'"You're blowing this way out of proportion." He opens up his laptop and mutters, "This is why women aren't cut out for this business. Too much drama."' - page 78
'He keeps his attention on his phone. "Not enough..." He cups his palms in front of his chest, and I realize he's referring to the actress's breasts. I scoff quietly to myself. Janice glares at him, and Jane rolls her eyes. I think of Shrupty and how she's about to sit here before him and be judged by him. I should have warned her about him earlier.' - page 81
'"If I was showrunner," she says, "We'd be in the room together all day. Breaking story ideas, working on outlines, writing scenes. It would be a democracy, not a dictatorship."' - page 114
'"Oh," he says with a smirk. "The new girl's here. I've seen some of her videos on YouTube. Do you know if she's single?"
My skin prickles. "Shrupty? You know she's, like, über gay, right?" I'm surprised he doesn't know that; Shrupty is super-open about it online.
He does a double take. "Jeez, look at that." He nods toward the three of them, watching like he's found a rare Pokémon. "They're all gay. I guess this is what it feels like to be a minority." He laughs, then nudges me with his elbow when I don't laugh. "Us straights better stick together."
I break into a sweat. I desperately want to correct him. I want to pat him on the back, say something witty like "You're on your own, bud," then walk away to join the others. I want to call him out for thinking he has any idea what it's like to be a minority... but I can't.
The fact that he felt the need to point out that three queer people are having a conversation, like it's a novelty or something to be gawked at, doesn't make me feel like I can trust him with my own queerness. I don't know if I'm ready to declare it proudly to someone who might not be receptive to it. So I grit my teeth as he erases my sexuality and cracks jokes about it. And then I go fetch a green juice for him, the whole time kicking myself for not speaking up.' - page 116
'Why is it that when assholes act like assholes, everyone else just has to ignore it? It doesn't make him less of an asshole. It just gives him the power to take it up a notch.' - page 137
'Archer waves his hands in front of him wildly. "Fuck, everyone is gay now. This whole party is the gayest fucking thing I've ever seen!" He finally notices the people loitering in the alley, watching him, then turns his anger on all of us. "What about me? Huh? What about straight people?" He raises a fist in the air. "Straight pride!"
My jaw drops. Scoffs and groans rumble through the crowd. Someone behind me mutters, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
But Archer isn't deterred, and goes on like that for longer than anyone wants him to. His lightly veiled homophobia is peeking out from behind the curtains. With every word he says, I deflate a little. It's just another reminder that oh, right, I'm different. Oh, right. There are some places where I'm not welcome. Oh, right. Even people I think I can trust would prefer it if I just didn't exist.' - page 163-164
'It wasn't supposed to be like this. Los Angeles is the City of Lights, where people come form all over the world to make their dreams come true.
What a load of shit.' - page 196
'Los Angeles is where dreams come to die.' - page 197
'"The kind of people who judge you based on where you're from or how much money you have aren't the kind of people you want in your life [...]"' - page 256
'Malcolm rolls his eyes. "When are you gonna learn that right and wrong don't matter in Hollywood? All that matters is who has the most power, and that's me [...]"' - page 267
'I fantasize about leaping onto the table, standing over Malcolm, and screaming in his face. I imagine myself getting right up in his face and tearing him to shreds, intimidating him like he's done to me ever since the day we met. In a world with no consequences, I'd let my fury take over and flip the whole damn table.
But the only people who get to live in a world without consequences are men like those sitting in this room. That stops now.' - page 277
And much more.
Themes: Straightwashing, #MeToo, workplace harassment, toxic work environments, abuse of power, gaslighting, protecting entitled and privileged bigots in a patriarchal society, mansplaining, powerful men protecting powerful men and "witch hunts", "Straight pride" (what perfect timing!), classism, social media as a tool to change the world, and just calling your mum.
Anyone who cares about representation in TV and film should definitely check 'Going Off Script' out. Additionally, it's a great, delightfully-addictive summer read that can be read in a single afternoon. Another geeky YA romance from Jen Wilde that you can just eat up.
