Wow, there is so much meta being written about Get Out that its hard to keep track of it all. (Do these writers know thats what they’re doing?)Everybody has something to say aobut this movie, even when they dont have anything to contribute. For the record, I have seen this movie and I loved it as much as I’ve loved anything on the Key and Peele show. (And no, I dont have much more to add to the discussions Ive already read.) If you’ve ever watched that show, than Get Out is not some huge surprise for you, as you are well aware of Jordan Peele’s Horror credentials. For example, his zombie spoof is pretty deep:
And this spoof of vampire tropes is hilarious:
I dont have anything to add since people pretty much have every topic covered:
Its the 20 year anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and yep, people are writing about it. I was total trash for this show. I used to watch it like a religious duty, and even back then I was drafting meta, in my head, about this show. For the record, I hated the movie it was based on, and I was prepared to ignore the show. I watched it off and on for the first season. Then the internet started writing about it, and I really revved up my watching in the middle of season two, after Angel became evil. (I didn’t completely understand what was happening but I caught up fast.)
Buffy is also one of the most written about and talked about shows in television history. There are aabout a bajillion books, articles, and websites, devoted to parsing everything from the fashions, to the plot, to the characters and language.
I did go see Logan, as I promised. I was going to write a review, but a lot of people have already written about the issues I would’ve covered in my review. It’s an excellent movie, btw, and every bit as heartwrenching as you expect.
I haven’t seen this movie yet, but I’ve heard such wonderful things about it. I’ve seen a few clips come across my dash on Tumblr, which have me intrigued, and of course, it won Best Picture at the Oscar Awards. I’ve made plans to watch the DVD soon, however.
Yes, I’ve already seen this movie. I loved it, but as a long time Blerdgirl, I’m still processing my thoughts about it. I haven’t finished geeking out about it yet, but when I do, I’ll come back at you with some knowledge. Ideas are already percolating as I type.
Here are some of the more troubling conversations occurring on Tumblr.
*Okay, anytime you have Dan Rather tapping his keynboard with hysteria on Facebook, (and yeah, this is Dan’s version of hysterics) you know you done fucked up!
*Actually, I’ve sen this particular behavior all over the internet. Its especially prevalent in trolls and other assorted assholes, who like to think that if you can’t calmly discuss your life as a marginalized person, with someone attempting to devalue that life, that your opinions are invalid, and therefore, they have just won some kind of argument that no one was trying to have.
That and Portnow’s statement is just nonsensical.
@ @
*Things like this basically amount to the erasure from History, of any contributions to culture that PoC may have made. This is why information like this matters, because when people don’t know this stuff, its easy to argue that we never did anything, that we’ve always been nothing but victims, and never contributed to the cultures we inhabited.
It is important not just that White people see these images, but that Black people see them, too because this isn’t so much about winning White people’s approval, as it is a celebration, and recognition, of our accomplishments, which counters the narrative of worthlessness that White supremacy insists on disseminating throughout the world.
Pictured above is the Higdon family. This photograph was taken in the year 1898 in Britain. That is all we know about them.
Who were the Black Victorians? Mainstream history has virtually erased them from our minds and history books. We have been filled with images of slavery in America and across the world, but why is it that this chapter in black history was skipped? Why isn’t it equally common knowledge that in the midst of all of that darkness there was light, also.
Never before seen photos were uncovered, giving us over 200 images of glances into our past. Many of the photos did not include names or any details whatsoever, cloaking these people in mystery for all of time.
At one point in history, people of color were included in high society and walked the cobbled streets of Britain. The women wore intricate, voluminous gowns and wore their hair in curls and chignons. The men in suits and fair business. This may not have been the case for all black people in Britain, but for some it was.
The Victorian Era was ruled under Queen Victoria, an era that is described as an opulent culture, although there were underlying bouts of poverty and child labor. History would like you to believe that black people didn’t arrive in Britain until 1948 during “The Empire Windrush”, when many Jamaican descendants entered the country, but that is not so. There has been proof to suggest otherwise. There is documentation that proves that it wasn’t uncommon to see black faces at a Shakespeare show. We’ve been there all along, humming softly in the background.
These images prove that you can’t take mainstream history at face value. Take the time to look behind the curtain and uncover OUR history. It’s as if our ancestors are just waiting for us to seek them out.
Who were the Black Victorians?
To see more of these images check out this video reel.
Forgive the cheesiness of the Hamilton quote, but when it comes to fandom, this is a question that all fans (but particularly white, cishet fans) need to ask themselves.
Make no mistake – when it comes to the treatment of marginalized fans, especially fans of color and in particular black fans, there is no such thing as neutrality. The sides are established by the racist, homophobic, and transphobic members of the fandom, and it’s your choice whether you are on their side, or the side of the marginalized. It’s a simple question – will you be on the side of the oppressor or the oppressed?
When it comes to harmful and oppressive behavior, you cannot simply sit back in silence and watch the horror show go by – silence is violence and when you do not speak out, you quietly condone bad behavior. Is that fair? Maybe not, but neither is life.
I’ve seen the argument over and over again that people don’t want to “engage.” Fandom is their escape, their safe space, where they go to forget the troubles of the real world – which would be fine if you didn’t’ also bring the biases and cultural baggage of the ‘real world” with you to fandom. It would be fine if your safe space didn’t come at the expense of the marginalized BUT IT DOES. When you ignore our mistreatment you condone it, and your escapist fantasies hinge on us quietly taking the abuse meted out by shitheels like @geeky-jez, @adjectivebear, and @oldstupidtemplar.
Now, does this mean you have to constantly make callout posts? Nope, not even close. But there are plenty of us who do, or who discuss the racism and other faults inherent in fandom on the regular. Don’t feel personally up to leading the charge when it comes to fandom’s terrible behavior? Well then it’s time to share the voices of those who do. Your lack of input on any given issue leaves marginalized fans wondering where you stand – relogging our words, NOT sharing the content of problematic members of the community, and generally trying to be aware are basic steps you can take to show your solidarity.
Like it or not, you are going to be on a side, so make sure it’s the side you genuinely want to be on.
@ @
*Actually, I’m hoping this essay isn’t true, and that Rosita was just being salty with Sasha, because the alternative is too painful to contemplate. Everyone was able to save Sasha, but I’m getting a very bad feeling that no one will be able to save Rosita.
Rosita was salty AF because Sasha didn’t just sleep with Abraham.
He was in love with her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to make her full of his babies. She was his lady.
And Rosita was someone he used to fuck.
Rick’s gonna officially marry Michonne. As soon as they find Father Gabriel, I am telling y’all. He has the same heart eyes Abe used to have Sasha, or Glenn had for Maggie. And Michonne’s whispering about how they’re the one’s that live.
I mean, that is it for them–there is no one else. Rick knows it. Michonne knows it. Y’all know.
I like rosita and everything but she was getting on my last nerve this episode
I hate how bitter & reactive Rosita’s character is being written the last few episodes. Sasha is not her enemy and the writers shouldn’t be forcing cattiness on her from Rosita.
Rosita isn’t “salty” or jealous of Sasha.
She’s going through the last stages of deep depression right before a suicide attempt, (-pushing people away, fatalistic mindset, etc).
Negan beat Abraham to death and then after failing to goad her, beat Glenn to death and took Daryl. Then when she tried to commit suicide by Negan and take him out at the same time by shooting him, it backfired and Olivia was killed instead.
That scar she carries on her face is emblematic of that deeper pain. In the scene where she received the scar, she was literally daring Negan and Co. to kill her for her mistake, and they didn’t. They killed yet another person on her watch, while she lives with it being, in her mind “her fault”.
I’m honestly, disappointed in the line of thought in this post, because it might come from a similar place to the lack of empathy we’ve witnessed for Sasha’s pain. Shs was called all kinds of bitter, annoying, angry, when really she was just hurting; going through her PTSD. …All because she’s a black woman.
Rosita isn’t some basic angry “fiery” jealous Latina, mad because she was jilted… She’s beenbeyond that.
Every line she gave was a sign of a defeatist fatalistic mindset. “What’s the use trying because it will go wrong anyway.”The unspoken train of thought is that people died and will continue to die, and she’ll probably have a hand getting those people killed.
That’s why she spoke to Sasha and Morgan in that way she did about the deaths.
It’s also probably the reason why she stashed that bundle of dynamite, because she’s planning on rectifying her “mistakes”.
Rosita isn’t jealous or mean or a being an annoying bitch….
SHE’S BEING SUICIDAL, because she hates herself for what she sees as her role in getting the people she loves killed. If you were paying attention to the episode where Denise got killed, she actually read Rosita correctly, right before that arrow went through her head (yet another lost life on Rosita’s conscience, where she probably thinks she didn’t push the issue enough of her staying behind).
Rosita is a deeply sensitive empathic person, who gives everything to everyone else. That’s why she’s acting this way. ….She can’t have people caring enough to get themselves killed for her again (hell, even Spencer’s sorry ass was another one she thinks is on her, because she was the only one with clues to what he would attempt).
Her whole M.O. for who and why she’s survived this long is her love and caring for others. Her selflessness, to the point where it just wasn’t emotionally healthy. …But, it helped her survive the zombie apocalypse.
Everything that you see Rosita doing, is her purposely pushing people away so they won’t miss her when she’s gone after she “corrects” her “mistakes”.
We know what it is to see WOC’s pain dismissed because of super-basic and wrong unfeeling, bitchy stereotypes.
Can we not do that to Rosita?
@
@
*MikeyMagee breaks down why La La Land, while a perfectly acceptable movie, isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as people would have you believe, relying as it does, on the safety of White nostalgia, for its accolades.
Can I ask you why do you hate La La Land? I mean, I loved Moonlight too, but I liked La La Land a lot more.
Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed La La Land. I didn’t hate it at all. I enjoy old Hollywood films. I liked Singing in the Rain, and Meet Me in St. Louis, and Victor/Victoria and Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. And as an homage to those kinds of films, La La Land was wonderful
But…that’s about all it is. La La Land (while nice for what it is) wasn’t anything innovative, or new. Instead of breaking new ground it instead returned to an old past that prided itself on exclusion (and let’s be real, old Hollywood was all about excluding nonwhites and LGBT individuals.)
And the movie approaches all of its subjects from a very Eurocentric perspective. It’s a very white film, and that was very apparent as I watched it. Take Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who wanted to “save jazz” and was disturbed by his friend Keith’s more modern interpretation of the genre. When Sebastian was busy shaking his head at Keith’s innovation all I could do was sit there and think “Well, what’s Keith supposed to do? He’s working in an industry that routinely celebrates white mediocrity and ignores Black innovation!” Keith was a black man who had to work even harder to make a dent in the same industry that Sebastian was working in as well. That’s how racism works.
When Sebastian was talking about the history of Jazz, he left out many (racial) aspects of it. Like how it was spread by the Harlem Hellfighters in World War I, how Jazz was originally played by and for black people. That when white people began to play Jazz they had more access to high end bookings, and shows, etc. When Sebastian said he wanted to keep Jazz from dying, all I could think of was, “Well, maybe you should keep your white gentrifying hands off of it then…”
And then there was Mia (Emma Stone) who was working to be an actress. And her struggles there in. And all I could think about was how far more difficult it would be for an actress of color in her shoes. At least Mia had roles she could audition for. For a lot of nonwhite actresses simply having a script that requires a nonwhite woman is a luxury.
I mean, with all the stuff going on in America right now, I don’t think a film that runs on nostalgia and an over romantic view of America’s history is good. And if a film is going to get that much critical acclaim (I mean, 14 Oscar noms?) then I’m expecting it to break new ground and forge a path ahead. But La La Land did not do that. In fact, it did the exact opposite.
Moonlight, is without a doubt, my favorite film of the year. And yeah, I may be biased because I’m a black gay man, but I don’t really care. It’s hard to find movies that showcase the Black identity. And it’s hard to find movies that showcase the gay identity. And it’s damn near impossible to find movies that show off the black gay identity. And believe me, I’ve looked. There are great black gay films out there (Blackbird, Rag and Tag, Naz and Malik, Brother 2 Brother, to name a couple). But Moonlight is in another league altogether. Moonlight actually starts a conversation in both of those communities. It looks hypermasculinity within the black community and outlines the consequences, and it shows that there are such a thing as Black Queers (something the LGBT community hasn’t figured out yet). And as Black Queers our experiences diverge from white LGBT experiences and black heterosexual experiences. It’s an entirely new narrative that gets no spotlight in the mainstream (and frankly, it still hasn’t. Moonlight was an indie film on a shoestring budget that isn’t even playing in commercial theaters anymore.)
Moonlight is a movie that requires contemplation. It’s not easily digestible like La La Land. It challenges as well as illuminates. Moonlight forces people to look at themselves and their ideals. It makes you uncomfortable and has a longer impression. La La Land is just more of the same. It’s nice for what it is, but I hate that people are going insane over a movie that’s been done a thousand times, and will continue to be done.
It’s as I said before, white mediocrity will always be rewarded at a higher rate than black innovation, and that’s what’s driving me nuts.
@ @
*Actually, its almost like if you build it, they will come. I’m glad this is happening really, although I don’t necessarily feel that White people have anything to offer, in conversation, on some of these shows. But I’m glad other people are at least willing to give the shows a try and get something positive from them.
It’s almost like that “diversity agenda” that bigots tout is actually making stories that haven’t been told a million times before and people enjoy that.
Most Black People usually discover they have Nigga Neural Network, or NNN, when a white person does something foolish in public and you somehow manage to find and make eye contact with the nearest Black Person available whether you knew they were in the vicinity or not
Going over Moonlight (2016) again, I’ve noticed Barry Jenkins recurring theme of showcasing Chiron’s (and Kevin’s) backs. In each act (from Lil, to Chiron, to Black) the has a long shot of the subject’s back. (Long Post under the cut)
so if there’s one single trope i’m always down to fight it’s the animal bride (folklore motif 402??) which a lot of you are probably familiar with as the selkie – the fisherman either falls in love, steals her skin to trap her on land/gain power over her, or they fall in love and THEN he steals her skin to keep her from leaving, and either way she spends a lot of time gazing sadly out to sea and then she or her child finds the skin and never returns again.
and that’s awful on a whole lot of levels – it’s not love, it’s control.
BUT. but the thing is. you how selkies/seal women was a pretty common variation of this? another really popular one was swans.
i just want you to think about that for a moment. swans. like…I get it, they’re pretty, graceful birds, certainly it’s easy to imagine them magically becoming pretty graceful ladies? but have you ever fought a swan. swans are awful. swans are the devil’s geese. imagine seeing a pretty magic lady and being absolutely enchanted by her, and stealing her magic feather cloak, and then you go up and say ‘hey i’m in love with you, let me make you my queen, it will be great, we’ll be so happy’ and she just looks at you for a moment and…
you know i was going to say maybe she just shouts for her sisters and suddenly you’rerealizing you’ve made a terrible terrible mistake bc you’re surrounded by big fucking birds who are all hissing. but honestly if this swan lady is as aggressively down to brawl as any other generally unhappy swan, then she’d straight up fuck you up on her own. she’d just deck you roundhouse, honestly. you don’t fuck with swans. why does this trope exist
okay but consider this: a woman walks to the park every day and feeds the swans and watches them paddle gracefully around the lake, sighing to see how beautifully they swim.
finally one day, a swan comes up to her and says ‘why don’t you come and swim with us? you always sigh so wistfully to see us on the water, and you would be most welcome to join our company, for you have always been a true friend to our kind’
and the woman says, ‘i can’t swim’
and the swan says, ‘we’ll teach you’
and the woman says, ‘literally i can’t swim, my husband stole my sealskin and should i venture into deep water i would surely drown’
and the swan says ‘your husband fucking WHAT’
the next morning the woman’s front yard looks like this.
and neither the woman nor her husband are ever heard from again, though for very different reasons.
OH MY GOD.
@ @
On Introverts
And my personal favorite, as it happens to echo my exact thoughts sometimes:
*Is it just me or does anybody else just get tired of hearing their friends talking to you sometimes? Like “Would u please shut up!” Only you actually like them, and don’t want to hurt their feelings, so you just grit your teeth and smile.
I think I speak for all of us when I say that it can be VERY annoying to be called names and have people assume things about us that just isn’t true. That being said, books and articles are a great way for non-introverted people to learn more about what introversion is and how to best interact with introverts. Do you guys know of any good books, articles, or other sources about introversion?
Note: This is also a chance for introverts to seek out sources for themselves as well. Learning about oneself is a great way to spend your alone time. 🙂
If you’re an introvert, follow @introvertunites
@ @
Characters that need to just die, cuz yeah I hate this character, too.
We’ve all seen her. The black lady behind the counter. She’s dead-eyed, mono-toned, usually larger than average, and middle-aged.
She doesn’t give a shit about what you need.
She is the personification of red tape. She is always a hindrance, merely there for the white hero and the audience watching to be annoyed at.
The audience rolls their eyes and thinks “Ugh, fuck this lady.” and take that shitty media programmed baggage out into the world when they deal with actual real life black women who work these positions and are often the most patient, helpful, “get you through this system despite it holding me down too” people.
It’s shitty and tired and disgusting and it programs people to see black women as annoying attitude-having hindrances by default.
STOP IT.
@ @ Mocking Stupidity. I reblogged this one for the insult, also I hate coleslaw. Where’s the lie?
@ @
*And finally new nicknames for 45. There’s a whole website devoted to miscalling this “Gibbering Mango”
The Orange Fire Monkey,
The Orange Fire Chicken
Hair Hitler
Top Ten Donald Trump Nicknames
The Donald — Ivana Trump (she first used the term in a 1989 Spy Magazine cover story)
Lord Voldemort — Rosie O’Donnell
Golden Wrecking Ball — Sarah Palin (who was NOT trying to be funny!)
Short-Fingered Vulgarian — Graydon Carter (a nickname Trump hates because he seems to think it implies that he is under-endowed “down there”)
Tiny Hands Trump, Babyfingers Trump and Pixie Fingers Trump — Michael R. Burch (nicknames based on Graydon Carter’s nickname above)
The Most Fabulous Whiner — after Donald Trump described himself to CNN’s Chris Cuomo as the “most fabulous whiner” who keeps “winning by whining”
Fuckface von Clownstick, Man-Baby, Comedy Entrapment and Unrepentant Narcissistic Asshole — Jon Stewart
The White Kanye ― Bill Maher
Trump of Doom — Michael R. Burch (first used in a possibly prophetic Facebook post on September 11, 2015)
Agent Orange — Anonymous
mikeymagee
Geeking Out about It 