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theosb0rnway · 1 year

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My meaningless Owl House rant about why I identify so much with Hunter

If you couldn't tell, I love Hunter/The Golden Guard from the Owl House, so let me tell you HOW much.

When I first saw him in Separate Tides, I immediately loved him. Sarcastic, funny, very relatable minor villain at the time. Then I watched Hunting Palismen and holy shit I fell in love with him. His look reminded me of myself, seeming so high and mighty as the Golden Guard but then looking like a completely normal kid otherwise. I'm not good at making friends and neither was he back then. I relied on other people to help me get to where I was, I was the WALKING DEFINITION of a burnt out gifted kid and so is he.

Eclipse Lake was far too relatable for me. When he was digging his grave, I knew exactly how that felt. Disappointment. I am an only child, and my parents are like my Kikimora and Belos. My mother expected the best from me and I always tried to one up my father to get her respect. When Hunter fights with people, I felt that same way. I don't open up a lot, I hold myself high even though I feel at my lowest.

Overall, Season 2 Hunter was just like me. I'm still trying to find myself these days, and it's not easy, but I have friends guiding me along the way.

One of the most interesting things about me finding myself in Hunter was Flapjack. I believe very heavily in superstition, and even though I'm not Christian, I believe in the belief that loved ones can come back in the form of animals, especially cardinals. My grandfather died the summer before I was born. My mother went swimming one day very soon afterwards and a male cardinal did laps with her for at least 20 minutes around the pool. Less than a month later, my mother found out about me. Very recently, my Aunt was going through pictures of my grandfather when she heard a knock on her door and went to see who it was. There was no one there, and a red cardinal sat in the tree next to the door staring directly at her.

So in short, the male Northern Cardinal is our family's spirit bird.

I feel very connected to Hunter, who's Palisman is a male Northern Cardinal that holds the spirit of someone from the past.

Coincidence? I think not!

No I'm kidding, it probably is LOL

But yes, I have lots of memories of seeing cardinals near me when I need them most. I name every one i see Flapjack-

And my hair.... yeah it does the thing Hunter's does with the one lone strand hanging down, always.

About the belief of cardinals being spirits, whenever I've seen people talk about it, it's always in a Christianity based way, but I'm sure that it's not always based around Christianity. That's why I said that it was a Christian belief, but correct me please if I'm wrong.

Oh and not to mention I infodump about all of my special interests just like he does, and don't even get me started about the daily cosplaying-

I'm a nerd. I know. I'm also autistic. I know.

I love Hunter so much, feel free to talk to me about him if you want, I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and stories too!!

Seriously, reblog with the ways you feel like Hunter if you want to, it's an awesome way to show the world "I'M OBSESSED WITH A FICTIONAL BOY AND HERE'S WHY-"

#hunter toh #hunter the owl house #Hunter #hunter the golden guard #The Owl House #No spoilers #Oz Rants #Toh #flapjack toh #flapjack the owl house

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sugarspikesart · 9 months

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I think I'll never understand is why people on fandoms don't listen to the creators when it's about a character they don't like. And yes, this is about RWBY AND RG HOW DID YOU TELL

Like, in RWBY people will say "oh rg is gross" or "they're siblings, not crushes" as if MILES LUNA didn't fucking say that it's not gross, it's a 2year age gap and that they don't have a sibling dynamic in canon

Listen, you're completely allowed to have an opinion. But there's a difference between an opinion and a statement xd

"I'm see their dynamic more sibling-like" is not the same as "they have a sibling dynamic"

And just because you dont like a character doesn't mean you should complete ignore what you're seeing on screen

"ruby and oscar only interacted once"

Be fucking for real right now.

Like LISTEN

I don't like Jaune in the show, he has some tropes I don't like + a design i do not like so it's a very bad mix for me

BUT I KNOW RUBY AND JAUNE ARE BESTIES

I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT JAUNE IS FOR THE PLOT

AND I KNOW HOW MUCH HE CARES ABOUT OSCAR

AND HOW HURT HE IS

Just because you don't enjoy a character (that is not evil or unlikeable, oscar is actually one of the sweetest characters in the show he's always trying to help) doesn't mean you get to ignore him. All characters are linked. If i ignored Phyrra I'd have missed Jaune stuff. If i ignored Ren I'd missed Nora stuff, If I ignored Weiss I'd have missed ruby stuff, AND IF YOU IGNORE OSCAR YOU MISS RUBY STUFF

Also for those who say:

"I don't like Oscar bc ozpin is there and it's icky"

1-the plot will develop??? That's how a show works, that will most likely change

2-You missed Ozpin's character because AGAIN, you didn't like him so you decide to ignore him.

