#this is what barbie really looks like

[meandmypagancrew]

So, I don’t know if I’m the only one who noticed this, but with the exception of Barbie, am I the only one who thinks most movies recently have been really poorly marketed?

Like, Oppenheimer was a critical success but I think we can agree the marketing team did an abysmal job - like Christopher Nolan’s name definitely sold plenty of tickets but for the most part, it seems they just let the Barbieheimer memes carry them to the finish line.

Now, I’m not sure if this is related to the strike, if marketing teams for movies completed before it but not released yet are striking or if they’re one of the exceptions that was carved out - which, if they’re striking, good for them, but if not, I don’t think they’re doing very good jobs. I think a good example of this is A Haunting In Venice. This movie comes out in less than a month, and I haven’t seen a single trailer for this movie despite going to the movies several times over the past few months, and while my local theatre does have a poster up for it, this is it.

Now, this is a bad poster. The only thing it’s inspired in us is confusion. After Indiana Jones and Barbie and all the Ghibli Fest movies we’ve gone to we’ve stood and looked at this poster and all we’ve felt is confusion. I mean, we recognized that that’s the actor who played Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express, but did that mean this was another one of those or is it a mere coincidence that he’s in another movie? Actors do that, you know, they play multiple roles. And especially since the Agatha Christie book this is based on is actually called something different, it really doesn’t convey enough information to actually get people interested, I feel.

So I took five minutes and improved it. I feel this poster is 50% more likely to sell tickets because it’s at least 75% more informative and has 100% more false advertising because I couldn’t resist.

#a haunting in Venice #Agatha Christie #Tina fey #michelle yeoh #kenneth branagh #Taylor swift #like I’m not a marketing major or anything #but I really feel like so many movies recently have fallen short #and after the runaway success of Mario and Barbie #we can no longer blame the pandemic #marketing is just… marketing is dropping the ball these days #what’s gotten me into the theatre lately? #well mainly Ghibli fest because I really enjoy Miyazaki movies #and I haven’t seen so many of them #(like tonight I’m going to wind rises and I haven’t seen it before) #Barbie which was marketed so well and looked so fun #and Indiana Jones because we were bored and there was a showing in twenty minutes and you know I love archeology professors #I just feel like at this point failure to market well is a big reason cinema is dying

[funzos]

I really enjoy seeing a lot of barbie posts these days, this drawing is in honor to everyone who never owned a ken doll

I actually got one but he was beheaded, after that I enjoyed cutting the hair of some barbies and dressing them up in ken's clothes. Shout-out to all lesbian and transmasc barbie dolls

insta ♡ ko-fi

#barbie #barbie fanart #what else do i tag this #i was bored and now you get barbies #This is pretty much what my masc barbie looked like #ken's clothes really looked like this lol #they both keep the super feminine eyes and smile though #for funnies #doodle

[babykittenteach]

2023 in review! I made an effort to try more things and it worked mostly (at least for TV and movies). New things, new-to-me things, and new installments of old things all had characters to love even if I didn't necessarily feel fannish about them, and I'm hoping 2024 does, too.

#but yeah no I had a lot of fun with some of these #mp100 is now fully going down as one of my favorite works of art ever. i mean it. i'd stick it on a shelf with discworld. #trying Nida Manzoor's work was SO GOOD like if edgar wright knew how to make girls lovable I meant to only try one episode of WALP #and then I marathonned it all in one night right into the sunrise and I do not regret it #(look I love edgar wright but) #i had my issues with GO2 and Fionna & Cake and HxH (which I finally tried yes I am late) but still they had babies in them #one piece and the last of us did like major progress for proving those mediums *could* be adapted and not suck so seriously kudos #I didn't go into Barbie expecting it to Solve Capitalism and The Patriarchy so I appreciate what it did do #Nimona was just gorgeous #Across the spider-verse is so good it's hard to say anything about it #Peacemaker is obnoxiously good and Chris's breakdown near the end really got me #Bottoms & Marry My Dead Body & Ying-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity are just fun okay don't think about it #the strange planet show was sweet and peaceful to watch #and even with a 40% budget cut OFMD has my heart and ed is The babygirl of all time for me #thanks for reading these tags if you did and I hope you have a good new year #art i'm proud of

