#accepted: macbeth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

swampjawn · 1 month

Text

God I love animation. I love it for the way it can bring anything to life beyond the constraints of boring ol' reality, but also the ways that it's inextricably linked to, and draws on the conventions of live-action film-making.

So fuck it, let's look at how Hayao Miyazaki straight up copies some camera framing techniques from his predecessor and the other most influential Japanese filmmaker of all time, Akira Kurosawa! (Kurosawa really was the master of framing scenes around his characters, so he's a great source of inspiration)

(btw, this is a screenshot from this TV special where the two met for the first time just after the release of Kurosawa's final film. It's pretty interesting, and also very cute how nervous Miyazaki seems to be to meet one of his idols.)

Specifically, how the two each choose to break the 180 degree rule (well, not technically 'break' in the case of Kurosawa) to show their protagonists' changing destiny in "Throne of Blood" and "Princess Mononoke".

For anyone who doesn't know, the 180 degree rule is a basic film-making rule of thumb which states that in any scene where two characters interact, you should draw an imaginary line between them and the camera should always stay on one side of that line.

("In the Mood for Love" - Wong Kar-wai)

This way, one character is always looking to the right of the camera, the other is always looking to the left, and the audience doesn't get confused by the geography of the scene. Crossing this line can be disorienting, but when done intentionally, it can convey a paradigm shift of some kind in the scene.

In this scene from "Throne of Blood," (a feudal Japanese retelling of Macbeth) Washizu's wife Asaji discusses tactics with him and tries to convince him to aspire to the throne and to assassinate his lord Tsuzuki while he sleeps.

As two servants appear to notify them that Washizu's sleeping quarters are prepared, the camera dollies left and around the characters' backs. This camera movement is motivated by the motion of the servants' torches outside the room, but it also signifies a change in Washizu's outlook.

Washizu is completely silent for most of this scene, contemplating his wife's advice. But as the camera slides behind his back and across the line of action, the scene is now re-framed, illustrating his change in perspective.

He's been convinced and the trajectory of his life is about to change - and now, facing away from the camera, is the time for action.

Because the camera slides smoothly across the line, Kurosawa isn't technically breaking the 180 degree rule. Miyazaki on the other hand, takes it a little further.

The complimentary scene in Princess Mononoke comes near the start when the wise woman of the village reads Prince Ashitaka's fortune after he's cursed by the wild boar spirit. She tells him that it is his fate to leave the village and travel to the west, where he may be able to lift the curse on his arm. The trajectory of Ashitaka's life changes in this moment too. As he accepts his fate, the change is symbolized by him cutting off his hair, but also by the camera jumping the line.

Throughout this dialogue scene and even as he cuts his hair, the simulated camera sits just slightly to the side of Ashitaka's left shoulder.

But once it's done, for the final shot, the scene is reframed and we jump to the other side, where Ashitaka is now looking to the right of the camera instead of the left.

Making the camera dolly across a scene like Kurosawa's version in 2D animation is no simple task, so this transition with a simple cut is in a way subtler, in another way a bit more jarring, but it conveys the same meaning.

This is the moment when our protagonists make the choice to embark on a new destiny and re-frame their lives.

This has been an excerpt from a short video essay I made a while back, which not many people watched. I think this is at least in part due to my failure to package it well, and it seems you tumblheads like this animation/cinematography analysis stuff, so this is an experiment to see if, with the help of y'all, and a new title and thumbnail, it's at all possible to give this video a second wind in the eyes of the Youtube Gods!

So if you found this interesting, I'd appreciate if you checked it out! Thanks for reading!

youtube

#Also i spent a lot of time on the little animated bit at the start so please watch it lol #animation analysis #mini essay #video #video essay #princess mononoke #throne of blood #hayao miyazaki #akira kurosawa #Youtube #gif warning

891 notes · View notes

fandomsandfeminism · 2 years

Text

"Romeo and Juliets romance is just so unrealistic! It's not what a romance is like in MY experience!"

Oh? Oh really? You, adult living in 2022, you never went to a fancy Venetian masquerade in the 1590s and met a mysterious stranger and then your first conversation spontaneously forms a perfect sonnet? That's not a totally relatable experience for you?

