#II spartacus II general | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

same-film-different-chapter · 3 years

Text

AFI Top 100:

A Couple of years ago I was perusing the AFI Top 100 Films of All-Time list as well as the 10 Years Later version of the list. There are few differences between the two so I decided to combine the two lists into one and try to watch them. I’ve taken inventory of movies on the combined list and boldened all of the films that I have already seen for certain and this is that list:

1) Citizen Kane (1941)

2) Casablanca (1942)

3) The Godfather (1972)

4) Gone with the Wind (1939)

5) Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

6) The Wizard of Oz (1939)

7) The Graduate (1967)

8) On the Waterfront (1954)

9) Schindler’s List (1993)

10) Singin’ in the Rain (1952

11) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

12) Sunset Boulevard (1950)

13) The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957)

14) Some Like it Hot (1959)

15) Star Wars (1977)

16) All About Eve (1950)

17) The African Queen (1951)

18) Psycho (1960)

19) Chinatown (1974)

20) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

21) The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

22) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

23) The Maltese Falcon (1941)

24) Raging Bull (1980)

25) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

26) Dr. Strangelove (1964)

27) Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

28) Apocalypse Now (1979)

29) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

30) Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

31) Annie Hall (1977)

32) The Godfather Part II (1974)

33) High Noon (1952)

34) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

35) It Happened One Night (1934)

36) Midnight Cowboy (1962)

37) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

38) Double Indemnity (1944)

39) Doctor Zhivago (1965)

40) North by Northwest (1959)

41) West Side Story (1961)

42) Rear Window (1954)

43) King Kong (1933)

44) The Birth of a Nation (1915)

45) A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

46) A Clockwork Orange (1971)

47) Taxi Driver (1976)

48) Jaws (1975)

49) Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

50) Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969)

51) The Philadelphia Story (1940)

52) From Here to Eternity (1953)

53) Amadeus (1984)

54) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

55) The Sound of Music (1965)

56) M*A*S*H (1970)

57) The Third Man (1949)

58) Fantasia (1940)

59) Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

60) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

61) Vertigo (1958)

62) Tootsie (1982)

63) Stagecoach (1939)

64) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

65) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

66) Network (1976)

67) The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

68) An American in Paris (1951)

69) Shane (1953)

70) The French Connection (1971)

71) Forrest Gump (1994)

72) Ben-Hur (1959)

73) Wuthering Heights (1939)

74) The Gold Rush (1925)

75) Dances with Wolves (1990)

76) City Lights (1931)

77) American Graffiti (1977)

78) Rocky (1976)

79) The Deer Hunter (1978)

80) The Wild Bunch (1969)

81) Modern Times (1936)

82) Giant (1956)

83) Platoon (1986)

84) Fargo (1996)

85) Duck Soup (1933)

86) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

87) Frankenstein (1931)

88) Easy Rider (1969)

89) Patton (1970)

90) The Jazz Singer (1927)

91) My Fair Lady (1964)

92) A Place in the Sun (1951)

93) The Apartment (1960)

94) Goodfellas (1990)

95) Pulp Fiction (1994)

96) The Searchers (1956)

97) Bringing up Baby (1938)

98) Unforgiven (1992)

99) Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

100) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

101) The General (1927)

102) Intolerance (1916)

103) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

104) Nashville (1975)

105) Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

106) Cabaret (1972)

107) Saving Private Ryan (1998)

108) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

109) In the Heat of the Night (1967)

110) All the President’s Men (1976)

111) Spartacus (1960)

112) Sunrise (1927)

113) Titanic (1997)

114) A Night at the Opera (1935)

115) 12 Angry Men (1957)

116) The Sixth Sense (1999)

117) Swing Time (1936)

118) Sophie’s Choice (1982)

119) The Last Picture Show (1971)

120) Do the Right Thing (1989)

121) Blade Runner (1982)

122) Toy Story (1995)

#Film #AFI #Top 100 Films #Film Studies #Classic Films #Modern Films #Filmmaking #Film Student #Filmmaker

84 notes · View notes

inky-duchess · 4 years

Text

History Bites: Coolest Battles Part 1

In History Bites, I pick the best moments of history and the antics historical figures in order to give you inspiration for your WIP. Think of History Bites like prompts, only juicer and 90% accurate (results may vary).

So in this History Bites we explore battles which could act as great inspiration for your WIPs. All of these battles are steeped in drama and blood. Let your battles commence.

The Battle of Carrhae 53BC was brought forward by many driving factors no more so than the Roman Statesman Crassus. Crassus was part of the Triumvirate and the richest man in the world. Crassus felt rather at a loss compared to his allies Pompey and Caesar who were military geniuses and his famous victory over Spartacus had been years prior. Eager to show his power, he funded and led the invasion of Parthia, Rome's largest enemy in the east. Crassus entered Parthia unchallenged, increasing his confidence as he march forward. The Parthians were not far behind, appearing before the Romans with such speed that the Romans were taken unawares. Crassus's generals recommended they get into the usual formation (infantry at the centre with cavalry on the wings) but Crassus decided to have the men form a hollow square, twelve cohorts by twelve cohorts which would protect them from being out flanked. The Roman forces march forward to get better ground by a nearby stream, where the generals advised Crassus to wait until morning to attack but Crassus's son, Publius advised they attack then and there. The Parthians played mind games with the Romans, pounding drums to unnerve them and marched with their armour covered with cloth to lull the Romans into confidence... Before revealing the steel to Romans (perhaps the first wig reveal?). The Parthians sent their mounted archers to surround the Romans, which Crassus's calvary tried to defend against but failed to do. The Parthians smashed into the legionnaires firing at them. The Romans were lucky with their large square shields and top of the range armour but the arrows still found their marks though many wounds were non fatal. The Romans quickly tried to advance to combat the range of the archers in their famous turtle formation (shields surrounding them) but they were slowed by this and the Parthians charged, tearing them to pieces. The Romans panicked and broke leading to numerous casualties. Hoping to survive until the Parthians ran out of arrows, Crassus sent his son Publius to attack the Parthian mounted archers to give the legions more breathing space. But the Parthians faced him off and separated him from his father's army, slaughtering his men. Publius did the Roman thing and killed himself rather than be taken prisoner. Crassus did not know this and ordered an advance to save his son but on his arrival he was greeted with the head if Publius set on a spear. Filled with grief, Crassys ordered a retreat. The Romans stumbled into the minor village of Carrhae to rest but the Parthians were not far behind. The Romans left their 4000 wounded behind, leaving them to be slaughtered by the Parthians. In the darkness, cohorts began to go missing as the Parthians harried the Roman army as they retreated. In the morning, the Parthians had had enough fun and offered the Romans a truce. Crassus accepted though he did not wish to meet the Parthians face to face. Crassus gave in and met the Parthians who generously offered him a horse finely arrayed with gilded tack. Crassus wanted to refuse but in the nature of truce he agreed. The Parthians led him up and down their lines so the Parthians could see him defeated and broken. Then the slaughter began. Allegedly, the Parthians wanted to make a joke of Crassus's wealth and poured molted gold down his throat after his death. The remaining legions were captured or killed.

