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blackboxoffice · 3 years

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‘The Underground Railroad’ attempts to upend viewers’ notions of what it meant to be enslaved

by William Nash, Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures, Middlebury

Above: Making the series changed Barry Jenkins’ views on how his ancestors should be described and depicted. Atsushi Nishijima/Amazon Studios

Speaking on NPR’s Fresh Air, Barry Jenkins, the director of “The Underground Railroad,” noted that “before making this show … I would have said I’m the descendant of enslaved Africans.”

“I think now that answer has evolved,” he continued. “I am the descendant of blacksmiths and midwives and herbalists and spiritualists.”

As a scholar interested in how modern representations of enslavement shape our understanding of the past, I am struck by the ways Jenkins seeks to change the way viewers think about – and talk about – Black American history.

In doing so, he takes the baton from scholars, activists and artists who have, for decades, attempted to shake up Americans’ understanding of slavery. Much of this work has centered on reimagining slaves not as objects who were acted upon, but as individuals who maintained identities and agency – however limited – despite their status as property.

Pushing the boundaries of language

In the past three decades there has been a movement among academics to find suitable terms to replace “slave” and “slavery.”

In the 1990s, a group of scholars asserted that “slave” was too limited a term – to label someone a “slave,” the argument went, emphasized the “thinghood” of all those held in slavery, rendering personal attributes apart from being owned invisible.

Attempting to emphasize that humanity, other scholars substituted “enslavement” for “slavery,” “enslaver” for “slave owner,” and “enslaved person” for “slave.” Following the principles of “people-first language”– such as using “incarcerated people” as opposed to “inmates” – the terminology asserts that the person in question is more than just the state of oppression imposed onto him or her.

Not everyone embraced this suggestion. In 2015, renowned slavery and Reconstruction historian Eric Foner wrote, “Slave is a familiar word and if it was good enough for Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists it is good enough for me.”

Despite such resistance, more and more academics recognized the limitations of the older, impersonal terminology and started to embrace “enslaved” and its variants.

The new language reached another pinnacle with the publication of The New York Times’ 1619 Project. In the opening essay, project editor Nikole Hannah-Jones eschews “slave” and “slavery,” using variants of “enslavement” throughout. However controversial the series may be, it is setting the terms of current discussions about enslavement.

“Enslaved person” – at least among people open to the idea that a fresh look at American chattel slavery necessitated new language – became the new normal.

What, then, to make of Barry Jenkins’ saying he wants to push past this terminology?

In that same NPR interview, Jenkins notes that “right now [Americans] are referring to [Black slaves] as enslaved, which I think is very honorable and worthy, but it takes the onus off of who they were and places it on what was done to them. And I want to get to what they did.”

I think that Jenkins is onto something important here. Whichever side you take in the ongoing terminology debate, both “slave” and “enslaved person” erase both personality and agency from the individuals being described. And this is the conundrum: The state of enslavement was, by definition, dehumanizing.

Above: Caesar, played by Aaron Pierre, and Cora, played by Thuso Mbedu, escape from the plantation where they were held as slaves in ‘The Underground Railroad.’ Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios

For artists, writers and thinkers it’s difficult to reflect on the dehumanization of masses of people without diminishing some of the characteristics that make them unique. And once you step onto that path, it’s a short journey to reducing the identity of the collective group – including their ancestors – to one that’s defined by their worst experiences.

Seeing slaves on screen

In some ways, because of the nature of their medium, filmmakers have fared better than their fellow artists at balancing the challenges of portraying the horrific experiences of enslaved people as a whole and elevating the particular experiences of enslaved individuals.

So where does Jenkins fit in the lineage of cinematic depictions of enslavement?

From the start, comparisons to “Roots” – the first miniseries about American chattel slavery – abound.

“Roots,” which appeared in 1977, was the first miniseries on American television to explore the experiences of slavery on multiple generations of one Black family. It also created powerful opportunities for interracial empathy. As critic Matt Zoller Seitz notes, for “many white viewers, the miniseries amounted to the first prolonged instance of not merely being asked to identify with cultural experiences that were alien to them, but to actually feel them.”

Some Americans might remember those eight consecutive nights in January 1977 when “Roots” first aired. It was a collective experience that started and shaped national conversations about slavery and American history.

By contrast, “The Underground Railroad” appears in an age replete with representations of enslavement. WGN’s underappreciated series “Underground,” the 2016 remake of “Roots,” 2020’s “The Good Lord Bird,” “Django Unchained,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Harriet” are just a handful of recent innovative portrayals of slavery.

The best of these series push viewers toward new ways of seeing enslavement and those who resisted it. “The Good Lord Bird,” for example, used humor to dismantle ossified perceptions of John Brown, the militant 19th-century abolitionist, and opened up new conversations about when using violence to resist oppression is justifiable.

A delicate dance between beauty and suffering

Looking at “The Underground Railroad,” I can see how and why Jenkins’ vision is so important in this moment.

In Jenkins’ films “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” the director made a name for himself as an artist who can push past narrow, constraining visions of Black identity as one marked solely by suffering. His films are not free from pain, of course. But pain is not their dominant note. His Black worlds are places where beauty abounds, where the characters in the stories he tells experience vibrancy as well as desolation.

Jenkins brings that sensibility to “The Underground Railroad” as well.

Critics have commented on how Jenkins uses the landscape to achieve this beauty. I was struck by how the sun-soaked fields of an Indiana farm create a perfectly fitting backdrop for the rejuvenating love Cora finds there with Royal.

In “The Underground Railroad,” slavery – for all its horrors – exists in an environment nonetheless imbued with beauty. The curtain of Cora’s vacant cabin flapping in the breeze and framed by the rough timbers of the slave quarters evokes the paintings of Jacob Lawrence.

Above: Barry Jenkins’ Black worlds are places where beauty abounds. Atsushi Nishijima/Amazon Studios

In other scenes, Jenkins juxtaposes radically different landscapes and actions to emphasize the complexity of these characters’ experiences. For example, Cora works as an actor at a museum, where she plays an “African savage” for visitors; in one scene, she changes out of the costume and into an elegant yellow dress. Walking the clean, orderly streets of Griffin, South Carolina, she transforms into a picture of middle-class propriety.

Scenes portraying the manners and reading lessons offered by the faculty of the Tuskegee-style institute where Cora and other fugitives find shelter demonstrate the allure of these middle-class values. On first glance, it all appears promising. Only later, when Cora’s pushed by her mentor to undergo forced sterilization, does it become apparent that she’s landed in a horror show.

These vignettes are but a few examples of the thoroughgoing power of Jenkins’ aesthetic. Every episode yields moments of beauty. And yet at the flip of a switch, serenity can devolve into savagery.

Living with the recognition that calm can instantly and unexpectedly become carnage is part of the human condition. Jenkins reminds viewers that for Black Americans – both then and now – this prospective peril can be particularly pronounced.

#film #tv streaming #television #amazon studios #african americans #african american history #slavery #enslavement #underground railroad #featured #thoughts

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thevividgreenmoss · 4 years

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The goal of the radical critique of value is therefore a society beyond “abstract labor”, value, the market, the State, and the dissociation between the sexes. Naturally, the achievement of this goal poses enormous problems, because human beings have been “socialized within” these categories, and have internalized them, for centuries. That is why there is no single road that leads directly out of the existing order; instead, a process of historical mediation is required. Mediation means that it is necessary to find a new relation between immanent struggles for money, state services, etc., and social resistance against capitalist crisis management, on the one hand, and the goals of the categorical critique, on the other. It involves, in a way, the old problem of the relation between “journey and destination”, but under new conditions and with an entirely different, and more profound, modus of critique.

Here, the categorical critique also includes the perception that it is no longer a matter of simple opposition to an enemy conceived in a merely external manner (“capital”), but rather that all of us, even with regard to our most private existence, are “capital”. This means that even within the social movements, there will be contradictions that have to be resolved, not ignored. Thus, the dissociation between the sexes still exists in the social movements, too, and it must be criticized there; for example, when the onus of the crisis is, “naturally”, placed upon women and the conquests of the feminist movement are rolled back. Ideologies such as nationalism, racism and anti-semitism also permeate social contradictions and are widespread among the “humble and downtrodden” of this world, either openly or in a disguised form. The necessary critique of ideology must not retreat behind the abstract predominance of the “social question”; just as the contrasting material social situations of various groups (migrants, for example, on the one hand, and native workers who live under precarious conditions, on the other) must not be subsumed under the generality of this “social question”. To the contrary, tensions and differences must be critically endured and digested. A social movement in common does not arise as an abstract postulate, but only as a result of this confrontation.

...Commodity-producing modernity itself developed the idea that was supposed to have eliminated metaphysics. Value itself, however, constitutes a “real metaphysics”, an “empty form” that cannot be apprehended by the senses, which is transcendent in relation to social needs and qualitative contents. The superficial universalism of this form is at the same time structurally male (androcentric), and the modern subject is, originally and by virtue of his essence, a western, white, male subject. Value and its subject did not arise from an exclusively “objective” historical process, but rather, at the same time, by way of ideological affirmation and the conditioning of social consciousness. The basis of all modern theories and ideologies is the philosophy of the Enlightenment, which, as the “mother of all affirmative reflection” (even in traditional Marxism), substantially contributed to the formation of the global system of commodity production. Thus, the radical critique of value and of dissociation must also include a radical critique of Enlightenment thinking. This is not, however, a conservative anti-Enlightenment and irrational anti-modernity type of critique, but a critique of the roots of modern thought, which are entrenched in the real metaphysics of value.

The Enlightenment tradition contributed in various ways to help instill human beings with the logic of value and of dissociation. Thus, it not only helped to spread an external “discipline” for the demands of “abstract labor”, but also laid the foundations of a program for the internal “self-discipline” of individuals, which is still in effect today. At the same time, it produced that ideological fixation on circulation (in the market and among its subjects), which even today still informs a false understanding of “freedom” and “equality”, even on the left. Finally, it provided ideological support for the androcentric character of modern universalism; its philosophy is structurally “male” and conceals the dissociated moments both conceptually and theoretically. In the works of Foucault one can find abundant material and critical reflections on “disciplinary machines” that were based Enlightenment concepts. Foucault, however, stopped halfway in his critique of the Enlightenment. In his legitimate revulsion towards the mechanistic party Marxism of the sixties and seventies, he mistakenly perceived any questioning of the social form as “economism”. Thus, his critique of Enlightenment values only leads to a positive concept of the mechanisms of a contingent “production of truth”, which no longer has any relation to the logic of value and of dissociation between the sexes as a historical social formation.

Naturally, the critique of value is also a critique of the kind of everyday life that value creates. The social “real abstraction” affected, during the process of capitalist modernization, all the spheres of life, architecture, esthetics and culture and even eating habits (agrobusiness, fast food) and personal relations. The most recent global crisis is accelerating the liberation of the “abstract individual”, in whom, however, the dissociation between the sexes still prevails. Value and the universal competition associated with it penetrate even the most intimate aspects of personal life and destroy all human bonds. People are becoming more vulnerable and self-oriented; the narcissistic and hysterical social and personal character has spread throughout all social situations. The hystericization of the society of crisis does not respect the boundaries of politics, science, or groups devoted to critical theory, or even love and friendship. Personal vituperation and avoidance are everywhere replacing substantive discussions. Feelings of competition, fear of human bonds and of “commitment”, an abstract psychodynamic that is always ready for conflict in every sense of the word and anxious for personal “validation”, threaten to submerge all content and even radical critique itself. Theoretical contents themselves, and even feelings towards other people, are no more than interchangeable poker chips in the “struggle for positions”. Individuals are becoming as unpredictable as the climate and the financial markets. This socio-psychological tendency is socially conditioned and can only be done away with in the process of the social revolution, not by pedagogy, or by means of any coercive social controls, in the furnace of neo-utopian projects of the “reform of life”. It is nonetheless necessary to discover how to effectively resist this tendency of the internal crisis of the subject within social movements and groups devoted to theoretical reflection, in order to maintain the capacity for action in theoretical critique and in the practice of relations in general.

...The fetishistic character of social reproduction means that human beings do not consciously direct their own social relations and do not use their own resources and abilities by means of free agreement; to the contrary, they are subjected to a means which they have themselves produced, but which has become autonomous in relation to them. This means, which in the modern world is known as value and its outer form, money, command social reproduction as a blind self-regulation (“second nature”). The modern understanding of reason that was produced by the Enlightenment tradition is totally in thrall to this self-regulation of the means-fetish; it contains only a historically specific reason, tailored for the commodity form and destructive in its very essence. The modern irrationalism defended by the currents of bourgeois counter-Enlightenment merely constitutes the other side of the coin of this reason and is itself derived from the legacy of the Enlightenment. A categorical critique such as the critique of modern fetishism is a critique of the internal nexus between modern reason and modern irrationalism; it must lead to “another reason”, and therefore develop a “counter-reason”, against the fetishistically-constituted reason of the system of commodity production.

We are only prisoners of fetishism insofar as, under the dominant conditions, the reproduction of our entire practical life is at the mercy of the “irrational reason” of the fetish of the commodity and of capital. The blind robot of the “automatic subject” forces us to “work” for our own destruction. The rationality of the entrepreneurial economy undermines the foundations of human life by permanently “externalizing” costs, thus destroying the biosphere at an accelerating rate. In accordance with the standards of this same reason, human and material resources are de-activated, regardless of material and social needs, once they cease to satisfy the fetishist criterion of the profitability of capital. Although there is more than enough human ability, means of production and knowledge, they cannot be utilized freely, but are subject to the restrictions of the fetishist social form. The production of “abstract wealth” (Marx) leads to mass impoverishment. This process, however, is not an external clash of interests, but even the poor also work for their own impoverishment, by articulating their social and material needs exclusively in the social form of value, and therefore in the form of fetishism. This contradiction, which has already undergone successive periods of exacerbation in the periodic crises of capitalism and was later relatively overshadowed by new outbursts of capital accumulation, is acquiring an existential dimension in the global crisis of the third industrial revolution, because there will no longer be any real sustainable accumulation of capital. Either we break with the fetishism of the social form or the life of society will be “de-activated” in an increasingly more catastrophic manner.

Robert Kurz

#*#robert kurz #essays

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arecomicsevengood · 4 years

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“Follow Your Own Star”

Lately I’ve found it hard to shake the feeling that everything of value is being destroyed, but we are being given simulacra in exchange, while we wait, to soften the blow. The relationship between the U.S. economy and what actually has value is basically nil, obviously, and COVID has only highlighted that, but beyond that, being in isolation has brought to light how much of what I consider “real” because it exists outside the bounds of money is nonetheless vulnerable. We’ve been given podcasts to fill our working hours with parasocial relationships where once we may’ve had genuine camaraderie with our coworkers. We’re given desultory political candidates to vote for in the absence of those who would govern in accordance with our actual beliefs. It feels like an elaborate art heist is taking place, where the masterpieces are exchanged for forgeries, and the endgame of those seeking to enrich themselves is to set a bonfire of all that’s made us human, all we’ve invested our true selves into. All this can occur only because our relationships have been made increasingly transactional already. I wondered at the start of quarantine how many couples, with the ability to see one another in the flesh compromised, had switched to having “sex” over Skype, how many intimate relationships were compromised by distance into resembling cam shows. Partly this curiosity was a way of comforting myself, as I came to the understanding that I would not be entering into anything approaching a real romantic relationship for the foreseeable future.

