K-Pop and K-Dramas: What I Learned About BTS After Finishing ‘Bon Voyage’

Screenshot of Kim Namjoon (RM) and Min Yoongi (Suga) in the ‘Bon Voyage’ series. Copyright goes to BTS and BigHit Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

After I finished season 1 of ‘Bon Voyage’ I made a post highlighting what it would be like to travel with each member of BTS. But that first season was filmed quite a few years ago. Now that I’ve finished watching the series and seen how these boys have changed overtime, I have a better idea of what they’re like now. Especially because the last season was only released back in 2019. Let’s go through how the members travel habits changed from the first season.

Kim Namjoon (RM):

In my last post I talked about how prone he is to losing things, but it was unfair to assume that he was the only one. Literally every member of BTS has accidentally left something behind at some point. They really need someone to make sure they have all of their belongings before they leave a location. Still, Namjoon is most prone to lose something important. Like an entire backpack full of his belongings or his passport. He’s lost his wallet on multiple occasions as well, though fortunately he’s been able to retrieve it each time without too much hassle. At one point it was just in his back pocket which was frustratingly hilarious. Namjoon is an extremely helpful and caring leader. He keeps track of all of the members and ensures they’re having a good time. He often feels like he isn’t helping enough because he can’t cook or drive, but he always jumps at the opportunity to clean after a meal or help the drivers navigate. He’s also a very deep thinker and a change of scenery only increases his thoughtfulness. Whenever he was alone with another member he’d always get into a deep conversation with them inspired by the change of scenery, and at times he felt obligated to work because of his inspiration. But overall he’s a pretty responsible traveler. He enjoys the simple things, never looks to spend too much money, and is willing to compromise to keep the group happy.

Kim Seokjin:

I tagged Jin as a pretty chill traveler before, but I missed out on one very large quirk Jin has when traveling. He greets everyone in the street. Literally everyone. He’ll walk up to a group of random strangers and attempt to join their conversation even when he doesn’t understand their language. He’ll ask someone passing by if they know BTS to the embarrassment of all the other members. On one occasion this did work to his advantage. On one of their first days in Malta he walked up to a random elderly man to ask if he knew BTS and generally attempt to hold a conversation with him. A few episodes later Jin was set to be paired off with Jungkook to explore Malta, but Jungkook was tired (or eager to dye his hair) and left Jin to explore on his own. Jin walked into a random bar and found the same man was the owner of the bar. The man took pity on Jin because he was alone and spent the night talking to him. He even bought Jin a drink. The man was incredibly kind and the two regarded each other as friends when they parted. Although Jin made it his mission to embarrass every member he was paired off with, he also would accompany anyone who needed it, even if he was scared of the activity they were doing. He’s also an excellent cook and one of the people who will volunteer to drive the most. If you can get over the embarrassment, he’s a pretty solid travel partner.

Min Yoongi (Suga):

Yoongi is the type of person who won’t pressure himself to do multiple activities while traveling. He likes to explore, but he also takes time to nap in his room or work if he feels like it. Unlike Namjoon, he doesn’t pressure himself to do work if he’s inspired. He will simply do it when he feels like it and refrain when he doesn’t. Yoongi doesn’t like the bigger, scarier activities. When some of the members decided to ride a giant swing, equivalent to bungee jumping, in New Zealand, Yoongi adamantly refused to go along though he cheered them on from the sidelines. He prefers activities like fishing. He also enjoys a good bar and is willing to teach any member who doesn’t know much about alcohol what types of alcohol are best. He notably did this with Jungkook in Malta. Yoongi is one of the most responsible members. Whenever the group was camping, Yoongi was designated cook. He’s excellent at grilling meat and he seemed to know the best ways to cook food when there weren’t many resources available to do so. He also enjoyed keeping track of the groups money whenever he could and ensured that no one was spending too much. He sleeps the most out of any other member, but his laid back approach to travel is admirable.

Jung Hoseok (J-Hope):

Hobi is a lot less anxiety ridden than I originally perceived him to be. Whenever a member isn’t present or an item is lost, he’s absolutely one of the most anxious members. But otherwise he walks a line between laid-back and attempting to keep track of everything. When Yoongi wasn’t present Hobi offered to take care of the money, and despite leaving a few things behind in his efforts to watch over the money (such as a room key and a shopping bag), he showed himself to be pretty responsible. He enjoyed it so much that he offered to continue doing it even after Yoongi returned. He’s also the most likely to make sure the members have everything they need and is the first to offer help if they don’t. If someone had difficulty driving their camper in New Zealand he would offer to teach them how to drive the vehicle or offer to drive it himself. He even became the designated organizer when the members struggled to find space for groceries in the camper. Aside from this, he’s pretty casual. He’s scared of many things, but he showed himself willing to try anything once, even the giant swing in New Zealand. Whenever he was paired with another member he would be open to any activity they suggested. He would take pictures for the members whenever they asked it of him, and whenever a member was doing something cute or impressive he’d film them with a large smile on his face. He’s a very helpful travel companion.

Park Jimin:

Jimin is so sweet. I did criticize him for being late often in my first post, but this isn’t always the case. He’s definitely the last to wake up in the morning, but if he needs to be quick when getting ready he can be. Out of every other member he’s most likely to join someone who’s alone, comfort someone who’s sad, or notice someone who’s struggling. Both Namjoon and Taehyung at separate times depended on his words of advice to deal with their anxieties. When Taehyung was struggling with loss, Jimin pulled him into a hug and started talking about how clear the night sky was. On occasion he’d drive, but he’s the type to get carsick. This was especially a problem in New Zealand when all of the members noted that it was easy to get carsick in the camper. He would always set up camping sites and help whoever was cooking make food, though. He was willing to try most activities and participated in almost everything (Except the swing in New Zealand). If given an opportunity in a situation where every member was paired off with someone else, he’d always make an attempt to spend time with Taehyung. The two are best friends and they tended to share the same opinions on a lot of the activities they wanted to do. When Taehyung decided to go horseback riding Jimin decided to (unsuccessfully) attempt to race him with his bike. When Tae came late to Malta Jimin showed him all of the sights he’d seen that he knew Tae would like. In general Jimin is a sweetheart and a fun travel partner.

Kim Taehyung:

Taehyung grew up a lot as the series progressed. In the first few seasons he was spontaneous and mischievous. He’d leave to do random activities even if they weren’t exactly allowed by the staff and if he had an opportunity to get out of cleaning up, he’d take it. Malta was the first time this situation changed. His spontaneity was still there. He arrived late and, because of this, wasn’t able to do some of the activities the other members were scheduled for. So he ended up going to a Popeye themed water park on the beach and jet skiing afterwards, to the staff’s bewilderment. But he was quiet for most of the trip due to a recent loss. When he was given the opportunity to attempt busking, like Jungkook had done earlier, he was so nervous that he attempted to practice his song before he went up and left after the first verse. But he was proud of his accomplishments and still very sweet. At one point he, Jin, and Jungkook decided to go to an amusement park and enjoyed it so much that the three payed for the staff to go on one of the rides with them. In the final season, he did dishes every time they needed to clean up, and the one time he fell asleep before he could clean he became guilty. He can’t cook but he’d offer to help anyway and he’d keep up the mood with loud music and even louder singing. You definitely see him grow up as the series goes on and I’d say he’s much more responsible of a traveler now.

