When I get sad, and I mean a raw, hopeless kind of sadness, I listen to Perfect Day by Lou Reed. This is because, and I’m not quite sure when I decided this, I want the song played at my funeral. The song has always carried with it this indescribable mix of elation and utter despair for me. Reed’s voice is one that stays with you. Maybe that’s why I want it to be played; I want to stick with people the way Reed’s voice does.
Nevertheless, I don’t know why I insist on listening to it. I hate sad music with a passion; I’m a person that thrives on sadness in the sense that I can absorb it from anything. Therefore, sad music has an incredibly visceral effect on me. It doesn’t help I listen to it in the dark alone.
Maybe I just want to revel in the idea that I won’t always be around. My head’s been in a bad place recently; maybe it brings me comfort that there will be an end to it all, the song representing a time when those who loved me will have something they can associate with me. It doesn’t bring me any joy to imagine people being sad over me. Instead, it’s representing an end point.
In other ways, the fact that I am still here to listen to the song, albeit alone in the dark under a sad mountain of blankets, perhaps brings me some comfort. In the same ways I can absorb sadness from music at an alarming rate, I can absorb happiness too. As Perfect Day brings despair, it brings elation with it. It’s desperately sad, but with a kind of mournful hope.
Perhaps listening to the song, having chosen it as the one to be played at an event that definitively celebrates the end of my life, makes me more determined to push that date away from me, instead of bringing it closer. Choosing a song that represents my end hands me back some semblance of control, of which it feels as though I have had none recently. I can regulate a portion of the end of my life without feeling the need to bring it any closer. A small comfort, but one I can find something in.
Ah, September. The worst month of the year for anyone under the age of 20, in that it signals the worst of times: the start of the academic year. There’s nothing quite like the smell of constant deadlines and the crushing fear of failure.
So on that light note, I thought I’d weigh in on what I’m sure is a topic already written to death about: university. University is the most intimidating academic transition, and one that almost everyone who chooses to go struggles with. I myself struggled a lot. Because there’s so much to remember, I thought I’d put together a list of things any first-year (or anyone in education in fact) should know.
1: Get. A. Planner.
Seriously, I cannot stress this enough. It’s all well and good thinking you can memorise the five assignment questions set by your four module tutors as well as the clubs, meetings and various other commitments you’ve agreed to, but take it from me. You cannot. So for the love of all that is good, invest in a diary.
2: Uni is meant to be hard.
There’s a reason degrees are considered impressive. Of course you’re going to struggle initially, because university is no walk in the park. It will take effort (yes, unfortunately, you will have to do actual work), but don’t quit. It takes everyone a while to adjust, and for some it takes a lot longer. But don’t be put off just because you can’t copy Dave’s answers the lunch break before anymore.
3: Speak to everyone.
Freshers week for me was a literal nightmare. The prospect of having to start all over again with a fresh set of people is daunting to say the least, but make the most of it. Everyone is in the same position as you, and the awkward small talk you make with some random boy at a freshers party or event could lead to the best friendship you ever made. Yes, you will never speak to most of them again. And yes, you will meet absolute weirdos. But it’s all part of the experience.
4: But friends aren’t everything.
An important one. Yes, it’s important to put yourself out there to begin with and create the opportunity for friendship. However, you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you’re somewhat unsuccessful, and you shouldn’t let it mar your uni experience. Becoming more independent is never a bad thing, and putting limits on yourself because the social aspect of uni is not all it’s cracked up to be is damaging and narrow-minded. Do whatever you want, it’s uni! Go get that tongue piercing! Go shave your head! Just do it solo!
5: Put in some effort, at least.
There will be some days you’ll be so hungover the 9am lecture is no easier than climbing a literal mountain. That’s fine. But as a uni student, you have to be prepared to put in some effort. If there’s a deadline, meet it. If the required reading for that week is mandatory, do it! And, most importantly, make the most of practice essays or exams. I know what I’m talking about when I say that it is guaranteed the way you worked in college will no longer be applicable, and so to learn that in a practice exam that counts for nothing is a lot easier to deal with than learning it on the real thing. So make the most of any help offered; it makes everything down the line just that little bit easier.
