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theanonymousb · 3 years

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My 20 Best Korean Drama

1. Hi Bye Mama

Genre: Fantasy, Drama

Plot:

Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae Hee) has been a ghost since she died 5 years ago. She left behind her husband Jo Kang-Hwa and their child. To become a human again, Cha Yu-Ri carries out a reincarnation project for 49 days.

Meanwhile, Jo Kang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung) works as a chest surgeon. He was loving, but, after his wife died, his personality changed. After 5 years, his wife Cha Yu-Ri reappears in front of him.

2. It’s Okay to Not be Okay

Genre: Romance, Drama

Plot:

A story about a man employed in a psychiatric ward and a woman, with an antisocial personality disorder, who is a popular writer of children’s books.

Moon Kang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) works in a psychiatric ward. His job is to write down the patients’ conditions and deal with unexpected situations, like if patients fight or they run away. He only earns about 1.8 million won ($1,600 USD) a month. The woman (Seo Yea-Ji) is a popular writer of children’s literature, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant and rude.

3. Angel’s last Mission

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

Kim Dan (Kim Myung-Soo) is an angel. He is also a troublemaker and also optimist. Lee Yeon-Seo (Shin Hye-Sun) is a ballerina who does not believe in lve.

Dan then receives a mission. If he succeeds, he can return to Heaven. His mission is to find true love for Yeon-Seo, but soon falls in love with her.

4. Prison Playbook

Genre: Black Comedy

Plot:

Je-Hyeok (Park Hae-Soo) is the best relief pitcher in Korea. He will to the U.S and sign a contract with a major league. One night, he hears his sister screaming and sees a man running out of her apartment. Je-hyeok and the man get into a physical struggle with Je-Hyeok striking the man with a rock. Later, Je-Hyeok receives a 1 year prison sentence for using excessive force. Devastated, Je-Hyeok must adapt to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Joon-Ho (Jung Kyoung-Ho) is a friend of Je-Hyeok and works in the prisonas an officer. He waits for Je-Hyeok’s arrival.

5. Chicago Typewriter

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Friendship

Plot:

This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras; one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. Han Se-Joo (Yoo Ah-In) who was a writer in his past life and a bestselling author in the present. But Se-Joo is depressed with writer’s block so he can’t write his next book.

Yu Jin-Oh (Go Kyung-Pyo) owned a bar in his previous life. In 2017 he is a talented ghostwriter who can bail Se-Joo out of his predicament, but the mysterious man has a condition for his services. Se-Joo may not be able to meet it.

Jun Seol (Im Soo Jung) was a sniper. Now she has extremely variety expertise. She is a former Olympian hopeful, a veterinarian and a book lover who runs her own delivery service. She oscillates between extreme fandom and an anti-fan of Se Joo.

The intricately woven story of these three characters unfolds to reveal strange mirroring connections between the time periods as well as possibilities for past lives to be redeemed or improves in the modern world.

6. Uncontrollably Fond

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Plot:

Sin Joon-Young (Kim Woo-Bin) and No Eul (Bae Suzy) were in love in ther younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them and they went their separate ways. Joon-Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul became a producer-director of documentaries. When their path cross again years later. Joon-Young discovers that No Eul is now very different person than he remembered – materialisticand willing to do anything to get ahead.

7. Penthouse: War In Life

Genre: Suspense, Life, Drama, Family, Mature

Plot:

The residents of Hera Palace, a luxury penthouse apartment with 100 floors, have many secrets and hidden ambitions. Sim Su-Ryeon (Lee Ji-Ah), who was born into wealth, is the queen of the penthouse apartment. Cheon Seo-Jin (Kim So-Yeon), the prima donna of the residence, does all she can to give everything to her daughter. Oh Yoon-Hee (Eugene) comes from a poor family background, but she strives to enter high society by becoming the queen of the penthouse, the pinnacle success in her eyes. A battle for wealth, power, and prestige at Seoul’s most coveted penthouse begins.

8. Crash Landing On You

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Military, Political

Plot:

Yoon Se-Ri (Son Ye-Ji) is an heiress to a conglomerate in South Korea. One day, while paragliding, an accident caused by strong winds leads Yoon Se-Ri to make an emergency landing in North Korea. There, she meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun-Bin), who is a North Korean army officer. He tries to protect her and hide her. Soon, Ri Jeong-Hyeok falls in love with Yoon Se-RI.

9. Itaewon Class

Genre: Romance, Business, Friendship, Life

Plot:

On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) punches his classmate Jang Geun-Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae-Hee (Yoo Jae-Myung). The bully's father runs restaurant business Jagga where Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae-Hee demands to Park Sae-Ro-Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae-Ro-Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae-Ro-Yi gets expelled from school and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun-Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae-Ro-Yi viciously beats Jang Geun-Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for the violent assault. Park Sae-Ro-Yi decides to destroy the Jagga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae-Hee and his son Jang Geun-Won. Once Park Sae-Ro-Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da-Mi), who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manger. She has feelings for Park Sae-Ro-Yi.

10. Hotel De Luna

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy

Plot:

Jang Man-Wol (IU) is the CEO of Hotel del Luna. The hotel is situated in downtown in Seoul and has a very old appearance. She made a big error many years ago and, because of this, she has been stuck at Hotel del Luna. She is beautiful, but she is fickle, suspicious and greedy.

Koo Chan-Sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) worked as the youngest assistant manager ever at a multinational hotel corporation. He is a sincere perfectionist. He looks level-headed, but he actually has a soft disposition. Due to an unexpected case, he begins to work as a manager at Hotel del Luna. The hotel's clientele consists of ghosts.

11. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Plot:

Goo Ra-Ra (Go Ara) is a pianist. She has bright personality. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now and she is frustrated with her situation.

Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-Wook) doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs.

Goo Ra-Ra and Sunwoo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village.

12. 18 Again

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Youth, Drama, Fantasy

Plot:

Tells the story of a husband named Hong Dae Young (Lee Do-Hyun) who is on the verge of divorce but finds himself back in his body when he was at the prime of his life 18 years ago. He ends up changing his name to Go Woo Young when he becomes 18- years-old again. Meanwhile, his wife Jung Da Jung(Kim Ha-Neul) joins the workforce as an anchorwoman later on in life after raising their 18-year-old twins.

13. Goblin: The Lonely and Great God

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

In ancient times, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is an unbeatable general in wars, but the young King (Kim Min-Jae) is jealous of Kim Shin and kills him. Kim Shin becomes Dokkaebi (Goblin), possessing an immortal life. At first he thinks that he is blessed, but he realizes that he is cursed.

Closer to the present day, Kim Shin has waited 900 years for a human bride to end his immortal life. One night, he saves a dying pregnant woman (Park Hee-Von) who is destined to die. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook) is unable to find the dead pregnant woman. The woman gives birth to a baby girl named Ji Eun-Tak (later played by Kim Go-Eun). 9 years later, Ji Eun-Tak lives with her mother and is able to see ghosts. One night, her mother suddenly dies. On that night, she meets the Grim Reaper.

In the present day, Ji Eun-Tak is a high school student. She still sees ghosts and hears their whisper of “Dokkaebi’s bride.” She now lives with her aunt’s family, but she is mistreated by them. On her birthday, Ji Eun-Tak sits by the sea with a lighted birthday cake. At that time, Kim Shin suddenly appears in front of her. Kim Shin does not know why, but he can hear her voice and appears in front of her against his will. Coincidentally, Kim Shin lives with the Grim Reaper at the same house.

Now, Kim Shin appears in front of her against his will, whenever she turns off the lights. One day, Ji Eun-Tak tells him that he is Dokkaebi and she is his bride.

14. It’s Okay That’s Love

Genre: Friendship, Psychological, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Plot:

Jang Jae-Yeol (Jo In-Sung) is a mystery writer and radio DJ. He suffers from a obsession. Ji Hae-Soo (Gong Hyo-Jin) is going through her first year fellowship in psychiatry at a University Hospital. She chose psychiatry because she doesn't want to perform surgeries. After she meets Jang Jae-Yeol, her life goes through big changes.

15. Let’s Fight Ghost

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Horror

Plot:

Hyun-Ji (Kim So-Hyun) studied for most her life before she died at the age of 19. She is now a ghost and has wandered around the world for several years. Hyun-Ji then meets exorcist Park Bong-Pal (TaecYeon). Hyun-Ji and Bong-Pal listens to various stories from ghosts and sends them to the otherworld.

16. Hospital Playlist

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance, Life, Medical

Plot:

A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that are seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are longtime friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.

17. Fated to Loved You

Genre: Business, Comedy, Romance,

Plot:

This drama is the story of an ordinary girl, Mi Yeong, (Jang Na-Ra)who has neither outstanding looks, a prestigious college degree, nor any other charming qualities, facing her whole life abruptly changing when love comes knocking at her door. While on vacation, she accidentally happens to spend one night with Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk) and even gets pregnant from that night. Because of this incident, her life will never be the same, and this fateful encounter brings love that transforms this not-so-special girl to an attractive, charming lady.

18. Go Back Couple

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Fantasy

Plot:

Choi Ban-Do (Son Ho-Jun) and Ma Jin-Joo (Jang Na-Ra) are both 38-years-old and a married couple. Choi Ban-Do has been burdened with being the breadwinner and Ma Jin-Joo is a housewife with low self-esteem. Even though they loved each other when they married, they now hate each other. They both regret marrying at such a young age. The couple travel through time and find themselves as 20-year-old university students, when they met for the first time.

19. To The Beautiful You

Genre: School, Teen, Romantic, Comedy, Sports

Plot:

Kang Tae-Joon (Minho) is a gold medalist in the high jump, but he has been mired in a slump due to an injury. In order to help her idol, a girl named Koo Jae-Hee (Sulli) disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the same all male high school.When Tae-Joon (Minho) is competiting at the World Junior Competition, Jae-Hee (Sulli) watches him on TV in America and becomes very touched.

Despite her friends telling her otherwise, Jae-Hee cuts her long hair by herself. She then flies to South Korea, with a plan to stay with Tae-Joon who is now injured. Jae-Hee disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the all boys Genie Physical Education High School. On her first day at school, Jae-Hee goes up the stairs with her suitcase, but her suitcase bursts open and all her clothes fall out. A boy comes by and helps her pick up her stuff. Jae-Hee realizes that the boy helping her is none other than her idol Tae-Joon. In her excitement, Jae-Hee sits on her suitcase, which proceeds to slide down the stairs.

20. When the Camellia Blooms

Genre: Triller, Comedy, Romance, Family

Plot:

Dong-Baek (Kong Hyo-Jin) is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil-Gu (Kim Kang-Hoon). The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong-Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong-Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong-Sik (Kang Ha-Neul) is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong-Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong-Ryeol (Kim Ji-Suk) suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong-Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong-Baek may be a target.

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tomodachimeter · 3 years

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Answering old asks

m(__)m

That is all.

Emojis aside, I really am so very sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to responding to messages since the manga ended, I’ve been extremely busy in my personal life so it was kind of all I could do to cope with the manga ending during that time too, haha. As of now even the last volume and fanbook are already out, but I’ll leave a few comments on the messages I’ve been sent as they were. I’m also grouping together messages that are more of readers’ own comments rather than questions for me and responding all at once, so please forgive me if I couldn’t get around to responding individually!

“My heart pains to seeing the end ahahhhhh ashiya and abeno parted waysI really really really hope for something to come next. it kinda feels sad for meabt this ending”

“Honestly I like the ending but I didn’t like how the author left out information about abeno’s background. For instance, what happen to his parents?, where did he come from?, how did he come meeting Ao?,etc. I really wanted to see all of that, including how ashiya told his mom and sister about sakaes death. Other then that, I REALLY LOVE THE PROPOSAL!!! What is with shouen manga/anime with these different type of propsals like, “I’ll skate infinity with you”, “ I will die so you won’t be alone”,etc. Like COME ON!!! I also want to see a adult ashiya and abeno 🙏.”

I feel the same, I love the ending in its own way but I also expected so much more and I wanted to see more of their adventures. So I respect sensei’s decision but that just means it’s a free-for-all in terms of headcanons after!!

“Now that the manga has ended, I really wish the anime hadn't screwed up with the season 2 ending, so we could have gotten a continuation... I really miss animated Fuzzy running around, Ashiya's screaming and Abeno's "Hah?" (´꒳`)♡”

I wonder what they’d do for a season 3 if it ever came to pass. There are a few ways they could go about it like kind of just continuing down the manga, or they could ignore what they animated at the end of s2 and then keep going (Ao no Exorcist style), or I don’t even know, honestly. No matter how dissatisfied I am with how they do anime, I’d still watch it though. :U

“Wow I can't believe it took me so long to realize this! Recently, I noticed that the dynamic between Hanae-Sakae-Aoi-Abeno and the plot revolving around them is very similar to what happens in the manga Switch (Kai-his dad-Hal's dad-Hal). The relationship between Kai and Hal is similar to Hanae and Abeno's. Kai's dad died and this is related to Hal's dad, who has survived thanks to the death of his friend (Kai's dad). Plus Kai manifests what seems to be his dad's personality when he's in danger.”

“So much tears! I really don't want this to end, but I knew it was too good to be true. Though, the way the way the manga ended felt like a new beginning. Hanae made a promise/vow to Itsuki that he will return, no matter how long it takes, so he hopes Itsuki will wait for him. Also, that picture of Sakae and Aoi on the counter makes me hope that Hanae and his family (plus Sakae in heaven) has peace now. I felt like crying more. Thank you for everything and I hope to see you again!”

“ok rip Abeno's past... rip yellow eyes... rip this cliffhanger ending...“

“Suddenly I see that anon ask about OPs and EDs and partings & separations in a new light... darn. (╯°Д °)╯╧╧”

Fittingly enough, Sensei mentioned in the fanbook that Mononokean has always been a story about meetings and partings too, but still...! More...!!!

“I think this ending is very fitting. Ashiya was never truly part of the youkai world, he was always taking one step in only to step out soon after, and going back and forth between loving youkai and being afraid of them. Ashiya's state of employment has always had a "temporary" feeling to it, including, for example, the fact that he never changed his clothes, and his Mononokean-crest clothes were "borrowed". UItimately, Ashiya didn't seem like he could dedicate his life to youkai, unlike Abeno. (continuing from my previous ask about "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world") It wasn't only Ashiya's feelings on the matter that kept him away from the world of youkai. Abeno contributed greatly to this, as he constantly tried to keep Ashiya away from the Underworld, from danger, from knowing too much, and from youkai themselves, even though Ashiya was technically his employee. If Abeno had tried, even a little, to pull Ashiya into his world, Ashiya would have responded to him, I'm sure. (another "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world" ask) The fact Abeno actively blocked Ashiya from his world was the greatest reason why Ashiya didn't feel like he belonged there. But he still felt connected to Abeno, at least. Rather than dedicate his life to youkai, Ashiya seemed like he might dedicate it to Abeno. Yet this feeling was also met with a wall. By the time Abeno realized how precious it was, having someone who saw the same things as him by his side, it was already too late. (last ask in the series "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world") Ironically, the Mononokean and most other youkai were more open and willing to welcome Ashiya into their world. Still, if and when Ashiya can see youkai again, I hope Abeno will have realized the opportunity he'd wasted. When these two reunite, I hope Abeno won't push Ashiya away again. That's all. I wanted to share these thoughts with you. Please let me know your opinion on the matter. Thank you for reading! :)”

I think you’re right on point with the themes you’ve pointed out and I believe that’s what Sensei was going for too, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s terribly lonely for them to be separated from each other. ___(:3 At least we’re left with a (high) possibility of them getting back together (heh) and even moreso with the fanbook extra content too, so here’s to their continued adventures.

“I am not sure if you are familiar with this anime/manga/light novel series “No. 6” because the end of the Mononokean manga series appears similar to the end of the former in terms of the bond between the two male leads if you get what I mean.”

I know of it and it’s something I’ve always meant to get around to watching, but I have not seen it yet!

“Nooo, I can't believe it's over! 😭 But you know, ever since FNM's ending was announced, I've been looking for something to fill the void this precious story would inevitably leave in my heart, and then someone said "Watch Natsume Yuujinchou, the themes are similar and it's heartwarming". So I started it and, oh boy, I've been screaming at every episode because I'm not used to people openly showing their affection! 😂 So much hugging, hand-holding, head-patting... I'm melting!! (send help pls)”

“Hello Spring! We've reached the end of this wonderful journey, it seems. It's time for a new start. Thank you so much for everything you've done for this fandom, it wouldn't have been the same without you! Seriously, thank you, from the bottom of my heart! 😌 (PS: I forgot to mention, I opened this blog on my old old laptop, with its 1280x720 resolution, and the "ON YOUR OWN, BUT NOT ALONE" strip was right there covering Ashiya's and Abeno's faces, I had such a good laugh! I'm sorry I laughed!!)”

