#and i feel like i remember interviews where Taylor said joe was so well-read especially about like world events and politics and stuff

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Randomly thinking about “tolerate it” (narrator voice: it was not random) and how under the cloak of fiction it is ostensibly inspired by works like “Rebecca” (which Taylor said she read during the 2020 lockdowns I believe?), with the line of “you’re so much older and wiser” indicating that the speaker is significantly younger and inexperienced compared to the person she’s speaking to and a pretty direct reference to the plot of the book.

But I saw something somewhere once that stuck with me about how it might not be referring to relative age between the characters but chronological age as in the passage of time in a relationship. And that made me think about how in a contemporary context, it might not necessarily be referencing an actual age gap between the two characters, but rather a sarcastic or cynical response to the man’s claims that he has matured (“you’re so much older and wiser [than you were before/than you were when we met/etc.]”), which then made me think about that line in relation to the woman. And that it could be taken like, “you act like you’ve matured so much in our time together and like you know everything, while I’m supposedly still stuck as the girl I was when we first met.”

Which then made me think of the “right where you left me” of it all and did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen time went on for everyone else she won’t know it and the bit in Miss Americana where she talks about how celebrities get frozen at the age at which they got famous, and how she’s had to play catch up in a lot of ways not just in her emotional growth but kind of in general. (Which also made me wonder if she’s ever been called out for immaturity/lack of curiosity/lack of education about things in her life…)

Which then made me think about the rest of the song, and @taylortruther’s posts yesterday about “seven” and “Daylight” and the way Taylor idealizes her youth yet contrasts it with an almost sinister reality in its wake, and the line, “I sit by the door like I’m just a kid,” because the discussion raised that her relationship let her recapture some of the childlike joy and wonder she’d lost. So this line is a double-edged sword: the speaker sits by the door with childlike hope that the person will come home and cherish her, but on the darker side, feels like the child dealing with the monsters she doesn’t have names for yet and the feelings of isolation she felt as she aged.

I’m not saying the song is necessarily autobiographical; like most of the songs on folkmore, it’s clearly a fictionalized story based on media she’d consumed and created, but we know a lot of the fictional songs were infused with her own feelings and experiences and… This idea swirling in my head picked up steam and now I kind of can’t stop thinking about it. Sorry but I’m a little obsessed now.

Like maybe it might start to shed light on why she identified so strongly with the novel in the first place…

[fatimazahramalik]

e-Portfolio in Media Lit

Task #2

Malik, Fatima Zahra A.

12 - STEM Abequibel

A.) Choose 1 photo from a magazine, newspaper, or website and analyze what it is trying to tell readers. If it’s a photo for an advertisement, describe what the photos are doing for the product sold.

The picture above is from a magazine, it is a photo for an advertisement. In the photo you can see that the model which is known as Gigi Hadid launched “Gigi Hadid x Maybelline collection” in her collection there are a lot of matte liquid lipsticks with a lot of shades and it says in the picture that the lipstick last for 16 hours which is amazing for me and by the fact that this lipsticks has 30 shades in all because I got to choose what color is really suitable for me. Gigi continued on to share the inspiration behind her line, revealing she named the red lipstick “Khair” after her little sister Bella’s middle name because,”Bella’s favorite color is red and it’s kind of the red she has worn her whole life.” Therefore this photo encourages people especially teenager girls like me who loves to wear make up to buy this lipsticks because beside that it is not that expensive like any other lipsticks it is also very pigmented and can last long in your lips.

B.) Choose an existing pop song and interpret its lyrics. Decipher what the song is all about and list down the situations being narrated in the song.