A little bit different from my usual content, but I hope this may be useful to someone worrying about uni!
Taylor Swift is not my thing. Her money-grabbing, victim-playing self has always left a bad taste in my mouth, her music has, to me, consistently come across as either saccharine or faux-emotional, and though I completely respect others’ difference in opinions over Swift, I’ve always steered well clear of her.
Up until now.
The youtuber Jacksfilms uploaded a video jokingly making fun of her latest song and so, prematurely smug in the “fact” that I would just be able to sit back and hate it, I clicked on her lyric video. And I was...baffled. The song’s individual parts seemed to be of entirely different genres (and not the good, Bohemian Rhapsody kind), the chorus was literally just a line repeated over a drum machine to the rhythm of Right Said Fred’s ‘I’m Too Sexy’ (????), and the message of a dangerous, vengeful yet empowered woman that Swift was trying to portray has been done so many times before, in much more creative and pleasant ways.
So why. Can’t I stop. Listening to it?
I’ve had it on repeat for the past few days, and I can’t figure out why, because it’s not a good song. Harry Styles, much to my horror, produced an incredible album with heavy influences from genres I enjoy, forcing me to admit that yes, a mainstream pop artist I love to hate can produce amazing, complex music. But this isn’t that! Swift’s song is hollow, musically incoherent and cliched. It has nothing that would appeal to me.
I have to congratulate Taylor Swift. Though she’s divided fans with a fairly substantial change in musical direction, she’s piqued my interest, something which I thought would never happen. And who knows, maybe I’ll even give her new album a chance.
So I’m a little late to the party on this topic, admittedly, but I wanted to discuss the news that, and reaction to, Jodie Whittaker being the 13th Doctor. The fact that people were even surprised that the Doctor turned out to be a female is unbelievable in itself, on account of the heavy hint-dropping scattered throughout last season, as well as the fact that the Master himself regenerated into Missy not too long ago, proving in fact that yes, astonishingly, Time Lords have no fixed gender.
I’m acutely aware that nothing I have to say on this topic hasn’t already been said. However, personally I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the show’s change in direction, as what initially seems to be such a radical change in a show deeply set in nerd and sci-fi culture could have easily elicited a largely negative one.
However, and this isn’t just me jumping on the supposed “trying to start an argument” bandwagon that apparently made its rounds on the internet post-announcement, I was also surprised at how hostile some “fans” were to the news. And, just to make it clear, there were negative reactions. In fact, I watched the announcement with a friend, a once die-hard Doctor Who fan I might add, who, upon seeing it was Jodie Whittaker underneath the hood, declared ‘well I won’t be watching the show anymore, what a stupid decision’. It’s astonishing, to say the least, that a sci-fi show in which every concept of life, physics and common sense as we know it is stretched and challenged to its limit, is being attacked and called unreasonable because the Doctor now has tits. Seriously, the finale included two different versions of the same person messing with an alien trying to fight off metal men on a spaceship capable of sustaining nature, and you can’t comprehend that alien being female? For supposed sci-fi fans, they certainly are narrow-minded.
To end on a positive note though, there was definitely a mostly positive reaction, and that was just incredibly nice to see. In a sense, by giving the role of the Doctor to a woman, as well as the appointment of Chris Chibnall to replace Moffat, the show feels like it’s being given a fresh start, which is exactly what it needs, and I couldn’t be more excited to give what was once such an original and entertaining show a second chance.
Now, the season finale of Doctor Who was last week, and I’m still very much in two minds as to whether I liked it or not and, more importantly, whether or not it was a fitting, suitably epic episode for Peter Capaldi’s doctor. Here are some of my thoughts on it. (Spoilers, obviously).
To begin with, let me clarify: whilst I am a BIG fan of Capaldi’s doctor, I feel his legacy and impact has been somewhat dampened by Steven Moffat’s hugely hit-and-miss writing. His stand-alone episodes in the earlier series of the revival were outstanding, yet somehow after being given free reign on every episode, the quality has quite dramatically slipped. Though I haven’t brought myself to watch every episode in the latest series yet, I happened to catch ‘The Lie of the Land’, and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a strongly negative reaction to a Doctor Who episode (it’s usually just disappointed indifference). To put it simply, Moffat can be both a wonderful and an awful writer, it’s just the luck of the draw as to which one it is.
