#icons derek zoolander | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

happymetalgirl · 5 years

Text

Mystifier - Protogoni Mauro Magoko Dynasteia

Mystifier are a Brazilian power trio with the three members' instrumental roles parallel to those of Rush. Mystifier, however, as is made apparent by the album cover, play a harsher, cosmic form of death metal rather than the progressive rock of Alex, Neil, and Geddy. Rush has nothing to do with this album other than the fact that they're a trio too and that I was just binging a few of my favorite albums of theirs a few days ago (A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, 2112, and Hemispheres, if you must know).

So enough about my favorite Rush albums and on to this album. Some more context about it, Mystifier is no rookie band; despite their name being so new to so many they were actually active during death metal's formative years, beginning in '89, and grinding through their local Salvadoran underground scene. The band put out four albums and an EP between 1992 and 2001, but had been silent on the frontier of new material for longer than they had even been putting out albums until being picked up by the ever-excellent Season of Mist to finally release their fifth album this year.

With such a long time between albums, the question, inevitably, is whether the band could get their engines going again enough to adjust to and keep up with the modern era of death metal at it's most saturated and at the biggest stage for them yet.

Well, Protogoni Mauro Magoko Dynasteia is certainly not an album on which the band rely on any old-school roots to carry them on a nostalgic air baloon over the rough landscapes of modern death metal. Rather, Mystifier sound right at home with much of the Behemoth-inspired and especially the Rotting Christ-inspired blackened death metal of the past few years. Echo-y and Satanically sinister, the band only provide brief twinges of death metal's older styles like on the slower, simpler opening riff of "Soultrap Sorcery of Vengeance" and even the slow string-bending riffing of death/doom trudge of "(Introcucione D'la Melodia Mortuoria) Thanatopraxy", which probably shows the band's versatility the best as it weaves between slower, doomier parts and thicker, faster death metal assault. But for the rest of the former song, and most of the album, the band incorporate snarling black metal vocals with brooding choral vocals and layered clean chanting vocals to produce the liturgical sound that Batushka showed to be so potent within the genre, that has empowered more artists in the field to work it into their arsenal. And Mystifier indeed show that they've been keeping their eyes on death metal's movements over the years and working on making their sound more vibrant and varied through the genre's more recent progressions. The songs "Weighing Heart Ceremony" and especially "Witching Lycanthropic Moon" work in these angelic/demonic vocal amalgamations that really bring an extra level of immersion into the ritual the band is conducting. But the band are not at all times tracing the steps of death metal's newer, more vocally melodic icons; they do indeed limit their use of such newer tactics to keep the album from being overly sweetened by it (not that I think choirs or clean singing makes death metal less powerful, I'm just likening overuse of it to dumping too much sugar into a baking recipe).

One standout cut not basing its approach on choirs or vocal melodies is the cavernously thrashy and war-themed "Al Nakba (666 Days of War)", whose on-off double-bass synchrony with the guitars is just delicious, and it shows that Mystifier is not dependent on studio tricks or trying to ape the trends of younger bands. They have clearly kept up with the genre they love so much and built this album out of the years of inspiration they saw as the genre grew and progressed while they waited in silence to make their contribution.

Indeed, this album may come off as trying to copy the new guard a bit in its first few tracks, but by the time it's finished it shows itself to be a much more temporally comprehensive set of songs, spanning the genre's origins to its recent endeavors. This is certainly one of the best ways a band like this can come back after so long with new material: tastefully updating their sound, but not transparently bandwagoning onto trends, and retaining their original appeal. And this was a longer wait than the new Tool album has been so far, so there's still hope for that. Anyway, Mystifier, Protogoni Mauro Magoko Dynasteia, an emphatic comeback.

Derek Zoolander Calender/10

#metal #heavy metal #black metal #death metal #new music #new album #album review #progressive black metal #mystifier #blackened death metal #blackened thrash metal

2 notes · View notes

siobhaneardley · 6 years

Text

The Shape of Water & Female Sexual Desire.

This year’s Oscar Winner The Shape of Water was, let’s say different, firstly in that science fiction monster flicks are a rarity at the Academy Awards and, if they are they are only nominated for special effects awards. However, The Shape of Water blasted on to the awards scene winning Best Director at the BAFTAS, and now winning the sought after Best Picture Oscar. But what makes this film so special? It has certainly caused quite the controversy online, with people getting rather hooked (excuse the pun) on the concept of fish/human intercourse.