It's 1485 and now comes the final York vs Lancastrian showdown, the Battle of Bosworth . Richard III is King of England and Henry Tudor wants to take over. They meet at Bosworth to face off, the noble Stanley family the key of winning the battle. The Stanleys were two brothers who had a large force between them and often split them in the civil wars. This way, one brother would lose but the family lands are safe. Lord Stanley is close to Richard but also stepfather to Henry. He could go either way. Richard begins the battle by striking first. He takes Lord Stanley's son and sends a message saying that he will kill him unless all of the Stanley forces side with him. Stanley reminded the king that the son held was not his only son. Richard gave the order to execute his captive but his men argued that it would only waste time and the execution could wait. Henry sent word to his stepfather too wanting a clear answer on whether or not he would be joining him or not. He only received very vague answers. Henry would have to face Richard on his own. Henry had seen very little battles so he chose to let the battle-hardened Earl of Oxford take charge. Henry sat in the rear with his forces. Oxford chose to keep his men as a single unit rather than splitting them up in an effort to beat Richard's lines. No Tudor soldier was allowed to stray from their banners. This was a tactic to ensure that they would not be encircled and crushed. The Tudor army was split into tight groups that made up a single unit with their mounted soldiers on the wings. This would protect them from flanking. Lord Stanley is watching from a ridge, taking neither side. The field is hampered by marsh land. The Tudor army is standing on this marsh when they begin to form up. Oxford commands that they move to better ground. The Tudor army was bombarded by the artillery on the York side while searching for firmer ground. When the Tudor men escaped to the marshy ground, the York side led by Richard's faithful friend Sir Robert Brackenbury advanced on them. While hails of arrows peppered each side, the two sides clashed. Oxford's troops stood their ground while the enemy commanders Brackenbury and The Duke of Norfolk. Several notable men fell on the York side and they were forced to give ground. Richard saw this and decided to send in more men under the command of Northumberland. But Northumberland didn't move an inch. Some think this was an act of betrayal while others claim that the lay of the land prevented a charge. Richard decided to end the battle by killing Henry. Spying him amongst the rearguard of the Tudor lines, Richard led the charge on horseback. Riding with his closest companions, the king raced at the pretenders group of bodyguards aiming to wipe out the leader. Richard, though hampered by scoliosis, fought ably slewing the notable Sir William Brandon, the standard-bearer of Henry and John Cheyne, Richard's brother Edward IV's former standard-bearer. Henry acted quickly. He dismounted from his horse, concealing himself among the footsoldiers about him. Henry chose not to engage Richard or his men in combat. William Stanley's men charged down the ridge... to the aid of Henry. Richard's men were now surrounded on all sides and was pushed back from Henry and straight into the marshy part of the field. Richard, ahorse at this moment, was thrown from the saddle as his horse floundered. Now unhorsed and on foot, Richard gathered his remaining guards and slogged on onwards refusing to turn back "God forbid that I retreat one step. I will either win the battle as a king, or die as one." Richard's loyal man Sir Percival was slain holding his king's banner aloft as he was killed laying legless on the ground. Dozens of Yorkists fell and soon the king was surrounded by Tudor men and slain. When his body was found in 2012, part of his skull was missing and it is generally agreed that Richard had died helmet less. Henry picked up Richard's crown from the mud and placed it on his head.

Battle of Bannockburn 1314. After William Wallace's demise in 1305, Scotland was still labouring under the yoke of the English. But by 1314, a new leader arose to battle for Scottish freedom: Robert the Bruce. Robert led the Scots to numerous guerilla victories over the far superior forces of the English. By 1314, the only outpost of English rule was Stirling Castle. Edward II, the newer and less effective King of England, decided he had best step in. He raised an army and march north to raise the siege on of Stirling Castle. Robert gathered own forces though considerably smaller to head off Edward's advance toward the castle. Around the area Robert chose, thick trees flanked the area which would drive any mounted English forces toward his own heavy infantry and into the trenches his men had dug. Edward sent in his cavalry but the Scottish infantry quickly met his charge holding off the English until reinforcements could arrive to scatter the cavalry. Another English unit charged at the Scottish centre. A young English Knight Henry de Bohun charged for Robert. The two met in the centre of the field, Bohun charged at Bruce with a lance while Robert was armed only with an axe. Robert had the smaller horse and moved his mount aside, countermanding the lance's reach. As Bohun passed him, Robert stood in his stirrups and split Bohun's head open. Robert was later pissed that the strike had broken his favourite axe. He remains the sexiest of all Scottish Kings. On that note, both armies withdrew for the night to fight on the morrow. The English crossed the eponymous stream of Bannockburn and in the night their Scottish ally Alexander Seton defected to Robert. The English panicked and feared attack, staying up all night in formation in the cold marshes. The next day, the Scots formed up on the field. Edward ordered his men to attack, his cavalry avoiding the trenches but they could not shatter the Scots lines. The English kept charging but they were repelled. Robert commanded his infantry forward, pushing the English backwards toward the trenches where multiple mounted soldiers fell in and were crushed. The Scots stopped to pray and Edward took this for a cry for mercy but one sassy English soldier is claimed to have said "For mercy but from God, not you. These men will conquer or die.". The Scottish soon swamped the English lines wherein the Knights around Edward II dragged him to safety. One of his braver Knights, Giles d'Argentan saw Edward to safety before refusing to flee and charged the Scottish, dying shorty after. The English were routed and Edward fled back to England, his army chased from Scotland by soldier and commoners alike.

The Battle of Marathon is perhaps one of the most famous battles in history. In 490 BC, the Ancient Greeks faced off against the Persian invasion led by Darius I. The Greeks were outnumbered and had a terrible track record facing the Persians so far. The Persians really wanted to beat the Greeks, there is even a legend of Darius charging a servant to remind him daily to destroy the Greeks (ancient Post-it's perhaps?). The Greeks were formed of an uneasy alliance of once enemies the Spartans and Athenians, who despite their hatred decided to band together and fight the invaders together. The Persian sailed into the Bay of Marathon which provoked the Athenians to match to Marathon to head them off. They successfully blocked off their exits and waited for the Spartans to join them but the Spartans were having a religious day and could not go. The Athenians had no choice but to shore up for battle, choosing a marshy, mountainous plateau to stop the Persians' cavalry from joining them. The Athenians opened with a missile-heavy move, ensuring their own centre made for a soft target which lured the Persians in only for them to be crushed by the flanks. The Athenians picked off the Persians as they fled back to their ships, shattering them to pieces leaving 6,000 Persians dead. The Athenians lost 200.

Battle of Gaugamela 480BC is probably one of Alexander the Great's finest masterpieces. Gaugamela was the last push of Alexander's strike toward Babylon, the heart of the Persian Empire... The same Persian Empire that supposedly ordered his father's death. Alexander arrived to battle at a disadvantage. The Persians were famed for their warrior chariots with bladed wheels which could mow down infantry, worse still the Persians had time to level and clear the battlefield which stopped any impediment against the wheels. They also had war elephants. The Persian King Darius had arranged his army in an iron scythe of cavalry, both flanks ahorse. Alexander had his army divided in two, himself riding with the cavalry on the right flank. The Macedonians advanced at an angle going the Persians would attack which they did. Darius sent a large cavalry to take out the left flank of Alexander's forces who were under the general Parmenion. While his infantry distracted the Persian in the centre, Alexander himself rode his cavalry all the way around to the furthest reaches of his flank on the right, drawing the Persian cavalry away to leave the Persians fractured. The chariots came at the right flank, the Persians hoping to decimate as many as they could in the wake of Alexander's absence. With clever utilisation of reserves, the Greeks held. Alexander gathered his rearguard and a portion of his phalanxs into a wedge, driving it at the centre of the Persian forces which were weakened by the scattering of their forces. Darius fled the battle in the wake of this, ceding Babylon and his empire to Alexander. Darius was later murdered by his own men for the defeat.

The Battle of Hastings. Its 1066 people and this time, the English are getting invaded. The irony. William the Conqueror has been cheated out of the throne of England by his cousin Edward the Confessor who had promised the throne to him years prior. In 1066, William and his Normans are on their way to claim what they believe is theirs. But before the land, the new King Harrold Godwinson has a little Norse problem. King Harald Hardrada, a Norse claimant to the throne has already invaded in the North. The two Harrolds/Harralds meet at Stamford Bridge ready for a showdown. English Harrold rode up Norse King Harald and basically read him to his face before riding off. The battle begun moments later, the two armies funnelling into the narrow pass of the eponymous bridge. The chronicles say that a Norse axeman singlehandedly held off the English advance, only defeated when an English soldier stabbed him with a spear from below. With the axeman's sacrifice, the Norse had enough time to form a shieldwall to face the English who stormed across the bridge to attack. The Norse had a great disadvantage: they had left their armour on their ships. Despite their enthusiasm and early advantage, they were mown down. Harrald Hardrada was killed by an arrow through the throat. Wear your armour children. English King Harrold has won but he cannot rest, the Normans are on their way. Harrold matches his army South and three weeks later they meet the Normans at Hastings. Harrold had luck surprising one invader and he tried to do the same with William. But the Normans had scouts and were informed of their movements, and were ready. The English lines held strong against the Norman attacks but the Normans pretended to run away so the English would break and persue them, the Normans turning on them and picking them off. King Harold was shot in the eye by an arrow (because karma is a bitch), which was the last straw for the English resistance. William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.

