#everything in this movie is a metaphor for queerness

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

I think the thing that makes me so mad about Peter B is that his arc in ATSV is SO close to that of a bigoted parent its insane

"I know I taught you how to websling, and had a baby because of you, and I love you BUT you're an anomaly who needs to be fixed :) '

It's that 'I love you BUT' logic. That half-assed 'compassion' that hides callousness and hate behind 'parental advice'.

I love you BUT you're gay and going to hell.

I love you BUT there's something wrong with you

I love you BUT you're broken and what happens to you happens to you

Like Peter B loved Miles enough to mentor him and teach him and have Mayday but somehow he still thinks Miles is an anomaly. He thinks Miles shouldn't be there and that it's the multiverse being 'wrong'.

Like I know he's fighting for Miles now but I genuinely hope he still doesn't think of Miles as an anamoly cause that whole -

"I'll help you and support you but I still think you're the result of a something going deeply wrong and technically shouldn't be here but now that you're here you should be happy either way." - attitude?

PAIIIINNNN. The PAIN.

[thearoacescout]

Pixar and Queer Stories

With the new teaser trailer for Inside Out 2, I think this is a good time to point out that if there is any animated movie that has the potential of showing a beautiful queer coming out story - its this one. Let me explain.

Pixar is known for its great people-focused story telling. They focus on the struggles of different groups of people through metaphors and allegories and that's how they create relatable and inspiring stories with powerful messages. The metaphors that they use sometimes go over people's heads, but they still provide a good starting point for more serious conversations about hard topics. Inside Out especially takes this to a whole different level by literally being about the emotions one has while going through points of life. We see that inner conflict within Riley's head as she struggles to adapt to her new life. Despite never moving as a kid, I was able to feel and relate to her because they did a great job of showing the struggle between joy and sadness. Imagine if they showed that struggle in relations to accepting one's own queerness.

I don't know about y'all, but I was in heavy denial for a while about my asexuality and aromanticism. That couldn't be me. I was already told that I would grow up, get married, and have my 2.5 kids. There was a lot of fear, disgust, and anger in discovering myself and I can only imagine what other people felt as well.

With the increase of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments in many parts of the States, this type of story could easily show how hard it can be to accept yourself as queer. It's not just something for attention. It's not something that we decided on because of the internet. It's not something that we are confused about or needs to be fixed. It's a part of who we are.

Even if it is only a small part of the story or just subtly put in there, it would be great to see that inner conflict so more people can understand that struggle when so few do. Inside Out is perfectly structured to show this type of story and to let people know that it is okay to have complicated emotions about your identity.

[clockwork-garden]

More Nimona posting because DAMN I just love this movie

Everything about the final "battle" (it's not really a battle because Nimona isn't fighting them) is so good and so perfectly representative of the current assault on (and attempted genocide of) queer people in the US.

Even in her full-on black mist beast form*, Nimona only makes one single attack against anything in the city when she swipes at the billboard advertising the monster slayer board game. Other than that, all the destruction is caused by the knights attacking her. We see it right away too, when several of their missiles fly off and hit nearby buildings.

*(I don't want to call it a "monster form" because even if that's how the people saw her, she wasn't a monster, just a super depressed bean)

The drones strafing Nimona do more damage to the streets and buildings than to her, but they keep firing anyways until there's a trail of fire and destruction in her wake. All anyone sees is the fire behind the monster; they don't see what actually caused it.

And of course, the Director is willing to annihilate half the city in order to kill one person.

But don't worry, she's one of The Good Guys, so it's okay. When the people at the top of the hierarchy do bad things it's okay, because being at the top of the hierarchy means they're actually good people and can't do anything wrong.

Feels familiar, right? One trans high school kid wants to play soccer and suddenly tHe wOrLd iS eNDiNg ermahgerd fAmILy vAlUeS aaahhh LET'S SEND THEM SOME DEATH THREATS!!!!

But a conservative politician demonstrably engages in sex trafficking or SAs people and nothing happens to them.

Now people can refuse to serve you because the Supreme Court is an offense to the concept of justice (it already was; the recent decisions just enforce my opinion), and you know that this is going to affect the cishets too. GNC cis woman? Get the fuck out, creep. Straight boy with good fashion sense? We don't serve your kind here. Never mind if you're visibly queer.

The metaphor breaks down a bit because, while conservatives are more than willing to burn society down just to screw over queer people, they're also sexist, racist, ableist, classist (though the Director is also classist af, which I love), etc etc etc. Taking away women's rights, making queer people illegal, and removing what few social safety nets we have are all part of the plan.

The Director wanted to fire the cannon into the city to kill one "monster" at the expense of half the city. Conservatives are firing the cannon into the city because they hate half the city.

[pharawee]

I've been meaning to make a list of spooky (Thai - because negl that's 99% of what I watch) BL series and movies and what better time to post this than in October?

Spooky BL are my favourite flavour of BL. Turns out, there's actually a lot of them (maybe because Thailand does horror so well). These are only the ones I've watched (and enjoyed) so this list isn't complete.

*On another note: horror doesn't faze me at all so I can't really accurately say how scary some of these are. If you have squicks or triggers like jump scares, gore or bad endings please feel free to ask and I will do my best to give you a heads-up.

✨Spooky Thai BL✨

He's Coming To Me | Probably one of the first series everyone will think of. Not that spooky but a solid ghost(love) story with a murder mystery at its core.

Hidden Love | This is a budget show filmed under serious constraints during the worst of the covid pandemic. It's clichéd. It's over the top. But it's also got its charms. It comes with a tragic ghost (love) story that completely overshadows everything else with its many flashbacks and plot twists. If you manage to get over the camp. I warned you.

Dear Doctor I'm Coming For Soul | This one has reapers and ghosts and lots of bittersweetness. It's not that creepy since the supernatural elements are very matter-of-fact. It will make you cry though, sorry. :(

Ghost Host, Ghost House | Spooky with incredible chemistry between the leads and a cast of characters that you will immediately fall in love with.

He She It | A three-episode miniseries with a haunting soundtrack and a nice plot twist. This will make you miss JeffGameplay. :(

Low Frequency | Not spooky at all, and a bit slow and empty at times, but it has ghosts (in a way) and a sweet enough couple.

Make a Wish | Unfortunately, this has never had an inter release. There's inofficial subs floating around on grey sites but as of yet the series hasn't been fully translated. Which is a pity because it's a cute show about angels and spirit possession and (some) murder mystery.

Midnight Museum | I'm stubbornly putting this under BL. This show has everything and everyone. It's genuinely spooky at times but mostly draws on folklore, the mystical and an absolutely stellar cast.

On Cloud Nine | Short and beautiful. An indie production that's more ethereal than genuinely spooky.

🎞️Red Wine in the Dark Night | The oldest entry in this list. Admittedly, not very spooky (and instead rather surreal and sad), but it has one (1) vampire and Fluke Natouch in a role that's more grounded than we're used to nowadays.

Something in my Room | A spooky show with ghosts, mystery and romance that hides a lot of commentary behind metaphors and allegory. Criminally underrated because it didn't have a wide enough release. If you want to binge something fun and spooky for Halloween then this is the series to go. Prepare tissues.

✨Not a BL but hey, I know that actor!✨

Enigma | Win Metawin (and surprise guest!) in an incredibly well done 4-episode series about the occult with interesting worldbuilding and the promise of a second season.

🎞️Ghost Lab | Tor Thanapob and Ice Paris in a genuinely gruesome, shocking and scary horror movie. You've been warned.

Girl From Nowhere | One of the best things tv has to offer, and genuinely dark as well. Up Poompat, Pepo Nutchapan and James Teeradon feature in some of the loosely-connected episodes.

🎞️Hoon Payon | Phuwin Tangsakyuen, Up Poompat and Bank Nuttawat in a classic spiritual ghost story. More shocking than scary.

🎞️Inhuman Kiss | Oab Oabnithi and Great Sapol (sadly, not as a couple) in a sad and romantic take on a classic Thai legend.

Let's Fight Ghost | A Thai remake of a fun and somewhat spooky kdrama with spiritual themes. And Saint Suppapong.

🎞️Pee Nak 1, 2, 3 (and soon 4) | I'm biased because I really like this movie series. It's spooky but in a fun way. It has queer characters (as comedic relief - but not in a degrading way) and can get surprisingly deep. Watch this if you want to see (baby!) Tar Atiwat grow up on screen (because he's in all four movies). The third movie rewards you with some surprisingly sweet MeanPlan that might continue into the fourth movie.

School Tales | A Thai horror anthology centred around students at various schools. This series has Fiat Patchata, Kay Lertsittichai, Pepo Nutchapan, Mark Siwat and, most prominently, Saint Suppapong and Chimon Wachirawit in well-paced 50-minute episodes.