It's super funny and sweet, too. Example: the meet-cute of the redheaded, bespectacled main character, Bex Phillips, and her Indian love interest, Shrupty Padwal, is Bex feeling lonely, dejected and reality-checked at a celebrity party, then, "*gasp* THAT DOG HAS A PUFFY TAIL!" and she follows puppies that lead her to Shrupty.
'Going Off Script' is queer as hell, and it won't take any more homophobia. It won't take any straight white men's bullshit.
That ending. I don't care if it's overly optimistic and twee, it's earned and deserved. It's for everyone who is in "the minority", who has ever been erased, mocked, ignored, gaslighted, intimidated, threatened, or outright attacked and harassed just for being who they are. They deserve positive representation, and their happy ending.
The only real criticism I can give 'Going Off Script' is the unresolved question regarding the gender identity of Bex. It is hinted a couple of times that she might be considering herself genderqueer, but then it's never brought up again. That's a real shame in a book like this, and for the protagonist, at that. Imagine how much more groundbreaking it would be to have an open genderqueer gay protag in YA. Bex is also on Ritalin; think of that!
Maybe it should have mentioned queerbaiting, as well?
Add in cameos from Jen Wilde's 'Queens of Geek' and 'The Brightsiders' (though Alyssa Huntington is part of the main cast, as a TV actor), and the work is done. Except it isn't, as the issues that 'Going Off Script' raises are still happening. Hopefully it will help in the fight to end them.
Do what's right, put the power to the people, and fight for their freedoms.
Representation matters.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Saturday, 8 June 2019
Graphic Novel Review - 'The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power' by Jeremy Whitley (Writer), Elsa Charretier (Artist)
The Unstoppable Wasp is here! G.I.R.L. power flies! Super genius, POC and LBGTQ girls receive the spotlight they deserve in a Marvel comic - and practically all are from poor backgrounds, and only the Wasp, Nadia, is an actual costumed superhero. Feel the buzz on that!
'The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power' (trade: issues 1-8) is a positive and unrelenting joy all throughout, with dramatic moments, sweet character development, and blooming relationships. As well as introducing new or newish Marvel characters, it makes sure to highlight the hell out of older ones who have been around for decades.
It turns out that the Marvel films didn't do the Wasp justice; those films are part of the reason for why I didn't want to read any comics about her originally. But whoever puts on the suit, and then shrinks, absorbs Pym particles, whatever, in 'The Unstoppable Wasp', is a beacon; an inspiration.
Nadia, Hank Pym's long-lost teen daughter who was raised to be an assassin and super scientist weapon in the Red Room, despite her background, is a darling creature. She's curious, optimistic, fun, altruistic, friendly, trusting, makes it her prerogative to try to look on the bright side of things, and is as sprightly as a pixie, than a real wasp. She won't let her locked-up, sheltered upbringing get the better of her.
She is also one of the smartest people in the world. Who says that scientists and inventors have to be perpetually miserable and antisocial?
While Nadia does occasionally show signs of issues related to her abusive childhood and assassin-trained programming, and she is very sensitive (her next comic confirms that she has bipolar disorder, inherited from her father), her newfound friends and adoptive family will help her out in any way, for she is loved very much. Nadia has pretty much the same backstory as Black Widow, but their personalities are opposite. This super teen will light up everyone's world.
Nadia is determined to recruit other teen girls to an organisation she calls G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs), after learning about the bias in the list of smartest people in the Marvel Universe, which has barely been updated in decades and mostly includes white men. The ordinary yet extraordinary teen girls like herself that Nadia meets (in New York) are:
Taina Miranda, a Latinx engineer on crutches, and her lacrosse player big sister Alexis; Lashayla "Shay" Smith, a pop culture-loving, black, queer, bespectacled physics prodigy and inventor; Priya Aggarwal, an Indian-American, best-biologist-ever and child of immigrants; and last but definitely not least, Ying, an Asian scientist and assassin, and Nadia's first friend from the Red Room who was originally sent to bring her back. She's tragic, yet as adorable as Nadia in her own way. Ying's queer as hell, too. All of these girls are brilliant, but it did take me a while to get to know them and their individual personalities and quirks.
G.I.R.L. is full of potential, like all girls and women, if you give them a chance to prove themselves.