3-If you ignore Ozpin, you miss Oscar stuff which leads to the "oscar is a meatsuit" thing because you think he's a flat and dull character and because you think so (because you ignored one of the pillar characters in ozma/Salem's plotline) then you don't get why rg could be a thing and then you sew that rg MIGHT actually end up happening if CRWBY follows the path they're going and then you get pissed off because you say they don't have chemistry.

I'll say it.

People who dislike rg are ozpin haters. It's a domino effect

#i chose violence #rwby #hi #rwby rambling #rwby rant #rosegarden #rwby rosegarden #rwby rg #rg #oscar pine #ozpin #rwby ozpin #rwby oz #rwby oscar #rwby ruby #ruby rose

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that-ari-blogger · 1 month

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Iconic (Defying Gravity)

If you look up "iconic Broadway songs", you get lists upon lists of musical numbers, but there are a few constants. Beside One Day More from Les Misérables, Don't Cry For Me Argentina from Evita, and Seasons Of Love from Rent, you will usually find Defying Gravity, from Wicked.

If you think about it, this is actually rather weird, right? The aforementioned songs are about preparing for death, dying, and looking back on life, respectively. Defying Gravity is about a witch deciding to fly. A story that is objectively fantastical (it depicts magic and flying monkeys in a place that definitely does not exist) stands next to stories of real-world history and events, and nobody bats an eyelid because... well... because it's just that good.

This is like a corgi winning a race fair and square against a ton of cheetahs.

I think it's worth examining just what Defying Gravity does to stand beside giants, and what story it is telling.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (Wicked)

Defying Gravity is a battle cry.

When you examine a piece of media, the first thing you need to understand is what it is that that piece of media is trying to achieve. For example, if you examine a commercial for toothpaste through the same lens as a commercial film, that commercial will fall short. Similarly, if you examine a song that is trying to get stuck in your head through a classical, technical lens, things get funky.

You can, of course, apply those different lenses if you want. That's the fun thing about art, there are few rules. But even then, you need to understand the purpose of the text.

Defying Gravity is a battle cry.

It is a song that calls to arms its listeners. It says to Oz that things will get better, if Elphaba has to tear down the world to make it so. And it tells the audience to get excited, because someone has just started shaking things up.

The song is a turning point in the musical. It is the end of act one, and it sets the trajectory of the second half of the story. It defines how the characters will behave going forwards. But also...

Defying Gravity is a breakup song.

I don't think the two are disconnected at all. Wicked is about reality and dreams colliding, and it follows the seeking of freedom. The twist is that for freedom, you have to give up your safety, and Glinda isn't prepared to do that, but Elphaba is.

This is a piece by @abd-illustrates (Youtube, Deviantart). Although I believe it's technically about No Good Deed, I feel it's relevant here and a spectacular feat of artistic merit that I had to put it in.

Wicked has been accused of queer bating by fans, and while I see that angle, I don't quite agree. I think that the romantic relationship between Glinda and Elphaba does happen, but the fact that it doesn't work is key to the story. They are doomed lovers, and this song is that breaking point.

What is more valuable to our protagonists? Autonomy or stability? Both characters pick different options, and that incompatibility tears them apart.

"Elphaba, why couldn't you have stayed calm for once? Instead of flying off the handle!

I hope you're happy

I hope you're happy now

I hope you're happy how

you've hurt your cause forever

I hope you think you're clever"

Glinda's perspective here is clear, she believes in the system she is a part of. She sees its flaws, but because they work for her, she sees them as strengths. And this is understandable, the system has only benefited her, so she is blind to its faults.

But understandable is not the same as agreeable, and I am inclined to follow Elphaba's logic here. The system is unjust, and directly in opposition to her goal of fairness and equality. She wants to make the world a better place, and now that the system's lies are revealed to her, she needs to take things in a different direction.

"I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission

To feed your own ambition"

So, the sides are established, and this song serves as a battle of ideas. Both characters want their friend to join them, and its notable how they go about doing that.

