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old-daemon-farts · 3 years

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Daemonism Survey

I wanted to see if I could summarize my experience. I know I have long winded thoughts on many of these subjects. Figured others may enjoy reading my answers. Survey found at the bottom.

What is a dæmon to you? The subconscious speaking through inner monologues.

What makes a dæmon, a dæmon? A daemon provides a positive change in their person while also intrinsically being a part of who they are and their identity. You cannot have one without the other. I feel this being needs to be tied to the subconscious (or soul) and will use our inner monologue to communicate.

I am of the belief many different beings can play the role of a daemon. Tulpa, alters, other headmates, and spirits can match these qualifications. "Daemon" has always felt more like a job title or other very personal labels like pronouns or familial titles like "daughter" or "father". I think daemons can stem from too many things and how they connect within the mind to say for sure what is and is not a daemon.

What does dæmonism mean to you? Daemonism is cultivating our inner-self to be a companion who supports us, and in doing so we are learning how to support ourselves.

What is the purpose of dæmonism? To provide a healthy mindset. Can be focused on mental health or cognitive thinking. A healthy mindset for one may be self-improvement; for another it may be companionship and self-compassion; or perhaps they just need someone to help recall information. What daemonism is varies from person to person but to me the base line is you get into daemonism seeking something you feel is going to improve something about your life.

What is/are your dæmon(s) like? What is your dæmon's personality like? What are their likes and dislikes? This is the space for anything you want to share about how your dæmon behaves, thinks and feels! Thats a lot to put. So I will place what may make them different from other daemons. They are very self-focused on me. No matter their personality its always focused around what is best for me. What needs to be done for me. Their world revolves around me and they do not question nor hate it.

How did you meet your dæmon(s)? Inspired by His Dark Materials. Finished the 3rd book, tried to see my daemon, he laughed and the rest is history. I thought we were the only human/daemon pair at the time.

What is/are your dæmon(s)? Dæmons can be many things; a gateway to the subconscious, a personification of your conscience, the other half of your internal dialogue, a spiritual entity, or many other things besides. What is the nature of your dæmon? They are me. They are how I connect to my inner self/subconscious. At the moment they are a gateway rather than the full personification of my subconscious. Please see the answer for "how they are connected to me" for more examples.

What is/are your dæmon's gender(s), and how do they relate to and differ from your own? Mostly female. I use to think my daemons gender was my opposite, then I though I was the outcome of their genders, then I thought their gender supported my own. Now I think it just is another outcome of what my brain needed to be happy and healthy, and while my daemons genders never change future daemons may be influenced by the same factors.

How autonomous is/are your dæmon(s)? How independent and free-thinking is your dæmon; how much do they rely on you in order to exist and function? Autonomy is an illusion. Myself and my daemons will always be influenced by my subconscious and factors surrounding us. Their identities rely on my focus but who they are at the core and how they function is thoughtless. I can personify my heart and it can grow independent but as soon as I stop talking to my heart it doesn't stop beating. It just returns to what it was prior and continues its constant task of keeping the body going without needing any thought on the matter.

How is/are your dæmon(s) connected to you? Subconscious, inner monologues, and even intrusive thoughts. Anima/animus. ID/Ego/Super Ego/ Shadow, split-brain ... Basically if there is a term for connecting with any inner part of yourself or piece of our mind my daemons encompass or build upon that.

How do your dæmon(s) differ from you? They are very goal oriented and driven involving my life and health.

What are the similarities between you and your dæmon(s)? They reflect key parts of myself (good, bad, and desired). We all like and dislike similar things, look for similar things in life and friendship, share taste in fashion, food, and entertainment. Only time things vary are when my daemons reflect an extreme. Like Tess who loves physical activity. I'm not a fan of exercise or sports but I wish I was and so does my body and mind. So her favorite activities are not mine by choice but I know on a subconscious level I need to enjoy these more. There is always a connection so there will always be similarities.

How have your dæmon(s) changed since you first met them? They have changed as much as myself, as they grow the very same as I do effected by my surroundings and experiences. Cayde started just as childlike as myself and grew into an adult. My more recent daemons started based around emotions or specific traits and then grew to be far more complex. This is the nature of living, remaining static is nearly impossible.

Can your dæmon(s) front? Fronting: taking primary control of the physical body. I believe with practice they can but since they have very strong opinions about fronting will refrain from doing so. We have co-fronted to allow my daemon to speak louder and to use "mind-over-matter" to stop pain. But during co-fronting there is no physical control. It is only causing a shift in where my daemon lies on my consciousness.

What are your dæmon form(s)? They have many. Both animal and human.

What do your dæmon form(s) mean to you? Some represent who I am on a subconscious level, a deeply analyzed level, and a more surface level.

How did you find your dæmon form(s)? Some through created systems, others through daemon's choice, and one picked completely out of my or my daemon's control.

What do your dæmon form(s) say about your personality, if anything? One describes my behavior and how I interact with others. The other portrays how I am seen and my narrative in life.

How does your dæmon feel about their form(s)? They love all of them and the more meaning behind a form the prouder they are taking it.

What does it mean for a dæmon's form to be settled? Represents who I (or they) are for a set moment in time. Finding and being content with who we are and our identity.

What kind of forms has your dæmon taken in the past? A variety, mostly animals.

How did your dæmon(s) get their name(s)? Chosen together or they picked one they liked.

What do your dæmon(s) names mean to you? Not much. One of my daemons shares my name which is pretty cool but there is little meaning behind everyone's name.

Has your dæmon's name ever changed? If so, feel free to elaborate! Yes! My first daemon has gone through 3 name changed. First one didn't fit right, second lasted years but he got tired of seeing other people with it, so now he's on his third.

How did you first learn about dæmonism? I learned about daemons through His Dark Materials and daemonism through The Daemon Page.

What motivated you to try dæmonism? Loved the companionship daemons gave in the books

Has your experience of dæmonism changed since you first discovered it? If so, how? I take it far more seriously now as a tool for mental health and self-awareness. I just wanted a unique friend that was a talking animal in the beginning.

How do your dæmon(s) affect and influence your everyday life? Hm, its so hard to say after living over half my life with one. But I'd say they influence my day just by helping me process everything?

How has dæmonism helped you? My daemons have taught me self-love, self-worth, pride, and acceptance.

What does the dæmian community mean to you? They are my home. Sometimes you leave home, and sometimes family upsets you, but you still feel drawn back no matter where you wander. The community is a family I have chosen and I will always feel a part of.

The survey this came from can be found here “ Daemon Survey “. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts please consider completing it, I know the creator would greatly appreciate it.