Jeon Jungkook:

Jungkook is still very much the type to go with the flow. He’ll try anything any of the members want to do and he’ll enjoy himself regardless of what it is. When Yoongi and Jin decided to go fishing, Jungkook went with them to try it out. He ended up being good at it and continuing to fish with them. He’s also a bit of a daredevil. Unlike Yoongi, he reveled in anything mildly scary. At the swing in New Zealand he decided to go upside down. When they tried diving with sharks he immediately went straight to the bottom of the cage to get a closer look. But he can also be pretty quiet and introspective. At one point he was left on his own to decide what he wanted to do without any other member, and he simply enjoyed walking around the streets. He became enamored with buskers, payed a few of them, and tried busking himself. He beat himself up over his busking because he thought he was bad, but he was truly amazing and Hobi never hesitated to play the clip of him busking in his presence to prove how good he was. He’s also very responsible. Like Jin, he’d offer to drive more than most of the other members and, in New Zealand, he considered himself in charge of the camper because of how difficult it was to drive. It’s so interesting to see how much he grew up over the years as well.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Superheroes: The Female Characters in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’

Shot of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’. Copyright goes to Universal Pictures.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Over the weekend was actually the first time I watched ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’ in it’s entirety. I know, I know, that’s weird. Most everybody has seen that movie by now. But I can’t say that before watching it I was entirely unfamiliar with it. Almost everybody knows about this movie by now and I also went through a rock and emo phase in high school. I still really love some of the media I watched from that phase! But if you were ever at all even close to having an emo phase, then you definitely know about Ramona Flowers. She was one of the pinnacle punk rock fictional role models for women interested in that genre along with Hermione Granger and Sam from ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. These were some of the names of fictional characters you heard tossed around all the time. I’ve known several people who were inspired to dye their hair a vibrant color because of Ramona Flowers. She has also become synonymous with the manic pixie dream girl trope, but I’ll get more into that later. So knowing so much about her going into this movie, I was expecting a lot. I was expecting a lot even from the female characters in this film that weren’t her. And to be honest, I was actually left pretty disappointed. I know a lot of people are angry, please don’t tear my head off! I didn’t hate this movie by any means. But I definitely had some issues with the portrayal of female characters. I know this may be difficult to hear, so just keep and open mind and I’ll try to explain the best I can.

Ramona Flowers:

The first and foremost problem I have with Ramona is that she doesn’t seem to have agency in her own story. Despite the fact that these are her exes, she is never given the chance to actually fight them except for the only female ex that she has for some reason. I suppose she knees Gideon in the crotch once, but that’s it. I know that the story is supposed to be a metaphor for Scott comparing himself to Ramona’s exes and getting over his insecurity, but that doesn’t change the fact that most of the time Ramona just stands there while Scott is fighting off an ex of hers. It also doesn’t change the fact that she was allowed to fight Roxy for some reason and none of her guy exes. I’m really tired of shows and movies pairing off the female characters to fight. I also should talk a little bit about the manic pixie dream girl trope as Ramona Flowers is always brought up when this trope comes up. This is the absolute ideal girlfriend for the main character who is quirky in some way and is there to save the male protagonist from himself without having much agency in her own story. Seriously, if you look up ‘manic pixie dream girl’ on Google, a picture of Ramona Flowers is one of the first things that comes up. Ramona’s character development often has to do with Scott and, as I’ve already stated many times, she’s always forced onto the sidelines to literally watch her boyfriend fight her battles for her. With having so much expectations for this character, I was seriously let down with how little she seemed to actually do within the plot. Especially because the idea for her character was intriguing to me.

Knives Chau:

There’s a lot that people have said about Knives Chau from the perspectives of feminism, race, and age. No matter where you turn there seems to be a giant problem with this character. Knives is Scott’s girlfriend before he meets Ramona and this is already an issue considering Scott is twenty two and Knives is seventeen and still in High School. Knives right off the bat is depicted with some pretty bad racial tropes. She goes to a catholic school that requires her to wear a uniform and she is depicted as being very excitable because she’s been so sheltered. This results in her becoming actually obsessed with Scott to the point of being a stalker. Scott later cheats on Knives with Ramona (partly because he hasn’t been interested in her in some time and is just too much of a coward to break up with her) and she becomes an actual stalker. Even watching him through windows. The end of the movie tries to make her useful and give her somewhat of an arc, but it never actually feels complete. Knives even goes into the final battle angry at Ramona for breaking Scott’s heart because she’s still obsessed with Scott. If it’s possible, it almost feels like her entire character revolves around Scott even more than Ramona’s.

Roxy Richter:

Another very problematic character. I actually thought I would love her when she was introduced. She seriously has one of the best introductions in the film. That was all completely sucked away when we got to her battle with Scott. On top of the fact that she mostly fights Ramona because Scott refuses to hit a girl (barf), the scene also says some questionable things about bisexuality. Even Roxy becomes angry when Ramona refers to her as “just a phase”. But the worst part of this scene is by far the way Scott is able to defeat her at the end of the battle. As Scott is just about to be kicked into oblivion by Roxy, Ramona tells Scott that Roxy is sensitive behind her knees. What results is a very overtly sexual death for the only female ex. Women are already sexualized enough in media and members of the LGBTQ+ community are especially over sexualized. Roxy dying in this way is not at all ok, especially because none of the other exes die in any way that’s even near this. It was both disgusting and so disappointing for a character I thought I was going to love at first.

Kim Pine:

By far my favorite female character from this movie and one of my favorite characters in general. Though I don’t understand why every single female character introduced has to have had some sort of romantic connection with Scott except for Roxy and his sister. Kim is absolutely unafraid to call out Scott on his bullshit (along with his roommate Wallace), which is absolutely necessary considering how much of a douchebag Scott can be throughout the movie. Kim’s character is entirely based off of her own issues with the band, which means that her storyline doesn’t revolve around Scott. There’s nothing much bad I can say about Kim, I actually thought she was pretty solid.

I know there are a few other female characters in this movie, but these are just the ones I felt most inclined to talk about after watching the film. I do have to say though, Brie Larson singing in this movie as Envy Adams was one of my absolute favorite parts. I know this was mostly negative, but by no means does this mean that I hated the movie. I thought it’s use of music was very clever and there were characters and moments that I loved. Chris Evans as Lucas Lee was priceless and the vegan police made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair. But I think that this movie really needs to be looked at for the way the narrative treats female characters, because it’s really not that great. After watching the movie it made me wish that we were able to have a character like Ramona Flowers that was actually created to celebrate women and wasn’t created to be the dream girl that revolved around the main character. Especially because she’s been so influential to women interested in media.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Book Adaptations: Harry Potter Professors Ranked

Screenshot of Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’. Copyright goes to Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films, and 1492 Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

Harry Potter has tons of loveable characters and almost an equal amount of deliciously dislikable ones. This is no different for the professors at Hogwarts. There are professors that are horrible people and horrible teachers, there are professors that are some of the best characters in the entire series, and there’s every other type of professor in between. So today I’m going to count them down! For this list I’m only including the professors that made a major impact, so Professor Grubbly-Plank and similar professors will be left off this list. I also won’t be including all Hogwarts staff, so Filch will also, thankfully, be left off of this list. Finally I’ll be judging these professors not only on their personalities, but majorly on how good of teachers they are. So with that said, let’s get into it!

15. Dolores Umbridge. Who’s surprised to see her here? I’m not. Dolores Umbridge was adamant about not teaching her students at all. She didn’t allow magic in her class and only taught students to prepare for their tests. Which are both sure ways to make sure none of the students retain any of the information they’re taught. It should also be noted that she TORTURED STUDENTS. She would make students who misbehaved, which was all of them in her eyes, magically carve their wrongdoing into their hand. She even almost used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. She’s a very obviously evil woman and one of the worst characters in the series. No one compares to how awful she is.

