#druck analysis

[skam-screaming]

I have so many thoughts and feelings about the Ava/Ismail situation and I don’t know how to organize them into actual sentences.

I’m just remembering when my childhood best friend turned middle/high school bully apologized to me suddenly at the end of an event we were both attending. She got half a sentence out, cut herself off, said “I’m sorry,” threw her arms around me, and then was gone. There was no lead up to it from my perspective, in fact I’d long given up the notion of her ever understanding what she did. But how long had she been sitting on it before she finally decided that night was the night to say something? There’s no way for me to know. There was no follow up to it either. She apologized, left, and then months later randomly said hi to me in the hall.

I don’t know how Druck is planning on dealing with this. It’s clear Ismail knows the situation is messed up. It’s clear they know they hurt Ava and feel bad about that. And it also seems like Ismail already wants to patch things up, while they and Ava cross paths with each other constantly, which me and my bully didn’t really do. But there’s no telling how long Ismail’s gonna end up sitting on it, or how they’re gonna apologize when the time finally comes

[gay-dragon]

David’s character development as seen through his clothes

In light of the quarantine and suddenly having loads of free time when I usually have none, I figured I'd take this opportunity to revive an old post that I think got swallowed by the internet (probably because I tried to get fancy with gifs, so I'm just gonna do screenshots this time)

Basically, I'm a fashion hoe and I adore David Schreibner so this is an analysis of how the clothes he wears in season 3&4 reflect his journey as a character - let’s go!

Essentially, one thing I love about David is that he's a very multi-layered character, but he remained super consistent throughout his development. That's really hard to do, and DRUCK did it beautifully. To summarise it very crudely, I'd say that there are three main levels to David that we discover in season 3:

- Layer 1 is the mysterious cool guy that Matteo is instantly struck by

- Layer 2 is a fun, goofy and playful side of him which Matteo discovers quite quickly when they start getting to know each other

- Layer 3 is the very vulnerable, scared side of David which Matteo sees hints of a couple of times earlier in the season, but it’s so heavily veiled by the other two layers that I would argue he doesn’t really see this side of David until at least episode 7, and only truly sees the proper extent of it when they reunite at the pool and David finally talks about his feelings.

I also think there’s another layer which is the competitive, sassy side of him, but I have yet to figure out where to place this one, so I’ll leave it aside for now (I think it could play a big role in his potential season, though: when you’re competitive but struggling to achieve your dreams, it can be really painful. But I digress)

None of the three layers cancel each other out of course, David is still a cool person and a goofy person even when we’ve seen his more vulnerable side. But by the end of the season we’re finally able to see how these three aspects of him work together and influence each other to inform his behaviour.

This brings me to his fashion. I absolutely adore what they’ve done with it, and how consistent it has been throughout this development. I just want to point out a couple of examples of his outfits that perfectly demonstrate his consistent and believable development.

Of course throughout the majority of season 3, we see David sporting plain, baggy, dark coloured outfits in order to, we assume, be noticed as little as possible. What I’d like to look at is the clothes we see him wear that depart from this.

There’s of course this iconic shirt, which we see him wear very early on in the season. It hints at his goofier side, which Matteo has already gotten to know. I love that they had him wear it in the almost kiss scene, because although Matteo was very smitten by David’s cool guy side, I don’t think he would have fallen for him so completely if he hadn’t gotten to know goofy David. DRUCK makes a point of showing us the two of them clowning around a lot, so it’s clear that this playful attitude is something of a requirement for both of them, in a relationship. This shirt is also slightly more revealing than a lot of the clothes we’ve seen David wear so far, so that's a reminder of the hint of vulnerability that David has let Matteo glimpse. Basically I love this dinosaur shirt because it encapsulates hints of all three of these layers of David, making the almost kiss even more believable as we are reminded of exactly why Matteo is falling for this guy.