#daemonism #about us #old daemon thoughts

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chibimyumi · 4 years

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Furutod vs Sebastyun

Dear @gisellehexen89,

First of all, I am very happy you seem to be enjoying my blog! And thank you for the interesting ask.

I think the best way to find out what ‘Elisabeth’ is is to read up on it, or watch it yourself; it is impossible to explain everything in a post. After having learned what the musical is about, and you’re interested in how TOHO staged it in 2019, I recommend reading my full art reports:【ACT 1】 and 【ACT 2】. These two reports also show my general thoughts on Sissi (^ω^)

Now instead, I shall dedicate this post to making a comparison between Furutod and Sebastyun.

Furutod vs Sebastyun

When Furukawa’s role as Der Tod was initially announced, most people believed he would be very similar to Sebastian. It is an easy trap: both characters are non-human, have very little scruples, are fiercely attractive, and the theme of obsession is omnipresent.

But honestly, that’s it. That’s all the similarities these two share.

1. Status

The biggest difference between Furutod and Sebastyun is their status. Furutod is the Lord of the Underworld (黄泉の帝王), and absolute authority over life and death of all that is alive. Sebastian meanwhile, is bound to servitude who cannot even wield full autonomy of his own. Needless to say, their difference in power status decides everything in their respective behaviours.

1.1. Sebastian

Let us look at Sebastyun first. All three Kuromyus from the Furukawa era show very clearly that Sebastian is very limited in many fields, but the difference between the ‘mask of the butler’ vs ‘the raving demon’ is clearest in ‘Tango on the Campania’.

In the scene with Edward, we see the boy pulling rank on ‘a mere butler’. Edward was basically threatening O!Ciel using Sebastian, while hiding behind the face of ‘a loving brother’. There was nothing Sebastian could do as a mere servant, so he very explicitly checks first whether Edward had left, before he could show his true reaction: “whatever.”

In the cinematic record too, Sebastyun clearly disagreed with what his master demanded of him, and he only showed his BIG ATTITUDE after the boy had left.

Likewise, as explained in this post, because Sebastian is always bound to servitude, his autonomy (or whatever little he has) is something he treasures a lot. His only outlet of freedom is being pedantic and obtuse. Sebastyun takes it a step further by being passive-aggressive on top, a trait Furukawa has made his Sebastian famous for.

Obviously Sebastyun sees fun in doing so, but this is undeniably the result of a long history of getting his autonomy denied. He is the servant in the shadows who needs to wield power within other people’s boundaries.

1.2. Der Tod

As I mentioned above, Der Tod is the Lord of the Underworld, and as Furukawa himself interprets, represents the authority over both life and death. He never has to ask for a ‘yes’, other people’s consent or opinions are non-consequential to him. He takes lives because he can, and nobody can punish him for it.

Being an existence who never needs to learn accepting a ‘no’, he does not need to put up a face, because he never needs to make compromises. Der Tod is SO used to getting his way, that teasing the possibility of ‘not getting his way’ is even a game to him.

1.3. Comparison

Sure, Sebastian also teases and pushes his limits sometimes, but unlike Der Tod, Sebastian does have to consider having to reap what he sows. If Sebastian fails and breaks his contract, surely something terrible awaits him. But Der Tod? Nah... his Death Angels will clean up his mess.

Der Tod can afford to make mistakes in playing with his prey, unlike Sebastian. In The Last Dance↑, we see Furutod make the biggest miscalculation; scaring Elisabeth. Had he not scared her, then Elisabeth might have been quicker in agreeing to die for him.

Unlike Der Tod who has minions to clean up his mess, Sebastyun does need to make careful calculations.

2. Understanding and Interest

Another major difference between Der Tod and Sebastian is their understanding of and interest in human beings.

2.1. Sebastian

The thing Sebastian keeps saying is how interesting humans are; Sebastyun is the scientist always hungry for more knowledge, and humans fascinate him to no end. In ‘Tango on the Campania’ even with debilitating pain, he was smiling with the excitement at human behaviour.

He also makes use of whatever knowledge he has acquired throughout his centuries on earth to get what he wants or needs. Like I said above, at some point in history Sebastyun learned that fear would cause a human to shut down, so he was careful in not scaring Beast, lest she might not open up to him.

Had Sebas been a bit of a dumb-dumb and scared Beast the way he did in the manga, or the way Der Tod scared Elisabeth, then he would have failed his mission logically speaking.

2.2 Der Tod

Der Tod in contrast, always gets his way, so he does not need to understand humans to achieve anything. But more importantly, he is superbly uninterested in understanding humans. The only reason he shows interest in humans is for himself; he wants to bend humans to flatter his own ego. “If Elisabeth finally begs to die, then I AM the victor. If Rudolf commits suicide, then I manipulated him.” Der Tod’s satisfaction is the goal of his actions.

As such, when Rudolf ‘HAD THE AUDACITY to bore LORD DEATH’, he bitchslapped him before taking his life. When in the end Furutod did get Elisabeth, but not in a satisfactory way that assured his baby ego that he’s the winner, he was disappointed and lost all vitality.

To Sebastyun however, the satisfaction is a bonus: it’s nice to have, but it’s more important to get a job done.

3. Mannerism

Another point of difference is their mannerisms. Sebastian is a mere servant, and therefore needs to keep to the shadows. He usually tries (though fails) to adhere to the Victorian code of ‘servants should be like furniture, speak only when spoken to’. (In truth, Sebastian talks way too much for a proper Victorian servant, but he tries! He tries. Give the butler some cookies for trying.)

Der Tod meanwhile, is the supreme overlord of all and everything, so he does not need to care about anything. Plus, he can turn invisible as he likes. Unlike Sebastyun who needs to suppress his laughter or any other commentaries, Furutod can get away with laughing like a f*cking hyena on crack during an Imperial wedding.

4. Ego

Lastly, another stark difference between Sebastian and Der Tod is their ego and their presentation of themselves.

4.1. Sebastian

In this post I explained how Sebastian is very willing to humble himself, to come in second place, or take whatever disadvantage voluntarily for the sake of achieving something he wants or needs to.

This is because Sebastian is very secure about himself, and the recognition of humans (cattle) means nothing to him. He does not need anybody to know how powerful he is, instead he takes greater pleasure in silently manipulating others, using humans’ own actions against themselves.

Yes, Sebastian does love to flex, but he does not do any of those things to increase his reputation. We can tell from Sebastian never lingering to check people’s oohs and aahs. It’s like how when we impress a toddler with something easy, we usually won’t indulge in the kid’s praise because we don’t feel an increase of social regard. Instead, the fact that the toddler is impressed with something so easy is more interesting to us.

