#what are onions good for

[elodieunderglass]

hi. what do you mean

[twisted-deal]

guys today's paper just dropped and i think i know these guys

References -> [x] [x] [x]

[quillyfied]

There being two movies now in the Benoit Blanc world, and both movies sharing some recognizable tropes and archetypes to build its flavor, there’s a specific type of character that I’m struck by, particularly as a white woman, in both Knives Out and Glass Onion:

The Sympathetic White Woman.

In KO it’s Meg. In GO it’s Whiskey. They both bond with the (WOC, very important to emphasize) protagonist by being less crappy to her than the rest of the cast, and both signal to the audience that they’re trustworthy as far as the protagonist goes. They tell the protagonist that they’re on her side. They try to be supportive. They’re sympathetic to the audience.

Then comes the moment when the Sympathetic White Woman’s security is threatened.

(Brief added interruption to just say: please dig through the notes and replies on this baby for some additional excellent thoughts from other people, including the very important distinction that Marta is a white Latina and not a woman of color (my mistake thank you for the corrections), and more thoughts on Whiskey’s actual/additional betrayal moments!)

For Meg, it’s her mom telling her she has to drop out of school if they don’t get the inheritance money. For Whiskey, it’s Duke dying. In both cases, the protagonist reaches out—Marta tells Meg she won’t let that happen, she’ll support Meg with whatever money she needs; Helen tries to soothe a hysteric Whiskey by telling her she doesn’t need Duke and he deserved what he got (not realizing Duke is dead, of course). It’s a slightly different moment in each movie, but the basic framework is the same: the woman of color protagonist reaches back to the Sympathetic White Woman, and notably, reaches DOWN, offering the support the Sympathetic White Woman offered earlier.

Only…the Sympathetic White Woman was never intending to be the one the protagonist had to reach down to. So she snaps. Meg tells her family about Marta’s mother and they use it to threaten her. Whiskey latches onto the belief that Helen killed Duke and tries to kill her with a spear gun in what she thinks is self-defense. The Sympathetic White Woman Heel-Turn.

Meg and Whiskey both also sort of try to make amends after their Heel-Turn moments, but…the trust is already broken. The protagonist knows better now. The Sympathetic White Woman is not to be trusted.

Why this sticks out to me personally is the very obvious callout that feminists of color have been making about white feminists for literal decades: that white feminism lacks any true support or compassion for non-white people, that it’s empty promises of support and when the chips are down, white feminism upholds whiteness over feminism in an act to protect itself. And whiteness…is a damn difficult thing to even see when you’re white and raised in an overwhelmingly white community, let alone begin to pick apart and unlearn. It’s reactionary, how Meg and Whiskey turn on Marta and Helen to protect themselves.

It would make Meg incredibly vulnerable to support Marta fully, the way she promised to back when she thought she had the resources for it, but Marta is that vulnerable every day just existing as a Latina woman in America. Whiskey’s Heel-Turn moment is a little more immediate trauma based, but when looking for someone to blame, she doesn’t hesitate to blame Andi (Helen), scrapping together the few pieces of information she has—Andi hates all of the Disruptors, Andi got screwed over by them, Andi fought with Duke just minutes before he died, Andi was in their shared room tearing it apart when Whiskey came in distraught. She’s looking for an outlet. There’s Helen red-handed and in view. Boom. Whiskey grabs the spear gun instead of talking it out with the person she admitted just hours ago to feeling sympathy for.

Growing up white and steeped in whiteness causes defensive reactions when that whiteness is brought up, or, god forbid, challenged. It’s a knee-jerk thing for people who haven’t begun to deconstruct it for themselves; even for people who have, to see just how far and deep in American society that reaches is troubling. Humbling. Enraging. The Sympathetic White Woman archetype is, to me, a warning to not let whiteness overrule sense and morals. To be smart about it. And, crucially, to check myself for condescension, especially when interacting with non-white folks in any capacity.

(Also why the presence of Benoit Blanc is so important. He is also sympathetic, he also offers his own support, but crucially, he just uses his whiteness to clear a path for the WOC protagonist to take her place and do what she needs to do. He doesn’t speak over her, he doesn’t turn on her, he just listens, and presents the truth for her to do with it what she will. Or, in one case, hands her highly volatile crystal hydrogen for when she’s really ready to tear the Murderer’s crap down.)

[thatonequeeraunt]

All Tumblr has to do to get me to watch something is to say that something is gay and have it trending for 5+ days

[tickfleato]

high effort cooking is like... i like doing it, and i like the results, but cooking for an hour to make something i’ll finish within 5 minutes is always kinda demoralizing 

[nat111love]

THE ONES WHO LIVE ↳ Season 1 ↳ Episode 3 ↳  Bye

[mistressofwimps]

im glad all of you have something interesting to say about glass onion because the only thing i have to say is how beautiful janelle monae is. like i literally could not stop staring at her, even when she was in the corner of the screen oh anyway

[shih-coulda-had-it]

blanc’s polka dotted mask is 100% one of those pandemic projects that phillip the partner (he had, presumably, a sourdough starter in his hands, so i’m guessing he is going through any and every activity to stave off whatever’s plaguing blanc) made early in lockdown, and that’s part of the reason why blanc was reluctant to put it away.

[onioneyez]

Thinking about the GO kiss (of course) and how that strange versatility of the pairing in general extends also to this. The fandom’s grief is so universal because each person sees in it exactly what will hurt them the most.

To this aromantic, Crowley’s desperate gesture looks like: “is this what you want? Will this make us real to you? If I show you I love you in the right way, the human way, will I finally matter enough for you to stay with me?”

[theresamouseinmyhouse]

Under what circumstances would one discover they enjoy artichoke hearts, onions, and canadian bacon combined on a pizza i desperately wanna know (yeah this is abt tim drake)

[algrenion]

me (notorious hater of onions if they’re not undetectable): “i don’t know what to cook dude… all i have is onions… fuck it…”

[roasts the onions in slices with sugar and salt]

me (again, notorious hater of onions (if not detectable)): “you’re saying….. 13 year old me was… wrong…?????????”

[drbtinglecannon]

Ok I'm gonna be honest I saw some mild spoilers about Glass Onion, specifically including that Benoit was gay, and I thought that was just a fandom well understood "should've been this way" kinda thing

But no

He really is gay. And in a relationship with a char played by Hugh Grant. Living together in the cutest fanciest little apartment.

It makes so much sense. I still didn't see it coming that it would ever be explicitly shown. These movies are so good, I'll happily watch them forever.

[iguanadonis]

catboy spock

[tadhannahj]

this genre of men and why I would put all 4 of them together in 1 room

[eternalgirlscout]

the glass onion headcanon that i've decided to make true to myself is that benoit blanc and his husband each address the other as Blanc

[pinkinsect]

people who want to see kaiser's eyeliner run might not be ready for the truth that it's sharpie