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beautifulhigh · 5 years

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Language of the Falls: Ep 36

I had one (1) vote for something to put at the top of this – a random fact. I shall resist the urge to Google something and instead I shall include the most random piece of information that I know – but at the end. Gotta get those views in.

Meanwhile, on with the show for my #TwitterFive and #DiscordThree who still read these.

And now for the standard disclaimer with the download link:

Everything in here that's recognisably @kingfallsam was, is now, and will forever belong to The Make Believe Picture Company. The artistic fair use ramblings are mine. Any words not mine are cited, linked, referenced, or from the good ol' dictionary by way of Google.

Look, y'all know the deal. What's not mine isn't mine. What's mine under the transformative work rule is mine. Be nice, like proper nice, and don't come yelling at me.

*presses play*

Episode 36 – "Polter-Heist"

Ah, word play.

Poltergeist (noun) a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as making loud noises and throwing objects about.

Also a pretty successful 1982 horror movie.

Fresh from the advert last episode about the new series of Mission Apparition we have the team on site at the library. Which confuses me a little with the timeline: they previewed an episode in their advert that they hadn't filmed? So was the voice clip an old one? Or is there some serious timey-wimey stuff going on here?

Sammy is flying solo in the studio because that always goes well and there's no response to the initial attempts to contact Ben. Whilst there's a "blue curtains" interpretation for the technology not working right the whole purpose of these posts is to go beyond the curtains. So we have Sammy, in studio, trying to reach out to his co-host and friend and getting nothing back. Not at all worrying for what might happen.

Chet is hanging "…and banging" with Sammy in the studio which again, always goes well. Chet seems true to form with a "that's what she said" joke but it's not applied correctly to the lead in statement. I'm willing to die on the hill of Chet not being misogynistic and he wasn't making a joke, just a reference to Miss Mini Macaroni from Sassy's.

Somehow I didn't think that this referred to a popular type of pasta and the internet provided some interesting equivocal interpretations:

1) a macaroni or maccaroni was a term for someone who in mid-18th-century England was a fashionable fellow who dressed and even spoke in an outlandishly affected and gender-neutral manner. The term pejoratively referred to a man who "exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion" in terms of clothes, fastidious eating, and gambling

So… Chet himself? Or Chet embraces all love – he likes the wine, not the label to steal a phrase from one of the best shows on TV at the moments.

2) Macaronic language is text that uses a mixture of languages

Usually referring to the combining of terms/words/phrases from two languages either within a single sentence (if you're not singing Despacito in your head you probably will be now) or into a new word (such as is found in Franglish or Spanglish or anything-lish because we're arrogant sods when it comes to our language). The equivocation of language is the reason these posts exist but even I have to "blue curtain" this one because any comment about combined language being synonymous with belief and disbelief is a stretch for me.

For now.

Chet's been gettin' in on "From the window to the wall" and this is a lyric from 'Get Low': yes, it's about… that. But there's also these lines which are very Chet:

She getting crunk in the club I mean she work Then I like to see the female twerking taking the clothes off BUCKEY naked ATL. Hoe don't disrespect it

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Chet is hugely respectful of boundaries and a woman's autonomy over her life and her body. He appreciates it and he will show that appreciation in a consensual manner. "Don't disrespect it" might just become my phrase for Chet.

After having a moment over Chet's behaviour in the office – Lysol is a sanitising product for those of us not in America – Ben launches straight into his address to the audience.

I will continue to love and appreciate the way that this show uses both the relationship between the characters to support and supplement the broadcast. On the weekend of Beyond The Falls Live it's never been more evident to me, sitting at home by myself and not halfway 'round the world, that both on the show and off it there's all kinds of relationships that factor in to making this show what it is. We are not just being talked at (like some podcasts with a direct address host), but we are also not just listening in and eavesdropping on the unfolding drama (like many others). We are just as much a part of this show as Sammy and Ben and Chet and Kyle and Noah and Trent (and Eric but he's not in this little scene so… sorry? Also we are a few minutes in to this episode and there's been no resolution for us on Troy's near-whatever experience at the end of the previous one. But more on that later).

There's a link to the notebook (Ben's, not the book/film) but it's quickly subsumed by moving on to the Mission Apparition show. Chet and the girls from the Red Rock are dismissive of the guys on the show and it opens up for the audience that Ben's derision towards Mission Apparition isn't personal or borne out of arrogance. These "experts" are not seen as being experts by people who live in a town where this is their daily. I've already talked about the curriculum at the school: the people of King Falls? They know it and they get it. They don't see it on Mission Apparition.

It's like when I watch shows set in schools.

