#proclerical

[mexican-culture]

Blog Post #4

Just like American History, Meixco has a history on how they became the country they are today. There is a timeline according to “Archive.org”. I am a firm believer that if you are going to visit a country, or live in a new country, then you need to know the history. Just like when Hispanics are moving to American for one reason or another, in order to become a U.S. citizen, you need to know the history and critical event that formed America into what it is today and what we stand for. With that being said, here are some crucial events that happened in Mexico, to further explain their upcoming:

“1519 — Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico. In 1521 Cortés and Indian allies conquer Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital.

1531 — Juan Diego, one of the first Christianized Aztecs, reports the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe. 

1551 — National university is founded in Mexico City.

1808 — Napoleon dethrones the Spanish king, stimulating political unrest throughout Spain’s empire.

1810–c. 1821 — During wars of independence that pit Mexicans against one another as well as the forces of Spain, over 12 percent of Mexican population dies. Mexican independence is achieved under the 1821 Plan of Iguala, which promises equality for citizens and preserves the privileges of the Catholic Church.

1821 — Moses Austin receives land grant to settle Anglo-Americans in Texas.

1824 — Constitution of 1824 establishes Mexico as a republic with a federal system.

1825 — Joel R. Poinsett is named the first United States minister to Mexico. At the first Pan-American congress in 1826, Mexico’s representative defeats Poinsett’s plans for a hemisphere-wide trade pact, interpreting it as a cover for United States dominance.

1835 — Rebels seeking independence for Texas fight the Mexican army at the Alamo. In 1836 the Texas Republic becomes independent.

1837–1841 — Revolts favoring federalism over the centralizing constitution imposed by Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1836 occur in much of Mexico.

1845 — The United States annexes Texas.

1846–1848 — Mexico and the United States are at war. In the resulting treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico cedes Texas, New Mexico, and California to the United States.

1854 — United States Senate approves Gadsden Purchase from Mexico, adding nearly 30,000 square miles to southern Arizona and New Mexico.

1854–1861 — Benito Juárez and other liberals overthrow Santa Anna (Revolution of Ayutla). The liberal reforms they inaugurate encourage division of Indian and church lands into private holdings, subject clergy and military to regular courts, and establish religious freedom.

1857 — Constitution establishes a federal republic and, moving beyond the Constitution of 1824, guarantees the individual rights of free speech, assembly, and press. In 1858–1861 supporters and opponents of the reforms fight the War of the Reform, which ends in liberal victory.

1862–1867 — The French emperor Napoleon III, in alliance with conservative and proclerical Mexicans, installs Maximilian of Habsburg as emperor of Mexico. On May 5, 1862, Mexican troops defeat Napoleon III’s troops at Puebla. (The holiday Cinco de Mayo honors this victory.) In 1867 Juárez’s forces defeat and execute Maximilian.

1876–1911 — The Porfiriato, the authoritarian regime of the longtime president Porfirio Díaz, maintains the liberal economic policies and secularization achieved under Juárez and encourages foreign investment.

1884 — United States–Mexican railroad connection links El Paso and Mexico City.

1891 — United States Immigration Act authorizes inspection stations at ports of entry on the Mexican and Canadian borders.

1904 — To curtail undocumented entry of Asian and European immigrants into the United States through Mexico, immigration inspectors on horseback begin to patrol the United States–Mexican border.

1910–1917 — Spurred by discontent with the dictatorial Díaz regime, regional animosities, and increasing economic inequality in the countryside, guerrilla armies fight the Mexican Revolution, temporarily breaking the country into warring regions.

1914 — United States forces occupy the port city of Veracruz for seven months.

1916 — United States President Woodrow Wilson orders Gen. John Pershing to capture guerrilla leader Pancho Villa after Villa’s attack on Columbus, New Mexico. For nine months 4,000 American troops search in vain for Villa.