Now onto the classic characters:
Jarvis, the Avengers' butler who serves as Nadia's guardian for most of the volume, is great. A brave, stiff yet funny and warm ordinary guy who has been through, well, everything. He has been involved in superheroes' affairs for so long.
Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp - I love her, plain and simple. A true definition of a strong, smart, experienced, independent woman with endless connections, and who will warm up to Nadia without meaning to, as she sees herself in the poor, traumatized girl; but who bounces back and wants everyone to be happy. Their team-ups are magical. Janet never wants kids (and freaking good for her!), but she might sorta adopt Nadia and her friends. For reasons that have nothing to do with her being Nadia's father's ex-wife.
Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, is in this, and she is absolutely wonderful as well. How I've missed her! She also takes a tearful shine to Nadia - the prodigy certainly has that effect on people.
Smart, capable and compassionate women abound in 'The Unstoppable Wasp', without assistance from men (a couple of them are divorced, like Janet and Bobbi). It's a shame that Shuri isn't in it.
Oh, and Matt Murdock/Daredevil (whom Nadia amusingly calls Modok) shows up too, I guess.
Other cameos include Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl (canonically the smartest person in the world, and she's nine-years-old) and her Devil Dino, and the female wrestlers Poundcakes and Letha, who were once criminals but thanks to the sympathies of Nadia might turn over a new leaf by the end of the comic.
'The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power' - the whole package is so adorable, charming and touching. One of the best Marvel comics I've read. It merges the past, present and future of Marvel's history spectacularly to include feminist themes. Race, gender, sexuality (the only romance present is the beginnings of a relationship between Shay and Ying, and Nadia couldn't be less interested in anything sexual), mental illness, disability, different kinds of abuse, classism - it's all here, in a nonetheless colourful and fabulous book.
There is also the theme at the end about how your elders, like your parents, are also flawed and human, and not the perfect heroes you always thought they were. This is when Nadia learns the dark side of the apparently deceased father she never knew, and how it affects herself and the people Hank Pym knows; who she knows now too.
It's not perfect (after all these years I've yet to rate a Marvel comic five stars), but I recommend it. You're in for a treat. You're in for a glimpse into a brighter future full of progress and hope... and not just in the comics industry.
Final Score: 4/5
'The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power' (trade: issues 1-8) is a positive and unrelenting joy all throughout, with dramatic moments, sweet character development, and blooming relationships. As well as introducing new or newish Marvel characters, it makes sure to highlight the hell out of older ones who have been around for decades.
It turns out that the Marvel films didn't do the Wasp justice; those films are part of the reason for why I didn't want to read any comics about her originally. But whoever puts on the suit, and then shrinks, absorbs Pym particles, whatever, in 'The Unstoppable Wasp', is a beacon; an inspiration.
Nadia, Hank Pym's long-lost teen daughter who was raised to be an assassin and super scientist weapon in the Red Room, despite her background, is a darling creature. She's curious, optimistic, fun, altruistic, friendly, trusting, makes it her prerogative to try to look on the bright side of things, and is as sprightly as a pixie, than a real wasp. She won't let her locked-up, sheltered upbringing get the better of her.
She is also one of the smartest people in the world. Who says that scientists and inventors have to be perpetually miserable and antisocial?
While Nadia does occasionally show signs of issues related to her abusive childhood and assassin-trained programming, and she is very sensitive (her next comic confirms that she has bipolar disorder, inherited from her father), her newfound friends and adoptive family will help her out in any way, for she is loved very much. Nadia has pretty much the same backstory as Black Widow, but their personalities are opposite. This super teen will light up everyone's world.
Nadia is determined to recruit other teen girls to an organisation she calls G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs), after learning about the bias in the list of smartest people in the Marvel Universe, which has barely been updated in decades and mostly includes white men. The ordinary yet extraordinary teen girls like herself that Nadia meets (in New York) are:
Taina Miranda, a Latinx engineer on crutches, and her lacrosse player big sister Alexis; Lashayla "Shay" Smith, a pop culture-loving, black, queer, bespectacled physics prodigy and inventor; Priya Aggarwal, an Indian-American, best-biologist-ever and child of immigrants; and last but definitely not least, Ying, an Asian scientist and assassin, and Nadia's first friend from the Red Room who was originally sent to bring her back. She's tragic, yet as adorable as Nadia in her own way. Ying's queer as hell, too. All of these girls are brilliant, but it did take me a while to get to know them and their individual personalities and quirks.
