Bevendre

When reviewing a created work, I think something that’s often forgotten across mediums is that pieces from different genres can’t really be held as comparable to one another at raw base value.  The point of a review is to judge how successfully a piece accomplishes what it set out to do, not necessarily how revolutionary or unheard of its advances are, or how present aspects are that it made no claim of having.

One cannot judge a movie marketed as a budget romantic comedy for its use of visual aesthetic or cinematic setpieces because Avatar came out.  One cannot judge a movie marketed as a popcorn fluff explosion fest for the way that it demonstrates the human condition and the faults of modern capitalism because Oscar-bait movies have come out doing just that.  If a movie markets itself as one thing, especially if it does so heavily, then it should be held up to its marketing and the expectations therein, and compared with other films that have proved successful in that genre.

The same is true for books, and in today’s world, video games.  One cannot judge a linear platformer or shooter that takes 5-6 hours to finish for a new player along the same grounds as they would judge an epic 80 hour RPG.  The genres are so staunchly opposed in intent, motive and marketing that they are virtually incomparable.  That, I feel, is where a lot of corporate/professional reviewers, and a large mount of upset gamers fall into a pitfall.  Because the video game market has become so saturated with new releases people neglect to look at a game for what it is and what it directly portrays itself as.  Many people hold everything in the medium on a flat scale with little to no variation for presentation type or genre, and personally I find that approach fundamentally flawed.  

People are more than welcome to have their opinions and preferences on what they enjoy in a game, or any medium, but if a game, movie, what have you does not fall into those parameters, that does not mean that that piece is inherently bad.  Just because a piece does fall within the realm of one’s preferences does not make it inherently good, especially if nostalgia is involved.  A review, and criticism in general is meant to highlight the aspects of the piece that are generally well done, and the aspects that need polish, whether they are the aspects that one looks for in particular or not.  How heavily the various aspects of creation should also not be held at a concrete flat line, but left adaptable based on how well the medium accomplishes its intent and fulfills its marketed promises. 

Motion is a difficult thing to properly portray in a static medium, and especially so with a subject, or subject type, with which one has very little experience and is trying to improve on anyway.

Telling an artist flat out that they cannot draw motion, in general but especially when they’re trying to get a body type down, doesn’t help them.  It makes them feel like they’re failing at what they’re trying to do, and often discourages them from trying.

Don’t tell an artist that they can’t draw something.  Tell them that they need to work on drawing that thing.  Tell them that that thing needs work, and offer suggestions on how to do it.  That’s criticism, and it’s helpful.  Telling an artist that they can’t do something, be it motion, expressions, depth, whatever, isn’t criticism, it’s discouragement whether it’s intended or not.

Most importantly, don’t criticize an artist that’s not looking for criticism.  If they don’t ask, then oftentimes they don’t want it, and won’t take it if it’s offered.  If you’re convinced that they need it, and just haven’t openly admitted to it, then ask before you give criticism.

what happend?

Nothing specific, just family issues that have long been toxic, and that I would prefer to not deal with any more than I have already.

I’m tired of being called lazy, irresponsible, stupid and reclusive despite working near full time, maintaining good credit and fiscal backing, being the only person in my family (for generations on one side) to earn a college degree, and the only one to write a book.

I’m tired of being told that my sister does all of the housework whilst my brother and I are juggling laundry, dishes, cleaning, yardwork,etc. while she sleeps and watches Netflix.

I’m tired of having sleepless nights not because I fear for what my parents would or could do to me, but because they leave me questioning my worth on a regular basis.

I’m tired of my family, frankly put, and I think it’s passed time for me to move out.

As much as I love the music that accompanies Superman properties, and as much as I enjoyed the animated series growing up, I cannot bring myself to like Superman as a character, and it’s not just because he’s overpowered.

To me, Superman is an excellent example of a character created to solve a problem, and one held back by its creation.  Superman was created to instill a sense of hope, goodness, and to a point patriotism in a population facing the Great Depression, and then World War II.  He was meant to be ideal, and insurmountable, and he has remained that way but while it is good that his goals have been met and maintained, it is perhaps worrying that he has been unable to change as a character in his tenure.  

Superman’s the boyscout who will do no wrong, or he’s the dictator who prevents all things he sees as wrong.  Unlike other heroes with a ‘tragic’ backstory, Superman has little to motivate him into going down the right path besides ‘it’s the right thing to do’, and this isn’t bad, but it is bland.  On the occasions that his beliefs are pushed, most often in Otherworld timelines, his ‘right thing’ mentality supersedes reason and right to make him a controlling force in the world, rather than a protecting one.  This is clearly shown in the recent Injustice line, but also in earlier storylines in comics and cartoons alike.

Superman is severely overpowered, and as you say he’s meant to be so.  This is great for an ideal character meant to inspire, or a Messianic character as Supes is often portrayed.  It’s not a particularly good trait for a character though, at least not one that is meant to mingle with the common folk, or who would need assistance which, depending on who’s writing the story and determining the limits of Supes’s powers, renders the JLA a rather moot point. 

