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magicdepressive-blog · 5 years

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Meet The Harveys

NWI native and Chicago resident Charlie Evans wants to introduce you to his one man band The Harveys, whose debut album, after over a year in the making, is nearing the completion stage. As Evans labors through the finishing touches of the LP and prepares it for public release, he sits down with me to talk about the project and tells us what we can expect from his esoteric alter-ego.

HW: You're getting ready to release your first LP; a collection of songs you're putting out under the name The Harveys. But essentially The Harveys is just you. What made you decide to release music as a fictional collective rather than under your own name?

CE: The Harveys isn't a real band right now, so the idea that it can be locked into only one thing doesn't appeal to me since I don't have to fight other people to have it be whatever it needs to be. I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of existing as a solo act. I feel like the idea of the Harveys started as a crutch of being afraid to do this on my own. For whatever reason, the idea of having a fictional band made it seem like a more viable project in my head, and more approachable as something to present out to the world.

HW: But you're not literally the only player on the record. Who else appears on the album, and in what capacity?

CE: One song is an old one that was written as a group by Patrick Biancardi, Sam Evans, and myself....

HW: Right...that's Werewolf Teacher, isn't it? That's a great song and I remember you telling me that it has its origins in your time as a member of (now defunct Region band) Greenstone.

CE: Greenstone was a great time as a band, and helped form a lot of the stuff that I wrote and created on this album. When I began working on recording I wanted to get an old song down that we had never had the chance to properly record. It was a great point to learn how to use recording software and to test the viability of the fictional band project. A lot of the music I wrote afterwards feels similar in some ways to what we were working on with that project, but definitely is a different animal. Not writing in collaboration with other people or having to compromise things is both a blessing and a curse.

HW: Who are some of the other people who pitched in to help make this LP?

CE: Alex Akers contributed trumpet to I Sit Differently at the Piano. I met Alex while I was working for New Oberpfalz brewery, and we struck up conversation pretty naturally. I had completed about half of the the track, adding in the vocal snippet and guitar, but I felt that guitar all the way through would be frankly boring. I basically asked Alex if he wanted to add trumpet to a weird track that I had made and sent it over. About a week later he sent me his layered tracks and it was amazing! My primary instrument is the electric guitar, so it's always really awesome to work with other instrumentalists that can bring a completely different feel to a track. That song wouldn't work without Alex's contribution. Jake Egli plays the keyboards on The Somnambulist and helped me mix and master the record along with production work.

I'm definitely open to the idea of adding a more collaborative element to The Harveys. I would love to be able to flesh it out into a full band setting. I think a lot of these songs would translate pretty well to a live setting, and there's lots of song ideas in reserve. There's always ego involved in adding other people to a band, but I enjoy the collaborative aspect of writing music a lot. Sometimes it's okay to come in with an idea and see how it gets morphed into something completely new, original, and different that way.

HW: Having grown up as an aspiring musician in NWI and now living in Chicago, can you compare the two locales where musical heritage is concerned?

CE: I would say that both have a lot in common with each other, with Chicago getting the edge of diversity simply through pure numbers. Not unlike most other suburbs of Chicago, NWI filters a lot of its musical identity from Chicago, which I think is great. The Chicagoland area has an abundance of amazing music that doesn't always get the attention it deserves on the national stage.

HW: You recorded this LP at home on your computer. Were there any technical limitations that you encountered while making the record that, had you been in a studio, you might not have had to deal with?

CE: I think the biggest hurdle for doing all recording on my own is that my ear wasn't as trained, especially in the beginning, at what was good and what was bad. I improved rapidly, but especially early on I think that having a 2nd set of ears to hear everything is very helpful.

HW: Why did you decide to release a physical LP and how do you plan to market it? What streaming formats will you be utilizing?

CE: I love the idea and the ritual of vinyl...placing the vinyl on the turntable, setting it to the right speed, and letting the needle hit the record. There’s an art to creating a track list and an album that flows correctly from side to side. I think the best records still work with that duality; breaking it down into two shorter playlists and making sure those statements stand on their own and complement each other. That being said, I think the songs stand on their own, so I don’t mind pushing it to streaming as well where the majority of people (myself included) discover their music. I’m planning on releasing The Harveys on all major streaming services. The LP version of the album will be funded through a Kickstarter.

What I like about the idea of a vinyl release and giving yourself those limitations is that it really forces you to look at how songs flow as a cohesive unit. Balancing the amount of time you can put on a side along with making sure that each track is keeping the listener along for the ride is so important. Additionally, the 2 side nature of vinyl makes you look at it as a mini suite for each side. My process was mostly trying to balance all of these things to make the strongest single unit of an album. Sifting through all the songs I had written to put together what I feel is a cohesive album was a bit difficult at first, there’s definitely enough material left off to have an extra EP in the future or work towards another album. For me, I think the unifying threads that make this album stand as a whole are some of the themes touched on like growing up and the somewhat lonely existence that adulthood can be. There’s plenty of humor on the record, though, as well, which I feel is always needed. I don’t trust people who are too serious about everything. There's a lot of genre exploration that I wasn't able to make work cohesively on this record that could definitely fit in better on a slightly different project. I would love to create a great medley style suite, ala Abbey Road. I'd love to do something soaring, epic, and heartfelt like that.

HW: There are very few recording artists who so confidently pull off such a varied palette as what you've proven capable of on this LP; some that come to mind as exceptions are Ween and Captain Beefheart and Zappa and Guided By Voices. Were any of those artists a lighthouse for you while you were crafting these songs?

CE: All those bands and artists are huge influences, Ween in particular. Reading and getting into Ween was a huge part of what made me finally get off my butt and start making music again. The independent spirit that drove each of these artists to create despite not necessarily having the big push of a label was a huge inspiration. Learning about Ween using a drum machine and writing silly songs and just generally not caring what other people thought of them was a liberating idea, and also made my excuses for why I wasn’t doing anything seem like just that: excuses.

HW: Speaking of tracks that DIDN'T make the record, Feed Me, Human is one of your standout songs and I feel like it exists in a world of its own stylistically; some kind of avant garde heavy metal oddity...definitely something I haven't heard before. Is metal a big part of your musical tastes, and if so what can you tell me about this track? It sort of skirts a strange territory that's both playful and sinister.

CE: I love metal! Metal as a genre is so tongue in cheek, and I love that about it. I never trust any metal band that takes themselves 100% seriously. I remember reading a story that Adam Jones from Tool told about how when he met Buzz Osbourne from the Melvins he told him that Boris was his favorite song and was a foundation for a lot of how he built his songwriting and sound, and Buzz responded something along the lines of, "Thanks, it's about my cat." Metal is so great because it can occupy both territories of sinister and silly.

HW: Let's focus on what did make the album. Metropolitan Malaise is unabashed power pop exuberance; Hydration is Key is a blissed out, psychedelic signal from another galaxy. You cover Big Star's 1972 acoustic masterpiece 13, and then there's the aforementioned I Sit Differently at the Piano; four minutes of Badalementi-esque guitar and trumpet noodling atop which sits a bizarre sampling of an interview with a mental patient from the early 60s. The Funkalator struts and swaggers with ballsy, bell bottomed moxie, and Werewolf Teacher is textbook singer-songwriter gold. And that's just HALF the album. But maybe the standout track here is The Somnambulist, a disarming number that begins with a tribal, measured acoustic bounce before exploding into a veritable roman candle of life-affirming guitar-fueled adrenaline.

CE: I'm particularly proud of The Somnambulist. It has the most overdubs of any track, and took me the longest to assemble out of any of them. I'm particularly proud of my vocal performance, which incubated in my head for a pretty long time, and took even longer to build up the ability to properly sing. It's the classic rock track I always wanted to write.

HW: What's your writing process like? What do you find is the most challenging part of the formula?

CE: Wake up, make some coffee pick up my guitar and start playing something...pulling up Garageband and a virtual drummer and see if I can get anything useful out of it. Record it, and see if there’s enough there to develop. Sometimes there's something good there for a full song, sometimes there isn't. I built a lot of songs on the fly, and would do multiple takes of things to see what worked or didn’t work. Having a good feedback network of people to send songs to certainly helped as well to guide the directions that were working and not working in the music. I think the most challenging thing for me with this project was not really working with other musicians to create. If I wanted to finish the song, it was on me!

HW: I really appreciate you taking the time to offer a little insight into what we can expect from The Harveys. I really think you've assembled a great collection of songs and I'm really looking forward to the vinyl.

CE: I think the biggest thing I’m hoping to offer is a bit of a blast of nostalgia that isn’t hopefully too derivative. Power pop and dad rock have reached the level of being uncool, but I still love making it. I’m hoping that I can bring some uncool music to people and hopefully get them to dig into the same things I love too. I was talking with Jake while we were mixing and mastering and we both said waiting for lightning to strike will involve you mostly waiting. It’ll happen, and does happen, but you have to work at it no matter what.

-End-

The debut LP from The Harveys will be available soon pending a Kickstarter. Please stay tuned to Charlie's Facebook page for more info and show your support for this gifted musician. You can stream the unmixed demo of Metropolitan Malaise on Bandcamp here:

https://theharveysarentreal.bandcamp.com/track/metropolitan-malaise

Album art by Grace Calderone, 2019. Bar photos by Harvey Woodlawn, 2018.

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rigelmejo · 5 years

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progress

i started trying to learn some chinese like idk in august. and i have never related more to a story i read once, of a 60-ish year old woman suddenly striving (and managing) to learn enough russian to read russian classics like war and peace in their native language.

because that’s how i feel... like i’m desperately trying to get to the point where i can read priest’s novels... because the translation is fine, and also sometimes impressive, but i know just enough to see all the details i’m missing, and

i actually am gonna have a physical copy of guardian and imperfections/defected goods and i feel like The Pressure to be able to read them at least basically

which. ahahahaha ;-; That is SUCH a lofty goal for the Near Future. Maybe long term, a very long term goal, but soon? Ahaaahaha ;-;

Anyway, i need to appreciate my progress. In about 3 months of studying, I have managed to go from knowing nothing but hello/thank you, to being able to read some subtitles, make out some long video titles/captions gist, to be able to look at a novel text and at least pinpoint moments of action taking place (which has been enough to at least look at an english translation, that says something like ‘shen wei’s right hand was kissed’ then look to the chinese version and find that line in text, so that i can word-for-word look up things with more precision). And these are things I should be very proud of myself for.

When I started studying French, the first language I took serious when trying to study - it took me 6 months to read most general texts and gleam the gist of the meaning. It took me 3 months to read the gist of titles/some captions/some summaries of nonfiction nature like instructional texts and news. And then it took me a year maybe to start being able to look at FICTIONAL things like novels or shows and start being able to follow the gist. With Japanese - it took me 1.5 YEARS to get to the point of being able to read the gist of titles/short captions/some small dialogues in manga.

Studying chinese for 3 months, i can now: follow short comical manga-based audios on youtube about 70-80% (I followed a lan wangji/wei wuxian short video audio), read very short fanartist comics (saw some guardian short comics and managed to follow them without looking anything up), can look at the chinese titles of videos on youtube and maybe 1/2 the time reasonably get the gist of what it means, i can look at chinese subtitles on the shows i’m watching and grasp maybe 50% of what i’m looking at. Mostly, again, the action oriented dialogue like ‘i said’ ‘he’s dead/what happened’ ‘what’s that’ ‘madam, help me please’ ‘10k years ago’ ‘brother/sister/etc can i’ ‘no need/worry’ ‘smile’ ‘the meaning is/so/therefore/but/however/still’... and clearly most of the more specific words I know that are adjectives or nouns, are catered toward the shows/stories I’m consuming - since ghost/demon/puppet/bright/smile/dead/murderer/chief/god/lord are the first kinds of nouns I started recognizing.

All of those achievements though... I should be grateful to have gotten to this place. In august, when I first looked at Guardian’s original text... the ONLY things I could understand were the numbers, and ‘hello/thank you/cat’. Now, even though I couldn’t read a chapter, I could skim through and find the names of people, and see if they’re doing something like speaking/smiling/looking/waiting, or if a ghost has appeared. Which is miles more than I could do three short months ago. And it is incredible to me, because it really is a lot of progress for me, in such a short time.