“This ending was really beautiful and yet sad. The promise made me hope but.. it's still so angst that maybe it will take years to hanae be able to see yokais again. I wonder if wazawa-sensei is okay, like, usually when a manga is ending they advertise previously, but the news was so suddenly that made me worry about sensei's health status. I also don't think that the publisher canceled the manga. So, I still don't know if this sudden ending was planned or not.”

Haha when I first made that tumblr theme, I kind of liked the effect that the strip had in covering Ashiya and Abeno’s faces somehow, but it always moves around depending on resolution lol.

In the afterword of the last volume and the fanbook, Sensei touched lightly on their various reasons for ending the manga (which I plan to cover eventually... when I have time...) and while I don’t think we’ll ever know fully, I got the impression that sensei personally seems in good health and even expressed that they would like to make another manga in the future, so as readers and fans we don’t need to worry too much.

“The manga ended well but we are left with unanswered questions : What is Abeno's past ? / Are golden eyes and hair special ? / What about Aoi's face ? / What really happened the day Aoi came back injured ? At this time she wasn't infected but Sakae died trying to save her (something is wrong with the plot) ?! / What about Fuzzy gender and his "human form" ?”

I will just say we got answers to some of those questions in the fanbook, and some we did not. :Y Please hold on for fanbook info!

Hey there. I’ve just read through the last chapter of the Mononokean. What a story. There are still a few questions that left me wondering: (1) What is the origin of the Mononokean itself?, (2) What is the origin of the Influence that flows within specific characters of the story?, (3) If Aoi was able to provide young Ashiya with a part of Sakae’s “Influence,” could it be done again?, & (4) If Ashiya could still see Fuzzy, what do you think this means for his potential abilities?

1. We were told in the first fanbook that the Mononokean was originally a well-loved tea ceremony room, and as we know in the Mononokean universe (also generally a concept in Japanese culture/religion, you can looked up the term “tsukumogami”), things that are used/loved sometimes end up gaining a sentience of their own, and if I remember right that’s how the Mononokean came to be too. (it’s been a while since I’ve reread the first fanbook so if I’m wrong please do correct me). As for any other specifics, we only know that Aoi and Abeno have been the first and second masters respectively, I’m pretty sure.

2. This was answered in the fanbook, which I’d like to summarize eventually! But Influence seems to be a natural power that develops in babies who have been in close contact with yokai before they were born, and golden hair and eyes are also a sign of that.

3. The partial Sakae Influence (lol wording) that Aoi gave to Ashiya as a baby was what Ashiya returned to Aoi to save them. I suppose since they’ve already done it before it’s technically possible, but that’d defeat the whole purpose of what they tried to do already haha.

4. I think it’s as Abeno theorizes, that Ashiya always did have a bit of ability to sense yokai on his own as well!

“I was looking for more FnM content and found out about your fanfictions on Ao3, so I read them all and oh my Lord! They were *so* good!! And I was very surprised and very glad to find out you ship Ashiya x Abeno, I'm especially happy because you ship them in that order, since I was so sure everybody would be shipping them in reverse order! Thank you so much for sharing your works!! (≧▽≦) ♡”

Thank you for your kind comments, I’m always so happy to hear someone loves my fic! I do love writing them even though I haven’t done it for a while and I have so many ideas and WIPs that I’ve still never gotten around to completely, but I swear I will do them someday... While I do think the reverse order is more popular in general, there’s a decent AshiItsu (the Japanese term for the ship haha) fandom thriving on Twitter!

Again thank you so much everyone! Look forward to fanbook info I’d like to get around to posting about soon!

#fukigen na mononokean #the morose mononokean #ask

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letterboxd · 3 years

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Exorcism.

Film-obsessive documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe tells Aaron Yap about watching The Exorcist for 30 days straight, mining William Friedkin’s personality for his absorbing new documentary, and the films that floor him.

“Sometimes you can be watching a romantic comedy but what you’re really craving is a film noir.” —Alexandre O. Philippe

William Friedkin loves to talk. A consummate storyteller off and on screen, the director is known for recounting wild tales of his storied life and career as the charismatic wunderkind who ascended to New Hollywood’s elite with 1971’s Oscar-showered cop procedural The French Connection. A couple of years later his reputation would grow two-fold, adapting a novel by William Peter Blatty called The Exorcist and unleashing what is still perhaps the most revered and discussed horror film of all time.

To this day, the film, which broke new ground for its grounded, rigorously methodical interrogation of demonic possession and faith-in-crisis, continues to terrify and haunt our imagination. But as Alexandre O. Philippe reveals in his Shudder documentary Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist, it’s in ways that are more intangible and unfathomable than we imagine.

From the William Friedkin papers of the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. / Photo courtesy William Friedkin

Throughout the intimate one-on-one session, it’s clear that the 85-year-old’s gift of gab has not diminished. As ChainsawMasacre writes on Letterboxd, “his mind and memory is still like a steel trap”. Philippe, a Swiss-born cinephile-centric doco filmmaker who’s covered everything from zombie movies to George Lucas, captures Friedkin’s contagious ranconteuring in all its prickly, contradictory, exuberant bluster. It’s so absorbing that from the moment he opens his mouth, you’ll be hooked in and suddenly an hour has vanished without you even realizing.

It’s true that considerable swathes of Leap of Faith may feel like old news to Friedkin/Exorcist obsessives—anyone who’s listened to the DVD audio commentary, read The Friedkin Connection, or watched Francesco Zippel’s Friedkin Uncut will be familiar with some of these stories. But Philippe’s incisive, thoughtful, highly accessible approach, excavating deeper than anecdotal interest but eschewing academic stuffiness, makes the documentary as much of value to newcomers as to seasoned fans. “The intersection of influences between music, film, fine art and personal travesty made me admire Friedkin on a whole new level”, writes Databaseanimal.

How many times have you seen The Exorcist, and on average how often would you need to rewatch a film in prep? Alexandre O. Philippe: You have to watch a film over and over and over again. I can’t tell you generally how many times I’ve watched The Exorcist but I can tell you when I was preparing for my interviews with Bill, I watched it every day for 30 days straight. That’s part of the process.

Leap of Faith is a bit of a departure from your previous two deep-dives—Memory: The Origins of Alien and 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene—in that you’re only talking to one interviewee, and that interviewee happens to be William Friedkin. What was that experience like? It’s wonderful. It’s really hard to put into words how incredible it’s been to spend that amount of time with him. Getting my own personal masterclass with him is invaluable. There’s no film school in the world that can give you that experience. It’s been really something.

Did spending that extended time reveal something about Friedkin that you weren’t aware of prior to shooting? Oh sure, that’s the beauty of that extensive of an interview—six days—and multiple conversations in between. Without giving it away, in the final sequence when he’s talking about Kyoto Zen Gardens… this is the stuff you can only get from someone like Friedkin once the comfort level is there, once you’re in the groove of conversation. It’s an aspect of his personality we’ve never seen before.

We all know him as a storyteller and a showman but he’s probably been very guarded in the past. There’s a certain amount of vulnerability even when he talks about the climax of The Exorcist, and how much to this day he’s not sure he understands some of the choices he made shooting that scene. That’s a remarkable thing to say about one of the most iconic scenes in the history of movies.

William Friedkin in ‘Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist’. / Photo by Robert Muratore, courtesy Exhibit A Pictures

I could listen to him speak for hours. Did you challenge him at any point? I definitely pushed him as far as I could. The whole sequence around the climax of The Exorcist that I was just talking about. There’s only about three minutes of that in the film but we talked about that scene for an hour and a half. I kept pushing and pushing him because I didn’t understand where he was coming from. I feel as a film fan that I understand that scene. For me, Father Karras sacrifices himself. It’s an act of complete selflessness. But he kept going back to the idea of suicide and that suicide in the Catholic Church is a sin and how he didn’t understand it. And that’s why you see him a little on edge during that scene. It was very important to go there.

I love the obsessive detail that goes into your examination of the creative process. Was there any detail—something that is interesting in and of itself—that you left out? We had a really great conversation around Carlos Kleiber, one of the conductors he admires the most, who essentially taught him to direct in metaphors. It’s a fascinating conversation. We actually built a scene around that and it just didn’t work with the film. There’s a point in any film where it becomes autonomous and its own entity in a way and you have to listen and pay attention to what the film tells you it wants to be.

We also had a great conversation around his first documentary The People vs. Paul Crump, and the technique which he used of slapping him in his cell on death row, which is the same technique he used for Bill O’Malley in The Exorcist. I had a long conversation with [executive producer] Karyn Kusama about this and we felt it was a little too over-the-top to go there and it wasn’t necessary to take the film to that level so we eventually left it out.

Friedkin talks about The Brink’s Job at one point, which is great to hear as it’s probably my favorite underrated Friedkin film. What’s yours? [Laughs] If you’re talking underrated or one that’s not much talked about, for me it’s Bug. Bug is ummm… [pauses]

What can you say about Bug? I mean honestly, truly, have you ever seen performances that pushed to the very edge of what’s even reasonable to expect or see from actors? It’s mind-blowing stuff. How does he even get performances like these? I mean they are wonderful actors but Michael Shannon and Ashley Judd, like, really… Like, really? You know what I mean? That’s Billy.

To me, you’re talking about Billy when he was in his early 70s when he made that film, a filmmaker who’s still really interested in pushing the envelope and going as far as he possibly can. It’s absolutely remarkable and I wish we talked more about that film.

Tell us about one ‘holy grail’ film or filmmaker you’d like to cover. The one I really want most to make a film about, and I will, is Vertigo. To go back to Hitchcock. I definitely have a healthy obsession with that film—have had since I was a kid. I love melodrama, and it’s the greatest melodrama ever made. I can’t think of a better film for my money from anywhere. It’s a glorious, glorious piece of filmmaking, but it’s also a very complex, tortured, complicated film that alienates some people.

I was on TCM a couple years ago as Ben Mankiewicz’s co-host on “50 Years of Alfred Hitchcock”. We did 24 movies together and when it came to Vertigo we had a fun conversation because he’s not a fan. He’s basically like “what’s the big deal about that film?” That really fascinates me. That’s a really amazing thing and he’s not the only person I highly respect who said that to me. I’d love to not only do a deep dive into Vertigo but also what’s so polarizing about it. That’d be fun to do that.

In Leap of Faith, Friedkin talks a lot about non-horror-specific aspects, such as grace notes, and the mysterious, magical aspects of filmmaking that can’t be easily explained. What movies are you drawn to but can’t explain completely through the technique and science of filmmaking? Any great work of art, not just film, that has a lasting impact on us and on society, works in ways that are much more mysterious than not. You can explain away the many different tangible reasons why Psycho, Alien and The Exorcist continue to have an impact, and had a massive impact on audiences when they came out. But for every tangible reason or every fact that you can provide, there are a million mysteries as well.

I’m much more interested in the mysteries of the creative process than I’m interested in the behind-the-scenes anecdotes or little tidbits of movie history. Because you will never get to the bottom of it and that’s the real beauty of it. And the lesson to learn from that is there’s nothing to do beyond just being in awe of it.

Documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe / Photo by Bas Bogaerts

What’s a documentary that uses the form in a way that’s inspiring to you, or one that made you want to pursue this form? I don’t watch a ton of documentaries. I don’t like the term ‘documentary’. With that asterisk out of the way, there are a number of documentaries I absolutely adore and filmmakers that are pushing the form that are remarkable. I think of Allan King, one of the great documentarians.

There is one that, formally speaking, absolutely blew me away and is very hard to watch. It’s called Caniba. It’s a documentary about this French-Japanese man who killed and ate one of his classmates. He did a whole comic book on it, and his brother is equally disturbed. It’s one of the few films, along with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, where I had to literally stop halfway through ’cos I just couldn’t handle it. The remarkable thing about this film is that the entire film is extreme close-ups. You’re watching basically his face and his brother’s face in extreme close-up the entire film and it makes you absolutely nauseous.

The formal choice that was made, in committing to that, it’s so much more horrendous and horrible than what’s on the periphery of the frame. You’re trapped in the geography of that face and you can’t get out. I’m not sure if ‘exciting’ is the best word I can use here, but to say this kind of approach excites me when I see a documentary filmmaker doing this, is accurate.

How do you spell that? I’m going to put it on my watchlist. C-A-N-I-B-A. Good luck watching it my friend [laughs]. Don’t eat while you’re watching it.

What films have you caught during the pandemic and completely loved, old or new? I watch almost exclusively the Criterion Channel. They’re the gold standard. I don’t even know where to begin. Recently I just watched the three Joseph Losey/Harold Pinter collaborations: The Servant, Accident and The Go-Between. I’ve always been a huge fan of Harold Pinter but what Joseph Losey has done with those three films is astonishing. The Go-Between, especially. Wow. That film just floored me.

They had a whole sidebar on Western noir films, and I discovered a bunch of incredible titles like Station West and Blood on the Moon with Robert Mitchum, which is an absolutely magnificent film. Some of the early Douglas Sirk movies. I can watch that stuff all day.

Oh there’s another one I would like to recommend as it is a criminally not just underrated, but completely under-the-radar film: Sun Don’t Shine.

Kate Lyn Sheil’s performance is amazing in it. Oh my god. Why didn’t she run away with the Screen Actors Guild Award, Oscars, Golden Globes? Like seriously. Some of the recent nominations Meryl Streep has been getting, like give me a break. It’s not even close. It’s not even in the same ballpark [laughs]. It’s really one of those rare performances that I think about, like Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher. Once in a generation you see something like this and you go “Holy cow, what a performance”. It does not exist on DVD or Blu-ray and it kills me. I want that film in my collection so badly.

Kate Lyn Sheil in Amy Seimetz’s ‘Sun Don’t Shine’ (2012).

Maybe this will be the thing that will get them to push it out on physical media. I’m trying, I’m working with them, and I’ve done some with them. I need to send them an email and say “Can you please do something about this?”.

What’s a film that you were cold on first viewing but has grown on you with repeat viewings? The first one that comes to mind is Donnie Darko. I really hated the film the first time around, and it’s weird because there was always this voice at the back of my head that kept saying “watch it again”. I did and it completely blew me away the second time around. Often I will give a film a second chance. Especially when I know the film is well-respected. There are films where you can intellectually understand why the film is respected, but you don’t connect with the film.

I’ll tell you one that I’m really looking forward to giving a second chance. Not because I hated it but it left me really underwhelmed. A film that everybody loves: Moonlight. I also do remember when I was watching it, actively thinking I was not in the right frame of mind for that film. Sometimes you just have to recognize that. Sometimes you can be watching a romantic comedy but what you’re really craving is a film noir. That’s really not going to work.

So we’ll see, we’ll talk about it after I’ve watched it a second time. And hopefully it will be a revelation. There’s nothing better for me than these moments when you watch something the second time that didn’t work and you go “Holy cow this is great”. That’s an awesome thing to experience.

More Haunting Chinese Ghost Stories

Tsui Hark returned to the romance of Nie and Ning in 1997 for A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation. That was during a pivotal year for Hong Kong because it was the handover when it ceased being a British colony and was returned to China. Consequently, Hong Kong cinema was on fire. Filmmakers had no idea what would become of their industry under communist China, so they were producing their edgiest political work as many tried to immigrate to other countries in fear of having their artistic vision oppressed.

Hark had been working on the project for years and the animated format allowed him to unleash his vision like never before. This story stands independent of the others, but revisits characters developed for the threequel.

Ning and Nie are the same, although Nie is translated as Shine. Nie Xiaoqian translates to “whispering little lovely” so it’s unclear why Shine was chosen for the English language version. Other characters are translated literally like White Cloud and Ten Miles (translations of Baiyun and Shifang). Also appearing are Butterfly and the Tree Demoness, renamed Madame Trunk, along with her creepy bald minor demoness entourage.

Movies

Zu: The Movie That Inspired Big Trouble In Little China

By Craig Lines

Replacing Master Yin is a new Daoist exorcist named Red Beard who travels in the bizarre magical giant transformer with temple bells for arms, a drum for a torso and barrels for legs. There’s also Mountain Evil, a giant rock star like demon that holds a concert and is obsessed with his hair. There’s a lot of music in this installment.

And Ning has a dog sidekick, Solid Gold, who serves as a comical canine conscience. For the Chinese versions, Tsui Hark voiced Solid Gold, which is funny because he only makes dog noises like barks and whimpers.