14. Quirinus Quirrell. Professor Quirrell was never the most helpful of teachers. He was always absurdly nervous of everything he taught, so while he might have said something interesting during class, it was still very hard to take him seriously. And then his nervous act turned out to be a ruse. He was actually a very evil man who let Voldemort possess the back of his head. He spent far more time trying to keep Voldemort alive with unicorn blood and helping him find a new body than actually teaching. He also endangered students by loosing a troll in the school and tried to kill Harry multiple times. So not the best teacher.

13. Severus Snape. Ok, I already hear a bunch of Snape fans getting mad at me so let me explain. Alan Rickman’s Snape isn’t a bad teacher. He can be harsh, but he’s very informative and he cares for the students even if he doesn’t seem like it. Book Snape is not like this. Book Snape verbally abuses students. He constantly bullies Neville and threatens to kill his pet toad, Trevor, when Neville gets something wrong rather than attempting to help him. He belittles Hermione despite her genius and even refuses to help her when a rogue spell hits her and causes her teeth to grow. He literally tells her that he doesn’t see a difference! I would like to remind you that this is a grown adult bullying children. He might be informative in his lessons, but no student actually benefits from such a toxic classroom atmosphere.

12. Gilderoy Lockhart. An unhelpful teacher but for different reasons. Gilderoy Lockhart is both too full of himself to teach and also unknowledgeable about everything he claims to have knowledge about. This is because Lockhart used memory charms on various adventurers so he could claim responsibility for their great discoveries. He has no experience of his own but he loves the fame. He also REALLY loves himself. He would rather teach an entire class about himself than anything actually useful. He does try to Obliviate Harry and Ron when they learn his secret, which is generally frowned upon, but at least he doesn’t attempt to kill them.

11. Mad Eye Moody. This is another professor who tried to kill Harry, but he gets up here because Harry actually liked him as a professor. He taught inappropriate things in class, such as the unforgiveable curses, but he was genuine about teaching the students how to avoid dark curses. He used real experience to instruct them and did attempt to calm the students who were disturbed by his lessons. He also helped Harry through the Triwizard Tournament, as dark as his motive was. But yes, in reality Moody was Barty Couch Jr., who was attempting to get Harry to Voldemort so that Voldemort could regain his form and potentially kill Harry. No one can say they weren’t satisfied with the way he put Draco in his place, though.

10. Sybill Trelawney. Professor Trewlaney is the first professor on this list who genuinely cares about the well-being of her students. Yay! That being said, she doesn’t actually teach anything useful. She genuinely believes in the Divination she teaches, but none of it is real. That isn’t to say that Trelawney is incapable of seeing into the future. She’s responsible for the prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. But the events where she truly sees into the future are rare and she never remembers them. Instead she focuses on tea leaves and crystal balls, which are established as phony forms of magic in the wizarding world. Her teachings aren’t practical and she gets extremely defensive if she’s called out on it. See how she insults Hermione. (Her insulting Hermione isn’t accidental but very purposeful in the book).

9. Horace Slughorn. And now we’re getting to the teachers who are actually helpful. Horace Slughorn is a pretty understanding and enthusiastic potions teacher. No one really has any complaints with his teaching, which seems pretty informative. His favoritism is his real problem. While teachers shouldn’t show favoritism, Slughorn revels in it. He even created an entire club exclusively for his favorite students, most of which are pretty well off. This isn’t always the case, he did take an interest in Lily Potter for her skill alone, but that still doesn’t hide his preference for the rich and powerful. Slughorn is also easily manipulated, as shown when Tom Riddle managed to get information about horcruxes out of him without raising much of Slughorn’s suspicion. But most of that is due to cowardice, which Harry helps him move past. In the end he fights in the Battle of Hogwarts, which is absolutely honorable.

8. Albus Dumbledore. Here’s another controversial opinion. Albus Dumbledore shares a lot of wisdom with Harry throughout the books, most of which are essential to Harry’s survival. He’s an important beacon in Harry’s life and acts as the main protector for Hogwarts as it’s headmaster. He is also quite the morally questionable man. He left Harry with abusive parents for most of his life and had little reservations when raising Harry to send him to his death. Dumbledore is a sign of comfort and intelligence in Hogwarts, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good role model for the students. You also have to wonder how good he actually was at protecting the school with all of the attacks that occurred every year Harry attended.

7. Madame Hooch. Hooch is a pretty straightforward Quidditch professor. She’s strict but she’s fair, which is why she also fills the position of Quidditch referee on most occasions. She cares for her students well being, as is her job, and she comes off as a capable badass. There isn’t really much of a downside here. Madame Hooch is a pretty solid professor.

6. Firenze. We didn’t get to see Firenze as a teacher much, and in the movies we didn’t get to see him as a teacher at all, but he’s pretty amazing. When Trelawney is fired by Umbridge, Dumbledore hires Firenze in her stead. It’s instantly established how amazing of a teacher he is. He transforms his entire classroom into a grassy field with a clear view of the stars, and he uses the stars to accurately teach students Divination. He makes it clear that not all can be told from the stars, but he is sure to teach students exactly how they can use them. He’s an instructive and gentle teacher, so it’s no surprise that Harry instantly likes him more than Trelawney. When Trelawney is reinstated he gets to teach Divination concurrently with her, which is fortunate for those who are actually interested in the subject.

5. Pomona Sprout. Pomona Sprout is both a straightforward and kind teacher. She’s strict in her teaching of Herbology, mostly because many of the more dangerous plants require very specific instructions, but outside of the classroom she’s very empathetic and understanding. She cares deeply for her students and her students care just as deeply for her. She develops very strong friendships with most of the professors, and just like them, she never hesitates when it comes time to protect her school. I only wish we had seen more of this badass.

4. Filius Flitwick. Filius Flitwick is not only the Charms professor, but also the conductor of the school choir. He takes pride in his involvement in the arts, but he isn’t snooty. He’s shown to have a pretty good sense of humor, especially when it comes at the expense of teachers like Umbridge. He’s one of the most patient teachers at the school and he’s quick to praise students for their work. He’s also very intelligent and has an answer for most questions asked to him. And, just like his peers, he is unafraid to defend his school when the time comes. He should not be underestimated because of his size.

3. Rubeus Hagrid. Putting Hagrid so far up is a bit risky. Despite his efforts, even Harry doesn’t believe he’s the best professor. But that isn’t entirely because he’s not suited for it. Hagrid is a complete sweetheart. He has a love for most students, and most animals he comes across as well. Which makes it seem like he would be the perfect Care of Magical Creatures professor. He’s patient with students and understanding of their frustrations. He ensures all of his classes are safe. Mostly. His issue is his love for all creatures. He finds boring creatures quite fascinating. He also likes to bring frightening creatures into his classes. Though these creatures aren’t mortally dangerous to the students, they can be frustrating and harmful to some degree. Such as his Blast-Ended Skrewts. Despite this, Hagrid is one of the most protective and caring professors in Hogwarts. Even when he doesn’t get a lesson right, he tries very hard and he’s understanding of students who don’t like his lessons. I’d say that makes up for any of his drawbacks.

2. Remus Lupin. This is my favorite character in all of Harry Potter. He’s the dream professor. He’s kind and funny. He knows how to engage a class with activities rather than keeping them to their desks, which is something he keeps up even during tests. He instructs but also stands by students as they do tasks and walks them through it. As a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he’s understanding of students fears and is there to provide emotional support if needed. Beyond that he’s a humble man who cares for his students. He’s the most understanding professor of all of them, shown to be able to relate to students in the way no other professor can. And the wisdom he shares is far more important than even he believes. He’s simply a comforting presence.

