#when will i find a workplace comedy that doesn’t make me cry at some point

[yoan-portfolio]

Eskimo sisters: Building friendship out of disappointment

Is sharing still caring when it comes to exes?

It’s no secret to anyone in their twenties that the dating scene can get heated. Heartbreak, lies, betrayal are on the daily rota and can easily send you spiralling into a second puberty, where you’re laid on the floor of your bedroom, Taylor Swift on full blast. The monologue you are having about how no one understands you would be almost cinematic, if it hadn’t been a week since you last showered…

However, as love has turned up its pace under the influence of hookups and dating apps, chances are, someone has been there, done that. And by that, I mean your ex.

This person is your eskimo sister, and we’re not talking Inuits. It’s a term defined by Urban Dictionary as “a woman who has shared a sexual partner with another person and the two are on friendly terms”. Historically, it relates to Inuit women sharing beds to keep the cold away. Cute, isn’t that just what you need!

Eskimo sisters are hardly a new concept - a short comedy from 2015 with the same name follows a group of people in a bar as they slowly realise they have all slept with each other. As we move with the times and more people expand their dating pool outside of the heteronormative, you may find your eskimo sister is not much of a sister after all.

“I was shocked when it happened.” says 24-year-old Merily Takel, who came into an unlikely siblinghood. “For me it all started as a workplace romance where me and this guy were friends with benefits. That went on for a couple of months before we started dating - like properly seeing each other. Eventually, we had a pretty classic break-up. We were still working together, so we remained friends.

“I learned he was seeing someone else just a couple of days later. I wanted to meet up with him and get a drink, because I wanted to talk to someone. He assumed I was inviting him for sex - because he thinks he is so irresistible! So he just told me he can’t because he is seeing someone. I was at work when this happened and I was hurt so I went for a cig and broke down.

“I hadn’t told anyone about my relationship and I had no one to talk to. When one of my coworkers saw me crying in the smoking area I just told him everything - we hugged, I cried some more and he asked me to get a drink after our shift. 

“We shared a bottle of vodka in a park where he told me he was the one seeing my ex. The more we drank that night, the more emotional we got - it was an overall fun time but the shock, the emotions (and the vodka) caught up to the point where we sat on my doorstep at 6 am crying our eyes out before I was dragged in because I couldn’t stand up anymore.

“I was surprised to find out they broke up a month later, a bit happy, a bit sad - a lot of things at once. I didn’t even once think me and my coworker could never be friends after what happened, maybe it was a bit weird at the time, but I thought “why would we be fighting over someone who’s hurt us both - it’s just not worth it”.

Romantic rivalry is a story as old as time, though, and it can be hard to escape a concept that seems so ingrained in our minds. Not giving yourself the time to listen through Lana Del Rey’s entire discography with a tub of melting ice cream on your lap can lead to comparison, resentment or getting you and your eskimo sibling on a crazed stalking spree. None of them are a hot look.

“Shared experiences and pain can be super attractive and make people bond faster than otherwise but doesn’t always mean that they’ll share the same relationship when faced with different circumstances.” says relationship counsellor Ruchi Ruuh.

“These shared traumas can certainly act as a glue in social settings, creating connections and belonging, but the connection that feels so authentic at the moment might not turn out to be the same. One person might start projecting their trauma onto another or both.”

Siblings are not necessarily friends, anyone who’s grown up with one would tell you so - sometimes, the favourite top you “lost”, which randomly pops up in your sister’s closet a year later can have you disown her for weeks. Same goes for your eskimo sibling - though a shared experience of disappointment can kickstart a lifelong friendship, it is not enough to sustain it.

“I met my eskimo sister on a night out.” says Molly Howe, a 21-year-old history student “I’d seen her briefly before and we shared a friend group so I thought why not be friends! We had more Jagerbombs that night than I had orgasms during my whole relationship with the guy and yeah, we hit it off!”

“I could tell we were both very different people right away and since he broke up with her just a month before, it was obviously very fresh in her mind. The more we spent time together I realised she was more interested in me as a charity therapist than a friend. 

“She’d ring me at 4 am crying, saying she wants to be back with our ex, the next day we would meet and she’d slag him off. Eventually all our talks led to this guy who I was over to the point where she’d make me relive my whole relationship, which wasn’t worth it in the first place.

“It went on for over a month until I couldn’t take it anymore and cut ties with her. As far as I know they are back together now, but I don’t care and it feels so refreshing. Maybe she helped me see how banal it was that I used to be so obsessed with someone who didn’t care about me.”

“People who have shared experiences, especially negative ones, create quick bonds of trust and dependency.” explains Ruuh. “Imagine you meet someone nice at a yoga class, you start talking and realise that both of you like sharing memes, listening to similar music, and have a taste for sarcasm. Further in the conversation, you find out both of you come from dysfunctional families and were made to feel inadequate by the parents.

“Now a common ground is created to share your experiences, an empathic person who knows exactly how you feel. You feel understood and loved, and suddenly you are finishing each other’s sentences and boom the thought pops “We are soulmates”. There is nothing wrong with connections that are based on shared trauma or experiences but it doesn’t mean that you’ll share the same compatibility or chemistry as the relationship progresses.”

We all have a different healing process and while forgiving and forgetting can be rewarding and mature, sometimes, a hit below the belt is what you need and revenge a-la-The Other Woman can be a cathartic moment, as it was for Merily:

“Two days after their break-up my now eskimo brother asked me to go for a drink at Spoons, saying I was the only one who could understand what he’s going through right now. So we did that, we talked about everything from our point of view and all of our ex’s lies came out.

“In an emotional fit we both went to his place. He came out and didn’t say anything - he took turns looking at us both before my friend told him he’s a piece of shit and went for it - just beat the crap out of him while our ex was standing there with his stupid face trying to process everything. We went up, we screamed, we both slapped him again and my friend vomited vodka crans all over his carpet (that stains like hell). Maybe not the most mature response but it was definitely satisfying!”

Once the break-up ice cream tub is back in the freezer and you are back to your regular showering routine, grab a coffee with your eskimo sibling. No need to be awkward about it either - if you were both fucked over by the same person, you’ve basically had sex with each other. Have a laugh over your ex’s dick size, his weird obsession with Lego or his ridiculous screen time. Then block him and see what else you have in common. You might have just made a friend for life!

“Now the whole thing is behind us, me and my eskimo brother are doing a lot better.” says Merily. “We are still friends, we don’t talk about our ex because he just doesn’t deserve the attention. We still drink, just without the crying part. I regret that I ever dated him, but I guess in the end it was meant to happen. Maybe eventually we would have become friends anyway - just with a lot less drama!”

#journalism #feature #eskimo sisters

[johnny-and-dora]

#mythic quest #i knew it would be good but it’s like. really really really good #like perfectly captures what that early quarantine time was like when everyone was still locked down and it was scary #but there was a novelty to it too #and the end bit with everyone putting so much effort into something so silly and fun #i actually haven’t stopped thinking about it #i really didn’t think it would affect me this much lol #also yes this is the spiritual sequel to when i used the exact same meme when i was watching ducktales #it’s just very apt #i would definitely say if you only watch one episode watch this one bc it really elevated the show for me #shut up sian #the brad/david street fighter storyline fhsksksks they have a great dynamic #when will i find a workplace comedy that doesn’t make me cry at some point

[blackstarising]

coming back to this post i made again to elaborate - especially as the ted lasso fandom is discussing sam/rebecca and fandom racism in general. there are takes that are important to make that i had failed to previously, but there's also a growing amount of takes that i have to, As A Black Person™, respectfully disagree with.

tl;dr for the essay below sam being infantilized and the sam/rebecca relationship are not the same issue and discussing the former one doesn't mean excusing the latter. and we've reached the glen of the Dark Forest where we sit down and talk about fandom racism.

i should have elaborated this in my last post about sam/rebecca, but i didn't. i'll say it now - i personally don't support sam and rebecca getting together for real. i believe what people are saying is entirely correct, even though sam is an adult legally, he and rebecca are, at the very least, two wildly different stages of life. for americans, he's at the equivalent of being a junior in college. there are things he hasn't gotten the chance to experience and there are areas he needs to grow in. when i was younger, i didn't understand the significance of these age gaps, i just thought it would be fine if it was legal, but as someone who is now a little older than sam in universe, i understand fully. we can't downplay this. whether or not you think sam works for rebecca or not, even despite the gender inversion of the Older Man Younger Woman trope, whether or not he is a legal adult, i don't think at this point in time, their relationship would work. i think it's an interesting narrative device, but i don't want to see it play out in reality.

that being said!

what's worrying me is that two discussions are being conflated here that shouldn't be. sam having agency and being a little more grown™ than he's perceived to be does not suddenly make his relationship with rebecca justified. i had decided to bring it up because sam was being brought into the spotlight again and i was starting to realizing that his infantilization was more common than i felt comfortable with.

sam's infantilization (and i will continue to call it that), is a microaggression. it's is in the range of microaggressions that i would categorize as 'fandom overcompensation'. we have a prominent character of color that exhibits traits that aren't stereotypical, and we don't want to appear racist or stereotypical, so we lean hard in the other direction. they're not aggressive, they're a Sweet Baby, they're not world weary, they're now a little naive. they're not cold and distant, they're so nice and sweet that there's no one that wouldn't want approach them, and yeah, on their face, these new traits are a departure and, on their face, they seem they look really good.

but at a certain point, it reaches an inflection point, and, like the aftertaste of a diet coke, that alleged sweetness veers into something a lot less sweet. it veers into a lack of agency for the character. it veers into an innocence that appears to indicate that the person can't even take care of themselves. it veers into a one-dimensional characterization that doesn't allow for any depth or negative emotion.

it's not kind anymore. it's not a nice departure from negative stereotypes. it's not compensating for anything.

it's patronizing.

it is important that we emphasize that characters of color are more than the toxic stereotypes we lay on them, yes, but we make a mistake in thinking that the solution is overcorrection. for one thing, people of color can usually tell. don't get it twisted, it's actually pretty obvious. for another, it just shifts from one dimension to another. people of color are still supposed to be Only One Character Trait while white people can contain multitudes. ted, who is pretty much as pollyanna as they come, can be at once innocent and naive and deep and troubled and funny and scared. jamie can be a prick and sexy and also lonely and also a victim of abuse. sam, however, even though he was bullied (by jamie, no less), is thousands of miles away from home, and has led a protest on his team, is usually just characterized as human sunshine with much less acknowledgement of any other traits beyond that.

and that's why i cringe when fandom calls sam a Sweet Baby Boy without any sense of irony. is that all we're taking away? after all this time? even for a comedy, sam has received a substantive of screen time over two whole seasons, and we've seen a range of emotions from him. so as a black person it's hurtful that it's boiled down to Sweet Baby Boy.

that's the problem. we need to subvert stereotypes, but more importantly, we need to understand that people of color are not props, or pieces of cardboard for their white counterparts. they are full and actualized and have agency in their own right and they can have other emotions than Angry and Mean or Sweet and Bubbly without any nuance between the two. i think the show actually does a relatively good job of giving sam depth (relatively, always room for improvement, mind you), especially holding it in tension with his youth, but the fandom, i worry, does not.

it's the same reason why finn from star wars started out as the next male protagonist in the sequel trilogy but by the third movie was just running around yelling for REY!! it's the same reason why when people make Phase 4 Is the Phase For Therapy gifsets for the mcu and show wanda maximoff, loki, and bucky barnes crying and being sad but purposefully exclude sam wilson who had an entire show to tell us how difficult his life is, because people find out if pee oh sees are also complex, they'll tell the church.

and the reason why i picked up on this very early on is because i am an organic, certified fresh, 100% homegrown, non-gmo, a little ashy, indigenous sub saharan African black person. the ghanaian tribes i'm descended from have told me so, my black ass parents have told me so, and the nurses at the hospital in [insert asian country here] that started freaking out about how curly my hair was as my mother was mid pushing me out told me so!

and this stuff has real life implications. listen: being patronized as a black person sucks. do you know how many times i was patted on the back for doing quite honestly, the bare minimum in school? do you know how many times i was told how 'well spoken' or 'eloquent' i was because i just happen to have a white accent or use three syllable words? do you know how many times i've been cooed over by white women who couldn't get over how sweet i was just because i wasn't confrontational or rude like they wrongly expected me to be?

that's why they're called microaggressions. it's not a cross on your lawn or having the n-word spat in your face, but it cuts you down little by little until you're completely drained.

so that's the nuance. that's the subversion. the overcompensation is not a good thing. and people of color (and i suspect, even white people) have picked up on, in general, the different ways fandom treats sam and dani and even nate. what all of these discussions are converging on is fandom racism, which is not the diet form of racism, but another place for racism to reveal itself. and yeah, it's uncomfortable. it can seem out of left field. you may want to defend yourself. you may want to explain it away. but let me tap the sign on the proverbial bus:

if you are a white person, or a person of color who is not part of that racial group, even, you do not get to decide what is not racist for someone. full stop. there are no exceptions. there is no exit clause for you. there is no 'but, actually-'. that right wasn't even yours to cede or waive.