The song that I chose is “Me!” By Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie. For the verse one of the song she’s listing all of the negative, which is something that I tend to do a lot, it’s like if I’m going to try to sell somebody something, or try to convince them with something; I’m going to list all of the negatives first, so I empathise with that. Then in the chorus and the pre-chorus she lists the positives, then for the verse 2 Is which is a thing that made me think that it’s funny, it doesn’t really fit into the spirit of the song, I thought the idea was that we’re all okay just the way we are! So now all of the sudden we’re playing in a comparison game? It doesn’t seem to me that Brendon Urie really got the spirit of this song, which doesn’t seem off character from him anyway. Then Taylor continues on saying, And when we had that fight out in the rain. You ran after me and called my name, I never wanna see you walk away (And there's a lot of lame guys out there) Many speculate those "lame guys" are definitely in reference to Taylor's past, where she used to have a reputation for dating various famous men - Harry Styles, John Mayer, Joe Jonas, etc. The lyric "I will never bore you, baby" could specifically be in reference to Tom, though especially considering tabloid reports hinted that Tom dumped Taylor because he got bored of her. Lastly what Taylor Swift is trying to communicate through the song is the message of “Yes! Go and be yourself, and whatever kind of version that you are, just be that version” And so we go to the bridge, and this is probably the part that I enjoyed the most, but also had the biggest question about, Girl, there ain't no I in "team" But you know there is a "me" Which is a common cliche that we hear a lot; and it’s not in the sense that they're doing bad, they’re obviously doing a bit with it. Then they go into the chorus and an outro and it’s this pretty happy fun anthem-like thing; and I think that this song accomplishes very well what it was set out to do, which is to be sort of like a party rousing song; “It’s nice and fun to be just you, because you’re unique. The song 'ME!' is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it, with this pop song, we have the ability to get a melody really stuck in people's heads, and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves. The lyrics were also trying to tell us that we should really appreciate ourselves because we are who we are and no one or nobody can be like you because you are you and you are unique and one of a kind. The hype about this song is that it’s about “me”, and the way that I am is okay and great, but it’s all in the context of a relationship; which makes it a little more complicated, and it’s not necessarily bad, as I think that it’s really good that this song establishes the value of the individual. Taylor Swift has said in an interview talking about how there are all of those advertisements that tells you how you should be to look better, and how you should be wealthier, or healthier, or whatever; and to an extent, you just have to say “Yeah, I am who I am, and that’s great, there is only one “ME!”, right?”; and that’s the main gist of these lyrics, this emphasis of the individual.

C.) Pick a music video and watch it several times. Study it closely to see if the visuals are affecting the song. Or is the song helping the visuals in a way?

The music video that I chose was “Look what you made me do” by Taylor Swift. After watching her music video I have noticed that the song is helping the visuals because it is so accurate like the lyrics really matched the visuals in the music video. The music video begins with a zombified T-Swift digging her own grave so the old Swift is dead, resigned to the graveyard of pop culture history. First, we see the aforementioned tombstone, where Swift’s reputation lies, but also a second one, reading “Nils Sjoberg”, the pseudonym Swift used as a co-writer on her ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’s song, This Is What You Came For, a collaboration widely assumed to have contributed to their breakup. Swift’s writing credit was supposed to be kept secret, but when her team revealed that she had, in fact, written the Harris-Rihanna hit, her ex went on a tweetstorm about how Swift was looking for “someone new to try and bury”. So she buried the fictitious Mr Sjoberg.

In the next shot, Swift luxuriates in a tub of diamonds, where there sits a single dollar bill, a possible reference to the symbolic dollar she earned in last month’s sexual assault case against the radio DJ who groped her in 2013.

This next part of the videl was a dead giveaway, Swift sits atop a throne as dozens of snakes slither at her feet. One even serves her what we can only assume is piping hot tea, the kind Kim Kardashian dished out when she released audio of Swift, who publicly disputed Kanye West’s lyric about her in Famous, appearing to sign off on those same lyrics in a phone conversation with West. Afterwards, Swift’s reputation as a snake in sheep’s clothing took off; Kardashian helped further that image by tweeting a bunch of snake emojis on international snake day. More than a year later, it seems Swift’s ready to embrace the title: ahead of the single’s release, she dropped cryptic reptilian teaser videos. And now, the snake has shed her skin.

So in the next shot, as the chorus begins, Swift rams a shiny gold car into a storefront where paparazzi are lurking. She opens the door, a cheetah in tow, to show off none other than her Grammy award. She proceeds to display and caress it in one of the video’s most bewildering moments.

Swift’s love of cats is well documented. Here, she’s surrounded by stacks of cash and a Girl Squad of masked felines, wielding a baseball bat and a sweater that says “Blind for Love”. In the next scene, the masked marauders can be seen robbing a music streaming company. Swift, if you remember, boycotted Spotify for years due to its dismal compensation of artists. She also wrote an open letter to Apple Music in 2014 arguing on behalf of increased artists compensation and then took to Tumblr, in June 2015, blasting Apple’s decision to give users three-month free trials. And now she’s back to rob them, cat imagery to boot.

