Twins in Media: Flora and Fauna

Screenshot of Maureen Sue Levin as Flora Amor and Darleen Levin as Fauna Amor in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’. Copyright goes to Orion Pictures and Paramount Pictures

Hey! Hallie here!

To continue our first group of Halloween twin posts, let’s talk about these conjoined twins from ‘The Addams Family’! These two aren’t in much of the movie, but they become a major focus of the Mamushka that occurs later on in the movie. Conjoined twins are always a difficult subject to tackle and almost never done correctly by writers. They are the types of twins most likely to be written as some sort of circus act or oddity. Given the fact that this is an Addams Family movie, I think you can tell this one might not go so well. We don’t have much screen time to work with when it comes to these two, but there’s plenty to dive into from what we are given. So let’s see how ‘The Addams Family’ fairs when it comes to accuracy.

The Good:

  • Two different actresses. These twins were played by actual twins. Not conjoined twins, but still twins. Maureen Sue Levin and Darleen Levin allow for differences to come through with Flora and Fauna, simply because they’re two different actresses with different skills. It’s also nice to be able to see the differences when you look between them. Twins may look similar, but there are always differences. As a twin who can spot differences between twins pretty easily, it feels much more like I’m being represented when I can tell there are two different people on screen rather than just one. Also, they have my respect for being able to move so well during the dance scene while being stuck in the same dress.

The Bad:

  • The same person. There are so many jokes made about this throughout their small time in the movie, and it kind of sucks. Sure they argue, and yes, they get offended when someone mixes them up. But those events are all used for laughs. The joke that stands out the most is said by Morticia: “You’re twice the woman I am”. This seems like a pretty light joke, but it’s exactly what twins want to stop seeing in media. Most twins you have ever, or will ever, come in contact with, have been told at some point that they’re basically the same person. Comments like these come from people who find it fun to see twins walking around and otherwise have no interest in knowing the large differences between the siblings. Twins are very different people who happen to look alike. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even when twins have similar interests, or are even conjoined, there are still major differences between them. Even if these jokes were only focused on the fact that these two are conjoined, it still isn’t acceptable. All twins deserve to be acknowledged as different people.
  • Circus act. This is the most frequent representation of conjoined twins we see in media. Conjoined twins are even more of a rarity than twins are, so the media has taken to treat them as an oddity. This is exactly what ‘The Addams Family’ does. While they might not be directly connected to a circus, Flora and Fauna are present at the Mamushka because they’re such an oddity, which works well for the Addams. Pointing to any person as an oddity tends to normalize separating them from the rest of society. Conjoined twins should not be treated the same as a man who is basically just a small mass of hair, or an animate hand. While two of those things are completely fictional, conjoined twins do exist and deserve to be treated as human beings. Not as some form of entertainment for others to gawk at.
  • The same lives. Yes, I know they’re conjoined twins. That leaves them with very little options. Still, as everyone does, they have different relationships with the people they come in contact with. Flora and Fauna, subsequently, should be allowed differing opinions on people they encounter and what they want to accomplish in their lives. They aren’t allowed either of these things. Instead, they act the same way around all of the characters and flirt with the same people. Sometimes they’ll get jealous of each other, but in the end their jealousy is brushed off as a joke. After all, both are still interested in Fester and have no problem when he shows affection to both of them. They also both went with Gomez to prom as his date. For regular twins this would lend itself to the fetishization of twins, but here it’s used for more comedy. ‘Why would anyone be interested in these two? They’re conjoined!’ Conjoined twins are no less beautiful or desirable than any other human. Conjoined twins also, as all twins do, have different interests when it comes to romance. It’s not likely at all that two twins, conjoined or not, would be interested in the same men.

So are Flora and Fauna a good example of twin representation? Why am I even asking this question? You know the answer. It’s no. They’re awful. They do more to make twins look like abnormal entertainment than regular people who deserve respect. To be fair, everyone in an Addams Family movie is portrayed as abnormal. But that’s usually because they have an abnormality that helps them fit into the theming. Like a mother who allows her daughter to brutally electrocute her son for fun. Flora and Fauna are only present because they’re conjoined twins. Not for any other reason. The writers needed to come up with something more creative if they wanted to use these two in ‘The Addams Family’, because conjoined twins aren’t abnormalities that exist for fun, gothic, entertainment.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Twins in Media: Yubaba and Zeniba

Screenshot from ‘Spirited Away’ (2001). Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli and Toho.

Hi! It’s Annie!

For the last couple weeks of twins in media in October, we actually have Halloween themed twin characters! ‘Spirited Away’ is definitely one of my favorite animated films and I absolutely love Haku and Chihiro. I’m just a sucker for those two characters. But so many of the characters in this movie are so adorable! Unfortunately, this description doesn’t really fit either Yubaba or her sister Zeniba. Yubaba is made to look kind of creepy, and they made Zeniba to look exactly like her. You actually spend most of the movie completely unaware that Yubaba even has a sister. In the end, neither of these characters are necessarily fan favorites from this movie, but nevertheless, they were presented to the audience as twins so they’re fair game.

The Good:

  • Different lives. Yubaba and Zeniba have different personalities and live very different lives. While this movie probably takes that too far (I’ll get back to that later), it’s still very noticeable that they act differently and have different relationships with the other characters in the movie.

The Bad:

  • Long-lost twin. Now you might argue that Yubaba knows that Zeniba exists; but I would argue that this trope still applies when the audience doesn’t know the other character has a twin sibling until most of the way through the movie. Yubaba doesn’t even mention Zeniba for most of the movie, to the point that I thought Zeniba appearing came out of absolutely nowhere. What’s more, Zeniba doesn’t truly have a whole lot of bearing on the over-all plot. She’s more used as a nice presence to help guide the main character, kind of like a good fairy though she’s more like a witch. The long-lost twin trope is only ever used to add drama into a situation. It is never presented as natural and feeds into this idea that twins are weird, unnatural, and dramatic occurrences. This is the more extreme version of separated at birth, and it’s never used for realistic purposes. These large twists of drama in shows or movies have never been my favorite, and they definitely aren’t good for the portrayal of twins in media.
  • Evil twin. I don’t think we’ve covered this one yet, and I’ve been DYING to talk about this trope. I don’t think I’d be able to count how many times my sister and I have been asked which one of us is the evil twin. Both not seriously and…actually seriously. There’s this immense love of supernatural twins in the media, probably because we’re born on the same day but I’m honestly not sure how this got so big. A lot of supernatural views on twins insist that one twin must be a lot of one thing and the other a lot of the other (or at least not a lot of the first thing). Again, this is a more dramatic version of the opposites trope. In this case, one of the twins got all the goodness leaving the other to be completely evil. Obviously, this does not exist. We’re not weird experimental humans. Twins are all regular human beings with equal capacity for good or evil. Me being nice to you and getting along with you doesn’t mean my sister will hate your guts. (In the same vein, just because I like you doesn’t mean my sister will.) As much as everyone really wants to see my sister and I (and all twins) as a Yin and Yang situation; that’s not realistic. We are both complicated human beings. We have similarities and differences and we aren’t two sides of the same coin or two halves of a whole. We are each our own whole person.
  • Sibling dislike. This isn’t necessarily indicative of twins completely, but it’s still something I want to point out. How many shows have the storyline of one sibling being a good guy and having to put a stop to the actions of their other sibling? Sometimes it feels like there are very few wholesome depictions of siblings in the media between the sibling-that-needs-to-be-stopped trope and the constantly-fighting trope. I mentioned this a little bit in my post on Dipper and Mabel, but I really want to see more depictions of siblings that are actually supportive of each other.
  • Exact Same Appearance. This didn’t have to happen. In some live action portrayals of twins they’ll use the exact same person. While I’d prefer these to actually use twins or even just use two actors that aren’t related, it makes sense here that the twins would look the exact same. This is an animation. They could have drawn them to look different and they could have cast two different people to voice the characters. Because, yep, in every version Yubaba and Zeniba have the same voice actress. Even little differences would have been nice, but there is purposefully no difference in their appearances or voices. I guess this is to emphasize their twin-ness? Which makes no sense considering, like I’ve mentioned before, my sister and I aren’t the same at all. We look different, our voices sound different, we like a lot of different things. If you spent time with us in real life it probably wouldn’t take you long to be able to tell us apart. I really wish the media wouldn’t teach audiences to treat twins like a weird hybrid creature. We’re regular siblings that just happened to be born on the same day.

