Watching TV

[lunabee34]

1. We decided Emma is old enough to watch Deadpool. She loved it, naturally. I had forgotten how hard this movie hits me in the feels; for what is ostensibly a couple of hours of crude humor, it makes me sniffle an awful lot.

2. We watched the third episode of Luke Cage. I feel like Mariah has been drinking the same Kool-Aid as Negan; she believes she's a Savior and any harem perks of the job for her are justifiable as long as she helps her community.

Josh pointed out to me that when Luke goes on the rampage and steals Cottonmouth's money, he's listening to the bleeped out radio edit of Wu Tang. LOL

Absolutely love the scene where the guy keeps throwing candy on Cottonmouth's floor and talking about plover birds. Fabulous.

I like the debate over superheroes and whether their help is desirable/ethical.

I really liked Misty's partner. Naturally, he's a bad guy. *sigh*

3. I probably said all this in my original review of the penultimate episode of Westworld, but I am struck on rewatch by how damn good this show is. I love William wanting to rescue Dolores, not because he wants to bone her but because he truly believes she's sentient and sees what a hell Westworld would be for a sentient host. I love that Arnold builds Westworld for the hosts, not for the guests. Is Charlotte trying to acquire that data for the Man in Black? Okay, so Bernard's first memory is of when Ford is already older, so clearly part of Ford getting away with recreating Arnold in Bernard is just waiting long enough that everyone who worked in the part for those first three years is gone.

4. Emma and I went to see Love, Simon. We both loved it. It was a very sweet movie. There was an obligatory "this is a film about teenagers, so we must include one scene with alcohol" moment, but I really liked that it wasn't about teens being rebellious or getting into trouble.

The author of the book it's based on is apparently from Atlanta, so a couple of days before we saw the movie, I listened to an interview she gave on a Georgia Public Broadcasting program (On Second Thought) that bothered me. The host asked her a question that I think was about how she might change the book or something, and she answered that she probably wouldn't have written it at all because she's been listening and learning and devoting herself to supporting voices from within the community. Which, I mean, I haven't read the book; I know that when people from outside write about a group, they often fuck shit up. And maybe she did. Maybe the book is offensive in some way (if it is, it doesn't show up in the movie). But her response made me think she's been dogpiled on the internet about this book, and it made me sad that now she thinks she shouldn't have even written it. Also, if she mentioned once that she knows that everyone doesn't have a positive coming out experience, she mentioned it at least four times in a fairly short interview. So clearly, she's been criticized that Simon's parents and friends are accepting which blows my mind. While clearly not everyone's experience, many people do have positive coming out experiences. IDK It bothered me.

Comments

[china_shop]

So clearly, she's been criticized that Simon's parents and friends are accepting which blows my mind. While clearly not everyone's experience, many people do have positive coming out experiences.

Yes! A single story can't reflect everyone's experience!

*shares your botheredness*

[lunabee34]

*nods*

It's really irritating.

[slightweasel]

Yeah, I gather the author has been dogpiled a LOT. As a queer person, it's been pissing me off. I haven't read the book either, but if she hadn't written the book, we wouldn't now have this beautiful movie.

Idk why people are like this, but I wish they would stop.

[archersangel]

Idk why people are like this, but I wish they would stop.

i have the same thought.

[lunabee34]

Yep.

[lunabee34]

I don't get it. The movie is really innocuous. Maybe the book is drastically different, but IDK. It doesn't make sense to me.

[the_emu]

Yeah, the book isn't drastically different, but it does more to explicitly explain how coming out relates to other kinds of teenage experiences.

There's a section of the left that dog-piles on allies now, and I hate it. Like when a man stands up for women's experiences, the first reaction is 'yay, male feminist!' but then other people get upset because we don't need men to validate us. 'Cos, yes we do. I need male feminists to remind me that there are men who get it. And I need those male feminists to shut down who men who don't believe women's experiences. And I need male feminists to set an example to young men.

I guess I haven't actually seen what's been sait to Albertalli, just the defensive reaction. But the idea that a child psychologist who's worked with gay teens isn't the right person to write a book about a teenager coming out is totally absurd.

[lunabee34]

I guess I haven't actually seen what's been sait to Albertalli, just the defensive reaction. But the idea that a child psychologist who's worked with gay teens isn't the right person to write a book about a teenager coming out is totally absurd.

We are 100% on the same page here about this.

[the_emu]

And!

And it's important to tell the good coming out stories. Not just because gay teens need positive stories (though that is important) but also because in a miserable story where the school was full of homophobes and negligent staff and his parents were right wing loons, there'd be no stage for the small things that still matter.

Like his dad's gay jokes. Never made with malice or intent, but each one a little stab that makes coming out more difficult. I absolutely loved that detail.

[lunabee34]

Yes!

I liked that part, too, because the dad loved his kids and he was a good dad and he still did things to hurt Simon that he never would have done if he'd realized. It was a really important depiction of someone who is a good person who makes life hard for someone he loves; and a good reminder that making why making "innocuous" jokes like that is shitty.

[umadoshi]

I'm glad you and Emma got to see Love, Simon together! ^_^

[lunabee34]

Me too. It was a really sweet bonding moment.

[lyr]

Yeah, my own coming out experience was pretty positive, and that was back in 1990 when supportive reactions were not common. I think it's more likely to be positive now than it was then.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

And it's not like showing a positive experience means that the negative ones don't happen. :(