The next part of the video was made waves for its apparent resemblance to a shot from Beyoncé’s Formation video. But the real hidden gem is the backup dancers’ belly shirts, which read “I Heart TS”. Tom Hiddleston, one of Swift’s ex-boyfriends, was caught in a similar shirt when splashing around the beaches of Rhode Island with Swift.

Finally, the last part is when the Swifts both old and new assemble before an airplane, where the word “reputation” appears again. Overall I think that the song really help the visuals in a way that it was really created beautifully (the music video) and for me the music video is a masterpiece becausr I have also learned the real meaning behind it, the song song is also about her struggles in the past and how she handled herself.

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 16X21

I loved this episode! It finally happened! Hayes asked Meredith out and she said YES!!! I’m so happy right now! We're going to see them go on a date and have drinks next season! It’s all I could have hoped for and more! I can’t wait! This episode was a finale that wasn’t supposed to be a finale. With that in mind I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was great! I loved this episode! Mainly because it delivered on the one thing I’d been hoping for since the mid season premiere! It didn’t have the usual shock factor that comes at the end of a planned Grey’s finale, but it was exciting and we got movement on pretty much all of the major storylines up to this point. It’s not where the cast and crew were planning to leave things for this season, but with the sudden onset of the COVID-19 virus and the mandatory shutdowns worldwide they were forced to halt production when filming for this episode had wrapped.

So with that in mind this episode leaves things in a pretty good place with some great set up for next season. Originally the shutdowns and the quarantine was supposed to be temporary and so I had hoped that they would be able to come back and film the remaining four episodes for this season as from what I’ve read the scripts have already been written and the plan was already in place. Unfortunately, since none of us know when the quarantine will end they have decided to roll those episodes into next season and rejig what would have been episode 16X22 to make it more exciting so that it can be the season opener for Season 17.

While I’m sad we won’t see the remaining four episodes as planned this hopefully means that there won’t be any filler episodes next seasons as they’ll rejig and add the four from this season and then write 21 new ones. So let’s talk about that scene with Meredith and Hayes! It was so so great! After hearing the news that she and the other doctors had finally found a diagnosis for Richard’s condition Hayes sought Meredith out as she was leaving for the night. He congratulated her on a great catch and asked her if she’d like to grab a drink with him and celebrate. She said yes, but said she was to exhausted to go out right now and asked her if he’d ask her again some other time. He said of course and told her he’d see her later and she said goodbye for the night.

There were so many things I loved about that scene! It was perfect! I loved that Hayes respected Meredith’s boundaries. He didn't push or try to change her mind. He understood what she was saying and accepted it. With any other love interest they’ve put her with that would have been a whole thing. They would have tried to change her mind or argued with her or tried to convince her and that’s not okay. But Hayes doesn’t do that. Why? Because he’s a mature adult who’s got his stuff together who understands the concept of consent and that yes, but not right now does not mean convince me.

I love that he's so understanding! He gets it! She's tired. She wants to go home and sleep, but she also wants to go out with him when she's feeling better and he wants that too! I can't wait to see them go out! I'm so happy. He's so smitten! Just the way he looks at her! And the way she looks at him! She's so into him! My heart! I love that they established that Hayes doesn’t like setups and he doesn’t even know that he’s in one right now! Jo’s sure not going to tell him. Where would be the fun in that? And he’s right that people are talking about his personal life when he’s not around. Specifically, the fact that Cristina sent him across the Atlantic and set him up with Meredith and everyone’s into it. I love it so much!

Also how deceiving was that episode description? “Hayes asks Meredith a surprising question.” It’s only surprising if you’ve never seen the show before or aren’t caught up on this season! Hayes has been into Meredith since he got to Seattle and Meredith has been into Hayes since they worked that Vaping case together. It’s very obvious in the googly heart eyes they keep making at each other all the time. I love that Hayes asking Meredith out was done in a subtle way with not a lot of fanfare. I really loved that. Because the episode description made it seem like it was going to be this big dramatic thing and I love that it wasn’t. Because real life is not like that. Real life is about the small moments. The intimate moments. The moments that matter. That come naturally when you build up a rapport with someone over time. And that’s what Meredith and Hayes have built.