So, is this a good example of twin representation in media?

Definitely not. I will admit that these two have very different personalities that aren’t exactly opposites, which is good. But that doesn’t erase the fact that they are a great example of the evil twin trope. There are many other representations of twins that did the evil twin trope in a way that was so much worse, but this one hits home for me because I love this movie so much. My main comfort with these two comes from the fact that them being twins is kind of pushed into the background. It isn’t focused on, so the massive flaws remain hidden through most of the movie and don’t take away from the enjoyment I get watching this movie. But, it’s still there and I always dislike seeing it. When the best thing I can say about a pair of twin characters is that I’m just glad they were pushed into the background; it isn’t great. It doesn’t feel great. Really, I would like to see twin characters that are a focus but are actually treated like other human beings and regular siblings. For a movie that I have begun using as a comfort film, it’s disappointing to have such a bad depiction of twins in it.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: How BTS is Constantly Disrespected

Promotional image from the set of the “IDOL” music video. (From left) Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Min Yoongi (Suga), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Jeon Jungkook (Jungkook), Kim Namjoon (RM), and Park Jimin (Jimin). All rights go to BTS’s social media and ‘Big Hit Entertainment’.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’m going to take a small break from the Fall posts to talk about BTS. Mainly because recent events have highlighted how little respect they receive. Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Jason Derulo. Jason Derulo has a history of using various artists for their work without giving them the recognition they deserve. Even before the release of the original version of the song “Savage Love”, he was questioned for not crediting Jawsh 685. Jawsh 685 was the teen behind the beat of the song and the initial sound that went viral on TikTok. Jason Derulo hadn’t even secured an agreement with him when he decided to take the sound for his new song. Now Derulo is back at it, this time forgetting to credit either Jawsh 685 or BTS for getting the song to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. There are reasons to be angry on behalf of both parties, but the BTS situation is an entirely different beast on its own. Jason Derulo recently went on ‘The Ellen Show’ and admitted that he didn’t know who BTS were when he met them, but decided to collaborate with them when he saw how large their fanbase was. This is, unfortunately, common in the Western music industry. Many artists and shows have been using BTS for the numbers ARMY will give them, rather than for their skills and talents. If you’re unsure exactly why this harms BTS, let’s hop right into this issue. There’s definitely a lot to unpack.

Jason Derulo vs MAX: You’ll see a lot of members of ARMY comparing these two right now. Jason Derulo obviously didn’t know much about BTS when the “Savage Love” cover was created. He agreed to the partnership because of the popularity ARMY could potentially give him with BTS attached to the project. Which is exactly what happened. Jason Derulo didn’t respect BTS, nor did he make any effort to get to know them or their work. He saw a group with a lot of fame and took advantage of them. MAX’s song “Blueberry Eyes” is a different story. MAX collaborated with Min Yoongi, or Suga, for the project. Both artists were familiar with each others work when they decided to work together. MAX had such a large respect for Yoongi that he took him to a professional basketball game after hearing the name Suga means “shooting guard”. MAX initially sent a song that wasn’t “Blueberry Eyes” for Yoongi to work with, but when Yoongi expressed that, while he liked the song, he couldn’t see himself rapping for it, MAX sent the entire rest of his album for Yoongi to choose from. When MAX speaks about ARMY, he speaks of them as a powerful and protective force that can detect dishonesty. He publicly stated that he was lucky that such a careful fanbase accepted him with open arms. The respect Suga, and subsequently BTS, received from MAX is sorely needed, and sadly, rare. BTS is currently, reluctantly, being almost-accepted by Western media. Western media has been showing an inability to fathom that a foreign group that sings mostly in Korean could be a global sensation. Because of that, the media has normalized downplaying their successes. BTS have lost out on major awards to American acts that have seen far less success, simply because they’re foreign. Artists they work with that continue to take credit for their work, like Jason Derulo taking credit for the success of BTS’s cover of “Savage Love”, further allow BTS to be ignored and ostracized.

‘Billboard Music Awards’ vs ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’: For this I’m going to be comparing how BTS’s performances were treated by each show. I know both shows have very different setups, but it’s important to acknowledge how each show used their setup to either use or promote BTS. The ‘Billboard Music Awards’ and other shows like it have been known to push BTS towards the end of the show. This so that the show can get the massive group that is ARMY to wait through the entire show until BTS shows up to perform. These shows take advantage of not announcing which artists are performing when, preventing fans from only tuning in when their favorite artist is performing. This isn’t new information about award shows, but it comes as a slap in the face when BTS have hardly been nominated for any awards within the show. ‘The Tonight Show’, on the other hand, works hard to make BTS feel welcome. Jimmy Fallon has BTS on his show pretty frequently, and mentions them even when they aren’t present. He recently had an entire week of BTS performances to help promote their virtual concert. The nature of his show allows BTS to goof around and show the audience who they are before they even perform. It’s also important to point out that talk shows are a lot more open about when guests will appear than award shows are. All in all, Jimmy Fallon acknowledges BTS’s popularity without taking advantage of it. Meanwhile the ‘Billboard Music Awards’ pushed their performance toward the end of the three hour show, without showing respect to the artists that were both one and two on the Hot 100 list when the award show aired.

‘Ellen’ vs ‘James Corden’: Talk shows are in the business of keeping relevance by inviting the biggest celebrity names onto their shows for interviews. Ellen didn’t even try to hide that she was only using them for increased viewership. She was shocked when Namjoon began to speak English, despite the fact that he’s openly fluent and the spokesperson for BTS. She asked them if they had ever hooked up with a fan, and when Namjoon recognized the question was disrespectful and attempted to translate it into something more innocent, she tried to pressure him into translating her original question. She obviously hadn’t done any research into the group or the more conservative culture in Korea. James Corden invited BTS onto Carpool Karaoke, where he asked them basic questions about their life. He asked them who fought the most between them or what their fan-given nicknames were. He was respectful and not invasive, which allowed for such a relaxed environment that his title of Papa Mochi stuck for both BTS and ARMY. And, of course, he did research into their work to the extent that he could sing along to their songs during the segment. That Carpool Karaoke episode is still bringing people into ARMY because it highlights BTS’s skills and personal charms. The Ellen interview does more to showcase how pushy Ellen is than it does to showcase anything about BTS.