In the context of all of this, reading a book that feels reminiscent of the work of another artist feels like a minor thing, but it slips easily enough into the larger pattern. After reading Roaming Foliage by Patrick Kyle, I thought “Huh, this is very much a CF/Brian Chippendale thing.” Then, after reading Eight-Lane Runaways by Henry McCausland, I thought, “Oh, this is even more like a CF thing.” Both are, I think, appropriate for kids, which Powr Mastrs isn’t, but I also never read Powr Mastrs and felt like the thing that made it good was its BDSM pornography elements. People have been biting CF’s style for years — enough for him to address it with a little note in the third Powr Mastrs book, instructing them to “follow your own star.” Simon Hanselmann admits the similarities between the character design for Owl and a character in CF’s story in Kramers Ergot 5, Hanselmann’s subsequent popularity seems to suggest a moment where something becomes less of a direct influence and more just something that exists generally in the world. It’s art: Inspiration, influence, and appropriation are all part of the game. Reading Hanselmann, I’ve wondered what his work would’ve been like before exposure to his most obvious influences; reading these, I wondered instead if they would still have been made had Powr Mastrs 4 ever come out, to finish out the story and close the system; it feels like, in a transactional relationship between artist and audience, the fact of a work remaining unfinished makes it more socially acceptable to steal from. For instance, think of the debt Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain owes to Rene Daumal’s Mount Analogue. It feels like an attempt to create something with an ending, to satisfy a desire for the logic to reach its conclusion. The comics fulfill a certain set of expectations, I found them a pleasant enough experience, satisfying on a certain level. However, on a deeper level, I found them completely unsatisfying, because they speak so directly to a sense of unfulfilled potential. They lack the thrill that CF’s comics provide, of totally transcending any expectations placed on them.

Measuring the impact made by CF, Paper Rad, and the Fort Thunder contingent is difficult to calculate, because there were so many radical gestures inside that work, and while some have been metabolized, others have not. The “reclamation of genre material in an art-school context” is maybe the most readily understood. Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pit probably wouldn’t exist were it not for these comics, but that’s such a “who cares” for me, such a dumbed-down and simplistic understanding of what makes these comics good. The silkscreening of covers is close behind, in terms of something that people really ran with. That’s fine, no one owns silkscreening, it looks great. What hasn’t really been reckoned with are the gestures against commodity fetishism. Paper Rodeo is progenitor of the free comics newspaper format, but the work that ran there is so much wilder than what you see in what followed, and most of it was anonymous. I understand why that was a gauntlet that wasn’t picked up, but is still one of the things that made an impact on its initial readership. Similarly, I haven’t seen anyone steal the CF format of the single-sheet xerox, with comics on the front and back. I guess that’s not surprising! But honestly? Sick format.

I’ve just been talking about comics, but Lightning Bolt playing on the floor is its own radical gesture, albeit one with an obvious precedent in the form of Crash Worship. The Forcefield oeuvre is its own thing. Those videos are great! The animation made out of photographing the cutting layers of multicolored clay… I wonder how much of this stuff hasn’t been picked up on because it’s the last stand of working with real world physical materials, before the coming of digital as the default medium for art students to work in. Obviously, the silkscreening has similar roots in physical media, and playing on floors relates directly to how you communicate with people when you’re in the same physical space as them. Real world community has distinct advantages, but many that came after took the trade for the benefits working digitally provides. Anyway. I could write a 33 1/3 book proposal for Lightning Bolt’s Ride The Skies that addresses all this stuff, but I also believe I would not be the best person to write such a book; I suspect those better suited would not be interested.

There is something so exciting about artists whose work feels overflowing with ideas, not just on a level of concept or drawing but also in terms of how the work is presented. That whole Providence/Picturebox crew was so abundant with this creative ferment that when I see others picking up on individual threads it makes sense on a certain level — you want more of a certain thing — but if it’s not backed up by something distinctly unique, as a reader I’m hyper-aware of what’s absent.

These artists also made books, and records, and it was their doing so that brought their work to a larger audience, including me. Not everything has to be a gesture against making money. But at the same time, radical gestures suggest the benefits made in fostering community work out better in the long term than leveraging oneself to be consumed as a commodity does. This is not to suggest that McCausland or Kyle are doing something wrong that will sabotage some sort of grand plan for utopia: I’m really just riffing here. If I buy electronic music mp3s online, I’m not necessarily going to lament the death of live music performance the same way I do when buying the mp3s of a jazz act. Looking at a contemporary superhero comic that feels dire and ugly will make me nostalgic for the Mike Parobeck comics of my youth, but a contemporary black and white zine exists in a completely different universe and might not remind me of anything. Certain things make you miss the world that was more than others.

It’s also worth noting that by all accounts Patrick Kyle has a bunch of people online ripping off his style but I have successfully been able to avoid such people. While Roaming Foliage is consciously modeled after the sort of weird adventure comics of not just Powr Mastrs, but also Brian Chippendale’s If N Oof, What I am most often seeing and thinking “that’s a ripoff” is the presence of these geometrical patterns which are also similar to design choices made throughout his oeuvre. There’s a chaotic, obfuscatory energy approach to comics that he works with frequently, but so much of his other comics feel dark, melancholy, or paranoid whereas this feels much lighter in its tone. At the same time, compared to the claustrophobia of Don’t Come In Here, having his characters move about makes for an adventure narrative. Watching them wander, interact, and be given quests and goals belongs to this tradition that’s not unique to the Picturebox artists — but the feeling that this fantasy material was arrived at through adventure games like Zelda moreso than Tolkien makes for this sort of… generational level of familiarity, rather than seeming to occupy some sort of Campbellian myth-space, if that makes sense. The strangeness of Kyle’s art, where backgrounds overtake figures, suggests a sort of PC glitching, almost like the Cory Arcangel/Paper Rad collaboration Super Mario Movie, but achieved through photocopier technology of blowing up and distorting images. It is the sensation of a feeling being chased after that makes the book feel less exciting and more melancholy, though subsequently, that darker feeling might make the book slot into Kyle’s oeuvre so much that bigger fans of his might not even notice the resemblance I’m seeing.

McCausland has a list of acknowledgments in his book which includes CF alongside Herge and Otomo. I can sort of see them all, but Herge especially is an influence that’s been so widely absorbed by comics as a whole that I really only feel particularly aware of it in the case of Joost Swarte or something. McCausland’s resemblance to CF is reinforced by things as molecular as a resemblance in the lettering, which is really odd. The figures all have this youthful smallness to them, and I can’t tell if the characters are meant to be young specifically or if it’s just the way he’s learned to draw. I can see Otomo, but it’s definitely approached through the CF filter. Other trademarks, like the rendering of geometric shapes, the patterns of parallel lines, seems integrated, highlighted, by the “racetrack” premise that gives the book its name. However, he distinguishes himself because his work is more constantly busy, with the same general level of detail. There’s also these trees in the background, which seem like they’re rendered as these painted soft grey daubs, a type of texture you don’t see in CF’s darkened pencil work.

His storytelling is different, prone to large spreads, or showing the same character multiple times in a panel as they move across the landscape. (The dimensions of Eight-Lane Runaways are considerably larger than those of Powr Mastrs.) There are nonetheless panels that seem exactly like CF drawings, but with a less cryptic sense of humor. It feels more populist, like it’s based around what a person liked, and in the act of working it out, subtracted the mystery. What would’ve been a detailed “money shot” in a CF sequence is here the baseline level of drawing detail that never gets subtracted from. It’s really fascinating to me how this makes it less good, I think many people would prefer it.

I wrote most of this before learning that Anthology is releasing a new CF book next week. You can order it and see preview images at the Floating World site. You can draw your own conclusions. CF’s on his own path such that you might not even note a resemblance between his new images and McCausland’s. We’re all living on the same planet, orbiting the same sun in an expanding universe, subject to the will of an accelerating time.

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wisdomrays · 4 years

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ISLAM AS A RELIGION OF LOVE AND PEACE: Part 1

The definition of Islam

The root of the word Islam, silm, refers to "making peace, being in a mutually peaceful environment, greetings, rescue, safety, being secure, finding peace, reaching salvation and well being or being far from danger, attaining goodness, comfort and favor, keeping away from troubles and disasters, submitting the self and obeying, respect, being far from wrong." The "submitting the self and obeying" here means "submitting to justice and righteousness in order to reach peace and safety and being in a peaceful environment by one's free will." In fact, salaam and salaamat, mean "to reach salvation," and their rubai form (with four radical letters) aslama means "submitted, became Muslim, and made peace." "Islam" as either a noun or a verb with these meanings is mentioned in many verses in the Qur'an.

From this perspective, Islam is "submission to God, accepting His authority as well as obeying His orders"; "one's total submission to God and serving only Him"; "embracing the messages of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and abiding by them." In this sense, a Muslim is one who is under the peaceful and safe shade of Islam. God wants a Muslim to live in a safe and peaceful environment and to make efforts for the spread and continuity of peace.

Since Islam means living in a peaceful environment that emerges as a result of submission to God, the Qur'an asks that all humanity should embrace silm, that is, peace, and reminds us to avoid following Satan. As stated in the verse, O you who believe! Come in full submission to God, all of you, (without allowing any discord among you due to worldly reasons), and do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, for indeed he is a manifest enemy to you (seeking to seduce you to rebel against God, with glittering promises) (Qur'an, 2:208), Satan is the enemy of peace. This verse is followed by a reminder of God's All-Glorious with irresistible might if believers "stumble and fall back" from following God's way to realize peace and agreement.

The purpose of Islam

In order to be able portray a fair image of Islam, we have to consider its divinely inspired purposes, which yield, as a result, a just worldly order. By applying preventive measures to ensure security of wealth, life, mind, religion, and reproduction, Islam aims to build a society in peace, serenity, friendship, collaboration, altruism, justice, and virtue.

According to the Qur'an, all Muslims are brothers and sisters to each other and if a disagreement appears among them they make peace and correct it (Qur'an, 49:10). They help each other to avoid what God forbids and to observe their religious awareness at every stage in their life (Qur'an, 5:2); they carry out important tasks after shura, that is, consultation (Qur'an, 3:159; 42:38); and they always witness truthfully and are just even if it is against their close relatives (Qur'an, 4:135).

Again, as mentioned in the Qur'an, a true Muslim follows the straight path. That means that he or she is faithful, honest, and just, is calm, lives to perfectly observe his or her religion and in guidance of reason. Pursuing the straight path can be understood as being absolutely truthful and honest in all circumstances, as well as embracing a moderate way of life that encourages good relations with everyone.

Living on the straight path is the most significant desire for any Muslim. Upon the revelation of the verse, Pursue, then, what is exactly right (in every matter of the Religion), as you are commanded (by God), and those who, along with you, have turned (to God with faith, repenting their former ways, let them do likewise); and do not rebel against the bounds of the Straight Path (O believers)! He indeed sees well all that you do (Qur'an, 11:112), the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "The chapter Hud has made me older." In this sense, the Companions commented on the verse, "There was no verse revealed to the Prophet Muhammad that is more powerful than this." Such a verse that so powerfully enjoins "what is right" should have the power to eradicate all kinds of violence and oppression, which are obviously not the right path to follow in social relations.

Mercy and forgiveness

Divine compassion and Prophetic mercy assign special importance to forgiveness and tolerance. As God the Most Gracious is merciful to all people, His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is merciful and compassionate to all believers (Qur'an, 9:128). God's clear order to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is to embrace forgiveness. The verse Adopt the way of forbearance and tolerance, and enjoin what is good and right, and withdraw from the ignorant ones (Qur'an, 7:199) indicates this.

By the blessing of God, the Prophet succeeded in establishing unity among people by acting with compassion and mercy. If he had treated the people around him severely and rudely, they would have left him and their unity would have collapsed (Qur'an, 3:159).

Since God and the Messenger of God are merciful and compassionate to believers, those who take the divinely prescribed ethics and the prophetic character as their example should obviously treat one another with mercy and compassion. Therefore, those who have received the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) message can never be severe, arrogant, antagonistic, or hostile.

Furthermore, God Almighty advises His Messenger to be forgiving and to consult people by asking for their ideas (Qur'an, 3:159; 42:38) since exchanging ideas increases feelings of unity and cooperation while reducing tension between people. As a result, a desire for change that transforms hatred into peace and serenity appears in society.

According to the Messenger of God, people are equal before God as the teeth of a comb are equal. Characteristics like language, ancestry, race, wealth, and poverty are not signs of superiority. In the thirteenth verse of the chapter Al-Hujurat, the creation of humankind from a female and a male, the division of humanity into ethnic groups or nations and tribes in order to know one another, and the importance of fearing God in order to become valued in God's view are pointed out.

The verse approves having an identity and being known by an identity; nonetheless, it rejects the abuse of affiliation (to different gender, social or ethnic groups) as a means of superiority. Thus, it assesses a person's honor and value in terms of universal values that he or she gains through his or her own will and effort, and not in terms of gender or ethnic ties, which are not obtained through free will.

In Islam, the individual is considered as a person that gains value within the society, as someone who is responsible to the community in a social context.

According to Islam, the life of a human being is a trust from God, irrespective of his or her ancestry, color, or language, and hence should be protected meticulously. The main idea in Islam is to praise God the Almighty (Qur'an, 1:1; 6:45), to show compassion to creation. Humankind is the best of all creations (Qur'an, 17:70) and is created of the best stature (Qur'an, 95:4). So, every human deserves respect by nature; approaching them with lenience, tolerance, and humility is certainly virtuous. Hence, staying away from hatred and having a tolerant attitude is essential for humanity.

God the Almighty asks from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in particular and from all Muslims in general to be forgiving (Qur'an, 42:37; 3:134). Thus, God loves good attitudes such as spending and serving for the sake of humankind at all times under all circumstances, forgiving people, and avoiding doing something wrong when we become angry.

Even if one has the right to retaliate in response to an evil action, forgiveness is more appropriate for those who are more pious. The Qur'an enlightens all humanity on this issue: The recompense of an evil deed can only be an evil equal to it; but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God. Surely He does not love the wrongdoers (Qur'an, 42:40; see also Qur'an, 42:43).

Besides, each of us lives on the path that God has ordained for him or her. For this reason, it is important to emphasize serving rather than fighting. God says in the Qur'an (5:48), Strive then together as if competing in good works, and also, Say: Every one acts according to his own character (made up of his creed, worldview and disposition), and your Lord knows best who is guided in his way (17:84). Therefore, individuals should not dispute and fight over their different ideas to satisfy their ambitions and self-interests. Rather, on the contrary, they should compete to show good character and to serve in the best way; they should support each other not in wrongdoing, but in doing good

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sterling-silvers · 5 years

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Killmonger - The Subtly of a Scene? (Black Panther - 2018)

Above is concept art of the prolific museum scene that was featured in Black Panther (2018). While the illustration is fairly on par with what actually happened in the movie, a fundamental difference - and focal point of this piece - is the choice attire N’Jadaka (aka Killmonger) chose to wear in it. While the art depicts him in a suit the actual movie had him adorned in what I like to call “Trillmonger”.

