#the netflix show just doesn't do that. The women feel flat

[sora-of-uranus]

The removal of the sexism pisses me off not because it just affects Sokkas character but because it has ruined almost every woman in the show.

Suki takes off her make up often, as if it isn't a large part of her cultural identity and personality, as if her being a kyoshi warior and her destinctly femenine clothes are something to be ashamed off or that hinders her. Because its only her that gets this treat amongst the warriors, and shes the only main kyoshi warrior for the audience.

Yue's entire character is removed. It is replaced with what I think is meant to be a sympathetic princess to the people, she joins the nans in the kitchens and make deserts for the children. Like a disney princess whose quirky and silly and held back only by her title of a princess. Gone is the battle between her desire to help and her duty to be a water tribe ideal woman. Gone is her realising that the best way to help her people is to not be an ideal woman, but to take action and to do what no one else can, to become one with the moon so that she can forever help not just her tribe but the entire world. It is depressing, it is deep, it isn't fair to her but when has the world ever been fair?

Katara aswell. Her bending is forever unlocked by men (Aang and Jet), her defiance of authority is lessened and her naievety is also changed. A lot of her motherhood role is also completlty gone since they have changed Sokkas sexism into elder brother smothering. Her fight with Paku holds a lot less significance since she has no RAGE behind her. No rage that has built for YEARS as time and time again people have said no to her face for being a woman, for being weak, for not being enough simply because of who she is. that doesn't exist for her anymore because the water tribes are just...nice. We see one bad person in the water tribe and its Hadoka and he's mean to sokka! Kataras rage comes from Paku saying no to her, and whilst thats swell, it changes her entire "I'm a master now" moment into just...lame girlbossery. Thats kinda how the entire last 2 episodes felt like for her character. A common girlboss character without the emotional depth to make it femenism.

I think my main issue is that both shows set themselves up as being femenist by nature. The og show wanted to tackle issues with sexism, using book 1 as its main demonstration with it, but the theme still follows throughout the narative. netflix's show outright said they were removing the sexist elements. When you place youself onto that pedastal, any sexist writing you have becomes emphasised.

The og show undoubtably has sexist moments! Irohs comments to June are the most obvious to me, a long with a couple comments from Zuko later on. You can certainly argue that the extreme lack of GOOD mother figures is an issue (Kat and Sokkas mother is dead, Zukos is 'dead', and Toph is awful and rather quite compared to her father). Theres other examples, although currently my brain cannot think of any since I don't often write indepth critisms.

The live actions main point of sexism is its female main characters. we literally meet Yue in the kitchen! Women can be in kitchens but that is certainly a choice! Theres this strange hatred for make up aswell, yes with Suki but also with Sokka. His war paint is removed. Its like saying make up cannot be worn by strong fighters which is rather sexist. Speaking off: not putting Sokka in the kyoshi outfit is just...dumb? If you want to show him learning the style, having him wear the outfit. Its an aspect of the style and philosophy. A man wearing make up and a skirt doesn't emasculate him yet the show makes it feel that way with the refusal to do it. "Oh but then you'd have Sokka and Suki kiss in the kyoshi outfits" who cares. "it will look like lesbians" it won't. Even if it did, who cares? you can't be 'femenist' and anti-lesbian. Putting Sokka in the Kyoshi outfit, having him respect it, is just as important as having Aang learn the other elements, or Iroh creating lightning redirection. Why? because it shows a respect of culture, and how you can blend that into your own way of thinking. It's cultural extchanged based on respect.

When you name yourself femenist, yet have explicitly sexist writing, your GOING to get dogpiled with critism based on that 'femenist' msg.

[i-lost-my-heart-in-republic-city]

Only villains are allowed to be complex in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender

I had a major issue with the treatment of the original gaang in natla and I think it has to do with character flaws. As in, they don't have any.

In the case of Aang, other characters keep telling him that he can't ignore his responsibilities but when do we ever see him actually do this? When does he seek out distractions to avoid his duties, like penguin sledding, or riding elephant koi, or hiding in a cave? Hell, the reason he gets trapped in the iceberg is changed. In natla he was only going out on a short flight with Appa and gets caught in a storm. In the original he ran away, and it's understandable because he felt alone and out of control of his life. But it is still a choice he makes, to run away from his responsibilities, and he has to deal with the consequences.

In natla there is no choice to run away, it's fully an accident and it takes away his agency as a character. So when Bumi starts blaming him for the war it really rings hollow because it was all an accident. It has more weight when a random fisherman blames him in atla because at least in that version he did make a choice to runaway. Obviously he had no way of knowing what would happen and he never intended to abandon the world to genocide and war. But that's the thing about life, you never know the full consequences of your decisions, and you just have to deal with them when they happen. The war is not Aang's fault, but he did make a bad decision, and it had far reaching consequences. It made Aang's character more relatable and gave him a starting place from which he could grow as a character. He had to learn how to accept responsibility for his actions without blaming himself for the actions of other (i.e. Sozin starting the war).

I feel like in the case of Katara, they stripped her passion and anger. They explored Katara's PTSD but they take away how angry it made her. Anger is a totally normal response to trauma. While letting yourself be consumed by anger is obviously bad, anger can also be channeled into passion and energy to enact positive change. This was a big part of Katara's character in atla, learning how to control her righteous indignation and use it to fight for the rights of other. She has none of that anger here, so there is no character growth and no emotional connection to the character through that arc.

