#chosenwads

[cliveguy]

So can you elaborate on the whole point of “rawer more interesting queer rep in old media” and “newer stuff that’s not as good?” from your tumblr post about it?

Also what could I do to make my stories more like the former? Is that something I should actually worry about?

It's one of those things that honestly would require essays and people who know more about film/tv than me to really get into, but essentially i think the issue is that lgbt people are now seen as more profitable than they are a risk. in the past, gay media had to really want to be made. it wasn't included to fit a quota or fill a market, it was made by people who felt genuinely passionate about telling a story.

when disney or netflix or hulu or whatever make gay media, it isn't out of love, nothing they make is out of love. even if they hire gay people to write, trans people to act, get sensitivity readers, it feels fake. there's a post on here about how you can go watch heartstopper and see all the cute lgbt kids and then click three buttons and watch a comedy special about how trans people are the scum or the earth. it all means absolutely nothing.

we do still get a lot of "real" media being made, ofc, but with the way media works nowadays it gets overshadow pretty easily. when you can choose between turning on netflix and seeing the latest generic gay teen romcom, or driving an hour to an independent cinema to see a new indie gay film, it's pretty clear what choice most people are going to make (and that's if they even heard about the independent film in the first place.)

that's just a super condensed version that doesn't even really touch on everything, but like i said it would require way more than a tumblr post

as for your own stories, i don't really know? it's more of a complaint about capitalism than anything else, but i so see a lot of soulless gay lit nowadays. it's all up to what you personally value in lgbt media, so if you're really worried about it maybe go and watch/read some older lgbt things and try to identify what resonates with you and why

[largishcat]

So what did you post to the crane wife story that got banned from tumblr?

it was literally just a "there are many advantages to being an ornithologist" meme. for some reason, this was the one thing that was too spicy for tumblr. i would challenge it, but its honestly much funnier this way

[cosmicdangernaut]

Can I ask some stupid questions?

What makes the MCU movies "mindless popcorn schlock", and what would make an MCU movie not that?

Is that like a bad thing, or is it a neutral quality that is inherent to these films?

Also, does this apply to all of the movies in the MCU?

I have no idea why I want to know this stuff; I just have to ask.

A question asked out of genuine curiosity is never stupid. 💕 

Schlock may come from a yiddish word meaning "shoddy/cheaply made", but for me it's always been a fairly neutral term. It's like the media equivalent of junk food. It doesn't have a high level of artistic or social merit. Schlock can be entertaining and really that's all a movie has to be. Some of my favorite movies are schlock. Not everything has to be Fine Cinema. And that's where the idiom "popcorn movie" comes into play. Sometimes you just want to have a good time and aren't looking for something to challenge the mind.

Some MCU movies have attempted to have an elevated aesthetic (compared to the whole). There have also been a few that have attempted some sort of social commentary. Not well, but they definitely did... something. At the end of the day the MCU was always meant to be entertainment that turned a profit.

The way the production company has operated thus far doesn't really allow for any of their projects to rise above the schlock. They aren't even coasting at this point; they're getting worse. But as long as people are supporting it I don't really think they care. For me personally my enjoyment has long since run its course and I don't agree with the way they run things. But if other people enjoy it they should follow their bliss. I'll be watching something else.