Is Macbeth unrealistic because of the witches? Is Midsummer unrealistic because of the love potion?

Like, there's no explicit magic in Romeo and Juliet, but it still exists in a heightened reality, and overlooking the role that language plays within the text itself kneecaps your analysis of the intent.

When we hear of Romeo, his dad and friends are discussing his recent sad mood- he's upset because the girl he likes has no interest in him. His friends try to distract him from it with a party, but dont really seem to...connect with or fully empathize with his sadness. When we first hear of Juliet, her father and Paris are planning her marriage (without her input.) They are both talked about but not really listened to. The way they are spoken about isolates them from others.

Then they meet, and with no knowledge of each other, not even their names, they click into perfect rhythm. They finish each other rhymes. They form perfect ABAB quatrains in conversation, their sentences form a rhyming *couplet* at the end.

You know the song Ana sings with Hans in Frozen? Love is an open door? We finish each others- Sandwiches? Yeah- it's riffing on this. The idea that you meet someone perfect and right away your souls can make poetry together. The immediate intimacy of being so in sync that your introduction is a love poem.

I don't know, yall. Romeo and Juliet isn't a gritty hyper-realistic Oscar nominated docu-drama. It teters on the edge of fairy tale and myth, it leans on its language to convey deeper emotional truths that a 5 act play doesn't have the time to develop as deeply as we, in our world of movie montages and long form TV, are more accustomed to. This isn't a slow burn, pining, enemies to friends to lovers. It's soul mates love at first sight, and when you accept that, the play can get on with the business of saying what it wants to say about hate and the cycle of violence and social rules and decorum and how grudges and blood fueds can destroy the magic in the world if we let it.

"It doesn't matter if they are really in love. They should be allowed to be stupid hormonal teenagers without dying" I see many people say, and while I think that sentiment is true, I DO think it matters that they are in love. I think it matters that their meeting sparks a sonnet, and that poetry is snuffed out by the violence around them.

I think it matters that what they had wasn't an arranged marriage or a "good match" made by approving friends- that it was spontaneous and instant and inexplicable, but that the world couldn't let that be because it defied all the rules. Because it wasn't set up by parents and wasn't politically convenient, because it wasn't part of a proper, prolonged courtship with chaperones and social approval- it was love and poetry that defied all of that and so it was snuffed out. That they are pushed to such extremes not just by the killings, but by Juliets impending engagement to Paris, they have to act now because their love doesnt fit into the proper pattern set out by society- I think that matters.

#romeo and juliet #im all for modern remakes that take whatever modern readings they want #but Im hesitant to AGREE with all the grown ups in the play that their love cant be real because it didnt happen the right way #they speak a sonnet together the first time they meet!

5K notes · View notes

thewintersbloom · 3 months

Text

my love mine all mine | dave lizewski (f)

♡ pairing : dave lizewski x fem!reader

♡ summary : like dave said, ever since you sat down beside him in that literature class, his and your lives have never been the same.

♡ warnings : none, pure fluff.

♡ word count : 2.9k

♡ a/n : hello, posting my first ever work on tumblr, it took me a while to write this out but it's finally done and im so excited to share it with you all, i lovee atj 🥰 thank you, happy reading and please do like, reblog and leave your precious feedback. ❤️

It's been a week since you've joined your new highschool, the nature of your parents' jobs had your family moving often so this wasn't the first time you're the new kid at school but it definitely wasn't easier. You walk into your first class of the day, Literature, looking for vacant seats and there is one next to the jock, Jaden and there's no way in hell you're making the mistake of sitting next to him again like on your second day of school where you had to put up with his tall tales, his narcissism and his absolutely cringe attempts at flirting, You made it very very clear that you weren't the least bit interested in him and changed seats.

There's another vacant seat in the middle next to Dave, Dave Lizewski who's apparently busy doodling something in his notebook. Deciding to take the seat next to him, you walk further into the classroom, feeling everyone's eyes on you.

“Hi, is this seat taken?” You ask him, smiling and Dave looks up with a jump, snapping his notebook shut, clearly not expecting anyone to ask for the seat next to him. The rest of your classmates snicker but you've long learnt the art of ignorance as you smile and repeat your question, trying to put him at ease, for you can see he's flustered as he adjusts his glasses, the tips of his ears turning pink.

