Literature and Liberty

I like what I like.                                                                                                 twitter: @thescarlettcas                                                                                             Instagram: @thescarlettcastleberry                                                           Spotify: Scarlett Castleberry

[turningvioletviolet]

As a certified fan of 2000s pop punk, I can most definitely vouch for the accuracy of this review.

[autumnhobbit]

did i ever mention how much i hate unnecessary sex scenes bc yeah i hate unnecessary sex scenes. so. that’s….basically all of them.

[mymodernmet]

[atheistj]

me: *sees Harrison Ford trending on twitter*

me:

[leatolstoya]

The first is me four years ago. Starving and sad and desperate to die. 

The second is me right now (literally two minutes ago). In school, ready to take on the world. 

By no means am I perfect now nor do I have all the confidence I know that I should. But I’ve come a long way and I intend to keep going. 

The ability to walk is not the ability to live; and the need to crawl is not the need to give up. 

I’d rather crawl with faith and courage than walk in depression and fear. 

[locksceersz]

John Mayer Lockscreens

Like and Reblog

[libertarirynn-deactivated202006]

Last time I was down South I walked into this restaurant and a white waitress came up to me and said ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ I said ‘That’s alright, I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.’ About then these three cousins come in, you know the ones I mean, Klu, Klucks, and Klan, and they say ‘Boy, we’re giving you fair warning. Anything you do to that chicken, we’re going to do to you.’ So I put down my knife and fork, and I picked up that chicken and I kissed it.

Dick Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017)

[astrangerreplay-deactivated2019]

[leatolstoya]

Why recover?

I’m sure I’ll write about it again, but that’s because it is a recurring question in every stage of an eating disorder.

We’ve all asked this every second of every day in recovery. Every time you get up to eat. Every time you walk by a mirror. Every time you feel a negative emotion. Every time you see another person. Constantly.

So why recover?...

Well, it’s like people who enjoy exercise always say that you will never regret working out. Have you ever heard a recovered person say they regret recovering? Have you ever heard a person in recovery say they regret their progress? (People in real recovery. Not just parents making them physically recover but people choosing to recover mentally as well.) 

Recovery is about getting the light in your eyes back. It’s about caring about things, loving people, seeing the world, and just overall enjoying life. And however cheesy that may sound it’s true!                                     

Mental Exercise: Think about what you’re trying to accomplish through an eating disorder and its behaviors. Can you accomplish these things from a hospital bed?

When I first started developing eating disorder behaviors I had no intention of being diagnosed with anorexia or any other kind of disorder. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. My knowledge was limited to the appearance of the Olsen twins and the most extreme cases of anorexia. I had no idea what “eating disorder” truly meant or the real dangers of any and all kinds. My actions were not meant to be malignant, they were meant to make me skinnier so I would be prettier, more popular, more loved, more confident, and overall happier. Or at least that’s what I thought. But this eating disorder only made me obsessive, cold, angry, fearful, mean, and hopeless. Granted my life hadn’t been sunshine and rainbows before as I had been suffering from depression for too long which eventually grew into an even harder to handle eating disorder. 

It was not until I began to recover from this eating disorder that I realized people didn’t like me with it-- people avoided me! (And I avoided them.) I don’t blame them either. I would shut everyone out and all I would ever think about was how “fat” I was, when I could work out, for how long, how I could burn even more calories, what I would eat, how I would get out of eating it, then working out some more. Does that sound like a happy 14 year-old to you?                                                                 

Mental Exercise: Think of your favorite people in the world and who you look up to most. Come up with at least one and write down three of their greatest traits… Do any of those have to do with their appearance or the size of their clothes?

After I was hospitalized and came back to school I still avoided people for a while. I was not at all recovered, only my heart rate had improved enough for me to go into outpatient treatment for the time being. (Meaning “could I be trusted to eat on my own?” Which trust me, you won’t ever understand how difficult this is unless you yourself have an eating disorder.) I was still not feeding myself near enough, still losing weight, and still so angry and depressed. Eventually my doctor just told me “Look, you’re not moving anywhere in the recovery process, if you keep this up you could do your body some serious damage and we’ll have to put you in a treatment facility.” The closest one to me was a few states away. (Other personal and potentially graphic disturbances occurred and if you’re reading this and need specific help, my ask box is open.) So finally, at long last I sucked it up and I started properly nourishing my body. It’s strange, but I saw how other people acted differently around me before I truly noticed the difference in myself- physically and mentally. People were talking to me! My friends, random people at school, cute boys… It was great! And true, my clothes got tighter, I still had and have bad body image days, but that’s nothing compared to the happiness and enjoyment I get from laughing and smiling for real and it’s never something that I can’t handle. 

My eating disorder had me so caught up in its lies that I believed I could never be happier than when I was at the worst of my eating disorder (or until I got worse). It had me believing that I would never be truly happy but at least one day I could be skinny. NEWSFLASH: You will never be skinny enough or good enough for a mental disease.  And one of the many things I’ve learned is that I would much rather spend time with someone I loved who has light in their eyes than someone who could get to the smallest loop on a belt (or worse). Someone who has passion, and loves people, and has goals they want to achieve in life! I’d rather be with someone who promises to get to the gym tomorrow than miss out on the adventure of today. 

I know you don’t care about the size of your friend’s pants, so why would they care about yours when they’re too busy caring about you? You might as well pull yourself out of that grave you’ve dug, look up to the light, enjoy life and find something to love about yourself. Because there is something.                 

Mental Exercise: Think of three people whom you love dearly and whom you know love you the same. First write down what you would say about them and why you loved them at, for example, their funeral. Now write down what you would want them to say about you at your funeral. Does any of it really have to do with your appearance? Do you really want them standing over your grave whispering “They had to be skinny” when they know you were and are meant for so much more. 

[girlactionfigure]

[pattythenest]

That’s one bad ass line

[crustyoltanker]

True BAMF.

[atomicbob93]

Damn right he won.

[leatolstoya]

Movie Review: Dunkirk

Is Dunkirk the greatest war movie ever made? 

Quite possibly. 

It is certainly the best in a long time and I don’t just say that because Nolan is my favorite writer/director and WWII movies are virtually always good. 

No. Dunkirk simply reminded me of why Nolan is my favorite. 

Enough good things cannot be said about this movie. It was heart-pounding, -wrenching, and even heart-stopping. Nolan’s simplistic, matter-of-fact take on the tale reminds you that this is not a tale at all. 

The story starts on the beaches of Dunkirk as the British and French are under constant attack and are attempting to flee. This is Part One: The Mole. In this portion the viewer follows several young men (nearly boys) as they do their best to survive despite the overwhelming fear, and the over-watching officers-- most notably: Kenneth Branagh. This portion covers the course of a week and is juxtaposed with two more: The Sea, which covers one day, and The Air, which covers one hour. Through The Sea portion, the audience witnesses the bravery and dedication of those not fighting in uniform and the fear of those who have. Cillian Murphy is frightening in his role as the shell-shocked soldier, yet one is still able to see his humanity buried under violent fear. The Air follows two pilots (Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden) as they swoop and swerve to defend their fellow men before the fight even gets to them. 

The lack of dialogue in Dunkirk is all the more threatening, but not in a cheesy way (I believe this is the only movie that I have ever sat through without uttering a word sans movies I’ve watched alone). I finally understand what it means to keep your eyes peeled as I refused to blink and attempting to drink all of the terror and worry and hope in. From the score to the type of film used, Dunkirk is a movie that hits home and feels like it too even if you don’t know why. 

As someone who spends a lot of time absorbed in politics I was actually relieved to find that this one lacked any bent. Nolan was not sending a message except to say “this is our past and we ought to recognize the great men (and women, @usatoday) who served however they could.”

“Well done,” says the old blind man. 

“All we did was survive,” a young soldier bites back.

But Nolan forces the audience to realize that sometimes that is enough. Dunkirk brilliantly reminds one of the terror, tragedy, and struggle that comes with the brutal thing that Is war, but also of the hope and good that one can bring forth from it. The cast is great, but it cannot overpower the awe-inspiring wonder of the story itself. This is not a movie about a guy who happens to be in a war, this is a war movie that reminds us of our simple yet difficult humanity (without being preachy). This is the kind of message that should be sent out with every true story. Life is brutal and arbitrary and a struggle, but it’s worth struggling for.

10/10

Thank you, Mr. Nolan. You’ve exceeded even my extraordinarily high expectations again.  

[leatolstoya]

War for the Planet of the Apes:  Review and Social Deconstruction

This shockingly successful but not much talked about series has quietly kept much of America on the edge of their seats and has left them feeling pretty well satisfied in the past without giving anyone much to think about. My mistake was believing that this go around would be not only exciting but a little deeper. 

I saw War for the Planet of the Apes the weekend it came out so the theater was packed with excited and serious movie-goers. In my opinion, one of the best ways to see a flick.

Hardly an hour into War for the Planet I leaned over to my brother and said that I was getting ready to leave. I never walk out of movies. (Once my parents dragged me out because they found Dinner for Schmucks too inappropriate but that’s another story.) I have sat through movies in cold and hunger, in sickness and in health, in better and worse but I really didn’t think I wanted to finish this one. Unfortunately, I believe that I have to see it all to fairly judge something. 

My review is simple: The movie itself is nothing special. The graphics are incredible but the story itself is lacking and nothing new (and not just because its a reboot). I did not find a single character compelling and the movie never made the characters’ goals entirely clear or important to the audience. The many deaths in the film felt like they were just random obstacles and upsets but were entirely pointless and worst of all they were not upsetting. It is time for storytellers to realize that when you don’t care for the characters, death is only a time wasting inconvenience in an already lengthy film. My point is: the movie is hollow. Oh, and the little girl? I am so sick of the “look we have a kid on our side! Kids are innocent so that proves we’re the good guys see!” cliche. It doesn’t prove anything. Kids can also be evil and dumb. She served no purpose. She did nothing special. Just stop with the out-of-place failed emotion crap. Your movie was pretty but hollow and it could have been great. 

5.5/10 

F+

Social deconstruction is actually my main purpose for writing this. 

[SPOILERS maybe...]

What I found as War for the Planet dragged on was not just another cliche about the bad skinheads who ruin everything and the cute little girl who will save the world with her smile, but a direct attack on America and Christians everywhere. The first sign of this is the symbol for the American human army being an Alpha and an Omega sign. Okay, simple enough, until you realize that the Americans have vandalized their flags with this sign and scream “We are the Beginning and the End” in your classic “Heil Hitler” fashion that we see in movies as if we need a reminder of who the bad guys are. All of this occurs as apes are tortured and the national anthem plays. You wanna blame an American for mistreatment, look at Andrew Jackson and FDR and stop putting the blame on those of us who believe in freedom and individual liberty. Stop declaring that the men and women who give up their lives to fight for your right to make this horribly mistaken statement are a bunch of violent and ugly sheep who walk around grunting all the time. These jarheads are displayed with misshapen jaws and crooked teeth as they sneer and follow orders from their great God above (who wants to build a wall): Woody Harrelson. 

This “godliness” I will call it, is not immediately seen. In fact, I thought at first that I was looking at another Kurtz. But it did not take long before the Colonel’s obvious and gaudy cross was shown dangling around his neck and he was declaring himself the alpha and omega. (For those unfamiliar with this phrase you can find it in the Bible in Revelation 1:8 where Jesus declares Himself the beginning and end of all things.) The Colonel decides to explain to Caesar that the apes cannot live because they would overpower the humans and therefore, Harrelson would be left with no power. He does all of this under the guise of trying to save the whole human race (Messiah-y enough for you?). He even declares that he was forced to kill his, I quote, “only son” for what he believed to be the good of everyone but what the viewer knows to be the act of a madman. Maybe I am the madman, but there just seem to be too many coincidences for all of this to be an accident. 

I’ve talked to many of my friends whether they are Christian or not about this movie and most seem cool with it until the symbols sink in. I know that many also believe that I am overthinking this, but just like I had to remind my brother who rolled his eyes when I said I had the nerve to leave: every shot and every line is done over and over in a movie and every detail has a meaning and a purpose. These moments cannot be overlooked nor should they be in such a blockbuster. People have every right to say what they want, but they should also consider the truth when they say it. There are bad eggs in every walk of life, but no group should be blamed for the sins of one or for the sins that one expects them to make. 

Also: You want to prove that you’re not a savage? How about not throwing your own feces at people? There’s a start. 

[wrathofgnon]

“Many on the political left are so entranced by the beauty of their vision that they cannot see the ugly reality they are creating in the real world.”

— Thomas Sowell

[leatolstoya]

The Cowardly Cast of "Hamilton"

I want to preface this post with two questions:

1. Why wasn't Pence given the proper opportunity to respond? I don't know. Maybe he was, maybe they asked him beforehand and he didn't want to. Maybe he was too afraid. But to me it certainly seems like the cast of "Hamilton" wanted a chance to be protected on the high and mighty stage of Rogers while passive aggressively insulting an elected official. (Did Dixon speak because Burr was a slightly evil VP? Nice touch.)

2. What if President Obama had been greeted with boos from the audience when he entered? Would the cast and crew have stood by then? Probably not but let's not assume too much from the hypocrites.

"Vice President Elect Pence, we welcome you. We thank you for joining us here at 'Hamilton: an American Musical.' We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents."

Okay, here’s the problem. You’re not that diverse. I’ve followed all of you for a long time on twitter, instagram, etc. and the more productions you make, and as more cast members leave, you seem to be getting less diverse. Allow me to reference your open auditions which stated “White need not apply”….. Is this not the same as saying “Irish need not apply”?

Or how about when Democratic champion Woodrow Wilson fired blacks in the government and military or at the very least, resegregated them?

And what do you mean that you're alarmed that new administration won’t protect us? How is an administration that would like to keep us off of the dangerous and criminal path that most of Europe has chosen bad? Here's the problem with illegal immigrants: the Declaration says "All men are created equal." But by breaking the law you are saying that we are not-- that you are better than us and that the rules don't apply to you. Yes, I'm lucky to have been born here and yes, immigrants can "get the job done." But usually it's the legal ones who do, and illegals are still breaking the law whether they get the job done or not. (Psst. Hamilton and Lafayette were legal.)

How about how open borders to Muslims increasing the rape rates and assaults exponentially in European countries? What is so bad about making sure that safe people come into our country? To me that sounds a whole lot more safe for the kids than the Angela Merkel that we almost elected. If you don’t believe me go find some of the thousands of videos and blogs made by Europeans begging Americans to not fall into the trap they have.

Protecting the parents? How about by keeping their own money in their pockets and repealing Obamacare? You know, the thing that your other Democratic chamption said “if you like your plan, you keep it.”? hahaha

The planet. Are we still on this? Really?

" Or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir."

 Tell me what you believe your inalienable rights to be. Because according to our Constitution they include a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not everyone finds these truths to be self-evident unfortunately. These characters that the cast of "Hamilton" just portrayed were people who valued Judeo-Christian values; and  whether you like it or not, and those are the things that our country was founded on.

Life: I'm pretty sure that Pence and Trump value life from beginning to end by being pro-life and anti-Obamacare. Considering pro-choice and pro-life scientists have agreed time and time again that life does begin at conception, I think we can agree that conservatives win that round. And considering conservatives and Republicans support private healthcare, paying for what you want and need, and they don't support death panels, I'm pretty certain that they are better about the whole life thing.

Liberty: limited government: stay off our back. We escaped tyranny once don't make us do it again. New York if you want to be micromanaged have at it... at a state level. That's your Constitutional right, but don't drag the rest of us down with you.

The pursuit of happiness: which was really just a poetic way of saying: go earn property and buy things for you and your family. Build! And we keep these things via free speech and a right to make sure the government doesn’t, you know, become tyrannical. *whispers* guns.

" We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us."

This show is still my favorite musical and one not going to boycott it. (I can't afford to see it anyways.) I'm still going to jam to it and appreciate it. You’re not going to change my mind because you pushed your agenda without giving your oppenent a right to speak. This musical is still very responsible for my interest in politics, history, and America as a whole. Ironically for this cast and crew it encouraged me to read primary documents and the original writings of Hamilton, Madison, Sherman, and the rest are to blame for my conservative views. Because of this show I've come to promote conservative values like strong families; entrepreneurship; judging people based on their abilities and attitudes- not on their birth, or the color of their skin, or their gender, or anything irrelevant; limited government to keep people free; state governments to help ensure organized systems to more efficiently keep people free; charities and churches and individuals choosing to help others when they need it. All of these things and more make America. Our differing views help us to better create that perfect union that Hamilton so dreamt of. So please, stop making assumptions before you do your homework, and don't be a snob because you're a NYC celebrity.

"Again I truly thank you for hearing this show. This wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds, and orientations."

Look, I’m not on the Trump Train. Could I have voted, I would have had to hold my nose... but let’s get real. Trump is a narcissistic idiot who has said many disgusting things. But he’s also going to be the most pro-gay president to ever enter the office. Yes, Obama may be a loud and proud champion of da gay rights now, but he wasn’t when he entered. Do some research. And the race thing: just because someone is white does not mean they hate black people. To say that is racist because you are making judgements about a person solely based on their skin color.

Let me finish with this: I am a huge Hamilton fan. I’m known as the Hamilton girl at school. I wrote a 12-page research paper to convince my teachers to let me see it on a trip to NYC (and I won, the only problem was that it was too expensive). And Hamilton is the reason that I love politics, history, and America so much. And I know you’ll never see this, Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I do have great respect for you and the cast of “Hamilton.” I believe you are all incredibly talented and I have told family and friends time and time again that you are the Shakespeare of our day and I believe you are. I think that is also why I am so disappointed in this passive-aggressive intolerant calling out of an elected official.

Oh, and just so we’re clear: Hamilton created the Electoral College:

"This process of election (Electoral College) affords a moral certainty that the office of President will seldom fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications." -Hamilton, Alexander, Federalist #68

If you find that you still disagree with Trump and Pence, you still have your right to peacefully assemble. (See Amendment 1)

[ddenean]

[libertarirynn-deactivated202006]

Hey “Hamilton” fans: take a tip from the man himself and stop babbling about how we should be a democracy.

[dontneedfeminism2]

Hillary Clinton will go down in history as the candidate who was so bad that she lost an election she was rigging from day 1.

[leatolstoya]

So when is Sherlock's coat going to grow a mind of its own like Doctor Strange's cape?