I was also worried, especially after the Conference episode, that Hayes was still processing his grief in such a way that he wouldn’t feel comfortable asking Meredith out or that everything that’s been happening with DeLuca and now Richard would make him hesitant to ask her out or take the next step. Instead, we saw the opposite. Jo made comments about how him and Meredith would be good together and implied that other people thought so too. He heard about the nonsense that DeLuca had pulled yet again and he heard about what was going on with Richard and his eventual diagnosis. Instead of preventing him from asking her out it actually propelled him. He heard about what had happened with Richard, sought her out, offered his sympathies, congratulated her on a great catch. He then used that as a spring board to ask her out and in response she reciprocated his feelings and said yes! It was subtle, simple, and sweet. As it so often is in real life when you meet the right person.

I’m a big Taylor Swift fan and the slow burn they’ve created for Meredith and Hayes and the way he asked her out really reminded me of Taylor’s music and album journeys from reputation to Lover. The reputation album is about the death of Taylor’s reputation and her response to it. But as she has spoken about in interviews it’s also about a beautiful love story. It’s about how in some of her darkest times she found and formed the most beautiful and amazing relationship with her partner Joe. There’s this undercurrent running through the album about that relationship as it begins. Then in Lover it blossoms fully and we get to hear all about it and how great finding that kind of whole hearted love really is.

To me there is such a great parallel between that musical journey and the relationship we see forming between Meredith and Hayes. It’s this beautiful undercurrent that’s forming amidst the constant chaos that is Meredith’s life and that’s a wonderful thing. It’s this steady current in the background that once given the chance to fully bloom will blossom into this beautiful thing. I’m excited that we’ll get to see that next season. Hayes was back in a big way this episode and I loved it! I love him as a character. I really hope they make him a series regular next season because he is great and he needs more screen time. The female patient Daya who couldn’t express emotion or smile because of her condition and needed facial surgery was hilarious! 

I'm really glad that they figured out what was wrong with Richard and he's on the mend! I'm glad Richard kicked Catherine out. She deserved that and in fairness to him he doesn't remember her being there. It looks like he doesn't remember anything prior to the Conference so I get why he's mad. He was also real petty about it and I loved that. Although I was surprised that Meredith wasn't in his room with Maggie and Jackson and Catherine at the end.

She’s his family too and up until he married Catherine she was he’s next of kin, his emergency contact, and had medical power of attorney. Catherine’s left him and was MIA prior to him getting sick, Richard didn’t even know that Maggie existed until a few years ago, and Jackson had barely spoken to the man until Maggie pointed out that Richard thought he was taking Catherine’s side in the divorce. Side note: I’m glad that Maggie and Winston are still texting! Steamily I might add! He should definitely move to Seattle next season!

DeLuca annoyed the crap out of me this episode not because he was wrong, but because of the way he chose to express his opinions as usual. He was right but instead of explaining that calmly to others he screamed at Richard's family and threw a bunch of sharp surgical instruments onto the OR floor while Richard was on the table. I really hope they write him off next season because he annoys the crap out of me, he still hasn’t picked a speciality yet, and I feel they’ve gone as far as they can with his character and then some.

As for that end scene with Meredith and DeLuca here’s how I saw it. I didn't see it as her going home with him. I saw it as she was on her way home when she found him crying on the floor and either drove him home or admitted him for treatment. They established that Carina's back in Seattle so I think she either she drove him home and then called Carina to come take care of her brother or got him admitted and then called her to follow up and then went home and got some well deserved sleep.

I'm glad that he's finally acknowledged that he's got a problem and needs help. That's the first time since he started behaving erratically that we've seen that so that's good. I hope Carina can get him some help and get him admitted somewhere or that Meredith already has. More and more I see the interactions between Meredith and DeLuca as motherly. She’s clearly concerned about him and feels guilty because he went to jail for her and is now failing apart. I hope they write him off next season, but if they don’t I hope he gets the treatment he needs and they both move on or they remain in each other’s lives on a friendly co-worker basis as that’s the only time they ever really work on screen in my opinion. They don’t have chemistry romantically or as friends. I loved that moment in the OR where Bokhee prayed over Richard! Bokhee for the win!

Teddy was a hot mess as usual! I knew the truth was going to come out eventually, but I did not expect that god damn! I'm not an Owen fan, but that scene in the supply closet was still a gut punch. Oof! I loved Tom's speech to Teddy and how he called her out on the fact that she was running into marrying Owen rather than confront her own confused feelings. Teddy really needs to figure out what she wants and pick a lane! I hated the fact that she had sex with Tom in his office and then when he said let's run away together she told him this was goodbye and she was marrying Owen. Who does that? No matter what side you are on here Teddy’s behaviour is just not okay! Oy vey! 