This especially falls flat in her 'feminist arc.' She fights with Pakku but there is no anger, no fire in her. In atla at the end of the fight, even though she was pinned down and had clearly lost, she was still going. She was almost feral. Even though she was worn out, her passion of fighting for what is right still fueled her. She would not give up. So I guess it's fitting natla's unpassionate Katara just falls down at the end of the fight. And they cut out the whole importance of the necklace, which serves as Pakku's realization on how his sexism has negatively impacted his own life. It's this realization that motivates him to reevaluate his beliefs and agree to train Katara. Which needs to happen because having a master's tutelage is what allows her to become a master herself. Alta makes it clear that she excels because of her hard work and determination along with guidance from a mentor. There's none of this in natla. They just start calling Katara a master because 'girlpower' I guess? They certainly don't show how she became so talented. But natla Katara doesn't need help from other people to grow. She's already a master. She's already perfect.

Sokka is also stripped of his flaws as well. Obviously we know he is not sexist in natla. I don't think this is inherently a bad change, but you have to understand how the sexism impacted his character in atla and adjust accordingly. In atla, Sokka's sexism is really the origin of his all his insecurities. He believes there are roles for men and roles for women. Protecting the tribe is a man's job. So when the men go off to fight in the war, he believes he must carry the burden of protecting the tribe as the oldest male. He sets himself up for failure because he places impossible standards on himself. He cannot protect and lead the tribe all by himself, especially not when he is a young child. This leads to him feeling inadequate because he cannot measure up to his own impossible standards or his idealized version of his father (who was an adult and had the support of his tribesmen).

I could still see a way to still adapt atla without the sexism. (For example Hakoda tells Sokka to look after his younger sister. He takes that to an extreme of being overprotective of the whole tribe. And we are back at him failing to met his own impossible expectations again). But natla doesn't do this. Instead it just throws in a flashback of Hakoda saying that Sokka isn't fit to be a warrior. This kind of defeats the purpose of Sokka's own internal conflict about not measuring up to his own unrealistic expectations. Now it's his father's expectation's he doesn't measure up to. This is not a bad story beat in and of itself. It works well with Zuko. But it's not Sokka's character conflict. In alta Sokka's insecurities, internal expectations, and sexism also cause him to lash out at others sometimes. He's not allowed to act so negatively in atla. So again there is no place for him to grow as a character, as he does not have these flaws.

Honestly it seems like they tired to removal all negative character traits from the main characters, which makes them feel more stiff and allows them no room for growth. I really wanted to like this adaptation. And I do think there are some changes they do really well. But those changes are related to the villains and they just drop the ball so hard with our main characters.

[redrikki]

Now that I've finally finished the Netflix Avatar and have had a bit of time to reflect, I'm ready to share my thoughts.

As adaptations go, it was worlds above the Movie, but not quite as good as the Boy in the Iceberg. It's impossible to say on account of how the original series re-wired my brain, but I think I would have enjoyed it as a stand-alone series if I'd never heard of the original.

Overall, I really liked the casting and thought the actors had some pretty great chemistry together. The folks playing Zuko and Iroh really sold me on their relationship, as did Katara and Sokka's actors. The boy who played Aang did a really good job, but his relationship with Katara and Sokka never came off as anywhere near as close as it did in the cartoon, but I suspect a lot of that came from the fact some of their most touching moments weren't included in the live action.

Over all, the effects were really good (except Momo). Fight scenes were brilliantly choreographed and the integrated the bending effects well. On the other hand, the show runners were a little too focused on showing off in ways that were, I thought, a detriment to the emotional weight of things. For example, the Air Nomad genocide scene felt so focused on the spectacle of the violence and cool bending techniques that the actual horror of it fell flat.

The characters in the live action were very different people than the cartoon, especially the core three. It's like the writers read every internet complaint about Aang, Katara, and Sokka and decided they would be more likable if all of their flaws were removed in favor of more (or different) angst. And, to be fair, they altered their backstories enough that their very different personalities made sense in context, but it still...How do I put this? An adaptation, like any fanfic, is a conversation with the source material. And the conversation the Netflix show runners wanted to have with the cartoon is one where becoming "strong" is paramount, overcoming prejudice is bad because you shouldn't have had it in the first place, and "adult" stories don't have room for whimsy or joy.

Removing Sokka's sexism and changing his Koyshi Island arc might make him more likable than cartoon Sokka, but also erases one of the key themes of the show: breaking false barriers and learning from others. Iroh and Guru Pathik really spell it out in the second season, but it's there from the beginning in Sokka and Pakku's story lines. Sokka is so sure of the proper order of society before Suki shows him that the dichotomy of women and warriors is a false one. In the live action, this message is erased in favor of reassurances that he too can become a strong warrior. With Pakku in the cartoon, he changes his mind about Katara, not because of the quality of her fighting, but because her necklace made him realize that the rigid frame of patriarchy hurts everyone, including him. In the live action, he agrees to accept help from Katara and the other women because Katara fights good. He doesn't end up teaching her because she's so strong she doesn't need to actually learn from others. Over and over again, the importance of strength is highlighted, while accepting the wisdom of others and breaking down barriers is downplayed.

In terms of characterization, I really liked what they did with Iroh and how it impacted his relationship with Zuko. In the cartoon, season 1 Iroh was very much playing up the idea of a wise old man mentor who didn't do chick-flick moments of actual emotional intimacy. Netflix Iroh is still wise, but he's unapologetically vulnerable in a way cartoon Iroh isn't. Cartoon Iroh is with Zuko because he feels guilty over what happened and wants to save him going forward the way he couldn't save Lu Ten (or himself). There's a bit of that with Netflix Iroh, but he also clearly needs Zuko as an emotional crutch. The result is a relationship where both parties are more vulnerable and open with each other and it's not just Iroh lecturing while Zuko shouts abuse.