1.Minerva McGonagall. She’s clearly the best professor at Hogwarts. She’s strict, but only when she has to be. She’s fair in issuing punishments and ensures they help students learn from their mistakes. When a student is wronged she takes that into account and doesn’t punish them for expressing their frustrations (“Have a biscuit, Potter” might be the greatest words ever uttered). If someone insults her students she’s the first to come to their defense. Is someone attacks her students she is similarly protective and even Snape couldn’t fend her off. Her classes are informative, and while they don’t allow for much fun, she isn’t one to disapprove of a little mischief. She even helped Peeves unscrew a chandelier once, though none of the teachers were above making some mischief at Umbridge’s expense. She acts, more than any other professor, as a parent. Instructing and caring for students. Encouraging them to pursue their goals and follow their dreams. Worrying herself sick over their safety. There was no competition here. Minerva McGonagall wins.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Movies: Now You See Me

Screenshot of Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Jessie Eisenberg in ‘Now You See Me’ (2013). Copyright goes to K/O Paper Products and Lionsgate.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It’s that time again where I need to talk about some of my favorite comfort movies that have gotten me through this entire year of quarantine. ‘Now You See Me’ is a movie that I can say with absolute confidence was definitely slept on. Maybe you’ve heard of it in passing, maybe you haven’t heard of it at all, and maybe you’ve actually seen it once before. I’ve never met someone outside of my family that’s seen this one, which is really surprising to me. My family loved it and it was even popular enough to get a sequel (though whether the sequel was actually as good as it could have been is an entirely different question). For those of you who haven’t seen this, this is a movie about a team of four magicians known as The Four Horseman who kind of Robin Hood money out of the pockets of the rich and funnel it to the poor and mistreated. The movie focuses on the magicians as well as the police officers attempting to stop them considering they are actually committing crimes. The real draw of this movie is definitely the magic though, and that’s what makes it worth coming back to every time. SPOILERS!!!

Daniel Atlas (The Illusionist):

Because the magicians are by far the best part of this film, I’m going to go through each one. Daniel Atlas is the magician played by Jessie Eisenberg. He does some card tricks, some things that go way beyond card tricks, and all magic that people would generally refer to as mind bending. Daniel Atlas is also a huge control freak and one of the most amusing characters in the entire movie. If he’s not always the smartest person in the room, he’s at least close. He’s also just a little bit of a douchebag, but the other characters aren’t afraid of calling him out on that.

Henley Reeves (The Escape Artist):

Henley has what is quite possibly my favorite introduction of all the magicians. When we first meet her she is in a tank of water, chained to the floor, with piranhas stationed above her set to fall when the timer runs out. It appears to the crowd as though she fails and is eaten but then she mysteriously appears behind the crowd to reveal that she is, in fact, alive. It is stressful to watch because Isla Fisher actually became trapped during the filming of that scene and the staff thought that her attempts to get out were just acting. Henley is the only one who really seems to keep the group together, which is why it feels so odd when she isn’t in the second installment of this franchise. She is instead replaced by Lizzie Caplan as Lula. Lula is actually a gore comic magician, which I found to be a bit weird. The escape artist fits so much better with the entire plotline as well as the other magicians. But I actually did like the character of Lula better as a whole, so I’m a little conflicted.

Merritt McKinney (The Mentalist):

One of the main comic reliefs for the film. Merritt is probably the oldest of the magicians and specializes in hypnotism and using behavioral cues to read thoughts. Basically all bullshit, but there are a few pieces of magic that work differently in this movie than they would in real life. The Director said that this is because this movie is sort of depicting how magic would be in an ideal world. Merritt is bearable in this film, but I really wish he would have just disappeared in the second film. Woody Harrelson doesn’t like to play the same role twice so he requested that he play the twin brother of his character in the second film as well as the original character if he was to stay on the project. Considering they just came up with a replacement for Henley, I really think they should have just done this for Merritt too. As much as I like how funny the character is and how he keeps things lighthearted, keeping his character was not worth… whatever that was. I swear that twin character was the most annoying part of the movie, twin tropes or no.

Jack Wilder (The Sleight):

Now, he’s really the cards guy. But more importantly, he’s the main con artist. If you aren’t watching him closely, and even if you are, he’ll steal your wallet before you can blink. He’s also especially skilled at throwing cards with such precision that he can cut a pencil in half. He’s got some talent. He’s also the youngest of the group of magicians (until Lula shows up) and really brings that sense of innocence to the team. You almost feel bad for him being thrown into this situation, as dangerous as it can be sometimes, but his enthusiasm to be there more than makes up for it.

Dylan Rhodes:

The fifth horseman and the son of the famous magician in this fictional world, Lionel Shrike. In the first movie he plays his role as the main officer on the case of the Horseman so well that you don’t suspect he’s one of them until at least well into the movie. And the reveal never gets old. It’s insane to watch it back and see how well he was playing his role. I just wish they hadn’t made him so weirdly dumb and angry in the second film.

Alma:

The Interpol agent that Dylan is stuck with who is unfortunately not in the second film. Which absolutely sucks because she was almost the heart of the first film. You can’t help but love her. She’s a complete badass and she has to be one of my favorite characters.

Though ‘Now You See Me’ is about the magic, I firmly believe that it is just as much about the characters. It really does take it’s time to develop each character well in a way that makes you care for them. It isn’t an action movie just for the sake of action and all of the characters are flawed. None of them feel too much like a trope. So, if you want a little extra magic and intrigue in your life right now, I highly recommend checking out the first movie at least. Only watch the second movie if you want to see Daniel Radcliffe miscast as what is basically Draco Malfoy. (Because it’s a magic franchise and apparently we had to get Daniel in there somewhere.)

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Infantilizing Idols

Promotional image of Kim Taehyung (V). Copyright goes to BigHit Entertainment and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

This specifically is an interesting problem because it’s something both fans of K-Pop and those who dislike K-Pop suffer from. It’s prevalent in multiple groups as well, though, being ARMY, I tend to notice it most in the BTS fandom. This problem doesn’t stem from using the term “baby” to describe a member who is doing something cute. It’s become pretty common for the use of the word “baby” to describe someone cute rather than negate their age, and even some K-Pop stars do this to each other. The problem lies within treating members like they are actually children. Some fans are oversensitive to the hard work the members do or get easily offended on behalf of an idol when they’re being teased. On the other hand, those who dislike or don’t know much about K-Pop often find themselves infantilizing the members as well, sometimes without knowing it. Looking into these problems makes it easier to dismantle this attitude and know when it’s actually appropriate to be protective of our favorite groups.

K-Pop Fans:

First lets talk about the way fans infantilize members because this often, but not always, comes from a place of well meaning. Fans care a lot for their favorite groups and idols, and don’t like to see them experiencing hardship. But groups like BTS are fully grown adults who know their emotional and physical limits. There is no reason for fans to get offended or worried on their behalf when they are clearly in control of the situation. A good example of this is Jungkook having to run onstage after realizing right before a song that a platform meant to lift him onto the stage was malfunctioning. When this footage leaked many ARMYs seemed overly concerned about how heavily he was breathing before the song started and praised him for continuing to perform despite it. This is infantilization. As someone who’s worked on stage before, you are always prepared for technology to stop working or for something to go wrong without you expecting it. Having to find a way around it is part of the job. On top of that, while it was probably a frustrating moment for Jungkook, BTS have dealt with plenty of faulty platforms before. He was clearly in control of the situation and didn’t have any problems performing the song. Sometimes it is simply best to trust that the members are competent enough to have everything under control.

