#Principles of General

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[otaku553]

Save me yi nine sols

(You should play nine sols it’s very very fun)

[elucubrare]

when i was a child i loved mailboxes and polly pocket because they allowed me to indulge in one of life's greatest pleasures, Opening Little Doors

[canisalbus]

Vascos modern outfit in that recent sketch is so cool. On what real clothing is it based?

I was mostly winging it, to be honest. Last year there was some talk of Vasco having a motorcycle and how spiffy he could potentially look in biker gear, so I leaned somewhat into that direction.

But then I got kinda sidetracked and I think his coat started resembling Kaneda's jacket from Akira.

[4threset]

"There is a nearness and its gravity is echoing."

[burninglights]

the revolution is coming, but only if you learn to do the dishes.

You can read all the Marx and Lenin and Troksky in the world, you can own the hammer and sickle flag, you can use a photo of Thomas Sankara as your twitter profile, but theory and grandstanding means jackshit if you aren't going to back your theory up with action.

"but how do I fight against the hyperconsumerism that drives late-stage capitalism?" buy fair trade and ethically sourced! support local artisans! set up a barter system with some mates for skilled crafts and food items! establish a trade network in your community, so you're less reliant on corporations like Amazon!

"how do you want me to seize the means of production?" get involved with citizen advocacy groups! join a trade union or donate to funds to support picketing workers! look, if you wait for ~the revolution~ then you'll be waiting until your dying day. if enough of us organise and do a thousand little acts of revolution every day, then we can at least make a start.

Change soon come, but only if we take the steps to make it.

[theonevoice]

I'm too biased to say anything, so I'll just say this: I really like the state of law, I think the state of law was a great idea, and my favourite thing about the state of law, among all its other features, is that it allows these two principles to coexist:

1. grant justice: which means that we do not dismiss allegations and as soon as anyone denounce any wrongdoing we investigate

2. innocent until proven guilty: which means that nobody can be forced to suffer the consequences of an accusation that has not been proven yet

This is where I'm at today, I feel I had to put it into words for the sake of my sanity.

As for me personally, I make GO fanart because it is the only thing that has actually helped alleviate my major depressive disorder (which in the last 7 years has caused multiple severe episodes that resulted in hospitalization twice and seems has proven treatment-resistant, unfortunately), and I will keep making it until something will change the positive effect it has on me.

[ghelgheli]

rly do not feel like I understood gender as-it-is until I learnt to look for it as one of multiple organizing rules of the division of labour. pair this with an understanding of modes of production as historically variable and you have a nice set of first principles.

[gertritude-art]

I have no idea what constitutes good character design, so it is always awesome to see my characters in other styles. Like, wow. Mordred actually does look like himself when other people draw him... he is real and will be coming through the computer

[b4kuch1n]

one string is all that I need

[forkaround]

for the people in the back with cotton in their ears: 'REAL' QUEERNESS IS NOT JUST ANGSTY, TOXIC AND PROBLEMATIC. QUEERNESS CAN BE SIMPLE, SOFT AND KIND. IT CAN AND SHOULD BE ALL THE GOOD THINGS. Please don't keep seeing queerness through a single lens. You are just reinventing homophobia in a different font. Let girls kiss girls and be soft and happy. Let boys kiss boys and be soft and happy. That is unarguably QUEER AS FUCK. The point of queerness is you don't have to prove something. Realistic Queerness is just as much bad stuff as it is good stuff, you are not better for preferring one over the other and the person with the opposite pov isn't better or worse than you for their preferences.

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Fidel (2002, dir. David Attwood)

Gifs are all 540px wide so you can click to see larger.

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[lilnasxvevo]

A fic that looks like it’s about to be a Wangxian kid fic because WWX is seriously considering adopting A-Yuan because all of A-Yuan’s living relatives are too old or too sick to take care of him except for Wen Qing, who is an ER doctor and just simply does not have the time to do that and be a single parent of a little kid, so maybe, because A-Yuan loves you so much, Wei Ying, you could adopt him, and then what’s left of his birth family could still stay in his life…

But HERE COMES JIANG WANYIN WITH A STEEL CHAIR and a “We could get fake married and I could help you take care of A-Yuan, it’s not fair that you should have to give up your nephew just because this country has so few accommodations for single parents, I’m really good with kids (probably) I’ve always wanted to be a parent (kinda) and it’ll be a totally 100% platonic marriage because I’m DEFINITELY not secretly in love with you” and then the rest of the fic is chengqing fake relationship AU

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Dazai: If you water water, it grows.

Mozart: ...What.

Isaac: He's got a point.

[uncanny-tranny]

You know... it's okay to trust your body. If you are separated from your body to such an extent you feel you cannot trust it, I truly from the bottom of my heart empathize and feel grief for you, but you can trust your body.

It's okay to listen to your body and to heed what it is telling you. I wish you (and your body) well wherever you go. You deserve the peace of mind to feel able to do what you want.

[polymorphemic-vector]

ah yes. generalized stokes theorem and generalized anxiety disorder the two genders