expert/beginner

spirit portraits of pop culture

[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Ghostbusters (2016)

We’re Team @Lesdoggg all the way, and we diablogged about her brilliance and our hots for Holtzmannn

This ish she’s battling is why we still need a Ghostbusters 2016 sequel. Gemma: I was quite startled by how much fun I had with this movie. Rasha: I expected it to be fun, and I was really not disappointed. I have not been so gleefully anticipating blogging a film since we started this project. But it was even so much better than I thought it would be! G: It really was! It was much more relaxed…

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Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 FINALE!

Will Michael survive? Was Susanna ever even real?! We diablog #JanetheVirgin’s S2 FINALE

Welcome to the grand hall of family drama! Rasha: This was a second season finale worthy of the first season of this show. Gemma: Oh, good! I was worried I would think so and you wouldn’t! R: I almost felt a little pre-tear rising when Jane was saying that when she was a girl she didn’t imagine having her father at her wedding. G: And then they had that dance number! R: And then they did the…

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Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E21

We imagine ways that #JaneTheVirgin could reboot for next season… (hint: #LesbianCrimeMatriarchy)

Starring Mutter as HOUDINI! Rasha: Are we looking at a villain reboot? Gemma: It would appear so, although I would not be surprised if there were a deeper Mutter game afoot. I’m thinking Susanna’s a double agent. You heard it here first, kids. (more…)

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[sinnerscreek-blog]

Wishes for #OrphanBlack in #HaikuReview–we still have hope for #Cophine: The Resurrection!

Come on, Delphine! Bring your new bionic liver and help Cosima!

[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2E20

Will Michael die? We talk more #JanetheVirgin x #OrphanBlack. S2E20

He will or he won’t. This much I know for sure. Rasha: So Michael’s going to die, or not die. One of those two, definitely. I just read some TV reportage that 20 deaths are planned in TV finales this year. Gemma: Your powers of deduction are astonishing. Given how many TV shows there are, that actually sounds like a low estimate. I did enjoy Michael being sort of goofy and demanding on Ro’s set…

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Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E19

We love Spanish on #JaneTheVirgin, but the plot on S2E19 was BUNGLED.

Tiny Jane and I are both giving this situation some side-eye. Gemma: I guess I could start with the epic affront this constituted to my profession … Rasha: Dude, what with the #writersarentglamenough and #letmesexthislesbianintostraightness, I really don’t know if I even can. Like, can I? WHAT can I even? G: #letmesexthislesbianintostraightness was in Tiago, to be fair. It’s just they don’t have…

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[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E18

Is #JanetheVirgin ripping on #OrphanBlack with all the clones'n'twins? S2E18

This was fun, and could have taken up more of the episode. Rasha: I continue to be annoyed by their portrayal/non-portrayal of the feminist advisor. Gemma: Ugh, yes. Worse this week. R: In my experience, feminists do not hate romance. G: You mean, non-cartoon feminists? No, they don’t. This was one where the show’s usual quirky meta-cleverness about itself just seemed to fall flat. It was just…

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[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E17

All we want on #JaneTheVirgin is fewer bachelorette-guest stereotypes and a #LesbianCrimeMatriarchy…

Weirdly, we’re not going to discuss the Quixote stripper at all in this diablog. Gemma: Ugh, this episode, no. Rasha: Really? G: Yeah, I was annoyed all around. R: I’m a little excited about twin Petra. Grump to me. G: Yeah, twin Petra has some merit, definitely, but the bachelorette-party randomly appearing Asian stereotype was enough to set me off for a while. R: Weird/genius Angela? G: Yup. R:…

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[ifeelbetterer]

A word about fandom

I really do think the biggest problem about show runners, authors, and suchlike responding to fandom–online or otherwise–is that they’ve fundamentally misunderstood what fandom is.

They see a group of fans and they assume that they, the author, is like unto a god for these fans and that they can send decrees down to them from on high.

That’s not what fandom is at all.

No one is more critical of art than fandom. No one is more capable of investigating the nuances of expression than fandom–because it’s a vast multitude pooling resources and ideas. Fandom is about correcting the flaws and vices of the original. It’s about protest and rebellion, essentially. Fandom is the voice of a mob that can do better than the original, that often flies in the face of the original, that will accept nothing less than the best the medium (and the human at the helm) is capable of. Fandom is about putting debate and conversation back into an artistic process–-especially if the artist or author in question has become so vain that all criticism is ignored, distrusted, thrown back in the criticizer’s face. (Moffat, I’m looking at you.) Fandom is about mutual creative expression—there are no gods in fandom and every time someone thinks they’ve become a god of fandom, fandom corrects them again. (Cassandra Clare, I’m looking at you.) Fandom doesn’t need permission and it’s certainly not waiting for it. (Robin Hobb, I’m looking at you.) And fandom doesn’t actually want your attention; often, they’d rather you left them alone to get back to what they’re doing better than you anyway. (Supernatural, I’m looking at you.)

I would bet dollars to donuts that most of the people who run into this post could name five fics off the top of their head that could go head-to-head with canon any day of the week. I could name five fanvids with more biting commentary than a NYTimes review of the same film. I’ve definitely–and this is the easy one–seen hundreds of thousands of better fanart than the promotion materials for a lot of mainstream films and television shows.

Fandom is not worshipping at the altar of canon. Fandom is re-building it because they can do better.

[lierdumoa]

Well you’re half right.

You’re only describing half of fandom.

See there are two distinct fandom cultures:

White Dudes’ Fandom

Everybody Else’s Fandom

Think of it like that one Lion King meme.