These comparisons should give you a little bit more of an idea on how BTS is mistreated in others search for popularity. While most forms of media are dependent on the hottest trends and the most popular celebrities, so many people, in America especially, don’t respect BTS. Instead, they use them to try to get ARMY’s numbers while brushing BTS off as foreigners. Acts other than those that come from the US or the UK deserve just as much worldwide recognition. We see so many American and British artists being well treated by Western media, but it seems as if those who don’t sing in English get ignored until they’re useful. I hope that the amount of people having this conversation about BTS will open the way for more diverse acts to be noticed and appreciated. I hope that we can stop treating artists from other countries as if they’re lesser. We evidently have a long way to go.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Boys Over Flowers

Screenshot from ‘Boys Over Flowers’ starring (from left) Lee Min-ho, Ku Hye-sun, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Bum, and Kim Joon. Copyright goes to Group 8 and KBS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I apologize for going back and forth between Halloween season and posting couple-y romantic things; but the fall season makes me think about fall things to do as a couple. So, as a single person, I am finding solace through this. You probably are wondering why I am choosing now to talk about ‘Boys Over Flowers’ considering it could be argued that this is the most popular K-drama of all time. This is because I just sat down and watched it in the past week. I know, I know, it’s insane that I got that far into K-drama without watching this one; but I actually had watched the first episode pretty early into my venture through K-drama….and I didn’t like it. I’M SORRY! It was just a lot of cheese and made me cringe a lot. But I kept hearing more and more about this and I felt I couldn’t go any longer without actually watching the series, so here are my thoughts. Just a warning; I don’t completely trash it, but you might not be too happy with my thoughts on it over-all. I like it! But I don’t think it’s as good as everyone made it out to be. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good:

  • Yoon Ji-hu. I REALLY liked his character from the beginning. When the rest of F4 seemed like awful bullies, he stood out as being kind hearted. Even if he did come off as kind of cold. It’s hard to not notice how much of a soft boy he becomes as the series goes on, and really you feel bad for him. He loses his first love, then is forced several times to give up his second. When the main characters are being stupid, he goes out of his way to get them back together even though he really likes Geum Jan-di. This is the most selfless character in this series, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch. They try and play off his ending as being happy, but it doesn’t really feel that way. You just can’t help but feel that he deserves better than everything he’s gotten. His ending feels a little bit like a cheat and you just want to hug him.
  • The sub-plot romance. You might recall me saying not too long ago that one of the only sub-plot romances in dramas like these that I like is the one in ‘Crash Landing Into You’. (Note: Please do not watch it if you don’t want to cry because it absolutely broke my heart and I’m still kind of inconsolable.) This drama can be added onto the small list of sub-plot romances that I like. In fact, this may be blasphemy, but I liked the sub-plot romance here better than I liked the main plot romance. At the beginning you aren’t really expecting So Yi-jung and Chu Ga-eul to get together. They are on the absolute opposite sides of the personality spectrum and So Yi-jung is a complete womanizer. But when he sees her crying and offers to help her make her ex-boyfriend jealous, things escalate from there. What’s even better about this is while the main plot deals with dramatic plot points tearing their couple apart, this deals with more realistic things like mental state and not being able to let go. To be honest, I would have rather seen a series about this romance than the main one. Both actors are phenomenal in their roles as these two, whose past attempts to tear apart their future together. There’s one particular scene where So Yi-jung is sobbing on top of a rooftop and Ga-eul is trying to comfort him. It is an absolutely heartbreaking scene and the acting is amazing. In the end Ga-eul is still convinced that So Yi-jung doesn’t really want a relationship with her, and the casual way in which he convinces her that he does want her feels realistic, is warm, and is romantic. There’s not large gestures, just seeking for mutual understanding. The look on So Yi-jung’s face when he comes back and realizes that Ga-eul has still been calling him her boyfriend after all this time is the cutest.
  • F4. Even if one of them or more than one of them is being annoying at some point in time; the group as a whole definitely works. Their friendships are well established and feel real. The group of actors have excellent chemistry together. I especially like how they developed the relationship between every single member of F4 and Geum Jan-di. She really felt like she became part of the group, rather than being pushed into being the awkward girlfriend around all her boyfriend’s friends. When Gu Jun-pyo tries to give up Geum Jan-di for various different reasons throughout the series, the boys are always standing up for her and making sure their friend knows that they are not happy with his decisions. It’s really cute how close they all are with her.

The Bad:

  • The main plot romance. I’m really sorry, but I just didn’t completely buy it. And no, it’s not because I ship Geum Jan-di with Yoon Ji-hu. As cute as those wedding pictures were, I think Yoon Ji-hu deserves someone who would only want to be with him. It could have been because of some of the absurd plot points that I didn’t like. There was way too much drama with Gu Jun-pyo’s mother for me and the weird revenge plot storyline and I don’t tend to like amnesia storylines. (Even though I will admit that Gu Jun-pyo regaining his memories because she fell into the water was cute.) But I honestly think it might be because I never was able to get over the very beginnings of this relationship. It is very clear at the beginning of their relationship that Gu Jun-pyo has unreciprocated feelings for Geum Jan-di, and he at first attempts to buy her love. He tries to bribe her into being his girlfriend a few times, and the way they actually start dating is him announcing that she’s his girlfriend so that people stop bullying her at school. But that’s not my main issue here. My issue is all of the times at the beginning of their relationship that Gu Jun-pyo reacted rashly because he was jealous of Geum Jan-di’s relationship with Yoon Ji-hu. I mean, she shouldn’t have had all those moments where she was essentially leading them both on. She seems to do that a lot throughout the series. But absolutely nothing justifies his actions. Especially when he tries to forcibly kiss her because of his jealousy while she struggles against him. That scene was horrifying to watch, and nothing throughout the rest of the series was able to make me forget that.
  • The treatment of women. The women in this show are often treated as damsels in distress and are often victims of rash decisions their boyfriends make. I touched on the main plot romance above, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the club date scene with the sub-plot couple. Also horrifying. She sits there while he treats her horribly that entire night, including flirting with several other women at once in front of her face. He later jokingly offers her to his father. In no world is any of this ok. Even if he did mean this as a joke. I will admit that, unlike the main plot couple, this couple features a character going through severe depression. He also makes it up to her, again, unlike the main plot couple. But that still doesn’t make his behavior any better. I understand that this show is kind of old, but that knowledge doesn’t make these scenes any easier to watch.
  • The main characters. I don’t know what it was, but I just wasn’t drawn in by the main characters in this. If you read my post about ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’, you’ll know that I really like Lee Min-ho as an actor. He’s able to bring charm into any character he’s playing and he’s always fun to watch. I just don’t think this character learns enough by the end. Yes, he’s much less of a spoiled brat and much more responsible and I respect that. But he’s still really possessive and rash. The main female character is presented as capable, but when you actually look at it she doesn’t feel capable. You can’t just tell your audience that your main character is independent and capable and then keep putting her in situations where she has to be saved. I mean, everyone has a moment where they need to be saved or helped at some point, but not all the time. It begins to feel like almost every episode with Geum Jan-di and it was kind of disappointing for a character they were constantly trying to convince us was strong.

To be honest, I’m pretty neutral on this drama. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it wasn’t the worst ever. It was a cute and entertaining watch. Looking back, I’m actually really glad that neither couple ends up together immediately at the end of the show. I don’t think either couple was quite ready for a relationship and probably needed that time gap. (Even though I was a little sad when So Yi-jung told Ga-eul he was leaving for Sweden for two years.) It makes sense for the story and where they were in their relationships. The immaturity of the relationships could be really difficult to watch at times. Maybe I would have liked this drama better if I hadn’t gone in with such high expectations after hearing so much about it. But over-all I liked it and if somebody wanted to watch it I’d definitely watch it with them! And, whether you like this show or not, we all have to admit that ‘Making a Lover’ by SS501 is a bop.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Disney: What Phantom Manor Does Better Than Haunted Mansion

Poster art of Phantom Manor used in Disneyland Paris. Copyright goes to the Walt Disney Company.

