Argyle’s Gay Symbolism
Truly my craziest theory by a landslide-- hope y'all get a good chuckle
Just based off of Argyle as a character what do we know?
A) He wears colorful, bright clothes and wears rainbow socks to showcase his bold personality
B) He is very go-with-the-flow and is open to new experiences. Hence “try before you deny”
C) He is authentically himself and doesn’t hide his personality no matter who he’s dealing with (example: him acting like himself in suzie’s home)
Now let’s think ab this in a queer way:
L) Wears every color of the rainbow at all times (right down to his feet)
G) Doesn’t shy away from experimenting. Hence “try before you deny”
B) Refuses to hide who he is because he has pride in who he is.
Argyle is quite frankly the embodiment of homosexuality.
So let’s look at all of Mike + Argyle interactions with the knowledge of Argyle represents homosexuality
Mike isn’t being his authentic self— Argyle points out he’s wearing a shitty knockoff shirt by bringing him into a hug. Notice how the only piece of clothing Mike wears that really sticks out is his sun visor…the sun visor’s pattern is similar to Argyle’s clothes….the gay coded sun visor is on his head…homosexuality is on the mind 🤯
The embodiment of homosexuality is pointing out Mike can try to hide his true self, but no matter what he will always have homosexual thoughts and feelings.
Also, Argyle (the embodiment of homosexuality) hugs Mike to make him feel awkward after not hugging Will. This further solidifies that Mike can try to act "straight", but his homosexuality is going to get in the way of that.
The kids are all upset, but Mike’s super super angry because Will didn’t tell him ab El’s bullying and because of Will’s moping. Mike’s deflecting his anger towards Will by telling himself he’s angry at El for purposefully schmacking Angela. When Argyle (homosexuality) points out the attack could’ve been worse, Mike rolls his eyes. Argyle starts singing a circus melody just repeating “Blip”.
The embodiment of homosexuality sings a taunting song, shoving in Mike’s face he can’t act like he’s angry at El for the “blip” when he’s really pissed at Will for not talking to him.
This is the third time Mike’s had a problem with Argyle. During this scene, besides straight up disagreeing with him, Mike and Argyle have different opinions on the risotto. Argyle was slurping that shit up and called it delicious multiple times, and Mike is literally the only character to not be shown chewing/eating it. Mike doesn’t like the risotto…Argyle loves the risotto…human embodiment of homosexuality loves the risotto but the boy who's dealt with internalized homophobia hates it. Something’s gay with the risotto!! When El leaves, Murray says he senses tension and if everyone hates the risotto. Literally the only person who wasn’t eating it was Mike, and Murray picking up on him not eating the gay risotto because he’s pissed at Will explains his comment on sexual experimenting later.
Argyle freaking out over burying dead soldier man = Mike’s homosexuality freaking out over burying his gay feelings. Dead soldier man= burying feelings (here’s the post by @stranger-chichka who made this brilliant connection). Also note how when he's yelling in Mike's face about finding El he calls her his super girlfriend... wonder who else views her like this... and the only thing that calms Argyle down is the Purple Palm Tree Delight. Purple= melvin because of st color theory, but I just found this from a legitimate site
Purple (melvin) Palm Tree (being different and long-term-goals) Delight. PPTD literally represents what Mike truly wants��� to be unashamed ab being gay and to be with El platonically!!!!!! The embodiment of homosexuality smokes some queer, anti-melvin weed to calm his nerves ab burying Mike's homosexual feelings!!!!!!
And then Argyle makes it a point to not hide unknown soldier, and Mike’s the only one that has a problem with that. HUMAN EMBODIMENT OF HOMOSEXUALITY DOES NOT LET MIKE HIDE/BURY HIS GAY FEELINGS!!!
This post by @howtobecomeadragon points out how freaking uncomfortable Mike was in Suzie's house compared to Argyle even though Mike specifically told Argyle not to be himself. Mike tells the person who is the embodiment of homosexuality to not be themself... y'all this is clearly Mike telling himself not to be himself (aka gay). And Argyle is always authentically himself, he can't cover up who he is and doesn't want to; no matter how hard Mike wants to cover up his homosexuality, he can't because it's just a part of who he is.
Also, to tie in the PPTD basically being gay weed, who does Argyle fall in love with and smoke it with? Literally the most queer-coded minor character in the show. You cannot convince me Eden is straight; she is so queer-coded, and her flirting with the embodiment of homosexuality and smoking gay weed further solidifies that.
Argyle (embodiment of homosexuality) interrupts Mike and El on the verge of breaking up (as shown by the mood turning somber and Mike stuttering through "I've been thinking about the last fight we had, and I just wanted to say that--") with a pineapple pizza, and Mike throws a hissy-fit against it.
The pineapple pizza represents experimenting sexually, considering it's fruity and is paired with the catchphrase "Try Before You Deny". Mike is interrupted before telling El he's sorry for not saying I love you with exactly what's causing this inability-- his homosexual feelings for Will. And Mike is rejecting the pizza before he's even tried it because he is scared of change and trying new things as seen in s3. He knows he likes Will and has known for a really long time, but the idea of changing their dynamic from best friends to more scares him. He knows he's gay, but is scared of that changing his life and how his loved ones view him.
And the final shot between these two is Argyle (human embodiment of homosexuality) putting Mike in a chokehold to force him into eating the fruity pizza (sexual experimenting) even though he's v against it. Mike's homosexual tendencies have him in a chokehold y'all! And this chokehold that homosexuality has on him makes him open to experimenting.
But ya know what's really the final moment between these two?!? Will watching this happen and hearing Mike say, "No, you're right. It's good". Mike likes the pineapple pizza!!!! He's been so adamantly against Argyle and his fruity ways throughout s4, but once he opened up to them, he enjoys it!! He likes boys (more specifically Will)!!!! Throwing in El feeding him the pizza... El is supportive of Mike being gay and would encourage it, after all, she takes a bite of the fruity pizza too ;)
Now that we've gotten through this crazy train, I need to say this. ARGYLE IS OBVIOUSLY MORE THAN THE EMBODIMENT OF HOMOSEXUALITY! This was all made in good fun, and if you take this seriously, then please think of all this as symbolism because that's all it is. Argyle is literally a cool-ass dude who is an amazing friend for Jonathan, and I will not accept his character being minimized just for byler breadcrumbs. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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Socks
A Footloose Miscellany for Sock Lovers and Wearers
Wendi Aarons
Illustrated by Kadns Anda
Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2023, 104 pages,13.65 x 21.91 cm, hardcover, ISBN 9781797212760
euro 15,00
Do you wear socks? If so, you'll love this book! Amusing and highly giftable, Socks is an illustrated miscellany all about the most common accessory. Through humorous text and quirky art, discover what different types of socks say about the people who wear them: Striped socks? A bit whimsical. A bit arty. Loves museum gift shops. Dress socks? Proud owner of three pairs of loafers, three Labradors, and three 401(k)s. Socks with bad elastic that really need to be thrown away? This person is not a quitter-unlike these crappy socks. Also included are important things such as musings from the Sock Monkey, a timeline of famous socks throughout history, and postcards from your lost socks. (Where did they go? Will they ever come back?) Packaged in a tall, narrow trim, this book is a perfect add-on gift alongside a nice pair of-you guessed it-socks. And who doesn't love socks?
08/06/23
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