Of Boys And Wolves

farleigh start and racism; oh boy.

(some people are going to find this post really annoying. some people are like felix catton.)

just some thoughts from the perspective of a person of color who is slightly too obsessed with this character. this movie leaves the viewer a lot of wiggle room to interpret how dynamics such as race and privilege come into play. there are certain parallels between this movie and the real world, and how unnoticeable white privilege tends to be for white people.

lemme lay some groundwork. from what i understand, the most prevalent form of racism and white privilege within upper- and middle-class circles is implicit bias. this is racist conceptualization that subconsciously interacts with one's perception of society and people. implicit bias is often externalized through microaggressions, differences in treatment and language towards a marginalized person, misplaced guilt or pity, and persistent denial of any existing privilege or marginalization. most of these biases are also founded on stereotypes. some racial stereotypes are heightening (e.g. asians are all smart) and some are lowering (e.g. black people are all lazy). all stereotypes are harmful. i'm going to discuss some of the stereotypes that could theoretically interact within the saltburn canon, as well as some things i've noticed within viewers. can of worms, to be honest. boutta get INTO IT.

to use one of my externalization examples, let's discuss (or, more accurately, let me discuss) the denial of existing privilege or marginalization. this is a subconscious way to uphold a sense of morality, effectively avoiding "white guilt," so to speak. as is clearly presented to us, the cattons are very attached to their methods of upholding their own self-righteousness. saviorism is a common theme within both elspeth and felix. in oliver's conversation with elspeth about poor dear pamela, you can see that oliver recognizes elspeth's need to justify her actions in an attempt to preserve her sense of decency. one can only assume that this applies to how they view farleigh's relationship with them. there's more to talk about there, but i'd like to start with the only overt mention of race in this movie.

in felix's confrontation with farleigh, farleigh makes the bold and brave decision to mention his blackness. i call this brave because it's genuinely a terrifying thing to do, and the end of this conversation is proof. "oh, that is... that is low, farleigh. seriously, that's where you want to take this? make it a race thing? i never know our footman's names; the turnover for a footman is notoriously high!" we have felix's intentional or unintentional shaming of farleigh. we have felix's appalled denial of any involvement of race or racial bias. we have felix's diversion away from farleigh specifically and onto his own inability to know his staff's names. felix made no further attempt to recenter farleigh, aside from telling him that the cattons have "done what they can." (which is SO absurd on its own. they are clearly and obviously able to do more. they are disgustingly rich). farleigh does feel ashamed after felix's response; you can see it on his face, and archie says it directly. here is a relevant and prevalent stereotype for all marginalized people: that the discussion of marginalization is exclusively weaponized to gain something or manipulate a situation. this is how felix chooses to see farleigh's implication of existing white privilege. this conversation results in nothing, does nothing, as felix chooses not to confront what he's probably thinking as he repeats the words "begging bowl" to venetia.

now. saviorism, guilt, and pity. felix specifically tells oliver that sir james made an effort to support farleigh out of guilt. i'd like to order some things in a way that i perceive them. frederica start runs from england, which is explained in a condescending way by felix. frederica start marries a so-referred-to "lunatic" who dug through fred and jame's money, although it's farleigh who only mentions fred's financial irresponsibility. out of guilt, james offers to pay for farleigh's education. the specificity of education is compelling to me. perhaps james is simply a patriotic man who strongly believes that english education is better. or this is a mobilized racial stereotype! who can truly know. i digress. james' offer to pay for farleigh's foreign education puts the cattons in an odd position; if farleigh is to attend english schools, he will need to stay with the cattons. if farleigh is staying with the cattons, he will need to be treated as equal to felix and venetia. this is all one long chain of obligations. none of these acts from one family member to another should be considered "charitable," because family should intrinsically create a trustworthy and supportive dynamic.

i believe that the cattons do consider their fostering of farleigh as obligatory. moral obligation, as they recognize that families are intended to have a sympathetic and loving relationship. they cannot, however, escape the truth that they're just guilty. the "begging bowl" and "biting the hand" are more symbolic of a starving dog and its charitable adopter than a cousin/nephew who's staying with his absurdly rich family. see, the cattons are fully and entirely capable of affording another child, of supporting frederica financially, etc. the only way i can rationalize their reluctance to do so is by assuming that they don't feel like farleigh deserves it. is this a crazy assumption? i genuinely don't see why else. of course, i don't think this mentality is explicit or conscious. it's more-so the reality that when farleigh walks in a room, he's not the same as anybody else. aside from background characters at oxbridge, the only on-screen black people are liam, joshua, and james' godson's wife (who gets degraded on-screen). this is the reality of being different in an environment such as the english aristocracy. the cattons choose to see themselves as the hand that feeds the less fortunate, more entertaining, and least inconvenient. the cattons' inclusion of farleigh is not only reliant on how well farleigh performs, but also on their own pity and guilt.

all of this is somehow, painfully mirrored by some takes i've seen on farleigh. maybe this entire post is presumptuous, but you know what isn't presumptuous? saying that certain people hold farleigh to an incredibly odd standard. while the cattons never canonically said anything along the lines of "farleigh doesn't deserve our love and support," mfs on the internet have. the number of times people have referred to this character as greedy, lazy, petty, and malignant is so odd to me. i'm insane, i know. i just don't understand how people can hold farleigh to the backdrop of an english aristocratic family and so passionately say that he, of all characters, is the most detestable. or that he, of all characters, has no reason to behave in the way he does.

is farleigh greedy? greed is defined as a desire for more. farleigh has no desire to climb ranks, no desire to replace or surpass felix, no desire to hold any power over any family member. he is maintaining, upholding a standard that has been set for him throughout his life. is it kind or selfless of him to meddle in other people's affairs with the cattons? no. does he have a reason to be upset that non-relatives of the cattons are a threat to his inclusion in the first place? yes. is farleigh lazy? i don't even need to explain this one. no. if you don't consider oliver lazy, then i really don't want to hear anything. is farleigh petty? pettiness is defined as "an undue concern for trivial matters, especially in a small-minded or spiteful way." farleigh's meticulous attention to trivial matters isn't undue in any sense. a person of color and their meticulous attention to trivial matters is almost never undue. elspeth is a good example of petty. is farleigh malignant? there are a lot of definitions of malignant and i've seen people apply all of them, in some way, to farleigh. that's just wrong. archie madekwe once said, "i was interested in humanizing what, on paper, seemed like a mean character, a villain, or a bully. i don't think he's any of that. he's very self-serving, but i think he's really a heartbreaking character." case closed, this was for my own piece of mind. had to write this section because good lord.

in conclusion to this post that has gone tragically off the rails, i think the in-canon and viewer perspective of farleigh is, perhaps, a little racially motivated. sue me. they are all very centered on this idea that farleigh doesn't deserve inherent respect, support, and love. to remove farleigh's rational position within the cattons family would be akin to removing his right to familial love. genuinely, that's how i see it. the transaction nature of farleigh's actions is responsive. he sees felix as a social shield at oxbridge, he sees elspeth and james as the beholders of his perceived security, and he sees saltburn as a way to escape from his lack of privilege and his lack of stability in america. boom. bam. pow.

source

"but if you're immortal you will have to live forever-" SHUT UP THATS THE POINT!

I will get to live forever and see comets live and die as they whirl past us. I will get to see the faces of old friends in their great-great-however many grandchildren. I will get to see species evolve and grow, I will get to see billions of sunrises and sunsets. I will get to climb mountains and learn instruments and the cultures surrounding them. I will get to learn every language.

Immortality is not about the things you think you need to accomplish. It's about the beautiful things you get to bear witness to.

Do you ever sit and think just how tragic the twins are during the entirety of gladiator two?

Do you ever think how Geta and his brother, both nearly completely uneducated have to manage political conversations and even exchange "pleasantries" with Roman nobles who have had the highest of educations (or even normal citizens some of whom probably know more than them) ?

Do you ever think how easily manipulated they are because they have noone to trust?

Do you ever think how macrinus manages to assassinate them via pretending to be their friend? How badly both him and his brother wanted someone they can trust (Geta literally confided in him about his brothers illness.....) Macrinus is older than the twins, so it's highly likely that their daddy issues also played part on how happy they were to have someone they can call a friend.

Do you ever think how ALONE Geta feels having not only to shoulder majority of the responsibilities of being emperors, but also to handle his brothers illness? How he has to hide it from the public, as it's such an obvious Achilles heel, that could and most likely would, encourage even more rebellion and be a cause of mockery for them? How Geta has to sleep at night knowing that even after all the blows he had taken to protect his brother from their parents, during his fits Caracalla is incapable of remembering that? Of thinking Geta as anything but an enemy? Of how they are at risk of being assassinated constantly and his brother is not understanding the significance of that threat? How Caracallas biggest comfort (aside from Dondus), the one who loves him the most, is also the one who he fears and despises during his episodes? How Geta feels knowing that his brothers illness could at some point kill him, leaving him completely on his own?

Do you ever think how Geta died looking at the face of his brother and the one person he thought he could confide in? How Caracalla died all alone in the hands of the man who also took away his brother?

Lestat would 100% cry to Sun Bleached Flies by Ethel Cain

Caracalla: who is your favourite gladiator?

Geta: obviously its the one who rides rhinos

Caracalla: that's such a basic fucking bitch answer

Geta: oh you wanna real answer brother?

Geta: a guy who recited a poem and bit a monkey

Caracalla:...

Geta: look it up. that's my favourite gladiator

margot, trying to flirt: are you the big spoon or the little spoon? feyd-rautha: i'm a knife. his harpies, from across the room, in chorus: he's the little spoon

happy Thursday the 20th

Rip Freud,you would have love Caracella

killjoys dashboard simulator

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hey does anyone know what the fuck is up with that dr death defying dude. i swear that guy is either psychic or a spy how the fuck does he report on shit so fast

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he's the reincarnation of cecil palmer

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who the fuck is cecil palmer

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wgat the fuck is a podcast

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does bli seriously have an account on here. girl this is the killjoy website

#delete later

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where's my "the fab four are fucking posers" option

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WHERE'S MY OPTION FOR THE FUCKING GIRL. also why am i losing

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FUN GHOUL?!

#you have a tumblr account???? #what the fuck hi #sorry you're losing man the people are thirsty for the venom sibs #i voted jet idk what they're on about

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i feel like the only two pieces of pre-war media that fully survived to the modern day being yo gabba gabba and homestuck has given us an extremely distorted view of what life was like back then

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imagine if they were minimalists

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hey do you guys know anywhere in zone six we can hold a show tomorrow night? vanny's burned down

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i didn't do it

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i'm never selling you a single ticket ever again

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aye can i get uh......... actual fucking food

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power pup?

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you want power pup?

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you want fucking power pup?

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ingredience

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This is the official account of Better Living Industries™.

Have a Better Day!™

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can anyone fucking hear me