G.I.R.L. is full of potential, like all girls and women, if you give them a chance to prove themselves.
Now onto the classic characters:
Jarvis, the Avengers' butler who serves as Nadia's guardian for most of the volume, is great. A brave, stiff yet funny and warm ordinary guy who has been through, well, everything. He has been involved in superheroes' affairs for so long.
Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp - I love her, plain and simple. A true definition of a strong, smart, experienced, independent woman with endless connections, and who will warm up to Nadia without meaning to, as she sees herself in the poor, traumatized girl; but who bounces back and wants everyone to be happy. Their team-ups are magical. Janet never wants kids (and freaking good for her!), but she might sorta adopt Nadia and her friends. For reasons that have nothing to do with her being Nadia's father's ex-wife.
Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, is in this, and she is absolutely wonderful as well. How I've missed her! She also takes a tearful shine to Nadia - the prodigy certainly has that effect on people.
Smart, capable and compassionate women abound in 'The Unstoppable Wasp', without assistance from men (a couple of them are divorced, like Janet and Bobbi). It's a shame that Shuri isn't in it.
Oh, and Matt Murdock/Daredevil (whom Nadia amusingly calls Modok) shows up too, I guess.
Other cameos include Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl (canonically the smartest person in the world, and she's nine-years-old) and her Devil Dino, and the female wrestlers Poundcakes and Letha, who were once criminals but thanks to the sympathies of Nadia might turn over a new leaf by the end of the comic.
'The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power' - the whole package is so adorable, charming and touching. One of the best Marvel comics I've read. It merges the past, present and future of Marvel's history spectacularly to include feminist themes. Race, gender, sexuality (the only romance present is the beginnings of a relationship between Shay and Ying, and Nadia couldn't be less interested in anything sexual), mental illness, disability, different kinds of abuse, classism - it's all here, in a nonetheless colourful and fabulous book.
There is also the theme at the end about how your elders, like your parents, are also flawed and human, and not the perfect heroes you always thought they were. This is when Nadia learns the dark side of the apparently deceased father she never knew, and how it affects herself and the people Hank Pym knows; who she knows now too.
It's not perfect (after all these years I've yet to rate a Marvel comic five stars), but I recommend it. You're in for a treat. You're in for a glimpse into a brighter future full of progress and hope... and not just in the comics industry.
Final Score: 4/5
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Graphic Novel Review - 'Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology' by Joamette Gil (Editor), Various
Brilliant, powerful, original, authentic, and important.
'Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology' - Fifteen comic stories about witchy, fantastical queer women of colour, written and drawn by queer women of colour.
Each short story is vastly different from the one before it, and it's not just the eclectic art styles; all of which are beautiful in their own way that fits, like a kid glove, a kitten heel, a velvet cushion, a felt slipper, or a silk purse. Some of the tales are funny, some are sad, some are bittersweet, some are dark and scary, some are plain weird, and most are full of hope. All are wonderfully creative, and I don't dare spoil any of them; discover the magic for yourselves.
These are original and sweet fairy tales right here.
The disability and genderqueer representations are also vitally significant. A strong theme of community, compassion, understanding, supporting and being there for others is one thread, one link, throughout this indigenous and free-love, stardusted anthology. Audre Lorde would have loved this.
LBGTQ nonwhite witches have the power to think outside the box. To shake things up and shape readers' perceptions. They have the power to bring true happiness to themselves and to other people, with no fear, no opposition, barring their paths.
Stars align, this is exactly what the title suggests. If there is any way that you can read 'Power & Magic' online, or buy a physical copy legally from somewhere (I had to pay around £80 for my copy - thank goddesses that it was worth it!), then try it. Because it needs more attention. This is what is meant by great diversity AND great storytelling.
Gorgeous.
Final Score: 4.5/5
'Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology' - Fifteen comic stories about witchy, fantastical queer women of colour, written and drawn by queer women of colour.
