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psychoblush · 29 days

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Andor - S1E1 "Kassa" - Structural Analysis

This is a written analysis of the plotting and structure of Andor from a screen/TV writing perspective. I'm an aspiring screenwriter studying TV, film, and theater writing in college and this is my pet-project: to examine the way Andor constructs story in order to achieve certain dramaturgical effects. I hope to do similar analyses for the rest of the season as well. Thank you for reading!

This will contain spoilers for all of episode 1, spoilers for the first arc (E1-E3) and mild spoilers for the rest of the season.

Show premise

Petty-thief Cassian Andor is hunted by the Empire while a revolutionary movement coalesces across the galaxy.

Ferrix Arc (S1E1-S1E3)

Stories (Arc-wide)

A-story: When a pursuit for information regarding the whereabouts of his long-lost sister leads to him being a wanted man, petty-thief Cassian Andor is forced to do anything he can to remove himself from the attentions of corporate security, but the ensuing confrontation leads to death and destruction within his community.

B-story: (in flashback) When a mysterious starship de-orbits over Kenari, young Kassa embarks on a quest to prove himself as a capable member of his community, but the confrontation results in the destruction of his community and his abduction by off-world scavengers, never to see his family or his sister again.

C-story: Deputy inspector Syril Karn seeks to prove himself as a capable officer and a force for justice by apprehending the killer, but does so by disregarding his orders and endangering the lives of his comrades.

D-story: When Timm gets jealous of Cassian’s reentry into Bix’s life, the relationship is strained by mutual secrecy and miscommunication, leading to Timm’s death at the hands of a corporate cop.

S1E1 - “Kassa”

dir. Toby Haynes, wri. Tony Gilroy

streamed September 21st, 2022

Stories

A-story: Petty-thief Cassian Andor seeks to lay low and cover his tracks after a fatal shake-down with two corrupt cops leaves him a wanted man, but finds that his community distrusts him after overdrawing one too many favors.

This A-story is very central to the entire episode and with the exception of the B-story, all other stories causally spring from this story and end up relating to it in some way by the end of the arc.

B-story: In flashbacks, young Kassa wants to prove his worth by embarking on a scouting mission with the other “adults”, but abandons his sister in doing so.

The B-story serves both in the arc and the episode as a way to provide an elegate symmetrical structure. There’s a scene in the beginning of the primary action of Cassian’s pursuit after the opening sequence, one in the middle, and one in the very end. At the same time, the flashback serves to articulate some of the internal dysfunctions of the character, even though it takes a few episodes for it to fully manifest.

C-story: Security deputy Syril Karn wants to solve the murder of the two cops to fulfill his vision of justice, but finds that nobody in his organization, especially his boss, wants to help with his pursuit of the killer.

Here, Tony starts to flex his muscles in devising institutional drama and plotting. The main antagonistic force in the story does not operate unimpeded; he instead is faced with his own antagonism that articulates two key themes: 1) the empire stifles the freedom of those that serve it, and 2) fascist societies generate fanaticism regardless of whether or not it advances their cause or helps to maintain the preferred status quo.

D-story: Cassian’s reentry into Bix’s life prompts friction and secrecy between Bix and her romantic/business partner, Timm.

This almost functions as an addendum to the A-story, but gets its own special attention in how it chooses to articulate the Bix/Timm relationship. But it comes to have a direct causal effect on the A-story in subsequent episodes. Infact, the way causality transcends the stories becomes extremely intricate in its own right. Dramatic action becomes an emergent property of these interactions.

Scene sequences

OPENING/CLOSING IMAGES

OPENING IMAGE: Streetlights moving rapidly in the rain; Cassian in pursuit of his sister.

CLOSING IMAGE: After Kassa leaves his sister for the last time, she watches him as he runs away.

1: I./E. BROTHEL, MORLANA ONE - NIGHT (A-STORY)

Cassian enters an upscale brothel in search of his sister. When he receives special attention from the hostess, two on-duty corporate cops start antagonizing him. Cassian gets too pushy in getting information from the hostess, prompting him to get kicked out of the club and his pursuit thwarted.

2: EXT. MORLANA ONE - NIGHT (A-STORY)

Cassian tries to exit discreetly, but is held at gunpoint and shaken down by the two offended corporate cops. They attempt to rob him, but Cassian is able to outwit them, inadvertently killing one of them in the scuffle, and recovering the gun. With the tables now turned, the remaining cop tries to persuade Cassian to spare him, but Cassian kills him to make his escape.