(it's also important to note that people of color also have the right to disagree on whether something is racist, but that doesn't necessarily negate the racism - it just means there's more to discuss and they can still leave with different interpretations)

people don't just whip out accusations of racism like a blue eyes white dragon in a yu-gi-oh duel. it's not fun for us. it's not something we like to do to muzzle people we don't want to engage with. and we're not concerned with making someone feel bad or ashamed. we're exposing something painful that we have to live with and, even worse, process literally everything we experience through. we can't turn it off. we can't be 'less sensitive' or 'less nitpicky'. we are literally the primary resources, we are the proverbial wikipedia articles with 3,000 sources when it comes to racism. who else would know more than us?

what 2020 has shown us very clearly is that racism is systemic. it's not always a bunch of Evil White Men rubbing their hands together in a dark room wondering how they're going to use the 'n-word' today. it's systemic. it's the way you call that one neighborhood 'sketchy'. it's how you use 'ratchet' and 'ghetto' when describing something bad. it's how you implicitly the assume the intelligence of your friend of color. it's the way you turned up your nose and your friend's food and bullied them for it in middle school but go to restaurants run by white people who have 'uplifted' it with inauthentic ingredients. it's telling someone how Well Spoken and Eloquent they are even though you've both gone to the same schools and work at the same workplace. it's the way you look down at some people of color for having a different body type than you because they've been redlined to neighborhoods where certain foods and resources are inaccessible, and yet mock up the racial features that appeal to you either through makeup or plastic surgery.

it's how when a person of color behaves badly, they're irredeemable, but a white person performing the same act or something similar is 'having a bad day' or 'isn't normally like this' or 'has room to grow' and we can't 'wait for their redemption arc', and yes, i'm not going to cover it in detail in this post but yes this is very much about nate. other people have also brought up the nuances in his arc and compared them to other white characters so i won't do it here.

these behaviors and reactions aren't planned. they aren't orchestrated. they're quite literally unconscious because they've been lovingly baked into western society for centuries. you can't wake up and be rid of it. whether you intended it or not, it can still be racist.

and it's actually quite hurtful and unfair to imply that concerns about racism in the TL fandom are unfounded or lacking any depth or simply meant to be sensational because you simply don't agree with it. i wish it was different, but it doesn't work that way. i'm not raising this up to 'call out' or shame people, but i'm adding to this discussion because, through how we talk about sam, and even dani and nate, i'm yet again seeing a pattern that has shortchanged people of color and made them feel unwelcome in fandom for far too long.

coach beard said it best: we need to do better.

#ted lasso #sam obisanya #ted lasso spoilers #fandom racism

[ratingtheframe]

So 2020 sucked... but the films didn’t! The top twenty films of 2020 (in my humble opinion).

AT LAST. This godforsaken year is over and as we venture into a new year, let's hope and pray that the art’s industry finds a way to build themselves back up again, in a way that is safe and necessary for them to bring us the entertainment we so crave. It has been a crazy and unprecedented year for the film industry, a year that it has never seen with losses of an estimated $5 Billion at the end of March. Some of the most anticipated blockbusters of all time had to be put on hold and postponed for hopefully next year with No Time to Die, A Quiet Place II, Wonder Woman 1984, Dune and Black Widow being a slim few that never got onto a silver screen this year. However, there is no reason to fret or relinquish the loss film has had this year, as hopefully next year once we’ve had a better understanding of this virus, these films along with many others will have their audience. Amongst the postponed releases, many films have been resilient to the virus and still managed to gain a spot in the cinema despite the circumstances. 

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was the only multi-million dollar film to be released this year and even though the risk of release could have meant nothing for the film, it still managed to rake in a staggering $361 million, an expected profit for a film of its size. However, despite the film's success, Nolan made it clear that this shouldn’t be taken lightly and that the safety of film consumers comes before the profits themselves. 

Even though we will have to be more cautious in the cinema, films will return, once we have regulated safety measures in cinemas and film festivals to ensure that customers can feel comfortable. For now, HBO has planned to put many releases from Warner Bros. straight onto its streaming platform as well as in the cinema next year, in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID whilst still being able show the films we’ve been craving. There’s no telling what next year will bring, what the Oscars will look like or if filming for the next Batman film will ever end, however it's clear to see that the film industry has shown resilience amongst this pandemic and will continue to do so in years to come, no matter the challenges.

Here are twenty of the films that made it to the cinema (or streaming platforms) this year, that proved the durability of the film industry during this time. 

20. Tenet directed by Christopher Nolan 

We can all agree that Chrisopher Nolan’s Tenet should be handed the award of Most Confusing Yet Entertaining Film of the Year, or ever made in fact. The sci-fi epic adventure that sees its lead (named “the protagonist) travel back in time and then forward in time and then back in time again (?)... yup, I didn’t get it either, but I’m not the only one seeing as Robert Pattinson who played alongside John David Washingston hadn’t a clue what was going on either. And he was in the film. However, despite the film's confusion, it doesn’t make it a bad or “lazy” film, for every aspect of this film from lighting, sound design, casting, direction, stunts WAS ON POINT and those elements are truly what sets this film apart. The story may have been perplexing but at least there was one. 

19. Nomadland directed by Chloé Zhao

It is such a shame that Nomadland may not get the audience it deserves due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it is a truly moving and rich film. The Nomads are a group of real Americans who’ve hit the road in various mobile homes after the Great Recession in 2008 caused millions to be homeless and redundant. Frances McDormand plays Fern, one of these Nomads and child of the road whilst the film follows her simple, yet melancholy journey across Western America.  Chloé Zhao has been tipped several times for an Oscar with Nomadland after winning the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Let’s hope that if this goes onto the Academy Awards, Nomadland will find the audience it so craves. 

18. Uncut Gems directed by the Safdie Brothers 

YES, Uncut Gems came out THIS YEAR, which is an insane thought seeing as I saw the film in a packed cinema before it was released onto Netflix. The Safdie Brothers, Josh and Benny brought us Uncut Gems this year, a declining tale of a man’s test with fate and the many many second chances he gets at life, only to f*** all of them up. Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a pawn shop owner and frequent gambler. This is Sandler’s best ever role and the multifaceted, gritty work of the Safdie Brothers (Heaven Knows What, Good Time) really brought something brilliant out of him. 

17. The Half of it directed by Alice Wu

The Half of It wins the Most Surprising Film of the Year. A highly credible film directed by Alice Wu, The Half of It is EVERYTHING we want and need in this world. In fact, it’s everything we kind of already have in this world, but hardly see on screen. Non white leads, queer non stereotyped relationships, unpredictable endings; The Half of It was an all rounder for me. Some may roll their eyes at the amount of diverse elements to the film and see it as a way of gaining brownie points, but why does that have to be a thing? Why can’t having active and authentic representation across all films just be normal rather than political? If anything, it should be encouraged. The story was brilliant (and made me cry) as it had so many layers to it as well as the characters.

16. 7500 directed by Patrick Vollrath

Definitely the wildcard of this list, 7500 is an Amazon Studios film starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. I’ll admit, my hopes weren’t high, but after taking the time to watch this film I was truly blown away. And who KNEW Joseph Gordon Levitt could be so deep and in tune with his emotions on screen. He plays a pilot whose plane gets hijacked mid flight. There. Enough said. I could hardly BREATHE throughout this film in apprehension of what was going to happen next.

15. Kajilionaire directed by Miranda July

2020 thus far has been the best year for female filmmakers. From Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Rose Glass’ Saint Maud and Miranda July’s Kajilionaire, a clear cut foundation has been carved effortlessly for female filmmakers this year. Miranda July’s Kajilionaire especially rocked my senses a little as I saw so much unfamiliarity yet beauty within this film. A simple storyline that follows Old Dolio (Evan Rachael Wood), a young woman trying to feel more connected with her parents. A certainly bittersweet tale that has this rose tinted like vibe to it that attaches itself to the visuals and music of the film, that make everything feel light and playful. This contrasts well with the story itself as being sad and melancholy, further proving the fact this film is more than face value. Face value films have never gotten us anywhere and its films that go beyond entertainment that truly last in the industry. 

14. Bombshell directed by Jay Roach 

Bombshell is a PERFECT title for this film; a film that left me angry, sad and questioning the immorality that is still prevalent in the mostly male dominant society we live in. Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman (best trio ever) star as three news anchors on Fox news whose lives are brutally torn apart when the Head of Fox News, Roger Ailes is accused of sexual harassment on many different occasions by female members of the workplace. Despite the silence being now broken, these three women still face a whole load of other problems that come in speaking up against a powerful, white and rich male. Threats of permanent job losses, victim blaming and a weak image are the consequence of speaking up about sexual assault as a member of Fox news. The brand itself has an incredibly misogynistic view of women and continues to have an idealised image of how women should be on the news with those working at Fox actually admitting it brings in viewers. Women with tons of makeup and dresses shorter than is comfortable is Fox news and Bombshell went above and beyond exposing this scandal that truly shook American broadcasting forever. 

13. Borat Subsequent Movie Film directed by Jason Woliner 

Borat Subsequent Movie Film wins the award for Most Jaw Dropping Film of the Year, as its protagonist and creator Sacha Baron Cohen, went above and beyond to show us the true dark depths of America. Ballsy, outrageous, jaw dropping, scandalous; every bold word can be used to describe this film and the lengths it went to get right to the heart of American society. The ugly heart. By now you should be aware that the ex president’s attorney was shoved right into the firing line after he was taken into a hotel bedroom by a reporter who happened to be an actor. Rudi Gulliani was left red faced after Borat bursts into the hotel room proclaiming the young reporter is his daughter, with Gulliani still unaware the entire outrageous event had been caught on camera. And not just any camera. A MOVIE camera. A true triumph in free speech and comedy, Borat Subsequent Movie Film will live on forever as the most outlandish film there is.

12. Miss Juneteenth directed by Channing Godfrey-Peoples 

A real eye opener into current American society using a touching story between mother and daughter as a backdrop. Turquoise is a single mother struggling to get by and support her daughter Kai through the Miss Juneteenth pageant, held annually in Fort Worth, Texas. A real competition, the Miss Juneteenth pageant promises one lucky young woman of colour a full scholarship to a black historical college of their choosing. Turquoise desperately wants this for her daughter as it’ll give her the opportunities in life she never had. A truly moving and authentic film, this scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes which is a highly impressive and deserving score.

11. The Trial of the Chicago Seven directed by Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin’s lyricism in words was again brought to us on screen this year with his depiction of the Chicago 7 (eight if you count Bobby Seale); seven men who were accused and put on trial for eliciting the Chicago riots of 1968. When in actuality, the police themselves had more to do with riling up the protestors than anyone else, even pushing a crowd of protestors through the front window of a restaurant to make it seem like they had vandalised the property. If anyone was going to make such a film, Sorkin would be the one to do it as with any event or idea he covers, Sorkin’s words as a writer MAKE YOU CARE. Even when you had no recollection or understanding of something, the way Sorkin depicts these events on screen has you absorbed into the story till the last second. An incredible and powerful story and a film that I could constantly go back to in order to learn about the injustices of American politics.  

10. The Devil All the Time directed by Antonio Campos 

I feel like The Devil All the Time still hasn’t got the recognition it deserves. There is something incredibly powerful and priceless about having a group of exceptionally talented people come together to create something for screen. This film wins Best Casting of the Year (if you don’t count Dune) as the likes of Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Eliza Scanlen, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgård,  Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Riley Keogh, Jason Clarke and Haley Bennett graced our screens in this dark and ominous tale. Any story that is set in a small town and is about stories interweaving is bound to be interesting and thought provoking in it’s telling, with this adaptation being no different. The star of the show was Robert Pattinson’s thick Tennessee accent along with his clean yet filthy character interpretation of a perverted priest. Not one line in this film was thrown away and every single moment held a weighty tension, further confirming to us each character’s downfall by the end. An amazing adaptation and something you will reeeeeally enjoy.

9. Soul directed by Pete Docter 

What was supposed to be Pixar’s second release of the year, Soul is Pixar’s most highly executed film to date. The amount of detail and care the animators and creators of Soul had taken to this picture is INSANE; insanely beautiful. With the black community going through so much this year, having something like Soul be put out to audiences shows support of this ever changing and growing movement. Even though having black representation on screen isn’t on the top of everyone’s priority list, it’s still important that the effort is there in order to really show what the world is like on screen and to cater to more audiences. Soul itself had everything; diverse, three dimensional characters, a clear and heart warming story and comedic, uplifting points that only strengthened the important message of this movie; life itself.

8. The Lighthouse directed by Robert Eggers 

Again, another film that came out right at the beginning of the year, Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse was a whole new world that we had never seen before. Shot on a Panavision Millennium XL2 using a lense from the 1930s and black and white film, The Lighthouse was a decrepit, eerie and brilliant movie to watch throughout. It just makes me satisfied as a viewer when a director not only creates a film, but creates one that is so beyond anything we’ve ever seen and could likely have been made in an entirely different era altogether. Robert Pattinson KILLED IT in his role as a surly drunken sailor alongside Willem Dafoe, whose Irish accent was enviable. Overall a highly executed film that exudes brilliance and a creative mind.

7. The Hater directed by Jan Komasa 

I would say The Hater is the second wildcard on this list. It’s a Polish drama that hasn’t had a lot of rep in the media, however, this doesn’t detract from the film’s execution and drama. A real downfall story that sees a jealous ridden man go from a media intern into illicting terrorism. Like, HELLO how does one go to such an extreme? The only way to find out would be watching the film...The film really spoke to the dangers of social media and the ease of getting someone to insight violence onto someone else, all through a computer. My mouth was hanging on the floor during several moments of this film and I can 100% guarantee the Netflix film will have the same affect on you.

