Master doc that contains different resources and support for many countries including Palestine, Congo, Haiti, Hawai’i, etc ((op is underneath the link))
[ID: Tweet by Nanu's eyebrows 🇹🇹❤️🔱… @ Seaweedlagoon which reads: "I'd appreciate if you guys would spread around my master document that not only contains support for Palestine but other countries as well, I'm updating it with resources for Puerto Rico, Lebanon and Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow!" With a link to the above doc/End ID]
thinking again about how much I wish people who want to talk about anime analytically and in the greater cultural context of Japan would actually put their back into researching the economic and social context of literally anything but the atom bomb. because YES it was hugely influential on cultural anxieties and media and YES you can’t possibly understate its legacy but there’s also so many more things. defeat culture in the aftermath of the war. the fact that we’re currently a generation out from people who survived the war at all, and the distance of memory is a real and influential thing. the influence of the postwar treaty, the discourse surrounding it. the bubble economy. the lost decades even moreso. American-Japanese foreign relations. the sarin gas incident.
or if you want to look further back rather than looking immediately postwar—Japan’s legacy of colonization both internally (ryukyu kingdom) and externally. manchuria as a colonial construct. the meiji restoration following the last real civil war, western fever, the discourse about westernization in general. the treatment of communism and socialism as it evolved through the early part of the twentieth century. the hibiya park riots. there is soooo so much cultural context to the themes that anime grapples with but instead of engaging with any of it you get pretentious American teenagers on death note tumblr trying to argue that the modern Japanese legal code is enshrined in western religious principles. god
one of the really difficult things when talking about Japanese pop culture and the idea of “soft power” is that it’s largely mythical—the rise of anime’s popularity in the west and “thing japan good” hasn’t really correlated to significant economic or political gain on a national scale. but you do have to understand that this is a direct evolution of the malaise of the lost decades, which saw Japan’s economic dominance crash in favor of American economic interests; and you must also understand that while this was the result of poor Japanese financial policy decisions, America had a vested and Very Outspoken (racist) interest in tearing down Japan on a global stage.
and you must understand American influence in Japan is as controversial today as it was in the initial days of the surrender and the new treaty post WWII, but that there was a very interesting period where America and Japan were, in fact, strong allies; and that this allyship began to fail when Japan’s economic success outstripped America’s. so you must also view Japan as both a former colonial power with the terrible legacy to match but also a state subordinate to American cultural pollination and political influence. this isn’t even going into the extremely complex political landscape of east and Southeast Asia which also influences Japanese pop culture. lmao. there’s a lot!! and I don’t think that someone who just wants to talk about anime needs to know All of It but god I think that you should perhaps know Some.
told a friend yesterday about how 03 makes roy the one who kills winry's parents instead of scar and she was mind blown by how much better it was. which is objectively true. one of the greatest changes to a canon ever made frankly
ok it should be self evident but let me explain in detail WHY i find this a much more interesting change overall:
mangahood's read on scar is that for all he is a victim of genocide, he's also really really bad for killing these poor two white doctors who did nothing wrong! the narrative never lets him forget it, he's supposed to have a whole redemption arc about it, in his last scene he's sobbing that he's a monster for having killed them. he's the one character who has to face this amount of self reflection for past harm, despite being by far the greatest victim! the manga takes it for granted that roy and co have done their self reflection and are redeemed or on the path to it! it's suchhhh shitty liberal politics all the way round
it also changes the way he relates to a number of characters and completely alienates him from them, especially the elrics. the winry trying to kill scar scene and saying she won't forgive him later, (really rubbing it in that scar is Just As Bad bc his crimes against her while the massacres against ishbalans are like. well the poor little soldiers :///) but also ed just fucking hates him and the elrics never get to build a rapport with him or come to understand him and this is seen as normal and cool, so whatever action he and his merry band do is near always separate from the elrics and his own arc suffers even more strongly as a result
now let's see how the change affects everyone in 03: for one, mustang is suddenly a MUCH murkier character than how he is portrayed in mangahood, where despite all the war crimes he is constantly portrayed as intensely sympathetic and doing the right things for the right reasons and just having made a mistake by uh. participating in genocide. the war crimes by themselves should have been enough tbh and already 03 is definitely more condemning of him in that regard, but his crime against the rockbells really underline how cowardly he's been. he wasn't a poor little guy who just had no choice in the army, he knew and he suffered such guilt from it that he is half a dead man for the entire show!