While I can’t help but respect the vast oceans of drip that are flowing from this regalia, I truly felt as if the message the scene was parlaying would have been more impactful if he had been profiled while wearing the suit.

When I voiced this opinion to a fellow constituent - who continues to impress and influence me with his insightful wisdom and perspective on life, particularly when it comes to Afro-centric media - he, strongly disagreed with my remark.

He, summarily, stated that Killmonger’s persona of unapologetically Black would and should extend to refusal to conform to a norm put forth by systemically racist and thus inherently Eurocentric ideas of what looks "professional". To which many agreed; I however did not. I took umbrage with the notion in several aspects and while the interpretation was valid, it was not sound in my eyes based on the below analysis of the diction and semantics that’s been highlighted in the first sentence of this paragraph.

“Unapologetically Black” – I didn’t think wearing a suit at all took away from him being unapologetically Black, even with his radically pragmatic sentiments. For me, as Black man, unapologetically Black is not simply an aesthetic – it’s who you are; what’s cardinal to your core. It cannot be taken away and or hidden. Killmonger wearing a suit as opposed to what he actually wore would not have taken away him being unapologetically Black – if anything, it would have added to it BECAUSE of how the security and curator would still have profiled him; even with the suit, he’s still Black in their eyes - and Black is a threat. This particularly rings true when you take into account his CIA training and knowledge of how to best cultivate and usurp the resident power in question. This, aggregated together, adds to the scene and what it was meant to represent. He wanted all eyes on him and whether he was in a suit or dripped out, it was going to happen regardless BECAUSE at the end of the day, he’s Black – unapologetically speaking. Granted, my cohort tried to differentiate the two scenes by pointing out that the clothes that were worn in South Korea were for the purposes of blending into the casino environment; particularly when it came to the wig that Okoye wore, much to her chagrin. He continued with, the fact that both Nakia and T'Challa “were people who often have to conform to their surroundings to blend in, to help others, or to be taken seriously as the world still thinks Wakanda is some podunk farm country” (slight disagreement here as, up until the end of Black Panther, the idea was to keep up the facade of being a podunk country as if the world, at large, were to know what Wakanda had, they would never stop trying to steal it). He concluded this strain of logic by contrasting Killmonger and Okoye; “Okoye who is wearing a wig that falls in line with Eurocentric beauty standards and is the opposite of the very Wakandan armor and bald head she's used to wearing day to day. She is not a diplomat, she is a warrior for her people. Killmonger is not a diplomat, he's a revolutionary for his people.”

Once again, I found this to be valid but not sound. T’Challa, Nakia, and Okoye, wore those clothes in South Korea to blend into their environment to get into a specific place for their MISSION. Even Okoye, who is proud Wakadan warrior was willing to wear the garb of colonizers in order to carry out said mission. However, for some reason, it didn’t occur to him that the same could have rung true for N'jadaka. Even if the suit was conformist, is it that hard to believe that the very person willing to team up with Klaue, who committed a TERRORISTIC ACT, killing his fellow Wakandans - for a time in order to obtain his access to Wakanda; moreover, his arguable birth right to the throne - would be unwilling to put on a suit if it meant getting closer to his mission AND birth right? “Conform” – Wearing a suit is not conforming to a Eurocentric understanding of professional. For me, that utterance simply follies at nigh every conceivable angle. I asked him, if the suit – in this particular scene – is to be a representation of Eurocentric ideology of professionalism does the logic follow that N’Jadaka’s clothes are the aesthetic of Black American exceptionalism (I used Black American but, Killmonger, himself, is actually African American; yes, there is a difference between the two - nonetheless his garb seems to emulate Black American style)?

Moreover, if we extend the idea to the rest of the movie, specifically when T’Challa is wearing a Black suit – along with Okoye’s and Nakia’s red and green dresses, respectively (creating the colors of Pan-Africanism, unapologetically) is that still a representation of them conforming?

Besides, even if one were to accept the notion that wearing the suit was conforming to the Eurocentric value, by that same logic, when T’Challa addresses the UN and is unapologetically wearing a scarf of clearly African influence, he is thusly, either showing a dominance of his African roots (as the scarf is literally draped over the Eurocentric representative) and or an integration of cultures.

To this inquiry, he summarily responded that because T’Challa is a diplomat first, him wearing the combo of the suit and scarf was symbolic of seeking integration - as it is in line with his persona. This response seemed incomplete as it failed to address the fact that the scarf over-encompasses the “Eurocentric” symbol and therefore could be seen as African excellence dominating the Euro view...

He continued with the argument that: “For all the profiling Killmonger would've experienced in a suit he'd still likely would've experienced less. ‘Professional’ clothing makes [W]hite people, especially in high places, feel safe. It's why house servants were put in tuxedos. If the goal was to have all eyes on him then he should've stuck out like a sore thumb. Which he did.”

Once more, this is semantics with an addition to the playing of the scene; depending on how you define unapologetically Black - via skin being the center point or skin and clothes fitting the interpretation - significantly affects how you view the degree to which he was profiled. However, the true nail in the coffin, comes later on when we see one of the members of the Council - River Tribe Elder and Nakia’s Father - wearing a suit not only during Killmonger’s fight with T’Challa but also prior when he is with the other council members.

I suppose HE was just conforming to the “Eurocentric” understanding of professionalism, right...? In terms of my Black American exceptionalism through line he responded with: “His clothing shouldn't mean or imply ‘African American exceptionalism’; that's as conformist as a suit. It's supposed to imply ‘I don't give a fuck’ it's supposed to be rebellious. He's not there to make anybody comfortable.” This response was a bit comical to me. I replied with; “You can’t have it both ways – if the suit, in your mind, was to be a representation of a certain cultural aspect then his actual clothes could and should also be taken to represent a different aspect of a cultural perspective.” It’s as simple as that; if you open the door, don’t be surprised when people peer inside.

This hilarity rang true even further with his final line of; “Finally, yes, you're right a suit doesn't inherently make you more or less unapologetically Black. However we’re talking about a movie, where what you see is as important as the dialogue that your characters say. It's a cinematic decision to have every piece of his character not only be unapologetically [B]lack and the opposite of T'Challa on every level. It's not nearly as effective piece of art if he's wearing a suit. Supported by the countless people who posted about how he rolled up in a museum looking like a drench god.”

These last sentences are foolhardy; for one, we’ll never know how people feel about the suit when compared to the drip clothes because the suit scene was and probably will never be shown - if it exists. So, there’s nothing to compare and contrast it with. For two, a consensus of people in agreement does not automatically beget validation; it could just mean that they are wrong in mass unison.

Despite the disagreement, there’s definitely more than a few lessons and perspective one can attain from this back and forth; moreover, it shows just how poignant an impression Black Panther left on its audience - all, with the just the subtly of a scene.

#black panther #killmonger #n'jadaka #trillmonger #tchalla #nakia #okoye #drench god #unapologeticblack #drip #wakanda #river tribe elder #river tribe #klaue

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musashi · 4 years

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Are there any things you specifically added to the Pokeverse or how it works in DTE that aren't present in the anime?

oooh i love this question!!!

the biggest thing that comes to mind is the spin i put on the contest climate to expose and underlying current of elitism, although that DOES have its roots in canon, it was kind of my way of throwing shade at the kalos showcase circuit because i fucking hate kalos’ performance culture in canon.

kalos is where coordinators go to die. kalos has a rigorously female-only performance climate, where the focus is equal parts on the performer themself and the pokemon at their side. kalos is NOT interested in powerful or menacing pokemon--only cute and elegant ones. i turned sour as SHIT on kalos pretty early on in the anime when jessie got a universal thumbs-down in performance because she more or less put a halloween costume on her pumpkaboo. in hoenn or sinnoh it would’ve been a standing ovation--a ghost type’s greatest strength is being creepy, menacing, frightening. the POINT of pokemon performance is to SHOW OFF YOUR POKEMON’S STRENGTHS. to UTILIZE them. coordinators understand this, performers are too concerned with their cutesy feminine aesthetics to care.

so that was what inspired me to insert “contest purists” into the coordinator world. folks who are of the kalosian mind--that contests have no place for power or menace. this was also to explain some of harley’s Inner Struggle we don’t see in the show, and to flesh her out as a character--because harley only raises scary pokemon, and her appeals show off that intimidating flair. in the show, she’s an incredibly well-received coordinator because she gets this formula--scary pokemon, scary appeals, show them what you’re made of.

but i wanted to kinda give her a rocky start to show that her confidence came from a place of radical self love. i wanted to show her grappling with that undercurrent of criticism, one that stays out of the judges circle and mostly on social media, but one that she’d be exposed to nonetheless. to incorporate those folks into the climate would make harley a much more interesting character--her style just as much a power move as it is what she feels is right. and her appeal in DTE13 reflects that, too--she starts it out elegant, cutesy, feminine... and then she DESTROYS that image, tearing it to ribbons and showing the audience what she believes to be true beauty.

there are some other things i inserted here and there! i realized most of what i like inserting is in-depth descriptions about how pokeballs work??

i talk a lot in 14 about how it physically feels as a pokemon to be Captured, kinda like you’re under a net, and you can break free if you want, but it feels kinda cozy so there’s not exactly a rush to.

how pokeballs are not definite seals (by design, to prevent abuse) and so that means when trainers travel by plane they have to load em into these separate rooms that inhibit the pokemon’s ability to break out of them and cause chaos.

how trainers know which pokemon is in which ball effortlessly--there’s a sort of difference in energies you can feel radiating off of each one as you’re brushing them in your pocket, energies you learn over time.

how you can tell how long a trainer and a pokemon have been together by how well the pokemon lands when its trainer throws its ball. if they’re a little ungraceful on their feet, its probably recently tamed. but if it lands with aplomb, it’s been someone’s pokemon for a while.

the wordless language in which humans present pokeballs to pokemon. an exchange of consent, a lot of the time. there’s a lot that humans and pokemon say to one another via body language alone.

theres definitely more im sure but thats what comes to mind. most of what i write into DTE is religiously canon compliant, though!!! like, if you ever read a Cool Pokemon Fact in DTE, it’s probably taken right from the source or a dex entry. the pokemon world is SO rich with information and i have so much of it just in my head!!!! if you ever wanna know if something is true canon or not deffo ask me cause i love love LOVE talking about the worldbuilding in pokemon.

#dteblogging #Anonymous #wendy answers

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amusedmuralist · 4 years

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Genderfuck

(Rosky, 2013, 686): Radical acceptance. Why is it bad if they get queerer? There are already any number of queer children, love.

TLDR: Genderfuck is playing around with gender and gender tropes. For instance, making a cover of Future Soon Jonothan Coulton’s sexist science incel song (”turns out she’s smarter than I thought she was”) Into a painfully earnest lesbian song of longing (She knows I wrote it!/ ...Now the whole class does too/ ...she skates by/with some guy/on her arm) is interesting and examines a different set of gender tropes than singing it as a man.

Genderswap, either within universe in a Sci-fi/fantasy setting, or within a context where the character is ‘read’ differently gives an opportunity to explore those same gendered tropes. The example I’m going to use is Twilight, since the author did a genderswap of Bella and Edward herself: If the characters change minimally, but their presentation changes, there is a set of expectations around that which the audience has to re-read, and come to understand.

It’s not for everyone, and that’s fine. It’s not always well executed but neither is anything. But genderfuck, and genderswaps as a part of that, have a role too dismissed by “Always Transphobic” to my mind.

Academics like saying the fuck word. If we didn’t Lee Edelman’s No Future rant about “FUCK THE FUTURE! FUCK HOPE!” would be far less cited out of its context about despair for queer interests.

Language transgression is one of the most straightfoward games to play with language, and I promise you, having been to local comic, gaming, and discworld conventions, the best and worst parts of Conferences are the same. Look at this cool shit i found, do you want a turn? what would you make with it, I want to see!!

Genderfuck is a style of drag, a gender, and a genre

Fun cool thing! Gender and Genre use the same root word! That’s another score to Judith Butler’s idea of Copies without Originals, mimicking and transforming those traits that get the response you want, until it’s not a Rom Com without a Career Woman, and it’s not femininity without liquid concealer. The rules become popular, become overdone, change, and ellide each other, based on societal understandings of what’s interesting, and what’s ‘normal’.

Genderfuck is the Amazons of Wonder Woman wearing whatever is least likely to get them mistaken for a man, and therefore wearing trousers in Roman times.

Genderfuck is figuring out what gender signifiers override others in your non-binary presentation. Height, makeup, a skirt, cleavage, etc. What is the presiding signifer ‘read’ by your audience? (For me, it’s usually height, glasses, hair, ‘intelligent looking face’ makes me young man (?) up until I speak, where it becomes my voice, which recontextualises the rest of the signifiers as ‘not straight’) (Which is interesting but sometimes frustrating.)

I have a great attachment for JoCo, but his wider catalogue has soured on me of late. Jonothan Coulton, author of the Portal song and many others I fucking love to bits, has a tendency to focus on young (implied) men who long for women who will never know them because of their shyness, their nerdy interests, their reluctance to come forward and be the creepy guy, or seen as such.

I Love reading those songs through the lens of a young WLW/NBLW, coming to terms with their attraction to women, and it not seeming right to push that morass of feelings on another person probably as confounded as you are by this whole ‘puberty’ thing. Selfishly, my first such crush was named Laura so Future Soon (link embedded above) and Party in a Forest by the Wombats speak especially to that feeling. That welling anxiety and absolute teenage certainty that the one’s feelings are incorrect, ill fitting, unwelcome, speaks to that experience for me, back when I didn’t know of any actually queer musicians.

I like transforming the whole cast, rather than one individual, in longer works, because it means you don’t make it creepy, make the feelings of adolescence and monstrosity into characters who are monstrous and creepy. Sitcoms,the MCU, musical theatre, fairytales, things that rely on a few solid and gendered tropes, and then build a character up from them, that is my JAM.

What do we get if we make Terry of Brooklyn 99 an enthusiastic, loving mother, who loves yogurt and the farmers market and body building? And how does Gina come across differently as a man? Giving her absolute zinger lines to Taako Taaco is genius comedy but it also places them in a new context. Who is this character within the show?

This is a top-of-my-head example, but seeing characters understood differently despite the script not changing at all is a joy of mine whether it be an action movie given to Angelina Jolie, me singing Future Soon in the shower, or thinking about BICON Peralta as an ADHD having woman who is nonetheless celebrated and not understood by her colleagues as “annoying” outside her obnoxious behaviours.

#queer #queer resources

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charlotteloveandfilm-blog · 4 years

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Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders’ 1987 film, Wings of Desire, is one of the films I have struggled with the most in this class, I think. It is somehow both preachy and elusive, a combination rarely (if ever) found in film. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but rather that I’ve had to wrestle with it. I don’t always find myself wrestling with films, so when I do, I try to look at it as an opportunity for growth and idea generation.

