screen things

Jul. 16th, 2017 11:18 pm
pax_athena: (lotor)
I.
I've finally seen "Wonder Woman" (it did come out later in the Netherlands and then I was travelling and had no time to breath). I left in love - it was a flawed movie (that boat trip was just hilariously wrong), but oh, did it do things right. I did stay out of the overall discussion, for various reasons, but two thoughts that I keep coming back to.
1. Am I happy that they went for the "wrong war". I am so, so, so tired of American stories using WWII as a backdrop. I know that it is part of the history of the character, but well ... Sometimes, if we tell the stories anew, we need to change them.
2. When writing this, I am sitting on a plane, the passengers boarding walking past me on the way to their seats: people flying from Munich to Amsterdam, from Germany to the Netherlands. And it brings it home once again: Gal Gadot would stand out among them - for being somewhat darker, somewhat different, foreign enough to be seen as "not one of us". Is it my own experience talking? Perhaps. I'm pretty sure they have not thought of this, making an American movie. But to me, with my experience of being the other in Western Europe, with the movie taking part in UK, Belgium and France, with Gal Gadot's own Israeli background, this is an Jewish woman, a woman representing an ethnic minority, a woman representing a certain Middle-Eastern look that would draw racism and discrimination, being powerful on screen. This gives me so freaking many feelings.

II.
American Gods. (Thanks, [personal profile] giallarhorn!) I'm two episodes in and I love it. I found the Bilquis sex scene less impressive than the online discussion let me to believe, but it *was* well done. The casting so far has been superb - different from what I thought (in my imagination, Shadow was rather Native American than black), but working in a way that is definitely overwriting my assumptions. The only thing I wish for were proper prononciation for the Zorya's names, especially among the Zoryas and Czernobog. But oh well.

III.
They did change Druckfrisch to a bi-monthly schedule, didn't they? I am so freaking sad about it, it still is perhaps the only German TV show worth watching D:

IV.
Also seen the two first seasons of Voltron. Meh. I will give it another try - in the end, the next season has Lotor. But so far it gives me zero feelings. It does certainly not help that even as a kid, I loved the vehicle Voltron version a lot more than the lion one. I'm kind of sad about this - I really wanted something else to be fannish about (not that I grow tired of Marvel/Loki but I have the distinct feeling that the whole universe goes into a direction I do not like). Oh well.
(Both Wonder Woman and American Gods are too good. Fannish needs a story with enough holes to feel them up with imagination but at the same time not enough to totally throw me off. I'm strange like that, it's hard to get me there, only very few shows ever managed.)

trinities[*]

Feb. 17th, 2017 06:59 pm
pax_athena: (touchy)
  • Three things on the news that make me despair[**]:
    • American politics
    • Dutch politics
    • Poll numbers of the German Greens
  • Three things that gave me warm fuzzy work feelings:
    • The support of my colleagues for my candidacy for the staff association
    • That talk invitation (that also makes a very awkward trip a lot easier)
    • Witty e-mail conversations with a bunch of my favorite people
  • Three things this weekend that I am looking forward to and am somewhat intimidated by:
    • Fancy lunch with someone I only ever met at a couple of conferences (and who isn't in science anymore) but who shares my love for good food later today.
    • Good-bye party of a colleague tomorrow.
    • Meeting with a local LJ-friend (*winkwink*) the day after tomorrow.
  • Three things I ordered online recently:
    • A blender (because the one I bought wasn't working properly - I have better hopes for this one).
    • Two pairs of jeans and two black turtleneck sweaters (keeping only a pair of jeans, unfortunately; I needed a good black turtleneck more, alas ...)
    • 10 books (all by women, all but one foreign)
  • Three trips in March:
    • Rosenheim
    • Paris
    • Naples
  • Three homemade things in my freezer:
    • Cauliflower soup
    • Pasta bake
    • Minipancakes
  • Three things on my phone that make me happy:
    • WhatsApp (because friends far away)
    • Pokemon Go (because Generation 2 Pokemon since today!)
    • That new word-game in "Peak" where I reached the legendary status now
  • Three museums I've been to so far:
    • Sieboldhuis Leiden (Japanese Museum) for the Kunisada Exhibition
    • NEMO Science Museum Amsterdam (OMG! Live chain reaction!)
    • Fries Museum Leeuwarden for the Alma-Tadema exhibition


[*] Of course, if I use the word "trinity" I mean this one, which is one of my usual recommendations if people ask for a great self-contained series within the DC universe.
[**] No, discussion not welcome.

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