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Hi guys!

I'm opening comissions again

Unfortunately, my old dog's back legs gave out. I am raising money to buy him a wheelchair and offering my services as an artist to achieve this goal.

if you want you can donate to me on my boosty or DA

For residents of the CIS, payment is available using Sberbank and Tinkoff cards.

#history art #art #art commisions #art commissions open #commission

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ROUND!

TIL that the Audubon Society has released official statements on the difference between a "bird", a "birb", and a "borb", featuring such gems as:

#bearded reedling #birds

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So the word below just says ASWAN.

The text in white is approximately: We are loyal to our friends and always, like brothers, help them unconditionally.

Soviet poster celebrating the construction of the Aswan High Dam, 1964, which the USSR greatly assisted in building

#i love how the word is like it is the dam #posters #egypt #ussr #history

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Citizens, the next review for Jacobin Fiction Convention will be about a book called The Executioner’s Heir by Susanne Alleyn. Stay tuned!

( @maggiec70 recommended this one a while back. Edit: Apparently she also edited that book so I do have high hopes.)

#jacobin fiction convention #review update #the executioner’s heir

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JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 37: CHÉVALIER (2022)

1. The Introduction

Well, hello there, Citizens! I’m back and I hope you missed me! Sorry for the multiple delays and all, but luckily I’m back at it now!!!

Okay, so this movie has been on my radar ever since it got announced. A story featuring a real Black man who lived during Frev? Sign me up! This has excellent potential and also, to my knowledge, at least a partially Black crew so we get more representation of marginalized groups in crews and on the screen!

At least, those were my thoughts before I actually watched the movie, but we’ll get to whether it was a good media piece later.

I found the movie on Russian language streaming websites, but it’s available on Amazon Prime and Disney Plus for those who would like to watch the original English version.

This review is dedicated to @idieonthishill , @vivelareine (who has a review that unpacks the movie from a historical pov and is welcome to add to the review 😊), @theravenclawrevolutionary , @sansculottides , @citizentaleo , @saintjustitude , @avergehistoryenjoyer , @lanterne and @jenxiez .

Okay, let the Jacobin Fiction Convention reopen!

2. The Summary

The movie tells a story of a real man, Joseph Bologne aka Chévalier de Saint-Georges. Recognized son of a white French nobleman and an enslaved black woman, Bologne must navigate the cutthroat world of the Parisian high society, dealing with racism and trying to reconcile his “white” upbringing with his African roots.

Sounds interesting, but let’s see how the premise was handled.

3. The Story

The Introduction scene - a musical duel between Mozart and Bologne, was actually quite good in my opinion. So were the other beginning scenes of kid Bologne growing up in France as an aristocrat and being bullied by his white peers, plus his father telling him not to let society break him.

These scenes establish quite well that Bologne has to carve out a place for himself among French nobility and make a lot of effort to get even a hint of acceptance. Sounds like a nice setup, right? Well, unfortunately at times Bologne in the movie doesn’t seem to have much agency at all.

For example, his title is granted to him by Marie-Antoinette basically on a whim, handed to him on a silver platter because the queen was impressed by his fencing skills, which in my opinion isn’t enough to show a character who has to work hard to be accepted. I think it would’ve been better if Bologne had at least several impressive fencing performances to prove himself and show more of his skills.

On the flip side, there are characters who have a bit too much agency. For example, in the story it’s Marie Antoinette who is calling all the shots and giving all the orders in France, even though Louis is alive and well. It’s definitely jarring to see how people say “by the order of the queen” when the king should be the one mentioned instead.

I didn’t care much for the love triangle storyline, but it’s my own personal preference and also the fact that it, like many parts of the story, isn’t all that nuanced. So yeah, very bland and boring.

Yes, Citizens, unfortunately nuance has officially left the chat, especially when it comes to the main character. See, at first Bologne doesn’t give a shit about poverty and famine plaguing France. He is enjoying his cushy life and his friendship with the queen of France instead. However, you know what makes him join the Jacobins? A fucking PERSONAL FALLING OUT WITH THE QUEEN. Not promises of abolishing slavery or granting rights to black people, not his own ideals… Just fucking pettiness!

It would have been much better if he didn’t have a falling out with Marie Antoinette and signed up for fighting with the Republicans because he genuinely wanted to do what was right, not due to personal beef. Especially since that was why he joined Frev in reality – the real Bologne made a choice to do the right thing simply because it seemed to be the right thing to him. Not out of petty desire to get back at the queen.

Also, the conflict between Bologne and his mother about how he is acting “too white”… eeeehh. To me it felt very anachronistic but maybe I’m wrong and there is more nuance missing because EVERYONE at court had to carry themselves in a certain way to make it. If you couldn’t do it, you were socially FUCKED. Besides, Nanon (the mother) and her friends crack really mean jokes about Bologne being “too white”, which is… well, an INTERESTING way to endear him to his mother’s culture…

The movie is juggling admittedly anachronistic theme about black culture, anti-slavery message, court drama and love triangles… and the juggling is done quite sloppily too, I’m afraid.

Also, just to illustrate how inaccurate this movie is, the events of 1789 are shown happening in 1776 for some reason, which shows just how much the creators didn’t give a shit about research.

Moving on.

4. The Characters

I really didn’t care for Bologne to be honest. He shows selfishness and pettiness, doesn’t have enough agency in the story and is also very inconsistent. After falling out with Marie Antoinette, he claims he defended her, which… he didn’t! At least it’s not shown in the movie! What the fuck happened to “show, don’t tell”?! Also, his incredible talents aren’t really shown in the way they could’ve been, more on that in the soundtrack section. A missed opportunity, really.

Nanon, Bologne’s mother, is a real embodiment of the themes of slavery and trauma present in the the movie. She merely exists to push him to embrace his African heritage and to remind him that he will never be truly accepted by other nobles. I honestly wish there was more to her character, because she ends up being little more than a walking theme embodiment.

Marie Antoinette here is a capricious, fair weather friend. She CLAIMS to support Bologne, but does it in indirect ways out of fear that nobles wouldn’t appreciate her openly backing a black man. Even though she is an absolute monarch so she can afford to show her support more openly. Actions speak louder than words, and she is clearly not a true ally of Bologne.

Marie Joséphe, Bologne’s love interest, is a woman trapped in a miserable marriage and yearning to act in Bologne’s operas. While I do sympathize with her, I believe that there really isn’t much depth to her either. We just don’t learn much about her. This is becoming a common theme…

Also, just as a side note while we’re talking about characters, many white characters in the movie are shown as mere flat caricatures. I can understand why, but, again, this doesn’t show nuance as in reality, while Bologne definitely had to deal with racism, he was not only accepted, but adored as a celebrity, but we don’t see that reflected in the attitudes of other people towards him. Because apparently the brains of the spectators will implode when they see nuance in a modern movie, it seems.

5. The Setting

Personally I wasn’t that impressed by the costumes or the settings. I’ve seen much better ones. Nothing bad, but nothing outstanding either.

6. The Soundtrack

Where the fuck is actual music from that time period?! Where is music by Bologne himself?! It’s a fucking missed opportunity and I don’t know what prevented the creators from including the music written by the MAIN DAMN CHARACTER into a biopic about him. A shame that they missed yet another opportunity.

7. The Conclusion

Honestly… I can’t say much when it comes to what this movie is fucking about. The story is bland, lacks nuance, doesn’t follow basic historical facts and is pulled in a million directions.

For a movie about an obscure figure, it doesn’t show much of the things Bologne was known for and at times even strips him of agency. We need to have better POC representation, because this is just not it.

The movie is mediocre, bland and forgettable. Don’t waste your time on it.

With that, I declare today’s meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention to be over. Thank you for your patience and support during this hiatus of mine.

Stay tuned and stay safe!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

#chevalier 2022 #joseph bologne #jacobin fiction convention #french history #black history #french revolution #marie antoinette

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I wouldn’t call Lannes a hooligan but he IS working class.

Weird little sketch of lannes to practice perspective i guess

#napoleonic wars #napoleonic era #jean lannes #marshal lannes

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No, no! It’s fine! I didn’t mean to offend!

Weird little sketch of lannes to practice perspective i guess

#art #napoleonic wars #napoleonic era #jean lannes #marshal lannes

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😂

Okay, in Russia squatting like that is associated with lower class uneducated banditry prone riffraff.

Weird little sketch of lannes to practice perspective i guess

#jean lannes #marshal lannes #гопник ланн #маршал ланн

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Okay, so a confirmation that I will post at the very least a review of “Chevalier” on Tuesday, although I will try to post “Napoleon’s Elysium” too.

I’m a bit scared as “Chevalier” is a story about a half black man in French society before Frev, so obviously themes of slavery, interracial relations and racism are bound to pop up.

In case anyone is wondering, I’m technically white. I guess (racial definition can be very confusing to me). And I know of the political climate of today and how I might be called racist for criticizing this Black story.

Luckily it hasn’t happened yet to my another review of a story featuring a half black protagonist, Mademoiselle Revolution.

But just a disclaimer: I am absolutely NOT racist. At least I HOPE I’m not. Institutionally speaking I am in a more privileged position and I’m aware of that, but I try to be mindful and not step on toes.

I will still publish this review and talk about the themes, as I usually do. My goal is to analyze the movie as a work of fiction no matter who is the protagonist race wise or what the skin color of the creator(s) is. Any digs I might direct at the movie are purely based on the aspects where I believe the movie is not doing a great job.

I am not Black, I’m not a scholar of racism or Black history, but I do support the idea of more POC stories in mainstream media. The problem is that not all such stories are done well so I am going to unpack the movie to find out how it handles the aforementioned topics and its protagonist.

Having a POC story and more POC creators in mainstream media is absolutely fantastic, but a certain background doesn’t absolve the creator from criticism of their work (positive or negative) and doesn’t excuse a shittily handled stories. I didn’t criticize “Mademoiselle Revolution” because the main character and the author are black; I criticized that book for utterly dropping the ball in pretty much every aspect of storytelling and completely failing to deliver on the excellent (on paper) premise.

Excuse me for the long rant but, being a white person, I believe I should make this disclaimer to cover my ass a bit in case I get accused of racism. (Yay anxiety!)

So yeah,

Stay tuned!

#chevalier 2022 #review update #disclaimer #racism tw #public service announcement #jacobin fiction convention

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Learned how?

What do you think of Portuguese ladies?!

NOPE... no thank you! They are a bit stabby. *laughs* I'll stick with the Leberton ladies, thanks...

#dirty old marshal #frickin perv

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And Spanish ladies?

What do you think of Portuguese ladies?!

NOPE... no thank you! They are a bit stabby. *laughs* I'll stick with the Leberton ladies, thanks...

#dirty old marshal #frickin perv #andre massena

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Dear Citizens and Neighbors, I’m postponing the reviews until Tuesday due to the weekend being absolutely bonkers for me.

Stay tuned!

#chevalier 2022 #napoleon’s elysium #review update #malmaison media salon #jacobin fiction convention

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Just make sure MANFRED cannot walk in at the most inconvenient time.

"i saw him at the prussian military orgy" girl what were you doing at the prussian military orgy????

#lothar von richthofen

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Picrew tag game!- Create yourself now vs how you looked when you were a kid

Link

I was tagged by @cutebisexualmess for this but the chain was too long so I'm restarting!

If only that little girl could see me now (she'd probably think I was cool tbh)

uhm tagging: @b3achfagz (ik you dont do tag games so u can just ignore this but i though u might find it cool) @cassiecryptic @viktheviking1 @depressedgremlinbitch @ramencat12 @inkyslimee @the-horrifying-digital-circus @patipati @cute--thing @musicalsiphonophore @tastetherainbow290 @disenchantedwarlock @bookishcatcafe and anyone else who sees this and thinks it looks cool!!

#picrew

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Чудово! (Hope I spelled it right lol)

I’m Russian speaking and even my Ukrainian side of the family mostly speaks Russian so I’m not fluent but I know some basics 😂

🎉🎉🎉

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He’s adorable, OP! Btw, which language do you speak as your native tongue?

🎉🎉🎉

#traditional art #fanart #jean lannes #happy birthday #history

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Citizens and Neighbors, I need to reschedule the reviews for Saturday.

Remember, it’s “Chevalier” and “Napoleon’s Elysium”.

Stay tuned!

#jacobin fiction convention #malmaison media salon #review update