Like the threequel, Ning finds himself in a cannibal restaurant but this time, it’s not in the normal world. This one is filled with demons. A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation is a deep dive into the yaoguai world.

Yaoguai means “supernatural and strange.” Fans of Asian cinema know it better from the Japanese term Yokai. It’s the world of magical creatures – fairies, demons, ghosts, immortals, enchanted snakes and foxes – different from the elves and gnomes found in Western folklore.

Hark’s animated film was echoed in Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning Spirited Away four years later. A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation transitions between conventional and CGI animation, which was groundbreaking then but comes off awkward today. It has its visionary moments but pales in comparison to the artistry of Spirited Away.

In 2011, a remake came out, appropriately titled A Chinese Ghost Story 2011 and answered the question “What would A Chinese Ghost Story look like with today’s eye-popping CGI special effects?” Sadly, it doesn’t help despite a stellar cast.

Nie is played by Crystal Liu, who just appeared in the titular role in Mulan, but she falls short. Crystal is China doll cute, but she lacks the mystery needed for a haunting ghost. Ning is Yu Shaoqun. Like Leslie Cheung, Yu is a pretty boy singer, but doesn’t add much to the role beyond eye candy.

The Tree Demoness is veteran actress Kara Hui, who usually delivers gripping performances, but here she reduces the character to a cackling maniacal wicked witch that is strangely unsatisfactory.

There’s some redemption in the Daoist exorcists, which have a completely different and complex story arc. There are two, Yan Chixia, played by a brooding Louis Koo, and the one-armed Xia Xuefenglei, played by Louis Fan. The remake doesn’t capture the charm of the originals and the effects are unimaginative. This isn’t to say that this version is totally negligible. It has some moments like the villagers getting infected after rerouting water from the tree demon’s pool which makes them grow leaves. The villagers provide good comic relief. The sword fights are amusing too. The duel between the two Louises is high flying Kung Fu fun. The film is dedicated to the memory of Leslie Cheung, who tragically committed suicide by jumping off a building in 2003.

Despite the title, A Chinese Ghost Story isn’t frightening. There’s nothing in any of the films that might keep one up at night. It’s a haunting tale of undying romance, retold with visionary action and hilarious slapstick moments that, apart from some splattered demon ichor, is family friendly, with about the same level of frights as the Ghostbusters franchise. But be warned. A Chinese Ghost Story opens the portal to the psychotropic genre of FantAsia Kung Fu horror comedies. Once entered, there are hundreds of films in this genre that can possess a viewer for months of binging.

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A Chinese Ghost Story and A Chinese Ghost Story II are available on Amazon Prime.

The post The Weird History of A Chinese Ghost Story Franchise appeared first on Den of Geek.

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philosophicalparadox · 5 years

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The Tragedy of Shemihaza

(Yes, the image quality is horrible, I’m sorry, Also, Shemihaza is masculine in what stories I could find. So I will be referring to them as a he for this bit.)

Gather round ye, for I shall tell you the sad tale of the angel Shemihaza. It is a tale of love, of loss, and of hope’s wicked ways. It is also the tale of the Grigori, for Shemihaza is the one who led them, and who ultimately led them thusly into torment.

Shemihaza is originally an angel featuring in Judaic lore, specifically in the Book of Enoch. (Old Testament). And his story, which I came upon last month, has been lingering with me. Hopefully, you will see why. (Hint: It has to do with the panel above). The story pans out thusly:

Once, in an era not long before the Great Flood, God sent some two hundred angels down to earth to be humanities “keepers”. They were tasked with guarding and guiding the lost and hopeless man, for he was prone to all kinds of wickedness and was preyed on by it thusly. These two hundred angels became the Grigori, the “Guardians” of mankind.

But the Grigori were not happy with their position, for though they were tasked with guarding and guiding mankind, they could not do so directly, and no direct contact between the beautiful Grigori angels and the equally beautiful creatures of earth was permitted. The angels were there in the case of calamity; they were not to interfere with man’s wickedness directly, as it were, rather through their presence encourage man to know what was right. (Same principle as a child behaving when parents are watching as opposed to being left to their own devices). However, they were not allowed to “relate” to mankind, meaning that they could not necessarily touch them, nor speak to them through their angelic forms, instead sending signs and such of their holy presence.

But the Grigori were not satisfied with this. They wanted to touch man and woman alike, they wanted to relate to them, to speak with them as they were and for who they were, not for why they were sent. And so, “enchanted” by the beauty of the human realm, and of mankind themselves, the Grigori slowly began to “forget” and abandon their mission. They were tempted most by human women, specifically. And none more so than Shemihaza.

Shemihaza, one of the leading angels, met and befriended a human woman whom he met while she was bathing in a river, ultimately falling in love with her.* He wanted, desperately, to be with her, but he could not, for their union was strictly forbidden by the nature of Heaven itself, and ultimately, by God.

Fearful that he would be denounced (cast down, as Lucifer was), Shemihaza convinced the other angels of the Grigori to take up human wives, summoning them to a mountain (Mount Hermon, specifically) to issue the testament, as well as to get them all to vow (to their human wives). Shemihaza also vowed himself, to take the blame and shoulder the weight of any punishments should their heresy be discovered.**

Because of the amorous love that the Grigori felt for their wives and spouses, they began to spill unto them (and the men, too) celestial secrets, things such as medicine, astronomy, magic and witchcraft, weaponry, armour making, the art of mining for precious metals, and all manner of other knowledge forbidden to man at the time.

In time, the women that the Grigori bedded gave birth to a generation known as Nephilim, who were several times larger or stronger than their fellow men, and were known for their exceptional intelligence. Nephilim, for a time, lived in peace with their human parents and peers, for they lived by the same means as man, working and eating their food. However, they ate more food than crops at the time could produce, and as a consequence there was famine. When there was no more food to sustain their rapid growth and ravenous appetites, the Nephilim turned upon the humans in their villages, and ate them instead. Humanity tried, desperately, to defend themselves from their creation, but failed. They pleaded with God for help, for some end to the suffering of their kind.

The Archangels (Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones), who were watching from the sanctity of Heaven, heard their pleas, and consorted with God to resolve the matter.

Michael and Gabriel, the warrior angels, came down from on high to meet the war head-on, and to smite the Nephilim plague. Other angels came down too, with Rafael being the angel to seal away Asael (who would become, in christianity, Azazel) underneath the Dudael desert. Sariel, too, came down from on high to warn Noe (Judaic Noah) of the Great Flood that would be sent from God, to wipe clean the forbidden knowledge man had acquired, along with all the corruption that came with it (in the form of the Nephilim, presumably).

Enoch, (the closest thing Judaism gets to Jesus), felt bad for the Grigori, knowing that a terrible punishment awaited them for their heresy. Taking pity upon the misguided angels, he informed them of the fate which awaited them, berating them for being led astray and warning them that they would not ever be allowed back into heaven after what they had done, but would instead be denounced (cast into Gehenna). Frightened, the Grigori pleaded with God to spare and forgive them, but they had sealed their own fates in His eyes.

Enoch, after conversing with the angels, seen a vision of a place in which neither earth nor sky existed, but rather five endlessly burning pillars and a vast, endless void, the “Prison of the Stars”.

Here the Grigori were cast for their crimes, bound by heavy chains by their Archangel brethren, and condemned to spend eternity wallowing in shame for their actions. Since some of the Nephilim of the war survived, and since mankind was left corrupt and “ruined” by them, God sent the Flood to finish them all off.

The Grigori could do nothing to save their wives, sons or daughters. They live with the anguish of that knowledge, and the shame of their disgraces, locked deep within the prison for the rest of time, crying for everything they loved and lost.

NOTE: Because I am sure there are christian folk confused right now:

* Angels in Judaism have the same encampments as humanity; they have both free will, and a human-seeming range of emotions.

** Also, I do not know the precise nature of Yaweh, the Judaic God, but from what I can tell, He is not held to the same “all perfect all the time” heraldry of the Christian God. It is certainly so, in this case, that angels are able to deceive Him.

Now, WHAT, you may ask, does this story have to do with Blue Exorcist?

Why, everything of course.

This is pure fan-conjecture, but I have a distinct sense that the Book of Enoch was an inspiration, perhaps, for the power structures in AnE.

Looking at it Biblically, it breaks down as such:

On one hand, you have the Grigori, a benevolent order of angels who fell in love with humanity and wanted to share their knowledge with them.

On the other, you have God and the Archangels, to whom that very thing is heresy and should not be tolerated.

And in the middle, you have the Nephilim, who were driven by starvation (that they created) to consume the flesh of mankind.

And making that same comparison to Blue Exorcist:

On one side, you have the Grigori, a faction of the Vatican that have been around forever, who taught mankind how to fight demons (inside and out)

On the other, you have the Illuminati, lead by Lucifer (who, by the by, is a Seraph in his original, Biblical mythos) whom serves the interests of Satan (who is also God) who want demonkind to rule the best of both worlds and couldn’t care less about the fate of humanity.

And in the middle, you have the Nephilim, who are regarded badly by both sides for belonging to neither.

Moreso, Shemihaza as she appears in B.E. talks about having forsaken her compassion out of necessity. But what was that necessity? Was it when she was tasked with killing her own children, as I imagine she may have been, when mankind deemed them a threat? Or was it when her own brothers and sisters turned against her, against them? She seems to have a guarded expression, as though concealing her true feelings about the matter.

And I deeply, and heartbreakingly suspect that she sincerely regrets what she has done, even if it was all done in the name of the ‘greater good’. After all, someone in her position surely has come upon thoughts about where that fine line lies, between what must be done, and what should be.

Thoughts?

(Also, I totally don’t own the image panel used, Kazue Katou does, I just added colour to it because it was boring).

#blue exorcist #Ao no Exorcist #fan theory #book of enoch

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anhed-nia · 5 years

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BLOGTOBER 10/24/2018: HEREDITARY

I am not ready to talk about HEREDITARY. I tried it when it came out in June, and while I think I hit all the points that were important for mass audiences, I wasn’t really ready then either, to say what I wanted to say. It isn’t because it’s so unusually beautiful, which it is. It isn’t because it’s “the scariest movie ever made”, which it is not, although it intermittently reaches seldom-seen heights of horror. It also isn’t because, contrary to popular belief, it is deeply flawed, with certain understandable markers of being someone’s first feature. It is because it feels so profoundly personal to me, even while I know that this is a not-uncommon reaction to Ari Aster’s breakout debut. It doesn’t make me special that I would take this film about grief, guilt, mental illness, genetic disorder, and irresolvable family friction so personally, but as usual, I have something I need to say about it. My experience with the movie tells me something, not about why we need HEREDITARY, but why we need art.

(spoilers abound)

This story, about a woman who recently lost her seriously disturbed mother, and who subsequently loses her also-disturbed daughter to a car wreck caused by her teenage son, has been accused of emotional exploitation by some. HEREDITARY is aggressively harrowing, with interminably protracted suspense, teasingly dense shadows, and a constant unnatural drone that characterizes everything you see, however mundane, as malignantly abnormal. Most audiences may accept this kind of brutality when it is buffered by a fantastical metaphor, as with an EXORCIST or a SHINING. You can scare someone half to death, as long as you reassure them that whatever they’ve seen probably isn’t going to happen to them, even if it reminds them of something that did, or could. If you just make people feel bad, however, they may turn on you. This is Ari Aster’s big mistake, if you want to call it that; I know parents who refuse to watch the movie, due to its infamous scene of violence against a child. It’s easy to see why any reasonable person might want to opt out of this unusually shocking scene, in which young Milly Shapiro is accidentally decapitated while her teenage brother races her to the hospital, after having neglectfully caused her need for a hospital trip in the first place. But, I think it also calls into question the place for and purpose of the artist’s contract with the audience. This concept usually refers to the unspoken promise that a filmmaker makes to his viewers, that whatever happens in the movie, even if it is confrontational, will fall within the bounds of what the viewers basically expect when they buy their tickets. It means something like, when a family-oriented entertainment producer like Disney adapts a Grimm Brothers fairy tale, the audience won’t have to see the huntsman eviscerate an animal to get his ersatz proof that he has killed Snow White, and they won’t have to see Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters mutilate their own feet to try to fit the glass slipper. Part of the problem many people have with HEREDITARY is that Ari Aster’s contract with his audience is a little unclear. It blends psychodrama about irresolvable family issues that can hit way too close to the literal home for any ordinary person, with the unthinkable but entirely doable desecration of the human body, with outrageous supernatural horrors that, while scary as hell, can seem preposterous in light of the more terrestrial torments that have gone before.

To try to be more succinct, which is difficult with such a complex film, my own problem with HEREDITARY is that it contains metaphors for real-world elements that are already in the movie. To go back to the example of THE EXORCIST: Regan’s transformation from an innocent child into a vile self-abusing demon serves as a ready metaphor for puberty, mental illness, addiction, and really anything that turns your loved one into someone you no longer recognize. Writer Peter Blatty sets this up beautifully by using banal troubles like drafts in the house or parental antagonism as agents that weaken Regan’s defenses against the forces of darkness, just as they can weaken the average person’s defenses against depression or alcoholism--the things that warp them away from their best, or at least, most socially acceptable self. HEREDITARY gets itself into a sticky spot by giving Toni Collete a family history of emotional and physical violence, schizo-affective disorder, alienation, and neglect that is as convincing as can be, and then throwing a comparatively flimsy (however great-looking) metaphorical tarp over all that in the form of witchcraft and demonic possession. A similar problem occurs in Boots Riley’s otherwise excellent SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, where he stages the action in a world--our world, however surreally dressed up--that turns on an axis of slave labor, and then he concludes his story with an outsized metaphor for slave labor. I wouldn’t really kick anything in either of these movies out of bed, at the end of the day; I’m just saying that it gets a little awkward when you craft this grandiose metaphor for a legitimately terrifying real-world thing, while that thing happens to be standing right there in the room with the metaphor.

Anyway. It is interesting to note that while the movie seems to have hurt a lot of people’s feelings based on their own contemporary reality, its spiritual DNA has been active for hundreds of years. Witchery has been a handy metaphor for, or even out-and-out "explanation” for, mental illness in women throughout history. (Ok, so it’s been an excuse for LOTS of things that have happened to or around women throughout history, but I only have so much space!) In HEREDITARY, Toni Collette describes her recently deceased mother as being extraordinarily private, having “private rituals” and even “private friends”, which we soon realize were signs of her being a devil worshiper. However, in some ways, mother and daughter are not so different. Where the mother practiced dark arts, Collette is a successful gallery artist. Her hyperreal dioramas seem like metaphorical expressions of her feelings toward her insane and abusive parent, but as we find out along the way, they are entirely realistic descriptions of actual things that have actually happened in her life--including the notorious car crash, but also things like the mother trying to force her breast on her infant granddaughter, which we later learn was part of an effort to implant Milly Shaprio with a demon. Shapiro, who inhabits a Baba Yaga-like treehouse in the yard, is also an artist, crafting twisted-looking dolls out of refuse and carrion, and like her mother, she also has unwitting witchy inclinations, perceiving grim specters and ill omens all around. Notably, no one outside the maternal bloodline perceive these things, and it seems that male members only perceive them when being supernaturally attacked. While Toni Collete and Milly Shapiro both use handcrafted art to process the trauma handed down to them by their maternal ancestor, all three women participate (knowingly or otherwise) in an ancient artistic tradition that, for some, amounts to a legitimate religion--but for many others, especially in the modern world, it is a way of dealing with feelings of impotence and subjugation. A sense of disappointment, worthlessness, and damnation plagues the women at the center of HEREDITARY, whether it involves Toni Collette’s complaint that her family blames her for all of their misfortunes, or her accusing her teenage son Alex Wolff of failing to acknowledge his responsibility for his sister’s death, or his sister ominously remarking that her grandmother’s doting attitude disguised the matriarch’s attempts to control or deform her--”She wanted me to be a boy,” Shapiro mutters, and we’ll find out she specifically wanted the child to be a boy vessel for a boy demon (about which, more later). HEREDITARY depicts a family out of control, who cannot escape the fate that has been devised for them, but who have adopted some interesting, literally artful means of trying to synthesize feelings of power.