Another example of infantilization are ARMY reactions to certain fights within the members of BTS. Recently a fight between Taehyung and Jin has been circulating again. This fight was highlighted in the film ‘Burn the Stage’ which showed a lot of behind the scenes footage of the members. Before one concert, while practicing choreography, Taehyung accidentally took a step too far. Jin, who was supposed to go up to join him, didn’t wind up having enough time to do so and move back into his position. Taehyung was frustrated by the mistake and went to confront Jin about it, Jin cracked a few jokes about the situation, and Taehyung became offended by his tone. Many Jin fans were upset about this fight because Taehyung had apparently caused the choreography mishap, and because the members of the group spent more time comforting Taehyung than Jin after their fight. Once again, this is infantilization. This fight was a petty one, one that you see amongst siblings or friends as close as BTS, and it happened several years ago. Namjoon scolded both members for fighting right before a concert, and many of the members went to comfort Taehyung because he had begun to cry while Jin showed no signs of doing so. Jin can take care of himself, the members know best how to calm each other down, and the problem was resolved years ago. There is no reason to continue being offended by it.

K-Pop Dislikers:

I put dislikers here because this isn’t exclusive to people actively trying to hate on K-Pop groups. This is something I’ve seen in many, including the people who don’t really care much about K-Pop at all. When it comes to the major groups a lot of people seem to view them as privileged teenagers. The opinion seems to be that they’re young and untalented, using their looks to catch the attention of young girls without writing songs or even working hard, relying on older businessmen for their fame. It’s important to note that the majority of K-Pop groups at this time consist of grown adults who are trying to create for multiple audiences. BTS specifically has a lot of control over what they release. All of the members have contributed songs and melodies, and the three members of the rap line have writing and producing credits for most of their songs. All of them have decided what messages they want to spread and the company has even supported individual mixtapes that the members have worked on by themselves to help them spread those messages. And even in cases where a groups content is being controlled by a more demanding company, there is no way for any member of a K-Pop group to “get by on looks”. K-Pop demands both dancing and singing skills that groups have to train in for years before debut. Companies also have a tendency to give idols who are faltering in either dancing or singing less center time and more lessons, so either way idols find themselves working very hard. The K-Pop industry is known for sometimes overworking their idols and shouldn’t be praised, but the artists should. BTS specifically took on almost every single responsibility, including photo shoots and choosing the songs on the album, for their latest release. They are not children to be ignored. (And the young girls who enjoy their work shouldn’t be ignored either, nor should it be assumed they’re K-Pop’s only audience.)

So what’s the difference between protecting your favorite idols and infantilizing them? Situation. If you are getting overly angry because of a squabble that happened several years ago, you’re being overprotective and infantilizing an idol who likely doesn’t dwell on that situation at all anymore, if they even remember it. If your favorite idol is facing racism, sexism, and overall being mistreated by others, it is completely fair to be protective. Work to dismantle the old-fashioned thinking that is keeping K-Pop groups and idols from receiving the respect they deserve. Don’t focus your attention on small squabbles and easily solvable problems. Idols can take care of themselves.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Marvel: Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 1

Poster of Emily Van Camp, Anthony Mackie, and Sebastian Stan in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Copyright of Marvel and the Disney Company.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Well, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ just premiered on Disney + and I can honestly say that I’m baffled. I went into this show having no idea what to expect in the first place and I’m still pretty unsure of what to expect, but I’ll get more into that later. I honestly didn’t like the trailers that had been released for this. I thought the action felt a little cheap and the comedy fell flat. One trailer featured Sam teasing Bucky for getting beat up by a girl, which is a really old joke that I don’t really find funny. So what he was beat up by a girl? But I digress. Anyways, going into this my expectations were low. The ending of WandaVision didn’t make that any better, because I’m not sure how anything can come after that. I can honestly say that I was very bored by this premiere and I’m not sure how much they’ll be able to accomplish in six episodes. Especially after this one episode that felt more like exposition than an episode. But let’s get into it. SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Sorry.

Sam Wilson (The Falcon):

I have a lot of love for the character of Sam. He’s one of my new favorite characters in the MCU and I really loved the idea of him getting his own show. This episode disappointed me right off the bat when it comes to his character. We open on Sam in a giant action sequence that feels right out of one of the actual movies. My issue with this action sequence is that it didn’t actually seem to have anything to do with the plot. It was action just for the sake of action. Then we see him handing Cap’s shield over to the government to be put away in a museum. This is what made me most angry throughout the entire episode. I actually really liked the storyline about how Sam was unwilling to pick up the shield because he’s not sure he wants to represent a country that does not represent him. That was a well thought out storyline that I thought was insanely important, especially now. But why would Sam ever give Cap’s shield over to the government? Force it back onto Bucky? Absolutely. Keep it in the back of his closet to collect dust? Sure. Steve probably would have liked both of those things better. Because if anyone had a giant mistrust of the government, especially when it came to himself and his image, it was Steve Rogers. Giving anything so dear to Steve over to the government feels so absolutely out of character for Sam Wilson. Sam and Rhodey were at each other’s throats in Civil War just for them to suddenly agree on giving Steve’s shield away? I know this was to set up the eventual conflict with the government making their own new Captain America, but this was a nonsensical way to get there. I at least liked seeing Sam with his sister.

Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier):

When we come back to Bucky Barnes we still get the feeling of brooding that we always get from him. Bucky hasn’t gotten much character development in the MCU other than brooding and I’m not sure this first episode gave me any hope in regards to that. He starts out the episode having a nightmare where he killed an innocent witness as the Winter Soldier. We then cut to Bucky doing mandatory therapy; a scene that is entirely shot with extremely angled close ups that I absolutely couldn’t stand. Bucky has been trying to get all of the people he had done jobs for arrested. This resulted in a hilarious scene where he scared a politician who had used him, beat up someone in her car, and then smiled awkwardly at her while telling her that it was part of his therapy. Later we find out that Bucky has befriended the father of the witness he killed in order to try and make amends. We also see Bucky on a date that doesn’t go so well as his date, Leah, begins to talk about how the old man he has befriended just wants to know how his son died. I am a bit suspicious of Leah because a quick look on IMDB told me that she’s actually listed for all six episodes of the series. This felt exactly like watching Bucky buy his plums at the beginning of Civil War, just much much longer. It’s still his regular brooding self and I really hope we get something more dynamic out of him soon. Also, I have to say, how could Steve leave Bucky like this? But that’s something I cover more in my post about how Peggy Carter shouldn’t have ended up with Steve.

Sharon Carter (Agent 13):

Unfortunately, Sharon Carter has not made an appearance yet. I’m really hoping that we’ll get a lot of this character, but I was definitely disappointed that she wasn’t at all in one of only six episodes. Sharon Carter has been pushed into the love interest position for too long and I really want to actually see her kick ass. Apparently, not yet though.

The Chemistry:

A lot of people were excited about this being a buddy cop style show with Sam and Bucky. Especially because they seemed to have such good chemistry in Civil War. Unfortunately for those people, Sam and Bucky don’t even meet up in the first episode. Everything important that they don’t include just feels several times more baffling because the series is supposed to be so short. This first episode really made me wonder what the point of this show is even supposed to be.