Glinda falls on aspiration and references a previous song to get her point across.

"You can still be with the wizard

What you've worked and waited for

You can have all you ever wanted"

I feel the need to point out that Glinda wasn't present when Elphaba sang The Wizard and I, and yet she matches the tune and meaning almost perfectly. Elphaba hasn't merely told Glinda her dream, she has shared her dream with her, and confided in her that incredibly vulnerable side of herself.

Elphaba acted so differently in The Wizard and I than in the rest of the story, she was less guarded, and more childish with that naive hope that she holds onto throughout the entirety of the show. That hope just becomes less naive and more relentless.

Elphaba has shared that naivety and hope and whimsicality with Glinda, and it's that relationship that Glinda is calling on now. Remember us, remember our dream.

However, for all Glinda's canniness and understanding of the world, she doesn't understand people, and she doesn't understand Elphaba.

Elphaba wanted to meet the wizard for a reason. She had a motive behind her dream that superseded the specifics of how it would play out.

"But I don't want it

No, I can't want it anymore"

Notice the vernacular that Elphaba uses. She can't want to be with the wizard. In her mind, doing the right thing isn't a choice. To Elphaba, good is a force that has pushed her to where she is right now, and forced her to sing this song.

Essentially, Elphaba is a paragon hero and is actively unmaking the grey morality of the setting. Often in media, "realism" is shorthand for everyone being either selfish or misunderstood. It's a pessimistic worldview of life that I don't entirely agree with.

That does happen in real life, don't get me wrong. The vast majority of the world is made up of people who are capable of actions that are good, bad, or neither.

But there are people out there who are truly cruel and evil, trust me, I've met some of them. But I've also met their opposite, people who are kind and compassionate and do what they think is right because to them, there isn't another option.

Elphaba is that second type of person, and the musical has got its audience to take this for granted at this point. But it's worth remembering that this character is the Wicked Witch of the West, the cartoon bad guy of an iconic work of literature. The musical hasn't made her more morally nuanced; it has made the world more nuanced, and that has reframed this character entirely.

The song even reminds the audience of this fact through the ensemble, just to make the juxtaposition more obvious.

"Look at her! She's wicked, get her.

No one mourns the wicked! So we've got to bring her

Down"

This is actually foreshadowing for a later song.

Back to this part, the backing of the song has spent the majority of its run time playing elaborate movements, but for Galinda and Elphaba's talk about dreams, it simplifies. Galinda gets a bare trickle of that floaty harmony, but Elphaba gets next to nothing for her line. Mostly.

This, combined with the slowing down effect brought on by the fermata (the symbol that looks like an eye), gives the conversation an intimate tone. The two have just each other to hear, and nothing to get in the way. It also frames Elphaba's line as reassurance. There is a storm coming and she is telling her girlfriend that things are going to work out ok in the end.

However, the big chords come back in on the "anymore" and lead into the key change that covers the rest of the song. This is a metaphor for the change that is happening in Elphaba's mind. As she makes her decision on how to proceed, and recognises that things are now different, the slow build up to this song's finale is finally got underway.

The rest of this song is just a build up to a final crash of sound. It rises in a few beats with the choruses, as Elphaba tests her wings, so to speak. And the song gains momentum slowly as more instruments are added.

If you thought I wasn't going to at least reference Glee's multiple performances of this song and how in that series, Defying Gravity is explicitly synonymous with queerness and pride, welcome to the blog. I make analysis posts, maybe stick around if you like this kind of thing.

"Too late for second guessing,

too late to go back to sleep"

There are two separate ideas being intertwined here. First up is the reiteration of Elphaba's inability to stop. Once again, she is doing the right thing because someone has to do it, and soon it will be too late. But the duality of this phase links that idea with the revelation about Oz. She can't go back to sleep, she can't go back to ignorance. Now that she knows what she knows, she has to act.

"Too long I've been afraid of

Losing love I guess I've lost.

Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost."

This isn't particularly complex storytelling, but it's effective none the less. Elphaba is saying her realisations out loud to keep the audience up to speed. In this instance, she has been chasing acceptance, and now understands that she was never going to get it from Oz, and that what she would have to do to obtain a facade of understanding is not worth it.

The fact that my analysis of that phrase is just saying it again but slightly differently is a pretty good example of how effective the storytelling in the line is.