It really points out to me how starkly different japanese was to start learning. I think part of the huge difference, is chinese really is somewhat easier structurally for me to look at and parse through (and I get now why it’s rated Slightly easier to learn for native english speakers than japanese is), and I think part of it is because I’ve spent enough time studying languages now that I’m more efficient at it. It certainly appears I’m more efficient than I was in the past. My reading in japanese is... still pretty awful. I really... can only glance at maybe manga dialogues, or real short image captions, or real short physical comedy skits, and understand the gist. Anything more, and I quickly get lost. And I studied Japanese pretty consistently for 2ish years. Whereas with chinese, I am already at the point where I can look at a wall of text like an actual fictional novel (not comic, novel), and start parsing out at least some of what’s going on. Where I can watch a show and follow at least some of the main ideas without translation. I do think part of the difference also, is which words I tried learning first in what language - in Japanese I learned comedic words first, and everyday ‘go to school/work’ words, so for daily life comedy vlogs/slice of life simple manga I can follow some of the gist - but for more literary things I am completely lost. With chinese, I was watching shows from the get-go, so immediately action words/nouns that are repeated a lot, were the first words I started understanding. And I think learning action words helps a lot with following what is physically going on - which is something I did not focus on immediately in japanese. Now, in chinese, I’m focusing on a lot of literary words like ‘its just/its only a’, ‘but even/however’ etc kind of words, and adjectives, so I imagine over time those kinds of words will pop out to me easier as well.

I have learned how it is I tend to learn the fastest, although it’s not quite in line with the perfectly-rigid approach I wish I could manage instead:

- I need to start using the language immediately. - Not coddled. I need to use it. Get thrown into it. Throw myself into actual materials IN the language. The textbooks and readers with english are a crutch. I learn faster the more I dive straight into the actual language materials IN that language. - As usual, find a vocabulary guide and/or flashcard set with the most common words, use that as a place to start for vocabulary. With Chinese, that was the 1000-most-common-words-in-chinese-dramas memrise deck, some other anki decks i look at on occassion, and the words-by-most-common clozemaster chinese. - As usual, find a grammar guide, start CRAMMING through it. Inevitably, I am not going to understand the grammar until I see it working in the real language. But if I just make myself READ grammar points, then I’ll have a framework to understand the grammar I’ll see later being used. I’m currently working through https://www.chinese-grammar.org/ , which has been a very nice guide to just chug through. There are some other helpful guides - nanchinese is okay, but I HATE how slowly it progresses a user through the material. Again, I seem to do best when I’m just thrown into the deep end and FORCED to progress faster than I want to. Inevitably, I will always stop myself and keep covering the same basic material longer than I need to, if given the chance. So for myself, I really do need to just force myself to look at materials that look more difficult than I feel I am ready for. Again, future self: even if you feel you haven’t mastered the material, even if you haven’t memorized it yet, LITERALLY JUST PROGRESS as soon as you understand the gist of it. That’s it. Literally keep moving forward once you think you somewhat understand. - As usual (for non romanized alphabets), get a book/guide that covers the characters by most common, and start CRANKING THROUGH IT. Again, do NOT pause until you’ve memorized, just KEEP PROGRESSING once you feel you understand the basic gist, move forward. You will look over the same characters again and again later, there’s time to reread a whole book/guide later - the point is to get exposed to those characters and words, so that the next times you see them it’s reinforcing the learning instead of your first time. For this, there is a great book: Reading and Writing Chinese: Third Edition, HSK All Levels (2,349 Chinese Characters and 5,000+ Compounds). I got this one, which I like because as far as I can tell, it includes all the characters and words I’d need to learn for the HSK levels (which at least somewhat prepare you to have some command of the language/some ability to comprehend the language). So, this book prepares a learner decently by at least teaching things that are more likely to be commonly found in the language, and therefore going to pay off to learn overall. I also have been looking at this guide: http://www.mementoslangues.fr/Chinois/Sinogrammes/Table3000CaracteresChinois.pdf . It has 3000 chinese characters in order of frequency. Which, again, is useful in trying to learn what will be most applicable to understanding many things. When reading through it, I’m on the 50th character and pretty much knew all of them already in 3 months - which is good, and probably why I’ve felt what words/characters I’ve learned have paid off in understanding so much. If I had more time to read it, I might find I know a whole lot more. In the RaWC book, I’ve been highlighting the characters I know, and I’m still reading through the book, but maybe 300-500 I’ve highlighted so far cause I already knew them. For learning characters, any book/word guide that at least partially prioritizes for frequency, and for broadly what is going to be useful to comprehend that language, helps a lot to focus you on studying things that will improve basic understanding. I also found a book by Lingomastery, Chinese Most Common 1000 words - which I’m looking through too, when I get the time. Again - for me it’s not about looking things over until I’m perfect - it’s about looking once, understanding just basically, then as I see it over and over multiple times learning it fully. Because for me that is faster than slowly memorizing, because I’m a perfectionist and I often choose to move on much slower than I can actually learn. -Other things that have helped a ton: decent translators. The app PLECO is great, and can also translate some idioms. Google translate is nice because the app allows you to draw or speak the word instead of typing it so that if you don’t know the exact pinyin you can just draw the character you see. These three apps I found useful for translating chunks of sentences: https://fanyi.baidu.com/#zh/en/%E5%8F%AB%E5%89%8D%E8%BE%88 (I especially like how this one handles chunks of texts, and gives more precise footnotes of words/idioms at the bottom), https://translate.systran.net/translationTools/text?source=zh&target=en , https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary - The app Idiom is GREAT for looking at a chinese website/webnovel, and just translating word by word - it will give the character and pronounce it out loud. The translations are pretty freaking rough and sometimes not quite correct, but for super fast translating in-line on the same page while reading, it’s incredibly convenient. Likewise, the app BaiduTranslate allows you to just highlight text on your phone in any app, select ‘share’ select ‘baidutranslate’ app, and then it will translate the whole chunk of text - pinyin, audio, english, and some keywords/idioms more precisely translated in a footnote.These two apps, along with google-translate to draw in characters you can’t copy/paste, are good for super quick rough translations when working through a text/show. - Honestly, I think it has been helping as well that I’m watching so many chinese shows, and chinese youtube fan-made videos. I don’t personally think I do much with the audio to help myself learn, but I think it’s been helping me get better at looking up words (by pronouncing the tones closer to correct, and by drawing a character in the subtitles, and in youtube when there ARE english subs by looking from the english to chinese-hard-subs and matching some characters to specific words - it’s how i learned meaning/but/however/therefore). Even though I don’t notice significant improvement because of doing this, I do think it simply helps I’m interacting with chinese a lot. (And, of course, I love getting to the point in knowing a language, where you know JUST enough to be able to tell when the english subtitles CLEARLY DO NOT match what’s actually being said - that’s always fun). I do think that because I’m hearing chinese a lot, it’s easier for me to transfer my reading skills to listening skills - since I’m practicing both at once when I see the chinese subtitles, since I listen enough that they sound relatively familiar to what I think characters sound like in my head when reading (which, my internal voice still isn’t necessarily accurate, but it’s improving). This is significant, because I know in french I did NOT do this. So as a result, in french I could listen and would struggle significantly to match words to subtitles or text - I could read quite well but my listening lags behind. In chinese, I can reasonably follow along to audio with the text - they’re close enough in similarity to me that I don’t fear my listening comprehension is lagging as considerably as it does in french. Pretty much all the chinese words/phrases I am most sure I understand, are the ones I heard before reading. In french this was not the case, in part maybe because french has so many english cognates i could slide by in reading without necessarily learning the french pronunciations for a lot of words. Also - in chinese I generally plug new words into google translate or Pleco, both of those translators provide audio. I listen to the audio, because I want to make sure my tone is right. So for a majority of the words in chinese I learn, I listen to them several times at the beginning. I do think short term, so far it’s been paying off in listening comprehension a LOT with shows. And long term, I think if I continue doing this it will pay off in helping to keep my listening/reading comprehension a lot more balanced then it is in french. Which personally, I find hilarious, just because - when I started trying to learn chinese, I was literally ONLY concerned with reading comprehension. I didn’t care at all if I could pronounce or even knew what the words I was reading sounded like. But... to be fair, in chinese (thankfully!!!) many of the characters hint at their pronunciation based on how they look. So for chinese its often a matter of ‘okay this is gui/wei/shi/etc but which tone is it?’ Which I personally find... eons easier to come to terms with, then japanese characters, which often have multiple pronunciations, and those pronunciations rarely have to do with the appearance of the character. But with chinese, I see my favorite little ghostie radical, and know it might be pronounced gui or wei, and know it will probably have something to do with spirits. I see the speech radial and know it’ll probably have to do with speaking or communication or words. I see the ‘up’ radical and know it might be pronounced similar to ‘shang’. I deeply appreciate that in chinese the characters clearly have a logic - and though of course there are exceptions to those patterns, there are exceptions in many languages anyway, and for the most part those patterns are greatly useful.

Just a little thing I’ve noticed, but also I find the characters/words are much easier for me to remember BECAUSE I have names of characters, story plotlines to relate them to. Because I’ve seen Shen Wei/Wei Wuxian, it’s easy for me to remember Shen Wei’s wei has a mountain on top and is a high tone, and wei’s doesn’t have the mountain and is a different one. Because I’ve seen the ghost character in so many plotlines, I can recognize when it’s spirit, or ghost, or puppet, or demon. Cat, wolf, dog, owl... they’re all easier for me to remember because I can think of specific sentences and situations where I’ve read/heard those words. If I was just reading them in a textbook, they would not be so vivid in my memory. In a way, it’s like the words I pinpoint in a story stick out in my head as these bright points, and then new things I learn connect outward from them like spiderwebs. I know daren from guardian is like a lord, so then when I see lord-god in Destiny and Love I know what to relate it to, when i see furen as madam i know how to relate it to what i already know. And so on and so forth.

While I think there is definitely a place for learning in a structured way (and god I wish I was like that), I think my mind personally learns the fastest when I approach things based on most useful then work outward, and when I cover things quickly and broadly at only an understanding level of basic-gist-grasped, and then just start throwing myself into challenging material. I really think my mind prefers to dive headfirst into challenging things - it appreciates a challenge, it wants to problem solve, and it seems to work harder and focus better when it’s in the middle of being challenged. Now, working through challenging material can be very draining - and it still is, even though my brain learns faster by doing it. But seeing the progress after just 3 months, clearly its worth it.

3 months ago, I looked at a wall of text and understood nothing but the calendar number dates. Now I can look and sometimes even follow whats going on! Now I can see chinese subtitles and follow some of the action! I looked ad Mo Dao Zu Shi the other day, and managed to read the first few paragraphs! I just looked at Zhen Hun today, and scanned through it to pinpoint a few scenes - some I managed to find and read in chinese, some I only managed to make out one line from. But ALL of that is still miles above what I could manage to do at the start. I’m personally... very excited. I have so much more that I want to be able to do in the language. But I’m extremely happy with how far I’ve managed to progress so far.

---

Literally... my goal had been... to be able to start getting through the guardian novel in chinese at least grasping the gist... in the end of November this year. HA.

That is... not a reasonable goal. If I can manage it, even just like small snippets of the novel... then I will be floored with myself. We’ll see.

#rant #I was just reflecting #I really... have gotten through a lot #I can't believe I only started this in August.

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claudia1829things · 5 years

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"The Demand For An Ideal Woman"

"THE DEMAND FOR AN IDEAL WOMAN" Recently, the STAR WARS movie, "STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE" achieved a milestone. Twenty years has passed since it initial release in theaters in May 1999. However, there have been other recent or upcoming events within the STAR WARS franchise. One of them is the upcoming release of the third Sequel Trilogy movie in December. Another was the recent release of a Young Adults (YA) novel called "Queen's Shadow", the first stand alone story about the Prequel Trilogy's leading lady, Padmé Amidala.