Let’s talk about these two scenes as a sequence, because they function as one discrete unit of storytelling. Andor doesn’t do cold opens - though this sequence could very easily serve as a riveting cold open if they moved the title card to right after this scene. Being a streaming exclusive without commercial breaks, Andor also doesn’t use hard act structure with distinct act outs, even though we’ll come to see Andor as employing techniques similar to traditional TV act structure at times.

In TV writing, we sometimes encounter this idea of cold opens or opening sequences serving as story microcosms. In the sense that the structure and action of the sequence is representative, in a small way, of the way the world we see in the episode, season, and series functions. Andor’s opening sequence has him engage in a seemingly innocuous pursuit, enter a highly dangerous yet extremely familiar situation of power-tripping LEO, and leads him to make a difficult choice to escape the dangerous situation. It’s telling us that this is a world where good people have to make hard choices to survive because of the danger of the society they live in, which we will come to see in subsequent story units, is a racist, fascist, imperialistic, and capitalist society.

3: I./E. FERRIX / MAARVA’S SHIP - MORNING (A-STORY)

An extremely quick scene introducing us to Ferrix before work-hours, B2’s winning personality, and establishes the pretenses for Cassian’s flashbacks in the B-story.

This isn’t really a real scene because it doesn’t have conflict, it doesn’t have antagonism, and it doesn’t have pursuit. But it serves as a good framing device and orients us to where we are on Ferrix.

4: EXT. KENARI VILLAGE - DAY (B-STORY)

This scene introduces us to Kenari, Cassian’s sister, and Kassa (the young uncontacted version of Cassian). We don’t get much action or context in this scene, but discerning viewers are able to pick up on the fact that this is a society populated solely by children and teenagers wearing and using old industrial equipment. Something very bad clearly happened here. We also see the mysterious ship de-orbiting, and the reaction the community has tells us this isn’t something they’re used to.

The decision to completely eschew subtitles is a pretty fascinating directorial choice and one that has gotten a lot of attention online. But It does a lot to ground the movement solely on the acting and visual language, as opposed to dialogue construction - though arguably it makes the plotting of this story a bit more sparse.

5: INT. MAARVA’S SHIP - DAY (A-STORY)

We get a short scene with Cassian where he starts to formulate a plan. We also get some indication that Cassian has a community on this planet with Bee mentioning Maarva and Brasso. In some ways, Maarva’s the antagonist in this scene because she’s besmirching Cassian to the others, even though she’s not there and it’s coming from Bee.

“Spectral” antagonist: A representation of the antagonistic force in the story by a character who isn’t that main antagonistic force. Bee’s just passing on information from someone else, but in doing so, he’s softly acting as the antagonist for the moment. We see this technique employed a lot in this episode and this show, especially since shows operating in the prestige mode often go entire episodes without main oppositional characters meeting (i.e. Cass and Dedra still haven’t met).

6: EXT. RIX ROAD - DAY (A-STORY)

Cassian convinces Brasso to spin a lie for him, but in doing so, it becomes apparent that Cassian’s sleaziness has overstayed its welcome in the community.

This is when the main sense of antagonism in the episode starts to crystalize for Cassian. Maybe once, his petty crime and hustler antics were overlooked in the community, but those days are coming to an end as Cassian’s options dwindle. That’s the source of danger, more than the possibility that he’ll be caught for the time being.

7: INT. PRE-MOR SECURITY CHIEF’S OFFICE - DAY (C-STORY)

Syril delivers the report of the double-homicide to Chief Hyne - keen on making a good impression and presenting himself as a dutiful officer, but Hyne sees through the bullshit and orders him not to investigate the murder in an effort to sanitize Pre-Mor’s crime reports under Imperial jurisdiction, leading Syril to be incredulous.

This is a great scene. It works wonderfully schematically, the scripting is stellar, and the acting is spot-on. This is the scene where I was truly convinced of what Andor’s storytelling was capable of. Syril comes in with a pursuit (deliver a report) with a deeper motivation (pursuit of justice) which is fueled by dysfunction (he is deeply insecure about his position as an officer and is desperate to please). The pursuit is met with opposition (Hyne has a completely different perspective on justice, being a pragmatist and someone who doesn’t want to rock the ship) and reversal (Hyne orders him to drop the matter and implies he wants to fire him), which leads us with a clear emotional context from Syril (anger and disbelief) which propels him into action (go behind Hyne’s back) for the rest of the story arc. It’s Emmy-worthy writing in a single scene. And it all happens in 3 minutes.

