Kaanha-ki-barkat - There Is No Charm Equal To Tenderness Of Heart.

THIS CUTIE <3

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David Tennant reads the bookshop scene from Good Omens during Playing in the Dark: Neil Gaiman and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Posting here to memorialise this even after the BBC takes it down from their website. Originally performed 12th Nov 2019 at the Barbican, London. 

…his Aziraphale voice is so delicate oh my word, I’m ready to offer my life savings and possibly a kidney in exchange for a full-length audiobook

So I watched the first episode of Lucifer today, and it really made me realize the lack of male gaze and objectifying women in Good Omens.

(Disclaimer: I’m not trying to get into arguments with Lucifer fans or say that Good Omens is a better show - I have no opinion on Lucifer as a show. I’m just trying to compare and contrast on this one thing based on one episode).

So, Lucifer lays heavily into the “let’s show he’s the devil by having him surrounded by strippers and sleeping with women all the time.” The camera itself does a lot of sexy shots of women. There’s also a number of plot points that focus on female sexuality (including the male main character teasing the serious female main character, who’s trying to be taken seriously as a detective, for having previously been a nude actress.)

In contrast, Good Omens never feels like it’s sexualizing women. Like, not once. Not even the female characters you might expect it of. Anathema literally has a sex scene, and it still doesn’t feel male gaze-y; the camera doesn’t pan down her body or zoom in on parts. She doesn’t strip her clothes off, and when she puts her clothes back on it’s very matter-of-fact. Madame Tracy is literally a sex worker and you don’t see it on screen. 

(It reminds me actually of Mad Max: Fury Road, and how it was notable that even though the plot was centered on sex slaves, there were no depictions of rape on screen, because the audience didn’t need to see it. Seeing that wouldn’t have empowered women. Seeing them escape and screw over the system *was* empowering).

We also don’t see Hell on screen using sex for their schemes. Hastur verbally recounts tempting a priest with lust, but we don’t see it. The absence of any sexual scenes involving Crowley is so notable that the Ineffable Husbands fans are left to wonder if he’s asexual.

Again, I’m not trying to put down Lucifer - it just made me realize how rare (and wonderful) it was to not have a sexualizing male gaze ever-present in Good Omens. 

I also want to link this great post about gender presentation in Good Omens, with a great bit at the bottom from Neil Gaiman himself. Thank you, Neil and everyone else who made this show. Thank you so much.

“i have ended wars singlehandedly, brought gods broken to their knees, dragged the very lights of heaven down to the sand, but my greatest victory was always that i was what sparked your smiles.”

— i no longer wish to be remembered for my battles or my blood (via wearealsoboats)

A girl I liked convinced me to stab a man, so I did. Felt guilty for a bit, then promptly forgot about it and walked around with the murder weapon for a couple of hours, going about my business, walking my dog. Eventually I was cornered by a plainclothes police officer who asked me why I had a bloody knife; I told him I was looking after it for my bogan cousin. He said, “You’re under arrest,” and I was like,, “No, I’m not, watch this,” and then I woke up.

“I decided early on,” Michael said, “that Aziraphale just loves Crowley. And that’s difficult for him because they’re on opposite sides and he doesn’t agree with him on stuff. But it does really help as an actor to go, my objective in this scene is to not show you how much I love you. And just gaze longingly at you.”

- Michael Sheen (New York Comic Con 2018)

#whipped

Rasputin in Popular Culture: Supernaturally vigorous man refuses to die.

Rasputin in Reality: A bunch of nerds who think they know how murder works because they read a book repeatedly fail to kill a man who’s too drunk to realise he’s being murdered.

So answer is yes we do want an Indian Cinderella next