#If you want to direct watch things

[fearthephenom]

"If you want to direct, watch things." -Kenneth Branagh, Pt. III

Ten years ago I gave myself the challenge of watching 52 films in 52 weeks. I called it, "If you want to direct, watch things." My goal was to learn what I liked, why, and to encourage myself to write.

I exceeded my objective and ended my year with 150 films. I learned a little more about myself and what I could accomplish.

Over the years, I have lost motivation for my personal wellbeing. I've been overworked, stressed, depressed, unable to focus - but I'm feeling better now.

So, now I want to do it again. I want to push myself, challenge myself... because I can, because I'm up to it.

Objective: Watch 150 films/television shows. Goal: To know I can put my mind to something and accomplish it. Movie | Short Film | Television Show | Re-watch

JANUARY [001/150] Saltburn

[002/150] Essex Girls* [003/150] The Heart* [004/150] The Masterpiece* [005/150] Say Hi After You Die* [006/150] The Looming* *Sundance Film Festival

FEBRUARY* [007/150] Nip/Tuck** [008/150] Maggie Moore(s) [009/150] Ladybird [010/150] The Holdovers [011/150] The Lobster [012/150] Shrek [013/150] The Blackening [014/150] How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days [015/150] Triangle of Sadness [016/150] Ticket to Paradise [017/150] The Strange Thing About the Johnsons [018/150] Shrek 2 [019/150] Pitch Black Heist [020/150] Cinderella (1997) [021/150] The Big Year [022/150] Ella Enchanted [023/150] My Neighbor Totoro [024/150] Ratatouille [025/150] Hotel Chevalier [026/150] Fantastic Mr. Fox [027/150] Turning Red [028/150] First Wives Club [029/150] It Comes at Night [030/150] My Red Balloon [031/150] Dumbo [032/150] Call Me by Your Name [033/150] Lady and the Tramp [034/150] Chico Virtual [035/150] Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

MARCH [036/150] The Iron Claw [037/150] The Devil Wears Prada [038/150] Spider-Man [039/150] The Big Shave [040/150] Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire [041/150] The Lorax

APRIL*** [042/150] Monster's Inc. [043/150] Gravity Falls [044/150] Robin Hood [045/150] Inside Out [046/150] MacFarland USA

MAY [047/150] Hannibal [048/150] Zo [049/150] What Happens Later [050/150] Clarence [051/150] Challengers [052/150] Fleabag [053/150] A Dark Place [054/150] The Lost City [055/150] Genie

JUNE**** [056/150] All of Us Strangers [057/150] Boys [058/150] Moonlight [059/150] In+Out [060/150] My Policeman [061/150] Pride [062/150] Garfield [063/150] Our Son [064/150] Acuitzeramo [065/150] Foreigner (Extranjero) [066/150] Shake It All About [067/150] Lavender [068/150] Flu$h [069/150] Staccato [070/150] I Am Syd Stone [071/150] Soft Lad [072/150] Strange Way of Life [073/150] Am I Okay? [074/150] Schitt's Creek [075/150] Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse [076/150] Inside Out 2

JULY [077/150] Jaws 3D [078/150] Twisters [079/150] Cobra Kai [080/150] Deadpool and Wolverine

AUGUST [081/150] The Door [082/150] Unknown [083/150] Derry Girls [084/150] Sex and the City [085/150] We Bare Bears [086/150] Coffee Shop Names [087/150] Emergency Contact [088/150] La La Land [089/150] Sex and the City [090/150] Manic [091/150] What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This [092/150] Culpa

SEPTEMBER [093/150] The Perfect Couple [094/150] Beetlejuice Beetlejuice [095/150] Hostel [096/150] Teen Titans [097/150] Dug Days: Carl's Date [098/150] Piper [099/150] Grotesquerie [0100/150] Mr. McMahon