“Uh, n– no. You can sit.” He replies with a small smile, shifting in his seat.

“Thanks, I'm ________ btw, the new kid.” You introduce yourself and take out a bar of chocolate from your bag, breaking it in half and offering the other to Dave as he chuckles a bit.

“I'm Dave Lizewski, thank you and do you offer chocolates everytime you introduce yourself?” Dave smiles, accepting the half a bar of chocolate.

“No, only to the people I like or feel comfortable with.”

You watch as the tips of his ears turn pink again and so does his cheeks as he looks down at his hands for a moment and then looks back at you, readjusting his glasses as his smile, adorably shy and warm, makes your heart skip a beat. His beautiful blue eyes lock into yours, taking your breath away.

“Btw, I know you Dave. I really liked the points you mentioned in the last class about Macbeth.”

“Really? I didn't think anyone was listening.” Dave responds, surprise very much evident in his voice and you wonder why because his points were really good, they helped you in understanding the topic much better and you remember applauding for him after, when he was praised by the teacher for the very same.

“Well, I was and they really helped me with the homework. It's just that we've never had the chance to talk.”

“I'm glad then and well, we're talking right now, aren't we?”

There was that adorable shy smile again, the one that made your heart skip a beat and you blush a little this time, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. Your conversation is interrupted as your literature teacher walks into the class and it's filled with the hush of quiet chatter and rustling pages as the lesson begins.

You try to concentrate as your teacher explains the Aristotle's tragic plot structure but every time your foot gently bumps against Dave's and your fingers brush against his on the table while taking notes or when he asks for a spare pen, the butterflies in your stomach has your mind wandering and you know he feels it too, evident in the way you both are flustered and look away shyly when your eyes meet.

You scribble on a piece of paper and slide it over to Dave, who reads it, a smile lighting up his handsome features as he writes something and then passes it back to you.

Wanna have lunch together?

Sure!

Lunch Break couldn't come soon enough.

Todd and Marty share a look as Dave keeps glancing at the cafeteria door every two seconds, checking his watch, adjusting and readjusting his glasses and toying with his food on the lunch tray.

“Do you think he's in love?” Marty asks Todd who takes a sip of his soda.

“Too early to be in love though, he just met her this morning but for sure, he likes her.” Todd replies, pointing his fork towards Dave who rolls his eyes at their conservation.

“I'm right here you morons.” He throws a piece of discarded napkin towards them, “Besides, there's no way she's ever gonna like someone like me. She's cool, smart, funny, beautiful and wayyy out of my league.”

“Then why do you think she asked you to have lunch together?” Todd asks, gently poking Dave with his fork.

Before he could answer, you rush over to their table with your lunch tray, placing it down beside his.

“Hi, Hi. Sorry, I got held up in history class, wanted to clear some points for the project which is due next week.” You smile at Dave as you sit down next to him.

Your arms brush and the butterflies from the morning return in full force.

“It's okay.” Dave clears his throat, smiles and then introduces you to his two friends and you to them.

“It's good to finally meet you, Dave hasn't stopped talking about you since morning.” Marty quipped and Dave kicked him under the table.

“Well, I haven't stopped thinking about Dave since this morning either.” You blurt out as you dig into your lunch but realizing what you just said, your eyes go wide and you cough awkwardly, reaching out for your can of soda.

“What?” Dave asks, eyes wide.

“What?” You ask, feigning innocence.

“You just said—”

“I–”

You know what you just said and you just wish for the earth to swallow you whole, like… that wasn't supposed to be said out so loud!!

“Because I have been–”

“Me too–”

You both try to talk but keep getting shy-er, the longer you look into each other's eyes when the bell rings announcing the end of the lunch break.

“Looks like we were right.” Todd speaks as he and Marty look at you and Dave with matching shit eating grins on their faces.

A week later, Dave is at the library, browsing through the shelves for some reference books that'll help with his economics homework when he sees you walking in. Ever since that day at the cafeteria you both have been talking, hanging out in between classes, having lunch together and have been going over at each other's places for study sessions but haven't really talked about what you both had wanted to say back then.

Taking a deep breath, Dave walks over to the history section where you were looking through some reference books as well. He catches a whiff of your sweet intoxicating scent ~ subtle hints of rose and sandalwood and his mind wanders again, wanting nothing more than to sink and drown in your scent.

“Hey.” Dave whispers and you turn around to greet him with a smile, that sweet smile of yours which has his heart skipping a beat.

“Hey.” You step closer to him, whispering as well. “I haven't seen you since morning and you weren't in class either, even Todd and Marty had no idea where you were. Is everything okay Dave?”

“Yeah.. Yeah, everything's fine, just got caught up in some.. stuff, you know.” Dave nods in response, adjusting his glasses as he shifts on his feet. He hates lying to you and knows that you won't be convinced by his answer, he wants to tell you about his superhero identity, about Kick-Ass but this was neither the right time nor the place.

“I was wondering if we could have a study session tonight to prepare for the big history test next week?”

“That will be perfect, I've been meaning to ask if you want to study together for the test, you can come to my place, my parents will be out celebrating their anniversary tonight, we'll have the whole house to ourselves.”

“So, we'll be alone?” Dave leans on one of the shelves, a flirtatious smirk on his lips. He hasn't flirted much in his life, so this might not work at all but he wants to try, for you.

“Yup.” You reach up to pull out another book from the shelf.

“We can do a lot more things apart from studying if we're all alone.”

You turn to look at him, a soft gasp escaping your lips when you realize how close Dave’s face is to yours as he stands with his arms crossed at his chest. The serene deep blue hues of his eyes sparkled in the soft rays of the sun coming in from the library's skylight, you wonder what it would be like to run your fingers through his soft dark curls, you wonder what it would be like to feel his soft kissable lips against yours, while his fingers draw mindless patterns on your skin.

Unable to accurately grasp the weight of the book you were pulling out, you stumble, about to fall down on your back when two strong arms wrap around your waist, stabling you.

“I’ve got you.” Dave speaks, gently plucking the book out of your hands.

You are pressed to his chest, aware of the rhythmic rise and fall of it, looking into the tranquil blue of his eyes while his breath fans your skin and the heat of his body has your mind conjuring up all the fantasies you've had about him.

Dave tucks a stray lock of hair behind your ear as your heart feels like it would beat out of your chest,

“I’ll see you tonight at 7.” He smiles and you manage to nod, thanking him.

Shouldering his backpack, Dave turns to leave but then turns back again, places a soft, sweet kiss on your cheek and walks out of the library, his cheeks and ears an adorable shade of red.

You stand there for a good few minutes, one hand on your chest, trying to calm your racing heart and the other on your cheek where Dave just kissed, he kissed you. Dave Lizewski, the boy you've been dreaming about since the last few weeks, kissed. you. on. the. cheek.

You squeal as you jump, pumping your fists in the air and kicking your feet. The other students laugh and the librarian sends you a warning glare but you really don't give a damn, you are so excited to see Dave tonight.

Dave is running late.

He was supposed to be at your place an hour ago, but at the subway station, two thugs were cornering an old lady and a little girl, threatening them to hand over whatever they had on them or to pay with their lives.

The thugs were taken care of and by that he meant, tied to one of the pillars of the station after he kicked their asses. The old lady and her granddaughter were safe (something he had learned while escorting them to safety) and the little one had thanked Kick-Ass with a hug.

Dave now makes his way to your home, his superhero suit safely concealed beneath his regular clothes as he hears police sirens in the distance, wincing in pain with every step he takes. Though Dave has a high pain threshold due to his damaged nerve endings, he still has bruises and cuts and he's pretty sure both his elbows are scraped and bleeding.

When the doorbell rings, you run downstairs after taking a last look at yourself in the mirror and take a deep breath to calm the butterflies in your stomach before answering the door but your smile vanishes as Dave stands in the doorway with a busted lip, cuts and bruises as far as your eyes can see. He gives you a slight smile as he tries to move closer to greet you when he winces in pain and you rush forward to help him.

“Oh my god Dave, what happened to you? You're bleeding! Let me just grab my coat and then I'll drive you to the hospital. Do you want me to call your dad? I can call Mr Lizewski and he can meet us at the hospital.” You speak, trying to clamp down on the panic rising in your chest as you pull out your cellphone when Dave gently holds your wrist, shaking his head.

“Baby, breathe.” He smiles, looking into your eyes. The word of endearment from him coupled with his smile and gorgeous blue eyes calm your nerves a bit as you take a deep breath.

“It's not that bad, I have a high threshold for pain, remember? Damaged nerve endings?”

“It's not that bad? Dave, are you kidding me? You're bleeding! You have a busted lip, cuts and bruises, both your elbows are scraped and bleeding!” You point out the growing red patches on his shirt sleeves.

“Okay, that is bad but it's nothing a first aid kit can't fix. Trust me, I've been injured before and fixed myself up just fine.”

You have a lot of questions and Dave understands that, he wants to answer each and every one of them, wants to tell you about Kick-Ass and put all his cards on the table on the first date when he asks you out tonight, fingers crossed.

“Okay, but we are going to the hospital if anything's serious.”

“Promise.”

You dab a gauze pad in antiseptic liquid to clean the cut on Dave's forehead after cleaning and dressing his scraped elbows and you had to get rid of his favorite shirt to clean the wounds, much to Dave's unhappiness as he pouted a bit but nothing a kiss on the cheek from you can't fix which had him blushing, the tips of his ears turning pink.

“This is going to sting a bit, hold my hand if it hurts, okay?” You smile as you lean in to gently press the gauze pad to his cut. Dave winces a bit, his fingers intertwined with yours as you clean the cut and blow a bit of air to soothe the sting. He chuckles at the cute furrow of your brows, a tell that you're fully concentrated, something that he's come to know from your classes and study sessions together where he just can't keep his eyes off you.

His eyes then trail down your beautiful eyes to the soft curve of your mouth, lingering on your lips, the mole right beneath your lower lip and many a times he has had thoughts about you and him, hanging out after school, you're perched on his lap while his arms are around you, homework forgotten momentarily on the coffee table as you both can't have enough of each other's lips, your hands wandering down his chest, fiddling with the buttons of his plaid shirt.

Dave gently tucks back the stray lock of hair that has been testing your patience for the last few seconds.

“God, you're so beautiful.” He speaks, fingers gently caressing your cheek as you halt momentarily in your task, blink a few times and then blush, much to Dave's amusement.

“And so cute, are you always this cute?”

“I–” You're even more flustered now as you finish cleaning up his forehead cut and Dave laughs. Groaning, you gently let your head rest on his chest.

“Do you know how difficult it is to talk to someone you have a massive crush on? God, Dave Lizewski I like you so so much and all I do all day is daydream about you, daydream about us! You know, being a couple, holding hands, stealing kisses, hanging out after school, making out in your bedroom or mine.”

“Making out in the library?”

“Definitely making out in the library, I've often thought about.. you know‐ you pinning me against one of the shelves and kissing the fucking daylights out of me.”

“Baby, you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that.” Dave grins looking down at you, “but before that, I need to do something that I've been wanting to do for so long too.”

You nod, looking up at him.

“I like you too, so so much. All I do is daydream about you, about us too. Ever since you sat beside me in that literature class my life has never been the same. So, will you go out with me next week? We could go to the arcade you were telling me about, grab some milkshakes.”

“I would love to.”

“And I know, I know you have a lot of questions and I promise I'll answer them all, I'll tell you everything about me.” Dave adds, his fingers intertwined with yours.

“Do you trust me, baby?” He asks, his thumb drawing soothing circles over your knuckles and you nod, staring into his gorgeous deep blue hues.

“I do.”

The kiss that followed was soft, sweet and full of promises for the future, one of your hands on his chest as you feel the rhythmic beating of his heart, the other tangled in his soft raven curls while his were wrapped gently around your waist, careful of the scraped elbows.

“So boyfriend, wanna order some takeout, do a Pride And Prejudice rewatch and then cuddle with some hot chocolate?” You ask, pressing a kiss to his lips before reaching out for your phone on the table.

“Would love to, girlfriend.” Dave smiles before leaning in to kiss you again.

#dave lizewski x reader #dave lizewski fanfic #dave lizewski fluff #kick ass #dave lizewski imagine #dave lizewski fic #aaron taylor johnson #kick ass fanfic

164 notes · View notes

cantheykillmacbeth · 6 months

Note

I would posit that Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner could kill Macbeth, as they were born on paper.

The Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) are an... interesting case. There have been numerous different explanations of the Warners' origins, though of course, in true Animaniacs fashion, these all massively conflict with each other. Several episodes begin with/mention the premise of the trio trying to find their parents (Yakko once speculates that their parents are pencils), though there have also been several implications that the three of them are royalty, to the point where in Wakko's Wish, we see a family portrait of the three siblings as young children with their parents, Sir William and his wife:

At the same time, however, we have "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special" (the Season 1 finale), which details at length the exact animator who drew them, his boss, and their first appearances in cartoons in-universe. Here, it says their creator was Lon Borax, an animator who went insane from being overworked by his boss Weed Memlo (Good night, everybody!). Borax created them at 2:43AM and made them smash the intended main character, Buddy, with a mallet, before Borax ran away from the studio.

Dot is definitely able to kill Macbeth under Gender Clause either way (and arguably Wakko as well), but ignoring that for a moment: If we accept the idea that the Warner Siblings are royalty and have actual parents, then they would not apply for the UBC or BPC. But if we accept the idea that the Warner Siblings were brought to life in-universe as drawings (whether by Lon Borax or by Yakko's pencil theory), then they apply for both the Unconventional Birth Clause AND Birth Parent Clause.

So, ultimately, it comes down to what continuity you consider as "canon," though considering that this is Animaniacs we're talking about, there are far more cannons than canons.

Sorry that there's no clean answer here! Dot can definitely still kill Macbeth, though. Thank you for your submission!

#asks #debatable character #unconventional birth clause #birth parent clause #gender clause #animaniacs #dot warner #wakko warner #yakko warner #yakko wakko and dot #the warner siblings

268 notes · View notes

irlcats-bracket · 1 year

Text

CATS

we all love to have them in our lives!

and to show them to people to. and see them. here is your chance! make your cat (or not) compete with others and look at other people's cats

CATS THAT ARE ACCEPTED:

- your cat

-your mum's cat

- anyone's cat really

- meme cats if they are real

- actor cats

- any other cat that have lived at any point of time

CATS THAT ARE NOT ACCEPTED

-fictional. there is a bracket for them already

EDIT: - imaginary cats. sorry guys not real enough

the final number of cats depends on the number of submissions. you can submit a cat several times but seeing as this bracket will have many cats with just one sub from their owner I decided to choose them based only on me liking them. don't worry I like a lot of cats.

CATS THAT ARE AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED because I am biased

- miette

- a stray I befriended (once I manage to choose just one of them)

submit your cat here!

EDIT 3: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't use instagram links or link sharing services. they either don't open for me at all or will all expire by the time this form closes. either use a different link or straight up dm the pics to me. except imgur imgur is fine. just in general check if it's long-term

forms will be open until 7th of April 16:00 (4 pm) UTC

EDIT 2 gogdammit I am forgetful: multiple submissions are allowed. you can also submit your cats as a duo/trio/etc if they truly are a duo/trio/etc or For A Bit but only if it's a really funny one

I am not banning cheating because honestly cheating over a silly cat bracket made to see more kitties is insanely funny

BUT. don't harass other people. this is unacceptable behavior. we are all here to have fun and be silly

and remember! every cat is a good cat :)

tagging for exposure and also because they inspired me: @best-fictional-cat (!!) @aroaceswagcompetition @artificialkids-2k23-official @orangecharactersmackdown @macbeth-murder-match @heterochromiasmackdown @bunnyrabbitbracket @divine-swag-summit @homoeroticbetrayal (!!) @blorbopoll (miette is here sweeping guys)

#tumblr bracket #tournament #bracket #tumblr polls #polls #orcatnisation

798 notes · View notes

homunculus-argument · 1 year

Text

I fucking love stories that have a prophesy that seems impossible to fulfil but ends up being actualised by some completely unexpected way or loophole. Like oh shit this Grim Lone Hero was prophesied to die here and accepted their fate at the last minute to save their companions, but they lived because they are not the same person anymore, the second the hero knew they had friends they were willing to die for, they ceased to be the Grim Lone Hero and is no longer the same person as they were at the start of the story. I lose my shit every single time something like that happens.

But I keep thinking about the implications of this in Macbeth. No man of woman born, an idea that feels so impossible and absurd to a person of Shakespeare's time that it's taken as a reassurance that this fate is impossible. The idea of someone who thought they were invulnerable getting taken down by a trans man's son is funny, but I'm fascinated by the implications of how the play itself plays out.

Caesarians were not exactly a thing at the time of the play's writing, at least not ones where anyone involved survives the procedure. If you take the whole thing at face value, it's implied that the magic system of Macbeth doesn't regard c-sections as valid form of giving birth. The play's world canonically agrees with smug crunchy instagram homebirth moms.

667 notes · View notes

nightgoodomens · 1 month

Text

Just a reminder that Mama Sheen retweeted a video of Max accepting the award for David Tennant’s Macbeth on David’s behalf ❤️

#so what it only just happened #IT WAS CUTE #that’s her son in law so #love a supportive mama

57 notes · View notes

thetudorslovers · 2 months

Text

“She is not of ordinary clay,” Henry had once said to Wolsey, explaining his infatuation for Anne, a comment that most historians take to refer to Anne’s unwillingness to engage in sex before marriage. But perhaps Henry, tired of docile mistresses and a wife whose undeniable intelligence was cramped by obedience to role and religion, found Anne’s independence and ingenuity of mind among those qualities that made her extraordinary. Certainly, he was more than willing—without any “wheedling” or “crying”—to accept the help she offered in strategizing for the divorce. Even David Starkey notes this. “In the divorce, Anne and Henry were one. They debated it and discussed it; they exchanged ideas and agents; they devised strategies and stratagems. And they did all this together.” For Starkey, this made them “Macbeth and Lady Macbeth”—and Anne, “like Lady Macbeth, frequently took the initiative.” But this venomous, anti- Anne gloss on the partnership of Henry and Anne skips over the most unusual thing about it: that it was a partnership. And an unusually “modern” one that did not fit into any of the available cultural patterns. It took a woman “not of ordinary clay” to shatter the mold—and a king who was glad to see it in pieces. For the moment.

74 notes · View notes

denimbex1986 · 2 months

Text

'The actor and Baftas host answers your questions about facial hair, Doctor Who, Scrooge McDuck – and growing up as the son of a minister

How do you face the challenge of being this year’s Bafta host? practicalpanic I don’t currently feel particularly challenged because everything’s written down for me and I don’t have to worry about winning – or not winning – an award. If it was the first night of a play, I’d be curled up in a corner in the foetal position. But the fact that it’s not my day job certainly feels liberating. Who knows why they asked me; I must have been pretty far down the list. Expectations are pretty much zero. I don’t have anything to prove. Will I be phoning [previous Bafa hosts] Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry for advice? I might do. But I’m travelling in blissful ignorance at the moment.

What’s your sideburn policy? They appear to be sized in direct proportion to your characters’ confidence. DrHugbine That’s a very interesting observation, which I don’t think has any truth behind it, but it’s making me wonder …

Here are some examples … Fright Night’s Peter Vincent – long and bushy, confident vampire killer. The Doctor in Doctor Who – long and pointy, charismatic and charming. Broadchurch’s DI Alec Hardy – beard, no sideburns, introverted and suspicious. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s Barty Crouch Jr – no beard, no sideburns, complex and a traitor. Good Omens’ Anthony Crowley – ginger, no sideburns, stylish but tempted Eve in the garden of Eden as a snake so a bit of a bad egg generally. TopTramp I don’t think you’re going to write a doctoral thesis based on that evidence. It’s very thin evidence, at most. I grew sideburns for Doctor Who because, back then, I was worried I was a bit young for it and I thought they slightly aged me. Which, of course, I then had to recreate recently when I’m almost certainly too old for it. I guess increasingly I am unshaven, in which case you don’t really have to worry about sideburns because they’re part of something else. Whatever length my sideburns are on the night of the Baftas has no reflection on how I’m treating the Baftas.

As a vicar with young kids, I wondered what influence being a son of the manse has had upon your work? RevdAl It’s hard to know, because you only know the influences you had specifically from your parents because they’re your parents – it’s hard to unpick. It certainly wasn’t a childhood filled with religious dogma or any kind of restrictions. It was more a moral guidebook.

What was it like kissing Michael Sheen [in season two of Good Omens]? And who enjoyed it more? carnies18 Who enjoyed it the most? Presumably Michael was thrilled. How could he not be? But it was another day at work. The most difficult bit was other people’s awkwardness. We thought it was quite fun, so it was fine. He’d brushed his teeth.

Would you accept a knighthood just to fuel an excellent argument with Sheen in the next series of Staged? Shirls Because he sent his OBE back? That predisposes the fact that anything that’s talked about in Staged is based on real life. We are in our own houses, acting opposite people we spend our life with. But that’s pretty much the extent of the reality of Staged.

Which is best – playing a detective, a murderer or a murder victim? JonnyMorris1973 Well, one of them solves the crimes. One of them commits the crimes. And the other one has a crime done to them. It probably depends which character the writer is most fond of and therefore the most fun to play. It’s not really in the gift of the actor, so much as in the gift of the scriptwriter. I think I’ve only played one detective, haven’t I? What’s my favourite way I’ve been murdered? Oh my goodness. I was shot in The Last September. I get murdered on stage every night in Macbeth, although that’s a spoiler. I sort of died in Doctor Who when I got shot by a galvanic beam in a radiation chamber that filled my body with more radiation I could cope with.

Am I as geeky as the Doctor who fans? Yes. As a Doctor Who fan myself of old, I can very much can plug into that. I don’t think I ever got in trouble at school. That is one of those stories that’s ended up on Wikipedia. I wrote an essay on Doctor Who, which some unpleasant newspaper found and printed. But I didn’t get in trouble for it. I think I got quite a good mark for it.

Who would win in a fight between Crowley, The Doctor and Scrooge McDuck? AlistairDionysus Probably Scrooge McDuck. He seems to be able to survive just about everything. He’s far more resilient than Crowley or The Doctor, who seem to end up staring destruction in the face. Scrooge McDuck, nothing seems to trouble him.

You have a lovely singing voice! Would you like to do a musical? Beatrice_Tate, gaityr, laibarra622 and Luigii I make a nice curry, but I’m not going to open a restaurant. Would I do the Masked Singer? I love The Masked Singer. Nothing has excited my eight-year-old daughter more than when everyone thought Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs was me, week after week. You can imagine how disappointed she was when it turned out I wasn’t.

If you were a cheese, what kind would you be? BrianBraddock I’ve got very into paneer curries. Paneer is neither hard nor soft, so I’ll say that because it makes me sound like I’ve really thought about it.

What’s the last item you snatched from a set? NataliaBCN I’m just going back through things I might have pocketed. Maybe this is the upbringing we talked of earlier. I’m very bad with nicking things. I’m plagued with guilt. The last time they released a new sonic screwdriver toy, someone gave me one but I gave it away because I’m so full of generosity, but now I slightly regret it.

Your portrayal of serial killer Dennis Nilsen [in ITV’s Des] was truly terrifying. How do you prepare for a role like that? YorkshireExPat With someone such as Dennis Nilsen, there is quite a lot of material that’s been written about him. There’s video evidence of him. So you immerse yourself as much you can, then join a line between that and the version of the character that’s in the script, because, ultimately, that’s the version you have to portray. One thing we were very careful to do on Des was to not make it from his point of view. I don’t think you can ask an audience to sympathise or understand someone like Nilsen. It’s the story of how he got away with all these things, then was caught. Hopefully the audience is left thinking: how can someone who is just another member of the human race be committing these extraordinary acts and the rest of us not notice or understand?

If you could regenerate as anyone else for the day, who would you choose? TopTramp My wife, just to see how annoying I really am so I could be properly objective and understand her pain.'

#David Tennant #Scrooge McDuck #Crowley #Good Omens #Aziraphale #Michael Sheen #The Masked Singer #The Last September #Macbeth #Doctor Who #Broadchurch #Alec Hardy #Barty Crouch Jr.#Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire #Des #Georgia Tennant #BAFTAs

60 notes · View notes