I’m glad that Owen stood her up and cancelled the wedding. It’s bad enough that she’s engaged to Owen and carrying on an affair with Tom, but the fact that she had sex with Tom in his office on the day of her wedding and then had the audacity to tell him that was goodbye and she was marrying Owen when she is clearly conflicted is an awful thing to do to everyone. She’s literally hurting all parties involved and that’s just awful. Also how is she planning on explaining this to her kids when they’re older?

Amelia and Link we're super cute this episode! I'm glad that their baby is okay and healthy and that Amelia is okay after what happened with her first pregnancy. She’s been through enough and it looks like she’s finally getting something good in her life with a beautiful new baby and a healthy pregnancy and delivery and a wonderful supportive partner. The throwback to Bailey being there for Amelia like George was there for her was so beautiful! Kudos to Bailey for showing all that strength after she suffered a miscarriage recently!

I'm glad we got to see Bailey spend time with Richard as I felt that was missing last episode. Carina was great in this episode! She has so much potential as a character and I wish they would use her more. She’s such a badass and her facial expressions are always on point. Although I only watch Station 19 sporadically these days I love her relationship with Maya. I’m not an Andrew DeLuca fan at all and I would love if they would start focusing on her more and move her brother back into the background or off the show entirely.

Jo was hilarious! I’m glad she’s getting her spunk back. She reminds me in a lot of ways of Amelia from her early Private Practice days. I loved her comments to Jackson in the OR! Real talk though, what do you think Jackson’s dating profile pic would be? Jet or Yacht? Comment below! Also I love that Jo is so team MerWidow! She totally ships them together! And she's helping to make it happen! Go Jo!

I love how she almost spilled the beans to Hayes about Cristina setting him and Meredith up but then stopped when she realized he didn't know and didn't like set ups. I'm glad she did. Because if she'd said something further then Hayes might not have asked Meredith out. I feel like by the time the truth comes out Meredith and Hayes will already have been dating for a while so he'll be annoyed, but it won't change the way he feels about Meredith. Although let’s be honest nothing could he’s so smitten and he should be! Meredith is amazing and she deserves an amazing man like Hayes.

I saw someone on Twitter comment that it looks like the storyline with Meredith and Hayes beginning to date and the truth coming out about how Cristina set them up was supposed to play out in the next few episodes and I think that’s true. I’m sorry we won’t get to see it this season because of the shutdown but I’m really excited to see this play out next season. Something that did surprise me is that the character interactions in this episode imply that Jo didn’t tell Meredith about what DeLuca did to her and tried to do to her at the bar in the episode ‘Life on Mars’ and still hasn’t told her. I’m surprised by that because Meredith and Jo are friends, what DeLuca did was disgusting and unforgivable, and Jo clearly hasn’t forgotten. In fact in this very episode she made it super clear to Hayes that she detests DeLuca and hates the idea of him and Meredith together and so do others.

This once again brings to light the big problem with DeLuca in that the only reason Meredith went out with him, continued to date him, and continues to interact with him out of concern is because her friends and family aren't being completely honest with her about his behaviour and how he acts when she’s not around. Because let’s face it. If Meredith knew what DeLuca was really like when she wasn’t there she wouldn’t give that asshole the time of day. I can’t emphasize this enough. Your friends and family should be able to be honest with you about the person you’re dating and anyone that’s in your life. They should feel comfortable being honest with you and telling you how they feel. They shouldn’t have to hid the worst parts of them in order to protect you or so that you can be happy. I also don’t get how anyone can ship Meredith and DeLuca together or want him to continue to be a part of her life when he treats the people she loves so horribly and they openly detest him so much.

I’m sorry we have to wait so long to find out what happens next to our heroes. But I am very much looking forward to next season and watching Meredith and Hayes develop further!

Until next time!

[zukalations]

Relaxing Breeze - Sakihi Miyu

Relaxing Breeze (Fuwari) was a musumeyaku feature published in GRAPH, where an interview would take place at a cafe. It was focused on offstage topics such as how they destress or what they do on days off.

Sakihi’s was published in the February 2017 issue.

