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the glass onion: elon musk on film

As an avid Knives Out fan, I was extremely nervous to watch The Glass Onion, thinking it would ruin the franchise. I was pleasantly surprised, and now have a new film in my top 10.

So let's talk about what truly made this movie move up in my ratings after just one watch. And yes, this will contain spoilers.

I'm going to start from the very beginning, or at least the earliest part chronologically that I want to bring up. The characters themselves. If Rian Johnson can do one thing, it's write rich people. He managed to nail every new-money stereotype, and the characterization of Miles Bron is flawless, in my opinion. Like I said, Elon Musk on film.

Next, I absolutely love Benoit Blanc playing Among Us in the bathtub. Why is this so significant to me? Other than being Stephen Sondheim's last on screen performance, Blanc playing Among Us basically sets up the entire film, as the whole premise on in the mansion that it is just real life Among Us. The blackout? Miles basically being an imposter? It was all laid out for the viewer from the start. And of course, the inclusion of Hugh Grant as Benoit Blanc's boyfriend was amazing.

But now, lets get into everything that takes place on Bron's island.

Inbreathiate. From the very start, with one simple word, it's established that Miles Bron is a little bit stupid, or maybe egotistical, or both. The fact he brags that he only uses a fax machine solidifies the second one. Two details which are very kindly pointed out to the viewer to Benoit Blanc himself.

And the distraction Miles creates when he tells everyone to look at Birdie's dress. The distraction works on both the characters and the audience, who don't know they should be focused on Miles switching the drinks. Along with Miles stealing the phone, the audience will only know something is wrong if they either recall that Miles doesn't own a phone or if they know what to look for.

Blanc neatly summarizes this when telling the characters what Miles has been plotting this whole time--his cheap, "stupid", stolen plan to kill Helen and Duke. Which really shows how Miles has built his whole career and life on a lie, and will steal anything, even details of a murder, to protect it.

Helen's rage scene at the end was perfection to me. Getting Miles' name in the same sentence as the Mona Lisa by destroying it with what destroyed her sister. The other characters rallying around her once they realize, yeah, Miles is a horrible person and we can do just fine, if not better off, without him.

#glass onion #knives out #yuzuru hanyu #film #elon musk #benoit blanc

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american media: its effects on the teenage prodigy

For those who don't know, one of my favorite skaters is Alysa Liu.

Alysa is a 2x US national champion, junior and senior world bronze medalist, and 2022 Olympian.

But, one thing about her is when you look her up, one of the subheadings on her wikipedia is "2021–22 season: International senior debut, Beijing Olympics, World Championships, and retirement".

What happened to her? What was so troubling about the 2021/22 season that caused this all to happen at once, and at the age of 16?

From my limited research but somewhat extensive knowledge, the one thing I can connect this early retirement to is the American media.

Before I start, I just want to preface that I am very glad they retired on their own terms, and not due to injury or something worse. Though I do miss them.

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Alysa was 13 when she won her first senior national title in January 2019, the youngest female to win US nationals as of today. She defended her title the next year, winning back-to-back nationals at only 14 years old.

Also in the 2019/2020 season, they had their international junior debut. During this, they became the first woman to complete a triple axel and quadruple jump in competition, as well as achieving the status of the first non-Russian girl to win a Grand Prix event for around 20 competitions. They went on to win bronze at the World Junior Championships in March 2020.

This bout of success caused eyes of every American media outlet to be focused on young Alysa. They started deeming her as an American prodigy, the only hope to have an Olympic medal in Ladies' Single Skating at Beijing 2022. This was still two years away from the Winter Olympics, and she was only 14.

The next year, 2021, Alysa underwent a growth spurt, which, obviously, is normal for a 15 year old girl. Because of this, she lost her triple axel and quadruple lutz jumps, causing American media to forget her, or worse, doubt and even berate her. If she can't beat the Russians at the next Olympics, who can? The media gave up hope on her and did not care about the effects of doing so.

Cut to the 2021/2022 season, Alysa's international senior debut. She officially secured the third spot for US ladies at the Olympics, and performed average at her Grand Prix assignments, placing fourth at both. She had to withdraw from US Nationals due to COVID, but still managed to petition for a spot on the 2022 Olympic team thanks to her performance history. Once again, she was America's "only hope" for a spot on that podium.

Overall, she placed 7th, the highest out of the three American female skaters. She claimed she was pleased with her performances, and that she was just happy to be in Beijing. A little over a month later, she won bronze at the 2022 World Championships, being the first American woman to medal since 2016.

Months later, they announced their retirement, and have not (publicly) skated competitively or professionally since.

They also archived all social media.

While other reasons can be argued for this happening, the main one is the pressure put on Alysa at such a young age to be the saving grace of American figure skating.

I know you're wondering, has the media learned and changed?

And as an answer, I will point you in the direction of 18 year old Ilia Malinin, who media has dubbed "heaven-sent for US figure skating", or even tell you to keep an eye on 15 year old Isabeau Levito, "America's new hope".

#figure skating #american media #olympics #alysa liu #ilia malinin #isabeau levito #yuzuru hanyu