The Stranded | One of my favourite series ever. If you watched LOST then you know what to expect. This has 3 QL couples (Perth Tanapon & Mark Siwat, Win Pawin & Tanthai Tatchapol, Ticha Wongtipkanon & Chaleeda Gilbert) but don't expect any of them to get a happy ending. Sadly, this series ended on a cliffhanger and won't get a second season due to the lead actor's tragic passing and Nadao's dissolution.

✨Upcoming Spooky BL✨

7 Days Before Valentine | Death Note but make it even more of a BL. Patrick Rangsimant originally wrote this so I'm really excited. Plus, it will begin airing in November which is almost as good as October.

🎞️After Sundown | A period ghost movie that hit Thai cinemas this summer to great success. There's currently no news on an international release.

🎞️Death Is All Around | Saint Suppapong coming through with another spooky production - this one about death and the afterlife. This also has Seng Wichai, Bas Suradej and Dun Romchumpa (presumably as a couple).

The Hell Guards | Chains of Heart but make it spooky. Oh, I am so excited for this!

My Imaginary Boyfriend | Based on another one of Pat Rangsimant's novels (my favourite, atually). This one is more grounded, and spooky in a more psychological sense.

Mystique in the Mirror | Another one of Pat Rangsimant's novels (and psychological horror too, by the looks of it). This one started filming back in early summer so it should be airing soon.

Shadow | This series will air its first seven episodes on Halloween and that should tell you everything you need to know. It's a suspenseful (ghost?) story set in a Catholic private school.

Spirit Reborn | This has the potential to be very spooky, with curses and spirits and past lives.

SunsetxVibes | This is going to be messy and spicy but the short pilot trailer did have spooky undertones and possible spiritual themes.

The Whisperer | More psychological horror but this time not penned by Pat. Apparently, this has been in production for a while so hopefully we'll get some news soon.

Zomvivor | The only zombie series on this list has entered pre-production and is slated to be released in 2024 (hopefully before October). Will it have BL? I don't know, but it stars pretty much all of domundi's acting couples (and more).

1000 Years Old | Will it be spooky? No idea, but it does have vampires and sometimes that's enough.

[overleftdown]

farleigh analysis PART 3, because i might as well do the entire movie at this point. i'm locked in. this is going to cover the early-saltburn summer era. AKA, oliver's once in a lifetime, hand job on a haybale, golden big boy summer. everything after venetia and oliver's sex scene is in another post on my blog. this one is pretty short.

[0:34:42] (they're watching superbad. teehee.)

farleigh looks borderline revolted in the background of this shot, which is so funny to me. superbad is, in my opinion, notoriously rude. the comedy is hollow, childish, homophobic, etc. even seth rogan admits that the movie is tone deaf and aged horribly. that's neither here nor there, though. all i'm saying is that i can't imagine farleigh would enjoy the movie as a queer person.

[0:35:19] elsbeth: is that right, he had to put his fingers down his mother's throat to make her sick? farleigh: yeah. felix: farleigh, that's private stuff! farleigh: well, you told us. felix: in confidence!

when elsbeth initially asks the question, she's looking directly at farleigh. yet, when felix confronts farleigh about discussing private matters, farleigh responds with "well, you told us." meaning the family, i assume. felix had no issue with elsbeth and pamela discussing oliver's home life until farleigh was very moderately involved. it's odd to me. and yes, felix is the one that told them. moral superiority, or something. having someone to blame, even when you enabled their gossiping in the first place.

[0:35:34] elsbeth: we should give him the most wonderful time! farleigh: good luck, he doesn't smile much. elsbeth: farleigh seems to think he's ghastly. why are you friends with him, darling?

really, you can tell that elsbeth likes farleigh. she respects his opinion to a certain extent. i also talked about the tutor scene in part 2, and how i consider the "style over substance" debate a metaphorical parallel to farleigh over oliver. here, farleigh once again points out the style of oliver's social interactions: he doesn't smile much. when you look at this from a social and... neurotypical perspective, lacking a smile during conversation can mean a lot of negative things. farleigh seems to have a dedicated focus on arbitrary social expectations, largely because he has to.

[0:35:33] farleigh: and here he is now! we were just talking about you. elsbeth: don't be silly! farleigh, you just make up the most awful things. of course we weren't!

once again, in traditional catton fashion, farleigh is scolded for saying doing something that contrasts the cattons saviorism. obviously oliver knew they were talking about them. i can't blame elsbeth for attempting to backtrack, but "farleigh, you just make up the most awful things" is a weirdly unnecessary throat punch. she's stepping on farleigh to appear taller, if you will. at 0:36:34, when elsbeth asks oliver to sit by her, farleigh looks so exceptionally irritated. he rolls his eyes, looks back towards his computer, and sighs dramatically. wonderful. he's so sick and tired.

[0:37:20] elsbeth: i've lost so many friends to addiction. so, so many dear, dear friends. it's the root of poor pamela's horrors too, i'm afraid. farleigh: and the only interesting thing about her. elsbeth: farleigh! no, she is rather dull, actually. but she's so beautiful. you have to admit, she's very beautiful.

elsbeth and her obsession with physical appearances. once again, style over substance. and her outrage at farleigh refusing to soften the blow on his statements, before following it with her own (albeit less crude) dig at pamela. style over substance. wouldn't it a little uncanny, a little scary, to be the only person of color in a household that places physical appearance on such a high pedestal? especially a household as ignorant as the cattons. that's just conjecture, though. oliver has the ability to manipulate a space for himself in the family without sacrificing any of the qualities he began with. he never really smiles more, throughout the summer. he never really loses his signature awkwardness, his imposing energy.

[0:40:05] elsbeth: you know we're delighted to have you for however long it is you mean to stay. farleigh: forever...? pamela: oh, no. i think i might have, erm, found somewhere. elsbeth: oh, well done, darling! james: oh, good!

right after james says "good," you can see farleigh turning to look at him. prompting james to drop the hatchet on pamela's prolonged stay at saltburn, i'm assumng. this is what's interesting to me, i think. again, farleigh lacks the drive to play the same game as oliver. farleigh doesn't want to nurture the charitable actions of the cattons. farleigh believes the other guests at saltburn take up the space that he would otherwise fill. just like at oxford, when felix is sitting with someone else, farleigh is discarded. when elsbeth invited oliver to sit next to her, farleigh looks annoyed. the cattons capacity for attention and kindness is depressingly small. farleigh isn't playing chess, he's trying to win by sheer survival of the fittest.

for the next few, brief scene of farleigh and oliver interacting, oliver repeatedly proves that he does his research. i can't get over it, to be honest. neither can farleigh; if looks could kill, oliver would've been dead within 10 minutes of arriving at saltburn. the methods farleigh and oliver uses to remain relevant in the catton catalogue are so wildly different. farleigh, who uses his personality and social skills to keep the cattons entertained and charmed by him. i'm sure he loves to gossip with elsbeth, wine and dines with venetia, and he clearly does everything in his power to stay glued to felix's side throughout the school year. this is someone who has never considered manipulating the cattons; he just wants to be one of them, and he wants it to be easy. can you blame him?

[astraltrickster]

All the people calling the analysis of the queer undertones in Goncharov "reaching" and "tumblr fangirlism" need to sit down and do some damned research because listen, I'm one of the first people to be skeptical of intent in things like this, I lived through TJLC, but this is, decidedly...not that. Matteo JWHJ 0715 addressed it in this 1975 interview, one of the few he's ever done! He makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, he is a queer person, he uses his pseudonym for his and his family's safety, and his work cannot be fully understood without understanding his struggle with being unable to fulfill a role prescribed to him.

(Hell, the comment about him sometimes wishing he was a woman so that he might be loved the way a man is supposed to love a woman makes me wonder if he ended up being on the mlm-transfem cusp, but that's as far as I'm willing to speculate, especially because odds are decent he's still alive so that would be not just historically unstable but also just plain rude.)

And I mean, okay, it's an obscure interview, I don't blame some of you if you hadn't seen it until now, and I know that filmbros can look at a guy saying "yeah this movie is partially about my queer experience" and still be like "oh but it's just METAPHORS there aren't REALLY gay people on screen and besides he was probably joking anyway", but...some of you at this point are just reinventing "UGH why do you freaks have to make EVERYTHING gay?" and claiming it's not homophobic because you are also gay.

Yes, the queer elements are a lot more subtle than you might get in 2022, but that doesn't mean this is just "internet shipper goggles"; you don't even get the full power of the themes if you don't acknowledge the complex web of attraction going on here. There's a running theme of characters obsessing over the ideal of something to the point of destroying the real thing they're based on - from "heritage"-obsessed nationalists destroying priceless, irreplaceable historical and cultural artifacts as acceptable collateral damage to take out one enemy, to Joe straining all his family relationships and driving himself deeper and deeper into debt in the interest of propping up their image of the perfect, loving, wealthy, glamorous unit; to, yes, the entire mess of the Andrey/Goncharov/Katya/Sofia would-be polycule. They contain so many examples of this running motif that you can't deny that the whole tangled net of homoerotic attraction is there without sacrificing the thematic integrity of the entire film.