1917 — The Constitution of 1917 maintains republican and liberal features of the 1824 and 1857 constitutions but also guarantees social rights such as a living wage. It nationalizes mineral resources and prohibits foreign businessmen from appealing to their home governments to protect their property. Altered many times, this constitution remains in force.

1917 — The United States Immigration Act applies a literacy test and head tax to Mexicans entering the United States legally, spurring undocumented immigration by Mexican workers. (During the World War I labor shortage, these provisions are temporarily suspended.)

1918 — Oil is declared an inalienable national resource, and existing titles to oil lands become concessions. The United States government protests.

1924 — The Immigration Act of 1924 establishes the United States Border Patrol.

1927 — Conflict over the 1917 Constitution’s provisions for separation of church and state leads to nationalization of church property and armed rebellion, which the government suppresses.

1929 — President Plutarco Elías Calles founds the predecessor to the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). The PRI controls the national government throughout the next seven decades.

1929–1934 — Nearly 500,000 Mexican nationals and some Mexican Americans are repatriated to Mexico, forcibly or voluntarily, during the Great Depression.

1933 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the Good Neighbor Policy, promising to end United States military intervention in Latin American countries.

1933–1934 — Mexican painter Diego Rivera, a Marxist, completes murals for the RCA building in Rockefeller Center, New York City. When he refuses to replace the face of Lenin with that of an anonymous individual, as requested by Nelson Rockefeller, the murals are destroyed.

1937–1938 — Mexico nationalizes British and United States railroad and oil industries. A 1947 settlement provides compensation to foreign investors.

1940s — El Congreso de Pueblos que Hablan Español (congress of Spanish-speaking peoples) calls for the relaxation of United States restrictions on immigration, naturalization, and citizenship.

1942 — The United States and Mexico adopt the Emergency Farm Labor Program, or bracero program, allowing Mexicans to perform contract work in the United States for a fixed period. Over the next 22 years of the program’s existence, more than 4.6 million labor contracts are issued.

1957 — Citizens of El Paso, Texas, elect the first Mexican American mayor of a US city.

1968 — Riot police repress student protests for democratization of the government, killing over 100 civilians in the massacre of Tlatelolco in Mexico City.

1970–1976 — Mexican President Luis Echeverría visits Cuba and the Soviet Union and engineers a partial lifting of the hemispheric embargo against Cuba.

1973 — United States creates the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to suppress domestic and foreign production of narcotics intended for sale in the United States.

1982 — President José Lopez Portillo visits Nicaragua and praises the Sandinista revolution.

1986 — The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), or Simpson-Rodino Act, increases funds for the United States Border Patrol, penalizes employers for hiring unauthorized workers, and provides amnesty to long-term undocumented residents.

1986 — The Anti–Drug Abuse Act enhances the DEA’s power to extradite foreign drug traffickers and prosecute them in the United States.

1990 — The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs creates the Program for Mexican Communities Abroad to aid Mexicans in adapting to life in the United States and to foster continuing ties to the homeland.

1994 — The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) begins to phase out tariffs between the United States, Canada, and Mexico over fifteen years.

1994 — Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, protests the PRI’s dominance of political power and the government’s indifference to the fate of peasants and indigenous peoples.

1994 — California voters adopt Proposition 187, denying undocumented residents access to nearly all public services in the state. (Courts later strike down much of the law as unconstitutional.)

1995 — Over 500,000 Mexicans work in maquiladoras, factories on the border that assemble parts from the United States and export the finished goods back to the United States.”

 I have attached with a link an animated video that doing a brief explanation on the history of Mexico. It goes into detail about what could have happened if certain things did not go they way  they had planned, and things they wish could have happened. It is a great short film that is about 30 minutes long that I encourage you to watch.

Work Cited

maps and timeline. (2022). Retrieved 26 September 2022, from http://archive.oah.org/special-issues/mexico/timeline.html

(2022). Retrieved 26 September 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4kF0lRzGnI

[occupyvenus]

The ultimate “Jonny chockes Littlefinger” break-down

I could talk about this all day and ... you know what? I will. You can’t stop me. No one can stop me. I will take one for the team (you’re welcome) and overanalyze the shit out of this scene. Trust me, that stuff was jonsa-goooold. I don’t get why everybody is so disappointed. I loved it.