while i know in mangahood kimblee was supposed to kill them, i think the act of showing an army general flat out ordering their deaths by gun (as opposed to fire, reserved for the dehumanized ishbalans) and condemn their humanity as a danger to soldiers makes the military's own horror that much more apparent, and its members' participation in the war being obviously more willing, callous rather than a secret conspiracy that everyone was suffering from. it's part of the whole reframing of the war that very same episode as NOT a tragedy for everyone involved with a lot of empathy for the perpetrators (compared to the victims who get a lot.... less empathy) but wilful, horrid atrocities committed by people who yes, are often ordinary and thought they could obey orders and are emotionally affected, but in no way does that excuse their actions! when roy is suicidal as a result he looks defeated. pathetic. he almost kills himself and you understand why: he HAS committed utterly unforgivable acts. he lied to himself and he can no longer do so, and neither can the audience. the military members are just as culpable as the top brass. it's how marco's point gets made: it wasn't a war, it was a massacre, we all deserve to die for our part in it
and by extension, having the flashback of this moment and change happen when scar is attacking the state alchemists makes his attack a thousand times more sympathetic, as opposed to how ominous and horrific his first appearance is in the manga/brotherhood and how he seems more like a monstrous angel of death. here we as an audience are well disposed to think, well. the military DOES suck ass. we've seen it with the reframing of the nina chimera and how the military was using shou, with how they push ed to continue the research no matter how ghastly it is, with the savage attack on liore happening at the very same time. and it's a continuation! scar's attack is still intimidating but it pushes the idea that ed and al are on the wrong side entirely.
and thus it also means that scar's own entire arc is reframed! here in this very episode, but also set up for the rest of the show: scar is RIGHT. however horrific his murders may be, they're entirely justified. even his killing nina was reframed to be intensely more empathetic, with him feeling so lost and her running to him in pain, and him acting in a way that is clearly meant to be empathy even if the results are horrible. there is no "but you killed the rockbells, you monster!" argument to be shot at him every five pages to remind you the audience that he is a bad person for ever wanting revenge
as a result he also ends up being able to relate to the elrics in much more meaningful, interesting ways that the manga set up but never followed through. scar and his brother, the arm so obviously set up to be parallels to the elrics but in mangahood it never feels earned bc ed cannot spend two pages with scar without going YOURE EVIL YOU KILLED MY GIRLFRIENDS PARENTS. meanwhile here ed is forced to progressively realize he HAS fucked up, that scar's reasons are not wrong. even in all the time he dislikes scar and disagrees with him, even in how the narrative obviously makes it clear that ed is being stubborn and that scar is right, they actually forge a far more interesting bond with direct comparisons to scar's brother. and likewise with al! al and scar in 03 are in the top 5 most interesting dynamic in the entire show (there are so many good dynamics in general): they can empathize with each other without a constant WELL YOU KILLED BLAH BLAH flown in the middle, the parallel between the brother pairs is pursued far more extensively, and al's genuine understanding of scar and later care for him (and vice versa, scar's burgeoning devotion for al that leads him to make al into the stone to save his life) feel free to breathe and develop in such a gorgeous natural way
so all the strongest aspects of 03's changes are reinforced: the biting attack on the military and parallels to the war on iraq, ed being a more flawed and wrong protagonist, al's dynamic with scar fleshing him out much more, mustang being a more compelling/ murky and fucked up guy who can't just be "redeemed" usually, the clarification that the genocide was truly unjustifiable with no "both sides", and scar's entire arc being free to take a complete other direction without his violence being flat out condemned because something something it's just as bad to fight back
there is something to be said about how however winry's arc in regards to mustang feels.... dropped partway through (probably bc of lack of time) and how i do feel like it deserved a much stronger resolution for her. but i found her initial reaction and the way it changed her dynamic with the military, as well as recontextualizing the scene in the train where she asks riza if she's kill before, really fascinating and strengthening her character until that thread is abruptly ended. her realizing maes, the man who was so kind to her, was best friends and helped push to the top the same person who murdered her parents it suchhhh a heartwrenching scene. the realization that the military is full of these "good people" who have committed untold horrors. again i feel like the thread WAS abruptly cut short and didn't have the resolution it truly deserved through. i still find it far more interesting than the original version
Aizen has surprisingly many instances in which he stabs, slashes, or orders the killing of a female character.