And hell, with that - even if it wasn't part of the writer's intention, well, this is what "death of the author" means, not "the author is a prick so Hatsune Miku wrote it". If the themes of a piece have better payoff if you include an unintended subtextual detail - who cares that it was unintended? It's still THERE, echoing and amplifying the themes. Whether he intended to or not (and it's pretty clear from the interview that he did), he wrote a bi4bi couple being thrown into chaos because suddenly they couldn't pretend they were straight anymore.

(Speaking of which, while I can't fully agree with the reading that Goncharov and Katya's marriage was exclusively one of convenience, I can't say I really have a problem with it as a whole either...but can some of you out there please stop insinuating that it HAD to be because they MUST both be totally 100% Kinsey 6 gay? Bisexual people can have sexuality crises with body counts in the dozens too, thank you~)

[bestanimatedmovie]

Choose your favorite!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

Beauty and the Beast:

This is the only animated film ever to be nominated for regular best-picture*. It literally is responsible for the creation of the best-animated-feature category. It was Howard Ashman’s last work and his biggest passion project, and I would argue that there’s a strong reading of the film as a metaphor about the stigma and shame of aides and Visual Queerness that Ashman was experiencing at the time. It’s also one of the best works of hand animation that’s ever been committed to film before or since. In the ballroom scene you can watch the dynamic camera angles they move through and the way that all those ruffles on Bell’s dress swirl so perfectly and naturally. That shit is so complicated, most animators wouldn’t even bother, but it was all hand-drawn(!!), cell-by-cell by James Baxter, yet another absolute titan of the industry that had his hands on this film.**

Soundtrack fucks and the animation pussy is poppin

*Mod note: it was the first but two others have been nominated since (Up and Toy Story 3)

**Mod note 2: I'm leaving the videos for next round, but because submitter wrote so much about the scene, I'll leave the link here

The Prince of Egypt:

First of all, don't let the fact that it's a religious film put you off, because there is SO much to love about it. Gorgeous animation? Check. Amazing soundtrack (composed by Hans Zimmer)? Check. Wonderful scene composition? Check. A compelling take on the classic religious story that does much to humanize and expound on the characters in a way that brings them to life? Check. Powerful scenes that will take your breath away and can be appreciated regardless of whether you're religious or not? Check. Dreamworks' passion project at the time with a lot of obvious effort and love poured into it through all stages of the production process? Check. The Prince of Egypt has done so much to rewire the brains of 2-3 generations of children who grew up in religious families, myself included, and damn it all if it doesn't go hard with it. Vote for the Prince of Egypt.

The animation is GORGEOUS! The music is FANTASTIC! It makes you want to CRY!

The first time I watched it, the opening theme was playing ("Deliver Us") and I realized it was the first time I'd ever heard my culture's music in a major film. Also, the animation is simply beautiful.

It's a thoughtful adaptation of one of mankind's oldest stories. The music slaps.

The music? The script? The animation? Everything? How they blended the 2D and the CGI, how they animated the water and fire, the songs, the 3D sequence where Moses becomes a hieroglyphic carving on the wall, the imagery matching the gods invoked in "Playing with the big boys" sequence, the last plague being animated as mist that gets bigger the more lives it takes, how they managed to make the featureless desert SO pretty, the parting of the red sea animation that took 2 years to make (and looks amazing!), how it's a very respectful adaptation of (the first part of) the book of Exodus, how they managed to have ALL the people consulted for its religious importance agreed on at least one thing (Moses saving a random person rather than Miriam), Tzipporah (all of her), how Miriam has her timbrel on her last scene (and it's even Miriam's song playing!), how they researched how blood was slathered on the doorposts (hyssop) and how the script on the tablets for the 10 commandments would look, how it doesn't shy away from the blood and death. That part on the bridge of When you believe where the children start singing in Hebrew (Mi chamocha)? 11/10, no notes, fantastic, amazing, showstopper!

It's the only religious movie I've ever enjoyed. The creators consulted with multiple leaders of different religions to make sure it was as accurate and representative as possible

It's a well knwon classic that tells the story of the Exodus without being fucking boring and has legendary songs. Literally it's the Prince of Egypt. My favorite scene is the one where he parts the sea obv

The perfect storytelling structure, the voice acting, how you can tell what a character is thinking by their facial expressions alone (not everything must be said aloud), how very much HUMAN each character is, the use of color and lighting, the music and incredible lyrics, the style of animation...favorite scene impossible to choose! Yocheved's lullaby when she sets him adrift in a basket? When Moses meets Miriam again as adults, and she sings the lullaby, the same lullaby he always hums, triggering his memories and causing him to remember? The song Through Heaven's Eyes as he fits in with Tzipporah's people and falls in love with her? The PLAGUES?! Btw. This is based on the Exodus story with artistic liberation used to stay true to the message, but you can be of any faith (or lack of faith; I myself am agnostic) to enjoy the movie. In the end, it is simply a compelling ans human story.

That opening, god the song “deliver us” goes so hard it immediately hooked me. The scene of crossing the red sea is universally loved and iconic because of how beautiful it is but the rest of the movie goes so hard too, especially with the wall paintings depicting children being killed like.

I love the scene with the plagues song

Oh my god it's such a gorgeous film and a wonderful retelling oh my god and the music is also amazing

Banger music. Banger animation. Jewish. What can't she do? I feel so strongly about this.

Combined 2D animation with early 3D animation beautifully, and has an amazing soundtrack. Also the Plagues song slaps.

[mdhwrites]

Do you think the Owl House writes good romance queer or otherwise?

NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT... but also SLIGHTLY yes.

Like a lot of TOH's writing, its romance writing suffers the same problem: Great concepts and initial presentation but a lack of ideas, focus or proper follow through means that it is kneecapped once the easy, flashy parts of writing the romances is over. The problem is that this is further compounded by the fact that this is EASILY the field in which TOH is the most willing to use cheap tropes so as to allow for simplicity of storytelling which conflicts with the rest of the storytelling. All of this makes the writing of the romances in TOH a PROBLEM.

Let's start, obviously, with Lumity. They are literally a Hallmark couple. That is not exaggeration or a metaphor. One of them is a plucky, small town person who believes in emotions and the present and that all that really matters is that the joy of things is kept alive. Meanwhile, the other is a big city slicker who was raised to care about pathetic things like financial security, her future and making sure that they're still going to have a roof over their head in the future. Over the course of their journey, the city slicker will realize that everything they believed is bullshit, that having ambition is terrible and have pretty much all of their personality traits scrubbed away so they can see things the way the small town person does and then the movie ends.

But... the show didn't end with Lumity getting together and the fact that this was using Hallmark's model gets REALLY obvious. The model requires that the serious one entirely abandon their desire, personalities and commonly their friends and family even, sometimes even their romantic partners. It's an extreme way to show character development and devotion. A show of how much they care for the other lead which is usually meant to be some amount of audience surrogate. That's not good for a character though, as desires/connections often form much of a basis for a character's motivations, and so suddenly the show is scrambling to give Amity a supporting cast to interact with and desires beyond Luz. However, because Luz is her only desire, again following this model, she always abandons those characters and desires to go back to Luz. Luz is still her true core focus in Reaching Out. She doesn't mention Alador in For the Future. This devotion honestly gets so bad over time as to become DISTRESSING because it is not a sign of a healthy relationship. Your partner should not be the only thing you appear to actually care about in this world.

Even if you don't want to accuse them of being a Hallmark model, they aren't anything new and some of their tropes are simply not good. A lot of works will have the quirky, silly guy get with the serious one in the cast. It's a classic pairing but one that's usually handled pretty awkwardly since it usually includes some amount of what comes down to harassment from the quirky member of the cast. Literally sexual harassment if you got with Inuyasha's pairing of Miroku and Sango. This is often because the quirky one sees the other as a challenge or the like and wants bragging points for being able to crack their shell. But of course, TOH would never include something like that. Luz is a good girl and would never declare something like, I dunno, "Maybe I can befriend her like Azura did her rival?"

Yes. That is an actual quote from the show. From Lost in Language where eventually Amity sees Luz's quirky nature as charming rather than trouble and the two finally get cohesion due to Luz's efforts to save Amity's life, which is actually not abnormal for any couple in an adventure show to have be when their attraction starts, let alone this sort of pairing. Again: The show does nothing new here... But why should that matter? I LIKE Hallmark movies after all despite their flaws. They can be fun and charming, even as they make incredibly questionable choices.