Many fans, especially women, celebrated the release of "Queen's Shadow". Written by EK Johnston, the novel focused on a period in Padmé's life, when her career underwent a transformation from the elected monarch of Naboo to a senator of Naboo. This meant that the novel was set sometime during those ten years between "THE PHANTOM MENACE" and "STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES". More importantly, this novel featured the first time that Padmé was the main protagonist in any STAR WARS movie, television production or novel. "Queen's Shadow" also led many fans to contemplate the idea of Padmé surviving the birth of her twin children, Luke and Leia, and becoming a leader for the early manifestation of the Rebel Alliance. More importantly, the novel and the 20th anniversary of "THE PHANTOM MENACE" has revived the fans' never ending complaint that filmmaker George Lucas should have portrayed Padmé as an ideal character . . . a feminist icon. As a woman, the idea of a leading woman character as a feminist icon sounds very appealing. But as a lover of films and novels, I tend to harbor a strong wariness toward such characters - regardless of their gender. Recently, some fans have suggested that Padmé should have been the main character of the Prequel Trilogy (1999-2005) and not her husband, Anakin Skywalker. Considering that Anakin eventually became Darth Vader from the Original Trilogy (1977-1983), I found this suggestion a little hard to swallow. Even worse, I find the constant complaints that Lucas had "ruined" Padmé's character, due to the manner of her death in "STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH", rather tiresome and pedantic. As I have pointed out in a previous article about Padmé, I found nothing wrong with a person succumbing to death due to a "broken heart" or allowing one's emotions to affect his/her health. Such deaths have actually occurred in real life. And considering that Padmé was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, had endured a series of traumatic events in her professional and personal life, including a recent attack by a jealous Anakin, the circumstances of her death did not surprise me, let alone anger me. In regard to the idea that Padmé should have been the main protagonist of the Prequel Trilogy Amidala . . . this did not make any sense to me. Like Han Solo and Leia Organa in the Original Trilogy, Padmé was a major supporting character in the Prequel Trilogy. The real focus of the Prequel Trilogy was Anakin Skywalker, which made sense considering he proved to be the catalyst of the Jedi Order's downfall and rise of the Galactic Empire. And in his own way, Padmé and Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, was the Original Trilogy's main character. Although Ewan McGregor was the leading actor in the second and third films of the Prequel Trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi was not the central character. It was still Anakin. And I do not recall any film in STAR WARS franchise being made solely about Obi-Wan. Oh yes, there had been plans for one, but due to the failure of "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY", Disney Studios had decided to curtail any Obi-Wan solo film. Yet, many did not complain. Many had bitched and moaned about how Lucas treated Padmé's character, because he had conveyed her weaknesses, as well as her strengths. He did the same with many male characters. Apparently, certain people cannot deal with a major female character's weaknesses being on display, unless she is either the main character or in a drama. What am I saying? Many people still cannot make up their mines on whether they want the Rey character from Disney's Sequel Trilogy to be ideal or flawed. On the other hand, I once came across an article - it might have come from "The Mary Sue Blog" but I am not sure - claimed that the problem with Padmé was not that she was not allowed to have flaws. This person claimed that the that moviegoers saw her as a problem solver who never gave up in the first two movies. The article also added that Padmé was not someone who would give up the will to live. A few years ago, I had written an ARTICLE that discussed Padmé's mistakes in all three Prequel Trilogy movies and argued that she was not the "flawless" or "ideal" character that many still regard her as. I had also pointed out that in "STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH", Padmé had experienced the loss of the Galactic Republic, the rise of the Galactic Empire, the loss of her husband to Palpatine and the Sith, and his physical attack on her in a brief space of time – within two days or less. As someone who had recently experienced personal loss, I understood why she had given in to emotional despair. I had only experienced one loss. Padmé did not. Just because she was able to not give up and overcome a situation in the past, did not mean that she would always be able to do this. I still recall the "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" Season Five episode called (5.21) "The Weight of the World" in which the main protagonist, Buffy Summers, had went into a catatonic state after she failing to prevent her younger sister Dawn from being abducted by the season’s Big Bad, a hell demon called Glory. Buffy had failed to overcome her state of catatonic depression on her own. She needed help and she eventually got it in the form of one of her closest friends, Willow Rosenberg. There was no Willow to help Padmé deal with her emotional state during the downfall of the Republic and the Jedi Order. Padmé had no Willow to deal with the emotional trauma of Anakin's transformation into a Sith Lord or his attack upon her. Instead, she had to deal with going into premature labor and giving birth to twins. I hate to say this, but neither Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda or Bail Organa were as emotionally close to Padmé as Willow Rosenberg was close to Buffy Summers. And instead of providing emotional support to her, the two Jedi Masters and the senator were more focused on her going into labor and giving birth. There is something about today's feminism that truly irritates me. Women (both in real life and in fiction) are not allowed to be flawed. Actually, I think today's feminists and sexist men have that trait in common. Both groups demand that women be ideal in a way THEY believe women should be ideal. For feminists, women should be some all knowing saint, who can kick ass and have a successful career outside of the home. For sexist men (or men in general), women should be attractive or beautiful bed warmers, home carers and emotional crutches. Women are expected to revolve their lives around the men in their lives. Women in real life are not allowed to be flawed - especially if they are famous. And fictional women - especially those who are major characters in an action story - are definitely NOT ALLOWED to be flawed. Especially someone like Padmé Amidala. I do not believe that Lucas had subjected Padmé's character with weak writing. I think too many fans were too prejudiced to allow her to be a complex woman with both strengths and weaknesses. They had wanted . . . no, they had demanded she be some feminist icon. While complaining about Padmé's character, they would always compare her with her daughter, Princess Leia Organa aka Skywalker. The ironic thing is that Leia was no more of a feminist icon than her mother. Leia had her own set of flaws. Yes, she was an intelligent and capable political leader, who was also knowledgeable about military tactics and defending herself. Leia also possessed a tough demeanor and a sharp wit. On the other hand, Leia harbored a hot temper, impatience and a penchant for being both judgmental and an emotional coward. Nor was she the type to be forgiving (except with certain people). Two of Leia's flaws - her temper and being judgmental - were on full display in the 1980 movie, "STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK". In that film, she had supported Chewbacca’s angry and murderous attack upon Lando Calrissian, after the latter was forced to betray them to Darth Vader and the Empire. During that scene, both Leia and Chewbacca’s anger got the best of them at a time when it should not have. Neither had pondered over how the Empire had arrived on Bespin before them. Nor did they ever considered that Vader had coerced Lando into choosing between betraying Han and them or watching the Empire destroy Bespin and its citizens. Many fans have also complained that George Lucas had failed to explore Padmé's backstory . . . especially in "THE PHANTOM MENACE" and "ATTACK OF THE CLONES". I found this complaint rather hypocritical. Lucas had never bothered to explore Leia or her future husband Han Solo's backstory in the Original Trilogy films. Yet, no one or very few people have complained about this. When Disney Studios finally green-lighted a movie about Han's backstory, many film goers and media outlets like "The Mary Sue Blog" bitched and moaned about how it was not necessary. I suspect they had made this complaint, because it was easier than criticizing how Disney Studios/Lucasfilm had handled the movie's production and theatrical release. Is it any wonder that I found this complaint that a movie about Han's backstory was not necessary, but Padmé's was? And to this day, no one has complained about a lack of Leia's backstory in the 1977-1983 films. Look, I am happy that a novel about Padmé Amidala has been written. And I find it interesting that STAR WARS fans will get a chance to peek into those years between "THE PHANTOM MENACE" and "ATTACK OF THE CLONES". But I must admit that I found myself getting irritated that so many have used the novel's upcoming release to criticize George Lucas' portrayal of her character. It seems obvious to me that a great deal of their criticism is wrapped around a lot of hypocrisy, an inability to understand human nature and a definite lack of attention toward what actually happened to Padmé in the Prequel Trilogy. I cannot help but feel that some people need to realize that in contemplating feminism, they also need to factor in the concept of human nature . . . and good writing. Good writing or a strong character is not one who can do no wrong or be strong, 24/7. A strong character, for me, is someone who possesses both strengths and weaknesses . . . or virtues and flaws. As far as I am concerned, George Lucas had included all in his creation of Padmé Amidala.

#star wars #star wars saga #star wars prequel trilogy #padme amidala #natalie portman #george lucas #anti the mary sue blog #leia organa #chewbacca #star wars episode i the phantom menace #star wars episode iii revenge of the #star wars episode v: the empire strikes back #carrie fisher #peter mayhew #anakin skywalker

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thetygre · 6 years

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30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #16: Favorite Evil Weapon/Object

1. Stormbringer (Elric of Melnibone)

The Black Blade. Daughter of Arioch. The Stealer of Souls. One of the single most legendary swords in all of fantasy, present in every universe in at least one form or another. A demon of chaos bound by the Lords of Law into the shape of a weapon. Whoever wields it can drain the souls from whoever they stab and sustain themselves with it, but is driven by a terrible hunger. The Black Blade has a will of its own, and it howls for blood as it is swung. In short, the definitive evil weapon.

What makes Stormbringer stand out from its later imitators, and even previous legendary evil weapons, is how it affects its primary wield, Elric of Melnibone. As an albino, Elric is sickly, and usually uses medicine and dark magic to stay alive. But abroad in the Young Kingdoms, Elric has to rely on Stormbringer to survive. Even as Elric connects with people outside his home kingdom, they are bound to die whenever he needs to stay alive, no matter how much Elric tries to fight it. Stormbringer is essentially a manifestation of Elric’s burden as the Champion of Balance, but also his greater isolation that distances him from being able to make connections. Elric makes it clear that Stormbringer isn’t some kind of ultimate weapon, it’s a crutch, a drug that ultimately consumes its user. And in the end, that’s what happens to Elric; when the entire universe is consumed by chaos, Stormbringer finally turns on Elric before disappearing into the apocalypse.

2. Soul Edge/Soul Calibur (Soulcalibur)

So this is honestly cheating, but I just can’t pick between the two swords. Soul Edge is the clear Stormbringer descendent and looks rad as hell to boot. Even more that Stormbringer, Soul Edge looks like a living, breathing monster. It can even shapeshift into weapons that aren’t sword, and it had an entire life cycle in Soulcalibur 2. But Soul Edge never really stopped being the ‘bad’ sword. It’s counterpart, Soul Calibur, on the other hand, started off as the ‘good’ sword. But as the series went on, Soul Calibur began to change. In Soulcalibur 4 it was hinted that Soul Calibur might have a mind of its own as well, and it might not have the purest intentions. By Soulcalibur 5, the plot hook came to fruition; Soul Calibur is just as dangerous as Soul Edge and wants to trap the world in a perfect unchanging state. The swords have become the embodiments of Law and Chaos; the Michael Moorcock reference comes full circle. All we need now is a game where Soul Calibur is out of control and the only thing that can stop it is Soul Edge.

3. The Terror Mask (Splatterhouse)

The Terror Mask has sass, the Terror Mask has a personality. Half these evil artifacts are just kind of generically malevolent; they won’t yell at you in Jim Cummings’ voice and call you a pussy when you notice one of your arms is missing. There’s a surprising amount of lore invested in the Terror Mask. An entity from the space between spaces, it fled the cosmic horror gods until they bound it in a bone mask. Now it’s out to settle the score, and whoever is wearing it just happens to be along for the ride. Granted, the wearer of the mask turns into a hulking slasher ogre that is almost impossible to kill. The Splatterhouse games are a gateway into the video game id, replete with monsters, ultra-violence, and a hero so buff he puts the ‘masculine’ in ‘toxic masculinity’. The Terror Mask, like in the game, is just a way to get to that special kind of hell.

