#ESSEY

[drogatadiapifrizzole]

Amy and laurie, an essey

At the beginning of this year I fell into a deep black hole: little women.

After reading the first and second books in the space of a second, I also hurriedly caught up with all the adaptations I could find (the two most recent movies AND the TV series--I liked them, but amy and laurie are NOT really them).

Of little women I loved: amy and laurie. the way they live their relationship and transform and are so… perfect… it's so beautiful. THE BOOK MAKES IT ALL MAGICAL.

So, I present to you my thesis (41 slides, quotes, chapters, colors): amy and laurie, a love that can change the world. Because I truly believe that Amy and Laurie are endgame.

Have a good time! :)

[tolkiens-middleearth]

“What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?”

Why Galadriel can't just sail into the West

Galadriel's history is one of the most difficult of Tolkie's stories to figure out, because Tolkien experimented with a few different versions of her story later in his life. But I will appraoch this topic with the desire to see some overall working narrative and characterisation, and therefore only consider texts that work with the published canon.

Galadriel is a fascinating character – in the texts she is both a promintend figure and neglected at the same time. In Tolkien's world, she is both the most powerful Elf that we meet in The Lord of the Rings, and at the same time she is an outcast until, banned from sailing to Valinor when the Hobbits meet her.

Galadriel doen't get as much characterisation as someone like Frodo or Gandalf, yet we learn of a few defining traits that are central to her story in Middle-earth.

“Here I am mightier”

“I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! it was brought within my grasp.”

Amibition is one of the these central traits, and it is mentioned in almost every text related to Galadriel's departure from Valinor. Galadriel wants to rule lands on her own and has desired the One Ring by her own admition. Whenever I think of Frodo offering her the One Ring I fall in love with this moment again because of how honest it is and how clear we can see Galadriel here.

She has been like that since she first left Valinor, and it is an integral part of her story that only ends at the end of the Third Age.

“After the overthrow of Morgoth at the end of the First Age a ban was set upon her return, and she had replied proudly that she had no wish to do so.”

Together with her ambition, pride is also essential to her character. Galadriel as one of the leaders of the rebellion against the Valar has to ask for pardon of the Valar, or at least accept it in order to be allowed back into Valinor.

That is consistant with what Finarfin did when he turned around, and it fits with the idea that the Noldor, manipulated by Melkor's lies, resented the sovereignty of Manwë in Valinor. The kingship of the Valar in Arda is another issue altogether, but nonetheless it exists and if Galadriel would want to return to the West, she Galadriel would have to accept a certain degree of "tutelage" by the Valar.

But it's not the only reason why Galadriel is held back by pride: she also resents that she may have to live on Tol Eressëa instead of Aman, since she originally lived there and Tol Eressëa “seemed only a ‘second best’”.

“But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?”

All ambition and all pride did not change the fact that over time her desire to return increased and that she seemed to have regretted either leaving at all, or refusing the pardon when it was offered.

I can imagine that in the Second Age Celeborn and a new born Celebrían were also very good reasons not to sail West (since Celeborn did not wish to go), but at the end of the Third Age Valinor seems to be on Galadriel's mind a lot: in The Lord of the Rings she sings not one but two songs about it.

“Wise the Lady Galadriel may be”

“‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’”

Galadriel's ambition has lead her to a dangerous temptation, but throughout her history her wisdom has always proven stronger: while her cousins and brothers have built realms in Beleriand, Galadriel's focus has been on learning from Melian. In the Second Age, Annatar tries to manipulate Galadriel as well – and is rejected by her. But it's not hard to imagine that there was a huge temptation: if she had accepted, maybe the rule of Eregion would have fallen to her instead of Celebrimbor. In the Third Age, she gets as close as she'll ever be to the title of a queen when she and Celeborn become the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien. But even here, wisdom holds them back from calling themselves King and Queen of a mostly Sindarin and Nandorin population.

The end of the Third Age brings the final and the most important test: Galadriel's rejection of the One Ring is essential for the ban to be lifted. It is Galadriel realising that this kind of power that she desires would come at a price that she is not willing to pay. It must have lead to the consequent realisation that she could have had the power she desired and that she has rejected it – and that if she is not willing to do everything for her ambition she might as well let go of it altogether.

