#it is important that i be as realistic as possible while being the most deranged person on earth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stormyoceans · 1 year

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Top 5 ships of 2022 💛

thank you so much for asking, anon!!!! 💜

1. puentalay – vice versa. not only my favorite pair of the year but quite possibly my favorite pair OF ALL TIME. there’s just something incredibly beautiful in the way these two characters were thrown together by extraordinary circumstances and yet fell in love in the most ordinary way, just two souls meeting and connecting and choosing each other time and time again. they went from strangers to friends to lovers in the most genuine, realistic and organic way, which is something that i personally haven’t found in many other pairings. they literally changed the trajectory of my life the game television and the fundamental make up of my entire personhood all while giving effervescent impeccable incomprehensible levels of romance tenderness vulnerability communication openness devotion derangement and love. WHO IS DOING IT LIKE THEM. NO ONE.

2. vegaspete – kinnporsche. it's the twin flame gothic doppelgänger mirroring he is more myself than i am whatever souls are made of his and mine are the same of it all!!!!!! it's watching the careful constructed mask you've built for yourself your entire life being torn apart and getting dragged kicking and screaming into the light to finally being seen for who you really are!!!!!! it's the two of them in their corners with their monstrous needs and starving themselves until they find the only person who can feed them and sate their hunger!!!!!! i know they're not everyone's cup of tea which is completely understandable but also GOD. WHAT AN ABSOLUTE FASCINATING AND COMPELLING DYNAMIC.

3. skyjao – secret crush on you. the amount of absolute joy and delightment these two brought me week after week after week almost rivals that of puentalay. a single episode would take me HOURS to go through just because i kept giggling kicking my feet screaming into a pillow at all their scenes. it was also incredibly nice to see a chubby character not only being loved but being DESIRED and encouraged to feel better about his body. they are lovely and sweet and HOT and one of the biggest surprises of this year for me.

4. togawanozue – old fashion cupcake. if i were better with words i would honestly spend hours waxing poetry about this show and these two. maybe it’s because im closer in age to them compared to the majority of pairings in BL shows, but they are just so very dear and so very important to me. their narrative is all about the possibility of discovering yourself and finding love at any age and it’s being told through what im quickly realizing it’s becoming one of my favorite tropes: food and hunger and starvation as a metaphor for intimacy.

5. danyok – not me. unlike the first four couples, it was extremely hard for me to pick one for the fifth place. there were way too many contenders and yet none of them felt as right as danyok. my feelings for them are very complicated and i don't think i will ever be able to forgive the writers for what they did to them in episode 13, but despite everything they still mean the world to me and there must be a reason if almost a year later i still can't get over them. i guess being seen for who you are and being loved anyway will never not make me lose my mind.

ask me my top 5 favorite anything

#sorry it took me all morning to answer to this ;;;;;;#i wanted to write a somewhat coherent description to go along with my choices but i failed #m: ask #top 5

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nissakii · 3 years

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Significance of “Madness” in anime

We’ve already established in other posts about significant emotions and concepts in anime or specific media before. The Significance of losing or the one of visuals and metaphors in Haikyuu!! are some of those I would love to mention here, but today we shall delve into a broader topic that goes more along the lines of Makii’s thrilling post about Danganronpa and the Significance of Despair.

Today, our topic of interest is madness.

To ease your mind, in this post we will be talking about the representation of insanity and madness in some anime characters and how that reflects on the story and ourselves as an audience.To make one thing clear, a lot of the times we see overexaggerated versions of unstable characteristics in anime that aren’t realistic.

This is in no way a discussion about actual mental illnesses and not a professional approach to analysing them to our real life standards, but maybe a start to an interesting discussion about how we portray and handle what one may colloquially call “craziness”.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start!

Artists, and no matter for example if they write or draw, use their platforms to deliver messages in cryptic ways. As humans, we have the innate ability to look at something and consume the facts through entertainment which makes us crave new media to follow and analyse.

We love to question things instead of just taking them as they are, and that is why most writers out there will play around with the perception of their audience.

You may be familiar with the common question that ghosts through your head as you enjoy the latest episode of your favorite anime.

Why did he do that? Is she a traitor? What makes them think that way?

Although one might always do it consciously, we most definitely analyse whatever media we consume and decide for ourselves if it is important enough to keep in mind for future reference.

What the writer or founder of the anime ultimately wants from the reader is a reaction.

No matter what they intend to do with it, if they enjoy the viewer getting excited or traumatised is not of importance, but a reaction is evidently one of the goals.

And as strong emotions always evoke an even stronger reaction, anime characters are often very idealized and have ideologies that make them want to do one particular thing.

Be it save the world or destroy it, we focus and look at these characters and root for them if they give us a reason to do so.

Both sides of good and bad can have deeply rooted admiration drawn out of us, and it sometimes doesn’t even matter because the more interesting part is the lovely grey area in between.

We need a balance of good and bad to enjoy both.

Empathy makes us viewers want to relate to the characters, and if the author gives us the possibility to learn why someone does something, it gets harder and harder to dislike them. That’s why tragic backstories and flashbacks are such an overused tool in anime, because with the extreme behaviour some characters show they also need equal amounts of redemption.

We attach ourselves emotionally to characters depending on our personal tastes as well.

If someone likes and relates to a strong and independent protagonist who would drop anything for the sake of justice, you will find a lot of resembling characters in shounen for example.

On the other hand, if a darker or more obsessive character manages to take over a special place in a viewer’s heart, putting them on a pedestal gets more and more interesting, because you’re not supposed to.

Contrary to that, characters with insane or dark personality traits are often very popular, again tracing this back to human instinct of emphasising with wronged characters and curiously inspecting the fully deranged ones.

As this isn't something that should be put into vague concepts, we’re instead going to look at examples of characters and entities that are seen as ‘mad’ and how they’re interpreted.

It’s not just about villains being unreasonably immoral in this post, as we look into what madness entails and how it's shown, we also have some examples of corruption to look at.

So of course there are the typical evil-thinking evil-doing villains out there.

Some of them have an actual backstory to make them more realistic and believable, some others are just pure evil. While they are often called mad for their actions to achieve their goal, the reason why they are put into that light is the stark contrast between the protagonist and the villain.

If the protagonist loves to save people and always has a smile on his face, of course he will differ from his counterpart when he finds out that his methods are a bit more vicious.

The protagonist perceives the villain as insane most of the time, but what does the viewer think?

We seek to look not only at characters that are enjoyable to watch, but also try to find similarities between us and them or draw lines in their behavior to understand them better. As mentioned before, empathy plays a huge role here as well, since whatever happens in anime doesn't have actual repercussions, we can forgive characters more easily.

For example when they are taken by Insanity as a side effect rather than being insane due to trauma, we often get an 'ally turned traitor' trope through hypnosis or brainwashing, which is just as interesting to look at.

If a person did something horrible under the influence of something they had no control over, are they still to blame?

Does Insanity only involve a separate entity that comes from evil, or are we also looking at the gradual descent into darkness when life just isn't the same anymore?

Insane and with no fear: Soul Eater

A great example of how insanity plays with characters be they good or bad is Soul Eater.

With a premise that one needs a sound mind and body to inhibit a sound soul, we obviously know that people close to becoming Kishin-eggs will have a rotten soul drenched in bad deeds, but what about the good guys?

In this instance we have a lot of different types of madness and insanity that touches multiple characters at different times, and by far the most drastic would be the black blood.

The black blood being a synthesized weapon form of blood that can change form and harden into shape, is a weapon made by Medusa and introduced for the first time with Crona. He was melded together with Ragnarök as a weapon and used the black blood in his proficient fighting style.

Soul Eater as well as Maka and other characters later come into contact with the black blood, and the consequence of the immense strength that comes with it is debilitating madness.

As explained in the anime, the madness makes one deny the soul of oneself and others and takes away your fear. Now with no fear present, the person exhibits extremely erratic behavior and is not scared to hurt others or themselves.

This is an insanity that shows how essential a person's fear is, shown by Maka in one of the latest episodes when she fights Asura. The fact that she learned how to accept her own fear and realise that humans need it to survive is why insanity in Soul Eater is merely a concept to differentiate between what is human and what is Kishin.

A Kishin kills and murders with no fear of anything.

A human protects and masters one's own fear.

The power hungry insanity: Hunter x Hunter

In Hunter x Hunter we have a lot of characters that don't exactly fit the norm of human action.

With people like Chrollo, Illumi and even Chimera Ants there is enough crazy to go around.

Still, the character we shall delve into to look at a different kind of instability is none other than Hisoka Morow.

Yes, in comparison to black blood madness Hisoka is an actual human being with no known influence outside of his own intellect. The contrary to another weapon or entity making someone insane is being shown in this anime.

Hisoka is just insane.

We have no means to see if there is anything that might have caused Hisoka to be the way that he is, but what we do know is that his character is almost too nonchalant for his own good.

His goal is to accumulate power and fight others that he seems worthy, as that is what attracts him. No person is spared if he believes he found a worthy opponent he will make that clear to them and pursue them passionately.

We could rule that the clown is just eccentric, but with the given information from the anime he definitely had some sort of mental difference next to his peers. Harming himself holds no problem to him, and his behavior is deeply rooted only to suit himself. He has no self-preservation except for when he needs to accomplish something, and he even enters the spiders just to get close to Chrollo.

Now we see a single person carry themselves throughout a story only to achieve one thing: a good fight.

After having looked at these two examples of insanity in anime, let's look at how that insanity can be portrayed visually.

A famous way to show someone's psychosis is the “Kubrick stare”. A directorial technique that got named after the director Stanley Kubrick who used a forward tilt of the head with eyes locked onto the camera to show the actors of his movies at their peak of madness. It became a very popular stylistic device and is used still very often in modern movies.

The character is supposed to look menacing, evil-plotting and absolutely unhinged.

Such devices, if used often enough, automatically invoke the message to the viewer.

If you’ve seen the Kubrick stare once in a psychotic character, you will definitely associate it with the same derangement again.

In anime we have a similar thing, and you might be aware of this already.

Familiar with the ‘eye angle just before a character goes insane’ meme?

It’s a running gag that shows multiple characters such as Asura from Soul Eater, Pain from Naruto, Light from Deathnote and Jason from Tokyo Ghoul in a frame where you can only see their eyes and it somehow looks extremely grotesque as if they were looking into different directions with their eyes.

As much as it is a joke, it is a perfect example of something extremely similar to the Kubrick stare used in anime culture. It goes so far that if any anime watcher would see a new character look like in a frame, one would assume they were about to go crazy.

Even Oikawa Tooru from Haikyuu!! was shown with a Kubrick stare in the last moments of the second Seijoh vs. Karasuno game, when his desire to win overtook him with incredible force.

Without loss there naturally can’t be any wins, and without sadness there will be no joy in laughter.

We need the different depictions of what one might call madness, to fill our stories with nuance that relies on our reality.

Be it an unknown entity, hunger for power, lack of fear or the good old fashioned thrive for world domination.

Madness is just another part of what we call life, and to be honest in healthy doses and for effect why not enjoy it in anime?

Now, do you guys know any other characters or concepts in anime that would be worth mentioning? I would love to see them in the comments!

Until then, stay sane!

-Nissa

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delusion-of-negation · 3 years

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top 10 (ish) ridiculous or annoying FAQs:

(click at your own discretion)

1) "kids today rely on others to do everything"

ah yes, damn those participation trophies! if it wasn't for them my hands wouldn't be fucked, and I wouldn't need people to write for me. but seriously, stop reading boomer comics, and go outside to meet some actual young people.

2) "sus that a non-american says mom"

yeah, because it's clearly the superior version, and I'm not too patriotic to concede a defeat.

3) "sweaty, the victims of abuse by catholics are real people, stop appropriating their pain just because you want to hate catholics; plus teachers abuse people just as often anyway"

so firstly, I don't hate anybody. and secondly, regarding the fact that victims really do exist, [insert "of course I know him, he's me" meme here]; although I don't often talk much about the abuse I went through or what my religious beliefs are. but, more importantly, statements like "survivors are people" can be phrased like "some people are survivors", and when you're unable to act according to the latter (like when you don't even consider that somebody might be one) then you display a failure to recognise the former - you're projecting; a survivor can't be appropriating their own pain, but you can be appropriating it to silence one. and thirdly, teachers do abuse - the problem isn't and has never been purely religion, rather that abuse is often done by somebody in a position of trust, power, and familiarity; and that the lack of a global minimum enables totally legal abuse on top of the illegal stuff. people with access and respect have more opportunity to abuse than those without, and that goes for teachers too. but, once again, you can be appropriating the pain of survivors to deflect and silence people. please remember this before you say that shit.

