Doctor Who is just an endless cycle of the Doctor being reminded that there’s whimsy in the world and they should be whimsical—and then immediately being reminded there are also so many reasons to be a grumpy old person.
peter pan (2003)'s portrayal of peter pan is so unhinged like. he can never die. but he can never live either. he'll never have to grow up. he'll never get to grow up. wendy could have convinced him to leave but what would have happened to neverland, which falls into a wintry darkness if he so much as leaves for a night, if he'd left for good? he has the world in the palm of his hand. it's a very small world. it would just as soon kill him to be sure he's paying it mind. everyone gets a satisfying ending except him. everyone changes except him. he's stagnant. he's constant. he's eternal. he's not a boy—he's a story. and sometimes that's the loneliest thing to be.
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”
“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”
“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”
“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.
“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.
“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”
They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.
“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”
“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”
“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”
“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”
“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”
“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.
The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”
The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.
They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.
The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”
The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”
“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”
But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.
“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.
“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”
“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”
“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”
“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
“I love you,” said the scorpion.
The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”
“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”
The frog swam on, the both of them silent.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”
“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”
The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”
“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.”
“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?”
“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”
“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”
“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ:*:・ﾟ
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”
“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”
“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.
The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”
“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”
hermes of the airport. hermes of the red-eye flight. hermes of the coffee sipped so quick that it burns your tongue, of the energy drink downed at the gate. hermes of the rattling suitcase wheels as you rush to catch a flight and the heady rush when you just barely make it.
what the fuck was wrong with people that Labyrinth was originally a flop. How could they take any aspect of it so for granted. How could they fucking do that to Jim Henson. Newspapers were calling it boring and even ugly. I want to go back in time and beat their asses.
One of the problems with Labyrinth, despite Bowie, despite the puppetry, despite how well it’s acted or how good it looks, is that the main character does not have a character arc. There is no growth or change in her throughout the entire movie.
Sarah starts off disliking her brother, and feeling like she’s being put upon because of him. She goes to rescue him not because she cares so much about him, but to avoid trouble for herself. At the end she rescues him, but there is no joy for her. She doesn’t appreciate or love him any more than she did at the start. She maybe tolerates him a bit more, but she’s in no way grateful he’s still around.
I watched it both as a kid of about 10 when in came out, and also as an adult a few years back. As a child I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t like Sarah that much, until I rewatched it as an adult and realized she just has no character growth to her.
1) In the start of the film, Sarah is very possessive over her toys, specifically the stuffed bear, Lancelot. She becomes furious to see that the bear was taken from her collection, declaring “I hate it! I hate you!” when she finds the bear in Toby’s room. She cares more about her things than her little brother.
While in the Labyrinth, Sarah is repeatedly tempted to abandon her quest. When she is dropped in a garbage dump after eating a poisoned peach, the trash goblin there gives Sarah a re-creation of her beloved stuffed bear, Lancelot, and the option to stay inside a perfect copy of her bedroom. She can have all her beautiful things forever, as long as she gives up Toby. Sarah, forgetful from the peach, is swayed at first, but soon realizes it’s a trick, shouting “it’s all junk! I have to save Toby!”
At the end of the film, she tucks Lancelot in next to the sleeping Toby, reinforcing that she has realized her brother is more important than her things.
2) When first entering the Labyrinth, Sarah has many presumptions about how things were supposed to work; fairies are sweet and kind and grant wishes, walls don’t move, door are obvious, and there’s no need to ask questions.
However, as the adventure goes on, Sarah chooses to approach things with an open mind. When she hears Ludo roaring, she says “things aren’t what they seem” and takes the risk to approach what sounds like a terrible monster. In the end, she gets a dear friend.
(This can be argued as tying back to her behavior with her father, stepmother, and little brother, all of whom she assumed the worst of.)
3) Relating to the above, Sarah spends much of the early film declaring “that’s not fair!” to life’s inconveniences, Jareth’s challenges, and the Labyrinth’s weirdness.
When she takes Hoggle’s jewels in retaliation for tricking her, he yells “thems my rightful property! It’s not fair!” She says “no, it isn’t” and you can see understanding hit her as she continues “but that’s the way it is”. The world isn’t always going to conform to her needs and expectations, and she’s been making things harder on herself by refusing to accept that.
4) When we’re first introduced to Sarah’s room we’re given a long, slow pan of her many fantasy-themed belongings. This shot serves two purposes.
The first is to hint at the fantastical things coming; many of the creature and events in the Labyrinth are reflected in Sarah’s books, toys, and pictures.
The second is to establish how Sarah retreats into fantasy to avoid her problems; a point emphasized when the camera swings to Sarah and we see her doing her makeup while quoting from a fairytale, despite having just had an argument with her stepmother.
In the ending scenes of the film, Sarah is putting away her books and makeup and toys. She’s experienced an actual fantasy world and found it not a haven, but even more perilous than the real world. She’s become disillusioned. After a bit, though, the images of the friends she made in that world come to her and remind her that they’re still there, if she needs them. She’s matured and learned to face her problems better, but she doesn’t have to give up all her fantasies in the process.
saying ‘sarah doesn’t have a character arc’ is probably coming from the exact same place as the people who snubbed the movie forty years ago: female characters are often considered boring and static because *viewers don’t care to understand their inner motivations or take their emotional development seriously*
is the character actually flat or did you see a girl shaped shadow on the wall and stop looking any further?
my favorite thing about the painting Saturn Devouring His Son is that Goya didn’t name any of his Black Paintings and died before their discovery so we just assumed that’s what the painting was depicting. like we’re just hoping that this painting we found in Goya’s dining room of a terrible giant eating a beheaded corpse is a depiction of Saturn eating his kid. praying, even.
prguitarman
janainaart
snowghoul
origamiaround
jacobvanloon
dededos
theartofmadeline
stormborns
discoholicmusic
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