Perhaps my greatest issue with Superman is that if he wasn’t one of DC’s big 3, or wasn’t such a long standing character, he probably wouldn’t be accepted by many fans today.  If taken out of the DC universe, or considered an OC Superman embodies most every aspect of a Mary Sue character that is close to being justified.  He’s a perfect character, and that’s not a good thing.  Perfection is unattractive, it is unattainable, and it is unrelatable.  

Superman, at least to me, stands as a great role model, but a terrible character because he’s the perfect ‘character’.  His flaws are self-imposed rather than being dynamic or organic.  His personality is generally one sided and tends to be either black or white with little moral grey area in between.  He’s a great character to introduce kids to, and to idolize but a poor one in many other regards.

As always, everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, and to support them as Nathan has done, but every opinion is open to debate and counterpoints.

This has been a random rant.

Before getting to the headcanons sent, I just saw the Powerpuff Girls reboot.  Personally, I would have preferred it if the series didn’t come back if this was the best they could come up with.

There was not a SINGLE character who was written in character as they were in the original series.  The girls would fight before, but over personal things and sibling arguments.  Here it was over the most pointless petty things that eliminated virtually all sense of difference or individuality between the three of them.  Through most of the special they are effectively interchangeable, something that should not happen to these characters.

The new designs didn’t bother me in still frames, but in motion they’re horrible.  Character motion does not flow by any sense of the word, unless you’re talking to a person in the middle of an epileptic seizure from watching it.  It is not animation, in many cases, so much as it is a flipbook of the character with several missing frames between every pose.  The lighting and color used in the special does not help the animation by any means, instead only aggravating it.  In the original show, the lighting was almost always a neutral light allowing the animation to stand out and the characters to cover the story telling.  In the special the lighting is heavily present, and at times overbearing.  This accentuates the choppy animation and distracts from whatever character is remotely present in these poorly crafted shadows of the originals.

Between the writing, and the animation, this is the first thing I have ever watched that has made me physically nauseous.  Other travesties have upset me and insulted their source material more, but never have I had such a physical reaction to a show.  May this ‘reboot’ never become anything more than the one time special it is.

I must admit, I’m a little sad to see Ask Princess Molestia go.

The blog did perpetuate rape culture and made jokes about molestation and rape, neither of which should be joked about.  However, the blog was written and presented in a way that kept it relatively clean.  At its worst it was on par with Family Guy, which has a substantially larger audience and reach, and at its best could be legitimately amusing and fun.  I tolerated it at its worst, and I enjoyed it at its best.

JJ’s blog was what introduced me to tumblr, and to the community outside of the show as a whole.  I doubt that I would have found my place here if not for Mindless Gonzo’s dubs of the blog, and for that I thank JJ and what he did with an iteration of a character that could have been, and has been, portrayed much much worse by others.

Just because Molestia is taken down does not mean that there has been a victory against rape culture, and if it did the victory would be beyond minuscule.  Even as one of the largest tumblrpon personalities, Molestia had a very small global audience, and its loss is akin to removing a single small sore in an attempt to cure chicken pox.  The sentiment of DWM was valiant, but could have been spent targeting the source of the issue rather than a distant reflection of it.

I would encourage further dissolution of rape culture, but please, PLEASE, focus on something other than one person’s outlet with a small audience and instead on the issue itself and the recovery of victims.

It is okay to be white, or black, or Asian, or what have you.
It is okay to be a man, or a woman, or whatever gender you identify as.
It is okay to be gay, or straight, or bisexual, asexual or whatever preference you have.
It is okay to be cisgender, just as it is okay to be transgender.
These are things that we do not choose, and cannot change.  These are the things that make up WHAT we are, but they do not define WHO we are.

WHO we are is determined by the choices we make in life.  It is not what we like, but how we share it.  It is not who we like, but how we interact with them and show them the respect they may or may not deserve.  If you attack someone, verbally, emotionally or otherwise, based on WHAT they are, and do so with terms meant to offend them like ‘tranny’, or 'cisscum’ or what have you, then WHO you are is an asshole, and you have chosen to be such.

I hate being depressed.
Having the feeling of absolute uselessness and knowing that it’s not true.
Feeling like I can’t and shouldn’t do anything because it will only go wrong, and knowing that that feeling is wrong.
Being unable to move because I can’t find the motivation or purpose to do so, but knowing that I have to or that I should.
The part I hate the most though, is that no one close to me pays enough attention or seems to care.  Those that have known me the longest don’t take the time to see that something may be wrong.  The people who do notice though, who do care, are always so far away even if they’re always there.

      One of the most aggravating things I see on tumblr is people complaining about specials and changes in shows.  Most notably of late is the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special.  While some are more than justified in being disappointed that only 10 and 11 will be in it, as well as John Hurt, (8.5?) I’m getting sick of the complaints that it’s just the 8th year anniversary special instead of the 50th because of it.

      If you love a show enough to call yourself a fan, then you should be able to trust the writers enough to put out a decent product.  With the 50th there are reasons why there are only 2 Doctors, and they will be made as clear as anything else in Doctor Who when it happens.  Given the cast involved, it may even go back to the Meta-Crisis plot point dropped off in Series 4 of New Who, and I’m fine with that.

      Trust Moffat and the other writers, even if you don’t like them, give the anniversary special a chance, and for the love of all that’s good understand that just because Classic Doctors won’t be back doesn’t mean that they have been abandoned in favor of the new.