anti-communism side of the Afghans! (trailer)

Air Force One (1997)– Not that George W. Bush or Barack Obama ever channeled Harrison Ford here, but don’t you now root a little harder for a take charge President… (trailer)

The Patriot (2000)– … or a flag-carrying American hero from 230+ years ago… (trailer)

Pearl Harbor (2001)– …or the last great American tragedy that galvanized a nation and sent us to war. (trailer)

MOVIES SINCE 2001 THAT RENEW THE AMERICAN SPIRIT

These examples (as well as the aforementioned World Trade Center) will get your patriotic heartstrings going and boost your down spirit.

The Last Castle (2001)– Opening just over a month after the tragedy, the military and flag-waving patriotism of Robert Redford’s underrated drama undeniably stirs you. (trailer)

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)– Leave it to Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson (of all people) to win macho patriotic points for loosely re-enacting the famous pilot Scott O’Grady Bosnian prisoner escape story. (trailer)

Black Hawk Down (2001)– Released during the 2001-2002 awards season, Ridley Scott’s powerful depiction of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu showed the uncompromising courage of U.S. Army Ranger and Delta Force soldiers at a time when our current soldiers were likely preparing for going overseas to similar urban warfare. (trailer)

We Were Soldiers (2002)– Mel Gibson may be embroiled in unpopular headlines now, but his 2002 action-drama from his Braveheart writer about America’s first official military action in Vietnam is as powerful and it is impressive. Like Black Hawk Down, it added to the heroic mystique of the American soldier, even if it was set in the past. If you don’t cry watching those wives deliver those first casualty letters, there’s something wrong with you. (trailer)

Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004)– New York’s #1 resident superhero always fights for a way for the citizen of the city to stand up together. I suppose you can throw in the pair from the reboot (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2) for some of the same reasons. (trailer)

Gangs of New York (2002)– Martin Scorsese is a quintessential New Yorker and his mid-1800’s history piece (while definitely violent) was a love letter to the city’s great history. (trailer)

Elf (2003)– Will Ferrell put the Big Apple back in the Christmas cheer. (trailer)

Ladder 49 (2004)– Though it wasn’t set in New York, you can’t help but think of the 343 NYFD men and women that lost their lives on September 11th and ardent first-responders when you watch Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta as macho Baltimore firemen. (trailer)

Million Dollar Baby (2004)– America loves a good underdog story and Clint Eastwood gave the public a heck of a good one that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. (trailer)

Miracle (2004)– What better way to boost American spirit than to relive our greatest Olympic triumph. (trailer)

National Treasure (2004)– How about a history lesson to make you feel good about our great country? Why not? (trailer)

Hitch (2005)– Will Smith brought popular romance back to the City That Never Sleeps. (trailer) He would capture hearts for a different reason the next year with The Pursuit of Happyness. (trailer)

We Are Marshall (2006)– Another real-life airplane tragedy sets the stage for an amazing story of athletic and community rebirth. One of the most underrated football movies out there. (trailer)

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)– Why not give NY’s best bad-ass cop a chance to save the nation’s capital? (trailer)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)– Last but not least, you can’t get more patriotic and underdog than this skinny guy from Brooklyn transformed into a red-white-and-blue super soldier. He followed it up this past summer saving New York in The Avengers. (trailer and trailer) (full review and my full review)

American Sniper (2014)– The tremendous reception Clint Eastwood’s film had to become the highest grossing movie of the year made Chris Kyle a household name and heavily amplified a previously dormant red-blooded (and “red state-d”) surge of patriotism and soldier appreciation. (trailer) (my full review)

Sully (2016)– Both the incredible true story of Flight 1549 from 2009 and Clint Eastwood’s respectful retelling featuring Tom Hanks as Capt. Chelsea “Sully” Sullenberger remind audiences of the strength of New York City. There’s a great line in the movie where someone is trying to thank Sullenberger and says that it’s been a long time since the city has had good news about anything like the “Miracle on the Hudson,” especially about a plane. (trailer) (my full review)

Patriots Day (2016) and Stronger (2018)– The way the city of Boston rallied from another terrorist attack on American soil during its marathon has key inspirational value. It’s too bad the film was the Mark Wahlberg show rather than a well-rounded ensemble approach. (trailer) (my full Patriots Day review) (trailer) (my full Stronger review)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018)– Much like the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield web-slinger movies that came before, Tom Holland’s take on Peter Parker is a born-and-raised New York kid that supports and protects his neighborhood and city from dangers foreign and domestic. His protection, joined by fellow New Yorker Doctor Strange, expands with the united effort with The Avengers when Thanos shows up in Avengers: Infinity War. One part down on that with one to go in the summer of 2019. (trailer) (my full Spider-Man: Homecoming review) (trailer) (my Avengers: Infinity War review)

Only the Brave (2017)– Just as with Ladder 49 thirteen years before it, you can’t beat the sympathy generated by the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice of firefighters. Forest fires aren’t terrorists, but the feels are all there. (trailer)

The 15:17 to Paris (2018)– Four years after American Sniper, Clint Eastwood dipped his filmmaking brush in the hero worship paint again to tell another true story. The wrinkle of this one is that Eastwood called upon the actual heroes that thwarted the 2015 Thayls train attack to star in their own movie recreation. Results were mixed, but the Eastwood prestige is there. (trailer) (my full review)

THE UP-AND-DOWN PULSE OF CONTINUED SENSITIVITY AND/OR CENSORSHIP TO 9/11 SIMILARITIES

For 2014 and going forward, this is a new section I’m adding to this study. Now that enough time has passed since 2001, I’m beginning to notice that movies are starting to go back to some of the images and themes of violence, destruction, and terrorism that were hands off for so many years after 9/11. Like all history, even 9/11 will fade. What we were offended by after the horrific incidents have returned, in some cases, to be more tolerated and even acceptable and celebrated again. Sure enough, there are plenty who vividly remember 2001’s events and images and are quick to point out when something is in possible poor taste. That shaky barometer has led to some allusions and reminders to 9/11 and some flat-out censorship changes and corrections. Some get flak and slaps on the wrist while some don’t. Here are some examples in recent years.

Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down (2013)– Both competing White House takeover films from 2013, one from Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and one from Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) had a bit of split audience reaction to their violent and terrorist content. Some rooted and cheered as if it was the 80’s again and America is always going to win. Others were not so keen or ready to see the White House become a target and battleground, even if it was just a movie. Between the two, Olympus Has Fallen, the R-rated and more severe one of the two, was the bigger hit. In a way, no one batted an eye. (trailer and trailer) (my full Olympus Has Fallen review)

Man of Steel (2013)– Despite being one of the most all-American heroes around, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel gave Superman a very serious tone that, in a way, can’t be included on the category before this one of movies that renew the American spirit. Also, many people were not very pleased with the immense city-wide destruction scenes of Metropolis during the film’s climax. Even though Chicago was the filming location of a fictitious comic book city, there were staunch critics who had a problem with huge office buildings and skyscrapers in very 9/11-esque rubble. Its 2016 sequel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice mildly addressed that a city can’t be destroyed without consequences, even on Superman’s watch in a colorful comic book setting. (my full review)

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)– Much like Man of Steel, the third Michael Bay Transformers movie features a great deal of city-wide destruction (again, in Chicago) that rubbed a few people the wrong way. (trailer) (my full review)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)– Throw in the terrorist label for the villain and his bombings and the big San Francisco starship wreck during this film’s ending action that was clearly a larger scale to a passenger jet taking out buildings. (trailer) (my full review)

Godzilla (2014)– Add the King of the Monsters to the list of more city destruction that raised an eyebrow for some. (trailer) (my full review)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)– Outside of this string of modern and accepted examples of urban attacks and destruction, is the minor amount of hot water the makers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got it for a promotional poster that had an exploding skyscraper that cut too close to 9/11 similarities. The study pulled the poster and had to apologize. Censorship and sensitivity won that argument and mistake. (trailer)

The Walk (2015)– A very big test to peoples’ memories of the World Trade Center will be coming in the Fall of 2015 with Robert Zemeckis’s film The Walk, the true story of the French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s quest to tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 (previously featured in the Academy Award nominated 2008 documentary Man on Wire). Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the film will prominently display, thanks to Zemeckis’s stunning use of CGI, a tremendous amount of imagery of the two lost skyscrapers. Even though it’s a period piece to a non-turbulent time, no film since 2001 has attempted to show this much of those building. Public reaction was mixed and the film was not a box office hit. (trailer) (full review)

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)– I guess it’s OK for patriotic mass city destruction again. London gets it worse than New York, though. (trailer) (full review)

Ghostbusters (2016)– Well, New York was safe for at least a month anyway between Independence Day: Resurgence‘s release and the new reboot (which conveniently made sure its city destruction in Times Square and other places be easy to erase). Not far behind was the fictional Suicide Squad and its over-the-city halo of supposed death. (trailer) (my full review)

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Rampage (2018)– Larger in size than the old World Trade Centers used to be, Chicago’s Willis Tower, the former Sears Tower and tallest building in the world, was the targeted collapsed skyscraper spectacle of choice in the Brad Payton/Dwayne Johnson live-action video game adaptation. Monsters aren’t terrorists, but the imagery hits close as the Willis Tower was one of many skyscrapers across the country evacuated on 9/11 out of fear of becoming another target. See the collapse clip above. (my full review)

I hope everyone enjoyed this little (OK, large) retrospective about the impact of 9/11 in movies for the last 18 years and counting. Take some time this coming weekend to appreciate the freedoms we have the people fighting to keep them for us. Support your troops and first responders and, again, NEVER FORGET!

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flying-elliska · 5 years

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Skam France End of S3 Questionnaire - my own.

I am so ready to enjoy Imane’s season, I will also never stop talking about s3 (I think we can all do both!!). Ever. It’s one of my favorite seasons of TV and media experiences and I can’t wait to analyze it to death. (I’m going to do the s4 questions in another post bc i want ppl to read them and this is already super long, fair warning)

Favorite “big” clip : I already said Jeudi 17h32 (the bus stop farewell) but it’s such an understated scene, idk if it’s a ‘big one’. Apart from that, I love them all but ‘Vendredi 20h27 “T’es plus tout seul”’ just...did something to me on an almost spiritual level, I will remember it forever. It also give me a push on a personal level to reach out and explain some stuff to people. It made me believe in Love as the most important thing in the universe. I felt all my misgivings about being mentally ill and being worthy of love fall through the basket of my brain for one moment. Yeah. Also the parallel between God’s love and the Church and gay love, and that song, and seeing Eliott like that, and Maman Lallemant, and Lucas’ epic run, and the flashbacks, and the whole Petite Ceinture thing falling into place, dark/light and and and...yeah. Never will be over it.

Favorite “small” clip : Several come to mind but I have such a soft spot for “Lundi 08h43 - Terre Promise” where they uncover the mural ? First of all that thing was much more beautiful than I thought it would be, aesthetics on point, and Lucas and Eliott being so open and unashamed like that made me feel so warm and fuzzy after all of Lucas’ repression of his own feelings and sexuality. The music and the filming are great in this clip, and I loved learning Imane knew Eliott already and seemed so happy for them, and the whole ‘you ask about politics on Christmas’ gave me such a family vibe. The whole ‘it’s a butt - yeah we gave it our all, body and soul’ was super ridiculous but in that way you don’t even care about when you’re so high on love. It was just super cute.

Favorite romantic moment : There’s so many but I just can’t get over Lucas buying flowers and croissants for Eliott in “Samedi 9h53 - T’es pas comme les autres” even though he knows he might not appreciate it because he just wants to bring color and beauty at the edge of Eliott’s life ? As a mentally ill person the constancy and care and tenderness of it just moved me to tears. And it represents so much for Lucas’ journey beyond toxic masculinity too, and not being his dad, and letting his caring side out, and just. uggh.

Favorite kiss : The first one, still. The symbolic of it is just...ahhh. It’s a kiss but it represents so much more - going beyond comfort zones, mutual recognition, stepping into each other’s worlds, understanding, the meeting of two souuuls. And the whole under the rain at night thing is cliché but it just works so well for them because it makes you feel all the relief and strangeness and right-ness of the moment. Their love is like a force of nature.

Favorite line of dialogue : ‘Lucas, je t’aime.’

Favorite (non-Elu) character : Alexia Martineau, absolute bicon, I wish she was more present in the end of the season tbh. I love how colorful and confident and funny she is. Her style is goals, and as a bi plus-size woman the whole character is just therapeutic to me.

Favorite set : La Petite Ceinture ! I just love the creepy-cool-poetic vibe of it, how well it is used as a character building tool for Eliott, how it shows a different side of Paris as a place, gives them a place of their own, how they go back to it later, what they did with Polaris, etc etc. I love the whole poetry of decaying secret places in general, it reminds me of places I used to take refuge in as a teenager, and now I really, really want to visit it.

Favorite frame : The candlelit dinner in 19h25. That clip is a punch in the face, but visually, it’s so on point. It’s incandescent. The whole aesthetic of the clip (and the next) manage to be both romantic, and unsettling as hell. The whole idea of the houseboat with the fairylights and the light reflecting on dark water and the sounds of the boat moving.The intimate scenes that make them look like renaissance paintings with that golden light. The shots of that table in particular, with the candles behind the glass, and the two of them with the shotgunning and the blown pupils and the champagne glasses full of golden bubbles. The aesthetic is almost like religious iconography with the dark/light contrasts, light through glass ( the candle motif is repeated in the church scene) and the way it frames their feelings - it’s so f*cking intense, exhilarating, almost too much. It makes you feel both Lucas’ awe at being loved like that, how in tune they are, and the fact that Eliott’s manic episode is really about to surface, the brief descent into darkness to come. It does so many things. It’s gorgeous.

Favorite Lucas character arc moment : Well, the whole of the season obviously, and things I’ve said above, how he cares for Eliott after his episode, the Remember scene, living his love out loud, etc. But in particular what sticks out to me is the articulation of the Jeudi 1h48 night scene, his coming out to Yann, and the Intervention clip because that’s where his self acceptance goes through the hardest point and makes it through. He lets himself come to terms with his emotions, and figures out that even though the reaction of the world might be hard, his own self expression is still the most important thing. He’s so brave in those clips, and the acting brings it to an incredible level.

Favorite Eliott character arc moment : Again, the moment he says to Lucas he loves him. Because this is him, seeing Lucas and reaching out through his insecurities and telling him that what they had was real. But it’s also him validating his own feelings, believing in them, letting himself have this after a whole season of going back and forth out of fear of messing it up. He’s putting his own fears aside too, fears of being seen and vulnerable and daring for something better than a relationship that is just ‘okay.’ He’s finally going for it 100% and accepting Lucas’ love and his own capacity for it. It’s just...wow.

Favorite other character arc moment : Daphné’s gaining confidence through the foyer made me super happy. But tbh, my favorite is Yann. He’s very underrated in general, I feel. He’s not as ‘ideal bff’ as Jonas or Skam It’s Gio, but his arc feels very important and meaningful to me. Seeing someone mess up and admit to his mistakes is super important. Because I feel there are soooo many straight guys who can learn from this - that casual homophobia is in the water of our culture and sometimes you just don’t realize what you are saying. And i feel, even though this isn’t directly adressed (and i wish it was) that Lucas also learns from this re: his words about ‘crazy people’ and what compassion and growing up means. I love Leo’s acting in general. Yann has a very compelling presence, calm (but a bit loopy at times), he feels deeply, and his betrayal at Lucas’ not sharing and subsequent realization he had messed up felt very real and mature for a 16 yr old. And how he embraces Lucas afterwards made me feel all fuzzyhearted. I wish we saw more of their friendship tbh.

Favorite Axel acting moment : ummm every single minute he was on, like. He never once felt false. That guy is going places. One of my fave things is just the look on his face in certain scenes Lucas has with Eliott - how it completely lights up, and the contrast with his more closed off persona in the beginning. It’s like he’s a completely different person - younger, wilder, more alive, daring, unafraid, and absolutely thrilled to have found his soulmate. It’s beautiful. And the crying difficult scenes, how he’s not afraid to ugly cry and just go there and make it a real gut punch. He just goes through such a transformation throughout the season, too. It’s nuts to me they didn’t even film in chronological order. Lucas just seems so much more grown up and at ease in his own skin at the end of the season. Mind blown. But if I had to pick one : the look on his face at the end of Jeudi 17h32 - sadness to see Eliott leave, but so much happiness, and also like he’s coming to terms with his own journey and breathing for the first time ? So much in one frame.

Favorite Maxence acting moment : tbh i was a little less sure of him in the beginning, but I feel like his restlesness and slight awkwardness and being a little too forceful at times (which some might have called ‘bad acting’) was actually a good acting choice ? Because Eliott feels so much, he’s so sensitive, and it would lead to feeling a little out of place around others, there’s so much emotion brimming under the surface he can’t always regulate it properly (I would know. it was painful to watch at times.) He really outsold it in the scene in “Lundi 17:21 “On verra bien.” where Eliott talks about his illness. That pain in his eyes when he says “I’m going to make you go through hell.” ? Ouch. He’s really good with his eyes in general, esp in the beginning when Eliott is the ‘mysterious new guy’ and the way he looks at Lucas at the end of ‘Not necessarily a girl’ ? Daaaaaaaaamn.

Favorite (non-Elu) acting moment : Marilyn Lima as Manon. She was so good in every clip she was in. It almost made me want to watch s2 even though I hate Noorhell plotlines with a fiery passion. She just sold how bruised and sad and let down she was and it was a doorway to Lucas’ own empathy and feeling his own feelings, and reflecting on how true love should be supportive in the dark moments. Especially in the night time clip, they were so good together.

Favorite social media moment : they were really good at it (we could have had more clips though) and my absolute fave is what they did with Eliott’s insta - the hunt for it at the beginning with the code, the cool drawings, the queer culture references, the somewhat alarming poetry, it all helped flesh out Eliott’s character in a way that we didn’t have with Even and made us fall in love so much more. The moment where we were all waiting for Lucas’ to discover Eliott’s insta (and the hilarity of the (probably made up) moment where Matteo/German Isak followed him first) with baited breath, was the most brilliant bit of intermedia storytelling I have ever seen. It was so cool. Also Emma and Alex’s insta stories made me like a Chriseva pairing for the first time, lol.

Favorite music moment : Remember, obviously. The chorus, timeless feeling, epic rythm ? Just perfect. And Fête de trop : so powerful, thematically on point, made me discover Eddy de Pretto. Also brilliant use of piano music and how it’s related to them. I want a social media vid of Lucas playing ‘I love you’ again for Eliott at some point.

Favorite bts/cast&crew moment : so many of them. But tbh I am especially grateful for Maxence’s openness about his own issues and his process on how he worked on the Eliott role. His Actor Factory interview where he talked about how mental illness can be so fucking lonely but life can still be beautiful had me cry like a little baby in my favorite café. It just made me want to be around creative ppl more, and dedicate myself to my own creative process seriously ? And his lives are also so cool. The dude in general is so effing relatable. (well, and cute tbh ahahaha). I also really, really loved Niels’ insight in the writing process. I haven’t stanned a cast this hard in forever and now I want to give everything up and try to write my own series lmaooo.

Favorite fandom moment : all the theorizing and staying up late and shit was golden. I love talking with ppl and sharing the love. And it’s given me a lot more confidence in my own writing. But special love to the @renewskamfrance team and the whole thing, it’s been completely nuts and I am so happy we started this.