Relaxing Breeze - Sakihi Miyu

First, why don’t you order! Ah, what should I pick! Let’s see...the Ice Cafe Chocolat and...what to do...hmmm...right! The “Strawberry Cream Cheese Waffle”! It interested me as soon as I saw the menu.

What else were you considering? I like adzuki-bean paste too, so the adzuki french toast looked interesting. And the buttered waffle is simple but it looks really nice… (Manager calls from the back: ‘It’s not too late to change your mind~’) Nonono! My heart’s set on this! (laughs)

Today we’re doing a photoshoot at this cafe, so… This wood design...since I grew up in Miyagi I was surrounded by trees all the time, so this atmosphere is really calming. It feels like a real day off (laughs)

Your outfit is especially casual today. Since we’re in a cafe, and I like soft color palettes, I settled on this. It’s like ‘OK, where do I want to go today~’ (laughs), the image of something you’d wear on a day off...how to describe it. Nothing constricting...and although it’s warm, it has really nice airflow, I guess? Ahahaha! (laughs)

(laughs). That loose-fitting knit piece is really lovely. I really like knits. I didn’t have any sleeveless knits before, but you see them a lot in magazines lately, right? I bought this one just recently, and I thought ‘this is my chance!’ And it turned out it really matched the atmosphere of this cafe somehow...hahaha. For my hair too, I did it how I might on a day off, with it all curled and just loosely fastened; it’s like I’m letting my head rest a bit too. I also wanted to try a different style from a typical Takarazuka hair arrangement, following mainstream trends that an ordinary woman might like. It seems like loosely fastened styles like this are popular currently, so I tried it out at home thinking I might wear something like that to rehearsals...I think about Takarazuka all the time (laughs). But I like Takarazuka, see! (laughs)

Do you go to cafes by yourself? I doooo~ But only when I’m in a more relaxed mindset. Like the day after a show’s closing performance… Ah, but recently, after the closing performance of One Night of Stars in Tokyo, I felt such a strong sense of loss. Although it’s hard for me to part with any show, that one… I think maybe it was because the part of Sen was so hard, and I struggled with the show so much, but afterwards I felt a mysterious sense of accomplishment.

(The waffle arrives) Wow, it smells so good! (To the manager) Thank you~! It’s so tasty! Ah...it melts in my mouth...I’m so happy…

What do you usually order at a cafe? I get basic things a lot of the time, like simple sweets or handmade cakes, with drinks.I’ll go to pancake or french toast places too, but rather than just blindly following trends, I’m more like “everyone says this thing is so wonderful, I wonder what it’s really like” and shyly go, catching up with the times some time later (laughs). But for me, the main thing about going to a cafe is the conversation. I love talking shop, so I’ll go with other Snow Troupe members, and of course my classmates, but also Sahana [Mako]-san or from other troupes Kagetsu [Miyako]-san, or Shirayuki [Sachika]-san, or Chinami [Karan]-san… Being able to talk to people I respect is just so enriching to me, so I really feel like I need those times.

On your days off, do you prefer spending the day alone, or in a large group? I love...is it okay to say that? Well, I love being alone (laughs). I’ll go shopping alone, of course, or if there’s a movie I’m interested in, I’ll go myself to a really late showing.

What sort of movies have you seen recently? To be honest...I haven’t been able to go very much. The most recent time I saw a movie, which was a little while ago, was Pixar’s Inside Out. I was really interested because I was thinking ‘how will the film actors perform these voice acting roles?’ Ootake Shinobu-san was so amazing! Actually, I make sure to see every Disney movie. I also watch a lot of documentaries like Oceans. I love seeing nature footage on the big screen. But if there’s a closeup of a bug or something I’ll be like… (hiding her face) (laughs). I’m like ‘Okay, I’m fine with just the sound here~’ (laughs)

You don’t like bugs, then? I don’t (laughs). But I love nature, so on my days off sometimes I’ll just sit and space out at a park (laughs). I’ll watch the little kids playing around, or the old grampas fishing in the lake… During rehearsals and performances, I can only get outside during morning and evening, if I can just sit and feel the mid-day sun I’m like ‘Ah~ the time is flowing differently~’. But I’m not suffering from having a full daily schedule. I  think it’s good that I’m not free every day. It’s because it’s only occasional that those times become so happy, I think.