OCTOBER***** [101/150] Saw X [102/150] Don't Breathe 2 [103/150] I Saw the TV Glow [104/150] Escape Room [105/150] Escape Room: Tournament of Champions [106/150] Consume [107/150] Turncoats [108/150] Sunrise [109/150] The Mary Alice Brandon File [110/150] The Groundskeeper [111/150] Masque [112/150] We've Met Before [113/150] The Purge [114/150] The Purge: Anarchy [115/150] Saw Unrated [116/150] The Purge: Election Year [117/150] The Midnight Meat Train [118/150] The Strangers [119/150] Hard Candy [120/150] Saw (.5) [121/150] Captured [123/150] Oh Death [124/150] The First Purge [125/150] The Collector [126/150] Trap [127/150] Sinister [128/150] The Skeleton Key [129/150] Queen of the Damned [130/150] The Forever Purge [131/150] Hannibal Rising [132/150] A Haunting in Venice [133/150] Scream

NOVEMBER [134/150] Palm Springs Weekend [135/150] Sinatra in Palm Springs [136/150] Wall-E

*Monthly Challenge: Watch one movie a day. **Monthly Challenge: Re-watch Nip/Tuck. Did not complete. ***Monthly Challenge: Watch four movies. ****Monthly Challenge: Watch LGBTQ+ movies. *****Monthly Challenge: Watch 31 Spooky-season movies.

[laurelindorenan]

I think you will all be amused that my dad told The Kid that he had to read the entire Lord of the Rings, in print, with detailed commentary, before he can ask my dad for my hand in marriage. (The Kid read LOTR once in middle school, and has seen the movies a million times, and actually went to a Tolkien conference with me, but obviously that’s not good enough). He’s probably only going to see my dad once (when he visits my family in three weeks for my brother’s wedding) before he proposes in the fall, so he’s speedreading LOTR in every waking moment. He reads it before work, on his work breaks, and late at night before he goes to bed. And, in true The Kid fashion, he sends like 15 texts a day with deep, thoughtful analysis of the LOTR (and reports on what parts made him cry)

[thesaintofnevergettingitright]

If you watched the last episode of 911 you could be fooled into thinking that Buck is the main freak in that relationship, but never forget that, before Buck derailed the conversation, Eddie was fully acting jealous of a DOG.

“You sure bonded fast…” yeah bud, people do that with dogs. “You’d move for a dog?” This is another perfectly regular behavior. You’re being weird about your friend getting a pet.

They are freak4freak all the way, Eddie is just better at hiding it.

[smartzelda]

Sorry guys I gotta speak my truth on this one

I'm not kidding when I say that I think that blaming shit media literacy from fans on shipping/shippers avoids the actual root of the problem to throw people you can easily throw under the bus (simply because it's not unpopular to consider people who post about ships or ship characters in media as having lesser or derivative tastes by default)

And here's why.

I think when you blame people who are "shippers" or "consume media through shipping lenses", the true root of it all is a mindset problem.

In actually, putting on shipping lenses can be helpful when trying to analyze a piece of media. When analyzing media you're supposed to approach it through a number of mindsets and put on different lenses (both to deepen your personal understanding of the media, and to pick it apart and see what you can find there (whether intentional or not on the author's part)), and different ships can be some of those lenses

When it comes to ships between main characters (for those who are genuinely willing to see what the narrative is showing with their relationship and what it's doing), there are times when analyzing it from a shipping lens may be helpful. As someone from KH fandom, I have seen people come to deeper understandings and pick canon apart in the process of analyzing a relationship that is genuinely integral to the story (platonic or not). I've also seen people get into rarepairs of characters who barely interact or who just suffer little screen time, and I've seen them come to better understandings of those side characters and how they potentially fit into the world of the media simply because people are now focusing on these characters and how they fit into the narrative.

Frankly, I resent the idea that the only way to truly objectively analyze a piece of media is by turning off the part of your brain that gets excited over relationships and individual characters. Don't get me wrong, that is a way to approach a piece of media and a valid one at that, but the truth is that we cannot be free of bias.

For instance, I was watching House MD with my parents circa last year. At some point I started heavily tuning into what was going on with House and Wilson's relationship. My parents, on the other hand, were largely watching casually. They're not thinking of character relationships or getting heavily invested in most characters, they're watching because they like watching. One of them in particular did try to analyze things that were happening in the show as they happened. However, when it came to the scene late in the series where House threw out Dominika's letter approving her American citizenship, my parents could understand that he was doing that because he didn't want her to leave, but not much beyond that. I ended up explaining to them that House's fake marriage for Dominika was an explicit parallel to when Wilson was living with House in the early seasons. Both situations started with House being none too happy about it but ultimately letting them stay, spending a considerable amount of effort getting them to leave/getting this situation to be finally over so he didn't have to deal with it anymore, and then by the time a piece of news comes through that would mean the person in question actually leaves, House hides this news as long as he can. Because he doesn't actually want them to leave and has grown attached. And by doing this he became a self fulfilling prophecy. By reacting to the truth of Wilson and Dominika leaving him the way he does, he seals his fate and they ultimately leave anyways. Maybe I ship Hilson, but becoming open to how their relationship was handled allowed me to transition to doing character studies and recognizing patterns/parallels that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't particularly care about the characters or their relationship.

