ATEEZ:’The WORLD EP.1: MOVEMENT’

Promotional image of (from left) Song Mingi, Choi Jongho, Kang Yeosang, Choi San, Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung, Park Seonghwa, and Jeong Yunho. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

The ATEEZ comeback I’ve been waiting rather impatiently for all summer just dropped and there have been very few albums as worth the wait as this one was. I was so completely blown away in the middle of listening to this album that I almost started crying. I’m not sure I can even begin to describe how amazing this album is in words; but I’m certainly going to try! And ATEEZ always gives everyone so much to talk about with each comeback. Between lore about their MVs to their often experimental take on music; ATEEZ always has more than a few things to keep people buzzing after each comeback release. I also don’t think any group has come out with anything near the simultaneous lore, storytelling, and music quality that this album contains in quite a while. I have so much to gush about, so I’m just going to jump into it! Usually this isn’t necessary for an album, but there will be MAJOR SPOILERS for the ATEEZverse up ahead!

‘Guerilla’ MV:

Though it is still unclear exactly where this fits into the lore, I’ve heard the word prequel tossed around. Which would make sense! Could this possibly be the beginning of the pirate ATEEZ or even the already rebellious HalaTEEZ? Either would make sense! Both versions of ATEEZ spread messages of hope and rebellion. As many of us noticed, the storyline for this MV closely followed the storyline ATEEZ presented in their performance of ‘Rhythm Ta’ on the show ‘Kingdom’. ATEEZ takes the form of a group of revolutionary rebels in an apocalyptic type world where human emotion has been outlawed. In this MV we see the secret operation that ATEEZ sets up in order to broadcast their message of revolution, including some insanely realistic looking disguises (CGI!). The MV depicts each of the members, hacking, stealing, and running away from officials to broadcast a message of rebellion and emotion to all the brainwashed citizens. Much of the video is depicted with them in some kind of recording studio delivering the message. Our main context as to where this would fit into the lore comes at the very end of the MV. Make sure to stay until the very end of the video, because we get a clip that is probably going to be really important going forward. ATEEZ is sitting in a warehouse with an older man who seems to be a mentor, when all of the security alarms go off. They gather around the security camera to see a young boy stumble through the gate to the warehouse, looking confused and wearing an academy uniform from the students being brainwashed by society earlier in the MV. Who is this kid? We have no idea. Who is the old mentor in the warehouse? He’s also a character we haven’t met. But I’m excited at the concept of new characters in the lore and what they might mean! Though the storyline didn’t immediately answer some of my questions, it’s clear from the full storyline here that ATEEZ is playing a much longer game than any of us probably expect. We’ve glimpsed the storyline of this for a while now! For example, we finally seem to have gotten the true identities of the faceless masked figures in many of their MVs as they are the society that ATEEZ fights against in this MV. I can’t wait to see where all of this goes!

‘PROPAGANDA’:

This track is the non-traditional but typical introduction to any ATEEZ album. This isn’t a full song but more like a track to really set the mood and the world building of the album. The track features a type of siren going on in the background while a voice repeats a message (likely Hongjoong) pointing out the faults in society and asking the world to wake up. It ends with the ‘eyes in the sky’ message that we’ve come to connect to this comeback. But all of this is still a musical piece that has an addicting beat. It reminds the listener that this album isn’t just music. The album seeks to remind the listener that the story they’ve been advertising is just as much relevant to the music in the album as the MV itself.

‘Sector 1’:

This is the only song on this album other than ‘Guerilla’ that got a full stage performance for the comeback. The softer opening really struck me, especially because I loved the choreography with Yeosang, San, and Yunho at the very beginning of the performance. Lyrically, this song specifically tackles the lies in society, uncovering them no matter how painful they may be, and listening to your gut instincts. Even lyrically this song fits in with the storyline. The song goes from the softer beginning vocals of Yeosang to the strong vocals of our maknae ace Jongho. I have to say, it was really nice to hear Yeosang begin this one. This isn’t one of their more experimental tracks from this album, but it is absolutely up to par with anything that ATEEZ does. Everything that they release is excellent, no exceptions.

‘Cyberpunk’:

This song completely took my breath away when I first listened to it. This is the first of the songs that feel experimental to me in how they combine music with vocals. Listening to this album feels like listening to an epic movie soundtrack with vocals. I have never heard an album that wasn’t a soundtrack piece that sounded this epic. You could easily put this album over an amazing action movie and it would fit perfectly! Of course, with the storyline there, ATEEZ kind of made a movie of their own! This is also one of my favorite songs lyrically. It not only reflects the storyline, but it also is incredibly relatable after having experienced quarantine. The song talks about feelings of numbness and wanting to feel alive despite the darkness we’re living in. It even questions the meaning of life and expresses the wish of knowing some sort of answer to that question when things start feeling meaningless. Of course, all of this is coupled with a rebellious message. One of the things that struck me about this song too was how much every member was included. Almost the entire vocal line take turns with the chorus and the rap line really pull through with the hard hitting lyrics and a flow that perfectly matches the song. This has to be one of the most evened out songs I’ve heard from any group in a while and they all do such an excellent job on each of their pieces.

‘Guerilla’:

I don’t even know where to begin with this song. It begins so strongly with a Hongjoong rap right off the bat. I always love both Hongjoong and Mingi’s style of rapping, but they both go so hard for this song. Starting out with one of the best Hongjoong raps I’ve ever heard, and one of my favorite raps in general, was such an eye opening moment. Mingi also delivers one of the best later in the song. I love the elements of screamo used in here, I wasn’t expecting them at all and it was incredible! ATEEZ only succeeds in making their songs more hype with every comeback! This song is not only a call to action but it makes some really good points about human emotion. It comes with the message that any emotion is good emotion and that you shouldn’t just push emotions away because they’re uncomfortable sometimes. Their choreography also just seems to get that much more difficult with every comeback. They put such a huge emphasis on Yunho being center in several moments, which makes sense as they have actually started introducing him as main dancer, as of the comeback showcase, since the Yunho debacle and fandom arguments that happened earlier this year. Also, San’s soft high notes are a high point for the song and were not a piece I expected from a song this hard hitting. Though, as always, everyone delivers equally with this. And this entire group is made up of some of the strongest dancers in K-Pop.

‘The Ring’:

This is probably my favorite song off of this album. It hit me so hard the first time I heard it that a song that isn’t necessarily supposed to be emotional almost drove me to tears. The musical elements of the song could be my new favorite movie soundtrack piece if it had been in a movie. The song depicts a world of darkness and sadness where ATEEZ promises to defend and protect us. A message that has always been clear with ATEEZ. Even last year when they were here for their concert, many of them expressed that in this hard time they always wanted Atiny to feel like we could lean on them. This is the action-packed epic promise of those statements. The rapping in this song from Hongjoong and Mingi has a determined softness to it that almost sounds dangerous. Jongho echoes all of us when he croons that he’s not ok with his otherworldly voice. Yeosang begins the song, once again (yay!), encouraging us to follow him with his enrapturing deep vocals. And Yunho follows Jongho’s vocals with vocals that are somehow just as strong as Jongho’s! How is this group this talented? Seonghwa and San do the repeated chorus that feels like something you could fight to. Wooyoung’s almost rap vocals matches the song perfectly, though I wish we would have gotten a little more there. Otherwise, this song is perfect. I can’t stop listening to it! And it quotes ‘Lord of the Rings’ at the end as the song talks about their power and ends with the ominous “one ring to rule them all, one ring to bring them all” from LOTR. I’m obsessed!

‘WDIG (Where Do I Go)’:

This song is another epic dive into relatable insecurity. The song described feeling lost within darkness and wondering what to do and where to go. Once again, I’m getting a bit of a lack of Wooyoung. While the song is pretty divided between everyone else, I’m kind of sensing that Wooyoung is the Yeosang of this album. Yeosang got so much more to do with this particular album and I am so happy for that! I just wish that Wooyoung also would have gotten a little more. But this song feels like the apocalyptic theme for the album. The sounds feel very, well, cyberpunk, though that’s a completely different song. It has the amazing cyberpunk feeling backtrack with the almost somber but hopeful feel to the vocals. Another soundtrack feeling piece as well.

‘New World’:

This song actually has quite a bit of Wooyoung in it; in fact it has a lot of him in it! While this doesn’t necessarily make up for some of the other pieces, it’s nice to see that it doesn’t extend to the entire album. And really I don’t want to blame anyone for this because I know that ATEEZ has a say in what they each sing and I also know that Wooyoung has been stepping up massively with learning more and more choreography. This is a beautiful ending to the album simply because of how completely hopeful it is. While the other songs talk about the darkness and confusion of an apocalyptic world, this song expresses hope for the new world. It even encourages the listener by saying that even one ray of light is enough to keep going. A message that I am absolutely in love with! It’s another call to action mixed with hope both in lyrics and in the melody. The members of ATEEZ encourage us to take their hands and follow them into this new world, and I know that I’m going to be following ATEEZ straight into that happiness.