Each short story is vastly different from the one before it, and it's not just the eclectic art styles; all of which are beautiful in their own way that fits, like a kid glove, a kitten heel, a velvet cushion, a felt slipper, or a silk purse. Some of the tales are funny, some are sad, some are bittersweet, some are dark and scary, some are plain weird, and most are full of hope. All are wonderfully creative, and I don't dare spoil any of them; discover the magic for yourselves.
These are original and sweet fairy tales right here.
The disability and genderqueer representations are also vitally significant. A strong theme of community, compassion, understanding, supporting and being there for others is one thread, one link, throughout this indigenous and free-love, stardusted anthology. Audre Lorde would have loved this.
LBGTQ nonwhite witches have the power to think outside the box. To shake things up and shape readers' perceptions. They have the power to bring true happiness to themselves and to other people, with no fear, no opposition, barring their paths.
Stars align, this is exactly what the title suggests. If there is any way that you can read 'Power & Magic' online, or buy a physical copy legally from somewhere (I had to pay around £80 for my copy - thank goddesses that it was worth it!), then try it. Because it needs more attention. This is what is meant by great diversity AND great storytelling.
Gorgeous.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Scribble #94
I guess I wasn't born with, or built for, that ability that so many people seem to have of hiding their true feelings and thoughts. I've always been sensitive, and honest. Though a quiet person, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I don't see that as a flaw; as open to vulnerability and hurt as that makes me. I'm moody, sulky, and my emotions can change at a drop of a hat. I feel strongly, and I can't hide that about myself very well. I haven't got that suppression thing figured out to a T. I'm good at exploring inside my own head, and on the outside, what you see is what you get.
I'm an open book in a closed-off, ignorant, cynical world.
Lying, cheating, stealing, slandering, and hurting other people in any way makes me physically ill. I can't do those dishonest and morally repugnant things, and I don't want to. It's just not in my nature. Helping others, and making their lives brighter whenever it's possible for me to do so, is my foundation, my lifeline. I believe in compassion.
"Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself." There's happiness and love in there.
The world would be a much better place if more of us were honest about yourselves, and with each other. It's healthy. I would rather be hated for being myself, than liked because of a lie. Love cannot be bought.
I know I'm nowhere near perfect - I can be selfish, lazy, boring, stupid, childish, hypocritical, confused, anxious, scared, and insecure as well as sensitive - but that's what I like about us humans. We have so many faults, and the capacity to change for the better. For others.
Also, we should apologise more. I don't know why we've developed an aversion to say the word, "Sorry". This is especially true of adult authority figures. Owning up to our mistakes, admitting that we are each human and vulnerable and flawed, with not everything figured out, is the first step towards an honest, happy world for everyone.
A daily reminder: You are not alone. You are loved and cared for, warts and all. And there is nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help with our problems. In our times of need.
Honesty, empathy, community, and compassion are key.
I'm an open book in a closed-off, ignorant, cynical world.
Lying, cheating, stealing, slandering, and hurting other people in any way makes me physically ill. I can't do those dishonest and morally repugnant things, and I don't want to. It's just not in my nature. Helping others, and making their lives brighter whenever it's possible for me to do so, is my foundation, my lifeline. I believe in compassion.
"Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself." There's happiness and love in there.
The world would be a much better place if more of us were honest about yourselves, and with each other. It's healthy. I would rather be hated for being myself, than liked because of a lie. Love cannot be bought.
I know I'm nowhere near perfect - I can be selfish, lazy, boring, stupid, childish, hypocritical, confused, anxious, scared, and insecure as well as sensitive - but that's what I like about us humans. We have so many faults, and the capacity to change for the better. For others.
Also, we should apologise more. I don't know why we've developed an aversion to say the word, "Sorry". This is especially true of adult authority figures. Owning up to our mistakes, admitting that we are each human and vulnerable and flawed, with not everything figured out, is the first step towards an honest, happy world for everyone.
A daily reminder: You are not alone. You are loved and cared for, warts and all. And there is nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help with our problems. In our times of need.
Honesty, empathy, community, and compassion are key.