Likewise, I've seen mutuals complain about how people who don't like or don't care about certain characters often overlook these characters (what they're actually like and their place in the narrative), while the mutuals in question (by default) are able to come to deeper understanding of what the writers/story is trying to do because they care about this funky guy

You can't eradicate bias when you're engaging in media analysis, but you can consciously put on a range of lenses and observe the media through different povs with the goal of understanding the media better or bolstering your reading of it. And those lenses/povs can include focusing on specific relationships or the perpective of certain characters

And this is why I say it's actually a mindset problem. Shippers and people who have this one blorbo they like a lot aren't inherently terrible "fandom brained individuals" who are the root of media analysis problems. The problem only arises when people's readings/analysis of a piece of media are inherently restrictive/narrow and self centered. Your problem is with people who view a piece of media through a ship they like but don't keep an open mind about it, and whose "media analysis"/views on canon cannot be split from fanon and their comfortability levels. These are the people whose "media analysis" starts and ends with justifying their fanon as canon, whose views on media revolve around sorting characters and relationships into categories they personally enjoy rather than trying to understand what's going on.

Here's another example.

Here we have a fictional ship we'll call uhhhh...Blanebin. this fictional ship I made up on the spot for characters that don't exist named Blane and Corbin

Person A is super into Blanebin. They're part of the main cast of characters and canonically childhood best friends, so person A (as much as they enjoy fanart and fic) is also enjoying analyzing how narratively important to each other they are. Recently, Corbin started dating another character in canon, but Person A is enjoying watching how Blane is reacting to this. "Is this potentially a tell that Blane is jealous or is having complicated feelings about this? What if he was, how would that contextualize his behavior this season? Here's what I think based on how Blane dealt with explicit jealousy last season in a different situation". It's not impossible that person A is still missing further understanding due to their obsession with Blanebin, but at the end of the day this obsession has allowed them to start picking through the characters both in and outside this relationship. It has allowed them to see potential subtext and theorize on what might happen next with these characters' relationship. Not to mention that with addition of Corbin dating someone else, instead of trying to erase this fact or state that Corbin canonically isn't into that person, Person A is trying to factor in how Corbin's current dating life affects his relationship with Blane (irregardless on personal views on the nature of Corbin's relationship with the person he's dating).

Person B is also super into Blanebin. They really enjoy fanart and fic of the characters, love obsessing over their moments together, and just feel like there's really something between the characters. To person B, every moment between them is just further proof that the writers are ship teasing them. But Corbin getting together with someone else this season? Oh that pissed person B off. They cannot believe that even though Corbin and Blane are CLEARLY gay for each other the writers had Corbin get with someone else this season. Perhaps, they think, it was even a decision specifically made to spite fans. How evil of the writers to tease a perfectly good ship and then have them not get together first? They must have been just doing those teases to get views from Blanebin shippers those scoundrels. To Person B, since Corbin started dating someone when he obviously has some chemistry with Blane (even though the series is far from over) means that Blanebin can never get together now and Corbin x person he's dating is ruining Blanebin by existing. In fact, they think, this is terrible writing for Corbin to be dating someone else because they don't like that relationship and don't see the point. Obviously if the writers were good then Corbin would have started dating Blane instead because this was supposed to be the Blanebin show.