Act I: Littlefinger creeps onto Jon

Let’s start at the beginning. Jon is standing in front of Ned’s tomb (did they get his bones back? How?), when Littlefinger emerges from the shadows to do his thing. He starts by talking about Tyrion, then Ned, but if you ask me, the conversation takes a rather unexpected turn.

“But he loved Cat very much. So did I.” => First. That’s an ~interesting~ way to phrase it. “So did I.”... What information do we or Jon gain from hearing this specific set of words in this specific order? Quite simply. This makes it clear as day that Littlefinger “loved” (ugh) Catelyn, the “same” way Ned loved (<3) her. In a romantic, sexual kind of way. Not in a “I care for her, in a brotherly not-obsessive kind of way because I grew up with her, blah blah...” kind of way. I just think it’s interesting that Littlefinger creeping on Jon requires a statement about Ned (=Jon) and Cat (=Sansa) and their creepy third wheel. That they needed to have a statement in there, “specifying” Littlefingers affection for Cat. Why even bring this up, if not to draw a parallel between NedxCat and JonxSansa? Littlefinger continues by throwing some shade, disguised as semi-compliments. But Jon doesn’t buy it.

Act II: Jon decides “to be the better man”

Unimpressed by Littlfingers attempts to get on his bad or his good side - it isn’t really clear - Jon simply tells him to fuck off. 

He’s trying to be a good king here, he really is. He’s giving it all he’s got. It’s taking all of his concentration not to go for Littlefingers throat right there and then. But attacking one of his quasi-bannermen (are the Vale-lords sworn to the North now? Could the show please just tell me? My man Royce sure acts like they are, but then they didn’t mention it when talking about the D wanting all the 7 K-doms.... I’m confused.) isn’t exactly kingly. Telling him that you care about him as much as the dirt on your shoes, isn’t neither, but a man is only so strong. Jonny probably knows that Littlefinger is fishing for an extreme reaction and decides to be the better man and just peace out. But that nasty Littlefinger doesn’t let him.

Littlefinger tries to go the “you owe me big time” round, which stops Jon in his track. He’s still trying to hold it together. He wants to cut off his slimey, little head, SO SO BAD, but he knows what Littlefinger is after (getting him to lose his temper & do something stupid, putting him in the defense) and he won’t give it to him easily. 

It’s a good tactic, but Jonny is pushing through. Listening to his bullshit gets harder every second, but he’s giving his best. He’s king, goddamit! He can handle Littlefinger. BUT THEN! THEEEN ... LITTLEFINGER SAYS ONE MORE THING THAT DRIVES JONNY OVER THE EDGE!

Act III: Jon decides to fuck “being the better man”

“I love Sansa. As I loved her mother.” => First. That’s an ~interesting~ way to phrase it. “As I loved her mother”... What information do we or Jon gain from hearing this specific set of words in this specific order? Quite simply. This makes it clear as day that Littlefinger “loves” (ugh) Sansa, the same way he “loved” (ugh) Catelyn. In a creepy, romantic, sexual kind of way. Not in a “I care for her, in a fatherly uncreepy kind of way because I was close to her mother, blah blah...” kind of way. I just think it’s interesting that Jon going ape-shit on Littlefinger is puntcuated with a statement, which sole reason is to make that connection. That the very thing driving Jon into kitten rage mode, is the statement “specifying” Littlefingers affection for Sansa. (Yes, I’m allowed to plagarize myself.)

Now to the thing we all came here for: 

👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀 good shit go౦ԁ sHit👌 thats ✔ some good👌👌shit right👌👌there👌👌👌 right✔there ✔✔if i do ƽaү so my self 💯 i say so 💯 thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ) mMMMMᎷМ💯 👌👌 👌НO0ОଠOOOOOОଠଠOoooᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒ👌 👌👌 👌 💯 👌 👀 👀 👀 👌👌Good shit

I know a lot of you are bumped out by what comes next, because Jon said “my sister”. But it would have been quite on the nose if he hadn’t, right? 