"I'd sooner buy defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity

And you can't pull me down"

The first chorus of this song is remarkably understated. It doesn't have the confidence of latter verses, and I will discuss why I think that is in a moment. The orchestra pulls back to a few instruments, and the drum plays a light rhythm on one of its... ok I my musical knowledge is a bit limited here. The bit of the drum that goes "tss tss tss", you know the one.

This gives it a light feeling that adds to the unsteady feeling of the chorus as Elphaba tests the waters and learns to fly. But she needs guidance, and support, and who does she turn to for that?

"Glinda, come with me."

This is the first time Elphaba has been thinking on the spot. Usually, she thinks everything through before she says it, but now she is running entirely on a single train of thought. I cannot stress enough how this thought process is literally: "love, kiss goodbye, Glinda". Historians will say they were close friends.

A leitmotif is a recurring musical phrase that represents a certain theme. For example, earlier in the musical, Galinda's "you deserve each other" musical phrase was repeated to show false relationships and false promises, and was also used in The Wizard and I to foreshadow the false promise of the Wizard and his gifts.

The Unlimited Leitmotif is used exclusively to symbolise Elphaba and Glinda's relationship. You can read that as platonic if you want, but there are some context clues that I would argue suggest otherwise. For example, it's called the "Unlimited" leitmotif for a reason.

As I have kept harping on about, the most valuable thing a person can achieve in this musical is freedom. This is a song about defying the laws of physics themselves. And the thing that Elphaba is offering Glinda here, the thing that is so defining for their relationship that it is literally the shorthand for it, is complete and total freedom.

Together, the two are unlimited.

The second chorus is sung together. Glinda gives Elphaba the strength of spirit to continue and is quite literally the reason she can fly in the first place.

But Glinda doesn't want that. She wants to feel in control of herself more than autonomy, and that's why the relationship falls apart. The two are doomed lovers, and it's not because one of them lies or cheats or any of that soap opera nonsense, but because they want different things out of life.

"Well, are you coming?"

"I hope you're happy

Now that you're choosing this"

"You, too

I hope it brings you bliss"

All in all, I think this breakup goes remarkably well. The two realise that their lives are taking each of them in a direction that the other cannot follow, and so they offer their goodbyes peacefully and get ready for the finale of this act.

Glinda even gives Elphaba a cloak to protect her from the elements as a final goodbye gift. Which, if you are keeping track, means that both the hat and the cloak, the Wicked Witch's most iconic visual elements besides her skin, were gifts from a very close friend.

I don't need to explain why the final chorus of this song is so good, do I? The music is phenomenal, the vocal performance is unrivaled, and it outright says half of the points I have been trying to make in this post.

I do think that the sheer skill on display here is important for the theming as well. Yes, the high note symbolises the flight and escape, yes it's synonymous with rising above petty grievances, and yes the rising is literally a reverse Deus Ex Machina. But it's also just the actress who plays Elphaba showing off and having a blast. There are no limits on her vocal performance, she doesn't have to rein in anything, and she can instead belt out a number as loud and powerfully as she wants because nobody is stopping her.

"As someone told me lately,

Everyone deserves a chance to fly"

This is a reference to something that the Wizard said to Elphaba, but when he said it, he was completely talking out of his arse. The Wizard, and a significant portion of Oz as a whole, parade around saying nebulously benevolent things, but they don't actually mean it. The Wizard has created a nation based around surveillance and oppression, there is no way that he believes in everyone getting a fair go.

The important thing to understand is that the Wizard's worldview is wrong. Everyone does deserve fairness. So his lie to appease Elphaba was in fact true. Elphaba's role in this is making that lie into a reality, by giving the people someone who will say things honestly and try to actually make the world a better place.

Finally, however, as the lights prepare to shut off and Elphaba rises into the distance. Glinda stands beneath her, looking up. She is now just another face in the crowd, but her sentiment stands in stark contrast to the rest of Oz.

Simultaneously, Glinda says goodbye, and wishes Elphaba good luck on the road ahead.

"I hope you're happy."

Final Thoughts

It needs to be understood that part of why Defying Gravity stands beside historical giants like Don't Cry For Me Argentina is the fact that it is fantastical.

