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norgestan · 3 years

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crisana, norandro, jorgeva and amira x dani

ha, anon just wanted all the canon couples. fair enough!

CRISANA:

see, skam s3 is my favorite season of all time, but it has never been because of the love story. isak's story hits in a lot of sensitive places for me, and isak was also the first main character i encountered that was my age. i have a really special connection to him for that reason. on the other hand... i enjoy evak for what it is, but i never saw a future for their relationship after the season ended. in a lot of ways, isak's season ended just as their relationship started, a trope that i've never liked because how am i supposed to think that they will last? how am i supposed to know how they will work as a couple? it's just, ugh.

i had similar thoughts about crisana when i watched s2, except that the love confession scene and cris as a character made it even harder to get into the couple. moreover, the way people brush other characters' roles and presence on other seasons because they're so caught up on cris and joana is like... blegh. like it makes me forget that they're actually a well-written couple at times. because imo, og they never did anything really interesting with evak once they got together. but eskam........ oh, dear eskam.

there's something so beautiful about thinking of all the girls, the teenagers that will grow up watching a relationship like theirs on popular media. their entire subplot (??? can i even call it that) in s4 is proof of how GREAT of a relationship they turned out to be. like, i just wanna SCREAM thinking about it because, how is it possible that eskam saw evak and said "we're gonna make this SO good and we'll take our time and then tie it up in an incredibly satisfying and emotional way" and then did exactly that!!!!!! the way they respect each other, communicate, genuinely try to get to each other without dumb miscommunication. the way they understand each other and lift each other up! the way joana knew how to recognize cris' intelligence when everyone was telling her she's dumb, the way cris knows how to make joana feel worth it and show her affection in such a selfless, loving way. their last scene on joana's pov in s4 was the first time i cried during that season, just because it was all wrapped up so beautifully. because eskam understood that although the appeal of their relationship comes from the soulmate status of every evak couple, they had to also put in serious work to make it all work and they also managed to get that across with grounded drama, and also a hopeful message for people struggling with mental disorders. like AAAAAAAAAAAAA god what a great couple they are. maybe i'm too much of an eskam bootlicker but they're genuinely the best evak there is. i'll die on this hill. i'm so happy young wlw get to watch them as a guideline of what they should expect of a relationship.

NORANDRO: already done :)

JORGEVA:

i mean... it's eskam's fault, without a doubt. i love what eskam did with them in s1: the change of pacing, the way they created jorge, the little story changes to make it more nuanced, i think come together in a pretty satisfying way to show a teenage romance with no real support to last for more than a while. i don’t think eskam fully got the gist of what jonas was supposed to be, but it’s for the better if we think of the message in season 1. for that reason, jorge is like the one jonas who i really wouldn’t mind coming back to his eva. so why don’t i like them?

the answer is simply that i don’t enjoy their trope and i don’t think eskam made a real case of eva and jorge getting back together. they work well as friends, sure, and it’s clear as day that jorge still has feelings for eva, sure. but like, what tells me that they’re just ready to go all in again? eva goes through a really great arc and i would definitely agree she’s in a good place to be in a relationship again, but we know NOTHING about jorge’s journey. he’s just, silently pining on eva and that’s it. i do think it’s sweet and the hints of their lost romance throughout the show are wholesome, but there’s just nothing more to it. jorge and eva work AMAZINGLY as friends! i don’t see why they should push a romantic endgame for them. in my head, eva kissing jorge at that party was just a mesh of the excitement of a new era, the nostalgia of ending highschool, the high of being on this place with someone she really cares about, stuff like that, but it just ends there, and it’s great that way. nothing about eva’s character really led to her aching to be in a relationship again, and for me it feels right to end things with her being single and surrounded by great friends.

MAYBE if eskam had devoted some time showing us their progress and romantic potential instead of trying to convince us that kasim was a real, compelling character. maybe. lol.

DAMIRA:

(god, i don’t know how long this will be LOL)

i have. so many thought about this fucking pairing. let’s see what we can do LOL. the thing about damira is that i don’t think it’s a pairing that eskam had in mind when they laid out the first two seasons. the little hints of a friendship/childhood crush that happened during cris’ season really got the fandom and they quickly became the most popular non-canon ship in the show, so that’s where i think eskam said “okay, let’s run with this”. but it’s just...... meh. like i can tell that relationships like crisana were carefully crafted (well implemented in nora’s season, greatly wrapped up in amira’s season) but i cannot say the same for dani and amira. it’s almost like virihugo, where they just started giving each other Eyes on the middle of season 3, out of NOWHERE. it just feels forced to me and so i never really felt anything for the couple in question... like, for starters, i think nora and miquel were WAY more shippable than those two, strictly talking about their setup.

if you ever saw any of my posts during s4 then you should know how i actually feel about how they developed their romance (check my anti damira tag for more?) and i don’t wanna go through all those specific points again... but damira is not only an infuriating romance, but also a bad pairing in a narrative setting. like, damira clearly exists to answer amira’s questions about how would the future of a romance with a white guy would be, right? does she get an answer? no she fucking doesn’t, their final clip is like “after all these weeks, we still have no idea so we’re gonna cut things short, go back to our initial dynamic, and wait to see if amira any of us change our minds <3″. so like, even in that sense damira is a HUGE waste of time, and just like everything that happens to amira during her season it has no lasting impacts on her character or her settings.

and personally, i love couples where they’re both equal, and communicate at last, and both make great efforts to change so the relationship can flourish. this is why i offer so much praise to norandro and crisana, where in the first couple both character go through tremendous character growth and work through their problems individually before getting together, and in the second couple they show them clashing and fighting just to display their resolutions and show how willing they are to actually talk to each other and keep their relationship stable. dani and amira, on the other hand.... blegh. eskam wants me to think dani is a knight in shining armor for liking amira but that’s all he ever does. he doesn’t defend her in front of his friends, he doesn’t make efforts to get to know her and her world, he doesn’t communicate his real feelings to her, and the one time he did he humiliated her in public. like, idk, like, even MIQUEL explicitly defended nora when his roommates berated her for not drinking alcohol LOL.

at the end of the day the problem with damira is that it completely misses the point of yousana and its target audience. making yousef a white guy is not necessarily a bad choice if you implement it well (which eskam didn’t do btw), but you have to take into account that sana’s season exists to make a primarily white christian-raised audience relate and stand up for the muslim characters in the show. when the lazier partner of the main couple who makes zero efforts to work on the relationship happens to be white, it just means people will be sympathetic of him, and nor amira - and that’s exactly what happened in the show. people either thought amira was being too harsh by laying conditions for dani before they even began dating and making sure he respected her boundaries, or just wanted all the drama to go away soon so amira could kiss dani by the end of the season. so like, yeah. terrible stuff.

i would’ve liked damira’s impact on the season and amira’s journey a lot more if it had been about a one sided childhood crush from amira’s part. i thought their friendship was charming up to s3, and i simply hate that dani is literally in no way an older brother figure for the girl squad, since it’s a dynamic that’s lacking in the show and it would be a nice way to make dani be some sort of non-creepy eskild for the girl squad (but noooo, his only interactions w the gs are hooking up with eva and dating amira. smh). it would’ve been fun to have amira intimately dealing with those feelings just to learn a lesson by the end of it, at the time that she also falls for her muslim love interest - which is actually the isak/jonas/even dynamic when you think about it, also something that eskam didn’t really do with cris’ season. but also, all of this would mean that eskam had to do the good writing thing for s4, which they kinda forgot to do throughout the entirety of the season so, yeah.

#answered #skam españa #crisana #jorgeva #damira #i don't think this warrants the a/nti tag but let me know if you think otherwise!

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kannra21 · 4 years

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This time I watched Fugou Keiji Balance: Unlimited for real, meaning that all this knowledge I gained about that series from the previous time was just facts coming from different posts on Tumblr. And I got to know a lot about it thanks to you. You guys were a big help in figuring out some of the series' most important aspects, I appreciate your input on it.

Now that I’ve watched both episodes. I’m going to comment on some things I haven’t seen people talking much about, I’ll try giving it some highlight so I hope you enjoy.

1) The millionaire detective *or smtng more than that*-

Many expect the main character of the series to present himself in a way that he says his name and what he does for life, to give us an insight into who he is and to give us a better idea of what to expect of the series. But instead, the first episode opens with "I had a father and I had a mother", the series opens with a tragic story and tells us about the rich person's unfortunate life. Why's that? It's very important for Daisuke's character. Because, as we go through the series, the author probably predicted that audience would start judging him according to the way he treats people and work, just like Kato always does. The author tries to warn us not to judge a book by its covers. That's why it is so important that the beginning of the series opens this way.

2) Daisuke's and Kato's teamwork-

Daisuke, being a highly classified detective, knows his rights and what he can and can not do, which he exploits a great deal. He can damage people's vehicles and traffic control but he doesn't care, bc he's a detective and bc the law is on his side. He's using this same knowledge to reach his goal faster without wasting time on things that aren't that important, which means, morally or ethically important. Emotions like insecurity, guilt and regret aren't welcomed in this job. Sensitivity to other people's needs before yours are also irrelevant. Traumatizing a mother and a child from almost getting ran over isn't something that he'd preoccupy his mind with too much. He cares about the sufficiency of the mission and working in the favor of the government, as Ryo himself said.

Kato, on the other hand, is different. People come to him in the first place and the most important thing for him is to bring them peace and security, things that all police officers should actually have in mind. He is everything that Daisuke is not.

And when he told him "You're making quite the show here. How are you going to take responsibility for this?", we can notice that something clicked in Daisuke, that he told himself "ugh I went too far I should do something about it". And then he called HEUSC and told him to send reimbursements for DOUBLE the damage costs he caused for certain people. He also gave the Abura Emirate's seventh prince a billion yen when the car didn't even cost that much. So it’s evident that Daisuke does possess feelings like guilt, he just needs to be reminded of it.

The same goes for that scene when he tried to drop the vehicle into the river, Kato reached for the girl and told her to jump out. Daisuke doesn't care if she's a kid or if she's going to explode together with the van. It is important to him to save the rest + the kids are also considered criminals, he will take it upon himself to judge them as they actually deserved it. Kato, unlike him, can't let himself do that, he just can't. That's why he saved her and let her be with Hiroshi again. I love Kato for that.

Maybe Daisuke is a sufficient detective but Kato is there to remind him that the things he's doing aren't ok. He's giving him a sense of morality and ethics and that's why I think they're put together bc they make a great team. And they truly do, the problem is, Kato can't stand him. 😅

3) This funny moment-

I love how Kamei in the second episode found out ab the tragic death of some woman by going through one of his inappropriate sites and he's like: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Kato *annoyed bc he's as well judging him for his perverted ways and lack of devotion towards work*: "Shut up Kamei."

Kamei *big sad*: "It says she died from a drug overdose. That centerfold model Akiko Hoshida..."

Kato: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA??!! SERIOUSLY?"

Which leads me to the conclusion that:

Kato isn't that much different from Kamei.

Kato prefers only a specific type of women while Kamei drolls over every woman who looks even remotely pretty.

Kato has a type because the deceased centerfold model Akiko Hoshida and Suzue look very alike. Kato is also into "innocent" women bc he himself is innocent, as Akira stated. + He knows how to cook, refuses to drink alcoholic beverages during work hours and is actually pretty soft. Kato is more lovable than Daisuke in those aspects.

4) Kato's cluelessness-

Because of being so innocent, Kato doesn't have the ability to criticize others or judge "the way they breathe". He's too good, too considerate, too emphatic. That's why Daisuke's here to break his pretty picture of the world they're living in.

Kato was so easily deceived by the street performers and it was actually funny. Why would they do it otherwise than for money? No one wants to make an idiot out of themselves without a certain price.

He also thought of Suzue as one of them, the drug dealers I mean, acting as liaison. And it made me laugh so much bc he didn't know what's going to hit him. 😂

5) HEUSC-

I love HEUSC so much, this technology stuff is so lit, I wish I had it. It can detect lies, analize time, deduce certain information just from the help of a person's credit card, how much income they have, how much they lost over a couple of days, when and where, what were they buying. It can detect a person, personal information ab where they're from, age and date of birth. It also shows the person's heart rate. It can even work as a magnifier and control the traffic lights, isn't it crazy??

Daisuke's heart rate is always 60 during the whole interrogation. He's so freaking calm.

You also need to understand that Daisuke's session lasted longer than Cho-san's who used weak points such as family members and sense of right and wrong. Daisuke needed some time until their negotiation was done, he gave money to a drug addict in exchange for an information while Cho-san didn't lose anything, he could as well just deceive his suspect and get away with it.

Take into account that Daisuke went through a special training in England so his protocols are different from the normal Japanese ones.

6) Daisuke's jealousy-

Lmao Daisuke is stealing friends. He invited Akira to his own ramen during their Isezaki case.