…

Most romantic moment : I am realizing this question is a double but whatever, there’s no shortage of them. Eliott drawing Lucas as a hedgehog, the smooth artsy motherf*cker. And the insta in general. If someone made a cartoon animal version of me, that was also that fitting to my character, I would just ask them to marry me on the spot. I live for that artsy shit. I understand why Lucas was so into it right from the start. And of course the timeless cloud of queer intimacy that was Samedi 09h17.

Moment that made you fall in love with the season : The piano scene, because it showed so much more depth in Lucas’ character. We were all Eliott then, falling in love with him and the season, and their ability to mix things up compared to OG.

Most heartbreaking moment : Tied. “Samedi 14h32 Intervention″ - I don’t think I’ve cried so much all season. I’ve been there, too, and Lucas’ anguish at being ostracized and judged for something he can’t control, and his thinking that Eliott didn’t care about him, and Mika saying ‘you will have to keep coming out for the rest of your life’ all felt so impactful but the ‘fuck them’ at the end, so empowering. It was heartbreaking in a good way, incredibly cathartic. Meanwhile “Vendredi 23:37 Une putain de lubie” is heartbreaking in the bad way lol, it stomps on your heart, the contrast with how happy they were only moments before absolutely brutal, and Lucille’s cruel words on top of it. Watching Lucas lose it like that was so difficult to watch, the panic of it, the absolute despair. But it was so well done. And of course “Jeudi 01:48 Viens on en parle pas″. So simple, so powerful, and we were all so tired when we watched it, it was super effective.

Most funny moment : The ‘discovery of the butt’ moment was hilarious, also loved the boys’ reaction to Lucas telling them Eliott was his bf, the vodka sunday scenes, and the entirety of the scene in the second-hand shop with the scary dolls, but I just can’t get over Imane and the tampons in “Lundi 8:53 Quoi moi et Emma” , that was just pure gold but it also shows how good she is at embarassing nosy ppl and inventive and it made me want to know so much more about her.

Most enlightening moment : The season as a whole has made me think so much about my own relationship to my emotions and love and self-expression. After the ‘Remember’ sequence I really had this moment of....I can’t hate myself anymore ? It was so powerful. And episode 10 in general. But in earlier episodes, ep 5/6 in particular made me realize how much I was also repressing my own feelings and how unhealthy that shit was. The whole thing was just in general a process. And after the last clip I had such a feeling of general tenderness towards the show, the world and wanting to give love more of a place in my life.

Best aesthetics moment : Like I said houseboat scene. The use of light throughout the season, incredibly beautiful, But of course the painting thing. It was just such a perfect use of aesthetics to make a point in the story (i don’t really care if it’s not realistic). Now they are finally living out loud in all the colors of life. It was such a radiant affirmation of love and pride and joy. And the mural actually looked really cool, suprisingly (I was expecting a brown-ish mess lol).

Best change from OG: The show was at its best when it changed things up. I love especially that they made their own symbolism. I love the whole concept of the Foyer and how much more integral they made it to the story than Kosegruppa, how it comes to stand for togetherness and diversity. I love the girl squad being more present and the role they gave Alexia. I love Lucas being a pianist and taking more initiative in going after Eliott (it’s not a diss against Isak, his awkwardness was so endearing and it made sense) but it made them their own characters. But I think my favorite thing is how they changed around the sequence of events slightly in the last episodes - Lucas coming out to his mom after Eliott’s episode and Basile’s talk is tying it together better, it feels like he’s thinking about how he’s treated his mother in the past because of her MI and it makes it part more of the learning process ; his mother’s loving reaction is a perfect example of ‘you have to let MI ppl speak for themselves.” And them spreading the ‘minute by minute’ concept over several clips gave us a more in depth look into Eliott’s condition, which I will be forever grateful for, the talk with Lucille as well as Lucas learning he needs to take care of himself, too.

Best similar scene to OG : Overall I liked that they kept the story structure of the OG, because honestly, it just works so well - the Isak character’s trajectory from repression to openness to compassion. Sana/Imane’s speech about hate coming from fear, not religion. The few episodes that focused on Lucas’ self-acceptance more than the love story.

Best group dynamics scene : Intervention. Loved the complementary of Mika as queer guru, Manon as nurturing presence, and Lisa as comical outsider point of view being so out of it. But also loved the ‘vodka sunday’ dynamics with Manon, Lucas and Emma getting wasted, complaining about their love lives, the sadness but also the solidarity, Lucas talking about his love life so openly and making gay jokes about himself, Emma’s whole messy girl thing and ‘he’s just a p*nis”!!!” had me laughing for hours.

Best glow-up : Lucas of course. More in terms of character perception, Mika. He really annoyed me in the beginning of the season, he was mean and uncaring and lacking in boundaries, it was toeing the line of cliché, and I love how they showed us more depth to him, that they let him be deservedly angry, and how caring with Lucas he became, while still being slightly annoying, and their sibling dynamic in general, slightly antagonistic but super supportive.

Best social awareness moment : Mika’s speech, Yann’s apologies, and Lucille and Basile’s talks about mental illness.

Best symbolism : Polaaaris. Also God is gay now. And the first clip/end clip parallel, with them counting minutes.

Best editing/filming/technical moment : the Remember sequence, and how they made the scenes used in the flashback a little longer, giving us the impression that their relationship is actually so much deeper than what we’ve already seen ; the parallels with the priest’s speech, the sunny vibe of Eliott laughing vs. his face in the ending shots, the music, the acting, the running, all of it.

Best/most interesting cultural adaptation : The Foyer storyline and especially the sit-in moment. So French. It gave me flashbacks to my whole class staging sit-in protests in middle school (at 13!!!!) already for the wackiest of reasons, already practicing saying fuck off to authority and being rowdy little shits. It made me miss my country.

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Least favorite clip/moment : Mercredi 13:38 annoyed the shit out of me lol. It started out so well, with the summer of love aesthetics and Elu being all cute, but that lasted all of 40s and then we had an extremely unpleasant moment of Basile disrespecting Daphne’s boundaries and Arthur and Yann pressuring her to ‘give him a chance’ and how the misogynistic song he sent her is actually cute’ and we’re supposed to feel sorry for him ? I liked the end of season glow-up for him, but this scene was just gross. And I don’t mind having a POV that’s a little bit more loose than in OG but in this clip, it just felt jarring, how Lucas just flat out disappeared. I wanted to see Eliott interact with the squad more, and I resent the idea that seeing them just be happy and cuddly is not worthy of screentime for some reason. UGh. That was the one moment that the show pissed me off. Also, in the scene where Chloé offers her apologies (good) I feel like they validated her outing Lucas so he had to come to terms with his feelings. (which is a really bad message and I wish they’d written that with a bit more nuance.)

Least favorite change from OG : Overall, this remains my least favorite boy squad. The insistence on Basile’s gross, creepy humor felt overdone, and I feel they spent too much time on him. The idea that he’s been taught bad things by society about what a man is, fits the overal theme, but did we really need to know that he wanted to bang his cousin ? Yikes. And Arthur and the 35-yr old too, what the hell ? I just felt that their banter was a lot less natural and flowed less well than in OG.

Least favorite similarity from OG : Really don’t know about this one. Most of what they kept was good.

Most disappointing scene : the banter scene between the boys in 18:14, I always loved the banter between the boys in OG. Magnus saying stupid shit about gay s*x and being shut down felt educative without being heavy. Here there was way too much of Basile being gross again. And it just didn’t flow as well, the pacing was way too fast. A lot of the scenes that were a bit disappointing to me this season had to do with timing tbh, too fast.

Something you wish they’d added : I wish they actually had Lucas say he realized he’d say messed up stuff about mentally ill people.

Thing you wish the fandom would take away from this season : Chill a bit before drawing conclusions, wait for the whole season ahahaha.

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French word you will remember : I am French but I have never felt so validated in my overuse of the word ‘putain’. also saying mec/meuf a lot more.

If you could steal one item from the set : Eliott’s camel jacket, I want one too, what a look.

Scene you wish you could live in your own life : a lot of the romantic ones but also ? I wish I’d breaken into my high school to have a party at least once in my life lol. There’s a club next to my place in an old renovated school i reaaaally need to check out.

Character you identify the most with : Eliott in general, Daphné for her overenthusiasm and awkwardness and spontaneity and optimism and drive to organize things. Lucas because of the whole trying so hard to control his image, being spiky on the surface and soft inside.

Character you want to be like the most : Honestly, Lucas. Not in the beginning but his courage and his emotional intelligence and openness as the season progressed really are goals. It made me want to use my past painful experiences to extend compassion and be there for others, and learn how to be better at it. He’s going to grow into such an amazing man. And honestly his newfound pride in his relationship and pettiness are also goals lol. Imane as well, for how protective she is of her friends. And Alexia in terms of demeanour and confidence and funky vibe.

Most relatable character moment : Lucas’ eyeroll. Emma and her lava lamp. Lucas being so immediately smitten with Eliott, because like, same.

Fave fandom theory : lol I cracked up so hard at the whole ‘Eliott is a ghost’ thing, thx Billy Maier. I really don’t know why we were all so set on a bullying plotline, like why do we do that to ourselves lol ?

Whew ! Well, if you read through all of that, you’re one hell of a nerd, and I love you !!! I’m doing S4 questions in a separate post because this is wayy too long !!!

#skam france #elu #lucas x eliott #skam #review #my meta #skam questions meme #skamfr s3

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kalluun-patangaroa · 5 years

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Suede: The Insatiable Ones – the ugly beautiful truth is a must watch

Waiting for this:

you may read this nice review:

The GQ Magazine

Saturday 24 November 2018

By George Chesterton

A new Sky Arts documentary about Suede uncovers the tangled tale of a band who mixed glamour and excess with the dark poetry of suburbia

Credit: Sky/Dean Chalkley

By the time of Suede’s fourth album, 1999’s Head Music, it was easy to imagine that Brett Anderson had been replaced by a Brett Anderson Random Lyric Generator. But by 1999 Suede were out of step, just as they had been when they released their first single in 1992. They are a band who admit to never fitting in and even at their commercial peak they were trapped between what they had been rejecting, American grunge and indie dance, and what they inadvertently gave birth to, Britpop. They remained outside whatever cultural moment they happened to be sashaying past in slightly flared trousers. Suede always had delusions of grandeur. But what beautiful delusions they were.

The Sky Arts documentary Suede: The Insatiable Ones, follows the band’s successes and troubles through interviews, archives and a mass of video shot by the drummer Simon Gilbert in the studio and on the road. The film, by Mike Christie, begins with Anderson nodding sagely in a studio listening to some orchestration in Prague. It’s indicative of what Suede always wanted to be: a band not necessarily driven by an ambition to be huge, but rather a band with huge ambitions.

Suede: The Insatiable Ones begins with the journey of Anderson from school in Haywards Heath to University College London, where the singer met Justine Frischmann in 1989 and formed the core of the group with his childhood friend, bassist Mat Osman (brother of Richard Osman, who appears throughout). The generosity of Frischmann’s testimonials provide some of the warmest moments of the film, adding welcome perspective to a band whose entire existence was so cultivated or, to their detractors, contrived.

Suede admit to never fitting in. They always had delusions of grandeur. But what beautiful delusions they were

Recounting the cash-strapped early years, we discover the shock when The Smith’s drummer Mike Joyce auditioned – “It was one of the strangest things that ever happened to us” says Osman – and that Gilbert’s arrival was down in part to his friend Ricky Gervais, who, for a short time, was their ineffectual co-manager. “I remember saying, ‘oh I’m rubbish at this,’” says Gervais. “And the band agreed.” Then Bernard Butler answered an ad for a guitarist in the NME. His arrival and Frischmann’s departure – she left Anderson with a broken heart but a stack of his best lyrics to write – hastened the great leap they were looking for. “It enabled me to tap into something primal – loss, frustration, jealousy,” says Anderson. “I was trying to reflect the world around me – squats, roundabouts – but it was also an escape.”

The film captures the sudden emergence of Suede’s particularity, as they signed to Nude Records and played to increasingly hysterical audiences. As Stuart Maconie, the man who put Anderson on the cover of Select magazine in April 1993 with headline “Yanks Go Home” explains. Suede have a very definite constituency. It emerged from and reflected the emotional frigidity and patio-grey deserts of suburbia. And just like any artists looking beyond the horizons of their claustrophobic home, Suede were at once explorers and prisoners. The music, the image, the lyrics were a reaction against their environment that could never escape its own frames of reference.

Credit: Getty Images

From the first time I heard The Drowners – especially the B-Side To The Birds – it was obvious to me why I liked them so much. The early part of the documentary explores Anderson and Osman’s emergence from Haywards Heath – something Anderson himself eloquently recounts in his autobiography Coal Black Mornings. This was a world I knew rather too well for comfort and he articulated it with unnerving accuracy. He became the poet laureate of pylons, municipal parks and cheap housing stock. If anything, the film does not state the impact of the first singles and their debut album, Suede, enough. It was a moment of exuberance and drama just as British pop seemed to have run out of steam (again). “The sexuality in the lyrics was a really important thing,” says Anderson. “I wanted to talk about sexuality in the same way Lucian Freud paints the human body.”

Butler, a lithe, beautiful figure with a guitar in his hands, is shown only in old clips and his contributions do not go beyond an interview he shared with Anderson after their acrimony had been resolved in 2004. It’s telling that when Osman talks of Butler’s slide into the musical monomania that saw him leave during their second album, Dog Man Star, he admits he wishes they had shown more empathy for this fragility. Butler was still grieving for his father in 1994, and this compounded the collapse of his relationship with Anderson and their producer Ed Buller.

Dog Man Star was recorded in shifts so Butler could work alone and he and Anderson effectively wrote their songs “by post”. Butler’s dark Brian Wilson routine did help create the massive sound and scope of Dog Man Star, which appeared just as the meat and potatoes of Britpop was emerging into the mainstream. “I felt partly responsible for it,” says Anderson of Britpop. “Like giving birth to some awful child.” It’s an album that should be treasured – grandiloquent and brooding but also deeply humane and smart. Butler’s exit fulfils that great trope of pop and rock history: the “what if” question. But this is misleading, as Anderson explains. He knew from the beginning that Butler would leave. It was simply a question of when.

Suede's first album was a moment of exuberance and drama just as British pop seemed to have run out of steam

This sorry episode is lifted by the bathos of film’s funniest moment: the footage of a dewy-eyed Anderson in his dark glasses at a press conference following Butler’s departure, looking like David St Hubbins after Nigel Tufnell quits Spinal Tap. He admits, “Ninety-nine per cent of the world thought we were over, including part of me.”

Frischmann explains that Suede survived because it was always Anderson and Osman’s band. With bloody mindedness and the 17-year-old guitarist Richard Oakes (the first gig he had ever been to was Suede, who he watched with eyes on stalks at Poole Arts Centre in 1993) they returned with new songs and the wise decision to change the mood. That led to their most commercially successful album, bursting with big hits, Coming Up, helped by keyboard player Neil Codling. “It was such an optimistic record and that was a side of Suede nobody had seen before,” said Buller. The film reunites Anderson with the legendary Factory designer Peter Saville, who seemed to have created the band’s artwork of this period entirely in his dressing gown.

Credit: Getty Images

By the late Nineties the momentum was unsustainable, especially as Anderson, who admits his penchant at the hard stuff, became an free-basing self-parody. “I justified my addiction by seeing it as part of a rock’n’roll mythology.” Needless to say, wanting to make a Prince album hit a few snags. Firstly, he was high on crack and heroin. Secondly, he wasn’t Prince. Osman remembers how the band could tell if Anderson had been smoking crack because he would arrive at the studio with his hair pushed back to avoid setting it alight. Even when the singer got clean, the music had run dry. “We were done – we’d run out of inspiration,” says Osman. The fifth album has been officially disowned. In a group therapy session arranged for the film, Anderson apologises to the rest of the members for his behaviour and for announcing the split on Graham Norton. After a few awkward confessions, the footage cuts to them reforming at the Royal Albert Hall in 2010 and loving every minute of it.

Osman said he could tell if Anderson had been smoking crack because he would arrive at the studio with his hair pushed back to avoid setting it alight

After side and solo projects, Suede returned and are slotting comfortably into national treasure status with three albums since, including this year’s The Blue Hour. Suede care. They do their homework. They make the effort. Nothing demonstrates this better than their love of the now archaic-sounding B-side, which they produced by the bucketload (collected on the fine Sci-Fi Lullabies in 1997), when other bands couldn’t be bothered.

Accusations of pretentiousness are pointless. If pop can’t be pretentious then there is no hope for humanity. Anyway, such barbs are often made by those for whom imagination itself is an act of class war. Like their contemporaries Pulp, Suede are canonical English pop, mixing the wry fantasies of art school (Bowie, Roxy Music, even Kate Bush), the working-class smarts of The Kinks and the sleaze of new wave. If you don’t understand Suede, you don’t understand English music. This is an understated documentary for a band who tried to be anything but understated. Then again, under the filthy glamour of Suede there has always been something dark and grey. To take a few examples at random: concrete, flyovers, motorways, council houses, skyscrapers, telephone wires, electric lights…

Suede: The Insatiable Ones is on Sky Arts on 24 November at 8pm, followed by Suede: Live At The Royal Albert Hall at 11.15pm

#suede #the insatiable ones #press #suede documentary

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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Skam season 3, episode 5 (2/2)

This reaction covers the Pause, Pride, and Bros clips, which are the emotional equivalent of that time Homer Simpson skateboarded over a gorge.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 5

Clip 4 - Locker room turning point

This scene really is the catalyst for much of what happens in the second half of the season. It’s fantastically acted and superbly written. Julie commented on the script that it was one of the hardest scenes of S3 and I believe it, it’s so complex and runs through so many emotions in just a few minutes. And it’s so fraught. One of Skam’s greatest attributes is the ability to portray vulnerability and this scene is full of it. Everything is so delicate, so much remains unspoken.

Been thinking about how we don’t get these wide establishing shots of a lot of locales, like the gym here, for instance. Like a lot of directors would have more of an establishing shot of the gym, they’d show students running and working out, a teacher calling out instructions, etc. before we cut to Isak. Julie doesn’t always do those. I can think of a number of times she does, showing students hanging around and goofing off outside the school, for example, but a lot of times she just cuts straight to the POV character. Maybe just for practical reasons, but it also makes her storytelling feel very very intimate and character-focused with all these tight closeups.

I wonder if Isak is much into sports - like actually playing them, not sticking to FIFA. We don’t see him doing much of them and whenever he’s at some physical activity, he’s on the sidelines (at the skate park or watching basketball or w/e at the start of episode 3). We see him working out in the birthday video so I guess he started exercising regularly. Gotta keep in shape for his man.

Nice double take when you realize Edward Cullen has been watching you, Isak.

No, but imagine Even just watching Isak mess around in gym class for a bit before Isak notices, maybe psyching himself up to talk to him and tell him the important news. Because this season is so confined to Isak’s POV, on first viewing we see so much of Even’s confident, charming side; it’s only after we know the whole story that we realize how he must have been dealing with his own insecurities.

On that note, let’s talk about what’s going on with Even off screen between the cuddle scene and this locker room scene. He took some days off from school - honestly, I feel like he had a depressive crash. At some point he broke up with Sonja. He didn’t talk to Isak much outside of elusive texts. Can you imagine what he was going through? But no matter how hard it was, he made a decision that Isak was worth everything, worth breaking up this safety net of a relationship with Sonja, worth taking a chance on a new person, worth all the risks, because Isak made him that happy.

In the original script, Even grabbed Isak and kissed him when he entered the locker room. Apparently this was changed due to the setup of the locker room, but Julie made the right call in adapting the scene so that Even didn’t start with a kiss. I think that might have been too self-assured of him, though they could have played it as desperation as well. But this scene works fantastically when we see Even is vulnerable, too, that it’s not just Isak who’s been questioning and wondering while Even leaves him hanging. It’s easy (for me at least) to forgive Even for his strange hot and cold behavior when Even is clearly going through something difficult, even if I didn’t know what that is yet.

It also works better with the careful distance between them at the start of the clip. I don’t think either of them know what’s going to happen. From Isak’s POV, is Even going to call it all off, tell him he’s back with Sonja? Give him more vague answers? From Even’s POV, how pissed is Isak? Is Isak going to want to be all in, now that he’s had a few Evenless days to think about everything?

The sound editing in this scene works wonders. I love that we can hear all the gym sounds (people talking, bouncing balls) from outside, but they’re muffled - like they’re in a semi-public, semi-private space. Technically someone can walk in at any time, but it’s also a locker room, not accessible to everyone. It feels fitting that they’re in this kind of in-between place.

Additionally, you can hear every breath and step and nervous swallow from them here. Skam often uses music so perfectly to enhance its characters’ emotions, but there’s also such a thing as using music too much, as a lazy tactic to make the audience emotional without working for it in the acting, writing, or directing. So here’s a scene with no music. Just sounds from the two characters. No additions. And this is what you get, a scene of raw tenderness.

Soooo much subtext in this scene, so much of Isak and Even not asking everything they want or saying everything they mean. Even when the dialogue seems forthright, there’s another layer behind it.

My opinion of Even jumped up a lot when he says he’s talked to Sonja and they’re on a break. He should have done that at the beginning, ideally, but the fact that he did make the move to break up with her counts for something. When I saw this I was so damn relieved that it wasn’t going to be a typical case of “dude with a girlfriend has secret male side piece, strings along girlfriend while keeping boyfriend a secret” which is pretty common in LGBT media, especially coming out stories. I respected that Even was honest with Sonja, even if it was late, and it spoke a lot to Even’s sincerity about Isak.

FUCK, I loooove this moment, where everything hangs between them as Even asks Isak what he thinks about him breaking up with Sonja. Not assuming that Isak will be happy about it, not assuming Isak is going to act any specific way, really. Even is really fucking vulnerable when he asks this! Great acting from Henrik. The fact that Even isn’t sure about Isak’s reaction, that you can tell he’s still nervous about what Isak will think and that maybe he’s jumped the gun or expected more than Isak wants, means so much. Even broke up with Sonja even though he wasn’t 100% sure about Isak wanting to be with him. Because Isak was worth it.

And of course, Sonja has a say in this too, she might not want to be with someone who’s cheated on her. But judging from what we do know about her (and you know, kissing Even two days after this) I think she’d be willing to forgive Even and not break up with him over the Isak incident. She might talk herself into thinking it was just a result of Even’s bipolar disorder. So while I’m sure they hashed stuff out between them, I do think it was Even who wanted the break.

I don’t know Norwegian so I wonder if “we have decided to take a break” has the same connotations in English. Because if Even said, “Sonja and I broke up” it sounds like a permanent thing, they are done. “We have decided to take a break” is less permanent thing that leaves wiggle room for getting back together, or at least is putting off the absolute end of the relationship. In that case, I feel like maybe Sonja does think this is a manic thing and is letting Even go off to do his own thing, expecting that he’ll come back to her. EDIT: @skamenglishsubsclarified: Yes, in the original he uses the word "pause", as in "we've decided to take a pause". I'm not sure if it's good English to use "pause" about a relationship, which is why I used "decided to take a break". Either way, yes, it's absolutely not final, they haven't really broken up. Presumably Sonja views this a some sort of manic fling, and Even isn't quite ready to cast off the safety net that Sonja provides.

Man, I really do wish we could somehow get Even’s POV of that conversation with Sonja, though. I would love to hear what they talked about, in detail, what the atmosphere was like - tearful or resigned or angry or all three. When he told her about Isak, what exactly did he say? “I have told Sonja about you” - I don’t know why that gets to me the way it does since it’s fairly straightforward, but I guess I read it as Even not just telling Sonja the bare facts of what’s going on with Isak (we kissed) but elaborating on his feelings for him.

Also, look at Isak’s stunned reaction to what Even is saying! I don’t think he expected it! Maybe he didn’t think Even was about to dump him in the locker room, but was he expecting Even to open with “I told my girlfriend about you and we broke up”? Like … Even chose Isak over Sonja? His girlfriend of four years? Literally the best thing he could have heard. (Flashbacks to Noora and Eskild’s talk in episode 4 - if he loves you, he’ll choose you.) And ohhhh my god, their reactions when Isak seems satisfied that Even and Sonja broke up. The slow, dawning happiness that Isak is trying to keep under wraps and Even can’t control.

Lol, Isak saying that he hopes it’s not his fault if Even is sad is him trying to fish for how Even feels (as indicated in the script by Julie) but it could also be him downplaying the cartwheels his heart is doing now that Even and Sonja broke up. Or it’s also sincere! I think it’s at least partly sincere. He doesn’t want to make Even sad. Isak messes up but he’s a decent kid at heart, he feels guilt over causing hurt to people.

What a beautiful turnaround from Even from being this fragile-seeming kid in a million protective layers to being utterly joyous when Isak seems pleased about the breakup, like Henrik flipped that switch. And what a beautiful understated way to write it, just “I’m not sad!” Not going too far, like “It’s you I want to be with!” Just making it clear that Even has no regrets about the breakup. That he did it because he wants to be with Isak.

That hesitant “Nei?” from Isak is just. Good work, Tarjei.

The kiss feels much better here than it would have at the start of the scene, after we’ve worked through the hesitation to the happiness. The opening uncertainty is so emotionally rich that a kiss at the beginning would soften it.

If you ever want to demonstrate why Tarjei and Henrik have some first-class chemistry, show them this scene. What’s great about their chemistry is that’s it not just good acting at each other, it’s acting with each other. After Even kisses Isak, listen to Isak’s breathing. Watch Even pull off a little nose rub (their thing now) and how Isak responds to it. Their eye contact follows each other. We get the infamous out-of-frame hand-holding and they look down together. Look at their eyes staying on each other, shooting down to each other’s lips. This is just excellent natural chemistry. It sounds incredibly obvious but on-screen chemistry should be about the actors reacting and Tarjei and Henrik are effortless at playing off each other.

Give Tarjei an award for this look he gives Even after the hand-holding. That is an utterly smitten look right there.

And I think Isak gives Even a little nuzzle/nose rub/forehead touch although it’s hard to tell exactly what because we’re focused on Even. Isak feeling braver and being able to initiate kisses or touches with Even is such a lovely thing to witness over the course of the season.

Damn, Even gathers all his courage to ask Isak the next question. What do you think your parents would say if you started dating me? It’s so loaded. First, he’s asking Isak to date him. Not be his side piece or his dirty little secret or his casual hook-up. He wants Isak to be his boyfriend, he wants to make this thing official. He’s all in. But second, it’s also his way of asking Isak important questions about himself. Is Isak out? Is Isak going to be safe if they start to date? Will he be accepted by his family? See, Even knows a little about Isak’s family situation - just a little. He knows that things were rough at home and Isak’s dad left his mom. So he needs to parse out exactly how bad this’ll be for Isak, and whether any of that rough home life had to do with Isak’s sexuality. Knowing what we do about Even in S4, I think it’s really important that he checks in with Isak about this. He’s careful. He’s considerate. He knows that not all parents are going to be OK with it. When Isak says his dad would probably be fine with it, Even isn’t content with just that; he wants to know about his mom, the one pointedly not mentioned.

Isak is so overwhelmed by both of those implications, too, Even wanting to be his boyfriend and having to deal with potentially coming out to his parents.

And here’s where it all goes downhill, not that Isak knows it’s going downhill.

“My mom is insane.” Isaaaaaak.

That is some damn fine reacting from Henrik, because Even is hyper-attuned to that mention of “insane” and you can feel the mood change immediately, but not so obviously that all the viewers would figure out Even’s deal. Or that Isak would pick up on it.

This scene aired just days before the 2016 US presidential elections, when popular opinion was that HRC had it in the bag, and I remember watching this scene in real time and being like “lol, Trump joke” because fuck that guy, and like a naive asshole I had hope for the future. And then not even a week later the election happened and ohhhhh boy is this part kinda bittersweet now. Emphasis on bitter. But within the context of the scene, it’s a little levity over a very serious topic, with Isak feeling the need to reassure Even that he is not, in fact, related to Donald Trump and Even playing along and laughing before his face kinda falls as they get back to Isak’s mom.

I feel so so so so bad for Even in this scene. He just put everything out on the line for Isak, he was so damn happy just a minute or two ago, things were going to happen between them! And then it comes crashing down in the most painful way possible. And he wants to know, and is trying to get the details about Isak’s mom out of him in a subtle-ish way, that doesn’t let on how fast Even’s heart must be beating and how sick his stomach must feel. The fact that Isak doesn’t talk to his mom is a bad sign. It’s not that they just have a rocky relationship, it’s that they have no relationship.

What gets me about this part is that Isak thinks he is reassuring Even. He is telling Even that his mom won’t get in the way of their relationship. Whatever, she’s crazy and Isak is better off without her. There’s nothing to worry about with her, Even. And instead he’s ripping out Even’s heart.

Also, Isak is trying to reassure himself, that he doesn’t care what his mom thinks. Totally doesn’t care. Nope. It doesn’t hurt that she might not accept him. Not at all.

“I’ve decided my life is better without mentally ill people around me.” Isak, buddy, you’re going to regret that.

A lot of viewers picked up that this line was probably the reason Even broke up with Isak a day after making it clear he wanted to be with him. At the time it certainly seemed like a likely possibility. I’ve watched reaction videos to Skam on YouTube and many of them don’t pick up on this line except in retrospect; Julie bundles the turning point with a relevant discussion, openly addressing Isak’s mother’s mental health which has been an underlying source of anxiety throughout the season. It’s not like Isak randomly started making jokes about mentally ill people or anything that felt shoehorned. The digression feels natural, so I think it doesn’t stand out as much as the reason Even mysteriously calls it off until repeat viewings.

Something to keep in mind that I don’t see people talk about as much is that this scene is coming after the cuddle scene, after Isak told Even about his family problems. In that scene Even listened to Isak talk about how he didn’t want to go home after his dad left his mom (for a then-unexplained reason). Isak didn’t want to go home so much that he went out and got trashed at a bar and got found by someone else (why didn’t he want to go home?). Isak doesn’t want to be at home so much that he moved out (what about his mom?). Even got to witness how much Isak was affected by this incident, got to see Isak open up and be vulnerable about it but try to play it off. And now Even can put the pieces that were missing together. Isak’s dad probably left his mom in part due to her mental illness, Isak probably doesn’t want to go home because of his mom’s mental illness. Because of how this information was doled out to him, Even has been able to witness the toll that mental illness in a loved one has taken on Isak.

And I think that’s part of the reason why Even chooses to cut things off with Isak. It’s both for Even himself and for Isak that he does this. For Even, he realizes that it’s better to cut his losses before things get really serious. Things won’t work out if Isak doesn’t want to be around people like him. It will hurt less now than later. But it’s also for Isak’s sake, because Even doesn’t want to hurt Isak. I mean, Isak is the one who’s (inadvertently) hurt Even here, but Even also sees his bipolar disorder as something that will hurt others, as we know from the minutt for minutt scene. When he sees that mental illness has already caused a lot of hurt for Isak, he doesn’t want to add to that pain. So Even likely would have called off their relationship regardless, but having this extra information probably added to his decision.

And Isak has no idea what he’s just done. He comes across as quite young and innocent asking what Even’s parents would think of him. Like there’s a bit of wanting that approval there, not just because it’s his boyfriend’s parents and clearly he’d rather they like him and not be homophobic assholes, but he’s lacking some parental approval of his own right now, it’s not a stretch to think that maybe he wants the good opinion of some older authority figures.

I really wonder how, if Isak had not run his mouth, their relationship would have progressed. I don’t think you can say it would have definitely worked or not worked out because there are a host of factors to consider, but it’s interesting to think what would have happened if Even hadn’t called it off the next day. How would Isak have come out to his friends in that case? How would Isak have dealt with being outed if he were with Even when it happened? How would Isak have learned about Even having bipolar disorder? For AU purposes, kind of interesting.

This final touch and kiss from Even takes on such a different context when you realize that Even thought this was the last time he would kiss Isak. You can see him memorizing Isak’s face and putting everything into that kiss.

“I think they would have loved you.” Certainly ominous with that past tense, Even. Lmao, I remember watching in real time and being like, “Uhhh, are his parents dead, or is he about to break up with Isak?” But Isak is just too blissed out to think much about the implications. EDIT: @skamenglishsubs had some things to add: “I think they would have loved you" was a very tricky piece of dialogue to translate. Actually, they used the past tense hypothetical throughout the scene. Even asks "What do you think your parents would have said if we got together", and Isak answers "My dad probably wouldn't have had an issue.” And then the whole scene plays out, and Isak asks "What about your parents, what do you think they would have said if we got together?" And Even answers "I think they would have loved you.” The thing is, in English, the past tense hypothetical is pretty definite, it indicates something that hasn't happened or *will not happen*. But this isn't the case in Norwegian, it's more ambiguous, it could mean a regular hypothetical, something that could actually happen. But the original Norwegian script picked that past tense for a reason, and knowing what we know, I think it wanted to plant that little seed of uncertainty there, hinting that Isak and Even actually won't get together. So in the translation, I decided to flip only the last sentence to the past tense hypothetical. It makes it stand out a lot more since there's no subtlety about it in English, so you're almost guaranteed to get a reaction, but I think that's the right choice. It wouldn't be wrong to translate Even's answer as "I think they would love you", but you completely lose the emotional punch of it, and hidden meaning.

But it’s just so sad, because Even’s already made the decision right there, and he knows they would’ve been amazing together. You know he’s probably blaming himself and his mental illness more than being upset with Isak, who I obviously love but is the one in the wrong with his ableist comments. I really, really want to know how Even dealt with everything in the time between leaving the locker room and sending Isak the breakup text. How long his composure lasted after he walked out. How he thought about how he’d call things off, how maybe he waited and put it off because he didn’t really want to end things, he just knew he should.

Isak’s face at the end = awwwwwww. He’s so happy! He has no idea what’s coming.

Clip 5 - Pride

This is one of Skam’s finest moments, IMO, when the show’s educational public service aspirations are in top form. It’s a dramatic moment that works well for Isak’s character development as well as teaching the audience. It could have been overly preachy since Eskild basically delivers a lecture, but it’s so well-written and acted that it works.

But first, let’s talk about the opening of Isak lying on his bed, thinking about Even.

This little moment is one of the sweetest things on the show. Isak - who has presented a typical teenage boy front for a large part of the season, and has kept his sensitive side largely confined to his bedroom - thoroughly indulges in some sappy dreaming about Even. Like, forget him watching the Mikael video and smiling to himself, or watching Romeo + Juliet and shedding a single tear. This is straight-up mush. He fucking clutches his phone to his chest! His phone that is his gateway to Even, you know he’s thinking about calling or texting because, holy shit, Even is his boyfriend now. The slight smile on Isak’s face because he is just that over the moon. Even chose him! Even wants to be with him! Isak can be happy! And Isak has to know that his life is going to change, he’s going to have to do something about the tension with the boy squad, he probably can’t avoid Emma forever, who knows what his parents will think about him dating a boy - holy shit Isak will have to come out of the closet - but for this moment, that’s all somewhere in the future. Right now, he’s just going to be happy. Isak has a boyfriend. (And not just any boyfriend, but the man of his dreams.)

The sly sideways glance that Isak gives his pillow is the funniest shit ever. He’s alone in his bedroom, like, kid, you can huff your Even-scented pillow as much as you want. But it’s like he’s communicating with the damn thing. Hey, pillow. You and me. Cuddle time. Let’s do this.

I hope everyone has read the famous pillow meta. The thing about this scene is that Isak canonically has emotions about the pillow Even used, which makes me think it’s plausible that Julie really did put that much thought into Isak’s pillows.

For real, I gently mock Isak here but my heart melts at this part. It’s just so genuine! There’s no facade with Isak, he’s just letting his guard down, thinking of Even and the time they spent lying together on this bed. If you think back to Isak changing his answers on the gay test to get “less gay” results, or even just look at that female swimsuit model poster above his head, you know Isak sometimes keeps up a lie even in private. Here he’s being honest with himself and sentimental. You know he wishes Even were there right now, which is of course why he writes a text message asking Even to hang out.

Also, a little thing, but Isak seems fairly confident about that text, he doesn’t overthink what he’s writing like he did in the opening ep4 clip (with Noora talking and Isak rewriting his text) which to me is more confirmation of how good a mood Isak is in, and how he thinks this thing with Even is in a solid place.

Eskild’s intro in this scene, popping in the doorway with that mischievous expression, always makes me laugh.

Have I talked about Eskild much? Because I fucking love Eskild. Like, adore him. He makes a lot of sense to me in that his flaws and his virtues come from the same place, which is a strong way to write a character. I think some writers value the importance of giving their characters both positive and negative traits, but don’t realize that they’re often two sides of the same coin rather than completely separate attributes. With Eskild, he can be overly meddlesome, occasionally insensitive in what he says, lack boundaries or personal space, but that comes from the same place as his kindness, sympathy, and helpfulness - he’s highly extroverted and invested in people and wants to take care of them. A lot.

Also, what a fantastic relationship is Isak and Eskild’s, a combination of big bro/little bro and of course guru/apprentice. We so often get the “gay friend who has no life other than to give advice to the straight protagonist” and this is like that trope redone in a more meaningful way (plus, we have the flipped version of that trope in S3 with Jonas and the boy squad being the straight friends who give advice to their gay friend). But it is really great that Isak has this type of relationship with another gay man - one that’s completely platonic but also with so much caring behind it, and with a gay guy who’s very different from him in a lot of ways but is a positive force in his life. And opinions may vary on how well this part is handled, but I also think it’s great that Eskild’s clearly got a sex life and hooks up with dudes on Grindr and this isn’t shown as shameful or judged negatively, other than the occasional “ugh Eskild keep it down, the walls in this apartment are thin.” I mean Isak and Even are this lovey-dovey monogamous couple and that’s wonderful, but it’s also OK to have casual sex! I have some bones to pick with Eskild’s depiction in S4 but in S3, he’s fantastic.

Eskild goes about broaching the subject of Even in a pretty clever, almost parental way by giving Isak a gift and using that as an opening to mention that Even guy Isak had over. Maybe not that subtle but it certainly did get Isak to open up. It’s so thoughtful that Eskild doesn’t specifically push Isak to talk about Even and like, ask him if they’re dating or hooking up, anything like that. He’s clearly prompting him and letting him know that Isak can talk about it if he wants, but giving Isak control over how much he wants to divulge (if anything). He’s even getting up to leave just as Isak decides that yes, he will go ahead and tell Eskild, so it’s not like Eskild was going to sit there and grill Isak until he confessed. Eskild can go OTT nosy for laughs sometimes (”there are shoes in the hallway, Isak, is Even in your bedroom????”) but he knows when to give space. Carl Martin plays this part really well because you can see the question mark at the end of the suggestion about “that Even guy.”

Tarjei does a nice job too, you can see his good mood and how he’s reacting happily to Eskild gently ribbing him about his bedroom odor instead of giving more of Isak’s bratty side, and how when Eskild mentions Even he dims a little. Because oh yeah. This is how it’s going to be. He’ll have to tell people about him and Even eventually. But he must realize that Eskild is probably the best person he knows to come out to, because Eskild is not going to judge him for this. Eskild is gay, like Isak, even if Isak doesn’t want to use that word yet. Eskild is a good trial run for everybody else - good practice for just saying the words. And Eskild is clearly making some sort of offering here and letting him know, without saying it, that Isak is free to talk to him about Even.

Eskild is smiling when Isak tells him about Even, and you know it’s not in a smug “yessss, I knew it!” sort of way. It’s pride that Isak has finally confided in him and is gradually creeping out of his closet and having boys over. He handles this part perfectly. He’s not pressuring Isak to give him all the details, he’s not asking how Isak defines his sexuality or anything. It makes you wonder whether Eskild had an Eskild of his own when he came out, and how much of his treatment of Isak is inspired by how people reacted, for better or worse. What he wished they’d said and done, what he wished they hadn’t.

I think what installs some insecurity in Isak here - or I guess what makes that existing insecurity rise out of Isak and makes him say some unfortunate things - is both that disclosing his thing with Even is a big step that’s scary in itself, but also that Eskild obviously knew what was going on with Isak. He knew something was up with Isak and Even, he set up this moment with the room freshener to bring up the topic. He’s known since he found Isak drunk at a gay bar. And honestly, I think that makes Isak a little defensive, because shit, people knew. I mean, it’s Eskild, another gay man, but someone can tell he likes boys even without Isak telling them, and that probably makes Isak panic a bit. He struggles with the generalizations and the ideas of what it means to be gay. He takes a gay test and he makes a point of calling out a guy who seems “too gay” and I think a lot of it is fear that he will be perceptibly gay to outsiders. Watch how Isak dims a little and gets more serious after he tells Eskild. You’re not surprised? he asks. He’s not totally OK that Eskild is not surprised. He denies that he knew he was at a gay bar. He’s a little rattled by Eskild not feigning surprise and more or less admitting he’s known since he met Isak.

The thing is, Eskild doesn’t assume Isak is gay based on his taste in pop culture or his mannerisms or his grooming habits or anything like was suggested in the gay test - he’s thinking it based on, you know, finding Isak in a gay bar and Isak having a strange boy stay overnight. It’s all based on actions, not inherent qualities. But I don’t think Isak is considering that, really - he’s still deep in internalized homophobia and how people will view him as a person if they know he’s gay.

On that note, let’s talk about how Isak approaches his coming out. Throughout the season, Isak frames his coming out in terms of what (or who) he does rather than who he is. Actions, not inherent characteristics. He's hooking up with Even. He likes someone and it’s not a girl. He has a boyfriend. Never “I’m gay.” We don’t see that until S4. And it makes sense because it’s likely easier for Isak to approach this by not defining himself as a person, but describing his actions, which will perhaps create less judgment. I mean, there’s a difference between saying “I’m a bad person” and “I did a bad thing,” for another example. He doesn’t want that label of gay because he has a specific idea of what gay means and he doesn’t want it to apply to him. He’s not ready for it.

Again, Eskild is really great when Isak says hooking up with Even doesn’t mean he’s gay. He doesn’t argue or laugh at him or be like pfffft, you’re definitely gay, baby Jesus. He’s just happy for Isak, which is why it stings when Isak decides to run his mouth by saying he’s not gay-gay “like you.” Ouch. Isak, for fuck’s sake. Why did you have to go and make it personal? JFC. Carl Martin plays Eskild’s hurt so well, you can see how much this is cutting into some deep wounds.

Again, we don’t know much about Eskild’s backstory, unfortunately, but you know this is all shit he’s heard before in various capacities, and it just sucks to hear it from someone you care about. To get told to your face by someone rushing to assert himself that he’s not like you. Because it doesn’t matter that Isak’s attempting to frame his comment as not being offensive, the thing is that he doesn’t want to be thought of like Eskild.

“I totally respect that you take the whole ‘gay package’ all the way, but I’m not like that.” You know, it didn’t really occur to me until now that when Isak says “gay package” he’s not just describing a set of stereotypically flamboyant characteristics. Like … to a degree he thinks there is an actual “gay package” that comes with a set of interests and mannerisms (gay test, dance instructor, etc.) To be gay you must be X and Y. Isak is not X and Y, therefore he is not gay. That’s why he’s separating himself from the label. Even’s comments about generalizing may have struck a chord with Isak but it’s not like they completely eradicated his internalized homophobia.

This scene just gets more painful as it goes on because Isak is aware that he’s putting his foot in his mouth, but he also just thinks his point is justified, and he doesn’t get the root of what’s offensive about it. He’s trying to act like he doesn’t have a problem with people being too gay, but he does - not so much on a personal judgmental level but mainly as how those Gay-Gays will reflect on himself. And Eskild is so clearly hurt but he’s still being patient with Isak, up until a point.

Also it’s painful because obviously Isak is in the wrong here, but it’s understandable why he says what he says. His insecurities are being laid so bare. Isak’s internalized homophobia really doesn’t have much to do with thinking he’s wrong for liking boys, thinking he’s dirty or broken or anything like that. It’s mainly to do with social perceptions, how people are going to see him or judge him for liking boys, how can Isak identify as gay if he doesn’t feel like he fits the label?

I think a lesser show would address this issue by validating Isak’s insecurities or mollifying them in a surface way like, IDK, having Eskild explain to Isak that just being he likes a boy doesn’t mean Isak has to behave in a certain way, being gay doesn’t mean you have to act like this or dress like that. Which of course is true, but that’s not the root of the problem here, which is that Isak’s thinking itself is flawed and offensive. Giving an answer like “You don’t have to behave a certain way if you’re gay” is like getting a hole in your shirt and holding it together with a safety pin, rather than patching it up.

I don’t blame Eskild at all for getting upset and having to walk out on Isak. He was being quite patient with him until he reached a breaking point, and this is obviously personal. Again, we don’t know Eskild’s backstory, but I would be willing to bet that he has experienced some of that harassment and hate firsthand. His delivery of his pride monologue is emotional but also measured. You know he is genuinely trying to bestow a lesson on Isak despite being upset. Maybe it’s a lesson that took Eskild some time to internalize himself.

Isak knows he messed up, and he feels shame over it. I think it’s good, though, that Eskild says yeah, you did mean to put yourself above it, because no matter how many times Isak was like “I have no problem with you taking the gay package all the way” or asserting that he’s not being negative, he really was.

Well, Isak, your first coming out to anyone would have gone pretty awesome if you had stopped talking at a certain point. Like this is far from the most disastrous it could have been, but I doubt Isak expected to get schooled. He’s not feeling so great, and then he gets the text that pours a truckload of salt in the wound.

This text from Even. Man. First of all, love that Julie shows the text, has Isak put the phone down, then look at it again, showing us the text once more, just to get across how much utter disbelief he is in. Fucking really? After what happened in the locker room, now Even wants to call it off? There are some excellent uses of timing and display of the text messages of Skam; it’s not just that they’re present, it’s that they’re edited into the show for maximum impact. (Another great use of timing with a text message is in episode 9 when Isak gets the text from his mother.)

As for the text itself, I want to mention how polite it is? It’s very carefully worded, you know Even was writing and rewriting this one a million times. Also, Even takes responsibility for the breakup and blames himself and apologizes. Like … as far as breakup texts go, this is about the nicest it could be.

In the script there was more from Even about “not meaning to give (Isak) false hope” and I’m glad they took it out because yeah, that is not really Even’s goal with this text, IMO. I think he’s trying not to hurt Isak as best as he can given the situation. Julie says they discussed in the editing room whether that extra line was too cold, and I think it would have been.

I don’t know how popular this opinion is, but knowing the full story of what’s happening with Even, I don’t think he actually did anything wrong in breaking up with Isak at this point. Isak didn’t leave him with any good options, honestly. Of course I feel awful for Isak, and we’re in his POV so it feels like we just got dumped too, we’re confused and hurt, but let’s look at this from Even’s POV. What are his options?

Stay with Isak while concealing his mental illness. This is what he eventually does, obviously, and it backfires in very drastic way. Hiding his bipolar disorder is going to be immensely stressful for Even, not to mention Even does not want to hurt Isak, which he thinks he will do eventually due to being mentally ill. We know that it’s not that cut-and-dry but Even has a lot of insecurities and a kind heart, and doesn’t want to cause anyone harm.

Tell Isak the truth. This is the ideal choice, perhaps, but can you blame Even for not doing so? He doesn’t want Isak to hate him and Isak has just made his thoughts on mentally ill people quite clear. Additionally, we know that Even was the subject of gossip and called crazy after the manic episode at Elvebakken, an incident that is still being discussed in gossip (as we know from Vilde’s later texts). Who’s to say Isak wouldn’t have told someone, prompting the rumor mill at Nissen, making Even the target of gossip at his new school as well as his old one? I mean I think Isak is better than that, but if you think about it, this is still early in their relationship, Even might like Isak but he can’t be sure that word of crazy-psycho Even will get out. I completely understand why Even would fear telling people.

Cut his losses, break it off with Isak for both their sakes. It will be painful for both of them, but Even probably thinks better now than later, when they’re deeper into a relationship and their feelings.

Clip 6 - Everything comes crashing down

Julie really punches Isak in the balls here, huh? Between this clip and the last, she removes all of Isak’s strongest support systems and makes all of his insecurities and the mounting problems explode. Last clip created a wound between Isak and Eskild and mysteriously ended the Isak/Even relationship just as it was finally getting off the ground. So how can we kick Isak when he’s down today?

This pre-drink happens at Magnus’ place according to the texts, by the way. No sign of his ❤️ mamma ❤️

David made up this wild story about Magnus’ sexcapades and I hope it’s not one of the ones that came from real life, lmao. Also apparently everyone was tired filming this scene because it was very early in the morning until they chugged some Red Bull and it came to life.

Isak just looks broken, man. The way he’s sitting there totally disengaged from this conversation and just drinking. He’s just so heartbroken and he doesn’t understand why Even did what he did. Clearly there had to be something else going on besides his random kinda vague text message.

In the script Julie had Isak reading over his text history with Even, probably searching for some clue as to why things have ended the way they did. (Julie said she didn’t know why this part was cut and maybe they just forgot to film it.) So he was extra checked out, the boys were talking and Isak was not paying attention.

He’s so palpably miserable that it’s kind of hard to buy that none of the other boys notice. I know teenage boys are not supposed to be the most emotionally perceptive, but like … these boys are, sort of! Or at least Jonas is; Jonas has picked up when Isak is having mom problems and he later picks up (in a scene that’s a callback to this one) that Isak is having Even problems without Isak vocalizing any of this. But I think at this point, Jonas is kind of done with Isak’s BS, the boys are still frosty with him because of the “family party” and missing Magnus’ birthday, so they’re just going to let Isak stew even if he seems upset. Which sounds harsh but … I’ve been there, on both sides of it. And Isak has been lying repeatedly, so it’s like, what’s the point? It’s not like he’s going to tell them the truth.

When Magnus was telling the boys about his Vilde S&M dream, Isak and Jonas were on the same page despite arguing just a minute previously, they were looking to each other and laughing over Magnus’ ridiculousness. Here Jonas isn’t trying for that connection with Isak. Not that Isak would reciprocate if he did.

I don’t know why it’s so funny to me that Magnus logic is like “I couldn’t bang this girl in the bathroom because there was no toilet lid” like ??????? Son, can you think of no other ways to proceed with sexual activity? As Mahdi mentions, there are other positions you can do.

I mean this story is 100% fake anyway, so.

I love that completely over-it look Isak gives Magnus when Mags starts talking about escaping through the window. Though you know, Isak and Magnus aren’t all that different in this regard, since Isak also has told his friends fake stories of sexual conquest. It’s just that Magnus goes into excessive TMI detail and Isak keeps his vague enough so that the boys can infer whatever they want from Isak’s tales of straight sex.

But also, Isak is done with this shit because of how Magnus can tell some ridiculous made-up story about hooking up with a girl so easily among friends, and this is all part of straight boy culture or whatever you want to call it - bonding over hetereosexual shenanigans- when Isak is left out of this by not being able to talk about his own romantic adventures. Magnus’ story is bullshit, Isak has a real story about sneaking into someone’s house to use their pool and kissing underwater. But he can’t share it at this time because it was a boy he was kissing. He’s just excluded from his friends again.

Magnus’ laugh is fucking glorious. It’s like a honk.

Nice little moment of Jonas being all “I put on a nice shirt for this” and Mahdi being all “you look good, bro.” Casually supportive bros are the best bros, bro.

Poor Isak. When he hears Emma’s name you can see he’s like, just what I fucking needed right now. And of course his friends start paying attention to him when they think he might be able to get them into this party. He looks so drained at all of this. Either he’s going to be excluded from his friends again or he’s got to endure a party hosted by the girl who hates him.

The subtitles say that Magnus says, “There’s just three of us” and I don’t know if there are any translation differences but like … there are four of you in the room, Magnus. Isak just might as well not be there. He’s as lively as the chair he’s sitting on. (Unless Magnus means “there are three of us” as in “there are three more people besides me” but I can’t tell). EDIT: from @skamenglishsubs: Magnus is just lying, because the larger the group, the less chance they have of getting into the party according to teenage logic

Not that I would have a lot of patience for Isak at this point either, from their POV, but ouch at Mahdi being all “Well, Isak can go to his ‘family dinner’ and the three of us can go to the party.” Mahdi really isn’t hiding that he knows Isak has telling them bullshit. Plus, Magnus being all “I forgive you for forgetting my birthday” is acknowledging that there was something to forgive in the first place, a reminder of Isak fucking up with his friends.

It’s not The Worst Thing Ever buuuuut there is something a bit messed up about how the boys pressure Isak into taking them to this party when he clearly doesn’t want to go. Also with them pressuring him to do the Emma pre-drink. I love the boy squad but you kind of get why, even apart from casually homophobic comments, Isak felt the need to perform with them. Even when he’s trying to say no, they’re goading him into it. They’re not bad people at all but the pressure to participate in all these social activities where the pursuit of girls is a primary objective is really strong.

Lol, I think Mahdi and Magnus just like to rap together, that’s a thing between them, as also seen in the clip where Isak comes out to them.

I have an idea that Emma threw a party as a way to get her mind off that guy who led her on and ditched her and turned out to be gay.

Not gonna lie, as an English speaker it’s pretty jarring to have a song with the N-word so prominently in this context, though I don’t know if it’s as startling for Norwegians.

I do find this a really memorable Skam walking scene, though. I looove the shots of the boys walking down the street, Isak trailing behind the other three, disconnected from the group.

Shout out to Jonas and Mahdi dancing in the streets, though. My boys!

Well, at least Isak wasn’t the only one who had a shit time at the party, judging by the girl who walks out without her shoes and flips off the one dude.

L m a o I fucking love how many people have noticed that this dude acting like a bouncer at Emma’s looks like such a piece of shit, like he time-traveled from the set of an ‘80s teen movie where he’s playing some evil preppie named Chad or Blaine from the rival rich kid summer camp who’s trying to turn the camp for the scrappy underdog heroes into a golf course. I mean this was some shockingly effective casting for a guy who’s on screen for a minute.

Bless Mahdi for calling out that guy for acting like a self-appointed doorman.

Why was Vilde hanging out with Blad, anyway? No wonder she’s happy to see Magnus, he’s at least entertaining compared to these insufferable bores.

You can see Even winding his way through the crowd, by the way, before Isak sees him.

Oh my God, Isak being so out of it and then waking up when he sees Even breaks my heart. You can see his heart jump-start. And then he just has to get into this party. He needs to talk to Even, figure out what went wrong.

Shout out to the bro nod Isak exchanges with Sana on his quest for Even.

If Isak managed to make it to Even without Sonja reappearing, how do you think the exchange would have gone? Fraught, for sure. I feel like we don’t see a lot of confrontation between Isak and Even in canon to know how it would’ve gone, like I think Even would’ve been pretty shook and trying to hide that he was hurting but I’m not sure how it would’ve gone with Isak. I don’t think he’d be as downcast or muted as the cafeteria encounter later - this is a fresh wound and Isak is really confused. I doubt he would’ve been angry and started yelling or confronting Even directly in public, but I think he would’ve tried to be more forceful and upset. And I’m not sure how Even would’ve explained himself; it’s one thing to write a text message that you can word carefully and edit before you send, it’s another to see the boy you’re basically in love with a day after you broke up with him, wanting to know what went wrong. Like Even is smooth but maybe not that smooth. How is he going to tell Isak to his face that he doesn’t want to be with him?

Actually, think about how awkward it would’ve been if Isak and Even were talking and then Sonja showed up.

Even’s up on some kind of platform/elevation with just that one guy, and I kind of wonder if he went up there by himself to get some breathing room or get a minute to think until a guy he knows from class or whoever he is came up and decided to chat. I think Even is really, really good at concealing when he’s hurting or struggling.

Case in point, Even looks really good in this scene. Peak hair, peak attire, seeming happy and healthy. Isak can’t even sit there with his friends without his misery pouring out of him, written all over his face, but Even is apparently doing totally fine a day after breaking up with Isak, and that really has to sting for Isak. Not even just that Even broke up with him, but that he’s not visibly suffering over it.

Tbh, I wondered why Even was at this party considering Emma cannot be a big fan of him right now. IDK, I guess maybe he showed up with some people he knows from class? Or Sonja invited him? Maybe some of it depends on what you think Sonja told Emma about Isak and Even. I doubt Sonja told Emma about Even’s MI but maybe she told Emma something like “Even was confused” and implied she would get back with him. So Emma maybe wanted to help out her cool older friend Sonja by putting Sonja and Even at the same place so they could reunite?

Isak certainly could have apologized to Emma sooner and in a better situation, but it’s nice that he does at least acknowledge he was being shitty and apologizes to her here, even with the little effect it has.

Isak is so stressed over running into Emma, Tarjei does this reaction well. And on man, the way Isak’s face changes when Emma says he’s gay. What a nightmare for him. She knows. He’s too shocked to argue or respond in any way.

“It’s 2016, Isak. Get out of the closet!” lol the moment when a lot of us lost a lot of sympathy for Emma

For what it’s worth, I think this is clearly not an author-endorsed statement considering Emma is pointedly shown to have some ignorant viewpoints about gay people. Plus, the previous clip contained a passionate call for respect of gay pride with acknowledgment of what LGBT people go through (harassment, violence, death) so I think it’s obvious that the show knows it’s difficult to come out even in 2016.

Though this is just making me think of Emma being all “Eskild is hilarious, gay people are so funny” and what his response might be if she said, “it’s 2016, get out of the closet” in front of him. I doubt it would be hilarious.

I don’t think Emma is a terrible person. She’s just very, very uninformed and is unaware of her straight privilege. And while I am sympathetic to her in being led on by Isak, not gonna lie, it’s harder for me to feel sympathy when she has the least stakes out of this love quadrangle? Sonja is losing her boyfriend of several years, who has cheated on her and suddenly left her for someone else. Even is dealing with how his mental illness affects his relationships with Sonja and Isak. Isak is dealing with internal and external homophobia. Emma … made out with a dude twice at parties and he turned out to be gay. It is shitty of him to lead her on but he also was not in any official relationship with her and they didn’t know each other that well. Like. She will get over it.

“Hold My Liquor” was supposed to start playing here, after Emma tells Isak he’s gay, according to the script. I think it’s a good choice to keep the random party music and only start with Kanye toward the very end, when everything has gone to shit. We needed that iconic BITCH I’M BACK OUT MY COMA when Isak is beating up bushes.

Goddamn, Isak looks up at just the worst moment, doesn’t he? You wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t run out of the party, if Even and Sonja kept kissing or Even pulls away or what.

There were SO many theories about what exactly happened with Even, Sonja, and the random blond dude! Straightforward theories that Even was lying about breaking up with Sonja all along. Theories that Even needed to pretend to be in a relationship with Sonja for some reason, like to protect himself against homophobia. Theories that the guy was hitting on Even and Sonja showed up to lay a smooch on Even because she was helping him to deter this random guy. And it’s kind of interesting because we never really get a clear-cut answer as to what happened. I think it’s easy enough to guess from later context, but it’s not like Even ever goes, “Well, actually, Isak, when Sonja kissed me it was because she is an alien from a galaxy far far away where she needs lip-to-lip contact to collect nutrients from human beings.” There is a lot of wiggle room as to what was happening on Even’s side of S3 between the break-up text and the Evak reunion in episode 7.

Because we don’t have clear-cut answers, I guess I’ll do some projection. I like Sonja but I think she didn’t quite buy into Even leaving her at this point, probably because she does chalk up his interest in Isak to Even’s mental illness, or out of denial at her own relationship ending. So when she runs into Even here, she goes in for the kiss because they’re Sonja and Even, that’s what they do, they’re a couple. They were on a break but that’s it, just a break, not permanent. Sonja is the one to initiate the kiss and she seems pretty confident about it. And Even, I think, just goes along because he’s upset over Isak, and because Sonja is comforting, he can depend on their relationship. To me he seems a little resigned, happy to see her (because she is an important person in his life) but not overly enthusiastic to kiss her.

We never get answers as to whether Even and Sonja officially got back together for a time after this, or if this was a one-off kiss, or something in between. Personally I lean toward Even and Sonja not really getting back together all the way or if so, it being fleeting and ending well before Even shows up at Isak’s door in episode 7. Just because I think it makes more sense that Even is not with Sonja at that point.

This Magnus/Vilde scene was improv by the actors according to the script. Vilde didn’t see anyone she wanted to hook up with, and I mean, if her choices were ‘80s teen movie villains I completely understand. Plus Eva is occupied with P-Chris.

Mahdi, you played the “family dinner” joke one too many times, and you happened to catch Isak at a very bad place. One of the boys laughs at the family dinner comment and I think it’s Jonas? Which would suck for Isak since Jonas is usually Team Isak. They’re all just united against Isak’s crap. But Jonas here realizes again that something is really wrong with Isak, it has to be more than just moodiness and snottiness.

I have Opinions on how people bring up this incident in relationship to Isak hitting Mikael in S4 and how it’s not really the same thing, and this scene doesn’t make the one in S4 feel more IC, but maybe I should save those for S4 recaps.

BITCH I’M BACK OUT MY COMA

Let’s recap. Isak inadvertently insulted Eskild, hurting his feelings, and got scolded by him. Emma knows he is gay. The boys are shutting him out and Isak just made things worse by shoving Mahdi. And Even broke up with him and is back to kissing Sonja. It’s all adding up to break Isak, though I do think the situation with Even is what’s causing him the worst pain, because in a way his feelings for Even have been the catalyst for everything else that’s gone wrong and now he doesn’t even have Even. And he can’t talk to anyone about this because he’s either not out to people, or the few people who know he is gay are mad at him or smooching their not-so-ex girlfriends.

This scene of Isak lashing out at bushes could have been overly melodramatic and unintentionally comedic, but Julie knows to keep the editing short and not go over the top. It helps that we see only the back of Isak because that’s really all we need, right? I’m sure Tarjei would knock it out of the park with his facial expressions but we don’t need to see them, Isak’s state of mind is communicated by him lashing out, and the ending cry of frustration and sobs as he falls to his knees. I think shooting him from the back kept it from going too OTT.

And we go silent for the credits just to end on a bleak note. And then we went silent for 10 days.

I mean, except for analyzing moles and areolae.

General Comments

To elaborate on the mole/areolae analysis, I hope everyone has seen the hiatus trailer that aired after this episode. Because oh my God, that hiatus trailer. People were going WILD with the theories. Numerous screencaps were taken and compared to note similarities in nipples and moles among characters. The consensus was that the trailer is definitely two people fucking, but who could it be???? Isak and Even? That totally looked like a girl boob, was that Even and Sonja? Or were Isak and Emma going to hook up? Was it not a girl and Isak going to sleep with another guy? Some rando from Grindr? Eskild? Jonas? Penetrator Chris??? If these ideas seem outlandish, I am telling you the truth, these were all real theories floated about.

And then lol, it turned out to be Isak and Even. Surprise. It’s footage from the end of episode 7.

(I’m just going to throw it out there, not all of the footage from the hiatus trailer made it into the final clip, so somewhere Julie has extra footage of the first Isak/Even sex scene. You’re welcome.)

On the social media front, we see pics of Magnus’ birthday party on Jonas’ IG and Magnus apparently was in some proximity to Vilde.

When Isak texts Even post-cuddle scene, Even texts him back at 21:21, so you know he’s a sappy fucker, but it took him several hours to text back and he dodges any real explanation of what’s up with him (I was at my aunt’s house, swimming! JK btw you’re hot).

Though “You look hot when you’re sleeping” is some Grade-A thirst, yowza.

Also the boys were texting Isak about Magnus’ party but he ignored them. Too loved up in Even’s arms. Then days later (after the “family meeting clip”) he’s like “WHOOPS didn’t see this, I didn’t have 3G.” Jonas doesn’t anything to respond except a thumbs up emoji. Because Isak being all “let’s do it again this weekend” is some BS when he’s probably just going to ditch them again.

We get a Kollektivet text mentioning PK, the caretaker, who apparently Eskild and Linn have a weird relationship with. Tell me more about this, kollektivet family! Who is this mysterious PK? There was an IG story of him with Isak, I believe. EDIT: @skamenglishsubs sent me some links to the PK-and-Isak content. Thank you!

And Eskild drops in a casual “You could’ve met (PK) on Saturday if you didn’t stay in your room all weekend.” HmmmmMMM.

An underrated text: Magnus roasting Jonas about being an anti-capitalist hipster.

There’s a little foreshadowing of sorts in that text: Magnus says his ❤️ mamma ❤️ will find him a job for OD. Tiny thing but it is establishing that Magnus thinks his mother is the best.

#skam reactions #skam season 3 #skam #isak valtersen #evak

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veryotl · 6 years

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Sooo for the past... three or four albums I’ve done a reaction to the Highlight Medley... And I really need to get back into making content again! So here we go! Here’s my breakdown of the “You Make My Day” Highlight Medley!

1. Oh My!

I will be completely honest here: I wasn’t liking the sound of this song until I saw the MV teaser. It felt a little bit busy with all the noises in the background, and a little bit jarring without a before or after section to show a progression in music. However, in the MV teaser, we got a little bit more of the song as well as some of the dance to kind of bring the beat and melody a little more to the forefront, and with the added context of the progression of the song, I can now say I’m very excited to hear the rest of this song. It’s not really like anything Seventeen has ever done, and relies a little more heavily on strange synth-y noises instead of the Seventeen style of funky bass and really present instrumentals. If I had to draw a connection anywhere, it would be to Change Up. A repeating melody line with mostly simple instrumentals, however even that isn’t exactly what this song is. But as always, far be it for me to say what Seventeen’s style is or isn’t, not after Clap and Call Call Call were so good. They constantly subvert my expectations and I trust they’ll pull this off like they always do.

2. Holiday

The snippet of this song we’re given seems to be from the first chorus, judging by the drop and how kind of understated and simplistic the backing vocals and instrumentals are, if it was later in the song I think there’d be more. It seems like a lighthearted fun song like Thinkin About You or Healing, although a little more chill and laid back than those. There’s not a whole lot I cans say about it from the teaser, except for that it seems to really fit the flow of this album? Thematically speaking, this album looks to be really cohesive and strong, but we’ll get back to that later.

3. Come To Me (Vocal Unit)

If you have been following me for any length of time, you probably know how excited I am for this song because for years I have been talking about how much I want to see Vocal Unit break out of their ballad element. Don’t get me wrong, I love their ballads, and they’ve taken some interesting creative turns like Don’t Listen in Secret having a jazzy-nightclub feel, but they haven’t had an upbeat happy song since 20, and while I can understand wanting a vocally impressive song it’s not like you can’t do that with a brighter tone. In the past, I’ve recommended a 50′s-60′s style song or a Vocal Unit Band song to break Vocal Unit out of their arena, but the direction that this song takes is much more chill house vibes, which is kind of the style right now. Which is fine, especially since Joshua has already exhibited his abilities to jive with that style on Rocket. You can really tell this is a vocal unit song, though, because even in the short clip they gave us you can hear like 3 layers of harmony. I’m super stoked for this departure from the norm and I hope this song is vocally challenging and also successful enough that it gives Vocal Unit some confidence to explore other styles!

4. What’s Good (Hip Hop Unit)

Now it’s time for the pendulum to swing in the complete opposite direction, and that’s because Hip Hop Unit has done it AGAIN. They’ve done a full 180 on my expectations and explored yet ANOTHER new style. Hip Hop Unit is probably the most unexpected unit in my opinion because every time they drop something new it’s completely against their established style. Ah Yeah seemed to be a good solid style, but then Fronting came out of nowhere with this peppy chill vibe, then Monday to Saturday took it a step up and brought back some kind of classic Hip Hop vibes while still exploring this idea of laid back rapping, and then Lean on Me comes out of nowhere with vocals and ballads, and then If I seems to go back into a darker vibe with some super heavy backing instrumentals and melody, and then Trauma goes modern??? With autotune and Mingyu doing vocals?? And now we’ve got this weird... pop... upbeat... groovy song? Hip Hop Unit always zags when I think they’re gonna zig. I cannot wait for this song and for Hip Hop Unit to zag on me again. This is gonna be great.

5. Moonwalker (Performance Unit)

In some aspects, Performance Unit is similar to Vocal Unit in that they found a style with the success of Highlight and Swimming Fool and are sticking to it, and Moonwalker is in that wheelhouse. However, I can’t really begrudge them anything because they’re all FRICKIN BOPS and the style they’ve found I think really fits with their general feel as a group and the individual styles of the members. Plus, with songs like Who and The Real Thing, the members will often break out of their comfort zones and I appreciate that. Maybe in the future, I’d like to see another Who-style sexy intense song, but for now I’m perfectly content with another Electronic dance song, especially if accompanied by a sick dance like Swimming Fool was. Plus, I lowkey expect Dino to shine in this song, which is something we haven’t seen a whole lot of.

6. Our Dawn is Hotter Than Our Day

First off, this sounds like it could be a bridge-esque clip, maybe near to the end of the song, so the flow of the song might be different. Secondly, I think this might be a mistranslation, where “hotter” or “뜨겁다” should refer to a burning passion instead of a physical heat? Either way, I love this clip. The8 seems to be the main voice with maybe Coups and/or Wonwoo backing him, and it seems like a real impact moment, and I love that they’re kind of giving it to The8 as the main instead of their usual impact-hitters of Jun or Wonwoo. In terms of the general sound, it’s got this kind of lower energy vibe to it, something kind of akin to Campfire or Smile Flower in terms of atmosphere, but also more hopeful and positive in terms of feeling. The kind of song you listen to in the dusk of a summer night with the top down and the feeling of winding down instead of at 3 am with the feeling of looking back and crying. A very content song, I think. In general, the teaser doesn’t give us a whole lot in terms of progression, but I really want to see where the song goes as a whole and what they do with it.

Full Album Summary

In general, I think this album is a lot more thematically put-together than some of the older albums. I feel like they’ve recently tried to be thematically consistent, but there’s usually one song that breaks the theme, like Swimming Fool on Al1 or Clap/Hello on Teen.Age. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, especially in the recent years of not having to listen to an entire CD to hear the songs you like. However, having a super solid album that is consistent from top to bottom could make it so that more Hip Hop unit fans start to listen to Performance Unit, more people listen to the full album every time instead of just various songs, more people want to buy the entire album.

As for the style, it’s a direction I didn’t really expect Seventeen to take, however it feels like a natural progression from Teen.age thanks to the inclusion of songs like Rocket and Change Up and even Without You to an extent? I think it’s a step away from Seventeen’s established style, but not necessarily a step in the wrong direction. In fact, I love that they don’t feel trapped in making the same song six comebacks in a row to have to keep their fans. They’re free to explore genres and styles and evolve and change, which is a necessity for any artist who doesn’t want to feel confined and trapped in their art.

To make some predictions for this album, I think DK will become a real star this time around. This style really appeals to some of his voice’s natural charms. Joshua is going to do well with this concept, but I’m worried he’s not gonna get a lot of recognition for it due to the fact that he fits it so well that it feels very much like he’s a part of the furniture and not necessarily having a spotline shone on him. More on the concept of the MV, I think Seungkwan will be a big point in this comeback because the color scheme fits him super well and he stands out against warm colors really nicely. Also, we can expect to see more of debut, childlike playful Hoshi coming back this era. Vocal Unit’s solo will be a summer staple, Wonwoo’s solo part in the Hip Hop Unit song will kill and Vernon and Mingyu will shine in the concept, and Dino will come into his own with this Performance Unit song. Hopefully, The8 will become a popular pitch-hitter like Jun and Wonwoo this comeback as well!

No matter what, though, I absolutely cannot wait for this comeback!

#Seventeen #pledis 17 #Ymmd #clover overthinks seventeen #you make my day

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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FEATURE: The Animaniacs Animators Who Love Anime

Image via Hulu

Today the classic 1995 animated comedy series Animaniacs returns with a new series currently streaming on Hulu. Last month, a trailer for the further adventures of the Warner siblings showcased clips from these new episodes — including a conspicuous shot of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot with anime-inspired designs. Needless to say, this drove the internet nuts. What in the world was this all about? While anime was certainly popular in the series’ original '90s run, a modern parody-loving Animaniacs simply couldn’t avoid addressing its ubiquity today. American cartoons poking fun at anime isn’t anything new. But nothing could've prepared us for the real thing.

For those just catching up, the "anime sequence" appears in episode four “Bun Control.” After an infestation of rabbits overwhelms the Warner studio lot, it’s up to the trio to iron things out by transforming into wacky anime versions of themselves. This sequence directed by Adriel Garcia doesn’t shy away from being as high-energy and self-aware as possible. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many animators involved in the new Animaniacs are true anime fans themselves.

Image via Hulu

Animation directors Scott O’Brien and Garcia both have previously worked on anime-inspired productions, including contributing storyboards for Cartoon Network’s Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and Teen Titans Go! respectively. The sequence was animated by Studio Yotta, best known for their recent work on the series OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and the opening cinematic for Sonic Mania.

The “anime-inspired” animation trend in American cartoons can be traced back at least to the early aughts, with major series like Cartoon Network’s 2003 Teen Titans being among the first to take the leap. A cartoon featuring the animated personalities of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi frontwomen Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura quickly followed in 2004. With Onuki and Yoshimura even composing Teen Titans’ catchy theme song, it’s hard to separate these shows from one another, nor ignore their overall influence.

Maybe this is how we arrived at Dot zipping around like Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill today? Or maybe it's because Skullgirls co-creator Alex Ahad worked as an Animaniacs character designer ... hmm.

Yesss!!! This is the anime scene I directed on #Animaniacs everyone should be so proud of this craziness, haha!! https://t.co/4ryFBPNdyn pic.twitter.com/z6eIzngGx2

— AdmiralAdriel (@AdmiralAdriel) November 20, 2020

Other Animaniacs animators like storyboard artists Meg Syv have posted about their own contributions to the new series. Syv, who boarded the second half of the “Bun Control” anime fight segment, showcased some of the action-packed scene's before-and-after shots on her Twitter account:

Some comparisons from that one sequence in Bun Control, directed by @AdmiralAdriel! The animators KILLED IT. This was such an honor to work on! pic.twitter.com/xZil7IukAv

— Meg Syv (@BluDragonGal) November 20, 2020

Artists like Mike Luckas, who have previously collaborated with Konami, were also involved in the animeniacs segment.

The episode is out now, so I guess it's finally cool to say that I inked/colored this reaction shot of the "anime"niacs! ???? You can watch it on Hulu! #Animaniacs pic.twitter.com/cZJE5jH5Gd

— STUPIDDEAD????SKULLHEAD (@MikeLuckas) November 20, 2020

Studio Yotta’s ties to anime can’t be understated. Earlier this year, Yotta director and storyboard artist Sam King described suggesting an “Itano circus” sequence for the DuckTales episode “Astro Boyd.” This is of course a reference to animator legend Ichirō Itano, famous for his hand-drawn missiles and special effects in classic mecha anime like The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Mobile Suit Gundam. The final product was a smoothly animated and glorious missile sequence that many fans described as “anime-like."

Other contributors include Studio Yotta’s Ida Bagus Yoga, who previously worked on “Astro Boyd” and keyframes fight sequences in BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS. Lead animator Sadewoo also contributed to the scene:

Animated this for Animaniacs Anime Segment •2 #animaniacs #StudioYotta pic.twitter.com/QVOscE2gkV

— Sad (@sadewoo0) November 20, 2020

Yotta storyboard artists involved in “Bun Control” include Max Collins, who recently provided a promotional illustration for a pop-up Beastars cafe event:

I did another illustration for #BEASTARS earlier this year--seems they are doing a pop-up shop in Osaka and Tokyo? I wish I could go..! Thanks again for the opportunity, I look forward to season 2 ! https://t.co/BQT8SHrsCk

— Max Collins (@buttsIug) August 21, 2020

A full list of animators involved in the Animaniacs anime sequence has been shared by Studio Yotta’s Twitter account:

Animaniacs (2020) Anime Sequence — Full Studio Yotta Credits List Read: https://t.co/BsH1857e9h

— Studio Yotta (@StudioYotta) November 20, 2020

Blake P. is a weekly columnist for Crunchyroll Features. Yes, he knows all the lyrics to Yakko's Nations of the World song. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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firestorm26621 · 5 years

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Top 10 of 2019

Disclaimer: The following are not what I consider to be the “best” movies of the year, at least not in the objective sense of the word. I’m not even entirely sure one can judge “best” in an objective manner, or by what criteria that could be measured. Competence in composition and construction, acting, design, music; these are all only parts of what makes a film connect with an audience, and some truly great films have few of these factors in any great quantity, while there are many that are practically perfect films by these gauges which had very little impact on me personally.

So, setting all that aside, what follows are my top 10 films of 2017 only in the sense that they are films I personally enjoyed the most, be that by conjuring the biggest emotional reaction, making the biggest intellectual impact, or simply inspiring the greatest sense of wonderment and appreciative awe in me. These sorts of things are not easily measurable and certainly aren’t objective, but I know what I like, and it’s these.

#10 – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I loved 2018′s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”, which was a heartfelt documentary that lovingly explored who Fred Rogers was as a man and what drove him on his mission of kindness. So much so, that when a live-action Mr. Rogers film was announced I was skeptical, at best; it had already been done before after all. It was a surprise then, that this film takes an entirely different view of the topic altogether. This is not a film about Mr. Rogers the man; while Hanks gives an amazing performance, imbuing him with tremendous empathy but with a hint of slightly mysterious withholding, the film makes it clear that we’re not here to re-learn about Mr. Rogers, but instead to explore what it looks like when his teachings and philosophies are applied to a cynical man in a cynical world. The main character, played with understated angst by Matthew Rhys, has been severely jaded by the pain and tragedy in his own life, so much so that he has cut off his empathy in an effort to avoid more of it. But upon beginning to interview Mr. Rogers for an article, the film sets him on a powerfully emotional journey as he struggles, fights, and eventually reconciles with the emotional honesty and kindness that Mr. Rogers confronts him with. It’s not subtle about its themes or its message, but it delivers them like Rogers would have, with emotional insight, openness, and compassion.

#9 – Hustlers

This one reminded me quite a bit of 2017′s “I, Tonya”, another film that could technically be classified as a “crime drama” but that falls on the edge of that category, full of clever, biting dialogue, fallible characters, and an amusing Coen brothers-esque tone. This one is a little different from the others in this sub-genre though; by being entirely female-led but also by being incredibly stylized in a way akin to a Guy Ritchie movie of old. But then, the way the camera moves is distinct and purposeful, almost like a Scorsese movie; this film definitely has a bit of Goodfellas in it. So clearly, the film is taking influences from other films in the crime family, but the way it blends those influences into a neon-soaked ride is what makes it so interesting. And amidst all those influences, Jennifer Lopez is giving the performance of her career as a stripper matriarch who commands every room she’s in and who’s every outfit and stance could be a character poster. The film uses her maternal powerhouse performance to focus the crime story more on the closeness of the leads friendship than any other of these types of films. The end result of all this is a film that tells a very familiar crime story in an incredibly unique, colorful, delightful way.

#8 – Parasite

Parasite is a very odd film. It starts as what is ostensibly a dark comedy following a poor family living in the basement level of an apartment building who find themselves defrauding a rich family in order to gain access to their opulent home. While it’s following this thread it’s pretty hilarious, with the con-man schemes to get them more and more ingrained in the household becoming increasingly absurd, but at the same time, they become increasingly grim as well. And as you’re watching this comedy play out, a sense of foreboding begins to creep into the proceedings. And ever so slowly, the film begins to morph into a bizarre, dark, tension-filled thriller about the lethal gap between the rich and the poor, and the lengths to which people will go to close it or to maintain their place at the top of it. The film boasts a large ensemble cast, and they are all so good that none truly stand out above the others, making the film feel like a large-scale, zoomed out picture of how different personalities handle the class structure they are in. And when the film decides it’s ready to pull the trigger on the tension it has been ratcheting up for the entire run time, the explosion of cathartic expulsion and tragic consequences hit like a bullet, leaving you both astounded and heart-broken.

#7 – Little Women

Ladybird was one of my favorite films of 2017, and upon hearing that its director was helming an adaptation of this classic novel, it felt like a perfect fit. Greta Gerwig has a real knack for capturing authentic familial relationships; slyly examining both the complicated nature of the love of family and the dichotomy of the closeness and emotional distance that can somehow exist simultaneously within those relationships. This film continues that trend, being a charming look at strong personalities butting up against each other, growing closer, and growing apart. It’s helped by excellent performances across the board; all the girls are bringing real emotional weight and vulnerability to their characters, and there are a few standout moments from Saoirse Ronan that are absolutely heartbreaking. Of course, here is where I have to admit my dimness; I walked out of the film really disliking the ending, thinking it far too saccharine for the story that preceded it, and as I began to record my thoughts on the drive home, as I talked about that point, the genius of that ending dawned on me abruptly, and suddenly the themes came into sharper focus and the film took on new levels of depth. The remixing of the story, and the cross-cutting between time periods, suddenly had much more meaning and power. And with that, the film elevated itself above other period pieces, other adaptations of the famous novel, and into a powerfully affecting study of the evolution of a family.

#6 – Doctor Sleep

This one is going to be my dark horse pick, I know it. I haven’t seen it on any other lists or even heard much about it after its release, but for me, it was one of the most imaginative and well-executed fantasy stories of the year. The film is a chronicle of the life of Danny Torrance, the young boy from The Shining, picking up right after the events of that story and walking through the rest of his life; from learning to control his power and banish ghosts to lock-boxes in his mind, to losing himself to his visions and becoming an alcoholic, to cleaning himself up after finding a moral use for his abilities, to protecting a psychic girl from a pack of immortal energy vampires. If that sounds like a lot, it is; the film is long and it covers a lot of ground, but it moves at a clip without ever feeling like it’s rushing itself. The world expands upon the foundation of The Shining, really digging into this universe of super-powered psychics with a variety of abilities and the dangerous monsters that surround them. It plays with its psychic elements in a way that is both imaginative and yet grounded; it isn’t afraid to get trippy but it’s all understated and tangible, never letting us forget that these are real people in real danger. To that end, it also doesn’t shy away from its horror roots; the film isn’t scary in any real way, but it is often unsettling, not shying away from the horrific nature of its story. Ultimately, it manages to be both a worthy adaptation of Stephen King's novel and a worthy followup to its film predecessor, which is a feat in and of itself.

#5 – Avengers: Endgame

Being the culmination of more than a decades worth of films was never going to be easy, and being the second part of that climactic Infinity War story that was so exciting last year set the bar extremely high. And yet, Endgame lived up to everything that came before, as a celebration of its earned history and as a powerful cathartic release to years worth of character development. The film pretty clearly divides itself into three distinct acts. The first act that works as an emotional anchor, laying low on the action but allowing its characters to really feel the events of the universe and also allowing its actors to really stretch their muscles. The second is what no one saw coming; turning into something of a heist movie as it tours the whole history of the MCU. Then, of course, there is the third act climax that pumps its adrenaline and gives the fans all the service they could want while also putting a perfect end-cap on the arcs of its two main characters. As with many of the MCU films, it's sheer existence is a feat on its own, but as the final point on the massive web of stories the MCU has given us, Endgame was a satisfying and powerful success.

#4 – The Farewell

This film was probably the most educational experience of the year for me. The dynamics of a Chinese family aren’t something I have a ton of experience with, but The Farewell cast such an endearing, focused, insightful light on this particular family that it’s hard not to feel like you’re being let in on a secret while you’re watching, as if you’re being invited to participate in the most vulnerable moments of a family during its most trying times. I don’t think any film has made me feel like part of a family on a screen as much as The Farewell did; it explores a family coming together upon learning that its elderly matriarch has been diagnosed with cancer and that the majority of the family has decided not to tell her about it. The idea sounds a little out-there to Western ears, including mine, and including the main character, played by Awkwafina proving she can translate her awkward comedy skills into awkward family drama pretty damn effectively. And so the film attempts to reconcile these disparate cultural concepts, exploring in-depth not just what such a lie constitutes, but what about a particular culture would lead to that being thought the kindest option. The film never paints any villains or portrays any of its differing viewpoints as right or wrong, instead it’s more interested in the spaces between them; how a family with such a wide gamut of views can maintain itself, and the tensions produced from such cultural & geographic distances. And in the end, you feel for each of these family members, all trying to do their best in their own way, to maintain the bonds of a family.

#3 – Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari is, obviously, a racing movie, and racing movies are fun. But the best racing movies have a power, an energizing, blood-raising quality that is rarely replicated elsewhere. And Ford v Ferrari is the best racing movie in at least a decade. The racing is phenomenal, with high-octane stunts and cinematography that maintain a grounded realism; to my eye, despite the glut of dangerous maneuvers, there was not a single shot in the movie that did not appear to have been achieved with a physical camera. Any CG involved was woven in so smoothly that you never think to consider if what you're seeing isn’t real. Add to that a pumping score timed to the motors and the fantastic reaction shots Christian Bale is giving during them, and you have some of the best racing sequences put to film in a very, very long time. The rest of the movie is pretty great too. The story of a racing team contending with inferior technology and corporate bureaucracy is told in a purposeful yet understated way, without a lot of stylistic embellishments in how it was shot. The editing and pacing are also crafted in a skilled manner, with the film having a propulsive energy that carries you along, without anything being rushed or overstaying it’s welcome. And then there is the actual best part of this film; the career highlight performances of both Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Damon makes being utterly charming look completely effortless, playing a character trying to walk a fine line between being a “car guy” and a “company man”. Bale, meanwhile, is giving one of the best performances of his career as Ken Miles, a man without any understanding of the word “tact”, while also somehow maintaining a lovable teddy-bear quality. He’s a dedicated family man with a childlike joy of driving who is completely loyal to his friends, and who happens to have zero social refinements and no interest in playing any political games, ever. The film uses these two characters to their fullest, and ultimately the film has a ton of heart and real emotional weight born out of us connecting to these men and really wanting them to succeed.

#2 – 1917

1917 is absolutely amazing as a technical piece of work. I have no idea how they accomplished what they did in this film, with it presented as two continuous shots, through barren wastelands, underground bunkers, verdant fields, truck convoys, blasted towns, raging rivers, and one surreal, mesmerizing sequence progressing through a city on fire in the middle of the night that is so visually stunning it has been burned into my brain forever. The camera pans, dips, and circles around them, making it feel as though you yourself are a third member of this team, following along with them. If you were to pay close attention, you could likely spot the hidden cuts and tricks they used, but the film is drawing you along on such an engaging journey through this war that you don’t. And it’s not just a technical marvel for its own sake; it serves the story of two men in a race against time, with less than a day to make a journey to save many lives, and you can physically feel the time ticking away as you follow along with them on their trek. The film presents its themes, those of the perseverance required to save lives in the midst of so much death, in a way that you cannot tear your eyes from and won’t soon forget.

#1 – Jojo Rabbit

Jojo Rabbit accomplishes things I never thought possible. It’s a comedy through-and-through, which would normally mean there is little chance of it landing at the top of my favorite films of the year. But this film does something astounding with its comedy; it uses it as a tool, deftly weaving it’s absurd humor amidst its incredibly heavy themes, exploring ideas of hate as identity, the pressures of culturally accepted intolerance, and the inherent nature of kindness. All while an imaginary Hitler eats unicorn meat. It’s wild. Part of the way the film accomplishes this is through its fantastic lead. Jojo himself is a 10-year-old on the cusp of having his naive views of the world around him being either codified into his beliefs or broken by the realities of his situation. Which one happens is not only the central conflict of the film but also the primary thematic device. By showing us the grimmest of situations through the eyes of a child who hasn’t fully grasped their weight, the film is able to explore serious ideas in the silliest possible ways, without ever diminishing their meaningfulness. The film can be incredibly touching, poignant, agonizing, and joyous in a span of minutes, and they all land with equal force. It’s an amazing thing to behold, and it’s one of the best films of the decade.

Runners-Up:

The Last Black Man in San Francisco - It uses the backdrop of gentrification to tell an impacting, occasionally comic, occasionally surreal story of trying to latch onto legacy and purpose through history that uses its painterly aesthetic and unique tone to great effect.

I Am Mother - It takes an initially simple science fiction premise then explores the hell out of it, weaving in coming of age ideas about autonomy and developing morality, and putting it into a tense thriller package full of manipulation and wonderful acting.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - The animation is just as impressive and awe-inspiring, and this entry offers a far more interesting villain, some great action sequences, and a conclusion to the trilogy that is poignant, powerful, and rather beautiful.

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while-my-tardis-gently-weeps · 7 years

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General Thoughts and Predictions - Eurovision 1st Semi-final

Now that the first rehearsal is over for the first Semi-final, it's time again to reflect on the entries now that we've been given a sneak peak at the staging and live performance potentials.

Sweden - “I Can’t Go On” - Robin Bengtsson - Sweden delivers as strongly as ever, but the song still leaves me dead cold. That said, judging from what I’ve seen so far as well as the press room’s reactions, I stand by my earlier prediction that this one is almost guaranteed to go through.

Georgia - “Keep The Faith” - Tako Gachechiladze - It appears that Georgia has hired Swedish choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptiste to help them ramp up the staging, but you’d never be able to tell from the clip of the first rehearsal that’s available--and the press room, who’ve seen the full run-through, seem to agree. I’ve never liked the song in the first place, and while she does sound like she’s quite a good singer in the clip,there wasn’t much else (positive, at least) to be said about it. What’s more, I would go as far as to say that I actually preferred the backdrop she had in the national finals. That one told a story, whereas the one shown in the clip is just generic Eurovision cut-and-paste. Barring any major upsets and/or changes, my money is on a firm “no.”

Australia - “Don’t Come Easy” - Isaiah Firebrace - At first, I was slightly underwhelmed by the clip of the staging, to be absolutely honest, but I’ve warmed up to the staging a bit since the first watch. It’s understated but nicely so, and Isaiah’s face in the backdrop compliments the song quite well, instead of coming off as vain. It won’t have quite the wow factor that Dami Im brought with her vocals last year, but I do think Isaiah will get through to the finals quite easily.

Albania - “World” - Lindita - I was quite taken by her singing prowess in her earlier performances, but the clip from the rehearsal made me a little bit worried. I know it’s not the full run-through, she didn’t look to be in costume, and the right camera angle at key moments might change a lot, but I felt the stage was a bit too busy for a song that shines because of the singer’s powerful voice, and takes away rather than adds to the performance. It’s still early days yet, but personally it has shifted from a “likely” to a “maybe, if the stars align.”

Belgium - “City Lights” - Blanche - Well, I have to agree with the general buzz going around: Belgium looks to be in big trouble indeed. From the clip and opinions coming out of the press room, the lack of confidence and stage presence afflicting her performance showed no sign of improving, and what’s worse, she seems “alone in the danger zone” and close to getting completely lost. Hopefully things will change for the better between now and the first semi, but short of a total overhaul I think her song will sadly be forgotten in a long night full of great, energetic performances, especially with her earlier place in the running order.

Montenegro - “Space” - Slavko Kalezić - I’ve heard some positive buzz going around, but personally I’m still not feeling it. That said, I appreciate the fact that Slavko seem completely dedicated to his gimmick and brings quirky character and variation to a night of too many ballads and variations thereof. I think it’s going to be more of a contender than I previously thought, but not to the point that it’ll likely qualify.

Finland - “Blackbird” - Norma John - This one gave me a pleasant surprise, in that the atmospheric backdrop complimented the song nicely and, together with the stellar vocal performance, made the song engaging and charming rather than the nicely-sounding bore I was afraid it might turn into. It also creates a nice contrast, coming straight after the madness of Montenegro. It’s a likely contender, I think, especially since it’s definitely the type of song that will play well with the jury.

Azerbaijan - “Skeletons” - Dihaj - Before going into the staging, I would like to say first that this song has to be one of my biggest growers listening to the Eurovision 2017 album on repeat after it came out. And with the clip of the rehearsal as well as comments coming out of the press room, I’ve only grown more excited about it. It’s dark, edgy, a visual treat, and even though there are elements that mystified me a bit (the guy standing on the ladder?), I think it’s going to come together quite powerfully and I can’t wait to see the full finished product. It’s quite a strong contender for sure, and seeing it in the final will please me greatly.

Portugal - “Amar Pelos Dois” - Salvador Sobral - Even with Luisa standing in for Salvador for the rehearsals, just seeing the staging alleviated most, if not all, of my concerns about Portugal’s entry. The forest setting adds a layer of fairytale-like enchantment that work seamlessly with the soft, tender qualities of the song itself, and proves that you don’t need loud climaxes and explosive staging with a plethora of gimmicks to make a massive impact. Go Portugal, and see you (on the left side of the scoreboards) in the finals! (Even if I’m still firmly behind #Italy2018.)

Greece - “This is Love” - Demy - Greece’s rehearsal clip brought quite a pleasant surprise. I thought it was a nice song, but nothing remarkable, but with the glimpse into the staging, I think this is going to be one of the ones where the staging and live performance elevates an otherwise average song to greatness. The falling water drops in the background add quite the punch to the song and help to generate a captivating performance. I definitely look forward to the full finished product, and I don’t think I will be at all adversed to seeing it in the finals.

Poland - “Flashlight” - Kasia Moś - Having been initially sold on the song because of the music video, I must admit the rehearsal clip was a total letdown for me. In fact, my first reaction was that the staging unpleasantly reminded me of Czech Republic last year. With that said, however, Kasia is as great a performer as ever, and makes it work despite what I felt was a disappointing staging. With good will from the jury, the diaspora vote, and supporters from outside the diaspora, I think it still has a fair chance of going through to the finals.

Moldova - “Hey Mamma!” - SunStroke Project - And now, for something completely different. Moldova brings the party to the room even when it’s just the recording you’re listening to, and man the live performance definitely does not disappoint! Their staging works great, and even if the song might never be a musical masterpiece it’s just such a refreshing blast of fun, joy, charm, and confidence. I think it will probably do very well on the night of the semi, especially with the televoters, and seeing it in the final will definitely make me a happy fan indeed.

Iceland - “Paper” - Svala - I don’t know if it’s because it comes straight after Moldova, but Svala’s “Paper” just doesn’t seem all there from the clip and the buzz coming out of the press room. A shame too, since it’s a great song and one of my personal favorites. Now, I can only hope there will be changes for the better between now and showtime.

Czech Republic - “My Turn” - Martina Bárta - I liked it better than I expected I would, but I don’t think it will be enough to carry Martina through to the finals--which is a shame because I fell in love with Prague during my visit there last year and it will be a delight to see a Eurovision held in that amazing city.

Cyprus - “Gravity” - Hovig - I’ve always thought this is going to be one of the songs where the staging will make or break it, and after watching the rehearsal clip I’m of the opinion that the scale is tipping to the latter. Granted, things might improve between now and next week, but I, for one, am not that confident about its chances.

Armenia - “Fly with Me” - Artsvik - I don’t know if it’s personal preference, or not getting the complete picture watching only a clip of the rehearsal, but I’m completely dumbfounded by about all the positive reactions to it coming out of the press room. It’s like, yeah, I can see why certain viewers might like it, but to me at least there wasn’t the mass appeal that makes me think it will definitely do well despite my personal dislike of the song a la Sweden. I’m going to go with popular opinion and say this one is almost guaranteed to qualify, but nevertheless I’m just not feeling it. At all.

Slovenia - “On My Way” - Omar Naber - Well, it was better than I expected, but my expectation was also close to zero. So, yeah, still a no.

Latvia - “Line” - Triana Park - What a closing act! The producers definitely chose well. It looks like it’s going to be bold, colorful, edgy, and an entry that will bring the night to an energetic finish. That, combined with the favorable place in the running order, will most definitely translate to a good night for Latvia.

My Current Predictions (In no particular order):

Sweden

Australia

Portugal

Azerbaijan

Armenia

Latvia

Poland

Moldova

Greece

Finland

#eurovison 2017 #personal opinion

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nebris · 7 years

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The Man from Red Vienna

December 21, 2017 Issue

Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left

by Gareth Dale Columbia University Press, 381 pp., $40.00; $27.00 (paper)

What a splendid era this was going to be, with one remaining superpower spreading capitalism and liberal democracy around the world. Instead, democracy and capitalism seem increasingly incompatible. Global capitalism has escaped the bounds of the postwar mixed economy that had reconciled dynamism with security through the regulation of finance, the empowerment of labor, a welfare state, and elements of public ownership. Wealth has crowded out citizenship, producing greater concentration of both income and influence, as well as loss of faith in democracy. The result is an economy of extreme inequality and instability, organized less for the many than for the few.

Not surprisingly, the many have reacted. To the chagrin of those who look to the democratic left to restrain markets, the reaction is mostly right-wing populist. And “populist” understates the nature of this reaction, whose nationalist rhetoric, principles, and practices border on neofascism. An increased flow of migrants, another feature of globalism, has compounded the anger of economically stressed locals who want to Make America (France, Norway, Hungary, Finland…) Great Again. This is occurring not just in weakly democratic nations such as Poland and Turkey, but in the established democracies—Britain, America, France, even social-democratic Scandinavia.

We have been here before. During the period between the two world wars, free-market liberals governing Britain, France, and the US tried to restore the pre–World War I laissez-faire system. They resurrected the gold standard and put war debts and reparations ahead of economic recovery. It was an era of free trade and rampant speculation, with no controls on private capital. The result was a decade of economic insecurity ending in depression, a weakening of parliamentary democracy, and fascist backlash. Right up until the German election of July 1932, when the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag, the pre-Hitler governing coalition was practicing the economic austerity commended by Germany’s creditors.

The great prophet of how market forces taken to an extreme destroy both democracy and a functioning economy was not Karl Marx but Karl Polanyi. Marx expected the crisis of capitalism to end in universal worker revolt and communism. Polanyi, with nearly a century more history to draw on, appreciated that the greater likelihood was fascism.

As Polanyi demonstrated in his masterwork The Great Transformation (1944), when markets become “dis-embedded” from their societies and create severe social dislocations, people eventually revolt. Polanyi saw the catastrophe of World War I, the interwar period, the Great Depression, fascism, and World War II as the logical culmination of market forces overwhelming society—“the utopian endeavor of economic liberalism to set up a self-regulating market system” that began in nineteenth-century England. This was a deliberate choice, he insisted, not a reversion to a natural economic state. Market society, Polanyi persuasively demonstrated, could only exist because of deliberate government action defining property rights, terms of labor, trade, and finance. “Laissez faire,” he impishly wrote, “was planned.”

Polanyi believed that the only way politically to temper the destructive influence of organized capital and its ultra-market ideology was with highly mobilized, shrewd, and sophisticated worker movements. He concluded this not from Marxist economic theory but from close observation of interwar Europe’s most successful experiment in municipal socialism: Red Vienna, where he worked as an economic journalist in the 1920s. And for a time in the post–World War II era, the entire West had an egalitarian form of capitalism built on the strength of the democratic state and underpinned by strong labor movements. But since the era of Thatcher and Reagan that countervailing power has been crushed, with predictable results.

In The Great Transformation, Polanyi emphasized that the core imperatives of nineteenth-century classical liberalism were free trade, the idea that labor had to “find its price on the market,” and enforcement of the gold standard. Today’s equivalents are uncannily similar. We have an ever more intense push for deregulated trade, the better to destroy the remnants of managed capitalism; and the dismantling of what remains of labor market safeguards to increase profits for multinational corporations. In place of the gold standard—whose nineteenth-century function was to force nations to put “sound money” and the interests of bondholders ahead of real economic well-being—we have austerity policies enforced by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with the American Federal Reserve tightening credit at the first signs of inflation.

This unholy trinity of economic policies that Polanyi identified is not working any more now than it did in the 1920s. They are practical failures, as economics, as social policy, and as politics. Polanyi’s historical analysis, in both earlier writings and The Great Transformation, has been vindicated three times, first by the events that culminated in World War II, then by the temporary containment of laissez-faire with resurgent democratic prosperity during the postwar boom, and now again by the restoration of primal economic liberalism and neofascist reaction to it. This should be the right sort of Polanyi moment; instead it is the wrong sort.

Gareth Dale’s intellectual biography, Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left, does a fine job of exploring the man, his work, and the political and intellectual setting in which he developed. This is not the first Polanyi biography, but it is the most comprehensive. Dale, a political scientist who teaches at Brunel University in London, also wrote an earlier book, Karl Polanyi: The Limits of the Market (2010), on his economics.

Polanyi was born in 1886 in Vienna to an illustrious Jewish family. His father, Mihály Pollacsek, came from the Carpathian region of the Hapsburg Empire and acquired a Swiss engineering degree. He was a contractor for the empire’s growing rail system. In the late 1880s, Mihály moved the family to Budapest, according to the Polanyi Archive. He magyarized the children’s family name to Polanyi in 1904, the same year Karl began studies at the University of Budapest, though he kept his own surname. Karl’s mother, Cecile, the well-educated daughter of a Vilna rabbi, was a pioneering feminist. She founded a women’s college in 1912, wrote for German-language periodicals in Budapest and Berlin, and presided over one of Budapest’s literary salons.

At home, German and Hungarian were spoken (along with French “at table”), and English was learned, Dale reports. The five Polanyi children also studied Greek and Latin. In the quarter-century before World War I, Budapest was an oasis of liberal tolerance. As in Vienna, Berlin, and Prague, a large proportion of the professional and cultural elite consisted of assimilated Jews. In the mid-1890s, Dale notes, “the Jewish faith was accorded the same privileges as the Christian denominations, and Jewish representatives were accorded seats in the upper house of parliament.”

Drawing on interviews and correspondence as well as published writings, Dale vividly evokes the era. Polanyi’s milieu in Budapest, known as the Great Generation, included activists and social theorists such as his mentor, Oscar Jaszi; Karl Mannheim; the Marxist Georg Lukács; Karl’s younger brother and ideological sparring partner, the libertarian Michael Polanyi; the physicists Leo Szilard and Edward Teller; the mathematician John von Neumann; and the composers Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, among many others. In this hothouse Polanyi thrived, attending the Minta Gymnasium, one of the city’s best, and then the University of Budapest. He was expelled in 1907 following a shoving match in which anti-Semitic right-wingers disrupted a lecture by a popular leftist professor, Gyula Pikler. He had to finish his doctor of law degree in 1908 at the provincial University of Kolozsvár (today Cluj in Romania). There, he was a founder of the left-humanist Galilei Circle and later served on the editorial board of its journal.

Polanyi became a leading member of Jaszi’s political party, the Radicals, and was named its general secretary in 1918. He was drawn to the Christian socialism of Robert Owen and Richard Tawney and the guild socialism of G.D.H. Cole. He mused about a fusion of Marxism and Christianity. Polanyi is best classified as a left-wing social democrat—but a lifelong skeptic of the possibility that a capitalist society would ever tolerate a hybrid economic system.

After World War I broke out, Polanyi enlisted as a cavalry officer. When he came home in late 1917, suffering from malnutrition, depression, and typhus, Budapest was in the throes of a chaotic conflict between the left and the right. In 1918 the Hungarian government made a separate peace with the Allies, breaking with Vienna and hoping to create a liberal republic. Events in the streets overtook parliamentary jockeying, and the Communist leader Béla Kun proclaimed what turned out to be a short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic.

Polanyi decamped for Vienna, both to recover his health and to get off the political front lines. There he found his calling as a high-level economics journalist and the love of his life, Ilona Duczynska, a Polish-born radical well to his left. Their daughter, Kari, born in 1923, recalls, as a preteen, clipping marked-up newspaper articles in three languages for her father. At age ninety-four, she continues to help direct the Polanyi Archive in Montreal.

Central Europe’s equivalent of The Economist, the weekly Österreichische Volkswirt, hired Polanyi in 1924 as a writer on international affairs. He continued his quest for a feasible socialism, engaging with others on the left and challenging the right in ongoing arguments with the free-market theorist Ludwig von Mises. The debates, published in agonizing detail, turned on whether a socialist economy was capable of efficient pricing. Mises insisted it was not. Polanyi argued that a decentralized form of worker-led socialism could price necessities with good-enough accuracy. He ultimately concluded, Dale recounts, that these abstruse technical arguments had been a waste of his time.1

A practical answer to the debate with Mises was playing out in Red Vienna. Well-mobilized workers kept socialist municipal governments in power for nearly sixteen years after World War I. Gas, water, and electricity were provided by the government, which also built working-class housing financed by taxes on the rich—including a tax on servants. There were family allowances for parents and municipal unemployment insurance for the trade unions. None of this undermined the efficiency of Austria’s private economy, which was far more endangered by the hapless policies of economic austerity that were criticized by Polanyi. After 1927, unemployment relentlessly increased and wages fell, which helped bring to power in 1932–1933 an Austrofascist government.

To Polanyi, Red Vienna was as important for its politics as for its economics. The perverse policies of Dickensian England reflected the political weakness of its working class, but Red Vienna was an emblem of the strength of its working class. “While [English poor-law reform] caused a veritable disaster of the common people,” he wrote, “Vienna achieved one of the most spectacular triumphs of Western history.” But as Polanyi appreciated, an island of municipal socialism could not survive larger market turbulence and rising fascism.

In 1933, with homegrown fascists running the government, Polanyi left Vienna for London. There, with the help of Cole and Tawney, he eventually found work in an extension program sponsored by Oxford University, known as the Workers’ Educational Association. He taught, among other subjects, English industrial history. His original research for these lectures formed the first drafts of The Great Transformation.

His mentor Oscar Jaszi was also now in exile and teaching at Oberlin. To supplement his meager adjunct pay, Polanyi was able to put together lecture tours to colleges in the United States. He found Roosevelt’s America a hopeful counterpoint to Europe. After war broke out, one of those lecture trips evolved into a three-year appointment at Bennington College, where he completed his book.

The timing of publication was auspicious. The year 1944 included the Bretton Woods Agreement, Roosevelt’s call for an Economic Bill of Rights, and Lord Beverage’s epic blueprint Full Employment in a Free Society. What these had in common with Polanyi’s work was a conviction that an excessively free market should never again lead to human misery ending in fascism.

Yet Polanyi’s book was initially met with resounding silence. This, I think, was the result of two factors. First, Polanyi belonged to no academic discipline and was essentially self-taught. Dale writes that when he was finally offered a job teaching economic history at Columbia in 1947, “the sociologists saw him as an economist, while the economists thought the reverse.” Midcentury America was also a period when political economy, institutionalism, the history of economic thought, and economic history were going into a period of eclipse, in favor of formalistic modeling. Polanyi’s was not a hypothesis that could be tested.

Second and more important, Polanyi’s ideological adversaries enjoyed subsidy and promotion while he had only the power of his ideas. Mises, like Polanyi, had no academic credentials. But he conducted an influential private seminar from his post as secretary of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. The seminar developed the ultra-laissez-faire Austrian school of economics. Mises’s prime student was Friedrich Hayek. As a laissez-faire theorist financed by organized business, Mises anticipated the Heritage Foundation by half a century.

Hayek later contended in The Road to Serfdom that well-intentioned state efforts to temper markets would end in despotism. But there is no case of social democracy drifting into dictatorship. History sided with Polanyi, demonstrating that an unrestrained free market leads to democratic breakdown. Yet Hayek ended up with a chair at the London School of Economics, which was founded by Fabians; the “Austrian School” got dignified as a formal school of libertarian economics; and Hayek later won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The Road to Serfdom, also published in 1944, was a best seller, serialized in Reader’s Digest. Polanyi’s Great Transformation sold just 1,701 copies in 1944 and 1945.

When The Great Transformation appeared in 1944, the review in The New York Times was withering. The reviewer, John Chamberlain, wrote, “This beautifully written essay in the revaluation of a hundred and fifty years of history adds up to a subtle appeal for a new feudalism, a new slavery, a new status of economy that will tie men to their places of abode and their jobs.” If that sounds curiously like Hayek, the same Chamberlain had just written the effusive foreword to The Road to Serfdom. Such is the political economy of influence.

Yet Polanyi’s book refused to fade away. In 1982, his concepts were the centerpiece of an influential article by the international relations scholar John Gerard Ruggie, who termed the postwar economic order of 1944 “embedded liberalism.” The Bretton Woods system, Ruggie wrote, reconciled state with market by “re-embedding” the liberal economy in society via democratic politics.2 The Danish sociologist Gøsta Esping-Andersen, a major historian of social democracy, used the Polanyian concept “decommodification” in an important book, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1990), to describe how social democrats contained and complemented the market.3

Other scholars who have valued Polanyi’s insights include the political historians Ira Katznelson, Jacob Hacker, and Richard Valelly, the late sociologist Daniel Bell, and the economists Joseph Stiglitz, Dani Rodrik, and Herman Daly. On the other hand, thinkers who seem quintessentially Polanyian in their concern about markets invading nonmarket realms, such as Michael Walzer, John Kenneth Galbraith, Albert Hirschman, and the Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, don’t invoke him at all. This is the price one pays for being, in Hirschman’s self-description, a trespasser.

Having been exiled three times—from Budapest to Vienna, from Vienna to London, and later to New York—Polanyi had to move yet again when the US authorities would not grant Ilona a visa, citing her onetime membership in the Communist Party in the 1920s. They ended up in a suburb of Toronto, from which Polanyi commuted to Columbia until his retirement in the mid-1950s.

Though his enthusiasts tend to focus only on The Great Transformation, Dale’s book is valuable for his discussion of Polanyi after 1944. He lived for another twenty years, working on what was then known as primitive economic systems, which gave him yet another basis to demonstrate that the free market is no natural condition, and that markets in fact do not have to overwhelm the rest of society. On the contrary, many early cultures effectively blended market and nonmarket forms of exchange. His subjects included the slave trade of Dahomey and the economy of ancient Athens, which “demonstrated that elements of redistribution, reciprocity, and market exchange could be effectively fused into ‘an organic whole.’” Dale writes, “For Polanyi, democratic Athens was truly antiquity’s forerunner to Red Vienna.” Athens, of course, was far from socialist, but its precapitalist economy did blend market and nonmarket forms of income.

Dale also addresses Polanyi’s views on the escalating cold war and on the mixed economy of the postwar era that many now view as a golden age. The trente glorieuses, combining egalitarian capitalism and restored democracy, should have felt to him like an affirmation. But Polanyi, having lived through two wars, the destruction of socialist Vienna, the loss of close family members to the Nazis, four separate exiles, and long separations from Ilona, was not so easily convinced. While he admired Roosevelt, he considered the British Labour government of 1945 a sellout—a welfare state atop a still capitalist system.

Half a century later, that concern proved all too accurate. Others saw the Bretton Woods system as an elegant way of restarting trade while creating shelter for each member nation to run full-employment economies, but Polanyi viewed it as an extension of the sway of capital. That may also have been prescient. By the 1980s, the IMF and the World Bank had been turned into enforcers of austerity, the opposite of what was intended by their architect, John Maynard Keynes. He blamed the cold war mostly on the Allies, praising Henry Wallace’s view that the West could have reached an accommodation with Stalin.

Dale makes no excuses for Polanyi’s blind spot about the Soviet Union. At various points in the 1920s and 1930s, he notes, Polanyi gave Stalin something of a pass, even blaming the 1940 Molotov–Ribbentrop pact on Whitehall’s anti-Sovietism. And he was sanguine about the intentions of the Russians in the immediate postwar period. As a member of the émigré Hungarian Council in London, he broke with its other leaders over whether the Red Army should be welcomed as a harbinger of democratic socialism. The Soviet liberation of Eastern Europe, Polanyi insisted, would bring “a form of representative government based on political parties.”

Having been proven badly wrong, Polanyi cheered the abortive Hungarian revolution of 1956, yet after it was crushed by Soviet tanks he also found reasons for hope in the mildly reformist “goulash communism” that followed. This was naive, yet not totally misplaced. Though Polanyi was no Marxist, there was enough openness in Hungary that in 1963, a year before his death and well before the Berlin Wall came down, he was invited to lecture at the University of Budapest, his first visit home in four decades.

On the centennial of his birth in 1986, Kari Polanyi-Levitt organized a symposium in his honor in Budapest. The conference volume makes a superb companion to the Dale biography.4 The twenty-five short articles are written by a mix of writers based in the West and several from what was still Communist Hungary—where Polanyi was widely read. The writing is surprisingly exploratory and nondogmatic. Even so, when her turn came to speak, Polanyi-Levitt took a moment to plead: “If I may be permitted one more request to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences…it is that The Great Transformation be made available to Hungarian readers in the Hungarian language.” This was finally done in 1990. Like many in the West, the Communist regime in Budapest was not quite sure what to do with Polanyi.

Today, after a democratic interlude, Hungary is a center of ultra-nationalist autocracy. Misguided policies of financial license played their usual part. After the 2008 financial collapse, Hungarian unemployment steadily rose, from under 8 percent before the crash to almost 12 percent by early 2010. And in the 2010 election, the far-right Fidesz Party swept a left-wing government out of power, winning more than two thirds of the parliamentary seats, which made possible the “illiberal democracy” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. It was one more echo, and one more vindication, that Polanyi didn’t need.

What, finally, are we to make of Karl Polanyi? And what lessons might he offer for the present moment? As even his champions admit, some of his details were off. Earlier friendly critics, Fred Block and Margaret Somers, point out that his account of late-eighteenth-century Britain exaggerates the ubiquity of poor relief. His famous case of the poor law of Speenhamland of 1795, whose public assistance protected the poor from the early perturbations of capitalism, overstated its application in England as a whole. Yet his account of the liberal reform of the poor laws in the 1830s was spot on. The intent and effect were to push people off of relief and force workers to take jobs at the lowest going wage.

One might also argue that the failure of liberal democracy to take hold in Central Europe in the nineteenth century, which paved the way for right-wing nationalism, had more complex causes than the spread of economic liberalism. Yet Polanyi was correct to observe that it was the failed attempt to universalize market liberalism after World War I that left the democracies weak, divided, and incapable of resisting fascism until the outbreak of war. Neville Chamberlain is best remembered for his capitulation to Hitler at Munich in 1938. But at the nadir of the Great Depression in April 1933, when Hitler was consolidating power in Berlin and Chamberlain was serving as Tory chancellor of the exchequer in London, he said this: “We are free from that fear which besets so many less fortunately placed, the fear that things are going to get worse. We owe our freedom from that fear to the fact that we have balanced our budget.” Such was the perverse conventional wisdom, then and now. That line should be chiseled on some monument to Polanyi.

A recent article by three Danish political scientists in the Journal of Democracy questions whether it was reasonable to attribute the surge of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s to the long arc of laissez-faire and economic collapse.5 They reported that the well-established democracies of northwest Europe and the former British colonies Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand “were virtually immune to the repeated crises of the interwar period,” while the newer and more fragile democracies of southern, central, and eastern Europe succumbed. Indeed, fascists briefly assumed power in northwest Europe only through invasion and occupation. Yet that observation makes Polanyi a more prophetic and ominous voice for our own time. Today in much of Europe, far-right parties are now the second or third largest.

In sum, Polanyi got some details wrong, but he got the big picture right. Democracy cannot survive an excessively free market; and containing the market is the task of politics. To ignore that is to court fascism. Polanyi wrote that fascism solved the problem of the rampant market by destroying democracy. But unlike the fascists of the interwar period, today’s far-right leaders are not even bothering to contain market turbulence or to provide decent jobs through public works. Brexit, a spasm of anger by the dispossessed, will do nothing positive for the British working class; and Donald Trump’s program is a mash-up of nationalist rhetoric and even deeper government alliance with predatory capitalism. Discontent may yet go elsewhere. Assuming democracy holds, there could be a countermobilization more in the spirit of Polanyi’s feasible socialism. The pessimistic Polanyi would say that capitalism has won and democracy has lost. The optimist in him would look to resurgent popular politics.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/12/21/karl-polanyi-man-from-red-vienna/ @catcomaprada

#karl polanyi #capitalism #Fascism

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merlinficreview · 7 years

Text

The Student Prince: Chapters 6-10 Review!

The Student Prince by FayJay

Word Count: 145222

Chapter 6

This chapter opens with Merlin bitching, “’I still can't believe I paid all that money for this stupid gown,’ muttered Merlin under his breath. Arthur reached over to clip him around the ear without breaking his stride, and Merlin ducked and avoided the blow reflexively, grinning.” I don’t blame him. I hated buying shit for school so much and let me tell you, as a nursing student, I had to buy A LOT. Also, wtf at that reaction, Arthur? Your poor friend is complaining about having to buy ceremonial robes he’s going to wear once and your reaction is to assault him? What?

“’You didn't,’ said Arthur. ‘The St Andrews-Camelot Scholarship Fund did. Along with the Prince's Trust. Which is to say, me. So stop whining.’” My point still stands.

“’Oh, come on – we look like a load of Santa-flavoured drag queens,’ Merlin protested, glancing around at the flock of students in their thick, strawberry-bright robes who were making their way towards St Salvator's chapel for mass.” Uh. “Santa-flavoured,” has to be one of the oddest descriptions ever. Why flavored? What does Santa taste like? Probably the souls of small children with the stench of cookie-binge guilt. Is Merlin licking these robes to know what flavor they are? So many questions.

So I’m not 100% sure what’s even going on with this scene because it mentions them walking to mass in these robes but they walk like 10 miles and there’s a cliff, so I have no idea what to picture.

“It's a stupid tradition. We walk all the way to the harbour, walk down to the end of the pier, climb up onto the second level, where there's no guard rail and the waves are crashing madly into the stonework, and walk back to the start of the pier – only this time we're walking on something the width of a cream cracker, like bloody tight-rope-walkers. With no guard rail.” Well that seems completely safe and not at all something the school has probably been sued for multiple times or anything when half their student body tumbles off the pier and dies. What even is the point? It’s a tradition. OK? Of what? Survival of the fittest?

“’Only for a few yards, then there's a whole lot of teeny tiny thin pathway twenty feet up above the stone and fifty feet up above the sea, and no guard rail.’ Gwen snorted. ‘Chicken.’ ‘I'm just saying it's completely pointless!’” Merlin is the only sane person around, damn.

“’Oh, shut up and tell me what colour underwear Prince Arthur's wearing, so I can imagine tearing it off with my teeth,’ she muttered into his ear, and he made an outraged noise.” Stop it, Gwen.

Merlin starts asking Gwen about Lance and when she’s going to hook with up with him and she’s so stupidly oblivious about it it’s embarrassing AND annoying. “’He's a nice guy,’ said Merlin, nudging Gwen. ‘So, are you playing hard to get, or what?’ ‘What?’ she stared up at him blankly. Merlin pulled a face. ‘Well - Lance, of course,’ he said, tilting his head and searching her eyes for signs of sarcasm. ‘He's potty about you. Obviously.’ Gwen laughed. ‘Oh, don't be daft!’ she said, punching his arm. ‘He's just being friendly! He's practically a monk!’”

Merlin tries to explain to his poor dim friend that Lance is into her, “’Don't, Merlin,’ she said, looking at him unhappily. ‘Please don't.’ He frowned. ‘But – I don't get it.’ He glanced over at Lance again, and sure enough the guy was gazing back at Gwen with his heart in his eyes. ‘What do you want, interpretive dance? Semaphore?’ ‘Well, asking me out on a date would be a great start,’ she said, tartly. ‘You know, something subtle and understated like that. But that's not going to happen, because blokes like him don't date girls like me, they date girls like Angelina Jolie.’ She swallowed. ‘Or Elaine.’ Merlin gaped. ‘Are you pulling my leg?’ ‘I wish you wouldn't do this,’ she said, looking away. ‘Can we talk about something else?’” Even though she’s dumb, I do have to agree with her, “Well, asking me out in a date would be a great start,” point.

Merlin randomly has a tantrum about being poor and hating all the rich people around him. Ok, Merlin. Do you, I guess.

Gwen tells Merlin the clubs she’s joined, “Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society, Rock Soc, Film Club, Wine Tasting, Canoeing, The Mountaineering Club and Touch Rugby," she recited, counting them off on her fingers.” I really just wanted to point out Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society. What? Is this a club dedicated to loving a specific type of cookie? Can we also appreciate how random all these are? None of them are even remotely related to each other. Spread your horizons, I guess, Gwen. I mean, she’ll have the time once she realizes her school doesn’t offer the program she wants to major in. Gwen has also joined Lance’s Professional Knight in Shining Armor group, but it’s a secret so she tells Merlin not to tell anyone.

Then Sophia starts making her way down the sketchy cliff ladder and her skirts start blowing away in the wind. Men are gross and make gross comments, etc., etc. Gawain says that she’s looking over at Arthur. “’What do you mean, in there? His Royal Hotness is in everywhere,’ said Kay, sounding petulant. ‘There's not a single female in this city between the ages of fifteen and a hundred and five that he couldn't have just for snapping his fingers, the jammy bugger.’” Just putting this quote in here because I fucking hate it when men refer to women as, “females.”

So Sophia falls off the Death Trap Ladder. Surprise, surprise, and Merlin stops time to save her. Merlin decides to make her weightless so he can catch her. He starts time again and she lands in his arms just as Arthur runs into them and they all fall down. As per usual, Arthur gets all the credit for Merlin saving someone. At least Arthur is not happy about it.

Merlin is suspicious that Sophia threw herself off the ladder on purpose. Gwen gets pissed because she’s stupid but Morgana and Morgause agree.

Chapter 7

Merlin has reached Arthur’s car and Sophia is protesting getting in. Not at all suspicious. “’I'm allergic,’ Sophia said, her eyes darting around the circle as if seeking a way out, wide eyed and trembling like a cornered rabbit. ‘To cars?’ said Kay, his incredulity clear in his voice. ‘No! To – uh – to air freshener,’ she said, pointing at the little green fir tree swinging from the rear view mirror. ‘I get a terrible reaction – it could send me into anaphylactic shock. Please don't make me.’” This made me laugh. What a terrible lie.

Merlin straight up asks her why she’s being so sketch, “’No,’ she said in her sweet, clear voice, burrowing closer into Gwen's arms. ‘There is nothing else I should tell you.’ She swallowed, and then said: ‘But I hate cars. They make me feel – trapped.’ ‘You're claustrophobic?’ said Gwen, sounding startled. ‘I had no idea! She frowned. ‘Okay, but – come on, Soph. You must have come to St Andrews by car, or by bus, because there's no train station, and you're not going to tell me you sailed in, or flew in!’” Wait… didn’t Merlin and Gwen get there by train?

Gwen, Lance and Sophia get in Arthur’s car and leave. Arthur doesn’t go with them which makes me laugh. Kay is a super asshole about women. No one is surprised. “‘Well, at least I get laid. Emrys is a pathetic little horndog who's just hoping for a pity fuck if he pretends to be a Sensitive New Age Guy,’ said Kay. ‘It's pitiful. Carpe the fucking diem, Emrys.’”

Honestly, what the fuck?

Arthur tells them that Merlin is gay, which shocks Merlin because he didn’t think Arthur knew about it. And also, what the fuck are you doing, Arthur? Don’t fucking out people like that. Kay continues to be the absolute worst, “An expression of distaste curled his lip. ‘My point stands, though – you can't be friends with people you want to fuck. So if he's an uphill gardener, he can't be friends with us.’”

I feel like we need to have another conversation about friends and how they reflect on you. I mentioned this in a previous review but whatever. Your friends are a reflection of who you are as a person. Arthur is friends with Kay who is obviously a sexist, entitled, homophobic asshole. You cannot be friends with that type of person without it saying something about you as a person and if I were Merlin, I would stay the fuck away from all of them.

“’I wouldn't want to fuck you if you had a ten inch knob made of solid gold and your arsehole was the gate to Nirvana, you massive pillock,’ said Merlin, red faced and furious. ‘I can't be friends with you because you're a gibbering twatwaffle, not because I would ever, in a million years, want to shag you. Get over yourself!’”

Tell him, Merlin!

Arthur tells Merlin that Sophia is beautiful and asks whether Merlin thinks he should send Sophia flowers or deliver them himself.

Chapter 8

Arthur wakes up at 6am to go running.

Weirdo.

When Merlin’s alarm goes off, it’s to “My Heart Will Go On,” which Arthur changed it to. Sure.

Merlin goes to visit Gaius and has a quick chat with the dragon about Sophia, asking him what she is. Of course the dragon gives him some nonsensical answer.

Anyways, Gaius and Merlin talk about Merlin’s high class fancy friends and Gaius mentions Morgause hating the royal family but liking Morgana. “Morgana is her cousin – oh, don't make me recount all this ancient history, Merlin. The intricacies of who hates whom and why are enough to make me tear out what remains of my hair and move to China. Suffice it to say that Morgause is loyal to a fault to Morgana, and tolerates Arthur, but she has - very marked opinions about the King.” Which is an odd thing to say because it was previously implied that Morgana and Morgause were kind of a thing. European Royalty, man.

Merlin is super impressive with his amazing magic skills so Gaius has to rewrite all their lesson plans for the whole year. Which is his own fault because Merlin’s previous teacher told Gaius how good Merlin was and Gaius didn’t believe her. Merlin sort of tells Gaius about the Sophia thing and Gaius gives Merlin some ideas about what she could be.

“Yes, Her Grace did mention something about mistrusting some young lady who went near Arthur. Although I have to say that having seen how much raw power you have at your command, I do find myself feeling rather reassured about the prince's safety. Of course the dragon's magic protects him when he's on the University grounds, but one can't limit his movements entirely.” Remember this for later. I have my reasons.

Then Gaius actually explains the whole dragon on the door thing, “’Ah – that picture on the doors is The Great Dragon.’ He pointed at his own red door with its gold painted dragon. ‘The last of the dragons. He lived and died millennia ago, but his spirit – his soul, if you will – is bound to the bones of the university. The stones of the School of Sorcery scattered across the globe are his living skeleton, in accordance with a mighty work of magic wrought during the Golden Age, and nobody can be attacked by magic within the bounds of the wyrm.’ Gaius sounded very much like he was quoting from some well-known text book that Merlin hadn't read.”

“…Either way, the buildings that hold the doors are all protected, so young Arthur is safe in most of the University buildings in St Andrews. We have rather a lot of dragon doors in that little town.” Remember this too. Reasons, etc.

So Merlin goes back to talking about Sophia and how she smelled like honeysuckle. This throws Gaius into quite a tizzy. “Gaius's face fell. ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘Oh. Oh dear me.’ ‘What?’ ‘I warned him! Don't do it, I said, but did he listen to me? Oh no, His Majesty always knows best. And now look where we are!’ ‘What?’ ‘You shouldn't go disturbing these things, I told him. We'll have to pay for it. And have I not had a crack team of fifteen wizards protecting the wretched man day and night ever since? So of course they'd go on to target his family – typical!’” You know what I fucking hate? When a character has to ask multiple fucking times for an explanation to something that the other character knows about. Just fucking tell him, damn. No need to go on and on and on about how you “told him so!” Good fucking job. So since I’m a nice fucking person, I’ll just tell you what happened. Uther stole from the fairies and they are pissed. No one is surprised, Uther is stupid, etc. End of story.

Then Gaius basically says, “LOL What a fiasco. Sophia is super dangerous, good luck with that, Merlin,” and offers him no help whatsoever. So Gaius is just as useless in this as in the show. Yup, I said it.

Merlin leaves and tries, unsuccessfully, to get the dragon to help him. “’How do you get rid of a fairy?’ he said. ‘I mean, I think she wants to kill Arthur, or maybe kidnap him or something – Gaius thinks she's out for revenge.’ ‘The Sidhe are immortal,’ said the dragon, studying its claws. ‘That's – not really the answer I was hoping for.’ ‘Such is life, young warlock.’” I hate these assholes.

Merlin asks why the dragon let himself be trapped in the walls or whatever. “The dragon tilted its head. ‘Because you promised that you would set me free,’ it said, and Merlin felt a chill run down his spine. ‘What?’ ‘When you bound me here. You promised that one day I would be free to fly again.’” You know, if you want Merlin to let you free, you might try being less of a major jackass and actually help him.

Just saying.

Chapter 9

Merlin decides the best approach to protecting Arthur is to stalk him. Not a great idea when half of Arthur’s friends are gross homophobes. “A quick glance around revealed plenty of pretty girls (and indeed not-so-pretty girls, and several boys, and at least one little lady old enough to be his grandmother who should definitely not have been looking at Arthur with such a frankly appreciative expression) casting languishing gazes in the prince's direction, but none of them looked like Gwen's roommate.” What is this elderly person doing on a college campus? Is she a professor? Is she lost? Someone better check on her.

“’Thought you might like to come for a coffee, or something,’ he added, randomly. ‘Looks like your pet chav has a little crush, Arthur,’ said Kay, with a curl of the lip. ‘Clearly he can't stand being parted from you for more than five minutes. He'll probably start dry-humping your leg in a minute.’”

See what I mean? What’s Arthur’s response? “’Give it a rest, Kay,’ said Arthur, frowning.” Oh, that’ll show him! It’s not like you’re the Prince of Wales or anything and can’t make him at least shut his fucking mouth around Merlin.

Then Merlin brings up Arthur invading his privacy, going through his things and changing his alarm without Merlin’s permission. “’I don't know why you tolerate him, Arthur,’ said Kay, rolling his eyes and setting off across the quad.”

Which… what? Someone push Kay in front of a fucking bus, honestly. Arthur is the one who fucked up here and Kay is blaming Merlin? Fuck you, Kay.

“’Oh – this is Leon, by the way. Leon – Merlin, my idiot roommate.’ Merlin nodded pleasantly at the latest Man In Black and tried not to feel insufficiently manly. ‘He was the one snoring when we left this morning.’ ‘I do not snore!’ said Merlin, scandalised. ‘Well then you did a very successful job of hiding some secret snorer in the bed with you.’” I’m only including this because it actually made me laugh out loud. Also, yay, Leon!

Later, Sophia and Gwen stop by Merlin and Arthur’s dorm. Sophia is clearly up to no good. “Merlin watched the two of them unhappily and felt a little shock of horror when he saw Arthur's eyes flash suddenly blood-red too. He really didn't need a book of magic or the advice of an immortal dragon to tell him that that was A Bad Thing.” First of all, duh. Second of all, oh look! Reasons has shown up! Remember how nothing could hurt Arthur while the dragon was around? What a liar.

The girls invite the boys out for a drink and Merlin is flipping his shit because the bar is not a building protected by the dragon to which I say: whatever, Merlin. She’s already put Arthur under a spell so I don’t know what you were expecting. She’s not going to whip out a machete and chop his head off in the middle of the bar. I would read that fic though.

At the bar, Gwen tells Merlin to stop being so obviously upset about Sophia and Arthur and she shockingly makes a good point when Merlin says he just doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, “’Oh,’ she said. ‘Well – right. But that happens, doesn't it? In life? And in relationships? I mean – it's all about sticking your neck out in the knowledge that some bastard might want to chop your head off, and just hoping and trusting that they won't.’”

“Fairy assassins who were immortal, and pissed off. And even if they weren't immortal, Merlin had never willingly killed so much as a spider, even when his mother was screaming and pointing and flapping her hands in misery. He'd always been more of a catch-the-spider-in-a-glass-and-set-it-free kind of guy. Progressing from that to even considering killing a living, breathing, thinking person – well, that wasn't a step that Merlin felt at all comfortable taking.” Clearly you’ve never seen your own BBC show, Merlin.

Merlin gets Sophia to go outside with him for a chat. She knows he’s a wizard and makes no secret of her desire to murder Arthur. I just feel like murder is a slight overreaction to some stolen gold, but you do you, Sidhe.

Merlin and Sophia make a deal and she gives him one day to give her the gold back. Then she basically tells him that he and everyone else are living in an endless cycle of reincarnation. Merlin is stupidly obtuse.

Chapter 10

Merlin goes to visit his BFF, Dragon MacUseless, “’Did you kill her?’ it asked, tilting its head and regarding him with dispassionate interest. ‘No!’ he exclaimed. ‘I'm not a murderer! I'm a physics student, for God's sakes! I don't go around killing people!’ The dragon yawned. ‘You used to be more pragmatic,’ it told him. ‘I expect you will be again.’” That’s what I said!

Merlin asks MacUseless if he should ask Nimueh or Gaius for help stealing the fairy gold, “’There is little enough love lost between Uther and Nimueh,’ the dragon said. ‘He blames her still for Igraine's death, while she holds him responsible in her turn.’ ‘Woah – come again?’ ‘Nimueh was part of the late queen's guard detail. She was supposed to keep Igraine safe. She failed.’” No pressure, Merlin!

“So the Royal Family do use wizard bodyguards, then? It's not just Morgana?” I don’t know why you’re acting like this is brand new information, Merlin. Gaius told you this was literally your job to Arthur.

The next scene takes place in the breakfast hall. AFTER Merlin has carried out stealing the gold. UGH. Major pet peeve alert, show us, don’t tell us!

Gaius confronts Merlin is the MOST infuriating way possible, “Stop! Stop right there – I really have no wish to hear you expound upon either Mathematics or Philosophy, Merlin. Just take the compliment, and let's leave it at that. You managed to keep the Prince of Wales safe and sound, but you did also give away a priceless treasure trove of ancient gold artifacts, and you made the King very cross indeed, and wore my patience very thin. So – you're not looking at life imprisonment in the Tower of London, but neither are you top of my list of favourite people right now. Don't push your luck by rambling on at me about Maths or Philosophy. And, Merlin?”

WHAT? WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO? It’s not like you were willing to help him or give him other ideas. Get the fuck out of here with that absolute NONSENSE, Gaius.

Later, Gwen asks Merlin if he got rid of Sophia. Which, even though is technically true, is a ridiculous thing to blame him for given the information Gwen has about the situation. Gwen says it’s weird and I say, you now have your own room! Congrats!

“Gwen shook her head unhappily. ‘The Warden isn't worried – he said that she had to leave. Something about a family emergency, or something like that. He was weirdly hazy on the details, but he seemed completely calm about it all – like it's something that just happens.’” Ok, if the warden had already told you this, then why the fuck are you blaming Merlin? And yes, it is something that just happens. You can’t schedule your family emergencies during summer break, Gwen. Stop being stupid.

“And as if the mere presence of Arthur Pendragon, resolutely heterosexual star of at least half of Merlin's teenage wank fantasies, wasn't distraction enough, Merlin also found himself called upon, in the weeks after he'd successfully negotiated a peaceful settlement with the Sidhe's assassin of choice, to protect Arthur from an over-amorous Selkie, two vampires, a small flock of ghouls, a gargoyle, and the ghost of Patrick Hamilton, who had been martyred in front of Sallies Quad.” Remember how nothing bad could happen to Arthur at school? This is some like Dumbledore level of “protection.”

So that’s it for this post. It’s starting to pick up now that we’ve got the introductory chapters out of the way, which is good. I get annoyed every time I read this fic about how we don’t actually get to see Merlin’s great gold caper. I am also getting increasingly annoyed at Gwen’s stupidity. I get that the author was going for a, “both characters are oblivious for their attraction to each other/ will they won’t they,” sort of thing but sacrificing Gwen’s intelligence for it is not a good look. Gwen is also really obtuse about other things that it almost makes me think the author is making her stupid on purpose. I also hate Kay. So. Much. LOL at the dragon’s, worthless “protection.” He literally does nothing to help protect Arthur. Other than that, it’s been an enjoyable five chapters.

Until Next Time:

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin fic #review #The Student Prince #Gwen and Lance are stupid #To the point where I just roll my eyes any time either of them opens their mouth #Especially Gwen #Dragon's protection is a lie #Gaius is worthless #Poor Merlin getting stuck with all these idiot assholes #Pray for Merlin #Where is Will #I know wrong fic but WIll needs to come and straighten out Kay

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