8: I./E. TIMM AND BIX’S SALVAGE SHOP - DAY (A-STORY) / (D-STORY)

Cassian comes in to convince Bix to contact his black-market dealer so he can sell his Starpath unit for a premium, but it generates friction between him and Bix because Bix assumes he’s been undercutting him. When Bix offers to buy it off him, Cassian refuses and convinces her to make the call. Timm expresses resentment for Cassian’s past with Bix - when Cass tries to dissuade his concerns, Timm gets more jealous of the two of them.

This scene’s also a banger. It has a complex shape - the danger is threefold: Cass doesn’t want Bix to know what trouble he’s in, he’s externally threatened by the sense of fear he has over being caught, and neither Bix nor Cass want Timm to discover the extent of their black market side-hustle. Bix is an antagonist to Cass, Timm is an unknowing antagonist to both Cass and Bix, and Timm thinks Cass is his antagonist. It’s great, and from here the causality gets pretty wild.

9. EXT. KENARI VILLAGE - DAY (B-STORY)

Kassa tries to go on the war march by joining in on the face-painting, even though he knows it means abandoning his sister. An older boy tries to stop him from participating, but the older female leader lets him join, prompting him to paint his face the same way she did.

This is a good scene with sparse plotting befitting the style of this story. The antagonistic force is the sense that Kassa should stay with the community and be with his sister, while the pursuit is that Kassa thinks he’s of more service if he leaves with the war party. The two antagonists are his sister and the older boy. Kassa gets what he wants in this scene, like he does in all the scenes this episode. This is because this story functions on an inverted sense of danger: the closer Kassa gets to what he wants, the more dangerous things will be for him. So the stakes are actually higher if his actions aren’t opposed very firmly. His dysfunction drives the story forward, with opposition deferred until it gets extremely bad in the third episode.

10. INT. PRE-MOR CORRIDOR / AIR TRAFFIC OFFICE - DAY (C-STORY)

Two security workers laugh and greet Syril in the hallway - Syril’s awkward response causes him to feel isolated. Syril corners the air traffic controller into reviewing the logs for him, but when the controller expresses apathy over the matter, Syril threatens him into compliance by invoking his authority.

GREAT LITTLE SCENE. It illustrates dysfunction: Syril is lonely, all he has is his job and a black-and-white view of morality and justice. It shows him acting transgressive to get what he wants, specifically by abusing his power over others. And it articulates the antagonism the same as the previous scene with him: what he perceives as laziness and apathy is what keeps him from getting what he wants.

11: EXT. FERRIX BACKALLEY - DAY (A-STORY)

Cassian is cornered and hustled by Nurchi, a local to whom he’s greatly indebted. Nurchi attempts to intimidate him with the help of Vetch, but Cassian is able call Nurchi’s bluff and escape from the situation.

It’s a good scene, really short and sparse. Thing to track here is that the town is becoming increasingly hostile to him and he’s generally unliked by folks.

12: I./E. TIMM AND BIX’S SALVAGE SHOP / FERRIX STREETS - DAY (D-STORY)

Bix is cagey about where she’s headed when Timm asks. Bix leaves, Timm attempts following her but quickly loses her trail when it’s clear Bix knows the streets better than he does.

13: I./E. PAAK WORKSHOP / RADIO TOWER - DAY (A-STORY)

Bix goes to Salman and Wilmon Paak’s workshop, asking to use the radio. Bix radios the buyer to come to Ferrix.

I put this as A-story because this scene has more to do than the previous one with Cass’ situation than the friction emerging between Timm and Bix.

What’s important about this scene is that it clues us into a larger underground network on Ferrix - Salman, Bix, Cass. It's a community where folks otherwise look the other way at this kind of stuff. Otherwise it’s sparse, no conflict, no antagonism.

14. INT. PRE-MOR SECURITY HQ - DAY (C-STORY)

Syril recruits the main security IT staff to help him apprehend the killer, but the staff express a general unwillingness to help him - both because they don’t care and because Syril doesn’t actually possess the authority to sanction an operation like this. Syril bullies the staff into compliance, telling them to put out a notice for the killer on Ferrix, despite the lack of authority Pre-Mor has there.

I like this scene, it plays slightly double-beaty because Syril is employing the same tactics as before on different staffers, but it also establishes it as a pattern. Syril advances unopposed in this story - especially in the context of later events, we know this is because we need to see him get into danger faster. It's another example of inverted danger.

