So I've watched Goncharov about a hundred times at this point....
Why the fuck is no one talking about the symbolism of jewelry in Katya's relationships?!?!?
Like, Katya is a woman who takes pride in her appearance which obviously becomes a reflection of her mental state, and by extension the state of her relationships with Goncharov and Sofia, throughout the film. In the beginning of the film, Katya is wearing diamonds and pearls (both of which form from adverse circumstances), which reflects her elegance and sophistication as Donna Goncharova but it's also a subtle way to show the cracks in her marriage. Goncharov uses expensive jewelry as a way of avoiding hard conversations about their issues, always finding a way to bring up how much each piece costs as a way of trying to cut off Katya's frustrations, and the snide way he jokes about it during the cocktail scene is telling of how fragile their relationship has become, especially when the film juxtaposes the elaborate diamond and pearl necklace he gives her right before the infamous carnival scene with the simple pearl earrings that she tells us were a gift from their first anniversary.
In contrast, you have the sea glass bracelet that Sofia buys for her in the marketplace. It is, in Valery's words, a "cheap trinket" but Sofia picked it out for her because it matches her eyes!!! To Sofia, the bracelet is a token of affection but to Katya it is so much more because for the first time in years, someone gave her a gift because they wanted to make her happy, not show off how much money they spend on her! And we as the audience can clearly see how much she cherishes that bracelet, the way she leaves her expensive jewelry all over her vanity, not caring even when she loses the new diamond earrings that Goncharov just bought while carefully tucking the bracelet into its own jewelry case whenever she isn't wearing it.
And the way that the film contrasts how Goncharov and Sofia give her the jewelry; Goncharov is careless when giving her the new jewelry cases, tossing them around, barely even looking at Katya when he gives her a "present" because the gifts are obligations now, much like their relationship has become for the both of them, a part they play with each other, a hollow echo of past love. While Sofia doesn't just look at her when giving her the bracelet, she fastens it on Katya's wrist herself and tells her how beautiful it looks on her. She sees Katya, the good, the bad, and the damaged, and reminds her that like sea glass, her broken parts don't have to keep hurting her, that it's okay to let time soften the sharp edges of her grief.
Idk, maybe I'm crazy but I always go crazy when a character's appearance becomes a part of the themes of a film and Katya is such a pivotal character in the film that I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this.
So I've watched Goncharov about a hundred times at this point....
Why the fuck is no one talking about the symbolism of jewelry in Katya's relationships?!?!?
Like, Katya is a woman who takes pride in her appearance which obviously becomes a reflection of her mental state, and by extension the state of her relationships with Goncharov and Sofia, throughout the film. In the beginning of the film, Katya is wearing diamonds and pearls (both of which form from adverse circumstances), which reflects her elegance and sophistication as Donna Goncharova but it's also a subtle way to show the cracks in her marriage. Goncharov uses expensive jewelry as a way of avoiding hard conversations about their issues, always finding a way to bring up how much each piece costs as a way of trying to cut off Katya's frustrations, and the snide way he jokes about it during the cocktail scene is telling of how fragile their relationship has become, especially when the film juxtaposes the elaborate diamond and pearl necklace he gives her right before the infamous carnival scene with the simple pearl earrings that she tells us were a gift from their first anniversary.
In contrast, you have the sea glass bracelet that Sofia buys for her in the marketplace. It is, in Valery's words, a "cheap trinket" but Sofia picked it out for her because it matches her eyes!!! To Sofia, the bracelet is a token of affection but to Katya it is so much more because for the first time in years, someone gave her a gift because they wanted to make her happy, not show off how much money they spend on her! And we as the audience can clearly see how much she cherishes that bracelet, the way she leaves her expensive jewelry all over her vanity, not caring even when she loses the new diamond earrings that Goncharov just bought while carefully tucking the bracelet into its own jewelry case whenever she isn't wearing it.
And the way that the film contrasts how Goncharov and Sofia give her the jewelry; Goncharov is careless when giving her the new jewelry cases, tossing them around, barely even looking at Katya when he gives her a "present" because the gifts are obligations now, much like their relationship has become for the both of them, a part they play with each other, a hollow echo of past love. While Sofia doesn't just look at her when giving her the bracelet, she fastens it on Katya's wrist herself and tells her how beautiful it looks on her. She sees Katya, the good, the bad, and the damaged, and reminds her that like sea glass, her broken parts don't have to keep hurting her, that it's okay to let time soften the sharp edges of her grief.
Idk, maybe I'm crazy but I always go crazy when a character's appearance becomes a part of the themes of a film and Katya is such a pivotal character in the film that I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this.
I save scummed through every variation of this guy’s dialogue tree because I really, really wanted him to perform unethical surgery on me. like I’m still so angry about this. WHY have the gross knife hand doctor if he can’t pull out your appendix and laugh about it??? what is the POINT
Here's some of the notes, starting with the things multiple people brought up:
SHRIMP COCKTAIL:
banahbanah: #flashback to that one fic where Peter Parker frets about drinking shrimp cocktail because of the alcohol
generaldeliciousness: adding: what a prawn/shrimp cocktail is
#why is your character turning it down because they're under 21 #do you think prawn cocktail is a cocktail #this lives in my brain rent-free constantly #the rest of the fic was so normal #and good enough that i'll still re-read it #but bro
And then many, MANY, people wondering if this was actually authour mistake, since Peter really would do this!
POMEGRANATES:
zhajhassa: #haha where's that post that was like someone describing someone eating a pomegranate but they ate it like an apple
thornhands: #once someone wrote persephone biting into a whole Pomegranate #had to stop and stare at a wall for a minute
sungsingsanguine: I once saw someone very confidently write about a character eating slices of pomegranate.
FRUIT TREES:
zagreuses-toast: #given a very endearing glimpse into a writers blindspots by seeing them describe someone sitting under a ''pineapple tree''
salatrash: I remember something about picking watermelons... OF A FUCKING TREE
baander: #cranberry trees
DOUGH/BATTER:
maycelium: #I'm a chef so I'm really used to people not accurately describing how to cook food #But I was surprisingly flabbergasted when someone was writing making a cake and was kneading it. Which uh #Not necessary for cake. It was interesting for sure but just bizarre
livebloggingmydescentintomadness: #the one that drove me nuts was when a character set aside a batch of PASTA DOUGH 'to rise' #pasta doesn't have yeast!! #it does need to REST but it will never RISE #you do not want an airy crumb on your noodles
lovesodeepandwideandwell: #THE ONE WHERE THEY MADE COOKIES BY LADLING BATTER INTO A TRAY
Some other topics:
ANIMALS:
catenarwhal: #mandatory 'how cows produce milk' mention#i'll never recover from that one I fear
piromantic: #one time i saw someone fake their way through describing how spiders behave
pluto-lichen: horses
misskittypotter: #stardew valley faking its way through what fresh fish smell like
pa-pa-plasma: #saw someone faking their way through knowing what a seal is once #i still am fucked up over that one to this day. they just straight up did not know #& they were NOT good at guessing it either like it was clear they had never googled that animal ever #& was only just now realizing via answering questions from anons that seals are not!! what they assumed. initially
SEX:
dykevandyke: #what a prostate is #and where it is located #as in. external.
dreamyeyedrose: #I remember back in the ff.net days reading an Ichigo/Renji fic where the writer assumed the penises go inside each other #and I was like “I mean I don't know how it works for sure I don't have one but idk if that's how it works”
SOME OTHER FOOD STUFF:
thetrekkiehasthephonebox: #add another one to the list bloggers#this character is cooking a salad
shosta: #still baffled about the published work that didn't know food could freeze
sun-dari: #once i read a fic where the author didn't understand cinnamon
alto-tenure: #read something recently where the author was just. blatantly wrong about spices
dramatic-dolphin: #i saw someone try to fake their way through what ramen is once. like 14 years ago.#but i remember.#i was very confused about ramen for a few months. they were writing it so authoritatively.
the-celery-stalks-at-midnight: #i will never ever forget someone putting leftover fries in the microwave to reheat them and setting the timer for five minutes
typeghost: #this sparked a memory of a hannibal fic where the author had to fake their way through writing about gravy
draculin: #the one fanfic where the author knows about coffee only as a concept wrote a character as a coffee drinker#was very interesting#I don't remember the fandom or the plot but I was mesmerized by the coffee actions and choices
11235811235811: #there's a lot of faking their way thru congee in the svsss fandom i'll also note
fishali3n: #read one where the person clearly didnt know what tofu is
emmy-everafter: #in the aftermath of shadow and bone s2 i saw a lot of people pretending to know what stroopwafels are #babes they are more like cookies than breakfast waffles #like yes there is a waffle pattern but you're not gonna cut into a stack of them with syrup and sugar#🤣🤣🤣
NON-FOOD STUFF:
red-umbrella-811: Shoutout to Dame Agatha Christie for faking her way through what a wrench is in a very popular published work.
bluebeetle: #once saw someone have a character put an entire phone book in their pocket
nonametis: #- sex talk in languages other than english #<- or just the petnames in a different language other than English
sadisticpony: #the fanfiction i saw this week where op DIDNT KNOW HOW AUTOMATIC DOORS WORKED #and that they arent in peoples homes!!! of course. also opening the automatic door for someone is unironically very funny but its not #its not like. grabbing the door handle to let someone in. helpppp
danmeichael: #reminds me of the fic with the figure drawing class where the character started with the feet. #i love you feet first figure drawing author
meowmix1100blr: #me watching this one fic absolutely obliterate what the board of directors does
vexedhexes: #one time i read an architect character making a doorway bigger by building a bigger door #what a beautiful world. #OH. also gravity falls fic where they go 'oh piedmont is in california so its warm all year round'
leveragehunters: #characters going to a beer garden #And it's literally a garden outside the pub#It was a very cute mistake
fitofpique: #yes! #grown men do not get blind drunk off two beers #but i am possibly guilty of the hypothermia one #assuming it does not make you very horny?
dadvans-likes: #always thinking abt the soup kitchen fic #the entire setting of the fic was 'soup kitchen' #and i very quickly realized #the author did not know what a soup kitchen was #and they thought that soup kitchens only served soup #fic
msmargaretmurry: #i love fanfiction #once read a fic where the characters played 20 questions #but the author seemed to not know how to play 20 questions and was just kind of winging it........ #immaculate
shakespeareaddict: #Look I know not all of us are hockey experts #But it takes about ten seconds of research or any attention paid to the show to realize #That the Stanley cup playoffs are not in fucking September
baejax-the-great: #the funniest one i saw #was someone faking what church is like #like 1. they really didn't have to write an entire church experience for their fic #and 2. they had clearly never even watched a show where people went to church #it was bonkers weird
twosunson: #things ive seen authors faking #knowing how to unclog a drain #knowing. literally any history #knowing what ketamine looks like (apparently- oregano) #(you know who you are)
waterhorseyblues-ao3: #beltane being celebrated in winter #wales being portrayed as a completely separated land from england (i wish) #characters getting up after weeks of bedrest like that dosnt completely fuck you up
violetfairydust: #i once read a fic where the flight time from london to seattle was 3 hours
purekesseltrash: One time, in a fic set specifically in Des Moines, IA, two of the characters casually drove 20 minutes to the ocean. The memory continues to delight me. I want to know where that author thought that Iowa was.
stormborns
vaporwave
janainaart
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
