Actually I think I deserve to be feral about Tommy 1975
it's a rock opera and it's got elton john and tina Turner in it, yeah, it's got the pinball wizard song, right, goofy times with the who
Tommy Walker is explicitly disabled in a way that reads nowadays as autistic and traumatized, and canonically experiences neglect, physical abuse, and childhood sexual abuse because of the ways in which he is disabled. he is sexually abused by his uncle and, arguably, his cousin, stepdad, and mom. (I think the beans/soap/mirror bedroom "Tommy Can You Hear Me" sequence is. unfortunately. an extremely thinly veiled metaphor.)
his disabilities combined with his talent for pinball turn him into an exploited child/young adult celebrity that his family uses to build their own personal wealth and he gets turned into inspiration porn for the pseudochristian cult they start, which expands further when he "miraculously" regains his sight, hearing, and speech as a 30 year old christ allegory. it's wretched because he does genuinely feel like he can help people by sharing his lived experiences with them, but it's too late - his parents have already turned his example and teachings into a pricey commodity and people who have paid every penny they owned for enlightenment end up violently rebelling against the lies they were (literally) sold, despite Tommy's best intentions.
and what does he get after a lifetime of suffering that culminated in his genuine attempts to help people? he sees his family murdered, everyone who ever supported him marching away into the distance, and he swims off into the sea and to apparent enlightenment, alone.
just. it's such a movie. I must've watched it a couple dozen times in my teen years. it's absolutely the product of its time but it's got a LOT to say about the exploitative nature of organized religion, cults, faith healing, "Disability Parents" (you know what I mean,) show parents/parent managers, cycles of abuse/exploitation, cycles of trauma, military worship, incest, heteronormativity/corrective rape, celebrity worship culture, etc... and like! it's not for everyone, but I still think everyone should have to watch it at least once.
anyway Tommy 1975 everybody. if you pick only one 50 year old Problematic Media to consume this year please pick this one. I need more people to talk to about Jack Nicholson's cameo and the Themes and the Bean Scene and the Ska Enjoying Cultists.
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Ben Giroux[1] and Tommy Walker[2] on NCIS
[1] Charade , S13 E20 , as Tiny Tony
[2] Silent Service , S16 E17 , as PO 1st Class Justin Hardy
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Today’s disabled character of the day is Tommy Walker from The Who’s Tommy, who is psychosomatically Deaf and blind. He is also autistic
Requested by @doctorginsberg
[Image Description: Cover of the album The Who’s Tommy, it depicts a blue mesh over darkness. On the mesh are painting of white clouds and birds.]
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tommy walker is such a loser trying to be william
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HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY NINJAGO!
Can't believe it's been 13 years since the pilot episodes first aired. It's been an amazing journey so far and us fans are always ready to see what's coming next!
Thank you to all of the developers, voice actors, and Tommy Andreasen for helping create this masterpiece of a show!
💙❤️🖤🤍🩵💚
Happy anniversary to the sillies!!
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