Hey! Hallie here!

I can already tell this post is going to be slightly controversial. I love The Haunted Mansion. It’s one of my favorite rides in all of the Disney parks. I’m definitely not alone in this opinion, either. The Haunted Mansion has one of the largest fan followings of any ride in the parks. But as much as we all love the ride, It’s kind of a mess. The Imagineers couldn’t really decide on what direction to go with the ride, let alone a complete story, and it shows. Phantom Manor doesn’t really have this issue. It has a clear direction and the storyline has only strengthened over the years. With that in mind, let’s go over exactly what makes Phantom Manor a little less messy and a little more interesting than The Haunted Mansion.

  1. The Characters. While both Haunted Mansion and Phantom Manor share some characters, like Madame Leota, Phantom Manor has two specific characters that pull all of the haunts together into one story. These characters are Melanie Ravenswood and her father, Henry Ravenswood. Henry Ravenswood is better known by park guests as The Phantom. Henry Ravenswood, who gained the manor by striking gold in Big Thunder Mountain, began to become protective of Melanie once she began to attract suitors. Mysteriously, all of those suitors met grisly ends after expressing any sort of desire to marry Melanie. Eventually, Melanie became engaged to a man who planned to take her away from the small area where she had lived for her entire life. Before Henry could stop this wedding from happening, he died in an earthquake. Unfortunately, dying didn’t stop Henry, now The Phantom, from luring Melanie’s fiancé to the attic and hanging him from the rafters. On Melanie’s wedding day. Melanie is seen still waiting in her wedding dress for her fiancé when guests come to visit. The Phantom has also taken over the manor since Melanie lost her mind, inviting his ghostly friends to an eternal celebration. These two characters have an interesting storyline that involves the entire ride. Their existence prevents the ride from feeling like a mess of different ideas by giving guests one complete idea they can immerse themselves in.

2. Ride execution. A good backstory is fine, but the ride needs to stick to the idea if anyone’s going to come out of the ride knowing what the story was. Phantom Manor leaves none of the backstory out of the ride. In fact, a recent update to the ride added more obvious references to the story of Henry and Melanie Ravenswood. While some of the updates are better than others, it can’t be denied that Phantom Manor does an excellent job of communicating it’s story. Guests now get an entire segment with a portrait of Henry and Melanie first looking somber and worn, before the portrait turns to an older but much happier picture of the pair. Instead of the hanged man in the Stretching Room that can be seen in most variations of The Haunted Mansion, The Phantom can be seen hovering above guests with a noose in hand. (Before this the hanged man was implied to be the hanged groom, so this change confuses me.) When boarding, guests walk up to the main stairway where Melanie can be seen gazing out the window, waiting for her fiancé. Throughout the ride we can see Melanie mourning in her wedding dress while The Phantom lurks behind. Regular haunts we usually see in The Haunted Mansion prepare for a wedding celebration. At the end of the ride all of the coffins holding Melanie’s suitors can be seen. One singular skeleton hand reaches out of one of the coffins holding a wedding ring. Many of these are new additions to the ride, but even before these The Phantom was lurking behind Melanie as she mourned in her wedding dress, a much older woman than she appeared in photos guests could see of her in line.

3. The Ghost Host. I mentioned the lack of story for the Ghost Host in my last post. He’s been mistaken for Master Gracey but he has also been confirmed not to be. He seems to be in charge but all of the comics portray Madame Leota as being in charge. In Phantom Manor the identity of the Ghost Host is simple. The Phantom is the Ghost Host. He says many of the same lines, but considering The Phantom is trying to steal your soul throughout the entire ride, It ends up being a bit more menacing. The voice of The Phantom also changes a lot about the Ghost Host. The voice is Vincent Price. THAT Vincent Price. It’s impossible not to be intimidated by Vincent Price. The Ghost Host’s voice in Haunted Mansion is still very good, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something that feels much more chilling and personal about how The Phantom is interacting with guests in Phantom Manor.

4. The Earthquake of 1860. Remember the earthquake Henry Ravenwood died in? That earthquake is insanely important to Phantom Manor. All of the haunts that inhabit the manor were casualties of the earthquake. Not only does this give a reason for all the haunts to be there, but it adds a disturbing explanation for the last portion of the ride. The last part of the ride, like The Haunted Mansion, takes you out of the building and into the grounds outside of the manor. Except this area looks like a once inhabited town that has been completely destroyed. It’s here that the haunts The Phantom invited are having their celebration. While there are bright colors and very joyful looking ghosts, the setting won’t let you forget the dark reason for their appearance.

I love The Haunted Mansion, and I can’t say I like Phantom Manor more than one of my favorite rides since I was a kid. I haven’t even visited Disneyland Paris. But it’s hard not to wish that The Haunted Mansion was a little bit less of a mess when a huge story like Phantom Manor’s exists. Plus, the music for Phantom Manor is gorgeous. If you’ve ridden Haunted Mansion Holiday you’ve heard the music before. The music box piece that plays in the line for Haunted Mansion during the holiday seasons is from the Phantom Manor soundtrack. I will evidently take any opportunity I can to gush about this music. Anyway. There’s something hauntingly beautiful about the depth of Phantom Manor’s story. Maybe one day Haunted Mansion will be able to reach a similar depth.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Halloween: Emily or Victoria?

Screenshot from Tim Burton’s ‘The Corpse Bride’ starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Copyright goes to Tim Burton Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Hi! It’s Annie!

My favorite movie to watch around Halloween is Tim Burton’s ‘The Corpse Bride’. Not only is this movie absolutely gorgeous in a creepy way, as most of Tim Burton’s films are, but the story is also carefully crafted. For the few of you who haven’t seen this movie, it follows Victor, a young man who finds himself in an arranged marriage and discovers that he is very much in love with the woman he’s supposed to marry. After messing up his vows in rehearsals, he practices them again in the forest where he places a wedding ring on a branch that suspiciously looks like a human hand. He only realizes his mistake when a corpse bride rises from the ground, now believing herself to be married to him. If this sounds interesting to you in the least bit, please go watch it now because this post will have SPOILERS. It’s definitely worth a watch. It’s also another one of those movies that you can easily watch if you’re like me and hate horror movies, but still like watching something spooky around Halloween. Go watch it before it’s too late! They gone? Ok. The large fandom surrounding this movie has, for a very long time, debated the question of whether or not Victor should have ended up with Victoria at the end of this movie. After all, the movie spends a lot more time with Emily, the corpse bride, who is so endearing that I have not met a single person who’s favorite character in the movie wasn’t her. So who was really right for Victor? These are only my opinions, so feel free to disagree!