6. La Belle Époque directed by Nicolas Bedos 

La Belle Époque (or “The Good Times”) wins the award for Most Heart Warming Film of the Year. A surprisingly unique concept that follows a man trying to relive the best moments of his past after his wife wishes to divorce him. A company that specialises in creating your past memories offers him the opportunity to go back to the time when he and his wife first met, using actors, set design and music to recreate the moment. The French film emits a strong sense of nostalgia throughout with brilliant music and set design. It’s just one of those films that heavily expresses the idea of “what if” within a film whilst answering it boldly through its unique story.

5. Ema directed by Pablo Larraín 

Ema took me a few days to fully absorb and appreciate as an experimental film, rather than one with a clear cut narrative. It's a film that expresses an idea, a feeling as opposed to a story which is completely okay and doable in this day and age. Ema is a liberating, freeing and psychedelic world of a film, with the message of the film being wrapped up in Ema’s attitude as a woman and the way she sets fires to things wherever she goes. Literally, as the opening sequence is of her setting alight a basketball hoop. There is some strong, vivid imagery within this and the MUSIC...definitely the best sound track I’ve heard this year. Ema’s in my top five for its uniqueness, rawness and the weird sense of liberation it gave me after watching it.

4. Saint Maud directed by Rose Glass

Probably the biggest breakthrough film of the year and despite the pandemic, Saint Maud certainly got the rep it deserved. An entirely new perspective of horror was brought to use in troves in the form of this Irish film created by first time director Rose Glass. I cannot express how brilliant and revolutionary Saint Maud was for its simplicity, story and filmmaking techniques. An ambitious and all round brilliant film that sits prettily in my top five films of the year.

3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire directed by Céline Sciamma

Portrait of a Lady on Fire wins the award for Best Foreign Language Film and it still hurts to think it never even made it to the Academy Awards this year. One of the most moving and earthy films that I’ve seen this year, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a slow, sensual and ambiguous picture that shows a love story between two women through the form of art. I became quite obsessed with the music of Antonio Vivaldi after seeing this as the time period and music intertwined really well in this film. Exceptionally made and incredibly raw, Portrait of a Lady on Fire went straight for the heart in this film by also putting the grievances of love at the forefront of this film. 

2. Parasite directed by Bong Joon Ho 

You are probably extremely bored and tired of hearing of the success of Parasite as a breakthrough picture, however there are an abundance of reasons for it! Winner of Six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Parasite really pulled the rug beneath the Academy Awards feet and certainly proved that no matter your race, it's the story that sells and that will bank you an Academy Award. A wonderfully crafted story, one that could have been found in theatre or even opera and those sort of structured narratives are what really grab people’s attention. 

1. Another Round (Druk) directed by Thomas Vinterberg 

And finally, my favourite, Most Enjoyable Film of the Year had to be without a doubt, Thomas Vinterburg’s Druk, which I had the pleasure of seeing at the BFI London Film Festival this year. The theatre-like structure of a narrative has been implemented seamlessly into this film and even if structure means nothing to you, you can feel when a film has been crafted differently to bring about a dynamic and earthy narrative. I’ve previously watched two films of Vinterberg’s; Festen and The Hunt and even though those two films hold a high rating, Druk is definitely Vinterberg’s best film yet. Extremely entertaining whilst also carrying a rather dark side to it, Vinterberg sells you the best and worst of two worlds whilst exposing the effects of alcohol consumption. 

And that’s it! 2020 in films! If you agreed or disagreed with anything on this list or think something else should’ve made the list that came out this year, be sure to leave me a comment on this post or via instagram on @ratingtheframe. It’s crazy to think that this obsession of mine turns two years old next year and there are still so many amazing pictures to be seen! And as always, you will find each and every one of them right here on @ratingtheframe.tumblr.

Bring on 2021!

#tenet #robert pattinson #john david washington #christopher nolan #nomadland #chloezhao #frances mcdormand #uncutgems #thesafdiebrothers #adamsandler #netflixfilm #thehalfofit #7500 #joseph gordon levitt #amazonstudios #kajilionaire #mirandajuly #bombshell #charlizetheron #nicolekidman #margot robbie #borat subsequent moviefilm #sacha baron cohen #miss juneteenth #the trial of the chicago 7 #aaron sorkin #netflixfilms #the devil all the time #tom holland #bill skargård

[thefantasygirl3]

Negaverse stories: Liquidator’s backstory

Genre/warnings: Comedy, Slice of life, Action, Drama.

Word count: 4 494

Summary: After the events of Darkwing Duck coming to the Negaverse and helping the now called “Darkwing Ducks” save st. Canard, the four heroes decided to adopt the adorable little Gosalyn, buy a house and start a life together. But the little duckling is curious over how all her dads became heroes to start with, so she asks them to tell her that story.

Notes: The final party of the negaverse backstories! Hope you enjoyed these stoies as much as I enjoyed making them. Link to other parts of the story: 1 - Megavolt. 2 - Quackerjack. 3 - Bushroot.

The bell to the big school rang loudly, signalling that it was now time for all the kids to leave school, which they happily did. Well… most kids. One kid had already left and was sitting quietly in her father's car. Gosalyn was nervous, very nervous. Her father was currently in the school, talking to the principal about the trouble she had gotten into. She was scared over what her water father would do when he finally came out to drive her home. Would he start screaming at her for pushing and shoving one of her classmates? Would he just ground her immediately? Would he revoke her food privileges?!

As she was panicking over the possible punishments she could receive, Liquidator opened the driver side door and sat down in the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Gosalyn's attention was immediately directed over to her dad, having this indiscernible look of strain on his face. Was he mad? Disappointed? Disgusted by her? He wasn't saying anything so obviously he was upset in some way. The little girl didn't know if she should say something or not, but decided she probably should.

"Father?" She muttered quietly and reached out to nudge him lightly. Liquidator jolted a little and gasped silently, turning his head to look at her. "Ah! Sorry, sweetie! I zoned out!" He laughed lightly and gave her a forced smile. She was surprised by his behaviour, as she expected him to be mad at her and scold her. But he acted as if he had just been lost in thought and was embarrassed about it. That was weird to her. "Um… is everything ok? Am I in trouble?" Gosalyn asked him confused, tilting her head and playing nervously with her hair. "Oh! Well… yeah. You did hurt one of your classmates. But… you didn't mean to do it. You were just trying to save Tank from some bullies, so I can't get too mad…" he answered her with a distant voice, as if his mind was elsewhere while he looked out the window of the still unstarted car. 

Gosalyn noticed that he was not focusing on her and seemed to only be paying half attention. She was unsure why, until a thought hit her and she realized what the problem most likely was. "Father… did the principal start yelling?" She asked her dad with a concerned look. His face lit up, as if she had just said something important or something serious. "What?! Well… she may or may not have raised her voice… and told me how I should parent you…" his voice trailed off again, this time intentionally. Now the duck frowned and reached over to put a hand on his hand.

"Father… do you need to cry?" She asked him, like it was something she had heard before and was repeating to him. "Wha- cry?? N-no no! Of course not! That's not something a father should do in front of his child! That's highly inappropriate!" He got defensive and turned away from her, pressing his lips tightly together and clenching his entire face. He decided this was the time to start the car and head home. "Father, it's ok. We're not a normal family. I've seen you cry around the other Darkwing Ducks, so you can cry with me too" she tried to reassure him, another thing she had learnt from her other dad's. 

"No no no! That's no excuse! We are just like any other family! And you are a normal kid! Just because you've been through a lot, doesn't mean you should have to take on more emotional baggage! If our family is ever going to be a real family then we gotta act like a real family, and in a REAL family the father is strong and can hold back his emotions for the sake of…!". "Father. You're crying right now" the child pointed out as she had quickly interrupted him to get his attention. Liquidator stopped talking and rubbed his tears away, just to check that it was true. "... BLAST IT! Why?!" He groaned and sobbed annoyed, reaching down to pull out a napkin to dry his tears. 

"Why do you cry so much, father? You fight villains every night, but cry every time someone yells at you?" She asked him as she looked up at him confused, not understanding how that could even be possible. "Well… I think everything changed when I met your other dads, around the same time I became a mutant" he reminisced as he drove the car, making the duckling light up as he brought up his past. "Are you talking about your backstory? Maybe you could… tell me about it. You know, to distract yourself from crying" She suggested discreetly while glancing up at him not-so-subtly. His expression changed into a suspicious one, glancing down at her quickly before focusing on the road. "You're not subtle, you know. I know you've been asking the others for their backstory. You don't need to justify it, just ask" He sighed and shook his head. Gosalyn sat quietly and looked at him expectantly. "... Alright. Fine. I'll tell you. But you're still in trouble when we get home".

As I'm sure I've told you before, my real name is Bud. Bud Flud. I was a worker in this bottled water company called Sparkling Crystal Pure Water, as… a janitor. It wasn't the prettiest job, but it paid the bills well enough. It was a pretty big and popular company, our logo being a regular household product. It was kind of a big deal.

At my workplace, I was treated pretty terribly. Everyone only viewed me as "the janitor", nothing more than that. They would glare at me if I was vacuuming near them and throw their trash right in my way while I was moping. They would even ask me to get them coffee, even though that's the coffee boy's job, not mine. They didn't care, I was just there to serve their needs. To serve them. I was just… the janitor. 

One day, I had headed off to the warehouse where the water supply was so I could clean up a bit. It was pretty quiet, like it usually was, me being the only person there at the time. Or at least that's what I thought at the time. As I was cleaning, I thought I heard something, so I removed my headphones to check. It was quiet, but only for a moment as soon thereafter I heard the sound of clanking, as if someone was running along the walkways above the tanks. I tried to investigate, sneaking around to see if I'd spot the person making sounds. And I did! I saw a mysterious figure wearing a mask and coat running up there, holding a big bag. I, of course, got suspicious and decided to walk over there and find out what was going on. 

I got up there and tried to sneakily check out what this figure was doing here. I saw this person lean over the railing to one of the tanks, as if making sure they were right above it. They then reached over to their bag and grunted as they lifted it up and pulled out some bottle with the label of a skull on it. At that point, I realized what was happening and I rushed out of my hiding place to put a stop to it. "What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled as I tackled them out of the way. But this only caused them to drop the big bottle as it came crashing down into the tank, coloring the water a sickly green. But I was too busy pulling off the mask of this criminal to see who he was. It was a duck with another black mask under that one only covered his eyes. But before I could try to reveal him a second time, he kicked me off. My back was against the cold metal walkway as he got up and walked over towards me. 

"And what do you think YOU'RE doing, mutt?! Trying to act like some hero! What are you? The owner?" He asked me as he picked me up by my collar. "No! I'm the janitor! But I'll still stop you!" I growled at him. It's then I noticed the bag of that substance he had brought and figured if I could reach it, I might be able to hit him with one of those heavy looking bottles. "HA! A JANITOR! You're not even a tight tie office jerk?! That's hilarious! You think that a little lap dog that licks up their owners filth is going to do anything against me?! The number one up and coming super villain?!" He laughed maniacally while I tried to reach out for the bottle as he was distracted monologuing. I finally grabbed a hold of one and quickly used it to knock him to the side, off of me. I quickly scrambled up to my feet and snatched the bag so he couldn't do any more damage, then began sprinting as fast as I could. But before I could get away, he grabbed my shirt from behind and pulled me back, forcing me against the railing. "Nice try, dirt bag! But I think you and that bag of poison take a nice little bath!" He chuckled at my face before he pushed me hard enough to break the railing and send me falling down into the tank of poisoned water.

Gosalyn looked shocked up at her dad, covering her mouth as she heard him explain. "Was… was that guy who threw you…?" She asked nervously. "... I would prefer not to say" Liquidator muttered quietly, eyes focused intently on the road. "Well… how did you survive falling into poison water?! Shouldn't you be… you know?" She then questioned the logic of this story. "I honestly don't know. Ask papa, he's better at this stuff than me. But anyways-" he quickly tried to get back to the story.

I don't want to get too detailed, but let's just say that it hurt. It hurt a lot. I was… disappearing. Of course, I wasn't really conscious for long as the pain became too much and I assume something else happened that caused me to faint. I don't know how long I was asleep for. It must have been quite some time, considering what happened when I awoke. When I did wake up, there were rays of sun shining into my eyes, causing me to groan and try to pull back. But i couldn't move. I couldn't even feel my body. I felt paralysed, like I was melting. It was really scary to experience. I thought that I was either dying or I was dead already and this was me entering the pearly gates. But I wasn't ready to go yet, so I reflexively pulled back away from the light, which somehow worked and I ended up falling into something wet.

I quickly darted back up to the surface of the water and looked around panicked, noting that I was in a sewer or something like that. I had finally managed to get a hold of my body again and I pulled myself back up on dry land, except it got quite wet as soon as I got up and I didn't feel any dryer. I felt very different, something was wrong. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were covered in water. Or so I thought, until I moved my hands away and spotted my reflection in the water. I… I was water! My skin was blue and dripping wet. I felt like I was wobbling like a bowl of jello. I freaked, believe me. I started panicking and crying right where I sat. I curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth, mumbling to myself "It's just a dream. This is just a dream. I just fell asleep at work. I was rescued and I didn't die". I just kept telling myself that while I covered my head and buried it in my knees, not wanting to see anything else, since I didn't want any of this to be real.