4. The Necronomicon Ex Mortis (Evil Dead)

The Necronomicon Ex Mortis is probably the most famous evil book in the world, probably more so than Lovecraft’s original Necronomicon. (Frankly, I could do an entire list on favorite evil books, but we’ll get there when we get there.) The Ex Mortis really doesn’t have a lot to do with Lovecraft besides the name, other than that they are both old, sanity-rending, and bodies of literature. But, being honest, the Ex Mortis is just the more fun of the two. The Ex Mortis is the party-boy of evil books to the original Necronomicon’s Ivy League scholar. It’s such an embodiment of Sam Raimi horror; gory, campy, with a bit of slapstick thrown in, and its mere presence causes weirdness to happen. The Necronomicon Ex Mortis contains knowledge of things man was not meant to know, and it knows it. It’s mischievous, and it’d almost be lovable if it wasn’t also full of immensely powerful black magic.

5. The One Ring (Lord of the Rings)

I’ve always been interested by the concept that the One Ring can think for itself. The One Ring is, ultimately, an incredibly loyal evil artifact, and is only interested in new yielders insofar as they can deliver it back to Sauron. The Ring really is an apt counterpart for the hobbits; a little thing, defenseless, almost useless at first glance, but capable of changing the world. The Ring also has a pedigree, of course. It shares more than few traits with the Ring of Nibelung from the Wagnerian cycle of operas of the same name. The Nibelung Ring, like the One Ring, can grant the wearer power over the world, but only if they renounce love. In time, the covetousness of men and gods for the ring destroys the world and brings about Ragnarok. The One Ring is a reflection of the Ring of Nibelung, but also vastly different in many respects. It brings about the end of the gods and immortals, but only because they were staying to try and destroy it. The end of the Ring and of Sauron grants the world the ability to move into the next age, the age of mankind, which reflects not only Tolkien’s notions about divinity and its place in human existence, but I think also his faith that people can rise to their best in the changing times.

6. Rubilax (Wakfu)

Rubilax is the only evil weapon here to have a character arc. Granted, that’s because he’s actually a demon bound to a sword, but whatever. Rubilax starts out as your typical evil sword, trying to possess the (idiot) paladin bound to guard him. Not to make it a contest, but he gets pretty far, to the point that said paladin has to release Rubilax and fight him in a bare-knuckle fist fight into submission. After that, things get kind of complicated. People die, souls are displaced, there’s a colosseum death match, and Rubilax has to make some calls about his moral character, so to speak. In the end, Rubilax decides to side with the good guys, and even gets along with the paladin’s kids. So he’s less of an evil weapon and more of just a demonic one, but he’s definitely the most nuanced character here.

7. The Event Horizon (Event Horizon)

The Even Horizon is pushing the definition of ‘evil object’. It’s really more of an evil place, which might also be worth a look sometime, but for now a ship counts as an object. There’s plenty of sci-fi stories that try to do the cursed spaceship deal, but I feel like Event Horizon is the only one that really captures the gothic horror aspect. I think we tend to forget that architecture, aside from its practical usage, is also meant to convey ideas and thoughts as much as any other form of artistry, and was one of the more important forms of public communication before the spread of reading. The architecture of the Event Horizon is the words to a spell, the three-dimensional incantation that opens the gates of Hell. It was a morbid, dark temple to man’s ignorance even before it went into other dimensions. Once it returns, it hungers for more; a cursed ship bound to always return to its home port on the other side. Something about the Event Horizon reminds me of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the way the ship is warped and changed by sailing through strange waters, and how the survivors are bound to relive the curse over and over again. That’s why the Event Horizon is my favorite ghost ship in science fiction.

8. The Marker (Dead Space)

The Marker draws directly from Event Horizon, and they both share the concept of wordlessly communicating a kind of madness to the people who view them. The Marker, though, takes it to a new extreme, in that it has a literal insanity aura that causes hallucinations, paranoia, and aggressiveness. An interesting way that the Marker is more ‘alive’ than other evil objects is that it is self-propagating; part of the madness it transmits is the formula necessary for its replications. But what I find most fascinating is how the Marker can transmit information that changes DNA, altering people on the cellular level to turn them into Necromorphs. That kind of power, to change biology through information, is nothing short of magic in most other settings.

9. The Berserker Armor (Berserk)

You can’t fight demons if you ain’t cute. The Berserker Armor was forged by dwarves for the explicit purpose of fighting demons and monsters. It draws on the rage and negative energy inside a person to give them incredible strength and agility, but at the price of slowly draining their senses. The Skull Knight originally made it for himself, but even he was scared off by the armor’s power. Now Guts has it, and he has a lot of rage to give. I think the most fascinating thing about the armor is how it changes and molds itself to how Guts’ uses it. It didn’t start off with a giant wolf helmet; that’s just Guts’ personal totem representing his inner darkness. But when the armor drew on that, it changed shape, and when Guts holds himself back, it stays restrained. Still, the armor takes a lower spot because it itself isn’t evil, it just draws on a person’s internal negativity; it’s all up to the wearer on how much they use it.

10. The Gonne (Discworld)

Discworld is full of anachronistic magical devices, and they’re all usually cause for some kind of concern. The Gonne was at the center of a fairly elaborate murder plot involving the Assassin’s Guild and the Night Watch, but was finally put a stop to. Like any good evil weapon, it whispers promises of power to whoever happens to be holding it at the time, and is also a little trigger-happy. But the Gonne and its metaphor for firearms gets kind of overshadowed by everything happening around it, and it even gets acknowledged as a powerful and worthy weapon in its own way by the end.

#30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #30 Day Monster Challenge #soul calibur #lord of the rings #dead space #wakfu #evil dead #berserk #long post

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agentkentuckypresents-blog · 6 years

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(agentkentucky)

Coloring Outside the Lines Episode 1: Making Machinima and the New Media Maze

~LISTEN ALONG~

WARNING: Volume Down. This one compressed pretty loudly this time around.

Transcript (with pictures! Most effective when paired with hitting play):

Hi everyone, my name is Erin Christopher aka Agent Kentucky, and you are listening to, “Agent Kentucky Presents: Coloring Outside the Lines: RWBY, Red vs. Blue, and the Rise of the New Media Community”. This four-week blogcast is being completed as a course requirement for my new media class at Florida State University and will use the creation and dissemination of the Rooster Teeth brand as a case study in the formation of new media communities and the impact of digital storytelling. Now, I feel like there was some jargon there, so I’m going to back it up a minute and talk about what new media is, why I’ve chosen to study this company, who I am as a host in relation to the topic, and then we’ll get into the focus of this week’s blogcast, which is making machinima and the new media maze. So, if you can’t tell, I’m a pretty big fan of wordplay and alliteration, sometimes it comes unconsciously so keep an ear out.

Anyway, if you’re not familiar with what Red versus Blue is, I’ll be explaining more in a little bit, but it’s best known as the longest-running episodic web series ever. Still, if you’ve never seen it, you might be wondering why I’ve chosen “Agent Kentucky Presents” as the title of a blogcast with a focus on Red vs Blue. So first of all I’m from Kentucky, and while yes I can do the stereotypical Kentucky accent, I will not be using it in this blogcast because I figure I grew up in Kentucky, this is my voice, this is a brand of a Kentucky accent. Don’t want to do anything disingenuous, here. But moving on, in Red vs Blue, the Rooster Teeth series that launched the whole company, there are 49 Agents called “The Freelancers”, who are named after US states, so you have Agent Texas, Agent Washington, Agent Carolina, but as it stands Agent Kentucky is still out there adventuring and has not yet shown up. So I figure, for my little blogcast, I’ll be the Agent Kentucky’s stand-in until the real Agent Kentucky makes their debut on Red vs. Blue—and, maybe they’ll have the stereotypical Kentucky accent.

Caption: Say hello to the Freelancers! None of these cool kids are Red or Blue, but stand-in Agent Kentucky is goin’ rogue on the Blue Team (Go Cats?)

Moving on, I think I should explain what I mean by a new media case study before we jump too deep into this. So, within this field of new media studies—which is still really getting its footing in the larger academic world—we’re going to be looking primarily at these new ways stories and information are distributed via the Internet. Kind of delving in deeper into this rise of the web series that we really see coming to a bit of an apex today with the popularity and convenience of streaming, also YouTubers and the social media influencers. New media also encompasses things like the web comic, the visual novel, the listicle, the podcast, the fiction podcast—which has actually been my primary area of research for the past six months I’ve been doing my senior thesis, but the thing is we’d be here forever if I named off everything that counts as new media because it’s always growing and always changing, which makes it challenging to keep up with trends and shifts, but provides for a lot of diversity of material.

So, all research starts out with a core question, even though I’m going to be talking about a lot of different things regarding new media here in this blogcast, but my question I really want to focus on is about community and these web series. So RvB, RWBY, really anything that Rooster Teeth is putting out, you have gen:LOCK coming in January, which is this huge exciting new scifi series helmed by RWBY’s director Gray Haddock and Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan, probably a more familiar name if you’re not familiar with RT’s stuff, but the point is part of this company’s success has grown out of a backbone of community.

Caption: Michael B. Jordan is back to snap some retainers (and pilot some bad*ss mechs) as the voice of Julian Chase, protagonist of the upcoming Rooster Teeth Animation series gen:LOCK

And I’m not just talking about audience—for the record, I will be referring to community and audience as totally different things. So you can watch something and never think about it again, hardly talk to anybody about it, it goes out of your mind—but you were still part of the audience. You consumed that commodity. Community, on the other hand, implies further engagement, it implies connection with other audience members, sometimes this brings about the production of transformative works, so we’re talking fanart, that sort of thing. All of this long explication here brings me to my central research question which is, “How is the niche web series a catalyst of community unbounded by geography?” So that rhymes a little but it’s still kind of jargon-y, so I am essentially asking here, what is it about web series like RvB that brings people together so passionately? And obviously, you have a lot of discussions like this going on right now about modern fandom, kind of concerning things on mainstream platforms, by mainstream studios, but I think there’s a personal element here when we’re talking about indie content, especially indie web content, that facilitates the development of a different kind of consumer community—there really are tons of these out there now, but I want to focus on the RT community specifically given their time frame, how they really were ahead of their time on these things. So, kind of presenting a thesis for my question here, I think niche has a lot to do with this development of community by the web series—you’re getting people engaging in conversations who have more specific intersections of interests, I also think creator-community connection has a lot to do with it which is really bridged through social media nowadays, and that’s kind of what we’re going to be exploring here through these four episodes.

Caption: The spectrum of Red vs. Blue Heroes

Which, nature of research, one question leads to another, why focus on these series specifically? For the most part, we’re going to be talking about Red vs Blue but later we’ll touch on RWBY, which if you’re not following along in the blog is spelled R-W-B-Y, it stands for the main characters’ names and the colors they’re associated with, and I’m not just doing this because it lets me make a cheeky little title about coloring outside the lines, but these series really have made a profound impact on the landscape of digital storytelling and what we think about when we produce visual entertainment for the Internet. And going off that, the ways in which these stories have brought so many people together. I think one of the reasons I really latched onto what this company does, especially after watching their fifteenth anniversary documentary Why We’re Here, which is also the title of the first episode of Red vs Blue, is because my own mission as a storyteller, as a screenwriter, a novelist is to write things that bring people together. Things people can talk about, make friends through. I’ve made of my some of my dearest long-distance friends over the years over just nerding out about stuff, so what I’m really curious about is what makes these niche series so powerful as a connective tissue among geographically disparate people.

Caption: Community comes together at the 2017 Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX) in Austin, Texas

So quick history lesson, in 2003, two years before the advent of YouTube, which has essentially become our society’s video hosting and consumption crutch, we see the birth of Red vs Blue, and subsequently the group that will become the founders of currently Austin, TX based Rooster Teeth Productions. Now with 16 seasons and 5 spinoff miniseries under its belt, Red vs Blue was created originally using playable characters in the shooter video game HALO, which was then overdubbed with comedic voice acting and released on Rooster Teeth founder Burnie Burns’ website, drunkgamers.com, where he and his friends, as the title suggests, would do the equivalent of Drunk History, but for video game reviews. The first official episode was released on April 1st, 2003, and the series actually found itself as part of a larger new media content movement called machinima, which was essentially the art of making movies out of video gameplay. Red vs Blue however has become probably the best-known example of this new media genre, having ballooned into the internet smash hit that it is today.

Not to say that there weren’t bumps in the road, however. After RvB started drumming up serious views, the crew got into some pretty hot water with Microsoft because, obviously, HALO was protected under their copyright. However, due to RvB’s massive success and the hordes of new players it actually brought the HALO franchise, the team at Rooster Teeth was allowed to use HALO footage to make Red vs Blue completely free of royalties.

Anyway, so the first episode of RvB, after it premiered in April 2003—see, I rhymed again—essentially became a viral video before the term viral video even entered our vernacular. Okay, say that ten times fast. But really, by the third episode, things were really taking off and the team had started to realize they had struck on something pretty special here. Which brings me to discuss, “how does Red vs Blue even fit into this greater new media genre of machinima?” For the record, I’d never even heard of this genre, or knew that there was a special genre for the type of production Red vs Blue is, and the creators didn’t know it either at the time, so I don’t feel as bad about it as I could.

Caption: “What are YOU lookin’ at?”*

*Not the actual dialogue

Interestingly enough, there’s actually an Academy of Machinima of Arts and Sciences, that’s had its own film festival, awards show, and an expo convention that started in 2008. The first Machinima Film Festival and Awards were held in 2002, in which Anachronox: The Movie, a short film created using the 3D role-playing game Anachronox, took home best picture. A year later, the prize went to Red vs Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles. The first ever machinima films, however, were created around 1996 using the video game Quake. And similarly to Rooster Teeth, you had teams of producers—two of the big ones were called The Rangers and the Undead Clan, who created these early machinima films and distributed them via the Internet.

Now, even though it’s made using an action shooter game, Red vs Blue really isn’t all that much about the fighting—although there definitely is some, it’s certainly not like what you’re going to find in say, RWBY, where you’ve got these super crazy fight scenes and characters whipping out convertible weapons and all that. Rather, Red vs Blue is more about what happens in these humorous conversations among soldiers, and I think that’s one of the big appeals of it. So many times, content is focused on the action, kind of one of the fundamentals of structuring a plot is asking “is this important to the story? Is this important to the characters?” but Red vs Blue endeavors to make the non-fighting, the cracking jokes and dry humor, the focus, that’s the important stuff. There’s actually academic literature out there on RvB as a piece containing anti-war sentiment, I have it linked in the sources if you wanna check it out.

However, I also think RvB has a big appeal due to the interactive nature of the content, starting with its creation and continuing on into its distribution and consumption. So in an academic article on the art of machinima, Dr. Henry Lowood, who is a curator of science and technology history in the libraries at Stanford University, discusses this idea of the player—that is the player of a given video game—as a performer. Which, you know, machinima—the players become the animators, the modelers, the voice actors, but Lowood argues that this is inherent to video games, that the video game experience actually has laid the psychological groundwork for machinima to arise as a form of new media storytelling. So, when you’re playing a video game, especially an RPG, you are, for the most part, in control, you have to literally be inside your character’s head, making decisions for them. That’s why, when games are talked about or reviewed, you’ll see the word “immersive” thrown around a lot, and that’s because so many times when you’re playing video games you are placed into the psychological position of your playable character. According to Lowood, that makes you an actor.

Caption: A table read of Red vs. Blue Season 10.

So, of course, machinima producers like the Rooster Teeth founders go the extra mile here, doing voice acting over staged video gameplay, but the point, according to Lowood, is that impetus to create is already there just through the act of playing a video game. So, if we’re looking at RvB’s production as something that amplifies player-game interaction into this new dimension, is it so much of a stretch to claim that that interactive nature is actually directly reflected in the creation of the Rooster Teeth community? Of course, the founders talk about in the documentary how the community forums were created so the fans could really just entertain each other while there were lulls in releasing content, but you also saw the founders having day-to-day engagements with their fans, sort of befriending them, they ended up actually hiring a bunch of their early fans like Gavin Free, Barbara Dunkelman, and Miles Luna who are now trademark company personalities, so you wonder if interactive was just kind of always in the blueprint, and of course carries on into the company mission today.

Finally, I really think that they’ve capitalized—as so many online content creators have—on the simple fact that people process information via narrative. Really, when you break it down, new media studies as a whole is kind of the study of how stories are connecting people. Via the internet, digitally. I mean really that’s intrinsic to the core of humanities, this idea of stories connecting people. All this to say, of course, that this concept of interactive creation, of including the consumer in the narrative, is kind of what it takes to lay the seeds of such a well-connected consumer community.

So, next episode I am going to dive deeper into this creation of community and I would really love to do a Q and A, maybe an interview, so if you’re part of the Rooster Teeth community and don’t mind me reading off your answers to a couple of questions, or if you want to ask me questions regarding this and my research on it, my ask box is open you just can’t send me anonymous messages—so don’t be shy, I only do that for my own safety and security, and you can always request that I not give away your URL when I do the Q and A. Anyway, thanks for tuning in, and we’ll be back with another episode next Friday.

~Peace out, and check out the bibliography under the cut.

AKY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lowood, Henry. “Real-Time Performance: Machinima and Game Studies”. Journal of Media Practice, vol. 2, no. 1, 2006, pp.10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20060101161233/http://www.idmaa.org/journal/pdf/iDMAa_Journal_Vol_2_No_1_screen.pdf . Accessed 14 September, 2018.

Ott, J. “Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences”. Making the Movie, 7 Aug. 2005, http://makingthemovie.info/2005/08/academy-of-machinima-arts-sciences.html . Accessed 14 September, 2018.

Starrs, D. Bruno. "Reverbing: The 'Red vs. Blue' machinima as anti-war film", 'Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies', NY, London: Routledge, 24.2, 2010, pp. 265–277.

Thompson, Clive. “The Xbox Auteurs.” The New York Times Magazine, 7 Aug. 2005, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/magazine/the-xbox-auteurs.html. Accessed 14 September, 2018.

Why We’re Here. Directed by Mat Hames, Rooster Teeth, 2018.

#agentkentucky #podcast #rooster teeth #red vs blue #rvb #rt community #gaming #new podcast #halo #new media

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phoenixagent003 · 3 years

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In Defense of Fanfiction

So, fairly recently (at time of writing), a fellow writer decided to disparage authors who cut their teeth writing fanfiction which, in their words “actively teaches you to write worse.”

Now, as someone who did cut their teeth writing fanfiction, my gut instinct to seeing this tweet was to angrily quote tweet it with the reply “Oh fuck off.” But that much as a I wanted to do that, I didn’t for several reasons. For one, I just generally try to be restrained and selective for who I get that angry and confrontational with online, reserving it mostly for politicians, celebrities, and DC’s Titans. Entities at once morally bankrupt, and largely immune to any kind of damage that I personally can inflict due to an absence of actual humanity.

And that all being said, this person was… well a person. A person with a narrow-minded and incorrect opinion, but still a person. And a fellow writer. So then I thought about refuting their bad-take, but that felt too much like swooping in to mansplain writing to someone who by all accounts seems to have been doing it at least as long as I have, and who’s been considerably more professionally successful at it.

Plus, like I said, I got my start in fanfiction. My origins are quite literally being targeted and attacked here. And feeling targeted can make people say and do some really stupid stuff if they don’t stop and think beforehand.

Basically, I didn’t want to start a Twitter beef over this because quite frankly the internet would be a happier place if we all just did that less, but I still saw a lot of bad arguments and missed points, so I couldn’t just say nothing. And so here we are, at a compromise between Twitter arguing and saying nothing—blogging about it.

The writer in question turned her single tweet into an entire thread that brought up a lot of very different, very unrelated issues, some of which I want to touch on as well, but before I do any of that, I want to answer the central argument, taking it as much as I can on face value and inferring as little else as possible: that fanfiction “actively teaches you to write worse.”

Does it?

Twitter is a terrible medium for communication. It rewards broad, inflammatory statements and its character limit leaves little room for nuance. Some people attempt brute-force circumventions of that limit, but most don’t, and the site isn’t suited to it. So it is unsurprisingly difficult to parse out exactly what they meant, but I can take a stab at it by covering as many bases as I could think of.

Does the medium of fanfiction inherently teach poor writing fundamentals, like prose, plot structure, or character development?

No. Writing, like most skills, is honed by practice. Every time you think about the best word to put on a page or the best way to structure a sentence or story, you are getting better at writing. You start a sentence, and think to yourself, “Hang on, there’s gotta be a better way to word that.” And that moment, where you reflect on your craft and look for ways and spots to improve it—that is you learning. Developing. Maybe you think of a way to word that sentence better, maybe you don’t. But the act of thinking, of searching, of even just acknowledging that it could be better is still work towards improvement. Doesn’t matter if it’s dialogue written for Harry Potter or for your original character, do not steal.

90% of fanfiction is crap. But 90% of everything is crap. Fanfiction is perhaps more famous for being mostly crap, but it’s really not hard to understand why. First off, the only barrier to entry for writing is basic literacy. If you can read this sentence, you can try your hand at writing. The difference between fanfiction and say, traditionally published works, is that fanfiction kind of keeps that low barrier to entry, whereas to get traditionally published you typically have to impress at least two other people—your agent, and then the editor you agent sends your shit to. And even then, that’s not a insurmountable barrier to entry. A metric butt-ton of people do it all the time.

In short, with fanfiction, the “slush pile” is open and visible, whereas with most other stuff, the only people who have to read that garbage are agents and editors, God have mercy on their souls. But rest assured, there is just as much shitty original fiction as there is shitty fanfiction.

In addition to the low barrier to entry, fanfiction is where a lot of people first dip their toe into this gig. And unless you are an unparalleled prodigy, when you’re new at something, you are bad at something. Which is fine. Doing something poorly is the first step to doing something competently. Practice is practice.

Now, you can practice something incorrectly and do yourself wrong—anybody who knows about proper weight lifting form can tell you that. But for the most part, a writer working on fanfiction is no more likely to do this than someone writing anything else.

The two exceptions I can think of are character and worldbuilding. Somewhat unique to fanfiction (we’ll talk about that in a minute) versus original fiction is that in fanfic, the characters and world are already established. Depending on the kind of fic you write, you may very well not get practice or experience making characters or worlds, since you’re using someone else’s work to basically cover that for you. So, sometimes, in this one specific area, fanfiction does feature something of a crutch that could theoretically lead to deficiencies in a writer’s fundamentals.

That said, that is very much dependent on the type of fanfic. Some works feature entirely original casts, telling a new story with new characters in an established setting. And even in fics which predominantly focus on the established cast, fanfic writers are downright notorious for adding new, original characters into the mix. Most of them are… awful. But we already covered why that is. Remember, bad writing is not the same thing as bad practice.

Ditto worldbuilding, where we’ve got plenty of fanfics that outright replace the world of the established story. The Alternate Universe concept is a very popular one in fanfic.

I will say in a closing than with worldbuilding and character, fanfiction does typically replace only one of these while keeping the other. Mainly because if you changed both, you’re liable to have left the realm of fanfiction altogether.

Does fanfiction, by its nature, leave you unprepared for making the transition to the professional writing world?

Let’s pretend for a moment that we didn’t just shoot down the idea that writing fanfiction means you never honed your ability to create your own original world and characters. That’s nonsense, but let’s say for purely hypothetical arguments sake, that if you start out writing fanfiction, your character-creating muscles will atrophy and you’ll only be able to work with pre-existing concepts, worlds, and characters. Does fanfiction leave you unprepared for making it in the world of professional writing?

For your consideration, I present: the very concept of episodic television. TV shows regularly bring on writers who did not originate either the show or its characters. TV writers craft stories borrowing a world and characters that somebody else came up with. The only difference between them is fanfiction is they got paid and get to be stamped as canon. Same muscles getting used. Same kind of exercise.

The spec script, the method by which most people showcase their ability to write for TV, is literally just fanfiction.

Then we have adaptations and retelling of both licensed and public domain properties, where once again, we have scores of writers, taking characters and concepts that they did not come up with, and using them to tell their own stories, or even just put different spins on the originals. What if Hades and Persephone, but without the whole “against her will” thing? Hey Marvel, can I use your Norse god character to tell a story about how societies built on the back of colonialism are inherently flawed and shouldn’t be preserved at the expense of the people?

The skillset of playing with other people’s toys to make something compelling is an incredibly valuable one for a writer to have. If anything, I’d argue that fanfiction is even better suited to teaching this skillset than writing original fiction.

And as a quick aside, that practice of playing with other people’s characters and constantly asking “Is this in character for them?” is a very useful practice that actually translates very well to writing your own characters. When you invented a character, it can be tempting to declare anything you write “in-character” since, well, you wrote it, and they’re your creation. But that thinking can easily lead to disjointed characterization.

I routinely ask “is this in-character?” while writing for characters I created. It makes me a better writer, and I learned how to ask that question and how to identify the answer from writing fanfiction.

Does fanfiction distort your sense of good taste?

This is the closest I could possibly come to agreeing with the original argument. The last time I was actively involved in it, the fanfiction community had pretty low standards, actually? I say this, because when I was writing fics, I was actually heaped with praise and attention, almost all of which was near universally good.

But I was not good. I was bad. I was very bad. Because I was in junior high, and an idiot, and those fics were the first thing I ever wrote that was longer than seven pages. But I updated my fics daily over the summer, in a very popular fandom that predominantly targeted people my age. So I got lots of fans and praise, and I started to think I was a good writer. Even worse than that, other people thought I was a good writer, and told even more people that I was.

Which is an affront to good taste.

That having been said, even though I do hold fandom and its nature partially to blame for the single most humbling aspect of my entire life, I also just hold adolescence in general to blame? Maybe? I like to think that much as I grew beyond my poor grasp of my own woeful incompetence, so too did my audience grow up and get a better understanding of what actually good writing is.

But then again, EL James and Reki Kawahara have made more money than I’ve ever seen in my life. So maybe neither fanfic nor adolescence is to blame. Maybe sometimes trash just sells.

As an aside, I hope this doesn’t come off as me trying to be mean or make fun of all those people who liked my old stuff. I know I’m embarrassed by it, and the only reason I haven’t deleted it all is because I need an ego check every now and again (and they’re also how I met my wife). But whether you also did a 180 on my old stuff as you got older or you still unironically think it’s good… thank you for the support. You are my humble beginnings and I would not be the person I am today without all of you.

…and that’s enough getting sentimental and making this about me, let’s go back to debunking opinions that are objectively wrong because I disagree with them.

The Other Stuff

I feel I’ve thoroughly said my peace on the original argument put out by my colleague. Namely, that they are wrong. But I’d also like to very quickly address the everything else they spewed out. My takes on this are considerably less long winded and probably could have been sanded down to a Twitter reply, but I still figure their inbox is getting enough shit already, and I want to make this more about the arguments than the person.

I’m not going to cover everything in detail, especially since I am super not qualified to speak on some of them—there is only so much I as a cishet dude feel comfortable giving my opinion on—but I will cover the bits that stood out and ground my gears.

EL James and Cassandra Clare are “fucking terrible”

No disputing the EL James part. Her character work is atrocious, her understanding of actual kink and BDSM dynamics and lifestyles is woeful, her plot bears clear evidence of serialized work that was not properly cleaned up prior to publication.

I haven’t read Cassandra Clare’s work. I have heard both good and bad things about it, but let’s say for argument’s sake she’s also not great.

This comment shows a distinct lack of knowledge of just how many authors, many critically acclaimed, write fanfiction on the side or got their start in it. Neil Gaiman writes fanfiction—and usually manages to get paid for it. I could go on with a long and yet still non-exhaustive list of authors who have done or still do it. Bottom line, there are some very high profile, not good writers whose start in fanfiction has been effectively weaponized against them to further underline their badness—“Of course EL James is bad. What did you expect from someone who started in fanfiction—while simultaneously many good writers have their connections to it downplayed by either choice or their own profile.

“Low effort formulaic lowest-common-denominator writing is bad actually”?

I almost brought this into main discussion, but I said I would infer as little as possible and on its own, this tweet didn’t directly say it was talking about fanfiction. I would argue it heavily implied it, and I very much doubt the author of the tweet would disagree with me, but I made the no inferring rule and I stuck to it.

I’m actually still going to take this argument on its own for a moment. I’ve already covered how and why fanfiction is generally seen as bad—low barrier to entry and the bad stuff is as easy to find as the good stuff—so I want to talk about something else. “Low effort writing is bad. No real arguments. I could jokingly say Neil Gaiman could drunkenly scribble something on a napkin that would outclass my best efforts, but I actually don’t have that low an opinion of myself.

Lowest-common-denominator writing is probably bad. In general, I think trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator is a good way to make uninspired trash, but on the other hand…fuck it, I’m liable to be included in that lowest common denominator most of the time. That’s the whole goddamn point of the LCD. It casts a broad net. And there’s a place for that. I don’t think it should be a big place, but still a place.

“Formulaic writing is bad” though? That I also just straight up disagree with. Formulas are a tool. And like every tool, they can be used really well, or really poorly. Used well, a formula can provide a solid structure around which to build interesting stories or ground the audience in otherwise unfamiliar settings. Don’t call a hammer a bad tool just because you’re hitting the nail wrong.

Several arguments discussing fanfictions relationship to queer and female audiences/writers/identities:

Nope, not touching that.

Oh fuck off.

Fanfiction isn’t collaborative or about community because “it's all corporate IP” and “Ultimately, someone else legally owns it, and you are choosing to give a corporate entity your creative energy.”

And this is actually something that’s been bugging me a while, specifically regarding the relationship people have with corporately owned IP and how it being owned by a corporation doesn’t automatically invalidate it as a source of emotional investment or cultural symbolism. But quite honestly, that really deserves its own post, so I’m just going to put a pin in this that and say we’re done here.

Glad I got all that off my chest.

So that was a thing. If you’ve got your own experiences with fanfic, good or bad, I’d love to hear them in the comments or over on Twitter.

If your curious about my history in fanfiction, like I said, it is all still technically out there, and very bad, but I’m not so much of a masochist that I’d link it here. I wouldn’t read it if I were you.

I write newer, much better stuff now. Some of it is here on this website, and some of it is in a novel coming out Fall 2021! Check that out instead! I promise it’s a much better use of your time.

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missmeikakuna · 5 years

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So, Apparently, I Find Fairies Hot Chapter 6

Rated: T

Fandom: Original Fiction

Relationship type: Male/Male

Description: You know those movies and TV shows in which an effeminate gay character has a crush on the popular jock? Strike that, reverse it.

Daniel is technically popular at school but fades into the crowd. After an injury at footy (Australian football) practice, he is forced to focus on improving his grades, starting with English. Luckily, the new kid in school knows a lot about Shakespeare and is willing to tutor him. Now if only this new guy wasn’t so attractive.

CONTENT WARNING: Homophobic slurs are used. Also, there are some sexual references but nothing too graphic.

Chapter 6: Is it gay to go to a concert with a guy?

Daniel’s head was light but his heartbeats carried the weight of a stampeding wildebeest’s footsteps. He hobbled out the door using his crutches, his newly-fixed leg still numb even though a few hours had passed since the operation.

His nostrils widened as fresh air graced them with its presence. Several people were sitting in their wheelchairs and smelling the small selection of daffodils, roses and some strange native flower that Daniel couldn’t recognise. He made sure to keep some distance from the flowers to avoid triggering hay fever symptoms but they smelled lovely from where he was. He limped slowly so as not to arouse suspicion, looking for an exit. He saw a carpark in the corner of his eye and grinned.

‘You there, where are you going?’

Shit. Daniel turned and saw a nurse. He took a deep breath to give himself time to think. ‘I want to have a smoke with my friend. He’s in the carpark.’

‘Aren’t you a little young to be smoking?’

‘I’m of age.’

‘Do you have any proof?’

What was this man’s problem? ‘I don’t know if you realise this, but I’m in the hospital. It’s not like I have my ID on me. Would you like me to limp home and get it for you?’

The nurse pursed his lips. ‘Very well. Have fun with your friend.’

Daniel resumed his journey, holding in a sigh until he was sure the nurse was gone. It took him half an hour to limp home. He had to ignore the strange looks and refuse the offers to help take him back to the hospital. He had to say he wasn’t crazy so many times he started to wonder if he really was crazy.

He patted himself on the back when he managed to get up the stairs to his room within five minutes. The numbness started to fade but he still limped as he made his way to his wardrobe. No way was he going to go to the date wearing the white t-shirt and tracksuit pants his mother brought to him before the operation. She was supposed to take him home but received a call from work.

He gulped. Wait, date? What the hell am I talking about?

He pulled out a leather jacket and put it on over a grey shirt. He chucked some jeans on and shook his leg in the hopes that he could get rid of the remaining insensateness.

He laid his crutches on his bed and walked back down the stairs, a tiny bit of numbness still there. His light head got to him and he had to clutch the rail until his dizziness subsided. However, he continued moving forward, even if it was in incremental steps.

He caught the train to the city, trying his damndest not to vomit as the train swayed back and forth harsh enough for Daniel to feel like soup being stirred in a pot. He kept looking at the time on his phone.

Suddenly the train stopped. It wasn’t at a station. It just stopped. The announcer’s whoops-I-spilled-some-beer-at-the-barbie voice made Daniel’s hand curl up into a painfully tense fist.

‘Unfortunately, the train ahead of us is delayed. Sit tight and we should be ready to continue in a few minutes.’

‘A few minutes’ passed. Then another few. ‘It looks like we’ll be here for another half hour,’ the announcer said. ‘It might be a good idea to call your workplace if you’re heading to work. Sit tight and we should be ready to resume shortly.’

Groans and cries of, ‘Bloody public transport’ poisoned the air. Daniel finally realised how sweaty and humid the air was with everyone packed together like chickens in a cage farm. Loud, perpetually groaning chickens that swore every five minutes.

Daniel stared at his phone again and took a few deep breaths to stop himself from hyperventilating. 6:30. It was going to take at least half an hour to get to the city, not to mention the time needed to catch a tram from the station to the venue.

He opened up his text messages and went to message Eddie when… his phone died. ‘Shit,’ he whispered. There was no way he was going to pay a fine for swearing on public transport, even if everyone else was doing it.

Finally, the train resumed and got to the city like nothing had happened. Daniel started running to the tram stop but felt dizzy again, so he had to stand with his hands on his thighs for a little while. He inhaled and continued running.

He took the tram and resorted to looking at his watch. A quarter to 8. ‘Fuck.’ Another whisper.

He showed his ticket to the woman at the door of the arena. As the door opened the sound trampled him.

Or rather, sounds. The high-pitched guitar solo. The discordant and yet perfectly fitting piano. The microphone-amplified voices that alternated between rapping and growling about war. The hundreds of voices trying to mimic the rapping and growling. Daniel had heard this exact song before, and yet this live performance managed to shake him to his core. He was so invested in the music that it took him a while to remind himself to find Eddie.

He stood in the dark, trying to read the seat number on his ticket. After a minute or so his eyes got used to the dark. He made his way to his seat, but Eddie wasn’t there.

He looked around and saw a group of people cheering at the front of the balcony. One boy was dancing, his long ponytail bouncing as he banged his head and his pale skin glowing in the little bits of light coming from the stage. Daniel drank in the sight, crossing his arms to prevent himself from hugging him.

He tapped his shoulder. Eddie turned around and grinned. ‘About time!’ he yelled.

‘You have no idea what it took for me to get here!’

‘What?’

‘You have no idea-’

‘What?’

‘Nevermind!’

The song changed and Eddie squealed. He headbanged for a while before looking at Daniel, tapping the other boy’s head to get him to copy him. Daniel shook his head. Eddie pouted.

Daniel watched Eddie for most of the concert, though he sometimes looked around him to make sure no one was glaring at the boy. He expected someone to scowl at his effeminate friend, but no one did. Not many people seemed to notice him despite his large arm movements as he danced. One person joined in and danced next to him.

Half-way through the concert, the lead rapper grabbed a trombone from the brass band behind him and mock-played it while holding it near his crotch. Daniel suddenly took note of the tight leather pants and the toned abs of the shirtless lead rapper. He looked at Eddie again and wondered what got him into metal.

Daniel’s ears felt full as the chugging guitars, warlike sound effects and booming voices stuffed themselves into his mind. The occasional changes in rhythm were a little distracting, though he guessed that was the jazz influence. He remembered Eddie going on and on in the hospital about syncopated rhythms.

When the concert ended, Eddie gulped as much water as his wallet allowed him to buy in the lobby.

‘How was it?’

Daniel smiled. ‘It’s really a different experience, hearing it live.’

‘I know, right? Thank you so much for coming! That was amaz-’

‘Is that you, Ed?’ A masculine voice called out. Eddie froze.

Another voice was added. ‘Of course, it is! He’s got the same face.’

The first voice raised in volume. ‘His hair’s grown longer, so how was I supposed to know for sure?’ The voice then softened, turning almost into a satire of a mother’s voice. ‘Where’s your girlfriend? Did she break up with you?’

Three boys stood with their hands in their pockets. One, the owner of the first voice, wore baggy jeans and a plain black t-shirt. The owner of the second voice had a cap on his head and a piercing in one ear. The third boy was silent, wearing black jeans and a grey hoodie.

The second boy wore a shit-eating grin. ‘Who’s this?’

Eddie smiled, but Daniel could hear the deep intake of air as he breathed in. ‘This is Daniel. He’s my friend from my new school.’

The second boy looked Daniel up and down. ‘I’m glad to hear you’re making new… friends… Especially since you look… different from when you were at our school.’

The first boy stared at Eddie’s hair. ‘I guess you got even more into metal since we last saw each other. Your hair’s giving me Amy Lee vibes.’

‘Evanescence isn’t real metal!’ A stranger in the crowd shouted.

The first boy coughed an ‘ahem’. ‘That is why you’re wearing that hair, right? Or are you trying to go for a Behemoth type of look?’

Eddie bit his lip. ‘Uh, it was great seeing you all, but Daniel and I have to get home.’

‘You’re going home together? Okay, don’t let us get in the way,’ the second boy said. ‘We should hang out again just the four of us.’

‘Y-yeah, that’ll be great. I’ll, uh, find you on Facebook.’

Eddie grabbed Daniel not by the hand, as Daniel expected for some reason, but by the arm. He dragged him outside. The otherwise cool air carried the warm winds that, for whatever reason, only appeared at night. Despite the warmth, Eddie shivered, turning his back to Daniel.

Daniel shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. ‘Did you guys have a fight before you moved or something?’

‘No, I just… I moved because of them.’ Daniel’s eyebrows leapt. ‘I wanted to get out of that school and start again. I wanted to be more… open with others. I never told those three that I’m gay. So when I saw them again just now, I felt chills run down my body. It was like I was shoved back in the closet again and thrown into a lake and expected to swim. Once you’re as out as I am, you kind of forget how to be in the closet again and it just… it brings you back down to reality, like ‘Oh yeah, I almost forgot how much life sucks’.’ Eddie turned towards Daniel and looked down at the ground. ‘I must sound incomprehensible to a... straight... guy.’

Daniel shrugged. ‘I just can’t imagine you being in the closet. Didn’t you say that you could never hide your true self or something like that?’

’When did I say that?’

Daniel felt his cheeks match the heat of the wind. ‘Some time ago. I don’t know.’

Eddie looked up at him, his eyes shiny with water and his lip bitten hard enough to chip bits of his black lipstick off.

‘Well, I can’t exactly be the perfect super gay all the time. I have to adapt to my surroundings. The hard bit is when you have a feeling someone suspects but you don’t know for sure so you’re always on edge. You’re half afraid of them finding out and half sick of pretending because they probably know anyway so there’s no point.’

Daniel felt those words sink deep into his soul. He forced on a smile.

‘Why don’t you come out to your friends? You came out to the entire year level.’

‘It’s a different scene. The metal scene’s different.’

‘Everyone seemed pretty welcoming.’

‘But I… I’ve heard horror stories about homophobia in the metal community. A lot of fans are all about masculinity and stuff. That’s kind of what drew me to the genre at first. But anyway, even if my friends know, we can’t really confront it. It’ll be too awkward and… like, what if they’re all like, ‘well, the charade’s over. We don’t need to humour you anymore’? I’m better off not knowing what they think.’

Daniel took a step towards Eddie. ‘Have any metal fans given you shit for being gay?’

Eddie’s eyes grew. ‘Not me, but-’

‘Then what’s the use in worrying? You’re kind of giving yourself trauma before a bad event even happens. Why don’t you just worry about all that when it comes?’

Eddie chuckled and ran his hand through his hair, causing a sharp inhale from Daniel. ‘I didn’t think of it that way. Thanks.’

Daniel‘s smile grew as he cocked his head to the side for a moment as if to tell him to follow him. Eddie drank in that smile and even felt something stir in his heart. He almost swore, but then he’d have to explain why he did that.

#bisexual #romance #gay #writing #LGBT #LGBT romance #yaoi #drama #original fiction #fiction #Breaking Stereotypes #So Apparently I Find Fairies Hot

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femslashrevolution · 7 years

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Towards A Darker Femslash by holyfant

This post is part of Femslash Revolution’s I Am Femslash series, sharing voices of F/F creators from all walks of life. The views represented within are those of the author only.

Hello everyone! I hope your Femslash February is going great so far. I was stoked to be asked to write a little something for I Am Femslash, particularly because while I’ve written bits and pieces about my experience as a young, queer, multishipping and writing young woman in fandom, I’ve never really tried to put any of my thoughts together in a truly coherent way. So, here I go, attempting to write about a topic that is dear to me. Feel free to engage me on any of the points I make in this little essay!

So, hi. I’m holyfant, a 26-year-old ESL fanfic and (aspiring) original fiction writer. I’ve been active in fandom for nearly fifteen years, and have written fic for a lot of that time, picking up English and fannishness along the way. Writing fic gave me a way to connect with other people who had to same interests I did – and only later did I realise it also paved the way to more self-knowledge. At some point during my teens, the question of my own sexual and romantic identity became pressing; maybe paradoxically this first drew me to male slash, and only later to femslash – perhaps because the former was and is more visibly present in fandom than the latter, and perhaps also because reading and writing femslash was still too direct a way to engage with my own identity at that point. I still don’t fully understand this; I remember that when I was first playing with the idea that I might not be straight, it felt safer to read about men in love than women in love. Maybe seeing male characters discover their non-straightness was close enough to my own experience to stir up emotion and feeling, but far enough removed from it that it didn’t stir up panic. Who knows?

Either way, when I was more comfortable with who I was, I returned to f/f and found it infinitely rewarding. I read a metric ton of femslash fic and wrote lots myself – for a fairly long stretch of time I enjoyed deep obscurity in the Harry Potter and Greek mythology fandoms as a niche femslash writer with two or three loyal readers, and it was truly a lovely time. I engaged with femslash in a curious, non-discriminatory way – I shipped everyone. I’d take two minor female characters who perhaps had never even interacted in canon and found a way to put them together. I took prompts for characters that were only featured in throw-away lines, and wrote a lot of fic for the now sadly defunct LJ community hp_rarestpairest, which encouraged the nichest of pairings. Basically I was honing my writing skills, while also representing my questions, hopes and fears about my own sexuality at the same time. In my fics I dealt with women falling in love, being rejected, having sex with each other, coming out to their families and friends, dealing with heartbreak – all of these were things that I was thinking about, was experiencing or wanted to experience, or was scared of. I think it will surprise few queer femslash writers to hear that reading and writing femslash taught me a lot about my own identity and sexuality and gave me a community of queer women that I would otherwise never have found.

Despite the fact that I was mostly a femslash writer in my early times in fandom and the fact that I write f/f in my current fandoms today, it remains a curious truth that my growth as a writer from someone who wrote 1,000-word oneshots in one go to someone who wrote novel-length fanfic over several months coincided with going into a different fandom where my main focus was a m/m ship (BBC Sherlock, where I was sucked into the black hole that was Sherlock/John). I said I “shipped everyone” earlier – it would be just as correct to say I shipped no one, because I had no deep emotional investment in the ships I wrote about, and often wrote only one fic per ship. (Perhaps the only exception was Lavender/Parvati, which I wrote often and regularly gave me the warm fuzzies to think about.) It wasn’t until Sherlock happened that I started to understand what people meant when they said a ship was their OTP, or how people could get so intense about their reading of a relationship. As a result of this increased feeling of investment I read and wrote so much fic that I became a much better writer for it, by pushing myself to write more and more complex stories. This was all fine in itself, but even as it happened I was aware that it was curious that this sudden spur of feeling and craft was because of a juggernaut white dude ship, something that had never held much interest for me before. I felt – even at that heady time when you’re in a new fandom and it’s like being in love – like I wanted to continue to write smaller pairings and explore female characters, too. And I did, but the point remains that when I look at my story stats now, it’s clear that my f/f stories are shorter in word count and are less varied in their plot and execution than my m/m stories.

All this to show that I am 100% part of what I am about to describe: not a problem, per se, but an observation that I think is useful to be aware of and think about. The fact is that femslash, across fandoms, remains a niche category, and that while there are great amounts of people who read and write almost exclusively m/m this is barely ever the case for f/f. A lot of the f/f writers I know have talked at some point about the realisation that f/f in general seems to lack novel-length stories and stories that have the diversity of plotting and thematic exploration that we easily find for m/m ships. Most f/f stories are shorter stories or oneshots that focus on meet-cutes, sex and domestic bliss. Longer fics are rare. Darker themes, such as character death and grief, trauma, relationship issues, adultery, abuse and so on are also rare. I am not the first to notice this and not the first to theorise on it, but I would still like to identify why I think f/f fandom has developed in this direction, and to formulate some ideas as how to diversify our creative experiences a little.

I think there are a lot of possible reasons that f/f writers are in general less motivated to write long stories that explore complex themes, and these will surely differ for everyone. For me, I’ve identified three causes, in increasing order of importance: 1. a small audience, and therefore a smaller possibility of extensive feedback, 2. a lack of variation and complexity in female characters and their relationships in a lot of canon materials, and 3. the awareness that f/f is often rooted in a deeply lived experience for many of its readers and writers, and that it’s therefore necessary to be wary of representing “bad” female characters or negative tropes about lesbian and bisexual relationships. The most complex of these is certainly no. 3, which is why that’s the one I will be writing about a bit more.

Statistically f/f is most likely to be written and read by cis queer women, which of course influences our relationship with the characters we portray, because they refer to our own lived existence. This makes f/f different from m/m – m/m is also mostly written by cis women (straight and otherwise), which creates a certain leeway for “true” realism. Anecdotally I can share what happened when my housemate and my best friend, both cis gay men, delved into the world of m/m fanfic on some of my recommendations. While they enjoyed a lot of the stories I told them I’d liked, they also talked about many of the things they felt were inaccurate about gay sex and romance – for instance, they could name several often-described sexual acts that they said didn’t quite “work that way”, and they were generally uncomfortable with the fannish (certainly often problematic) tendency to label characters as strictly tops or bottoms, especially if this was based on stereotypical characteristics outside of the bedroom. If gay men were to write these stories (which they do, of course, only in much smaller numbers), they might look different – they might be less fictionalised, less genre-specific; the language developed to talk about men in love might be different, there might be different focuses. It’s hard to definitively say what it would be like. Either way, it would seem logical that it follows, from the fact that lesbian and bisexual women overwhelmingly write the fannish stories that we have about lesbian and bisexual women, that we should find it easy to access their spaces and write about many different aspects of their lives. In reality this doesn’t necessarily seem to be so. Perhaps the scrutiny, both internal and external, is larger – perhaps because we are writing about ourselves we put more pressure on ourselves to “get it right”, and perhaps our audience, who is looking to see itself represented, does the same at times. Or maybe we simply perceive our audience as being more critical than it truly is.

What is a “bad” female character? Most people will agree that women often get the short stick of characterisation in most media – to such an extent that there are tropey names for them, like the Girl Next Door, the Femme Fatale, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and so on. Women are still often used as crutches for men; their stories are supporting stories, their pain is used to further a male character’s pain. Writing about women in fanfic is often already a rebellious act in itself, one that reverses harsh or flippant treatment by canon writers. While this is fine in se, and sometimes even lends a pleasant sheen of fannish disobedience to writing female-centric fic, I do believe it has the unintended and unsavoury result of effectively also policing the sort of woman that can be written about. This may seem like a paradox, but in reacting to the one-dimensional representations of women in fiction it can become important to “fix” those wrongs, and this makes it hard to write about women who don’t overtly challenge assumptions about womanhood: unsympathetic women, women who are perhaps weak-willed, petty, bigoted, jealous, aggressive, criminal, highly sexual, or abusive. Considering that, at least in a Western vision on literature, stories derive meaning at their base from conflict, removing the option to write “bad” women removes a lot of possibility for thematic conflict. This might be part of the reason why there are significantly less plot-driven f/f stories than there plot-driven m/m stories; plot usually requires conflict, and conflict often requires flawed characters and flawed relationships.

I know that when I write about women I’m conscious of the fact that I have internalised societal ideas about what it “should” mean to be a woman, but I’m also aware that in trying to combat those ideas it’s easy to get mired in different ones. I know that I sometimes interrogate myself about what it is that I’m saying about women when I write about this particular woman cheating on her partner or being generally secretive and untruthful – doesn’t that reproduce a societal prejudice that women are untrustworthy? It’s very hard to separate a single performance of fictional womanhood from the general performance of womanhood – this is not usually a problem with (white) men, who are allowed to represent only themselves, and not their entire gender.

The above paragraphs talk about “women” – clearly the problem of treatment that I write about becomes many times more pressing when dealing with women who are on other intersections of oppression. Women who love women are more vulnerable to prejudice and abuse than straight women, and wlw of colour are again many times more vulnerable than their white sisters. And when these wlw or woc are not cisgender, again their situation becomes many times more dire. These societal realities are often reproduced in media – 2016 was the year in which no lesbian or bisexual woman on tv seemed to be safe, and their pain and deaths hurt all the more because we are confronted with this pain in real life, too. I remember my tumblr dash around the time that The 100’s Lexa died; the pain there for many queer women who watched the show was very real, because – I think – it echoed a feeling of being unsafe, of being cruelly treated in society. I remember fans writing about how hurtful it was to see a brave female character who loved another woman killed off like this; in their pain many people stated that it was unacceptable that lesbian or bisexual female characters should be killed in fiction at all. Of course, this was understandable considering how hurt fans were, and how often they had been disappointed – still, the typical fannish tendency towards lack of nuance frustrated me. In capable writers’ hands, tragedy can be performed very meaningfully. I wrote a little about this on my blog at the time, because I was starting to feel insecure about my own tendency to prefer darker thematic material – was I complicit in my own oppression, and was I hurting other queer women by writing what I enjoyed? Clearly my own privilege was also part of this question: I am a wlw, but I’m white and cisgender, and I hail from a country where legal equality has been realised for the entirety of my adult life. Obviously homophobia is still a problem, but my close environment has been nothing but supportive and accepting from the moment I first came out as lesbian at 16, and again as bisexual at 24. So I haven’t experienced much of the tension and fear that other wlw might have experienced. Does this make me a part of the oppressive machine that performs queer women’s pain for shock value? I seriously thought about this question before tentatively concluding that I had to have faith that I was a thoughtful enough writer to avoid these pitfalls.

It might seem from this essay that I find writing femslash to be an exhausting trial of constantly having to think about what prejudices I’m reproducing – this is not the case. I love writing femslash and I love my femslash-writing friends. I’ve learned heaps about myself and others by reading some of the stellar f/f stories out there, and with every f/f story I write I become more aware of how much I love to write about queer women – and I remind myself that I should certainly do it more often, and more ambitiously. As I stated above, this is something that I’ve noticed in my own writing practice, so it’s not an accusation leveled at anyone else. It’s simply something that I find worthwhile to examine. Judging by some of the conversation that periodically does the rounds in my f/f-loving circles, I’m definitely not alone in that.

Now how to deal with this in our f/f-writing community? There’s no singular answer to that, and whatever we can do is both blindingly obvious and hard to actually do. One of the possible answers is, as it is with so many complex questions that have complex roots, to simply push through and do it anyway, to try to ignore some of the fear and uncomfortable associations we might feel in writing unsympathetic f/f narratives and write them anyway. Diversifying the stories we write will automatically diversify the stories we feel we’re allowed to write. Audience response is probably important too; I think that there must be plenty of people who feel, like me, that it’s a shame that so much of femslash is short and that a lot of it focuses on narrative happiness rather than also exploring narrative unhappiness and conflict, which (in my opinion, at least) yields more fertile literature. And if we feel that way, then we have to try to reward people who write the things we like to read, through our attention, our comments, our kudos, our podcasts, our recs, et cetera.

I write this mere days before the beginning of Femslash February, and I’m certainly planning to walk the walk that I’ve talked in this talk; I’m absolutely sure that the strong core of people who love to read about women loving women will continue to keep this community vibrant and alive and that there are plenty of new directions our stories can go in. I’m looking forward to seeing what the other voices who are participating in I Am Femslash have to say, and I’m looking forward to all of the new content that will be produced. I’m grateful that as a young teen I stumbled upon fandom and that I found my way towards femslash a few years later; I’m pretty sure my own journey of discovery and creativity would have been very different, and probably more difficult, if I hadn’t found this community. So, to all of us: We Are Femslash! <3

About the author

holyfant is a 26-year-old bisexual woman from Belgium, who’s been writing about women and their relationships since she was a budding young wlw. She loves to think about literature and how it relates to the core of our human experiences: the only thing she really wants to be, in the end, is a storyteller.

Tumblr: http://holyant.tumblr.com

AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/holyfant

#holyfant #I Am Femslash #Type: Meta #Femslash February #Femslash February 2017 #submission

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helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog · 7 years

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A Guide to the '80s Women's Wrestling Behind Netflix's 'GLOW'

A bright, neon-lit corner of the ‘80s was occupied by a popular TV show centered on an all-female wrestling league. They were the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling -- or, simply, GLOW. Founded in 1986, GLOW ran for four seasons on TV, bringing colorful characters -- Corporal Kelly, Dallas and Tina Ferrari among them -- to living rooms across the country. Now, almost 30 years after going off the air, they are back as the inspiration behind one of Netflix’s most anticipated new series, aptly titled GLOW.

Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the new half-hour dramedy comes backed by Orange Is the New Black producers Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann. Just as Kohan did with OITNB, the show is a fictional retelling of the real-life events. This time, Alison Brie is at the center of the story as struggling actress Ruth Wilder. With nothing else to lose, Ruth auditions for what turns out to be GLOW in a last-ditch effort to follow her dreams. She’s not the only one risking it all for a taste of success; Marc Maron plays Sam Sylvia, a former B-movie director who comes up with the concept, and Betty Gilpin plays Ruth’s friend-turned-rival Debbie Eagan. The rest of the cast is populated by familiar faces: Chris Lowell, Mr. Robot’s Sunita Mani, singer Kate Nash and Kia Stevens, aka WWE’s Kharma.

Ahead of the new binge-watch series, which premieres on Friday, June 23, revisit the original GLOW with ET, which was on the set of the syndicated series back in 1989.

THE ORIGIN

Known for directing blaxploitation movies and one of Jayne Mansfield’s final films, Single Room Furnished, filmmaker Matt Cimber turned to TV to create and direct an all-female professional wrestling syndicated series. GLOWwas meant to tap into an already established fan base for professional wrestling. While there had been famous female wrestlers in the past, like Mae Young and Mildred Burke, Cimber’s league brought its own unique angle to the genre.

It featured colorful characters, exotic costumes and several other staples audiences have since come to associate with professional wrestling today. “GLOW is a comic book version of wrestling. It's fun; it's action,” Cimber told ET in 1989 from Las Vegas’ Riviera Hotel, where the show was filmed.

THE CHARACTERS

“Melody Trouble Vixen. M-T-V. And don’t you forget that, baby, because I’m a star,” Eileen O'Hara said.

Corporal Kelly, Babe the Farmer's Daughter, Dallas, Daisy and MTV were just a few of the onscreen characters that made up GLOW’s roster of female wrestlers. Often forged from the real personalities of the performers, these characters had personalized raps and music videos that introduced them before each match. And everyone had their own unique way of making an entrance.

As each season went along, the characters would forge longstanding feuds and rivalries with each other. “We put on a lot of sketches and make it exciting,” Ursula Hayden (aka Babe the Farmer’s Daughter) said. “It’s not fun just watching two girls beat each other up. You gotta have some entertainment as well.”

THE WOMEN

While their onscreen personas were larger-than-life, many of the women were wannabe or struggling actresses. Similar to Ruth’s story on the Netflix series, they turned to GLOW in order to get a glimpse of fame and notoriety. “I always wanted to be an actress. I love being in front of an audience,” Hayden said.

For several members of the cast, moving to Las Vegas to join an all-women’s wrestling league simply seemed like a fun way to spend their formative years. Others saw GLOW as an opportunity to get themselves noticed and use the series to showcase their abilities as performers. Appearing on the series required wrestling, acting in comedy sketches, singing in music videos and staying in character for long stretches of time -- sometimes all within a single episode. “You have to be a very good actress. You have to be a hard worker and a team player. You have to be very athletic,” Hayden explained.

“It's given me a license to be a rock star,” said O’Hara, who joined GLOW to support her music career. But in addition to being a “rock star,” she also forged a second career as a stuntwoman. “I have just been able to use my talents to their fullest.”

She wasn’t the only one looking beyond the ring. “I’m taking commercial classes right now. Hopefully that will be in the future,” said Helena LaCount (Daisy), who went on to appear on the sci-fi series Hard Time on Planet Earth.

And those who didn’t leave the ring -- including Lisa Mary Moretti (Tina Ferrari) and Olympia Hartauer (Corporal Kelly) -- eventually continued on at the WWE, furthering their fame as professional wrestlers.

THE FUN

While the main component of GLOWwas the actual wrestling, the series also included pre-taped segments that made it more of a variety show. Wrestlers were featured in music videos (rapping in most of them) and sketches that portrayed comical behind-the-scenes antics. This brand of campy material was being heavily embraced across professional wrestling at the time; WWE’s Vince McMahon even hosted a talk show-style program, Tuesday Night Titans, where he would interview wrestlers and their managers. The series even featured cooking demonstrations and appearances from the “Hulkamania” band (Cyndee Pokorny beware!).

THE RISKS

The cast was committed to making the wrestling look real, which most of the time meant it was just that -- real. Several performers noted that they would often land hard on a wrestling mat that might not have met any kind of safety code. “People get hurt all the time,” Hayden revealed.

“It’s definitely dangerous,” added LaCount, who revealed at the time that she had accidentally broken the leg of co-star Narice Crockett (aka Justice). “She came back to wrestle again after it healed, but she was on crutches for a while.”

THE END

GLOW ended abruptly after its fourth season. While the series was enjoying some of its highest ratings, a crucial investor had pulled his money out of the show and production was shut down immediately. Sadly, this meant the series never had an official finale or send off. And although some women found work beyond wrestling (or continued on to the WWE), GLOW itself soon faded into history.

Two decades, GLOW was briefly revived for a Las Vegas show that reunited some of the original wrestlers. Later, GLOW’s story was captured in the 2012 documentary GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and is now the inspiration behind the new Netflix series.

#_revsp:new_provider_with_logo_342 #_lmsid:a0VK0000001yfWcMAI #_uuid:b4f53e4b-8421-3f6e-bccb-beaeafd3150a

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