Monday, 3 June 2019
Book Review - 'The Odyssey' by Homer
Won't be rating something I haven't finished and at best skimmed through.
Like 'The Iliad', we get more repetitious phrases and character descriptions ("white-armed" when depicting women, really? They're all beautiful and delicate, too. And mortal men actually get compared to gods, as "godlike". They're men, so it's what they DO that best describes them. No bias showing there, for sure). 'The Odyssey' is barely about Odysseus, at least not at the beginning. Just meddling gods all over again, and Odysseus's stuck-at-home son Telemachus.
Speaking of, I have to mention the first conversation between Telemachus and his mother Penelope that we are shown, which sums up my feelings for 'The Odyssey' nicely.
'Clue' cards presents!:
PENELOPE: Here I am, out of my room. This is my suggestion to all of you, my suitors, who have been freeloading in my palace and wrecking up the place and my kingdom like a fratboy house for twenty years now, and I have had enough. I tell you I will remain faithful to my husband Odysseus until I know for certain he is dead overseas. Telemachus, listen to me.
TELEMACHUS: No, Mother, you go to your room and loom or sew or whatever it is that women do. This is man's work! Fighting and diplomacy are no matter for women's tiny, fragile brains. Piss off, you woman!
Here's what should have happened.
PENELOPE: Uh, no, you little shit. I am your mother. I brought you into the world so you better show me some damn respect. These are MY suitors, remember? They are here because of ME. I should be allowed to handle them however I see fit. And I'm still technically the fucking queen; I should know what the hell is going on in my own kingdom. I'd hoped you'd be glad that I'm desperately trying not to replace your dad, whom you never even knew and yet, like everyone else, you idolise far more than me, who raised your ungrateful arse. I never should have let so many privileged men tell you stories that measure Odysseus's manhood to the stars while you were growing up. AND you're twenty and inexperienced, and not a king - you have no right, no authority, over me. Let me stay and show you how a worldly grownup - how a true sovereign and one who is still strong despite immense grief - rules over their subjects and pains in their arses.
But here's what really happened.
PENELOPE: (Is taken aback, but obeys her son's "sensible" orders, and goes back into her rooms to join her maids and do fuck all until near the end of the story) Men know best! Just look at all the war and what they've done to my home! Twenty years as quite a literal doormat, while my spoiled brat son, who never knew hardship or empathy in his life, makes decisions for me. Fun!
And immediately after her departure, on seeing her so easily beaten down by her own kid, her dozen suitors think about fucking her. Seriously.
Whelp. Bye!
Like 'The Iliad', we get more repetitious phrases and character descriptions ("white-armed" when depicting women, really? They're all beautiful and delicate, too. And mortal men actually get compared to gods, as "godlike". They're men, so it's what they DO that best describes them. No bias showing there, for sure). 'The Odyssey' is barely about Odysseus, at least not at the beginning. Just meddling gods all over again, and Odysseus's stuck-at-home son Telemachus.
Speaking of, I have to mention the first conversation between Telemachus and his mother Penelope that we are shown, which sums up my feelings for 'The Odyssey' nicely.
'Clue' cards presents!:
PENELOPE: Here I am, out of my room. This is my suggestion to all of you, my suitors, who have been freeloading in my palace and wrecking up the place and my kingdom like a fratboy house for twenty years now, and I have had enough. I tell you I will remain faithful to my husband Odysseus until I know for certain he is dead overseas. Telemachus, listen to me.
TELEMACHUS: No, Mother, you go to your room and loom or sew or whatever it is that women do. This is man's work! Fighting and diplomacy are no matter for women's tiny, fragile brains. Piss off, you woman!
Here's what should have happened.
PENELOPE: Uh, no, you little shit. I am your mother. I brought you into the world so you better show me some damn respect. These are MY suitors, remember? They are here because of ME. I should be allowed to handle them however I see fit. And I'm still technically the fucking queen; I should know what the hell is going on in my own kingdom. I'd hoped you'd be glad that I'm desperately trying not to replace your dad, whom you never even knew and yet, like everyone else, you idolise far more than me, who raised your ungrateful arse. I never should have let so many privileged men tell you stories that measure Odysseus's manhood to the stars while you were growing up. AND you're twenty and inexperienced, and not a king - you have no right, no authority, over me. Let me stay and show you how a worldly grownup - how a true sovereign and one who is still strong despite immense grief - rules over their subjects and pains in their arses.