Also, since this album came out they also announced a tour at the end of the year! Hongjoong said that they were coming back this year and they really weren’t kidding! I’m going to do anything I possibly can to get to that concert in November. I just hope that ATEEZ gets a well needed break soon and that they aren’t being overworked. For obvious reasons, I feel the well being of artists is more important than ever and all of them should take breaks should they need them. This is one of my favorite albums I’ve ever witnessed a comeback for and I already know that I’ll miss listening to all of these songs for the first time. If you haven’t already given this album a listen, go and do that now! You won’t regret it! I promise you, this will be one of your new favorite albums! And ATEEZ has already broken records and sold more than any group outside of the big four with this album! The last group to challenge the big companies like that was BTS; so I am so beyond proud of them!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: ‘Star Trek’ Movies Ranked

Screen capture of Kirstie Alley as Saavik and Leonard Nimoy as Spock in ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve talked about the J.J. Abrams films a few times on this blog, mostly because I love them, but I’ve never discussed the original ‘Star Trek’ movies here before. I recently sat down to watch all ten of them though, and now I have a lot of thoughts. So as every ‘Star Trek’ fan has done at least once on the internet, I’m going to rank all ten from worst to best! ‘Star Trek’ is one of those things that always came across as better suited to a serial format, so admittedly a lot of these movies aren’t…well…very good. But I’d say at least half of them are worth watching and even rewatching. That said I have some unpopular opinions in here, so though I know Trekkie’s tend to be a pretty chill fandom, I do want to emphasize that all of this is just personal opinion. In any case, let’s get started!

10. ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’: This one is widely regarded as the worst of all the ‘Star Trek’ movies. First off, the character of Sybok alone is so cringy, he’s worth ranking this film in last. He bases his religion/cult on the idea that one can become their true self if they’re released from the pain they carry. But his followers don’t change much aside from winding up loyal to him, which makes his beliefs completely irrelevant. There’s also the issue of Sybok being both a Vulcan and Spock’s brother. Neither of these things play into this character at all. He doesn’t address his Vulcan side most of the time, with the narrative telling us he abandoned logic long ago. He uses Vulcan mind melding to rid people of their pain but the process acts so differently from most mind melds that it could easily be something different. And his relationship to Spock is non-existent, with the only event it provides conflict being Kirk criticizing Spock for not killing Sybok immediately. As if Spock regularly goes around shooting first and asking questions later. Putting Sybok aside, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov all get the shaft by siding with Sybok for no reason and betraying Kirk. The only characters who actively don’t do this are Spock and Bones, and that’s only because Nimoy and Kelley were in a position to object to it. After all that, we get cringy scenes with Kirk and Bones trying to teach Spock “Row Row Row Your Boat” for no reason and some Shatner scenes that come across as ridiculous because Shatner was the director and didn’t reign in his own…er…acting quirks. And I didn’t even mention the search for “God” that results in the regularly quoted line “Why would God need a spaceship?” Just a really bad movie overall.

9. ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’: Here we get the worst of ‘The Next Generation’s feature films and a movie that’s cited as a reason for the temporary fall of ‘Star Trek’. ‘Nemesis’ primarily gets this placement for the treatment of Deanna Troi. Deanna was never a completely well treated female character in any ‘Next Generation’ content. But here they decided that they were going to go for a telepathic sexual assault scene that’s intermixed with a love scene between her and Riker just to make the violation she’s experiencing more obvious. Because clearly we needed to have violence against women be the main storyline for the only female character that gets any substantial screen time in this film. And then, when she tearfully recounts this whole thing to Picard, clearly traumatized, Picard brushes aside the assault and suggests that the information that could be gained from it is more important than her well being. This entire sequence completely damned the movie for me at only around the halfway mark. But the rest doesn’t help its case. Tom Hardy doesn’t come across as anything like Picard. Shaving someone’s head doesn’t suddenly make them a Patrick Stewart look-alike, and no decision he makes in this movie, no tone of voice, not even one mannerism, makes him feel like Picard. He’s just vaguely creepy. That’s it. I liked the moments between Data and B-4, but they never really went anywhere aside from giving us someone to survive Data at the end of the film. And Data’s death felt so abrupt and random that the wrap up they did to honor Data at the end of the movie didn’t feel earned. And what was with the lack of Worf? This movie was one big yikes.

8. ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’: There isn’t much to say about this one. Nothing really happens in it. Genuinely, the majority of this movie is just reaction shots from everyone on the bridge while something very slow and very bright moves across the view screen. We get so many shots of the Enterprise that I don’t think there’s a single angle of the ship I haven’t seen. The plot line, which follows a strange life-form interacting with the Enterprise and somehow killing one of the crew, could be interesting but winds up a little silly. And the fact that two random crew members and their love story take up a huge chunk of the plot even though we’ve never seen them before and never see them again, also makes this movie feel pointless. If you want a ‘Star Trek’ movie to bore you to tears, this is the one to go for.

7. ‘Star Trek III: The Search For Spock’: This movie definitely has problems, but it isn’t horrible. The main issue with this movie is the treatment of both Spock and Bones. Spock isn’t really in this. He shows up at the end briefly, but that’s all. For the rest of the movie we get various versions of Spock as he ages into the person we all recognize. Except it’s also still not Spock, because Spock’s soul is essentially inside Bones and is fighting for dominance with Bones’ personality. Which is where my issues with Bones come in because, for a majority of the time, he’s a raving lunatic who talks to himself in the corner. Where this movie does shine, is the use of the rest of the cast. Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov all get to joke around with each other more in this film. We also get epic moments of these characters turning against Starfleet command to save Spock, including one where Uhura holds someone at phaser-point and forces him to lock himself in a closet. She’s such a badass. Still, this movie suffers from a never-fully-developed villain, which is sad because it’s Christopher Lloyd, another weird venture into Pon farr, and a really unimportant death despite the fact that Kirk’s son is the one who dies.

6. ‘Star Trek: Generations’: This one is another mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s really nice to see a crew that’s a bit more well-balanced and closer to one another after all the TOS movies. With the TOS cast it often feels like the characters outside of Kirk, Spock, and Bones don’t really hold a close relationship with one another or the core three. That’s partly because TOS is an older show with older forms of storytelling and character development that were updated by the time Next Gen rolled around. And though the movies do a good job of putting more of these things on screen, the camaraderie between Next Gen characters still comes off stronger, shown best is scenes covering Data’s emotion chip. Past that though, this film doesn’t have a strong story. The villain wants to unleash the Nexus to escape his personal pain, which could make for an understandable villain. But he just spends the majority of the movie setting up a missile on a desert planet and ranting to a very bored looking Picard. Eventually we get into the Nexus to reunite with Kirk, who disappeared earlier in the movie. But it’s probably worse once we get there. Picard’s “perfect life” involves five kids, and while I did appreciate some of the emotional moments Picard has over his nephew’s untimely death, I still don’t buy that he’d want five kids. He could barely handle three when he was stuck with them in a turbolift. And Shatner’s acting is so jarring after a movie full of Stewart’s, their scenes together feel odd. It all ends with Kirk’s death, and though I’m not a huge fan of Kirk, I still thought being crushed by a bridge was a ridiculous death for such a popular character.

5. ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’: This movie’s biggest issues align with the fact that it feels like a weaker episode of ‘The Next Generation’. But it’s at least gleeful in its execution. The movie hooks you right from the beginning when Picard manages to calm Data down and take him captive by singing “A British Tar” and getting Worf to sing along. A scene that could be cheesy immediately comes across as endearing simply because of the acting. This fun, particularly with Data, extends to the rest of the movie where a child decides to teach Data how to “play”. And though the villains in this movie aren’t all that intriguing, it still is satisfying to see the villains reunite with their parents at the end of the film. Where this movie fails is its ridiculous plot points, including an environment that makes the crew act like teenagers again. Which leads to a ridiculously sexist scene where the effects are shown on Deanna and Beverley by the two discussing their breasts. We also have a really forgettable love interest for Picard here, which is never my favorite Trek story element. Jonathan Frakes saves this movie with good directing and an emphasis on the chemistry between the cast, but it still suffers for its strange plot.

4. ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn’: I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me! I really do like this movie. In fact, this movie is the start of the ‘Star Trek’ films on this list I really like. I just like the other movies above this one better. My main issue with this one has to do with its two leads. William Shatner’s dramatic acting comes through with this film a little more than it does in other entires in this series. Which is not much helped when it’s being paired with Ricardo Mantalban’s fun but still very dramatic style of acting. Still, this is definitely one of the more solid ‘Star Trek’ plots. Kahn is an intriguing villain that gets enough time to really dive into his character, which is a rarity for many villains in Trek movies. The movie does a good job of setting these two up as rivals before engaging in space battles, where the two use each other’s weaknesses against one another in a back-and-forth that’s captivating to follow. This movie also has the most satisfying death in the series. Spock’s death is sad, but the way he sacrifices himself for the entire crew and is able to still say goodbye to Jim makes for a sequence that will never be forgotten by ‘Star Trek’ fans. Though I don’t care for the storyline about Kirk’s son or the way Kirk refers to Spock as “human” in his eulogy, this movie still pulls through triumphant.

3. ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’: This is the perfect ending to the TOS movies. The way it ties in the themes of the past movies is truly enviable. It manages to pull in Kirk’s son, whose death really had no impact on the story, in a way that challenges Kirk. It also ends the feud with the Klingons after several movies of seeing them as adversaries. As the Klingons experience catastrophe on their planet and are forced to seek peace with the Federation, Kirk has to come to terms with his hatred of Klingons because of his son’s death. And his ability to commit to peace is put to the test when a group of people dressed in Starfleet space suits go over to the Klingon ship and start killing people while the Enterprise fires torpedoes at it though Kirk gave no orders. This setup leads perfectly into a prison-break storyline for Kirk and Bones, who are tried and sent to prison for the murders. Though I disliked the random, brief love interest they give Kirk in this sequence, the sequence is still very fun to watch. Meanwhile, we get scenes where Spock gets the spotlight as he works out what actually caused the attack on the Klingons. Though the villains aren’t great here, Chang is formidable enough, and well acted enough, that he’s certainly respectable. And I really like the ways that the rest of the crew actually play major roles in this film. Uhura gives various suggestions that lead to the Enterprise’s success at the end of the movie. And Sulu is the captain of his own ship and gets to save the day a few times. This is definitely one of the more well rounded films in Trek.

2. ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’: This movie is the most fun I had with a TOS movie. Though its premise isn’t the most serious given its focus on whales, it still has a good message to send. The best part of it, though, is the way all the characters are written in this movie. This film is by far the best at giving us the full cast of characters as full pieces of the story. It also uses a story element I love, which is pairing off the characters for part of the film to give us stronger relationships between characters we don’t always see together. We always see Kirk and Spock together, but this pairing is particularly meaningful because Spock is still regaining his memories after the events of ‘Search For Spock’. And who better to help him out than Kirk? Spock also gets some of the funniest moments in this movie because of his general irritation with everyone around him. The moment he Vulcan nerve pinches the guy on the bus will always be one of the best moments in all of ‘Star Trek’. Meanwhile, Scotty and Bones make a surprisingly hilarious and competent duo. Sulu gets some time on his own to just enjoy flying a helicopter which is very wholesome to watch. Uhura and Chekov don’t get as much time to talk, but they get more action sequences. They also have funny moments given their general cluelessness about modern day. The love interest is forgettable here but she doesn’t diminish the joy this movie brings me, all encompassed in the scene where the entire crew celebrates the return of the whales with an impromptu swim. I couldn’t help but smile throughout the entire run time.

1. ‘Star Trek: First Contact’: I really love ‘The Next Generation’ and this is by far the best movie within their four movies. It’s also the most tense and exhilarating of all the ‘Star Trek’ films. Honestly, the Borg are always strong villains. They’re terrifying and giving us a full movie of the Borg’s attempt to take over the Enterprise was such a good idea. ‘First Contact’ goes even deeper with this though, deciding to dive into Picard’s trauma over becoming Locutus to make the fight against the Borg feel even more personal. It’s horrifying to see Picard strike down crew that turned into Borg without a thought, and you really get to see how far he’ll go to wipe them out. This movie, like four, also includes time travel in a way that really works for the plot. In this film the time travel gives us the character of Lily, who is one of the most badass women in any of these movies. Though she screams her head off when she sees the Borg, and who wouldn’t, she kicks ass and she’s one of the only people in all of Trek to give Picard a piece of her mind and manage to make him change his stance. In particular, she helps conclude Picard’s arc by making him realize how destructive his need for vengeance is. She does all of this and she’s never a love interest, which is too rare within Trek. Simultaneously we get to watch Riker and Deanna head the group on Earth that’s trying to help the scientist who invented warp drive. Deanna gets a lot more to do here than in other movies, and the scene where she gets drunk is so endearing. I didn’t like Data’s storyline in this movie as much, partly because I don’t care much about the Borg Queen who is really only meant to be sexy. But I do like a good Data-saves-the-day moment, which happens at the end of ‘First Contact’. Between an eye-catching holodeck scene and a lot of tense moments, this film completely stole my heart. I love many of these films, but I’ll return to this one the most.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Book Adaptations: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Analysis

Screenshot of Mathew Macfayden and Keira Knightley in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Copyright goes to Universal Pictures.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I think it’s a complete crime that I have only talked very little about one of my favorite movies of all time and my favorite adaptation of my favorite book of all time. The Joe Wright movie is one of the most beautiful films ever created when it comes to the cinematography and seems to perfectly capture each character even in its truncated form. The storytelling is beautiful, the acting is excellent, the directing is genius; what doesn’t this movie have? As I have said before, I personally prefer this adaptation to the BBC series mainly because I feel that it does a better overall job of capturing the way the characters feel in the book. Lizzie is so vibrant of a character in this version and she is just as playful as she is described in the book. And don’t even get me stared about Mr. Darcy. Mathew Macfayden plays a version of Darcy that is honestly too irresistible. In this post in particular, I want to go over my favorite scenes from this movie, over-analyze them (something I do best), and really go into why the way they were shot was so incredibly important. Obviously, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for anyone who hasn’t seen this movie. If you haven’t seen this movie already, go and do that right now! I swear, even if you haven’t read the book you will still love the movie. It is gorgeous in every possible way for a movie to be gorgeous.

First Dance:

The first dance that Lizzie dances with Darcy is one fraught with tension and for obvious reasons. Lizzie hates Darcy at this point for slighting her and for everything she thinks she knows about Wickham. She is automatically disappointed when she gets to the ball because she rightly deduces that it’s Darcy’s presence that has driven away her hopes for the night. So when Darcy asks her to dance and she is so shocked that she accidentally accepts, she is definitely not the most thrilled. In direct opposition, Darcy has at this point decided that he really is very interested in Elizabeth. A dance that’s part attraction part hatred is already a dynamic that makes what could have been a simple dance, so much more. The entire scene is filmed in one take and only cuts when it switches to a version of the scene where they are the only two people in the room. Though their conversation is awkward and Darcy experiences obvious hostility from Lizzie, both of them still feel the tension from each of their sides so completely that they can’t focus on anyone else in the room. To both characters and the audience, it feels like they are the only two people in the world at the time. And the interaction leaves both characters with more questions than answers.

The Hand Flex:

It would be a mistake to analyze scenes in this movie and not talk about the hand flex. After Lizzie and Jane have been staying at Netherfield, Darcy is fairly certain that he has some feelings for Lizzie. But the audience doesn’t really notice this until Lizzie is saying goodbye to the inhabitants and getting into the carriage. Darcy reaches up to help Lizzie into the carriage, which isn’t just a polite gesture. This would have been scandalous at that time. Men and women were not allowed to touch at all nor were they allowed to be alone together. One of the reasons why dancing was such a form of excitement for young people at the time was because it was the only way to spend time with the opposite sex without being chaperoned. And dancing was done with all of the ladies wearing gloves. All of that considered; skin on skin contact was absolutely unheard of. The fact that it’s such a simple movement that nobody realizes but that it’s such a meaningful form of contact, makes it the kind of thing that you continue to think about long after the scene is over. And obviously, Darcy was thinking about it. That hand flex, man.

Rain:

This is probably the most popular scene in the entire movie, which is saying something. After hearing about Darcy’s hand in the breaking up of Jane and Bingley, Lizzie runs out in the rain to get away from everyone. And, unfortunately for a very smitten Darcy, he chooses just that moment to follow her and profess his love. What follows is a scene that more directly delivers the argument that we see in the novel. And it delivers it with much more drama. The shock, to anger, to attraction scene is punctuated with various thunderclaps that seem to reflect every change of emotion. This scene is also very simply shot. There is one camera on Mathew Macfayden and one camera on Keira Knightley that pull in close to the actors as the argument gets more heated and the characters begin to step toward each other. This is the first scene in the entire film where we get to see such close up shots of either character. And that is probably because this is the first scene in the movie where they are completely vulnerable around each other. Even if it is out of anger completely on Lizzie’s part; they each reveal their thoughts and feelings to each other without a pre-existing sense of decorum. And somehow the heated-ness of the conversation turns from anger to attraction. Come on, they were both looking at each other’s lips at the end of that argument. We all could see it!

The Walk:

The penultimate scene when Mr. Darcy is noticed in the early morning across a field by insomniac Lizzie. While the walk itself is brilliant, it’s actually the music that really draws me in here. The walk would be nothing without the swell of music that brings that sense of hopefulness and romance to the scene. But what I really like here is how consistently both Mathew Macfaden and Keira Knightley play their roles. Mr. Darcy approaches Elizabeth in this scene with the very same soft earnestness that he first used to profess that he loved her. But this time his words reflect the soft mannerisms rather than accidentally insult. Elizabeth’s guard is completely down now that her feelings have changed and she meets him back with the same earnestness but almost in a more confident manner. Elizabeth is definitely much less awkward than Darcy, after all. I also once again want to talk about how romantic this scene is. The fact that instead of a kiss, there’s so much emphasis on them resting their foreheads against each other while the sun rises behind them is beautiful. Somehow, it feels worlds more intimate than a kiss could have been in that scene. For those of you who don’t know, the ending scene (otherwise known as the Mrs. Darcy scene) is actually only in the US version of the movie. In the UK, they don’t have the scene. It was added on for US audiences because Americans were unsatisfied with the lack of kissing. Though I like that scene, I am personally of the opinion that it was entirely unneeded. To me, there are more intimate moments that you can portray without there having to be a kiss. Passion can be showed emotionally just as effectively as if you showed it physically. I often feel that showing a more emotional dynamic is even better! And I think that this was the perfect romance scene to almost end out the movie with.

I’m always struck by something new every time I watch this film. Which is incredible considering that I probably don’t want to own up to how much I watch it. Either it’s how absolutely adorable and lovable Jane and Bingley are or it’s noticing exactly when Darcy starts liking Elizabeth because his mannerisms around her and even his eyes seem to become softer. I personally think that the scene he truly realizes he likes her is when she shows up to Netherfield after having walked there with her hair looking wild. The way he tells her where her sister is, I think, is the first time Darcy speaks to her with that softer tone that I adore so much. And I think Elizabeth first realizes that she really likes him, more than just respecting him after the letter, when they meet at Pemberley because that’s also when she first starts talking more softly to him. Though I think her reaction at the end of the rain scene was what first caused her to realize that she was at all attracted to him. But I could seriously analyze this movie forever. It is so perfect in every possible way!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi and Superheroes: ‘Star Trek’ Comic-Con Announcements

Screenshot of Sir Patrick Stewart in ‘Star Trek: Picard’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

Comic-Con is one of the largest events where a mass of geeks, regardless of fandom, come together to freak out about new content and nostalgic projects for an entire weekend. Everyone who’s lucky enough to get tickets can’t stop talking about how amazing it is to be there, and everyone who doesn’t get to go waits anxiously for Twitter notifications updating them minute-to-minute on new announcements. There’s tons of things I could talk about that have already been given major panels, many located at the highly coveted Hall H. That said, if you’ve been following this blog recently you know that one of my favorite things to talk about is ‘Star Trek’. (You’ll also know that we’ve been radio silent on Marvel and might remain that way for a while. Marvel fatigue is very real.) There were so many mind-blowing announcements for all three shows they covered at the ‘Star Trek’ panel, and I’m so excited about all of them that it’s really difficult NOT to talk about them. Let’s just get into the reveals!

‘Star Trek: Picard’:

Going in order of the way the shows were presented at the panel, the ‘Picard’ section definitely gave us the most fan-anticipated announcements. First off, we got to see Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden reunited on stage! They’re always so sweet together and spend a lot of time wholesomely complementing one another. Both of them took turns teasing small things about the new season. Stewart told us we’d be seeing the old Enterprise again and that two different Enterprises would be at play in the season. Meanwhile, McFadden said she felt the new season was the most Beverly Crusher had ever been given. I’m really happy she’s getting the screen time she deserves, and I’m even happier that the returning cast of ‘Next Generation’ are all part of the main cast instead of cameos. And then we got the trailer. This trailer gave us a first look at all of the characters we’re going to see take the spotlight in the new series. First there’s our returning cast, Picard, Seven of Nine, and Raffi. Of the cast of ‘Picard’ these three have been by far the most consistent and interesting, so I really don’t have any problem losing the rest of the cast. We also get footage of William Riker and Deanna Troi, who were some of the most memorable parts of ‘Picard’ season one. For the new (or old) faces, we get to see Geordi LaForge looking maybe the best he’s ever looked (I’m convinced LeVar Burton is a fae creature). Of all the small lines each character speaks in the trailer, his is the most interesting because it reveals that he’s now a father! Apparently his real-life daughter will be playing his daughter in the show. Then we get to see Worf! I ADORE Worf, and like many fans, I was concerned they would alter his appearance too much due to the recent Klingon redesign. But Worf looks exactly like Worf, as promised, and I’m so excited to see him in action! Lastly, Gates McFadden appears as Beverly looking amazing with her natural brown hair. ‘Picard’ has been a rough ride since it was released, but this season makes me feel like they could end it all with a story that makes up for all of it.

‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’:

‘Lower Decks’ is one of those shows that I always appreciate, even if the adult comedy style isn’t quite for me. Its charming cast really sells their characters and their love of ‘Star Trek’ is so obvious every time they get to talk about the show. From what we see in the trailer as well as what was said in the panel, the upcoming season, and by upcoming I mean we only have a month to wait, will start with the rescue of Captain Freeman. But it promises to go so many other places. Most notably, ‘Deep Space Nine’. ‘Deep Space Nine’ is my favorite series of ‘Star Trek’, so when I saw Joseph Sisko’s restaurant in the trailer, I was already freaking out. Hell, I was freaking out when the series name-dropped Miles O’Brien and Garak in past episodes. But then we see the Cerritos actually go to Deep Space Nine and the creators promised returning characters! Martok already appears in the trailer and we’ll see more once the season airs! I also love Rutherford in his Jake Sisko sweater. Truly an iconic look. Almost as iconic as the return of Peanut Hamper. I’m really excited to watch this next month!

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’:

If you were hoping for any major news regarding next season, you were probably disappointed. I’m not really surprised, however. ‘Strange New Worlds’ JUST ended their first season, and while season two is already filmed, it isn’t set to come out until later next year. We did get one huge announcement, though. Anson Mount knows about the hair memes and thinks they’re funny! Ok, I’m joking. He did confirm he liked the hair memes, but more important is the crossover event announcement. Apparently an episode of season two of ‘Strange New Worlds’ will feature live action versions of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler played by their voice actors Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid respectively. The ‘Lower Decks’ characters are coming to Pike’s Enterprise! I don’t quite know how they’re going to do it, or even if Mariner and Boimler will be the only characters making the switch to live action in the show. But given the chaos these two can cause, I’m really looking forward to that episode. Aside from this major announcement we heard from Ethan Peck about how Spock will continue to explore his humanity in the upcoming season, and we heard from Paul Wesley about the younger version of Kirk we’ll see next season. Paul Wesley also received an epic ‘Star Trek’ cake and an enthusiastic “Happy Birthday” sung from the entirety of Hall H. It was really adorable to watch. Really we don’t know much about season two yet, but we do know that the writers aren’t planning on diverging from canon. Which might be interesting for relationships like the one between Spock and Chapel, which is already moving at a fast pace.

And that’s it! There were other smaller ‘Star Trek’ panels I haven’t talked about here, but I do recommend you check them out. From another Anson Mount appearance, to video games, to costuming, ‘Star Trek’ came out to Comic-Con this year with everything a Trekkie could want. I’m especially excited for the video game set to release later this year, ‘Star Trek: Resurgence’. The game is a single player, dialogue-based RPG set in the time period of ‘The Next Generation’ and ‘Deep Space Nine’. It promises returning characters and has already given us a good look at Ambassador Spock, who will be playing a major role in the game and who sounds almost exactly like Leonard Nimoy. If you haven’t heard of this, I really recommend checking it out. Either way, I’m so excited ‘Star Trek’ is making its way back to the center of pop culture. It’s truly one of my favorite franchises and if Comic-Con is anything to go by, there’s plenty more excellent content to see in the future.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Sci-Fi: The Evolution of Chapel and Spock

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Screenshot of Jess Bush and Ethan Peck from ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’. Copyright goes to Paramount+, CBS, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

My sister, who is very obviously into ‘Star Trek’, has recently pulled me kicking and screaming into a fandom that I already kind of was in, but wasn’t really. I’ve absolutely loved the J.J. Abrams movies for years, but I hadn’t really gotten further than that and maybe watching a couple of episodes of ‘Next Generation’. I’ve watched a lot more now, though my ‘Star Trek’ education still needs a lot of work. But most of my knowledge when it comes to ‘Star Trek’ actually does have to do with the main characters from the original series. I’m not going to talk about the original movies which I may or may not have been binging with my sister. That’s going to be a post she tackles entirely by herself. I’m also not going to talk about what episodes I’ve seen. But I have found, like many people, that my favorite original character is probably Spock. And honestly, it kind of has been since I saw Zachary Quinto play Spock in the Abrams movies. Obviously I love Leonard Nimoy, but Zachary Quinto is the first person I saw play the character. And now I absolutely love Ethan Peck. But Spock is actually my second favorite character in my new favorite ‘Star Trek’ media (because I don’t think anything will beat ‘Strange New Worlds’ for me now). Christine Chapel has absolutely stolen my heart in the new series. And, of course, I was delighted when they started hinting at my two favorite characters romantically. But this is not the first time they’ve done that for Spock, though it is undoubtedly the best. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Christine Chapel:

I don’t think there’s been a good version of Nurse Chapel until she was played by Jess Bush. And I say this with every respect to Majel Barrett. I think we can all be honest with ourselves now; the original series of ‘Star Trek’ wasn’t the best for female characters. Most of the amazingness that Nichelle Nichols added with Uhura were not things that were scripted. It was her own improvisation and attitude that at all made Uhura a great character. I personally believe that she deserves most of that credit. But Nurse Chapel in the original series had no such chance to recommend her to the audience at all. She barely had any screen time, she was demure, and she had no personality traits other than being a nurse and having a giant crush on Spock. Can you blame her? No. But that shouldn’t have been her entire personality regardless. Especially since, in the original series, it did not seem like Spock wanted to have anything to do with her whatsoever. There was barely an established friendship between Chapel and anyone else on the crew, let alone Spock. You would probably be hard pressed to find someone before ‘Strange New Worlds’ who had Nurse Chapel as their favorite character. And she probably would have been great with some better and more well directed writing in her favor. But unfortunately, this was kind of the way of writing women at that time in media in general. Christine really had nowhere to go but up.

Spock:

I think talking about how Spock was in his previous media is almost too obvious. Spock is the most popular character from the original ‘Star Trek’ series and is still one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Spock was always a completely honest and interesting voice of reason. And the fact that Spock was half Vulcan and half human made his character so much more emotionally interesting. The fight between logic and emotion has always been a dichotomy that’s fascinated scientists and audiences alike for good reason. They are usually considered to be such opposing forces. So to create a character that was made to be in the middle of that dichotomy added an element to Spock that hadn’t really been explored in depth in many characters before. This is one of the most interesting elements of any iteration of Spock and makes the character unique and even more lovable. So, it most likely doesn’t surprise anyone that Spock has been attempted to be paired off before ‘Strange New Worlds’. The most notable pairing, other than T’Pring of course, is in J.J. Abrams’s movies. That pairs Spock and Uhura and I don’t think it was necessarily the best in doing so. Uhura, though she got more time in those movies, still didn’t receive nearly enough development. She often came across as Spock’s girlfriend rather than having much in the way of her own character, except for maybe in the first film and a little bit in the second. Not only that, it just didn’t seem to quite work. We saw them already in a relationship in the movies, when the question of how Spock would navigate a potential relationship with a non-Vulcan has always been a hot topic. Because we didn’t see it originate, the relationship felt weirdly shoe-horned in and almost unnatural to the story. And, in my opinion, the two characters also didn’t have much chemistry.

