As a side note I think what makes Succession such an excellent critique of capitalism is how it handles the idea of meritocracy. It's very easy to imagine conservatives (especially wealthy conservatives) as Scrooge McDuck kind of figures who really just want whatever brings in the most money. But the truth is that most of them are deeply, deeply invested in the belief that capitalism is a meritocracy, and that their own success is the result of hard work and others' failure is the result of personal failings. They are so invested in this idea that they will go to amazing lengths to reinterpret any piece of information that challenges it. Succession does a really, really good job of depicting that conviction, and depicting it so well that the audience will be occasionally sucked into it, before slapping you in the face with the utter pathetic incompetency of these people who are essentially running America.
I think that's one of the things that really sets it above a lot of other 'eat the rich' type movies that write their wealthy characters with more of a Scrooge McDuck mindset. Personally, I think any good critique is written so that the critiqued party can see themselves in the story. They may not accept the critique, but if it's good and it's accurate there will be a character they recognize as themselves. No conservative is going to see themselves in Miles Bron, a man who is clearly out of his depth and incompetent and stealing other people's ideas, or the rich people from Squid Game, who insist on 'levelling the playing field' through random chance. But they DO see themselves in characters like Tom Wamsbgans and Kendall Roy (hence why an army of reddit bros turn out to defend their every move), and I think that's what gives Succession's critique a fighting chance of actually landing with the people who need to hear it
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Imagine choosing Ben stiller over Edward Norton when Ed is literally standing there looking like this
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Currently loving the concept of teen romances in stories that fully encapsulate it all. That person across from you is gross. Pimply even. Their body is going through crazy amounts of not being the right proportion. So is yours. They have braces. You think this is the most radiant and attractive person known to man. You are also probably the ugliest you're going to be. They love you back. You're going to look back on the yearbook and nearly vomit but now you're in love. These kids are crazy. Stupid even. I love them.
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I gotta know what’s going on with the septic tanks in Montauk if they’re driving down the cost of the Jackson’s rental cabin 😫
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I headcanon Andrew as both bipolar two and bpd. We all know that Nora didn’t really portray mental illness and medication in a realistic way, so i just go off what I personally think.
Borderline comes from trauma and we know how much Andrew went through. Some of the symptoms are intense fear of abandonment (the deals he makes, keeping people close and tied to him), self harm and self harming behavior, addiction, intense anger. All of this is something we see explicitly in the books in the connection to Andrew. Mental illness looks very different in different people, and I can just see him as having bpd, but my knowledge of bpd comes from a lot of research and some people i know irl, so i am definitely not an expert.
Part of the reason I hc him as bp2 is because i have it and i need something to project to. I also think Nora said he is bipolar, but I might be wrong?? idk where to check though.
In my head, after getting off meds, so all throughout the third book, he is in some state of depression because his serotonin is fucked. I think Andrew is someone who can function while being severely depressed, because he never got any choice. The moment he finds an actual safe place, I think he would crash and become not as functioning. I think that would be very difficult for him and Neil as well, but they would get through it.
I also think in some time post canon he would get hypomanias. He would hate them and love them at the same time, and would have to learn to recognize the early stages and use his support system to keep him in check.
I don’t think he would take any meds ever again though. And i don’t think he would ever be in full remission. But I think he would get the best outcome of such shitty given circumstances.
I want to have a discussion about this so badly ughh
also any fic recs on this topic is highly appreciated!!
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and u know what im ready to make my full statement on MENG MEI QI too. the situation is so crazy to me, basically now in 2023 some ujung wont even type out her name because 1. cheating scandal (WHERE SHE WAS THE 3RD PARTY, WASNT EVEN THE PERSON TO CHEAT ON SOMEONE) and 2. doesnt mention wjsn ever and to me that is literally HILARIOUS like, god its just soooo funny to watch everyone pile in with the loudest most popular opinion and not do personal critical thinking, or hey, maybe they did and what mmq did really WAS too much for them to still support her but in that case i raise an eyebrow because idk… a lottt of yall are the same people who will get online and write about loving evil women and letting girls be shitty etc etc and she literally gives you what you asked for on a silver PLATTER, like doing nothing cancellable just giving us a good wholesome woman being evil and selfish and obsessed w herself and everyone turns on her!!!! sorry shes not fucking chuu lmao!? (ilu chuu no hate but there is space for good AND evil girls in my heart😇) im sorry im SO unbothered by her being the other woman in a cheating scandal like i cant imagine something mattering less to me and it actually made me super happy to confirm she fucks even tho the guy was ugly😇 but i said kinda most of this already so SECOND OF ALL about her not mentioning wjsn and shit… another thing i literally have NO problem with?? again, like…… no one was more distraught than me at what happened to ot13 but these are REAL PEOOLEEEEEEEEEE?!????!??? i’ve said this before too but i think its worth mentioning, i think my perspective on WJSN has always been a certain way because i grew up playing soccer on a team of the same ~18 girls for over 8 years and im very familiar with, idk, “team dynamics” in groups of girls growing up together? so i understand what its like to be in a larger group dedicated towards this ultimate, performance based goal together and while not everyone out of those 18 girls is one-to-one best friends and lots of people have pretty significant differences, none of that matters “on the field” or when you’re “working”, and its actually lowkey beautiful hiw such different people can unite together to make their dream happen AND develop really long lasting strong relationships w each other when they would otherwise might not have. so ive never had illusions that wjsn as a group has this monolithic motivator or reason for being in wjsn or being an idol, they are all super different personalities and have different interest areas like acting, musicals, song production, MCing etc! so its really impossible for me to feel upset or bothered in any way when i hear complaints about mmq’s behavior in this area because im like ? she obviously has/had this solo career (that i have to believe she had way more control and stylistic direction over than with wjsn) in her home country where she gets to embrace her personal style and concepts instead of matching wjsns, shes clearly separating from that past image and going in a different direction w her career! it does make me bummed that shes not getting 13 stars tattooed like xiao did but again what am i gonna do, be mad that this artist who i really care abt as a person is going off on their own path and direction? cujung is a ROCK of this fanbase its not like a mmq wjsn mention is going to create millions more ujung and album sales? just never added up to me, IM not gonna feel some type of way about it because stan twit fucking tells me to, like how it feels a lot of ujungs react to everything! that one thing going around that was like “wjsn are coworkers not friends” was sooooo funny for me to watch ujung actually get mad about because like,,, they ARE coworkers? AND FRIENDS?! there are 13 of them? each person has a unique individual and complex relationship with each other person? ah idk why i even bother with these essays the avg kpop stans iq is literally 65 yall love being spoonfed parasocial relationships simulated for ur consumption so much u completely block out the fact they are real people
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