Similarly, the shirt David is wearing here is more revealing than what we’ve seen him wear before, once again reminding us of the reasons why Matteo is so smitten. However there is none of the playfulness of the dinosaur shirt, it’s just dark colours, slightly paralleling the way Matteo feels about this situation: a little vulnerable, and definitely not playful (it’s so clear how uncomfortable he is)

Fast forwarding a little to this scene, aside from being an absolutely iconic look, I was so excited about this wardrobe choice because it completely communicates what is happening in this scene: David is beginning to let other people in. He’s meeting his boyfriend’s friends properly for (I assume) the first time, and later in the scene he gives Abdi advice in a way that implies personal experience (so hints of vulnerability). What’s great about the shirt is that along with this slight opening up to the world, we finally see David starting to wear clothes with a little more pattern and structure, but it remains consistent to his character by having a dark colour scheme. The shirt is also still quite baggy, reminding us that David hasn’t quite let these other people see his more vulnerable side.

This one is quite simple and goes without saying: Matteo and David wearing each other’s clothes, the morning after they’ve finally let themselves be completely open and vulnerable with each other. It’s such a gorgeous visual way of saying: we understand each other, we are here for each other, we love each other.

This one is the look that made me most emotional. The sunglasses are fun and goofy but also cool, and they hide part of his face so again a reminder of his vulnerable side. And paired with the jumper which denotes a sense of belonging to a group, we get this: David still has some way to go in terms of letting people in, but he feels like he belongs, and he’s beginning to open up. I love it so much.

Going into season 4, we see David wear a shirt that serves a very similar purpose to the dinosaur shirt, except this time it has the added layer of being a shirt that belongs to Matteo. Here we are once again reminded of all these layers of David, all these reasons Matteo fell for him, but it also goes the other way around. Indeed, this clip is technically David’s perspective, so we see that he loves Matteo for all of these reasons too, and they go so well together because they understand each other on all of these different levels.

Then for the rest of season 4:

Throughout season 4 we get to see David wearing much lighter colours, or wearing outfits like in the scene where he meets the boys that fit the darker colour scheme that he has always adhered to but have more structure (and occasionally more pattern). This is what I was saying earlier about him having let his friends in to an extent, but still having some way to go before he lets himself be truly open.

 On that note, in season 4 I know some people found him out of character, but I don’t really agree: I think those three layers are still at play. The only difference is that we’re no longer seeing him through Matteo’s eyes, and he hasn’t let many people in all the way to layer 3, so of course we’re not going to see him in the complexity that we saw him by the end of Matteo’s season.

Indeed, by this point David seems to have relaxed a little, I’d say he’s let Matteo’s friends in to layer 2, so he is now both cool David and goofy David. But as far as we know he has not yet let them see him truly be vulnerable. This means that he’s still at a level with them that he was with Matteo quite early on in season 3, so there is clearly still a long way to go before he really opens up. 

Therefore I hope that if/when he gets a season, we’ll get to see him working towards finally being totally open with the world (not that he needs to tell the world all of his intimate secrets, but just being his entire self). I’m sure Matteo isn’t the only person that he’s let in to layer 3 (Laura most definitely was before him), but I think it’s important to be able to be vulnerable and honest about not being okay with more than just one or two people - maybe we’ll see him start letting in some of his own friends, new or old.

 But there you have it, guys. There’s always so much to see, and tbh this only really scratches the surface of what there is to read, but in essence this is why I love what they did with David’s wardrobe choices throughout the two seasons that we have known him. It’s such a perfect example of what DRUCK does so well, which is developing characters in every aspects of the show. I’m really excited to see where they’re going to take David next, and how it will be reflected in what he wears!

[comedictrans]

Amira: Coloring & Lighting

I didn’t get the chance to do this for S3 cause I was still in school but now that I have time on my hands I’m gonna come in with some hot film student takes on what the coloring in Amira’s season represents in my head. 

Druck has always had a very particular way with how they color and light their scenes that can be tracked back to S1, they compose these two things around the character and tend to have the colors mirror how the main is feeling and experiencing the world around them. 

There’s a few things going on with lighting and coloring but the two things that stand out most are is the mostly golden/yellow coloring on many of Amira’s clips, which only gets interrupted by the occasional gray/neutral/flat colored scene. The contrast between these two different coloring and lighting techniques situates us as the audience in Amira’s head/POV even more than the typical TV show or film. 

The gold coloring this season is represents a number of things about Amira, but the biggest thing I feel like it shows is just how much hope and love she has within her and how much of that she tries to spread to her friends and her family.

EX: 

Not every scene that has golden coloring is happy or lighthearted, in fact, a lot of the clips that have this coloring still carry serious weight and have impact in Amira’s life (e.g. the clip from this week where Amira gets into the fight with the shitty racist girl). She’s still got anger and frustration but I feel like the coloring is Druck’s way of showing that Amira wears her heart on her sleeve. Even though she’s in pain, even though she’s hurting, she’s still optimistic that her future is bright, she still has hope that things will be okay someday, which is a rly interesting contrast to Matteo’s season where we were only shown neutral/blue lighting unless Matteo felt happy. 

Even this clip:

Despite the heaviness of their conversation, despite how painful it is, the coloring shows us that Amira’s still hopeful. She hopes that Mohammed will say something that makes her feel safe, she hopes she’s not making a mistake. 

Because of this consistency, the clips we do get in a more neutral tone (grays & blues) hit that much harder. 

When we’re set to see the world through the eyes of someone who has hope, our minds (and hearts tbh) resonate with the lack/loss of hope that much more. 

EX: 

While these scenes don’t contain much of Amira actually speaking about her true feelings we still know what’s going on inside her head. Tua’s has an amazing ability in her acting where we know exactly how Amira’s feeling without her saying much at all, and this is further showcased by the coloring in the scenes. 

The gray/neutral colors show us a side of Amira that we didn’t get to see in previous seasons, and up until episode, it shows a side of Amira that I don’t think any of us thought existed. She’s always been so strong and supportive and there for everyone, and this coloring shows that she has fear.

She’s scared and anxious and vulnerable, it’s these moments that show us that Amira is losing her hope. The thing that makes Amira so very different and distinct from all her friends is how she always manages to have a positive outlook, but it’s because she pushes down her fear. 

But, on top of all this, one of my favorite things Druck has managed to do this season is give us clips that have the golden glow of Amira’s hope with the shadowy presence of her fear.

EX: 

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that her world is falling down around her, but it’s clear that she’s not handling her feelings as well as she used to be able too. With the coloring in these clips, we’re shown the internal battle we might not otherwise see without this attention to coloring and lighting. 

Amira is trying her hardest to keep herself rooted in who she is, she knows deep down she’s a person who’s hopeful. She tries to see the best in people, like when Matteo had fallen off the deep end in S3 and when Mia was struggling with her relationship with Alex in S2. She knows her friends are good people, she knows the world can be a good place, but now there’s so many things around her that are trying to chip away at that. 

And honestly, I think we get the best example of this from today’s clip:

This is warm, but it’s almost like Amira can feel her hope dying. She’s holding on as best she can but it’s not enough for her anymore. She feels alone and afraid and she needs support but she has no idea who to turn too or how to go about reaching out for help. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next clip we get is also neutral/gray/blue toned just to further emphasize this point that Amira’s world has shifted and she doesn’t know how to put it back. 

[dreamy-slytherin]

There is a big difference between Matteo's and Isak's outing progress. While Isak asked google "am I gay" Matteo already knew and checked "how gay" he actually is.

While Isak actively insulted the dance teacher (after looking up HOW TO NOT COME ACROSS AS GAY!) Matteo asked why the dance teacher expressed his sexuality in this way and then honestly asked: "why do gay guys HAVE to act like this?" -> he kind of thinks that's how he has to behave now as well, considering the fact that he only knows gay guys who act flamboyantly. Matteo is worried he has to change himself, now that he knows his sexuality and maybe wants to explore it.

While Isak was still putting on the straight™ mask and was acting like the biggest douchebag ever Matteo is even apologising by Jonas, fearing he came off the wrong way.

It was NOT Matteo who expressed to David to keep the meeting a secret. It was actually David himself who tried to hide it. It's not Matteo who struggles with his sexuality here. It's actually David.

[necroissants]

Ok so here are my two cents about the Donnerstag 20:37 Clip aka first half of O Helga Natt and why I think this leads into Druck adressing Matteos mental illness (fingers crossed)

So this is gonna be a bit long but bear with me here! (or keep scrolling you do you, boo)

So at first I was mad because of the frustratingly abrupt way in which the clip ended, but that could be because the clip is one part of two. I also wanted Matteo to spend more time with his mother since we got to actually see her and him engaging as opposed to the OG but that too makes sense once you see what's actually happening in the clip.

If you compare the OG clip and this one you immediately see the obvious differences and similarities. At first (at least for me) that made the Druck clip feel disappointing because we expected the clip to include a reunion and for the focus to be on Even/David and his storyline.

But if you look closely at what's happening in the two different versions though it becomes clear why it's changed:

(I'm doing OG from memory here so if I get something confused pls tell me!)

OG 'O Helga Natt' Scene: Isak is in church with his parents - music is playing through the whole scene - there is almost no dialogue - we never see his parents faces or him directly interacting with them - Isak gets the text from Even, therefore bringing the storyline of uncertainty about Evens feelings for Isak to a close -the whole scene we and Isak seem to be in a bubble shutting everything else out, until he receives the text - a short while later he realizes Even might be in danger and he leaves the church to go search for him - he doesn't talk to his parents or says goodbye - he finds Even at the school and tells him that hes not alone, they embrace - End of clip.

Ok so now for the Druck Clip: Matteo walks into the church and sits down while the choir is singing - music is playing through the whole scene there is no dialogue - the focus is on Matteo at first, as well as the church walls and windows, we then get shots of his mother noticing that he's upset and leaving the choir to go to Matteo and hug him - we see Matteo crying, the focus is on his face again - The next shot is from a little farther away, we see matteo and his mom talking but there is no sound - Matteo receives the text from Laura - He turns around and leaves without saying goodbye (music starts as soon as he receives the text) - Matteo hopes David might have gone to his flat and rushes there - When he doest find David there his thinly held composure crumbles and he has a full blown panic attack (or the panic attack continues) - he texts David that hes worried about him and that hell wait for him at the exam tomorrow - the clip ends apruptly.

Allright so let's break down what this means!

While both clips are obviously filmed to be from the perspective of the respective protagonist, they have a largely different focus reflecting the the characters current situation and state of mind. While Isak was lovesick and sad because he feared Even didn't have feelings for him, he was so preoccupied with these feelings that the situation itself, which otherwise would have been stressfull for him (confrontation with his parents, his conflictions regarding religion and being gay) wasn't the problem of the scene. We aswell as Isak were is this hazy bubble until the text ended his lovesickness and the realization that Even needed him moved him into action.

In the Druck clip however Matteo is not in a state of uncertainty and confusion in the beginning. Although he misses David, he thinks he's going to see him later. As soon as he sits down we get alternating shots of his face and the church from his point of view. The stained glass windows seem to stare down on him. We see his mom noticing that hes upset (the camera is angeled from Matteo's perspective) and going to him. We actually see them interacting! The scene is about Matteo breaking down/starting to have a panic attack because of the place he is in, maybe because of seeing his mom, and her comforting him. That aspect, different from the OG, isn't numbed for him bc that is what that scene is about, and thats where the focus is. This is emphasized by the full-body shot of him and his mom talking. While in the OG the parents fall into the hazy background of the scene, here his mom is in focus and important for the narrative that is being told. Then the text interupts. And complete opposite to the OG it doesn't close the storyline but further complicates it. Matteo thought he was gonna talk to David tonight, there were no Big Unknowns at this point until now that David is missing. As Isak did, Matteo leaves the church in a hurry and apparently without saying goodbye. But while with Isak the reason for that was the new purpose and certainty (as well as some worry about Even) he got with that message, for Matteo it is that on top of his breakdown he now starts to panic because of David. The music that plays in the second half of the clip starts the second he reads the text and - symbolising his panic - drowns everything out. Different from Isak, Matteo has no idea where he should look for david and goes home I hopes of finding him there. When that isn't the case he really starts to panic (restless pacing, fidgeting, wrapping the pillow around his head to try to calm himself). And the clip ends there! There is no conclusion, nothing is resolved - just as is Matteo's mental illness! Notably David is very explicitly not in the clip. The text is from Lara, he is shown to not answer Matteo's texts, he isn't at the second location.

Conclusion: As opposed to the OG this clip isn't about David (or Even) in any shape or form, but about Matteo reacting to the situation. Druck is playing with our expectations of how the clip will play out, and reverses them. We were expecting this clip to show them reunite, to tie up the "drama" storyline, to reflect the events in OG! Instead it went in a completely different direction by (seemingly) only slightly changing the scene.

Of course this also ties into David's storyline and the (I think) most likely confrontation with General Neuhaus tomorrow, but them meeting tonight wouldn't really have changed that storyline at all! (provided he's showing up tomorrow)

So I think that means that they are going to persue the MI storyline after all because otherwise changing the scene like this just wouldn't make any sense.

On top of that it also takes away the implications of equating Even's Bipolar storyline to David's trans storyline, so yay.

[skam-screaming]

I’m finally talking about Matteo’s MI, here we go.

The beginning of the season gave us ample, ample evidence that Matteo had a mental illness, there’s no question of that, but the storyline was never closed out or really dealt with by the end. However, they never actually made it clear that it was gone and left it just ambiguous enough for me to be able to say that he still definitely has one.

It’s not really surprising Matteo didn’t seem to be depressed towards the end of the season. During hell week pt.1, Matteo was focused almost completely on David. That spiral was the culmination of a lot of things but David was the trigger and David was the focal point. He wasn’t going to school, he wasn’t spending time with people, he was just in his head. It was a sort of destructive focus, a doom spiral focus, where David was just representative of everything Matteo couldn’t have. Hell week pt.2 was also focused on David, but this time in a constructive way. He was worried about David because David was away and alone. He was able to pour his energy into caring about and being worried for David’s well-being instead of focusing all that energy inward on himself. Before his bio exam, while he was with his friends, basically while he was doing anything else, he was also always thinking about David. Short-term, he had something else to occupy his brain with.

Then he reunited with David, and that would have given him a high of its own. He’s just spent an entire week with a very intense two final days driving all available energy into David’s well-being, and now he’s finally with him again. In the first couple clips of week 10, Matteo was still directly coming down from the high of getting David back, and he hadn’t spent any time away from David. We’ve seen in the past how happy David makes him, of course he was still on top of the world here. But, just going by the Matteo we know, there’s no way the previous week wouldn’t have taken a lot out of him. A full week of focused energy on one person along with the rush of finally being with that person would have had to have produced a crash of some sort when he finally came down and his body and mind relaxed, and it did.

When we saw him with the boys, we got to see a bit of the old Matteo, the way he was in s2 and early s3. He was finally done with the post-reunion high point, and had spent some time apart from David, and he just seemed tired. Being with the boys usually energizes him, and he showed none of the energy we’ve seen from him in similar situations. He drooped in his seat. He didn’t even properly face the others, sitting so he was closed off and shielded by his leg

It really goes to show how used to THIS Matteo Jonas is, because he doesn’t take any of it as disinterest and includes him like usual, even when Matteo barely reacts to him clinking their bottles together. When David shows up he still doesn’t fully engage, leaning on him but focusing elsewhere so he can listen without having to take part

He doesn’t check out completely, he’s still present, he still laughs at Abdi and teases the boys when they’re being dumb, but he’s not feeling his best. He also doesn’t feel like he needs to rally around these guys. These are the people he trusts the most, he knows he can feel low around them and it’ll be ok.

He took the trip to the teacher meeting with David, and he was clearly feeling fine. He’d had a quiet couple days to get his energy back, and he was going to the meeting for David, not himself. It’s infinitely easier to do things for other people even if you stuggle to do things for yourself.

Then he goes and takes part in the Abi prank. It is a really good sign that he participated and did so happily, because early season Matteo would have almost certainly found a way to get out of doing it. To me this seems perfectly reasonable. He had a lot of growth this season, he reestablished a lot of connections, and his year ended pretty well. Him being happy during a literal party celebrating the end of a significant source of stress in his makes a lot of sense. This clip was so wonderful to watch, even if I wish it had been longer.

The final clip is really the other one worth focusing on. We see them dancing, having fun, continuing the celebrations. Then we get Matteo and both squads winding down at the end of the day, and Hanna asks Matteo if he has plans for the future. Matteo doesn’t, and we know this, and we also know this is a source of anxiety for him. He’d been sitting there in a happy post-party bubble, but the moment Hanna asks you see that uncertainty take over as his face drops

This isn’t something he wants to think about. This is a topic he has been avoiding rather successfully lately with everything else going on around him, and he just kinda brushes it to the side here. Yes it’s sweet that he says life is going well now with everyone around him and with David. But it’s not going to stay that way. “Now” is a happy bubble at the end of school, his friends all around, and his boyfriend right next to him. He has summer to enjoy and while that may feel like a long time, eventually things are going to get real again. The people around him are going to start carrying out their individual plans and the anxiety is going to come back. Avoiding questions like this now could spell serious trouble for him later, and given that he almost certainly still has depression, things could go downhill for him again. They don’t have to, he has a support system now to lean on and learn from, but that will only help him as long as he uses it.

Matteo has grown so much this season, but I really do feel like they could have dealt with his MI better than they did. Even if they just gave us one piece of solid evidence that he wasn’t “fixed,” like a panic attack over David going missing or even him deciding to smoke weed again at the end of the party, since they tied that so firmly to his mental health. But I’m still grateful they didn’t totally fix him. They kept it just unclear enough that I can still believe that he has an MI, and if he chooses to work on it or seek treatment I believe he will get himself to a more permanent good place.

[dreamy-slytherin]

And now we've reached the point where Druck can't stick to the original storyline any longer. I refuse to believe that David is just going to show up at Matteo's doorstep in episode 7 and Matteo will take him back so easily. In the original Even was probably already in his manic state or hoping to never reach one again, while David can't just ignore his trans identity and "hope it will never come to the surface." So, they need to TALK. They need to address David being trans in either episode 6 or 7.

So, what I'm confused about is the breakdown of episode 8. David's coming out would be covered. But what could possibly disconnect them again?

Here are my theories:

1) Jonas finds out about Matteo's role in season 1.

2) Matteo won't be able to graduate.

3) Matteo experiences his (first) manic episode.

4) David's past is sucking him back in - maybe his living situation, Laura or his parents will be a problem.

Either way, now we are left completely unaware of what's going to happen next. And while this makes me very anxious, it's also refreshing and the 2016 skam experience all over again.

[dreamy-slytherin]

I love how David challenges Matteo. How he brings him out of his shell and out of his comfort zone and simultaneously looks out for him and makes sure he feels safe. He doesn't compel him to do anything, he let's him make every step by himself. It's almost as if David is trying to show Matteo: "hey, look, you're capable of so much more than you think."

And I think that's how you should treat people like Matteo. You can't love their mental illness away, but you can love them while they fight their demons on their own