Sebastian’s flexing seems more like an outlet because O!Ciel forbade him from showing his true potential, and it is frustrating to him. It is just like how we as (young) adults we are capable of understanding deep analyses, but get constantly told to read picture books, on top of also having be content with hearing: “how amazing, you can read a picture book! You are astonishing!!😱”

4.2. Der Tod

If Der Tod was not explicitly ‘death’ personified, I would say that Furutod is ‘huge ego and diva complex’ personified.

Despite being a more elevated being than Sebastian (the scavenger demon) is as Lord of the Underworld, Furutod does like being praised. Der Tod is and will always be above human beings, and that is as boring a fact as water being wet. As I explained in Art report act 1, Furutod suffers from ‘lethal apathy’, and in this sense he needs more than to know ‘that mortals are beneath him, that water is wet’. Furutod wants to know that the mortals fear him, and gets a kink out of mortals being on their knees for him. Der Tod is not just ‘death’, he is the personification of ‘human regard of death’; and the fear of death, is what unifies human kind, after all.

Another point in stark contrast with Sebastian is that Furutod does have kin near him: the Death Angels. The regard of mortals is nice, but he also likes keeping his minions impressed, because his kin’s reverence also means something to him. It is almost like Furutod wants to justify why he should be superiour to the Death Angels (even though his position is never challenged). He just gets a REALLY big kink out of praise, okay? ( ´艸｀)

Furutod’s enormous ego also shows itself in his diva-ness. When he is courting Elisabeth for example, he is basically behaving like a peacock. He takes Elisabeth’s hand and runs it through his silver hair, his ivory silken skin. “Look at me, feel me, human, I am SO drop dead gorgeous.”

Furutod also can’t handle being lower than anyone; whenever he has the chance he will literally place himself on higher footing.

Contrast this to Sebastyun who is always very willing to put himself lower than others. This ⇊ would be UNTHINKABLE for Furutod.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, besides the ‘non-human character in a dark theme’ aspect, Sebastyun and Furutod really don‘t have anything in common.

5.1. Sebastian

The fact that Sebastyun is always bound to servitude whenever he is on Earth, and his lack of autonomy, shape his behaviour. His reputation on Earth has no meaning to him; Sebastyun is confident about what kind of Demon he is, and the opinions of ‘cattle’ are therefore insignificant to him. The only thing one must not challenge is whatever little autonomy he has left, and he will test and find the upper limit to wield it.

5.2. Der Tod

Furutod in contrast, only knows what it is like to be the most superiour being and never getting his authority challenged. He never had to learn to make compromises, nor does he ever have to deal with consequences. As such he is really a foot-stamping-toddler (Foot-stamping Der Toddler? Sorry.) with a toxic superiority complex and too much power.

Furutod’s supremacy is mind-numbingly boring to him, but there is no way to achieve something grander than what is already grandest. He is trapped in his own mind of toxic superiority and boredom, and will live the rest of eternity searching for entertainment. (It is kind of sad if you think about it......wait, I’m feeling bad for Der Tod? Hmm Furukawa, you really did add a whole new page to the history of ‘Elisabeth - das Musical’)

In short: where Furutod is eternally bored and has no prospect of getting sustainable entertainment, Sebastyun will always have something interesting he might run into.

#Furukawa Yuta #Yun #Yunbastian #Sebastyun #Furutod #Yuntod #Elisabeth #musical #Sissi #TOHO #Character analysis #Comparative analysis #Comparison #Kuromyu #Tango on the Campania #Noah's Ark Circus #The lycoris that blazes the earth #Dayum I feel a bit sad for Der Tod now XD wtf?

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ladyloveandjustice · 6 years

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Summer 2018 Anime Overview: Cells at Work! and My Hero Academia Season 3 (Episodes 52-63)

Cells at Work!

Cells at Work follows anthropomorphic personifications of cells, all busily doing what they can to keep the body they inhabit running. Their surroundings look like a regular city, so yeah, a bit different from Osmosis Jones. The main characters are Red Blood Cell, a passionate courier with no sense of direction and White Blood Cell, a subdued fellow who nevertheless fights off invading bacteria with great gusto. But there are plenty of other cells to get to know as well.

Cells at Work is edutainment aimed at kids, but it is still entertaining as a narrative in its own right. It’s just....really cute. The dramatic ways the anime represents various crises in the body is good and the characters are largely charming.

Considering that it is aimed for kids, it’s kind of hilarious how bloody it is (every time there’s a fight with bacteria expect it to basically rain red stuff). But hey, that proves the show knows its audience. I certainly loved blood and guts as a kid. And stuff like the sneezes being presented as missiles and whatnot is also pretty creative.

The way each cell is personified is fun. From the adorable little platelets to the eccentric Memory cell, there’s a lot to love. I was at first a bit concerned that the “warrior” cells seemed to be mostly represented by men, but that concern is somewhat mollified when several fighting girl cells made the scene. I have great affection for the macrophages, because soft and sweet characters who are also KILLING MACHINES always have a place in my heart.

I also have to give a shoutout to NK Cell for owning my entire life with her badassery and muscular arms, I’m in love with a cell, this is what anime has done to me.

The one warning I do have about the show is there’s an episode that kinda presents cancer cells as some tragic doomed villain you should feel bad for and I can see how that would be uncomfortable and upsetting for people who’ve had their lives affected by cancer. I get what they were going for- (cancer cells should have been normal cells that helped the body, but due to circumstances they ‘come out wrong’ and have to be purged, if you humanize that its naturally a pretty terrible fate)- but it was a little...yeah, a little weird.

But other than that, if you want a cute and light show that also contains rivers of blood and near death experiences, all while teaching you about how your body works, it’s a solid watch. It’s by no means deep and complex and the narration can sometimes be a bit much, but its a good time.

My Hero Academia Season 3 (Episodes 52-63)

My Hero Academia continues as Deku and his classmates face the exams to get their provisional hero licenses.

Largely, this part of the season was nothing to write home about, especially compared to the awe-inspiring intensity of the arc that preceded it. It was a shonen exam arc and the stakes were pretty low. The flaws that dog MHA stood out all the more because of it- the girls being unnecessarily sexualized and underrepresented etc, you know the drill.

However, there were some fun character moments in there and also a couple stellar episodes. “Deku vs Kacchan Part 2″ both looked great and was among the best in the series as far as writing goes- it was a big turning point and really bought the feels.

This season has been really good for Bakugou, shedding light on what makes him tick. The journey with him in this series has been interesting- I went from feeling annoyed indifference in season 1, to finding him kinda hilarious at times in season 2, and now I feel like I genuinely find him to be an interesting, fully fledged character, even if he’s still an asshole.

He’s been challenged a LOT this season and the fact he was finally open about his fear, guilt and vulnerability in that episode is a pretty big deal. He doesn’t have a tragic backstory to fuel his actions, but you can still see how he built up this weird toxic worldview that is starting splinter a bit. In contrast, Deku’s gotten a lot more confident and secure in himself and he really showed it in that ep.