Do you take a lot of leisure time? No...actually, often the senior actresses will tell me ‘make sure you relax on this day off, ok?’... They’ll tell me to make sure I remember to take time for myself. I’m the type who will end up getting totally focused on whatever my goal is.

So, how do you relax? Hm...I’ll listen to music I like, not just music from shows. I really like Hakase Tarou-san. I love the sound of violin and string instruments, so I’ll listen to things like that, or Hisaishi Joe-san’s music. I’ll fling the window open, and let the fresh air flow in, and just let a CD play for ages (laughs). I also like Taylor Swift.

If you had several days’ vacation, what would you like to do? Hm...well, although I wouldn’t be able to decide this just on my own...I’d like to go on a trip with my family! We used to go on vacation a lot, with the whole family, my parents and my little sister. If I think about it now, for my parents, who were both working, those holidays must have been their precious time off, but we would always go out so I came to feel that of course holiday time was family time. But now I understand that it wasn’t so simple, and I want to give back to my parents somehow, so I think all the time that I’d like to take them somewhere.

If you had 3 or 4 days to spend together with the whole family, where would you like to go? Wah~! That would make me so happy~! Well, my parents like skiing. This is like 10 years ago now, but once, my mother said out of the blue ‘It would be so nice to go to the big slopes of Daisen, in Tottori’ and my father said ‘it would!’ but they were never able to go. I want to make that dream come true for them. For the longest time I’ve had that memory: “It’s written as ‘big mountain’ but it’s read ‘Daisen’! Okay! That’s where mom wants to go!” I want to go there while we’re all still in good health. ...Ah~I ended up talking so much today. Thank you so much!

[wavenetinfo]

The Americans showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields take our questions about the season 5 finale and some high points from the acclaimed FX drama’s penultimate season. (Note: Spoiler alert for anybody who is not yet caught up.)

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So before we can talk candidly: Is Henry here? JOEL FIELDS: Not to our knowledge, but we have not swept for bugs today!

Whew, okay. First I want to start with something I loved this season: The darkroom scene a few episodes back was amazing. Just terrific editing, the music choice, performances. You made reading a pastor’s diary riveting. FIELDS: That’s a scary scene to write. If Chris Long isn’t your producing director, it’s especially scary, but we knew we were in good hands. The entire team delivered sensationally. But when you sit down and decide to hang really the entire landing of the episode, and a key transformational moment in your big season and series-long stories, you’re hanging them on the audience reading photographed pages from a diary, it’s a real challenge. I remember sitting right here in The Vault — this is where we do our writing — and we were talking about how that was going to be filmed, and how close you could get to the photos and what you could expect the audience to read. It’s a real testament to the filmmakers on the show how powerfully that landed. And it really captured what we hoped to capture — Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth’s (Keri Russell) experience of reading that with their daughter and catching the landing of those phrases.

As writers, do you think Pastor Tim’s (Kelly AuCoin) assessment of how much damage Philip and Elizabeth are doing to Paige (Holly Taylor) is correct? JOE WEISBERG: That’s a foundational question for the whole series. I don’t think we can say whether he’s right or wrong. It’s certainly a valid perspective, and he’s not the only one would think that. I think, in a sense, the jury’s out. We have to find out what becomes of Paige if that way of looking at it proves to be true. I think certainly the choices Philip and Elizabeth have made have run the risk that will prove to be true, but that doesn’t mean it will prove to be true.

Now that Tim’s left the country, is he off the show, or will we see him again next season? FIELDS: You should know us well enough to know you’re not going to get a straight answer.

Likewise, have we ditched Elizabeth’s tai chi hippie and Philip’s lousy lover in Kansas? Unless I missed something, they vanished midway through the season. FIELDS: They’ve been ditched for this season. But after that, it’s safe to say you’ll get the same answer out of us as always. WEISBERG: Philip and Elizabeth are still running them. You know how it is on this show, they’re running all sorts of operations, and we don’t always follow each that closely. I think Philip is still running Charles Duluth. I also loved the beat in the penultimate episode where I fully believed Paige was going to hang herself from the garage beam when she was setting up her punching bag. Was that a deliberate fake-out? BOTH: Whoa! Wow! WEISBERG: You’re the first one to say that.* That is interesting. That had not occurred to us! FIELDS: That’s great. We really like to believe there’s a lot of subconscious work that goes into the show. We were just looking for the most realistic way for her to be practicing. WEISBERG: And if that had happened, then Pastor Tim would have been right in that case.

