Miles “Who’s Morales?” Morales

i want more nuance to be entered into the discussion of the green girl sorority and how differently cynthia plays elphaba in comparison to those who came before her because while a lot of people are rightfully like "why was elphaba not black from the beginning" and celebrating that she is now being played by a black woman, i think we need to be careful in just writing off all the elphabas of the past as Random White Girls when the role was championed (and often followed/succeeded) by a jewish woman

the pop culture archetype of the Wicked Witch has deep roots in antisemitism stretching faaaar far back. there is a level of reclamation happening in casting idina menzel, a jewish woman, to play the Misunderstood and Maligned young girl who is branded as exactly that. and stage!Elphaba is also written and acted with jewish stereotypes in mind--she is loud, aggressive, no-nonsense, blunt. she is quick to advocate for herself and shut down the discrimination she faces. all of this is very intentional! her personality is abrasive from years of abuse, and that makes propagandizing her easy. this is literally the thesis statement of the musical--it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.

cynthia's performance of elphaba is fucking INSPIRED despite going in a completely different direction. she's much more reserved, analytical, one of her key character traits is how well she can read people (see her calling out Galinda as insecure/putting on airs in their first scene together, clocking that Fiyero is using his party guy persona as a shield for his own depression) elphaba's attempts to blend in and make herself smaller all fail simply because of her existence, if not that then because she feels empathy so strongly she often struggles to hold back from acting, protecting.

personality wise, though, cynthia's elphaba is very quiet and closed-off, not at all the bullet-to-the-face that she is in the stage show, and... she still gets propagandized and maligned. though this seems to contradict the other interpretation, it tells of the other end of the spectrum of propaganda, one that black women watching (and many, MANY other marginalized folks) are sure to identify with--it does not matter how "nice," how reserved, how small a black woman makes herself. a racist society will still scrutinize her every action for a way to parse ill intent from it, brand her as an angry black woman who is dangerous and wicked, and write off any humanity she has in the process.

these two very different interpretations tell of the lie of assimilation. the fact of the matter is, when you are marginalized, there is no way to sand down your edges enough to make the people oppressing you "accept" you. that is why wicked is a tragedy at its core. whether loud and aggressive or quiet and unimposing, there is nothing elphaba could have done to make the people of Oz see her as anything other than a scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

so while i definitely appreciate that people are excited for black girl era elphaba, i would encourage us all to still show appreciation for what came before--that was not white girl era elphaba. that was jewish girl era elphaba. two houses, both alike in dignity, two stories both worth being told.

idk man i think i'm not morally gray enough for some of these character conflicts

character is supposed to go to dinner with a high up nazi officer to make sure he drinks a beer that's going to be poisoned and she's all "oh, but he's such a nice guy. oh, i can imagine his mother weeping when her only son is dead. i don't know if i can do this."

mmmmm bro's a nazi, sis. bottoms up, motherfucker.

Not to be political but I’m just so fucking angry right now

Surya Bonaly was a black Olympic figure skater for France in the 1990’s. During one of her routines, she did a backflip.

Yes, you heard me. A fucking backflip. On ICE.

No-one else has done that since.

Anyway, the judges were racist as hell, and didn’t like that one bit. A black woman showing up the competition? God forbid. So they told her the move didn’t count for her score because she didn’t land on one leg, like people are apparently supposed to in Olympic figure skating.

In response, this incredible woman, during her next routine, did another backflip and landed on one leg. What’s more, she finished the routine with her back to the judges, like a boss.

Predictably, the judges didn’t like that either. They said she shouldn’t do that anymore, since it was “too dangerous” and they didn’t want her encouraging others to try to do the same (nevermind that triple axels and shit are dangerous as fuck too).

But she kept doing it.

Again.

And again.

It was like her personal ‘fuck you’ to the judges every time she performed.

Because this woman is a badass.

Anyway, I’m just so mad that they refused to give her marks for fucking backflipping on ice. I’m mad that she only ever got silver. And I’m furious that I’d never heard of her till now.

i love you ibuprofen, i love you naproxen. i love you nose spray & cough drops. i love you snacks between meals. i love you naptime & sleeping in & taking a sick day when the body needs rest. i love the avoidance of unnecessary discomfort in its many shapes and forms!

what an act of unspeakable tenderness, to treat your body as a beloved animal and not a machine to grind to the ground

the wicked movie teaches important moral lessons like "be bisexual in college" and "don't trust politicians" and "if you push someone who's in a wheelchair without their permission, someone might throw a bench at your head with their mind"

nimona (film that was saved by netflix after disney canned it along with closing the studio that was making it) and the boy and the heron (2d animated movie, the type that disney doesn't make anymore due to "limitations with the medium") getting animated feature noms at the oscars this year and not wish... bro that's funny

imagine having a personality so morally bankrupt that the pope himself said "i'm telling god" and headed out

Continuation of my sirens post, and a friendly reminder that batman isn’t on the side of the law, he’s on the side of justice