Relationship:

In comparison to some of the original episodes of ‘Star Trek’; ‘Strange New Worlds’ goes so much deeper into the friendships between many of the crew. It also goes much deeper into the personalities of characters that might have been snubbed before. Obviously, my main example here is Christine Chapel. Instead of a demure character, we automatically see the fun-loving, slightly sarcastic, incredibly charming, and extremely empathetic version of this character. She even gets her own fight scenes! Chapel does not easily take slights to heart and she is always up for running after a patient if she needs to. Usually the adrenaline is something she even enjoys. But what really strikes you about this version of Chapel is how self assured she is in so many areas. She doesn’t apologize for being who she is or feeling how she feels and she is absolutely certain of anything involving her work. Her openness to her emotions makes her the perfect friend for Spock and this series really shows you the growing relationship between the two of them. When Spock is unsure of himself because he doesn’t know how to react when feeling an emotion strongly, it’s Chapel that comforts him. And when Chapel is being dressed down for her emotions, it’s Spock that defends her because they are insulting the very thing about her that he values so much. Their relationship with each other is innocent and adorable; they are both nothing but completely honest with each other. That is, until Chapel actually catches feelings. And then she lies to his face about having feelings for him. Really, what else was she going to do? She already had a slight crush on him and then he kissed her for a ruse. You can’t help but feel a little sorry for her. But the interesting thing about that scenario is that the show is really making you wonder if maybe her crush isn’t one sided this time. Because when T’Pring tells Spock that she knew there was no way he could have feelings for Chapel, there seemed to be a little hesitation on Spock’s behalf. But we’ll have to see what future episodes hold.

Future:

This is largely because, ‘Strange New Worlds’ takes place before the original series. And if they are going to go the route of the original series, we know for a fact that Chapel’s crush will most likely remain unrequited. Just because Abrams changed the timeline doesn’t mean the new shows are also going to do so. But, it’s not like they haven’t already made slight changes by using and re-doing the characters from the original series, so you really never do know. I, personally, am obviously hoping for more when it comes to this specific relationship. I’m so invested in it at this point! And I have loved all of the interviews Jess Bush who plays Chapel has done about why Chapel feels so drawn to Spock. Because we know that Spock feels drawn to Chapel because of the vibrancy and openness she expresses her human emotions with. But she said that Chapel feels safe around him because he’s so open and honest. I think I got called out a little bit there. Regardless, I’ll love to see Chapel’s future friendship developments with characters like M’Benga and Ortegas. But this Spock one has really caught my attention more than any relationship in any fandom has for quite a while.

I’m just really excited to see what’s going to come next for them. As you can tell, I’m so invested in this storyline now that it almost hurts. I’m so excited to see what they’ll announce at the ‘Star Trek’ panel at San Diego Comic Con for this show. I know I just saw the first season, but binging shows has completely spoiled me now. I want to see the second season as soon as I possibly can! And now I’m even considering cosplaying Chapel, so I guess I know where my money will be going in the near future.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: Looking Back at J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ Movies

Screenshot of Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, and Bad Robot.

Hey! Hallie here!

It’s pretty well known among Star Trek fans that the J.J. Abrams movies are quite a bit different from other Star Trek projects. Personally, I got into these movies before I started getting into regular Star Trek. That isn’t to say that these movies were my introduction to Trek. I’d seen various episodes of ‘The Next Generation’ before I watched these. But at the time I sat down to watch these movies, they were much more aligned with my interests. The movies not only boasted exciting action sequences, but also well-developed characters, and an amazing cast. But some of my opinions of them have changed since I started loving the entire Star Trek franchise. So in honor of the announcement that the fourth movie in this series will FINALLY likely be coming out next year, let’s talk about the main things I noticed in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy!

Tone:

This is the big thing most Trek fans have a problem with. Star Trek isn’t boring by any means. Those who think the series is boring clearly haven’t seen any of Qs episodes in ‘The Next Generation’ or the entire Dominion war storyline in ‘Deep Space Nine’. That said, Star Trek couldn’t be considered action-packed either. Each series balances episodes where characters are getting into space battles or encountering a dangerous foe on a planet they’ve never explored, with episodes focused on negotiating and showing understanding to those who may be different from you. On many occasions Star Trek makes a point of noting that fighting your way out of a problem may not be the best option. That really isn’t present in any of J.J. Abrams’ movies. While Kirk could be a good negotiator, we never get the chance to see him use those skills in any movie. All the antagonists Kirk and his crew face off against kill a mass amount of people and threaten the lives of the crew way too early in the story for negotiation to ever be an option. In some ways it’s a loss. Star Trek’s largest episodes covering subjects such as racism, sexism, or prejudice tend to be episodes where characters get to sit down and discuss their differences. These movies don’t cover any deeper topics at all, instead opting to focus on action and adventure. But I wouldn’t say these movies suffer for it, necessarily. Not all Star Trek needs to be about holding a mirror up to society, and the format here does admittedly make the franchise more accessible to people who are intimidated by an occasionally slower and more complex show. In fact, these movies brought Star Trek back into the public eye after it started fading into the background by the end of the nineties. That’s worth praising.

Characters:

I have a bit of an unpopular opinion when it comes to the characters in these movies. I think they’re better developed than their counterparts in ‘The Original Series’. There are reasons for this, though. The most notable reason is that ‘The Original Series’ aired at a time when deep-diving into characters wasn’t really a popular thing to do in television. Characters were built on a base level so they could transfer easily from episode to episode given the lack of popularity overarching storylines had at the time. So while we did get episodes that explored a bit more of the lives of Kirk, Bones, and Spock (And really no one else), there still wasn’t a ton of development done on any of these characters until the movies that came after ‘The Original Series’ stopped airing. Trends in storytelling have changed since then. Now people expect long, well-developed plots and deep, relatable characters. The movies reflect this. They give us way more time to get to know Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. They flesh out Kirk and Spock’s childhood right at the beginning of the first movie. They take time in each film to strengthen the bond between crew members through meaningful character interactions. In fact, the first two movies are mostly just about Kirk and Spock’s relationship going from rivals to close friends. And the third movie gives us a classic “separate the group” scenario, where different crew members get paired off to both strengthen friendships between characters we hadn’t gotten to see interact too often, and to confess the beliefs and desires they hadn’t gotten to confess to before. I firmly believe that the character writing and the unbelievably on-point casting choices are the main things that make this movie trilogy so good.

Female Rep:

Here we get to a mutual negative between both these movies and ‘The Original Series’. ‘The Original Series’ is notoriously bad at female representation. It’s not surprising that it’s bad at this. Women weren’t written well in nearly every television show at the time. Still, Christine Chapel could be replaced with a cardboard box and most people wouldn’t notice. And while Nichelle Nichols is a badass, Uhura is very rarely given a scene to herself and her job on the ship is never treated with the importance that other jobs on the ship receive. In the J.J. Abrams movies they try to remedy the problem. Uhura is immediately introduced with a sharp wit capable of disarming Kirk and a skill that’s unrivaled by any of the other cadets at the academy. But then she doesn’t do much in any of the movies but be Spock’s girlfriend. She comforts him when he’s sad, kisses him so Kirk can be jealous, argues with him when Spock risks his life needlessly, and misses him after they break up. These things are always her main storyline. They’re never in the background. Occasionally Uhura will do something cool like try to negotiate with the Klingons or make a sacrifice play to save Kirk, but her story always comes back around to Spock. At that point, I’d rather just watch Nichelle Nichols make a pompous dude-bro lock himself in a closet. The movies also tried to introduce Carol Marcus, another character without much, well, character introduced in ‘Wrath of Kahn’. But they proceeded to give her a scene where the audience could stare at her undergarments and then took her out of the final act due to injury. The only improvements the movies made occurred in the third movie, when Jaylah was introduced. Though she does spend a lot of the final act helping out Scotty or Kirk instead of kicking ass on her own, they establish early in the movie that she can kick ass and they never diminish her abilities as the movie goes on. So I’d still say the movies one-up ‘The Original Series’ when it comes to female representation, but both needed serious work.

I really like J.J. Abrams approach to Star Trek. It isn’t perfect. Just like ‘The Original Series’, it has its problems. It also isn’t my favorite Star Trek media I’ve ever consumed. I do feel like there are full Star Trek series that manage to juggle good character development, satisfying action, and philosophical debate much better than these movies do. But I do think they’re really enjoyable. Each time I come back to them I find something new to catch my interest. Watching these movies even led to the realization that McCoy is one of my favorite Trek characters, whether he’s being played by Karl Urban or DeForest Kelley. I think they should receive major credit for reigniting public interest in Star Trek. But I also think that, if you like these films, maybe try out a series of Star Trek and discover for yourself why the deep messages about hope and humanity make Star Trek fans come back to it so frequently.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Book Adaptations: Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ on Netflix

Screenshot of Dakota Johnson in ‘Persuasion’. Copyright goes to Netflix.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I am always more than willing to watch any new Jane Austen film to come out. I’m a huge regency fan and even more of a fan of anything written by Jane Austen. So when the two come together, I am always extremely excited! But I was definitely more hesitant than I usually am about this one. For one, the reviews that have come out regarding this adaptation of ‘Persuasion’ have largely been negative. But that really isn’t anything new for ‘Persuasion’, because I don’t think there has been a version of that book that’s been well received. Jane Austen fans are very protective over ‘Persuasion’ for good reason. It is probably one of the most auto-biographical pieces that Jane Austen wrote, which I’ll explain in more detail later. Personally, I haven’t read it yet because of the more somber tone of the novel. It’s known for being one of her slower novels and much of that because of how much the beginning of it tackles the main character’s battle with depression. And as someone who has been reluctant to tackle darker themes lately in the media I consume mostly for fun; I haven’t been overly motivated to pick up the book or even watch this film. But it being Jane Austen and regency made this an immediate must watch for me anyways. So was this watch worth it? MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The Good:

Anne: I know a lot of people really disliked this version of Anne, but I can’t count myself as one of them. I know that Anne is more reserved and a lot less of a fun-loving character in the book, but I liked this side of the character. Not only did I find her to be extremely intelligent, but also incredibly charming. Dakota Johnson was so charming in this role! And the way this character acted reminded me so much of what I love about how Jane Austen wrote her female characters so ahead of her time. Her idea of women was that they were so much more intelligent than society ever gave them room to be and that the only happy marriage could be one where their husbands saw them as an equal. Anne is not afraid to give her opinion, but is never one to talk over anyone else either. She values everyone’s opinions as much as her own, including those of the children she often takes care of instead of her sister. I loved how much her playful nature here reminded me of Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet and I absolutely enjoyed that energy in this film. I also like some of the points Anne made about depression over the course of the film. Including getting too much into different kinds of literature and poetry that only seem to remind you of your own struggles, which I think is something that can reign true with mental health. Also, that octopus scene was hilarious and entirely unexpected.