Scenes involving his violence toward female characters feel a little different than his violence toward male characters - less like a fight, and more like an act of resentment.
Let's look at examples:
Rukia - he orchestrates her execution so he wouldn't have to kill her himself, yet this plan fails, and he has to extract the Hogyoku from her literally with his own hands. But it is not the way he ruins her self-confidence (starting years earlier with the tragedy he brought upon Kaien and his wife), not even about how he pierces Rukia through the chest to get his hands on the Hogyoku. The most striking scene is when he carelessly and disrespectfully grabs her by the collar, like Rukia had no will on her own. He drags her around, as though she were his property. He keeps conversing with Ichigo, not with Rukia while treating her like an object. And when the Hogyoku is extracted, he orders Gin to kill her. He still refuses to make an effort to kill her himself. That's how little he cares about Rukia's life.
Momo - here the scene borders on intimate as Aizen deliberately cultivated the fake trust between them. He lures Momo close, stabs her while thanking her, keeping his facade of kind Captain Aizen till the very end. However, his initial plan was for Hitsugaya to kill her. He, again, didn't want to kill Momo himself. He didn't find her worthy of his sword. Of his truth. But when he does finally stab her, he claims this is mercy. He doesn't believe that Momo would be able to go on without him. Also, again (like with Rukia) he speaks of chopping Momo's body into pieces in front of someone who cares about Momo - in front of her friend Hitsugaya. So he not only discards Momo as a pawn he used, he additionally uses her as a trigger for another character.
And then comes the second time he tries to repeat the same model. During Fake Karakura Town fight, Aizen orchestrates everything the way that Hitsugaya stabs Hinamori (as Aizen initially wanted him to). So this says two things: Aizen still doesn't see Hinamori as a person who might have grown stronger after the suffering he caused her, he sees Hitsugaya that way - that is why he mentally tortures him. And he still uses Hinamori much like a mindless puppet. Even worse in this case, because here Hinamori isn't just brainwashed by him, she is basically injured and unconscious so he probably has to physically place her in his place for Hitsugaya to stab her. That is very similar to dragging Rukia around like a ragdoll. Also, it solidifies how Aizen has absolutely no sentiment for his ex-subordinate (unlike Gin or Kaname).
Hiyori - during Pendulum Arc Hiyori is getting Hollowfied alongside Kensei, Shinji, and the others. Hollowfication itself, in her case, is an unfortunate coincidence (Urahara ordered her to go there) but what happens during Aizen's conversation with Shinji is, again, the same pattern we have already seen. Aizen knows Hiyori is Shinji's friend. So to trigger Shinji, or perhaps to emotionally hurt him, Aizen orders Kaname to attack Hiyori. He doesn't do it himself. Of course not. That would be below Aizen. And he doesn't do it because Hiyori poses any danger, he does that after she speaks Shinji's name. While Hiyori is cut down, Aizen pays her no attention. He casually speaks to Shinji. And his provocation works.
Later, in Fake Karakura Town Arc this provocation is repeated by Aizen. Hiyori is targeted by Gin, however, Aizen comments on Shinji's reaction to her getting bisected. So it is not about Hiyori. Her bond with Shinji is used to get to Shinji before his fight against Aizen even starts. But Shinji manages to collect himself emotionally, probably knowing what Aizen intended.
Harribel - the only female Espada at the time of Arrancar Saga, and also the only Espada Aizen strikes down with his own sword. Not because she disobeyed him or betrayed him. No. Because she disappointed him. Bored him. Couldn't finish her fight fast enough. The fact that Aizen cuts her down himself might look like respect. He likes to tell his opponent that even drawing his sword against them IS a form of respect. However, the way he goes about it is totally disrespectful. Using hypnosis on her to stab her in the back. Telling her: "Don't make me swing my sword twice at someone like you." There is no respect in his words, and the treatment she got for her loyalty. The disrespect in this case might originate from multiple factors, not purely for her being a female warrior. Aizen is generally disappointed with Arrancars as lesser beings than himself, coming from Hollows. Aizen also doesn't accept reliance, and Harribel, sharing trust and respect with her three Fracción, represents trust, teamwork, support - things Aizen does not appreciate.
Orihime - she seems like an exception at first, as Aizen expresses interest in her power, almost appreciating what she is capable of. However, this quickly got dismissed by Aizen himself. He is not using Orihime's powers for any of his plans, and he treats her as a bait to lure Ichigo into Las Noches so he can further pushes his progress. So the moment Aizen realizes a female could be exceptionally powerful, he keeps her at a distance. Locks her up in her room. Allows potential harm to be directed her way (Loly and Menoly), and leaves her in a position of damsel to be saved. Telling her than a girl like her only needs to smile, which reads like an attempt to diminish her contribution to the war.
I am not counting in Lisa, Mashiro, and Soi-fon into this because in these cases the fight doesn't seem to vary from Aizen's encounter with male characters.
Yoruichi is an honorable mention, not because she gets attacked by him in any particularly cruel or personal way, but because during their 3 vs 1 battle it is Yoruichi who gets the most ignored verbally by Aizen. He has a dialogue exchange with Urahara, he comments on Ishin's Getsuga, but Yoruichi's comment about her legs (which is jokingly flirtatious on purpose to defuse Aizen's god-level ego at that moment) is met with a wall of Aizen's emotionless, flat reaction. Also, during the same encounter, Urahara is the one who gets the most of Aizen's attention, while Yoruichi is being clearly ignored conversation-wise. I think this is telling. It shows whom Aizen would rather treat as a conversation partner.
From these examples we see that female characters often work as extensions or emotional access/weaknesses of male characters he interacts with. He recognizes the connection, and uses it. He rarely engages in a longer conversation with a female character. He doesn't seem to see them as worthy or likely to progress after challenging them, he rather discards them when not useful anymore.
At the same time, there is no significant female character in Aizen's circle of closest subordinates. He is often accompanied by Gin and Tosen after they leave Soul Society. The Espada has only one female member. And his Arrancar maids - Loly and Menoly - get no attention from him, and are treated rather coldly, and strictly.
Interesting fact is that his two closest followers - Gin and Tosen, both have strong bonds with female characters. Kaname's whole philosophy of justice is inspired by his friend - Kakyō, and his need for revenge is a reaction to her getting brutally murdered.
Similarly, Gin's motivation began with Rangiku getting hurt by Aizen's lackeys. He is following Aizen for revenge, just like Kaname, and this revenge would be irrelevant if the bond with a female character had never existed. Aizen gets a glimpse into a power of that bond when Rangiku's cries over Gin's mutilated body. And what is Aizen's response to that scene? He tightens his grip on his sword, ready to strike her down. Just like he did to Gin.
As we see, Aizen not only targets multiple female characters, he also tends to target male characters who has a strong, personal connection to females. His main opponent are:
Ichigo - who inherited his protectiveness from his deep bond with his mother, and who also shares respectful and loving bonds with both Rukia and Orihime (both targeted by Aizen).
Urahara - who has a strong partnership with Yoruichi, and who also tried his best to befriend Hiyori during the pendulum arc.
These two characters, thanks to their connections (including, but not limited to, women) defeat Aizen in the Arrancar Saga.
Other characters, to whom Aizen seems to be particularly cruel toward are Hitsugaya, and Shinji. And again, both of them share strong, mutual bonds with female friends (Momo, and Hiyori). I already covered Kaname and Gin, I just want to add that in both cases Aizen kill them personally, as if punishing them for choosing the connection over his goal.
All the instances mentioned above, can suggest some sort of resentment or jealousy that Aizen carries toward other male characters who share emotional closeness with female characters. Or who perhaps are simply able to create meaningful, deep bonds with an aspect opposite to their own.
This resentment could be interpreted in a philosophical way, rather than as a simple misogyny. What he attacks is what the female characters symbolize.
Femininity in Bleach is connected with connection, care, attachment, protection of others and sacrificing oneself for the others (Masaki is an example, and how she defeats White by letting him bite her). Emotional intelligence represented by Orihime is another meaningful theme connected to femininity. With this comes compassion, empathy, supporting others and letting others rely on you emotionally (again, Orihime shows this, but also Ikumi, and Kukaku). And we already briefly touched on sisterhood, teamwork, motherhood and camaraderie represented by characters who are able to bring others together (Harribel, Matsumoto when supporting Orihime, Rukia training with Orihime). This places femininity as an important factor in creating community, and bonding people together, not by force, but by support and understanding.
Naturally, Aizen despises and lacks all these aspects, and they might be threatening to his belief in extreme individualism and self-sufficiency, his hate of dependency and reliance, refusal of being understood and connecting with others. What female characters represent in Bleach conflicts directly with Aizen's self-construct.
This could hint at Aizen's lack of internal balance between female and male aspects of self (anima and animus in Jungian interpretation, or yin and yang in thaois).
Yang - in taoism is a male aspect, the light (Aizen is compared to being like the Sun), white color (Aizen's color for the most of the Arrancar Saga), expansion, active energy, progress, strength. These are all aspects that Aizen clearly shows through the series.
Yin - the female aspect associated with the black (Shinigami color), the night, the moon, the stillness, passiveness, acceptance, introversion, the energy directed inward, intuition, treachery. Aizen exhibits only some of these aspects.
However, his power and his sword strongly resonate with Yin aspect (illusions, moon, secrecy), which makes me believe that Kyoka Suigetsu embodies Aizen's anima (female aspect), which he never fully accepted, internalized, or embraced. This creates an interesting contradiction: the power that defines him originates from aspects of himself that he appears unwilling to consciously acknowledge. Perhaps this is why we never see his Bankai.
Psychologically, this lack of acceptance of his own Yin/female aspect is self-destructive and keeps him from connecting.
The imbalance within Aizen may be caused by the absence of a maternal figure in his formative days, however this is speculative.
Whatever the reason, Aizen in multiple instances exhibits a dismissive attitude or violent rejection toward characters who are connected with female characters naturally, or toward female representation themselves, suggesting that he externalizes the rejection of a part of his own nature. But he also seems to envy what he dismisses because it makes him incomplete. Hollow. As three hollow holes he carries within himself after his final transformation.
Aizen's internal conflict is becoming the most visible right after his defeat, when his power is starting to fade instead of evolving again. This clearly shows his lack of self-understanding. And if we interprt Kyoka Suigetsu as the manifestation of his anima then his sword crumbling down gets the new meaning.
Was more important to Ichigo’s character compared to this team up:
Orihime’s team up with Ichigo fulfilled her character arc.
She’d been beating herself up and wishing internally that one day, she would no longer hold Ichigo back and could fight beside him.
It’s not even about Ichigo, it’s about her own sense of inferiority. Her own self-consciousness.
Yhwach admittedly was the worst villian to try to fight against by Ichigo’s side, but she was still brave enough to do it. And for that she did feel proud.
As for Ichigo, this team up did absolutely nothing for his character. Actually, there are two perspectives to this fight.
Orihime, who feels as though she has worked up to this. She feels as through she is fighting on equal ground with Ichigo and Yhwach. She’s fulfulling her job as the support.
Ichigo, who can’t fight to his full potential until Orihime is out of his way. He has to instruct her when to throw up her shield because she doesn’t have the battle experience to know where Yhwach is going to attack from next.
I suppose it could be argued that this team up helped Ichigo to learn to rely on his friends, specifically Orihime, therefore it helped his character arc.
Though, the results of the battle negates that argument entirely + Ichigo has shown willingness to trust his friends in battle (namely, Uryuu and the Gotei, but I digress)
So, it’s pretty fair to say that Ichigo gained nothing from this battle beside Orihime. Orihime gained everything she wanted…. somewhat.
Now, his team up with Uryuu at the end of the Fullbring Arc is completely different.
It was mutually beneficial to both Ichigo’s and Uryuu’s character arcs at the time.
During the Full Bring Arc, Ichigo had none of his human friends to rely on. Uryuu was injured from the very beginning and was unable to aid Ichigo the way he usually does.
Previous arcs (and the rest of the manga) have proven that, out of his human friends, Uryuu is the only one Ichigo fully trusts to handle himself in a battle.
Uryuu was the only one from Ichigo’s human friends that Tsukishima (and honestly, Kubo) chose not to brainwash. Uryuu was excluded from Ichigo’s psychological torture and was lumped in with the fighters that are able to remain by Ichigo’s side no matter the circumstances. (Along with Rukia, Byakuya, Renji, Ikkaku, Kenpachi and Toshirou)
This team up against Ginjo was a sense of clarity for Ichigo. It is very fair to say, when it comes to his human friends, Ichigo’s faith in them was at an all time low towards the end of the Fullbring Arc.
But Uryuu was willing to endanger himself just to take out Ginjo and Tsukishima (even though Ichigo thought Uryuu had turned on him for a brief moment) and then he proceeded to fight side by side with Ichigo against Ginjo.
Uryuu didn’t try to pull Ichigo away from the fight, he didn’t think Ichigo was wrong in the fight, he did what Ichigo needed most. He stayed by his side, tried to help analyze the villian’s motives and fought by his side without holding him back.
What Ichigo has been shown to appreciate is honesty, and without it being prodded out of him, Uryuu revealed the one secret he was keeping from him, that he had sneaking suspicions about the Substitute Soul Reaper Pass, and Ichigo was quick to let loose and got comfortable with Ishida once again.
This comfort lasted the entire series, even through Uryuu’s “betrayal”. Hence why Ichigo, in the end, admitted that he’d known that Uryuu would never turn on them without a valid reason.
Ichigo’s team up with Uryuu helped Ichigo gain trust, knowledge, perspective, and comradery. It ended with a victory that Ichigo was proud of. He didn’t regret putting Ginjo down and he’d made his choice to stand by the Soul Society despite their transgression.
Ichigo’s team up with Orihime ended with Ichigo in absolute despair. His zanpakuto was broken, he didn’t have any will to fight left. Then, he proceeded to get his zanpakuto restored by someone else and he fought alongside Aizen in a more successful tag team and came out victorious against Yhwach.
Amongst his human friends, Uryuu will always be Ichigo’s first choice when it comes to reliability.
Ichigo and Uryū’s relationship is amazing, and I feel like way too many people don’t give Uryū the love and the credit he deserves while he was undeniably the most loyal to Ichigo.
In the Fullbring arc, Kubo could have chosen anyone of Ichi’s three friends to stay by his side. The fact that he deliberately let Inoue (mind you, it was the perfect opportunity to show how strong her love for Ichi was) and Chad (the so-called “best friend” of Ichigo according to some… so why didn’t you side with him then? 😮💨) be brainwashed by Tsukishima but NOT Uryū speaks volume to me and I’ll never shut up about it.
From the beginning, Uryū was shown to care a lot about Ichigo. In the introduction arc, his hands burnt from trying to stabilize him after their fight against the Menos. In Arrancar/Hueco Mundo arc, he broke his promise to Ryūken to go help Ichi rescue Inoue, and when Ichigo became a Vasto Lorde, Uryū try to reason him so he wouldn’t lose his humanity, despite knowing Ichigo had way much strenght then him (what did Inoue do? Nothing). In Fullbringer arc, he was the only one of Ichi’s human friends still by his side. And in the Thousand Year Blood War, he didn’t hesitate to tarnish his own reputation in Ichigo’s eyes (“betraying” him) if it meant he could protect his friends by dealing with Yhwach himself, even at the cost of his own life.
(This is why I’m SO upset when “fans” watched the last arc in anime and the new additions regarding Ishida and say “I hate him” “He’s a bum/bastard/asshole, etc.”. Like, DID YOU FORGET EVERYTHING HE DID IN ALL THE PREVIOUS ARCS (and not even just for Ichigo by the way)?! I swear those idiots are out of their mind.)
Uryū did more for Ichigo than Chad and Inoue together did. And Ichigo always showed much more concern for Uryū in the whole series than he did for Hime and Chad.
Someone pointed out how Uryū was a masculine version of Rukia in the end, and I find this assesment to be very, very true. They share so many values it’s unbelievable.
IchiishiRuki, you’ll always be famous in my heart. Yasutora and Inoue can go elsewhere for all I care.
what if we stopped making Ambiguously Brown Character and started actually thinking about the race and ethnic features of the characters we made? what if instead of drawing a character that looks like you painted a white character brown, we started varying noses, lips, eyes, and hair? just a thought
So I decided to make a list of all the decisions that are (imo) hurting this show.
1) making it an ensemble. It’s the stupidest decision ever because the show is already full of too many characters so you’re just taking away precious time from your leads.
2) making it a Matt vs Fisk show. While yes Fisk was always the main nemesis of Daredevil in the OG show, his screen time however, remained contained. Made us both appreciate his development when we got it and also fear him more when we didn’t see him.
3) not only they decide to make it a "Team Red" vs Team Fisk but they also decide to focus on the villains more than necessary???? Why are Buck, Daniel and Heather for example getting way more focus than Kirsten, Angela and Cherry? (Not that I care about Cherry lmao but you know what I mean. Like why did he disappear and Buck has a personality now ?)
4) The lack of focus on Matt inevitably hurts the characters on his team. So for example Karen gets crumbs of a storyline and is left with maybe 5 minutes to shine every other episode. The other people on his team ? Lol. Lmao even.
5) I’m sorry but. Even with the screentime he gets Matt is so so SO misunderstood in his own show. He is relegated to a guy who simply hears other characters (Dex in ep 5, Karen in ep6) and doesn’t really express himself or his thoughts clearly leaving the audience to even wonder wth is going on inside his brain (and if we didn’t have 3 seasons of OG show I swear it would be impossible to even get his thought process this season. So we’re left making up excuses for him : he’s in deep denial etc etc)
6) This all makes us feel like the showrunner frankly doesn’t care much about the hero of the story and isn’t interested much in writing him. The villains and/or antiheroes are his main priority because apparently Vanessa Fisk can have multiple episodes dedicated to her anxiety pre-death and get 3 episodes focusing on her final moments. In an 8episodes season. Right.
7) The fast pace. It’s just too much. It’s scene after scene after scene. None of the quiet moments get to breathe and so the delivery is affected because the audience doesn’t get to sit with a character. Actors are rarely given TIME to truly showcase their range.
7) BIG sigh but. Romance. They simply don’t know how to write it. And I hate to be like “they need a female consultant” bc romance was well done in the OG show and all 3 showrunners were men… but yeah they really need it. (With a few exceptions here and there in the OG show obviously it wasn’t perfect but it was really realistic when it came to how Matt was portrayed as a partner/lover etc). I say this as Karedevil shipper btw: the decision to make them more mature and settled in their relationship isn’t what’s wrong. They are in their late 30’s/ early 40’s and they’ve known each other for more than a decade AND have had something going on even pre-Born Again (“The Friends Code”). It makes perfect sense. But the problem is : the show got cancelled mid-storyline for them. The OG show was supposed to be a 6 seasons long slow burn for these two. The least they can do is give us hints and flashbacks of how it all happened for them to get to this moment. In ep5 for example: why not simply make it a flashback during the Missing Years? It would have been not only a great way to show the impact Foggy has had on BOTH Matt and Karen but also let us see a glimpse of the main couple’s dynamic pre-Born Again. They just reunited after a year being separated yet not one line hinting at it or the fact that they’re both clingy-er than usual for obvious reasons. I will also add : the drop in quality regarding the directing/ cinematography/ score is deeply hurting their portrayal as well. I have already talked about it before but you only have to compare Matt and Karen’s first kiss or their first date episode to Born Again and you can see the difference in the care given to those quiet romantic moments. The lighting/ the blocking / the weird camera angles is hurting Charlie and DAW’s A+ performance. Seriously the only ~romantic~ moments (not counting the fights because those are always my favs 🥰) I genuinely loved for them were early in the season when 1) we first see them in ep1 and their first kiss in the new show and 2) the cuddles in bed scene that felt very realistic and showcased their easy chemistry. I have wayyy more thoughts on how the showrunner’s misguided approach of this dynamic (he talked about how their love is “pure” which I don’t really disagree with but Matt and Karen’s relationship will ALWAYS be messy. Always. That’s the beauty of it and not something to sanitize.) hurts their portrayal but I want to keep this list more general.
8) I am not someone who advocates for intimate scenes in TV shows lmaooo but going from Netflix to this PG13 version is simply jarring (and I don’t understand… they can let them curse but they can’t show the main couple… be a couple…???) It just hurts the show overall because once again : the relationships (whether platonic or romantic) are not given their due time to shine.
9) The quality drop in the dialogue. Not only do we not get the religious debates back but even when they touch upon morality (Karen’s crash out which is glorious) we are left watching one party make their arguments while the other is simply left uttering vague statements such as “this isn’t you” (really? Really??? Last I heard Matt Murdock was a lawyer.) The lack of intelligent repartee simply makes for a dumbed down version of the previous show which was so willing to get to the bottom of a moral dilemma.
10) Which brings us to : the tiktok-fication of modern tv shows and how Born Again is no exception. Characters are not given time to speak but also: too many scenes are shot to get a reaction out of a Tiktok audience. “Cool” action shots, Matt is reduced to an action hero, Karen is given a few “badass” scenes to show she’s a modern independent woman!! (And before you misunderstand my point it’s not that she’s given those types of scenes that’s the problem. It’s way deeper than that and I can’t talk about in depth in this list), sexualisation of violent acts on screen just to get hype (Matt and Dex / Karen and Dex and the way they’re being directed + Heather and Buck (at the very least this one actually makes sense storyline wise and isn’t cheap baiting)). So yeah.
Feeling very disappointed because I wanted to believe in this new show. I really did. But I think it’s time to simply move on and wish good luck to the OG actors who imo deserve way better.
the current twitter discourse du jour is cervical smear tests for some reason and here is my take: there absolutely is a widespread assumption that if you have a vagina and are over a certain age you'll be habituated to vaginal penetration and this is self-evidently heteronormative and sexist and im honestly amazed that more people don't seem to register it fdkjghfdjk
it's not just an issue w smear tests. was investigated for PCOS not too long ago and when i was referred for an ultrasound absolutely nobody thought to mention that it would be a transvaginal ultrasound. if i hadn't happened to do my own research i would literally have found out on the day of the appointment?? i remain baffled by this
anyway a lot of people on twitter responding to 'actually smear tests are painful for some people' with 'oh well I suppose if you have some kind of medical condition it might be painful' and it's well the thing is people with medical conditions exist in real life
oh the other one is 'well the nurse will be super nice and will make sure you're comfortable and will switch to a smaller speculum if necessary' and i'm like you must know that isn't true. like c'mon. even if all your cervical smear experiences have been positive you must be conscious of the fact that some medical practitioners are assholes about stuff like this. a more helpful statement might be 'your nurse should make sure you're comfortable and if they don't then you don't have to put up with it'.
They are doing this discourse again and as a result I have a couple of working examples of the problem described in the OP:
'speculums open you up less than sex' *loud incorrect buzzer noise* what kind of sex? Not all kinds of sex involve penetration. Why are you assuming that everyone who has a cervix is having penis in vagina sex?
'if you can have penetrative sex you can get basic medical care' ok. If I can't have penetrative sex then what??
'so all these people who are afraid to get a pap smear have never had sex?' yes some adults have never had sex. I don't know what's so unfathomable about that.
anyway so i realise the OP is kind of, mid-argument so here is my actual point best as I can express it:
there is a widespread assumption that if you are an adult with a cervix then you will be having penetrative sex and that, therefore, vaginal penetration in a medical context will be no big deal for you.
this is untrue as a) not everyone is having penetrative sex and b) not everyone who is having penetrative sex finds penetration in a medical context painless and untraumatic.
the result of this is that people for whom cervical smears are significantly painful and/or emotionally distressing are not universally properly accommodated and supported in medical settings.
which is a problem bcos the cervical smear is a very important cancer screening and if a person knows or suspects their medical needs will not be accommodated they might opt not to do it.
i really like this thing where websites will have separate "log in" & "sign up" buttons and if you click "log in" it takes you to a sign-up screen anyway so you have to click "i already have an account" and then it will ask if you want to sign in with your facebook account or with instagram or linkedin or deviantart or whatever, and if you choose "username & password" it asks if you want to put in your username or use your thumbprint, and once you put your username & password it emails you a confirmation code, and once you put in the code it says "do you want to give us your phone number for future sign-ins? do you want to sign up for facial recognition? do you want to give us your bones? give us your fucking bones?
How many cartoons can you name where a Black boy is the hero? Not the sidekick, not the comic relief, but the center of the story, the one who gets to dream, to fall, to grow, to save the day. For too many Black boys, the first time they see themselves reflected back isn’t in a world of imagination it’s in headlines, obituaries, or mugshots. That kind of visibility shapes how the world sees them, and how they begin to see themselves.
FLY exists to shake up that narrative.
A coming of age story about Black kids who finally have power to fight back against systems designed against them.
If I die, remember that I begged you and asked you for a small donation or to share my post. I will not forgive anyone who sees this post and does not support me with a single word or a small donation and ignores me.
I'm writing this post with tears in my eyes from the intense pain I'm experiencing. I've suffered from severe pain and multiple fainting spells this past two week due to my severe anemia and my inability to afford all the medications I need because of their high cost. All I wish for is to never faint again, so I hope you will stand by me and help me buy my medications quickly. Please donate.
Worse still, I was injured when our house was bombed while we were inside. I was hit by shrapnel that is still embedded in my body, and I need urgent surgery to remove it. Throughout this time, I have been suffering from constant pain. My surgery is very expensive, and I don't have enough money for it. Now I can't sleep because of the intense pain, and I can't afford my medications and painkillers to stop the pain because of their high price.
I need your help to stop my pain and save myself as quickly as possible. Please, I don't want to die. Please help me raise the money for my medication and surgery as soon as possible. Please stand by me. Please donate.
