Hi! You've mentioned a few times that Harry mocked the haka years ago. Do you have any links to that, or could you summarise what you're referring to? Thanks. Also, how and why do you think Wellington was clearly pivotal in 1D's lives?
I'll answer the second question first - and then go into the first. Basically whatever happened in that mediocre bar opposite a parking lot in the early morning of the 23rd of April - the video about it certainly had an impact on their careers - it was the first massive peak in interest about 'Larry' (check out google trends). Both public and fans being aware of the idea of Larry Stylinson had a huge impact on Harry and Louis' life.
One Direction visited New Zealand twice once in 2012 and once in 2013. Both times they only interacted with Māori culture on Pākehā (white New Zealanders terms). On both occasions they were asked both in interviews and in twitter questions to imitate Māori culture. They didn’t know the basics of Māori culture or language and they individually and collectively imitated Māori culture badly for Pākehā entertainment. This is racist, colonising behaviour, which reinforces Māori oppression.
During twitter questions they were often asked to do the Haka. They all attempted it in response to a twitter question in Auckland in 2012 (but not Wellington, because that was a magic perfect night). In Christchurch in 2013, they did it during twitter questions, but not in response to a twitter question - it appears to be because they wanted to. (Harry says that he wants to learn the Haka - but not enough to actually do the learning before performing publicly - and Niall is so enthusiastic that he does it by himself first before the whole arena does it with them). And in their show Auckland they again did it in response to a twitter question. (Niall also did it on a radio interview in response to a question, but that video is no longer on line).
This is a mocking way of engaging in Māori culture and the more you watch the specific examples the more you see how bad it is - they make up gibberish words, as soon as they get past the two lines they remember from TV. They treated Māori culture as something to make fun of - and chose only to engage with Māori culture on Pākehā terms.
For those who struggle to understand why this was mocking - helpfully Ant and Dec put together that demonstrates it quite nicely. In 2013, 1D were interviewed for a pretend New Zealand television show for Ant and Dec's prank show and were asked to pronounce Māori words (something that also happened in New Zealand interviews, although I can't find any of them online any more). It neatly illustrates the underlying racist dynamic.
Now one point to make about all this is that this is a Pākehā New Zealand problem at its root. And obviously I could talk about the ways that Pākehā New Zealanders engage with Māori culture quite a bit. But you don't have to participate in every bit or racism that other people ask you too.
And to sort of set-up what I want to say about Harry - what's really noticeably different this time is that alongside the political action of waving a Tino Rangatiratanga flag - Harry engaged with Māori culture on Māori terms. And that treating Māori culture not as a play thing for Pākehā, but belonging to people who he can meet and talk with - was an important precursor to taking political action.
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I think if a fairy showed up at my house like yeah they are not real but there is narrative precedent for that. a fairy, if it existed, would show up at a house. i just need to suspend one disbelief everything else tracks. it's a big surprise, but a singular one. i would know how to get with the programm pretty quick.
if a walrus knocked at my door there would be many more fucking questions than one. a walrus showing up at my house? knowing that knocking is the required social etiquette? having reasons to knock on my door and somehow the ability to do that despite having no arms? said walrus coming to me of all people?? a walrus being real is the least of my concerns at that point why the fuck does it need my help what kind of problem can I solve that a socially aware and apparently findextrous walrus fucking can't
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lead balloon (the tumblr post that saved me)
if this comic resonated with you, it would mean the world to me if you donated to this palestinian family's escape fund.
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no creative notes because this isn't that kind of comic.
I know I don’t owe any of you anything but I still felt compelled to write about my long term absence. And I feel far enough away from the dangerous spot I was in to be able to make this comic. I have a therapist now, and she agreed that making this could be a very cathartic gesture, and the start of properly leaving these thoughts behind me. I am still, at seemingly random times, blindsided by fleeting desires to kill myself. They’re always passing urges, but it’s disarming, and uncomfortable. I worry sometimes that my brain’s spent so long thinking only about suicide that it’s forgotten how to think about anything else. Like, now that I've opened that door for myself, I'll never be able to fully shut it again. But I’m trying my best to encourage my mind in other directions. We'll see how that goes.
I am still donating all proceeds from my store to Palestinian causes. So far, I've donated over $15K, not including donations coming from my own pocket or the fundraising streams which jointly raised around $10K. In the time since I made my initial post about where this money would be going, the focus has shifted from aid organisations to directly donating to escape funds.
If you'd like to do the same, you can look at Operation Olive Branch, which hosts hundreds of Palestinian escape funds or donate to Safebow, which has helped facilitate the safe crossing and securing of important medical procedures for over 150 at-risk palestinians since the beginning of the genocide.
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probably time for this story i guess but when i was a kid there was a summer that my brother was really into making smoothies and milkshakes. part of this was that we didn't have AC and couldn't afford to run fans all day so it was kind of important to get good at making Cool Down Concoctions.
we also had a patch of mint, and he had two impressionable little sisters who had the attitude of "fuck it, might as well."
at one point, for fun, this 16 year old boy with a dream in his eye and scientific fervor in heart just wanted to see how far one could push the idea of "vanilla mint smoothie". how much vanilla extract and how much mint can go into a blender before it truly is inedible.
the answer is 3 cups of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup milk alternative, and about 50 sprigs (not leaves, whole spring) of mint. add ice and the courage of a child. idk, it was summer and we were bored.
the word i would use to describe the feeling of drinking it would maybe be "violent" or perhaps, like. "triangular." my nose felt pristine. inhaling following the first sip was like trying to sculpt a new face. i was ensconced in a mesh of horror. it was something beyond taste. for years after, i assumed those commercials that said "this is how it feels to chew five gum" were referencing the exact experience of this singular viscous smoothie.
what's worse is that we knew our mother would hate that we wasted so much vanilla extract. so we had to make it worth it. we had to actually finish the drink. it wasn't "wasting" it if we actually drank it, right? we huddled around outside in the blistering sun, gagging and passing around a single green potion, shivering with disgust. each sip was transcendent, but in a sort of non-euclidean way. i think this is where i lost my binary gender. it eroded certain parts of me in an acidic gut ecology collapse.
here's the thing about love and trust: the next day my brother made a different shake, and i drank it without complaint. it's been like 15 years. he's now a genuinely skilled cook. sometimes one of the three of us will fuck up in the kitchen or find something horrible or make a terrible smoothie mistake and then we pass it to each other, single potion bottle, and we say try it it's delicious. it always smells disgusting. and then, cerimonious, we drink it together. because that's what family does.
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Truths that Co-Exist
Barbie (2023) is a giant product placement that profits off nostalgia.
The writing is profound and life-changing and understands why we seek nostalgia in a way most nostalgia-driven entertainment doesn’t.
The film is self-aware about how even now, Barbie dolls set incredibly unrealistic beauty standards. Their “body diversity” does not even scratch the surface of what that phrase really means. I don’t expect this to change.
The film still made a beautiful statement with the scene on the bench about how societal beauty standards are narrow and restrictive! And that beauty comes from experiencing life and the marks it leaves on you!
Its feminist statements are validating. Many of us see our reality onscreen, and the great thing is that it includes how cishet men fall down a pipeline of toxic hypermasculinity. It also shows the solution, and allows men to express themselves despite what society expects them to be.
The film is a capitalist venture.
The cast (aside from the leads) and crew were probably overworked and severely underpaid during filmmaking.
We can still appreciate that something fun was made, and we all made another wonderful memory where we and our loved ones went to the movies color-matching in pink.
We should not feel guilty about seeing ourselves in this film.
Meanwhile, support the WGA and SAG-Aftra strike.
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