The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is perhaps the most fantastical battle on this list. It's 1461 and young Edward of March is fatherless and at the head of a small army. Months before his father made a bid for the throne of England and failed, his head cut off by order of Queen Margaret who now sought the destruction of Edward's family. Edward was 18 and at a distinct disadvantage. The Queen led an army of Scots and rival Lancastrians. Edward no doubt wished to take the battle to her and avenge his father but he made a stragetic move south into Wales to head off her support there led by Jasper Tudor. They met on the field of Mortimer's Cross, where in the sky three suns had risen with the dawn- a symbol of Edward's House of York and the same number as many sons were left to the family: Edward and his two brothers. Edward and Jasper both split their forces in the traditional way- the vanguard, the centre, and rear each of which would face each other in turn. Jasper was a seasoned commander and lead his men to attack the Yorkist right but the Yorks had hidden archers there to take them out, leading to mass casualties. Jasper's attack was dispersed and now the centres of the armies clashed. Edward like Jasper fought with his men in the thick of it. The Lancastrians charged but were turned away under but the battle was still undecided, each side never ceding an inch of ground. The Yorkists began to cut through the Lancastrians, the rearguarf blanking the nearby river to box them in. Jasper's father Owen Tudor (Wales's greatest love machine) tried to manoeuvre the Yorkists into following him to distract them but it didn't work leading to a retreat, many Lancastrians drowning in the river on their haste and meeting Yorkist reserves on the next bank who cut them down. Jasper Tudor had no choice but to flee leaving victory in the hands of Edward who as was his habit spared any Lancastrian soldier he captured to give them the chance to follow him. Many did.

159 notes · View notes

hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong · 3 years

Text

…fffucking.. okay, we can’t find the first post we did about CEs so we’re making another and this one’s gonna be in the pin.

Basically, bond CEs confer small powers on their owners, at least in our timeline. Our bond CEs include:

Hundred Personas: lets us manifest separately

Raikou: Extreme static shock almost on command

Nero: Terrible/excellent singing voice (depends on who you ask)

Spartacus: One stack of Guts, refreshes at an unknown rate (and we REALLY don’t want to be on the wrong side of finding out)

Bunyan: Can slowly grow/shrink, at a rate of a few inches a week. Unsure of upper/lower limits, but we’re not particularly interested in testing it out. (Come on, being two feet tall would be fun!) We Are Not Interested In Testing.

Kingprotea: Can magically change into/out of a wedding dress in seconds. Akin to a magical girl transformation.

Asterios: If a maze has an entrance and a center, we can find them. Does not help in finding the exit.

Waver: Reduced wind drag while riding at high speed.

Andersen: Depression.

😭: Geronimo: Increased ability to grow tabacco.

Cu Chulainn: death at a slightly younger age. (...are we sure we should've gotten this one?)

Billy the Kid: faster clicking speeds! (also shootin, if ur into that)

Cursed Arm: we can reach slightly further than you'd think. (think zoom punch from jojos)

Hessian Lobo: we can eat raw meat without getting sick!

Eric Bloodaxe: People tend to ignore us.

Mecha-Eli MK. II: a lil robo bit floatin round us

Frankenstein Saber: Reduced heat protection during the summer

Buster: +108%. Nigh-on superhuman strength

Quick: +33%: much improved reflexes

Arts: +23%: Magical power roughly on par with modern mages

Critical hits: +65-75% Assessment of enemies' capabilities roughly on par with Clairvoyance rank D. Improves mid-fight.

Debuff Resist: +10% Protection from colds.

NP Generation: +35% Increased magical capacity, allowing for further-ranged projections.

NP Strength: +30% Increased magical power, more stable projections

Death Chance +20%: Able to slightly more easily assess physical weaknesses of creatures or structures.

4 notes · View notes

whileiamdying · 5 years

Text

Kirk Douglas, acclaimed actor, dead at 103

Kirk Douglas, one of the great Hollywood leading men whose off-screen life was nearly as colorful as his on-screen exploits, has died, according to his son, actor Michael Douglas. He was 103.

"It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103," he wrote on his verified Instagram account. "To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to. But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband."

Michael Douglas added that his father's life "was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet."

He added: "Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son."

Douglas was far more than just a leading man, although he was certainly that. The actor was a larger-than-life character, a titan of the entertainment industry, and someone -- by virtue of his longevity-- one of the last surviving links to a particular era of Hollywood's past.

Born to Russian immigrant parents, the self-made star established himself as an actor following World War II, capitalizing on his looks and athleticism. In that regard, he had a good deal in common with another titan of those years, Burt Lancaster, with whom Douglas co-starred in seven movies, including "Gunfight at O.K. Corral" and the political thriller "Seven Days in May."

Still, Douglas exhibited a range that went beyond what was available to stars during an earlier stretch of the studio system. And like Lancaster, he seized control of his career in the mid-1950s by forming his own production company, using that leverage not only to find interesting parts for himself but to champion prestige material, as well as talent like director Stanley Kubrick, with who he collaborated on two memorable films, "Paths of Glory" and "Spartacus."

Perhaps foremost, Douglas was as comfortable -- and as good, if not better -- playing a bad guy, a heel, as he was a traditional hero. His steely edge shone through starting with the film noir classic "Out of the Past" in 1947, followed by "Champion," "The Bad and the Beautiful" and "The Vikings."

Douglas was equally comfortable with action and serious drama, combining a nasty streak with a wry sense of humor. He excelled at playing terrible characters who nonetheless left the audience feeling a measure of sadness, in spite of themselves, when they met an untimely end.

The actor earning Oscar nominations for playing Vincent Van Gogh in "Lust for Life," "Champion" and "Bad and the Beautiful," but never won. He did receive a lifetime achievement award in 1996, and crooned a memorable duet with Lancaster at the 1958 Academy Awards, insisting how happy they were not to be among the nominees.

Douglas famously used his clout in other ways, perhaps most famously by allowing blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to put his name on "Spartacus." Although there has been some dispute over just how significant that was in "breaking" the blacklist, as Douglas suggested in his autobiography, it did make clear his commitment to working with top talent, also employing Trumbo on one of his best films, "Lonely Are the Brave," which cast Douglas as a modern-day cowboy.

Douglas also remained a colorful and outspoken figure, even after a 1996 stroke impaired his speech -- mounting a one-man show in its aftermath. His aforementioned 1988 autobiography, "The Ragman's Son," was a classic Hollywood tell-all, detailing various affairs with well-known actresses and settling some old scores. As the New York Times described it, the book read "like a collection of stories the actor has been telling over dinner for years."

In perhaps the most famous -- and certainly most lampooned -- scene from "Spartacus," his fellow rebels, captured by the Roman army, rise to proclaim, "I'm Spartacus!" when told their lives will be spared if they identify him.

Many actors, before and since, have played the sort of roles at which Douglas excelled. But in terms of breadth, volume and variety, there was only one Kirk Douglas.

— Brian Lowry, CNN

#kirk douglas #issur danielovitch #izzy demsky #isador demsky #cnn #brian lowry #obituary

710 notes · View notes

aconstructofamind · 3 years

Text

Fandom List

TV SHOWS

Altered Carbon

American Horror Story

Apocalypse

Asylum

Coven

Cult

Freak Show

Hotel

Murder House

Roanoke

Arrow

Bates Motel

Being Human (U.K.)

Black Knight

Chicago Fire

Chicago Med

Containment

Daredevil

Dracula

Defiance

The Expanse

Falcon and Winter Soldier

Fear the Walking Dead

Firefly

Game of Thrones

Good Girls

Gotham

Grantchester

Handmaid's Tale

Haunting of Hill House

Helix

Into the Badlands

Justified

Law and Order: SVU

Legends of Tomorrow

Lethal Weapon

Lost In Space

Luke Cage

Once Upon A Time

Outlander

Punisher

Reign

Rome

Riverdale

Sherlock

Spartacus

Blood and Sand

Gods of the Arena

Squid Game

Star Trek

Deep Space Nine

Enterprise

Next Generation

Picard

Original Series

Voyager

Supergirl

Supernatural

S.W.A.T.

Sweet Home

Teen Wolf

Terra Nova

The Boys

The Flash

The Musketeers

The Unit

The Walking Dead

Vampire Diaries

Vikings

YOU

Z-Nation

MOVIES

Alien Covenant

Avengers

Batman

Batman -VS- Superman

BlacKKKlansmen

Black Panther

Captain Marvel

Deadpool

Divergent

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Godzilla: The King of the Monsters

Guardians of the Galaxy

Harry Potter

Hero 6

Hobbit

Hotel Artemis

John Wick

Jurassic World Series

King Kong: Skull Island

Kingsmen

Lord of the Rings

Maze Runner Series

Meet the Robinsons

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Predator Series

Prometheus

Resident Evil

Riddick Series

Rogue One

Shazam

Spiderman

Split/Glass

Star Wars Saga

The Mummy I & II

The Three Musketeers

Transformers

Watchmen

X Men

ANIMATED SHOWS

.Hack//Sign

Black Butler

Bleach

Blood Plus

Castlevania

Cells At Work

Code Geass

Cowboy Bebop

Deadman Wonderland

Death Note

Demon Slayer

Dragon Ball Z

Durararar

Eureka Seven

Fairy Tail

Fate: Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Work

Inuyasha

K Project

My Hero Academia

Naruto

Rurouni Kenshin

Samurai Champloo

Soul Eater

South Park

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Teen Titans

Tokyo Ghoul

Trigun

Trinity Blood

Vampire Knight

Witch Hunter Robin

Wolf’s Rain

X Men (Evolution)

Yu Yu Hakusho

Yu-Gi-Oh

VIDEO GAMES

Baldur's Gate 3

Bioshock Series

Borderlands

Detroit Becoming Human

Overwatch

Pokemon

Fallout 4

5 notes · View notes

dangermousie · 3 years

Note

Ooh, who are your historical crushes?

No order:

Spartacus, Simon de Montfort (founder of Parliament not the one leading anti-Alberginsian crusade), Ramses II, Scipio Aemilianus, Lord Thomas Cochrane, Lord Fairfax (Roundhead General), Prince Rupert, Belisarius, Giordano Bruno, Camille Desmoulins, Harold (the last Saxon King), Hongwu Emperor, Harold Hardrada, Heraclius (Byzantine emperor), Xiang Yu, most of the Decembrists, Denis Davydov, Richard III, Kamose, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, ok I am gonna stop now hahah.

ETA oh what the hell let’s add Murong Chong to the list.

#asks

6 notes · View notes

hutchhitched · 4 years

Text

Social Commentary in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Part III

Part 3. Yeah… There’s a whole lot going on in the last third of the book, and I may have had to put it down a few times because I got really excited about how she wove the new book with the original trilogy. I know some people thought Part 3 was over the top, but I found it purposeful and deliberately on the nose, and I think that’s why it works. If you want to see my thoughts on the rest of the book, here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2.

Major spoilers below:

Tagging some who asked me to and/or are interested: @the-tesseract-wrinkling-time, @shesasurvivor, @everlarkedalways, @xerxia31, @infinitegraces, @panemposts, and @endlessnightlock. Some others are tagged throughout.

Before we move on to Part 3, I have to backtrack to something from Part 2 I forgot to include in the previous meta (I blame being up till 7 am and only getting four hours of sleep for that). In Chapter 18, Reaper stabs and rips the Panem flag and then uses it to cover the fallen tributes. The reaction of the mentors is shock and horror that the flag has been treated in such a manner. There’s a lot to unpack here. First, desecration of the flag in the US (and I’d guess most other countries, too) is almost always guaranteed to get a reaction. There have been attempts to pass a constitutional amendment to make it a federal crime to burn the flag. Others argue burning the flag is something protected as freedom of speech. Yet, official guidelines for how to treat the flag are broken all the time by letting it touch the ground, not lighting it, not taking it down during inclement weather, and turning it into a massive symbol of patriotism by holding it horizontally on a football field. I saw someone make reference to the outrage against NFL players kneeling during the national anthem as being disrespectful to the flag (even though that was a suggestion of a military veteran, as opposed to sitting during the anthem instead) rather than being outraged at the actions those players were protesting (police brutality against African American men). So, who is it that rips down the flag? Reaper, the tribute from District 11. Rue and Thresh were District 11, as were Chaff and Seeder. All were portrayed in the movies by African American actors. It’s fairly clear in the books that it’s a predominately black district. In other words, it’s likely Reaper is also a black man who tears down the flag of a country that oppresses him so he can provide cover and give dignity to the dead tributes. Now, think about it from a “rebel” perspective, and imagine that’s a Confederate flag that was ripped down. I know in the books that the Districts are the rebels and the Panem flag is more connected to the Capitol, but still. The debate over the (mostly successful) removal of the Confederate flag from former slave states has raged in the US in the past decade. Probably the most famous image of that debate is when a black woman climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina Statehouse and ripped down the flag. Remove the flag of the government that oppresses you, which is what Reaper does.

Something I find really interesting is the lack of technology in this book. Panem obviously has advanced technology, but it’s not nearly as present as it is in the trilogy. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that’s a result of the depressed economy, and by the time we get to the 74th Hunger Games, the economy in the Capitol has recovered and been used to develop new technologies and products that make life easier for citizens. That’s a post-World War II/1950s consumerism analogy if I’ve ever seen one. Post World War II affluence in the United States was a major factor in the development of new weapons and technology. Because American workers were making more and had savings and wages rose 100% between 1945 and 1968, Americans spent more, bought more, and paid more income tax. The solidification of capitalism as America’s economic system helped the US “win” the Cold War against the Soviets. Because Americans made more and were subsequently taxed more, the government had more money to develop new weapons and technologies. The first computer, the hydrogen bomb, vaccines for polio and smallpox, NASA, and the development of ICBMs all took place during this era. A strong economy typically makes people think the nation/government is strong. Not coincidentally, an early counterculture developed during the 1950s that protested against increased consumerism and senseless spending. The Beats/Beatniks/Beat Generation disliked that Americans spent so much money on frivolous things while others (African Americans, the rural poor, and so on) suffered. Sounds a lot like the Capitol citizens who spent lavishly and didn’t care about the districts. As a slight aside, Allen Ginsberg, one of the Beat Generation’s poets, wrote Howl, which calls out capitalism and repression. I wrote The Cry for @promptsinpanem’s prompt Howl in homage to that. Someday, I might actually expand it.

In Part 2, I wasn’t sure who had the power, and I really couldn’t figure out Highbottom. That’s mostly cleared up for me by the end of the book. I was intrigued by Pluribus Bell’s (many bells, I love it!) story about Highbottom and Snow’s father before Snow left for District 12. It was the seed that let me hope we’d get more information, and we did. Crassus Xanthos Snow is Snow’s father. Crassus was a member of the First Triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus) and helped transition the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire (from pre to post Hunger Games). He also gained power and influence as a soldier during the slave uprising of Spartacus (became a hero during a rebel uprising). Also, Xanthos is a city in Turkey that’s been conquered repeatedly but always recovers (Snow lands on top!). Highbottom’s first name is Casca, who was one of Caesar’s best friends, but he ends up being the first person to stab Caesar during his assassination. The break in the relationship between the two men is clearly why Highbottom turns on (young) Snow, and the explanation about how the Hunger Games come to be is a pretty big allegory to the betrayal of Crassus (Caesar) by Casca. Also, that explains why Highbottom didn’t ever really seem to be supportive of the Games, even though he was credited as their creator. ( @everlvrks)

There are a lot of references to Roman names and places in this book and the trilogy. The Capitol seems pretty obsessed with the Classics and wants to reflect that type of lifestyle and elitism. During grad school, one of the books I had to read discussed the obsession America’s Founding Fathers (Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, and so on) had with the Classics. They emulated Greek and Roman ideals. The District of Columbia (Washington, DC) is named after the Roman goddess of Liberty. Jefferson’s and Washington’s homes use classical architecture like domes and columns and many of the federal buildings (the Capital and White House) reflect that. Add on the Washington Monument (an obelisk—which are found all over in the ancient world) and the columns of the Lincoln Memorial and the dome and columns of the Jefferson Memorial, and well… The Founding Fathers were Deists who revered the Classics, which is why I (a religious historian) always laugh when people tell me the US was founded on religion. Yeah, and the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery, either.

Before this book, I would never have thought about Snow having a history with District 12 or a stint as a peacekeeper. I even looked ahead to the title for Part 3 and still didn’t realize that was going to happen, but it makes sense. First, Snow seems to have known Katniss much better than can really be explained. Her hunting outside the fence and her escapes to the Lake were never really solitary because he knew the area. He’d been there before. He’d visited Lucy Gray in the Seam, been to the meadow, and so on. Some people may see that as too much, but it absolutely fits with the draconian oversight of the Capitol during Katniss’ time, and it indicates why Snow was so intrigued and obsessed with her. Second, Snow’s experience in the military would have worked wonders for his political career. He won the Hunger Games, served as peacekeeper, visited the districts, became the youngest person to qualify for officer training, and went to the university. That’s a stellar resumé for a budding politician. Clearly, he was exceptional. Terrible, but exceptional (which is said about super-villain Voldemort in Harry Potter, too).