15: EXT. PEGLA’S JUNKYARD - DAY (A-STORY)

Cassian tries rewire the ship he borrowed’s transponder codes, but in trying to justify his actions, pisses off Pegla and tells him he’s no longer welcome to take out favors from him.

This is a pretty lowkey scene, but it’s the closest we get to a crisis/climax moment for Cass in this episode. I’ll talk more about why that is later; it refers specifically to the way Andor modulates story in ways that work distinctly from other TV shows. Still, it has everything a scene should. A pursuit/tactic, opposition, reversal. And those elements push the story forward in more dangerous ways, as we’ll come to see in the next two episodes.

16: EXT. KENARI VILLAGE - DAY (B-STORY)

His sister tries to plead with him to stay, but Kassa leaves with the other war party members - promising to return for his sister.

Yeah, this bookends the episode. The episode begins with Cass in pursuit of his sister, the episode ends with Cass leaving his sister, never to return for her.

What do we hear Bix say of Cass in the last episode? “Cass always comes back.” It’s a gut-punch.

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

Andor is a show that functions in a strange and specific way compared to a lot of serialized long-form narrative TV. Andor uses episode as building units to articulate larger discrete units of story within the season. In this sense, Andor’s “pilot episode” (I put this in quotes because most streaming dramas don’t have pilots) isn’t really the first episode, but all three of the episodes in its first season story-arc.

The way I was taught TV, is that all three-act narrative hinges on the elements of set up, play out, and pay off. Andor’s three tri-episode story arcs - which I will call the Ferrix Arc (S1E1-S1E3), the Aldhani Arc (S1E4-S1E6), and the Narkina Arc (S1E8-S1E10) - all hinge on this principle of modular three-act structure. Kassa doesn’t have a typical hard crisis/climax because it isn’t really a complete self-contained episode of TV. I suspect that’s also why the Ferrix Arc was ultimately aired all at one, as opposed to one episode at a time.

Still, Kassa is a strong and capable episode of TV because it demonstrates the strengths of Andor’s storytelling: the principles of causality, dysfunction, and institutional characterization.

causality: the chain of events in story that facilitate and heighten dramatic action in a linear manner. Andor shows us the investigation of the murders that happened in the first sequence - having the action of earlier scenes spiral into increasingly dramatic and complex action in subsequent scenes. The way the D-story with Bix and Timm loops into stuff that happens in the next two episodes is absolutely exquisitely done. Later in the show, the fallout of the Aldhani Arc is central to all of the action that happens in the second half of the season.

dysfunction: a character’s internal dilemma, ideology, or experiential understanding of themselves and the world that makes them operate transgressively within the world of the narrative. This is sometimes a character flaw, but can also be a sense of righteousness that puts them against unjust actors within the narrative. Cassian’s dysfunctions have to do with his desire for self-preservation and an easy payday, Syril’s dysfunctions relate to his inability to live up to his idealized notions of justice, and Timm’s dysfunctions come from the feeling that he can’t be as close to Bix as someone like Cassian can appear to be.

institution: the man-made structures that characters navigate within the story world and define the shape of the narrative. These institutions function as characters in their own right; Pre-Mor has as much of an effect on the narrative as a character like Cassian, as does Ferrix’s tightly knit working class community. And in subsequent episodes, we’ll look closely at how the empire’s administrations and power structures have material effects on the world. This principle is why Syril and Dedra spend much more time fighting their own institutions than fighting Cassian or the rebels. It’s a story about how highly-motivated actors navigate the challenges of their environments; dramaturgical complexity is almost an inevitable emergent property of this paradigm.

This episode and the one following it are among the least-tightly plotted of the season, but there’s still some intricate stuff. There are little moments in scenes where a single line provides an oppositional reversal that redirects the character’s trajectory for the rest of the episode. This isn’t a testament to Kassa’s weakness, it’s an appraisal of how Andor as a whole is a narrative that benefits from emergent complexity. When things go on for longer, more moving parts are in play, the story can move in unpredictable and highly dynamic ways. It’s a staple of prestige TV as a mode and Andor’s first season executes it exquisitely. With that being said, a lot of fans tend to underwrite the first arc of this season. And while I agree that it is personally my least favorite, it’s still really well-done. In the same way Andor has three tri-episode arcs, this is the “set up” one, and it does a lot of heavy lifting that allows the show to play uninhibited in future episodes. Don’t underwrite this one.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if there are any questions about terminology, theory, or just about the show in general, or my interests as a fan and writer.