But since we have a limited view of the town and the events and we are having everything presented to us though unreliable narrators it's just a nice way of confirming that this we can take at face value.

Chet calls the Mission Apparition guys "Nutterbutters": can I just say is him referring to them being nuts and not what the Urban Dictionary gives me? Please? Also I'm going to need a lot of Lysol myself.

It's 0255. Even in weird date format America that's not a(n obvious) one so let's go with the number view:

Angel number 255 consists out of number 2 and number 55. Number two symbolizes duality in life, which means you have two forces that are pushing you forward in life. Number 55 symbolizes new places, new ideas and new people.

Frederick Osbourne is today's advert, talking about your "fallen" loved ones. That's a very military way of looking at death and suggests a battle or a fight that they have not survived. On one level life is a battle that none of us are going to survive but given the arc of the Shadows which kicked off in a major way last episode and the upcoming appearance of Rich McGuff's apparition and the fight in the library? Might be something to this view.

This isn't quite an advert more of a PSA about disturbing graves. Who are the "higher ups" in this situation? And why are they digging up bones? That's… more than just Hallowe'en kicks. Rosenblum's appearance with digging tools might provide an answer for that.

"We're watching you."

That's… something. Who exactly is the 'we'? Watching implies observation and not action. You don't just watch while someone "knocks boots" on a grave or knocks over headstones. Watching is passive. You sit, you observe, you note.

Sammy comments that it's an "unusually warm evening" – this episode aired 15 October 2016 so that's one hell of an Indian summer. Global warming maybe, but things are not always as they seem here. Obviously the weather is a big part of the plot point come December so at the very least it's a nice little hint in the "Chekov's Gun" style of drama.

(Chekov's Gun – if you want to fire a gun in Act Three the audience need to see it in Act One. You want heat in December? It's unseasonably warm in October.)

Sammy asks Chet if he's on Twitter. He's not and he doesn't get all the "pound signs". For the Brits, that's this à # I don't know why it's called a pound sign so to the internet!

In the US it’s often called the pound key, because it has long been used to mark numbers related to weight, or for similar reasons the number sign (source)

There you go. Analytical and educational.

Cynthia calls in on line 9:

Number 9 is the number of Universal love, eternity, faith, Universal Spiritual Laws, the concept of karma, spiritual enlightenment, spiritual awakening, service to humanity, humanitarianism and the humanitarian, lightworking and lightworkers, leading by positive example, philanthropy and the philanthropist, charity,…

Pause for laughter.

In the midst of all the horror talk of Chet's "full court" Cynthia makes a comment about Sammy not knowing what email is. This is a running line and to date one of the ongoing mysteries that we will probably never get a definitive answer to. That, or it's the most significant plot point ever.

"You are in a spin and harassment free zone, Cynthia."

The harassment bit, I get the reference. The spin bit? Well… that's a little different. Yes, Chet will spin everything into a comment, but we tend to think of spin as something else and that speaks more about Shotgun Sammy than anything that Chet may (or may not) have said.

Spin (verb) give (a news story) a particular emphasis or bias.

That's Channel 13's purview. That was possibly Shotgun Sammy. As much as we love Sammy and Ben they are unreliable narrators but Sammy is very clear about his attempts to be as neutral as possible and Ben wants to be as famed a journalist as Cronkite and Brokaw. While we may not be able to trust them being 100% neutral we can trust that they are trying to be as spin-free as possible where possible.

Grisham and Burt Gladstone aren't spin free. And that seems to be where Cynthia is getting a lot of her rhetoric from.

Cynthia's obsession with Ben is out in full force – and while it may be legal it's just as creepy as the comments made about Chet with the younger ladies. It speaks so clearly to the hypocrisy that we have in society that if a man hooks up with a younger woman it's creepy and weird and disgusting, but good on ya gal for landing the younger man. Misogyny is alive and well in this episode and it's not coming from Chet. Cynthia's attitude towards Ben is passed off as a joke, as weird, as something to laugh about. But when Chet hits on Emily (and respects her knock back) it's creepy?

Nah.

But let me be clear. No one is saying that Cynthia's behaviour towards Ben is OK. I've seen it called out a lot on the Discord. I just wish that there was a comment on air about this to the same level as what we hear about Chet.

I feel like I'm forming a one-woman Chet defense group. I want a t-shirt with #TeamChet on. Back to the episode.

Cynthia is head of "Moms for Mayor Grisham" as she says "who else is there to even vote for?". Is she ignorant of who else is running (unlikely since she clearly listens to the show and apparently the 0200-0600 slot is prime time for running announcements), or is she so indoctrinated by Grisham that she doesn't see them as true opposition? It's like when Lord Buckethead ran against Theresa May in her constituency: it was a safe seat for her but there needs to be opposition for a democratic election and so any other candidates know they are there almost for show.

Lord Buckethead for PM.

When asked outright Sammy confirms his political allegiance. Cynthia's reasons for not voting for either Hershel or Ron are surface and illogical from a political standpoint… and her reasons for voting for Grisham are the same. She loves him, references the "Best Small Town" awards, he's smart (yes), ethical (hah), dreamy (wut).

"Are you saying [Grisham's] not a catch? How blind are you?" "I'm not blind at all!"

Sammy does see Grisham for who and what he is. He always has. As the outsider he's coming into this situation fully able to see the propaganda that has pervaded the town and slowly become the norm.

Cynthia invokes her version of Godwin's Law in her usual blunt manner – Sammy is off the fence and is defensive about the comments about Hershel. He turns it back onto her in a 'those in glass houses' manner – "Chad and/or Brad" is still hilarious – and she deflects the blame onto someone else. It's dangerous when someone won't, or can't, accept any responsibility for their (in)actions and the consequences of them. As their mother Cynthia holds a degree of legal responsibility for her sons' actions as well as the moral responsibility you could argue in terms of teaching them right and wrong and punishing accordingly. But she deflects to Fran Turtletaub and her similarly rhyming named twins.

Names do hold meaning:

In German (Austrian), the word turteltaub means literally turtledove. (source)

Turtle doves are a symbol of friendship and love. A turtle dove is a type of light-brown dove which makes a soft pleasant sound and which is said to behave in a very affectionate way towards its sexual partner and its young.

Fran sounds like the better parent/person here, just in case you were in any doubt about Cynthia by comparison. (Fran also means "free" which arguably Cynthia is not given her seemingly indoctrinated opinions on the election.)

"…worse [influence] than vaccines."

Sammy's little sigh and pained change of subject is all of us. You can't argue with that. Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter what you do they're just going to knock over all the pieces and probably sh*t on the board. When Sammy tries to get Cynthia onto (any) topic she blames him for "rushing her" and losing her train of thought. Apparently Merv can't afford a lawsuit – what proof do you have of that, Sammy? Appearances are far too often deceptive in this. In #31 Sammy comments about Merv having good insurance (which is needed in #75!). He's "a name on a pay check" and so basically Merv and money are becoming somewhat synonymous. He's resisted the Red Rum roses and I've talked about how the station seems immune to the influences of the triumvirate. Also this one but I ran out of line to link. You don't get that if you're not significantly financially and powerfully independent.

The hotline calls in and we finally get confirmation that Troy survived "the ghost house" thing. Which they are never, ever, ever going to talk about again. We are mid argument between Troy and Ben and the Mission Apparition boys. Ben does some expository dialogue for us – they are there to steal the apparition and it takes Sammy prompting Ben with the "Cronkite, Brokaw, Ben Arnold" triple to get him to refocus.

Ben makes a Winona Rider reference (she was arrested for shoplifting) and Dan's comeback is about the new N-SYNC CD. Larry confirms they are there to "dine and dash old Abe": these two feel like a low rent version of HFB3 and Pete Myers. Dan calls Ben Joey Fatone who feels like he's more of a Justin Timberlake and calls Dan JC. Sammy wants them to work out who is "Lance Bass and… you know, the other one" (Chris Kirkpatrick) before they call in.

Ben tries to get Sammy up to speed about the "plot against the President" and Sammy is worried about the NSA listening in. It's the new take on the government agent always watching you but some things never changed. When Dan comes over he mentions Kevin Richardson (Backstreet Boys) and Ben namedrops 'the other one'. The lyric and title battle is the best thing for this gal who grew up in the '90s:

Bye Bye Bye This I Promise You It's Gonna Be Me

Sammy gets in with "Tearin' Up My Heart"… and really? That's his choice?

It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you But when we are apart, I feel it too And no matter what I do, I feel the pain With or without you

*cough*Jack*cough*

Also Emily for Ben. But Google tells me that the song was originally pitched to the BSB but then given to N-SYNC so bonus points for Sammy trying to unite the warring boy bands.

Ben breaks with tradition and says that the Mission Apparition guys are planning to steal "President Lincoln's ghost" which is their language, not his. Which they just want to borrow for a White House Special. (Side note – can you imagine what the great emancipator would think of the Cheeto in Chief?) Not only do we hear about the episode we heard recorded back in #14 but we learn that it aired and Sammy watched it. Despite having visual evidence to go with what he heard he's still a skeptic and when he starts with the assumption of there being ghosts he's corrected to apparitions. Because this is Ben talking now.

Sammy is trying to hold on to rational thought and reason but he's fighting all three: Ben and Dan who both believe in this, and Larry who's created a "doodah" that will box up any "class one to five apparition, spirit, or vapour".

Dan starts filming and mentions Emily which gets Ben involved leading him to be called a "paranormal apprentice". Our self-confessed expert doesn't challenge this because he knows he's still learning. That kind of humility is why we love Ben.

Our attention shifts to a hearse watching them from across the lot. Leaving aside the death metaphor we already know what's going on and so it's no surprise that Pete Myers, I mean, Zeke Mitchell is there. Zeke Mitchell is an action adventure author with a love of motorcycles, Ezekiel Mitchell is a professional bull rider.

Pete wishes.

Pete Zeke leaves the flowers on Ben's car and so continues the aim of trying to get the boys to come around and be part of whatever the King Falls Illuminati are doing. Little things like this reminding us that Sammy and Ben aren't just being left alone in the wake of their continued defiance. Their 'no' is definitely not being respected.

Ben goes to check on what's going with Pete Zeke, Troy can't stop them from going into the library and talks to Sammy while there's some kind of explosion. He doesn't want to be alone and asks Sammy to stay on the line. We might not be talking about what happened two weeks ago but it's clear that whatever didn't happen has had a significant effect on Troy.

John Wilkes Booth has Dan by the leg and all Dan wants to do is keep on filming. When he pleads with JWB directly we hear that voice and we discover that it's actually Rich McGuff. There is definitely a "wheee" as Rich throws Dan across the library and you have to wonder if Rich has regressed since his murder or if he was always this petty and ridiculous and childish.

And all Dan wants to know is that Larry got it on film.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?"

The Cave of Wonders, otherwise known as Lincoln, gets involved. He and Rich team up and take on the "intruders in our humble abode". The fact that these apparitions have taken a library, some place not connected with either of their lives, as their home is an interesting matter. There have been two references to learning in this episode when talking about the library. Despite everything that has happened over the previous 35 episodes (and in the ones that follow) there is still so much we don't know. The library becomes the hub for that learning, for that exploration. Either the apparitions are drawn to it or they choose it. Either way there is more to that place than we know and as the keeper of that place Emily holds a greater significance than I think anyone realises.

"A house divided cannot stand."

This is a slight misquote from Lincoln's speech:

A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.

The absence of the word 'itself' is interesting as it changes the meaning of the statement. "A house divided" means that you're not pulling together against a common enemy. "A house divided against itself" means you're fighting amongst yourself.

For a speech about slavery in an episode where we hear Cynthia's indoctrinated ignorance about politics it holds some heavy weighted meaning. The town is divided in the election; the arguments between Sammy and Ben about Emily and the notebook have divided them (and will further do so); we don't have them pulling against the common/bigger enemy but right now they're all fighting and dealing with their own demons.

That quote has Biblical origins:

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto him, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand (Matthew, 12:25)

By saying that a house divided cannot stand, Jesus is illustrating the fact that success relies on congruency. This is something we see in daily life all the time. Whether it is a machine, a sports team, a government party, or one’s own mind, things have to work together if anything is to be accomplished. The Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8) (source)

At this stage of the arcs we don't quite have them working together. Ben is still being secretive over everything notebook related, we still don't know who Sammy Stevens is, and Sammy is still pushing back against all the weird supernatural lore of the town. Our radio station is divided.

But so is the town. With the election being a true contest for once the vote is split. The town of King Falls is not united at the moment but this is actually a good thing. When it was united behind Grisham then he could turn that will to his own. Now we have breaks in the ranks and people uniting away from that control. Whether unity or division is the better thing depends on the aim and the intention. Grisham's aim and intention is clearly not in everyone's best interest and so the division serves the social need. But the division within the radio station? Not so much right now.

It's OK. It'll come.

Rich still has his ghost cough. Another little character nod without explanation. But turns out that Rich isn't the only childish apparition as they want to go and put Wilkes Booth's hand in warm water to make him wet the children's section.

Today, 9 June, is Discord mod Jen's birthday. My random fact is that you just need 23 people in a room to have a greater than 50% chance of having two people share a birthday.

Riddle me this: I have two (English) coins which total 52p. One of the coins is not a 50 pence piece. What are the two coins?

If you've made it this far, thanks. Sorry about the wait.

Be well, fandom.

Jen

Twitter: @jennyreyn

Discord: come play!

#king falls #king falls am #language of the falls #overthinking jen is overthinking #ben arnold #sammy stevens #kyle brown #eric kimelton #long post #sorry if the read more fails on mobile

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