Well, part of the problem is that the tone and ego of TOH doesn't match with storytelling that revels in cheats like Hallmark does. Understanding Willow is just one of MANY examples of the show claiming it won't use narrative shortcuts, especially in relationships between people. You know, only a couple episodes before it uses the shortcut from Hallmark of Amity throwing away connections consequence free in Winging it Like Witches. Then, four episodes after that, doing it again in Escaping Expulsion. TOH claims to be more maturely paced than that though. That these are real characters with long term arcs and that they are people, not props. But... The Hallmark model uses mostly pretty cheap props. It needs to for its life as a popcorn movie and for how simple its stories are. Just as an example: Murder might be farther than most antagonists in Hallmark movies but rampant greed and not caring about others to a cartoonish level? Yeah, that's there in those and it's there in Alador and Odalia. These two approaches are simply incompatible and I do not blame anyone, myself included, who thought the show was claiming that there would be more to Amity's character than simple obstructions that had to be moved away and biopsied out of her for the sake of being a love interest.

Now, real quick tangential shout out: My favorite Hallmark style movie, even if it technically isn't one since it's not by Hallmark, is Last Christmas. Yes the one based on the song. It's not perfect but it's a lot more unique in my opinion than most and like... If I can say it still fits the Hallmark style, perfection was already left at the door. Charm and fun though? There in spades.

But, getting back on track, Lumity isn't the only romance in the show.

Raeda, like Lumity, presents a strong, classic romance pairing to begin with as well. The wild outlaw and the more rule abiding loyalist but with the neat twist that age has actually brought them to being much closer in viewpoints. As such, it's more the girl who fits in and so knows how to be a rebel and the nice person who is trying to branch out and push boundaries now. They balance each other well but their conflict is immediately understood. The care is also easy to understand, let alone once you know that the curse and the lies tore them apart.

But... Then S2B begins. Now see, with their backstory, you'd actually expect Raine to have some issues with Eda. Some potential trust problems and the like but... Nope. Their entire being is dedicated to the woman who lied to them and then ran from them rather than being honest with them. Like mentor like student I guess. However, Raine doesn't seem to care. Their relationship is 100% fully mended by the end of Eda's Requiem and everything Raine does, he does for Eda effectively despite there not actually being any reason given by them besides personal desire. Maybe they just don't want Eda possibly dying and abandoning her kids? Don't know because it's entirely left to interpretation.

Worse yet, Them's the Breaks goes even farther and makes it so that Raine is just a clone of Eda. A wild child who wants to break the rules and tell everyone to stuff it. They're just, you know, smarter about it than Eda. Not even that they need a push but just that they're better at hiding it. Neither this nor the devotion makes them interesting and like Amity for Lumity, their character vanishes and the romance at best becomes boring.

And finally Huntlow which... From a romance perspective it's nothing. It's not even to say that it doesn't exist but it's almost literally what a tacked on Romantic D PLOT would be. A couple cute looks, a handful of small exchanges and now they're soulmates. That's really it. Huntlow takes up an exceptionally small amount of time of the story and the time it takes up isn't used serving it explicitly but more to erase any memory of the fact that Hunter is a trained murderer who is VERY willing to execute people who get in his way. Stranger Tides proved that after all.

They're inoffensive but even with that said, they're not good. Hunter loses all of his edge while Willow is so forceful as to almost come across as a bully at times during Sport in a Storm (remember, she literally won't take no for an answer and kidnaps him when he won't listen to her). This does make him look weaker and smaller but it doesn't make either one interesting. In fact, it just reinforces how this isn't a romance built off mutual like and chemistry. It's there because... It's just there. I guess Willow is nice to him once but so is Luz and Amity and he never starts being attracted to them. It's Willow pretty much because she's the one available to date and nothing else.

It's weak and it's nothing I care about, built on two of the most inconsistent characters in the entire show. They're genuinely the easiest for me to imagine genuinely being happy together and being just a nice couple, instead of one being in charge over the other, but that's because they're boring. I imagine Hunter as Ned Flanders as an adult just to drive home the point.

So yeah, I'm confidant to say these aren't good romances. Meanwhile, the characters bend for the sake of the romances instead of the romance being properly based on their dynamics, critical elements to characters are discarded for the ease of them getting together and while we might get some cute moments, they have no depth or oomph to them and are only good when dealing with the wonders of a relationship and not its difficulties which are often the far more compelling parts of a relationship. If you want to know how it handles the difficulties of romance... *stares at how Luz spends the second half of the series lying to her girlfriend despite making a promise to be more open at the end of Falls and Follies* Yeah, it's really fucking shitty. If you compare the conversation Amity and Luz have at the end of Covention compared to their conversation before the Grom Tree in Reaching Out, it becomes REALLY clear just how far both of them have fallen, as well as their chemistry. I have quite literally spent multiple blogs talking about how Reaching Out is the death of Lumity for me, a SUPREME Lumity shipper if the probably close to a million words based on them between original and fan works isn't enough to prove it, and I don't feel like going hard on it here.

But hey, it wasn't ever meant to be a romance. Dana said so herself. It just, you know, takes up literally a third of the show. That's not hyberbole. Amity takes up seven episodes of S1. She takes up six of S2 while Raeda, which ends up being pointless because everything they do doesn't matter, takes up two episodes of S2, and that's if you don't include Falls and Follies as either a Raeda or Lumity episode which it could be claimed for both. Huntlow is a part of Hunter's arc at the expense of having it be TEN EPISODES since he interacted with Luz when Hollow Mind comes up and SHE is the one there for his character's big turn.

For a genre that the show supposedly wasn't about, it sure is prioritized over ANYTHING else. Amity and Luz literally have more plot lines together than Eda and Luz. You know, the two who are pitched as the twin main characters. Mentor and student. The two who will beat Belos together arguably. Yes, King is there but if you think Luz spends too little time with Eda, just imagine what that ends up looking like if you look too closely at Luz and King's time spent together.

And that is an element of romance writing. How does the romance serve the plot and theme. How can you make it important. Amity, Raine and Willow are all non-important to the story, especially when compared to their partners. None of them ever help push the plot forward minus Raine and again, their contribution ends up being pointless. Willow at least arguably enacts some character growth on Hunter but Hunter isn't actually that important to the story, just his relationship with Belos and his backstory. As for Amity? It literally was a meme that nothing important could happen with her around and she has literally no impact on Luz's character ever. If she did, Luz might not have LIED TO HER FOR HALF THE SERIES.

Their contributions to the finale highlight this all too well. They're just effectively background characters. Not even interacting with their partners but just doing what everyone else is doing. Their connections don't matter. Their lessons don't. They don't matter to this story.

Which you know what? Even in a Hallmark movie, the serious lead's turn to becoming bland usually coincides in them, having been persuaded by their love for the quirky other lead, to swoop in and save the day. The effect that love and connection and what not wins out. The relationship is at least part of why there is a happy ending.

When your romance is more pointless, and at best just as charming as, a HALLMARK ROMANCE, I think I can pretty firmly say you aren't good at romance.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[analytical-rant]

ZERO DAY RANT. 001 TW: SEE TO THE MOVIES CONTENTS BEFORE READING. I WILL BE DISCUSSING THE IMPORTANT BUT TRIGGERING ASPECTS OF THIS MOVIE.

I feel like this message of them killing these people to make others appreciate their lives isn't what it was. It was revenge, and it was suicide. But I just felt like they did feel obligated to that tape. To have some sort of message to their family, because even if burdened by them they felt obligated to reason with what they might think. They thought about what they were doing, they understood its consequences, how people would view it. They know this is wrong, but to Andre this revenge feels necessary. It's the thing that brought hope to something greater than what he was fated for, it's the thing that feels right. Because, to Andre he could've saw it more than murder, he sees it as defense. A point to take, a movement that's been done, they clearly discussed others and they've found reason to believe that they could possibly reclaim this act of slaughter as something rightetous. Something that'll change in a way it needs to be.

Cal is doing this as an act of surrendering. But he doesn't feel completely ready, because he's set on dying. And like any other person, it's terrifying, but to Cal it was also more than that. He's seen to be into poetry, he's spoken of their view as above everyone else's. He believes it's right that they look at the world from this metaphor, from this more scientific way. That they are all animals, and that's reason to believe he finds himself just as insignificant to the world as everyone else he's murdered. But Andre, he never felt obligated, but he obviously felt understood, so he felt reason to believe he could die with this cause. But he never realized how Andre was reliant on his support. On this army of two, Andre needed him.

Andre is filled with anger, and ideation of proving or showing what they, the school, his bullies, what they couldn't see, understand or even come to listen to. Not unless it took something. He wanted revenge, he wanted purpose, he wanted to die doing what he believed would do something. Either he wanted to be more than an animal, more than that kid you called queer, but someone who was capable of war. Someone capable of making change, leaving with something. But he wasn't dying for it, he was risking his life for it. In the end he only died for Cal. But he still was suicidal, he could've felt like he needed something to end everything for him.

