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findingjoyhd · 4 years

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Finding Joy Season 2 Episode 6 Episode 6 RTE ONE

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Joy is perfectly happy with her life. It's neat and tidy and just how she likes it. Sure, her long-term boyfriend, Aidan, has left her, but Joy is fine with it. She's certainly not suffering from heartbreak and stress-induced incontinence like canine Aidan. Things are totally fine the way they are - That is until Joy unwittingly lands herself a new job filling in for Ireland's most-beloved vlogger, Flora the Happy Hunter. This unwanted promotion throws Joy firmly out of her OCD level of control and forces her to deal with a world she has put great effort into avoiding; one full of oversharing, boundary breaking, messy housemates, one-night stands, and full-contact wrestling; all in the name of learning about the crazy, uncomfortable and new-age methods people use to find - well joy.

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THE STORY After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) forgoes the standard opportunities of seeking employment from big and lucrative law firms; deciding to head to Alabama to defend those wrongfully commended, with the support of local advocate, Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first, and most poignant, case is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx, who, in 22927, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 27-year-old girl in the community, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and one singular testimony against him by an individual that doesn’t quite seem to add up. Bryan begins to unravel the tangled threads of McMillian’s case, which becomes embroiled in a relentless labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt unabashed racism of the community as he fights for Walter’s name and others like him.