Plus, Jon is waiting a long time before saying anything to Littlefinger. He’s blind with rage, but still thinking about what to say next. He isn’t just blurting out the first thing that comes to mind, though he looks like he has a lot of things to say.

Plus, if you belong to the people who believe that Jon is getting more and more aware of the feelings he caught, he could be trying to consciously think about and calling Sansa as his sister. (And D&D want to make sure, the audience understands their official relationship status. They’ve dropped the “sister bomb” more often in 2 episodes, than in the entire last season. Their foreshadowing in season 6 was too effective, too many people saw through it. Yeyy! > 2500 fanfics on AO3) 

Or if you belong to the other group of people who think that Jon isn’t aware at all ... what else would he call her? 

Also isn’t it pretty common for characters to use their close relationship to someone (wether sister, brother, wife, husband, daughter, son, mother, father, best friend etc) as leverage for getting involved in somebodies life? Sansa being his “sister” gives Jon “the right” to tell men to fuck off and leaver her alone ... Not that I agree with the partriarchal concepts behind it, but you know what I mean. 

In loving memory of Eddard chock-the-fucking-creep Stark, currently cheering in the afterlife.

Also, I do have to note that the word “touch” is used again. Quite similar to his procleration of protection back in season 6. “I won’t ever let him touch you again. I’ll protect you, I promise.” I do think this is a call-back to that scene and we all remember the candle-light, we might die tomorrow, atmosphere it was shot in. Again, there are many other possible things he could have said. “Stay away from my sister” being the most obvious one. 

Listen to how Jon sounds. Fuck. That was more of a growl than actual speech. All-in-all a pretty extreme to reaction, he was after LF’s life there. This level of rage and emotion was not necessary for portraying “brotherly” affection. There was something raw and primal about this, exceeding the realm of “protectiveness” and taking this into the territory of “possesiveness”. Similar to the connotations of the word “touch”. He threatens to KILL him, if he TOUCHES her. 

Another thing that strikes me as quite peculiar, is the fact that neither Jon, Littlefinger, nor the writers name a “reason” for Jon losing it. This is what makes this reaction so ambigious IMO. There are people out there, who see this solely as Jon being a protective brother. Sure, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Even if they’re wrong.  To get my point across, let’s imagine another way this interaction could have gone down:

Littlefinger: I love Sansa. I care deeply for your sister. 

Jon does the *epic chockhold*

Jon: You love her? You care for her? After selling her to the Boltons? After what you did to her? If you touch my sister, I will kill you myself. 

“See” the difference? “See” what I’m hinting at? I’m not saying that canon!chockhold was explicitely romantic, I’m not saying that including these lines makes the scene explicitely brotherly. But I do propose this one question: What version makes Jon look like a protective brother, which one leaves his base motivations open for interpretation? Don’t you think the writers are aware of that? Don’t you think they came up with several dialouges for this scene before deciding to go with this? Why leave it open? Why leave the chance for the audience to project potential jealous, romantic, unbrotherly feelings into this? WHY ??? Jon has so many reasons to hate Littlefinger, to not want him anywhere near Sansa. Why leave all of those out? Why not make the audience remember why Jon and we (should) all hate Littlefinger so much? Why not have Jon scream at LF about all the shit he pulled? One reason: They don’t want us to specifically remember it. They want us to go “holy shit, where did that come from?”  The thing I’m getting at here is that a brotherly brother needs a reason to react that way. He wouldn’t just let loose on some guy for saying that he “loves his sister”. We can assume why Jon reacts the way he does (after everything LF put Sansa through), but the fact that it never is outright said, is pretty suspicious.  A potential “lover” on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily need a reason to. Not that I’m condoning violence in any way, but I hope you get my point. 