Maybe that's it, Andre needed Zero Day to fulfill this need of revenge, while going out with what he felt gave purpose. And, I think he was and wasn't capable of suicide like Cal was. It was obviously a spur of the moment, because after he couldn't go through with it as quickly as he did then. He just finished laughing, shooting at several people, while having a hand to hold onto throughout it. But after everything died down, the situation settled in completely. He was looking to the end more quickly. Because they both knew there was an end to their actions, it was to come from dying. And Andre in that moment, with the silver gun, felt desperate, frantic and no longer rational. Not as methodic as their plan was. Because they were still kids, they were still immature, but they were fucking ill and they were enabling each other.

They don't know these people they've killed, they only viewed them and this school entirely as their enemy. They were neglected, they were hurt, and it didn't help them with what they didn't understand.

They were possibly gay, and it was laughed at. But they were suicidal, murderers. Would they laugh at that?

Ironically, in the end, they did. They put shame to their name, and burnt what they've become. But Cal and Andre were content with what they were, or content with what they believed. Otherwise, they would be standing there in front of the flames too, feeling the hatred themselves. They died with hatred, they died from the cause of hatred. And now they've only created further hate, to which they weren't aiming for but knew would come from this. They knew what they looked like, but they saw reason out of it. Cal saw reason, Andre saw excuse.

PT.2

[turningsoft]

Richie Tozier & Will Byers Werewolf Metaphor Post

@pinkeoni's old What's up with all the werewolves? post and its further discussion made me think of a lot. Seriously, it's lengthy.

I wanna preface this by saying I don't actually believe everything is connected or intentional, as it would be a huge reach. However, it's rather interesting to draw connections even where there were intended none. Proceed at your own peril.

As we all know, the Duffers originally wanted to write Stephen King's IT remake. Naturally, we also know they took some inspiration from King's various work, so for me it was a really small leap from werewolf references in Stranger Things to Richie's werewolf in IT.

Richie Tozier Was A Teenage Werewolf

In the book, Richie goes to see a horror double-feature, which includes movies I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (both 1957). Let's read the excerpt from the novel.

The Teenage Frankenstein was suitably gross. The Teenage Werewolf was somehow scarier, though… perhaps because he also seemed a little sad. What had happened wasn't his own fault. There was this hypnotist who had fucked him up, but the only reason he'd been able to was that the kid who turned into the werewolf was full of anger and bad feelings. Richie found himself wondering if there were many people in the world hiding bad feelings like that. Henry Bowers was just overflowing with bad feelings, but he sure didn't bother hiding them.

Now, this quote contains a lot of information to suggest that Richie at least empathizes with the character, but we don't actually see him relating to Tony until Richie comes face to face with Pennywise — for the first time, or so he thinks. During this encounter, It takes the form of the Teenage Werewolf and chases Bill and Richie out of the house on Neibolt Street. His appearance is described in great detail and mostly doesn't contradict the original movie, except for the werewolf's silk jacket.

It was black with orange piping — the Derry High School colors.

And a bit further on:

It was the other thing that made him feel as if he might faint, or just give up and let it kill him. A name was stitched on the jacket in gold thread, the kind of thing you could get done down at Machen's for a buck if you wanted it. Stitched on the bloody left breast of the Werewolf's jacket, stained but readable, were the words RICHIE TOZIER.

In the movie it's Tony's signature jacket that allows others to recognize him in his werewolf form, so it only makes sense to assume Richie's scared because he's forced to recognize himself in the monster. The implications affect him so deeply that he considers giving up his own life.

Bad feelings

It provides a bit of insight into Richie's head and makes us question what exactly he considers “bad feelings” within himself, if not anger (he doesn't seem to be an angry person). Some speculate it has to do with growing up and becoming an unstable, hormonal teenager in the future. Others link it to his possible undiagnosed ADHD, self-hatred and the ever-present fear of being ostracized for his differences, both visible and not. Being a queer person in the 50's would also fit the narrative pretty well. For those who are interested, I strongly recommend reading expanded analysis on the matter here (werewolf as a symbol in IT), here (bisexuality viewed as “monstrous”) and here (Richie's fears explained).

Not his fault

Obviously, none of the aforementioned reasons justify putting such strong labels (monster, werewolf) on a literal child. Richie seems to understand he's not at fault for whatever makes him a target, but he also believes in a strong possibility someone can inflict this inhuman identity upon him. Despite already being bullied, he fears his situation can take a turn for the worse. And despite having a wonderful support system, he somehow knows it's not enough. If someone or something decides to “fuck him up” and exploit his vulnerable state, they will, so he cuts down on the amount of vulnerability. Heavily. I can't believe I'm still not talking about Will Byers.

Hiding stuff

As ironic as it sounds, Richie Tozier is canonically good at hiding. Other people find it difficult to make up their minds about his personality and actions — the most famous instance being, perhaps, this quote.

He had known Richie Tozier for four years, and he still didn't really understand what Richie was about.

Richie uses his Voices and “numbers” both as a shield and a weapon. He shows raw emotions only when he considers it absolutely safe. He takes “refuge in absurdity”. To reiterate @/jasperathrifteddoll's werewolf symbolism post, Richie 1) is confusing; 2) tells half-truths; 3) puts up facades; 4) “through his concealment of his inner thoughts to the reader, seems almost aware of his status as a book's narrator”.

All of Richie's fears are connected to or based on public perception. “But he knew well enough” has earned a meta post in and of itself.

Will Byers Has Werewolves In His Closet

So what's the meaning behind this werewolf costume in the Trick or Treat, Freak episode? Maybe it's a manifestation of one of Will's fears, or maybe there's no hidden message. After all, even if Stranger Things and IT are connected, I Was A Teenage Werewolf has nothing to do with ST… Unless we consider it left a huge legacy and inspired The Cramps to write a song of the same name — the one that introduced Eddie Munson to the audience in S04E01. Frankly speaking, I don't think this was an easter egg the writers were actively trying to include, but it doesn't take away from the parallel. It's still fun to compare Will and Richie, especially because on a surface level they're so unlike.

To execute Stephen King's werewolf metaphor, one would need:

a character with enough emotional baggage,

who is afraid of being perceived as a monster,

especially as a result of trusting an authority figure,

who breaks his trust and exploits his vulnerable state,

potentially making him dangerous in the process.

Let's see if Will ticks all the boxes.

Bad feelings

Will's otherness is easy to pick up on. It's either “being a sensitive artistic kid who grew up to be gay in the 80's” or “being a child who was abducted to a horrific dimension and is now attached to it”. Arguably, we don't even have to choose: these two plots are closely related and can become one through the AIDS metaphore. Not to mention the whole “growing up poor with an abusive and neglectful father” thing. Simply put, Will Byers has plenty reason to experience “bad feelings”. On a rare occasion, we can hear about his struggles firsthand.

Bad feelings = self-hatred

So far, Will has internalized a variety of epithets:

“Zombie Boy”

“Freak”

“Stupid”

“Mistake”

We can see each of them affect him to some extent.

In season 2, during multiple heart-to-hearts with Jonathan, Will expresses his desire for everyone to stop treating him different, like there's something wrong with him. Meaning, he himself doesn't think there's something wrong. He stubbornly insists: “Yeah, I am. I am [a freak],” but he's quick to be offended when Jonathan agrees. It reads as a defense tactic, not his own opinion. After all, when you pointedly address yourself in a hurtful fashion, shouldn't those words stop holding power over you?

When drawing the Zombie Boy, Will essentially tries to reclaim this identity in a way that's true to him — by using art. He doesn't want to passively accept the label, he wants to strip it of its negative connotations. But then again, when a kid deemed as dead comes back to life, it's a pretty dumb reason to bully him. Will probably knows it's dumb, so he fights back. His homosexuality, though, is a harder pill to swallow.

There's no denying he feels guilty for his attraction to Mike (well, boys, but Mike specifically). Guilty and other things as well, a mixture of shameful, jealous, hurt, confused and angry. In seasons 3 and 4 he learns that even the tiniest portions of his affection and his sincerest attempts at salvaging a friendship can be neglected or misconstrued. It cuts deeply.

Then there's, of course, the van scene. Will says he feels like a mistake sometimes. Not all the time, he clears up. Mike makes him feel better for being different, and yet Will cries after the speech, knowing full well his differences don't make his life any happier or simplier, or better.

Bad feelings = past trauma

Still, all of it pales in comparison to plain old trauma and its prolonged effects. This anon ask and @/heroesbyler's answer have summarized it better than I ever could. Here's a quote that I can't not mention:

His trauma is one of the most if not the most multifaceted in the entire story, and also he literally is the main character foil to the big villain. Saying that Will hates himself for being gay is such a gross oversimplification of what we see. It's haunting to know that people want to project a stereotypical situation to his nuanced one.

Additionally, there were theories that Will is a victim of CSA, and I'm not only referring to the ones about Vecna/MF/UD allegories (these I very much agree with) but those about full-on CSA by Lonnie. While I'm still on the fence about it, I acknowledge this is also a possibility.

To sum up, our boy Will has been through a lot. Emotional baggage? Check. Susceptibility to “monstrous” labels? Check.