Katara got done dirty by the changes to her character. Key character-building episodes like Prisoners and the Waterbending Scroll got cut and her character felt flatter as a result. Where was her compassion which drove her to risk it all to help others? Where was her anger about what had been stolen from her culture? For that matter, where was her jealousy with Aang over how easily bending came to him? The Netflix version took a moment to celebrate how awesome Katara was that she didn't need a real teacher, just a scroll that had been kept from her for 'reasons,' but then they had two different moments where 2 boys who didn't even bend her element had to mansplain it to her. The actress did such a great job, but the writers were too busy treating Sokka as god's gift to give her the characterization she deserved.

[flameunquenched]

a'ight. let's talk about the netflix adaptation of avatar: the last airbender.

SPOILERS PRESENT THROUGHOUT UNDER THE CUT.

this covers eps 1-4 bc i need a break for food and stuff lmfao.

so i like probably many others went in braced with the expectation of it being...well, like a certain movie that we all like to pretend does not exist. i had seen some things, which i discussed on another post, that worried me greatly. i would consider myself an atla superfan; it was a huge part of my childhood and i can remember sitting on the floor of the living room watching sozin's comet with my brother as the finale aired for that first time. so while i was excited for the idea of a live action version, having been badly burned by the movie, i was wary.

i am pleasantly surprised to say that, other than some flaws that i will discuss, it actually was...good?

i was very concerned about the removal of sozin's comet, given how integral it is to the story. sure, you do have actors who will be aging, as it is gonna take at least probably 6 years for the whole story to wrap up. this is, of course, assuming that netflix does not yeet it after s2 as they so love to do. seeing that it was present in episode 1 was...a little confusing considering what i had read. but i'm glad that it was there.

seeing sozin himself was awesome tbh. i think that he is a really interesting character and i honestly would be thrilled to have an entire series dedicated to him and roku, with their friendship and the trials they suffered together as firelord and avatar respectively. that was always one of my favorite episodes in s3 because of the deep introspection we got and the history of those two characters. but uh yeah when he just casually burned that earthbender to death, yeah. that was kinda the first sign that this was not going to be an adaptation geared towards children.

which i guess does make sense, doesn't it? after all, those of us like myself who grew up with avatar are no longer children but instead grown adults with children of our own in some case. it's an adaptation: it has to adapt to the times.

seeing the actual genocide of the air nomads was...a lot. that is one thing i will say that the live action had over the cartoon; it is hard to show death in a cartoon intended for children which means that, in a way, it is harder to fully realize the gravity of the situation. by showing it, by showing the deaths of men, women, and children, you as the viewer get the chance to better understand what was actually lost. i think it was easier to see them not just as characters but as people.

i'll admit that the cursing threw me for a loop, lol. it was just strange to casually hear "ass" being used in the realm of atla. but, again, this comes back to the need for accepting the aging audience.

i know there had been some discussion of aging katara to 16 and de-aging sokka to 14. if that was done, there was no sign of it. i had also had concerns about the removal of sokka's sexism but, honestly, i genuinely feel like the story was made much stronger for the lack of it. i liked the replacement of his 'dad left me in charge, i'm the leader, this is all my responsibility' sooo much more because it made more sense, especially when the revelations from the episode called spirited away came to light. it worked. and it worked in a way that lent gravity to the situation rather than the rather comedic ties that the original sexism offered.

i think in terms of sheer characterization, sokka was probably the strongest overall. i feel like his actor really got the character. katara had a problem of, at times, feeling too flat, as well as lacking some of the passion that i felt the cartoon allowed her to have.

aang's actor did really well, i will say. my friend thought that he did not quite convey the joyfulness that cartoon aang had but, having had a few hours to think about that, i think that might have been purposefully done. the adaptation was, again, not aimed at young kids. it makes sense that aang should feel, especially based on his discussions with the other avatars and other central characters, more serious and concerned about the general state of the world. a century is a long time to be away and i liked the way they showed the struggle he had with the fact that his entire people were gone. he really was the last airbender and the adaptation made me feel that. sure, it came at the cost of some of that youthful joyfulness, but i think it was a fair trade overall.

i loved gran gran doing the initial intro lines with kyoshi doing the actual intro. gran gran doing it made it feel like a story, a legend, that had been told for decades.

something else i enjoyed was the way that the adaptation handled integrating in other plotlines. getting to see ozai and azula, as well as mai and ty lee, in the fire nation capital city was really interesting. to me, it was a reminder that even when other characters are focused on other things, there are always things happening. the fake out of azula being a spy for her father for rebellions was fantastic and i think a key to the beginning of her characterization as a whole. i will admit i had some concerns about azula but her actress was incredible. absolutely incredible.

sokka's chemistry with suki was SIZZLING. like that entire bit was just so good. them fighting together and training together was just. urgh. it was so good.

now a character i will say i strongly prefer in the cartoon over the live action was zhao. i felt like his actor was...just trying too hard. maybe it's because jason isaacs just has a villainous voice but the cartoon always felt scarier to me. zhao in the live action felt...cartoonish and silly. almost like his actor was not taking it seriously, if that makes sense? that was disappointing to me. zhao was meant to be the first real antagonist of the series, a villain we could really hate and root for his downfall. instead, he just sort felt cartoonish and cheezy to me. i'm not sure if that was a direction choice or just the actor failing to understand the character but that was one of my chief complaints overall.