Wicked is a musical about the relentlessness of hope. It is set in a world where anything is possible, and it brings that to life. Through the application of some truly impressive stagecraft, the actress who plays Elphaba genuinely flies for all to see.

This is a story that takes the impossible and makes it possible, and this is the song which cemented that theme in the minds of anyone who watched it. This song fully deserves its place as my second favourite in this musical.

That's right, my favourite is yet to come, and I'm enjoying watching y'all guess at what it is in the replies.

Next week, I will be looking at Thank Goodness and how it sets up the plot of the second act. So, stick around if that interests you.

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cerealforkart · 6 months

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I was rewatching some Um, Actually and shoutout to the moment when the question is finally about the one thing you know shit about

#and then your brain goes on a little mini rant #about how you would answer the question #and how much you love the media in question #and you pretend you have a point #doodly #love the wizard of Oz #I’ve read all the books and everything #well #all the books Baum wrote

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witchesoz · 22 days

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Okay, I will say it... It absolutely INFURIATES ME that people say they want to make (or start making) a project about Oz - as in the literary Oz, the original Oz, the Oz books, right?

And then... then they say "Oh yeah I never read any of the books outside of the first one, and I don't intend to. I'll just use Wikipedia articles and various Oz adaptations".

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU ARE YOU LITERALY SO LAZY? I mean... you do an adaptation of a specific material that was overtly overshadowed and ignored, is surrounded by misinformation and misadaptation, and with more than half of its content not found on stuff like Wikipedia... And you don't even bother reading it to know what you are getting into?

If you want to do something based on the MGM movie, it's fine. If you want to do something based on Wicked, it's fine. If you want to do something based on the friggin' anime series it's fine! But don't start claiming you want to do based something on Baum's original book when you clearly don't want to!

Because you know what the worst offense is?

Not only are Baum's books books for CHILDREN which means they are quick and easy to read... BUT THEY ARE IN PUBLIC DOMAIN! Which means not only you can find copies of them everywhere... THEY ARE ALSO EVERYWHERE ON THE INTERNET! THERE'S TONS OF WEBSITES with ALL of Baum's books available for free to read any time you want, at any speed you want, with no effort to bring!

You have all of this material at your fingertips, ready to grab, and you just... "Nah, I say I will use the Oz books but I only read one and the rest comes from adaptations". GRRGRHRHFTHRAAAAAA

#oz #l. frank baum #oz books #the wizard of oz #you can literaly read a Baum book in like one afternoon if you have nothing else to do #you know like a sunday afternoon #they're short they're simple they're whimsical #reading baum is not like reading tolkien come on #people are so lazy #they don't even realize they are lying not just to the world but to themselves #when you want to adapt something GET TO KNOW THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL FIRST #else you'll end up as worst as these guys that did a mini-series live-action adaptation of Earthsea #come on people #rant of the day

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variousqueerthings · 8 months

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*sighs in post mildly broke containment again* there's nothing wrong with reading willow as a lesbian, this is a piece of fiction, and the post I made took on a jokey tone for a reason and is ultimately more about underlying bi-erasure on tv than anything else kaybye ✌

#im watching btvs #jeepers creepers but btvs is bringing out the *taking it all very seriously in a very morally high-and-mighty kind of way* crowd #and i dont mean about shit that matters such as discussing racism or misogyny in fandom #just about whether you agree or dislike someone's read of a situation - move on my friend if you dont agree #i mean i could go on a rant about HOW the show portrayed willow-the-now-lesbian #(and while im at it why i hc buffy-the-apparent-heterosexual as bi too but nobody has disputed that part oddly enough)#but that would be an effort im truly not interested in expending on this day and possibly never and has been written before #im mostly just live-blogging and moving on #if im writing anything fanfic-wise it'll be about kendra and that'll be my full fandom contribution #ok but the ONE thing i'll mention is the fight willow has with tara which is one of the rare Ls for tara #where she basically admits that she's afraid this is a phase because willow has loved men/been with oz #and that's just an interesting fight from a meta perspective because the idea that bi women have to *choose a side*#and are consistently questioned and doubted by their lesbian partners #is a core element of biphobia within a gay relationship that many people can attest to #hell it's a big part of bisexual rep that is conscious of itself that at some point there's a plotline where the person is questioned #about their true loyalties and asked to take a side #btvs ofc is NOT conscious of this underlying tension and in fact i would argue is agreeing with tara that this is what needs to happen #for several other reasons as well #but literally people have WRITTEN about this im not saying anything bold and controversial here AND it doesnt take away #from lesbian willow reads to acknowledge the flawed approach of the show to her sexuality like come on #willow rosenberg