Other things I like about this season include the extra screentime given to Momo that apparently wasn’t in the manga, which allowed her to show how she’s developed as a leader (even if the fact she constantly compares herself to dudes is getting tiring).

Unfortunately, the movie tie-in extra episode was not nearly as elegant anime-original material- it jarringly disrupted the arc with a non-sequitur and the whole plot and concept was just incredibly dumb (Apparently one of UA’s test is to see if you can guess ridiculous overelaborate romantic drama scenarios the teachers come up with off of basically nothing! And that’s important for being a hero...because! And Deku somehow, very inexplicably, managed to guess the whole stupid scenario! But still failed!). Oh well.

The new characters introduced in this season were also charming so far and I’m interested to see what their stories are.

But yeah, overall, this was a fairly unremarkable arc. Aside from some good moments (like Todoroki returning to confront his issues again) and one really good episode, it was pretty standard stuff and I enjoyed it okay, but it definitely didn’t blow my mind. You can read my full recap for more details.

But ofc, I will be watching the fourth season. MHA is a deeply flawed series, but I adore most of the characters and want to see how their stories go. And when it’s good, this series is really good.

#cells at work #cells at work!#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #izuku midoriya #momo yaoyorozu #Katsuki Bakugou #summer 2018 anime #anime overview #hataraku saibō

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wreckthelist · 3 years

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on ‘BE’ing here: part i

rambling of sorts on Grammy nominated artist Bangtan Sonyeondan

(note 1: I was planning to complete this the day of the nomination, but judging from the state of how things are - this right here is the opportune moment to, as my friend Mint had put it, clear out whatever I’ve been wanting to do but didn’t get the time to)

When Spotify announced, loud and clear, on that 2020 Year-End summary instagram story, Dynamite was the song that helped me through 2020 (this fuck-up of a year), that wasn’t an understatement.

I’ve seen Bangtan before, heard of them in passing, even (slightly, really slightly - when you’re hanging out in film-dom or western doms, I doubt you’d come in contact with a full-fledged Korean dom as it is, or perhaps my circles were small and quite closed in on themselves. Regardless!) - and opened that Boy With Luv SNL performance for my parents on the TV in the living room, not long after they went on the show. But it took that one song, one full English song, for me to listen.

(sorry and thank you Namjoon for that diss. Yes, the song’s message’s definitely digestible and easy to consume - for foreign, western audiences. No one much had to care what you guys had to say way back when and they were wrong for it.)

Dynamite pretty much saved my life. (Still waiting for that damn vinyl, BigHit. Think I’ll get it come new year’s.)

The first time I started listening, I couldn’t really stop. I think I played and replayed and replayed the song 20++ times as I did mundane household chores which were asked of me in the morning. Sunday August 24th, my life was transformed (and my digital and physical wallets along with it. Sobs.)

I had no idea who was singing which part, no idea which boy was which, but what got me in, locked and loaded and in place, were the beats, the uplifting sounds that got me dancing again after a messy heartbreak caused by a personification of immaturity who had refused to let go. I was only one week into my new job (old job again now. Such is the way of life - and we lead separate ones now, no reason to cry over invisible lives and imagined smiles or smirks of satisfactions I am not in any current position privy to - or will ever be. Thank God.)

Then there were the messages - the lyrics - “I’m diamond, you know I glow up.” - I mean, Yes, Fucking YES - Kim Seokjin, of course I’m a piece of precious Jewel. Of course I am one and whole of myself and one of a kind (apologies for being cliches, felt good to type out loud right). Asked on Twitter who the “other black-haired” guy was and learned that it was Hobi. Spent time watching a couple of interviews, took 3 hours to tell the boys apart (”You had a lot of free time,” Shareef said, amused, and I quite abashedly admitted to him yes.), and picked him as my bias (little did I know).

I was attracted (still am) to sunshine. I needed smiles and laughters like his in my life. He stood out to me in almost every interview, beaming with his heart-shaped lips and his eternal catchphrase - “I’m your hope.” I was exactly at that point in my life when I needed to hear that. From him, in that voice, from those lips, with those eyes.

And I thought, dear god. I’m always attracted to guys who bring smiles to my face. Of course it has to be him.

(Natalie replied “You’ve joined the party!” in a reply to my screencap of Taehyung wearing those adorable black-rimmed glasses on Stephen Colbert not long after.

That Beatles-Boy With Luv performance remains one of my favorites.)

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Bangtan has since performed and performed and performed Dynamite, and to this day I and the rest of the fandom have witnessed and seen about 30++ performances of Dynamite, and it has yet to grow old on us. (Well.) I swear I can still play the song at least once a day, and that irresistible bubble of hope in Jungkook’s voice in the opening simply shines through. The rest of the song just does its magic - every single time.

I mean, “Life is sweet as honey,” “I’m in the stars tonight,”? Talk about hope, about confidence, looking forward. Straight and simple as that. I had yet to discover what BTS truly has in store.

Note 2: My favorite dance move in the performance itself is Hoseok’s, for the Japanese taping (FNS Music Festival) right here.

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After Dynamite, I burned through the usual favorites, seeing as there was a literal treasure trove of Bangtan songs to discover and listen to, thanks also to this chart.

Go Go and Pied Piper are fun teases to listen to every now and then. Their Halloween dance practice and MNet countdown (I could die over Tae’s clear-rimmed glasses) are bundles of colorful energy. (Until I came across Lotte 2018 Jungkook?! Adding Best of Me here because it’s become a recent favorite. Dance moves are impeccable. There was a stint in my life where I was watching the Airplane Pt. 2 MV almost every day because of how in love I was over Taehyung’s whole look - pink hair, flowing robes, and how the boys pull off their outfits. )

I proceeded mainly through the orange branch, bought myself a few Love Yourself albums along the way, and the day I saw this Min Yoongi in In the Soop, my Bangtan life took a turn.

Yep. Simplicity.

What’s not to fall in love with?

One of my current, low-ranking regrets may include having forgotten the exact moment I first listened to Trivia: 轉 Seesaw, but I fell hard and deep. To that point of no return when I read the lyrics and that analogy Yoongi had penned.

I mean, add Autumn Leaves (the complexity of layered notes, beats, and resulting emotions... ah) and you’ve got this king of breakup songs right here.

What beautiful words, what gorgeous language. I wish I could learn Korean just to fully appreciate the message.

Another friend recommended me Butterfly and I lost my shit realizing they referenced Murakami.

More obscure songs like 134340, Paradise and Sea I didn’t get to till much later. Whalien 52 could make me cry just with the lyrics alone (I doubt my exes had ever felt that level of emotional toward me - the more tragic thing is that the doubt would always exist). Just One Day was that track I had on loop this one afternoon I had to go into town for a dinner party, and Miss Right was an accidental discovery that had me grinning and blushing to the boys’ voices alone, same as 21st Century Girl (’Cause you’re my only girl, oh yea. If you love me, just say it straight. We love a confident but committed guy.)

*Dope is that one MV I waited to watch because of my love of uniforms and managed to get to on a day I could not recall.

*This MIC Drop MAMA performance is the hottest clothes-on, turn on performance I’ve ever watched.

Coffee was the track I first listened to on a drive back from a rather unsuccessful and uneventful beach (bitch?!) trip, and the bitter nostalgia cut me deep. Jungkook’s voice could string up my soul any day of the week. Yes, baby, I still drink Caramel Macchiato every time I think of you - the song, not the person, or any person at all.

I discovered HOME because of this comfy Kimmel performance and died over the camaraderie and obvious ties they have as a family.

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Plus a blue-themed home, uh, have you seen my bedroom, sir?

Boy With Luv will cheer me up any time of day - no thoughts but blue haired Tae and bubblegum pink haired #Jimim, indeed. (That mirroring of a glow-up from the 상 남자 of Boy In Luv is genius. Girl, ‘m not begging for you no more, but letting you know that I’m whole and ready and intent on keeping you safe.)

Spring Day I listened to on an off day in October and wrenched my own heart over the lyrics, even starting off a chapter in one of my fics with the verses that hit me most in particular.

The ON:E concert re-introduced me properly to Filter, My Time (sexy personified as a performance), Persona, Interlude: Shadow, Ego, UGH!, Moon (Prince Kim Seokjin - you have my heart, and my light, always), and 00:00 (picked up through Twitter that it was the song for personal therapy and reminded me of that quote - nothing good ever happens between midnight and 2am, go to sleep. Add 2!3!, which I’d properly listened to after viewing the ON:E exhibit, to this and we are done.)

It wasn’t until I listened to Blood, Sweat, and Tears that I went full-blown head over heels (more than I was before). I’m a musical theater kid, have always been at heart, and those boys dancing in the suits and literature and arts references. You could have just plunged that knife a bit deeper into my heart.

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Needless to say that I bought Demian couple of days after (my 3rd Herman Hesse! Regrettably not my favorite.)

Blood, Sweat and Tears joins my own mini self-compilation of songs on the attraction and sublime relishing of a toxic relationship. That sweet temptation that’s so lush in theory yet acidic in real life.

You’re willing to give it all to this person, this passion, this love, this lure of attraction, imprisonment, and just lose yourself.

You’re begging to be hurt, even when you know it.

You’re asking to stay bathed in acid, drown yourself in punishment, and you’re okay. As long as the “you” in the lyrics is ok - to have you.

You’ve signed over your mind, your body and soul - “I know well they’re all yours” - what sinful admittance, what a delicious way to say you’re under the other’s spell. Not like I haven’t been there before (fitting to think of Jimin holding that apple. God.)

“Peaches and Cream/Sweeter than Sweet/Chocolate Cheeks and Chocolate Wings” - talk about dessert, about diabetic, diabolical sweetness that both indulge and burn your soul. These are saccharine metaphors and goddamn if I wasn’t and am all over them.

Sweet as they are, they melt - they expire, they’re tangible but transient, and you’ve chosen to have them anyway, just to taste them, just to know, to satisfy your sense and just to possess.

“There is a ‘bitter’ next to your ‘sweet’“ - this is my kind of writing. My kind of getting your sweet now and being punished for it later, the kind my friend had commented before of living for today and choosing to forgo the punishments of tomorrow that you’re all too aware of.

And here comes Hoseok!

Kiss me, it's okay if it hurts Just make it as tight As that I can't feel the pain anymore

Goddamn. That Blade Runner 2049 phrase about how pain makes you human - this is next level of hurting just so you could feel. This is hurting to know that it’s real - that the ‘you’ exists - and this “tightness”, this tense sensation, is only reminding you that the lover(?) is worth the pain (grit your teeth and continue!)

Baby, it's okay if I get drunk I'll drink you in deep now Deep into my throat The whiskey that is you

Intoxication - another one of my favorite topics sprouting a platitude of interpretations. Aside from being a sucker (and loving it myself) of saying “baby,” (signaling intimacy, no less) - this is an artful, eloquent way to sketch another version of “love is the/a drug,” which the lover/”you” is consciously consuming with consent.

There’s a repeat in the “d’s” that definitely conjures an imagery of diving deeper and deeper into a bottomless abyss, or of drinking your bottles dry - but this is a translation so that’s that.

But where we have been (or were) in love, we could feel the other person intoxicating, consuming us, consuming our senses, straying our conscience, blurring the lines among reality, reasoning and our own thoughts and what they may have driven us to think or view, just like alcohol or drugs would lead you to do. That inebriated state would be just a self-enriching cycle of docile submission and self-driven continuance.

It doesn't matter if it hurts Tie me up so I can't escape Hold me tight and shake me up So that I can't come to my senses

Like Jimin with the cloth over his eyes in the MV, this is another conscious decision to be held imprisoned, bounded, senses so disrupted you’re choosing to stay. I don’t know about you, but there’s an inkling of weakness in me when I’d chosen to do that, to opt for that choice and stay in something I was fully aware from experience wasn’t going to last (’can’t come to my senses’) but choosing to blind myself to indulge in the fleeting sweetness anyway.

When you’re making that firm and persistent decision to beg for pain and consciously choosing to numb your senses so you could feel nothing else but what you may have thought you desire to feel - you’ve got it bad, baby. That absinth’s hit you hard.

(And we love it.)

Kiss me on the lips A secret just between the two of us Deeply poisoned by the jail of you I cannot worship anyone but you and I knew The grail was poisoned but I drank it anyway

Yoongi’s “Kiss me”, like his “불타오르네” (and obviously “용서해줄게“) in Fire may as well linger in my ears as my personal on-demand whisper sounds. His voice is that sexy as fuck ASMR I never knew I needed (and queue Ben Whishaw’s...)

Here we see “poisoned” harking back to intoxication, and “jail of you,” calling back to the whole verse I’d interpreted above before. What interested me here was the couplet - “Kiss me on the lips/a secret just between the two of us” - kissing as an act of sealing a deal or secret reminds me of age old love songs, of promises made between lovers before they part. Not to mention, this is that sexy, 섹시한 way of “sealing the deal” you may have heard about.

“I cannot worship anyone but you...” holds the lover up high, almost godlike, maybe on a pedestal. It’s that everest, that peak point when you’re more than head over heels in love, when you’re able to see no one but this person. “Worship” is that word signaling holy, direct, and submissive devotion - just powerful.

“...and I knew/The grail was poisoned but I drank it anyway” - again the voice of submission in line with above verses, submitting yourself to temptation, same as biting into that apple despite knowing consequences. “Grail” embodies the whole MV image of the classics.

Close my eyes with your caress I can't resist it anyway I can't even escape anymore

You are too sweet, too sweet Because you are too sweet

“Close my eyes” is the same as asking to be blinded (see above). Adding “with your caress” only enhances the intensity of the speaker’s desire, of the intimate and physical nature - you know full well what that person does to you, your heart, conscience, and senses with just one simple touch or the trace of a finger on your skin - especially someone as addicted to skinship as I am. The repetition “You are too sweet...” brings us back full circle to Namjoon’s dessert verses, intoxication, indulgence, and submission.

What a delicious song. I fall in love every time I listen.

Second song in my trilogy is Love Maze - an intoxication of a different, lighter flavor yet still an an intoxication nevertheless.

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Trapped in a maze of decisions Exhausted by all the different chaos We’ve wandered around, looking for the answer Lost in the maze, in the darkness

Jimin’s first verse traverses over the trials and tribulations of every day life - naturally we’re caught in decision-making from the moment we open our eyes (ah, sigh. my major. what the hell), and that, in extreme cases, can escalate to choice paralysis). Life is a mess, to say simply. At times you can feel (and you are) lost in some sort of maze which seems impossible to escape from.

[Verse 2: Jungkook] We ran and ran endlessly But all the fake noise Can’t tear us apart It’s true baby [Refrain: Jimin, Jin] We must believe only in ourselves Can’t let go of each other’s hands We need to be together forever

And now this is just asking your partner to hold your hand throughout the darkness, holding hands while the walls come tumbling down type of way.

[Verse 3: RM] People say That I’ll end up a fool But I don’t wanna use my head I don’t wanna calculate Love ain’t a business Rather like a fitness I’ve never been in a calculating love I know it’ll be cold like winter But I still wanna try

Yup, sure. Love isn’t logical, and we feel it when we feel it. This is a more considered version of love or succumbing to temptation/infatuation, compared to Blood, Sweat, and Tears, see here:

If you push me, I’ll fall, just raise me up again Even if I pull, you don’t have to come

Upon a close look, this is the more confident, the more ‘out-there’ you - like a rocking doll, a full human ready to get back up on its own once fallen, not a blind follower or submissive slave. What I find particularly captivating is the bottom verse - “Even if I pull, you don’t have to come” - this is a show and declaration of independence at its finest. I’ll woo you, I’ll say I want you, and I’ll grab you toward me, but you “don’t have to” be with me, [if you don’t want to.] (Plays I’m Fine)

No matter what others say, don’t listen Just let’em talk, whatever they say The more they do, the more I’m sure

Honestly this reminded me of a past relationship, where figurative hand-holding was the emphasized union to help us make it through. Would have been half the fight if it was that aspect alone, though.

Baby just don’t give a damn

This is the sentence I sing to every single time I play this aloud. The sentence.

I always think, even if eternity is hard I wanna try it, let’s be forever

My ex once asked, “How long is forever?” just ripping off that sign in a mall we walked past, and yes, that’s what I do remember about us. Part of it. Since then, mentions of eternity like this has always hit me.

And forever doesn’t exist, guys. COVID does.

(Bad joke, sorry.)

The song that completes the trilogy is one I discovered only last week. My last BTS x Steve Aoki crossover: Waste It On Me.

Queue neon club lights and bad decision drinks. Kook being Kook, his voice in songs like these, House of Cards, and Savage Love slices you right through, like a young, impressionable boy asking you to give this love a try, to forget yourself in being attracted to him, and to waste the time you aware you’re willing to waste on him:

[Verse 1: Jungkook] You say love is messed up You say that it don't work But, you don't wanna try, no, no (You don't wanna try, no, no) And baby, I'm no stranger To heartbreak and the pain of Always being let go (Always being let go)

This verse, man. When your heart’s rusty and battered and beaten and broken enough, “Baby, I’m no stranger/to heartbreak and the pain of always being let go,” is that overwhelming elixir to slosh it altogether, like soaking your lone damn heart in warm bathwater, and with Jungkook’s inviting voice, you may have added your favorite flavor of Lush bathbomb.

[Pre-Chorus: Jungkook, RM & Jimin] And I know there's no making this right, this right (This right) And I know there's no changing your mind, your mind (Your mind) But we both found each other tonight, tonight (Oh yeah) So if love is nothing more than just a waste of your time

It’s that exact moment when it’s the night of your birthday, you’re all dressed up with only one place to go in a town where you knew a handful of people, and the guy at the bar had bought you a shot of mysterious substance to drink. So you’re here. So he’s here. And the drink’s here, between you two, and you’ve downed it in. And you’re here.

So why not?

‘Waste it on me’ is a sexy invitation in itself, that momentarily grasp for pleasure. Ok, yea. I’m all yours.

Tonight.

[Verse 2: RM] So we don't gotta go there Past lovers and warfare It's just you and me now (Yeah, yeah) I don't know your secrets But I'll pick up the pieces Pull you close to me now (Yeah, yeah)

Namjoon’s voice has always been sexy to me. Masculine, dominating, in control, in the same way that Yoongi’s raspy, gravelly voice grabs you and stubbornly holds you close.

Maybe this guy you’d just met in a club’s blabbering away to pierce who you may have been or who you’re presenting yourself to be just for you to be with him, and takes ahold of your waist before you could say no.

What do you say?

Yay, don't you think there must be a reason? Yeah, like we had our names Don't you think we got another season That come after spring? I wanna be your summer I wanna be your wave Treat me like a comma I'll take you to a new phrase Yeah, come just eat me and throw me away If I'm not your taste, babe, waste Waste it on me

I’m speechless over the “Treat me like a comma, I’ll take you to a new phrase,” wordplay. Most of all, it illustrated my past relationship in that all too on-the-nose way, for me and him both. English is sexy, man, please don’t ever say it isn’t.

“Yeah, come just eat me and throw me away/If I’m not your taste, babe.” I’m partial to babe as much as baby, let’s be real. Haha. The whole “come just eat me” paints that picture of the speaker being “consumed,” just devoured whole (echoing the earlier image of being “washed over” from “I wanna be your wave”) by the to-be-lover, without a care, a giving-himself-away submission reminiscent of Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ intoxication and blind bondage. The speaker here doesn’t even care if he’s not tailored to the ‘lover’s’ desire, ready to be discarded, treating himself here as disposable, even worse than Love Maze’s partnered hopefulness and teamwork or Blood, Sweat and Tears’ irresistible, spellbound attraction.