[lesbian-space-fish]

Here's my finished Starfire and Nightwing dolls! For Starfire, I coated her in a light layer of gold glitter paint and did her eyes in glittery green, then I sewed her a whole costume :D. For Nightwing, I painted over the light aqua(?) accents in a deeper, prettier blue and then added fingerstripes and blue soles to his boots and coated him in satin mod podge to look less plastic-y and more supersuit-y.

#i really love how they turned out #i had to design kori's whole costume bc i don't love any of her canon hero fits #except her original ntt look which wouldn't work #and her titans suit which would have just been a painted bodysuit and no fun to make #i tried to make this one like. a modernized version of ntt? #something cute that u could still fight in yk? #my art #custom doll #my dolls #its been so long since i finished a doll i can't remember what tags i use #custom barbie #starfire #koriand'r #dick grayson #nightwing #dickkory #teen titans #dc comics

[burntambrosias]

(accidentally inaccurate) fanart for chapter two of @uirsoi 's zombie apocalypse au fic, As We Turn. banger fic pls read it!!! it deserves every ounce of attention possible

#had plans to make this a full piece but got too excited and couldn't figure out what exactly the scenery outside the hospital room window #looked like #had a lot of fun though #i really want to draw barbie next #the marauders #marauders #james potter #james fleamont potter #fanart of a fanfic #as we turn uirsoi #marauders fanart #my boy looks a little feminine here with his shaggy hospital hair but he pulls it off

[swordmaid]

gaslight gatekeep girlboss AND misandry

#I’m crying I missed this dialogue in my first run 😭😭 #shri’iia taking the memory shard from him even though she doesn’t know what it is only that it looked pretty #honestly menzoberranzan sounds like barbieland except evil with slaves and misandry #I also hc it’s shri’iia’s first time in the surface like if she hadn’t been taken she wouldn’t have left the underdark #so she’s really giving barbie going to the real world and instead of finding less feminism #she’s finding less misandry slaves everything is too bright the sky is too big AND she has brain rot it’s a lot for her #shut up about bg3.

[itspileofgoodthings]

it’s the way Ryan Gosling plays Ken’s feelings for Barbie for me. because the feelings are unreal and fake in the way of a doll but they’re also intensely real in the way of his actual personality/who he actually is.

#it’s the way he looks at her sometimes when she isn’t looking at him #and it’s just full of intense longing and vulnerability #so it’s that combination that I love SO much #which is over-the-top cartoonish-ness that’s full of PERSONALITY and excess and conviction #and then this core of -well I already said it but INTENSE vulnerability #it’s Michael Scott in love with Holly. It’s Schmidt in love with Cece #and the way Ryan plays it is even more so because he’s a doll and of course in a real way his love for her is not a real thing #BUT IN AN EVEN REALER WAY—— #To paraphrase Michael Scott (!!!!!) #it’s the realest thing anyone in Barbieland has ever known (to paraphrase Taylor)! #like he’s the only one trying to do anything real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #and so for me my Barbie takes are all secondhand #because the story they’re telling has some narrative cracks and weaknesses in it #but also I kind of don’t care because they’re not focusing on the story that is the most interesting to me personally #which is this hilarious icon of a cartoon man who is—somewhere in the depths of his little plastic Ken heart—really in love #and I know it seems like I’m just repeating and twisting what the movie DOES say. that he’s in love but it’s fake and he has to get over it #to be his own person #but that’s only the one layer for me!!!!!! #and it’s a true one. I actually love his existential crisis and the moment where he’s forced to be his own person (doll) #and that’s the best thing Barbie could do for him in that moment #but it only addresses part of the situation —the part of his feelings that are fake. it doesn’t actually see or do anything #with the real love that’s also somehow by the magic of personality there #And it pretends it isn’t. BUT IT IS ALSKKSKSJEJJE #like I’m SORRY but he is just an absolute magnet for her and he’s so deeply responsive to her presence underneath all of the exaggeration #it’s in his eyes it’s in his voice!!!!! like. Sorry I know love when I see it akskksksksksjsj #and yeah that love is very decidedly not in her character and at this stage that made sense for it not to be #because of her journey to humanity etc. but I wanted them to do something with that real love in Ken and they don’t even see it #which is OKAY because tbh I’m mostly just delighted that it’s THERE #but yeah. That’s the most interesting part of the movie to me #how could it not be

[airlock]

y'know, I'm about 1098475093740 years late to making the post where I grouse about it but I really have to say. you know those barbie & ken in prison memes?

why oh why do people always draw the ken looking straight at the camera and smiling smugly like "you think iron bars can stop me? ha!"??

the thing that makes the meme so good at its source is that the original Ken has no fucking idea what's going on. far as he's concerned he might as well just be doing a fun photobooth with his girlfriend even though people are being weirdly pushy about it. Barbie is the one who looks anxious and indignated not because she's the one who's not Above It All, but because she's the one who can tell that whatever's happenning to her right now isn't so whimsical -- at least, not without Ken's attitude, anyway.

"one of them is Dangerous, the other is Conventional" is just kind of yawn, seen it a million times -- whereas "one of them can tell what's wrong with this situation and the other is just unbreakably over the moon at all times" is what makes the meme worth memeing as far as I'm concerned

#my stupid text posts #now to be clear I haven't watched barbie the movie. and for that matter I haven't even watched the trailer that the meme comes from #but there's really nothing I picked up from osmosis that tells me I should expect Ken to be calm in that situation because he's dangerous #and not because he's just full of glee and/or dense #what I can say for sure is that he is not looking straight at the camera in the meme lmfao #anyway it's not that I think every fandom meme should skew as close as possible to replicating things instead of speaking to the characters #but this version of the dynamic is so everywhere it really just seems like people didn't quite get the memo on the original

[ineffably-human]

Sometimes I'll come across a shitty Tumblr post or article or YouTube cash grab that points a finger at the newest big thing, or some recent trend in storytelling, or whatever. And it thinks it's doing me a favor, like:

"You idiot. You fool, you precious little complete fucking moron. Don't you understand this thing you like is PRODUCT? Don't you know you are just being made a slave to PRODUCT, and it's actually not awesome, and it's not actually smart it's basic, and you could be feeling something beautiful and true but instead you've been tricked and you're chewing your cow food like a mooing baby?"

And some people fall for it like 'aw gee Rick, I was all excited for this thing until I learned it was basic and I'd be a moo-baby'.

Do you know how goddamn stupid execs and studio heads are? They have no idea what works. They get something that people respond to and they just start throwing different versions of that same thing at the wall until the returns diminish. They're terrified of anything new until someone with enough money and heat backs it, at which point they'll use even a hint of failure to justify why it was a mistake the whole time.

This means we need to support different and unique things. But it also means that if something went right, if something resonates with enough people, it's usually for a reason. Even if there were reliable triggers that got flipped in our brain - they often got tripped by something interesting or different. Something that was done with love, and that inspired love, and was unique even if the thing had old bones.

Or it was dumb shiny fun but it did something nobody else was doing, which is also worth celebrating. That's art too.

I promise you're allowed to love things. I promise you can ask for innovation and depth and whatever, and demand for ethics and diversity, and also be excited by PRODUCT. The parts of PRODUCT that are any good are still made by creators who give a shit. And they're part of the evolution of how we tell stories and make art just like everything else.