I thought the readings for this week were really interesting. The John P. Reeder Jr. article, “Benevolence, Special Relations, and Voluntary Poverty: an Introduction” is to be expected, addressing the concept of altruism fairly head-on. The Frans De Waal article, “Getting Along,” about the aggression and reconciliation patterns of apes, was unexpected and actually a joy to read. I’m not sure what kind of incicive commentary I have to offer on it, but it’s worth mentioning just because I enjoyed it and thought it was an interesting reading to place alongside the film. Especially because Wings of Desire is at least marginally Christian in its ideology (I mean, the main character is an angel, after all), to read something that equates human behavior with that of apes is a bit radical (or might appear so). That said, the idea that humans and apes aren’t all that different actually maps cleanly onto one of the arguments made in the Reeder article: that one of the origins of benevolence is the holding of a worldview in which the individual in question sees themself as a part of a “wider life,” which is often rooted in religion. But, I think that this idea of a “wider life” can also apply to animals and nature as a whole. I think it would be a great thing if more people felt connected to nature and felt that, maybe, they weren’t so different from apes. I think a pretty big chunk of humanity would be helped by that kind of humility.

But, I digress. The origin of benevolence I actually found much more compelling (and realistic) was the one that saw individual people as a way to access large populations of people. Because we are human beings bounded by an assortment of things (like, say, space and time), there is no way we can ever truly come to love and understand all of humanity. But, we can love large swaths of humanity by loving their representatives. Take their example of a woman with a blind husband who begins helping the blind generally—that is a way of accessing altruism that actually seems to work, and that is (more or less) the model we get in the film.

See, in spite of the fact that Damiel is literally immortal and actually does have direct access to all types of people – enough to develop that kind of “wider world” outlook that I talked about earlier – even he decides to give all that up in order to be human and experience individuals in the way that only humans can. He chooses personal love over altruistic love, and I think most of us would. However, he sort of ends up back at altruisim in the end. Even though Marion, the very specific object of his desire, does love him back in the end, and thus his original “reason” for giving up immortality is fulfilled (however unlikely that entire situation may be), that does not seem to be the real reason he loves being human so much. His love for being human lies in simple, universal experiences – seeing color, feeling pain, bleeding, drinking coffee in the cold. Ultimately, I think it is his conversation with Peter Falk that convinces him to turn his back on an eternal life spent doing good. And for what? To drink coffee in the cold. That is enough for him.

It is almost disappointing to me that he and Marion end up “in love.” It would have been much more interesting to me if that original reason for him to contemplate giving up immortality were gone, and he were left with the simple and universal experiences of humanity. And that is not because I want him to suffer – it is because I really believe that he would have ended up just as happy. Honestly, I’m sure he would have been happy to experience yet another excruciating, human universal: heartbreak.

In this scene, a very odd sliver of the movie but nonetheless fascinating, Marion contemplates what the end of the circus means for her – what life will be like now that she is no longer an “angel.” Her voiceover sighs, “Sometimes it’s like you have to bend to go on living. To live…one look is enough.” I think this line cuts right to the heart of what the film is truly trying to say. Living is not about experiencing everything or knowing everyone. One look is enough. One cup of coffee is enough. She mentions that she will miss the circus before shedding her angel’s wings. It seems as though her performance in the circus is being equated here to Damiel’s work as an angel. Even though Damiel is decidedly not on display in the way that she is, he is in a similar way serving the public. She serves by providing entertainment, he serves by providing protection. They both exist apart from the “audience,” unable to interact with them. But, Marion is a spectacle, watched by all, while Damiel is a spectator, watching everyone without being seen. It is unclear which role is more isolating. But, unlike Marion, Damiel cannot exit the circus at the end of the day and just be a part of the normal world. Marion’s voiceover continues, “It’s all over, and I don’t feel a thing.” This is the exact opposite of what happens when Damiel “falls” so to speak. He suddenly feels everything. It is interesting that they undergo almost entirely opposite “falling” experiences.

I have a feeling I’ll continue mulling over this film for some time. There are many more questions to be asked and considered. That final (or first, actually) conversation between Damiel and Marion could produce a paper in and of itself. Perhaps someday I’ll write it!

#week 11 #wings of desire

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leviosarpg · 5 years

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Congratulations, BAB! You have been accepted for the role of GISELLE ROSIER! Bab, you have no idea how thrilled I was to receive an app for Giselle, and boy did your app deliver. “You just gotta stop choking on who you are, and if you do, you’re allowed that - you gotta stop doing it so damn politely.” I swear that line hit me like a train...or a bag of bricks, because goddamn if that isn’t Giselle in a single line! Bab, this app was so flawless, I’m still reeling from reading it-- you managed to craft this vision of Giselle in her full beautiful, hypocritical glory but you made me sympathize with her. Your Giselle is an old soul who feels the weight of the world upon her shoulders--elegant, refined, but a little lost nonetheless, and you have me rooting for her, more so than I ever could have imaged. Thank you for bestowing this app upon me, Bab, I can’t wait to see your Giselle be brought to life!

Don’t forget to send in your account to the main and complete the items listed on the CHECKLIST!

THE PLAYER

name/age/pronouns/timezone: bab, 24, she/her, gmt+1

THE CHARACTER

desired role: Giselle Rosier

Giselle - Derived from the Germanic word gisil meaning “hostage, pledge“

Rosier - Rosier is French for "rose tree” or “rose bush“

Giselle immediately took my fancy because I love playing high and mighty characters with an impending fall. Her push and pull between the two sides who both advocate their respective truths plus her crumbling friendships that had kept the flame of fanatism alive for so long make her question everything and I feel like those are the perfect foundation for some juicy, dramatic threads which I love lmao time to mess her up big time!

gender/pronouns: female, she/her

extracurriculars: Slytherin prefect. Giselle was bestowed with the honor of prefect in her fifth year alongside Tom Riddle. Initially she was known to be especially strict towards muggleborns, as of lately her stern attitude has softened for unknown reasons.

The Harbingers. The role of prefect introduced her to Tom Riddle, her fellow male prefect for the house of Slytherin. They quickly grew closer, Tom fueled her fancy for long, intricate conversations throughout their walks through the halls of Hogwarts and thus he saw a highly worthy member for his group.

Dueling Club. Perhaps this isn’t the best reason to join a club that could possibly cause serious damage upon others, but dueling is an outlet for Giselle. The thrill of not knowing what her dueling partner’s next step will bring and how her counter-curse will impact them is a rollercoaster ride she wants to experience again and again. This rather adventurous side is reserved for her fellow club member’s only, outsiders certainly have troubles believing her out-going enthusiasm when it comes to club activities.

para sample:

first. diary, prologue.

If you’re reading this, there is an ebb and flow to your life.

Things becoming, art created, transformed; conversations organically layering onto other bruises, and right now, you are in the thick of it, but I promise you that rock bottom can be the strongest foundation for a stronger life. I promise you, the biggest revolution is ahead of you. The truth is, we never quite know the craters we left on someone else’s heart, not until it is too late anyhow. If you are reading this, you’re going to be okay. I promise you.

You just gotta stop choking on who you are, and if you do, you’re allowed that - you gotta stop doing it so damn politely.

- Giselle Rosier, September 1, 1945

second. echo.

seven.

Mid July and her smile is wide and effortless. The dry heat of the summer lays heavy and she has been going at it for days - a weary traveler, a foolish and gentle spy. A young Giselle lurks through life like it is an old house, teasing the wallpaper until it falls down. Layer by layer, story by story. Motions to people with the edge of her voice, with a change of her expression. They say her talents overflow, walking hand in hand with her never-ending curiosity. Outside the cityscape of London, she is sitting on the curb, wearing dried up loafers, a sweaty brow and the guilt of giftedness on her shoulders as she yet again slowly reads a book way ahead of her age. Sometimes reading out loud drowns the low hum of her family, so heavy with expectations whether or not she is listening. Her mother is there, the hummed secrets fading into light tunes when Giselle is around. Her brother is there, the huffs and puffs of him practicing potions in the kitchen still echo in her ear. Her father is there and she is supposed to think that she is exceptional. All her interests come so natural to her, the eagerness she displays is extraordinary to others but a mere flow of nature to her.

twelve.

Mid October and the sky is greying. She doesn’t say much and by now people know better than to light all the dark rooms in her house. And she can feel it, the tide of the past July. It’s like this one morning she looks across the dinner table and everything that has ever been left unspoken was being said. No one ever had to tell Giselle anything, she always managed to overhear snippets of her family’s whispers, the sight of her mother’s plastic smile became too familiar. Giselle can see it now, the way her parents speak in dim lit words, the way they mention her estranged brother’s name with little feeling and even more disgust. Summer returns with a vengeance, to collect its debts. How often do we wear smiles that hurt, smiles that tell us we have burned too long? Giselle feels heavy and the worst thing is, she knows the weather of leaving; the stale air, the dry summer heart.

When Giselle grows old enough to understand the poisonous hatred carefully cultivated between purebloods and muggleborns, her whole body tells a story of pain, like a sickness she refuses to treat. This is why she dislikes summer. The smell of warm summer rain hitting the dark pavement brings her back and it carries a memory she never wants to encounter again. At times it is difficult to continue to be radically soft in a world that sometimes gives more vinegar than honey.

fifteen.

Lately she has been trying to dream of something more, but how could it be any different? She negotiates with her quiet, she wanders, she bleeds. But no matter where Giselle goes, she returns to the Thames. And tries to dream again. Her mother once told her she is like a song played on loop. Enjoyable for a few listens until it bothers you and blends into the background. Funnily enough, Giselle always seeks to be present. Like, really present. Feeling every chill crisp morning running through her spine and the sore movement of her legs carrying her forward after another long day of school. The prickly nights lost in libraries as she drags herself through the endless pit that school is at the age of fifteen. Cold fingers reaching for a scarf that smells like that place she used to call home. Maybe this point was the closest she had ever come to the truth - souls laid bare. The whole wavelength set in an azure heat, the vibrations of her thoughts she did not dare to speak in the seemingly endless halls of her family’s home. This - the checked clocks and borrowed time, the heavy and relentless rock on her heart. Maybe that was the truth in its rawest form. Undeniable and without place. After all this, maybe she didn’t belong to anyone anyhow. Just to herself, in secret.

eighteen.

By now, her heart lies behind iron bars. She lets only few people probe her wounds, even less trickle deep within the tiny empire she had built within her chest. Oddly enough, it takes little for the foundation to shake, little for her to give them her country; and yet no one dares. She goes through life with a terrible intensity. Nights ago, numbness consumed her and she wished to be swallowed up by the dark earth. Too many vowels in her mouth, too many crumpled up receipts in her pockets. Her mouth twisted into rivers, pouring into too many oceans at once. At times, she says quite a lot and nothing at all. She always takes too much and gives too little. Reaches for people and finds salvation in the gaps of their words, only to wreck havoc again. Pushes and destructs, disappears like mist rising in the sky. It is always the same. They come for her storm and flee for calmer waters. No one writes a song about hurricanes.

third. diary, epilogue.

You’re 18 and you’ve had your heart broken. And it isn’t anything like the first time but nothing like the last time. You have exactly 15 sickles until winter break and crushing anxiety about tomorrow.

Outside the blue is heavy over the castle and the buildings blur to look like something out of another century. Majestic and grotesque. But all you can think about is the eternal void that is life. Sometimes you think believing in some kind of manufactured god would be better because you wouldn’t put so much stock in people’s words, in their alleged worth.

You tell yourself these things, you haven’t written home in a month. You feel you’ve lived a lifetime and there are unread letters in your nightstand’s drawer from family and foreign friends who love you but all you can think about is the ways you could disappoint them, like your brother did. And it is overwhelming and yet underwhelming because you constantly remind yourself this happens everyday and better you anyway because art.

You cannot be 80 when you are feeling 18.

— Giselle Rosier, November 18th 1944

OTHERS & EXTRA (OPTIONAL)

Headcanons

Despite her parents’ utmost efforts to pretend like this isn’t the case, Giselle has an older brother called Matthieu. Hailed as an ace in school and envisioned as a potential candidate for ministry of magic in the distant future, he was their parents’ entire pride for the longest time. The tides turned quickly when he fell in love with a muggle girl the summer after this graduation and decided that his infatuation was more important than everything else. He is now estranged from the family and Giselle has neither seen nor spoken to him in six years and couldn’t possibly fathom the consequences if she did attempt to contact him.

Now considered an only child, the pressure to continue the successful Rosier line lies heavily on Giselle’s shoulders. It caused her to cast a wall around herself, one that she has to climb herself to reach people and turns her judgemental, condescending, looking down at others. She knows the slightest penetration, the tiniest doubt sown into her mind could make the entire purpose of her existence thus far crumble, years of her family’s efforts dissolved into nothingness.

Enormous are the attempts to hide the fact that she likes muggle-made things. Muggle fashion, muggle music, muggle art. But the epitome of her hypocrisy was the liking she found in Olive Hornby, a muggleborn Gryffindor with a glow so bright, the moon would subdue to her. Although Giselle had her valid share of dates and experiences with other peers, she cannot deny that her mind still wanders off to the brazen muggleborn who had dared to make their lips meet.

Aesthetics/vibes/moods: loosely tied up hair, gold, dainty earrings and necklaces, being first at breakfast, white blouses, black loafers, reading glasses, last warm days of autumn, brown leather bags, caramel, twilight, sun rays shining through tree tops, brown sugar, cinnamon, pearls, last to leave the common room

You can find a moodboard here!

Magic

Education Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House Slytherin

Best core class Potions, charms

Worst core class Herbology

Wand Rosewood and dragon hearstring, 12 inches

Patronus White swan

Boggart Herself as an outcast of society, accepted by neither side

Amortentia red bean paste, fabric softener, chimney fire

Quotes

„I was interested in everything and committed to nothing.“ Gregory David Roberts.

„I don’t do anything with my life except romanticize and decay with indecision.“ Allen Ginsberg.

„A star-shower of blossom, of dew-like pearls, fruitfulness, beauty, life, rapture and fragrance.“ Victor Hugo.

„Life happened. In all its banality, brutality, cruelty, unfairness. But also in its beauty, pleasures, and delights. Life happened.“ Thirty Umrigar.

Personality

MBTI INTP - The Logician. Logicians view the world as a big, complex machine and have the ability to recognize how all parts are interrelated. Their endless ideas may seem counter-intuitive at a glance, and many never see the light of day, but they will always prove remarkable innovations. They are a reserved personality type, but if another person shares an interest, t hey can be downright excited about discussing it. Oftentimes Logician personalities get so caught up in their logic that they forget any kind of emotional consideration and sometimes dismiss subjectivity as irrational. They tend to become forgetful, missing even the obvious if it’s unrelated to their current infatuation.

Western zodiac Scorpio. A scorpio is a water sign, which live to experience and express emotions. Although emotions are very important for scorpios, they manifest them differently than other water signs. In any case, you can be sure that a scorpio will keep your secrets, whatever they may be. Scorpios are known by their calm, cool behavior and their mysterious appearance. Scorpios hate dishonesty and they can be very jealous and suspicious, so they need to learn how to adapt more easily to different human behaviors.

Chinese zodiac Fire tiger. People born in a year of the tiger are brave, competitive, unpredictable and confident. They are very charming but are also likely to be impetuous, irritable and overindulged. Moreover, fire tigers are optimistic and independent but possess poor self-control.

