#Movie critics have no credibility to me

[imagine-darksiders]

"Did you hear what the critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave Five Nights at-"

#You guys actually watch movies based on other people's reviews? #I thought that was a joke! #Fnaf movie #Movie critics have no credibility to me

[ordinaryschmuck]

Alright, last time ever that I’ll talk about Velma. I promise.

Because I’ve been extra salty towards this show all week, and I don’t want to take it further than that. Talking nothing but bad stuff about this show for the entirety of its run is exactly what the writers want. They want us to hate watch it so we can talk about each new atrocity the show brings up week after week, and call us haters or anti-woke propagandists. When, in reality, they don’t give a FUCK about any of that. They don’t care about other races, genders, or sexualities. They just WANT you to think they do. Know how I can tell? Because I’ve SEEN genuine attempts of representation.

THIS is a genuine attempt of representation. Matt Braly, the series creator of Amphibia and a Thai-American, felt like Thai culture was underrepresented in media. So, he not only made his main character and her Thai, but he also dedicated subplots and entire episodes showcasing the culture he wanted to represent.

THIS is a genuine attempt at representation. Dana Terrace, series creator of The Owl House and open Bisexual, wanted a main character that was explicitly bi to finally help kids feel like they’re seen. To help give the representation SHE always wanted.

But when I look at Velma? None of it hits the same.

This isn’t a genuine attempt for representation. This is Mindy Kuling turning a character into a self-insert to make herself look smarter than everyone else and the most important person in a narrative. Truth is, this Velma is nothing more than a sociopath, narcissistic dipshit who thinks she’s better than everyone else but is actually more aggravating than endearing.

So...Good job representing YOURSELF there, Mindy.

And this?

This isn’t representation. This is a shield.

A way to protect the show from any criticism because it couldn’t possibly be bad. They have gay characters! Gay characters are good in everything!

Except that is the LAST reason you should include gay characters! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE more LGBTQA+ representation in media. What I don’t love is obvious attempts to pander to audiences just to avoid criticisms. And keep in mind, this is NOT the first attempt a creator wanted to make Velma gay.

James Gunn wanted to make her gay in the live action movie, but WB said no.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated (the GOAT of the Scooby-Doo franchise) wanted to make Velma gay, but could only imply it because Cartoon Network didn’t greenlit Steven Universe yet.

THOSE are genuine attempts to make Velma gay, to represent people because the creators of both products agreed that it was the least they could do.

But making Velma and Daphne a thing just to protect a show is nothing more than shallow and inconsiderate of the hard fight dozens of people put up with for the sake of representation.

And, honestly, I’d be a little more forgiving if the writing in Velma was good. But it’s not.

Within the first minute, this show features...

Cockroaches having sex...

And fifteen year olds taking a shower to make a joke about how over-sexualized a series’ pilot can be.

First of all: FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME FIND THIS SCREEN SHOT FOR A POINT!

Second: You lose every ounce of credibility that you actually care about people when one of the first moves you make in your series is to sexualize minors for the sake of a joke.

A joke that doesn’t make sense at that. Point me to a series pilot that’s over-sexualized. If you get more than ten, I’ll say you have a point. I won’t say that sexualizing minors to make it was a good thing, but I’ll at least say that, “Yeah. You’re right. So many pilots do this. SO STOP DOING IT!”

That’s the level of writing Velma has. And it’s why they have their “representation” to protect themselves. Meanwhile, you want to know the level of writing you’ll find in The Owl House and Amphibia?

Villains who prove that the most dangerous people are the ones who make the rules.

Jokes that are actually funny.

Likable main protagonists who are kind and caring to the people around them.

Protagonists who have heartfelt relationships with other great characters, to the point that it breaks your heart to see them leave each other.

And on top of that, actually good representation. But here’s the thing: The representation isn’t only genuine. It’s a bonus. Something great to add onto everything else the writers and the creators do right.

What it isn’t is an attempt to protect a show from what it does wrong.

And that’s it. That’s the LAST time I’ll ever talk about Velma. I really mean it this time.

Talking about this show past it’s premier is already more attention it deserves. And if you were smart, you would not only stop watching, but stop talking. The best attention to give something you hate is NO attention.

If you really want to waste time, waste it by watching something good, like The Owl House and Amphibia. They may be kids shows, but they have more maturity than a single second of Velma.

#velma series #velma series salt #the owl house #amphibia #luz noceda #anne boonchuy #cw: naked minors #cw: velma

[susiephone]

Or, a crash course in checking your sources. Because we've all seen some absolutely bullshit stuff spread around the internet, and Tumblr definitely isn't immune to it.

It can be hard to sort out the fact from the rumor from the propaganda when a story is actively developing, especially one that is fast-moving and has a lot of voices coming in from all sides, but it is vitally important that you check your sources before spreading a claim.

It's easier to verify or disprove a claim about something that's purported to have happened in the past, so, admittedly, checking stuff that's purported to be happening now is a messy, confusing process. All the more reason to err on the side of caution.

I am not a journalist or professional researcher or historian or anything like that, so this is all coming from a layman who does their best to be informed. If I get anything wrong, or anyone more qualified has something they want to add, please let me know in the notes.

Why should I check my sources?

Because you should care whether you're spreading propaganda or not.

Because sometimes in the heat of the moment, when emotions are running high, it's easy to be misled.

Because every time you spread misinformation to help your own cause, even - or especially! - if that cause is righteous, it becomes a ding on your credibility, and the credibility of your cause.

Because when you don't, a journalist loses their wings. Probably. Fact-check me on that.

How do I know when to check my sources?

If you don't recognize the source, check it.

If you hear a claim and think, "Wow, that is so cartoonishly evil," or, "That's so absurd I'd think it was far fetched if it was in a movie," or, "It's weird no mainstream outlets are reporting on this," check it.

Now, a claim sounding too bizarre or evil to be real doesn't always mean it isn't--I mean, half of what I hear about George Santos sounds like an SNL sketch and it always ends up true. But check it.

If the claim sounds like something a Nazi would want you to believe, check it.

If a claim is only being spread by one or two small sources, check it.

How do I check my sources?

The following sites are great resources for fact-checking.

PolitiFact. Ranks claims on a truth-o-meter and provides context for what's true, mostly true, kinda true, and made-up.

Media Bias/Fact Check: Publishes lists of fact checks from other credible sources, and ranks media outlets on their bias and trustworthiness.

Climate Feedback: Verifies claims about science, especially climate change.

Lead Stories: Verifies claims as they develop, especially stuff spreading on social media.

Here is a list of sources Media Bias/Fact Check considers to be the least biased.

What are some red flags to search for? / What are some questions I should ask myself?

Does the claim only come from a handful of small sources?

Do all those sources only cite each other?

It bears repeating: does this claim sound especially sensational or over-the-top? I know it sounds basic, but when you're furious at somebody (be it a person or a government or a system), it can be easy to believe every horrible thing you hear about them. But just because someone is awful doesn't mean every rumor about them doing awful things is true, and you still have a responsibility to keep your criticism accurate.