Captain Frederick: I thought this movie did an amazing job at getting us to dislike Frederick in the beginning and then getting us to love him by the end. I’m always a fan of the awkward but adorable types that Jane Austen writes into her works. Mr. Darcy is definitely revealed to be one of these and so is Captain Frederick. Though he’s awkward, his intelligence never fails him. It’s more of his social skills that sometimes fail. Relatable! But how he interacts with everyone he cares about shows his true character. He’s never one to be very dramatic about his professions of love, but they are always very sweet.

The Romance: I much prefer a romance that’s more subdued and meaningful than one that’s shallow and dramatic. And I love that this one was more of the former than the latter. My favorite part of their reunion scene after Anne reads the letter was not the kiss, though it was very sweet. It was entirely how they hugged each other afterwards. The way Anne laughed because of how long she had been waiting and how Frederick just seemed to breathe her in, in complete relief. That’s what struck me about the scene. The relief they each felt about being with the other.

Crazy Characters: Jane Austen has always been brilliant about writing absolutely insane and foolish characters in a way that makes them more amusing than annoying. I think this movie captured these characters perfectly in that regard. Henry Golding was an amazing Mr. Elliot in the way that he made you both dislike him and enraptured with his infectious energy. He breathed life into every scene he was a part of even though he was thoroughly awful. And the same could be said about Anne’s sister Mary. The insanity at both characters being so obviously awful is nothing short than disarmingly hilarious.

Cute: The entire movie was just cute. And I know that this is not what the original novel intended to be, but I don’t believe that Austen would consider this movie as much of an affront as many people claim that she would. Jane Austen believed in a world where people could find happiness in the small things instead of looking to a society that failed them. And I think that this movie captures this perfectly. Does it completely honor the original concept of the novel? Probably not. But I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable anyways. It did not skim over Anne’s depression, but it also didn’t prevent the movie from finding a lighthearted tone. And both of those things are ideas that I absolutely adore right now. I could seriously watch this movie over and over again for how much hope it leaves with you afterwards. Because that’s the real message of this story. Hope. And I think this movie succeeds in giving the audience hope and encouraging them not to give up.

The Bad:

Original Tone: As much as I liked this movie, I can’t say that it honors the original book. For those of you who don’t know, this novel was very close to Austen. Jane Austen in her youth was also persuaded not to marry someone she had been in love with, a decision that she regretted and led her to fall into a depression for a while. She never married and was once proposed to, but that situation she more or less dramatized in Mr. Collins proposal to Elizabeth in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. In other words, it didn’t go well. She always believed that there should be no marriage without affection. In this novel she writes about the protagonist’s love coming back and the two relearning to love each other. In essence, it very much feels like a happy ending she wrote for herself. And because of this, I do think that it was pretty important to keep the original tone in tact. Which this movie does not do at all. In this movie’s defense, none of the other movies that have attempted to tackle this tone have had good reviews either. But that doesn’t mean that keeping some of the original theming from the novel should not be attempted in hopefully a future film that might be good at adapting this novel. That is, if they keep trying to adapt it after the lack of success every version seems to have gotten.

Modern Language: There were a few times in this movie where they used really modern language and it never worked. They did it maybe three or four times and it always succeeded in taking me out of the movie. It was just as cringy as people said it would be and included Anne calling a man a “ten”. It wasn’t used often enough to make sense and probably shouldn’t have been used at all.

Frederick’s Beginning: I understood that Frederick wasn’t supposed to like her when he came back, but gossiping about Anne to her friend and not helping Anne when she was injured really pushed it over the edge. He could have at least sent her friend to walk with her so that she wasn’t walking alone. He more than made up for this by the end, but it did make the change slightly more jarring.

A lot of critics said that the narration in the movie was annoying, but I didn’t find it to be. The movie probably would have been fine without it, but I enjoyed it. I just find that when it comes to regency themed media, my opinions usually differ from critics. I wasn’t as big of a fan of ‘Bridgerton’ as many, though I found it ok. And I also far prefer Keira Knightley’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to the one starring Colin Firth. I find the movie to bring the story to life far more effectively than the series. I guess this still is a trend for me since I actually really liked this movie. I could have watched it immediately again after I finished it the first time! Hopefully I’ll find time to watch it again soon, but I’m already starting to binge watch other things. Still, this was cute and I actually highly recommend it if you’re looking for a cute regency romance that says some really meaningful things about relationships. But if you’re expecting this to capture the feel of the original novel, then I might recommend that you pass this by instead. I think in order to enjoy this, it might require you to enjoy this as a completely separate thing from the novel. Some might argue that this would make it unsuccessful, but I think there’s a place for this movie in Austen canon too! When it comes down to it, I really enjoyed this movie!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop: ‘Jack In The Box’ Review

Promotional photo of J-Hope (Jung Hoseok) for his new album ‘Jack In The Box’. Copyright goes to Bight Music and J-Hope.

Hey! Hallie here!

J-Hope’s full ‘Jack In The Box’ album just dropped! We all knew this album was going to be amazing. Hoseok always puts his all into every solo project, and this one promised to demonstrate a completely different side to him that he hasn’t discussed before. This album gave me so much more than I expected. Not only does it go into his struggles with fame and keeping up his hopeful persona, but it also discusses societal issues and the ways we treat one another. Among these amazing messages and introspective lyrics are both hip-hop roots and rock elements that completely blew me away. ‘Jack In The Box’ might just be my favorite album of all time and it certainly showcases J-Hope at his best. Let’s go through each track in this album and look at the elements of each song that make it so deserving of its critical praise!

“Intro”:

Obviously this isn’t a song, but I do really want to talk about this Pandora’s Box theming. From the beginning of BTS, Hoseok’s talked about how influential this story is to him. One of the main reasons he chose the stage name J-Hope was because of the idea that, despite all of the bad things that came out of Pandora’s box, hope was left at the bottom of the box and made all of those other things bearable. The meaning of this story represented to him an opportunity to be the light to make the darkness others are experiencing bearable. But he’s a human being, and this album, while embracing his identity as the hope in the box, is a reminder that he can still be effected by all of the negative things that were also in the box. J-Hope has wanted to address Pandora’s Box in his work for a long time now, and I think waiting until he had the opportunity to make a more complicated work around the story really paid off.

“Pandora’s Box”:

This song’s purpose reflects some of the things I already discussed. The song begins with mentioning the importance the story has to the persona of J-Hope within BTS. Pandora’s box inspired him to be the hope for other people. It also encouraged him to keep up this constantly cheerful, hopeful persona and led him to create ‘Hope World’ as a kind of thesis for his entire existence. But then the lyrics begin to discuss his doubt. He describes wondering if there are other things he could say in his work and whether or not that would be a betrayal of his image. He also reminds the audience that, as a human, he’s effected by the negative things in the world just as much as the rest of us. He ends with the conviction that he feels his name and his purpose as J-Hope is necessary, but warns against a narrow view of what that means. This really powerful look at his own experiences is delivered at a pretty fast pace with a backing track that gets louder and more urgent as the song goes on. There’s a tension you can feel throughout the entire song that perfectly matches the struggles Hoseok has gone through with his persona.

“MORE”:

I have an entire post about this song alone, so I won’t get too deep into discussing this one. This song remains my favorite on the album for the punk rock sound of the chorus and the really addicting flow of each of the verses. I also really love how this song directly tackles the toxic relationship he has with his work and the way he constantly pushes himself to keep going regardless of exhaustion. It’s a message many people need to hear, not just to treat those with fame like regular people but also to avoid a work lifestyle that prioritizes perfectionism. After the recent break BTS announced, I think multiple members of the group have wanted to get something similar off their chest. In fact, “Disease”, a song Hoseok wrote for BTS in one of their most recent albums, already expressed some of these themes. This song goes into even more depth than “Disease” did though, and it really shines because of it.

“STOP”:

This song’s message is shocking in an extremely pleasant way. In the first verse J-Hope questions why the differences between people cause humans to fight so much, despite the fact that none of us are fundamentally different. The next verse goes even deeper, beginning with the judgements he makes about criminals before he rewinds, and starts to question the differences in situation, education, and environment that make some people more inclined to become criminals. Yeah. J-Hope made a song that addresses the way society fails underprivileged people and pushes them into criminal behavior. The last verse finishes it all off with the outlook that no one is fundamentally bad and that we can overcome the polluting parts of our society in order to find common ground with one another. This song has a fun beat but is delivered at a pretty casual pace, leaving room for the sounds of policemen shouting and handcuffs being clamped in the background. It makes the whole thing feel like a critique of the way law enforcement operate in multiple parts of the world. The way that J-Hope dove into this heavy conversation with such nuance and clarity completely floors me.