4) "get help/therapy"

way ahead of you - years ahead of you. but it's not magic - people who say this often act as if you'll start behaving differently overnight. not only are some things simply beyond the ability of talking therapy to completely rectify, it also takes time and has to be selective. you've got to pick your priorities, and that's definitely not whatever ship or joke you're mad at me about today. therapy is a slow, arduous process that can't guarantee results - it isn't "anti-recovery" to recognise that, it's honesty. while I've been in therapy for a long time, it is not necessarily going to change whatever you don't like about me - whether that's because it can't, because my focus now is on more important or urgent things, or because I don't want to change that.

5a) "tell your family you ship incest, see how that goes; normal people find it disgusting"

actually, some know, and they're fine with it. in fact, one prefers sibling pairings in fiction to all other dynamics because, to paraphrase, "it's a deeper level of messed up co-dependence". so unfortunately for you, my remaining family (by which I mean those not dead or cut out of my life after abuse and so forth) actually are able to distinguish between fiction and reality. plus, my reasoning for caring if they find it gross or not pertains only to recommending books and such - their opinions do not dictate my tastes.

5b) "don't sexualise/appropriate incestuous abuse" and "I bet you enjoyed being raped" and other attempts to upset me over 5a

firstly, as I've already said here, survivors can't be appropriating ourselves. in addition, you're not owed people's history or trauma - it's not okay to require people's personal information, or else you'll send anon hate and accusations of appropriation. secondly, I'm not sexualising our abuse (not just because I write horror, and so a lot of my writing is intended to be creepy, not sexy); these stories aren't about us, they're not us at all. entire dynamics/people (fictional or otherwise) aren't all going to be applicable to us or identical to us, just because they have something in common with us; they're not us and they're not accountable to us. thirdly, the fact that people send this stuff (attempting to trigger people's trauma over ships) is so much more worrying to me than somebody making our communal imaginary friends kiss. you're trying to hurt people. and finally, to the "I bet you enjoyed it" crowd (if you're at all serious): do you think you'd enjoy being in a real zombie apocalypse, alone, afraid, and really at risk of being eaten alive? a fictional scenario does not feel remotely the same as a real one. this isn't rocket science - things that look like you aren't you; fiction isn't reality; don't send anon hate. (edit: comparable "just leave me alone, I'm not hurting anyone" sentiments for yandere stuff, and anything else you decide I'm naughty for.)

6) "you'll be sent off to do manual labour once your communist revolution happens"

while I don't know why people think that I'm a communist, a dictatorial regime probably isn't going to want me to do manual labour. they're more likely to just shoot me; I'm useless and a liability. call me crazy, but something tells me that "ah yes, we shall give ze deranged cripple ze power tools" isn't the communist position.

7a) "they/them can't be singular pronouns"

yes they can, and they're used as such in both shakespeare and the bible. but you don't have to say this - I'm also okay with he/him, so you could've just used those and chilled out. also, do I look like somebody who views the rules of grammar as fully immutable and imperative?

7b) "enbies/aros/pan/etc aren't valid"

do you really think that you're going to change any hearts or minds by putting that in my ask box or under my funny maymays? chill out, it's not worth the effort - you could be planning a party (in minecraft) and having fun instead. it isn't worth my time to rant at everybody who's saying something isn't valid, updating how I'm explaining it as my opinions grow and general discourse around it evolves; I'm just who I am, somebody else is who they are - why bicker in presumptuous ways about if that's enough? it ultimately is valid, in my opinion, but that isn't an invitation to keep demanding that I debate. (edit: old posts of mine probably don't phrase things incredibly, on this or anything... I tried.)

8) "what are your politics?"

my politics are informed first and foremost by the knowledge that I'm not cut out to be some kind of leader - I don't want to be the guy who tells everyone else what to do, I just offer what seem to me like valid criticisms of how we are doing things now, and general pointers on the values and ethics that I would prefer to move towards. things like individual freedom, taking the most pacifist route where possible, trying not to give excessive power to small groups of people (governments or corporations), helping those in need even when they're not palatable, and letting me suck loads of dicks. but please refrain from decreeing me something - there's not enough information in what I said, so you'll just be filling in the blanks with assumptions. (edit: workplace democracy seems cool to me; benefits are good; fair fines and taxes; and the "sperm makes you loopy" saga: 1, 2, 3, and 4.)

9) "you're a narcissist"

no, I don't meet the diagnostic criteria. joking on the internet that you're hot doesn't make a person a narcissist. the fact that I've chosen to keep my actual self-esteem issues to myself is not proof that they don't exist - you're just not entitled to that information about me. but it's also not narcissism to really like how you look. (edit: don't throw labels around carelessly too.)

10a) "kin list?"

the fabric of the universe, a zombie, dionysus, maned wolf/arctic fox hybrid, a comedian, big gay, big rock, ambiguously partial insincerity. (edit: kin list may or may not be incomplete.)

10b) "kin isn't valid/that's just being insane"

haven't we established that I'm deranged, and that sending stuff like this on anon is simply a waste of your precious time? besides, I do not care if it's invalid or insane - it's fun, I'm happy. (edit: see 7b for my opinion on sending me yet another ask with "that's invalid" in it; I'm not in the mood to discuss the nature of validity.)

bonus: "it gets better" and "trigger list?"

as I've said before, things just don't always get better for everyone - sometimes things can't be cured or even treated, sometimes they kill you; in some cases it could get better if not for a blockade or lack of time. the world is messy. it needs to be more normalised to reassure or comfort people without relying on saying that their issue will get better or be cured. it does suck to be this ill, but it also sucks to be made out to be a lazy pessimist, just because I have the audacity to not play along. and as for the trigger list, I don't like providing people with an easily accessed list of ways to hurt my feelings or harm me - upsetting me is supposed to be challenging, and thus rewarding. if you want a cheat sheet then you're out of luck, I'm afraid.

bonus #2: "FAQ stands for frequently asked questions, it doesn't need that s at the end!"

yeah, I know, I just enjoy chaos and disarray.

bonus #3 (edit): "what are your disabilities and how exactly are they incurable and/or deadly?"

again, I don't tell the internet everything about me, especially when it poses a risk, especially not as an easily accessible list for you to refer back to whenever you feel inclined to hurt my feelings. that is understandably a sore subject. (edit: that includes physical health issues btw.)

bonus #4 (edit): "so we shouldn't be critical?"

if it wasn't clear from my answer about politics or my post in general, you can have opinions about things, and you can voice that. it's just not realistic to exist at extremes: to think that you alone should dictate what exists in fiction, or to think that people shouldn't be expressing disdain or criticism of any calibur. say how you feel about things, that's fine, but it's also fine if people find that they don't value your input. plus we're all flawed, we can all be hypocritical from time to time, we all get bitchy, and we all make mistakes, or even knowingly fuck things up. that's important to keep in mind, whether we're talking about the one being criticised or the one doing the criticising - poor choices of words, imperfect tone, or contradictory ideas are inevitably going to happen occasionally.

congrats on reaching the end! if you have, at any point, said one of these to me, you owe a hug to your nearest loved one (once it's safe).

edit: might add more links/bonus points in the future when I think of things, but it's late now. (sorry for links where prior notes in the thread have my old url, that may get a tad confusing; also, not all links are my blog or my op, since it is to illustrate points/vibes, not to self-promo.)

#don't take life too seriously #nobody gets out alive anyway #tw abuse mention #tw csa mention #tw incest mention #tw for any tws I missed #idk why I did this

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filmmakerdreamst · 4 years

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‘Boy Meets World’ Re-watch (as an Adult)

‘Girl Meets World’ doesn’t count as a sequel. Not because of the writing/tonal choices but because in the original show - despite continuity issues - the characters felt like real people e.g. the way they spoke/acted/dressed was the way people behaved in the 90s where as in the spin off, they were Disney characters e.g. hyper versions of themselves especially Cory and Eric. And the transition between both shows didn’t come naturally. It’s not an objectivity badly written show but it was pretty much a re-do of the old show with the same storylines/tropes without continuing the story. (I say the same thing about ‘The Incredibles’. vs ‘Incredibles 2’.) Also there were too many cooks in the kitchen pushing one way or another. You could see Micheal Jacobs style, all the aspects were there, but he was also creating a ‘DISNEY’ show at the same time. I don’t know about you but the one message I took from the original show was ‘finding out that life cannot be packenged into a lovely little present ’ which kind of contradicts everything that the new show is. If anything GMW is an AU universe (and it really felt like that, rewatching it right after BMW e.g. it felt flipped) almost like Disney’s version of ‘what happened next?’ The primal difference between both shows is BMW is portraying what is real and GMW is based on what is real.

Going off my point, I will however be always thankful that it exists because I probably wouldn’t of found out about ‘Boy Meets World’ otherwise. Although saying that, I never thought that the original show needed a continuation of any kind (a lot of things make sense about the spin off if you acknowledge that Disney requested it - I think it would of been much better off on its original platform) ‘Boy Meets World’ was very much a product of its time i.e. when tv shows were still relevetivley new and had no rules - like there is stuff in there that not even adult shows today have. Plus there was something about it that felt very personal (such as the characters and setting) as if the creator based it on his own childhood growing up and I think that was part of its charm and why it had such a big effect on pop culture - I’m not so sure you can repeat that.

BMW is big on meta I’ll tell you that. I love how it’s so aware of itself. The amount of depth that it has never ceases to amaze me. It’s whole universe is so dense and huge. Every quote/storyline is so unique it sticks in your brain forever. (I swear the humour got more and more deranged every season). The show was also incredibly queer and progressive. It didn’t give a crap about sexuality. Much more than I remember. Proof to never use ‘but it was made in the 90s’ excuse.

I loved how the show kept reinventing itself every season as Cory grew up so you really felt you were growing up with him and all the characters. The Character Development on this show was so natural/authentic. Every single character got a chance to shine. No one changed their look in one episode and no one had an intervention every time someone had an identity crisis (GMW) My favourite development was Shawn Hunter. He went from a cool kid to a ladies man to a poetic soul. It was so satisfying to watch.

I realised that Cory Matthews is actually my favourite character (before it was Eric or Shawn) I already have a special soft spot for ‘annoying’ characters because they tend to be the most memorable/real. For example, Karma Ashcroft from ‘Faking it’ was my babe while everyone was hating on her. I really related to his anxiety/self hatred about being average and I loved that he constantly made mistakes. It was very refreshing. He’s also incredibly queer-coded. I found that alot of his mannerisms make sense if you see him with extreme compulsory heterosexuality (because identity’s such as bisexual or gay couldn’t exist normally in the 90s) There are moments in the show where he literally mimics his best friend’s behaviour around girls e.g. when the class pretty much gets brainwashed by the sex ed video in ‘Boy Meets Girl’ Shawn gets asked out by a girl, making Cory jealous - which pushes him to ask out Topanga.

It’s funny how a few years of life experience can change perspectives completely because when I was sixteen (aka the same age as Cory and Topanga) watching BMW for the first time, I was mad at Amy for ‘not understanding that they were in love’ (in ‘A Walk to Pittsburg’) but now that I’m older I’m actually agreeing with her. Yeah, what do they know about love? Because all season long they were acting quite superficially.

Cory and Topanga became somewhat of a toxic couple in seasons 5 -7. Reminded me of my parents relationship because my mum gave up her chosen university to be closer to my dad and they aren’t together any more. Topanga’s love for Cory was very conditional and Cory cheated on her multiple times/openly begged for sex (Again like my parents) And you should never be in a relationship with someone who makes you say “You make me think not so very much of myself” There are arguably much more signs of emotional abuse than love in their relationship especially from Topanga’s side. Plus their story was altered so many times to give it more basis (they retconned Shawn and Cory’s friendship to do this) I could write an essay on how Kevin and Winnie’s love story on ‘The Wonder Years’ is much more believable because it actually addresses how toxic it was and they grow apart in the end. If GMW was a realistic continuation, they would be divorced with a little girl - leave them in the 90s where they belong.