Also: Why did Philip have to kill the nice Nazi lady’s husband? Couldn’t they have just visited her earlier in the day? FIELDS: One of the ironies is if Elizabeth had her way, they would have put a bullet in her head and gotten out of there, and he wouldn’t have died. But because Philip had to know, things dragged out. WEISBERG: The plan was to get out of there before he got home. That’s what you get when you hesitate.

Now before the season, I asked you if this would have a ramped-up pace as it’s the last one before your final season, and you guys said something I have never heard from showrunners: That if anything, you were slowing down. And I thought maybe you were kind of being self-deprecating, but you weren’t! WEISBERG: I know there’s been some criticism, but at least you can credit us to sticking to our word.

There has been some. You had a major story line about illegal groceries. Do you feel like you perhaps hit the brakes too hard this year? FIELDS: There’s certainly been some criticism. At some level, you just have to take your lumps. I don’t think we were expecting quite this much of a backlash, so it’s been a little upsetting. Here’s what we’re telling ourselves: Let’s wait until it’s all over. Let’s wait for everybody to have seen it in context. And we’re hoping with that perspective, the response to that will be a little more muted. But we don’t know, maybe not.

Let’s talk more about the finale. Couldn’t they ask the Center to let them deactivate until Henry graduates high school, and then they come back? Or is that just not an option in their world? WEISBERG: They don’t have that in their plan.

Our suspicion of Stan’s (Noah Emmerich) jazzercise girlfriend (Laurie Holden) went through the roof in the finale when she encouraged him to stay in his job. But what isn’t clear is whether that triggered any suspicion in Stan. It kind of looked like a lightbulb went off in his eyes there, maybe? WEISBERG: Why would it? There’s no reason Stan would suspect her. Philip’s got a lot of reasons to suspect her, but there’s no reason to occur to Stan. He may suspect her of wanting him to spend more time at home.

One thing that occurred to me in that final scene with them. Does Elizabeth actually love Philip? Has she ever said “I love you” on the show? FIELDS: I can’t remember if she’s never said it or she’s said it once. WEISBERG: She said it once, last season. FIELDS: There’s no question in our minds she does love him. There’s a definite love that’s grown over time, and we think this season has been one in which their marriage is stronger than it’s ever been, and they love each other deeply. WEISBERG: We’ve always thought she didn’t love him at all in the 15 or 20 years they were married since the show started, and then change happened that started turning that course… In the final scene, this extraordinary thing happens when Elizabeth says she can’t go back. They both wanted to go back. She can’t go back fundamentally because of who she is. It’s about her being patriotic and true and faithful to her cause. And instead of being angry at her or blame her, Philip accepts her and even loves her for it. You see the way that’s performed, the disappointment going along with acceptance. I think it’s a very special and moving marriage moment where one partner accepts the other at a very difficult and heartbreaking time.

Some of the edits in the finale seemed to suggest Philip was reluctant to transplant his children to another country, while Elizabeth was more like, “Damn I’m going to miss having all these shoes and kitchen appliances.”   FIELDS: Our read was not that she was going to miss them, but that there was something about them that weighed on her. That they were not her values. That represents America to her. That those are not the things you should hope for. I think both of them were realistically concerned about how their children would adapt. That conversation with Pastor Tim was interesting to us because he’s the only one they would talk to about it. But you’re right that they would see it differently.

I can imagine a final season where Stan never finds out about the Jennings, that you just never drop that other shoe, simply because it’s something the audience so expects. FIELDS: Yeah, we’ve always tried to stay away from story conventions, not just for the sake of staying away from them, but because we’ve been more interested in figuring out what would really happen — which is often not the same as what the story conventions are.

Finally, this question is stupid, but I’ve always wanted to ask: Wouldn’t their wigs come off during sex? Was hair-pulling not discovered until 1990? FIELDS: We actually tried to answer that question in season 3 or 4, when he takes his wife off with Martha, and we made that point about how hard it was to pull off. WEISBERG: There’s glue and lots clip; those things are on. FIELDS: They’re sex-proof. WEISBERG: The KGB has a whole facility where they test wigs for sex resiliency.

*This interview was conducted before the penultimate episode aired.

31 May 2017 | 3:16 am

James Hibberd

Source : EW.com

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