Who provides funding to the source? Do they work off of grants, reader donations and subscriptions, government backing, private donors? Do they not disclose their funding at all?

Has the source been caught spreading false info before? How long ago was this? Did they issue a correction in a timely manner? Was the journalist who spread the false claim fired or otherwise reprimanded? Does it seem like it was a mistake, or was there an agenda at play? Has the source taken steps to reestablish credibility?

Who benefits from me believing this?

Okay, I did all my fact-checking, and I'm really not sure if this claim is true or not.

Then don't share it.

If more information comes out and it turns out to be true, then go ahead.

But if there's doubt, don't share it.

Okay, sure, but the claim sounds like it could be true, and-

"Could be true" and "is true" are not the same.

Fine, but the person or government it's talking about has already done so many awful things, even if this specific rumor isn't true-

DON'T. SHARE. IT.

I am going to come to your house and bite you.

Further information.

How to fact-check like a pro.

The Psychology of Fact-Checking.

What is fact-checking?

Misinformation (YouTube video)

And there we go! If anyone has anything to add, go ahead, but I will be monitoring the comments and will be blocking any nonsense.

There's enough misinformation spread by bad actors in our current media landscape. Please don't make their job any easier.

#politics #journalism

[sgiandubh]

Far away and long ago

One thing leading to another, I tried to watch A Princess for Christmas yesterday, prompted by my Peleș/Pelișor Anon answer and I have to say I am grinning as I write this post: it is, after all, a Hallmark movie, isn't it?

Maybe if I were drunk and/or in good company, it would have been easier. I was neither, so it was unwatchable. Even with the bits of personal nostalgia, knowing very well all the sets they used: from the two castles in Sinaia, to the Știrbei (princely) House private chapel in Buftea, to the Bragadiru Palace in Bucharest they obviously used for that ball. I finished skimming on fast forward for S and howled at this bit of Imdb trivia, I believe with all my heart to be wishful thinking:

Not only I do not believe ever seeing/hearing such a thing in all the interviews I have read/watched (of which they are a shameless handful), but it would be completely out of character for 'No Ego' 2014 S to declare such a preposterous thing (correct me if I am wrong, for I truly believe I am not).

Anyways. When it looks low budget, it is a low budget (with Eastern European logistics) D-series thing, despite all their efforts. Plot is downright stupid and the painful cheesiness permeating the slightest line uttered makes it unredeemable. Nuh-oh: not even to kill time, not even on a flight from Almaty to Saint Petersburg. No way.

Low budget is particularly apparent when it comes to costumes. This one, for example...

Her dress is ok-ish (heavily insisting on the -ish, here). But his uniform is an operetta reinterpretation of the Romanian Army's dorobanț (infantry) State Protocol uniform. An exact copy of the 1877 Independence War officer outfit (itself a Second Empire French uniform copycat, but that's just the historian in me nitpicking, of course):

The above is a very recent pic (2023 Remembrance Day festivities at a British War Cemetery near Bucharest). I know that place well, spent all my childhood 1 mile away, my grandparents owned a house in that village. It is a small, forlorn plot of infinite melancholy and a striking sight, with its carefully trimmed grass, among what used to be cornfields, circa 1984. 'This is British soil', my grandfather once told me and that made it both absurd and enticing: an alien enclave of sorts, a city of the dead. He was correct, by the way, and that gave our Remembrance Day expeditions a sort of strange, furtive charm. We always brought flowers and he, a former officer and POW, would always salute, bareheaded under heavy rain. But, I digress.

Both that movie and my recollections were far away and long ago. Mercifully so for S, at least. The difference in demeanor, profile and presence is undeniable, no matter what the Disgruntled Tumblrettes would tell you: some pushed the cheapness up to the gratuitous folly of 'he was a much better actor then'. Well, he wasn't: no chemistry with a female co-star who would clearly be more eager to have a dental surgery intervention. And no presence every time a very tired Roger Moore is around, which makes for roughly three-quarters of his part. But unlike many striving wannabes, he managed to pull out of the Prince Ashton (🙄) typecast and give us a very credible JAMMF, when starts aligned and with a surreal bit of luck.

If he could manage to pull out of the JAMMF typecast, I see great things. Until then, I will stand by my words: this is a guy with tremendous, but completely overlooked/untapped potential, who has been repeatedly miscast. And this is why what would immediately happen after OL is of critical importance. Brace yourselves.

On another, completely unrelated note: should I wait for that US copycat, disingenuous McTavish booze circus tour to end, in order to draw a line and my thoughts on his brand? I think I should, but always happy to oblige to public demand :)

[whitedemon-ladydeath]

yeah see seeing all these ✨️city people✨️ and people with a lot of privilege and classism routinely calling rural iowans (SPECIFICALLY iowans) 'hicks' makes me angry and it makes me sad

we're not fucking STUPID. and a lot of the "stupidity" is often intentionally CREATED by making sure our schools are underfunded without access to proper education to build critical thinking skills and proper RESEARCH skills and limited access to news outside of newspapers and fox news. it's intentional. it's by design.

Educated rural folks who have the luxury (yes LUXURY and PRIVILEGE) to go to college to get educated LEAVE the areas where they could be the most beneficial for change and making communities diverse and more progressive and it furthers right wing, republican agendas by keeping people without access to resources and desperate and angry with the wrong people

"well you have access to the internet" yeah and the internet is full of misinformation and a lot of people are not taught how to look for credible sources or websites or how to look at biased language in writing so they ARE more susceptible to propaganda via fox News and the internet. you know what the internet also has? targeted ads and algorithms making sure you keep seeing the same kind of content and people who don't know DON'T know

however a lot of practical skills? knowledge that isn't BOOK SMART? I know plenty and they're so, so, so smart. but all I see from liberals and leftists is the refusal to use layman and simplified terms and "um! actually you need to educate yourself ☝🏻" and use unnecessarily difficult phrases

you say "defund the police" and people hear "be lawless and have no safety networks to prevent crime" instead of trying to find less #edgy slogans for what you ACTUALLY mean

you don't know what you don't know and calling us fucking hicks and ignorant isn't helping anyone. Tumblr was my first experience outside of Facebook where I learned about asexuality? it Didn't have an algorithm so I'll was able to be immersed in different cultures and view points

I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone being in rural Iowa for being hateful or racist or queerphobic but after living in the city for the last few years, I still see the same shit. it's just less covert in rural Iowa and in your face and I see leftists and liberals using their proximity to cities, and the problems in rural america as a Shield for their own bigoted and hateful behavior

I remember being on Tumblr, slowly inching into the queer community spaces, bec I wasn't used to online spaces, i was too poor at the time to have access to computers [2013+] and I came across the terms "trans man" and "trans woman" and I thought that meant a someone assigned male at birth who was trans and identified as a woman was called a 'trans man' bec I didn't know the terminology or how it was supposed to be used. I didn't know "transsexual" was considered a slur and I got attacked online for accidently using the wrong terminology because I couldn't remember the term transgender