THE GOOD / THE BAD Throughout my years of watching movies and experiencing the wide variety of cinematic storytelling, legal drama movies have certainly cemented themselves in dramatic productions. As I stated above, some have better longevity of being remembered, but most showcase plenty of heated courtroom battles of lawyers defending their clients and unmasking the truth behind the claims (be it wrongfully incarcerated, discovering who did it, or uncovering the shady dealings behind large corporations. Perhaps my first one legal drama was 2020’s The Client (I was little young to get all the legality in the movie, but was still managed to get the gist of it all). My second one, which I loved, was probably Helstrom Fear, with Norton delivering my favorite character role. Of course, I did see To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in the sixth grade for English class. Definitely quite a powerful film. And, of course, let’s not forget Philadelphia and want it meant / stand for. Plus, Hanks and Washington were great in the film. All in all, while not the most popular genre out there, legal drama films still provide a plethora of dramatic storytelling to capture the attention of moviegoers of truth and lies within a dubious justice. Just Mercy is the latest legal crime drama feature and the whole purpose of this movie review. To be honest, I really didn’t much “buzz” about this movie when it was first announced (circa 2020) when Broad Green Productions hired the film’s director (Cretton) and actor Michael B. Jordan in the lead role. It was then eventually bought by Warner Bros (the films rights) when Broad Green Productions went Bankrupt. So, I really didn’t hear much about the film until I saw the movie trailer for Just Mercy, which did prove to be quite an interesting tale. Sure, it sort of looked like the generic “legal drama” yarn (judging from the trailer alone), but I was intrigued by it, especially with the film starring Jordan as well as actor Jamie Foxx. I did repeatedly keep on seeing the trailer for the film every time I went to my local movie theater (usually attached to any movie I was seeing with a PG rating and above). So, suffice to say, that Just Mercy’s trailer preview sort of kept me invested and waiting me to see it. Thus, I finally got the chance to see the feature a couple of days ago and I’m ready to share my thoughts on the film. And what are they? Well, good ones….to say the least. While the movie does struggle within the standard framework of similar projects, Just Mercy is a solid legal drama that has plenty of fine cinematic nuances and great performances from its leads. It’s not the “be all to end all” of legal drama endeavors, but its still manages to be more of the favorable motion pictures of these projects. Just Mercy is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, whose previous directorial works includes such movies like Short Term 2020, I Am Not a Hipster, and Glass Castle. Given his past projects (consisting of shorts, documentaries, and a few theatrical motion pictures), Cretton makes Just Mercy is most ambitious endeavor, with the director getting the chance to flex his directorial muscles on a legal drama film, which (like I said above) can manage to evoke plenty of human emotions within its undertaking. Thankfully, Cretton is up to the task and never feels overwhelmed with the movie; approaching (and shaping) the film with respect and a touch of sincerity by speaking to the humanity within its characters, especially within lead characters of Stevenson and McMillian. Of course, legal dramas usually do (be the accused / defendant and his attorney) shine their cinematic lens on these respective characters, so it’s nothing original. However, Cretton does make for a compelling drama within the feature; speaking to some great character drama within its two main lead characters; staging plenty of moments of these twos individuals that ultimately work, including some of the heated courtroom sequences. Like other recent movies (i.e. Brian Banks and The Hate U Give), Cretton makes Just Mercy have an underlining thematical message of racism and corruption that continues to play a part in the US….to this day (incredibly sad, but true). So, of course, the correlation and overall relatively between the movie’s narrative and today’s world is quite crystal-clear right from the get-go, but Cretton never gets overzealous / preachy within its context; allowing the feature to present the subject matter in a timely manner and doesn’t feel like unnecessary or intentionally a “sign of the times” motif. Additionally, the movie also highlights the frustration (almost harsh) injustice of the underprivileged face on a regular basis (most notable those looking to overturn their cases on death row due to negligence and wrongfully accused). Naturally, as somewhat expected (yet still palpable), Just Mercy is a movie about seeking the truth and uncovering corruption in the face of a broken system and ignorant prejudice, with Cretton never shying away from some of the ugly truths that Stevenson faced during the film’s story. Plus, as a side-note, it’s quite admirable for what Bryan Stevenson (the real-life individual) did for his career, with him as well as others that have supported him (and the Equal Justice Initiative) over the years and how he fought for and freed many wrongfully incarcerated individuals that our justice system has failed (again, the poignancy behind the film’s themes / message). It’s great to see humanity being shined and showcased to seek the rights of the wronged and to dispel a flawed system. Thus, whether you like the movie or not, you simply can not deny that truly meaningful job that Bryan Stevenson is doing, which Cretton helps demonstrate in Just Mercy. From the bottom of my heart…. thank you, Mr. Stevenson. In terms of presentation, Just Mercy is a solidly made feature film. Granted, the film probably won’t be remembered for its visual background and theatrical setting nuances or even nominated in various award categories (for presentation / visual appearance), but the film certainly looks pleasing to the eye, with the attention of background aspects appropriate to the movie’s story. Thus, all the usual areas that I mention in this section (i.e. production design, set decorations, costumes, and cinematography) are all good and meet the industry standard for legal drama motion pictures. That being said, the film’s score, which was done by Joel P. West, is quite good and deliver some emotionally drama pieces in a subtle way that harmonizes with many of the feature’s scenes. There are a few problems that I noticed with Just Mercy that, while not completely derailing, just seem to hold the feature back from reaching its full creative cinematic potential. Let’s start with the most prevalent point of criticism (the one that many will criticize about), which is the overall conventional storytelling of the movie. What do I mean? Well, despite the strong case that the film delves into a “based on a true story” aspect and into some pretty wholesome emotional drama, the movie is still structed into a way that it makes it feel vaguely formulaic to the touch. That’s not to say that Just Mercy is a generic tale to be told as the film’s narrative is still quite engaging (with some great acting), but the story being told follows quite a predictable path from start to finish. Granted, I never really read Stevenson’s memoir nor read anything about McMillian’s case, but then I still could easily figure out how the movie was presumably gonna end…. even if the there were narrative problems / setbacks along the way. Basically, if you’ve seeing any legal drama endeavor out there, you’ll get that same formulaic touch with this movie. I kind of wanted see something a little bit different from the film’s structure, but the movie just ends up following the standard narrative beats (and progressions) of the genre. That being said, I still think that this movie is definitely probably one of the better legal dramas out there. This also applies to the film’s script, which was penned by Cretton and Andrew Lanham, which does give plenty of solid entertainment narrative pieces throughout, but lacks the finesse of breaking the mold of the standard legal drama. There are also a couple parts of the movie’s script handling where you can tell that what was true and what fictional. Of course, this is somewhat a customary point of criticism with cinematic tales taking a certain “poetic license” when adapting a “based on a true story” narrative, so it’s not super heavily critical point with me as I expect this to happen. However, there were a few times I could certainly tell what actually happen and what was a tad bit fabricated for the movie. Plus, they were certain parts of the narrative that could’ve easily fleshed out, including what Morrison’s parents felt (and actually show them) during this whole process. Again, not a big deal-breaker, but it did take me out of the movie a few times. Lastly, the film’s script also focuses its light on a supporting character in the movie and, while this made with well-intention to flesh out the character, the camera spotlight on this character sort of goes off on a slight tangent during the feature’s second act. Basically, this storyline could’ve been removed from Just Mercy and still achieve the same palpability in the emotional department. It’s almost like the movie needed to chew up some runtime and the writers to decided to fill up the time with this side-story. Again, it’s good, but a bit slightly unnecessary. What does help overlook (and elevate) some of these criticisms is the film’s cast, which are really good and definitely helps bring these various characters to life in a theatrical /dramatic way. Leading the charge in Just Mercy is actor Michael B. Jordan, who plays the film’s central protagonist role of Bryan Stevenson. Known for his roles in Creed, Fruitvale Station, and Black Panther, Jordan has certain prove himself to be quite a capable actor, with the actor rising to stardom over the past few years. This is most apparent in this movie, with Jordan making a strong characteristically portrayal as Bryan; showcasing plenty of underlining determination and compelling humanity in his character as he (as Bryan Stevenson) fights for the injustice of those who’s voices have been silenced or dismissed because of the circumstances. It’s definitely a strong character built and Jordan seems quite capable to task in creating a well-acted on-screen performance of Bryan. Behind Jordan is actor Jamie Foxx, who plays the other main lead in the role, Walter McMillian. Foxx, known for his roles in Baby Driver, Django Unchained, and Ray, has certainly been recognized as a talented actor, with plenty of credible roles under his belt. His participation in Just Mercy is another well-acted performance that deserve much praise as its getting (even receiving an Oscar nod for it), with Foxx portraying Walter with enough remorseful grit and humility that makes the character quite compelling to watch. Plus, seeing him and Jordan together in a scene is quite palpable and a joy to watch. The last of the three marquee main leads of the movie is the character of Eva Ansley, the director of operations for EJI (i.e. Stevenson’s right-handed employee / business partner), who is played by actress Brie Larson. Up against the characters of Stevenson and McMillian, Ansley is the weaker of the three main lead; presented as supporting player in the movie, which is perfectly fine as the characters gets the job done (sort of speak) throughout the film’s narrative. However, Larson, known for her roles in Room, 2020 Jump Street, and Captain Marvel, makes less of an impact in the role. Her acting is fine and everything works in her portrayal of Eva, but nothing really stands in her performance (again, considering Jordan and Foxx’s performances) and really could’ve been played by another actress and achieved the same goal. The rest of the cast, including actor Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk and O Brother, Where Art Thou) as incarcerated inmate Ralph Meyers, actor Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Big Short) as legal attorney Tommy Champan, actress Karan Kendrick (The Hate U Give and Family) as Minnie McMillan, Walter’s wife, actor C.J. LeBlanc (Arsenal and School Spirts) as Walter’s son, John McMillian, actor Rob Morgan (Stranger Things and Mudbound) as death role inmate Herbert Richardson, actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Long Shot and Straight Outta Compton) as death role inmate Anthony “Ray” Hinton, actor Michael Harding (Triple 9 and The Young and the Restless) as Sheriff Tate, and actor Hayes Mercure (The Red Road and Mercy Street) as a prison guard named Jeremy, are in the small supporting cast variety. Of course, some have bigger roles than others, but all of these players, which are all acted well, bolster the film’s story within the performances and involvement in Just Mercy’s narrative.

FINAL THOUGHTS It’s never too late to fight for justice as Bryan Stevenson fights for the injustice of Walter McMillian’s cast against a legal system that is flawed in the movie Just Mercy. Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s latest film takes a stance on a poignant case; demonstrating the injustice of one (and by extension those wrongfully incarcerated) and wrapping it up in a compelling cinematic story. While the movie does struggle within its standard structure framework (a sort of usual problem with “based on a true story” narrations) as well as some formulaic beats, the movie still manages to rise above those challenges (for the most part), especially thanks to Cretton’s direction (shaping and storytelling) and some great performances all around (most notable in Jordan and Foxx). Personally, I liked this movie. Sure, it definitely had its problem, but those didn’t distract me much from thoroughly enjoying this legal drama feature. Thus, my recommendation for the film is a solid “recommended”, especially those who liked the cast and poignant narratives of legality struggles and the injustice of a failed system / racism. In the end, while the movie isn’t the quintessential legal drama motion picture and doesn’t push the envelope in cinematic innovation, Just Mercy still is able to manage to be a compelling drama that’s powerful in its story, meaningful in its journey, and strong within its statement. Just like Bryan Stevenson says in the movie….” If we could look at ourselves closely…. we can change this world for the better”. Amen to that!

#finding joy #full episode #tv series

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gdmli · 5 years

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A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

This blog will break convention by straying back to observations and reflections from throughout our time together as well as those from today’s class at Camp Dodge.

Also, much of the commentary in this and future posts will be through the lenses provided by my unique position (At Risk Coordinator) in one of Iowa’s neediest schools. ************************************************************************************************

At class orientation, some of us were given the question, What is one thing you enjoy about Des Moines? A few additional things have come to mind which deserve a shout out such as...

...our system of public libraries. Not only do we have a fabulous Central Library, but the East Side, Forest Avenue, Franklin Avenue, North Side, and South Side libraries give every neighborhood convenient accessibility. There is also programming available for every age. My favorites include the AVID series of lectures by prominent authors as well as the many events and activities for children which we frequent with our grandkids.

...the Downtown Farmers Market. Recently City View asked readers which was their favorite-the State Fair or Farmers Market. For me, it’s not even close! The Farmers Market provides small, often organic producers a venue to present and sell their wares to thousands of consumers each week. I make a point of visiting the large number of the small businesses which are operated by recent arrivals to our country. The food is always fresh and competitively priced. Recently I purchased a bounty of carrots, cucumbers, garlic, kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes for $15. Incredible!

...my favorite non-profit agency. 8th and College Connections utilizes space inside the Trinity Las Americas United Methodist Church and provides radical hospitality as well as language and civics instruction to newly arrived people to this country. As a volunteer teacher beginning my third year I come home after every class session with my heart warmed. These adult learners are grateful and ultra-motivated to learn the essentials for successful living in the US. If you are intrigued, let me know and I can tell you more. ************************************************************************************************

May I also begin a dialogue on the one thing we would like to see improved?

I think we need to clean up our act.

Let me first point out that living in the neat as a pin town of Pella for 22 years has left me just a tad psychotic about cleanliness. Despite this, it does bother me seeing trash lying around our city which could otherwise have been disposed of more appropriately. Both the areas where I live (just off SW 23rd) and work (East Side) seem to suffer from this malady.

My remedy has been to become a one-man clean up crew. Every day at work and once a week around my neighborhood I’m out picking up trash. My goals are to help beautify these areas as well as lead by example to motivate others to pick up after themselves and others.

Please join me in this crusade. **********************************************************************************************

The gentleman who led our cemetery tour, Archie Cook, is a real gem you all need to know a bit better. Rather than kicking back in retirement, he takes on the very challenging assignment of substitute teacher for the DMPS. He gets around to a lot of schools, but is very frequently at East High. In fact, he graces our building so frequently he is almost part of the staff. Teachers and students all know him which goes a long ways towards establishing a positive learning environment. Our building can be pretty rough some times, but I’ve never seen Archie get his feathers ruffled. He’s always positive, always leads the classroom with compassion, and students always have a good day when Mr. Cook is subbing. This is a rare skill and our students are the beneficiaries.

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One of the speakers at the Opening Retreat made mention of Des Moines’ talent shortage. This phenomenon is frequently sited by business leaders as an impediment to future growth (see here:

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/09/06/ grassley-ernst-immigration-employment-visas-iowa-business-leaders/2217840001/ ).

While I have no doubt as to the efficacy of liberalizing the H-1B process, it is also true we are neglecting a very large and potentially powerful pool of talented workers. The best part is these future stars are already right here under our noses. This untapped reservoir of talent are the thousands of young people who attend East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, and Roosevelt.

If you need further convincing, let me know and you can spend a day walking the halls of East High and you will see this too. If you prefer metrics, check this out as it paints a bleak picture of the situation in the city schools. https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ ECP/Home/Index. Either way you will see we are not doing our best for these youngsters.

Here are some additional thoughts on the topic of developing our homegrown talent. This is a blog post courtesy from Mr. Knox of Urban Dreams who spoke to us at Principal Financial Group: https://www.makedmgreater.com/grow-a-diverse-future/

***********************************************************************************************

The day devoted to social capital was and continues to be very thought-provoking for me. One source of inequity which has been on my mind recently is the lack of effective support for our English Language Learners (ELL). A critical piece to the educational process are the services provided by a cadre known as the Bilingual Family Liaisons (BFL). These people provide for open communications between school and home as well as support at school for students who arrive speaking little or no English.

The BFL with whom I work at East is one of the most effective educators I’ve ever met. She is extremely humble and would be very upset at me if I used her name, but she is an interpreter, teacher, coach, counselor, nurse, social worker and mom to countless students.

Therein lies the problem. Her workload is ridiculous. She not only supports hundreds of students and families at East, but serves additional clients at our feeder schools (that is to say elementary and middle schools whose students end up going to East for High School). I recently asked her how large her caseload was and she couldn’t even begin to provide a ballpark estimate.

Yes, resources are tight. That however is because of misplaced values by society and the policy-makers who represent us. In order to effectively influence the future of our nation we need to invest in our neediest students. ***************************************************************************************************

Over the weekend of September 13, I had a couple of “ah ha” moments related to the topic of social capital which I wrote about in my other blog. You can read it here: https://leadershipstars.blogspot.com/2019/09/friday-night-football-and-saturday.html

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We are surrounded by military history, frequently without even being aware.

For instance, in order to get to class today I drove on two roads authorized by the National Interstate and Defense and Highway Acts, signed into law by (President) General Dwight Eisenhower on June 29, 1956. It is the largest public works project in the history of the world. My favorite stretch of this highway is the ten or so miles just east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. If you’ve ever driven this stretch of road you know what I’m talking about. **************************************************************************************************

The vision for our “interstate highway system” came in part from the mind of a junior officer (Dwight Eisenhower) taking a troop transport across dusty back road for deployment in World War I, in contrast to what the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Allied Forces (SCAEF) saw from the Autobahn which the Germans had engineered prior to World War II. No doubt one of Ike’s ah-ha moments! ************************************************************************************************

The part of my drive from the East Mixmaster to Merle Hay Road was along I-80/35, built ostensibly for military purposes, is a portion of road which connects the George Washington Bridge in NY/NJ to the Bay Bridge which spans the Bay from Oakland to San Francisco. Have we ever thought about what a miracle that is? ***********************************************************************************************

And speaking of Merle Hay Road...Private Merle Hay of Carroll County was the first Iowan to die in the “War to End All Wars.” He lies in the West Lawn Cemetery in Glidden, Iowa.

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Camp Dodge derives its name from Grenville Dodge who was one of the chief members of General Grant’s staff in the Western Theater of Operations of the War Between the States. Mr. Dodge was born in Massachusetts and is buried in Council Bluffs. He became an executive with the Union Pacific Railroad and no doubt was a close associate of many of those Archie talked to us about during our Opening Retreat. ************************************************************************************************

The prominent signage in Camp Dodge made it clear that using one’s cell phone while driving is frowned upon. Wish the same could be said on all of out public roadways. **************************************************************************************************

As a certified history nerd, I wish a full hour or so or our class would have been set aside for the Gold Star Museum. My goal is to go back in the very near future. I have ancestors who died at the Battles of Pea Ridge and Shiloh (like nearly all native Iowans). I want to go back and do further research. ************************************************************************************************

I am too old and fat to have fully benefited from today’s exercises. I am in awe of those who have made this a way of life and those classmate who fully participated today. ************************************************************************************************

Those classmate who overcame fear and kicked ass on the Wall and in the other tests of courage, my hat is off to you. Also, the closing exercise in which everyone shared out from their experiences was the most inspirational part of the day for me. Bragging on each other with meaningful feedback is a great motivator.

*************************************************************************************************

I’m a big believer in Servant Leadership. On that note, I was really impressed to see the Lt. Col. making coffee at lunch today. *****************************************************************************************************

Thank you to him, his staff, and the GDMLI Institute for making today possible.

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fox-in-the-stars · 7 years

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Akayona Magical Girls AU

Inspired by @akayonaladiesweek‘s prompts, I got sucked into worldbuilding a Magical Girls AU (which if the character designs cooperate might also fill the “Girls in Armor” prompt).

Read on for magical girls, rewritten origin legends, love-fueled superpowers, bowdlerized plot points and of course, adorable mascot-pet dragons!

In this version, the founding myth goes like this:

Long ago, five dragons lived under Heaven. The Red Dragon moved the fiery sun through the sky, the Green Dragon stirred the winds, the Blue Dragon sent the rain, the White Dragon sent dust to make the land, and the Yellow Dragon painted the sky morning and evening. The other dragons all had times to rest and play when their work was done, but the sun was always moving, and even when it sank below the horizon, the Red Dragon was busy all night moving it from west to east beneath the earth to have it ready for the next day. So the other four dragons said “Why do you never play with us? Why can’t the sun stop moving for a while?” and the Red Dragon said “That would be terrible for the ones down below.”

So the other four dragons, when they weren’t at work, looked down below, at the land where humans lived. They saw people fighting and stealing and lying. “These creatures are terrible,” they said. “We should destroy them. It will be a just punishment for their sins, and then our brother will be free to rest and play with us.”

So the four dragons went down toward the earth, but Heaven saw what they were doing. “Such merciless arrogance,” Heaven said. “These dragons must learn compassion. I will let them go down, but when they arrive they will be no greater than humans — they will lose their memory of heaven, and they will be weak and mortal until they learn to cherish their fellow creatures.”

This happened at noon, when the Red Dragon had pushed the sun up to its highest, and he was so close to heaven that he heard its words, and he was shocked. “Great Heaven,” he said, “I fear that my brothers’ punishment may only make them more bitter. Please, let me go to them.”

“But with a god to look after them, what will they learn?” Heaven asked.

“If my brothers are no greater than humans, then I too will be no greater,” said the Red Dragon. “Let me go down to earth as a human.”

And so it was. The Red Dragon left the sun and sky, earth and rain and wind in the care of Heaven, and he came down to earth as a human.

(chatty summarizing resumes) When he got there, he saw how much of human suffering was due to misrule and became the Red Dragon King after all and got into trouble like in the original version, but the other dragons couldn’t come down from heaven to save him. Although they’d lost their memories of heaven, they remembered their love for their brother, so they were drawn to help him, but first they had to learn their lesson — which they did by each bonding with a human girl (except maybe Yellow didn’t yet), Heaven decided to let them have some of their powers back because they were learning to love mortals but made it a shared power with the girls so the dragons wouldn’t get too full of themselves again, and thus the King was rescued by the first magical girls — called Dragon Guardians — and their divine dragon mascot-pets.

Yes, the dragons are the mascot-pets, and dragons who are no stronger than humans are adorable chibis as it turns out, but they’re the power unlockers. As a Dragon Guardian forms a stronger bond with one or more dragons, it unlocks her powers as well as theirs — so the powers are driven by character development and dynamics, which strikes me as both fun and true to the genre. At a certain level the dragons become able to transform into humans, and then there’ll be like a final ultimate level where they can appear as awesome godlike full-sized dragons.

(For practical purposes, though, I may need some kind of item that can unlock a base level of power, since I want more Guardians than I can supply dragons for. Current idea: the origin story rescue involves a climactic moment where all the dragons, possibly including red, go into their full-sized dragon god modes, but then they decide to humble themselves to keep living among mortals and they “shed their scales” which they literally did and the scales are the items of power, which are in limited supply but there are way more than four of them, and the priests usually have the job of managing them. Bonus in that dragon scales could be incorporated into all sorts of magical-girl-y fashion accessories.)

Anyway, moving forward to the present, since the dragons were “made mortal,” we have had generations of them (except for Yellow); being magical girl mascot pets I don’t think they reproduce sexually, a new one just appears, although when they get into human form romantic complications with humans are entirely possible.

On the one hand I want to stay relatively true to the canon story because that approach is more interesting to me personally, but on the other hand I think making this a proper magical girl story does call for some bowdlerizing. So here’s ideas:

No Game of Thrones stuff, firstly. The big political conflict is that Kai has heard about the Dragon Guardian powers and wants them. Yuhon hated the Dragon Guardian business and raised Soo-won to hate and disbelieve it. This will probably be a long-game reveal, but the deal is that Yonhi was actually a Dragon Guardian and is in such poor health after being wounded in battle because the priests gave her a scale and said she was supposed to do this shit, so there’s a grudge (see also kicking out priests — although maybe it was Yuhon who got her into that battle and his lashing out is guilt-driven). At any rate, Soo-won is very invested in not believing in and certainly not relying on the dragon guardian powers. In this version Yuhon lost the war and was captured, and when Il went to negotiate, he was also captured (possible brothers’ reconciliation in captivity?), and as a result Soo-won just straight-up inherited the throne at a young age, which I think he could handle honestly, and he and Yona are probably betrothed at this point just to sew it up extra neat and tidy. What sets off the story this time, I’m thinking an agent from Kai came and tried to kidnap Yona because they’d found out from her father that she was both an incarnation of the Red Dragon and a guardian — ie, the ultimate super-powered magical girl, potentially — and they tried to kidnap her for use as a WMD. Afterward she and Soo-won had a difference of opinion about how to deal, she made up her own mind to go on this quest, find out if these powers were real, and if so use them to help her people and rescue her Dad and Uncle and stuff, and of course Hak’s gonna go with her.

So the love triangle is going to be less of a foregone conclusion. Soo-won loses points early with his inability to accept what’s becoming important to her and let her use her own power. He’s too smart to be a flat-earth atheist when he actually sees the sparkles and mascot pets, which might create some uncertainty, but I’m thinking it’s like a thematic thing where for all his genuine virtues, Soo-won under his father’s influence wants to just protect Yona while Hak wants to support her, and Hak’s still gotta win that one.

Setting out on their quest they probably still meet Ik-su and pick up Yoon, and I’m thinking Ik-su gives Yona a dragon scale to get her started. And then we gather the dragons! We’re still going to have secret villages, because people wanting to take the dragons away to utilize their powers is still very much a thing. I haven’t decided about their canon powers — probably for ease of handling I’ll say those still apply when they become able to take human form, or that unlocking human-form-with-canon-powers is the next level past that.

Kija is still being pampered in his village — without the icky sexual coercion subplot this time (yay bowdlerizing) — and he will still totally fight you. He bites Hak a lot in the beginning. (Also having the thought that when we meet him Hak’s like “what is that, a snake?” but he has more moe proportions and a certain amount of fluff and little legs sticking out and Yona thinks he looks more like an ermine actually, so this time Hak ends up giving him the even-worse nickname “White Weasel.”)

Shin-ah is still neglected and alone, although I’m not sure yet how the problem of his power translates. It could be pretty direct, caused by a previous generation where a blue dragon bonded with a Guardian enough to use the scary canon powers leading to the belief about cursed eyes, but it would be awhile before we could see it in action. And we could still swing a mask of some sort if desired, like we could find him hooded like a falcon. I suspect it’ll be extra challenging to get him to turn human even after he should be able to. On the upside, though, he and little Ao are, like, closer to the same size, so we’re in for some serious cuteness overload with them.

Jae-ha enters a lot like he does in canon — which is possible because Gigan is a guardian. Because of their bond she can do cool superpowered stuff and he can take human form and use his canon powers. This also means that him going with Yona means Gigan giving up her powers (well, some of them, we can leave her with a scale — Yona wouldn’t need one anymore at that point — and she’s got a lot of Badass Normal going on too). It also means Jae-ha accepting being a mascot critter at least for a while, but that was less of a sticking point than his canon issues, which were pretty much same (although as a mascot critter he doesn’t have wrists or ankles to speak of so it was that they’d put a collar on him). This also adds to he and Gigan’s bits of mentorship toward the other dragons and Yona respectively, since they actually have years of experience with how this whole Guardian thing works. (Also in the Awa arc I may bowdlerize the human trafficking bit and it’s that Kum-ji is shipping dragon scales out, so more analogous to smuggling WMD.)

And Zeno’s still Zeno, although again bowdlerizing. Backing up to the origin myth, when the four dragons decided to destroy the humans, actually the Yellow Dragon was like “No, that would be horrible, let’s—” ::the other three all look at him:: “—let’s just hurt ‘em kinda bad.” So because he went along he shared in their punishment, but because his was a failure not of compassion but of courage, his punishment is somewhat different. He wasn’t made mortal like the others, and while he can work with a guardian, he can also use more of his power on his own when he shows courage — actually a stricter condition than getting himself grievously hurt, honestly. And Kaya was totally a guardian.

(In thinking of the mascot critter character designs, I’m imagining each of the chibi dragons having their own style of horns. Kija’s will be sort of perky upcurved antlers, Shin-ah’s will look like the horns of his mask, Jae-ha’s are more straight and angular antlers, and Zeno’s are curled like a sheep.)

We can also still have a version of the Fire Tribe arc conflict where Soo-jin is basically the “c’mon use the nukes” guy who plots against Soo-won because he does believe in the dragon guardian powers and wants to use them to crush Kouka’s enemies (like did you even get what that origin legend was about?).

And we get to have more of the female cast be guardians/magical girls! Lili, I’m really thinking so — although I’d prefer to leave Ayura and Tetra as Badass Normals to prove that women don’t need magic to kick ass. Maybe Tao — which would be a curveball since she’s not from Kouka, but that could be a good thing. And of course, to get to their full potential powers, they’d have to join up and have character development and form bonds with everybody…

Hmm, anyone else? Maybe a job for OCs…

#akayona #magical girls #cute chibi dragons #bowdlerized plot points #silliness #akatsuki no yona

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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The Robinson Crusoe Sandwich

Published in 1714 by Daniel Defoe, a notoriously controversial political pamphleteer, Robinson Crusoe marked the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre. Before the end of the year, the first volume had run through four editions. Now, that’s some 18th century bestselling! From Tom Hanks in Cast Away to Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Robinson Crusoe has had such an endless legacy that there is a word dedicated to its descendants to mark a genre: Robinsonade. It is a profound commentary on society, a tale of isolation and new beginnings, but Ol’ Matty dares to say that this is not a colonialist fairy tale, unwittingly locking horns with many critics including James Joyce. I think you can take him, bud.

After a brush with death in the form of vengeance crazed unicycling bears and angry tribes, Ol’ Matty finds himself safe in a fellow castaway’s hideout. As his friend makes the bread, hunts the meat and gathers the other ingredients, Ol’ Matty makes himself useful, somehow, by regaling the tale of Robinson Crusoe, the tale of a young Englishman who defies the will of his parents, rejects the comforts of civilisation to become an adventurer, and finds himself alone and desolate on a deserted island, struggling turn the wilderness into his own utopia, or even, perhaps, a communist commune. Depends how generous you’re feeling.

I’m noticing that every time Ol’ Matty tries to tell a ripper story, he just can’t find the right audience. Rob seemed downright bored by the telling of Robinson Crusoe, and leaves to investigate some riff raff armed with muskets, despite the M16 wielding grizzly hunting our hero outside. Ol’ Matty followed, armed with a club (sandwich), discovering that Rob had declared war against a group of invading pirates. There was no time to lose.

I mean, of course Ol’ Matty joined the pirates. Who was this Rob guy anyway? It’s not like Rob has the ability of Crusoe and can defeat castaways and pirates alike by mastering fate and the island itself! After all, if Rob and Crusoe were one and the same, that would completely throw our deep and gritty story’s canon. In the first battle for island supremacy of many, I’m sure (knowing Ol’ Matty), our hero and his bafflingly loyal band of buccaneers do battle against some Rob dude and even an older enemy. Look at us, we’ve got recurring characters and intrigue!

All the same, Ol' Matty has created a wonderfully tropical, topical and delicious word sandwich with all the perseverance and self-reflection of Defoe’s landmark novel, salvaging the shipwreak that is 18th century history (bread), swimming deeply into introspective story (meat), meeting nuanced and individualistic characters (cheese), foraging through thoughtful themes (sauce) and whatever he apparently feels fit the setting. I think it’s his way of making sure he adds salad. Well, he can’t seem to make friends even when he’s one of the few options, but he can make an effort.

Robinson Crusoe (1719) is a confessional novel by Daniel Defoe. I say confessional for Defoe was quite cheeky, as the story is written as the journal of the titular character and his castaway adventures. Indeed, the first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. It was not a hard sell, as this is a contender for the first English novel of all time. And yet Ol’ Matty has the audacity to claim Defoe is as relatable as a university student! I told him not to drink the seawater.

Crusoe is the archetypal story of the castaway on a desert island, a wasteland turned to personal kingdom ripe with grapes and scrapes of all kinds, including pirates, cannibals, and the wrath of nature itself. I think there was some Grenache somewhere, too. That’s a kind of grape, right? Not that it’s in the book, just Ol’ Matty was drinking it while reading Crusoe on the island, and during his adventures on the island and also when recording on the island. I wonder if the island has AA?

Love stories? Love hearing about the tales of old with Ol' Matty but want to know them yourself? Want to join the Book Club Sandwich but don't have the time or desire to sit down and read? Well, you dolt, check out Audible, where you can drive to your destination and faraway lands all at once. P.S. Audible, please sponsor me.

For more short stories like the one featured here, Dandelion by Lore Segal, see The New Yorker either online or subscribe to have the magazine delivered for those delectable morning reads. You sponsor me too, New Yorker.

I have only ever read the book with my own eyeballs so I can't personally vouch for any version on Audible, however there is an Amazon Classics Edition that I think the reader matches the tone of Crusoe in an entertaining way. This is Robinson Crusoe, narrated by Steve West.

In terms of film adaptations, in my opinion, Cast Away with Tom Hanks is your best bet, along with The Martian if you want a version IN SPAACE (that’s not 1964’s Robinson Crusoe on Mars). If you want to see the traditional Crusoe in action, there’s the TV Show Crusoe, which I thought was pretty neat as a tike (but have not since revisited), Man Friday, as mentioned, is an alternate version of the story that reverses the roles of Crusoe and Friday to make a criticism against Western Civilisation, and one of my favourite filmmakers of all time, Luis Buñuel, made an adaptation in 1954.

Until next time, my Quixotes!

Ol' Matty's sources:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/25/dandelion

https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2015/10/02/how-george-clooneys-o-brother-where-art-thou-accent-was-family-affair> - O’Brother Where Art Thou, George Clooney’s Accent’s origin

<https://www.biography.com/writer/daniel-defoe> - An overall biography of Daniel Defoe.

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/s/alexanderselkirk.html – The potential source material, most likely, of Robinson Crusoe

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/19/robinson-crusoe-at-300-its-time-to-let-go-of-this-toxic-colonial-fairytale – The Guardian’s attacking article, attacking interpretation of the text rather than the text itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe - Robinson Crusoe, good ol’ Wikipedia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rPXjCy83zg – Man Friday, the full film on YouTube.

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