OOC
One of the most accurate descriptions of Innocent I’ve read - it’s written like a theatre piece or an opera. It’s exaggerated, flamboyant, dramatic, and the characters are merely actors, who are thrown on the stage, whenever they are needed. They all serve a purpose and stand for something the author wants to convey, so nothing about them has to be realistic.
I honestly love it! Whoever wrote this review, thanks, I couldn’t put my finger on it at all, but it’s the perfect comparison!
Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin: So I rented some rooms for your mother and sister—
Razumikhin: oh from that place that’s nasty and stinks and has rats and roaches and smells bad and is dirty and dusty as fuck?
I just want to point out that this woman has delivered 2 cinematic, historical, browsing, impeccable speeches about the frustrations I feel about being a woman. And that actress of course is the one and only America Ferrera herself. Let's talk about her debut role in the movie — Real Women Have Curves. The 2002 independent film based on the play by Josefina Lopez is one of my all-time favourite movies I have watched in my lifetime. And if you somehow know this movie through another suspicious Greta Gerwig connection, I implore you to watch this. The movie was directed by Patricia Cardoso. At the time when it was released, America Ferrera had already filmed another movie but this movie debuted first putting her on the map. She was only 17 years old! Josefina López wrote the play when she was 18 years old. In 2019 it was the first Latina directed film to be included in the National Film Registry at the library of Congress. Taking inspiration from her real life, Josefina wrote Real Women Have Curves about Ana, mostly centered on her relationship with her mother Carmen, played by Lupe Ontiveros. This movie is touted, not only for its representation of women in their real bodies, it also delivered a warm and loving portrayal of Latina families and neighborhoods in Royal Heights and East Los Angeles. Again this isn't a time where Latinas, even today, are represented in a full and nuancent light. So to not only have this Latina family but to have them placed in East Los Angeles which has been criminally and stereotypically portrayed as "dangerous", really meant something and still means something today. And the message of that film being "there's so much more to me than my weight". I think this might serve as a comfort watch for many women around the world.
I don't understand how we were made to believe as children, that America Ferrera was the biggest woman to ever grace our tv screen. The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants is what I call perfection in cinema. If I ever will have a daughter in the future, she is required to watch this movie. Because every little girl needs to understand what sisterhood and what community is. I feel like girls today are not watching sisterhood displayed on television, or even in movies. It's always these toxic relationship, these toxic friendship — not to say that neither of those can't be toxic and bad, because even within this friend group they all have their own issues with each other, with their families etc. But it's not about the problems, it's how they solve them, how they come together. And I feel like this message should be displayed for the young girls today. And I just love how diverse the friend group is, because nowadays it seems like every teenager I see on tv are like the same skinny, white blondes. If you haven't seen this movie make sure to have a box of tissues nearby because it's going to make you cry.
The dark side of pretty privilige is, you don't get to be funny, intelligent, respected — you just get to be pretty. So I've just finished watching Ugly Betty, I fully recommend, and I realised the only female character who's actually respected within this show, is Betty. If you don't already know the concept, Betty gets hired to be the assistant to the chief. Because he sleeps with his assistants, they decide to get him an "ugly" girl so he won't sleep with her. But she's hired for Mode, which is kind of like Vogue/Cosmo type of magazine. So naturally she gets bullied. They treat her like crap because she doesn't look like the ideal Mode girl. But the crazy thing is, since none of the men want to sleep with her, they actually respect her. They start to treat her like a human being with ideas. Then she becomes one of the most liked people by anyone in their team. On top of that, all of these gorgeous women get treated like absolute crap. No one listens to them, their ideas are not heard, and they're not respected. So it leaves a very clear message: wether you are gorgeous or "ugly", misogyny will still hunt you down and it will catch you. For Betty, men don't look twice her way. They treat her bad from the moment they see her. Just because they don't want to sleep with her, they don't find her attractive. For the beautiful women in the show, like Amanda who is painted as the gorgeous blonde, men only want to sleep with her, and they don't see that she's smart. Go back to watch the show and you'll see how horribly the other women get treated compared to Betty (and they have some good cameos in this show).
As we are reaching the end, we can claim America Ferrera as "that girl". The term is, in my opinion, used for anyone who dresses like a fashionista and acts like the queen they are. But it's much more than that. I think, to achieve that title you have to be also impactful and encourage other women to be what they want to be. America really proved it by playing the Emmy Award winning role of Gloria in Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. I think every cis, heterosexual white male should be forced to sit down and watch this movie. The message behind the Barbie movie is about going from being a girl to being a woman. Barbieland is what our childhood felt like; we were safe, naive, independent and everything seemed perfect. The real world is what womanhood actually is. It's scary, sexist, there's pain and we're faced with so many challenges, while still being held to unrealistic expectations by society. "We mothers stand still, so our daughters can look back to see how far they've become". America Ferrera's speech about how hard it is to be a woman, really affected me and made me tear up in the theather. "It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong. You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood." America Ferrera the woman you are, thank you so much for helping me and other women to believe in theirselves. Happy international women's day! <3
My Thoughts About Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Fantastic. Mr Fox is my FAVORITE film, ever. There is so much I could say about it… I don’t even think I can cram it into one post, so I’m not going to.
There’s so many relationships that I could analyze and give my opinions on.. but for this post, I’m going to focus on the relationships between Ash, Felicity (Mrs. Fox), and Foxy (Mr. Fox).
I believe that Mr. Fox never wanted a serious relationship with Felicity. At the very least, he wasn’t ready for one.
Mr. Fox gets an honest job to provide for them (writing newspaper articles), their home is fine, and they seem to be making enough to get by… but it’s clear to me that he never wanted to settle down and take the responsibility of being a husband or a father in the first place. (This was forced onto him with the unexpected pregnancy). Felicity makes him promise her to stop doing what he loves (stealing birds), because it's too dangerous for the situation that they're in now.
I think Mr. Fox knew from the start that he’d never be satisfied living this "simple life". He needs the approval of others to feel good about himself, and he didn’t feel like he deserved any praise for what he was doing. He needed to be doing something "fantastic". This is what pushes him to not listen to his lawyer and buy a house that they can’t even afford.
When they move to the bigger house, it never seems like Felicity has strong feelings about the change. She was happy with the simple life they had, and she thought he was too.
Mr. Fox is one of the most selfish main character’s I’ve ever seen portrayed in film. Even when their home is shot at, all he can think about is himself. He takes no accountability for bringing trouble to their door, he doesn’t apologize, and he doesn’t listen to anyone. Even Kylie told him it was a bad idea to start stealing birds.. and he completely dismissed him.
In my opinion, Felicity put up with his nonsense for far too long.
When they’re forced to dig underground, Felicity is furious (rightfully so). Mr. Fox, once again, takes no responsibility for what he’s done, and he says it’s just how he is (he’s just a “wild animal”). I know there’s a lot of symbolism behind them referring to themselves as wild animals, but this just proves that he is unbelievably self-centered.
Throughout the film, his son, Ash, has spent his time trying to live up to the image that he has of his father (someone fantastic, someone to be proud of). Which is ironic, of course, since Mr. Fox isn’t even proud of himself.
Ash’s view of his father has destroyed his self-esteem. His father is dismissive and distant; not appearing to think highly of him, or paying much attention to him. This is especially clear when Kristofferson starts staying with them. Mr. Fox praises Kristofferson and pays more attention to him than Ash. He invites Kristofferson on their heists and is angry at Ash for trying to go too. This causes Ash to treat Kristofferson with little to no respect, because he’s jealous.
In my opinion, the way Mr. Fox thinks of his son is clear. Ash is why he had to stop doing what he loved, and he resents him for this. He can’t be proud of Ash, because he isn’t proud of himself.
The turning point in this film, (not only for all of their relationships with one another, but also for Mr. Fox’s development), was when Kristofferson was taken hostage by the farmers.
Mr. Fox finally apologizes to Felicity for what he has done.. he realizes that he has caused so much harm to not only his family, but the entire forest. He questions why he is the way that he is, and he understands that he needs to change. Felicity loves Mr. Fox so much, but the damage has already been done. She realizes that she never should have married him, and she regrets doing so.
Instead of blaming Ash for Kristofferson getting caught, Mr. Fox realizes how his distant behavior has affected Ash. He tells Ash that it’s not his fault and that he is proud that he’s his son. Ash is so happy to hear those words from his father that he starts crying.
This film is such a heart-wrenching painting of a dysfunctional family. Mr. Fox makes amends with his wife and son, and accepts that he needs to do better. He may be selfish and stubborn, but he is trying to change. He has the ability to change! This is what I love so much about this film. Mr. Fox is a realistic character and this is the story of a real family, full of flaws and mistakes.
The film ends with Mr. Fox making a toast about change and hope. Things are going to be very different, but he doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. He’s apologized to Felicity and Ash. He knows that he needs to be a better husband and a more supportive father, (especially now that he has another child on the way). He knows that he needs to learn to be happy with what he has. Most importantly, he’s learned that he already has something fantastic, a family that loves and cares about him.
I love this film sm 💚
誰先愛上他的 | DEAR EX 2008 | dir. Mag Hsu, Hsu Chih-yen
I love it when characters who are romantic partners don't have to live together.
I love it when characters who are romantic partners don't have a traditional domestic relationship.
I love it when characters who are romantic partners are part of one another's lives in nontraditional ways.
I love it when characters who are romantic partners show their love in ways outside of a stereotypical understanding of romance.
I love it when characters who are romantic partners refuse to change their relationship to suit what other people think that kind of relationship should look like.
Frasier (1993-2004) / Hannibal (2013-2015)
When Sakuko’s sister Minori gets proof that her husband is cheating on her (after actively investigating to make sure).
She’s still hesitant to divorce him.
Not because she still loves him (that doesn’t come up even once).
Not because he is a great husband beyond the cheating (the screaming match about how she was the only one taking care of their daughter shows pretty clearly that he wasn’t pulling his weight).
Not even because it’s a lot harder to raise two kids on her own (tough it is mention in passing - did I mention she’s 9 months pregnant at that point? and then promptly goes into labor?).
Not even really what society is going to say about her (even tough it would be completely justified, especially in Japan).
But because she’s terrified of being alone.
And then again while she's in labor
In that way, she mirrors Sakuko’s own fear of loneliness.
And of course, she associates being single with being lonely. Because amatonormativity.
She verbalizes the relationship elevator: getting married, having a child, buying a house, another child. She calls it "a game of adulthood".
But while she comes to the conclusion that she failed at this "game of adulthood", she doesn't really get to the conclusion that it's bullshit.
Even with her sister's example right in front of her, she has trouble imagining happiness outside of marriage.
Most likely because she still sees Sakuko and Takahashi's relationship as abnormal, and therefore reserved to abnormal people. So she can't apply their example of being happy outside of marriage to herself yet. Not when she's tried to hard to be the perfect normal woman.
But no matter if Minori believes it or not, single doesn't have to mean lonely, which Sakuko proves immediately by promising to always stand by her sister's side.
And then Sakuko meets Takahashi’s ex Haruka, who explains that she moved to the countryside after their break-up, and then started up her (now very successful) farm.
Sakuko’s reaction is to say it was then a blessing in disguise
To which Haruka thanks her, saying that most people are just sad for her because she’s “old” (around 40) and still single, even tough she’s perfectly happy as is.
She’s a really good illustration that:
amatonormativity impacts everyone who strays out of it, it doesn't matter if you're aro or allo
you don’t need to be aro to be happy outside of amatonormativity’s expectation
And in that way, I feel like that makes her an optimistic answer to Minori’s concerns about loneliness.
(And then of course there is Kazu-kun, but there is so much to say about him, he'll get his own post.)
I really liked that the shows takes the time to talk about those experiences, because it makes amatonormativity much more real. It is a systemic issue, so of course it impacts everyone.
And I think we've all had discussions like this, where other people's own internalized amatonormativity also completely invalidated our experiences.
So it was great to see it explored so clearly here.
(also this has nothing and everything to do with it, but the fact that in the credit, Minori is called by her husband's name. I don't think it's used in the show itself but. You know. All of a woman identity depending on her husband. All that.)
Ayo Edebiri is special to me because bluntly speaking, every time a young actress of colour blows up in Western media spotlight it's usually a light skinned woman or a biracial person with very Eurocentric features and beauty. It's almost like clockwork every time, and the standards of beauty are carefully upheld by colourism even while maintaining a guise of "diversity". But in Ayo's case, it's really great having a gorgeous and talented dark skinned actress be successful, beloved and hailed as a sapphic icon in a way that does not feel like audience paying lip service or being performative.
Like idk how to articulate but it's just so goddamn rare seeing an actual young dark skinned woc thrive in fandom spaces and in terms of commercial or critical success. I really hope people can learn to accept dark skinned young women in comedies, romances and mainstream show business more often because everywhere in movie and shows fandoms, from edits to fanart to fancasts to *actual* casts are BRIMMING with light complexioned actresses of colour. And dark skinned women are expected to grovel and be grateful for getting those crumbs of representation.
THOMAS SHELBY + smoking
Baby Reindeer is a masterpiece. Anyone who can handle the content should watch it. These stories need to be told.
She/her | 22 | 🩷💛🩵-💚🩶🤍🩶💚Blogging about my various interests including TV shows, film, books, video games, current events, and the occasional meme. My letterboxed: https://boxd.it/civFT
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