Person C despises Blanebin. Don't get them wrong, they've always enjoyed the character's childhood friendship, but they actually have always thought Blane would have been better off with Victoria. They have a lot of moments too! But they're tired of seeing people ship Blanebin. Corbin just got together with someone else, so obviously that's not gonna work out. Plus Corbin and Blane totally has always given person C bro vibes. In fact, person C thinks, sure Corbin and Blane have a close friendship, but people shouldn't be shipping them. Person C likes Blanetoria and Blanetoria can't be canon if Corbin is in the way of it. So Person C likes to read Blanebin as siblings anyways. Sure they're canonically friends, but obviously their friendship turned into brotherhood. This means that nothing can be in the way of Blanetoria and Corbin can keep dating the person he's already canonically dating. Actually, now Blanebin just straight up makes Person C uncomfortable. Don't the pesky shippers understand that Blanebin are sibling coded because they're childhood best friends and that they're important to each other because they're brothers? It's obvious to anyone with eyes.

Sure, ships are involved here, but is the root of this problem shipping? Character A isn't as knowledgeable of other characters in the plot due to this lens they're using, but at the end of the day they're dedicated to analysis. Their love of the characters is pushing them beyond what they like or dislike to try to understand what might be happening through their lens. Not perfect, but they are slowly broadening their horizons. But Person B and C's problems here are their restrictiveness. What is or should be canon to them is tantamount to what they personally like or find comfortable. Is person C actually analyzing the this fake show when they decide to "read" Blanebin as basically canonically siblings (and this all of their moments are totally a bro thing) just because they don't like Blanebin and the idea of them getting together over Blanetoria makes them uncomfortable? Is person B actually analyzing this fake show when their "analysis" of Blanebin goes only as far as asserting it's being ship teased and deciding anything short of canonizing Blanebin is a targeted attack or "bad writing" because it's not what they wanted personally to happen?

This is what I'm talking about. This is the mindset. Shipping isn't the problem. The problem is when people marry fanon and canon to the point where they have a vested interest in superimposing their fanon over canon as "a reading" and trying to make "collective decisions" on what is canon (or what canon is trying to say) based on what does or doesn't make them uncomfortable. The problem is people being restrictive and centering their own likes and dislikes in the conversation, so they can only interact with canon "analysis" wise by deciding what is canon or should be canon "as obviously agreed on by everyone". You can't simply claim you like media analysis. To be able to analyze media and bolster your views on any given canon, you must be open to looking at it through multiple povs, to studying characters without trying to pretend things you don't like don't exist or do like do exist. There is a balance that must be kept between trying to keep objectivity and putting on specific focus/bias based upon the lenses you're putting on. You have to be willing to try to figure out what a media is doing or saying, not saying you're trying to figure out what it's saying while in actuality trying to define the narrative around what people believe it's saying in ways that suit you.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[gideonisms]

Prayer circle for my boss to not hold a horrible meeting tomorrow or if she does for me to not go on a face journey

[onefortherose]

* Kris...Let's go back there tomorrow, alright?

@pscentral event 30: friendship ↳ Kris and Susie: Deltarune Chapters 1 & 2

insp

[fearthephenom]

"If you want to direct, watch things." -Kenneth Branagh, Pt. III

Ten years ago I gave myself the challenge of watching 52 films in 52 weeks. I called it, "If you want to direct, watch things." My goal was to learn what I liked, why, and to encourage myself to write.

I exceeded my objective and ended my year with 150 films. I learned a little more about myself and what I could accomplish.

Over the years, I have lost motivation for my personal wellbeing. I've been overworked, stressed, depressed, unable to focus - but I'm feeling better now.

So, now I want to do it again. I want to push myself, challenge myself... because I can, because I'm up to it.

Objective: Watch 150 films/television shows. Goal: To know I can put my mind to something and accomplish it. Movie | Short Film | Television Show | Re-watch

JANUARY [001/150] Saltburn

[002/150] Essex Girls* [003/150] The Heart* [004/150] The Masterpiece* [005/150] Say Hi After You Die* [006/150] The Looming* *Sundance Film Festival

FEBRUARY* [007/150] Nip/Tuck** [008/150] Maggie Moore(s) [009/150] Ladybird [010/150] The Holdovers [011/150] The Lobster [012/150] Shrek [013/150] The Blackening [014/150] How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days [015/150] Triangle of Sadness [016/150] Ticket to Paradise [017/150] The Strange Thing About the Johnsons [018/150] Shrek 2 [019/150] Pitch Black Heist [020/150] Cinderella (1997) [021/150] The Big Year [022/150] Ella Enchanted [023/150] My Neighbor Totoro [024/150] Ratatouille [025/150] Hotel Chevalier [026/150] Fantastic Mr. Fox [027/150] Turning Red [028/150] First Wives Club [029/150] It Comes at Night [030/150] My Red Balloon [031/150] Dumbo [032/150] Call Me by Your Name [033/150] Lady and the Tramp [034/150] Chico Virtual [035/150] Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