To finish this section, I’ll circle back to the first paragraph of Act III: Why does it even matter in what kind of way Littlefinger “loves” Sansa? If Littlefinger would claim to love her “like a daugher” (still ugh), that wouldn’t change the fact that he sold her to her rapist. He failed to protect her, he proofed that he doesn’t care for her well-being, why does it matter that he “loves her as he loved her mother”? Isn’t he a hypocrite either way? This disctinction shouldn’t matter to a brother. Yet, Jon is triggered by this specific sentiment. I don’t think Littlefingers “feelings” for Sansa was something Jon had any kind of proof of. He probably suspected it, he’s not an idiot, but I don’t believe that Sansa actively shared much of her past experiences with him. The writers chose to let him completely lose his composure because of those specific words, because of his realization that LF actually wants Sansa.

Side-note: There is this very short shot of Baelish watching Jon dramatically storm out of the Crypts. I don’t think that LF was suspicious of any unbrotherly affections prior to this incident. I think his objective was to get a better impression on Jon. To find out if he could manipulate him and how, what buttons to push, etc. I looked at the frames quite a lot, in my opinion, rather than a “smirk” he has a “what the hell?” look on his face. That was not a reaction he was prepared for. After meeting deaf ears by talking about any connection he has with Jon (Tyrion, Ned, Catelyn & Jons bastard status, semi-compliments, “the coming storm”, an “earnest” invitation to just talk and bringing up his aid in the bob), falling back on Sansa and his feelings for her was his last attempt to get any kind of reaction out of Jon, that he can work with. He definitely got one, but I don’t think it was the one he wanted or expected.

Act IV: Jon sees Sansa and gone is all the anger

I don’t have much to add to this, other than LOOK AT HIS FACE! LOOK AT SANSAS SMALL SMILE! One look at his wifey “sister” and he goes from kitten rage mode into kitten purr mode. I love it. I missed it. 

Bye, babe.

Gonna miss you, hon’.

Gonna miss you too.

The one thing to take away from this shot is that they are saying goodbye on good terms. There is no bad blood between them. This (together with the previous scene, where Jon left Sansa in charge of the north) is to remedy the tension and conflict they fabricated in episode 1. Starkbowl 2k17 is cancelled. I have prayed for the angsty weirwood kiss, but we don’t always get what we want.

Act V: Littlefinger has an uncomfortable epiphany

Jon rides out of the castle gate and the other “contestent” for Sansas heart reenters the picture.

Sansa is longingly looking after Jon, long after he’s out of sight (an obvious romance-trope, if you ask me) and the camera shifts it’s focus to Littlefinger (of whom we actually know he “loves” (ugh) Sansa) in the same shot. Connecting the Jon/Sansa interaction with the Jon/Littlefinger and the (lacking) Sansa/Littlefinger one.  

Littlefinger just realized that something here is “off”. <= That is the direction Gilian got for this scene. I have no friend in the costumes-departement to confirm this, but just look it at his face in the second gif. 

I really believe, he will be the first character to acknowledge Jonsa in the story. There also is the possibility that he already knows more about Lyanna and Rhaegar than he lets on. He might know about Jons true identity, or at least suspects it. Jons origin is perfect conspiracy-theory material, after all. He will be involved in the r+l=j reveal and/or it’s aftermath somehow. There’s a reason he was the one to rehash the tale of the Tourney of Harrenhal back in season 5. It will be interesting to watch his future interactions with Sansa this season, especially after the truth comes out. I’m starting to believe that Sansa will be the first to acknowledge any romantic feelings and that Littlefinger being “onto them” will be the catalyst for that.