He said "I can risk my life for Kato" and omg let me tell you, Daisuke became jealous so he made a move and even paid him to get into a costume to lure Kato and the rest of the hooligans to the top.

7) The elevator scene-

Kato standing in the middle of the elevator and Daisuke standing close to the corner as pinned as possible is what made my day. 😂

8) On the rooftop-

Daisuke's heart rate is 72 when shooting from a bazooka in the helicopter. Still too calm but I'd say that he's in a good physical condition considering that he's into boxing.

BTW he accidentally shoot towards Kato bc his target wasn't detected, it only wrote "primary target", he didn't do it on purpose.

But the sole thought of "stank needs to be eliminated" gets me every time. 😂

9) Daisuke joining the MCI-

Daisuke circled around the topic and refused to give the answer about why he decided to become a detective by redirecting the conversation towards Kato.

Let me tell you something, I watched too many crime series to know why he did that.

The reason is very personal.

And at the beginning of the whole anime he introduced himself to us with “I had a father and I had a mother”. I think he's trying to find the culprit for his parent's murder.

10) His lack of sleep-

Although he has lots of money, people like Daisuke tend to afford themselves a nice and cozy sleep. Despite that, Daisuke has as much under eyes as Kato. Which makes me wonder what keeps him awake at night, what's he thinking ab. Is he traumatized in a way? I can't wait for the next episodes to arrive!

Btw while watching the anime I fell in love with Kato even more, such a great character.

#fugou keiji balance unlimited #fugou keiji balance: unlimited #the millionaire detective balance balance: unlimited #the millionaire detective balance: unlimited #daisuke kambe #suzue kambe #haru kato #analysis

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feminetflix · 4 years

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De atracos y ab*rtos - Of heists and ab*rtions or How women are being robbed.

⚠️ this contains major spoilers for LA CASA DE PAPEL / MONEY HEIST season 1, specifically episode 3!

Personally, I have experienced the series la casa de papel (original title) or money heist as progressive, realistic and not afraid to deal with certain topics like domestic violence which I will be commenting on in posts yet to be published, female trans representation and occasionally peppered with numerous feminist parentheses (see characters like Nairobi and dialogues around/involving her opinion).

However, there are certain aspects I did not enjoy to watch / do not support. That is normal and every show has its flaws, those resulting all the more dangerous however, as money heist is not just any show. The series is thanks to its popularity by now a relevant aspect of people’s opinion-forming and plays into the perception of many people all around the world, coming from different cultures and having experienced all kinds of upbringing. The target audience is not specified, yet crime drama (the genre) is estimated to target both females and males aged 15-40 years old. Means, also targeting minors and adolescents. Again, all cultures / religions / races / classes etc etc included.

I am fully aware that this kind of range was not expected and therefore not taken into account by producers, talking about the first two seasons that were solely meant for a Spanish audience, not an international one. (The series was initially intended as a limited series to be told in two parts. It had its original run of 15 episodes on Spanish network Antena 3 from 2 May 2017 through 23 November 2017. Netflix acquired global streaming rights in late 2017). The analysed / discussed scene is indeed part of this maybe not so carefully crafted content. Cough.

Let’s get right into it.

Characters interacting: Mónica Gaztambide (Esther Acebo), one of the hostages who was also Arturo Román's secretary and introduced as his mistress and “Denver” (Jaime Lorente), one of the robbers participating in the heist [Denver is an alias, all robbers being referred to with city names]

Context: Mónica has an affair with Arturo Román (Enrique Arce) -hostage and former Director of the Royal Mint of Spain- which leads to an unwanted pregnancy. Numerous factors influence her (for now) final decision: she doesn’t want the child. Shortly after, the robbery unfolds and she’s taken hostage among other people. She then requests an ab*rtion pill, which at some point arrives in the mint alongside other medical supplies. The scene analysed: one of the robbers (Denver) is supposed to hand her mentioned ab*rtion pill. Before that he holds an emotional speech on the subject, morally risen forefinger, accusations and tears included.

Here the dialogue without comments:

————Now my opinion / the actual post:

“You need money, right?” One might think that the amount of money seen in this frame (20.000,-€ approx. $21.701,50 according to Denver) is an exaggerated, way too generous gesture. Let me tell you, it is not.

According to a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost of raising a child from birth [to] age 17 is $233,610. If that made your heart skip a beat, take a deep breath before you read on. Incorporating inflation costs, it will be more like $284,570. Since that’s based on 2015 numbers, we can expect the cost will be even higher, babies born since then.

[…] This average includes everything from housing, food and transportation to healthcare, education and childcare to clothing, personal care items and entertainment.

Let me now remind you that Mónica is a secretary, so she likely earns (barely) enough money to be financially independent herself (taking into account that she lives near or maybe even in Madrid, her workplace, the Royal Mint situated there, so housing alone is hella expensive) and can’t really expect reliable support coming from the potential child’s father, Arturo Román, either, who initially denied support himself, their relationship a secret to the family and wife he already has. Phew.

Btw: A University of California at San Francisco study found that women who were turned away from ab*rtion clinics […] were three times more likely to be below the poverty level two years later than women who were able to obtain ab*rtions. 76% of the "turnaways" ended up on unemployment benefits, compared with 44% of the women who had ab*rtions.

“Enough to get the kid diapers until he graduates.” The problem or let’s say points raised above are now also being ridiculed or not taken seriously to say the least.

She takes the money, sticking to her decision however. “So, what’s the problem?” Or “Then, what is it?” A million additional things, Denver, believe it or not a potential child is a big deal. That and none of your business.

Also, see the reaction? How he stares at her in disbelief (and possibly even disgust, see the risen corner of his lips?). How he looks at her as if she were heartless, selfish, a monster – the picture often painted in this debate when it comes to women who decide to terminate a pregnancy. How he doesn’t respect her “no, thanks” and continues. Continues influencing her, later on even starts to mansplain his way into her stone cold heart. Okay, then let me continue as well.

“That he’ll f*ck up your life? […] Your son. Better to have your life f*cked up by your son than any of these sons of b*tches. Or me.” Call it ‘f*ck up’ or not – that is entirely her perception, her decision and I’d dare to say…she knows best.

First, because regardless of the fact that she is a woman and you are not – well it is indeed her life and, uhm, excuse me Denver, you’re no sibling, no friend, no acquaintance, quite the contrary, you have known her for what? Three minutes and already jump to conclusions?

Take the privilege of explaining her how a child would f*ck or not f*ck up her life?!!

Secondly, what makes him assume the gender of this cluster of cells, this potential future life, this basis for a potential life that may later on develop into a life (it is not a walking talking baby boy already, my friend!).

Personhood begins after a fetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception.

Does it provide a smooth transition for that awfully funny and figurative “son” – “sons of b*tches” (org. Hijo – hijos de p*ta) line or is it literal propaganda?

Why does he say “your son”, although he cannot possibly know? I’ll tell you. In order to distract the audience from the fact that he is referring to a pea-sized basis for a potential life by painting the picture of an already existing male human being. Mónica, do you really want to murder your son? Mónica, does that cute little doe eyed baby boy really f*ck up your life? Yeah, propaganda at its best.

Also, another example for ridiculing the point “a child would destroy my life” by comparing an unwanted pregnancy to a literal robbery at gun point. Great one.

“This f*cks your life up. A kid doesn’t.” Do you see that raised gun, that is quite literally an extension of a raised index finger? Wow, the drama. On a different note, did you notice the symbolism? A weapon stands for death, murder and guess what is also often equated with murder.

“How do you know what f*cks up my life? What do you know?” Finally. Exactly. He doesn’t know her, like at all. He doesn’t know her situation and no, he’s also not the pregnant one or anyone who would have to worry about that.

What do you answer to that, hmm? Let’s make this whole dispute even more emotional and dramatic. That ‘a cute little son isn’t as bad as a robbery’ didn’t convince her?

Let’s try with an extraordinary f*cked up and tragic life story, nobody asked for. Its goal? Showing the oblivious, naive, little secretary what real ‘f*ck up’ means, despite the evident lack of any sort of knowledge when it comes to her life (story). Again, conclusion-jumping and wallowing in prejudice at its best.

Have a look at his expression while ‘lecturing’ her. How disrespectful, how belittling. ‘Oh please, what do you know about life?’. On a wider scale: ‘How could we possibly trust women to rationally and with a clear conscience decide such things for themselves – concerning life and death, if they have not the slightest idea, living in their bubble of security and stability and no real problems’ etc. This is everything but taking women and their reasoning abilities, their judgement seriously.

“My mother was going to ab*rt me.” Now the audience doesn’t only have the mental image of a potential cute little son, it is furthermore provided with the image of a living, breathing human being standing right in front of them. Just look at him and his pleading puppy dog eyes. No actual child actor could have done it better.

Thank god she did not go through with the ab*rtion, right? Oh thank god she was not allowed to.

Taking advantage of this frame to remind you of the fact that we are still talking about a POTENTIAL future life, not an existing one that is nevertheless put above the mother’s already existing life in this impudent, low and unfair debate.

“But first…she inhaled the heroin she had to sell to be able to pay for the ab*rtion. Then she was caught by the police. Between jail, drugs and the police, I was born. What do you know?”

1)Adding even more emotions, subtle accusations and drama to that oh so rational dispute? Check. Making his situation seem two thousand times worse than hers (which he, again, has no clue about)? Check. Subconsciously painting the picture of reckless, irresponsible drug addicts/ “lowlifes” or generally female members of “society’s margins” usually being the ones to abort and make it seem like the state’s or whoever’s responsibility to prevent them from deciding for themselves? Check.

2) Then he even tears her valid ‘what do you know (about my life)’ out of the initial context of being confronted with endless assumptions and prejudice and blows it way out of proportion in order to demonstrate the insignificance of … everything concerning her? Her background, her life, her reasons. Everything.

And FINALLY *drum rolls* the wild theories and hypotheses and presumptions she was dying to hear because since he, I repeat for the twelfth time, has no actual clue about her life, let’s make up one.

“Because it seems that you don’t have a very exciting job. And maybe outside of work your life is not that great either. Or what is it that you do? ‘Kilates’? And Friday night drinks, right? What a f*cking drag. Another plan ruined by the kid[…]” That and the entire following paragraph. Wow. All accusations thrown at women who decide to abort in one.

Because OF COURSE a middle aged, down to earth, intelligent, responsible woman like Mónica Gaztambide has no other reason for terminating a pregnancy than not being able to drink alcoholic beverages or party anymore. Because OF COURSE it is valid to assume a woman or any person for that matter one has known for half an hour and interacted with for literal five minutes has a boring enough life that would not be affected in any way by a pregnancy, birth and ultimately being forced to raise an unwanted child. Because OF COURSE Denver would know how much a pregnancy can affect somebody, especially one that is forced upon a person. Quite frankly he has no idea and no right. The audacity.

“Do [your friends who are also mothers] seem f*cked up? / Do their lives look f*cked up? No, right?” Because you know best. Not only regarding her life but on top of that also that of her friends. Because those pregnancies or motherhood in general did under no circumstances end a career or prevent them from pursuing one in the first place or cause the end of a relationship or force them to stay in a toxic or even abusive relationship or change their financial situation completely or rob them of their fragile financial independence and/or free time altogether or cause any (mental) health complications or … you get the point. Oh, and because their situations are completely identical to Mónica’s situation, that is additionally not half as dramatic as your life story. Of course, Denver.

Seeing the ‘rational’ argument doesn’t really work, let’s add yet another dramatic, emotional rhetorical question. As a precaution.

“Do you know how much a child can love you?”

How could she, being the heartless, cruel, selfish, irresponsible, ridiculous and impulsive murderess you’re ‘exposing’ her as?

⚠️ Another spoiler warning for seasons 3 and 4 and still 1.

Would Cincinnati - that’s her sons actual name, not alias – really love her like he does now?

Friendly reminder: his biological father (Arturo Román) let her know - right from the start - that he wouldn’t take on any responsibility whatsoever, regardless of his later statements about doing so. Why those statements don’t matter? Despite his awareness of her state, despite knowing she was pregnant he shortly after urges her on to steal the cellphone she is caught with right after the analysed scene, ready to risk her life and the potential life of his unborn child. Literally, because as soon as she is caught with it, Berlín orders Denver to execute her.

So to those of you who will now say “but- but Cincinnati is okay and has an amazing life and does love her” etc etc, first think certain things through. If Denver wouldn’t have spared her, if she didn’t just happen to get together with him and if the heist didn’t just happen to work out like that, what then?

Cincinnati would have a different name. What else? Well for one, he wouldn’t have a father (that is now Denver) like at all, resulting in possible daddy issues / issues in general. How I know Arturo, the biological father, wouldn’t be there for them, wouldn’t fulfill all his empty promises?

Did he canonically care about his son? Was he devastated that he was not given the possibility to see him or did he instead focus on that random book of his and his speeches about heroism and honour and so on? If he wouldn’t have called his wife by his mistress’s name and through that expose himself, if his family wouldn’t have left him all alone, don’t you think he would stick to them? Just to paint a picture of who the father is and how he behaves and what we can assume from that behaviour. So the probability was high she would’ve been left alone with I quote “all the love” and of course all the responsibility. It’s a thing, Denver.

Secondly, if she didn’t just happen to turn into a millionaire thanks to the heist working out, would she really be able to provide a life for Cincinnati? Would she really be able to remain financially independent? Would her life at her son’s side really be all peace and harmony if she wouldn’t just so happen to be able to live from heist money?

So many coincidences, so many risks and no security. Can we really blame her? Do we have the right?

With these questions I will end this seemingly endless post and leave you to think about it, reflect certain things and – if you want to – share your opinion(s) with me. Please don’t hesitate to do so, as long as those contain rational arguments and most importantly respect. Thank you for reading!

(Also: sorry for the extensive censoring, I had to, otherwise it wouldn’t appear in the tags.)

#la casa de papel #lcdp #money heist #choice feminism #why we need feminism

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yangxiaoshorter · 4 years

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Why Utsuro was the perfect Gintama villain.

(Taken from reddit, with permission from the poster. Posting it here because more Gintama fans need to see it).

Warning: This won't have any manga spoilers, but inevitably, a lot of anime spoilers.

So while most things in Gintama are universally loved by the fans, by comparison, Utsuro seems to be slightly more contraversial. He isn’t hated by any means and most Gintama fans still like him, but there are a few who think he is just a generic overpowered final boss that the show didn’t need. I want to explain why Utsuro is not only great, but the perfect villain for this show. For this I will have to talk about two characters: Utsuro himself of course, and the main character, Sakata Gintoki. Brace yourselves, because we are going to go deep here.

Before I start though let’s just quickly summarize what Utsuro is on the surface though. He is the most powerful being in Gintama. He is the biggest threat that the show had so far. He is an immortal being who is so hard to kill that even he himself has trouble killing himself. On that regard you could compare him to characters like Madara Uchiha from Naruto, or Aizen from Bleach. But that is far from everything that there is to Utsuro as a character. And most of it is because of what Gintoki is as a character.

Sakata Gintoki is one of the strongest main characters you can find. I’m not talking about “blowing up planets” or “cutting through dimensions”. I’m talking about the fact that Gintoki has such a strong personality, beliefs and conviction that almost nothing can shake him. This is partly because of his personality, because of all the suffering he went through (more than anyone else) and of course, Shoyo’s teachings. In a normal Shounen, “Death” is the biggest threat a character can face. But like it was pointed out in Rakuyo arc “Death and Breakfast are equally close to Gintoki”. Gintoki doesn’t fear death. For him it isn’t just “I would sacrifice my life” type of thing like most others. He literally doesn’t fear death. After seeing so much of it death is just another part of life for him. For a man like him, it doesn’t matter how strong a foe is. The worst they can do is kill him, which doesn’t scare him. The only thing that shakes Gintoki is when people around him get hurt, but even then, after overcoming everything in his life, Gintoki now believes that he can protect them no matter what. Even during the few times Gin loses control (like with Jirocho or Oboro) he recovers quiet quickly.

There is something Kamui says to Gintoki in Rakuyo: “You don’t see me when you fight. With Housen and with Shinsuke too. You aren’t fighting the one in front of you. Who is it that you are fighting?” This is the main point of where I’m coming from. No villain, not even his closest friend can shake Gintoki, because when he fights, he fights himself and his own weaknesses, not the opponent in front of him. There can be a lot more that can be said about it but I’m sure most of you know this part so I’m going to keep it brief. So why is Gintoki’s character so strong? Because the “foundation” of his beliefs are so strong that no attack on them can even shake them. So the only way to even shake Gintoki would be to attack that “foundation” itself.

There is a saying that a hero is only as good as their villain. Which is true in most cases, but there is also the opposite: A villain can only be strong if he confronts a strong hero. Otherwise, your audience might start finding the hero they were supposed to root for annoying and start agreeing with the villain, which is the last thing you would want as a storyteller. Now as we established, Gintoki is really strong as a character. He can emphatize with everyones suffering, because he suffered more than any of them. He knows people can come out as a better person after all sufferings because he himself managed it after far worse. That is where Utsuro comes in.

Every aspect of Utsuro’s character is specifically created to challenge Gintoki. His very existence, ideas, his past, his actions… everything about Utsuro is an antithesis for Gintoki. Let me explain what I mean by that because there are a few reasons. First being of course, that he is Yoshida Freaking Shoyo. The man who made Gintoki who he is. Everything Gin is started with this man. While what happened to Shoyo was one of biggest regrets in Gintoki’s life, he still overcame that and mostly made peace with it. He finally accepted (not over night btw. You can literally see it happen throughout the show) that he could forgive himself. That he did his best. That Shoyo would be proud of what he did and does. That was because he knew who Shoyo was. Thanks to his teachings, Gintoki learned to forgive people, people like Takasugi, or himself. But then Utsuro appeared. An embodiment of all of Gintoki’s fears and regrets. For Gintoki, Utsuro was created by one of the biggest regrets in his life. He was literally a walking talking version of everything Gin tried to overcame. Not only that, but Utsuro’s existence also shook one of Gintoki’s core beliefs as a person. That you don’t have to be empty. That you can overcome any pain. Gintoki was baseing those beliefs on his own experience and Shoyo, and throughout the show, he always challenged people who run from pain (like Jiraia, or Takasugi). But now Utsuro’s existence on its own meant that he could be wrong. That the only reason he wasn’t empty was because he didn’t suffer enough. Because even the person he trusted the most could be broken and become empty with enough pain. That is what Utsuro’s existence meant. Everything that gave strength to Gintoki was suddenly shaken by Utsuro’s very existence. It also meant that Gin himself still wasn’t safe. He suddenly started fearing that with enough suffering, he too can become empty again. Become like Utsuro.

If you think that I’m overanalyzing this I want to remind you of the first things Utsuro does when he appears: Literally, before he even appears on screen, the first thing he does is throw a sword at Kagura. Something that would have at least fatally wounded her if Nobume hadn’t pushed her out of the way. Later, he almost stabs Shinpachi on the forehead, who was saved by Sougo at the last second. Then in Silver Soul arc, he almost kills Sadaharu. This is not a coincidence. Who are Kagura, Shinpachi and Sadaharu to Gintoki? They are the Yorozuya. As in, they are the embodiment of everything Gintoki build since he started overcoming his weaknesses. Symbolically and physically, Utsuro was trying to destroy Gintoki from the very beginning.

I also want to give you a few examples on that. First, remember what Sougo says to Gintoki in Silver Soul: “When you confront that man, you lose control and see nothing but that guy. You don’t act like yourself”. Indeed, throughout the show, especially in Silver Soul arc, Utsuro is constantly making Gintoki lose control. There are 3 instances in the show where Gintoki almost “gives up”. First being when he loses his memories, which obviously doesn’t count. Second being in 4 Devas, which was just an act to keep the kids out of trouble. So the only time Gintoki falls into despair and almost gives up is in Silver Soul, when he thinks about how he didn’t make progress even now, right before the Shinsengumi shows up. Again, all these is just shows how much Utsuro gets to him. More than anyone else in the show ever could.

Because Utsuro is not only Shoyo, not only is he everything Gintoki fought to overcome before, but he is a product of the humanity Gintoki always wanted to believe in. He is the monster Gintoki was scared of becoming. Noone can deny the fact that Utsuro has one of the worst pasts in the show. He was tortured again and again. People killed him again and again and no matter how much he wished for it, they didn’t manage to kill him. Which made them fear him even more, which made them hurt him even more. For decades, he was killed, tortured, went through pain that would easily kill anyone else, but he wasn’t even granted the escape that was death. He was stuck in a prison that was the world that didn’t want him. That he didn’t want to be in. Yet he couldn’t escape. The monster that was Utsuro was created by humans. He became Utsuro (Hollow) because of them. And Gintoki understood that. That is why he couldn’t ignore his stance like the other two. For Katsura, Shoyo was dead and he made peace with it, and Utsuro was just a villain threatening his new life. For Takasugi, Utsuro was the one who killed Shoyo. He hated him, but he was just another target for his revenge. But Gintoki understood what Shoyo and Utsuro were more than anyone, and that is why he was affected more than anyone else.

So what does all this have to do with Utsuro? Well as I said, a great villain, especially a final villain, should be able to challenge the hero on every aspect, not just at swinging swords. And Utsuro stood against everything Gintoki stood for. I’m not going to give manga spoilers here, so just going to say that Gintoki has to overcome all his weaknesses, fears and traumas if he wants to truly defeat Utsuro. And Gintoki’s beliefs are important because they make up the core of Gintama’s ideology. Every villain in some way challenges that ideology: Even the likes of Takasugi and Isaburo. However, none of them go against it as clearly as Utsuro does.

So where does Utsuro himself stand in all this: Some people don’t understand his motivation. Saying that it is weird that he would say that he wants to die but then fight people who want to kill him, but while this isn’t the point of the post I’m going to briefly explain that first to avoid misunderstandings:

Utsuro isn’t just an immortal being who wants to die. He also wants to get revenge on everyone. Not just because for the sake of it, but because he wants to proof himself right. He more than anyone knows how deep humanity can go. So if Gintoki fights to proof that humanity is worth saving, Utsuro fights for the opposite. He wants to proof that despair can overcome anyone. That humanity will abondan everything, their believes, their loves, their ideals when they are confronted with a fear that they can’t overcome. Utsuro doesn’t just want to die. He wants to end the humanity that he sees as a curse on everything.

So in the final battle of the war, when he is about to cut Nobume but hesitates, that was the main conflict coming back at him. It wasn’t Shoyo literally coming back as a seperate entity to hold him back. That was symbolizm. He hesitated because everything those people who he was fighting did at that moment, was going against all his core beliefs. They didn’t despair. They didn’t give up. They didn’t leave each other. Even when everything was hopeless, they kept getting back up. If Utsuro was an antithesis for Gin, then Gintoki himself was the same for Utsuro. Utsuro believed that enough suffering could make anyone “hollow”. Yet no matter how much suffering that boy (Gintoki) when through, he didn’t break. He didn’t become hollow. While the story isn’t done yet, this was the main confrontation of Gin and Utsuro’s ideals and this was the first time since FS where Gintoki cleared his mind and truly fought like he always does, fighting for himself instead of fighting to escape, while Utsuro for the first time, lost that secure belief he always had. This was the true triumph for Gintoki over Utsuro. However, after that Utsuro decided to jump into the Altana, because he refused to accept what Gin said. He denied what he was seeing. He still defended that the humanity would destroy himself. That’s why he jumped. He wanted to win that final argument. He wanted to show that with him out of the picture, the humanity would still destroy themselves on their own. And he wasn’t completely wrong either. As in the next two years, people tried to revive him, gain his power and overall almost started another war. It comes down to Gintoki and the others to win that final gamble Utsuro made.

So yeah, I could probably write more but this is way too long already. Basically, Utsuro is not only a powerful, charismatic villain with an amazing voice, but he is the perfect villain to represent the opposite of everything Gintama stands for. He has such a strong backstory, that you can’t help but understand even the worst of his actions. And most importantly, unlike most final villains in other Shounens, he is connected to the main character more than anyone else. He isn’t just a random powerful guy. He is the only person who was closer to Gintoki than Takasugi was. He was the only villain the show could possibly get after Takasugi. That personal connection to Gin and the others is what makes it so compelling too.

I hope this will give some light on what Utsuro represent as a character. This might have been a bit of a mess, and I apologize for that, it was tougher than I expected. Thanks for reading.

#Gintama #Sakata Gintoki #Kagura #shinpachi shimura #Utsuro #Anime

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heesulovebot · 4 years

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okay so,

the premise to this show is... 😬😬😬 idk but it irkes me that being gay is a literal plot device??? it’s quite insensitive.

for those who don’t know, sweet munchies is a new kdrama about a chef who pretends to be gay for a cooking show because he’s in desperate need of cash— he’s about to lose his restaurant, the only thing he truly loves, and his father has medical bills to pay. the synopsis for the show states that it will be an “atypical” love triangle, and it’s clear that instead of the het love triangle kdramas normally overplay, it’s a man (a closeted fashion designer) and a woman (the cooking show PD) falling for the chef— a straight man himself or at least that’s probably what it’s gonna be this is a JTBC kdrama ppl lmao

i know, this all sounds incredibly convoluted and extremely obtuse, and i don’t think i’ll be sticking around for most of this show because of these very reasons, but let me just take a moment to talk about kang tae wan (the closeted fashion designer) and how i’d lidorally die for him.

this entire time that the PD is pitching her show, i’m sitting there like “???????”. her perception of gay men is not only incredibly insensitive but so so ignorant. at this point i’m thinking that i’m just gonna drop this show right then and there, but then kang tae wan and her have a conversation.

he asks her why the chef has to be gay (finally, someone with braincells asking what i’ve been wondering the entire time), and she says that if the host is gay, he’s “not limited to men’s stories” (????) but also “won’t take just women’s sides” she thinks that a gay man could talk about other’s stories with his ~unique perspective (🙄🙄🙄 straight woman on her fetishist bs WBK). but then kang tae wan shuts her down immediately:

“just the fact that you think that way— has the thought that you’re already prejudiced ever crossed your mind?”

(also lemme just add that i love the sassiness this conveys in the korean language because he’s using highly formal speech and it’s *chef’s kiss*). he rejects her offer (she wanted him to be the idk like wardrobe department for the show) and she gets a lil’ desperate and blurts out that it’d be a good chance to target female customers because everyone wants a gay friend, right???

he calmly (because it wouldve been ON SIGHT if that were me jgdknkdjnf) tells her that people aren’t things to be bought or to be had and she’s embarrassed af lmao. so he basically called her out on her fetishism and tokenism in one fell swoop and i was quiet impressed that they actually addressed that in a drama whose premise is basically just that. it’s a set-up for one big queer bait. selling this “atypical” love triangle to the audience.

because oh my gOD do the male lead and kang tae wan have aMAZING chemistry. and honestly i would be more mad but it’s a treat to see these two actors in a scene together, they’re seriously good. it’s heavily nuanced and i hate and love that they use such romantic angles and mood whenever they’re close to each other (btw has someone giffed the scene where he’s taking the chef’s measurements and the chef is just a nervous wreck at their close proximity— like there is no heterosexual explanation and yet leave it to kdramas to make it het lmaoooo).

anyways i lidorally have no idea why i started this post kang tae wan just gave me a lot of feelings and i’m high key hoping that they handle him delicately because even though they haven’t mentioned it he’s clearly a closeted gay man struggling with his sexuality (his conversation with the “gay” chef heavily implied so— his micro expressions??? i may or may not have teared up...).

and just the fact that they’ve already shown us 3 tension-filled scenes with the chef and kang tae wan, and haven’t shown us anything romantic for the female lead and the chef has me like 🤔🧐????

am i hopeful? i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t lmaoooo. if this was a thai drama we know this would be a BL 👀 also my bi ass would love to see this turn everything on its head and have the chef realize he’s bi or something because he hasn’t specifically said he’s straight he actually seems very neutral about the whole thing but that may also be because his younger brother is gay (i know, i know. this will never happen in a million years but a girl can dream, ok???).

anyways i’m probably only gonna watch kang tae wan scenes because the actor is KILLING it with the nuance and i’m rooting for his character arc. and i do love me some angst (even tho i wISH they’d stop showing us The Gay Struggle™ for once).

#sweet munchies #KTW looked so cute in the preview for next week like we kNOW its just gonna end in heartbreak

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sabrinajennings · 4 years

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Writing tips for people who give writing tips: Know your Audience

So I almost wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and decided maybe I was making a mountain out of a molehill and deleted the draft. But I just ran into *another* instance so here we go.

1. Writing advice is not universal. (I know this should be a no-brainer, but apparently it needs to be said)

The writing advice that is good for a screenwriter is often not remotely helpful to a novelist, vice versa, etc. No seriously. Do you know how many posts I see geared towards novelists for grown-ups (I don't want anyone to be confused if I say adult) in which all the examples are taken from movies, t.v., or YA. Ummmm... You do realize those art forms are not the same? At. All. What works for a screenplay turns out a half-baked novel.

2. If the final audience is different, yours is too: You could also read this as "don't be afraid to niche". I understand you want your posts to appeal to everyone (especially if you are monetized (yes I said it)), but this isn't really helpful. As a content creator you should know that content creators struggle enough with judgement from fans, publishers, critics, etc.. No one needs to be told that their work should sound like an entirely different medium at the same time, and that is what all these cross-medium analogies do. How to fix? Post series (e.g. Day 1: Dialogue advice for screenplays, Day 2: Dialogue advice for romance...), or, if you only want to use examples from one medium that's totally fine, just say that the post is geared towards creators for that medium instead of hoping to scatter shot everyone.

3. Please stop quoting yourself:

So I've talked about how a lot of posts for grown-up novelist feature examples from other media which has nothing to do with the target, but quite often I find that the 1 solitary reference from the target medium is the advisor quoting from their own book. (e.g. "in my book, 'Life on Main Street', I use this technique to reveal, Emily, the protagonist's, backstory by...") I'm sorry; this feels like a really cheap plug, and 99% of the time I feel like the post was gerrymandered to include the plug because it doesn't really fit. Plus nobody really wants to take advice from someone who claims to a have it all figured out.

4. Are there Exceptions?:

Always. Some advice, for example ideological advice, IS universal and DOES apply equally across the board. For a more specific example, the same advice on how to world-build in your mind, that is, for the author to get the build fixed for themselves, is good for all types of creators. However if you were to follow up such a post with another about how to communicate world building to fans, the same advice wouldn't be effective for all mediums.

Also, some creators may be able to adapt advice from one medium to another, but not everyone can.

5. Causation theories:

So why do we have this problem anyway? IMO, because no one can agree on what makes good literature, and it's difficult to find literature with which everyone is familiar. Most of us have at least a nodding acquaintance with literary classics (the stuff we had to read in high school English), and Shakespeare, but no one wants to give examples from these (I assume) for fear of sounded dated, and modern literature has too much diversity (not saying that's a bad thing, btw, just pointing out that it makes it hard to give universal examples) to hope even 50% of your audience is familiar with the same book. Whereas it seems regardless of taste most people have seen the popular movies from the past year and YA has enough of a cult following that everyone is at least cognizant of their basic premises.

Does that make it okay? No, I'm sorry, it doesn't. If you can't find good examples from appropriate source material you can always make up examples, or leave out examples as good advice can be obvious enough without them.

6. Another way of stating this post is understand that every facet of a good product has media-specific and genre-specific mutations.

7. Takeaway for writers looking for advice:

Use discernment. I know this is really hard for sensitive creatives, but do not assume every advice post is relevant for you. Remember I mentioned diversity earlier? Specifically I meant diversity is genre and style. Advice that is not for your genre or style need not apply to you. You'll only stress yourself out by trying to follow it and you and your work will suffer.

I hope this helps someone.

#writer #writing #writers #writing advice #author #authors #advice

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icharchivist · 5 years

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Kind of a weird curiosity. But I remembers years ago when there was talk over what it'd be like if Allen had been a girl instead (I even read a girl!Allen fic about her time with Cross. It was surprisngly good. Probably because it had no shipping =p). For some reason I just start thinking about that topic again and I wonder how Allen and Lavi's dynamic would be? For the most part I don't see most of Allen's dynamics changing at all (except more (more) fanboys. Lol). But then I remembered Lavi -

2 and I think it's been pointed out Lavi treats females a bit differently. He doesn't seem to prank or tease them as much as the males (not that he's the perfect gentleman either. Komui Talks makes me wonder how innocent he actually is XD). Nor give them nicknames. With this is mind I wonder if Lavi would still act the exact same (chaotic prankster. Touchy feely physically. Retaliating over rough housing) or if he'd tone some things down but do other things more (maybe try to be more like a -

3 big brother initially if he kinda of bases off from Lenalee and Komui, w/o the complex, to get closer to a female Allen?). Lol, Idk. This is kind of more of a Lavi meta question since it's been stated Allen's relationship is utterly crucial to Lavi's character. Again, I'd be curious if a dynamic w/girl Allen would be slightly different or the exact same (in a you're an exception. And people bop him more because 'stop picking on a sweet girl' while Allen cackles menacingly from behind).

Oh my this is... interesting to think about.

I think it’s fair to start with... the fact that Allen was originally a girl. Or more- when Hoshino pinched the idea to Shounen Jump she made a one shot with a main character called Robin. Here you can find it. And Robin... was an akuma. A girl in a boy’s body. Long story short, you can read the one shot if you hadn’t yet - but ye that was originally the character we were going with.It’s to argue that it would make a point for Robin planned as a transwoman in those instances.

According to the Gray Arc however, when the series became serialized, her editors were against the idea, because “No one would care if a girl would be crying”. That’s litterally word for word the reasoning. So Hoshino had to scrap it.

and she mentions quickly that it was one of the reasons she had no idea what to do with Allen to start with. He kinda started with him being a revamp of her character. (What I admire a lot with Hoshino is how much Her Vision can be affected by little things? Like how Lenalee became an entiere different person in her head the moment her editors forced her to have her with long hair.)

There’s also the elephant in the room that considering the timeperiod it was originally written. DGM was originally published with some big name shounen, Shounen Jump had some control over some choices, would react to fan backlashes (Lenalee being forced to have her hair long again is among those btw) ect... I mean like I think people may take for granted that for instance, the Alma arc was a complete anomaly when it came out in 2009/2010. That it had like. Major effects on fanbases. I’ve seen so much dudebros yell at this arc while i was thriving my friend. And tbh before the Alma arc DGM was often lurped in the “basic Shounen” category. A lot of people argued about the tropes it had to follow or not, and if this sort of things had any impact on the writting of the manga earlier? I can see how things wouldn’t go smoothly.(The Alma arc rooted out all the bad dudebros i’ve known of though. I don’t even care what people’s reaction nowadays are to it, to me back then, from the experience i got from fandom, it was revolutionary when it came out.)

I’ve stired away sorry, but Lenalee also works better, bc I know Hoshino fought for the Alma’s arc and that her editors didn’t agree with the direction she was taking. But if you read some of the interviews of the Grey Arc specifically, you see that Hoshino was constantly told how to rewrite Lenalee to fit a male audience sort of. Her editor pushed her to have long hair bc “that’s the kind of idol he found cute”, there was a complete backlash when Hoshino managed to cut her hair, the fans supported the editors, Hoshino talks all about it with such a bummer because “her Lenalee” had short hair. (also during that specific interview her editor calls her a moron. Later on she got called very annoying for sassing her editors after they called her dumb when she had a writter block writting the 14th song, and she sassed them asking for help going “since you’re far more intelligent than me-”. And the editor failled hard, Hoshino didn’t even use his writting, and the editor insulted her for being bossy. Needless to say I’ve since then been filled with anger with how the early days of DGM must have been hard on Hoshino).

I’m forced to make this preface because I truly think it would have affected Allen’s writting had he been a woman.

If i’m optimistic i would like to think that nothing much would change because Allen’s writting kinda transend genders. But If i’m realistic i know it wouldn’t have happened.

As for Lavi specifically (wouh 7 paragraphs in and i’m finally touching the point of this post) the thing is that he also has a soft spot for women. (I mean i personally would argue he describes Dug as “cute” far too much in his novel to be 100% straight but he at least show his attraction to women more easily in the manga).

And ye he does tend to treat the women differently but he also doesn’t... have a lot of women to be around to. I mean Lenalee whom he respects (and can be worried Komui will kill him if he tries anything), Miranda that he kinda met at the wrong time? He was always so overly serious around her because he was griefing and we didn’t see him with her at all since he got better. Aside then from his occasional crushes, that he does let himself feel, he didn’t really have an opportunity to spend more time with those women.

My point is just that the women he had met don’t help us set up a patern about how he treats them more casually: in term of pranks for exemple. Like in the day-by-day, we only have Lenalee and Miranda, and pranking Lenalee would be really putting a target on him to be murdered by Komui, while I would argue that Miranda’s anxiety (and the circumstances in which Lavi met her) would make him go softer on her. It doesn’t mean we know for sure he wouldn’t tease a woman in his peer surrounding in others circumstances.

I would love to think he would make an exception for Allen if only because of the timing: He was still handling Dug’s recent death and I think even if Allen was a woman the parallelisms would be there for him to be bitter.

I want to think that because of that Lavi would still have teased Allen normally like he teases guys. But it’s not impossible that he would have treated Allen differently.

I think eventually like... If Lavi recognizes his soft spot for women (that it is with his strikes and whatever) he might actually be more ready to keep a guard up around them? Like I personally think he has a major soft spot for Lenalee but it took eventually Allen shaking everything up for him to acknowledge this soft spot. That he would have otherwise just protected himself against.

That, the reason our Allen was so effective was that Lavi really, really didn’t expect anything like that. and I think expectations would have been his doom, and I am inclined to think if allen had been a woman, he would have had some expecations.

Regardless: The major plot points that changed Lavi’s mind on Allen were emotionally driven and would still have had the same impact had Allen be a girl, i’m convinced of that.

So it’s only on how he would treat that Allen more casually. And tbh... considering how vicious Allen can be, I feel like if Lavi treated her “more softly”, Allen’s reactions would probably have ended up with Lavi going “nevermind she’s a prick” and tease her just like he teases our Allen. I mean just taking the Vampire’s arc, with a whole joke about when Allen got bitten and that Lavi was lowkey scared because of that that Allen would turn into a vampire- in the term of, Allen being a danger to him. And Allen therefore sassing him because Lavi was being a moron. I don’t see how the gender would have changed anything, and if Lavi did treat Allen softly “as a girl”, I think this sort of things would have stopped him dead in his track as in “ye no she’s a PRINK where is my sharpy i’m gonna draw on her face.”

But that’s wishful thinking. I honestly don’t know and I think a lot of this post is more how i’m tryng to reason it.

I’m sure more people would be more able to pinpoint exactly the characters and how it would work. I think i can’t ignore what went down backstage in term of the women’s writtings so i cannot help but let it affect how I would see the manga as written by Hoshino be affected by it. But also perhaps if Hoshino had managed to keep her female main character, she could have gone more “fuck you” to her editors and manage to flesh her out to a point where half of what i’m worrying about wouldn’t even matter.

If we divorce the story from the backstage stuff, perhaps there would be a complete different take to have - and it’s cool if people get to explore it. I am just... not the one placed for that.

I used to be good at transformative media, like headcanons and fics, and let those a little take over, but I got kinda insecure of my interpretations so i started to rely on canon a lot more. I already get insecure when I push my interpretations of canon too far. So something that really get me out of my comfort zone is not where you’d find the best answers about that, i’m sorry.

But hey i hope this ask made sense? If not for the second half, at least for the half where I mention the backstages issues.

Take care!

#ichafantalks dgm #idk if it shows that under my very long posts i'm actually totally and completely insecure about the way I interpret media #that's... kinda why I keep repeating that I don't want to let my bias influence my posts #because i'm terrified to do so #I htink also part of the reason i ramble so much is that i'm insecure my thought process doesn't make sense otherwise #and it's only when i have canon to back me up to start with #with fanon i'm... terrified i'm just going to say something widely inaccurate #which is stupid i know fanon is for people to explore everything they want #and i love fanon stuff I just somewhat hold myself to others standarts #probably the fact I associate it more to my teen years or had bad experience and all #but that's a therapy for another day #for now that's all i can give on that topic kjdhfkdj #take care!#Anonymous #ichareply

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liz-and-the-blue-bird · 5 years

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First Video Review

Am I allowed to do this for such a minor thing? Whatever, I’m gonna do it. If you somehow missed my spam (apologies, btw), here’s the video.

I’m gonna run down the feedback I received and also a lot of thoughts of my own.

Recommended soundtrack

So, btw, Youtube Analytics is like way more detailed than I expected. I guess this is what happens when your parent company is a massive search engine that makes money on incredibly specific targeted ads.

I digress.

It’s been about 24 hrs since I published the video, and it’s gotten about as many views as I’d expected (which is to say, less than fifty). Here’s the breakdown:

33 views with 120 minutes of total watch time (audience retention of ~45%). 2 comments, both positive (thanks guys!). Pretty much all my views came from discord, where I shared the video and asked for feedback. All the discord views are complete watch throughs, other sources are a mixed bag, most people dropped after around 2 minutes.

With that in mind, this video is basically unlisted on youtube, given that no one has seen it, nor will it be recommended often.

That’s fine, I don’t really mind. I think the video deserves around maybe 100 views. Max. Seriously.

Let’s start with feedback:

1) Audio balance is the worst

Yea sorry about that. I’ll be honest, when I recorded then put the music, I thought it was fine, but now that I watch it, yea the music is a bit too loud at points, and the ed cut in was way louder than my talking volume, it’s a bit of a mess. I suspect it’s because when I’m just listening to audio, I close my eyes and focus, but on a video, I’m watching a thing so the audio gets messed up more in my head, so the parts that need to stick out need to be more emphasized. I’ll get it sorted for the next time.

2) Text on screen is weird

There’s a few pieces to this. First of all, the transition is just really bad. The slides in particular. @shinbec made a great point about how dated they feel. I’ll defend myself, I chose the slide transition because I thought it provide a specific energy to the video. It does, but he’s right, they feel like they’re made in powerpoint. The fade ins are less problematic, but they do lack variety. Moving forward, I’ll probably have to come up with some more interesting transitions. Especially between scenes.

Secondly, the use of the text in general. @chuuni-p made a good point saying that the text at the beginning with the direct quotes felt weird. Yea, it kind of does. I suspect it’s a combination of the poor transition and the strange phrasing (saying “quote” “end quote” very much cuts into your mental flow of the paragraph). But he did like the quotes near the end where I didn’t directly quote. I’m a bit torn on this. I like the direct quotes and then the text because it adds a sense of proof. Like, here it is! I’m not lying! kind of thing. If that makes sense. But the transition fails to emphasize that. This is all just something I should keep in mind for future text on videos. I don’t think this is something that is going to go away, it has to get better.

3) My voice is nice

Hey, thanks. I like my voice, I’m glad other people like it too.

Now then, on to my own personal criticisms.

The video now feels far too long to me. You may recall my surprise at my recording being 8 minutes and 30 seconds long. But it makes sense. I wrote about 1300 words, and I speak at about 175 wpm (this is above average). Of course it was gonna be 8 minutes long. It would be great if it needed to be 8 minutes long.

But it doesn’t need to be.

The video meanders, I think. When I wrote the script, I set out to post an interesting video about how Project No Chikara actually ended up revitalizing anime, even though its shows failed, with an interesting minor point on how the theme of the first show (So Ra No Wo To) actually lines up fittingly with that premise. Yet, due to the structure of the essay, it ends up being something else.

Here’s the structure of the video:

Intro (what is anime no chikara?) Body 1 (What So Ra No Wo To does well) Body 2 (What So Ra No Wo To does poorly) Conclusion (How did Anime no Chikara end?)

Just looking at this, you might see the issue. If you look at the topics of each paragraph, they don’t line up together. The Intro and the Conclusion are related, and the two body paragraphs are, but they aren’t technically related to each other.

And that’s the rub.

Essentially what I did was write a So Ra No Wo To review (6/10 btw) and then forced a structure into the intro and conclusion so that I didn’t have to title the video “So Ra No Wo To Review.” I don’t think that’s a very good strategy, and it lacks a sense of cohesion. Like seriously, you could rip out the middle two paragraphs (starting at around 1:00 and ending at about 6:50) and put the “thanks for watching” at the end of Amazing Grace and it would be cohesive. I could call that video “So Ra No Wo To, A Review on Moving Forward” and I think it would be a decent generic anime video.

I talked with another friend about this the other day. I think I could rip Body 2 out entirely, and restructure Body 1 to be more about Anime no Chikara and the integration with So Ra No Wo To. It would require more research and less “oh btw the show did x” but it would be a more flowing and exciting viewing experience. At least I think so.

My favorite book on writing, On Writing Well, has multiple chapters dedicated to ruthless cutting. The author mentions his distaste for adverbs because they rarely add to a description, unless you are using poor adjectives. He talks about how when he was a teacher, he’d tell his students to make their 10 page articles into 5 pagers, and once they’ve finished, ask them to make it a 4 pager.

If you’ve paid attention to The Nerdwriter, you may know that he used to make a video every single week. To be frank, that’s an ungodly amount of production for a single man making tightly edited videos. But it speaks volumes that when he slowed production down from 4/month to 2/month in order to “focus more on each video,” his videos remained short—they did not grow longer.

You might read all this and think I’m being kind of hard on myself for my first video. I got quite a lot of compliments, lots of people excited for where my channel is headed. (spoilers, it’s headed straight into a million kyoani videos.)

Maybe I am hard on myself. But if you consider video essays a form of art, and I certainly do, then I should learn to color in the lines.

#next video schedule:#script by 15th #video by 28th #i didn't even touch on how poor i believe my cuts were #but i'll get there #monologue #thanks for all the feedback guys i really appreciate it #i don't want to make anime reviews #God knows there's too many review channels on youtube already

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caithyra · 5 years

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Vampire Game Reviews Part 1

This Halloween I sat down and played a bunch of vampire themed games and decided to review them. First up, Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova, Dracula: Origin and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. I might get around to Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption and Dracula: Love Kills in a later post.

I use my own 5-scale gradation in this:

0: Either I couldn’t force myself to finish it, or I was more relieved it was over than anything else. 1: I had no fun, but there might have been something fun in there… maybe…? 2: More bad than good. 3: About evenly good and bad. I actually start having more fun than not. 4: A solid entertainment piece. Has it’s blemishes, but despite that I like it. 5: Almost perfect (perfection is a myth). I had lots of fun and am satisfied.

(Semi-minor spoilers below. Unless you’ve gone quite far into the games, you likely wont suss out what’s happening until it’s happening.)

Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova: You’re an investigator for the Hapsburg Empire going to the small town of Kisilova, recently beset by a killer leaving bloodless victims behind them. Rumors of vampires abound. After a series of mishaps the rumors do not feel so farfetched. Especially not when a mysterious, young woman enters the picture.

(Left: The Beginning of the Adventure with our buddy and hint machine. Right: The first of many, many hidden objects screens in this game.)

Okay, it is a point-and-click visual novel adventure thing that’s really short (less than 5 hours, and I think I left the game — and the clock — running for a while at some point), and also cheap. It was enjoyable enough, the music was forgettable but good enough, the graphics nice and atmospheric enough and the story was short and serviceable. The problems mainly came through the game-play; this game relied faaar too heavily on hidden object minigames, and those were unskippable, while all others were skippable after a short while. Fortunately, your partner can give hints to speed things along. As for my final decision in the winter-themed bonus chapter? Well, it was Halloween so I thought “why not?” and that was that for Europe. I always try to pick the most supernatural decision whenever I can lol (see Squirrel Elves in the Witcher franchise, or picking spell-sneaking classes in the Elder Scrolls).

My biggest problem with this game, however, is that I need to resize the resolution on my ultrawide monitor to play it without horizontal stretching distorting the art. The Options menu is seriously lacking in Options (actually, that whole menu is a mess that looks more at home in a Free-to-Play mobile game).

All in all, I generally liked it and its short nature meant that except for the hidden objects minigame, most of it didn’t outstay its welcome and it was really cheap (less than 4€ when I bought it, which is about the right price IMO. I think regular price is something like 9.99€?) so worth it. 3/5.

Dracula: Origin: You are Van Helsing. Yeah. That guy. And you have a missing friend, Harker, who had something to do with Dracula, and you have a pretty friend named Mina who ends up targeted by Dracula and now you must rush across the Old World to save her from a curse.

(Left: Yup, same dev as the Sherlock Holmes games. Middle: Vampires don’t like garlic breath. Right: Dammit Mina, I gave you ONE job. One. Job. All of this slow walking could have been avoided!)

Ah. Frogware. I generally like their Sherlock Holmes games, but this game… It felt more like a waste of my time. Oh, I’m sure there is a good game in there that isn’t a waste of time. Unfortunately, it is hidden behind the biggest time-sinks in the game: Van Helsing walks at half the speed of a normal person at all times and speaks really slowly, in conversations that has no branches, yet they will periodically be interrupted so that you can click on the next topic in the list (that wont reveal the next topic until you’ve listened to the topic listed before it). There’s this scene during a cave in when he says something like “quickly, we must make haste to escape!” and then you click on the exit and he waaaaaaaaalks slooooooooooooowlyyyyyy through it. It certainly doesn’t help that he must cross the entire span of the screen and backtrack locations many times and… AGH! RUN YOU FOOL!!

And, well, Frogware adventure game with its strange clues and non-clues and objects. There’s this bit in the first outdoor area when you have to capture some flies. Now, if you have followed the story logically, you will have a jar and a lid in your inventory. Easy, peasy, just click the flies with the jar, right? Nope. You must find a mourning veil hidden in the cemetery (that is large and that Van Helsing waaaaalks sloooooowlyyyyy through), use it on the flies and then combine the fly-ridden veil with the jar to get a jar of flies (I wont say what for because of spoilers, but, well, I don’t recommend eating during the Cemetery/Mansion part of the story if you have a phobia against bugs). There are also several objects that are basically five pixels on the screen because of the angle we’re viewing them at that we must find to pick up, and on the whole, I had more frustrations than fun with this story. Like, there’s even this puzzle minigame with a picture of Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur and you find thread/string in the same house and wouldn’t you know it! The thread/string has nothing to do with the minigame and the minigame has nothing to do with the legend of the Minotaur!

On top of that, well, lets just say that the Egyptian section has quite a bit of stereotyping (think Victorian stereotypes of Egypt and its people in a modern game. Also, potential racism against white people must be prevented at all costs, including lying to a bereaved family), and when we run into our first, unliving female vampire she of course wears a top made of strips of cloth and a sheer skirt (you’d think a rich vampire’s favorite mistress would own a nice dress at least, but nope), and every woman (including dead of non-vampiric variety) have their beauty commented upon (and, of course, a young, pretty girl’s defilement/death is a tragedy, which is why it is so important to include that she was pretty).

And, well, this game markets itself heavily with Dracula at the forefront, not Van Helsing, yet while Dracula is the main antagonist, he only has a few, brief scenes, which were disappointing. All in all it was a 1/5.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines: You are a fledgling of one of the Camarilla clans, recently thrust into the secret world hidden by darkness, and more specifically into one of the most fucked cities of the World of Darkness. After your illicit embrace into the undead by your executed sire, the Prince of the City has graciously offered to adopt you, provided you prove yourself worthy to the exacting clan of rulers. Except the prince’s domain is built on quicksand, and this is Los Angeles; the birthplace of the modern Anarchs, and one of the domains of the Kindred of the East, on top of the eternal, political dance all Kindred must dance, and you, baby vampire as you are, have no allies and no clue as how to proceed except to survive.

(Left: Told ya Velvet is a mascot in this game. Middle: Did you know that Mercurio was meant to handle the Voerman sisters and we wouldn’t have to go through sewers and a haunted hotel if he did his job? Right: Apparently the Chinese are masters of Japanese swords and the Ventrue need no neckbones...)

Here’s the thing about VtM:B: It is a very enjoyable game and definitely the definite vampire game out there. It also has no story for your character. “What about the Ankaran Sarcophagus?”, well, your character participates, but it does nothing to answer the questions we are immediately confronted with in the opening of the game: Why would our unknown sire, an upstanding member of Kindred society, break one of the Traditions (pretty much laws set in stone for all Kindred over the entire world) to embrace us? Why would the prince, whose sole job is to uphold the Traditions, then break one of the Traditions and allow the ill-begotten progeny live?

Except for the opening of the game, we never hear from our sire again, nor the questions raised during the opening. And that makes our player character a bit superfluous when any random neonate could serve just as well.

So if not story-telling, what does VtM:B do that makes people sing its praises? In short? Characters and the World. It is incredibly atmospheric and while characters don’t develop (vampires are static by nature in this world, and most characters in the game are entrenched in their places and wont be shaken by some random baby vampire showing up), they are all very distinct and written in different tones. However, if you’re not role-playing as an ignorant fledgling, but meta-playing with some Vampire the Masquerade lore known, you will feel extremely railroaded (if your character had any inkling of who Smiling Jack is in the World of Darkness, they would never believe his coarse but kind uncle-figure thing he’s got going on. Because even before a certain hugely Biblical spoiler got involved, Jack was an imposer, liar, manipulator and mass-murderer who has sired many, many thin-blooded vampires and abandoned them to their fates. There’s a reason why only ignorant neonates like Nines’ gang admires and likes him. What I just said is not a spoiler for the game, btw, because it never comes up because your character is an ignorant fledgling being manipulated and deceived by literally everyone. Maybe Velvet and Bertram don’t, but Velvet might seem so sweet when she convinces you to be her knight because of Presence and acting, and Bertram is a Nossie and they have major secrets within secrets).

And while it is easy to sink into the world of the game and roleplay, thus mitigating the railroading feeling above. This game was clearly written with an audience of White Male Teens in mind. We have Velvet (of the fashion-conscious Toreador clan) show up at the prince’s court in Elysium in only a lacy basque, g-string and thigh high fishnets, tall heels and not as much as a peignoir thrown on top. Yeah, she attends an important society function in her fetish underwear. Then we have the explicit sex life of game cover-girl Jeanette (yeah, the one dressed like a dilapidated school girl), and those two are THE female mascots of the game.

The less said about the Orientalism and the Kindred of the East the better, but that segues into how around the time you reach Chinatown, the game starts losing its luster and strengths. Okay, so if you’re sensitive to that kinda thing, you might notice it a little bit in Hollywood, but by the time Chinatown rolls around, you might notice how it is less immersive and how it starts to feel more and more gamey (specifically, Action gamey), and you get less options that isn’t some variant of “kill it”.

On top of that the game has technical issues if you do not use the fan-made patch (I always use Patch Plus, which restores cut content and quests, as well as ReShade for better anti-aliasing and sharpness), and it still has a few cropping up from time to time. At least it works perfectly well in ultrawide resolutions?

Still it has that charm, and despite its flaws and how I can think of a dozen complaints at the drop of a dime, I still love playing it. So it’s a 4/5 from me.

#games #vampires #vampire games #vampire the masquerade: bloodlines #dracula: origin #vampire legends: the true story of kisilova #vtmb #random reviews #well I had to do SOMETHING for Halloween #and then I forgot to post it lol #so have it a few days late

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teresatranbooks · 4 years

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Dear Blog,

Prompt: Write a new blog post with your reaction to the Beuhler chapters that you read for task 3 this week. How does Beuhler's work match with how you view your new role as an English teacher? What experience did you have with YAL in middle or high school? You will go more in depth with Beuhler and YA pedagogy in the fall.

Beuhler’s Chapters 1 and 2 discuss reading YA books with passion and purpose, and viewing YA literature as complex texts as teachers who will one day teach and share YA books with their students.

One of Beuhler’s tenets is in order “to learn, grow, and thrive, what all of these students need is...a wide landscape for reading” (Beuhler 3). That is, most students view reading as a chore, because for many of them, it is something they have to do, over something they want to do. It is an assignment. It is an expectation. It is another box they have to check off the list or a line they have to cross of on the agenda. And because they’re required to read mostly classics written by dead old white dudes, they’re “cut off from the larger world of literacy” (Beuhler 3). Because students aren’t directly told or handed diverse reading options, they fall out of love with reading and don’t develop that muscle of reading for later on. That is why many students, my friends, and myself included, over the years, began to repeat the sentiment of “I’m not much of a reader anymore.” It’s depressing!

But as Beuhler states in his chapter, students must be given a balanced reading diet. They need room (specifically time and space) to discover new books written by people who aren’t dead old white dudes. They need motivation to seek out those books. They need to hear from their teachers that them reading for “fun” and as a “hobby’ is not only good for them, but also encouraged in their ELA classroom. There needs to be room for students to develop their own reading tastes and reading stamina, but they can’t do that if they’re not allowed to employ a sense of agency within their choice in books. It is only through this sense of agency and a diverse palette of YA books will students begin to see reading as less of a chore, and more of a fun activity they can’t wait to do.

This text also made me think about the multiple ways I, as teacher, can do to encourage this love and space for YA literature in the classroom. First, I want to create a space where students who already possess a love for reading YA books outside of the classroom don’t have to steal time to read inside the classroom. In other words, I want my classroom to be a place where students will have a dedicated time to read their contemporary YA titles and keep reading logs about them and talk about them with their peers. I don’t want my students who already consider reading as a hobby to ever feel like they have to sneak around me and the state-mandated curriculum to read their YA books -- and then be afraid I’ll take their books away from them, like the many times teachers did this to me. (I still think about these moments all the time...even in college. I lowkey have some trauma from that LOL).

Second, I want to create whole entire units around YA literature. But this might require going against state standards and school subject departments. So how can I make the case for YA lit in the classroom? Beuhler suggests marketing them as an outlet and/or case study for students’ personal and academic growth. The thing about YA lit is that it is entirely written for them. “YA list offers a way to meet students where they are now -- not just as readers, but as teens who are still figuring out their place in the world...YA lit honors that process of self-discovery” (Beuhler 3). When students read YA lit, they grow as the main characters grow. When students read YA lit, they see their personal journeys and feelings of adolescence (going from young child to young adult) paralleled in heightened and relatable ways. When students see themselves reflected in the literature they read, they end up feeling less alone in the world and develop a sense of community with other students who feel similarly.

When we think about young adult students, we also think about puberty. We think about the multiple weird strange awful beautiful changes that happen physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially for them. We think about our own experiences during that time and how equally tumultuous it was for us. YA lit offers itself as a space for students and people in general to put their feelings and weirdness somewhere, where it’s private and peaceful and doesn’t make adolescence any more more embarrassing than it already inherently is.

In addition, when students read YA lit, they grow as readers. “If students in our classrooms might not have been readers in the past, but they can become readers now -- if we create conditions that support their individual development” (Beuhler 6). When making the case for YA lit in the classroom, I will emphasize how YA lit creates that confidence within students to believe that reading is something they can do. YA lit inherently has qualities that push students to motivate themselves to continue reading and develop a stronger reading muscle for heavier, longer, and more complex YA texts. YA lit makes reading accessible, breaks down barriers, enhances reading comprehension and critical thinking skills, and promotes a sense of creativity, all of which are qualities state standards try to achieve for students but can’t.

And third, Beuhler talks about how his favorite YA novels are “those that defy categorization” (Beuhler 27). I think about how not only young teens, but kids and adults and seniors are reading YA lit more and more over other categories. Why? It’s because YA lit does so much at once to fulfill their reading and personal needs. They’re complex and rich and tackle so many relevant themes and experiences, but probably most importantly, they model a development arc that many folks are always secretly seeking. That sort of adventure of becoming into one’s own and developing confidence as a person with better informed opinions and forming new friendships and relationships with people. For kids and teens, it’s the excitement and hopefulness of growing older and breaking away from adult authority and becoming your own person. For adults and seniors, it’s the nostalgia and also hopefulness of returning to what youth was like and experiencing new things again. Because there is so much complexity in YA lit, it will require a complexity when teaching YA lit.

As a teacher, I want to change the conversation about YA lit, dismantling the idea that it’s a category mainly for teenage girls, which, btw, what the hell is wrong with THAT? So what if it is mainly saturated with stories for and about teenage girls? Most of the books students have had to read have been led by boys and men and written by men -- and students of all genders have had no trouble reading them. But when suddenly girls’ and women’s perspectives are prioritized in narratives, or a category is predominantly centered around the experiences of girls and women, suddenly it’s beneath people and not as complex as other categories? Can someone say SEXISM?. While some people might argue that that is not why they view YA books as not nearly as “complex” as the classics, I think there’s no mistake that gender plays a big part in informing that particular mainstream point of view about YA lit.

Furthermore, alongside Beuhler, I also believe that “sometimes calls for increasingly complex texts are really code for keeping classic literature at the center of the curriculum” (Beuhler 28). More specifically, I believe that most people’s calls for “complexity” in their reading, what they’re really calling for is either

(1) books written by dead old white dudes about the American Male ExperienceTM where they find excuses to be racist or sexist or BOTH (fun!) and argue that it’s a relatable part of being an American Man (which ew! and wow, the bar is low), OR

(2) books written by BIPOC authors that focus on the “Authentic” experience of being BIPOC, but mostly as a vehicle for white folks to fetishize the trauma and pain of BIPOC, without neither the actual empathy and compassion for BIPOC, nor the active commitment to creating systemic and individual change against the trauma and pain that BIPOC often face living under the white capitalist patriarchal police state that these books are often thematically preaching about.

Here’s the thing. YA lit definitely can perpetuate those same harmful practices that the classics often do. In fact, some YA novels already do. I can point to many of the YA Book Twitter drama that rightfully calls out problematic books, such as The Black Witch, on the daily. However, YA lit has shown over and over again that it can reach far beyond its intended target audience and tackle complex themes without infantilizing, again, their intended audience...which is young teens. The thing about literature and education and the passing on of information in general is that if you are an academic or a student or a teacher or an individual and you can not relay your perspective and/or argument in such a way where another person can understand it (even if they might disagree with it)...you have failed.

YA lit is an example of when perspectives and themes and experiences that are often considered “complex” is successfully communicated to a young teenage audience because of its accessibility. If a classic cannot reach a bigger audience or in this case, reach a young teen demographic, it’s not because of a complexity that YA lit “lacks,” it’s because of the unnecessary, often racist and sexist gatekeeping in classic literature that privileges upper class white folks and their experiences which are often communicated in a language only other upper class white folks can speak and understand. Think about how many classic books are written in AAVE, aka African American Vernacular English? Most people will think of Toni Morrison or James Baldwin...but those are only two Black authors. Two. Out of how many white authors? However, I can think of countless YA lit books written not only in AAVE, but also different Chinese, Spanish, and African dialects by Chinese, Spanish, and African authors. As a teacher, I want to use all of these arguments and evidence I’ve just laid out to argue for the case of YA lit in the classroom.

I always viewed my role as an English teacher as one with deliberate purpose. I’ve always wanted to be more than just an English teacher. I wanted to be the one person whose students would go to when they finished a book and wanted someone to listen to them rattle off about the parts they liked and didn’t like. I wanted to be the one person whose students would look to when they got bullied by other students or teachers and protect and comfort them, especially my fellow students of color. I wanted to be the one person whose students would ask for book recommendations and ask to read over their writing projects because they trusted my opinions. I wanted to be the person I needed when I was younger. If I can’t go back in time to the past, I’ll make sure I become that person in the present for the kids of the future generation...

And I’ll start with introducing them to YA lit.

#YAL SU20

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garychou · 4 years

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Words and Metaphors

One undercurrent of the work I'm doing has been an iterative process of figuring out the right words to use for the various projects I'm considering. This comes up not just in how we name projects, but also the processes and phases contained within it.

Particularly when you're working as part of a team, your choice of words matter because they connote a context. We make assumptions regarding mental models, defaults and strategy simply based upon the words we choose when expressing an idea.

(Btw, if you haven't yet read Nicole Fenton's Words as Material, now is a good time to do so.)

The challenge is that much of my work is in the realm of "education" and "entrepreneurship", both of which are incredibly loaded words.

The Problem with 'Education'

When people think of "education", there's an implicit expectation that you have a fixed time-frame course along with some set of materials to be consumed. Or that, the nature of the experience is instructional, where it's led by an authority figure who has taken critical information and chunked it into pieces for delivery in a linear sequence. Or, that the business model should be some variant of tuition rather than a wholesale reconsideration of how the entire system should operate.

Unfortunately, much of the educational work I do doesn't fit this model. It's more experiential than it is instructional. Sometimes our programs help people unpack the day-to-day problems and challenges they're experiencing at their jobs. Other times, our programs catalyze a brand new experience through the use of in-public challenges, such as the $1K Challenge. Getting them to have an experience is part one, then we help them review and reflect afterwards.

Inevitably, I have to explain our approach, and how this is different than the norm. It's both a waste of time and a poor user experience because the poor framing or lack of positioning leads to user confusion. We need to choose more precise words.

The Problem with 'Entrepreneurship'

Similarly, when people think of "entrepreneurship" alongside "education", they jump immediately to some amalgamation of Y Combinator and Shark Tank, because that is what dominates the popular mindshare today.

They unconsciously adopt the elements and structure of an accelerator—because that seems like the right thing to do—without understanding that accelerators are essentially deal flow funnels intended to help investors filter the market down to a handful of investable opportunities.

They're selection mechanisms, not a framework to train and educate everyone in the room.

(That's not to say that there aren't elements of teaching and training present in accelerators—just that we should be aware of what the system is really designed to do before blindly adopting them as templates.)

Entrepreneurship isn't a skill to be acquired, it's a medium to be understood. You need to understand the terrain, the pitfalls, the problem space. And, you learn it by doing, rather than doing the required reading in a syllabus.

(As a further aside, even the word "entrepreneurship" by itself is dangerous to use because it almost always assumes your goal is to build a venture-backed business, which really should not be the default.)

Exploring Metaphors

So, when you're working in a realm of such loaded words, where it's an uphill battle to reframe entrenched default mental models, you might simply be better off by borrowing an existing metaphor.

Metaphors come with associated words, concepts and phrases which might be useful.

I've been considering a few different realms of metaphors (and I'm even tempted to try to mix them, though I know it's dangerous to do so).

Here are a few I'm considering:

One of the laboratories in the Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH). (via)

Lab: While "lab" is already overused in the tech industry as a way to make one's company sound cooler than it is, I like it in terms of normalizing expectations that the work around launching new ideas is an iterative process of experimentation. It sets a default that you don't know what the answer is, and thus, you have to put a stake in the ground, define an experiment, run it, and then see what happens. It's also somewhat comforting to me because as a Molecular Biology major in college, I kicked ass in lab while getting my ass kicked in the actual classes (thanks, pre-Meds).

New York City Marathon on November 5th, 2017. (via)

2. Marathon: One of the key aspects of any experiential learning opportunity is simply the act of having an experience. In teaching Entrepreneurial Design at a grad program, the experience needed to fit within a fixed time frame, which we were able to manage with a lot of carefully considered constraints. However, in the real world, you'll find that the process of exploring two different, arbitrarily-scoped projects or problems is highly variable. And so, how do you otherwise re-construct the constraints you need? Marathons are a wonderful construct because they have a beginning, an end, as well as milestones. There are requirements to qualify to even run, and usually those steps are clearly defined. There's an expectation that you need to train and even be coached. By its nature, it's a solitary journey (the running of the race) that is often coupled with a community of support.

The first launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. (via)

3. Launch: While "Launch" is already an overused word in the realm of startups, there's a specific use of the word that is relevant to our work, which is the specific act of launching a rocket into space. It's a wonderful metaphor because it seems like you should be able to just launch the satellite or payload itself. But in reality, you need tons of fuel and additional rockets along with an elaborate multi-stage process in order to counteract the Earth's gravity and break into orbit. The same holds for when you're launching a new idea / product / project / company. There's an inordinate amount of up front work that is required just to get your idea launched.

There's a richness to each of these metaphors so I'm optimistic that at least one of them will work out.

Part of the complexity is that as I've been going through multiple concurrent ideation processes, there's a possibility where it might make sense to develop multiple, separate programs rather than just one. While they'll all likely be rooted in similar themes, they'll be targeted towards different audiences, thus necessitating different names.

So, I might actually get to use all three.

Originally posted: https://garychou.com/notes/words-and-metaphors/

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netstripes · 5 years

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Top Tips And Tricks For ALL Social Media Platforms (Part 2)

Previously in Top Tips and Tricks for ALL Social Media Platforms (Part 1), we shared 3 tips and tricks for Facebook and Instagram. In today’s blog, we’ll be sharing part 2. If your research has shown that your business will benefit from using LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest as your social media platform, then here are 3 social media tips and tricks to help your business grow and succeed!

*Note: If you haven’t read our winning social media strategy on the importance of choosing the right platforms based on your ideal customer, go read that first here: “A must-have social media strategy for 2019”.

LinkedIn – “was once a utility for jobs, now it has evolved into a content platform”

Official Brand Profile Step numero uno, if you want to use LinkedIn for your business… create your very own company page so, not only will you attract more and more followers to your page, but you’ll also attract the right audience too! Many businesses don’t realise the great advantages of a LinkedIn company page, and this limits their potential. Having a LinkedIn page will allow other users to learn more about your company; benefits to your products or services, and another opportunity for them to evaluate your business. Your brand will gain visibility to other users who may just be your next customer or employee, so hell yes! Why not!

Click here to learn how to create your very own company LinkedIn profile.

Always offer free value to your audience; resourceful advice LinkedIn, as you may know, is a great platform to build a network with other industry professionals. Every post and interaction you make must come from a place of giving and helping others. It’s the place where you can share your advice, offer your help and give freely. To produce valuable content here: blog, videos, anything valuable and relevant that will benefit your audience. And in no time, you’ll be building a reputation in your field, industry, and business!

Network and connect with people in your industry, people in your community, people who may be interested in your offer. Your following should be focused on your exact target audience and industry. Quality overrides quantity any day of the week – you want a network of followers who love and support your work, not 10,000 randoms who don’t engage with your content. Make it a mission to connect with your followers 1 on 1. Personalise their experience, break down your digital barriers and build a strong relationship with your LinkedIn family!

Twitter – “more about listening and reacting, than pushing out content”Jump into conversations, engage with people. Use clever Twitter engagement without costs, to create or follow a conversation. Twitter Search with the right hashtags! Did you know that #hashtag officially started on Twitter? Just like hashtags on Instagram, by using hashtags and going onto Twitter search to find specific topics, you can engage with consumers who talk about that topic. Jump into the conversation and engage with them. For example, you sell gumboots. Jump onto Twitter Search and search “gumboots”. Everyone who’s talking about gumboots, go and like and comment on their tweets, retweet their tweets, jump into their conversations and engage with them. The first few will see it, and may not respond, but when you reach your 97th person, they’re gonna click onto your comment follow through to your profile and follow your account, goes through your Customer funnel and sooner or later, becomes your customer.

However, don’t overkill with the hashtags. Studies have shown that 2 hashtags per tweet perform the best on Twitter!

Avoid Automation Balancing your business and your social life is hard enough, imagine throwing your business’ social life into the mix too! And we know, you’ve got enough responsibilities to take care of, so I’m not surprised you’re considering automation. While you may want to automate your content on Twitter – which is great btw, don’t fall into the loophole and automate EVERY TWEET. As a business, you still want to maintain approachability and engagement with your audience – that means listening, liking, commenting, tweeting other people’s tweets. Automating can sometimes come across as “hey you’re speaking to a chatbox. How can I help you”. Surely you don’t want your potential customers thinking of your business like that, do you….

When sharing posts and content, don’t forget to use a URL shortener. Unfortunately, Twitter posts have a 280 character limit. While this may seem restricting since 280 characters can’t get you very far, it requires you to be super clear with each post. So make sure to write tweets that are on point, on brand, easy to read and clicks well with your target audience.

When linking an important article, blog or video to your post, use a URL shortener. You can shorten links here: https://bitly.com/.

Pinterest – “Instagram’s little sister”

Do your research and use relevant keywords in your title and description By doing prior research before creating and posting your content, you can understand what trending keywords and topics other Pinterest users are searching on the platform. For example, when you put “gardening” into the Pinterest search bar, a dropdown of several other similar keywords will pop up like “gardening how-to, gardening tricks, gardening for beginners”. These are trending terms that many users are searching on Pinterest, so make sure to base your content around topics like these.

Once you have found the trending topics and created the content, don’t forget to incorporate them into your pin’s title and description! It’s even a better idea to use text over your images so you can immediately capture your target audience’s attention.

Consistency is Key Honestly, this should be no surprise. If you want to improve your engagement, then consistency is key. The more pins you post throughout the day, the higher the engagement, which leads to more click-throughs and sales! To be successful, aim to pin 5 to 10 times a day, and try to space them out during the day so your audience isn’t bombarded with your greatness all at once.

Design your quality and size specific pictures using Canva If you don’t know how to use Photoshop, you’re not doomed. One of the best tools to create beautiful and appealing pins, that is easy and FREE to use, is Canva.

I mean of course pins matter, because the images that you create, along with the title is super imperative when it comes to attracting your target audience’s attention. Canva is free software that is absolutely perfect to design and create quality and size specific pins, and what’s even better is that Canva offers HEAPS of Pinterest templates (already sized to perfection) which makes it super easy, fun and inspirational when it comes to creating your own pins. You can check them out here https://www.canva.com/.

Hope you have enjoyed and gained insight from this article. Join our Netstripes community on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and stay up to date with the newest marketing trends, tips and events.

SB- Netstripes

#Social Media Marketing Strategy #Social Media Marketing #Social Media For Business #Social Media Marketing Plan #LinkedIn Marketing Strategy #Twitter Marketing Strategy #Pinterest Marketing Strategy #Netstripes #Australia #social media sponsored campaign #social media sponsored campaign strategy

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aicosu · 7 years

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Hey guys! I wanted to know how was the fifty shades darker movie? Was it decent or was it really bad like some people are saying?

Omfg.

I actually have intense complicated thoughts on Fifty Shades.I’ve been obsessed with the rise and fall story of Fifty Shades, mostly because I’m a fanfiction writer myself and super - SUPER fucking familiar with the community and it’s inner workings. LONG POST AHEAD.

The tale of HOW and WHY Fifty Shades even hit bestseller is amazing. AD I SEE IT HAPPEN EVERYDAY ON AO3. Like, keeping your fanfic chapters to a couple thosand words, updating weekly, and commenting on comments for your fic to up the comment count (something I refuse to do for this very reason) is a VIABLE method to staying on the top list of any fandom on any fanfic hosting website. Even if you only have the same 10 people commenting on your fic, fic you comment back, 20 comments per chapter nad have 60 chapters? Thats 1200 comments! FUCKING INSANE. I see it everyday. I think every fanfic reader/writer knows that ONE STORY thats ALWAYS on top, for this reason alone, even when (JUST LIKE EL JAMES) the writing is horrendous.

So! When I researched all of this once the book was released and had all that controversy about BDSM I was both suprised, impressed and horrified. Suprised that a fanfic had even MADE it this far. Impressed because, you got to give the girl kudos. Having her original fanfic readers comment and rate her book on amazon with copy pasta reviews and skyrocketing her to #1 is ingenious. It is, from a marketing stand point its amazing. And of course, I was horrified and dissapointed that with all the fanfics out there, it had to be this one. Not only was the writing terrible, but its a terrible terrible representation of the bdsm culture and community.

Do not misunderstand me; The Fifty Shades books are horribly written and super problematic.

The Movies:

Okay so, I’m a huge film buff. Huge. I took film history and cinematic storytelling in college and I love analyzing movies.

From a director and writer and cinematographers standpoint, I was literally curious about HOW THE FUCK YOU EVEN FILM THIS MOVIE?? Like, will they have exposition of her ‘INNER GODDESS’ like some odd edgar wright cut aways to a Lizzie McQuire type Anastasia steel!?!? WILL THEY ACTUALLY FILM HIM RIPPING OUT HER TAMPON TO FUCK HER?? (this happens in the book) LIke I needed to know. I had to know. SO I had to see the first movie. I was too curious. AND I wanted to see a legit, from my generation, written fanfiction, adapated for film. Its too groundbreaking, even if you have problems with the story and films how is that not fascinating.

After watching it this is what I got (I did not pay for this movie btw.)

EVERY FANFICTION I EVER READ EVER ALL ROLLED UP INTO ONE META MINDFUCK. Like!??? I have almost a keen adoration for how WEIRD it is to see ON SCREEN lines like “Your biting your lip.” LIKE – thats fanfiction from 2005, the lip bite. The FUCKING. Dialogue of this movie is like a collection of all the terrible coffee shop aus, high school, fanfic soap opera craziness. Or how he just bumps into her at her work and shit!? OR the fanfic issue of a 20-something yr old interviewing the SUPER HOT hotshot bachelor who has tons of money because….why? WHAT DOES HE DO? In fanfic it doesnt matter but in the movie THEY NEVER ADDRESS THIS EITHER>

I MEAN its literally that FIC. The one where theres nothing left of your ship you havent consumed, and this one aint so great but eh its 4am on a tuesday and it has 45 chapters.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend any writer or reader to watch this film just for the weird TRIP it is. It freaks me out mann its nuts!

The movie literally breaks hundreds of Cinematic rules JUST TO tell the story because its source material is what it is. Theres no introduction to the protagnist, no side introduction to our love interest like a rom con always does and the Meet Cute is isn’t a meet cute, it plays like a PROMPT. And its in the first 3 minutes of the film.

And the Twilight source the fic hangs on can be seen there on screen. Seattle, him saving her from the bike/car, his big rich family compared to her remarried mom (to a golfer not a baseball guy), and her estranged dad whose never around, the weirdness of Christian Grey thats missing that can only be explained by -immortal vampire-. Its insane. They didn’t change any of it. You can see Twilight right there its hilarious.

AND BECAUSE ITS FIC, theres actually, surprisingly, some really good moments? Its few and far between, but I find the bar scene generally funny and charming. Anastasia anyway. Christian is a creepy from first minute to last minute of every movie because what can you do with a non-vampire-vampire character, really? But Anastasia is pretty funny in a way Bella swan never was. I love the whole “Your so bossy, come here, come here, go away go away!” dialogue. FUCKING hilarious. And so unarguable a FANFIC genre of WIT. I like those moments. Or the buisness meeting about the bdsm contract “please turn to page 5 and strike out ‘anal fisting.’” “Are you sure?” “YUP.” (no paraphrasing, she literally says YUP. 10/10 delivery) Also love the texting scenes, reminds me too much of MS though and I immediately felt like trash.

Now, aside from those moments, hands down, terrible fucking plot. But it had terribel fucking plot to begin with.

What I was suprised about was that the film crew and creators DID IN FACT listen to te protests and uproar about the controversy of the content of the film. And I was suprised to see that THEY CHANGED a lot of stuff and cut out a lot of shit too. Christian NEVER touches her unless she says so. There actually a lot of moments stressing the consent thing. Even in the room, he tells her to hold out her hand and test the pain, and se if its ok. If its ever to much, he tells her to say stop, and he will. In fact, we see a lot of “nos” that he adheres to. Whereas in the books hes on he like a grade A rapist. They also add her in negotiating a ton of the terms.

Theres no tampon pulling scene and no inner goddess, much to my dismay/happiness. Lol.

HOWEVER.Aside from terrible plot, after making changes to the controversy, the movie didnt go far enough to differentiate the problematic nature of CHRISTIAN and the lifestyle of BDSM. Because Anna is a stranger of both, both are presented to the audience as BAD. We see bdsm through the lens of someone who USES IT THE WRONG WAY, FOR THE WRONG THINGS, and thats the main idea the movie can seem to target, and the book never bothered to learn. That last red room scene is Confusing at best, since its all consensual and really tame looking to anyone apart of bdsm, and misdirecting at worst to anyone not apart of it. Because its obvious Christian has ACTUAL Issues, but we’re made to believe all BDSM is like that, and its just not true.

TO THE SEQUELS CREDIT, 50SDarker goes a little more into this. Not just with dialogue, but showing how Anna is accepting of and in control of BDSM. She asks for specific thinks and seeks out certain sexual activities and calls him out on the shadier parts of his own personality, But in my opinion, its not enough. Theres too much –between the lines– and for a movie ABOUT this lifestyle, its to important to skim over like they do. Thats probably the most disapointing part.

All in all, its a terrible plot and terrible movie, that doesnt know enough about a material it references, and cant stand alone without its SOURCE material.

Theres way too many helicopter shots of places, and vehicles. Greys idea of romancise seems to be fancy transportation of some sort and his idea of -KINKY- sex is Cunnilingus, missionary, missionary cunnilingus, and missionary with some handcuffs. But its a WILD ride to watch. And has its genenuinly charming moments that can only come from the COMMUNITY of FANFICTION that molded it. As we know, fandom is just as much influenced by the original fiction as it is the headcanons, aus, peronality tropes and almost mandala effect culture the FANS put into it. And I love and adore that secret part of the movies. Dakota Johnson is also super charming and natural as Anna. A Bella swan, oc, induced character, self instert type fanfic pov. And to do that is some acting talent right there. And finally, and I’m probably the ONLY one here, but Im not 100% upset that 50shades got a movie. Because yes, its terrible in a on of fucking ways. But its STILL a fanfic on screen. And thats incredible. Thats why I bought tickets to support the sequel. She may have manipulated the rise to fame, but EL James still showed us the path to that goal. Fanifc to novelist, novelist to billiondollar box office numbers. EL James was ON SET, telling them how to film – HER FANFICTION. Thats a THING now. You cant not take fanfiction as a community and tool seriously now. Not when it made that much money. And hey, look at Superhero movies. We had to sit through too many shit Xmen and Daredevil movies to get an Iron man.

I will sit through a few 50shades to get my fucking favorite fanfics on screen too. Its not like Hollywood has any better stories to put up but Adam Sandler movies.

#it suprises me how many people dont know the fanfiction history of this movie #long post #im probably gonna get so much hate for this #oh well #50shades #50 shades darker #i didnt talk about the actual plot #WS THERE ONE?#that helicopter death scene came out of fucking NO WHERE #and the fucking ms robinsin character kept coming up like a bad soap opera #oh god #too many helicopter shots of enviroments

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destressjournal · 3 years

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DCOM Rankings #61: High School Musical

Confession time: I did not see this movie when it premiered and I thought it was going to be lame. The only reason I ended up watching was because I was over my friend’s house and she just happened to have it on her TV. It was probably a few weeks after it premiered. Who knew it would be the pop culture phenomenon it is today, and that there is STILL content being released by Disney based on this movie. (HSM:TM:TS, which I have seen the first season btw, and I honestly thought it was really cute, like, I was invested, AND they take on harder-hitting topics and they swear! I mean they say “hell” which is a big deal in my book for shows like this).

ANYWAY. To save you all the trouble, I put this at the top of my A+ list. Shocker to no one. Like, it’s one of the most popular DCOM’s of all time for a reason. But I’m gonna break all my personal reasons down for why I put it on top, and I’ll vocalize it’s flaws as well.

I’ll do the flaws first, as always, because it will be a short list.

- I think the biggest flaw is the fact that older audiences may be a little more turned off by this movie. And it’s because of the themes and how the characters react to their classmates doing something outside their comfort zone. The high school in this movie (and in most other teen movies like mean girls) is portrayed as this toxic culture where people are put in specific groups and labeled certain things. Everyone has their “place” at the top or bottom of the food chain. There’s the populars, the jocks, the geeks, the skater dudes, the punks, the drama kids, etc. I think most of us know American high school is not really like that in real life. Yes people have their cliques and I’m sure there is some bullying, but nothing like this.

I’m getting off track. The flaw isn’t that the high school isn’t portrayed accurately (I mean, its just how high school is portrayed and we kinda just accept it). I’m saying that teens need the message of “do the things you’re passionate about” and “be yourself” and “don’t care about what others think” a lot more than adults do. Teens are normally more insecure, and may not want to do something they like because it’s “weird” or “not normal for them”. This kinda reminds me of Eddie’s million dollar cook off. Eddie loves to cook and he spent the whole movie being scared of what others might think. At least when I was a teenager, I didn’t want to stand out, I just wanted to fit in like everyone else. And the message of the movie targets kids like me and says “it’s okay to like other things! It’s okay to be passionate about something that others might think is weird. It’s okay to just be your true authentic self.” Now that I’m an adult, I know this already. People don’t care NEARLY as much what others think. So adults may not care as much about the message because normally they don’t need it. The message mostly applies to teens and pre-teens, and I just have a hard time relating to the characters now that I’m in my 20’s. I really just could have said that last sentence instead of going off on a tangent but hey, it’s my post.

-the logic. Again, not 100% what would happen in real life. And I’m not talking about the spontaneous breaking-out-into-song. It’s mostly when both the scholastic decathalon team and the basketball team create a diversion so that Troy and Gabriella can make it to the audition in time. I mean how much effort do you think it would take to “hack the mainframe” in real life?? Also, how sharpay and Ryan (mostly sharpay) is just totally fine with being the understudy and is singing along with the rest of the group at the end. I think if this was a trilogy from the start, they would have kept sharpay angry and the 2nd movie would be about revengeeeee!

-gabriella’s solo song...the song is fine! It’s just the whole “misunderstanding” scenario is pretty overused and it’s the weakest part of the movie, which i think everyone agrees with. And then as soon and she sings it and taylor and Chad realized they made a mistake, they apologized so quickly it made my head spin. Like woah that was quick, like. C’mon we need to get the plot moving! I feel like it would have been more realistic for them to continue sabatoshing until they hear Troy and Gabriella at the audition. But I understand why they went this direction, is because they wanted to showcase how people from different “groups” can work together and achieve something.

Okay that’s it. Everything else ranges from super cute to flawless. Let’s explore that, shall we??

-zac efron and vanessa hudgens really know how to make great chemistry with these characters. Wow! All their interactions are just the most adorable I’ve ever seen...like you just can’t help but root for these guys!

-sharpay as an antagonist is pretty good and still likable! She poses a real threat, actually tries to sabotage their chances of auditioning, and represents the need to keep things as they are. She doesn’t want things to change because in her world she is on top. But you can’t help but marvel at her presence. Ashley Tisdale nails it in this movie (and in the following movies as well)

-even though I think the theme isn’t something adults can relate to, I think it’s a GREAT message for teens. I already explained me reasoning so I won’t go through it again, but high school is the time where you can explore anything you want and find out where you’re true passions lie. Even though I work in public health now, I’m glad I didn’t do that stuff in high school. I did what I was passionate about, which was, oddly enough, singing, but more choir and less musical and stage shows (although I did stage crew and love that as well). But you know...gotta make that money, and I’m still kind of a chicken singing solo so, wouldn’t have been a good career path for me. Still, in high school, just do what you want, but at least do SOMETHING. Don’t just zip by without participating in any clubs or organizations! That’s my advice for you high schoolers.

-the fact that it is a musical because I love musicals. And the songs are amazing!!! Everyone knows them at this point. I remember getting the cd and playing it on my portable CD player and just jamming out!

- story-wise, I think the plot moves along nicely! The characters dynamics feels natural within the context of the movie. Every scene is important, although having Chad talk to Troy about his singing a total of 3 times was a bit much. Maybe twice was good enough. But also, they left a deleted scene in the movie! No wonder it was an hour and 38 minutes (normally DCOM’s are an hour and 28 minutes) I’m kind of glad they kept it in, it was just another cute scene between them.

- the acting is just so great! The choreography is also fansastic. And yeah...Kenny Ortega.

-the movie is just a good time. It doesn’t have any extremely deep themes but it has important ones, and you get invested in the characters and the story really easily. It’s such an easy watch and now I have all the songs stuck in my head. Even 15 years later, this DCOM still bangs hard. Can’t wait to review its sequel (I will not be reviewing the third movie as a DCOM but I plan to review it as part of my high school movie genre ranking, which I’m doing after the DCOMs.)

I think that’s about it, really. I just love this movie so much. And nostalgia was obviously a huge factor on why I put this on the top. I have no shame.

The next movie is one that all my friends love but I really haven’t seen the whole thing, so this will be interesting!!

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