on the opposite end, iroh was so good. let's all be real here for a moment: there was no way, no way in hell, that a live action iroh was gonna be better than the cartoon. it was not gonna happen. iroh in the original was peak character and they were never gonna recreate him. but they didn't need to! they didn't need to because the live action iroh was just so good. he brought the same sort of laid back, calm serenity that the original iroh did without feeling like a carbon copy - or worse, a caricature - of him. i loved absolutely everything about iroh.

i wanna talk about the funeral scene in e4 but i also don't wanna talk about the funeral scene in e4 because it made me BAWL LIKE AN ACTUAL BABY Y'ALL I WENT FROM PERFECTLY FINE TO TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE SOBBING BROKENLY IN .2 SECONDS. as soon as i recognized the music that was it i was done, i was gone, almost had to pause to get myself back under control. it was bad.

i really liked how they did jet. it was a little strange for that to all be taking place in omashu but i understand the necessity of pulling everything down to fewer locations.

speaking of, to address something i spoke of at some length in another post, one of my key concerns upon learning that there was not going to be the 'running around to different locations' plots was that team avatar and by extension, us the audience, would miss out on seeing the effects of a century long war. i am very happy to say that those concerns were not valid. i actually think the live action did a better job of communicating those effects in a way that was truly shocking. think about bumi, for example. a character who in the show is, really, a sort of comedy break became instead a character who felt real, felt serious, and felt like he was bruised all over by the war that he has been fighting. i was on the fence a lot about that plot change, where bumi was sort of dark and gritty, but the more i have thought about it, the more i realize that it makes sense. a hundred years is a long time to battle an enemy that, frankly, is better equipped than you. is it any wonder that he was so angry at aang, even if that anger was misplaced? i don't really think so.

i am going to stop here, get some food, shower, and discuss the last 4 episodes a little later bc this is already unbelievably long lmao.

please feel free to let me know what you thought of it!!

[firespirited]

Vesper 2022 aka Vesper Chronicles in french. 2/10 abysmal, truly abysmal except for a few plant designs.

I kept getting déjà vu, certain I'd seen this film before. I probably have seen every single dystopia cliché and the decor/colour grading was so familiar. I could have told you it was franco-belgian with a large influence from something eastern though wouldn't have guessed lithiuanian, I was thinking polish or serbian. Obviously it's unrelentingly grimdark.

Spoilers and spoilers for Prospect 2018 at the end. Readmore for long ramblings.

There are two not actually sexual assaults that are filmed as if they were. General worst of humanity instead of people working together type film. By the time we'd drudged through multiple tropes I really dislike, I hated everyone involved in this film except the girl and i hope they don't work again. Hateful film that will crush a bit of your inner spark.

// I get the impression a lot of the reviewers who'd seen this on netflix had not been exposed much to european cinema: it has all the grime and gore of a classic olden times tale with some interesting plants. Please go watch La Cité des Enfants Perdus which has an actual soul at the heart of the green grime. We have dozens of films and tv shows that look like this 'unique' world. //

The world building falls flat as soon as you consider anything concrete: the food must come from harvests but where, clothes must come from animals and looms but where? The plants are carnivorous but how are they alive if there's nothing to feed on. It's just fitting your worldbuilding to look cool for a plot device: lady's plane crashes, she's found being eaten by plants and it looks gnarly. Beyond that? Plot device for plot sake, circular logic.

I could list twenty other similar bad writing moments most of them for pivotal scenes.

The film takes the path of consistent suffering and bleakness until it's implied that the world might be different from now on.

I decided to watch this film blind after seeing it on a list of recent female directed films. I assumed it was american or british. Big mistake!

You can expect about 75% of certain european female writer directors to be 'one of the boys', leaning in to more gross out, ultra violence or sexual content. They are the type to sign polanski support letters and hire actors disgraced in the USA.

It's hard to describe in terms non western continental europeans will understand. It's empowerment feminism meets white feminism but stuck around 1968 not 2006 with sexual attitudes that embrace teens with adults, not sane and consensual bdsm, lots of long debunked Freud.

They make films even better than the boys for sure but it's not remotely feminist in both what is depicted and what is inflicted on the female viewer. You could say at least we get female protags but the 'empowerment' feels more shallow than the music video for The Prodigy's Smack (spoilers for a very nsfw video: it's a lesbianbro asshole not a dudebro asshole)

Some people thought the ending implies the protag goes on to great things and I have no idea where they got that from: no leverage, no lab, no family. She has started the spark that will change the world but she'll have to find a blood broker to see the next harvest. She would have been better off with a guardian than so alone so soon with nothing to sell except blood and her eventual womb.

The few women of colour and lesbians directing or writing tend to have quite different vibes or offset bleak realities with moments of joy. (look carefully for a photo before making assumptions: born in north africa/middle east doesn't mean they aren't white and even whiter in their gaze in films set in brown or black countries)

Gay directors tend to do grimdark or sad sack rich people... just with gay sex. Uh yeah I'm not a fan of most french cinema right now but then again, that's a view shared by quite a few actresses and women who just want 2 hours of escapism.

It reminded me a lot of Prospect 2018, except despite it's deeply bleak story Prospect ends with them both having a new family unit, reason to live and partner who'll watch their back. Vesper has no-one. This was a poorly thought through initial cool concept that decided to throw every gross concept and trope against the wall, add dose after dose of misery then act like there was a happy end.

Please watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind for biopunk with heart, careful plotting, a designed biosphere, violence and gross bugs but always for a purpose.

