HEY NOW

I graduated undergrad on Sunday so I'm not posting any more than this. Happy Memorial Day!

American Gods as a TV show

So I while ago I read American Gods and wrote a post about it, mostly praising it for the ingenious way it takes ancient gods and brings them into the modern era. In case you’ve been missing all the buzz, it’s now a tv show as well! Neil Gaiman, the author of the book, is the executive producer, so I had high hopes about this series.

There’s currently only 3 episodes out of this series (it’s 8 episodes total for this season so not even halfway), but so far I am a fan! They are sticking pretty strongly to the book which is lovely and really all that I wanted out of it. The cast is also very diverse with Shadow being cast as a black man. Which is great, it’s 2017 already, I am a fan of this choice. It also brings in more contemporary issues since Shadow just got out of prison and is now essentially Mr. Wednesday’s (a white man’s) assistant. Since I’ve read the book though, I know where his character goes, and I still think this is a great choice.

The first season apparently only includes about a third of the book, so hopefully there will be more to come. The show will also expand on the book itself, bringing in elements from Anansi Boys, which I haven’t personally read, but is a companion novel to American Gods.

To talk more definitively about the show itself, I really dig the music and the way that it is incorporated into what’s happening on screen. There’s almost always an undercurrent of sound, whether it’s an instrumental adding to tension, or an old love song during a montage. Some of the choices are ironic, such as the love song being played during Laura’s funeral, that add to the confusion and despair Shadow feels. It also adds another layer of contrast between the old and the new gods.

Right off the bat the old and new gods look different. The old gods are gritty and look weathered, while the new ones are sleek and shiny. The music is also different, the old gods are paired with rustic, older songs while the new gods are accompanied by sounds that are clearly synthesized and distorted. It’s great, tv show music always seems so under utilized.

Only the beginning of this show is currently out, but the set-up so far is marvelous. I look forward to the rest of it!

Blast from the Past

Today I was given a video of myself from four years ago, which I made as a sort of time capsule my freshman year. Watching it was strange, I knew that it was myself, but it also felt like this was my child in a strange way. I just wanted to tell past me that everything would be ok and give her a hug.

Funnily enough though, I think that she comforted me more and I could comfort her. Somehow in my wisdom I opened the message with “you did good, you have done a great job” and ended it with “if you’re happy, I’m happy” which nearly brought me to tears. I had no possible idea of what I was going to do then, but I was determined that it would be good.

And turns out that my plans didn’t change that much, I knew what I was going to major and minor in and my friends are mostly the same. You can tell though that I am also completely different now, just visually even. My glasses are different, my hair went from a ponytail to almost a pixie, and I had a necklace on in that video that my roommate gave me. So just the experience of seeing past me was a bit of a jolt, I forgot that was what I looked like.

Probably the most interesting part of the video though was when I was just talking about my day. Just getting a glimpse into my life was fascinating. That day I had class, then went to register my friend’s car, then had a meeting about an act I was working on (my first act, wow time flies), and after this I was going to talk to a professor about working in her lab. This professor is now my advisor, and I am still working in her lab! The progression of everything from then until now is incredible, because here I am as the finished project, while back then it was just the seeds.

There isn’t a big message or anything that I wanted to communicate with this post, other than the fact that it is fascinating to see yourself from years ago. And I wish I had the foresight to do that more often, because past me left a video about 10 minutes long but I could watch her for hours. It was a really pleasant surprise this morning. 😊

The problem with gay white men

I don't know what the hell it is about them, or why they do so many things that tick me off, but they need to develop some self-awareness fast.

Being gay does not make you immune to misogyny, racism, or classism. In fact, I would argue that it makes you even more likely to participate in misogyny since most gay men that I have met find me even more worthless (since I identify as female) since I am not a sexual object to them. As if people didn't have a purpose beyond being sexual objects. Degrading your friendship with someone because you aren't dating isn't making the other person feel any better. Overtly stating that you prefer one of your male friends isn't endearing.

Saying offensive stuff and then using the excuse "it's fine, I'm gay" doesn't help either. Straight men aren't the only ones who are offensive to women, other races, or anyone else. That also misses the point completely. Sexism and racism are unconscious biases that we ALL have, myself included. Whether you happen to be part of a minority population or not doesn't fix that. It can only be combated by educating yourself and realizing these biases that you possess and how you may be acting on them.

And this self-awareness is really incredible since they never seem to shut up about themselves. Everything is a direct attack on them as a homosexual, nothing faces the LGBTQIA community at large, it's all specifically directed at them. I mean, sure, they're included in that, but realize that there are people worse off out there. Not everyone is a northeastern hipster with a buttload of privilege that they couldn't even begin to unpack. Most of the time you cannot bring up the subject of other people's plight without some genius launching off into how he has been personally victimized and his own struggles and how horrible it is for him when what we're trying to discuss someone else entirely. Part of being an ally and helping others is knowing when to shut up and listen instead. Talking about yourself incessantly means that you are, knowingly or not, taking up time that someone else could use more effectively, and voice opinions that aren't usually heard.

Sure I understand why this is, as part of the LGBTQIA community I get it. I know that you were growing up with a lot of insecurities about who you are, and that part of being in the closet means hiding and not talking to others, and how great it can feel when you're finally out and can talk about this. But I also know my place in the conversation, and I know that my problems aren't the most severe out there. And I think that this is something that the gay community as a whole needs to grasp.