But soon enough, this newspaper fell down from the sewer grates that I had woken up under and it hit me on the head. It snapped me out of my panic and I looked over at it surprised. But I didn't expect to see my own face on the front page, my profile right there. I quickly picked it up and unfolded it to check what had happened to me. Maybe I could figure out what was going on with me and with that guy I had stopped back at the water storage. But what I saw was more shocking than anything I had expected. The head title read "Local mystery hero puts an end to crazed janitor" and the image underneath was of the guy who had tried to poison all the tanks, shaking hands with my boss while he held a bag of money, my profile right beside it with the story written under it. Not sure what all this meant, I just kept reading. "Local bottled water company, Sparkling Crystal Pure Water, had an incident at their water facility. Mentally unstable janitor at the company, Bud Flud, seemed to have snapped and attempted to poison the water supply. But a brave passer-by put a stop to his plan and ended up fighting him. This fight came to an end when the courageous duck threw the maniac into the contaminated tank, resulting in the death of mr. Flud". 

I couldn't believe what I was reading. They had gotten the situation completely wrong! I was the hero, ME! He was trying to ruin the company and I was the one who was trying to SAVE it! And I died for it!! And now, after all of what I went through, not only the fight that resulted in my death, but all the abuse that my superiors had thrown at me during my time at the company, they slander my name and make my death out to be the riddance of some evil loon. The paper in my hands was getting drenched and I could see bubbles start to rise from my body. I was boiling with anger. 

"WHAT?!? How could they do that?! That's so unfair!!!" Gosalyn yelled grumpily as she looked up at her dad, still focusing on driving. "Yes. It really was. But there was nothing I could have done. Well… actually there was. But… I regret ever even considering it" he sighed and stared at the road, a scowl creeping up on his face. Gosalyn looked worried as she hoped it wasn't something awful he was hinting at.

I had already headed out to find out what in the world was happening. As I walked down the street, people were looking at me with fear and horror as they ran away and screamed. I wasn't even paying attention to my monstrous self any more. I was too busy finding out more. I needed to see for myself if what I had read really was the story everyone else had heard. As I turned a corner, I spotted a TV screen in a store window that had my face on it. I stopped right in my tracks, as if my body had frozen over. The same story I had read in the paper was repeated again, this time with some venomous words of mockery added in to comment on how crazy and pathetic I was. Then when the screen showed the masked menace who had killed me, I went into a blind rage and shot a strong blast of water from a nearby fire hydrant to break the glass of the window. I then grabbed the television and tossed it into the street. A cop saw this and ran over to put a pair of handcuffs on me. Still raging I easily pulled my hand out of the cuffs, then reeled back and punched her in the face with a hardened, rubbery yellow fist. She was knocked out cold.

Soon after that I calmed down and realized what I just had done. I had assaulted an officer. How awful! But more than that, I started to think about just how I had done it. I had manipulated water and my own body, became boiling hot and hardened my consistency. I was some sort of super powered water being. I practically had magic! That was amazing! But I'd rather just be a normal dog with the respect of my superiors. But while I had these powers that made me into a monster, I thought I might as well use it for a monstrous purpose. I decided to head over to my old workplace to pay them a little visit.

Traveling along through the sewer system, I soon reached the office building where my "boss" was probably sitting and showering himself in his compensation money from the contaminated water. I could just imagine him in his office, celebrating my death with a big glass of expensive champagne. I felt myself get mad again, I wanted to break him with my bare hands. 

But as I was seething, I heard some talking and directed my attention towards the sound. It was a couple of employees that were heading out for the day, laughing and surely gossiping about what had happened with me and the water supply. I growled to myself and decided it was time to put my plan into action. I approached the group as a puddle of water, stopping right under them so they would slip on me. One of them did and fell over, earning a "are you ok?" From one of the other guys. But before he could answer, I grabbed him by his ankles and lifted him up to smack him into the rest of the guys. They looked confused until I materialized out of my puddle, giving the dirtiest glare I could manage. They stared horrified at me and started to crawl away. I just moved over towards them and used the nearby sewer water to make a wall of water around them to stop them from escaping. "Don't worry, fellas! You will love this HOT new deal!" I chuckled as I made the water boiling hot before heading over towards the office. I extended my waist so I could peek inside the window I believed belonged to my old boss. I saw him in there, polishing off this new fancy water cooler he probably got from the compensation money. I could only growl and grind my teeth in anger as he looked so smug and happy. I thought that he didn't deserve to be happy after what he did! I used the water inside the water cooler, lifting it up a bit and shooting a hard stream of water at him that forced him out the window and falling down from a few too many stories up. He screamed as he was about to hit the ground. 

But before he fell to his death, I caught him in my body before pulling him out and holding him by his collar, dripping wet. "Why if it isn't mister boss man himself? I see you've made BANK while I was gone! Sales must be GREAT after the janitor left" I hissed spitefully into his face as I started moving over towards the boiling water circle. He was panting and staring at me in stunned horror before realization hit him. "... bud flud?! No! Y-you… you died!" He stuttered in shock and reached out to touch me, presumably to make sure I was real. I held him up in the air and laughed with this evilly joyful voice. "That's right! Your old favorite doormat has returned! This time he's a hundred percent water and he has a deal for you that's worth DYING for!" I kept laughing as I grabbed a hold of his head and started to move it closer and closer to the deadly hot wall of water. He was whimpering in fear, trying his best pull away from it. But I just kept pushing him closer while laughing vengefully.

But before I could burn his face, I felt this painful electric shock in my entire body. I dropped the man and the boiling water disappeared, allowing the other employees to flee. I groaned and turned around to see who had just interrupted my revenge. These three men were standing above me, looking like some costumed clowns. One quite literally. "Alright! Playtime is over for you, buster! Unless you learn to play nice!" The purple and red clown scolded me as if I was a disobedient child. I felt myself start to boil again and I grabbed him with my extended arm, tossing him up into the air. But as he came back down, a colorful parachute opened and he came back down safely with a pleasant "wheeeee~". "Listen, sir! You better stop terrorizing these poor workers or we'll be forever to put you behind… plastic?" The plant man said as he got these flowers to extend and try to hold me still. I just became hot and they retreated quickly. "Are you having anger issues? A thirst for revenge? Try relieving your tension on some idiots!" I just spouted out some nonsense as I grabbed the duck and started to try and drown him with my fist. There was then a fizzing sensation on my back and I saw a bathbomb starting to bubble up. That jester duck grinned innocently at me. 

I dropped the other duck and glared at all these annoying guys with murderous intent. "Just give up, villain! We'll never let you hurt these innocent people!" The rat yelled as he pointed his fingers at me like a gun. That's when I realized what I was doing. I had just tried to kill someone, a few people! I had tried to end a couple of lives because of, what, petty anger? I felt like a monster. I was a monster. I had become something I had tried my very best to avoid. I started to quiver, feeling all that adrenalin from before disappearing completely. I melted down onto the ground and began to sob softly. The guys around me all stared at me with this confused look, probably not having expected that. "Why? Why is all this happening to me?! What did I do wrong?! What karma deity did I hurt to deserve this?!" I cried while curled up on the ground in defeat. 

The plant duck must have felt bad for me, because he started to walk over towards me with this look of pity. The rat man pulled him back and whispered "no! It might be a trick!". But he just brushed him off and whispered back "just zap him if he tries anything". He then sat down beside me and asked me what had happened to me. I just burst and told him everything. I told him how I used to work here and how I was treated, before the incident happened and my name was slandered all over the news. I told him all of it while sobbing and breathing harshly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did! But can you blame me for going crazy?! I died! Bud Flud died and his name was dragged through the mud! I don't want revenge! I JUST WANT TO BE A NORMAL DOG AGAIN! I DON'T WANT TO BE A MONSTER!" I wailed as I hugged myself while shaking like a bowl of jello. The hero beside me just gave me a sudden, comforting pat on the back after having listened to my entire ramble. "I… understand exactly what you mean. Believe me. I've been there so many times" he told me with deep empathy and gave me a big, trustworthy smile. A smile that made me feel like he really did feel my pain. 

I couldn't help myself, I threw myself into his chest and kept the waterworks coming. I couldn't even talk anymore, I was too busy letting all my frustrations from my unforgiving work life just flow out. He hugged me back and muttered with a slightly awkward tone "it's ok… we’ll help you out of this. That's what heroes do". Then suddenly the jester embraced us both and was crying these big waterfalls, somehow more than I was. "WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOOOOOUUUU!!" he shouted as he squished us both together. The third man of the trio refrained from hugging as he gave up his suspicions. "You know… you're a pretty tough fighter. We could use a guy with relentless powers like yours" he said and grinned nervously down at us. I didn't care about my powers right then, I just cared that these randoms were showing me more compassion than most others in my life had.

"A-and so… sniff the three of them let me stay with them until I was more e-emotionally stable. After that, I was offered to join them in their crime fighting a-and of c-course I said yes" Liquidator sniffed softly as he got out of the car, having parked in the driveway as he finished telling his story. Gosalyn got out too and ran around to jump up and hug him. He caught her easily and held her as she squeezed him, grinning a teary smile while heading inside. "Hunni! You're hoooooome… uh… did something happen?" Bushroot walked up and greeted them before he saw the tears. Megavolt peeked out of the workshop as he heard the door shut. Quackerjack also popped his head down from the ceiling, where he was doing... something. "Father just told me his story… It was really emotional so now he's crying! HE NEEDS A HUG!" the duckling quickly said, before Liquidator could explain it, leaving him surprised and embarrassed. "come on, hun! Their busy grown men! They don't have time fo-" before the man could finish, a pair of vines wrapped around his waist and pulled him into a Bushroot hug. "You're silly! We always have time for a comfort hug!" he chuckled. Megavolt also joined the hug, stating proudly "well lucky for me that I'm wearing rubber!". "GROUP HUG!" Quackerjack called out as he fell down from the roof and hung onto them with all four limbs, like a koala. 

Gosaly giggled and nuzzled into the nice, warm hug from all her dads. They were all so different, so weird, so unordinary.They all had such crazy, heartbreaking, inspiring and cool backstories. How could she go from having such a neglectful and uncaring foster dad to having four dads with nothing but love and care in their hearts. She couldn't help but to feel happy. So so happy.

#darkwing duck #DWD #liquidator #negaverse #nega liquidator #nega gosalyn #fanfiction #fanfic #Gosalyn Mallard #friendly four #the friendly four #dwd negaverse

[timeisacephalopod]

Playlist

I figured I’d write more of the YouTube AU with Peter/Stephen/Tony. Honestly, I should do some kind of other AU with them but for now we discuss Peter’s playlists lol.

“Wong has abandoned me,” Stephen says dramatically. Tony and Peter don’t even react because Wong would never abandon Stephen but he seems to think they should be a lot more invested. “Did you two not hear me?” he asks and Peter bites the bullet, sighing.

“We heard you, but we think you’re being dramatic,” he says. How nice of him to take one for the team like that.

Given how offended Stephen looks he’s probably going to regret that. “You think being upset about being abandoned is dramatics?” he asks in a haughty tone.

“Considering you decided Tony being on a business trip and me sleeping was you being abandoned, yeah,” Peter tells him.

Tony probably shouldn’t risk laughing but that’s too good not to laugh at.

*

“I love when people know shit-”

“Yes, me too but it happens so rarely,” Stephen says, cutting Peter off.

Peter sighs. “As I was saying I love when people know shit about the development of a project because this random person tweeted ‘the best thing about going to see Consuming Fire is that you know at one point it was a monster fucking movie’ and that’s hilarious,” he says.

God, yeah. And Peter fought about it for awhile too, which resulted in him nearly getting fired twice until Stephen had made a casual comment about making one of the characters a musician. With an in like that Peter had had a much less difficult time writing something that wasn’t total garbage, even if it was straight people. Then came the fight to cast Kamala and mini Peter in the roles, which resulted in a bunch more rewrites, but the interest generated from his casting choices alone seemed to appease pissy studios and audiences alike so.

“Imagine if Kamala was the fish man from The Shape of Water,” Stephen says, shaking his head. “Absolutely awful. Unpopular opinion, that movie was awful,” he adds.

“You have no taste,” Peter tells him.

“I thought the fish man was romantic,” Tony says and Stephen wrinkles his nose.

“White people are monster fuckers,” he mumbles. “Something went wrong in Europe.”

Peter starts laughing and Tony sighs, “dude, Sam dresses up as a furry on a regular basis. This isn’t just a caucasian problem- every race of human is into some weird shit.”

Stephen shakes his head, “Sam is an exception and should not be counted and when did he decide he was a furry?” he asks, frowning.

“Dude dresses up like a bird all the time,” Peter points out. “Calls his alter ego Falcon and he doesn’t even fucking dress up as a falcon.”

“He should dress up as a great tit,” Tony says and Stephen looks like his soul has died a little.

“We’re not talking about furries or monster fuckers anymore. We’re talking about Peter’s strange ability to make a playlist for every possible situation,” Stephen says. “Shall we go through the stranger ones?”

He pulls Peter’s phone out of his pocket and Tony snatches it, scrolling through the absurd amount of playlists. “Oh here’s one. ‘That feeling you get when you fuck at three a.m but actually you want to die.’ I don’t know what that means.”

Stephen pulls the phone back and starts scrolling. “Oh lovely- ‘for when you’re in Medicine Hat, Canada and the Tim Hortons is being held up.’ Are these built on personal experience?” he asks, squinting.

Tony takes the phone back and scrolls a little before sighing. “Seriously? ‘The feeling you get when you look at Tony Stark’s ass’? Is that a real thing?”

Stephen takes the phone back and laughs, “it was made three years before he met you,” he says. “That’s funnier.”

Peter snatches his phone. “I don’t even know how you two got that,” he mumbles. “And by the way- okay you know what, I will give you ‘Frankenstein vore playlist’ because I don’t even know what that means,” he says.

Stephen pulls a list from his pocket, “I’ve made a list of the strangest playlists though I did manage to somehow miss that one,” he says, wrinkling his nose at Peter. Tony leans over to look at the list and snorts at what he finds there. Honestly only Peter would have a playlist dedicated to making egg salad in someone else’s kitchen while you rob them.

“You have an ‘evacuate the building in case of fire’ playlist. No one will be listening to these, they’ll be exiting the damn building,” Tony says.

“Wedding in a classroom in rural Alaska- why is that a playlist?” Stephen asks.

“You went with that over ‘tickle my ass with a feather’ playlist?” Tony asks, giving Stephen a judgmental look.

“That one’s for Rocket,” Peter says, giving them more information than they wanted, Tony is sure.

“Got my ass kicked by a ballerina with teeth for a face- what? What does that mean, Peter?” Tony asks, baffled.

“What’s on the tin- it literally says it all in the title.”

Stephen rubs his temple and sighs. “Accidentally laughed at a funeral?” he asks.

Peter shrugs, “its been known to happen.” Even Stephen, the most cold hearted person Tony knows, clearly thinks that’s a dick move.

“Got caught in a government scandal?” Tony asks. “You don’t even understand politics.”

“Its worse because he has political opinions,” Stephen mumbles.

“Oh like that makes me any different than politicians,” Peter says and just because he’s right doesn't mean he should be.

“CIA mind control playlist?” Stephen asks.

“Are we going to read these all day, I feel like we’ve got better content than this,” Peter says.

Stephen squints at his list, “workplace serial killer playlist? I get work place shooter because that happens. I get disgruntled employee because that happens. I get serial killer because those are a thing. But in what world does a person have a problem with a work place serial killer?” he asks in a haughty tone.

“Well when you say it like that it sounds ridiculous,” Peter mumbles.

He gets a look from Stephen for that, “it sounded ridiculous the whole time. Like your damn monster fucking romcom.”

“It could have worked, we have vampire shows,” Peter points out.

Tony rolls his eyes, “that’s not monster fucking, that’s a cop out. You better be fucking something only vaguely human looking or you’re a pussy.”

“Structurally speaking female genitalia is the superior design, I don’t know why we use those as an insult. We should be calling people gonads on account of the poor design choices evolution made there. Or backs. The spine is basically a pixie stick holding up your meat sack- its an insult to biological architecture,” he says like that’s a phrase anyone but him has thought up.

Peter starts laughing and Tony decides to call it a day because there’s no coming back from that.

*

“So people have been writing meta on why our dynamic is so watchable,” Peter says, “and I honestly never thought I’d hear the phrase ‘Tony Stark is the straight man’ but here we are.”

Tony frowns, “I’m bisexual,” he says. How is it possible to fuck two whole assed dudes and still end up being called straight? Though there are those conspiracies about him being brainwashed and held captive because that’s the gay agenda these days, he guesses.

Stephen lets out a long sigh but Peter explains. “Its not a sexuality thing, its a comedy thing. There are the nutty characters and then the normal one who grounds them all- the straight man. You’re the one who grounds me and Stephen,” he says.

Tony squints, “cite your sources,” he tells Peter. Pepper is the straight man normally. Rhodey, he might be straight man passing if he didn’t always go along with Tony’s dumb plans. Pepper though, she lives and breathes common sense and forces him and Rhodey to also live and breathe common sense. Tony can’t imagine how he’s the straight man.

Peter nods, “yeah, so normally that’s not what the fuck you’d be on account of being a quirky billionaire genius who casually blows shit up on such a regular basis that its normal to you. But you hang out with a man who once faked a haunting to get rid of a roommate, casually refers to his coworkers killing people and how it inconveniences him because of hour cutbacks, and is sometimes actually magical. Couple that with your other partner in crime, me, who got into a several months long fight with a studio over whether or not I can make a monster fucking movie because I can’t write straight people, who got famous after writing a sci-fi musical space opera about his daddy issues, has a playlist for being murdered by sheep, and literally has a friend named ‘Rocket Racoon’ and your shit is no longer weird. You are the straight man only because the two people you’re with are so weird that your weird no longer looks weird in comparison,” Peter says.

They all sit on that for a long moment before Tony crosses his arms and glares straight ahead. “I don’t want to be the straight man,” he mumbles.

Stephen pulls a handkerchief seemingly out of nowhere and throws it at him. “Go cry me a river,” he says.

He picks up the handkerchief and frowns. “This is monogramed. And where wee you hiding it?”

*

Wong scrolls through the comments nodding to himself. “My favorite thing about these videos is my strange but adorable cult following,” he says.

Yeah, Wong is kind of a series regular but people have grown to like him with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Stephen, however, looks irritated with this. “They have poor taste,” he mumbles.

Peter pets his head, earning a dirty look for his efforts. “Don’t worry, only about half the audience hates you now,” he chirps in an overly cheerful tone.

“Half the audience needs standards,” Wong murmurs, taking a sip of Stephen’s coffee.

Stephen pulls his cup back, “yes, half the audience needs to grow up and come to the conclusion that I’m far superior to Peter,” he says. “And on par with Tony, I suppose,” he adds.

Wong takes the coffee back, “that wasn’t that half of the audience I was referring to, Stephen, and we both know that. And Peter is superior to you on account of having a personality that isn’t the equivalent of sand paper on the senses.”

“I have a playlist for that too,” Peter says, grinning.

Tony rolls his eyes, “you have a playlist for drowning in quicksand in the middle of a forest on a planet in another solar system. We fucking know you have a playlist for it,” he says.

“Have a playlist for when your irritating best friend all but forces you to pick up his questionable boxers in the morning and you feel a little bit of your soul slip into another dimension?” Wong asks and Peter frowns.

“I uh... no, I don’t,” he says, looking lost and confused.

#YouTube AU #peter x stephen x tony #alternate universe #fanfiction

[ctl-yuejie]

Wake Up Chanee (more than midway through the series) - Review (?)

Beware: mild spoilers.

This series is hysterical. In a good way.

I originally started watching this series by chance because I needed something short and uplifting and dumb to finish my day. And in all aspects this series delivers.

There is some weirdness in the acting, editing etc but this series is pretty enjoyable and got better by a surprising degree each episode.

All 4 main characters are walking stereotypes. And many of the storylines are stereotypical for what tends to happen to those kind of characters. But what makes this story so great is that all of them still feel like real people and the show casts a loving light on character traits that in any other series I would find unbearable. 

The humor is on point! They do have cliché comedy set-ups but they always turn the humor up a notch and ambush you with lines and situations that will make you laugh so hard you cry.

And the more episodes I watch I realize that what this series offers isn’t a big plot twist at the end but to let me now that they tricked me into thinking that this was a hysterically happy shallow show. Even Kluay and Aei whose characters’ progress I have been missing in the beginning are becoming so relatable and lovable. And I especially enjoy Dr. Nat’s storyline.

sidebar - Contrary to maybe popular belief this wasn’t supposed to become a BL blog (I hate that term) and unlike some BL fans I do enjoy the standard m/f relationships in tv series. I just think that queer characters need to get championed more, even more so queer actors.(where are my wlw romcoms?!) - end of sidebar

Niti Chaichitatorn plays Dr. Nat, a flamboyant gay man who works in a hospital. Like all other main characters I thought that he would be shown during this series as the slightly effeminate gay character and play up the stereotypes. But boy is this one well done and well written gay character. It obviously helps that the actor himself is gay and very vocal about stereotyping.

Great things about his character:

1. While in the tone of the show many character traits are played up to a comical level he’s never reduced to his gayness. He’s also very much not straight passing. While he’s not out to his mother (or so I assume) he seems to be comfortable in his skin and people around him and his workplace know that he’s gay. Asked what his aspirations are in life his answer is: “I want to be gay.” <3

2. He’s not reduced to being the gay best friend to women who cannot deal with their problems on their own. While that’s pretty much how the show starts out, Dr. Nat is very well aware of that fact. To some degree he likes to see himself in the role of the helper and watch whatever (mostly straight) drama his female friends are caught up in (you got to love his Schadenfreude and joining events just to lovingly laugh at people). But he not only gets advice and help in return he also has his own circle of gay friends and drag queens and during his youth days we get to see how he hangs out with his male friends most of the time.

3. He gets to like Disney princesses and act flamboyant and effeminate without the show ever questioning his masculinity. I’m not Thai so correct me if I’m wrong, but while he does use female language very frequently it never gets addressed that some people think that he’s not masculine. Also his relationship with Boy doesn’t turn into some poor copy of a heterosexual relationship with traditional gender roles.

4. His relationships give him a lot of depth. First time I thought that this show took an unexpected turn into character depth and seriousness was when he voices that he’s afraid of loosing people and due to that reason doesn’t let Boy get too close to him. Later we find out that his boyfriend during university just ditched him without saying goodbye and while he’s very much living in the present and enjoying himself this past experience has left a wound that hasn’t quite healed yet. The whole arc with Im and Nat is so sentimental and beautifully done. It helps that he’s in his 30s. He can be a drama queen and over the top but how he deals with his feelings for Im is mature while you can still feel his upset. Kudos to all the actors, the portrayal of two men who never really broke up and reunited ten years later was on point. There was sooo much chemistry without the viewer getting the feeling that something was going to happen between them again. I’m really glad they delved into his past and where his insecurities come from. Such a refreshing storyline. 

The chemistry between Nat and Boy is on another level. So far they’ve “only” hugged but there is so much intimacy to their scenes and they look so happy in each other’s company. Too often gay storylines, particularly in asian series, get reduced to some physical attraction between the characters. While they meet on a dating app and have a one night stand they manage to show what they like in each other apart from physical attraction. I’m all for kisses, but they’re so good they don’t need that to make their relationship convincing. The latest scene, where Dr. Nat runs in the hopes of Boy showing up must be one of my favorites. It could have gotten really kitschy and unrealistically sweet to have him actually appear at the hospital just like that but, bless this show for it’s humor, they turned it into everyday life magic. Don’t ever forget that this show can only get serious for 4 minutes tops before delivering some over the top hilarity. 

5. The positive portrayal of his sex life

Dr. Nat has had ex boyfriends, one night stands and uses dating apps. But the viewer is never let to believe that all gays are promiscuous nor that there’s something wrong with being very sexually active.

last sidebar - I wish they’d delve some more into Jane’s polyamorous bisexual side. - end of sidebar

This got really long and is mostly about Dr. Nat but I had to put this somewhere before I break my tags.

If you haven’t watched this show and need a romcom that’s thoughtfully silly check it out on GMMTV’s youtube channel (english subbed).

#wake up the series #wake up chanee #niti chaichitatorn #pompam #ctl-yuejie writes #pretty much turned out to be word vomit

[captainjackssingalongblog]

An American Werewolf in London is widely recognised as a cult classic in the horror genre. So saying anything bad about it will likely get me punched in the face. Thankfully I liked it. I didn’t love it, but I liked it. For me it suffered one glaring plot flaw, but was otherwise solid. And the prosthetics work was amazing, especially when you remember that it was made in 1981. I was also happy about man butts, but that’s beside the point.

If you don’t already know, An American Werewolf in London follows a pair of college students roaming the countryside of Northern England when they are attacked by a mother fucking werewolf. The real adventure begins after the attack and lets you see how the young men fare with their respective fates.

Spoilers ahead.

The first thing I loved was that the soundtrack team had a really fun time finding appropriate songs with “moon” in the title and/or chorus: Blue Moon, Bad Moon Rising, Moondance. Fun times.

The next thing I liked was the contrast between the hospitality of the truck driver and the almost hostile environment of the Slaughtered Lamb. The patrons are very obviously trying to get the young men to leave, but when they finally do there is a since of almost immediate guilt. That’s great character development for a very brief window of screen time and that’s brilliant. I love how these young Americans don’t heed the warnings of the locals (because they seem kind of nuts) when they do leave and wander off the road without realising it. That’s a very American tourist thing to do.

The initial werewolf attack was also pretty great. You had lovely puppet work on the werewolf. You had great prosthetics and make-up on Jack. And you had some nice foreshadowing with David’s running away and then coming back for his friend. It sort of lets you know that he’s going to run from being a werewolf, but eventually he’ll respond to the needs of others.

Once we get David to London, there’s a kind of fatal flaw that’s required to make the plot function: his relationship with Alex. Alex is his nurse. She is a professional woman in England and I wouldn’t imagine her very casual relationship with David would go over well with her superiors. But without that very off dynamic, we don’t have a maintained relationship between Dr Hirsch and David, which we need to round out our story. Without that relationship to Alex and Dr Hirsch, David would never realise that he really was a werewolf and really was killing people. But ok, we’ll accept that Alex has a thing for David and acts kind of inappropriately with him at her workplace. But when he’s discharged, despite some serious hallucinations and possible psychosis, she takes him home with her. Who does that? You wanna shag the guy, that’s fine, put him up in a hotel and visit. But this guy may be genuinely crazy and you invite him into your home? That’s nuts. That was my biggest problem with the entire movie.

Moving on. The prosthetics work for the transformation was en fucking pointe. So much so that An American Werewolf in London won the Oscar for Best Make-Up in 1982, which is impressive for a horror movie. I honestly expected it to be on a level of so bad it’s good, but it was genuinely good. The transformation was seamless, despite layers and layers of prosthetics going on to make it happen. And they looked good the whole time. The facial work was astounding. But the other prosthetics work that was amazing was on Jack’s rapidly decaying corpse. His first undead appearance had his entire throat exposed and it looked awesome. Then we have him in the sort of grey zombie stage, which was still pretty good. But his final appearance in the porno theatre is that lovely half skeletonised, meat falling off the face glory that we love to see in the undead. It. Was. Stunning. I don’t know if you can tell that I have a soft spot for prosthetics and make-up, but I do. Especially when it’s really good. And this was really, really good. And in 1981!

Let’s talk about Jack for a minute. I think Jack is a great character to try to guide David through accepting his own death has to happen. Jack is his friend. He loves Jack in a way. Seeing Jack decay and knowing that Jack has to suffer for potentially eternity for him to live makes things really difficult. But Jack goes about it with a sense of wit, which I really like. American Werewolf is by no means a comedy, but it certainly has its moments that make you at least snigger at it. Jack is actually really funny, in a dark, somewhat broody sort of way. But I like that. I like that a lot. It gives a sense of realism to things. We often say we have to laugh to keep from crying and I think Jack definitely connects with that sentiment.

And even though I think Alex makes a huge mistake taking David home with her, I think she really does care for him. I think she really does fall in love with him. And that makes it really sad to see her, at the bitter end, trying to reach out to what’s left of David’s humanity in the werewolf. But I also think it brings back the idea he presents to her that maybe only someone who loves a werewolf can kill them. While she doesn’t fire the shots, she puts herself out there for him to charge at. In a way, she gave him an out to let himself be killed, which was, at least for him, a show of love.

Now overall, I liked this movie. I certainly wouldn’t categorise it with a lot of other horror movies. I think the horror is psychological. David thinks he’s going crazy and then has to face that he isn’t, that he really is turning into a murderous monster. While yes, there is blood and mayhem, like many a horror movie, it’s not quite the same. You, as the viewer, don’t feel fear for the characters. I think maybe because you know where it’s going. But you do recognise the fear that the characters must feel. So I would categorise this one as more of a psychological horror than a traditional horror movie.

#An American Werewolf in London #The Captain Watches Movies #Movie #Movie Review #Horror #Werewolf #OMG the makeup

[creativeclutter]

Ugh. I just need to vent into the ether.  6 months ago I was discharged from a mental health ward.  Since then I guess things have changed but it feels like not enough has. It feels like my ‘progress’ is just all in my head. Like I snap out of it and realise I’m not that far from where I was 6 months ago. I know that all progress is good progress and recovery is always a bumpy ride but I guess I feel like 6 months is a long time. And I should have done more.  But then again I thought I’d be dead by now so I guess the fact that I still wake up every day is something. 

Recovery is made harder by the pressures of every day life. And I barely have a job or any other commitments. Can’t imagine how fucked I’d be if I was as busy as I used to be. I just want to lose all this goddamn weight from binge eating. And I want to have some money. I want to build good habits and choose to live rather than just exist. But I still struggle to organise myself and maintain a routine. I’m trying. I’m really trying, but it’s not enough.  I got a job at my old workplace which is good for money but stressful because they’re communication is so slow. I honestly don’t care if I get fired because I’m still not ready, at least not for that god awful job. 

I spoke to my ex today for the first time in 3 or 4 months. I don’t know why I answered his call. I can’t decide if I’m glad I did or not. I have mixed feelings about it and can’t seem to form any clear thoughts on it all. It just feels blurry. I’m still mad and his casual apology will never be enough. The most devastating thing is that one of my cats died this week. Like it’s so heartbreaking I can’t even process it properly. And I had to be the one to fucking find him. It’s the absolute shittest in this shitfest of existence. And my sister is overseas and hasn’t seen him for 2 months and has to bear the weight of his death while travelling for another month. My brother was devastated and I’ve never seen him cry like that. At least I wasn’t the only one. Burying him was borderline traumatic. I just. It’s burned into my fucking brain.  I’m not feeling good right now, obviously, so forgive me for focusing only on the negatives today. I will try to do better tomorrow. 

Fuck. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to get up early and go pretend to be a functioning human being and teach my class. That whole side of my life has no idea just how trash my existence really is. At least I can pretend to be functioning to do something I love. It just really takes it out of me. And it feels weird because for those 3 hours I become the person I wish I was. But then the mask comes off when it’s over because you can only pretend for so long.  Then after class I’m going to a party. I’m a fucking idiot for agreeing to go. It is the last thing i want to do. I will barely know anyone. I will feel ugly and uncomfortable. What if I get overwhelmed and have a melt down? But I told my friend I would go with her and I can’t abandon her. And she doesn’t know about my mental health problems so I can’t really just say ‘I can’t handle this party’. What the fuck do I do? Then I have to go all the way back into the city the next day to rehearse for the comedy festival which would be cool if it wasn’t currently a living nightmare for me to the point where I can’t even go there right now. At least I’ll get paid? 

I miss my step sister a lot, but I can’t just fly to Hong Kong whenever I want. And now her disastrous parents are having a baby. Like, just stop making people, you’re ruining their existence. 

I’m just. Things are better I guess, I’m just feeling shitty right now. And part of me just wants to give up on all of it. It’s so much effort for so little reward. I don’t know how to talk to people about my problems which doesn’t help.  I’m lonely, constantly tired, kinda angry, disappointed, and grieving. Get me out of here.  I need a fucking cigarette but I’m all out. 

#depression #anxiety #binge eating disorder #mental health #hey if anyone is reading this and wants to be a sympathetic ear/someone for me to chat to please hmu #i literally never ever talk to strangers or be this open in my posts #but i'm in a weird place right now and actually feel like it will help..maybe. #i might delete this in the morning #it has regret written al over it #but then again it's long enough that no ones gonna read it #i wouldn't #lol #k bye

[anahanash-blog]

‘Brother of the Year’ short analysis by a girl with two older brothers

The moment I saw the trailer of the Thai film, Brother of the Year, I was instantly hooked due to its relatable storyline and surprising inclusion of Kpop superstar, Nichkhun, to the lineup of actors present in the film. For years, the Thai film industry has been making waves as an underdog who is now making a mark for themselves due to their astounding cinematography and simple yet unconventional concepts. This is why most people are excited after watching the trailer because for once, a film’s focal point is now based on the struggles of having an older brother.

In the first quarter of the movie, we saw a glimpse of how Jane and Chut’s childhood turns out and without any surprise, most of them involve fighting and bickering. The movie went on with some slapstick comedy aided with comic visual and sound effects as the two fight in their adult years. 

Honestly speaking, I wasn’t a very big fan of these scenes. Although the reason may just boil down to not being one of the film’s primary audience, because I’m not Thai, I feel like there are a lot of ways to make it naturally funny without doing all those zoom ins and sound effects. From the perspective of a girl with two older brothers, I feel like every fight can be naturally funny as long as the lines are good and the actors would find their chemistry as siblings who annoy each other. It doesn’t have to scream comedy especially if your main premise is already funny enough.

Jane and Chit’s encounter in a client-agency manner

The story progresses after their paths have crossed in the workplace when Chut, who works as an Account Executive in an advertising agency, meets their client’s newest Brand Manager, Jane. Here, we can sense the sibling rivalry that stemmed from their childhood as Chit was the slack off and Jane was the achiever. 

In these scenes, I could see some similarities of this film with the Filipino film, Four Sisters and a Wedding because in both films, we see how sibling rivalry can bring so much impact to people that they can carry those baggages over up until adulthood. For me, this is an insight that most people must be aware of especially to parents who unconsciously (consciously for some) compare their kids with one another due to their undying favoritism. I think it’s time for parents to realize that there is a possibility that they are the ones contributing to their children’s insecurity and mental health issues-- and that needs to stop.

Jane and Moji’s forbidden love due to our Brother of the Year

The story progresses after Jane develops a romantic relationship with her colleague, Moji (acted by Nichkhun) wherein Chut refused of their love-- and eventually engagement and marriage, being the protective brother that he is. 

Despite Chut’s other reason for not approving of their relationship, we can see how protective a brother is towards her younger sister even though Chut himself is also a womanizer. And although it’s not really emphasized in the film, I was glad that the film depicted how men can sometimes be hypocrites when it comes to protecting their wives, daughters, sisters and other female family members when in fact, they are also the perverts whom they are afraid their family would date. In the film, it was mentioned that Jane hated her brother for always threatening the guys who liked her although the reason wasn’t verbally stated and in the first part of the scene, we see a portion of male gaze done by Chut with a woman he’s about to do it in his and Jane’s house.

Blood is thicker than water

After the huge fight that transpired between the two, it was heartwarming to see them emphasize what siblings are really for. The ending was actually the game changer of the movie because after attempting to make the people laugh on the first half, the result whether who laughed or found it corny would eventually slip on your mind after the second half of the film that you could actually feel your heart cry a little. Chut, acted by Sunny Suwanmethanon, is actually a great actor and it only takes a few lines for him to captivate the hearts of the audience. Urassaya Sperbund is absolutely stunning the film but her acting could’ve been better, in my opinion. Just like Nichkhun’s although it’s completely understandable since he’s not really an actor and according to interviews, he had to relearn his Thai after staying abroad for too long that his Thai proficiency became ‘rusty’.

All in all, I’ll give the film an 8/10.

#brother of the year #brother of the year review #nichkhun #sunny suwanmethanon #urassaya sperbund

[republicstandard]

Top Ten Movies You Couldn’t Make Today: 1990's Edition

As John Q's exploration of movies from the 1980s which deserve the Fahrenheit 451 treatment was so popular, we locked him in a dark room with a Netflix account and his weekly allowance of absinthe until he made another glorious slice of borderline-illegal viral content. The kids love lists, and we need the clicks! Thanks John, hope your time in rehab goes well. Here are 10 movies from the 90's that would never be made in our modern, progressive utopia.

10. The Lion King (1994)

As an allegory for mass Third World immigration and the consequent environmental degradation, cultural subversion, tyrannical Marxism, and ultimately population replacement, the film hits way too close to home. It also reinforces gender expectations via the patriarchal right of succession and is, in its portrayal of both the hyenas and Rafiki the mandrill, undoubtedly racist. Despite the setting in Africa, the source material is Shakespearean, and as a Dead White Male, this is strictly forbidden. What, Alice Walker isn’t good enough for you bigots?

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9. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

An all-(white) male ensemble cast? Oh honey, you’re dreaming! Not today, not ever again (unless it’s gay porn, to borrow the joke from Zack and Miri). As an added “bonus,” the film is decidedly anti-egalitarian in orientation, and is replete with a number of homophobic slurs. Deeply troubling stuff, here, folks.

8. Man of the House (1995)

Easily one of the most culturally appropriative scenes of all time takes place about mid-way through the film in the Boy Scouts-equivalent meeting where the entirely white (possibly minus one ethnically-ambiguous pair) male cast is wearing all manner of headdresses and war paint imitating Amerindians. To add insult to injury, the father-son duos are in a circle and are practicing a kind of “Native American” initiation rite by way of introduction, called the “Naming Ceremony.” I want to unpack how problematic this scene is further, but “I can’t even.”

7. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

The entire premise of the film is built on the decision of a man so desperate to spend time with his children that he enlists his fabulous brother to turn him into a nanny named Mrs. Doubtfire. The problem is that the humor of the film derives almost exclusively from the Robin Williams’s gender-bending and the absurdity of it all, thus, the humor must come at the expense of the Other; Williams’s character’s son completely freaks out after seeing Doubtfire/his dad urinating while standing: “He’s a she, she’s a he, she’s a he-she!” The children quickly turn against Doubtfire. Not very open-minded if you ask me. As Nico Lang wrote for The Daily Dot:

If Mrs. Doubtfire’s casual transphobia is a product of its era, so is its comedy… Mrs. Doubtfire also debuted the exact same month as The Crying Game, another AMPAS favorite that relied on the inherent titillation of transgender bodies…A culture that continues to laugh at “men in dresses” will continue to invalidate the struggles that actual transgender people go through every day, both in and out of the workplace. If our comedy is stuck in the ’90s, our treatment of LGBT people will be, too…What plays well in 1992 reads very differently today. Mrs. Doubtfire was a product of the gender politics of its era, a cultural panic about divorce and men’s declining roles in the home, as well as a deep insecurity about masculinity…Sally Field’s “Mean Mom” is the real threat. Because she wears the pants in the family, Williams’ character has to prove his worth by wearing a dress.

Commenter Gegenny on Reddit’s “r/asktransgender” forum doesn’t necessarily see the film as transphobic so much as nakedly misogynistic, declaring:

It is less transphobic so much as misogynistic. Man is willing to endure the most humiliating thing possible to see his kids, so naturally that means posing as a woman. The aspects of that humiliation are then played for laughs.

The reactions to the film are mixed; some consider it to be transphobic, others, as the quote above exemplifies, consider it “just” misogynistic, and still others say that it is transvestite-phobic. Whichever (or all of the above) the film is, it is definitely hurtful and hateful and should never have been made. As a final note, one could definitely read the “drive-by fruiting” as having homophobic undertones. A very problematic film any way you slice it.

6. Kindergarten Cop (1990)

More transphobia here. One of the most appalling scenes in all of cinema is when young Joseph, at only 27 months old says, seemingly innocently enough, “Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina!” After being triggered by this shocking ignorance of gender as a social construct when I re-watched the film for the purposes of this article, I was literally shaking. What were they teaching kids in school back then?

5. Aladdin (1992)

According to The Washington Post, 90% of the lines in the movie go to male characters. For Christine-Marie Liwag Dixon: Nearly a decade after slave Leia appeared in Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, Princess Jasmine faced similar circumstances in Aladdin. The depiction was no less creepy and no less sexualized, but is made worse by the fact that Aladdin is supposed to be a kid’s movie…To see Jasmine forced into subservience by the evil Jafar is nauseating. It’s not really surprising that Jafar treats women badly, but this scene goes a little too far for comfort in a children’s film, especially after Jasmine uses her feminine wiles to distract Jafar before Aladdin saves the day. Watching the sham seduction take place is gross, but is even more disturbing when you remember how many kids watched this scene without understanding just how messed up it is.

Furthermore, the film shows Arabic society (and Islam by extension given the source material) in a bad light as intractably patriarchal—this is extremely problematic as we all know that anything less than the deification of brown folks is racism, and anything less than hosannas to the heavens for Islam is “Islamophobic,” for it is well-established that Islam is enriching, empowering, peaceful, and tolerant.

(Let us not even get into how even the lyrics to the intro song were considered too racist, and were changed. Tsch, maybe we had 9/11 coming after all -Ed.)

4. Starship Troopers (1997)

Despite director Paul Verhoeven’s attempt to satirize the source material, Robert Heinlein’s novel is just too strong and the satire falls flat, instead making fascism look way too appealing. In fact, the entire future society was only made possible by the reclamation of Western civilization from the near-abyss of “democracy”; one may choose to remain a civilian with all attendant rights and privileges, but no vote and no ability to stand for public office and certain other professions, or one may earn the franchise through military service for the Federation at the potential cost of their lives. Furthermore, the protagonist of the novel, Juan Rico, is Filipino, whereas Verhoeven intentionally “white-washed” Rico and his friends and family for the film to highlight the overt “Nazism” of Heinlein’s creation. The problem is that, beyond betraying Heinlein’s point that race was largely irrelevant in the Federation (its military predicated exclusively on merit), the actors are all extremely good-looking, and their attractiveness only makes saving humanity from the Bugs while exercising their civic duty that much more, well, attractive.

3. Hocus Pocus (1993)

From the hook noses to the child sacrifices, the anti-Semitic overtones in this film are extremely problematic. In the opening scene, the local white populace comes with pitchforks to execute the three witches for stealing their children and using them in their rituals, which evokes uncomfortable images of an Eastern European pogrom. For context, Ron Unz explains:

It appears that a considerable number of Ashkenazi Jews traditionally regarded Christian blood as having powerful magical properties and considered it a very valuable component of certain important ritual observances at particular religious holidays. Obviously, obtaining such blood in large amounts was fraught with considerable risk, which greatly enhanced its monetary value, and the trade in the vials of this commodity seems to have been widely practiced.

Additionally, according to Sheikh Khaled Al-Mughrabi, the Jews were killed by the Nazis because they were kidnapping Christian children to use their blood to make matzah.

2. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

The 90s were probably our most transphobic decade. Elena Nicolaou writes:

Trans women in ‘90s comedies like Ace Ventura were often law-breakers who deliberately hid their trans identities, as Meredith Talusan points out in a Buzzfeed article. Consequently, “the exposure of these women becomes synonymous with ‘catching’ them; there’s no meaningful difference made between finding out a woman is trans and discovering that she’s a criminal.”

When Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) finds out that he’s kissed a man dressed as a woman, who also happens to be the villain, he has what Nicolaou describes as “an outrageously transphobic reaction.” He vomits in the shower and sets his clothes on fire. R. Kurt Osenlund recaps:

At the time of this movie’s release, Ace’s revelation was played entirely for laughs, but seen today, it’s basically horrifying. “Finkle is Einhorn!” Ace declares to himself. “Einhorn is a man!” With that, Ace, remembering that Einhorn pinned him on her desk and gave him sloppy kisses, goes into a violent burst of queer panic, purging in the toilet, loading his mouth with toothpaste, taking a plunger to his face, purging some more, burning his clothes, and finally crying naked in the shower, all to the tune of Boy George’s “The Crying Game.” Spying the pre-op trans woman the next day, Ace, still loading his mouth with chewing gum as a disinfectant, notes that “the gun” that was “digging into [his] hip” during the pair’s make-out session was in fact a penis, and he shudders madly at the thought.

The next day, as Nicolaou recaps, “He stages a big sex ‘reveal’ in which he pulls down the character’s pants.” In a thoroughly humiliating transphobic vaudeville show, returning to Osenlund:

Einhorn stands there on display, until, thanks to a tip-off from Marino, Ace grabs his culprit and spins her around, revealing the vivid bulge of a dick and balls that Einhorn had tucked back. Just then, “The Crying Game” picks back up on the soundtrack, and all the males on site begin spitting and cleaning out their mouths, as they too have all locked lips with a woman packing a cock. There is no redemption for Einhorn. She’s knocked into the water and left humiliated all over again—a pathetic loser who deserves to suffer not just for kidnapping, but for the gross crimes of mental instability, sexual deviance, and anatomical otherness.

If one thing is certain, it is that trans people should be above any and all reproach, even if they are sociopathic criminals. Which leads me to my final film:

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1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

As perhaps the mother of all transphobic films, the portrayal of transgendereds in The Silence of the Lambs as lethality incarnate probably set the LGBTQI+’s agenda to invert heteronormativity-as-deviant back a good decade. As author Mey wrote for Autostraddle:

Perhaps the most famous instance of a trans woman being used to scare audiences is The Silence of the Lambs. When we see serial killer Buffalo Bill in their most famous scene, it is meant to be one of the most jarring and disturbing moments of the film. We see someone who is presented to us as a man tucking their penis between their legs, wearing a wig made from a woman’s scalp, swaying and dancing to music. Growing up, I remember many times hearing that this was one of the strangest and creepiest scenes in modern film. This action of putting on makeup and a wig, tucking and trying to look as beautiful and feminine as you can is something that a lot of us trans women can relate to. It’s something that a lot of us trans women have done. And here it is being presented as the epitome of horror.

Mey is right—the perfectly benign activity of murdering women in order to skin and scalp them and literally “wear” them is presented here as deviant and horrific.

It’s something a lot of us trans-womyn have done.

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Appearing before The Dramacourt: While You Were Sleeping Eps 3 and 4

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

***Disclaimer***: This analysis based on Canadian law. This is also NOT LEGAL ADVICE for anyone and this drama is FICTIONAL.

Issues:

Whether there is some serious meta going on in these episodes.

Whether Jae Chan’s rationale for not wanting to believe Hong Joo’s ability to see the future is logical.

Whether a defense lawyer can force a prosecutor to go with a lesser charge.

Whether there is a distinction between Injury and Assault.

Whether defense lawyers can fudge medical reports and “get rid” of evidence.

Whether this episode highlights some of the issues faced by victims of domestic violence.

Whether it is acceptable to have workplace religious practices.

The Rule(s):

Totally. And even in this version, poor Shin Jae Ha doesn’t seem to be getting the girl.

Yes. It is logical.

No. That’s not really how prosecution works.

In Canadian law, the distinction is between Battery and Assault.

No. This means you have violated your ethical and professional responsibility as a lawyer and that you should be disbarred at the very least.

Absolutely. Battered Women’s Syndrome is a very real thing.

No. Unless your workplace by definition is some religious thing.

Analysis:

RedRosette J: This episode had a lot going on and we have a lot to talk about but first thing is first: Suzy. Honey. Take an acting class. Your acting has not improved since Dream High. Seriously. I’m honestly having trouble connecting with this character. (Also, my bad, I thought this drama was about people seeing visions of future deaths, but Jubiemon corrected me. It’s about people seeing visions of the future). I don’t understand her quirky/perky obnoxious Candy vibe. I really really wanted a more nuanced character. Someone with some depth and feeling and emotion that is more than just forced fake crying. Seriously. I also don’t really feel, at this point, a connection between Lee Jong Suk and Suzy. Sorry guys. It falls flat for me. If the super obnoxious OST and the intense close ups weren’t there to shove it in my face that this was supposed to be some fated love story, I wouldn’t buy it. Sorry.

Jubiemon J: I found this episode to still be a good setup for what’s to come. However, I do have a few areas that I didn’t quite enjoy so much. I also don’t like the character type they’ve set out for Suzy. This character doesn’t suit her and she hasn’t been able to fit well with this quirky character. (This is an aside but if you want to see a quirky personality, go look at one of the clips of “I Live Alone” with Sunghoon. He’s definitely 4D in a cool way.) Aside from her, though, I also felt like Jae Chan’s younger brother looks far too old to be a high school student. (Sorry pal.) I wished that they had placed him as a university student instead.

Having trouble finding the chemistry guys

Developing crushes like…

Serious talk

Being lowkey creepy

Cool art though

Being creepy on the subway like…

RedRosette J: On other notes, Lee Sang Yeob is doing a fabulous job as a sleazeball lawyer Yoo Bom who you just have to hate. He’s so irritating to watch and makes you want to just be like ugh stop. Which is great because that’s the character. The introduction of the second female lead (the prosecutor woman) also fell a bit flat for me. I don’t know anything about the actress but there was nothing really special about her introduction.

Jubiemon J: I agree so much! Lee Sang Yeob has been great as the evil criminal defense lawyer. I get so irritated when I see him! I kind of wish that Jae Chan was less upfront about things and had more EQ, but I guess that’s part of his journey of learning to act smarter and it does make a good contrast between Yoo Bum’s and Jae Chan’s personalities.

Oh my goodness! I completely treated the 2nd female lead as a minor, minor side character. My bad.

Don’t be fooled by this face

Did nothing for the plot

Breaking up with a piece of shit guy like…

RedRosette J: I also keep loving the interactions between the two brothers  and I’m curious to see how Jae Chan and Hong Joo stop Seung Won’s (yes, that is Shin Jae Ha’s character’s name. I knew there had to be reason why we weren’t told his name thus far!) impending fact. I am also curious to see how fate ties up loose ends in terms of the policeman who didn’t die (It’s all very Final Destination-ish). The side characters in the office are really awesome and I really really hope they don’t under utilize these actors who have so much potential for comedy.

When you really don’t want to wake up for work

Breakfast with the fam

When your sketch neighbour tries to be BFFs

You’re cute too. Who are you?

Sassing your boss like…

Spreading office gossip like…

Hearing office gossip like…

RedRosette J: I continue to really really like the plot though and the way it is written. I like that the writers don’t infantilize the viewers and keep the information going consistently. I really liked that Hong Joo’s past warnings to her dad and her backstory was being shown concurrently with the events of the present and Jae Chan’s future visions. It means that your brain is actively working while watching trying to figure out how the pieces fit. It’s been awhile since a drama has been able to do that for me, so I really appreciate that. One thing I’m not too excited about is the childhood trope. Really? You had to use the classic “they met when they were kids at a funeral home” trope to derive the future dream connection? Ehhh….I hope the writers sell me on a stellar reason for why they did this or I’m going to be super disappointed.

Jubiemon J: I did like the flashbacks mixed with Jae Chan’s dreams too. That was an interesting approach. I totally agree about that . . . fated to meet someone since childhood . . . Overused. Honestly I haven’t heard of any stories in my life where someone realized that he or she met his/her partner a long, long time ago. The most would be something like . . . oh they have some random mutual friend.

Issue 1: Whether there is some serious meta going on in these episodes

RedRosette J: I have two words for you guys: Page Turner. OMG. Kim So Hyun as an angry pianist and Shin Jae Ha with a closeted crush on her? Really guys? You’re going to do this to us again? Last time, Ji Soo got the girl, this time, I think external forces (and the fact that Kim So Hyun is only doing this as a special appearance) is going to keep poor Shin Jae Ha from getting the girl. I’m so not cool with this. He’s such a cutie patootie. Like total puppy vibes. Please let him have the girl. But real talk: this story line, although we could do with less of Kim So Hyun yelling at poor Shin Jae Ha because well, see above sentence. But either way, the meta was real folks.

Jubiemon J: I’m honestly tired of the angsty kid. Sure, I understand that you’re super frustrated about your family’s situation, but do you have to push away the nicest guy ever? Kim So Hyun’s character was just super rude here . . . It reminded me of Mean Girls. Twisted Regina George vibes with some crazy fam stuff going on.

RedRosette J Aside: For those of you who haven’t seen Page Turner, go watch it right now. Its three episodes of cuteness that you won’t regret. 

I still doubt he gets her

Issue 2: Whether Jae Chan’s rationale for not wanting to believe Hong Joo’s ability to see the future is logical

RedRosette J: I think what Jae Chan was saying to Hong Joo was totally rational and totally logical. Jae Chan says he doesn’t want to believe her even if it’s true because that means he will have to save everyone and when he cant he will be super torn up about it and he doesn’t think that he can handle it. I think it is totally reasonable to refuse to take on a responsibility that you are sure that you can’t handle. I think it’s irresponsible to take on something and then fall apart when you can’t do it. So yes, I agree with his line of reasoning. Whether this works out in practice and reality is a different story.