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masquerade-of-time · 5 months

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Doodling in the book I'm annotating

Also, if it's not obvious, I'm annotating the first Wizard of Oz book

#ozma rants #wizard of oz #the wonderful wizard of oz #ozma reads books an stuff

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femslashspuffy · 10 months

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It's always so sad how quickly Tara backs off once Oz comes to town. You can tell it's happened to her before. She's been a fling for girls who want to be gay but never want to come out and, with how long it took for Willow to introduce her to her friends, I mean why wouldn't she think Willow was the same?

It's still so sad though she completely shuts down she knows it's over. I'm just really glad Willow stuck by her 🩷🩷

#rehks rants #btvs #willow and tara #I mean I felt the same watching this episode for the first time #it's clear willow is in a dilemma #and with Tara's self esteem why wouldn't she think Oz was the obvious choice

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majunju · 10 months

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omg i didnt know you played mhyk!! who was your fave?

im an arthur girlie thru and thru 💪💪💪 and f*garo garcia but we dont speak ab him

#asks #i jst love all the northern wizards in general tbh... like their individual dynamics (figaro and oz especially!!!!) just go crazy like #DAMN as expected of tsushimi bunta one of my fav writers frfr #tbh i used 2 go on unending rants on my priv twt ab figaro but i am a changed person now my apologies to my friends

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tazmilian0nettx · 4 months

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MATT DILLON.

#oz rants #the outsiders #oz loves #matt dillon #dally winston #dallas winston #I LOVE #BBBBBBB

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iwrotemrtambourineman · 1 year

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Thinking about the muppets a lot and how Disney can’t fucking use them correctly especially with the new electric mayhem show like the muppets are a theater troupe each one of the Jim Henson era movies is them putting on a play or a movie and then somewhere along the line (muppets in space) it became “the muppets play themselves” which doesn’t work as well it just doesn’t and it like kills me that the people who understand this because they created the muppet are barred from interacting with and playing the characters that they created and made popular and are now a shell of what they used to be because instead of Disney going “let’s do a muppets show reboot where it’s a sketch show like the original” they went “let’s make a fucking 30 rock rip off” like not even hating on the new muppeteers but Frank Oz deserves to do whatever he wants with the muppets at all times he IS miss piggy he IS fozzy and honestly Disney will never let them be the muppets because they hate the muppets and art and happiness

#ok rant over.#every time I see an ad for the electric mayhem show I am filled with such a deep dread Frank oz would not let that fucking happen

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brunhielda · 1 month

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Because apparently this account is now for random movie rambles as I rewatch films for the 100th time-

A watch through of Princess and the Frog:

Anyone else think it is hella suspicious that someone wanted that sugar mill only after she wanted to buy it?

- After the movie was done, it was explained to me by friends that this is a common scam to squeeze more money, especially targeted against POC potential buyers. No one else was bidding, they just wanted more money. My child brain just didn’t fit that together the first couple watch throughs- I mean, they clearly still had it for sale a long time later in order to be threatened at the end of the film… assholes.

Gathering a group of travelers by appealing to thier dreams is a very American story, Ala Wizard of Oz- the idea of the individual goals. This is Naveen, Tiana, and Louis. But then comes Ray, who is just trying to be helpful. That feels more old world, and he leads them to the old world magic- the woman of power in the wilderness. :)

Lawrence was frightened by the idea of a controlling wife, while Naveen was impressed with a well thrown book, and Tiana had dreams that included showing all the boys how it’s done. And her friend is very commandeering, and the object of all the men. There’s a theme of strong women and respect for them here- which makes sense. 1920s fairytales are just out of the Victorian era and the invention of the fairy godmother. And here comes Mama Odie. She even has the mother title.

Naveen and Tiana are so perfect for eachother. Beyond him being ok with her ambition and hustle, she needs his people skills for her resteraunt- you need a front man 😁

First time I can think of in a Disney film that an outside perspective for love song had thier own love to sing about 💘

Every good char in this movie is immediately willing to help someone out, even when- especially when- it inconveniences them. That is how you let your characters be very strong characters, even occasionally overwhelming other characters, and still be good people and likeable. This is how we bond with Lotti, and then Naveen, despite them having domineering personalities.

The way Naveen admires things about Tiana even before he likes her- then when he loves her, the way his face lights up as he watches her.

The wishing star has a name now 🥰✨ Evangeline

Anyone else think froggy Naveen is based a little on John Bob from Swan Princess? Those leg spots look familiar is all I am saying.

Never has good foley hurt so badly as that tiny crunch. 💔🪳

Most important line- “He didn’t get what he wanted, but he had what he needed” was given to her by her mother, who also introduced her to the upper class of town. He mother was so important to this story.

The marrying of Lotty is very “old chivalry” anything for my lady, while the tale itself is very peasant tale of pulling together to get through. As many American tales do, you gotta get ALL the tropes in there. 🪄

Ray is such a well designed character. He is wise, and has common sense, and allies and skills, and LIGHT to oppose the shadows- and they balance it by making him small and fragile. Is… is he the wizard of the party? Not nessisarily in the DND way that is very academically type, but in the LOTR classic fantasy way, that makes one member of the group to be the big support to everyone else, but can also be fridged when needed. 😅🥲 Brings wisdom and all else you need but destined to go out ina blaze of glory???

Happy that his parents seemed to be- “finally someone took him in hand” and could care less about her social position.

First time this white girl heard Neo was sitting through the credits of this film in the theaters. Still love his music. 🎶

#movie ramblings #Princess and the frog #fairytale tropes #sometimes a movie just hits right #ray- we didn’t deserve you 😭#ask me to explain the rambling of American vs European fairytales #I got rants for days- and most of them are about Wizard of Oz 😂

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aria0fgold · 2 months

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You never realize just what's deeply wrong with Cain Knightley until you're greeted with a translation of his birthday greeting to Arthur with the very first line being "I will bare my neck to an enemy's sword," Like my guy... That's one WILD opening to greet someone a happy birthday.

#aria rants #cain you couldnt open with a ''happy birthday''? you rlly just gotta open with a ''ill do anything for you even if it kills me''???#no your smile DOES NOT reassure me. everythin that this guy thinks hes doing for the wellbeing of his liege is so wild bro #arthur being like ''im all ready for the sleepover with the other central wizards! we'll be jumping on a big bed and tickle each other :>''#riquet going ''im so excited for the sleepover!'' & oz with ''if you wish ill give you my birthday blessing before anyone else''#bro cain is the only one with the wildest and most worrying birthday greeting between the central wizards what is wrong with him

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that-ari-blogger · 4 months

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The Gospel Of Elphaba

In May 1900, the George M. Hill Company published The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, a book written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. That book captured the imagination of its audience enough to get sequels and one of the most dangerous film adaptations to make of all time.

The book was about good and evil, and featured a stereotypical medicine journey about a child trying to return home. It discussed personal growth and childhood fantasy and is generally a good book, even with the elements that haven't aged as well (again, it was published in 1900).

But then, in 1995, Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a fanfiction that takes a very different approach on the story. This book discusses the same themes, but from a different angle. Now things are complicated.

Enter Wicked, the musical, which dissects the themes even further, and uses its opening song, No One Mourns The Wicked to tear apart the idea of good and evil in the original book.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I wasn't joking in the title of this post. No One Mourns The Wicked (NOMtW) and the musical as a whole do act as a gospel. Which is fascinating.

Now, I am not Christian, but I do have experience with the faith from a scholarly perspective and from growing up in a heavily Christian culture. As such, while I will treat the faith with the respect befitting any living religion, my perspective on it is that of an outsider looking in, so I cannot be considered a definitive source on Christianity.

The word "Gospel" comes from a few different sources, most notably "godspell" according to etymonline.com, which means "good spell" or "good message" or, if you really stretch the thesaurus, "good news."

The gospel of mark literally opens with "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus..." (English Standard Version) or "the beginning of the good news about Jesus..." (New International Version). So, the word is interchangeable.

And would you look at that, the opening words of NOMtW are:

"Good news, she's dead".

The song is deliberately drawing comparison between Elphaba and the Biblical Messiah, specifically with the defining act. Jesus' most famous act was his death, and the same is true for Elphaba. But both characters have more to their story than the surface level ideal, notably their perspective that people should be kind to each other, and that was why they were "killed". Also, neither of the two stay dead for very long.

