#this is so incoherent but I’m okay with that ❤️ love and light ❤️❤️

[bradassholemajors]

Wtf Is Shock Treatment’s Deal? (Or, Local Critic Discovers Escapism and Having Fun In The Midst of Late Stage Capitalistic Dread)

Watched Shock Treatment for the first time this week, and I am a changed man lol. Here are some disorganized thoughts:

I think something that makes Rocky Horror so special is that it can be as deep or not-deep as you want it to be. Like, if you want to think about the cultural implications of the themes portrayed (hedonism, gay & trans liberation, gender roles, the Invasion-of-the-Body-snatchers style infiltration of outside queer forces, the downfall of the safety contained within a collective identity), you can absolutely do that! There’s so much to be interpreted there!! But if you are just here to see Tim Curry looking incredibly sexy and violently thrust along to the Time Warp at a midnight showing with a bunch of cool strangers, that is absolutely awesome, too. Slay!! Take what you want.

BUT SHOCK TREATMENT MANNNN??? Shock Treatment is a whole different ballgame lol. Like, it is also a thematically rich goldmine, if you’re willing to squint a little— in terms of content included, not necessarily how it’s portrayed within the narrative. In the words of Barry Bostwick here, “it was a statement about the future that we weren't quite ready to explore. We didn't really even have the mental emotional vocabulary to understand what Richard [O’Brien, the creator] was trying to say.” I think this is spot-fucking-on!!! It’s absolutely frighteningly prescient, especially today in terms of the commodification of mental health. Like, woah. Janet being crowned “Miss Mental Health” felt like such a Gwyneth Paltrow moment. Cultural prophet Richard O’Brien saw the dark cloud of Betterhelp and wellness culture galloping over in the horizon in the distance of the American landscape, and he set out to warn us.

I still don’t quite understand what happened in the movie. I still don’t know what my takeaway was supposed to be. And I guess if you’re a little insane and love having fun doing thematic analysis with weird media (like me), taking Shock Treatment seriously may be right for you, lol. But thematically overall I think it’s safe to say: it’s a lot less coherent than its predecessor. It’s messy. It’s not interested in being flawless. It’s not interested in appealing to an audience. It’s barely interested in being a sequel. Shock Treatment is lowkey pointing and laughing in the face of those who showed up expecting a masterpiece— which admittedly was me, because I take Rocky Horror pretty seriously. (I put off watching Shock Treatment for a while bc I wasn’t sure about how it would affect the Rocky Horror Universe I had in my head.) If not for the internet reviews prepping me, I would have walked in completely expecting another nuanced perfect symphony of a movie to measure up to Rocky Horror’s magic.

But the thing was? Watching Shock Treatment, it ended up I did not really care!!!!! I was having the time of my life!!!!!

(more under the cut whoops)

Wtf was going on!!!!!!!!!!! Who knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still don’t quite know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I loved it!!!

This reaction of such joy, just letting myself vibe out made me think because when did I start getting surprised when watching a movie is more pleasurable than not??? Isn’t that the entire point of media??

I think with the modern commodification of media analysis and examining pop culture up close, I’d argue that Fun Media without a message is actually pretty hard to come by— at least in mainstream culture. Even stuff as sanitized as Disney movies are now digging into like generational trauma, appealing to what seems to be a collective search for depth (or at least the appearance of depth.) Modern neo-nazi brands of fascism wields power like never before, horrific images of violence follow everyone left and right. Sometimes it seems like this open secret, that everyone knows there’s this looming darkness at the forefront of our minds at all times.

So this transition from Rocky Horror to Shock Treatment felt actually sort of powerful to me. Rocky Horror’s generation-long reverberations of shamelessly depicting sensual revelry are so powerful; it’s bold even for today! (Of course, we all know transvestite isn’t a term commonly used today, but looking at it through the lens of its time, it becomes clear what a miracle the movie is. Knowing what it must have meant to queer people at the time it became a phenomenon— giving them a real space to be themselves in a hostile world criminalizing who they were, in a time of oppressive pressure to stay silent — that is the type of brave blatant acceptance hard to come by in any era.) Rocky Horror is something I don’t know if will ever happen again, and its sequel seems to concur.

Shock Treatment has been called a cash grab but I beg to differ. If you’ve seen it, no offense: but does this seem marketable to you??? It seems like it’s a Richard O’Brien project (already wacky) that went through several levels of development hell and heavy modifications through the creative process. Said with the utmost respect… it may have got away from them a bit. Put lovingly, Shock Treatment lowkey kinda sucks a little at times. It’s silly, it’s got a huge cast and musical fun galore. It’s serving B-movie realness. I don’t say this to bash on it, I say this with a bemused respect— I think the existence of Shock Treatment is as much a miracle as Rocky Horror (aren’t all creations???)

So in the first iteration, we have advocacy and fighting for freedom for those long silenced… but also, Shock Treatment seems to allow the creators to just let themselves have fun. Aren’t they both revolutions in their own right? Does everything have to be lasting cultural milestones or does our enjoyment matter in the moment? I’d argue we need both as human beings to thrive. It comes back to that Rocky-Horror-experience philosophy I covered where you’re taking what you feel you need most from the media you consume: a message or a celebration of just being here.

In conclusion, sometimes shit doesn’t have to be that deep. More movies should just say “fuck it, we ball” and give you the most absolutely incoherent fun time of your life. I love not taking things seriously, and I love creators willing to not take their work seriously. Perhaps Richard O’Brien also had a premonition with Shock Treatment in the sense of how he just had fun with it! Maybe we need less attempts at masterpieces and more attempts at just creation for the joy of it— or both, because joyful creation makes masterpieces!!! I’d love to see more creators of every skill level and every background, known and not known, say fuck you to capitalism and expectation and marketability and just say, we’re gonna do it anyhow, anyhow!!!

#this got away from me #just like #shock treatment #may have for #richard o brien #media studies #hey janet. i’ve got something to say #this is so incoherent but I’m okay with that ❤️ love and light ❤️❤️ #written while I was so so sleep deprived pls only discuss if you are nice and kind abt it lol #love me writing a whole essay on how cool it is to not take things seriously - taking it Very Very Seriously #mamma mia #<- this is also abt her in a. way #Farley flavors call me

[synthetickitsune]

hii can i please request fluff prompt #34 with hoshi? thank you so much ❤️

Hey, thanks for your request! I hope you like it! ♡

Hoshi (Seventeen) | "You don't count - I love you." fluff | 0.8k

Your phone vibrates on the table next to you. Again. You pretty much know what to expect, but you pick it up anyway.

It’s hard… I wanna go home… ㅠㅠ The message reads and you can only smile sadly and try to reassure him that the shooting will be over soon.

We have practice afterwards… ㅠㅠ He responds almost immediately. You don’t know what’s gotten into him today and it makes you worried. Then again, he’s been having a rough day after a rough day and he must be feeling drained. Still, when he doesn’t even have energy to be his usual cheerful self anymore, you know it’s serious.

Practice will fly by quickly, love. Fighting, you’ll be home soon~ Horanghae ♥ You text him back, sighing. You wish you could do more for him, but right now, you can only hope he’ll get through his day. 

You can’t stay still, however, and so you make it your goal to make it so that there’s everything Soonyoung could wish for ready in your home. You go out to buy his favorite drinks, snacks, and ingredients you use to cook his favorite meal. You light up the scented candle that he likes in hopes that it would maybe help him relax.

Only once everything’s ready and you’ve showered do you lay down on the couch, ready to rest before he comes home.

You don’t have to wait much longer as soon the door is unlocked and he enters with a tired greeting. You put away your phone, meaning to go greet him and check on him, but he’s quicker. Before you can get up, he collapses on top of you, burying his face into your stomach with a long sigh. His arms sneak under you in a loose hug.

“Hey,” you smile sadly upon seeing him so exhausted. He looks at you and murmurs something incoherent before nuzzling back to your body. You chuckle and run your fingers through his hair.

“You’re home, baby. Rest now. I’ve prepared food and snacks, would you like to eat now?” you ask, scratching his scalp gently. 

“No, ‘m too tired,” he slurs, rubbing his face against your stomach, clingier than usual, as always when he’s tired. 

“Wanna tell me about it?” you offer, but don’t push. You keep playing with his hair, as much as his moving around allows you.

“It’s just too much. It’s overwhelming. The practice, the rehearsals, all the shootings… We have to talk with so many people it’s tiring me out too. It’s just too many people,” he whines, now leaning into as much of your touch as he can.

“Do you need some alone time?” you ask gently so as to not make him think you’ll just get up and walk away. It’s not enough, if his almost offended expression is any indication.

“No! Why?” he pouts, holding onto you tighter.

“Love, I’m not going anywhere, alright?” you chuckle, leaning closer to kiss his forehead. He relaxes, once again laying down on your stomach. “I just thought it might help since you’re tired of dealing with people.”

“I am, but you don’t count - I love you,” he says, looking straight into your eyes as his embrace gets tighter again. 

“I love you too,” you smile at him, making him smile as well, “Just know that it’s alright if you need some alone time to recharge, okay? I’ll return to you as soon as you're ready.”

He only nods before crawling higher, leaning his forehead against yours.

“Thank you,” he says before capturing your lips with yours briefly, “I appreciate that, but I really need you here right now. You’re giving me more strength than you realize.”

You cup his cheek, kissing him again and again, feeling him smile into the kiss. But the tender moment is interrupted when his stomach grumbles. You laugh, he pouts a little before joining you.

“How does the food sound now?” you ask again and see him contemplate the answer.

“Will you sit on my lap?” he asks back, wiggling happily when you agree. “And will you feed me too?”

“Love, I think this is getting a little too much,” you tease, making him whine and cuddle closer to you again.

“But I’m tired, so tired,” he complains and, presumably, tries to find a way to melt into you.

“Alright, I get it,” you give up, trying to get away from all his tickling touches, “I guess my tired boyfriend does deserve some pampering.” 

“What would I do without you?” you feel him smile against your skin before he gets up and pulls you up with him and into his chest, absolutely refusing to let you go. He clings to you as you walk to the kitchen to heat up the food. You can’t find it in yourself to mind, however, as you feel his energy slowly recharging and mood lifting.

#seventeen #hoshi #x reader #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #drabble #fluff #requested