But here's what really happened.
PENELOPE: (Is taken aback, but obeys her son's "sensible" orders, and goes back into her rooms to join her maids and do fuck all until near the end of the story) Men know best! Just look at all the war and what they've done to my home! Twenty years as quite a literal doormat, while my spoiled brat son, who never knew hardship or empathy in his life, makes decisions for me. Fun!
And immediately after her departure, on seeing her so easily beaten down by her own kid, her dozen suitors think about fucking her. Seriously.
Whelp. Bye!
Book Review - 'The Iliad' by Homer
DNF read, so no rating,
Sorry, but this was too long and repetitive for me and I didn't care about what happened in it at all. Too much was going on, and there were too many characters, none I liked, but at the same time it felt like nothing was being accomplished. It was Greek gods, who are the real villains in every story they appear in, constantly meddling in and betting on a war plot which can basically be summed up as, "Men go to war for over ten years because girl is pretty".
But the dryness, repetitions, pettiness, misogyny, slut-shaming (poor Helen, and she's a mother, remember?), and subjugation of women, I might have forgiven, due to it all being written as a product of the story's time, and possible translation issues...
Except that 'The Iliad' utterly screws over Artemis. I admit to skimming a lot of Homer's uh, masterpiece that transcends time and ancient history, but there is one moment that made me especially glad that I gave up on it:
Artemis, who barely appears throughout and is just following her brother Apollo's lead in the Trojan war, has a little fight with one of the gods. I think it was Hera, because of course everything always has to be Hera's fault. Zeus can literally do whatever the fuck he wants without comeuppance but Hera can only go fuck herself, apparently. Anyway, Hera boxes Artemis's ears with her own quiver, and Artemis runs crying to Zeus, kneeling at his feet as he's on his throne, because Hera is so mean.
Let me reiterate: Artemis, the Artemis, my Artemis, independent virgin goddess, goddess of the hunt, goddess of women and childbirth and midwifery, queen of the beasts, undisputed feminist badass and equal in power to the male Greek gods, literally runs crying to daddy because her stepmother boxed her ears like a five-year-old. Adding to her being subservient to Apollo, at that point I was like, "Right, I'm done here. Goodbye."
And that's that in my relationship with 'The Iliad', done and dusted.
Sorry, but this was too long and repetitive for me and I didn't care about what happened in it at all. Too much was going on, and there were too many characters, none I liked, but at the same time it felt like nothing was being accomplished. It was Greek gods, who are the real villains in every story they appear in, constantly meddling in and betting on a war plot which can basically be summed up as, "Men go to war for over ten years because girl is pretty".
But the dryness, repetitions, pettiness, misogyny, slut-shaming (poor Helen, and she's a mother, remember?), and subjugation of women, I might have forgiven, due to it all being written as a product of the story's time, and possible translation issues...
Except that 'The Iliad' utterly screws over Artemis. I admit to skimming a lot of Homer's uh, masterpiece that transcends time and ancient history, but there is one moment that made me especially glad that I gave up on it:
Artemis, who barely appears throughout and is just following her brother Apollo's lead in the Trojan war, has a little fight with one of the gods. I think it was Hera, because of course everything always has to be Hera's fault. Zeus can literally do whatever the fuck he wants without comeuppance but Hera can only go fuck herself, apparently. Anyway, Hera boxes Artemis's ears with her own quiver, and Artemis runs crying to Zeus, kneeling at his feet as he's on his throne, because Hera is so mean.
Let me reiterate: Artemis, the Artemis, my Artemis, independent virgin goddess, goddess of the hunt, goddess of women and childbirth and midwifery, queen of the beasts, undisputed feminist badass and equal in power to the male Greek gods, literally runs crying to daddy because her stepmother boxed her ears like a five-year-old. Adding to her being subservient to Apollo, at that point I was like, "Right, I'm done here. Goodbye."
And that's that in my relationship with 'The Iliad', done and dusted.
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