Not his fault

Up until this point I was being ambiguous about whether my theory is applicable to S2 only or other seasons as well. I have to admit, right now the werewolf costume guy is no more than a little foreshadowing of the S2 plot. However, given the fact that S5 is promised to take inspiration from S2, some of its key elements or plot points may be reused, albeit probably in a different fashion. Additionally, new information might be revealed, meaning that the metaphore has potential to grow into something bigger in the future.

For now I'll focus on the S2 events mainly and compare them to I Was A Teenage Werewolf.

___

Movie: Tony Rivers embodies a typical delinquent from the 50's. He's a troubled rebellious teenager with anger issues. He exhibits such violent behavior that he's advised to seek psychological help.

IT: Richie doesn't fixate on the anger part and instead uses “bad feelings” wording to convey broader (or perhaps, entirely different) meaning. Ultimately, we're led to believe that it doesn't matter what character traits Tony possessed. What's more important is 1) he had psychological issues; 2) he was advised to seek out professional help.

ST: Will has a lot of unresolved trauma from his experience in the UD, which manifests in “bad feelings”, so-called flashbacks and coughing up demonic slugs. He's advised to undergo medical supervision/scientific surveillance at Hawkins Lab.

___

Movie: Dr. Alfred Brandon embodies the classic mad scientist archetype. He conducts experiments on people by using hypnosis and medication in unconventional ways and claims it's for a greater cause. He draws out Tony's traumatic childhood memories during their sessions. Brandon has an assistant, Dr. Hugo Wagner, who comes across as compassionate and humanistic.

ST: Dr. Martin Brenner is affiliated with multiple scientific projects that conduct experiments on people by using sensory deprivation, psychedelic drugs and various abuse/manipulation tactics. He, too, claims it's for a greater cause. Also works with traumatic childhood memories, e. g. the whole NINA project. If twelvegate is proven true in S5, these parallels will become positively unhinged. Brenner repeatedly works with Dr. Owens, who on the outside seems more sympathetic towards main heroes.

___

Movie: Tony finally accepts Dr. Brandon's help after a Halloween party gone wrong. He decides to trust everyone's opinion, goes through the procedure and ends up becoming “possessed by wolves” (= made into a werewolf).

ST: Will accepts the fact that he's spiraling and needs help on Halloween night. He decides to trust Dr. Owens, Joyce and Bob that his visions are just PTSD-related episodes. He follows Bob's advice and ends up possessed.

Ultimately, this is the moment when Will's trust is broken. Although it's definitely not Bob's or Joyce's fault, a collective authority figure represented by Hawkins Lab fails Will. It fucks him up big. And one can argue, Owens' incapacity to protect him wasn't a simple negligence but an extension of Brenner's politics. @/runninguplenorahills suggests the following:

If Owens knew about Brenner being alive and deliberately kept that information to himself (which he did), and if Owens knew about Henry and everything that happened (which seems to be the case too)……. Well….. doesn't that make Owens' inability to help and protect Will in s2 a deliberate choice?

Regardless, it isn't Will's own doing that turns him into someone dangerous — it's the Lab's fault.

___

Movie: Dr. Brandon and his assistant argue about the necessity of transforming Tony because it might be harmful or even fatal to him.

“But you're sacrificing a human life!” ”Do you cry over a guinea pig?”

ST: Dr. Owens argues with other scientists over attacking the UD vines/tunnels and potentially harming Will in the process.

“And if it kills the boy?” ”Then quite frankly, Sam, it kills him.”

___

Movie: In his werewolf state, Tony kills a bunch of his classmates, a random dog, Dr. Brandon and his assistant.

ST: While being possessed, Will leads the soldiers into a trap and gets them killed because they've upset the MF. Owens ends up injured, and Bob gets killed. We can view them all as Brenner's “assistants” to different extents.

All in all, I'd say the metaphor fits. But wait, there's more!

Hiding stuff

Once again referencing @/pinkeoni's posts, there's a long history of Will hiding his feelings. Fascinating how the conversation that basically establishes this trait of his, aka his exchange with Joyce, happens in S2 and specifically in relation to his not-actually-PTSD episodes. But the motive of hiding, be it in a literal or a figurative sense (as in hiding parts of himself), is integral to Will's character. It is continually present troughout seasons and is supported by in-show elements and costume design choices alike.

Billy Hargrove And Henry Bowers Are Overflowing

Parallels should be drawn between Henry and Billy, too. This section is small, but nonetheless I like it — it's a finishing touch to the story and a cherry to top it all off.

Richie completes his train of thought by contrasting Tony and Henry Bowers, accentuating how the latter “didn't bother hiding” his bad feelings, e. g. his anger, bigotry and violent outbursts. The same could be said about Billy. Both of them killed people under the influence (Flayed!Billy, Pennywise-inspired!Henry) and definitely were capable of assault regardless. For both of them a relationship with one's father seems to be an instigation of their descent into madness, although Billy hates Neil, whereas Henry appears to have a more complex, effectively love-hate attitude towards Oscar.

It's also noteable that Billy is a foil character to Will, who is mirroring him in many ways, while Henry and Patrick may be seen as foils to Richie and Eddie when it comes to handling “their same-sex attraction”. And by the way, if sexuaility and attraction is consired “bad feelings” within Will's mind, one particular part of this post becomes all the more relevant. To quote and paraphrase, “Billy wears his sexuality proud and openly”, yet Will's sexuality is suppressed — another case of hiding versus overflowing.

I'd love to TL;DR this post into something concise and coherent, but I fear I'd just end up repeating my points and wording. I'd rather say I have more thoughts on Richie and Will's similarities, so there's gonna be a short post about it sometime down the line. Thank you to anyone who decided that this was worth reading!

[tomyo]

Nimona and a Decade of the Queer Experience

To me one of the most anticipated aspects of the Nimona adaptation was to see how they changed the a lot of the queer themes from the original comic. Nimona was created in a time where it was still taboo to represent same sex relationships in anything trying to be marketable into an era where it is so commonplace that Nimona would have seemed regressive if it stayed true to the material.

Naturally the way Blackheart and Goldenloin are portrayed has greatly changed but also has a lot of the message from the original. Nimona is now about the trans experience.

This isn't to say transness was never at the core of Nimona but I don't think even baby nonbinary me would have been able to connect it directly to that.

Nimona the comic, to me, deals with similar but different issues from Nimona the movie. The comic was a story of trying to upheave an untrustworthy militarized state through the initially goofy lens of a budding father daughter relationship that ultimately fails.

Blackheart at the start of the comic already is trying to defy the government and Nimona seeks him out because he's actually playing the role of the villain already. She herself felt like this mix of female and queer rage. It made believe somewhat in the idea that the little girl by the end of the story was truly her who had once tried to do better for her home and was rejected for becoming something *different*. Overall you can feel more presently that deafening dread that Blackheart and Goldenloin love each other and acknowledging that would ruin both of their lives. This is moreso due to that whole conflict of their ideologies and sides they are on interfering but the metaphor is there. We could read this easily as Blackheart being out of the closet and at odds with society where Goldenloin on in the closet and working on the name of oppression. By showing Blackheart looking visibly like a villain it harkens back to the queer coding of Disney villains and a feeling a lot of queer people had to experience at that time, being an enemy to the public simply for existing. Coming back to Nimona, she's the perfect example of a trans masc egg experience; punk in a way that isn't fully certain in embracing or trashing anything feminine. Not fully androgynous but butchy and an unfocused anger at everything around them. I can never speak for the entirety of the trans experience but I know the feeling being born in an afab body and violently hating the society that I want badly to accept me, the way we insist that we intend to fully express our being while also creating this weird mix of unconvincing conformity. Again I laugh so much at her design elements; shaved head, tomboyish in chainmail but with curves, and short dresses, and impractical belts. Her actions also read as someone who's greatest sore point is loss of her bodily autonomy which ultimately she's subjected to during the climax. The monster/power of Nimona to me tends to ultimately mirror more of an emotional state rather than transness itself. Both version of Nimona have people see it as something Nimona is inflicted with rather than a part of her existence as she reveals at the end. Even Blackheart believe he can cure her of it with the equivalence of a procedure or medication but it's because he only perceives Nimona as the little girl and not the little girl as a part of the whole that is the dragon. I think there is a lot of things we can read into the dragon being and even at the idea that queerness is something people seek to cure that doesn't need one in the first place. And ultimately that's why the story ends on the somber tone it does, the biggest focus of the story was how Blackheart became the parent to Nimona and misguidedly tried to 'fix' her. And like a lot of people, especially for the time period, Nimona had to leave behind the family and society that couldn't accept her as her.

And so we move forward through the years.

Media is not made in a vacuum, Nimona the comic is a critique of early 2010s ideologies and maybe doesn't even worry about them as serious in a pre 2016 world. Nimona 2023 however exists on the other side of that threshold. Like I said, I don't think the original comic was consciously trans mostly because the zeitgeist wasn't conscious of transness. 2012-2014 (the comic's creation period) encapsulated me personally going from no aware knowledge of gender to confusion at learning my friend's pronouns to fully identifying as nonbinary in a world few people knew what that meant. But not long after that we had Korra's ending, the reveal of Ruby and Sapphire, Kaitlynn Jenner, Menanists, and then the nightmare of the 2016 election and all that came with it. The truth is a contradiction occurred; queerness became a part of the in group so long as it followed the rules of heteronormativity. I think it is fair to say a lot of queer people became more eeeh conservative for lack of better terms. For once we finally had a chance to be out and so long as we followed the conditions set out, exist well. We can live comfortably, why rock the boat? In other words, respectability politics. We are then at odds with those who believe we should keep complacent for fear of being rejected.

That brings us to Nimona the movie.

Blackheart no longer is the guerilla activist he once was, we now are introduced to him as a part of the system; specifically the model minority. Movies only have so much time for you to build understanding of it's world themes and ideas and so it tends to need to be more punchy with getting the point across otherwise become less coherent. So rather on the nose "Knighting a non noble is against god" as very flatly stated in the begging. Since the time of the comic, being gay has been normalized and we now see Blackheart and Goldenloin start out as a couple (to be frank I couldn't fully tell if they were official or not but they were all but in writing together) and by in universe logic, Goldenloin is the golden child pastor's son with divisively accepted boyfriend. Blackheart is an inspiration for his common men while his noble classmates are disgusted at the idea of him being allowed the same rights as them, essentially being allowed to be an policeman. It's his role as the model minority that he still believes the system is right when he is framed for murder; it is the one bad actor who's at fault despite a whole society shunning him with little reasoning needed.

Nimona in the other hand is a bit more in control of the relationship. Nimona of the comic latched onto a spurned man who was more methodical than she was in her work but Nimona of the movie is pretty much what pushes Blackheart into the image of a villain. Movie Nimona's goal is more or less to find community and for reasons we will get to only believes she can find it with other cast aside from society. She is jaded enough to know that Blackheart will continue to be labeled as the way they do to her. This time the shape shifting is explicitly trans; Nimona now is no longer worried about experimentation or trying to be cured but of being called a monster, the fear of her, and eradication; words I feel like I've heard too much in lgbt spaces lately. She talks about wanting her own demise with her heard turned down and eyes somber in moments that hit too close to home. She is a worn down warrior for her own existence. On safer grounds with Blackheart she more wittingly challenges his transphobia. Blackheart cannot perceive her out of the binary that she is default a girl and her transformations are something else, he asks if her transitions hurt, and he tries to convince her to blend in with others for his own comfort. As he spends more time with her, he's able to view the world he was taught differently and doesn't view the less pretty sides of Nimona as scary. However, programming is hard to free yourself out of.

The Director is by definition, conservative. She believes is a religious like text that society should not change unless it all falls a part. Her belief in this runs so deep that she easily is willing to kill pseudo religious figures as her personal code of morals override any actual logic in faith(anyone remember how magas talk about Trump as being sent by God while also disavowing him for encouraging vaccinations?). Her rhetoric that non nobles with be a societal slip eminates classism and racism (commoner is somewhat of a race allegory). She denies her own words to hold power, criticizes Nimona of whispering deceipt into blackhearts ear while actually being the one doing so to Goldenloin, and justifies her actions through holy scripts. She holds a stern belief in cleansing the society of it's demons down to intending to kill a large part of her society to rid it of the tran metaphor Nimona is. She is the quintessential conservative power so bent on it staying that way that she will destroy everything in spite of any logic to why it's right. Goldenloin, as the champion of the institution, a head cop if you will, looks upon the chaos learning the director's intent to kill thousands and says "what are we doing here?" A lot of institutions (aah there's the naming for you) in our country are like this. I think to some like, there are people who entered religion or became a police officer because they wanted to do good. But the rhetoric in these spaces can skew that perspective exponentially. Some with better access out may find that point of "What are we doing her" The moment the logic of the system no longer makes sense. I would love to talk more a lot this an the comic institution at a later point.

Back to Nimona and the queer identity.

Nimona was searching for a group to accept her, changing her appearance to fit in. She thinks she has it with Gloreth until Gloreth is taught that Nimona's existence was monstrous and rejects her as well. The scene of the villagers attacking her is poinient as well; they endanger and threaten her with violence (which would likely have been more explicit if not for kids) and she first turns to something weaker to escape but they refuse and so she is forced to turn to something bigger ane vicious in order to live but it only sets up the narrative that there is a reason to fear her when she didnt attack first, she simply had to protect herself. Nimona in the present is ready for her death, the narrative so out of control that it breaks her.

Blackheart is able to bring her back from the brink by doing the important thing of truly apologizing, have humility for his mistrust and bigotry, and offer her support on equal terms. Nimona this time does not flee her friend that failed her but sacrifice herself for the hope of a better future beyond the walls.

The final part to mention; the walls. The walls are mad out as a big deal in this. No one leaves beyond them and the one small town of Gloreth fills to a big capitalist tech dystopia that markets dragons as both cute mascots and something to eradicate to as young as children. Society is a small shoebox not allowed to even see beyond the walls; see a new potential of this world. Simply put, the beyond is the beyond of heteronormative society. Even as society has become more accepting of LGBT identities, it has only liked to consume it in an easily interpreted manor. There are a lot of even just fringe identities that used to get lambasted for being weird simply for existing, trying to apply those same rules within their spaces as they've become socially acceptable. For every push forward we make, there is still presentation and identity that will get ostracized for being out of the box. We create these walls and only build them out further every so often rather than knocking them down. If there is anything to take from Nimona it's to embrace the beyond.

Morning edit; Hiii thank you for reading all of this. I kinda furiously typed this after watching the movie last night and there are certainly some flaws for it. Towards the end you can see a lot of typos because I was literally falling asleep and there are definitely some concepts I would've liked to flesh out better but kinda glossed over to focus on what the stories were saying about Nimona specifically. I think if anything, I'd want to reexamine Blackheart in both stories because I honestly forgot a lot of his actions in the comic, same with the institution because it took a while to even remember about the Director being a character from the comic. To be real, there's some really specific events on where Nimona was made that tend to hit me pretty hard so I rushed through the comic when I read it last year. I might try to take me time now because Nimona is so meaningful. I even want to talk about how it made sense Disney tried to shut it down (I'm certain there's a lot of business reasons but I don't think it was compatible with the Disney brand). For all the ways we have queer stories, I don't think we see a lot of trans stories yet. I'm hoping the series like Dead End Paranormal Park and Nimona are the start of a new era that focally represent that.

[the-gay-disney-games]

Round 1A: The Little Mermaid (1989) vs. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Propaganda:

The Little Mermaid:

“It's an allegory about transitioning under the Benjamin Standards actually.”

“Like. c'mon. the original fairytale its based on was literally written by a closeted gay man as a metaphor for how his love for another man was doomed. also ursula is a drag queen”

“She's trans-human, or something. The Queer experience of wanting to know what else is out there, if there are people like you, like you in your soul, put there. Of wanting to go to a place where you are safe to ask everything you want to ask and be whatever way you want to be.”

“any movie howard ashman writes lyrics for is gonna be pretty gay”

“The trans metaphor is right there, guys!! Plus Ursula being based on a Drag Queen. And most importantly: Howard Ashman.”

“The original story is about Hans Christian Andersen being in love with a man but knowing he could never be with him. And the movie itself is very queer. You could read queerness into Ariel’s fascination with the human world and wanting to be part of that world rather than the one she “belongs” in. Being willing to cut off contact and move far away from your family because you’ll never be accepted by them, especially after a parent violently rejects something important to or about you. Ursula.”

“a lot of ink has been spilled on why the little mermaid is a metaphor for internalised homophobia, with hans christian anderson's own thoughts regarding his bisexuality coming through in the character of the princess (ariel) who wans to be a real woman so she can be with the man she loves. this also lends itself ot trans readings in the mdoern day. of course, the 1989 film was written by howard ashman, himself a gay man, and it is possible to read the alternate, happier ending to this film adaptation as a hopeful retelling for gay people towards the end of the 20th century. its gay”

“Part of Your World??? Ariel literally transitioning from a mermaid to a human. bYE”

“Girl have you Seen or Heard the behind the scenes of Ursula”

“Ursula literally being based on the drag queen Divine”

“The whole plot is a trans allegory imo. Ariel feeling like she’s be happy with “just one day on land” screamsssss trans person wanting to be seen as their gender. Plus she literally got “bottom surgery” lmao. (Tl;dr: I’m trans and it’s my fav so I say so. /j)”

“hans christian anderson wrote the little mermaid as an allegory for being gay. therefore these films are literally gay. disney swept it under the rug but i will not. also that "i can't believe we're both goth and trans" post”

The Great Mouse Detective:

“The protagonist, Basil, and antagonist, Ratigain, are practically bitter exes. Basil literally has a giant photo of his “”””enemy”””” above his fireplace, come on!”

“Vincent Price as Ratigan is so obviously over the top queer coded, but this is one of the few Disney movies where the protagonist, Basil, is also queer coded. It’s more subtle, but all Sherlock Holmes type characters are queer coded. Also the movie ends with Basil asking Dawson, this movie’s Watson, to stay and live with him so yeah”

“As per usual, Basil (Holmes) is V queer. Confirmed bachelor, immediately ready to play happy homes with Watson, Ratigan is Basil's flamboyant ex.”

“i can't explain it but basil the mouse is gay and so is the vincent price rat”

“It’s based on Sherlock Holmes so right away the Basil/Dawson relationship is. Very queer. Also Ratigan is a queer-coded villain.”

[somethingmissingthiswaycomes]

Just watched the Barbie Movie.

Initial thoughts.

It is very good.

It is also....

haunted

by the lack of anything even... remotely queer.

It doesn't feel queerphobic, and the presence of a trans actress gives me the sense that it wasn't made with exclusion of trans men (Kens) and women (Barbies) in mind — and every statement they make about patriarchy is pretty spot on — but the heavy focus on gender inherent to the premise makes the exclusion of at least a mainstream "third gender" notion of nonbinary people feel very loud.

When it got to the Ken war, I was getting the same feeling I remembered from watching "Boys V Girls" cartoons as a kid. The kinda... "oh no, I'm being asked to split myself in twaine and fight" feeling as a multigender person.

The hard line drawn between Barbies and Kens, uh...

The Barbie Movie made me feel dysphoric lmao

Good movie tho.

And if Allan was supposed to represent nonbinary people, that... would be... not good. He's great and my favorite but also his request to he included in the narrative was a joke so I'm just gonna assume no one was trying to make him a metaphor for nonbinary people.

Oh and it was also

Extremely heterosexual.

The Barbies are totally all aromantic, but I think that's incidental. They could have been such good aro rep if the movie made just... any reference to aromanticism. :c

And... Yeah, the... The lack of any reference to possible gay Kens or Barbies was, again, very loud. Super loud. Especially during the setup to the Ken war. It was so extremely straight, moreso due to the premise of the film than a lot of media that doesn't have gay people either.

It was very good though. Like, everything included was amazing. It was funny and cartoonish and the plasticity of everything was great. I loved the surreal, on the nose way all the characters acted. It just excluded certain things in a way that felt like a big, gaping hole screaming to be noticed, which fascinates me.

[knightotoc]

Asteroid City spoilers (seriously watch the movie first, it's great) --

I'm so stuck on the line "the wife who played my actress." It broke my heart, and I don't even know why or really understand it, but I feel like it's the key to everything.

We know Jason Schwartzman's character, the actor, was having an affair with Edward Norton's character, the playwright; their love at least partly begun because the actor played the writer's character so accurately. Margot Robbie plays another actor, who plays a dead character whose part got cut, so they can only meet in the liminal backstage area. I love the staging in this scene, the actors on their separate balconies like two Juliets.

The play-within-the-movie is about a family going through grief and quarantine, which makes it relevant to us even though it is set in the 50s. (There are a lot of terrifying parallels between now and the 50s: fear of apocalypse, Cold War, sliding back into conservatism, obsession with controlling gender, repressing emotions, overblown hype for technology -- all things, to various extents, present in the movie.) But the backstage story reveals the real grief: the playwright died, leaving his lover alone to portray his own too-timely tribute to fictional death.

So I'm stuck on this wife/actress line because it's so sad and mysterious. I wonder if she really was his wife, and either he was cheating on her, or she was his beard. Or, she wasn't his wife and he was just joking, which might mean that they're great friends/love working together and are bummed out that their beautiful scene got cut. It is unfair that the playwright liked the husband character so much more than the wife character.

Another more spooky explanation is that the playwright started to identify with the wife as his love with the husband's actor deepened. So he might have cut their ghostly scene as it became just too personal or too tragic to bear. The chronological story is then one of dramatic irony, and their offstage, unsanctioned reenactment is catharsis.

But I'm trying to think of a metaphorical, non-chronological way to understand the movie. Jason Schwartzman's character is really anxious about trying to find meaning in this play. I can understand his frustration even if it really is that simple, as I was also going through it, trying to make sense of this confusing movie. But I think it's clear that he's not really upset about the meaninglessness of the play, but the meaninglessness of life itself.

And so the absurd coincidence of a playwright writing about death and then dying starts to collapse, and some truer idea about grief emerges. When someone dies, we get trapped in a script. When a queer person dies, they might be misrepresented as someone more socially acceptable. So a real gay lover becomes a fake wife in a big silly costume (and perhaps a reference to Schwartzman's role in Marie Antoinette?).

So "the wife who played my actress" isn't either of those things. The reason the phrase makes no sense is that death makes no sense, homophobia makes no sense, and post-death homophobia makes the least sense of all. It is a really cool way to portray a ghost.

[deramin2]

Review: Bottoms (2023)

Bottoms is a sapphic teen sex comedy about two unpopular lesbians that start a women's fight club at their high school to try and hook up with cheerleaders after a series of miscommunication and escalating lies to looks cool. Hands down one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. And one of the smartest.

It's plot is absolutely wild, but it captures normal teen emotions so honestly. It both embraces the tropes of classic teen comedies (especially of the 1980s) while subverting them entirely. Everything is a little too big and off the rails in a way things feels when you're a teenager going through all this for the first time in your life. Magnified by the systemic injustice of being a young woman in 2023. It really captures that feeling of surviving high school feeling like a life or death struggle.

All the adults are failing these kids in unique ways. So literally and metaphorically the kids are teaching themselves and they don't know what they're doing or how to stay safe or how to keep things from getting out of hand. Even when an adult is explicitly supposed to be watching over them or is gone to for advice, the kids come away only knowing not to be like them. I love how Mr. G embodies misogyny and fake allies in it for themselves. His apathy and desire to cover his ass allows this to get started. The coming of age lesson is that the girls are going to have to figure out how to save the world because the adults aren't coming to save them. There's a comradery in that.

The characters feel so complicated and alive. You could make a whole film about any one of them. All with their own hangups and ambitions. The film pokes fun at them but also sympathetically understands them. Except the football team and their supporters who very much represent toxic masculinity in a cishet patriarchal society that glamorizes violence. But with a cartoon violence energy.

They threaded some incredibly tight lines here. It faced some tough subjects head on but with so much humor. The jokes you've been waiting for someone to pull off for years.

Great film. You should watch it. Queer people continue to be the funniest filmmakers on the planet.

[desertsongpdf]

VIDEO ESSAYS (part ??? 2/2) [parts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 5 / 6], *=personal fav

why are batman movies afraid of robin?

a world of gothic horror: the problem with modern batman stories

batman and robin: when the abyss stares back

how the mandalorian solved hollywood's helmet problem

andor: anti-fascist art

the craft behind succession

how succession crafted the best episode of the year

destroying the old lie: what makes a film truly anti-war

why gods and generals is neo-confederate propaganda (and objectively sucks)

the green knight: the uncanny horror of masculinity*

tenet: nolan has an exposition problem

chicken little is neoliberal propaganda

oops! disney's cars did eugenics*

tim burton's alice in wonderland was a mistake

alice in wonderland's not good sequel

the decline of tim burton*

sherlock is garbage, and here's why*

the kingsman franchise could've been great*

the tom cruise paradox

the autistic horror of don't hug me i'm scared (s1)

the art of overanalyzing movies

james cameron's avatar: dances with white saviours

dont look up - a problematic metaphor for climate change?

dont worry darling: an enigmatic mess

why don't worry darling doesn't work …

3 interpretations of summer

ferb fletcher and the power of stoicism

why 'literally me' characters are so important

analyzing evil: lou bloom from nightcrawler

fight club: a warning for weak men

the time disney remade beauty and the beast

how i wrote fight club

how did they make this?

the revisionist world of disney: mary poppins, walt disney and saving mr. banks

what makes terence fletcher one of the most terrifying villains in film history

sustaining stupidity: cinemasins is terrible

dahmer (2022) should not exist

marvel's defenders of the status quo

the rise and fall of disney's weirdest sitcom

loki, the mcu, and narcissism

why cosmic horror is hard to make

the conspiracy theory iceberg*

pewdiepie is a nazi

jake tran's rise and ...

nft's are legally problematic

why are nft’s so ugly

the most hated artist you probably recognize

who's afraid of modern art: vandalism, video games, and fascism

the nightmare artist

alexander cabanel: fallen angel and academicism

the canvas of babel

ivan the terrible and his son ivan*

the death of graphics in fashion

'degenerate art' in nazi germany

banksy, kurt cobain, and the paradox that claimed them

money killed art. here's how we take it back

7 deadly art sins

everything is television

the manipulative power of design

the hidden histories of queer art