Now although this is quite iconic, this is not what I found unique about the film. For me what I found groundbreaking for a mainstream film is the fact that in the first five minutes of the film, we see the main female protagonist masturbating in the bath, which, as the film goes on appears to be part of her morning routine. In popular culture, we see references to male masturbation everywhere, mainly in teenage comedies. However, women are overlooked. Because heaven forbid that women have sexual desire! Open sexuality has long been the realm of men. But shock, horror, guess what. Women kind of like sex. But movies don’t seem to get this. Female characters in film are rarely the active party in seeking out sex, men are a lot of the time the active pursuers. Yet in The Shape of Water, the woman has a clear and active sexual desire, she actively pursues the fish man, she is the initiator in all the romantic elements of the film.

I recently watched the 1984 film Splash starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, and I couldn’t help but see parallels with The Shape of Water. The roles are kind of flipped in Splash, the woman is the sea creature, the man is the human. However, it is the woman, the mermaid who is quite active in her pursuit of Tom Hanks’ character, Allen. Yet in this film, it isn’t seen as a weird perversion, because on land, Madison (Daryl Hannah) looks like a human. Her desire in the film is presented as cute and naive. She is not human therefore doesn’t know the conventions of courtship that we have set in place, making her seem even more otherworldly. I mean, when we see Madison when she first arrives in New York, on land, she is completely naked leaving the humans who discover her are completely shocked, some disgusted by her open sexuality and others (the men) are excited by it, taking pictures and crowding around her like she is a magical rare being (and that’s without her tail)!

In Making a Splash, Philip Hayward describes the mermaid as a sexual being relying on certain aspects to achieve this, “predominantly, their representation as having the upper body of a young, attractive female; representation as actively in pursuit of human male attention; their seductive vocal skills; and their most complicated sexual aspect; the allure and symbolism of their tails” (98). He also highlights the importance of the modern mermaid being able to switch between forms in order to have sexual intercourse with a human. Therefore, making the sexual desire in these films more heteronormative and not as shocking or perhaps in some eyes perverse.

Yet in The Shape of Water Eliza is human, her desire is equally as different in her setting, one because of the time-period (the 1960’s) and two because of the subject of her desire. He is not human. He does stand on two legs, has two arms and one head but other than that he is totally alien looking. Even though these films pretty much tell the same tale, of human falls in love with a sea creature, one is seen to be more perverse than the other. Is it because one creature looks more human than the other or, is it the fact that it is a human female who actively sexually pursues the creature? In The Shape of Water, I feel like it is perhaps both. Indeed, when discussing the male mermaid Phillip Hayward suggests that “mermen are symbolically unmanly due to lack of a penis” (151). Unlike their female counterparts, the representation of mermen as sexual beings is nonexistent, unless they turn into humans. Hayward states that mermen in films never have sex with women, in fact, he states, they are often feminized, for example, in the advert, Derek Zoolander features in in Zoolander.

The Shape of Water, in a way very explicitly solves the problem and mystery surrounding the sexual nature of fish creatures. Although the fish man in the film is not a merman. There is a distinct question that went through everyone’s mind when it appears that Eliza has sex with him. This is very quickly answered in a highly entertaining scene with her friend Zelda, who asks the question that everyone is dying to know. The solution is simple, the fish man’s sexual organ reveals itself, leaving Zelda shocked, stating lightheartedly, “Never trust a man”. This is perhaps what would happen in the case of mermen. But why are films so against showing this? Because it is out of the realms of the heteronormative, breaking into the taboo subject of bestiality?

What then, does this say about Eliza’s desire? Is it perverse? If we were going to be black and white about it, then perhaps. However, it is much more nuanced than that. There was never a point in the film where I thought it was particularly strange. Yes, I have never seen anything like it before, but it was still not weird or perverse to me in the slightest. I found the whole thing rather sweet.

The narrative presents a setting in which traditionally, the monster would be the villain. He is totally otherworldly and highly dangerous. In the film The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which Guillermo Del Toro was hugely influenced by, the creature is dangerous and totally monstrous attacking anyone who goes near him. Yet there is a hint that it does feel an affinity for the woman of the group. In this case, he is the one who captures her, there is no element of courtship or tenderness, he aggressively takes her from the human, male group of explorers. In fact, in an interview with Variety, Del Toro when watching the part where the woman is swimming and we see the creature reach out to her “he thought it was so romantic and exciting that he assumed the two would end up together. He was shocked when they didn’t. “I decided I would someday have to correct that,” he says”.

