Links and Updates

I am currently in the middle of three weeks of annual leave from work, having tried to time them with the peak of the current pandemic. It’s been an extremely fraught time in New Zealand, with anti-vaccine/mandate morons starting a riot outside the steps of Parliament because they’re... not allowed to go into public buildings for a few weeks? It’s disturbing and pathetic behaviour, and watching so many countrymen and women fall prey to the lunacy of the internet’s disinformation machine has been deeply disheartening.

It was announced yesterday that these mandates are ending near the beginning of April, which I processed with mixed feelings: on the one hand, I no longer have to deal with the tantrums of the unvaccinated in the foyer at work, on the other, I think it’s a bit too soon to be relaxing restrictions. The anti-vaxxers have demonstrated they don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves (even as they start filling  up hospital beds) so despite being past the peak this loosening of restrictions is bound to lead to an uptick in the numbers.

So I’m still finding it very difficult to relax, even with a strict no-read policy on current events. I’m taking plenty of hikes though, as well as churning through Catheryne Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland books and ticking off films in my To Be Watched list. At this stage I (and I suspect, a lot of people) are just in “get through one day at a time” mode, which isn’t going to change anytime soon.

We have a new Stranger Things trailer (actually it's been out for a while now and I just forgot to post it) and I was gobsmacked to learn that it’s been two years since the last season. Seriously? Time has lost all meaning.

Speaking of trailers, the latest glimpse of Amazon’s Rings of Power was not particularly inspiring, so I might just satisfy myself with a re-read of The Silmarillion. It’s currently sitting at the top of my bedside bookcase; I just need to get through Valente’s books first.

Who doesn’t love a good, visually striking character poster? Here’s three for the price of one:

Solid, evocative images. I’m currently working my way through this latest season of Disenchantment and will watch the Lightyear movie when it becomes available, though I’m still on Star Wars hiatus for the time being. Nice to see Obi Wan get some love though.

There is apparently a Spirited Away stage show, and JUST LOOK AT IT!

This is topped only by the news that Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane has also been adapted for the stage, and also looks amazing (though not quite as impressive as those giant puppets).

I’m going to try and dip back into my ongoing watch of all available adaptations of Robin Hood, though my in-progress review of the 2006 – 2009 BBC version is very stop-start. The wasted opportunities and bone-headed creative decisions just make me so angry! Plus, I’ll admit to having a Bile Fascination with the character of Kate that’s so intense I’m rather embarrassed by it. She’s just such a horrendously written and performed character that it’s downright enthralling. The sheer level of fail she embodies on every conceivable level is awe-inspiring. I could write a dissertation on “how not to write a female character” and not be required to cite anyone but her. Amazing.

In any case, jadelotusflower is nearing the end of her Robin Hood rewatch over on Tumblr (she’s halfway through season three) so if you want some snark to tide you over, you can head her way.

I was just about to settle down with the second season of The Babysitters Club when the news dropped that Netflix had cancelled it. Urgh. Putting aside the fact that this was a fun little show that seems to have been embraced by its target audience, this is now a staple feature of Netflix shows: you get invested and they promptly pull the plug. And there’s something that just feels so unfinished about having just two seasons. One is a one-and-done, three has a beginning-middle-and-end, but two? That’s just incomplete. Here’s an interview with the creator on Vulture that talks a little about how the Netflix algorithms work (and why they’re bullshit).

A topic that’s coming up frequently these days is that of Villains Who are Right. I’m not talking about the Thanos Was Right meme, but villains who are very much fighting for social justice and other reforms – goals that make them so sympathetic that they’re forced to randomly burn down a city or blow up a building to prevent the audience from siding whole-heartedly with them.

And it’s been around for a long time. Remember Morgana from Merlin? She was trying to overthrow a genocidal king, a goal that was so obviously the right thing to do that they had to make her kill innocent civilians for no reason and reframe her motivations as lust for the throne just so the “real” hero wouldn’t look bad for having spent the last ten years doing fuck-all for his persecuted people.

In any case, Polygon has an interesting article about this very phenomenon, which will hopefully open up more conversation on just what’s going on in writers’ studios around the world and how the rest of us can start avoiding this particular trap.

Why The Witch Calls to a Queer Audience. Have I linked this Nerdist article before? It’s an interesting take.

Hey, season two of Bridgerton has just dropped! I have to admit the first season didn’t really charm me, but I was rendered helpless after seeing photos of those Desi sisters...