= (Equal Sign):

We get to hear him sing in this one! Piggy-backing off of the last track, this one is all about loving and understanding one another. The first verse talks about how no one is better than anyone else and asks the listener to remember that in todays world where change seems imminent. The second verse questions why some people are so narrow minded when the world is so large and so many people have already fought to prove their equality. He questions why anyone should be judged for who they are, where they come from, their age, or their gender. (J-Hope says LGBTQ+ rights!) He also points out that everyone suffers in a world where discrimination is normal. And then we get an English chorus sung beautifully by Hoseok that reminds us “It costs ya nothin’ to be kind”. This song is pretty short, but it packs a really whimsical sounding backing track with some important lyrics. Of all the songs on this album, this one feels the most like ‘Hope World’.

“Music Box: Reflection”:

This is an interlude track, but it’s such a GOOD interlude track. I’m a sucker for music boxes and the ominous piece this one plays fits so well with “What If…”, the following track. The intense beat in the background adds a whole other level to this interlude, as does the heavy breathing. It’s such a satisfying amount of pretty and foreboding.

“What If…”

This song is one of my favorites on the album and very easily gets stuck in my head. The lyrics for this one are the most direct at deconstructing Hoseok’s J-Hope persona. The first verse is literally him asking himself if he’s really capable of always being hopeful and optimistic like his persona always seems to be. He then asks himself if, under different circumstances, he would even be able to maintain the cheery persona. Verse two gets even more introspective, addressing how his fame and fortune puts him in a unique position of privilege where this persona is easier to put on. But then he goes so far as to ask himself whether or not he could do it if it put his fame and fortune at risk. The last chorus extends beyond what the first chorus does, going farther than asking himself if he could still do what he does without hope or vision, and also asking if he could be hopeful if he didn’t have a car, a house, or anything to rely on. The beat of this song manages to move from calming to stressful within very little time and the haunting piece that plays before every chorus feels purposefully unsettling. This song is the most openly I’ve seen an artist explore their doubts on a track and it’s impactful.

“Safety Zone”:

This one has a more R&B sound than the other tracks, which is a nice break after something as hard-hitting as “What If…”. This song is another one that tackles Hoseok’s career. In it he describes how he’s always been running to achieve the success he’s dreamed of. Especially with how the world, and the music industry, constantly changes, he feels as though he always needs to keep up with it. He also goes into how constantly working has felt like an obligation for him and while he’s appreciative of those around him, he doesn’t find rest in them because of the pressure he puts on himself to make them happy. In the chorus of the song he wonders where he can finally let all of that go and rest. Despite the restlessness expressed in the song, which is reflected by the fast flow of the rap, the chorus slows slightly and the backing track is calming, as if reflecting the safe zone itself. It’s a surprisingly comforting song despite how its focus is, relatably, about the stress of not finding time or a place to rest.

“Future”:

This song goes back to a message he covered briefly in “Pandora’s Box”. The lyrics, which are partially in English, are essentially Hoseok admitting that he also needs the hope and positivity he tries to provide for other people. He talks about how he came from humble beginnings and is grateful for the life he has now, but also notes that none of that means he doesn’t fight with himself or struggle with internal issues. At the end of the song he gets more into the title, confessing that the future scares him but telling himself, and us, that going with the flow, and having courage and hope, is the best way to move into the future. This song also has a more calming beat, and the singing in the chorus feels more upbeat than some of the other songs. I especially loved the childrens chorus that comes in at the end, really emphasizing a more hopeful outlook for the future.

“Arson”:

This song. You don’t really have to wonder why this is the other title track of the album. First off, let’s talk about the MV. This MV is pretty simple. Various set pieces are on fire here, including multiple cars and road signs. Hoseok walks through them in a white jumpsuit, but as the song gets more intense, the jumpsuit changes. The brown and black burns that cover the second jumpsuit he wears strike a clear message, which only gets clearer when Hoseok’s face becomes burned at the very end of the video before he falls down amongst the flames. And what’s the message all of this is trying to get across? The lyrics for this song dig even more into his fame and his career than the other songs on this album do. Verse one Hoseok talks about how he burned all of his hopes and ambitions up in order to get his success. Then verse two gets into how he, himself is burning along with all the other people (clearly BTS) he went to the top with. Verse three is probably the most interesting in terms of what this song is saying about his career. In verse three everything’s already burned. J-Hope notes that there isn’t much left and states that he wants to leave early, while there’s still applause, but the fire he lit is too large and too difficult to put out. In verse four he confesses that he feels a dark path is ahead regardless of what he chooses. Which all leads into the chorus, where he asks whether or not he should continue to burn brighter or put himself, and his career, out. This song sounds unhinged in the best way, mixing a siren-sounding beat to a jagged rap that inflicts the same amount of raw emotion as the burns on Hoseok’s face in the music video. This is the thesis of the album. The question of whether or not his persona, his fame, and his perfectionism have ruined him forever. And though I know J-Hope has no plans of quitting the music industry any time soon, it feels as though his relationship with it all has reached a bit of an impasse. Regardless of what conclusion he comes to, I hope that his time creating ‘Jack In The Box’ helped him explore himself and his reasons for creating in a way that was enlightening to him. And I wish for him, after all this promo is over, to find some sort of safe zone to peacefully rest in for a little while.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Live Entertainment: ‘Moulin Rouge!’ in Defense of Derek Klena

Photograph of Derek Klena taking bows in ‘Moulin Rouge!’. Copyright goes to Broadway, ‘Broadway World’, and ‘Moulin Rouge!’.

Hi! It’s Annie!

One of the musicals that has recently gotten a complete life of its own due to the internet, is ‘Moulin Rouge!’. While this musical began as a movie; the musical is really what’s been impressive since it came back over the pandemic. Partly because of its clever mix of original music and recent popular music. The musical has been known to change songs in different musical mash-ups during the show in order to reflect what is currently popular in the music industry. But what really caused the musical to blow up over the past several months is one particular former lead actor; the amazing Aaron Tveit. Aaron Tveit is well known for being one of the best Broadway actors out there and has played leads in everything from ‘Wicked’, to ‘Rent’, to ‘Next to Normal’. He’s so well known that he was even tagged by the comedy musical series ‘Schmigadoon’ to play a role. Recently he decided to leave his role as Christian in ‘Moulin Rouge!’ after three years of playing the character, and in his stead they cast Derek Klena (who has massive shoes to fill). Many people are now claiming that Klena shouldn’t have been cast at all. This is a usual response to a beloved actor leaving, but I want to examine some of the reasons as to why this was said and why Aaron Tveit has been so influential in playing this role. Possible SPOILERS for ‘Moulin Rouge!’ ahead!

Aaron Tveit:

As I kind of mentioned before, part of the reason why ‘Moulin Rouge!’ was trending in the first place was because of Aaron Tveit. The most popular song from the movie has always been ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ sung by Ewan McGregor; a cover of the original song by ‘The Police’ mixed with original lyrics and music by the musical composer. And while Aaron Tveit was always amazing singing as the character of Christian, it was what he came back with after the pandemic that blew up the internet. During his first performance back from break, Aaron Tveit optioned up at the end of ‘El Tango de Roxanne’. If you don’t know what optioning up is, it’s pretty simple. It means that instead of singing the song with a lower note of finality, he decided to expand the note and go higher. This note is now and forever an Aaron Tveit note for the character and was so good that it gained mass interest during a time where Broadway isn’t really getting as much popularity. On top of this, he also sings that particular song with so much passion that many people were calling it one of the best acting Broadway moments of all time. He even won a Tony for this performance. And the fact that he only started gaining recognition for this after quarantine and now he’s leaving means that some of this fame is still fairly fresh. So how do you replace an amazing performer like Aaron Tveit? Especially when he is the originator of the role as a musical on Broadway?

Derek Klena:

The real answer to the above question is pretty simple. You don’t. You can’t look for another Aaron Tveit, because you aren’t going to find one. And I think that might be a part of why Derek Klena is struggling so much. If you haven’t heard of Derek Klena; he’s probably just as popular as Aaron Tveit. While Derek Klena is definitely newer to the Broadway community than Aaron; Derek took Broadway by storm. There are not many people on Broadway, or in general, who have the natural charisma and charm that Derek Klena naturally has. He particularly blew up for his portrayal of Dmitry in the Broadway musical ‘Anastasia’; a role that redefined what it meant to play a male love interest in a princess-based musical. Derek Klena has been lovingly nicknamed the Flynn Rider of Broadway. And I’m sure if there was actually a ‘Tangled’ musical made, there would be an uproar in the Broadway community if Klena wasn’t cast in that role. So why is it that now many in the Broadway community are angry at him being cast as Christian in ‘Moulin Rouge!’? Because his start as Christian hasn’t necessarily been the smoothest in the last couple months. Now that Aaron Tveit made the move of optioning up the last note in ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ popular all over the internet, the Broadway musical seems to be unwilling to give the note up. Even though Derek Klena is not able to hit this note. Klena also does not have the same vocal range as Tveit. This has caused the Broadway musical to lower the pitch of a few songs to try and better fit Klena’s voice. Does this make Klena miscast?

Miscasting?:

I am completely up in the air as to whether or not I think Klena is miscast in this role. Keep in mind that I’m a little biased as Derek Klena has been one of my favorite Broadway actors for years now. But so has Aaron Tveit and I think it’s pretty clear that no one can do this role as well as Tveit can. Finding another Aaron Tveit would be impossible. But that doesn’t mean that Derek Klena was the best for the role. While this isn’t as bad as casting an actual celebrity that doesn’t fit the role, this does feel a bit like celebrity casting on a smaller scale to me. Celebrity casting has been controversial in the past for a variety of reasons, such as giving the role to a well known name instead of one of the hardworking people who have trained their entire lives for a Broadway role. Fortunately, it seems this kind of casting is meeting less tolerance than it ever has. In the catastrophic incident that involved ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’, Mandy Patinkin was set to play a role that was then being played by ‘Hamilton’ alum Okieriete Onaodowan who was the first black man to play Pierre. This mix of celebrity casting and racism caused so much backlash that Mandy Patinkin himself withdrew from the show, correctly thinking that his own casting was wrong. Oak, having already been told to leave, was angry and left anyways. The show closed not that long after. Except for in ‘Mean Girls’, the rest of Broadway has been wary to celebrity cast since. So Derek Klena’s casting could be an attempt at it without getting a non-Broadway celebrity. Derek Klena is one of the most popular faces of Broadway right now. And how better to replace a beloved Broadway actor than adding in another Broadway actor, right?