I had to stop and put the book down and wiggle with glee when the tree appeared in the distance. I didn’t think we’d get the actual Hanging Tree in the book, but that might have been the most thrilling part for me. It wasn’t overt. She didn’t name it. She just set the scene, but I knew what it was. And then to have the hanging and the man yell out to his “love” and the mockingjays pick up his cry and for Snow to see a mockingjay and immediately hate it… Oh, good night, nurse. It’s just too much. That’s when I made this post. I’ll admit, I have a thing for lone, massive trees. My dad has one on his farm, and there’s a huge, very old Burr oak that’s a local tourist attraction close to where I went to college. I felt like I was driving down the road and seeing it rise from the distance, which I did way too many times during undergrad and grad school.

References to the Covey having traveled and planning to again travel north were clear indicators that District 13 was alive and well (sorry for the on the nose pun) even back then. It seems obvious to me that Snow kept that information in the back of his mind as he took power and anticipated an eventual attack from there. The fact that his family’s fortune was destroyed in District 13 makes it even more appropriate that the final rebellion came from there, too.

I didn’t like Lucy Gray in the first two parts of the book, and I’m still not completely taken with her. There’s just something about her I don’t quite trust, and I’m not convinced she was completely in love with Snow. Sejanus thinks she is, but I’m also not sure I trust him to be the most perceptive person either. I’ve discussed this briefly already with some others, but I’m still on the fence about her. I acknowledge that she doesn’t have the same power as Snow does, so it’s not possible by definition for her to play him, but I do think she’s manipulative. Peeta is, too, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does indicate she’s not exactly who she says she is. Lucy Gray’s job as a performer gives me even more pause because her living is made by putting on a show, by performing, by convincing an audience that what she’s doing is authentic. For lack of a better way to put it—If Lucy Gray is a performer, how would Snow ever know what’s real and what’s not real? Sound familiar? (This part’s for you, @lovely-tothe-bone.)

The songs:

Deep in the Meadow—It’s a lot disconcerting that Katniss’ lullaby to her sister is a song Snow’s heard before out of the mouth of the woman he once loved. Equally disturbing to know that he’s been in the meadow, and I really thought that the song was going to be about Lucy Gray and Snow together there. I’m glad it stayed a lullaby and not a love song. I think it’s fabulous that Katniss and Peeta reclaim the meadow for themselves as a place where their daughter dances. It’s a little bit (a lot) poetic.

The Hanging Tree—Well, now that we know where that story comes from, I like it even more. The only part of the book I didn’t really like was Snow thinking he had something figured out and then rethinking and then changing his mind and so on. There was a little bit too much of that as he tried to decipher song lyrics, and particularly with this song.

The public domain songs—I grew up singing these songs (although with some slightly different words), so they all brought a smile to my face. Probably my favorite rendition of Keep on the Sunny Side is from the movie Oh Brother! Where Art Thou? The entire soundtrack is very bluegrass, and good bluegrass is delightful. And it’s nice to know what the Valley Song really is.

Unnamed—Okay, so my favorite was the first one at the Hob (pp. 362-364). I’m no songwriter, but I could hear the tune, and it was very Lumineers (maybe crossed with the Dixie Chicks?). Upbeat and peppy and feel good, all the way. I also find it interesting that music and concerts are outlawed in District 12 once there’s a new base commander. An allegory on the tendency to cut art programs first? On the power of art as a motivation for action? Both?

Which brings us to the star-crossed lovers of District 12, or something. Obviously, this brings up images of Katniss and Peeta, but probably the most famous reference is in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with the star-crossed lovers taking their lives. That’s often read as them being fated to die, which is something Snow seems to follow. He mentions his destiny and fate many times and doesn’t do a very good job of recognizing his choices. There’s one time during the Games when he resolves to do the right thing, but otherwise, no. Shakespeare does also say in Julius Caesar that the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves (which John Greene used in his book title). Snow doesn’t want to take responsibility for what he does. He chooses to follow the rules instead of what is right. He’s legalistic instead of ethical. There’re a lot of philosophical and religious undertones to that, but I’ll let that float for a while.

On page 386, Lucy Gray tells Snow, “You’re mine and I’m yours. It’s written in the stars.” I’ll be honest, I almost dropped the book when I read that. In Catching Fire, Katniss says the same thing about Gale, but she doesn’t end up with him. They aren’t fated. She ends up with Peeta, who she chooses to love. I should have known from that point that Lucy Gray and Snow would not end up together, but I still wasn’t sure how that was going to happen. I really did think she was going to break up with him or betray him somehow because that was the only thing I could think of that would make him stop loving her and turn into what he becomes. A broken heart is a really good reason for revenge, but what actually happens so much worse. ( @mtk4fun and @norbertsmom )

Snow and Lucy Gray decide to run away together, just like Katniss and Gale were going to in the original trilogy. Lucy Gray is worried the mayor’s going to kill her, and Snow doesn’t want to live without her. Except he realizes really quickly that he doesn’t like life on the run. It’s beneath him. He deserves better. He’s entitled to and fated for more, he thinks. On top of that, he’s passed the officer’s training exam, and suddenly there’s a way out of the pit into which he’s fallen. And then he lies to Lucy Gray.

Lucy Gray’s said all along the most important thing to her is trust, and then he lies to her. He doesn’t tell her he had a hand in turning in Sejanus. He doesn’t tell her because he’s afraid of losing her, which is a selfish reason, not one to spare her feelings or to protect her. He lies to protect himself. By the time they get to the cabin at the lake, he’s decided he’s not going with her, and she’s realized he’s lied to her. And then the weapon he used to commit murder (for her or him?) is there. Snow snaps quickly after that. There’s a metaphor, I’m sure about him losing his hold on reality and self-control when he’s past the boundaries of civilization, but he falls really, really quickly. He goes from wanting to tell her he’s changed his mind to attempting to murder her. The only thing that really stops him is the snake bite, which is not fatal, but reminds me why I didn’t trust Lucy Gale. Was it deliberate? Did she leave him on purpose? Does she escape him, or does he manage to cut her down? Either way, he doesn’t choose love. Love, which is a selfless act, isn’t his end game. He chooses himself. He chooses being selfish and looking out for himself instead of others. He doesn’t like being vulnerable. He clinically plans to marry someone he doesn’t love, so he never feels exposed again. In short, he makes the opposite choice Katniss does, and that makes all the difference.

A few other things because this is way too long at this point:

Peacekeepers: Boot camp for peacekeepers was interesting and strongly resembles the process of the military stripping down differences and making each soldier part of a machine. Haircuts, uniforms, routines, and so on are all about stripping away his identity, and he hates every second of it. He’s too good for that, and there’s entitlement all over the place. That’s very different from the peacekeepers from the districts who join the military as a way out of poverty. I mean, Snow does, too, but only because he’s forced.

Betrayal: Recording Sejanus and Snow justifying it was hard to read. It was harder to read about the execution. And then to have the Plinths take Snow in after he returns to the Capitol is absolutely the worst. Despicable behavior.

Poisoning Highbottom: It doesn’t surprise me, and it’s exactly what the rumors in the original books were. Snow kills his rivals to ascend.

Snow’s role in the Games: The Hunger Games change dramatically between the 10th and the 74th. It’s clear Snow has a significant role in how and why that happens. The tributes aren’t caged and are housed in luxury. The cattle cars are replaced with a high-speed train with lots of food. The tributes get stylists and prep teams instead of being unwashed and dirty. In other words, the treatment of tributes becomes more humane, which becomes even more problematic. At least Lucy Gray knew she was being offered up as a sacrifice. No one lied to her about what she was. The implementation of these ways to fatten the lambs up for slaughter is horrific and cruel and very Snow.

Finally, the purpose of the Hunger Games changes for Snow by the time we get to the end of the book. They are no longer just a way to punish the districts. They’re a way to exert controlled warfare instead of a messy war between the Capitol and the districts. It’s still kids being forced to kill kids. The tributes are still kids in cages. They’re still “not from here.” The Capitol kids are to be protected, but the parents in the poor areas aren’t able to take care of their own. It’s all deliberate. Collins doesn’t pull punches about the treatment of migrant children in cages or the murder of schoolchildren. What she does is point out that we don’t really mean what we say about protecting children. We’re only outraged for our own, not for those who are different. Suzanne Collins doesn’t have time for white privilege, American elitism, tyrannical government, excessive capitalism, or excuses, and her book reads that way. I loved every word of it.