Giving up her ambition for power and her dreams of ruling realms then opens the door for her return into the West. It allows her to accept to "diminish" (she still has to work on her attitude) and to ask for and accept the pardon of the Valar.

This is the core of Galadriel's character journey. Sailing West is the fullfilment of a long held dream that Galadriel out of ambition and pride did not allow herself to have for a long time. Rejecting the temptation of power once and for all opened the doors for her to fullfil her long held desire to finally go home.

[paleclownchick]

I find extremely interesting the contrasting meanings of word passion. Passion can be uderstended as a torment. However it can be also meant as a lust or a pleasure.

I believe that art has proven that the lines between those two meanings are blurring. And as we know, art reflects the life.

As a example I would like to take the famous sculpture “Ecstasy or Saint Teresa” This art piece shows us the moment of a woman being struck with a spear. Her tormentor is supposed to by an angle. The women is expected to be in a lot of pain as, after all, this is a Martyrdom scene.

However on her face I do not see an expression of suffering. I see a expression of pleasure. Almost like she is melting from it.

Many interpreted an act of puncturing Saints Theresa’s chest as a sexual one.

In my opinion this particular sculpture shows us the idealistic fulfillment that a woman reaches by being touched (hurt) by sacred power.

So can passion mean pleasure and suffering at the same time? I think it can. If I would live my whole life on a idealistic level and dedicate all of it to experiencing, feeling the most I can…I would gladly agree for it to be truth. But most of the times I’m a ordinary girl. The pain scares me. I just want to feel the pleasure. Well…at least most of the time.

[hidemiwoods]

My NEW Kindle Book is NOW available for pre-order!

Country Life in Japan: Living in the Rural Snowy Town by Hidemi Woods Country Life in Japan: Living in the Rural Snowy Town

[tommyb-productions]

Critical Definition: Heritage Film

A Heritage film, or Period Drama or Costume Drama is a popular genre of British film and TV, which is distinctly set in the past, usually around the 19th century into the 20th century. The main characters tend to be landowning, wealthy, and upper-class, the plots usually are around who will marry who with younger characters, and ‘trouble in paradise’ stories for older characters. While these are only examples of the plots that tend to be present the writer does not have to limit themself to these. A sizable portion of Heritage films tend to be based on books of the time, for example, Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice,1813), Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights,1847), Agatha Christie (various Poirot books) and Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol 1843). With the first two examples above their adaptations are very much in line with the upper-class characters and themes. Christie’s books fit into a different category but they are still set in the early 20th century with the character often being in the upper class but also incorporating classist themes at points. Dickins, however, is at the other end of the spectrum, his character still tends to be upper class but he is highly critical of them in his writings.

The genre was born in the early days of cinema and has been made by various people of non-British descent. “This venerable transnational history can be traced through the Hungarian Korda brothers’ 1930s – 1940s productions at Denham” (Monk, 2011 Page 2). The genre would keep at a somewhat steady level until the 1980s when films of this nature began to be critiqued due to the changing political climate with Margret Thatcher's more conservative government. Heritage films tend to focus on the upper classes of British polite society and their dramatic lives, the house servants being very minor characters in the narratives. The critiques were generally from the political left about how the films promote an idea of tradition and ‘heritage’ to a small group of the population.

This led to heritage films of the 1990s into the 2000s being more critical of the upper classes and their beliefs giving the servant characters more of their agency within the stories. Around the 2010’s there was almost a relapse in heritage film, “also in the light of the recent global interest in British costume productions, such as the award-winning costume series Downton Abbey” (Caoduro, Screen Vol. 54 Issue 2 2013). Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and its film (2018) and the sequel A New Age (2022) have in a way become the heritage series of the modern day, even influencing British law with the Equality Titles Bill, nicknamed the ‘downtown law’. 

Sources:

Caoduro, E. (2013) “Heritage Film: Nation, Genre and Representation Figuring the Past: Period Film and the Mannerist Aesthetic,” SCREEN -LONDON-, 54(2), pp. 290–293.

Monk, C. (2011) Heritage film audiences : period films and contemporary audiences in the uk. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. (Accessed: November 6, 2023).

Higson, A. (2003) English heritage, english cinema : costume drama since 1980. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vidal Belén (2012) Heritage film : nation, genre and representation. London: Wallflower (Short cuts, 49).

[modnisleva]

essey

https://www.modnisleva.cz/letak/essey/

essey

[somebritishlemon]

what all this talk of AO3

like why we talkin so much about historical context and writers intent

[whyamiherepleasehelp]

help me with a dilema

i have a creative writings project to write for nex week on the topic off the schooling system. I read some of the others esseys and they are all deffending the system and the teachers. Im not gonna do that. Im just haveing trouble deciding how ill rant about it.

My 1st idea was a bit dark. I wanted to write a $uicide letter addresed to a profesor. Bit my mum is going to have to read that. And so will my profesor. They might have some conserns.

My second option is far less serius ( posibly not serius enough) but it would je a horror short story about zombie students chasing profesors around the school.

Help

[kanekohideshi-tyomag]

#tyo_mag #トーキョーマガジン #編集記 #nowar 「同じ常識とはいえ、穴ぼこのある道は、道とはいえない、という常識と、穴ぼこのあるのがあたりまえ、という常識とは何という違いでしょう。おそらく、この差は三十年、五十年というような小さな差ではないと思うのです。 いくら日本が貧乏だといっても、道を造れないほど貧乏なわけはありません。予算がない、計画性がない、技術者の不足、お役所仕事などといってみるより先に、煎じつめればわれわれの無関心が悪い道を造っているのだ、という事実を再認識すべきではないでしょうか。 だから、われわれは、まず、折あるごとに不満を述べあい、議論をたたかわし、役所に苦情の電話をし、新聞や雑誌にすぐれた記事を発見した場合には、手紙を書いて、激励しようではありませんか。 その効果はあまりにも小さく、前途は気の遠くなるほど遥かです。しかし、これが、誰にでもできる唯一の道造りではないでしょうか。」 #伊丹十三 #juzoitami #ヨーロッパ退屈日記 #言葉 #コトバ #word #言葉の力 #本 #book #エッセイ #essey #日記 #diary #真理 #truth #今日の言葉 #東京 #tokyo https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnroc43S94_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[jesuscrab]

i think some of you pepole need to think about what you are saying

[spotsupstuff]

pretty caption: there is a research paper on the subject of the beauty gifted to an avatar of an impossible machine. the moral question of why it was given in the first place, "what use there is for it? what use do eye candies serve in our belief system specifically? should we shun them? do the machines themselves appreciate it?". it's somewhere out there and i fucking know it n i want to read it

truthful caption: YO THERE'S ROBOTFUCKERS IN THIS FANDOM I DIDN'T KNOW THAT

[marblecakemix]

hey, about your blog intro you said that you don't hate trans people but you hate their ideology, do you mind explaining what you mean?

Not at all! It came out kinda long, I hope you don't mind.

The first thing I hate the most about gender ideology is "trans kids". I'm strongly against stuffing children with hormones that their young and still developing bodies do not need. I believe that children cannot give consent to irreversible hormonal therapy and surgeries. Especially when hormones have a huge impact on their mental and physical development (just look at how different levels of estrogen in a woman's body change how she acts). A lot of adults aren't sure about transitioning and sometimes regret parts of it, how can a child make such a difficult and life-altering decision? There are safer and healthier ways of testing the waters (that should last at least 2 years to be sure), like changing the style of clothes, using different pronouns and assimilating more with the opposite sex. Why is that not the first thing recommended to those kids?

And to the people who deny any of that happening. Today at the mall I saw a 14/15 y/o girl on testosterone (I and my friend could tell by how uncharacteristically low her voice was). She clearly was not doing well, she had that empty look in her eyes (speaking from experience). She was maybe a head smaller than me (I'm 155cm/5'1) and she'll most likely never grow taller and will probably end up obese, because of taking testosterone so early. In my country gay marriage is illegal, but you are free to butcher a child's natural growth with hormones? That does not seem right.

