mei

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[longxiaojiao]

i've previously mentioned video games being used to symbolize the past, but on a broader scale i've always thought the way they inculcate the aesthetics of a genericised retro video game was intended to signify the archetypal trappings of one: e.g. a game that adopts the monomyth as its narrative structure, wherein the heroes defend the preexisting status quo from some kind of cataclysmic change; has an overly-simplistic framework of morality, with relatable and flattering protagonists and easily dehumanizeable villains-- which is what i believe is being deconstructed at the heart of lmk's thematics. this is all true for a video game, where you have little scope for your own action outside of the prewritten bounds of the story, but this is real life, where people don't fit into this tentatively defined framework of good or bad.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

^ putting posts here while i'm trapped in the shadow realm

[longxiaojiao-archive]

im shadowbanned by the way

[longxiaojiao-archive]

I think that fandoms refusal to see Mei as a complex (or mentally ill) character is very much reflected in its treatment of her in relation to the Samadhi fire. Any fire related angst is always about Red Son or MK or Wukong. It's never about Mei. So much Red Son angst fridges Mei on a textbook level and no one seems to thinks thats weird or misogynistic.

you're definitely right, anon. i think part of why people don't seem to view fridging mei— e.g. using her as a plot device to facilitate male character development— as misogynistic is because people literally view her as a plot device to facilitate other characters' development and aren't willing to interrogate the problematics of that thinking. something i was alluding to in the first post is how, in metadiscussion, mei almost always remains affixed to a point of perceived "normativity" in order to heighten how "unique" all the male characters are— which is functionally fridging, in the sense that mei is prioritized as a plot device (to further the appearance of a male character) rather than a complex character in her own right.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

[longxiaojiao-archive]

it makes me sad how people ignore & dismiss the early episodes of monkie kid as "filler". one of lmk's biggest strengths is it's ability to design meaning & rhetoric, and it's narrative structure is integral to understanding that meaning!

[longxiaojiao-archive]

[longxiaojiao-archive]

the lack of a 'family' or, more accurately, the lack of a 'past' exists as grounds for dehumanization in mk's mind. he is so defined by the past that by knowing he lacks it, he sacrifices his 'self' (see how the visual imagery of this scene parallels mei's s3e10 'self sacrifice' scene), and becomes a "monster'.

(these concepts are, of course, not requisite to being a person with agency, and lacking them doesn't make someone a 'monster'. i am aiming to illustrate mk's perspective here.)

[longxiaojiao-archive]

the commentary of the season 5 ending ("everybody gets superpowers") is interesting to me. i'm still gathering my thoughts on this, but it strikes me as in reference to how being a superhero an inherently individualistic & atomizing thing in the broader superhero genre— only some people have superpowers, only some people are heroes— so by giving everyone powers, it's existing in defiance to that concept, while still reifying the idea of a hero.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

(as a follow up to this post:)

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i find it interesting that the leitmotif used when mei breaks out of lady bone demon's crystal is a reprise of "mk summons mech" from a hero is born. which is, as the name suggests, a very "mk centric" theme; despite it being used in a very "mei centric" moment. in a way its the embodiment of my mei thesis: every "mei moment" is also an "mk moment"

[longxiaojiao-archive]

[longxiaojiao-archive]

mk being evocative of an audience surrogate character recontextualizes how mei's agency is frequently (and unintentionally) overruled & dismissed by mk: by virtue of being an audience stand in, mk's agency is "more real" than mei's and is thus favored over mei's, who is "less real" as a result of this; her own attempts to assert her own agency are ineffectual until she does it to focalize mk's own wants and desires (e.g. "great wall race" where mei only wins the race after compromising with mk.)

this isn't to say that mk's will is an all-encompassing metaphysical force— i believe this generally acts as a metonymical stand in for how mei & mk view themselves: mei feels useless outside her immediate role of protecting her friends ("if you're not giving everything you have to protect the people you care about, you are nothing!"); which is why she can't do anything for herself unless its focalizing mk, and mk has a fictionalized & idolized view of his friends and views himself as uniquely plain as a result.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

[longxiaojiao-archive]

it's a bit tiring how commonplace the "lady bone demon is pure evil" take is in metadiscussion. i don't see why lady bone demon is disallowed moral interiority when it's integral to the thematic premise of monkie kid itself— the major throughline of lmk is that nothing is black & white, everyone is a nuanced individual in their own right.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

[longxiaojiao-archive]

the fact mei's mistake in the samadhi fire ritual in "claim to flame" is visually evocative of sun wukong's in the original ritual makes me wonder whether his mistake in the samadhi fire sealing ritual actually came from excessive confidence as it's depicted in the memory, or moreso came from a place of self doubt, like with mei, although im guessing this self doubt comes from oppositional fears (eg: fear of intransigence versus fear of change/mortality) the fact that everyone perceived the opposite would tie into the show's narrative of false memories extremely well & would further the mei/swk parallels.

[longxiaojiao-archive]

its mabel time

[longxiaojiao-archive]

i was thinking about spider queen the other day, specifically how i thought it was interesting how the primary color present in her design is purple, despite no other characters being purple. for a few seconds, i lived in a beautiful world where macaque didn't exist.