#tbosas #tbosas spoilers #balladspoilers #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #meta #hunger games meta #spoilers #book spoilers #really #long post

61 notes · View notes

dweemeister · 4 years

Photo

Flower Drum Song (1961)

M*A*S*H and Star Trek: The Next Generation have long been television favorites of mine. My parents introduced me to both shows – fixtures in American entertainment as Vietnamese refugee families fled to and renewed their lives in the United States. The writers of M*A*S*H, a show set during the Korean War, did not make it a secret that the show mirrored American involvement in the Vietnam War. M*A*S*H understandably focused its attention on its mostly white doctors, nurses, and non-coms. But from time to time, the show railed against war’s horrible effects on the local populace, on whose land such bloodshed is waged. In these episodes, M*A*S*H always cast Asian-American actors of varying ethnicities to play the Koreans (the value of these depictions of Koreans varies, but it is evident the all-white writing staff gave their best effort to portray Koreans in their full humanity). For a show that aired from 1971-1983, this was a radical decision as yellowface was still a widely-accepted practice in Hollywood. Star Trek, in its various incarnations, has espoused “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” from its inception. Numerous Asian-American recurring actors and guest stars of these shows have appeared in these shows I cherish (and many others) for decades. My memory flows with many of their faces and voices, even if I do not recall their names.

Adapted from C.Y. Lee’s novel of the same name, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s musical Flower Drum Song debuted on Broadway in 1958. The musical resembled nothing currently on the Great White Way, with an almost entirely all-Asian cast. Yet this musical still caused consternation. Some Asian-Americans expressed their rightful disapproval towards Rodgers and Hammerstein’s patronizing dialogue and racially insensitive characterizations. For this film adaptation by Universal (this is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation without 20th Century Fox’s involvement), screenwriter Joseph Fields – who collaborated with Hammerstein on Flower Drum Song’s book – made major adjustments in order to stem controversy. Fields rearranged the plot and soundtrack and, most importantly, rewrote more than half of Flower Drum Song’s dialogue in order to accomplish a more respectful (if still imperfect) portrayal of all the musical’s characters.

The reworked Flower Drum Song attracted a star-studded Asian-American cast. So many in this cast are actors and actresses I have known only through their guest or recurring television roles, maybe the odd extra in a movie. To see them act in non-denigrating roles, sing, and dance in a major Hollywood studio feature film was revelatory. I admit, while viewing Flower Drum Song, feeling pangs of frustration over how Hollywood’s structural racism precluded too many in this cast from stardom. But that frustration was overcome by joy – a joy in seeing these Asian-American actors display their talents in a fashion I, even in 2020, long to witness. Though still constrained by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s stereotypical views towards people of Asian descent, Flower Drum Song is a unique cinematic experience.

Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) and her father, Dr. Han Li (Kam Tong) have stowed away on a ship carrying them from their home in China to San Francisco. The Lis are here to complete Sammy Fong’s (Jack Soo) request for a mail-order bride. Sammy is the slick-talking owner of the Celestial Gardens nightclub, who just so happens to be in a relationship with his principal showgirl, Linda Low (Nancy Kwan). So when the Lis arrive at the nightclub, Sammy realizes the pickle he has put himself in. In his attempts to dissolve the marriage contract, he has the Lis take up residence with the Wang family – including patriarch Wang Chi-Yang (Benson Fong), Master Wang’s sister-in-law Madame Liang (Juanita Hall, a mixed-race actor of African-American and Irish descent, in yellowface), eldest son Wang Ta (James Shigeta), and younger son Wang San (Patrick Adiarte). Secretly, Sammy has convinced Madame Liang to allow Mei Li to fall naturally in love with Wang Ta. Meanwhile, Linda is flustered with Sammy after learning of his mail-order bride plans. They separate, and she soon begins to start dating Wang Ta. Wang Ta is also the object of affection of childhood friend and seamstress, Helen Chao (Reiko Sato). If you could not guess by now, the plot of Flower Drum Song revolves around complicated relationship polygons.

Actors also appearing in this film are Victor Sen Yung as the Celestial Gardens’ emcee, Soo Yong as Madame Yen Fong (Sammy’s mother; this role was to be played Anna May Wong, but she died before production began), and James Hong as the head waiter at the Celestial Gardens. Virginia Ann Lee and Cherylene Lee play Wang San’s girlfriend and the Wang family’s youngest daughter, respectively.

In this rewriting of Flower Drum Song, screenwriter Joseph Fields, there is a greater focus on generational conflict. This film adaptation is unclear when the story takes place. But by looking at some of the technology and mannerisms, I will guess sometime after World War II, probably the 1950s. In this rendition of San Francisco’s Chinatown, first-generation Chinese immigrants live alongside the second and third generations. This mix creates a tension that permeates across the film – from how characters dress, behave in public (if they even go out in public) and private settings, and most notably romantic expectations.

The depiction of this tension is simplistic: those are not American-born uphold as many traditions as they can; those who are American-born are “Chinese” to some extent, but mostly do not think much about Chinese traditions. You are either assimilated into American society or not, says Flower Drum Song – a troublesome generalization that persists in Asian-American subgroups whose history in the U.S. is not as long as Chinese-Americans. But, in a rare instance for a Golden Age Hollywood film, Fields assures that this adaptation does not mock the first generation for not being as “American” as they could possibly be. Assimilation is on the terms of the characters, not contrived societal norms. Another anomaly in Flower Drum Song: the younger generations are assertively American, rather than offshoots of their elders. The younger generations’ unaccented English, wide range of characterizations, and their incidental Asianness (in that they do not feel the need to announce their Asian or Chinese heritage to others or to the audience) is unusual for the time in which this film was released. At the very minimum, Flower Drum Song tries to normalize Asian-American personhood. When the film fails to uphold that, it is mostly because of preexisting issues. In those instances, Fields cannot write his way outside how Rodgers and Hammerstein had already presented Flower Drum Song on the Broadway stage without compromising the duo’s artistic intent.

Many of the actors involved are not Chinese-American, but the performances are sincere, whether comedic or dramatic*. Having seen only a few of his works, I now wonder whether James Shigeta was just so naturally charming. As the go-to Asian-American romantic lead in Hollywood (not that he was cast in such a role often), his performance is seamless, appearing almost effortless. The same could also be said for Nancy Kwan, fresh off her well-publicized cinematic debut in The World of Suzie Wong (1960). An alumnus of the Royal Ballet School in London, Kwan also shows off her fancy footwork multiple times. Kwan’s dancing mastery is without question and, paired with choreographer Hermes Pan (best remembered as Fred Astaire’s principal choreographic collaborator), showcases her talents. As Mei Li, Miyoshi Umeki is slightly hamstrung by her role’s characterization. Yet as one of two actors who reprised the role they originated on the Broadway stage (along with Juanita Hall as Madame Liang; Jack Soo also appeared on Broadway, but switched roles), I was convinced by Umeki’s emotional fragility and shyness – all this for a character who has just arrived in a foreign land, bewildered by what she sees.

For the M*A*S*H fan in me, there is a special delight seeing Jack Soo and Patrick Adiarte here. Soo, best known as Det. Nick Yemana in the sitcom Barney Miller and for his distinctive face, is the natural comedian in the cast. His delivery – physically, verbally – is fantastic in this film. Adiarte, who also starred as Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I (1956; I had not made the M*A*S*H connection when I watched that film four years ago) has a solo dance number (“The Other Generation”) in Flower Drum Song that I was floored by due to his athleticism.