The second thing is how transness is presented nowadays. You don't need to have gender dysphoria (even though it's the first thing you would need to be diagnosed with a decade ago to transition which was the essential thing in transsexualism)! You don't even have to want to change at all! Now all you need to do is to check the criteria of "feeling trans/like different gender" which is deeply rooted in sexism and operates on stereotypes. What does "feeling like a woman" mean? Women-feelers want to wear all pink, revealing clothing, have big bouncy boobs, act stupid, and be annoying? That sounds pretty sexist to me. Same with "feeling like a man". A man is not someone who likes bears, fishing, and cars, we all know that. You can't feel like a man/woman, because sex is not based on feelings, interests, and personality which the opposite is one of the fundamentals of being trans according to gender ideology. The most harmful thing I see that comes out of it is women (usually identifying as non-binary) say things like, I don't feel like a woman, because I have a complex personality and can think on a higher level than a toddler. That's sexism all throughout that gender ideology supports wholeheartedly.

Another thing is borderline occultic behaviors I see in gender ideology believers. They pray on the young and vulnerable and tell them that the irreversible change to their body will fix all their problems (that have usually nothing to do with gender dysphoria). The activity discourages people from looking into research on topics that questions the ideology and show the negative side of it. They vandalize, attack, and kill people who are against their ideology. They expect that their minority rights will have more power than 99% of the world's population. They usually are only or mostly friends with themselves. They advocate for children to be taken away from their families just because the family is questioning their child's behavior. Straight-up lying about statistics and research results like how the newest research says that people who transition are more likely to take their own lives than before transitioning and I don't think you'll ever hear about that from gender ideologist. There's a lot more, but I can't think of another example now.

Those are the main reasons why I hate gender ideology. I hope that this answers your question. If you want to ask about anything more specific, go ahead!

[koszmarnybudyn]

Doodler's persona that i am totally not obsessing over it, and projecting onto them totally :) no im not lying why would you say that?

Anyway the doodler is the autistic teen experiance and i can prove it.

Found the artist this was inspired by :) @mikeystrawberry

[sonia-kate]

I didn't see it here so I'll bring it up

Ah, yes

The elbow

Meanwhile Racules' fangirls tools (me included)

Seriously, though, kinda sucks. F in the chat, please

[angrygreengxrl]

Silco was a good dad, silco was a bad dad...

Ma'am, he was human. And those aren't perfect. Far from a dad of the year award. He was very flawed and made a lot of mistakes in rising Jinx, the biggest one was weaponizing her anger and confusion. He allowed her to lash out and wreck everything... Encourage her to build a bomb (wtf dude????)

But he made her feel loved and understood.

Here is how I very personally see those family relationships in Arcane. My father is very much Vander type, also built like him, the man of muscle, a big and strong person. He bonds really well with my brother bc they have things in common, they are very much alike and understand each other well. Like Vander and Vi. But I was born a petit girl. Skinny, bony, not into sports, muscle and being big. Into some artsy stuff that aren't interesting like a football game. And we never had anything incommon. Just like Powder and Vander don't. Vander doesn't understand Powder/Jinx. She doesn't feel valuable, she doesn't feel enough since in her family, what matters is strength of your hands, being big, brave, being like a lion not a mouse.

Here is why I and probably a lot of girls out there love character of Silco so much. He UNDERSTANDS. He listens, empathysies and shows that he understands. And for some people, all they ever wanted was to be seen and understood.

Funny but he always reminded me of my mom. Not in the weird creepy way that he is as a villain. In a way that he is skinny and calm, he doesn't scream much, but he patiently explains or gives his point of view. He shows understanding and supports his daughter, wants her to be stronger, no more afraid, no more helpless in the brutal world. He makes Jinx feel seen, appreciated and loved. He seems cold and strict but clearly cares about Jinx a lot and SHOWS that. And they TALK with one another, sorting out the problem. Did Vander talked to Jinx? No, he took Vi for a private conversation, and that's great, very natural, but he was never shows sitting with Jinx for a moment to check how she feels and to tell that her invetions will work some day, and that it's not the end of the world if it didn't work today. And it doesn't seem like something he would do. But Silco knows how it feels to live in the shadow of people bigger then you, how it feels to never be first, or having to listen to people who rise their voice or scream to make their argument or point of view matter more.

And having to choose who I would rather have as a father... Perhaps Vander would be healthier, if you are like Vi or Clogger. But I would rather feel loved and understood. Or at last seen.

[modnisleva]

essey

https://www.modnisleva.cz/letak/essey/

essey