To put this in short, the show didn’t even set up a plot. There’s barely anything that you can take from this episode that seems like you can make an entire series out of it. As soon as the episode ended my family remarked on how boring it was. The first words out of my mouth were that the episode felt like a collection of downtime deleted scenes. Nothing felt very coherent and nothing felt plot relevant. It was really difficult to care about what was happening. I’m hoping that the show will get better from here on out, but I can’t say that I’m optimistic about that. This was a very nothing premiere for such a short series and I’m not sure how they can pick this up if they started it out so slow. Especially because the main writer said that this show is the exact opposite of the intrigue of WandaVision. That makes me worry that the entire series will be like this. I’d be absolutely happy to be proved wrong, but I think this one is going to be more of a fail. Right now I’m just going to be waiting for Loki to come out. But I’ll keep you posted! Who knows, maybe I’ll love it. Or maybe I’ll end up putting it down. Either way, I’ll be sure to let you know.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: What I Learned About BTS From ‘Bon Voyage’ Season 1

Screenshot of Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, and Jeon Jungkook from ‘BTS Bon Voyage’. Copyright goes to BigHit Entertainment and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’m currently in the middle of watching ‘BTS Bon Voyage’ to help pass the time and it’s really amazing so far. You get so many insights into the members personalities and it’s insanely fun watching them goof around. However, you also get to learn what it’s like to travel with them. Every member seems to have their own anxieties, fall backs, and hilarious quirks when they’re left to make their own decisions while exploring somewhere new. And it’s not simply that they always make a point to go shopping after they find their hotel. From the frustrating to the hilarious, here’s what I learned about what it’s like to travel with each member.

Namjoon (RM):

Namjoon’s a pretty responsible traveler on the surface. He’s constantly keeping track of all the members and whenever they need his English speaking skills he’s more than willing to step in. He also takes it upon himself to settle most issues the group needs settled. When Jimin lost his suitcase he called the bus company to find it, he instructed Jimin on how to ask for his suitcase in English, and he called the hostel owner when the time had come for them to settle in. He also isn’t a huge spender. He likes to enjoy the nature in every location he visits and he doesn’t always feel the need to spend money to do so. He does go shopping with the other members, but he’s very careful about what he chooses to spend money on. There’s one major problem with Namjoon, however. He’s extremely forgetful. In the first season he decided to forgo riding a cable car to hike up a hill, only to forget his backpack at the top. Luckily the staff had found it before they left, but it would have cost 30 dollars to send him back up for his backpack. After this he lost his passport and had to fly back to Korea two days earlier than everyone else. He was, understandably, very upset and it was heartbreaking to see him fly back. And yet, somehow, this was not the last time he lost his passport.

Jin:

Jin is another responsible traveler, but unlike Namjoon, he’s a bit more responsible with his belongings as well. Jin will forgo many things to eat a good meal, but he isn’t a big spender. Like Namjoon, he’s careful about what he spends money on. He’s more likely to take time to rest than visit a lot of shopping areas. He’s pretty laid back too. Whenever something unexpected occurs he makes the most of it and remains content. He simply seems to enjoy vacationing, regardless of what he ends up doing. On the other hand, Jin can be a bit too confident in himself at times. He and Jimin once spent way too much time walking to their hotel because Jin didn’t really know where he was going despite his apparent confidence. He’s also the most likely of the members to randomly interact with people on the street despite the obvious embarrassment of whoever he’s with. But overall, he seems to be a pretty sensible travel companion.

Yoongi (Suga):

Yoongi is certainly an interesting traveler. Like Namjoon, he takes up a few of the groups responsibilities when they travel. Namely, taking care of their finances. He is always extremely aware of how much money they’re spending, how much they have left, and how much each thing they do will cost. In fact, he was made fun of multiple times for his habit of counting money the instant the staff handed him any. There was no worry that the group would go overbudget when he was around. Yoongi is also pretty laid back, though in a different way than Jin. If he’s tired, he will forgo activities without feeling like he’s missing anything. At times he even decided to use the inspiration the trip gave him to write music, regardless of what was planned for the day. He doesn’t feel obligated to explore, though he does enjoy it. He simply gives himself time to rest as well. He also has a habit of losing things with the somewhat reckless opinion that they’ll find their way back to him eventually. When leaving a hostel the staff had to pick up his iPad when he left it on the counter. This isn’t as reoccurring of a problem as Namjoon’s, however.

Hoseok (J-Hope):

Hobi is the opposite of a laid back traveler. Like Namjoon, he looks after the entire group throughout each trip. He makes sure everyone has what they need, and when they don’t he’s ready to help. But he can be pretty anxious when things go wrong. When Jimin lost his suitcase Hobi was very obviously concerned about it and didn’t relax until Jimin had it again. Another instance he was careless with the tickets for a cable car ride, believing the group didn’t need them anymore. When he realized that they did need them, he instantly became paler. A kind stranger returned them to him and Hobi sang the stranger’s praises for a good ten minutes afterwards. Hobi is friendly and not easily embarrassed. He held conversations with various English speakers, including some fans, and was very complimentary of everyone he met. He also easily figured out that if he told everyone he was on “important business”, he could kindly turn them down when they asked for a picture. He even openly dances in public places without batting an eye, though he became quickly embarrassed when a crowd started to form on one occasion. He’s an energetic travel companion who seems to be the most likely to worry of everyone in the group.

Jimin:

Jimin has his share of quirks when it comes to traveling. He’s one of the members who seems to enjoy himself regardless of what he’s doing or who he’s hanging out with. He’s also very conscious of the other members. Whenever the group splits up he always makes sure that he tags along with whoever’s alone. At one point this led him into an exhausting hike with Namjoon. He was also the go-to member to call if one of the boys was separated from the rest for any reason. He can be a frustrating travel companion, however. For one, he almost rivals Namjoon in his ability to lose items. At their first location Jimin became so enamored by the scenery that he left his suitcase on the bus. On another occasion he left his suitcase right in front of the airport despite the fact that he was standing right next to it. Fortunately, that time he noticed it before they left. Jimin is also notorious for being late. Whenever the group is ready to leave a location they find that Jimin is in the bathroom. Whenever they leave their hotel for the morning they have to wait several more minutes for Jimin to join them. He does like his sleep.

Taehyung:

Chaos. This man is chaos. In the first season of this series Tae was forced to travel separately from the rest of the members on two occasions. The first occasion was because he was filming at the time, forcing him to leave a day later than everyone else. When he arrived on location he was instructed to go straight to the hostel, but instead he treated the staff attending him to TGI Fridays because he was hungry. Despite the fact that he, and the other members, were supposed to stick to a budget provided by the staff. The second time he travelled alone, this time because he overslept and underestimated the amount of time it would take the other members to reach the airport, his flight got delayed. When he finally arrived in their next location he was instructed to take a bus, but he got so tired of waiting for the bus that he used his ticket to board a random bus instead. This bus, unsurprisingly, took him to the wrong location. He and the staff members ended up in the middle of nowhere, where the director was forced to drive two hours out to in order to retrieve them. However, this is also the beauty of Taehyung. He’s an absolute romantic. One of the reasons why he wanted to stay out and eat before reaching the hostel was because he saw so many people wearing cultural outfits and wanted to spend time taking in the crowds and the atmosphere. When he was lost he told Jimin over the phone that the beautiful greenery made up for it all. He even decided to walk to a river despite the worrying situation. He absolutely shouldn’t travel alone, but you can’t help but admire his outlook.

Jungkook:

Responsible? No. Troublesome? Also no. He doesn’t lose his things and he’s pretty content to follow the instructions of the older members. Jungkook doesn’t ever seem to have much of a set agenda. He seems content to follow whoever has an adventurous idea. Whether that means going for a hike, joining in on a shopping spree, or simply eating a large meal, he always seems content. He enjoys goofing around with the other members and, so long as he’s doing that, he’s happy. He relies on the other members for a lot of things but that doesn’t seem to bother him or anyone else. He’s still pretty serious about his self care, even abroad. He was so worried about the smell of his clothes that he wound up doing the laundry for all the members on their trip. He also loves taking pictures, which on some occasions meant he stopped in the middle of nowhere to pull out his camera and the other members nearly left him behind. Fortunately, he was with Hobi on most of these occasions, who is far too aware to leave Jungkook behind.

