LET’S GROOVE! An Ode To Unsettling Dance Scenes

- Why must you hurt me like this, Illumi?…♠

Cittàgazze by Jeremy Paillotin

The Types as Character Tropes

Based on stereotypes, duh.

INTP: Absent-Minded Professor, Erudite Stoner, Gadgeteer Genius, Reluctant Mad Scientist, This Is Your Brain On Evil

INFP: The Anti-Nihilist, Byronic Hero, Because You Were Nice to Me, The Dark Side Will Make You Forget, Not-So-Harmless Villain

ISTJ: The Reliable One, Unfazed Everyman, Cloudcuckoolander’s Minder, Loyal to the Position, Obstructive Bureaucrat

ISFJ: Yamato Nadeshiko, Humble Hero, Tranquil Fury, Churchgoing Villain, Love Makes You Evil

ENFJ: The Paragon, The Chooser of the One, Warrior Therapist, Soap Box Sadie, Psycho Psychologist

ENTJ: The Leader, Cultured Badass, Seme, The Corrupter, Visionary Villain

ESTP: Determinator, Ace Pilot, Da Editor, Blood Knight, Corrupt Bureaucrat

ESFP: Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot, Plucky Office Girl, Obfuscating Stupidity, Hidden Depths, The Ophelia

INTJ: The Spock, Tin Man, Aloof Big Brother, The Chessmaster, Evilutionary Biologist

INFJ: Hurting Hero, Hermit Guru, Zen Survivor, Living Emotional Crutch, Knight Templar

ISTP: Warrior Poet, Street Samurai, The Hunter, Because I’m Good At It, Then Let Me Be Evil

ISFP: All-Loving Hero, Hero’s Muse, Determined Defeatist, Granola Girl, Mad Artist

ESTJ: The Captain, The Ace, Nerves of Steel, Corrupt Corporate Executive, Egomaniac Hunter

ESFJ: Crusading Lawyer, The Social Expert, A Father to his Men, Nerd Nanny, Evil Matriarch

ENTP: Bunny-Ears Lawyer, Trickster Mentor, Knowledge Broker, Cool Loser, It Amused Me

ENFP: The Pollyanna, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Allergic to Routine, The Wonka, Revenge Before Reason

a freshly married, still in his wedding shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway his forearms yuuri katsuki-nikiforov, sweeping his kimono clad husband off his feet to carry him over the proverbial threshold to the smitten squeal of said husband’s surprised laughter and a very warm, very loving “wow, yuuri, amazing!”

This is so crappily done but just try and convince me this wouldn’t happen when he comes home from adventures with the monk.

Persephone: [trips on air]

Hades: Haha babe, you’re so clumsy.

[later, when Persephone’s not around]

Hades, punching the air: Who do you think you are, who THE FUCK DO YOU THINK-

I miss them…

Cleopatra

I saw this meme today: 

It’s of course a play on another meme (which is literally the meaning of “meme”): 

I found that meme on Instagram and broke the cardinal rule of social media: never read the comments section. I was rather surprised at how many people not only bought into this, but didn’t know that Cleopatra was:

-Macedonian (not Egyptian, not Greek, not Roman, not Persian) -not beautiful

I wanted to make a post about this to explain these misconceptions and where they (likely) came from.

Cleopatra VII the Macedonian

Cleopatra VII was part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt, and the Ptolemys were Macedonian. They had taken power in Egypt after the death of the famous Macedonian, Alexander the Great (who likely died from alcoholism and/or malaria at age 34, just a fun fact). Many people mistook Alexander the Great for a Greek, but there’s a reason for that: Alexander the Great was a Greek fanboy. He started something called a “Hellenistic Period”…you know “period” is “length of time” and “Hellenistic” means “Greek-like” or “inspired by Greece”. It would be like if famous otaku Baron Trump married one of Japan’s princesses, then went into Mongolia to take over and implemented a bunch of Japanese culture…then, a couple thousand years later, some people might think that Baron Trump was actually Japanese because why on Earth would he implement Japanese rule? It’s not really common to assume that a leader is a mega fanboy, but that’s what happened here. I cannot confirm whether he had a Greek goddess body pillow, but can confirm I made this sweet meme in Paint for my PPT: 

The Ptolemy rule came to an end shortly after Cleopatra VII’s rule ended, and it was Rome that had ended said rule. This might be why Cleopatra VII was thought to be Roman by some people in the comments section. 

Cleopatra VII was Not Classically Beautiful

We may not know exactly how Cleopatra VII looked, but we can say she wasn’t a beauty queen (and there’s nothing wrong with that unless you’re in a job being judged on how well you fit in with that standard). How can we be sure? Here is how she’s depicted on her coins and in stone reliefs from the time:

Some sculptures have been made based on these:

I wouldn’t go as far as to say she looked like someone we would consider “ugly”, but she’s definitely not someone I’d be captivated by based on her looks alone. If that’s the case, then how did “She was so beautiful!” start as a rumor? It had to do with the fact that she was able to impress two other leaders. Some of the people in the comments section mentioned her “several affairs”, but we do know that she was involved with two other leaders: Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The tales of her seduction, as told at the time they happened, involve her wit. Accounts of Cleopatra VII describe her well-educated (including that she spoke seven languages) and very charismatic. Combine this with her being the leader of a kingdom, and she suddenly becomes a very attractive prospect for sex, both in terms of sexual interest and reproductive interest. It appeared to be a mutual attraction for her, as she sought to expand her own power and interact with men who were intellectually, militarily, and politically on her level. In other words, she did was literally every other royal has done in history: had sexual encounters with other royalty for the purposes of strengthening political power. 

So if everyone who knew her knew she wasn’t gorgeous, then why did this myth start? 

After the death of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, a rumor had been started by this guy with a long birth name we eventually came to call Caesar Augustus. He and Antony, along with another Mark, were part of this three-part ruling structure called a Triumvirate. The other Mark (Marcus Lepidus),  was exiled, leaving just Antony and Augustus to lead the Roman Empire. Augustus’ great-uncle was Julius Caesar, and his co-regent was Antony, and both of these dudes had been with Cleopatra VII, producing children that could potentially try to claim/take power from him…especially relevant since both of these dudes were dead. He basically had launched a smear campaign against her after her death that talked about her as if she’s a gorgeous, deadly, conspiring woman who seduces powerful men with both her charm and her beauty. 

Writers of the time jumped in on this, and some called her a lot of really crappy things. One Roman historian referred to her as “a woman of surpassing beauty…with the power to subjugate everyone.” 

Kind of reminds me of Rasputin, who was creepy and smelled weird but utterly captivated women. Women explained that it was his intense gaze and what he had to say that kept them interested, but upon his death what did the murderers do? Pulled down his pants, cut off his dick, and preserved it, studied why it could be so appealing to women (they claim the girth and wart near the head are a factor). It’s like “He’s interesting” wasn’t good enough…must be dick power! In the same way, “She’s utterly fascinating, charming, and educated” wasn’t good enough…must be a sexy pout and perfect tits!

As I tell my students: history isn’t just some old collection of names and dates, it’s human drama that still happens today. 

“Nevertheless, although the way the Bathhouse is staged recalls a megalopolis, Miyazaki did not choose to show it from a futuristic angle, in contrast to Tezuka Osamu. The references are more ninetheenth and early twentieth century: the forge, the apothecary’s cabinets, the tatami room, the tasuki sashes, the old-fashioned elevators, the curtains and wall hangings in the old woman’s apartments, as well as her hairstyle, and so on. It is the world of bourgeois order. The old woman’s face, her Victorian bun, and the way her rooms are decorated all suggest it - at the very top of this closed and vertical universe lives an Anglo-Saxon-looking witch. However, neither the Japanese people nor Japanese culture (starting with the public-bath tradition) are entirely remote from this world. In fact, they are completely taken with it and are confirmed stakeholders in it; one of the more obvious reminders of this is that the outside of the Bathhouse clearly brings Sino-Japanese architecture to mind. But it is not an ancient architecture recalling a specific style. It is a hybrid building, almost a pastiche; it is made not of wood but of conrete painted and decorated in the 1930s style known as Imperal Crown, like the Tokyo National Museum. Miyazaki thus evokes the Rokumeikan palace, built in 1883 by the Japanese government to welcome Westerners, and the salons of Gajoen and Meguro, popular spots for bourgeois weddings.”

“[…] Even though allusions to the West are the most pronounced, it is interesting to note that there are also references to Buddhism, a religion that in Japan is consistently described as a foreign creed. There are at least three allusions to Buddhism, each of which could plausibly be accidental but collectively leave no room for doubt of their working together. The first is in the name borne by the witch’s son, Bôh, a word often used in Japanese to mean just “boy” or “kid” but that primarily means “monk”. The second occurs in a quick scene that takes place on the banquet level, where we see a small sign that says “Pure Land” (Jôdô). And finally, the big mole on the witch’s face is placed where one might usually find the “third eye” in Buddhist iconography. Buddhism is thus clearly associated with the upper spheres of society, with power and money. Beyond socio-historical criticism, however, the allusion to Buddhism indicates that the vertical world is first and foremost one of eschatological promises.”

“The possibility of reaching the world of horizontality is granted to Chihiro thanks to her resistance to the laws of verticality - she never espouses the system of mimetic desire. Not only does she refuse the gold that Kaonashi offers her, but she refuses to give in to her new friends’ desire for wealth. Her attachment to people, beginning with her parents, is sincere and unwavering. She does not, however, have just one thing in mind (restoring her parents to human form, for example), which would amount to a form of fantasy. She handles situations in real time, based on circumstances, and solves problems as and when they occur. This is why she gives the antidote that could have saved her parents to Haku and Kaonashi, who need it immediately. She also avoids being reduced to the object of other people’s desire while still remaining sympathetic and compassionate, as we see from her relationship with Kaonashi.”

“In short, Chihiro is driven by the power of her heart, which also dictates her moral sense. She is quite willing to imitate the way poeple look or act (she has no problem dressing like a servant and does her best to wash the floor like a practiced hand), but she does not adopt their aspirations. She can therefore have genuine relationships with people. She forges strong and lasting bonds, as symbolized by the tasuki - the white sleeve ties that she wears in the film’s poster. Miyazaki thus contrasts the fake depth of the Bathhouse, which is of Western origin (but into which modern Japanese culture has been completely absorbed) and which keeps individuals in a state of severe and ridiculous anxiety vis-à-vis death, with the real expanse, the real depth, which is an awareness of the bonds that link people to one another under any set of circumstance and in real time, and that link mankind to nature.”

Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts; from Kishida Ryūsei to Miyazaki Hayao, Michael Lucken, 2016.

2020 Academia Aesthetic 📚✏️💭

Deadlines met. Positive energy. Goodnight sleeps. Mental health together. Making connections. Coffee because you want it, not because you need it. Studying but not over studying. Good grades. Easy sailing. Building healthy relationships. Staying on top of things. Falling but getting back on track. Never giving up. Keeping your head up.

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