As lead choreographer on Flower Drum Song, Hermes Pan directs several dancing segments for the film, each one markedly different from the other. The three most notable dance numbers are “Grant Avenue”; “Fan Tan Fannie”, “Love, Look Away” (the first two include Nancy Kwan; the other includes Reiko Sato and James Shigeta). Alongside the production design by Alexander Golitzen (1940’s Foreign Correspondent, 1960’s Spartacus); Joseph C. Wright (1942’s My Gal Sal, 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes); and Howard Bristol (1940’s Rebecca, 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder) and the costume design by Irene Sharaff (1951’s An American in Paris, The King and I), the dances are built for Technicolor – even though the film’s Chinatown looks too obviously like a soundstage construction. The abstractions in “Love, Look Away” offer the best example of this choreographic-production design-costuming collaboration. The use of empty space, props suggesting physical divisions and other people, and the enormous dreamlike atmosphere position the scene to be a cinematic manifestation of Helen’s unrequited love for Wang Ta (notably, the dancing segment uses the melody of a song not sung for Helen, but for another). In its ethereal beauty, “Love, Look Away” is a marvelous several minutes of cinematic dance – appearing in a decade where such scenes would only become more rare.

youtube

The order of the Rodgers and Hammerstein songs has been rearranged drastically from the original Broadway production; one song (“Like a God”) was dropped entirely because Universal’s executives, “feared that a number in which a Chinese American man compares himself to a god might offend audiences in the American South.” Whatever. The exclusion of “Like a God” does not affect the film much, as this adaptation of Flower Drum Song is a substantially different creature than the stage version. Owing to the performances, the two most notable songs of the musical carry over to the movie. The self-assured anthem “I Enjoy Being a Girl” (Nancy Kwan dubbed by B.J. Baker; Kwan did not protest the dubbing, despite the fact she could sing) may not contain Kwan’s singing voice, but it does boast her charismatic performance. In the film’s second half, “You Are Beautiful” has Shigeta’s and Umeki’s acting complement the former’s tender singing. But most of the songs – including two of the dance numbers when not considering the choreography (“Grant Avenue” and “Fan Tan Fannie”) – fail to leave an impression. Having Juanita Hall sing “Chop Suey” (an American Chinese dish) underlines the irony of having a non-white actor play someone of Asian descent.

In the Rodgers and Hammerstein repertoire, Flower Drum Song is among the least performed of their musicals. A 2002 revival with copious revisions remains the only production outside the musical’s Broadway and West End debuts – Flower Drum Song has not been on tour since the 1960s. It may not compare well musically, lyrically, and dramatically to Carousel, The King and I, or South Pacific, but it is miles better than the likes of State Fair. But the original production of Flower Drum Song, as written, is now considered offensive to contemporary sensibilities. As the preeminent musical theater compositional duo of their day (I would argue that they are the best in the medium’s history), Rodgers and Hammerstein – through The King and I and South Pacific and Flower Drum Song – intended through their stage musicals to break down the racial barriers that they abhorred. All three of these musicals incorporate ethnic and racial stereotypes that can never be stricken entirely from their film adaptations and subsequent musical revivals. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s intentions are well-meaning in their advocacy for cross-racial understanding, but their messages are muddled. Their work reflects a lack of racial sensitivity, at best.

The 1961 film adaptation of Flower Drum Song is the first major Hollywood studio movie to have a significant number of Asian-Americans as credited cast members since Go for Broke! (1951; a WWII film dramatizing the service of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team). Flower Drum Song ups the ante over Go for Broke! as it has an almost all-Asian cast – a feat not replicated again until The Joy Luck Club (1993) and then Crazy Rich Asians (2018). The environment in 1950s and ‘60s Hollywood excluded Asian-Americans in front of and behind the camera, so I can understand why there are only two films from that era with a majority-Asian cast. But I grade on a temporal curve. There is no excuse in modern Hollywood for the twenty-five-year separation between almost all-Asian casts. Are we to expect that the only Hollywood movies with nearly all-Asian casts/majority Asian casts in the future will be the sequels to Crazy Rich Asians?

For the longest time, Flower Drum Song was the one major Rodgers and Hammerstein musical I knew least about. I suspect, of the duo’s musicals that have been revived, it is the one in their repertoire that even self-professed theater buffs are least aware of. Being the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical not distributed by 20th Century Fox does not help. Nor does the fact that its last home media release was on DVD in the 2000s. In 2008, Henry Koster’s Flower Drum Song was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. That honor marks the film as integral to the history of American cinema. As the constant writing of American cinematic history continues, as audiences become attuned to the history of non-white individuals in Hollywood, perhaps more people will see the importance of this movie. What would have happened if James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, and their other co-stars were offered the same quality of opportunities of their white colleagues? We will never know. But Flower Drum Song can help the viewer envision the answer.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

* My sister will tell you that she does not believe that anyone in this film’s love polygon has a genuine mutual love. I agree. Mei Li’s love for Wang Ta appears genuine, but that is the extent of it.

#Flower Drum Song #Henry Koster #Nancy Kwan #James Shigeta #Miyoshi Umeki #Jack Soo #Benson Fong #Juanita Hall #Reiko Sato #Patrick Adiarte #Richard Rodgers #Oscar Hammerstein II #Rodgers and Hammerstein #Joseph Fields #Russell Metty #Irene Sharaff #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

7 notes · View notes

harunakonomi · 5 years

Text

General Fate Series Height List

Here is a list of the heights of most everyone in the Fate Series, mostly focusing on Fate/Grand Order.

531cm (17′5″): Ivan the Terrible

345cm (11′3″): Darius III

310cm (10′2″): Xiang Yu

298cm (9′9″): Asterios

253cm (8′3″): Heracles

250cm (8′2″): Charles Babbage, Red Hare

225cm (7′4″): Lu Bu Fengxian

221cm (7′3″): Spartacus

220cm (7′2″): King Hassan

215cm (7′): Hassan of the Cursed Arm

212cm (6′11″): Iskandar

210cm (6′11″): Edward Teach

203cm (6′7″): Thomas Edison

199cm (6′6″): Musashibou Benkei

196cm (6′5″): Gille de Rais (Caster)

195cm (6′4″): Eric Bloodaxe

193cm (6′3″): Kotomine Kirei

191cm (6′3″): Lancelot, Vlad III, Lancelot (Saber), Vlad III (EXTRA)

190cm (6′2″): Siegfied, Romulus, Sakata Kintoki, Nikola Tesla, Sakata Kintoki (Rider), Meltryllis

189cm (6′2″): Napoleon

188cm (6′2″): Leondias I, Mephistopheles

187cm (6′1″): Zhuge Liang, EMIYA, Bedivere, Hijikata Toshizou,

186cm (6′1″): Gille de Rais (Saber), Beowulf, Tristan

185cm (6′): Arash, Cú Chulainn, Caligula, Cú Chulainn (Caster), Phantom of the Opera, Edmond Dantès, Cú Chulainn (Alter), Achilles

184cm (6′): Cú Chulainn (Prototype), Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, Fergus mac Róich, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Saber)

183cm (6′): Paracelsus von Hohenheim, Tawara Touta, Sherlock Holmes,

182cm (5′11″): Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh (Caster)

181cm (5′11″): Fionn mac Cumhaill, Quetzacoatl, Arthur Pendragon (Prototype), Yagyu Munenori, Antonio Salieri, Quetzacoatl (Samba/Santa)

180cm (5′11″): Georgios, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Hector, Gawain, Christopher Columbus, Shi Huang Di, Archimedes

179cm (5′10″): Ozymandias, Chiron

178cm (5′10″): Charles-Henri Sanson, Karna, Merlin, Sakamoto Ryouma, Sigurd

177cm (5′9″): Arjuna, Houzouin Inshun,

176cm (5′9″): Sasaki Kojirou

175cm (5′8″): Kiritsugu Emiya, Robin Hood, Henry Jekyll & Edward Hyde, EMIYA (Assassin), Minamoto no Raikou, James Moriarty, Minamoto no Raikou (Lancer)

174cm (5′8″): Boudica, Elizabeth Báthory (Halloween), Geronimo, Okada Izou

173cm (5′8″): Queen of Sheba, Oryou-san

172cm (5′7″): Medusa, Frankenstein, Brynhildr, Frankenstein (Saber), Langling Yang

171cm (5′7″): Shinji Matou, David, Anne Bonny, Artoria Pendragon (Lancer), Artoria Pendragon (Lancer Alter), Anne Bonny (Archer), Cleopatra, Yan Qing

170cm (5′6″): Bradamante

169cm (5′6″): Amakusa Shirou, Semiramis

168cm (5′6″): Gaius Julius Caesar, Carmilla, Ushiwakamaru, Scáthach, Rama, Scáthach (Assassin), Scheherazade, Ushiwakamaru (Assassin)

167cm (5′5″): Shirou Emiya, Angra Mainyu, Miyamoto Musashi

166cm (5′5″): Atalanta, Li Shuwen (Lancer), Sessyoin Kiara, Atalanta (Alter), Qin Liangyu, Li Shuwen

165cm (5′4″): Taiga Fujimura, Mata Hari, Artemis, Nightingale, Jaguar Warrior, Katou Danzou, Sieg

164cm (5′4″): Astolfo, Suzuka Gozen, Nezha

163cm (5′4″): Medea, Okita Souji (Alter), Murasaki Shikibu

162cm (5′3″): Francis Drake, Nitocris, Nitocris (Assassin), Tomoe Gozen, Katsushika Hokusai, Scáthach-Skaði