I was from rural Iowa, a notoriously white, cis het area, fairly religious area, without a lot of access to the internet so I just. didn't know. and then i was afraid of ever saying anything again or asking questions. pls for the love of God use discernment and don't immediately vilify and attack well meaning people for not knowing what they don't know. that is EXACTLY how you can prevent people from ever being willing to grow and become educated

I remember watching the movie "Boys Don't Cry" with my mom about Brandon Teena, a trans man, and we both didn't know enough or understand enough about trans people we were unintentionally misgendering him when we talked about it but we both were so empathetic and heart broken for him

rural people I know are Prideful! they're constantly working to make ends meet and they have pride in themselves and their communities, often to the point it's at their own detriment and republican law makers KEEP it that way and rely on the classism and anger and diversion to keep it that way

a yt rural American in Appalachia is going to have more in common with a black American living in the city in the Projects more than we ever will with upper class yt folks. the wealthy yt #liberals will mock us and call us fucking stupid and ignorant and get in their own way of wanting any kind of progression. it! is never! black and white!!! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BE KIND

why do you think rural Republicans don't trust the government? couldn't possibly have anything to do with the government IGNORING us or preying on poor folks who live paycheck to paycheck. of COURSE it makes sense they'd be leery about government wide programs. the government DOESNT CARE ABOUT US. and most rural "Republicans" I know aren't even republican. they don't have the time to invest in politics when we have to Work and can't Miss Work to go vote or find ways around road blocks.

most people don't know enough and vote for people they know and most don't Know democrats or their policies or their progressive goals and you know WHY that often happens? BECAUSE DEMOCRATS IGNORE THEM IN FAVOR OF CITIESSSSS. they call them STUPID and IGNORANT and can you really blame people for "not voting in their best interest" when the people who "care about their best interest" are people calling them stupid and ignorant and HICKS

I've been around Republicans in the city and Republicans in rural Iowa and if you look and listen close enough the *reasoning* for their racism (especially) tends to differ. racism is a social construct (that does NOT mean it isn't real or not important) and it was used specifically as a tool to create tension and a divide between the poor yt folks and the poc *by* yt, wealthy capitalists. the Irish were finally allowed to be #white bec they were identifying with the struggles of the marginalized folks being targeted just like THEY were in Ireland by Europe

the cold hatred I have seen from rural Republicans vs city, wealthy Republicans has been vastly different. don't get me wrong there are plenty of rural Republicans that are just as disgusting (I'm related to some lmao). often a lot of racism i see from rural folks is tied to anger and desperation from the lack of jobs and its designed that way. a lot of the racism from yt wealthy folks is tied to greed and wealth and capitalism. Donald Trump is a blaring example of an unchecked, racist, vile, classist man

I'm sorry I've had a REALLY bad week and living in a city with people who are so self centered and selfish and refuse to help has only made me miss home and despite all of the raging issues of rural america, I know a lot of kind and well meaning people who are just doing their best and willing to help you because we fucking know the government doesn't care about us

just. be kind. you don't know what you don't know and I think a lot of well meaning people shouldn't be getting attacked for it. empathy and grace should be given (when able) and people should be allowed to grow from innocent ignorance and mistakes

intersectionality and empathy and grace are so important and honestly rural america can be really beautiful and it really sucks to see it given up on in such a cruel way

I follow a person on tiktok who really embraces the idea of radical love and I think more people should too

#rural iowa #rural america #classism #intersectionality

[tantive404]

Recently, I came across these tweets, and I kind of can’t stop thinking about this.

I adore villain x heroine ships and dynamics, and frequently find myself pondering what it is I love so much about them. One thing I’ve come to notice is this very idea: the importance of the male villain’s desire for her… his near-obsession and the fact that he is threatened by her. And, as mentioned in those tweets, part of what makes that so special is the rarity of seeing men or male characters treat women as being so important, as being valid or worthy of consideration as a threat. To me, it can be almost empowering to explore such dynamics through fiction.

One of my favorite movies, of course, is Star Wars: A New Hope, and primarily because I’ve always been absolutely obsessed with whatever is going on with Leia and Vader and Tarkin there. It always draws me right in… the powerful Dark Lord near-obsessively chasing down this tiny defiant young princess, slaying so many soldiers and going through such effort, so adamant that she be brought to him alive.

And from there, she’s treated as a high-class prisoner, heavily guarded and locked up tight, interrogated ruthlessly… but resisting with all the strength and pride of a leader in an underdog rebel movement. She’s essentially the one who is the key to the entire story.

As for Tarkin, he spends much of his screen time dealing with Leia… focused on how best to break the rebel prisoner who holds such key information in this galaxy-spanning war. Most famously, of course, this is illustrated with the destruction of Alderaan… an entire planet wiped away as an act of spite and a means to manipulate the girl he regards as a critical enemy. He is rather creepy and demeaning to her, too, but this only serves to add to a complex power dynamic worth exploring….

Moreover, I imagine it is rare to see a powerful military man treating a nineteen-year-old young woman as a credible threat to his Empire, but in ANH, it’s very much the case. And with the villain/heroine subtext I rather enjoy envisioning from their little scenes together, it can be quite captivating and unique.

There are a lot of similarly enjoyable pairings in many mahou shoujo series— Usagi and Dimande in Sailor Moon, Ichigo and Kisshu in Tokyo Mew Mew, and all manner of Pretty Cure rarepairs— where young girls simply trying their best are the ultimate key to defeating evil and have an ongoing rivalry/love-hate relationship with the worst of monsters. The subtext in such dynamics is fun to explore just as it popular in fandom to do with many popular male superheroes and their archenemies— Batman and the Joker, for instance.

In fact, even when it comes to the most cliche and stereotypical damsel-in-distress stories, the inciting incident, the villain’s capture of the innocent girl, always comes from his inherent desire for her— whether it be her beauty or status, or some form of obstacle which she presents to his evil plan.

It’s so strange and fascinating to think that these sorts of dynamics, particularly when it comes to ship discourse in fandom, are often decried as “toxic” and “abusive”. It’s not as if there aren’t some very dangerous power dynamics at play— which only makes these relationships that much more fun to explore in fiction— but so too can they truly serve as a power fantasy for women and girls, who are so often told made to feel as if we aren’t important.

Sometimes I just need a villain to chase me across the galaxy and regard me as his “worthy foe”, you know? 🥺🥰

#villain x heroine #enemies to lovers #damsel in distress #terrible analysis by tantive #tarkin x leia #leia and vader #willeia #vaderleia #usagi x dimande #kisshigo #leia organa #darth vader #wilhuff tarkin #i am just having some thoughts ok #I love it when a plucky tiny girl is pursued by a creepy dangerous villain #it’s fun

[aero-sense]

Hello! We're finally at the most exciting part of the play through: the Southern Air Temple! The Gaang stop by a village that used to accommodate the monks. I really like that the game confirms there were communities around the Air Nomads and that the genocide affected them as well.

If you have any interest in the Air Nomads, or Atla's world building in general, I would recommend reading the rest of this post!

This is a detailed playthrough, not a critical review. I'm doing this for fun, not for accuracy.

