updates and batfeels and Shakespeare

[la_belle_laide]

So, apart from everything that went on in that locked post, it is, in fact, summer. I finally got into the whoreson pool. I had to put the new steps together (and, eff it, I put the steps in backwards, I still have to fix that – when I feel like it though. Not now.)

Jo-Chan is here 3-4 days of the week, so that's been really nice. Last night we were at Mom's, sat around having ice cream and watching Dr. Who (I mean, what else? :D )

And I neglected to mention, two weeks ago I lost my oldest fish, my silver angel Quatre. That really sucked. Quatre was a great fish.

So now I guess I had better start fixing to paint up that room, finally. You know, I should just do it instead of stalling. I guess I just can't decide what to make of it. I got some paint samples last week; I should really try them out. I've messed about enough in that room, including one failed attempt at knocking down a wall that I later decided to keep. Ehh. I still call it "Gram's Room," too.

Got two robins in the aviary (Thor and Loki,) and one busted-foot starling inside, named Koko. This bird just won't grow the hell up. Well, he was totally imprinted before I got him, so that probably has everything to do with it.

Oh, and I saw Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Because, you know, my husband Tom Hardy and my BFF JGL. I had some Batfeels about it—well, some Banefeels, if we're being honest—but really I had a lot of Batthoughts, too. Some of them, I guess, sort of controversial. What else is new though?

So this is about The Dark Knight Rises, and it is, I think, spoiler free. But I'm cutting it anyway.

Okay, yeah, so TDKR was intense, the performances, man, just everything. I totally had some unexpected feels, too. I would, and probably will see it again, just based on how awesome everyone was in it and how engaging it was. JGL was amazing, actually moreso than I even expected. And I've seen him be amazing in things before (Brick, Mysterious Skin...) And Tom Hardy, I mean, when is he not amazing? Well, never. Okay, I have no clue wtf his accent was supposed to be, but, whatever. I cried for Bane, NEGL.

Have I got my fanpoodle bases covered?

Good, because there’s something about this entire trilogy that really kind of rubs me the wrong way. I noticed it big time in The Dark Knight, because I felt like some parts of it were suggesting that it was okay to take away people’s rights to privacy—well, people’s rights to freedom—when you were dealing with Bad Guys. “It’s just the commoners. If they aren’t Bad Guys then they have nothing to fear. And we’ll just do it once.” Something about it just had that “Rich White Guy In Power/Homeland Security/Yeah but TURRISM” feel to it.

I kinda got the same feeling from this one too, in some ways. Super Rich White Guy is the Good Guy, well of course, because hey, comic book movie. But I almost felt like there was an Occupy Wall Street feeling going on here, except that the 99% were the villains. Or at least were represented by a villain, and everyone else was just a bunch of sheep that Rich White Guy has to save - even though they’ve villainized him this time. Oh no, Rich Powerful White Guy is in disgrace! But he’s still gonna save everyone from the filthy rebels.

Believe me when I tell you I thought JGL was awesome in his role as John Blake. I think he’s a fantastic actor and I really liked the character, too. But after all the crap the NYPD has pulled this year, all the undeniable police brutality, the whole “All the cops are good, wholesome and pure, and all the rebels are EVIL” thing really got to me. Maybe it was just a timing thing. But so much ugly stuff has happened this year among Rich Powerful White Guys, protestors at OWS, and the NYPD, that this really just irked me. (I say this as someone whose Dad was a cop in NY. But he was a good cop. This police brutality going on this year would have made him mad.)

I mean yeah, obviously in the universe of the movie, the bad guys were, well, bad guys. They killed and did bad things and were Chaotic Evil. But I just feel like this movie took an actual cause, a real life issue of oppression, and then represented the actual, real life oppressors as the good guys.

(Part of what makes this whole thing even doable for me is JGL’s very vocal support of OWS. Just saying.)

I get that Selena Kyle was supposed to be the sort of middle-person in all this. Like, she gets that the status quo really screws anyone who isn’t Rich Powerful White Guy, she understands that oppression is occurring and she doesn’t agree with it. But then, just think about how it all ends up! With her, I mean. If you've seen it.

I don’t know, I’m rambling. I did enjoy the movie. But its ideologies, and its timing, rubbed me the wrong way. I enjoy Christopher Nolan's movies, but sometimes his privilege and his societal bias seeps through, and that rubs me the wrong way.

End ramble.



Just saying. I mean, other than that, TOM HARDY.

Also want to mention, I've been watching BBC's Shakespeare series, The Hollow Crown. So far, Richard II has been my favorite, but really I think that's because Richard II is a better play than Henry IV 1&2, and Henry V. Rory Kinnear and Ben Wishaw were astounding. Well honestly, the whole cast is astounding.

Do you know how hard it is to do Shakespeare? To understand every word, and then make every word understood for a modern audience? Shakespeare has never presented me with any problems in terms of following along or understanding (Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies were my focus in college,) but I realize a lot of people have some trouble with the language. So, Shakespeare done well has a director and actors that convey the meaning with perfect clarity. I see a thing happening in this production that's kind of fabulous, really. The actors are so good that people are following their cues and understanding every word. I only know this because it now has a HUGE fandom on Tumblr. Some of the people involved in the fandom are young. Like, pre-Shakespeare young.

Yo, Shakespeare has a fandom. There is fanfiction. Fanart. Roleplays. People are RPing Henry V. THAT IS AWESOME. I don’t care what-all brings people into Shakespeare. I’m so happy that BBC chose the Avengers Hottie Of The Month to act in this, because now all these young kids are seeing, and getting excited about, Shakespeare. I’m happy that it has an actual fandom. This is stuff that people (like me) study/studied so hard in college, writing endless theories and theses, researching, picking apart plot and subtleties and characteristics, symbolism and meanings behind meanings. And what is so amazing is that this is what fandom does on its own. Fandom doesn’t need to be told by a professor to write a three-page essay about Prince Hal’s relationships with his lowly companions like Poins (Pointz, when I read it,) and Falstaff, vs. his relationship with his father and such. Fandom’s going to do that anyway and put it on Tumblr and LJ.

When fandom gets invested in a story, it wants every little piece of it. It wants every “meta” (we just called those essays,) every bit of speculation, every basis in history, every nuance of opinion it can get its hands on. I paid to study this stuff. I lived it and loved it for four years (and beyond.) And now, the internet just gives it up for free!

Shakespeare has a fandom. It’s brilliant!

Not to mention that the acting is spotless throughout, god. I love seeing Shakespeare come to life, and this series is such a dream.

Them's my thoughts on The Hollow Crown, something I'm hugely into right now. In fact, going to finish the series tonight.

Also, the song of this summer is "We Are Young" by Fun.

Comments

[maichan.livejournal.com]

*waves*
WHY YES, I AM STALKING YOU ON LJ NOW.

I just downloaded all the episodes and can't wait to dig in to The Hollow Crown this weekend. I am so chuffed to hear there is a fandom for Shakespeare.

[la-belle-laide.livejournal.com]

HELLO HELLO! ^_^ Stalking is fine! :)

Oh, let me know what you think of the series!