MARCH [036/150] The Iron Claw [037/150] The Devil Wears Prada [038/150] Spider-Man [039/150] The Big Shave [040/150] Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire [041/150] The Lorax

APRIL*** [042/150] Monster's Inc. [043/150] Gravity Falls [044/150] Robin Hood [045/150] Inside Out [046/150] MacFarland USA

*Monthly Challenge: Watch one movie a day. **Monthly Challenge: Re-watch Nip/Tuck. Did not complete. ***Monthly Challenge: Watch four movies.

[goldensakuma]

i am in. Immense Pain

[rambrandt-the-painter]

i hate reading and im checking mariam webster to figure out how to use punctuation marks but im still writing weirdly artful furry porn.

never give up on your dreams!!!!

[mikimeiko]

The Gentlemen | Season 1 (2024), Guy Ritchie

[hplonesomeart]

I’m pitifully late to properly celebrating the spooky season, but hey at least I’ve got some cool fanart to show now lol

[freakinator]

vagueing but i think certain ppl need to realize that you can be both manipulative And traumatized 😭

[likeasurgeon]

LVB I'm yr number 1 fan!!

[fearthephenom]

"If you want to direct, watch things." -Kenneth Branagh, Pt. III

Ten years ago I gave myself the challenge of watching 52 films in 52 weeks. I called it, "If you want to direct, watch things." My goal was to learn what I liked, why, and to encourage myself to write.

I exceeded my objective and ended my year with 150 films. I learned a little more about myself and what I could accomplish.

Over the years, I have lost motivation for my personal wellbeing. I've been overworked, stressed, depressed, unable to focus - but I'm feeling better now.

So, now I want to do it again. I want to push myself, challenge myself... because I can, because I'm up to it.

Objective: Watch 150 films/television shows. Goal: To know I can put my mind to something and accomplish it. Movie | Short Film | Television Show | Re-watch

JANUARY [001/150] Saltburn

[002/150] Essex Girls* [003/150] The Heart* [004/150] The Masterpiece* [005/150] Say Hi After You Die* [006/150] The Looming* *Sundance Film Festival

FEBRUARY* [007/150] Nip/Tuck** [008/150] Maggie Moore(s) [009/150] Ladybird [010/150] The Holdovers [011/150] The Lobster [012/150] Shrek [013/150] The Blackening [014/150] How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days [015/150] Triangle of Sadness [016/150] Ticket to Paradise [017/150] The Strange Thing About the Johnsons [018/150] Shrek 2 [019/150] Pitch Black Heist [020/150] Cinderella (1997) [021/150] The Big Year [022/150] Ella Enchanted [023/150] My Neighbor Totoro [024/150] Ratatouille [025/150] Hotel Chevalier [026/150] Fantastic Mr. Fox [027/150] Turning Red [028/150] First Wives Club [029/150] It Comes at Night [030/150] My Red Balloon [031/150] Dumbo [032/150] Call Me by Your Name [033/150] Lady and the Tramp [034/150] Chico Virtual [035/150] Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

MARCH [036/150] The Iron Claw [037/150] The Devil Wears Prada [038/150] Spider-Man [039/150] The Big Shave [040/150] Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire [041/150] The Lorax

APRIL [042/150] Monster's Inc. [043/150] Gravity Falls

*Monthly Challenge: Watch one movie a day. **Monthly Challenge: Re-watch Nip/Tuck. Did not complete.

[skrunksthatwunk]

HIS BOOBS???

[gloomy-eye]

I've been seeing posts around talkin about how how deeply Armand loves Lestat in the books and how he's the love of his life even though the feel isn't returned and I gotta say I hope that isn't how they take things moving forward in the show. I just haven't gotten that vibe from Armand honestly. Yeah, he loves him and he also loves Louis- that's clear. But to me it seems more like he has developed strong attachments/feelings for them out of a dependence. It doesn't feel like a "love of my life" situation. It feels like an "I need someone as I alone feel incomplete/lost" situation.