Victoria:

  • Pros. You have to give Victoria that she doesn’t sit idly by in the movie. When she finds out that Victor is in trouble, she goes to great lengths to attempt to ensure his safety. Even if her attempts end in everyone believing that she’s insane. She, sadly, isn’t able to do so much for Victor in his predicament. I may prefer Emily to Victoria as a character, but Victoria is still a very loveable character. How can you not love her when she stands up for herself against Lord Barkis at the end of the film? Victoria may be more traditional and reserved than Emily, but she’s got an incredibly big heart. Victoria is probably most worried about not liking Victor despite their engagement. Yet she still falls for him over his piano skills. Their meeting is very sweet. It’s clear that Victoria falls for Victor very fast. And why wouldn’t she? The only person in her family that truly cares about her is the elderly maid that has taken care of her since she was small, and this woman won’t stand up for Victoria when she doesn’t want an arranged marriage or when Victoria is accused of being either mentally insane or possessed by demons. Victor is a presence that Victoria sorely needs in her life, as he’s the only person who attempts to understand her or truly be there for her.
  • Cons. The fact that Victoria and Victor are arranged to be married definitely raises eyebrows. Because there is no world in which the practice of arranged marriages should be seen as a good thing. Even though both Victor and Victoria express apprehension about being forced to marry at the beginning of the movie, their complaints about the system drop as soon as they discover they like each other. After this the subject is barely touched again until Victoria is arranged to be married again, this time to Lord Barkis in Victor’s absence. But this time the danger lies in the fact that Lord Barkis is a bad person, so now the arranged marriage is wrong. If you tiptoe around that slightly messy situation, you’ll also notice that Victor and Victoria spend very little time together over the course of this movie. Victor spends much more time navigating the world of the dead than he spends in the land of the living. He gets a couple of moments with Victoria at the beginning of this movie, a scene in the middle when Emily discovers he tricked her to see Victoria and becomes angry, and a moment at the very end of the movie. They know just as little about each other at the end of this movie as they do at the beginning, because this movie isn’t about Victoria or Victor’s relationship with Victoria. This movie is called ‘The Corpse Bride’ for a reason.

Emily:

  • Pros. Simply stated, Emily is the most interesting character in this movie. When she rises from the grave at the beginning of the film and chases after a terrified Victor creepily declaring “I do”, she’s already the most frightening character. It’s only when you get to the land of the dead after Victor passes out from fear that you get Emily’s true personality. She’s a gentle and kind young woman who was murdered when she tried to elope with her love. We later find out that this love was Lord Barkis, who murdered her for her money. All Emily wants throughout this movie is to find peace, which she strongly believes she will find by feeling again the love that she lost. She also falls very hard for Victor very fast and feels helpless when she finds that Victor is afraid of her. She spends much of the movie trying to make him happy, even giving him his dead dog and letting him go back to the land of the living when he insists he wants to introduce her to his parents. She feels immense sadness when she realizes Victor is pining after Victoria, and laments that her heart is no longer beating. It is she that we spend the entire movie getting to know, and Victor also spends the entire movie getting to know her. Victor and Emily grow together. Once they get past their differences and get to know each other, Victor discovers that he does care for Emily and agrees to get married to her, this time actually meaning his vows. He even agrees to this after learning he’ll have to die to truly marry her, a fact that makes Emily hesitate with going through with the marriage.
  • Cons. Emily is dead. That’s a pretty big one. Victor still has his entire life to live and Emily had hers cruelly taken from her. Despite Emily being weirdly wonderful, her actions are not always understood by Victor either. How beautiful was the scene where Emily was dancing around in the moonlight? And Victor didn’t even care, he was just trying to get away from her. I mean, Emily does have maggots and an eye that keeps falling out, but still! Emily is great! Really, what’s not to like about Emily? Maybe she shouldn’t have automatically assumed she and Victor were married at the beginning of this movie, because there are several obvious problems with that. It was clear that Victor didn’t mean to put that ring on her finger, and really, he didn’t even say “I do”. But considering Victoria and Lord Barkis’s wedding, I’m not quite sure these weddings need an “I do” to be valid. There’s not much to say here.

The Verdict:

So, who do I think Victor should have ended up with? Easy. Victoria. If that doesn’t make sense to you after what I just wrote, I don’t blame you. To be honest, this is a painful decision for me because I love the pairing of Victor and Emily. But the reason I think Victor shouldn’t have ended up with Emily doesn’t really have to do with Victor’s happiness and entirely has to do with Emily’s happiness. The ending of this movie is really important for Emily as she realizes during the wedding that, even though her life was taken from her, she can’t steal a life of love from Victoria. When Lord Barkis enters she realizes that the man she loved in her past life was the same man who took her life. This is one of the best parts of the movie in my opinion, because it gives Emily some of the best character development in the film. She’s the only person in the situation who can stand up to Lord Barkis, and it’s her anger that makes him nervous and leads him to cause his own death by drinking the wine of ages meant for Victor. This final scene gives Emily all the peace that she wanted. Her murder is solved and she realizes that Victor gave her the love that she needed, even if she now has to give him up. Emily is able to finally leave the land of the dead and ascend to someplace else. This is the natural end to her story. Though it would have been cute to see Victor and Emily living happily together in the land of the dead, it wouldn’t really have been a happy ending. Victoria would have been stuck with a family that doesn’t care about her, Victor would have had to give up his life, and Emily never would have gotten the peace she needed. It’s also good to remember that, even though Victor did develop some feelings for Emily, he loved Victoria for the entire movie. And Victoria loved him too. That’s really what matters.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Disney: Top 10 Haunted Mansion Ghosts

Poster from 2003’s ‘The Haunted Mansion’. Copyright goes to Walt Disney Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

The Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite spooky things to dive into during Halloween. While the mansion is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday around this time of year, nothing is going to stop me from blasting “Grim Grinning Ghosts” for the entire month of October. (Although, Haunted Mansion Holiday is absolute perfection. Fight me Ryan Gosling.) So in honor of this spooky ride, let’s rank some of the 999 Happy Haunts! For this list I will only be counting Haunted Mansion characters. That means equivalent rides like Phantom Manor will not be included. That ride has it’s own entirely different story that deserves it’s own post. I also am not going to talk about the movie here. I’m still trying to forget that it happened. As a side note, because so many of these haunts belong to groups, like the Hitchhiking Ghosts, I’m not going to separate them in this list. Let’s get into this!

10. The Dread Family. This family is one of the newer additions. You can catch their busts in the line for The Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom in Florida. The members consist of Uncle Jacob Dread, Bertie Dread, Aunt Florence McGriffin Dread, Cousin Maude Dread, Wellington Dread, and Forsythia Dread. Every person in this family was murdered. If you’re standing by their busts long enough while in line, you have the opportunity to find out which of the family is responsible for the murders. I won’t spoil the riddle in case you want to look it up, but I will tell you that the inscriptions on their tombstones aren’t enough to solve the riddle. You will need to find pictures of the busts from various angles in order to solve the murders. (Unfortunately, the riddle works a bit better when you’re there in person.) This family makes it onto the list simply for how clever this idea is. Fans are often searching for stories within the mansion. This one is a fun murder mystery that guests get to solve themselves as they wait in long lines.

9. Victor Geist. Victor Geist is best recognized by the large pipe organ he sits at inside the mansion’s ballroom. You can’t really see him from the front, but his skills on the organ are undoubtedly haunting. Victor Geist rose in popularity for his use in some of the Disney comics. There his hooked nose and slender face were given more detail, and his personality was explored. Geist is poised and intimidating when playing his organ, but is quite kind and carefree when he steps away from the instrument. He also seems to have some sort of adorable interest in Sally Slater. He gets on this list for being a very wholesome member of the 999 Happy Haunts.

8. Sally Slater. Most people will know Sally Slater as the Tightrope Walker. She is probably the most recognizable of the characters featured in the Stretching Room. Her striking calm while hovering over a hungry alligator is hard to ignore while guests are trapped in a room with no windows and no doors. Her dress and parasol are also striking, which has resulted in quite a bit of merchandise. Her story has changed multiple times throughout the years. In one version she was the Ghost Host’s first wife, in another she was a villainous sorcerous who turned her lovers into alligators, and in yet another she was “Chief Spookswoman” for the mansion. I should also mention that each version of her story has also come with a different name. Regardless, she makes it on this list for having such an iconic look that fans are still trying to guess her true story.

7. Master Gracey. Master Gracey is the confirmed owner of the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom and one of the many possible owners of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. Master Gracey was initially only a name on one of the tombstones outside of the mansion, but after fans and cast members began to connect the name with the Aging Man portrait inside the mansion, as well as the voice of the Ghost Host, Master Gracey became an official character. Though it has been confirmed that Master Gracey isn’t the Ghost Host, the Aging Man portrait is now canonically a portrait of Master Gracey. In some comics he’s also portrayed as the hanged man in the Stretching Room. The Haunted Mansion is even referred to as Gracey Manor on some occasions. Master Gracey gets a place on this list for quickly becoming a main character amongst the 999 Happy Haunts.

6. Ghost Host. As you can see, we’re getting to some of the more iconic ghosts. I wish I could place our lovely host higher, but as we still have some really big hitters to go, he only gets to six on this list. The Ghost Host doesn’t really have an official story. His story has been speculated about, and he’s even been merged with Master Gracey on some occasions, but he has no official story of his own. Still, what would the Haunted Mansion be without our Ghost Host? The creepy voice guiding guests through the mansion makes for most of the experience. The mansion would be nothing if not for his delight in spooky puns and slightly threatening jokes.

5. Rolo Rumkin, Uncle Theodore, Cousin Algernon, Ned Nub, and Phineas Pock. These five are better known as the Singing Busts. They provide guests with most of “Grim Grinning Ghosts”, one of the best songs in all of the Disney parks. If you recognize their names, good! You probably should! These names are all featured on tombstones outside of the mansion, some with rhyming epitaphs on how they died. These five don’t have any sort of story. But who can resist singing along with them while passing by in a Doom Buggy? These five deserve a place on this list for being some of the most recognizable members of the mansion. Line up a few busts with one lopsided and broken, and most people could tell you exactly what it’s from. Those busts are even used as an Easter Egg in the “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” sequence in ‘Hercules’.

4. Ezra Beane, Professor Phineas Plump, and Gus. These three are the Hitchhiking Ghosts within the Haunted Mansion. These are their official names, but if you don’t know which is which, some of their other names might be of better use to you. Ezra has been called The Skeleton, Phineas is The Traveler, and Gus is The Prisoner. They are usually referred to as the outcasts of the mansion for varying reasons. Ezra is a prankster who died laughing at a prank pulled on himself. He’s known for pranking the mansion’s inhabitants. Phineas was a snake oil salesman who was killed by an angry mob. His charms didn’t inspire the already dead inhabitants of the mansion to buy his products. Gus was a shepherd who angered a ram into chasing him into a wedding, which he promptly ruined. Gus was arrested, escaped jail with some pirates, made it to a ship, and then fell overboard and drowned. He could have done with a little less excitement in his life. He’s the most tame of the three, but he still finds more comfort being part of this group. The group is definitely better for it.

3. The Hatbox Ghost. This is another more recent addition to the mansion, but by no means a new member. That Hatbox Ghost was an inhabitant early in the Haunted Mansion’s history, but he disappeared from the ride not long after his debut. There was a long debate over where this ghost had gone, but the story rose so far into infamy that he was brought back to inhabit the mansion. Since his reappearance (much like his head in his hatbox), he’s become one of the most popular inhabitants of the mansion. He’s easily recognizable and can be seen on most Haunted Mansion merchandise. His redesign is also one of the most impressive parts of the ride. No one knew what we were missing until we got to see his head disappear from his body up close.

2. Constance Hatchaway. Constance was not an original member of the Haunted Mansion, but she’s certainly one of the most memorable now. With an entire section of the ride dedicated to the husbands she’s beheaded, she’s hard to miss. Constance replaced the original heartbeat bride; a bride who’s main feature was the red heart inside her chest. When Constance took her place, the room was filled with the riches Constance had obtained after her husbands had “tragically” died. Portraits of the room switch between her pictured with each husband, first with a head, then without. And if you still weren’t convinced who was responsible, she’ll show you her hatchet with an accompanying wedding vow that sounds much more sinister coming from her mouth. It’s the closest we get to a full story in the mansion. You can also catch a picture of an older Constance in the Stretching Room, sitting on the tombstone of one of her husbands. She’s undoubtedly the most terrifying member of the Happy Haunts.

1. Madame Leota. You knew this was coming. Madame Leota is often portrayed as the leader of the Happy Haunts, and it isn’t hard to see why. She’s by far the most knowledgeable of the members. Which makes sense because she’s a psychic medium. She conducts seances to help haunts materialize as she floats herself, and other pieces of furniture, around the room. Her story has changed over the years as well, and is often different depending on where you look. In Disneyland she was a clairvoyant and street magician in New Orleans Square, where the mansion is located, while in Magic Kingdom she was a witch that caused the Salem Witch Trials. In the comics she fell in love with Master Gracey, and is killed by him after playing a hand in his bride’s death. Her tombstone outside is also the most impressive of all of them, though it’s only featured in the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Hers has a face engraved onto it that can open and close it’s eyes. Madame Leota’s voice is easily recognizable, partly because it’s also the voice of Maleficent and Lady Tremaine. It’s a classic villain voice with just enough chill to it that you never doubt who’s in charge.

That’s my list! I hope you enjoyed this ranking of the most popular members of the 999 Happy Haunts. The Haunted Mansion has had it’s issues with storytelling. It was released without much of a story after a painstaking process to get the design of the mansion finalized. While story elements have been added, the backstories of the mansion and it’s inhabitants are constantly changing. Hopefully we’ll be able to explore more storylines and more haunts in the future. As of now, I just hope we get more information on the Hatbox Ghost!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Twins in Media: Poppet and Widget Murray

Image of Erin Morgenstern’s ‘The Night Circus’ front cover. Copyright goes to Erin Morgenstern and Doubleday.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Alright, I have to stop crying about the BTS concert and pull myself together. Here’s something else I can’t seem to shut up about! Have I ever mentioned how much I love ‘The Night Circus’? Obviously, it was only a matter of time before I had to talk about Poppet and Widget in one of these posts. Poppet is quite possibly my favorite book character of all time and was even listed in my introduction under characters that I kin. When I went into this book I honestly knew nothing about it. This book was given to me as a gift, so really the only thing I knew about it was what the back of the book described it to be. That’s my absolute favorite way to go into a book. The description of the book only covered the main plot with Marco and Celia and the competition, so I had absolutely no idea this book would feature a depiction of twins until I was introduced to the two characters. So, was I delighted at this depiction of twins or does this depiction leave a lot to be desired? (You can probably already guess the answer to this question.)

The Magical:

  • The anti circus freaks. In my last post about ‘Alice in Wonderland’ I talked about the absolutely awful circus freak trope. The fact that twins are often treated like freaks of nature or some sort of exhibit in a circus rather than actual people. Can I just say how amazing it is that this story is literally about a circus and features twins and never once uses the circus freak trope. There’s no twin telepathy, over synchronization, or some sort of giant finger pointing to the twins to declare how weird they are. The twins themselves are not a circus act. I have seen media use twins as freaks of nature so many times and was definitely expecting this book to be no exception. Especially with the circus setting. Instead, the closest you get to anything like that is one act that Poppet and Widget do together that doesn’t even focus on them but instead focuses on the cute kittens that they help train. When they grow up, because you do watch them grow up throughout the book, they leave that act and both develop their own acts within the circus. Poppet has the ability to gaze into the stars and see parts of the future in the constellations, so naturally she becomes the fortune teller for the circus. Widget has the ability to see the past on people’s clothing or on items that they carry. Through this he learns how to bottle memories and feelings and develops a tent to display these bottles and allow guests to try out different ones. Even though their powers are very similar in an opposite kind of way (I’ll get to that later), the acts themselves that they create are, at least nothing at all like each other. They aren’t even connected. If you went to this circus if it somehow really existed, you wouldn’t even know that twins worked there. I’ll say it again, that’s really rare to see in a story that uses twins in a circus-like environment.
  • Different lives. The main storyline involving Poppet and Widget also features another character; Bailey. Not only do the three separate often in their storylines, but it’s safe to say that Poppet and Widget have very different relationships to Bailey considering Poppet is romantically linked to him and Widget is not. It’s rare to see a twin, in a scenario like this, get a romantic storyline because authors seem to feel that it takes away from showing the audience how close the twins are for some reason. Or their just going with the detached-from-reality-and-in-a-world-of-their-own trope. Most of the time I see a character that is a twin in an actually focused on romantic relationship it’s because the other twin is incapacitated or died. Which is a very happy thought for me and my sister. That does not happen here, and you even get Widget teasing his sister about her feelings for Bailey. It’s not just Bailey though. Poppet and Widget pop up in Celia’s storyline as she helps teach them. Their relationships with Celia are also very different. When Celia is being unfair to them, Poppet usually notices that she’s going through a hard time and is very quick to hug her or try to comfort her. Widget is more likely to call her out on her unfairness. When dealing with business that has to do with the circus Poppet is kinder but prefers to be quieter and vague about her intentions or emotions if she deems it’s not necessary to share them. Widget is very to the point with business partners and says exactly what he’s feeling.
  • Best friends. Poppet and Widget are definitely best friends. They are constantly looking out for each other and hanging out with each other without relying too heavily on the other. Widget helps Poppet when she has a negative reaction to her fortune telling. Poppet tries to get Widget to greet people at parties and be polite so they both can go back to their introverted-ness in peace. They aren’t always together, which is good, but they hang out a lot.
  • Different but not opposites. Poppet and Widget aren’t opposites, they’re just different. I say this a lot, but that’s because it’s important. There is no evil twin here. Poppet is kinder, more polite, and a bit weirder (in a good way! I personally think weird is a compliment.) than her brother; but, in reality, keeps to herself more. Widget is less likely to talk to you, especially not without sarcasm, but when he does he says exactly what he feels. They work well off of each other without having personalities that are opposite or complementary.

The Un-magical:

  • Opposite powers. Told you I was going to get back to this. This is by far my biggest complaint about the two and actually one of the biggest complaints I have about the book. But, in reality, it’s a pretty small complaint. I really like Widget being a storyteller because of his knowledge of the past and Poppet’s stargazing is one of my favorite elements of her character. Their powers aren’t exact opposites when you look at them in detail. But without context; she can see into the future and he can see into the past. It’s a bit stereotypical. I wish there was something else that could have been done; but in the end the author pulls it off without drawing too much attention to this.

So, are Poppet and Widget good representations of twins in media?

I only wrote one flaw, so yes. There is still something that bugs me about their powers being complementary opposites; but the author did not extend this treatment into their actual character development. They have an incredible bond without it crossing bridges into creepy, too much, or twin telepathy. The author writes them realistically and presents them to the audience as nothing more or less than best friends. Poppet and Widget have meant more to me than most twins in media just by principle of how much I love this book. I could relate to Poppet because of her relationship with her brother as well as her stargazing weirdness, (I’m just talking about looking at stars, I am not into astrology. Sorry.), and her introverted-ness. There were times where it felt like I was reading about myself dancing around the absolute fantasy of the Night Circus, which connected me all the more to the book. There was something about Poppet being a twin that was presented in this way that made me feel understood. Poppet and Widget are not the type of twins that people would go around and mass compare every pair of twins to. They are too different of people for you to do that. The best twin depictions in media are like that.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Twins in Media: Annalise and Erika

Screenshot of Annalise and Erika from 2004’s ‘Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper’. Copyright goes to Mainframe Entertainment and Mattel Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

For this weeks twins in media we’re going a bit off the rails. There’s a lot of twins to explore with this series but, unfortunately, not enough spooky twins to give you until next week. So today we’re going to talk about what is basically my childhood. Why a Barbie movie? Am I running out of ideas? No. I just have a lot of nostalgic feelings. So let’s talk about Annalise and Erika! As a side note, I know they aren’t actually twins. This is yet another situation where the story functions around the fact that the two look alike. This is also another situation where audiences began to compare these two to real life twins when the movie came out. I’m going to address all of these things while I talk about them. Also, I’m not going to be taking myself too seriously with this one. This movie is campy. It’s good, (I’m accepting no arguments at this time,) but it’s got that Barbie cheese anyone who’s seen a Barbie movie is familiar with. Let’s get into this!

The Bad:

  • Separated at Birth. Annalise and Erika do not have the same parents, nor were they ever even distantly related, but the story really operates like a separated at birth storyline. Annalise just happens to be taken out to the village by her future husband, and no I absolutely don’t have a crush on Julian what are you talking about? Anyway. Annalise overhears Erika singing for extra money and is instantly surprised that Erika looks so much like her. They vent their issues out to each other in song form, because of course they do, and we get some of the most basic signs of the separated at birth trope. They are exact opposites that have grown up in opposite situations. Despite this they have one commonality that makes them think they’re very similar. In this Annalise is rich and Erika is poor and orphaned, but they both want to escape their lives. The problems they have seem kind of disproportionate. I don’t know about you, but if I was poor and constantly verbally abused by a dress maker, and some rich girl came into my life singing about how she gets breakfast in bed, I’d probably punch her in the face. Despite that, it sets up the switch, something that happens in the original ‘Prince and the Pauper’ story and something we see in twin movies such as ‘The Parent Trap’. Separated at birth storylines are the most extreme example of the idea that twins must be outrageously different for others to understand their differences. It goes so far as to give the twins completely different environments to grow up in. It just isn’t a realistic situation and audiences need to know that twins are separate people even if they don’t violently hit you over the head to point out the differences.
  • The Switch. I started talking about this above so I’m going to continue talking about it here. This switch is one of the best I’ve seen in any movie about twins. They give Annalise and Erika the opportunity to switch because of their problems, and then both girls kind of decide that the other persons life sucks too and go their separate ways. Which is an obvious change from most switch movies. In fact, I’d argue most movies with this trope would end about ten minutes in if the leads noticed how similar they looked, thought “cool”, and then left. But then, because we do in fact need a movie, Annalise gets kidnapped and Julian asks Erika to take her place in the castle while he tries to find her. And, surprise, surprise, all she needs is a blonde wig and no one can tell the difference. The switch, whether or not the trope means to, tells it’s audience that twins are interchangeable. That they could switch places or one could just disappear and no one would notice the difference. Even if my mother had terrible vision, like Annalise’s mother does in this movie, there is no way I could convincingly pretend to be my sister without her noticing. And that’s with me actually knowing my sister. We have very different personalities and even different sounding voices. Meanwhile, Erika doesn’t know anything about Annalise and only gets one (amazing) song montage to learn how to act like royalty. And most of the time she messes it up. The fact that she gets away with it is unrealistic and harmful, but I’m kind of torn because ‘To Be a Princess’ is a bop.
  • The Double Wedding. No thanks. Moving on.

The Good:

  • Different Goals. This isn’t a situation where the ‘twin’ characters want what the other has. Annalise and Erika switch places out of necessity. They don’t choose to. Part of the reason is because Erika doesn’t see being royalty as a solution to her problems, nor does Annalise see being poor as a solution to her problems. Erika wants to leave the kingdom to become a singer. Meanwhile, Annalise wants to provide for her mother and marry whoever she wants to. Annalise doesn’t see leaving her mother as a good thing, nor does Erika see being tied to the kingdom as a good thing. This isn’t a situation where they had separate lives up until the switch and then they never wanted to be apart again. They are individuals and prove themselves to be so. Erika actually leaves immediately after the story ends for her singing career. They have similar interests, such as breaking out into song for no reason, and they become very close friends, as many twins are, but that doesn’t mean that they suddenly don’t have separate lives to live. Annalise just happens to have the better life because she isn’t married to a himbo with no personality. I said what I said. I have nothing against himbos with personality, though.
  • Positive Role Models. My sister and I would actually compare ourselves to Annalise and Erika when we were younger, rather than others comparing us to them. As little girls, we were ecstatic to see two characters that looked alike but were actually completely different. Unfortunately, this was because these characters are treated like twin characters, but with the benefit of not being twins. So no, these two aren’t twins. But as a movie made for young girls that came out when I was five, I loved it. The movie validated myself and my sister by assuring us that our differences could be seen. Everyone treated these two like twins but it also felt like everyone could understand that they were different. Even little girls knew the difference. All of them bought the two-pack of Annalise and Erika and only played with Annalise. When my sister and I got the dolls I forced her to take Erika because I wanted the princess one. Jokes on me. I like Erika more now.

So are these two a good representation of twins? I’d say they’re kind of in the middle. They fall into a lot of tropes but they taught little girls that twins can, and often do, have different personalities. They also really focus on the independence of each girl, which also happens to highlight their different goals. If nothing else, it isn’t a bad look into twins for young children. It just isn’t the type of representation we should see in media regularly. We should be seeing actual twins on screen. Ones that have realistic similarities and differences. Hopefully those stories will eventually be the ones young girls get to see. We just have to make sure both twins are wearing princess dresses next time a doll company releases a two-pack.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-pop and K-dramas: Jimin’s Solo Songs

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 06: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE.) Jimin of BTS performs onstage during 102.7 KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball 2019 Presented by Capital One at the Forum on December 6, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Hi! It’s Annie!

Still continuing with our BTS break because there’s nothing else to do after that concert. It broke me in the absolute best way. For the few of you who didn’t know, today is Jimin’s birthday! Well, technically for us it is tomorrow, but South Korea is sixteen hours ahead of us. Park Jimin has been an incredibly important presence in my life as well as the lives of many others. I have mentioned time and time again that I love Jimin’s vocals (it’s difficult though because I love all of their vocals so much; even the rap line) and it is not a stretch to say that Jimin has been a much needed light in my life. Especially now. I have listened to all of his solo songs on repeat, and thought that the best way to celebrate his birthday was to draw attention to them and show my appreciation for them. Please note that even though I do want to rank his individual songs for this post, there is no song of his that I dislike. Each one of these songs will be one of the best songs you’ve ever heard. Jimin’s voice is too incredible for this not to be true.

4. Serendipity

It hurts to put this here. Really, it hurts to put any one of these at anything other than a number one spot. This song is nothing short of gorgeous and even better to watch him perform. There’s just something so beautiful and pure about this song and, even better, each one of his solo pieces lets him showcase his absolutely beautiful dancing abilities. Any performance of this song would be beautiful not only for his vocals, but also for his incredible skill in dance. There’s also a sense of peace in this song that makes it calming just to listen to. It’s difficult to not feel as though everything will be ok while listening to this song, and that is such a gift. Jimin has been a comforting presence with comforting words to ARMY as long as he’s been in the limelight. This song perfectly expresses that and really how much he means to all of us.

3. Lie

Lie is really nothing short of incredible. The song is intense but flows beautifully at the same time. There’s also immense pain that you feel while listening to this song because the song contains so many expressions of pain. It is beautiful lyrically, vocally, and musically; but you can hear the pain through every note. While there is a sense of peace in the song above, this one is the storm before that calm. The elements of this song are very personal to Jimin and deal with difficult things he was dealing with in his own life. Jimin even admitted that this song could be difficult for him to perform because of it’s themes. Knowing that this song has such a profound effect on him makes me appreciate the song even more while also making me slightly sad listening to it. It’s difficult to see or hear Jimin in any pain whatsoever. (I sobbed after seeing footage from day one of their ‘Map of the Soul On:e’ concert.) But even with that it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. It’s raw and completely radiant.

2. Promise

Of all of the songs on this list, this is probably the one that makes me cry the most. The song is so calm and innocent sounding, but holds such a profound message. Here, Jimin asks ARMY to promise him that no matter how lonely or awful we feel, we will never throw ourselves away. This song makes me cry because it’s really what Jimin does best. Whenever another member of BTS is feeling down, Jimin is one of the first people there with a hug and words of comfort. This is Jimin doing that to ARMY. It is, essentially, a giant hug from Jimin. It is his reminder to us that, as he’s recently said, there is always someone in South Korea who understands what we’re feeling. If you’re ever feeling awful, this is an incredible song to listen to. It is full of understanding and comfort and I know I have used this song as comfort before. Seriously, just go listen to this song and get your figurative hug from Jimin. Let’s be honest, we all need one.

  1. Filter

I couldn’t not put this one in the number one spot after their virtual concert. Firstly, how dare he look so good! He absolutely killed me with that black fedora and purple suit. Did you see his belt?! Did you see his hair with that side shave?! Sorry, anyways…even without the performance being too much for anyone to handle, the song itself was one I was listening to on repeat since it came out. Before I ever saw it performed, I was probably listening to this solo song more that his other ones just because I loved the sound of it. This one feels a little more dance-y but not too much if that makes sense. It is different from his other solo songs, but works just as much as the other ones do. Not to mention his range in this song! This is one of those songs that you listen to and you just feel like the vocalist is having fun. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I love it so much. He was certainly having so much fun during the concert. (Did you see his smile?!) This song will forever have meaning for me after seeing that concert.

Jimin, and every single member of BTS, is such a bright light for all of us. They all have become a massive comfort to us all and a light at the end of this very dark tunnel. It’s difficult to write how much Jimin means to me because it’s difficult to write how much this group means to me. It goes beyond words. I just feel lucky that these men have sought out to be there for all of us and make us all feel understood. When everything feels too dark, we hear their voices and find hope again. A lot of people say that they feel unreal, or it feels like they’re from another planet. I think that’s missing the point. They are human, which is incredibly important because it proves that humans with that much compassion do exist. Jimin was not acting when he saw the faces of ARMY during the virtual concert and burst into tears. They are not acting when they tell us to love ourselves and to speak for ourselves. I have never been more proud to be a part of something as big as ARMY. Their message of kindness has radiated to every part of the world, and as ARMY we do everything we can to hand them the megaphone. I’m proud to be a fan of all of them, and of course, this includes our adorable baby mochi. Happy Birthday Jimin! Thank you for everything!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie