#Apt Pupil

[johannestevans]

the thing about homophobic violence in stephen king's work is that like. he really has a good understanding of what drives a lot of homophobic violence, in that it's a desire for power and domination, and is often motivated by insecurity

esp bc like. i think he's quite good at understanding that like, out of 5 guys in a group doing a hate crime, most of them are bigoted and are either angry or want to show their power, but 1 of them might be doing it to mask his desire for their victim

idk like. i'm p sure king has talked about how the homoerotic vibes of richie and eddie aren't necessarily intentional in the original book, but obvs diff adaptations and responses over time has influenced how he feels about that reading of the text

and particularly in the storm of the century like. the detail specifically that it's the gay dude's hair that triggers the main homophobic dude's attraction to him, and therefore his desire to instigate violence against him?

and idk i'm watching apt pupil now, which is obviously adapted by bryan singer, and i think it's interesting as a jewish guy for him to focus on the themes of sexual violence, gratification through power, and internalised homophobia

esp as someone who like. is himself a violent sexual predator and has particularly sexually exploited children for so long, it makes sense that he'd identify with and focus on the idea of like. the fraught sexual dynamics between them

the fact that both denker's character and todd's are both gratified by and attracted to violence, but the fact that todd himself like. seeks out power over this man, and rather than in the short story like. his lack of attraction to his gf isn't bc she's jewish or bc he's violent

but is instead implied to be by the narrative and by her own dialogue that like. he's not actually attracted to women at all, and his fixation on denker's crimes and on nazism in general are a way to obfuscate his desire for men

and denker himself is obvs like. cognizant of that - w the gay dude he invites into his home who reads him as gay, but also just thinking of the physical intimacy between the two, the way he leans over and reaches past todd, small touches, etc

and esp the fact that the end of this film is about like. todd attempting to deny everything he's done and start over with a "clean slate", and particularly accusing french of grooming him, paralleling denker's turning of the tables on him earlier

noteworthy particularly that like. french as a jewish guidance counsellor, the way that ppl do associate jewish traits & emasculated jewish men w perpetration of sexual violence, and that todd turning the exploitation on him is gonna be influenced by his own nazi ideology

that doesn't need to be explicitly laid out for it to be true, that his desire for power & his confidence in stating things that aren't true and knowing he'll be believed - knowing it doesn't matter if he ISN'T, bc the damage to his reputation will be real - being just.

straight out of the fascist playbook, the nazi focus on controlling narratives and the flow of information, damaging reputation, etc

and the fixation on appearance of success over anything else being attached to the secreted violence

it's a strange watch today just knowing that like. bryan singer now lives in israel bc the state of israel has established itself as a safe haven for a lot of sexual predators, and knowing that he's sexually exploited so many young boys

and while i don't think he's talked about it, like. one would assume his sexual exploitation and his shamelessness in it are at least in part bc of ways he was exploited as a boy himself, and how that influences his ideas of like. this sort of power exploitation narrative

idk. fucked up! much to think about!

apt pupil adapted by singer is ultimately a narrative about like, a teenage boy's burgeoning obsessive kink and sexual domination over an older man, and obvs that makes sense as like. singer's own fantasy

but also the fact that like. singer obvs has a more sophisticated understanding of the implicit sexuality of a lot of this forced and coercive intimacy and violence - and also the fact that like. a young man like todd being So Successful is like

in part going to be attached to his focus on and obsession with nazi ideology, esp in the 1990s, SO LONG AS he keeps it subversive and doesn't say the quiet part out loud, as evidenced by rich family and how they're just cool w denker potentially being a nazi

like the grandfather asks, is obviously suspicious, but then is basically cool with it

and tbh the fact that like. his parents are basically cool with him going along and being groomed by this old man so long as it's not Obvious why and doesn't damage their reputation

bc the Nazism and white supremacist ideology embedded in WASP society is all about like. Appearances and deniability - child sexual abuse and antisemitism are both perfectly acceptable so long as no one KNOWS that's what you're involved in

[duranduratulsa]

90's Fest Child Actor of the day: Brad Renfro #bradrenfro #RIPBradRenfro #TheClient #thecure #sleepers #tomandhuck #aptpupil #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[texaschainsawmascara]

Brad Renfro, my love 1982-2008

[nellarw95]

Happy Heavenly Birthday Brad 🎂💔

Brad Barron Renfro 🤍

July 25,1982 - January 15,2008🙏🏻

We Miss You So Much 🕊️♾️

Buon Compleanno in Paradiso 🎂💔

25 Luglio 1982 - 15 Luglio 2008🙏🏻

Ci Manchi Moltissimo 🕊️♾️

[the-red-butterfly]

To Feel Normal Again

Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption)

We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy - he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer. You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or, maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

I drew Andy again for another book review, even when it had nothing to do with Shawshank Redemption XD Because I just like him that much and I hated everyone in the book I was reviewing. It was Apt Pupil btw.

You can come and watch draw this piece in the video. Even if you've never read it or don't like it, you can join me and enjoy how absolutely done with everyone I am 😂

-> Apt Pupil // Book Review + art // Different Seasons <-

.

Open for Commissions

[filmjunky-99]

a p t p u p i l, 1998 🎬 dir. bryan singer brad renfro

[megatronchok]

I'm too lazy to finish painting.. 😭

[wishbowl]

Apt Pupil

S. KING

About This story is about Todd who is a 14-year-old boy who researches on this war criminal and drops us into the story right as the boy goes to confront the man. They spend a lot of time together during what Todd told his parents as ‘reading to my dank’ were spent with him demanding damning war stories from the ‘former’ nazi which over time bleeds into more and more problems and at least a dozen murders committed between the two.

Review This was a very quick read and I finished it in less than 2 days while doing my daily shit. Although the book was short, much like most Stephen King novels it was so good and in the end everything sort of pieced itself together in a really chaotic way. This book looks at the war experiences in concentration camps through a fucked up lens ive never thought to look at before and as you get more and more through the book the true meaning of the books name start to make more and more sense. One part i love about reading through the point of view of a really fucked up character [or in this case two really fucked up characters] is that i love to watch all their cards fall down and crash and burn and stephen king always finds a creative way to make that be their fate.

[shesaidshecouldsoshedid]

[lonelyreadingcorner]

9th October 2023

Finished reading Apt Pupil by Stephen King today. I grew up quite the history nerd which is why I'm giving this 4 stars, but the ending felt like walking *bam* straight into a brick wall out of nowhere. What do you mean there isn't more??

But yeah, this story is hella fucked up but if you're a history nerd and like a bit of gore then this is definitely up your alley

[splatteronmywalls]

[the-final-sentence]

It was five hours later and almost dark before they took him down.

Stephen King, from Apt Pupil

[texaschainsawmascara]

Brad Renfro

[the-red-butterfly]

Apt Pupil ll Book review and art

I JUST REALIZED I NEVER SHARED THE REST OF MY VIDEO REVIEWS FOR DIFFERENT SEASONS. AH. So, here I go!

I reviewed Apt Pupil, and I had such strong feelings about it that I did art for Shwashank Redemption again (for the movie this time) because good lord I hate everyone in Apt Pupil 😎

So I hope you enjoy me drawing Andy Dufresne instead hehe ✨

Link to the finished art: To Feel Normal Again

[filmjunky-99]

a p t p u p i l, 1998 🎬 dir. bryan singer brad renfro