[sisionscreen]

"The Empress" on Netflix: We show you the first pictures of the actors and actresses in costume

Written by Maria Hunstig for Vogue Germany | Translated by SisionScreen

The release of the first Sissi movie was 67 years ago and despite the female lifestyle of "marrying a prince/emperor and for the rest of time mostly strolling about a palce in frilled dresses, giving birth and looking pretty" gratefully becoming antiquitated, the interest in royal movie stories has become no less. The success of "The Crown", the many recent movie adaptations of the life of Princess Diana and the fact that the Sissi movies continue to be a staple of Christmas TV programming just like "Home Alone" and "Three Wishes for Cinderella" (also a princess narrative), are only a few examples of it.

Now Netflix has dedicated themselves to the life of Sisi as well (the spelling "Sissi" is only used in the period dramas of the 50s) and releases the series "Die Kaiserin" (working title: The Empress) this fall. In for now six episodes it tells the complicated love story of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary and Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, Princess of Bavaria [sic! Elisabeth has never been a princess of Bavaria since she is *just* the daughter of The Duke in Bavaria. Her mother Ludovika and aunt Sophie are princesses of Bavaria by birth because they were the daughters of its first king] - and the sister of the woman Franz was supposed to marry. The makers put a special focus on showing the complexity of this relationship and its protagonists who feel partly crushed by the strict rules at the 19th century court.

To show the desired modernity, costume designer Gabriela Reumer took a central role. The Swisswoman is known for her work on TV productions like Soko Wismar and movies like "Rabbit without Ears","Guardians" and "Traumfabrik" and had to familiarize herself with the 19th century royal fashion first - and wasn't too fond of some of the things she found. "I immediately had the ambition to choose a different approach to the costumes than the classic-historical one." Reumer said. She told us how that looks like and what kind of work went into the impressive dresses of the series.

Vogue: Usually you work on modern movies. How did you approach costumes for a historical productions?

Gabriela Reumer: First I went to Vienna. There I visited all the places of action for a week - from Schönbrunn over Sisi's hunting cabin to the Hofburg - and walked through these castles for hours. "How can one live here?" I wondered - because it is crushing, these massive hallways and the gardens that never seem to stop. This was my first try to get closer to the soul of this time period. Of course I also read a lot of books and looked at many haute coutoure shows, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen...there were many sources of inspiration.

Vogue: What is this approach?

Reumer: Today it is desired in period dramas that everything is modern and different in terms of film making or production. That is a great undertaking and not easy to do. But you have to adapt a bit to the present and adapt the story for the eyes of today because a lot just doesn't work anymore. About 1850, women were like furniture. They were adorned, one could say decorated, so you look at them. The most important thing was that it was a lot. Actually this is unbearable, the women were like dolls. At this time, the crinolines, a kind of hoop skirt, were like a sphere and gave the women this doll likeness. But this didn't fit the story of Sisi for me, this woman, that emancipated herself and freed herself from the oppression and power plays. So I asked myself how could one dress women more dynamically. So I changed the shape of the crinolines towards something that came into fashion in the 1870s: flat in the front and a bit elliptical in the back. I used this shapes for Sisi and Sophie.

Vogue: So you in hindsight you improved fashion history for women.

Reumer: Yes! (laughs) The shapes of this time are great, the small wastes and the big volume are incredible. It is like building a house. I did respect these shapes because else you end up somewhere entirely different. The "rea" Sisi's waiste measure 46c, that is unbelieveable!

Vogue: So did you also see the originals clothes of Empress Elisabeth?

Reumer: Yes, at Schönbrunn, but I found them awful. Everything was so tacky. I'm usually very minimalistic when it comes to my costumes.

Vogue: Then why did you agree to be the costume designer after all?

Reumer: At the beginning, I wondered what I was actually doing here. But the I viewed it as a challenge. There are also very nice great from this time. The men's clothing is awesome with its frock-coats from great materials and high tophats. It is crazy what one can do with shapes.

Vogue: How about the costumes, were many newely or are many vintage dresses among them?

Reumer: For the main roles, most things were made new. There aren't many costumes from this time in archives. Sometimes you can find great individual parts: Lace blouses with very delicate lace fo example, capes or pieces with great decorations. I found many things in London. But it isn't too much since a lot is broken, the most beautiful things are so fragile that you can't use them anymore. The manufacturing studio Costumes Couture in Vienna made nearly all of the dress of Elisabeth and Sophie. It was great collaboration, they also made the wedding dress. The lace was stitched in original Austrian fashion in Vorarlberg and many of the fabrics for Sophie came from a manufactory in Vienna.

Michaela Meyer from Costumes Couture also makes a lot of evening dresses for the Vienna Opera Ball. She has special way to fold and knows the skirts and the volume. A skirt of Sisi uses 10 metres of fabric and she works very differently with it than my wardrobe director in Berlin, who sews in historical accurate way. We then brought all materials to Berlin and fitted them to the actors and actresses here which was very work intensive.

Vogue: How long does work take on one dress?

Reumer: It differs. The Team of Costums Couture is incredibly fast because they have a modern approach. They took about two weeks per costume and about four weeks for the wedding dress. In the studio in Berlin, it sometimes took a month.

Vogue: How many costumes were needed overall?

Reumer: For the complete series we had about 2000 costumes but among them were many extras which were fitted with costumes from costume houses in London and Rome. At Tirelli in Rome, they have many great things from movies I used to dress the "poor people", for example we borrowed a lot of costumes from "Gangs of New York" which was set in a similar time and the dresses a nice patina.

Vogue: What were the actors and actresses reactions when they were allowed to wear the dresses for the first time?