#this rambling nonsense was birthed by the Barbie movie and Frozen and the best of the Marvel movies #and every genuinely good remake #but most recently by that one post that's like 'nostalgia is a corporate prison actually sweetie go have new adventures' #like looking at what came before and finding new ways to value it now isn't a form of growth #I'm really okay without you rescuing me with your hot take (that mysteriously fits the algorithm) i promise

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Thank god for Auden, she still refuses to allow angst to get in the way of her fluffy Frey time:

Auden acted on impulse, stood on the tips of her toes to press her lips to Frey's. After a moment in which Frey stood in frozen shock, Auden landed back on her heels and laughed a little at the stunned look on Frey's face.

"Oh, okay, you figured it out, that's cool," Frey muttered, her voice high and tight with blatant shock, and Auden giggled at her. That same glow from before lit Frey's features, a soft golden sheen like candlelight, and her hand tightened around Auden's for a fraction of a moment. Something like relief washed over Frey's face, and she raised her trembling, flour-dusted free hand to trace her fingers over Auden's cheek, silencing her giggles with that touch. "This is cool, right?"

Auden smiled and reached up to press Frey's hand into her own cheek. "If you're asking if this is alright with me, then yes. Honestly, Frey, I'd think you've never courted anyone before."

Frey flattened her hand, pressed her palm against Auden's cheek, and swiped her thumb over her cheekbone, almost absentmindedly. "I mean, not really? I've had a few flings, but nothing really... I dunno. I just don't want to fuck this up."

"You're doing fine, Frey," Auden promised. "Though I won't protest if you decide to kiss me."

"Can I?"

The smile on Auden's face widened into a grin. "I thought that was a blatant invitation. Yes, Frey, you may kiss me."

#WIPpets (WIP snippets) #Forspoken #frey holland #auden keen #freyden #Frey/Auden #me: *smushes my Frey and Auden Barbies together* now kiss #Auden: WAY ahead of you ;) #meanwhile Cuff's being a little shit and ruining the mood for Frey lol #(he actually does his best to give them privacy while they act like teenagers; that's why Frey looked relieved for a second) #(not that he says it like that lol no absolutely not he's just like ''oh this is embarrassing I can't watch this call me when it's over'') #(but Frey picks up on what he really means and she'll sincerely thank him for it later) #(or give him shit) #(either/or)

[standingonborderline]

this is kinda vent-y and i don’t know how to explain this better but— i miss sanders sides. and i miss when the fandom was truly active. you can only do so much fanon content after such a long ‘’hiatus’’ (if we can even call that). i miss the sides, i miss seeing any new official tss content and getting so happy from it that my face hurts from smiling so much. i miss being fascinated by fanarts, i miss seeing familiar usernames from people that are (to a certain degree) well known in this fandom in my dash. i miss searching for new fics to read every once in a while because i have a Very Specific Taste and have already sorted through all that had my interest. i got into this fandom in late 2019, and even by that time it wasn’t ‘’very active’’ compared to earlier years i guess, but compared to now, it was thriving. 

it’s just kinda... disappointing. i thought i would never get uninterest in sanders sides or thomas’ content in general, but now i see myself every day more and more far away from whatever it is that he creates. i still think thomas is an amazing and talented person, but... there’s been a while i haven’t got excited for his content. 

i really liked roleslaying with roman, and the characters and pretty much everything about the series. it’s so fun and has a lot of potential fandom/fanon wise, but i think it can’t help but live in sanders sides’ shadow. specially with the name being roleslaying with ROMAN, even though they’re different version of the same characters, we associate one thing with another. i didn’t really mind the merch videos at first, but considering we haven’t had a new tss episode in over a year... it’s getting embarassing. like really, really embarassing. like, i wouldn’t release a new merch for a series i haven’t produced for in more then a year because i would genuinely be ashamed of myself for doing so.

it’s just really unfortunate that it has come to this situation. i get that the season finale is a big project, but he has been working on it for AT LEAST over a year (and i’m not exaggerating). meanwhile several other videos have come out. i mean, of course he doesn’t owe us anything but... even considering from a productive point of view -- it takes a lot of time and effort from script writing, costume prepping, songwriting, filming, editing, all of that -- i personally feel like there is no reasonable explanation for a new episode taking this long to come out. it’s not like he’s procastinating, he’s just neglecting it and hoping people will forget about it. 

sanders sides got me lots of positive experiences -- a fun fandom, new friends, amazing fanon creations, incredible characters with so much potential for more development... it was what got me into gifmaking in the first place, but now there is just... i don’t really get excited about it anymore. 

it kinda feels like we, the audience, have been left in a limbo. even if thomas’ would come out and say ‘’hey sanders sides is gonna be discountinued’’ it would be... at least SOMETHING. like we would know better than having blind faith and waiting for new content, you know. either get it done or end it, i don’t know.

#ts criticism #and don't even get me STARTED on the janus 'casual outfit' photos that was ugly as shit #but honestly he asked for what he should wear for it ON TWITTER so really what could we expect #i mean . give me like half an hour and an internet connection to pinterest i will make a better casual janus look #i'm not even joking #also if anyone's interest i'm highkey considering moving on to making barbie movies gifs instead. on another blog obviously #at least these get me excited and the barbie brainrot is real

[mxbitters]

slowly amassing a small thrift store barbie collection. im gonna need to learn how to sew doll clothes especially for this extra doll because the barbie clothes i have are built for earlier barbie measurements but like.. until then i’m discovering the wonders of doll photography and making them be in love <3

#and the height difference .. incredible #riviera barbie has much less arm/leg posability but idk i think im makin it work #maybe i’ll try out this doll dress my gramma made for riviera barbie though i think her yellow one piece isnt supposed to be ripped #what im trying to do is pose them like human models and really get them to look like real interacting humans #riviera barbie can at least twist her torso which is a nice touch for posing

[235uranium]

back from the barbie movie and I certainly have Thoughts on what the movie was doing but overall I do think it's worth seeing! it's fun

#☢️.txt #spoilers in tags! #i think what they did with ken is actually really fascinating and while i do get why the movie doesnt focus on his motivations #or the fantasy politics of barbieland #i AM personally interested in them #like his frustration is coming from a legitimate place and the movie does acknowledge that both barbie (margot) and the barbies overall were #Not In The Right and its not the actual solution to the issue of feminism #in the same way that the movie acknowledged that barbie didnt solve feminism and in many cases ended up playing into #the very ideas that prevent women from pursuing the jobs barbie is often shown in #im sure ppl will critique the movie for not going far enough but like. i dont think their point was to make a massive statement? #so much as it was to make a campy blockbuster that gently acknowledges the ways people can so often feel left out #its not the feminist piece of a generation so much as it is a love letter to barbie that acknowledges how shes #an inherently flawed consumerist brand. but one thats deeply cherished by generations and has left a massive pink stamp on our culture #(its probably worth noting that i have generally positive memories of barbie) #(despite being a weird fat kid i never personally felt alienated by barbie and my memories are extremely fond) #(i didnt like baby dolls bc. i never have liked kids but barbie was a fantasy in sparkly dresses) #(she was married to my dinosaur toys. ive always known what im about yes) #my favorite barbies were swan lake a halloween witch barbie and a halloween ghost barbie #(also idk is this an autistic thing for me to only learn most young girls compared their bodies to barbie at like 14?) #(like it just never dawned on me to compare my looks to a toy tbqh. i was more upset by the actual lack of clothing in my size)

[frecklystars]

When there’s a high quality version of the Barbie movie out for me to 🏴‍☠️ it’s over for everyone. You know how many gifs I’m going to make of Ken???? [counting on fingers] at LEAST... four

#ok spoilers in the tags incoming #every time I see the movie I want so badly to gif that part where #he is on the beach goin to war and he’s shaking. eye twitching. breathing erratically #and his dancing AGH i wanna gif those body rolls so baddddd it's so hot #or when he stabs his chest that move is so good too. but luckily that gif is already out there #I want to gif the part where he’s crying his eyes out and he looks down at his trembling hands and clutching them to his heart #and you SEE those tears on his face and his breath is hitching and he looks so fukcin BROKEN #BRO-KEN IF YOU WILL. #I hype myself up for literally every single scene he’s in #doesn’t matter what he’s doing in the scene he does SOMETHING cute or funny #whether it’s a laugh or a way he moves his hands or the way he tilts his head... #there is always something that catches my attention and holds it so tightly #like literally almost every single line he says is so fucking funny #or the way he looks at barbie while he's walking away and not takin his eyes off her #THE BOW? WHEN THE LADY ASKED HIM FOR THE TIME? AND HE BOWED SAYING 'I SHALL SEEK MY FORTUNE THERE'? #LIKE HONEY BABYGIRL ANGEL DARLING SWEETHEART WHAT WAS THAT. AND CAN YOU DO IT AGAIN #'I have all the genitals' knocks me out every time #and not even just funny moments but the moments where he's DEVASTATED I live for that shit #him breaking down yelling 'NO *YOU* FAILED *ME' while SHAKING and then he falls onto his knees #i really went into this movie not expecting anything. but most of all i didnt expect to be THIS in love with Ken of all characters #I really entered that theater expecting Barbie to be my main f/o and yeah she is one. but the MAIN main f/o is Ken?????? #that’s when you know it’s a good movie when you make me give a shit about a Ken doll #barbie movie spoilers #woof #love notes #that being said can anyone let me know if u find a HD version of the movie floating around... #i only see ppl recording the movie screen w/ their phone dfjsfjdf

[thevirginslvt]

i have so much rage contained for this one person and i feel so dumb about it because they are out there living their best life while i’m fantasizing about ways to shut them up

#i’ve never met someone so sexist and homophobic and media iliterate in my whole life #if ‘barbie is about hating men!!1!1!1’ was a real person (they said that unironically) #nah it ain’t that big of a deal i only see her once a week but she’s a TEACHER #🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢 #please look for another line of work preferably somewhere you don’t have to share your opinion #plus she has the confidence of a man with no empathy like she’ll just spit out some garbage and look at everyone like i’m right ain’t i guys #i don’t even try to hide it bc wtf???? she just said drag queens are ped*s??? AND SHES IN THE CHRUCH???:!:!:! #i wanna say something back so bad but i’ll end up looking like i got a personal vendetta against her (i do) #and no one else says anything so far the most i’ve noticed is that when she’s starts rambling people will just tune out #i really wanna do that but i’m so curious about what she’ll spew this time 😭😭😭 #this why i block people i be a hater and get mad by myself and say nothing

[aeide-thea]

you would think that actively wanting to look masc would deactivate yr reflexive '😔 at being unfeminine' reaction but, alas,

#like literally it's like. would i feel better if i were more ~delicate~ in XYZ ways. absolutely i would not #like i imagine that and it's like. yikes no that image is some uncanny valley snapchat filter shit #the way i look is correct for me and could only be improved by getting butcher #and yet. shame like handkerchiefs!!! #brains r insane. sometimes you really do relate to all these SFF stories abt like. alien processes/consciousnesses lurking in yr head #like yeah there IS some other bitch tucked away in there like athena barbie and nothing she advocates is good for me! #(anyway. prompted by seeing a non-moot's Feminine Selfie and having a minor crisis abt it.) #(absolutely idiotic of me bc like. why shd their appearance have ANY implications for me whatsoever. we're different people.) #(but why have feelings you can intellectually & ethically endorse) #(when instead you can have the spectre of yr toxic 'femininity is a race yr assigned to run' conditioning lurch up out of the sludge!!) #(god.) #the psyche #what is gender we just don't know