But there is more to the similarity than just some neat little references, specifically in how they differ. And that might be contradictory, but it really isn't. Opposites are similar in how they relate specifically to each other. A thing can only be the opposite of something else, it can't be the opposite on its own.

NOMtW actively asks the question: "Was it actually good news?" Specifically in relation to Elphaba. Wicked is told from the perspective of Elphaba, and it frames her death as a tragedy. So NOMtW gives the audience the setup for that story.

"No one mourns the wicked!"

"No one cries they won't return!"

"No one lays a lily on their grave!"

Voiceplay has a phenomenal A cappella Medley for the Wicked musical that I highly recommend you check out.

These lines serve to build into the tragedy itself, they make you feel sad for the deceased person. But the anger with which they are said gives a different vibe. Suddenly, these become warnings, don't be wicked or else.

Fun fact: I was in a high school production of this musical, as a chorus member, and I was given the line about the lily. The director told to deliver the line as a threat to the audience, which reframes the meaning a bit, doesn't it? The chorus is telling you not to empathise with the Wicked Witch of the West.

And interestingly, that's who she is in this song. The name "Elphaba" isn't mentioned once. She is the Wicked Witch. That's who the audience thinks she is, and that's who the chorus thinks she is. The citizens of oz become the audience surrogates.

Glinda, the good witch, then begins to argue with the chorus. Her melodic voice contrasts with the spite of the Ozians, and that translates into her lyrics.

The conflict here is to confuse the audience, I think. It is to ask them who they think they should be agreeing with here. And when the chorus echos Glinda's words, they change them. Those last three lines become:

"And goodness knows,

the Wicked's lives are lonely.

Goodness knows,

The Wicked die alone.

It just shows when you're Wicked,

You're left only

On your own."

What is truth in this world? Can even that be trusted? That's what the musical as a whole seeks to answer, as well as what consequences that has on the real world.

"Nothing grows for the Wicked

They reap only

What they've sown"

"Are people born Wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had a father. She had a mother, as so many do"

I have put some of the above quote in bold, and that is because it is a fantastic question to ask in a story about good and evil. In the original book and subsequent film, the Wicked Witch of the West is evil because she does evil things. She tries to kill Dorothy on multiple occasions, so she is evil, right?

Here, Glinda asks a simple question: "Why did the witch do that?" And this part of the song becomes spoken instead of sung, to really emphasise the point.

But Glinda also tries to humanise Elphaba here, she had a mother and a father. This reminds me of another humanising moment, but not from the bible this time.

"Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? ... If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

This is from Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, written in the 1590s. And it features Shylock, the outcast of the plot, appealing to a collection of people that he is in fact, just as human as them. He tries to convince them that the outsider is worth respect just as much as any other, and that his actions have motivations just as much as any other.

In that story, the appeal has no effect, and in Wicked, written 400 years later, I can't say it is any different.

The moment with the mysterious lover is important because it is yet another specific divergence from the biblical story. It turns out to be the Wizard, a man from another world, who comes to see the mother of the protagonist. But the divinity is removed, and that's a key element here. Elphaba isn't a one-to-one Jesus figure, she's had all of the intrinsic morality taken away and replaced with being green.

Elphaba is othered because of a physical alteration caused by elements she has no control over. She is outcast from even her family because of her appearance. I will talk in another post about what being green means in story, but for now, it is most certainly not heavenly, instead being linked with the garden of Eden with the snake and the apple.

That apple is a neat connection to the vial that the wizard offers Elphaba's mother, once again reframing the story. Now the Wizard gets aligned with the snake, making Elphaba the antichrist? This metaphor goes buck wild if you look too far into it.

Final Thoughts

I have a love for Wicked, to the point where it is one of those formative stories for me. The music is fun and as I grew up, I realised that I empathised with more characters than I was entirely comfortable with.

If this is the first of my posts you have read, I do analysis of storytelling. This will be a series on Wicked as a whole, specifically delving into the songs and what they say about the musical's themes. Next week, I will take a look at The Wizard And I, so stick around if that interests you.

#wicked #rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...?#wicked the musical #wicked musical #elphaba #the gospel of elphaba #glinda upland #elphaba thropp #wizard of oz #no one mourns the wicked

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