#andor #andor meta #andor analysis #media analysis #star wars #andor 2022 #cassian andor #rebelcaptain #rogue one #story structure #writing #screenwriting #tv writing #story themes #writing tips #tv analysis #media discussion #media discourse #andor review

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angelltheninth · 9 months

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People on Twitter complaining about Heartstopper s2 being boring because the characters have too wholesome and pure of a relationship but will throw a fit the moment any (not necessarily LGBTQIA+) character does anything slightly morally grey, god forbid evil or toxic

Please make up your minds

#heartstopper #media literacy #media discourse #angell rambles

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queer-reader-07 · 5 months

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i understand getting really deeply and personally attached to fictional characters (i do it all the time) but i think too many people fall into the trap of interpreting criticism (or honestly just differing opinions that aren’t even necessarily negative) of characters they love as personal attacks.

not every character or every piece of media is for everyone. some people are not going to like your Favorite Thing. and that is OK. it’s ok if you’re a little hurt by people saying they didn’t like your favorite character.

but what isn’t ok is taking that hurt out on the person who you disagree with. you don’t get to tell someone they’re a bad person for not liking your favorite show or for having a different favorite character.

don’t make me tap the sign.

yes, some people are just assholes and will call others dumb for liking a certain character. but if someone isn’t saying that? if they’re just sharing an opinion on the public opinion sharing website? maybe don’t go into their replies and tell them why they’re wrong for not having the same opinion as you. maybe you don’t need to tell them why they’re a terrible human being. maybe don’t put words in their mouth and interpret everything they say in poor faith.

maybe, just maybe, you can keep scrolling. if what the other person is saying is Just An Opinion and not spreading hate, maybe you don’t need to tell them every reason why they’re wrong.

sometimes people have different opinions than you. and most of the time, neither of you are right or wrong. most things we all have opinions on are not dichotomous, so we’re all bound to have varied thoughts on whatever the Thing at hand is. that’s just how it goes.

ALSO and this bit is specifically for the good omens fans in the audience: for the love of all that is holy do not go into Neil’s asks trying to get him to justify why your specific opinion or interpretation is “correct” and other people’s are “wrong.” i mean no one should be doing it with any creator but some of y’all are way too comfortable in Neil’s ask box.

YOU ARE TALKING TO REAL HUMAN PEOPLE.

#in the age of the internet i think everyone needs to remember their opinion doesn’t need to be shared on every single thing #(yes i see the irony in me sharing my opinion on why we don’t need to share an opinion on everything)#you can be hurt by other peoples differing opinions but that doesn’t make them a bad person #just because their words made you feel a thing doesn’t mean what they said is actually objectively bad #people are allowed to say what they want about the media they’re consuming #just like you are #and i don’t think fighting with people about why you’re right and they’re wrong actually is helpful #it’s counter productive at best and actively harmful at worst #media criticism #media discourse #long post #just some thoughts #good omens #this one’s been sitting in the drafts for a while so have it on this fine thursday (or whenever you’re seeing it)

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tuurverheydepoetryandprose · 8 months

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Just saw some evening-ruining takes and I gotta say:

It seems like a lot of the most recent and confidant dismissals of Tolkien’s work or key elements of it come from people who only know lotr via cultural osmosis at worst and the movies at best. There’s lots and lots of people making wild statements about Tolkien’s simplistic characters, binary morality, racist or sexist worldbuilding etc. without having read a single sentence written by Tolkien himself.

Honestly, would it kill you to read the source text? Would it kill you to read a person’s actual work before describing him like the most evilest of colonialist creators to ever exist?

This is getting absurd. If the “vibe” of a canonical work or even author doesn’t jell with them, some people seem to immediately resort to the language of irredeemable evil, inherently monstrous, problematic, must be erased from the canon etc.

Like, you must know you are being deceitful, and lazy, and incurious, and self-centred to always need your personal intuition about the general impression (not even actual content) of a piece of art to reflect some deep moral failing on its behalf and some moral victory on yours. This is ludicrous. Have we forgotten that stories are more than their adaptations? More than their receptions? More than their paratext?

The refusal of people to engage with anything in good faith is driving me up the wall. What are we doing to our culture? What are we allowing to be done to our minds? What have we done?

#lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #jrr tolkien #the legendarium #media discourse #media analysis #media literacy #reading comprehension #online culture #social media #social media culture #Tolkien discourse #fantasy discourse

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doshmanziari · 4 months

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This is a question I originally posed on Instagram recently, and I thought I would extend the question here, since I am sure it will find some resonance among this account's audience (and others').

To quote (and elaborate on) my IG post:

Despite all of the ostensible advances made in recent years regarding the amplifying of marginalized creative voices, I find that one of the greatest persistent prejudices of the art world continues to be the positioning of painting as fundamentally more important than drawing. Pay attention and you will see that the art world -- galleries, museums, and art-makers, too -- still largely gravitates around the idea that it is only in exceptional cases that drawing can be painting’s equal. It is highly uncommon, in my experience, to find galleries which prioritize two-dimensional artwork to showcase as much drawing as they do painting. In fact, drawing seems to be a rarity in the upper echelons of the gallery world. Painting, sculpture, "installation" work, and -- to an extent -- photography occupy spaces of priority. This obviously has great ramifications for both what is highlighted and, as a consequence, what sort of work sells. The reasons for this bias, I believe, are complex and various; but I do think a lot of it stems from cultural conditioning, who we decide to canonize, and which work of theirs is chosen for highlighting. Michelangelo, for instance, was a masterful drawer (actually, I find that his drawings much more powerfully exhibit his abilities to render and selectively distort bodies than his paintings do), yet we still largely think of him in terms of his sculptures and frescoes, and treat his drawings as pretty much intermediate work.

Consider an instance of how this prejudice works within language. While we have the term “painterly”, which seems to refer to some activation of paint’s inherent sensuousness (often, it is applied in tandem with work where paint is applied generously and the brushstrokes are visible), we lack an equivalent term for drawing. People searching for a word might say something about “draftsmanship." To me, this word connote precision -- but also some sort of mechanical aspect, denying drawing its inherent sensuality too; and, with the inclusion of the word "draft", implying that drawing is merely that which precedes the "finished" work. One of the most prevalent witty critiques in my graduate program -- probably originally perpetuated by faculty, and then adopted by students, eager to utilize the slickest slams -- was to describe a work as “illustrative." I see this pejorative as in some way connecting to drawing, since we are most familiar with illustrations through the format of drawings, or a mixture of drawing and painting. I wonder, too, if this description was not reinforcing a notion that illustration has some inherent adjacency to literalism or crass commercialism -- that it would somehow be beneath the "professional" or "fine" artist were they to ever illustrate a book or make a comic book, or that such work strictly and forever stands outside of a worthy context.

Of course, I think this is total bullshit. Many of my most precious experiences of art as a child and teenager came by way of illustrations, and I still have great respect and admiration for those artists, even if I may not draw like them. While growing up, only rarely did I have the opportunity of going to galleries or museums and taking in artwork that way -- which isn't to say that I would not have responded with equal excitement to any of the art which may have been on display at such institutions. But it is to say that illustration -- representational drawing -- served as one of the greatest motivators and standards to which I held myself in my growth as an artist (a growth, mind you, which has never ended, and never will), and that it would be pointless and self-demeaning to treat these points of inspiration with an arrogant contempt. For me, drawing holds a great and unique appeal of accessibility -- in its making, the visibility of how it was made, and how it may encourage others to take up art themselves. Compare, for example, what you need in order to execute an oil painting against what you need in order to execute a colored pencil drawing. I would encourage anyone who may hold biases otherwise to reconsider why they are perpetuating this privileging of material. I would additionally ask people to consider why "importance" is ostensibly the greatest indicator of art that's worth paying attention to (while noting that a general agreement, as indicated by majority culture, is not always an indicator of pernicious hegemony). For myself, I have found that a lot of the most "important" artwork -- at least by contemporary, or still-living, artists -- tends to be fairly one-note and anti-visual. The largest crowds, most laudatory curatorial statements, and biggest installations can never make me care about such stuff.

#art #art world #drawing #painting #media discourse

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defectivegembrain · 7 months

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When I'm not consuming media I'm the same person as when I am consuming media that person has been deeply affected and shaped by media as well as many other things I don't know what else you're looking for

#media discourse #i guess

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matt0044 · 16 days

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"Modern" is a right wing dog whistle in media discourse.

It always tries to be coy about it but we should all know the truth.