The the author/showrunner/producer is Mufasa.

White dudes are Simba.

Canon is everything the light touches.

White dudes see fandom as an extension of canon – a kingdom handed down to them by their white dude forefathers. Canon was created especially for them. Therefore anything that deviates from canon is against them. So they gatekeep their insular white dude fandom culture, judging and ridiculing anyone who doesn’t know as much useless obscure fandom trivia or own as much officially licensed merch, and exiling, trolling, or even doxxing anyone who dares to participate in fan culture differently than they do.

We’re the other fandom. 

We’re people in the LGBT+ community, POC, women, the disabled, and any combination thereof – people who are not the target demographic. We deconstruct, reconstruct, subvert, and even outright reject canon. Why?

Because the only time we get to see ourselves in canon is when we’re placed their for shock value, or to be object of ridicule. The starving hyenas voiced by black actors speaking AAVE. 

.

Showrunners/authors/producers, etc. don’t understand this side of fandom for obvious reasons: most of them are white dudes. Their conception of fandom comes from fellow white dudes.

[schwarmerei1]

MmmHmm! And can I say? This is why I appreciate content creators like Guillermo del Toro and George Miller so much – they seem to genuinely get what transformative fandom does and why we do it.

[grouchylion]

Wow, this is so clear-eyed and true–yes, there are indeed two different fandoms. And my hope is that more and more showrunners will come to understand and appreciate our much more nuanced and interesting “other fandom.” We’re way cooler than the white dudes!

[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E15

Making it worse by trying to solve the Bechdel problem you don’t have: #JaneTheVirgin S2E15

We’re not sure what kind of dance is happening in the writers’ room… but we’re getting whiplash. Gemma: This episode was all kindza not up to snuff. Rasha: After the last couple of episodes, which were so wonderful at effortlessly passing the Bechdel test, it felt like this episode was some writer’s homework assignment after getting yelled at. I don’t mind Jane developing her writing, but it…

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Diablog: How to Get Away With Murder, S2 E15 (FINALE)

Red herrings, #PrisonEyelashes, & other fish to fry–we predict the next season of #HTGAWM!

I was like, this is how you leave it? Gemma: I don’t feel like I’ve said this about this show before, but I’m a little disappointed. Rasha: We have said this before. G: Actually, more than a little. There were parts of this episode that I liked tremendously, but none of them were about the story. R: Tell your tale. G: The whole Hapstall tie-off made all the time we have spent with it this season…

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Diablog: How to Get Away with Murder, S2 E14

Whiplash! Destruction! Contradiction! Suspense! Can we make it to this week’s #HTGAWM?

Didn’t get a leg shot, but this barely skirted her thighs… Gemma: I think we have now seen that Eve’s short skirts are a generalized costuming choice, and one I’m not necessarily wild about. Rasha: Yeah, they need to bring back the fishtail pants. G: That said: the Hapstall conspiracy is far more complex than it seems, and I am NOT OKAY WITH ALL THIS SCOOBYGANGCEST. I knew it was coming right…

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Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E13 & E14

No #JaneTheVirgin this week, so we’re looking back at the last two eps:

Cleave to us, dear reader, and we’ll get through together. Gemma: Well, that made me cry for the first time. Rasha: You cried! Tell us more. G: I did! I cried when Xo was confronting Alba and then Jane had to tell Alba Xo was right. I am not usually the biggest Andrea Navedo fan, but she KILLED that scene. R: She brought it. All three faces of the goddess. Yes, Xo was great in this episode and…

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Diablog: How to Get Away with Murder, S2 E13

Are there seriously only two more eps left of this season’s #HTGAWM?!?

As never seen before on TV. Rasha: I am…I’ll say that I thought that argument between Eve and Annalise in the hotel room was very real, and I’m not sure that I’ve seen something like it on TV before. Gemma: It was good stuff. I guess I should have realized at the midseason finale that there was no way we could go back to college and have it be the same actors, but I almost like this point in time…

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Diablog: How to Get Away With Murder, S2 E12

OMG, is Oliver sending the emails on #HTGAWM? We have theories on S2E12

I WAS LIKE. Gemma: HOLY SH!T THE MADNESS THAT IS THIS SHOW. Rasha: Dude, I’m sure that given the wide-ranging conspiracy theories put forth by the millions of viewers of this show, someone has speculated about Wes killing his mom. I was not one of them. Do we want to believe that? I don’t. G: I’d never thought of it, and I think we do not believe it. But I think Wes might think he did. I’m not…

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[sinnerscreek-blog]

Diablog: Jane the Virgin, S2 E12

The #LesbianCrimeMatriarchy makes its move on #JaneTheVirgin, thank you @JaneWriters! S2E12

In Which we say goodbye to Rose…and hello to the Lesbian Crime Matriarchy? Gemma: LESBIAN CRIME MATRIARCHY EVERYWHERE! Rasha: Shall we return to our recent theme of Things We Asked For and Received Because We Have Been Good? G: Yes! I saw that we got a return to Scientology! Moar Scientologeez! R: I thought of you when Rogelio’s scientology tapes came up again. I know you’ve asked for a return to…

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Diablog: How to Get Away with Murder, S2 E11

We’re loving #HTGAWM: Days of Future Past! Diablog S2E11

Annalise Keating: Days of Future Past. Gemma: So,turns out the timeline I had in my mind was off–Annalise was with Sam when she met Rose, and she was, in fact, real-people pregnant, although clearly had some traumatic history with pregnancy prior to this one. Rasha: I thought she was just being her cynical self. Which, of course, comes from trauma. G: That’s possible, but it felt specific to me,…

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