Of course, all of this was back in 2016 so many of their habits have probably changed since then. I guess I’ll have to watch the other seasons to see what changes. And, as always, I’ll fill you in as I go along!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Theme Parks: Diagon Alley

Photograph of Universal Studios Orlando’s Diagon Alley. Copyright goes to Universal Studios.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Lately I’ve been on a kick of sharing a little about some of my geeky travels and I figured that this was the next stop. Sure, I’ve been to Universal Studios and seen Hogsmeade tons of times. After Disneyland raised their prices for the upteenth time and my family couldn’t afford it anymore, it seemed like the natural place to go after was the much cheaper Universal Studios Hollywood. I’m actually not mad at this at all, though I do miss it since I’ve been in quarantine for so long. But I did actually visit the Orlando equivalent of my favorite home park, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. Though it’s mostly because of Harry Potter. (The Cat in the Hat ride at ‘Islands of Adventure’ is terrifying). Though I will never be able to get over Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts castle, there’s something about Diagon Alley that I liked better. I don’t know if it’s the general feeling or the fact that it’s not something I can see as often, but I really do like Diagon Alley better. Let’s get into why this is one of my favorite things I have ever seen from a theme park in my life.

The Buildings:

I know Hogsmeade has the weirdly shaped buildings that feel very cottage-y and cozy. I love those too! But the different shaped, colored, and leaning buildings really makes you feel transported into a distinctly wizardy world. Each shop has a unique sign to go along with it’s unique color and there’s also plenty to explore. The shops here feel much more diverse in what they sell as well and it makes it feel like there’s much more to see.

Madame Malkin’s:

This is the shop that Harry, Ron, and Hermione shopped at to buy new robes and sometimes robes for special occasions. Like the Yule Ball for instance. Because of that you can see several costumes from the film inside the store including Hermione’s Yule Ball gown, Fleur’s wedding dress, and also some specific Death Eater robes. One of the best parts of the store is a large mirror that will talk to you if you stand in front of it and will give you an opinion on your outfit.

Florean Fortescue’s:

This is the ice cream parlor from the books. I distinctly remember it’s mention in the third book when Harry visits there every day to do homework during his stay at Diagon Alley. Florean Fortescue gives him free ice cream and even helps him out with his homework at times. Because this is a shop mentioned frequently in the books, it is to be expected that the shop has flavors that are mentioned in the books. The butterbeer ice cream is almost better than butterbeer itself and the shop also carries strawberry peanut butter ice cream as well as raspberry chocolate. I’ve tried all three of those flavors and fell in love with each of them. Seriously, some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life.

The Entrance:

Almost nothing beats the way you enter Diagon Alley. Outside is the depiction of a London street that includes Kings Cross Station (which is what you use if you take the train in between both parks) and it also actually features Grimmauld Place. If you keep an eye on the windows over the street you’ll be able to spot Kreacher peeking out. The street also has the Knight Bus, the purple double decker bus that’s from the third book and movie. You have to walk past a seemingly closed brick wall to see where the wall has come apart, just like it does when Hagrid taps the wall in the first movie, in order to then enter Diagon Alley.

Knockturn Alley:

I wasn’t actually entirely expecting the length to which they went in making this look authentic. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of Diagon Alley. The entrance is slightly secluded, but there is an ominous arrow pointing to the dark alley where it really feels like you might get mugged if it wasn’t in a theme park. Here you can visit Borgin and Burkes which features one of my absolute favorite props in all of the parks. Remember the vanishing cabinet that Draco uses in the sixth book and film to transport Death Eaters into Hogwarts? It’s there. If you stand close to it you can hear the chirping of a bird inside, like it’s possibly stuck in eternal nothingness after Draco’s first failed test of the object.

Gringotts:

This is the focal point of Diagon Alley and it really is for a reason. When you enter, the first thing you see is the giant dragon from the seventh movie on top of the wizarding bank. Every once in a while it will roar rather loudly and spit fire, so if you’re sensitive to loud noises you might want to be aware of that. Upon entering the bank in order to get to the ride that is the focal point of the experience, you get an attraction within the ride. Every piece of this line is meant to be enjoyed once you enter the hall of goblins. Each animatronic feels real and the room is uncommonly big. Almost intimidatingly so. Throughout the line Harry, Ron, and Hermione, can often be heard or kind of seen shuffling about trying to find one of the final horcruxes. So this is Hermione as Bellatrix for some of it. You then enter an elevator where you are met by Bill Weasley (we should not forget that he’s a curse breaker for Gringotts), who takes you down a large elevator that really moves and shifts. The elevator was really fun for me, but I can see how it would make someone motion sick.

Escape from Gringotts:

When I first went on this ride the attraction had just opened. Because of this, they were having technical problems. The ride is still known for having technical problems, but it’s not as bad as it was. My family and I literally got to the very front of the line and were about to board the themed mine cars when the ride broke down. We stood there for an hour waiting for the ride to come back up. Thankfully, one of the people working on the ride was very kind and charismatic and talked to us through the entirety of the situation to help us pass the time. I do actually find Universal employees to be more pleasant than Disneyland ones in both California and Orlando, but I digress. This ride was totally worth the wait. It was fast paced and so immersive. The minute you leave the loading dock you are confronted with Voldemort which gets your adrenaline racing and you’re like that for the rest of the ride. It’s definitely one of my favorite rides I’ve ever experienced.

Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes:

Obviously, my favorite shop. Though I guess it’s not too obvious because I really love that ice cream. It looks exactly like it does in the movies and with the stairs leading upstairs it feels like Fred and George might appear at any moment. Maybe because they would considering Oliver and James Phelps love visiting this park in particular and have been spotted there. The shop is actually a little narrow and can be hard to navigate in large crowds. But it’s worth seeing even if you have to dip out right away due to claustrophobia. When I was there it was pretty empty. I just have to warn you though; if you buy a pygmy puff they will ask you what you’re naming it and announce it to the entire store. There are no exceptions. Just accept it and laugh. I did not know this going in and blushed bright red, especially because I hadn’t thought of a name for it when I bought it. I ended up just saying Arnold because that’s the name of Ginny’s in the books.

There you have it! Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Orlando is one of the most unique and amazing experiences that you’ll ever find in a theme park. I want to go back so badly now! Curse my need for travel!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Marvel: What I Want to See From the Characters in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’

Screenshot of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Disney+.

Hey! Hallie here!

This Friday the hole that ‘WandaVision’ left in Marvel fan’s hearts is set to be filled with Marvel’s new series, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. There’s no knowing how good this series will really be, and I’m not here to speculate about that. But I do love the characters that are starring in this series and I’ve wanted more from them for quite a long while. In the past our three main characters, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Sharon Carter, had been given decent set ups and were then pushed aside. There have even been some glaring missteps in the MCU’s writing for these characters thus far. This is what has happened to these characters so far and what I hope to see from their storylines when the series airs on Friday.