Temperament Choleric. People with choleric temperament tend to be goal-oriented and prove themselves to be logical and straightforward. They dislike smalltalk and enjoy deep, meaningful conversations. Choleric types would rather spend their time in solitude than in the company of shallow, superficial people.

Alignment True Neutral. A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition or personal code directs them. They may believe in personal order and live by a code or strandard, or they may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Being a lawful neutral can mean one is a truly reliable and honorable person or it could pose as a dangerous alignment when it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society. It is the view of this alignment that law and order give purpose and meaning to everything. Therefore, whether a low is good or evil is of no importance as long as it brings order and meaning.

#bio rp #bio rpg #lsrpg #skeleton rp #skeleton rpg #accepted #giselle

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supernaturalqueeranalysis20-blog · 6 years

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Minority Representation in “Supernatural” - A Look at Disability

Supernatural is infamous for its ever-changing cast. In a universe plagued with deadly monsters and body-stealing angels and demons, each episode holds the potential for a radically different array of actors to fill its characters’ roles. However, it is no secret that, like many other tv shows in mainstream media, Supernatural lacks diversity.

Supernatural has often been criticized for its lack of representation. It’s official main cast, for example, has been exclusively white through all its thirteen seasons. Of its nine leads, only two characters have been female (and they have long since been killed off the show). Overall, Supernatural’s issue with diversity is often obvious even to the most casual of viewers.

(Bela Talbot - An expert thief in the world of Supernatural. Played by Lauren Cohan. Was recognized as a main cast member through Season 3).

(Ruby - A demon that takes a human vessel to help the Winchesters. Played by Katie Cassidy and Genevieve Cortese. Was recognized as a main cast member through Season 3).

For its credit, Supernatural has made visible efforts to write in more minority characters over the years. Charlie, Billie, Kevin, Cesar, and Jesse are just a few examples of the show attempting to represent diverse sexualities and ethnicities within its episodes. Yet, many of these identities are left to minor and background characters that are usually written off the show sometime later.

Within this essay, I will analyze another minority identity Supernatural has explored through its years - individuals with disabilities. Specifically, I will be focusing on the characters Bobby Singer (Season 5) and Eileen Leahy (Season 11-12). Through these two characters, I will analyze how Supernatural’s representation of those with disabilities has changed throughout the years, and how these characters relate to the broader topic of ableism.

Bobby Singer

When the audience first meets the retired hunter, he is able-bodied. Bobby’s backstory is that he’s been hunting for many years, chasing and killing monsters similar to the way Sam and Dean do in the show. In his older years, Bobby is shown often acting as an educational resource for the brothers, helping them research cases and answering phone calls with their questions. Labeled as “an old drunk”, Bobby nonetheless proves to have a deep-rooted sense of responsibility for the Winchester brothers, often acting as a father figure to them.

It is this protective nature that causes Bobby to stab himself in the legs during Season 5 to rid himself of a demon possession (and thus, in the process, save Sam). The action, however, leaves him wheelchair-bound throughout the remainder of the season.

Bobby was one of the first recognizable and textually confirmed main characters to appear with a disability. In many ways, Bobby was the first example of how Supernatural explored representing non-able bodied characters.

Bobby’s first reaction to his new disability is extremely negative. In a scene where Bobby stares idly out his hospital window, Sam whispers, “[Bobby] hasn’t spoken in days”. When the angel, Castiel, appears soon after, Bobby’s dialogue has him anxiously awaiting heavenly forces to heal him from his disability. When it’s discovered he cannot be healed, Bobby responds in anger and frustration.

BOBBY

You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap the rest of my life?

CASTIEL

I'm sorry.

BOBBY

Shove it up your ass.

Throughout the season, Bobby’s response to his disability continues to spiral into negative, depressive episodes. In 05x07, “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester”, Bobby makes the risky decision of gambling with a witch to earn back his ability to walk. Instead of money, Bobby bets years of his life. After the game, it is revealed Bobby gambled, and lost, 25 years, leaving him on the cusp of death. While the deal is reversed with the Winchesters’ help, Bobby still retains his disability by the end of the episode.

Bobby’s depression soon becomes textualized after he admits to thoughts of suicide. In 05x07, he claims,

“I ain't a hunter no more. I'm useless. And if I wasn't such a coward, I'd have stuck a gun in my mouth day I got home from the hospital."

In 05x18, “Point of No Return”, Bobby is also seen holding a bullet, telling the Winchester brothers,

"That’s the round that I mean to put through my skull. Every morning, I look at it. I think, 'Maybe today’s the day I flip the lights out.' But I don’t do it. I never do it. You know why? Because I promised you I wouldn't give up!"

These two quotes reveal that Bobby’s suicidal tendencies are linked to the day he discovered he could no longer walk. For Bobby, his disability completely invalidates his identity as a hunter. In his mind, the two identities cannot coexist. His disability leaves him feeling incapable of doing his job and protecting those he loves. For Bobby, his disability correlates to weakness, uselessness, and passiveness. These feelings are so extreme, in fact, that by 05x18 the only reason Bobby hasn’t ended his life is not for his own sake, but for the sake of others.

Bobby’s suicidal tendencies can be noted later in 05x20, “The Devil You Know”. In this episode, Bobby makes a deal with a demon to help the Winchesters. By doing so, he sells his soul and faces the chance of spending eternity in Hell. Bobby’s actions speak of duty, but also a lack of self-worth.

BOBBY World's gonna end. Seems stupid to get all precious over one little...Soul.

However, by the end of 05x21, “Two Minutes to Midnight”, Bobby regains his ability to walk through the demon deal. The change leaves Bobby feeling happy and hopeful, even telling Dean,

“I walked up and down stairs all night for no damn reason. I'm sore. Feels so good, I'm scared it's a dream.”

Overall, Bobby’s reaction to his disability is typical of most media. By obtaining this disability later in life, Bobby is a reminder that able-bodiedness is, and can be, a temporary state. Once Bobby loses his ability to walk, he is shown as incredibly depressed with suicidal tendencies, risking the lives of himself and others just for the chance to walk again. By doing so, the show gives a single image of disability, which is one full of pain, sadness, and the desperate chase to find a “cure”.

Supernatural’s representation of Bobby’s disability can be linked to ableism - the system of power in society that gives privilege to able-bodied individuals. Bobby’s character falls into many of these media stereotypes. He is shown to be incredibly depressed because of his disability. His self-hatred is so low, in fact, that he values death over having to live with his inability to walk. His newfound disability characterizes him as weak and useless as well. Despite having hunted his entire life, Bobby’s character claims that his disability invalidates this entire side of his identity. Instead of exploring the ways Bobby could adapt to hunting after his disability, his character is shown completely unwilling to even try. In this way, Supernatural is essentially showing us that individuals with disabilities simply cannot exist in the “hunting world”. Like many other parts of society, hunting is portrayed as inaccessible to the non-able bodied community.

Bobby’s obsession to find a “cure” to his disability is an example of ableism as well. It retains the pattern in media that those who are disabled are constantly wishing for, and searching for, a “cure”. It is part of a societal belief that able-bodied is a standard every individual aspires to. If one does not fit this image, then they must be constantly searching for a way to achieve this standard. This belief fuels the idea that non-able bodied individuals are somehow abnormal from the rest of society. In Supernatural, we can see this stereotype played to the extreme through Bobby’s suicidal gambling game.

By the end of the season, Bobby’s disabled status is given no redemption. He’s not shown working through his emotional trauma nor finding any sort of emotional conclusion. Instead of self-acceptance and exploring new ways to hunt, the show’s “solution” to Bobby’s disability is to magically erase it. Afterward, Bobby is seen as finally happy and optimistic, making jokes and comparing his re-ability to walk like being in a “dream”. In this way, Supernatural reasserts the stereotype that those with disabilities can only be happy once they are able-bodied. Overall, Supernatural’s Bobby Singer represents the many negative and harmful stereotypes of disability in our mainstream media.

Eileen Leahy

Eileen Leahy first appears in 11x11, “Into the Mystic”. After Bobby Singer, she is one of the only recurring characters on the show with a textually confirmed disability. When Eileen was a baby, a banshee invaded her home and killed her parents. While Eileen managed to survive the attack, the banshee’s supernatural screams left her deaf. She was later found by a hunter who raised Eileen into the world of hunting. Eileen’s character is first introduced to the show when she and the Winchesters work on the same case; both hunting the banshee that killed Eileen’s family.

Eileen’s character is given incredible complexity despite her only one episode introduction. The episode opens with the scene of her parents’ death, allowing audiences to empathize with Eileen’s history. Throughout the episode, Eileen also discusses important topics to her character, like her background in hunting and her feelings of revenge.

SAM

Eileen, in my experience... Revenge is not all it's cracked up to be.

Killing this Banshee is not gonna bring your parents back.

EILEEN

I never met them. They're just pictures to me.

[Eileen picks up her wallet, opens it to a picture of her as a baby with her parents and hands it to Sam]

SAM

But...

EILEEN

They're family.

My family.

By providing all this, the show invests in giving her a complex backstory and provides explanations to the motivations behind her actions. This is rare for the show’s usual treatment of new introductions, reserving such plotlines for major characters.

Eileen even talks about her future, contemplating about becoming a lawyer. But, by the end, she accepts that her future remains in hunting.

SAM

What now? Law school?

EILEEN

No. This is my life.

Eileen’s character represents a minority identity. The complexity given to her character, therefore, is important to recognize. Instead of becoming a two-dimensional image of her disability, Eileen is recognized as a real life, dynamic individual. While deafness plays an important role in Eileen’s character, it is an identity layered upon other characteristics for the audience to empathize and understand her through. The show’s attention to Eileen’s character, therefore, is a successful step towards the positive representation of individuals with disabilities.

Most importantly, in fact, Supernatural shows Eileen fully capable and happy with her life alongside her disability. There is no focus on her character being “cured”, nor does Eileen show any negative thoughts against her deafness. Instead, Eileen is confident and resourceful, proving herself a force to be reckoned with.

Throughout the episode, Eileen shows incredible talent and skill in hunting. She is reliable, courageous, and strong-willed. During the episode, Eileen doesn’t hesitate to lure Sam into a trap of runes she’s painted, mistaking him for a banshee. By doing so, Eileen becomes another character in the show that is able to outwit the Winchester brothers, who they themselves are considered at the top of the hunting world. It is only by Sam explaining her mistake that he is able to escape from her trap.

As well, Eileen’s deafness serves as an advantage to the case. When the banshee’s screams become too loud for any of the hunters to hear each other, Eileen is able to communicate the directions to a spell using sign language. In this way, Eileen’s deafness is not shown as a limiting factor to herself or her work. Instead, it represents the advantages and strengths Eileen has because of her identity. This can be contrasted heavily with Bobby’s character, who felt he was no longer a hunter due to his disability. As Eileen shows, individuals with disabilities can (and do) easily exist within the hunting world.

Eileen’s deafness is explored in many ways throughout the episode. The show even brings great attention to Eileen’s experience with deafness by allowing her to communicate in sign language with another character. Sign language is not just another form of communication; it can be part of an entire culture in deaf/hard-of-hearing communities. Allowing Eileen to sign throughout the episode brings a greater understanding of Eileen’s experience with deafness.

Overall, Eileen’s characterization in Supernatural is a progressive step for a show that previously failed in positive disability representation. By addressing disability, Supernatural gives voice to a group that greatly lacks such recognition on screen. For individuals within this community, characters like Eileen can represent a hopeful future of better disability representation in media.

#queer analysis #supernatural #meta #supernatural meta #qpop2018

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blogint159 · 3 years

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Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Album Download

Album 1988 8 Songs. Available with an Apple Music subscription. Album 1988 8 Songs. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

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Seventh Son Song

7th Son Of The 7th Son

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Album Download Full

Seventh Son Meaning

Iron Maiden's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is the pinnicle of Maiden's creativity and technical profiecency. Davidson, Harris, Murray, Smith and McBrian are clearly at the top of their game. The first great song is Infinite Dreams, an epic and meanadering. Full Album in my Channel!! Interpret: Iron Maiden Song: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - Amazon.com Music. To view this video download Flash Player VIDEOS 360° VIEW IMAGES Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. Anyway this is a great album and while it is different than Iron Maiden's previous efforts, it still rocks even with the synthesizers. Listen free to Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (Moonchild, Infinite Dreams and more). 8 tracks (47:19). Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a concept album by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1988 as the band's seventh studio album on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002).

23-10-2020, 10:14

Rock | Metal | FLAC / APE | CD-Rip

Artist: Iron Maiden Title: Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Year Of Release: 1988 (1995) Label: EMI (Holland) Genre: Heavy Metal Quality: FLAC (image+.cue,log,scans) Total Time: 01:28:21 Total Size: 733 Mb WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist: CD 1 01. Moonchild (5:42) 02. Infinite Dreams (6:09) 03. Can I Play With Madness (3:31) 04. The Evil That Men Do (4:36) 05. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (9:54) 06. The Prophecy (5:05) 07. The Clairvoyant (4:27) 08. Only The Good Die Young (4:43) CD 2

01. Black Bart Blues (6:41) 02. Massacre (2:54) 03. Prowler '88 (4:07) 04. Charlotte The Harlot '88 (4:11)

05. Infinite Dreams (Live) (6:04) 06. The Clairvoyant (Live) (4:27) 07. The Prisoner (Live) (6:09)

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Album Download Mp3

08. Killers (Live) (5:03) 09. Still Life (Live) (4:38)

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the last great Iron Maiden album, reconnecting with the band's prog rock roots and reversing the signs of decline that had been evident on their previous record. By this point, Maiden had earned the respect of metalheads the world over with their steadfast adherence to unadulterated metal and their grandiose aesthetic. They'd made concessions neither to pop-metal nor to thrash, and their passionate fan base would never have tolerated a radical reinvention. But what do you do when your epic ambition itself has become a formula? You go even bigger and make a concept album, of course, and that's what Maiden does here, breaking out of the creative rut they'd fallen into on Somewhere in Time. The concept is based on the European folklore which held that the seventh son of a seventh son would be born with special powers that could be used for good or evil (and probably also in part by fantasy author Orson Scott Card, who'd touched on this idea in his own work). As such, the lyrics are Maiden at their most gothic, obsessed with supernatural mysticism of all stripes; the story line concerns the title character, born with a gift for prophecy but mistrusted by his village, which ignores his warnings of apocalyptic doom and makes him a tormented Cassandra figure. Musically, this is Maiden at their proggiest, with abrupt, stop-on-a-dime transitions between riffs, tempos, time signatures, and song sections. Yet nearly every song has a memorable chorus, with only 'The Prophecy' falling short in that department. They've also switched from the guitar synths of Somewhere in Time to full-fledged keyboards, which are used here more to add atmosphere rather than taking center stage; this restores the crunch that was sometimes lacking in the shinier production of the previous album. No less than four of this album's eight songs reached the British Top Ten in some version (concert standard 'Can I Play with Madness,' 'The Evil That Men Do,' 'The Clairvoyant,' and 'Infinite Dreams'), while the album became the band's first U.K. chart-topper since The Number of the Beast. The title track is this album's extended epic (though the songs are longer in general), and it's moved out of the closing spot in yet another subtle statement about shaking things up. If Seventh Son doesn't epitomize their sound or define an era the way the first three Dickinson albums did, it nonetheless ranks among their best work. Adrian Smith left the band after this record, closing the book on Maiden's classic period and heralding a dire -- and distressingly immediate -- creative decline.