Aaand there you have it, my ramblings on Bangtan (as of now). There’s just so, so much - I’ve recently received my HYYH Pt.1 (RIMBAUD! SEXY CONVERSE!!! BOYZ with FUN!) and YNWA albums, not to mention my rap line songs, vocal line, In the Soop, Performance details, Run BTS (source of joy and laughter, more than any man has ever affected me), Premiums, and the whole “Love Yourself” concept + B.E. Itself.

I’ll be sure to pop back in very, very soon!

#BTS

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walliamsclassnews · 5 years

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What an exciting week!

It’s been a very busy week for us here at Perryfields! There’s been so much going on and still lots more to do before the half term is over.

Well done to this week’s pupil of the week, Orla. You could always be pupil of the week and you are a pleasure to teach. I am so proud of you for taking part in the spelling bee, especially since you agreed to do it last minute. You shone brightly on that stage and you were absolutely fantastic! You did so well! You should absolutely be so proud of yourself! You always put 100% into everything you do. Well done Orla and keep it up!

On Wednesday, we had the annual spelling bee and after a very tense round one in Walliams Class, eight children went through to the spelling bee in front of the whole class. We had Abdul and Orla from Darwin, Fadma and Lucas from Fleming, Rustie and Isha from Hawking and Jessie and Mara from Anning. They were all competitng against each other and the eight children from Lewis Class. All of these children were fantastic and did extremely well. At the end of the round, Orla and Abdul and Jasmine and Zane had scored the most points in their team so they went head to head. Abul and Orla won, with Orla eventually claiming victory overall. All of them should be so proud of themselves and a big well done to Orla for being the Year 4 champion and winning 100 house points for Darwin.

In English, we have been reading Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit and continuing with our history topic about the Romans. The story is set in 79AD in Pompeii at the time of Mount Vesuvius’ eruption. We have come across Mount Vesuvius before in our learning and this time, we got to enhance our learning and find out more about Pompeii and what had happened that fateful day. We focused on the characters, Livia and Tranio, writing about their reactions to the eruption. We focused on the setting of Vesuvius, describing the eruption and how the city was covered in ash.

The children had to focus on complex sentences and fronted adverbials and we started using personification. We discussed how the literacy feature is using human characteristics or features to describe something that isn’t alive or human. We shared ideas about how to personify Mount Vesuvius, including examples such as : erupted with anger, raining fury, it spluttered out lava and many more. Their writing was amazing!

In maths this week, we have continued our work on fractions. We started our week by learning about adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. We moved onto fractions of amount and learnt that we need to divide by the denominator and multiply by the numerator. We focused on unit fractions at first (1 as a numerator) and non-unit fractions (more than 1 as a numerator). We even explored the inverse by trying to work out if 14 is 2/3 of what number and having to multiply by the denominator and divide by the numerator.

In history this week, we learnt more about Boudicca and her rebellion. We discussed why she led a rebellion and what the effects of her rebellion were. We learnt how after her husband King Prasutagus died, the Romans tried to tax the Iceni tribe. When Boudicca refused, the Romans hurt Boudica and her daughter. The Iceni tribe were outraged that their queen had been hurt and humiliated and this was what led to the rebellion. The rebellion meant the destruction of Camulodunum (Colchester) and the Temple of Claudius.

We went on to discuss primary and secondary sources and which ones were more reliable and why. We discussed what had been written about Boudicca and how they had been written by Romans many years after the events.

We then learnt about the Roman army and what the soldiers in the army had to do. We discussed how many soldiers there were in a legion (5000) and how they were sorted in cohorts and led by centurions.

After discussing what they needed to be to join the army, the children had to write an application letter to join the Roman army and persuade the Emperor (me) to let them join the army. They had to sell themselves to them sound like they needed to be in the Roman army. It’ll be interesting to see who has convinced the great Emperor Bishop to allow them into the Roman army.

Well done to Walliams Class for being top of the leaderboard in Spelling Shed! We were 9th last week and now we’re first! This is an amazing achievement and I am so proud of them! Keep up the hard work!

We loved our ERIC time again this week! Please make sure that the children are reading at home and recording all readings in their homework diaries.

And on that note, homework diaries in on Monday and homework in on Tuesday. Maths is on a piece of paper this week so that needs to be handed in to the maths teacher next week.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

Miss Bishop ☺️

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bluezey · 7 years

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Dissecting the old, beginning from the new

So something happened today. I was watching random internet videos when I came across someone who was rating the five worst animated films of 2016. Among them was Trolls. That I can see, though I haven’t seen the film the trailer does look super bright and sugary and playing on common clichés. Then the interviewer said that he was worried Trolls is part of a trend that began with The Lego Movie, that a film about an existing property did so well that everyone is gonna try to make a film on a property because they think that’s what sells.

That kind of makes sense, until something happened while I was watching Nostalgia Critic reviews while playing Fallout 4. NC is doing Sequel Month: The Sequel and I’ve noticed he has reviewed Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, Smurfs 2 and will be reviewing Garfield 2. Do you see a comparison between these three movies? They are all movies based on an existing property that were released BEFORE the success of The Lego Movie.

So it made me wonder, why is this person noticing this now if Hollywood has made films based on existing properties before? And the only thing I could think of was, because The Lego Movie did it right.

Think back on the existing property films of the last few decades. They all take a property, look into how it works, then for one reason or another they write a film based on film clichés and dated trends that were popular at the time. What you get is a jumbled mess that either flops or makes some kind of profit one way or another. But The Lego Movie was different. It took an existing property, looked into how it works, then wrote a story around it with memorable characters, funny jokes, and made their own jokes and clichés in the process. They made a success over effort.

Then I began thinking what film has made a success like The Lego Movie? What film was based off an existing property AND did well, just like The Lego Movie? I thought very hard, thinking back as far as I could, even back to toys from the 1970s and… I couldn’t think of anything. Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough, or maybe I wasn’t that into a specific toy line that had a movie that did do successfully well like The Lego Movie.

But then I realized that there are films that are not based on toys or cartoons, but are based on existing properties. In fact, almost every film they made is based on an existing property. Hell, even their first movie was based on an existing property. That company is Disney.

I mean, look into it. Their very first film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on a fairy tale. In fact, most of their films are based on folk lore, stories fairy tales, with an occasional step into mythos, books and history puffed up by fiction. Sure, there is a rarity here and there like Lilo and Stitch or Home on the Range, but every other film was based on something that has existed. I mean, really think about it, before we had toys and cartoons, you could consider fairy tales and stories existing properties. It’s just that now in the day we think of toys, cartoons, comic books, video games and now apps and emojis as existing properties.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Snow White was just a telling of Snow White, they didn’t do anything new to it. Same thing with the other earlier works like Dumbo, Cinderella and Pinocchio. It’s almost as if they didn’t try when it came to story. So how did they succeed when today’s movies that don’t try fail? Because, based on the time they came out, they did try. No one made a full length animated film before, so Snow White and the films that came after it were fascinating and amazing to the audience. They didn’t have to try a lot on story, because just seeing the story move on screen through ink and paint was more than enough effort.