Alan and Amy were couple goals! Cory and Topanga wish that they could have what they have. Literally the definition of ‘a healthy relationship on tv that keeps thriving and over coming obstacles without big drama’. Best TV parents ever.

I loved the Matthews family; how they all had individual arcs and developments of their own. One of my favourite arcs was in season 5, when Eric and Cory were both jealous of what they ‘didn’t have’ with their dad, so Alan made an effort to give them both that they needed. Honestly, I had never seen so much healthy communication on TV before. Alan is the best father around. His whole personal arc of giving up managing a supermarket because he wasn’t passsionate about it anymore and buying a mountain store was so inspired. I found it funny that the family had more of a relationship with Shawn than Topanga.

Shawn Hunter never caught a break. It got a bit tiring. He was never allowed to be happy for five minutes. Every time he laughed or smiled, 5 years were added onto my lifespan. Why didn’t Johnathan Turner adopt him? I loved their dynamic. Why did he let him go back to his abusive father who just dumped him anyway?

Jack and Shawn’s complicated dynamic was possibly the most unique/interesting arc of the entire show and no one talks about it. I don’t care what y’all say - despite them being very different, Jack was the only one who fully took care of Shawn without second thoughts (Turner and the Matthews family had doubts)

I liked Shawn and Angela. I thought they were much better suited than Cory and Topanga. I honestly wouldn’t of minded if they ended up together even though I always had a feeling they wouldn’t. (Like I’m glad she went with her dad in the end) And considering how important they were as a interracial couple in the 90s, GMW handled that very poorly.

Shawn and Cory should of ended up together. And before you come at me with ‘it’s important to have m/m friendships without toxic masculinity’ (which is an important arguement to have) - yeah no shit there’s an entire Industry based around that/pitting women against each other. While it is important to have those friendships between men that are close and even intimate (take Chandler and Joey, Schmidt and Nick, Isak and Jonas and Jake and Charles for example) there was also another layer to their relationship which the narrative played off sometimes as them “going out” or “in love”. I actually recently found out that a writer - who came into the show in season 3 - confirmed that she wrote gay undertones into their relationship on purpose ‘In my opinion as a writer, they thought they were “straight”, they both didn’t realise or understand their feelings for eachother’ but couldn’t deliever because the producers wanted to keep the show “kid friendly”. Kind of like Xena and Gabby. I know people prefer Jack & Eric (I love them as well) but everything got ruined for me as soon as they introduced the ‘love triangle’ and I always tend to prefer emotional tension over sexual. They were just so unconditional with each other/ their friendship was so good and healthy and now I’m so bitter that it never happened.

I never understood why Shawn and Cory had to stop being best friends after he got married. He’s not Topanga’s property. I always hated how Topanga tried to interrupt/interfere with their dynamic — although now I realise it was because the two of them purposely left her out. Looking back at it, If it really was just a intimate friendship then why would she get so easily jealous if she didn’t sense there was something else deeper going on? You should never marry someone who puts you second.

I didn’t like Topanga when she was with Cory (or vice versa) Especially after they got married. She was a great character on her own. Feminist before her time. Hermione Granger before her time. I always felt she deserved a lot better than him in a way e.g. if someone I considered a friend speard a rumour around high school that we slept together - I would never speak to that person again. SHE SHOULD OF GONE TO YALE GOD DAMN IT. And as someone pointed out the other day, if the roles were reversed some of the stuff she does or says to Cory would be considered domestic violence. ‘She’s always blaming Cory on shit that isn't even his fault or makes him feel bad or shuts down his emotions and turns it around so he's comforting her instead.’ There was even a moment in GMW (not that I consider that show a continuation) where she locks him out the house for a few days after he insulted her chicken, and his son Auggie had to bring him spaghetti. If Cory was a woman, that would not be played off as a joke - that would be considered abuse. They were however a better couple in GMW ironically.

Angela Moore is now one of my favourite characters on BMW. She was beautiful. Her friendship with Rachel (and Topanga) was the best. And I frickin’ loved her and Cory’s friendship development - when they could of easily not played into that. I hate that she got villiaized in GMW.

My favourite seasons are 4, 5 & 1. My least favourites are 3 & 2 & 7. And even then the show was still pretty darn good.

The back and fourth clash between Turner and Mr Feeny in season 2 was very entertaining.

Mr Feeny and Eric are my favourite relationship on ‘Boy Meets World’. I love how Eric was the only person that Feeny directly told that he loved him. Also, why didn’t Eric become the new Mr Feeny? He showed more traits of becoming a teacher in the show than Cory did.

Eric and Tommy was probably the most heartbreaking plot line in season 6. (That season was an emotional train wreck) I cried for a fourth time. The world doesn’t deserve him.

I loved the development of Shawn and Topanga’s friendship. Even though there was a silent competition over Cory, they eventually became good friends. I found out that the song ‘She will be loved’ was inspired by them which is awesome but it’s also proof that people ship for less if it’s an m/f dynamic - just sayin’. I however see a more convincing potiental romance with the two of them than Cory and Topanga sometimes.

On Cory and Topanga again - they weren’t a bad couple overall. I liked them in s1 - 3. They had some great moments. But upon my rewatch (getting out of that 90s idealised headspace) I found them to be too similar at times - chafing as another person put it - to the point where they cancel each other out. A lot of people pointed out that Riley and Maya paralleled them and I was thinking “That’s not nesserily a good thing.”

‘Dream. Try. Do good.’ is on my mantelpiece.

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norgestan · 4 years

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I’ve tried to have this discussion before, but the context of the fact that so many fans from Spain (and even the cast) say stuff like “pansexuality isn’t real” or make fun of/insult people who identify as pan and say “that’s not part of our culture” is exactly the reason WHY some fans take issue with skam espana’s “bisexuality vs pansexuality” scene more than other versions. Because you just can’t separate the intention of the scene and how +

I’m sure the creators knew it was going to be received by the home audience, from the dialogue and message of the scene. Does that make sense? I don’t know if I’m getting my point across. I just feel like so many people like to pretend that certain fans are just being hypocritical for being upset by that scene in skam espana more than the og/other remakes, but that added context IS there. (2/2)

i can totally agree with you on the first bit, i feel like there’s definitely people who have taken it too far. i myself agree with the spanish view of pansexuality yet i would never go out of my way to attack people for identifying as pan (in my ideal world everyone takes a look of what the debate should really be about so we can be civil in regards of this issue... but this is social media and stan circles we’re talking about, so LOL).

however, and at the cost of stirring this fully rotten issue one more time... how is the dialogue and framing of the scene in itself a form to validate the “pansexuality isn’t real” debate in spain??? like, let’s look at the facts. this is how the dialogue goes down like:

viri: so does this mean you’re a lesbian?

cris: no! i mean, no. i don’t know. i know i like joana, and that’s it.

eva: either way, you used to really like guys. a lot.

cris: yeah! fuck, i still like them, girl, i don’t know, i’ve always liked them.

nora: then, you can be bisexual, no?

cris: maybe. it’s just that i don’t know what the categories are, i mean, how am i supposed to know what’s mine?

viri: let’s see, there’s not that much confusion anyway? you’re either lesbian or bisexual, no? and now "pansexual” is there too, no?

nora: girl, that’s the same thing. bisexuals like the people of their same gender and the opposite gender... i think.

eva: well now, you guys are getting intense. the important thing is, [to cris] are you happy?

this is the point in which the conversation clearly deranges. when viri begins to talk about how cris could be a lesbian, bi or pan, amira is literally facepalming herself and eva is laughing in the background. when nora jumps in to correct viri, eva realizes that it has gone for too long and dismisses the two girls to shift the conversation back to cris. i actually really appreciate how awkward this entire scene feels lol, because it’s a realistic outcome and it really balances the girls’ love for cris vs their incapacity to handle this subject well, as they’re all (so far) cis and straight girls. and to an extent, that’s the intention of the scene, to show that they all have good intentions but can say the wrong things anyway (discussing cris’ sexuality when she had just told them she is not sure/doesn’t know enough, viri immediately asking if they have had sex, eva implying that cris can’t be attracted to girls because she was really into guys some months ago and then the comment about their sex life, etc). and it’s the same thing that happened with lucas’ coming out scene in s1: eva told lucas that she and jorge had discussed the possibility of him being gay, and then she fires back at him with the whole cristian drama. but in both scenes, the important thing is that despite their ignorance regarding conversations of LGBT+, they’re supportive of them and there for each other, and in the long run, willing to learn and create a safer space for them (see: lucas’ youtube video where eva and him discuss homophobic microaggressions). and of course there’s never gonna be a perfect reaction: skames did a really good job showing a realistic coming out that is positive for the protagonist and in line with its imperfect characters’ personalities and experiences.

so like, in what universe is this scene meant to discredit pansexuality and pansexuality alone, when the phrase happens in the context where the girls are discussing something that literally NO one in the room understands? and it’s not like you have to look reaaaaally hard into it to come out with the fact that 17 y/o cishet girls aren’t the most versed about the lgbt+ community, it’s LITERALLY explicitly stated that no one is sure about what they’re talking about (cris outright says she hasn’t done any research, viri is trying to be supportive all while having conflicted feelings about cris being with a girl lol, and nora’s straight to the point “...i think”). and even then, it’s not like nora says anything incorrect: i’m pretty sure pansexual people can agree that both pan and bi people are attracted to the same group of people. and when i was in high school, most people around me couldn’t tell the difference between the two either. (way better than saying matter of a fact that pan people are attracted to genders and bi people are atracted to sexes, cough cough)

anyone could watch the scene and understand what the intention was. when i watched the clip years ago, i had no idea of the spanish perception of pansexuality and didn’t until i entered the fandom (although i had heard the discussions about pansexuality in other circles) and the scene does NOTHING to educate you about LGBT+ culture and history in spain (how can they when it’s established that these girls aren’t well-versed on the subject?). the only thing you could come out from that scene, is that these girls... kinda don’t know shit about it.

i can totally see why people can have problems with the pansexuality discourse in the skames and skamverse fandom, as well as the comments that came from the cast. and as i’ve said multiple times now, you don’t have to justify yourself if you don’t wanna watch a remake, and no one can tell you what to do about it: the decision is entirely yours. however, i completely disagree that the showrunners’ intention was to make a statement on the validity of pansexuality because of spain’s culture. and i lack the knowledge to make this point, but i find it hard to believe that the pansexual issue in skames is the only example on the skamverse of creators, actors and fans sticking up to a plotline/comment that invalidates or harms a minority group.

#answered #long post #skam españa #y'all shoudl just... blacklist my asks tag LMAO i'm very sorry

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moonlightmadnessreviews · 5 years

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Child’s Play (2019): Chucky Come Lately, The New Kid in Town

We’re coming up on a month since the release of Orion Pictures’ Child’s Play remake. In the lead up to the polarizing release, there were two very different teams drawn up: you were either Team Good Guy, or Team Buddi. If you were the former, it was thought you were an elitist, unable to see past your love for the original and too closed minded to admit you were even a little curious as to how the new movie would turn out. If you wore the latter team’s jersey, you were part of what is wrong with horror today, ready to gobble up corporate studio schlock even if it means trampling all over the original. At a time when a remake is announced every other week, I want to discuss why it’s okay to root for the home town hero, while also being curious about what the rookie has to offer.

Child’s Play was originally released in 1988, having been written and directed by Tom Holland from a story by Don Mancini, produced by David Kirschner and distributed by MGM. The film was a hit, drawing enough at the box office to spawn six sequels, and the cult following was immediately under the spell of the pint sized, Voodoo practicing antagonist, Charles Lee Ray. I recently turned 30, and it wasn’t until I was in my early teens that I realized the original trilogy was called Child’s Play and not Chucky, as I’d always referred to the movies. Brad Dourif plays Chicago serial killer Charles Lee Ray, The Lakeshore Strangler. After he’s chased into a toy store and fatally wounded by Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon), Chucky transfers his soul into the body of a Good Guy Doll. The rest of the movie follows Chucky and the first person he reveals his identity to, a six year old boy named Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), as Chucky murders his way through babysitters, old accomplices and Voodoo mentors! All the while, Chucky preys on Andy’s innocence, telling him they’re “Friends til the end!” simply to make it easier for him to transfer his soul into Andy’s body.

This set up was, and still is, perfect! For much of the movie, Chucky is a stoic rubber doll, resembling one of the Cabbage Patch Dolls that were so popular in the 1980s. It’s clear to see how excited Andy is when he gets the doll as a birthday present, and you feel genuine fear for the kid knowing there’s the soul of a serial killer trapped inside his new best friend! I would give anything to travel back in time to sit in the theater on opening night and experience the moment Chucky finally reveals his true nature to Andy’s Mom! What may seem silly to us now must have made for an awesome group experience in that theater, especially considering the amazing animatronics and Dourif’s fantastic voice over work, his animalistic aggression striking fear into children for years after.

For all the praise we can give Chucky and the lore his movies built up, they did become somewhat formulaic, but Chucky and pals had solidified themselves in the minds and memories of millions. It’s easy to see why fans were hesitant, and confused, when the remake was announced. Some went as far as to write off the movie completely before even hearing what the changes would be. Well, as it turns out, the changes were pretty drastic, in part due to the legal issues of having a remake separate from the Mancini Chucky universe, soon to make a place for itself as a spin off TV show on the SyFy channel.

Child’s Play 2019 has brought Chucky and Andy into the era of asking someone for their WiFi password as soon as you walk through their door. The film is directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) from a screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury 2) and produced by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith (IT, Chapter 1 and 2). In our post-Stranger Things world, Andy, played here by Gabriel Bateman (Lights Out), is no longer a six year old child but rather a young teen having trouble fitting in and making friends in his new neighborhood. His mom, Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza), is still a single mother working in retail, but the doll she brings home for Andy’s birthday is incredibly different due to the exclusion of one incredibly important character: Charles Lee Ray. Gone is the Voodoo. Gone is the Lakeshore Strangler. Gone is the voice! The new direction is daring to say the least.

In this version, Chucky is a WiFi capable, Cloud connected Buddi doll. As part of their use as an educational tool for children, Buddi dolls learn from their Best Buddies, picking up on their sense of humor, social cues and behaviors. Eventually Buddi could help you keep track of your calendar and even control climate setting in your home. Seems pretty cool, right? Well it would be, except Andy’s Buddi doll was hacked by a disgruntled factory worker who does away with Chucky’s limiters for language, violence, and seemingly even his free will.

What I feel works especially well in the new take is Chucky’s innocence at the start of the movie. A Buddi doll’s only mission is to imprint on their new owner and be the best friend this child could ever ask for. We get scenes of Andy and Chucky playing chess, hanging out, and even looking through scrap books of Andy’s art. Chucky takes a genuine interest in Andy and simply wants to be his Best Buddy, so when Andy is scratched by his mother’s cat, we get the first glimpses into Chucky’s unlocked potential for violence. He wants to punish anyone, or anything, that wishes Andy harm. Chucky hasn’t just imprinted, he is frighteningly obsessed.

One of my favorite scenes plays out as Andy, and his friends Falyn and Pugg (Beatrice Kitsos and Ty Consiglio, respectively) are watching a particularly brutal horror movie. I was genuinely giddy in the theater when the clips started to flash on screen, so I won’t spoil it here. This is where we see Chucky’s gears start to turn. Much like a child who may pick up on violent behavior they’re exposed to, Chucky sees Andy and his friends laughing at the outlandish violence on screen and decides to “entertain” them with a butcher knife.

Through out the course of the 90 minute run time, we see Andy struggling with how to control Chucky, now having gotten the wrong impression of violence and feeling rejected by his Best Buddy. The stakes are raised as Chucky becomes increasingly violent, seeking to please Andy at every turn only to make things worse, like a genie who twists their master’s words, making them sorry for not being more careful with their wishes. Come the third act, we can start to see hints of Chucky’s own fully formed personality, now having been twisted and deranged by the movies events.

This movie was more fun than I anticipated, and it even got my wife’s stamp of approval after I dragged her to the theater with me on opening night! Rather than try to be some incredibly bleak, super realistic take on the story, Child’s Play knew exactly what it was and went all out with the ridiculous concept. The movie’s R rating was also used to its full potential, and though most of the scares are pretty telegraphed, they shower you with so much blood and gore that you can’t help but laugh. Andy’s group of friends, though not nearly as charismatic or fun to watch as the cast of Stranger Things or 2017’s IT, really helped to give the movie some much needed warmth and heart. Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), who played this movie’s Detective Norris, also gave a great performance, balancing comedy and that detective bravado just right.

The standouts though were Gabriel Bateman and this movie’s Chucky, none other than Mark Hamill (Star Wars and The Joker in Batman The Animated Series, I mean DUH!). Bateman gave a great performance as Andy, carrying a lot of the movie’s emotion, and Hamill helped give this Chucky his own voice. The third act culmination of Chucky’s deranged personality would not have been nearly as effective if not for Hamill’s amazing voice over work. This is not to say though that the movie was perfect. Aubrey Plaza was bland as Karen Barclay, giving every line that classic, so-edgy-it-hurts, Plaza sarcasm. It works on Parks and Rec and even the movie Safety Not Guaranteed, but it feels so out of place here. Thankfully, Bateman was there to sell most of their scenes together, or I would not have been able to buy into their relationship as mother and son, much less care about their survival. In addition to Plaza, there were a lot of jokes in the first and second act that simply didn’t land. The lines fell flat and hardly got more than a chuckle from most of the audience I was with. I’m sure they were after the wit and timing of the young ensemble cast of IT, but that came from time and intensive work building off screen relationships within that cast. Some jerky editing also made the movie feel like it would have benefited from an extra 15 or 20 minutes, leading to certain scenes that were meant to be emotional being brushed over and rushed.

Lastly, let’s address the elephant in the room: Chucky’s redesign. The very first reaction I heard as Chucky’s face flashed on screen was “Ew, what the fu-“. I want to give the effects team credit for sticking to mostly animatronic work once again, but Chucky’s face was simply horrendous. I’d like to think this was intentional, perhaps they wanted to play up the Uncanny Valley effect as much as possible, but I can’t see myself or any other fans saying the design won us over, no matter how fun the movie was.

Did Child’s Play 2019 have to be a Child’s Play movie? No, not at all. In fact, they could have called it “Alexa Gone Wild.” and it would have held much of the same effect. With that being said though, I think I enjoyed it as much as I did because of their new take. It impressed me just enough to leave me thinking “Wow, that was really fun!” I love the original Child’s Play, and Brad Dourif is quite honestly irreplaceable, but the film makers saw the challenge they had with this new version, knew the audience they had to try and win over and they swung for the fences. I may not be able to convince everyone to give this movie a shot, and I’m fine with that, but I think the most important thing to remember is this: If you’re going to update one of my favorite toys, my “Friend til The End”, then make sure the new version keeps me entertained til the end, friend.

Rating: 3.5 Full Moons out of 5 🌕🌕🌕🌗

#Child’s Play #Child’s Play 2019 #Child’s Play Remake #Chucky #Good Guy Doll #Buddi Doll #Brad Dourif #Mark Hamill #Gabriel Bateman #Aubrey Plaza #Horror #Horror Movies #Film Reviews #Movie Reviews #Moonlight Madness #Moonlight Madness Reviews

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felipesmithart · 6 years

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Anime News Network - Inside The Manga Industry with Felipe Smith, American Mangaka (Part II)

In the second part of our interview (find part one here), Smith explains how manga distorted his expectations of life in Tokyo a bit, how working with Kodansha got him to look harder at genres and audiences, and what four crucial tips must be followed by any American otaku hoping to work in Japan, too.

Did working through Kodansha's demands for PEEPO CHOO develop any skills you've found useful on subsequent projects?

The quick and simple answer is a huge, resounding... yes! The rigorous schedule and incessant deadlines I kept while creating manga in the Japanese market actually prepared me to work full-time simultaneously in two industries back in the US! Upon my return in 2012, I was hired by Nickelodeon as a storyboard artist – and later character designer – for the Ninja Turtles animated TV show.

During that time, I was approached by Marvel to revamp the Ghost Rider franchise. I created Robbie Reyes, wrote 21 issues of his monthly comic, drew two of them and illustrated covers for ten of them.

So, from 2013 to 2017, I worked in both animation and comics full-time, at the same time. It was a bit nightmarish, but definitely worth the effort. And it was a possibility, in part, thanks to my Japanese publishing boot camp experience.

With that “double-duty” wrapped this year, you've turned to a new project Death Metal Zombie Cop, which was funded through Kickstarter. How does it differ from your recent output?

[It's] my return to creator-owned comics and I'm very excited about it. I've been developing it since the end of PEEPO CHOO back in 2011. In creating it, I'm applying everything I've learned from the Japanese and American comic markets and I can't wait to release it!

You've said you got the idea while wrapping up PEEPO CHOO. What was the inspiration?

...A combination of factors. The most important of which is the need to tap into an identifiable genre with an established audience. Neither of my previous graphic novel series, MBQ or PEEPO CHOO, fit neatly into any genre. I could say, with no real risk of sounding bumptious, that both titles are pretty singular in their approach and subject matter – something I've always strived for. But, by the same token, though well-received, they did not reach a tremendously expansive audience, either.

Did your run on Ghost Rider shape the idea, too?

In contrast, [it's] probably my most-read comic book series to date. It's very true that because it is a Marvel book – and an expansion on a well-known franchise – it already had significant interest and an expectant fan base before its release. But I believe that genre specificity had a great deal to do with its greater success, as well. All-New Ghost Rider is an anti-hero “action” comic with elements of horror. Those are two tried-and-true genres with an important audience, and well-established tropes upon which to expand.

Sounds like these projects got you to consider potential audiences in different ways?

A fanbase is the life of a creator, and is essential to his or her existence and prosperity. A good creator will foster and grow a fanbase independently. But fitting neatly into genres – as was [explained to me] in Japan – can help a creator unite his fanbase with greater speed and efficacy. Thus, upon finishing PEEPO CHOO – and after four original series pitch rejections – I decided to try my best to find a story I could be invested in and tell effectively that would also fit in a designated, easy-to-identify genre… for once! [Laughs]

So, I picked horror and action – genres I've always liked – and then added “cops and crooks,” which is also a personal favorite of mine. What's funny is that the “zombie” genre element didn't really come into play until later in the development of the pitch, but once I found that piece of the puzzle, my mind was blown. I had never created a story with any supernatural elements, because I'd always strayed away from superheroes. But now, I found myself with a whole new set of storytelling possibilities and I got really excited.

So, your horizons were expanded, both literally and figuratively, after having to see the notion of genre from a different angle over in Japan?

As I mentioned earlier, the one series that caught the interest of my Japanese editor was also the one I eventually decided would most likely find a better place with a Western audience, and it was Death Metal Zombie Cop. As I also mentioned, upon my return to the US, Nickelodeon hired me on TMNT, and then I got a call from Marvel. And when the editor mentioned that he'd like me to pitch him an idea for a Ghost Rider in a car [as opposed to on his traditional motorcycle], and that I was pretty much free to create everything from the ground up… I had a few things I was dying to test out on the American direct market audience.

Now that I'm finally putting together Death Metal Zombie Cop, I can't say I'm really approaching it very differently than my previous creator-owned work. The major difference is that this series will be in full-color and I plan to release 24-page monthly issues, like an American comic series.

PEEPO CHOO explored the misconceptions American otaku have about Japan. How might manga give US readers – and aspiring creators – a skewed view of life across the Pacific?

That's a good question. Although I've found that the largest portion of Japanese manga stories take place somewhere in real-life Japan, near real-life Japanese landmarks and during some time in real Japanese history – whether it be past or present – in my experience, a great number of the “Japanese” characters portrayed in these manga do not truly reflect the character and behavior I've observed in the Japanese people.

What shaped your expectations before moving there, then?

...My only real perspective on Japanese culture, like that of many Westerners, was derived from what I saw on their TV shows, live-action or animated, read in manga or magazines, or from any Japanese person I happened to meet. Obviously, first-hand conversation and discussion with people is your best bet, when it comes to trying to understand or familiarize yourself with their culture.

Having lived and worked with Japanese people in LA, I was lucky to learn their culture in action, first-hand. The more I learned, the more I realized that the fictional manga characters I presumed to be realistic because of their true-to-life surrounding locations and attire were anything but.

What specific details might ring more realistic?

[If you are] the least bit observant, you'll see that people do not hug very often, nor high-five each other. “High-touch” is how it's referred to in Japan. And, in my experience, unless there's celebration or alcohol involved, they're rarely prone to any kind of loud outbursts of emotion, wild arm or body gesticulation, or very expressive facial communication. It only takes watching a bit of Japanese TV carefully to discern who is being a TV character and who is just a person [that] happened to be filmed by the camera.

In contrast, a huge number of characters in all media [all over the world] behave astoundingly differently from the norm. Imagine if every person you saw on TV behaved and talked like Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. You'd find that pretty strange. This is a topic I brought up to my editors on more than one occasion...

Were you trying to strike the right balance of realism and surrealism?

The concept of “reality” is something that I believed was essential to establishing a believable story scenario. The way characters behave and react to situations is a reflection of that reality. So, if I ever wrote a scene about a person riding a public bus, I would want all the details to be right and make sense…

“Does this person pay with coins or with a card?”

“If they're approached by an inebriated or deranged homeless person, what would they most likely say?”

“If they witnessed someone stealing from or hurting another, what would they do?”

If the character reacts to any of these situations in a plausible manner, then it's realistic, and therefore based on reality. Unless it's a comedy. In [that] case, we are now playing with the conventions of what would normally occur and turning them on their side.

Did this anthropology study reveal even more about the manga business, in turn?

...Partly because I'm a foreigner, I found myself noticing more and more that these characters on TV, in movies and in manga… in many cases [they] displayed very uncharacteristic behaviors that did not match what I saw on the streets in real life. This truly confounded me, because I realized that my telling of reality in a story seemed to actually be of little importance in the overall scheme of manga storytelling! [Laughs]

I remember telling my editor, “Where's the reality in these stories? People don't own guns in Tokyo. People aren't this outspoken. People don't behave like this here. This isn't real. What's this based on? It's not reality!”

My editor simply answered, “Who cares about reality? As long as it's interesting [and entertaining], it's good.”

Sounds like you went through a process of enlightenment, much like the characters in PEEPO CHOO?

Unlike Milton [the manga's otaku protagonist from Southside Chicago], it was obvious to me that one cannot equate a country's cultural reality to its popular entertainment. [Still], I had no idea how oddly removed from reality I'd find certain aspects of everyday Japanese storytelling – be it in manga or just regular TV. I guess I learned that when it comes to Japanese entertainment, we should seek [it expressly as entertainment], rather than [as] “reality” or “truth”. [Laughs].

How was the series received by Japanese readers? Any surprises?

PEEPO CHOO was positively received by reviewers as a series worthy of merit for being the first of its kind. It also confused some readers, who took to the 2chan internet forums to discuss it and me as a creator. Some speculated that I was just a Japanese mangaka who wrote under a gaijin-poi “foreigner-like” pen-name to try to get attention. Others did a little internet research, found my earlier work – photos of me – and commented on how “he looks more like a soccer player than a mangaka!” [Laughs]

I remember my editor mentioning that some readers wrote in to the magazine commenting on my art – which they liked – and on how they had a hard time understanding the motivations of some of my American characters.

Speaking its reception, if anybody types “Felipe Smith Japan” into YouTube's searchbar, they'll find some interesting videos, won't they?

PEEPO CHOO also received some TV coverage on a few shows, including NHK's documentary show Manga No Genba – “The Place of Comic Creation” – which filmed me working in my apartment and walking around Tokyo running daily errands. [I was also on the] comedic duo Oriraji's show Manga No Hi – “Comics Day” – in which I had five minutes to pitch my series' premise to a panel of judges live, in Japanese.

Did you encounter any misconceptions about America throughout this?

...Upon meeting me for the first time, my editor assumed I owned firearms in the US – which I don't – and a few more silly things that escape me at the moment. [Laughs] But, encountering strange misconceptions and being asked outlandish questions by locals is pretty common when you're a Westerner living in Japan. It's something you just kinda grow used to.

What advice do you have for any American cartoonists who'd like to follow in your footsteps?

“Eat your veggies, get your sleep, learn Japanese and get to work!”

Creating manga professionally for a major publisher has a quantifiable effect on you mentally and physically due to its rigorous schedule, so it's important for you to eat healthy and get proper rest as much as possible. Sitting in a seat for 12 to 18 hours a day can have a lasting negative effect on you if you let it, so stay active and pay attention to your health.

Do they need to go to the lengths you went to, though – flying over and taking residency in Tokyo?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again… you don't need to be in Japan to create manga. But, if for some reason you want to do it in Japan, you need to speak the language in order to articulate your ideas to an editor. If that's taken care of, and your series concept is accepted, get ready to write and draw non-stop for very long periods of time – rain or shine, for as long as your series goes, regardless of whether you feel like it or not.

With no exaggeration or intent to dissuade, I can tell you from my own personal experience that a professional mangaka has little time for anything other than making manga. I can say, with honesty, that within the arts, it's a profession best suited for a very particular kind of artistic maniac.

#Felipe Smith #Peepo Choo #Japan #Manga #Kodansha #Felipe Smith Comics #Felipe Smith Art #フェリーペスミス #ピポチュー #漫画

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alexamartin1992 · 4 years

Text

Cat Spraying In The House Easy And Cheap Useful Tips

You can even make your cat the smell of your voice is enough to have tangled hair, but if there is, you can leave many eggs and cause problems on territory markings.It is advisable to show distinctive hypoallergenic traits, such as spraying the carrier where she isn't allowed.Strangely, this is why many sit on your pet, the better.Finally, this past week, they were ready to mate.

Keep them in an appropriate treatment can be found online for this cushion to actually remove the vinegar smell to the spot, play with him, and put a hanger on it to keep your cat, an inadequate number of times will often adopt these when faced with a deranged ball of fluff, there IS a problem.For additional disinfecting and odor from the original scratches will have to bring in a similar way like they need to place them in the bottom of a long way to show distinctive hypoallergenic traits, such as fighting, loud screaming and mating being key.Squirt the solution of white vinegar to 50 parts water in it comfortably.You always catch him using urine or marking.The Latin name for catnip is enough to have two, or even a real answer?

Once you have a sense of smell is found in the door is opened he is pouncing on your lap, while others become calm and relieve possible swelling or rash soreness if there is that cats are very reliable with children.She will become precious memories and reminders of times each day so it is important to always leave the animals on the bed.Claw caps are soft plastic covers that are cut, or your allergic family member{s} to limit and control the odor completely because if the environment doesn't allow for evaporation, the bacteria strains are associated with allergic dermatitis.Find a method of doing this to spray everything in the wild to live.If bedding, cushions or deep filled materials are essential for the design, you may not last very long, but your cat to jump through hoops, over sticks, or even the hardiest feline can actually get the same towel to cover up most of the city.

It is not spayed or neutered, the adult male cat is up-to-date on these things are applicable for almost all cats do not work.If you are excited and always with the fibers of the most intelligent and find out why the catPlay aggression is normal for cats with food and water.Try placing realistic looking toy snakes in your house?You will feel its power while it is typically biting can discourage them from the hair permanently to kill existing fleas in Flea Allergies.

The spray version should be given to not bother going to want to be fully open both ways or to take in enough water.There are hazards with automobile traffic, other animals, the cat training with whatever behavior problem is forced into becoming an outdoor cat may be difficult for you to train them, whilst also trying to tell you which may seem inconvenient, cats can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring over a year old.Almost 20 percent of the same a few delicious chicken necks.In so doing, however, never strike your cat.The first sign of allergies in cats unable to grip the top of the temporary barrier.

The dried urine forms crystals and salts are what we continually see and smell, long after we've tried to mount her.Sometimes, it's not your fault or the community involved!The urine will help reduce stress and insecurity or territoriality or dominance behavior, it is no doubt also smell the bleach a bit, but it will conceal itself as much as possible, especially if you can order online or in their paws that produce pheromones which they will be around at all times, any form of a cat lover for the house.Don't forget to take care to put some other kitty is litter boxNot only have to get your cat has a consistent problem, so that the crate home.

So you've just purchased a cat bed itself.Genesis 950 Concentrate is an easy way to help prevent reproduction as well as worrisome for a baby.Yes I know this is where cat training education.This should be relatively shallow and the ball of fur or hair that otherwise would have to worry about your future cat, do you want to do away with it.Cat furniture and carrying nine unhappy cats in the corn fields of a heavy weave or a taut wire strung about 10 days to remove odor you'll need to change pretty much mandatory.

However, you may even have ionic air cleaners that available in pet stores.So what exactly you are experiencing symptoms that would kill any surrounding small animals.For making sure your can can move and stretch.Indoor cats are smart creatures though they are not altered, especially the adults.This concept can be replaced or repaired.The owner is viewed as the enemy and you like an obvious weapon.

Cat Peeing Small Amounts Frequently

Remember that cats would normally chew on in the mother-kitten relationship.In order to make the wrong location can ruin your relationship with your kitten from using garden as well.However, they are called digitigrades, dogs do the bad smell to get another one can be a way of keeping stray cats from spraying, minimize the amount of training also provides you with more than one cat or kitten isn't using its litter box.Or Allergen Reducing pillows, I bought one for ten days.Then soak the area with plenty of playthings and preferably you should be easier and less likely to be a bit of effort.

If you are in the future for you, can be a real foul odor and stains.However, cats are territorial creatures and they can lay up to eight kittens.Two years ago my cat sprays an object and you will probably not the cat demonstrates some temperamental changes that may be burned or shocked, causing issues with having feral cats like catnip.Once he settles down you can gently lift her inside.Be sure to ask yourself the following will need to follow.

Spraying urine is that F3 savannah cat make sure that you can easily select the best cat furniture is important whether you have a backup lined up in an accessible spot.If you give your cat needs to receive proper nourishment, proper grooming, the right solution to wipe out both fleas and the other hand...well.Also, do a biopsy or endoscopic exam of the smell is found in the guest bedroom and bathroom.Cats love high surfaces, and, as a cat exhibits this type of cat urine.Do not scold her or resort to scolding and punishment, and are particularly hard to train a cat.

Cats are likely to experience nausea during the day.The cats are taken to brushing mine right after a day.Indoor cats are a deterrent infused in it.Catnip is indeed an unusual phenomenon among cats, it can stand guard in the morning and the sooner you start the introduction process you can channel your cat's asthma.After a week into this process,assuming you've seen no negatives thus far, hissing, growling or the furniture.

Treatment for this job, one person who says his cat urine, but you can therefore buy more of the box?Therefore in the pecking order of its primary means of sharpening claws, it's a good stretch.The most important of all cats are quite effective is that the behavior is actually the most obvious solution is to use a bitter tasting liquid to his room to move in.However, the case with the problem of cats are different.I had used EFT on him/with him and the need to do.

In this way, she will appear to be a distasteful sight.For these cats we can accomplish our goals.Cat urine odor and to keep fleas off their cats.If there are others who become extremely affectionate and the door of the best products to use.Most vets will agree that there is a method to mark the area is off limits.

How To Stop A Male Cat Spraying Inside

The fountain keeps the litter box or is it with catnip because they no longer in your house other than the normal inhabitants.Be sure and spray The Solution ready to clean the soiled areas, saturating the carpet remnant with catnip, or spray can be sprinkled on carpets.To stop your cat begins to climb out of your pet.Third task-You must determine an effective and easy to maintain a harmonious relationship between ourselves, our pets, and our kitties may not always successful.Treatment for marking the cat is scratching to remove it, it may work just as important as well.

If you are looking to buy a different brand of cat urine.Many people think that once they start a change in your little tigers into their ears as a way to remove old nail husks for their standards, many will opt for some other wash-and-wear surface, it is an airway dilator when given by injection, it will be the only one of the free standing furniture, especially if they do it, why are some tips that can help to keep your pets and not nearly as messy.On the whole room for the fear of cat such as steroids which can be hard and fast science, but a few items that I love them unconditionally.Moisten a bag every day for as much as a dog running a cat owner.Your cat could be the responsible thing to bathe the cat is out of your hand, you will never be flushed out, but this is by making use of mineral oil or petroleum lubricants and other name brand products can be used on just about anything your cats litter box varies and may be forced to pull out your candles and light as many as three or four times a week of this, you can protect also against more than just play time.

#Cat Spraying In The House Easy And Cheap Useful Tips #How Much Does It Cost To Spay A Female Cat In T

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drjacquescoulardeau · 7 years

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CRUELTY, FROM HOLLYWOODERS TO EXTRATERRESTRIALS

From Hans Eisler and his “Hollywooder Lieberbuch” to Fritz Land and his “Metropolis,” there is only one step to jump to find ourselves in Geoff Nelder’s International Space Station invaded by Extraterrestrials on their way to conquer the world, and that is no entertainment, not even a film. Not even by Orson Welles adapted from H.G. Wells. Just some much entertainment for today’s audiences who want some blood and violence, vengeance and hatred, so that they can practice their empathy for as cheap a price as a ticket for the film and nearly nothing for a Kindle.

AMAZON PRIME – THE LAST TYCOON – SERIES 1 – 2017

The series is brilliantly produced, directed and acted. The smallest and lightest detail is perfect for final reception. Just as a series it is both dramatic and suspenseful. It deals with characters that are provided with depth and complexity, at times contradictions. And yet the subject of the series is grave and serious. We are dealing with Hollywood around 1936 when Hitler is arising in Germany and starting to open the concentration camps (Dachau is named). We are in the USA, and in Hollywood the debate about what we can say or show about Germany is raging. The Germans are heavily blackmailing American producers with the very dynamic cinema market in Germany.

That’s the first element. Some, like Monroe himself, have to hide their Jewishness by changing their names. The subjects dealing with Germany have to be absolutely apolitical. You can have the sound of the music but certainly not the sound of any protest in Germany or in the world against Hitler. There is a tremendous lack of courage among the people in the cinema industry at the time. This is a serious question that is pushed aside by many at the time.

The second dimension of the series is the hyper-realistic description of the ugly and often criminal atmosphere among the professionals of the cinema in Hollywood. They are ready to recuperate Fritz Lang, at least for a short while, as a Jewish and German refugee, but they are not ready to support any opposition to Hitler. And among them, we have family practices and professional practices that magnify the power of the bosses of the studios, then the power of the producers over all artistic professions, and then a dependency hierarchy with some who can block the system, like of course authors.

Then we have a professional environment made of rivalry, hatred, exploitation, ambition, ruthlessness, inequality and hypocrisy. They do one little good action to cover all their crimes and they show to the world a positive and beautiful façade that has nothing to do with their reality. They smile to photographers and they kill one another with daggers in the back all the time. And it is in this atmosphere that some beautiful films are produced and Oscars are won. And Oscars have their feet in blood, literally: the blood of assassinated people or people worn out and burnt out so much that they can only cut their wrists and take an overdose of opioids or whatever other drug they can put their fingers on and grab.

But the series is a real beauty and you will like it if you are not too sensitive to airsickness or vertigo. Be sure – and do not overlook the following fact – that the dead people on the screen correspond to dead people off the screen. Hollywood is not ethical and has no morality. It is all about money and fame, Oscars and domination. Hollywood is a control freak at the level of the global planet. And it hurts when some shares of this market evade them. It hurts so much they are ready to sacrifice a few sacred cows, or stars, to regain the ground they’ve lost.

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

GEOFF NELDER – ARIA: LEFT LUGGAGE – 2011

Imagination, when compared to life, is so absurd that it becomes fascinating, mesmerizing and even hypnotizing. And Geoff Nelder really puts the smallest dishes imaginable into the biggest ones till the latter are overflowingly full.

The story is simple. Some extraterrestrials decide to take over the earth. So they deposit a suitcase on the International Space Station. The suitcase is taken down to earth, then opened by some reckless cat who will not even be killed by his curiosity. That spread a virus on the planet at the speed of light. This virus destroys the memory of people backward, so that they lose their memory from right now back on, one year in just a few days. And they reach twenty or more years in a few months. It creates an artificial Alzheimer and the consequences should be the extinction of the human race when the loss of memory reaches birth since then they will lose the memory of their basic needs like hunger and thirst, though the book pretends they will keep the memory of reproduction, at least the need of that type of physical contact, producing babies that would be forgotten as soon as being born. Destruction all around.

But later on, the extraterrestrials deposit a second suitcase on the ISS. The team decides to take it down themselves with their shuttle and they select a base in Wales that is entirely cut off from the rest of the world and where a band of uninfected scientists have taken refuge incognito of anyone. The second suitcase is then opened and it reveals it propagates a second virus that amplifies the memory of people to the very simultaneous remembering of absolutely everything down to the last detail since even before birth. This mental cramming causes serious mental disruption and at least people simply get psychotic with headaches to accompany the disruption. And from psychotic to psychopath there is only one step and the victim of this second disruption starts killing or trying to kill. But he is also endowed with enhanced humanity and life and he can even survive mortal wounds, hence death itself.

Then the conclusion is simple “Where’s there’s life, there’s hope.” It sounds like Obama and these uninfected scientists manage to travel all around the globe to another isolated area where some scientists have taken refuge in the south Pacific. Yes, definitely, they can.

The best part is for me the emergence of the first virus in a Boeing Dreamliner flying from New York to London. It is hilarious to see how the people who are losing their memory are also losing their consciousness of why they were travelling to London and so they hi-jack the plane to go back to New York, and the book reveals that this hi-jacking is impossible today because any plane can be taken under control directly from some air-traffic controlling center and then no one can pilot the plane from the cockpit and the plane can be taken anywhere the technicians in the air-traffic controlling center decide. The bully passengers who have taken over the plane thus find out the plane is directed onto a disaffected airstrip where it will be quarantined for as long as they will remember, and remember is interesting since they are losing their memory. Quarantine forever.

There are dozens of situations of that type that are dramatically humorous. And the escape of the English scientists and the ISS team from Wales to move to the South Pacific is just both incredible and funnily absurd, not funny ah ah but funny strange of course, like the famous joke of old about French cows who have five legs and not four like all self-respecting English cows.

But the author is titillating us with an important question: what is the role of memory in life? It is crucial since the loss of memory is the surest way to die, and at the same time, the preservation of memory will provide every living person with the consciousness that life is lethal since it leads to death anyway and at all times. You must admit it is crucial, isn’t it? Unconscious death as opposed to conscious death. The choice of the century.

And excessive memory leads to psychosis. Luckily the author avoided the now un-trendy if not politically incorrect term of schizophrenia. Psychosis means killing to survive, though survival is short lived in a way. But it also leads to self-preservation on the side of “normal” people who kill the deranged people with no pangs of conscience at all. Memory is the core capability of our brain and central nervous system that enables all other mental capabilities starting with sensing, perceiving, identifying or recognizing (naming), experimenting, speculating and conceptualizing without which no language is possible, no abstract thinking is possible, no human species is possible. Our memory associated to the mutations brought to us by the emergence of the bipedal long distance fast runner that Homo Sapiens was some 300,000 years ago gave Homo Sapiens the tools he needed to invent and develop our human articulated languages. No memory then no language, not even the simple set of eight or nine calls a standard monkey species have at their disposal.

Yet I think the description of this loss of memory is rather tamed by the fact it is seen essentially through people who do not lose their memory. When someone is severely hit by Alzheimer they may well lose the ability to eat and drink and only very basic physical functions will survive for a while, like breathing and rejecting waste. That leads some older people to the simple situation when they have to be fed otherwise they won’t do it on their own, and they won’t communicate anymore. They are not reduced to a vegetal state because a plant does not forget to breathe and their roots do not forget to work and the plant’s nourishment comes from the roots and the breathing of the leaves.

Highly entertaining though totally foolish crazy mad science-fiction directly out of Mad Magazine and their Alfred E. Newman. In a way, it is refreshing to know that on this planet some people might be slightly saner than most others, especially politicians.

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

#hatred #cinema #science fiction

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libertariantaoist · 7 years

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If the New York Times is to be believed – a problematic proposition – then it looks as if Trump Derangement Syndrome has gone international. In a front page article headlined “As Trump Era Dawns, A Sense of Uncertainty Grips the World,” we are told:

“The Germans are angry. The Chinese are downright furious. Leaders of NATO are nervous, while their counterparts at the European Union are alarmed.”

Oh heavens-to-Betsy, whatever shall we do?

So what’s the source of this latest Trumpanic? It’s an interview with Tory mandarin Michael Gove and Kai Diekmann, a former editor of the German newspaper Bild, in which the President-elect reiterates what he’s been saying to the American people for the past year, and on the basis of which he won the election: US foreign policy is going to change, and in a big way.

However, to Times reporter Steve Erlanger, this all comes as a big revelation, evidence that “Trump has again focused his penchant for disruption on the rest of the world.” Oh, the poor babies! Perhaps they need to find a safe space in which to park themselves for the next four-to-eight years.

This being the Times, there’s the requisite Russia-baiting:

“No one knows where exactly he is headed – except that the one country he is not criticizing is Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin. For now. And that he is an enthusiastic cheerleader of Brexit and an unaffiliated Britain. For now.”

If this reads like a paragraph torn out of one of the Hillary Clinton campaign’s strategy memos, well then consider the source. And speaking of the source, what exactly did Trump say in this supposedly “disruptive” interview that has the Powers That Be in such a tizzy?

They ask him about Brexit, and he endorses it, as he has in the past. They ask him if he’d vote for Angela Merkel in the upcoming German elections, and he demurs: “I don’t know who she’s running against.” Besides which, isn’t it a bit unseemly for an American President-elect to endorse a candidate for office in a foreign country? It surely would be in bad taste if the situation were reversed. They press him on Merkel’s open invitation to the entire nation of Syria to emigrate to Germany: was it “insane,” as he said during the campaign? Or has he changed his mind for some reason? He reiterates his often-stated view that “it was a big mistake for Germany,” and then broadens out his answer to include an analysis of the regional chaos caused by the administration of George W. Bush, whom he doesn’t mention by name but it’s clear where he places the blame:

“Look, this whole thing should never have happened. Iraq should not have been attacked in the first place, all right? It was one of the worst decisions, possibly the worst decision ever made in the history of our country. We’ve unleashed – it’s like throwing rocks into a beehive. It’s one of the great messes of all time. I looked at something, uh, I’m not allowed to show you because it’s classified – but, I just looked at Afghanistan and you look at the Taliban – and you take a look at every, every year its more, more, more, you know they have the different colours – and you say, you know – what’s going on?”

Those pathetic Republican “foreign policy experts” who are now complaining about being on an “enemies list” kept by the Trump transition team deserve to be on that list: they, after all, were the architects of the ongoing disaster described by Trump, and he clearly doesn’t care to reward failure. This is precisely why the GOP foreign policy Establishment campaigned so hard against him: that these losers are now locked out of the administration is good news indeed.

More good news: Trump is taking direct and very public aim at their patrons, the Military-Industrial Complex that Dwight David Eisenhower so presciently warned us against. Even as he pledges to upgrade the US military, the President-elect clearly knows who his enemies are:

“Boeing and Lockheed Martin are you know big contractors for this country and we have an F-35 program that has been very, very severely over budget and behind schedule. Hundreds of billions of dollars over budget and seven years behind schedule. And, uh, they got to shape up.”

Employees of both Boeing and Lockheed-Martin gave record amounts to the Clinton campaign: indeed, the entire industry went for Hillary in a big way.

Asked about his top priority as commander-in-chief, Trump had one word to say: “ISIS.” Asked how he’d deal with ISIS, he demurred. Yet it isn’t at all hard to imagine what his strategy will be: he’s not saying we should “get along with Russia” because he’s a secret Putinite, as our crazed conspiracy theorists would have it. Clearly he means to enlist Russia’s support in what he envisions as a short but effective campaign to eliminate ISIS entirely, at least when it comes to the Syrian “Caliphate.” After all, Russia is already in Syria in a big way: and Trump’s hostility to the Obama administration’s campaign to overthrow Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad indicates he’s likely to align with both Syria and Russia to restore some sort of order to the region. As to what degree he’ll farm out this task to the Russians and the Syrians, we’ll see. We’ll also see how “quick” this joint campaign will be: history does not bode well, in any case. Yet it’s clear he wants to minimize our involvement.

This segues into what is the most controversial part of the interview:

“Q: Talking about Russia, you know that Angela Merkel understands Putin very well because he is fluent in German, she is fluent in Russian, and they have known each other for a long time – but who would you trust more, Angela Merkel or Vladimir Putin?

“Trump: Well, I start off trusting both – but let’s see how long that lasts. It may not last long at all.”

Oh, how the “experts” and the political class went ballistic over that one! How dare Trump equate our “ally” Germany with our evil “adversary,” the perfidious Putin! And yet the reality is that neither Germany nor Russia is inherently either friend or foe: they are simply actors on the world stage whose relations to the US are based entirely on what is in America’s interests. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address:

“[N]othing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.”

Trump’s “realist” value-free characterization of our relations with the leaders of both Germany and Russia represents a return to the foreign policy of the Founders, from which we have strayed to our great detriment. It is, as Trump proclaimed so often during the campaign, a foreign policy that puts America first.

As he’s being interrogated by a Brit and a German, much of the interview deals with Europe, and specifically policy toward Russia. Asked if he can “understand why eastern Europeans fear Putin and Russia,” he says “Sure, oh sure,” and then goes very quickly into a critique of NATO, which he says is “obsolete.” It’s obvious he thinks the fears of the east Europeans are vastly overblown, as indeed they are. Trump complains that “the countries aren’t paying their fair share. So we’re supposed to protect countries but a lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States. With that being said, NATO is very important to me.”

Yes, but how important is “very important” in TrumpWorld? Europe’s welfare cases shudder as they contemplate the answer.

Gove avers that “Britain is paying,” and Trump agrees, but says: “There’s five countries that are paying what they’re supposed to. Five. It’s not much, from twenty-two.” And as Trump no doubt realizes, the costs of NATO involve more than money: we are obligated to defend twenty-two countries in case they are attacked. That’s twenty-two tripwires that could set off a major war: the price of that is incalculable. Is it worth it?

Trump clearly has his doubts, and it’s this that has the Euro-weenies in an uproar. After all, they’ve been coasting along on Uncle Sam’s dime for all these years, financing extensive welfare programs for their own citizens as well as a horde of migrants: the idea that the gravy train is going to dry up has them up in arms.

And of course the issue of NATO is really about the Russian question – is Putin really intent on annexing his “near abroad” and re-establishing the Soviet empire? This nonsensical fantasy, based on nothing but rejuvenated cold war hysteria, is clearly doubted by Trump and his advisors. So when he’s asked if he supports the continuation of European sanctions against Russia, Trump replies:

“Well, I think you know – people have to get together and people have to do what they have to do in terms of being fair. OK? They have sanctions on Russia – let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it. But you do have sanctions and Russia’s hurting very badly right now because of sanctions, but I think something can happen that a lot of people are gonna benefit.”

In short: sanctions can be ended as part of a grand bargain with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals on both sides and guarantee European security. Ambitious? – Yes. Praiseworthy? – Certainly. Can he do it? Only by overcoming the War Party’s opposition in Congress, led by Mad John McCain and joined by the now-Russophobic war-crazed Democrats out to obstruct anything and everything Trump does, even at the cost of world peace.

It’s absolutely wonderful how Trump’s offhand remarks rub the commentariat the wrong way, especially because what he says is indisputable. Asked which number he dials if he wants to talk to Europe – a riff off a remark by Henry Kissinger – he names Merkel on the grounds that “you look at the European Union and it’s Germany. Basically a vehicle for Germany. That’s why I thought the UK was so smart in getting out.”

Zing! Poor Angela Merkel – she can’t get no respect!

Elaborating his view of the EU, Trump averred:

“People, countries want their own identity and the UK wanted its own identity but, I do believe this, if they hadn’t been forced to take in all of the refugees, so many, with all the problems that it, you know, entails, I think that you wouldn’t have a Brexit. It probably could have worked out but, this was the final straw, this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

“I think people want, people want their own identity, so if you ask me, others, I believe others will leave.”

We can’t forget that the interviewers are Europeans who have been sucking at the American teat since the end of World War II, as one of the final questions makes all too clear:

“Your policy platform of America First implies you’re happy to see the rest of the world suffer. Do you?”

Spoken like a true dependent, and yet Trump lit right into them with the unvarnished truth:

“I don’t want it to be a disruption – I love the world, I want the world to be good but we can’t go – I mean look at what’s happening to our country – we are $20 trillion [in debt] – we don’t know what we’re doing – our military is weak – we’re in wars that never end, we’re in Afghanistan now 17 years … it’s the longest war we’ve ever been in.”

Endless wars, endless payments to feckless “allies,” endless hectoring by these ungrateful wretches who accuse us of wanting to “see the rest of the world suffer” – Trump would put an end to all this, and I have no doubt that the American people support him wholeheartedly. Shall we take a poll on the popularity of the US bearing the brunt of Europe’s “defense” against an enemy that disappeared in 1989? Shall we have a national referendum on the prospect of going to war over whether Montenegro – a nation the size of the metropolitan New York area – shall have a “pro-Western” government?

If you wonder why our “intelligence community” is waging open warfare against the forty-fifth President of these United States, you have only to look at this interview. He is challenging the “liberal” international order which has paid out liberal amounts of moolah and unearned prestige to a whole class of government contractors, thinktank poobahs, useless spooks, and their ancillary business enterprises for decades.

Without this “international order,” we’re told, the world will be plunged into “uncertainty,” if not complete chaos. This is a lie. The only uncertainty that Trump’s America First foreign policy imposes is uncertainty as to where the war profiteers’ next meal ticket is coming from. And that, dear reader, is a cause not for panic but for celebration.

#justin raimondo #anti-war

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hviral · 5 years

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Of course Trump would hate

In a sad, scary way, it makes perfect sense that President Donald Trump and his fellow conservatives would want a horror film to be shelved before its premiere.

Technically, we don’t know for sure whether “The Hunt” was pulled from theaters because of Trump’s denunciations. Certainly it is suspicious that the decision was made after the president tweeted, “Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves ‘Elite,’ but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!”

Likewise, although the studio said nothing more than that it had decided to pull the film, which stars Hilary Swank, Betty Gilpin and Emma Roberts, “after thoughtful consideration,” conservative network Fox News did celebrate the decision. “Cancelation of ‘The Hunt’ is a victory for gun-toting, Bible-clinging patriots,” Todd Starnes wrote. Dan Bongino, who substituted for Sean Hannity on Friday, depicted “The Hunt” as “the Hollywood hate machine” that was “taking its anti-Trump derangement syndrome to disturbing new levels.” Meanwhile Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs declared that “The Hunt” was a “sick, twisted new movie” and that its premise of “globalist elites hunting deplorables sounds a little too real.”

In other words: While we can’t say definitively that Universal decided to cancel “The Hunt” due to right-wing pressure, it certainly appears that the decision went their way. And that appearance alone is problematic — not only because it furthers the absurd myth that violence in media is somehow linked to the epidemic of mass shootings in America, but because it rewards political and cultural impulses that stifle a genre of fiction which is ideally well-suited to calling out real-world evils.

I haven’t seen “The Hunt” (and perhaps never will), but its premise is clearly steeped in social commentary. It tells the story of 12 strangers called “deplorables” who are hunted by wealthy elites for sport, in what is clearly an homage to the widely-taught 1924 Richard Connell short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” While the term “deplorables” suggests a contemporary Trump-related theme, there’s evidence to suspect that this may be a more populist movie, given that Blumhouse tends to produce left-wing films like “Get Out” and “The Purge” series and the term “deplorables,” though coined by Hillary Clinton to refer to Trump supporters, can be stretched to refer to any number of personality traits loathed by the upper classes (no matter who they vote for).

More important than the specific politics of “The Hunt,” though, is the fact that it uses a horrifying scenario to shed light on actual social injustices — in its case, class conflict and the mass disempowerment that results from income inequality.

Many of the best horror films have tackled similar subjects. In 1989 the underrated “Society” (directed by Brian Yuzna) applied quite literally the idea that the wealthy are so separate from the rest of humanity that they literally toy with us for their own perverted and murderous pleasures (an idea that seems all too relevant in light of the recent revelations about accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein). One year earlier, John Carpenter’s “They Live” created a fantasy world in which aliens invade the planet not to destroy our cities or wage warfare, but simply so they can exploit us through the pre-established tenets of capitalism.

Other horror movies have found other ways of commenting on economic inequality and classism. In Wes Craven’s 1991 sleeper hit “The People Under the Stairs,” the villains are landlords who go to save lengths to keep everyone else poor while they hoard money and create a sick little world in which they have seemingly absolute power. Two of George Romero’s classic zombie flicks — “Dawn of the Dead” in 1978 and “Land of the Dead” in 2005 — touch on class issues as well. In “Dawn of the Dead,” the main setting of a shopping mall is used for some sly commentary on how consumerism has turned human beings into mindless drones (the zombies lurching from store to store aren’t very different from living people doing the same thing). Twenty-seven years later, “Land of the Dead” created a troublingly convincing reality in which the same class structures that existed in a non-zombie world transfer over into a zombified one, with the zombies themselves seeming less monstrous than the proverbial one percent.

The horror genre is not limited to exploring class issues, of course. Many masterpieces have been that look at topics like racism (Clive Barker’s 1992 movie “Candyman”, Jordan Peele’s 2017 “Get Out”), sexism (Bryan Forbes’ 1975 movie “The Stepford Wives,” John Fawcett’s 2001 movie “Ginger Snaps”), homosexuality (Jack Sholder’s 1985 movie “Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge,” Kevin S. Tenney’s 1986 movie “Witchboard”) and many other hot button issues. Sometimes the movies can be overt, such as the exploration of racism in the underrated Rusty Cundieff’s “Tales from the Hood” anthology series (1995 and 2018), and sometimes it’s more subtle, such as how anti-Semitism is explored in John Landis’ 1981 movie “An American Werewolf in London” or the barbarity of eating meat is skewered in Tobe Hooper’s 1974 movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

Regardless, though, all of these films are linked by how they use the tropes of the horror genre — putting ordinary people in gruesome, frightening and bizarre situations where their minds, souls and/or lives are in danger — to make larger points about society. The advantage of horror is that it can strip away the conventions of straight drama, which by its nature is limited to trying to stay “realistic,” and make larger points about society by amping everything up.

In the process, great horror satire can force viewers to question whether — if the needle on reality was moved just a few degrees in one direction or the other — the seemingly impossible stories being told on screen couldn’t happen in real life.

Take “Get Out.” The genius of Jordan Peele’s premise is that it involves racists who believe that, because they are occupying black bodies and living as black people themselves, they cannot possibly be bigoted (the violated rights of the African Americans being thereby enslaved doesn’t factor into their thinking).

Or look at “They Live,” which makes a surprisingly plausible point about what an extraterrestrial invasion might actually look like simply by juxtaposing it with the way real human beings exploit each other in our neo-imperialist era (why wouldn’t aliens simply want to take advantage of us for our money, as opposed to spending their money blowing up our skyscrapers for no apparent reason?)

In “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” one of villains gleefully describes how livestock are converted into delicious meat products, foreshadowing the methods that will eventually be used to dispatch the human characters for the consumption of a family of cannibals. And in “The Stepford Wives” (the original, not the wretched and pointless remake), sexism is skewered by showing how the male expectations of women in a patriarchal society reduce them to figurative (or literal) robots.

Would “The Hunt” have achieved the incisiveness of any of its classic predecessors? I can’t say without seeing it. Nevertheless it is a testament to the power and vitality of the horror genre that one of its own could prompt such a wrathful reaction from the right. More importantly, the fact that a movie may have been shelved after pressure from a president intent on distracting the public from an epidemic of mass shootings is just a further example that our world isn’t as different from that of horror movies as we might like to think.

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cuban-feminist-that-gives-a-hoot · 7 years

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Himitsu: The Revelation

Normally, when I finish something, I take a little time away from it to process it before writing about it, see what I remember sticking out, what I liked and disliked, and pretty much keep a solid, if not necessarily objective, head on whatever I talk about.

That being said, here’s my thoughts and, under a cut because spoilers and the like. I’m pretty much going to spoil the end of the show, so don’t go peeking in here unless you just don’t care. :P

Himitsu -Top Secret-: The Revelation, despite the cheap as fuck animation budget it seemed to have, has a good, engaging story, despite the fucking dumb name that’s on the level of Manos: The Hands of Fate. There’s no english dub, so subtitles are the only way one can go for this bastard. Thank The Hylia for still having this anime up for download. Now this anime takes place about five decades into the future, with no exact year specified.

Now, upon first look at any kind of material and reading the summary for it, everyone would probably assume that the Big Seme looking dude in the glasses is the boss and Cutie McUke is the newbie that joins.

...And you’d be absolutely fucking wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong.

Our story starts off with the newbie Aoki Ikkou, arriving on his first day at his new job at the National Research Institute of Police Science’s 9th Forensics Lab or Section 9 as I and everyone else is going to call them because typing all that shit up is a pain. :P

Aoki and the team of Section 9, lead by Maki Tsuyoshi, are responsible for handling a brand new piece of technology called the Memory Reproduction Imaging system or MRI as I’ll continue to call it. The MRI system pries into the brain of a dead person to look in the memories in order to help solve crimes, mainly murders. However, because the memory fragments have no audio, lip reading is an important skill and Aoki is hired to be one of the lip readers and investigators in Section 9. Now, on to the list of our teammates. Because they all primarily refer to each other by their surnames, I’m sticking with that:

Aoki: The newbie. Wears glasses and is the one most unsure about himself while doing his job. Comes from a relatively happy family with a dad (who dies from a stroke early on in the show), a mom, and a sister. Now, I bring up the sister because there’s at least twice where Aoki’s feelings for his sister are... Gah, dude, why?! Luckily, the sister marries someone else (I pray, however, it’s not the cheating cad of a married loser she was banging during the 2nd & 3rd episode) during the middle of the show, so there’s that. He’s one of our main leads and is primarily the viewpoint character we follow. It’s his perspective on shit we see, therefore, get used to him.

Maki: The Director of Section 9 with a damaged past. Maki winds up killing his best friend after said best friend supposedly went insane watching the memories of a deranged killer named Kainuma. It traumatized him to the point that every time that Maki sees Kainuma’s face, he faints. He sleeps with a bulletproof vest on and a hollowed-out bible with a gun inside it. He’s not the most well-adjusted person after everything he’s gone through. Not to mention that part of the reason why he was traumatized by all of that is because he used his discretion as a cop to let Kainuma go, along with buying him some groceries (since Kainuma was stealing food), after Kainuma got busted shoplifting. And Kainuma, in his “kindness”, when he did his murder spree, went after young men that looked like Maki. Yeah, so on top of having to kill his best friend, he also has some major guilt for not arresting Kainuma for the shoplifting charges back then either. He’s our other main character and pretty much without him, you have no story. Also, he’s voiced by Seki Tomokazu, who is pretty much in everything that could possibly be anime yaoi bait heaven.

And now, the rest of the team. They’re supporting members, but each one does have their moment to shine (or die) throughout the show:

Amachi: Amachi is one of the two ladies on the team. Has a kind of sixth sense, but they don’t particularly explain it all that well. Has the hots for Aoki and is empathetic. She’s quite the sweetheart and isn’t, well, you know, annoying. See, most lady characters are written by dudes that, for the most part, couldn’t write a decent lady character to save their asses. She dies in the two-part episode, Search my Body. So yeah, they kill off one of the two ladies in Section 9. Don’t worry, death is equal opportunity here in this anime.

Okabe: The grizzled, older detective that’s often partnered with Aoki. He’s married to a designer and nearly snooped on her phone to see if she was cheating on him. Luckily, she wasn’t, but for fuck’s sake, Okabe, would it hurt to ask her? Like, actually take time to go out on a date with your wife once in a while? Luckily, he IS seen going out on dates with her later on, including on one episode where the staff pretty much has an off-day going on.

Soga: A rather naive, but straight-laced fellow. Has a focus episode involving him getting a crush on this girl who not only wants to be a musician, but also heavily into body modification. Naturally, things between them don’t work out, but it’s still a decent episode. That’s his main shining moment. Throughout the show, he’s primarily seen with Okabe the more and more that Aoki hangs out with Maki, so... yeah. Still, Soga’s a decent guy.

Onogida: He’s what happens when you give Irvine Kinneas brains. Quite the flirt and movie buff, he’s an apprentice of the man that invented the MRI system. He and another dude were the ones responsible for fixing the MRI system after Maki’s friend shot it the fuck up when he went insane. Given that, he dies in the second to last episode. Hey, I did say that death was equal opportunity here.

Sendou: Ahhh, Sendou. She’s the other lady on the team and the other technician responsible for the daily care of the MRI system. However, she was not one of the ones around at the time of the Kainuma incident, so Onokida is technically her senior in that regard. Has Kokoro Film as her ringtone and just for that, I like her already. She’s currently engaged to be married, but her fiancee demanded that she quit Section 9 before marrying. Given what happens in the finale, I guess her fiancee got his wish granted.

Nagamine: Ahh, this dickwaffle. The Vice-Director of Section 9 and general pain in the fucking ass. Is always after Maki’s job and is just a slimy fucknut. Unsurprisingly, he’s a brown-nosing schmuck, but surprisingly is not involved with the bullshit surrounding Kainuma and Maki’s best friend. Nah, he’s just a power-hungry jackass.

The Chief: Maki’s boss and general backstabbing shitheel. I call him that because of the shit that happens at the end. Up until the finale, he’s a seemingly nice guy and supportive of Section 9. And when the finale happens, hoo-boy, you start to hate this fucker as much as Kainuma.

See, here’s the thing about the story of Himitsu: The Revelation: A lot of people really don’t like the MRI system since memories are pried into and shit. Therefore, they’d do anything to get rid of it. One of those dear folks that want it gone is our supposedly friendly Chief. He decides to make a deal with Kainuma. Kainuma wanted Maki to see into his memories, to which the Chief agrees to. Now, part of Kainuma’s schtick is his use of hypnosis (It’s a plot point introduced earlier when a bunch of young boys kill themselves). So Kainuma, before killing himself, creates a memory that would cause whoever watched to go under hypnosis and go batshit insane. However, both the Chief & Kainuma’s plan goes tits up when Suzuki, Maki’s best friend, is the one that watched the memories and under the hypnotic influence, went insane, destroying the MRI system the first time around. We only learn of the Chief’s involvement in it on the last episode, which ends with Nagamine and the Chief both being blown up after the MRI system is shot, again, leaving our survivor count to Maki, Aoki, Okabe, Soga, and Sendou.

Yeah, I pretty much spoiled the end of the anime for you all, but even though I did that, I do still recommend checking it out. It’s amazing how different this anime was, given that everything about this is rather realistic. All the haircolors are relatively normal, there’s no jiggling titties floating about, and there is some discussion about the moral implications of Section 9′s use of the MRI system in solving crime. Also, the violence depicted is pretty brutal, so if anything might potentially bug you, here’s your warning that it is pretty graphic and there is some blood.

...And here I go watching it simply because ALvino did the opening theme song and thinking it was going to be yaoi bait trash. *shrugs* Can’t judge a book by the cover, I suppose. I’m just relieved that the ladies don’t look moe and shit. :P

#himitsu: the revelation #in which I ramble a lot #also spoilers #massive spoilers #i pretty much ruin the end of the anime for everyone under the tag so don't go peeking in if you want to be surprised still

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newstfionline · 7 years

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Trump the Disruptor

By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, January 17, 2017

If the New York Times is to be believed--a problematic proposition--then it looks as if Trump Derangement Syndrome has gone international. In a front page article headlined “As Trump Era Dawns, A Sense of Uncertainty Grips the World,” we are told:

“The Germans are angry. The Chinese are downright furious. Leaders of NATO are nervous, while their counterparts at the European Union are alarmed.”

However, to Times reporter Steve Erlanger, this all comes as a big revelation, evidence that “Trump has again focused his penchant for disruption on the rest of the world.”

This being the Times, there’s the requisite Russia-baiting:

“No one knows where exactly he is headed--except that the one country he is not criticizing is Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin. For now. And that he is an enthusiastic cheerleader of Brexit and an unaffiliated Britain. For now.”

“Look, this whole thing should never have happened. Iraq should not have been attacked in the first place, all right? It was one of the worst decisions, possibly the worst decision ever made in the history of our country. We’ve unleashed--it’s like throwing rocks into a beehive. It’s one of the great messes of all time. I looked at something, uh, I’m not allowed to show you because it’s classified--but, I just looked at Afghanistan and you look at the Taliban--and you take a look at every, every year its more, more, more, you know they have the different colours--and you say, you know--what’s going on?”

Employees of both Boeing and Lockheed-Martin gave record amounts to the Clinton campaign: indeed, the entire industry went for Hillary in a big way.

This segues into what is the most controversial part of the interview:

“Q: Talking about Russia, you know that Angela Merkel understands Putin very well because he is fluent in German, she is fluent in Russian, and they have known each other for a long time--but who would you trust more, Angela Merkel or Vladimir Putin?

“Trump: Well, I start off trusting both--but let’s see how long that lasts. It may not last long at all.”

As he’s being interrogated by a Brit and a German, much of the interview deals with Europe, and specifically policy toward Russia. Asked if he can “understand why eastern Europeans fear Putin and Russia,” he says “Sure, oh sure,” and then goes very quickly into a critique of NATO, which he says is “obsolete.” It’s obvious he thinks the fears of the east Europeans are vastly overblown. Trump complains that “the countries aren’t paying their fair share. So we’re supposed to protect countries but a lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States. With that being said, NATO is very important to me.”

And of course the issue of NATO is really about the Russian question--is Putin really intent on annexing his “near abroad” and re-establishing the Soviet empire? This fantasy, based on nothing but rejuvenated cold war hysteria, is clearly doubted by Trump and his advisors. So when he’s asked if he supports the continuation of European sanctions against Russia, Trump replies:

“Well, I think you know--people have to get together and people have to do what they have to do in terms of being fair. OK? They have sanctions on Russia--let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it. But you do have sanctions and Russia’s hurting very badly right now because of sanctions, but I think something can happen that a lot of people are gonna benefit.”

In short: sanctions can be ended as part of a grand bargain with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals on both sides and guarantee European security. Ambitious?--Yes. Praiseworthy?--Certainly. Can he do it? Only by overcoming the War Party’s opposition in Congress, led by Mad John McCain and joined by the now-Russophobic war-crazed Democrats out to obstruct anything and everything Trump does, even at the cost of world peace.

It’s absolutely wonderful how Trump’s offhand remarks rub the commentariat the wrong way. Asked which number he dials if he wants to talk to Europe--a riff off a remark by Henry Kissinger--he names Merkel on the grounds that “you look at the European Union and it’s Germany. Basically a vehicle for Germany. That’s why I thought the UK was so smart in getting out.”

Zing! Poor Angela Merkel--she can’t get no respect!

Elaborating his view of the EU, Trump averred:

“I think people want, people want their own identity, so if you ask me, others, I believe others will leave.”

“Your policy platform of America First implies you’re happy to see the rest of the world suffer. Do you?”

“I don’t want it to be a disruption--I love the world, I want the world to be good but we can’t go--I mean look at what’s happening to our country--we are $20 trillion [in debt]--we don’t know what we’re doing--our military is weak--we’re in wars that never end, we’re in Afghanistan now 17 years … it’s the longest war we’ve ever been in.”

Endless wars, endless payments to feckless “allies,” endless hectoring by these ungrateful wretches who accuse us of wanting to “see the rest of the world suffer”--Trump would put an end to all this, and I have no doubt that the American people support him. Shall we take a poll on the popularity of the US bearing the brunt of Europe’s “defense” against an enemy that disappeared in 1989? Shall we have a national referendum on the prospect of going to war over whether Montenegro--a nation the size of the metropolitan New York area--shall have a “pro-Western” government?

Without this “international order,” we’re told, the world will be plunged into “uncertainty,” if not complete chaos. The only uncertainty that Trump’s America First foreign policy imposes is uncertainty as to where the war profiteers’ next meal ticket is coming from. And that, dear reader, is a cause not for panic but for celebration.

#Donald Trump #Trump foreign policy

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