The Air Temple

So the village is located on one of the islands around the Southern Air Temple. The villagers have a long history living in harmony with air benders. In fact, many aspects of their culture is intertwined on them: they passed down stories of Air Nomads for generations, their mechanical devices were reliant on airbending, and they would maintain gardens for the monks to visit and meditate in.

The village is in a serene location, surrounded by waterfalls and cherry blossoms high in the mountains. It reminds me of the Fire Nation spa that Iroh and Zuko visit in the first episode of B2, which have... unfortunate implications.

There's a windmill that a villager said that only an airbender can fix and I wonder, can air bending permanently shape the environment? Like how water bending can redirect streams and earth bending can shape the landscape, could air bending permanently redirect the wind?

I think it was a dropped plotline in B1 the mystery how the Fire Nation got up the Air Temples. There's plausibly answers why like the dragons, but we never get a confirmed reason why and it's never further explored. However, I think it is implied there is something other than the dragons or whatever technology the FN had then that allowed them to reach the temples.

The parallel of a villager asking for help to repair a statue, a memoir of their sister community, compared to Lian, ready to destroy the remaining untouched relics of the Air Nomads, committing more to their cultural genocide.

The village was also attacked for being in such close proximity to the Air benders. The Fire Nation stole the village's flag to demoralize them. It's also likely that the FN routinely raided the village was to see if they were hiding any Air benders.

It's nice that the community also believes that there might be survivors out there. Unlike Aang's somewhat naive hope that they did, if this village that went through the air nomad genocide themselves believe that they survived, their survival has more credibility.

There's a quest to help a man find his missing mother that disappeared during the winter's solstice. It seems that get stuck in the spirit world is a common phenomenon?

Aang gets horrified and angry seeing the state of the Air Nomad sanctuary. He gets quite talkative, comparing the wreckage to his memory. Guess this confirms Aang had visited this village before too. It's quite sweet his friends help fix the sanctuary.

Cute how when Aang's meditating, all his friends crowd around to watch.

There's an sad owl spirit (no not the one you're thinking of) that resides in the sanctuary, driving off visitors. After fixing up the sanctuary, the owl thanks you, as it can go back to the spirit world. So I guess spirits can get trapped on the other side too?

Even the seeds of the trees are sick with grief for the monks. Something about even the simplest action the Air Nomads did, as visiting the garden, had a lasting effect on the earth that carried on for generations.

This is like the third time! Fishing is the cause of martial troubles!!! Fishermen beware!!1

The way the music and ambience changes completely in the FN ship, like a horror movie. The FN traps include explosives, shooting fire in your face, and trapping you in a sauna that burns you to death.

I haven't given it much focus on the machines but their designs are pretty cool. I like how clunky they are, like they were slapped together last minute, and how they fit into the show's steampunk aesthetic. They have details like the air balloons dragging on the ground in circles, or how the water spouts dig underground to shoot out water.

There's an interesting moment between Haru and Katara that show their differences. Haru has absolute faith in Aang, to the point of overestimating him, and is more concerned what he can do for the endangered villagers. Katara is worried too, but she knows Aang isn't infallible and knows better than anyone that it helps to have a friend to rely on in times of need.

[DS]

Apparently the Air Nomad genocide along with the Fire Nation raids devastated the village to such a degree that they temporarily let their home, and only recently returned.

We get to visit the council room of hanging wisterias that was in the show. It's the same place Aang was told he was the avatar and he found out they were going to send him away.

Now we're finally at the part of the game is what made me start this play through series. There's a special cutscene in the game where Aang laments about his failure for his people and Monk Gyasto's spirit shows up to comfort Aang. They play a game, and Gyasto's happy he got to play with Aang after so long. He tells him not to blame himself for the past and to focus on the world that needs him now. It's a very sweet how the game goes out of it's way to resolve Monk Gyasto and Aang's relationship.

[PSP]

It's nice that there's people relieved to see an air bender as a symbol of hope, a survivor, instead of the avatar.

Apparently the Air Temples used to have many people coming up to visit. They would stop at the village and I imagine that's how they made most of their commerce. Now there would be an odd person every once in a while trying to get to the temple, but it would be incredibly hard and they would come back down with injuries. I assume the Air Nomads would have been the ones to help the visitors up the mountains, likely with their bison, so there's still the mystery how the Fire Nation got up there.

#this was a really fun part of the game #the ds cutscene is why i bothered playing all these different versions #was it worth it? ehhh lol #atla #atla the game (2006) #literary game sense #aang #katara #haru #air nomads

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (21-27 Jan 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 Cat Person (The_She_Devil) - 72K, shrunkyclunks - Bucky's the SHIELD agt tasked with bringing newly defrosted Steve up to speed on the 21st century - there's really hot sex in a secluded cabin PLUS feelings. All around deliciousness.

😊 Dark Carnivals: Modern Horrors and the Origins of American Empire (W. Scott Poole, author; Enrique McGavin, narrator) - interesting, edifying, depressing. Not as much discusssion of the films as I expected/would have liked - like 70% rundown of USian imperial activities of the last two centuries, 30% horror/scifi film discussion. [In hindsight, should have read this in text, as there were passages I really wanted to highlight/quote and the narration was…weird. Voice sound & tone was OK but there were lots of bizarre pauses. Sometimes when reading a quotes from a notable figure, the narrator did do some very credible imitations of Clinton & Reagan.]

😍 Waking Up Slow (odetteandodile) - 44K, shrunkyclunks - single dad Bucky, living in a isolated lighthouse in Canada, finds an amesiac, just-thawed Steve Rogers washed up on his beach… (reread for stucky bookclub, forever fave!)

😊 for a good time, call… (EvanesDust) - 46K, sterek, omegaverse fake-dating - solidly enjoyable

😊 Maurice (E.M. Forester, author; Peter Firth, narrator) - read this for a discord book club, can't believe I hadn't read it before & it's been 30 years since I watched the movie. Forester's language & turn of phrase is amazing.

🥰 And My Love Life Waits for Me (Bittersweet_in_Boston (author); Alaskan_Outsider (artist)) - 62K, shrunkyclunks soulmate fic - satisfyingly enjoyable, not nearly as dark as the tags might make you think

💖💖 +190K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Own Me series (nrnyx) - TW: Jordan/Derek /Stiles, 62K (series) - Stiles gets picked up by husbands Jordan & Derek at the club and what starts as a very hot one night stand becomes so much more. Very werewolfy omegaverse stuff. Hot quality smut but also action-y plot!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Goncharov (berlincorpography) - Goncharov (1973): OFC / OFC, 6K - very clever & funny fic featuring disaster lesbians, film criticism & academia

Once Upon a Time (softestpunk) - The Sandman: Dreamling, 14K - just so soft & warm, pure delight! They're both single dads! Falling in love! Dream is a children's librarian!

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - s8, e5-10

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Not All Who Wanda Are Lost" (s21, e3)

D20: Adventuring Party - "I Wanda'd In" (s16, e3)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

What Next: TBD - Have Algorithms Ruined Our Culture?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Whimzeyland

The Sporkful - Deep Dish With Sohla And Ham: Delta Tamales

Today, Explained - Frosty the Tesla

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Slowjamastan

It's Been a Minute - Benny Safdie on 'The Curse' — and performing goodness

Shedunnit - A Reading Life

Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2024 Oscar Nominations

Switched on Pop - Kali Uchis takes on the world

Today, Explained - Modi’s temple grandstanding

⭐ Vibe Check - A Special Conversation with Cord Jefferson

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

Code Switch - What happens when public housing goes private?