Del Toro has stated that The Shape of Water is a sort of ‘what if’ narrative. What if the explorer from The Creature from the Black Lagoon had captured and brought the creature back to the US? In this case, the roles of villains are switched. The small amount of sympathy we may feel for the fish man in Black Lagoon is intensified. The villain is now the human male. Richard Strickland feels a complete and utter hatred for the fish man. We see him torture him with a cattle prod with apparent satisfaction, this is only intensified when the fish man bites his fingers off.

So, what is so different about the two monsters. One is traditionally monstrous, non-human and very dangerous. The other is a seemingly normal looking man, but what makes him more villainous? He commits acts in the narrative that made me more uncomfortable than anything that transpired between Eliza and the fish man. One scene, in particular, was when he is having sex with his wife after he had his fingers bitten off and then stitched back on. As he is stroking his wife’s face his fingers begin bleeding, as his wife tries to tell him, he then tells her to shut up and covers her mouth with his bleeding fingers, all the while still (quite forcefully) having sex with her. Funnily enough, the scene that made me most uncomfortable was a heteronormative one. The heteronormative sexual act has here been made uncomfortable and rather disgusting to watch. Which plays of the romantic and tender encounter that Eliza has with the fish man. We, as viewers are made to be disgusted by the heterosexual male’s sexual desire, it is terrifying and abhorrent. Made even more so later in the film where he sexually threatens Eliza.

In the final scenes of the film Strickland’s monstrosity reaches its peak, when he rips his fingers off in front of Zelda in a show of terrifying masochism, which “does not allow for sympathetic identification” as it is a “profoundly disturbing occurrence, one which emanates from both the unexpectedness of the monster hurting himself when his apparent role is to harm others” (Briefel 18). In this final gruesome act, Strickland has stripped any identification that we, as humans may have ever felt with him, and because of the tenderness and humanity expressed by the monster we choose to side with him instead. The fish man only ever hurt others either out of self-defense, or in the case of the cat, out of hunger, however this is quickly rectified as he is able to learn that some creatures are not for eating. We see him understand morals very quickly, while with Strickland we see his morals are non-existent.

It is not just female sexual desire that is explored in this film, it presents the notion that heterosexual male sexual desire in some cases is problematic and that the feminine, which has mostly been ignored in society and in film, is less harmful than the (sometimes) aggressive male sexual desire. The man in this film believes he has a power over women, which is expressed numerous times in an oddly sexual manner. The woman, however, has a sexual desire apparent from the start that does not harm anyone, the film normalized women’s sexual urges and does so in a non-conventional manner.

By Siobhan Eardley

Works Referenced:

The Shape of Water. Dir Guillermo Del Toro (2017)

Briefel, Aviva. “Monsterpains.” Film Quarterly, vol. 58, no. 3, 2005, pp. 16–27.

Gray, Tim. “Love and Danger on the 'Water' Front.” Variety, 10 Jan. 2018, variety.com/2018/film/awards/shape-of-water-inspiration-from-monster-movie-1202659976/.7

Hayward, Philip. Making a Splash Mermaids (and Mer-Men) in 20th and 21st Century Audiovisual Media. John Libbey Publishing, 2017.

#The Shape of Water #film #essay #feminist #guillermo del toro #oscars #film critique #film essay #female sexuality #feminine desire #Shape of Water

470 notes · View notes

ofquondam · 6 years

Text

Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand, {DAN STEVENS}. No, that’s a mistake. It’s {ADAM DE VILLENEUVE}, they are a {CANON CHARACTER} and come from {BEAUTY AND THE BEAST}. They are {THIRTY} and have no memories. I’ve heard they are {POPULAR}, as well {ARROGANT}. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Welcome to New York, what is your character’s name?

Prince Adam de Villeneuve

Where have they been pulled from in their fandom?

Adam has been pulled from the end of the film, after he has become human again

With the curse, how has your character’s life changed?

He’s no longer a prince, for one. And there are no talking teapots, either. Adam believes that he has lived in New York for the last five years. His life has become entirely normal, well, at least as normal as his life could be.

Do they have a job, and if so what is it?

Move over Derek Zoolander, Adam is the new top male model in town (and his father never approved of it, which made him pursue it more rather than following his father into business.)

Is there any other information about your character that members might find helpful?

- Fashion Icon and socialite - Snarky af - Can be found at a party most nights of the week - Grew up in France, spending his childhood going between the family’s chateau in the Loire Valley and their residence in Paris. After his mother died he was sent to boarding school. - Is highkey in love with Mara but won’t admit it

#dear:intro #death mention tw #( i was the master of my fate | adam musings )

2 notes · View notes

sharethetravelbug-blog · 6 years

Text

Welcome to our Scenic Wonder Series. We are kicking off this series with one of the most majestic natural attractions in the world: Yosemite National Park.

Being the over-ambitious travel bugs that we are, of course we want to see it all. However, with approximately 1,200 square miles to cover, planning a visit to Yosemite can be a daunting task. We were fortunate enough to have amazing friends who guided us through this process and would love to pass the kindness forward.

Here are our picks for the must-see sights in Yosemite National Park. We hope it will ease the planning of your next visit.

1. Tunnel View

This is the easiest way to access the magnificent views of the valley. For family with young children, this is a must stop. Simply drive through the tunnel, park your car, and TADA! The most amazing view right in front of your eyes with no hiking involved!

https://www.sharethetravelbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/1-Tunnel-View.mp4

2. Yosemite Valley

This photo of the valley is taken in front of the parking area of the west entrance (right after the tunnel). Here you can see many of the iconic landmarks of Yosemite National Park, including the famous rock formations and waterfalls.

3. Cathedral Rocks

The Higher, Middle, and Lower Cathedral Rocks can be seen from the turnout at the El Capitan Meadow. The majestic Bridalveil Falls flow between Cathedral Rocks on the left and Leaning Tower on the right.

4. Bridalveil Falls

After a short drive from the tunnel view, you will arrive at the Bridalveil Falls, one of the most stunning waterfalls of the valley. To get a closer look of the Bridalveil Falls, simply park your car, and take a short (less than 5 minutes) walk on a paved trail that leads to the base of the waterfall.

5. Bridalveil Creek

To get to Bridalveil Falls, you will pass this creek, where the water from the falls flows into the watershed as you can see. Bridalveil Creek reminds me very much of one of our favorite TV shows, “Little House of the Prairie.”

6. El Capitan

A simply stunning vertical granite formation on the north side of Yosemite valley. Fun Fact: A legendary rock climber, Alex Honnold, once shocked the world by reaching the peak without the use of ropes!

7. Sentinel Rock

A gigantic, dark, rock formation on the south side of Yosemite valley. We could not resist adding a vignette filter to emphasize the dramatic appearance of this formation.

8. Half Dome

Named for the distinct shape of a dome cut in half. The look of this formation reminds me of the Blue Steel look of Derek Zoolander.

9. Yosemite Falls

The highest waterfall in Yosemite. It consists of three sessions, Upper Yosemite Falls, Middle Cascades, and Lower Yosemite Falls.

10. Sunset at Yosemite National Park

By the time we drove down the mountain, we were graced with this radiant sunset.

A promise from an awe-inspiring Creator that no matter what life throws at us, the opportunity to end the day beautifully is always within reach.

Have you ever visit Yosemite? We recently did, our experience was so memorable that it inspires us to start our Scenic Wonder in the U.S. series. We hope you enjoy the photos and that our guide will ease the planning of your next visit! Welcome to our Scenic Wonder Series. We are kicking off this series with one of the most majestic natural attractions in the world: Yosemite National Park.

0 notes

stylenancom-blog · 7 years

Text

他們是男模Icon 他們更是男神

　那些能在女性超模當道的時尚圈風生水起的男模們之所以能深入人心，靠的絕不僅僅是他們的「美色」，除了品位不俗的個人風格，還要有個性十足的氣質魅力才能歷經年歲更迭而風華不減。從男模歷練為「男神」從來不簡單，為你奉上十大堪稱「男神」的男模ICON，絕對讓人過目難忘。

David Gandy

David Gandy可以算是Dolce & Gabbana的御用模特了，在他迄今為止的模特生涯中，他為Dolce & Gabbana出鏡多次，連香水的大片都有參與。（「Light Blue」香水大片中，他撐舟劃過一片藍綠的湖面。）他甚至還和攝影師Mariano Vivanco合作，為Dolce & Gabbana拍攝了一本日曆。