161cm (5′3″): Martha, Hassan of the Serenity, Martha (Ruler), Avicebron

160cm (5′2″): Altera, Marie Antoinette, Tamamo No Mae, Tamamo Cat, Ryougi Shiki (Saber), Ryougi Shiki (Assassin), Xuanzang Sanzang, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tamamo No Mae (Lancer), Marie Antoinette (Caster), Altera the San(ta), Yu Miaoyi, Astraea

159cm (5′2″): Rin Tousaka, Jing Ke, Jeanne d’Arc, Jeanne d’Arc (Alter), Ishtar, Ishtar (Rider), Ereshkigal, Valkyrie, Jeanne d’Arc (Archer), Jeanne d’Arc (Berserker Alter)

158cm (5′2″): Mash Kyrielight, Kiyohime, Mary Read, Okita Souji, Billy the Kid, Irisviel, Fuuma Kotarou, Mary Read (Archer), Kiyohime (Lancer), Penthesilea, Osakabehime, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

157cm (5′1″): Ran VIII, Chevalier d'Eon, Asagami Fujino

156cm (5′1″): Sakura Matou, BB, Passionlip, Parvati, Mecha Eli-chan, Mecha Eli-chan Mk. II, Kama

154cm (5′): Artoria Pendragon, Artoria Pendragon (Alter), Artoria Pendragon (Lily), Elizabeth Báthory, Artoria Pendragon (Santa Alter), Mordred, Mysterious Heroine X, Medb, Artoria Pendragon (Archer), Morded (Rider), Elizabeth Báthory (Brave), Mysterious Heroine X (Alter), Artoria Pendragon (Rider Alter), Mochizuki Chiyome, Medb (Saber), Mysterious Heroine XX, Gray

152cm (4′11″): Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga (Berserker), Abigail Williams

151cm (4′11″): Alexander

150cm (4′11″): Nero Claudius, Nero Claudius (Bride), Nero Claudius (Caster)

149cm (4′10″): Medea (Lily), Sima Yi

147cm (4′9″): Ibaraki Douji, Circe, Ibaraki Douji (Lancer),

146cm (4′9″): Hans Christian Andersen

145cm (4′9″): Helena Blavatsky, Shuten Douji, Helena Blavatsky (Archer), Shuten Douji (Caster),

141cm (4′7″): Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) (Santa Lily)

140cm (4′7″): Kid Gil

138cm (4′6″): Chacha, Wu Zetian

137cm (4′5″): Alice, Nursery Rhyme

134cm (4′4″): Euryale, Stheno, Jack the Ripper, Medusa (Lancer), Miyu Edelfelt

133cm (4′4″): Illyasviel von Einzbern, Chloe von Einzbern, Sitonai

130cm (4′3″): Beni-enma

#Fate #Fate Grand Order #Fate Grand Order Spoilers

126 notes · View notes

starsspin-a · 2 years

Text

he’s a 10 but he’ll only ever love his wife...whose now dead

#this is me calling out spartacus #i mean sura did say he will never love another woman so #II spartacus II general #;; a shark pup ;; ooc

3 notes · View notes

thatswhywelovegermany · 6 years

Text

January 15, 1919: Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht murdered

Rosa Luxemburg, born 1871 as Rozalia Luksenburg in Zamość, Poland, was a thought leader of the left wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during the German Empire. As a steadfast anti-militarist, she stood in sharp opposition to the center wing of the party, which (more or less reluctantly) supported World War I, splitting off the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) as a new party. She also founded the Marxist Spartacus League, acting independently of the USPD and leading to the foundation of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Although she opposed against Leninism, she firmly believed in a dictatorship of the proletariat. Contrasting many contemporary communists, she did not interpret the body of thought of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in a dogmatic way, but rather in a critical way. Her political engagement resulted in multiple detentions and imprisonments during the war.

Karl Liebknecht, born 1871 in Leipzig, had made himself a name as a prominent antimilitarist and member of the left wing of the SPD, famously winning the imperial electorial district of Potsdam-Spandau-Oberhavel, until then a stronghold of the German Nationalist Party. Due to his antimilitarism, he separated from the SPD, which began to support the war, and founded the International Group, which later became the Spartacus League, and which ultimately caused his expulsion from the SPD. When he started to organize anti-war demonstrations, he was sentenced to four years and a month in a corrective facility, but was released after two years, three months before the end of the war. He immediately began to reorganize the Spartacus League, attempting a revolution in Germany following the example of the October Revolution in Russia in 1917. On November 9, 1918, he proclaimed the “Free Socialistic Republic of Germany” from a balcony of the Berlin Palace. This proclamation failed – shortly before, Philipp Scheidemann had proclaimed the “German Republic” from a window of the parliament building, the Reichstag.

In January 1919, Luxemburg and Liebknecht were the leading figures of the Spartacus Uprise, Luxemburg as the mastermind and Liebknecht as the master organizer and agitator. The uprise started when the centrist fractions of the provisional government illegitimately intended to increase their influence on politics and administration by removing a number of left-wing persons from office, among them Berlin Police president Emil Eichhorn. The insurgents sympathizing with a prospective communist government attempted to remove the center-leaning government of Friedrich Ebert from power, with no avail.

Against the advice of Rosa Luxemburg, Liebknecht wanted to forcefully overturn the government and seize power before the elections scheduled for January 19 could be held. But Liebknecht had misjudged the general athmosphere among the German population: The workers followed a general strike call, but they were tired of violence. The government of Friedrich Ebert, however, teamed up with the military to forcefully suppress the uprise, with success. One of the leading figures in quelling the uprise was interior minister Gustav Noske.

Luxemburg and Liebknecht were now wanted persons. They were identified by vigilants in an apartment where they had hidden, fearing for their lives. Illegaly taken in custody, they were brought to Hotel Eden where they were mistreated. Waldemar Pabst, leading officer of the Guard-Cavalry-Shooter Division, which had its headquarters in the hotel, decided to “finish off” Luxemburg and Liebknecht. He contacted Gustav Noske, who told him to confer with his superior, which Pabst refused. Noske, unwilling to protect Luxemburg and Liebknecht, but also unwilling to take responsibility, said to Pabst, that he should decide himself what to do.

Pabst commisioned a selected group of individuals to drive Liebknecht to the Tiergarten park in Berlin where they should shoot him, ordering them to make it look as if Liebknecht had been shot while being on the run. They drove to a dark place of the park, faked a car breakdown, got Liebknecht out of the car and shot him from behind. Then they dragged the dead body back into the car and drove him to the police station opposite of Hotel Eden, where they turned him in as an “unknown corpse”.

Rosa Luxemburg’s death was staged as a lynch mob. When she was brought to the entrance of the hotel, a soldier disguised as an angry civilian hit her unconscious with a rifle butt. She was thrown into a car and driven away while Lieutenant Hermann Souchon, riding on the footboard, killed her with a contact shot in the temple. Her body was thrown into the Landwehr Canal, where it was found floating in a lock 16 days later.

None of those participating in the murders was ever punished, active obstruction of justice from the side of the government was involved.

Karl Liebknecht was buried on the cemetery at Friedrichsfelde on January 25 with an empty coffin for Rosa Luxemburg at his side. More than 100,000 people attended the funeral. Luxemburg’s body was buried there on June 13. Again tens of thousands of people were there.

The murders caused violent riots throughout Germany that came close to a civil war. The government under Ebert and Noske forcefully crushed the riots, causing thousands of deaths. That bloodbath was one of the reasons that the Weimar Republic had a hard time to find supporters among the majority of the Germans, and its Social Democratic leadership did not easily find unquestioned approval. It was the first nail in the coffin of the Weimar Republic before it even existed, and the reputation of its leaders was undermined from the very beginning.

The graves were destroyed in 1935 by the Nazi government and restored by the government of the GDR after world war II. Commemorating the murders has become an element in the tradition of the extreme political left in Germany: Each year, members of the political left gather on the second weekend of January at the gravesite to commemorate Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

Numerous memorials have been set up to commemorate the events and the unatoned murders. Rosa Luxemburg has a prominent memorial at the site where her body was disposed of in the Landwehr Canal.

At the site where Karl Liebknecht was shot, there is a stele carrying his name.

Streets, squares, and schools were named after the two, mostly in the GDR. Some of these places have been renamed after the German reunion, some still carry the names.

#calendar sheet

105 notes · View notes