ICYMI - The TikTok Joy of Mychal the Librarian

Vibe Check - Heavy Negro Sigh

Culture Gabfest - True Detective’s Coldest Case Yet

Ologies with Alie Ward - Carcinology (CRABS) Part 2 with Adam Wall

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - A Giant Spectacle in Goffstown

Films To Be Buried With - Vincent D'Onofrio

The Sporkful - Deep Dish With Sohla And Ham: Tteokbokki

Off Menu - Ep 218: Jada Pinkett Smith

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Into the Huluverse

Endless Thread - The schism at the end of the tunnel

Dear Prudence - My Husband Stopped Using Soap and He Stinks. Help!

⭐ 99% Invisible #567 - The Double Kick

You're Dead to Me - Pythagoras

It's Been a Minute - South Africa's case for preventing genocide in Palestine; plus, why people love cults

Today, Explained - Music’s Pitchfork in the road

99% Invisible - Roman Mars Describes Chicago As It Is

Hit Parade - The Bridge: The Number of the Nominees Shall Be Five

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Folk Radio • Chill

Pop Radio • Downbeat

Dive Bar Karaoke

"Unholy" [Sam Smith & Kim Petras] radio

Essential New Wave

Melanie Radio • Familiar

My Mix 4 (Jimmy Buffett, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Eagles)

#sunday reading recap #bookgeekgrrl's reading habits #bookgeekgrrl's soundtracks #fanfic ftw #b99 #d20 #folk music #new wave music #rip melanie #hit parade podcast #99% invisible podcast #20k hz podcast #vibe check podcast #you're dead to me podcast #switched on pop podcast #shedunnit podcast #the sporkful podcast #endless thread podcast #the atlas obscura podcast #ologies podcast #off menu podcast #what next: tbd podcast #pop culture happy hour podcast #code switch podcast #it's been a minute podcast #today‚ explained podcast #culture gabfest podcast #films to be buried with podcast #dear prudence podcast #icymi podcast

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

PINA - "Seasons march" clip - amazing movie for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders!

* * * * *

3-D Tribute to Artistic Impulse

By A.O. Scott

Dec. 22, 2011

One of the interesting and unexpected film stories of 2011 is about 3-D, which simultaneously lost commercial potency and gained artistic credibility. Those who dismiss the format as the industrial gimmick (and excuse for price gouging) that it frequently is may need to reconsider now that a handful of certified auteurs have given it a try. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, grand old men of baby-boomer Hollywood, have made 3-D children’s tales (“The Adventures of Tintin” and “Hugo”), which is certainly noteworthy. More remarkable, perhaps even astonishing, is that Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders, stalwarts and survivors of the iconoclastic New German Cinema of the 1970s, have used 3-D in new documentaries.

Mr. Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” and Mr. Wenders’s “Pina” are explorations of the artistic impulse, primordial and postmodern. “Pina” is a tribute to Pina Bausch, the German dancer and choreographer who died in 2009. Her work has appeared on film before; Pedro Almodóvar’s “Talk to Her” uses the dance “Café Müller” as an emotional touchstone. That piece, an obstacle course of wooden chairs and wild emotions set to music by Henry Purcell, figures prominently in “Pina,” encapsulating both Bausch’s aesthetic and Mr. Wenders’s desire to replicate on screen the depths and distances of the staging. A Photo Slide Show of Bausch’s Work

The dances in “Pina” take place on traditional stages and also on city sidewalks and tram cars (in Wuppertal, the northwestern German city where Bausch’s company is based), in forests and fields and, thanks to an especially ingenious coup de cinema, in what looks like a portable box. Alternating between highly stylized, precise gestures — of hands, fingers and faces as well as torsos and limbs — and more flowing and expressive movements, the dancers enact dramas of desire, sexual violence and the passage of time.

The cumulative effect is exhilarating and also a bit frustrating, since so many dances are included and woven together the audience does not have the chance to experience any single work in its entirety. But the power and intelligence of Bausch’s approach, which at times seems more cerebral than sensual, is communicated. And there are moments when her discipline and Mr. Wenders’s visual instincts harmonize perfectly, so that instead of enduring yet another well-meaning specimen of “dance on film” you are experiencing dance and film, fully and simultaneously.

In addition to the performances, “Pina” includes interviews with dancers, their words dubbed over their silent, contemplative faces. Instead of talking heads, they are thinking bodies, reflecting on the influence of their mentor. Their devotion to Bausch is evident, though the glowing tributes they offer also suggest that, like many charismatic artists, she cultivated something of a cult of personality. Diverse in age, body type and background, the dancers — speaking French, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese and other languages — convey their awe and gratitude in notably similar terms. “Pina used to say, ‘Be more crazy.’ ” “Pina used to say, ‘Surprise me.’ ” This is touching, but it leaves any analysis of her creative process and the ideas that drove it shrouded in a mist of generality.

But criticism is not really what Mr. Wenders intends. Choreography is a notoriously perishable art. Dances often struggle to outlive their creators. And “Pina” is, above all, an act of preservation, a memorial that is also a defiance of mortality — completely alive in every dimension.

PINA

Written and directed by Wim Wenders; directors of photography, Hélène Louvart and Jörg Widmer; edited by Toni Froschhammer; music by Thom Hanreich; produced by Mr. Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel, Wolfgang Bergmann, Gabriele Heuser and Dieter Schneider; released by Sundance Selects. In German, English, Russian, Italian, French, Slovenian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. This film is not rated.

#Pina #dance #choreography #dancers #dancing #Wim Wenders #documentary

[brooklynislandgirl]

A for Aphrodisiac (from Peter)

Spell It Out || -

Some part of Beth feels bad for Peter being trapped in this booth with her.

They'd worked their shift at the Centre and then decided catch a matinee. Doc doesn't need Peter to come in until tonight. Beth lets that go without comment because she knows how important their work is, how much it means for him to work with Dr Octavius ~if her feelings had ever changed, she would have cringed into oblivion over all the things she had and would have been willing to do during medical school~ and ultimately how vital it was to have something for himself, something that focused on his interests and no because he felt like he owed someone. Beth knows Peter will some day change the world. She only wishes he knew it too. Sometime during the movie they lifted the arm rest/cup holder between them and she'd curled up on the seat, leaning into him. His arm had come down and he'd held her close. There'd been a few tense moments where she ended up clutching his hand or burying her face in his chest. She holds up popcorn for him, he holds up the drink, the straw ~which she doesn't complain about for once~ angled so that she can take sips.

Then they'd opted to have an early supper, and the pizza place is surprisingly quiet. They were mid deconstructing the movie when she brought up the fact that the least credible part was the c-plotline, the romance between the tormented writer and his on-and-off again girlfriend.

"I jus' t'ink dat da demons were more plausible dan her feelings for him. Like none of it made sense. How committed dey could be when dey barely saw each oddah an' he's become increasingly isolated?"

She watches him wrestle with his expressions, as if desperately trying to remain neutral despite whatever discomfort she's provoked. He raises one hand to the nape of his neck and rubs at it as he formulates the sort of right response. And surprises her with a question.

She replies with lowering her chin and ducking her neck, eyes slightly wider than normal after she blinks. "I…uh."

There's something to that tilt of his head and the somewhat lopsided grin he offers that makes Beth take him more seriously. But answering him is a lot harder than he might imagine. Maybe because Beth doesn't really know, either.

"So, told ya, I t'ink dat I don' really feel like oddah people do. My brea'd doesn't catch in my t'roat when I see a handsome guy an' I don't get all giggly when pretty girl talk at me. Didn't even know what it felt like t' even wan someone until I was 'round eighteen or so. It was only dat one person, an' nevah anyone else. Now, ten years laddah, I guess… it al start wi' needin' some kind of closeness. A sense of connection wheddah it is emotional or spiritual. Dat all bein' true, I guess ya bes' chance of datin' me is if I actually friend-zone ya." She giggles, her nose crinkling faintly. "But yeah, someone I feel I know an' jus….get. No kine I can describe in any factual way. Only feelin'. Beyond dat?"

She pauses again. This time she chews on the inner corner of her lower lip in consideration. Beth doesn't seem to realise how she open her expressions are. How much she can say without uttering a single word.

"I guess feelin' comfortable enough to get close. I'm a very touchy person. Uhm feelin' like I can confide in dem wi'out fearin' criticism or bein' made fun of. Mebbe…mebbe proximity. Like fingers trailin' along my spine, or against my arm, an' I look up…an' he's right dere. Face soft, eyes dark an' gleamin'. My heart would feel fluttery den alla stars will seem to align an' I'll lean dat rest of da way…an' it'll be da perfect kiss. Sof' an' sweet an' gentle. Tender and lingerin'."

Her eyes are half closed and her elbows are now set on the table as she seems to be leaning toward him.

A few seconds later, she slumps back down with something of a dreamy sigh.

"Of course, dat all is predicated on…findin' someone t'ink I'm wor'd da wait."

"Put question sorta back on you? Wha' qualities ya look for in a girl make you interested? Wha' about dem make ya wanna stay?"

#Mahalo!Matt <333 #tangleweave #Scorched Earth|Peter Parker #Mashed Potato Effigies|Peter and Beth #Testaments They Told|Spider Verse #Brooklyn Stories|New York

[power-chords]

tbh mann really perplexed me w/heat2, lol. not that he NEEDED to make it explicit that vincent/neil is platonic - most straight guys wouldn't even think that was in question. but chris is repeatedly referred to as neil's brother, which makes hanna's lack of labeling seem even more ambiguous. why a heart-shaped locket, instead of oval? if mann didn't realize how that ending could be interpreted then he's clueless almost beyond belief. my best guess is that he just likes keeping it undefinable.

My take on his dramatic intention, in the total context of the movie and the book and close to 30 years of his own editorializing, is that their relationship is supposed to transcend categorization entirely. (Kind of like how he insists that Heat is not a genre film.) He’s been asked repeatedly about the obvious interpretation, for which there is cultural precedent and plenty credible suggestion within the story itself, I.E. whether Hanna and McCauley are his versions of the “double” or "doppelgänger" in film and literature. He always counters that it is not anything so simple or straightforward like that, and he’s right — but those pieces of symbolism have nevertheless been scattered throughout. Critics and academics are not pulling this out of their asses.

So it’s not an incorrect reading so much as an incomplete one, and I think this is what he keeps trying to clarify in his interactions with the press etc, to varying degrees of success. That motif is thoroughly established, right alongside the absolutely unrelenting insistence that these two dudes are star-crossed soulmates who have been brought together by fate. One of them is going to kill the other if they meet again, and they are also the other’s “only safe person” (Mann’s script annotations! His words, not mine!) with whom genuine honesty is possible. Mann’s whole thing is that both of these truths exist, and exist harmoniously as opposed to in contradiction (note how often he refers to Hanna and McCauley’s respective story arcs as being contrapuntal, that they are in collision more so than in conflict).

The paradox of their connection is introduced via these externalities, time and place and circumstance, what it is they do for a living. Who they are as individuals, he seems to be suggesting, makes them so essentially, cosmically compatible that even the institutional structures constraining their self-expression cannot diminish the bond. It defies the incompatible, irreconcilable spheres of their existence: cop and criminal, friend and enemy; it goes well beyond the rules of the zero-sum game of predator vs predator. (...So why not the rules of heterosexual attraction?)

These truths do not negate the other, but rather transform and amplify the strange magic of their connection, kaleidoscoping the audience's view of it, positioning it almost within the realm of the fantastic. What happens in the movie feels tragic, no doubt, but also dazzling and dynamic and profound and... oddly uplifting. Mann employs ambiguity, un-resolution, as an explosive emotional force multiplier, trying to induce this subjective experience of infinite possibility even as he seals off his characters’ exits. His goal is to cast this dreamlike spell on you, to induce a hallucinogenic sensory experience of contemplation and awe. So why subtract from that array and intensity of enjoyment when you could add yet more enchanting shapes and colors?

To that end, I think any reading that makes a point to exclude a romantic part in the subtextual symphony is arguably also incomplete. What Mann is trying to say, over and over again, is that absolutely everything I am presenting you with is real. These men are sworn enemies who will not abandon their professional and/or moral obligations, and they are platonic spiritual blood brothers bound by invisible cosmic filaments. OK, well, maybe they're also psychotically sexually repressed traumatized veterans and deep down some small part of them wants to crawl across the table and tear each others' Men’s Wearhouses off! Why the hell not! Clearly they already contain multitudes.

Funnily enough, the guy who introduced the screening I saw at MoMI back in May specifically referred to the film as a romance, and a theater FULL of straight dudes good-naturedly cheered. Of course they were also laughing, but they definitely didn’t have question marks floating above their heads. That signal is unequivocally in the broadcast, and it’s getting picked up on — to say nothing of the response to the infamous Chris Fleming tweet a few weeks ago! LOL. And since Mann’s films tend to incorporate “masculinity in crisis” as a major venue of thematic interest, allowing room for romance would be internally consistent. After all, what's more crisis-inducing to traditional norms of masculinity than a sudden realization that maybe capitalism sucks and you want to quit your job and Hey what if I just fucked that guy instead of shooting him??? I’m being hyperbolic for my own amusement, but the point remains. Love, children! It’s just a kiss away! ("Gimme Shelter" is in fact the song playing in Nate’s bar at the end of Heat 2 oh my god this isn’t even queerbaiting it’s second degree queer gaslighting, I feel insane.)

Jesus, this got out of control. TL;DR yes, he would have to be clueless. Or, more likely and perhaps more cynically, he would have to consider that analysis so self-evidently off the table as to be unconcerned with the subtext of coffee dates and tearful hand-holding. Or writing director’s notes to Al and Bob in the margins of the script for the diner scene: “ULTRA intimate now,” “both seduced, ironically,” or my personal favorite, “NOTE: exchanged dreams is when palship maximized.”

NOT going to bring this up as a part of my Plots & Schemes, lmao, although not because I’m not ballsy enough to do it or am insecure in my analysis. I honestly think I can make a solid, evidence-based case that is free and clear of any social media fandom brain worms. (My two spheres of artistic engagement are CONTRAPUNTAL, you could say.) I'm just not going to hand him the rolled up newspaper with which to swat me on the nose, so to speak. If I don’t bring it up he can’t hypothetically email me back, subject line IT’S NOT HORNY YOU SILLY BITCH, so perhaps I also thrive on the intoxicating magic of the ambiguous and undefined. Although getting that type of response would be funny enough to warrant the risk of an explicit refutation. I would just be like, a little bummed out if he didn’t go, “You know what, I see your point!” LOL.

[electrificata]

having music critic thots abt the weeknd im so so sorry

i saw the weeknd in concert last summer, it was amazing. i really dont like stadium shows usually, but his was killer, he had a cool stage concept (gently mad max-ish cult leader and his dancer-disciples, giant inflatable moon) and he's got the presence to fill up all that space. and ive been listening to him for almost a decade, obviously the music's there. actually the show i was at was where he debuted the trailer for the idol. its out now and i havent watched yet. i thought it looked cool then, but after everything ive heard.....im just really ambivalent.

in the early days, when he was keeping mysterious, no press, no photos, you didnt even know if the weeknd was a band or a guy. just this chilly, atmospheric, sleazy/sexy horror-movie r&b. nothing supernatural. but cruel. the lyrics were all about the worst kind of fuckboy shit, and obviously drugs, and the music really seemed to give proper weight to it. the speaker in the songs was awful, the music was telling you that his actions were violent and terrifying for the women he's hurting and for toxic for himself. if youre a person attracted to men, you know what its like to see how awful a guy can be and still be into him, maybe even BECAUSE of how awful he is. thats a fucking horror movie. those first xo eps are crazy, i still listen to them.

then he goes pop star. i remember the collab w/ ariana grande in 2014 was surprising but it found a perfect, plausible midpoint between their two universes. then he goes full max martin in 2015 with "can't feel my face" and again, bizarre to see this plausible way for the prince of darkness to get to the top 40 via a neo-michael jackson jam with a veiled drug reference as opposed to multiple explicit ones. but it made sense! he danced onstage now! i remember hearing it on the radio when i was picking my cousins up from middle school, that felt surreal.

and he just kept on doing the popstar thing. i dont think the sleaze ever really left, it just receded into the background. killer atmosphere, more pop hooks, a general darkness that felt credible coming from him because of the early stuff, its just lit with neon now. he gets increasingly more conceptual, which i love. i love a concept album. its still about fucked up relationships and now death more generally instead of drugs specifically. cool, great. i've been with him the entire time. that brings us up more-or-less to the present.

im not gonna recap all the shit around the idol, if you want it im sure theres an article or youtube video thatll do a better job than i can. ill just summarize my own thoughts: it feels like the sleaze is back, maybe some of the horror, but also Glamour. johnny depp's supermodel daughter has cum on her face. we're seeing headlines about how gross the sex scenes are. look how Glamorous this is. classic showbiz trick of using a cautionary tale about gross men preying on women to just....create images and narratives about gross men preying on women. this might be the place i cant follow him. i cant rule out watching it, i am a habitual hater and i might be in the mood to hate soon. but its making me think about the way we use glamour and beauty in entertainment. it cant be a default, it has an effect on the story.

#the weeknd #i used to have a tag for this shit cant remember what it is #armchair music critic #'i feel it coming' was absolutely crazy live. i can remember it in minute detail

[outlanderfandomfollies]

9

meokeob (geekygal90) is so disrespectful, insensitive, and inconsiderate. She doesn’t care about Sam. It’s all just self-serving to her. Her mocking of Sam on a daily basis just proves she’s the real homophobe in the fandom and not the people she criticizes who support and defend Sam.

It's still pointless to argue, but the closet crew's hypocrisy still pisses me off

@duchessclaire this is the last ask of yours I will answer (I also just temporarily turned off asks). I'm also only posting one of the 9 screencaps you sent me, and only the last part of your ask. I appreciate your concern about this issue, and your support of my blog, but as I previously said, it is pointless to try to argue with the closet crew because they are so far down the rabbit hole that they are not open to any argument that contradicts their perspective.

Is meokeob geekygal90?🤔

If you are suggesting duchessclaire that meokeob is geekygal90, it explains a lot. To the best of my memory (it has been years since she was prominent in the fandom) geekygal90 turned out to be someone with a manufactured back story and her claims about S have been debunked. But whether or not they are the same person, they have the same MO.

Clueless hypocrisy 💜💙💚💛

As I recall geekygirl90 based a lot of her assertions about S on gay stereotypes and heteronormative prejudices (much like the closet crew does now). Consequently, that she ended her "outing" rant with rainbow colored hearts caused this writer, who is bisexual, to have a little bit of a reaction.

"Outing" someone is not the way to be an LGBTQ+ ally

I don't believe that S is gay but geekygirl seems to think he is. However, in the above screencap she also appears to be a tad confused about whether S has a "right" not to "reveal" his sexuality.

First she seems to be justifying "outing" S as the act of an ally who is exposing homophobic [sic] in all its guises." Then she says the opposite, that it is S's "right" not to "reveal" his sexuality (which is a hypocritical statement given that she had already attempted to "out" S in her rant).

To my knowledge, in the LGBTQ+ community it is generally NOT okay to out someone unless they are an anti-gay politician or religious leader. (And DL folks don't count, no one takes them seriously.)

In an article about Harry Styles, The Danger With Speculating Someone's Sexual Identity, Sarah Sahim writes:

For those who don't know, The Trevor Project focuses on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth. One never knows the impact outing someone can have on their lives. This is why most responsible mental health professionals who work with people in the LGBTQ+ community are opposed to "outing" someone who chooses not to disclose their sexuality.

The "Lionsgate" rumors are NOT possible in today's world

geekygirl90 brings up the Lionsgate rumors in her rant in one of the screencaps I didn't post:

“So new boss Lionsgate hired bearding guru Jennifer Allen, a very willing MM who is a struggling actress under contract with them….”

First of all, in this day and age, it would NOT be legal for Lionsgate or any other studio to force an actor into the closet. All of that nonsense stopped in the 20th century (see POST). Sorry, but this is a belief straight out of the tinhat playbook. Furthermore, the claim that Jennifer Allen is a "bearding guru" appears to just be a DL rumor. I can't find any credible source to confirm that.

Let's talk about MM

In some screencaps that weren't included in this post, geekygirl90 went on and on with her DL "proof" that MM was S's "beard."🙄To me this was just nonsense. At the time that MM and S started dating, MM had a higher acting profile than S. She had starred in a primetime network show Forever, and had recently been in the movie Into the Woods. She was also dating Billy Magnussen, who at that time also had a higher acting profile than S. She also apparently was pretty well-off financially when they first met. Given all of that, why would MM have agreed to be the "beard" of a relatively unknown C-list actor? It makes no sense.

I'm not going to bother to refute all the "evidence" geekygirl90 used to "prove" that MM was a beard. I have debunked a lot of the rumors about MM in the past. You can find the links to many of those debunks in this POST. In addition, as someone who regularly manipulates photos for political satire, to me the claims that MM was photoshopped into certain photos aren't true. For more about two of the more controversial photos, see this POST.

In retrospect, MM only gained about 15,000 or so new followers because of her relationship with S. That's inconsequential by Hollywood standards. From what I can tell, dating S didn't help her career at all, nor did it make her an "influencer" (a goal for MM according to geekygal90). Again, that's because S is a C-list actor and no studio in their right mind would pay for a long-term "bearding contract" (even if such a thing were legally possible) for a C-list actor. Furthermore, only about 20,000 or so of S's fans worldwide care enough about him to bother following everything he does in his personal life. Given all of the above, the "bearding" conspiracy makes zero sense.

Finally, do you really think that S and MM would have involved their relatives in a "bearding" charade? You have to be desperate for the conspiracy to be true in order to believe that.

One last thing, geekygirl90 makes assertions that Abbie was also a "beard" for S. That is debunked in this POST.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Everything in meokeob's post that featured the geekygal90 screencaps is the same-old-same-old closet crew conspiracy. It's been debunked repeatedly but that doesn't stop meokeob from posting this nonsense over and over again.

Unless the closet crew comes up with something new (which is highly unlikely), it doesn't make sense for me to keep writing debunks about the same old things. So I would prefer people not ask me to do so. Feel free to reblog this post anytime you need to rebut the closet crew @duchessclaire. Links to some of my other closet crew debunks can also be found in this POST; you are free to reblog them as well.

[edited]

_______________

Image sources (before edits): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06

#closet crew debunk #outlander fandom #my edited gifs

[badedramay]

not to make you more angry with stupid stuff but was browsing maya and wahaj’s searches on twt bc of her recent support post for him (very sweet!) and came across some people saying maya’s never ascended to the same level as him bc she never progressed beyond being a director’s actor lol.. as if that hasn’t always been her strength bc she effortlessly varies character and tone to align with the director’s vision rather than solely projecting her own image onto a script 😭

this amuses me more than angers me. like..this newfound fandom of Wahaj is both extremely narrow minded but also frankly dense. it really thinks history starts from the day their fav shot to fame. as if Maya Ali hasn't achieved critical and commercial success from wayyyyyy before Wahaj Ali even had two fans to rub against each other. just cuz they weren't present there to see it doesn't mean it never happened. Maya Ali was THE RAGE during Mann Mayal. and not just on social media oh no no. Mannu was the talk of the town. her performance got her a Lux Style Award back when the show still had the credibility of being the most coveted award of the industry. both of her movies have been box office successes with her debut movie doing record business for a non-holiday release. like..she doesn't have to PROVE her stardom. she's beyond that point. she doesn't have to resort to doing any aera gera project or endorsement. she has the luxury to pick the best. she's "exclusive" in an industry which runs on selling-out.

as for the "director's actor" thing being a jab toh like isn't Wahaj currently being praised for being "groomed" by the best of the industry directors (Haissam Hussain)???? if it's such a gaali for an actor to being a "director's actor" why using Haissam's praise as medal of honor for Wahaj??? make it make sense?? directors often have a vision that is miles ahead of an actor's limited understanding and only a director's actor can easily mold themselves into different shapes to fill up the vision instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. Maya's ability to completely sink herself in the CHARACTER and giving herself up completely to the director's vision is a GIFT and the ones who have worked with her are aware of that.

the outpouring of love for Wahaj is..yes fine, he deserves it the man has worked HARD to reach here. but good lord this undertone of undermining EVERYONE ELSE who had a part to play in him being at that position is embarrassing. and also dangerous. cuz this glass castle is bound to break one day or the other. fireworks kitne hi bright kyun na ho akhir ko sanatay mein gum ho hi jaate hain. he is sparkling now but it's far far FAR too early to say if that shine is that of a firework or of the north star that is always present in the night sky for guidance.

#type: opinion #wahaj ali #maya ali #twtbs

[alexstorm]

And real people could mean genuine people or just people in general. That he usually doesn't have many relationships in general which, duh, we know given how much he holds onto the people he does have a relationship with. // to be honest he’s kinda lost credibility for me. It’s so hard for me believe what he says. Don’t know if that actually matters or just hoping that you like someone genuine and honest. I think he’s one of those people who romanticizes hardships, the “suffering artist” cliché, but won’t be able to handle an actual tough situation. We saw that in 2018. It’s like Jane Birkin saying “who wants an easy life? It’s boring” but in fact all she did was getting (bad) movie roles through connections cause she was born in a rich and famous family, then made a career out of a much publicized relationship. Not saying she always had it easy but she didn’t have to do what most people do to be in that position. People who have never actually lived a hard life think it’s cool to be depressed but in reality can’t handle a headache

Not sure why we have to unnecessarily talk about Birkin again when we don’t even talk about Louise. There are so many other examples but you guys don’t seem to come out of your little sandbox either much like Alex.

Also don’t get how Alex lost credibility. Have you taken everything he said before at face value? I always question everything celebrities say no matter how nice or affable they are. Critical thinking is key in not falling for every bullshit. It’s just easier to believe with Alex because he put on this attitude but clearly it’s not the case.

#asks

[helena-lena]

Sometimes I review movies and tv shows, and these past few days I've been struggling to put down my thoughts about Netflix's Queen Cleopatra. The docuseries is a mess, on a structural level, and there's also the mess going about around the show and their choice of casting a black woman to play Cleopatra, which pissed off a lot of Egyptians, culminating in an international lawsuit against Netflix and the announcement of an Egyptian series about Cleopatra to rival Netflix's.

But here's the thing. I'm a journalism student, and I see things through the lens of influence and benefit ( basically manipulation through media). And this got me thinking: besides Egyptians wanting to protect their cultural heritage, isn't this also a matter of Media- in this case, a steaming service with billions of users all over the planet- changing reality on some levels?

The fact that Queen Cleopatra is presented as a documentary already implies that all that the series shares with the audience is true. Right? That's why they go out of their way to interview specialists: credibility.

So off they go, deliberately making some changes and starting the pilot with the phrase "I don't care what they tell you at school, Cleopatra was Black". And just like that, the agenda is stated.

The show producers must have known that it would most definitely start a discussion. And with billions of watchers... What is the percentage of people that would watch the show and start to believe it?

How many people does it take to change social and historical perceptions? And is it enough for future generations to disregard historical accuracy altogether?

Maybe that's what the media has always done, it creates a simulation of reality in which it controls everything. But I've just woken up to tge range of it and I'm worried.

I see in my own generation the lack of critical thinking skills, and its dangers... How do we fight it?

Disinformation and misinformation, I mean.

#netflix #queen cleopatra #media #misinformation #disinformation #dunno how to tag this #just ranting #critical thinking #what is reality