I would also like to remind you of the little Sansa/Littlefinger conversation they had last episode on that very balcony. “What do you want that you do not have?”  He assumed, some stupid parts of the audience assumed, that Sansa was after power. But starkbowl was over in like 5 seconds and it’s clear that she doesn’t begrudge Jon for being king. Still Littlefingers question “Why aren’t you happy?” was written in for a reason, it’s a question we will get an answer to. In this shot, it’s slowly dawning on LF, that maybe he was looking for it in the wrong direction. After all what is missing in Sansa’s life, that is repeatedly mentioned as an important part of her own personal Happily Ever After (at least in the books)? Romance, love, a husband, children, a family. Someone brave, gentle and strong. In one word: Jon.

If they still wanted us to question Sansas loyalty, they could have ended this scene by having her and Littlefinger exchange some dubious glances, like they did at the end of season 6. But no, she is focused on Jon and doesn’t even notice or acknowledge Littlefingers presence. This isn’t just showing which side she chooses but also which man.

It really feels like Littlefinger has overstayed is welcome in the story. What purpose will his character serve this season? Using him as a common enemy for the stark-siblings could/will work, but is that actually entertaining enough? They should have left Sansa allegiance ambigious (as little sense as that would make) if that was his only function. They already established that Sansa has seen through him and is tired of his bullshit, sucking the drama right out of this subplot. They could turn that around again, but it would be very repetitive storytelling. Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if Littlefingers actions made Sansa aware of her feelings for another man? I would love that.  

One final note: All transitions in this sequence are so great. After hearing some Ned/Cat/Littlefinger exposition, we get the Jon vs Littlefinger “fight” (if you can call it that), directly caused by the Sansa/Littlefinger situation, mirroring Ned vs LF from season 1, which was cause by the Catelyn/Littlefinger situation. This is followed by the Jon/Sansa goodby, hearteyes included. Littlefinger coming back into the frame is predecented by some passive Sansa/Jon interaction (her looking at the gate). The camera takes us back to LF’s face, thinking about his confrontation with Jon (touching his throat), before following his eyes - and thoughts- back to Sansa still standing on the balcony, her glance still focused on the gate Jon just left through. Tying all of the pieces together and taking us through the underlying narrative. It’s fucking genious and I love it.

Appendix: Why in the Crypts ? 

The setting of a scene is important. Very important. Having this conversation take place in this very significant location wasn’t random, it was planned. News-flash: Somebody is writing this. For a reason. 

Going only by the TV-show (btw, I love Jon telling someone “you don’t belong here”. Yes, baby, you’re a Stark. Just let go of your bastard-angst. Your mommy would be so proud), Littlefinger has been in the Winterfell crypts once before. Back in season 5? When they talked about Lyanna (it’s not like she has anything to do with Jon, does she now?) and kissed (ugh) Sansa. Isn’t that a weird choice of location? Isn’t it .... strange that Jon threatens LF “if you touch my sister, I will kill you” in the one place in Winterfell where he actually inappropriatly touched her before? Hhmmm....

The crypts are closely symbolically tied to Lyanna, who’s true relation to Jon is a big, big factor in any potential, non-incestious (cousin-relationships aren’t incest you morons, get that in your head), socially acceptable, jon-being-king-in-the-north-securing, nedxcat2.0 Jonsa-relationship. Coincidence? 

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

I would like to shamelessly copy a comment @tigereye771 made on this post, because it shows why dissecting this sequence is meaningful in the first place : 

The LF shot was totally extraneous unless LF was confused/suspicious of Jon's reaction. Actually the whole Jon/LF scene is extraneous unless there was some non-sibling overtones because we already knew LF "loves" Sansa and Jon is leaving, what was he going to do with this knowledge? The only reason was Jon's extreme reaction & LF's confusion. I wonder if S7 we start seeing hints that Sansa's feelings are deeper because it has been one-sided IMO.

I fully agree. This entire sequence only makes sense, if Littlefinger took away some new information.

Did Jonsa become canon this episode? Naah. But did it become less likely? Absolutely fucking not. There are too many deliberate coincidences, once again. I will believe in the fuckplot until the very last second of the very last episode. Until then, there is no boatbang strong enough to change my conviction. Jonsa is endgame.

Shitty gifs and stupid stills by me. Be proud of the bullshit you create.