However, even Disney can get caught on following trends. And I know what you’re thinking, timeless Disney films can be dated? Well, let me tell you about the Disney films of the 40s and 50s. First, there were two films about Donald Duck visiting South America and Mexico, how odd is that? Well, this was a product of the time. Due to some things I can’t delve into properly because I’m not a historian, Disney was set to make two films to teach American movie goers about South America and Mexico’s culture, basically sell the country and continent. So, due to the time period of the forties, they did something fascinating but dated. Then there’s two films called Make Mine Music and Melody Time. These two films were a collection of shorts told through story and music, from Peter and the Wolf, Pecos Bill, Hatfields and McCoys, Johnny Appleseed, just to name a few. But among them were also shorts told through jazz music, a popular musical style at the time, but is now considered dated today.

Now I know what you’re thinking, wasn’t there a movie before Make Mine Music and Melody Time that was also about music and wasn’t dated by popular music during the 40s and 50s? And yes, Fantasia, it was the third film Disney made. But despite being the third film they put a lot of effort and originality into it! Fantasia was not only ground breaking by being a movie about music, but it traveled trough road shows introducing something ground breaking that would basically become surround sound. Something that is above and beyond and definitely shows they did more than try, and even shows they can try something new and innovative! Fantasia flopped. I’m not kidding. What was considered a classic today did not make a profit in its first run.

So, long story short, even Disney themselves have had original ideas that flopped, and have followed popular dated trends that still pulled in a profit. Basically, they’re doing what any other film today could do.

So, what’s the correlation? What’s the formula that can make a movie on an existing property work?

Well, I don’t think there is a formula, and I think it stems on the fact that practically every idea has been done before.

I mean, Disney has made movies mostly on stories and fairy tales that existed before even movies existed. And, looking at Dreamworks, Prince of Egypt was based on an existing story from the Bible, and Shrek was not only based on the idea of mixing up fairy tales, but it was also based on an existing children’s book. I’ve seen videos comparing Toy Story to a Jim Henson’s Christmas special about toys coming to life, but isn’t that because toys coming to life have been done before? Hell, kids think about it! And come to think about it, let’s look at those conspiracy stories about films ripping off other films. We can exclude Antz and A Bug’s Life because we know the behind the scenes about that fiasco, so let’s look at some others. Like, Finding Nemo and Shark Tale. Despite different stories and different ideas, people think one is a copy of the othert because they’re about talking fish. But, talking animals have been done since way before Aesop’s fables. Some people think Monsters Inc ripped off a film called Little Monsters because they’re about monsters that live in closets. But, even kids have thought of that idea. Hell, I’ve even heard people say Despicable Me and Megamind are the same film because they involve super villains that become super heroes. First, Gru didn’t openly become a super hero until Despicable Me 2, in the first one it ended with him as a father and his alignment unknown. Second, I’m pretty sure comic books have had story arcs about heroes become villains and vice versa.

Basically, if you cut it down to its basic ideas, every idea has been done. We all think about what toys and pets do when we’re out of the room, that’s why Toy Story and Secret Life of Pets sound so similar. Talking animals have been done so many times, that’s why Flushed Away and Ratatouille sound similar to people just because they both have talking rats. Cars and Doc Hollywood sound so similar because we’ve all heard of the same stories of people getting lost and finding themselves in a small town.

So, what’s my point in my rambling that we’ve done everything? Well, think back to The Lego Movie. They could have done clichés and trends and be every other diluted film based on an existing property. But, they didn’t. They took an existing property and did something different with it. That’s what made it stand out, that’s what made it fascinating, and basically that’s what made it successful.

Another example is Inside Out. Now when we heard of the idea of personified emotions in a person’s mind, we thought at first it was an original idea. Then we looked back and realized it wasn’t. We’ve had Osmosis Jones, which is personified cells running a body like it’s a city. We’ve had shoulder angels and shoulder demons, little cartoon imps dressed like angels and demons that persuade us to do right or wrong. We’ve had Herman’s Head, a TV show about a group of personification of feelings running the mind of a person- holy crap I just repeated the idea of Inside Out by reading the premise of a dull 90s sitcom! It’s been done that much! So, what made Inside Out such a success? What did Inside Out have that these ideas didn’t? It did something new with the pre-existing idea. While the previous ideas were just personifications of emotions, Inside Out used the personification of emotions to explain how the mind works, how memories work, and even something as complex as how life changes can affect and change your personality to kids, as well as explain to kids and adults in a society that is afraid of anything other than bliss and happiness that it’s okay to feel sad. It’s similar to how The Lego Movie was a success. It made likeable, relateable characters, funny jokes, a unique story that looks original but has probably been done before, to only pull a fast one on us by showing us this whole story is about a father-son relationship becoming strained, a story that we know for a fact has been done before! But then it does something original by showing us that, even as adults, it’s okay to drop your guard and become a kid again, just by using another overused trope of saying how everyone is special.

I think the point I’m trying to sum up is we’re seeing trends we’re tired of seeing in movies because, even before movies were invented, everything has already been done. From storyline to the basic elements of a story, we’ve all heard it before. What makes a success these days with movies is to do something different with them. Use the same tropes to tell a different story, use unique advancements to tell the same tropes in a different way, or use the same ideas to explain something in a way that hasn’t been seen in that way before. It’s why Zootopia is the same old movie about talking animals, but it explains something as controversial and complex as racism and society. It’s why Frozen took the same princess story and explained the complexity of anxiety as well as making fun of old Disney tropes while making new Disney tropes. It’s why Sausage Party not only draws a crowd because we still haven’t done enough animated films about cartoons dropping four hundred sexual innuendos and f-bombs in under a running time yet, but it uses the cliché of non sentient things having sentience under our noses to explain the complexities of living with faith versus living for the day. Dammit, I can’t let that go, that’s too damn clever! So, to sum up, I don’t think there’s a trend of bad movies based on pre-existing properties. I think we’ve just become so self aware of everything already been done that we should keep dissecting and reassembling some things old until we come up with ideas that make them new again.

#animation #movies #essay #Trolls #Disney #Pixar #Inside Out #history #Hollywood #trends #cliches #Zootopia #Frozen #Sausage Party #The Lego Movie #existing properties #stories #fairy tales

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