Sam Wilson:

Sam was first introduced into the MCU in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. From the beginning of the movie his relationship with Steve Rodgers was heartwarming, especially because they could confide in each other over their shared trauma. It wasn’t surprising that Sam Wilson decided to take Steve and Natasha in without hesitation when they were on the run. His loyalty was well appreciated by Steve, who managed to retrieve the experimental technology that was Sam’s Falcon wings so that he could join their team. Sam was shown to be a pretty laid back guy with a good sense of humor and a strong sense of right and wrong. It wasn’t surprising that Steve liked him so much. But his friendship with Steve took an immediate backseat to Steve’s friendship with Bucky. Even though Sam literally made Bucky sit in the backseat in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, it was clear who the movie was really about. In fact, one of the major reasons why Steve was so willing to fight Tony was because he wanted to protect Bucky. Steve did give Sam the shield when the time came for him to give it up, but the two didn’t spend nearly enough screen time developing their bond. Part of that was because writers decided not to give Sam much screen time at all, which was a huge problem in the MCU that specifically targeted their first few BIPOC superheroes and still lingers. What I want to see from this show is the full main character treatment. I want a more full exploration of his relationship with Steve Rogers, but I also want a full development of his character in general. I want to know more about his life and his past. I want to see him be more than just the comic relief. I want to see how he interprets taking on the Captain America responsibilities and the struggles he faces that are specific to his character. Sam Wilson deserves to show everyone why he got the shield.

Bucky Barnes:

I talked a lot about the focus on his friendship with Steve above but, despite his much larger amounts of screen time, he still has faced a lot of issues in past movies. His introduction was in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ where Bucky was already friends with Steve. He was a bit of a flirt and somewhat conceited, but his care for Steve showed just how big his heart really was. And then, towards the end of the movie, Bucky died. When he reappeared in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ his personality was nowhere to be found. Despite the fact that the movie focused quite a bit on Steve’s relationship with Bucky, it was all from Steve’s perspective. Bucky’s brainwashing made him nothing more than an emotionless murderer throughout the movie. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ saw the return of Bucky without the brainwashing. But his personality was definitely not on display. He was mostly quiet and his main goal throughout the movie was simply to survive. Once again, his relationship with Steve was focused heavily on Steve’s emotions. Apart from a few short comments about the past, Bucky was still devoid of most of his own emotions. What I want to see from Bucky in this series is a full exploration of his personality. He doesn’t have to be the same as he was in the first ‘Captain America’ film, and after all he’s gone through, I don’t imagine that’s even possible. But I do want to see what has stayed the same despite all the years that have passed. I also want to see more differences from his past self aside from simply “he’s quiet now”. I don’t want to see the strong, silent character type he’s been portrayed as in the last few movies. I want to see a more complex personality from him.

Sharon Carter:

Oh boy. Here we go. We saw very little from Sharon Carter in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, but that is where we were first introduced to her. She worked undercover for SHIELD as Steve’s neighbor so that they could keep an eye on him. She was very nice to him and clearly very good at her job because he didn’t suspect her. But she also earned immediate distrust from Steve when she revealed herself to be an agent. Despite the distrust, she proved that she was on Steve’s side when she decided to stand up against Hydra. We saw Sharon again in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and, once again, she wasn’t around for long. She grieved with Steve when her aunt, Peggy Carter, died and she helped him for a very short amount of time. She also kissed him, which was really creepy considering he was still in love with her aunt. Overall the creepiness of her relationship with Steve ended up turning most audiences against her character. In this show I’m hoping they make audiences regret brushing her off. I want to see her personality, because we haven’t actually seen it yet. I want to know about her past, especially with her aunt as one of the founders of SHIELD. I want little to no mention of her relationship with Steve and I don’t really want to see her act as a love interest at all in this series. I just want to see her move past her awkward beginnings and prove how big of a badass she is.

And that’s it! There are plenty more reoccurring characters set to pop up in this series, but I’m really hoping for these three to get the major focus they deserve. I’m excited to see what this series has in store. If it’s anywhere near the quality of ‘WandaVision’, it’ll definitely be a fun series to dive into. I guess we’ll see on Friday!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Don’t Mess With BTS

Official photo from the 2021 Grammys performance. (From left) Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Kim Taehyung, Jung Hoseok, and Min Yoongi. Copyright goes to BigHit Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I’m sorry, but I can’t leave the stuff about the Grammys just yet. Especially not after the new developments from today. Because if you mess with BTS you’re going to get on the nerves of the very protective ARMY, and now we’ve actually seen some of the effects of that. Yes, BTS lost the Grammy last night, but after some results from today regarding last night’s Grammys the question becomes; did they actually lose? I know I’ve been vocal from the beginning about how I want the Grammys to die out and I don’t really think it’s relevant anymore. But still, Namjoon’s “told you so” broke all of our hearts. Somehow, that pain has all been lessened for me now.

Ratings:

The ratings for the Grammys were released this morning and we actually got to have a look at how much the Grammys was actually effected by all the boycotting. For the record, the Grammys of 2020 hit a disappointing low for the creators after they received about eighteen million views. This was second lowest just above 2006’s record low of seventeen million, and both numbers were significantly lower than the other Grammy years. This year they received just around eight million views. That is less than half of their lowest year. It is a catastrophic low for the Grammys that many news sites are reporting could mark the end for all shows of this nature. To put this in perspective ‘The Masked Singer’, which does not receive good reviews in the US, is now the most watched program on CBS over the Grammys. That’s absolutely insane.

How did BTS factor in?:

Not long after BTS’s performance in the actual show, it was dropped to Youtube just like the other performances from that day were. In a few minutes the video received more views than the entire Grammys had in it’s three hour run time. Not long after the event BTS also went live on Vlive, it was short but also ended up with more views than the Grammys in that short amount of time. In fact, BTS’s Grammy related videos have received more views than anything else from the Grammys either, including performances.

What ARMY did:

BTS’s fanbase is known for being large and passionate. Yesterday the members of ARMY didn’t really attack Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, but they still voiced their disappointment in several important ways. The hashtag scammy’s was trending all night mostly due to ARMY as well as many calling for a boycott directly after BTS lost their award in the pre-show. With the entirety of this fanbase boycotting after as well as the fanbases of several artists who called out the Grammys this year, the show had to face the problem of fandom boycott as well as the growing lack of interest for a show that is now seen as something for rich people.

Media Acknowledgement:

We have to give massive shout outs to the major media platforms who reported the ratings today as well as giving some credit to ARMY. Earlier today Forbes released an article detailing the mistreatment of BTS at the Grammys for the last several years. They included the fact that BTS was left until last to try and garner more viewers as well as how BTS should have been up for more awards. Though I have seen major K-Pop blogs and websites post articles like this, I didn’t expect such an extensive article backing up ARMY and BTS from Forbes today. But this wasn’t the only place that this backlash appeared. The anger of ARMY caught the attention of none other than Philip DeFranco, the most popular news channel on Youtube. He also discussed how BTS was only nominated for one Grammy that wasn’t in the main show despite all the records they’ve broken and talked, again, about how the Grammys led people on, only to stick BTS at the very end of the show. The mistreatment of BTS got more media time because of this event than it ever has before.

What does this mean?:

I’m not sure exactly what to make of this, but I’m absolutely certain that it will make people more aware of the mistreatment of BTS. This has added to the list of dings on the name of the Grammys, especially the many that happened this year with all of the boycotting due to various artists. But not only that, it’s statistical proof of one of the major hashtags last night. Who really needs who? The obvious answer here is that the Grammys need BTS, not the other way around. BTS has become a band that’s too big for the Grammys. And in a way all of this could effect the way any western awards shows are treated when it comes to BTS from here on out. Only time will tell what that really means.

Good job ARMY for sticking up for our boys last night! Though I know all of us including the amazing member of BTS were a little disappointed, we made much more of a impact than I think anyone thought we would. BTS may have lost last night, but today this feels a little more like a victory.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie