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spenglernot · 8 months

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STORIES TELLING: NED LOWE AND THE DEATH OF POOR REPRESENTATION IN OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

In history, Ned Lowe was one of the most sadistic and violent pirates in the early 18th century, so he’s an obvious choice for a villain for season 2, episode 6 – Calypso’s Birthday. What is interesting is what the OFMD writers chose to do with him.

Lowe announces himself to the crew of the Revenge with great fanfare (cannon ball attack) and gets right to the point.

Ed is thoroughly unimpressed.

Cut to Ed and Stede tied up while Ned attempts to set the mood so he can monologue about why he wants to kill Ed.

Ed knows what’s coming. He is going to suffer but he still can’t be arsed to meet Ned with anything but vaguely bored dismissiveness (and Stede is happy to play along).

Up on the deck, Ned prepares the crew for his big, dramatic moment of symphonic torture.

Note that the Revenge crew is tied down, braced by vices and generally unable to protect themselves from imminent torture and possible death, but their spirits are up. They don’t seem terribly fussed.

Then Stede uses his people positive management style to happily orchestrate a worker uprising in Ned’s crew.

Ned’s crew responds instantly; severing their allegiance to Lowe and telling him off.

The crew sails away and talks profit sharing while Ned dully threatens to hunt them down.

Ned is now a prisoner of the Revenge crew and seems entirely disinterested in his own survival.

And Ned sinks to the depths, without struggling at all.

There is a lot going on in this episode: pay and labor equity direct action, gay love engagement bliss, kink humor, Stede being a hero and saving his crew by playing to his strengths, then having to decide whether to kill in cold blood and feel the consequences of that choice. Ed having one more reason to be done with piracy (while being so impressed with and fond of Stede), and then watching his man make a fraught choice and having to deal with the fallout from that. (And, damn, I haven’t even mentioned the passionate sex bit.) Anyway, back to the point.

Now for the the meta part

The Ned Lowe sequences are perfectly in keeping with OFMD’s signature blend of madcap violence, humor, and big emotional gut punches. But something about Ned Lowe just strikes me as off for this show.

Ned is seriously threatening the crews’ lives, so why don’t they take him seriously?

Why does Ned have such a boring, throwaway backstory?

Why is Ned so nonchalant about his own death; like it’s a foregone conclusion?

Why does Ned have a silver violin and silver spurs on his slip-on dress shoes?

Why is Ned sartorially monochromatic?

And then I realized who Ned reminds me of.

This guy,

Earnst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever (1971)

And this guy,

Scar in Disney's The Lion King (1994).

And this guy,

Xerxes, 300 (2006).

And it sure seems like Ned Lowe isn’t just an episodic villain. He is an archetype of the one-dimensional, stereotypical queer-coded villain that has been endemic in film and television throughout history. The OFMD writers have a lot to say about what to do with this kind of character:

Don’t respect him.

Feel free to openly mock him.

Don’t let him take your joy, even though he will hurt you.

He won’t disappear on his own. You have to throw something at him (take action) to make him go away.

Once he’s in the water, he’s content to drown. He’s not into what he’s doing any more than you are.

Oh and, just to be clear,

The LGBTQIA+ community has a very long history of turning shit media into better stories. So, hey, big media, prepare to have your crap characters wrecked (improved).

Now, back to our transformative pirate show with rich, complex queer characters and a multi-layered plot that surprises me every week and makes me feel big feelings - most of all, joy.

Final thought: I do wonder if Ned Lowe is monochromatically silver as a tribute to/poke at, Hollywood and the silver screen.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

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renaissancebewbies · 15 days

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Just a reminder that Josh hutcherson voices markl from ‘howls moving castle (2004)’

#clapton davis #josh hutcherson #howls moving castle #howl jenkins pendragon #mike schmidt #jesse aarons #derek danforth #franklin fox #josh futturman

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texaschainsawmascara · 2 months

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The Cabin in the Woods promo bong

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lupeloto · 1 year

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okay so let me be delusional for a second… soooo David Jenkins (creator of our flag means death) tweeted this a while ago

and it’s been on my MIND SINCE and then Kelly McCormack posts a series of like pirate/boat-ish themed pics with like piratey captions and now i can’t stop thinking what if there ARE lesbian pirate and Kelly is playing one in the new ofmd season… i think i’m probably just a delusional lesbian with Kelly McCormack brainrot BUT who knows

and if someone already considered this theory then pls disregard my thinking i was providing something groundbreaking to the discussion

#aloto #a league of their own #jess mccready #lesbian #kelly mccormack #our flag means death #our flag means gay #david jenkins

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voguefashion · 1 month

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Olympia Campbell photographed by Jesse Jenkins for Harper's Bazaar UK, August 2020.

#olympia campbell #jesse jenkins #harper's bazaar uk #harper's bazaar #2020 #fashion photography #fashion photoshoot #fashion #style #beauty #2020s

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nichoji · 1 year

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My friend asked me to post this here because she loved it! Hope you like it too <3

#fence comic #fence fandom #fence fanart #fence rivals #fence striking distance #fence disarmed #fence comics #fence comic fanart #cs pacat #nicholas cox #seiji katayama #aiden kane #jesse coste #harvard lee #kally jenkins #eugene labao #tanner reed #nichoji

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fencecreatorsguild · 8 months

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October is upon us and so is a brand new community project: the Fence Creator's Guild! The FCG is here to encourage content creation in the Fence fandom, be it fanfiction, fanart, or anything else you can dream up. If this interests you, then we'll be thrilled to have you with us. You may join us in our Discord server (click here). We're already excited about your participation!

#fence comic #seiji katayama #nicholas cox #eugene labao #jesse coste #robert coste #tanner reed #kally jenkins #aiden kane #harvard lee #bobby rodriguez #dante rossi #sally williams #epee #fencing #cs pacat #johanna the mad #comics

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sensurround11 · 8 months

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A friend of mine has this theory that everyone has an internal, spiritual age (that doesn't match their physical age (except for exactly one year in their life)). So I present: The internal ages of the Kings Row boys:

Aiden: 27

Bobby: 12

Dante: 33

Eugene: 21

Harvard: 45

Kally: 75

Nicholas: 6

Seiji: 67

Tanner: 14

#fence comic #Jesse who?#lots of May/December here #I have two internal ages: 16 and 87 #explains a lot huh?#nicholas cox #seiji katayama #aiden kane #harvard lee #bobby rodriguez #dante rossi #kally jenkins #tanner reed #eugene labao

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appletvdaily · 1 year

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I’m gonna build every unit we sold.

Hello Tomorrow! 1x06 - 🐢

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terabyte-teddybear · 1 year

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murder on the rockport limited aesthetic: balance arcs 2/8

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spenglernot · 7 months

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STORIES TELLING: ED TEACH’S JOURNEY FROM ARMOR TO AUTHENTICITY

One of the joys of watching season 2 of Our Flag Means Death is discovering the visual parallels with season 1 that add so much meaning and richness to the story. With affecting, extraordinary economy of visual storytelling, we can see the progression of Ed’s journey from choosing armor in season 1, episode 10 – Wherever You Go, There You Are, to choosing authenticity in season 2, episode 7 – Man on Fire.

[I have to point out the gorgeous cinematography here. Panning down on the left, panning up on the right. The clear resolve of S2 E7 Ed turning to ascend to the deck. I also love the timing of both shots. S2 E7 Ed is turning toward the red silk that S1 E10 Ed will release.]

S1 E10 Ed considers the red silk. The symbol of his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability.

S2 E7 Ed hoists his leathers and his firearm - his literal and symbolic armor and protection - to the edge of the deck.

S1 E10 Ed releases his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability to the sea.

S2 E7 Ed releases his armor and protection to the sea.

S1 E10 Ed throws the person who understands what he’s going through and is in a position to help him work through it in a healthy way, into the sea.

S2 E7 Ed makes breakfast-in-bed for the person with whom he shares emotional and physical intimacy. An act of care and service that strengthens his bond with Stede.

Show, don't tell doesn't seem adequate to describe these two sequences. They are masterful and say so, so much.

The double-edged sword of self-awareness

You’ve really got to give it to Ed. He’s making huge progress. Making a better choice for himself. Moving forward.

Change can be terrifying. For Ed to release that which protected him for decades is, well… it’s courageous and demonstrates hard-won self-awareness and integrity.

Of course, choosing to be authentic to yourself doesn’t translate into automatic relationship building. Understanding and communicating with other people, particularly the person you are in love with, is a related but different skill set. It is also true that, once you know that you can’t perform a persona to please other people, no matter how much you love them, you risk losing them.

Ed in the second frame, above, kills me. He knows that piracy might be the wedge that drives Stede and him apart. He is trying to share how he feels. But Stede is so enamored with finally being a successful pirate (and glowing from the best (and only) love-sex of his life) that he can't hear Ed.

I love that OFMD takes no shortcuts in matters of the heart. If these lads are going to be together for reals, they are going to have to work for it, and there is still much work to be done.

I'm looking forward to likely being simultaneously emotionally fulfilled and mentally devastated by the season 2 finale in about 30 hours.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

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sheltiechicago · 9 months

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Kendrick Lamar (2015) Photography by Chris Buck

Visually Arresting Portraits of Hip-Hop’s Biggest Stars

A new exhibition - Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious - at Fotografiska in New York explores hip-hop’s aesthetic evolution from 1972 to 2022 – here, co-curator Sacha Jenkins walks us through five images from the show