#ltwb

[joyfulglimmer]

just finished watching Leave The World Behind and I have so many thoughts.

This is exactly what would happen, isn't it? We've seen it happen already with the pandemic and with what's happening in Gaza. This is how the western world, or at the very least the USA, reacts. It's always "us" versus "them". In this movie we've seen many instances of that division. The obvious one was racism. But there's also the class division. These families are here rather than in New York because of the amount of money they have. In the end, most of us will think of ourselves. If we do manage to think of others it'll most likely be whoever we see "as our own". It was Amanda being distrustful of the Scott family, it was Rose running off to watch Friends, it was Danny unwilling to help, it was Clay leaving the woman on the road behind. We think we're protecting our best interests as individuals, but within that mindset we tend to forget that sometimes that means seeking help and support from others. so much so that we reject others who do seek out help in times of crisis because those living in societies with predominantly individualistic norms and values simply don't know any better.

Besides that I also really like how this movie shows us our dependency on modern technology. The self driving teslas, the phones not working, no radio and no GPS. It's terrifying how easy the world, or at least the part of the world I'm at, would be completely and utterly fucked without modern tech. Makes me even more grateful for the paper maps I own and the cd's on my shelves lmao

Also. Sam Esmail's references to Mr. Robot? Absolutely incredible, loved it.

This movie was terrifying to me, but mostly because of how blind we were as an audience. The possibility of this becoming our reality, the fact that it IS the reality for those in palestine ... that's what really hit me

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Leave The World Behind: My New Thoughts on it

I finished reading Rumaan Alam's novel Leave the World Behind and I think it's subtextual premise is this:

What if the the Christian Bible was as accurate in it's depiction of the End of Days as it was about the Beginning of Creation? Which is to say, right on a few details but wrong about everything else.

For example:

Rose the sinless daughter gets "raptured," but not really she just abandons the group to break into an unoccupied bomb shelter stocked with supplies where she binge watches dvds. That's basically heaven, in the short term. Archie the first born son dies, but not really he just gets Lyme disease and might die or maybe not. It depends if he can get medical treatment.

I believe this novel is meant to be a contrasting parody of the Christian apocalypse series, Left Behind, and it's lack of ambiguity. I've read enough summaries about that bloated saga of theocratic far-right propaganda to think I'm right.

Sam Esmail's cinematic adaptation of LTWB eschews the veiled critique of Christianity and instead targets another beloved fantasy of the far right: military invasion of the USA by a foreign nation.

In the original Red Dawn, it's explicitly stated that Mexican communist revolutionaries backed by the Russian military have invaded the southern border. They have seized control of numerous towns and cities and have forced residents into prison camps. Thus it's up to a plucky group of high schoolers to fight for Ronald Reagan's America.

In LTWB, there is no marauding red army destroying America, because there doesn't have to be. America is already teetering on the brink of collapse, our infrastructure is weak, our public discourse toxic. Anyone with sufficient resources, ranging from the Islamic Republic of Iran to aliens from outer space, could make the nation fall into chaos. It doesn't who the attackers are, economic and social policies implemented by conservative politicians have made our nation weak in order to fund tax cuts for wealthy elites who will abandon everyone when the end comes.

This terrifying indictment of America by Sam Esmail elevates his movie above it's source material, in my opinion. He's not afraid to make people afraid, something that Rumaan Alam was apparently reluctant to do lest he become like the fear mongerers he was parodying. Or at least that's what I imagine.

[stvlti]

Fwiw I think Civil War (dir. Alex Garland) is a better thriller that is set in apocalyptic America than Leave The World Behind (dir. Sam Esmail). I love both of these directors' works but LTWB just didn't hit the same way - it felt too surreal and removed from the centre of the political conflict, which was probably part of the point of that film, but it is also to the film's detriment in terms of the horror and pathos it could wring out of that same scenario of war on American soil.

[biorg]

Ty for your kind words <3 I feel like you're just the right person to ask because of your great taste in literature overall, so.. any other horror book recs, if you can?

You have too much faith in my literature taste jfkfkgkgk, and sadly most horror books I've read in recent years were really underwhelming 😭 the only one that I truly enjoyed was Near the Bone by Christina Henri, and it's very different from LTWB. It's a straightforward creature feature, but the writing was immersive, and on a personal level, I have a thing about horror set in the woods. Like. Something is in behind the trees, always lurking.. Q. My personal nightmare fuel <3

[ahorcandoelpato]

⏱️76'| #PFC 0x0 #CSH | #SemisIda | #LigaTica🇨🇷 #NoSabemosNadaPeroTeLoContamosTodo🦆 (en Agencia Multi Marca Benék) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjgpI5-LTWb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hale-b629]

psst starset you really want to do leaving this world behind live you really want to do it

[oflgtfol]

several months after horizons released, i still havent had any song overtake LTWB after that one (1) fucking week where i listened to it 300 times

[bigweldindustries]

GOD I just scored some really sweet urls

[kosukefujimoto-blog]

Constantly on our outside. #abstract #abstractphoto #abstractphotography #抽象 #fineart #fineartphotography #東京 #japan #日本 #tokyo #スナップ #snap #cooo #ltwb

[petshopplus]

Happy InterNational Dog Day to Emperor Smith (White) and Ebuka (Dark brown). ”If you can care genuinely for an animal , you are indeed a very caring person” Benardette Souza Thanks for sharing @letstalkwithbennysouza #internationaldogday #dogsareloyal #doglover #bennysouza #LTWBS #dogsofinstagram #PetShopPlus #dogs #RoyalCaninNigeria https://www.instagram.com/p/CEW5aTChLtc/?igshid=1cy02nih290e9

[the-demi-jedi]

Have you noticed this guy's BMI turned yellow/gold when the LTWB song started? Okay, time for speculations: I see this song as a kind of message of hope. Perhaps the Resistance can somehow hack the BMIs through that archaic-looking TV to let the New West citizens know they're out there, fighting for their freedom. It seems that the rebels are gaining more power and influence now and are actively contacting the New West citizens and helping them evacuate by creating "breaches" in the barrier that holds them in (see "The Breach" music video). The golden BMI may be a direct contrast to red BMI a person has when they're supplicated = imprisoned inside their own mind by the BMI.

God, I love the Starset lore.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

I want to like the movie "Leave The World Behind," directed by Sam Esmail, based on the novel by Rumaan Alam.

I do like the way that The Family at the center of the story is relatable but also unlikable. Instead of a plucky group of heroes who have impressive skills, we instead get a semi-dysfunctional group of people who don't know what to do in a crisis. The Family would fit right into a typical domestic drama that critiques modern society. And the movie plays along with that genre format until events subvert plot expectations.

SPOILERS:

My problem is that the entire movie (and I assume the novel) was really the prologue for a generic apocalypse/warfare/survival story... that we never get to see. And that's almost okay. Real life history is filled with people who missed a horrific disaster thanks to an arbitrary choice. It's good that LTWB uses the existence of these lucky people as the basis for the entire narrative.

But imagine a zombie apocalypse movie where the main characters go on vacation before the big outbreak hits their city. As a result they only see 2 or 3 zombies at a distance. Then the characters spend the rest of the movie just talking. That would make a terrible zombie movie but it would be subversive.

That's what I'm trying to say. In conclusion, Leave The World Behind is a terrible apocalypse movie that is brilliantly subversive, has a good cast of characters, and well done cinematography. In total, it is a mediocre-to-okay movie.

[sweetnessinintent]

Leaving this world behind

(my take on LTWB cover art)

Acrylics on canvas 20x20 cm

Ig profile https://www.instagram.com/wanderfault/

[britishchick09]

mccartney III ranking

i said my beatles ranking on the 6th would be the final one of the year, BUT PAULIE HAS A NEW ALBUM AND I BET IT’S GONNA BE SO COOL SO LET’S GOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

11. slidin’

this is such a rock song, it’s *ahem* LIT YO and reminds me of the elsa/nokk fight in f2 but it’s not really my thing. (i haven’t heard all of ‘helter skelter’ but it gives me those vibes)

10. women and wives

this has a great piano with cool vocals

9. deep down

the organ/brass is so cool (as is that double vocal) and it reminds me of elsa in ahtohollan, but it gets a bit repetitive (it’s a long one like ltwb)

8. deep deep feeling

this feels very modern with awesome vocals (it’s way too long but it doesn’t drag like ‘hey jude’ or ‘i want you she’s so heavy’ and i don’t really like 5:38 to 7:15)

7. long tailed winter bird

the guitar on this is great and paul’s minimal vocals are so cool! what a great (yet long) track to start off on! :D

6. pretty boys

this has ‘stay’ by blackpink vibes and it’s such a nice song! :)

5. lavatory lil

this reminds me of bungalow bill! it’s fun and has a great guitar (and i love how paul does the background vocals it’s like me with my little beatles songs!) :D

4. the kiss of venus

a wonderfully pleasant song with an amazing guitar/harpsichord! :D

3. winter bird/when winter comes

this is another pleasant song that reminds me of ‘fixing a hole’ (paul sounds a bit younger and it works!) :D

2. find my way

what an upbeat song! this sounds like it could be a great image song for sailor moon/usagi (big ‘come rain come shine’ vibes) (and good day sunshine!) :D

1. seize the day

this has great vocals and such a nice guitar! it’s certainly my fave out of the bunch! (this is definitely gonna be a frozen pmv next year!) :D

this is a fantastic album and just like blackpink’s album, it has an awesome variety in sound. paulie really knocked it out of the park with this one!!!