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pascalsky · 3 years

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Pedro Pascal is flying high on The Mandalorian, but defining success by his earthly bonds

The Wonder Woman 1984 and The Mandalorian star is one of EW's Entertainers of the Year.

Human connection. It’s vital. Especially in a year like 2020. Especially for Pedro Pascal. So it’s ironic that the 45-year-old’s highest-profile success to date is working with an adorable animatronic puppet, inside a chrome helmet he famously can’t take off. "It is why I wanted to do this show. Selfishly, I knew [the Child, a.k.a. Baby Yoda] was likely to make people fall in love with the show," says Pascal of tackling the title role on The Mandalorian, the Emmy-nominated hit Star Wars series, which returned for its second season on Disney+ in October.

The Chilean-American actor has an eye for choosing projects where he’ll stand out, from popular network procedurals including The Good Wife, The Mentalist, and Law & Order to his breakout roles as the charming — and horny — Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones and, soon after, DEA agent Javier Peña on Netflix’s Narcos. But it’s the stoic bounty hunter safeguarding a frog-egg-eating 50-year-old toddler that’s made him a household name. The new season of The Mandalorian followed Pascal’s galaxy-traveling warrior as he searched for the home of the Child, generating countless memes in the process.

Playing the Mandalorian has been one of the hardest and most unique experiences of Pascal's career to date. At this point, it's no secret that he wasn't physically under the helmet as much as he would've liked in season 1 and recorded his dialogue in post-production to match what his doubles, stunt actors Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, did on set in the armor. Giving a largely vocal performance was a challenge for a physical actor like Pascal, who is almost unrecognizable when you compare his turns on The Good Wife and Game of Thrones, for example, because of how he carries himself. Yet, being on set way more in The Mandalorian season 2 didn't make his job any easier because he still had to figure how to make Mando compelling while also being as economical as possible in his physical movements and vocal performance.

"I'm not even sure if I would be able to do it if it weren't for the amount of direct experience that I've had with being on stage to understand how to posture yourself, how to physically frame yourself into something and to tell a story with a gesture, with a stance, or with very, very specific vocal intonation," says Pascal, who believes his collaborative relationship with creator Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni, a.k.a. his "Mandalorian papas," also helped him inhabit the role in season 2.

Speaking of collaboration: Working with comedian Amy Sedaris, who plays gruff Tatooine mechanic Peli Motto, was one of the highlights of The Mandalorian’s sophomore season. “I followed Amy Sedaris around like a puppy. [I was] like, ‘Hey again. I’m not leaving your side until you wrap,’ and she’s like, ‘Cool,’” Pascal says. “I love the Child — it really is adorable — and it is so fascinating to see it work, but somebody who makes you spit-laugh right into your helmet will always be my favorite thing."

Pascal longed for those kinds of interactions during quarantine, which proved difficult for the actor who was living alone in Los Angeles. But he lights up, is even giddy at times, when the conversation turns to bonding with the Community cast right before a charity table read back in May (he filled in for Walton Goggins), or FaceTiming his friends to celebrate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' election victory on Nov. 7. "Ahhhh! Ahhhh!" Pascal exclaims, reenacting the joyous calls with buddies like Oscar Isaac that Saturday morning. "It was screaming and jumping and dancing and crying…. I very arrogantly took screenshots of everything and [shared them], like, 'I am a part of this!'”

"I'd be less nervous playing tennis in front of the Obamas than I was seeing a reunion of these people that I think are brilliant and have this incredible chemistry with each other and stepping in and having really, really, bad technology in this new space that I had moved into. I really resented having to actually participate acting-wise because there were instances where it was way too much fun to watch."

- PEDRO PASCAL ON SHOOTING THE COMMUNITY TABLE READ.

His appreciation for those around him has only grown during the pandemic. Before flying to Budapest to film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with Nicholas Cage, Pascal leaned on his bubble for support. Community's Gillian Jacobs, for example, hosted him for an outdoor socially distanced pizza night every Saturday in the early weeks of lockdown. (He suspects that's why he was recruited for the sitcom's table read when Goggins couldn't participate.) "The friends that got me through it are absolutely everything to me and very beautifully marked in my head. I've got old friends and new friends that literally did nothing short of parent me through the experience," says Pascal, who has "survivor's remorse" for being in Europe right now. "I feel guilty not being [in the States] with my friends through [this tumultuous time] but also grateful that, individually, I was able to gain a little bit of separation from the stress of it."

Those tight bonds helped redefine, or at least clarify, what success means to him. "I want to make sure that my relationships are right, and I want to make sure I'm nurturing meaning in a sustaining way, and that won't necessarily be related to getting good jobs and making lots of money," he says. But he'll take them — as he did for both of his 2020 projects, about which he's thrilled. And how could he not be, starring in two of the year's most feverishly anticipated properties?

Besides The Mandalorian, Pascal appears in Patty Jenkins' superhero epic Wonder Woman 1984, which has endured a Homeric journey to its release (read: several pandemic-related delays). Thankfully, the odyssey is almost over because Warner Bros. recently confirmed that it will open in both theaters and on HBO Max on Dec. 25. Pascal is stoked audiences will finally see his turn as the villainous Maxwell Lord because playing the greedy dream-seller pushed him out of his post-Game of Thrones action role comfort zone.

"With Wonder Woman, [Gal Gadot and Kristen Wiig] are doing the action, baby, and I'm doing the schm-acting!" he says, hilariously elongating that final syllable. "I am hamming it up!" (Indeed, Pascal reveals Cage inspired his performance in one particular scene.)

But Pascal felt he was up to the challenge because everything he needed was right there in the screenplay, which Jenkins co-wrote with Geoff Johns and David Callaham. "I didn't have to take something and figure out how to put more flesh onto it. I had to achieve getting into the skin of what was being presented to me," he says, contrasting the experience with playing a DEA agent for three seasons on Narcos. "For me, Colombia was almost the central character, and then I was allowed to make him depressive and to tonally interpret what the character was. And in this case [on Wonder Woman 1984], there was just so much for me to meet rather than to invent."

He continues: "That was an incredible delight and challenge because Patty Jenkins is a director who loves actors and when she sees she can ask for more, she does. And there isn't anyone better, in my experience, to give more to."

In 2021, he rejoins the good guys as an aging superhero and father in Robert Rodriguez's kid-friendly Netflix drama We Can Be Heroes. The inherent optimism of the Netflix film's title also complements Pascal's hope for the new year. Says Pascal, ”If [fear] can take a little bit of a backseat and not be the main character in everybody’s life, that would be great.”

SOURCE

#omg he looks so damn good #entertainment weekly #pedro pascal #the mandalorian #din djarin #max lord #maxwell lord #wonder women 1984 #ww1984 #oberyn martell #prince oberyn #the unbearable weight of massive talent #javier pena #narcos #javi gutierrez #we can be heroes #marcus moreno

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 5, 2021: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Review)

Well, shit. That’s another 98%.

I’M NOT TRYING TO DO THIS! It’s just...this one’s also really good, and I can’t find any significant flaws in it! Except for...well, one. And it’s...the same one as Spirited Away BUT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT!

Look, I’ll go into ore detail this time, but I really didn’t think Spirited Away was going to be matched, and...well, it was. Because this movie is stellar. It’s gorgeous, it’s tragic, it’s fantastic fantasy, and it’s genuinely just a very good movie. But I do have a little more to say this time.

Starting with the original story. You gotta go back to the 800s for this one. No missing 1 there, I’m talking the 9th century! The original story is a little different than the movie’s version, but it plays it mostly straight. The bamboo-cutter isn’t quite as gung-ho about the whole “royalty” thing, and her growth is actually faster in the original story.

Most of the other beats are the same, although some minute things differ. She actually becomes friends with the Emperor, although she definitely doesn’t get together with him. But there is a MAJOR omission in this adaptation: the elixir of immortality.

Remember that anime I was talking about, Kaguya-sama: Love is War? It has an episode where this story specifically is brought up, and the elixir of immortality is a major feature of it. See, the Elixir is actually what one needs to survive on the Moon, and the mortal Kaguya drinks it once the Celestial Parade comes to take her back. She sends some of it to the Emperor with a letter before she puts on the forget-me-robe, and then she leaves.

That’s where the movie ends, and I think that’s an amazing place for it to end, but the original story continues. Kaguya’s earthly parents become ill, and the Emperor is given the letter and elixir. In his sorrow, the dumbass writes her a letter and elixir and has his men BURN it on the highest mountaintop, sending his message to the princess. The smoke from that fire was ever-burning and immortal, and the mountain was renamed as “The Immortal Mountain”, or...

Yeah! It’s Mount Fuji! Neat, huh? Anyway, I called the Emperor a dumbass for burning the Elixir. He did it because he didn’t want to live forever without her, but DUDE! Maybe she would’ve COME BACK FOR YOU ONE DAY! But now, she’s gonna live forever, and you’re dead as shit. Buddy...think these things through.

So, yeah, that’s the difference between the two, and I actually quite like the movie’s version. Didn’t need the extra stuff with the elixir, because this didn’t need to be a love story. Instead, it’s a story that celebrates human life and life on Earth, as Kaguya’s last speech outright says. And yeah, that’s kinda beautiful. Hell, why do you think the backgrounds are so lush in this movie? Because it’s not just about Kaguya...it’s about life on Earth.

So, with that, let’s get into the Review, huh? This movie was fantastic, and I do think it deserves a Review in full. Check out all three parts of the Recap here, here, and here!

Review

Cast and Acting: 9/10

James Caan was...not the best choice for Miyatsuki in the dub. He really clashes with the rest of the cast for me, and with the setting as well. But he’s the only performance that I’d consider bad. Not even bad, just ill-fitting! Put simply, it’s only really OK, when it isn’t outright jarring. But everybody else? Fantastic. Mary Steenburgen is arguably the best of the cast, pulling double-duty as Narrator and Mom, and that’s to say nothing bad about Chloe Grace Moretz as the Princess herself! Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, Hynden Walch, James Marsden, even Geaorge Segal and Dean Cain all do a pretty good job! I mean...fuck Dan Cain, but he did OK here.

And yeah, this is the dub cast, because I unfortunately didn’t have access to the sub. But are they good? Yeah, they’re still good. Ghibli has good dubs, what can I tell ya? Except for James Caan. That wasn’t the best choice.

Plot and Writing: 10/10

It’s fantastic. Not only is it a great adaptation of the original story, but it’s a great interpretation of it as well! It takes the original story, but gives it a new meaning as compared to the original story, and builds the screenplay from there! It’s...it’s genuinely one of the best adaptations I’ve ever seen of a story from classic mythology and folklore. Credit to Isao Takahata and Riko Sakaguchi, because they did a stellar job with this adaptation.

Can we...can we do this for other mythologies, please? I want a Paul Bunyan movie that’s actually about the value of natural wonders, or a Hercules movie about the nature of immortality through deeds, or true forgiveness for one’s actions, or...I just need more adaptations like this! This film made me want to see a change in film, and it helped to change my tastes a bit as well. And really...what better compliment can a film be given?

Directing and Cinematography: 10/10

Isao Takahata was one of Hayao Miyazaki’s contemporaries, and it FUCKING SHOWS. As does the cinematography skill of Keisuke Nakamura, because this film is...wonderful. I don’t really have anything to say. It’s just an amazingly storyboarded film. And once again, that’s closely linked to...

Production and Art Design: 10/10

The artistry is unparalleled in a lot of ways, but not specifically because of skill and detail. No, it’s the stylization of the film that sets it apart, and it’s gorgeous. Japan’s art is best known worldwide from the period of minimalist watercolor paintings they produced, and that period is well-replicated and represented in this...just genuinely gorgeous movie. The art director is Kazuo Oga, and he’s apparently, like...amazing? He’s worked on a BUTT-ton of great looking films, including many of the Ghibli films. His experience shows, even though has bee his last film he’s worked on in that capacity, so far. Which is a shame, because...I mean, come on. It’s amazing.

Music and Editing: 10/10

Joe Hisaishi. Yup. Kiki’s, Spirited Away, and this movie. He’s a goddamn musical prince, and it’s gorgeous. Not a lofi mix this time, but definitely some good background music for your life. It’s just beautiful, and I can’t recommend this music enough.

And the editing? Toshihiko Kojima is fantastic as well, and the sound and visual editing is essentially flawless here. I just...THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS

I know, a 98% twice in a row is ridiculous...but...

Can you blame me? This movie is fantastic, and basically flawless. I’ve said all I can say about it. Well, other than to say that you need to see this movie if you haven’t already. And NOW I don’t think I’m topping this one. Watch me say that, and then the next movie’s also gonna be amazing.

Well, I’ll tempt fate. What are the odds, right? Right? Just to test that, I’m leaving Japan finally. But, that doesn’t mean I have to leave animation, right?

March 6, 2021: Wolfwalkers (2020)

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highpriestofmorrigan · 4 years

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RAMA Handbook under the cut.

MISSION AND VISION

The Raven Academy has a mission to provide an effective learning space for occult practices and provide its students with a deeper understanding of their practices.

THE ADUNO PATH

The Raven Academy is run under the teachings of the Aduno Path, which are as follows:

The Trinity: I will respect the three phases of the moon and the maiden-mother-crone aspect of my deity, if so associated. I respect that the cycle of the conscious Universe often comes in threes.

Animus: Whether as an actual deity or simply an archetype, I will respect the Divine Masculine and whatever lessons they may have in store for me.

Anima: Whether as an actual deity or simply an archetype, I will respect the Divine Feminine and whatever lessons they may have in store for me.

The Universe: I am a child of a conscious Universe and seek to understand its many mysteries to the best of my ability.

Creation: At its Creation, the Earth was bountiful with pure magic. If I incorporate it into my personal path, I seek the ability to harness such magic and let it flow through me.

Nature of Magic: Magic is truly neutral. It is how I wield it that makes it light, neutral, or dark.

Nature of Man: Every human, like magic, has the potential for good or bad. None of us are inherently one or the other. I must be conscious of my actions and responsible for the results of them.

Sovereignty: I must fight to secure my sovereignty and be true to myself at all times.

Unity: Though we may harbour different beliefs and practices, Aduno means “I unite” and I seek to be a part of that unity.

Dedication: If I so choose, I can dedicate myself to a patron deity and form a special relationship with them.

Circle Casting: If I so choose, I can incorporate a casting circle into my work. This is a sacred way to tune into that primal magic by incorporating the elements, spirit, and nature. It will also provide protection.

Spiritual Gifts: If the universe sees fit to grant me spiritual gifts that I accept, I will develop and utilize them to the best of my ability.

Morality: I will respect the sovereignty of others as long as they do not harm others unprovoked.

Stewardship: Some may be called to teach, preach, lead, or serve. Should the universe gift me a task that I accept, I will do so with sincerity and diligence.

Handfasting: Handfasting is an ancient marital practice. This can be used for any adult couple who wishes to bind themselves to one another.

Nature: Our best connection to that Universal primal magic, I will respect, honour, and sanctify nature.

Equality: Everyone is equal in the eyes of a conscious universe.

Holy Days: The Sabbats are basic holy days that reflect the changing of nature. I can celebrate the consciousness of the Universe on Earth Day. Lupercalia is a holiday for cleansing myself of the past and any grievances I may harbour. The spiritual year begins anew at Samhain. If I work with a deity, I can add their holy days to my personal wheel of the year.

Ancestors: Honour ancestors who deserve to be honoured and remembered. They hold wisdom and have carved a path for me to exist.

Meditation: Meditation and other similar methods of achieving enlightenment are good tools. Given my time and ability, I will hone my skills and aim to vibrate on a higher frequency.

Justice: In all things, I must fight for the oppressed and seek out justice, fairness, and equity.

Enlightenment: Enlightenment is to live well and justly in order to prepare your spirit to ascend.

Sacred Symbols: Sigils are sacred symbols that can serve many purposes. If I so choose, I will incorporate sigils and respect their sacredness.

HIERARCHY AND STAFF

The Raven Academy has a hierarchy of operations similar to the Leanai Na Deithe Temple to ensure that power is spread out and that learning can come from multiple sources.

High Council: An invite-only group, the High Council serves as the Executive arm of the school; this group oversees the scheduling of services and maintains the well-being of the Academy.

High Priest/Priestess/Priestix: After teaching and spending time in the role of Priest/Priestess/Priestix, a singular Priest, Priestess, or Priestix can petition to become the High Priest/Priestess/Priestix of their specific subject of interest. The choice is made by the High Council.

Priests/Priestess/Priestix: This group handles most of the one-on-one spirituality and can act as counselors for students. They can teach more advanced versions of classes after teaching generals for a year.

Brother/Sister/Teacher: These are the people who teach most of the general classes. Anyone can become a teacher after assisting for two quarters.

Acolyte: They will assist the Brothers/Sisters/Teachers with their lesson plans, including stepping in when whoever they’re assisting can no longer teach a scheduled class.

HOUSES

In the spirit of friendly competition and specific paths of learning, the Raven Academy will have separate Houses for separate tracks. Students enrolled in one House may take classes from other tracks, but their primary focus should be on their track. If a student is not certain where they would excel, they may choose to be sorted based on their traits.

Augurium

House Augurium - House of Divination. Their colors are Red and Black. This track is for students focused on divinatory work - ie runes, fortune-telling, and dream interpretation.

Ocisano

House Ocisano - House of Herbology and Healing. Their colors are Blue and White. This track is for students who wish to begin incorporating herbs into their work with a focus on healing and helping others heal physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Erudito

House Erudito - House of Lore. Their colors are Purple and Black. This track is for students focused on lore and mythology ranging from Hellenism to the Fae.

Arcanus

House Arcanus - House of Witchcraft. Their colors are Silver and White. This track is mainly history-based for students focused on the different types of craftwork from ceremonial magic to folk.

More Houses can be added as the staff and students see fit.

SCHOOL YEAR

The school year will be divided into three quarters. Students are able to graduate after taking and passing classes for two years or upon credit completion and will receive ordination from the Temple.

GENERALS

Not every class at the Raven Academy will be specific to Houses. A student will be expected to round off their education by taking twelve general classes.

ADVANCED

Classes in the course catalog indicated with an asterisk (*) are advanced classes that require a student to be accepted by the teacher in order to attend that class. Most advanced classes will be one-on-one and taught by a Priest/Priestess/Priestix.

CLASSES

Classes will be online, dictated by either text or in video format. The Raven Academy advises students to take a maximum of four classes per quarter for a total of twenty-four at the end of their schooling. Twenty-four classes are needed to graduate and receive ordination.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The Raven Academy expects all students to abide by the Aduno Path when in attendance and present on the online campus.

Respect for each other’s existence is of great importance. The Raven Academy will not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other discrimination.

Keep private things private and do not share information or screenshots with any student identifiers.

This code of conduct may be updated and expanded upon at any time. Notification will be given to students and staff.

END OF HANDBOOK

A separate blog may be made for the purposes of RAMA, but information and classes themselves will be posted on the website which is currently hosted here. A list of general classes and potential classes per House will be posted here and on the website.

#witchblr #the raven academy of mystical arts #RAMA

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tatiletotesamaze · 4 years

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Don’t @ me.

I touched very briefly on the need for a virtue system a while ago, a brief summary being 'societies exist as a natural part of the species, societies need a level of trust to function'. In that post I talked about ethics within a social contract, and I might well have actually been pointing myself toward contractarianism without knowing the word for it, however these are typically deontological systems and the Empire strikes me as more likely to really adhere to a rule consequentialist system (the consequence being what's best for the Empire, not really Bentham's utility). But, as we've seen with popular criticisms of (negative) utilitarianism it's better if there's something else to go along with it. Deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics should hang out more.

In part what I felt needed to be reconciled is the Sith ideology and the needs of a society to function. This is approached in the community-centric, self-centric post. One of the key interpretations of the Sith Code is 'might makes right' (and while one might take a more charitable interpretation, like those for the Will to Power, the Empire as a whole does not leave itself open to charitable interpretations) and this, as one can imagine, does not necessarily sit well with the necessity of Law and Order within any functioning society, much less one quite so hell bent on law and order as the Empire. Its law and its order true but law and order none-the-less.

And while it might be nice to have a unifying moral system for the Empire, I don't think it really needs one and, perhaps, having such a core aspect of a society and culture being fundamentally split better reflects the fractious nature of the Empire as a whole. (Funny aside I keep typing 'empure'.) So, what are the virtues for and to whom do they apply? I did write out a class structure but this is not the division we'll be examining. This is a "one for mine, one for thine" system. That is, there is one moral system for the Sith, based around (an interpretation of) The Sith Code and another moral system for... everyone else. For brevity we'll call them Citizens.

Virtues of the Citizen: Pride (in the empire and ones achievements) Courage Wisdom Temperance of action and feeling (self discipline) Orderliness *at once keeping stuff in order, but also understanding one's place in the Empire Excellence *the best me and the best I can do makes the empire better as a whole or the best I can do for the empire is the best me cleanliness *don't smell Unity *not necessarily friendliness, but not rocking the boat as it were "In all one's actions and duties to uphold the standards of the Empire” Timely - to know when best to be serious and to be jovial. Also, be on fucking time Respectfulness Charity toward children

Pride is important because one cannot uphold the Empire without being proud of it. Pride in this case acts as a kind of patriotism. It is not just believing that the Empire can be good, but that the Empire is good. That its actions are just and reasonable, for the progress and existence of itself, and because it is good and just and reasonable, everyone should partake in it. That's the kind of pride that is the "ideal" within the Empire: a heart-warming, chest-swelling belief that This Is Correct. It goes into the everyday as well, to the idea that "In all one's actions and duties uphold the standards of the Empire". To have pride in one's work and place within the Empire is to do your job well and to do it the best of your ability and push it further. Pride feeds into the concept of excellence: the best "me" and the best I can do makes the Empire better as a whole, or the best I can do for the Empire is the best "me". Alternatively, if one is ashamed of the Empire, one is at odds with the Empire, because the Empire is the embodiment of itself - it is the best at being what it is and it continually gets better at being itself by perfecting the aspects of it and refining them: getting rid of the chaff and the fat, all the unnecessary things, like the detractors, those who might call for a reining in of military spending or border expansion. Because if the Empire is the best (and it is) it is just that everyone should be part of the Empire or removed.

Courage is needed within the Empire and its Citizens for a multitude of reasons, but primarily it's perceived to be necessary within the context of the military, both in offensive actions and in defence of the Empire and its territories. To add some context, if we consider Aristotle's approach to virtues, he holds (held?) that practising one in excess or being deficient in it results in "a sin". With regard to courage specifically (being a classical virtue he did actually talk about this one specifically), courage in excess becomes 'rashness' and in deficiency 'cowardice', courage itself is the mean. With this in mind, courage as encouraged by the Empire - not explicitly but more implicitly within the culture and what is celebrated in literature - is a lot closer to rashness than one might expect. Risk-reward calculation errs toward the greater reward (hinging on it the reward being useful or progressive for the Empire), often regardless of the risk. As a result promotion will favour those who achieve these rewards. Longevity always favours those who can reduce the risks.

Wisdom should be fairly straightforward: it covers both lived experience and knowledge from a robust and continuous education. It is needed to temper courage to not become abject recklessness.

Temperance in this case is not merely the control of physical appetites and impulses but more generally the control of one's emotions. This in a way is an inheritance from the Sith. A Citizen will not be led about by anger or jealousy, nor will they wallow in regret or sadness (terms and conditions may apply). Of course, as it does derive itself from the Sith, it might be more apt to say that one ought not show one's emotions in a way that might cast one in a negative light. Ideally you'd be a master of your emotions, in reality much like the Sith these are fuel. Anger or jealousy can be used to drive one to excel against a rival. In practice that might be too hard and instead you undermine them and have them stationed somewhere awful, like Balmorra. It shares a domain with Timeliness - when it is best to show emotion, or what emotion it is best to show.

Orderliness and unity share aspects. Unity is at once getting along with one's fellows as well as being mentally and spiritually in check with the Empire. In part this stems from the order of the Empire - yes "class movement" is possible* but one should excel in and understand one's place first. There is also the concept of not "rocking the boat" as it were. Back to the concept of the Empire as a meritocracy, if someone is above you in the hierarchy it is just (they are more "Imperial" than you) and to go against them is to go against the set order. As you can probably well imagine this does lend itself to horrible abuses of power. One of the other interpretations of order in a more general sense is the rigid class system and the duty to uphold it. *actual results may vary

The ideal Citizen not only embodies each of these virtues, they excel in them and push themselves, and by extension the Empire, to greater heights. Fundamentally the perfect execution of all virtues of the Citizens is not possible as they are opposed to each with regard to how they are represented in Imperial culture.

Virtues of the Sith: Cunning Wisdom Living authentically (the existential ideal), you will often see this as self-actualization. Being able to make decisions for oneself without necessarily being bound to the wills and needs of others. Strength Will to power Justice (upholding Imperial laws and ideals) Magnificence

Cunning is, naturally, the purview of the Sith. To live within such a cut-throat environment as the halls of Sith academia, politics, or even administration, is to deal with other Sith and their own ends. In conjunction with other aspects such as strength and the previously mentioned interpretations of the 'will to power', means are used to achieve those ends, and those means are likely to be other people who can be bent to a Sith's will, including other Sith. So cunning is not only the ability to twist and connive through the Sith interactions and through the necessity that is Imperial bureaucracy, but to see when others are doing the same; to predict their ends and what means they will use to achieve them. Cunning here is not merely the conventional definition but is also quick witted-ness and having a keen mind. Sometimes deceit is not conducive to progress so you can't always rely on it. Sometimes honesty is best. If you can tell the truth and get one over on someone who is lying better than if you yourself were lying, tell the truth. The Empire does have the idea that the truth will out, so if the truth is already out it shouldn't be used to harm you.

Wisdom, of course, is needed for cunning to be useful. It also lays out the boundaries of one's experiences and one's abilities. A wise and cunning Sith can best one who is merely strong in the Force. There are plays and operas about this very premise, as it becomes a greater strength. Sith are also learned in far more spheres than Imperial Civilians. They have a greater access to literature, including philosophy and politics. A high-born Sith will have - if they so choose - a full education in philosophy and politics. Certain Imperial Civilians may also be educated in such matters but this is generally more restricted, either in subject matter, breadth, and depth or simply who is permitted to learn such matters (hint: not the lower classes, they might learn something).

Living authentically isn't so much a virtue as it is its own philosophy. Put very simply, authenticity is making decisions - both moral and social - that reflect one's own true self rather than decisions based (solely) on external influences or structures. It does base itself on the principle of knowing oneself, though in order to discover it you kind of have to start living authentically. Like devoting entire evenings to writing out essays on hypothetical ethics structures for fictional societies that aren't even yours. In the case of the Sith, this is again an example of their freedom and their place within Imperial society. However, if we take the lists to be in descending order of importance, it again ranks above

Strength, in that if you can't make your own decisions, or be true to yourself, or truly know yourself or be aware of your own true self, you won't have true strength in the view of the Sith. Cunning and wisdom feed into living the authentic life for the Sith, as they are methods by which this authenticity can be achieved, for - make no mistake - if your authenticity expresses or comes across as weakness, then other Sith will take advantage of that. Social standing within Sith society is limited and is only doled out to a few. It is by necessity a measure of co-operation, the Empire and Sith religion wouldn't persevere otherwise, but that cooperation can be, and is, strained. Which brings us to Strength. This is not simply physical power or the connection to the Force, though those are the most obvious and fastest routes to power and strength, but internal strength. Resilience of the mind and body to attacks both internal and external.

Justice is a lot of things to a lot of people. We talk of restorative or retributive justice in a legal or social sense but in a way all of our ideas of justice are inextricably linked to some sort of moral or ethical idea or ideal we have. Or maybe they aren't. Either way Sith are generally expected to deal in retributive justice when called upon to do so; both in determining the crime and enacting the sentence, they are beholden to the Imperial standard and Code of Conduct, and that does sometimes lead to lightsabers in chests. However part of the expectation is that they would defer to the Sphere of Law and Justice unless circumstances make swift action necessary. Of course this is the legal aspect of it, which is arguably separate from the ethical aspect of justice. If we take Plato's interpretation of what it is to be just, if a Sith acts in accordance with all their prescribed virtues (being that the virtues are inherently 'good' by Sith culture because they lead to the Best Sith and the Best Sith are Good Sith), then justice should arise naturally out of their actions, but the basis of that logic seemed kind of shaky to me, so this is where we will actually call in Contractarianism to an extent. Coupling the (presumed) Imperial codices of law - which is arguably a codified version of the Imperial Consequentialist ethical system, rule consequentialism - with Imperial Consequentialism and ideas such as disinterestedness and impartiality (similar but not quite the same) which we put together to come up with a rudimentary concept of fairness; if a Sith can act in such a way that is in harmony with those ideas, to the pursuit of the Good of the Empire (and the Sith, plural), then that is what we can call justice in the sense of a Sith virtue. We are not necessarily dealing with universal truths here but something more subjective for the purposes of this exercise.

Magnificence. Be bitchin' at all times.

The Sith might also be expected to perform the virtues of the citizens listed above, particularly those of being timely, orderly and clean. When in the presence of Sith of higher standing, or of Citizens of high standing particularly those of the military or intelligence, then such actions will also be expected. Temperance (self discipline) - the Sith rule and control their emotions. Though one might become powerful through unbridled rage, one might lose oneself to it and lose one's mental faculties including (ironically) the will to power, making one un-Sith-like.

As the people and the Empire are seen as being one-in-the-same ('people' here referring to all who live under the Empire (slaves excluded unless they've up-moved) but generally Citizens see themselves as being more the Empire than the Sith, this expanded below), anything that is perceived as being good for the Empire is good for the people and vice versa.

And, above all of these is a single virtue of paramount import: Loyalty to the Empire. As ever, these virtues are not to be practised in excess nor be shied from. Life in the Empire is a balancing act.

In addition to the aforementioned class structure, there are three Classes (four if we count slaves): The Sith, Citizens and de facto citizens. Citizens, which one could class all as for they all live within the Empire, but Citizens are those who are born to Imperial families, typically within core Imperial worlds. They have the force of longevity behind them, their presence and purpose within the Empire is inherent. They have the tried and true Imperial education, in mathematics, warfare, literature, and the sciences. They all hold in some form a military position. A teacher can be called upon to fire a gun, as a baker can be expected to fix a tank. Full time military service is performed by all citizens for four years, and after that they either continue within the military system or return to perform other vital roles within the Empire.

De facto citizens are those living on planets the Empire has conquered, by war or through the Treaty of Coruscant. Formal expectations of them are the same, however Citizens oft treat them not necessarily with contempt but not with high expectations. Citizens see their lack of Imperial education (something being rectified but sorely lacking in the adult generations) as a fault that prevents them from performing the best they can for the Empire (see the virtues). This disregard for their own experiences, talents, and cultures does, to put it mildly, chafe the De Facto citizens.

The Sith, of course.

---

If we posit that each Citizen is a microcosm of the Empire, this being an extension of the idea "Where there is an Imperial, there is the Empire", any imbalance of the above can be perceived as a reflection to what imbalance in society would be. And a society which is fundamentally unbalanced is an "unhealthy" one, so an unhealthy society is an unbalanced one. By the logic of this metaphor, an unbalanced (in terms of virtues and vices) Imperial is an unhealthy one, and an unhealthy Imperial is an unbalanced one. Now, on a meta level this is awful logic. In world it's also awful logic, it barely tracks even without external factors, it falls into one of the early fallacies that if A predicates B, A must equal B and therefore B=A. It kind of feels true, so there's an inclination to accept it as true (I like to call this the aesthetic of reason) without thinking too hard about it. The nice thing about the fiction I'm building here is the feelings don't have to care about the facts, so the general society of the Empire can take this poor logical statement as written and as a result not have to think too hard about why someone might not fit in with the system, or be at odds with it, or even why their physical or mental health is not ideal. It's because they're "bad Imperials". The crisis of faith experienced by a soldier who's seen their friends and comrades killed in a meat grinder on some bass-ackwards planet for barely any reward because of some higher-up's bruised ego isn't because there's something inherently wrong with the Empire, there must be something inherently wrong with the soldier because they can't grasp why the bass-ackwards planet and the higher-up's ego are more important to the Empire than the lives of their friends and comrades, because it is the duty of the Citizen to be the Empire and to defend the Empire. If you can't defend the Empire you can't be the Empire. The sacrifices are great because the gains are great. And all sacrifices are for the gains of the Empire. So yes if we take the microcosm metaphor at the beginning of this passage and bring it here, to this conclusion, you have a constant sacrifice of the Empire for itself, or more realistically with the example given, the sacrifice of the Empire for some middle manager's power trip. From there I can segue sharply into how the Sith are at the forefront of the cultural schism because of their infighting and how their own virtue system and Code put them at odds with the Empire at large and the idea of Citizens specifically. We can look at Force Sensitivity as something like a divine right in politics. The Emperor is a Sith, the entire Dark Council are Sith. We have the elevation of power and ability via a meritocracy (power is merit) and, in a way, the connection of the Force, to the universe, to the individual, is as if to have a fundamental connection to the universe or to a higher plane of existence, however you want to look at it. Couple this right to rule with a driving need to not be seen as weak and a converse amount of freedom and the right within the culture to "live authentically" and you will have a conflict. The need not to be seen as weak is different from being perceived as strong, but not very different, and this is somewhat at odds with the idea of freedom as the Sith have it. They are free to do pretty much as they will but they're also constrained by the ruthless power structure of their society. (Sith society is of course intertwined but largely separate from the Citizen's.) There is the emphasis on emotion, but that does not give you the freedom to be sad, because what makes you sad can be a tool to use against you. The same with happiness. Any emotion, positive or negative, can be used as a tool of manipulation against the Sith, as equally as they can be used as fuel for their own power. It is simply that certain emotions, like anger specifically, are more easily turned to one's own use than others.

The very basis of having a connection to the Force gives a connection to the Universe at large. It is a fundamental oneness to life and existence that those who are Force Blind don't have and, arguably, gives insight that those without it will never be able to grasp. (Theoretically.) Of course, this insight does not necessarily make those who have it infallible, much as they may wish it would. This fallibility paired with a secretive knowledge that is inaccessible to many is the reason for a lot of questioning and strife between the Sith and Imperial Citizen. Under the order of the Empire it should not be - remember the virtues of upholding order and unity - but if one must have the means of acquiring knowledge to be able to understand the knowledge and that means of acquisition is an innate faculty, then the veracity and reality of said knowledge is not something easily verified. "Trust me" isn't good enough when you literally cannot tell if someone is lying.

Another cause of the schism within Imperial culture is the want of Sith to see the Empire and Its people as tools for their own ends. This can come as a result of seeing the good of the Empire as being the same as the good of the Sith, or sometimes even the good of the Self. That is not necessarily true in all cases, though, as while their is an expectation to act moderately selflessly with regard to the Empire, Sith are still afforded a great enough degree of freedom and power that one could argue it's more of a social nicety than a hard rule. See Lord Grathan's estate debacle for a possible interpretation: his walling off and going against the Dark Council was a political and social faux pas but it didn't seem to turn him into an ethical pariah (correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't played in yonks).

I feel I ought to end with the rather obvious note that none of this is really achievable in an idealised sense. Any contradictory nature in the virtues listed above is entirely intentional as sometimes it feel like the entirety of Imperial society is several angry rocks lashed together with bungee cord and, while it strains to be coherent and does function on macro scale, the actual day-to-day life of the individual is fraught either with the meaninglessness of their existence within a vast machine that wishes for a useful life and useful death of its cogs or loomed over with ever present dread that someone with more power or influence than you might be annoyed enough to make your life a literal living hell at any moment.

Further reading: Crash Course's Philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNgK6MZucdYldNkMybYIHKR James Tullos' The f@cism of military sci-fi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vph_cDjcgEE Hello Future Me On Worldbuilding: How do Empires Work?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51MWp0Hgo90 (this is a three part series, followed by The Rise of an Empire? and How an Empire Falls?) Stanford's Nietzsche article, specifically the Will To Power section: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/#SomeNietValu Stanford, Authenticity: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/authenticity/ Plato, The Republic (can you tell?) Contractarianism: https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_contractarianism.html Fallacy (logic and reasoning), examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy#Common_examples The Golden Mean, which you might recognise as the Buddhist Middle Way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_mean_(philosophy)

Class hierarchy: https://tatiletotesamaze.tumblr.com/post/171101223086/im-going-to-do-it-properly-now-how-i-approach Community-centric, self-centric: https://tatiletotesamaze.tumblr.com/post/169745967921/imperial-life-things-two-archetypes-for Imperial Social Contract: https://tatiletotesamaze.tumblr.com/post/171174833921/ok-so-the-premise-is-basically-a-social-contact Health Care: https://tatiletotesamaze.tumblr.com/post/172526303826/i-wanna-talk-about-health-care-in-the-empire Where there is an Imperial: https://tatiletotesamaze.tumblr.com/post/170236577656/tatiletotesamaze-as-the-sith-occupy-a-strange

#swtor #long #headcanon #imperiallife

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sharoncartercomics · 5 years

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A PSA

Being a fan of Sharon Carter in the era of MCU domination has been a thankless endeavour, for sure.

(No specific spoilers for Avengers: Endgame but this post has been informed by the events of the film.)

She had some great, but all too brief moments in The Winter Soldier and Civil War. I suspect that’s pretty much all we’ll ever see of her ever again, although I keep my fingers crossed that she pops up in Falcon and The Winter Soldier as an ally and collaborator.

But ultimately, in a meta-textual sense, in terms of her position and importance in the Steve Rogers/Captain America mythology, she has effectively been replaced by Peggy in the MCU.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, I suppose - adaptations are not carbon copy interpretations of the source material (and let’s be real, source material in this case is so vast that you’d never get anything as complex and nuanced in an adaptation).

But I fear that the success of the MCU means that we will may never get another take on Sharon.

As it is, we’ll probably never get another go at the Steve Rogers story on film; one where he makes his home and family and peace in the time he wakes up in and continues to have all kinds of adventures and growth and all that fun stuff.

Never mind a reboot - because of the way Marvel Studios and Disney are approaching these properties, we won’t even ever get a live-action television series that makes another go of the Captain America story.

Perhaps we could get an animated series. But even that will likely be heavily informed by the MCU, just as the Avengers Assemble and Guardians of the Galaxy cartoons have been.

Already, the MCU is casting a long shadow in other media: we’ve already got a game where Sharon is no longer Captain America’s partner and complimentary other half: instead, she is turned into Steve’s daughter with Peggy.

The shadow is encroaching into the comics. This is not necessarily a bad thing: when Nick Fury Sr. was retired, and succeeded by his son (and Samuel L Jackson doppelganger), it was a modernising touch that updated SHIELD for a new age.

But it also makes me worry that losing Sharon in the comics is an eventual possibility. People do come and go, but you can’t take anything for granted when it comes to secondary characters -- while Logan was always going to return as Wolverine sooner than later, it was several decades before Gwen Stacy made any kind of a comeback.

[And that only initially occurred because of the sheer popularity of Emma Stone’s take on the character in the Marc Webb films. A lightning-in-a-bottle, one-in-a-million costume design made her popularity explode in such an undeniable, revenue-generating way that Marvel’s editorial powers could hardly justify shelving her again.]

But that’s why, more than ever, I want to keep flying the “Sharon Carter flag” flying high. It’s difficult to escape the long reach of the MCU, but regadless of it, and whatever influence it ends up having on future comics, nothing can take away the vast plethora of already-existent, excellet comics that prominently feature Sharon.

Over decades, writers like Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, Warren Ellis, and Ta-Nehisi Coates (welp, so many men) have developed her and given her a fictional life worth celebrating.

Thanks to them, and the Captain America editors, she continues to live on strong and proud in this medium that I still love the best.

I’m going to keep writing my letters to the Marvel Comics letterbox raving about her, so that they know that Sharon Carters fans exist, and that we’re buying comics. I’m going to keep chronicling her comics journey on this blog, even as I brainstorm other ways to share the love. And I really hope I won’t be alone.

#sharon carter #agent 13

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can---i--slytherin · 5 years

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The little mermaid controversy

Okay so this opinion has already probably been posted before but here it is.

Personally I love the idea of Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel- because she is a talented singer and I think she’ll do the role justice. The little mermaid was one of the Disney films I grew up watching and loved- and it was her voice and the story itself that interested me, not the fact that she was white.

And for everyone saying ‘people wouldn’t have it if they cast a white woman as a live-action Tiana/Pocahontas/jasmine’- here’s why I think it’s different.

You couldn’t cast a white woman in those roles because those characters races are so integral to the story and their character.

Pocahontas was a historical figure first of all who was Native American so- even though Disney twisted her real story a LOT- they can’t get around that fact. The story is about different cultures meshing- about people from different worlds and - crucially- races, learning acceptance and tolerance and forming a union despite differences. Race is a big part of the story.

And with characters like Mulan, Jasmine, Moana and Tiana- their races are also integral to their stories and interpretation.

Tiana’s main characteristic is that she was hard working and determined- despite the challenges she faced- one of which being racism. Though Disney doesn’t directly address it in words within the film- part of Tiana’s struggle is that she’s a black woman in 20s America trying to achieve a goal that’s twice as hard for someone of colour. Again, her race is integral to her characters story.

With other Disney women of colour- their ethnicity and culture is again integral to their story. Mulan’s story is deeply routed in China and revolves around Chinese culture. Same with Jasmine and Arabic culture, same with Moana and Polynesian culture.

And that’s all important- Disney gave their audiences sincere explorations of cultures outside of the typical white western experience, and paid homage to those cultures through art, music, and beautiful stories.

But, it means that in any live action version- you’d want actors of those ethnicities to play those characters.

However- with the white princesses, their stories are more typically set in generic fairy tale settings that a Western/European audience can more easily recognise. Disney didn’t feel as much need to root those stories into a specific culture or place because the main target audience already recognise it.

Of course there are some settings- Belle in France, Ariel’s story is originally Danish etc.- but those films aren’t really dedicated to exploring or celebrating those cultures. It’s more of a generic fairytale that would work in any setting.

Hence why you don’t need actors from specific cultures or places to do the roles justice.

Those films aren’t focused on a specific culture or tradition, the story doesn’t change if you set it somewhere else or change what the characters look like- so therefore it doesn’t matter what the actors look like. You don’t need an actor from a specific culture or ethnicity to play those roles, as there’s no specific culture being explored or honoured in the film.

For actors playing Mulan or Tiana or Pocahontas- the role might be a chance to explore their cultural heritage and pay homage to that, among other things. For Halle Bailey- this role is just an opportunity to showcase her incredible voice and acting ability and hopefully break out as a new household name in film. As t would be for any white actress who was offered the role.

Ariel’s story doesn’t change if she’s black- but Tiana’s would change if she were white.

ALSO:

It is SO MUCH HARDER for POC to get into the film industry- in front of or behind the camera, especially in starring roles that don’t ‘need’ to be played by someone of colour. So whitewashing is always going to be a bigger issue than any potentional ‘black washing’ or whatever because it’s easier for white people to get work in that industry anyway.

ALSO ALSO: maybe if Disney made films starring POC where their race wasn’t integral to the films plot or their character- it wouldn’t matter who they were played by in live action versions, either. I’m just saying- it’s not a bad thing to have a black woman star in a role where she won’t be playing a stereotype and her race won’t be integral to the story or her character- where she can just be seen as an excellent singer, actress, story teller- and not jut a black woman.

And another thing- for all the people STILL whining:

• Ariel is a mermaid. A different species entirely. How you think human concepts of race still apply I don’t know

• ‘the little mermaid is a danish tale-’ what, are there not black danish people???? Besides, if we were gonna be true to the original, it’d get very dark real quick

• ‘science!!!’ Fuck off mermaids aren’t real they’re mythical creatures they can be black if you want. Tell me how science explained that London bus red hair she had in the original film.

• my guess is that the people currently complaining about Halle Bailey as Ariel were the same people saying casting Scarlett Johansson in ghost in the shell was fine because she was a cyborg. Why can’t the same argument apply here then?

At the end of the day. It’s a film based on a made up story about a half lady half fish and an octopus witch. Watch if you like, don’t watch it you don’t like. We’ve got bigger problems to think about

#disney #the little mermaid #chloe x halle #halle bailey #ariel

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amygordonfmpblog-blog · 5 years

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Photography, film and print are the main mediums I currently use to create my work. On the course I have realised my great interest in isolation within artwork, whether that is visual, physical or conceptual. I have grown to love exploring the result of abstracting something known, to transform its meaning into something much larger than what its physical shape represents. For example, during the work in progress show I researched the Japanese tradition that deals with failure and breakage, called Kintsugi[1], which celebrates a moment of failure, and highlights that moment as being of great beauty. Broken china is repaired with a special fixative that is mixed with gold, memorialising that moment in time in which it was broken. From this tradition I came to produce a series of images in which I photographed parts of broken pots in a way that made it incredibly difficult for the viewer to recognise what they were viewing, and therefore had no way of entirely rationalising the image. I became fascinated as to how the photographs appeared to capture a vast landscape, something immensely strong and unmovable, worn away and transformed by time, but as nature this is never something to be viewed in a negative light, unlike how we so often view our own breakages, and our own failures.

‘The individual it hails is intensely personalized and thus abstracted from the social world, but also lifted out of language and thus without a name’

[2]

Professor of film and television Sean Cubitt, addresses a fundamental aspect of isolation; the effect of taking something out of its context, like the broken pot for example, gives it immense freedom. It is transformed into something beyond its own physical properties, and thus placed under speculation and wonder from its viewers.

[1] Alan K. Ota, The New York Times Archives, (September 22, 1985) P. 002006, https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/22/travel/shopper-s-world-japan-s-ancient-art-of-lacquerware.html

[2] Shaun Cubitt, The Cinema Effect, The MIT Press, London, 2004, p.10

I feel that New York photographer Saul Leiter’s work explores this isolation, and so greatly inspired this series of photographs, for his ability to abstract such a visually iconic location as New York City. The abstraction controls each photograph, transforming the outside world into a different kind of reality, yet there is always something in the photograph to ground the viewer, either a pedestrian or a traffic light, which acknowledges the real word. Yet, nearly 80% of each photograph is abstracted; the ordinary becomes the extraordinary, something less explainable, encouraging the viewer to look closer, to find wonder in the image, and therefore hopefully in the world around them. For example, this photograph by Saul Leiter, like many of his photographs, has a collage effect. This particular photograph was taken from outside one frame and simultaneously moves into another. Here the viewer is invited to look inside. The door handle to the car window is visible, like an invitation to an opening. The figure is unaware of the photograph being taken, and the viewer is allowed to observe, like in a travelling car, where one is able to see the movement of the world around you, yet you are distanced from it, and therefore become the onlooker. I feel like Saul Leiter’s photographs of New York City beautifully encapsulate the passing of time, and the wonder of observing the world around you, as they have the ability to take you out of reality, and so you are able to look at it in new ways.

From this I became fascinated about a frame’s ability to acknowledge personability. The connotations of a window often suggest an opening, a connection, but at the same time they create a distance, a separation, a frame from which to see the world. The silence of a car, and the peaceful nature of movement allows for greater observation. David Bradfords book Drive By Shootings beautifully reflect this personal nature of observation through a car. The hand that appears within the frame evokes empathy, the viewer feels as though they are looking through the eyes of the photographer themselves. Thus, whilst the viewer is viewing the outside world from within, they are transcended into the photographers vision, their being, the viewer becomes physically involved in the photograph. Without the frame of the window screen wipers and the hand, the photograph would arguably evoke entirely different emotions from the viewer. The frame is no longer restricted to the physical object incasing the photograph, but is within the photograph, transforming how we see.

After taking a series of photographs whilst travelling in a car, I decided to explore the imagery of moving frames from the perspective of a commuter, for example the window on a train. I used acetate because of its transparent qualities, and scraped ink across in a sliding motion to emulate the passing of the outer world across the window of a train. From this experimentation I then decided to scan the images, one of which is the image you see above, which I found reflected the vision I had in a better way, because the viewer became focused on the shapes of the ink, rather than the texture of the acetate. I would like to explore the layering of frames in my FMP, and possibly investigate the result of casting light through the frames, to see if this transforms their energy.

I have become more interested in the relationship between a window and its frame, and how the process of photography and film transcends the ‘literal and imagined division between inside and outside’ and how this is ‘re-enacted when the photographer looks through the lens and sees the image.’[1] What Karen Hellman implies from this is that by examining something through a frame, whether that be a figure walking by, or a landscape passing on a train, the space between the frame and what it is composing is removed, the frame in many ways literally captures its subject, allowing the viewer to silence anything that lies outside of the frame, and focus with greater clarity all that lies within the frame. Josef Sudek’s photograph, from is series of The Window of my Studio, is particularly interesting to me because it presents a frame within a frame. The frame of the window is framed by the photograph, which adds to its isolation. The darkness of the black frame brings the viewer closer to the light of the window, and the fog on the window pane deconstructs the space between the garden outside and the physical glass. I wanted to explore this further and felt that by using the medium of print, I could reflect the window’s capacity to act as a frame for abstraction, and so my creating my own frame through the contrast of black ink on white paper I could explore the connotations of windows further, and how the suggestion of a window can add layer to an image. I would like to look further into Sudek’s work to explore his use of double framing, as I would like to incorporate this into my FMP work.

[1] Karen Hellman, The Window in Photographs,

Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window is fascinating to me because of how Hitchcock utilises the isolating composition of a window to highlight specific actions of the villain, and thus build up suspense. The moments in which the villain is present in the three windows and the narrow street alleyway (which is a frame in itself) are of a magnified importance, as they are the only times through most of the film that we see the character and are thus examined and observed intensely by the protagonist. The underlying theme of the film is that of observation, watching and being watched, and to present this Hitchcock does not move the set from the back garden of a set of flats, all the viewer is able to see are through windows. Moments, snippets and sections of peoples lives leak through the openings of their windows, and thus become a subject of great speculation. I want to explore framing through the medium of film, as it allows for movement (obviously). The contents of the window are alive, and thus activate the frame, like we are able to see in Rear Window. The actual proportion of the action that is carried out through the film in comparison to the rest of the shot is 25%. In addition to this, Hitchcock rarely zooms in the frame, unless it is for a realistic interpretation of the protagonist’s own view, e.g. using binoculars or a camera. Thus, the viewer remains the same distance as the protagonist is from his window, reaffirming the idea that we are observing, and infiltrating the lives of the other characters. Hitchcock also utilises the window’s ability to become a void, a vacuum, something that has the capacity to be filled, but is an opening to nothing. The night-time shots show some of the windows in pure darkness, which I find interesting, because unlike the brick wall which we are clearly never able to see out of, the window represents an empty space, thus imagine takes place where action does not, and I would like to investigate this further in my own work through both film and projection, as it allows for other materials to play a role in the absorption of the film, such as placing a projection over a blacked out window.

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The concept of observation is something that I find very inrteresting and that runs through many of my thought processes when making my artwork. How the medium of film allows the passing of time, and thus becomes alive. I feel that Andy Warhol’s screentests have such simplicity that they confront this fact of observance without the distraction of a narrative. The subjects themselves are given freedom, and the request to be as natural in front of the camera as possible. What differentiates these ‘living portrait boxes’[1] from photographs, as Andy Warhol called them, was their vulnerability in presenting the act of living. Warhol has isolated the subjects without giving them any direction, anything to hold onto, and thus they must simply be. The screentests give both a glimpse of the great human qualities that exist in all of us our physical presence that the frames of a moving image will capture, and yet leave open ended the question of performance. We feel truth, yet there seems to be no closure in this. The camera itself is a void, nothing is being given to the subjects, only taken away. The work has the ability to evoke empathy, as we recognise such human qualities in our selves, yet there is a great distance between the viewer and the subject. I want to explore more of this in my FMP, that being the combination of both reality, and the ability to control it.

[1] David Company, Photography and Cinema, Reaktion Books Ltd, London,2008.

Photography has the profound ability to remove itself from its subject. Its subject becomes the object, in the eyes of the viewer, and thus has the ability to dissolve itself from reality, because of its direct creation from reality. First and foremost the photograph is the reflection and exposure of the light of the world. This fact gives its users unimaginable opportunity to transcend our reality, and present something quite far from it to the viewer, who is unable to perceive the difference. ‘whatever it grants to vision and whatever its manner, a photograph is always invisible: it is not it that we see.’[1] I find photography’s ability to isolate, and therefore magnify fascinating because it is not what the viewer is looking at, the viewer is looking in. I have experimented with perspective, composition and orientation to transform ordinary scenes into an image that is able to evoke empathy from the viewer, because of its glimpse into reality, but also force the viewer to think about what they believe they have already seen and subvert that into something they have never seen before. I would like to take this further, through techniques and processes I have learnt at Kingston e.g. exposing a photograph in the dark room, and through the printing workshops, in order to look further into the possibilities of the relationship between window, frame and viewer, and I hope to do this through my final major project.

[1] Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida, Vintage Random House, 2000, p.6

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fugandhi · 6 years

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The Power of The X-Men

by Adam Wękarski (aka ATOMIK 1)

I have always been entertained & fascinated by the X-Men stories. Since watching the animated series to reading a stack or two of comics growing up - I’d consider myself a genuine fan of the X-Men.

Until this week, I had not seen the most recent installment to the X-Men franchise - X-Men: Apocalypse.

So far, I can confidently say this is my favorite of the X-Men films (although KiMMM! made an excellent point in stating the second film of the overall series was also outstanding). Not taking into consideration the other films (Wolverine movies) and just focusing on the X-Men movies - I have to say this is one of the stronger superhero franchises (and it’s still going strong with the upcoming Dark Phoenix coming out next year).

X-Men made a huge impression on me when I was very young, aside from the totally awesome action - X-Men also had a very unique story to tell, specifically dealing with the struggle that all mutants would face in their own lives regarding social acceptance and harmony with all mankind.

X-Men places a heavy focus on social division and the forces that influence both sides. Professor Xavier is Dr. King to Magneto’s Malcolm X so to speak. Xavier leads the believers in peace, unity, understanding, and prosperity with cooperation - meanwhile his best friend, Magneto, leads the brotherhood of mutants that want to destroy all of mankind due to pain & loss.

For anyone who hasn’t read an X-Men comic but has only watched the movies - I wonder what kind of world that must be HAHAHHA! I think I enjoy the movies more because I am a geek for X-Men and I was in the group of people who were just thankful there were superhero movies even being made at all (back when) - So, I’m able to be a heck of a lot more forgiving to these movies (especially because we all know there was a lot of liberties that were taken throughout the entire franchise).

When Days of Future Past came out I was very, very thrilled because I was like “This is an X-Men movie” and then I saw Apocalypse and I was like “OHMYGOD! THAT’s an X-Men Movie!” at least the closest thing to it I’ve seen.

Granted, Hollywood and the industry have taken a ton of liberties that would make the average X-Men Nerd/Die-Hard-Geek be like “YOU’RE RUININGTHELEGACY!!!” but honestly, I think the movies are their own interpretations that have risen to the challenge and totally hit a home run (in my humble opinion). Characters I would not have normally cared about, I found myself totally being amazed by (ahem, Quicksilver), and then there are other times where I’m like “Okay - Wolverine there’s SO MUCH WOLVERINE” hahahha - even though he was always my favorite character.

Hugh Jackman friggin’ owns Wolverine by now. The rest of the cast are absolutely brilliant as well (especially the guys who play both younger and older Xavier & Magneto - solid talent across the board). One of my favorite moments is in Days of Future Past - when Xavier has to connect to his older self and basically have an internal dialogue to discover his hope again. It’s a truly remarkable soul-searching moment that reveals a lot of Xavier at his most vulnerable, but it completely restores his whole faith into his efforts and rejuvenates him into continuing what his whole destiny was in the first place: to be the leader of the X-Men and to help protect the world of which may or may not even accept the X-Men.

X-Men always had to struggle. Other superheroes share the same struggle as the X-Men, but the X-Men’s struggle is that they may never have acceptance from the very world they are sacrificing themselves to preserve. Spider-Man eventually had acceptance, Superman was totally adored, Batman eventually had acceptance, as well as Thor and Iron Man and a ton of other heroes, but the X-Men never really had that same sense of being celebrated and recognized by society as a whole. It was the constant struggle for the X-Men, no matter how much they have given or sacrificed, they still had to fight to simply be able to live their lives among society as equals.

There’s a very profound & evident parallel (and obvious social commentary) that X-Men seems to grasp and hold up as a mirror to our own reality as a society.

X-Men are in an odd sense very much reflective of the powerful story, we as human beings, have come to know in our own contemporary struggle for acceptance and goodwill towards one another despite our differences and conflicting capabilities (or agendas). We all have our own unique talents & God-given abilities that make us who we are, and there is no singular or pin-pointed example of how all of us, as a society, should be like - in fact - we are the living examples of what could possibly be - especially for our diverse & unique future ahead.

As far as the X-Men movies are concerned - I think I read something like - the cast and crew have to go back for some ‘major re-shoots’ according to someone somewhere (haha) and all I can say is good luck and God bless and I hope they knock it out of the park! I remember when I heard about massive reshoots for Mad Max: Fury Road and that movie ended up being phenomenal - let’s hope that Dark Phoenix is EPIC (Literally one of my favorite moments in the whole series was when Jean Grey went into Phoenix mode and **spoiler** destroyed Apocalypse by unleashing all of her POWER - SO AWESOME! Gives me goosebumps. Also, I must say there was a very, very effective use of flashbacks in Apocalypse regarding Moira and also Magneto that I thought were brilliantly used (I’m a sucker for nostalgia & sappy flashbacks haha).

Hope is a very, very important concept throughout these films. Xavier loses hope at one point throughout the journey, although he gets it back with the help of his friend Logan. X-Men are unique in that they’ve all found each other amidst their own individual paths - and it was a destined and shared fate. Hope is what unified each one of these characters as it did the humans who also believed in an understanding world full of compassion (which is achievable).

In conclusion, the power of Xavier’s belief is his hope and faith in the goodness of all, and continues to see it as he states, “Just because someone stumbles and loses their path doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.” ..Precious words of fortitude & grace.

#X-MEN #X2XMENUnited #XMENTheLastStand #XMENFirstClass #XMENDaysOfFuturePast #XMENApocalypse #DarkPhoenix #Movies #Superheroes #SuperheroMovies #ComicBookMovies #ThePowerOfTheXMen

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desiderium-eden-a · 6 years

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@kapisola replied to your post:

This is so interesting though :o I’d love to hear more of it someday if you ever feel like sharing more

Welp. You asked for it.

Trigger Warning: child violence, death, mention of rape and kidnapping, children getting eaten, basically anything bad that can happen to a kid happens or has happened

First of all, from the 1600s or 1700s (haven’t worked out exactly when Neverland was created) various children have been transported to this other world with no memory of how or what they were doing beforehand. All they know is that they are in this land and they now have a monster partner.

Neverland itself has five kingdoms, each ruled by a child with an incredibly powerful monster.

You have the City of Graves, ruled by Amelie (I had Lazuli in her role in drawing but Amelie was the original), a 10-year-old girl from the Victorian Era, and her monster, Gepetto. It’s a dark and gray city of tall crooked stone buildings and graveyards. The air is full of scattered whispers and the windows usually have shadowy figures looking out. Easily the most depressing place in Neverland, but also the only pacifist zone. Monster battles are forbidden here.

The rest of the kingdoms celebrate fighting. And though they are much more colorful and fun looking, they’re also home to official fighting rings. There is the pastel Castle of Sweets, run by a 6-year-old girl from the Great Depression. The neon Neo City, run by a 12-year-old boy from the 80s (the least experienced of the kings). And two others that I haven’t fully fleshed out yet.

The world itself, with exception to the City of Graves, is a very colorful and fantastical world. So most kids, after the initial shock, go off and have fun. Go on adventures or fight each other with their monsters.

The main story was about this new kid, from the modern age, who has just been transported to Neverland, and unlike so many of the others, wants to find a way back. From there, he meets with a couple other kids who may have been there longer but not by much. They’d know about monsters and monster battles but have yet to know how dangerous this world can be. They then get the help of Amelie who joins them. No one knows how to go home though, as no one’s done it before. But they decide to start by collecting the keys entrusted with each of the kings.

Sounds easy enough, but as they travel, the group begin to see that Neverland isn’t as fun as it first seems Well, except Amelie, who already knew.

The first is that monsters can fight to the death, especially in the special fighting rings of the other kingdoms where it’s actually cheered for and encouraged. And while watching one monster kill another may be much for kids, what comes after is much worse.

When a child dies, their monster dies with it. However, technically a child can survive without their monster. Except that monsters love the taste of children. So those who lose their monsters are in constant danger of being killed, which is how many have died throughout the ages.

Of course, the City of Graves provides safe haven, but only for those who can make it there. even then, it’s difficult living. Food is limited as the soil that isn’t used for graves, isn’t fertile enough to grow much more than black thorn bushes. But hunting and gathering food is difficult as very few children who still have their monsters choose to fight under Amelie and many of those who do have to stay behind to protect the kingdom and its few inhabitants. (Amelie herself only left because she wanted to see if she could send the monsterless children home.)

As tasty as kids are, monsters will never turn on their own kid, at least never kill. As that means their own death as well. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be malicious. Something present in some weak-willed kids or those with low self-esteem is that their monsters will often bully, abuse or even try to manipulate them to do what they want. This is especially dangerous in parasitic monsters who reside attached to or inside their child’s body.

Something that I’m not sure will be revealed until the end is the nature of Neverland and its monsters.

First of all, every kid who appears in Neverland is either dead or dying (more specifically kids who died or are dying in terrible ways). Though any dying kid will be dead if left there long enough. And their monsters are manifestations of their traumas and darkness, particularly the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

In the case of Lazuli and Amelie, their monsters represent their murderers. With Lazuli being killed by her mother in this universe. But she still idolizes her mother, which is why Mama is still pretty, at least until she opens her mouth.

With Amelie, she was abducted and murdered by a rapist who had befriended her. A street performer who used his puppet shows to lure children. Gepetto takes the form of a black tattered cloak and theater mask, with disembodied hands that peel the cloak away like a curtain. His attacks use nursery rhymes as a child-like puppet, always crying blood with dark chains that resemble hands clamped around their necks and limbs,emerges to cast a spell.

Though not all monsters are so literal in their interpretations.

The monsters are linked to their child’s mind and come in 3 ranks. Though the general belief is that monsters evolve with experience in combat, there is actually a stronger relationship between the monster and the loss of innocence in the child.

Rookie is the first rank. Each kid arrives with a rookie level monster. Smaller, weaker, and often cuter looking than other monsters. Most kids who fight with rookie level monsters do so until one side faints or is exhausted rather than dies.

With a monster’s first kill though, it evolves to Champion level. Bigger, stronger and more monster looking. Children with Champions typically realize at this point that there are consequences in battles.

The final rank is Ultimate. The strongest, and typically most monstrous or disturbing looking rank. Children with Ultimate rank monsters more or less understand the extent of their actions. This can come with a certain amount of monster kills, depends on the child, or when a child allows or orders their monster to eat or harm another child directly.

Basically, a Champion arises when you realize you can kill another monster. An Ultimate comes when you realize you can kill another kid, whether directly or indirectly.

#Neverland story #trigger warning #tw: child violence #tw: rape mention #tw: child murder #and like so many other things that seem almost too specific to tag #like #tw: monsters eating kids #tw: kids telling monsters to eat kids #but yeah . . . it's like Digimon meets Silent Hill

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architectnews · 3 years

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London Southbank University spotlights 18 student architecture projects

A concrete playground for children and a bankers' hub where the public can learn about the financial world are included in Deezen's latest school show by students at London Southbank University.

Also included are a working, living and teaching space for local Camden artists and a redesign of Piccadilly Circus to encourage strangers to meet after Covid-19.

London Southbank University

School: London Southbank University, The School of the Built Environment and Architecture Course: Architecture Tutors: Luke Murray, Bandele Olubodun, Angela Vanezi and Todor Demirov

School statement:

"Architecture at LSBU supports an agenda of opportunity for all those that wish to be an architect. To be an architect requires us to be professional, ethical, and responsible for our environment and every individual in society.

"We do not simply wish to serve society, but we have a duty to make it better. BA(Hons)Architecture Undergraduate architecture at LSBU celebrates an eclectic mix of design studios to allow students to choose their studios in their second and third year. Our course ensures that all students develop a strong skills base from their first degree, preparing them for professional employment.

"This is enhanced by our extra learning activities such as the architecture lecture series, engagement in international exhibitions – such as the Venice Biennale – and our Professional Advisory Board. Design is the most intensive aspect of our course and is supported by our excellent digital architecture workshop facilities that present our dynamic teaching spaces and the great diversity of our students.

"Master of Architecture Postgraduate study at LSBU focuses on design innovation, poetics, and critical thinking. Design is underpinned by technology, history and theory and professional practice. Postgraduate architecture is an essential step in an architect's progression, allowing one to establish a position in the profession and challenge the complexities that the 21st century affords. Constructive critique is imperative for us to be able to interpret the world and change it."

The Glass Works by Lillian Bartella

"The proposed venue is situated in the proximity of the national studio, an area of rich history, namely the Old and New Vic Theatres with insets of retail and residential properties.

"Lillian looked at precedence such as MVRDV to combine old and new brickwork to create an original inside/outside space of layered entertainment while befitting the community's atmosphere.

"The Glass Works followed the brief of visualising leisure and entertainment facilities in the aftermath of the pandemic – incorporating restaurant spaces into performance spaces, immersing the restauranters into willing participants.

"From the ground to the roof terrace, each level captivates an audience of play and performance via the elaborate atrium, coupled by the fixed performance areas for social distancing that promenades to the rooftop terrace and breaks out into the open air, allowing the enjoyment and entertainment to continue throughout."

Student: Lillian Bartella Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Carlos Fenick-Sanchez, Carlene Prince, Jun Hyunbai, Jones Luke, Yasar Shah, Andrea Tiberi, Solomon Adewumi and Tony Okoluko Email: [email protected]

Concrete Playground by Jonah Howley

"In its urban setting, the root of the proposal 'to play' combines learning, socialising and experimentation for children and adults alike, constructing a space for all ages and abilities within the community. Here the contemporary timber structure conceals a concrete playground.

"The ground floor is a combined skatepark and children's playground where the concrete rises and falls to allow for experimentation for both sectors using the space.

"Inside the building, there is an art studio and theatre workshop while the archive space sits on the first floor. Alongside the offices sits the gardens and play areas while the skatepark meanders to the roof.

"Jonah believes the building will create a space where community members can enjoy being expressive and creative through performance utilising the diverse avenues provided. The proposal has been designed with several uses in mind to ensure a sustainable future and continued use by varied demographics, and to unite the community again after this period of lockdown."

Student: Jonah Howley Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Email: [email protected] Tutors: Carlos Fenick-Sanchez, Carlene Prince, Jun Hyunbai, Jones Luke, Yasar Shah, Andrea Tiberi, Solomon Adewumi,and Tony Okoluko

The People's Parliament by Alba Ajazaj

"In a society where free speech is praised, we repeatedly see it only applying to 'filtered speech'. With new governance regulations consistently being pressed, practically removing the ability to protest – a space for people to be unequivocally unfiltered – has long been required.

"This proposal would therefore act as a space for speech, a safe zone for protest. By broadcasting the protest from within the proposed intervention, people would be united in sharing and debating their thoughts.

"By implementing the fundamentals of classicism and institutional architecture, the proposal consists of private and public zones in a hierarchal manner, integrating the use of viewports allowing the spaces to still feel interconnected."

Student: Alba Ajazaj Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Angela Vanezi and Olivier Jauniaux Email: [email protected]

The Cathedral of Trade by Desislava Dobrinova Cholakova

"The project introduces the design of a civic centre which has the potential to adapt and accommodate an emergency situation. The student proposes a bankers' hub, where financiers express and experience their personal values and beliefs.

"The building incorporates the key principle of religious buildings that make them civic – open to all while revealing the financial world to the public. The proposed civic space allows a variety of people to participate within its function and engage with the city as an entity while celebrating London, its society, culture and diversity."

Student: Desislava Dobrinova Cholakova Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Angela Vanezi and Olivier Jauniaux Email: [email protected]

Arts and Crafts School and Artist-in-Residence Complex, Elephant Park, London by Jennifer Page

"The Elephant Park Arts and Crafts School and Artist-in-Residence Complex host multiple functions related to the teaching and practising of arts and crafts, as well as local and international artistic activity. It can be perceived as a Corbusian 'box of miracles' entrusted with the task of encouraging creativity.

"The student started by making a scale model of her room then produced a set of exploratory drawings to help her engage in the final design. Thus, before actively engaging with the given site, the student managed to engage with the making process, handcrafting an object that connects to the site in a 'non-linear' manner."

Student: Jennifer Page Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Spyridon Kaprinis and Natascha Madeiski Email: [email protected]

Arts and Crafts School & Artist-in-Residence Complex, Elephant Park, London by Reece Harrison

"The building hosts multiple functions related to the teaching and practising of arts and crafts, as well as local and international artistic activity.

"The goal is to link novel formal and conceptual ideas of spatial multiplicities; intertwining geometries; curvilinear and irregular forms; and playful atmospheres with the school and residential programme. The student started the project by engaging in a series of casting and form-finding experiments, trying to become the artist for whom he was designing the school and residential complex."

Student: Reece Harrison Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Spyridon Kaprinis and Natascha Madeiski Email: [email protected]

The People Show by Nicholas Hasbani

"The People show theatre has a deep dissatisfaction with traditional theatres, both as a building and as a form. To them, it is absurd to have special places for plays, where the audience is separated arbitrarily from the action by the convention of the stage area. As a result, The People Show will set up and perform in alleys, phone boxes, and even bookshop basements in leftover or interstitial space.

"My strategy is focused on everyday, site-specific performances. I have created a space not bounded by our traditional theatre experience but by a vision of what theatre can mean. I aim to change people's perspectives on theatre and ultimately blur the lines between performers and the audience."

Student: Nicholas Hasbani Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Steve Bowkett and Margarita Germanos Email: [email protected]

The Jellerine by Loema Shati

"The Jellerine is an architectural vision based on AI and a city's future in a global warming driven apocalypse. Scientist Tom Aschumen has predicted the world will be flooded by 48 per cent in the not too distant future. Granary Square, like so many other significant sites in London, will be immersed underwater. So how will my design survive in the future? My answer is jellyfish!

"Jellyfish are unique, they have survived over 500 million years. They are immortal. After human extinction, the jellyfish will still live and continue to infest the ocean. When exploring the jellyfish, I analysed its organic systems as a model for a biomimetic structure.

"The definition of biomimetic structures in design attempts to translate biological principles into engineered systems, replacing more classical engineering solutions to achieve a function observed in the natural world."

Student: Loema Shati Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Steve Bowkett & Margarita Germanos Email: [email protected]

The Artistry of Camden by Petra Boreta

"Graffiti and nature are brought together in this design. The Artistry of Camden reflects the borough's most prominent feature, its art scene that creates a good working, living and teaching environment for local artists. The problem of polluted vegetation was addressed in this concept. A solution was created by providing large green areas high above the dirty streets that are available for the public to use.

"With secret gardens concealed throughout the programme and some only accessible via the outer routes, the structure delivers an interesting experience. The Artistry is seamlessly merging with Camden Highline's railway traffic, with trains being able to circulate through a tunnel integrated within the structure."

Student: Petra Boreta Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Monika Jociute and Teoman Ayas Email: [email protected]

Art of exhibiting local artist by Luis Ceita

"Art has been losing ground to new businesses due to the scarcity of space for exhibiting works and also a significant increase in the value of home rentals. This has forced many of Camden Town's local artists to abandon their dreams and move on venture elsewhere to keep their careers alive.

"The architectural approach will provide spaces for art exhibitions to create conditions for the local identity to be preserved and valued, which will help the gears of the local economy to generate more income for the community.

"The creation of secondary paths served as mitigators and will bring fluidity of circulation for both residents and tourists to the site."

Student: Luis Ceita Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Monika Jociute and Teoman Ayas Email: [email protected]

London City Airport – Differentiated programmes of future logistics by Al Shaan Issa Annut

"This project explores the inevitable developments in the future transport industry by looking at both the aviation industry and its existing logistical operation. The project is based at London City Airport, currently running with low capacity due to Covid-19. The project aims to understand how the site can be used for further developments by creating economic and social impacts in East London.

"The project also explores emerging trends in structural engineering and machine learning technologies to use extremely lightweight material systems for environmental benefits."

Student: Al Shaan Issa Annut Course: BA (Hons) Architecture Tutors: Bandele Olubodun and Onur Ozkaya Email: [email protected]

New Environmental Zones for Royal Docks by Niks Piliens

"This project studies the natural habitats and environmental issues at Royal Docks, concerning industrial facilities and transport. By establishing several structural interventions in the site, the project provides a new airport facility with timber structures that can also benefit both natural habitat and local users to create a more suitable environment for the future."

Student: Niks Piliens Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Bandele Olubodun and Onur Ozkaya Email: [email protected]

Symbiosis: The valley of Art and Nature by Emanuele Lala

"Research shows us that art has the power to bring people together. Whether it is a song or a painting, it can impact people in different ways. Tottenham has grown into a densely populated place for over two hundred years due to the high demands of working in the capital city.

"As the urban contexts continued to rise, the natural and organic aspects of London and the River Lee Valley began to diminish. It is imperative that as architects we respond to communities by creating new ambients that can draw a bond between art, nature and the people. Symbiosis aims to bring these elements together in a mutually beneficial manner to coexist."

Student: Emanuele Lala Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Israel Hurtado Cola and Larry Allison Email: [email protected]

Makers Place: The Promise of Performance by Samuel Nicholls

"In a post-pandemic society, the industry of live performance, music and theatre has been compromised, and the spectacle and connection between performer and audience diminished. Makers Place challenges traditional spaces of performance by exploring the meaning, emotion and symbolism within the orders of live and digital performance.

"Architectural and city spaces are seen, heard and felt through all our human senses. Our impressions of space are influenced through form, scale, material and textures – and each part must be carefully considered.

"Inspired by performance and creative theatrical industry, this proposal will enable and enhance the varying scales of both live and digital performance from the local to the global scale."

Student: Samuel Nicholls Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Israel Hurtado Cola and Larry Allison Email: [email protected]

Architecture of Perspective – Studio Docks by Oluwaseun Aiyenuro

"The studio docks aim to reconstruct the materiality available around the Thames dry docks into art sculptures used and observed by those in the new design district development. Each studio provides facilities that allow the transformation of raw materials transported into art, encouraging the synthesis of ideas from amongst the community, sculptors and professionals in the dry dock industry.

"The aim is to create art by the people and for the people. This would further enhance community engagement, beautifying the local district and strengthening the public's interest in art within their community."

Student: Oluwaseun Aiyenuro Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Todor Demirov and Daniel Tang Email: [email protected]

Trees by Tamunoibi Darego

"Traditional buildings aim to protect against the elements; however, their evolution remains constant throughout the world. Additionally, freshwater constitutes three per cent of the hydrosphere. Hence the birth of this design encompassing sustainability through a relationship with the environment by permeability.

"Trees is a residential project with over 70 per cent of its structure made of timber and a water collection system creating an entirely self-sustaining cycle for water use by its users."

Student: Tamunoibi Darego Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Todor Demirov and Daniel Tang Email: [email protected]

Affinity by Raveesha Nishamini Fernando

"Affinity, located in the heart of Piccadilly Circus, is a project that aims to encourage meaningful interaction between people once society recovers from the impact of Covid-19.

"Combining this with the historical elements of Piccadilly Circus associated with love, such as the Eros statue, I decided to construct a new building referencing the theme of love where we can encourage nuanced interconnections.

"Focusing on this theme, we can redesign Piccadilly Circus to encourage organic meeting-cutes where two strangers can meet, wander and form new connections in the heart of London."

Student: Nishamini Fernando Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors: Yianna Moustaka, Piotr Smiechowicz, Ibrahim Rajah and Luke Murray Email: [email protected]

Musica Universalis by Theodosia Tsikkou

"Musica Universalis stands for the music of the spheres. It is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies.

"The project focuses on how we can protect our bodies and buildings from noise pollution through sound masking. This would be a technological utopia where the sound globes would attract noise and turn it into positive energy.

"This manifesto aims to raise environmental awareness and promote the plant-based diet by encouraging the healthy diet. The four elements of Greek cosmology are used – fire, earth, water, and air – in order to connect with nature."

Student: Theodosia Tsikkou Course: MArch: Master of Architecture Tutors:Yianna Moustaka, Piotr Smiechowicz, Ibrahim Rajah and Luke Murray Email: [email protected]

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and The London Southbank University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

The post London Southbank University spotlights 18 student architecture projects appeared first on Dezeen.

#Architecture – Dezeen

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parksabre · 3 years

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Poemsia by Lang Leav

The universe calls and compels you to write poetry because with every ounce of its being, it yearns to know itself through you. (pg. 230)

Many years ago, before Lang Leav became a literary cult, she was starting a new movement on Instagram and not many people knew of her — or even considered her as an actual writer. Maybe the universe had somehow brought us together in ways that only ought to stay as a mystery. Because I actually ran into her in a bookshop called Kinokuniya in Singapore. She was there for a book signing to promote her debut poetry anthology, Love and Misadventures, while I was on a mission to buy my own copy of V for Vendetta.

It was a Saturday morning and I noticed that the air was different in Kino. People were fluttering around — all book lovers, you see — and they were waiting for someone to appear. I was wondering who Lang Leav was when someone blocked me from walking directly to the graphic novel section. A small lady with long hair and bangs like mine peered into my face with curious eyes. I sidestepped her, my mind conflicted in identifying the famous author while also dying to find out why people kept saying, “Remember, remember, the fifth of November.” But she sidestepped to my left and we blocked each other again. Finally, I looked up and said, “Excuse me, please.” And she said, “Sure, love.”

There was a spark of recognition from one writer to another, but my heart belonged to the world of graphic novels while she was the queen of poetry. We met by chance, but we have always been walking in different directions despite a shared love for words. It is with this encounter that feels right to introduce her latest novel, Poemsia.

The novel is about a young poet called Verity Wolf who becomes a sensation on Instagram because a celebrity reposted a poem that she didn’t write, but the whole world became crazy over. In the process of becoming a published poet, she finds a pure-hearted love that is rare in this digital age, where love doesn’t translate well beyond the pixels of instapoetry. However, there are modern-day witches who cast spells of disaster over the jealousy for the fairest maiden on social media but only to be defeated by a bohemian fairy godmother. Verity takes a trip across the world to New York just to meet her literary heroine who is revealed to be much different than what she had imagined success would transform a poet into. This is a modern day fairy tale that is quite platonic in the fantasy aspect. However, the romance of poetry in the digital age leaves one to wonder what is hidden between the lines of a feel-good love story.

After reading Poemsia, I was left wondering what the actual poem really is. It was never explicitly stated in the novel why people fell in love with the poem from Poemsia, a fictional book of poems from the 18th century. The question of who the protagonist really is, appeared as the theme of the novel keeps pointing to the words left unsaid in comparison to what is explicitly stated — as is the habit of interpreting poetry. So the theory I gravitated to after finishing the final pages is that the poem is the protagonist of the novel and the real life characters are a visual metaphor to describe the essence of the poem.

In the final pages of the novel, the reader finds out that the poem is about beginnings and ends. Several times, the characters ask if this is the beginning or the end? In poetry, there are many theories to interpret the meaning behind the crypt. However, it is the reader’s choice to decide for themselves what to take away from the beauty of implied words.

The entire novel was designed to explain the poem, which translated across to the reader as an empirical feeling. This means that the words of the poem is not as important as how the reader feels about the experience of the poem. Many critics and skeptics hate instapoetry for the lack of nuance and subtlety, complexity and technique. However, instapoetry is about the experience of a feeling that the poet is trying to convey through minimal words and an old-world charm.

In some ways, as the witch battles with the fairy godmother over the argument of the evolution of poetry, the novel is a kind of thesis to defend the poets of the 21st century against the stubborn refusal of academics to accept that change is also beautiful. As I recall having met the Lang Leav just as she was catapulted to instafame, I began to realise that this novel is a biography of her feelings at the time we met by chance. This made the novel even more poignant to me as I understood how she felt — hesitant and anxious over the future of her literary dreams — and this was reflected in her literary protagonist, Verity.

There were more straight forward themes of fearing the loss of a friend — of a loved one — and how writing poetry is a way to deal with sadness and grief. There were also lessons about what it is like to be disappointed by our heroes, and how family comes first before chasing after success. These are lessons that are very important for young people to read about and to discuss as a way to prepare themselves for the pressures of adulthood. For anyone who is interested in pursuing a literary career using newfangled methods like Instagram and Tumblr to promote their work and to gain support from likeminded word lovers, Poemsia is a very safe rite of passage to experience with characters that will never die, but become immortalised as real people who have lived through the first half of the 21st century. There is no right or wrong way to express a feeling through words or art. So when the infamous poem is never explicitly stated, Lang Leav is trying to show people that it’s not about the words that make the poem, but the feeling itself. And this empiricism is characteristic of instapoetry and, therefore, an art form in its own right.

The critics of this popular novel might say that the story plot is too simple and not intriguing enough with unexpected plot twists or life threatening drama. The words tend to be rather simple and plain for a poet who is known for romancing her readers with charming visual metaphors. However, I have a feeling that this simplicity in writing style is how the mysterious poem was written. It is a clue to the identity of the poem that was never mentioned, but the core of the story. Everything that happened in the novel revolved around the invisible poem. And if this form of writing was chosen specifically to tell the story, then it is designed to give the reader the optimal experience in the most subtle mystery of a modern love story. The clues are all there. But the protagonist is not a person, a thing or an idea. It is a feeling that cannot be proven with actual words or actions, but the experience of having been there with the characters and leaving the book behind after the final words have been read.

In conclusion, the poem is the invisible but titular role of the novel, never explicitly mentioned. But it is only in the end where we have a glimpse, though still quite vague and left to the imagination, that the poem is about beginnings and ends. It leaves the reader wondering if the poem that still has the heartbeat of a dying world is in fact the very feeling that transcends the boundaries of the written word.

Instapoetry isn’t about the lack of technical writing abilities or the lack of an archaic romance. Instead, the simplicity of the words are a vessel that awakens the emotions and makes the experienced, derived from technology, real in the heart. Modern literature is about empathy to the invisible feelings that are discarded by invisible people who often lack representation in the real world. So the modernness of the unwritten poem in the fabled Poemsia, is a metaphor to reflect the changing times of literary taste.

It isn’t about the tangible anymore, rather, empathy — which is something you cannot see or touch. But it is something you can feel. And so, the poem itself which is never revealed to the reader, is felt by the characters in the book. This is the beauty of Lang Leav’s novel. The sum of the novel keeps pointing to the words left unsaid. And it is the absence of the truth that really compels the story to keep going, even after you have turned the last page.

In continuing the legacy of the Last Chance cafe, as mentioned in the book, I give Poemsia 4 carrots because I wish that the writing had been more descriptive, romantic, and charming. This book was very enjoyable to read because it is not often revealed the process of literary figures in their transition to becoming icons of popular poetry. By revealing the sadness behind the catalyst that compels Verity to write poetry, the reader is allowed to observe how a real person can reach across the divide of time and space to touch the heart of those who love the words that bring humanity together in a shared experience.

It is not magic but a longing for a lost love that really makes the empathy preserved in technology, empirical.

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everythingbutthecat · 6 years

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The Suicidal Elephant in the Parlour or Anne of Green Gables and Depression, Loss, & Suicide

by Adrianna Prosser

It’s no secret I’m a redhead, and it’s likely no surprise that when I was young I pretended I was Anne of Green Gables. In fact, my first best friend from junior kindergarten was a raven haired girl that I nicknamed Diana (hi Erin!) and she in turn called me Anne. When I was 14 I played Anne in my regional community theatre show in the musical (see community newspaper photo below) and it caused quite a stir: the theatre sweetheart who was supposed to play Anne with her beau as Gilbert was thwarted by me, an awkward untrained teenager who already knew the libretto by heart and I owned a straw hat. That show defined my love for theatre and my love of Anne transformed into a love of performing and storytelling. Anne was my life. Anne was me. From her temper to her bombastic nature, her hyperbolic narratives and of course her wild imagination, and let us not forget her competitive nature at school was all playing out pretty much the exact same way only in 1980s Canada in Barrie, instead of PEI in the 1880s.

^1998 newspaper article photo with me and my “schoolmates” in Avonlea school for South Simcoe’s Anne of Green Gables musical production in Cookstown, Ontario.

Naturally I watched the Megan Follows series of Anne until the VHS tapes wilted and wouldn’t play in my VCR. I used the musical version as my audition songs to get into theatre school and plays. I even grew up to be a schoolhouse teacher in a 1910 museum where I involuntarily (ok ok I did it on purpose) looked like Anne in Anne of Avonlea when she gives up her scholarship to stay with Marilla and teaches at the nearby school. I made time in my curriculum to read aloud from Anne of Green Gables the infamous chapter “Tempest in the School Teapot” to my grade 3’s and did voices for Diana, Anne, Gilbert and Mr Andrews; the crack on the head was always the best part played by the schoolhouse strap and a quick thwack to an antique desk. The kids would jump and laugh and want me to read more - what happened to Anne with an e?

Anne has been a big part of my life since I was 5 years old.

Then the CBC casts RH Thompson as Matthew and all of a sudden I’m back in Avonlea with earnest dread: what are they doing to Anne? I hear mixed reviews, I can’t seem to make myself watch it. It has been years since I have shed tears for the reveal of LM Montgomery’s secret: her granddaughter went public to say that Lucy had died by suicide. There was a note in her journal that seemed to indicate as much. I haven’t grieve the author of my youth, but now with this new rendition coming to TV I was going to have to face much more than childhood memories.

The CBC version called Anne The Series is wonderful: the vistas, the costumes, the character work… but there is something hard and dark around the edges. Gone are the warm hues, the bright scenery, the soft focus - this version has the contrast up, the grit and clarity filter showing weathering and wrinkles, and blues and greys highlight most every scene. I am intrigued to see some scenes play out exactly as I remember, and then others make me weep.

I enjoy adaptations, I am an actor and playwright and have read and performed several Shakespearean renditions of the same title over and over again in different ways throughout my career. I get it. Why do the exact same thing when it’s been done before? My thoughts and feelings are that of someone who GETS IT. I liked that in 2017 when this version premiered, we have such days celebrating mental health and focusing on mental illness like #MentalHealthWeek or #BellLetsTalk or suicide prevention day is September 10th and we as a collective here in Canada are getting better at being mental health advocates and de-stigmatizing depression, therapy, suicide and mental illnesses to the point that we are able to talk about it in pop culture (ie. 13 Reasons Why, The Virgin Suicides, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, etc…) and we are left to unpack it at our own pace and level of understanding as an audience member. So when this Anne adaptation starts to inject Lucy Maud Montgomery’s narrative into Anne’s I feel two things:

OF COURSE now we can talk about this! Now we can interpret the reasons why Anne was talking to her reflection in a glass window and named her mirrored self Katie and talked to herself like as if she was two people - THAT isn’t normal. They could be dissociative disorder and throughout the show we see ways in which Anne has dealt with trauma, loss, and the loss of her innocence (though I don’t think rape was implied she has heard and or seen sex and possibly witnessed rape in this adaptation,) at such a young age that of course she needs imaginary friends to help her deal with her situation, or even just the profound loneliness she lives. OF COURSE there would be residual PTSD moments that leave Anne riddled with inaction and mental scarring hearing from every person that she is not a person but a tool to keep the household running and forced to care for three sets of triplets; being told all the while that she is not a family member and reminded of it constantly. OF COURSE we should raise awareness of the things that were happening in Canada around this time like the beginnings of the Suffragettes and women’s rights activism, and of course we should inject that history into a retelling where we as a viewing audience can accept that lens showing us a bit beyond the warm fuzzy historical narrative we are used to.

BUT. And it’s a but I am still struggling with… When the show paints a portrait outside of what’s in the book and rewrites the scope of its characters ambitions and actions - I get mad. And I don’t know why. The specific scene I’m talking about is when Matthew, brilliantly portrayed by RH Thompson (of Road to Avonlea fame,) Here is the show and the book version:

Having re-read all of Anne of Green Gables to see where the artistic liberties by Walley-Beckett for the CBC version (she wrote on Breaking Bad and I joke that this is Breaking Anne,) are and where the book informs the adaptation. (I wanted to know if Marilla and Matthew had been given made-up backstories or if they were indeed in book *fun fact Marilla WAS courted by John Blythe, but the Jeanie button story, though adorable, never happens for Matthew as we are constantly reminded in the book of how shy he is to women, Anne being the only exception.) And of course the suicide scene was never in my recollection but I had to be sure that as a child I wasn’t just misunderstanding LM Montgomery’s intentions.

This is where my very biased opinion takes the milk crate:

Matthew Cuthbert from the novel never exhibited depression, suicidal attempts, nor “invitations”. When I say invitations I mean the signs that one may perceive as invitations to recognize inner thoughts and feelings to be that of a suicidal nature. And the show version of Matthew also does not exhibit these invitations. But that is not to say that impulsive suicides don’t exist, just that they are very very rare. Also, in Christian Victorian society they are DOUBLY rare. So to, speaking to his character (in both book and show version) do I question Walley-Beckett and her exploitative use of suicide in this narrative - it seems wildly out of character and ridiculous.

It seemed the choice was made for ratings and getting fangirls like me bawk at this rendition and give buzz to the show rather than playing into the original story’s nuance - like how I applaud her use of mental illness in Anne and that is why she is the “gypsy witch” that everyone calls her in the book: it is why she isn’t like everyone else on the island because everyone else on the island hasn’t been abused like Anne has. The stigma of being an orphan is explored and highlighted with the picnic scene in the show that doesn’t happen in the book. Anne has to triumph over her snobby neighbours not once like in the book (she saves Diana’s sister from croup) but defies a RAGING HOUSE FIRE in the show at the Gillis homestead to save a child and help put out the fire (a nod to her reading everything under the sun even a fire fighting manual at the train station, a call back to the first episode).

Sure. I like the in-between the lines bits like that. In fact upon re-reading it a lot of the action doesn’t take place on the page, it is usually recounted to us by our grand storyteller Anne herself, so the events are wide open to interpretation because often LM Montgomery says ‘and the concert happened’ or ‘and the school year passed’ and that’s it. My friend JM Frey writes how "Anne is an unreliable narrator.” and I agree.

But, what I can’t handle is imposing trendy topics into a show that is near and dear to many a Canadian heart for the sake of ratings. I thought it a bit odd how blunt the feminist sewing circle was. Not in the book by the way but huzzah for modern narratives and exploring what that gossip and chit-chat would be at Mrs. Lynde’s sewing bees (in the book it’s her gatherings). And clearly what spurned this whole blog-novel is the suicidal elephant in the parlour...

Then the other side of my heart believes this is a good thing, this new Matthew who is depressed because he is getting older and can’t “spare himself a mite” and then his reluctance to listen to his sister leads to them losing all their money. He has the same symptoms of the men who jumped from the ledge of their workplace in the Great Depression. Guilt. Blame. Loss of hope. Burden. And being the sole provider, or being told that one is by culture and society, he is overwhelmed and not only that he is weak in body so he can’t fight as hard as he used to… is suicide so unheard of for our dear Matthew? Many a Christian soul has taken their own lives. Many a Victorian had too, so too our dear writer LM Montgomery is believed to have taken her own life just outside of Toronto proper at the house she nicknamed “Journey’s End.”

While I cannot deny my anger and resentment and frustration with this new rendition of Anne of Green Gables I am reminded that the original still lays intact on my bookshelf and I can re-read it anytime. That maybe this new Anne is taking characters we have invested our love and time with for over a century and that perhaps this unsettling feeling that Matthew would try to take his life is the exact hurt we need to feel to address the suicidal elephant in our own lives.

When my brother died by suicide I was, am, beside myself with questions, guilt, blame, and looking for reasons. This scene made me react in a similar visceral way, to be sure because I am suicide bereaved, but also I had a pre-existing connection with Matthew since I was 5 years old! Matthew is a fictional character and I am not equating him with my real life brother, but I can’t deny that the way this rendition of the story being told rattled me to the core, and I don’t think it would have elicited the same response with a new tv show about a teenage girl with a distraught father figure who attempts suicide after a huge money loss. My love and time wouldn’t be as invested, and so using a beloved cultural phenomenon like Anne to share these themes, and with a main character no less, seems…. bold. And perfectly infuriating for the right reasons.

So while I digest all these feelings I am resolved to let them stay in this area of grey. The show isn’t wrong and the book isn’t right, or vice versa. What I can take away with certainty that I am glad LM Montgomery’s work is being appreciated all over again, along with her new Heritage Minute

youtube

^which not only focuses on her talented writing, but that she wrote such an epic while struggling with depression. That message that you can still create and create great things while depressed is a message we need to hear and celebrate. We also need to own that some people are suicidal and we all need to step up our efforts to help our loved ones around us know that they can talk about it, seek help without judgement, and lean on us. There is no need to read between the lines like we are here with Anne, and we can ask our friends and family directly for help when we too have thoughts and feelings that make us want to end our lives.

“It was the last night before sorrow touched her life, and no life is ever quite the same again once that cold, sanctifying touch has been laid upon it.” -LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, Chapter 36 “The Glory and the Dream”

Thank you Anne for once again growing up with me and helping me understand my thoughts and feelings a bit better.

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dfroza · 3 years

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A devotion for Halloween

from an email this morning:

Ouija Boards, Warfare, Exorcism, and the Bible’s Undeniable Stance on Playing with Fire

by Billy Hallowell, from Playing with Fire

Ouija boards. Psychics. Tarot card readings. Necromancy (attempts to communicate with the dead). The list of spiritual antics and so-called parlor games share a common thread: encouraging people to place hope and find solace in people, spirits, and sources other than God.

Most people traditionally dive into these activities for entertainment’s sake. But while many assume these actions are benign or comical, a brief look at Scripture offers a convicting and stirring reality: these practices are anything but games and can actually put us in profound spiritual danger.

Many Christians don’t realize that the Bible explicitly prohibits believers from engaging in necromancy, divination (seeking the future), psychic readings, and other related activities. We are advised not to “practice divination or seek omens” (Leviticus 19:26), not to “turn to mediums or seek out spiritists” (Leviticus 19:31), and not to consult the dead.

And those cautionary verses are overtly stern, warning that humans will be defiled by such practices. Despite these biblical claims, culture encourages, facilitates, and praises these attempts to communicate with the dead, using the Ouija board — a “game” people often play at slumber parties and other gatherings. The Ouija board is a pop culture staple.

For many, the idea of a legitimate psychic reading might seem ridiculous or impractical, a grand scheme to sucker people out of their money — and that’s understandable.

Surely, some of those who purport to have these powers are swindling and tricking the masses, though a thorough look at Scripture delivers some important realities and warnings worth considering.

The Bible affirms that these individuals exist, as the text explicitly implores people not to practice or seek out psychics’ services. The Old Testament does anything but shy away from these topics, with Leviticus 19:31 offering the strong admonition:

Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

The verses cited, along with other content in Leviticus, were written by Moses specifically for the Israelites, but there seem to be some timeless elements worth noting. Not only do these scriptures indicate that there were people who practiced divination (seeking supernatural information about the future), but the Israelites were also urged to steer clear of anyone who sought out communication with the dead.

And then there’s Deuteronomy 18:9–13 (NIV), which takes an even heavier-handed approach:

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

When one continues to read through Scripture (I detail these stories in Playing with Fire), these elements emerge again and again, with Isaiah questioning why a person would consult mediums and spiritualists. In discussing this issue, the prophet pondered why people wouldn’t simply turn to God: “Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?”

And to showcase just how seriously this was all taken, Leviticus 20:27 prescribed a serious penalty for such activities: “A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.”

These issues are also presented to us in a variety of forms in the New Testament. For instance, we meet a slave woman in Acts 16 who is described as having “a spirit by which she predicted the future.” This particular woman followed Paul around for days until he finally turned around and proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’”

We’re told that the spirit complied, and the woman no longer held her ability to foretell the future. Again, it’s clear this fortune-telling ability isn’t something to be heralded.

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez was among those who addressed these issues in Playing with Fire, warning people against “provoking darkness” and to embrace Jesus. He said, “If you don’t have a firewall of righteousness, if you’re not covered by the vicarious atoning work of Jesus, then possession is really a possibility, especially those that dabble with darkness and dabble into satanic witchcraft, convocations, calling upon spirits and so forth, engage in activity that is really outside the norms of what we would call appropriate, literally provoking darkness to invade their lives.”

So, in addition to steering clear of the aforementioned activities, how do we protect ourselves against the flames of spiritual fires? Paul provided the answer when he reminded believers to “put on the full armor of God” so that each person can “stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10–12 NIV).

But what does this mean exactly? It involves our approach to the world around us and our response to some core questions:

In a relativistic culture that tells us we need no such armor and that anything goes, are we truly able to steadily stand?

If we’re told that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” are we taking that warning seriously if we apathetically sit idle?

Paul affirmed that

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. — 2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

If our culture is blind, perhaps theologians and pastors are right to conclude that there is a slippery cultural slope that has helped catapult our society into confusion. But we have the power to fight back on an individual level with the armor of God, and that translates into some simple, yet powerful, steps:

• Make a commitment to read Scripture daily

• Pray

• Live out our faith in a relational way, embracing Jesus’ call to love God and love others

Let’s avoid the occult but, most importantly, let’s live our lives daily for Jesus and take up the shield that only faith can provide.

Written for FaithGateway by Billy Hallowell, author of Playing with Fire.

Your Turn

Today is a celebration of fall, of harvest, of the Lord turning summer into fall. Let’s stay away from the things that the Lord warns us against and enjoy what’s good! Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We want to hear from you!

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dishdasha · 4 years

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Read it and then read it again.

https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/the-arts-crisis-and-the-colonial-cringe/

The Arts Crisis and the Colonial Cringe

The arts industry in Australia is at a precipice—decimated by the pandemic and systematically starved of funding. Instead of advancing an economic and nationalist argument for the value of the arts, we need to confront Australia’s cultural estrangement and reorient the sector towards social justice.

Lauren Carroll Harris

15th Oct, 2020

‘Art is a really bad word here.’

——John Cassavetes

‘If you want to destroy something, a standard method is first to defund it.’

——Noam Chomsky

For months now, art has lived almost entirely on the internet. Museums battened down. Ticketing revenue from cancelled cultural events vanished. Major cultural institutions made frictionless, robotic virtual gallery tours their go-to method of adaptation. And as unemployment in the arts soars, the Federal Government’s late stimulus package—tiny in comparison to the size of the industry, precluding basics like hardship payments, still unspent—expressed contempt for practicing artists and the sector’s grassroots. The recent federal budget has reinforced the Government’s tactic: turning away from whichever sector it deems to be an ideological opponent with fatal indifference.

One of the earliest cultural responses in this country to the COVID-19 catastrophe was to bunker down and look inward: with the suspension of air travel, touring and international acts came a call for insularism, to enlarge ‘the breadth, calibre and impact of Australian stories that our festivals could help commission, nurture and unleash every year.’ A column in the Guardian quoted festival directors putting together programs that discuss ‘what it means to be Australian’ and celebrate ‘our place and our home.’

It struck me as puzzling. A festival can program an author or activist to speak via Zoom from anywhere in the world, or commission newly produced podcasts and radio plays by authors whose book tours have been cancelled. Video artists can collaborate remotely with their editors and sound designers to cut together new projects. Writers can work on scripts across borders and hold Skype meetings with international mentors. You can activate your VPN and click onto a trove of world cinema. Digital curators can open up access to new art to anyone, anywhere in the world, 24/7. And yet amid this internationalisation of culture, in Australia, the same tired, milquetoast cultural narratives about art’s service to national identity were being rehearsed.

I know what you’re about to say: I’m indulging in the cultural cringe. But I’m beginning to think many of us have lost sight of what that term really means. And that may be the whole problem.

A.A. Phillips’ seminal essay on the cultural cringe first appeared in Meanjin in 1950, describing an internalised inferiority complex, mainly regarding literature; Australian writing at the time was not thought worthy of undergraduate study. ‘Australia is an English colony,’ wrote Phillips, at a time when Australians were still British subjects by definition, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had not yet won suffrage. ‘Its cultural pattern is based on that fact of history or, more precisely, on that pair of facts… But the fact of our colonialism has a pervasive psychological influence, setting up a relationship as intimate and uneasy as that between an adolescent and his parent.’

The cringe’s historical origins lie in the material reality of colonialism, producing what literary academic Emmett Stinson has since called a wider set of anxieties about Australian culture in relation to the world around it. Colonists denied and evicted the cultures of this continent’s custodians and supplanted it with their own. That process cemented a displacement of culture at Australia’s heart—art lost its origin—as well as a tendency to look abroad (at first to Britain, the culturally dominant hegemony, then to the US) for cultural confirmation.

When we talk about the cultural cringe, we’re really talking about the colonial cringe.

What we are seeing this year is the arts sector grapple, or rather, refuse to grapple, with its decline and gradual rejection as a federally funded public project.

Today, though, the term stands in for a form of reflexive reverse snobbery—a lazy satisfaction with the status quo and whatever is made here. Contemporary usage of the term is cut adrift from that understanding of colonial culture, which was key to Phillips’ argument: that Australia’s subservience to overseas cultural values, specifically, British cultural values, came from it’s ‘umbilical connection’ to the literature, art and ideas of its colonial parent. Consider that the Art Gallery of NSW didn’t consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art worthy of collection until the 1950s; that Queen Elizabeth opened the National Gallery of Australia as late as 1982.

Phillips confessed that at times ‘a raucous nationalism’ had led to excessive ‘over-praise’ for Australian works. Indeed, the popular interpretation of the term now is used to shut down discussion, to automatically praise local culture with an uncritical eye, such that it is almost impossible to advance a critique of Australian culture without being dismissed as an unthinking imbiber of the cultural cringe.

That’s the paradox—that the term cultural cringe is now called upon regularly with the same assumed anti-intellectualism that Phillips wished to challenge. I still believe that the best, or rather, only way, to grow the standing of the arts here is to engage with it critically and rigorously—to discard the implicit idea that anything Australia produces is above critical engagement simply because it is Australian. The question then becomes how to investigate the history of art and culture when, historically, there have been few institutional channels here to do so?

What we are seeing this year is the arts sector grapple, or rather, refuse to grapple, with its decline and gradual rejection as a federally funded public project. As this happens, it should reckon with where it first drew its power and what it replaced—what A.A. Phillips called the ‘colonial dilemma’. This cultural estrangement will continue, until the problem of colonialism is materially addressed. The centre of this society is missing a knowledge that should have been omnipresent. How will we choose to live, with such emptiness?

These things set in motion 250 years ago are still bearing out. The cultural subservience and intellectual timidity that Phillips described was baked into the structure of Australian life, from everything to the economy to citizenship. Australia never has kicked out the Brits. Still, it is the only colonial country that has not engaged in a process of treaty, truth-telling and justice on a national level (Victoria’s formal movement toward this is a necessary, heartening step).

That means that history isn’t finished with us. The defunding of the arts is of course nowhere near equivalent to colonialism and genocide, but they’re part of the same project—bending this country’s narratives and history backwards in service of lies to substantiate settler-colonial Australia’s existence and the sideswept racial guilt that haunts every aspect of life here.

Now, the art world is also facing the great failure of neoliberalism—of the logical endpoint of defunding, privatising, removing state influence and casting off formerly federal projects to states and councils. The parts of the art world founded on neoliberal economics—Carriageworks, namely, a private cultural enterprise that stayed afloat by way of venue hire to commercial activities—haven’t avoided catastrophe, rather, they’ve faced catastrophe first.

Rather, the art sector’s response to the twin crises of whiteness and defunding comes from its dedication to a tradition that promotes individual achievement rather than collectivism like political action, nonviolent organising, picket lines, marches. The impact of COVID-19 hasn’t been helped by the fact that, unlike the US arts sector, Australian museums, galleries, cinemas, theatres and festivals—which usually conceive of themselves as physical spaces, events, collections and so on—have never developed much in the way of online infrastructure and expertise with which to commission and exhibit new digital programs.

Does the Australian arts sector have the strategy and power to get what it wants? Does the electorate care enough to act, and vote, and make the arts’ defunding politically unacceptable?

Does the Australian arts sector have the strategy and power to get what it wants? Does the electorate have faith in contemporary art and culture? If so, do they care enough to act, and vote, and make the arts’ defunding politically unacceptable? Many artists and advocates have made noble, decades-long attempts to patiently explain what art contributes to a social democracy. For those of us working in the arts, its necessity is almost too ubiquitous to grasp and too transparent to prove. Rehearsing the same arguments on the back foot is pointless—the art’s displaced basis here is material, in the foundation of how this society is organised to evict one set of cultures and overlay new ones.

At present, there is enough evidence to suggest that the attacks against the arts have already been successful. It has been a political project. Even before the coronavirus forced the cancellation of cultural events, the Australian public’s art attendance only appears high because it tends to be measured in yearly brackets. Diversity Arts recorded that 71% of Australians attended art events in the year preceding the study, which institutes a low benchmark for arts participation (there’s a dearth of data on regular—say, weekly—arts attendance). In more recent research by Australia Council for the Arts, one in four people said that there were no arts events near where they live. They live in an arts desert. Cost is cited as another thing preventing more people from attending art more regularly. This data is hugely substantial. It spells out a failure in arts policy to provide access to art to everyone regardless of where they are and how much they earn. If the arts sector is to win back its funding, it needs to rapidly expand its audience within the general public. Artists are good at envisaging an audience; now this audience needs to be thought of as the sector’s allies, agents and actors for change.

Art has, since 1788, assumed a minority status. Form-breaking, adventurous modes of artmaking like moving image, net art, hybrid and experimental arts and, until recently, digital forms of exhibition, have very little institutional support here. Depletion of funding leads to depletion of ambition, experimentation and innovation. Meanwhile, media outlets often run more opinion pieces bemoaning the arts crisis than they do critically reviewing new Australian work. The arts bloodbath has outrun the arts’ output—the crisis is the story. Artists are now starved both of their bread-and-butter and a wide critical responsiveness.

The arts sector has refrained for calling for restoration of public cultural aid to, say, 1990s levels. Its main tactics to appeal for relevance from middle Australia—comparing Australians’ support of the arts to its love of sport, arguing the sector’s value in neoliberal dollar terms and employment numbers—have failed to stem the blood loss. The remaining line of argument is that the arts are essential to who we are as a country. Holding up a mirror to our life as a nation. Examining who we are, our national identity. The narrators of our nation. What it means to be Australian. These words are generally uttered with goodwill, but a terrible conservatism haunts them. It must be said: this vision of an absurd, unhealthy, nationalistic identity has backfired. The history of the cultural cringe suggests that Australia’s national existence has been predicated on the eradication of particular forms of cultural life rather than its encouragement, and its importation from greater global powers. Being Australian is absolutely congruent with degrading, ignoring and deleting culture. Art and the people who make it barely figure in the imagined community of Australia.

I’m wary and worried about the way that many of us have internalised funding agency-speak of ‘celebrating Australian stories.’ I’m more interested in art that is a window to other places and ways of thinking.

Over the course of my time contributing to the arts and media, I’ve come to reassess the ways in which I naively contributed to what I now see as a kind of liberal, culturally nationalist conversation that says that the work of the arts should necessarily advance a national interest or even, in academic Julian Meyrick’s words, to persuade the nation to examine its own soul. Some artists may think of their work in that way, but art also precedes nations and borders and federations. I’m wary and worried about the way that many of us have internalised funding agency-speak of ‘celebrating Australian stories.’ I’m more interested in art that is a window to other places and ways of thinking, and culture as a project of enlargement, future possibilities and internationalism.

The arts sector’s response has also been separate from a concept of social justice beyond its spaces. It has no memory of collective power. From the top down, it values career development over social justice for its practitioners. The forces of economic segregation and sexism, austerity and racism, division and austerity bearing down on the world are the same as those in the arts. Curator Liz McNiven makes the point that the growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmaking only took off after decades of pressured progress in civil rights, social participation and legal representation—the self-representation in Bla(c)k screen art we see today is not just a function of creative and industry forces. Lack of structural opportunity means that those with financial mobility, inherited wealth, parental generosity or spousal support—or those who can bear the poverty and hardship—can make a living in the arts. There’s no possible diverse, thriving, funded art sector without a materially just society that acts on issues like decommodifying housing and issuing a universal basic income. Diversity in the arts isn’t purely a curatorial project, it’s also a social justice project. It means the arts, and society beyond it, confronting its relationship to First Nations dispossession and the potential of sovereignty.

The most dangerous discourses are often the benevolent liberal ones that hide deeper systemic prejudices and allow oppressive structures to continue invisibly. Rather than automatically confirming and celebrating who we are as Australians, the arts need to critically engage with this continent’s history. It could also reject the idea that art here must address the concept of Australian nationhood, and work instead to think about regional, local, marginalised and community identities and how those identities connect to the rest of the world. It could even take apart the very concept of Australia and think beyond Anglo-founded empires. To this end, I’ve noticed that many of the most audacious young artists do not frame their work around a national vision, and often they’re not addressing Australia at all, but link their own very specific experiences of living across cultures to broader global narratives of diaspora, lineage and family displaced by movement. I’m inclined toward the view that the most interesting art is taking place outside a national lens.

Another glittering instance of this internationalism is Brook Andrews’ Sydney Biennale, NIRIN, a program that gathers the work of Indigenous and First Nations artists from around the world. Though many in the art world have reflexively read NIRIN as a decolonising project, Andrews’ curatorial statement makes no mention of Australia. Rather than nationhood, the NIRIN website speaks primarily about sovereignty; rather than trying to insert Indigenous voices into imposed colonial narratives, the works simply stand for themselves—a quietly radical shift in the discourse, moving away from national boundaries and borders.

The small screen sometimes offers flashes of insight as to what art can look like when it doesn’t automatically address Australian identity. Made in Arnhem Land, ABC TV’s short creative documentary series Black As is fascinating in that it does not really take place in the imagined community of ‘Australia’. Its situation is the Ramingining community, its language is Djambarrpuyngu and its collaborators—Jerome Lilypiyana, Chiko Wanybarrnga, Dino Wanybarrngu, Joseph Smith—are constantly honouring law and land in small ways along their epic, mundane, hilarious journeys across country.

There’s no possible diverse, thriving, funded art sector without a materially just society. Diversity in the arts isn’t purely a curatorial project, it’s also a social justice project.

As a nation where language and images are used to obfuscate and mislead, Australia has designated its own sacred sites since invasion: statues of Winston Churchill, King George V and Queen Elizabeth in capital cities, monuments to Captain Cook along the coast where he put English names to places already named. This is where art and politics bisect right now. Statues and monuments show the myths of the nation—what is deemed worthy of being remembered, who is seen as central to the stories a country tells about itself. Tearing down statues that unthinkingly celebrate colonialism, and instead, placing them in museums, whose purpose is to interrogate and contextualise the past, designed as a gesture of cultural compensation.

And yet 2020 is also showing us the limits of art and the necessity of systemic change. Change requires policies and legalities like defunding the police, abolishing jails, establishing free childcare so that domestic labour is socialised rather than delegated to women. What can culture do? Some of the work of truth-telling, some of the work of renovating our myths and heroes. There is not much in Australian history’s cultural narrative that would suggest to you that art predates borders and nations, and that people of all genders, ethnicities, sexualities and worldviews make art. But through engaging with the social world, art can guide us through its attendant dramas of colonialism, class, race, gender, sexuality, empire and capitalism. What is art if not a search for a collective memory? As curator and artist Djon Mundine said recently, art can help this place make ‘the conceptual leap to be honest about the past.’ That means the crimes committed against First Nations people and ecologies so that an Australian nation might exist.

I’m not here to depress you or to kick a sector while it’s down. How we change the ending of the arts’ sorry downward trajectory is still to be decided. I believe the sector’s future is tied up with art as a form of community mobilisation and political action as part of a shift in the national consciousness. It’s tied up with how social change happens, and how we change the ending of this country’s sordid relationship with colonialism. Formal recognition of genocide, compensation, treaties, the teaching of Indigenous history, culture and languages in schools, and the empowerment of First Nations communities to govern their own affairs are part of this historical and cultural reckoning. There could have been a hundred Emily Kame Kngwarreyes, a hundred Nora Wompis. There still could be a hundred Tracey Moffats.

I’m only pessimistic as long as the public conversation carries on in the current mood of bewilderment and paralysis. Through history, the most unthinkable crises have led to serious debates and movements in which the future is reassembled and real progress is made. If you’re tired, act. It might be the only way to pull yourself—and the culture—out of inertia. I used to traffic in the culturally nationalist, local boosterist reasons for funding the arts. Now, only one reason remains in my mind: I want to live in a smart country.

End

#artsfunding #killyourdarlings

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snexusmodsuf7m6 · 4 years

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