Having said that, the penultimate episode of the series, ‘World Enough and Time’, was genuinely incredible. The Master’s role in the episode was genius, as was his reveal (though can you imagine if the news that John Simm was returning hadn’t been leaked, and we had fully managed to experience that mind-blowing moment when he reveals himself? The Doctor Who fanbase, myself included, would have most likely imploded), and though I was sceptical at first about bringing John Simm back and potentially sullying his legacy, I was pleasantly surprised. The concept of the episode was truly original, it was funny, sad, and most importantly SCARY. Ever since Tennant’s episodes in the parallel universe, I have been terrified of the Cybermen, and this episode both justified and rejuvenated that childhood nightmare for me. It was suspenseful, disturbing (the patient pressing the ‘pain’ button still haunts me, as does the grotesque gradual change in the masks), and echoed episodes like ‘The Empty Child’ which, in my opinion certainly, is how Doctor Who should be. Truly one of my favourite episodes to date.
Following on from this masterpiece, I had high hopes for the finale and, indeed, it did start off promising. Well, sort of. The first section was a little bit tired and clichéd, down to the rousing “everything’s sorted” music, the ‘resolution-that’s-not-really-a-resolution’ trope that’s so overused within the show, and the unusually common location of a rooftop. However, it did get better. Again, sort of. The use of the “sort of” Cybermen as scarecrows who regularly attack the cluster of human survivors was scary, though it both blatantly copied the Scarecrows in Tennant’s ‘Family of Blood’ episodes, and was never really explained fully as to why they were there, so it seemed a bit lazy (though please do correct me if they did explain it and I missed it).
“Borrowing” plot points from other episodes, even other writers, seems to be an unfortunate recurrence for Moffat (honestly, don’t even get me started) and, sadly, this episode was no exception. One can’t help but wonder how much “inspiration” he took from Matt Smith’s last episodes which, as I recall, also contained a defeated Doctor essentially sacrificing himself to save a group of humans from Cybermen (though I could be wrong). In this sense, the episode truly was disappointing, as is what you would expect from borrowing from an episode that was a disappointment in the first place. Capaldi truly has been an iconic doctor, despite unfortunate writing, and so to have his penultimate episode dare I say ruined by Moffat’s sloppy writing is such a shame.
The end section was not great either. Bill’s ending was heartbreaking, and her collapsing next to the doctor, both truly defeated, was a powerful image. However, then Moffat pulled something that had a vaguely ‘deus ex machina’ feel to it. Though we had already been introduced to Heather (or rather, the form of Heather taken by the episode’s monster) in the first episode of the series, her reappearance in the form of a solution for Bill’s apparently inevitable death felt clumsy and forced, which is so disappointing. Let me tell you, I have absolutely loved Bill’s character (despite, as with Capaldi, the subpar writing), as she almost acted as a detox to Clara’s intense characterisation with her refreshing attitude to life and the situations she found herself in. Bill being gay, too, also added a completely new dimension to her character which both brought the show into the present, but also eliminated any chance of the wonderful friendship between herself and the doctor to be distorted by romantic notions (not that I’m against that trope being used at all, it was just a seldom used, interesting perspective on the doctor/companion relationship). And as much as I’m happy Bill ended up happy (and alive) with Heather, it just felt so forced and an unlikely, ridiculous solution to her situation. It’s not even that it was terrible, it’s that Bill was such a wonderful character (and should have stayed for more than one series), and her transformation into a primitive Cyberman was so heartwrenching and painful to watch, for it to be resolved in a matter of minutes was anti-climatic. All I’m saying is: Bill deserved better.
(Quick side-note: Bill would NEVER have left the Doctor’s dying body by itself in the Tardis. She just wouldn’t have, it’s entirely out of character.)
All the negative aspects aside, there were some good, even great, parts of the episode, Bill being one of them. Pearl Mackie has done just such an incredible job of playing Bill, and I will be sad to see her go. This episode, along with the previous one, was certainly stand-out for her, with the heartbreaking revelation that Bill did not see herself as a Cyberman, and so could not understand why people were scared of her. This may have been the most cruel and disturbing twist of the story arc, and I LOVE it. This puts everything we thought we knew about the Cybermen into question, and for once among multiple instances of Moffat attempting and failing at this, it works! It adds a whole new perspective on their behaviour; does every Cyberman see itself as pre-transformation? Regardless, aside from the hiccup that was her ending, Bill was excellent this episode and one of its saving aspects.
As with Mackie, Capaldi was excellent once again in this episode. Regardless of your opinion on him, it cannot be denied that Capaldi puts everything into the character; he has been consistently intense and dark with brilliant sparks of insanity and wit, and his character will be sorely missed by myself and so many others. This episode was no exception. By being characterised as beaten down and defeated, ready to accept his fate even, he almost brought me to tears a few times, as it is such a tragic end for a doctor already plagued with the questionable actions of his past selves. Not much more to say about his performance really, except that it was excellent and tragic at the same time.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the episode, as was expected, was Missy and the Master. Michelle Gomez has had a tough act to follow in terms of succeeding John Simm’s practically flawless Master, yet she managed to not only exceed everyone’s expectations as a character in her own right, but also had believable, exhilarating onscreen chemistry with Capaldi’s Doctor. Her insanity offsets his solemnity, and it’s been an absolute joy seeing the two of them share a screen. Another character who will be sorely missed. John Simm was predictably excellent, playing the Master as smug and cruel as ever. The interactions between the two of them was a standout, their conversations being wonderfully eccentric and evil. The Master attempting to hit on Missy was hilarious, and their taunting of the Doctor, as well as Missy’s internal struggle as to who to side with, was excellently carried out by Simm and Gomez.
That’s not to say, however, that there weren’t any problems with the masters. For one, there wasn’t nearly enough screentime of them, and I feel as though the opportunity to bring John Simm back has been wasted in this way. To really optimise the two appearing onscreen together, one can’t help but wonder whether the two-parter finale should have been a three episode saga, so as to create a full episode in the middle in which Gomez and Simm could have made the most of, as well as properly had fun with, their characters. The ending, too, in which they destroyed each other makes for a rather unsatisfying resolution to their roles, and for the Doctor to never know Missy’s decision to be on his side in the end is honestly quite cruel. Essentially, the two masters were brilliant, but there wasn’t nearly enough of htem.
So to summarise, despite all my moaning I did enjoy it. I can’t say that it was a great episode, or that it was a fully fitting ending for someone as incredible as Capaldi’s Doctor, but it was enjoyable to watch and had some excellent aspects, balancing out the negative aspects.
If you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said or would like to comment, I would love to hear from you, and I hope you’ve enjoyed my little (!) ramble about the episode.
My introduction to Drag Race was probably a fairly average one. One of my close friends watched the show, and was watching it at college one day. I knew of drag, of course, but had never had much interest. It was during the sixth season, and I was confused but interested. I quickly became obsessed with Bianca del Rio and Adore Delano, still two of my favourite queens to this day, but more importantly, I became obsessed with a show in which the creativity and talent of these drag queens, and of a type of gender fluidity, was celebrated, rather than ridiculed or ignored.
I know many people have claimed that Rupaul’s Drag Race has ruined drag, in dragging it (pun intended) from an underground, close-knit movement to a culture that has almost become mainstream in recent years. This, to me, is the same logic of fans that stop listening to a band’s music once they become popular (i.e. illogical). In my opinion, it has done quite the opposite. Before the show, I wasn’t exactly averse to drag, I just didn’t care at all. Now, my entire perspective has changed. I not only am so much more aware of the importance of drag to the LGBT community, and indeed gender roles as well, but I also now appreciate tenfold the strength and bravery of the LGBT movement, and how drag contributes to this. Drag has made me consider my own sexuality in an entirely different perspective, which I don’t think I would have done otherwise. To put it simply, it doesn’t get more punk and anti-establishment than drag.
On a somewhat lighter note, I have never before come across a reality show, or any show in fact, that is so vibrant and fun to watch! The dramatic camera angles and editing are truly incredible, and every queen that comes on the show brings her own personality and quirks, which is honestly so refreshing when compared to the lack of any real personality on other reality shows. There’s so many different types of drag, too, which keeps the show interesting and fresh, and is yet another way the show celebrates diversity and the beauty of uniqueness.
Though I have watched past seasons, Season 9 was the first time I was watching it as it happened. The two queens that stood out to me from the beginning (and coincidentally made it all the way to the top) were Shea Coulee and Sasha Velour. Though I wasn’t overly keen on Shea at the beginning, she quickly grew on me and is a firm example of the talent these queens display; she was at once beautiful and hilarious, talented yet humble, and showed grace at every turn. Sasha, I have to admit, I loved from the beginning (I’m a sucker for artsy queens). She displayed yet another side of drag: intellectual, exploratory, and the subtle breaking down of the expectations of female beauty. Together, the two queens really sum up the excellence of the show.
To conclude, RuPaul’s Drag Race manages to at once be the most melodramatic, over the top reality show I’ve ever come across, and yet also be a gateway into exploring issues of sexuality, gender and oppression. It is one of a kind in that it celebrates diversity and creativity like no other, yet has managed to encourage others to think in that same genderfluid, non-conforming way.
I’ll be starting a new series tomorrow, called ‘Why I Love...’, because why not talk about and celebrate the things I and others enjoy! My first topic: RuPaul’s Drag Race and drag! Hope you enjoy it!
A big passion for me has always been alternative comedy, through no fault of my own really. I was brought up watching shows like The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd, with my parents encouraging me to watch things that were a little “outside of the box”. I’m incredibly grateful of that, and now I wish to share with you my top five alternative comedies in the hope that you too may find a new show that you love!
* A little disclaimer: these are British alternative comedies, simply due to the fact that I’m British, and because I haven’t yet stumbled across American/otherwise comedies with the same surrealism/cynicism that I enjoy. The closest thing I have found is Maria Bamford’s Netflix special Old Baby (which is excellent, by the way) in terms of surrealist American humour. But please, if you do have any suggestions for me to watch, I would love to give them a try!
#5: Snuff Box
If you haven’t heard of this, don’t be surprised. To be quite honest, I only knew of it through my parents. To my knowledge, it was the result of a rejected first pitch (after which the writers just stopped caring so much), and aired only once late at night. Perhaps understandably so: the premise of the show is perhaps a little controversial. It follows the lives of two executioners, played by Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher, and the episodes are interspersed with various sketches. The humour is rarely obvious, and certainly not laugh-out-loud. Really, I would recommend coming to the show with an open mind (as with most of these shows, actually!), as it’s certainly not for everyone. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, and so it makes it onto the list!
#4: Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace
The premise of Darkplace is an interesting one. It is based around a fictional 70s hospital drama, with commentary from the “actors”, played by such comedy geniuses as Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry. What makes this show good though, in my eyes, is how bad it actually is. The show is made out to be some kind of legendary cult classic, when in fact there’s poor acting, shoddy sets and downright terrible directing. Once again, it’s not laugh-out-loud, but the solemn way in which they make a fool of themselves is what makes it so funny. If you enjoy mockumentary type shows, then I would definitely check this out.
#3: The League of Gentlemen
You may have already watched this show, or at least heard of it; it’s a bit less “cult” than some others on the list. My first experience with The League of Gentlemen was not exactly positive, due to my vivid recurring nightmares of Edward and Tubbs, the brother-sister/husband-wife duo. As I got older and actually watched the show, that nightmare then took the form of Herr Lipp, perhaps the creepiest character I’ve ever come across, along with a particularly unforgettable episode involving erotic asphyxiation. Creepy, unpleasant, downright disgusting. These all can be used to describe the show, so why would I be recommending it? Why, it’s all part of the charm of course! It’s funny, compelling, and entirely original. Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Mark Gatiss both wrote and starred in the show, and it’s just entirely insane. If you’re easily offended/disturbed/disgusted, I would give it a miss. But for everyone else, I recommend it highly.
#2: The Mighty Boosh
Now, the only reason this is not at the top of the list is that I believe the next show deserves way more recognition than it gets, and The Mighty Boosh is already fairly popular (but we’ll get onto that in a second). The Boosh is hands-down my favourite show ever, and really I cannot recommend it highly enough. Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, two of my favourite comedy actors, wrote and fronted the show as unlikely pair Howard Moon and Vince Noir, a depressed jazz enthusiast and a sparkly egotistical culmination of goth/punk/whatever respectively. The episodes are original and highly entertaining (a man-fish mutation with female parts and an obsession with Baileys is a personal favourite of mine), it has incredibly catchy music (its lack of release still being a sore point for yours truly), and it’s genuinely so funny. The humour is very surreal, but not overly so that it becomes more abstract than funny. It’s hugely enjoyable, and I cannot recommend it enough.
#1: This Is Jinsy
And so we come to my final choice for alternative comedies, the cult (should-be) classic This Is Jinsy, and boy is it a good one. Set on the fictional island of Jinsy, the show follows the lives of the head of the island Arbiter Maven and his assistant Sporall, as well as the quirky antics of the other islanders. If ever there was a show epitomising “quirky”, this would be it. Everything about it, from its yearly traditions to the ritual in which names are chosen is so utterly unique. And perhaps one of the most stand-out elements of the show, bearing in mind how little it is actually known, is how many famous people have guest starred, David Tennant, Derek Jacobi and Olivia Coleman being the first that spring to mind. Every episode has an acclaimed actor dressed in varying shade of beige being as eccentric as they possibly can be, and it’s truly wonderful. It makes me sad that very few people know about this show, as it genuinely is incredibly entertaining, from its hilariously stupid music (a parody of Bowie and Jagger’s ‘Dancing in the Street’ in which they sing about clothing made of fruit always springs to mind) to its incredible array of weird and wacky characters. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and would encourage everyone to seek it out (at the time of writing, the episodes are on Youtube).
Well that’s it for this post, if you liked it, disagreed with my top five or would like to suggest any others, please let me know, and look out for my next post coming soon!
Hello again! I’ve accidentally abandoned this blog, but I hope to kickstart it again with a series of posts entitled “Why I Love...”, because there’s enough negativity in the world right now, so why not instead rave about the good things and perhaps even recommend them to others!
Okay, so sorry for no new reviews yet, but I have to rant before I post anything else.
Do people seriously think that Batman was KISSING Harley in Suicide Squad?! SERIOUSLY?! IS CPR A FOREIGN CONCEPT?!
I’ve seen a few people suggest he was, but I didn’t really care at the time because it was irrelevant. But today, what do I see but NME suggesting that Batman was, and I quote, “SEXUALLY VIOLENT” towards her. Bullshit.
First off, she was unconscious. He felt her pulse, then gave her CPR. He didn’t WANT to. His face looked reluctant, disgusted even, but did so anyway, because it was the right thing to do.
Harley kissed him, because she is a psychopath. She wanted to unnerve him and make him feel uncomfortable, because THAT IS WHAT SHE DOES.
He pulls away as soon as she does so, because he did not, I repeat, did NOT want to kiss her.
If that isn't enough explanation for you, let me refer to the official novelisation:
“...he lay her on her back and administered chest compressions. No response. Only one more thing to try. It was repulsive, but her only hope...suddenly she wrapped her arms around him, turning CPR into a prolonged kiss. He fought and pulled away.”
Solid evidence he wasn’t kissing her. I genuinely am baffled as to how people managed to interpret that scene that badly. Honestly.
This is NOT a review; it is merely some initial thoughts from me on the subject of this film before watching it. (May contain spoilers, if you haven't been keeping up with the news regarding this film).
So. Suicide squad. For me, and undoubtedly countless others, this is one of the most, if not the most, highly anticipated movies of 2016, and now that we are in the final stretch of the release date (for us in the UK, Friday), I can't help but feel nervous about the whole thing.
When the very first trailer aired during SDCC 2015, I was beyond excited. I was overwhelmed at how tremendous this movie seemed to be, and of course the new portrayal of the Joker. Jared Leto immediately grabbed, and kept, my attention, and so far, I have not been disappointed with what I've seen from the trailers.
This trailer, as well as reigniting my love for the Joker, introduced me properly to the character of Harley Quinn, for which I am eternally grateful. Regardless of the rest of the movie, I remain certain that Margot Robbie will not disappoint.
The publicity surrounding the film has to also be mentioned. The marketing team have kept it fresh in people's minds, as well as capturing imaginations with bright colours and ingenious posters. They've teased scenes without spoiling anything, and whilst recently they may have released a tad too much material (in my opinion, anyway), they have kept their prospective audience on their toes.
To be quite honest, I can't remember ever being this excited over a film in my life. And with mere days to go, certain pieces of bad news about the film only (hopefully) temporarily dampen my excitement.
What bad news? Well, to begin with, the apparent news that a significant portion of the Jokers' scenes had been cut. To me, this seems a bad mistake. Leto's performance and interpretation of the Joker has to be the most anticipated aspect of this film, and to hear that certain scenes hinted at in the trailers had been cut is upsetting. We can only hope that Leto's performance still has the chance to shine through with limited screen time.
The second thing, of course, is the reviews. From what I've gathered so far, critics are divided heavily, as with BvS. There have been many negative comments made about the film which, understandably, has disheartened fans like myself. However, it seems as though it has audiences impressed, regardless of the critics. Let us hope that this carries on into the official release.
So, mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am beyond excited to finally see the film I have been dying to see since over a year ago. On the other hand, I would hate to see the efforts of the amazing cast go to waste if the film is indeed disappointing; I want so badly for this film to be every bit as amazing as it seems.
However, regardless of initial reactions, I will go into the cinema on Friday decked in DC merchandise, with a smile on my face and a positive outlook, and I urge everyone to do the same.
A quick disclaimer before I start: I have not seen the film yet, and am only reacting to the news that has recently surfaced about it. Also, if you have not read The Killing Joke, or have not been keeping up with the news concerning it, this will contain spoilers.
As you may gather as time goes on, I am a big fan of Batman, and, in particular, the villains he battles. I am of the firm belief that the Joker is the single greatest villain in modern culture, and so upon hearing that they were planning to animate the graphic novel credited with what is now widely considered to be the definitive Joker origin, I was excited, to say the least. The Killing Joke was the first graphic novel I ever read, and I immediately became fascinated with the beautiful, if startlingly grotesque, storyline and artwork. This excitement only grew with the announcement that Mark Hamill would once again provide the voice for the antagonist.
The peak of my excitement came with the first trailer. They seemed to stay so true to the plot of the comic, and, in particular, the fact that they had brought to life the infamous panel of the joker becoming truly insane after having seen his chemically-altered appearance instantly reaffirmed the hope that this would be an amazing retelling.
And then Comic-Con happened, and we were all hit with the news that would be a sex scene between Batman and Batgirl. I don't even know where to begin to be quite honest.
Firstly, on the level of being a fan, this angers me. This strays dangerously far off the plotline of the graphic novel, and makes no sense. Of course, I have not seen the film yet, and so it may work. But at this moment in time, I cannot even fathom how they did anything but gratuitously shoe-horn a scene of this nature in.
Secondly, on a feminist level this also angers me. By including a sex scene, not only have they reduced Barbara Gordon’s character in the film to a love interest of Batman, but have also managed to warp Batman’s motives towards destroying the Joker.
Now, don't get me wrong. Major changes to the original format can, in some instances, work very well. However, in this case, I cannot see this one being a success. To some, a sex scene may appear to have very little effect on the rest of the film. To others, this will be a black mark against DC Comics for years to come.
I still plan to see the film, but rather than be filled with optimism, I feel somewhat weary about the whole thing. Lets hope that the rest of the film makes up for what I’m almost certain is a bad move on the part of the writers.
Comment what you think, and I will see you guys next time :)
Welcome to my blog! This is an idea I’ve toyed with for a while; I’m an opinionated person, what can I say? And lucky for you, I have a desire to push my opinions on others. Generosity is my middle name.
So what can you expect from this blog? Hopefully, a multitude of things. Reviews, rants, first looks, ramblings, that sort of thing.
I intend to have a “first look” at the animated film The Killing Joke up very soon, as well as a review for Star Trek Beyond, so look forward to those.