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DOWNLOAD FROM ISRA.CLOUD Iron Maiden Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 95 2310.rar - 733.3 MB

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(Redirected from The Seventh Son (song))

'The Seventh Son'Single by Willie MabonB-side'Lucinda'ReleasedOctober 1955(1)RecordedChicago, June 1, 1955(1)GenreRhythm and bluesLength3:01LabelChessSongwriter(s)Willie DixonProducer(s)Willie Mabon singles chronology

'Come On, Baby' (1955)'The Seventh Son' (1955)'Knock on Wood' (1956)

'The Seventh Son' (also listed as 'Seventh Son') is a rhythm and blues song written by Willie Dixon. The title refers to the seventh son of a seventh son of folklore, which Dixon referenced previously in his 'Hoochie Coochie Man'.

In 1955, Willie Mabon was the first to record it, which was released as a single by Chess Records.(2)Johnny Rivers recorded the song as the lead track for his album Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go (1965), which was also one of his most popular singles.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Album Download Torrent

Recording and release(edit)

Willie Mabon recorded 'The Seventh Son' on June 1, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. The exact personnel on the session are not known for sure but are most likely Willie Mabon (vocals, piano), Bill Martin (trumpet), Herbert Robinson (tenor saxophone), Willie Dixon (double bass), and Oliver Coleman (drums). The song was paired for release as a single with 'Lucinda' as the B-side and was released in October.(1)

Johnny Rivers rendition(edit)

'The Seventh Son'Single by Johnny Riversfrom the album Meanwhile Back at the Whisky a Go GoB-side'Un-Square Dance'Released1965Recorded1965VenueWhisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, CaliforniaGenreLength2:45LabelImperialSongwriter(s)Willie DixonProducer(s)Lou Adler

Seventh Son Song

Johnny Rivers' version of 'The Seventh Son' was released on the 1965 album Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go and also as a single. Despite the title, most, if not all, of the tracks were recorded in the studio with audience noise added. The single version peaked at number seven on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart.(3) It topped RPM magazine's Top Singles chart.(4)

Recordings by other artists(edit)

7th Son Of The 7th Son

'The Seventh Son' has been recorded by a variety of artists, including Bill Haley & His Comets (released on their 1999 greatest-hit compilation), John Mellencamp (on the 2005 reissue of Rough Harvest), Billy 'Crash' Craddock (on the album You Better Move On), Mose Allison, Sting, Georgie Fame (UK #25, 1969), Climax Blues Band, Long John Baldry, George Thorogood and, as with many of his own songs, by Willie Dixon.

References(edit)

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Album Download Full

^ abcGeorge R. White; Robert L. Campbell; Tom Kelly. 'The Chess Label Part II (1953–1955)'. Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. Retrieved March 20, 2011.

^Hanson, Karen (2007). Today's Chicago Blues. Lake Claremont Press. p. 66. ISBN978-1893121195.

^'Johnny Rivers: Chart History – Hot 100 'Seventh Son''. billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

^'RPM Magazine Top Singles – Volume 3, No. 21, July 19 1965'(PHP). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004.

Seventh Son Meaning

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Seventh_Son&oldid=973442797'

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wedoyouressays195 · 4 years

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Emergence Of Turkish Nationalism History Essay

Rise Of Turkish Nationalism History Essay In the eighteenth century, the Grand Viziers and leaders were commonly Turkish root. The Turkification of the organization in the Ottoman Empire in these years spread over workmanship and social fields. These enhancements made ready for Turkish patriotism in the next hundreds of years. During the eighteenth century, patriotism was a philosophy which was found in the Balkans.â [1]â As inspecting the development of Turkish patriotism, clearly it is far later than its Western partner. There were a few reasons prompted this deferral. Initially, Turks were the principle component of the Ottoman Empire that could have forestalled them. In the event that the Turks had understood the Turkish patriotism, others may have been impacted. National talk on Turkism would have shaken the set up request in the limits of Empire. There is likewise another explanation behind this defer common and work classes didn't happen among the Turks before they did in different countries. Until the nineteenth century, Turk as an idea had negative meaning.â [2]â The start of the idea of Turkish patriotism followed back to the Turcology concentrates in the nineteenth century in Europe. Particularly the semantic highlights of the different Turkish gatherings were underscored. The investigations of European Turcologists works were full of feeling on Ottoman scholarly people while they were attempting to stop the decay of the Empire.Â [3]Â These Turcology considers were one of the most critical sources both in the rise of Turkish patriotism and Pan-Turanism. The possibility of patriotism likewise developed among the Muslims in Russia particularly the Tatars of Volga before Turks in the Empire. As the purposes behind that considered; they were the most exceptional ethnic gathering in the Muslims of Russia. Despite the fact that they experienced Russian concealment for quite a long time, with Catherine II this circumstance has changed and Tatars increased a strict and common self-rule. Among the Tatar people group merchants class rose nonetheless; the Turks in the Ottoman Empire included no unique spot inside the millet framework and they just have been the prevailing country with different Muslims, for example, Arabs, Kurds and Albanians. All the more significantly, between these countries there were no ethnic obstructions and Turks in the Empire have acknowledged Islam as their life style.â [4]â Consequently, despite the fact that there were thoughts of patriotism which were realized by Greek freedom and Serbian self-rule, Turkish-Ottoman awareness was absent around then. With the Ottoman Russian War in 1877-1878 enormous quantities of Tatars, Azerbaijanis and Caucasian Turks relocated to the Empire. The Turkish erudite people that fled to Ottoman Empire, Pan-Turkism started to spread out.â [5]â As it was expressed before this philosophy was united by the effect of Western thoughts and through crafted by Turcologists in Europe , who indicated the Turks that they had a place with such an antiquated country. Crafted by Western Turcologists was later trailed by that of Turkish scholarly people. In a universe of confusion and imbalances, numerous Ottoman savvy people were affected by the charms of patriotism. They received a romanticized picture of the country ascending from the remains of a wanton empire.â [6]â Be that as it may, Turkish national talk didn't increase full political substance and point until 1908 which was the date of the Constitutions statement. This overall postponement of political debate on Turkish patriotism was not because of the numbness of the civil servants and scholarly people towards the issue of sparing of the state.â [7]â As we assess strategically, the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian Wars, Germany and some Balkan countries cozy connections and the mistake came about because of belief systems of Pan-Islamism and Pan-Ottomanism and ultimately, Ottoman intelligent people activities contradicted to the civil servants of Tanzimat ere and changes were all the purposes for the development of Turkish patriotism in the Ottoman Empire as an option in contrast to two philosophies that were clarified in the past pieces of our paper. Every one of these advancements arranged and framed the conditions for Turkish nationalism.â [8]â G. Container TURKISM Container Turkism alludes to political, social and ethnic solidarity of allÂ Turkic-speakingâ people. Before clarifying acts of Pan-Turkism in the Ottoman Empire, perceptible characters in this issue will be referenced. One of the most compelling and huge character on the issue of Pan-Turkism in the Russian Empire. He was among the Tartar of Kazan district. In the periodical Tã¼rk, his acclaimed article was distributed. Ãœc Ter-I Siyaset is viewed as the fundamental show of Pan-Turkism. He looked at the 3 belief systems that Union and Progress Party sought after. Subsequently, he bolstered Turkish patriotism as a choice to skillet Ottomanism and dish Islamism. Though customary Ottoman first class discovered Akã§uras new Turkish patriotism as improper, Unionist system received it later. As per them, skillet Turkism was an intend to remunerate the Empires African and European misfortunes by Turkification arrangement at Empire and in Asia over the Turkic society.Â [9]Â Yusuf Akcura (1904), in his notable article on the 3 belief systems expressed that: By such an arrangement all Turks living in the Ottoman Empire would be consummately joined by both ethnic and strict bonds and the other non-Turkish Muslim gatherings who have been as of now Turkified to a limited degree would be further assimilated.â [10]â He additionally analyzed the favorable circumstances and detriments of dish Turkism strategy over the Empire. He proposed that primary assistance of this strategy would be unification of the considerable number of Turks who are being spread over Asia and the Eastern Europe, have a place with a similar language gatherings, ethnicity and religion. Among the other extraordinary countries, more prominent national and political solidarity would be made. In this solidarity, Ottomans would be the most impressive and humanized of all the Turkish social orders. Among the ethnicities of Caucasian and the East Asian, a Turkish world appeared. But these focal points, there was weakness of this approach can prompt the partition of the non-Turkish Muslims from the Empire. As a result, the Muslims would be separated into Turks and non-Turks.â [11]â Besides, another supporter of the Pan-Turkist belief system among the Turks in Russia was Ã„â°smail Gaspã„â±ralã„â± who is a Crimean Tatar. He expressed his thoughts in the Crimean paper Tercã¼man with the adage of solidarity in language, thoughts, deeds. He upheld idea of Turkism as well as Islam and Westernization. Despite the fact that he was supportive of Turkish patriotism, he had abstained from defining a political Turkish personality and he had shaped this associations social and social foundation , while leaving the political association to others.â [12]â It tends to be deduced that in Ottoman Empire Pan-Turkism was for the most part overwhelmed in the writing area. Particularly between the Russian War and Greek War, thought of Turkish patriotism was treated by Ã… Å¾emseddin Sami, Necib Asã„â±m and Veled Ã‡elebi subterranean insect may of the Turkist scholarly and authors.â [13]â G.1. Dish TURKISM AS A DOMINANT IDEOLOGY IN THE EMPIRE Until the years 1912-1913 that Balkan Wars happened different approaches sought after rather than Pan-Turkism. 1908 Revolution balanced the method of looking the Turks and Pan-Turkist development got well known. The explanation for this prevalence was the persistent endeavors of Great powers that meddled in the undertakings of the Ottoman Empire. The avocation of these intercessions was security of the minorities. Therefore, youthful savvy people embraced Turkish patriotism. The principal endeavor of skillet Turkist development was following from the 1908 Constitutional Period. On 7 January 1909, Turkish Association was established. It was a social affiliation and Armenians, a portion of the European Orientalists were additionally among the individuals. With the establishment of these sort of relationship, there distributed a few diaries that had significant job of the advancements in dish Turkism. Because of Turco-Italian War, this patriot development was accelerated.â [14]â The Ottoman scholarly people and civil servants were clearly worried about the eventual fate of the Empire. They were additionally saturated with energetic sentiments on account of the most recent conflictive political turns of events. In the resistance wing, the Young Turks had unequivocally given themselves to Pan-Turkism. They imagined that household and present day changes must be accomplished through radical basic changes, not through impersonation of western foundations. Political Turkism was the last ideological response of the Young Turks. They protected the belief system of Ottomanism instead of political Turkism much after the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 since Ottomanism was all the more encouraging in keeping the solidarity of the Empire. Despite the fact that the Young Turks cared for the Turkish components of the Empire and pronounced Turkish language as the official language in 1909, they never upheld political Turkism as an answer for the issues of the Empire. For them, the most significant target was to keep the solidarity of every single ethnic component under the support of the Ottoman Empire, which Ottomanism was the best ideological device for this end.â [15]â Clearly Committee of Union and Progress built up the awareness of Turkish patriotism as political association. CUP governments most significant advance towards a patriot arrangement was the acknowledgment of Turkish language as the official language of the Ottoman culture which in the end would be instructed to every single Ottoman resident. These applications were done not for the sake of Turkism, however of secularism and Westernism. Utilization of a patriot arrangement on a common line was normal in the Ottoman Empire since the rise of the Pan-Turkist thoughts, as well, As an outcome, at one of the gathering congress Union and Progress favored Turkish patriotism in 1911.â [16]â There wer

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erictmason · 7 years

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Top 10 Disney Cartoon Shows

Turns out that last list didn't quite get all the Disney out of my system, so I'm at it again. Only this time, it's about Disney's efforts on the small screen. It's actually kind of hard to overstate the significance of Disney's choice to get into the television animation game back in the 80's. Before then, whatever else one could say about its merits, animation on TV meant one thing: cheap (well, OK, that and "short films imported from a radically different era", but let's not split hairs here). That isn't to say quality animation could not be found on television pre-Disney, but rather that said quality (both in the visual and writing departments) was rarely if ever the priority. But when Disney came along, with a mission statement of bringing with it the level of craft that had defined their theatrical films (though naturally they were never really aiming that high), that changed, and animation studios of all stripes suddenly had a reason to pour a lot more effort into their animated TV shows. I don't think it's unfair to say we're still living in the world Disney helped create, in fact, whether it's the overt influence many of Disney's shows have had on the newest generation of animators or else by virtue of the space they helped to make where such shows can exist and thrive. So, with the reboot of "Ducktales", the Disney TV animation studio's first breakout success, having recently launched, I thought it would be an appropriate time to look back at that vast, storied history of Disney TV cartoons and pick out my personal picks for the best of the bunch. As usual, there are a few provisos, a couple of quid pro quos if you will. 1.) It has to be a show made by a division of Disney Television Animation, not just airing on a Disney-owned channel. That means no Lucasfilms, no Marvel, and no imports from, say, Canada or Japan. 2.) TV shows only, no shorts or compilation shows. So much as I adore them, the current run of "Mickey Mouse" shorts will not be on here, sorry. 3.) It has to have aired in its entirety. I feel like it's unfair to judge a TV show on a list like this without being able to see it as a whole, so as intriguing as, say, "Star VS. The Forces of Evil" is, it isn't eligible since it's still producing new episodes. With the rules established? Let's make some magic!

10.) Aladdin: The Series (1994-1995): Here's a bit of irony for you: half the reason Disney ventured into television animation in the first place is that, at the time, the future of their theatrical animation division seemed in doubt. Not long after, however, along came "The Little Mermaid" and the Disney Renaissance, and suddenly it was the television side looking to the theatrical side for source material. Quite a few Renaissance pics got the TV show treatment as a result, but for my money the best of the bunch remains "Aladdin: The Series", mainly because it's the one that feels most of a piece with the original movie. Part of that, of course, is that "Aladdin" was already a bit more suited to the adventure-a-week formula, since that's kind of where the roots of the original story already run. But part of it is also that the ways in which the show expanded on the original's world were genuinely clever. Pulling not only from Arabian mythology, but Greco-Roman, Aztec, Egyptian, and beyond, the show managed to deliver remarkably-solid adventure stories, few of which ever continued from the other but all of which worked surprisingly well together to create a world that felt remarkably alive and vibrant. Sure, Aladdin himself remains a fairly uninteresting protagonist, Dan Castellanata can't hope to replace Robin Williams as The Genie, and Iago is a lot less fun when he's asked to be a constant lead presence rather than a humorous diversion. But even so, "Aladdin: The Series" succeeded at taking the original's lead, running with it, and in the process delivering a show that felt exciting and interesting to watch week from week just to see what new corner of its world it would uncover.

9.) Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015): OK, confession time? I actually don't like this show very much. I hardly dislike it or anything, but I was never able to really get into it the same way I could other entries in the remarkably-specific sub-genre of "TV Cartoons Aimed At Kids Which Manage To Also Garner A Sizable Teen/Adult Audience" like, say, "Steven Universe" or another show that's probably on this list. Nonetheless, I can't deny this thing is maybe the success story of modern-day Disney television animation, lasting longer by far than any other show on the list. Nor am I unaware of what made it so popular: the strong, heavily-geometric character designs, the charming musical numbers, and the mad-cap, self-aware comedy. It's that last piece I find most interesting, because I think it speaks most strongly to what helped "Phineas and Ferb" stand out from the pack: it's kind of like the kid-friendly version of "Family Guy", at least in the sense that it derives its humor less from the story or characters, who are deliberately archetypal, and more from its ability to use those archetypal characters as delivery machines for rapid-fire punchlines predicated on equal parts dry wit and pop-cultural reference. In other words, it never becomes itself an "adult" series, indeed its whole perspective is an exaggerated version of childhood, but it does use an "adult"-oriented style of comedy most other kid's shows didn't really utilize back when it started. That kind of unique creative choice can often do a lot of help a show stand out from the crowd, and, with four seasons, seven years, and over 200 episodes (to say nothing of TV specials and movies), I think it's safe to say that's exactly what this show did.

8.) Fillmore! (2002-2004): Man, why don't more people remember this show? Following up on the renewed popularity of crime procedurals thanks to both the "Law and Order" and "CSI" franchises being at their peak, it takes the structure and tone of a 70's/80's-style crime drama and refits it into the world of Middle School. Cops become Hallway Monitors, overzealous politicians become overbearing teachers, and Grand Theft Auto becomes bicycle theft. It's that last part that proves the most amusing; since murder is pretty obviously not going to fly on a kid's show, the crimes they do come up with display a remarkable breadth of creativity. Trying to chase down a graffiti vandal turns into a "Silence of the Lambs"-style criminal vs. criminal scenario, fandom obsession leads to dangerous sabotage, smuggling food into school is treated like something akin to drug-running, that sort of thing. And best of all, while the show is entirely aware of its own absurdity, its sense of humor is 100% deadpan, and the result is that it really does play like a "straight" Cop Drama despite its setting. It's a unique tone that is equal parts engaging and funny, and it creates this really interesting one-of-a-kind style that no other show has ever really tapped into, either before or since. Top it off with a great pair of lead characters-the titular Fillmore himself, a Good Guy With A Past played with a crisp cool to match the show's tone by Orlando Brown, and his reformed-ex-con partner Ingrid Third, another notch in veteran VA Tara Strong's belt, and you've got a great kid's show that's every bit as gripping as the shows it parodies, even as it also gets some solid laughs along the way too.

7.) TaleSpin (1990-1991): For the most part, it's easy to draw the lines that connect the Disney Afternoon's initial shows to the pre-existing Disney properties they're based on. "Goof Troop" is really just those old-school Goofy shorts about domestic life updated to match with 90's-style family sitcoms, "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers" plugs the titular duo into kid-friendly adventure romps, and so on and so forth. But "TaleSpin" is just so weird in that respect: it may borrow three of its key characters from there, but it can't really be said to be based on Disney's 1967 version of "The Jungle Book". Instead, those characters-or rather heavily modified versions of those characters re-conceived to fit in to the show's new setting-are placed into an entirely new world, which itself is something like a steampunk fantasy version of 1920's America, guided by the spirit of old-school Adventure Serials. But the very oddity of its construction allows "TaleSpin" to feel at once familiar and new, able to ground itself by way of those "Jungle Book" characters you know and love (with the twists it puts on them being endearingly clever, like making Shere Khan a Lex Luthor-style corporate mogul) while also spring-boarding out into a wide variety of classic adventure stories. Daring duels with pirates, high-stakes air races, and even the occasional flight of overtly-magical fancy...there's a lot of Tales to Spin here, and the show consistently does so with an admirably clear-eyed sense of its own genre and how to best play with it. And again, it's all connected to a charming cast of characters. "TaleSpin" is a tricky little thing to pin down, then, but for that very reason it's way too memorable to overlook or ever forget.

6.) The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991): "Winnie the Pooh" stories are a tricky thing to do right. They'd been around for close to half-a-century even back when Disney first adapted the property into a trilogy of animated short films during the mid-to-late 60's, and that history, combined with the stories' enduring popularity, means we all have a fairly solid idea of what they "feel" like. Moreover, by their very nature, the best "Pooh" stories are short, simple things with only the barest hint of narrative intent or moral center. Which means trying to expand on them in any significant way runs the risk of stuffing them with more familiar story-telling tropes and styles that simply do not belong there. So "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" deserves a lot of credit, if not for dodging that fact entirely (as was increasingly common in kid's TV shows of the time, it made sure to center a lot of its stories around "lessons" in a fashion much louder and more overt than the source material), then at least for managing to make a show that consistently felt like it captured and exemplified the right spirit even so. A lot of that, it should be said, comes down to the voice actors; not only did Paul Winchell (Tigger) and John Fiedler (Piglet) return to reprise their iconic roles after having sat out the previous "Pooh" TV show, "Welcome to Pooh Corner", but this also marks the first "Pooh" project where the title character is voiced by Jim Cummings, who has played the role in every other "Pooh" production to come out of Disney in the nearly-three decades since. Their performances aren't just consistently entertaining, they also lend a sense of spiritual continuity that benefits the show greatly. More to the point, though, the animation has an intriguing physicality to it that recognizes the stuffed-animal nature of its core cast, as well as a delightfully-poppy color scheme. The writing, meanwhile, uses a particular blend of sweetness and humor that feels at once akin to the original Disney short films, but also distinct and enjoyable unto itself. Wordplay, slapstick, and gentle philosophizing, hallmarks of a good "Pooh" story since the very beginning, all show up in "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", but the show always puts a just-so slightly-modern touch on each one. To be sure, "New Adventures" plays in the same ballpark as more typical Saturday Morning cartoon fare, but it does so with the invaluable lessons of Pooh himself pretty clearly having been taken to heart in the process, and the resulting show is simply delightful.

5.) Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991): Technically speaking, the first Disney Television series is the short-lived plush-toy spin-off "The Wuzzles". Meanwhile, the first real breakout hit for the studio was unquestionably 1987's "Ducktales". But the one that first really established the studio, granting it the foothold from which it would build its future successes, is "The Adventures of the Gummi Bears". On paper, it sounds very much like a "Smurfs" wanna-be, centered as it is on a tribe of small, magically-inclined creatures with matching names set in a vaguely-Medieval England fantasy world. But in execution, it winds up weaving a remarkably-compelling tale with a surprisingly-dense internal mythology which it treats with an impressive degree of respect and earnestness. That isn't to say it's some Super Serious Epic (we'll need to go a bit up the list for that show), but even as it keeps things primarily centered on kid-friendly slapstick and gentle goofing off (and does a fine version of it in both cases too), there is nonetheless an underlying spine of genuinely weighty world-building to it that adds just the right amount of extra heft to even the lighter aspects of the series. The way our main characters, the Gummi Bears of the title, slowly but surely discover more and more aspects of their history and culture (much of it tangled up in an ugly war stemming from prejudice and distrust), all the while hoping for the day they'll be able to reunite with their own people, underlines almost every episode, pulling you in and often taking you by surprise. As well, while all clearly archetypal (in the old Seven Dwarves tradition of being named for their defining traits, even), those characters are all delightful to spend time with, again thanks to a strong cast of voice-acting veterans like Paul Winchell, June Foray, and Bill Scott, and a dynamic that feels warm and lived-in. Moreover, this is the show that Disney's TV animation really used to show off its skills, with some of the most fluid, engaging use of motion in any cartoon of the era; some episode are naturally stronger than others, but the best of them are genuinely gorgeous stuff. It is, in other words, a show with an intriguing story that feels very much like the best sort of Bed-Time Story, inviting and friendly on one level but with a deeper center just beneath the surface to pull you in and keep you coming back, and realized with a strong, compelling craft. So it's really no wonder that these "Gummi Bears" were, in their way, the ones to start the long-lived legacy of Disney's TV cartoons.

4.) Recess (1997-2003): There came an interesting point of transition for Disney's TV animation studios toward the end of the 90's. The Disney Afternoon block, long the most visible home for their shows, was finally shutting down after a solid seven-year run, and a new once-a-week block, fittingly named "1 Saturday Morning", was rising up to take its place. The block managed to last a decent five years, but very few of its shows managed to make much of an impact. But among the ones that did, the clear front-runner, to my mind at least, is "Recess", a love letter aimed not only at the nostalgia of the playground but also to the iconic TV comedy "Hogan's Heroes" (compare the theme songs to both shows, and then look at the mix of archetypes that comprises the core cast for each one). That mixture allows the show to present a vision of childhood that is simultaneously deliberately hyperbolic-the age-old notion of schoolyard hierarchies is here portrayed as a rich, thriving society unto itself, complete with its own king and economy-while still grounded in relatable ideas and characters, especially as regards the oftentimes contentious relationship between the students and teachers. That latter aspect especially speaks to why "Recess" is probably my pick for the best overall show of the "1 Saturday Morning" era, too; yes, as is typical of a show aimed at kids, it plays to their own feelings by painting the teachers as alternatively cruel and inept for the most part (while quite a few episodes focus on the difficulties the kids have with their parents, too), but it never forgets their own humanity in the process, and some of the show's best moments stem from that fact. Still, at the end of the day, it does really come down to that "Hogan's Heroes" influence I mentioned. No real kid has ever assembled the complex schemes and adventures that are "Recess"' primary source of stories, but I promise you every last kid has dreamed of it, and by placing those scenarios in the world it does, where the audience can at once recognize how much this is an exaggeration but still grasp what reality it draws from, it makes this really intriguing atmosphere that sparkles at once with a kid's sense of wonder and an adult's sense of humor (a lot of the best jokes stem from sharp wit that connects a young adult's perspective to adult concepts like a full-time job or balancing responsibilities). It's a style quite a few shows, cartoon or otherwise, have tried out over the years, but "Recess" is one of the very best examples of the form.

3a.) Gravity Falls (2012-2016): If you were paying close enough attention, you may have noticed something about the opening credits of animated television shows around the beginning of the '00's: series creators were being prominently credited. It was indicative of a larger amount of trust and control being placed in distinct creative voices as the industry slowly eased out (or tried to, anyway) of the merchandise-driven business model that had defined it for most of the 80's and 90's, and across the board it led to some very distinct visions making their way onto screens. For Disney, the example du jour is Alex Hirsch's "Gravity Falls", a show whose existence is all the more surprising when you consider just how very Not Disney its premise-kid-oriented "Twin Peaks" riff by way of "The X-Files"-really sounds. And yet here we are, with a show that is at once a razor-sharp comedy, a poignant examination of what it means to grow up and what we do and do not have to leave behind in the process, and a veritable parade of some of the most off-the-wall horror-sci-if-fantasy mash-ups of all time. And the thing of it is, the glue holding all of that together and keeping it coherent, allowing the show to build effortlessly both towards fantastic punchlines and deeply emotional culminations, stems from Hirsch: in interviews, he talked about how much of the show's premise stemmed from reflecting on the tourist-trap vacations he himself took as a child, and indeed, a lot of the series' best moments (an early episode centered on a haunted convenience store springs to mind in particular for me) succeed by tapping into that particular vein of childhood, where the simple change in environment that comes with vacation lends even the most mundane things an air of mystery. By the same token, so too do the characters feel keenly drawn from reality (even as they do still possess a cartoon's foibles and exaggerations); Dipper and Mabel are two of the most believable pre-teens I've ever seen on TV, both in their own way smart enough to no longer be children but struggling with the greater maturity necessary to really become grown-up, Grunkle Stan feels like every huckster you've ever seen on TV right down to the niggling sense that there is a tremendous amount more to him than what we see, and the change in perspective the show gives us on Wendy, initially kept at arm's length because of Dipper's crush on her only to emerge more fully as a person once he recognizes her own feelings on the matter. And then on top of all that, it's connected to a genuinely-compelling mystery that the show gradually teases out more and more, and those who are paying attention really do have an honest shot of piecing the puzzle together before the characters do, adding a new layer of visceral excitement to the experience. But the real strength of the show is that those twists and turns, as much as they might pull us deeper into the puzzle box, are really more about exploring and growing the characters first and foremost. That's the key to "Gravity Falls" above all, to my mind: yes, its internal mythology is uniquely well built, and yes, pushing the envelope on how genuinely scary/dangerous it's allowed to get is fascinating, but it never loses sight of how much its characters are the real heart of the story, and how much that fact helps this weird, wild mixture really come together.

3b.) Darkwing Duck (1991-1992): Yes, the #3 slot is a draw, because when it came right down to it I simply could not pick between the two shows I was considering for it. Leaving "Gravity Falls" off felt simply unacceptable to be, but neither could I find it in my heart to axe this, maybe my personal favorite of the entire Disney Afternoon era, from the list. Because the thing of it is, when you really think about it, "Darkwing Duck" shouldn't work at all. Superhero parodies were old hat even by the early 90's (indeed, at that point they probably outnumbered actual superhero shows), while spin-offs had long ago developed a reputation for being cheap-and-easy cash-ins (though the extent to which "Darkwing Duck" is, in fact, a spin-off of "Ducktales" is a touch debatable, I suppose, even as they share a handful of characters). But despite the odds against it, "Darkwing Duck" does indeed prove to be a consistently entertaining piece of work, and a lot of why boils down to the remarkably-multilayered construction of its title character. That isn't to say Darkwing is the only good thing about his own show; his rogue's gallery is an amusing assortment of pastiches of classic Villain archetypes-the plant-master, the crazy clown, the evil double, and so on-while the supporting cast, including "Ducktales" veteran Launchpad McQuack and excitable youngster Gosalyn Mallard (a character who, by rights, should be insufferable, but is instead genuinely endearing thanks in no small part to her voice actor, the late, great Christine Cavanaugh), is equally enjoyable. As well, the show's sense of humor has an ahead-of-its-time sardonic edge to it that was nowhere near as commonplace in kid's cartoons by that point, but which here provides just the right level of sharpness to the comedy. And the animation is fascinating, too, with a far more "Looney Tunes"-style sensibility to a lot of its best moments (which in turn informs the characters a lot; there's more than a touch of Daffy to Darkwing, but we'll get to that in a minute), while also showing just how far the iconic Disney "duck" design could be stretched while still being recognizable. But it really is Darkwing himself who makes the show, because despite the core conceit being fairly simple-poking fun at the inherent egomania of the superhero by portraying one as a glory hound interested more in publicity than actual heroism-there actually prove to be quite a few layers to him when you really get into it. For one thing, he's actually quite good at his job; for as many times as his inadequacy is the butt of the joke, "let's get dangerous" is more than just a catchphrase; it's a sign he's about to show you what he's really capable of. For another, his sincere affection for and protectiveness of Gosalyn shows there really is a heart underneath all that bluster, and that if he could just get out of his own way, Darkwing might well be capable of true greatness. But all too often he is, in fact, his own worst enemy (there's that Daffy Duck influence again). It's all played mostly for laughs, sure, but, especially thanks to Darkwing's VA Jim Cummings, who navigates each of those layers coherently and effectively, it comes through clearly even so. And it elevates the entire show to this unique, interesting place that has helped it stand the test of time.