Jubiemon J: I actually felt kind of annoyed that he was being a hypocrite. He did save her . . . so why wouldn’t he believe in her ability to see the future? I felt like his reasoning was poor because he just didn’t have the guts to face the guilt or the courage to try to change anything. However, he did have the guts to save Hong Joo so . . . what is this sudden turn of events? I didn’t like it. I’m in the camp of . . . if you’re being given responsibility, you just take it and do it. It’s just like at work. You still have to do the stuff you’re assigned even if you don’t like the work. I also see this as a scenario of a doctor. If the patient comes to see you with some illness, you don’t just ignore and turn them away. You try to find a cure even if you know it might be futile.

Trying to rationalize things

When you’re irrational and you know it

Poor Seung Won!

Issue 3: Whether a defense lawyer can force a prosecutor to go with a lesser charge

RedRosette J:  Uhhhh no…..that’s not really how it works. A defense lawyer can’t just walk into the prosecutor’s office and be like “oh yea btw, these are medical records which show assault, so go with an assault charge….” No. The prosecution works independent of the defense lawyers. The only time they are in contact with each other is during pre-trial conferences and to request disclosure (the documents that the prosecution has against the person being charged). It is a gross miscarriage of justice if the defense gets to walk in and make demands about what charges to lay on a suspect. That’s not how the law works and I’m pretty sure that regardless of whether it’s Canada or anywhere else, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Of course, reality could be very different when you taking into consideration things like corruption and bribery etc.

Nope. Not how it works.

Issue 4:  Whether there is a distinction between Injury and Assault

RedRosette J: In Canada, there is a distinction between something called Battery and Assault. Assault generally deals with the threat of force and the person looking to act on it. Battery is when the victim actually sustains physical injuries from said violent threat. I think what might have happened here is that it probably got lost in translation and when they said “Injury” it probably translates to Battery or the equivalent of that. Kim So Hyun’s character raises an interesting point, where she says that in the case of assault,  charges are laid only if the victim agrees to press said charges. This would explain why Yoo Bom was trying to get the lesser assault charge which would mean that they could coerce the victim into not pressing charges. But generally, there is a distinction and there weren’t wrong in clarifying that.

Jubiemon J: What Redrosette said is in regards to the area of torts. In Canada, battery falls under the area of torts, which is civil law. If that were the case, then prosecutors would not be involved. It’d be the mom vs the dad and damages could be awarded. Also, battery is easier to fulfil than you would think��just has to be intentional, harmful/offensive, direct, force/contact of a person/body/purse of another. I remember our professor saying that even if you touch someone’s shoulder, that could potentially be battery.

Canada’s Criminal Code doesn’t list battery as a crime. Instead, the Code has an offense of assault and assault causing bodily harm. Canada’s Criminal Code lists here what assault would be:

265(1) A person commits an assault when

(a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;

(b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; or

(c) while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or an imitation thereof, he accosts or impedes another person or begs.

Different countries characterize their charges differently, so in the US, there is criminal battery. I did a quick look at the South Korean Penal Code and I think this would be one of the potential charges that the dad could face.

CHAPTER XXV CRIMES OF INFLICTING BODILY INJURY AND VIOLENCE

Article 257 (Inflicting Bodily Injury on Other or on Lineal Ascendant) (1) A person who inflicts a bodily injury upon another shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than seven years or suspension of qualifications for not more than ten years or by a fine not exceeding ten million won. (2) When the crime as referred in paragraph (1) is committed on a lineal ascendant of the offender or of his spouse, one shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten years or a fine not exceeding fifteen million won. (3) Attempts to commit the crimes of the preceding two paragraphs shall be punished.

Pretty sure this is Battery at this point

Issue 5: Whether defense lawyers can fudge medical reports and “get rid” of evidence.

RedRosette J: Uhhh…..MOST DEFINITELY NOT. That is not a defense lawyer’s job. You don’t “clean up your client’s messes” in that way. This would be a blatant violation of the rules of professional conduct and the ethics of being a lawyer. It could effectively mean being disbarred and even prosecution and jail time. Defense lawyers exist to ensure that everyone has access to the law and to make sure that accused persons are given a fair right to be heard having access to all the information and rules pertaining to their case. This is a far cry from a defense lawyer who goes and commits more crimes to get their client out of jail. WTF. No.

Jubiemon J: No! He also used to be a prosecutor too and from Jae Chan’s comments, he was already acting dirty back then. I remember glancing at the Penal Code for South Korea and there was a section for charges against corrupt public officials, so . . .

You could be disbarred bro

Issue 6: Whether this episode highlights some of the issues faced by victims of domestic violence

RedRosette J: I think we discussed this in a previous review too, but yes, this episode highlights some crucial things about victims of domestic violence. It is usually categorized as Battered Women’s Syndrome where the women are too afraid of the abuse to leave or stand up to the abuser. It’s a form of physical and psychological abuse. Kim So Hyun’s character says that her mother is more afraid of her dad than the law when the scene shows the mother agreeing to drop the charges against the husband. I think it’s important to realize that domestic violence is a very real and live issue and that it’s a good thing that dramas highlight these things.

Fear is a very real thing

Issue 7: Whether it is acceptable to have workplace religious practices

RedRosette J: Generally, workplaces should be secular so as not to alienate or exclude co-workers. I’m not really a proponent of religion in the workplace or anywhere involving communal stuff because I think that religion is deeply personal and should be observed in your own time. However, it makes a difference, if your workplace be definition is a religious place or organization or community. If everyone has the ability to participate that is fine, in my view. In this case, Jae Chan, not having a religion, was isolated from his co-workers who were praying at lunch. If one does have a religious requirement that has to be carried out in a communal place, it should then be done with respect to those who don’t and not in such blatantly alienating ways. So, in general, I don’t think that workplaces should have religious practices.

Jubiemon J: I also don’t think workplaces should force people to have religious practices, but I do remember that in South Korea, many citizens are Christians. Then again, I doubt that’d mean that religious practices would be obligatory at work. Somehow I’m reminded of that Canadian case regarding a Charter right and how there was some praying that would always happen before this meeting and there was a Charter violation (I think–putting that there b/c the Charter is definitely one of my weaker areas in law…).

Not cool.

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine. (Suzy please get some acting tips and step up your game girl)

File No: While-You-Were-Sleeping-EPS-3&4 Appearing before The Dramacourt: While You Were Sleeping Eps 3 and 4 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read 

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[vileart]

Dramaturgy Abort: Therese Ramstedt @ Edfringe 2017

MISSION ABORT

By Therese Ramstedt

directed by Claire Stone

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2017

Venue:    Gilded Balloon –

Rose Theatre Studio (Venue 76)

Dates:    2nd to 28th August 2017 (not 14th)

Time:     5.45pm (6.45pm)

Box office:  0131 622 6552

Internet:   http://ift.tt/Ox1xIU

PAIN, SHAME, CONFUSION!

OR

EMPOWERING FREEDOM AND A MASSIVE RELIEF?

Therese Ramstedt is proud to make her debut at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the world premiere of her latest play Mission Abort – a humorous, honest and heartbreakingly human monologue about a woman’s experience of having an abortion.

Strong opinions on the legislative side of women’s reproductive rights are voiced on a daily basis, yet rarely do we hear the perspective from the women who have had to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Mission Abort confronts our taboos by telling the story of one woman’s journey – from discovering she’s pregnant, to making the decision, following it through and getting on with life afterwards. This explosive tragicomedy brings its audience on a laugh-cry rollercoaster featuring questionable life-modelling skills, the looming voice of Donald Trump and leg-dancing to Kate Bush.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

As with many creative ventures, this play started in personal experiences. Before I myself had an abortion, I had absolutely no clue what the implications would be on me and the impact it would have on me physically and emotionally, or the effect it would have on my relationship (both with my partner at the time and with friends). I came to realise women's (and men's) personal experiences of terminating pregnancies is a part of the discussion on female reproductive rights that is missing. We talk a lot about the legislation side of things, but hardly ever about the human beings behind this decision. And when abortion as a topic is addressed in arts and the media (which is rarely!) it is still very marginal, and often portrayed as something fairly shameful that women either regret or simply - in superhuman fashion - forget about.

So I wanted to create a piece that in an upfront, honest and accessible (which for me often means humorous!) way talked about this experience that one in three women in the UK have gone through at some point in their lives. And a piece where the woman who chooses to terminate a pregnancy is neither a victim nor a robot - but a strong person who makes the right decision for herself, but still allows herself to feel and to take this big decision seriously.

For a woman, the life-changing moment comes when there are two purple lines on a pregnancy test - and contrary to what Hollywood rom-coms would have us believe, there are alternative choices that we have a right to make. And with this work, I wanted to be completely free of judgement either way but just shed some light on a relatively unheard perspective. Because I believe human beings empathise with and find understanding for other humans - so if we don't humanise the choice to have an abortion, and actually talk about the experiences, how can we expect other people to understand that choice? 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I really would like to think so! I think one thing that performance does (or can do) which is unique to other forms of communication is to create an immersive narrative where the audience really can have the opportunity to put themselves in the character's shoes and perhaps understand their path and motivations. This, at least for me, I don't think happens to the same extent in lectures or talks - we might get to understand someone intellectually, but perhaps not laugh and cry with them in the same manner. What I really appreciate about live performance in particular is that there is no escape (cruel, I know!) - once the audience is in the space with you, they can't just hit the pause button if they feel too challenged. Of course, there is always the option to walk out but that is often much more of a statement than people are willing to make...  

How did you become interested in making performance?

I actually can't even remember a time when I haven't been making up stories for performance. It was always something that I knew I wanted to do, but I suppose if we are going way way back (as in, to nursery school!) it was often a way for me to create small worlds that were closer to the kind I wanted to live in. One where little girls could wear pretty dresses AND fight with swords saving villages from evil dragons (I didn't know it at the time, but I basically just wanted to be Daenerys Targaryen). And performance-making for me since has just become a way for me to say my piece, but without lecturing or in any way judging other people - I am generally much more interested in raising questions than I am in providing answers (even if I do take a great deal of pleasure in being right when it comes to quizzes and anything grammatical...)

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

A really important thing for me was to incorporate a lot of humour, as I think it is our responsibility when creating work on a "serious" or "difficult" topic to make it as accessible and enjoyable for an audience as possible - to make it a conversation people want to have basically! Also, without laughter there can be no tears and I find it very difficult to connect with any work that doesn't have both sides of the comedy/tragedy coin.

Another thing was to not shy away from my own personal experience, and exploring parts of myself that were at times quite difficult. While the play did very quickly become a separate entity to me and my story, even if the events have ended up being nearly exactly what went on in my own life, having my personal experience behind me made me perhaps more daring in how far I could take it and how much I could address in the piece.

And this, I think, is what has turned into what I now hope is a very overall "human" piece - the woman in the play is me, but she could really have been any woman who'd found herself in the same situation.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Exploring big human topics through humour and music is what I did with my Swedish theatre company, Annan Teater, so I think it does follow on quite naturally! Previous work I have made have dealt with topics like depression, suicide and sexism in the workplace - so it's probably in there. However, this is the most personal work I have made, and definitely the work that digs the deepest into one individual human's experience - it is also the first full-length work I am producing and performing in English.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope that they will perhaps understand a little bit more about something they may not have thought of before, and to feel encouraged to openly talk about the experience of terminating a pregnancy. Or at the very least, maybe empathise with and understand the woman who wants to make this choice for herself.

(Of course, I would love for audiences to also experience a connection with the piece, to laugh and be moved - so far people are responding beautifully to it and hopefully there will be more of the same!) 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? I did debate a bit back and forth about how to best get the audience on the character's side, and one important aspect of this is the audience interaction I have in the piece - throughout it, I (try to) give them the opportunity to support the character and be directly involved in her choices and experiences (cheering for her when she finds out she is pregnant, hold her hand through the procedure etc) But another important element was to not be too "in-yer-face" and to let the audience make up their own mind - this piece doesn't preach or judge, it is simply showing a woman at her most vulnerable but also at her strongest and most empowered. I also want the audience to come out of the show with a positive, empowered feeling in them - so choosing to also share the positive elements of both pregnancy and being able to make the choice to terminate was always really important for me. 

HOW CAN A CHOICE THAT IS SO RIGHT BE SO HARD?

Having previously touched upon the subject of abortion in one of her earliest plays with Swedish theatre company Annan Teater (which she co-founded and ran between 2012-2015), when Therese had to make the decision herself, she discovered that there is a side of the story that nearly always seems to be missing. What is having an abortion actually like for the woman who goes through one? Obviously deeply personal experience that is individual to all women, but with one common factor: not something that we talk about.

Mission Abort crushes the taboo around abortion and explores the ups as well as the downs, offering a truthful and direct account of a topic that is acutely current – and what better year to do it than the 50th anniversary of the UK’s legalisation of abortion?

IF WE CANNOT TALK FREELY ABOUT IT, WHAT DOES “FREE ABORTION” REALLY MEAN?

Therese is a versatile writer, singer and performer who has worked across a myriad of art forms including film, theatre and music - as a performer, producer and PR - with venues including Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall and also at the Edinburgh Fringe and in her native Sweden. Humour and song are at the heart of her performance-making, and alongside her own creative work Therese performs extensively as a singer with ensemble London Contemporary Voices. With LCV, Therese has collaborated with artists including Laura Mvula, Nitin Sawhney and Imogen Heap, and features on the soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Mission Abort is developed with the support of Soho Theatre, where Therese has been a Young Artist on the Comedy- and Writers’ Lab schemes since 2015, and is directed by Claire Stone from feminist duo Feral Foxy Ladies (I Got Dressed in Front of my Nephew Today and Balancing Acts). 

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