Well, maybe not. As I’ve said before, Klena’s range doesn’t exactly fit the character of Christian. People have been mass sharing Klena’s performances over the past several months, and it is clear that he struggles throughout ‘El Tango de Roxanne’. That isn’t to say that he’s bad. He’s a Broadway actor! But his voice does crack at parts even though you can hear that he really is trying. Many have claimed that taking the pitch lower to fit his voice might have been a misstep as it doesn’t actually seem to fit his voice. His voice is too high for the very low notes now and too low for the very high ones. Currently on the tour of ‘Moulin Rouge’ (which I am hoping to possibly see sometime soon), the role of Christian is being played by one Conor Ryan. A man with a similar range to Aaron. While Conor doesn’t usually option up at the end of ‘El Tango de Roxanne’, the performance doesn’t seem to suffer for it. He doesn’t seem to struggle with the vocals at all and is able to deliver just as passionate of a performance. A lot of people would say that this is proof that the role is not in Derek’s vocal range and that he is miscast. But I have a small issue with this too. Though Aaron Tveit originated the role on Broadway, the role was actually kind of originated by Ewan McGregor. And though he has a pretty good singing voice, his vocal range is also lower than Aaron Tveit’s and his singing voice is nowhere as versatile as Derek Klena.

Solution?:

Following Aaron Tveit, Klena may have been miscast for this role. But all things considered, I’m not entirely sure he is a complete miscast. People were blown away with how much quality and passion Aaron Tveit could bring to the role and I’m sure our view of Christian will never be the same again. But this role was created to be flexible in who it fit. I think they could make a version of this show that fit Derek if they just worked with him. And that doesn’t mean lowering the pitch, but it does mean making sure everyone knows it’s ok if he doesn’t hit the same notes as Aaron. I think this show could work for Klena if they tried. Does this still make him the best choice to be in this role following Aaron Tveit especially when there are other actors on Broadway with a more fitting vocal range to the new expectations? Probably not. This is why I am fully convinced that Klena is both miscast and not miscast for this role. Can he do it if he has more time and more help from creative minds for the musical? Yes. Does that make him the best choice? No. While I love Derek Klena, so far this isn’t looking like his role. But he’s only been working at it for a few months and I am fully ready to give him another chance as long as the musical will work with him to make sure that he even has a chance to do this better. You have a fully trained Broadway actor up there. Usually when a fully trained Broadway actor is experiencing voice cracks every night; the problem is somewhere behind the scenes. Either with casting or with trying to blend the actor in. Klena has not suddenly forgotten how to sing.

Sorry for all of the ranting, but I love both Aaron and Derek so much and it hurts to see them pit against each other like this. Especially since I have been a fan of both of them for so long. I hate seeing anyone hate on Derek Klena and it’s weird to see people accuse Broadway of celebrity casting another Broadway actor. But oddly, that seems to exactly be what’s been done here. Derek Klena is no less talented than he always was and I don’t blame him for wanting this role. Especially with how much Covid has taken out of Broadway, it is currently difficult for even the most popular Broadway actors to find work. And Christian is a great role that’s pretty desirable right now! I hope that in the coming months he’ll prove that he’s perfect for this role. But I can’t disagree when some people say that it isn’t necessarily looking great so far. And blaming Klena for this is misguided and does nothing. I want to repeat again, I don’t hate Derek Klena in this role. I don’t hate him in any role. He’s one of my favorite Broadway actors. My only opinion here is that if the Broadway musical wanted someone to carry on the TikTok popularity of Tveit, Klena was not the way to go. But If they are willing to give that up for the sake of better blending an actor into the show, which they seem unwilling to do, then maybe they shouldn’t be trying to force Klena into their mold. He’s good without it!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Marvel: Sam Wilson is Captain America

Screenshot of Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios.

Hey! Hallie here!

Somewhat recently we made a post on this blog about how we miss Steve Rogers. And while that isn’t untrue, given recent conversations on this subject I want to make something really clear. We don’t miss Chris Evans because he’s the only good Captain America. We miss Steve Rogers because he was an endearing Captain America and because Chris Evans remains to this day, a national treasure. But Sam Wilson is just as amazing of a Captain America. Not only that, but Steve Rogers isn’t Captain America anymore. Sam Wilson is. Period. It’s really frustrating that we have to have this conversation, but I can say it’s not necessarily surprising. Marvel and Disney have failed Sam Wilson at every turn. So let’s talk about all the undeserved hate Captain America is getting and the reasons Sam Wilson deserves respect.

Marvel/Disney’s Lack of Support:

Ever wonder why Peggy Carter receives so much internet hate? There are a few reasons I don’t want to get into here, but one is definitely the way Marvel pushed Captain Carter. While ‘What If’ was being advertised at the beginning of it streaming, the official Captain America twitter account changed to a complete Captain Carter overlay. The issue was, Sam Wilson hadn’t been the profile picture for the Captain America page for very long before the change was made. Already fans of Sam Wilson were having to fight with racist individuals who refused to accept Sam as Captain America. But then, Marvel chose to change the account to Peggy while these conversations were still being had, and Peggy isn’t even technically Captain America. While that was going on, Disney was also creating problems over at Avengers Campus in Disneyland. When opening the new area, Anthony Mackie introduced Sam Wilson and made a speech about how important it was that Captain America finally represented a wider group of people. But after having Sam Wilson in his Captain America suit around for a few months, he disappeared. But Steve Rogers? Steve Rogers was still meetable at Avengers Campus as Captain America. Sam Wilson only recently returned to Avengers Campus. So despite the fact that Disney brought Anthony Mackie to the park to pat themselves on the back for making Sam Wilson a face character, it seems they’re still only willing to back Steve Rogers while Sam disappears regularly. Disney and Marvel have proven countless times that they’re unwilling to push Sam Wilson in the way they’re willing to push all other Captain America equivalents. We can only hope it stops by the time the next Captain America movie comes around.

The Twitter Bashing:

We’ve seen racism aimed at Sam Wilson since he took up the mantle of Captain America. But even though the Twitter hate started to feel like background noise with the other Marvel projects that have been releasing, it all seems to get louder every time we get more Captain America movie news. A few days ago we got the perfect example of this. With the announcement of the director for Sam Wilson’s first Captain America movie came speculation that Chris Evans would be reprising his role as Steve Rogers in the movie. How anyone could believe those rumors, I don’t know. Steve is currently a very, very old man in the current MCU timeline and Chris Evans has said multiple times that he doesn’t really want to go back. Still, many people decided to take the opportunity to compare Steve to Sam and list various reasons why Sam doesn’t live up to the Captain America title. The situation got so bad that Chris Evans himself went on twitter to simply tweet “Sam Wilson is Captain America”. And a huge chunk of the comments Evans received under said tweet weren’t support, but were instead arguments against this simple statement. The arguments ranged from declarations that Chris Evans was the only “real” Captain America, to anger about Bucky not having been given the shield, to claims that Marvel is too “woke”. It’s disturbing how many people are willing to disregard one of our only Black superheroes in the MCU simply because he’s POC. This fandom needs to do better quickly before we become like the Star Wars fandom.

Sam Wilson is Amazing:

Although everything looks pretty bad right now, I refuse to make this entire post negative. Sam Wilson deserves to have his praises sung and I will never hesitate to do that. Personally, I can’t wait to see Sam Wilson star in his own Captain America movie. Sam is a more empathetic Captain America than even Steve Rogers was. Steve Rogers earned his empathy from once being the type of guy who would regularly get beat up by his peers. In other words, he knew what it was like to be the little guy. But by the time he came back from his seventy year coma, he was a muscly, conventionally attractive, white man. He by no means saw the worst of the modern day US. In fact, most people thought twice before expressing displeasure at his actions. Sam Wilson, on the other hand, experienced constant racism in his every day life even after he became a superhero. And despite the fact that Sam was never given super-soldier serum, he still took up the huge Captain America title and decided to stand for everyone in the US, particularly those who were forced to go through the discrimination he had. He went through rigorous training to ensure he could do everything his super-powered colleagues could, despite not having powers, simply because he knew there were people who needed him as both a hero and a symbol. I love Steve, but that’s more than Steve has ever done. Sam has only ever shown wisdom and understanding as Captain America. He went so far as to defend a teenage girl who attempted to kill him from politicians who labeled her as a terrorist, all because he understood her struggles. All of that plus Sam’s biting sarcasm? How can you not love Captain America?

I’m going to end this post here. I may not love all of the recent Marvel projects that we’ve seen, but Marvel’s been doing better than ever at giving us superheroes who represent so much more of the population than we’ve seen before. And while Marvel and Disney can be very hit or miss when it comes to supporting this new group of characters, we as a fandom need to make sure they feel our support. Everyone deserves to see themselves on screen. Everyone deserves to experience the power fantasy that is superheroes from a perspective they can directly relate to. And with characters like Sam Wilson already getting such amazing writing, it makes no sense to look down on this new line of characters. Sam Wilson is Captain America. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie