#fiction commentary

[theoptimisticdaydreamer]

I’ve noticed something about modern remakes of old classics. It is almost like they are intentionally thumbing their nose up at their predecessors and mocking the fact that people liked the classic at all. They automatically deem the classic as outdated and the modern remake is obviously better because it is modern.

What most modern remakes lack is heart. Yes the classic may be cheesy and not that deep but it possesses a lot of heart. That heart is relatable to so many audiences. The soul of these characters resound with many people even if they do not outwardly resemble the audience.

Modern remakes now completely toss aside the cheesy pairings and put the opposites attract, good girl and bad guy with a tortured past (why is this always the go-to troupe??), couple on a pedestal. This couple gets all of the attention and all of the development and the former gets absolutely none. So audiences obviously lean into the latter couple because it makes more sense, because you have seen more of them interacting.

Just once, just once, I want to see the cheesy couple get development. I want the cheesy couple to get depth. I want to see them backing up the cheese instead of dismissing cheesy as something for The Past (TM). Give me that depth. I want to be presented with a cheesy couple and have that cheesy couple remain intact through the course of the movie/show but they are stronger and more developed now. They can grow as individuals and still retain that attraction and devotion to one another.

I want to root for the people who are lovestruck about one another. Lovestruck isn’t inherently bad or childish—— if the story gives it a chance.

[fluffycakesistainted]

I noticed that almost all the ships you blog about are canon ships. do you just prefer shipping canon pairings or are you just really good at predicting canon?

I’m not really into crack ships, what usually appeals to me is what’s actually given in the story. And I have an extra soft spot for when comic book couples get adapted into their respective movies or television shows, and get really pissed when the writers pull some nonsense of not putting them together in the adaptation, or putting them together and then permanently breaking them up. I consider that like, heresy against the canon. 

Probably the crackiest pairing I’ve ever seriously shipped, like OTP-level shipped–while still knowing full well it wasn’t about to happen, despite the bits of ship tease–was Hook and Tinkerbell on Once Upon A Time (for anyone who hasn’t seen OUAT, yes, I typed that correctly). And probably my biggest OTP that I started shipping way before any romance was really hinted at for them was Jackson and April on Grey’s Anatomy. They were just good friends, but then they did the “friends to lovers” trope (which, to be honest, is kind of a common trope on Grey’s. So on that show it’s always a decent possibility anyway). So the thing that happened that made me start shipping them, I was eventually proven correct. Along with a huge chunk of the audience that I found out later was already shipping them, too. 

But other than these, even if I do see something between 2 characters where I’m like, I could maybe ship that under different circumstances, I don’t get into it enough to actually seek out content or anything. If 2 characters just have antagonistic chemistry (”foe yay”) and nothing more, then I just enjoy that chemistry and leave it at that. If 2 characters are clearly just meant to be friends, then that’s how I see it. If I love their friendship, then they’re my BroTP. And I have had a BroTP become a canon OTP, when the show started hinting that romance was brewing (in another case of “friends to lovers”). So yeah, that’s basically how I am with shipping. If a form of media gives me a romance, then I’m either into it or I’m not. But speculative or crack shipping, not really my thing. 

[thewellofastarael]

@adhighdefinition​

I don’t want to be That Person (TM) who adds meaningless noise to discourse, but...

Who in the world thinks that B99 is police propaganda?

Police propaganda is shows like SWAT (which I enjoy immensely, except for the preachiness) or Blue Bloods or NCIS LA, in which law enforcement is glorified and the main characters can do no harm.

B99 focuses on cops, yes, and addresses cop-related issues, yes. But it never portrays policing as anything other than a normal profession, or the characters as more moral than anyone else. You could change the setting to an amusement park or a college or a law firm and the basic setup would stay the same.

Recently in B99, Jake tells Captain Holt that he’s not ready to come back to work, because he has a “little voice in his head saying, ‘but what if [the suspect] is innocent’.” And Holt tells him that the voice is a strength. Jake shouldn’t think lightly of throwing people behind bars or accusing them of crimes. It’s a serious matter. “I wish more cops thought that way,” says Holt.

HOW IS THAT PROPAGANDA????

[thewellofastarael]

Good Girls Revolt, 1.09

I see it. I see why Jane’s character exists.

Below the cut there be spoilers.

You know how in a lot of female-centric movies, especially the ones that deal with sexism, there’s that ~one female character~ who has so thoroughly internalized the misogyny around her that she can never sympathize with the women trying to “change things”?

Jane is set up as that character. She’s the best good girl out there, and even when she embraces modern society she’s still convincing herself that if she tries hard enough, she’ll get that writer’s job.

And then.

Here’s the thing: not all women see the sexism around them. You can have a great life that you love and still have had no choice but to live that life (which is another point that the show makes, but I digress.)

And even if you are aware that it happens, hear other people’s stories of it, you still have this bubble of “it couldn’t happen to me too” because you can’t recognize that it’s already happened to you.

For those women there’s a revelation period. Either you connect the dots in every little sexist thing that happened to you, or something so plainly misogynistic happens that you cannot ignore it any longer. You just can’t.

Here’s the thing, though: Jane’s shocking moment is not the worst thing that could have happened, relatively speaking. And he had just done what he did and they never talked about it, she could put it down to him being impulsive or having a sick sense of humor - after all, she’s been rationalizing like that her whole life.

But he sends her a memento of it. An inside joke for them to share. And she realizes he knows exactly what he’s doing and exactly how he wants her to respond.

When that scene happens you’re shocked, stunned, and you have to pause and take in what just happened. You didn’t expect it, and neither did Jane. You aren’t cheering, finally Jane’ll get it - you’re sad that it happened. That it had to happen for Jane to get it.

And the next episode? All Jane’s POV is how she’s noticing those little social aggressions, and the audience has already been aware of them for the past eight episodes but she is finally too - and again, you don’t feel happy for her. You’re sad, because she has to do what every other person who’s faced bigotry has to do: smile, take it and go about her day.

Jane just had her world turned upside down. She can’t trust anything to be what she thought it was. The clothes she wears, the jewelry, the job, the coworkers - she didn’t really choose it. It’s like asking a death row inmate whether they want to be hanged or shot.

I love how this show did her character. Part of you wishes she never became aware of society’s sexism, because then you could watch her scenes without being on edge like she is - is that man gonna turn around with his dick out? is he going to ask me to get coffee or pull me into his lap? will I have to laugh along with the “joke” or him sexually harassing me to get the job I want?

This is the moment when the average viewer turns from low-key pissed-off to furious.

[thewellofastarael]

Galavant isn’t holding back