#fandom #fandom nonsense #fandom discourse #dog whistle #old vs new #media discourse #media discussion #storytelling #television #movies #cinema #conservatives #reactionaries #youtubers

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richardsphere · 10 months

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Possibly controversial Queerbaiting Discourse

So yesterday i was wandering the Reddits (as you do), when i found someone saying that a media property and allegations of a relationship within it being Queerbait. As a central crux of this arguement, they said that because the pair in question cannonically do end up together, it in fact could never be considered “bait” And now i think that maybe, we should examine the definition of Queerbait a bit further. So let’s talk about Queerbaiting, As in the meaning of the Term not the history of the trope.

Full disclosure, Im not a Gay historian. I’m only what i’d call a Queer Sloth (”I know im somewhere on the flag, but i dont have the energy to figure out where”) so my takes might not be that great or well researched. But upon seeing people that say “if they legitimately end up together, its not bait”, i feel a responsibility to make it clear that I disagree sharply with that notion, it just means they’re fishing with live bait. I think the term Queerbaiting should not be defined by wether or not they get together, nor do i believe that “the two havent gotten together yet” suffices to define it as bait either. (after all, “will they/wont they” is a classic narrative trope, and a well written WT/WT story featuring LGTBQ+ characters is a well written relationship). And also a tragic romance where they never get together, shouldn’t be considered Bait just because they never get together. Tragedy is a valid narrative tradition that the LGBTQ community should not be exempted from either. I Instead i propose that the term Queerbaiting should be used to describe “We made them LGBTQ so the Community would give us Money, but we never put in the effort to actually sell the relationship”. Characters that are Queer (or implied to be) specificly because they knew it’d attract a starging under-represented group they could then financially exploit, with only the absolute minimal effort put into selling their relationship. Queerbaiting is simply the “minimum viable product” of writing being used to make a quick rainbow-coloured-buck. It’s the act of writing the relationship without any real chemistry because the creators know that the LGBTQ community is starving for representation, and that a starving man will eat anything. ----Edit: I made an edit for clarity, original draft directly referenced the ship that was being used as an example in the prompting reddit-post, and led to confusion in readers thinking this post was about the pairing rather then about overly-narrow use of the term Queerbait,

#LGBTQ discourse #Writing Discourse #Media Discourse #Queerbaiting #Queerbaiting discourse #Gay Sloth

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jadethest0ne · 2 years

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You mentioned not liking how Mikey and Leo’s arcs are usually handled and trying to make something more suited in your once human au. I was curious what you do/don’t like about the all the brother’s arcs in general.

Oooh that is a good question actually... I think the simplest way to explain my issue with any of the character arcs in the TMNT franchise as a whole is that - I like my TMNT media to give equal narrative weight and screentime to all turtles, and my issues with Mikey and Leo's arcs boil down to the fact that Mikey is often side-lined and given no character arc and Leo is focused on way too much to the point that it gets tiresome and overdone.

And that's probably why I like Donnie and Raph so much because they do get fairly balanced moments of growth and screentime in most versions that they appear in.

It's sad to me that one of the few versions that I've seen so far that gives equal screentime to each character is TMNT 1987. Which is a fun version, don't get me wrong, but since the story itself is moreso geared towards villain-of-the-week type scenarios, there's not necessarily "arcs" for the characters that much. So it's frustrating to me that other versions, which do give deeper development to the turtles, don't do so equally. It somewhat defeats the purpose to me of the TMNT as a team, as a family, if they don't grow together.

That's the TL;DR of it, but for more character-specific info, read on:

So, let's break down each character and what I like/don't like about their arcs. I'm gonna go in (rough) order of who I think gets the most attention by the writers/creators, from least to most.

Michelangelo

It is unfortunate to me that Mikey seems to get sidelined the most. I haven't seen a TMNT version yet that gives him an actual arc (granted, I haven't seen ALL versions all the way through, but this is a general observation I have). He seems to be relegated to "comic relief" or "baby brother" in a lot of versions. I love him, don't get me wrong, but what I'd love to see in any version is maybe that wide-eyed optimism, friendliness, and jokester attitude challenged in a real way by the plot or by some villain. I think you could really get something deep with that, and I think such an arc would work well for his character. The closest I've seen to Mikey getting some deeper development is the original Mirage comics and Rise of the TMNT, but even then, I feel like the focus often stays on the other three. The one positive part of what he does seem to do for the narrative as a whole, is it often seems like he's the glue that holds the group together. When things get dark, Mikey is there to brighten things up in his own way. This boy deserves more love and attention by the writers on a whole!

Donatello

Donnie is another one to often get pushed to the side a bit and fills the niche "brainy/techy" role. However, his character is often less of a "joke" than Mikey is sometimes made out to be. He gets a lot of good moments in a lot of versions. He's given a lot of angst as well (looking at you 2003). The amount of screentime he gets seems to be largely dependent on the version. I believe the 2007 movie barely gave him any lines/scenes, but then you've got '87, '03, and Rise that gives him TONS of awesome standalone episodes. The main thing I'd change for him, is the same thing with Mikey and that is that this guy needs a bigger plot role as well and an actual character arc. He almost gets one in Rise of the TMNT - and I think it's a good one about feeling more self-worth, getting deserved recognition, and also allowing his emotions to show beyond his "bad boy" facade. Unfortunately, even in Rise, I feel like some of his growth is overshadowed by Raph's and Leo's (and Splinter's, too, actually) (side-note, kudos to Rottmnt for actually giving Splinter a character arc).

Raphael

Out of all of the turtles, I believe Raphael has the best balance when it comes to screentime, focus episodes, and character growth throughout ALL versions. A lot of versions give Raph the growth of having to overcome his anger and attitude, and allow him to work more cohesively with his brothers. I'm a personal sucker for the "tough on the outside, soft on the inside" character trope, and Raph is basically this to a T in most incarnations. I like it when his arc is often allowing that soft side of himself to show and allowing him to have a closer connection to his brothers and the people around him. As well as allowing him to be less angry at not just others, but also at himself. It's a solid character arc in my opinion, and one that doesn't take away from the others around him, but instead enhances them because his arc is often how he treats/works with others. Rise gives him a different version of that - he needs to work with others better, not because he's too tough, quite the opposite in fact, but because he needs to learn to trust his family just as his family trusts him. He needs to learn to let go more, which I think is a similar, yet unique facet to his character and I appreciate Rise for that. I have very little negatives to say about any Raphael arc. He could stand to hit Mikey less in '03 and '12 tho. That bugs me to no end, but is a frustration for a different time.

Leonardo

Ah yes, the golden child. The favored son. The one everyone (both inside and outside the narrative) likes. In fact, that's exactly what bothers me about Leonardo. Leonardo is pretty much ALWAYS given a huge arc that ties in with the main plotlines of the story, and it almost always is tied to his role as the leader. I feel like lots of versions of Leo give him the leader role and make him the "best/most skillful" ninja without him earning that title. He just is. He's the "eldest" son. He's just good at what he does. He's just Splinter's favorite. And I think there's something wrong with that when they're supposed to be a family and it kind of sucks to see the narrative, and by proxy, Splinter, play favorites. And often the narrative seems to present Leo's judgement on things as correct, even when sometimes he's wrong. But because he's the LEADER it's presented by the narrative that he is almost always right. It feels like the writers have to create a conflict that Leo needs to overcome or a decision that he has to make, and decide from the get-go that he's going to make the right decision, without really figuring out the nuances of said conflict first. So to me, a lot of his "leadership arc" falls flat, because I feel like he is written as Leader first and Character second. So it's a similar frustration to me with Mikey's (lack of) character growth - his role in the group/narrative is what defines him more than his actual personality. Rise of the TMNT is the only one where I feel like his growth was actually earned, and that is because he was starting from a much lower point. He needed to learn responsibility and heroism in a way that other Leos just have from the get-go. I could actually see Rise-Leo being leader because that growth was set up - not just his leader-like qualities, but also his skills with his weapons, and his ability to plan. I'd like to see more of that from Leo rather than just a guy that we're supposed to respect from the very beginning, just because the narrative says so.

So there you have it, my general take on character arcs in TMNT. I feel like what might help this sort of unbalanced narrative issue that TMNT has is maybe do something like what Ducktales 2017 or Teen Titans did - and that is give each character their own focus-season. In both DT and TT, each main character got sort of a season to themself that focused on them and followed their general arc. You could do something similar with TMNT - give each turtle their own season. And idk, if it goes further than four seasons, then idk give April, or Splinter, or Casey their own focus season, or one that ties everyone together for a big send-off. That's one idea. Either that or actually just plan out an equal-ish number of episodes and plot threads for each turtle.

Overall, my issue is with the balancing rather than the arcs themselves.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #media discussion #media discourse #character arcs #long post #essay #michelangelo #donatello #raphael #leonardo #jade rambles #jade talks #ask #jadethest0ne

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