HEREDITARY begins to fall apart, not as much because of its indecisive attitude toward fantasy and realism, as because of its last act left turn away from its heretofore cogent discussion of the disenfranchisement of women, and the guilt women live with when they fall short of their clan’s desires for strong sons, good little girls, or perfect mothers who serve their people instead of serving themselves. Make no mistake: Alex Wolff, who delivers an above-and-beyond performance as an average young man who is alienated by his freak sister and unstable mother, is always at the center of the film. The guilt he acquires from being an unwilling murderer is as potent as anything I think I’ve ever seen in a movie. So, it isn’t that this male experience of disappointing your family, and also feeling victimized by their very existence, is absent from the first leg of the story. It’s that when the film finally tries to make sense of itself, by revealing that Toni Collette’s mother intended to offer one of her male progeny as a vessel for a masculine entity that would bring her great wealth...well, it sort of flies in the face of the psychological depths we’ve plumbed up to that point. For one thing, the movie’s title suggests a singular focus on the intergenerational passing-down of trauma and blame, and the collection of damaged women to whom we’re immediately introduced are obvious experts in this matter. It doesn’t quite work when the story vacillates between sympathizing with these doomed females, and then sympathizing with a young man’s fear and loathing of adult women, who he perceives as irrational and castrating. And how is it possible that the profound mystery surrounding the family’s progressive ruin is rooted in something as shallow as money? I tried to develop a theory that it works as the final insult of any familial loss--that death is incredibly expensive to manage, and inheritance can be just burdensome as it is a blessing--but I don’t know, there’s not enough on the table for me to make a meal out of.

Setting aside the idea of sacrificing your son to a money demon, though, one can say that even if HEREDITARY is a little unsteady in its construction, the individual components are solid. And here I don’t just mean compelling, but also, real. This is the reason I people are so bothered by HEREDITARY--that it tells the truth in a much more direct manner than most audiences expect of a supernatural horror film. While that may be an unwelcome experience, it may be more helpful to think of this unpleasantness as a gift that art can give us. This kind of nasty confrontation with trauma is important for an individual’s personal development, integrity, and self-knowledge. The more demandingly exhibitionistic a movie is, the better chance we have to untangle ourselves from the billowing curtain of metaphor and anthropological generality, and to be purified by the excoriating light of realism--not the artistic genre, but actual contact with reality.

Here we find my own big reveal, my left turn away from what my previous paragraphs have led you to expect. Let me tell you about my mother. My mother was an enormously popular person. Extremely sharp, funny, fashionable, cultured--all things that help keep one’s private persona in the shadows. A prolific artist, she created hyperreal paintings and drawings from miniatures, like toys and model train props, that represented an exaggerated simulation of reality. Much of her work was about female pageantry, social expectations of women, or the chintzy objects that littered the lives of 1950s and 60s housewives, like kitschy bric-a-brac and tawdry paperbacks. People absolutely loved her for her taste, her humor, her ability to express herself. She did not like me. This was so true that, even without a history of physical abuse, that her peers sometimes say things to me that reveal their awareness of the facts of our relationship, or lack thereof. I hear things like, “Your mother loved you, you know!”, in a tone of voice that suggests that they know this would be late breaking news, without ever having asked me how I feel or what I think. From the earliest age, I seemed to refuse to meet the expectations people have of their children: I hated to be touched, I cried endlessly, I quaked with anxiety and a nameless guilt day and night, I burned with an aimless anger. I could draw, and did so compulsively, but nothing nice or bright. I was acutely aware of sexuality, violence, vanity, and shame. I was no fun whatsoever. Later in life--very recently in life, actually--I discovered that I have two important, inherent qualities: One, that I have a genetic inability to process copper properly, a mineral that is psychoactive and can make you pretty unhinged in large quantities. Two, that I suffer from a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, a range of mental conditions that have been historically ignored in women, largely because of misogynist prejudices that society holds about essentially-female dysfunctionality. Unfortunately for me, my mother died when I was a teenager, almost two decades before I would find out these things that might have made her more tolerant of me.

Fortunately, I guess, I think I know why my mother took such an exception to me, and it isn’t all about me. It’s about her mother. My maternal grandmother was also an artist of sorts, but more in terms of artifice. I haven’t decided whether it is fair for me to spill all of the details of a story that belongs to more people than myself, but I will go so far as to say that my maternal great-grandparents meted out trauma and shame in a manner that my grandmother allowed to contribute to her painful estrangement from her sister. For my purposes, what it really did was teach my mother that darkness--any kind of darkness, even darkness that belongs to you and you alone, that you have a right to, that should be yours to process as you see fit--is inappropriate. It is just as inappropriate in adults as it is in children, which she would see very clearly in her mother’s strict orchestration of their household into an unimpeachably pure, Rockwellian model of what an American family should be like. While my mother found her way into the revolutionary world of hippie rebellion and art-making, she never let go of her prohibition against sadness and rage, even in her own child, and I suffered from it until she suddenly, rapidly and gruesomely died of lung cancer when I was barely old enough to drive. Afterward, her mother obsessed over me in a way that was simultaneously scathingly intense and unmistakably impersonal. I looked like my mother, and my grandmother’s identity was rooted entirely in dominating a family, so she couldn’t do without me. I couldn’t let her know anything about myself; my feelings about horror, pornography, death taboos, sexual identity, and media that is out to hurt you, are what make up all that I am, and are the opposite of everything she believes in. With that weight on my back, I had to pretend that we had this archetypal American familial intimacy, even when I didn’t have it with my own mother, even when I hated being touched, even when I hadn’t learned how to receive affection. Early this year, she died at 90 years old from a misdiagnosed colon condition. As my family rushed to her side to say goodbye, we discovered that her shadowy sister had pushed her doctors into lifesaving measures that would have extended her existence into something so horrific that it would have stood up to the ugliest scenes from JACOB’S LADDER, had she not miraculously died before regaining consciousness. As perversely relieving as that was, my ears ring with the sound of her last phone call to me. Intended to be a heartfelt goodbye, it devolved quickly into the woman, completely possessed of her mental faculties, absolutely screaming for her life. It was a sound as chilling as anything from any of the sadistic movies I love so well, and I really heard it, in my real life.

This all would be enough to make me talk the way that I do, but it isn’t all. Recently, my father revealed to me some details of my mother’s struggle with cancer that I had never heard before. Although my mother had been told to go straight home and make her peace upon diagnosis, she and my father plunged full bore into magical thinking. They experimented with hypnosis, acupuncture, reiki, anything that might activate my mother’s internal ability to heal herself. Soon they found themselves in the office of a charismatic self-help guru-type in a neighboring city. Incidentally, this person is now at the center of an increasingly bizarre trial that is slated to begin this January, due to her authoritative involvement with a Scientology-like cult that allegedly maintains a secret inner circle of brand-wielding sex slavers. But anyway, back to my little memoir: It isn’t clear to me what she claimed was the scope of her powers exactly, but I know that she specialized in a form of “healing” that involved hypnosis and carefully selected words, I suppose not unlike a magical incantation. She said to my mother: “I am going to heal you.” The reason she said this so forcefully, was that my mother was the physical double of a previous client of hers; a client who died from the same specific form of lung cancer that plagued my mother; and who lived in the house we had moved into, only months before my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. That woman died, we moved into her house, and by pure coincidence, my subsequently sick mother found herself in the office of the self-styled healer who had treated the previous owner of our new home for the very same illness. “God has given me a second chance,” the healer said, “and I am going to heal you.” My mother saw her for several months, until one day she arrived to find a third woman in the office. Astoundingly, the healer described the young coed as having supernatural gifts. The two instantly began terrorizing my mother, screaming at her and cursing her. My mother, sobbing hysterically, begged to know, “Why are you yelling at me?” and they replied, “WE’RE NOT YELLING AT YOU, WE’RE YELLING AT THE CANCER!” When he told the story, of course, my father accidentally said “demon”, not “cancer”, but in any case, they were trying to exorcize her. My mother never went back, and, some might remark, she died.

Naturally, I wanted to tell this story to anyone who would listen to me, as soon as I had heard it. It was one of the weirdest things I had ever heard, and it happened to my family. While some people’s jaw dropped in exactly the way mine had originally, I received some unexpected feedback, too. On some occasions, a dear friend would pause at the end of my story, make a calculated “surprise” sound, and then, very gently, explain to me that coincidences exist, self-hypnosis and group hysteria exist, and I shouldn’t take any of it too seriously. I found myself, not just disappointed, but embarrassed. I wasn’t trying to tell people that I believed my family was cursed by god or the devil, or that we had been molested by some evil sorceress. I was simply trying to say that, somehow...isn’t there some kind of spiritual truth to this? Isn’t it worth remarking on, that my life, my history, had congealed into such an incredible metaphor for itself? Isn’t it so much more compelling than any kind of fiction I could ever have written, any artwork I could ever have created in order to process the exact kind of trouble my family has suffered? Isn’t this just amazing, all by itself, without even the benefit of theatrical interpretation? Of course, the conclusion will be that I absolutely have to give this some kind of theatrical interpretation, or else I will go out of my mind. I’m close enough as it is. But, in some ways, I felt like this interpretation has already happened at the hands of Ari Aster, with his horrific fable about how inherited trauma among generations of women gives way to the machinations of a corrupt cult. People who know me well will realize that I’m still leaving out parallels between HEREDITARY and myself, in this already too-long piece of analysis. But I guess what I’m trying to say for now is that I need HEREDITARY, and we each need a HEREDITARY of our own to put our most unspeakable experiences on a pin, under a spotlight, inside a bell jar, to be examined from every angle and exactingly diagnosed, whether we like it or not.

#blogtober #hereditary #ari aster #horror #supernatural #witch #cult #toni collette #milly shapiro #alex wolff #gabriel byrne #anecdotal evidence #mental illness

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kpoptimeout · 5 years

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My Top 10 K-Dramas of 2018 - What’s Yours?

2018 is ending soon and K-Dramaland has once again brought us so many goodies this year. As per our blog’s tradition [For 2017 faves click here], below are my Top 10 favs of the year (my faves in alphabetical order so it might not be yours so please don’t judge)

My only specific criteria this year is that the show must have had started in 2018 to be considered a 2018 series (Hence, Hwayugi and I’m Not A Robot were in last year’s list and honourable mentions)

Lawless Lawyer (tvN)

Every year we have a few stellar Korean legal dramas and Lawless Lawyer is one of them. Starring veterans Lee Joongi and Son Yeji, the drama details a gangster turned lawyer who used unorthodox techniques to win cases and a lawyer-childhood friend-love interest who got into trouble for attacking a judge. After his return from the military, Lee Joongi has acted in many internationally well-received dramas but “Lawless Lawyer” is the first since his return to gain massive commercial success within South Korea and becoming one of the highest viewed dramas on Korean cable channel history. Son Yeji was also able to show her acting chops and shed her pretty girl image through this drama. It is understandable why this drama did well - it was action-packed, had a well-plotted storyline and also the right laughs at the right moments. If you love an amazing legal drama, go watch Lawless Lawyer already!

Memories Of The Alhambra (tvN/Netflix)

You know it’s nearing the year’s end when tvN drops another high budget and experimental drama with a star-studded cast to steal you and the critics’ hearts. This year it is Memories Of The Alhambra, which is an ambitious project jointly produced by tvN and Netflix. Following the success of jointly produced Mr. Sunshine which also made the list, the two studios teamed up for an even crazier project - instead of the guaranteed tear-jerking historical drama they went for a sci-fi/fantasy thriller exploring virtual and augmented reality and business in the digital age. You know they are taking this project seriously when they got the writer for “W” (the Lee Jongsuk and Han Hyojoo hit about the collapse of a comic book world into reality) Song Jaejung to write this screenplay. The show with top cast featuring Hallyu stars and veterans Hyun Bin, Park Shin Hye, and EXO’s Chanyeol with exhilarating graphics and filming in Grenada has been topping online and domestic Korean viewership since its broadcast on December 1st. If you enjoy creative sci-fi adventures with Asian leads, this is the drama for you!

Mr. Sunshine (tvN/Netflix)

One of the first tvN and Netflix collaborations, Mr. Sunshine was an unsurprising hit starring world-famous Korean actor Lee Byung Hoon and South Korea’s favourite young actress Kim Taeri. Other main cast include skilled and popular actors like Yoo Yeonseok, Byung Yohan and Kim Minjung. Throw in the historical Joseon setting and the imminent colonisation by foreign powers, you have a recipe for an awards-sweeper and crowd-pleaser! Besides a plot that easily draws in audiences, the set designs, colour grading, music, and costumes are all phenomenal and is a feast for the senses. My only knit-picking critique is it seems unrealistic that a Korean man can rise to as high a rank as Lee Byung Hoon’s Eugene Choi character in the racist 1800s United States no matter how brilliant Eugene Choi was. But besides that, if you love a historical epic with romance and war, this is the drama you would enjoy!

Ms. Hammurabi (JTBC)

This drama sees Go Ara and Song Dong Il reuniting in their father-daughter/mentor-mentee like dynamic following hit dramas Reply 1994 and Hwarang, with Go Ara being an idealistic former music student who dropped out and self-studied to become a judge, and Song Dong Il being the old geezer and life mentor who only managed to become a judge later in life. They are joined by INFINITE’s L being a by the books judge who likes Go Ara’s wholesome character. The drama is exceptionally touching, not only for its realistic depiction of life as judges in civilian law countries but also as a reflection of people chasing their dreams in different stages of their life. The drama also expertly deals with real-world issues like gender discrimination in the workplace, prejudice to marginalised groups and the issues that come with an inflexible hierarchical structure in South Korea. While there is romance between the leads, this is shown subtly and naturally, without it becoming a distraction to the engaging storyline. If you enjoy a thoughtful drama about society with great acting, this is a drama you would enjoy.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty (JTBC)

Maybe I am slightly biased because I loved the webtoon but I think My ID is Gangnam Beauty is one of the best Korean rom-coms of the year. First I thought the casting was spot-on - ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo perfectly encapsulated the cold and awkward Do Kyungseok and Im Soohyang was able to display the insecurities of Kang Mirae even after plastic surgery well. The drama does a good job of touching on Korean society’s toxic beauty visual standards - it still makes the female lead insecure even after she gets plastic surgery and she gets ridiculed before and after plastic surgery. Meanwhile second female lead Hyun Soo Ah, played by Jo Woori, also struggles as a natural beauty due to fears of people no longer liking her should she ever fall below their expectations in any way. This is a thoughtful drama that does not just demonise characters for the sake of drama but gives us lots of food for thought about why people act the way they do regarding appearances. If you like a drama that is fun and cute but also has a good message, you should check out this drama!

My Mister (tvN)

There are dramas where you skip some scenes because you want to get to the main point. There are some dramas where you want every second of it. My Mister was one of those dramas you watch every second of. It was that good. While many Kdramas still having idealistic female leads who slowly get jaded and turn badass only near the end/are always protected by men and never turn badass, My Mister finally does the move of making the female poor but super resourceful, brilliant and cynical, and already super jaded to begin with. Played by top singer and actress IU, the female lead Lee Jian reverses the usual female lead tropes by slowly learning to see some good in the world and learn to dream following a life of extreme poverty and hardship. The other highlight of the drama is the male lead played by talented actor Lee Sunkyun, whose relationship with his brothers and mother, as well as his crumbling marriage with his wife provide a lot of food for thought on the meaning of family and life. By acting as a mentor of IU’s character while also being saved by IU from lots of drama unknowingly, we see two broken souls learn from each other to be better people. The drama also showcased how romance is not the only meaningful love that exists between communities. If you love an insightful slice-of-life drama with realistic intrigues, betrayals, and character development, you would love My Mister.

Radio Romance (KBS2)

Honestly at this point HIGHLIGHT’s Dojoon is just nation’s drama boyfriend and he continues to pick the good scripts as we can see in Radio Romance. The drama is simple - the assistant writer played by Kim Sohyun’s radio show might get cancelled and she manages to somehow get the top radio star played by Dojoon to host her show. Shenanigans happen and romance blossoms. It is stereotypical but done well, with the right amount of twists and just knowing when it should bounce back from the laughs and side stories. If dramas are all dishes, Radio Romance is like that cheesecake that tastes sweet and light, not so filling that it will you sick. It is the dessert you would always go for to feel good. If you like to watch something that makes you feel warm inside, this is the drama for you!

Something in the Rain (JTBC)

I am usually not super into “the younger dongsaeng has a romance with noona who he knows growing up all of a sudden” stories but there was something special about Something in the Rain. When I first began watching this drama, it did not feel like watching a regular Kdrama at all and more like an indie film from the West. There is a feeling of emptiness at the beginning, possibly to signify the resident noona and veteran actress Son Yejin’s unsuccessful love life. There was a lot of dialogue and cuts and it felt like watching a documentary about the lives of the characters. But it was this formatting of Something in the Rain that makes it feel so genuine. The pace of the leads building up their romance was steady and natural. Hence, it made issues they faced feel all the more real too. If you enjoy a realistic slice-of-life portrayal of romance, you would love this drama!

The Guest (OCN)

When I saw the trailer I already knew this was some scary shit. Following its many successful thrillers last year, OCN decided to dive in the more horror side of a thriller in The Guest. To fit this aesthetic, the drama was broadcasted only at 11pm instead of primetime but still had massive success and rightly so. The acting by the three leads Kim Dong Wook (man who can see ghosts and the future), Kim Jaewook (the cold, exorcist priest), and Jung Eunchae (a detective who does not believe in the supernatural) is phenomenal, making their team up to catch criminal possessed by ghosts all the more exhilarating. The actors who play the possessed are also amazing, making for most of the scares in this drama. If you enjoy a mystery and the horror genre, this is the Kdrama for you!

What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (tvN)

Being the most searched Kdrama on Google in South Korea this year, it would not make sense for What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? not to make this list. The drama revolves around the successful but extremely narcissistic company vice chairman played by Park Seojoon and his capable no-nonsense secretary played by Park Minyoung, with the latter quitting after paying off family debts and not being in the mood to work for her annoying boss anymore. The whole process where Park Seojoon tries to retain his secretary of course blossoms into romance etc. etc. One of the reasons this drama did so well was that not only did it have a strong and capable female lead but Park Seojoon defied expectations in his role. As another Kdrama based on a webtoon, original webtoon readers felt like he was not similar to the male lead and were not sure how he would handle the role. But Park Seojoon did a fantastic job, to the point I wanted to bang my head on the table or slap his character whenever he did narcissistic shit. If you want a high-quality rom-com with some unorthodox twists, this is the drama to watch!

Honourable Mentions:

100 Days My Prince (tvN): The fourth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history starring EXO’s D.O and Nam Jihyun, the drama details the marriage between a noblewoman on the run and a crown prince who lost his memory during a failed assassination attempt.

Are You Human? (KBS2): With the actual development of AI in recent years, more Kdramas have embraced the topic of robot-human romances. Seo Kang Joon and Gong Seungyeon star in this story involving a bodyguard and the AI of a chaebol masquerading as the real chaebol who is in a coma.

Still 17 (SBS): A drama involving a 30-year-old man who doesn’t want to grow up due to trauma (Yang Sejong) and a woman who wakes up after a 13-year coma so acts like a 17-year-old even though she is 30 (Shin Hyesun).

Welcome to Waikiki (JTBC): A comedy-drama starring rising actors Kim Junghyun, Lee Yikyung, and Son Seungwon who run a failing guesthouse called Waikiki. Oh, and there’s a single mother and a baby in this crazy mix!

What’s your Top 10 K-Dramas of the Year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and may the drama sharing begin (and the road to more excuse for holiday procrastination!)

Also, if you want to check out underrated K-Pop songs of 2018, here are the lists for idol songs, artist songs, and OSTs!

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beneaththetangles · 5 years

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Guest Post: Mononoke and a Chance Ungiven

Today’s post is a guest piece from Tyler Burnette, a great supporter of Beneath the Tangles and admin on our Discord server. We’re proud to present this sensitive and spirit-filled take on a topic that has become a battle now more than it has in many years—the unborn child.

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Can you recall moments for in which you have wanted a second chance at something? You may have made an easily correctable mistake or perhaps a more significant moral one because your priorities were out of alignment. Everyone has regrets, and God is always willing and able to forgive us of them because of his immense love for us. He does not have a limit on the number of mistakes he can forgive. We are called to be like God, and while we do not have to acquiesce to all demands or become gullible to repeated offenders, we must offer forgiveness and chances at redemption as God has done for us.

However, what about those who are given no chance at all? Have you ever been in a situation where no matter how hard you worked, no one would grant you an opportunity? Perhaps you developed a desire to become a singer as you grew up, but you simply weren’t gifted with the natural talent of a singing voice. Maybe you were discriminated against in a career because of your appearance, associations, or ideology, and were rejected. Thankfully, most of us still have opportunities in life to pursue what is good in the world and to use our talents to benefit others. Unfortunately, there is one group group of people for whom there is no chance given for them ever in life, and their stories are the most tragic of all.

Mononoke is an anime about a medicine man doubling as an exorcist who travels through medieval Japan, offering his goods for sale and resolving mysterious hauntings by finding out the shape, truth, and reason for the them. It is highly stylized and heavily steeped in Japanese mythology and artwork. A majority of its imagery and style appear to come straight out of the Ashikaga period of artwork. Alas, I am not as well versed in medieval Japanese culture or iconography as the show’s creators, so many of the references and choice of language are lost on me. It has visually pleasing colors and line work, and the characters are well colored and animated. On the flip side, the story, especially for the first two episodes, is anything from pretty.

The first episode begins with a the Medicine Man making his way to an inn soon followed by a woman who is very far along in her pregnancy and clearly in a great deal of distress. The innkeeper, in a scenario not dissimilar to the virgin Mary’s predicament in Bethlehem, is initially turned away due to them having no open rooms in the inn by the front desk clerk. She claims she is being chased down, and she will die if they do not give her shelter. She is even willing sleep on the floor of the inn so long as she does not have to stay outside during the night. The proprietress condescends to her but proposes an idea that she stay in one of their unused storage rooms. Along the way, we notice oddly shaped Japanese baby nesting dolls randomly position throughout the staircase and hallways as well as spirit ward stickers placed upon the walls that the proprietress does not recognize.

Things quickly turn spooky for the young pregnant woman when she arrives in the room and begins to hear voices of children that the desk worker and proprietress cannot hear. During the night, a henchman breaks into the young lady’s room and tells her he has been sent by her lord to kill her baby as it was the result of an affair with master and that he would not be pleased to learn of the child. In medieval Japanese society, as with medieval western society, an illegitimate child could result in inheritance disputes as well as cause shame upon the father and his family. The pregnant woman pleads with the henchman to spare her life as she greatly desires to have the child and care for it. The henchman disregards her plea, but just before he is able to impale her with his sword, he is grasped by an unknown force, hauled into the air, constrained by ribbons of cloth, strangled to death, and dumped back onto the floor. When the proprietress, clerk, and the medicine man come to see what the noise is, they experience the haunting first hand, and the spirits lock them into the room. The medicine man interrogates the proprietress, and we find out that the inn used to be a brothel, and this room they are in is actually the room in which abortions were performed when her girls became pregnant. The room is being haunted by Zashiki Warashi, childlike yokai who are the spiritual remnants of the aborted children. The young woman flees the room in fear, and upon entering another room, she receives a vision of her past showing her and her master beneath the covers. He tells her that he loves her, but she protests claiming she is just a servant. The lord asks her to marry him. Trusting him, she tells her that she is pregnant with his child. This shatters her dream and her vision changes into the man sent to kill her saying, “You don’t care as long as he’s rich right?” This emotionally breaks the young woman, and she collapses crying onto a table.

Every person’s story is unique and specific to them. While I cannot presume to understand or perfectly relate to women who struggle with deciding between birthing a child or having an abortion, many commonalities exist in some circumstances. Like the young woman in Mononoke, there can likely be much shame and regret that plays into decisions to abort a child. The emotional pressures placed on a woman are immense. The father may not be present, and the child may have been conceived in rape or incest, and telling her family could result in significant reprisal or rejection. It certainly takes a village to raise a child, and without that emotional and physical support, abortion becomes an increasingly viable option. We as a society—but also as individuals—must support struggling expectant mothers in any ways we can, even if it means sacrificing some of ourselves so they don’t have to sacrifice their own.

At a point early in the episode, the inn owner voices skepticism at the woman’s capacity as a single mother, commenting that having the baby won’t bring her any money. The financial burden is more significant today than ever before. A study from CNN indicates it costs around $13,000 per year to raise a child. For women considering abortion, this is a significant issue. Support from the government, work, and family may not add up to enough money to meet the costs of living for two people, and the woman might not be able to see a way through. Self-value and self-doubt in one’s own strength and capability, I suspect, is also important in decisions like this. The significance of the decision and the lack of visibly immediate alternatives puts a woman in an unpleasant vice, squeezed by societal expectations and economic hardship. Most often, people listen to the ones who have the most influence or control over them, and woe to those who have nowhere else to go than a person like the proprietress who values money over human life.

In another scene from Mononoke, we then see a vision of the proprietress in her youth as a beautiful lady, but one with minimal compassion for the circumstances of her girls. She informs the Medicine Man of the nature of their abortion room and that the walls with the diamond patterns are effectively a mortuary for the aborted children. She relates the abortions she performed to an act of kindness, a rationalization to ease the anxiety of ending a life. While she tries to frame in this way, in reality it’s simply an excuse to perpetuate her brothel’s business saying that the children are worthless to her and she won’t let them eat as the girls were sold to her to pay a debt. The imagery at this point is rather gruesome, even if only displayed in metaphor, and I would blame no one for not wanting to continue watch. The proprietress begins pulling on a red cord with bloody hands, and a pool of water at her feet turns to red as some of the dolls are shown floating in the pool. My spine shivered a bit next when the owner shreds the cloth she was pulling on as a baby screams, and we then see drops of blood sprinkled over one of the dolls as the red cloth is laid over the doll’s face. The owner makes her way over to the table the young woman is on and makes the pantomime of stabbing the young woman as she screams, “Stop killing babies!” as the room cuts to normal again with the group sitting in the room.

This does not last long as the Zashiki Warashi manifest as a mass of red ribbons which burst from the walls and form a sentient orb. The Medicine Man tries to find the way to vanquish the spirits, but to his surprise, the young girl realizes that they just wanted to be born into the world. All along they just wanted to be given an opportunity at life and with single a word, she accepts them to be birthed spiritually through her with her child. She rips off the spirit ward that had been placed on her stomach, and blood begins to splatter beneath her. The scene cuts away, showing her as the mother of one child but spiritually the mother of the others who had been aborted. A child in the form of a yokai shows appreciation for her love and affection. She admits she cannot physically raise them all, but with her gesture, the spirits are at peace and allow themselves to be dispelled or released by the Medicine Man. It is unclear what future the woman has with her child, but thanks to her compassion, we can presume that she can live her life without the regret or sorrow potentially experienced by the many other women of the proprietress, her child having been given the chance that so many others were denied.

Having a child is a costly decision in life and should absolutely not be endeavored into lightly. Sadly, many women may not have that opportunity or foreknowledge and consider ending the pregnancy through abortion. It is tragic, as contrary to some people’s perceptions, there are absolutely resources available for any woman struggling with costs of raising a child. If one’s family is unwilling to assist with raising a child, local churches and church members, even of a parish one may not attend or share faith with, may be assist in some way if they know about the circumstances. Additionally, adoption is a wonderful option to consider, and there are numerous resources available for it online and in the real world such as the National Council for Adoption, American Adoptions, Lifetime Adoptions, the Department of Health and Human Services, and many other organizations. Adoption and foster care may not be the ideal circumstances for a child in many situations, but abortion is always the worst option from the baby’s perspective. One might recommend an abortion to a woman whose father may not present by the time of birth, is severely impoverished, and may not have family support. However, as an adopted child, myself, from one of these circumstances, I absolutely advocate for adoption and believe abortion is the worst choice for both the mother and the child. It can appear as the easiest solution immediately, but in the long term there can be no joy in the quickest decision that must be wrestled with for the rest of one’s life.

As birth rates decline in our country and babies are seen as more of a burden than a blessing, as less of a baby and more as a bundle of cells, as less of a tot and more of a tumor, the prospects can be very grim, as demonstrated in the first arc of Mononoke. Stigmatizing women who have had or consider abortions is the wrong way to proceed. We must sympathize with them, and we must wholeheartedly and compassionately point them to a God who offers forgiveness and love in all things. If we wish to see abortions or the cited reasons for them eliminated in our world, we need to endure hardships and sacrifice on the behalf of the struggling young mothers to give them a chance so they might in turn bestow a chance at life upon their child.

—

Mononoke can be stream on Tubi.

Tyler Burnette has been anime fan since his youth in the late 90s where he developed an affinity for science fiction shows like Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing, and Crest of the Stars shown on platforms such as Toonami, Adult Swim, and Anime Unleashed. Presently his favorite anime is Trinity Blood as it ties in his interests in politics, anime, and theology. He grew up in a non-denominational church which he still attends regularly and graduated from King College with a degree in Political Science and History with an interest in economics and is an avid strategy gamer.

#Anime #Christianity #Mononoke #Abortion #Adoption #Pro Life #Articles #Guest Post #Author: Tyler Burnette

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julesplanb-blog · 6 years

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Don’t cross the themes!

The following note contains heavy spoilers about the plot of both 1984 & 2016 Ghostbusters movies, and a tiny one - a line of dialogue - from Ocean’s 8.

“Having only girls in the new Ghostbusters movie makes no sense and is as sexist as having only males, you -”

Ok so, this is where I’m gonna cut that quote from about 78 random dudes sharing their opinion on Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters with me (so much love I did not ask for <3), because this is usually where said opinion goes from PG to NC-17. I said in a previous note that arguing with people about movies was one of the greatest things in life... provided that people’s opinions were at least a tad respectful, and a tad built on something, ANYTHING, beyond basic casual hatred for women (oh hello, guys who want to remake The Last Jedi!). That being said, I’m going to be the bigger person here and still take time to answer those 78 gentlemen with a little piece on why, in my humble opinion, having women in the Ghostbusters reboot not only makes sense, but makes it a more functioning movie when it comes to characters and even themes. Ok, let’s do this.

First things first: while I’m interested in comparison, I don't think it's relevant to try and rank the 2 movies: I personally enjoy the 2016 more, but I can acknowledge its weaknesses. It’s just than what works in it is way more compelling to me as a viewer (and, yes, as a female viewer). On the other hand, I’ll admit the qualities of the original, mostly to be an effortless piece of good writing, but it’s weaker where the 2016 shines, and vice-versa. Ultimately, those are 2 different movies, actually telling two different stories. Yes, I know, both are about a team of semi-misfits chasing ghosts. But one story focus (1984) is around a philosophical idea, and the second is about human/women condition (2016). One is built around a (fun, entertaining and functioning) concept, i.e. busting ghosts, the other is about characters paths. To the point where I think there’s close to no character arc in the original Ghostbusters. I mean think about it: how did the characters changed between beginning and end? When the film starts, they already know each other’s, have a functioning relationship and it turns out all along that they were pretty much right on everything from the start. They’re not exactly challenged on their beliefs, way to see the world, behaviours or just plain personalities, not even Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman, when this character is actually both a jerk and a fraud. Sure, Sigourney Weaver’s Dana calls him a fraud at some point, but this is a Tchekov gun being flashed without being shot, since from there, Dana is possessed by Zuul and kind of written off the movie (which is a shame). Now, I won’t make this piece a full digression on why Peter Venkman is a jerk and how this fact could make us file the movie itself under “lovable but still a bit problematic”, yet this still deserves a couple lines because when you look closely: Peter Venkman is a jerk, borderline creepy (and the movie never gives us fuel to think otherwise, for real). Actually, Peter Venkman is pretty much what the bad guy of Ghostbusters 2016 (Rowan) could have become if he had any kind of power. We see Peter act just the way Rowan would if he had the upper hand on someone: he cheats on his own experiment, abuses a student as a faculty, make creepy innuendos to women who did not ask for this... I make this point because as the 2016 bad guy, Rowan makes perfect sense. Meanwhile, there’s no actual human big bad in the 1984 version, because there’s no specific reason for the events to happen when they happen.

Exactly, why is New York infected by ghosts in the original Ghostbusters? Ok, I wasn’t alive back in 1984 and maybe there's something I miss, a reference to a historical “mood” if you’ll have it, maybe an “end of the world vibe” I don’t not know about. But between some obvious referencing to Exorcist and the general comedic tone of the film, I’ve always watched Ghostbusters as some kind of parody or reappropriation of a genre, and not a reflection of its time. And it’s okay. All of the above (well, maybe not Venkman never being called on his jerkiness): the lack of proper character arcs, human villain or symbolic reason for the infestation to happen. First, because, thanks to great dialogues & great acting by already beloved actors, we still care for those guys. But more important: because you can have great stories without it. Stories propulsed by something else than character development, such as... a theme. And 1984 Ghostbusters statement is a pretty damn interesting one: science beats superstition, well, science can explain supernatural, science beats ghosts, science beats freakin’ Gods, so man can beat god. Seriously, This is a great theme, and the script is nicely built around it, up to an ending where we see nerds vanquish a god with scientific tech. 1984 Ghosbusters makes writing choices and works, and as a movie about defeating incarnations of both childhood and adulthood fears (monsters and gods) it turns out to be a smart and timeless piece of pop culture.

Now you can argue that if it’s timeless, did it really needed to be rebooted in the first place? But see, the beauty of this reboot is that it does not try to redo the same thing. Because the 2016 Ghostbusters makes completely different writing choices, revolves around something else entirely, and if its theme also features some universal / timeless aspects, its treatment makes it a very relevant piece to the time it came out. So let’s break it down:

First, I believe its writing to be deeply entwined with characters’ flaws and development. What they want, what they lack, is the main propulsion for the story. And if we agree to say Kristen Wiig’s Erin Gilbert is our main character here, what she wants is consideration by her pairs. You can argue she has that at the beginning: teacher in a decent university, about to get tenure, but remember that to get this far, she had to leave behind her best friend and what she actually believed in. She had to fit. Meanwhile Abby is still working on what she wants but in a D-list school and only because the dean has no idea who she is. Both have to hide what matters to them to be included. And this theme as well as Erin’s relationship with Abby is one of the pivot point of the movie: the past and the complicated present of the characters weigh into the script, introduce conflict, propulsion and ultimately, resolution.

But this quest for being legit really works for the 4 of our characters: Abby & Jillian get their a** fired as soon as the dean actually remembers what they’re working on. Patty too: while she works un ungrateful job below the surface, she actually knows the city above ground better than any other character, not only places and localisation but historical perspective, arts... (It’s also interesting to note, if we want to compare the 2 movies that in 1984, Dana sees a ghost and become a client of the Ghostbusters (then a victim of said ghost). In 2016, the woman who sees a ghost, i.e. Patty, joins the team as a Ghostbuster herself. Women are no more plot devices here: they have they own agendas & needs, they’re the engine of the story.)

So you have this characters trying to be acknowledged as professionals, which works perfectly with the concept “scientists turning into ghosts hunters”. But what’s even better: it works perfectly with an all-female group of characters. Why? Well, because in real life, you can totally be denied the legitimacy you deserve just. for. being. a. woman.

It’s also completely in resonance with a movie about sorority and the way girls have to stick out for each other (Abby & Erin reconciliation). Sexism could actually be seen as the villain here. It’s a picture paint with small brushes (and that’s something to add to the film credit) but it’s there: the little jokes about online comments - an obvious yes short nod to the guys who managed to troll the movie notation before it even came out (isn’t it grand though? I mean those douchebags are so freaking predictable Paul Feig managed to write them in before they even manifest themselves) - the dean behaviour... Apart from that, 2016 Ghostbusters does not state out loud the fact those women are depreciated for being women, for it doesn’t need to. Because you know what? Women knows. And it's their freaking film.

Of course the clearest illustration of that idea has to be the bad guy. Rowan is indeed a misogynist jerk, but beyond that, is the perfect incarnation of those women antagonist in 2016. So in 1984 Ghostbusters, we don’t know exactly why the wall between the worlds is getting thinner right now: the guy behind it is a god and well, gods work in mysterious ways. But in 2016, the grand master is a human. Because that version is not about god vs men, it’s about men vs men. Because not all men / humans are equal.

It makes perfect sense her to have the ghosts being summoned by a villain who happens to be a persona of entitled jerks feeling they’re not recognized for their true value (hey! theme again!). Except Rowan / those guys are not denied respect on an essentialist aspect of themselves (being a woman, black, gay...) but because they’re actually not as good as they thing they are.

It's a (lighter, more comedy-compatible) version of that awfully sad and way too real guy who randomly shoot at people because one girl turned down his advances one day, the guy blaming his lack of acknowledgement by the society on society being unfair to him, but deciding that the best course of action is to destroy said society instead of proving it wrong. While Abby, Erin, Jillian and Patty decide to take action and working their a** off on proving they ARE RIGHT (to extreme extend too, with Erin releasing the ghost to prove a point in her need for legitimacy), Rowan just wants to burn it all, to no one’s benefit but his own crave for power and destruction. Do you see why that guy nemesis needed to be a Erin Gilbert and not a Peter Venkman?

Having women serves the movie all the way, up till the end. And as a character-driven movie, its script does the best possible thing: giving characters, not what they wanted, but what they needed. For in the end, it’s not that much about acknowledgment (though the skyline scene is heartwarming <3) for the city still ask the theam to be super discreet, it’s about doing what you want regardless of people’s opinion, knowking yourself that you are good at what you’re doing, and doing it because you are good at it. Trust me boys, that speaks to every girl here.

In fact everything in the new Ghostbusters makes sense for the viewers of its time. Which is exactly what a good reboot should do. It’s all in the details, and mostly in the references to the previous one.

The Ghostbuster 2016 doesn't aim at telling the 1984 one is bad, but states that things have changed. The references are smart and symbolic but not too obvious that a new viewer would miss a plot point for not knowing it. It’s the perfect balance: taking what worked and was good and put it in a different time. And the times, they are a-changing, people. Sometimes for the better, such as Bill Murray being again a jerk but getting punished for it, sometimes for worse.

For instance : the brownstone that the guys get at the beginning of 1984 but the girls can’t afford before the end, stating, maybe, just maybe, that women or in this instance, that this new generation will have to work harder for stuff such as rent. And take the biggest symbol / reference to the original: the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

In this movie, he’s not being defeated by high tech, but by the Swiss army knife “every girl should have on her” (because, yes, being a girl is a source of danger just by itself). While the cast of the new movie is literally being smothered by the incarnation of the previous movie, by the “good old times”, the girl who finally came to believe in herself defeats it by "being a girl" If this not exhilarating metaphor, what is? This is both an homage and refusal to say "original is better because it's the first!" Nope, times change, women are here to claim their places in movies, in the real world, and that new Ghostbusters wasn't gender swapped for nothing, it was because it fits tis day and age, and it was because it fits the theme

Ghostbusters 2016 is grounded in its time, thus being not a useless reboot but a reappropriation of a great idea, playing it across a different era in terms of economy, society, women position...

It's not gratuitous. It's better this way.

Now, I’m aware this piece comes out a bit late to end it on “go see the new Ghostbusters ladies, it rocks and those trolls are just petty men realizing the world is not ENTIRELY them anymore”. So I’m going to end it on “go see Ocean’s 8 ladies, it rocks and those trolls are just...” you get the point. Truth is: Ocean’s 8 is a decent summer movie, functioning, fun, witty and supported by a great cast.

It also acknowledges, in *one line*, why the team is only women, in a very clever, resonant way: it’s smarter to make a heist with women, because women are ignored. That’s it. The movie doesn’t say more, doesn’t need to say more. Because women know that’s true, know they’re not as visible and considered as their male co-workers even when doing an equal or better job. Women will get it just hearing that line. And it’s their freaking movie. You know what’s the narrative justification for Ocean’s 11 (11!) or original Ghostbusters to be all male? Well, there isn’t any. Because that was just default setting. And boy am I glad to see this changing. Even if it’s just line by line.

#ghostbusters #jillian holtzmann #erin gilbert #Patty Jenkins #abby yates #paul feig #ivan reitman #sexism #movies #reboot #peter venkman #feminism #oceans 8 #writing #script #character driven

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pussymagicuniverse · 4 years

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my top 5 mac ‘n’ cheese movies

what is a ‘mac ‘n’ cheese’ movie, you might be wondering?

these are the movies that always make you feel good. they don’t need to necessarily be “feel good” films. not all of mine are. these are the movies that you could always put on your Netflix at home (granted it’s on there), always put in the DVD (if you even have any) player, or always leave on while you’re channel surfing (if that’s even a thing you do these days). these are the movies that are “comforting” background noise or movies you never get sick of, no matter how many times you’ve seen them. these are the movies that, if you live alone, will make you feel like you have friends with you. these are the movies that, if you’re feeling alone, will bring solace to your loneliness.

these do NOT have to be:

award-worthy

“good” films

from any specific genre or decade

popular

simply, these are the films that somehow, your spirit is comforted by their essence. maybe through memory, or sound, or childhood… it doesn’t matter. just having these on in the background is soothing to my soul. we can pay attention, or not. we can be cleaning, doing the dishes, working, etc. and it just FEELS GOOD to have them on in the background.

the following movies are my film mac ‘n’ cheese, in no special order.

•

Clueless (1995)

“Searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.”

i said no special order, but of course, i’m going to put Clueless, the beloved classic, first.

Clueless has always been my go-to “favorite” movie. not to age myself or anything, but yes, even before it was “cool.” i’m a ‘90s kid, and my first memories of this movie are watching it at my aunt’s house when she’d babysit me when my dad worked weekends. i was actually 5-6 years old when it came out, so it was ingrained in me very young, for better or worse.

speaking of better or worse, i know that everyone now loves to bring up the weird fact that *spoiler alert* Cher ends up with her ex-step-brother, Josh… but i didn’t say these mac ‘n’ cheese movies had to be perfect. so even though now i watch with a tiny tinge of ‘ew?’ in my brain, i allow timeless Paul-Rudd-dreaminess to wash away all of the potential ickiness that somewhat does not make sense.

and please note that i am not excusing step-cest because the general thought of that is very, very ew and evokes quite a visceral response from my entire being.

(did you like how i said that last sentence in my best Cher voice?)

also speaking of better or worse, because i also grew up thinking that i would find the love of my life by not realizing i loved them at all or pretending i didn’t know i loved them at all until ONE DAY i would be standing by a fountain after a therapeutic shopping spree like, ‘WAIT… I LOVE THEM. AND THEY LOVE ME TOO?!’ be careful what you wish for, kids. it can happen… and not always how you want it to.

regardless of all this negative-sounding analysis, i have always loved this movie and i’m certain i always will.

Scream (1996)

“my parents are gonna be so mad at me!”

my favorite part about this choice is that my friend deemed it a “hot take,” and i will die on that hill if i have to.

Scream is one of my favorite horror films. firstly, this movie is not typical horror. sure, it’s horrific at times… mostly in the opening scene, whereafter it becomes more of a (highly witty) teen comedy with (a lot of) murder. i think while true horror fans can appreciate the merits of Scream, what it did for the genre, and Wes Craven’s meta expertise, and also agree that it’s “not scary.”

if someone could have The Exorcist, or, for a more modern reference, Hereditary and just have it on any time, i’m not sure i could subscribe to that. but Scream is (thankfully) not either of those movies. it’s horror lite for ‘90s kids like me who, at times, revel in their teen ‘90s nostalgia. although, i have to say, i have seen someone recoil just at the mention of such a mild horror film. and i thought i was a weakling in horror. however, now that i’ve seen Hereditary (AND SURVIVED!), i feel like i can handle most things, though i am fairly certain i will not test those waters.

not to mention:

Dirty Dancing (1987)

“You Just Put Your Pickle On Everybody's Plate, College Boy, And Leave The Hard Stuff To Me.”

A CLASSIC! i’ll save most of my opinions for another piece i’m writing, but here’s the take: this movie is classic, heartfelt, funny, meaningful, political in mostly the right places (it doesn’t focus on everything), and babealicious in all the right places (Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Rhodes who plays Penny, Jennifer Garner, hello––a triad we’d all love to see if the movie had gone THAT progressive––but then it never would’ve been made. it already had a hard enough time, let’s not get carried away).

so far you can probably sense the ongoing theme in my choices: the air of nostalgia. film geeks and those who just heard Stan’s spiel on VHS in I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix will understand. while i’m not watching these movies on VHS, there is something about the feeling of these films. and i’d argue that everyone has favorite movies that pertain to their tastes and interests that fall under this physical sensation of 20th-century film. i’m not nostalgic for the time itself, i don’t need to relive the decades (don’t we daily? in our pop culture, in our fashion, everything)… it’s just that these films are comforting for very personal reasons that have nothing to do with the rest of the world. which is why your mac ‘n’ cheese list will look very differently from mine. it’s kind of unexplainable.

in 8th grade, i watched this movie every day after school because my friend just had to. she was obsessed. years later, we feel the same about this movie. it has this summery vibe to it. i guess there’s something about summer, and something about fall that both tug at my sensibilities in film and literature… the way they’re shown or described. it can be kinda magical. Dirty Dancing does this for me. this scene brings me to tears often.

Moana (2017)

“There is nowhere you could go that I won't be with you.”

stepping out of nostalgia (it’s a relief, honestly), we have my favorite Disney cartoon of the twenty-teens. Coco is up there, but Moana is something else (for me). one day i will also write more in detail about the beauty of this film and what it means to me, but maybe that’s not for me to write.

Moana is about a young woman who is set to become the next chief of her Hawaiian island. but as she grapples with that path for her life, a crisis descends. Moana ends up having to save her family’s island (and the world, essentially, because this curse/disease would spread far beyond their home) from destruction because of the demigod, Maui, who robbed the heart, a glowing lime stone, from Goddes Te Fiti, who kept life flourishing and abundant. it can easily function as an allegory for global warming as well as some other things i may get into another time… but it is so much more than that. it makes me cry nearly every time i watch. i deeply resonate with Moana needing to carve out a way for herself that her family (specifically, her father) might not agree with, but she has to do anyway for her ancestors and her own spirit.

between her sweet and sentimental relationship with her grandmother, the call of her ancestors, and the courageous anthem, “How Far I’ll Go,” that she sings throughout the film––it is not only beyond precious and meaningful, an homage to the feminine, but also doused with humor throughout. i literally feel my heart swell when i watch this and it’s a movie of self-care for my inner child. i can’t fully explain the connection i feel to this film but i know that i very much wish i had this film when i was an actual child! and i can’t wait to show it to my future children. especially my daughter(s).

and last but not least…

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

“What is it with this chick, she have beer flavored nipples?”

it was SO HARD for me to choose one 5th film. i mulled about it for weeks. but this one is a classic i could never tire of. it was the perfect movie to tie up the ‘90s.

10 Things, ah yes, the story of two sisters on their high school dating (or not) journeys. this movie is hilarious and very cleverly derived and adapted from a Shakespeare story: The Taming of the Shrew (which they reference in the film, and i love that they do because i’m a reference nerd), while, fun fact (i’m also a fun fact nerd, i’ve recently discovered)!: Clueless was derived from Jane Austen’s, Emma.

besides Julia Stiles as Kat being a powerful and perhaps overly-feminist voice of her generation (hey, it really worked for the ‘90s) and Andrew Keegan who plays Joey “eat me” Donner mocking a large chunk of his, we also have Joseph Gordon Levitt as the lovable boy next door, Heath Ledger as the bad boy, Patrick Verona which, sidebar: isn’t that name totally sexy? (who’s character is surprisingly funny under his straight-faced guise), and the character i think is potentially the funniest AND most overlooked: David Krumholtz as Michael. but David K. tends to get overlooked a lot, doesn’t he? unless you want to throw Larry Miller as funniest character competition playing Kat and Bianca’s dad, because he is also perfectly on point with the dad jokes and over-the-top push for celibacy, which really does carry the plot of this film. not to mention their English teacher, who is hilarious and real.

this movie is back-to-back laughs to me. it can be subtle and it can be direct. it’s just all around well done. if you haven’t seen it, i highly recommend. between the cast, the writing, the soundtrack even… it’s a beloved comedy classic. its humor outlasts its decade (despite some stuff that probably wouldn’t make the script nowadays) and its heartwarming moments carry it through to being a genuine film. while this film doesn’t garner the attention of some other ‘90s teen comedies, like Can’t Hardly Wait, or She’s All That, i do believe it is more deserving.

besides, they gave us THIS EVERGREEN GIFT?!

Honorable Mentions (or where i expose my johnny depp obsession that has only mostly subsided):

Valley Girl (1983) - another one that i love so dearly in my heart… look out for another article about this one!

Blow (2001)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – it’s an understatement to say i was obsessed with this film when it came out.

Black Snake Moan (2006)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Ed Wood (1994) – if you haven’t seen this movie and want to see Tim Burton with genuine talent, watch. Johnny Depp should’ve been nominated for an Oscar, or at least a Golden Globe, for his portrayal of the disgraced movie director, Ed Wood.

Or any very old Disney cartoon: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Rescuers, Jungle Book, Robin Hood - for some examples.

tell me, Soulbabes… what are YOUR mac ‘n’ cheese movies?

comment below or tweet us @pvssymagic or tweet ME @samantharosej!

The Creatrix and Editor in Chief of Pussy Magic, sam is a writer/editor originally from the Bay Area. Her work outside of writing revolves around the merging of spirituality and wellness to foster community, raw self-expression, and holistic healing to honoring our sacred selves: mind, body, and spirit.

sam is the author of L’ACQUA (2017), the columnist of Sacred Wild Exile at Pussy Magic, the host of Satin Soulbits, a limited-series podcast focused on womxnhood and sexuality, and editor of the Satin Soulbits Blog. Her writing has been featured in The Sonnetarium @ Rhythm & Bones, Occulum, ILY Mag, Rose Quartz Magazine, Tiny Flames Press, and more. sam offers Sacred Serpent Writing + Healing sessions to bring people more intimacy with themselves and their writing which you can find more info about on her website. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner and plant babies.

Find more about sam, her writing, and her offerings on her website and follow her #soulbits on Instagram.

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comicteaparty · 5 years

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November 19th-25th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 19th, 2018 to November 25th, 2018. The chat focused on The Angel with Black Wings by Mharz.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Angel with Black Wings by Mharz~! (http://blackwings.Mharz.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until November 25th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Why do you believe that Ray is able to see angels? Is there something special about him or is it just by chance? Also, what makes him an exception to the rule that allows Big Sis to talk to him directly?

QUESTION 4. Why do you think Big Sis has black wings? What do you think Big Sis’ life was like when she was human? What about her past as an angel? What do you believe Big Sis’ intense connection to Ray is, and do you think that will get her into more trouble?

Climaxstriker

1. My favorite part is when Big Sis caught the apple Danillo threw then threw it back at him. Jerk had it coming, much like the apple that was headed for his face. 2. Big Sis because she's too pure for this world. 3. I think Ray has been given permission to talk to Big Sis after some string pulling on Silver's part. 4. I think Big Sis is Ray's mom due to her saying that Angels can look as old as they want, Cynthia did say that she had a college friend who was beautiful as an angel (So, Big Sis. Don't deny it, she's turn many many heads.) She killed someone with scissors. Could be any reason, dude could've been seriously drunk and would've seriously harmed Ray as a baby had she not have done anything.

Mharz

ends up thinking the exorcist but yeah for sure she totally made a lot of heads turn. That's the only thing I can confirm tho.

Kabocha

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? Probably this one: http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/309 Things get real for ray after this, and he starts to realize what happens when you poke your nose where it doesn't belong.

2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? Mara! She made such a huge change in her attitude and how she was treating people. I'm glad she's a nice girl.... I kind of hope she gets a chance to punch Albert.

3. Why do you believe that Ray is able to see angels? Is there something special about him or is it just by chance? Also, what makes him an exception to the rule that allows Big Sis to talk to him directly? ...Hm. I think Big sis is making up her own rules as she goes. Also, I'm like, 99% sure Ray's blood-related to her somehow, so the whole angel thing might be being sensitive to family - Ray's just more special than Mara.

4. Why do you think Big Sis has black wings? What do you think Big Sis’ life was like when she was human? What about her past as an angel? What do you believe Big Sis’ intense connection to Ray is, and do you think that will get her into more trouble? Big Sis probably stabbed someone.... Probably. Can't say for sure though.(edited)

funakounasoul

I'm doing a reread of this for this week because I love it!but last time, I made it to Ch 11 before life/work got in the way, so my answers today will reflect my previous knowledge :3

1. My fave scene so far has been the fight with some demons just because the action was pretty sweet. With the rest of the comic being more about conversations and mystery, it really stood out and kept me on the edge of my seat

2. Mara is my fave because of personal reasons. She reminds me of a bff I used to have and I wonder how they're doing in life now. I get why she did the things she did despite being great friends with Ray before. Anf her development is really solid(edited)

3. I've always believed that there are just some people who are more sensitive to certain things and in this case, ray is sensitive to seeing angels. And sometimes, these abilities can be both blessings (being able to meet Big Sis) but curses (being seen as odd/bullying...)

4. My CURRENT theory is that Big Sis is related to Ray directly. Mom? Or maybe some otger relation we don't know of? Grandmother?? Especially with the "any age"appearance comment. And i think she may have killed someone. But heaven, being typically seen as Lawful Good, sees all murders as bad even if she was in the right (aka self-defense) and maybe that is the initial reasoning behind her attitudes toward some of the strict rules angels have to follow...

Mharz

@Kabocha you mean the start of Ray's "you had one job" career?

Kabocha

I dunno, his one job started before that.... it just hit peak "Don't be dumb" at that point

Mharz

Also glad to see there are peeps liking Mara (can't say the same for Ray)

Lol Kabocha

Personally, I don't blame Ray seeing how he's been picked on and given false promises. You'll find people hard to trust.

funakounasoul

I do feel like I should be more connected to Ray, but - at least in my read thus far - I'm definitely having trouble doing so at times. I understand he's had some bad history to the point where he has trouble trusting folks, but his moments of abrasiveness sometimes make me wanna go "No. Ray...Ray...shhh...breathe...listen to them."

Mharz

Lol. I have to say Ray is the type of person that once his mind made a conclusion, he sticks to it. Unless this was proven wrong thru action not just words in which it takes a reeeeeeaaaallly long time.

keii4ii

TBH I don't think I would've been any better in his situation, at his age...

I might have been a different variety of bad, but still the same degree of bad

Kabocha

I'm still the same kind of stubborn as Ray, but it doesn't mean I have to like seeing him be that way. All that anger ain't good for him!

Mharz

I'm honestly pretty angsty similar to Ray back at his age. You could say a part of his character is my residual resentment towards my schoolmates for picking on me. I still get a bit angsty from time to time tho lol. I'm just trying to control myself better than I was younger. :v

funakounasoul

We've all had those moments, or knew someone like that. I preferred the company of others, but you know teenagers - we all think we're correct and tough and amazing but we're still learning :P BUT I do think this will set Ray up to have an amazing character development through the rest of the story. We may want him to shhhhh, but I know I'm curious as to how he'll learn to open up a little toward those that mean a lot to him (and learn he has people that mean a lot to him, even if he doesn't notice it yet)

Climaxstriker

Had some "Friends" Pull pranks on me and trick me so I know what Mara went through in terms of having fake friends.

Climaxstriker

after one joke too many. I told them to pound sand.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who do you believe Silver is given one demon described her as “infamous?” Why do you think Silver cares so much about Big Sis? Also, why do you believe that Silver is so stringent about the rules compared to other angels?

Climaxstriker

I think she cares so much about big sis because she fell for her hard.

Mharz

@funakounasoul lol yes... I hope. XD

I have to say, while it's true Silver had indeed fallen in love with Big Sis there is another reason she's totally vouching for her. Something that she herself only knew. Just ask her.

Climaxstriker

>_>?

I am intriqued

was it the reason Big Sis killed the dude with scissors?(edited)

Mharz

Nyope.

I can't say much more tho. I like to think the reason will come from the left field once it surfaced.

RebelVampire

1) the scene where mara tells off her "friends." that moment felt so incredibly earned and represented a fantastic character arc that had a beautiful conclusion. which leads me into... 2) Mara. of all the characters Mara feels the most developed and the most changed into a better person. her growth is really fun to watch. however, even before her motivations were sympathetic even if severely misguided. and given shes a teen it all made a lot of sense. overally, i like seeing this great girl grow and learn from her mistakes and try to make amends like the beautiful person shes trying to become. 3) I actually think Ray's powers might just be happenstance. And besides that with the current events of the comic I have to assume it's less rare than we've been made to believe. as for the exception, billionthing the assumption that ray is related to big sis, though i would like to add to the discussion that its highly doubtful its his mom. exhibit A http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/241 i dont think shed need to ask where his mom is if she is his mom XD unless she doesnt know where she is. 4) she either did the murders or hurt someone. although i think silver mentioned incidents or her self sacrificing nature or something like that. so it might be a compounding issue. where she did this alot because shes clearly not the most...cautious with her powers. and they finally said okay no more slaps on the wrist. i do think big sis is probably gonna get more into trouble cause even this exception thing seems like a huge bending of the rules that every angel is just willfully ignoring for Big Sis' sake. 5) I assume that silver is an archangel or something like that. super high up there in the scheme of things. and i also just think silver is a great girl who understands powers can hurt just as much as they can help. and someone has to look out and enforce the rules cause otherwise we just have anarchy.

Mharz

I have to say I did pick my choice of words in the dialogue especially on the page Rebel mentioned in which no one has noticed something strange about. <.<

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Do you think that Ray will learn the power of forgiveness when it comes to Mara? What about when it comes to Big Sis? Will this help him help Big Sis in some way? Additionally, what other ways do you think Ray will grow as a person?

RebelVampire

6) gonna be honest, personally speaking im not sure ray will grow as a person anymore that much XD like theres stubborn...and then theres ray. ray took stubborn and moved the goal post infinitely far away to neverland. i mean i would hope he grows, but idk. it may take a while. maybe when hes 50 and has to walk around with a cane. XD i think hell at least forgive big sis in his own way. and i think that will help big sis forgive herself cause she seems to have a lot of issues with forgiving herself

Kabocha

Ray might grow, but he's going to need to get something to teach him he needs to... Right now everything that goes wrong kind of just continues to justify it.

Mara can be nice all she wants, and Albert can be a jerk... But Ray has learned nothing. I don't think TAWBW is a story about Ray's growth so much as it is about Big Sis learning to forgive herself in the long run. Ray's just the character who we see things through.

RebelVampire

honestly im curious what it will take to teach him. cause it must be grandiose and amazing. but even if the story isnt technically about ray's growth, he does need to grow. because hes the protagonist.

well okay tbf he doesnt need to grow. or more accurately he could technically grow into a worse person? i mean i doubt its gonna go that way, but just clarifying

Kabocha

Ahahaha

He really needs to um... Change a little bit? Not in a good/bad way -- and this could be webcomic time talking for me bc I haven't done a full reread in a while... but like, he needs to be just more observant or mindful. He's kind of stuck in the same place, and that's fine -- it's just more interesting to see other characters progress and change.

RebelVampire

i had to reread it for questions, so its not just webcomic time. he has been stuck for quite a while. and to a degree i get it cause for every step int he right direction, a bad thing reinforces his world views. but i have been waiting for that big thing thats gonna kick that boy in the butt and get him to change just a little.

maybe itll be that nice cop

comes to save ray

ray is like wtf is this

Kabocha

Maybe. But he'll continue to be bitter for a while, haha...

Like, after that angel tried to kill him, I would have been like "wait why does it think I'm a sinner OH CRAP"

but he's not done much introspection!

While Big Sis might be able to be saved and redeemed by Heaven... Maybe Ray's just doomed? Like, is this story going to end up with him ending up damned, or genuinely close to it? I kind of want to see another Angel that Ray trusted "pass judgement" or at least force Ray to examine his behavior bc telling him to behave in real time hasn't worked real well

Big Sis has remorse for whatever it was she did. Ray's just a brat and is going to continue to hurt people.

RebelVampire

ya know thats a great point! it seems like a lot of ray's problem is he does no introspection.

thatd be an interesting scenario

although maybe its gonna take a big time mistake on his part

that forces him to realizes human make mistakes

and he is human

thus he is doomed to the mistakes

Kabocha

I think if he was forced to review his own behavior, he'd probably think twice about how he's behaved. After some defensiveness, of course -- because it's only human to go "but I was justified!"

He might be justified to a degree, but it doesn't make him morally superior!

RebelVampire

yeah.

although now im curious what ray would do if someone died for him

Kabocha

Oh no. :<

That might break him.

RebelVampire

cause at that point it would take some immense logic leaps to still think ppl are awful and the person helped him for selfish reasons

Kabocha

As stubborn as he is, I think that would honestly break him to realize someone cared that much that they'd die for him.

RebelVampire

i think it would actually break him to

cause even if he didnt care about the person i think that is something that would shatter his world view

Kabocha

Yeah. Now I'm trying to think through how he'd probably take it...

It'd probably start off with denying it -- then he'd go straight to anger at himself because I don't think he sees himself as worth protecting to that degree. Sure, he might be salty at Big Sis for "abandoning" him, but... It's easy to be mad for him. Past that, he might spend a lot of time wondering "why" and think about his behavior and try to figure out why he's worth it when he's been such a butt.

...............And then Silver would probably smack him and tell him to do better to become worth it.

RebelVampire

yes i definitely agree about the silver part

cause he seems to listen to silver to a degree

even if silver can be cryptic at best XD

Kabocha

Yeah, ahaha

I would think at that point Silver would just be tired of his shit though, and be like, "Do better, don't make this a waste."

RebelVampire

maybe. although ironically fulfills her duty of guiding humans and such. so good on silver for still doing her job

Kabocha

Somehow, I feel like the exemptions might be slightly more lax in the near future, especially if someone dies for Ray

given what Bnaenae's doing -- shit's about to get bad imo

RebelVampire

yeah this is the prime time for this scenario to play out if it does

although tbf the set up alone might spark introspection

just cause ray hates bad ppl and is now suddenly see what happens when you decide to treat bad ppl badly

Kabocha

True, but he may just say "I haven't sinned"

RebelVampire

maybe albert will disagree O_O

show up to monologue

Kabocha

That would be interesting to see... Although I suspect Albert might end up getting his POV changed a bit.

RebelVampire

tbh idk if i expect growth from albert

tbh i....i kind of expect him to die

die a very bad death

Kabocha

Hm, see, I dunno that he would die -- Serena though? I think that she's likely to get hurt on his behalf.

RebelVampire

that seems likely maybe. idk. i dont feel i know serena enough

what if all the angels on the bad side get black wings O_O at least big sis wont have to feel sad and alone anymore

Kabocha

Hmm, maybe. But it could be a case where as long as they're pure in their ideals and try to do God's work, they're okay

or they have another source for their wholly Holy wrath

RebelVampire

they have to go back to angel boarding school

funakounasoul

For me, I feel he could change at least to a neutral maturation...but he has to experience something REALLY drastic. Something that hits him so hard that makes him re-evaluate himself. He may be an adult when we see a change in him (like an epilogue or something) but I think he can change. People always grow and learn new things even as old folks...if they're not TOO stubborn, though xD

Mharz

I like to think that Ray is a child who has a looooooot to learn and he's not as bad as Shin from Robonoid. <.<

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Where do you think Big Sis has been while Ray has been dealing with Legion? Is she being held against her will, or do you think it’s partially by choice? Why do you think we’ve seen her being trained to fight?

Climaxstriker

Tricky, I think she's been tricked by Bnaenae. Prettyboi jerkbag extraordinaire who needs a toaster to swung into his pretty friggin face >=/ I think at first it was because she was lied to. I think she's been set up, the legion wouldn't take in someone who committed a crime in life. So, she's likely a pawn in Bnaenae's plan, likely involving her dying. I can't imagine her being a permanent asset to a group as crazy about perfection as the legion. After Ray accused her of stealing souls like a friggin moron, that's when Bnaenae started holding her against her will. That's when that other mysterious guy I'm calling "Bigger Bro" (or just Big Bro) busted Big Sis out of angel jail.

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on fate is ready! @Anthea https://comicteaparty.com/post/180401220340/november-12th-18th-2018-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. What are your theories about Legion? Do you think Lucifer is responsible, or is someone else calling the shots? How do you think that Legion was able to slip under the radar? Who exactly is the man threatening to kill the mayor and why broadcast it?

Climaxstriker

I think believe Lucifer is calling the shots. He must've been the man that sucked out the Mayor's soul. He did some pretty high up in the food chain. As for how they slipped under the radar. I got no clue. >_>

Kabocha

I dunno, if Bnaenae was lucifer, I'd think the other angels would know... Unless they're all about to fall. I wonder if they're working with the demons that showed up earlier in the story >_>

Mharz

So many things I can answer but spoilers lol. <.<

One thing I could say is, I don't think these angels would join the legion if it's not for a "noble cause." >.>

mathtans

Going from memory on this... as far as favourite scenes, two that still stand out without diving back into the archive are ones mentioned by others. The battle in the mall, and Mara kind of coming to her senses.

-Favourite character? Tempting to say Mara like so many others (I also like her visual design), but I think I'll go Silver. She just seems clever and subversive, like trying to do the right thing under the radar. Also, fun times in Ray's dreams.

-Ray sees angels because his father was actually an angel. Or a demon. Something like that. Sure, why not.

-Black wings, still because someone spilled ink on them. Or, okay, it's soot, because she would hang out a lot down in hell, maybe.

-Silver knows that you've gotta have rules, otherwise there's chaos. Also, is secretly God... it's like one of those "HIdden Boss" TV shows.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What do you think Ray’s role will be in dealing with Legion (and can he do anything in the first place)? Will Ray find some way to expose Albert? Also, why do you think Albert is part of Legion in the first place?

Climaxstriker

hmmmm..... Since the legion provided a......rather shitty first impression for angels. Ray will likely have to convince people like Alvarez not all angels are evil. That there are good angels like Silver. Dunno if Albert is really bothering to give himself some cover. As for why he is in the legion in the first place.....I feel like he's been wronged for so long. Like, he feels like any good people he met has suffered at the hands of criminals and they just got off scott-free. That's just a guess tho.

RebelVampire

i like math's theory about the ink. big sis was a prolific angel author, until one day she tripped and the ink just went everywhere. and everyone knows you cant get out those ink stains XD

RebelVampire

7) I think Big Sis' situation may be a mixture of both. IN that she was brought against her will, was told "blah blah blah do this training because it will help you for blah blah blah reasons." and big sis was like "blah blah blah reasons you say? okay i will stay." but they also made a condition she couldnt leave for a long time and big sis was like "hahaha no" and that is where in shes being held against her will. cause while shes pursuing her own goals shes also being given tight restrictions and big sis is not a rule follower. maybe learning to fight will help her protect ray or something tho. cause she does keep getting trounced by demons. 8) It's clearly Lucifer's son who is responsible O_O /shot but more likely i think its someone using lucifer's name to manipulate others. cause assuming lucifer is dead, its not like lucifer can say "hey that isnt me. stawp that." as for slipping under the radar, eh, it was probably easier than they made it sound. i mean its not like theres an angel time clock i imagine. there seems to be a lot of autonomy. so until the soul sucking started there whereabouts and ambitions were probably super easy to hide. 9) i question if ray will even make an effort to stop legion. unless albert directly puts him in danger. and if he becomes involved i think it will be in an effort just to save big sis. as for albert, i assume he was some kid who was like ray and got bullied a lot. and he decided to challenge that and no longer be the victim. and before he realized it he became the bully for "a good cause."

mathtans

-I kind of hope that Ray realizing that Mara is a better person now will lead him to realizing that not everything Big Sis does (or did) was under her control either. But yeah, major facepalm as he goes off on Big Sis for not being around when he doesn't know anything. (I actually thought that was another dream sequence.)

-Big Sis is the nominated champion for the all the angels, because there's a prophecy about black wings. That's why she's training, even though she's not necessarily keen on it. (In all seriousness, I think she may be a champion of sorts because her black wings allow her to not be corrupted or something, like she's already corrupted herself. idk.)

-I don't know that Legion slipped under the radar, I think maybe they were vocal, just not necessarily about how they were going to achieve their goals. There was just this group who were going to make positive change through more tea parties, and then suddenly it was "ok, instead of tea parties, we're Legion and we're taking souls" and everyone thought "huh, that escalated, but the goal's the same, I'm still all in".

Mharz

I wouldn't say Big Sis is a champion of some sorts but there IS something. It's more of "just totally unlucky that it was her" rather than "being the chosen one."

I like the tea party analogy lol.

snuffysam

i feel like it wouldn't be hard for legion to slip under the radar. like let's say every pure-hearted person becomes an angel. and angels on average are able to last one century before getting killed by demons. unless the conditions for becoming an angel are SUPER strict, there are at least a billion of them flying around (and there'd have to be for any reasonable number of people to get guardian angels). that means each archangel is responsible for over 100,000,000 angels i doubt you'd notice if a club of a couple hundred dudes was forming when that's less than 0.0001% of your employees

mathtans

I approve of such mathematical arguments.

Mharz

Add some shenanigans and it's absolutely feasible

snuffysam

shenanigans always make things better

Mharz

Shenanigans make everything complex yes.

Climaxstriker

and funnier

we need more shenanigans in our lives

Mharz

When shenanigans ends up dooming society. Yup... Fun... <.<

Climaxstriker

Not those kinds of shenanigans tho D=

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

Climaxstriker

I'm looking forward to finally finding out Big Sis' past and who that guy was that busted her out and how it all ends. Big Sis' past and that guy's identity is because, if you think hard on theories on what they are, and in the end it proves to be right, it's a really satisfying feeling. More than a simple "AHA, I FUCKING CALLED IT!" It's more like...."Yaaas, I was right all along and I worked so hard to find the evidence for it too!" Last part is because well, naturally I'd want to see how it all goes down. Seriously, what fan wouldn't? >_>

Mharz

What I'm looking forward to is more people theorizing TABW. This is the most elaborated thing I wrote and I did leave lots of context clues for overthinkers to crunch on. At the same time, maintaining the interactions and feels. Well, I try at least.

mathtans

The entire comic is happening in Ray's mind. Everyone is really part of his family, in a "Wizard of Oz" kind of way. That's how Big Sis is his mother.

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

10) im looking forward to mara becoming a beautiful angel when she dies while ray becomes a crotchety old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn.

Climaxstriker

That is likely how it goes if Mharz does a bad ending. Thing is, that's actually realistic, considering how much of a jerk Ray can be. >_>

Kabocha

Oh noooo ahaha

How likely is a Ray/Mara ship in the future, ya think?

Climaxstriker

if Ray can stop being an edgy jerk and go through some much needed character development, more likely that we think. XD

snuffysam

kinda surprised nobody's shipped big sis with bigger, cooler sis in this chat yet

silver is mostly enforcing the rules all the time but they seem like they were quite close before big sis did a slip and slide through a coal mine

(like if silver didn't care, she wouldn't bother to stop big sis before she breaks the rules after a few attempts)

Climaxstriker

It's been shipped in Mharz' discord. >w>

Kabocha

They're definitely a ship

100%. Although I do wonder about how much Silver can get romantically involved with the lower ranks lol

Mharz

I mean I am shipping Big Sis and Silver from the get go. <.< She isn't sexually attracted tho. She's fine with fluffy hugs and giving secret gifts.

snuffysam

that makes sense

one thing i hope for the future is that ray makes more friends. like that lady at the cafe.

Mharz

That will be up to Ray. XD

mathtans

Maybe that lady at the cafe is secretly Ray's mother.

Or Big Sis's mother.

Climaxstriker

Who knows >_>

snuffysam

big sis is older than she looks, remember (since she hasn't aged at all since she died). maybe the lady is big sis's little sister, and the lady is somehow responsible for big sis's death?

Mharz

They're not related actually

snuffysam

but the lady IS responsible for big sis's death

Mharz

http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/249

snuffysam

well sure. but that all happened before the lady stabbed her

Mharz

I'd totally love to explore this more eventually.

I'm thinking of making a comic about Big Sis' life but it won't be until all spoilers are spilled.

Kabocha

I vaguely recall Big Sis' life previously was quite... unpleasant

so was this lady also doing that unpleasant job

snuffysam

oh so maybe she was a bully to big sis, and that's the sin she's atoning for?

at the workplace

Mharz

It's more along the lines of "getting her to that unpleasant place." >.>

Kabocha

... REALLY

Was she trying to help or was she uh... ....

So basically, this lady's up on Legion's chopping block next

Mharz

S-She was trying to help(edited)

<.<

Kabocha

ahahah

Mharz

Poor Big Sis never caught a break. -_-

Climaxstriker

Not Cynthia D=

she's nice!

Mharz

Idk

Climaxstriker

Is teh cat important?

remembers Bnaenae cat Oh shit

I will give bnaenae fish.

....as it's cooking in the toaster....which I shall promptly swing into his face! as the toaster is cooking the fish! D=<

Mharz

#blameBnaenae

I'm definitely excited for the upcoming chapters

Climaxstriker

Me too. I need teh answers! D=

Mharz

It won't be answered for the next 5 years probably

Climaxstriker

Das ok. I've been waiting for game updates that took a while. >_>

Mharz

<.<

Climaxstriker

I've also waited six months for a golden opportunity to orchestrate a ridiculous and convoluted scheme that was actually a well-thought out plan that would probably take a while to explain. >_> I can wait for a whiiiile like a reeeeeeeally long while for the hyped up stuff.(edited)

Mharz

I've been hyping edgy sis for years now and she still hasnt appeared

Climaxstriker

edgy big sis? >_>

=_= not sure if past Big Sis or future Big Sis is edgy Big Sis

Mharz

The one with white hair.

Climaxstriker

Was wondering why she had white hair >_>

Mharz

There's a deep but shallow reason for that. I will mention when the time comes.

Climaxstriker

Determinedly waits for the time to come

snuffysam

wearing a wig

Mharz

Yasss

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about The Angel with Black Wings this week! Please also give a special thank you to Mharz for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked The Angel with Black Wings, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://blackwings.Mharz.com/

Mharz’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aviMharz

Mharz’s Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/Mharz

Mharz’s Storenvy: http://Mharz.storenvy.com/

Mharz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/aviMharz

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bornfromscarletcords · 7 years

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Twilight Heart Chapter 4: Stars Calling

Twilight Heart

Chapter 4- Stars Calling

Bob was a werewolf. It was not dinner conversation, nor a mark of prophetism, at least to him. The world had scarred him, unzipped his soul and left it bleeding. He bandaged as best he could, but as far as he could tell, he was like a walking tombstone. “Here Walks Bob Moon, Traveling As He Lived, In Obscurity, In Pain, In Disappointment”.

Bob was of military background. Though not only in the typical sense. His “parents” had been entrenched in the defense programs of their nations, but in many ways Bob had been fighting a more peculiar war since he’d been born. Orphaned at six when a faulty engine claimed the lives of his family and numerous others. Whoever said airplanes were the safest way to travel never met the gods of misfortune (or perhaps they did if irony has its day). Bob was supposed to be on that plane but he had gotten sick at the last minute and was left with a family friend who would have flown him over the next day. As it was the family friend was not so friendly without a family, which is how Bob ended up a little soldier boy warring with the world's indifference and insightful cruelties.

Bob tended to look a little like everyone, which to him meant he looked like a “No One”, a Nothing. Genealogy might say it had something to do with his rather diverse pool of racial traits and heritages, but perhaps the spirit has a different answer.

Bob kept his hair short and proper, his nails trimmed, his body fit and fluid, and his mind stubborn yet loving. Though if you asked anyone, they’d probably say that the most alarming thing about him were his eyes. If Bob was a nothing, then his eyes were the most rapturous gilded windows to the ambivalence of existence. On most days many would claim that they were a rather peculiar shade of pale gold, though it was those moments of tangled green and red passions that truly sent them for a loop.

Bob was 15 when he was bitten. Well savaged is probably more appropriate. Most creatures end up working around the orders that are placed on them which is why facts often fail in the world that is constantly changing. With this said, a werewolf is a peculiar and often misunderstood creature. Like a fire it can be as unassuming as a lit candle, providing light and leisure, or it can be like a home’s hearth, providing a heat and sustenance that must be carefully respected and maintained, but at its root it is a primal creature and like the match that casts the inferno into form a werewolf is never a creature of safety no matter what matters of mundane it has disguised itself in.

So you could say that Bob was scorched and or scarred by a Werewolf. Although the experience was most likely traumatic and deeply uncomfortable for him there are some life theories that say that correctness or goodness are not necessarily sustainable modes of existing. That although their is worth in being correct, great meaning and growth can also be found in one’s mistakes, and that one could in theory base their life on the greatness of the many mistakes that transpired within it. That virtue and sin were of equal worth.

Bob did not respond well to the change, for whatever reason. Perhaps all that nothingness clogging up his heart finally decided to make a fire out of the world which had created it. Regardless, he found himself wintering in a forest. He kept the young folk up with his howling and the older folk a worry with the ruined forms he’d leave along their hiking trails or their roads.

Well, they say that a life of violence breeds a violent end, so the creature that was Bob should not have been surprised when a challenge was burdened upon him. A medicine woman, a Jane Blackwater; shaman like, was passing through the town he had decided to stomp around. A jack of all trades you could call her, but specifically she made a casual hobby of bridging the shadows of the worlds unknown. I suppose you could call her something of an Exorcist, though her approach was rather like that of a distant organizer, like the uncomfortable ceo who has to approach because orders are orders.

She found Bobby in one of his more bestial moods, which probably surprised both of them. It was quite the tussle but she managed to stop him without having to kill him. She bound him with an object called something like “lunar Locket”. It wrapped itself around his wrist like a bracelet or very strong gauze. When he could speak in more than two syllable messages she asked him his name. He said Moon. Which was true enough, it had been the surname he’d been born to and which he had kept even with his foster family. They both found that funny.

This was not the last time they’d see each other, though these two always had a way of bumping paths, but Bobby’s missing weeks and even greater solemn nature led to his foster parents sending him out to the north east portions of their country with some extended family. This was fine for Bob, as far as he was concerned, they had never really loved him anyway.

B.Moon’s Loony Locket was a peculiar thing indeed. Ms. Blackwater had stated that it could be adapted for many purposes, however the most important directives he should concern himself were as follows.

To Never Bathe Directly In Moonlight.

To avoid situations of extreme violence or danger.

To Never make himself known to the power of an Alpha werewolf.

As all of these things could trigger the beast within and leave him at the mercy of his inner monster; locket or no locket. Bobby probably grunted or sighed at this message in the way that those who have already all but faded from the world are called to do when faced with any notion of an urgent/earnest order. So the two parted ways, each a little different than who they were before.

It did not take long for Bobby to discover the peculiarities of his new settlement. He lived with a rather gruff old man and his two daughters, one more or less mature, and the other much less so. It was a place of fantasy's rhythmic directives. Of death's illusory humors and the serpent like embrace of the scientist's device.

Still Bobby no longer felt stirred by thoughts of justice or miraculous heart connections. Justice had sunk into hunger and love was only the shadow of a grim scythe. He spent his nights tucked away behind buildings, or under trees and on the nights when the moon’s song all but shook his skies he was often huddled in some dark room somewhere trying to drown out the roaring of the demon within his soul.

Still many a tale has been told of the folly of a creature trying to outrun itself. The peaceful have often remarked on the irony that although war should not be sought, it often comes in full force. Like a legion from the world’s many instruments. Perhaps that is why they are some of our greatest musicians.

So it was that one day the classroom which Bobby had sat in many a time with little to no interest became a thing quite miraculous. He was sure that he heard his classmates chatting and lounging about, but when he opened the door he was met by a sight quite peculiar. Much has been discussed in the goings of life about the nature of times and the gravity of emotions. For example some animals, upon being born, imprint on the first significant form they see as their parental figure. Even though another creature may have spent far more time rearing and nurturing the creature, that time and effort may be transferred onto another through a rather odd series of emotions.

The Moon was in Bobby’s classroom. Bobby couldn’t explain, how, but it was there. It has been said that the creatures of existence tend to only experience things in the ways they believe they can. For example if you brought up the outline of a vase, a person might see two faces trying to kiss instead. Simple, humorous, yet perversely dynamic in effect. So it was that Bobby saw many a strange thing both buried within and divided without; him, the world, and those which both did cherish.

In one moment it was a pale green orb impossibly large yet still minute if only in its ridiculous setting. In its hues his classroom was transformed into a jungle, a garden, an oasis. All manner of critters, creepers, and matters did drift about. A tangle of jade thoughts, or were they jaded, Bobby couldn’t tell. The moon, who was somehow also a beautiful girl who kind of looked like all beautiful girls in the way that all beautiful things have a little in common. She seemed reserved, yet content in the way the burdened are subject to sly warmth.

In another they were red. Like fire. Like blood. Like the sun’s light through your eyelids. Like the haze of a dreams passion, like bitter wars and their ending; like love blooming and consuming. Like a kiss from a rose, thorns and all. The orb was a kindling ruby shining as if it were crafted to be the first light. As if it were meant to bring truth to man. The green woman seemed to be clothed in growing things, leaf fibers that could mimic the fashions of time, when she didn’t appear to be garbed in nubile nakedness itself. The red woman was clothed in heat, in the armor of draconic crusaders, in the features of those universal machinations. One minute she seemed like the hawk, proud and sharp, the next like the alligator, wise and aware, the next like the wolf, strong, courageous, and compassionate. It was the last shape of a thought that sent Bobby reeling. Red tunes unmaking him even as they pulled those hidden portions to the surface. Her eyes existed like nothing he had ever seen as if they had smoldered nothingness into the shape of a scarred yet eternally burning heart. As if she were the first spark to set time into motion.

It was only the twinge of agony that began racing up his wrist which alerted Bobby to the folly of this moment which could have been a couple of seconds or innumerable lifetimes. He closed the door, with much effort, and felt the pressure of the air drop about ten atmospheres. When he opened the door again there his classmates were, as if nothing had happened, as if everything was as it always had been, as if he didn’t exist at all. Bobby took his seat and tried to ignore the slightly less than trim points which formed themselves along his nails. It was only the next day that he noticed a rather attractive girl, who seemed familiar enough, but who he had never known to share a class with. In a moment rather strange, and in many ways, unprecedented, it was revealed that she was in fact the class president, whom Bobby had, in fact, nominated for such a role not three months before.

It was all rather ironic, to say the least.

#Werewolves Moon Time Forms

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