Sean O'Pry

雙目清靈得像暹羅貓的Sean O'Pry有着鄰家男孩的親和力，外形滿分。Giorgio Armani和Bottega Veneta都找他拍攝過廣告，Yves Saint Laurent和DSquared2的T台上也有過他的身影。值得一提的是，《福布斯》雜誌於2009年將他列為世界最成功男模。在Taylor Swift最新單曲《Blank Space》的MV中，Sean O'Pry也奉上了精彩的演出。

Brad Kroenig

David Gandy如果說是Dolce & Gabbana的御用模特，那麼Brad Kroenig則是Chanel的專屬了。更具體點的說，是Karl Lagerfeld的專屬模特。2003年，Karl Lagerfeld發掘了Brad Kroenig（2002年，Brad Kroenig在Abercrombie & Fitch以模特身份出道）。此後，Karl Lagerfeld迅速讓其上位，為Fendi拍攝大片。在那之後的故事大家就都知道了：他為Chanel走過多次T台，甚至還在走秀時帶上了他的愛子Hudson。Karl Lagerfeld還曾經為Brad Kroenig出版過一本名為《Metamorphoses of an American（一個美國人的變形記）》的書，描述了Brad Kroenig在模特界的崛起歷程。

Jon Kortajarena

2004年，Jon Kortajarena在巴黎、米蘭時裝周上分別為Emporio Armani和John Galliano走秀，從此聲名大振。Jon Kortajarena可以說是男模中最接近於性感男神類型的模特了。他為Guess和Tom Ford拍攝的大片就很好的展現了他的個人風格。

Noah Mills

在給Yves Saint Laurent、Gucci走秀之後，Noah Mills的模特生涯迎來了騰飛。之後，他也為Dolce & Gabbana、Bottega Veneta、Tommy Hilfiger等大牌走秀或拍攝過廣告大片。難得的是，十年之後，他竟然依舊以模特身份活躍在圈中。

Mathias Lauridsen

丹麥男模Mathias Lauridsen的面部特徵讓人過目不忘，2004年，他以Dior Homme男模身份名聲鵲起。他的辨識度讓他在模特圈中非常搶手，包括Lacoste、Salvatore Ferragamo和Givenchy等等大牌都與他合作過。

Mark Vanderloo

除了為Hugo Boss這樣的大牌代言過，經歷了燦爛的職業生涯之外，Mark Vanderloo的知名度還讓他成為了好萊塢電影的素材：一部由喜劇明星Ben Stiller主演的電影《Zoolander超級名模》，其實就是以他的姓氏命名的男主角名Derek Zoolander。這也反映了他在圈中的影響力。

Evandro Soldati

Evandro Soldati來自巴西的Minas Gerais州，最具標誌性的尖下巴簡直可以直接拿去切割鑽石。除了在Louis Vuitton的多個廣告大片中出鏡之外，他還曾作為男主角出演Lady Gaga的歌曲《Alejandro》MV，這必須是他的最佳瞬間了。

Marcus Schenkenberg

來自瑞典的北歐男模Marcus Schenkenberg的出道史一直為人津津樂道，他是在威尼斯溜冰時被人發掘的。90年代初，他和攝影師Bruce Weber合作拍攝的Calvin Klein廣告大片可以說是CK史上最具標誌性的，也是最為暴露的廣告大片了。這也開啟了他漫長而高調的職業生涯。他後來的確也為Versace出鏡過，但人們更多關注的可能是他和Pamela Anderson還有Jessica Simpson的戀情。

Tyson Beckford

Tyson Beckford出生於紐約Bronx，有着牙買加、巴拿馬、中國以及非洲血統，這樣的多國混血血統也造就了他陰鬱多變的風格和健壯的體格。在他的職業生涯中，他為Herb Ritts、Gucci、Tommy Hilfiger、Calvin Klein等等大牌走過T台秀。《人物》雜誌曾經把他列入世上最美麗的五十人名單。此外，他也是少有的從模特華麗變身為名流的人物之一。在進軍娛樂圈之後，他的最佳瞬間當數擔任男主角，參與拍攝小甜甜布蘭妮的歌曲《Toxic》MV。

0 notes