Reumer: They were very happy since it is of course very hard to imagine yourself in such a time period. Suddenly being laced up, wearing this huge volume, crinoline and corsage - it helped them immediately to get into their characters. The role of Sophie for example, who is portrayed as a power player, always wanted tight, high-necked dresses, and we did that. And then she became greater and stronger in the costumes. It was really interesting to see what one can do with historical costumes. The job of a costume is also to help the acting person to play their part. So it is important that they have say.

Vogue: Was there a character you found difficult to dress?

Reumer: In the beginning, this was the case with Emperor Franz. He always showed himself in uniform and we had to figure out how to show him without a uniform. How do you show what kind of person he really is? That wasn't simple. Also to make the uniform fit in a way he can move like an emperor was a challenge. For example, he wears a corsage underneath it to support him.

Vogue: What was your process in designing the wedding dress of Sisi?

Reumer: Actually there isn't a single photograph of Elisabeth's wedding dress, there are only drawings/sketches from the wedding at the church.

We wanted to created and show something depressing: Her wedding days is a horror, the entire realm attends and wants something from her. The extras were supposed to look like grimaces. The costumes was supposed to be high-necked and tight, we made a kind of turtle neck from lace and a huge crinoline. The circumference of the skirt is 167cm, it is incredibly heavy. On top of that there is the very long train which was secured at the waiste. For Devrim, it was very tedious to wear this wedding dress during filming, so you can see it in her that Elisabeth's wedding wasn't a happy day..

Vogue: How did your picture of Elisabeth change because of the work on the series?

Reumer: I mostly knew her from the moies with Romy Schneider. Only when I was working closely with the fabric, I understood Sisi's history of suffering, what a fight she fought for her entire life to be free. The poems she wrote are so touching. I became aware then that she tried to not assimilate all the time. Back then it was incredibly difficult to be "different."

The Empress will release on September 29tb, 2022, on Netflix.

Further comments that were used as captions on pictures:

"I was lucky that I was working on this production for nearly a year. Due to the delays, we faced, there was more time to think and to look for fabrics which was a challenge during lockdowns. We were busy with preparations for about six months."

"Most of the fabrics we purchased in Vienna, many also in Rome. There we found a great store which collects fabrics since the 60s, including Haute Couture fabrics. And of course in Antwerpen, there are many great stores, which for example stock Dries-van-Noten fabrics whose colors are ones again totally different."

"I think such a production comes twice or thrice in one life. I couldn't get enough, it was really fun from beginning to end."

"Sissi [sic!] is the kicker, this is the cherry on top of the cake. It was a gift. I surpassed myself and didn't think myself that the costumes would become so strong/great."

[picture of Elisabeth and Franz] "Here we see a moment towards the end of the season, Elisabeth and Franz at Schönbrunn Palce - in an emergence..."

"We worked closely with the set design. It was very important: For them everything is over the top too, and when then an over the top costumes enters the set you must take care for example with the colors."

[picture of Esterházy] "Here we see Countess Esterházy, the Oberhofmeisterin [lady high chamberlain/Mistress of the Robes] - she tries to tame Elisabeth for court with strictness and rules."

[syrma-sensei]

Modern Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez headcanons.

→ nsfw contents under the cut.

- Grimmjow could be called a bad boy boyfriend.

- He typically calls you babe, whereas you call him Grim, or babe too.

- He smells of cigarettes and heavy cologne.

- Grimmjow's love is amazing, he spoils you with affections. He steals kisses from your lips, rubs/spanks/pinch your ass whenever he get the chance to, touching is so basic to him. That's happens privately.

- He doesn't tend to show any soft emotions in front of others, rather, his possessive side takes over him. He gets easily jealous, so be careful.

- He isn't pleased when you interact with other men, expect him to sulk about it.

- He's called Pantera, so expect him to act like a wild animal in front of people. In your case, he usually wraps your body with his arm securely, and pulls to his body. Sometimes he kisses you on the lips. A clear message for everyone else. Back off, she's mine.

- Grimmjow's idea of manhood is fucked up like most men. He fucked many women before you and he's proud of his cock's size. However, when he got to be with you, he sees you as his partner not just a property to fuck. He's a panther, so be his she-panther.

- His honesty is brute, he speaks what's on his mind casually. Wipe that shit off yer face, ya look better without it. At first, his words used to wound you that you burst out crying. You were mad at him, at how insensitive he was towards your efforts on looking good for him, and he was super frustrated with that. As time passed, you accustomed to his way of speech, and later on, you appreciated having an honest partner.

- Grimmjow curses a lot, especially when he's excited or mad.

- You two don't usually fight, but nothing a makeup sex can't solve, and when he's mad at you he calls you: woman!

- Grimmjow sucks at house chores, and his flat is in absolute misery. However, he once tried to impress you by making you a dinner. He ended up burning the kitchen.

- Sport is an important part of his life (I mean he didn't get the hot damn sexy body from nothing) and he drags you into it wether you like or not.

- Grimmjow is a hardcore gamer, and doesn't expect you to be one. But if you are a gamer too, it'll fire him up with excitement. And if not and you asked him to teach you, you'll bring him endless joy, and he'll be secretly turned on too.

- A lot of Netflix and chill nights.

- His worst nightmare is when you're on your period. He just freaks out when it comes, he feels so useless; he tries to soothe you over by rubbing your aching tummy, and bringing whatever snack you want.

- Grimmjow's views on women changed with you, he wasn't educated about feminine knowledge at all, and he didn't consider period but mere time when women whinge and bitch about everything. However, when you explained to him how a female body works, he was astonished, and his reaction surprised you when he sympathised you. He didn't know that pads stick to the underwear.

- Grimmjow loves it and turns him on when you wear his hoodies or shirts, they're big but make you look cute.

- You make him cook with you sometimes. The first time he did with you was so clumsy, he made you giggle to no end. His grumbles grew harsher, he determined to learn, and he surprised you what a fast learner he was. You can't forget how he smirked smugly and raised a conceited brow at you.

- He's surprisingly a good guitar player. He spends a lot of time playing for you. You're absolutely fascinated by how his callous fingers can play with such tenderness.

- You don't find in him just a lover, he's your best friend too. You draw his green eyeshadow, and he learnt to make your hair.

- Your puppy eyes are one of his weaknesses.

- He swoons when you cuddle up to him.

- He secretly borrows your beauty products, and when you found out he said: What? You girls have better products than us.

- Grimmjow is rough in bed (condoms rip frequently), and even rougher when you get on his nerves as you acted playfully and flirt with other men, he won't do anything, but he'll save it later for bed. Thought I didn't notice, baby?

- Hair pulling and biting are a thing to him. He loves to mark you with hickeys, particularly on your neck so you can't hide them from anyone else.

- Doggy style is definitely his favourite position, he loves to see your head snaps upwards whenever he hits your sensitive spots, and to spank your ass harshly. He likes when you to ride him too, he's fond of your ecstatic expression and bouncing breasts.

- Grimmjow is a master at giving orals, he drives you crazy with his talented tongue, he knows how to make you scream with it.

- He absolutely likes orals too, especially if kneel before him and pamper his cock with your mouth.

- He loves to trace your body with his fingertips, cupping your buttocks, fingering your clit, he loves your reactions.

- He usually loses his senses inside of you, a safe word would be needed with this man.

- He appreciates it when you wear sexy lingeries at his place all the time.

- Toys aren't his thing.

- When you're sub he calls you kitten, and when you take dominance he calls you tigress.

- His sex drive is high as well as his stamina.

- Simplest way to get your boyfriend hard? Just whisper in his ear: Fuck me, tiger.

[matchstickdolly]

Lucifer 5B: Cutting off Touch to Spite Your Fans

Spoiler warning: This post assumes you've watched all of Lucifer, season 5, part B.

CW: There's plenty I like about season 5, but this is a negative post. I know not everyone is up for negativity about the things they love. I also generally avoid it and (try to) keep my mouth shut about things I don’t like in most spaces. It’s good etiquette. But this is my space, and I have thoughts specifically about purity culture and the treatment of sexuality and trauma in fiction. You’ve been warned!

---

I'm a professional writer (not in TV). I've worked with enough bad clients, editors, and other writers to recognize some hallmark behaviors in how both Fox and Netflix gave Lucifer's writers incredibly difficult, unfair, and frankly weird situations to create through.

Fox did them dirty, interfering and ordering too many eps in S3. Netflix did them dirty, ordering 10 eps for S4 when it clearly needed ~13. Then Netflix ordered 10 "final" eps for S5—then, just kidding(!), 6 more after they'd done their writing for the 10. (What the fuck?) And then Netflix ordered 10 more for a "final-final" S6 after the writers had done their best to tell their whole story in S5. (MORE what the fuck.)

Talk about whiplash for creators, and half of those who consume content don't even care to understand such creative pain.

So, there are problems on multiple fronts. There's much I'll forgive writers, accordingly. I go into most shows expecting plotting/pacing issues. I look, instead, for characters and relationships that will triumph over those issues.

Heart is what the show Lucifer has always had in spades, both in its characters and in the immensely committed, wonderful ways the actors have tried to realize the characters' humor, love, trauma, and—most importantly—struggle to find healing. Yet, when given the opportunity to show health alongside another in a relationship, the writers/directors of 5B chose to remove most sexual humor and physical intimacy from their female lead and bi/pan characters to, I feel, sanitize them and troll fans. What happened?

Well, for one, say hi to showrunner Joe Henderson bragging about how the writers decided to be colossal dicks to the fans who helped secure their jobs:

From CBR's 'Lucifer Showrunner Joe Henderson Dissects Season 5B's Chaos'

Have we not suffered sidelined/repressed female characters, "bury your gays," and, oh, Chloe fucking a serial killer enough? Must we also say hello to neutered relationships once characters find stable love (whether same or opposite sex)? The result of withdrawing more sexual humor and physical intimacy from paired characters is an uncomfortable suggestion that they're reformed by "pure" love—more chaste and aloof, more acceptable in polite society. This is only done to end-game committed relationships.*

The writers seem to think they're edging the viewers, but the reality is they're taking traumatized minority characters who rejoiced in sexual freedom, but lacked and craved an emotional connection, and showing they can't have both, or, if they find both, it will never last. They've taken hypersexual characters and said, here, even they can have the love and commitment they desire, but some physical intimacy, especially sexual intimacy, is what they must trade for it.

There's always one more case, phone call, or coincidence interrupting intimacy. Traumas or deaths deserving emotional and physical comfort go on to receive none or only one aspect. Done sometimes, it's fine. Done always, it's sick. Dan dies, and there's no hugging? Really?†

Don't craft characters who crave a full range of emotional and physical intimacy, only to rob them of related scenes every chance you get. That's not complexity. That's bad writing. To even achieve this in 5B, they must squash banter and sideline their female lead yet again.

What a gift to purity culture, which tells us to be more palatable by bottling and buttoning up. That sex should be taboo, but violence glorified. That there is no heated desire among "Good Women," that sexual minorities of all genders shouldn't experience it much at all.

5A is so good. At the very least, it's on the right path (clearly, since the plot payoff from 5x01 to 5x16 is great). It shows a couple working through difficulties and trauma, toward each other emotionally and physically. It even pokes fun at people who think an established relationship means the death of romantic and sexual appeal (a tired and hugely sexist trope). And then... And then 5B reverses that, pretending established relationships are barely physical during emotional struggle and that the honeymoon phase doesn't exist. It robs characters of joy and comfort through physical intimacy when they need it to move through or push beyond trauma.

It's telling that so many fan wishes for Deckerstar are about healing touch and existing in each other's spaces: amending Chloe's spicy PDA history with Cain, Chloe caring for Lucifer's wings, soft family scenes a la Monopoly night and shared meals, morning-afters, etc. Reasonable fans aren't asking for porn; they're asking for connection and humanity. They're asking for writers not to forget characters (and, yes, including hypersexual characters) on their way from Point A to Point B.

That 5B lacks these things isn't a "tee-hee frustrating" slow burn or a cockblock. It is, in so many scenes, excising from characters a core part of what nearly every human and fictional monster craves. And it's a slap in the face to the "found family" trope. When you remove or tamp down a casual physical intimacy that was previously there, characters and their relationships fall flat, even if only partially. They become blunt weapons creators wield against watchers or readers begging for scraps of warmth.

Minorities shouldn't be killed off with ease, and they shouldn't be stifled with ease, either.‡ And maybe there shouldn't be deep trauma driving a wedge in a romantic relationship if you're not going to explore it through that relationship, too—physical intimacy included.

I'm still reserving some judgment. I loved the family drama and the end. (Although, again, where was the physical intimacy? No intimacy when Chloe or Lucifer return from the dead? Really?) I see where they could do awesome things, and could have done more if not for network BS.

But I no longer trust Lucifer's writers and directors. They thought S5 was the end. And what they gave us of Deckerstar, of the relationship that symbolizes health and healing in their fictional world, is this: cold distance. And they got a kick out of doing it, apparently.

If this is a "love letter" to me as a fan, I'm burning it. I can only hope S6 course corrects. If not, the writers who made these choices shouldn't write sexual minority and/or traumatized characters again. If you don't understand most of us, you should stop fucking using us.

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* If you don't believe me about the differences between casual/short-term relationships and end-game relationships in Lucifer, go back and look at how Lucifer and Maze are with strangers in all the other seasons. Look at Chloe's sex dream, her propositioning of Lucifer in a library, her sex with Pierce in the evidence closet. Look at how much physical intimacy there is between Lucifer and Eve, and then between Eve and Maze (if only as a ploy). Across seasons, there are sex/kink jokes and scenes galore.

Compare this to how these same characters are portrayed when with their end-game loves. Notice the gentle pecks on the lips and the huge general drop in sexual humor between 5A and 5B. How boring. Where's the spice these characters had? Also, give me a damn break. Buttoning up in a relationship is contrary to four and a half seasons of emotional character work that's been communicating security in our relationships is personally freeing.

† I'm not just talking about sexual intimacy in this post, though that is a big part of it because of the characters. 5B lacked crucial found family scenes, too.

Chloe should have been at God's family dinner, but being so would have prevented more ham-fisted angst. Chloe never even has a one-on-one with God, probably because that would demand a straight answer about her miracle status, which I would guess will be used to drive yet another wedge between her and Lucifer next season, but we'll see.

In multiple before- and after-work scenes, there was no reason for Lucifer and Chloe to be apart more, even, than they were in S1 and S2. Monopoly night was in S3, for crying out loud. Most horrifying of all? No one touches Chloe after Dan's death, but Trixie. Meanwhile, Linda, Amenadiel, Ella, Maze, and Lucifer all receive physical comfort. No wonder Chloe's tired of being strong.

‡ If you don't think it's offensive that they stuffed all their wlw content for two hypersexual characters into a few clunky, irrational, and chaste scenes that rushed I love yous, a marriage-like proposal, and the mention of soulmates, I don't know what to tell you other than get off my lawn.

[therealcalicali]

I love Vikings don't get me wrong but I hate how Michael Herst writes women he kills me. If they aren't manipulative they're having affairs and all the men's issues and problems stem from women and it continues to push this narrative that its women's fault that some men grow up to be awful people. There's not one female character I could relate or sympathise with and that doesn't sit right with me how do you feel about it idk maybe it's just me🤷🏻‍♀️

OMG, agreed, sweetheart.🔥💯

Hirst; like most modern Screenwriters; are pretty much formula creators. In Hollywood they discourage writing organically and prefer you write according to outdated standards. Which is why EVERYTHING is so generic, flat and predictable.

For instance when you examine Vikings, the characters are one-dimensional. All the men and women are hard to relate to except Ragnar; and even he became cartoonish in the end.

That's why the only shows and movies that have substance, complexity and character development are usually adaptations. And even then, the Studio and "experienced" Writers will gut the script. Because according to them, "Audiences aren't that smart".

And since they supposedly know what works based on data, great ideas die in the Writer's Room. A rather stupid business model since ticking boxes kills creativity. Hell, Manga and Anime are more entertaining than anything Hollywood has to offer. And to prove the point, just look at how Netflix ruined "Death Note'. 👀😳

But that's why the independent scene is blowing up. Not just for tv shows and movies, but graphic novels too. And with more people rejecting Hollywood and financing their own projects, people like Hirst will evetually become relics.

P.S. There's ALLOT of issues in the industry; most of them still unspoken. And trust me, Nepotism is the least of them.