2.) Gargoyles (1994-1997): As established during our introduction, the entry of Disney into the world of television animation in the mid-80's was a real paradigm shift in the industry. But a few years later, in 1992, came another, arguably even more profound game-changer: "Batman: The Animated Series". Every last element of that show-its writing, its visual style, and especially its revolutionary craft-proved profoundly popular, not only with viewers but people inside the industry. Soon enough, almost every TV animation studio around mounted a response: for Marvel Television, it was the "X-Men" cartoon, for Hanna Barbera it was "SWAT Kats". But far and away the best answer came from Disney, in the form of Greg Weisman's fantasy epic, "Gargoyles". From stem to stern, this is maybe one of the richest, most satisfying stories Disney TV ever crafted, and in stark contrast to just about every other show on this list, that doesn't come with a "but it's not as serious as all that" caveat. There's comic relief, to be sure, but still, this is nonetheless an entirely-earnest Modern Fantasy Epic, comprised of equal parts deep-cut cultural/mythological references-everything from Shakespeare to Arthurian Lore to the tales of Anansi the Spider, all realized with a remarkable degree of understanding and specificity-and exceptionally well-structured characters. Stoic Goliath, striving at once to protect what little remains of his kind while also seeking to do good in a world he struggles to understand; Elisa Maza, a sharp-minded detective who is always determined to stay on top of the situation no matter how crazy it becomes; Demona, a tragic figure consumed with anger and grief who seeks greater and greater means of destruction; Xanatos, one of the greatest masterminds of all time, always one step ahead, always a new scheme at the ready. "Gargoyles", in other words, weaves an impressively intricate tale that inhabits a sprawling, detailed world with rich, compelling players, by way of some of the most impressively-intricate long-term story arcs I've ever seen in a cartoon show. Whether it's the gradual transformation of Xanatos from inscrutable antagonist to complex Family Man (even as the extent to which he can ever really be trusted remains in question) or the slow-burn, exceptionally rewarding progression of Goliath and Elisa's relationship, or even things like the young, impetuous Brooklyn slowly growing up into a possible leader, "Gargoyles" hones in with perfect precision on how best to expand these characters over time. Likewise, watching as the scope of the world, and our own understanding of it, expands to include concepts like aliens and mutants amongst its gods and monsters is impressive and fascinating. And the series paces itself equally perfectly. There is a genuinely organic quality to "Gargoyles"' arcs, both character and plot; it never feels static or overly obsessed with the Status Quo, but it also does not rush through anything. Each plot twist, each character epiphany, feels earned, and all the more powerful as a result. And, cherry on top, the animation is top-tier stuff; it is perhaps not as overtly stylized as "Batman: The Animated Series" (though its focus on night-time settings and a darker color palette feels evocative of that show), but the combination of a Disney-esque sense of character design with the show's strong narrative backbone leads to exceptional results even so. "Gargoyles" may have been made in "Batman"'s image, but it wound up being a one-of-a-kind classic in its own right.

1.) Ducktales (1987-1990): There are a number of reasons "Ducktales" more or less has to top this list. Its pedigree, for one thing; drawing a lot of its premise (and directly adapting several of its best episodes and story lines) from the famed Carl Barks "Uncle Scrooge" comics (though notoriously, Barks' most famous successor, Don Rosa, has a less-than-sunny attitude toward the show) provides the show an exceptionally well-built and endearing structure. Whether it's outer-space epics or intercontinental treasure hunts, espionage action or magical mayhem, there's no breed of adventure "Ducktales" cannot comfortably tap into. Another thing to consider is its place in history; almost every other show on this list owes its existence to one degree or another to this show, which proved to be exactly the sort of powerhouse success story the Disney TV studio needed in order to prove its chops, and that means "Ducktales" holds a special place in animation history too, given how much Disney TV has played a part in it as a whole. And naturally, there's the animation to consider too; it may seem a touch standard-issue today, but compare "Ducktales" to just about any other contemporary cartoon of its era, and you'll realize just how much care goes into keeping characters on model and letting them movie not just fluidly, but also in a way that's enjoyable to watch. And last but hardly least, there's the stellar cast of characters (and voice actors); Huey, Dewey, and Louie may all be interchangeable, but their dynamic is lively and enjoyable anyway. Webby, meanwhile, is a fantastic foil, not only for them, but for Uncle Scrooge. And naturally, Scrooge himself (given an iconic performance by the late, great Alan Young) is just fantastic, a multi-layered, larger-than-life character who is nonetheless so much fun to simply spend time with you never want to stop. But the thing of it is, "Ducktales"' real claim to #1 is a bit harder to quantify than all that, because even as it excels on just about every level, it doesn't have, say, the same depth of theme and character as "Gravity Falls", or "Gargoyles"' tapestry of plot lines and character arcs. Its animation is certainly high quality, especially for the time, but it's not that much better than "Adventures of the Gummi Bears". And yet, even so, "Ducktales" is the one everyone remembers, and I feel like that comes down to it adding up to something more than just the sum of its parts. There really is this unique, ineffable energy to "Ducktales" that is equal parts charming, endearing, exciting, and thrilling, and it enhances each and every one of the things the show already does so well to a special level all its own. Some of that can be chalked up to nostalgia, sure, but a lot of it, I think, can also be ascribed to the sheer sense of discovery innate to the show. Not simply in the various people and places our heroes encounter (though there's that too, naturally), but in the fact that this new effort on Disney's part was hitting its stride, and in so doing opening up a whole new world of possibilities, for the show itself and for the future. Which is maybe being a touch too grandiose about it, but even so, "Ducktales" has endured enough to make me think there may be something to it. And hey, if literally nothing else, it really does have one humdinger of a theme song.

#Disney #disney afternoon #television #ducktales #Countdown #ericthemason #My writing

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simplyoriginalcharacters · 6 years

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Akey (sketch by submitter)

Name (Biographical Data) Full Name: Akeyit (no surname) Nickname: Akey (“ah” like “far”, “ey” like “okay”) Date of Birth: 8th February, 1917 (age 26 at start of story) Place of Birth: City of Atlantis, outlying settlements. Occupation: Lieutenant, palace guard. Residence: Palace barracks. Gender Identity: Non-binary (AFAB). Identifies primarily as gender-neutral, with some fluidity. Uses she/her pronouns for convenience. Sexuality: Generally attracted to women.

Cori here! Read the rest of this profile, and my thoughts, under the cut:

Setting: Original supporting character for next-generation cast based on Disney’s Atlantis: the Lost Empire. Story is set in 1943, primarily in the subterranean city of Atlantis. (Note: Although I’m committing one of the cardinal sins of fanfiction by doing next-gen, I am trying to avoid common pitfalls by not having established characters appear directly in story and treating the entire cast like standalone characters. I have also expanded on the setting’s worldbuilding; many elements have been changed, most notably the introduction of more realistic linguistics and the removal of the Atlanteans’ nigh-immortality, although they still have long lifespans. The story is being planned as a visual novel: this character is involved in two of the three possible plots, is a potential love interest to one of the three possible protagonists, and has no relation to any canonical characters.)

Appearance

A young person in her physical prime, what Akey lacks in height she makes up for in strength and will. With the lean, athletic build of a runner, Akey is agile, tough, and nearly impossible to overcome when she fights defensively. Among her people, Akey’s features are fairly average - her blue eyes are less common, but by no means rare. Her wide nose and soft eyes give her face an overall sense of roundness, without any harsh features. Practical to a fault, when Akey is seen out of uniform her clothes are chosen for function and comfort: wide-legged pants and sturdy sashes in plain, solid colors. She wears her long hair swept up into a high, thick ponytail that adds a few inches to her height. Like most Atlantean adults, she has multiple blue tattoos with culturally significant designs.

Height: 5’4” Weight: 150 lbs Build: Athletic, lean, sturdy. Skin Tone: Medium brown, cool undertones. Eyes: Dark greyish blue. Hair: White; long, straight, and coarse. Identifying Marks: Traditional blue tattoos (arm, chest, and/or face – designs TBD); no piercings; minor scars from everyday injuries, none notable. Nose broken twice, healed cleanly.

Personality

At first glance, Akey projects an air of stability and responsibility. Being a sensible royalist with little patience for the foot-dragging conservatives or the increasingly radical student movement, few people look beyond her occupation and devotion to the queen’s family for proof of her political stance. Her life is routine and quite settled: though Akey has always preferred to focus on serving the palace to the best of her ability, she is increasingly sought out for leadership and mentorship roles within the guard. She is proactive and takes charge where others drag their feet, preferring early-morning shifts and never waiting for others to do what she can accomplish on her own. She knows her own mind and is firm in her opinions, slow to change her ways and slower to forgive wrongs committed against herself or her charges.

Off-duty, Akey’s life remains ordered and predictable. She is surprisingly unadventurous, rotating her days off between her usual secluded fishing hole and strolls through a nearby street market. However, she is quite amiable and willing to change her routine if someone needs her. She doesn’t make new acquaintances very quickly, preferring to keep to a small circle of long-time good friends.

Despite her serious demeanor, Akey doesn’t let a lot get her down. Her sense of humor is biting and strikes when one least expects it. Honest and easy to talk to, her down-to-earth speech is refreshing to those worn down by the convoluted politicking in and around the palace. Faith is a private matter for Akey, and one she takes seriously, informing her strong belief in the divinity of the royal family.

Backstory

Akey was born in the third year of the new queen’s reign, the eldest child of a farming family establishing a settlement in the rarely explored terrain surrounding the city. Growing up in the lava caves, she and her siblings learned to be resilient and self-sufficient, forming tight bonds within their isolated community. Having never acquired any particular affinity for agriculture, at the age of fifteen Akey joined the city guard for training, hoping to receive a frontier posting and spend her life protecting the settlement where she was born. However, her ability and work ethic caught the attention of her instructors, and at eighteen she found herself being offered a position in the palace guard.

As a youth, Akey did not adopt many feminine mannerisms, even by her family’s rough-and-tumble standards, but never felt particularly masculine, either. Before going to the city, she dropped the feminine -it suffix from her name, using only the gender-neutral root, meaning “first” or “beginning”. Because of her profession, she is not expected to settle down and become a homemaker, and her family is proud of her choices, although they miss her and hope she will take a posting closer to home in the future.

In her eight years in the palace, Akey has risen through the ranks and become a trusted lieutenant to the captain of the guard as well as a familiar confidante to the family she protects. She resides in the palace barracks and, about twice a year, takes time off to visit her family in the outlying settlements.

For the time being, she has no intention of transferring to the frontier guard, having become accustomed to the security and comforts of city life. Although she worries it will cause friction with her family, Akey wants to fulfill her potential in the palace. With her hard-won skill and the favor of the eldest princess, she might one day command Atlantis’ forces in the queen’s name.

Relationships/Involvement: Akey features prominently in the plot involving the elder princess, serious and ambitious Tani, one of the protagonists, to whom she is a potential love interest. Drawn to her sincerity, Tani places great trust in Akey, who can become a valuable ally in her struggle to be recognized as her mother’s successor, especially if she loses support from the queen’s councilors.

To the middle princess, Kwen, Akey is something of an authority figure; sometimes mentor and sometimes meddler. Although Akey is often tasked with preventing (or cleaning up after) her mischievous escapades, she also inspired Kwen to join the city guard, where she met her best friend and is learning lessons that will one day make her a steadfast leader. In the meantime, Akey can always be counted on to lend a hand when things go sideways. Since Kwen’s plot takes place on the surface, Akey will not make many appearances.

Because of the difference in their ages, Akey is not very close with Weg, the reclusive prince, but is nonetheless an element in his plot, which centers on a brewing revolution. If he can bring himself to reach out to his sisters for help, Akey can become the palace’s last line of defense against the revolt; or, if his sympathies lie with the revolutionaries, a critical obstacle to overcome.

Dear SOC Team: Thank you so much for your time in reviewing Akey. Out of the six major supporting characters in this project, I’m worried that she is the only one without an obvious goal or ulterior motive. Since her purpose in the story is to, well, support the protagonists, I think anything more might complicate her role. Do you think she is interesting enough as a static character? Are there any other gaping holes in her profile that need fixing? I’m at a point where I need to step back and get a second opinion.

Thank you for all your time and effort! I really appreciate everything this blog does!

Thank you for your patience while I got this critique out! I have to admit, I had to do a lot of thinking about this character–let’s jump in with my thoughts, starting with her appearance. I’m a big, big fan of the way you’ve described Akey. The description you’ve given her hair, her features, her skin tone–every aspect of your character’s appearance has a modifying adjective that enables me to form a clear picture of her in my mind. The only nitpick is have is in regards to the drawing you’ve included–mainly, Akey’s nose! She’s missing that lovely wide nose you told me about in the description. From one fellow artist to another, I know that noses can be pretty hard to draw. Even something as simple as a curved or straight horizontal line can imply a character’s nose, so that might be worth experimenting with. Other than that, I really like the way you’ve drawn your character. Your style seems really suited for soft, rounded features. But since this is a writing blog, and not an art blog, let’s get back to the written portion of this profile. If you are looking for ways to improve Akey’s physical description, your next step could probably be to look into things like posture and gait. Body language, in addition to being part of your character’s appearance, is also a good way to give your audience a hint about the character’s personality. As a soldier, and stationed in the palace no less, think about the way Akey would carry herself to show her dedication to her job and her importance as a Lieutenant. Moving on now, to the personality section. This was honestly the hardest part of the critique for me to write, because everything you’ve got here has made Akey a fairly balanced character. Since she’s a supporting character, and not your main protagonist/antagonist, the amount of depth she has is fitting–and honestly, she’s still got more of a personality than some of the main characters I’ve read about in books! Her personality also seems to fit her upbringing–farmers and people who work in agriculture are usually typecast in stories as down-to-earth people who are set in their ways. I’d be curious to know if her childhood informs her decisions and her opinions as an adult, and in what way. There’s a big perspective shift between a rural farm family and a royal family. You could apply this to Akey to create minor conflict between her and her allies, or have her attempt to ‘bridge the gap’, so to speak, and have her attempt to make each side understand each other a little better. This could be crucial to your revolution plot, because if a revolution is brewing that means that the ruling family is doing something that the people under their rule aren’t happy with. If the issues happen to affect working-class citizens–like Akey’s family–there will likely be a lot of those people in the revolution’s ranks. Aside from that, I wanted to say that I like how you’ve established each relationship between Akey and the royal siblings. It’s interesting how you’ve used each character’s age to impact the way they see Akey–as a partner, as a role model, and as an obstacle.

To answer your questions now: I think Akey is interesting the way she is, but I would love to see her have her own minor character arc within your story. She may be a supporting character, but that doesn’t mean she has to be unmotivated or remain unchanged. Between supporting Tani in her political struggles and dealing with an impending revolt, I see a lot of potential for Akey to learn and grow as a person (whether she likes change or not!).

All in all, I can sense that you’ve put a lot of thought and care into this character, and I’m excited to see what you can do with her. Good luck with your writing! ~Cori

#SOC Critique #OC Critique #Development Help #submission

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